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Look, there's a lot going on here, and the only available information has to be translated from the Icelandic, so bear with me: I'm doing the best I can. From available news reports (headline: "Icelander panties girlfriend and drove car sales - mixed video!"), we can glean that this transpired three years ago in the parking garage of a Reykjavík office tower called Höfðatorg, and is just now appearing online thanks to a dude who works in the building and is now doing his best to explain it to reporters:
"I kind of guessed that the girl was supposed to pee in the shot. Then this naked boy sits behind the wheel and drive into. So he tries to get out again, but there is a hook on the car and that he always stuck there and can not get out, "says Albert Thor Guðbrandsson, administrator Cape Marco.
Here's the same thing in YouTube form, if that's helpful (it's not):
In any event, the parking-garage guy has put a firm number on the damage done here, and is even working on some catch phrases:
"The gate was irreparably damaged and wrecked car and the potential loss of five million," said Albert, adding: "This happens only in Hollywood and Höfðatorg."
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Forget it, Albert. It's Höfðatorg.
Rob Harvilla is Deadspin's culture editor. Yes, there is one. He's on Twitter.
The Concourse is Deadspin's home for culture/food/whatever coverage. Follow us at@DSconcourse.(Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge on Monday signaled he will not rubber-stamp Citigroup Inc’s proposed $590 million settlement of a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets.
A Citi sign is seen at the Citigroup stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein asked lawyers for the bank and its shareholders to address several issues at an April 8 fairness hearing, including requested legal fees and expenses of roughly $100 million, and the absence of payments by former Citigroup executives.
Citigroup spokesman Mark Costiglio declined to comment. Peter Linden, a partner at the law firm Kirby McInerney who represents the shareholders, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Stein joined other judges in recent years to question the fairness of large legal settlements in the financial industry.
Citigroup awaits a decision from the federal appeals court in New York on whether Stein’s colleague Jed Rakoff properly rejected a $285 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the alleged defrauding of investors.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan cited that case in delaying a decision to approve the SEC’s $602 million insider trading settlement with a unit of Steven Cohen’s hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LP.
The $590 million settlement resolved claims by Citigroup shareholders from February 26, 2007 to April 18, 2008 that the bank failed in those years to properly write down risky debt, often backed by subprime mortgages, and concealed the risks.
Citigroup lost $27.68 billion in 2008, and by March 2009 its market value had sunk roughly $250 billion from the start of the class period. The shareholder settlement is separate from a $730 million accord with bondholders last month.
According to court papers, the shareholder settlement also resolved claims against several former top Citigroup officials, including Chief Executive Charles Prince and senior adviser Robert Rubin. Stein asked whether this was proper.
“Does the absence of any payments from the individual defendants render the settlement unfair to class members who still hold the Citigroup stock they purchased during the class period?” he asked both sides to address.
Stein also asked for more information, including how much a reasonable client would pay to justify fees for lead counsel and other lawyers equal to 16.5 percent of the settlement amount, or about $97.4 million, plus $2.8 million for expenses.
The judge asked both sides to address questions about how settlement funds would be allocated.
Lead plaintiffs included several former employees and directors of Automated Trading Desk Inc, which Citigroup bought in October 2007 for about $680 million.
The case is In re: Citigroup Inc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 07-09901.Structuralism is defined as a movement used to analyze the mind, a culmination of your entire life’s worth of experience, “in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find the way in which these components fit together in complex forms.” Founded by Wilhelm Wundt, and most closely associated with Edward B. Titchener (who studied under Wundt), the form of psychology has always been a minority school of thought–but gave way to other such countermovements as functionalism and Gesalt psychology. One of the many tools Titchener utilized was introspection, the act of holding experience as fact–affection and sensation were the prime measures of such resolutely unique foundations. Songwriting, an especially profound collection of this evidence, is a medium in which the human species frames their life’s story: needling the naivety of youth with the sour, sorrow-riddled trek of coming of age. Singer, songwriter and musician Travis Crowley brandishes his own storytelling with a firmly-planted and formidable voice, often cutting right to the truth with aptitude and slyness.
Based out of New York, Crowley relinquishes his rough-hewn vocal, particularly found on his new song “Cocaine and Yoga,” premiering today, with relief and heaviness. “I told her 20 minutes, 30 made no difference. I found her as soon as I got inside. Waiting wasn’t so bad, but no one wants to hear that. What’s going on with all these lines?” he remembers of an especially strange night out on the opening lyric. But things got even more peculiar as the evening wore on. “Let’s get one more drink before we get our last drink, and then get the fuck out of here. Then, what do we do? I can barely hear you. The music’s too loud and too weird.” In a recent email, he explains exactly what happened that night. “I was out in Brooklyn with like, six or seven good friends, hanging out after work. I had not-so-sneakily suggested we go [to a bar] because I was trying to see this girl who lived there I was really into at the time, and our nights finally lined up,” he says. “She was out with her roommate and a couple friends, so in my head, it made sense to come through with a few people myself, keep it casual and all that. We eventually made it over to the bar she was at, and there was a line to get in.”
“Each of my friends looked at me at flat out said, ‘no, we’re not waiting.’ I tried to convince them and failed, and they all straight up ditched me. They went to get pizza–but I mean, in fairness, who am I to compete with pizza? I was committed to the bit at this point, so I got in line, and since I’m petty, timed the wait,” he continues. “It took me seven minutes to get in. So, I walked in and saw her right away, and then realized, ‘oh god, this is not what I planned at all.’ The circumstances under which I was there had so drastically changed, and I mean….well, it’s all pretty detailed in the song. I so badly wished someone was there to witness the way everything unfolded, it was absolutely not what I expected. All I wanted was to turn to the camera a la ‘The Office’ and make one of those ‘can you believe this?’ faces. I planned to be back in Harlem by the end of the night. That did not happen.”
“It turned out that the girl lived on the same block that one of my friends used to, and I didn’t realize until the morning. The street was both brand new and a place I had gone to several times. I was able to phrase this literal happening as a highlight of the song’s theme of duality. Funny how things happen that way, huh?”
Crowley’s story then took an unwelcome left-turn. “A crazy time to ask me about a heart condition. After what you slipped me, it’s already in my system,” he wails over of a wave of dirty guitar, his vocal hanging thick in the air. He deploys that experience to play with the duality of life and fundamental opposition, as affirmed with the song title itself. “Specific is a good word to describe it. Cocaine and yoga represent fundamental opposites, literally and figuratively. The song touches on my fascination with the fact that a person can be a living contradiction; you might embody two starkly different things at the same time,” he says. “You can wake up early and calmly meditate on the roof of your building after a long, late and fast paced night of partying, like it’s nothing. For a while, I was surprised at how often this came up in life.” He originally planned to include someone’s name in the title of the song, but coming off his previous single “Pretty Little Adelaide,” he “decided to cool it and stick with ‘Cocaine and Yoga.'”
“At first, I tried to write it as a more upbeat song, but ended up making no progress. It felt like the type of story that you should be dancing to, and I sat with it for a couple days, hours at a time,” he adds. “It wasn’t until I landed on the triple meter timing that the hook of the song popped into my head. After that, the song basically wrote itself. I had all the phrases in my head, and after figuring out the feel of the music, I knew exactly where to place every line.”
Pressed with a John Mayer-esque bend, the song is earthy and spacious, another sampling of Crowley’s forthcoming new album, The Trouble Kid Tape, out Aug. 4. Pre-order on iTunes.
Take a listen to “Cocaine” and “Yoga” and read our Q&A below:
Who is singing harmony on the song?
That would be my partner in crime, HaleyJane Rose. We go way back. She took me to her prom, we used to be roommates, and she’s one of my best friends in the whole world. She is a musician and songwriter herself, and was often in the room while I wrote the songs that would ultimately be picked for [the record]. She is a featured guest on a song called “Circle of Hell.” She’s got a great ear to bounce ideas off of, and now that I think of it, Haley is pretty much always the first person I go to when I have a newly written anything.
There is such a slinky rawness to the song and has a rather similar vibe to “Pretty Little Adelaide.” Is that indicative of your album, as a whole?
The album touches on a couple different sounds, but it still feels like a cohesive unit. “Cocaine and Yoga” and “Pretty Little Adelaide” have that sort of dirty folk sound, and the language of the lyrics come from the same place because of where I was at that point in my life, when they were written. I wanted them to lean toward rock and roll, and throughout the album, that sound and those styles ebb and flow. I think the similarities help depict the exact way everything felt at the time, and the differences contrast well with the songs that help complete the overarching narrative.
What is the core theme of the album?
I like to say that the album is an account of the types of trouble I get myself into when left unsupervised. It also carries the message that even though things might look dark from time to time, everything really might be alright in the end.
How did the album start for you–was there a song which jumpstarted your journey?
There’s a song toward the end of the album called “The Tuesday Blues,” and it was the first one I wrote. This was back when I wasn’t even actually thinking about making a whole album, I was just writing for the sake of it, as a one-off. It’s still my favorite thing to do. I have a running gag with my friends about my distaste for that day of the week. Do you know what they say about Tuesdays? Tuesday is the new Monday.
The job I used to work often gave me off on Wednesday, so I would end up hanging out and drinking the night before. I remember sitting on my bed, across the room from Haley, playing through the same chord loop and singing out the lyric, “I’ve been drinking on a Tuesday night.” Fast-forward a couple months later, after working out a bunch of other songs, I sat and started to think about a tracklist. Despite the fact that this was the first song written for the project, it felt like the finale. There’s something full circle about that, ya know?
What did you learn about yourself through writing and recording this album?
I learned that the best way to get my friends to listen to my dumb stories is to tell them to them from behind a guitar.
Who has influenced your songwriting the most?
I am inspired and influenced by a million different things at a time in my environment, whether it’s the music I’m listening to, a book I’m reading or a TV show I’m watching. From a storytelling standpoint, I am directly influenced by the people around me: friends, family, casual acquaintances, enemies, anyone I might be able to write about or tell a story to. My mother is a brilliant writer. I learned from her how to recognize a good story or lesson when I see one, as well as the importance of documenting it.
Musically, I’m all over the place. I know everybody says “I listen to a little bit of everything,” but I really do. Growing up, my favorites ranged from Jason Mraz to The White Stripes to Kanye West, and I never ruled anything out (and I still don’t). I had a sort of obsession with becoming familiar with every album an artist I liked ever made, no matter when it was released. I would borrow my uncle’s old Black Sabbath and Metallica albums. I remember going to Virgin Megastore (RIP) and buying ‘Illmatic’ by Nas. There was something about knowing and understanding the full breadth of a musicians experience that helped me better appreciate their newer efforts. I think it’s helped me gain a unique understanding of what “songwriting” even is. So, to answer the question in a more straightforward way, my songwriting has been and always will be influenced by my constant state of learning. I guess it’s never as easy as just naming a person or band.
The best thing in music right now are the women of country music. Kacey Musgraves and Margo Price. Joy Williams, as part of The Civil Wars (also RIP, but both of their solo efforts have been outstanding to me). They’re so fucking good. I listened to their albums a lot while writing and recording. It’s important to me to have good stories, and to tell them in a way that only I can.
In what ways have you grown since the Crowley Brothers days?
I think it’s mostly been personal growth, and to me, the music I make always sounds like exactly what I’m going through, good and bad. Everything that happens to you affects the person you wake up as the following morning, whether you’re aware of it or not, and that’s certainly reflected in my songs. The good news for me is that even though we don’t make music as a band together anymore, I still see and hang with my brothers Brian and Jeffrey all the time.
In fact, they both made significant contributions to j’The Trouble Kid Tape.’ Brian worked with me on album structure and made several recording suggestions that proved to be extremely important. Jeffrey made the album artwork. I was unable to fully articulate what it was that I wanted exactly–I made very vague suggestions and requests–and he somehow nailed it. They both contributed backing vocals to a song called “I Met A Girl.” It’s a nice little reunion for the old school CB fans.
Stylistically, the band’s “Radio” is so far removed from your new music. How did that change?
Musically, the recording of “Radio” is very tight and shiny clean, and I would say that’s the biggest difference. I wrote that one with Brian and Jeffrey, and it was intended to be more ironic-leaning than everyone took it. We might have sold it a bit too earnestly. I still love that song, though. Any changes after that were inevitable personal growth related changes, but I think it all comes from the same place.
Why did it make sense to return to music now?
Oh I never left, baby! I actually continued to write and play during the whole quiet period. It just took a bit of time to figure out exactly how I wanted to present what I had been working on. [The album] serves as a nice summation of my efforts.
Whose career would you like to emulate the most?
The first name that comes to mind is Dave Grohl. He embodies everything that I love about music; he worked hard and just always always played with whoever he could, whenever he could. He understands the value of recorded music and of live music. Every success that has come to him in his career did because he always pursued what he loves and what he believes in. He is THE man, a true rock and roll icon.
Follow Crowley on his socials: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramSaturday Night Live updated the “About” section of their website this week to include newly hired writers Alison Rich, Jeremy Beiler, Natasha Rothwell, Streeter Seidell, and Nick Rutherford, but even more important are some of the names that are no longer credited as full-time writers this year. According to the SNL website, season 39 writers Leslie Jones, Paula Pell, Marika Sawyer, LaKendra Tookes, and Mike O’Brien will not be officially returning to the writing staff. Sawyer has moved on from SNL to work with John Mulaney on his new Fox sitcom, Paula Pell (who has been an SNL writer since 1995) is currently busy working on her Tina Fey/Amy Poehler-starring film The Nest, and Leslie Jones has several onscreen roles in the works including one in Chris Rock’s critically acclaimed film Top Five, though it’s a shame not to see her name on the list considering her breakout Weekend Update performance last season. As for O’Brien, it was first reported that he would return as a writer, but The New York Times’ Bill Carter specified that he’ll be “mostly doing separate films this season,” which sounds more like a guest writer/pre-taped performer spot than full-time gig. SNL hasn’t officially announced this news yet, but considering the cast and crew are back at 30 Rock this week to work on the season premiere we’ll probably get confirmation in the coming weeks.
For more on Leslie Jones’s SNL work, check out our breakdown of her unforgettable Weekend Update performance and resulting backlash here, then click through to see the current SNL writing staff lineup per the SNL website.
UPDATE: Leslie Jones said on Twitter today that the news of her leaving the SNL writing staff is “not true,” though the website has still not been updated to include her name.
Head Writers: Colin Jost, Rob Klein and Bryan TuckerWriters: James Anderson, Jeremy Beiler, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Lorne Michaels, Claire Mulaney, Josh Patten, Alison Rich, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Natasha Rothwell, Nick Rutherford, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, John Solomon, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker (via)Deep thoughts on the bike, components, and beakless rubber ducky that carried Josh from Canada to Mexico in record time.
Like all riders, racers on the Divide develop a definitive bond with their bikes. I would guess that most people have a healthy relationship with their pony after the race but I’m sure others want to take it out behind the barn and put it out of their misery. My bike still has a very special place in my heart. It began as a 2013 Fargo Ti frameset and was purchased with the primary intent of racing the Divide in 2014. My 2014 race was a bit of a bust, so to speak, however when I was able to return for this years race there was no question for me which bike I’d bring again.
Plenty has been written about the Salsa Fargo. Tests, reports and many reviews. Briefly, the Fargos are a go anywhere, do almost anything bike. Load it up with MTB tires and it’ll tackle trails for a great camping trip. Throw some skinny road tires on it and race your STRAVA roadie friends. It’ll do most things better than you imagined. I know that the Fargo makes me smile when I ride it. For me it’s just a fun bike. Like all “serious” cyclists I have a few more bikes than most people think is healthy. While I really enjoy my very techy carbon full suspension bike, my phat fat bike and even my vintage(ish) Bridgestone XO hybrid I always come back to the Fargo as the bike I’d ride from here to the end of time if I could only take one.
It’s rare that a bike actually inspires but the Fargo does so for me. When I first got my Fargo it really rekindled my joy of the ride. Drop bars, MTB tires and the capability of being loaded up with racks galore was fun. Being on a bike that could take me anywhere really made me want to go farther. Much farther than I ever had before. It’s a bike that literally carried me to my dream of finishing the Tour Divide. Bikes alone don’t win races but having the proper tool for the job is essential. There were a lot of Fargos in the Tour Divide this year. Easily more than any other bike listed on the start sheet. Salsa, one of the few companies that support bikepacking, is obviously onto something with the Fargo.
The ti frame was the base for my Tour Divide bike. I built the frame up with a selection of parts that I use on a daily basis. Parts that have held up for me through many bike tours in some pretty nasty conditions. It’s stuff I can service myself and also parts that I can usually find suitable replacements for in smaller bike shops everywhere. My wife Valerie also used a very similar build for her divide run in 2014.
The Build
Here is the breakdown of what hung on my titanium Fargo Frameset, during my 2015 Tour Divide race. Following the parts list are a few of my thoughts about the parts.
Frame: 2013 titanium Salsa Fargo- size small
Fork: Niner full carbon – tapered steerer, 9mm quick release drop out
Headset: Chris King Inset 7
Handlebar: Salsa Woodchipper – 46cm wide model
Bar tape: Salsa Gel Cork Tape with Fizik Under Tape Gel pads
Stem: Salsa Guide Stem – 15 degree rise, 70mm extension
Brake Levers: SRAM S500
Brakes: Avid BB-7 front and rear with sintered pads
Brake Rotors: Avid Centerline 160mm front, Avid G2CS 160mm rear
Cross-top brake levers: TRP RL951
Shift Levers: 9 Speed Shimano SL-BS77 Dura Ace bar-end
Aero Bars: Syntace C3
Aero Bar accessory: Profile Designs UCM computer mount (used to mount Fenix BT 10 light)
Cables/Housing: Jagwire Road Pro XL “racer” kit
Cable Accessory: SRAM compact barrel adjusters- on brake and shifter housings within reach of bar
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR FD-M981 direct mount 3×10
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR RD-M960 GS – medium cage, rapid rise
Crankset: Shimano XTR Trail FC-M980 – triple, 24-32-42 rings
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XT SM-BB70
Chainrings: Blackspire SuperPro M980 24t inner, Shimano M980 32t and 42t middle/outer rings
Cassette: Shimano XTR 9 speed CS-M970 – 12-34
Chain: Wipperman Connex 9sX stainless steel chain 9 speed
Pedals: Speedplay Frog – titanium axles
Seatpost: Erikson titanium Sweetpost
Saddle: WTB Pure V – cro-mo rails
Seatpost binder: Salsa Lip-Lock
Hubs: SRAM X0
Rims: WTB KOM i23
Spokes: Sapim CX-Ray bladed
Nipples: DT alloy
Rim Strips: WTB TCS covered with 1″ Gorrilla Tape
Sealant: Stans- about 100ml per tire
Front Tire: Specialized Renegade Control 29×2.3
Rear Tire: Specialized Fast Trak Control 29×2.2
Valve Stems: WTB TCS
Quick Release Skewers: Salsa Titanium Flip-Offs
Water Bottle Cage: Portland Design Works the Bird cage – on underside of downtube
Water Bottle: Zefal Magnum 33oz
Accessory: Rubber Ducky (named Lucky) – zip-tied to seatstay bridge
Accessory: MTB Cast sticker on my aero bars
Love this bike! The ti Fargo is a sweet ride. I’ve had a few years to dial in the fit. The reach, rise and positioning on the bike is about as ideal as I can imagine for a ride like the Divide. It’s just a super nice bike for long, long days in the saddle. It’s by far my favorite bike ever. However, when I finally caught up to Jay P near the end of the race I was eyeing his Cutthroat quite closely. The increased clearance in the main triangle of the Cutthroat’s frame looks very nice. I think that may be my only criticism of the Fargo, especially the small size. The sloping top tube. It increases stand-over clearance but I’d quickly sacrifice that for more room so as to fit a bigger frame bag.
Drop Bars/Aero Bars
One benefit of the drop-bar mountain bike concept is that the frame’s top tube is shorter than a comparable flat bar mountain bike. This makes the bike super comfy in the aero bar position. I don’t have to add on something like Siren Bikes Fred Bar adapter to make the reach of the bars more manageable. I spent a lot of time in the aero bars and it is very important to feel comfortable in that position.
Gearing
From the list above you can see that I used a 3×9 setup. First off, the chains (and subsequently the rest of the drive-train) on my 9 speed bikes last quite a bit longer than the chains on my 10 speed equipped bikes. I changed my chain in Steamboat. I measured the old one before swapping it out. It did not register any stretch but I swapped it out anyhow. I also feel 9 speed shifts smoother when gummed up with muck and tolerates gunky or stretched cables slightly better than more tightly spaced options. I’m not bad talking 2×10 or 1×11. I just like the durability and gearing range offered by a 3x setup. I’m very comfortable with the range of 3×9. Heck, I seem to remember a time that we used to be able to ride everything and have a lot of fun with 3×6 drivetrains. On my setup the 24×34 low gear would be achieved by a 30×42 on a 1x drivetrain. Problem is that a 30×10 high on the same 1x drivetrain is quite a bit lower high gear than the 42×12 on my particular setup.
To some the 42×12 high gear on my bike may not sound that high but on a 29er it equates to a speed of around 27.1 mph at a cadence of 90. Plenty fast for the Divide. There are tons of options in all systems and all have their strengths. I just like my 3×9 and it’s still easy to get 9 speed chains most everywhere. Last year Valerie finished the race on 3×9 in conditions that were MUCH muddier/grittier than this year. Her drivetrain is still going strong to this day. The 10 speed rings on the crankset work perfectly with the rest of the 9 speed parts and I don’t notice the chainrings lasting any less amount of time than proper 9 speeders. I do find the 10 speed rings shift a bit smoother than the 9 speed rings so that’s a bonus. The “demise” of high-end 9 speed parts saddens me a bit. Of course, bikepackers and tourers don’t really drive the parts market that strongly.
Rapid Rise Rear Derailleur
A rapid rise rear derailleur. Who uses those? Not much of anyone anymore since they aren’t available. You can still occasionally find some new (old) ones lurking around. I always liked rapid rise. I suppose one of the only logical reasons for them is say if you snap a cable you are then left with your easiest gear vs your highest gear. Makes a difference sometimes, especially when riding a loaded bike. Yeah you can mess with limit screws to reach a happy medium but there’s nothing like instant gratification. Not much other rationale for it other than I just like them.
Bar-end Shifters
My bar-end shifter setup isn’t for everyone but I find it excellent. Shifting pretty much necessitates taking your hand off the bar to reach the lever. Over the thousands of shifts a day on the Divide this alleviates quite a bit of pressure on the hands. This in combination with the excellent Woodchipper drop bar created a situation where I had zero hand numbness by the end of the race. Another nice option of some bar-end shifters in the friction mode. Bend something, or gunk up something severely and you still have shifting that will work beautifully. Also, you have the option of putting on a non-compatible derailleur or cassette. Just after Wasmsutter, Wyoming I turned my rear shifter to friction mode. Everything was working beautifully I just wanted to go to friction mode. It’s the way I used to ride when I was young (there was no index shifting) and it just seemed to give me a different experience on the bike. I liked it.
Hoops and Rubber
My wheels are some that I built up prior to the race. I like building wheels. It’s a bit of a meditative experience and gives a nice sense of accomplishment on finishing a race with wheels you built up. The WTB KOM i23 rims sealed up tubeless with the Specialized tires superbly. I did use two rim strips on each wheel. I’ve never had a problem with the Stans or WTB rim strips. I added the Gorilla tape simply as an extra measure of insurance. I used a fair amount of Stans sealant. About 150 milliliters per tire. There is still a fair amount of it in liquid form in each wheel. I never got a flat until the morning after the race. I looked at the bike in my hotel room in Silver City and the front was flat. I aired it up and it sealed itself up fine. Looks like I got a hawthorn-like bit of branch stuck to the sidewall area when I rolled off the bike to get some water in the last 5 miles of the race. The wheels are in 100% the same shape as when I built them. All spoke tensions are exactly the same as when built and they are still the same trueness and roundness as from leaving the wheel stand. The Sapim spokes are nice, light, aero and expensive. I still wonder if bladed spokes actually give any significant aero advantage on a 29er wheel/tire over 2700 miles. Maybe 20 minutes over 14 days…
The X0 hubs held up wonderfully. The cassette body can be removed without tools so you can get to the drive mechanism if needed. It’s just some simple spring pawls in there but they have super fast engagement the way they are set up. Two pawls at a time engage vs 1 on most spring pawl systems. Carrying a couple of spare pawls doesn’t take up much of any space and they don’t weight much either. The bearings still spin super smooth. The bearings in both mine and Valerie’s DT hubs last year developed a fair amount of slop that necessitated all new bearings in each of the hubs.
I’m still riding the same tires I started the race on. I imagine they have around a thousand more gravel miles on them (based on my riding of the tires in training over the past few years). The Specialized tires are the same model my wife and I used last year. No issues for either of us. I run fairly high pressures. I weigh in at around 155 pounds and typically run about 32 psi with the full race kit when tubeless. The last morning of the race I aired up my tires to probably around 40 psi front and rear as I knew there was going to be some longer stretches of pavement to Antelope Wells. It was the only time during the race I added air to the tires. I find the Renegade and Fast Traks roll quite fast. Faster than other tires I’ve tried thus far and I like the ride feel of the casings. They also shed mud easily as they have a pretty minimal tread. I never fell during the race and always felt like I had sufficient cornering and drive traction.
The Niner Fork
Light and fast. It does help tame small road “chatter” but will properly beat you to a pulp on bit bumps and major washboard sections. My wife runs a White Brothers Rock Solid and it might have a small edge in taming washboard but is still a rigid fork. All rigid forks will get to you at some point or another. They are lighter, simpler and usually more reliable than a suspension fork. Again, I was looking at Jay P’s Cutthroat the last day and was envious of his bottle mounts on the fork, but you can’t put the newer Firestarter fork on the older Fargos. The 2013 Fargo uses a lower axle to crown height as opposed to the newer models so a Firestarter Carbon fork would raise the front end a bit more than acceptable. When I am not racing I use and enjoy the bottle mounts on my steel Fargo fork.
Comfortable Perch
The Erikson seatpost and WTB Pure V saddle kept my backside very happy the whole way. The Erikson Sweetpost is very pricey but is super smooth as it flexes quite a bit to smooth out the ride. The older WTB saddles are very compatible with my underside. The newest models have the same names as the old ones but something feels different/not quite as comfortable to me.
Accessories
As for a few of the accessories. I mounted my main light, a Fenix BT-10, on a Profile Designs UCM computer mount that was attached the mid section of my aero bars. Worked well in that position for me and was out of the way when I rode in the aero bars. I do use cross-top levers on my Woodchipper handlebar. I like to ride on the tops of that bar quite a bit and having braking readily available or when in really rough terrain is very nice. It kind of approximates a very narrow MTB bar position. The MTB Cast sticker on my aero bar reminded me to call in on occasion. Too bad the waterproof case of my phone caused some very poor sound quality when calling in. Calling in isn’t always on a racers mind but I know that in years past when I was a TD “spectator” I really enjoyed hearing a few call-ins from the folks on course. It helped me connect a person to a blue dot.
Lucky
One of the most important parts of my bike kit was Lucky. The little rubber duck attached to my seatstay bridge. I put him on my bike last year before my first TD attempt. Why? Some things are just for fun. Lucky might have played more of a role than just fun. I know a lot of us TD racers end up talking to cows at some point during the race. I also had Lucky to talk to. Mental engagement is a key factor in TD success. Good memories are also a great bi-product of a successful TD ride. One of my most memorable moments of this years TD was when I was riding near Dylan Taylor. I was just a bit ahead of him and I started hearing a weird noise from my bike. Dylan started yelling, with great urgency, “DUCK, DUCK, DUCK!!!”. At first I looked up to see if I was going to get clotheslined by a branch or something and then realized poor Lucky had taken a bit of a swan dive into the rear tire. He had come loose from his upright perch on my seatstay and spun upside down. His head scraping against my spinning rear tire. His beak will never be the same. His sacrifice to shave off a few grams might have helped me in the end. Poor Lucky.
My set up ended up working well for me. Zero mechanicals and zero flats during the race. There are as many set-ups out there as there are riders. I think the most important things are to use what works for you, keeps you reasonably comfortable in the long haul, and to use what you can service yourself or in a tiny, minimally stocked bike shop.
In case you missed Josh’s first post, check out his Tour Divide Packlist.“Allah is the greatest. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is his Prophet.” So reads a handout in Anthony Giannino’s son’s middle school in a passage relating the Muslim call to prayer. It’s part of a world-civilizations curriculum in the Revere, Massachusetts, school district that the father characterizes as pro-Muslim. And he’s quite upset about it — so upset that he has pulled his son out of the class in question. Writes WHDH.com:
"No religion should be taught at school. In their paper it says Allah is their only God. That's insulting to me as a Christian who believes in just Jesus only," said Anthony Giannino.
… "We don't believe in Allah. I don't believe in my son learning about this here," he said. "If my son was from another country and came here |
Is her voting record legitimate grounds for discussion? Of course it is.”
But Abbott said that the treatment was deeply stressful. “Because of the hype – every day I had photographers outside my house,” she said, but added that there was an outpouring of support on the streets of Hackney where she boosted her majority by 11,000 to a huge 35,000.
Asked if she felt that it was worse because she was a black woman, Abbott replied: “I wouldn’t want to say that,” but she claimed that the response was less frantic when male colleagues – including Corbyn or the chancellor, Philip Hammond – gave poor interviews.
And she called on May’s Conservatives and parts of the media to “really examine the type of politics” they had practised in the campaign, warning that relentless negative attacks against her personally risked putting young black women off politics.
A true progressive alliance would have made Jeremy Corbyn prime minister | Clive Lewis and Caroline Lucas Read more
“It was an extraordinary campaign. You fight seven general election campaigns, in Hackney, and suddenly you are this target. And they could say things flat out untrue – May said ‘Diane wants to wipe the DNA database’ – no I don’t, I wanted to take innocent people off it.”
She said that she was in her campaign office when the exit poll dropped, saying “we all kind of caught our breath”.
Damian Green, work and pensions secretary before his post-election promotion, told the Guardian in an eve-of-poll interview that the Brexit vote had “burst the dam” of party loyalty, freeing lifelong Labour voters to back the Conservatives – a widely-held view in Tory high command that saw Theresa May’s bright blue campaign battle bus tour one safe Labour seat after another. But Abbott said they reckoned without the deeply held loyalty of Labour backers in many of these constituencies.
Abbott argued the Tories had failed to understand what a Labour vote was. “In a constituency like Hackney, it’s quite mobile and it’s quite fluid – although it’s a very safe Labour seat. But in the parts of the country where they thought they were going to pick up seats, when it really comes down to it, whatever people were saying about immigrants, or Jeremy, or blah blah blah, basically people would rather cut off their right hand than vote Tory,” she said. “It was just a visceral thing in the end for some of them that they just couldn’t do it.”
Abbott believes the sharp rise in support for Labour, including in seats in the Midlands and north of England, is a vindication of Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to back the government on Brexit when article 50 was triggered earlier this year – and move the political conversation on to the impact of austerity.
She said she was ready to serve in Corbyn’s cabinet if asked to return, saying there were gaps for the leader to reach out to other wings of the party but said it was right to keep the current shadow cabinet in place.
“There will be important roles to fill but some of [the shadow cabinet] really stepped up – they came in 2015 and stepped up and to move then to one side would be really unfair.”Jemele Hil. ESPN/YouTube
ESPN said Monday that it was suspending "SC6" anchor Jemele Hill for two weeks without pay for a second violation of its "social media guidelines."
On Sunday, following Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' comments that Cowboys players who don't stand for the national anthem "will not play," Hill suggested fans upset with Jones should boycott the advertisers who support Jones and the Cowboys.
Hill had previously been in hot water for calling Trump a "white supremacist." ESPN later denounced the comments but did not suspend Hill, drawing criticism from both liberals and conservatives over the handling of the issue.
Here is ESPN's statement:
Hill said that fans could best express their disappointment with Jones by boycotting brands that support Jones and the Cowboys.
Hill also clarified that she was not calling for a boycott of the NFL.
Following her comments about Trump, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Hill's comments were a "fireable offense." Trump also tweeted that ESPN should "apologize for untruth" after the comments, saying they were losing business for getting into politics.
A later report after Hill's comments said that ESPN tried replacing her on "SC6" but was not able to find someone to fill in for her. ESPN denied the report.When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches a cold" is a 19th century quote attributed to Austrian chancellor Klemens Von Metternich. Since then, we have heard variants of this quote with the words “France" and “Europe" getting replaced most commonly with “the US" and “the rest of the world". More recently, as global markets entered a tailspin, the focal point seems to have been a sneeze from China.
It is human tendency to rely on causal reasoning to explain every event. As global markets took a nosedive last week, the most proximate cause attributed to the event was the woes in the Chinese stock markets. Interestingly, on one of the local channels in India, a “market expert" attributed the volatility even more specifically to the weak Chinese Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data reading as the real reason for the crash. Some others attributed it to the devaluation of the Chinese yuan.
Whatever might have been the so-called cause of the crash, it has reinforced the fact that India is not immune to shocks in global markets. Not quite surprisingly, the sentiment in markets also seems to define the popular perception about the effectiveness of the government’s economic policies. Immediately after the general election last year, it was widely held that India would embark on major structural reforms and the markets zoomed in anticipation. In fact, we wrote in June last year that it would be naive to assume that the government would embark on economic BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals) immediately after assuming office. Now, as we speak to political and economic commentators, the mood seems to have swung to the other extreme as a sense of fatigue and déjà vu has set in with this government.
As long-term investors in the markets, our view has been that as sentiment gyrates between extremes, the truth often lies somewhere in the middle. In this context, it is worth cutting through the noise to look at five trends that characterize the current economic situation in India. In our opinion, these trends are not fleeting, and will gain further strength in the coming months and years.
1. Fragile no more
India’s external vulnerability has significantly diminished. As we wrote in detail in our last essay, foreign direct investment (FDI) has for the first time in seven years exceeded the current account deficit. While clearly more can be done to make it easier to attract FDI, India today does appear to be in a sweet spot in FDI-current account equation, making if far less vulnerable as compared with 2013.
2. Gradual and uneven
In our view, economic recovery will be gradual and uneven. It has been hard to pinpoint specific reasons, but one witnesses buoyancy in some pockets and continued sluggishness in some others. A case in point is divergent growth trends between relatively good growth in scooters versus sluggishness in motorcycles. While motorcycle sales have been flattish compared with five years ago, scooter sales are up more than 2.5 times. However, the fact remains that despite different economic indicators throwing confusing signals, the economy is undoubtedly bottoming out. The pace of recovery will likely be slower as the tailwind of strong global growth that existed in the past is missing this time.
3. Financialization of savings
There are early signals of household savings shifting from physical savings (gold and property) to financial savings. Domestic mutual fund flows into equity markets have been positive for 15 consecutive months in a row. This makes it the longest streak of net inflows since 2000 when data on fund flows is available. In contrast, India’s gold imports have shrunk by about $25 billion from the levels of 2013. Similarly, property demand continues to remain sluggish, with the Reserve Bank of India’s pan-India index for residential property prices indicating, at best, meagre price increases.
4. Rise of the states
Earlier, advertisements from state governments rarely went beyond the statutory tenders or appointments. If at all, they were typically related to tourism such as Kerala’s “God’s own country" campaign some years ago. That has now changed with states advertising their potential as an investment destination. The states’ share in the Union government’s tax receipts has risen from 32% to 42% based on recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. A recent Credit Suisse report showed that cumulative spending of states is now 1.6 times that of the Union government. How each state will use the increased tax allocations will be an interesting trend to watch. Initially, the proceeds may go towards cleaning up state electricity board losses or reining in borrowing. Eventually, the extra money in the hands of states will find its way into the economy.
5. From doles to capex
After seven consecutive years of spending more on subsidies than capital expenditure, this year the government is likely to spend an equal amount. This will be a big positive, particularly if the trend of lower subsidies and higher capex continues in the coming years. In the first quarter of fiscal 2015-16, capital expenditure is up 18% year-on-year, led by spending on road, railways and defence.
To conclude, in our opinion, India will always be a two-step forward followed by one-step backward story. When markets are euphoric and extrapolate positive trends, it’s time to be cautious and vice versa. As we look through some of the criticisms from the cynics on India and compare notes with our views on trends noted above we are reminded of a quote by Joan Robinson, “Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true." We continue to believe, amid the scepticism, that India is on the right track.
Amay Hattangadi and Swanand Kelkar work with Morgan Stanley Investment Management. These are their personal views.
Comments are welcome at [email protected] Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech in Federal Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, May 30, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) seems set to make gun control a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential campaign. He kicked off what his aides describe as a "major push" on the issue last week with an email to supporters where he declared he was "pissed" by the mass shooting in South Carolina.
Gun control has long been something of a political lightning rod and President Barack Obama suffered one of the biggest defeats of his administration when he made a major push for a package of gun control legislation following the Sandy Hook elementary School shooting in late 2012. While some politicians have been reluctant to confront guns, O'Malley campaign spokeswoman Haley Morris told Business Insider he has been "fearless" on the issue and plans to make it a prominent part of his 2016 platform.
"Governor O'Malley was fearless in taking on gun control in Maryland--standing up even to members of his own party to get results. This is an issue you will be hearing more about from him," Morris said.
In his email to his supporters last Friday, O'Malley declared he was "pissed" about the political climate following the June 17 shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina that left nine people dead. Specifically, O'Malley said he was frustrated some people would wait for "the appropriate moment to say what we're all thinking" rather than "jumping to act."
"This is not the America we want to be living in," O'Malley wrote. "I'm pissed that we're actually asking ourselves the horrific question of, what will it take? How many senseless acts of violence in our streets or tragedies in our communities will it take to get our nation to stop caving to special interests like the NRA when people are dying?"
O'Malley went on to suggest the repeated mass shootings in America are a "national crisis." Morris said the email is the start of what will be a "major push" from O'Malley during his presidential campaign. In it, he pointed to his record on gun control in Maryland, which included passing legislation in 2013 that banned assault weapons, lowered magazine capacity, strengthened state regulations for gun dealers, and required fingerprinting for gun purchases.
"I proudly hold an F rating from the NRA, and when I worked to pass gun control in Maryland, the NRA threatened me with legal action, but I never backed down," O'Malley wrote.
In his email, O'Malley outlined some of the gun control reforms he would push for if he is elected in 2016 including stronger background checks, a nationwide assault weapons ban, and steps to prevent people from buying guns on others' behalf. O'Malley described making gun control a major part of his campaign as "doubling down" on what he did in Maryland.
"What we did in Maryland should be the first step of what we do as a nation," O'Malley wrote.
O'Malley's presidential campaign has been characterized by staking out clear-cut liberal positions on major issues as he takes on Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Pushing for gun control actually puts him to the left of another liberal primary rival to Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who has a voting record in line with his home state's light gun control laws.The Hisense Chromebook costs only $149. Matt Weinberger Earlier this week, Google released unto the world two new Chromebook laptops (among many other devices) from manufacturers Hisense and Haier, priced at a low, low $149 — cheaper than most tablets, and for a full computer, to boot. Google's on a mission to provide a lot of computer for a not a lot of money.
I've been using the Hisense Chromebook for the last few days, thanks to a review unit given to me by Google. And if you want to know if the Chromebook is a solid investment at $149, I'm here to tell you a resounding "maybe."
It depends what you want to use it for! I've found that it scratches the perfect itch as my everything-but-work machine.
About the Chromebook
The first and most important thing to know about the Hisense Chromebook is that literally all it has by way of an operating system is the browser. Log in to the Chromebook with a Google account and you're up and ready to go. Want to use email, Spotify, Twitter, Evernote, Slack, or even Amazon Kindle? Get ready to use the webpage versions.
Even when you install "apps" from the Chrome Web Store, clicking them just launches the appropriate web link in a browser tab. That means that you're never going to run the full versions of Microsoft Office or basically anything else.
The upsides to this aren't immediately obvious, but it means that it's cheap, manufacturers don't have to pay for Microsoft Windows to come pre-installed on the devices, and that gets passed down to you. And since just running a browser doesn't take that much computing horsepower, the device turns on in a snap and works pretty quickly.
And since you're only really using stuff in the browser anyway, if something happens to the machine, most of your stuff is still hosted with Google/Facebook/Amazon/whoever anyway, so nothing of value is usually lost.
There are limitations — you're not going to be doing anything resource-heavy like playing new video games like Battlefield: Hardline or editing movies, not that you'd want to on its mediocre screen. But it's pretty good at checking Facebook, writing email, and reading the news. Soon, Chromebooks will get even more useful with the addition of the ability to run certain Android apps.
This is something that's common to all of Google's Chrome OS computers, including other Chromebooks, the Chromebox desktop, and the Chromebase all-in-one, but it's probably still the least-understood part of these devices, judging from people's reactions when I showed them the Chromebook.
The construction of the thing is pretty good too, for a $149 device. I'm not sure it would qualify as "sleek," but the plastic casing isn't the ugliest I've ever seen. The mouse touchpad, too, is of surprisingly decent quality, save for the occasional bouts of odd jitteriness. There's even an HDMI port on the side, in addition to two USB ports.
The $149 Hisense Chromebook's design is surprisingly sleek for such a budget machine. Matt Weinberger
How I used it
I had never actually used a Chromebook before. Once upon a time, I used a Google Chromebox from Asus for a week, which is the same idea, but it was during a vacation and I didn't have much to do with it.
The first day I had the Hisense Chromebook, I struggled with this. At Business Insider, we write our stories directly into a website in the browser, and for whatever reason, it kept loading the mobile version of the website — maybe because the Chromebook uses an ARM processor, the same kind of chip you usually find in smartphones and tablets.
That same ARM processor means that the Hisense Chromebook gets pretty good battery life, save for one instance where I left it in sleep mode in my bag and the battery kept discharging. Other than that one time, I've gotten a pretty solid 6 hours out of a full charge.
I use a Macbook Air issued to me by Business Insider most of the time, and it's been my primary computer for the month I've been here. But it's a work machine where I get my work done — which means that when I flip it open, a barrage of Twitter and email notifications turn me over into work mode whether I want to be or not.
Size and thickness comparison between Haier Chromebook and Macbook Air. Matt Weinberger
Just for kicks, I wrote a Medium post on the Hisense Chromebook, and found that the uncluttered, nothing-but-browser interface kept me singularly focused on what I was doing. And since it turns on so quickly, it became my go-to for quick little things like doing some online banking, checking a recipe, or even changing a setting on an Internet router.
It's not that using the Macbook Air is a hardship, exactly. It's more that the Chromebook can be relied on to turn on instantly, do what I need it to do quickly without expending too much battery, and then go back into my backpack.
At $149, it's the perfect device — fast, with a keyboard, and versatile enough to do most things — to just have around to do anything but work. It's a mediocre machine, but at that price, that's far more than I could have asked for.
You can preorder the Hisense Chromebook from Walmart today.ESPN president John Skipper resigned Monday morning, and the sports giant cited substance abuse problems as the driving reason behind Skipper’s departure.
Skipper stated the following in an ESPN release:
Today I have resigned from my duties as President of ESPN. I have had a wonderful career at The Walt Disney Company and am grateful for the many opportunities and friendships. I owe a debt to many, but most profoundly Michael Lynton, George Bodenheimer and Bob Iger. I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem. I have disclosed that decision to the company, and we mutually agreed that it was appropriate that I resign. I will always appreciate the human understanding and warmth that Bob displayed here and always.
Disney CEO Bob Iger stated the following in part, “I join John Skipper’s many friends and colleagues across the company in wishing him well during this challenging time.”
Skipper oversaw ESPN as the network spiraled downward and ratings tanked. The network also got extremely political during his tenure, and took a hard swing to the left. Jemele Hill infamously called President Trump a white supremacist.
Stay tuned for more details on this developing situation over at ESPN.
Follow David on TwitterA Japanese ex-dolphin hunter has disputed government claims that the annual slaughter of dolphins in the Taiji Cove is traditional, centuries-old cultural practice, arguing that the hunting method was first used as recently as 1969.
Izumi Ishii told the Japan Times that his mentors in Futo, Shizuoka Prefecture, taught Taiji fishermen how to conduct dolphin drives in 1969 for the first time.
He said early attempts to capture the dolphins involved methods to amplify underwater sounds, causing the animals to panic - the method used now.
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Current Taiji hunting methods involve fishermen on boats surrounding pods of migrating dolphins, lowering metal poles into the sea and banging them to frighten the animals and disrupt their sonar. They are then herded into a nearby cove.
Once the dolphins are herded into the narrow cove, the fishermen attack them with knives, before dragging them to a harbour-side warehouse for slaughter. The best-looking dolphins are separated and sold to aquariums.
In January, Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, defended the controversial cull in the town of Taiji as “lawful”, following international criticism.
Shape Created with Sketch. Annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Show all 15 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan 1/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A bottlenose dolphin was seen floating on back before slaughter 2/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen hiding their culture and tradition 3/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Remaining pod swims just a few feet from the slaughter of their family 4/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Dolphin drive out to sea 5/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Lathered in blood, fishermen receive more transfers of dolphin carcasses 6/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen enter the cove just after sunrise 7/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A juvenile Bottlenose barely surfaces during drive out. The chances of survival are slim after 5 tormenting days in the cove 8/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Cove Guardians Jac and Ian document the slaughter 9/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan SSCS Cove Guardian Leader Melissa Sehgal interviews for CNN 10/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen in wetsuits hunt dolphins at a cove in Taiji, western Japan; U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy has expressed deep concern over the traditional dolphin hunt. Local fisherman corral dolphins in a secluded bay before killing many for meat Adrian Mylne/Reuters 11/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The selection process of dolphins, during the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji. With 250 dolphins, this was the largest round-up in years 12/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The agitated dolphins in the cove during the selection process. According to Sea Shepherd, Japanese fisherman rounded up more than 250 dolphins, including babies and juveniles 13/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Japanese fisherman are shown in the cove. Taiji town claims the hunt is an important ritual dating back centuries 14/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A rare albino calf swims close to his/her mother as the pod was herded into the cove. Dolphins captured in the cove are either sold into captivity, or slaughtered and sold for consumption, despite pleas from animal conservationists around the world against the event Sea Shepherd/EPA 15/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The process of selecting dolphins during the annual cull, which the mayor of the town defends 'on scientific grounds' 1/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A bottlenose dolphin was seen floating on back before slaughter 2/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen hiding their culture and tradition 3/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Remaining pod swims just a few feet from the slaughter of their family 4/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Dolphin drive out to sea 5/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Lathered in blood, fishermen receive more transfers of dolphin carcasses 6/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen enter the cove just after sunrise 7/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A juvenile Bottlenose barely surfaces during drive out. The chances of survival are slim after 5 tormenting days in the cove 8/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Cove Guardians Jac and Ian document the slaughter 9/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan SSCS Cove Guardian Leader Melissa Sehgal interviews for CNN 10/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Fishermen in wetsuits hunt dolphins at a cove in Taiji, western Japan; U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy has expressed deep concern over the traditional dolphin hunt. Local fisherman corral dolphins in a secluded bay before killing many for meat Adrian Mylne/Reuters 11/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The selection process of dolphins, during the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji. With 250 dolphins, this was the largest round-up in years 12/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The agitated dolphins in the cove during the selection process. According to Sea Shepherd, Japanese fisherman rounded up more than 250 dolphins, including babies and juveniles 13/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan Japanese fisherman are shown in the cove. Taiji town claims the hunt is an important ritual dating back centuries 14/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan A rare albino calf swims close to his/her mother as the pod was herded into the cove. Dolphins captured in the cove are either sold into captivity, or slaughtered and sold for consumption, despite pleas from animal conservationists around the world against the event Sea Shepherd/EPA 15/15 The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan The process of selecting dolphins during the annual cull, which the mayor of the town defends 'on scientific grounds'
Local fishermen defend the hunt as a centuries old local custom, but conservationists consider the hunt slaughter.
Ishii has now teamed up with dolphin activist Ric O’Barry in a joint presentation to a group of Japanese and foreign residents at Temple University’s Azuma Hall in Tokyo.
He told The Times he believed dolphins to be highly intelligent and peaceful animals and became sympathetic towards their plight after hunting them for decades.
Ishii is also fronting a petition to end the hunt, which he will submit to the government’s Fisheries Agency.
Taiji was exposed to worldwide scrutiny four years ago in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, which examined Japan’s infamous dolphin hunting culture and the controversial dolphin hunt that takes place in the town between September and April annually. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary the following year.
The hunt was condemned by activists and celebrities earlier this year, when figures such as Sean Penn and Gwyneth Paltrow urged US President Barack Obama not to sign an international trade agreement with Japan until the country bans the slaughter of dolphins.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowOn this day in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signs the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, setting a new national maximum speed limit.
Prior to 1974, individual states set speed limits within their boundaries and highway speed limits across the country ranged from 40 mph to 80 mph. The U.S. and other industrialized nations enjoyed easy access to cheap Middle Eastern oil from 1950 to 1972, but the Arab-Israeli conflict changed that dramatically in 1973. Arab members of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) protested the West’s support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War by stopping oil shipments to the United States, Japan and Western Europe. OPEC also flexed its new-found economic muscle by quadrupling oil prices, placing a choke-hold on America’s oil-hungry consumers and industries. The embargo had a global impact, sending the U.S. and European economies into recession. As part of his response to the embargo, President Nixon signed a federal law lowering all national highway speed limits to 55 mph. The act was intended to force Americans to drive at speeds deemed more fuel-efficient, thereby curbing the U.S. appetite for foreign oil. With it, Nixon ushered in a policy of fuel conservation and rationing not seen since World War II.
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The act also prohibited the Department of Transportation from approving or funding any projects within states that did not comply with the new speed limit. Most states quietly adjusted their speed limits, though Western states, home to the country’s longest, straightest and most monotonous rural highways, only grudgingly complied. Even after OPEC lifted the embargo in March 1974, drivers continued to face high gas prices and attempted to conserve fuel by buying revolutionary Japanese economy cars. For many, a desire for fuel-efficient automobiles became the standard until the trend toward gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) emerged in the 1990s. In 1987, Congress authorized states to reset speed limits within their borders, but proponents of the national maximum speed limit law claimed it lowered automobile-related fatalities, prompting Congress to keep it on the books until finally repealing it on November 28, 1995.
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Today speed limits across the country vary between 35 and 40 mph in congested urban areas and 75 mph on long stretches of rural highway. U.S. drivers now drive almost as fast as their European counterparts, who average between 75 and 80 mph on the highway. On some roads in Italy, it is legal to drive as fast as 95 mph.For those criticizing the Toronto Maple Leafs for the money and term handed out to David Clarkson, know this: The UFA power forward left money on the table with another club.
And I suspect that team was Edmonton, where Clarkson visited Thursday. Word is the Oilers were convinced heading into Friday they had the former New Jersey Devils winger.
But despite offering what I believe was a stronger financial package, the Oilers lost out, Clarkson feeling the pull of the heartstrings and signing with his hometown Maple Leafs.
No surprise at all. Clarkson-to-Toronto was the rumor for a full year. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello never had a chance to keep him.
Will the Leafs regret giving Clarkson seven years in length? I’d bet on the yes side. But it was the price of business on this day to get one of the top-ranked UFAs on the market.
Power forwards have never been more sought after in the game, the blend of offensive skill and physical strength and ability to play with top-six players a needed ingredient to win. Just ask Boston (Milan Lucic) and Chicago (Bryan Bickell).
Overall, a mighty good 24 hours for Leafs GM Dave Nonis. He didn’t blink when Tyler Bozak wanted around $5 million a year, waited for the UFA center to try the market and circle back. Nonis got him for $4.2 million a year, a job well done. The Leafs GM left himself hanging a bit for 24 hours with the buyout of Mikhail Grabovski, leaving himself without two of last year’s centers in Grabovski and Bozak with no assurance they would be able to strike on Friday in free agency.
Nonis’ read of the situation was bang on. Clarkson wanted to come home. Bozak circled back to where he knows where his bread is buttered, playing alongside Phil Kessel. And when you add the previous offseason additions of goalie Jonathan Bernier -- whom I believe will be a star No. 1 goalie -- and center Dave Bolland, a better defensive fit (albeit with less offensive skill) than Grabovski, I like where the Leafs are headed.
Elsewhere:
• The Red Wings will challenge the Bruins for the division title in their new Eastern digs next year, which is why it’s no small achievement that Daniel Alfredsson chose Detroit over Boston. Overall, what a day for the Wings in finding a No. 2 center in Stephen Weiss plus the luxury of adding a veteran presence in Alfredsson. It allows Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to play on the same line. And it gives Detroit a more productive second line that it had this past year. The Wings are back, baby.
• Valtteri Filppula will be a nice fit in Tampa, where GM Steve Yzerman knows him well from his Detroit days. Filppula is a smart player whose struggles this past year I believe were an anomaly. The St. Louis Blues were in hard on both Filppula and Weiss and struck out on both, and to me there’s still a hole to fill there in middle for the top-six forward group in St. Louis after the retirement of Andy McDonald. (I prefer Patrik Berglund as a No. 3.)
• The Devils lost Clarkson a year after losing Zach Parise, so the impactful exits are piling up. GM Lou Lamoriello tried to plug a hole by bringing in Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder on Friday, a pair of Newfoundland buddies. Clowe is a gamer, a heart-and-soul player who will help fill Clarkson’s exact power forward role, but the term on Clowe’s deal -- five years -- stunned many team execs we talked to around the league, who cited Clowe’s injury-ravaged body the last two years. I say good for Clowe, who has sacrificed his body for years and now finally got his financial bonanza ($4.85 million per year). Montreal had interest in Clowe but it was clear by Thursday that they were out because the Habs wanted to do only a one-year deal with him.
• Once Alfredsson knew he was leaving Ottawa to chase a Stanley Cup, the decision between joining Boston or Detroit was a very difficult one, a source said. Alfredsson had both clubs very much on the same level before pushing himself to decide. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli laid it all out for Alfredsson when the two spoke on the phone Thursday, detailing what the Swedish winger’s role would be on the Cup contenders. And the conversation was comfortable, Chiarelli knowing Alfredsson so well from his days in the Ottawa front office. But in the end, the style of play in Detroit and the chance to play with fellow Swedish national team buddies Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall won him over, as did an impressive phone call with Wings coach Mike Babcock, who described perfectly how Alfredsson would fit into the picture.
• The Los Angeles Kings are incredibly disappointed they lost Rob Scuderi. The gritty, dependable blueliner -- for my money, the top defenseman available -- signed in familiar territory when he agreed to join Pittsburgh on a four-year, $13.5 million deal. I’m told Philadelphia and Toronto were aggressively trying to sign Scuderi as well but the Penguins, with whom Scuderi won his first Cup, won out. Pretty good offseason for Pens GM Ray Shero, who re-signed Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Pascal Dupuis and Craig Adams plus brought back Scuderi, a player he admits he should have never let go after the 2009 Cup triumph.
And with that, I wish everyone a terrific summer. This is my last blog before returning in late August for the Canadian Olympic camp. Starting with the lockout in the fall and a crazy, compacted season, the break can’t come fast enough.
Cheers, all.A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives refutes the B.C. government's claim that the Pacific Northwest LNG project will create 100,000 jobs.
"We find this to be a manufactured statistic," lead author Marc Lee told Rick Cluff on CBC's The Early Edition.
Report author Marc Lee says the B.C. government is privatizing a public resource and downplaying the project's environmental costs. (Charlie Cho/CBC)
Lee says the LNG project's costs outweigh its benefits. He cites greenhouse gas emissions and the impact on the water supply in exchange for what he says are small gains in jobs and revenue. Lee calls the report a reality check.
"The potential gains have been vastly overstated by the provincial government while in a sense, they are privatizing a public resource," Lee said.
Lee points to job numbers from Petronas, the company behind Pacific NortWest LNG. He says once the facility is built, only 2,000 to 3,000 jobs will remain.
Lee says that's a long way from the 100,000 jobs the B.C. Liberals have promised even if all five planned facilities are eventually built and there is no way of knowing how many of those jobs will be temporary or filled by foreign workers.
B.C. government defends numbers
But Rich Coleman, B.C.'s Minister of Natural Gas Development, says many of the 100,000 jobs will be spinoff jobs — in other words, work the LNG industry will create indirectly.
Rich Coleman, Minister of Natural Gas Development, says the CCPA report doesn't account for the many spinoff jobs that will be created. (CBC)
"If you add jobs up and down the chain, there are service jobs that have to be done. There are spinoff jobs that come from that. It affects everything," said Coleman, citing everything from housing construction to new Tim Hortons restaurants.
"You can't put $36 billion into an economy and not have significant spinoffs," he said.
He also said the CCPA report did not consider the 2,000 to 4,000 pipeline jobs that will be created by the project itself.
Coleman says the CCPA did not consult the LNG industry in its report and points out the government is citing numbers from credible accounting firms, Ernst and Young, and KPMG.
To hear more, click the audio labelled: Rich Coleman defends LNG job numbers.After two major surgeries, my curviness is still very prominent, but that hasn’t stopped me from traveling to a bucket list full of locations; about 23 countries (I think). With all my years of travel experience, I feel like I am pretty well-versed on how to travel with scoliosis, and I wanted to share my nine proven tips on how to survive those dreaded long-h |
Switzerland, from Zurich to Geneva. The Alps reared above me, impressively big in game life. I thought about how huge they must be in real life, and how wonderful it would be to drive through them in a real truck (or a car, since there’s one thing this game has viscerally taught me: I’m not cut out for truck-driving). There was sublimity there, just several times removed and throbbing faintly through lines of code.
“Everyday” “life.”
More interesting, somehow, were the Swiss road signs, exits, and other infrastructure. The cultural and technological remove made me more appreciative of the small ways in which they were different from my home country’s versions, and the much larger ways in which they were the same. “This is what Swiss people see when they’re just living their lives,” I thought to myself, and I felt a burst of quotidian road-trip awe. I wanted to pull into a rest stop for some chocolate, but again, no dice.
On my third road-trip I finally snapped. I was supposed to be heading from Venice to Milan, another beginner-level leg in the journey that is EuroTruckSim. But somewhere around Verona, I decided, in the true spirit of road trips, that I didn’t feel like going straight to Milan. I wanted to see Verona. There were churches and farmlands, and if I couldn’t hop the guardrail and explore them, I at least wanted to drive by them on my own terms. So I clicked off my in-game GPS and just kept driving, and since my route was still within the game’s map, it let me.
As I accelerated out of a fake Italian tollbooth, I did feel for an instant—as Whitman would say—“done with indoor complaints.” Any pursuit that can manage that—especially a decidedly indoor one—is probably worth checking out.
Portal to adventure—or reasonably close, anyway.Hillary Clinton moved aggressively on Sunday to press her advantage in the presidential race, urging black voters in North Carolina to vote early and punish Republican officeholders for supporting Donald J. Trump, even as Mr. Trump’s party increasingly concedes he is unlikely to recover in the polls.
Aiming to turn her edge over Mr. Trump into an unbreakable lead, Mrs. Clinton has been pleading with core Democratic constituencies to get out and vote in states where balloting has already begun. By running up a lead well in advance of the Nov. 8 election in states like North Carolina and Florida, she could virtually eliminate Mr. Trump’s ability to make a late comeback.
At times, Mrs. Clinton is going beyond seeking simply a victory over Mr. Trump, asking voters to strengthen her hand in Congress and repudiate not just Mr. Trump but also Republicans who have accommodated or endorsed him.
After lashing Senator Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania in a speech on Saturday, Mrs. Clinton urged voters at an outdoor rally on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C., to elect a Democratic governor and to turn Senator Richard M. Burr out of office.Dearest Queer Person,
Chances are you don't even know that you are holy, or royal or magic, but you are. You are part of an adoptive family going back through every generation of human existence.
Long before you were born, our people were inventing incredible things. Gifted minds like the inventor of the computer Alan Turing and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont live on in you. The imprint that bold and brilliant individuals like Lynn Conway and Martine Rothblatt (both transgender women alive today) made on modern technology is impossible deny as present-day engineers carry their torch in the creation of robots and microprocessors. More recently speaking, one of the co-founders of Facebook publicly acknowledged his identity as a gay man, as did the current CEO of Apple.
We were so often gods and goddesses over the centuries, like Hermaphrodite (the child of Hermes and Aphrodite), and Athena and Zeus, both of whom had same-sex lovers. In Japan it was said that the male couple Shinu No Hafuri and Ama No Hafuri, "introduced" homosexuality to the world. The ability to change one's gender or to claim an identity that encompasses two genders is common amongst Hindu deities. The being said to have created the Dahomey (a kingdom in the area now known as Benin) was reportedly formed when a twin brother and sister (the sun and the moon) combined into one being who might now identify as "intersex." Likewise, the aboriginal Australian rainbow serpent-gods Ungud and Angamunggi possess many characteristics that mirror present-day definitions of transgender identity.
Our ability to transcend gender binaries and cross gender boundaries was seen as a special gift. We were honored with special cultural roles, often becoming shamans, healers and leaders in societies around the globe. The Native Americans of the Santa Barbara region called us "jewels." Our records from the Europeans who wrote of their encounters with Two-Spirit people indicates that same-sex sexual activity or non-gender binary identities were part of the culture of eighty-eight different Native American tribes, including the Apache, Aztec, Cheyenne, Crow, Maya and Navajo. Without written records we can't know the rest, but we know we were a part of most if not all peoples in the Americas.
Your ancestors were royalty like Queen Christina of Sweden, who not only refused to marry a man (thereby giving up her claim to the throne), but adopted a male name and set out on horseback to explore Europe alone. Her tutor once said the queen was "not at all like a female." Your heritage also includes the ruler Nzinga of the Ndongo and Matamna Kingdoms (now known as Angola), who was perceived to be biologically female but dressed as male, kept a harem of young men dressed in traditionally-female attire and was addressed as "King." Emperors like Elagalabus are part of your cultural lineage, too. He held marriage ceremonies to both male-identified and female-identified spouses, and was known to proposition men while he was heavily made-up with cosmetics. Caliphs of Cordoba including Hisham II, Abd-ar-Rahman III and Al-Hakam II kept male harems (sometimes in addition to female harems, sometimes in place of them). Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty China was the one whose life gives us the phrase "the passions of the cut sleeve," because when he was asleep with his beloved, Dong Xian, and awoke to leave, he cut off the sleeve of his robe rather than wake his lover.
You are descended from individuals whose mark on the arts is impossible to ignore. These influential creators include composers like Tchaikovsky, painters like Leonardo da Vinci and actors like Greta Garbo. Your forebears painted the Sistine Chapel, recorded the first blues song and won countless Oscars. They were poets, and dancers and photographers. Queer people have contributed so much to the arts that there's an entire guided tour dedicated just to these artists at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
You have the blood of great warriors, like the Amazons, those female-bodied people who took on roles of protection and had scarce time or interest between their brave acts to cater to the needs of men. And your heart beats as bravely as the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes, a group of 150 male-male couples who, in the 4th century B.C.E., were known to be especially powerful fighters because each man fought as though he was fighting for the life of his lover (which he was). But your heritage also includes peacemakers, like Bayard Rustin, a non-violent gay architect of the Black civil rights movement in the U.S.
We redefined words like bear, butch, otter, queen and femme, and created new terms like drag queen, twink and genderqueer. But just because the words like homosexual, bisexual, transgender, intersex and asexual, have been created in the relatively recent past doesn't mean they are anything new. Before we started using today's terms, we were Winkte to the Ogala, A-go-kwe to the Chippewa, Ko'thlama to the Zuni, Machi to the Mapuchi, Tsecats to the Manghabei, Omasenge to the Ambo and Achnutschik to the Konyaga across the continents. While none of these terms identically mirror their more modern counterparts, all refer to some aspect of, or identity related to, same-gender love, same-sex sex or crossing genders.
You are normal. You are not a creation of the modern age. Your identity is not a "trend" or a "fad." Almost every country has a recorded history of people whose identities and behaviors bear close resemblance to what we'd today call bisexuality, homosexuality, transgender identity, intersexuality, asexuality and more. Remember: the way Western culture today has constructed gender and sexuality is not the way it's always been. Many cultures from Papua New Guinea to Peru accepted male-male sex as a part of ritual or routine; some of these societies believed that the transmission of semen from one man to another would make the recipient stronger. In the past, we often didn't need certain words for the same-sex attracted, those of non-binary gender and others who did not conform to cultural expectations of their biological sex or perceived gender because they were not as unusual as we might today assume they were.
Being so unique and powerful has sometimes made others afraid of us. They arrested and tortured and murdered us. We are still executed by governments and individuals today in societies where we were once accepted us as important and equal members of society. They now tell us "homosexuality is un-African" and "there are no homosexuals in Iran." You, and we, know that these defensive comments are not true--but they still hurt. So, when others gave us names like queer and dyke, we reclaimed them. When they said we were recruiting children, we said "I'm here to recruit you!" When they put pink and black triangles on our uniforms in the concentration camps, we made them pride symbols.
Those who challenge our unapologetic presence in today's cultures, who try to deprive us of our rights, who make us targets of violence, remain ignorant of the fact that they, not us, are the historical anomaly. For much of recorded history, persecuting individuals who transgressed their culture's norms of gender and sexuality was frowned upon at worst and unheard of at best. Today, the people who continue to harass us attempt to justify their cruel campaigns by claiming that they are defending "traditional" values. But nothing could be further from the truth.
But now you know they are wrong. Just imagine the world without that first computer or the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, or a huge part of the music you've ever heard from classical Appalachian Spring to classic YMCA (I mean, we've held titles from the "Mother of Blues" to the "King of Latin Pop!"). How much less colorful would the world be without us? I'm grateful that you're here to help carry on our traditions.
So, happy LGBT History Month! I hope to celebrate with you here at Quist. This So, happy LGBT History Month! I hope to celebrate with you here at Quist. This list of LGBTQ history online resources is a good place to start in exploring more specifics about this heritage.
Lesbianamente*,
Sarah Prager
*Actually a term as a way someone signed a letter for a *Actually a term as a way someone signed a letter for a lesbian organization in Mexico decades ago!
This piece was inspired in part by facts and sentiments from Another Mother Tongue by Judy Grahn (published 1984). Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesia edited by Gilbert H. Herdt (published 1993) is also referenced. Many of the referenced facts are cited so many places it has become common knowledge. Christianne Gadd contributed significantly to this piece. This post originally appeared in The Advocate. This piece was inspired in part by facts and sentiments fromAnother Mother Tongueby Judy Grahn (published 1984).Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesiaedited by Gilbert H. Herdt (published 1993) is also referenced. Many of the referenced facts are cited so many places it has become common knowledge. Christianne Gadd contributed significantly to this piece. This post originally appeared inThe world I always imagined. The world I didn’t know…with roads I didn’t know, and people I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to do.
In the second half Nagi no Asukara, the story takes a sharp turn, as Miuna Shiodome becomes the narrator and we wind through five years of time. Much has changed, but much has not, including Miuna and her desire to overcome her weaknesses and find a place to belong. In this sense, Miuna is very similar to that of a hero or princess from a fairytale. What is spectacular however, is that as much as Miuna’s story follows that of a fairytale, it’s also about fairytales, and she is ultimately the one who steers it toward its denouement, rather than fate or other magical circumstances.
After the disappearance of Hikari, Manaka, and Kaname, the story thrusts Miuna into the center, placing her in the same environment that the original group was in. Not only does she find that she has slowly grown right into the place of the people she once admired and cherished, even inhabiting their same classroom and homeroom teacher, but she also finds that she’s not the same Miuna she once was. No longer the baby of her family, Miuna now has a younger brother and thus must shoulder more responsibilities. She also has to face her first love confrontation and her unrequited feelings for a boy that no longer is by her side. It is only when her world is turned upside down through Hikari’s reappearance that Miuna’s fairytale truly begins; just like a fairytale, she awakens him with a kiss, signaling the return of her passionate feelings toward him. But whereas a younger Miuna truly believed these feelings could grow and be returned, this Miuna fully comprehends that Hikari does not love Miuna like she loves him – he only has eyes for Manaka, wanting to be the center of her world.
The dream ignites. Hikari is not only back, but he is in the same class as her, trying to acclimate to a world which is foreign to him. He also lives under the same roof and Miuna is thus allowed to have him to herself. They can walk to school together, be in the same class, and share notes. If this wasn’t enough, things intensify from there when Miuna is thrust into the water, developing Ena and finally gains access to the world she wanted to be a part of. At this stage, Miuna not only feels like she’s closer to Hikari, but closer to the world he was from – closer to the way he chooses to see the world around him, and thus feels like she can enter his story.
Miuna’s fairytale climaxes when she actually enters Shishishio and can actually imagine the fantasy she thought she could only see, but not touch. In these corridors, she sees Hikari, Manaka, Kaname, and Chisaki live their daily lives, and she finally feels like she belongs somewhere. To her, the fairytale is real, and that she can be a part of these people’s lives too, weaving her desires into their memories and living through them. It is here that we see what Miuna truly cherishes more than anything. She seeks to replace herself – the younger, surface-bound Miuna – with a Miuna that can be special, happy, and at the center of everyone’s world. The ultimate princess and the ultimate hero(ine) together.
This dream is shattered however, when Manaka is found. Symbolic of returning to reality, Miuna returns to the surface with the others. From there onward, Miuna is forced to confront her own inner demons and come to terms with her own fairytale, through the medium of not wanting Manaka to wake up. Through a series of emotional trials, not only does she slowly begin understand that she likes Manaka and wants Hikari to be happy, but she also selfishly wants her happiness as well. She doesn’t want Manaka to wake up. She wants her fantasy to last: for her prince to stay, to keep the world she just reached to be in her grasp, and live through these wonderful memories and fantasies. However, as Uroko-sama suggests, the price for happiness may be steeper than one imagines, as Miuna realizes that she has stolen much already – taken Manaka’s Ena for her own. She may wear the Ena, may be close to Hikari, may be able to travel to Shioshishio, but she can never truly replicate the memories and live in the world she desired to be in. Just as Alice must eventually leave Wonderland and wake up from her illusions, Miuna too must face reality: she can’t be the one to save Hikari or to save Manaka. She can only push others in the right direction as she is: a human with Ena, as Miuna Shiodome, and no one other than that. She can only be the heroine of her own story, and not others; live in the world she was born in, not the one of dreams. The looking glass after all, is just a glass, not an entrance into another realm.
By throwing away idealistic dreams, can we attain a path that can lead to happiness? We can never know. Fairytales don’t exist in the real world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to be happy. Happiness can be achieved through other means – friendships, family, and memories. Miuna realizes this, and thus her fairytale isn’t about unrequited love, but bridging herself to a world she always wanted to be in; the fantasy where she could have Ena and experience the rich friendships and currents of emotions with the people she always cared about and be with. It’s about wanting to be in a fairytale – to be happy and live through others vicariously. However, Nagi no Asukara denies this, and says that in order to really grow and be self aware, we just need to live in our own realm to be happy. Maybe just living for ourselves and others (and not through them) is enough. Who knows? Perhaps that’s just enough to find the happiness we’re looking for – and maybe that’s the final answer Miuna will need to achieve her true dream of wanting to belong.Thoughts/Reflections/Emotions on recent times and moving forward ♥
Hello everyone. I’m beginning to write this (on May 22nd 2017) with the knowledge of the fact that I’m most likely going to be kicked from Gale Force eSports and honestly I feel like shit. I know there’s been a lot of drama surrounding GFE in the past and I want to establish the fact that this post isn’t looking to create any of that whatsoever.
I’ve been wanting to write another long post for a while now, as I have done in the past a few times with basically just my thoughts and emotions about my HotS career/life. I hate that the next motivation to vent out emotions is because of these circumstances as opposed to happier ones, but here we are, so bear with me for the ride if you so choose. This will probably be very long – you have been warned.
April 16, 2016. One week after the roster of myself, Michael, Fury, Akaface and Roflcopter was formed, we beat Cloud9 to qualify for Dreamhack Austin, which would be my first ever LAN tournament. At the time that was the best day in my life, by far. My dreams of becoming a pro gamer were finally starting to become real. All the hard work and countless hours, everything was paying off and I started to cry after we won and qualified. There was this barrier between the amateur and profession scene that I was stuck behind for so long, and finally breaking through that hit me like nothing I had ever felt before. I will always remember that feeling, sitting there, leaning back in my dorm room chair not even caring that I was crying really. The feeling was so pure.
Dreamhack Austin was amazing, I was able to see my girlfriend at the time – which was the second time we had been together in person since we met online. I was also able to meet another very close online friend of mine which was awesome. We ended up placing third which we weren’t necessarily disappointed in, but we wanted to do better. Which is exactly what we did after we qualified for the next regional tournament by beating Cloud9 once again.
Winning that regional at the ESL studios in Burbank and holding up that trophy, for the first time quickly took over as the best day in my life, as well as another extraordinary memory that I will never forget. Holding up that trophy and hearing the crowd cheer was so surreal. So quickly I had grown from just some random kid who had a dream to play video games professionally, to literally being the best in North America.
A large reason why I compete is because of the people who influenced me to pursue this dream in the first place. I looked up to those players and thought that what they were doing was the coolest thing in the world. Doing what they love, competing and genuinely inspiring or just giving joy and entertainment to other people who enjoyed the same game, or maybe they didn’t even really care about the game – but they cared about those players.
I wanted to be that player. I wanted to be the one that people watched because they enjoyed it, and to genuinely inspire other people. That’s my biggest drive. I think to some extent I’ve achieved that, and I’m so glad I’ve been able to have an impact already on some people. Honestly though, call it a character flaw or whatever you will, but I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied until I inspire as many people as possible. I’m always striving for more, for better, and I place an extremely high value on improving, no matter what it is in life.
Tangent aside – Winning in Burbank helped me to start accomplishing that dream. That’s summer I streamed a lot and was able to raise $1000 in about 10 days to help buy myself an actual pc, instead of using the laptop I had (Which I used to qualify for both tournaments) and there was so much support in those 10 days it meant the world.
As you all know, after Burbank however, started the decline of results within GFE. I really don’t want to focus on the negatives right now, but many of you know the story already. If not, I’m sure you can bits and pieces out there, from tournament results to roster changes and more.
I feel like theres so much I want to say – because theres so much good that happened since then as well as some of the not so good, for example attending Blizzcon, even though we barely didn’t qualify, were some of the most amazing days of my life. GFE did a fan meet up, and at that point obviously I realized we had fans and people that we’ve inspired and looked up to us, but meeting some of them and just seeing how excited they were to meet me, if only for a moment. I probably felt the most appreciated and respected I ever had in my life and I’m honestly about to tear up right now even recalling all of it.
I wanted to thank each of my teammates since I’ve been on GFE, since day 1. I planned on doing this individually but I’m pretty emotionally exhausted right now, but I think I can say for all of you – Thank you. For everything, we’ve shared dreams and goals together, achieved some, failed at others, but I have the utmost respect for all of you. I’m glad to have to shared a jersey and sat next to each of you and called you my teammates.
Also thank you to Mavnis. Without him, I wouldn’t have been here, but I trusted him and I don’t regret it at all. Without him, I don’t think most of you would even know the name Gale Force eSports. And a lot of you probably don’t know that – How much time and effort he’s put in to make GFE what it is today.
Thank you to the rest of the GFE Management and Staff.
And the biggest thank you to everyone who once believed and still believes in me.
I really want to be able to post this as I’m writing it, but I’m going to wait for the announcement before I do so, maybe I’ll go back and add/edit more. But I’ll likely just keep it as is.
Oh, remember the bit about not being satisfied? I won’t be until I’m a much better player than before, until I remember what victory tastes like again, wherever I end up.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this.
Thank you for the support.
I love you all ♥
P.S. – I’m writing this immediately after my stream/announcement on May 23rd 2017 and thank you all for the support during my stream today. I’m looking for another HGC team and very much still want to play competitively so that is my #1 goal and focus right now. It sucks that this happened, but I’m trying to keep my hopes high that it’ll work out ♥
Reply · Report PostThe founder of Movieguide, a top film-rating organization in Hollywood, is joining a growing call for a boycott of two new movies that feature pedophilia, warning of the dangers that come with themes involving sex with children.
“These despicable movies promote pedophilia, whether intentionally or unintentionally,” said Ted Baehr, who’s well known for his Christian Film & Television Commission work. “There should be a massive public outcry against them. The inclusion of children in sexually explicit films is inappropriate. There also is no excuse for the authorities to allow such material to be shown publicly.”
Baehr cited “Hounddog,” a movie featuring a scene portraying the rape of actress Dakota Fanning, filmed when she was 12, and “Towelhead,” which features 18-year-old actress Summer Bishil playing a 13-year-old Arab-American girl who portrays a “sexual obsession,” experiences “grooming” and other scenes.
“We’ve got to have communities rescue these children. Where’s the sense of shame, outrage, the sense of saying, ‘We’re not going to let this happen,” Baehr told WND. “We cannot do this anymore.”
“The thing we need to do is avoid it,” he said. “These people need to be stopped.”
Dakota Fanning in the controversial “Hounddog” film that features a child-rape scene
Baehr is joined in the boycott call by a pro-family organization in North Carolina, the state where much of the “Hounddog” movie featuring Fanning’s “rape” was filmed.
Under the headline “Child Pornography is Going Mainstream,” on the website of the Concerned Women for America, Donna Miller, a chapter leader in the Fayetteville, N.C., area and director of the No More Child Porn Campaign, also said those who are concerned by the film’s representation by Fanning of “a 9-year-old that is raped by a man in his late teens, after he tricks her into dancing naked,” should protest to authorities.
“Our concern is that this film would say to other children that this behavior is acceptable. As taxpayers here in North Carolina, we’re not happy about this,” Miller said.
She suggested several actions, including contacting U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and the Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, 20530 or 202-353-1555.
“Tell him that you have grave concerns that this film, with its visual representation of a child engaging in sexually suggestive behaviors and being sexually assaulted, opens the door for child pornography to be mainstreamed into the entertainment industry,” she suggested.
She said people also should contact their local theaters and ask them not to show the film, set for release tomorrow.
Miller said her group asked for an investigation into the production of the movie earlier this summer after learning North Carolina taxpayers contributed $387,000 to the film’s expenses.
“It’s shocking that the state of North Carolina paid almost $400,000 in taxpayer credits for this movie,” Baehr told WND. “I can’t imagine the people of North Carolina want to pay out of their hard-earned tax dollars during an economic downturn money for a 21-year-old man to rape a 12-year-old girl.”
Miller said she just wanted to make the public aware of the “mainstreaming of child pornography that is being achieved through the release of this movie.”
Deborah Kampmeier, writer and director, explained in the film’s press kit about Fanning, “She is simply and innocently experiencing and relishing the aliveness of her being, the life force pulsing through her body, celebrating the power and creative force of her sexuality that is her birthright.”
“This movie is about a nine-year-old girl, not an adult woman. She should be outside skipping rope or riding her bike, not ‘celebrating the power and creative force of her sexuality,'” Miller said.
Baehr was more direct.
“For this gruesome director who has wallowed in perversion to say this is the child exploring her sexuality is insane. It’s worse than insane. A child of that age doesn’t understand the consequences,” he said.
The movie triggered a furor at the Sundance Festival last year because of the scene depicting a rape of Fanning.
Others who have raised objections to the movie have included, according to Miller, radio and TV host Sean Hannity, Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman and the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue.
WND broke the story about the controversial movie when there were objections even while it was being made.
Kampmeier already had a reputation for controversial scenes, depicting a young girl who is raped but doesn’t remember the attack and believes she is carrying the Christ child in her earlier work, “Virgin.”
Although there was little interest in the distribution of “Hounddog” initially, it eventually was picked up by Empire Film Group. Spokesman Dean Hamilton-Bornstein called it a “coming-of-age drama that deals with serious issues that should resonate with audiences.”
After its Sundance screening, Rex Gore, the district attorney in Bolivia, N.C., near where much of the movie was filmed, issued a statement to WND that
he found “no violation” of the state’s obscenity or sexual exploitation laws.
He said the movie was saved by its “artistic value.”
“I am aware that there is an outcry from some who find the content of the film disturbing and distasteful. However, public opinion is not the test we
must apply as prosecutors; we must apply the law. North Carolina’s child exploitation statutes do not apply because none of the acts depicted in the
film meet the legal definition of ‘sexual activity’ under our current law,” Gore said at the time.
Baehr didn’t hesitate to respond.
“For the state attorney to even suggest that this was art is absolutely insane. He should take a course in art,” he said.
Dakota Fanning appearing in “Charlotte’s Web”
Carla Roberts, who runs the Yahweh Center Children’s Village for abused or neglected children in
Wilmington, N.C., near where the filming took place, told WND at the time she would have to wonder about the adults responsible for putting a child
in such a position.
The “Hounddog” script revealed the Fanning character’s clothes
dropping to the floor before she sings and an assailant unzipping his jeans.
World Entertainment News Network was one of the first to comment on the scene, calling it a shocker for Fanning’s fans.
“She has shot child rape scenes and appears semi-naked,” the network said.
Fanning’s behavior has been described as more explicit than what was required of Jodie Foster, who as a 12-year-old played a prostitute in “Taxi
Driver,” a 1976 Martin Scorsese production, or Brooke Shields, who was a New Orleans brothel worker in the “Pretty Baby” movie from 1978.
Baehr warned that unless the growing attack on those with faith and values is defeated, America soon will follow the course of other societies that have descended to the point of promoting sexual activity with children.
“We have to say, ‘No, we cannot have a society that is destroying children,'” he said.
“There are things that are happening today that are not as egregious as [in the days of] Nero and Caligula, but they are pushing the envelope in some ways even further,” Baehr said. “History says that it was before the days of Noah when [society] last saw something on this order.”
“Towelhead,” directed by Alan Ball, is about “a young Arab-American girl [who] struggles with her sexual obsession.” The character “navigates the confusing and frightening path of adolescence and her own sexual awakening,” according to a promotional synopsis.
The Los Angeles Times’ review said the movie includes a “discomforting anatomical ‘grooming’ incident between Jasira and the mother’s sleazy boyfriend.”
Blogger Steven Pill said it appears that the public is making its statement already.
“I received a somewhat rueful message of congratulations from Eric Parkinson, the CEO of distribution for Empire Film Group,” he wrote recently. “According to him, more than 200 theaters across the country had cancelled their scheduled screenings of the motion picture ‘Hounddog,’ citing pressure from ‘vocal groups.'”The globe's worst food crisis in a generation emerged as a blip on the big boards and computer screens of America's great grain exchanges. At first, it seemed like little more than a bout of bad weather.
In Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City, traders watched from the pits early last summer as wheat prices spiked amid mediocre harvests in the United States and Europe and signs of prolonged drought in Australia. But within a few weeks, the traders discerned an ominous snowball effect -- one that would eventually bring down a prime minister in Haiti, make more children in Mauritania go to bed hungry, even cause American executives at Sam's Club to restrict sales of large bags of rice.
As prices rose, major grain producers including Argentina and Ukraine, battling inflation caused in part by soaring oil bills, were moving to bar exports on a range of crops to control costs at home. It meant less supply on world markets even as global demand entered a fundamentally new phase. Already, corn prices had been climbing for months on the back of booming government-subsidized ethanol programs. Soybeans were facing pressure from surging demand in China. But as supplies in the pipelines of global trade shrank, prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, rice and other grains began shooting through the roof.
At the same time, food was becoming the new gold. Investors fleeing Wall Street's mortgage-related strife plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into grain futures, driving prices up even more. By Christmas, a global panic was building. With fewer places to turn, and tempted by the weaker dollar, nations staged a run on the American wheat harvest.
Foreign buyers, who typically seek to purchase one or two months' supply of wheat at a time, suddenly began to stockpile. They put in orders on U.S. grain exchanges two to three times larger than normal as food riots began to erupt worldwide. This led major domestic U.S. mills to jump into the fray with their own massive orders, fearing that there would soon be no wheat left at any price.
"Japan, the Philippines, [South] Korea, Taiwan -- they all came in with huge orders, and no matter how high prices go, they keep on buying," said Jeff Voge, chairman of the Kansas City Board of Trade and also an independent trader. Grains have surged so high, he said, that some traders are walking off the floor for weeks at a time, unable to handle the stress.
"We have never seen anything like this before," Voge said. "Prices are going up more in one day than they have during entire years in the past. But no matter the price, there always seems to be a buyer.... This isn't just any commodity. It is food, and people need to eat."
Beyond Hunger
The food price shock now roiling world markets is destabilizing governments, igniting street riots and threatening to send a new wave of hunger rippling through the world's poorest nations. It is outpacing even the Soviet grain emergency of 1972-75, when world food prices rose 78 percent. By comparison, from the beginning of 2005 to early 2008, prices leapt 80 percent, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Much of the increase is being absorbed by middle men -- distributors, processors, even governments -- but consumers worldwide are still feeling the pinch.
The convergence of events has thrown world food supply and demand out of whack and snowballed into civil turmoil. After hungry mobs and violent riots beset Port-au-Prince, Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis was forced to step down this month. At least 14 countries have been racked by food-related violence. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is struggling for political survival after a March rebuke from voters furious over food prices. In Bangladesh, more than 20,000 factory workers protesting food prices rampaged through the streets two weeks ago, injuring at least 50 people.
To quell unrest, countries including Indonesia are digging deep to boost food subsidies. The U.N. World Food Program has warned of an alarming surge in hunger in areas as far-flung as North Korea and West Africa. The crisis, it fears, will plunge more than 100 million of the world's poorest people deeper into poverty, forced to spend more and more of their income on skyrocketing food bills.
"This crisis could result in a cascade of others... and become a multidimensional problem affecting economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.
The New Normal
Prices for some crops -- such as wheat -- have already begun to descend off their highs. As farmers rush to plant more wheat now that profit prospects have climbed, analysts predict that prices may come down as much as 30 percent in the coming months. But that would still leave a year-over-year price hike of 45 percent. Few believe prices will go back to where they were in early 2006, suggesting that the world must cope with a new reality of more expensive food.Conservative leadership hopeful Andrew Scheer is accusing possible candidate Kevin O'Leary of trying to avoid an all-French debate in two weeks.
Scheer released a statement Tuesday urging the Montreal-born businessman to formalize his candidacy and participate in the Quebec City event Jan.17.
"If Kevin wants to run, it's time to fish or cut bait," Scheer said. "It is not |
tiny, interlocking bricks of plastic.
No Gimmicks for this Gown
Designer Jessica Rosenkrantz made sure the gown was more than mere gimmickry. Buttons, cleverly modeled into the triangles make it easy to don and doff. Unlike other 3-D printed clothing that feels like a suit of armor, the long dress flows and moves as the model strides and twirls.
Comfort was a key concern. Rosenkrantz wore 3-D printed jewelry for weeks at a time in an attempt to catch design features that chafe. She built her wardrobe piece by piece, starting with a bracelet, then a belt, and finally a bodice before moving on to a dress. Rosenkrantz brought an old-school tailor's approach to the project, but was happy to leverage modern technology. For example, 3-D scans of the model's body ensured a perfect fit. She worked with Shapeways to optimize the print quality and aesthetics. As a result, her garment and its Github repository recently were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art.
Making It Work
Nervous System originally developed the Kinematics concept as part of a project for Google. The goal was to help add bit of cool to a pavilion promoting Android phones. Nervous System figured out how to print bracelets on MakerBots by reducing dimensional designs to flat pieces of plastic that could be printed in under an hour and folded like origami. Google was pleased with the promotion, but Nervous System believed the concept could be used to make garments. "We’d done some simulations and made some animations showing that we could do it hypothetically," says Rosenkrantz.
The dress folds to accommodate the size of the 3D-printer. WIRED/Source
These hypothetical simulations precipitated a software engineering effort one year in the making. Scaling up from a wrist-worn wearables to cocktail dress posed a particular challenge. The hinges linking the triangles must be small enough to let the fabric flow, but robust enough to avoid a wardrobe malfunction.
These mechanical challenges were exacerbated by limitations in 3-D printing technology. Pieces made with the technology have a grain, like wood, and certain orientations create stronger parts. The solution was to revamp the software. "We were able to do so much design-wise without ever printing anything," says Rosenkrantz. "We knew not only exactly what the final piece would look like but also how it would behave." Simulating folds was slow and inaccurate at first. Test prints of belts with 77 hinges worked beautifully, but scaling up to the 700 or more needed to create a dress repeatedly broke the software. Physics engines were tossed aside like fabric swatches.
Originally, the simulator would fold the clothes down into a ball. "Sort of like you are wadding clothes up to toss in you hamper," says Rosenkrantz. "It looked cool but it wasn’t the most efficient way to get the volume of our designs down." So Rosenkrantz and partner Jesse Louis-Rosenberg developed a collision-based simulator that replicates how one might fold clothes to put them in a drawer.
The hinged sections give the garment structure but still let it flow freely. WIRED/Source
The project pushed design, fashion, and fabrication in surprising ways. "To 3-D print structures in this crazy compressed form and have them unfold; that almost sounds like science fiction," says Rosenkrantz. "Frankly, when you work on something complex like this in a completely digital world for so long, the biggest surprise is that it actually works as intended, from the compressing to the fit, draping, and movement."
Printing also required special development. Nervous System needed to develop new tools to load its software. "We've been working with Nervous and our community over the years to push the machines to their limits," says Carine Carmy of Shapeways. "From how densely we can pack the trays so you can print 1,000 products at once versus just one, to how long you need to run them so we can produce products more quickly, to how precise and detailed the prints can be so that you can design with micron precision."
Ready to Wear?
Next up for Nervous System is improving the speed and adding new mechanisms and structures that will allow simulating different materials—think of a stout tweed versus a gossamer silk. Ultimately, the team thinks can be expanded for other applications like Skylar Tibbits Hyperform project.
At $3,000 a pop, Nervous System isn't quite ready to commercialize its wearable wares. "That is a very high number although perhaps considerably lower than the price of most other 3-D printed garments," she says. "We’re hoping to bring the price down before we start selling clothing."The inspiration for a bike build can come from the most unlikely of sources. In the case of this most unusual BMW sprint bike, it was a vintage M&H Racemaster drag tire.
The tire belonged to the amiable Séb Lorentz of The Lucky Cat Garage, a familiar face on the European custom show circuit. While Séb was figuring out what to do with the slick, his family provided the answer: they bought him an Airtech dustbin fairing as a present. All Séb needed now was a frame, two wheels and an engine.
Séb is not only an accomplished builder, but also works for BMW Motorrad France. And so the Sprintbeemer was born—a bike focused on speed and acceleration, with a hefty dash of style. “It has to look fast to frighten competitors,” he laughs. The goal was audacious: to win the Starr Wars sprint race at the huge Glemseck 101 festival in Germany.
Sprintbeemer is a cocktail of parts from the 50s to the 90s, with an S 1000 RR superbike battery hiding in there somewhere. The modified chassis was an R50/2 in a previous life, and the shortened fork and front stoppers have been swiped from a R75/5. Séb added an air scoop and vent holes to the drum brake, and machined the wheel hub to save weight.
The swingarm is from a BMW R100/7 and the rear end is suspended by adjustable billet aluminum struts, hidden inside vintage shock covers. Power goes through a short-ratio R60/6 transmission. The drag slick that started it all has been mounted onto an 18” Morad wheel, with an Avon Speedmaster wrapped round the 19” Excel front rim.
Séb is not sure what the tank is, though. It’s an unbranded barn find, maybe from a 1950s French or Italian sport moped. It’s been treated to a high-flow petcock, an aluminum cap and an engine temperature meter.
Just ahead are a Scitsu tachometer and Menani clip-ons—wearing black glitter Amal-style grips—and a Domino GP throttle. The aluminum seat pan is handmade, and the silver bottle just head of the rear wheel is an oil catch can—a modified emergency tank from Mooneyes in Japan.
The star of the show is the engine, though. It’s an R 100 RS motor treated to big valves, breathing through Dell’Orto PHM 40 carbs. A 336-spec cam and lightened flywheel help the motor spin up fast, and Vattier race headers hooked up to race megaphones complete the package. The clutch is essentially stock, but beefed up with an HPN ceramic plate, and the R 100 R gearbox has inverted gears for faster and easier shifting.
But just as the bike was coming together, luck ran out: Séb broke his leg badly in a BMX crash and ended up in a wheelchair. Friends rallied round to help, and Sprintbeemer was finished—the night before the journey over the border to Glemseck.
Sylvain Berneron—aka Holographic Hammer—drove Séb and his bike to Glemseck in a truck. Sylvain then donned leathers and a helmet and sent Sprintbeemer screaming down the track to victory, adding to the trophy he won on his own Suzuki at Wheels & Waves.
As winter approaches in France, Séb is rolling the BMW back into his workshop. But keep an eye out for it in the spring. With a new, shorter-ratio transmission due to be installed, Sprintbeemer promises to be even faster next year.
Images by Daniel Beres. Follow the adventures of Séb via his Facebook page.Listen Feed Genre Listeners Player Selection Links Status Clackamas County Law Enforcement
Sheriff (incl. Oregon City, Gladstone, Canby, Molalla, Wilsonville, Sandy), Lake Oswego/West Linn, Milwaukie Public Safety
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Monitoring the following talk groups on the Clackmas County portion of the Washington County / Clackamas County / Newberg radio system (in order of priority):
64912 CCOM Law Dispatch 1
57776 Lake Oswego PD LAW 1 (LOCOM)
50928 Milwaukie Police Dispatch
64880 CCOM Law Dispatch 2
64848 CCOM Law Dispatch 3
57744 Lake Oswego PD LAW 2
Feed now uses 2 RTL SDRs and UniTrunker; higher-prriority channels should preempt lower-priority ones. is located in the Willow Creek area.
More information is available on the Clackamas County (OR) RadioReference wiki page
This scanner is NOT affiliated with CCOM and is subject to possible downtime due to electrical, internet, or equipment failureThis article is over 2 years old
Organisers say Zara Holland has been ‘de-crowned’ after scenes showing her getting intimate with Alex Bowen
The reigning Miss Great Britain, Zara Holland, has been stripped of her title after having sex on ITV2 reality show Love Island.
Beauty pageant organisers said they had “no problem with sex” but said they could not condone Holland’s relationship with 24-year-old scaffolder Alex Bowen.
Wednesday’s episode of the show, watched by around a million viewers, featured the two in bed together and what one insider described as a “look of delight” on Bowen’s face.
Gary Barlow teams up with BBC for Take That talent show Let It Shine Read more
Although no explicit scenes were shown, it was readily apparent what had happened from comments that were featured in the following night’s programme.
Love Island presenter Caroline Flack criticised the decision, saying Holland was a “very sweet girl. What even is Miss GB? Are we living in the dark ages?”
caroline flack (@carolineflack1) Feel even more sorry for Zara now she's been de-crowned. She's a very sweet girl. What even is'miss GB'? Are we living in the dark ages?
In a statement, Miss Great Britain organisers said they had taken the decision with “deep regret”.
“We pride ourselves on promoting the positivity of pageants in modern society and this includes the promotion of a strong, positive female role model in our winners,” they said.
“The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward.
“We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.”
Miss Great Britain ® (@Official_MissGB) To be clear we have no problem at all with sex-it is perfectly natural.We simply can't condone what happened on national tv
A spokesman for the programme said Holland had been informed about the decision and had chosen to stay on the show.
The current series of Love Island, which first aired on ITV in 2005, has featured a penis moulding contest and a “girl on girl sock wrestling championship” in a paddling pool of jelly.
John Plunkett (@johnplunkett149) Love Island girl on girl sock wrestling championship - in full(ish) https://t.co/ylpGViFWxd
The now former Miss GB told fellow contestants on Thursday she regretted her decision to sleep with Bowen, the former boyfriend of Loose Women star Vicky Pattison, the winner of I’m a Celebrity in 2015.
She told the cameras: “You know when you’re in the moment and it just happens. That’s really not like me at all. Why couldn’t we have just gone to sleep?”
Around 70 cameras follow the contestants’ every move, with a reputed 1,000 condoms placed strategically around the villa.
Contestants face a “race against time” to couple up, with anyone who stays single in danger of being eliminated from the show and missing out on the £50,000 cash prize.
New features on the show this year include an outdoor gym and a redesigned hideaway for couples’ “one-on-one action”.
Presenter Flack said the sex on the show sometimes made her cringe. “I had to have my fingers in my ears for certain parts,” she said, before the current series’ transmission.
“I could watch it, no problem, but I preferred watching it to listening to it. I don’t like hearing those noises!”
Holland will be replaced by runner-up Deone Robertson, who had been crowned Miss North Lanarkshire.
The organisation said they would meet Holland on her return to the UK from the house in Majorca “to fully explain our decision and will wish her the very best going forward”.
● This article was amended on 17 June 2016 to remove a reference to the Miss World competition. Miss World is open to Miss England, Miss Wales, Miss Scotland and Miss Northern Ireland, but not Miss Great Britain, which is a separate event."Kendrick Johnson" redirects here. For the American professional basketball player, see Kendrick Johnson (basketball)
Death of Kendrick Johnson Johnson, circa 2012 Date January 11, 2013 ( ) Location Gymnasium, Lowndes High School, Valdosta, Georgia, USA Cause Contested.
1st autopsy: accidental, positional asphyxia.
2nd autopsy: blunt force trauma.
3rd autopsy: apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma. Inquiries U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia
Federal Bureau of Investigation Litigation Wrongful death, Kendrick Johnson's family vs. Lowndes County Board of Education and school officials.
Conspiracy to cover up murder, Kendrick Johnson's family vs. 38 respondents. Jackie and Kenneth Johnson sued for defamation, and defendant's legal expenses.
On January 11, 2013, Kendrick Johnson's body was discovered inside a rolled up mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, in the U.S. state of Georgia, where he was a student.[1][2][3] A preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that the death was accidental. Johnson's family had a private pathologist conduct a second autopsy which concluded that Johnson died from blunt force trauma. On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. On June 20, 2016, the US DOJ announced that it would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death. [4] Kendrick Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 individuals. The lawsuit alleged that Johnson's death was a murder and accused the respondents of a conspiracy to cover up the homicide. That lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn. A judge ordered the Johnsons and their attorney to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the defendants.[5][6][7] The judge in that case accused the Johnsons and their attorney of fabricating evidence to support their claims.[8]
Death [ edit ]
Initial investigation [ edit ]
Johnson was found headfirst in the center of a rolled up wrestling mat, in his high school gym, on January 11, 2013. His body was discovered by students who had climbed up to the top of a cluster of mats, each of which stood nearly six feet tall and three feet wide.[9] An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Johnson had died from positional asphyxia,[10] and the case was ruled an accidental death by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.[1]
They hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out.[10] Three students told investigators that it was common for some students to store their shoes behind or under the rolled up mats. Johnson was not wearing shoes when he was found.[9] A student at the school said that he shared a pair of Adidas shoes with Johnson, and that after gym class Johnson would always "go to the mats, jump up and toss the shoes inside the middle of the hole."[9]
Lt. Stryde Jones, who headed up the investigation for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office stated: "We never had credible information that indicated this was anything other than an accident."[9] Johnson's family questioned this hypothesis. Unsatisfied with the result of the investigation, Johnson's family hired an independent autopsy conducted by Dr. William R. Anderson with Forensic Dimensions in Heathrow, Florida on June 15th. Dr Anderson claimed that his findings indicate traces of blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues, and suggested the death was not accidental.[1][11]
Subsequent events and legal actions [ edit ]
After the opinion of the private pathologist was released, Johnson's family stated that they believed Johnson had been murdered.[10] The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump.[12] On October 31, 2013, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that the office would open a formal review into the death of Johnson.[4] Benjamin Crump's application to the Georgia court to practice in Georgia representing Kendrick's parents was not ruled on, and he withdrew from representing the Johnson family and is no longer participating in the case.[13]
Johnson's family filed a legal action to open a coroner's inquiry into his death. When the judge in that case delayed a decision, pending the outcome of the U.S. District Attorney review, the family demanded that the governor of Georgia immediately authorize the inquiry instead. The Johnson family, together with the NAACP and other civil rights activists, then held a rally at the state capitol in Atlanta.[12] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. Attorney.[10]
Johnson's body in the gym mat after it was moved onto its side. The gym mat was discovered standing upright.
Body [ edit ]
The independent autopsy found, among other things, that Johnson's body was stuffed with newspapers.[10][14] The funeral home that processed the body following the GBI's autopsy stated that they never received Johnson's organs from the coroner. Johnson's internal organs were said to have been "destroyed through natural process" and "discarded by the prosector before the body was sent back to Valdosta," according to the funeral home owner.[1] That left a void, which the funeral home filled.[10] The funeral home owner stated that it is standard practice to fill a void in this fashion, and that cotton or sawdust may also be employed for this purpose.[10][14] Johnson's family filed a complaint, with a regulatory body, against the funeral home operator.[10]
A subsequent investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State's office found that the funeral home did not follow "best practice" and that other material was "more acceptable than newspaper". Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing.[15] A spokesperson for the Secretary of State said that the investigation found that the funeral home "didn't violate any rules".[16] The Johnson family subsequently filed a civil suit against the funeral home, seeking money damages.[15]
Johnson's family requested that his body be exhumed for a second time and was granted permission by Valdosta city officials. On June 22, 2018, Kendrick Johnson's body was exhumed. [17]
Surveillance tape [ edit ]
Surveillance footage of Johnson entering the gymnasium shortly before he died
In November 2013, 290 hours of surveillance tape from 35 cameras that covered the gym area was released to CNN following a court request.[18] A forensic analyst enlisted by CNN found that tapes from two cameras are missing an hour and five minutes of footage, while another set was missing two hours and ten minutes of footage.[9] However, some apparent lapses in coverage were found to result from camera systems that were not synchronized with one another. Time stamps between some separate camera systems differed by as much as 20 minutes for the same time period, giving the impression of a "gap" where no gap existed.[19] Other "missing" footage was the result of inactivity within the camera's view. Camera systems were motion activated, using a change in light pixels to turn recordings on and off.[19] The area where Johnson's body was discovered, where the gym mats were stored, was outside the range of all of the surveillance cameras.
Attorneys for the Johnson family expressed fears that the camera footage was edited as part of a "cover-up".[9] However, a detailed analysis of the camera systems by the Valdosta Daily Times explained the anomalies, casting significant doubt on the idea of a cover-up.[19] Both the president of the Valdosta-Lowndes County chapter of the SCLC and the former lead investigator for that chapter have stated that they believe the attorneys for the Johnsons have "not been entirely truthful in their statements" and that there is no cover-up in this case.[20]
Legal actions [ edit ]
The family of Kendrick Johnson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the high school principal. The suit alleged that Johnson "was violently assaulted, severely injured, suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, and subjected to insult and loss of life" on January 10, 2013. While the lawsuit did not name the person or persons allegedly involved in the January 10 event, nor identify the race of alleged perpetrators, it implied a race-based dimension to the hypothetical assault. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student.[21] It alleged that Johnson was attacked on a bus trip, 14 months prior to his death. The lawsuit further alleged that another student "had a history of provoking and attacking" Johnson at school, stating that the provocations took place "in the presence of the coaching staff and employees" of the school, after his mother complained about previous attacks. The suit also alleged that school officials failed to "properly monitor the activities of students throughout all areas" of the campus and to "maintain a properly functioning video surveillance system."[21]
In August 2014, the parents of Brian and Brandon Bell filed a $5 million lawsuit against Ebony Magazine after the magazine published a series of articles naming two students as possible suspects in the death.[22] The magazine used pseudonyms but was otherwise accurate in descriptions of the boys, including the fact that their father was an FBI agent. The article used as a source an anonymous email to the sheriff's office alleging that the younger of the two brothers killed Johnson after learning that Johnson had sex with the brother's girlfriend. Rick and Karen Bell assert that their sons were not involved in the death, are not considered suspects, and have been harassed as a result of the publication.[23]
In January 2015, Kendrick Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of DeKalb County against 38 individuals. Respondents include three of Johnson's classmates (two or three respondents are unnamed) and local, state, and federal officials: the school superintendent of Lowndes County, the Valdosta-Lowndes crime lab, the police chief of Valdosta, many sheriff's deputies, the city of Valdosta, the state medical examiner, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its five agents, and an FBI agent. The lawsuit alleged that the FBI agent ordered his two sons and a classmate to attack Johnson. Kendrick Johnson's family alleged that his death was a murder and accused the respondents of a conspiracy to cover up the homicide.[24] Jim Elliott, the Lowndes County Attorney, stated that the allegations are "unfounded" and "baseless" and that any response would be made in court.[24] All local Superior Court judges recused themselves from presiding over the case preventing the lawsuit from being filed and heard in Lowndes County. The judges' reason was because of their close proximity to the accused. For that reason, Chief Judge Harry J. Altman stated that it was inappropriate for these judges to preside over the case.[24] Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, said in a statement that a federal investigation was still open and that "the investigation has proven more complicated and taken longer than originally anticipated."[24] U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore has since resigned.[25] After Michael Moore resigned, the case was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio under the leadership of Steven Dettlebach.[26] Shortly after receiving the Kendrick Johnson case, U.S. attorney Steven Dettlebach resigned. Despite these resignations, the Department of Justice investigation continued, according to Department of Justice spokesman Michael Tobin.[27]
In November 2015, the DOJ filed a motion in the civil case to intervene and stay the case. The U.S. Attorney said allowing evidence discovery in the civil suit to continue would have a “chilling effect” on the federal investigation, which had expanded into investigating possible obstruction and grand jury witness tampering.[28] After the DOJ's motion was denied, Jackie and Kenneth Johnson dismissed their own wrongful death lawsuit, saying that they hoped to refile it after the conclusion of the DOJ's investigation.[29] Jackie and Kenneth Johnson were subsequently sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees[30] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages.[31]
On June 20, 2016, the US DOJ announced that they would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death, stating "After extensive investigation into this tragic event, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone or some group of people willfully violated Kendrick Johnson's civil rights or committed any other prosecutable federal crime."[32]
On August 10, 2017, a judge ruled that Johnson's family and their attorney must pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the dozens of people they accused of foul play in a lawsuit that they previously dropped.[33]
See also [ edit ]Fiona Apple has a message for Donald Trump, and it’s not congratulatory.
On Sunday, the singer performed her anti-Trump “Christmas Song” parody, “Trump’s Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” at a Standing Rock benefit concert in Los Angeles.
The track, which Apple released earlier this month, features lyrics like: “Trump’s nuts roasting on an open fire / As he keeps nipping at his foes / You’ll cry creepy uncle / Every time he arrives / or he keeps clawing at your clothes.”
As she performed the tune, with the help of a jazzy backing band, the crowd laughed and cheered at the words. When it came time for the final line, Apple yelled, “Donald Trump, f**k you,” into the mic, letting her true feelings show. In response, the audience went wild.MUMBAI (Reuters) - Some of India’s biggest automakers and retailers announced price cuts on Saturday as Asia’s third-largest economy switched to a new nationwide sales tax at the stroke of midnight, replacing a host of provincial and national levies.
A cloth merchant wears a message pinned to his shirt during a protest against implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on textiles in Kolkata, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
The Goods and Services Tax (GST), India’s biggest tax reform in the 70 years since independence from British colonial rule, unifies the $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into one of the world’s biggest common markets.
Maruti Suzuki Ltd (MRTI.NS), India’s biggest carmaker by sales, dropped prices on some models by up to 3 percent, passing the “entire benefit of GST rates” to customers.
Maruti, however, said prices of two mild hybrid models had increased under the GST regime, following withdrawal of tax concessions.
Tata Motors’ luxury British arm, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has reduced prices for all cars manufactured in India by up to 7 percent, a spokeswoman for the company told Reuters.
Hypermarket Big Bazaar, owned by Future Retail Ltd (FRTL.NS), announced discounts of 2 percent to 22 percent on groceries and household supplies across its stores in 26 states.
Fashion portal Myntra, part of India’s biggest online retailer Flipkart, was also offering GST discounts.
In Bhubaneswar, the capital of eastern Odisha state, customers queued up outside shops and malls, which remained open till late Friday night to clear stocks of watches, electronic gadgets, cosmetics and gold at discounted rates before the GST regime kicked off at midnight.
Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were seen celebrating the launch of the GST with firecrackers on Friday evening and by painting “Welcome GST” slogans on roads.
The federal government is encouraging all business to migrate to the new GST system but its complexity - four rates and several exemptions - has still kept many at bay.
“We will continue as usual unless we see trouble,” said a 35-year-old grocer in Bhubaneswar who has not yet registered for the GST.
India’s northern Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir is yet to implement the GST as the provincial government grapples to arrive at a consensus with the opposition and other stakeholders.
Traders in Kashmir Valley have called for a day’s strike on Saturday to protest the GST.
“Though we have missed the (July 1) deadline, we will wish to take everybody along before taking any decision,” Public Works Minister Naeem Akhtar said.Sacramento
Believe it or not, but the incoming Trump administration is a godsend for California’s increasingly left-wing political leadership. Note how Democratic elected officials are tripping all over themselves, competing to make the most outrageous attention-grabbing boasts about their plans to fight against the new GOP presidency.
Suddenly, these legislators face the prospect of relevancy, real or rhetorical. Until Trump’s ascension, California’s pols could hardly get much attention — except as weird left-coast folks determined to send their tax base to Texas. Even President Obama sometimes treated California the way one would treat a precocious child. But now things could become contentious as the nation’s most populous and liberal state becomes the test case for the fundamentally conservative idea that states are free to stand up to the federal behemoth.
“Donald Trump’s election was a shocking mistake of historical proportions. His dangerous ideas and policies threaten the freedom, the safety and the prosperity of every American,” said Tom Steyer, the billionaire Democratic donor and possible gubernatorial hopeful at a California Democratic Party confab earlier in the month. “This is our moment. We will rise to the occasion because there is no one else.”
Not to be outdone, Gov. Jerry Brown told the New York Times: “I wouldn’t underestimate California’s resolve if everything moves in this extreme climate denial direction. Yes, we will take action.” Brown said our state will launch its “own damn satellites” if necessary. “We’ve got the scientists, we’ve got the lawyers and we’re ready to fight,” he told the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
Senate Majority Leader Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, has vowed to fight Trump on stepped-up efforts to deport illegal immigrants. And local politicians have been rushing to pass “sanctuary city” resolutions that would limit the ability of police agencies to cooperate with the federal authorities. Some cities already do this, but others are joining the fray.
One of the driving forces of the state’s progressive politics is the idea that California is a special place where high-minded experts can implement policies that would be verboten in the rest of America’s rube-infested backwaters. I’ve listened to countless Assembly and Senate floor speeches, where legislators invoke California’s role as a world leader.
Indeed, its first-in-the-nation cap-and-trade system wasn’t designed to improve the Earth’s climate, but to prod other states and nations into embracing similar policies. This attitude isn’t new, but it works best when there’s some outside enemy. Gov. Hiram Johnson, elected in 1906, instituted our far-reaching brand of direct democracy to take on the railroads and robber barons, and his progressive vision has been a backdrop to our politics ever since.
In fact, the more we go our own way the happier our politicians seem to be. Officials in many other states are eager to build new highways and infrastructure to meet a growing population. Years ago, I recall Gov. Gray Davis boasting that the era of freeway building is over. As our traditional infrastructure becomes overburdened and downright dangerous, the state’s leaders are focused on spending more than $68 billion on a High Speed Rail boondoggle even though we already have a quick, inexpensive, and simple way to get from Los Angeles to San Francisco and other cities (Southwest Airlines).
So we get to watch the Brown administration push forward a “bullet train” that won’t be particularly fast (it is now planned to share rail lines with commuter trains in the L.A. basin and the Bay Area) and doesn’t live up to most of the promises made to voters, who approved initial bond funding for the project in a 2008 initiative. But no matter. That’s the progressive way — the wise leaders know what’s best. If the citizenry complains about broken promises, then there’s always a way to overrule them through the bureaucracy or court system.
Obviously, California isn’t the only place where elected officials — Democrat and Republican — run roughshod over the lowly taxpayers, but we have elevated it to an art form here. The state is so large (nearly 800 miles from Baja California to Oregon), populous (38.5 million people and growing), and economically powerful (sixth in global ranking) that its leaders often act as if they are leaders of a country rather than a mere state. Now they relish their chance to stand up to a hostile administration in Washington, D.C.
National publications have made sport of the Cal-Exit plan, but that’s just silliness. A group of progressives has been pushing a secession movement — an effort to actually break away from the United States and form a new country. That began before Trump, but the election has given it new impetus and attention. But there’s no way this is going to happen. Their proposed 2018 initiative wouldn’t be binding. Congress isn’t going to allow an exit from the United States under any scenario.
Plans to break California into two or more states aren’t so crazy, from a policy standpoint. There’s nothing sacrosanct about our current arbitrarily created borders, and there have been myriad such proposals since California became a state in 1850. But such ideas are not politically feasible. I doubt Congress would approve several new senators from the states formerly known as California, to mention just one major obstacle.
Following the inauguration, California will continue to go its own way legislatively. A list of new laws for the new year include many of the various progressive fixations — more gun control, more aggressive climate-change targets, higher minimum wages and more employer mandates, new rules regarding bathrooms for transgendered people, higher smoking ages, etc. Expect more of the same, except that Democrats will have an easier time of things now that they control supermajorities in both houses.
None of that is anything new, but we could see some serious showdowns between the Trump administration and the newly energized California Democratic leadership over immigration policies and climate-change rules. The question is whether the new president will call California’s bluff. If he does, the face-offs could become entertaining. Will Brown and company stand firm if there’s a price to pay? Will the state’s leaders be willing to lose federal immigration or transportation funding if they choose to thumb their nose at the feds? Will federal immigration enforcement insist on having access to, say, gang databases and other records? If so, might we see county sheriffs — or even Gov. Brown — standing on courthouse or jailhouse steps refusing access to federal agents? The possibilities are endless. I wouldn’t bet on any profiles in courage here in Sacramento, but our state might find itself in the center of the national political conversation for the first time in years.Rumors have flooded the interwebs regarding twin sisters, Nicole Napolitano and Teresa Aprea, quitting the “Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
The chatter started when husband of Amber Marchese, Jim Marchese tweeted:
“the twins quit because of this, so I guess Bravo is trying to soften the blow in case they want them back”
I’m told EXCLUSIVELY, the twins did indeed quit the show but their resignation was short-lived.
According to my source, Nicole and Teresa (TuuRessa) were distraught after learning Victoria Gotti filmed a scene revealing the alleged family secret regarding their mother sleeping with Rino (TuuRessa’s husband) and suffered a meltdown of epic proportions. I’m told all hell breaks loose on the cast trip to Florida and the sisters refused to film. However, with a some coaxing and promises from producers, the twins gave in and continued filming.
The twins have responded to the rumor, they both deny quitting the show.
“Like” us on Facebook “Follow” us on Twitter and on InstagramHouse Republicans set the stage Thursday for an intense sprint toward a landmark tax overhaul, overcoming internal dissension and Democratic opposition to move forward with legislation that could cut revenue by up to $1.5 trillion over the coming decade.
Budget legislation passed Thursday will allow the GOP to pass its tax plan without Democratic help, but the close 216-to-212 House vote reflected ongoing tensions about the tax push among Republicans — and many expect the qualms to grow once draft legislation is released next week.
Leaders are aiming to pass tax legislation through each chamber before Thanksgiving, with the differences to then be hashed out before year's end, and then send a bill to President Trump for his signature.
At issue are significant changes to the individual tax code that stand to affect virtually every American taxpayer, including the elimination of personal exemptions and many popular itemized deductions, an increase in the standard deduction and a reduction in the number of tax brackets.
On the corporate side, Republicans are pursuing a dramatic rate cut, from 35 percent to 20 percent, a complete overhaul of how overseas profits are taxed and a new treatment for business profits that are "passed through" to be taxed as individual income.
Each provision touched by the GOP plan carries the potential to generate opposition that could scuttle the whole effort, |
of the single market” and the guidance, probably not read by most people, merely warned of the risks of losing “full” access to the single market, not of crashing out altogether.
The government is trying to make the best of a bad job by recognising the need for an industrial strategy – anathema to Mrs Thatcher’s governments – with the emphasis on the advanced technology in which it believes the UK has a comparative advantage. But as the veteran British industrialist Tom Brown points out in his book Tragedy and Challenge, an enthralling account of Britain’s industrial decline, the best market for our advanced exports is the EU, from which the Brexiters wish to depart, not the distant, and much smaller, markets on which they waste their fantasies.
Brown’s book constitutes a stark reminder of how successive governments have wasted so much time in the search for the Holy Grail.
After monetarism and the ERM, they saw salvation in the pursuit of inflation targets. In a seminal lecture last week on the mishandling of our relationship with the rest of the EU by both Tony Blair and David Cameron, Sir Ivan Rogers, formerly our ambassador to the EU, noted the connection between that obsession with inflation and the referendum disaster.
In his previous capacity as principal private secretary to the prime minister, Rogers witnessed what proved to be a fatal misjudgment. While other countries were phasing in entry from eastern Europe into their labour forces, Tony Blair was urged by Bank of England governor Mervyn King “to open the labour market without transition on the grounds that it would help lower wage growth and inflation”.
And here we are …
• Follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk, or sign up to the daily Business Today email here.Tesla, the fastest-growing stock in the automotive industry, is run by a software engineer. Amazon has a market cap three times bigger than Target, even though it operates at a loss. Instagram, a company with only thirteen employees at the time, was acquired for a billion dollars just three months after Kodak filed for bankruptcy. These are technology companies doing extraordinary things. But there is a larger pattern here. The dominant players in video, music, retail, recruiting, and direct marketing are also companies that operate like tech startups. This phenomenon is spreading, and soon enough every category on the planet will be shaken up.
Technology – software in particular – has had a destabilizing effect on traditional business models. The proliferation of personal computing power has leveled the playing field in almost every industry. As products and the means to create them have become digitized (often referred to as software eating the world), production capability has grown more accessible and portable. And the acceleration of that trend (driven by Moore’s Law) means that every single day it gets easier for someone else to compete with your product or service, and to do it better, faster, and cheaper. It used to be that the best day to start your business was yesterday. Now, due to the constant expansion of what you’re able to invent in your garage, tomorrow is almost always a more advantageous starting point.
Speed and access changes everything. Due to the forces above, massive organizations are feeling intense pressure to innovate, as unencumbered startups take shots across their bows. Legacy processes that enforce bureaucracy, command-and-control structures, waterfall development, and risk management are still largely the standard among big corporations, yet they are liabilities in this fight. Those processes were built for a very particular set of circumstances that don’t persist today. Educational researcher Sugata Mitra explored this notion in his sensational TED Prize acceptance speech, speaking of the British Empire’s bureaucratic approach to managing a far flung empire, “They engineered a system so robust, that it’s still with us today, continually producing identical people for a machine that no longer exists.”
Today’s fastest growing, most profoundly impactful companies are using a completely different operating model. These companies are lean, mean, learning machines. They have an intense bias to action and a tolerance for risk, expressed through frequent experimentation and relentless product iteration. They hack together products and services, test them, and improve them, while their legacy competition edits PowerPoint. They are obsessed with company culture and top tier talent, with an emphasis on employees that can imagine, build, and test their own ideas. They are maniacally focused on customers. They are hypersensitive to friction – in their daily operations and their user experience. They are open, connected, and build with and for their community of users and co-conspirators. They are comfortable with the unknown – business models and customer value are revealed over time. They are driven by a purpose greater than profit; each has its own aspirational “dent in the universe.” We may simply refer to them as the first generation of truly responsive organizations.
These organizations may start small (like Medium or Slack), but they can get bigger fast (like Airbnb, Uber, or Tesla), and ultimately dominate markets (like Amazon, Google, or Facebook).
Looking at that lineup, it’s easy to assume that this new approach is limited to companies that make software, but the reality is more complicated. As software “eats” new categories and verticals, the winners (and the categories themselves) start to look more like technology platforms (think: Uber vs. car services, Twitter vs. the news media, Amazon vs. the department store, or Airbnb vs. hotels). The physical world that we used to value so much – the devices, cars, real estate, and other infrastructure – are merely inventory for something bigger. The value, it seems, is in the data, the tools, and the optimization of markets.
At my company, we spend our days and nights helping clients embrace this reality by changing their organizational operating system. Through our work on the front lines, we've found that the shift these new organizations represent can best be understood through five nested domains: Purpose, Process, People, Product, and Platform. They are nested because each P informs the remaining Ps inside it (e.g. Purpose informs choices you’ll make about Process, People, Product, etc.). In each case, important value shifts are redefining the work of the organization. Because the value shifts and new ways of working that define this model were largely born in the software community among these responsive organizations, we often refer to them as a “Responsive Operating System” or “Responsive OS.” This manifests in a visionary (not commercial) Purpose that guides an agile (not linear) Process that enables People who make (not manage) Products built to evolve (not built to last) which become Platforms for the world (not just your company) to build upon. That’s a mouthful, so let’s go a bit deeper on each one.
PURPOSE
Why are we doing this?
Every organization, no matter how large or small, needs a reason for being. In a Responsive OS, the organization’s Purpose provides a true north for the culture. People work harder, smarter, and longer when they know their efforts are in service of something bigger than themselves. Without a meaningful Purpose acting as focal point, many operating models break down at scale, as the demands and expectations of shareholders or boards begin to derail the decision-making process in favor of short-term gains. Responsive companies are often extremely upfront with investors about their Purpose-driven nature (see shareholder letters from Zuckerberg or Bezos) and even structured to protect founder control. A new generation of Benefit Corporations (like Kickstarter) build this into their legal DNA. This is not to say these firms don’t value scale, influence, or profitability. They aspire greatly in these areas, but only in service of their vision.
THE SHIFT: FROM GROWTH AS A COMMERCIAL AGENDA TO GROWTH AS A VISIONARY AGENDA
EXAMPLE: GOOGLE’S PURPOSE IS TO ORGANIZE THE WORLD’S INFORMATION AND MAKE IT UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE AND USEFUL
PROCESS
How will we do this?
Every activity within an organization is conducted according to an implicit or explicit protocol. New capabilities and tools have unlocked different ways of making decisions and doing our work. While an organization’s processes are initially developed to ensure results and quality, they can easily become inhibitive. In many legacy organizations, the number of hoops involved in compliance has created friction that prevents savvy employees from doing their best work. In the service of managing legal risk, these companies have given up agility, creating a strategic risk that threatens their very survival. We often refer to this build up of nonessential or overly complex processes as organizational debt.
Accordingly, Process is one of the domains most fundamentally impacted by technological disruption. For organizations using a Responsive OS, Process is an evolutionary force, and must be managed carefully and with a healthy skepticism. Cultures like Netflix or Valve espouse that if you hire only the best people, rigid Process is unnecessary or even detrimental. They believe that high performers can be trusted to use good judgment, and that the vast majority of mistakes are survivable (see Bezos on Type I and Type II decisions for more on this).
Processes that are adopted within Responsive cultures tend to be focused on experimentation, autonomy, and speed. Words like agile, lean, and user-focused dominate the process conversation. From Holacracy to Lean Startup Method, these processes are not about control or risk – they're about getting better every day.
THE SHIFT: FROM PROCESS AS QUALITY ASSURANCE TO PROCESS AS LEARNING MECHANISM
EXAMPLE: ADOBE LAUNCHED KICKBOX, A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS ANY EMPLOYEE TO EXPERIMENT AND LEARN ON THE COMPANY’S DIME.
PEOPLE
Who will do this?
The world’s most successful organizations value great people. Some call them “A Players.” Others call them “stunning colleagues.” In all cases, high talent density is everything. What’s in flux today is what makes someone great (or great for one particular context). Legacy HR models tend to value “managers” – people with graduate degrees from prestigious business schools with years of experience leading initiatives in their chosen field. As a result, a typical day in corporate America is peppered with meetings and PowerPoint presentations. Planning has become the work. Intuitively, we know that’s not right. To win in a dynamic marketplace, someone has to create and deliver exceptional products, services, and experiences, and planning won't get us there. In a Responsive OS, the emphasis on People is all about making and learning. “Makers” are people who have skills (as opposed to credentials). They think by doing: experimenting, testing, and learning. Within these high performance cultures management has evolved into something more akin to mentorship. The thinking goes, if workers are capable of making decisions about their priorities and workflow, what’s left for the manager is skills development, knowledge sharing, and helping with roadblocks – the Montessori method gone corporate. Fun fact: both the founders of Google are Montessori kids.
THE SHIFT: FROM PEOPLE AS MANAGERS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO PEOPLE AS MAKERS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
EXAMPLE: VALVE HIRES AMAZING PEOPLE THAT LOVE MAKING GAMES AND LETS THEM CHOOSE THE ROLES THEY FILL AND THE WORK THEY DO EVERY DAY, NO MANAGERS REQUIRED
PRODUCT
What are we doing?
Product is anything that an organization offers its customers and users, inclusive of services. The act of developing products and services used to be limited to a privileged few. Getting products manufactured and out into the market was a long, expensive, and linear process. Legacy brands today continue to view product development that same way. In a Responsive OS, the product portfolio is a result of constant experimentation, creating MVPs (minimum viable products) that can hit the market and begin generating feedback. It’s here that the real learning begins. Many product concepts and MVPs are fundamentally flawed, and the best time to figure that out is quickly, before millions are invested in scaling and promoting a system that may not deliver. Cultures with a Responsive OS make small mistakes early and often, and only scale when the fit between product and market is sound. What’s more, products expand and take shape based on market feedback and signals, often much faster and more dramatically than legacy products. Healthy product development is friction-oriented and never-ending. Great products solve problems. They iterate based on feedback. They leave open the possibility of future expansion/exploration. They have adaptivity built in from the start.
THE SHIFT: FROM PRODUCT BUILT TO LAST TO PRODUCT BUILT TO EVOLVE
EXAMPLE: TESLA CARS ARE CONNECTED TO THE WEB AND HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE REMOTELY, ALLOWING “PUSH” UPDATES THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING FROM THE SUSPENSION TO ADDING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CAPABILITY
PLATFORM
What are we doing that’s bigger than us?
Platform is one of the most misunderstood ideas in the world of the Responsive OS. Platforms can be accidental or intentional. In this model, a platform is a foundational product that moves beyond product status by encouraging others to build, play, and/or iterate on top of it. In a platform, the value and utility of the system is continually being discovered and expanded not just by the organization, but by its users and customers. Put simply, Platforms are shared innovation engines that outsource the costly and uncertain discovery process. For example, when Twitter notices a startup doing something innovative with its API, it has three choices: buy them, compete with them, or shut them down. With hundreds of developers exploring possible applications for Twitter’s users and data, they greatly accelerate their exploration of future value. Many platforms today are 100% software, but they don’t have to be. Both AirBnB and Uber turned the physical world (cars and housing) into a platform for millions (at least, for now). In those networks, the users are building businesses on the back of the platform, and in some cases changing how they operate in order to better serve the platform.
THE SHIFT: FROM A PLATFORM THE COMPANY BUILDS UPON TO A PLATFORM THE WORLD BUILDS UPON
EXAMPLE: APPLE’S iOS APP STORE HAS ATTRIBUTED TO OVER 627,000 JOBS AND OVER $8 BILLION IN DEVELOPER REVENUE SINCE INCEPTION JUST 8 YEARS AGOBrian Whitaker explains why a book packed with sweeping generalisations about Arabs carries so much weight with both neocons and military in the US
Consider these statements:
"Why are most Africans, unless forced by dire necessity to earn their livelihood with 'the sweat of their brow', so loath to undertake any work that dirties the hands?"
"The all-encompassing preoccupation with sex in the African mind emerges clearly in two manifestations..."
"In the African view of human nature, no person is supposed to be able to maintain incessant, uninterrupted control over himself. Any event that is outside routine everyday occurrence can trigger such a loss of control... Once aroused, African hostility will vent itself indiscriminately on all outsiders."
These statements, I think you'll agree, are thoroughly offensive. You would probably imagine them to be the musings of some 19th century colonialist. In fact, they come from a book promoted by its US publisher as "one of the great classics of cultural studies", and described by Publisher's Weekly as "admirable", "full of insight" and with "an impressive spread of scholarship".
The book is not actually about Africans. Instead, it takes some of the hoariest old prejudices about black people and applies them to Arabs.
Replace the word "African" in the quotations above with the word "Arab", and you have them as they appear in the book. It is, the book says, the Arabs who are lazy, sex-obsessed, and apt to turn violent over the slightest little thing.
Writing about Arabs, rather than black people, in these terms apparently makes all the difference between a racist smear and an admirable work of scholarship.
The book in question is called The Arab Mind, and is by Raphael Patai, a cultural anthropologist who taught at several US universities, including Columbia and Princeton.
I must admit that, despite having spent some years studying Arabic language and culture, I had not heard of this alleged masterpiece until last week, when the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh mentioned it in an article for New Yorker magazine.
Hersh was discussing the chain of command that led US troops to torture Iraqi prisoners. Referring specifically to the sexual nature of some of this abuse, he wrote: "The notion that Arabs are particularly vulnerable to sexual humiliation became a talking point among pro-war Washington conservatives in the months before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"One book that was frequently cited was The Arab Mind... the book includes a 25-page chapter on Arabs and sex, depicting sex as a taboo vested with shame and repression."
Hersh continued: "The Patai book, an academic told me, was 'the bible of the neocons on Arab behaviour'. In their discussions, he said, two themes emerged - 'one, that Arabs only understand force, and two, that the biggest weakness of Arabs is shame and humiliation'."
Last week, my own further enquiries about the book revealed something even more alarming. Not only is it the bible of neocon headbangers, but it is also the bible on Arab behaviour for the US military.
According to one professor at a US military college, The Arab Mind is "probably the single most popular and widely read book on the Arabs in the US military". It is even used as a textbook for officers at the JFK special warfare school in Fort Bragg.
In some ways, the book's appeal to the military is easy to understand, because it gives a superficially coherent view of the Arab enemy and their supposed personality defects. It is also readily digestible, uncomplicated by nuances and caveats, and has lots of juicy quotes, a generous helping of sex, and no academic jargon.
The State Department, too, used to take an interest in the book, although it seemingly no longer does. At one stage, the training department gave free copies to officials when they were posted to US embassies in the Middle East.
In contrast, opinions of Patai's book among Middle East experts at US universities are almost universally scathing. "The best use for this volume, if any, is as a doorstop," one commented. "The book is old, and a thoroughly discredited form of scholarship," said another.
None of the academics I contacted thought the book suitable for serious study, although Georgetown University once invited students to analyse it as "an example of bad, biased social science".
There is a lot wrong with The Arab Mind apart from its racism: the title, for a start. Although the Arab countries certainly have their distinctive characteristics, the idea that 200 million people, from Morocco to the Gulf, living in rural villages, urban metropolises and (very rarely these days) desert tents, think with some sort of single, collective mind is utterly ridiculous.
The result is a collection of outrageously broad - and often suspect - generalisations. Patai asserts, for example, that Arabs "hate" the west.
He backs up this claim with two quotations: one from a book published in the mid-50s ("Most westerners have simply no inkling of how deep and fierce is the hate, especially of the west, that has gripped the modernising Arab"), and another from Bernard Lewis - currently the neocons' favourite historian - referring to the mood of "many, if not most Arabs" in 1955 (just before the Suez crisis).
We are also informed (page 144) of "the Arab view that masturbation is far more shameful than visiting prostitutes".
Whether this is why Iraqi prisoners were forced to masturbate in front of cameras is unclear, but the only supporting evidence for Patai's claim is a survey of Arab and US students published in 1954: the US students admitted to masturbating twice as often as the Arabs, while 59% of the Arabs, but only 28% of the Americans, said they had visited a prostitute during the previous 12 months.
In "outlying areas", such as Siwa oasis in Egypt, Patai says, "homosexuality is the rule, and practised completely in the open". This unequivocal statement is based on accounts dating from 1935, 1936 and 1950, and, in a footnote, Patai concedes that they "need to be checked out by an anthropologically trained observer".
There is also a good deal of confusion in the book between the present and the past. An Arab man, Patai writes, even if he has four wives, "can have sexual relations with concubines (slave girls whom he owns)".
All this adds up to an overwhelmingly negative picture of the Arabs. Positive characteristics are mentioned, but are given relatively short shrift.
Hospitality and generosity - two highly regarded virtues in Arab societies - get three and one and a half pages respectively, compared with a whole chapter devoted to alleged sexual hang-ups.
The book is a classic case of orientalism which, by focusing on what Edward Said called the "otherness" of Arab culture, sets up barriers that can then be exploited for political purposes.
The Arab Mind was originally published in 1976, but - according to one US academic - actually belongs to the "national character" genre of writing that was popular in comparative politics around the middle of the last century.
Its methodology, therefore - not to mention much of its content - was considerably behind the times even when it first appeared.
Patai died in 1996, but his book was revived by Hatherleigh Press in 2002 (nicely timed for the war in Iraq), and reprinted with an enthusiastic introduction by Norvell "Tex" De Atkine, a former US army colonel and the head of Middle East studies at Fort Bragg.
"It is essential reading," De Atkine wrote. "At the institution where I teach military officers, The Arab Mind forms the basis of my cultural instruction."
In a speech last week, the US president, George Bush, congratulated himself on having removed "hateful propaganda" from the schools in Iraq.
Perhaps it is now time he turned his attention to military schools in the US.The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of "writer's block" is a humorous academic article by psychologist Dennis Upper about writer's block. It contains no content outside title and journal formatting elements, including a humorous footnote. Published in 1974 in a peer reviewed journal, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, it is recognized as the shortest academic article ever[1] and a classic example of humour in science,[2] or at the very least among behavioral psychologists.[3] It has been cited at least 60 times.[4]
The article received a humorous positive review which was published alongside the article.[1]
“ I have studied this manuscript very carefully with lemon juice and X-rays and have not detected a single flaw in either design or writing style. I suggest it be published without revision. Clearly it is the most concise manuscript I have ever seen-yet it contains sufficient detail to allow other investigators to replicate Dr. Upper's failure. In comparison with the other manuscripts I get from you containing all that complicated detail, this one was a pleasure to examine. Surely we can find a place for this paper in the Journal-perhaps on the edge of a blank page. ”
The article has led to at least three similarly humorous and peer-reviewed, published replication studies,[5][6][7] and several similar papers.[8][9][10][11]
More seriously, the paper is said to be a case reinforcing the image of a writer's block as a "blank page",[12] and encouraging brevity in writing.[13] It has been also used as an example that humor can indeed be found in academic publishing.[14]
References [ edit ]
Scholia has a work profile for The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of "writer's block".
Upper, Dennis (Fall 1974), "The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of "writer's block " ", Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7 (3): 497, doi:10.1901/jaba.1974.7-497a, ISSN 0021-8855, PMC 1311997 PMID 16795475Outcry over DC Comics' hire of Orson Scott Card to pen a Superman story could mean trouble for the $110 million sci-fi film set for November.
A version of this story first appeared in the March 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
A controversy involving novelist Orson Scott Card and DC Comics could foreshadow problems for the big-budget adaptation of his classic 1985 sci-fi novel Ender’s Game, which is scheduled for release Nov. 1.
Card’s long record of opposition to same-sex marriage and gay rights came into sharp focus when DC Comics announced Feb. 6 that it had hired him to write a chapter of a new Superman anthology series. Card has been a prominent gay-rights opponent going back to the ‘90s. As the same-sex marriage debate has advanced in recent years, he has become more vocal in his views.
In 2009, he joined the board of directors of the right-leaning National Organization for Marriage, which has been at the forefront of opposing same-sex marriage laws. That same year, he penned an opinion piece for the Mormon Times in which he argued: “Marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down." In another column last year, he called homosexuality a “reproductive dysfunction” born of choice.
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Card’s appointment provoked a firestorm of controversy from LGBT activists and comic fans. Queerty called him a “rabid homophobe”; Allout.org, a social media-oriented LGBT activist group, drew more than 14,000 signatures to an online petition asking DC to fire Card; and at least one comics retailer said he would refuse to stock the comic when it was released May 29 (a digital edition will be released first on April 29).
A GLAAD spokesman tells THR: "Anti-gay activists like Card can't expect to spread the same hateful and dangerous rhetoric they once did without it negatively impacting how the public views them. As a board member of NOM, one of the most visible anti-gay organizations, Card is not merely a holder of anti-gay views but someone who has used his own fame and resources to actively make life more difficult for hardworking LGBT people and our families. He might still want the buying public to financially support his creative endeavors, but the public is responding with an affirmative ‘no.’ ”
DC Comics issued a statement calling Card’s opinions “personal views” that were not “those of the company itself,” but noting that the company nonetheless “steadfastly support[s] freedom of expression.”
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The new scrutiny of Card’s views could be a problem for the $110 million Ender’s Game movie, which stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley and is directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Summit, whose parent Lionsgate made The Hunger Games, sees the film as the next big YA sci-fi franchise.
Summit shifted the movie’s release date from March to November to take advantage of the holiday box office. The move also opens the door for producers to "maximize the joint marketing opportunities" with the November 22 release of the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, said an executive from one of the company's involved in financing the film in July 2012.
Now Summit faces the tricky task of figuring out how to handle Card’s involvement. The first big challenge will be whether to include him in July's San Diego Comic-Con program. Promoting Ender’s Game without Card would be like trying to promote the first Harry Potter movie without J.K. Rowling. But having Card appear in the main ballroom in front of 6,500 fans could prove a liability if he’s forced to tackle the issue head-on during the Q&A session.
“I don't think you take him to any fanboy event,” says one studio executive. “This will definitely take away from their creative and their property.” Another executive sums up the general consensus: “Keep him out of the limelight as much as possible.”
STORY: NY Comic Con: Creator-Owned 'Insurgent' Comic Coming From DC (Exclusive)
Ender’s insiders already are distancing themselves from the 61-year-old author. “Orson's politics are not reflective of the moviemakers,” says one person involved in the film. “We’re adapting a work, not a person. The work will stand on its own.”
Marvel faced a similar situation with writer James Gunn, when a sophomoric two-year-old blog post containing homophobic comments resurfaced after he was named to write Guardians of the Galaxy, the company’s next potential tentpole franchise. Gunn reacted swiftly, apologizing in a letter to GLAAD and citing his long record of support for gay rights. The controversy subsided, and Marvel kept Gunn on the project.
A similar strategy will be difficult for Card to pull off, since he can’t easily dismiss his long-held beliefs and considerable record of public statements as a one-time thing.
But Card is so identified with Ender’s Game that separating the two might prove difficult, especially given his role as one of the film’s producers. Such a tactic also runs the risk of alienating the book’s fans, whose enthusiasm is crucial to launching the movie with a strong opening weekend.
“This will be tricky for Summit,” a rival studio marketing chief sympathized.
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Correction: An earlier version incorrectly identified John Trextor as the current CEO of Digital Domain. He is no longer with the company.When Freddie Gray briefly locked eyes with police at 8:39 a.m. on a corner of an impoverished West Baltimore neighborhood two weeks ago, they seemed to recognize each other immediately. As three officers approached on bicycles along West North Avenue, the 25-year-old Gray was on the east corner of North Mount Street chatting with a friend, according to Shawn Washington, who frequents the block.
"Ay, yo, here comes Time Out," a young man on the opposite corner yelled, using a neighborhood term for police.
Gray swore, taking off on foot as the officers began hot-stepping on their pedals to catch up. One officer jumped off his bike to chase Gray on foot, police said.
"That was the last time I seen that man moving," said Washington, 48.
Investigators with the city police and other agencies are still trying to recreate the events of the next 45 minutes, during which Gray sustained a severe and ultimately fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody.
But in its own investigation, The Baltimore Sun found that police missed the opportunity to examine some evidence that could have shed light on events. For example, by the time police canvassed one neighborhood looking for video from security cameras, a convenience store camera pointed at a key intersection had already taped over its recordings of that morning.
The Sun also found that accounts from residents conflicted with the official version of events, including a police account that Gray's arrest was made "without force or incident."
City officials have released a partial timeline of the events of April 12, and investigators have focused on his stop-and-go, roundabout trip through the city in the metal cage of a police transport van. A lieutenant, a sergeant and four other officers involved in Gray's arrest and transport have been suspended with pay pending the results of the police investigation.
Still, much of what happened to Gray on the cool, partly cloudy and breezeless morning of April 12 remains a mystery.
Officials have declined to provide 911 call recordings related to Gray's arrest or injury, citing the open investigation, and police have declined to provide dispatch recordings that would contain any conversations between officers and dispatchers while Gray was in custody. The timeline for when and where the van stopped remains incomplete, and no time has been provided for the van's last stop, back on North Avenue for another pickup before its arrival at the Western District police station.
Insights into the critical minutes between Gray's arrest and the call for paramedics can be gleaned from residents who said they observed several interactions the police had with him.
Taken collectively, they make clear that Gray's arrest and transport were perceived as being wholly out of the ordinary — even in an area where the drug trade makes an arrest a common occurrence.
'Folded up'
The reason Gray was chased by police remains unclear. Police have said it came in part because he ran, raising officers' suspicions in an area known for drug dealing. A police report on the arrest states that Gray "fled unprovoked" and that an illegal switchblade knife was later found on him but provides no other reason for the pursuit.
Neighborhood accounts vary on where Gray ran before reaching Presbury Street and being apprehended by police.
Washington said Gray dipped into "the cut" just south of West North Avenue, an alley that breaks into several directions in the center of a partially boarded-up block of rowhouses. It's a place strewn with broken liquor bottles, adjacent to backyards where dogs still keep watch.
Others say Gray ran straight south down Mount Street.
Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said Friday that one officer on foot and two on bikes chased Gray "through several streets, several housing complexes," before arresting him. "It's a foot chase and it's a long one."
Still, the arrest occurred just one minute after the initial contact, according to the police timeline.
Community outrage over the arrest has been fueled by videos showing Gray — listed on the police report at 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds — on the ground before being dragged to the police van. Neighborhood residents and police agree that the videos don't show the whole story, though.
Kevin Moore, a 28-year-old friend of Gray's from Gilmor Homes, said he rushed outside when he heard Gray was being arrested and saw him "screaming for his life" with his face planted on the ground. One officer had his knee on Gray's neck, Moore said, and another was bending his legs backward.
"They had him folded up like he was a crab or a piece of origami," Moore said. "He was all bent up."
Into the van
At 8:42 a.m., police requested a transport van at the scene.
At that point Gray, who had asthma, asked for an inhaler, but Moore said police ignored the request.
Batts has said Gray's trouble breathing was not given the proper attention at "one or two" of the van's subsequent stops.
As Gray screamed and word spread, residents began to pour out of nearby homes. Alethea Booze, 71, who has lived along Mount Street just north of Presbury all her life, said she was cooking in her kitchen when she heard Gray "hollering" outside. Booze, a retired Northrop Grumman production coordinator, had a stroke some years ago and moves slowly, but made it outside nonetheless.
A crowd had started to form, she said, and there was Gray, who used to call her "Mama" and run errands for her to the corner store, lying handcuffed on the ground.
Booze said she winced as police hoisted Gray. His legs appeared broken to her, though police have said Gray suffered no broken bones. Bystanders got more vocal. "Call the ambulance!" Booze remembers saying as police tried to disperse the crowd.
"Police were telling everyone to leave because they didn't want anyone taping," Booze said. "They got real smart and nasty."Philadelphia Eagles fans, I have some bad news and good news.
The bad news is that there’s no Eagles football on this weekend. It’s the bye week.
The good news is that now you have something fun to do!
In honor of reaching FOUR MILLION TOTAL LISTENS since BGN Radio started back in 2013, we’re throwing a bye week party to thank you for all of your support! Here’s everything you need to know:
Spots are filling up!
Come hang out with us on the bye week at @delawarepark
Email us: [email protected]
Subject: Beer Bash
First and last name
Must be 21+ pic.twitter.com/eZYNygj9ce — BGN Radio (@BGN_Radio) November 8, 2017
Free food. Free drinks. Football. Hanging out with a bunch of your fellow Eagles fans, including the BGN Radio crew. What more could you ask for?
We only have about 50 total spots available, so make sure you sign up in order to guarantee your spot!
All you have to do is email us ([email protected]) with the subject line “Beer Bash” and include your first and last name. Must be 21 or older to attend. Please drink/eat/wager responsibly.
Hopefully we’ll see you there at the Casino at Delaware Park! (777 Delaware Park Blvd, Wilmington, DE 19804 - click here for directions)ADVERTISEMENT
Trump closed the deal at a meeting that lasted more than an hour in an ornate corner of the businessman’s swanky resort, in a room where original Mar-a-Lago owner Marjorie Merriweather Post — at one point the wealthiest woman in the United States — was known to take her breakfast.
About 24 hours later, Carson and Trump met again at Mar-a-Lago, this time at a press conference where Carson announced – to the surprise of many – that he’d be supporting Trump for president.
In an interview with The Hill, Carson recalled the process by which he came around to supporting the controversial front-runner, who was once his rival for the GOP nomination.
“I needed to know that he could listen to other people, that he could change his opinions, and that some of the more outlandish things that he’s said, that he didn’t really believe those things,” Carson said.
When asked which statements Trump might back away from, Carson demurred.
“I’ll let him talk about that because I don’t think it’s fair for me to relay a private conversation,” he said.
Carson and Trump first met about three years ago, around the time the retired neurosurgeon began his ascent in conservative circles. Carson came to prominence for delivering a blistering rebuke of the Obama administration at the National Prayer Breakfast with the president forced to sit quietly by.
That’s when Carson, who also has a home in Baltimore, bought a house in West Palm Beach near Trump’s lavish estate.
On several occasions, Trump and his wife Melania hosted Carson and his wife Candy for dinner at the resort.
Carson recalls being impressed by Trump’s attentiveness to the needs of his guests – a quality that even some of Trump’s most bitter rivals acknowledge is one of his better attributes.
But Carson said his path to supporting Trump began in earnest in September at the second Republican presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif. That debate took place not long after Trump had achieved front-runner status and a short time before Carson would challenge him atop the polls.
There, Carson said, the two men bonded over their shared status as outsiders who had flummoxed the media and party elites. Both also shared a strong distaste for being politically correct. The connection grew stronger as they crossed paths at subsequent debates.
“He and I have talked over for months about the fact that we had a lot of alignment and there would probably continue to be some association,” Carson said.
The relationship endured through Carson’s run at Trump in the polls last fall. At the time, |
publication placed the remix as the third-best song of the 2000s.[69][70] Blender's Top 144 Songs of 2008 featured "Paper Planes" at number 2, with the "Paper Planes (DFA remix)" at number 63.[71] Les Inrockuptibles positioned "Paper Planes" at number 2 on its End of Year Best of List. Heineken España named "Paper Planes" the Top song of 2007, and placed it number 2 on its list of The 50 Best International Songs of the 2000s.[72] Slant Magazine and Rolling Stone Brasil named "Paper Planes" the best song of 2008.[73][74]
The song was nominated in the category for Record of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards.[75] Despite its loss to "more conservative choices", Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times described the award ceremony as having taken "ultimately a step on the continued road to relevancy" with the nomination, which he termed one of the "Old man Grammy's surprises for the 2009 telecast".[76] "Swagga Like Us", co-written by M.I.A. was nominated in the category for Best Rap Song at the awards. "Paper Planes" won a 2009 PRS Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the Indie Award for Favorite International Single at the 2009 Canadian Independent Music Awards.[77][78]
Entertainment Weekly put "Paper Planes" on its end-of-the-decade, "Best-Of" list, saying "Admit it: That gunfire-and-cash-registers hook was stuck in your head for weeks after seeing the Pineapple Express trailer (or, uh, Slum-dog Millionaire) in 2008."[79] "Paper Planes" placed number five on Rolling Stone's 2009 list of the 50 Best Songs of the Decade.[80] Rolling Stone also placed "Paper Planes" at number 236 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in the 2011 updated list.[81] The same year, VH1 placed the song at number 89 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 00's."[82] "Paper Planes" was ranked number 12 on Stylus Magazine's list of "The Top 100 Singles of the 2000s."[83] Slant ranked the song number 2 on its "Best of the Aughts: Singles", – The Top 100 Singles of 2000s decade.[84] "Paper Planes" was positioned number 4 on Rockdelux's list of the "15 Best Singles of the 2000s." "Paper Planes" was one of the ten "Songs of the Year" on The Guardian's "Readers' Poll 2008."[85] Its release is positioned number 50 on The Guardian's list of the 50 key events in the history of world and folk music, praised for having turned globalisation inside out.[25] The Guardian included "Paper Planes" in its 2009 list "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear."[86] NME ranked the song number 8 on the publication's 2008 best of the year list. In October 2011, the magazine placed it at number 15 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[87] The review aggregate website Acclaimed Music listed "Paper Planes" as the best song of the 2000s decade, and the 42nd best song of all time, based upon various decade-end and all-time rankings from mainstream critics.[88] The song was named the 2nd best of the century so far in 2018 by Rolling Stone.
Covers and use in media [ edit ]
The song has been covered by multiple artists including Rihanna (left), and appeared in numerous media, including films by Danny Boyle and Michael Moore (centre and right).
The song has been covered, sampled and remixed by various artists as well as being used by a range of media. Canadian band Holy Fuck, an opening act on the People vs. Money Tour, created a remix of "Paper Planes" that leaked online on February 2008. Barbadian singer Rihanna has covered the song in live performances and "Paper Planes" has been performed by Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya as his own rendition "Tengazako".[89][90] American indie rock band Built to Spill covered "Paper Planes" at their live performances in Italy. English rapper Dizzee Rascal has covered the song at his live performances.[91][92] Detroit rapper Esham used "Paper Planes" as the basis for his song "Keys to the City".[93] English rapper Lowkey made a remix of the song titled "You Probably Think" and in some live performances raps "All MPs wanna do is... take your money". Paper Planes has been covered live by London band The Clientele.[94][95]
The song's line "No one on the corner has swagger like us" was sampled by West in the song "Swagga Like Us", a song by American rappers T.I. and Jay-Z, West and Lil Wayne.[37][96] In September 2008 American rapper 50 Cent; State Property members Young Chris and Freeway, as well as Jim Jones released their own remixes of the song.[37] Asked about her feelings regarding how, despite being over a year old, the track was still appearing on high-profile mixtapes, she told MTV "I think it's cool when you bring all these rappers and artists like the Clash together... it's cool that they support it. It's so many people that be like, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' It's kind of like 'This is the sh--, and we think it's hot" before adding that having made a track that was organic, creative and not made with marketing be liked and find chart success was satisfying and interesting for the musician, even if charts didn't compute with her.[37]
Pineapple Express starring Seth Rogen (left) and James Franco (right). The song gained popularity in North America following its appearance in the trailer for the filmstarring Seth Rogen () and James Franco ().
"Paper Planes" soundtracked the theatrical trailer for the comedy film Pineapple Express starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.[97] A "red-band" trailer for the film Pineapple Express, featuring the song leaked in February 2008, before Sony Pictures had the video removed from YouTube within a few days of its posting. The film's makers had been keen on including the song in the film's main trailer and approached M.I.A.'s U.S. label Interscope Records for permission. She added "Interscope asked me and I was, like, well, since it's just the trailer, that's cool. I didn’t really think twice about it" stating she would have thought more carefully about permitting the song's use if it was in the main film, "scrutinizing what scene they were using it in and stuff like that".[9][98][99][100] Patrick Goldstein's Summer Movie Posse of the Los Angeles Times described its incorporation at the time as "the most impressive use of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' ever".[101] "Paper Planes" and the DFA Records remix both appear in Danny Boyle's drama Slumdog Millionaire;[102] the remix also appears in the film Hancock.[103] Boyle, who took the song with him to India and listened to it during the shoot, described it as a crucial one and "a key song" he had in mind for his film from the onset, before its use in the trailer of Pineapple Express, telling Rodrigo Perez of MTV "[...]originally it was featured very early on in the film, but then we moved it to the halfway mark, and then the song was used in ‘Pineapple Express’ [...] What can you do?"[104] "Paper Planes" was used in the trailer for Michael Moore's documentary Capitalism: A Love Story.[105]
Rap rock supergroup Street Sweeper Social Club perform a live cover of "Paper Planes" at their shows and a studio version appears on their 2010 EP The Ghetto Blaster EP.[106] "Paper Planes" is parodied by Funny or Die with a music video released on 27 July 2010.[107] The Los Angeles Dodgers used "Paper Planes" as their victory song during their three-week effort to win the National League West title in the 2008 season in the United States.[108] " Paper Planes" was covered by the alternative rock band This Century for the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 3.[109]
The song is used as entry music by British comedian Shappi Khorsandi.
"Paper Planes" is used in the opening intro of the video game Far Cry 3.[110]
The song is used in the first episode of season two of The Last Man on Earth in which the sounds of Carol's gunfire are drowned out by the song playing in the motor home.
Chart performance [ edit ]
"Paper Planes" has achieved commercial success by reaching the top ten in the Canada and the United States, appearing in the top ten of six Billboard US charts, the top 20 in Denmark, Belgium, Israel and the United Kingdom and charting in many other countries in Europe, South America and Oceania. The song debuted at number 72 on the Hot Canadian Digital Sales chart and at number 89 on the Canadian Hot 100 in late February 2008 due to strong digital downloads. By late March 2008, the song reached number 3 on the US Hot Singles Sales chart and topped the US Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, becoming M.I.A.'s first single to top the chart after her debut "Galang" reached number 11 and "Boyz" peaked at number 3. After its appearance in the trailer for the film Pineapple Express, the song entered the Pop 100 chart at number 99, and the Bubbling Under Hot 100 at number 14 in the United States. By early May 2008, the song had climbed to number 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and number 80 on the US Billboard Pop 100, overtaking the peak of 99 achieved on the chart by M.I.A.'s previous single "Boyz". "Paper Planes" debuted on the US Billboard Hot Digital Songs at the same time at number 57, climbing to number 71 on the Pop 100 chart. In Europe, the song debuted on the Belgian Singles Chart, peaking at 18 in June 2008.[111] The song rebounded on the US charts following use in the Pineapple Express trailer the next month, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart at position 55, with sales of 42,000 downloads. In subsequent weeks, it continued to climb the chart, with download sales totaling 888,000 the following month.[112] In its ninth week on the chart, "Paper Planes" rose from number five to number four on the Hot 100, where it peaked. The song was notable for having received heavy airplay across radio stations of different genres, including Pop, Modern Rock, and Urban Contemporary such as R&B and hip hop-formatted stations. As of August 2009, the song sold over three million units in the United States.[113] "Paper Planes" has been certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in the U.S. and Music Canada (CRIA) in Canada, becoming the 29th most downloaded song in the digital era in the United States in 2009, and, although not attaining a chart position in New Zealand, has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.[114][115] As of August 2013, "Paper Planes" has sold 4 million digital copies in the United States.[4] "Paper Planes" ranks as of November 2011 as the 59th most downloaded song according to Nielsen SoundScan's running list of the 200 best-selling songs in US digital history.[116]
On 7 September 2008, "Paper Planes" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 69 on downloads alone and by 4 October 2008 peaked at number 19.[117] Following its appearance in the film Slumdog Millionaire, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart on 15 February 2009 at number 33. The song spent thirty-five weeks on the chart, and reappeared on the singles chart in January 2010 at number 61, a position it retained for one week.[117] By November 2011, "Paper Planes" had sold 3.6 million copies in the US, becoming the seventh best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era.[118] It entered the French Singles Chart for the first time on 18 February 2012 at position 196, before climbing to number 162.[119]
"Paper Planes" remained XL Recordings' best selling single until the 2010 release of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep".[118] M.I.A. left the label in 2011 following the completion of her contract. Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courant noted that the song's success "speaks to the idea that the best pop music rarely originates with the major label corporate music machine that exists to sell pop music" but rose from underground artists with something to say, offering significant lessons to the music industry in an era of declining music sales and general financial turmoil.[120]
Music video [ edit ]
The music video for the song was shot in December 2007 in one day in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. It was directed by Bernard Gourley.[121] The video is M.I.A.'s first filmed in the United States. Initially planned to be shot in a factory on the border of Ecuador, the filming location was changed to accommodate M.I.A.'s time constraints due to touring commitments in the United States. The video was filmed during one day in the city, which she had free on the American leg of her KALA Tour after 4 months of concerts.[122][123] It was made available on MTV's website on 15 December 2007. The video for "Paper Planes" was uploaded on M.I.A.'s personal "worldtown" YouTube account on 16 December 2007, eventually gaining 43,500,000 views.[124] The video was to have premiered on Total Request Live.[125][126] The video was uploaded onto M.I.A.'s official YouTube page (via VEVO) on 16 June 2009, amassing 40,000,000 views. "Paper Planes" video debuted on 17 December 2007 on video chart programs where it proved successful. It peaked at number 1 on MuchOnDemand's Daily Ten and number 1 on Total Request Live. It appeared at Number 56 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 countdown.
The video begins with several paper planes flying over New York City shot in black and white. In multiple colour scenes that follow, M.I.A. appears dancing and singing in the stairwell of the Nostrand Avenue New York City Subway station in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, and as an immigrant who sells sandwiches from a van bearing a Jolly Roger to several other New Yorkers. Food is exchanged at the stalls for money and various other items. Nigerian rapper Afrikan Boy joins M.I.A. in serving street food on New York City's streets in exchange for buyer's chains, watches, and cash – among those stopping by the cart are Mike D and Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, where Mike D.'s Rolex is exchanged for food.[127] M.I.A. can be seen sitting in front of rugs and suitcases at a stall singing to the camera, and counting dollar notes from her takings in the van. A cash till can be seen empty, followed by scenes where the till fills up with money. During the chorus, at the sound of the gunshots, quick shots of street and restaurant signs, people and phone discount signs appear, followed by scenes of M.I.A. selling more sandwiches and opening the till to store more money. During the second verse, the singer can be seen happily shopping for condiments at a local shop, before she is depicted in more scenes of her singing with Afrikan Boy. New Yorkers are filmed and shown walking along streets throughout the video. M.I.A. is seen dancing and walking with friends, including Afrikan Boy and Rye Rye, wearing clothes from her fashion line "Okley Run" and HowManyHowMany T-shirts from her "Boyz" video. During the second chorus, scenes of Blaxploitation film DVDs on a shelf and the rapper driving the van are shown. M.I.A. can be seen wearing a Metallica Ride the Lightning shirt in later parts of the music video. At the end of the video, the scenes turn black and white, with the van driving off on a street, followed by several paper planes in pursuit.
Controversy [ edit ]
A writer for AFP based in Colombo stated that M.I.A.'s music was not played on Sri Lankan radio or television – which, like music retailers and night clubs there, chose not to stock or play her records due to political pressure from the Sri Lankan government as the Sinhala–Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka dragged on. Instead, fans of the artist on the island relied on certain social media websites on the internet to access her work.[128] The success of "Paper Planes" paralleling M.I.A.'s condemnation of government and army atrocities as amounting to "systematic genocide" and ethnic cleansing resulted in death threats being made against her.[129] Touré, writing in The Daily Beast noted that this was in keeping with the government's censorship and regulation of news flowing out of the island, which, along with government restrictions to the northeastern theatre of the war in late 2008 meant "the world had heard little" of the atrocities inflicted by the state against Tamils.[130] An American Sinhalese rapper named DeLon circulated a viral YouTube video in which he rapped over "Paper Planes" and accused M.I.A. of "supporting terrorism" by using images of the tiger and discussing violence in her lyrics, showing graphic images of violence purportedly linked to the LTTE rebel group. After some media ran a story on this, M.I.A responded that her music is the voice of a civilian refugee and that she was not willing to discuss anything with someone looking for self-promotion.[131] Colombo based writer Thomas Fuller of The New York Times wrote an article about M.I.A.'s statements against the Vanni onslaught, stating that her music's ambiguity and her criticism of the government's conduct had "not endeared her to the island's Sinhalese majority".[132][133] Zach Baron of the Village Voice accused the newspaper of using "chintzy, ad-hominem allegations" on M.I.A.'s work in the piece, imploring the paper to use its "vaunted" access instead to inquire as to why the government would not let aid through to the Vanni.[134] M.I.A. said of the situation in Sri Lanka in 2010 "Every single Tamil person who's alive today, who's seen how the world does nothing, has to find a way to exist that isn't harboring bitterness and hate and revenge." Novelist Gary Shteyngart, writing in GQ, notes that "to her Sinhalese detractors, her music is precisely that form of revenge."[61]
The "Paper Planes" music video was censored by MTV in December 2007, who had also banned the video for M.I.A.'s single "Sunshowers". In this version, M.I.A.'s vocals were doubled, the gun sounds replaced with popping sounds, and the word "weed" replaced with the word "seed".[135] The producers of Pineapple Express asked for the word to be similarly changed before use, a request M.I.A. found "ridiculous, cause the whole movie's about weed."[135] On 16 December 2007, following some fan disapproval of the leaked MTV version, M.I.A. stated in a MySpace entry that MTV's decision to change the sound disappointed and angered her, adding that MTV had "sabotaged" a music video made more safe and mainstream than her regular videos.[123] The song was similarly censored during her live performance on the Late Show with David Letterman to her visible surprise, an action she had not agreed to. The chorus effects during the soundcheck of her Late Show performance were different from what was played live during the taping.[122][123] At her concert at the Austin City Limits festival a few days after the show, she spoke more of the incident, thanking David Letterman onstage "for letting her into the American mainstream."[136] A writer for New York magazine felt the issue of MTV censoring "Paper Planes" was a non-controversy as the edited clip had been removed from MTV following fan-pressure and replaced, noting "they've been [censoring gun sounds and imagery] since 1997, according to Wikipedia. What does surprise us is that MTV ever considered showing the video at all. We had no idea they still aired music videos, much less ones by talented artists like M.I.A. If anything, it likely airs at odd hours when nobody's watching."[137] Tom Breihan of The Village Voice also noted this to be part of a general trend by networks like MTV and BET and radio towards rap songs such as those by 50 Cent where any references to drugs, sex and violence were removed and replaced, concluding that this was a double standard approach to rap artists' work compared to songs by Green Day and My Chemical Romance.[135] Commenting that "Paper Planes" is a "song that deserves to start a few arguments, and it should go out into the wider world with its argument-starting potential left intact", Breihan noted that although the uncensored version would not inspire rioting in the streets, more listeners opted to download music as mainstream "cultural outlets in which [...] music makes itself heard are increasingly afraid of offending anyone, ever, for any reason".[135]
Track listings and formats [ edit ]
Digital 7digital EP[26]
(Released 11 February 2008) "Paper Planes" "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix) "Paper Planes" (Afrikan Boy & Rye Rye Remix) "Paper Planes" (Diplo Street Remix feat. Bun B & Rich Boy) "Paper Planes" (Scottie B Remix) "Bamboo Banga" (DJ Eli Remix) US CD / Digital US iTunes EP
(Released 12 February 2008) "Paper Planes" (featuring Afrikan Boy & Rye Rye) (Blaqstarr remix) "Paper Planes" (remix for the children by Ad-Rock) "Paper Planes" (featuring Bun B & Rich Boy) (Diplo Street Remix) "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix) "Paper Planes" (Scottie B Remix) XL 12" Vinyl EP
(Released 24 March 2008) "Paper Planes" "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix) "Paper Planes" (Afrikan Boy & Rye Rye Remix) "Paper Planes" (Diplo Street Remix feat. Bun B & Rich Boy) "Paper Planes" (Scottie B Remix) "Bamboo Banga" (DJ Eli Remix) UK CD "Paper Planes" "Paper Planes" (Diplo Street Remix feat. Bun B & Rich Boy) UK 7-inch "Paper Planes" "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix) Europe iTunes EP "Paper Planes" "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix) "Paper Planes" (Diplo Street Remix) (feat. Bun B & Rich Boy)
Personnel [ edit ]
Source:[138]
Charts and certifications [ edit ]New floodlight-style lighting illuminates Osborn Playground in Brooklyn, where a woman said she had been gang raped, only to later recant. (Kathy Willens/AP)
It was a shocking story splashed on headlines across the country: Five teenage boys had approached a man and his daughter at night on a Brooklyn playground, ordering the man away at gunpoint before gang raping the 18-year-old woman in public.
Video footage of the teens laughing and joking inside a deli just before the alleged Jan. 7, 2016, attack only added to the outrage. The five boys were quickly arrested, two of them turned in by their own parents. New York’s mayor and other critics demanded to know why the police hadn’t acted sooner.
Before that public anger could even cool, the case began to fall apart as questions mounted.
Did the teens truly have a gun? Did they really force themselves on the 18-year-old woman?
Most perplexing of all: What were a father and daughter doing on a children’s playground at 9 o’clock at night?
On Wednesday, the ugly answers tumbled into the light.
Prosecutors announced that they were dropping all of the charges against the five teens, ages 14 to 17. The woman and her father had provided inconsistent and unreliable stories, said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. Snippets of cellphone videos suggested the sex was consensual, prosecutors said.
Worst of all, the father himself had been “engaging in sexual conduct” with his own daughter when the incident began, Thompson said.
The real story was even more shocking than the original accusations, but it had spun 180 sickening degrees.
[Four suspects apprehended in brutal gang rape of Brooklyn woman]
To some critics, the bizarre, lurid case and rush to judgment recalled in some respects another controversial New York City rape case.
In 1989, a woman was brutally raped while jogging through Central Park. The New York Times described the attack as “one of the most widely publicized crimes” of the decade. Five minority juveniles — four blacks and one Hispanic — were arrested. Donald Trump took out a full-page ad in four New York newspapers with the title: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
The five teens were convicted of a slew of charges and sentenced to between five and 15 years in prison, only for another man to confess in 2002 to raping the jogger. The five men were exonerated and received a $40million settlement from the city. The case was memorialized in a 2012 documentary named after the news media’s moniker for the defendants: “The Central Park Five.”
As problems emerged in the alleged Jan. 7 Brooklyn rape, people began drawing parallels with the Central Park Five.
“What are we really doing here?” Kenneth Montgomery, an attorney for a 14-year-old charged for the rape, told the New York Times. “Have we not learned our lessons from the Central Park Five?”
“It is an overwhelming feeling to be facing these charges,” he told the New York Post, “and it is an overwhelming feeling to be exonerated of them.”
The case began to unravel almost immediately, long before Wednesday’s announcement.
The father and daughter initially claimed they had been set upon by the teenagers, who brandished a gun and ordered the father to leave. As he went to find the police, the teenagers forced her at gunpoint to have sex with at least one suspect and to perform oral sex on two others, the woman told investigators.
But when investigators interviewed the teenagers, they claimed that there was no gun and that the woman had willingly had sex. Within a day of their arrest, the teens’ lawyers claimed cellphone videos showed the encounter was consensual.
Most shocking of all, the teens told police they had encountered the father and daughter having sex in the park that night. The teenagers then joined in the act.
“She said yeah,” a man’s voice can be heard saying on the video, according to the Times.
“If you said yeah, it’s lit, like, you know what I mean,” a man then says on the video. “I could tell you a freak.”
Confronted by police, the father and daughter reversed course, admitting that there was no gun. The woman admitted that she had consented to the group sex.
The father and daughter also both eventually admitted to drinking alcohol and having sex with one another, according to the Times.
Floodlights were added to Osborn Playground after the alleged incident. (Kathy Willens/AP)
On Wednesday, Thompson lamented that he could not charge the father for incest because his daughter was not cooperating with investigators.
“The complainant, as well as her father, provided multiple inconsistent accounts to NYPD Detectives and to experienced Special Victims prosecutors about important material facts in this case,” he said in a statement, according to PIX11. “The complainant has recanted her allegations of forcible sexual assault and the existence of a gun, and she does not wish to pursue criminal charges against any of the defendants. She also refuses to cooperate with any prosecution against her father, who was engaging in sexual conduct with her.”
[Woman recants; prosecutor to drop charges in Brooklyn park rape case]
Thompson said that just because the charges were being dropped, however, doesn’t mean the boys did nothing wrong.
“That night, this young woman’s father and the five young men engaged in conduct that was reprehensible and wrong, but because of the lack of reliable evidence, criminal charges simply cannot be sustained,” he said.
That comment drew a mixed reaction from attorneys representing the exonerated teenagers.
Several said their clients had done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law. One called the district attorney’s statement “a little bit of a smear on their character.”
At least one attorney, however, agreed with Thompson’s statement.
“I think that is a way, from a policy and social standpoint, to say, ‘Young men should exercise a little bit better judgment in dealing with certain things,’ but what they did didn’t rise to criminality,” attorney Ken Montgomery told the Times. “I would agree, in a sense, that we live in a country and a world where we have a lot of unhealthy ideas of what appropriate sexual relationships are.”
With the focus off the five boys, it shifted to the father and his daughter, who prosecutors have stressed is still a victim, even if she consented to the sex.
“It is my fervent hope that this young woman gets all the support that she needs going forward,” Thompson said. “My office, including our victim advocates who have been working with this young woman, stand ready to provide her with any assistance she may need.”
How she came to have sex with her own father, unleashing a torrid and tragic series of events, is, in part, a story of the failings of the American foster-care system.
She and her father had been separated for much of her life, officials told the Times. He lost custody of her when she was 2-years-old, as did her mother, who was a drug user.
The woman lived in California with a foster family, then in a series of group homes and facilities, developing emotional problems along the way, officials told the newspaper.
By the time the woman turned 18, her mother had died. She learned her biological father’s identity and tracked him down on Facebook, coming to New York City last summer to meet him.
The woman is not currently living with her father, officials told the Times.
As for the five teenage boys, four of them had already been released in mid-January. The fifth remains in jail on assault charges from a prior incident.
Even with the charges dropped, however, the high-profile case is likely to leave marks on their lives.
As with the Central Park Five nearly 30 years ago, the five boys received a flood of death and rape threats before they were cleared of wrongdoing.
“Time to bring back the death penalty,” one woman wrote online days after the arrest, echoing Trump, “and enforce it immediately not 20 years down the road.”
More from Morning Mix
They still haven’t tested the water in Flint for Legionnaire’s despite sickness and deaths
New kind of trigger warning at Texas university struggling with campus-carry law: ‘DO NOT confront a student’On Tuesday, April 18th, Richard Spencer, along with his former neo-Nazi rival, Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Worker Party, held a speaking event on the Auburn campus after fighting in court to defeat an injunction that sought to stop him from doing so. Before the rally, Alt-Right trolls predicted that attempts to protest and shutdown Spencer would be unsuccessful in the South, as they spread racist flyers around the university along with disinformation aimed at confusing protest groups. Meanwhile, Heimbach oozed out of the woodwork to the smell of potential media attention and offered to bring in his TWP members to provide security for Spencer and Mike Peinovich, the head of the neo-Nazi podcast network, The Right Stuff.
Spencer did end up speaking, but only after confrontations with antifascists that led to several fights and arrests and more importantly police forcing black bloc participants to leave the campus, while allowing white supremacists the ability to walk around with shields, weapons, and masks. This cooperation between the police and the neo-Nazis was useful for law enforcement, as it sought to use the far-Right to police the crowd and control it. We have to understand this relationship and call it for what it is: open collusion between white supremacists and law enforcement towards the common goal of crushing dissent.
But as Spencer was heckled by the students inside his talk, (he singled out African-American football players in particular, which drew a great backlash), outside of the speaking event, hundreds of students gathered and chanted “Fuck Richard Spencer!” As time passed, the crowd only grew larger.
While this was going on, student organizations worked with police to push groups of people into protest pens as to avoid possibly disrupting the event and also organized a free concert with pizza which was held at the football field. While these events are always promoted as an “alternative” to what the speaker in question is presenting, their real goal is to stop people from being disruptive and confrontational – in short, to be effective in shutting anything down. However, it should be noted that some students opted to take this route after receiving threats from members of the Alt-Right online in the lead up to the event. Not surprisingly, these threats did not factor into the actions of the police or the administration.
Several student organizers as well as the university and the police, were all adamant that they wanted to avoid the fights and confrontations that broke out in Berkeley, CA when Milo Yiannopoulos spoke in February. Ironically, it was this desire to avoid conflict that also allowed gangs of white supremacists free range of the campus, a platform to normalize their ideology, and also parade around with weapons and shields with the full support of the police. As one student stated, “I had grandparents in concentration camps, and to me this is how it all started.”
But as Spencer’s talk ended, hundreds of students followed the neo-Nazis on foot and and in their cars, literally driving them off the campus by the hundreds and reportedly even chasing Spencer’s car. Students continued this for some time, running the Alt-Right literally out of town.
According to those on the ground, some of the neo-Nazis were beaten as they were chased away by the crowd who chanted, “Tiger town puts Nazis down!” Various fascists were knocked to the ground, punched in the face, and stomped on before police could arrive to help them. As per usual, Richard Spencer was well protected by police and was escorted away from the premises as his “white bloc” security forces faced the wrath of the angry crowd.
While Spencer unsurprisingly declared victory over social media, what is clear is that it was the ability of the police to control the crowd that allowed Spencer to speak – not the ability of the Alt-Right to hold their ground. In the face of mass action from the students who pushed back against them, they high tailed and ran. All the way out of town.
While the is a victory in itself, both against the fascists, the control of the police, and the imposed management of student groups who wanted to avoid confrontation and disruption, we must also remember that the far-Right is coming together, gearing up, and preparing for large scale violence. We must organize, prepare ourselves, and develop the political base for mass resistance to white supremacy and fascism.
Here’s a social media roundup from the day:
It appears protesters are following Spencer's car pic.twitter.com/o3LMb6kdPM — Corey Williams (@CoreyAnnW) April 19, 2017
Large crowds continue running through downtown Auburn pic.twitter.com/j8DKkpbMiL — Sam Willoughby (@SamAWilloughby) April 19, 2017
Large crowds running toward downtown on Samford lawn — Sam Willoughby (@SamAWilloughby) April 19, 2017
"What did you do to fight fascism grandpa?" "I sat in a field and did nothing, like a fucking stupid liberal." https://t.co/yzRVe0Ca1L — It's Going Down (@IGD_News) April 19, 2017
Anti-Spencer protesters and people holding Antifa banner continue to chant outside Foy. Warning: graphic language. pic.twitter.com/6SXsi4VBUH — Sam Willoughby (@SamAWilloughby) April 19, 2017
Police doing their most to protect white supremacists. https://t.co/cbqejW1DRF — It's Going Down (@IGD_News) April 19, 2017
Start of march met with cheers of support as the group chants that "Fascism has got to go" pic.twitter.com/vDYzmEULKS — Kris Martins (@krisssmm) April 18, 2017
Protests continue outside Foy. pic.twitter.com/AwPxEfMVLx — Sam Willoughby (@SamAWilloughby) April 19, 2017
Nazi squads now scattered about downtown auburn, chased off campus at full sprint. Chants of it's great to be an Auburn tiger #auburn — AllOutATL (@AllOutAtlanta) April 19, 2017
Alt-right activists literally chased off Auburn campus by hundreds of students. Full sprint. pic.twitter.com/yWkMDa1Xew — Chris Joyner (@cjoyner) April 19, 2017
Hearing that nazis are being run off by students #auburn #fuckrichardspencer — AllOutATL (@AllOutAtlanta) April 19, 2017
More chants are starting outside Foy, where Spencer is speaking. pic.twitter.com/2QLCCKKFQa — Corey Williams (@CoreyAnnW) April |
," he said.
Despite the anxiety he felt about building the running engine, Stevens said that the one reassuring aspect was that, in his mind, although he could not visually picture what the engine was supposed to look like, he could hear how it was supposed to run.
At this point, Stevens reenacts the sound for me, a sputtering put-put sound, and laughs.
After a long construction process, and about five or six kick start tries, it ran.
A sweet symphony of sputtering.
"When I heard it run, I knew that that was the first time that anyone had heard that noise in 99 years, because the last time that car ran was 1894, after that, J. Frank Duryea took that car apart to give him information on how to make the next automobile he created," Stevens said.
At that point, there was a running engine and a complete carriage. The only task left was to join these two pieces together. After this task was complete, the finishing touches to the vehicle were completed with the help of Putnam High School students, who assisted with painting the carriage parts.
In July 1993, the 100th anniversary year, the vehicle made its first public showing with a drive in the Quadrangle in Springfield.
Stevens was asked to bring the car to show at the Big E in the beginning weeks of that September, and during that same time, The Henry Ford Museum in Michigan was hosting an antique automobile show that Stevens and his team wanted to showcase the car in as well.
They traveled to the Ford Museum during that week, and showed his Duryea. After the event, while packing up to head back to Springfield, Stevens recalls driving his horseless carriage, and suddenly as he was putting along, a miscalculation led to him snapping the crankshaft of the vehicle right there, over six hundred miles away with only days to spare before the big event, the centennial celebration for the Duryea in Springfield.
The team loaded up Stevens' Duryea and hauled it back to Springfield, driving through the night. They machined and welded the broken piece back together just in time for the celebration.
Stevens successfully drove his original copy from Taylor Street to Spruce Street with police escorts during the centennial celebration for the Duryea in Springfield. A city councilor officially recognized Stevens' efforts with a proclamation that day, September 21, 1993, as Duryea day, 100 years after the automobile first ran on the streets of Springfield.
His eight year journey had brought him to this victorious moment as he recreated history, and despite the many challenges Stevens had to overcome, he says, "I was as happy as could be. I was driving my baby."
Now, more than two decades later, Stevens reminisces on the joys of his journey.
"I was able to go back in history, grab onto something I had a deep interest in, and ride it for all that it was worth," Stevens recalled. "I wish I could ride it for more than I already have! And on a personal level, I am very proud of what came to be."
And with that reflection, Stevens leaves younger generations with this bit of advice: "When presented the opportunity to embark on a journey, as I have, it is crucial to not shy away from it. Take it head on and do what has to be done."
Stevens now resides in Springfield, MA with his wife, Dianne, and their dog, Mitzie. His Duryea original copy can be seen at the Springfield Museums and Stevens' sculpture of the second original gasoline-powered Duryea vehicle ever created (the second model built in 1895) can be seen on Duryea Way in Springfield.Turtle Bunbury Writer and Historian
How the Cumberland Monument in Birr
might have looked if Samuel Chearney
had survived. From William Laffan's
'Miscelanea Structura Curiosa'.
HISTORY
IRISH HISTORY
The BUTCHER & THE HELL-FIRE CLUB
Talk of the town in Birr, County Offaly, this week (November 2009) is the fate of the massive Doric column that stands at the centre of Emmet Square. It is presently covered in scaffolding while urgent work begins on its restoration. Local councillors have mixed opinions on whether the ‘Cumberland Column’, as it is called, should be considered a priority in these recessionary times, not least since Birr County Council are footing €24,000 of the €58,000 restoration fee. (But, of course, it's all to easy to forget that such a restoration at least employs the people who are restoring it). [i]
Ostensibly, this elaborate column – the oldest in Ireland - celebrates the Duke of Cumberland, the infamous ‘Butcher of Culloden’, who crushed Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite rebellion in 1746.
However, new architectural drawings that have lately come to light suggest that this elaborate column was in fact just the first phase of a bold and ambitious plan, inspired by the Hell-Fire Club and the Freemasons, to convert the Midlands town into an extraordinary Gothic playground.
The centrepiece of this plan was the 55-foot high Cumberland Column, based on that of Marcus Aurelius in Rome and crowned by a 7.5-foot high white marble statue of ‘The Butcher’, clad in the robes of a Roman senator. [ii]
The Duke of Cumberland
by Joshua Reynolds.
A year before the column’s completion, Cumberland, George II’s favourite son, had led the English army north into Scotland to halt and destroy the Jacobites. London had been in a panic about the Jacobites ever since Prince Charles’ Franco-Scottish army – including 475 men from the legendary Irish Brigade - reached as far south Derby.[iii] The Jacobites goal was to seize the throne from George II and install the Catholic Prince Charles as King of Britain and Ireland.
FOR MORE ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE DUKE, CLICK HERE.
Cumberland’s 9,000 strong army - which included at least one regiment of Irishmen - ulitmately met the Jacobites at the battle of Culloden, near Inverness, and annihilated them.[iv] A thousand Scotsmen were killed in the battle. One hundred and twenty prisoners were executed on the spot immediately afterwards. Over a thousand were banished or transported to the colonies. A further 700 remain unaccounted for.
In stark contrast to the ruthless actions taken to the Highland clansmen, soldiers from the French army and the Irish Brigade were permitted to formally surrender, were treated well and eventually returned to France. Cumberland considered them regular soldiers of a foreign ruler, as opposed to traitors, and accordingly they were subject to the normal practices of warfare
In the weeks that followed, Cumberland’s army ran riot through the Highlands, killing any suspect rebels and destroying all dissident settlements. This systematic ‘scorched earth’ policy caused a dreadful and deadly famine which enveloped Scotland that winter. The American revolutionary Thomas Paine described the campaign as ‘one of the most shocking instances of cruelty ever practiced’.[v]
The proposed amphitheatre for Birr.
However, while Bonnie Prince Charlie fled back to France and ignominy, the Butcher of Culloden was lionized as a British hero, the saviour of the Protestant faith. His actions may have been extreme but, rather like Cromwell at Drogheda a hundred years earlier, or indeed Hiroshima 200 years later, he certainly brought an abrupt end to enemy operations.
It was arguably the House of Hanover’s finest hour. The young Royal basked in the glory. The Provost and Senior Fellows of Trinity College Dublin elected him their Chancellor.[vi] The University of Glasgow gave him an honorary degree. Parliament awarded him an annual income of £25,000. Coins were minted and plates, bowls, mugs and punchbowls produced in his honour, with mottoes such as ‘Duke William For Ever’. He was toasted in taverns across the land. Handel wrote an oratorio in his honour. His name graced streets and squares in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and, indeed, Birr. [vii]
In 1747, Sir Laurence Parsons of Birr Castle commissioned a statue of the Butcher and erected it on top of the handsome Doric column that stood at the heart of his town.[viii] The newly formed Birr Freemason’s Lodge paraded in the towns’ equally new Palladian ‘Cumberland Square’ to mark the occasion.[ix] The Butcher himself was a prominent member of the Freemasons, having been initiated while serving in Belgium in 1743. His elder brother, Frederick, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the Crown, was the first English Prince to be initiated a Freemason.
The Birr Freemasons subsequently enjoyed ‘a most liberal entertainment’ at Birr Castle where ‘the same mirth was continued and toasts repeated.’
Chearnley's Fountain for Birr.
However, even as those toasts resounded around his castle, Sir Laurence must have wondered whether his architectural dream was still possible. Sir Laurence’s vision was recently revealed by the discovery of an album found at Birr Castle entitled Miscelanea Structura Curiosa. It contains a series of architectural drawings attributed to Sir Laurence and his cousin, the architect Samuel Chearnley. These show that the Cumberland Column was merely the first part of an infinitely more complex project, in which the two collaborators hoped to convert Birr into what architectural historian William Laffan likens to a ride on ‘a fairpark ghost train’, replete with fantastical fountains, grotesque grottos and labyrinthine corridors modelled on Hell itself. The column was just the start – and clearly the soberest aspect – of the project.[x]
Laffan believes Parsons and Chearnley’s plans were strongly influenced by the occult ethos of the Hell-Fire Club.[xi] This bizarre secret society was founded in Dublin in 1735 by Sir Laurence’s cousin, the Earl of Rosse, first Grand Master of the Irish Freemasons.
Lord Rosse was undoubtedly one of the more colourful characters of Georgian Ireland. Little is known of his childhood save that he was born in 1696 and succeeded his father as 2nd Viscount Rosse six years later.[xii] He inherited his good looks from his mother, Elizabeth de Hamilton, the eldest of three beautiful French sisters, known as ‘The Three Viscountesses’. At the age of 17, he went to Oxford where he earned a reputation as an outstanding wit and an impressive drinker.[xiii] Five years later, George I elevated him in the peerage as 1st Earl of Rosse.[xiv] He married two heiresses in succession, each of whom bore him a son.[xv]
In June 1725, this ‘consummate profligate’ and well-known Libertine was elected first Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. His election continues to baffle Freemasons to this day because the ‘humour and frolics’ for which he was famed are not ideals that Freemasons tend to applaud.[xvi] Even Dr Crawley, the great Masonic historian, conceded that ‘His Lordship’s idea of morals were inverted, and his skill shone most in the management of the small-sword and the dice-box.’ But Lord Rosse was clearly an adept Grand Master because he was re-elected to the office again in 1730.[xvii]
However, the following year, Rosse inherited a million pounds from his grandmother, Fanny Talbot, and stepped down as Grand Master.[xviii]
He duly went on an extended tour of Europe and Egypt, during which time he established himself as a'sorcerer and dabbler in black magic’. He wrote a book called ‘Dionysus Rising’, which purported to be based on an ancient scroll looted from the Great Library in Alexandria shortly before it burned to the ground. He duly founded a short-lived society called the Sacred Sect of Dionysus, celebrating the joys of Bacchus and Venus, vis-à-vis alcohol and sex.[xix]
In 1735, the Earl remerged on the Irish social scene with gusto, founding the notorious Hell-Fire Club.[xx] The exact nature of what this secret society got up to remains a source of much gossip down to the present day.[xxi] The rumours alone would be enough to make the producers of ‘Twlight’ shiver. Lord Rosse and his cronies are said to have hosted black masses, mock crucifixions and wild homosexual orgies, co-starring women dressed as nuns. Servants were apparently doused in brandy and set alight. Black cats – and the occasional dwarf - were sacrificed on the altar. They drank hot scaltheen (a cocktail of whisky and butter) and played cards with the Devil.
There is no smoke without fire and undoubtedly Satanism and an ill-informed black magic played a role in these gatherings. You’d expect as much from a club called Hell-Fire. There was also an anti-Catholic core, as per the club’s oath which ran: ‘Pluto; I am thine … I, by thy efficacious mighty self, do swear all that is called good by silly priest-rid fools entirely to abandon’. One of Lord Rosse’s sidekicks was Richard 'Burn-Chapel' Whaley, so called after his hobby of setting fire to the thatch on Catholic chapels.
But in truth, the antics of the Hell-Fire Club appear to have been rather less stimulating than the rumours. It was effectively a rather base club, comprised of young, thrill-seeking Protestant rakes who drank, gamed and wenched, albeit with a certain 18th century panache. They were the sons of landed gentry, merchants and minor aristocracy, with buckets of time on their hands and enough money to enjoy it all. They may have toasted the Devil and chortled at bad jokes about superstitious priests but, Whaley aside, they were ultimately a harmless crew.
The Hell-Fire Clubs’ principal haunts were the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill, near Dublin Castle, and Daly’s Club on College Green. The ‘Bucks’, as they were known, sometimes met in an abandoned hunting lodge on the gorse and heather hued slopes of the Dublin Mountains. Known as Mount Pellier, this lodge was built in 1725 by Speaker William Connolly, apparently incorporating stones from a megalithic cairn that once surmounted the hill.[xxii] It is perhaps no small coincidence that Connolly purchased the property from Philip, Duke of Wharton, who, echoing Lord Rosse, was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England and founder of the Hell-Fire Club in London.
Be it Rosse or Wharton, one can see why contemporary Freemasons baulk at the instrumental role their former Grand Master’s seem to have played in the creation of these bizarre Satanic clubs. The practices and philosophies of the Hell-Fire Clubs were the exact opposite to those of Freemasonry. The latter teaches moderation combined with obedience to both the moral and civic law. The Hell-Fire Club promotes excess, drunkenness, debauchery and a complete disregard for social convention.[xxiii]
Whether the Butcher himself ever participated in Hell-Fire antics is unknown. [xxiiia]He was certainly known for his ‘dull gallantries’ with the harlots who frequented 'the bosquets of Marylebone Gardens’ in London. But he probably wasn’t fit enough for much else. A series of military defeats after Culloden left him in disgrace and, in 1765, the ‘grossly corpulent’ Butcher died of a heart attack at the age of 44.
Lord Rosse never lost his sense of humour. In 1741, as he lay dying at his house on Molesworth Street, he received a letter from Dean Madden, the Vicar of St. Anne's, lambasting him as a blasphemer, scoundrel, gamester and such like, and imploring him to repent of his sins without delay. Noting that the Dean has simply addressed the letter to ‘My Lord’, Rosse put the letter into a fresh envelope and instructed a footman to deliver it to Lord Kildare who lived nearby. The ruse worked a treat and Lord Kildare, one of Dean Madden’s most pious and generous parishioners, was mortified to think the rebuke-filled letter was directed at him. Lord Rosse died before anybody worked it out. He was probably laughing as he went.
The Hell-Fire Club was disbanded following his death. Six years later, his cousin Sir Laurence recalled the Earl’s flamboyant spirit when he laid the foundation stone for the Cumberland Column. However, Sir Laurence’s grand plans to convert Birr into a Hell-Fire metropolis fell apart with the tragic and untimely death, from illness, of his young colleague Samuel Chearnley that same year.
All that now remains of these strange times is the Cumberland Column. The statue of the Butcher himself was removed in 1915. Local legend holds that it was toppled from its pedestal by vengeful Scottish soldiers stationed in Birr’s Crinkill Barracks. In truth, it was actually taken down by a steeplejack firm on the orders of the Urban District Council after a crack appeared, causing the statue to tilt dangerously over the square below.
It’s extremely unlikely that the Butcher’s statue, on display in Birr Castle, will ever grace the column again. The question is, who should they put in his place?
FOOTNOTES
[i] Its’ construction coincides with the most significant period of folly building in Irish history, which saw the erection of the Boyne Obelisk (1736), Connolly’s Folly, (1740-41), the Stillorgan Obelisk (circa 1740) and the Wonderful Barn (1743).
‘How proudly he talks, Of zigzacks and walks; And all the day raves Of cradles and caves; And boasts of his feats His grottoes and seats’. Dean Swift, My Lady’s Lamentation and Complaint against the Dean.
[ii] The statue itself was personally paid for by Parsons It was executed by Cheere of London, the same artist who executed the monument in memory of the Earl of Cork, on the north side of the altar in Christ's Church, Dublin.Things did not go wholly to plan. In a letter the Cheeres, expressed surprise when a crack appeared in the Duke’s leg, but insisted that it could be mended by a plumber and to pacify Sir Laurence, they included in the price a plaster bust of Cumberland, polished to imitate marble which, they noted, was ‘exceeding like and very handsome to stand in a room upon a table or chimney piece’.
[iii] The men from the Irish Brigade were under the command of Colonel John O'Sullivan and Sir Thomas Sheridan.
[iv] As well as a thousand dead, nearly 3,500 Jacobites were taken prisoner, of whom 120 were executed, 88 died in prison, 936 were transported to the colonies and 222 more were simply ‘banished’. Many of the rest were eventually released, though the fate of nearly 700 remains unknown.
[v] Smollet wrote how ‘the men were either shot upon the mountain, like wild beasts, or put to death in cold blood, without form of trial; the women, after having seen their husbands and fathers murdered, were subject to brutal violation and then turned out naked, with their children, to starve on the barren heaths’. One family were said to have been burned alive in a barn. John Prebble's Culloden, Penguin, 1961.
[vi] It was during his tenure that the Provost’s House was built in 1759.
[vii] Some porcelain mugs with his head were even manufactured in China. At a special thanksgiving service in St Paul’s Cathedral, Handel premiered ‘The Conquering Hero’, written in the Duke’s honour. Britain’s provincial towns lauded him for thwarting the Jacobites and thus defeating the French. He was the champion of Britain’s imperial interest. However, like a football manager, a General is only as good as his last victory. Cumberland swiftly fell from grace when he suffered back-to-back defeats against the French. He became grossly obese and retired from public life. Hedied, aged 44, from a heart attack in 1765.
[viii] Born in 1707, Sir Laurence married a wealthy heiress at the age of 23 and succeeded to Birr Castle just months before Lord Rosse’s death. He was a grandson and heir of Sir William Parsons, 2nd Bart, and son of William Parsons and Martha Pigott, daughter of Thoma Pigott of Chetwynd, Co Cork. His father died sometime before 1740. On 5 September 1730, he married, firstly, Mary Sprigge, daughter and heiress of the wealthy William Sprigge of Clognove, Co Offaly (and granddaughter of Edward Denny of Tralee). Their only son William (later the 4th Bart) was born on 6 May 1731, played a prominent role in the Volunteers and ultimately became head of the family.
On 16 February 1742, Sir Laurence married, secondly, Anne Harman, daughter of Wentworth Harman and Frances Sheppard, with whom he had two sons, Captain Wentworth Parsons (b. Oct 1745) and Laurence Parsons-Harman, 1st Earl of Rosse of the next creation (1749-1807). Sir Laurence died in 1756. In the 1760s, Lady Anne Parsons (nee Harman) was locked into a legal battle with Thomas Bunbury of Kill.
[ix] The Birr Freemasons' Lodge was also established in the year 1747. The warrant is from Sir Marmaduke Wyville, Baronet, Grand Master, and John Putland, Deputy Grand Master, to William Macoun, Thomas Nethercott, and James Armstrong, the first Master and Wardens. Sir Marmaduke Wyvill (d.1754) was Postmaster General for Ireland, and made an interesting marriage to Cary (d.1734), daughter of Edward Coke of Norfolk and Derbyshire, whose family were instrumental in importing the Godolphin Arabian from France. The warrant is No. 163, and bears date the 15th July A.D. 1747, and year of Masonry, 5747. There was another warrant issued in 1847, exactly one hundred years after for holding a Royal Lodge in Birr.
Faulkner’s Journal records the day they met in Birr, ‘having dined in the town [the gentlemen] went to the place where the pillar is to be erected, being preceded by Sir Laurence Parsons’ Independent company [of militia], under arms, in a uniform dress….A tent was prepared for their reception, which was abundantly furnished with the materials for a cheerful entertainment, under a discharge of their fire arms (which really was as regular as among the standing forces) were drank…the Royal Family, and our brave commander at Culloden; minds sensible of the dangers we lately escaped, and the blessings we at present enjoy… The Colonel having taken care to make his men and the spectators happy, by a most liberal entertainment, brought all the gentlemen to his house, where the same mirth was continued and toasts repeated.’
[x] Since Egyptian times, columns have been regarded as pillars of life and are closely associated with ‘sexual rites, hermetic wisdom and secret societies’.
[xi] The Cumberland Column has specific Masonic connotations, not least with the establishment of the first lodge in Birr in 1747. The connections between architecture and Masonic ritual were at peak levels at this time.
[xii] Richard Parsons, 1st Viscount Rosse, was a grandson of William Parsons, the Surveyor. He was elevated to the peerage in 1681. In 1685, he married – as his third wife - Elizabeth de Hamilton, the eldest of three beautiful sisters and mother of the Earl of Rosse. Her sisters were Frances, wife to Henry, 8th Viscount Dillon, and Mary, wife to Nicholas, 3rd Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland. Their father was Sir George, Comte de Hamilton, a Maréchal-du-Camp of France, and their uncle was Anthony Hamilton, a Lieut.-General in the service of France, and author of "Mémoires du Comte de Grammont", which was about the husband of Anthony’s sister, Elizabeth "la belle Hamilton," one of the most brilliant ornaments of the court of Charles II. Viscount Rosse died in January 1702 and was succeeded as 2nd Viscount Rosse by his 6-year-old son, Richard (1697-1741).
[xiii] Lord Rosse entered Oxford on 15th May, 1713, aged 17.
[xiv] On 16th June 1718, he was created Earl of Rosse.
[xv] Lord Rosse married firstly, in 1714, Mary (d. in 1718) eldest dau. of Lord William Paulet (Poweltt), sometime Father of the House of Commons, by his marriage to Louisa de Caumont. They had one son, Richard (d.1764), 2nd and last Earl of Rosse of this creation, and daughter, Elizabeth, who died unmarried. Mary died on 15 October 1718 and, the following year, Lord Rosse married secondly, Frances, dau. of Thomas Claxton of Dublin, and niece of Captain Edward Lovet Pearce, the architect of the Irish House of Commons in Dublin.
[xvi] Rosse was well-known as a man of ‘humour and frolic’, neither of which one would generally associate with Freemasonry. Quote from Gilbert, Somerville-Large, ‘Irish Eccentrics’. It seems plausible that he was solely appointed Grandmaster because of his aristocratic credentials. His character was certainly not one the Freemasons would have generally approved of.
[xvii] It is notable that in 1868, over 100 years after his death, the present day Freemason's Hall was built on Molesworth Street where Lord Rosse had his Dublin townhouse.
[xviii] Fanny Talbot (nee Jennings) was a sister to Queen Anne’s favourite, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Sir Bernard Burke described her in his ‘Reminiscences’ as ‘Fairest among the fair … even in her extreme youth tongues ran riot in her praise, and, long ere she had reached womanhood, she was the pride of all circles and the idol of her own.’ Her first husband, and grandfather to Lord Rosse, was Sir George, Comte de Hamilton, a Maréchal-du-Camp of France. After Sir George’s death, she married Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell, favourite of James I and Lord Deputy of Ireland 1686 to 1692. After James II was defeated at the Boyne, Fanny came into such dire financial straits that she eked out a living in London as a flower girl. However she bounced back so that by the time she died at her house, near the Phoenix Park, Dublin, on 6th March, 1730-31, aged 82, ‘Tis said her Grace left near a Million of Money, which mostly now is possess'd by the Right Hon. the Lord Rosse, her Grace’s Grandson, to the general joy of the Citizens, that Nobleman having been formerly one of their greatest benefactors.’ (Dublin Weekly Journal, 13th March, 1730-31.)
[xix] An offshoot of freemasonry called the Revived Order of Dionysus is in existence in New Orleans, USA, and split due to a belief that Freemasonry is descendant from a pre-Christian cult called Dionysiac Architects. They were inspired by Richard Parsons book, only two copies of which exist to this day.
[xx] His cohorts were Jack St Ledger, James Worsdale and Richard 'Burn-Chapel' Whaley, so called after his hobby of setting fire to the thatch on Catholic chapels.
Colonel Jack St Leger, second son of Viscount Doneraile, was killed in a duel in 1741, the year Lord Rosse died. He was said to have been so obsessed with the Duchess of Rutland that he would drink the water in which she had washed her hands.
The portrait artist, playwright and fraudster James Worsdale claimed to be an illegitimate son of the portrait artist Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Another founder was Charles Talbot Blayney, 8th Lord Blayney (1714-1761), who succeeded his father as Baron in March 1733 and became MP for Monaghan in 1735. He later became a clergyman, rising through the hierarchy to become Dean of Killaloe in 1750.
[xxi] For many people today, the term Hell-Fire Club conjures images of that which Sir Francis Dashwood founded at West Wycombe in England. That is incorrect. Dashwood’s club was called ‘The Order' (or 'Brotherhood') 'of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Permissive Society at Medmenham. Benjamin Franklin was its most famous member and Horace Walpole a frequent visitor. The Medmenhamites had a profound influence over the ill-fated Bute Ministry of 1762-63, in which Dashwood was Chancellor of the Exchequer. The journalist John Wilkes, also a Medmenhamite, was so upset that Bute did not give him a Ministry that he published a newspaper called The North Briton, in which both Bute and the Dowager Princess of Wales were so savagely satirised that the Bute ministry collapsed.
[xxii] The house consisted of two large rooms and a hall on the upper floor with a kitchen and servant's hall on the lower floor. In 1849, protestors objecting to the impending visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland rolled burning tar barrels into the building and burned it down. Its’ ruins are still visible today at the top of Stocking Lane on lands owned by Coilte.
[xxiii] And yet just as Parsons was the reputed founder of the Hell Fire Club in Dublin so too the London Hell Fire Club was founded by a former Grand Master of England, namely Philip, Duke of Wharton, also a chronic alcoholic, as well as a Jacobite sympathizer. The Duke’s mother was one of the Loftus family of Rathfarnham.
[xxiiia] Some of his colleagues were certainly up to high jinks. Sir Francis Dashwood was Postmaster-General in Dublin at the same time the unmarried Cumberland was Chancellor of Trinity College. Also in Dublin then was Thomas Potter, Paymaster-General and Treasurer for Ireland, was a prominent Hell-Fire member with a penchant for seducing women in graveyards.
Acknowledgments
With thanks to William Laffan, Peter Somerville-Large, James Howley, James Peil, Alison Rosse, Regina Lavelle and the Offaly Historical & Archaeological Society.
Bibiography
Chearnley, Samuel, Miscelanea Structura Curiosa (Churchill House Press). A truly magnificent tome
available from Birr Castle.
Lord, Evelyn, The Hellfire Clubs Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies. A fascinating insight into the world of the Hellfire Clubs published by Yale Univeristy Press.
ArticlesNew Foundations Explorer - Constructs mathematics from scratch, starting from Quine's NF set theory axioms.
Higher-Order Logic Explorer - Starts with HOL (also called simple type theory) and derives equivalents to ZFC axioms, connecting the two approaches.
Intuitionistic Logic Explorer - Derives mathematics from a constructive point of view, starting from axioms of intuitionistic logic.
Hilbert Space Explorer - Extends ZFC set theory into Hilbert space, which is the foundation for quantum mechanics. Includes over 1,000 complete formal proofs.
Quantum Logic Explorer - Starts from the orthomodular lattice properties proved in the Hilbert Space Explorer and takes you into quantum logic with around 1,000 proofs.
Metamath Solitaire - A Java applet that demonstrates simple proofs. Built-in axiom systems include ZFC; modal, intuitionistic, and quantum logics; and Tarski's plane geometry.
Metamath Music Page - Strictly for fun. You can listen to what mathematical proofs "sound" like!
Mini FAQ
Q: What is Metamath?
Q: How can I ask questions or discuss Metamath-related topics?
A: The Metamath Google Group [retrieved 4-Aug-2016] mailing list is being used for discussion about Metamath. If you have questions, that is a good place to ask them. (The AsteroidMeta [retrieved 4-Aug-2016] wiki was used for many older Metamath discussions, but is no longer available. Archived discussions such as this one can be found on archive.org.)
Q: Where do I start?
A: Read Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Metamath Proof Explorer. Then look at a few proofs in Section 4 to make sure you understand how they work.
Obviously knowledge of mathematics is important. For a nice independent introduction to logic, see Hirst and Hirst's A Primer for Logic and Proof [retrieved 27-Sep-2017] (PDF, 0.5MB); compare its axioms to ours. Wikipedia has an overview of set theory [retrieved 4-Aug-2016]. The video series "Introduction to Higher Mathematics" by Bill Shillito [retrieved 27-Sep-2017] may also be helpful.
You can experiment with simple proofs in the Metamath Solitaire applet. To actually create real metamath proofs, you'll want to download a tool. A common tool is mmj2. David A. Wheeler produced an introductory video, "Introduction to Metamath & mmj2" [retrieved 4-Aug-2016].
Q: Will Metamath help me learn abstract mathematics?
A: Yes, but probably not by itself. In order to follow a proof in an advanced math textbook, you may need to know prerequisites that could take years to learn. Some people find this frustrating. In contrast, Metamath uses a single, simple substitution rule that allows you to follow any proof mechanically. You can actually jump in anywhere and be convinced that the symbol string you see in a proof step is a consequence of the symbol strings in the earlier steps that it references, even if you don't understand what the symbols mean. But this is quite different from understanding the meaning of the math that results. Metamath alone probably will not give you an intuitive feel for abstract math, in the same way it can be hard to grasp a large computer program just by reading its source code, even though you may understand each individual instruction. However, the Bibliographic Cross-Reference lets you compare informal proofs in math textbooks and see all the implicit missing details "left to the reader."
Q: Who is the intended audience for Metamath?
A: Metamath is not for everyone, of course. A person with no interest in math may find it boring or, optimistically, might find a spark of inspiration. Professional mathematicians may view it as a curiosity more than a tool - they need to do things at a high level to work efficiently. On the other hand, Metamath can appeal to those who enjoy picking things apart to see how they work. Others may like the absolute rigor that Metamath offers. Someone new to logic and set theory, who is still developing the mathematical maturity needed to follow informal textbook proofs, may find some reassurance in Metamath's step-by-step breakdown. And anyone who appreciates the austere elegance of formal mathematics for its own sake might enjoy just casually browsing through the proofs for their aesthetic appeal.
Q: I already have an abstract mathematics background. How can I grasp the key ideas in a Metamath proof more quickly?
A: On the web page with the proof, look at the little colored numbers in the Ref column. The steps with the largest numbers are usually the ones you want to look at first. The steps with smaller numbers are typically logic "glue" to tie them together. The colors follow roughly the rainbow colors as the statement number increases, so that the largest numbers tend to stand out from the others. With a little practice, this feature, together with the gray indentation levels showing the tree structure, should help you figure out the "important" steps so that you could write down an informal version of the proof if you wanted to.
(By the way, it's best not to use the colored numbers to reference theorems in an archived discussion, since they change when new theorems are inserted at an earlier point in the database.)
Q: What does the Metamath language look like?
A: The precise technical specification of the language is given in Section 4.1 (p. 99) of the Metamath book and is about 4 pages long. A simple example is given on p. 40. Compare this source screenshot with the generated web page. But you don't have to know or even look at the language if you just want to follow the proofs on these web pages.
The metamath program and mmj2 are the main tools for working with the Metamath language. As an indication of the language's simplicity, Raph Levien independently wrote the remarkably small mmverify proof verifier in Python. He writes, "I find the whole thing a bit magical. Those 300 lines of code, plus a couple dozen axioms, effectively give you the building blocks for all of mathematics." Bob Solovay wrote a nicely commented presentation of Peano arithmetic in the Metamath language, peano.mm, that is worth reading as a stand-alone file.
Q: What other programs have been written for the Metamath language?
A: Over a dozen proof verifiers for the Metamath language have been written and are listed at Known Metamath proof verifiers. Also, several proof languages have been based on Metamath, and the software and other documentation for these can be found under Metamath-related programs.
Q: How confident can I be in the proofs?
A: You can be extremely confident that the proofs follow from their axioms. All reasoning is done directly in the proof itself rather than by algorithms embedded in the verification program. Computer verification programs never get tired and rigorously check every step. There is the risk that a verifier has a programming bug, but this is countered by the Metamath language's small size (this simplicity reduces the likelihood of such bugs) and by using multiple independently-implemented verifiers (since it is unlikely that all verifiers will have the same kind of bug). For example, the Metamath Proof Explorer is routinely checked by 4 independent verifiers: |
damaging" and said they denigrate the intelligence agencies that protect the nation.
"It plays into, particularly now the Russian narrative, that America doesn't know what it's doing," Biden told reporters outside the White House on Thursday.
"The one thing you never want to invoke is Nazi Germany, no matter what the circumstances," the vice president said. "It's an overwhelming diversion from the point you're trying to make."
Critique on Trump's tweets
Steinmeier also took the opportunity to comment on Trump's foreign policy stances and his penchant for Twitter. The German minister said he couldn't imagine that Trump's foreign policy communications would continue to come in the form of tweets long after he takes office.
"I would not be in the position to formulate a foreign policy concept in 140 characters," Steinmeier added with a slight smile.
Referencing Trump's hour-long press conference on Wednesday - the first in nearly six months - Steinmeier said Trump's foreign policy stances continue to remain unclear.
"At this point, it still seems too early to identify a perspective for the future policies of the United States with regards to the Middle East, North Africa, or Iran," the German foreign minister said.
He added that remarks made by secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday "showed slightly different nuances."
During his confirmation hearing, Tillerson called Russia a "danger" and promised to protect Washington's European allies. He also rejected the idea of an immigration ban on Muslims.
President-elect Trump has already stirred controversy and diplomatic tensions with his Twitter usage. He has repeatedly used the social media platform to take jabs at China, demand that Mexico pay for a border wall and lambast actors who are critical of his views.The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired from 2004 to 2007, and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the United States. The first television series is set in a zoo operated by Bob Fossil, the second in a flat and the third in a secondhand shop in Dalston called Nabootique.
Various members of The Mighty Boosh have appeared in a number of different comedy series including Nathan Barley, Snuff Box and Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy, and regular Boosh collaborators included Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry. The troupe is named after a childhood hairstyle of co-star Michael Fielding.[2]
History [ edit ]
Fielding first met Barratt after seeing him perform his solo stand-up routine at the Hellfire Comedy Club in the Wycombe Swan Theatre,[3] in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The pair soon found that they shared comic interests, formed a double act, and "decided to be the new Goodies".[4] After their first performance together at a bar, De Hems, in London in April 1998, Barratt and Fielding developed their zookeeper characters – Howard Moon and Vince Noir, respectively – in a series of sketches for Paramount Comedy’s Unnatural Acts. Here they also met American Rich Fulcher, who became Bob Fossil. Fielding’s friend Dave Brown and Fielding's brother Michael also became regular collaborators. Richard Ayoade was another original cast member, playing adventurer Dixon Bainbridge, but Matt Berry replaced him in the first television series, since Ayoade was under contract with Channel 4.[5] Ayoade returned in the second and third series as a belligerent shaman named Saboo. Noel Fielding and Michael Fielding have each separately stated that the name "Mighty Boosh" was originally a phrase used by a friend of Michael's to describe the hair that Michael had as a child.[2][6]
The Boosh produced 3 stage shows – The Mighty Boosh (1998), Arctic Boosh (1999) and Autoboosh (2000) – all of which were taken to the Edinburgh Fringe. With the success of Autoboosh, a radio series was commissioned by the BBC. Produced by Danny Wallace, The Boosh was first broadcast in 2001 on BBC London Live, later transferring to BBC Radio 4, from which the team were given a half-hour television pilot of the same name.
The first 8-part series, directed by Paul King, was then commissioned for BBC Three and broadcast in 2004, with a second of 6 episodes the next year. The second series moved away from the zoo setting to show Howard, Vince, Naboo the shaman and Bollo the talking ape living in a flat in Dalston.[7] In 2006, the Boosh returned to theatre with The Mighty Boosh Live, which featured a new story entitled "The Ruby of Kukundu".
After two years away from television, the Boosh returned in November 2007. Set in Naboo’s second-hand shop below the flat, the third series drew approximately 1 million viewers with its first episode,[8] and in light of its success, BBC Three broadcast an entire night of The Mighty Boosh on 22 March 2008, which included a new documentary and 6 of Barratt and Fielding's favourite episodes from all 3 series. J. G. Quintel has said that The Mighty Boosh was a large influence on his animated series Regular Show.
In June 2013, it was confirmed that The Mighty Boosh would reunite for a US festival called Festival Supreme in October 2013.[9]
Main cast [ edit ]
Note: The cast members also play smaller roles throughout the series, the roles listed above are their most frequently appearing characters. For a full list of characters, see the List of The Mighty Boosh characters.
Theatre [ edit ]
Original stage shows [ edit ]
The Mighty Boosh (1998) [ edit ]
The Boosh, then consisting of only Barratt and Fielding, conceived The Mighty Boosh whilst working on Stewart Lee's Edinburgh Festival show King Dong vs. Moby Dick in which they played a giant penis and a whale respectively.
In 1998, they took The Mighty Boosh to the Edinburgh Festival, recruiting fellow comedian Rich Fulcher, whom the pair had met while working on Unnatural Acts. The show won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. During their residency at North London's Hen and Chickens Theatre the following year, they built up a cult following, introducing new characters whilst developing old ones.
Arctic Boosh (1999) [ edit ]
Poster used in magazines and venues around the UK to promote the Boosh's nationwide 2008 tour.
In 1999, the Boosh returned to the Edinburgh Festival with a new show, Arctic Boosh, with Dave Brown acting as choreographer and photographer, as well as playing a variety of characters. Arctic Boosh sold out every night and was nominated for the Perrier Award. The show was directed by Stewart Lee.[10]
Autoboosh (2000) [ edit ]
In 2000, the Boosh premiered their third stage show, Autoboosh, at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, adding Fielding's younger brother Michael to the cast. Autoboosh won the festival's Barry Award.
Nationwide tours [ edit ]
The Mighty Boosh Live (2006) [ edit ]
The Boosh returned to the stage in 2006, touring the UK for the first time. Though drawing heavily from their earlier material, the main story combined these elements into a new narrative. A recording of this show at the Brixton Academy was later released on DVD, before being broadcast on BBC Three on Boxing Day, 2007.
Boosh Live: Future Sailors Tour (2008/09) [ edit ]
The Boosh toured the UK and Ireland for a second time from September 2008 to February 2009. The show featured characters from all three series as well as the Boosh Band.
They made appearances throughout the UK after their live shows, at after-parties held in different places in each city. The events were called "Outrage", after the catchphrase by Tony Harrison.
Radio [ edit ]
The Boosh (2001) [ edit ]
From the success of Autoboosh, the BBC commissioned a six-part radio series for the Boosh. In October 2001 The Boosh radio series, produced by Danny Wallace, was broadcast on BBC London Live, then BBC Radio 4, and later on BBC 7. The show focuses on the adventures of a pair of zookeepers at "Bob Fossil's Funworld": socially awkward, jazz enthusiast Howard TJ Moon, and ultra-vain, fashion-obsessed Vince Noir. This also included voices from Lee Mack, playing such characters as the Plumber or the Gardener.
Further appearances [ edit ]
The Mighty Boosh returned to radio on 22 October 2004, in a one-off comedy special for The Breezeblock, a show on BBC Radio 1.[11] Instead of the plot driven nature of their own series, this show featured improvised conversational comedy with Barratt, Fielding and Fulcher, combined with the show's usual mix of electronic music.
On 15 November 2007, as part of the publicity for the premier of their third series the same day, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding returned to Radio 1, this time on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge.[12]
Television [ edit ]
The Mighty Boosh (2004–07) [ edit ]
Opening titles of The Mighty Boosh on TV & film
In May 2004, after the success of a Boosh pilot, Steve Coogan's company, Baby Cow Productions, produced the first television series of The Mighty Boosh for BBC Three, before it moved to BBC Two in November that same year. Though each episode invariably starts and ends in Dixon Bainbridge’s dilapidated zoo, the "Zooniverse", the characters of Vince and Howard often depart for other locations, such as the Arctic tundra and limbo.
A second series, shown in July 2005, saw Howard and Vince sharing Naboo's flat in Dalston with previously minor characters Naboo and his familiar, Bollo, a gorilla living at the "Zooniverse". This series had an even looser setting as the four characters leave the confines of the flat in every episode, travelling in their van to a variety of surrealistic environments, including Naboo's home planet "Xooberon".
Series three started in November 2007, still set in Dalston, but this time the foursome are selling 'Bits & Bobs' in their shop, the Nabootique. Their adventures and outings in this series focused more on the involvement of new characters (e.g. Sammy the Crab, or Lester Corncrake etc.) rather than just the two of them.
Although BBC America originally aired only series 1 in the U.S (all episodes in their entirety), The Mighty Boosh began airing in North America on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block (with up to 6 minutes cut from each episode), starting 29 March 2009 with the third series.[13] In February 2016 series 1 of The Mighty Boosh was made available to watch via the online service BBC iPlayer for six weeks; this included every episode minus the final episode of the first series 'Hitcher'.[14]
The Mighty Boosh Night [ edit ]
On 22 March 2008, BBC Three broadcast a whole night of The Mighty Boosh from 9:05 pm, starting with a new documentary titled The Mighty Boosh: A Journey Through Time and Space, documenting the history of the Boosh from their first amateur performances to their then-upcoming 2008 tour. This was followed by six of Barratt and Fielding's favourite episodes from the three series: "Party", "The Power of the Crimp", "The Nightmare of Milky Joe", "The Priest and the Beast", "The Legend of Old Gregg", and "Tundra". The pair also appeared in live links throughout the night, in a similar style to the openings of Series 1 episodes. On 23 December 2008, BBC3 held a Merry Booshmas Party featuring the entire series 3 as well as a broadcast of The Mighty Boosh Live.[15]
Film [ edit ]
On 8 February 2012, whilst sledging, Noel Fielding said that he and Barratt had discussed plans to make a Mighty Boosh film.[16]
Festival [ edit ]
On 5 July 2008, the Boosh held their own festival in the Hop Farm in Kent. It featured musical acts, Robots in Disguise, The Charlatans, The Kills, Gary Numan, and The Mighty Boosh Band, as well as comedy acts Frankie Boyle and Ross Noble.
Media [ edit ]
Audio CDs [ edit ]
Title Release date Contents Bonus material The Mighty Boosh 8 November 2004 All 6 episodes of the Boosh's radio series across 3 discs Interview with producer Danny Wallace, outtakes The Mighty Boosh Live 13 November 2006 Audio recording of their live show at Brixton Academy N/A
According to an official MySpace page for PieFace Records (the fictitious music label mentioned throughout the series), Barratt and Fielding are to release an album of music from the show, "along with extras, versions, remixes and rare unreleased stuff all to be released later in the year on their own label—this one".[17] In interviews since, The Mighty Boosh have confirmed they will be releasing an album of their music.[18] On the 21 October 2013 episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Fielding stated that the Boosh have recorded an album, but don't know when it will be released.[citation needed]
DVDs [ edit ]
Previously most of the DVDs were only released in Region 2 but as a result of a growing fan base in the U.S., the BBC rereleased in Region 1, Series 1-3 individually on 21 July 2009,[19][20] and a Special Edition Series 1-3 Boxset on 13 October 2009.[21]
Australian releases [ edit ]
Series One - 11 April 2007
- 11 April 2007 Series Two - 12 April 2007
- 12 April 2007 Series Three - 6 August 2008
- 6 August 2008 Live - 3 December 2008
- 3 December 2008 Special Edition - 6 August 2009
- 6 August 2009 Future Sailors Tour - 10 November 2009
- 10 November 2009 Series One: Episodes 1-3 (Comedy Bites) - 4 March 2010
Books [ edit ]
On 18 September 2008, Canongate Books published The Mighty Book of Boosh, designed and compiled by Dave Brown and written by Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher, Dave Brown, Richard Ayoade and Michael Fielding. The book includes original stories, crimps, concept art, behind-the-scenes photography, comics, and various other things, featuring old and new Mighty Boosh characters. On 1 October 2009, a paperback version was released under the name The Pocket Book of Boosh.
Awards [ edit ]
Particularly popular among followers of the indie and electro music genres which the NME magazine caters to, The Mighty Boosh has been recipient of the Shockwaves NME Awards Best TV Show for three consecutive years, even though there were no new episodes broadcast for the latter two of the three years.Project Valhalla: Goals
I've heard a number of people describe Valhalla recently as being "primarily about performance". While it is understandable why people might come to that conclusion -- many of the motivations for Valhalla are, in fact, rooted in performance considerations -- this characterization misses something very important. Yes, performance is an important part of the story -- but so are safety, abstraction, encapsulation, expressiveness, maintainability, and compatible library evolution. The major goals of Valhalla are: - Align JVM memory layout behavior with the cost model of modern hardware; - Extend generics to allow abstraction over all types, including primitives, values, and even void; - Enable existing libraries -- especially the JDK -- to compatibly evolve to fully take advantage of these features. Let's take these in turn. *1. **Align JVM memory layout behavior with the cost model of modern hardware. * Java's approach of "(almost) everything is an object" was a reasonable match for the hardware and compilation technology of the mid-nineties, when the cost of a memory fetch and an arithmetic operation were of comparable magnitude. But since then, these costs have diverged by a factor of several hundred. At the same time, memory costs have come to dominate application provisioning costs. These two considerations combine to make the graph-of-small-objects data representation, which typical Java programs result in, suboptimal in both program performance and provisioning cost. The root cause of this is a partly accidental one: object identity. Every object has an identity, but not all objects /need/ an identity -- many objects represent values, such as decimal numbers, currency amounts, cursors, or dates and times, and do not need this identity. This need to preserve identity foils many otherwise powerful optimizations. Our solution for this is /value types/; value types are aggregates, like traditional Java classes, that renounce their identity. In return, this enables us to create data structures that are /flatter/ (because values can be inlined into objects, arrays, and other values, just as primitives are today) and /denser/ (because we don't waste space on object headers and pointers, which can increase memory usage by up to 4x), with a programming model more like objects -- supporting nominal substructure, behavior, subtyping, and encapsulation. /Codes like a class, works like an int./ If you view values as being "faster objects", you could indeed view this fundamental aspect of Valhalla as being primarily about efficiency. But equally, you could view them as "programmable primitives", in which case it also becomes about better abstraction, encapsulation, readability, maintainability, and type safety. Which is the real point -- that we need not force users to choose between abstraction/encapsulation/safety and performance. We can have both. Whether you call that "cheaper objects" or "richer primitives", the end result is the same. *2. **E**xtend generics to allow abstraction over all types, including primitives, values, and even void.** * Generics are currently limited to abstracting only over reference types. Sometimes this is merely a performance cost (one can always appeal to boxing), but in reality this not only increases the cost, but decreases the expressiveness, of libraries. Methods like Arrays.fill() have to be written nine times; this is nine methods to write, nine methods to test, and nine methods for the user to wade through in the docs. Real-world libraries like Streams often resort to hand-coded specializations like IntStream; not only is this an inconvenience for the writer, but was also a significant constraint in the design of the stream library, forcing some undesirable tradeoffs. And this approach rarely provides total coverage; users complain that we have IntStream and LongStream but not CharStream. (For generic types with multiple type variables, like Map, the number of specializations starts to explode out of control.) The functional interfaces introduced in Java 8 are another consequence of the limitations of generics; because generics are boxed and erased, we had to provide a large number of hand-specialized versions (and still, not all the ones people want.) You don't need Predicate if you have can simply say Function<T, boolean> and not suffer boxing or erasure. Everyone would be better off if we could write a generic class or method once -- and abstract over all the possible data types, not just reference types. (This includes not only primitives and values, but also void. Treating void uniformly is no mere "abstract all the things"; HashSet is based on HashMap, for implementation convenience, but suffers a lot of wasted space as a result; we could use a HashMap<T, void>. And the XxxConsumer functional interfaces are really just Function<T, void> -- we don't need separate abstractions here.) Being able to write things once -- rather than having an ad-hoc explosion of types and implementations (which often propagates into further explosion at the client site) -- means simpler, more expressive, more regular, more testable, more composible libraries. Without giving up performance when dealing with primitives and values, as boxing does today. Which is to say, again, just at the data-abstraction layer instead of the data-modeling layer: we need not force users to choose between abstraction/encapsulation/safety and performance. *3. **Enable existing libraries -- especially the JDK -- to compatibly evolve to fully take advantage of these features.** * The breadth and quality of Java libraries is one of the core assets of the Java ecosystem. We don't want people to have to replace their libraries to migrate to a value-ful world; nor do we want existing libraries to be "frozen in time." (Imagine if we did lambdas and streams, but didn't do default methods, that allowed the Collection classes to evolve to take advantage of them -- Collections would have instantly looked ten years older.) There should be a straightforward path to extending existing libraries -- especially core JDK libraries -- to supporting values and enhanced generics, in a way that makes them "look built in". This may require additional linguistic tools to allow libraries to evolve while providing compatibility with older clients and subclasses that have not yet migrated. Just providing these features for new libraries is not enough; if widely used libraries can't compatibly evolve to take advantage of this new world, they are effectively consigned to a slow death. This might be OK for some classes -- deprecating OldX and replacing it with NewX -- but only when uses of the OldX types aren't strewn through lots of other libraries. That rules out starting fresh with Collections, Streams, JSR-310, and many other abstractions, without rewriting the whole JDK (and many third party libraries). So instead, we have to provide a compatible path for such libraries (and their clients) to modernize. So, to summarize: Valhalla may be motivated by performance considerations, but a better way to view it as enhancing abstraction, encapsulation, safety, expressiveness, and maintainability -- /without/ giving up performance. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mail.openjdk.java.net/pipermail/valhalla-spec-experts/attachments/20161014/f15bf3db/attachment.html>A New Beginning - Final Cut is a cinematic adventure-thriller done graphic novel-style. In this charming and witty adventure, earth is on the brink of impending climate cataclysm. It’s essential to travel the world in order to spare mankind and save the whole from this terrible fate.
Bioengineer Bent Svensson had to resign from researching alternative ways of generating energy. Now the former workaholic lives a secluded life in the remote forests of Norway. His early peaceful retirement is invaded by Fay, a young woman claiming to be a time traveler from the future. She tries to convince him that she’s here to prevent the climate cataclysm from happening and according to her, Bent’s research is the last hope to achieve just that. However, his results are on the verge of falling into the hands of a reckless energy tycoon who cares for nothing but his own profit. Together, Bent and Fay now have to put an end to the imminent global catastrophe.Personal Background
My Grandmother was a regular dialysis patient for at least a decade. It usually took several hours for each appointment, three times a week. She always enjoyed it when I would drive her to the dialysis center and accompany her through the process. She was a so loving and kind. I never heard her say anything bad about anyone. Grandma passed away on April 20th, 2003. Several years later, when Emily (my wife) was pregnant with our second son, Makai, the doctor diagnosed him with hydronephrosis, a condition where his kidney's were not draining properly. Sometimes these things fix themselves by birth or shortly thereafter, but not with our sweet Makai. Before the age of 1, we took Makai to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City for a scheduled surgery on one of his kidneys. Since his January 2007 surgery he was been perfectly normal.
Let the Research Begin
In the early part of 2007 these experiences caused me to look into kidney donation. I wondered if my Grandma could have lived longer if she had a kidney donor, something I had never before contemplated. As I began to search on the internet, I wondered if hospitals allow people to donate a kidney to someone they do not know (I didn't know anyone that needed a kidney at the time). I soon discovered that you could indeed donate as a good Samaritan donor (or "altruistic" donor). I also found that the mortality rate of donors was very low, and the state of Utah was one of only a handful of states that did this type of donation. As I continued my research I found that there was a huge need, but very little supply. Only an average of about eight people per year over the previous five in Utah had donated a kidney as a live good Samaritan donation. I knew I had to do it, especially with hundreds on the waiting list in Utah alone. The next step was convincing my wife to let me go through with the surgery and donation.
What If?
What if at some point down the road my wife, kids, or some other family member needed my kidney? Turns out I wouldn't be a match anyway. Also, I figured that since I was a donating my kidney that another family member, friend, or even an altruistic donor would step up and be tested. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that as a donor, I would be moved to the top of the national kidney donor registry if I ended up needing a transplant.
One of the things that scared me in this process was the possibility that in the process of testing I might find I had some sort of illness or disease not previously detected.
Testing, Testing, and Some More Testing
After countless blood and urine tests, chest x-ray, ekg, CT scan, nephrologist visit, surgeon visit, etc. I made the decision to proceed with the donation. I made a conscious decision to only tell my wife, mother & mother-in-law about my surgery, however.
Goldfish! The Match...The testing and matching was drawn out over about two months until the transplant team finally found the recipient. April Woolsey of Clearfield, UT. 32 year old April had lupus which affected her kidneys. After meeting with the Dr. Belnap (April's surgeon), the surgery was scheduled for December 18th, 2007. At the meeting with Dr. Belnap said "if I had a hat, I would take it off and give it to you. What you are doing will literally save a life".
Meeting April
Two days before surgery I went in for one final blood draw to make sure the match was still good. The next day Emily, Jonas, Makai & I got to meet April and her family at the hospital. Her mother was especially appreciative. April handed me a card that expressed her feelings about my life-saving donation. I should note here that when I first met with the transplant coordinator I was unsure if I would want to meet the person I was donating to. I finally decided it would be a good idea to meet with the recipient. Having made that decision and subsequently meeting with the recipient, April, the day before the surgery, I can honestly say I made the right decision in choosing to meet April and her family.
Family Email Announcement
The morning of the surgery, while I was in the operating room, Emily sent an email to my family telling them about the surgery, why I was doing it, who the recipient was and how I was not a match for my wife or kids so they shouldn't worry. An outpouring of love and support for me and April came back in replies.
Post Surgery
As the nurses were wheeling my bed up to my room following surgery, the first thing I said when I saw Emily was "that's a hot nurse!" Because I could not sleep (never had surgery before and did not realize the extent of the pain), I would walk laps around the 10th floor of the Patient Tower of the Intermountain Medical Center at 3 in the morning as a way to forget about the pain and lack of sleep. I sure got some good exercise. I was able to determine that 10 laps around that floor equaled one mile.
Did I Regret My Decision?
Well...there is another story about my bowels being asleep for a few days and a little prayer of hope in desperation, but we'll keep that private for now. If you were to ask me if I have ever regretted doing this, I would give a resounding no! I am happy I donated my kidney and hope that others will follow suit. Did you know that in 2008 over 4,000 people died while waiting for a live-saving kidney transplant? Check www.unos.org to see how many people are waiting for organ transplants. If it wasn't for the example of a wonderful mother who would always go out of her way to help others, I am not sure if this would have happened. I hope that everyone who reads this story will go out of their way to do something for someone else, no matter how minor it may seem.
Volunteer
After the surgery, I made myself available to talk with potential donors about the risks, pain, joy, and the process as a whole in donating a kidney. I enjoy sharing my experience and helping others in their decision to donate a life-saving organ. Kidney donation surgery changed my life forever and I hope to spread the word to anyone willing to listen.
Video From the News
My mother sent the local news station to interview me at the hospital. I was in much pain and really didn't want to do the interview, but she insisted and I agreed. Make sure you "pay it forward". What a great experience this turned out to be... even though it hurt more than I could have imagined.
Jennifer Stagg of KUTV channel 2 (Salt Lake City CBS affiliate) interviewed April (the recipient) and me regarding the kidney transplant which took place on December 18th, 2007; The interview was two days later.I stumbled upon a video of the ‘Pantonma Sensor Drone’ on YouTube last night. The quadcopter is made by Kai Deng, makers of the fairly popular Kai Deng K70 (which some call the ‘Syma X8 killer’).
Anyway, coming back to the Pantonma drone, it’s supposedly the successor to the K70 and is thus called the K80. The makers of this ‘sensor drone’ seem very excited about it, but the promo video they put together hardly makes any sense. Have a look:
The footage has clearly been shot on a quadcopter drone for which a battery would cost more than the Pantonma/K80 drone. Needless to say, the factory didn’t really translate Chinese to English very well. (‘Unique and fancy design with science fiction colour’?)
E P I C Camera Drones on sale!
The ‘modular design’ of the Pantonma drone also allows for camera swapping, according to the promo video. 480p, 720p, 1080p, WiFi FPV and 5.8GHz FPV camera modules are what the promo video talks about. Given the way things work in China, the Pantonma would’ve turned out to be cheaper than it actually is ($69 on Indiegogo at the time of writing) if they just made the 5.8GHz FPV camera a standard accessory.
Moving on to the ‘sensor’ aspect of the drone, an ‘obstacle avoidance module’ that can be installed on the belly of the drone will make it beginner friendly. According to the company, the module will detect ‘obstacles’ up to 2 meters from the drone, triggering it to simply fly in the reverse direction.
The drone can also be controlled via a phone, using an app that looks suspiciously similar to the ones that $25 nano drones use. Needless to say, it comes with brushed motors.
But the Pantonma drone isn’t on open sale for anyone to buy. Kai Deng, the makers of the drone, have put it up for crowdfunding, which in my opinion is a very bad idea.
Just to give you an idea of how much the Pantonma will cost (if they ever ship, that is):
With 480p camera: $69
With 720p camera: $89
With 1080p camera: $99
With 720p WiFi FPV camera: $129
With 720p 5.8GHz FPV camera: $169
All of this with an estimated shipment in October 2016.
I’m sorry to say but the quadcopter drone market doesn’t need any more of these frauds. We’ve had enough already. You’re probably a LOT better off buying something as tried, tested and available as the Syma X8HG.
Companies like Kai Deng probably don’t need the funds for production, but only take up crowdfunding for the heck of it (for the publicity it brings them).
All I’d like to say is — guys, don’t fall for it.
Kai Deng K80 Pantonma ‘Sensor Drone’ Photos
Photos courtesy RCGroups user t00nz843z.Ask Netflix Vice President of Product Innovation Todd Yellin what makes the streaming giant special, and he'll start telling you about algorithms, test groups and suggestion engines. "It's the revolution of TV," he explained to us at E3. "They used to send out a TV show and then they'd have no freaking idea who was watching it, how much they were watching... it was just Nielsen diaries." A woefully inaccurate way to track content consumption, Yellin suggested. Netflix, on the other hand, can tell what folks are watching, when they are watching it, for how long and even on what device. Netflix uses all this information to offer users extremely specific suggestions and categories based on their recent use. The problem is, many families share a single account, and all their different tastes mix into a nonsensical mess. "You and your wife might have very different tastes," Yellin explained. "Why can't you have a profile, and she has a profile?" Separating the users on the family account would allow each user to get tailored suggestions based on their personal viewing experience. "We're finally launching it this summer."
Yellin pulled out an iPad, and showed the user-based sorting in action. It's pretty simple: loading up the app offers the user a one touch choice between profiles, which then drops into that person's tailored Netflix experience. Profiles can be aged locked, ensuring that profiles for children will only load up Netflix's kid hub -- fitting, since jumping between profiles is very similar to the firm's existing parental control solution. All in all, it seemed to be a very lightweight and pain free experience. The feature might not be useful for every Netflix user, but it sounds like a boon for families with wildly different tastes in content.Midway through an exciting summer of racing, Australia’s road cycling stars head into the 2016 Tour Down Under in strong form
The streets of Adelaide may be thousands of kilometres from cycling’s spiritual home, a world away from the mountain passes of the French Pyrenees and the muddy Belgian cobblestones. Yet on Tuesday, the World Tour peloton will roll out from the vibrant suburb of Prospect for their first race of 2016.
The domestic summer of cycling, however, is already in full swing. The Tour Down Under comes just over a week after Jack Bobridge and Amanda Spratt were crowned national champions in Ballarat, while a busy criterium season across Launceston, Melbourne and Geelong has provided plenty of fare for spectators to feed on.
Jack Bobridge wins second Australian road cycling championship Read more
Those races have added even more depth to numerous intriguing storylines at the Tour’s 18th edition, headlined by an exciting general classification contest. From the precursor People’s Choice Classic, held this Sunday, to the infamous penultimate stage up Willunga Hill, 18 professional outfits and two wildcard entries face a tough week of competition ahead.
Leading the charge will be newly-crowned national time trial champion Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing Team, as he aims to become the first rider to win consecutive Tour Down Under titles. Dennis edged Richie Porte by just two seconds in 2015, but will this year be riding alongside the hard-working Tasmanian following Porte’s transfer to BMC. With Porte riding support due to his ambitions later in the season, Dennis will benefit immensely from the physical ability of the super-domestique who previously helped Chris Froome to twin yellow jersey triumphs in France.
The BMC duo will face off against compatriot Simon Gerrans, a three-time Tour Down Under victor riding for Australia’s lone World Tour team. After missing last year’s race with a broken collarbone, the veteran will be Orica-GreenEDGE’s leader on the road and has the backing of a strong unit. Determined to rebound from an injury-marred past season, Gerrans placed sixth at the national championships and is well-suited to the punchy Adelaide hills.
In the battle for sprint points, former stage winner Steele von Hoff and Drapac Professional Cycling’s Brenton Jones will be hoping to contain 21-year-old dynamo Caleb Ewan. The GreenEDGE prodigy was unstoppable at the recent Bay Cycling Classic, claiming three of the four stages, before he clinched the national criterium title. Ewan has long been touted as cycling’s “next big thing”, winning a Grand Tour stage in his debut professional season, and will be a threat at every bunch finish.
Australians have won 10 of the 17 Tour Down Under editions held since its inception in 1999 – partly due to a lack of race fitness for many European riders – and locals will again be among the favourites when the peloton rolls out. With Gerrans and Dennis fighting for the ochre jersey, and several international stars (including Astana’s Luis Leon Sanchez and Welshman Geraint Thomas) eager to alter the event’s distinctly green and gold tinge, the week-long race looks set to offer an exciting start to the 2016 World Tour.
The strength of this local contingent, along with the title-winning performances of Dennis and Bobridge at the national championships, also bodes well for Australia’s Olympic ambitions in Brazil later this year. Dennis is a strong contender for the individual time trial after his blistering Tour de France performance last July, while Bobridge will switch disciplines to join the track pursuit team in Rio de Janeiro.
Cycling has long been a key contributor to the nation’s medal haul, with six gongs at London 2012 behind only the 10 successes recorded by swimmers. The Australian Olympic Committee |
rates of past-month cigarette smoking among eighth-graders, 10th-graders, and 12th-graders in the MTF survey—4 percent, 7.2 percent, and 13.6 percent, respectively—are lower than ever before in the history of the study, which began in 1975. Furthermore, as Bill Godshall of Smokefree Pennsylvania points out, the drops in past-month cigarette smoking between 2013 and 2014—11 percent, 21 percent, and 17 percent, respectively—are the largest such decreases ever seen.
Given these data, it hardly seems reasonable to conclude that more vaping means more smoking. Yet that is what anti-smoking activist Stanton Glantz claims. "There's no question that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking," he recently told USA Today. The story cites recent studies of e-cigarette use by teenagers in Hawaii and Connecticut, neither of which proves Glantz's claim.
The Hawaii survey, conducted last year, found that 18 percent of high school students had used e-cigarettes in the previous month, which is four times the nationwide rate indicated by the 2013 NYTS. At the same time, however, the past-month smoking rate in Hawaii was just 7 percent, compared to a national average of 12.7 percent in 2013, per the NYTS. So in Hawaii, an unusually high rate of e-cigarette use by teenagers coincides with an unusually low smoking rate, and this supposedly shows that "e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking."
The Connecticut study, which included a survey of students at four high schools, two middle schools, and a college, found that 21 percent of them had ever tried e-cigarettes. The study does not say how many had used e-cigarettes in the previous year or month. But as in Hawaii, the past-month smoking rate was quite low: 7 percent, about half the national average for high school students. Again, this does not look like evidence that the rising popularity of e-cigarettes is attracting teenagers to the conventional kind.
If anything, the fact that vaping and smoking rates among teenagers are moving in opposite directions is consistent with the idea that e-cigarettes are replacing combustible cigarettes among people who otherwise would be smoking. Godshall cites additional evidence from the MTF survey in support of that hypothesis:
Among [the] 33.8% of 12th graders who reported ever smoking a cigarette, MTF found that during the "past 30 days" 16% reported no use of cigarettes or e-cigs, 4.6% reported exclusive e-cig use, 7.3% reported dual use of cigarettes and e-cigs, and just 5.9% reported exclusive cigarette smoking. Among [the] 21.9% of 10th graders who reported ever smoking a cigarette, MTF found that during the "past 30 days" 10.0% reported no use of cigarettes or e-cigs, 4.9% reported exclusive e-cig use, 4.3% reported dual use of cigarettes and e-cigs, and just 2.7% reported exclusive cigarette smoking. Among [the] 13.3% of 8th graders who reported ever smoking a cigarette, MTF found that during the "past 30 days," 6.6% reported no use of cigarettes or e-cigs, 2.2% reported exclusive e-cig use, 2.2% reported dual use of cigarettes and e-cigs, and just 2.3% reported exclusive cigarette smoking.
These patterns suggest that e-cigarettes may be helping some adolescent cigarette smokers cut back or quit. Even when teenagers try e-cigarettes first, some of them might otherwise have smoked the conventional kind. The upshot in both cases would be the same: less smoking and less tobacco-related disease, something anti-smoking activists like Glantz supposedly want.
New York Times science reporter Sabrina Tavernise treats the claims of Glantz and other opponents of vaping with appropriate skepticism (emphasis added):
Health advocates say the trend [in] e-cigarette use is dangerous because it is making smoking seem normal again. They also worry it could lead to an increase in tobacco smoking, though the new data do not show that.... E-cigarettes have split the public health world, with some experts arguing that they are the best hope in generations for the 18 percent of Americans who still smoke to quit. Others say that people are using them not to quit but to keep smoking, and that they could become a gateway for young people to take up real cigarettes. But that does not seem to be happening, at least so far. Daily cigarette use among teenagers continued to decline in 2014, the survey found, dropping across all grades by nearly half over the past five years. Among high school seniors, for example, 6.7 percent reported smoking cigarettes daily in 2014, compared with 11 percent five years ago.
Tavernise also notes that "most experts agree that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than traditional cigarettes." That is why the crucial question, in assessing the "public health" impact of e-cigarettes, is whether they compete with tobacco cigarettes or somehow expand the market for them. The evidence so far clearly supports the former view.“Through the loan programs, the Energy Department is supporting 38 clean energy projects that are expected to employ more than 60,000 Americans, generate enough clean electricity to power nearly 3 million homes and displace more than 300 million gallons of gasoline annually.”
— Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Nov. 17, 2011, in testimony on Capitol Hill
“When the bottom of a market falls out and the price of solar decreases by 70 percent in two and a half years, that was totally unexpected, not only by us — if you look at the range of predictions that were being made by financial analysts from the last quarter of 2008, 2009, they — the average — there are some outliers. But the average of those were not expecting these prices to plummet. And so fundamentally this company [Solyndra] and several others got caught in a very, very bad tsunami, if you will.”
— Chu, Nov. 17
In his defense of the Energy Department’s handling of the $535 million loan guarantee to the now bankrupt Solyndra, Energy Secretary Steven Chu made some bold claims about the overall effectiveness of the department’s clean-energy loan programs. He also made the case that the collapse in solar panel prices — which helped sink Solyndra — was “totally unexpected” by most financial analysts at the time when the department went forward with the loan in 2009.
There are a number of issues in dispute concerning Solyndra, but these two statements by Chu appear to be the most ripe for a fact check because they get to the heart of the issue about whether the clean-energy program is creating many jobs and whether the Energy Department should have seen the red flags concerning the Solyndra investment.
The Facts
We always warn readers to be wary of claims about the number of jobs created by some government, congressional or corporate initiative. These are almost always suspect and based on dubious assumptions. (Chu, we should note, carefully used the word “employ” instead of “create.”)
As it happens, Carol D. Leonnig and Steven Mufson of The Washington Post examined the job-claim figure two months ago and found it wanting. “The program — designed to jump-start the nation’s clean technology industry by giving energy companies access to low-cost, government-backed loans — has directly created 3,545 new, permanent jobs after giving out almost half the allocated amount, according to Energy Department tallies,” they reported on The Post’s front page.
The Energy Department disputed that analysis as “incomplete and inaccurate,” as evidenced by the fact that Chu repeated the claim in sworn testimony before Congress. But if you dig deeper into the 60,000 number, you find that more than half of it comes from a single program — 33,000 jobs at Ford that were supposedly converted to green technology because of a $5.9 billion loan. The Energy Department translated those as “saved” jobs, even though the number amounts to nearly half of Ford’s total workforce.
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the Washington spin book: Lump a bunch of tiny projects with one big project, and then claim all of them — 38 in this case — created a bunch of jobs.
The claim of 300 million gallons of gasoline a year displaced is similarly inflated, because DOE figures show that 228 million gallons comes, again, from the same Ford project. (For the record, 300 million gallons is literally a drop in the barrel of annual U.S. fuel consumption — one fifth of 1 percent.)
The Post article had quoted an economist as saying that the 33,000 job estimate for Ford appeared to be the result of “fuzzy math.” Ford spokeswoman Meghan Keck was quoted as saying that the loan provided flexibility in manufacturing that was key to “helping retain” the jobs. That’s pretty fuzzy language for “saved” and in fact appears to relate more to job security than anything else. Translation: A plant that once had a single truck line would now be able to create four different vehicles, allowing jobs to be shifted as demand changed.
Indeed, the description of the purpose of the loan on the DOE Web site simply says this: “The project will convert nearly 33,000 employees to green manufacturing jobs.” When the loan was announced in June of 2009, there was no suggestion that Ford was ever considering laying off these workers if it did not get the loan. Ford actually ended up getting a loan half the size of its original request, and the company never said that it would be forced to cut back.
In an interview on CNBC on June 23, 2009, the day the loan was announced, Ford chief executive Alan Mulally in fact played down the notion that the money would be mainly used for retooling factories. “The essence of this investment will be the enabling technologies and the vehicles in themselves,” he said.
Mark Oline, managing director Fitch Ratings, at the time also told the Detroit News that Ford did not need an incentive to invest in green technologies: “Ford was going to do all of that regardless of whether it received the federal loans, meaning it can now use the money budgeted for these programs for other things.”
As far as we can tell, the 33,000 figure means the total number of workers at the plants who will get retooled, in part thanks to the loan. On Thursday, Keck repeated the “helping retain” language and provided a couple of news releases that mentioned how investments in the plans “were supported” by the loan program without saying how much it actually contributed.
When Ford reported the loan in a quarterly filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it also described it as part of an already existing plan: “Ford qualified for $5.9 billion in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy for advanced fuel efficient vehicles. Ford plans to invest nearly $14 billion in the U.S. over the next seven years on advanced technology vehicles.”
Since Ford was already planning to make those investments, no matter how large the loan was, why should those jobs be credited to this program? Certainly one could make the case that the loan came at the height of the Great Recession, when credit markets were largely frozen, and so the loan helped Ford move ahead faster with its plans. But, even with that caveat, it seems odd to credit all of those jobs as benefiting from the loan.
DOE spokesman Damien LaVera sharply disagreed, saying Ford was worthy of inclusion on the list of jobs created by the loan program, as well as some 7,000 temporary construction jobs that DOE says were needed to build wind and solar power plants.
Chu’s other quote — concerning the unexpected collapse in solar prices — is also open to question. Chu rightly noted that there were some analysts — “outliers,” as he put it — who might have predicted a huge plunge in the solar module market. But he contended that most did not predict prices would drop below $2. The chart below illustrates Chu’s point:
At the same time, however, the shakiness in the market was readily apparent at the time DOE pressed the White House budget office to sign off on the Solyndra loan. Note the Aug. 31, 2009 e-mail below, from an Office of Management and Budget official to a DOE official, asking that an announcement of the loan be postponed.
The e-mail includes links to articles with headlines like “As Prices Slump, Solar Industry Suffers.”
One article mentioned in the e-mail noted that prices had already dropped 40 percent since the middle of the previous year, and “many experts expect panel prices to fall further, though not by another 40 percent.” (It did.)
Another article cited in the e-mail noted both the spurt in Chinese production and the softening of demand in Europe. As it happened, those are two factors that Chu cited in his testimony as causing the unexpected price decline: “There was a large production ramping up, namely in China,” he said. “And secondly there was a softening of the market in Europe.”
While Chu said that Wall Street analysts generally were not predicting such a steep price drop, it is clear from the articles mentioned in the e-mail that they were warning that prices would fall further. The Fact Checker once covered Wall Street, and analysts promoting stocks are almost always bullish. When analysts start getting skittish, it’s time to get wary. In fact, one of the articles cited in the e-mail reported that a major investment firm had downgraded the solar energy sector from “positive” to “neutral.”
On Wall Street, that usually translates as “sell.”
“Nothing in the e-mail you cited or the stories it mentions predicted the prices would fall as far as they did,” DOE spokesman LaVera said. (See UPDATE below.)
The Pinocchio Test
Given the high stakes involved in Chu’s testimony, it seems strange he would repeat talking points about the jobs that had already been called into question by a major news organization. Granted, DOE disputed that article, but we don’t think their rebuttal makes much sense.
In any case, the job number and the fuel number are greatly inflated by the inclusion of the loan to Ford. As we have demonstrated, these are not new jobs or even saved jobs — just people who might, just maybe, have a little more job security, in part because of the loan.
Chu’s comments on the unexpected “tsunami” that hit Solyndra are also troubling. The OMB e-mail shows that at least one arm of the government was aware that Wall Street was quickly souring on solar energy and that the tsunami that swept the industry should not have been such a surprise.
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UPDATE: Read memo by Democrats disputing part of this analysisThis is the future of taxis in Toronto — if city council’s 44 recommendations are adopted in the biggest overhaul of the business ever undertaken.
Picture a fleet of wheelchair-accessible taxi vans, one waiting at every fire hydrant in the city, with an owner-driver inside who might ask for your fare upfront and will definitely charge you $25 if you spill your drink or throw up in the car.
Previous reviews were largely successful in improving cab cleanliness and maintenance. This review takes aim at the ownership structure, trying to eliminate the non-driving “middlemen” that the city says don’t contribute to the industry and drive up costs for all.
But the recommendations, if implemented, will also radically transform the experience of taking a cab in Toronto. Here’s how:
Fire hydrants will become cab stands, where drivers will be required to stay inside their vehicle, ready to drive or move in case of an emergency.
Digital screens will be installed in all cabs, showing the fare, cab number and the driver’s photo. They could be set up in the future with a GPS to keep riders informed of their progress.
Drivers will have the right to ask for a maximum deposit of $25 before they start driving and can charge $25 if the cab is soiled during the ride.
Cabs will be required to have machines to take credit or debit card payments. A cap, yet to be determined, will be placed on fees charged for electronic payments.
Taxis will be added to the streets on a rolling basis to maintain current passenger wait times of about nine minutes.
All taxi owners will be required to drive their own cabs, at least part of the time, and will not be permitted to hire agents to manage their cabs for them.
Under the aegis of the Toronto Taxi Alliance, taxi companies have come out fiercely against the city’s recommendations. Beck Taxi president Gail Souter, who co-founded the Taxi Alliance, says minivans modified to accommodate wheelchairs cost three times more than an average sedan. Their bigger engines will consume more fuel and the higher costs will force fares to rise, she said.
But city Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker calls those arguments “a lot of smoke and hot air.”
Additional costs for the vans will be offset by the money saved on getting rid of middlemen, he says, and fares won’t have to go up.
What’s more, he says, it’s just the right thing to do.
“To provide fully accessible cabs across the city is a beautiful thing and will transform people’s lives,” he said.
The current Wheel-Trans system can’t keep up with demand, said the councillor, who also sits on the TTC. People who don’t have alternatives to Wheel-Trans can never be spontaneous, because travel has to be planned 24 hours in advance, he said.
But people don’t live their lives like that.
“When it rains out, you want to grab a cab. When it’s cold out, you want to grab a cab. When you’re running behind schedule, you want to grab a cab,” he said. “With accessible cabs, it will open up the floodgates.”
“We’ll soon have an equal playing field for everyone. Anyone will be able to hail a cab on Queen St., even if you’re in a wheelchair.”
Crown Taxi general manager Ernie Grzincic says making taxis 100 per cent accessible is “unworkable and a bad idea,” and that less than 1 per cent of trips require them.
Experience shows that many people with disabilities that don’t involve using a wheelchair “find wheelchair-accessible taxis inaccessible,” Grzincic said.
“People with canes and walkers have trouble climbing into these uncomfortable vans,” he said. “They prefer to slide into a back seat and then swing their legs in.”
De Baeremaeker says the cab owners are using the accessible cabs proposal as an excuse to avert all the proposed reforms.
“Everyone will get better service, not just those with mobility issues,” he said.
While a final report on the reforms was supposed to be submitted this September, outcry among taxi owners and brokers has pushed that back to Jan. 23, 2014.Story highlights Idaho Sen. Michael Crapo's blood alcohol level was.110 at the time of his arrest, police say
Crapo is accused of driving under the influence in Virginia
Crapo: "I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance"
Crapo has represented Idaho in the Senate since 1999 and was in the House for six years
U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was arrested early Sunday morning in Alexandria, Virginia, and charged with driving under the influence, according to the town's police department.
Jody Donaldson, an Alexandria police spokesman, said Crapo was arrested by an officer at 12:45 a.m. ET after the officer noticed Crapo's vehicle running a red light.
"Sen. Crapo was identified as the driver and arrested after failing several field sobriety tests," Donaldson said in a statement. "He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Alexandria Adult Detention Center where he was released on a $1,000 unsecured bond."
Crapo released a statement through his office Sunday, saying: "I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance. I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me.
"I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter. I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated. "
A court date was set for January 4, according to Donaldson, who added that Crapo's blood alcohol level was.110 at the time of his arrest. The legal blood alcohol level for drivers in Virginia is.08. Donaldson also said Crapo was alone in the car at the time.
Crapo has represented Idaho in the Senate since 1999. Before that he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years. He was re-elected in 2010 with 71% of the vote. He's a member of the Senate's "Gang of 8."
According to his official biography on congress.gov, Crapo is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which prohibits the use of alcohol among its members.Mars Orbiter Mission
MOM
Mangalyaan
Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s)) aka, which had successfully entered the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, has today completed 100 days around the Red planet. Let’s take a look how these 100 days had been for the Mangalyaan in the space.On November 5, 2013, the mission was launched by the state-run space agency on board its PSLV C25 from Sriharikota’sWhen the Mangalyaan scripted its first date with Mars on September 24, India made history by becoming the first country to enter the Martian orbit in its maiden attempt. This success had also elevated the country’s position that was at par with other elite nations in the global space race.En route to Mars, MOM had also started making friends and catching up with people across the globe via twitter.On October 15, 2014, the Indian space orbiter met its new neighbour Phobos, one of the two moons circling Mars. For your information, the other moon is known as Deimos.In November, the India's "supersmart spacecraft" had been named among the 25 'Best Inventions of 2014' listed by Time magazine. Mangalyaan was described as a technological feat that will allow "India to flex its interplanetary muscles" and delve deep into the mysteries of the Red Planet.At approximately Rs 450 crore or around $75 million, the cost of this mission to Mars was only about one-tenth of the $670 million that the US space agency had spent on its Maven explorer.(Image: ISRO)Looking for news you can trust?
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This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.
“There is no country on Earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders,” President Barack Obama said at a press conference last week. He drew on this general observation in order to justify Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel’s most recent military campaign in the Gaza Strip. In describing the situation this way, he assumes, like many others, that Gaza is a political entity external and independent of Israel. This is not so. It is true that Israel officially disengaged from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, withdrawing its ground troops and evacuating the Israeli settlements there. But despite the absence of a permanent ground presence, Israel has maintained a crushing control over Gaza from that moment until today.
The testimonies of Israeli army veterans expose the truth of that “disengagement.” Before Operation Pillar of Defense, after all, Israel launched Operations Summer Rains and Autumn Cloud in 2006, and Hot Winter and Cast Lead in 2008—all involving ground invasions. In one testimony, a veteran speaks of “a battalion operation” in Gaza that lasted for five months, where the soldiers were ordered to shoot “to draw out terrorists” so they “could kill a few.”
Israeli naval blockades stop Gazans from fishing, a main source of food in the Strip. Air blockades prevent freedom of movement. Israel does not allow building materials into the area, forbids exports to the West Bank and Israel, and (other than emergency humanitarian cases) prohibits movement between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It controls the Palestinian economy by periodically withholding import taxes. Its restrictions have impeded the expansion and upgrading of the Strip’s woeful sewage infrastructure, which could render life in Gaza untenable within a decade. The blocking of seawater desalination has turned the water supply into a health hazard. Israel has repeatedly demolished small power plants in Gaza, ensuring that the Strip would have to continue to rely on the Israeli electricity supply. Daily power shortages have been the norm for several years now. Israel’s presence is felt everywhere, militarily and otherwise.
By relying on factual misconceptions, political leaders, deliberately or not, conceal information that is critical to our understanding of events. Among the people best qualified to correct those misconceptions are the individuals who have been charged with executing a state’s policies—in this case, Israeli soldiers themselves, an authoritative source of information about their government’s actions. I am a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and I know that our first-hand experiences refute the assumption, accepted by many, including President Obama, that Gaza is an independent political entity that exists wholly outside Israel. If Gaza is outside Israel, how come we were stationed there? If Gaza is outside Israel, how come we control it? Oded Na’aman
[The testimonies by Israeli veterans that follow are taken from 145 collected by the nongovernmental organization Breaking the Silence and published in Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies From the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010. Those in the book represent every division in the IDF and all locations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.]
1. House Demolition
Unit: Kfir Brigade
Location: Nablus district
Year: 2009
During your service in the territories, what shook you up the most?
The searches we did in Hares. They said there are sixty houses that have to be searched. I thought there must have been some information from intelligence. I tried to justify it to myself.
You went out as a patrol?
It was a battalion operation. They spread out over the whole village, took over the school, smashed the locks, the classrooms. One was used as the investigation room for the Shin Bet, one room for detainees, one for the soldiers to rest. We went in house by house, banging on the door at two in the morning. The family’s dying of fear, the girls are peeing in their pants with fear. We go into the house and turn everything upside down.
What‘s the procedure?
Gather the family in a certain room, put a guard there, tell the guard to aim his gun at them, and then search the rest of the house. We got another order that everyone born after 1980… everyone between sixteen and twenty-nine, doesn’t matter who, bring them in cuffed and blindfolded. They yelled at old people, one of them had an epileptic seizure but they carried on yelling at him. Every house we went into, we brought everyone between sixteen and twenty-nine to the school. They sat tied up in the schoolyard.
Did they tell you the purpose of all this?
To locate weapons. But we didn’t find any weapons. They confiscated kitchen knives. There was also stealing. One guy took twenty shekels. Guys went into the houses and looked for things to steal. This was a very poor village. The guys were saying, “What a bummer, there’s nothing to steal.”
That was said in a conversation among the soldiers?
Yeah. They enjoyed seeing the misery, the guys were happy talking about it. There was a moment someone yelled at the soldiers. They knew he was mentally ill, but one of the soldiers decided that he’d beat him up anyway, so they smashed him. They hit him in the head with the butt of the gun, he was bleeding, then they brought him to the school along with everyone else. There were a pile of arrest orders signed by the battalion commander, ready, with one area left blank. They’d fill in that the person was detained on suspicion of disturbing the peace. They just filled in the name and the reason for arrest. There were people with plastic handcuffs that had been put on really tight. I got to speak with the people there. One of them had been brought into Israel to work for a settler and after two months the guy didn’t pay him and handed him over to the police.
All these people came from that one village?
Yes.
Anything else you remember from that night?
A small thing, but it bothered me—one house that they just destroyed. They have a dog for weapons searches, but they didn’t bring him; they just wrecked the house. The mother watched from the side and cried. Her kids sat with her and stroked her.
What do you mean, they just destroyed the house?
They smashed the floors, turned over sofas, threw plants and pictures, turned over beds, smashed the closets, the tiles. There were other things—the look on the people’s faces when you go into their house. And after all that, they were left tied up and blindfolded in the school for hours. The order came to free them at four in the afternoon. So that was more than twelve hours. There were investigators from the security services there who interrogated them one by one.
Had there been a terrorist attack in the area?
No. We didn’t even find any weapons. The brigade commander claimed that the Shin Bet did find some intelligence, that there were a lot of guys there who throw stones.
2. Naval Blockade
Unit: Navy
Location: Gaza Strip
Year: 2008
It’s mostly punishment. I hate that: “They did this to us, so we’ll do that to them.” Do you know what a naval blockade means for the people in Gaza? There’s no food for a few days. For example, suppose there’s an attack in Netanya, so they impose a naval blockade for four days on the entire Strip. No seagoing vessel can leave. A Dabur patrol boat is stationed at the entrance to the port, if they try to go out, within seconds the soldiers shoot at the bow and even deploy attack helicopters to scare them. We did a lot of operations with attack helicopters—they don’t shoot much because they prefer to let us deal with that, but they’re there to scare people, they circle over their heads. All of a sudden there’s a Cobra right over your head, stirring up the wind and throwing everything around.
And how frequent were the blockades?
Very. It could be three times one month, and then three months of nothing. It depends.
The blockade goes on for a day, two days, three days, four, or more than that?
I can’t remember anything longer than four days. If it was longer than that, they’d die there, and I think the IDF knows that. Seventy percent of Gaza lives on fishing—they have no other choice. For them it means not eating. There are whole families who don’t eat for a few days because of the blockade. They eat bread and water.
3. Shoot to Kill
Unit: Engineering Corps
Location: Rafah
Year: 2006
During the operations in Gaza, anyone walking around in the street, your shoot at the torso. In one operation in the Philadelphi corridor, anyone walking around at night, you shoot at the torso.
How often were the operations?
Daily. In the Philadelphi corridor, every day.
When you’re searching for tunnels, how do people manage to get around—I mean, they live in the area.
It’s like this: You bring one force up to the third or fourth floor of a building. Another group does the search below. They know that while they’re doing the search there’ll be people trying to attack them. So they put the force up high, so they can shoot at anyone down in the street.
How much shooting was there?
Endless.
Say I’m there, I’m up on the third floor. I shoot at anyone I see?
Yes.
But it’s in Gaza, it’s a street, it’s the most crowded place in the world.
No, no, I’m talking about the Philadelphi corridor.
So that’s a rural area?
Not exactly, there’s a road, it’s like the suburbs, not the center. During operations in the other Gaza neighborhoods it’s the same thing. Shooting, during night operations—shooting.
It there any kind of announcement telling people to stay indoors?
No.
They actually shot people?
They shot anyone walking around in the street. It always ended with, “We killed six terrorists today.” Whoever you shoot in the street is “a terrorist.”
That’s what they say at the briefings?
The goal is to kill terrorists.
What are the rules of engagement?
Whoever’s walking around at night, shoot to kill.
During the day, too?
They talked about that in the briefings: whoever’s walking around during the day, look for something suspicious. But something suspicious could be a cane.
4. Elimination Operation
Unit: Special Forces
Location: Gaza Strip
Year: 2000
There was a period at the beginning of the Intifada where they assassinated people using helicopter missiles.
This was at the beginning of the Second Intifada?
Yes. But it was a huge mess because there were mistakes and other people were killed, so they told us we were now going to be doing a ground elimination operation.
Is that the terminology they used? “Ground elimination operation”?
I don’t remember. But we knew it was going to be the first one of the Intifada. That was very important for the commanders and we started to train for it. The plan was to catch a terrorist on his way to Rafah, trap him in the middle of the road, and eliminate him.
Not to arrest him?
No, direct elimination. Targeted. But that operation was canceled, and then a few days later they told us that we’re going on an arrest operation. I remember the disappointment. We were going to arrest the guy instead of doing something groundbreaking, changing the terms. So the operation was planned…
Anyway, we’re waiting inside the APC [armored personnel carrier], there are Shin Bet agents with us, and we can hear the updates from intelligence. It was amazing, like, “He’s sitting in his house drinking coffee, he’s going downstairs, saying hi to the neighbor”—stuff like that. “He’s going back up, coming down again, saying this and that, opening the trunk now, picking up a friend”—really detailed stuff. He didn’t drive, someone else drove, and they told us his weapon was in the trunk. So we knew he didn’t have the weapon with him in the car, which would make the arrest easier. At least it relieved my stress, because I knew that if he ran to get the weapon, they’d shoot at him.
Where did the Shin Bet agent sit?
With me. In the APC. We were in contact with command and they told us he’d arrive in another five minutes, four minutes, one minute. And then there was a change in the orders, apparently from the brigade commander: elimination operation. A minute ahead of time. They hadn’t prepared us for that. A minute to go and it’s an elimination operation.
Why do you say “apparently from the brigade commander”?
I think it was the brigade commander. Looking back, the whole thing seems like a political ploy by the commander, trying to get bonus points for doing the first elimination operation, and the brigade commander trying, too... everyone wanted it, everyone was hot for it. The car arrives, and it’s not according to plan: their car stops here, and there’s another car in front of it, here. From what I remember, we had to shoot, he was three meters away. We had to shoot. After they stopped the cars, I fired through the scope and the gunfire made an insane amount of noise, just crazy. And then the car, the moment we started shooting, started speeding in this direction.
The car in front?
No, the terrorist’s car—apparently when they shot the driver his leg was stuck on the gas, and they started flying. The gunfire increased, and the commander next to me is yelling “Stop, stop, hold your fire,” but they don’t stop shooting. Our guys get out and start running, away from the jeep and the armored truck, shoot a few rounds, and then go back. Insane bullets flying around for a few minutes. “Stop, stop, hold your fire,” and then they stop. They fired dozens if not hundreds of bullets into the car in front.
Are you saying this because you checked afterward?
Because we carried out the bodies. There were three people in that car. Nothing happened to the person in the back. He got out, looked around like this, put his hands in the air. But the two bodies in the front were hacked to pieces…
Afterward, I counted how many bullets I had left—I’d shot ten bullets. The whole thing was terrifying—more and more and more noise. It all took about a second and a half. And then they took out the bodies, carried the bodies. We went to a debriefing. I’ll never forget when they brought the bodies out at the base. We were standing two meters away in a semicircle, the bodies were covered in flies, and we had the debriefing. It was, “Great job, a success. Someone shot the wrong car, and we’ll talk about the rest back on the base.” I was in total shock from all the bullets, from the crazy noise. We saw it on the video, it was all documented on video for the debriefing. I saw all the things that I told you, the people running, the minute of gunfire, I don’t know if it’s twenty seconds or a minute, but it was hundreds of bullets and it was clear that the people had been killed, but the gunfire went on and the soldiers were running from the armored truck. What I saw was a bunch of bloodthirsty guys firing an insane amount of bullets, and at the wrong car, too. The video was just awful, and then the unit commander got up. I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot from him.
What do you mean?
That he’ll be a regional commanding officer or the chief of staff one day. He said, “The operation wasn’t carried out perfectly, but the mission was accomplished, and we got calls from the chief of staff, the defense minister, the prime minister”—everyone was happy, it’s good for the unit, and the operation was like, you know, just: “Great job.” The debriefing was just a cover-up.
Meaning?
Meaning no one stopped to say, “Three |
2016 — on a short vacation from my Chinese Super League club, Tianjin TEDA — I got a text from Mauro Rosales, an old friend of mine. We had played together for the Sounders for a few seasons. He had heard that I was thinking about coming back to North America, and wanted to know where I was going. I told him I still had to think about it, and that I would text him back. But he texted me again and started telling me all about Vancouver, because he played for the Whitecaps in 2014 and 2015.
I was like, “What are you an agent now? Did you retire? I didn’t see that in the news!”
He just kept going on and on about how great Vancouver was, how he had an amazing relationship with the coach and the fans, and how I should consider going there. So I spoke with my wife. We both knew that if I went to Vancouver we could be close to our families again.
So last February I became a Whitecap. And everything Mauro told me is true. Vancouver is amazing. I remember that Alexis and I had been in the city for maybe 48 hours when she turned to me and said, “I can’t believe how nice everyone is here.” O.K., I know that’s a cliché about Canadians, but it’s true. I can see why Mauro loved it here — the city and club make you feel like a part of their family immediately. It’s truly one of the best organizations I’ve ever been with.
Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports
But the supporters took some time to adopt me as one of their own — and I respected that. They knew my history in Seattle, and I knew that I had to earn their love. Coach Robinson gave me a good opportunity to work hard every day in training and prove that I deserved to be here and that I could contribute.
I know that, no matter what I write here, proving that I am one of you, Caps fans, is about showing, not telling. I hope I’ve done that so far, and I promise to continue to give everything I have to this club and this city every time I wear the crest.
I just want to continue to show my God-given talent and to be part of the special team we have here this year. I’ve been on some great teams in my life, but ours is truly unique because we have such a strong identity. That’s what I love the most. No matter who is in the starting lineup, we play the same way. We don’t have a lot of the ball, but that’s fine. In soccer, it’s not about who has the ball, it’s about what you do with it when you have it. We know that when we attack we can score on anyone. Our leaders at the back — Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey, David Ousted — and really our whole back line and midfield, give us forwards confidence to be ourselves.
The identity of our team fits with how I think about the sport, because soccer is about three things to me:
Working and developing the talent you have.
Playing for a city, a club and its supporters.
And having fun. 🙂
In Vancouver, we have a lot of fun when we play, and I hope our supporters see that.
Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports
We’ve been doing well so far, but we know that in MLS the skill-gap is close and anyone can beat anyone. A match can be lost during preparations for the game. That’s why we continue to push incredibly hard in our training sessions.
This week I’m preparing to play a club that holds a special place in my heart. And I pray that, maybe just a little, the club feels the same way about me. I will have lots of family and friends in the stands at CenturyLink Field, some in Sounders jerseys and some in Whitecaps jerseys. And that’s O.K. I’m proud of my time in Seattle.
It’s going to be strange to be back in the place where I began my MLS career. But as soon as the whistle blows, I’m a Whitecap. I’m not just going to Seattle to see my family, I’m going to bring three points back to Canada.
And I hope that if I score, I don’t hear anything at all again. 🙂Conservative support for UBI rests on an approach that would increase poverty, rather than reduce it.At first blush, universal basic income (UBI) seems a very attractive idea, especially to a progressive. Yet it suffers from two serious problems. First, the odds are very high that an effort to secure UBI would prove quixotic. Second, and more disconcerting, any possibility of overcoming the formidable obstacles to UBI will almost certainly require a left-right coalition that has significant conservative support — and conservative support for UBI rests on an approach that would increase poverty, rather than reduce it.
The key issues related to UBI include what it would cost, how it would be paid for, and the risks it poses. Let’s take these one at a time.
The Cost
There are over 300 million Americans today. Suppose UBI provided everyone with $10,000 a year. That would cost more than $3 trillion a year — and $30 trillion to $40 trillion over ten years.
This single-year figure equals more than three-fourths of the entire yearly federal budget — and double the entire budget outside Social Security, Medicare, defense, and interest payments. It’s also equal to close to 100 percent of all tax revenue the federal government collects.
Or, consider UBI that gives everyone $5,000 a year. That would provide income equal to about two-fifths of the poverty line for an individual (which is a projected $12,700 in 2016) and less than the poverty line for a family of four ($24,800). But it would cost as much as the entire federal budget outside Social Security, Medicare, defense, and interest payments.
Some UBI proponents respond that policymakers could make the UBI payments taxable. But the savings from doing so would be relatively modest, because the vast bulk of Americans either owe no federal income tax or are in the 10% or 15% tax brackets. For example, if you gave all 328 million Americans a $10,000 UBI and the cost was $3.28 trillion a year (about $33 trillion over ten years) before taxes, then making the UBI payments taxable would reduce that cost only to something like $2.5 trillion or $2.75 trillion (or $25 trillion to $27.5 trillion over ten years).
Paying For It
Where would the money to finance such a large expenditure come from? That it would come mainly or entirely from new taxes isn’t plausible. We’ll already need substantial new revenues in the coming decades to help keep Social Security and Medicare solvent and avoid large benefit cuts in them. We’ll need further tax increases to help repair a crumbling infrastructure that will otherwise impede economic growth. And if we want to create more opportunity and reduce racial and other barriers and inequities, we’ll also need to raise new revenues to invest more in areas like pre-school education, child care, college affordability, and revitalizing segregated inner-city communities.
A UBI that’s financed primarily by tax increases would require the American people to accept a level of taxation that vastly exceeds anything in U.S. history. It’s hard to imagine that such a UBI would advance very far, especially given the tax increases we’ll already need for Social Security, Medicare, infrastructure, and other needs.
The Risk
UBI’s daunting financing challenges raise fundamental questions about its political feasibility, both now and in coming decades. Proponents often speak of an emerging left-right coalition to support it. But consider what UBI’s supporters on the right advocate. They generally propose UBI as a replacement for the current “welfare state.” That is, they would finance UBI by eliminating all or most programs for people with low or modest incomes.
Consider what that would mean. If you take the dollars targeted on people in the bottom fifth or two-fifths of the population and convert them to universal payments to people all the way up the income scale, you’re redistributing income upward. That would increase poverty and inequality rather than reduce them.
Yet that’s the platform on which the (limited) support for UBI on the right largely rests. It entails abolishing programs from SNAP (food stamps) — which largely eliminated the severe child malnutrition found in parts of the Southern “black belt” and Appalachia in the late 1960s — to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Section 8 rental vouchers, Medicaid, Head Start, child care assistance, and many others. These programs lift tens of millions of people, including millions of children, out of poverty each year and make tens of millions more less poor.
Some UBI proponents may argue that by ending current programs, we’d reap large administrative savings that we could convert into UBI payments. But that’s mistaken. For the major means-tested programs — SNAP, Medicaid, the EITC, housing vouchers, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and school meals — administrative costs consume only 1 to 9 percent of program resources, as a CBPP analysis explains.[1] Their funding goes overwhelmingly to boost the incomes and purchasing power of low-income families.
Moreover, as the Roosevelt Institute’s Mike Konczal has noted, eliminating Medicaid, SNAP, the EITC, housing vouchers, and the like would still leave you far short of what’s needed to finance a meaningful UBI.[2] Would we also end Pell Grants that help low-income students afford college? Would we terminate support for children in foster care, for mental health services, and for job training?
Ed Dolan, who favors UBI, has calculated that we could finance it by using the proceeds from eliminating all means-tested programs outside health care — including Pell Grants, job training, Head Start, free school lunches, and the like, as well as refundable tax credits, SNAP, SSI, low-income housing programs, etc. The result, Dolan found, would be an annual UBI of $1,582 per person, well below the level of support most low-income families (especially working-poor families with children) now receive. The increase in poverty and hardship would be very large.[3]
That’s why the risk is high that under any UBI that could conceivably gain traction politically, tens of millions of poor people would likely end up worse off.
To further understand the risks, consider how working-age adults who aren’t working would fare. In our political culture, there are formidable political obstacles to providing cash to working-age people who aren’t employed, and it’s unlikely that UBI could surmount them. The nation’s social insurance programs — Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance — all go only to people with significant work records. It’s highly unlikely that policymakers would agree to make UBI cash payments of several thousand dollars to people who aren’t elderly or disabled and aren’t working. (By contrast, there is political support for providing poor families that have no earnings with non-cash assistance such as SNAP, Medicaid, rental vouchers, Head Start, and the WIC nutrition program.)
Universal vs. Means-Tested Programs
Some UBI supporters stress that it would be universal. One often hears that means-tested programs eventually get crushed politically while universal programs do well. But the evidence doesn’t support that belief. While cash aid for poor people who aren’t working has fared poorly politically, means-tested programs as a whole have done well. Recent decades have witnessed large expansions of SNAP, Medicaid, the EITC, and other programs.
If anything, means-tested programs have fared somewhat better than universal programs in the last several decades. Since 1980, policymakers in Washington and in a number of states have cut unemployment insurance, contributing to a substantial decline in the share of jobless Americans — now below 30 percent — who receive unemployment benefits. In addition, the 1983 Social Security deal raised the program’s retirement age from 65 to 67, ultimately generating a 14 percent benefit cut for all beneficiaries, regardless of the age at which someone begins drawing benefits. Meanwhile, means-tested benefits overall have substantially expanded despite periodic attacks from the right. The most recent expansion occurred in December of 2015 when policymakers made permanent significant expansions of the EITC and the low-income part of the Child Tax Credit that were due to expire after 2017.
In recent decades, conservatives generally have been more willing to accept expansions of means-tested programs than universal ones, largely due to the substantially lower costs they carry (which means they put less pressure on total government spending and taxes).
The record of recent decades thus points to an alternative course — pushing for steady incremental gains through available mechanisms, including means-tested programs, to provide as much of a floor as possible for Americans of lesser means. In 1967, the safety net lifted out of poverty only 4 percent of Americans who would otherwise be poor. Today, it lifts 42 percent of such people out of poverty, with programs like SNAP and the EITC playing crucial roles alongside Social Security. A multi-pronged strategy — working to start phasing in the Child Tax Credit with the first dollar of a parent’s earnings, substantially raising the minimum wage, extending affordable child care and rental assistance to many more families, enlarging SNAP benefits (as a Hamilton Project paper proposes), and strengthening Social Security benefits for low-income workers — would substantially strengthen the income floors. It would do so in ways that are far likelier than UBI to succeed politically and much less fraught with danger to the very people we most want to help.
Will the politics change radically?
While some UBI proponents argue that continued pressure on the middle class will make UBI politically feasible, I’m skeptical. Economic pressure on the middle class will not alter UBI’s daunting financing challenges. In fact, more such pressure will likelier increase middle-class resistance to the massive tax increases required to secure UBI without increasing poverty. And we shouldn’t think that we can just get the resources solely or primarily by hitting people at the top. Will we really tax the top 1 percent or top several percent enough to finance most or all of UBI — on top of the higher taxes we’ll want the same group to pay to shoulder a substantial share of the burden of restoring Social Security solvency, repairing the infrastructure, and meeting other critical needs? Increased pressure on the middle class is more likely to put UBI farther out of reach, unless it’s financed heavily — as UBI supporters on the right favor — by shifting income and resources away from the poor.
To be sure, there is a possible exception: a carbon tax that returns its proceeds to the public via a universal payment. For a carbon tax to have any chance of enactment in the not-too-distant future, however, it almost certainly will have to allocate a substantial part of its proceeds to uses that are necessary to get the votes to enact it in the first place, such as relief for coal-producing states or regions. There’s also a powerful case for using some of the proceeds to greatly expand and accelerate research into alternative energy technologies; a carbon tax likely won’t be sufficient by itself to arrest global warming.
Thus, the proceeds available from a carbon tax to finance universal payments would likely be significantly constrained. If a carbon tax could pass, we might need to focus the proceeds available for these payments on low- and moderate-income families — so the payments would be adequate to offset the higher energy costs these families would face as a result of the tax — rather than extending the payments all the way up the income scale in universal fashion.
Conclusion
I greatly admire the commitment of UBI supporters who see it as a way to end poverty in America. But for UBI to do that, it would have to: (1) be large enough to raise people to the poverty line without ending Medicaid, child care assistance, assistance in meeting high rental costs, and the like (otherwise, out-of-pocket health, child care, and housing costs would push many people back into poverty); and (2) include among its recipients people who aren’t currently working (and lack much of an earnings record), something no U.S. universal program does. It also would have to be financed mainly by raising taxes layered on top of the large tax increases we’ll already need — and will probably have to fight tough political battles to achieve — to avert large benefit cuts in Social Security and Medicare and meet other needs.
The chances that all this will come to pass — whether now or 10 to 20 years from now, a time when the baby-boomers will nearly all be retired and Social Security and Medicare costs will be much higher, placing greater pressure on the rest of the budget and on taxes — are extremely low. Were we starting from scratch — and were our political culture more like Western Europe’s — UBI might be a real possibility. But that’s not the world we live in.It has been something of a deflating week for wildly popular Jakarta governor Joko Widodo (affectionately known as Jokowi), and his somewhat less popular Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, which appears to have significantly underperformed expectations—at least according to unofficial tallies—in Wednesday’s legislative elections.
For some observers, the underwhelming performance of the PDI-P on Wednesday was not a surprise, given that Widodo’s nomination as the party’s presidential candidate was left to the last minute, after a protracted period of coy reticence and dithering by party chair Megawati Sukarnoputri. That left the party with little time to promote the candidate, according to its national campaign manager. A noticeable lack of warmth between Megawati and her star candidate did not help. With rumors of infighting, both Widodo and the PDI-P clearly have some thinking to do before the July presidential election.
Nonetheless, even if it is with the help of coalitions, the Indonesian presidency is still Widodo’s to lose. And this owes largely to Indonesia’s democratized and decentralized post-Reformasi landscape. Following the momentous collapse of Suharto’s authoritarian New Order, Indonesia dove headlong into an unprecedented experimentation with democratization and decentralization. A decade and a half later, those initial efforts have paid off. As the world’s third largest democracy, the country now directly selects all its leaders from local district heads right up to the presidential level in a popular vote. The nomination of Widodo, once a small-time furniture entrepreneur in Solo, as presidential candidate of the PDI-P is but one of many testaments to the significant inroads democracy has made in Indonesia.
This impressive transition from centralized authoritarianism to decentralized democracy began under extraordinarily parlous conditions. With its economy teetering on the edge of collapse after the Asian Financial Crisis, Indonesia was desperately fighting for survival, as separatism, Islamism, and communal unrest threatened to tear the nation asunder.
Yet even in the midst of these crises, Indonesia began to reform. Almost miraculously, it weathered the storm with little causalities and the nation intact. A few years into Reformasi, Indonesia was being lauded as a regional success story for democracy. By the end of 2009, it had witnessed three separate fair and free general elections. Many of the potential spoilers to democracy had by then either lost momentum or been accommodated. With a series of neoliberal reforms, Indonesia enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom. Censorship laws were eased significantly, and civil society flourished. Indonesians had real reason to be optimistic, especially when their country was admitted into the prestigious Group of 20 (G20) nation, a high-water mark for Indonesia’s international recognition. There was talk of a “rising Indonesia” and “demographic dividends.”
Somewhere along the way, however, the democratization of Indonesia stalled. Criticisms surfaced of a democratic entity losing steam. Observers pointed to a “procedural democracy” stymied by collusion, patronage and patrimonialism. Despite almost breakneck advancements during the early phases of Reformasi, democracy in Indonesia seemed to be in a cul-de-sac.
Yet a parallel process was underway: a nascent decentralization, which was producing a substantial transfer of autonomy and resources directly to the district level. In 2005, the heads of each district level, including governors, regencies and mayors, were elected by popular vote for the first time. Widodo, then a budding entrepreneur and chairman of the Solo branch of the Furniture Association of Indonesia, emerged into the political limelight as mayor of Solo after being talent-scouted by the PDI-P.
Together with his deputy F.X. Hadi Rudiatmo, Widodo immediately set about transforming the city of Solo under the slogan “Solo: The Spirit of Java.” His rebranding efforts were an enormous success, and brought him national recognition. By 2008, Widodo was being shortlisted by Tempo magazine as one of the “Top 10 Indonesian Mayors of 2008.” A little over a year later, the city of Solo won the Indonesia Tourism Award as best travel destination in Indonesia for culture and heritage. Widodo began to develop an international profile, winning third place in the World Mayor Prize in 2012, and then being selected as one of “The Leading Global Thinkers of 2013” by Foreign Policy.
Riding this whirlwind of publicity and success, Widodo entered the Jakarta gubernatorial elections in mid 2012, along with his Chinese-Indonesian counterpart Basuki Cahaya Purnama (aka “Ahok”). The Widodo-Ahok team would emerge victorious after the second round of voting. This success catapulted Widodo to new level of acclaim. Almost overnight, Widodo and his signature blusukan visits (unannounced informal visits to constituencies and grassroots) became household names. That overwhelming popularity left the PDI-P with no alternative but to name Widodo as its presidential candidate.
Widodo’s astonishing rise is a good reflection of the current state of democratization in Indonesia. Critics may lambast the incremental consolidation of democracy in Indonesia over the past few years, but they fail to see the silver lining: Popular votes and increased autonomy at the local level have yielded a new breed of mayors and governors who are distinguishing themselves as effective and popular leaders. More often than not, these new leaders share a common touch with the common man. Contrary to the officious, high-handed styles of previous officials, a new class of “culture-carriers” of good governance has emerged.
In his book If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities, political theorist Benjamin Barber boldly champions the dawn of a new standard in leadership found in the management of a city and the role of the mayor. He argues that cities are less divided, more practical and superior incubators of benign social change. Their caretakers—the mayors—are therefore prime candidates for exercising exemplar and innovative leadership. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg famously proclaimed that mayors are “pragmatists, not partisans; innovators, not ideologues.” In many cases, that are able to “put aside ideology, ethnicity and religion” for the sake of the greater good.
The twin effects of democratization and decentralization in Indonesia has opened up pathways for mayors and governors to excel. Widodo’s success is one example, but there are others: Tri Rismaharini (mayor of Surabaya), Ridwan Kamil (mayor of Bandung) and Ganjar Pranowo (governor of Central Java). They all personify a similar “can-do” mentality and pragmatism.
Widodo’s popularity also has the potential to rejuvenate the Indonesian public’s confidence in the democratic process. Faced with a familiar retinue of business oligarchs, military generals and veteran politico figures, Widodo’s emergence not only provides a welcome relief to voters, it also challenges the balance to power once enjoyed only by those who had a certain means and pedigree. While the verdict is still out on whether the “Widodo effect” will be triumphant at the national level, he has proven to all in Indonesia that one can indeed become successful at the local level without recourse to corruption or manipulation. His quintessentially “folksy” yet decisive style of leadership has also allowed the Indonesian people a glimpse of an alternative approach to politics that had long been monopolized either by iron fists or velvet gloves.
Certainly, democracy in Indonesia could do with less oligarchic patrimonialism. While that hurdle has yet to be surmounted, Widodo’s presidential candidacy is decidedly a step in the right direction. Some may argue that Widodo owes his success to Megawati and the Sukarno family. Perhaps the next breakthrough for democracy in Indonesia will be to show that it does not.
Jonathan Chen is an Associate Research Fellow in the Indonesia Programme of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. Emirza Adi Syailendra is a Research Analyst at the Indonesia Programme and a current MSc (Strategic Studies) student under the Research Analyst Award at RSIS.ShareLaTeX.com is written entirly in Node.js with everything run through HTTPS managed by Express. The load on the site is relatively small, however I was interested in the performance difference between HTTP and HTTPS so ran some Bliz.io benchmarks
I performed the benchmark a Linode 512 VPS I use for testing my code. The single endpoint hit just returned “hello”, so no rendering, I/O, or large files transfered. Node 0.6.12 was used along with express 2.5.8 and sessions turned on.
As you can see the HTTPS server quickly crashed, with the average response time quickly rising and crashing at around 125 users. While HTTP remained solid responding in 30ms to 250 users per second.
This is not an in depth test but just a play, however the results are more extreme than I was expecting. Managing the HTTPS in a different layer is worth investigation, it is however not as simple as one would hope when you rely upon websockets like we do.
Posted by Henry Oswald on 14 Mar 2012If you have an interest in Buddhism, then you have some sort of karmic connection with the Buddha. Those who do not have such a karmic connection, simply will not encounter the Buddha or the teachings of the Buddha.
Even individuals who have a strong karmic connection with the Buddha Dharma may not become practitioners. They may instead be in a situation where they are near the Dharma. They may live close to a Buddhist temple. Perhaps they have a relative or spouse who is a practitioners, or maybe they have met Buddhists teachers or read Buddhist books.
However, for those who have a karmic connection with the Buddha and and wish to follow the Buddha, then “Taking Refuge” in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha – The Triple Gem – is the explicit act of faith. Taking Refuge in the Buddha contextualizes the “worldly,” and much advertised, refuges of: Youth, Beauty, Wealth, Power, Prestige, Romance, Intoxicants, Entertainment, etc. While these refuges may bring some happiness or escape from suffering, they are temporary and often entail their own forms of suffering. Youth fades with age. Power breeds enemies. Prestige knows jealousy.
Taking Refuge in the Buddha is not a one time thing. It is an ongoing and ever deepening process. Refuge is the heart of Buddhist practice. If we could truly and completely take refuge then all of our actions – in body, speech, and mind – would perf ectly reflect the Buddha and the Dharma. No other religious practices would be necessary. We would naturally live according to the Dharma. It would not, for example, occur to us to respond to hatred with anything other than compassion. Likewise we would not engage in harmful speech, action or thought. Such behavior would not be contrived or forced, it would arise naturally from our full and complete refuge in the Buddha.
Reflecting on our own lives we can see that we have not yet fully taken refuge. We still struggle to keep the precepts. We get caught up in the confusion arising out of the misapprehension of self as real. We often respond to the world with anger and craving instead of compassion and wisdom. We continually and habitually fall back into the fruitless search for happiness in the worldly refuges
Recognizing that we have not yet truly Taken Reguge, it is important to continually think about the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The easiest way to do this is to set aside time everyday to take refuge: Recite the refuge prayer and make prostrations to the Three Jewels. In our tradition, remembering the Buddha and taking refuge are combined in the “Nembutsu.” Nembutsu is what might be called a pith and concise refuge prayer. It is made up of six syllables: NA MO A MI DA BU! It means, “I take refuge in measureless awakening.” Because awakening is measureless, beyond the conceptual limitations of our deluded thoughts, it is ever-present and thus accessible in any moment or any place. The Buddha’s radiance of perfect wisdom and compassion can be experienced in any circumstance, even if we are less than perfect ourselves. The Nembutsu becomes our continual reminder of and connection with the Buddha – Awakening – in all the activities of our life.
If you have the time and the interest, it is also valuable to read Buddhist texts and memorize short passages from these texts. Today it is easy to listen to and even watch Dharma teachings by many wonderful Buddhist teachers. The more we do these things, the stronger our karmic connection with the Buddha becomes. The more we align our life with the Buddha, the source of awakening and happiness, the more these qualities appear in our life and in the world around us.
In short, much of the suffering we experience, individually and as a society, is the result of taking refuge in something other than the Buddha. Buddhas are, by definition, the perfection of wisdom and compassion. To take refuge in a Buddha is to renounce the things that do not reflect the awakened compassion, namely the three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance. It is these three that power the cycle of endless suffering known as samsara. They create the sufferings in our individual lives as well as drive the many social sufferings such as war, privation, and discrimination.
Taking Refuge. Aligning one’s life with the Buddha Dharma, not only brings us joy and peace but it offers those around us a way out of suffering.
Namo Amida Bu!
Peace, Paul
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Tags: Awakening, Buddhism, Compassion, Namo Amida Bu, RefugeAAA Michigan says gas prices statewide have gone up by nearly 25 cents over the past week.
AAA Michigan says gas prices statewide have gone up by nearly 25 cents over the past week.
The Dearborn-based auto club says the average price per gallon for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline was $2.96 on Sunday. That's about 97 cents less than at the same time last year.
The club says the spike in gas prices can be attributed in part to refinery problems in the Midwest that have hampered production.
AAA Michigan surveys daily fuel prices at 2,800 gas stations across the state. The club says the lowest average price per gallon was about $2.73 in the Marquette area, while the highest price was about $2.99 in the Ann Arbor area.Today we're introducing new premium packages and upgrade kits for Perpetuum. Our main goal here is to be able to reach a wider audience by permanently reducing the price of the base game, while still providing something extra for those who are willing to support us beyond that.
The upgrade kits contain varying amounts of Extension Points, Perpetuum Credits, Alien Improbability Devices, and also exclusive new sparks, and the Perpetuum original soundtrack.
These kits are organized into the above mentioned premium packages, which include the base game plus one or both of the kits - the picture below should give you a nice breakdown.
You might also notice that the base game will come with 200 credits and 1 AID from now on, in order to provide a less bumpy road for new players.
Of course the individual upgrades are also available outside of the premium packages. So if you are an older player, you can also purchase these in any combination* and enjoy the same goodies like someone getting a whole premium package for the first time as a new player. (Hence the name "Upgrade Kit".)
* Each upgrade kit can be purchased only once for each Perpetuum account.
Pricing
Soon after the introduction of the premium packages, the base game (aka. "Standard Edition") will undergo a permanent price reduction and will be available for only 9.99 USD/EUR.
Both Upgrade Kits go for the same 9.99 price tag if purchased separately, and if you decide for one of the premium packages, you'll enjoy a few bucks off on the package price compared to the individual prices. The Premium Edition goes for 18.99 (save about 5%) and the Superior Edition for 27.99 (save about 7%).
Note that these packages are currently available on Steam only, but we'll offer them in our own store soon as well.
Head over to our Steam store page to check them out now!On Saturday, if you weren't one of the millions of people marching for women around the world, you were probably glued to Twitter and the mountain of memes that came out of white nationalist Richard Spencer getting punched upside the head during a protest. Or, if you were like me, while you were recharging during the March, you took some time out to scroll through Twitter and experience the moment from the ground.
One of the songs that turned into a Richard Spencer punch-out soundtrack was Run the Jewels' "Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1."
That is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that Killer Mike caught wind of it and tweeted his appreciation.
This is amazing https://t.co/0k4oy80HRt — Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 22, 2017
That, of course, turned into a huge discussion on Twitter, with Mike not backing down from his feelings on the situation, saying, "I think it's ok for a white guy to knock the shit outta a nazi, still."
U do realize dudes a nazi wanna be. I think it's ok for a white guy to knock the shit outta a nazi, still. https://t.co/M0z87yMTtf — Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 22, 2017
And while Twitter users kept asking Mike to elaborate on his sentiments, Mike was happy to oblige. Not sure if these people are new to Killer Mike's material or mentality, but it's hard to think that he wouldn't be here for someone like Richard Spencer getting duffed out on sight.
at that time I wud hope like in WW2 all Americans rally to M1 the shit outta that Un American Loser side choosing unpatriotic shit stain. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/zpisPPfx53 — Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 22, 2017
that's right and why do these crazy wanna racist white guys always choose the loser side. Confederate & Nazi history has a Big L on it! 😂 https://t.co/8F3rC3Ybpe — Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 22, 2017
I'm pro violence against enemies of this Republic. Last I checked Nazis were still on My Granddads "fuck up on site" list. 🇺🇸 Murcia! https://t.co/kAilmqEsfE — Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 22, 2017
While we ponder who else is on Mike's granddad's "f*ck up on site" list, here are a couple more videos of Spencer getting rocked.
Richard Spencer getting punched to the theme from Good Times pic.twitter.com/dPYvjzBcb1 — Alt-Right Getting (@PunchedToMusic) January 22, 2017
Please tell me no one has done this Richard Spencer remix yet pic.twitter.com/IaHaxJDhCc — Will (@WillHousell) January 22, 2017
My President Is Black - Richard Spencer Nazi Punch Remix pic.twitter.com/GmOshy869c — Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 21, 2017
Continue Reading On PigeonsandPlanes
More from PigeonsandPlanesThis brand new promo video for Devil’s Due has arrived just in time to remind you that this supernatural horror thriller opens next month. And, that not all miracles come from God! In addition to this Silent Night promo, we will also add yet another creepy international poster for the whole thing. Hope you’ll enjoy…
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the movie follows a newlywed couple who, after a mysterious night on their honeymoon, find themselves dealing with an earlier-than-planned pregnancy.
Soon, the husband begins to notice odd behavior in his wife and as you already had a chance to see from the official trailer – the real mess starts when he realizes that the dark changes to her body and mind have a much more sinister origin.
Devil’s Due cast includes Allison Miller, Zach Gilford, Sam Anderson, Aimee Carrero and Vanessa Ray, and the movie is set to hit theaters on January 17th, 2014.
As usual – click on the latest poster to enlarge & stay tuned for more horror-updates!The little boy, whose prosthetic leg was stolen in Orange County over the weekend, has proved thieves cannot slow him down.
Liam Brenes got his white Karate belt Tuesday – two days after a thief stole his artificial limb that was left on the beach while he and his family went to explore tide pools at Crystal Cove State Beach on Sunday.
The 4-year-old was determined to earn his belt first even if it meant kicking with his older, shorter prosthesis.
“Today, we were going to go look at getting his leg done, and he was devastated. His face just was so sad, and he refused,” said the boy’s mother, Amanda McFarland. “He was begging: ‘Please let me go to Karate. Please let me go get the belt.'”
“He’s a true martial artist,” said Luis Auza of United Studios of Defense in Mission Viejo. “No matter what happens. Belt comes first. Let’s do that now.”
With the help of some CBS2/KCAL9 viewers, several prosthetics companies, including one in Palmdale, offered to make Liam an artificial limb free of charge.
After getting his belt, Liam and his family headed to Essential Orthotics and Prosthetics in Palmdale, where he was fitted for a new leg.
“My job is to protect my child, and I feel like I failed,” Liam’s father, Frank Brenes, said as he fought back tears. “All the kindness and everything that people have reached out to do. Thank you. It’s definitely helping me adjust with that.”
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Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p> <p>Sen. Bernie Sanders held a rally on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.</p>
Copyright 2016 KPNXAugust 7th, 2013 • By Sergei Bezborodko
Today we are releasing a new feature for our JavaScript notifier that should make tracking down errors much easier if you use jQuery 1.7 and above. The new functionality comes in a separate JS plugin snippet that should be placed right below where jQuery is loaded. Here is the first version of the plugin:
! function ( r, n, e ) { var t = { "notifier.plugins.jquery.version" : "0.0.1" } ; n. _rollbar. push ( { _rollbarParams : t } ) ; r ( e ). ajaxError ( function ( r, e, t, u ) { var o = e. status ; var a = t. url ; n. _rollbar. push ( { level : "warning", msg : "jQuery ajax error for url " + a, jquery_status : o, jquery_url : a, jquery_thrown_error : u, jquery_ajax_error : true } ) } ) ; var u = r. fn. ready ; r. fn. ready = function ( r ) { return u. call ( this, function ( ) { try { r ( ) } catch ( e ) { n. _rollbar. push ( e ) } } ) } ; var o = { } ; var a = r. fn. on ; r. fn. on = function ( r, e, t, u ) { var f = function ( r ) { var e = function ( ) { try { return r. apply ( this, arguments ) } catch ( e ) { n. _rollbar. push ( e ) ; return null } } ; o [ r ] = e ; return e } ; if ( e && typeof e === "function" ) { e = f ( e ) } else if ( t && typeof t === "function" ) { t = f ( t ) } else if ( u && typeof u === "function" ) { u = f ( u ) } return a. call ( this, r, e, t, u ) } ; var f = r. fn. off ; r. fn. off = function ( r, n, e ) { if ( n && typeof n === "function" ) { n = o [ n ] ; delete o [ n ] } else { e = o [ e ] ; delete o [ e ] } return f. call ( this, r, n, e ) } } ( jQuery, window, document ) ;
The source can be found on GitHub here.
The snippet wraps the ready(), on() and off() functions in jQuery to wrap any passed-in handlers in try/except blocks to automatically report errors to Rollbar. This lets us collect the full stack trace with line and column numbers for each frame, instead of just the last frame with only a line number. When combined with source maps, this makes debugging JavaScript errors much more doable.
The new snippet also adds a handler to ajaxError() to automatically report any jQuery AJAX errors such as 404s and 500s to Rollbar. If you don’t want this, add the following option to your base snippet’s _rollbarParams :
"notifier.plugins.jquery.ignoreAjaxErrors": true
You can start tracking errors in Rollbar by signing up for free. Or read more in the docs.Just in from Sustainable West Seattle and the WS Tool Library – new details about tomorrow night’s all-ages Festivus party and fundraiser – the only public Festivus festivities announced in our area so far this season o’joy. In the spirit of the alternate holiday envisioned in the classic TV series “Seinfeld” (clip above), “airing of grievances and feats of strength will be included. Read on for the full lineup:
Festivus: Tool Library Fundraiser Gala is Friday, 6-9:30 pm.
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way SW
The fundraiser gala, which will also serve as Sustainable West Seattle’s annual winter holiday party, will be held Friday, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Any funds raised will go to the maintenance of tool library operations, as well as potential enhancements such as extended hours and more classes, depending on the amount raised.
Everyone is welcome. No cover charge.
To be held at the dance studio at Youngstown Cultural Arts center, the fundraiser is being billed as a Festivus in a nod to a classic Seinfeld episode.
Newly released program includes:
• A dinner of vegetarian chili, corn chips, and cornbread plus other potluck items is available and served in the kitchen in the theatre next to the Movement Studio. Beer, wine and soda also available. Free or a suggested donation of $5 (remember it’s all to benefit the Tool Library)
• A program highlighting the excellent community and the fantastic resource that is the West Seattle Tool Library will start at 7 pm in the Movement Studio with our MC Bryan Fiedorczyk.
• A silent auction featuring items from local West Seattle businesses will take place in the Movement Studio from 6-8 p.m. Donated auction items include meals at local restaurants, a 6-month YMCA membership, a solar panel kit, a yard clean-up, a massage, a ski tune-up, a bike tune-up, gift certificates and much more! It ends at 8, and we can take payment right next to the Auction at 8:15 pm, so that you can leave with your item(s).
• FESTIVUS! Festivities…. In the Movement Studio, we’ll have a Festivus Pole, to which you can affix your airing of grievances. Also near the Festivus Pole we will have several opportunities for “feats of strength.”
• Music provided by wide-ranging talents of singer and songwriter Marty Doros on the 12-string guitar. Our opening act “Woody and Wolf” will open at 6 pm with a mix of folk-rock.
• Tool sales: A mix of used tools are for sale down at the tool library!
• Kids’ activities: we’ll be open for making ornaments at the tool library all night. Kids’ activities will be available in the Movement Studio as well.
• Tool library tours for those who haven’t seen it yet.
In addition, discounts will be offered on new and renewing tool library memberships (normally a suggested $40/year). And members who have tool library items that they’ve been meaning to return will be offered amnesty for any returned tools. No fines and no questions asked!
Volunteers are still needed, starting at 4 p.m.. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help at the event should email [email protected] a day ever passes without the western corporate media reporting that USN warships have entered the Black Sea, the US Army is sending instructors to train the Ukrainian military, US joint task forces are organizing maneuvers in the Baltic or US Army units are making highly publicized movements from the Baltic states to Poland. And every time this happens, Russian diplomats and officials make protests and declare that such actions are only making matters worse and contributing to the destabilization of an already very tense situation. Russian officials also like to remind everybody that NATO is roughly 4 times bigger than the Russian military and that the US has bases all around Russia. So are we to conclude that the Pentagon is preparing to attack Russia or to intervene militarily in the Ukraine?
I believe that such a conclusion would be premature. Here is why:
The first thing to keep in mind is there is absolutely no need for the USA to forward deploy anything to attack Russia. I would even argue that forward deploying units or systems close to Russia put them at risk and make them a much easier target for Russia to strike. This is especially true of any USN ship entering the Black Sea which is completely “covered” by Russian coastal defense missiles. One Russian expert declared that Russia could destroy any ship anywhere in the Black Sea is 20min or less. This is probably an accurate figure. If the Pentagon was preparing to attack Russia it would pull US units and systems *away* form the Russian border, not closer. The US has plenty of very effective long range strike capabilities including ballistic and cruise missiles.
The second undeniable fact is that under any conceivable scenario Russia does have the means to basically completely destroy the USA as a country in about 30min (the USA, of course, can do the same to Russia). Any US war planner would have to consider the escalatory potential of any military action against Russia. It is theoretically possible that in the future the USA might have a means to protect itself from such a retaliatory attack by using a combination of its future Prompt Global Strike system, the forward deployed Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defence system and the US National Missile Defense programs. Personally, I don’t believe that such a system would ever protect anybody against a Russian counter-attack, but even if it does, this will be far away in the future. Currently these systems are not operational and will not be so for the foreseeable future.
The entire notion of sending lethal aid to the Ukraine or instructors to train the Ukrainian military is utter nonsense. The Ukraine used to be in the Soviet second strategic echelon and it is absolutely full of weapons of all kind, and there are plenty of experts capable of using them. The problem of the Ukrainian military is neither a lack of weapons nor a lack of experts, but a lack of motivation by the vast majority of Ukrainian soldiers to go and fight in the Donbass against highly-motivated and very skilled Novorussian forces. Furthermore, it is abundantly clear for everybody (including the Ukrainians, of course) that should the Novorussian defenses crumble then Russia would have to intervene militarily to protect the Donbass.. The Ukrainians can claim that they are already fighting hordes of Russian solider and tanks (up to 200,000 according to a recent interview of Poroshenko), but everybody in the Ukraine fully understands that it would take the Russians no more than 24 hours to completely wipe out the entire Ukrainian military.
Some would argue that what the US is doing is setting up a “tripwire force”, just small enough to be attacked, but one whose destruction would warrant a full-scale US counter-attack. There are two problems with that theory. First, these deployments are happening in NATO member states whose areas are already protected by the “political tripwire” of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. There is simply no need for any kind of tripwire force in a NATO member state. Furthermore, nobody in his right mind would seriously believe that Russia might attack any European country. Sure, the EU and US politicians will try to terrify the Europeans with images of Russian hordes invading the Baltics, Poland or even Germany, but they all know that this is utter nonsense. For one thing, the Russian military is simply not configured to execute such a mission as it does not have the required power projection capability. And there is no political force in Russia even suggesting such a move. And why would Russia do that anyway? I cannot think of a single reason for such a crazy move.
In reality, what the US military is doing is called “showing the flag”. This is purely a political statement and not, in itself, a preparation for an attack. In fact, I would argue that deploying US units in the Baltic states would be just about the worst possible way to prepare for an attack.
That does not mean that a war cannot happen. It very much can. First, there is the obvious risk of mistake and miscalculation. Then, it is really dangerous to see the kind of completely irresponsible statements regularly made by top US officials ranging from Obama’s idiotic claim that Russia is somewhere between ISIS and the Ebola virus in the list of major threats to the world or the more recent declaration of a JCS Nominee General Joseph Dunford who seriously declared that “Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security”. This kind of reckless fear-mongering can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and result in an actual war, if only because of the confrontational atmosphere it creates.
So why are the Russians so upset about this saber-rattling if it really presents no real risk for Russia?
ORDER IT NOW
The main reason is that these highly inflammatory actions and statements create a sense of crisis which contribute to isolate Russia from the rest of Europe – a key US foreign policy objective. This was also the main goal for all the US attempts at drawing Russian into the conflict in the Ukraine: to create a huge crisis and re-ignite a Cold War II in all of Europe. After all, the Europeans who are now busy with the Greek crisis, the tanking economy, social issues such as immigration and crime would rapidly turn to other issues if the main topic on all news shows became the “Russian threat to Europe”. The politics of fear are well-know: obedience, passive acceptance of the dismemberment of social, human, political and civil rights, the creation of a scapegoat on which any crisis could be blamed, etc. Having failed to re-ignite a Cold War II by means of a Russian “invasion” of the Donbass, the US now has fallen back on the option of acting as if such a military move did happen and that the rest of the Ukraine, the Baltics and Poland “are next”. Hence the need to “protect” them by such public display of the US military presence.
Russia is walking a tight line here: she needs to avoid looking weak or frightened while also avoiding contributing to the further degradation of the situation. Hence the apparent Russian policy of “one step forward, one step backward” towards the US/NATO/EU.
The US will probably only achieve a moderate degree of success in its desperate campaign to present Russia as a threat to the world. After all, there are only so many gullible doubleplusgoodthinkers out there willing to buy this silly notion. The problem is that regardless of the real feelings of most Europeans, the EU’s comprador ruling class will continue to act as if the threat was real. The same goes for the Empire’s propaganda machine (aka “corporate media”).
The current saber-rattling is therefore likely to continue as long as the EU is run by US-puppets.(Click to show)
Hey guys,I am very excited to share with you what I got today.One day I walked into my teacher's room and saw this beatiful piece just lying around not even connected nor used.So I asked my teacher whether it is defect or why it is not used. He said we got "newer" stuff. In response, I asked if I could have it then and he said he had to ask the principal first. this was weeks ago. Today I got a response and here it is:I apologize for my crappy phone camera quality.I am not quite sure, but is this the nototious Model M? Anyway, I love it!It is quite dusty and has lots of dirt in between the keys. Do you know any particular method to clean such a keyboard (especially keycaps and the case)?Thanks in advance.So far,Nin'p.s.: This was typed on it and luckily all keys function perfectly. <3So today, I had lots of time and decided to clean up my new beloved keyboard. Could not disassemble it complerely, though since I did dot have the right tool at home. So I just pulled off every keycap and washed them one by one manually and gave the shell a good rub. I don't know whether you can see it in the pictures. But man, my fingers hurt, l0l.Edit #1: Adeed picturesVideo
American artist John H Wurdeman was drawn to the former Soviet state of Georgia by the country's folk music. Sixteen years later he is still living there, immersed in a culture he says is full of tradition and emotion.
Georgia is a place of "very real tears but also very genuine laughter", says the impressionist painter, 37, who trained at the Surikov Institute in Moscow, Russia.
Wurdeman went to Georgia in 1996 and settled in the town of Signaghi, in the centre of the country's wine region. He lives there with his wife Ketevan and their two children and now runs a winery, Pheasant's Tears, dedicated to preserving Georgian wine culture.
He tells the BBC about his passion for art and wine and why Georgians are more prepared to express emotions to strangers.
Produced for the BBC by Ilya Shnitser.It’s a beginning of something big – you can now place trades directly from TradingView. No need to step away from the platform or the chatter, get everything you need in one place.
We are starting with enabling trading Forex and CFDs (contracts for difference) through FXCM, a well-known broker. Here’s their profile page on TradingView and here’s the official site. Eventually we’ll support trading of more asset classes through a variety of brokers.
We need a small group of beta testers to get first access, try trading through FXCM and provide detailed feedback. Send private message to the user @admin on TradingView to request first-look access to the trading experience. Both demo and live accounts are supported, to test you will need to have an account with FXCM.
The tech we used to connect to FXCM (and more brokers down the line) is Tradable, a cool tech company that provides a layer between TradingView and select brokers. So, we connect only once to Tradable, and then they connect to all the brokers, that way there’s no need for us to build multiple connections. It’s very secure and super fast, you can check out their site here.Albertans want to ensure they have a reliable and flexible electricity system that's also designed for a future based on renewable sources. Provincial utility AltaLink is making that happen, after completing the Western Alberta Transmission Line (WATL) - part of a powerful backbone that enables the province to take full advantage of its abundant wind power.
A key attribute of WATL is the bidirectional flow of power. WATL can transmit energy north to south and also capture wind power in the south and send it northbound for distribution province-wide. Converter stations with high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology are located near Calgary and Edmonton. Direct current (DC) is more stable and up to 50 per cent more efficient than the standard alternating current (AC) transmission.
WATL has the potential to deliver an environmental benefit equivalent to taking tens of thousands of cars off Alberta roads.
Innovative Siemens technology helps make WATL possible. AltaLink and its customers can count on a greener energy future.Wild leopard savages 15 people - including 3 policemen - after wandering into Kathmandu suburb
Angry crowd drag body of dead wild cat through the streets after attack
Marksmen have shot dead a leopard which seriously injured 15 people - including three police officers - after wandering into a suburb of Kathmandu.
A furious crowd dragged the mortally wounded animal through the streets of Gothatar on the outskirts of Kathmandu at around 6am today.
Graphic photographs capture residents fleeing for their lives as the leopard prowls between buildings.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
Fear: An armed policeman orders locals to flee for their lives as the cornered wild leopard bounds between houses in the suburb of Gothatar, Katmandu, Nepal, today
Armed police from Metropolitan Police Circle, Koteshwor, were on the scene within minutes and managed to corner the animal, but not before it had mauled more than a dozen residents.
Upto three policemen and two officials from the Department of Forest were injured as they tried to trap the wild cat, according to local reports.
Police said that all the injured were rushed to Mother Land Hospital, Pepsicola for the medical treatment.
An angry mob soon gathered around the animal, kicking and beating the feline as it lay on the dust.
Trapped: Locals stamp and beat the body of the leopard after it was mortally wounded by police Fury: Nepalese people vent their frustration after the leopard attack by stamping on the head of the dead animal in Gothatar, Katmandu, Nepal, today Recently some calves were killed by a leopard in the jungle bordering Mrigasthali of the Pashupati area and the Tribhuvan International Airport. Officials have been under increasing pressure to act to prevent wild cat attacks following a spate of maulings, some of which have been fatal.
The issue of deadly wild animal attacks is said to be particularly acute in so-called buffer zones where human settlements and national parks border one another. In recent years, Nepal has developed a successful protection programme for many endangered species. Conflict: This is the latest in a growing number of animal attacks on poeple as towns and villages increasingly infringe on the habitat of wildlife
Shot dead: A crowd gathers around the dead leopard which had attacked 15 poeple, including three policemen, after wandering into a Kathmandu suburb todayAs early as next year, Houston could have a rough outline for the first highway park in the United States.
The Texas Department of Transportation is getting ready to reroute I-45 east of downtown, abandoning the two-mile Pierce Elevated expressway that wraps around the south and west sides of the central business district. Since 2014, some local visionaries have pushed a bold idea to turn the decommissioned freeway into a massive public space.
It’s been two years since the Pierce Skypark captured the imaginations of Houstonians, spawning enthusiastic op-eds and an online following. And while I-45 is in the news again, after the Texas Transportation Commission earmarked another $8.9 billion for statewide highway improvement projects in May, media attention on the Skypark has largely fizzled.
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But three of the main people behind the Skypark tell Houston Press the dream is alive and well. Turning a freeway into — well, not a freeway — requires a lot of time, plans, investors and meetings, they say. Their goal is for Houston to have an economic study of the project by sometime in 2018.
On a recent afternoon, the trio invited the Press to their airy downtown offices to hear a progress report. All three of them are members of Page, a Texas architecture firm. Tami Merrick handles planning and community outreach for the project. Marcus Martinez hand-draws renderings of the Skypark and irons out design issues. And John Cryer, the former CEO of Page, deals with the Skypark's business and economic aspects.
The team haven’t yet figured out a cost estimate for the Skypark and admit they have lots of work left. The trio have intentionally left their plans open-ended, they say, so that they can incorporate ideas for residents or city and state officials.
Still, they’re feeling optimistic. At some point the Pierce Elevated will stop serving cars. And when it does, the group argues, why wouldn’t the city want an innovative, prearranged plan for the abandoned stretch of freeway?
“You can’t just wait until the day that TxDOT asks you what to do with it,” Merrick said.
That day could be more than a decade away. Before Houston can even consider a sky park, TxDOT needs to build new roads for the cars currently using Pierce Elevated. The agency hopes to start on that project in around five to ten years. But that’s a loose estimate that depends on a lot of factors, especially whether there’s money for the project, said Danny Perez, a spokesman for TxDOT’s Houston District.
“There’s no funding,” he said, but said to stay tuned. "These things can move fast.”
Until TxDOT sets up an official schedule for the I-45 reroute, Perez is hesitant to make predictions on the future of Pierce Elevated. “It’s just so preliminary,” he said. “Anything can happen.” Although the city would get first dibs on any sale, Perez said selling the land “would probably be the ideal situation” for TxDOT. He wasn’t sure what the asking price would be. And he acknowledges that other options — like a land trade or a partnership between Houston and TxDOT — are also possibilities.
Back in 2015, when TxDOT first floated its I-45 rerouting project, the agency said it planned to raze the Pierce Elevated — which would make a highway park impossible. Was that still the agency’s intention? Again, Perez equivocated; TxDOT wouldn’t decide for sure until it knew what the city wanted to do, he said.
“We’re not in the business of building parks,” he added, describing the agency’s approach to the Pierce Skypark as “baby steps.”
The long and indefinite timeline makes it hard to forecast the viability of Pierce Skypark. If TxDOT offered to sell the defunct stretch of I-45 to Houston, the decision of whether or not to buy would ultimately be up to the mayor. And while Sylvester Turner has seemed warm toward the Skypark idea — in 2015, he visited the Page offices — he probably won’t still be mayor when the Pierce Elevated finally closes.
In the meantime, the architects and designers at Page are working on what they call “proof of concept.” If the idea of turning a highway into a public space sounds ambitious, the Skypark team want to prove that it’s not only possible but feasible.
As an analogy, they point to the High Line, which was once seen as an unrealistic and expensive dream. New York City spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project, bringing in funds from tax dollars, nonprofits and public-private partnerships. But when it was done, revenue from tourism, leases and air rights began flowing in. (Air rights come into play when a private developer purchases the right to extend its building over the airspace of a public landmark, even by just a few feet.) In 2011 — just two years after the High Line opened — Robert Hammond, one of the minds behind the project, estimated it had already made the city about $500 million.
For Martinez, the one who handles design issues, the High Line also offers a lesson in patience.
It took a decade — from 1999 to 2009 — for the High Line to go from vision to reality. He showed a chart comparing the timelines of similar projects around the world. The Pierce Skypark’s tiny line represented just three years of planning. On the scale of urban infrastructure, it was still an infant.
Founded in 1898, Page is one of the oldest architectural firms in Texas. The company has been at the forefront of some of Houston’s most ambitious renovation projects. It helped create Discovery Green in the mid-2000s. More recently, it also redesigned and renovated aspects of Buffalo Bayou Park, including the Cistern.
Pierce Skypark is the brainchild of Merrick, one of the Page architects. A resident of First Ward, Merrick occupies an unusual dual role as an urban designer and a community activist. Her initial idea, she said, was to use the soon-to-be-decommissioned stretch of I-45 to connect Buffalo Bayou bike paths with ones along White Oak Bayou and Stude Park. The idea grew more ambitious as more designers got involved.
The team viewed implementation of the Skypark as a slow and steady process. As soon as the Pierce Elevated closes, for example, Cryer suggests that the city allow cyclists in. As they bike by the skyline, he said, maybe they would realize the pleasures of using a highway like a park. And then maybe even more investments would flow in.
The other ideas floated by the team during the presentation included a soccer field, a nature preserve, a water-retention pond and a location for art-car parades. The underside of the freeway would have space for public services like elementary schools or mixed-income housing.
Near the end of the presentation, Merrick asked a rhetorical question: What if Houston, perhaps the ultimate symbol of car culture in the United States, took a freeway away from cars? What if they made it a place where people could bike, walk, work or play?
“That could be such an amazing statement about the future of the city,” she concluded.Story highlights "Conversion disorder" causes twitching, stuttering, verbal outbursts
Doctor says it is caused by "stressors that provoke a physical reaction"
Mayo Clinic says young females are much more likely to get conversion disorder
Twelve female students from Le Roy Junior Senior High School in upstate New York are experiencing a mysterious medical condition. Their symptoms include stuttering, uncontrollable twitching movements and verbal outbursts.
Health officials say the symptoms are consistent with "conversion disorder."
Dr. Jennifer McVige, a pediatric neurologist at the DENT Neurologic Institute who is treating many of the students affected, said, "Conversion disorder is a physical manifestation of physiological symptoms where there is traditionally some kind of stress or multiple stressors that provoke a physical reaction within the body." McVige said the symptoms are real. "This is unconscious. It is not done purposefully."
Thera Sanchez, a senior on the honor roll at the school, said she has been fighting this affliction since October. She said after waking up from a nap, "I got upset, I couldn't stop stuttering." During an interview with CNN's Jason Carroll, her symptoms were apparent: She was twitching uncontrollably, flailing her left arm and jerking her head to one side. Sanchez said she also faints and has seizures. The seizures are a result of her pre-existing epilepsy disorder, which had been under control for years.
Lydia Parker, also a senior at the school, is exhibiting similar symptoms. "I took a five-minute nap. I passed out for five minutes and I woke up stuttering," Parker said. She said her symptoms also started in October. Parker has a bruised forehead after banging it on her bedpost during a fainting spell, she said.
Officials at the school hired an independent third party to conduct mold and air quality tests but found no environmental cause for the girls' illnesses. A statement posted on the school's website said, in part, "The medical and environmental investigations have not uncovered any evidence that would link the neurological symptoms to anything in the environment or of an infectious nature."
Sanchez's mother, Melissa Phillips said she does not agree. "I don't think that all physical aspects of this have been exhausted; not enough testing has been done."
Phillips said she found out other girls were exhibiting the same symptoms when she brought her daughter to the hospital. The nurse said Thera was the fourth girl in a week to come in with the same issues. "I was very irate to not know that other girls were going through this."
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She also disagreed with McVige's assertion that the girls are improving, saying, "Nothing is getting better, you know, the girls are still getting worse. They have good days and bad days."
McVige is not sure why so many girls at the same school are suffering all at once. "I do know that traditionally when they've (doctors) looked back at different events that occurred in a similar nature, a majority of the time it is girls."
According to the Mayo Clinic, females are much more likely to get conversion disorder and it is more common in adolescents or young adults.
McVige said she used the "diagnosis of exclusion" to determine what happened to the girls, which means using the process of elimination. She ruled out a laundry list of factors to reach her diagnosis, including infections, drug use, food allergies and vaccine reactions, specifically Gardasil.
The New York State Health Department agreed with McVige's diagnosis after speaking with several doctors who evaluated the students. "There are many causes of tic-like symptoms. Stress can often worsen them," said spokesman Jeffrey Hammond. "The doctors all agree that the symptoms these girls are experiencing are real."
This isn't the first time reports have surfaced of multiple students at one high school experiencing twitching symptoms. In 2007, nine female students and one teacher were reported to have the same issues at William Byrd High School in Roanoke, Virginia. The school spent $30,000 testing the school and the surrounding area but found no evidence of any environmental factors that may have contributed to the illnesses.
The school principal, Richard Turner, said after closely interviewing the students, they found six of them were faking the symptoms. The teacher who was affected is now symptom free and still teaching at the school. One student who got better within days, according to Turner, was determined to have had a reaction to medication.
The other two students' symptoms were eventually resolved.
All of them graduated. "We haven't had any other reported incidents since then," Turner said.
The Virginia Department of Health also did an investigation and told CNN it found no contributing environmental factors and concluded the students' symptoms, though varied, were consistent with a social phenomenon called "mass psychogenic hysteria," which suggests real symptoms but no biological cause.
Thera Sanchez said all she wants is to get better so she can go to college next year. "I don't think this is in my head."
McVige said she wanted to assure the public that this illness will not spread. "I feel we need to put an end to feeling that this is a mystery, that someone is going to catch something contagious." She expressed confidence all the girls will get better, adding they have "an excellent prognosis."When is a minority not a minority?
NEW YORK, NY – Last year, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a civil rights lawsuit with the federal government to eliminate testing as the sole basis for admissions to top public schools in New York City, such as Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and Stuyvesant, since it discriminated against ethnic minorities. They argued that factors such as school grades, teacher recommendations and personal experience be taken into account, which would make the admissions process similar to university admissions. However, the majority of students admitted to these top NYC public schools are ethnic minorities. They’re Asians.
According to the New York Times, approximately 59% of the students enrolled in the eight specialized high schools are Asian. In 1971, the Stuyvesant High School student body was 10% Black, 4% Hispanic, and 6% Asian with the rest being White but is 72% Asian and around 4% percent are Black or Hispanic in 2012. Based on concerns about the lack of test preparation from minority groups, the city initially offered a free test-prep program to Black and Hispanic students and later to all students. However, it was still an issue because the majority of students enrolled in the public test program are Asians.
The Times article exploring this controversy spent considerable time profiling the Asian students who were accepted into the top NYC high schools. One account was about a son of Chinese immigrants who often sacrificed weekends studying for the high school entrance exam. He rarely saw his parents because they worked long shifts.
Other Asian students profiled came from families that either lived in Third World conditions or emigrated from countries experiencing violence. These families managed to pool their limited resources to ensure their kids had the time and money needed to do well in school and pass the high school entrance exam.
Although the writer made efforts to show these students made sacrifices and worked hard to be in these schools, he also made a point of emphasizing their “foreignness”. In the same article, the writer quoted Jerome Krase, a professor emeritus in sociology at Brooklyn College, suggesting Asian students are culturally obligated to do well since “[They] hold the honor of the family in their hands“, which implies they are different from Americans.
Moreover, the interviews with non-Asian parents were critical of the current admissions process. One parent agreed with expanding admissions to consider more than just the entrance exam results while another parent felt that it was abnormal for students to sacrifice weekends just to prepare for the entrance exam. Despite these criticisms, both parents have children who are preparing for the entrance exam.
While it is true that Asians make up the majority of students in the top specialized high schools in New York City, other groups such as Blacks, Hispanics and Whites also successfully passed the tests. Instead of just profiling Asian students and emphasizing their ‘foreignness’ and their family’s limited links to American culture, the writer should have also profiled Black and Hispanic students who successfully passed the exam to show that success is not limited to Asians.
Interviewing parents of successful Black or Hispanic students would give readers ideas of how non-Asian parents and their children worked around their respective challenges to succeed since they might be more relatable to readers than the Asian students and families profiled in the article. As a result, the article appears to perpetuate the idea that Asians are undermining the perceived character of New York City’s top public schools and unintentionally promoting tensions with other ethnic groups in the city due to their “foreign values”.
Another area the writer should have explored is the root cause for test prep programs.
It is strange that students have to enroll in test preparation programs to prepare for a high school admission exam that supposedly tests students on items they should have learned in the city’s primary and middle schools. If the primary and middle public schools are properly teaching their students, then there should not be a disparity between students enrolled in test prep programs and those that are not since the exam is based on things they should have learned in school.
Sadly, these disparities suggest there is an issue with the quality of public school education in the city, not of the race of students in the city’s top high schools.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund believes that changing the current admissions process into a holistic process would solve the problems with the current system that allegedly gives wealthier families an advantage due to their abilities to get better test preparation. However, this change would actually harm many poor immigrant Asian families and may not necessarily help the intended Black or Hispanic students in high school admissions.
If the city switches to a holistic approach, wealthier parents would still find ways to |
ys, I may drift, but it's part of the process.' So I'm aware that I'm drifting, but I'm grabbing a lot of stuff." It takes fifty minutes, but eventually he answers. Except that all of it is the answer.
"Favreau called me in Hawaii, and he said, 'I know everything about you, and I have a hunch that I know what you can do as an actor that you haven't done yet.' And he got my attention," he says, his voice suddenly doubling in volume. "Anytime my voice raises like that, it's because I've locked in," he explains, then veers back to his story. "It was that fast. None of this is about 'Oh, I got a part!' It's so much deeper. Jon Favreau called me up and said, 'What are you doing, man? I think you can act, and I don't think this is the time to withdraw. And I'll put you in with Don Cheadle and Sam Rockwell and Robert Downey Jr.'"
I mention that Peter Tolan told me that Garry's greatest desire is to be taken seriously as an actor.
Shandling looks down at his Pradas. "Here's what I'm very sensitive about," he says, pausing for a good thirty seconds before he raises his head. "You're right." Then he laughs. "I would only rephrase it this way: I want to take myself seriously as an actor. And to know that I can be free enough and strong enough and courageous enough to express myself in emotional ways that are a little bit harder than standing there telling a joke."
BOXING
In 2007, Shandling released Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show, a curated collection of favorite episodes that fans had been awaiting for years. For their patience, they were rewarded with something far more interesting than the normal box set—a series of unscripted, one-on-one conversations between Shandling and some of the big names who had appeared on the show: Sharon Stone, Carol Burnett, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Tom Petty. The idea that motivated these DVD extras was at once simple and complex: Shandling was trying to walk his talk, to coexist with people who meant something to him and to make room for something—anything, even nothing—to happen. "The truth is in the emptiness," he likes to say. So he set up a camera and let a little emptiness in.
He spent a full year producing the "visits," as he calls them, consumed by the idea that the DVD-extra form—usually so canned and predictable—could be something vastly more ambitious. Some of his friends worried about him, he went so deep into the project. Then they saw the results. Together these sit-downs, which at Baron Cohen's suggestion Shandling labeled "Indulgent Visits with My Friends That Are Meant for Only Me to See," comprise the rawest, oddest, most genuine moments you may ever see famous people subject themselves to on-camera.
One of the visits, with Alec Baldwin, takes place in the ring of a Santa Monica boxing gym. As the men circle and jab, they talk about humor, aggression, fear. Baldwin says he was mortified when he first guest-starred in a Larry Sanders episode in 1993. "I was scared," Baldwin says. "You are fucking eighth-degree-black-belt funny."
"That's how I feel with you in the ring," Shandling says. "I'm going to allow you to hit me so hard that I don't have to—"
"Work again for the next five years?" Baldwin taunts.
"Finish these DVDs," Shandling growls.
Baldwin was right, of course. Shandling hadn't been working much—at least not in ways that are visible to the rest of us. Which is why, on his first day of shooting Iron Man 2, he found himself reflecting on his life as he sat on a raised dais with his tie cinched tight, pretending to run a Senate hearing as the cameras rolled. "I'm in front of 500 people and the Joint Chiefs," he says of the scene, in which his character, Senator Stern, pounds a gavel, trying to get Downey's Tony Stark to turn over his high-tech armored suit. "And I'm thinking, Oh, my God, the last thing I did was the voice of a turtle."
He is referring to his last acting gig: the 2006 animated movie Over the Hedge, in which he voiced a turtle named Verne.
Not that Shandling has to work. He made a pile on It's Garry Shandling's Show, his first series, and an even bigger fortune on The Larry Sanders Show. (The complete Sanders DVD set—all 2,800 minutes of it—will be available in September.) Post-Sanders, though, two back-to-back projects—the 2000 comedy What Planet Are You From? and the disastrous 2001 flop Town Country—didn't deliver on expectations. Since then, he has grown accustomed to people asking where he's been.
"I never used to know how to explain. Finally I said, 'Uh, I travel with Daniel Day-Lewis!'" he says. "Do you have to win the Oscar for someone not to bother you about it? Daniel Day-Lewis, he goes for six years to learn to make shoes in Italy. 'Fascinating!' But with me they're going, 'Why? What happened?'"
Shandling grew up in Tucson, where his mom, Muriel, ran a pet shop and his dad, Irving, was a printer. His older brother, Barry, died of cystic fibrosis when Garry was 10, and he has said he thinks the loss made him contemplate things most kids don't have to. Garry studied electrical engineering at the University of Arizona, then switched to marketing, he says, because he couldn't bear the thought of actually being an engineer. The less demanding major left him with more free time, which he filled by writing comedy routines "as a test, to see if I could do it." One day in 1968 he heard that George Carlin—then a superstar—would be performing in Phoenix, a two-hour drive away.
Shandling had never been in a nightclub, but he tracked Carlin down. "He was standing by the bar. I said, 'Hi, Mr. Carlin. My name is Garry Shandling, and I wrote some routines for you.'" Carlin was polite. He wrote all his own stuff, he said, but if Shandling would come back tomorrow, he'd look his jokes over and they could talk. Shandling drove home to Tucson, then turned right around the next day and came back.
After that night's show, Shandling recalls, "he takes me into the back room, which is like the clubs where I work now, and there's my material on his little table with marks on it." Carlin walked him through the twenty or so pages one at a time, and then he said, "You're very green, but there's something funny on each page." Very earnestly Carlin added: "If you're thinking of pursuing this, I would."
The beats of Garry's life from the time he moved to Los Angeles, at age 23, through the end of the Sanders show have become comedy-nerd lore: his sitcom-writing gigs (Sanford and Son; Welcome Back, Kotter); his serious car accident that made him quit TV writing at age 27 to do stand-up ("That was my big shift—I felt like I had a calling"); his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1981, which led to a regular guest-hosting gig; his discovery of Roy London, the esteemed acting coach, at age 34; It's Garry Shandling's Show, which debuted on Showtime in 1986 and ran for four seasons.
It's Garry Shandling's Show was a sitcom that made fun of the conventions of a sitcom. The theme song was a guy singing about this being the theme song that ran while you watched the credits. The characters came in and out of Shandling's supposed apartment, but Shandling himself also ran around the set and talked directly into the camera about the plotlines, his co-stars, his hair.
After a short break, he came back with The Larry Sanders Show, which first aired on HBO in August 1992. The show mixed on-air footage of a talk show with behind-the-scenes glimpses of how that show came together—the bookers, the network execs, the writers in the writing room, and most vitally, Sanders's sidekick, Hank "Hey Now" Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor), and his producer, Artie (Rip Torn). The guests were all real celebrities, playing themselves. Shandling played Sanders; many people thought the two were one and the same.
Just before the first season aired, Shandling was approached by NBC to host a real talk show in David Letterman's old spot. He remembers talking the idea over with Roy London, who had worked on Sanders, advising on scripts and occasionally directing. "I would say, 'Roy, can I grow as an artist going on TV every night?'" The question was its own answer. He turned the offer down.
In the second season of Sanders, London died suddenly of AIDS-related complications. Shandling was devastated. "When he died, I really thought about quitting," he says, suddenly looking a little smaller in his overstuffed chair. "I worked with him on every episode of every show that I had done. He was a genius. I relied upon him for my acting and writing and sometimes life notes." He pauses, overcome. "I'm sorry. I'm looking down because it's hard for me."
Shandling soldiered on. The pace was unforgiving. On Monday morning, there'd be a table read, then Tuesday rehearsals and a few days of shooting. "I would come home every Friday morning at 2 A.M. from shooting, and I'd have to get up to meet the writers at noon Saturday to go over the script for Monday. I would give them notes, and then they'd go and write a draft and come back on Sunday, and then I'd give notes on that. And get up and go to the table reading Monday."
Fighting fatigue, he'd gobble Excedrin, grabbing them from a watercooler in his office that he kept filled with the stuff. That, he cautions, "will burn a hole in your stomach. It's an incredibly effective medication, and I would like to be the spokesperson for it. But you want to stick to the dosage."
The hard work paid off; the show was brilliant. The episode "Ellen, or Isn't She?" revolved around Sanders's efforts to get Ellen DeGeneres to come out on his show. It ran in the months before the comedienne was about to come out for real on her show. (On Sanders, though, while he's trying to get her to admit her lesbianism, the two of them have a one-night stand.)
Apatow says the main lesson Shandling taught him on Sanders was that the curtain that separated backstage from onstage was just a metaphor for how we all hide our true selves. "He always talked about how it's incredibly rare for people to say what they mean. People are lying a great deal of the time." That was the root of the show's humor, Apatow says: the disconnect between "what people are trying to project versus what they're actually feeling."
By the end of Sanders, Shandling was dealing with disconnects of his own. His relationship with the actress Linda Doucett, who starred as Hank's assistant on the show for years, had ended badly. His relationship with his longtime manager, Brad Grey, was over. Garry filed suit against Grey in 1998 for breach of fiduciary duty, alleging that Grey had gotten greedy with Sanders, taking half ownership and a producer's fee on top of his manager's cut. (The 1999 settlement included a mutual exchange of TV rights, as well as a cash payment to Shandling of at least $4 million.)
Romance has always been a challenge for Garry. Despite his expansiveness on most other topics, he's evasive about love. "I have spent a lot of time studying the issue of relationships, how I grew up, my parents' influence on me," he says when I ask him why he's single. "I've talked to a therapist, I've looked inward spiritually at myself, and what it seems to come down to is—" the slightest pause—"that I'm a Sagittarius. Please don't make me reveal more than that. It's tough enough as it is."
After Shandling quit Sanders, he rented a house in Malibu. He slept and read a huge amount. He and Tolan thought up a series built around the conceit that heaven was run like a multinational corporation. (Shandling would've played God.) But Garry begged off. "I was still working on myself, on my path—with Daniel Day-Lewis."
During this period, Duchovny suggested he try boxing. Shandling took to it instantly. "The art of boxing is seeing spaces and being able to take shots," he explains. "The hitting and being hit have to become one. Your reactions have to be so in the moment. There's no time to think."
Garry rises from his chair and leads me through the house, past the Buddhist prayer flags and the many-armed statuary, toward yet another outdoor patio, where a heavy bag hangs from a chain. Before we get to it, though, he turns off a hallway and into his study, where a well-worn copy of GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, a 792-page book of photographs, lies open on a low bench. It's an enormous book, measuring twenty by twenty inches and weighing in at seventy-five pounds. Its binding is cracked, Garry has studied it so much. Now he leans over it, flipping to a photo of Ali in the ring.
"A beautiful man," Shandling says, appraising the boxer's fluid stance. "He's had to put all this training in. But there's a way that he's still relaxed. It's hard to describe. He's at peace. He's empty-headed. He's all instinct—because he's got his technique worked out." He pauses. "This is how I work."
Suddenly he launches into a story about Ali during the fifth round of the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle, when Ali said to George Foreman, "This would be a bad place to get tired." That, Garry says, "is also what a comic would do. This would be a bad place to get tired. To this day Foreman says, You know, that got to me! It's humorous, the idea that someone would say that in the ring. And you're going to see how these things all tie together, because they're all exercises in being in the moment."
When I suggest that boxing, like comedy, is about rhythm, he nods. "My trainer, Dave Paul, he said, 'G'—he calls me G—he said, 'G, you have an unusual rhythm of your own that's sort of, uh, no rhythm whatsoever. And yet that works for you, because they can't figure you out.' So sometimes when I'm in the ring, it's like you can't tell whether I'm about to tell a joke, or throw a punch, or start a punch and not finish it, or pass out. So some guys can't read me. They come in close—just like when an audience leans in. And then I have a flurry."
Shandling takes me into a storage room to retrieve a DVD of Special Thanks to Roy London, a 2005 documentary about his late friend that he often hands out to people he thinks will be interested. While rummaging for it, he finds a poster that he and Paul made. It's designed to look like a classic promo for a heavyweight bout, with two fierce-looking fighters standing back-to-back. Both of them are Shandling. In big block letters at the bottom it says, GARRY SHANDLING VS. HIMSELF.
BUDDHISM
In 2006 the UK's Channel 4 aired a special called Ricky Gervais Meets…Garry Shandling that became an instant sensation among connoisseurs of comedy. The premise, which Gervais had already tried out with Larry David a year earlier, was for the British comedian to pay a visit to one of his heroes. They'd talk about the craft of being funny. Hilarity would ensue.
From the moment the two men meet, in Shandling's kitchen, it's clear something is wrong. Shandling seems put out—irritated, even. "Don't touch me," he says when Gervais puts a hand on his shoulder. Gervais appears nervous, confused by Shandling's disapproval. As Shandling puts his contacts in over the sink, Gervais scolds him for putting the lenses at risk, and Shandling looks so peeved you think he may call the whole thing off. "What are you, controlling?" he asks. "You're giving me advice on how to put my contact lenses in?" When a distant buzzer sounds, Shandling says it's his "ass detector, and it's gone off because you're here." Gervais tries to get Shandling to follow him outside. Shandling won't go, turning instead to the camera to comment on Gervais's obliviousness. Gervais responds by emitting his loud, high-pitched squeal of a laugh. He's on the ropes, and he's not quite sure how he got there. And that's just the first five minutes. Only later will Shandling ask Gervais why he makes fun of people with cerebral palsy. Only later will Shandling say, pointedly, "I'm starting to get the feeling that you're not comfortable around Jewish people," or ask, "Does that make you feel better about yourself, to attack me?"
In certain circles, the Shandling-Gervais smackdown has risen to the level of an unsolved mystery. People who know Shandling get asked all the time: What was going on, exactly, that led to the most awkward forty-seven minutes in the history of television? Neither man has ever explained it, not in public and not to each other. But when I ask Garry to do so, he looks relieved, as if an anvil has been lifted off the top of his head.
"Oh, good," he says, and begins to talk.
While completing the DVD extras for Sanders, Shandling had been struck by the idea that Gervais would be a great addition. Though he'd never appeared on the show, Gervais had spoken openly about how Sanders inspired him. So Garry called Gervais and asked if he'd do it. The answer was yes, but Gervais also had a request. While he was in Garry's home, could they also shoot his Channel 4 show? Shandling agreed, and all was well until the day of the dueling interviews, when wires got crossed. Garry says he assumed they would shoot the "visit" for the DVD extra first, because "that laid-back, not-on tone is good preparation for saying, 'Let's turn it on'" later, for Gervais's special.
But when Shandling walked into his kitchen, he realized instantly that Gervais thought the Channel 4 special was being shot first. Gervais was on—extremely so—and so were several cameras. Garry could have said something but wanted to see what would happen if he played it out. What if he stayed in the same low-affect head space he was in to do his DVD extras? Could he reach Gervais without explicitly identifying the problem? Could he bring Gervais's energy level down?
"It's fascinating, really," Garry tells me. "We both became locked into the shows we were each doing, and it became a bit of a boxing match. Because he's trying to get me to do the show that he needs, and I'm trying to get him to do nothing. I was trying to pull Ricky into the moment."
A great boxer makes his opponent fight his fight, on his terms. A great stand-up takes control of a room. There's a reason comics say their best shows "killed." Making people laugh is, at its simplest, an act of domination. And Shandling dominated Gervais. I tell Garry their interaction looks more hostile than he will admit. He offers me an organic-turkey sandwich. "A lot of funny people have a way of looking at life and commenting on it," he says. "Now, there's another leap to take, which is: Are those funny people actually integrating their life into their work? I still search for ways to put it. It's living art. I see it as living life as an art. And part of that's the comedy, and part of that's the acting, and part of that's the basketball, and part of that's the boxing."
And part of that is, of course, the Buddhism. Garry's been meditating and keeping journals that chronicle what he calls "my path and how I'm growing and where I'm at" since his twenties. The first time he was asked to guest-host The Tonight Show, he wrote in his journal. "I sat down—I have it in my book—and I said, 'This is about becoming one with The Tonight Show,'" he says. (And yes, he still keeps a journal. "I probably write once a week," he says. "This week there are three pages filled with the words, 'I'm in GQ!'")
As a misty rain starts to fall outside, I tell Garry that all his talk about process has made me think about my own process—about the conventions of the interview, the seeming need for straightforward answers, and the stress that arises when such answers do not come. "You're not the first person to have said that," he says. "You want to know what the world is about? No one knows what to think. If we could just embrace not knowing for a second, we might have a chance.
"It's all right not to know," he continues, his voice kind, like he's soothing a scared child. "Just calm down a minute. I give you permission to not know. That's the key. Only from there can come answers."
All over the house are notes Garry has scribbled to himself in a near illegible hand: on the refrigerator full of healthy food he pays a chef to prepare, on a paper plate lying on the counter, on a piece of lined paper wadded up in his pocket. More than once while I'm with him, he will consult them, saying distractedly, "Let me see what I had written down here." But it's just a feint, a way of creating space, of distracting his opponent.
"I'm going to jump," Garry warns, signaling a subject change. His voice goes up again. "I feel like I'm on the edge of a new phase. Nobody knows it. I don't discuss it. Honestly. But now is the time to discuss it, strangely enough." He smiles, and his face goes soft. "Before it's too late."
BEING
Seven years ago, when the world-renowned Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh was invited to speak at the Library of Congress, he asked Shandling to fly to Washington, D.C., and introduce him. The two men know each other well—Shandling has spent time at the monk's monastery outside San Diego—and the funnyman was flattered by the wise man's request. The chaplain from the House of Representatives spoke first—"he gave a prayer that was, um, long and dry, to be honest"—so when Shandling arrived at the podium, he got right to the point.
"You're probably wondering why I'm here," he recalls telling the audience of about 2,000 dignitaries and religious leaders. "First of all, humor is a wonderful way to deal with our suffering, because if we can laugh at our troubles, we can feel better. Thich Nhat Hanh is a special man who has helped millions with their suffering with incredible technique. But he doesn't know real suffering, because he has not dated as much as I have."
Afterward, Shandling heard that the monk had only seen his introduction later, when he watched a videotape of the event. And this is how Hanh responded: "This guy really knows how to work a room."
Shandling will always know how to work a room. But something has happened to him that has altered his approach. Without prompting, friends choose similar language to describe it. Robert Downey Jr. calls it Shandling's "molting phase." Peter Tolan compares it to shedding a skin.
"Garry is interested in people showing themselves truthfully, either by action or by what they say," he says.
"Artistically, your need to entertain sometimes throws up a barrier to getting to that truth. But I think he's sort of shedding that as time goes on. He's much more comfortable saying, 'Hey, look at this. It might not be traditionally funny or what you expect from me, but there's something to it, isn't there?'"
Ask Shandling to explain his metamorphosis and he starts by describing an interview he saw with the snowboarder Shaun White about preparing for the Olympics: "He said, 'Well, you know, I built a half-pipe in the middle of the mountains where I could go practice alone. It had a foam pit so that I wouldn't hurt myself when I worked on my tricks.'"
Shandling's foam pit is a place called the Comedy Magic Club, in the coastal town of Hermosa Beach. For months he's been dropping in occasionally, without warning, trying out his new Zen approach to laughter. "I say: 'Hi, I have so much to talk to you about. I'm sorry I'm late, because I was driving here'—and I'll start talking about that. And I keep going on that and go off on something else and then on something else. But then I say, 'I have to try to get to the stuff I wanted to talk to you about.' So that by the end of twenty or thirty minutes, I say to them, 'Oh, my God, I'm out of time! And I didn't get started!' And they get it!"
Shandling has always said his most enduring comic influence is Woody Allen. Allen "was unexpected at the time when he broke," Shandling tells Gervais during a rare un-cringeworthy moment in that Channel 4 special. "He was fresh and new. And it was a different sensibility." There's something about Shandling's voice when he says it—insistent, reverent—that suggests he can imagine no greater accomplishment.
Sarah Silverman is one of the people who have actually seen a recent Shandling performance, at a monthly comedy gig called Sarah Friends that she organizes at the Los Angeles club Largo.
"He did forty-five minutes of the most rock-solid, vital, mind-blowing tears-from-laughing set," Silverman recalls. "He was so vulnerable and so honest, but at the same time a powerhouse. It was like seeing Garry Shandling at his peak—and it was. But it wasn't some memory of something gone by. It was a whole new thing. It was exciting."
When I press for details, she says, "He talked about his face. He talked about going on Bill Maher and talking about stuff on that show that he cared about. And then going online the next day, and every comment about it was 'What did Garry Shandling do to his face?' And he was like, 'I didn't do anything to my face!' And then he watched it on TV and said, 'Oh, my God, what's happened to my face??'"
Silverman compares Shandling's new approach to what Eminem did for rap. "You know how rap has always been my phone and my car and I'm awesome and saying my name over and over again and my jewelry and my money? And it wasn't until Eminem came along that vulnerability was brought to it? He raps about the embarrassing things about his own self instead of posturing." She pauses. What Shandling is up to, she says, "feels like a change occurring in that vein. I don't think the point of it is polish. The act is the process."
The act is the process. The process requires a foam pit. The foam pit makes everything possible. And, I realize, I'm in it. I've been in the foam pit with Garry since the first minute I met him.
"You're getting the whole spew out," he tells me. "I mean, it's so honest that I just don't know what to say. The truth is, once you open yourself up to this process of being in the moment, stuff starts to happen in the moment. You're going to say, 'Garry, all fascinating! But I'm lost.'" So I understand. But I'd rather give you this—because I'm impulsing off of you. "See the point?" Garry asks. "You've already seen the act. It's like this. With a few less lulls."Despite cannabis' history in folk pharmacopoeias, clinical studies of its medicinal impact remain limited in many areas. Based on some promising early results, researchers are now calling for a closer look at its applications for certain mental health conditions for which more 'traditional' treatments have come up short.
According to recent studies, the cannabis-derived chemical cannabidiol (CBD) may offer meaningful relief with schizophrenia, a frequently chronic condition which can significantly interfere with how we think, feel, and behave.
At the University of Wollongong, researchers first discovered that CBD could provide new kinds of symptom relief for schizophrenic individuals by examining what science has uncovered about the chemical so far. To get a sense of CBD's impact on cognitive function in relation to schizophrenia, Dr. Katrina Green, Professor Nadia Solowij, and Wollongong Ph.D. candidate Ashleigh Osborne conducted a detailed review of 27 extant studies on the chemical and uncovered some "fascinating insights" about its potential therapeutic value.
In a release, Green commented that CBD could provide direct neurological support for a range of conditions affecting the brain, from schizophrenia to dementia. “From this review, we found that CBD will not improve learning and memory in healthy brains, but may improve aspects of learning and memory in illnesses associated with cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease, as well as neurological and neuro-inflammatory disorders," including hepatic encephalopathy, meningitis, sepsis, and cerebral malaria.
Green, who led the review, also noted that CBD may well be capable of reducing cognitive impairment that has been associated with THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which has previously shown a potential to aggravate aspects of schizophrenia, anxiety, and other mental disorders.
See also: Opioid Activists Are Going Rogue To Prove That Safe Injection Sites Save Lives
Following the review, the researchers decided to put CBD's potential for easing cognitive schizophrenia symptoms to the test with their own study using a rat model. With help from Senior Professor Xu-Feng Huang and Ph.D. candidate Ilijana Babic, what they found was that "chronic" administration of CBD seemed to attenuate the cognitive deficits and social withdrawal that often afflict persons with schizophrenia, which the team simulated in rats using prenatal poly I:C infection.
“We found that CBD was able to restore recognition and working memory, as well as social behavior, to normal levels,” Osborne said in a release. "These findings are interesting because they suggest that CBD may be able to treat some of the symptoms of schizophrenia that are seemingly resistant to existing medications. In addition, CBD treatment did not alter body weight or food intake, which are common side effects of antipsychotic drug treatment.”
Osborne also explained to ABC News Australia, "This is really important because current antipsychotic drugs don't address the cognitive deficits, which approximately 80% of patients with schizophrenia experience."
According to the Australian team, the results of their review and study indicate some promising possibilities for treating schizophrenia with CBD, but also that more scientific research is definitely in order.
"This is the first study to prove Cannabidiol can be used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia that aren't addressed by current medications," Osborne told ABC News. "These findings are really promising but further research is needed to see if these findings translate to people suffering from schizophrenia."
She added, "Ultimately, we hope that these findings lead to new improved medications."
According to a recent study on schizophrenia and cannabis use, people with a greater risk for schizophrenia are likelier than others to keep trying the plant for themselves in the meantime.
In recent years, cannabis has also shown promise as a treatment for Tourette Syndrome, characterized by involuntary physical or verbal tics that are often physically or socially painful to endure.
A preliminary study published this year provided a retrospective evaluation of cannabis' effectiveness and tolerability in treating adults with Tourette Syndrome. Conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto with support from the Tourette Association of America, the study found that 18 of 19 participants were at least "much improved" after a regimen of inhaled cannabis, while tics scores for the whole group decreased by 60%.
As NORML reported, all of the study's participants experienced "clinically significant symptom relief," including reductions in irritability, impulsivity, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and rage outbursts. The drug was also well tolerated by the participants, with mostly minor side effects being reported.
Overall, the researchers wrote, “These study participants experienced substantial improvements in their symptoms, [which] is particularly striking given that almost all participants had failed at least one anti-tic medication trial. … In conclusion, cannabis seems to be a promising treatment option for tics and associated symptoms."
As NORML pointed out, research has previously determined that oral doses of THC have helped to decrease tics and obsessive-compulsive behavior in patients with Tourette Syndrome by a hearty margin. Patients using inhaled cannabis, however, have "generally shown greater overall improvement."
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Given that cannabis and the chemicals it contains have demonstrated promise or proven effectiveness in treating such ailments as pain, nausea, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, neuropsychiatric disorders, epilepsy, and various symptoms thereof, many patients and practitioners are hoping that the Trump Administration will allow more research on the plant going forward.
In recent months, however, members of the administration have indicated a desire to rather crack down on the drug's medicinal and recreational usage, at times due to the opinion--or, perhaps more accurately, the notion--that marijuana is not a medicine.
According to Merriam-Webster, a medicine is "a substance or preparation used in treating disease;" according to our own CDC, medicines are "used to treat diseases, manage conditions, and relieve symptoms."
As the CDC points out, medicines can also contain a number of different drugs, and thereby pose different health risks depending on each patient. For example, over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines like Tylenol and Excedrin contain the drug acetaminophen, which can easily be overdosed on (and/or do real liver damage) by doubling the dose once or twice, regardless of its interactions with other drugs, while over-dosing or incorrect use of OTC's like Advil and Aleve, which contain drugs called NSAIDs, cause tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year, and thousands of deaths, though exact estimates vary.
Nevertheless, these drugs continue to be available as medicines because their perceived benefits are thought to outweigh the risks involved in taking them--an assessment which is critical for both doctors and drug manufacturers to perform, according to the FDA.
And since research and experts have consistently suggested that the potential benefits of cannabis would far outweigh the risks and side-effects involved--enough to warrant further study, in the very least--hopefully our elected officials and appointed administrators will realign their sense of the plant with science's definition soon.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama said he would use his executive powers to enforce the new rules on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
US President Barack Obama has laid out a package of measures aimed at curbing climate change, including limits on emissions from power plants.
He also unveiled plans for an expansion of renewable energy projects, improved flood resilience and calls for an international climate deal.
Administration officials had earlier rejected the idea of a "carbon tax".
President Obama pledged in his inaugural address in January to act on climate change in his second term.
'Moral obligation'
Analysis The activists who gathered at Georgetown University saw a president finally living up to campaign promises first made years ago. For Barack Obama, pausing frequently to wipe the sweat from his brow - surely the White House didn't choose one of the hottest days of the year to make a point? - this was a chance to lay down a gauntlet. It's certainly his boldest statement of intent yet on the difficult ground of climate change. But it's been abundantly clear throughout his more than four years in office that Congress is not simply going to do his bidding. The president may think the debate over climate science is over, but there are still plenty of sceptics ready and willing to say otherwise. Bypassing Congress may help the president to realise some of his proposals, but Mr Obama knows that tough political and legal battles lie ahead.
Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington DC, President Obama said: "As a president, as a father and as an American, I am here to say we need to act."
President Obama mocked critics who contend climate change is not a threat.
"I don't have much patience for anyone who denies that this challenge is real," he said. "We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society."
The president said climate change posed an immediate threat, with the 12 hottest years on record all occurring in the past 15 years.
He added: "While we may not live to see the full realisation of our ambition, we will have the satisfaction of knowing that the world we leave to our children will be better off for what we did."
Most of the president's agenda can be executed without congressional approval, but some issues are likely to face opposition.
The top Republican in the House of Representatives, House Speaker John Boehner, has called the plans "absolutely crazy".
Analysis Finally, 16 years after the global agreement to tackle climate change in the Kyoto Protocol, the world can see how the US intends to play its part. It may be cutting CO2 only 4% on 1990 levels by 2020 - less than a fifth of the amount achieved in |
be expected, but that its ferocity and timing were unusual. Just one month into the job, Mr. Mueller has not yet finished hiring staff members or installing a computer network — deliberately segregated from the main Justice Department — in the Patrick Henry Building in downtown Washington.
“It’s early in the game to begin to impugn the prosecutors,” said Philip Allen Lacovara, a Watergate prosecutor and a Republican. “It’s a pre-emptive nuclear strike. If you’re afraid of what the prosecutors are going to find out, you try to debunk anything they might come up with in advance by attacking them.”Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Tuesday’s The View, where she was pummelled with partisan questions aimed to bait her into admitting that Hillary Clinton should’ve won the 2016 election and attack Donald Trump. Rice didn’t fall for any of the liberal hosts’ traps though and held her own, even earning the panel’s listening ear, something most Republicans don’t get when guests on The View.
Host Joy Behar began by trying to get Rice to comment on current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s attachments to Russia. Rice explained that as former CEO of Exxon, of course he would have a business relationship with a country that is rich in oil.
She went on to bring up what Behar was really driving at, the media-driven meme that Russians “hacked the election,” before Behar could even get to asking it.
RICE: Look at where relations are with the Russians. Again, I think we ought to be looking into what ties were there, that makes perfectly good sense. But I also want to say something about Vladimir Putin and interfering in our elections. He has been trying to interfere in your election and everybody else’s for a very long time. What cyber allows him to do is to do it more efficiently and more quickly. Let's not deceive ourselves that the Russians haven't tried these tricks before. They have. Now, I would have said -- I would have said to the Russians, ‘we know you did it. At the time of our choosing, we will find a way to punish that behavior.’ But Vladimir Putin is an eye for an eye kind of person, and we questioned -- Secretary Clinton questioned the legitimacy of his election in 2012. Now he's saying, I'm going to question the legitimacy of your election by hacking into it and so forth.
Rice went on to scold the left for giving Putin the “satisfaction” of thinking he swayed our electoral process:
So, don't let him get the satisfaction of thinking that we don't believe our own elections to be legitimate.
Host Sara Haines followed up by asking if Rice really felt that Putin went after Clinton as a sort of revenge:
HAINES: So do you think that was a personal eye for an eye against Hillary Clinton? RICE: I think it was personal. He likes to intimidate. Now, I can tell you that I was with him on many occasions and one particular occasion we went into a room to discuss and his people are sitting on one sofa. He and his foreign minister. And I'm sitting on the other. And I'm delivering a message about U.S./Russian relations and they were messing around in Georgia at the time and I said, you know, Mr. President, if you do anything in Georgia, President Bush wants you to know that that would greatly affect our relationship. And he stood up and now he's peering over me. And so just on instinct, I stood up too. Now, I'm five foot -- WHOOPI: He didn't realize who he was peering over. RICE: I'm 5'10" in heels. He's not. So you can't be intimidated by Putin or let him play these psychological games.
Host Sunny Hostin tried to get back to the Russian hacking question again, asking bluntly:
HOSTIN: But Madam Secretary, if he indeed did engage in these types of tactics in our election, then the very legitimacy of our election is at issue, isn't it?
Rice immediately shot that narrative down, as grasping at straws and showing a mistrust in the American people’s intelligence.
RICE: No, no. That's where I -- first of all, I don't want to question his motives beyond he's an eye for an eye kind of person. Secondly, I trust the people who voted in Wisconsin and Texas and Alabama and California to have voted on the basis of who they thought was best going to represent their interests. And so I'm not going to question the legitimacy of their vote because Vladimir Putin tried to interfere in the elections. That's just a step that I don’t think we should take. Let’s trust our fellow citizens to have been smart enough to have voted for the people they thought they ought to be voting for.
The View in particular has been pushing the delegitimized election narrative hard since Trump won. In December, the hosts even tried to get Trump out of office, excitedly sharing their theory before his inauguration, using this as their primary reason for his ineligibility.The German government has opted for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) built by American defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the European defense group MBDA, instead of the Patriot system developed by American defense contractor Raytheon Corporation.
The deal follows a months-long bidding war between both defense parties.
Germany's Patriot system was developed in the 1980s
German television channel ARD reported that the procurement order could be worth 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion), adding that it had been approved by Volker Wieker, chief of staff of the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces.
Germany has long sought to upgrade its current missile defense system comprised of Patriot missile equipment developed in the 1980s by Raytheon.
'Warfighter'
The venture to develop the state of the art defense system was taken up by euroMBDA, which includes MBDA Deutschland, MBDA Italy, and Lockheed Martin.
The MBDA said in a statement last year that MEADS "combines superior battlefield protection with new flexibility to protect forces and critical assets against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems (drones) and aircraft."
Earlier this year, Lockheed CEO Marillyn A. Hewson said the defense contractor was developing "the next generation of missile defense technology, focusing on effective, mobile, affordable, and adaptable systems," adding that MEADS "fits that mold."
"Each MEADS element is lightweight and truck-mounted, with rotating radars and advanced launchers to provide 360-degree coverage capability to the warfighter. It's no wonder that MEADS is a candidate for the national defense system of a number of European countries, including Germany and Italy," Hewson said.
ls/ksb (AFP, Reuters)While it’s been nearly as hard to find a Switch Pro Controller as it has the actual console, it seems that some people are reporting problems with the D-Pad on the controller. A cursory search of YouTube reveals that several people have made videos about the issues they’re experiencing, which seem to be the Up and Down buttons also triggering when you press left and right.
While it’s hard to tell what’s going on with these videos, there are also text reports of issues that people are experiencing with their Pro Controllers. In a reddit thread titled, “Pro Controller dpad not that great” several users expressed their dissatisfaction with how the D-Pad on the controller works.
Mine constantly recognizes up input when i’m pressing left. 🙁
I’m glad it’s not just me. I’m very gentle with my controllers and I noticed the dpad acting up after a few hours of shovel knight. Casting magic when I’m trying to attack was super annoying. My dpad also clicks a little and just isn’t as accurate as I’d like.
Same issue here. Makes it difficult to play Shovel Knight. Just tried the same thing on a Wii U pro controller and had no issues. I can hold all the way on the edge of the left or right on the dpad and rock up and down and those inputs get pressed. Rather frustrating.
While these are all anecdotal reports and shouldn’t be taken as evidence that some greater issue is at large, I’m curious what your experience has been with your D-Pad Pro Controller. I haven’t been able to find one in a store around me for 60 miles, though I’ll be going out this weekend in another attempt. How’s your D-Pad holding up?
[via NeoGAF]Private security firms, despotic regimes and the rest of the military industrial complex will converge on the Excel Centre in London this week, for the DSEI (Defence Systems and Equipment International) Arms Fair. This meeting is like Market Day for the warmongers of the world, and the taxpayer is picking up the bill.
Arming Tyrants
The UK is one the world’s leading arms exporters. The UK arms industry employs 100,000 people and turns over around £22bn a year, £8.8bn of that in exports.
The UK manages its arms exports through the UK Trade and Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) – a government body, staffed by 160 civil servants. The UKTI DSO is head cheerleader and facilitator on behalf of the UK arms industry – with offices across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia.
The Coalition Government of the UK has issued 3000 export licenses, amounting to £12.3bn, to repressive states such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, China, Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe. A July 2013 report by the parliamentary Committee on Arms Export Controls found there had been 62 licenses granted to sell military equipment to Iran. There were 271 licenses granted to sell biotechnology equipment, sniper rifles, laser weapons systems, weapon sights and drones to Russia. Both states are known to be arming and equipping the Assad regime in Syria. Not content with arming Syria indirectly, the UK government has also been arming them with the ingredients for chemical weapons directly.
While the government appears on the world stage, condemning the uses of chemical weapons by Syria, it has been simultaneously supporting the sale of such weapons to states across the globe, including Syria.
All the Fun of the Arms Fair
The world spend $1trn on the arms industry every year. Every two years, Clarion Events manages the DSEI Arms Fair in London, to profit from despotic regimes tooling themselves up to the teeth. The DSEI hosts 1,400 international weapons companies, and nearly 30,000 buyers and sellers attend the event.
The UKTI DSO ensures the biggest names attend and the event maintains its prestige by issuing invites and providing travel, accommodation and hospitality to known human right abusers and war criminals. In previous years, the invite list for such red carpet treatment has been extended to Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Nigeria, Peru, India, Pakistan, Libya and Burma – none of which can be considered paragons of virtue with regard to upholding human rights. The bills for this hosting these nations runs into the hundreds of thousands of pounds each event, while the Ministry of Defence spends significant sums on showboating – providing Royal Navy Ships, personnel and other equipment to sell the image of the UK’s military might. On top of these costs, the Metropolitan Police are required to police the event, becoming publicly funded private security for the arms industry for the duration. Bills in previous years have hit £4m.
Inside the event, the unethical arms industry carries on regardless, facilitating the killing and torture of civilians around the world. While the event is closed to the public, MPs are allowed access.
In 2011, Green MP Caroline Lucas attended the event only to find a stand from Pakistan promoting the sale of Cluster Bombs; these weapons, which release smaller bombs on detonation over a wide area, were outlawed by the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008 for their dangers to civilian populations. The bombs are deadly long after wars end. Each year more than 300 people die after contact with unexploded cluster bombs dropped during the Vietnam War more than 40 years ago.
Comedian and activist Mark Thomas gained entry to the DSEI Arms Fair in 2005 and found leg irons, stun batons and stun batons available for sale – all in contravention of the UK’s Export Control Act 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Be in no doubt. The police are securing, and the UK government is funding, the sale of illegal and conventional weapons to repressive regimes and mercenary forces. This is the purpose of the DSEI Arms Fair – and the taxpayer is footing the bill.
The Fight-Back
Providing a well-timed statement ahead of the event, Prime Minister David Cameron today announced £160bn public expenditure on arms and equipment over 10 years in the Defence Growth Partnership.
Enough is enough.
Occupy London, in coordination with Stop the War Coalition, are mounting protests and awareness raising around the arms this year. They have kicked off in fine fettle with a series of lock ons, die ins and occupations springing up around the gates to provide arriving delegates with a more suitable welcome.
Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett addressed protesters on their first day of action on Sunday 8th September 2013., and a delegation from Bahrain also addressed crowds, giving first hand testimony of the brutality meted out on them by the very weapons being sold inside the Arms Fair.
There is a full week of protest ahead as citizens from the UK and across the world make a stand to say NO:
NO to the unethical arms industry that seeks to profit from death and devastation of people and planet.
to the unethical arms industry that seeks to profit from death and devastation of people and planet. NO to the abuse of public funds, diverted from the public good to the private profit of the arms industry.
to the abuse of public funds, diverted from the public good to the private profit of the arms industry. NO to tax payer funded police officers being reallocated to private security for this illicit event.
to tax payer funded police officers being reallocated to private security for this illicit event. NO to the UK government acting as the pimp of the arms industry.
This excellent account and collection of photographs of protests so far tells the story of how campaign groups for economic, social and environmental justice have once again united to stand against egregious profiteering on the back of public pain. They were joined by Christian groups, activists, citizen journalists and a new wave of first time protesters.
It is no longer enough to shake our heads at the hypocrisy, corruption and human suffering reaped by the arms industry and their funders in our government. If we want the fair and the industry to end, we have to bring it to an end. It is time to get involved.
Get Involved
Join the #OccupyDSEI camp! Here is a map of the location
See the schedule of events and how you can support here
The Occupy London Facebook Page and Twitter Account will keep you up to date on news and events from the protests.
Watch live here.
DID YOU FIND THE ARTICLE USEFUL? PLEASE LEAVE SOME COINS IN THE VIRTUAL TIP JAR!stock crime story.png
A dog was shot and injured by police in Southeast Portland Thursday morning after it allegedly chased one woman, bit a man and was attacking a group of children at a bus stop when officers arrived at the scene, officials said.
Around 8 a.m., officers responded to a call of a white pit bull jumping at the door of a home near the corner of Southeast 60th Avenue and Nehalem Street, police said in a press release.
Witnesses told investigators that the same dog had chased a woman who was forced to jump on top of a truck to avoid the animal.
As officers responded, callers told police that the animal had bit two more people and, when police arrived, "the dog was attacking children at a bus stop and was biting a woman who was protecting her nine-year-old son and other children," police said in a statement.
As police approached the animal, it let go of the woman and "charged" at an officer who fired a single shot, injuring the dog.
A man who was injured by the animal was treated at the scene and released. The woman who was protecting her son at the bus stop was uninjured, as was the child.
The dog was picked up by Multnomah County Animal Services and resource officers were sent to nearby Whitman Elementary School to check in on students who were nearby when the incident occurred.
Investigators asked anyone with information about the animal or its owners to contact the Portland Police Bureau Police Non-Emergency Line at 503-823-3333 or Multnomah County Animal Services at 503-988-7387.
-- Kale Williams
[email protected]
503-294-4048Though the Iowa election was the most prominent, similar ouster campaigns were begun in other states against state supreme court justices running unopposed in retention elections — judges whose rulings on matters involving abortion, taxes, tort reform and health care had upset conservatives.
Together they marked the rapid politicization of judicial races that had been specifically designed to be free of intrigue. Over the last decade, just $2 million was spent on advertising in retention elections, less than 1 percent of total campaign spending on judicial elections in that period, according to data compiled in a recent report released in part by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. More than $3 million was spent on retention election races this year, easily eclipsing the figure for the previous decade, according to the Brennan Center.
The defeat was a bitter disappointment to much of the legal community here, which rallied behind the three justices, arguing that judicial standards require judges to follow their interpretation of the law and not their reading of public opinion. They had urged voters to consider issues like competence and temperament rather than a single issue when casting ballots.
The three justices — Marsha K. Ternus, the chief justice; Michael J. Streit; and David L. Baker — did not raise money to campaign and only toward the end of the election did they make public appearances to defend themselves.
“We wish to thank all of the Iowans who voted to retain us for another term,” the judges said in a statement. “Your support shows that many Iowans value fair and impartial courts. We also want to acknowledge and thank all the Iowans, from across the political spectrum and from different walks of life, who worked tirelessly over the past few months to defend Iowa’s high-caliber court system against an unprecedented attack by out-of-state special interest groups.
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“Finally, we hope Iowans will continue to support Iowa’s merit selection system for appointing judges. This system helps ensure that judges base their decisions on the law and the Constitution and nothing else. Ultimately, however, the preservation of our state’s fair and impartial courts will require more than the integrity and fortitude of individual judges, it will require the steadfast support of the people.”
Though several groups formed to support their retention, they were significantly outspent by the organizations that bankrolled the ouster effort, including the National Organization for Marriage and the American Family Association.
“We’re concerned about the precedent this has set tonight and what it means for the influence of money and politics on the judicial system,” said Dan Moore, co-chair of Fair Courts for Us, which supported the judges.
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The judicial races were perhaps the most hotly anticipated item on the ballot this year, a sharp contrast from years past in which the election were so low profile that more than a third of those who cast ballots left the section blank. “That’s the main reason I came out,” said Michelle Kramer, 36, a college student from Des Moines. “People can do what they want to do, they can love who they want to love.”
Her friend and neighbor Cathy Hackett, 38, took the opposite view. “I voted no for every single one of them,” said Ms. Hackett, a customer sales representative who described herself as a conservative Christian. “I’m not anti-gay. I love everybody. But I believe that if two people are going to marry they should be a man and a woman.”
The outcome will have no effect on the ruling that triggered the campaign, a 7-to-0 decision that found that a law defining marriage as between a man and a woman represented unlawful discrimination under the state constitution.
But those who led the ouster campaign said they were more focused on highlighting to judges elsewhere, including those on the United States Supreme Court, the risks associated with leapfrogging public opinion on the issue of same-sex marriage. They noted that same-sex marriage has been initially approved by supreme courts in four states and by legislators in only three.
Jeff Mullen, lead pastor at the Point of Grace Church, who helped organize religious leaders in opposition to the judges, said the vote should send a message to judges nationwide. “They weren’t supposed to legislate from the bench,” he said. “They did. They’re out of a job.”
Depending on the speed with which new candidates are nominated, the replacement justices could be appointed either by Gov. Chet Culver, a democrat who lost re-election on Tuesday, or Terry Branstad, a Republican who previously served as governor. Each appointed one of the departing justices to the Supreme Court, and Mr. Branstad appointed Ms. Ternus to a lower court. Mr. Branstad has called for changing the selection system.Taillon, the Pirates' No. 1 prospect and ranked No. 10 overall on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, started for Scottsdale on Oct. 8, tossing two innings and allowing just one unearned run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three. But he also aggravated a groin muscle, leading the Pirates to decide to err on the side of caution and send their top prospect home.
Jameson Taillon's Arizona Fall League season is over after just one outing, as the Pirates removed him from the Scottsdale Scorpions roster on Monday due to a tweaked groin.
Jameson Taillon's Arizona Fall League season is over after just one outing, as the Pirates removed him from the Scottsdale Scorpions roster on Monday due to a tweaked groin.
Taillon, the Pirates' No. 1 prospect and ranked No. 10 overall on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, started for Scottsdale on Oct. 8, tossing two innings and allowing just one unearned run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three. But he also aggravated a groin muscle, leading the Pirates to decide to err on the side of caution and send their top prospect home.
The 22-year-old Taillon reached Triple-A during the 2013 season, finishing the year with a combined 3.73 ERA in 26 starts. The right-hander gave up 143 hits in 147 1/3 innings, walking 52 and striking out 143.
"Jameson tweaked his groin in his first Arizona Fall League outing and we decided it was better to err on the side of caution and end his AFL season," Pirates assistant general manager Kyle Stark said. "We're very happy with the season he's had and look forward to seeing him healthy for the start of the 2014 season."
Jameson was replaced on the roster by right-hander Phil Irwin, who missed most of the 2013 season, though he did make his Major League debut in April after an impressive Spring Training.
Irwin started for the Pirates on April 14 against the Reds, allowing four runs on 4 2/3 innings. He had made one start prior to that in Triple-A, then made just one more, on May 2, before being shut down. He eventually had surgery on his ulnar nerve in his elbow -- though it wasn't Tommy John surgery -- in July. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list and will try to make up for lost innings in Arizona.BEIJING -- If you think water is in short supply in California, you should see what's happening in China. The situation is so dire that next month, the communist government will turn on the taps in the world's biggest water-diversion project.
The Yongding River, which once fed Beijing, ran dry along with 27,000 other rivers in China that have disappeared due to industrialization, dams and drought.
"Some of the large parts of the north China plane may suffer severe water shortages," said environmentalist Ma Jun. "Some of the cities could literally run out of water."
To try to solve the problem, China's government is planning to spend nearly $80 billion to build nearly 2,700 miles of waterways -- almost enough to stretch from New York to Los Angeles.
View of the cracked bed of the nearly dried-up Qingni River during a drought in Xuchang city. Imaginechina
Four-fifths of China's fresh water lies in its south. The idea behind the project is to move some of that water to the parched - and populous - north by connecting existing bodies of water. That's meant relocating 350,000 people to settlements.
Zhang Xiaofeng, who was moved to a settlement, was asked if she wanted to come to this place.
"It does not matter if you're willing or not," said Zhang. "We had to move here. If we didn't our home would be under water."
She used to sell jade but now scrapes by selling whatever she can from a small shop in her "relocation village" -- dubbed "Harmony" by the local government.
She walked us through her new home but said she misses her old one. Still, she said, her suffering is worth it for more people to have water. But was she being serious or just being polite?
"As a Chinese citizen we all ought to be like this," answered Zhang. "We can survive anywhere."
View of the construction site of Danjiangkou Dam Extension Project. Chen huaping - Imaginechina
Back in Beijing, Ma Jun feels the project is a short-term "emergency measure."
"It will help to buy some time," said Ma Jun. "I wouldn't call this a real final solution because the current volume of transfer will not be enough to fill up the gap."
The water supply for some cities, he fears, may someday run out.Advertisement Threats against judges in immigration ban cases leads to increased security Share Shares Copy Link Copy
Threats agA spokesperson from the US Marshals Service declined to comment directly on the threats but said that while "we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place for all federal judges and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted."ainst more than one judge involved in legal challenges to President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration have prompted federal and local law enforcement agencies to temporarily increase security protection for some of them, according to law enforcement officials. CNN did not learn how specific the threats were, but law enforcement agencies treated them seriously and out of an abundance of caution, the US Marshals Service and local police increased patrols and protective officers to provide security for some of the judges, the officials said. A spokesperson from the US Marshals Service declined to comment directly on the threats but said that while "we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place for all federal judges and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted." The threats come as Trump continues his verbal criticisms of judges -- something that has drawn concern from former law enforcement officials and others who fear that public officials should not target a specific judge, and instead base their criticism more broadly on a court's ruling. Security experts say that while Trump's comments were clearly not meant to put the judges' safety at risk, in general, public officials should avoid comments against a specific judge so as not to spur an unhappy litigant. "Federal judges are constantly under some kind of threat around the country, and the US Marshals investigate hundreds of threats every year on the federal judiciary," said Arthur D. Roderick, who is a retired assistant director for investigations for the US Marshals. "Anybody that has looked at what the US Marshals do has got to realize that an attack on any judge is an attack on the rule of law of the United States," he said, noting that the President's sister is a federal judge and the President should be familiar with threats against judges. But Leonard Leo, an adviser to Trump on the Supreme Court, says it is a "huge stretch" to equate the criticisms that President Trump has made with a threat to judicial security. "President Trump is not threatening a judge, and he's not encouraging any form of lawlessness," Leo said. "What he is doing is criticizing a judge for what he believes to be a failure to follow the law properly." "Judges are given life tenure so they can go wherever the law takes them knowing that they can resist being unduly influenced by criticism or by praise," Leo said, adding that "all the way back to Thomas Jefferson, there has been criticisms by Presidents as well as (the) general public." On Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked whether Trump regrets his criticism. "He has no regrets," Spicer said. Trump's criticism were based first on Judge James L. Robart, who halted the executive order pending appeal. Trump referred to him as a "so-called" judge. Later he suggested that Robart's ruling could put the country in peril. "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!" In a speech Wednesday to the National Association of Sheriffs, Trump reiterated that his executive order is meant to protect "the security of the country." But he took the unusual tack of criticizing the judges currently hearing the appeal. "I don't ever want to call a court biased and we haven't had a decision yet. But courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for our justice system if they would be able to read a statement and do what's right," Trump said. He said, "I will not comment on the statements made by certainly one judge, but I have to be honest that if these judges wanted to, in my opinion, help the court in terms of respect for the court, they'd do what they should be doing. It's so sad." A federal appeals court ruled Thursday Trump's travel ban will remain blocked. The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel means that citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries will continue to be able to travel to the US, despite Trump's executive order last month.For most players, retirement can be a stressful time. A period of great change, both personal and professional, it requires adjustment. For Zach Scott, the end date of his career is in sight after he agreed a new contract with the Seattle Sounders, his last in professional soccer.
“If you’d have told me two years ago that I’d be content about moving on and finding another job, I wouldn’t have agreed,” Scott told Yahoo Sport UK. “I’d have said I’d be the guy in the corner crying because I wasn’t able to play soccer anymore.”
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Born in Wailuku, Hawaii, Scott’s start in soccer was anything but glamorous. “I remember playing on my elementary school field, and it rained a lot on the side of the island we lived on,” he said. “It was kind of muddy and you were happiest the muddier your kit was. My kids don’t believe in that: they’re always trying to dance around the mud [laughs].”
From there, Scott attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Graduating in 2001, he began his association with the Seattle Sounders a year later. A relationship that spans across the USL and Major League Soccer, from 4,500 seater stadiums to the vastness of CenturyLink Field, the journey surprises even him. “It’s hard to put it into perspective,” he said. “It’s not something I wanted or chased. I didn’t grow up thinking I wanted to be a professional soccer player; it’s just something that’s happened. I grew up in Hawaii so I wanted to be a surfer. My dad was a waterman and a police officer so I wanted to just live in the water. That definitely isn’t the case anymore [laughs].”
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Blessed with a relaxed attitude, the 35-year-old admits he isn’t feeling sentimental about the final chapter of his playing career. Released after Seattle’s playoff defeat to FC Dallas, Scott could have been forgiven for thinking it would be his last action in rave green. “No, never for a minute did I think it would be my last match for the Sounders,” he counters.
Scott is currently the longest serving player on the club’s roster, extending a 14 year association by signing his latest deal. “I’ve been fortunate enough, every year, to improve upon either my playing time, or the number of starts,” he explained. “I said to the coaches, that we have very similar conversations each year, and I tell them the same thing every year. When it comes down to it, when you need me, I’m going to be ready.”
It is that dependability which saw coach Sigi Schmid ask Scott to stay. The Sounders played the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League tie against Mexico’s Club América on Tuesday, drawing 2-2. A difficult test for the club ahead of their season opener against Sporting KC, Schmid believes that Scott’s experience will prove important. “It’s exciting to bring back a player who competes as hard as Zach does day in and day out,” he said, after agreeing a deal with the 35-year-old.
Scott is more than just dependable, however. Helping the team to collect four US Open Cup titles since 2009, he played the full 90 minutes in the 2014 final against the Philadelphia Union, a match the Sounders won 3-1. One of two trophies the team collected that year, Scott also played a part in earning the first Supporters’ Shield in the club’s history. Adding to prior achievements in the USL, it allows the defender to depart the team with an enviable list of achievements.
Happy to discuss that success, Scott consistently relates it back to his family. Citing them as integral to his life both on and off the field, his wife Alana has followed him every step of the way. “We’ve been together for 19 years - high school sweethearts,” he said. “The first time she walked into class I told my best friend that if I can get that girl, I’ll never let her go.”
A family man at heart, Scott’s wife will now enjoy having her husband on a more consistent schedule. A qualified math teacher, Scott is not yet ruling out remaining with the Sounders in a front office capacity. “They [the club’s owners] understand the culture of being a Sounders player,” Scott said. “It’s a unique organisation in that sense. They’re not only trying to win on the field, but they’re also trying to have players that are good people and relevant in the community. I think that’s why the Sounders have always done really well here in the north west. I mean, that’s definitely an option but one thing about the longevity of my career is that I’ve never taken anything for granted.”
Such self-awareness has been ever-present throughout our conversation. An unassuming individual, Scott has spent years accruing contacts, networking, and preparing for life away from the field. While many in the sport struggle to move on from the label of being a professional athlete, Scott seems different. Instead the Seattle defender is embracing the future, and what he sees as the start of his life, not the end.
“For me soccer is an awesome part of my life, but not the biggest part,” he said. “I’m very aware that the things that occur after soccer are going to be the more memorable stuff, so from that sense I prefer to leave quietly and have everyone forget who I am.”
Follow Kristan Heneage on Twitter: @KHeneageCALGARY – Pembina Pipeline Corp. plans to build a propane export terminal in Prince Rupert, B.C. where major liquefied natural gas export projects have stalled in recent years.
Pembina announced Tuesday it would conduct a feasibility study and begin engineering and design work on a $125 million to $175 million liquefied petroleum gas terminal on the site of an old pulp mill near on the West Coast near Prince Rupert, scrapping previously announced plans to build the terminal in Portland, Ore.
If built, the project would become the second LPG export terminal in the Prince Rupert area, which is also home to four LNG export terminal proposals — though none of those LNG projects have been sanctioned or built years after being announced.
BG Group’s LNG project has been suspended after the company’s merger with Shell; Petronas Bhd is reportedly looking for a new site for its LNG project; and both Nexen and Imperial have yet to announce sanctioning decisions for their projects.
The area’s LPG projects, which would be built to send propane to Asia and other overseas markets, could be more near-term developments as the global LPG market is set to grow to US$147 billion by 2024, according to San Francisco’s Grand View Research.
Pembina senior vice-president, natural gas liquids and natural gas facilities Stuart Taylor said the company would work on engineering and consulting with local communities over the next six to 12 months before bringing a proposal to its board. He said the terminal could be built within two years of a sanctioning decision.
“One of the things that we’re excited about is the cost,” Taylor said, noting that the project would be built on an existing but abandoned industrial site with an existing unused shipping berth. He said the site is also connected to a CN rail line, which would allow Pembina to ship in propane for processing and export.
The City of Prince Rupert took possession of the site on Watson Island years ago when the local pulp mill closed and successive municipal governments have looked for ways to remediate and reuse the land. The pulp mill had also been a major employer in the city, whose population declined after it closed.
“We are looking forward to a new beginning for our community as we work towards putting Watson Island back on the tax roll,” Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain said in a press release. “We are happy to have the opportunity to potentially partner with (Pembina) to create new local jobs and revenue that will significantly improve the quality of life for everyone in Prince Rupert.”
Calgary-based AltaGas Ltd. announced in January that it would build the West Coast’s first LPG export terminal nearby, on Ridley Island, at a cost of between $450 million to $500 million to send Canadian propane to Asia.
Propane production has increased rapidly in Canada and the United States in recent years as natural gas producers |
on the wall of cup you just sank. Players who love sniping at lone cups will love the strategy that goes into choosing a target each round. Area shooters will be OK too, since most of the game is spent in a free-for-all battle over one central cluster of cups - the Battlefield. And of course, no drinking game would be complete without countless opportunities to trash-talk your opponent - and make him drink his words when he trashes you back.
But I'm a grown up. Why put walls on my cups?
In a real battle, sh*t is flying everywhere. Expect the same in Castle Pong. We designed the walls so that balls bounce and ricochet like crazy, and no two shots are the same. And while you’re trying desperately to make those cups, your enemies are catching the bounces, sending you back, and making you drink.
What does each reward come with?
We built this handy diagram to help break down how many walls, flags, bags, and goblets you get at each reward level:
Make a cup, plant a flag.
Here are the basics of Castle Pong...
SETUP
SETUP: The middle of the table is the Battlefield, with a hexagon formation of seven castle cups. At either end, each team has a single castle cup, called the King's Cup, where they proudly display all the flags they're not using. Each team also fills a Moat Cup with an agreed-upon beverage. The Moat is never targeted, so it can be any cup. We like to use fancy plastic goblets.
GAMEPLAY
GAMEPLAY: To simulate what it was like in olden times, players must always have a drink in their hand. Players must also stand at arm's length from the table at all times. Teams take turns aiming for cups on the Battlefield. You make one, you claim it with your flag, and the other team drinks - from the side drink they're holding. No cups are ever pulled from the table in Castle Pong, and no one ever has to drink from a cup that's had a gross ping-pong ball in it.
DEFENSE
DEFENSE: Real castles are built for defense, and so are ours. When you catch an opponent's shot that has bounced off a castle wall, they have to pull one of their flags from the Battlefield…and drink. You can adjust the rules for a valid catch based on your own table size and party space, but we generally play that:
The bounce has to be off a castle wall, and nothing else.
You must be at arm's length from the table to catch the ball.
Your feet must be firmly planted during the catch.
The catch must be one-handed, and your other hand must be holding your drink.
You can't use any body part besides your free hand to catch the ball.
JOUSTING
JOUSTING: If you make a cup that's already been claimed by the other team, the two teams must joust for it! Each team selects a champion. It can be a team member or anyone else (this is a great way to bring other party people into the game). The two champions face off in single combat. For us, single combat usually takes the form of one-on-one flip cup, but you can settle it any way you agree on, from rock-paper-scissors to arm wrestling to actual combat (we don't recommend that last one). The winner claims the contested cup; the loser drinks.
CLAIMING THE BATTLEFIELD
CLAIMING THE BATTLEFIELD: When your team claims 3 cups that connect across the battlefield from your side to theirs, you have Claimed the Battlefield. You are now safe from defense, and you may begin shooting at the King's Cup. From now on, no matter what happens on the battlefield, you are only shooting at the King's Cup - even if your 3-cup path is later broken by the enemy.
WINNING
WINNING:
Draining the Moat - Make the King's Cup once, and you have Drained the Moat, which means that the other team must drink the contents of the Moat Cup (this usually requires some teamwork).
- Make the once, and you have, which means that the other team must drink the contents of the (this usually requires some teamwork). Capturing the King -Make the King's Cup a second time, and you have Captured the King. The other team can try to rescue him with a shoot-till-they-miss attempt at making every single remaining cup (often called "rebuttals" in standard beer pong). If they fail, the King is dead and the game is won.
Designed by nerds. Carved from the finest of medieval plastics.
When we started this journey, we were playing with tall plastic cups that looked nothing like castles, and just happened to make ping pong balls ricochet a lot. We had to imagine that they were castles.
Castle Pong 1.0, where all the magic began...
Our first real prototype of Castle Pong was made in a garage with PVC pipe, a chop saw and some spray paint. But that didn’t stop us from dominating on the battlefield.
Castle Pong 2.0 - made with a real medieval drill press!
Now we’ve got factories making our samples. Although they don’t have the same rustic charm as the handmade ones, the factory samples of Castle Pong are shinier and have a smoother, longer-lasting finish.
Where all the gold is going.
We need funding to cover tooling, manufacturing, and shipping costs for the initial production run of Castle Pong. To make sure we get the highest quality product, we are selecting seasoned manufacturers in the board game industry. Instead of going with the lowest quote, we are sacrificing some margin to make sure our castle walls sparkle.
Manufacturing Schedule
June: Tooling - Castle Pong walls will be injection molded, which means we have to create a mold (a.k.a. "tool") in order to mass-produce lots of mini castles.
Castle Pong walls will be injection molded, which means we have to create a mold (a.k.a. "tool") in order to mass-produce lots of mini castles. Early July: Pre-production - Samples from the first Castle Pong pilot run will be field tested for appropriate physics, aesthetics, and longevity.
Samples from the first Castle Pong pilot run will be field tested for appropriate physics, aesthetics, and longevity. Late July: Production - The assembly line will run non-stop until every miniature castle has been built...with an occasional beer break.
The assembly line will run non-stop until every miniature castle has been built...with an occasional beer break. August: Fulfillment - Castle Pong will be sent to your house by 3-eyed raven. No creepy dreams necessary.
Drinking games should be magical.
Fresh Dragon Games was founded on the belief that drinking games should be magical. As a small team of entrepreneurs and product designers in our late twenties/early thirties, we noticed that while we have started to mature a little bit, our party games haven’t. With your help, we're finally going to do something about it.BY:
Mother-in-law of Chelsea Clinton and current Democratic congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies doubled her own salary into the six figures as the head of a small taxpayer-funded charity, according to documents obtained by the Huffington Post.
Margolies, who still runs charity group Women’s Campaign International (WCI), used the charity in 2001 following then-husband Democratic Rep. Ed Mezvinsky’s fraud indictment for a variety of self-serving purposes such as leasing and renovating a historic Philadelphia mansion for her to live in.
According to documents obtained by The Huffington Post, as Ed Mezvinsky's fraud was exposed, Margolies doubled her own salary as head of a small, largely taxpayer-funded charity into the six figures, attempted to have the charity renovate and lease a mansion in which she would live, billed the charity for her automobile lease and other expenses, and required charity staff to assist with her other responsibilities as a faculty member at a local university.
When Margolies founded WCI in 1998, she paid herself $1,000-a-week, but bumped her salary up after securing a $600,000 grant from the Clinton administration's U.S. Agency for International Development.
When previously questioned by the Huffington Post on the abnormally high salary for Margolies, WCI noted that all compensation decisions are made by the board of directors, not Margolies. Not mentioned was that Margolies was chairman of the board.
The Huffington Post earlier reported that over the past several years, Margolies was paid an unusually large salary given the size of her charity, Women's Campaign International, whose revenue in recent years was in the very low millions. In defending that salary in December, WCI noted that the charity's board of directors determines compensation—not Margolies, who still runs the charity. That explanation, however, elided one critical detail: For the first three years of WCI's existence, and at a crucial board meeting at which the decision about her salary was made, Margolies was herself the chairman of the board. On Dec. 9, 2001, Margolies, as chairman, convened a meeting of WCI's board to discuss salary. Previous minutes date her chairmanship to Dec. 7, 1998, the charity's first meeting—one month after she lost a bid to become Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor. For WCI's first three years, its only board members were Margolies, Fredrica Friedman, and her husband, Stephen Friedman. Nonprofit watchdogs consistently warn charities that a husband and wife should not both serve on a board, that they certainly should not make up two-thirds of it, and that the head of the charity should not also be the board's chairman.
Margolies served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995. She is currently running to regain her old seat in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district.We are shocked at suggestions by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister Ivan Lewis and foreign secretary David Miliband that Britain may consider changing its laws to avoid any future attempts to prosecute suspected war criminals, Israeli or otherwise. The UK must not renege on its international treaty obligations, particularly those under the fourth Geneva convention to seek out and prosecute persons suspected of war crimes wherever and whoever they are, whatever their status, rank or influence, against whom good prima facie evidence has been laid. We reject any attempt to undermine the judiciary's independence and integrity. A judge who finds sufficient evidence of a war crime must have power to order the arrest of a suspect, subject to the usual rights to bail and appeal.
The power to arrest individuals reasonably suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world should they set foot on UK soil is an efficient and necessary resource in the struggle against war crimes, and must not be interfered with (Report, 6 January). Nor should the government succumb to pressure from any foreign power to alter this crucial aspect of the judicial process. We urge the government to state clearly that it will not alter the law on universal jurisdiction and will continue to allow victims of war crimes to seek justice in British courts.
John Austin MP
Katy Clark MP
Frank Cook MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Ann Cryer MP
Paul Flynn MP
Neil Gerrard MP
John Hemming MP
Paul Holmes MP
Kelvin HopkinsMP
Brian Iddon MP
Lynne Jones MP
Tom Levitt MP
Martin Linton MP
Bob Marshall-Andrews MP
Gordon Prentice MP
Linda Riordan MP
Terry Rooney MP
Baroness Jenny Tonge
Baroness Lindsay Northover
Bob Russell MP
Clare Short MP
Phyllis Starkey MP
Sir David Steel
Sandra White MSP
Derek Wyatt MP
Tayab Ali, Partner, Irvine Thanvi Natas Solicitors
Sir Geoffrey Bindman
Richard Burgon, solicitor
Daniel Carey, Public Interest Lawyers
Ian Cross, solicitor
Jim Duffy, Public Interest Lawyers
Shauna Gillan, barrister, 1 Pump Court
Andrew Gray, solicitor
Tessa Gregory, Public Interest Lawyers
Beth Handly, Partner, Hickman and Rose solicitors
Michael Hagan, solicitor
Michelle Harris, barrister, 1 Pump Court
Susan Harris, solicitor
Jane Hickman, Partner, Hickman and Rose solicitors
Sam Jacobs, Public Interest Lawyers
Salma Karmi-Ayyoub, barrister
Paul Kaufman, solicitor
Aonghus Kelly, Public Interest Lawyers
Daniel Machover, Chair of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Michael Mansfield QC
Anna Mazzola, Partner, Hickman and Rose solicitors
Sarah McSherry, Partner, Christian Khan solicitors
Clare Mellor, solicitor
Karen Mitchell, solicitor
Simon Natas, Partner, Irvine Thanvi Natas solicitors
Sophie Naftalin, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Mary Nazzal-Batayneh, Human Rights Legal Aid Fund
Henrietta Phillips, solicitor
William Seymour, solicitor
Navya Shekhar, solicitor
Phil Shiner, Public Interest Lawyers
David Thompson, solicitor
Paul Troop, barrister
Mohammed Abdul-Bari, Secretary-General, Muslim Council of Britain
Anas Altikriti, British Muslim Initiative
Lindsey German, Stop the War Campaign
John Hilary, Director, War on Want
Kate Hudson, Chair, CND
Betty Hunter, General Secretary, PalestineSolidarity Campaign
Dan Judelson, Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Hugh Lanning, PCS Deputy General Secretary
John McHugo, Chair, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine
Gerry Morrissey, General Secretary, BECTU
Tony Woodley, Joint General Secretary, UNITE.
Kate Allen, Director, Amnesty International UK
Jackie Alsaid LLM
Rachel Bowles
Prof Haim Bresheeth
Dale Egee
Sarah El-Guindi
Deborah Fink
David Halpin
Sharif Hamadeh
Samira Hassassian
Professor Ted Honderich
Victor Kattan
Asad Khan
Miriam Margolyes
Professor Nur Masalha
Professor Steven Rose
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead
Andrew Sanger
Dr Aisha Sarwar
Tareq Shrourou, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Tony Woodley, UNITE Joint General Secretary
• This article was amended on Wednesday 20 January 2010 to correct the name of a signatory.Sarat Chandra Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s elder brother, planned an armed insurrection against the British in 1941 and was prepared to raise an army of 50,000 if the Japanese were ready to help, a batch of recently-declassified files have revealed.
Sarat, a prominent nationalist figure himself, wrote to a certain Mr Ohta, identified as the ‘chancellor’ of the Japanese consulate in Kolkata, saying he would be able to set up an organisation to provide secret information to the Japanese.
At the time, Japan was aligned with Germany and a part of the Axis powers that were fighting the British-led Allied forces in World War II.
“We have 10,000 men ready to immediately take up arms. We can raise the number of 50,000 within a few months of getting the money and the arms we want. Please let me know when we may expect the arms we want and if you can arrange for the money we want through any other channel. This is very important and very urgent,” Bose wrote.
Read: Bengal govt declassifies 64 Netaji files at Kolkata police academy
The letter, dated September 18, 1941, was intercepted by sleuths and is among a series of such correspondences between the Japanese consulate in Kolkata and members of the Bose family.
The letters are part of the 64 files that were thrown open for public viewing by the West Bengal government on Friday.
Bose also asked the Japanese officer to send a message to ‘S’ – very likely his brother Subhas -- stressing that it was an urgent necessity.
“Please let me know at once if it will be possible for you to send a message to Mr S. The message is very important and very urgent,” he wrote.
One of the tallest leaders of the freedom movement, Netaji left the Congress following differences with Mahatma Gandhi. Following his 1941 escape, he travelled to Germany and then Japan, where he led the Indian National Army and fought for India’s independence.
Read: Files hint Netaji may have survived 1945 crash but give no proof
“Have you received any further message from Mr S? Have you received any reliable information regarding the progress of events in Europe? Will Germany proceed towards Iran next winter? Please let me have all important news received by you.”
The letter was written eight months after Netaji’s dramatic escape on January 16, 1941 from his Kolkata house where the British had put him under house arrest.
“I can start an organisation for getting secret information of the nature you require as an experimental measure on trial for three months. If you want me to do so, please send me Rs 5,000 to meet preliminary expenses,” Bose wrote.
The snooping on Sarat Bose didn’t stop with Independence and continued till his death in 1950.
A September 10, 1949 letter by the deputy commissioner of police, special branch of the CID, revealed the West Bengal government issued fresh surveillance orders on Sarat on September 20, 1948.
The officer informed an officer of the rank of under-secretary that the snooping yielded ‘good results’ and sought permission for continuing it for one more year.
First Published: Sep 19, 2015 21:55 ISTJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A rookie officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has been charged with battery after he hit a woman while she was handcuffed, Undersheriff Pat Ivey announced Thursday.
Akinyemi Borisade, 26, has been fired, Ivey said.
Video released by JSO shows Borisade hitting 31-year-old Mayra Martinez while she was handcuffed and being checked into the Duval County Jail.
Booking photo of Mayra Martinez
Martinez, a new employee at Scores Bar on the Southside, was arrested at the bar just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ivey said. She was charged with trespassing and resisting police.
According to her police report, Martinez was drunk and belligerent when two officers, including Borisade, showed up at the bar to escort her from the property after she quit on her first day of work. She resisted their efforts to handcuff her and tried to kick and bite the officers, the report said.
She continued to kick and fight in the patrol car and was placed in more restraints, the report said.
While waiting to be booked into the jail, Martinez can be seen on the video kicking Borisade in the leg, and Borisade retaliates by hitting her several times.
"He could have turned her around and held her in a transporting position that they are trained in back over to the location to wait by the door," Ivey said. "He could have stood there with her, but there was no need to strike her."
Corrections officers who witnessed the incident reported it to their supervisors, and the JSO Integrity Unit investigated it.
In the video, the corrections officers stand and watch before one steps forward and puts his hand on Borisade. Gil Smith, News4Jax crime and safety analyst, said the surrounding officers could have intervened.
"They could have moved in. One officer did at least walk over and put his hand on the officer to stop him from continuing to punch the suspect. So I'm glad one officer did take action," Smith said. "Now in this particular situation, these other officers do have a person who is handcuffed. So they do have to keep a watch on him, if they engage with this officer no one is watching the prisoner."
News4Jax reached out to the Sheriff's Office about the issue of other officers standing by watching but has not yet heard back.
Smith said the Sheriff's Office did the right thing by releasing the video to the public.
"They moved quickly. They didn't wait for this to get out on social media and then wait for pressure from the public. They reported, the corrections officers reported it. And they did an investigation and made an arrest," Smith said.
Ivey said because Borisade is a probationary officer, he can't appeal his firing, but he can ask for a name-clearing hearing with JSO. If he passes that he would regain the ability to be an officer with another agency.
This is not Borisade's first brush with the law. Back in 2008, when he was 19-yeas-old, reports show he took items into a dressing room from a store at the Regency Square Mall and came out without them and tried to leave the store without paying. The report shows he admitted to doing it. He later pleaded no contest.
According to JSO's website, officers can't have been convicted of any felony, or misdemeanors involving false statement, perjury or domestic violence.
Copyright 2016 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved."No matter what puts you down, in my eyes and in my mind, there is always another day. Just because I’m paralyzed and stuck in a wheelchair, doesn’t mean my life is over. I’ve learned to live again and my life is far from over." — Darren Drozdov
WWE Superstar Darren Drozdov was 30 years old in 1999. He was an outstanding, multiple-sport athlete, a former defensive tackle for the University of Maryland who had a short NFL career and went on to become one of WWE’s brightest prospects.
Article continues below...
On Oct. 5 of that year, at a WWE TV taping at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y, in a heartbeat, the 6-foot-3, 280-pounder became a quadriplegic with essentially no movement below the neck.
A basic pro wrestling maneuver called a power bomb delivered to Droz by veteran grappler D’Lo Brown went terribly wrong, and multiple people’s lives were changed. Forever.
I have no hard feelings toward D’Lo because sh*t happens and everyone who gets involved in athletics, including WWE, knows the risks that exist. It was an accident. Darren Drozdov
"I have no hard feelings toward D’Lo because sh*t happens and everyone who gets involved in athletics, including WWE, knows the risks that exist," Droz told me by phone from his New Jersey home recently. "It was an accident."
I met Droz when we were recruiting him for WWE and I was EVP of the Talent Relations department. Droz had gained a degree of infamy after he vomited on the football prior to the center snapping the pigskin on "Monday Night Football."
The incident became a highlight-reel moment for the Denver Broncos nose tackle. It earned Droz the nickname "Puke," which caught the interest of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. When we met with Droz in McMahon’s office, the likable and charismatic athlete puked in the chairman’s trash can — on camera, by the way — as a part of his audition.’
In high school, Darren Drozdov was a 6-foot-3, 240-pound option quarterback who by his own admission — and with a smile — "did not throw the ball much, but I did run over a lot of people." Droz also was an outstanding track and field athlete as he competed in the shot put, javelin, and discus, even earning a spot in the state track meet as a 110-meter high hurdler. Droz followed in the footsteps of his father, who was Maryland’s last three-sport letterman.
Darren Drozdov and his constant companions, Great Danes Skye and Bleu.
Today, the 45-year-old Droz lives near where he grew up in South Jersey, across the river from his father and mother along with his sister and her family. Droz has to have 24-hour, in-home care to help him function. Thanks to the efforts of WWE and others, Droz is able to have a degree of independence and many of his staff have become like extended family.
"The McMahons came through for me and I remember my Dad saying after the surgeries that ‘Thank God that you worked for WWE,’ " Droz said. "The WWE is still supportive."
Droz is still a huge Maryland football fan and stays in touch with many of his former college teammates and friends who are regular callers and visitors.
One of the many who stays in contact with Droz is Kevin Plank, the CEO and Founder of Under Armour. Plank and Droz were suitemates in college and have maintained a great relationship.
Plank helped facilitate a rip chair, which is like a "tank with wheels," and allows Droz to put his wheelchair in the custom-made vehicle and move around in the woods so that he can resume his passion for deer hunting.
Droz recently harvested his first deer since the ’99 accident, thanks to the assistance of friends, some amazing hunting technology and his rip chair.
"It was the first, true adrenaline rush that I’ve had in 15 years," he said. "I never thought that I would be able to rejoin my friends in the deer woods much less hunt, but thanks to technology and the help of a lot of people, I got my first deer, with a bow no less, and now I look forward to the gun season for deer. To be able to harvest my own food — and I love venison —made me feel amazing."
Droz’s folks, who never missed a college football game that their son played, are frequent visitors to Casa Droz and Darren reciprocates, but he can’t drive due to the many painful muscle spasms he has daily, which also cause migraine-like headaches.
He has to take dozens of meds several times a day along with having to lay flat for long periods. He’s somewhat leery of all the medicines that he’s taken and how that will affect him in the long term, but he believes it’s necessary at this point in his life.
While speaking about his daily regimen and the dozens of pills he takes, Droz shared a somewhat humorous moment regarding those terrible headaches he gets with the muscle spasms.
"I was having a bad headache and my mom was there to give my staff a little break," he told me. "I said mom, ‘Will you hand me that pipe?’ The pipe contained a small amount of marijuana which, after a couple of puffs, makes the headaches disappear or at least become manageable.
I had to start my life over after the accident and I’ve grown to realize that I’m still very much alive. I’m far from dead. Darren Drozdov
"JR, did you ever smoke pot in front of your mom?" My answer was no. Droz said, "Well, let me tell you that it’s a different experience and one that I had to get used to, but mom understands and knows it helps me deal with the spasm-induced headaches."
Droz credits his family and friends for creating a support system that has helped him deal with his paralysis amazingly well.
"For some reason, even as a kid, I always had a strong premonition that I would die young," he said. "I don’t know why but I’ve had that feeling for as long as I can remember. I guess, in a way, when the accident occurred, that a large part of me did die, but over time my mindset on that has changed over the years. I had to start my life over after the accident and I’ve grown to realize that I’m still very much alive. I’m far from dead."
So whether its Droz’s loving family, his longtime buddies like Hugh Brown and his parents who have sent him a postcard or letter every week for 15 years, Plank, guys like "Brew" or countless other pals, the former Maryland Terrapin, Denver Bronco, New York Jet, Philadelphia Eagle and WWE Superstar is the emotional leader of his own "team," which definitely is winning in the game of life.
Hugh Brown (50) and Dave deBruin (55) were Terp teammates of Droz and help him to this day.
Droz’s positive attitude will lift anyone’s spirits. He’s nothing short of a miracle.
"My team is a Godsend and all I can do for them is to not give up and to battle just like I have all my life," he says. "I even try and motivate them and I hope that I do."
(Check out Darren Drozdov on Facebook)John Waters Hitchhikes Across America, And Lives To Write About It
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kathy Willens/AP Kathy Willens/AP
Carsick by John Waters Hardcover, 322 pages | purchase close overlay Buy Featured Book Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?
Film director and writer John Waters has broken many taboos and created intentionally perverse scenarios in his films — most notably in Pink Flamingos, about a competition for the title "the filthiest person alive."
Waters, who is now 68, was looking for an adventure he could write about. So he decided to hitchhike cross-country from his home in Baltimore to his co-op apartment in San Francisco.
Waters chronicles his adventures and frustrations on the road in his new book, Carsick. The first part of the book is fiction, in which he imagines best-case scenarios, like getting a ride from his favorite porn film star, and worst-case scenarios, like getting a ride from a killer out to get all the cult film directors he hates — including John Waters.
Through these adventures, as he was waiting for cars to pick him up, the usually funny Waters had some intense reflective moments, he says.
"I'm standing there and I think, 'I'm alive and so many of my friends are not. I'm here. I'm doing this project,' " he says. "So I am incredibly thankful for my life. I said in this book that all my fantasies of what I wanted to happen in my career came true years ago. This is gravy."
Interview Highlights
On being recognized as famous while hitchhiking
People would drive past me and think, "Was that John Waters?" But no! Why would I be standing there doing that? And they'd come back and pick me up. Other people didn't know and pulled over and tried to give me money or help me and then realized [who I was] and started laughing and screaming. And many people didn't recognize me, and when I did tell them during a normal conversation in the car that I was a film director, they just looked at me like I was so deluded as a homeless person that believed he was a cult film director.
Generally, I didn't care because it didn't matter to me. I wanted to hear their stories. I was relieved if they really didn't know who I was, and yet I'm a hypocrite because when I'd get stuck, I would shamelessly use it if I could to try to get a ride.
On keeping his luggage with him
When we would get out of the car and go in to have coffee or something, I always made up some excuse to take my luggage because I always feared I'd go to the bathroom and they'd pull off with it. Because I used to be a thief when I was young, so I have bad karma that way.
Even with the rides I really trusted, when we would get out of the car and go in to have coffee or something, I always made up some excuse to take my luggage because I always feared I'd go to the bathroom and they'd pull off with it. Because I used to be a thief when I was young, so I have bad karma that way.
On accepting any ride out of desperation
In real life when you're out there, as I said — I would've gotten in [with] Ted Bundy in his Volkswagen with his arm in his sling, in the front seat. You'll get in any car, believe me. All your rules, all your things that you imagine, go out the window when you've been standing there for 10 years and those Kansas winds are ripping your weather-beaten face.
On his hitchhiking face
It is the worst beauty regimen ever to hitchhike. I would go in the motels at night and look in the mirror. And I have in my office a little mirror, a hand mirror that I got from a joke shop where you pick it up and look at yourself and it screams. Well, that's what every mirror did when I hitchhiked across America. It let out a shriek of horror when [it saw my] hitchhiking face — a new thing that I want to invent a product for.
On his early films
My early films look terrible! I didn't know what I was doing. I learned when I was doing it. I never went to film school. I didn't learn from porn or anything; I just learned how to turn on the camera. [That] was hard enough. But if you like those [early] films, you said they were "primitive." If you hated them, you [said they] were "amateurish." It is the same word.
I gave the line to Cecil B. DeMented, a film I wrote, where the character says, "Technique is nothing more than failed style," which I believe. I believe if you come out of a movie and the first thing you say is "the cinematography was beautiful," it's a bad movie.
On quitting smoking
I'll tell you how many [days] because I carry this card in my wallet — 4,174 days ago — because I don't want to smoke again.
I loved the king [size] Kool. When I smoked 'em, ooh. Thank God they've changed the pack now, I realize, because when I used to see that color green anywhere I would, like, run to light up.
No, I don't think about it anymore.... I'd be arrested if I still smoked because I'm the one who would be changing the battery in the airplane in the lavatory to take out the smoke detector. I would've been those people they warn you against.The fact that a malware attack on several Tor websites coincided with the arrest of a man believed to be hosting illegal services on the Tor Network has led many to believe that the US government might be involved.
A few days ago, security experts from Cryptocloud and Baneki Privacy Labs analyzed some IP addresses from the attack and determined that the malware might be the property of the United States National Security Agency (NSA).
As soon as the results of their research were published, many experts contested the accuracy of their analysis. Now, Cryptocloud and Baneki Privacy Labs admit that they were, at least partly, wrong.
They’ve agreed that the DomainTools results were inaccurate when they attributed the IP address to SAIC, a US defense contractor. Furthermore, the Robtex results which showed that the IP block used by the malware was attributed to the NSA were also erroneous.
Cryptocloud and Baneki Privacy Labs were certain that the Robtex results they analyzed on Monday morning pointed to the NSA. However, now, the results are different, and the block of IPs covering 65.192.0.0/11 to 65.222.202.53 doesn’t have any connection to the NSA.
While they admit that they’re not specialized in working with Robtex, the security experts are still not 100% convinced that the NSA doesn’t have anything to do with the TOR attack.
“We know the NSA tracks Tor - no secret there - and we know domestic U.S. LEOs have a collective stiffie over the idea of hitting Tor hard, and also tossing heavy FUD on it so people use it less... and thus run plaintext more, and are easier to surveil as a direct result. Would they bring in the big guns of the NSA, to run this show?” the researchers wrote in a lengthy post.Exodus 34 New International Version (NIV)
The New Stone Tablets
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
17 “Do not make any idols.
18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the first |
the Taliban’s operations in both Afghanistan and in Pakistan.
First and foremost, the primary objective of the air campaign has been to disrupt al Qaeda’s external network and prevent the group from striking at the US and her allies. The campaign has targeted camps known to house foreigners as well as trainers and leaders for the network. Al Qaeda operatives known to have lived in the West and holding foreign passports have been killed in several Predator strikes. One such strike on an al Qaeda camp in South Waziristan on Aug. 30, 2008, killed two Canadian passport holders as they trained in the camp. Also, since May 14, 2008, the US has killed three of the leaders of al Qaeda’s external operations branch: Abu Sulayman Jazairi, Osama al Kini, and Saleh al Somali.
Another major objective has been to disrupt the Taliban and al Qaeda’s operations in Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan receive significant support from within Pakistan. Taliban groups that are very active against Coalition forces in Afghanistan, such as the Haqqani Network, the Mehsud Taliban, and Mullah Nazir, have flourished in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas. The US has targeted both Taliban leaders and fighters during these strikes. The Haqqani Network, for instance, is the most heavily targeted group because it both conducts operations in Afghanistan and harbors al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan. Several large Taliban training camps that are known to train fighters for the Afghan front have been the targets of attack. For instance, a training camp in Kurram operated by an Afghan Taliban commander was hit on Feb. 16, 2009. Also, the US killed Zuhaib al Zahib, a senior commander in the Lashkar al Zil, al Qaeda’s Shadow Army, during a strike in December 2009. The Lashkar al Zil is al Qaeda’s military unit that partners with the Taliban on both sides of the border.
Along with targeting al Qaeda’s external operations network and the Taliban’s Afghan operations in Pakistan, the US has also targeted Pakistani Taliban commanders who threaten the stability of the Pakistani state. The US hunted Baitullah Mehsud for a year before killing him in a strike in early August of 2009. Several of Baitullah’s deputies have also been killed this past year. The US has an interest in preventing nuclear Pakistan from becoming a failed state and also needs to keep its supply lines open through Pakistan and into Afghanistan. More than 70 percent of the US and NATO supplies travel through Pakistan’s northwest.
Killed in 2009:
Zuhaib al Zahib A commander in the Lashkar al Zil, al Qaeda’s Shadow Army. Date killed: December 17, 2009 Saleh al Somali The leader of al Qaeda’s external network. Date killed: December 8, 2009 Najmuddin Jalolov The leader of the Islamic Jihad Group, a breakaway faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Najmuddin was closely allied with al Qaeda. Date killed: September 14, 2009 Maulvi Ismail Khan A military commander in the Haqqani Network. Date killed: September 8, 2009 Mustafa al Jaziri A senior military commander for al Qaeda who sits on al Qaeda’s military shura. Date killed: September 7, 2009 Tahir Yuldashev The leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Date killed: August 27, 2009 Baitullah Mehsud The overall leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Date killed: August 5, 2009 Kifayatullah Anikhel A Taliban commander under Baitullah Mehsud. Date killed: July 7, 2009 Mufti Noor Wali A suicide bomber trainer for the Taliban and al Qaeda. Date killed: July 3, 2009 Khwaz Ali Mehsud A senior deputy to Baitullah Mehsud. Date killed: June 23, 2009 Abdullah Hamas al Filistini A senior al Qaeda trainer. Date killed: April 1, 2009 Osama al Kini (aka Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam) Al Qaeda’s operations chief for Pakistan who was wanted for the 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Date killed: January 1, 2009 Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan A senior aide to Osama al Kini who was wanted for the 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Date killed: January 1, 2009
Killed in 2008:
Abu Zubair al Masri Served as an explosives expert for al Qaeda as well as a leader. Date killed: November 21, 2008 Abdullah Azzam al Saudi Served as liaison between al Qaeda and the Taliban operating in Pakistan’s northwest. Azzam facilitated al Qaeda’s external operations network. He also served as a recruiter and trainer for al Qaeda. Date killed: November 19, 2008 Abu Jihad al Masri The leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group and the chief of al Qaeda’s intelligence branch, and directed al Qaeda’s intelligence shura. He directed al Qaeda’s external operations in Egypt. Date killed: October 31, 2008 Khalid Habib The commander of the Lashkar al Zil or the Shadow Army, al Qaeda’s paramilitary forces in Pakistan’s northwest and Afghanistan. Date killed: October 16, 2008 Abu al Hasan al Rimi A senior al Qaeda operative. Date killed: October 2008 – exact date unknown Abu Ubaidah al Tunisi An al Qaeda military commander who fought against the Russians in Afghanistan. Date killed: September 17, 2008 Abu Musa An al Qaeda operative from Saudi Arabia. Date killed: September 8, 2008 Abu Qasim An al Qaeda operative from Egypt. Date killed: September 8, 2008 Abu Hamza An explosives expert from Saudi Arabia who served as al Qaeda’s commander in Peshawar. Date killed: September 8, 2008 Abu Haris A senior al Qaeda military commander from Syria who led more than 250 Arab and Afghan fighters under the guise of the Jaish al Mahdi in Helmand province. He became al Qaeda’s operations chief in the tribal areas in 2008. Date killed: September 8, 2008 Abu Wafa al Saudi An al Qaeda commander and logistician. Date killed: September 4, 2008 Abdul Rehman A local Taliban commander in the Wana region in South Waziristan. Date killed: August 13, 2008 Abu Khabab al Masri The chief of al Qaeda’s weapons of mass destruction program and a master bomb maker. Date killed: July 28, 2008 Abu Mohammad Ibrahim bin Abi al Faraj al Masri A religious leader, close to Abu Khabab al Masri. Date killed: July 28, 2008 Abdul Wahhab al Masri A senior aide to Abu Khabab al Masri. Date killed: July 28, 2008 Abu Islam al Masri Aide to Abu Khabab al Masri. Date killed: July 28, 2008 Abu Sulayman Jazairi The chief of al Qaeda’s external network. Jazairi was a senior trainer, an explosives expert, and an operational commander tasked with planning attacks on the West. Date killed: March 16, 2008 Dr. Arshad Waheed (aka Sheikh Moaz) A mid-level al Qaeda leader. Date killed: May 14, 2008 Abu Laith al Libi Senior military commander in Afghanistan and the leader of the reformed Brigade 055 in al Qaeda’s paramilitary Shadow Army. Date killed: January 29, 2008
Killed in 2007:
No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders or operatives were reported killed during the strikes in 2007.
Killed in 2006:
Liaquat Hussain Second-in-command of the Bajaur TNSM. Date killed: October 30, 2006 Imam Asad Camp commander for the Black Guard, al Qaeda’s elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. Asad was a Chechen with close links to Shamil Basayev. Date killed: March 1, 2006
Killed in 2005:
Abu Hamza Rabia Al Qaeda’s operational commander. He was involved with two assassination plots against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Date killed: December 1, 2005
Killed in 2004:
Nek Mohammed A senior Taliban commander in South Waziristan who had links to Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar. Date killed: June 18, 2004
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.As a top real-time, mobile-first sports website, Bleacher Report has to be able to handle vast traffic spikes. The site gets 1.5 billion page views per month and 250,000 users at its peak, and sends out more than three billion push notifications each month.
The site was originally written on the Ruby on Rails framework but Bleacher Report reached the point where they could no longer scale it, according to Dave Marks, BR's senior engineering director.
© Bleacher Report
BR had some "pretty unique" challenges around concurrency, as users see vast streams of content merged together when they log into the Team Stream app, he explains. "This was very expensive from a resource perspective and not easily cacheable as it's unique to each user," Marks adds.
The 50-strong development team considered various options, including Node.js and Go, but settled upon Elixir, a programming language built on top of Erlang, which is 31 years old and was originally built for the telecoms industry. About 15 people work solely on Elixir within BR, he explained.
"It allows you to do lots of things very quickly and is based on lots of processes all happening at once, which is very good for what we do," says lead engineer Ben Marx. "We chose Elixir for those performance advantages, and also similarities to Ruby syntax."
Marx, who joined in May 2015, partly came to BR because he was interested in learning more about Elixir and it was one of the biggest adoptions yet of the language, which is about five years old.
"We were one of the first. José Valim, the creator of Elixir, was in town so came by and gave a talk. Chris McCord, creator of Phoenix, is always on Slack and so on. A consulting company published a lot on how to use it. So it was mainly trial and error, reading online, figuring out what to do," he says.
BR was helped by Erlang Solutions, which came to do a quality assurance check on its apps when they were released to production for the first time in Elixir in August 2015.
"I talked to some CTOs I know who used Erlang and they all recommended Erlang Solutions. They were able to come in with expertise, help us with best practice and give us confidence going forward that the systems would be efficient and reliable," Marks said.
Benefits of Elixir
One of the main benefits the team has found is that Elixir runs on a fraction of the infrastructure previously required and without external vendor dependencies, saving BR vast sums of money, according to Marks.
"Elixir has proven so efficient that testing the limits of our services became a challenge unto itself, requiring investment in new benchmarking tools and strategies. In a recent test, for example, our most heavily trafficked service was able to handle 8x our average traffic load, without autoscaling, before the database proved to be a bottleneck," he said.
The new language has led to cleaner code base and much less technical debt, according to Marx. It has also increased the speed of development and some impressive performance improvements.
"On our monolith we needed roughly 150 servers to power the more intensive portions of BR. Following our move to Elixir we're now able to power those same functions on five servers and we're probably overprovisioned. We could probably get away with it on two," Marks says.
For dev teams considering adopting Elixir, the basic advice is to start with something small, according to Erlang Solutions' head of Elixir Claudio Ortolina.
"Most get good results in the first three to six months of development, then you can dig a big deeper," he says.
"Elixir is code that can do many things at once. It has a solid, bullet proof approach but it requires rewiring your brain a bit as a developer, especially if you've never come across it before," Ortolina adds.HEX UPDATE – Adventures in Entrath
Hello everyone! We have some big news for you this week. Strap yourselves in for campaign capers, AskHEX responses, and more!
We are thrilled to announce that Chapter II is coming this year! This massive update to our campaign will more than double the adventures you can have in Entrath. We are introducing our mercenary system, new dungeons, new story, a new class, and so much more! We will be sharing details on all these features in the coming weeks. For now, turn your eye to an article by Jared Saramago, a member of our R&D team, as he drops some hot knowledge about our account leveling systems that are coming with our next big patch. Get hyped!
AskHEX Answers Part 2
There are more answers to several of the questions you tossed our way in the forums. I have started a thread where we will be posting our responses, now with color-coded developers so you can easily track who’s-who! We are going to keep this thread locked so that it is clean and easy to follow, but feel free to toss your comments on this article in the forums below!
VIP Weekend
Also, our latest VIP event is this weekend! It is your second chance to nab some Righteous Vanquisher and Rizzix AAs. The format this month is Constructed. Tournament times are as follows:
Start times listed in CET below:
Friday: 19:00
Saturday: 04:00, 12:00, 20:00
Sunday: 03:00, 18:00
Start times listed in PST below:
Friday: 10:00 AM, 7:00 PM
Saturday: 3:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 6:00 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM
Start times listed in EST below:
Friday: 1:00 PM, 10:00 PM
Saturday: 6:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 9:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00 PM
That’s all for this week. Please leave any questions or comments in the forums, and don’t forget to Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and Follow us on Twitch.
Discuss this article in our forums!DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia summoned Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday after four Saudis died from poisoning in the northeast Iranian city of Mashhad, Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Naqli said in a statement published on the state news agency.
A group of 33 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite Muslim minority was exposed to poison on Sunday while staying at a Mashhad hotel, state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.
Another Iranian news agency quoted an official as saying the poisoning appeared to be accidental, blaming poor cleaning standards at the hotel.
Four children died, while another 28 were hospitalized after the incident. Iranian authorities said they arrested five members of hotel staff.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry called on Iran to “swiftly take the necessary investigations required and to discover the circumstances surrounding the event, and allow them to follow up on the medical conditions of the patients, and to provide necessary protection for them.”
Mashhad is home to the shrine of Imam Reza, a revered figure in Shi’ite Islam, and attracts millions of pilgrims each year from around the Muslim world.
Saudi Arabia has a sizeable Shi’ite Muslim minority, which has tense relations with the Sunni political and religious establishment, some members of which accuse them of being more loyal to Iran than to the kingdom.
The two countries are locked in a power struggle that has played out across the region and taken on a sectarian dimension. Each accuses the other of creating instability in the region.(Reuters) - Fast-food restaurant employees protested in New York City on Thursday, demanding higher pay and the right to form a union - the latest attempt by lower-wage workers in the United States to increase their compensation.
The campaign, called “Fast Food Forward,” seeks to roughly double hourly pay to $15 an hour and is being billed as the largest attempt to unionize U.S. fast-food workers.
Leading the effort is New York Communities for Change, a group that has helped unionize low-wage carwash and grocery workers in New York.
Strikes were scheduled at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Domino’s restaurants around the city throughout the day.
Representatives from those companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Organizers told Reuters that 14 employees at a Midtown Manhattan McDonald’s restaurant near Grand Central Station had walked off the job early on Thursday morning. All but three of those people were scheduled to work, said organizers, who said they expected hundreds of workers at dozens of restaurants to participate in Thursday’s action.
Joshua Williams, 28, works at a Wendy’s in downtown Brooklyn and said he would be among the workers walking out on Thursday.
Williams, who said he still made a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour after working at the restaurant for more than a year, hopes to earn enough to pay rent and buy necessities like food and clothing.
“We’re asking for basic needs,” said Williams, who works 30 to 40 hours a week and believes large fast-food companies can afford to pay workers more.
The U.S. fast-food industry has long been known for its low-paying jobs. What has changed since the last U.S. recession is that many adults now are competing with high school students for those positions - which often do not provide a living wage to full-time workers.
“People just can’t find decent wage jobs,” said Jonathan Westin, organizing director for NYCC. “The floor needs to be raised for everybody.”
The campaign’s backers include UnitedNY.org, the Service Employees International Union - which bills itself as the fastest-growing labor organization in North America - and the Black Institute, Westin said.
Richard Adams, a former McDonald’s franchise director and restaurant owner who now advises the company’s franchisees, said raising pay to $15 per hour would be an “insane increase” that would add at least $1 to $2 to the cost of a fast-food sandwich.
“There goes the Dollar Menu,” Adams said, referring to McDonald’s popular low-priced selections.
The protests come a week after OUR Walmart - a coalition of current and former Wal-Mart Stores Inc workers seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions - held protests at several Walmart stores across the United States.BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kurdish-led Syrian groups plan to attend Russia’s proposed Syria peace talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Kurdish officials have said.
The Syria peace congress was originally scheduled for Nov. 18 but was postponed and the Kremlin said on Thursday that no new date had been set.
If the invitation is renewed, “we will attend Sochi and every other meeting that concerns the Syrian crisis as representatives of the people’s will” Sihanouk Depo, an official of Syria’s main Kurdish party, PYD, told an affiliated website on Wednesday.
“We are still invited,” Badran Jia Kurd, a senior Kurdish official, told Reuters on Thursday. If the framework for the congress still stands, “we will attend”, said Jia Kurd, an adviser to the administration that governs Kurdish-led autonomous regions of Syria.
It would mark the first time Syria’s main Kurdish groups are brought into peace talks. Although they now run at least a quarter of Syria, they have so far been left out of international talks in line with Turkish wishes.
Before the Sochi talks were postponed, the PYD said in November it had been invited and favored attending.
Since the conflict erupted in 2011, the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and its allies have carved out autonomous cantons in the north. The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting Islamic State militants with Washington’s backing.
Their territorial grip has expanded since joining forces with the United States, though Washington opposes their autonomy plans.
Turkey views the PYD and the YPG as offshoots of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkey.
Last month, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said Russia had told Ankara that the PYD would not be invited to the peace talks.
The Kurdish groups share enmities with both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and with neighboring Turkey. This week, Assad described the U.S.-backed militias as “traitors”.
On Wednesday, in an interview with Iran’s Arabic language Al-Alam television, Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad equated the Kurdish-led forces with Islamic State. “There is another Daesh called SDF,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the militant group that until recently controlled swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
In his interview on Wednesday, Depo said: “Any attack from the regime will be a failed venture.”Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rebecca Leighton: 'I can't walk down the street on my own' - Courtesy ITV This Morning
The nurse arrested in connection with the contamination of saline at Stepping Hill Hospital has been speaking about her "horrendous" experience.
Rebecca Leighton, 27, told ITV1's This Morning that she was unable to live a "normal life" since being released.
Miss Leighton has been told she can return to nursing but remains suspended from work while an internal investigation is carried out.
Police are still investigating three patient deaths at the hospital.
Miss Leighton was held in custody for six weeks charged with counts of criminal damage with intent to endanger life and theft. She was released without charge on 2 September.
"Because of how the media have portrayed me to be, the public will have built up an opinion about me," she said.
'Normal girl'
"Even now my life isn't normal. I'm living at my parents', I'm not living where I used to live, obviously I'm not working.
"I can't go outside my house without people taking pictures of me.
"I can't walk down the street on my own. I'm kind of a bit scared really, somebody's got to be with me all the time.
"From leading a normal life, it's far from normal."
Miss Leighton said the media portrayal of her out partying using pictures from Facebook had built up a false impression of her life.
Nursing is all I've ever done, I'm so passionate about my job and looking after patients, that's what I do Rebecca Leighton
"I was just being a normal girl, I was just out with my friends having a good time," she said.
"Everybody I know does that. I've not done anything different than anybody else would - a 27-year-old girl that goes out with her friends.
"The media portrayed it to be that work got in the way of my social life."
She said her arrest on 20 July was totally unexpected.
"It was absolutely horrendous, I woke up to the police banging on the door," she said.
"I was just not expecting what was to come at all, and that's when they arrested me.
"I just couldn't understand what was going on, why it was me that was arrested, just none of it made sense to me."
Miss Leighton said she would like to return to a career in nursing in the future.
"Nursing is all I've ever done, I'm so passionate about my job and looking after patients, that's what I do... I find it hard to look any further into the future than right here and now, but I'd love to have my life back, exactly how it was before."Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner stepped down from his position this week, sources tell Kotaku. Bruner helped found the longrunning studio, which is best known for developing adventure games based on popular franchises like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.
“Today I am writing to let you know that I’ll be stepping away from my position as CEO of Telltale,” Bruner wrote in an e-mail to staff this week (obtained by Kotaku). “We’ve grown aggressively since Telltale’s inception, and now Telltale is bigger than I ever dreamed it would be. There are many possible futures for Telltale, and all of them are exciting and uniquely challenging. The time has come to pass the reins to someone that can better drive Telltale to the next level and realize all the potential that is here.”
In the letter, Bruner added that he will stay on the board of directors “as we transition.” He also said that Telltale co-founder Dan Connors will take over “day to day operations as CEO.” Bruner had been CEO of Telltale since January of 2015.
UPDATE (12:45pm): Telltale head of creative communications Job Stauffer tells Kotaku: “Kevin has led Telltale over the past couple of years after he stepped into the CEO role for co-founder Dan Connors in 2015. With Kevin departing, Telltale is fortunate to have Dan here to step back seamlessly into the CEO role.”Dec. 8, 2016, 5:26 PM GMT / Updated Dec. 8, 2016, 5:26 PM GMT By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
A film project about Muslim Americans being sent to camps that was abandoned a year ago because it seemed “too far-fetched” is getting a new start.
“Executive Order 13800” is inspired by the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and which seeks to tell the story of what would happen if Muslim Americans were incarcerated in the same way today.
Newspaper graphic from "Executive Order 13800" mirroring President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 Courtesy of Koji Steven Sakai
“As descendants of people who were in internment camps, I always tell my son that we have a moral responsibility to make sure that it never happens to anyone else ever again,” writer and producer Koji Steven Sakai, who is also a former executive at the Japanese American National Museum, told NBC News. “‘Executive Order 13800’ is my opportunity to remind my country what happened 75 years ago to ensure we don't make the same mistake with another marginalized community."
“Executive Order 13800” is set after a major 9/11-type terrorist attack, according to the filmmakers. In the film, President Donald Trump issues Executive Order 13800, which gives Muslim Americans two weeks to report to a government site to register, mirroring President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.
RELATED: Opinion: Japanese-American Incarceration Is 'Unforgivable Policy,' Not Precedent
“As descendants of people who were in internment camps, I always tell my son that we have a moral responsibility to make sure that it never happens to anyone else ever again.”
The film follows one Arab-American family as they lose their civil rights and become subject to an evening curfew, not being allowed to gather or pray together, not being able to express their faith publicly, and constant threats of violence.
Sakai has written and produced three feature films: “The People I’ve Slept With” (2009), “#1 Serial Killer” (2013), and “Dying to Kill” (2015). He is joined on this project by writer, director, and cultural anthropologist Mustafa Rony Zeno and producer and playwright Phinny Kiyomura. The team just launched a $50,000 crowdfunding campaign to shoot the film. The film is expected to be completed by the middle of 2017.
Follow NBC Asian America on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.Signs at a Bernie Sanders rally in Philadelphia, July 25, 2016. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters)
Sanders supporters hate her for many of the same reasons Republicans do.
Philadelphia — Perhaps the country isn’t as divided as television commentators fear. Every fourth or fifth sign at Tuesday’s Black Lives Matter/Bernie or Bust rally in downtown Philadelphia would leave a conservative Republican nodding in agreement.
Start with “Passing the crown is an English tradition!” (Ignore the guy beside her wearing a hammer-and-sickle T-shirt.) Bill Clinton’s running mate was the party’s nominee in 2000, his wife was the next-nominee-in-waiting until the night of the Iowa caucuses in 2008, and then she became the heir apparent once Obama took the oath in 2009. Ask Jeb Bush how receptive Americans are to the idea of political dynasties.
“Hillary for Prison 2016.” Remember when, “LOCK HER UP!” was an extreme, incendiary, frightening mantra unique to the cretins on the Republican convention floor?
“White Lies Matter.” Right now, a lot of Republicans are wishing they’d thought of this. When conservatives think of Hillary’s lies, they probably remember Lewinsky and the “vast right-wing conspiracy” or Benghazi and the YouTube video or her insistence that she never had any classified information in her private e-mails. Liberals are more likely to fume that she poses as a progressive when she needs their support and then turns centrist or corporatist as soon as it’s politically convenient.
“The only way to convey authenticity is to be more authentic,” said Norman Solomon, national coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network, in a Wednesday-morning press conference. He pointed to Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe’s comment Tuesday that Clinton would reverse course once elected and support the TPP trade deal, a prediction that McAuliffe quickly retracted. “Terry McAuliffe has more than a passing acquaintance with Hillary Clinton, and now he’s doubling down. This is very corrosive.”
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“We kind of already knew it,” said Karen Bernal, a Sanders delegate from California, about McAuliffe’s prediction that Clinton will change course. “[But] it’s like the DNC e-mails: It’s always good to get it straight from the horse’s mouth.”
Her lies have come big and small, throughout her career, often on topics quite distant from national policy. She claimed she was turned down by the U.S. Marines. She said her 10,000 percent profit in trading cattle futures was completely on the up-and-up. She moved to New York and insisted she had always been a Yankees fan. She claimed to have dodged sniper fire on a foreign trip in the Balkans. She pledged to campaign in a carbon-neutral way and then shuttled around on large private jets.
Would Republicans agree with Sanders fans that Clinton represents an oligarchy? She certainly walks among those of great privilege, collecting $325,000 per speech from tech companies, Wall Street banks, and university administrators. Her daughter earned $600,000 a year for part-time, widely derided work at NBC News.
One of Clinton’s amazing gifts is her relentless ability to see herself as everything she isn’t. She doesn’t think she’s rich; she told us that she and Bill were “dead broke” when they left the White House. She doesn’t think she’s part of the establishment, because she’s a woman:
Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me, a woman running to be the first woman president, as exemplifying the establishment. And I’ve got to tell you that it is really quite amusing to me.
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Her campaign touts her as the most experienced and prepared candidate ever to run for president, yet it’s hard to name a single serious, lasting accomplishment she could call her own. So many Americans across the ideological spectrum see such naked calculation in her every move that she almost literally can’t help herself politically.
It remains to be seen whether Donald Trump can bridge the wide ideological gap to successfully woo Sanders supporters. But if he is able to, it will be because many voters across the political spectrum share a revulsion for Clinton that goes well beyond her policy stances.
— Jim Geraghty is the senior political correspondent for National Review.Story highlights U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says North Korea poses a "threat to international peace and security"
2014 U.N. report compared North Korean human rights abuses to those of the Nazis
North Korea says it has added the hydrogen bomb to its arsenal
(CNN) A senior United Nations official has called for the Security Council to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court over "gross human rights violations."
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein testified before the Security Council after permanent members China and Russia attempted unsuccessfully to block the meeting on procedural grounds.
"The abduction of foreign nationals, the enforced disappearances, the trafficking and the continued movement of refugees and asylum-seekers makes this point clearly. These, in addition to a litany of other gross human rights violations, have still not been halted or reversed by the Government of the DPRK," Zeid said, using an acronym for the official name of the country, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He said that it was "essential" to refer the situation in North Korea to the ICC.
Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Warning: Graphic. In these chilling drawings released to the United Nations, former North Korean prisoner Kim Kwang-Il details torture methods he witnessed during his time in captivity. In this position, called "pigeon torture," Kim says he was beaten on the chest until he vomited blood. Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "Scale, airplane, motorcycle." According to UN reports, Kim says he had to stay in painful stress positions with arms extended until he collapsed out of exhaustion.
Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "Detention center." Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "Out of starvation and hunger, find snakes and rats and you eat them." Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "Pump torture. After sitting, you stand about a hundred times." Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "The mice eat the eyes, nose, ears, and toes of the corpses." Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "The corpses are taken to the crematorium." Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods North Korean torture methods – Text: "Solitary confinement punishment. Capturing mice from inside the cell." Hide Caption 8 of 8
Testimonies by Zeid and U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman come after a landmark U.N. report in 2014 that found human rights abuses on a scale " without parallel in the contemporary world," comparable to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.The HP DreamColor LP2480zx is a top-of-the-line color-critical monitor that retailed for $3500 and features some really impressive specs, such as a true 10-bit IPS panel, hardware-based calibration, and an RGB LED backlight. Unfortunately, these monitors eventually develop a purple/magenta color cast over the entire screen and calibrating with HP's proprietary solution does not fix the problem. I got my hands on one of these monitors on eBay for around $100 (so around 3% of the retail price) due to the aforementioned purple-tint issue and set out to fix it. Here is my journey.
The tech
The first question on many people's minds is "why bother?" Aside from the enjoyment of solving problems and tinkering with electronics, this monitor boasts some seriously impressive specs even by today's standards, despite being released way back in 2008. The monitor was developed by HP in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation (hence the name) and was used for color-critical work. Here are some of the goodies:
True 10-bit IPS panel which allows for not 50, not 256, but a whopping 1024 shades of gray and a total of over 1.07 billion colors. The modern-day DreamColor monitors are inferior since they use 8-bit panels with dithering (AFRC).
which allows for not 50, not 256, but a whopping 1024 shades of gray and a total of over 1.07 billion colors. The modern-day DreamColor monitors are inferior since they use 8-bit panels with dithering (AFRC). RGB LED backlight which allows for adjustments to the white balance of the display without any loss of color resolution and compensation for wear over time (at least in theory... more on this below).
which allows for adjustments to the white balance of the display without any loss of color resolution and compensation for wear over time (at least in theory... more on this below). Extremely wide color gamut which exceeds "wide gamut" Adobe RGB and nearly meets the Digital Cinema P3 gamut. This monitor will display colors that most monitors simply can't.
which exceeds "wide gamut" Adobe RGB and nearly meets the Digital Cinema P3 gamut. This monitor will display colors that most monitors simply can't. "DreamColor Engine" which performs hardware-based calibration of the monitor. This is accomplished via matrix multiplier which allows for some rather sophisticated color transformations. Color space presets can be quickly selected via the press of a button and are meant to be programmed in via a proprietary calibration probe and software, ensuring accurate colors throughout the life of the monitor.
which performs hardware-based calibration of the monitor. This is accomplished via matrix multiplier which allows for some rather sophisticated color transformations. Color space presets can be quickly selected via the press of a button and are meant to be programmed in via a proprietary calibration probe and software, ensuring accurate colors throughout the life of the monitor. A-TW polarizer which greatly reduces "IPS glow", where colors appear washed out when viewed off-angle. You can clearly see the difference between a monitor with and without it in the picture at the top of this page.
The problem
The monitor uses an LG LM240WU5-SLA1 panel with an RGB backlight. Since LEDs can age at different rates (which causes colors to drift over time), LG thoughtfully included a color sensor and a color processing chip (Avago HDJD-J822) to maintain uniformity of colors. This allows the |
I may open it. Also, would you be able to make any of the NIST peer reviews re WTC7 available to me? Sincerely, William B. Willers Email: October 17, 2012 – James Quintiere to Bill Willers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: James G. Quintiere <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 9:55 AM Subject: Re: To: WILLIAM WILLERS <[email protected]> I know of no peer review of the NIST work on WTC. They had a Advisory Committee, and even some of them did not agree with the NIST work and conclusions. Here is my paper. James Quintiere Emeritus, U of MD Cell: 240 472 2016
Email: October 17, 2012 – Bill Willers to James Quintiere -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: WILLIAM WILLERS <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 5:32 PM To: James Quintiere <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Dear Dr. Quintiere: Thank you for your email. I am floored by the fact that the director of an organization representing the profession of structural engineering would tell me that peer reviews exist when, in fact they do not, and who summed up the views engineers with "Summarized, our statement is as follows: We are confident in the FEMA/ASCE and NIST studies, and the total lack of evidence of any demolition of the buildings, other than by crashing 767s into them." On the strength of his assertion I FOIA'd NIST for those (nonexistent) "peer reviews", which FOIA has in process. I will have to terminate that effort but would like to know the findings of the Advisory Committee mentioned in your email. If you are able... and so that I can avoid going through a FOIA request yet again.... could you make the Committee's conclusion or its abstract available to me? Sincerely, William Willers Email: October 18, 2012 – James Quintiere to Bill Willers ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: James G. Quintiere <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 11:05 AM Subject: Re: To: WILLIAM WILLERS <[email protected]> I do not have a formal Committee report, only anecdotal information. James Quintiere Emeritus, U of MD Cell: 240 472 2016READER REPORT: Don't accept spying 'erosion of our privacy' LISA FINLAY
PRIVACY PROBED: Nicky Hager released new information on the New Zealand government's spying on Pacific nations.
New documents show New Zealand has spied on its neighbours and allies, including countries in the Pacific. What do you think about these latest spying revelations?
Lisa Finlay says it's an 'erosion of our privacy'.
We, as a public, have a right to know that New Zealand engages in wholesale data collection of our neighbours and passes it on to the US and its allies.
That they will have broken New Zealand surveillance laws against New Zealanders travelling in the Pacific is yet another casualty of the complete breach of trust that the New Zealand Government has perpetrated against our Pacific neighbours, and the New Zealand public.
Nothing to hide? If we really have nothing to fear why do we have passwords on computers, on email accounts, on bank accounts? Because a basic tenet of privacy is that we and we alone should have access to not only our most sensitive information but all communications that we choose to conduct in private - posting to the world on Facebook excluded.
Why do we feel it is an insignificant intrusion to know that every keystroke is being recorded and stored in some NSA server accessible to anyone in the Five Eyes alliance?
Because everyone is doing it does not make it right, it makes it a corrupt argument. Hell, let's all go out and have an affair and take illicit drugs because everyone's doing it and nobody's getting hurt.
We are lowering moral and ethical baselines by accepting that the invasion of our own privacy and that of our Pacific partners from wholesale surveillance is an inevitable and necessary sign of the times.
This is not about Nicky Hager, Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, etc, they are merely conduits to shed light on what is going on.
Let's talk about it without having to debate its authenticity. No government has disputed this except for New Zealand's.
If we accept this erosion of our privacy then I believe we will pretty much accept anything.
READ MORE:
* Opinion: NZ right to spy on Pacific Island neighbours
* Diplomat: GCSB must have a really boring job
* NZ spied on Pacific neighbours - Greenwald
* Nicky Hager: Kiwis will be'shocked' by spy claims
* Q&A - Spying and NZ
CommentsAbout
I've always had a fascination with architectural lines and how they interact with one another. In April of 2012, I visited Manhattan for the first time. I was immediately struck with the way that the modern metropolis skyline interacts and connects with everything around it.
I would like the opportunity to shoot in New York City once again capturing its stunning urban landscapes. Using these images, I will create a book that will explore the reality and unreality of how those lines intersect.
My book will feature my unique composite images that I create using a variety of photo editing software tools. I use multiple exposure images that fold onto themselves, transcend reality and find beauty within complexity.
To make this book a reality, I will need financial backing for travel, the expenses incurred while exploring the city and book publishing costs. My goal is for $5000. Anything above that goal will be put toward equipment upgrades which would enhance future pictures.
My work has been featured in many online publications and art reviews.
"The angular, reflective, and soaring architecture alone offers a sense of the city, but Sloan's artistic renderings present something beyond the norm." My Modern Met
"The Visions toy with our feelings of balance and create visions from our nightmares" indulgd.com
"Sloan's warped, monochromatic work takes New York's skyline and hulks it on top of itself, creating seamless, alien-like creations." curbed.comThis June, we want to hear all about your proudest gaming moment. Have you unlocked every park on Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic? Are you way too deep into Candy Crush? Do all the rarest cats visit your yard in Neko Atsume? Maybe you’re a purist or a classic game connoisseur. We want to know.
Share an image of your gaming achievement and upload it to the form below. Then, tell us a bit about this moment. What made it great? How long were you working on it? Were all your friends impressed by your gaming dedication?
Whether you’re caught up in the chaos of Clash Royale or totally obsessed with 2048, we want to hear Your High Score story.
Congrats to our grand prize winner, Caroline! She picks up a brand new Galaxy S7 + Gear VR. Stay tuned for next month’s contest. #comingsoon #ting A post shared by Ting.com (@ting) on Jun 30, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT
The prizes
Contestants will be entered for a chance to win one of four weekly prizes of $50 for the Apple App Store or Google Play. At the end of the month, we’ll announce a grand prize winner. They’ll take home a swanky Samsung S7 and a Samsung Gear VR.
Four weekly prizes: $50 for the Apple App Store or Google Play.
One grand prize: a Samsung S7 and Samsung Gear VR.
How to enter
Your photo
Show us your high score. It can be a literal high score or an achievement you’re proud of.
Just take a screenshot of your game and upload it to the form below.
Not sure how to capture a screenshot on your phone? You can Google your phone model and “How to screenshot.”
Your story
Here’s your chance. Explain why your achievement is special.
Tell us about the long, arduous hours you spent conquering the last boss, or the fluke that turned everything around in your favor. Tell us about the all-nighter you pulled and the burritos that kept you alive while you did it.
Submit as many times as you like!
Ting’s Your High Score contest is only open to residents of the United States. Grand prize winner will be contacted on June 30, 2017.Chris! I have a brilliant idea for a new business.
Chris: Who do we have to kill.
Pip: No-one! That’s the beauty of it. It’s more about who we choose to kill. It’s a STRATEGIC business plan.
Chris: Sounds great! I choose to variously kill/hire/build houses for a string of 19th century rural Frenchmen in the hopes of defeating you (and our friends) in the great game of capitalism. It’s a fine thing that this is what I have chosen to do, because it turns out that The Bloody Inn is a game about exactly this.
Pip: That sounds like useful practice for my business venture. What do we need to do in The Bloody Inn?
Chris: In The Bloody Inn we both set up shop as innkeepers in a remote village in France. Along with the other players, we each claim one room for ourselves while the others become neutral. A big stack of potential guests, represented by a deck of cards, sits at the entrance.
We’ll take it in turns to populate the rooms of the inn with guests from the deck, taking lots of strategic considerations into account. There are clergymen, nobles, officers of the law, workmen, and most importantly my precious, precious newsboys.
We each start the game with two peasants in our employ. Peasants are special because they are terribly poor, and this means that they sleep on the floor of the dining room when they’re not being used. No rooms for you, peasants!
Each guest has a rank, from zero to three, which is used to determine the cost of doing stuff to them. ‘Stuff’ includes bribing them, in which case they are added to your hand as an accomplice, or killing them, in which case they become corpses in your possession.
When a guest becomes an accomplice, there’s lots of things you can do. You use them towards the cost of other actions, such as bribing and killing and so on, and some of them are better at this than others. Many of them have an associated building, which you can ‘build’ to give yourself various bonuses. You also bury corpses under buildings, which allows you to both (a) evade the law and (b) take all of the money that was in the corpses pockets.
At the end of the round any surviving/unbribed guests leave, players collect rent based on anybody still in their rooms, and the next player welcomes a new host of travellers. After two seasons of murderous innkeeping, the player with the most money wins.
Phew! I think that covers it. But more importantly: what does the business of murder feel like?
Pip: Mostly I’d say it feels like trying to build a well-optimised deck that lets you bribe the right accomplices, kill the right fools, build the right inn extensions and bury the right bodies as efficiently as possible. It’s about balancing your hand of cards which form your murder-staff against the cost of paying them each round. It’s also about risk management in that sometimes you’ll be unable to bury a body using the two actions you get to take a round so you leave it there on the table, hoping that a law enforcement card won’t show up and bring a police investigation to your doorstep. If that happens and you have a stray corpse or two lying around you have to enlist the local gravedigger’s help to get you out of your predicament and that is EXPENSIVE.
There’s also the matter of your liquid assets. There’s a wealth track which goes up to 40 francs and that represents the cash you have available to hand. If you want to accumulate more wealth (and you definitely do) you’ll need to convert some of that into 10 franc cheques. If you start running out of money because you’ve hired a lot of people or mismanaged your murder engine then you need to spend actions converting those cheques back into points on the wealth track.
In that way there’s a lot of balancing to be done which you get a feel for after you play a few times. You start to know what overstretching looks like and you learn which accomplices are more useful at different points of the game. I hate it when you get your wretched army of newsboys early, for example. They have a rank of zero so that means you can’t bury anything under them if you use the card to make them into little newsboy buildings but they’re blue cards which mean you can use them to bribe other people into your company without losing that card. Two newsboys and you can bribe anyone except the super-elite rank three jerks.
Chris: The faster I can get two lovely newsboys into my employ in The Bloody Inn, the happier I am. I like to imagine them scurrying around delivering morning papers, but they’re my morning papers and the headline is ‘WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN MY MURDER CONSPIRACY’.
They fit perfectly into my playstyle, which is about creating an efficient centralised murder engine that lets me make best use of my available actions in the crucial mid and late stages of the game. However, I’ve lost games because I’ve been too preoccupied with, say, fine-tuning my body burial mechanism (it involves a priest and an altarboy.)
We played a game where I’d set up a beautiful conspiracy, but nobody visited to the inn who was much worth killing. You’d taken a gamble on an impulsive early killing spree, and the cash lead that granted you eventually shut me out of the game.
That’s what I like about The Bloody Inn, actually: unlike some deck building/set collecting/resource management games I’ve played, there’s quite a lot of strategic depth beyond ‘take the best thing on the board as fast as you can.’ The cards and numbers and resources amount to complicated territory that you can navigate in a surprising variety of ways.
This becomes very apparent with three or four players (the maximum), where second-guessing each other’s competing plans makes every decision interesting. The fact that it’s a pretty open-handed game – you can’t really be taken by surprise by a card that your opponent is holding – helps with this. It doesn’t feel as random as some of its peers, and therefore you have to own your mistakes. Like when you were sat on all those valuable corpses when THE ENTIRE POLICE FORCE showed up for some kind of POLICE CONVENTION.
Pip: If the deck had been more reasonable that plan would have worked out. Usually you only get one or two of the law enforcement cards in any one set of visitors so I had a system set up where I could be fairly sure at least one would be recruited by another player leaving me to kill the other one if there were two, or build an annex where I could bury him next turn.
So many turning up unexpectedly meant that plan flew out of the window and, to be honest, I spent the rest of the game trying (and failing) to recover. Especially because on a later turn I needed a bunch of other resources to actually get me back into the game – maybe some cheap law enforcement cards to get the killing momentum going again, or a member of the clergy for body disposal or something and then suddenly and entire contingent of nobles showed up and the entire inn was all IT’S NOBCON NOW.
Everyone who had been more conservative with their murder plans was suddenly able to take the literal rich pickings and I was left ruing the day. I far preferred the game where I got an early abbot and used him to build a cellar. That freed me up to just pootle about, building my resources, safe in the knowledge I could bury any later corpses with ease because the cellar decreased the burial costs by one. AND gave me two corpse spaces.
Chris: I understand completely why you’d be excited about the idea of a well-timed abbot. It’s a game with a secret language and a lot of strange logic to internalise. This is a strength and a weakness: there’s real strategic depth here, but it can also take a little while to stick with new players. It’s not a pick-up-and-play game like Fungi, which we reviewed last time. Or at least, you become so much better with experience that The Bloody Inn can feel a little unbalanced when you’re introducing somebody to it.
When we played with friends I found myself playing the first round not only open-handed but also explaining every decision I was making: it’s one thing to info-dump all of the rules, procedures and strategic concepts, but I found it more helpful to just say “I am taking this second newsboy in order to make future bribe actions more efficient, which perhaps you should also consider doing.” There’s a lot of stuff in here that isn’t particularly intuitive but is extremely important.
This heady strategic layer also has consequences for the theme, but the fantastic art really does help in that regard. With a little imaginative investment, you can spin a narrative out of some of the decisions you’re forced to make. For example: the police showed up, so I had to commit one of my newsboys to hurriedly burying a corpse, after which I dismissed him from my service, while the other helped to kill the brigadier himself who I then buried underneath the workshed. This is much better than ‘I spent two blue things to move a green thing and a grey thing’, and that’s thanks to the presentation.
Pip: The thing that seemed hardest to grasp by people we introduced the game to was the idea of converting person into a building. When you get used to them the cards manage to express a lot of information in a very economical way, but there’s bit of a comprehension hump on the way to that point.
I do really enjoy playing it, but that experience teaching it to friends makes me think it’s not the sort of thing where you can just bring it out and expect people to get it immediately. I think you likened it to videogames and that’s a useful comparison – where you’re a person who knows the rhythms of that particular game and the timings where an item is optimal to pick up or how particular abilities chain together. The newcomers are kind of floundering at first, trying to get their eye in and if you’re not all floundering together you could so easily just trounce them. There’s not the same pick up and play-ness of some other card games this site’s recommended recently, like Archaeology or Condottiere.
I do really like it. I’ve even been sneaking in plays of the single player inn-management, trying to best my own score. I think anyone who fancies a tactical killing spree should feel confident in buying The Bloody Inn, but like a real murder conspiracy, just think twice before revealing it to your friends.
And gosh, the art’s lovely too – there’s a gruesomeness to the illustrations in that they are grotesqueries and that fits well with the game’s theme. I did notice when flipping through them that there are only a tiny number of women – the shopkeeper and some of the peasants. I’d assume part of that is the game’s setting, but I’d have hoped for a few noble women, maybe. Perhaps some nuns or mother superiors and so on. I mean I’m a lady and I’m getting right in there with my murder engine, elbow deep in the remains of the French nobility…
Chris: Very good point. It’s worth remembering that history’s great murder-theft businesses (Sweeney Todd’s barbershop, the Thénardiers in Les Miserables) were equal-opportunities affairs.
Pip: You’re listening to Les Mis aren’t you?
Chris: …no.
Pip: I can literally hear it through the walls.
Chris: Oh.Uber has been operating in the state for just over a month now. Their launch followed Governor Matt Mead’s signing of a bill to legally authorize ride-sharing companies in Wyoming. However, while some consumers have been taking advantage of the service, others are less excited.
Branden French was one of the very first drivers to start working for Uber in March. Right now, he’s a university student in Laramie. He said Mead signed the bill on a Friday, and he was on the road that weekend.
“It was Saturday or Sunday that I was first driving, and it was great!” said French. “I mean, I-80 was shut down at the time. So it came down to the point where all these truck drivers were flooding into Laramie. And they were all parked everywhere.”
French said a lot of them needed a ride for a warm meal, so they used the Uber app on their smartphones to request a driver.
“And I’d pick them up, drive them where they need to go and I was getting multiple requests, one after the next, and after the next,” said French.
The service works just like that. A customer uses the Uber application on their phone to type in their destination. Then an estimated fare is given before the rider can choose to send a request to the nearest available driver.
It sounds very similar to requesting a taxi ride, but it’s actually different.
Franz Schreiner is the territory manager for Uber. He said the company offers a different kind of service.
“We’re a transportation network company that builds a smartphone application where you can use your personal car to give people rides, and that’s really one of the things that sets us apart from cabs,” said Schreiner.
Compared to cab companies, Uber has very few regulations. Schreiner said that’s by design because the company wants to make it as easy as possible for someone to earn extra income by driving on the platform. Schreiner said interested drivers go online, fill out a couple of quick forms, and undergo a background screening process.
“And in a few days, you are hopefully ready to start driving and then you just download the Uber driving app and you can start immediately whenever you want,” said Schreiner.
The lack of regulation has caught the attention of cab companies. Tom Elliott is the owner of Casper cabs, which has been in business just over ten years. He said Uber is not fair competition.
“Generally speaking, they are a lower price than a taxi,” said Elliott. “But that’s because they don’t have all the overheads.”
According to Elliott, taxi drivers face more stringent background checks and companies have to purchase expensive commercial insurance to cover cars, even when they’re not in use.
Uber only insures drivers when they have a passenger in their vehicle. Elliott also said the state of Wyoming has agreed to lower safety standards specifically for Uber drivers. He said many cab companies are already losing money.
“It’s quite likely that some of us, all of us, will go out of business,” said Elliott.
According to Uber’s Franz Schreiner, the service has become very popular.
“And over the course of the past month, we’ve seen amazing growth on the trip side of things and we’re really excited for what the future holds for Wyoming, and we’re happy to be a part of it,” said Schreiner.
That could include service in some of the state’s more rural areas. But one challenge may be how popular it is with drivers.
Uber driver Branden French said when he first started driving in Laramie, he saw an immediate demand.
“But now, the market is so flooded with drivers and there’s just not that many people utilizing it, especially throughout the daylight hours,” said French.
French said the high number of drivers in Laramie and lower demand has significantly impacted his pay. Time will only tell how well the service both catches on and remains popular in state.New Delhi, March 4: The father of the Delhi gang-rape victim today said people should see the documentary, India's Daughter, because it "holds up a mirror to our society".
The film features an interview with one of the rapists in which he makes outrageous comments and assertions. Delhi police had yesterday obtained a restraint order from a magistrate on uploading, transmitting and publishing the interview.
"What the documentary shows is the truth. It holds up a mirror to our society. It's not about this rapist, it is a general statement on what kind of people we create in our society. People in India should see this documentary and know these men," Badri Nath Singh told The Telegraph. Singh gave his consent to this newspaper to name him in this report.
The father's statement came against a backdrop of a furore over how Mukesh Singh, the convict on death row, could be interviewed in jail. The backlash soon turned towards the film itself with several people contending that the rapist's sick mindset should not be aired.
However, several students, activists and writers from abroad are criticising the decision to stop the broadcast of the BBC documentary on Indian channels.
Snigdha Singh, a 19-year-old, feels the documentary should have been aired. "I have been groped, teased and abused many times. I have been asked to keep quiet - take it, forget it - by my mother, father and even my abuser. I wish I could talk about it. I wish India talks about the men who do it to us," she said.
Retired Delhi University professor Gopa Bharadwaj, who specialised in psychology of gender, said banning the documentary from being aired on Indian channels was like hiding from reality.
"Mukesh Singh's comments on rape are representative of the voice of the general people in India. Most Indians - men and women - have this mentality. By banning the film, India is telling the world that we are hypocrites. We cannot accept the stark reality of India or deal with it," she said.
"The documentary and what Mukesh says is being silenced because he is a rapist and his 'voice' embarrasses India. Instead of banning the documentary, it should have been aired and then widely debated, discussed in every school and college in the country," Bharadwaj added.
A tweet by Pune resident Manudev Jain said not airing the documentary was an "insult" to the victim.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer K.V. Dhananjay said the government's decision to ban the documentary was a "knee-jerk reaction" and done in "haste".
"The persons involved can be penalised for shooting the film without permission, but how can the film be banned on that premise, especially if it is done in public interest? In fact, this film validates the argument of the government in court during the trial where it had argued that the rapists were cold-blooded killers. The film also reflects that. It is sad that the government does not seem to have given any thought to these aspects before asking for a wholesale ban."
He added: "If anybody should be complaining, it should be the rapist on the ground that this film would diminish his chance of success in the pending appeals."
Women's rights activist Kavita Krishnan said she wasn't against the airing of the documentary because it tarnished India's image but because of the tendency of the global campaign to say that rape is an Indian problem.
"Rape and rape culture are global problems; there are millions of Mukesh Singhs in every country, including India. What we're saying is that it doesn't help Indian women to bypass or short-cut the legal appeals process and replace it by a mob trial by media," she wrote on her Facebook page.
Krishnan, in another write-up, said: "Reflecting on the interviews, I think about other instances where terrible acts of brutality have been justified by their perpetrators, almost boastfully, for an audience."
Paris-based columnist Ingrid Therwath, who acknowledged that there was a "post-colonial hangover" in the way non-western countries are portrayed in western countries, said "censorship will not prevent crimes" but added that it was "very difficult" for her to comment as she had not seen the documentary.
"But I think that there can be a value in presenting the testimonies of criminals if the purpose is to inform and expose the rape culture. But, of course, the difficulty of making such testimonies public is that you can give these ideas publicity," she said in an email.
Feminist writer Emer O'Toole said banning the documentary was "illiberal" and an "impediment to freedom of expression".
"Without having seen the documentary, I agree in principle that Indian people should have access to it. We need to educate people. But how the rapist's opinions are framed is very important," she said in an email reply from Canada.
O'Toole added that the trend of belittling discussions on rape was a worldwide phenomenon.
"Discussions of rape culture are consistently belittled. One in five female university students in the US are raped, only 1% of the rapists are punished, and universities habitually try to cover things up and smooth things over rather than tarnish their expensively cultivated brands," she said.
"There are whole communities and cultures of protecting and sympathising with rapists while silencing, blaming and disbelieving their victims. Yes, there needs to be more public debate. Yes, we need to expose rapists for what they are: ordinary men, with ordinary opinions about women, who continue to do what continues to be a heart-breakingly ordinary crime," she said.Terror Prisoners' Facebook Fun Hamas and Fatah terrorists are able to freely use the internet, thanks to the smartphones they smuggle into their cells, a report in Ma'ariv says. David Lev,
Flash90 Terrorist Prisoners (illustrative) The term “country club prison” is usually associated with the terms of imprisonment for non-violent white-collar criminals – but in Israel, it's the hardened terrorists who do “easy time,” at least when it comes to communicating with the outside world. While garden-variety miscreants are isolated from society during their jail terms, Hamas and Fatah terrorists are able to take advantage of the best the internet has to offer, thanks to the smartphones they smuggle into their cells – and which, they say, prison officials know about, but ignore, in order to ensure “industrial quiet” and avoid unrest among inmates.
A report in Ma'ariv Tuesday describes how Arab terrorists in Israeli prisons for murder and terrorism communicate via cellphone with friends and relatives on a daily basis. The phones they use all have internet connections, and by using the browsers they come equipped with, terrorists manage Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even “order in” supplies from those who come to visit them.
One terrorist, for example, who is serving three life sentences for organizing a suicide bomber attack in Be'ersheva, told Ma'ariv reporter Amit Cohen about his online adventures. Among other things, he posts photos from his prison cell to his social media accounts, and has taken “group photos” with fellow terrorist prisoners and posted those as well. One terrorist was able to listen in to his father's funeral via cellphone, and others have garnered hundreds of “likes” from Facebook users, who know exactly with whom they are connecting, since the terrorists do not hesitate to use their real names. One prisoner even posted a photo of a “banquet” he and his pals conducted within prison walls, using supplies they apparently got from a visitor, who supplied them with fare far better than they could expect from the prison kitchen.
Perhaps most disturbing, the Ma'ariv article says, are the interviews the terrorists conduct on a regular basis with Arab media. Some conduct short audio interviews, but in order to avoid undue attention, it has become more popular of late to conduct Facebook interviews, where they simply type in their responses to questions.
In order to preserve their “rights,” the terrorists have taken upon themselves not to use their devices for activity that would endanger Israeli security – such as organizing terrorist attacks – the prisoners told Cohen. “The prison authorities know that we have these devices,” one of the prisoners told Cohen. “We have a silent agreement with them. They turn a blind eye, as long as we do not use the devices for activity against Israeli civilians or the IDF.” Prison officials, in turn, get a more cooperative population that does not want to lose its benefit.
In response, the Prisons Service denied any knowledge of any deals. “The Service has been conducting a war against the smuggling of smartphones into prisons using advanced search tactics, technological innovations, and disciplinary measures,” the Service said in a statement. “To the best of our knowledge, these allegations are certainly wildly exaggerated, and the charges of 'turning a blind eye' to the phenomenon are patently false.”
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“Look out Manatee County, these ladies are coming back for more!” Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT, said in a statement. “These strong-willed, hilarious women represent the diverse voices this network is all about. “Claws” has certainly struck a chord with audiences and continues to attract new viewers each week.”
Mid-way through its first season, “Claws” reaches a multi-platform audience of 6.3 million viewers per episode across TNT’s linear, digital, mobile and on-demand platforms, averaging 1.1 million adults 18-49 in linear Live + 7. The series is ranking as cable’s #4 new drama with adults 18-49 and as cable’s #4 most socially engaging primetime dramas.
Coming from Warner Horizon Scripted television, “Claws” follows the rise of those working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County, where it isn’t all polish and pretty colors. The series stars Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, Jenn Lyon, Jack Kesy, Kevin Rankin, Jason Antoon, with Harold Perrineau and Dean Norris. The series is executive-produced by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois and director Howard Deutch. Series creator Eliot Laurence serves as co-executive producer. “Claws” is produced by Jones and McCormack’s Le Train Train, in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television and Turner’s Studio T.
New episodes of “Claws” premiere across TNT platforms Sundays at 9 p.m.Producer-director Eva Orner’s documentary Chasing Asylum is a searing indictment of successive Australian governments’ policies which have banished thousands of asylum seekers to two detention camps on remote Pacific islands and Cambodia.
The Los Angeles-based Australian filmmaker is fiercely critical of both major political parties- the ruling Liberal/ National Party coalition government and the Labor opposition- for insisting that no refugee who arrives by boat will ever be allowed to settle in Australia.
But she hopes her film, which has its world premiere in Toronto on April 28 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, will prompt Australians to demand the scrapping of the mandatory detention camps on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and the Republic of Nauru.
“I hope this film helps to educate and galvanize people to stand up and say this is unacceptable and to pressure the government to change its policies,” she told Forbes on the line from New York. After we spoke Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced the center would close after its Supreme Court ruled it was illegal and unconstitutional. In response, Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he would continue discussions with the PNG government to "resolve these matters" but insisted none of its detainees would be settled in Australia.
Ordinary Aussies are likely to be shocked at the documentary's footage clandestinely filmed during riots at the Manus and Nauru camps, which resulted in beatings and the death of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati. The media is banned from both centers. In the midst of filming the Australian government passed the Australian Border Force Act, which made it a crime, punishable by two years’ imprisonment, for whistle-blowers to speak publicly.
“ How can we be a democracy when the government outlaws speaking out to protect people’s safety? ” she asks. “I feel the same way about the policy of secrecy of the camps. Why can’t journalists go there? Our taxpayers’ money pays for the camps.”
Orner credits a number of people who worked at the detention camps, including a doctor, security supervisor and former Salvation Army volunteers, for bravely speaking to her of their often harrowing experiences before the whistle-blower legislation was passed.
“Those are the real heroes of this story,” she says. “Every whistle-blower I spoke to was seriously damaged from their time working in the camps. They all have varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder. We should be deeply ashamed of what we are putting our young people through by adhering to this policy.”
No current or previous Australian Prime Minister or ministers responsible for immigration and border protection agreed to be interviewed except former PM Malcolm Fraser, with whom she met just before his death. Orner scornfully describes those politicians as “cowards who hide behind their policies of secrecy.”
The doc cites some sobering statistics. The Australian government spends A$1.2 billion ($913 million) a year to maintain the two centers, which works out at $A500,000 per detainee. The government paid the Cambodian government $A40 million and a further $A15 million to resettle asylum seekers: just five people have agreed to do so.
To finance the production Orner, an Oscar winner as the producer of Alex Gibney’s 2007 Afghanistan War doc Taxi To The Dark Side, initially raised $A80,000 from 1,000 people via crowdfunding site Indiegogo. That was considerably less than 10% of the budget so the balance came from charitable foundations and wealthy private investors, complete strangers who wanted to support the film.
The U.K.-based Dogwoof, which handled docs including Blackfish, Cartel Land, Dior and I, The Look of Silence and |
."
"It seemed important to explore the interactions between these two different types of plasticity to understand the computations performed by neurons in the visual area," Dr. Stryker adds. Testing the new mathematical model in an animal during experimental ODP was necessary, so the teams decided to collaborate.
The theory and experimental findings showed that fast Hebbian and slow homeostatic plasticity work together during learning, but only after each has independently assured stability on its own timescale. "The essential idea is that the fast and slow processes control separate biochemical factors," said Dr. Miller.
"Our model solves the ODP paradox and may explain in general terms how learning occurs in other areas of the brain," said Dr. Toyoizumi. "Building on our general mathematical model for learning could reveal insights into new principles of brain capacities and diseases."The San Diego Chargers parted ways with four players on Thursday, releasing LB Donald Butler, RB Donald Brown, LB Kavell Conner and LB Chi Chi Ariguzo.
Butler appeared in 71 games with 62 starts over six seasons in San Diego. Originally a third round pick (79th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft and a team captain in 2013, he totaled 432 tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks over his career. He recorded 54 tackles with five tackles for loss in 16 games last year while making nine starts.
Brown spent two seasons with the Bolts after a five-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts. He ran for 229 yards and one touchdown in 10 games last season after rushing for 223 yards in 2014.
Conner joined the Chargers in 2014 after four seasons with the Colts. He appeared in all 16 games with seven starts his first year in San Diego, tallying 68 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a career-high 16 special teams tackles. Conner played in 10 games last year with three starts, notching 19 tackles and two tackles for loss.City eyes Old Town Chinatown site for homeless shelter Copyright by KOIN - All rights reserved The building at 320 N.W. Hoyt St. that the city and county are looking to as a potential new space for 200 homeless people. (Lyndsey Hewitt/Portland Tribune) [ + - ] Video
PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) --- The city and county Joint Office of Homeless Services is looking at leasing a three-story building and vacant adjoining property in Old Town Chinatown for a new shelter that would be the largest in the district.
The warehouse at 320 N.W. Hoyt St. would give roof to 200 people and operate as a permanent 24-hour shelter.
The same site was previously eyed by former Mayor Charlie Hales administration for the Right 2 Dream Too homeless encampment in 2014, but was deemed too expensive to upgrade and operate as a homeless shelter.
Copyright by KOIN - All rights reserved A look at the insides of 320 N.W. Hoyt St. show that the site would clearly need many upgrades before operating as a homeless shelter. (Lyndsey Hewitt/Portland Tribune)
Copyright by KOIN - All rights reserved A look at the insides of 320 N.W. Hoyt St. show that the site would clearly need many upgrades before operating as a homeless shelter. (Lyndsey Hewitt/Portland Tribune)
According to Portland Maps, the site is owned by Alco Investment Corp., out of Seattle.
Denis Theriault, spokesman for the Joint Office of Homeless Services, said the building would still need work for this project. How much it would cost to upgrade the facility for a 200-person shelter wasn't immediately available and officials weren't ready to announce any projected opening date, pending negotiations.
"This building would need work, even if we would take it over, it'll take time to make improvements and make it habitable and fit with services," Theriault said.
But they're looking for more space.
"The Joint Office in conjunction with the city and county are looking to add another 200 shelter beds through this acquisition," said Michael Cox, Mayor Ted Wheeler's spokesman. "While nothing is final and nothing has been decided yet, we know we need additional capacity."
Theriault noted that the Hansen Shelter in East County isn't a permanent site and that this could help absorb some of the beds lost if that closes. He wasn't able to say when that shelter, located in the old Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, might close, however.
"We still need significant capacity on an ongoing, permanent basis in East County, but this is a place we could replace some of those beds," Theriault said. "We know we can't stay in Hansen long term — it's not in the shape it needs to be."
Additionally, the temporary homeless shelter that moved to the Shleifer Furniture building is still planned to close this fall.
This warehouse building on NW Hoyt is being considered by Portland and the county, as a homeless shelter. pic.twitter.com/GhoSvGT23V — Eileen Park (@EileenParkTV) August 24, 2017
At odds with the neighborhood
Prior to eyeing the Northwest Hoyt location, officials battled with the Old Town Chinatown community in using the Tuck Lung building at 140 N.W. Fourth Ave. for 100 beds, but decided not to approve a plan for that site in February. Many business owners in that area have been at odds with social service agencies for decades, taking issue with panhandling, public urination and intoxication. There are seven homeless shelters and centers in the Old Town Chinatown area alone, which concerns stakeholders. An agreement called the No Net Gain agreement was established to mitigate adding more services there.
"We had over time made an agreement... that there'd be no additional social service or shelters added to this area because we are already bearing the largest concentration in the city," said Helen Ying, chair of the Old Town Chinatown Association. "What they (the city and county) have shared with us, is that they will be working to mitigate and help improve the situation, so at this time the association is going to gather input and come to a resolution that would be beneficial for the neighborhood." She said they're not taking a stand at this time, but looking to hear from people in two upcoming forums.
The city and county still sees a need in that area despite many shelters already being concentrated there.
"We moved R2DToo. There's a lot of development going on in Old Town Chinatown, but of course homelessness will continue to be an issue in the city," Cox said. He pointed to a fire two weeks ago at 510 N.W. Third Ave in an old firehouse owned by the city, when homeless people were reportedly seen running out of the vacant building.
"So I think having folks inside a well-managed shelter is certainly preferable to that," he said.
Theriault says that the city and county has added 1,300 shelter beds at this point, up from 658 two years ago.
This new potential site, Theriault said, would likely operate similar Willamette Center at 5120 Southeast Milwaukie. Open 24 hours a day, it's open to women and couples age 18 and older, operating on a reservation basis.
The Old Town Chinatown Community Association will host two meetings on the opening of the new homeless shelter, both on Sept. 6:
• 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at University of Oregon, 70 N.W. Couch St.
• 6 to 7:30p.m. at Central City Concern Old Town Recovery Center, 33 N.W. Broadway.
The Portland Tribune is a KOIN media partner.April 9, 2013 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Malaysians soon go to the polls in state and federal elections, expected to be held on April 27. The ruling Front National, or Barisan Nasional (BN), coalition is dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and has traditionally attracted votes from the 50% of the population of Malay descent. The coalition has controlled Malaysia's parliament since the country's independence from Britain in 1957.
However, many predict that in this election BN dominance will be shaken by gains by the Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim.
The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM, Socialist Party of Malaysia) is also standing in a number of state and federal seats, seeking to retain its two sitting MPs and increase its representation of the country's working classes and poor. The party's election manifesto is below. It can also be downloaded HERE.
For more on the PSM, click HERE.by
Recently the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a recall for Farm Rich products. There have been 27 cases of E. coli that has been traced back to this brand of frozen foods. Residents of 15 different states have been confirmed to have E. coli since December 2012 after eating frozen products from this company. The states that have report this illness include Illinois, Michigan, New York, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The people that have recently been infected with E. coli have developed what is known as hemolytic uremic syndrome which is a complication of this condition that can lead to kidney failure and problems with their nervous system. The recall of Farm Rich products includes over 10 million pounds of frozen pizza, quesadillas, mozzarella bites, sandwiches, and other frozen snack products. The products that are affected were manufactured in a plant in Waycross, Georgia from July 1, 2011 until March 29, 2013. It is still being investigated exactly what foods have been infected, but the company is recalling all frozen products that may present a risk for possible contamination.
The outbreak of E. coli was first discovered in the mini pizza slices that were purchased by someone in Texas. Laboratory tests confirmed that this product was positive for STEC O121 strain of E. coli. This strain of E. coli was also positively identified in frozen quesadillas that came from the home of a person in New York.
To make a positive identification of E. coli laboratories must obtain and test a stool sample from a person who is suspected to be infected. The samples must then be sent to a public health department for confirmation. Anyone who has purchased these frozen Rich Food products should return them for a refund from the company. Anyone who has eaten the products in question should be tested for E. coli from their healthcare provider or another public health agency. These cases of E. coli are rare in foods, but every precaution is being taken to keep more people from getting sick.In my opinion (and I’m fairly certain John agrees), Doctor Who is the greatest television show of all time. It has the capability of making any idea anyone has be cool no matter how stupid it seems on paper. There is no reason Agatha Christie fighting a giant bee, finding Satan in a black hole, or Vincent van Gogh fighting a parrot-bear should be good at all. It manages the perfect balance of campiness and absolute devotion to presenting any plot as true so that they can tell any story with a certain degree of seriousness. The Daleks are perfect as the ultimate bad guy because they encapsulate this idea. There is no reason a trashcan on wheels with a toilet plunger ans an egg beater sticking out of it should be intimidating, but they are presented as so terrifying and the show is so wacky already that the viewer actually buys it.
One of my favorite parts of Doctor Who is that a lot episodes can be boiled down to an episode of Scooby Doo. It presents a traditional supernatural or historical problem like vampires or nazis. Then towards the end, The Doctor pulls the proverbial rubber mask off and reveals everything to be aliens. Then, he and the gang hop in the Mystery Mobile TARDIS and moves on to the next adventure.Image: Nokia
Last week IDC issued their Q2 2013 report for mobile phone hardware and today we received the report breaking down the figures for mobile operating systems. As you can see in the table below, Android continues it domination of the market with a 10 percent gain compared to 2012.
The IDC report shows Android with a whopping 79.3 percent of the market, iOS at 13.2 percent, Windows Phone at 3.7 percent, and BlackBerry at 2.9 percent. Readers know I am a major Windows Phone fan, but it looks like I put too much faith in BlackBerry back in February when I said BlackBerry 10 would turn things around and help BlackBerry secure that third spot. Windows Phone is on the rise, largest year-over-year increase among top five platforms, and I now think it will stay ahead of BlackBerry and may even pass up the iPhone as predicted by some. It is still early for BB10, so we will have to see how things shake out at the end of the year.
I still consider the best smartphone I have ever used, but see they don't even show up in the top five Android manufacturer list. The top five Android vendors are Samsung, LG, Lenovo, Huawei, and ZTE. HTC is included in the broad Others category, which does make up 37.5 percent of the market.
As expected, Nokia clearly dominates the Windows Phone world with 81.6 percent of the market. Samsung, HTC, and Huawei follow far behind. To get all the benefits of Windows Phone, you really should buy a Nokia device and you can find one across the entire price spectrum.Joseph
Querido falangito.. eres un meretrcico desastre y no sé qué escrotos pintas en Venezuela, aunque tengo una ligera sospecha y es que tú no has ido a buscar nada que no existe mas que en tu codicia, aire de grandeza estúpido y chulesco fantasmerio que por muy preootente que seas no es real... al contrario tu camello se ha dado cuenta que estás muy mal y ya no re vende … por eso al pillarte tan cerca de Colombia.. que sí que son tus amigos… tú has ido a por ester metílico de la benzoilecgonina. … para cambiar de camello has usado lo se la libertad esa que ladran mientras buscas algo contra Pablo o podemos...lo que sea… que al carecer de programa político, económico, social y medioambiental... así como de mortalidad es tu oportunidad única de no ser aún más insignificante políticamente hablando... me baso en la cantidad desmesurada de gilipolleces que puedes decir en diez minutos …como por ejemplo que estás en un país que no tiene libertad, que la gente no puede hablar?y tú sin embargo les insultas… bilipendias y faltas al respeto en su tierra.. Aún siendo extranjero..tu que presides un partidito de corruptos que le roba a sus propios afiliados que eres la cuarta fuerza política del Estado Españistan.. un don nadie... y sin embargo vas a insultar a un gobierno en su propio país y te dejan rajar por esa boquita..tú y la mujer del asesino este que está en la cárcel por haber provocado la muerte de inocentes por alentar la violencia... por codicia... un golpista facha como tu que solo quiere poder... que le pregunten a la esposa de una de las víctimas …ahora viuda por culpa de tu supuesto preso político. Quien siendo la verdadera víctima debe aguantar que se victimice al culpable de la pérdida de la vida de su esposo... esta señora que se lo dijo a esta otra rubia oxigenada.. señora a la cara…. la esposa victimista del màrtir.. Però ese asesino es culpable de promover un golpe de estado..de ir contra la democracia… su marido es culpable de asesinato, porque responsable civil subsidiario de las muertes causadas por su codicia..este caso de un asesino que es el que promueve la violencia por ansiedad de poder... es el responsable civil subsidiario de más de 40 muertes …este hombre que según tú es un preso político …porque tú has ido a rajar… a mentira tras mentira hacer heroicidad de la mezquita sed de poder de este reo y su esposa que venden a su madre por el poder.. La verdad yo no soy tan democrático.. Yo no te permitiría esa desfachatez siendo un representante de ese país... y menos que humillaras a las verdaderas víctimas haciendo demagogia y hacer mártir al asesino... llamame democrático... pero un preso político es aquel que se encarcela por sus ideas.. como Arnaldo Otegui... reconocimiento que hizo el mismo que le condena...no por un acto delictivo… tu héroe es un asesino... un delincuente común... eso no es por sus ideas… es por hechos que son delitos.. Además con resultado de muerte... yo lo te permitiría esa falta de respeto y tú menos. porque a ti no se te puede ni hablar en contra tuya o no darte la razón … que todo el que no te da la razón es eta.. O como poco un radical extremo. … y tú les pones a caer de un burro …y no solo que te dejan bajar sino que te permiten seguir en el país …te tratan con respeto..les has ido a insultar y a darte aires de grandeza... incluso hablas en nombre del estado español … machote… que estés el presidente del cuarto partido … cuarto... y ze crees representante legal del estado... bajate los humos... que el ester metilico de la benzoilecgonina te está dejando muy mal.. poco menos que te autoproclamas Dios de la libertad... un tio que fue con un partido nazi que se llamaba asi presisamente libertad..manchas la palabra al usarla... tu cara dura sin embargo da para dos.. Ya que no se limpian el culo… porque tú demagogia te hace sentir que realmente les tienes que hacer ver que no hay papel higiénico...y te mofas diciendo que te lo decía el pasaje que traía maletas de papel... y apenas había sido admitida tu repugnante intromisión en la hermosa república... de verdad nos crees imbéciles??? O és que te piensas muy listo?? Porque inteligente quiero creer que no te creerás...listillo... y vas en popa.. hijo de meretrcico proceder...te digo con todo lo que te pasas y no te da vergüenza... creo que es que no la has conocido... pretendes dar lecciones... sean del mundo de yupi o de tu enrevesada mente… pero a mí no me la das… tú quieres buscar culpables que sí en Podemos o ya sea en Satanás ya sea en el ano de un vecino que tuvo hemorroides una vez y se dio crema al lado de tu casa… todo menos reconocer que mientes …todo menos reconocer que estás utilizando a un asesino como víctima por tu propia codicia…todo menos reconocer que robas a los afiliados de tu partido.. porque aún no teniendo ningún poder y siendo un don nadie te crees en tus Dios en tus mundos de Yupi..no eres tan inteligente …de hecho eres un listillo nada más… te lo repito … ten más respeto a la República Bolivariana de Venezuela...respetanos a los ciudadanos y deja de insultar a otros partidos …quién es el presidente de la cuarta fuerza política corrupta de este país eres un Partido Popular hacendado.. heil falangito. …cambia de camello... en serio. … y aun siendo verdad. … digamos que PIENSO que es así. PRESUNTAMENTE... por si te de por hacerme filo etarra naziirani.. O me financiación viene de Jupiter...Gabon ta Ondo pasa tente…. la veritat es presumpteAdd Senator Dean Heller of Nevada to the ranks of Republican political candidates distancing themselves from Mitt Romney and his comments that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government and view themselves as victims.
“I have a very different view of the world, having grown up with a father who was an auto mechanic and a mother who was a school cook and five brothers and sisters,” said Mr. Heller, who is locked in a difficult campaign to be elected to the Senate seat he was appointed to.
Mr. Heller told a story of his father, who he said had been laid up after back surgery and dependent on assistance for the six to eight weeks he was out of work.
“I think the government has a responsibility,” he said. “One of the responsibilities of the federal government is a safety net.”
Mr. Heller joined Senator Scott P. Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, and Linda McMahon, a wrestling executive running for the Senate in Connecticut, who have out of their way to distance themselves from Mr. Romney’s comments, captured in a leaked cellphone video from a fund-raiser in May.
Reaction to the tape has been divided between conservatives and lawmakers in safe Republican districts, who have generally applauded Mr. Romney’s sentiments, and Republican candidates in swing states who have run from them.When the Auld Sod Exporting Company started trading several years ago, the idea of selling bags of native soil to nostalgic Americans was scoffed at.
However, customers are far from novelty-seekers wishing for something on the mantelpiece to remind them of their heritage, but rather people who wish to be buried on Irish soil, or at least a little bit of it.
The amazing idea took off five years ago when Tipperary-based Pat Burke attended a funeral in America. "Pat Burke was regularly asked by a family friend to bring a piece of the auld sod over to America for him to sprinkle on the caskets of recently departed loved ones; which is quite a tradition in the States," explains managing director John Beckett.
Out of an old and important Irish-American tradition arose an unusual business opportunity. In due course when funeral directors heard about The Auld Sod Trading Company's unusual exports they started placing regular orders for bags of Irish soil as part of their range of services.
However, it wasn't all plain sailing; the US Department of Agriculture was wary of foreign soil microbes being imported into the United States.
This hurdle necessitated the rigorous sanitising of the soil before the US would grant an importation licence: "We have a specially patented process for cleansing the soil and we are now the only people in the world who can export Irish soil to the USA. The soil, which is sourced in Tipperary, is dark brown, feels really nice and smells beautiful," explains Beckett.
Apart from funerals, the soil is used for sprinkling on the foundations of a new house or more unusually as wedding confetti.
The product, which comes in a presentation canister, contains 1lb of soil and retails for $15 (€11.50). So far the company has exported tens of thousands of canisters to the USA and Canada.
Sunday Indo BusinessA shocking number of babies are testing positive for marijuana use.
Baby wash, baby shampoo, bedtime bath soap -- all seemingly innocent products used in nurseries every day. But scientists found them to be the culprit behind a spike in false positive marijuana results in baby's urine, according to the journal Clinical Biochemistry.
The study found it had to do with how the baby's urine is captured. Those tests usually get more than just urine; they were capturing the soap residue on the baby's skin.
Scientists say none of these soaps actually contain any marijuana, just that something in the soap is triggering the false positive.
Scientists ultimately decided this was an important study to let hospitals know that when a test comes back positive for marijuana they should do a blood test, too.
Fox 5 News reached out to Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and CVS, the companies that make these products.
CVS said "CVS Night-Time Baby Bath does not contain THC. This is an issue with the type of testing being used, not our product."
For more stories go to myfoxny.com
Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino
Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatinoHe has ridiculed dead British soldiers, has lavished praise on Islamic State and supports introducing Sharia law in the UK.
ANJEM Choudary knows his lines. He is candid about that. Sitting in a relatively smart café in Ilford, Essex, where the waiting staff know his name, he recounts his various TV experiences and waxes lyrical about the view from Canary Wharf, where he recently filmed an interview.
‘I don’t think there is a question you could ask that I haven’t answered 50 or 100 times,’ he says, sitting in a high-quality dark blue thwab, or robe, with a neatly trimmed greying beard and a pungent smell of aftershave.
This is jihadi public relations. Lesson one: Give them what they want.
‘I would love to go and live there,’ he says of the Islamic State, ‘if the British government would give me back my passport. People are flocking to the Islamic State, people are loving it there. You can see the parties in the streets in Raqqa and Ramadi.’
There’s the headline: British cleric says he wants to join the Islamic State. And, of course, it is doubly effective since a huge majority of people in Britain would arguably love it if Choudary packed his bags for Syria.
This is a man who has publicly ridiculed dead British soldiers, has praised Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, and has defended crucifixion and stoning to death.
A former lawyer, Choudary has said he wants to see Sharia law in the UK, his various Islamist movements have been systematically banned by the government, while he was once open about supporting British Muslims who want to go and fight for Islam in foreign climes (before the 2000 Terrorism Act made that illegal).
He believes the latest raft of counter-terrorism legislation being mooted by the Home Secretary is aimed squarely at him. ‘Theresa May was dying to say my name on Radio 4,’ he said.
But the police have his passport as part of bail conditions (he was arrested recently on suspicion of belonging to an illegal organisation), so Choudary is, for now, immune from having to make good on his pledge to leave his Essex home for the Islamic caliphate.
The question, of course, is why he never went before – for over a decade, wars against the soldiers and the state he claims to hate have wracked the Middle East. What was holding him back then?
‘I believe you can support your brothers and sisters verbally and financially. If I really believed it was an ideological obligation to travel abroad and wage jihad, I would do it. I had many opportunities,’ he says, quoting the Quran and the Prophet Mohammed’s demand to fight the infidels with both your body and your tongue.
The father of four is less rehearsed when asked about his children. He has said he actively supports Britons like the three teenage girls who left the UK for Syria in February. Why wouldn’t they want to go and live in an Islamic State? But what if it was his one of his daughters – how would he feel then?
‘I wouldn’t have a problem if my family wanted to go,’ he says, and rattles off a few more lines about the inherent attractions of Sharia law – one of which is not having to see ‘scantily clad women on billboards’.
Later, he talks glowingly of his son (‘An A-star student’, he says) – so what if his 17-year-old, his eldest, wanted to go and fight for IS?
He stiffens. ‘It is difficult to deal with hypotheticals. Once I start saying “Oh yeah, my son should go and fight”, then Social Services are going to be down here.’
But back to the lessons. It is not just giving them what they want, it is generating heat. That is why Choudary appears on Fox News opposite Pamela Geller, the virulently anti-Muslim polemicist, in a joint interview with Fox anchor Sean Hannity.
Choudary is an educated, eloquent and even persuasive speaker who knows his own brand of fundamentalist Islam well. He is approachable and engaging. His eyes light up when he talks about his children.
So why, instead of espousing hate and giving the far right and other elements in Britain fuel for their Islamophobic crusade, does he not use those skills for good? After all, you cannot incite hatred of Muslims and then complain that it exists, can you?
‘The thing with the media is that they are not interested in that. They are interested in soundbites. The Sun and the Daily Mail are the most popular newspapers,’ he says.
‘We’ve done quite a long interview and you and I know that you’ll print those aspects that you think are worthy of public consumption and you will propagate – whether you like it or not – those very same misconceptions. The way I look at it, you have to quote in order to attack.’
Does he not think that he courts controversy? ‘Of course,’ he says. He claims that within the Muslim community in Britain, he is well liked. He claims to have been able to count on one hand the number of times anyone has stopped him in the street and criticised him for the abusive and insulting things that he has made his career saying.
He likes to present himself as a campaigner, someone who opposes laws that threaten to close down radical mosques and jail those who return from Syria and Iraq. He claims that, despite a common perception otherwise, he never condoned the attacks on 11 September in New York or on 7 July in London, he simply said he understood why they had happened and did not believe they were un-Islamic.
‘I didn’t condone them. What I did is say
that they had juristic justification. There are people that justify them on the divine text. I can’t say that they don’t have justification because they quote the same verses in the hadith – but they understand them differently,’ he says.
‘For me to say that they have no justification would be insincere. I can say that I don’t believe that it is the strongest opinion. If people followed what I say, they wouldn’t do things like that. I’ve made my point clear.’
We talk about the horrific videos that have been published by IS of beheadings and murders; does he not feel disgusted when he watches them? Wouldn’t that be a human reaction?
He says that as human beings, we have become too sensitive to violence. But Choudary has never been to a war zone, never seen violence up close.
He condones capital punishment, saying that it enforces the rule of law, but would he be able to enforce it if he was holding the knife?
Google Choudary’s name and you will see a different side of the infamous preacher who battles against TV pundits and tweets his support for IS to his near 30,000 Twitter followers. Pictures abound of “Andy” Choudary, the University of Southampton student who was, by most accounts, a bit of a party animal. He says he is not ashamed of his past, pointing out most people make mistakes, that it has made him a more devoted Muslim.
As we finish, Choudary begins talking about his father, a Pakistani stallholder who traded at Deptford market in south-east London in the 1980s and 1990s. He speaks warmly of escorting his father to work every day bar one, when he was busy and so his mother accompanied him instead. That day, his father dropped dead right there in the middle of the market. The guard is down, but only momentarily.
Then he is off again. The well-rehearsed rhetoric flows smoothly. Choudary is back to being the radical.
/129This article is about practices and beliefs in relation to various foods and potential foods. For more discussion on religious views, see Unclean animals
Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and insects, which may relate to a disgust response being more often associated with meats than plant-based foods.[1] Some prohibitions are specific to a particular part or excretion of an animal, while others forgo the consumption of plants or fungi.
Some food prohibitions can be defined as rules, codified by religion or otherwise, about which foods, or combinations of foods, may not be eaten and how animals are to be slaughtered or prepared. The origins of these prohibitions are varied. In some cases, they are thought to be a result of health considerations or other practical reasons;[2] in others, they relate to human symbolic systems.[3]
Some foods may be prohibited during certain religious periods (e.g., Lent), at certain stages of life (e.g., pregnancy), or to certain classes of people (e.g., priests), even though the food is otherwise permitted. On a comparative basis, food taboos seem to make no sense at all as what may be declared unfit for one group may be perfectly acceptable to another. Whether scientifically correct or not, often food taboos are meant to protect the human individual, but there are numerous other reasons for their existence. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Food taboos can help utilizing a resource more efficiently, but when applied to only a subsection of the community, a food taboo can also lead to the monopolization of a food item by those exempted. A food taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways, aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".[4]
Causes [ edit ]
Various religions forbid the consumption of certain types of food. For example, Judaism prescribes a strict set of rules, called Kashrut, regarding what may and may not be eaten, and notably forbidding the mixing of meat with dairy products. Islam has similar laws, dividing foods into haram (forbidden) and halal (permitted). Jains often follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism. Hindus do not eat beef, and some Hindus apply the concept of ahimsa (non-violence) to their diet and consider vegetarianism as ideal, and practice forms of vegetarianism.[5] In some cases, the process of preparation rather than the food itself comes under scrutiny. For instance, in early medieval Christianity, certain uncooked foods were of dubious status: a penitential ascribed to Bede outlined a (mild) penance for those who ate uncooked foods, and Saint Boniface wrote to Pope Zachary (in a letter preserved in the Boniface correspondence, no. 87) asking him how long bacon would have to be cured to be proper for consumption.[6] The Kapu system was used in Hawaii until 1819.
Aside from formal rules, there are cultural taboos against the consumption of some animals. Within a given society, some meats will be considered to be not for consumption that are outside the range of the generally accepted definition of a foodstuff. Novel meats, i.e. animal-derived food products not familiar to an individual or to a culture, generally provoke a disgust reaction, which may be expressed as a cultural taboo.[7] For example, although dog meat is eaten, in certain circumstances, in Korea, Vietnam, and China, it is considered inappropriate as a food in Western countries. Likewise, horse meat is rarely eaten in the English-speaking world, although it is part of the national cuisine of countries as widespread as Kazakhstan, Japan, Italy, and France.
Sometimes food prohibitions enter national or local law, as with the ban on cattle abattoirs in most of India, and horse slaughter in the United States. Even after reversion to Chinese rule, Hong Kong has not lifted its ban on supplying meat from dogs and cats, imposed during British colonial rule.
Environmentalism, ethical consumerism and other activist movements are giving rise to new prohibitions and eating guidelines. A fairly recent addition to cultural food prohibitions is the meat and eggs of endangered species or animals that are otherwise protected by law or international treaty. Examples of such protected species include some species of whales, sea turtles, and migratory birds. Similarly, sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification discourage the consumption of certain seafoods due to unsustainable fishing. Organic certification prohibits certain synthetic chemical inputs during food production, or genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge. The Fair Trade movement and certification discourage the consumption of food and other goods produced in exploitative working conditions. Other social movements generating taboos include Local Food and The 100-Mile Diet, both of which encourage abstinence from non-locally produced food, and veganism, in which adherents endeavour not to use or consume animal products of any kind.
Prohibited foods [ edit ]
Amphibians [ edit ]
A bag of frog legs from Vietnam.
Judaism strictly forbids the consumption of amphibians such as frogs. The restriction is described in Leviticus 11:29-30 and 42-43. Derivative chemical products from amphibians, as well as with other proscribed animals, must be avoided.[8]
In other cultures, foods such as frog legs are treasured as delicacies, and the animals may be raised commercially in some circumstances.[9] However, environmental concerns over the endangerment of frogs, even possibly pushing them into extinction, due to overconsumption has prompted legal action in nations such as France to limit their use in food. The French Ministry of Agriculture began taking measures to protect native frog species in 1976, and efforts have continued since. Mass commercial harvesting of the animals was banned in 1980, though international imports as well as private, individual hunting and cooking remains legal in many areas.[9]
Bats [ edit ]
In Judaism, the Deuteronomic Code |
are mysterious by nature. While investigating a case involving a shape-shifter on Earth-2, their Olivia and Lincoln get frozen out by other DOD operatives, and after our Lincoln insists that the ‘shifters have been emerging from Earth-2’s Fringe division, they begin to question whether their Walter Bishop is the good guy they’ve always been led to believe he is.
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Even beyond that, this episode raises questions about what sets people apart, even when they’re wearing the same skin (and have the same handprints, as with our two Agent Lees). The Walter of Earth-1 delivers a heartbreaking monologue about why he can’t help Peter—because the last time he tried to “help,” he killed another man’s son, drove his wife to suicide, and started a war between universes. But he says this while looking in a mirror, which gives Peter the idea to seek out the other Walter, even though there’s a strong possibility that Walternate will have him killed. Peter wants to tap the intellect that he knows the two Walters largely share. But are their hearts essentially the same as well, whatever the personality differences?
“Back To Where You’ve Never Been” moves from one nail-biting sequence to the next, all sprung from this idea of identity and trust. We see an ordinary Earth-2 bus depot terrorized by a multi-faced freak who can run up the sides of walls and vehicles. We see our Lincoln inadvertently alert his counterpart and bring down the heat when he reports his ShowMe missing. We see Peter visit with this Earth-2 version of his mother, who recognizes him immediately and keeps him safe until he can finally connect with Walternate. Throughout, Peter’s very existence seems perilously fragile. He gets shot at, he gets shackled. Even when he’s talking to Walternate, his “father” walks towards him holding some strange device in his hand. Here in this reality where there are so many versions of people, there’s still only one Peter. And he’s in danger of being eradicated.
Instead, Walternate shoots Brandon in the face. Just when Peter’s accusing the Earth-2 Dr. Bishop of violating the accords with Earth-1 and restarting the shape-shifter program, Walternate reveals that his own right-hand man is a shape-shifter, and apparently has been working behind his back with the still-alive David Robert “Mr.” Jones and Colonel Broyles to orchestrate a covert anti-Earth-1program.
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So instead of complaining that we didn’t get to see “Back To Where You’ve Never Been” last November, let’s give thanks that we haven’t spent the last couple of months waiting out the various cliffhangers that end this episode. On Earth-2, Walternate and Peter have an uneasy alliance, with the former looking to deal with the dissension in his ranks and Peter looking for help in getting back to his proper timeline. The Earth-2 Olivia and Lincoln are following their suspicions, though perhaps in the wrong direction. The Earth-1 Lincoln is in the belly of the beast, with little to lean on. And the Earth-1 Olivia has just heard from a wounded Observer that no matter how he crunches the numbers, “You have to die.” In other words, it ain’t all chocolate chip banana pancakes in Fringeville right now.
Grade: A-
Stray observations:
Tonight’s Fringe was co-written by David Fury and Graham Roland, and directed by Jeannot Szwarc. Not too many weak link on the Fringe creative team these days, is there?
It should’ve been obvious that Peter was in a fantasy sequence at the top of the show, because why else would Walter have been wearing pants?
One example of how the months off hurt the flow of the story a little: When Peter goes to see Olivia at her apartment, where she’s taking the day off from work because of her “migraines,” I initially thought this was a subtle callback to Nina’s nocturnal medical experiments on Olivia. Then I looked back at my notes from this season and realized that it wasn’t meant to be subtle at all. We had just found out what Nina’s been doing to Olivia in the closing minutes of the last episode that aired. Watched in sequence, only about five minutes of screen-time elapse between Nina’s attack and Peter going to see the still-groggy Olivia.
The pinwheel with the metallic qualities is spinning against the flow of air. I wonder if that’s a clue to anything.
Didn’t notice anything new and strange about life on Earth-2, unless it’s supposed to be odd that their bus terminals have hot tea machines instead of hot coffee machines.
Apparently, this E1 Olivia doesn’t know that she has the power to cross over any time she wants. And Peter doesn’t have time to explain it to her. (Or maybe that’s just how little he cares about her, that he doesn’t even try.)
So many useful features in the new Nissan!
There were a lot of little moments I enjoyed this week, but none more than Olivia fiddling with the Earth-1 Lincoln Lee’s hair, to make him look more like his counterpart. Such an affectionate gesture, and in keeping with this episode’s whole doppelgänger theme.
Just when I was getting excited about having Fringe back, I have to leave it behind for a week so that I can visit my own personal Earth-2: the Sundance Film Festival. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of… well, that’s still up in the air. But there are three exemplary candidates for the gig, and each one of them has my support. Plus, almost every time I take a week off from Fringe, the show delivers one of its best episodes. So, fingers crossed….French President Francois Hollande said he learnt of De Margerie's death with'shock and sadness'
MOSCOW: The CEO of French oil giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, died in a plane crash at a Moscow airport late Monday when the private jet he was using struck a snowplough on takeoff.
Russian investigators said Tuesday the driver of the snow-clearing machine was drunk and that his actions, along with “an error by air traffic controllers”, appeared to be to blame for the crash.
Total, Europe’s third largest oil company, confirmed the death of its 63-year-old boss known affectionately as the “Big Moustache” because of his distinctive facial hair and said its board would call an emergency meeting.
The group’s stocks slid 2.0% at start of trading Tuesday on the accident, but then quickly recovered.
While admired by the industry for expanding Total’s activities around the world, he was also often in controversy for helming Total when it was embroiled in judicial woes including the UN “oil-for-food” scandal.
French President Francois Hollande said he learnt of De Margerie’s death with “shock and sadness” while Prime Minister Manuel Valls said France had lost “a great captain of industry and a patriot”.
Condolences and tributes poured in from other political leaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin described De Margerie as “a true friend of our country, whom we will remember with the greatest warmth”.
Just hours before the crash, De Margerie had met Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at his country residence outside Moscow to discuss foreign investment in Russia, the Vedomosti business daily reported.
In a statement confirming the tragedy, Total said De Margerie “died just after 10 pm (Paris time) (2000 GMT) on October 20 in a private plane crash at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, following a collision with a snow removal machine.”
“Four people were found dead at the scene of the accident, including three crew members and Christophe de Margerie.”
The Vnukovo airport said in a statement that the Falcon Dassault business aviation jet crashed as it prepared to take off for Paris.
Visibility was 350 metres at the time of the accident, the airport said, as Moscow saw its first snowfall of the winter on Monday.
The airport said its rescue services were sent to the scene and “immediately started extinguishing a fire that had broken out”.
Experts from the Interstate Aviation Committee, which investigates all Russian air accidents, and officials from Russia’s federal aviation agency have launched a probe into the accident.
The investigating committee said in a statement that “it has been established that the driver of the snowplough was in a drunken state”.
It added that a primary preliminary theory was that “an error by air traffic controllers and the actions of the snowplough driver” were to blame.
The possible role of “bad weather and errors by pilots will also be checked,” it said.
The plane’s black boxes have been recovered, airport spokesperson Yelena Krylova told the RIA Novosti news agency.
Moscow transport investigators said in a statement they had opened a criminal probe into breaches of aviation safety rules causing multiple deaths through negligence, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years.
France said Tuesday it will dispatch three experts to join in the investigation.
The airport was closed temporarily to clear up the scene of the accident but resumed normal operations at 1:30 am (2130 GMT Monday).
De Margerie had been chief executive of Total, Europe’s third largest oil company after BP and Shell, since 2007, and spent his entire career there.
A descendant of a family of diplomats and business leaders, he was the grandson of Pierre Taittinger, founder of the eponymous champagne and the luxury goods dynasty.
Married with three children and highly regarded within the oil industry, he was known for his good humour.
De Margerie had taken over the helm of Total at a time when the company was embroiled in several legal woes.
Shortly after his nomination, he was handcuffed and taken into police custody for more than 24 hours over corruption claims in deals with Iran.
He also had to defend Total against allegations of corruption during the UN “oil-for-food” programme in Iraq.
De Margerie admitted the claims had taken their toll on the company. “Most people, when they speak of Total do not know what it is, but know it is not good,” he said in 2009.
Total said in September that work on constructing a new natural gas liquefaction plant in northwestern Siberia was continuing despite Western sanctions buffeting Russia over its role in the conflict in Ukraine.
The group also announced in May it had signed a deal with Russia’s second biggest oil company Lukoil to explore and develop shale oil deposits in western Siberia. But De Margerie told the Financial Times last month that the project had been halted due to the EU and US sanctions.
Read full storyBy Kathryn Doyle
Reuters Health - Repeated use of a certain class of drugs for gastric reflux or peptic ulcers was linked with a higher risk for dementia among patients in Germany, researchers say.
The drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), include lansoprazole (Prevacid), esomeprazole (Nexium), and omeprazole (Prilosec), all manufactured by AstraZeneca.
The current study can only provide a statistical association between PPI prescriptions and occurrence of dementia in the elderly. It can’t prove that PPIs actually cause dementia, said senior author Britta Haenisch of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn, Germany.
“In our analysis we focused on long-term regular PPI prescription for at least 18 months,” Haenisch told Reuters Health by email.
The researchers examined medical records from 2004 through 2011 from more than 73,000 patients age 75 and older, mostly women.
They classified 2,950 of those patients as regular PPI users, meaning they had at least one prescription for one of the drugs every four or five months over an 18-month period.
During the study period, 29,510 people developed dementia.
Regular PPI users were 44 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who were not receiving the drugs, the authors reported in JAMA Neurology.
The researchers couldn’t know whether some of the people in the study were at increased risk for dementia to start with, Haenisch said.
PPI use and dementia may both be influenced by similar risk factors, Dr. Lewis H. Kuller of the University of Pittsburgh wrote in an editorial accompanying the results.
In the Women’s Health Initiative, for example, women who took PPIs were more often obese, had arthritis, and had poorer health generally than others, which may increase dementia risk, Kuller wrote.
The drugs do carry an increased risk of kidney disease, fracture, low magnesium levels, gastrointestinal infections, Clostridium difficile infection and pneumonia, Kuller told Reuters Health by email.
Some PPIs are available without a prescription, but prescriptions are needed for long-term use, he said.
“PPIs used for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcers work by reduction of gastric acid production,” Haenisch said. “The underlying mechanism by which PPIs might influence cognition is yet to be determined.”
Some of the drugs may cross the blood-brain barrier and interact with brain enzymes, or they may be associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, which may promote neurological damage, she said.
“Patients should take the drugs according to their doctor’s instructions,” Haenisch said. “To evaluate cause and effect relationships between long-term PPI use and possible effects on cognition in the elderly randomized, prospective clinical trials are needed.”
Doctors should take care not to overprescribe PPIs, which is reported frequently, she said. One study found that up to 70 percent of the drugs prescriptions were inappropriate for the patient, she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1WnC3xW JAMA Neurology, online February 15, 2016.ESPN College GameDay, the Four Letter's long running, traveling college football pregame show, will open up for the second straight season in Fort Worth, Texas for the Alabama–Wisconsin game. Virginia Tech and ESPN Sr. Director of PR, Keri Potts tweeted that GameDay would travel to Blacksburg on Labor Day for Virginia Tech's nighttime showdown against Ohio State.
Announced here @cfbhall : @CollegeGameDay will open season at Ft. worth in @sundancesquare and continue on to #VaTech that Monday.— Keri Potts (@MsPotts_ESPN) August 3, 2015
Don't worry, @VT_Football -- we didn't forget about you because it's on Monday. We'll be in Blacksburg this Labor Day for Ohio State!— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 3, 2015
Both Virginia Tech and ESPN provided more specific details after the initial tweets.
According to the ESPN release, ESPN will broadcast an hour-long pregame show, and this will not be a traditional GameDay broadcast.
Davis, Howard and Pollack will make an additional stop in Blacksburg, Va., for College Football Countdown on Monday, Sept. 7, in advance of a special edition of ESPN College Football presented by Capital One telecast featuring Virginia Tech vs. defending National Champions and No. 1 Ohio State at 8 p.m. The trio will be onsite for pre-game, halftime and post-game reporting, beginning at 7 p.m.
Potts provided further clarification.
A release from the Virginia Tech athletic department indicated ESPN will broadcast a special Monday edition of its College GameDay pregame show live from the Virginia Tech campus on September 7.
According to Tech, this will be the seventh time the GameDay crew will be in Blacksburg. The last visit happened September 1, 2007 for Tech's season-opening game against East Carolina. The other times include twice in 1999 and 2005, and a single visit in 2000.
At ACC Kickoff, Frank Beamer said the Hokies–Buckeyes matchup is the, "most anticipated game ever".As a relatively young form of human expression, video games have been going through a decades-long validation process. While the legitimacy of the medium as a means to explore the human condition may be obvious to those of us who have been exposed to it the most, mainstream understanding of what gaming is (and what it is not) remains a difficult goal to reach.
This is where films like “Pixel Poetry” come in: peaceful, pacifist, smart and engaging conversation starters to figure out – and challenge – what we know about video games and their impact on society. They are the key to bridging the gap between gaming and non-gaming audiences, and for us gamers and members of the gaming industry to understand and accept the artistic, moral, ethical and sociological implications of what we do.
Richard James Cook’s film ponders these questions from within the industry, and it’s clear that while we can all agree on some issues, others remain a grey area, even for seasoned professionals.
To be or not to be (art)
The question of whether video games are a valid form of art has been going on for as long as I can remember. However, after the relatively simple 80s and the absolutely insane early 90s, the XXI Century brought along with it a new breed of games: those created by people who grew up with playing video games.
No longer fumbling in the dark, these Children of the Bits might have grown up to be doctors, lawyers or bakers had it not been for the fact that they grew up playing (and in some ways being) Mario, Zelda (and/or Link) or Sonic.
While it’s impossible to confine the conversation of “games as art” to merely new releases, games like “Journey” and “Flower” deviate so far from the norm that it is reasonable to ponder whether they are a more distilled artistic expression. Not necessarily with more merits, but with an emotional resonance to them that overpowers other aspects of the medium such as gameplay mechanics or pushing the envelope of a particular graphics engine.
“Pixel Poetry” explores these topics tastefully and with some of the most prominent participants and creators of recent years, representing a growing “indie” scene where pushing out the next installment in a franchise is far from the goal.
Should a game always aspire to be art? That’s for you to decide, but initiating the conversation is just as important as the answer.
Washing your hands clean
Another important issue addressed by “Pixel Poetry” is whether video games are responsible for violent behavior in gamers. This I find of particular relevance as we constantly struggle to shake off the idea that video games are ruining the minds of children who then grow up to be violent adults.
It is necessary not to be on the defensive immediately when this question is raised. We must acknowledge the possibility that human behavior is the result of both Nature and Nurture, and analyze, objectively, whether video games contribute to the development, or alteration, of behavioral traits.
The film takes a tactful approach to this sensitive issue by giving equal screen time to both sides of the argument. And again, whether you choose to believe that video games have no influence at all on behavioral patterns, or whether you choose to believe that the next person to wield a gun in anger will be a First Person Shooter fan… it’s ultimately up to you.
The information is presented, but not colored, or tainted.
The hammer and the chisel
Among other themes that I found interesting within “Pixel Poetry” was the exploration of games as catalysts of critical and artistic thinking.
While purpose-built educational games have existed for eons, some educational institutions are recognizing the potential of more mainstream releases in the development of creativity within children.
One such case is Minecraft, the indie “sandbox” sensation that has become a sales juggernaut. The premise is straight-forward enough: build whatever you want. However, with the relatively simple tools presented in the Minecraft universe, users have been able to create amazingly complex structures and artifacts, such as scale-accurate buildings, entire fictional regions and even functioning computers.
Minecraft is now even distributed for free (although with limited functionality) on the Raspberry Pi, the $35-computer that is the darling of teachers and professors the world over (and for good reason).
Is it true? Can we learn from video games? And if we can, what do we learn?
This and more, on the next episode of…
I cannot possibly go in-depth on all the subjects being boarded in “Pixel Poetry”. While it may seem a simple documentary about video games, the fact is that we need films like this. We need to acknowledge the fact that, while video games are young, we must to assess their consequences. To see what it is that we make, and how it affects people.
“Pixel Poetry” is not the first film to touch on the validity of games as a means of expression. But it’s pretty faultless at doing so, and it’s become my go-to tool for engaging in conversations which I think are necessary for the media to survive and thrive on.
And setting the heavy stuff aside (just like the film does every now and then)… video games are fun. And so is this film.
Trailer:
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RelatedWealthsimple is a whole new kind of investing service. This is the latest installment of our recurring series “Money Diaries,” where we ask interesting people to open up about the role money has played in their lives.
There’s so much shame attached to discussing finances. I don’t totally understand it. Why can’t we all know what everybody’s earning? When I get booked to do a stand-up show, I can gross $20,000 or more in a night. That’s my current market rate. Two years ago, it would have been maybe a quarter of that amount. A year from now, it could be more or it could be a lot less. It’s impossible to predict. My finances have definitely changed from one year to the next.
In my early 20s, I lived in an “intentional community” in Minneapolis for a while. It was kind of like a commune, a place called the Hieronymus Bosch House. Some intentional communities are big and elaborate, but this one was small—just six or seven artsy people sharing an old Victorian. You were supposed to pay your share of the rent and do whatever job came up on the communal chore wheel. I was good on the chores but bad on the rent. It was $140 a month, and I just never paid it. For like a year, I didn’t pay. Eventually, they were like, “Hey, man, what’s going on?” And I had to call my parents in Duluth to bail me out.
In my experience, the Vulcans liked to party and the Klingons tended to sleep around.
I was young and ignorant. I couldn’t imagine that I had anything of value to contribute to the world. I was doing stand-up comedy, but it was in coffee shops and performance-art places and of course that didn’t pay. To make money, I was working part-time waitressing at a pizza restaurant. I also busked on street corners sometimes. I’d been playing the violin since I was three years old. It was the one thing I was slightly good at. I didn’t have much of a repertoire, just a couple of fiddle songs and then stuff I’d learned doing the Suzuki method as a kid—anything covered in Volumes 1 through 8. I really wasn’t that great as a busker. I mean, it seems heartbreaking when people just walk past you, but that’s what busking is. I think the most I ever made out on a day of busking was $40. Maybe $50.
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Then it happened. I landed a gig doing Star Trek performances at the Mall of America, dressing up and greeting people. And soon I got hired to do the same thing in California—going to malls and Jack in the Box restaurant openings. I was a Bajoran from Deep Space Nine. I wore platform heels and a padded bra and did my own alien makeup. “Greetings! I am Major Lilanca from the Planet Bajor!” I traveled with a Klingon, a Vulcan, and a boom box, and we’d play improv games with the people we met.
In my experience, the Vulcans liked to party and the Klingons tended to sleep around. They also didn’t always get along with each other. It was a cultural thing, I guess.
I was making $600 a week as a Bajoran. It was the most I’d ever been paid in my entire life. And I was living in L.A. I figured everything was going to work out for me. But that was magical thinking. In reality, I just watched my money disappear—I don’t even know how. My parents had cut me off financially at that point, which was the right thing for them to do. But I was suddenly in a pretty desperate place.
That’s when I found a 12-step group dealing with money. L.A. is the 12-step capital of the world, so it wasn’t hard. I love 12-step programs—any kind. I started going to them when I was younger and struggling with eating issues. I think that there’s huge power in a group of humans coming together, getting out of isolation, and helping one another think of new ideas. It’s a weirdly miraculous thing. And there’s always free coffee!
The money 12-step was not unlike going to AA meetings, which I have also done. In this case, it was about finding a way to live a financially sober life and not be living on the edge all the time. People in my program helped me find an affordable place to live. They were like, “What are your skills? What’s something you can earn more money at?” It was all very logical. I signed myself up at like five temp agencies and started calling in available for work every day. It was a simple thing, but it turned everything around.
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Now that I make a living as a comedian, I like to show other comics what I’m earning. It feels useful. When I perform, I have an opening act, my dear friend Jackie Kashian. I pay her a third of what I net for every job, since she does a third of the time on stage. There’s often a middle-act comic—usually someone who’s just starting out. I pay them between $600 and $1,000. I also tell them what I’m earning. I show them what a contract looks like, what my manager and agent take out of my fee. I want them to have an idea of what it all looks like—it’s really important not to be ignorant about this stuff. It’s empowerment.
I’m still not perfect with money, but I’m improving. I’ve hired a bookkeeper and an accountant, though I still get unfairly irritated with them. I’m like, “Didn’t I fill out that form last year? Why do I have to do it again?” It can feel as if they’re speaking another language sometimes. I started an accounting course and three bookkeeping courses and haven’t been able to finish any of them. I just can’t bear it, so I drop out. I try, and I fail. But at least I’m paying attention now. I read books about running a business, and I sometimes look at my balance sheet and feel proud of where I am. Even when it feels like I can’t take it all in, I still try. I still try.
As told to Sara Corbett exclusively for Wealthsimple. Illustration by Jenny Mörtsell. We make smart investing simple and affordable.Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (19 June 1957 – 11 September 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2003 and Minister for the Environment from 1994 to 1996. She served as a Member of the Riksdag (MP) for Södermanland County from 1982 to 1985 and 1998 to 2003.
Early life and education [ edit ]
Lindh was born to Staffan (1931-2017) and Nancy Lindh (1932-2005), in Enskede-Årsta, a suburb southeast of Stockholm, but grew up in Enköping. She became involved in politics at age 12, when she joined the local branch of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League. Upon joining the party, one of her priorities was protesting against the Vietnam war.
Lindh studied at Uppsala University, graduating as a Candidate of Law (jur. kand.) in 1982. Also in 1982, she was elected a Member of the Riksdag (MP) for Södermanland County.[1] In 1984, she became the first female Chairman of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League. Her six years as president were marked by a commitment to international affairs (including Nicaragua, Vietnam, South Africa and Palestine) and against the arms race which characterized the Cold War.
Political career [ edit ]
Lindh served in the Riksdag from 1982 until 1985, and again from 1998 until her death in 2003. From 1991 to 1994, she was Commissioner of Culture and Environment and the Deputy Mayor of Stockholm. In 1994, after a Social Democratic victory in the election of that year, Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson appointed her to his cabinet as Minister for the Environment. One of Lindh's legacies was her pioneering work towards European Union legislation on hazardous chemical substances. She also called for the establishment of a common EU strategy against acid rain.
Lindh in 1995
After the 1998 election, Prime Minister Göran Persson appointed Lindh to succeed Lena Hjelm-Wallén as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new government. Having made influential friends around the world as president of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, Lindh ardently supported international cooperation through the United Nations and in the European Union.[citation needed]
A high point in her career occurred during the Swedish presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2001. Lindh served as chairman of the Council of the European Union, responsible for representing the official foreign policy position of the European Union. Travelling with European Union Foreign and Security Policy Spokesman Javier Solana in Macedonia, during the Kosovo-Macedonian crisis, she negotiated an agreement which averted a civil war in the country.
Another talking point in her career was the violent repatriation of Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery from Sweden to Egypt, an operation carried out by the US military. According to then Prime Minister Göran Persson, the US administration would put a trade embargo on the European Union, if Sweden did not let the Americans pick up Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery on Swedish soil.[citation needed] Lindh had to choose between standing up for human rights and supporting trade relations with the US. She chose the latter, and was later extensively criticised for her actions.[citation needed] On 24 May 2004, when the committee against torture at the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that the Government of Sweden had violated its obligations under the Convention against Torture in the forced repatriation of Agiza, Lindh had already been murdered.
Lindh criticised the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying that:
“ A war being fought without support in the statutes of the United Nations is a major failure. ”
But praised the fall of Saddam Hussein. She advocated greater respect for international law and human rights in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, criticising Ariel Sharon's Israeli government, but also condemning Palestinian suicide bombings as "atrocities". She argued strongly for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories; in an interview shortly before her death she said:
“ Israeli settlement in the West Bank must go; there must be a Palestinian state; Israel must vacate all occupied areas on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and end all extra-territorial executions and attacks on Palestinians.[1] ”
During the final weeks of her life she was involved in the pro-euro campaign, where she advocated for Sweden to become a member of the Eurozone. She led the yes campaign in the referendum. The referendum was held on 14 September 2003 (three days after her death). As a popular pro-euro politician, she was a spokesperson and chair for the yes campaign; her face was on billboards across Sweden the day she was murdered.[1][2]
Personal life [ edit ]
Lindh married Bo Holmberg in 1991. Holmberg was Governor of Södermanland (her home constituency for over 20 years). The couple had two sons, Filip and David.[1]
Assassination [ edit ]
On 16:00 10 September 2003, while shopping in the ladies' section of the Nordiska Kompaniet department store in central Stockholm for a televised debate later that night on the referendum about Sweden's adoption of the euro, Lindh was stabbed in the chest, abdomen and arms. At the time, she was not protected by bodyguards from the Swedish Security Service; this proved controversial, given the similarity between Lindh's murder and that of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 (the first murder of a government member in modern Swedish history).[3]
She was rushed to Karolinska University Hospital, where she underwent surgery and blood transfusions for over nine hours. Lindh reportedly experienced severe internal bleeding and liver damage; her condition remained grave, although she appeared to have improved immediately after the surgery. An hour later, however, complications necessitated additional surgery; at 05:29 on 11 September 2003, she was pronounced dead. After a private briefing of her relatives and the government (and contradicting news coverage that she was alive in "grave" but "stable" condition), the announcement of her death made headlines across the European Union.[4]
Criminal investigation [ edit ]
The murderer escaped after the crime; according to eyewitness accounts, his actions appeared deliberate and systematic. A phone number was set up for anyone who might know anything about the crime, and a massive manhunt (centred on Stockholm) was launched in Sweden. After two days a photo of a man believed to be the murderer, taken by a camera on a floor above the murder scene, was released by police. Several items (pieces of clothing and a knife) believed to be connected with the murder were found outside the department store near a Stockholm metro station. At the crime scene, police obtained a handprint believed to be the killer's. Images of the suspect from the store's surveillance system were published on 13 and 14 September.
A man was apprehended on 16 September and detained as a suspect on "justifiable grounds" (the lowest level of suspicion), but was cleared of all charges and released. On 24 September, the police announced that a suspect, Mijailo Mijailović (born in Sweden to Serb parents), had been apprehended and arrested at a higher level of suspicion: "probable cause". On 25 September, it was announced that Mijailović's DNA profile matched that of hairs on a baseball cap left at (or near) the scene of the crime, and he resembled the man filmed in the store where Lindh was attacked.
After denying all involvement Mijailović confessed to the crime on 6 January 2004, providing a full account of the events of 10 September in an extra session of police questioning requested by Peter Althin (Mijailović's counsel). He was found guilty in a trial held from 14 to 17 January, and after a psychiatric evaluation was sentenced to life imprisonment on 23 March. On 8 July, an appeals court overturned Mijailović's sentence (after tests concluded he was mentally ill at the time of the murder), and Mijailović was transferred to a secure psychiatric ward. Prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court of Sweden, which reinstated his sentence to life imprisonment on 2 December of that year. Mijailović renounced his Swedish citizenship, and has unsuccessfully requested to be transferred to Serbia.
Despite Lindh's popularity and the timing of the assassination, the murder was not considered a political act (although a newspaper found a picture of Mijailović listening to Liberal People's Party leader Lars Leijonborg in clothing similar to what he wore during the murder). Mijailović admitted that he found the speech "entertaining", but denied allegations that it influenced his actions.[5] In a 2011 interview with the newspaper Expressen, Mijailović said he had "felt hatred of [all] politicians" at the time, he had been high on a hypnotic drug at the time, and it was "a coincidence" that his victim had been Lindh.[6] Mijailović has received counselling and other support services since his imprisonment.
Reaction and legacy [ edit ]
Anna Lindh memorial in Stockholm, marking the spot where she delivered her final speech
Lindh was an outspoken campaigner for Sweden to join the Eurozone in the referendum held on 14 September 2003. After the attack, all euro-campaign events were immediately cancelled. Television campaign advertisements were withdrawn, and all TV stations in Sweden halted commercials from the evening on the 10th through the 11th to help the public-service channels of SVT report news. TV3 merged its programming with ZTV and TV8, airing Efterlyst (a programme similar to America's Most Wanted) for people to send information directly to the police to help find the murderer. All campaign advertising on billboards was removed and advertising in printed media cancelled. The murder was seen as an attack on Sweden's open society, requiring unity rather than political campaigning.
Following a midday meeting on 12 September, by Prime Minister Göran Persson and the leaders of the other political parties in the Riksdag, the decision was made not to let Lindh's murder affect the referendum. Information and resources on the referendum's issues would be fully available, but no political campaigning or debate would take place. Party leaders unanimously pledged support for the ballot as planned, and to abide by its result. Despite speculation that sympathy for Lindh could influence the voting, the euro was rejected in the referendum. Following her death, Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Jan O. Karlsson, was appointed acting Minister for Foreign Affairs. In October of that year, Laila Freivalds was appointed the successor to Lindh's cabinet post.
A number of commemorative gatherings were held for Lindh throughout Sweden and abroad (through the Church of Sweden Abroad) on 12 and 13 September. One gathering, in the centre of Stockholm, attracted tens of thousands of mourners. A more formal commemoration was held at Stockholm City Hall on 19 September, at which Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf, Prime Minister Göran Persson, Chris Patten, Margot Wallström, European commissioners and the Swedish-speaking Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou spoke. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was unable to attend due to travel difficulties, but sent condolences. Lindh was buried privately on 20 September from the Church of Ersta in Stockholm; her grave is in the |
of the Nearline disk drive theme, and yet another example of why Google needs better disk drives, as it has suggested to the industry. In 2015, Google YouTube users are uploading around 1 PB of data per day, and that capacity demand was growing exponentially. Google has no doubt engineered some very clever storage servers with excellent price/performance to meet that demand – although it won’t brag about them until many years from now, if ever. Cloud Platform is a beneficiary of the innovation that Google does in compute, networking, and storage, and therefore its users benefit, too. The density and performance required for a video streaming storage server no doubt can be applied to object storage workloads, too.
Dave Nettleton, the lead product manager for storage for Google Cloud Platform, was not giving away much when we pressed about the underlying technology used for Nearline and Coldline storage.
“We look at all kinds of media and technologies in the market,” Nettleton tells The Next Platform. “We also invest in our own server hardware and networking infrastructure, and having such a big footprint means that we have understandings of costs, throughput, and latency on a global scale, and that means that when we look to make investments to reduce costs and improve experience, we can afford to invest in dedicated hardware to accomplish that. So we look at every type of technology that you can imagine and invest in innovation on our own.”
We do know from talking to Google in the past that the object storage services that Google Cloud Platform offers are based on a mix of flash and disk media, and that the secret is that Google has a consistent way of abstracting that storage through APIs for access to data and, perhaps more importantly from its point of view, allows for it to program differentiated levels of service for that data rather than having to move it from hot to warm to cold clusters that are separated from each other. This is what gives Google economies of scale on its storage.
The whole point of Google’s Clos network, and all of the hyperscalers have created networks with Clos topologies for their warehouse-scale facilities, is that everything is interconnected in a such a way to provide a very large bi-section bandwidth and relative consistency in the number of hops between machines on that vast network. So Google is probably not taking an old datacenter off to the side somewhere and turning it into a Coldline or Nearline storage farm. We think the differences in latency for various Google storage services certainly have something to do with the processing and I/O capacities of the storage servers and their disk (and probably sometimes flash) drives, but the different levels of availability and access time have more to do with network management for Google than anything else. If Google can allocate some of its storage as Nearline or Coldline, that part of its network won’t get so hot, and if it does, customers will pay a hefty premium for that network access to their archival data.
Google has rejiggered the storage services on Cloud Platform to reflect the benefit coming from that network and the consistency and scale across its storage server farms. There are two new storage types, called Regional and Multi-Regional, that are augmenting its Standard storage type, and the Durable Reduced Availability storage, a kind of less reliable storage service that predated Nearline, is being sunsetted. As part of the tweaking of the storage services, it looks like Google is guaranteeing millisecond-level access times across its storage services and no longer differentiates based on this metric – or at least not on the same level as it has.
Some review is in order so you can appreciate the changes. Up until now, here is how Cloud Platform’s storage lined up, with variations on cost per unit of capacity, cost of data access, and latency to, bandwidth from, availability of, and durability of the data that is stored on those services. First and foremost, as is the case with all cloud providers, it is always free to upload your data into Google Cloud Platform’s storage services. That is a bet by Google and others that once the data comes in, it will never leave.
Standard storage on Cloud Platform has eleven 9s of durability, which means Google is 99.999999999 percent certain it will not lose a chunk of data because it replicates it across its network of storage servers. The availability for Standard Storage is three 9s (which means Google is saying you will be able to get to that data 99.9 percent of the time which is another way of saying it allows itself as much as 8.8 hours of downtime a year), and had a guaranteed bandwidth out of the storage of 10 MB/sec per TB of capacity. (Bandwidth multiplies linearly with capacity on the Googleplex, thanks in part to that Clos network.) Standard storage services offered access times of around 100 milliseconds for the time to first byte, which is a more precise number we were able to get out of Google last year and which you won’t find elsewhere. Standard storage cost 2.6 cents per GB per month, and there are no fees for reading data.
For the now-discontinued DRA storage, Google kept the bandwidth and access time the same as with the Standard service, but availability had one nine knocked off to 99 percent (which means it could be inaccessible by as much as 3.65 days per year). By accepting that lower availability, customers could store data in the DRA service for 2 cents per GB per month, similarly with no additional fees for reading data.
The presumption with both Standard and DRA storage is that they house hot data and you have already paid for the reads. (In a way, Standard customers are paying 1.6 cents per GB per month for reads and DRA customers are paying 1 cent per GB per month for reads, whether or not they use that much access, based on the pricing of Nearline storage.) With colder data, the presumption is that customers want a lower price so they can store lots more of it, and that it will be accessed a lot less frequently. But Google still have to pay for the underlying iron and its power, cooling, and space, and therefore there is a fee associated with accessing data on both Nearline and Coldline storage.
With the Nearline storage service announced last year, access time was knocked down to no less than 2 seconds and no more than 3 seconds, and the bandwidth out of this storage was lowered to 4 MB/sec per TB of capacity. Availability was set the same as for the DRA service, which was 99 percent available. For accepting these metrics, Google chopped the price down to 1 cent per GB per month, but there was an additional charge of 1 cent per GB for accessing data.
The pricing, availability, and durability of the data on Nearline storage has not changed with this set of announcements, but Google is now saying access times for time to first byte are now “milliseconds,” not seconds, as you can see in this table:
We were not able to find out precisely how many milliseconds Nearline storage has as its access time, but there is no reason to believe, given the fact that everything is running on the same networks and underlying hardware, that it is on the order of 100 milliseconds like Standard storage.
The new Coldline storage service has roughly the same latency for first time to byte, Littleton confirmed to us, as the tweaked Nearline service. Coldline costs a bit less at seven-tenths of a penny per GB per month compared to 1 cent per GB per month for Nearline, but data access fees are a five times higher at 5 cents per GB. So you really have to think about where you are going to put your data and how frequently you are going to access how much of that data. The SLA for Coldline is the same as nearline at 99 percent, and we presume the bandwidth is the same at 4 MB/sec per TB of capacity, but Google did not confirm this.
While Coldline is not all that much cheaper than Nearline (30 percent less costly), the significant thing is that the price for Coldline is the same price as the Glacier archiving service from rival Amazon Web Services. And Glacier has a much longer latency, at a whopping 3 to 5 hours to the time the first byte is accessed. This very large latency is why many people believe that AWS is using tape libraries as the foundation for the Glacier service, but there seem to be an equally large number of people who believe Glacier is based on old disk-based storage servers on the far ends of its datacenter. (It could be a combination of disk, tape, and Blu-Ray disk.)
While Google has not taken away its Standard storage, it has replaced Standard and DRA with services with what it is calling Regional and Multi-Regional services. The Regional service offers 99.9 percent availability of access to the data, like the Standard storage, and costs 2 cents per GB per month, just like the DRA service Google used to sell. So in effect, Google is dropping the price on Standard storage by 23 percent and giving it a new name. We presume the same 10 MB/sec per TB is holding for the Regional service as was offered for the Standard service and that the same 100 milliseconds to get to the first byte of data also holds.
For customers that need a more distributed set of data to feed customers around the globe or to provide higher availability to data access, Google is now offering Multi-Regional storage, which as the name suggests automatically distributes data across multiple, dispersed regions in the Googleplex of datacenters. With Multi-Regional, service level agreements guarantee access to data 99.95 percent of the time, a significantly higher level compared to the former Standard storage. (That equates to 4.38 potential hours of downtime a year before Google has to give your money back.) This Multi-Regional storage is available in regions in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and includes routing between regions with the attendant extra latency that would be incurred if customers accessing that data are further away. We presume that the access from within a Cloud Platform region is the same 100 milliseconds, as it was with the Standard service, and similarly Google is guaranteeing 10 MB/sec per TB between the storage and its Compute Engine instances when they are located in the same region. (There is no reason to believe this would change.) In essence, Google has just added free geo-replication across regions to its Standard service and cut potential downtime by almost half.
Google is also putting into beta a set of tools that can be used to automatically move data to its four different types of storage. For those who need even lower latency access to hot data, Google suggests that customers get flash instances on Compute Engine.
That Google is offering colder and colder storage with lower and lower pricing begs another question: What will the company do to offer storage services that are hotter and hotter? With OpenCAPI and Gen z laying the groundwork for attaching blocks of storage class memory to systems and racks, it seems reasonable to ponder a day when Google will offer storage services based on flash, 3D XPoint, or whatever non-volatile memory it helps commercialize. (And yes, Google will help determine which technologies succeed based on their feeds, speeds, and prices.)
“We are always talking to our customers to understand what they are looking for,” says Nettleton. “We are always looking for ways to improve things.”
So that is a definite possibility of a probable maybe on storage services external from Compute Engine servers not based on disks and driven by new memories.
The lesson to learn from the way Google does object storage is to pick one thing and scale it massively, using software to provide different classes of service and chargeback to different classes of applications. We have not heard of an enterprise-class object storage system that does what these four services offer, but this is clearly something that the Global 2000 would want to buy, particularly if the movement between different classes of storage was automated. The way Google and its cloud peers price for data access also suggests that enterprises should be doing something very similar in terms of motivating users to really think through what they are saving, and prices for data storage and access certainly help shape behavior a lot more than just installing a collection of different gear and letting everyone just fill it up as fast as possible. The same rigor that cloud providers enforce on their customers should be de rigeur in the corporate datacenter.
Author’s Note: Dave Nettleton just joined Google in September, but he is no stranger to sophisticated storage architectures and databases. Back in the early 2000s, Nettleton worked at Microsoft on SQL Server and the Windows Future Storage (WinFS) file system that heralded the merging of the file system with relational database technologies to allow unstructured, semi-structured, structured data alike to be queried like a database. Before leaving Microsoft, Nettleton was put in charge of Azure Storage on Microsoft’s public cloud as well as HPC development on that cloud, and for last five years at the software giant was in charge of the SQL Server database services and related analytics on Azure.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Jim Harbaugh used his chance to support brother-in-law Tom Crean to take another shot at his former employers, the San Francisco 49ers.
The current Michigan football coach compared his departure from San Francisco to Crean's removal at Indiana, per Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated:
Much like my situation in San Francisco, the people that are doing the micromanaging...when it comes to building a ball team, what they know could not blow up a small balloon. In my case, an owner and a general manager. In his case, an administration. They are so similar in that way. And he still wins two Big Ten championships outright.
Crean was fired Thursday after nine seasons at Indiana, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
The Hoosiers finished a disappointing 2016-17 season with an 18-16 record, but Crean had brought the program back from scandals under Kelvin Sampson and won two regular-season titles, one of which came last season.
Indiana went to the Sweet 16 three times under Crean, and he totaled a 166-135 record in his tenure.
Similarly, the 49ers were just 8-8 in Harbaugh's last season, but he was 44-19-1 in four seasons with one Super Bowl appearance. The franchise didn't have a winning season in eight years before his arrival and are just 7-25 in two years since.
Harbaugh also recently quipped to The TK Show that he deserves an "endurance medal" and "courage medal" for spending four years under the York family (h/t Niners Wire).Legendary Free Update / Official Expansion - Feature Distribution
BB2 base Game (8 races)
Team Pack (8 races)
Official Expansion (8 races)
FREE LEGENDARY UPDATE
Resurrection mode - new League option.
Wissen Tournament (= Swiss Format) - new competition format.
20 new Star Players (more than 50 in total).
Dice overview at the end of a match.
New skills behaviour:
Kick: You can now see where the ball will land with and without the use of kick, and choose if you use the skill or not accordingly.
Side Step: The skill is optional in case of chain-push.
Grab: You can choose not to use the skill if you can crowdsurf an opponent by not using it.
New option to make some skills optional: Pass, Dodge, Tackle, Fend, Tentacles, Break Tackle.
GUI improvements
Option to display tooltip in dice probability.
FAME displayed in match.
Confirmation pop-up when conceding.
New Coach view displaying only the acquired skills.
New dice log option to display more details (all the modifiers).
Option to spend 50k gold to get a skill when hiring a mercenary.
Option to mute chat in a match.
Player card visually evolving with player's level.
New admin tools (ageing option in singleplayer, league blacklist, mixed AI/players league, manual seeding in competition, enhanced match administration).
AI/human mixed competitions.
League chat (PC/Mac only).
Post-match chat.
Free camera mode.
Multiplayer pause system.
AI enhancement.
Cosmetic enhancements.
Many smaller improvements.
Bug fixes.
OFFICIAL EXPANSION
8 new teams
Amazon
Underworld Denizens
Halflings
Goblin
Vampire
Ogre
Elven Union
Kislev Circus
Eternal League (singleplayer endless campaign - more details here [forums.focus-home.com] )
) Challenge Mode (more info here [forums.focus-home.com] )
) Mixed Teams
2 new cheerleader types: Orc and Dwarf
All-Star Teams
New Khemri Stadium
Team Editor
Hey Coaches,Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition releases in September on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.We updated our website with more info about the upcoming features: http://bloodbowl2-legendary.com The Legendary Edition is a bundle of 3 elements:If you already own the base game, and/or Team Pack, you only have to buy the Official Expansion to get 8 new races and many new features. But even if you don't get the Official Expansion, all Blood Bowl 2 players will still get big update containing many new features.See you on the pitch,Cyanide Studio & Focus Home InteractiveANALYSIS/OPINION:
Illinois has the worst gun laws of any state. Only police officers and the taxpayer-funded bodyguards for ex-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley have the right to carry a handgun outside their homes. Everyone else is out of luck - unless a pair of federal lawsuits filed last week succeed in arguing that the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear Arms” means that people can actually bear arms in the land of Lincoln.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down Chicago’s ban on private handgun ownership, upholding the “keeping” of arms. The National Rifle Association (NRA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) are looking to build on that victory by overturning the country’s most sweeping anti-carry statute to ensure the “bearing” of arms is equally protected.
The NRA-funded suit champions the cause of church treasurer Mary E. Shepard, 71, the victim of a brutal 2009 beating at the hands of a thug with a long criminal record. Under Illinois law, Mrs. Shepard would face felony charges were she to carry a handgun to prevent such an attack in the future. Mrs. Shepard can protect herself in Florida and Pennsylvania, where she has received concealed-carry permits, but she is denied the same right in her home state of Illinois. The SAF suit was filed on behalf of Michael Moore, 60. Earlier in his career, Mr. Moore was a deputy sheriff and could legally carry firearms while off-duty. As the current superintendent of the Champaign County Jail, Mr. Moore can no longer do so.
Both cases make essentially the same argument: No state may completely prohibit the bearing of arms as Illinois has done. The Founding Fathers did not want America to be like the European nations where “the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms,” as James Madison explained in Federalist No. 46. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter of advice to Peter Carr, the 15-year-old son of a family friend: “Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks. Never think of taking a book with you.” Jailing those who follow Jefferson’s timeless advice only ensures that criminals are the only ones with guns on their person.
That’s why states with generous concealed-carry provisions are safe places to be. The wild-west shootouts that the gun grabbers predicted have never materialized. In the 23 years since Florida began allowing concealed carry, 1,976,774 permits have been issued. A mere 0.008 percent of permit holders have been nabbed for using a gun in the commission of a crime. As gun ownership soars to an all-time high, the crime rate continues to plunge.
On Monday, the National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that one out of three individuals who own AR-15-style rifles bought them after President Obama’s inauguration out of a fear that the so-called assault-weapons ban would return. So despite a surge in ownership of the weapons most dreaded by the left, we’re still safer than ever as a nation. The phony anti-gun arguments of Illinois and the District of Columbia no longer hold up. It’s time for them to respect the Constitution.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Foreskin and several years from now My husband has dedicated himself to the proposition that he can form a more perfect penis.
"You're gonna wha what?"
My husband had just announced his newest do-it-yourself project.
"I'm going to re-grow my foreskin. Here's a book about it."
As the book slid across the table, my mind swirled with "Young Frankenstein"-type images of Gene Wilder holding a home skin-grafting kit and Marty Feldman standing near a refrigerator full of gelatinous brown blobs growing in petri dishes.
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"How w-w-what?" I continued to fumble.
"It'll take awhile; it's a very gradual process," he said.
"See," his hands began an illustrated dance in the air, "you pull the skin from the shaft up over the top of the penis, tape it, then apply constant tension, causing it to stretch and grow. It's called 'tugging.' Eventually, after a few years, the extra skin is long enough to cover the glans and act as a makeshift foreskin.
"I'm going back to do some research on the Internet," he said, and casually tra-la-la-d past my petrified cadaver of a body, practically skipping on his way to the room he uses as a home office.
What just happened here? I thought. Did I hear the word, "years"? I followed in hot pursuit.
"Where did you hear about this?" I questioned.
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"In men's group," he mumbled, barely looking up from the computer. "They say once you're restored, you can have up to a 30-percent increase in sensation. Plus, I really want to look like our sons."
I knew it! That damned men's group, the one I frequently credit with saving my husband's life and our marriage, as well as making him emotionally whole again, is also the one that has introduced him to the sometimes radical ideas of the new Men's Movement: that smaller, fewer-axes-to-grind, reverse-gendered twin of the '60s feminist confab.
Invariably, the morning after group night there is a large leaflet strategically positioned on the suspiciously bare kitchen table. Curious, I wander over with my cup of coffee, sit down and begin reading about the unbelievable orgasmic nirvana I could provide my male sex partner if only I'd strap on an elbow-length latex glove slathered with about a jar of lubrication, enter what's usually an exit, then fish around for the male G-spot located just an inch or so below said partner's Adam's apple. If I'm lucky, there'll be a grotesquely detailed accompanying diagram with You Are Here marked on the anus.
My husband's group must reserve the last five minutes of each session for wife-shocking leaflet distribution. "Sorry, Tom, we'd really like to hear more about your feelings of unimportance, but it's LEAFLET TIME!" High-fives and whoops abound.
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What baffles me is how I'd missed the foreskin restoration leaflet.
Worry rapidly filled my thoughts. Had anyone done this successfully before? Surely there is a risk of permanent disfigurement when you decide to grow new pieces of your body. Did my husband draw the shortest straw at men's group?
I was a bundle of festering questions, but I decided it was best not to grill my husband just yet. I was afraid that if I made too strong a case against this process, or especially if I questioned its validity too quickly or vehemently, I might stoke his desire to proceed. Maybe he's just exploiting the shock value of it all, I lied to myself. Maybe it's a Drama King thing and in a short while he'll lose interest.
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It was a day or two later that they started appearing all over the house: miniature treasures left behind by the absent-minded Foreskin Fairy. Coin-shaped pieces of tape, some featuring crudely hacked holes in the center and others festooned with clumps of gnarled pubic hair, would stick to the bottoms of my feet. A thin white strip of elastic, formed into a loop and then sewn together with erratic, black, big-as-a-staple stitches, like some "Flintstones" hair holder, showed up. And then there was my favorite: a warped little disk of forged and hardened clay possessing what appeared to be a teeny-tiny handle right in the center. It was like the Lilliputian Refuse Service had accidentally left behind a trashcan lid.
Then my 5-year-old son's suspenders started disappearing.
"Honey, have you seen Greyson's blue suspenders?" I called from my son's closet, where I'd been on the floor rifling ineffectively through train tracks, stray Legos and other fragments of boyhood in search of my elasticized quarry.
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"I'll be out in a minute," my husband trilled from behind the bathroom door.
An hour later I heard him emerge and scuttle back to his office, closing the door behind him. I thought nothing of it until I noticed the frayed chunks of leftover suspenders scattered in the bathroom trash.
"Did you cut up these suspenders?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, I needed them. I'll get Greyson some more."
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I could just barely see a section of suspender peeking out of his T-shirt.
"What's that?" I asked.
So began my introduction to the first in my foreskin farmer's series of cobbled-together suspender-remnant contraptions known as: the Devices.
Crude, yes, but fascinating in an "Inspector Gadget" sort of way. The first one featured a large loop to slide the left arm through, leaving the remainder of the suspender strap to trail down the left side of the body. A clip at the end of the strap attached to tape stuck around the penis. At first glance, the whole ensemble sort of resembled a stopgap holster and quickly earned the name, the OK Corral-er.
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His poor penis looked miserable, strained and reddened, like it was struggling in some Torquemada-inspired mechanism from the Oscar Mayer Inquisition.
"Oh, God! Does it hurt?" I asked, trying not to scream.
"Not too much. It's a little sore."
A few weeks later came the Formal -- so named because at a distance it appeared as though my husband was wearing a long, black necktie. One rather tight elastic loop fitted around his neck, with the remainder of the strap trailing down his chest and belly to the taped penis. I have a fondness for this model because it's the only one I laughed at out loud -- to his face, anyway. It just looked so damned dangerous. What if the loop suddenly cut off his air somehow, like when he was driving?
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"If you have an accident with that thing on," I remarked, "don't expect me to come claim your body."
After the first full day of wearing the Formal, my husband seemed to be hobbling around more than usual. He said his penis was once again sore from the constant "attention." Seconds later, our 4-year-old bounded into the room, jumped on my husband's lap, yanked the elastic strap and said, "Hey! What's THIS?" I'd never seen a person completely fold in half so quickly.
Finally, after a brief trial-and-rejection period of the Fred Mertz -- consisting of a strap leading from the clip on the penis down the right leg to a tight loop just below the right knee, resembling an upside-down sock garter popular with some older men -- the Hipster made its debut as the most discreetly designed and most popular model. It featured a strap made into a hip belt with a perpendicular segment in front that clipped to the taped penis. At least this device is hidden completely from John and Jane Q. Public. But then again, John Q. himself might be a tugger.
While waiting for my husband to grow disenchanted with his project, I did a little independent tugger research of my own. According to statistics provided by NORM (the National Organization of Restoring Men), there are approximately 18,000 known tuggers, as well as countless more unreported members (ahem), mostly in the United States.
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Printed along with the statistics were stories promising the heightened glans sensation to which my husband had referred, as well as details regarding a much-desired effect known as the "gliding sensation," a perk that occurs during sex. Apparently, once the restored penis is inserted, the extra skin on its shaft causes the exterior to remain relatively static while the interior of the shaft does its business. This gliding effect, done with little or no friction, is purportedly much more pleasurable for both sex partners. Could be interesting, I thought.
Like my husband, some tuggers are using the elastic strap method to stretch the skin around their penises, while others are reportedly donning outrageous Monty Python-like contraptions -- from old fishing weights that accidentally fall down and out of a pant leg during board meetings, to detached mouthpieces lifted from old trumpets, trombones and tubas. (Blow jobs will just never be the same.)
One discovery that has definitely managed to quiet the sarcastic witch living inside of me is the impressive electronic support system available to tuggers. Dwelling happily on the Internet is a well-established cyber community where learned members share advice, helpful hints and even personal photos of the restorative process. Savvy members are known to pepper their posts with the trademark signoff, "K.O.T." (Keep On Tuggin') or with special Tugger emoticons concocted and recognized by the group:
Uncircumcised ====>
Circumcised ====/>
Restoring (time) ====/>R 18 months
Restored ====>R
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It's been almost a year since my husband began his quest for a foreskin. Aside from the occasional, "Not tonight, honey, I've got a dick ache," our sex life remains as healthy, active and normal as ever. There is the occasional dash from sight to disassemble the foreskin machine, but I've grown accustomed to it.
I've also grown accustomed to him going through more medical tape than an ER and spending as much time in the bathroom as a pre-pubescent schoolgirl. I imagine that he, in turn, has grown accustomed to my occasional comments, like, "How's the slingshot this morning?" and "Could you unhinge your iron maiden so we can have sex?"
The only thing I'm not sure has grown, however, is his foreskin.
Although from my vantage point his penis appears exactly as it did when he started the project (he swears there's been marked progress), I do wonder what it will look like when the process is complete. Will I find its floppy little turtleneck of skin enticing? Will my husband have the wherewithal and dedication to see this day-in-day-out project through to completion -- especially if he should have to begin working in an office away from home? What will happen if he decides to stop tugging mid-turtleneck?
Also, since circumcision continues to be a routine procedure, I can't help but wonder if tugging might eventually become a mainstream interest. Can we expect a full array of Tugger-related products? Tugger Brand Tape? Wear Your Device To Work Day? "Tugging for Dummies"?
Whatever happens, I'm confident that I'll be kept in the know through the regular consumption of men's group leaflets.The Obama administration threw its support behind a broad claim for marriage equality on Thursday, and urged the Supreme Court to rule that voters in California were not entitled to ban same-sex marriage there.
In a forceful argument, the administration claimed that denying gay couples the right to marry violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause. It said that Proposition 8, the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, should be subjected to “heightened scrutiny” — a tough test for any law — and stated flatly that “Proposition 8 fails heightened scrutiny.”
That argument is similar to the one made in the administration’s brief in a second case before the Supreme Court concerning the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which the administration has also asked the court to declare unconstitutional.
The latest brief, filed late Thursday, does not, however, ask the court to declare such bans unconstitutional nationwide; instead, it focused on Proposition 8, which was approved by voters in 2008 and is before the court in this case. That law was passed by a voter initiative just months after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples could marry. The brief notes that opponents of same-sex marriage in the California case have argued that the state offers, through the equivalent of domestic partnerships, a marital state in all but the name.It is time to either remove Confederate statues from public grounds or to change the plaques that purport their reason for being there.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Wednesday:
“When it comes to the debate about our historical monuments, we cannot change history, but we must learn from it. We should not start taking down monuments just because they remind us of an unpleasant past. Refusing to face our history by dismantling it is a mistake. We should use our historical markers as teaching opportunities to provide greater leadership for the future.”
This is true and those can be wise words. The concentration camps in Dachau and Auschwitz, which have been preserved, are a reminder of the horrific, unconscionable extermination of the Jews during the reign of Nazi Germany. Closer to home, the internment camps at Rowher in southeast Arkansas are a shameful monument of our persecution and vilification of Japanese Americans during WWII.
And the Confederate statues that grace the grounds of our State Capitol or the Bentonville town square and other public places in the South are reminders of a shameful past too; however, they are different.
These statues “glorify” the time in American history when states like Arkansas – led by people who shaped our state and nation often in many good ways – also broke from the Union (the United States) in a doomed effort to protect their right to preserve slavery – the right to keep black people brought to America unwillingly and in chains from Africa. They fought to protect their right to keep black people as their property.
Many of these statues were erected decades after the Civil War in reaction to court rulings involving civil rights. Some in the 20th century during the Jim Crow era in an effort to intimidate.
So how do we let a monument that reveres this notion of oppression teach us about history? How do we, in the words of the governor, use this historical marker as a teaching opportunity “to provide greater leadership for the future”?
On the side of the Confederate soldiers statue on the northeast corner of the state capitol campus, these words are engraved: “Arkansas remembers the faithfulness of her sons and commends their example to future generations.”
How does that phrase teach the youth of today (or the elders of today) to avoid the mistake of believing that one race, the white race, is superior to another, the black race? That plaque says we commend, we compliment, the example of the Confederate sons to future generations.
At Auschwitz, there is a plaque at the entrance to the concentration camp that reads:
“Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children, mainly Jews, from various countries of Europe.”
If we are going to leave our Confederate statues in place, they should come with a similar interpretation. Not that this statue glorifies a time in our nation when white people enslaved black people for labor and fought to preserve that way of life, but that as a nation and as a people, we realized that was wrong. “Forever let this statue be a warning to humanity to not let it happen again.” That’s what our Confederate statues should say.
Not that we commend their example, but that we condemn their example.
Gov. Hutchinson also said in making his statement regarding Confederate statues that “Every generation must affirm and live American values anew.” I agree. This would be a good time, if we leave these statues in place, to change those inscriptions to reflect our current affirmation of American values which is that our society, in this year 2017, cherishes its diversity, believes in a society in which all men and women are entitled to equality, to equal treatment and respect, that no one race or one class of people are superior to another, and we will not make the mistake of our ancestors again.
I hope that our leaders in Arkansas will recognize how these Confederate statues are a painful reminder of a shameful time in our state and national history. If we’re going to keep them, let’s make sure they’re teaching the right lessons that we want to convey. Because today, they do not.
Editor’s note: Roby Brock is the CEO of Natural State Media, the parent company of Talk Business & Politics and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal.
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commentsSenate Democrats in the hallway on Capitol Hill explaining their boycott of votes on President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks. Andrew Harnik/AP Images Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday boycotted votes on President Donald Trump's picks for Treasury secretary and secretary of health and human services, opening up a new front in the battle over the president's Cabinet.
Not a single Democratic senator on the committee showed up for the votes on Steve Mnuchin or Tom Price, boycotting because of what they considered to be unanswered questions regarding Mnuchin's and Price's business dealings.
The 26-person committee, with 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats, needed at least one Democrat to be in attendance for a vote to proceed.
"I think some of this is because they just don't like the president," said the head of the committee, GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. "They have a right not to like the president — I happen to like the president very very much — but they really shouldn't treat dignified people who are willing to sacrifice to serve in the government."
Hatch also called the boycott "one of the most alarming things I have seen in my whole 40 years in the Senate" and said Democrats should "stop posturing and acting like idiots."
According to The Hill, Republicans conducted a similar walkout during a 2013 confirmation for Obama's EPA nominee Gina McCarthy.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio said at an impromptu press conference in the hallway outside the committee's meeting room that Mnuchin and Price "lied" about business dealings in front of the committee.
"We're not going to this committee meeting today because we want the committee to regroup, get the information, have these two nominees come back in front of the committee, clarify what they lied about — I would hope they would apologize about that — and then give us all the information we need for our states," Brown said.
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8 and 11, had them in his car and was threatening to kill them and himself.
Authorities put out an alert to law enforcement in the Portland metropolitan area early Wednesday and a little more than an hour later, an officer in Gresham spotted the father’s black Range Rover SUV in the parking lot of a gas station.
As Officer Matt Anderson approached, Cortinas, 42, shot at him with a.32-caliber handgun and then started a fire in the car, authorities said.
Anderson fired at Cortinas multiple times but did not kill him, Gresham police Sgt. John Rasmussen said.
Autopsies by the state medical examiner found that Cortinas died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Autopsies on the girls concluded they were shot multiple times.
Responding officers raced to pull Janet Cortinas-Duran and her older sister, Jasmine Duran-Cortinas, from the burning car only to find they were already dead, Rasmussen said.
None of Anderson’s rounds hit the children, he said.
The shooting occurred on the boundary line between Portland and Gresham, an eastern suburb.
Anderson is a 13-year veteran of the department.
CBS affiliate KOIN reports that outside the apartment complex where the family lived, people have set up a growing memorial with candles and toys to honor the little girls.
Neighbor Robert Forthan said he would see Cortinas and wave and he admired the family’s small flower garden.
“There wasn’t anything abnormal and they seemed happy,” Forthan said.Disenfranchised voter (Photo: Campaign Legal Center screen capture)
Alabama Democrat Doug Jones was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday by a mere 21,000 votes. That margin would have been much larger if Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a strident partisan Republican, would have taken steps to inform his state’s voters than thousands of ex-felons were eligible to vote under a 2017 state law. But Merrill didn’t do that, as an extraordinary Twitter thread by Danielle Lang explains. Lang is an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, a bipartisan-led Washington-based voting rights law firm that has fought for expanded rights for years, especially across southern states. Her remarkable thread is below.
—Steven Rosenfeld
1. Folks, a few thoughts on the extraordinary turnout among black voters in last night’s # ALSEN special election and about how much greater it could have been.
2. Here are the numbers on the photo ID law:118,000 registered Alabama voters do not have a photo ID they can use to vote; Black and Latino voters are about twice as likely as white voters to not have ID. Last night’s # ALSENelection was decided by under 21,000 votes.
3. While in AL in November, I personally ran into several voters w/o ID who thought there was no point in registering for that reason.
4. And just as the # Alabama legislature put this new ID hurdle in place, it closed down DMVs in the black belt.
5. But not to worry, AL SOS Merrill thinks only voters who try harder should be able to vote: “As long as I’m secretary of state of Alabama, you’re going to have to show some initiative to become a registered voter in this state.” Cool. (But I didn’t even come here to talk about the voter ID law. I’m not the expert on that case but @ RossDeuel and my friends at @ NAACP_LDF are.)
6. I’m here to talk about Alabama’s outrageous locking out of people with convictions (disproportionately people of color) from the electoral franchise.
7. Hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama either couldn’t vote yesterday in the # ALSEN election or thought they couldn’t vote bc of AL SOS’s failure to communicate the law.
8. Here’s a long but important timeline. In 1901, # alabama created a criminal disenfranchisement law designed to disenfranchise blacks. They said as much right in the record.
9. They chose to disenfranchise ppl with crimes “involving moral turpitude” b/c that standard was mushy enough to let their friends vote while disenfranchising blacks for violations of the “black code” crimes they made up.
10. In 1985, the Supreme Court struck down the moral turpitude phrase as racially discriminatory because duh. But in 1996, the # AL legislature put the “moral turpitude” standard BACK INTO THE LAW.
11. From 1996 to 2017, there was absolutely NO standard for what convictions were disqualifying. There was no set list of crimes that “involved moral turpitude” and individual registrars county to county decided who got to vote. Many treated ALL felonies as disqualifying.
12. Remember how the standard was chosen in the first place because it could be applied to hurt minorities? (And by the way, Alabama is one of only 12 states that still permanently disenfranchises anyone after their convictions are complete and their time is served.)
13. Americans of all political stripes overwhelmingly support letting people vote after they have completed their sentences (although apparently # RoyMooredoes not).
14. Since disenfranchisement based on registrars’ whims is not constitutional, we sued in September 2016: Thompson v. Alabama
15. In May 2017, Alabama passed a law finally defining what convictions take away your right to vote. And while it’s a long list, it excludes some important ones like most nonviolent drug crimes. # progress!
16. But then, for reasons I still can’t attribute to anything but indifference to certain voters, the AL SOS refused to take basic steps to inform voters with past convictions of their rights.
17. The current Alabama voter registration form requires people to sign under penalty of perjury that they have not been convicted of a “disqualifying felony” and then NOWHERE describes what felonies are disqualifying.
18. There are likely thousands of voters that were previously told by their registrars that they could not vote b/c of their conviction but under the 2017 law clearly are eligible. The SOS refused to notify these people of their rights.
20. We took them to court and continue to fight that issue but the court did not order them to act for these elections. So we and SO MANY others — Pastor Glasgow @ anvoo2 @ ACLUAlabama @ LSAlabama — did Secretary Merrill’s job for him the best we could. We’ve been helping train community leaders on the law so they can register eligible people with past convictions to vote.
21. We created a toolkit for folks to use to navigate the law. Here is one voterthat voted for the first time yesterday in the # ALSEN election. He had been blocked for decades from voting because of convictions in his youth.
22. Because of the hard work of so many advocates, a lot of new voters were able to cast ballots yesterday in the # ALSen election. But this was in spite of Secretary Merrill’s failure to clear up the confusion his office created after decades of arbitrary disenfranchisement.
23. Just think of how many more voters he could have reached if he’d used his office to make sure every voter understood her rights. We have a list of over 75k voters that were previously denied the right to vote bc of past convictions. the myth that these individuals arent interested in voting is just false.
24. I’ll close by saying that the 2017 law, despite the confusion, was progress but it did not fix the problems in Alabama. Alabama is still one of only a handful of states that permanently disenfranchise people for past convictions. The list of “disqualifying” crimes is still long and includes many low level theft crimes that sweep tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals into its net.
25. Again, this law likely continues to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Alabama citizens. Yesterday’s election was decided by less than 21k votes.
Watch Uncounted: America’s Silenced Citizens, a stunning video produced by the Campaign Legal Center on felon disenfranchisement:Image caption The agreement paves the way for Alibaba to consider a share sale
US internet company Yahoo said it has reached a deal to sell part of its stake in China's biggest internet company Alibaba Group.
Alibaba will buy back half the 40% stake owned by Yahoo, following years of negotiations.
The deal will raise about $7.1bn (£4.5bn) for Yahoo, which has been losing ground to rival Google and Facebook in online advertising.
The agreement also allows Alibaba to consider an initial public offering.
Shareholders
Both companies revealed in a statement that Alibaba will pay Yahoo $6.3bn in cash and up to $800m in Alibaba preferred stock.
For Yahoo, the deal gives it the ability to pay dividends, make acquisitions, or buy back its own shares, something its stockholders have been asking for.
Analysis Alibaba gets a roadmap to independence. Yahoo gets to translate a fortuitously profitable investment into cash for its shareholders. Importantly, Yahoo has the right to hold onto 10% of Alibaba shares until after a possible future listing. The fine print seems to point to an initial public offering in 2015, although Alibaba is not committed to any specific time frame. A listing would be one of the biggest technology offerings in the world. That is because, among its many subsidiary units, it owns Taobao.com, where consumers sell to other consumers. It has 370 million registered users, more than the entire population of the US. Some reports say the value of goods sold on Taobao even exceeded eBay's back in 2010. In addition to Taobao.com, Alibaba also owns Tmall.com, where 70,000 Chinese and international brands sell their products online.
"We look forward to delivering the proceeds of the near-term transaction to our shareholders," said Timothy R Morse, chief financial officer at Yahoo.
Some analysts have said that most of Yahoo's value is based on its Asian assets, and selling them will allow its core US operations to be valued by investors.
'New chapter'
The agreement also allows the Chinese group to buy more of Yahoo's remaining 20% stake, if Alibaba pushes ahead with a sale of its own shares on the stockmarkets, a move that many observers expect.
The deal is welcome news for Alibaba which has long been looking to buy back the part of its company owned by Yahoo. However, negotiations have suffered many setbacks.
"This transaction opens a new chapter in our relationship with Yahoo," said Jack Ma, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, which runs the popular Chinese online market place Taobao.
He also said both companies would continue to work together, with Yahoo's global audience being an attractive opportunity for Alibaba, as it seeks growth outside China.Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott's tenure with the Lakers has ended after a woeful 2015-16 campaign.
The Lakers announced they fired Scott on Sunday.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical initially reported the news.
While this doesn't come as a surprise, it seemed Scott could be retained by the franchise as the season came to a close. On April 13, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Scott had "what one source described as a'major chance' to stay with the Lakers; [Lakers president] Jeanie Buss is said to be pushing for Scott behind the scenes."
On March 15, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck reported that a theory he was hearing around the league suggested the Lakers would keep Scott for one more year, "just in case [Phil Jackson opts out of his contract with New York] and returns to L.A. and wants to pick the coach."
Beck reiterated that it's just a theory and there was "no indication that [Jackson] has any inclination to leave [the] Knicks or return to L.A. to run [the] Lakers."
On Feb. 8, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (h/t Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk) reported on what he was hearing regarding Scott's job security:
I’m hearing he’s gone if Luke Walton wants to come in and take the job next season, that if he wants to do that, that obviously they would move beyond the Byron Scott era and bring in Luke Walton, that Luke Walton, however, as much as he loves the Lakers and California, may not find that to be an attractive job unless they position themselves to acquire somebody like a Ben Simmons. That is what I have heard. I have also heard that it’s very, very possible that Jeanie Buss is going to keep her word and fire her brother Jim Buss—thank the good lord—and that Mitch Kupchak may very well not be safe as well. How definitive that is remains to be seen. But that is the chatter in NBA circles.
In his second and third seasons as an NBA head coach, Scott guided the Nets franchise to consecutive NBA Finals appearances. He was also rewarded with Coach of the Year honors in 2008 with the New Orleans franchise.
While it may be hard to question Scott's resume in light of those achievements, he hasn't really had a great run of it of late when it comes to developing teams in rebuild mode. Scott was given three seasons to turn the Cleveland Cavaliers around but had an abysmal 64-166 record.
Scott has once again struggled to bring along a young team, posting a 38-126 record in two seasons with the Lakers. Dynamic forward Julius Randle and skilled rookie guard D'Angelo Russell have both been inconsistent and have yet to emerge as leaders.
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com hinted at Scott's treatment of Russell in particular when weighing in on the coach's future:
Part of the problem has been the overshadowing presence of Kobe Bryant, who played his final NBA season and also made it difficult for the Lakers to acquire talent due to his huge contract.
It's a tricky situation for Los Angeles to evaluate as it tries to determine who the best coaching fit is for the post-Bryant era.India's highest court has recognised the existence of a third gender that is neither male nor female in a landmark judgement hailed by the transgender community.
"Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue," Justice KS Radhakrishnan told the Supreme Court on Tuesday while handing down the ruling.
The court directed state and federal governments to identify transgenders as a neutral third gender who should be granted access to the same welfare schemes as other minority groups in India.
"Transgenders are citizens of this country and are entitled to education and all other rights," said Radhakrishnan, who headed a two-judge bench on the case.
Photo Gallery: Tough times for India's transgender community
The case was filed in 2012 by a group of petitioners including prominent eunuch and activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi seeking equal rights for the transgender population under the law.
Transgenders are citizens of this country and are entitled to education and all other rights Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan
Tripathi hailed the judgement, saying transgenders have long suffered from discrimination and ignorance in the traditionally conservative country.
"Today, for the first time I feel very proud to be an Indian," Tripathi told reporters outside the court in India's capital, New Delhi.
"Today my sisters and I feel like real Indians and we feel so proud because of the rights granted to us by the Supreme Court," Tripathi said.
The decision comes after the same court last December reinstated a ban on gay sex, in a shock ruling that sparked accusations it was dragging the country back to the 19th century.
Gay sex had been effectively legalised in 2009 when the Delhi High Court ruled that a section of the penal code prohibiting "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" was an infringement of fundamental rights.When Aaron Sorkin conjured Sam Seaborn, the fictional White House staffer in The West Wing, he wanted to invest the character, played by Rob Lowe, with a distinguished pedigree. So Seaborn graduated magna cum laude from Princeton, edited the law review at Duke, and cut his teeth at a famous law firm, Dewey Ballantine.
In the late 1990s when The West Wing was conceived, it was an obvious choice: Dewey, a powerhouse in corporate law since the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt, had 500 lawyers in offices around the world. It was spoken of in the same breath as other old-line New York firms, many of them recognizable to the general public, such as Cravath Swaine & Moore, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Debevoise & Plimpton.
A few years later, Hollywood came calling. Dewey's opulent offices in midtown Manhattan were used to shoot scenes for the George Clooney legal thriller Michael Clayton. In 2007, Dewey's dominance was only expected to grow when it pulled off the largest law-firm merger in history, joining ranks with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, creating a 1,300-lawyer firm with annual revenues of about $1 billion.
But it could all be over soon, as the news came in over the past week that the firm, now known as Dewey & LeBoeuf is flirting with ignominious collapse. Dewey’s demise has many wondering what's next for the embattled law-firm industry, and whether other “white shoe” giants, previously thought to be immune from recessionary strain, could also fall.
"We've seen some prominent firms fail in recent years," says Peter Zeughauser, an adviser to law firms. He cites Coudert Brothers, Heller Ehrman, Howrey, and Thelen. "But Dewey has an incredible legacy. In many ways, this is a first – at least for this era." Zeughauser, a former general counsel, says a failure by Dewey would be the largest law-firm collapse in history.
What brought Dewey down, law-firm management experts say, was a deadly combination of general economic malaise and the firm's particular mismanagement. The problems began when the 2007 merger with LeBoeuf went from being a great idea to a horrible one: practically overnight, the ensuing financial crisis flattened demand for legal services. In 2010, the firm's chairman, optimistic about a recovery, began recruiting scores of rainmakers from other firms – so-called lateral partners – by promising huge pay packages that Dewey could not afford.
Not surprisingly, Dewey's partnership was divided over the wisdom of these hires.
"Normally, when new star talent is recruited, everyone in the partnership bears equal risk," explained Zeughauser. "But what happened at Dewey is that partners at the higher end of the pay-scale demanded guarantees on their money. That transferred all the risk to the people at the lower end of the pay scale, creating huge pay disparities."
Dewey was not alone among firms of its ilk in going after star hires. American Lawyer magazine, the law-firm industry's leading trade publication, reported that 2011 "was the year that partners jumped back into the lateral market with full force." Dewey, having hired 33 new partners in the 12 months ending September 30, 2011, ranked ninth, among top-gaining firms, in lateral-partner hires. American Lawyer cautioned, however, that 2011’s "uptick in lateral churn does not mean the boom years are back... In many cases, it's cherry picking, as firms try to counter a stagnant economy by poaching top performers from rivals." The hiring binge, American Lawyer wrote, “was driven by desperation, not a thriving economy.”
In October of 2011, Dewey announced it had compensation commitments it could not meet. Slashed pay led to lawyer defections. Since January, at least 85 of Dewey's 300 partners have left. Last week, the Manhattan district attorney launched a criminal investigation into alleged wrongdoing by Dewey's former chairman, Steven Davis, in his management of the firm. On Friday, Dewey told its incoming class of summer associates, scheduled to begin in a matter of weeks, making more than $3,000 per week, that the summer program was cancelled. On Monday, Dewey advised its partners to begin looking for work elsewhere.
"If the economy had clipped along, like in 2006 and 2007, Dewey management might have looked wise," said William Henderson, a law professor at Indiana University who studies the business of law firms. "But with the downturn, the pay guarantees essentially sheltered some new hires at the expense of the rest of the rank and file partnership."
Historically, in order to afford those $3,000-per-week salaries for first-year attorneys with no experience, and to keep rainmaking partners happy, law firms have been, like some of the Wall Street institutions they service, heavily leveraged entities. The difference is that, in law, the leverage is not financial but human. Banks gamble on investments, while law firms gamble on people. In a sense, it’s all the same: if business is good, leverage pays off.
It's best, Henderson says, for a firm to grow organically, nurturing its own talent rather than paying high prices for rainmakers who might not make it rain. But under pressure, many firms are giving up on organic growth and turning to a lateral-hire strategy in the downturn. "Lateral partners seem like the cure," Henderson says. "As a result, the only thing holding many large firms together now is money. No shared history. No shared values. Money by itself is weak glue."
Some brand-name firms, like Latham & Watkins, have done well with lateral hires by vetting them carefully and being cautious with pay guarantees, says Zeughauser, the law-firm adviser. "But it's always risky. Law firms are just fragile. In a consolidating industry, even the strongest of them won't be around forever. Dewey proves that."
The legal press has compared Dewey's situation to the 1987 collapse of Finley Kumble. It was that year ironically, that American Lawyer published the first edition of its now heralded law-firm rankings, the Am Law 100, and ranked Finley Kumble #2. By year's end, the firm folded, in part because of rich guarantees to star laterals.
Twenty-five years later, 11 of those original AmLaw 100 firms are now extinct.FCC general counsel Jonathan Sallet will ride herd over a steering committee charged with reviewing merger applications from AT&T (NYSE: T)-DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)-Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC)-Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR), the agency said.
Wireline Competition Bureau chief Julie Veach will be part of a steering committee that also includes Media Bureau chief Bill Lake, International Bureau chief Mindel de la Torre and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Roger Sherman.
Jamilia Ferris will join the office of general counsel and lead the working team reviewing the AT&T-DirecTV transaction, where she will be joined by deputy Elizabeth Andrion of the Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis. Ferris returned to government service after a stint in the private sector. From 2010 to 2013, she served as chief of staff and counsel to the assistant attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
Hilary Burchuk will lead the working team reviewing the Comcast-Time Warner Cable-Charter Communications proposal with assistance of deputy Bill Dever of the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Both committees will report to the steering committee, which will be overseen by Sallet.
Further appointments include William Rogerson, a former chief economist of the FCC and now a professor in Northwestern University's Department of Economics, who will serve as senior economist overseeing the review of both proposed transactions. Shane Greenstein, a professor in the Management and Strategy Department at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University as well as Kellogg chair of Information Technology, was named senior economic consultant for both transactions.
For more:
- see this FCC press release
Related articles:
AT&T-DirecTV deal will be hot topic as moguls gather in Sun Valley
Comcast-TWC would control 29% of the U.S. pay TV market, nearly 36% of broadband: report
AT&T defends DirecTV acquisition to Congress, can't promise lower pricesDrew Doughty’s roster has received a shake-up.
This isn’t a reference to the Michael Mersch roster move earlier today, but rather the Pacific Division’s All-Star Game squad, which is no longer likely to feature the services of John Scott, who was voted in by fans to serve as team captain. As part of the Montreal-Arizona trade today, Scott will join AHL-St. John’s, which clouds his availability for the Skills Competition and All-Star Game on January 30-31.
So, who might be added to the roster in his place?
Via Craig Morgan of ArizonaSports.com:
The league currently restricts each division’s roster to three defensemen. The Kings’ Drew Doughty, the Flames Mark Giordano and the Sharks’ Brent Burns hold those three slots so unless the NHL lifts that restriction to allow Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the game, the selection will likely be forward Max Domi or forward Shane Doan. As for Scott, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that both the Coyotes and the NHL had previously asked him to bow out of the All-Star Game and he refused. The NHL is currently deciding how to handle his spot now that he has been traded away. One possibility is for Montreal to send him to the AHL, where he would not be eligible to compete in the game. Scott could also bow out on his own.
It’s not worth developing Internet Outrage™ over this issue, but if Domi or Doan were chosen to represent Arizona over Ekman-Larsson, who is an underappreciated and phenomenal defenseman on the league’s most undercover team and exactly the type of player that the league would want to promote, then the sham here continues. Ekman-Larsson is the one player on the Coyotes who significantly affects the way the opposition lines up and game plans.
“That’s the only guy I could think of that’s most deserving on that team – it would be him,” said Doughty, who along with Jonathan Quick will represent the Kings in Nashville later this month. “I don’t know if we already have too many defensemen on the team or whatever it may be, but obviously he’s probably their best player and he deserves to be there. I would say him.”
And therein lies the rub: Too many defenseman. But wait – Doughty to the rescue!
“I could always play forward, too. I used to play it back in the day. I was all right at it,” he said.
“I was a forward until I was like 13 years old, I think, so I was a centerman my whole life, and then one coach decided to switch me to defense, and I did and it worked out,” he said.
Yes, yes it did. He’s a Norris Trophy candidate, and hey, wouldn’t you know it, the Ottawa Senators are in town tomorrow, so questions about Erik Karlsson surfaced again after today’s practice, and Doughty shared ample respect towards the two-time Norris winner who is probably his most significant competition for the year-end award this season.
“He’s an unbelievable player. He’s a lot of fun to watch,” Doughty said. “He’s someone I think I could learn a lot from. His offensive skills are just out of this world. Some of the things he does not too many players in the world can do. When I watch the Senators play, I pay special attention to him because there’s a lot of things I can learn from him, and I have learned a lot from him over the years. He’s a hell of a player. We’re obviously going to pay special attention to him when game time arrives.”
Karlsson is Ottawa’s captain, and if one were to talk to the Kings’ hockey operations or coaching staff about the strides he has made this season, it would come in his leadership.
“I’ve gotten better at that stuff,” he said. “When I was young, kind of just relied on my skill and basically just going out there and playing games, so now I realize there’s a lot more to it, a lot more to be a pro and a lot more to being a better teammate, too. That’s where the leadership steps in – giving more off the ice to help our team win rather than just going out there and playing my best. There’s a lot more things that go into it.”
Will there be much going into game-planning for a tough Central Division squad at the All-Star Game?
“I doubt it, I don’t know,” he said. “Just keep the puck, I’m sure that will be one of the strategies. No one wants to give up the puck, we just want to play offense the whole time. Short shifts, I’m sure, will be one of the strategies as well. We’re going to try to win, obviously, but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t, I guess.”
Drew Doughty, on Ottawa being a much better team with Erik Karlsson on the ice:
I didn’t know about that, but obviously scoring-wise, they’ve done a great job when he’s on the ice. He’s got like a point a game as a D-man, which is so hard to do. He’s great at getting his boys in the offensive zone and creating some offense from there.
Doughty, on whether he wishes he had more of a “green light”:
I think I do. I don’t play the two full minutes of the power play like he does, but besides that, I basically have the same green light he has. I just choose to use it a little differently than he does.Over the years a lot of tools for creative coding have emerged: Processing, P5.js, Processing.js, OpenFrameworks, Cinder, VVVV, PureData, MaxMSP, Supercollider, NodeBox, Three.js, Paper.js, D3.js, Raphael.js.
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Scala Zen tries to get the best of all the tools described above, trying to take the best of each one.
We made an enviroment (IDE and Library) built arround Three.Js and the Scala languaje, which we think will help you focus and improve your creative flow process.
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Happy Coding!Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Major European economies have announced multi-billion euro rescue schemes to shore up their banks. Germany has approved a package worth up to 500bn euros (£393bn; $683bn), France will spend about 350bn euros and Spain has set aside 100bn euros. The bulk of this money will be used to guarantee lending between banks - part of a plan agreed to this weekend by the 15 nations that use the euro. Meanwhile, President George W Bush said nations were taking "decisive action". Speaking with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, he said the US was continuing to work closely with Europe. The cash injection by France, German and Spain was echoed by similar moves by Austria and Italy. Austria is to spend up to 85bn euros, while the Italian government pledged to inject as much money as needed without giving any figures. France and Germany will also use the cash to take stakes in ailing banks. The announcements helped to lift investor confidence, with stock markets rising worldwide. Two-fold plan The two-fold plan involves guaranteeing lending between banks and taking stakes in financial institutions - similar to the bank rescue in the UK announced last week. This is a massive engagement
French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Markets surge after crisis talks Will the rescue efforts work? The US is also getting ready follow in Europe's footsteps and purchase stakes in financial institutions. "We are designing a standardised programme to purchase equity in a broad array of financial institutions," said Neel Kashkari, the treasury official in charge of the US government's $700bn bail-out package. Monday's other key developments included: The UK government said it would inject up to £37bn of taxpayers cash into Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS
US shares, tracking earlier gains in Europe and Asia, rocketed 11% as investors welcomed fresh efforts by global leaders to end the recent financial turmoil
The world's major central banks said they would offer financial institutions an unlimited amount of short-term dollar loans to help stem the crisis
The Icelandic stock exchange said share trading would remain suspended until Tuesday because of continuing "unusual market conditions". 'Massive' French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France would offer up to 40bn euros to provide banks with the financing they needed via a public company in which the state would the only shareholder. "This is a massive engagement," he said. He added that no financial institution would be allowed to collapse. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the measures being taken would only work if they were accompanied by more robust regulation that will curb "market excesses." "The package passed by the German government will serve the financial system and ought to serve to protect the citizens and not just serve to protect the banking system," she said. Fund Unlike France, Germany and Britain, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that Spain did not need to take stakes in any banks because its banks were solvent. However, last week the Spanish government announced the creation of a 30bn euro fund to buy assets from Spanish banks to help stabilise the lending industry and unfreeze credit. At present banks are reluctant or unable to loan cash to fellow financial institutions due to fears about whether the money will be paid back. It is this lending between banks that traditionally lubricates the banking system, freeing up cash for lending to private individuals and other firms.
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StumbleUpon What are these?Image copyright Us Vs Th3m Image caption The control room was flooded with wet concrete during upgrade work
Part of the Victoria London Underground line has been suspended after wet concrete flooded a control room.
Transport for London said the mixture of concrete and water was being used to "fill voids" while upgrade work was being carried out at Victoria Station.
The line has been suspended between Warren Street and Brixton.
Peter McNaught from London Underground (LU), said it would not run for the rest of the night, and that services would start later on Friday morning.
The operations director for the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines, said: "We apologise for the delays and disruption to passengers travelling on the Victoria line today.
"Our engineers continue to work hard to repair the damaged equipment and get the line up and running as soon as possible. "
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC London's Warren Nettleford spoke to passengers unable to travel on the Victoria line
Website Us Vs Th3m reported that about three rows of relay equipment were submerged in the concrete and published a number of pictures.
LU said the damage was caused by contractors, who were working on the new station in an area next to the Victoria line signal control room.
The equipment was damaged when water and cement leaked into a room containing it.
Passengers are being advised to use the Northern and Bakerloo lines and replacement buses are running between Green Park and Brixton.
Customers travelling to interchange with national rail services from Victoria station can also use the District line to St James' Park station which is a five minute walk from Victoria station.
Tickets will continue to be accepted on South Eastern Trains, South West Trains, Greater Anglia, London Overground and London Buses via reasonable routes.
Image copyright Us Vs Th3m Image caption Equipment was submerged in the concrete
The RMT union said: "LU technicians are on site now working flat out to clear up the mess and get services back on line, proving once again that it's directly employed public sector staff who are needed to deal with this kind of emergency, making a nonsense of Boris Johnson's Tube staff cuts plans."
The union is set to take strike action from midday on 4 and 11 February, for 48 hours, over LU's plans to close all ticket offices with the loss of 750 jobs.
The transport authority has said the closures will lead to more staff on platforms to help travellers and that the Tube would run 24 hours a day on five lines.
TfL has yet to comment on the union's statement, however Phil Hufton, LU chief operating officer, has previously said it is committed to implementing changes without compulsory redundancies.The Italian media declared on Monday morning that the anti-establishment populist Five Star Movement (M5S) had garnered the most seats of any one party in national elections, thrusting it's young leader Luigi di Maio into the international spotlight.
Di Maio, 31, was elected as the leader of his party last September amidst great fanfare and excitement — a measured, calming presence hoping to create a new air of credibility around the party after the party's bombastic, confrontational founder Beppe Grillo stepped aside.
In 2013, at the age 26, Di Maio became the youngest-ever MP to be elected as the Vice President of Italy's lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. On Saturday, he sailed past seven other contenders to secure his party's nomination for prime minister.
"The responsibility you have entrusted to me is great, but together we can do anything because we are the Five Star Movement and we must never forget it!" Di Maio told the jubilant crowd at the party conference in Rimini, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
Watch video 01:54 Share Italian election unpredictable Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2tfAt Populist parties cast shadow over Italian election
Di Maio has long been groomed for party leadership by founder Grillo. The 69-year-old comedian-turned-politician founded the movement in 2009 after becoming fed up with political gridlock as well as the corruption and nepotism personified by the administration of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Grillo has often courted controversy by means of his highly popular blog, where he has taken aim at Italy's ruling elite - but also in 2016, when he supported statements made by then-President Elect Donald Trump that the European Union is a "total failure." Grillo believes the EU allows northern Europe to thrive at the expense of southern Europe.
Grillo takes a backseat
The party has seen increased mainstream success in recent years |
yejide’s work blends contemporary tailored suits and accessories with art history, “using textile and apparel design to convey stories about immigrant populations to the Western world.”
Photo credit: @joshuakissi
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Can a Unity Government Succeed in Divided Libya?
The UN is trying to establish a unity government in Libya. But with competing governments, an expanding Islamic State and migrant smuggling as a primary source of income in the country, finding success will not be easy. By SPIEGEL Staff
REUTERS
This may be the only thing you need to know about the situation in Libya: For security reasons, the headquarters of the United Nations Special Representative for Libya is situated 500 kilometers (311 miles) away from Tripoli in the Tunisian capital of Tunis. Martin Kobler's office is located in a non-descript building in the city's Les Berges du Lac diplomatic quarter.
For trips to Libya, he has an 18-seat propeller plane at his disposal, parked at the nearby airport. He uses it to commute several times each month to Libya. But sometimes, he isn't given permission to land, for no apparent reason. On such occasions, the plane remains grounded, along with Kobler, in Tunis.
On a recent Sunday in April, Kobler has invited us to a meal in the restaurant Au Bon Vieux Temps in a posh suburb of Tunis. The view of the Mediterranean is spectacular. A slight man with a warm glint in his eyes, Kobler, 63, was once chief of staff to former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. He has also served as German ambassador to Cairo and Iraq and, most recently, as the UN special representative to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Today he has one of the most difficult jobs in the world. His task is to help create a state out of Libya at the behest of the international community. The fact that Libya was never truly a state, even under dictator Muammar Gadhafi, who was toppled in 2011, doesn't make things any easier. Considering what he's up against, Kobler is pursuing his mission with astounding optimism.
Chaos in Europe's Backyard
The situation in Libya is important for Europe for two reasons. First, because Islamic State (IS) is continuing to spread unhindered in the civil war-torn country. Second, because one of the most important routes for migrants making their way to Europe runs through Libya.
Now that the route from Turkey across the Aegean Sea is largely closed, the one across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Italy has shifted back into focus. At the moment, diplomats in Brussels estimate that a half million people are waiting along the 1,770-kilometer Libyan coastline to make the journey by boat to Europe. Most come from West Africa. Frontex, the European border agency, reports that 9,600 migrants made the journey using this route in March -- four times as many as during the same period in 2015.
DER SPIEGEL Map: Powerless in Libya
Libya dominated the agenda of a meeting between EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels on Monday, the same day that hundreds of people drowned making the crossing from Egypt to Europe. Top on the agenda were ideas focusing on improving Libyan security and aiding the country in assembling a government that is recognized by all parties.
In Berlin, government officials have also recently been discussing the possibility of hashing out the same kind of refugee return deal with Libya that the EU recently reached with Turkey. But given that the country of Libya as such doesn't exist for the moment, that idea seems absurd.
Libya is a failed state that has been divided by an east vs. west civil war since mid-2014 and the country has three governments, though none of them holds much power. Broadly stated, Libya is split into three parts: In the east is the government of the Operation Dignity coalition, whose military leader is General Khalifa Haftar, who is fighting against Islamists in Benghazi with his air force. The government of the Islamist Libya Dawn alliance resides in Tripoli in the west. A smaller area between those two regions is dominated by Islamic State. Both Dignity and Dawn claim they want to fight IS, but so far they have done so only half-heartedly. This has enabled IS, which reportedly has 3,000 fighters in the area, to establish a foothold.
Most of the country is actually controlled by local militias, which follow the latest decisions made by the government controlling their areas to varying degrees. The only things really holding the country together is the central bank and the national oil company which are dividing money evenly among all the parties. But oil production has fallen from 1.7 million barrels a day to just one-fifth of that total.
A Lack of Unity over 'Unity' Government
The international community and UN representative Kobler are now placing their hopes in a third government that is hopefully soon to be making decisions for the entire country: the so-called national unity government, brokered by the UN. In order to emphasize its legitimacy, Kobler has asked high-ranking EU diplomats to only speak with members of that government.
But there is still no unity in the country over this national unity government. The story of the new government's arrival at the end of March illustrates just how great the challenges are. Tripoli refused to provide clearance for Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj to land, so he and six other representatives instead traveled by boat and have mostly been stuck at the Abu Sitta naval base outside of Tripoli ever since.
Protection for the government is being provided by the powerful militias in the trading city of Misurata, which is located 160 kilometers away. There is also a proposal to establish a zone protected by the military for the national unity government -- similar to the former Green Zone in Baghdad. The EU has also assured that it would provide warships to evacuate the government in an emergency. Kobler, too, is planning to move soon to Tripoli with his team -- where they plan to be based in the Peacock Hotel, a luxury hotel surrounded by high cement walls, barbed wire and guarded by 200 security personnel.
In Tunis, Kobler shows Libyan newspaper cartoons that he's saved on his mobile phone. One depicts Kobler as a puppeteer pulling the strings on "Unity Prime Minister" Sarraj. Another shows Sarraj dropping into Tripoli by UN parachute. The criticism is clear: The new government is being steered from abroad and the United Nations is perceived in the country to be a tool of the West.
But Kobler is pushing forward with his plan. He wants to organize tribal councils across the country and persuade local leaders to follow the new government.
Although a majority in western Libya support the UN compromise and the national unity government, the government in the east is still putting up significant resistance. Should that not change, the UN plan could actually deepen the country's divisions -- and local warlords and IS supporters would be the ones to profit.
The roots of the current chaos lead back to 2011, when Moammar Gadhafi, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for decades, was toppled. Following the mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt, protests also sprouted up in eastern Libya, where people had long felt strong-armed by Tripoli. Gadhafi reacted predictably and sent in snipers, artillery and cluster bombs. Many feared that a long and brutal civil war would ensue that could claim countless civilian lives.
In contrast to the later war in Syria, the international community decided to take immediate action in Libya. But even before the military intervention began, the West made a mistake for which there are still consequences today. France became the first country to recognize the self-appointed, rebel-led National Transitional Council without actually knowing who its members were. But importantly, all key figures in the body came from eastern Libya. Other EU member states and the wealthy Gulf states Qatar and the United Arab Emirates quickly followed. The tug-o-war over the country's wealth had begun and the international community had unwittingly contributed to the country's disintegration.
Western Failures
The primary aim of the intervention approved by the UN Security Council on March 17 was not regime change. Rather, it was to provide protection to the civilian population from Gadhafi's government troops. By that standard, the intervention was successful.
Significantly fewer civilians were killed in Libya after 2011 than in Syria, where the West didn't take any action. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people died in Libya. But in Syria, estimates put the number who have perished in the war thus far at between 250,000 and 400,000, a vast number of them civilians.
In Libya, though, France, the United States, Great Britain and Italy all aimed at a regime change. The NATO mission ended shortly after Gadhafi's murder on Oct. 20, 2011 at the hands of Libyan rebels. Only then did the West commit its biggest mistake. Indeed, earlier this month, US President Barack Obama called it the greatest foreign policy mistake made during his term: "Failing to plan for the day after, what I think was the right thing to do, in intervening in Libya."
UN Special Representative Kobler of Germany adds: "It was a mistake for us to have abandoned the country after the 2011 intervention. When you make the decision to intervene militarily, you also have to support the country afterwards."
During his 42 years at the helm, Gadhafi ruled Libya like a mafia godfather, employing terror in addition to the bestowal of favors on those who were close to him. With the exception of the national oil company and the central bank, he never allowed any state institutions to become strong out of fear of potential rivals. Once he was killed, though, it wasn't clear who would succeed him. Worse, Libya had plenty of fully stocked weapons depots at the time and they were essentially open to all comers. The country quickly became a major source of weaponry for the entire region.
Fundamental Conflict Unresolved
The transitional government that was appointed didn't have the power to disarm the local militias. Instead it gave anyone believed to have fought on behalf of the revolution a generous wage. The number of self-proclaimed revolutionaries promptly ballooned from around 30,000 to 250,000. Soon, weapons took precedence over politics, culminating in 2011 with the brief kidnapping of the then-prime minister.
The fundamental conflict between the east and the west had never been solved. In spring 2014, a battle against Islamists began in the east under General Haftar, backed by the three most powerful tribes. In the western part of the country, the Islamists with the Libya Dawn movement seized power, backed by residents of the wealthy coastal city Misurata. Since then, the country has been in a state of civil war between east and west.
It was only after the November 2015 terrorist attacks on Paris that the international community increased pressure on the warring parties to come to an agreement -- primarily due to concerns about Islamic State, which had established a foothold in Libya. Things were rushed and countries were very quick to recognize the national unity government. It was only after the fact that attempts were made to convince as many militias and politicians as possible to back the new government. Critics argue that another path should have been taken: A deal should have been reached first on the distribution of oil revenues in the country. That, too, makes Kobler's job very difficult.
Many Libyans have been cynical about Kobler's efforts. "The only reason the diplomats are hoping that the former parties in the civil war will join forces in the fight against Islamic State is because they have been observing the situation for almost two years from Tunis," says Ayyoub Sufyan, an activist and former revolutionary from Zuwara, a city that is home to a Berber-speaking population in the western part of the country located near the border to Tunisia.
As in Syria, where IS was able to establish itself because Assad supporters and opponents were too busy fighting each other, Islamic State profits in Libya from the fact that it isn't the primary opponent of any party. And thus a growing number of young men from Tunisia, Egypt or Nigeria will continue to make their way to Islamic State's stronghold in Sirte.
'Most Important Source of Income'
Last week, a masked IS commander announced his group's intention to wage a war of attrition against the unity government, using car bombs and suicide attackers. In summer 2015, IS already launched one attack against the Tripoli government. The group also went after the country's most important oil refinery in Ras Lanuf, took control of several oil fields and carried out attacks on pipelines. The terrorist group has long since expanded beyond Sirte and into other parts of the country and is now working together with migrant smugglers.
Sufyan, the activist, tells how he and some friends in Zuwara founded a militia to take on the smugglers. Up until last fall, most of the boats heading for Lampedusa would launch from the Zuwara coastline. "Since the collapse of oil production," Sufyan says, "migration has been the most important source of income in the country." His militia managed to lock up many smugglers, forcing others to move their operations into the neighboring city of Sabrata.
It is a place long known for its extremist scene. Islamic State sympathizers still have the say in Sabrata and are profiting financially from the smuggling business, but the lines between IS, al-Qaida and other jihadi groups are becoming blurry. Sabrata is also the springboard for Tunisian extremists heading to join the fight in Syria.
The fusion between the extremists and the migrant smugglers, particularly in Sabrata, has now become a significant security risk for Europe and the rest of the West. Indeed, the US bombed an IS training camp near Sabrata back in February and British, French and American special forces are operating in the country. But the forces tend to rely on the help of local militias, which has created competition for weapons, money and influence -- and hindered the establishment of a national military.
Italy, the country's former colonial power, is particular anxious to quickly set up an EU military aid mission. Under the working title Libyan International Assistance Mission, Rome is planning accelerated training for a new Libyan army. The Italians introduced their proposal to representatives of 30 countries in mid-March in Rome, including EU member states, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar and Russia. The plan foresees military training and guidance but does not include sending in foreign troops to impose stability or carry out anti-terror operations. Part of the proposal is a unit to provide security for the new unity government.
The plans were discussed further by EU foreign and defense ministers on Monday in Luxembourg. The EU ministers said they were prepared to offer security support while the Libyan government said it was also interested in help setting up a coast guard.
The ministers, however, elected not to go ahead with a proposal from France that initially called for the expansion of the existing EU mission "Sophia," launched in an attempt to cut off migrant smuggling routes across the Mediterranean, into an anti-terror operation. The idea was to empower EU warships to stop and search ships suspected of smuggling weapons to Islamic State in Libya. But Germany was skeptical and France itself backed away from the idea prior to Monday's meeting.
Room for Skepticism
Still, the EU agreed as expected on Monday to make 100 million ($114 million) available to the unity government for projects identified together with both the UN and the unity government. The focus is to be on humanitarian projects and on strengthening Libyan institutions. In addition, the EU in early April implemented sanctions, such as visa bans, on high ranking politicians who have come out in opposition to the new government. Among them are the president of the parliament in eastern Libya, Aguila Saleh Issa, and the "prime minister" of the Tripoli government in the west, Khalifa Ghwell.
Despite the progress made recently in resolving the problems facing Libya, many are wondering if the steps thus far taken will be enough. Libyan politicians and clans will have to accept the new government and new state structures will have to be built. There is plenty of room for skepticism.
Martin Kobler is pleased that the government he helped broker has at least won backing in Tripoli. But things don't look good in the east. The parliament in Tobruk is widely expected to reject the unity government's cabinet list, though it postponed the vote this week. And General Haftar, the military leader in the east, is also being difficult. He would like to head up Libya's new army or become the country's next defense minister, preferably both. Kobler, though, doesn't believe that is feasible, given the hate western Islamists have for the general. Still, though, Haftar will have to play a significant role in Libya's future armed forces.
Kobler says that the humanitarian situation in the country has priority. People have to quickly see that that the new government is improving their lives. One area that requires immediate attention, for example is exploding food costs, with UN representatives saying they have even heard about elderly Libyans breaking out their gold fillings to pay for foodstuffs.
Kobler says he doesn't particularly care how the state structures look in the end as long as they guarantee the protection of human rights. "We don't support a particular side, but we aren't neutral," he says.
He pulls a wrinkled piece of paper out of his wallet. On it, he has written the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 in several languages: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
By Matthias Gebauer, Mirco Keilberth, Peter Müller, Mathieu von Rohr, Raniah Salloum and Christoph SchultThe resilient AMC drama kicks off its third season just as fans would hope: with the same formula that got it here.
How is “Halt and Catch Fire” still on the air?
The question may seem rude, given timing and context, as AMC prepares to launch the third season of its period tech drama this Tuesday (Aug. 23), but the query demands further investigation for (at least) two reasons: First, I’m not sure who the audience is I’m writing to right now — nostalgic techies? Lee Pace fans? Odd hangers-on who typically only watch one season of TV? The series has failed to snag enough awards attention or land on a significant number of Top 10 lists to become “prestige TV” in the day and age of “Peak TV,” and the ratings read as a national collective shrug when it comes to the fictional tribulations of a Texas-based PC startup. So who among you need to know if Season 3 is worth watching vs. how many have already decided it’s not?
This quandary leads us to Investigatory Edict No. 2; a more important point, to be sure, that revolves around how Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers’ series continues to give zero fucks if you like it or not. It is what it is, and you best recognize that’s not going to change — no matter how many more seasons it runs.
Never is this more evident than through five episodes of Season 3. Some critics pointed to an improved Season 2, and they were right. Season 2 course corrected ever so slightly to top its uneven first year, but let’s be clear: Nothing really changed. Sure, the writers were smart enough to emphasize their strongest assets — namely, Mackenzie Davis, Kerry Bishé and how their struggles in the sexist ’80s tech industry frighteningly parallel modern practices — and they even reimagined their lead character by dismantling Joe MacMillan’s (Lee Pace) uber ego to create compassion for the confusing idea man from Season 1.
Yet even as Pace changed his look, the pace remained the same (feel the fire of that hot wordplay, folks). The stakes remained the same. The series, for what it’s trying to accomplish, remained the same. “Halt and Catch Fire” is dedicated to recreating an era through the eyes of its dreamers — how they saw it unfolding around them and how that perception is affected by our collective knowledge of the future. Cantwell and Rogers may drop in a few knowing nods to what’s coming — the.gif pronunciation battle begins in Episode 3.1 — but they remain focused on authentically capturing technology’s big bang.
Therefore, Season 3’s biggest shift is in setting. Mutiny, Cameron (Davis) and Donna’s (Bishé) company — with a reinvested John Bosworth (the great Toby Huss) — makes the move to California, and Joe is right there with them. Well, against them. Across from them? It’s hard to tell, but the big picture guy finally hit a home run by using Gordon’s (Scoot McNairy) software to create a computer security program valued in the tens of millions. Now he’s taken on the Steve Jobs’ persona (beard and all) as he looks for the next big thing.
There’s a time jump, too, but we won’t spoil anything (pre-airing) here at IndieWire, so I’d say the above are enough examples to outline how “Halt and Catch Fire” Season 3 could have taken a big swing to lure in a new audience. With easily identifiable cultural markers — Jobs, Silicon Valley, the Internet — all of which are still relevant today, “Halt” could’ve used a shift in locales to shift toward something more popular or, at least, more shocking; aka it could have tried to save itself from pending cancellation. After seeing viewership cut in half from the series premiere to the Season 1 finale and then drop even further in Season 2, one would think the writers would experiment a bit with form and/or function in an effort to keep their show on the air.
And yet there’s no evidence of it onscreen. “Halt and Catch Fire” Season 3 feels like the same story we’d be getting if Season 1 won more awards than “Mad Men” while pulling in “Walking Dead”-level numbers. In fact, it doesn’t even feel like the end is nigh. One might expect a show that’s barely survived its first two seasons to set up some kind of end game in its third year, but Cantwell and Rogers literally laugh in the face of such presumptions. Without giving anything away, there’s an episode-long arc that felt like it could have been much longer; had a decision been made the other way, this plot point could’ve served as a definitive end point for the series. Instead, the writers wrap things up within the episode, ending on a character laughing straight to camera as if the series was drunk with power rather than facing a firing squad.
That, in and of itself, is kind of great. The sheer guts of it have to be admired, but to see a show build exactly what they want to build — similar to how Cameron refuses to compromise Mutiny with outside influences — is a welcome change when so many series bend the knee to corporate or critical demands. The one flaw is that “Halt and Catch Fire” remains engaging for everything other than its core story. The meaty archetypes of the American men and women in the workplace make for fascinating post-show discussions. Each member of the core cast is at the top of their games, drawing every ounce of life from the words on the page. Attention to detail and direction keep the production on par with the best on TV.
But moment to moment, the stakes remain incredibly low — especially at this stage, when these former upstarts are now solidified players in a burgeoning market. There’s little doubt they’ll succeed to one degree or another (if they haven’t already), and our investment in the people vs. their work is hampered by so much of the conversation skewing toward the latter. As refreshing as it is to see a series pass the Bechdel test multiple times each week, it would be nice if Cameron and Donna’s debates were about more than using credit cards or bank accounts for online transactions. (Though at least these bonding exercises no longer devolve into gender-specific insults — again, there have been course corrections.)
So, as we enter Season 3, fans can rest assured their beloved favorite is returning unchanged. The rest of you, well, you know what you’re missing.
Grade: B+
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But Mr. Milton is not among those charged in Project Servant, the two-year investigation by the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team that disrupted what police called “an organized network associated with ISIS.”
So who is he?
“Right now Abdullah is in witness protection,” his father David Milton said by phone Wednesday from New Brunswick, adding his son was upset his name had been revealed. Asked if Abdullah was a police informant he replied: “Yes, he was.”
At the press conference announcing the charges against Mr. Khalib, John Maguire and accused ISIS facilitator and financier Awso Peshdary, police made no mention of an undercover informant.
The RCMP said only that “multiple investigative techniques” had been used and that the evidence included communications “between the accused and other unindicted associates.”
But it would not be surprising if they had used an informant. The investigation into the Toronto 18 terror group, broken up in 2006, involved two informants, both members of the Muslim community who cooperated with CSIS and the RCMP, and testified as witnesses.
While police tend to use undercover officers, intelligence agencies prefer recruiting insiders — what former CSIS counter-terrorism chief Ray Boisvert called the “Mubin Shaikh model,” after the outspoken informant in the Toronto 18 case.
In that instance, Mr. Shaikh started out as a CSIS informant but then later began working for the RCMP when the conspiracy developed and a criminal investigation was launched. Mr. Shaikh told his story in the recently-released book Undercover Jihadi.
“In the intelligence world, especially MI5, CSIS, {Australia’s] ASIO, it’s a tradition of recruiting sources,” said Mr. Boisvert, who now heads the consulting firm I-Sec Integrated Strategies. “Our view is you’ll get a far better result.”
Still, several recent Canadian terrorism cases have relied on police officers posing as extremists. An FBI undercover officer who infiltrated the alleged plot to derail a passenger train in southern Ontario is testifying this week in a Toronto courtroom.
In 2010, an undercover police officer posing as a wannabe terrorist help bring charges against Toronto security guard Mohamed Hersi, who was sentenced to 10 years last July for attempting to join the Somali terror group Al Shabab.
Originally from New Brunswick, Mr. Milton converted to Islam about a decade ago and was working at a paintball company outside Ottawa when the authorities took an interest in him, possibly because of the way he look, his uncle Gary Gallant said.
“He was an intent Wahabi guy,” said one community member who knew him, referring to the strict Saudi brand of Islam. On Facebook, he would sometimes post on Bilal Philips, a Saudi-trained Canadian imam who has been deported from several countries over security concerns he denies.
He was also part of a social circle at Algonquin College, where Mr. Peshdary, Mr. Khalib and Mr. Maguire could sometimes be found. “He was always very critical of terrorism but he followed a very narrow minded view of what Islam is.”
Then he dropped out of sight.
In March, Mr. Khalib left for Syria, the RCMP said. Since the counselling charge against him refers to crimes he allegedly committed between April 1 and Dec. 7, he may have stayed in contact with Mr. Milton over the Internet.
“The latest I heard was he was working for CSIS. That’s what I heard from his father when they came over for Christmas,” Mr. Gallant said. “If that’s the case, that’s why we didn’t know much about it,” he added. “To me, from my knowledge, he’s very, very harmless.”
The latest charges followed what the RCMP called an “extensive and complex” investigation. Mr. Peshdary appeared in court Wednesday and was ordered not to communicate with his co-accused and three others arrested last month following a “spin-off” investigation: twins Carlos and Ashton Larmond, both 24, and Suliman Mohamed, 21. He was scheduled to return to court on Feb. 9.
Meanwhile, Mr. Maguire left Canada in late 2012 and was reported to have died in Syria last month, after appearing in an incendiary video calling for terrorist attacks in Canada. Police said his death remained unconfirmed. Mr. Khalib’s whereabouts was also unknown. Both were to be placed on the Interpol wanted list.
“Our evidence shows that these individuals conspired to participate in or contribute to the activity of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS,” Assistant Commissioner James Malizia told reporters at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa.
Mr. Peshdary, 25, is an Iraqi-born Canadian who was investigated by CSIS in 2009 after he allegedly agreed to help a trained Al Qaeda member recruit extremists to conduct attacks in the West. Although he was arrested in 2010 following an RCMP probe called Project Samosa, he was quickly released.
Since then he has become an outspoken activist, photographed last March speaking at Islam Awareness Week at Algonquin College and wearing an Algonquin College Muslim’s Student Association t-shirt. The group did not respond to interview requests.
“WAKE UP Muslims,” he wrote beside a post about a child who had frozen to death in Syria. “Today it’s someone else’s child tomorrow it might be yours. And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed young men, women and children.”
National PostThe Scottish Wildcat
The Scottish wildcat evolved from a population of European wildcats which became isolated by the English Channel over 9000 years ago. They are the largest of the wildcat family and can be double the size of a domestic pet cat and infinitely more ferocious.
The fur of the Scottish wildcat is a great deal thicker than that of a domestic cat.
It displays very distinctive solid black and brown stripes. Spots, broken stripes or white fur are all indications of hybridisation (cross-mating) with domestic cats.
Another notable feature is their thick banded tail, perfectly ringed with no dorsal stripe running off of the spine. Imperfect rings or dorsal markings are further signs of hybridisation.
Like all cats they have superb hearing, retractable claws, exceptional night vision and a powerful body conducive to sprinting and pouncing.
Scottish wildcats epitomise the solitary, independent super-predator and the mysterious and wild spirit of the Highlands in a way that no other animal can.
Size: How big is the Scottish Wildcat?
This is very difficult to answer. The size of a Scottish wildcat is another thing that has been confused by hybridisation.
Most sources state that wildcats are up to 50% larger than a domestic cat. Given that domestic cats vary in size a great deal, this description is of limited value.
It adds further difficulty to the answer when you consider that these observations have been made by people observing hybrids which were mistaken as wildcats. These hybrids were observed in captivity, or were actually European wildcats.
European wildcats have been consistently described as slightly smaller animal. This makes sense, as they live in warmer climates and would have less need for body mass such as fat to keep warm).
Recorded History
Thankfully, there is some useful information in the history books. Victorians dug up a wildcat skeleton that measured 4 feet from nose to tail tip. The following statement appears in A General History of Quadrupeds by Thomas Bewick in 1790;
“Some Wild Cats have been taken in this kingdom of a most enormous size. We recollect one having been killed in the county of Cumberland, which measured, from nose to the end of its tail, upwards of five feet”
It seems likely that the true wildcat is a far more substantial animal than we’ve given it credit for over the years. One eye witness sighting collected by the SWA in 2008 reinforces this idea
Eye Witness Report
The eye witness reported that a German shepherd dog chased and cornered a wildcat only for the cat to launch a retaliatory attack. The unfortunate dog didn’t do all that well, getting a considerable quantity of it’s face torn off and a hefty vet bill.
The dog owner insisted the wildcat’s paws were virtually the same size as the dog’s and that the cat itself was far larger than they expected a wildcat to be. The description of markings, banded tail etc. made it clear it couldn’t be one of the UK’s famed “alien big cats”.
So one of the simplest questions about wildcats has one of the most difficult answers.
It seems quite possible that the wildcat we’re trying to save will be something closer to 100% larger than a domestic or more. A cat of that size would be consistent with the Highland legends of them bringing down small deer.
How Long Does The Scottish Wildcat Live?
Wildcats live until around 7 years of age in the wild, and up to 15 years old in captivity. Predators such as eagles and foxes are a threat to unguarded kittens but will avoid confrontations with adult cats.
In the wild, a wildcat may sustain injuries which prevent it from hunting. Humans cause injury and death via shooting, snaring and road kills. There are no reliable statistics on the most common causes of death.
Scottish Wildcat Behaviour
Aggression
Thought to be man-killers as recently as the 1950s, they are ferociously aggressive defending themselves or their young.
Like much bigger cats, they may even even mock-charge at larger threats, but in reality they deeply fearful of mankind and will do anything they can to avoid us.
Adaptable Hunters
Unlike most cats, the Scottish wildcat are multi-habitat hunters. This behaviour has evolved in response to the severe deforestation that has taken place across the British Isles. This particular behaviour distinguishes the Scottish Wildcat from the mainland European population of wildcats, which tend to be forest specialists.
Less Fearful Of Water
Scottish wildcats fear water less than other cats, which is lucky since they live in Scotland!
Their thick coat keeps out rain, and the capability to prowl along riverbanks provides a great deal of hunting opportunities. The Scottish wildcat will fearlessly swim across a river in order to explore the opposite side.
Solitary
They live solitary lives in the most remote corners of the Scottish West Highlands. The wildcat is active mostly at dawn and dusk (making them a crepuscular species) hunting or maintaining territorial scent markings.
Territories can be as small as 1-2 square miles up to 40 square miles depending on the density of their prey. A typical territory will include a variety of habitats.
Whilst solitary most of the time, the territories of male and female Scottish wildcats will overlap occasionally during mating season.
Cats mark their territory with feline scent markings such as spraying, faeces, clawing and face-rubbing on tree trunks and fenceposts around their territory.
Other cats can interpret these scents to understand the sex, age and health of the other cat, indicating its value as a potential mate or threat as a competitor.
Quiet
Vocal communication is extremely rare in Scottish wildcats. Hissing and yowling are saved for displays of aggression. Wailing is preserved for when female cats are looking for attention from a neighbouring male. Even kittens play in complete silence so as not to attract the attention of predators.
Wildcats have lived in the UK for at least two million years. They have been forced out occasionally by ice age glaciation, and have survived dramatic changes to their habitat over the last hundred years.
Diet and Hunting
Scottish wildcats are obligate carnivores surviving almost exclusively on meat. They play an important ecological role in controlling the numbers of small to medium sized prey animals such as rabbits, rats, hares and other small animals.
Whilst they will opportunistically prey on birds, insects, lizards and even sometimes fish, these species make up a fraction of their diet.
They follow typical feline hunting approaches: slowly creeping close to their prey for a pounce-chase-catch-kill. They will also utilise knowledge of their territory to carry out ambush attacks.
Their killing method is quick and clean with a bite to the throat or spinal cord at the neck.
The Scottish wildcat is often blamed for killing agricultural and game species such as game birds and lambs.
However, records of Scottish wildcat kills (prior to legal protection was afforded) suggest hybrids were the primary culprit.
As per most cats, in desperate times they can and will eat carrion and it is possible that sightings of them feeding on dead deer or sheep may have led to legends of them hunting such large species.
Senses
As with most cats, the Scottish Wildcat has finely honed senses.
Vision
The wildcat is able to see incredibly well at night. During the day, the wildcat sees only partially in colour, and their eyes are highly adept at spotting movement rather than detail. This is true even of their peripheral vision.
Hearing
Their hearing can precisely triangulate the source of any sound, which allows them to hunt productively in dense cover. They can also detect and differentiate between a wide range of tones far in excess of canine ability.
Taste
As carnivores, their taste is developed for eating meat. They have little ability to detect sweet flavours.
Touch
Their touch sense is highly acute, and their paws are able to detect minute ground vibrations.
Whiskers and other specialised hairs are able to detect minute changes in air current.
The Scottish wildcat is very agile and has a highly developed balancing system.
Smell
Their smell is less developed than in canines, but still sufficient to detect prey and carrion. Smell is also used as part of communication with other wildcats which leave scent markings around territorial edges.
Mating
During mating season, female wildcats will heavily scent patches of territory which overlap with a male cat’s territory. They will also wail loudly at night to advertise readiness for mating during mid-winter.
Male/female pairs briefly socialise between January and March purely for breeding purposes, with an average of three kittens born between April and May that are then brought up by the solitary female.
Scottish wildcats only breed at this time of year so that their kittens can sufficiently grow to survive the harsh winter.
If a female loses her litter, she may seek to have a second litter in late spring or early summer.
Wildcats do not form classic “breeding pairs” and so far as we know males have no involvement with their young at all.
Biology
Kittens feed on their mother’s milk before quickly progressing to eating meat |
or KIDS NEED FATHERS...NOT VISITORS) buttons to activists all over the world. Many of you have the Purple Heart stampers with the same logo. We're here forever so if you need any new buttons, stamps or videos, we send them to you for what it costs, all postage paid. (Videotapes of your stories and pictures on the Purple Heart Wall of Hope - $20.00. Stampers - $30.00. Purple Heart Buttons - $60.00 per hundred.)
God bless you and your beloved children, and may He give us the strength to never ever give up hope. I'll be back on line, soon.
Sincerely, Christopher Robin, Sr., exiled, alienated fatherThe questions keep piling up for Bill O'Reilly, and increasingly those questions are being raised by a liberal media watchdog that has long feuded with the conservative Fox News host.
The latest round of scrutiny, over a claim by O'Reilly that he "saw nuns get shot in the back of the head" in El Salvador, forced the top-rated host to clarify his remarks.
For the second time in as many days, Media Matters for America on Wednesday released a report detailing "an apparent fabrication" by O'Reilly.
Media Matters produced two clips of O'Reilly talking about the murders. During a December 2012 broadcast of "The O'Reilly Factor," the host recalled describing the atrocity to his mother.
"When I would tell her, hey, mom, I was in El Salvador and I saw nuns get shot in the back of the head, she almost couldn't process it," O'Reilly said. "She couldn't process it, you know."
O'Reilly didn't detail when or where in El Salvador he saw those murders.
In a statement to CNNMoney on Wednesday night, O'Reilly said that reporters covering the conflict in El Salvador were shown "depictions of nuns who were murdered." He noted that his reference to the nuns in 2012 came on the day of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
"While in El Salvador, reporters were shown horrendous images of violence that were never broadcast, including depictions of nuns who were murdered," O'Reilly said. "The mention of the nuns on my program came the day of the Newtown massacre (December 14, 2012). The segment was about evil and how hard it is for folks to comprehend it."
"I used the murdered nuns as an example of that evil," O'Reilly continued. "That's what I am referring to when I say 'I saw nuns get shot in the back of the head.' No one could possibly take that segment as reporting on El Salvador."
The United States was rocked in December 1980, when three American nuns and a lay woman were murdered in El Salvador. O'Reilly notes in his book "The No Spin Zone" that he went to El Salvador to cover the strife shortly after he was made a correspondent by CBS News in 1981. In a 2009 interview, he said he had arrived in the country "right after" the murder of the nuns.
Media Matters cited a professor of religion at the University of Florida who wrote that "no priests or nuns were killed in El Salvador for more than eight years" after January 1981. The professor, Anna L. Peterson, also noted that "thousands of lay Christian activists continued to die at the hands of death squads and the military."
Peterson told CNNMoney that what she wrote "is correct, to the best of my knowledge." She said that video footage of political killings in El Salvador is rare, but still photos of dead bodies are widely available.
Media Matters has been digging in to O'Reilly's past statements since Mother Jones magazine questioned O'Reilly's claim to have been in a "war zone" during the Falklands war. He was actually reporting from Buenos Aires, thousands of miles from the Falkland Islands.
On Tuesday, Media Matters challenged O'Reilly's repeated claims to have been at the scene when George de Mohrenschildt, a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald, committed suicide.
Media Matters, which is dedicated to correcting misinformation in conservative media, has long kept a critical eye on O'Reilly and his colleagues at Fox News. The group is currently urging supporters to demand that Fox News "hold O'Reilly accountable for his deception."
O'Reilly has dismissed Media Matters in the past as a "vicious" propaganda outfit.
"Those fascists have tried everything they can try to get me off the air," O'Reilly said in 2012.
In a statement to CNNMoney on Wednesday, Fox News made it clear that it still has O'Reilly's back.
"Bill O'Reilly has already addressed several claims leveled against him," a Fox News spokesperson said. "This is nothing more than an orchestrated campaign by far left advocates Mother Jones and Media Matters. Responding to the unproven accusation du jour has become an exercise in futility. FOX News maintains its staunch support of O'Reilly, who is no stranger to calculated onslaughts."This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We’re on the road in San Francisco, California, where we’re continuing our 100-city tour and our conversation about the 2014 police killing of Alex Nieto, as well as a slew of other police killings—Mario Woods, Amilcar Pérez-López and now Luis Gongora, a homeless man who was killed just last Thursday. Three of four of these killings happened in San Francisco’s rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, the Mission District and the adjacent Bernal Heights. We’re going to talk about the link between these killings and gentrification in San Francisco, with author Rebecca Solnit, who wrote a piece called “Death by gentrification,” and community organizer Adriana Camarena. This is Part 2 of our conversation. In the first part, we particularly focused on the death of Alex Nieto and a recent jury decision to acquit the officers who killed him of excessive force. And we also talked about the killing of a homeless San Francisco man named Luis Gongora.
So, Adriana, we ended the first part of the conversation by talking about how you’re organizing. What are the groups that are dealing with these killings? And what do they have in common?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: There have been other groups before the Justice for Alex Nieto Coalition, that formed in 2014, and—like the Idriss Stelley Foundation, the Kenneth Harding Jr. Foundation. And now, with each killing, we have new coalitions forming with community members, neighbors, family. We now have the Justice for Amilcar Pérez-López, which is a group of neighbors who did an extraordinary job of putting together the first witness accounts. And unfortunately, Amilcar was literally killed in front of my house. So I was then part of another case.
AMY GOODMAN: Before we go further—
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: —for those who didn’t see Part 1, and they should go to our website to see it, but explain very briefly what happened to Alex Nieto March 21st, 2014, and then what happened to Amilcar.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Alex was eating a burrito in the park around sunset on March 21st, 2014, just before he went off to work at his job as a night club security guard. And he was wearing his work Taser on his hip. And the short version is that two people passed by, they saw the Taser at his hip, became concerned and called 911. Alex was—didn’t actually engage with them at all, but they proceeded to inform 911 of his location. The police arrived. And two officers first arrived, and they—those first officers unloaded two clips and then reloaded and kept on shooting for a total of 43 bullets, before two other officers arrived and shot 16 more bullets. That’s—
AMY GOODMAN: You have two things. He was carrying a Taser—
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: —which he used for work. And he was wearing his 49ers jacket and a baseball cap.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: But they were red.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Right, and they were red. And so, the description, which was actually elicited by the dispatch caller, was, “What is he”—you know, “Where is he? What is he wearing? What race is he?” And so, the description that was sent out to police is that they were looking for a Hispanic male, six feet tall, 200 pounds, wearing a red jacket and a gun at his hip. And so, with that description, they were basically setting up Alex Nieto to be killed, because he was—he could easily be profiled by police as a Norteño gang member.
AMY GOODMAN: Because they wear red.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Because they wear red.
AMY GOODMAN: But they don’t consider the rest of San Francisco that wears these red 49ers jackets to be gang members.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Exactly. One of Alex’s close friends, Ben Bac Sierra, said, “What if it had been a white person in a jacket? Would they have taken him for an off-duty cop?” Right?
AMY GOODMAN: So, he was killed by police March 21st.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: And a trial just acquitted them of excessive force.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: What happened to the man, Amilcar, who was killed in front of your house? When was this?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: This was February 26, 2015, so almost a year later. Amilcar is a—was a day laborer, 21-year-old Guatemalan man from Ch’orti’ indigenous descent. And he lived in a house across the street from us. And so, because day laborers would congregate outside the house, and so he was having a confrontation with somebody who took his cellphone. And so, he—this person walked away with his cellphone. The person had a bicycle. And so, to understand—these are people who don’t speak Span—English, sorry, sometimes not even Spanish. But he took a knife from his house and wanted to impress upon this person to give him back his cellphone. At that point, there were two undercover cops who came up behind him, did not identify themselves. They jumped him. And he had the natural reaction of wriggling out. He didn’t know what was happening. He dropped the knife that was in his hand, and he ran away from them. But what happened is—what I know from eyewitness accounts is that they—the police officer dropped the flashlight he had in his hand, and so his reaction was to immediately stand up and shoot him. And so, what’s remarkable about this version is that immediate version of police is that Amilcar [Pérez-López] was lunging at police officers. But very smartly, the lawyers who took the case did immediately an autopsy, and the finding is that there were six shots to the back.
AMY GOODMAN: Six shots in the back?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes. And what was really impressive about it was that the—and the police said, from the—immediately and into the town hall meeting, that their version of events was that Amilcar had lunged at them with a knife. But the autopsy showed that all shots were to the back.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, what did the police say once the autopsy came out?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: They have sustained their version. They have now shifted slightly to say that he was turning. But we all know that when the police put out a statement, it is—it’s a fictional narrative. It’s a narrative that is adjusted to the legal standards, which is basically that they felt a threat and they feared for their lives. So, what’s really important is sometimes to hold them to those accounts, because, over time, as evidence comes forward, that narrative will fall apart.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s the story of Amilcar Pérez-López.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: No one was held accountable in his killing.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Well, in this case, we’re waiting to see if the district attorney is actually going to press charges in this case. There’s rumblings that he might.
AMY GOODMAN: When was Amilcar killed?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: On February 26 of 2015.
AMY GOODMAN: So why has it taken so long? This is more than a year later.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes, it’s usually—they usually wait for the autopsy report, that I think was just released around his anniversary. And so, we are literally waiting for the district attorney to make a statement. There’s pressure right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Mario Woods, what happened to him on December 2nd? This is a very well-known story in San Francisco, but not as well known nationally, although it was raised by some of the Super Bowl dancers with Beyoncé who held up a sign, “Justice for Mario Woods.”
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Exactly, and, yes, it’s very well known in San Francisco. In this case, there’s actually video of bystanders where you see Mario being surrounded by approximately five officers. And you can see him literally cowering and walking against a wall. He’s not being aggressive. You can see he’s terrified. And what happens is that one of the officers moves into his line of where he’s walking. At that moment, there’s a release of a barrage of bullets from all of them. I’ve heard the number 20 bullets. And we see Mario die in the video. And it’s very shocking and traumatic for those who view this video or everybody who’s there present.
AMY GOODMAN: And where did this happen?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: This happened in the Bayview neighborhood. And in this case, the police were asked why did so many shoot, as clearly he wasn’t a threat. And the answer the chief of police said is that there’s a thing called sympathetic fire. And so, basically, there’s sympathy for other officers firing, but not for one man surrounded by all these officers. And so, there has been a strong coalition and other community organizers, including the coalition—the 3 Percent Coalition, who’s focused also on gentrification, looking into the case of Mario Woods.
AMY GOODMAN: Rebecca Solnit, this piece you wrote, “Death by gentrification,” which very much profiles the story of Alex Nieto, his death back in 2014, and then this civil trial, which may not be familiar to many, the idea that police officers go on trial, but they’re not going to face criminal charges. This is a civil suit that the family has brought against them using excessive force, though the jury found they did not use excessive force. Were jurors interviewed afterwards about why they felt what they felt?
REBECCA SOLNIT: No. Some journalists went after them, but weren’t able to get interviews. We don’t know why they made the decision they did.
AMY GOODMAN: You also interviewed Alex Nieto’s boss at the night club. He was a bouncer at a night club. Talk about how he described Alex.
REBECCA SOLNIT: Yeah, he was a—worked at a night club. Is it El Toro? I’m suddenly forgetting the name. Yeah. That has a Latino immigrant population going there. It can get very rowdy. Sometimes they have as many as nine security and bouncer guys working there. We went to talk to his boss after the trial, because I still felt like, OK, they’re talking—you know, the police story is that he was mentally ill, etc. And I was like, how could you work as a bouncer if you, like, were unable to deal with stress and make decisions in conflict, etc.? His boss could not say enough good about him. He adored Alex. He just deeply admired him. He loved how he could really defuse conflicts. He was a peacemaker. He would take people who were drunk and rowdy out in ways that didn’t—weren’t macho, didn’t increase the conflict, was really good at just like a really peaceful, calming presence, a real kind of hero in that space. And his boss couldn’t believe that he would do that with a Taser, and can’t believe this happened, and clearly just values and honors him deeply.
AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s pivot to the larger issue of gentrification that you raise, your piece headlined “Death by gentrification.” Three of the four cases that we have looked at—we previously talked about the killing of the homeless man, Luis Gongora, just last week—talk about where they took place in San Francisco and what’s happening here.
REBECCA SOLNIT: Mario Woods was killed in the Bayview district, which is a historically black district in southern San Francisco. The other three killings—the two non-English-speaking immigrants were killed in the Mission District, a historically Latino district with deep roots in really strong, beautiful Latino culture. And Alex was killed in the adjoining neighborhood that’s really part of the Mission in many ways, Bernal Heights.
And the gentrification—you know, the feeling you get from the community is that we’re being pushed out in many different ways. We’re being pushed out by evictions, by unaffordable housing, by the destruction of churches and businesses, bookstores, social services, nonprofits, etc., making way for a culture—you know, for new enterprises that serve a new incoming population of young, mostly white, mostly male tech workers. So you’re really having the wholesale replacement of one culture by another. And in the Mission, which is a really culturally rich place with really deep roots, really deeply meaningful, I think, for the United States Latino cultural identity as a whole, you know, this destruction is particularly painful. People are losing something, a sense of connection, a sense of community, a sense of memory and history. And it’s really kind of like a lobotomy for the neighborhoods as everything that makes people connected to the past, to each other, to a sense of meaning, to an identity, gets stripped away, and it all turns into a kind of shiny new kind of place that could be any place in the developed world.
AMY GOODMAN: You have written that Alex Nieto may have been killed in part because he grew up in a multicultural neighborhood where he dared to think that he belonged.
REBECCA SOLNIT: That—you know, it’s very hard, since Alex is not available for interviews. But the sense that I get from many of his friends and from knowing people who grew up right around him—some of my closest friends did—is that, you know, when he grew up, Bernal Heights was multi-ethnic, including white people. But it was—but people were really comfortable being around diversity. And the sense I get of him is of somebody who felt like he was an insider, felt at home, assumed that people respected him and respected his right to be there, and that he wasn’t really prepared for outsiders who saw him as an intruder, as somebody who didn’t belong, as somebody who didn’t have the right to be there.
AMY GOODMAN: His parents lived in this neighborhood for how many decades? Adriana, let me put that to you. You’ve become very close to them. They lived in one apartment, one house, for how many years with Alex and his brother?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: After they married, Refugio and Elvira Nieto moved into their home on Cortland street in 1984. So, since then, they’ve lived there.
AMY GOODMAN: And raised their two boys.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: And they raised their two boys there, Hector and Alex.
AMY GOODMAN: And what happened to Hector, Alex’s brother, after Alex was killed? He sat next to his parents in the courtroom.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes, absolutely. He was there every day. He’s a very quiet, reserved young man. And he—but he stood there, and he took on the information. And he and I would sometimes debrief a little bit, but he basically understood that there was a version of the narrative the police were telling about his brother that was truly false.
AMY GOODMAN: And moving forward, in terms of gentrification and police sweeps of the homeless, Luis Gongora just last week, the homeless man, being killed. And he was killed in which neighborhood?
REBECCA SOLNIT: He was also killed in the Mission. And for me, this is really a death-by-gentrification story, because first he’s evicted from his home, and, of course, there’s incredible competition for the incredibly expensive housing, and an immigrant laborer was not going to compete successfully. So he became homeless, lived in a tent, established himself in a kind of tent community as a kind of beloved and trusted and kind member, was—as some of the people who lived in houses around really liked and trusted him. And so there’s a sense of people being pushed further and further. First he’s pushed out of his home. Then the mayor, particularly when the Super Bowl happens, pushes the homeless out of places they’ve traditionally been, and steps up the harassment of homeless people, 71 percent of which, as I said earlier, were previously housed in San Francisco. And then the police come and shoot him, and he’s just driven out of this life altogether.
AMY GOODMAN: And the Super Bowl, what happened as a result of the Super Bowl or the plans for it to happen?
REBECCA SOLNIT: It was so ridiculous. The Super Bowl actually happened in Santa Clara in Silicon Valley. The 49ers have moved south. But to make the city look pretty for the newcomer, for the visitors, for the tourists, the mayor decided to do massive sweeps of the homeless. And so like a whole new level of persecution began where people were pushed out of a lot of other neighborhoods. Many of them moved south of Market, which is adjacent to the Mission, and to the Mission. It’s been a very rainy, wet winter, so they’re living in tents. The tents were confiscated and trashed. One of the really painful things we saw was a disabled veteran who required a walker to get around. We saw his walker thrown into a garbage truck and compacted. People are losing their medicines, their possessions, their identity, their phones. You know, all their belongings are just thrown away. And so, it’s a real kind of purge. And where are these people supposed to go? They have no place to go.
AMY GOODMAN: This was just in this morning, published this morning. A sixth witness disputes police account of homeless man’s killing in San Francisco, Luis Gongora’s killing. She says he appeared relaxed and was not posing a threat to anyone before officers shot and killed him.
REBECCA SOLNIT: We have a lot of witnesses who say he was not a threat, and they conflict with the police story. The police claim that there were three witnesses supporting their version. But no journalist has ever heard—we’ve never heard from them. We don’t know their names. They haven’t appeared. We don’t know if they exist. And as Adriana and I have been telling you, the San Francisco police don’t have a great reputation for truthfulness right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Adriana Camarena, you are a community organizer. You’ve been very close to the Nietos. During the trial, you sat with them. You helped translate. You’re also a lawyer—well, in Mexico. And you’re now trying to document what is taking place in your communities here in San Francisco. Can you describe what happened to you on Saturday night as you tried to film?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Sure. One of the things that we’ve learned, unfortunately, through these cases is that it takes the neighbors to get the first account of these shootings right, because we know that the narrative of the police is that they were threatened and had to shoot for their lives. So, as soon as I could on the night that he was killed, I made a first round and introduced myself to the residents of the homeless encampment. And after that—
AMY GOODMAN: This is when Luis Gongora was killed?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes, when Luis Gongora was killed on Thursday, April 7th. And so, after that, I returned, and we exchanged numbers. And so, now they had my numbers, two of the witnesses. And what—and I told them, “If you need help, just call me.” So it’s Saturday night. I’m already ready to go to sleep, and they call around 11:00 p.m. to say that they—the cops have arrived with sticks, they’re hitting on the tents, they’re pushing them out. So I put a call out. I blasted out a call saying, “Whoever can go out there right now, come out and observe what’s going on.” So, by the time I arrived, it was closer to midnight, maybe 11:30 into midnight. And I started filming.
And I did see the cops tearing down tents. What I learned that had happened is that many of the homeless people who are terrified of contact with police, as soon as they arrived, they fled. So the police officers were—there weren’t that many, maybe about four. Some people have said up to six, but I saw four. They targeted the tents that were unattended. One of them belonged to another one of the witnesses. And they literally dismantled, slashed them, tore them apart. And it really felt like a retaliation, because they just targeted the homeless people on that block, on Shotwell from 18th to 19th Streets. There were homeless people around the corner. And basically, they didn’t actually even pick up. The remains of these structures were left there for the homeless people, on a rainy night, to pick up during the night.
And so, as I was filming there, I also had an interaction with one of the officers, who resented my filming, and so he flashed a flashlight into my face. And I asked him, “Are you doing this so I can’t film you?” And he responded, “No, I’m doing this because you’re pointing an object at me, and I’m concerned for my safety,” which is basically the language that police officers use to pull out their guns and shoot people.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, I want to go to the clip of you, Adriana Camarena, filming the police in San Francisco dismantling this homeless camp shortly after Luis Gongora’s killing.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: So you’re flashing your camera—your flashlight at me so that I can’t record? Is that the idea?
POLICE OFFICER: I’m flashing my flashlight at you because you’re pointing something at me, and I’m concerned for my safety.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: You’re concerned about your safety, after there was a police shooting on this block?
POLICE OFFICER: Yeah.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes?
POLICE OFFICER: Especially after that.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Especially, because it’s on video that you responded—your colleagues responded within 30 seconds by shooting bean bags and then bullets? You are the danger on the streets.
AMY GOODMAN: “You are the danger on the streets,” you said to the San Francisco police.
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes, that’s exactly how I feel and how many of my members in the coalitions and also just neighbors at this point feel. It’s dangerous that they are so reckless about their use of force. And I think they have become brazen, especially after the Alex Nieto trial. They feel emboldened to use their weapons, because no charges have come from the district attorney, and the case was not successful. But it was successful in pointing out their behavior.
AMY GOODMAN: The California primary is coming up on June 7th. Are these issues of police brutality, of police killings being raised at the higher levels of government? Is the movement, do you feel, coalesced enough that this will become a presidential campaign issue?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: What I have been able to—the only instance that I’ve seen so far is that—precisely on the Facebook page for Luis Gongora, also known by his nickname Willy Gongora, a supporter for Bernie Sanders has mentioned, #MovementForBernie, that they will respond to the shootings in San Francisco. So, it could be possible that that’s coming up.
REBECCA SOLNIT: We do have local candidates with different positions on the issue running for the state Assembly. And San Francisco is like pretty nearly 100 percent Democratic Party, but there’s a real schism between the people serving the tech corporations and the wealthy elite, and in the Assembly race for San Francisco that’s represented by Scott Wiener, and by Jane Kim, who’s much more on the populist side of the divide in city politics.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s so interesting the way these stories are described, so often the person who is shot by police seen as the threat—and this is something you referenced, Adriana. Rebecca, what about this?
REBECCA SOLNIT: You know, what was interesting to me, when I was charged with not saying enough about Alex Nieto’s mental illness, which I actually didn’t say anything about in my Guardian piece because nothing convinced me that he had any mental illness—and if the evidence of that was supposed to be that he pointed his Taser at the police, and the only outside witness says he didn’t, then forget that story—what I suddenly realized, with my experience with rape stories, something I’ve covered a lot, is that the victim gets put on trial. The victim is treated as the guilty one. The victim undergoes character assassination. A lot of red herrings are thrown out about things that are irrelevant. We heard about Trayvon Martin’s high school, you know, suspension. We heard about Eric Garner’s arrest record for nonviolent, petty sort of harassment offenses. And so, there is this weird way where who’s guilty—and are you guilty of being shot by the police?—but all this evidence comes up to prove—to justify what the police did.
And the other similarity for me between these police stories and the rape stories that I’ve covered so often, nobody ever shows up in court and says, “Yeah, I totally raped that person.” Nobody—the police never show up and say, “Oh, hell yeah, that was excessive use of force. Oh, hell yeah, we violated that person’s civil rights.” So of course they always say that there was a threat, that it was justifiable, etc., and then start trying to convince people to not care about this person, to not value this person, to not believe the people who stand up for this person. And that’s kind of routine. There’s a way in which you should look at all the evidence and form your own opinion, and there are justifiable homicides in like hostage situations and things like that. But in these cases where—it’s kind of a given that you’ll be told that this was a very bad person who was doing very terrible things.
AMY GOODMAN: Adriana, finally, in the case of Alex Nieto, the man who made the original 911 call, though he hadn’t even seen Alex—his partner had seen Alex and was concerned that the Taser looked like a gun—he attempted to apologize at the trial to Alex Nieto’s parents?
ADRIANA CAMARENA: Yes, he did apologize. I was there with the Nietos. It was during a recess after he had testified. He came straight at them. And I’ll try to recall what he said, but he said that he was very sorry for the loss of Alex, that no parent should have to go through what they went through, and that he just wanted to tell them how sorry he was. And at that moment, I was—the Nietos got a translation of the apology, and they had different reactions. And the father immediately took his hand and embraced him. And he later—Refugio later told me that, for him, he heard Alex saying that even in facing some of our—the people who hurt us, you have to take the higher ground. His mom, on the other hand, heard the apology, but she wasn’t in the place to hear it or, you know, to accept it or to allow herself to be touched. And since I am studying restorative justice, I would say that that was appropriate, and each victim has their journey. And I respect the parents very much, each—each one of them for their reaction.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you both very much for spending this time talking about what’s happening in your communities. Adriana Camarena is a community organizer, a lawyer in Mexico. Here, she is working with families who have been victimized by police. And Rebecca Solnit, we’re going to link to your piece, “Death by gentrification,” that you did for The Guardian. Rebecca Solnit is a well-known author and writer, acclaimed all over the United States. This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.SINGAPORE - People who work in "green" buildings are less likely to suffer from fatigue, headache and even skin irritation, according to a study which shows that the benefits of such buildings stretch beyond saving energy.
These findings, released on Tuesday (Sept 12), will help the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in redoubling its efforts - also announced on the same day - to make more buildings environmentally friendly.
The efforts include improving indoor air quality for building occupants and linking data on the energy consumption of commercial buildings with their identities.
The study was conducted by BCA and the National University of Singapore on eight Green Mark-certified office buildings - which have environmentally sustainable designs - and six office buildings that were not certified. The Green Mark scheme is a voluntary benchmarking scheme used by BCA to evaluate a building on its environmental design and performance.
The study's findings were revealed at the opening of Green Building Week at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
The study, which began in January 2014 and lasted 3½ years, found disparities in the buildings' indoor levels of PM2.5 - microscopic particles harmful to human health.
The Green Mark-certified buildings were better able keep PM2.5 particles and other fine particulates such as bacteria and fungi out, thanks to better filters.
Surveys conducted with the occupants found that those working in Green Mark-certified buildings were more satisfied with their office's temperature, humidity, lighting, air quality and indoor environment, the BCA said.
"As a building authority, we started the green building journey by focusing on the building's hardware, and how to make a building efficient by design and construction," a spokesman for BCA said.
"Ultimately, buildings are for people. As we reviewed our Green Mark scheme, we placed greater emphasis on the indoor environmental quality, to take into consideration the health and well-being of building occupants."
The study's findings will be used to tweak existing criteria for BCA's Green Mark schemes for various types of properties, ranging from shopping malls to schools.
For a start, it will pilot a new set of criteria for existing non-residential buildings, such as office buildings and shopping malls, for one year, starting on Tuesday.
This will place greater emphasis on the use of smart technologies, for instance, which will require buildings to have smart systems to monitor air quality and energy usage.
The BCA is also working with the Health Promotion Board to develop a new Green Mark scheme for encouraging healthy lifestyles at workplaces, with features such as indoor greenery, exercise facilities and access to healthier food and drink options. The scheme will be rolled out next year.
Currently, about one-third of buildings in Singapore are Green Mark-certified. The BCA aims to increase that to 80 per cent by 2030.
It hopes that sharing data on the benefits gained from incorporating environmentally sustainable features into buildings would spur more building owners, especially those with older buildings, to invest in green upgrades.
This week, BCA will, for the first time, link the names of three-quarters of Singapore's commercial buildings, which number about 1,000, with data on their energy performance. The buildings - which consume 65 per cent of the total amount of energy consumed by buildings - voluntarily disclosed their identities.
The BCA said it is considering making it mandatory for such data to be linked to the identities of commercial buildings.
It added that the energy use intensity - the yearly total energy consumed per unit floor area - for commercial buildings, healthcare facilities and educational institutions has dropped by 9 per cent from 2008 levels, saving enough electricity to power some 150,000 four-room flats. This is equivalent to $150 million in cost savings.
The BCA said it is also working with the Ministry of Education to make all mainstream schools, which number at more than 300, Green Mark-certified, an increase from the current 30. It also aims to train 25,000 green building professionals, such as architects and engineers, by 2025, up from the current 16,000 already trained.The president, as he has in the past, reiterated that it was “an embarrassment” that women on average earn 77 cents for every dollar men make. But he made no mention of a recent study that found that women in his own White House make 88 cents for every dollar men do. Aides have said women earn the same salary as men of the same rank but that there are more women in lower-paying jobs — an explanation similar to that often given by private-sector employers.
Some critics have said both of those statistics are misleading because they are averages of all men and women in all jobs, rather than apples-to-apples comparisons of men and women in equivalent jobs with equivalent experience. Once such factors are taken into account, they say, the gap is smaller.
“We all support equal pay for equal work and know there’s a problem that must be addressed,” said Kirsten Kukowski, national press secretary for the Republican National Committee. “But many are questioning the Democrats’ motives as they continue their dishonesty about the issue and their own gender gap.”
The Senate is set to vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act on Wednesday, and a memo distributed by the Republican National Committee and two other party committees ahead of the vote noted that it was already illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender. It said Democrats “always seem to wait for an election year to push another empty promise.”
The committees released statistics showing pay gaps in the office staffs of several Democrats up for re-election this year, including Senators Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark R. Warner of Virginia, Mary L. Landrie |
to embrace new technologies and integrate them into their teaching practices.
Cloud-based tools like eCoach and Versal allow teachers to completely transform their lessons for any device (although Versal requires the installation of a separate player). Both of these tools incorporate interactive eLearning elements and activities into lessons with 1-click publishing, allowing you to share your courses anywhere.
While teachers are hesitant to constantly adopt new technology, the next generation of online authoring platforms means that anyone can make great looking online lessons with little or no design expertise.
If teachers have the right tools to bring their BYOD lessons to life, it will also help their students explore, discover, and problem-solve their way to better learning outcomes from any device. If students are engaged in what they doing, it will also provide better opportunities for support and mentoring in the classroom.
As many schools have now shown, BYOD can work in your school community as long is it’s well planned with clear policies. Most importantly though, your school’s staff need to get on board, inspiring students by using digital resources that to build momentum in the classroom.
Now’s the time to start planning your BYOD training, tools and technologies for 2016, building a roadmap for the scholastic year. It’s also important to regularly review your efforts throughout the year to apply what’s learned in future policies.Comics have a long and storied history ranging from celebrated to condemned, lauded to dismantled, loved to hated. Marvel in particular has characters that reach as far back in history as World War II, with Captain America fighting side-by-side with the Greatest Generation to combat Nazi tyranny and oppression. With the dawn of the 1960's, Marvel issued in its most well known and beloved characters, including Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and a slew of other timeless characters. Amidst this parade of costume characters who were unlike anything that had come before, Stan Lee and Bill Everett introduced us to Matt Murdock, blind attorney, Catholic, born and raised in the mean streets of NYC's Hell's Kitchen, and his crime-fighting alter-ego, Daredevil.
A long bit of history as an introduction, I know, but here's what you need to understand, and why it relates to this book: when Daredevil first came about, it was during an explosion of creativity at Marvel that saw all these heroes explode on the scene. But while many thrived in the decade to come, by the late 1970's, Daredevil was on the verge of cancellation. The books weren't selling, and no one really cared about the character. It seemed "Ole Horn Head" was nearing his demise. Enter Frank Miller. Miller began as a penciller on DD, and within 10 issues, began writing the character, with the amazing Klaus Janson inking. What they did next revived the character, and left an imprint on comics that would last for decades to come.
What Miller and Janson did that I feel was most important was that they transitioned DD away from being a superhero book, into more of a neo-noir crime drama. Whereas before DD had battled costumed villians like Stilt-Man and The Owl, Miller brought Wilson Fisk, the notorious Kingpin of Crime, into the spotlight, as well as reinvigorating staple villain Bullseye, and formed one of the greatest hero-villain struggles in all of comics. Miller located Matt and his supporting cast almost exclusively in Hell's Kitchen, eliminating the need for Matt to battle all over NYC. The Avengers, Spider-Man, and others already had that covered. Matt was going to take care of Hell's Kitchen, the placed that made him who he is. This is important, as it changed DD's dynamic from a traditional superhero, into a devoted, sometimes violent guardian of several blocks in a sprawling city, a "backyard hero." This made Matt a character that was far more relatable and empathetic to readers. Very few of us go to save the world, but everybody understands the impulse to defend their home turf.
Miller's writing is great here. His senior efforts that made him a household name were still a ways off, and this is the voice of a growing artist, not a seasoned professional. Despite this, the dialogue is sharp, the scenarios well written and engaging, and the human drama is center stage. Miller had a vision when he assumed duties on DD, and he communicates it beautifully. I don't want to spoil things, but the continuous struggle that Matt endures, not only while combating the likes of Kingpin and Bullseye, is equaled in every way by his personal struggles amidst his love for Miller-created Elektra, Matt's lover turned master assassin, his vigilantism versus his oath to uphold the law, and his deep seeded guilt for his actions spurred by his Catholic beliefs versus his determination to right the wrongs in his city. Simply put, this is a story to rival any told not only in the comics medium, but any piece of fiction.
The artwork is good, though definitely a product of the 1970's. As comics have developed, the art has (mostly) gotten better, with advances in technology and, more importantly, the willingness of people to acknowledge comics as a valid medium, which in turn attracted better, more developed artists to the field. That said, Miller's pencils are tight, concentrated efforts that tell an excellent story through their visual punch. Action scenes, moments of quiet drama, and emotional explosions are all prevalent and portrayed as only Miller can. Klaus Janson, providing inks throughout and taking over pencils when Miller relinquished them to write full time, is awe inspiring, with crisp, powerful brush and pen work that adds the shadowy depth that would come to signify and define DD's world. To summarize: Miller made it plausible, Janson made it real.
As for the book itself, this is one of Marvel's finest compendiums. The book is your standard hardcover fair: reinforced, high quality paper, and very durable. It's packed with pencil and ink sketches, unused covers, an extensive interview with Miller and Janson, as well as introductions by both. Simply put, you're getting an absolute deal with this book.
Miller and Janson's work not only redefined and established DD as a powerhouse in comics, but laid the groundwork for Miller's future masterpieces, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Sin City, Ronin, and of course, his return to the character that made his fame with the acclaimed DD storyline, "Born Again," as well as his excellent collaboration with John Romita Jr. on the character, "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear." While Miller's work has definitely deteriorated in recent years (All Star Batman anyone?...), this is Miller, not quite at the peak of his powers, but confident and aggressive in bringing a unique voice to a unique character. After finishing this, I would also recommend the aforementioned DD titles, "Born Again," and "The Man Without Fear." If you still can't get enough DD, check out Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleevs' run on the title (collected in three TPBs as The Ultimate Collection series) as well as Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's run (also in the Ultimate Collection series). This is an amazing book, with an amazing story, with a hero who doesn't always win, but never gives up. I encourage you to dive right into Hell's Kitchen and follow Murdock and Co. through some of the best stories that comics, and fiction at large, have ever produced. Be sure you bring plenty of gauze and a steel baton. You'll need them.How do I get silver?
Dungeons are often filled with humanoid mobs
What's the best way to get silver?
Mobs that have been alive for a long time often carry up to 20 times the amount of silver of freshly spawned mobs
Treasure territories exists out in the world, they are capturable by guilds, currently most of these territories are unclaimed so cease the opportunity!
Hey there!We at sandbox interactive are as usual keeping an close watch on the test, several of us are in fact in the game answering questions and playing alongside you!And one of the more worrisome questions we tend to get isOrSo in this short guide I intend to answer these questions and hopefully help people transition into the nature of Albion Online.Silver is primarily dropped from humanoid mobs out in the world, when you first leave either Kings or Queens Market you will enter into an area with a lot of tier 2 resources and tier 2 heretics.They should be a great beginners source of silverThis is an opinion that will differ from person to person, I personally will go into how to make silver from PVE while @Korn wrote some tips on how to make money through the marketplace over at Using the market to make money right now The biggest difference between how Albion Online and other games differs are that we want to have a real economy, this means we cannot pump the game full with silver or resources and have limited the amount of silver & resources entering the game.Mobs & Resources works in a way that they will Spawn and their loot will continue to grow the longer they are alive, this means that most mob spawns in highly trafficked areas will be quite bad for maximizing silver income,This is why we suggest people to spread out and settle either within or close to the PVP enabled area, despite the risk of PVP* Travel, freshly spawned mobs have the least amount of silver. Often territories that are percieved as too dangerous to go into have the best rewards.* Only wear what you are afford to lose, you should preferably be coming home with more silver then the value of what you left home with.* Group up! Find a Guild or some other Solo players and group up with them! Even being only 2 players together helps you take on much harder mobs.* Look on the world map! Find the closest treasure territories, they are often a good source of silver* Shields add a lot of armor and allows you to taunt the target enemy* Leather armor got a great heal which will lower your downtime. (Bringing food is also great)* Using the defensive strike will buff your armor (stacks up to 3 times) will increase your survivability* The Ability "Disabling Strike" will help you a lot against mobs that cast spells, interrupting their spells will ease your PVE experience.This is Out For Delivery, the Number One delivery guy podcast in the nation. If there's a new way, we'll be the first in line. Wolf Kid is in a relationship and it is facebag official. Jason is very proud. Chuck's coughing is back with a vengance and it finally makes him puke in the office restroom. Lots of other toilet terrorists striking in the office. Col. Brian says everything is gonna be all right. No one believes him. Another edit fest for the podcast. None of the boys really drink booze anymore. Be a pal and use our amazon link at www.eldoradostudio.net. A couple of clicks is all it takes. On the landing page, just use the search bar and shop away. We thank you. The Word/Phrase of The Week is "Fee Fees". In Loving Memory of PISS HEAD. Jason's confession....he is ON THE NASAL SPRAY! Neti pots are awful. Brian has a customer who "blacked" a woman's eye. Skin tag lady was cockblocked by her husband, so no harassment.
Work safe and we'll see you next week.When the 23rd century gave way to the 24th, the flip phone communicators of the original "Star Trek" were replaced by the ComBadge that Picard and crew wear on their chests to communicate with one another via a quick tap. But for all of Star Trek's influence on modern tech, getting an actual ComBadge didn't seem realistic. Until now.
Timed with Star Trek's 50th anniversary, ThinkGeek's sale of the officially licensed ComBadges should be a sigh of relief for ensigns and yeomen everywhere. With a Bluetooth connection and a built-in microphone, the badge can connect to a phone for hands-free communication. Neodynium magnets give it that sleek Star Trek feeling. It even makes the delightful chirp known to Star Trek fans far and wide.
The one drawback: If you were planning to get one for Halloween, you're out of luck. ThinkGeek says they start shipping in November.
Source: ThinkGeekMIDLAND, MI — Though Midland police have said they will look no farther into Breckenridge resident Anthony Padilla's claim that multiple Sasquatches are living on his property, Michigan Bigfoot investigators have taken up the case.
The Bigfoot Field Research Organization, based in San Francisco, has chapters in each state and investigates reported Bigfoot sightings. The group has sent Matthew Smith, a Michigan Bigfoot investigator, to follow up on Padilla's report.
Smith and Padilla have met, and Padilla supplied Smith with evidence including pizza boxes from which the Bigfoots have eaten, a photo album, tape recorder and video recorder.
“I looked at hair samples from the pizza box under a light, compared them to other Bigfoot hair samples, and they matched,” Smith said. “This could be something. This is going to be tested for DNA.”
To deem a sighting as legitimate, the group takes a look at factors such as location, the history of Bigfoot sightings in the area and the evidence. If these seem to check out, investigators will camp in the area Bigfoot is said to have been spotted.
“You have to look at how much wooded area there is. Obviously you’re not going to see a bigfoot in the middle of the city,” said Smith. “You have to look at the history, look at the archives and see if there are any other witnesses that have seen it. If you have people from the same community that haven’t talked to each other, you know it could be real.”
Matthew Smith has analyzed several pizza boxes Anthony Padilla has found in relation to bigfoot and found many "clumps" of hair.
Part of what Smith said legitimizes Padilla’s claim to Bigfoot investigators is that there have been sightings from four people in the area.
“A woman across the road from and a ways away from Padilla (emailed) me and said she had actually had three encounters on her property,” Smith said. “She has been a hunter for 31 years, says her son has seen it, and she has seen it twice.”
Padilla said his first encounter with a Bigfoot happened while he was walking through the woods behind his house. The night before, he had heard rumbling noises and decided to try to determine the source of the sound. While in the woods, Padilla came upon a figure he thought was a hunter in a Ghillie suit or a Department of Natural Resources employee.
“His back was arched, but I saw him first. I seen him first, and then he seen me, and he arched up like a big statue and froze,” Padilla said. “I tried speaking to it; I couldn’t spit it out. I wasn’t scared; he wouldn’t let me.”
The next thing Padilla said he remembers is seeing two deer leaving the area. After this encounter, Padilla said he and the creatures have a spiritual bond.
Padilla said many of his communications with the creatures have revolved around food he has left for it.
“I had a whole pack of Nutter Butter cookies around the tree, and the top was missing off one,” Padilla said. “The peanut butter was poked with a stick and (the stick) was sticking up in the ground.”
Gordonville Grocery has also taken note of the area’s Bigfoot connection. In honor of the recent sightings, the store's pizza makers created a foot-shaped pizza.
Amber Hunter, a pizza maker at Gordonville Grocery, said her brother is an artist and developed the pizza shape.
"A lot of people are coming in and asking where (Bigfoot) was sighted," Hunter said. "I've here lived on the same road that Bigfoot is supposedly living on, and I've never seen it. But I don't want to argue it because it's bringing so much business. I don't know."German newspaper “Die Welt” reports that a 19-year-old Afghan refugee tried to drown his girlfriend during a relationship argument.
According to the newspaper, the Afghan threw the girl into the cold water of Berlin’s Havel River and repeatedly tried to push her underwater.
As she did not drown, he jumped in the water as well and then tried it again. Fortunately for the girl, she could save herself by swimming away and climbing up a ladder. But the Afghan, who did not know how to swim, swallowed large quantities of water.
The girl was taken to hospital with hypothermia. Her boyfriend had to be resuscitated and was taken to hospital as well. According to the police the man is being investigated for attempted murder. The Afghan suspect arrived in Germany in 2015.
A gas station attendant who witnessed the incident said:
“I saw how the soaking wet, the frightened girl was while being taken to the ambulance. About a minute later, a commotion broke out among the rescuers. They ran back to the water and searched for the woman’s boyfriend…. Then, a boat of the water police arrived, and pulled the man from the water.”A “life crisis” is when you realise that you are not your life role. “Normal” is when you pretend you didn’t see it and keep acting. But cowardice comes at a price.
The thirties (or quarter-life) crisis is when you are growing up and realise that your decisions have all been made for you. Worse even, you don’t have the courage to say no. You don’t want that responsibility. You never stop and think – and it comes at a price.
20 things you pay for during your thirties crisis:
1. That right-swipe frenzy on Tinder
…to prove yourself that you are still young and alive.
People you dismiss for “funny” rules you’ve just made up as if you were a sitcom character:
“She ate her peas one at a time.”
And, of course, you will be dismissed for no obvious reason.
You drink around two dozen lattes you would never have bought otherwise. (That’s 4800 calories plus sugar, syrup, fake sugars, and muffins.) You undergo half a dozen dinners when you order to impress, not to eat. Countless drinks in noisy bars and clubs you would rather have avoided but you think pubs are the only place you can legitimately talk to other people.
2. Costly signalling
In the animal kingdom costly signalling is the peacock’s plumage. For you, it’s stuff that leaves you financially crippled but is meant to attract mates, who wouldn’t come otherwise. Watches, brand name shirts. Shoes he had never noticed. Make-up he likes you better without.
3. Trips to make better profile pics.
Look for the photo-op. Share. Compare. Repeat.
4. Chasing that promotion…
…so that you can afford those hobbies and trips. Your boss’s watch and pro biking gear.
5. 200 condoms and a bucketful of birth control pills
…and weekly pregnancy tests. Just to be safe.
Bad sex, because there’s rarely enough time to learn each other (see #1).
6. That medical check-up
…because you thought you had a heart attack. And the medications for panic.
7. Therapy.
Where you pay someone to tell you that’s normal. They do. You learn that your panic is a stupid frenzy. You whip yourself into running – but you don’t know where to.
But you don’t stop to think. You’ve paid for the therapy, let that be enough.
I could tell you that it is not unavoidable, it is not “life”, it could be done differently. For free. But you wouldn’t listen. Because it’s free. And because you’re deaf.
8. Dating that person,
…who doesn’t move you but fits the bill of a Desirable Partner and all your friends envy. Or so you think.
Casting people instead of getting to know them.
“Who is this?”
turns into:
“Is it the sexy, well-off, ambitious and approved person with the right genes to co-parent the child I need to produce ASAP?”
9. That year of frenzied travel and program-planning together right before the baby
…because you need to prove that you are alive and not boring. Three more festivals that you don’t enjoy and would only remember the prices.
The ultimate status symbol: that baby seat in your boss’s 4×4.
10. Meeting the parents
You’re right. It’s about them, not you. Your relationship is theirs taste and judge.
But their approval brings relief and relief is scarce these days.
11. That distasteful, expensive wedding.
The most expensive day of your life, when she is dressed like the Disney princess that imprinted on her brain when she was little, and he cannot resist making that “funny” dance now that attention is his. For a day.
Your outfit is coordinated with the curtains. What does it tell about you? The bows on the chairs get more attention that the tension with your best friends. They have to suffer for your big day, buy a new suit and wear a dress that goes with the napkins.
Fake smiles on the “professional”, bokeh-heavy photoshoot everyone thinks is awkward. Painful price tags on pretentious things you will regret paying for.
You could look good for years on the money you wasted on clownish make-up and a stupid dress. Sorry, The Dress. You’ll spend those years in your yoga pants.
12. That awful first marriage.
When you adopt the role you are assigned, while you swear you’ll do it differently. Sure.
13. That mortgage.
That was too early or too expensive but you had to have space for a baby and guests coming over like adults do.
14. IKEA overdose
Moving. Sharing. Dividing. Getting used to.
As if people living in their own space was an anomaly you had to avoid at all cost.
Either no one dares to say no and you overspend, or you start bickering over money.
Doubt.
15. The baby-project.
Monthly ovulation tests, unwanted sex and more weekly pregnancy tests.
“Is it happening already? It is supposed to happen NOW!”
Fertility treatment is optional. Because statistics. Anyone can recite them.
Slow swimmers float to the forefront to your consciousness. You call it evolution and envision yourself as a life form that’s driven by the urge to reproduce.
Are you a failure?
16. Raising that poor child,
…who has to suffer because you didn’t ask yourself: Do I want children? Do I want them now? Do I have the partner I could do it with? Is that partner on the same page?
Or you asked yourself, but only accepted ‘yes’ for an answer. Because you were ‘running out of time’.
There’s plenty of time ahead of you now, but it’s filled with bitter fights with the stranger, who is now your legal part.
17. More therapy
Where you try to suppress the surge of regret for not having said ‘no’ while you still could. Because you thought it was too late. Now it is too late.
Dutiful delivery didn’t make the world less demanding. You thought you can have a life “after that”. Now you know there is no “after”.
The panicky sensation that you were duped. They wanted you to make premature commitments – but never any real decisions. You pay your therapist to not to mention being duped. He lets you convince yourself that there’s nothing to be done and you might as well enjoy the ride.
18. More medication.
Because you need to be able to smile during the overtime.
Vitamins and gym. That child and that mortgage won’t pay for themselves.
19. Couple’s therapy
To make you have sex with the person you don’t want. Viagra and lubricants.
20. Divorce.
But if you really want to cry, start a list of what you haven’t done in the meantime.I feel AngularJS documentation is baffling sometimes. Reason may be, I’m going through the same learning curve described by @bennadel. Through this article, I’m primarily aiming to help those who got stuck at some point of the curve. Don’t take it too seriously; I’m just sharing some of my experiences with AngularJS.
Recently, I was learning how routes work in AngularJS, and how they talk to the controller..etc. Then I observed the controller initialisation can differ based on the route configurations and events like $routeChangeSuccess and $routeChangeError are fired accordingly. Most of these are achieved by a resolve attribute of the route configuration object. Here, I’ll explain it through 3 versions of a story.
The Story
On one day, I was planning for a trip to a Switzerland. So I called the tour coordinator who makes the arrangements to this place. He explained the itinerary and hotel details clearly, so I asked him to make the necessary arrangements. After that, it’s the tour coordinator’s responsibility to book the room and make other required set-ups for my trip. Finally, I did a trip to Switzerland.
Let’s convert this to AngularJS context. Now we have:
visitplace is our first route.
is our first route. The place, its surroundings and the hotel room are the contents of our template. Let’s add it to placetovisit.html.
. Tour coordinator is the one who connects to the place, so we have a controller called TourCoordinatorCtrl.
Application (app.js) download "use strict"; var app = angular.module( "app", [ ] ); app.config( function( $routeProvider ) { $routeProvider.when( "/visitplace", { templateUrl: "placetovisit.html", controller: "TourCoordinatorCtrl" } ); } ); app.factory( "accommodation", function( ) { return { hotelName: function( ) { return "Some Hotel"; }, roomNo: function( ) { return "203"; } }; } ); app.controller( "TourCoordinatorCtrl", function( $scope, accommodation ) { $scope.name = "Shidhin"; $scope.place = "Switzerland"; $scope.hotel = accommodation.hotelName( ); $scope.roomno = accommodation.roomNo( ); } );
And the templates placetovisit.html and index.html :
Template (placetovisit.html) download <h1>Trip details</h1> <div> <h2>Hi, {{name}}. Welcome to {{place}}</h2> <div>The accomodation is arranged on <strong>{{hotel}}</strong> and room number is <strong>{{roomno}}</strong></div> </div>
Index.html <!doctype html> <html lang="en" ng-app="app"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>AngularJS Resolve routes example</title> </head> <body> <a href="#/visitplace">I want to go for a trip</a> <div ng-view></div> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/AngularJS/1.0.1/angular.min.js"></script> <script src="app.js"></script> </body> </html>
Everything works as expected when we navigate to the route /visitplace. If you notice, the tour controller has a dependency on accommodation service. But it’s just the controller’s responsibility to find the hotel and room details. Also, getting the hotel and room details are completely synchronous events. That means, the room will be arranged before I reach the place.
But what if they’re asynchronous events? Let’s think this way: What If the tour coordinator is not so professional and he forgot to book the hotel and room. Because of this, when I arrive at the place, I’d to wait till I get a new room. Similarly, in the code, we can see that the view is rendered, but the getHotel() and getRoom() methods taking extra time to get the room details.
"use strict"; var app = angular.module( "app", [ ] ); app.config( function( $routeProvider ) { $routeProvider.when( "/visitplace", { templateUrl: "placetovisit.html", controller: "TourCoordinatorCtrl" } ); } ); app.factory( "accommodation", function( $timeout ) { return { hotelName: function( scope ) { $timeout(function(){ scope.hotel = "Some hotel"; },3000); return "---"; }, roomNo: function( scope ) { $timeout(function(){ scope.roomno = "103"; },3000); return "---"; } }; } ); app.controller( "TourCoordinatorCtrl", function( $scope, accommodation ) { $scope.name = "Shidhin"; $scope.place = "Switzerland"; $scope.hotel = accommodation.hotelName( $scope ); $scope.roomno = accommodation.roomNo( $scope ); } );
This is not ideal in sometimes. I’ve to render the view and wait for some of the data to be loaded. In my case, it’s like I already started the trip and reached the place; but I’m waiting in the place to get my accommodation. This is really annoying! Is there any way to make sure that these dependencies are resolved before I start my journey? Let’s see :
Version 2 of the Story
This time, I’ve a friend who is a hotel owner in Switzerland. He is a close friend of mine, so I can ask him for a room at any time. If I do this, I don’t need to depend upon the accommodation provided by tour coordinator. Finally, all I have to do is, to make sure that I myself resolve the accommodation problem and tell the tour coordinator to arrange the rest.
This is exactly what we need if the route itself needs to resolve some dependencies in our application. For this, Angular provides a configuration on the $routeProvider service, called as resolve. The resolve property is an optional map object / [ array of existing service names ]. All the keys of the map object can be injected to the controller as a dependency. The key would be a simple string, and its value can be either a function or string. If string is provided, Angular will assume that it’s an existing service and inject that particular service to the controller. If the value is a function, it will act as a factory function and the return value will be injected to the controller.
Let’s relate our current story to Angular’s context by using this resolve object. Look at our modified application code:
"use strict"; var app = angular.module( "app", [ ], function( $routeProvider ) { $routeProvider.when( "/visitplace", { templateUrl: "placetovisit.html", controller: "TourCoordinatorCtrl", resolve: { "myFriendsHotel": function( ) { return { hotelName: function( ) { return "My Friend's hotel"; }, roomNo: function( ) { return "100"; } }; } } }); } ); app.controller( "TourCoordinatorCtrl", function( $scope, myFriendsHotel ) { $scope.name = "Shidhin"; $scope.place = "Switzerland"; $scope.hotel = myFriendsHotel.hotelName( ); $scope.roomno = myFriendsHotel.roomNo( ); } );
Note: When controller is defined in the route, never initialise it again through ng-controller. That might throw an error when used with resolve configuration.
By doing this way, we can make sure that the controller initialisation is delayed till the hotel is ready. The view will be rendered only when the controller is initialised and a $routeChangeSuccess event will be fired. Also notice that, finding a hotel is a synchronous action; it means, since my friend is a hotel owner, I got a room immediately. In real world applications, most of the times we’re going to deal with asynchronous actions. Let’s move to the 3rd version of the story to sort that out.
Final version of the Story
Last time we saw that I’d a friend who was a hotel owner. But in this version of the story, there is no hotel owner. This time, I’ve another friend in Switzerland who knows some of the hotel owners and he can find me a better room for cheaper cost. Once I call him and tell that my requirements, he’ll take some time to talk to his friends and arrange me a room. The time cannot be predictable; because my friend will ask his friends, and his friends may talk to their friends, and it can go on like this. But when I called him first, he gave me back a promise that he will surely update the status –– so that I can set up the rest. So, only when I get an update from him, I am going to call up the tour coordinator and ask him to set up the rest of arrangements.
Let’s see the final version of our code in Angular:
"use strict"; var app = angular.module( "app", [ ], function( $routeProvider ) { $routeProvider.when( "/visitplace", { templateUrl: "placetovisit.html", controller: "TourCoordinatorCtrl", resolve: { "accommodation": function( $q, $timeout ) { var myFriend = $q.defer(); $timeout(function(){ myFriend.resolve({ hotelName: function( ) { return "My Friend's friend's hotel"; }, roomNo: function( ) { return "404"; } }); },5000); return myFriend.promise; } } }); } ); app.controller( "TourCoordinatorCtrl", function( $scope, accommodation ) { $scope.name = "Shidhin"; $scope.place = "Switzerland"; $scope.hotel = accommodation.hotelName( ); $scope.roomno = accommodation.roomNo( ); } );
Closely look at each lines and see the differences from the previous one. Did you notice that, this time we’ve defined a variable myFriend inside the resolve function and initialised it using $q.defer(). The $q is the implementation of Promises API in AngularJS. It’s inspired by the “Q” library implementation by kriskowal ( link here ). If you don’t know what a Promise is, then you should definitely check it out here.
What happens here is : Our resolve function has created the variable myFriend and it immediately returned the myFriend.promise. This means, we know that something is going to happen later and myFriend will update the result of that action to the promise returned. The action can be either successful or a failure. For a successful action, the promise will be resolved with the hotel room data; and for the failure action, the promise will be rejected with data ( mostly the error message ).
When the factory function returns a promise, the controller initialisation will wait till the promise gets resolved/rejected. Once the promise is resolved, the controller will be initialised and the resolved data will be injected to the controller. In our case, it’s the accommodation object; after this, a $routeChangeSuccess event will be fired. There’re also chances that, the first promise can return another promise. In that case, our controller initialisation will be delayed till all the promises are resolved. At any point, if any of the promises are rejected, the controller will not be initialised; instead a $routeChangeError event will be fired.
The resolve is very useful if we need to load some data upfront before the controller initialisation and rendering the view. In real world applications, the $timeout can be replaced with a $http object to load data from server. Since it’s an asynchronous event, we can always make sure that our view will be rendered with proper data.
That’s the End of All Stories
I tried to make these as clear I can. Hope everybody understood the concept of resolve in AngularJS routes. Feel free to comment for any improvements/ suggestions. Thanks for reading!Image copyright Twitter Image caption Islamic State posted pictures on Twitter of Talha Asmal preparing for the suicide attack on Baiji
A West Yorkshire teenager is believed to have become Britain's youngest ever suicide bomber after reportedly blowing himself up in Iraq.
Talha Asmal, 17, was one of four suicide bombers who attacked forces near an oil refinery south of Baiji.
Social media reports linked to Islamic State (IS) said Asmal, going by the name of Abu Yusuf al-Britani, had taken part in the attack.
His family said they were "devastated" at the news.
'Unspeakable tragedy'
Asmal, from Dewsbury, would be Britain's youngest known suicide bomber. Another West Yorkshire teenager, Hasib Hussein, was almost 19 when he blew himself up on a London bus in the 7 July 2005 attacks.
Image copyright Twitter Image caption Talha Asmal ran away to join Islamic State in March
A statement issued by Asmal's family said: "Talha was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager.
"He never harboured any ill will against anybody nor did he ever exhibit any violent, extreme or radical views of any kind.
"Talha's tender years and naivety were it seems however exploited by persons unknown who, hiding behind the anonymity of the world wide web, targeted and befriended Talha and engaged in a process of deliberate and calculated grooming of him.
"Whilst there it appears that Talha fell under the spell of individuals who continued to prey on his innocence and vulnerability to the point where if the press reports are accurate he was ordered to his death by so-called Isis handlers and leaders too cowardly to do their own dirty work.
"We are all naturally utterly devastated and heartbroken by the unspeakable tragedy that now appears to have befallen us."
Analysis: Tom Symonds - BBC home affairs correspondent
The flow of young men and women to warzones in Syria and Iraq continues to be the biggest challenge to Britain's counter-terrorism effort.
Senior officers estimate more than 700 British citizens have now made the journey, some taking on the name "al-Britani" to signify their origins. Half have come back to the UK, posing the risk that they might plan attacks.
BBC research suggests more than 30 are still in the warzones, and possibly as many as 50.
However its estimated a third are not known to police and the security services, making their job of tracking extremists and prioritising those posing the greatest risk much harder.
'Particularly vulnerable'
Shahid Malik, the former MP for Dewsbury and a family friend of the Asmals, said: "It is disturbing to see how relaxed he looks in the Isis photographs allegedly taken just prior to his suicide mission.
"He looks at peace. It's like he's ready to go and meet his maker. This is a clear indication of just how successful the evil Isis [also known as IS] groomers have been in poisoning and brainwashing Talha and kids like him."
IS is a radical Islamist group that has seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq.
At least 700 people from the UK have travelled to support or fight for jihadist organisations in the area, with the majority joining IS.
Charlie Winter, from the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, said British people travelling to join Islamic State were often "groomed" online.
"This is increasingly |
illing machines. Scientists found several amber-encased predecessors to modern lacewings—long, thin flyers with veiny, gossamer wings—in the forests of northern Myanmar’s Hukawng Valley. The trove dates to the mid-Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago and contained both young and adult lacewings, but it was the juveniles that stood out. The larvae of Pedanoptera arachnophila (above right) were maggotlike in general body shape, but with incredibly long, gangly legs “so fine in structure that it would seem to be impossible for the legs to support the more massive body,” the authors write. These legs terminated with serrated claws that, although unique among known lacewing larva, are commonly seen in other insects that glide easily over spiderwebs. Combined with the knowledge that lacewing larvae are known to be active predators, a picture emerges of this tiny, ancient hunter: a larval lacewing with impossibly spindly legs silently grasping along a spider’s silken threads, closing in on its quarry before dealing its fatal blow with sharp pincer jaws. The adult lacewings found in the amber (above left) were no predatory slouches, either, with long legs, strong mandibles and an elongated necklike structure, but they were more likely generalized hunters, not spider specialists.Mirror, tell me something,
tell me who's the loneliest of all?
A slender girl, visibly sad, was singing a song about loneliness while pushing a large cart of suitcases. The girl had long white hair that went down to her knees, tied into a ponytail to the side. The dress was just as white as her hair, with some red accents to liven it up a little. The dress ended with a short and wide skirt. From her waist, a sword sheath holding her rapier was dangling. She was looking at the world with sad blue eyes. Just below her right eye was a thin scar that told that this girl's life hasn't been kind to her. The scar was the only thing marring the perfection of her face.
The girl had never before felt as alone as that day. When she told her father, one of the most powerful people in the world, that she didn't want to be the heir to his corporation but fight monsters instead, he had completely lost his composure. He made it clear to her that after she goes to the Beacon Academy she is not welcome at home any longer. She didn't completely understand his anger; she did have a younger sister who was very interested in becoming the next boss. But she knew she had let her father down.
As if it wasn't hard enough for the whole family when her mother was killed. She didn't want to alienate herself from her father, but once she told him, he would not budge even if she had cancelled the application. He decided that she betrayed the family and that she has to go.
'At least he had allowed me to take as much Dust as I wanted,' the girl thought to herself. His mercy made her feel even more inadequate, but she took enough for her to hopefully last the whole time at the Academy.
It wasn't just her father disowning her that made her sad. She never had any friends. She never attended schools and was homeschooled instead. She didn't know anyone close to her age other than her sister and even she didn't talk to her much because their views on the world differed. She wasn't sure how she would go about making friends.
I'm the loneliest of all.
The song ended and at this point, the girl was barely holding back tears. Through tears she could just barely make out a small frame, similar to her own, stumbling around. She could also see that the person was dressed in red and black. She realized too late that the person is about to smash into her cart.
The person smashed into the cart and made a horrible noise. The girl in white had immediately forgotten her previous sadness. That emotion was replaced with anger in an instant.
"Watch where you're going, you dolt!"
The figure in red shook her head and looked up to face the person that was yelling at her. The girl in white noticed that the figure was a girl with black hair with red streaks. Her eyes were pure silver. She looked as if she didn't know what she did wrong.
"I'm sorry?"
"You'd better be, dunce! You could destroy more Dust than you could afford in a lifetime!"
The white-haired girl's anger didn't subside yet. She did notice that the girl in red had a very nice voice that sounded almost like a song in her head.
"Why do you carry so much Dust around?", the girl in red asked, completely oblivious to the anger of the other girl.
"Th-That's none of your business!" The white-haired girl didn't want to tell anyone she had been disowned, especially not to some girl that almost destroyed all her Dust. Looking at her with angry eyes, she noticed something was odd. The girl looked too young to attend Beacon. What was she even doing here?
The girl finally stood up. "I'm so sorry I bumped into you. I'm Ruby, by the way. And you are?" Saying that, she extended her right arm to shake her hand.
"You don't know who I am? Not only do you almost cause a racket that costs more than half of Vale, you don't even know who I am? I'm Weiss Sch- umm…"
She wasn't sure if she should even introduce herself with her true name. If it was still her true name.
"I'm Weiss," she finally uttered. She shook her hand. She didn't fail to notice that this Ruby had never stopped smiling, even when she was scolding her like a brat. She actually found that cute, to some extent.
"Pleased to meet you, Weiss!" Ruby had a new, even wider smile on her face. Weiss didn't know what to think of this girl. She was still angry with her, but she somehow noticed that Ruby looked as alone as she was. This made her feel some sympathy.
"Well, again, I'm very sorry I have bumped into you! I must be going now, though! Hope to see you around!"
Exclaiming that, Ruby turned and walked away. Weiss was watching her leave, shaking her head doing so. She picked up her suitcases and slowly continued towards the Academy. She was worrying how her initiation was going to go.
It was the initiation day. Weiss was determined to complete it as quickly as possible. She prayed that she would get a competent partner. Somehow the headmaster believed that the first person you make eye contact with after you land is going to be the perfect partner for the next four years at the Academy. From which century did he come?
She looked around her, making mental notes who would make a good partner. She couldn't miss that girl that bumped into her the first day. She knew she didn't want to be a partner with someone as clumsy as that girl. What was her name again? Ruby? Something like that. Next to her there was a tall girl with long blonde hair. She looked like a strong individual. Next to her was a slightly smaller girl with black hair and a bow. She didn't think much of her. Then there was that blonde boy that vomited on himself while on a plane to Academy. 'Ugh. I'd rather be a partner with that Ruby,' Weiss thought to herself. Then there was a girl that was dressed in a body armour that looked like something from the Middle Ages. But she appeared very strong and smart. 'She's probably the best partner in this lineup,' Weiss thought.
Before she could continue evaluating her colleagues, the headmaster activated the pressure plates the students were standing on. Weiss felt weightless for a moment before she realized she was chucked in the air like a ragdoll. She had to quickly regain her composure and look for a suitable place to land.
Conjuring some glyphs helped her slow down and with a skilful landing she managed to stay on her feet, ready for anything that the forest threw her way. Now, to find the partner.
She was running around for a short while before she heard something in the bushes. She went to investigate and a monster that looked like a bear jumped and attacked her. She put herself in a fighting stance and waited for the creature to make the first move. The creature growled and that summoned five more creatures like him. Weiss was paralyzed with fear for a moment. She didn't know how to handle six monsters at once. She slowly pondered her chances for a moment. Then she heard a human voice from behind her. Before she could realize who or what made that noise, she saw a trail of roses before her. The bear-like creatures fell down one by one, dead, seemingly from the air. When the sixth creature fell, a girl in black and red appeared in front of her, wielding a huge scythe in her hands.
They looked at each other. Weiss realized who her new partner is going to be.
"How- What- I- umm…"
Weiss was speechless. The other girl wasn't of course.
"Oh, it's you, Weiss! I'm so glad my partner is someone I know already! Awesome!"
As hyperactive as ever. Great, Weiss thought to herself. Her partner was a hyperactive dolt and she couldn't do anything about her. Oh well, she sighed. 'If she's as good with her brain as she is with her scythe, I guess it won't be as bad. Fat chance, though.'
She exhaled. "I guess we are partners. Ruby, wasn't it?"
"You remember my name! Awesome! Come on, then, we have to complete our goal. Where do we have to go?"
Weiss was put on the same team with Ruby, the tall blonde girl and the shy black-haired girl with a bow on her head. 'At least one of them looks competent,' she thought. She could handle that. What she couldn't handle, though, was that the headmaster somehow decided that Ruby is better fit to be the leader of their team. Her jaw basically dropped to the ground when he made that announcement. 'This is turning into hell quickly.'
It was a few weeks later and Weiss still wasn't over the fact that the hyperactive brat was her leader. She never stopped jumping around until she fell asleep. Weiss, always the calm and composed one, hated it. The black-haired girl, whose name was Blake was similarly quiet and reserved, but in a different way. From time to time she looked at Weiss in some kind of disgust. She didn't know why, though.
To make matters worse, she found out that the blonde, who was called Yang, was actually a sister to Ruby! And as competent as she was, she was just as hyperactive as her sister. Weiss felt so alone. She found herself singing that song over and over again, giving special attention to the final line of the song.
I'm the loneliest of all.
The line rang so true with her. Every time before falling asleep, she would cry silently, hoping nobody would notice her suffering.
And nobody did, for a while. Or so she thought. One day she must have been crying a bit louder than usually.
"Weiss? Are you okay?" came a voice from the bed above her head.
She was startled by this. She couldn't show she was weak. "Why wouldn't I be okay?", she whispered back, battling the tears and sobbing voice, failing spectacularly.
There was a silent thud on the floor and the next thing Weiss saw was Ruby, wearing her black tank top and white sweatpants seeded with strawberries, sitting on her bed, looking concerned.
"You are crying every evening. What's wrong?"
"How do you know that?"
"I do have a bed just two meters over your head, you know. I hear your sobs."
"Why would I tell anything to a dolt like you?" Weiss was determined to not show any sympathy for the girl.
"Because you're my teammate, my partner, my… my friend."
Weiss noticed Ruby looked her straight in the eye when she said 'friend'. Did Ruby really consider her a friend? Her voice sounded sincere, but Weiss wasn't sure. She never had a friend before. Her stance on the girl started to waver. She looked genuinely concerned in Weiss's wellbeing. A part of Weiss wanted to tell her everything, to cry on the younger girl's shoulder, to… confide in someone at last.
"I can't talk about what bothers me, Ruby. Thanks for your concern." She sounded colder than she wanted to.
Ruby looked at her, perplexed by the cold tone in her voice. For the first time since Weiss met her, Ruby didn't have a smile on her face.
"Oh. Well. Okay then. If you ever want to talk about your problems, you know where to find me," Ruby said with sadness in her voice. She arose and swiftly made her way up to her bunk.
Weiss jumped up in a sitting position and stretched out her hand. "Wait," she said silently, knowing Ruby couldn't hear her any longer. She lay down again and turned on her belly, silently crying in the pillow.
'Why do you have to be such a jerk, Weiss? She was genuinely interested in your problems, wanted to hear them,' she thought to herself. She cried herself to sleep, feeling useless. She knew she would have to try to apologize to Ruby.
Weiss woke up with a feel of guilt. Not just because of what she did before she fell asleep. She dreamt of Ruby and her, not just as friends. They held hands, walking around places Weiss didn't know existed, being gentle to each other. She was happy in her dream, but she didn't know how to tackle that once she awoke.
She slowly rose from her bed and stretched as she did every day. She noticed Yang looking at her, smirking.
"Hey, good morning, Ice Queen! Had a nice dream, I see."
Weiss didn't know how to react. She hated that nickname, probably because of how true it was. She was an Ice Queen, shielding herself from everyone. So she should be angry. But what was that she said about her having a nice dream? Could she read minds?
"W-What do you mean by that?"
Yang said nothing, just pointed her finger at Weiss's thighs. When the white-haired girl looked at the spot Yang pointed out, she realized. She wet herself! She quickly covered the spot and sat down. How does wetting oneself equal to a nice dream? She noticed that the liquid on her thighs was thicker than urine. 'That's not urine,' she realized. She looked at Yang who was laughing hysterically now.
"Oh, snap! Haha, this is so precious!"
"Stop it! Now!", the embarrassed Weiss demanded.
"Who was it about? Ren? Don't tell me it was Jaune."
"I-It was… T-That's none of your business!"
Yang's eyes spread wide. "It was Jaune, wasn't it? Oh my gosh, this is getting better and better!" She started laughing even harder.
"Gah, what's happening?", the voice from above Weiss asked. "Yang, what's so funny?"
"The Ice Queen here…" She couldn't finish the sentence
"Shut up! It's not, I repeat, not funny in the slightest!"
"Oh wow, you must really like Jaune," the blonde said, smirk never leaving her face.
"It was not Jaune! Not that it's any of your business anyway!"
"I still don't get it. What's going on here?" Ruby was still partly in the dreamland.
Yang started again, ignoring Weiss. "As I was saying, our little Ice Queen had a very nice dream, by the looks of it."
"Huh?" Ruby didn't get Yang's point at all. "Do you have to tease her as soon as she wakes up, Yang?"
Yang's smirk left her face. She looked down in shame. "A girl can't have any fun around here," she silently said.
Weiss couldn't believe her leader's words. She felt tears coming back in her eyes. Yang looked up at her, befuddled by Weiss's reaction to Ruby's words. She opened her mouth wide and let out a gasp of realization. Weiss noticed that and quickly started gesturing towards the blonde. She was shaking her index finger from left to right while simultaneously shaking her head. Her hands joined together in a silent plea for the hyperactive blonde to be quiet. Perhaps because she felt bad for almost making her cry, Yang silently nodded, crossed her heart with the right index finger and looked down, not even laughing.
Blake entered from the shower at that point, ready for the day and not minding the rest of the team much. Yang silently motioned Weiss to go to shower before her and Weiss was thankful for it. Ruby was still half asleep and didn't move from her bunk.
When she entered the bathroom, Weiss quickly took off her sleeping gown and panties. She saw panties were horribly stained with the same thick liquid that was on her thighs. She felt so embarrassed about the whole thing. She filled the sink with water and submerged the wet panties inside. She then entered the shower. As she was trying to clean herself, she noticed that she was super sensitive down there, something that hasn't happened before. But she had to clean herself up, so she continued with the motions and shortly after, the movements made her shiver slightly. She was scared that something might be wrong with her.
Soon she decided that she is as clean as she will ever be, stopped the water and exited the shower. She quickly dressed and took her panties out of the water. The thick liquid did go out somewhat, so at least that was good. As she exited the bathroom, she saw a trail of rose petals as Ruby sprinted past her and shut the door behind.
Blake was gone. There was only Yang, sitting on her bed, still looking ashamed.
"I… I'm sorry, Weiss. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I didn't know you felt so strongly about Ruby."
Weiss didn't know what to say. "I… It's just… Umm… I don't know…"
"Don't worry. I'll try to hold myself back from now on. I mean it."
"Well, you'd better," Weiss said in her usual assertive tone. Yang visibly didn't approve of the tone, but she remained silent.
Throughout the classes Weiss found it hard to concentrate on what the teachers were saying. She kept rethinking her dreams, her thoughts and how her body reacted to that. She couldn't really get what the emotion she was feeling was. It wasn't an emotion Weiss ever felt before. It was a desire to be with one person for however long it was possible and to never be away from that person. To tell that person everything that made her feel good or bad, to confide in a person without any consequences, to touch that person, hug, even kiss that person. It all sounded like love in her head, but Ruby was a girl and she was too. Love was supposed to be felt between a girl and a boy, she knew that much.
All the while she was thinking about Ruby, she kept doodling in her notebook or looking in the empty distance. When every lecture ended, she would snap out of it for a moment and check her notes before putting them in her backpack. After every lecture she'd close the notebook with haste, afraid somebody might see that she spent the lecture doodling red hearts that mostly had a black letter 'R' in them.
It took her about six weeks to sort it out. She realized that her emotion was in fact love, even if both she and Ruby were girls. It couldn't be anything else. She would dream about her almost every night and every morning after that dream, her panties were soaked with the same thick liquid as the first time. Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night because of it. When she was sure that everyone was asleep, she would even try to caress the spot down below. Sometimes when she did that, she started shivering wildly and she would enjoy it so much that she would barely hold down her screams of pleasure. All the while she would do that, she would think about her leader's eyes, voice, how her lips or hands would feel on Weiss's skin. She would feel dirty after every time, but at least it stopped her from crying herself to sleep every night.
She was in love with Ruby, that much became clear to her. But how would she tell her? How would Ruby react? Weiss was scared. Scared that Ruby would stop thinking of her as a friend. Scared that the leader of her team wouldn't help her when she would need her to.
She then decided she would be watching Ruby closely. How she would respond to her words, to search for the slightest hint of the emotion that was overwhelming Weiss. After a few weeks Weiss noticed that Ruby would give her an encouraging smile every time she looked at her. When she talked with Weiss, she was just as cheerful as always. Weiss dropped the idea of watching the younger girl's reactions to her after realizing she acted the same with everyone.
The longer she waited, the harder her desire to kiss the younger girl was. That's when she decided it would be the best to try to drop some hints from time to time. She was still too scared to say outright what she felt for the girl. But she decided she would need to find Ruby somewhere where there would be just the two of them. Which was hard since Ruby seemed to never be alone, be it Yang, Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha or even Blake.
That moment finally came one evening. Blake was in the library and according to her own words she would not return to bed that night. Yang went out clubbing since it was the weekend and Ruby decided to go to bed early. This left Weiss alone with Ruby and gave her the chance she needed.
"Ruby?", she asked silently.
"Yes, Weiss?"
"Can you come down here for a minute, please?"
Ruby said nothing. A second later Weiss heard a soft thud on the floor and her love was sitting on her bed. Weiss sat up.
"Is something wrong, Weiss?"
"I… Do you remember the day we met?"
"How could I forget? You were so angry with me and I was so clumsy and scared."
"I know. I am sorry for that."
"No need to apologize. I was being an idiot."
"No. I am genuinely sorry, Ruby. I was so sad that day because I had no friends."
"Well, that made us two then."
"I wanted to scare you away, you know. But you would still keep on trying to become my friend."
"I did. There was something about you."
'Is she dropping me hints as well?' Weiss couldn't believe the words coming out of the young girl's mouth. She was silent for a moment. Too long, apparently.
"Weiss?"
She snapped out of it. "Sorry, I was caught in thoughts. The truth is I was scared back then. I never had any friends, you know?"
"I didn't have many either."
"But you have a sister here as well."
"Yang? Yes, she's my sister. But she left me alone that day because her old friends were there. So I was basically as friendless that day as you."
"But at least you can talk to your sister. My own sister won't even talk to me."
"What do you mean?"
"Ever heard of Schnee Dust Company?"
"I… It sounds familiar."
"I am… I was to be the heiress to the company before I got here."
"What?"
"My father disowned me when I told him I want to become a Huntress. My sister is the heir now. We always had a different view of the world. I could never confide in her." Weiss's eyes started watering and she fought to hold back the tears.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Weiss."
"Did you ever have anyone that you could completely trust?"
"Other than Yang, not really. And I don't even tell her everything."
"Remember the day you asked me what was wrong because I was crying every evening?"
"Yes. Was it because of your father?"
"Not really. At that time I was furious at the whole world. At my father, this academy, you…"
"Me? Why were you angry with me?" Ruby seemed surprised.
"I couldn't stand your hyperactivity. I couldn't stand the fact you were the leader and not me. I thought I was way more skilled than you. You have proven me wrong since then. All I wanted that day was someone I could trust. You offered yourself, but I was just too angry with you to give you a chance. I am so sorry for that."
Ruby was listening to Weiss's story with an open mouth. When the ex-heiress finished her story she started crying. Ruby reacted instinctively and hugged the crying girl. Weiss was startled for a moment, but her sadness quickly overtook her again as she started crying in Ruby's neck.
They remained in that position for quite a while. When Weiss finally stopped crying, Ruby let go. Weiss straightened herself as much as she could.
"I have regretted pushing you away that day ever since. I have realized then that you were the only one at this school that actually wanted to be my friend."
"Why have you waited for so long to tell me these things?"
"I was scared. I still am a little bit, Ruby. I'm afraid to confide in someone because I never had anyone like that."
"You don't have to be afraid. I am your friend. As are Yang and Blake. You can talk to them as well, don't be afraid."
"I… I'll try that. Either way, since then I have realized some things about myself."
"Care to share with a friend? You can tell me everything, just as I can tell you everything", Ruby winked at the white-haired girl.
Weiss blushed. "I… I don't know where to start."
"I can wait a bit."
Weiss smiled at the younger girl. There was nothing she would rather do in that moment other than tightly hug the amazing person before her and never let go, showering her with kisses doing so. She decided to stop beating around the bush. She mustered up all the confidence that she was building up for the last few months and put on an adorable smile.
"I realized I like you, Ruby."
"I like you too, Weiss. You are my best friend here, you know."
'That was not what I meant, Ruby.' She didn't say it out loud, she just let the smile vanish from her face.
"Thanks, Ruby," was what she said instead. The younger girl hugged her again and Weiss returned the hug.
"Good night then, Weiss."
With that sentence, Ruby rose from Weiss's bed and climbed on her bunk.
"Night, Ruby," Weiss said, choking through tears.
I'm the loneliest of all.
Before you say anything, I didn't like writing this story at all. But Weiss's theme song is so sad and the idea popped into my head and I had to write it down. In the future, I might write some happy White Rose/Monochrome/any pairing involving my favourite girl. Though Ruby is a very close second, so White Rose is the most probable pairing.
Thanks for reading, review if you want, I appreciate every review.CLOSE British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker agreed over dinner in Brussels on Monday that the pace of negotiations over Britain's departure from the European Union should be stepped up Video provided by Reuters Newslook
This file photo taken on Aug. 28 shows French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attending a meeting with EU and African leaders to discuss how to ease the European Union's migrant crisis, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo11: AFP/Getty Images)
The 28-nation European Union, which held a summit in Brussels this week, faces a growing political chasm along geographic lines that resembles the sharp red state-blue state divide in the United States.
In the case of the EU, it's East vs. West. In Eastern Europe, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are lurching to the right. In Western Europe, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (which will soon depart the alliance) are in the center or edging left.
Here are issues pulling the EU in different directions, and why it's happening:
MIGRANTS
More than two years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed more than 1 million asylum seekers from conflict zones in predominantly Muslim countries to seek shelter in Europe's largest economy, what to do about refugees has produced one of the deepest divides.
The flow of migrants to Europe has slowed since the EU blocked their arrival in Greece and Italy under a deal with Turkey to retain them there and in North Africa, but the debate over their fate is still raging.
France, Germany and Italy have repeatedly called for EU countries to accept a plan that equitably distributes refugees across the entire bloc. Eastern European countries, where opposition to admitting refugees is strong, are refusing to implement it.
INTEGRATION
In his state of the EU address in September, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reiterated a long-held belief among the bloc's Western axis: Member states should pursue deeper integration on defense and borders and economic policy for the 19 countries that use the euro currency.
However, countries in Central and Eastern Europe remain wary of such a move and would prefer if the EU focused on reducing income disparities between the wealthy West and poorer East.
The "at-risk-of-poverty-rate," one measure of the economic gap between the two regions, is 11.6% in the Netherlands and 25.4% in Romania, according to the most recent EU data.
"People speak about integration. That is just a nice general word. I think we should focus more on the common efficiency of Europe, on convergence, on cohesion," Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek told the Financial Times this month.
Richard G. Whitman, an expert on European politics at the University of Kent in England, said newer member countries like Poland and Hungary are part of a "coalition of the difficult" for the EU, while France's staunchly pro-unity president, Emmanuel Macron, represents the "EU on steroids."
The right-wing parties in Western Europe have run anti-EU campaigns but a majority of voters outside of Britain showed at the ballot box that they remain committed to the alliance. Leaders gathered in Brussels will assess what progress has been made in negotiations over Britain's exit from the EU, expected in 2019.
AUTHORITARIAN RULE
In the West, nationalist political parties have made gains in recent elections in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, but remain small non-governing minorities. In the East, populist parties have been voted into power and used harassment and prosecution to implement contentious measures considered by opponents to be anti-democratic.
Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party has sought to consolidate its power by trying to take control of the country's courts and judicial system. It has also increased police powers of surveillance and placed some limitations on the right to assembly.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing Fidesz Party has supported a crackdown on civil groups that promote human rights, curbed the powers of the country's highest court and characterized Muslims as a threat to Western civilization.
In Austria's elections last Sunday, voters put Sebastian Kurz, 31, of the right-wing People's Party in line to be the world's youngest leader of a nation. His elevation to chancellor was made possible by an alliance been the first-place People's Party and the second-place Freedom Party, which was founded by neo-Nazis and won 27% of the vote.
More: Who is Sebastian Kurz, Austria's Millennial chancellor-in-waiting?
In the Czech Republic, Andrej Babis, a controversial billionaire who faces criminal fraud charges and has been dubbed the "Czech Trump" for his politically incorrect utterances, is the front-runner in an election that takes place Friday and Saturday.
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(Memphis) Jack Pirtle's calls its chicken "down home delicious" but things got down and dirty after a father and son got upset about their order.
The duo are accused of showing off an AK-47 'type' weapon when they didn't get everything they ordered at the drive-thru.
“I love the gravy, the biscuits, and the chicken,” said Tonya McGraw, a Millington resident.
“I love their gizzards,” said Harvey Smith while in the drive-thru. “I like the way they steam it.”
And apparently the chicken wings are so good the father and son couldn’t do without them.
“Oh, they are out of sight,” said McGraw.
“I guess in this area, people don`t play about their food,” said Courtney Marable.
Police say when Antonius Hart and his 19-year-old son, Hart Jr., went to the drive-thru at the Jack Pirtle's on Jackson.
The cashier forgot to give them their chicken wings which the two discovered this after they drove away.
Police say Hart and his son weren't too happy about having to drive back.
According to court documents, they wanted Pirtle's to give them extra chicken for the hassle and showed workers their weapon.
“Oh man that`s crazy!” said McGraw. “Next time they better get them wings right!”
Jack Pirtle's didn't fix their order, instead called police.
Hart and Hart Jr. did not get to eat chicken the next night.
Dinner Friday at 201 Poplar was Sloppy Joe's and carrots.
Father and son are facing aggravated assault charges.@LOPEZDOBE•TWITTER Dead bodies lie strewn on the beach
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has confirmed 14 people were massacred, along with two soldiers. He has already been to the site where he said: ”Six attackers came onto the beach in Bassam this afternoon. “We have 14 civilians and two special forces soldiers who were unfortunately killed." Four Europeans are believed to be among the dead following the assault which took place on the L'etoile du Sud hotel in the coastal resort of Grand Bassam. The French Government has now confirmed at least one of the dead was a French national. It is also reported at least one child were among those shot dead. Government officials said security forces have "neutralised" six armed men after attacks on three hotels including Grand Bassam's Chelsea Hotel and another in the Hotel Etoile du Sud next door. It is unclear at the moment how many tourists have been injured. Police and the army scrambled to the beach, along with medics. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said officials were "urgently" trying to establish whether any British nationals had been caught up in the incident. North African Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a message posted on its Telegram channels on March 13, 2016, the group reported that three `heroes' from its group were able to storm the resort, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online communications by militant groups. ***********WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW***********
@LOPEZDOBE•TWITTER An injured victim is taken away
Reuters A man comforts an injured boy in Bassam, Ivory Coast
@LOPEZDOBE•TWITTER A victim lies dead on the beach
The gunmen are believed to be armed with kalishnikovs and grenades and according to reports on Twitter, witnesses at the scene have stated that the men were shouting "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is greater" as they shot indiscriminately. Josiane Sekongo, 25, who lives across from one of the town's many beachfront hotels, said she ran outside when she heard gunshots and saw people running away from the beach. An eyewitness revealed that they even shot dead a young child because he did not speak Arabic. One survivor, Marcel Guy, told of how the shooters approached two children and spoke to them in Arabic. He said one child knelt and prayed and the other one was shot on the spot. The resort is popular with French tourists and the attack is sure to spark fears that this is a new islamic State (ISIS) attrocity coming just months after the massacre in Paris which left 130 people dead and around 300 injured.
Shortly after the attack, ISIS said it would be targeting France and its interests for the part it was playing in the coalition airstrikes on Syria. French President Francois Hollande called the attack in which at least one of his countrymen died “cowardly”. He said: "France will bring its logistical support and intelligence to Ivory Coast to find the attackers. It will pursue and intensify its cooperation with its partners in the fight against terrorism.” A total of 34 British tourists were also slaughtered by ISIS fanatics on the beach in Tunisia in June last year. A police spokesman said: "For the moment, we have a total of 12 dead, including four Europeans. "We don't know yet if there are others. We are doing clean-up operations right now." According to local media the shooting began on the beach and terrified holidaymakers fled into the hotel which is about 25 miles east of the country's main city, Abidjan.
@LOPEZDOBE•TWITTER Scattered belongings lie on the beach
Some unconfirmed reports suggest a US delegation including the US ambassador may have been the main target of the attack. Grand-Bassam is a town in the Ivory Coast, lying on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Witness Dramane Kima said: "I saw seven dead that I filmed. There were four attackers. "I was swimming when it started and I ran away. He also took pictures of grenades and ammunition clips that he believed had been left behind by the attackers. Luc Gnago, speaking from the resort, said there are six bodies on the beach and a westerner was lying dead in the hotel. Witness Marie Bassole said: "They started shooting and everyone just started running. There were women and children running and hiding. "It started on the beach. Whoever they saw, they shot at."
REUTERS Security forces drive towards the beach resort
Ivory Coast beach terror attack Sun, March 13, 2016 Ivory Coast terror attack death toll 'rises to 11' with 'two hotels' targeted Play slideshow Twitter 1 of 12 Terror attack
In the late-19th century it was the French colonial capital city, although in recent years it has become a tourism and craft centre. The shootings come amid breaking news that two UN peacekeepers in Mali have been shot dead by those working alongside them. It is unclear whether the two incidents are connected at this time. Bournemouth footballer Max Gradel, who is from the Ivory Coast, tweeted: "May God protect my lovely country in this hard moment Cote D'ivoire". Attacks by extremists on hotels frequented by foreigners in two other West African countries, Mali in November and Burkina Faso in January, killed dozens of people and indicated that extremist attacks are |
. She is, as others have stated, is all but certainly going to get the Democratic Party nomination, and it would be fantastic to have a woman in the White House, you know, showing the strides that women are making. And I certainly understand where that’s coming from. But, you know, we have to look at her record, and not only at her record. Her record speaks for itself. This is not the record of anybody who would—even remotely could claim that they were upholding the interests of women or children, as, you know, Robert has clearly stated—you know, the gutting of welfare and all the other things that she’s been involved in.
But it’s also a larger question of the Democratic Party establishment itself. I mean, let’s assume hypothetically that Hillary Clinton wasn’t a cynical opportunist, which she is, but she was genuinely going to represent the interests of the, you know, tens of millions of working families that are looking for genuine representation. Or let’s say hypothetically somebody else, who may be less of a warmongering representative, gets the Democratic Party nomination. The question is: Are they going to be able to carry out anything like a working-class agenda, anything remotely approaching social change, if they get to the White House on the basis of the Democratic Party apparatus, which rests completely and utterly on the Wall Street money? And that’s the question we are examining.
Ultimately, the argument of lesser-evilism, if we are going to stay with lesser-evilism, that argument works until perpetuity. It’s never going to be a good time to break from the two-party, or, you know, the two-big-business-party machinery, and build an independent alternative, because you can always make the claim that, well, you know, if we ran a left candidate this year, in 2016, it’s not going to work, so let’s just hunker down and vote for Hillary because she’s better than the Republicans. But what that lesser-evilism argument is missing is the big, big chunk of America that is completely disengaged from politics; if you look at the approval ratings of U.S. Congress, if you look at the percentages of people who go to the polls, and if you look at the polls that show that 60 percent of Americans are fed up and frustrated with the two-party system and want something different, you’re missing that whole big chunk of America that is completely missing in this esoteric argument about whether Hillary is better or some other candidate should get the nomination.
Ultimately, the question that needs to arise at this moment is to—is the responsibility of the left. This is a responsibility of the left to begin the process of building a left alternative, a political structure that represents working families, because, whether we like it or not, there is a gaping vacuum where the most of America is not present, and if we don’t occupy that vacuum, the right will. And it is absolutely an urgent task. And for people who might think that, well, you know, people aren’t ready for it, no, they are absolutely ready for it. And as you said, Amy, you know, we’ve shown in Seattle that you can not only run as an anticorporate candidate, as an alternative to Democrats, but you can also win. And after winning the election, you can actually carry out a very, very effective and successful working-class agenda.
And, you know, lastly, about the—you know, I know that arguments will come up about, well, you know, we can’t do this at the national level; it’s OK to do it at the local level. I think that’s a false dichotomy, because Seattle is a good example. Here, there are no Republicans to speak of. There is just a Democratic Party establishment. All the problems that people face are at the doorstep of the Democrats. And this year, in my re-election year, you will see the Democratic Party establishment going to war against my campaign and making sure—trying to make sure that I don’t get re-elected. Why? Because at the end of the day, that establishment does not support the agenda of working people. What about climate change, action on climate change, student debt, single-payer healthcare, the gutting of public education, attacks on teachers’ unions? All of this lies at the doorstep of the Democratic Party establishment, and, you know, working people need an alternative.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Scheer, one of your books, The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street. Talk about the Clinton partnership. When you talk about Clinton Democrats, are you talking about Bill Clinton? Are you talking about Bill and Hillary Clinton? And what that means? The way it’s being discussed today with the rollout of Hillary Clinton is, you know, the role her husband will play. Will he be behind the scenes? Is he a liability? Is he an asset? But isn’t the true nature of their relationship, they are a fierce, formidable political partnership? How do you separate what each of them represents?
ROBERT SCHEER: Well, I don’t think there is any separation. Actually, Bill Clinton might be a bit more progressive. He actually had some positive things to say about whistleblowers in the NSA, whereas Hillary just wanted to—you know, she actually had the nerve to blast Snowden. She said, “What’s he doing in Russia?” as if she didn’t know that they yanked his passport, and he had—that’s where he was in transit. Of all—I mean, this is disgusting, when you think about it. Here we have this brave 29-year-old, at the time, who dared to tell us what this government, that Hillary Clinton was a key part of—this is not ancient history. This is the Obama administration that has jailed and gone after more whistleblowers than all previous American presidents combined. And Hillary Clinton dares attack Edward Snowden for telling us—
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let me—let—
ROBERT SCHEER: —what Hillary Clinton failed to tell us.
AMY GOODMAN: Rather than you characterize what she said, let’s go to Hillary Clinton commenting on Edward Snowden. She was interviewed by The Guardian, which first released the revelations based on the documents of Edward Snowden.
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, I would say, first of all, that Edward Snowden broke our laws, and that cannot be ignored or brushed aside. Secondly, I believe that if his primary concern was stirring a debate in our country over the tension between privacy and security, there were other ways of doing it, instead of stealing an enormous amount of information that had nothing to do with the U.S. or American citizens. I would say, thirdly, that there are many people in our history who have raised serious questions about government behavior. They’ve done it either with or without whistleblower protection, and they have stood and faced whatever the reaction was to make their case in public.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Hillary Clinton commenting on Edward Snowden. Robert Scheer, your response?
ROBERT SCHEER: Yeah, she has no respect for courage in speaking up for human rights. She’s a total hypocrite. My goodness, this guy engaged—he did what Daniel Ellsberg did, and she would have condemned him, as well. I mean, these are people who told us what our government didn’t tell us. She lied to us.
And, you know—but let me just point out, I mean, Joe’s point, somehow she’s OK, or—and I forget your writer from the—by the way, let me just say, I was in Seattle recently, and I’ll say again, if your guest from Seattle were to run for president, I’d vote for her over Hillary any day of the week. And I’d vote for Chafee over Hillary any day of the week, because he’s a true moderate. And I would also give serious consideration to Rand Paul, who took on the banks, who was opposed to invading Iraq, who has actually registered caution.
But we’re not talking ancient history here. Hillary Clinton was in favor of a very belligerent attitude in Syria, which has led to the unleashing of ISIS. She’s the one that said, “Oh, Assad is just the worst thing going,” just like they said Saddam Hussein, just like they said Gaddafi. So you look at Libya now, you look at Iraq, you look at Syria, a terrible mess. And yet Hillary Clinton seems to have no compunction that their foundation that her daughter—you know, she says, “I want for every child what my granddaughter has.” Well, your granddaughter has a father who works for Goldman Sachs and a daughter who now works for a foundation that gets an enormous amount of money from Saudi Arabia and other people who have actually been the backers of ISIS. What do you stand for? Where are you going to get your $2.5 billion to be president, if not kissing up to Wall Street, which you’ve been doing as senator? I mean, what are we talking about here? This is a person who can talk a good game, but is totally disingenuous and betraying the very people she seems to care about. You know—
AMY GOODMAN: Joe Conason, if you could respond to Robert Scheer?
JOE CONASON: Well, I mean, it would be great to bring the whole conversation back to reality, because it seems disconnected. When somebody says, “Well, Seattle is the perfect example of politics in America,” no—and “There’s no Republican Party there,” well, I’m sorry, there is a Republican Party in America. It is in fact the dominant party right now. So, to claim, well, Seattle—we can all be like Seattle—we’re not all like Seattle. That is not what’s happening in the United States politically.
So you have to start with where you are and the choices you really have, OK? That’s my view. I mean, it’s fine to have these discussions and fantasize about whatever it is you’d like to see happen, and I share a lot of the aspirations that anybody would have about a more progressive government in the United States. But here we are now. And the choice is going to be somebody like Rand Paul—I guess Bob is OK with him wanting to abolish Social Security and Medicare—great—or someone like Hillary Clinton, who won’t do that, you know, for instance. So, going towards November 2016—
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let’s—
JOE CONASON: —those are what the choices are.
AMY GOODMAN: I want Robert Scheer to answer—
JOE CONASON: Well, wait—well—
AMY GOODMAN: —answer that point, and I’ll come right back to you.
JOE CONASON: OK.
ROBERT SCHEER: Oh, come on. I mean, the fact is, Rand Paul—you know, if you want to have me rise to the bait, Rand Paul had the integrity to oppose the bailout that bailed out the banks but did not bail out Americans. Rand Paul had the integrity—
JOE CONASON: Saved us from a depression, Bob.
ROBERT SCHEER: —to criticize the Federal Reserve when it was catering to the banks. Rand Paul had the courage—
JOE CONASON: And he’s lifted every regulation on banks, Bob. Be honest.
ROBERT SCHEER: —and he’s being attacked by other Republicans—wait a minute—for opposing—
JOE CONASON: Be honest.
ROBERT SCHEER: —an imperial policy in the Mideast—
JOE CONASON: No, he beat—
ROBERT SCHEER: —that has led to absolute ruin and disaster.
JOE CONASON: He’s changed that view, Bob, because he wants Sheldon Adelson’s money.
ROBERT SCHEER: He’s had—wait a minute. Rand Paul has—wait a minute, you’re interrupting me, Joe.
JOE CONASON: I’m sorry.
ROBERT SCHEER: You know, Rand Paul had the courage—
JOE CONASON: I was interrupted so you could rant on.
ROBERT SCHEER: Rand Paul had the courage to challenge the NSA, that Hillary Clinton has celebrated. Hillary Clinton has celebrated the surveillance state. She has celebrated using this war on terror—
JOE CONASON: When did she do that?
ROBERT SCHEER: —to take away our freedom. Rand Paul had at least the courage to challenge that. And, by the way, why aren’t you mentioning Chafee? Why aren’t you mentioning more moderate Republicans?
JOE CONASON: I would—I’ll mention Chafee, or Chafee, actually.
ROBERT SCHEER: And why are you so happy with a lesser evil that is truly evil?
JOE CONASON: Hey, let’s talk about Lincoln Chafee.
AMY GOODMAN: OK.
JOE CONASON: Who did he support for president in 2004? I’m just curious. Since he’s now made the Iraq War the issue that he wants to run on, puzzlingly, who did he support for president in 2004?
ROBERT SCHEER: He supported the candidate—
JOE CONASON: Who did he support for Senate leadership in 2004? Who did—you know, he must have supported George W. Bush.
ROBERT SCHEER: So you don’t consider—you don’t consider him—
JOE CONASON: Or maybe he supported John Kerry, who also voted for the resolution. Come on. This is just silly.
ROBERT SCHEER: You don’t consider him a moderate Republican in the Eisenhower tradition? —
JOE CONASON: I don’t know what he is anymore? I don’t know what he is.
ROBERT SCHEER: And you don’t think an Eisenhower—look, let me ask you, seriously—
JOE CONASON: I don’t think he’s relevant, Bob. He’s not relevant.
ROBERT SCHEER: Don’t you think Hillary Clinton has all the ingredients of a Margaret Thatcher?
JOE CONASON: No, I don’t.
ROBERT SCHEER: Isn’t she? She’s this Cold War—
JOE CONASON: And neither does—by the way, by the way, let’s stop for a second.
ROBERT SCHEER: Yeah.
JOE CONASON: You want to talk about working people and who they may or may not support. I’ll tell you, she will have the support of every labor union in this country. In fact, she probably already does. Her candidacy yesterday was welcomed by Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, which represents a few more workers than you do, welcoming her into the race and saying, “I’m waiting to see what she says about these issues.” He’s not thinking about the Iraq War resolution or any of this other stuff that, admittedly, is relevant, but is not the pressing issue for 2016.
OK, the pressing issue for 2016 is: Do we have a radical-right Republican government that, in all three branches, which will end up with, I don’t know, seven, eight Supreme Court justices, like Alito, or do we have a moderate Democratic administration, where, yes, there’s going to be a lot of tugging and pulling within the party, within Congress, over which issues are to be brought to the fore, what the president’s position will be, what she should do if she’s president? That, to me, is a better situation for working families and all Americans—by the way, people around the world—than the idea of a President Rand Paul or a President Ted Cruz or somebody who is going to dismantle every protection that working families in this country have.
ROBERT SCHEER: Well, what about President Elizabeth Warren? Why are we restrict—
JOE CONASON: What about it? She’s not running, Bob.
ROBERT SCHEER: Why are we restricted—but why aren’t you encouraging some more progressive person to run. For God’s sake, Dennis Kucinich, anyone. Why are we stuck—why are we stuck—
JOE CONASON: It’s not up to—they’re not going to listen to me as to whether they should run.
ROBERT SCHEER: You’ll have to answer the question, Joe: Why are we stuck with someone like Hillary Clinton, who has a proven record of betraying the progressive ideas?
AMY GOODMAN: Michelle Goldberg, do you want to get a word in here?
ROBERT SCHEER: Why are we stuck with this? Why is this the choice?
AMY GOODMAN: We have to break, and then we’re going to come back to this discussion. You are watching, listening to—and you can read them online at democracynow.org—Robert Scheer, author and editor-in-chief at Truthdig, his latest book, They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy. We’re also joined here in New York by Joe Conason, who is the author of The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton. Michelle Goldberg is with us, senior contributing writer at The Nation. And Kshama Sawant, the Socialist city councilmember from Seattle, who pushed for a $15 minimum wage for all workers in Seattle and won. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: We are joined by Joe Conason, editor-in-chief of The National Memo; Robert Scheer, among his books, They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy, that’s just out; in Seattle, we’re joined by Kshama Sawant, Socialist city councilmember; and also in New York, Michelle Goldberg, senior contributing writer at The Nation, author of several books, including The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World, her latest piece, “Hillary Clinton’s Feminist Family Values.” So, this debate about who will represent a progressive America, weigh in, Michelle.
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: Well, we have this debate every four, every eight years. And, you know, Bob Scheer asked, “Why are we stuck with these two choices?” And part of the reason that we’re stuck with these two choices is because of the way left-wing activists approach electoral politics, as opposed to the way right-wing activists approach electoral politics. You know, my first book was about the religious right and their influence in American politics. And they kind of never waited until presidential elections and then wrang their hands and said, you know, “These candidates don’t represent our values, so we’re going to stay home or form a third party or vote for some spoiler candidate.” What they did is actually what Kshama Sawant is doing and, you know, kind of left-wing activists who are working at the grassroots are doing all across the country, is that you have to build an infrastructure. You kind of have to build within the party. You have to take over the party apparatus before you can expect the party to serve your ends. You can’t simply kind of come in every eight years and say, “Why can’t they put up someone completely different, you know, or why can’t we have a third party that operates outside of the constraints of the American two-party system?”
AMY GOODMAN: By the way, we haven’t mentioned Bernie Sanders, and there’s a lot of discussion, as he travels the country, about the possibility of a candidacy. Would it be with the Democrats? He caucuses with the Democrats, but he is an independent. In fact, he’s a Socialist from Vermont.
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: Look, Bernie Sanders is probably closest to the candidate whose views align with my own. But I think, like Joe said, you go to an election with the country you have, not the country that you want. The idea that this huge bloc of disengaged voters are secret socialists just waiting to be mobilized is just not borne out by any data out there. If you want a liberal electorate, you have to build it and organize it. You can’t just pretend that it’s in hiding and will appear if only the right candidate—if only kind of the corporate Democrats don’t stop the right candidate from putting their name forward. The votes just aren’t there. The infrastructure just isn’t there. And so, what you do, I think—
AMY GOODMAN: Don’t polls show that the country is more liberal than the leaders? And what about the issue of Republicans appealing to their base—
ROBERT SCHEER: And they’re more anti-Wall Street.
AMY GOODMAN: Their—
ROBERT SCHEER: They’re more anti-Wall Street than Hillary Clinton—
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Scheer.
ROBERT SCHEER: —by a long shot. You know, this is nonsense.
JOE CONASON: Some polls show that.
ROBERT SCHEER: Of course they are. They’re very critical of Wall Street.
JOE CONASON: Other polls show other things. I mean—
ROBERT SCHEER: Look, you even actually had a chance to stop that bailout, which was an atrocity, and you had plenty of Republicans, and it was the Democrats who betrayed. Let’s be serious here. Are you telling me the vast majority of Americans prefer Wall Street the way Hillary Clinton has catered to them? Or would they actually support a populist? I agree with you, Bernie Sanders would be great right now, you know? But to tell—you know, it’s the Democrats who have destroyed the possibility of grassroots organizing.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, speaking of Socialists, let’s bring—
ROBERT SCHEER: And on a personal note, let me tell you—
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: How have they destroyed the possibility of grassroots organizing?
ROBERT SCHEER: Let me say—I just want to say, on a personal note, I ran for Congress against a so-called establishment Democrat, Jeffrey Cohelan, a long time ago. I got 45 percent of the vote. And as a result of that, Ron Dellums took that seat. Ron Dellums was the best person we had in Congress for a long time, because we showed that people in Oakland and in that community, in Berkeley, could support a progressive candidate.
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: Of course, we can, in Berkeley.
ROBERT SCHEER: You don’t have to—it was Oakland, and it was a good part of Contra Costa. It was what was considered a safe—
JOE CONASON: Oh, dear.
ROBERT SCHEER: —moderate Democratic district. And Ron Dellums came in, raising all of the issues that I’ve been raising today, and he raised them in Congress. And you can do it. And I think that’s what’s happening in Seattle, where you have—you know, where you have a choice.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Kshama Sawant—I want to bring Kshama Sawant in, back into this discussion. The idea of Republicans appealing to their base, but Democrats running away from their base?
KSHAMA SAWANT: Well, I think that it can’t just simply—it’s too simplistic to say that Republicans are appealing to their base because their base is right-wing, and then Democrats are not appealing to their base, which is progressive. That completely belies the reality that if you look at poll after poll on social justice issues, on social and economic issues, the vast majority of Americans are well to the left of the choices that are presented to them in the form of Democrats or Republicans. I completely disagree with this idea that somehow the electorate is not progressive and that you have to somehow, you know, generate that and that it can be artificially manufactured. No, as a matter of fact, Americans do want an alternative. They have been crying out for an alternative. There’s a huge vacuum here that is not being filled. And it is really up to the left to do that. It’s not good enough for the left to say that, “Well, you know, we can’t really have a spoiler vote this year, and that’s why we are going to support Hillary.” That is an abdication of responsibility. We have to build an alternative. There is no shortcut. Unfortunately, for us, there is no shortcut. It is going to be hard work of building. I agree with Michelle, it is all about organizing. But that organizing from the grassroots, that building of mass movement, which we absolutely have to do, has to incorporate a real political alternative to this dog-and-pony show that we’re going to see in 2016 yet again. And, you know, look at—
AMY GOODMAN: Joe—let me just ask Joe Conason, and when you’re invited in the corporate media, you’ll be having debates with Republicans. You’ll be debating—it’ll be very much that spectrum. This is opening up this discussion. What about the concern of many in the Democratic establishment that Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a viable opponent in the primaries, engineered by the Clintons or not, that that could actually weaken her?
JOE CONASON: You know, some people think that. Some people think the opposite and say, well, you know, Bill Bradley didn’t really strengthen Al Gore in 2000, and there’s really not an example that you can give of a candidate for president who was made stronger by a primary opponent. So, it could be—I don’t know, actually. I think she certainly—
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama?
JOE CONASON: Well, was he made stronger? That’s a good question. He was made stronger certainly when the Clintons decided to support him for election in 2008 and 2012, and probably helped to keep him—get him in office and keep him in office. But, look, I mean, Bob Scheer ran for Congress 50 years ago, just so we put this in perspective. Fifty years later—and it was a noble cause that he was supporting, antiwar cause. I admired him very much when I was growing up. And 50 years later, we are in the same position that we were then. There is no burgeoning left alternative to the left of the Democratic Party in this country.
AMY GOODMAN: Ten seconds for this, other three guests. Michelle Goldberg, right now, as we wrap up, your comment on what you want to see happen in this next year?
MICHELLE GOLDBERG: What I want to see happen is for people to organize within the Democratic Party to pull Hillary Clinton to the left, because I think that, for better or for worse, she is responsive to political pressure.
AMY GOODMAN: Robert Scheer, eight seconds?
ROBERT SCHEER: Yeah, I supported Obama, and it was easier to challenge the government when Bush was president than when Obama was president. So it is not good for democracy to have a lesser evil as our candidate.
AMY GOODMAN: Kshama Sawant?
KSHAMA SAWANT: I would like to see Bernie Sanders run as an independent political, anticorporate alternative to Democrats and Republicans. And I would like the support of the left for me to win my re-election, because that is absolutely critical for the left. And so—
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to have to leave it there, Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative city councilmember in Seattle; Joe Conason, editor-in-chief of The National Memo. Thank you so much to Nation writer Michelle Goldberg and to Robert Scheer, who’s author of They Know Everything About You.Mimosas all round? No, definitely not the alcoholic beverage! The mimosa I’m talking about is Mimosa pudica L. [Fabaceae], a creeping herb that’s continuing to fascinate the world – both botanists and non-botanists alike!
Mix one part of thoroughly chilled mimicry with one part of sparkling brilliance, sit back, and watch the leaflets fold…
Taxonomy
M. pudica was described by Carl Linnaeus, and is the type species for the genus. The generic name Mimosa is derived from the Greek word mimos (meaning mimic), while the specific epithet comes from the Latin word pudicus (meaning bashful or shrinking to contact)[1]. Some may refer to this species as the “sensitive plant” or even as the “shameful plant” because of its very unique and characteristic touch-sensitive leaves. In fact, the species has a huge range of common names in many languages[2], some of which include:
English: sensitive plant, touch-me-not plant, humble plant, shameful plant
French: amourette herbe, herbe sensible, sensitive épineus, mimosa pudique
Spanish: vergonsoza, dormidera, ten vergüenza
Nahuatl, Mexico: pinahuixtle, quecupatli
Hispaniola: mori vivi
Haiti: honte
Portuguese: dormideira
Urdu: Chui-Mui
Bengali: Lojjaboti
Chinese: hánxiū cǎo (shyness grass)
Sinhala, Sri Lanka: Nidi kumba
Distribution
M. pudica is widespread in Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean. This taxon has also been introduced to many countries around the world and is not considered to be threatened or in decline. Surprisingly, however, it is included in the Global Invasive Species Database as one of the world’s worst invasive weeds – affecting forestry plantations, croplands, orchards and pastures throughout South Asia, the Pacific Islands and in parts of Africa[2]. The plant is also poisonous to ruminant grazers through the bacterial breakdown of the non-protein amino acid mimosine[3].
Management of the species is best practised before the plants establish larger populations. Hand-weeding of mature plants is difficult because the plant bears prickles, which can break off and irritate the skin. Herbicides such as foliar sprays of glyphosate are widely used to control the species, but thorough wetting of all leaf surfaces is essential; if plants are disturbed before spraying, the leaves will fold up and the herbicide will be ineffective. Fire can also be used as a management tool, but fire alone may actually increase M. pudica densities by plant regrowth and enhanced seed germination[4].
Although no work has been undertaken on the biological control of M. pudica, there may be possibilities in view of the successful biological control programmes against the related M. invisa[5].
Species description
M. pudica is an annual or perennial herb, normally growing to 50-70 cm tall, often as a straggling subshrub. Its stems have sparse prickles, around 2-2.5 mm long. The leaves are alternately arranged and bipinnate (twice compound). The pinnae are digitate (shaped like a spread hand), and bear 10-26 pairs of linear-oblong leaflets on each pinna. Stipules are persistent (remaining in place), lanceolate in shape and striately-nerved from the base.[6]
The flowers are lilac or pink (the colour is mainly of the stamen filaments) and are held in ovoid, stalked heads (characteristic of the subfamily Mimosoideae). The calyx is minute, about 0.2 mm long, whereas the corolla is larger (2-2.3 mm long) and containing four stamens. The pods are 1.8 cm × 3-5 mm, densely bristly with brown-tipped tapering hairs along their margins[6].
Introduction pathways to new locations are via floating seed pods and local dispersal methods on animals (attaching to fur). Once germinated, seedlings grow slowly for two or three months and then accelerate, reaching 0.5-2 m of extension at the end of the first year!
Plant movement
Despite its invasive properties, the sensitive plant is popular in cultivation around the world, and is enjoyed by many as a curiosity due to its highly touch-sensitive leaves. The famous microscopist Robert Hooke was one of the first to investigate the movements of M. pudica, and at that time it had been suggested that plants had nerves and tissues similar to those in animals. But plants don’t have a nervous system or muscles, so how is the rapid movement generated?
Well, it was only later discovered that the leaves fold as a result of the internal movement of water, and the mechanics of the touch-sensitive (thigmonastic) process are now well-documented. These are centred around a motor structure (called the pulvinus), consisting of a rod of sclerenchyma and collenchyma cells (strengthening tissue).
In the extended, unstimulated position, the cells of the entire collenchyma are turgid (distended with water) and the leaflets are held outwards. On receiving the action potential signal through a touch stimulus, the cells in the pulvinus respond by expelling potassium (K+) and chloride ions (Cl–), and taking up calcium ions (Ca2+). The resultant osmotic gradient draws water out of these cells, causing them to shrink temporarily (plasmolysis) and lose structural rigidity; in this contracted position, the pulvinus no longer functions as a support and the petiolules and petioles droop – leaving the plant in its folded state[7].
There’s no better way to understand this remarkable thigmonastic process than to watch it in action… “Stop, hammer* time!”
* No plants were harmed in the making of this video.
This rapid plant movement is thought to act as a defence against herbivores, which may be deterred by the dramatic response or, if they are small, may be dislodged as the leaves collapse.
M. pudica is not the only member of the Fabaceae family to show thigmonastic movements. Other legumes (e.g. some members of the genera Neptunia, Acacia, Albizia and Samanea) respond to a lesser degree by showing “sleep movements” (nyctinasty)[7]. This involves the closing up of the leaves a few hours before dusk, and re-opening a few hours before dawn (controlled by the circadian clock and light signal transduction through phytochromes). It’s thought these nyctinastic movements aid water conservation as well as defence against herbivory.[8]
Other uses
M. pudica has been used widely in traditional medicine, from treating glandular swellings in India to relieving lower back and kidney pain in the Republic of the Congo. The plant has also been used to treat sleep disorders and, in Senegal, an infusion of the leaves is believed to be calming and sleep-inducing… But that’s not the whole story. While root extracts have shown anti-bacterial properties, too much can be aphrodisiacal (stimulating sexual desire) and, along with the seeds, can function as a strong laxative and induce vomiting[9]!
Before you get too worried (or excited), M. pudica is not yet used in Western medicine as pharmaceutical companies continue to investigate its reported medicinal properties[8].
Similar species
M. pudica is similar to M. pigra (giant sensitive plant) and M. diplotricha var. diplotricha (creeping sensitive plant), both of which also bear pink globular inflorescences and prickles. You’ll be relieved to hear that differences in habit, leaf-branching and fruit help distinguish these three species:
M. pudica is a relatively small plant, with a spreading (prostrate) habit. Leaves are not branched (with one or two pairs of branchlets) and pods are relatively small (1-2.5 cm long), containing only 1-6 one-seeded segments.
is a relatively small plant, with a spreading (prostrate) habit. Leaves are not branched (with one or two pairs of branchlets) and pods are relatively small (1-2.5 cm long), containing only 1-6 one-seeded segments. M. pigra is a larger shrub with an upright (erect) growth habit. Leaves are large and much-branched (with 6-16 pairs of branchlets). Its pods are relatively large (3-8 cm long) and contain 14-26 one-seeded segments.
is a larger shrub with an upright (erect) growth habit. Leaves are large and much-branched (with 6-16 pairs of branchlets). Its pods are relatively large (3-8 cm long) and contain 14-26 one-seeded segments. M. diplotricha is also an upright (erect) shrub, but can also be climbing in its habit. The leaves are branched (with 4-9 pairs of branchlets), but the pods are relatively small (1-3.5 cm long) with only 3-5 one-seeded segments.
Coverage in the wider community…
The fame of M. pudica doesn’t stop there – in fact, non-scientists alike have continued to be intrigued by the plant’s remarkable capabilities. The species even has its own “Vine” (a Twitter-owned mobile app that enables users to create and post short video clips) which has clocked up a remarkable 1.4 million views. The page has also been shared on Facebook over 70,000 times!
One business from the USA has taken the opportunity to exploit the plant’s thigmonastic movements by marketing its seeds as TickleMe Plant®. Complete with a cartoon and colouring pages to entertain the younger audience, the strategy inspires the wider community not to lose “touch” with our living world. There is a real sense of adventure in raising your own TickleMe Plant® and, if no seed grows “to the point where the second set of leaves move when you tickle them”, the company will even replace the seeds. You can’t get a much better deal than that now, can you…?
Final words
Alcoholic beverages, problematic weed control, a huge array of medicinal symptoms, social networking prowess… it’s clear this species really does get around! It’s not hard to work out why either. M. pudica has far-reaching interests, not only for botanists but also for the much wider, non-scientific community too. There aren’t many plants out there which have a Facebook page and a Vine dedicated to them! Much of the current research focusses on the species’ many reported medicinal properties with a potential for drug development in the future… So M. pudica could well be coming to a shelf near you! Unbeleafable? You decide!
References:
[1]. Johnson, A.T. and Smith, H.A. (2008) Plant Names Simplified. Old Bond Publishing.
[2]. IUCN Species Survival Commission Invasive Species Specialist Group (2010) Mimosa pudica species account. Global Invasive Species Database.
[3]. CABI (2014) Mimosa pudica. In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/isc.
[4]. Chauhan |
left them unable to negotiate among themselves.[19] At issue, however, is that in doing so, the Chancery and the Chancellor appear to be seeking an inequitable share for one of the partners who wanted to exit and asked for an offer to leave, forcing the partner who would prefer to remain and operate the firm to exit as well.[20] The court cited employee affidavits attesting to one party's commitment over the other's.[20]
On April 27, 2016,[21] rather than sealing his decision, Chancellor Bouchard told the parties to take more time and to come to a resolution outside of the courtroom. Shawe then made a public offer of $300M to his co-founder.[22]
Tax benefits and burdens [ edit ]
Delaware charges no income tax on corporations not operating within the state, so taking advantage of Delaware's other benefits does not result in taxation.[23] At the same time, Delaware has a particularly aggressive tax on banks that locate in the state. However, in general, the state is viewed as a positive location for corporate tax purposes because favorable laws of incorporation allow companies to minimize corporate expenditures (achieved through legal standardization of corporate legal processes), creating a nucleus in Delaware with operating companies often in other states.[24]
In addition, Delaware has used its position as the state of incorporation to generate revenue from its abandoned and unclaimed property laws. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the state of incorporation gets to keep any abandoned and unclaimed property, such as uncashed checks and unredeemed gift certificates, if the corporation does not have information about the location of the owner of the property.[25]
A state may levy, however, a franchise tax on the corporations incorporated in it. Franchise taxes in Delaware are actually far higher than in most other states which typically charge little or nothing beyond corporate income taxes on the portion of the corporation's business done in that state. Delaware's franchise taxes supply about one-fifth of its state revenue.[25]
In February 2013, Economist published an article on tax-friendly jurisdictions, commenting that Delaware stood for "Dollars and Euros Laundered And Washed At Reasonable Expense". Jeffrey W. Bullock, Delaware's Secretary of State, insists that the state has struck the right balance between curbing criminality and "paying deference to the millions of legitimate businesspeople who benefit" from hassle-free incorporation.[26]
2013 amendments [ edit ]
On June 30, 2013, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law that affect several provisions in the current law and could substantially affect the process through which public companies are merged. The new legislation took effect August 1, 2013, except for ratification of defective corporate acts amendment which took effect in 2014.[27]
See also [ edit ]Fedor Emelianenko is the best heavyweight the sport of MMA has ever produced. The Russian became a legend, not just by winning every fight for almost a decade, but because of the way he won. Emelianenko is a rare fighter with all the tools: hard, fast, and accurate punching, great throws and trips, and legitimate submission skills from the top and the bottom. In an era when most fighters were playing Jenga, Fedor was building skyscrapers.
But Fedor Emelianenko is 34 years old. And that's not a young 34. It's a 34 that has had it's skull rattled by Kazayuki Fujita and Kevin Randleman, a 34 that has been through the ringer three times with Antonio Nogueira, a 34 that has suffered the aches and pains of training and grappling at a very high level for almost 20 years. As much as I respect Fedor Emelianenko, I have real questions about whether he can withstand the physical rigors of competing three times in eight months to take home this Grand Prix championship.
Before Fedor fans explode with furious indignation, here's something to consider: Fedor hasn't fought more than twice in a calender year since 2005. And that's not just because he likes chilling in Monaco while consuming both vodka and ice cream by the gallon. Injuries have been the culprit, almost as much as his ever present contract negotiations.
Keep this in mind as well: the man's hands are made of tissue paper and those four ounce gloves don't offer much in the way of protection. It all started with Gary Goodridge back in 2003. Fedor's problem, if you can believe it, is hitting people too hard. Some blame his technique, which often sees his fist collide with an opponent's head near his thumb instead of straight on like god and Jack Dempsey intended. He broke his right hand on Goodridge's noggin and it hasn't been the same since. He re-injured it against Tim Sylvia in 2008 and hurt his other hand against Brett Rogers in 2009. One thing we've learned from boxing over the years- a perpetually injured hand rarely makes a miraculous recovery. We have to assume Fedor is up for a tough challenge from Antonio Silva. I don't know that his hand is.
And then, there's the specter of M-1. Will the Russian's management team allow him to compete three times in a year without succumbing to the temptation of re-negotiation? I can't speak for what kind of contract they've signed with Strikeforce and Showtime. But it doesn't seemingly matter much what is on paper. MMA is a rough sport and the training is even more grueling than the bouts themselves. If M-1 wants to negotiate, and things don't go their way, an injury can always pop up that can remove Fedor from the tournament. It's an ugly thought, but one it would be irresponsible to ignore.
It's these three reasons - age, injury, and management, that prevent me from picking Fedor to win this tournament. There is some incredible talent among the eight participants. Silva is a star on the rise, Barnett a star untested in recent years, Arlovski and Kharitonov former stars looking for a return to glory. Werdum has wins over everyone on his side of the bracket and Rogers has a puncher's chance. But the smart money is on Alistair Overeem to win it all.Lee Rogers
Rogue Government
June 1, 2008
Barr simply can’t be trusted to fully represent the ideals of liberty and freedom even if on the surface it looks as if he is intending to do that.
The Libertarian Party recently nominated former Republican Congressman Bob Barr as their presidential nominee. This nomination represents a compromise of the principles that the Libertarian Party used to stand for. Party members decided that they were going to sell out the principles of their party in exchange for some coverage in the corporate controlled media. Is some coverage in the establishment media worth having a man at the front of the party with an incredibly dubious past pertaining to freedom and liberty? Although it is possible that Barr might have changed his ways and realized his mistakes for not abiding by the Constitution, his record speaks for itself. Barr voted in favor of the Patriot Act, worked for the CIA throughout the 1970s and supported the phony war on drugs for several years. The Patriot Act is one of the most tyrannical pieces of legislation ever passed in the history of the United States. The war on drugs is entirely against the principles of the Libertarian Party. Considering Barr’s record of supporting anti-freedom policies and legislation, he is not a suitable choice to vote for in the general election. If you want to vote for a candidate that believes in liberty and the Constitution, write in Ron Paul.
Barr won the nomination over Mary Ruwart who would have been a fine candidate to promote the Libertarian cause. Ruwart is an author who has supported the cause of individual freedom for many years. She is a long time member of the Libertarian party and had none of the baggage that Barr has. By selecting Barr as the presidential nominee, the Libertarian Party has selected a poor representative.
Below is a blurb from a Bloomberg report talking about how Barr has upset many Libertarians with his dubious past.
Barr has angered Libertarians by backing what they view as abuses of government, including efforts to crack down on drugs and his vote for the Patriot Act, which gave the government expanded powers, such as wiretapping, to fight terrorism. Civil libertarians condemn his co-sponsorship of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages, and his opposition to abortion.
Although Barr’s platform appears reasonable, his history of supporting anti-freedom positions is reason enough not to vote for him. The abortion issue is subject to debate since the New World Order is using abortion to support their depopulation agenda. However, the other positions Barr has held in the past are contrary to the ideals accepted by the majority of Libertarians and other freedom loving Americans. The war on drugs is a total fraud and used as an excuse to have a police state and generate profits for the drug traffickers that work for the CIA and the various criminals within the U.S. government. It also serves as a way to generate massive amounts of profits for the prison industrial complex. Barr was a major supporter of this phony drug war for many years and on top of that worked for the CIA which is involved heavily in the drug trade. Barr’s support of the Patriot Act deserves no further analysis. Members of Congress were not even allowed to read the Patriot Act before they voted on it, so what does that say about Barr’s judgment? He voted in favor of a bill without even reading it.
It is time that people vote for individuals and not parties. This is a perfect example of such a scenario. The Libertarian Party has in the past fielded good candidates like Harry Browne in 2000 and Ron Paul in 1988. This recent choice is a compromise of the party platform in exchange for media coverage that doesn’t mean anything if it means a watered down message. There is no difference between the Republican and Democrat parties already and if the Libertarian Party sends people like Barr to represent them, than pretty soon there will be no difference between any political parties including the big 3rd parties. Voting for the individual and not the party is the best way to go and that’s why writing in Dr. Paul is clearly the best choice. Barr simply can’t be trusted to fully represent the ideals of liberty and freedom even if on the surface it looks as if he is intending to do that. Even though that might not be fair, ask yourself which makes more sense. Should we support someone who has only embraced the liberty message for a couple of years versus someone like Dr. Paul who has been actively involved in this for decades? The answer should be obvious.The finals have started! Have you read our overview and predictions yet? We got you covered for all the 8 matches that are played until Sunday!
Round 1
Storvreta – Dalen
Thursday 16 March 18:30 (stream)
Växjö – Pixbo
Thursday 16 March 19:00 (stream)
Falun – Helsingborg
Friday 17 March 18:30 (stream)
Mullsjö – Linköping
Friday 17 March 19:10 (stream)
Round 2
Pixbo – Växjö
Saturday 18 March 16:00 (stream)
Dalen – Storvreta
Saturday 18 March 16:00 (stream)
Helsingborg – Falun
Sunday 19 March 16:00 (stream)
Linköping – Mullsjö
Sunday 19 March 16:00 (stream)
Read our overview and predictions! Don’t know how to watch these games? Follow our guide!
Floorball Worldwide Facebook Group - 1.920 members! Become a member For lovers of floorball worldwide! Here you find the latest news about floorball!
Join the Floorball Worldwide Facebook GroupSpecial counsel Robert Mueller has obtained enough evidence to bring charges in the federal investigation into President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his son, according to NBC News.
Flynn would be the first current or former Trump administration official to be charged by Mueller's team, signaling the team is closing in on the White House.
The special counsel's office declined to comment on the report to The Hill.
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Mueller's team is reportedly planning to speak with various witnesses in the next week to learn more about Flynn's past lobbying work and whether he laundered money and lied to federal investigators.
NBC also reported that the special counsel's team is probing whether Flynn attempted to remove from the U.S. to Turkey a rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in exchange for large financial sums.
Flynn's son, Michael G. Flynn, is also under investigation and could be indicted at the same time as his father or at another time, according to the report.
The younger Flynn often traveled and worked with his father during the campaign and took part in the transition.
Flynn could potentially be spared major legal consequences if he cooperates with investigators as a means of helping his son, according to the report.
The report that Mueller may be close to charging Flynn follows the indictments of Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Richard Gates as part of the ongoing probe into Russia's influence in the 2016 election as well as possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.
The White House said on Monday those charges had nothing to do with the campaign.
The report also follows the revelation that former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to FBI investigators about his contact with Russian actors during the campaign.
The revelations show that Mueller's investigation is moving at a quick pace and closing in on those close to the president.
Flynn left his White House post in February after he misled key administration officials about his previous contact with Russian officials.
— Updated at 11:15 a.m.Cloud Gate creator Anish Kapoor returned to Chicago on Tuesday and laid eyes on his iconic sculpture for the first time since its installment over a decade ago.
The 110-ton sculpture has been the centerpiece of Millennium Park since its installment in 2006. Kapoor, based in London, marveled at his piece before being honored at the the Grant Park Music Festival’s sixth annual Advocate for the Arts Awards benefit.
“It’s emotional, strange for me coming back nearly 15 years after this object was first thought of,” Kapoor said Tuesday.
Kapoor said he found the piece mysterious, and had to give it a second look as new qualities reappeared to him. “What a strange, liquid, weird, almost not present yet fully present object,” he said.
Referring to the piece as a “public object with it’s own public life,” Kapoor said Cloud Gate belongs to the people of Chicago and all the city’s visitors. “I initiated it, other people made it.”
The artist said all those who have struck a pose in front of the bean made the piece so iconic. “Really it’s owned by all those brides, all those selfies,” said Kapoor, who said he was astounded to hear that an estimated 200 million visitors have come to see his creation.
When asked how he refers to the famous sculpture, he said that he has given in to the nickname given by Chicagoans, adding that the local nickname gives the sculpture “its own language.”
“When I’m trying to be serious, I call it Cloud Gate,” Kapoor said. “Otherwise, it’s The Bean.”(By Juan Cole)
The reemergence in the news of Monica Lewinsky is also a reminder of one of the lowest deeds in modern politics, the impeachment of Bill Clinton by House Republicans in December of 1998.
What is too little noted is the effect of the GOP circus on our national security. The partisans howled that Clinton’s August 1998 Tomahawk missile strike on Usama Bin Ladenin Pakistan was mere “wagging the dog” (military action taken as a distraction from domestic political problems). The strikes came in the midst of the Republican witch hunt against Clinton for the affair. The inability of the administration to gain bipartisan support, or strong public support (given the braying of the Limbaughs and other carnival freak acts of the Right), for concerted action against al-Qaeda allowed the organization the breathing room to plan out the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Aden in Yemen and then the September 11, 2001 assault on the United States. There was a time when members of one political party loved the interests of the country more than they hated the other party.
Clinton later observed of Bin Laden,
“CLINTON: What did I do? What did I do? I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized a finding for the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since... I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it. But I did try. And I did everything I thought I responsibly could… The entire military was against sending Special Forces in to Afghanistan and refueling by helicopter. And no one thought we could do it otherwise, because we could not get the CIA and the FBI to certify that Al Qaida was responsible [for killing Americans] while I was president. ”
The Republican engineering of doubts about the administration’s motives in pursuing al-Qaeda forcefully demonstrably had a negative effect on the morale of the security establishment. Journalist Susan Page wrote in late fall, 2001, on the question of whether the Clinton team did all they could:, “Interviews with more than two dozen senior officials who worked in or with the Clinton administration on terrorist issues reveal an answer that lacks black-and-white clarity. The bottom line: The Clinton administration took significant steps against bin Laden but, reluctant to lose American lives and fearing a lack of public support, decided against the most aggressive responses.”
The Clinton counter-terrorism team, especially terrorism czar Richard Clarke, had fair information about the character of al-Qaeda. They suffered from lack of good intelligence on the ground in Qandahar and elsewhere (the Bush administration failed to find Bin Laden for 8 years despite having military occupied Afghanistan and penetrating Pakistan with intelligence operatives; imagine the dearth of intelligence in the 1990s). But you have to wonder whether they didn’t back off Tomahawk strikes and other direct action against the al-Qaeda leadership after the “wag the dog” charge gained traction. They knew that such counter-terrorism was risky and could go wrong. And they knew who exactly the “contract on America” GOP in the House would blame if anything went wrong.
The Republican Party’s partisan and venal purveying of a minor affair into a matter of state was not driven by morality or law. As comedian Jerry Seinfeld observed at the time, “Lying about sex? Everyone lies about sex. Without lying, there would be no sex.” Many of the Republican representatives who led the impeachment effort, including Newt Gingrich, had had well known affairs, which they had concealed from their publics.
The mystery is why anyone cared. The Puritans still haunt America. In contrast, French President Francois Hollande came to office having abandoned his wife (a former presidential candidate herself) for a girlfriend, whom he in turn later abandoned, once in the presidential palace, for a film star with whom he made assignations on a motorbike. His popularity ratings went up slightly when the matter became public.
The GOP tactic worked as politics. Clinton was enormously popular and would have been a formidable campaigner for Al Gore, who, however, was afraid to be seen with him on the campaign trail in 2000. So the vicious politics of reputation gave us a president who had been a notorious philanderer and alcoholic for 20 years, who demoted the terrorism czar from a cabinet position so that Clarke had trouble calling meetings on al-Qaeda in 2001, and who later deployed the tragedy of 9/11 as a pretext for invading and occupying Iraq, which had had nothing to do with it. Because the Republican Party is naturally a minority party in national election– a coalition of the 1% with farmers, some small town folks, and some white surburbanites, it feels forced to create scandals and talk about impeachment in order to level the playing field.
The current GOP witch hunt over the Benghazi attacks is also bad for US security. The State Department is being forced into a posture of risk avoidance rather than forceful diplomacy. The embassies in Libya and Tunisia have been manned by skeleton crews since 2012, contributing to the US inability to play a role in the aftermath of the Arab upheavals. The US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, was closed last week after some al-Qaeda attack in the capital. The GOP’s hysteria about seeking to blame the administration is hurting our political reporting and ability to make and maintain contacts. It is deja vu all over again.
——
Related video:
The Young Turks from last week: “Monica Lewinsky Speaks, Fox News Attacks & Is… Right?”New Delhi: Abhishek Gupta’s new flagship store at Defence Colony in New Delhi is a reflection of his twin talents—fashion designing and sound designing. But what takes the store to a whole new level is the “Listening Room".
Across a brown leather sofa in the 15x18x8 ft Listening Room sits a state-of-the-art sound system, a combination of some 10-odd gadgets, handpicked by Gupta to produce a world-class music experience. The idea behind it is to introduce his clients to his passion—sound design, says Gupta.
In the Listening Room, the acoustics have been designed by Rainer Weber, technical director of Kaiser Acoustics, makers of some of the best speakers in the world. The walls are made of micro-perforated MDF, a mixture of reflector and diffuser.
The structure is “floating", which means the ceiling and the floor are false—the “cube" is not attached to the store. “This is to ensure that there is no superstructure resonance," says Gupta.
The music system runs on batteries. Two HP700 pre-amplifiers by Octave, two Octave monoblocks, two capacitor banks with 450,000 farads of capacitance, a Stahl Tek digital-to-analog converter, Furman power conditioners, a turntable and a computer, all connected with Van Den Hul carbon cables and two PMC speakers complete the set-up. To the uninitiated, this might be Greek, but for audiophiles, it is like the Harley Davidson or the Blue Label of sound designing.
The system is connected to a server that stores the music library and costs 1 crore, while the room will set you back by another 75 lakh. The overall result is stunning sound clarity. As the music starts playing and you close your eyes, you are transported to a parallel universe of pianos and organs, cellos, violins and percussion. Be it Bach’s Fugue in G minor or James Brown’s ‘It’s A Man’s World’, every note is crystal clear.
Outside the Listening Room in the 1,800 sq. ft store, designed by Studio Lotus, are a sequence of courtyards that display Gupta’s fashion collection.
The overall space—sans the clothing—is a monochrome canvas and painted in deep charcoal tones. The Italian marble on the floor is dyed to develop a dark patina to highlight the clothes. Perforated dynamic film on mirror and glass makes for the wall, generating a moire effect. Looking out from the store, the perforated skin extends to the façade.
Gupta first built a music system about 20 years ago. “My brother gave me a budget of 3 lakh to build him a music system. I picked up a pair of Bose 901 speakers with NAD amplification," he says. “That’s when I was bitten by the audiophile bug. I started comparing different technologies and products, reading and researching. Whenever I went abroad, I spent a lot of time in good demo rooms to understand the latest technology."
“Five years back, one of my friends asked me to set up an audio system with a budget of 5 lakh. He was blown away with the result," recalls Gupta.
Word spread and he started getting more orders. Within months, Gupta was charging a consultation fee.
His first professional consultancy was in 2011, to set up a sound system for a cousin with a budget of 8 lakh. Over the years, he has set up around 40 systems with budgets ranging between 5 lakh and 1 crore. His clients, mostly between 35 and 50 years of age, are high networth individuals from different walks of life—photographers, industrialists, fashion designers, among others. “Essentially people who are music lovers," says Gupta.
The 42-year-old was born into a family of businessmen, engineers and freedom fighters in the Nagwa locality of Varanasi. As a child, he loved painting but was also good with gadgets. “If a toy wouldn’t work, I would open and fix it," he says, and adds that fixing irons and toasters was a hobby.
After graduating from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1995, he worked with well-known designer Rohit Bal. Gupta started his eponymous line in 2000 and also launched a streetwear label, Fightercock, with wife Nandita Basu in 2006, which the duo suspended in 2008. He sells his line from his store at DLF Emporio luxury mall in New Delhi and through boutiques across the country. None of his other retail spaces has the sound room though.
“There is an almost 25% increase in demand year-on-year for high-end home theatres and stereos in India," says Harshul Parikh, managing director and chief executive of Trescent Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd, the India dealers for Steinway Lyngdorf sound systems. Parikh adds that the firm sells about 15 configurations every year, ranging between 50 lakh and 5 crore.
Gupta is keen to create an experience. “I wanted to set up a store where I could invite people to have an audiophile experience similar to that in Munich High End, which is like the Paris Fashion Week for audio. If hearing a song or an instrument connects with you enough to bring a tear to your eye, I know you will be coming back for more," he says.Not that we inhabit an industry that cares much for awards (ahem), but it may be a sign of the times that the currently dominant social network for marketing has announced its own awards.
The Facebook Studio Awards will recognise Facebook campaigns that are “grounded in social insights, real connections and authentic conversations,” according to the website (where you can also find a list of the jury’s full criteria).
Facebook Studio was launched six months ago, and is a place where digital agencies and brands can have their Facebook campaigns showcased, as well as share best practices with others in the industry around the world.
Agencies and brands can submit their campaigns, with the jury awarding Facebook Studio Awards to all outstanding examples of marketing on Facebook.
The Studio website has also undergone some changes, making it easier to search and find agencies, as well as had a make-over of its homepage:Even if you think it makes you look 'hard,' it turns out that bragging about committing crimes and murdering people in rap songs may come back to haunt you.
After reading lyrics posted online, police have arrested and charged Virginia rapper Twain Gotti in connection to a 2007 double homicide. Gotti, whose birth name is Antwain Steward, was 16 at the time of the crime, but lyrics to his 2009 song "Ride Out," alerted detectives to the possibility that he committed the murders.
The slayings of Christopher Horton and Brian Dean took place outside a home in May of 2007, and due to a lack of concrete evidence, the case went cold shortly thereafter. However, when detectives looked into the case years later, they learned that Horton had fought with Steward two days prior to the crime. In the course of their investigation of the rapper, they discovered the lyrics to "Ride Hard," which seem to paint a picture of the killings:
“Listen, walk to your boy and I approached him, 12 midnight on his traphouse porch and everybody saw when I muthaf*ckin choked him. But nobody saw when I muthaf*ckin smoked him, roped him, sharpened up the shank then I poked him, 357 Smith & Wesson beam scoped him, roped him, had me crackin up so I joked him, it’s betweezy six feet ova, told ya f*ckin with my money I’ll roast ya.”
On July 8th of this year, a warrant was issued and Steward was arrested in connection with the double homicide. Further warrants have been served in the time since, including the seizure of his computer and other electronics. Full details of the case are available here.
You can listen to the song in question below, in which Gotti boasts a laundry list of further criminal offenses. Am I the only one reminded of the time a tattoo got a guy convicted of murder?ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Liberals are trying every tool at their disposal this year to go after guns. They have failed on Capitol Hill to restrict the Second Amendment, so they are moving through the states to enact their agenda.
The latest maneuver is to hike the tax on guns and ammunition to dissuade the law-abiding from buying firearms. It’s the perfect storm of liberalism — more revenue for a bigger government and fewer people keeping and bearing arms.
President Obama’s hometown of Chicago started the movement late last year by enacting a $25 tax on new firearm purchases, which went into effect on April 1. Cook County stopped just short of adding a levy on ammunition.
In February, Rep. Linda T. Sanchez, California Democrat, and 26 of the most uber-liberals in the House introduced a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to create an excise tax of 10 percent on any concealable gun in order to empower Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to establish a firearms buy-back grant program.
Since the Newtown, Conn., school-shootings tragedy, anti-gun states across the nation have introduced similar measures.
A new bill in the House would prevent this infringement on the Second Amendment. Rep. Sam Graves introduced legislation on June 13 that would make it illegal for states and municipalities to raise taxes or fees on firearms and ammunition. The Missouri Republican’s proposal would also prevent raising taxes in order to pay for background checks. “The Constitution says ‘shall not infringe,’ ” Mr. Graves told me in an interview Thursday.
“When you place this outrageous tax on the sale of ammunition and firearms, it’s intended to curtail those rights.” Congress has authority to do this under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce, which these taxes suppress.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents the manufacturers, and the National Rifle Association both endorsed the Graves bill, which will go through the House Judiciary Committee.
Massachusetts is considering a 25 percent excise tax on all firearms, ammunition and parts as part of its overall gun-control agenda. The Nevada Assembly is moving on a bill to impose a $25 tax on each gun and 2 cents for each round of ammunition sold by a dealer.
Connecticut legislators proposed this year a 50-cent sales tax on ammunition. Washington state is considering a proposal to tax every firearm sold at retail at $25 (lowered to $15 if the buyer springs for a gun safe or gun lock) and 1 cent on each round of ammunition.
The states with the most radical proposals are Maryland and Connecticut, both of which are proposing raising taxes on ammunition by 50 percent. Alcohol, which is not guaranteed by the Constitution but leads to more deaths than firearms, is the only other item in the Free State that is taxed higher than the 6 percent sales tax, but it is only 9 percent.
Several other states are also going after bullets because they are purchased more often than guns. A bill introduced in New Jersey proposes a 7 percent levy on ammunition sales. The California Assembly is considering a bill to impose a 5-cent-per-round levy on retailers for “the privilege of selling ammunition.”
These costly measures disproportionately affect lower-income people, who often live in higher-crime areas. Along with other costly mandates, such as maintaining liability insurance, these restrictions would likely be overturned as unconstitutional by the courts.
“This is no different than a poll tax — but on the Second Amendment,” said Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “These anti-gun politicians are clearly trying to unduly burden the exercise of the Second Amendment by pricing firearms and ammunition out of reach of many law-abiding Americans. Mr. Graves‘ bill will put a stop to these sinister schemes.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Graves correctly points out that the gun grabbers’ efforts have backfired so far. “The Obama administration has tried to capitalize on some unfortunate instances to try to slow down the sale of firearms and ammo.
The irony is that the pressure to outlaw or control the sale of firearms, it just accelerates sales. It’s like pouring gas on a fire.” The number of FBI background checks were up 27 percent in March, leading to the Senate vote the next month on Mr. Obama’s gun-control agenda. The national instant criminal-background checks were up 20 percent in April.
Liberals love to raise taxes to push their social agenda, whether to push us out of our cars, stop us from smoking, force us to eat low-fat foods or curtail our drinking of alcohol.
In their worldview, individuals are not capable of being responsible for their own health and well-being, so they need the nanny state to enforce proper behavior via their pocketbooks. However, unlike cigarettes and martinis, guns are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
The House should pass the Graves bill quickly to show the states that their gun-grabbing scam will misfire.
Emily Miller is a senior editor of opinion for The Washington Times.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Arthur C Clarke called this place his “ego chamber.”
And now, in a state of disbelief, here I am, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the office of a man who was arguably the greatest British science fiction writer of all time.
I sit down at his desk. At Arthur C. Clarke’s desk. An old Mac desktop stands sentinel. The wheelchair that the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey used to get around in from about 1984 onwards—after he was struck with muscle-wasting post-polio syndrome—is parked to my side.
I allow my gaze to rake across the extraordinary collection of artifacts—including undoubted ego-builders like an Oscar nomination, countless literary awards, and a knighthood from the Queen—with which the great science fiction writer surrounded himself day in, day out, for the almost 50 years he lived and worked in Sri Lanka.
He died almost exactly seven years ago, on March 19, 2008, aged 90, but here, in his old office, everything has been preserved just the way it was when he still lived.
This is no Arthur C Clarke museum, however, and it’s not open to the public. It’s just that the Ekanayakes, the Sri Lankan family with whom he lived for almost 50 years, simply can’t bear to clear these last bits of Clarke away.
And who can blame them?
The framed pictures and knick-knacks which cover every inch of wall and shelf space are an extraordinary testament to an extraordinarily full life; Clarke meeting the Pope, Clarke enjoying a cook-out with Buzz Aldrin and his family, Clarke talking with Wehrner von Braun, the genius inventor of the V2 ‘doodlebug’ guided bomb—a fiendishly clever device that wreaked untold devastation on Clarke’s homeland, Great Britain, in World War 2.
The author loved Britain, but clearly that was no reason not to respect the enemy’s scientific genius.
Serious astrological maps jostle for place with childish depictions of the heavens, and a framed front page of the New York Times from 1969 announces, “MEN WALK ON MOON.”
The bookshelves are stuffed with a vast and esoteric collection of books, including a Holy Bible and a copy of The Holy Qur’an sitting side by side.
One whole bookshelf is given over to translations and various editions of Clarke’s most famous work, 2001: A Space Odyssey. On other shelves stand an array of toys, knick-knacks and mementoes including a window climbing toy robot, toy cats, and small casts of Lord Buddha and various Hindu gods.
A large black and white photograph of a handsome young man catches my eye. This, I guess correctly, is Leslie Ekanayake, who died in a motorbike crash in 1977 aged 29—and whom Arthur eulogized in the dedication to his 1979 book The Fountains of Paradise, writing, “To the still unfading memory of LESLIE EKANAYAKE (13 JuIy 1947—4 July 1977) only perfect friend of a lifetime, in whom were uniquely combined Loyalty, Intelligence and Compassion. When your radiant and loving spirit vanished from this world, the light went out of many lives.”
On another wall is an extract from his 1945 paper, “Extraterrestrial Relays,” which famously proposed and described how a geostationary satellite could be used for communication technology. It’s an idea that changed the world, paving the way for mobile communication we all take for granted today.
Leslie’s brother Hektor Ekanayake, now 75, and the owner of this house, tucked away behind a high wall and protected by a security guard in an upscale Colombo street, is showing me around, his voice often breaking, and tears escaping down his cheeks as he recalls his dear friend. Hektor still lives here, in the main house on the other side of the courtyard to Arthur’s digs, with his wife Valerie.
Hektor met Arthur when the writer first moved to Sri Lanka full time in 1956. Clarke, a keen amateur diver, was drawn to the country by a combination of the warm seas and the tolerant attitude towards homosexuality in the majority Buddhist nation. Homosexuality was (and remains) technically illegal in Sri Lanka, but no-one has ever been prosecuted for the ‘crime.’
Clarke was gay, but he was also extremely discrete, unlike many of the other gay ex-pats who later flocked to Sri Lanka. He would certainly never have picked up a man on the beach or in a public bar as others did, one acquaintance, Vasantha De Silva (who happens to be Sri Lanka’s most famous hairdresser) told me.
Charlie Hulse, an American who has lived near and later in Galle Fort in the south of the country since 1974, and was the partner of the gay American writer Gordon Merrick, knew Clarke well.
Hulse, now 86, told me that his closeted behavior was at least partly because Clarke had a horror of embarrassing his farming family back home in rural Somerset, England, if his homosexuality was widely reported.
Hulse describes Clarke (who spoke in a broad Somerset accent until the end |
2011 AND the January 2012 bird deaths, and also the source of the strange halo over Mile High Stadium as the Broncos played last weekend.One Costa Rican website report, its staff presumably familiar with the geography of the area, posed the inevitable question-"[On] January 9, 2012, Costa Ricans awoke to a strange loud sound that emanated from the sky.The frightened residents called the authorities to report the strange-sounding hum. The explanation they received, left many of them suspicious. No way was the thunderous sound anywhere near what fireworks sound like. The authorities though, remained steadfast in pushing their fireworks explanation to the nervous callers. According to a local newspaper, it was described as a “a strange audible booming or humming sound.” “Local news channels are leaning in the direction of fireworks but many remain skeptical,” according to the article. The article goes on to read:"The Costa Rican weekly Newspaper Tico Times reported on it three days later as a follow-up:"Monday morning started off with a bang for residents of the Central Valley when a loud, as yet unidentified, series of booms rattled windows about 30 minutes after midnight. Many did not hear it, but enough people did to cause a firestorm of comment on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The strange sound was prolonged – many described it as lasting for five minutes or so. Perhaps the only one making no comments were scientists and government authorities, who were reticent about commenting or speculating. A few things it wasn’t: Volcanologists discounted a volcanic eruption; nor was it a supersonic aircraft, because the powerful radar at Juan Santamaría International Airport outside of San José picked up no planes at the time, not even subsonic ones."So four days after the inexplicable sky noise heard over hundreds of miles of Costa Rican area, where all the populace was perplexed but assured that no tectonic of volcanic activity was present, a volcano erupted.To be sure, Costa Rica's volcano Turrialba is an active volcano. The Smithsonian Global Volcanism program states that "Fumarolic activity continues at the central and SW summit craters." Local news reports that "yesterday, January 12, 2012 from noon, the Turrialba volcano began a profuse emission of fly ash, gases and aerosols from an area, where itof several meters diameter around 3 pm."I don't know how frequent or infrequent it is to have a new gap open up on an active volcano, or to have a new area of volcanic activity emerge when the previous activity had always been centered elsewhere. But I am interested in all anomalies because Jesus said they would happen and to look up when we begin to see them.As for the hum...I'm frankly fascinated by them. They are a phenomenon, as: "According to sufferers, it is as if someone has parked next to your house and left the engine running. 'The Hum' is a mystery low frequency noise, a phenomenon that has been reported across Britain, North America and Australia in the past four decades."Some of the 'hums' have been discovered to be produced by an industrial cause, one, a diesel engine and another, industrial fans. The others, no one ever found what the hum was caused by.I like to think about 'the other side'. Jesus appeared in the midst of them in the Upper Room. (Lk 24:36-43). How did He materialize? Do you ever wonder about that? I do. Or when the crowd was incited to a riot intending to push Him over the cliff, He simply walked out from among them. (Luke 4:29-30). Where did He go? How were His molecules operating to allow Him to appear and disappear, through thin air?I think of the veil, the veneer between us and the powers, principalities and dominions (Eph 1:21, Col 1:16; Eph 6:12) and I wonder, how thin is it? Elisha prayed to God for Him to give Elisha's servant a glimpse of it, and the servant's eyes were opened and he saw the multitudes of angelshovering and ready to do battle. (2 Kings 6:17). It reminds me of the problem in quantum physics: The Measurement Problem. This problem is described thus: an atom only appears in a particular place if you measure it. An atom is spread out all over the place until a conscious observer decides to look at it. It is the act of measurement, observing, that creates the entire universe." ( Physicist Jim Al-Khalili, BBC's Atom). So when the atom isn't being observed, where does it go? Is it still there but invisible, like the army Elisha's servant couldn't see?Are the two sides so close together that an occasional co-mingling occurs? Sounds leak from one to the other? I don't know of course, but I wonder about these things.Traveling in Scotland was amazing. I loved it. I've always been spiritually sensitive, and I noticed that in Scotland, land of standing stones, Celtic Druids, foggy moors and crumbling castles, that the veil felt particularly thin. It wasn't the Godly I was feeling nearby, but the eerie or demonic, particularly in standing stone circles. It is a place where legends of giants still persist. Other places where I felt that was the Salton Sea in California, and Gray Maine. Did you ever feel that, a place that gave you the willies for no reason? Or a place that was so pure you felt you could drink it in forever?What I'm trying to say is that when a populace hears a strange hum, it is interesting to think that it might be a sound from the other side.When I read that the volcano began its newest eruption I thought of the strange hum in that same nation. I thought of the veil, and all the activity that is going on behind it. The principalities, powers, and dominions are fighting furiously for control of the earth. The demonic powers know the bible's outcome but their evil is that they refuse to believe it. So they fight. God sends angels to do His bidding, and ultimately, we know that God is sovereign and will prevail. The conclusion is foregone. But the activity behind our realm of hearing and seeing is furious and ongoing. What is that hum? I do not know. But it was heard by many, and as God lifts His protective hand from the world perhaps the earth's people will be hearing more.Katie Nelson from Blueprint Games did a super detailed talk about the way her company produces game content for the new horror game Relapse. It’s a great look into the pipeline, which could be used by any game developer: AAA or indie.
Introduction
Blueprint Games was founded in 2015 by James and Katie after graduating Games Technology at Bournemouth University. James took on the role of the programmer whilst I work on the art. We were joined by Andy who helped us with project management and writing the full story. Relapse will be our first project and original IP.
For the first few months James and I worked alone until we got a place in Tranzfuser, a contest run by the UK games fund. Tranzfuser gave us 10 weeks to build a prototype from scratch to showcase at EGX. We expanded the team with two part time artists Emanuel Francis and Richard Piskorz who helped with the assets for the surgery room and doctors office.
We have also recently taken four undergraduates, Dave, Guy, Sam and Gabriel, from Bournemouth University for their placement year who will be helping us in the coming months.
We have more in depth profiles on our website for each team members.
Relapse
My final year project and dissertation was on the Psychology of Fear in Video Games; I wanted to find a recipe for fear. This included hooking people up to blood pressure and heart rate monitors and recording their reactions to different types of horror games.
I then took my findings and created a crude prototype using Unreal Engine 4 to test my hypothesis, this was the first build of Relapse. After receiving a good response from the Festival of Design and Innovation James and I decided to continue the project on a larger scale. We incorporated puzzles to bump up the tension and also because my favorite childhood games included Grim Fandango, Monkey Island and Myst. I wanted to make a game I would want to play.
Plot and characterization is also very important to us. We want to recreate the feeling of helplessness and dread of Franz Kafka’s novels. We have a set of golden rules we measure ourselves against – one of which is that everything must happen for a reason. There will be no random unexplained events just to get cheap scares; everything builds up slowly and for players that are interested there will be a back story and narrative about the history of Victorian Insane Asylums to discover – both from the perspective of the patients and the staff. Some horrific things happened in these places when you judge from today’s standards. However, almost universally the staff were doing what they thought was right for the patients.
Environment Design
During my dissertation research I realized that old buildings and clichés work better in horror games as we already associate these locations with fear or danger. We set the game within a UK insane asylum. We’ve had some backlash on the choice of setting due to its overuse in video games but our reasoning behind this is because we wanted multiple environments to work with…
UK Insane asylums functioned as small cities, this gives us the flexibility to include many different types of rooms and keep each section of the game fresh and environmentally interesting. It won’t just be endless wards or surgery rooms, but also include a library, clock tower, water tower, residential staff housing, art rooms, kitchens, greenhouses and farms and more.
We’ve also included optional interactive flash back sequences for notes. In early tests people found reading the notes tiresome, now when you read a note you are transported back in time to “witness” the events of the note unfold. This means all our assets are textured twice to show when the asylum was still in use during these flashbacks.
Hidden rooms are also in the asylum, with optional locations and puzzles we hope this adds replayability to the player as they unlock the mystery behind the antagonist and the location. Clues like video tapes, items and notes will be left behind by the antagonists previous victims giving you the chance to unlock these new areas.
Pipeline
Here are some speed sculpt videos for some of the games assets, some videos are old so the pipeline shown in them is outdated, our most recent example of our pipeline is the suitcase speed sculpt:
We use real life photos and locations for reference
The first step is to gather references for 3D models and scenes; as the building was abandoned in the 1980’s we make sure that the models fit within the time period. We sketch out a map layout for each level on paper then prototype it using a quick block out in UE4.
the level is blocked out using supergrid
Sculpting
Items are modeled using 3DS Max, afterwards Zbrush is used to sculpt in detail. The normals, ambient occlusion and ID map are then baked using 3DS Max.
Zbrush is used to make normal maps
Characters are also modelled using Zbrush
The assets are then used to replace the block out, unwrapping, texturing and colours are left until the room is fully blocked out. This allows the artist to focus on the composition of the room.
Texturing
After all the items for that room are added the models are unwrapped and grouped together. Smaller objects share a texture sheet to maximize on space, whilst larger objects have their own sheet. Everything is textured in Substance Painter.
A selection of assets used in the janitor’s room, these all share a UV sheet and come with several variations.
A selection of books from the library, these also share the same UV sheet and come with multiple variations
Modular Building
All our walls,floors and ceilings use modular pieces, all of these are made in 3DS Max and will snap together inside of UE4. All the modular pieces for one room will share a texture sheet.
Blueprint Items
After texturing the items inside substance painter the assets are implemented into UE4. Some assets are then made into a Blueprint, this allows us to add instant interactivity and customization to a new level. A good example is our modular doors, we can mix and match different handles, doors and frames using the Blueprint.
Materials
All our materials are PBR, we use Substance Painter; Bitmap2texture and Substance Designer. We assemble them together using a parent material in UE4. We also use Gametextures.com to help with some of the floors and walls.
Vertex painting is used in many ways in the level, we can paint dust, moss, dirt and puddles into any scene using our master material.
Blending debris with the floor
Puddles
Variation is added by painting in moss
Our base material used for vertex painting
Lighting
Lighting was pretty hard to get right and took a lot of trial and error to get the right atmosphere. The scene has very little natural light so low intensity static point lights are used to light up the scene, a skylight was used originally but this wasn’t giving the desired effect.
Light fixtures are then added. A orange stationary light is added for each set of light fixtures.
Detail lighting view, the blue and orange lights complement one another and make the scene more visually interesting.
Points of interest also have additional lights nearby to draw attention to them
Volumetric lighting is a static mesh cone we made in 3DS Max with a material setup in UE4.
Volumetric Lights are used to enhance the artificial lights in the scene
Volumetric light setup
A blue stationary directional light is finally used to create the moonlight. Godrays are then lined up with the window silhouette.
Post-processing
Post-processing is the final step to completing the look
A colour lookup table was the easiest way to control and adjust the scene
Building Atmospheric Horror Adventures
We decided early on we didn’t want to go for cheap jump scares but to instead build tension through the environment and ambience. The sightings of the antagonist should be rare and meaningful. We have built the sections of gameplay to work in two separate blocks, puzzles and stealth.
We want the puzzles to be logical and realistic with multiple solutions for each puzzle. However we also noticed from our free Prologue that some players found the puzzles challenging. Hence we are designing the game so that it can be played in two modes – Anxiety and Psychosis. Psychosis is the original game as we intended it to be played with all puzzles; Anxiety mode has the puzzles scaled back for people who are only interested in the horror game aspect.
The difficulty with designing a game like this is balancing the scares, players take different amounts of time with puzzles, if people take a while solving a puzzle they can quickly become bored when backtracking through areas, when they soon realize there is no real threat and that the area is considered “safe”, thus we have added a timer, if a player takes too long in a certain area we can bring the antagonist back in again to kick up the tension before withdrawing him again.
We are aiming for late 2017 although we will be having open testing periods closer to release.
Interview conducted by Kirill Tokarev.
Follow 80.lv on Facebook, Twitter and InstagramApple’s refusal so far to approve India’s anti-spam iPhone app is infuriating regulators, potentially harming the company’s efforts to sell more products in the country.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been trying unsuccessfully to get its Do Not Disturb software included in the App Store. The program lets people share spam call and text message logs with the agency, which uses the data to alert mobile operators to block the spammers. Apple has said the app violates its privacy policy, according to the regulator.The standoff could impact Apple’s efforts to expand in India, where half a billion smartphones will be sold by 2020. The Cupertino, California-based company has been in discussions with India’s government to open retail stores and secure permission to sell used iPhones imported into the country. Apple has put forth a long list of demands, including tax breaks and other concessions, to set up manufacturing facilities.“Nobody’s asking Apple to violate its privacy policy,” said Ram Sewak Sharma, chairman of the Delhi-based telecom regulator. “It is a ridiculous situation, no company can be allowed to be the guardian of a user’s data.”The regulator is currently seeking public and stakeholder comments on a consultative paper on users’ control over their personal information and rules on the flow of data through telecommunications networks. The process, scheduled to be completed in September, could eventually lead to new rules governing user data. That could also become part of the telecom licensing process, Sharma said.Any new measures could affect not just Apple, but Facebook, Google and other technology companies that handle large amounts of private and personal information.“Data is a strategic asset, and there’s realisation around the world that public policy has to come to grips with it,” said Nandan Nilekani, who ran India’s biometric Aadhaar identity program and was recently appointed chairman of Asia’s No. 2 outsourcer Infosys Ltd.Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment on the regulator’s remarks. Last year, the company shipped 2.5 million iPhones in India, and earlier this year, supplier Wistron Corp. began assembling a limited number of iPhones in Bangalore. So far, the Indian government has all but declined Apple’s request to import used iPhones, and has yet to respond to other demands.Sharma, who banned Facebook Inc.’s Free Basics internet access program last year, said there hasn’t been a resolution after half-a-dozen meetings with Apple. While Apple’s policy allows it to share user data with affiliates and strategic partners, the Indian government’s Do Not Disturb app only requires a limited, pre-approved level of data sharing, said Sharma, who has a degree in computer science from the University of California at Riverside. Apple’s policy states that sharing data with any other entity isn’t allowed.“The problem of who controls user data is getting acute and we have to plug the loose ends,” Sharma said. “This is not the regulator versus Apple, but Apple versus its own users.”Team spirit is flying high at City Hall.
A Winnipeg Jets flag fluttered outside the council building Thursday as Mayor Brian Bowman predicted the team would win a playoff spot for the first time since returning to the city for the 2011-12 National Hockey League season.
"We’re flying the Jets flag at City Hall today to show support for the Jets tonight, and I encourage all Winnipeggers to show support as they play for a spot in the playoffs. Go, Jets, go!" said Bowman in an e-mail Thursday afternoon.
A Jets win in Denver or Los Angeles Kings regulation-time loss on Thursday in Calgary would allow the team to qualify them to compete for the Stanley Cup for the first time since the team moved to Winnipeg in 2011.
Inside City Hall, multiple staff members wore Jets jerseys a few hours prior to the key game.
Police pledged to monitor gatherings that might follow the final period after social-media users discussed flooding Portage and Main.
"Enjoy the moment, regardless of what the outcome is … True fans are going to embrace the Winnipeg Jets and the work they’ve done this year. Our involvement will be to ensure that people are having fun but that they’ll be doing it in a safe way," said Michalyshen.
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Twitter: @pursagawpgsunSome fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship will have now have the option of watching live events via virtual reality.The UFC and Samsung on Tuesday announced a partnership to stream select live events through Samsung’s Gear VR platform. The agreement will begin with UFC 212, which takes place on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Jose Aldo and Max Holloway According to a release, “fans will witness this highly-anticipated event in high-quality 360-degree live stream and will have access to additional VR content, including pre-event and post-event show highlights with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and interim UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.”However, Gear VR users in the United States and New Zealand will only have access to the UFC 212 Fight Pass prelims, not the pay-per-view main card or Fox Sports 1-televised prelims. Gear VR is currently available in 45 countries, according to the release.“We’ve always felt that the potential of combining UFC events with virtual reality would give our fans the ultimate enhanced experience,” UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein said. “We’re excited to partner with Samsung on this game-changing initiative to further revolutionize how fight fans consume our content and live events around the world.”In addition to the UFC, Samsung is also partnering with the X-Games and Live Nation to stream live events from those organizations via Gear VR.Recently actress Rose McGowan took umbrage with the image above, decrying the depiction of violence against women used as advertising material. Never mind that that this is a pivotal dramatic scene in a fictional movie in which the woman is a hero (Mystique) who puts everything on the line to try and stop the villain (Apocalypse). Forget that Mystique has been a great character throughout the three movies Jennifer Lawrence has portrayed her, or that she routinely kicks ass throughout the movies. No need to consider that Apocalypse also beats the tar out of many of the male characters in the movie, and if they’d picked an image of one of them getting the shit kicked out of them, or had used an image of Mystique beating down a male from the movie, no one would be making such a big deal out of all of this. This is a pivotal scene for three major characters in this story, Mystique included, where Storm and Magneto must face the reality of the choices they’ve made and how that is effecting someone they look up to and care about. Unbelievably Fox apologized, something that is becoming an all to common, and troubling trend.
The point of this writing isn’t to point out how absolutely ridiculous this outrage is though. I’m not here to talk about all of the ignorant articles and support popping up for this extremely transparent case of slacktivism. I want to talk about writing, diversity, and characters, all of which I think are important elements of a craft I pursue with all the spare time that I have. I think this idea that characters of a certain gender, race, or sexuality should be untouchable when it comes to plot is extremely detrimental to not only good story, but to diversity in entertainment as a whole. If a writer, creator, or artist is hammered in the media every time they put a woman in danger, or kill a gay character, they will wind up not bothering next time. They’ll just avoid the drama all together by not including these characters as major participants in the plot.
The ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ mentality that has become the norm with the media and online outrage artists will eventually drive creators away from even trying. You have fans of a show about survival, where death is just around every corner, losing their minds because a gay character was killed, and while the showrunner’s response is mostly supportive of creating realistic stories in such a world, people still tear him down for it. He clearly wants to have inclusion in his show, supports diversity and good storytelling, but eventually one has to ask; when does the human mind break and either walk away from diversity completely, or sell-out and include it for diversity’s sake alone (that’s called tokenism ladies and gents.)
Even now we have movements to replace traditional male action characters with female actresses, James/Jane Bond for example. I don’t know if these people have seen a James Bond film but he’s regularly beaten, captured, and tortured. Do they think producers are going to be interested in putting a woman in such a role if every scene of violence is going to be met with this sort of outrage? I thought we were moving away from the idea that women must be treated like they’re fragile and weak. I thought we wanted a world where everyone is treated the same? If we want that world to come to fruition one of the earliest places we will see it manifest is in our entertainment media. The arts, books, movies and video games have always been a place for creators to tell stories of how they want the world to look, or to shine a light on the dark places of the world now.
The very basics of fiction writing and character creation are that any character who is unaffected by, or unable to effect plot, are useless to the story as main characters. Some writers go so far as to say these characters aren’t even deserving of a name, they are background, or scenery for the story to take place in. In a movie they are extras, bystanders, people needed to populate the world around the main characters and their plot. Main characters, and even secondary characters most of the time, should be subject to the same consequences of any plot you’re writing. The only way for the reader to feel the tension you are trying to deliver is for them to believe that anyone in the story can be changed by it. That doesn’t always mean death, or violence, but if those are real possibilities for some characters, they must be real possibilities for all your main characters.
Take comic books, for example. It’s a popular trend in major titles, and has been for a long time, that no character remains dead. Superman has even been killed, but he’s back. Eventually the reader loses all sense of apprehension when reading stories like this. We see Superman fight the next big bad villain, but we know that he’ll survive, he’ll win, and even if he ‘dies’ he’ll be back next year for an all-new #1 release. It’s boring, predictable, and in the end is not at all compelling. It’s what makes writing characters over the span of decades difficult, and in the end hard to sell. There’s very few authors out there that will tell you having a main character who is unaffected by plot is a good idea. If you have women or minorities unaffected by plot you basically have background decoration for the sake of the appearance of diversity, which is the opposite of what it means to create a truly diverse world in your work.
Unfortunately people fall back on pointing out tropes in everything, which given enough effort can be done with every single character in anything. There’s hundreds of tropes, so chances are if you write something, your characters will fall right into one of them. They’re over-used in my opinion, and have become a lazy way to criticize everything. They’ve become a big stick we use indiscriminately to beat up any creator whether their use of the trope is accidental or intentional. Take the above example with the show The 100. Fans have accused the showrunner of using the ‘hide your gays’ trope, in which gay characters are killed off for various negative reasons. It’s obvious that the folks behind the show are genuine in their desire to deliver a diverse, and compelling story. They didn’t kill off a gay character just because she was gay, or for any of the other reasons presented in the trope, but the team got beat with that stick anyway.
In the end we have to ask ourselves what we want from our entertainment media. Do we want compelling stories with diverse characters and cast, where the story is driven by the characters and they are affected by the plot? If so then we need to cut creators a little slack when it comes to including more diverse characters. If you want them to be untouchable, unkillable, and unaffected by the plot then you’re going to wind up with a cast of useless characters that are just there to be token representation, or no diverse characters at all because creators don’t want the drama. It’s understandable to want to see representation of your gender, race, or sexuality in the entertainment you consume, but don’t you want those characters to be realistic, interesting, and most importantly, equal to other characters? In either case I think this sort of outrage will kill diversity in entertainment mediums across the board, and that would truly be unfortunate.Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas really does not understand science. Not scientific method, not scientific theories or laws, none of it. Which is why he submitted a bill draft titled the “High Quality Research Act” which would in effect add a politician into scientific studies.
The bill says that any research done using federal funds (which is the majority of research done in the United States) must have its results and finding approved by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. If the findings are not agreed to, the research is taken from the researchers and disposed of by Congress as it sees fit.
Congressman Smith has already landed himself in scientific hot water over his April 25th Letter to the National Science Foundation where he demanded that the NSF conduct an investigaton into five research programs which contradict policies his donors want passed. This is what was expected when the noted anti-science Texan was appointed to the Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
In response to Congressman Smith’s letter to the NSF, fellow committee member, and fellow Texan, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, had this to say according to the LA Times:
Politicians, even a distinguished chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, cannot be ‘peers’ in any meaningful sense.
Peer in this case referring to the peer review methodology employed by scientists to ensure that their papers are concise, clear, and accurate.
In response to the criticism, Congressman Smith issued his own statement in which he defended the bill by saying:
The draft bill maintains the current peer review process and improves on it by adding a layer of accountability. The intent of the draft legislation is to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent on the highest-quality research possible.
One must ask, how does making peer review accountable to politicians an “improvement?” The scientific method has proven itself over centuries. This “improvement” is nothing but a way to attempt and strong arm scientists into pushing political agendas, typically those held by whomever donates the most money to a politician during the campaign.
Congressman Lamar Smith is a leading example as to the disconnect within the Republican Party and reality. His “improvement” would compromise scientific research, and dismantle what little America has left for integrity. Despite how many other industries have fallen apart across the United States, we as a nation remain the gold standard of scientific research. It appears Lamar Smith will not rest until that too joins our other areas of once excellence, and we surrender to our national collapse.
Nathaniel Downes is the son of a former state representative of New Hampshire, now living in Seattle Washington.
Feel free to follow Nathaniel Downes on Facebook.A bad crash in the end of stage seven of the Vuelta a España saw Ireland’s Dan Martin complete the day’s racing but the Garmin-Sharp rider was then taken to hospital for further checkups as a result of his injuries. Related Articles Pro Bike: Dan Martin’s Cervelo R5
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Without going into detail, Garmin-Sharp sports director Johnny Weltz said Martin had suffered injuries on his right side and that they had taken him to a hospital after the stage. He could not confirm if Martin would start the stage tomorrow. An official race medical report by the Vuelta’s own doctors said Martin had suffered “multiple blows to an arm and hip” and that team-mate Nick Nuyens had also crashed.
Martin went down with around ten kilometres to go and finished 1:33 back in 116th place. The 2013 Tour de France stage winner crashed shortly after teammate Tyler Farrar had punctured and was being pulled back up to the peloton, with Garmin-Sharp suddenly having to fight to get both sprinter and their GC rider back in the bunch.
Johan Vansummeren and other teammates tried to bring Martin back into the peloton, but with the bunch already going flat out on a very technical, fast finish and Martin not in a good condition in any case, it was mission impossible.
“It was a perfect storm, I have to say that,” Johnny Weltz told Cyclingnews afterwards. “He hit some kind of a hole in the ground and went into his handlebars and went down.”
“Tyler had just punctured before this shit started going down so we already had to stop to give him a wheel. Then Dan came down, it was just the most chaos it could have possibly been.”
Weltz, like Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was critical of the stage finish, saying “the final was absolutely crazy. You know you have to be on the front but on a circuit like that....”
To add insult to injury, Martin, Farrar, Vansummeren, Alex Howes and Nick Nuyens were all handed 20-second time penalties and fined 50 Swiss Francs by the commissaires for drafting behind a team car. Johnny Weltz and fellow directeur sportif Bingen Fernandez were fined 200 CHF for the same incident.
Furthermore, Farrar was fined another 50 CHF for “irregular team support” following his puncture, with Fernandez fined 200 CHF for the same offence. Ferandez was landed with a third 200 CHF fine for irregular feeding, while Caleb Fairly was fined 50 CHF as the recipient of the illegal feed.
In total, therefore, Garmin-Sharp amassed 1,150 CHF in fines on stage 7 of the Vuelta.Tony Abbott has pushed hard for Australian intervention but it brings the risk of more retaliation and becoming embroiled in what he calls the ‘witches’ brew’
Australia joining the fight against Isis can be justified – but where will it end?
Only a couple of weeks ago, the US president Barack Obama mused in public that he did not yet have a strategy for Syria.
But the non-existent White House strategy has now been superseded by a period of rapid international coalition building. Things are now beginning to escalate, and Australia is moving along with it.
While Sunday’s announcement by Tony Abbott formally committing Australian military assets and 600 defence personnel to an international coalition in northern Iraq is only really a first step: part of prudent pre-positioning and pre-planning, the prime minister is already preparing Australians for a lengthy deployment to the region he often likes to characterise as a “witches’ brew”.
Eleven years after the last Iraq invasion, it’s a case of here we go again. “I have to warn the Australian people that should this preparation and deployment extend into combat operations, this could go on for quite some time – months rather than weeks, perhaps many, many months indeed,” the prime minister said on Sunday.
When it comes to military sorties, it’s a truism that Australia goes where America leads. If America engages, so does Australia.
But the build up to this particular engagement has been somewhat unusual because Abbott has created an appearance, not of riding strategically and dutifully in the American slipstream, but actually being out in front of the Americans in muscling up, rhetorically at least, against Islamic State.
In the weeks where Washington was flat-out declining to commit one way or another – in public at least – Abbott’s language has been colourfully consistent: pushback against the Islamic State “death cult” has been given the character of moral crusade. The prime minister has spent weeks creating a sense of inevitability, domestically, around an intensification of military action in northern Iraq, and possibly in theatres beyond. The “death cult” is threatening the global order. The conflict is “reaching out” to Australia whether we want it to or not.
Australia’s security agencies have also been busy over the past couple of weeks actively downplaying the idea that Australia’s involvement in military action in northern Iraq will heighten any national security risks at home. The Asio rationale is that Australia is already a terror target, so our involvement in military action makes no difference.
Australia is, of course, a terror target. Recent history, tragically, confirms that.
But it also pays to bear a little history in mind. In 2004, the former police chief Mick Keelty argued that Australia put itself at greater risk of terrorism because of its role in Iraq.
Keelty was promptly jumped on by Howard government ministers for his departure from the government line. But history vindicated Keelty’s judgment. MI5 later told the UK’s Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war that the 2003 invasion had substantially increased the threat of terrorist attacks – and also served to radicalise young Muslims.
This looming sortie into northern Iraq is different from the catastrophic adventurism of the 2003 invasion.
There is a clear humanitarian obligation to protect besieged minorities (although this obligation could be also argued in a bunch of places other than Iraq); and there is a defensible imperative to support an inclusive Iraqi government in strategies to safeguard its own internal security and order.
But where this conflict ultimately leads America and the world is really a function of what it is actually about. Right now, at such a nascent stage of proceedings, that’s not entirely clear.
Is it about containing Islamic State? Is it about conducting surgical strikes against militants who might perpetrate acts of global terror? Or is about America (and allies) moving in to adjust the prevailing order of the Middle East once again?
As Steve Coll wrote perspicaciously in The New Yorker last week, the question of resuming war in Iraq in 2014 is not whether or not a new conflict can be justified – but where it will lead.Normally a cemetery wouldn’t be on our list of recommended sites to see, but the Makomanai Cemetery is one of the most awe-inspiring places we’ve ever been. Located in the outskirts of Sapporo, a large stone Buddha occupies the sprawling landscape. All 1,500 tons of it has sat alone there for 15 years. But when the cemetery decided they wanted to do something to increase visitor’s appreciations for the Buddha, they enlisted architect Tadao Ando, who had a grand and bold idea: hide the statue.
“Our idea was to cover the Buddha below the head with a hill of lavender plants,” said Ando. Indeed, as you approach “Hill of Buddha” the subject is largely concealed by a hill planted with 150,000 lavenders. Only the top of the statue’s head pokes out from the rotunda, creating a visual connection between the lavender plants and the ringlets of hair on the Buddha statue’s head.
Upon entering, visitors are forced to turn left or right and walk around a rectangular lake of water before entering the 131-ft (40-meter) long approach tunnel. The journey is a constant reminder of the weather, the breeze and the light, and is works in tandem to heighten anticipation of the statue, which is only visible once you reach the end of the tunnel.
Any time of the year, visitors will have a different experience. The 150,000 lavenders “turn fresh green in spring, pale purple in summer and silky |
in main menu
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[youtube width=”600″ height=”363″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H3BkTzaoew[/youtube]news, latest-news
St George Illawarra has finally lost patience with utility Daniel Vidot, granting him an early release from his contract to sign a two-year deal with the Brisbane Broncos. Vidot is one of three recruits for the re-building Broncos, who also snapped Warriors back-rower Todd Lowrie for two years and Cronulla outside back Stewart Mills for a year. Vidot spent the majority of his two years at the Dragons on the fringes of the first grade squad in 35 games with the Red V. But a number of discipline issues, which included being dumped for the final-round clash with the Warriors after turning up to training late, proved the final straw for coach Steve Price. The 23-year-old spent time shuffling between the wing and centres with the Dragons while also trying his hand in the back row for the Illawarra Cutters in the NSW Cup. He had a year to run on his St George Illawarra contract. “Daniel Vidot is someone who I think has still got his best football in front of him, and he was part of the Queensland Emerging Origin squad a couple of seasons ago,’’ Broncos coach Anthony Griffin said. “He can cover a lot of positions – centre, wing and back-row, and he’s 108 kilos so he’s a big boy and still only 23 years old. “We’ve really looked to build quality depth within our squad and reinforce our outside backs.” Vidot is currently preparing for the World Cup with his Samoan teammates.
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/resize/frm/storypad-fCYJja9iKCnEpjnTRSxRRL/1d5a6c58-6f99-472b-9ef1-7d53b3ed6119.jpg/w1200_h678_fcrop.jpgThe March 2011 earthquake/tsunami that ravaged the coast of central Japan is most notorious for killing 19,000 people and triggering a radioactive meltdown. Surging as far as 6 miles (10 kilometers) inland and flooding around 217 square miles (561 square kilometers), the tsunami also splintered thousands of fishing boats, knocked out houses and sucked away anything that wasn’t bolted to the ground.
Where did that 5 million tons (4.5 tonnes) of debris go? Some of it formed a pile of debris the size of Texas. Just as that state once annexed itself to the US, this floating Texas-sized trash heap is about to join borders with the American West Coast. Nearly 32 months after the tsunami hit, it’s now around 1,700 miles off the Pacific coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
There have already been signs of the trash island’s approach. So far, a 185-ton dock washed up in Washington, and a rust-caked “ghost ship” (meaning a derelict fishing boat) met the coast of British Columbia. There have been reports of even the smallest found items that trace back to Japan, such as a Japanese boy’s soccer ball and then a volleyball found by a beachcomber in Alaska. Here’s where debris has shown up so far:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Tests performed on those early arrivals have helped assuage what’s probably the most obvious fear—that the debris will be contaminated:
A subtler but more menacing threat is the arrival of Japanese invasive species, which could skew ecological balance on the West Coast. John Chapman, an Oregon State University marine biologist, told Fox.com that his center has already found 165 alien species on floating debris so far on the West Coast. Creatures like the European blue mussel—itself introduce to Asia long ago from Europe—could imperil native species. Chapman and other scientists had doubted that the creatures could travel the long distance across the Pacific. Here are a few that made the trip on that floating dock that washed up in Washington, via OSU’s marine debris blog:Baltimore’s Contemporary Museum closed suddenly this month, shutting down in the middle of an exhibition run and posting a notice to announce the decision a few days later.
“In a unanimous decision, the Trustees of the Contemporary Museum have decided to suspend the museum’s operations at the end of May 2012,” the announcement — which is reproduced on the blog BmoreArt — begins. It goes on to list the details of the suspension: The Museum ended programming on May 16, will lay off Executive Director Sue Spaid and the museum’s four part-time staff members at the end of May and has canceled a planned renovation of and move to a new, permanent home.
The trustees’ note cites the economy and difficulty with fundraising as the reasons for the decision. It also says, in the typically murky language of this kind of announcement, that the museum will reopen in some form, sometime in the future:
Over the past six months, the Trustees have come to realize that the most prudent course of action to ensure our future success is to take the necessary time and effort to plan for that future. We have determined that the only way to do this is to make this our sole focus for the immediate future.
In a phone conversation with Hyperallergic, Sue Spaid reiterated that the closure is temporary, although she also said she only knew what was in the press release. “They [the board] told me basically what they told the world,” she said. “I can’t explain the decision. They didn’t involve me in the discussion.”
Spaid continued: “I think the reason why most people seem so surprised is they don’t really realize how actually powerful boards are. I think they assume the power resides with the director.”
Asked if she saw any warning signs that might have signaled what was coming, Spaid answered no. As for her position, she speculated, “The only thing I can think of is that they probably did need me out of the way in order to pursue whatever ideas they want, because I think the contemporary is great, and I think it can exist. I have an alternative perspective to the whole thing.”
An editorial in Tuesday’s Baltimore Sun offers a brief, heartfelt history of the Contemporary, which was founded by George Ciscle in 1989. The organization actually spent its first 10 years without a home, holding pop-up exhibitions around the city. The Sun writes:
For a time it resisted even being called a “museum” — it was known then simply as The Contemporary — and it hung vagabond shows wherever space could be found, be it in a strip-mall storefront, a vacant office building next to The Block or a long-abandoned city bus garage. … [T]he Contemporary devoted itself entirely to a single, monumentally ambitious goal: Bringing what it considered the most provocative, intellectually stimulating and visually challenging artworks of our time to Baltimore audiences.
The Contemporary embraced more traditional museum-dom and found a permanent space in 1999. It remained there until last October, at which point it resumed mounting temporary exhibitions in advance of its impending move. This month the museum was running a second installment of its “Baltimore Liste” show, a series of week-long exhibitions for emerging local artists. The series was scheduled to run through May 27, but the blogger at BmoreArt writes that when she arrived on May 19, the doors were locked. Hanging on them was a hand-written sign that read, “The Baltimore List has been de-listed until further notice.” The announcement of the museum’s closure came the next day.
According to Spaid, the board has claimed that they shut down the Contemporary mid-exhibition because Spaid made plans to travel to Cincinnati to install an exhibition she’s curating there. “There’s not really a direction connection between the closing of the show and my plans to go out of town,” she said. “When I made my plans, it never occurred to me that they would affect the show. I didn’t understand that when I got my airplane tickets.”
“I’m not a victim here,” Spaid added. “I feel bad for my staff, and I feel really terrible for the artists that their show was closed early.”
Hyperallergic attemped to contact Contemporary Board President Bodil Ottesen but received no response. We did get in touch with Gary Vikan, outgoing director of Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, who offered this reminiscence via email:About
The Project: A Neighborhood Craft Brewery in Fremont, CA
What is a neighborhood craft brewery? It is a small commercial brewery that makes craft beer for local bars and restaurants and will have a cool tasting room if we get backed by Kickstarter. The beauty of such an operation is that you will see the brewers (Jan and Priscilla) at local community events, fundraisers and parties. You can get our beer now, but we would love to be in more places and do more events. You can stop by the brewery to see the process, but watch out, we might put you to work! We will brew specialty beers for the neighborhood merchants who sell our beer and when they need beer they can call us and we will be there.
The Product: Unique German-style beers with an American Finish
Our dream is to create these unique craft beers for our neighborhood to enjoy and become a part of the brewery. Jan has wanted to brew a Pilsner for a long time and it would be great to have a lovely little tasting room to launch the Pilsner. Jan and Priscilla feel that by taking a scientific approach to brewing craft beer, they can achieve a high level of consistency from batch to batch and bring out the unique beer flavors that only a craft brewery can create.
We will monitor the quality of our beers by constantly tweaking our recipes, improving our methodologies and satisfying the taste buds of our neighbors. Our batches will be small batches that we will carefully number and track to ensure unmatched quality control. You can come and see for yourself. Become a part of it!
We have worked really hard to create a credible basis for this Kickstarter by getting our licenses, trademarking our name, formulating and trying out our recipes on our neighborhood - with excellent results, by the way! Through our constantly evolving website and connections to Facebook and Twitter, we hope to entice beer lovers from around the world to keep in touch with us, with our events and new editions to our craft beer line-up. Feel free to contact us anytime and find out the latest gossip, or create some. Jan, our brewmeister, is always happy to converse about beer.
Kickstarter Funding: This Kickstarter is for us to purchase professional equipment, expand to more places, do more events and open a nice tasting room so that you, our neighbors, can have craft beer available in your neighborhood and you can by and be a part of it.
In order to have our neighbors become more a part of the brewery operations we would need some better equipment so we could make more beer, more quickly. Right now we have a mish-mash of improvised tanks and containers. What we need is a walk-in cooler for the Pilsner we hope is coming soon, which needs cold-lagering, a fermentation tank to help production time, a cleaning-in-place system (which Priscilla is now), and a whole bunch of kegs. As part of involving our neighborhood, we'd also like to have a nice tasting room.
Our dream of making world-class beer in a German-style with an American Finish began when we decided to go commercial with the brewing. We realized that we could achieve the German-style flavors with German-imported malts, hops and yeast strains and that by using water from the Peninsula Range Mountains, American yeast strains and West Coast grown hops we could achieve the American Finish.
We invite you to follow our progress on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about our unique brews. We will give you daily updates so you can see firsthand the importance of this Kickstarter and about your neighborhood craft brewery.
For your support, your pledges to our dream, we are offering cool rewards that you can see on the right side of this page. All cool stuff comes with our deep gratitude for your generosity. We love you and thank you for that. We will need at least $30,000 because brewing equipment is mighty expensive. If we exceed that amount, the more beautiful beer we can share with you, our neighborhood, the more you can become a part of your neighborhood brewery, and beer by beer, make the world a happier place.Feasey R, Buchanan A (2002). Post flashover fires for structural design. Fire Safety Journal, 37, 83-105.
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Frankel Steel Limited (1985a). Erection Drawing E12.13, 7 World Trade Center.
Frankel Steel Limited (1985b). Fabrication Shop Drawing, 7 World Trade Center.
Frater G, Kleinfeldt C (2001). Fire protection of steel structures. Advantage Steel, 16-19.
Gray WA, Muller R (1974). Engineering Calculations in Radiative Heat Transfer, Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Jonsdottir AM, Stern-Gottfried J, Rein G (2010). Comparison of resultant steel temperatures using travelling fires and traditional methods: Case study for the informatics forum building. Proceedings of the 12th International Interflam Conference, Nottingham, U.K.
Jowsey A, Scott P (2014). Structural Steel Protection: Engineered Solutions, AkzoNobel International.
NIST (2008a). National Institute of Standards and Technology Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7. NIST-NCSTAR 1A, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md.
NIST (2008b). Status of NIST's Recommendations Following the Federal Building and Fire Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster.
NIST (2008c). Structural Fire Response and Probable Collapse Sequence of World Trade Center Building 7, NCSTAR 1-9, Vol.1, Chap. 8, Section 8.4.1, p 330.
NIST (2012). Changes to the NIST Reports of the Federal Building and Fire Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster, NCSTAR 1-9.
Oetelaar TA, Johnston CR (2012). Determination of the convective heat transfer coefficient of hot air rising through terracotta flues. CSME Transactions, 36 (4), 413.
Quintierre JG, Williams FA (2014). Comments on the NIST investigation of the world trade center fires. Journal of Fire Sciences, 32, 281-291.
Petterson O, Magnusson S-E, Thor J (1976). Fire Engineering Design of Steel Structures. Swedish Institute of Steel Structures, Publication 50.
Ruddy J, Marlo JP, Ioannides SA, Alfawakhiri F (2002). Fire Resistance of Structural Steel Framing. AISC Steel Design Guide 19, Chicago, Il.
Salvarinas JJ (1986). Seven world trade center, New York, fabrication and construction aspects. Canadian Structural Engineering Conference Proceedings, Canadian Steel Construction Council, Willowdale, Ontario, pp 11-1 to 11-44.Civil pov-pushers argue politely and in compliance with Wikipedia civility principles, but also with bad faith, which discourages or upsets the other contributors. In a discussion, blame is often assigned to the person who loses their temper, which is even more frustrating for fair contributors trapped in such discussions.
Wikipedia, and specifically the dispute resolution process, has a difficult time dealing with civil POV pushers. The Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) has a mixed record in dealing with such problem users. The arbitration committee has chosen to avoid focusing on content, because admittedly they are not subject experts, and often these issues are complicated enough that knowledge of the topic is necessary to identify pseudoscience, crankery, conspiracy theories, marginal nationalist or historic viewpoints, and the like. (One important reason for this is that oftentimes there is a great deal of misinformation surrounding these topics.) Rather than focusing on content the arbitration committee has focused on behavior. The problem is compounded because it often takes the form of long-term behavior that cannot accurately be summarized in a few diffs. As such, the committee has difficulty dealing with "civil" POV pushers—editors who repeatedly disregard or manipulate Wikipedia's content policies but are superficially civil, or not-quite-uncivil-enough to merit sanctions.
As a result of the arbitration committee's failure to deal with these issues, the committee has effectively abdicated the responsibility for ensuring neutrality, verifiability, and other content standards to a few users (mostly, but not entirely admins) who patrol these articles and attempt to keep them free of disruption. These users are generally very knowledgeable about the subject and committed to Wikipedia's policies on proper sourcing and appropriate weight. Unfortunately, they tend to burn out. Usually they burn out in one of two ways:
The impatient ones tend to become angry as a result of the seemingly never-ending problems these articles cause, become uncivil, and get sanctioned by ArbCom for incivility.
The patient ones tend to go more quietly. They become disillusioned by the never-ending problems and the lack of support from the Wikipedia community, and stop editing on these topics or quit the site entirely.
This is an untenable situation.
On occasion the Arbitration Committee acknowledges the existence of this problem. In response to suggestions that ArbCom use a related arbitration case to set down some "far-reaching, well-written, solid, effective principles for dealing with POV pushers who are civil" it was suggested to formulate a list of principles and remedies. The original impetus for this page was to provide such a list, though in the end ArbCom declined to address the issue.
Behaviors
These are editors who are superficially polite while exhibiting some or all of the following behaviors:
Locality
They often edit primarily or entirely on one topic or theme.
Neutrality
Editing
They revert war over such edits.
They may use sockpuppets, or recruit meat puppets.
Discussions
They repeatedly use the talk page for soapboxing, and/or to re-raise the same issues that have already been discussed numerous times.
They hang around forever, wearing down more serious editors and become an expert in an odd kind of way on their niche POV. They outlast their competitors because they're more invested in their point of view.
They often make a series of frivolous and time-wasting requests for comment, mediation or arbitration, again in an attempt to wear down other editors.
They will often misrepresent others or other discussions in an attempt to incriminate or belittle others' opinions.
They will attempt to label others or otherwise discredit their opinion based on that person's associations rather than the core of their argument. See ad hominem.
Sources
They argue for the inclusion of material of dubious reliability; for example, using commentary from partisan think tanks rather than from the scientific literature.
They argue that reliable sources are biased while their own preferred sources are neutral.
They ignore their burden to demonstrate verifiability, insisting attempts be made to find reliable sources for dubious claims before removing them from an article.
When pressed for reliable sources, in lieu of honoring the request they: use a source to verify claims outside its author's expertise. For example, a foreword to an electrician's handbook is used to verify a statement of historical fact; engage in cherrypicking; and cite non-English language sources most people can't read, or obscure books that most people can't find.
Examples
Topics affected by this problem include:
Principles
Civility is not limited to superficial politeness but includes the overall behavior of the user. Superficially polite behaviors still may be uncivil. Some examples are politely phrased baiting, frivolous or vexatious use of process, ill-considered but politely phrased accusations, unrelenting pestering, and abuse of talk pages as a platform to expound upon personal opinions unrelated to specific content issues.
Just as WP:NPOV, WP:V, and WP:NOR cannot be applied in isolation, WP:CIVIL should not be interpreted or enforced without reference to other guidelines and policies. Civility is important, but it does not trump other core behavioral and content policies.
Using Wikipedia as a vehicle for advocacy, or to advance a specific agenda, damages the encyclopedia and disrupts the process of collaborative editing. Wikipedia is not here to right great wrongs. Even when such behavior is superficially civil it is just as harmful to the project, if not more so, than incivility.
The requirement to assume good faith is not an excuse for uncooperative behavior. There is a limit to how long good faith can be extended to editors who are continually shown to be acting in a manner that is detrimental to the growth and improvement of the encyclopedia. Nor is AGF defined as doublespeak for urging all editors to agree with a particular viewpoint and accept any changes that are advocated.
Civility does not mean that editors cannot disagree. Academe is well known for spirited debates and disagreements and these often point the way to progress. The key principle is "stay on topic"; that is, arguments should be on the merits and not personalities. Editors should bear in mind that a disagreement with their point is not an attack on their honor.
Suggested remedies
Accounts which use Wikipedia for the sole or primary purpose of advocating a specific agenda at the expense of core policies and consensus-based editing should be warned, restricted, or ultimately blocked by any uninvolved administrator. Care should be taken to distinguish new accounts from those with an established pattern of disruptive single-purpose advocacy. Likewise, this remedy is not meant to apply to editors who work within a narrow range of topics but adhere to Wikipedia's core policies.
Where consensus cannot be attained through normal wiki processes, the arbitration committee should designate "lead" editors who have considerable expertise on that article or topic. Lead editors would be empowered to direct discussion, determine consensus and designate discussions as closed.
If an editor insists on continuing to bring up an issue which has been discussed and decided, especially if they have no new information that can add to the issue, they should be pointed to the previous discussion, warned, restricted and ultimately blocked by any uninvolved administrator. An "involved administrator" (for the purposes of allowing uninvolved administrators to impose sanctions on problem users) is one who has a current, direct, personal conflict with a problem user on the specific issue at hand. Previous interactions on other articles or topics does not make one involved; previously editing the same article (but a different matter) does not make one involved. Broad definitions of "involved" that exclude administrators who have any prior experience with the article or editors in question are counterproductive. They result in overemphasis on superficial civility at the expense of more complex and long-term behavior. See WP:UNINVOLVED.
See also
More on civil POV pushing
Other relevant pages
Related arbitration casesMalacca's Australian-born goalkeeper Marco Stefan Petrovski remains in a critical condition in hospital after being struck by lightning during a training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Petrovski, 18, and defender Muhd Afiq Azuan, 21, were both hit after practice with Malacca's Presidents Cup team ahead of Thursday's match against Perak.
Afiq wasn't seriously injured but Petrovski, who was knocked unconscious and stopped breathing momentarily, is in the intensive care unit of Malacca Hospital.
"He received initial treatment at the emergency unit. After that he was transferred to the intensive care unit for further treatment," Malacca Hospital director Datuk Dr. Za'aba Baba told The Sun.
"His condition is stable and his breathing is supported with a ventilator."
All My prayers are with 19 year old Melaka goalkeeper Stefan Petrovski ��������#PrayForStefan pic.twitter.com/d2jGPpaFez - Junior Eldstål (@JuniorEldstal) April 5, 2016
Petrovski joined Malacca last year after playing with Sydney Olympic in Australia's National Premier League 1. From Serbian and Malaysian background, he was recently naturalised so he qualifies as a local player, along with more than half a dozen other mixed heritage imports in the Malaysia Super League and Malaysia Premier League.
Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron confirmed that the players were hit by lighting at the end of a training session.
"This is a totally unexpected incident because it was not raining heavily at the time," he said.
Petrovski's family members are expected to arrive in Malaysia later on Wednesday.Cognitive and Emotional Factors Related to Intrusive Mental Imagery.
You are invited to take part in this research project to examine how cognitive and emotional factors are related to intrusive mental imagery.
Domonique Doyle
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 406 557 568 OR Dr Geoff Lovell
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 7 5456 5100
Ethics approval number:The research team consists of Miss Domonique Doyle (honours student), Dr Geoff Lovell (principle researcher), and Dr John Parker (co-supervisor). Please direct any questions to:Males and females between over the ages of 18 years who currently engage in sport at any competitive level are invited to take part in this survey. The survey will ask you questions about what you see and feel when you form mental images in your mind about your sport (e.g., there are images that come to mind I cannot erase), how you feel about your thoughts (e.g., worrying helps me to avoid problems in the future), vividness level of your mental images (e.g., watching yourself performing the movement of bending to pick up a coin), and how you feel emotionally (e.g., how proud are you at present). Participation in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw at any stage, without explanation and with no consequence. If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to complete an online survey that will take approximately 5-8 minutes to complete.There are no major risks involved in this survey; however should this survey raise any concerns or psychological distress participants are encouraged to contact Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) or your GP. While you will not receive any direct benefits for participating, your information will help to expand the current knowledge on the cognitive and emotional factors related to intrusive mental imagery.Participation in this project is voluntary, and you may discontinue at any time. As your responses will be non-identifiable, it will not be possible to withdraw your responses after you have submitted them online. Consent will be implied by completion and submission of the survey. Consent is for the use of your results in this research project and potentially for the use in future related projects.Your responses to this survey will be completely anonymous, and no member of the research team will know who has participated. If you would like a summary of the findings, please contact Domonique Doyle by email on [email protected] or Dr.Geoff Lovell on [email protected]. Results will be prepared as a manuscript for submission in a peer reviewed journal and non-identifiable results may also be presented at external or internal conferences, meetings, or by publication.If you have any complaints about the way this research project is being conducted you can raise them with the Principal Researcher. If you prefer an independent person, contact the Chairperson of the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University: (c/- the Research Ethics Officer, Office of Research, University)Turn Up The Alcohol By Volume
Watch to learn how some Colorado craft brewers work with yeast to produce high alcohol content beers.
Credit: Matt Davenport/Sean Parsons/C&EN/ACS Productions
On the surface, Colorado brewmasters Keith Villa and Max Filter are very different people.
The clean-shaven Villa, founder of Blue Moon Brewing Co., sometimes rides to work in his purple limited-edition Dodge Challenger. Filter, the “dude of brews” at Renegade Brewing Co., sports a gnarly brown beard and drives a dusty black Toyota 4Runner.
Villa’s SandLot brewery sits just past right field in the 50,000-seat Coors Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies. Filter’s is located in a gravel lot across from what used to be a lumberyard. Cabdrivers become incredulous when passengers ask to be left at the address.
[+]Enlarge TANKS FOR THE DRINKS Fermentation tanks are where beers get their alcohol, along with hundreds of others aromatic and flavorful compounds. Credit: Shutterstock
Blue Moon opened in 1995 and produces about 2 million barrels of beer annually, or roughly 4 million kegs, operating within the MillerCoors beer conglomerate. The independently owned Renegade, founded in 2011, filled about 1,250 barrels in 2014.
C&EN visited Villa and Filter to learn about modern beer brewing last month during the American Chemical Society national meeting in Denver. Despite their obvious differences, the two men have the same passion and wonderment for beer and the brewing process. It’s tempting to think that they share some sort of brewers’ genes. They do, in a way. Those genes just belong to yeast.
Yeast are perhaps the best understood organisms on the planet. Scientists have been studying the microscopic eukaryotes for decades and have correlated nearly 80% of their genes with specific functions.
Now, as DNA-sequencing technologies become faster and more affordable, scientists are exploring and exploiting the genetic codes of yeast like never before.
Brewers such as Villa and Filter are capitalizing on this growing genetic knowledge base to exercise better control over their product. And scientists may soon deliver designer yeast strains to brewers, who could in turn serve up engineered beers—along with the sticky questions that accompany genetic tinkering.
Beer Me
Much of a brewer’s job boils down to making yeast happy, Filter told C&EN as he sipped a velvety imperial stout inside his brewery, surrounded by palettes of empty cans. “Yeast make the beer,” he said. “Yeast are our partners.” Brewers hold up their end of the bargain by making wort—essentially sugar water that feeds the yeast and serves as fuel for fermentation.
Fermentation’s fundamental equation is simple: Yeast plus sugar yields alcohol. Yeast metabolize sugar molecules—glucose, maltose, and maltotriose—to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide, Filter said as CO 2 bubbles percolated noisily from nearby fermentation tanks. The organisms also contribute hundreds of flavorful and aromatic compounds to beer.
As millions of yeast cells at Renegade performed the reactions their ancestors honed over millions of years, chemists and craft brewers congregated a few miles north of the brewery at the ACS meeting to discuss how new tools and techniques could advance the practice of beer making.
One session began with a look back at the ancient symbiosis between yeast and humanity, a relationship that likely started by accident, said Robert A. Sclafani, a biochemist at the University of Colorado (CU), Denver. He and Carrie Eckert of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory organized a symposium on Colorado’s craft brewing industry for the Division of Biochemical Technology.
[+]Enlarge REGARDEZ-BREW A gentle reminder stuck to a door at The SandLot brewpub at Coors Field. Credit: Matt Davenport/C&EN
Sclafani opened the session by hypothesizing the origin story behind humanity’s alcoholic endeavors, which began thousands of years ago, probably with a piece of broken fruit. Yeast would have covered the skin of the fruit—Sclafani imagined it as a peach—because wild yeast will cover anything filled with sugar. When Sclafani’s peach fell from its tree and smooshed on the ground, yeast would have swarmed to the liberated juice and fermented like crazy, he suggested. As the yeast produced ethanol and other volatile chemicals, Sclafani posited, “someone must have walked by and thought, ‘Hey, that smells pretty good.’ ”
From this happy accident, wine was born. Humans then rounded out their liquor cabinets, making beer and spirits by replacing wine’s fruit with malt—grains whose starches had been broken down into sugars by their own enzymes.
When humans began intentionally fermenting fruits and grains, they introduced an element of artificial selection to yeast’s evolution. Certain wild strains were better suited for different libations, and alcohol makers played favorites. “Distillers want yeast that make lots and lots of alcohol,” Sclafani said. “Beer and wine makers want something different.”
As humans unwittingly but intentionally recruited specific yeast strains for specific beverages, the strains mutated differently, influenced by their fermentation conditions. Brewer’s yeast thus adapted to brewing.
Armed with a modern understanding of genetics and fermentation, today’s scientists are more direct in their manipulation of yeast. Researchers have engineered yeast to produce biofuels, vaccine candidates, and biological pharmaceuticals.
Remarkably, the same species of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a name derived from a Greek phrase meaning “sugar fungus,” can make ales, fuels, wines, spirits, medicines, even bread. One notable exception is lager beers, which include pilsners and bocks. These rely on a different yeast species: a hybrid in the Saccharomyces genus that ferments better at lower temperatures than its ale-making counterparts.
Although industrial yeast is largely uniform at the species level across fermented beverages, there is great diversity at the strain level. There’s even significant genetic diversity within the branch of S. cerevisiae that’s come to be known as brewer’s yeast. As of early April, the yeast distributor White Labs offered more than 30 ale yeast strains to professional brewers.
Different strains bring different characteristics to the fermentation tank—different aromas, flavors, and alcohol tolerances. And all of these readily observable differences are rooted in genomic variation between strains. Some of Colorado’s craft brewers have already taken advantage of this genetic variation to keep undesirable microbes out of their beer.
Don’t You Mean Real-Time PBR?
[+]Enlarge BREW-HAHA Avery Brewing Company uses these tanks to prepare their wort, which yeast ferment into beer. Credit: Matt Davenport/C&EN
“In brewing, it’s common knowledge that there are a lot of contaminants that can ruin a beer,” said Dan Driscoll, a microbiologist with Avery Brewing Co. during a presentation at the Denver meeting.
Bacteria and wild yeast can infiltrate fermentation tanks and fill beer with foul flavors. Avery keeps its tanks as isolated from the outside world as possible, minimizing the risk posed by wild yeast and bacteria. During his presentation, Driscoll revealed that Avery’s biggest contamination risk is its own yeast.
Avery puts out more than 30 beer varieties every year using six different yeast strains. For comparison, Blue Moon’s Villa said he sticks to two strains.
At Avery, Driscoll said, “we pride ourselves on using a lot of different yeast and turning our fermentation tanks around quickly.” Once Avery completes one beer, it can start another beer of a different style in the same tank. The brewers sterilize the tanks between beers, but it’s not always 100% effective.
For instance, a yeast strain used to brew Avery’s Belgian witbier could linger in a tank that’s slated to brew India pale ale (IPA). The brewery’s witbier strain produces a compound called 4-vinylguaiacol, which tastes and smells of cloves. Cloves, along with other spices, can add delightful dimensions to wheaty witbiers, but they detract from hoppy IPAs.
Although it’s a rare occurrence, a witbier strain could hide out in an IPA tank until beer tasters detect the vinylguaiacol with their mouths or noses, which could be weeks into the brewing process. Avery has to dump contaminated batches, but it could save time and money if it caught the problem sooner.
One method capable of detecting rogue strains before they change a beer’s profile is real-time polymerase chain reaction. Real-time PCR makes copies of low-level contaminant DNA in a sample and uses fluorescent probes to signal its presence. The technique can thus look for low-level biological contaminants.
Researchers have already identified the gene that codes for the enzyme responsible for producing 4-vinylguaiacol. That enzyme is called phenylacrylic acid decarboxylase, and its gene bears the name PAD1.
[+]Enlarge That’s No Dry Lab Microbiologist Karissa Layden prepares to sterilize lab ware for beer testing at Avery Brewing. Credit: Matt Davenport/C&EN
PCR techniques could thus ferret out a foreign strain, but Driscoll still needed the specific biochemical tool kit to detect an invader’s PAD1 sequence. Developing PCR assays is costly, especially for a craft brewery, so Driscoll turned to a time-tested tenet of academia.
“I know from personal experience that grad students really like beer—and getting a new project every once in a while,” said Driscoll, who graduated with a master’s in microbiology from Oregon State University and spent several years at biotech start-ups before finding a home at Avery.
One night, Driscoll grabbed a beer with members from the Next-Generation Sequencing Facility at CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute. The conversation turned to Avery’s cross-contamination problem. That led to CU Boulder genetics and computational biology researcher Robin D. Dowell looping in professional research assistant Phillip A. Richmond, who was eager to tackle the problem, pro bono.
“I like beer,” Richmond told C&EN. Richmond, who had the capability to sequence genomes rapidly, developed a test that can differentiate between yeast strains based on their PAD1 sequences. He’s preparing to submit the protocol and analysis for publication in the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists.
Sequencing each yeast strain’s 12 million base pair genome is the biggest resource sink, he said. But it is much cheaper and much quicker than it would have been a decade ago. Richmond is confident he will soon extend the assay to uniquely identify contamination from any of Avery’s yeast. With his expertise and the technology at his disposal, he added, “six strains is kind of a cakewalk.”
Driscoll doesn’t believe this sort of PCR-backed quality control is the right fit for every brewery. It’s expensive, and most breweries don’t capitalize on yeast diversity as aggressively as Avery does. But the idea of brewers working with academics is one he hopes catches on.
Yeast still hold many mysteries, and many of those are bound to have an impact on beer. “Brewers should contact academia,” Driscoll said. “That’s the best idea ever.”
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throat when Russell started banging him on the head and said, ‘Hit me, you pussy, hit me.’ Clooney admitted he came close to killing him, and called the shoot the worst experience of his life.
There’s the infamous leaked footage of the set of I Heart Huckabees, where Russell further screams at Lily Tomlin. The video is below but be warned, it is supremely uncomfortable to watch. Tomlin has since been complimentary about Russell and referred to the incident as a ‘fracas’ but also said that following their making-up after the fight, she was ‘stoic in my silence’.
The I Heart Huckabees mess briefly put a dent in his career, but after the success of The Fighter, he was back in the good books, then began his three movie partnership with Jennifer Lawrence, who once rhapsodised that ‘I want us to be buried next to each other.’ She won her Oscar with Silver Linings Playbook and has been nominated for her other Russell films, but it is on American Hustle where on-set reports once again began to bubble upwards about his brutal temper. This time, Amy Adams faced the brunt of the action. In the now infamous leaked Sony emails, one exchanged detailed worries about the production.
Are you guys doing anything else with him? I know he’s brilliant but we have someone on our show who worked closely with him on ‘American Hustle’ and not only are the stories about him reforming himself total bullshit but the new stories of his abuse and lunatic behavior are extreme even by Hollywood standards… He grabbed one guy by the collar, cursed out people repeatedly in front of others and so abused Amy Adams that Christian Bale got in his face and told him to stop acting like an asshole.’
Yeah, think about that. Christian Bale thought he was being an arsehole. Christian ‘we are fucking done professionally Bale thought David O. Russell was being a prick.
In a 2015 Vogue profile, when Lawrence further raved working with Russell, she said, ‘Because I’m not so sensitive, we can really talk, like man-to-man. Sometimes he accidentally refers to me as he or him. But he really respects and understands women, and by that I mean he doesn’t treat a woman any differently than he’ll treat a man. He would never tiptoe around a woman.’ When the interviewer mentions this to Adams, she responded, ‘Well, if you mean he doesn’t treat people like a lady, I can agree with that.’
A 2004 New York Times piece by Sharon Waxman, entitled ‘The Nudist Buddhist Borderline-Abusive Love-In’, further details his reputation, including a moment on set where he took off his clothes on set, then where he PUT CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IN A HEADLOCK. At a fucking party! Russell is documented as meeting Nolan at a party, shortly after Jude Law had dropped out of I Heart Huckabees to take a role in The Prestige, and putting him in a goddamn headlock to ‘demand[s] that his fellow director show artistic solidarity and give up his star’. Law did end up working with Russell.
In December 2011, a report was filed by Russell’s transgender niece Nicole Peloquin, age 19, accusing him of groping her. She says the pair were working out at a gym together when he offered ‘to help… with ab exercises.’ When asked about her transition process, Peloquin responded by talking about her hormone regime. She then said Russell put his hands under her top ‘and felt both breasts’. Russell does not deny that these events took place. According to the Chicago Tribune, ‘For his part, Russell confirms that the incident happened, but told police that Peloquin was ‘acting very provocative toward him’ and invited him to feel her breasts. He also admitted to being ‘curious about the breast enhancement.” The case was later closed and no charges were pressed. This was later discussed in the Sony emails, which also say he brought Sally Field to tears at a party.
David O. Russell is a bully. He is someone who delights in intimidating and humiliating his colleagues, someone who sees violence as a way to get what he wants, and someone who saw the body of his niece as something he had right to touch. We don’t just have rumours of his behaviour: We have extensive documentation from a variety of legitimate sources, plus video. I used to joke morbidly that you had to make a movie as good as Chinatown for your abuse to be justified in Hollywood; really, you just need to make something as mediocre as Joy. I cannot fathom why anyone is willing to not only put up with him but consistently compensate his bullying and reward the efforts of his behaviour. Yes, some of his films have made money but there isn’t enough cash in the world to justify what he does. I don’t care how much Jennifer Lawrence loves him, I don’t care how much you liked I Heart Huckabees, and I don’t care how excited you were to see a TV series with Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore: If we want to truly learn from the mistakes of decades of covering up Harvey Weinstein’s abuse, we need to demand better across the board. The Academy says its policy of those who abuse their power will be zero tolerance from now on, so let’s keep them accountable.
I’ll end this post with a story. While making the first Twilight movie, Catherine Hardwicke admitted to going off-set for five minutes one day to have a quick cry. She got it out of her system and went back to work, where she has a reputation for her hard work, positivity and good cast and crew relations. Hardwicke did not get to make the sequel to the film she helped make a staggering success, with Deadline reporting sources saying the studio didn’t like her, allotting the success of the film to the male cinematographer, and calling her female agent hysterical. There was also talk that her brief moment of off-set crying was a sign of her being difficult. Later, Hardwicke pitched to direct a boxing drama called The Fighter. She was told a man had to direct it.
David O. Russell got that job.
Kayleigh is a features writer for Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter.
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My great-grandmother never made a single selfish decision in her life. From the moment she woke up (earlier than everyone else in the household, to begin the morning puja) to the moment she went to sleep, she focused on everybody else’s needs. She was the first to serve food and always the last to eat. She was the one to receive guests, the one to clean the teacups, the one to bathe the children.
The rhetoric of selflessness has always been preached to women.
She never knew what it felt like to say “I’m going for a walk because I feel like it,” or “I’m going to watch a movie today.” There was nothing that she felt entitled to in her 84 years of living. She was the kind of woman that most Indian women are taught to emulate.
The rhetoric of selflessness has always been preached to women. It’s in our religious texts (Sita sacrificing her family in order to prove her purity), in the films we watch (Mother India showing us the archetype of Indian womanhood), in the news that we read every day (young girls staying home so that their brothers can afford school fees). Unconsciously or consciously, women are held to a higher standard than men. For instance, every time a woman is molested after dark, men take to Facebook to express their opinion in droves. They almost always say the same thing — “if you don’t want to be molested, you should stay at home”. You see, men can’t control themselves, and so we are expected to sacrifice the small pleasures of life, like drinking a beer after work with our friends. It’s for the greater good!
The day Indra Nooyi was named President of PepsiCo, she came home at 10 PM to her mother saying “You forgot to buy milk.”
It’s the same in the workplace. Take Indra Nooyi, who is easily the most successful Indian businesswoman in the world, and one of the most powerful women in the world. You might call her a role model. But the day she was named President of PepsiCo, she came home at 10 PM to her mother saying “Go buy some milk. You forgot to buy milk.” When Indra asked why her husband couldn’t buy the milk, she was told, “He’s tired. Listen, you may be President of a company outside this home, but here, you’re the wife, you’re the daughter, you’re the mother.”
So she went out and bought the milk. Some might take this story to be inspirational and cite it as an example of humility. I see it as another example of the way that we are kept in our place, reminded that we cannot put ourselves first. Would anybody expect Indra Nooyi’s husband to do household chores when he got home from work? Would anybody question whether he was fulfilling his husbandly duties? Would he admit, as Indra did, that he felt like a bad parent for being too busy to pick up his children from school?
No matter what we may achieve, women are still the ones who have to go buy the milk.
When I tell older people “I don’t want to get married right now,” or “I’m not planning on having children,” they look at me in complete disbelief. I try to explain my reasoning, but they cut me off with “That’s selfish. Don’t you think your parents want to see their grandchildren?”
Selfish. It’s a word that is weaponized against Indian women in a variety of ways; a word that I instinctively flinch from. As I look at the men around me, I see how loud they are at work, how assertive and demanding. I see how instead of selfishness, this is viewed as ambition, how it is framed as something desirable. I see how they behave at home, how they throw their clothes on the floor, how they leave the dirty dishes on the table. They never offer to lay the dishes, or wash up, or even push their chairs back in. From a young age, they are taught that women will clean up their mess. The invisible, intangible burdens weigh even heavier. I see how my friends patiently take on the lion’s share of emotional labor, supporting and comforting their boyfriends through the bad days. I see how little they get back. Sometimes it’s painful to witness. Sometimes it’s funny, and we learn to joke about it with each other. I tell my friends about the time a DJ invited me on a date and I showed up only to realise that he was the house DJ that night, and that he expected me to stand and listen to him for three hours. They tell me about how their boyfriends don’t seem to care about their hobbies or take an interest in their art. We find solace in group chats with other women who share our plight.
The dictionary tells me that the word selfish means “lacking consideration for other people.” When I read that, and think of the Indian women I know, I want to laugh.
This inequality naturally extends to the bedroom. There’s a lot of talk about the modern, sexual woman, the Sex and the City prototype, who is liberated enough to demand oral sex, or multiple orgasms from her man. However, Indian women have a long way to go before they achieve this kind of outspokenness.
In heterosexual encounters, pleasure is seen as the exclusive dominion of the man. Dr. Mahinder Watsa, sex columnist for Mumbai Mirror, says that men are such in a rush to get off that they don’t attend to their female partner’s needs. Many women I know are afraid to bring up the topic with their boyfriends, so they fake it or become resigned to an unsatisfying sex life. It’s just another one of the many sacrifices we make. I’m not sure what being selfish means for an Indian woman. The dictionary tells me that it means “lacking consideration for other people.” When I read that, and think of the Indian women I know, I want to laugh. I think especially of the mothers I know, the ones who get up early to pack their sons’ lunches. The most credit they seem to get is a Facebook post on Mother’s Day. “To my dear mother, who does everything for me.” Sometimes, these mothers don’t even see those posts because they’re not on Facebook. I wonder if heaven will recompense these women for the work they did, because this world doesn’t.
Women are not inherently better than men. We are as mortal as men: as full of weakness, foolishness, and vanity.Introduction
Specifications
Specifications: NZXT Phantom 410 CASE TYPE: Mid-Tower MATERIAL: Steel & Plastic WEIGHT: 7.8 kg SLOTS: 7 DRIVE BAYS: 3x External 5.25"
6x Internal 3.5/2.5" MOTHERBOARD
FORM FACTORS: Mini-ITX
mATX
ATX DIMENSIONS: 215 x 516 X 532 mm FRONT DOOR/COVER: YES FRONT FANS: 2 X 120 mm @ 1200 rpm (1x included) REAR FANS: 1x 120 mm @ 1200 rpm (included) TOP FANS: 2x 120/140 mm (1x 140mm included) BOTTOM FANS: 1x 120 mm (not included) SIDE FANS: 1x 120/140 mm (not included) I/O: 2x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
1x Headphone
1x Microphone FAN CONTROLLER: YES
I would like to thank Caseking.de for supplying the review samples.Caseking is one of the few companies out there, which will not just sell anything. They only offer hardware that performs well and is of high quality. The shop offers quite a few exclusive parts and devices from all around the world and it is also the official distributor for a long list of well known manufacturers. Their assortment has grown greatly in recent years, while great service and support is still a very important part of the shop philosophy. The website may be in German, but due to great demand, an English version is in the works. We received continuous support from Caseking and they were kind enough to send us the latest from NZXT.Today we will be taking a look at the Phantom 410 chassis.The case is available in white, black and red - just like the original Phantom when it was released.The inspiration behind Hannibal Lecter was the story of Alfredo Ballí Treviño, pictured here in 2008.
The inspiration behind Hannibal Lecter was the story of Alfredo Ballí Treviño, pictured here in 2008. Juan Carlos Rodríguez/Milenio
"The Silence Of The Lambs" turns 25, and author Thomas Harris wrote a very revealing preface for a special edition released commemorating the anniversary of this literary thriller.
RELATED: Thomas Harris, 'Silence Of The Lambs' Author, Reveals Hannibal Lecter Was Inspired By Real Life Mexican Doctor
For the first time Harris opened up about his famous character Hannibal Lecter, disclosing that on a trip to a prison in Monterrey, Mexico, to interview an American inmate accused of murder, he met a rather interesting prisoner, whom he named "Dr. Salazar" to protect his identity. His interaction with the intriguing doctor later gave life to the infamous killer that chilled even the warmest of bloods.
Harris was a 23-year-old journalist sent to the Nuevo Leon State Prison in Monterrey to interview mental patient Dykes Askew Simmons who was under a death sentence for killing three young people.
Simmons had tried to escape the prison but instead ended up wounded. That's when "Dr. Salazar" came in. He saved the inmate and in an attempt to add to his story, Harris decided to interview him.
During their encounter, the conversation took a much darker twist when the doctor began questioning the young writer on Simmons's disfigured appearance, the nature of torment and the murderer's victims.
RELATED: Dr. Alfredo Balli Trevino Knew He Was The Real 'Hannibal' And Other Unknown Details Of His Life
It was later that Harris learned of Dr. Salazar's history from the prison warden. He recalls his encounter: "Dr. Salazar was a small, lithe man with dark red hair. He stood very still and there was a certain elegance about him... (After talking to him for a while)... the warden walked me out. I thanked him for his time... I asked how long Dr. Salazar had worked there. 'Hombre (man)! Don't you know who that is?'... The warden turned to me on the steps, 'The doctor is a murderer. As a surgeon, he could package his victim in a surprisingly small box. He will never leave this place. He is insane'"
Although Harris wanted to protect the doctor's identity, the information provided matches a very peculiar case covered by the Mexican media in the early 1960's about a medical intern who was the last person in Mexico to be sentenced with the death penalty.
That person was doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño, convicted for the murder of his sentimental partner, Jesús Castillo Rangel. He was also accused of secretly burying his victim's body and usurpation of profession, but his sentence was commuted to 20 years at the Topo Chico Penitentiary in Nuevo León.
According to legal files, on October 9, 1959, Ballí Treviño visited Castillo Rangel, who was also a doctor, to collect money he had asked because he was going through a financial crisis. When Ballí Treviño realized the amount, he asked for more, but Castillo Rangel refused.
The first took a scalpel and went for Castillo's jugular. The latter didn't die, so Ballí dragged him into the bathroom where he finished what he had started.
After the crime, Ballí called his friend Francisco Carrera Villareal, who was the late doctor's driver, for help. They went over to Carrera Villareal's uncle, Guadalupe Villareal, whom they asked for a shovel to dig a whole. The two accomplices went to an empty lot and buried the body.
What they didn't expect was that Guadalupe Villareal suspected something was wrong. He followed the pair and later found out the remains of Doctor Castillo. Villareal called the police, who arrested Ballí and Carrera.
It was later found out during the trial that Alfredo Ballí Treviño, Jesús Castillo Rangel and Francisco Carrera Villareal were romantically involved and engaged in sexual acts.
Although Ballí Treviño was sentenced to die by judge Marco Antonio Leija Moreno, the law code in Mexico at the time allowed his lawyers to commute the death penalty to the maximum sentence, 20 years in jail.
Back in December, 2008, 81-year-old Ballí Treviño sat down with Monterrey newspaper Milenio in what seems to be his last interview on record.
The doctor expressed that his past was buried and that 47 years after what happened, he wished to forget it.
"If you want we can talk about anything you'd like, except for that. I don't want to relive my dark past. I don't want to wake up my ghosts, it's very hard. The past is heavy, and the truth is that this angst I have is unbearable. I can't live with it," said the doctor to his interviewer.
Ballí Treviño was in a wheelchair after suffering an injury to his spine, but that didn't stop him to continue working.
"I don't remember how many years I've been a doctor," he said. "Now I take care of the people from the neighborhood, the elderly like me."
He recalls the time when he got out of jail, confessing life wasn't easy after becoming a free man.
"I think I got out of prison in 1981, but I honestly don't remember. At first it was difficult, but with time things improved. However, some days depression comes back," he confessed.
"I payed what I had to pay. Now I'm just waiting for the divine punishment," the doctor added.
The doctor finished his interview saying that his main goal was to never stop working and to be able to walk again. Although his time in jail was for the murder of his partner, many other crimes of the same nature have been linked to him.
Alfredo Ballí Treviño died at the beginning of 2009.Yesterday, unbeknownst to itself, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a gay-rights case. To most people, admittedly, District of Columbia v. Heller is a gun-rights case. In fact, it's the most important gun-rights case in decades, one that may cast a shadow for decades to come. But to gay Americans, and other minorities often targeted with violence, Heller is about civil rights, not shooting clubs.
Nine years ago, one of the first columns I wrote for National Journal told the story of Tom G. Palmer. One night some years ago in San Jose, he found himself confronting a gang of toughs, as many as 20 of them, intent on gay-bashing him. Taunted as a "faggot," threatened with death, Palmer (and a friend) ran for their lives, only to find the gang in hot pursuit. So Palmer stopped, reached into his backpack, and produced a gun. The gang backed off.
If no gun? "There's no question in my mind," Palmer told me in 1999, "that my friend and I would have been at least very seriously beaten, and maybe killed."
Today Palmer lives in Washington, D.C., which has the most restrictive gun-control law in the country. You can't own a handgun in Washington unless it was registered before 1976 (or unless you are a retired D.C. police officer). You can own a shotgun or rifle, but it must be disassembled or locked (except while being used for lawful recreation or at a place of business; you can protect your store, in other words, but not your home). In Washington, therefore, Palmer could not legally protect himself with a gun, even if the gay-bashers had chased him right into his home.
Although gay life in America is safer today than it once was, anti-gay violence remains all too common. The FBI reports more than 7,000 anti-gay hate crimes in 2005 alone, and since 2003 at least 58 people have been murdered because of their sexual orientation. Perhaps because gay-bashings often begin in intimate settings, the home is the single most prevalent venue for anti-gay attacks. In public, of course, gay-bashers make sure that no cops are around. For that matter, sometimes the police are part of the problem, responding to gay-bashings with indifference, hostility, sometimes abuse.
Those facts are from an amicus brief that two gay groups—Pink Pistols and Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty—have filed in Heller. Pink Pistols is a shooting group, formed partly in reaction to stories like Palmer's (and partly, full disclosure, in reaction to an article I wrote urging gays to take up self-defense with guns).
"Recognition of an individual right to keep and bear arms," says the brief, "is literally a matter of life or death" for gay Americans. The Heller plaintiffs are asking the Supreme Court to strike down Washington's gun law as unconstitutional. One of those plaintiffs, not coincidentally, is an openly gay man: Tom Palmer.
At issue is the legal meaning and reach of the controversial Second Amendment, which says: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Oddly, the Supreme Court has not definitively ruled on the amendment's meaning. The last important precedent came down a long time ago, in 1939, and it left the issue murky.
In most of the time since then, conventional wisdom assumed that the amendment confers no right on individuals, but instead empowers the states to form militias and other armed forces. In recent years, however, that interpretation has lost ground under academic scrutiny. It has become clearer that the Founders believed just what the amendment said: The people have a right to own firearms of the sort that would have been used in militia service in those days—that is, pistols and long guns.
Why would the Founders have cared? One reason is as relevant today as ever: Guns were needed for self-defense, a prerogative the Founders regarded as fundamental to freedom. As John Locke wrote, "If any law of nature would seem to be established among all as sacred in the highest degree,... surely this is self-preservation."
The second reason, by contrast, strikes modern Americans as archaic, if not embarrassing: States' armed populations could resist and overthrow a tyrannical central government, acting as an insurrectionary militia—much as Americans had recently done in overthrowing British rule. That may have made sense in 1790, but today the insurrectionary rationale would seem to imply a right to keep and bear surface-to-air missiles and grenade launchers, among other things.
Between a right to keep and bear nothing and a right to keep and bear surface-to-air missiles lies a whole lot of middle ground. That the Supreme Court may finally provide some guidance is thus major constitutional news. But what should the Court do?
It could make the Second Amendment a dead letter by finding that it guarantees no individual right at all. This is what the District of Columbia wants. But judicially repealing the Second Amendment would be a mistake, both as a matter of constitutional literacy and also, more important, on moral grounds. The Declaration of Independence's great litany, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," puts life first. A law that prevents people from defending their own lives, even in their own homes, denies the most basic of all human rights.
Instead, the Court could adopt the District's fallback position, which is that even if there is an individual right to gun ownership, the right is so weak that the District's gun law doesn't violate it. This would also be a mistake. If a near-total ban on handguns—even for self-defense in the home, and bolstered by a prohibition on operable long guns—does not violate the language and intent of the Second Amendment, then nothing possibly could.
What the plaintiffs in Heller want the Court to do is throw out the D.C. law as unconstitutional, without necessarily saying what other kind of law might pass muster. This keep-it-simple approach has a lot going for it. The Court would place an outer boundary on the argument over the Second Amendment, saying, in effect, "Right now we're presented with an easy case, so we'll make an easy call: The government can't indiscriminately ban guns in the home. What else the government may or may not be able to do we'll decide some other time, when those cases make their way to us."
But that approach would leave some ambiguity about the Second Amendment's reach, which is why the Bush administration is uncomfortable with it. The administration worries that flatly overturning the District's law could leave federal gun laws—restrictions on machine guns, for instance—vulnerable to challenge, so it is asking the Court to declare the Second Amendment a kind of intermediate right, one that individuals hold in principle but that the government could often override in practice.
That idea seems strange at best, mischievous at worst. It asks the Court to enshrine a new kind of constitutional right: a "sort of" right, which makes a libertarian gesture but won't get in Washington's way. Think of it as Big Government constitutional conservatism. For the Bush administration, importing Big Government conservatism into the part of the Constitution designed to protect individuals from Big Government may be par for the course, but it would be a far cry from what the Founders had in mind for the Bill of Rights.
A fifth approach makes more sense: The Court would overturn the District's law and add an explanation. Without trying to lay out detailed standards, the Court would clear up confusion about the Second Amendment by unambiguously identifying the core right it protects as reasonable self-defense by competent, law-abiding adults.You’ve just spent a few hundred dollars on a new Xbox One, but the expense doesn’t end there — you need games! New titles for new consoles are notoriously expensive, and just a few days after launch there is no second hand market where you could pick up a bargain. But despite the fact the Xbox One has only been on sale for three days, it is already possible to pick up cheap(er) games.
Many new games are supposed to retail for $59.99, and you would expect to have to wait some months until prices start to drop. But Walmart and Amazon are already cutting the price on a number of titles including Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome.
It is a little surprising to find that games are already being discounted (and $10 off a $60 game is not to be sniffed at), but it is a great marketing move. Having already spent money on a console which is, let’s be honest, not cheap, anything that can be done to encourage shoppers into buying games that they might otherwise have delayed is a win for everyone involved.
As well as boosting the game collections of Xbox One owners, the price drops are likely to help increase impulse purchases, particularly through the holiday season as shoppers look for last minute presents for friends and loved ones (and themselves!). Have you spotted any other great deals online or in store?
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Further reading: MicrosoftCATONSVILLE, MD-- The UMBC Administration, in response to student organization leaders’ complaints about lack of space to utilize on campus for student orgs, responded in a very curious way: by telling student org leaders to go fuck themselves.
“I’m flabbergasted” said senior Natasha Iconova, who serves as a principle actress in UMBC’s Musical Theatre Club. “The very fact that the UMBC administration even bothered to reply at all, and with such a shitty response, seems to make me question just what the fuck I’m even paying for.”
Iconova’s outrage to the Administration’s statement to student organizations is shared by many student leaders on campus. Many student orgs, particularly performance organizations, already felt shafted from the lack of space on campus after the Old Theatre Building closed last spring.
“It’s bullshit” said sophomore Hanes Ripley, a dancer and assistant choreographer for UMBC’s Major Definition. “Our dancers have no defined performance or rehearsal space. We basically have to find some open space on campus, like the Commons Mainstreet, or the lobby of the UC, or some random fucking classroom if we can steal it. Even then, being able to use that space is negligible, as sometimes we get complaints for interfering with other classes, student activities and what not.”
When asked about the administration’s response, Iconova simply shook her head. “MTC has been struggling to find space on campus for years. We had the Old Theatre building for awhile, but then they tore it down. Right now we have the Fine Arts Recital Hall, which is hilarious because that’s hardly a space considering how the rest of the building has been renovated because of cancer dust, and the hall is literally falling the fuck apart, and they’re shoving that down our throats like it's the Blood of Christ, basically saying ‘Hey! You have this for now, though it's going to be torn down for even more fucking classrooms in like less than 3 years. Enjoy it.”
Iconova continued by saying “The administration telling us to go fuck ourselves is, in some ways, a blessing. Cause now we know for once that they’re being honest with the student body.”
Below is a copy of the administration’s full response to student org leaders:
“Dear UMBC Student Leaders,
In light of recent complaints, letters, discussions, and demands for more space, we would like to formally state that, we, the Administration, hear your demands. We hear your concerns. We understand the dire need for spaces for student orgs. But allow yourself to consider where your tuition actually goes. Should it go to sponsoring some sub-par theatrical dance performance in a space that students barely know how to utilize? Should your money be used to fund events to promote your organization’s presence, even though what you do in that org won’t even matter once you graduate? Shouldn’t your money go towards something that you’re actually enrolled here for, say, a college education?
Being in college is a choice, not a requirement. No one has required you to form these organizations, or even go through the extra hassle of bothering to enrich yourselves outside of the incredibly dynamic atmosphere that you’ll find in a classroom, or even the incredible professional experience and connections gained from a low-paying campus job.
We work countless hours to continue to make this institution into the academic and research powerhouse that we strive for it to be, however, this important work cannot be done without the work of students, whose willingness to obtain a college education continues to fund our efforts and push our agendas. However, this does not mean that you have a say in the actual infrastructure of this university.
This is why we ask of you, student leaders of various campus organizations, to very kindly please go fuck yourselves. We hear your complaints, your demands, and your inquires, and are working very hard to ignore all of them.
We appreciate your hard work to contribute to the growth of this university and its culture.
In kind regards,
The UMBC Administration”
MBC News declined to ask for further comments. When MBC News reached out to the administration about the matter, the administration sent a small, nicely wrapped gift box to our editor’s desk that contained human excrement with a small note attached stating “enjoy this lovely snack on us.”
-- AnonymousBoth Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter will be back for further seasons on ABC.
Update: The spinoff series starring Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and her ex-husband Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) has been shelved by the network, meaning that Palicki and Blood may return for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3.
The renewal of Agent Carter comes as a minor surprise and a major relief for fans of the retro-era Marvel mini-series. Starring Hayley Atwell and James D’Arcy, the show was much beloved by fans and critics but struggled to make a strong impact in the live ratings.
Speaking on the hoped-for second season, Tara Butters told Hypable that she and fellow showrunner Michelle Fazekas had plenty of ideas in store for Peggy Cater.
“I still think there’s some story to be told in the time period that we’re at,” Butters said, “But maybe we have the ability to… bring her to Los Angeles, bring her to London. The nice thing about being a spy is that she can pretty much go anywhere.”
As for the emotional side of the story, “We spent the first eight episodes allowing her to put Captain America behind her, to a degree,” Butters acknowledged. Peggy “has made her professional life her only life, and I think that she needs to expand her universe.”
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As it did this year, Agent Carter season 2 will serve as a bridge between the fall and spring installments of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was also renewed for its third season.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is no ratings juggernaut either, but the show performs exceptionally well in DVR viewings — and attracts the male demographic often lacking in ABC’s other offerings. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 has adopted a darker tone than its critically-controversial first season, and has thrilled fans by introducing the genetically-empowered Inhumans to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
An Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff series starring Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and her ex-husband Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) is also in development at ABC, though little has been officially confirmed.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2 will air its shocking, two-hour season finale next Tuesday on ABC — so, thankfully, fans will not be in doubt that the inevitable cliffhangers will eventually find resolution.
What do you want to see in the upcoming seasons of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and ‘Agent Carter’?1. Your “VIP Minibus” ride won’t make you feel very important.
When you’re offered a “VIP Minibus” ride to the Thailand border, what you’re actually getting is a 6-hour, overnight, high-speed, 12-passenger van ride manned by a driver who’s likely using some sort of stimulant. The ride will be cramped and the passengers will be terrified as the vehicle hits 130km/h while passing cars on dark and winding roads.
Every time you open your eyes (if you manage to fall asleep), your driver will be opening a different garage door and dropping off undisclosed packages. On the bright side, at least you’ll be able to stretch out once the packages are gone if you happen to be the unlucky one in the backseat.
2. Despite the online reviews, the happy pizza is pretty damn happy.
Sitting in your Siem Reap hostel after a long day visiting Angkor Wat and its neighboring temples, you’ll decide to see where you can find the best happy pizza. Using the rather spotty wifi, you’ll locate the appropriate literature. “We didn’t feel anything after eating the happy pizza,” you’ll read. You’ll give it a shot anyway, order three pizzas, and nudge the waiter to make it “very very happy.”
The pizza may turn out to be way happier than expected. The next 24 hours (which happen to include a six-hour bus ride and a plane ride to Singapore) will be spent feeling like you’re underwater.
3. You can indeed fit six people in a tuk-tuk with enough negotiation.
Your first time in Bangkok with five friends, you’ll be told that you can’t fit more than four people in a tuk-tuk. “Get two tuk-tuk” doesn’t sit well with you when you’re trying to hoard the few dollars you have left. You’ll offer the driver more baht in an attempt to fit everyone in one tuk-tuk. You’ll end up regretting using your bargaining prowess more and more with each sharp turn as all passengers lean with force to stop the vehicle from tipping.
4. That 12-year-old over there cooks the best pad Lao you’ve ever had.
“She’s 12. I couldn’t make mac and cheese at the age of 12.” Don’t be afraid of trying the food being prepared by the tween at the dingy food cart during your stop in Vientiane — |
offense (565 at SMU, 9/26/15), passing yards (433 at Richmond, 11/15/14), touchdown passes (5 at Towson, 10/10/15) and rushing yards (276 at SMU, 9/26/15). His performance at SMU stands alone in the history of Division I football, both FBS and FCS, as he became the only player ever to pass and run for 275 yards in the same game.Last season, Lee was named an Associated Press Third Team All-American after leading the Dukes to the FCS playoffs for the first time in three years while breaking nearly every passing record. He was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award and won the Bill Dudley Award, given to Virginia's top Division I player, after passing for 3,462 yards, rushing for 826 more and combining for 39 total touchdowns. He was also presented as the JMU Male Athlete of the Year for the 2014-15 year.Off the field, Lee, who was a team captain in both years as a Duke, is a model student-athlete both with his academics and community outreach with the youth of the Shenandoah Valley. Lee is very active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and last week was featured by FCA Magazine in a story called "Heart of an Athlete," in which he was able to talk about faith playing an integral part in his growth to become the man and leader he is today. A public policy and administration major, Lee will graduate from JMU in December.Why Ƀ?
Why should the Bitcoin community adopt this symbol?
Since the birth of Bitcoin, a large number of logos and symbols have been introduced. The most popular is a bold falling serif B, intersected by two vertical dashes à la U.S. dollar.
The current Bitcoin logo
Bitcoin symbol: the Ƀ character
The problem is that the image on the left is a logo! It’s a unique image file, just like it could be used by a company to sell or promote a product. Currencies are represented by symbols like $, € or ¥, aiming to be used everywhere by everybody. The Thai Baht (฿) is sometimes used to represent Bitcoin, but this certainly raises a problem of differenciation between the Thai Baht and Bitcoin.
Ƀ is not a logo but a symbol: Unicode Character U+0243 can be used any Unicode text editor.
This unicode character was originally used as a phonetic symbol to represent or transcribe the sound [β]. Thus the context of this use does not allow any confusion with the Bitcoin currency.
The idea to use Ƀ as a symbol for Bitcoin is not new ; this character was one of the original candidates to represent Bitcoin, but most of the community’s proposals were more fancy logos than a manifesto for the usage of a symbol. A logo is defined as a centralized graphic identity composed of colors, fonts, and shapes chosen by a small group of individuals. Bitcoin, however, is a decentralized currency – it’s neither a brand nor a product or company, and what we need for representing Bitcoin is a symbol rather than a logo.
Examples of Unicode Character U+0243 in different typefaces
The Ƀ symbol can be displayed in many fonts, some of which may already be installed on your computer. Here is a list of freely downloadable libre fonts that support the Ƀ symbol:
Arial and Times New Roman both support the Ƀ symbol as well. They are not libre fonts but they can be found on almost every systems.
Help us popularize Ƀ!
Create images, and use Ƀ in Bitcoin-related apps, websites and paper.
As a widely distributed, peer-to-peer digital currency, Bitcoin needs an open-source graphic identity, designed with open source software by and for the community. It has to be as minimal as possible to allow further adaptations. Because Ƀ is simple, extendable and perennial, it fulfills all those requirements.Top official at China's £300bn sovereign wealth fund said that the depth of public anger in the eurozone could lead to a 'complete discarding' of austerity programmes
Opposition to Europe's austerity programmes intensified on Friday as a top official at China's £300bn sovereign wealth fund warned that the public are at "breaking point" and protesters demonstrated in solidarity against the International Monetary Fund in Manila.
Jin Liqun, chair of the supervisory board of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), said that undue harshness risked a backlash which could end with necessary economic reforms being abandoned. Jin, who has previously argued that Europeans should work harder, repeated an earlier warning that governments had spent unsustainably in the past and need to be more fiscally responsible, but added that the depth of public anger could lead to a "complete discarding" of austerity programmes.
"The fact the public are taking to the streets and resorting to violence indicates the general public's tolerance has hit its limits," he said.
"Unions are now involved in organised protests; demonstrations and strikes. It smacks of the 1930s," he said.
"The general public's tolerance of austerity has been stretched to breaking point."
Speaking to the Guardian, Jin said the key was to balance fiscal cutbacks with growth strategies. "So there should be some tolerance, but the determination to carry on austerity should not be relaxed."
Jin's comments came two days after the eurozone saw the biggest anti-austerity protests since the financial crisis began, with riot police clashing with demonstrators in several cities.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, received a taste of the global concern over the eurozone during a trip to the Philippines. Protesters gathered in Manila dressed as zombies, carrying placards bearing slogans including "IMF is an economic zombie" and "IMF is dead. A walking dead".
Plastered with fake blood, the group lay down on the road outside the presidential palace and said they were acting in solidarity with the people of Europe,
The euro crisis overshadowed Lagarde's trip - which is already being truncated so she can return to Europe for another meeting of finance ministers next Tuesday. The IMF managing director said it was essential that the eurozone agrees a way to put Greece on a sustainable debt path.
"It is not over until the fat lady sings, as the saying goes," Lagarde told a press briefing. "It is a question of working hard, putting our mind to it, making sure that we focus on the same objective which is that the country in particular."
Gary Jenkins, analyst at Swordfish Research, predicted that the IMF and the eurozone will agree a deal to give Greece its next slice of funding, after failing to reach agreement last Monday.
"The alternative is to risk a disorderly default and a potential meltdown of the eurozone," Jenkins added.
The latest trade data showed a drop in goods being brought into the eurozone, a day after it fell into recession. Imports fell 4% in September while exports rose by 1%, resulting in a euro area trade surplus of €9.8bn (£7.8bn) in September, up from just €1.7bn a year ago.“Honorary Badges of distinction are to be conferred on the veteran Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army who have served more than three years with bravery, fidelity and good conduct; for this purpose a narrow piece of white cloth of an angular form is to be fixed to the left arm on the uniform coats;
Non-commissioned officers and Soldiers who have served with equal reputation more than six years, are to be distinguished by two pieces of cloth set in parallel to each other in a similar form…..
The General, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with a due reward….The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus opened to all. “Thus, George Washington established the “Badge of Merit”. In its shape and color, the Badge anticipated and inspired the modern Purple Heart. In the exceptional level of courage required to be considered for the Badge, however, it was the forerunner of the Medal of Honor. This year we celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Hasbrouck House, Newburgh, New York, Wednesday, 7 August 1782. George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, sat at his desk in what had once been the Hasbrouck family kitchen. The intense summer heat was relieved only by the gentle breeze from the Hudson River about 400 yards away. This grey dressed stone and rubble Dutch vernacular style house had served as Washington’s headquarters since 31 March when he had returned north to the strategic Hudson Highlands after his victory at Yorktown.
By 7 August 1782, hostilities had ended and peace talks were under way in Paris. That day, George Washington’s thoughts were with his men camped nearby at New Windsor. They had suffered appalling privations for over six years. His officers were on the verge of mutiny because of lack of pay, rations and supplies withheld by a corrupt and negligent Congress. Worse, Congress had taken away the authority of his general officers to recognize their soldiers’ courage and leadership by awarding commissions in the field. Congress simply could not afford to pay their existing officers let alone any new ones. As a result, faithful service and outstanding acts of bravery went unrecognized and unrewarded. George Washington was determined to end that. So from his headquarters perched 80 feet above the Hudson, he issued a general order establishing the “Badge of Distinction” and “Badge of Merit.”:
The General, ever desirous to cherish a virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth, or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry, but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with a due reward….The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus opened to all. “Thus, George Washington established the “Badge of Merit”. In its shape and color, the Badge anticipated and inspired the modern Purple Heart. In the exceptional level of courage required to be considered for the Badge, however, it was the forerunner of the Medal of Honor. This year we celebrate its 150th anniversary.
In his book “Almost a Miracle”, historian John Ferling writes that “the forlorn conditions under which America’s soldiers were made to live and campaign was a national disgrace. That the army did not implode in a frenzy of mutinies long before 1781 was little short of miraculous.” Professor Ferling is correct. Never in modern military history has an army been so cruelly abused by its political masters.
It was bad enough that these citizen soldiers had to face the formidable force of the professional British army. What was worse was that they faced the harrowing experiences of eighteenth century warfare – the agony of long marches, the debilitating illnesses, the appalling casualties – without the proper weapons, often without boots, winter coats or food.
The memoir of Private Joseph Plumb Martin, who left his grandfather’s Connecticut farm in 1775 and served for eight years in the Continental army, has left us a grim, vivid description of how bad conditions truly were. In January 1780, for example, his unit took up a position in Westfield, New York prior to mounting an attack on a British fort on Staten Island. Private Martin writes: “we…took up our abode for the night upon a bleak hill, in full rake of the northwest wind, with no covering or shelter than the canopy of the heavens and no fuel but some old rotten nails which we dug up through the snow which was two or three feet deep… we were absolutely, literally starved…I saw several of the men roast their old shoes and eat them.” He added: “Here was the army starving and naked, and there their country sitting still and expecting the army to do notable things while fainting from sheer starvation.” The reason why Private Martin and his comrades were starving and unprotected against the bitter winter cold was the outrageous corruption and profiteering surrounding the army’s supply chain which Congress failed to address throughout the war.
George Washington was acutely aware of the suffering endured by his troops. The Commander in Chief was, of course, a strict and sometimes ruthless disciplinarian. He had to be. But Washington was also a compassionate military manager deeply devoted to the well-being of his enlisted men. If you read his papers, you come away impressed by the almost superhuman energy he devoted to improving the health and welfare of his troops and to lobbying Congress and the States for the food and other supplies they had promised him. No detail was ever too small for him to attend to if it improved the life of an enlisted man.
Washington was indomitable usually working at least 12-14 hours per day, but his task throughout the war was monumental. He had to transform thousands of brave, inexperienced and undisciplined citizen soldiers into an effective fighting force capable of fighting a conventional as well as a guerilla war. Moreover, the Commander in Chief also had to create an effective intelligence service that would deliver accurate, actionable information on the enemy’s capabilities and intentions, persuade Congress and the States to deliver the supplies they had promised him and work effectively with the French who had different strategic objectives. Add to that the constant political interference in the appointment and promotion of officers and the corruption and profiteering in the supply chain and you begin to understand the appalling burdens that sat upon Washington’s shoulders for over seven years.
It was understandable that it was not until after Congress took away the power to grant commissions in the field and the war was winding down in August 1782 that the Commander in Chief had the time to devise ways to honor the courage of his enlisted men and non-commissioned officers. George Washington’s decision to create two awards exclusively for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers was unprecedented. Neither the British nor any other European army had decorations for anyone other than their officers. But Washington believed passionately in the republican ideals of the revolution, and he also understood that his continentals were the first people’s army of patriotic volunteers who had fought for these ideals and who had been pushed to the outer limits of human endurance during the war.
Washington was committed to honoring his troops, but the idea for the “Badge of Military Merit” was probably Baron Von Steuben’s. The tough Prussian general may have had difficulty in instilling military discipline and order into the Continental army, but he admired their courage and fighting spirit. As a veteran of European wars, he would have been aware that the Czar of Russia had created the Cross of St. George for Gallantry and it is reasonable to speculate that he wanted the Americans to have a similar award for gallantry.
If we do not know for sure who inspired the “Badge of Military Merit”, we are even less sure about who designed it. Speculation runs from Pierre L’Enfant, later the architect of Washington DC, to Martha Washington or even General Washington himself. We will never know the truth. The original badge was made of purple silk edged with silver colored lace or binding on a wool background. One was embroidered with a leaf design; another – Sergeant Elijah Churchill’s – has the word “merit” crocheted into the fabric. The heart symbolized courage and devotion. Purple was associated with royalty and would stand out on any uniform.
To determine who should receive the badge, Washington ordered that a board of military officers be convened whenever the Adjutant General had recommendations for them to consider. This board never met because the Adjutant General never supplied any recommendations. Given the brewing mutiny among the officer corps at this time, it is reasonable to speculate that the Adjutant General offered no recommendations because he never received any. Preoccupied with their own pay and pension problems, too many officers had too little time to worry about writing recommendations for this new gallantry medal for their soldiers. By April 1783, when the Commander in Chief had received no recommendations for the “Badge of Military Merit” and when news of the peace agreement reached headquarters, Washington demanded immediate action before the Continental Army began to disband. On 17 April 1783, Washington ordered that a new review board be created and he demanded and got immediate results within days. The new board recommended two candidates: Sergeant Elijah Churchill, Fourth Troop, Second Troop of Light Dragoons and Sergeant William Brown of the 5th Connecticut regiment. A little later, they recommended a third candidate: Sergeant Daniel Bissell of the 2nd Connecticut regiment, one of Washington’s most important and successful spies. It is, however, possible that Washington himself recommended Bissell.
All three were superb choices. The first recipient was Sergeant Elijah Churchill from the 4th Troop, 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons which had conducted some of the most daring and spectacular raids of the Revolutionary War. Sergeant Churchill received the “Badge of Merit” in recognition of his leadership in two commando-style raids. The first was on 23 November 1780 against Fort St. George on Long Island when he led the advance team. He surprised the British defenders, captured and destroyed the fort. The goal of the mission had been to destroy a storage depot which housed several hundred tons of much needed hay for winter forage for British army horses. Fort St George protected the forage depot and so the capture and destruction of the fort made a vital contribution to the success of the mission. The second raid for which Sergeant Churchill was honored occurred a year later in October 1781 while the main army was at Yorktown. Once again, Sergeant Churchill led the advance party this time against Fort Slongo on the north shore of Long Island. And once again Sergeant Churchill’s bold leadership of the advance party surprised the British defenders and led to the capture of a large quantity of enemy supplies. These and other daring raids not only kept the British off-balance unsure whether Washington was going to try to recapture New York, but also forced British commanders to detach large numbers of troops from their over-stretched army to reinforce isolated and exposed outposts.
The second recipient of the Badge of Merit was Sergeant William Brown from the 5th Connecticut regiment. George Washington honored Sergeant Brown for his extraordinary heroism at the Battle of Yorktown. There, on the night of 14 October, Sergeant Brown led the advance party of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton’s troops against British Redoubt No 10, one of two key strongholds protecting the British inner defense line at Yorktown. Without waiting for the sappers and pioneers to clear away the sharpened trees designed to impale attacking troops, Sergeant Brown led his men on what could easily have been a suicide mission. To help ensure silence and surprise they attacked with unloaded muskets. Armed only with bayonets, Sergeant Brown and his advance party ran over a quarter of a mile climbed over the sharpened trees and charged the redoubt. Despite a murderous hail of musket fire, they and the remainder of Hamilton’s troops overcame the defenders in ten minutes of intense fighting.
The third recipient of the Badge of Merit whose exceptional heroism can be documented was Sergeant Daniel Bissell of the 2nd Connecticut regiment, one of George Washington’s bravest and most successful spies. In August 1781, acting under direct orders from the Commander in Chief, Bissell posed as a deserter and joined Benedict Arnold’s Corps of loyalists in New York City. From 14 August 1781 to 29 September 1782, Bissell served as a quarter master sergeant for Arnold. He used his position to gather a vast amount of information on British troop strength and deployments in and around New York. He recorded these in a series of notes and memoranda that he planned to send or bring to Washington. Every moment of every day for over a year, Bissell’s life hung by a thread. One wrong move, one mistake and he would have been executed as a spy.
When British military intelligence began to suspect that there were American sleeper agents in their midst, the British commander in chief ordered that any soldier found with military documents would be regarded as a spy. Bissell destroyed all of his memoranda but only after committing every detail to memory.
When he escaped from New York and reached headquarters in Newburgh, he was able to dictate his intelligence to Lieutenant Colonel David Humphreys, Washington’s aide de camp. If Washington had decided to attack the British in New York rather than at Yorktown, Bissell’s intelligence would have been vital.
We know for sure that Sergeants Churchill, Brown and Bissell received the Badge of Military Merit. Recent research by the Military Order of the Purple Heart’s National Americanism officer, Ron Siebels, shows that Peter Shumway, John Sithins and William Dutton, three other soldiers in Washington’s Continental Army, also received the Badge of Military Merit. But we do not yet know the exceptional acts of courage for which they were honored. It is possible that there were other candidates and other recipients. But we will never be sure unless the “Book of Merit” (in which all of the recipient’s names and heroic deeds were to be recorded) is found. But it has been missing for over two centuries.
Unfortunately, we also do not know for sure whether Washington presented Sergeants Churchill and Brown with their honors personally. We do know from Sergeant Bissell’s pension records that his Badge of Military Merit was presented to him on the lawn at Hasbrouck House by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Trumbull, Washington’s Military Secretary. Although Washington intended the Badge of Military Merit to be made permanent, it was allowed to lapse after the army was disbanded in June 1783. At the end of the Revolutionary War, no federal decoration was awarded to American servicemen until the Navy Medal of Honor was created in 1861 during the Civil War.ARLINGTON, Va., 23 July 2013. Unmanned vehicles designers at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., will brief industry next month on a project to develop an unmanned submersible designed to transport and deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) stealthily close to enemy operations.
DARPA will conduct industry briefings on the Hydra program from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 5 Aug. 2013 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory – Kossiakoff Center in Laurel, Md. Briefings will precede release on a broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Hydra program, DARPA officials say.
The Hydra program will develop and demonstrate an unmanned undersea system with a new kind of unmanned-vehicle delivery system that inserts UAVs and UUVs. stealthily into operational environments to respond quickly to situations around the world without putting U.S. military personnel at risk.
The Hydra large UUV is to use modular payloads inside a standardized enclosure to deploy a mix of UAVs and UUVs, depending on the military situation. Hydra will integrate existing and emerging technologies in new ways to create an alternate means of delivering a variety of payloads close to where they’re needed, DARPA officials say.
The Hydra program also will seek to develop and demonstrate not only the unmanned vehicle mothership, but also examples of the UAVs and UUVs that could be carried into battle covertly.
The rising number of ungoverned states, piracy, and proliferation of sophisticated defenses severely stretches current resources and influences U.S. military capability to conduct special operations and contingency missions, DARPA scientists say.
The Hydra program represents a way to add undersea capacity that can be tailored to support each mission. Technologies are to be adaptable to several different delivery options, including airborne, surface, and subsurface. The Hydra program could enable other new capabilities not currently performed from undersea, DARPA officials explain.
The program will demonstrate individual high-risk components and systems before the military commits to a specific full-system approach, and refine technologies prior to operational demonstrations of the UAV and UUV payloads.
Hydra will have three phases. First, the program will define concepts, develop component capabilities, and reduce subsystem risks with one or more contracts in several technical areas. Later, the program will develop and test a full system. Technical areas involve modular enclosures, air vehicle payloads, undersea payloads, concepts of operation, and supporting technologies.
Modular enclosures will host Hydra payloads and provide a means to transport, house, and launch them. It will be a payload-agnostic “mission truck” that will provide basic services and support to individual payloads. It will operate in shallow coastal waters and harbors for extended periods.
Subsystems will include ballast system, energy, communications, command and control, propulsion, the ability to accommodate different payloads, and measures for long-duration submerged operations. It will deploy its UAVs and UUVs without surfacing, and maintain communications throughout its mission.
The air vehicle payload will feature encapsulated air vehicles that fit into the standard Hydra modular enclosure. The air vehicle payload that will be ejected from the mothership, float to the surface, launch, fly a minimum range, and conduct several different types of missions.
Undersea payloads will launch, dock, and recharge from the mothership and collect intelligence information. After their missions they will download information to the mothership, which will communicate it to command authorities.
Concepts of operation will involve Hydra deployment and retrieval using submarines and transport aircraft; command, control, and communications architectures, and the potential effectiveness of Hydra UAV and UUV payloads.
The Hydra industry briefings on 5 Aug. are to provide information on the Hydra program, address questions from potential proposers, and to provide a forum for potential proposers to present their capabilities and explore teaming opportunities. One-on-one discussions with the DARPA Hydra program manager will be available on a first, come first-served basis.
DARPA also is hosting a classified meeting for eligible attendees immediately after the main unclassified session, but prior to one-on-one discussions.
Companies interested should register for the Hydra industry briefings online no later than 29 July 2013 athttps://www.SignUp4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=HYDR32E; Login: hydra; Password: hydra13.
Email questions or concerns to [email protected]. The Hydra program manager is Scott Littlefield, and the contracting officer is Christopher Glista.
More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-13-42/listing.html.
(Remember that Raytheon is already adapting a Switchblade to launch from submarine waste disposal units https://www.suasnews.com/2011/12/10797/submarine-launched-switchblade-for-rimpac-2012/)Protected area in New South Wales, Australia
Mungo Lunette
A lone piece of wood atop a sand dune in Mungo National Park, June 2005
The Mungo National Park is a protected national park that is located in south-western New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 110,967-hectare (274,210-acre) national park is situated approximately 875 kilometres (544 mi) west of Sydney in the Balranald Shire. Mungo National Park is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Nyiampaar and Barkinji Aboriginal Nations. People are no longer able to climb the sand dunes as stricter rules have been enforced.
The national park is part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Willandra Lakes Region, an area of 2,400 square kilometres (930 sq mi) that incorporates seventeen dry lakes. The seventeen dry lakes are not all called Mungo but are all declared world heritage. The creek that used to flow into Mungo is being preserved as a sacred site. The national park is about 75 kilometres (47 mi) south-east of Pooncarie, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north-east of Mildura, Victoria and approximately 145 kilometres (90 mi) south-west of Ivanhoe. The roads to, in or around the park are unsealed and may become impassable in 2-wheel-drive cars but with care can be navigated in SUVs or 4x4s.
Features and location [ edit ]
The central feature of Mungo National Park is Lake Mungo, the second largest of the ancient dry lakes. The Mungo National Park is noted for the archaeological remains discovered in the park. The remains of Mungo Man, the oldest human remains discovered in Australia, and Mungo Lady, the oldest known human to have been ritually cremated, were both discovered within the park. They were buried on the shore of Lake Mungo, beneath the 'Walls of China', a series of lunettes on the South eastern edge of the lake.
A visitor centre, where further information and a map may be acquired, is located near the old Mungo woolshed and the entrance to the park. A 70-kilometre (43 mi) signposted circular vehicle track allows visitors to drive to the spectacular Walls of China and around the lakes. The Shearers' Quarters can provide bunk accommodation and a communal kitchen for a daily fee. Camping and park access fees may be paid at the visitor centre.[2]
Mungo National Park was acquired for the National Reserve System in 1979 by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. This organisation fundraised the $101,000 required to purchase the property. The Foundation also funded a resident archaeologist to work on the site from 1979 to 1983. With funds donated by Dick Smith, the Foundation established the Mungo Visitors Centre and Laboratory in 1983. With further sponsorship from BHP, the Foundation implemented the Mungo National Park 60-kilometre (37 mi) long guided vehicle drive in 1990. As of 2010, the Foundation put together a prospectus to create a new Centre at Mungo for education and research. Glen Murcutt, an Australian architect and winner of the 2002 Pritzker Prize and 2009 AIA Gold Medal, along with Wendy Lewin, were scheduled to design the building.[3]
See also [ edit ]Any Australian venturing out to either a pub or RSL club tomorrow will probably be met with the sight of two-up being played. More curious readers may be wondering to themselves why two-up is only played on Anzac Day. Even if you aren’t actually interested, please do read on because the laws concerning two-up and Anzac Day is rather interesting. Well, at least we here at FindLaw think so.
Two-up legislation (yes, really)
Anzac Day is the one day of the year where two-up is legal in Victoria, while in New South Wales, two-up can be played on not only Anzac day, but any other designated commemorative days.
The Gambling (Two-Up) Act in New South Wales and Victoria’s s 2.3.2 Gambling Regulation Act allows two-up to be played on Anzac Day if certain conditions are met.
In New South Wales, the Gambling (Two-up) Act requires that games are played on a not for profit basis, or in the case of a club: no entrance fee to a premises that is holding a two-up game is allowed. Furthermore, clubs that host games of two-up must donate all proceeds to a charity, or a charitable cause.
Section 9 of the Gambling (Two-Up) Act has special provisions allowing certain areas in Broken Hill to hold games if it is council run, or the council has approved a venue for games to be held. Broken Hill has special exemption due to the fact that popular games of two-up were conducted in a café until it was forced to stop running games in 1984. The Gambling (Two-Up) Act was amended in 1992 to allow Broken Hill to re-introduce two-up, provided certain requirements were met. New South Wales also allows two-up to be played on the Victory of the Pacific Day (15 August) and Remembrance Day after 12 pm.
In Victoria, the local RSL club and venues approved by the Minister for Gaming are the only places where two-up may be played.
Possible defences for participating in an illegal two-up game
Anyone who participates in an illegal two-up game has a defence if they did not know the game was illegal.
For any readers who are out and about on Anzac Day where a game of two-up is being played, we wish you the best of luck and ‘come in spinner’.The user-based online organization Erowid aims to provide unbiased information about a broad variety of psychoactive substances. Their website provides pharmacological, chemical, biomedical and botanical resources, and hosts more than 20.000 experience reports written by drug users. This large body of user-based knowledge is frequently consulted by drug users who wish to reduce the harmful effects of drug consumption, and whose primary source of information is more and more online.
In order to understand the knowledge practices associated with Erowid, and their entanglements with contemporary drug use, our team of digital anthropologists explored novel methods to analyze Erowid's digital content and connect it with ethnographic expertise. The results that we present on this website provide both a glimpse into practices of reporting drug use, into actual patterns of drug consumption, and into the possibilities of a digitally literate anthropology.The Huffington Post crashed a Thursday evening fundraiser for Rep. Joe Crowley's political action committee, the Jobs, Opportunies and Education PAC.
The event, a typical Washington fundraiser, was listed on the Sunlight Foundation's website, www.politicalpartytime.org, as CROWLEY UNPLUGGED!! The venue was the Washington office of the Recording Industry Association of America, an organization that has spent more than $1.8 million in lobbying Congress so far in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Via his leadership PAC, Crowley can distribute cash he earned last night to his friends in the House, who so far this year have received $23,000.
Friendly Crowley staffers greeted the Huffington Post in the lobby of the downtown office building and said the New York Democrat would indeed be singing at the event, a spectacle for which attendees would have to stuff $100 into an envelope to see. For $1,000, guests could get ten tickets and two passes to the "VIP After Party."
Several lobbyists introduced themselves, including Lou Constantino of the Managed Funds Association, a hedge funds lobby that has spent $750,000 in lobbying so far this year as part of the industry's efforts to avert regulation. Patrick Collins said he was there just because he likes Crowley. Law firm Holland & Knight sent at least one intern.
After ten minutes of friendly schmoozing with these people, a new guest refused to identify himself. "Yeah, I don't deal with reporters," he said.
It was then that the Huffington Post noticed Crowley's staffers huddled over their Blackberrys on the other side of the lobby. One of them walked over and said he was reading "your Isakson story."
After a few minutes, the Huffington Post was escorted to the door -- but not denied the company of a Crowley staffer. He proceeded to maneuver himself between this reporter and arriving guests for about 10 or 15 minutes.
"It'd be best if you just keep going," he told arriving guests as the Huffington Post attempted to make new acquaintances. "Just go inside."
"You can't do this shit," he said in an exasperated but still-friendly tone at one point between arrivals. Asked if he would follow his charge all the way to the corner, he said he would -- and he actually did follow when this reporter started walking. But he eventually relented and left the Huffington Post alone to query dozens of incoming guests.
The vast majority of arrivals cordially refused to identify themselves. But a few were more forthcoming, including a woman from the Edison Electric Institute, which has spent more than $2.5 million in lobbying this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The EEI has a lot at stake in climate change legislation.
Finally, the congressman arrived. As he hurried into the lobby, the Huffington Post asked him what his guests would get out of attending the event.
"A couple good songs," Crowley said.
HuffPost readers: Got a tip on a party, or see one worth crashing at www.politicalpartytime.org? Send tips to [email protected] we’ve come to the end of yet another week’s intraday trading in the bitcoin price space, and it’s been a pretty interesting one. We’ve had breakouts on our traditional ranges, some scalp entries, and some not particularly fond memories of quick stop hits. In yesterday’s second analysis, we discussed the fact that we were shifting to the narrower timeframe, and in turn, the narrower range, in an attempt to pick up a quick profit from some overnight volatility. We set our parameters (targets and risk were both pretty tight) and left things to mature overnight. Mature they did, and we ended up with a great entry on an upside break, and a target hit relatively soon after the position filled. The chart below illustrates the trade.
With this overnight action looking bullish, we may see some bullish momentum moving into the weekend, which would be great from a long term holding perspective. Things have been pretty bearish over the past couple of weeks, so an opportunity to add some organic value to a capital collection would be a bonus, and can act as a nice hedge against any downside intraday trades we set. This, of course, is out of our control. What’s well within our control, however, are the levels at which we look at getting in to trades today – specifically, throughout the European morning session.
The chart below illustrates today’s range.
As you can see, in term support sits at 417.5, while in term resistance comes in at 421 flat. We’re going to be trading a pure breakout strategy today, so intrarange goes by the wayside for now.
Looking at entries – long on a close above resistance towards an upside target of 425 flat. A stop on this one somewhere around 419.5 defines risk.
To the downside, a close below support will initiate a run towards a bearish target of 413 flat. Stop at 419 to keep things tight.
Charts courtesy of Trading ViewCLOSE The artificial intelligence software is learning how to recognize early signs of two eye diseases.Video provided by Newsy Newslook
A scan of a human eye. (Photo11: National Institutes of Health)
SAN FRANCISCO — Google plans to use more than one million anonymized eye scans to teach computers how to diagnose ocular disease.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company has signed a deal with a British eye hospital to use artificial intelligence to learn from the medical records of 1.6 million patients in London hospitals.
The goal is to teach a |
makes up for in ease of use. Extending into Río Fuerte, Twain connects to the regional rail line and is ideal for shipping to the Global Market via the river.", "0x4d7b89b2": "Elm Grove", "0x1144aa70": "Filled with a dense forest, Elm Grove has a modest oil reservoir and a light sprinkling of raw ore. The fresh mountain air is alluring to visitors of this wooded site.", "0xf3c76956": "Riverbend", "0x8fc315bc": "Straddling the southernmost tributary of the Cascadia River, this site presents the challenge of developing a city that crosses both banks. The reward to such an industrious mayor is a deep reservoir of crude oil.", "0xfd4011aa": "Viridian Woods", "0x7ed64a08": "This heavily wooded region features lush green forests fed by lazy rivers flowing through the region. A wide variety of sites in several groups provide many opportunities for mayors to cooperate to fill the region with massive cities.", "0x566cabfe": "Lancaster Pointe", "0x122237e4": "A pair of deep crude oil reservoirs rest on the shoulders of a proud promontory in this site. Spectacular ocean views provide the setting for a possible seaside resort town.", "0xa7789ab4": "Tudor Isle", "0x0148cbce": "The River Stuart is severed in two by the Isle of Tudor at the center of this site. A full crude oil deposit lies at the heart of Tudor Isle, annointing the industrious with ample oil dividends.", "0x01e9fe3f": "Yorkshire Cliffs", "0x26be8975": "The dramatic cliffs of Yorkshire provide glorious summers for tourists, but make trading the coal and raw ore extracted from this site a greater challenge.", "0x604fb050": "Wessex Bend", "0x920c1a02": "Slight crude oil and raw ore deposits provide enough natural resources to begin an industry in this site. However, the real treasure of this site lies in its access to trading routes along the River Stuart.", "0xa0f67fb3": "Gaugin Valley", "0xfd989731": "This site is speckled with impressions of raw ore and coal. This flat site has a moist water table ready to supply even the most thirsty of sprawling metropolises.", "0xa52c8370": "Matisse Plains", "0xd6e8ed22": "Raw ore deposits in this site promise a fruitful mining operation to mayors wise enough to use the rail running through this site.", "0xcba6f916": "Monet Plateau", "0x67a4397c": "Look closer at this site with two choices of industry. The top of the central plateau is rich with raw ore deposits and the low-lying land features two deep crude oil deposits.", "0xeb7e47b4": "Rousseau Flats", "0x454e78ce": "Coal and raw ore deposits are scattered throughout this expansive site. With plenty room to grow, this site is ready for a massive city.", "0x690f65de": "Hohenburg Shores", "0x24c4f1c4": "With a spectacular shoreline running along the edge of this site, mayors could develop this site into a thriving resort. Crude oil deposits provide another route for city development.", "0x65001054": "Burghausen Hills", "0xbed0416e": "A large plateau tops the middle of this site, but for mayors willing to work around this impediment, they are rewarded with deposits of coal, crude oil and raw ore.", "0xf200ca20": "Bamberg Basin", "0x43bbd3b2": "Crude oil and raw ore deposits in this site serve as an excellent start to drilling or mining operations. The riverbank that borders this site is ideal for trading on the Global Market.", "0xc89ba5c2": "Straussburg Isles", "0x6c6626e0": "The “Straussburg Triplets”, a set of islands in the middle of the Straussburg River provide a compelling challenge for mayors who want to extract the crude oil from the largest of the three triplets.", "0x7a74ab21": "Figaro Forest", "0x4e2a5c9b": "This woodsy site has a sampling of coal, raw ore and crude oil resources for mayors willing to clear away the trees. The nearby river provides a convenient shipping connection to the Global Market.", "0xf518c03b": "Tosca Cliffs", "0x5161c759": "Dramatic cliffs separate this site into two distinct elevations. Crude oil, coal and raw ore deposits provide the foundation for a city focused on drilling or mining.", "0x0d077dcb": "Traviata Knoll", "0x46d77c49": "Covering one side of a large hill, this site is a dream for would-be ore mining towns. Mayors willing to contend with the steep hill will find much to love in this site.", "0x8b3ac14e": "Giovanni Woods", "0x696ae814": "This flat site provides mayors plenty of room to build a massive city. Small deposits of coal and raw ore provide a meager source of resources.", "0x951c174f": "Horizon Archipelago", "0xd6d707e5": "This picturesque chain of islands has several cities on each of its three major islands. These rocky islands sit high in the water, with exposed cliffs dictating interesting city planning choices. Island shores with spectacular ocean views lend themselves well to developing wealthy resorts.", "0xf3f7420c": "Oolong Peak", "0x50995986": "This site rests atop a high peak. What it lacks in beachfront property it makes up for in dazzling clifftop views. A major coal deposit in the center of the peak lures mayors to invest in a mining operation.", "0x2f9dac8a": "Ceylon Steppes", "0xb3ae4ee8": "This tiered site has a generous helping of raw ore throughout and a large reservoir of crude oil just below the surface. The rail running through this site is ready to carry resources to the great work site.", "0xbd72897a": "Lapsang Landing", "0x60e3f938": "Deposits of raw ore in this site are a tempting prize for industrious mayors. A nearby train trestle runs trains through this site to connect it to the rest of the region.", "0x53f41f99": "Souchong Summit", "0xc7f120d3": "Coal deposits throughout this site provide an excellent starting point for mayors willing to work at high altitudes. Rail running up the mountain to this site saves it from only being connected to the rest of the region by a long highway trip.", "0x8a28cd01": "Yoshitoshi Strand", "0x6058e87b": "The shoreline that sweeps around the edge of this site provides highly desirable land to build upon. Massive crude oil and raw ore deposits force mayors to decide between business and pleasure.", "0x2b0c60be": "Hokusai Cliffs", "0xe93de8a4": "With two tiers to build upon, this site has good amounts of all natural resources. Rail running through the base of the cliff connects industry in this site to the Global Market.", "0xde257d60": "Hiroshige Overlook", "0x325c82f2": "This mountaintop site has a large deposit of coal, but its true value lies in its breathtaking view of the entire region.", "0x5ce34ea7": "Conch Beach", "0xc0d2873d": "The longer beach, this site's namesake, is accompanied by a smaller, private beach that locals favor. Crude oil and raw ore deposits in this site can be used for the foundation of a specialized city.", "0x68564e1a": "Cowrie Cove", "0x0bc7bed8": "An assortment of raw resources in this tiered site allow for a mayor's freedom of choice. The beach running along the cove is ideal for mayors with tourism in mind.", "0xe962e8b3": "Triton Valley", "0x46050031": "Coal and raw ore in this site are found throughout three tiers of elevation, allowing for tunnels, ramps and highly desirable cliffs. Rail connects to Nautilus Plateau on its way to the record-setting Rose Bridge.", "0x936e88de": "Nautilus Plateau", "0x4f2414c4": "The panoramic view of the archipelago from this towering site is not the only draw here. Rose Bridge helps you ship all the coal and raw ore you'll extract from underground deposits.", "0xd29a65a2": "Titan Gorge", "0x78ddbcc0": "This massive region features sixteen diverse city sites grouped into four clusters. Titan Gorge runs down the heart of the valley, ending at a bulge in the Reposado River. A soaring rail trestle spans the wide gap between two expansive plateaus.", "0xc92a4a92": "Conestoga Crossing", "0x8f6f6750": "This site is rich in water with a smattering of raw ore deposits. The Reposado River snakes through this site, supporting Global Market trading.", "0x45d04896": "Frontier Fields", "0xe1cd88fc": "This site has deep deposits of crude oil waiting to be pumped dry. A railroad provides convenient shipping for industrial cities.", "0xa82d086f": "Pioneer Plains", "0xe9e98b05": "A generous crude oil reservoir has long lured would-be oil barons to this grassy site. Expansive plains provide plenty of room to build a sprawling city.", "0x1df4a59c": "Settler's Rest", "0x99f78c76": "The banks of the Reposado wind through a corner of this site, providing a spot for distributing the crude oil or raw ore from the deposits under this site.", "0x5cd9c204": "Hickory Ridge", "0x992429be": "The scenic views from this hillside gap entice the wealthy to develop on this site, but the roadwork necessary to build here present a challenge.", "0x0961088a": "Mesquite", "0x8d71aae8": "The Reposado River curves around this site, occupying a significant chunk of the area. Oil deposits somehow resist the flow of the river.", "0x98d006d4": "Cedargates", "0xf2a037ee": "An old shipping rail runs through this site and can be used to ship the crude oil extracted from the bursting oil reservoir in this site.", "0x63629951": "Pinewood Hills", "0x171818eb": "Gently rolling hills cover this wide plain. An underground river of oil provides a choice location for a drilling operation. An inlet of the Reposado River connects this site to the river.", "0x236feb3c": "Nugget Plateau", "0x9f72d116": "Scant coal and raw ore deposits provide a challenge for new mayors, but the vast plains of this site allow for plenty of expansion. Strong breezes and warm weather make this an ideal retirement community.", "0xbac2a92f": "Claim Overlook", "0xfef802c5": "Beautiful, steep views of Titan Gorge make for a scenic community. The petrified forest in this site surrounds plentiful coal and raw ore deposits.", "0x06619faf": "Placer Vista", "0x4a96f945": "This site provides breathtaking views of the gorge, the former site of a placer mine. A sizable coal deposit serves as a foundation for a mining operation.", "0xade0848b": "Prospect", "0xea2aec09": "This ore claim has mostly run dry, but there are still coal deposits waiting to be mined. Heavy winds provide a convenient source of power.", "0x39b44a32": "Palomino", "0xfd7d6af0": "This windswept plateau was home to a horse ranch that would ship horses on the railroad that runs through the site. Small deposits of raw ore are scattered through this site.", "0x5123b7f3": "Mustang Run", "0xadc5cf71": "The windy expanses of this site hide ample deposits of coal. The railroad running along this site provides a connection to the Global Market.", "0xe7bd53be": "Wrangler's Rest", "0xa5eedba4": "Abundant coal and raw ore make this an ideal location for a metals business. Winds flowing across this plain provide plenty fuel for wind power.", "0x0010b202": "Painted Point", "0xa6540920": "A beautiful view of Titan Gorge and underground mineral deposits make this a popular place to live and work.", "0xc1822f57": "Reflection Atoll", "0x460f6a8d": "This tropical island destination has sandy beaches ready for the island explorer looking for a laid back adventure in the sun. A wide assortment of natural resources distrbuted across the islands gives each island its own identity.", "0x9bd8d2a1": "Trader's Ridge", "0x6f8e841b": "Don't let the bluff in the middle of this site get in your way, tunnel through it! This site has small coal, raw ore and crude oil deposits to take advantage of. The flat low-lying areas and shoreline provide perfect locations for Trade Ports.", "0x22f85786": "Petrol Bay", "0x9e56010c": "With a massive crude oil reservoir, Petrol Bay is ready to become home to an oil drilling city. The site's shoreline curves around a large bay to facilitate crude oil sales to the Global Market.", "0xf0199aef": "Cinder", "0x31d61d85": "Set at the base of Mount Cinder, this site's large coal deposits will provide many years of profit. A rail connection and shoreline provide opportunities for mayors to sell their coal on the Global Market.", "0x3a4b861a": "Grand Haven", "0xddbcf6d8": "This site is surrounded by the Ring River, offering a nature wonderland with high land values. Mayors will find this an ideal site for a tourist or education city.", "0x4d794628": "Summit Vista", "0xa207c91a": "This plain has a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. High land values create an ideal location for an educated city or a resort. Railways and shorelines provide locations for transit options.", "0x62ce40e8": "Ingot Landing", "0xb75b30da": "This hilly site at the base of Clipper Mountain is flush with raw ore. Rail tracks and a sandy bay provide mayors specialized in mining with a means to export their resources.", "0x2bb5bba8": "Soirée Sands", "0x80443e9a": "This sundrenched site has white sands that tourists will flock to. High land values lend themselves to developing an educated city while the shoreline can support a ferry to transport tourists and workers.", "0x6e132f95": "Discovery Delta", "0x29dc43f7": "Roll on down the lazy Rye River as it flows through Discovery Delta. This expansive wetland region follows the course of river tributaries with creeks and ponds forming among the city sites. Four groups of cities are situated to develop amazing cities in the delta and complete great works.", "0x50446fac": "Sawyer's Crossing", "0xace68726": "Sawyer's Crossing is ready for adventurous mayors willing to cross Sawyer Creek, out to the island. Coal and crude oil deposits provide mayors with a reliable income.", "0x12d985f1": "Huckleberry Island", "0xc690978b": "The huckleberry bushes at the base of this island's crecent-shaped bluff lend it its distinct name. Once mayors pave roads down the hill to the rest of the island, they are welcomed with significant coal and raw ore deposits.", "0x262ca829": "Harper Plains", "0xb98c0ac3": "Situated in the shadow of the Big Jim mountains, Harper Plains provides an entirely level site for mayors who don't want to deal with hills or rivers. This inland site has plenty of coal and raw ore for mayors to start the mining operation of their choice.", "0xe0ff08c0": "Thatcher Overlook", "0x35347b52": "The upper overlook portion of Thatcher Overlook is festooned with an assortment of coal, raw ore and crude oil deposits, giving mayors a nice sampling for the mining and drilling specializations. The lower land that bends along the shoreline has fabulous views of the river.", "0x2309eecd": "Cottonwood Forest", "0x9e7cb28f": "This dense forest surrounds Miller's Pond. For mayors willing to clear the forest, coal and raw ore deposits are ripe for the picking. The natural splendor of the pond and riverbank provide great backdrops for luxurious high-wealth housing or casinos.", "0x9d428e3c": "Magnolia Wetlands", "0x19457416": "This site presents a bit of a challenge for mayors to curve their roads around the slough that extends into the middle of the land. Oil reservoirs under this site provide an excellent foundation for a drilling empire, but there are also significant deposits of coal here as well.", "0xb79ea2d3": "Honeysuckle Marsh", "0x1440ba51": "The portions of this site not covered by water are heavily wooded, but both crude oil and coal within this site are ready for a clever mayor to make lots of bridges.", "0x04223fe4": "Willow Woods", "0x3df23d9e": "Deep within this huge forest is a wide assortment of raw resources, including coal, raw ore and crude oil. Mayors can build a massive city in the midst of a forest in this forested site.", "0x48503939": "Rising Sun Valley", "0xb9d2d173": "Rising Sun Valley is ideal for mayors who long for wide open spaces. A large crude oil deposit in this site welcomes mayors to start a drilling business and a small amount of coal provides a source of coal for a power plant.", "0x3c1a15d1": "Barleycorn Point", "0xefcf956b": "In the middle of the Rye River, Barleycorn Point features rich crude oil deposits for mayors who want to start drilling. River views lend a scenic setting for high wealth homes.", "0x53c12390": "Stackolee Ravine", "0x87f7f742": "The creeks running through Stackolee Ravine offer a challenge to mayors. Mayors who rise to this challenge can expect to find coal and raw ore deposits on the other side of each bank in this site.", "0x0ab3ddec": "Cotton Bend", "0x67546266": "With a tributary of the Rye River curving through the middle of Cotton Bend, mayors will need to build a bridge across to reach all the coal deposits.", "0x4c116989": "Washtub Fields", "0xdf6f3923": "The Washtub Fields provide plenty of space for mayors to expand. Coal and raw ore deposits allow mayors to start a mining town and grow it into a massive mining metropolis. River access in this site is ideal for shipping metal resources.", "0x4aff559d": "Spooner Plains", "0xe7101d3f": "Mayors seeking a site for a new mining operation will find much to like in Spooner Plains: ample coal deposits and river access for shipping coal to the Global Market. A small crude oil reservoir is available to run an Oil Power Plant.", "0x22d1c569": "Jugband Hills", "0xb62f9403": "At the base of Washboard Ridge, the Jugband Hills hold valuable raw ore deposits beneath the gently rolling hills. Mayors who build a mining business can ship their metals out from the shoreline to the Global Market.", "0xe1e76017": "Kazoo Basin", "0x66762f4d": "This site features a large reservoir of crude oil as well as a small amount of coal, perhaps enough for a Coal Power Plant. Views of a private inlet provide an ideal location for discerning home owners.", "0xbd21955e": "Endeavor Island", "0x78d72144": "Help Summer Shoals recover from a neglectful mayor and learn the basics of SimCity.", "0x3ec84615": "Summer Shoals", "0xfa915a77": "A small suburb of Lucky Shores that has seen better days. A recent government grant has been provided to turn this city around. Now it just needs the right mayor.", "0x144f287b": "Lucky Shores", "0x6e1f5899": "A tragic meteor strike has decimated this once bustling gambling city and sent the previous mayor fleeing. This city is in search of a up and coming mayor to tackle the recovery effort.", "0x617c4d77": "Sunrunner Bay", "0xe60988ad": "Attached to the mainland by only a narrow highway, this small island projects into Sunrunner Bay. This sunny island is a getaway for free spirits and artists. A pair of city sites share this island and all its natural splendor.", "0xe3503852": "Corsair Coast", "0xa7195810": "With its serene shoreline, the Corsair Coast is ideal for a wealthy tourist destination. Take advantage of bountiful crude oil deposits to amass your city's treasure.", "0x82e6590f": "Plunder Point", "0xc71d45a5": "Dangling from the southern tip of the island chain, Plunder Point is the last chance for a port of trade before ships head to sea. Sea shanties tell of the abundant ore deposits in the cliffs of this coastal site." }NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Two more women came forward on Thursday to accuse Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them in the 1970s, joining dozens of others who have made similar accusations against the veteran television star.
The women appeared at a news conference with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing many of the more than 40 women who have said Cosby drugged and assaulted them.
Charlotte Fox said Cosby, 78, sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in the 1970s, when she was a 23-year-old aspiring actress.
“When I heard the other women, I said: ‘Oh my God, that is what happened to me.’ I could not believe it,” Fox said.
The second woman, who was only identified by her first name Elizabeth, said she was a 20-year-old flight attendant when Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his hotel room in 1976.
The two women shared their stories alongside Sarita Butterfield, who had previously accused Cosby of groping her at his family home.
Representatives for Cosby, whose career and image have been damaged by the numerous allegations, said they had no comment on the new allegations.
Cosby has never been criminally charged and most of the allegations cannot be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations. His lawyers have denied wrongdoing on his part.
In a separate case, Allred said she hoped to get answers from the former star of the 1980s comedy series “The Cosby Show” in a deposition set for Oct. 9.
Cosby has been ordered to appear for the deposition in a lawsuit brought by another of Allred’s clients, Judy Huth, who said Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974. She was 15 at the time and is seeking damages.
The deposition will be the first time Cosby testifies under oath in response to a complaint of sexual misconduct since a deposition he gave in a separate case settled out of court nine years ago.
“After his long period of public silence, we would hope that he would welcome this opportunity to testify fully and completely and give his side of the story,” Allred said on Thursday.
She said she had no reason to believe Cosby would not appear for the deposition and that she planned to ask any questions relevant to the discovery of evidence in Huth’s lawsuit.Cheetos is tapping into the Easter market with Sweetos. (Photo11: Cheetos)
Snackers soon will have an excuse to turn their fingers cinnamon brown instead of cheesy orange.
Just ahead of Easter, Frito-Lay's Cheetos brand in late February will roll out Cheetos Sweetos — a cinnamon, sugar puff snack. Sweetos is the first sweet snack that Cheetos has cranked out in the brand's 67-year history. The limited-time offering follows a successful 2013 holiday launch of a sweet snack by sister brand Lays, with Lays Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate.
For the snack giant, it's about latching on to two converging consumer trends — a jump in "sweet" snacking, particularly by Millennials; and a growing interest by consumers in special holiday offerings from familiar brands. Early this week, for example, Oreo announced plans for a Red Velvet Oreo pegged to Valentine's Day.
"Consumers are seeking more novelty and the snack makers know it," says Tom Vierhile, innovation insights editor at DataMonitor Consumer, a consumer research specialty. This is particularly true with Millennials, he says, with the next generation of snackers more open to unconventional snacks — and unconventional snacking occasions.
For years, various Frito-Lay salty snack brands have tested unusual offerings and sweet flavors outside the U.S. market, but now the brand seems more willing to try oddball snacks inside the USA, too. Last summer, to much fanfare, 7-Eleven stores domestically rolled out Loaded Doritos — warm, triangular-shaped mozzarella sticks — coated and pan-fried with a signature Doritos taste.
"This is not a short-term strategy," says Jeff Klein, vice president of brand marketing for Frito-Lay North America. "We are looking for growth outside of the cheese puff segment."
A 7-ounce bag of Sweetos, dusted in brown speckles, will fetch $3.49. Frito-Lay is looking into other sweet Cheetos flavor options, but Klein declined to name or describe them for competitive reasons.
The snack will be sold in a bag with conventional Easter-themed colors, Klein says, as Frito-Lay looks to grab a piece of the $2.2 billion Easter sweets market, more commonly focused on items like jelly beans and chocolate rabbits. "It will make a dent in the holiday," he says.
The cinnamon flavor also could have special appeal to consumers who want a sweet taste, but are put off by overly sugary products, says Vierhile. "Cinnamon has less baggage than sweet flavors that are perceived to be more sugar-based," he says.
Also, sweet snacks like cinnamon tend to open up the possibility of unconventional day parts for Frito-Lay, says Vierhile. Cinnamon snacks can work in the morning — and very late at night, when salty snacks are typically less popular, he says.
But will Cheetos Sweetos continue the Cheetos legacy of leaving the snack's tell-tale dust-on-the-fingers?
"We believe the orange Cheetos dust that comes off on your fingers is an important part of the Cheetos eating experience — for some it's the best part," says Klein. "Absolutely there will be a similar playful experience when eating Sweetos."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1JfSPHGLike These Movies? Here Are 100+ Things You Might Also Like...
A lot of what we read and watch comes to us through recommendation algorithms. Amazon tells us: People who bought this book also bought this other book, and Netflix says: Because you watched this movie, we think you should watch this other movie. And we welcome our new recommendation robot overlords!
But this summer, we're going old school — because we haven't found an algorithm that says: If you loved this movie, you'll devour this graphic novel. (Or like this podcast, enjoy this short story... you get the idea.)
So we've called in some human help. Here are more than 100 recommendations, courtesy of the living, breathing staff and critics at NPR.
Like The Hunger Games? You might also like...
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell (short story) because it's also a dark, worst-case-scenario tale of a battle for survival that's entered into involuntarily. — Linda Holmes, Pop Culture Happy Hour host
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (novel) because they're the same story except the earlier Japanese version is more graphic and more distressed about the consequences of violence. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
Like 12 Years A Slave? You might also like...
Delicious Foods by James Hannaham (novel) because it's an audacious, aesthetically complex look at U.S. slavery in different eras. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
Kindred by Octavia Butler (novel) because it's a fantasy about a modern-day woman, kidnapped through time to become a slave in the American South, who uses all her education and pride to survive. — Tasha Robinson, book critic
Like Spotlight? You might also like...
The Journalist And The Murderer by Janet Malcolm (nonfiction) because it's a serious look at how journalism is practiced and how we as the audience should feel about consuming it... plus, it has a terrific opening line. — Rose Friedman, arts editor
The Hour (TV series) because it's also about a tightknit group of journalists working to unravel a conspiracy. — Margaret Willison, book critic
Reveal (podcast) because it delivers deep-dive investigations on a variety of topics — kids crossing borders, the prevalence of feral cats, the perils of the night shift and much more. — Nicole Cohen, arts producer
Like Trainwreck? You might also like...
How To Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran (novel) because it's a funny, unsentimental story about deciding who you're going to be as a woman. — Petra Mayer, books editor
You're The Worst (TV series) because it's another bawdy, frank and sneakily romantic comedy. — Margaret Willison, book critic
The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl (Web series) because it's a painfully funny, yet relatable examination of one woman's career, love life and friendships. — Jessica Reedy, Pop Culture Happy Hour producer
Like Zootopia? You might also like...
Watership Down by Richard Adams (novel) because it's a marvelous, moving, social-allegory-packed story about a determined bunny who changes his world. — Petra Mayer, books editor
The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss (children's book) because it's a cute cartoon allegory about the serious topic of racism. — Petra Mayer, books editor
The Muppet Show (1976 TV series) because it's an ostensibly kid-oriented thing that's often slyly adult. Also, it's the Muppets, and you can't go wrong with vintage Muppets. — Petra Mayer, books editor
Like Brooklyn? You might also like...
My Ántonia by Willa Cather (novel) because it's also the story of a young woman finding herself in a new, strange environment. — Lynn Neary, arts correspondent
Call The Midwife (TV series) because it's about midwives in London's East End in the 1950s coming of age, experiencing homesickness and finding their place in the world. — Margaret Willison, book critic
Like Popstar? You might also like...
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (novel) because it's a depiction of life spent at the beck and call of a rich and powerful personality. — Rose Friedman, arts editor
Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky (novel), in which a group of teenage girls kidnaps a member of the girls' favorite boy band, because it's a wickedly funny roast of pop music stars. — Jessica Reedy, Pop Culture Happy Hour producer
Veep (TV series) because it's a similarly irreverent look at a person in a position of (... let's call it "power") and the fawning staff she depends on for daily validation. — Rose Friedman, arts editor
Like The Lego Movie? You might also like...
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (novel) because it's a pop-culture-packed story of a team of adventurers at play in a created world. — Petra Mayer, books editor
Brick By Brick by David C. Robertson and Bill Breen (nonfiction) because it's a look at some creative decisions the company made (ones you might not have noticed) that contributed to Legos becoming a cultishly popular toy. — Rose Friedman, arts editor
Minecraft (video game) because you get to channel your inner Master Builder and create a kinetic cubist universe. — Jessica Reedy, Pop Culture Happy Hour producer
Like Boyhood? You might also like...
My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard (nonfiction) because of its intensely close focus on a boy's youth and adolescence and the remarkable magnitude of its ambition. — Colin Dwyer, digital news producer
The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven by Sherman Alexie (short stories) because both share a kind of dream logic and a malleable sense of time. — Genevieve Valentine, book critic
The Up Series (TV documentary series) because it also intermittently tracks a group of children as they grow and change with time. — Beth Novey, arts producer
Like Straight Outta Compton? You might also like...
The Rap Year Book by Shea Serrano and Arturo Torres (nonfiction) because obviously. — Juan Vidal, book critic
Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor (comic) because it offers a lively historical examination of the rap revolution — and its evolution. — Glen Weldon, Pop Culture Happy Hour panelist
Song Exploder (podcast) because in each episode a musician offers a look inside the creative process by dissecting a single song. (Imagine N.W.A. breaking down the expletive-filled recording process for "Boyz-N-the-Hood.") — Jessica Reedy, Pop Culture Happy Hour producer
Like Fifty Shades Of Grey? You might also like...
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (novel) because it's got BDSM erotica for days, but in this one, there's also a genuinely epic fantasy plot, a total badass heroine and way kinkier sex. — Camila Domonoske, Two-Way blogger
The Fall (TV series) because its star Jamie Dornan is amazing in this series in the role of a serial killer. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
My Dad Wrote A Porno (podcast) because it's a funny British show in which three people dissect a piece of self-published erotica by the host's father and analyze what is and isn't sexy in print. — Tasha Robinson, book critic
Like Blackfish? You might also like...
Beneath The Surface by John Hargrove (nonfiction) because it's an account of a SeaWorld trainer and about one man's concerns over orcas in captivity. — Tasha Robinson, book critic
The Great Penguin Rescue by Dyan deNapoli (nonfiction) because if you care about animals that live in the water, this is a vastly happier tale. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
Harvest Of Shame (TV documentary) because like Blackfish, this famous 1960 documentary about poverty was designed to shock and to inspire action. — Petra Mayer, books editor
Like Selma? You might also like...
March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell (comic) because it's a firsthand, down in the trenches account of the civil rights movement that's not afraid to be irreverent about the big names. — Petra Mayer, books editor
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (nonfiction) because it's also a story about American civil rights and the tragic, systematic discrimination that emerged since Selma against some of this country's most vulnerable citizens. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
John Adams (TV miniseries) because it's an intimate look at the defining moments (and inner conflicts) of an American historical figure. — Nicole Cohen, arts producer
Like The Fault In Our Stars? You might also like...
Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller (nonfiction) because it will deepen and enhance your sense of the memorable visit to the Anne Frank house in The Fault in Our Stars. — Neda Ulaby, arts reporter
When We Collided by Emery Lord (novel) because it tells a similarly compelling tale about two smart kids falling passionately in love under challenging circumstances. — Margaret Willison, book critic
Rent (musical) because in addition to a tragic romance, it boasts a gorgeous pop-rock score by Jonathan Larson and a tragic backstory (the composer died just before the show's opening). — Bob Mondello, movie critic
Like Chi-Raq? You might also like...
Lysistrata by Aristophanes (play) because it's basically the same story, invented 2,400 years ago. Knowing how at least one Greek viewed sexual relations in a male-dominated society is fascinating. — Ted Robbins, arts editor
The Wire (TV series) because it also talks |
-peer support. Panoply’s user experience centered around a technique called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which asks people to recast negative thoughts in a more objective light (this is called “reappraisal”). In traditional, face-to-face therapy, a practitioner might ask his patient to imagine the worst case scenario and then encourage him or her to rethink that scenario from a different perspective, to avoid psychological traps that can underly stress and depression. Panoply embraced this same idea; only instead of professional therapists, it relied on other users to help you rethink your situation. That we can use apps—particularly those embracing peer-to-peer support— to combat depression is still a new and relatively untested idea in psychology. "Self-guided, Web-based interventions for depression show promising results," Morris wrote in an article published earlier this year in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, "but suffer from high attrition and low user engagement."
After graduating from MIT, Morris decided to develop Panoply into a consumer-facing app. Koko is launching today on iOS. Much of the baseline thinking around Panoply is present in Koko, but there are a few key differences. For starters, Koko now runs on mobile devices instead of the web. Morris and his team streamlined its interface to make it feel like an addictive social app, and finessed its language to appeal to a wider audience. The app has also been rebranded to deal with “everyday stress,” instead of just depression, which Morris hopes will help improve adoption among people who don’t consider themselves mentally unhealthy.
Koko asks users to choose a topic of concern (think: school, work, relationships, family) and write, in a few sentences, the worst-case outcome of their worries. This worst case/best case practice, Morris explains, draws from positive psychology. “I believe what they type here is part of their experience,” he says. “That deep down it’s something they actually think, and it’s the rotten core that everything blisters out from.” Whatever the user types into the box then shows up on a card, that other users swipe through like Tinder profiles.
If someone sees a problem they can address, they click a bright pink button that says “Help rethink this.” A little text box pops up and gives the user prompts like, “What’s a more optimistic take on this situation?” Or “This could turn out better than you think because…” Responses can be upvoted (there’s no downvoting), to increase their visibility. All of the comments and posts are moderated in real time and an algorithm watches out for trigger words that indicate someone is dangerous to themselves or others.
While Koko encourages non-professionals to practice CBT skills like reappraisal, it provides no formal tutorial on how to do so. The prompts, Morris explains, are “sort of an implicit way for us to tell you what we want you to do on the app.” The trick is to make it feel light enough that people feel like using it even when they’re not experiencing distress themselves. Morris claims that one of the biggest benefits of an app like Koko isn’t getting advice, but giving it. The way he views it, mental health is like a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly if we want it to be strong. “If you can hone the skill of being able to rethink stressful situations, you can really gain this super power of resilience,” says Morris. “The problem is, it’s really hard to do.” He believes teaching others is the most effective way to hone that skill in one's self.
A Boom In Apps
Koko is the latest in a recent wave in apps that focus on mental health. Of the 142 mental health startups listed on AngelsList, more than 90 of them joined in 2015. Steven Chan, a behavioral sciences researcher at UC Davis who is working with the American Psychiatric Association to create a set of guidelines for mental health apps, says that the recent interest in developing applications to address mental health isn’t a coincidence. “This is really the last frontier for digital health,” he says. “Up until now, not as much attention has been paid to mental health because of the stigma and the question of reimbursement.” But Chan says that's changing, as demonstrated by projects like the Excellence in Mental Health Act of 2014, which is slated to contribute more than $1 billion in grant money to mental health programs, and make medicaid reimbursements easier to claim. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to destigmatize mental illness. The increase in interest, and investment potential, has led to a flourishing ecosystem of apps that claim to do everything from diagnose conditions to alleviate stress to improve mindfulness.
The problem is, selecting a quality app from that ecosystem is still a crapshoot. Most apps on the market are clinically unproven, and formal associations like the APA don’t usually endorse specific third party apps—a notable exception being UK's National Health Service (NHS). In March 2013, the NHS launched a "library" of recommended mental health apps. As of July, that library contained just 27 apps. And what's more, a report published last month in the journal Evidence Based Mental Health concluded many of them probably had no business being on the list in the first place. Of the 27 apps then listed in the NHS apps library, 14 were dedicated to the management of depression and anxiety. Only four of them were supported by research. Of those four, only two had been evaluated using validated metrics. (The NHS has since removed its list of recommended apps, and is "working to upgrade" the library.)
Why isn't anybody evaluating the effectiveness of these apps? “There’s not much incentive,” says researcher Simon Leigh, a co-author on the report published in EBMH. “If you can sell your app on the app store anyway, why would you bother spending your money on developing a study when you can put into marketing, instead?” A 2013 study showed that of 1,536 apps that dealt with depression, only 32 had accompanying published articles. Leigh says he suspects that ratio will improve as the field of mobile mental health matures and official organizations get a better idea of what actually makes an app effective and useful. But that's going to take some time. “I don’t think there’s much of an idea, outcome-wise, to what people would like to see,” he says… “If done properly, apps can do an amazing amount of good. It’s just having a way to wean out the those that are good and those that don’t stand up to the mark.”
Morris says Koko, itself, will become something of an evolving study over time. Though it doesn’t collect personal information like names, emails or phone numbers, the content posted to the app is public. “With this data alone, we can gain insights about the types of responses that seem most helpful,” Morris says. “We can also start to understand which response-strategies pair best with different problems and different user personalities.”
Morris explains that he plans to share the data gathered from Koko with large research universities in order to continually assess the efficacy of the app and to learn which people benefit most from Koko’s peer-to-peer model. “To acquire some of these deeper insights, we would need additional information, but that would only be collected by users who have provided their explicit, informed consent,” he says. “We think these insights could be beneficial not just for Koko, but for the entire field of mental health.”Posted March 27, 2017 at 1:00 am
It's too early to specify what precisely this storyline is poking fun at, but I will say it's basically a genre unto itself.
I was hoping to use basic animation techniques to make this chibi-style storyline easier to make (the copy and pasting I was referring to in the previous commentary). I did that for the robot butler in the previous storyline and discovered some tricks while doing so, but after some experimenting, I've learned I'm not ready to go directly from a simple robot butler to chibi Susan and pals.
It's something I'll keep experimenting with as there are some non-canon storylines it could be great for while basically putting production on warp speed. I'm not going to do it if it's terribly noticeable, however. The goal is everyone looking really consistently on-model, not a sudden major shift in style or sudden lack of physical expression.Students chanting pro-reform slogans filled university campuses following the death of the Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri from a heart attack at the age of 87. His grandson, Nasser Montazeri, said he had died in his sleep.
Ayatollah Montazeri was originally a follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary, and was seen in the 1980s as his natural successor.
But he came to oppose the dictatorial nature of the regime, particularly its mass executions of members of an opposition movement in the years before Ayatollah Khomeini's death, and ended up one of its fiercest critics.
He spent five years in the late 1990s under house arrest, and even after his release he continued to oppose what he termed the regime's repression. He attacked the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this year.
Nevertheless, he remained in Qom, the holy city seen as the regime's birthplace, and supporters were converging on the city from all over the country to attend his funeral, due to take place today/Monday.
Reformist websites last night were also reporting that crowds were gathering in Tehran.
"My grandfather died in his sleep last night," said Nasser Montazeri. "People and friends are coming to express their condolences but there are no special security measures around our house."
Tagheer, the website of the reformist defeated election candidate Mehdi Karroubi said: "The social network of the reform movement has called on its supporters to gather in Mohseni Square (in Tehran) to mourn. Based on reports people have already gathered in some other squares in Tehran."
By yesterday evening more security forces had been put on alert out of fear the funeral could become yet another focus for opposition rallies. Tagheer said there were reports of riot squads being seen in various parts of Qom.
Videos were already being posted by midafternoon on YouTube of impromptu gatherings at universities of students who chanted slogans in his memory. In one, they can be heard shouting: "Montazeri, you are finally free."
In his home town, Najafabad, shops were closed and crowds poured into the streets. Mourners chanted: "Innocent Montazeri, your path will continue."CTV Vancouver
Christy Clark's decision to accuse the NDP of a crime before she had any evidence is raising potentially damaging questions about her credibility just months before the election.
On Thursday, the B.C. premier appeared on a Kamloops radio station, admitting she rushed to judgement when she blamed the opposition for an alleged hack of the BC Liberals' website.
"I was really mad about it. I did draw a quick conclusion I think that many others would, based on the circumstances," Clark told CHNL.
She did not offer an apology, however, and went on to repeat her party's claim that there is evidence tracing the alleged hack back to a computer IP address at the provincial legislature.
"We should all be concerned that, you know, somebody is trying to subvert our democratic process, just like what happened in the United States," she said.
The Liberals have not provided any evidence of the IP claim publicly. Staffers said it was discovered during an internal investigation into what happened.
The information that was allegedly hacked was gathered through a public consultation on Vancouver Island, but the NDP has maintained it was publicly accessible on the Liberals' website.
The opposition has also suggested the data was published publicly by the Liberals' own staff by accident.
The NDP said it's consulting a lawyer about Clark's accusation, and leader John Horgan has called on the premier to apologize to all British Columbians.
"When your leader thinks it's OK to pull things out of thin air for a few days and run with it, it's troubling," he said. "It speaks to the premier's character."
With the provincial election looming, Clark is likely to face more questions about her credibility. It's possible voters will be hearing more unproven allegations before the campaign is over as well; James Lawson, a political scientist with the University of Victoria, said the Great White North is no stranger to U.S.-style political tactics.
"We shouldn't deceive ourselves in Canada… that somehow Canadians are too nice for this kind of politics," Lawson said.
It's unclear whether the Liberals have contacted the RCMP about the alleged hack. Communications staffer Emil Scheffel said the party was preparing a police report Monday, but the Liberals did not respond to CTV News’ repeated questions about the status of that report Thursday.
B.C.'s Privacy Commissioner has confirmed it was notified about an alleged breach of the Liberals' website.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Bhinder SajanWe’re making some additional buffs, such as Pain Suppression and Barkskin, undispellable.
We think we overnerfed Every Man for Himself, and are reverting it back to a 2-minute cooldown again. We might evaluate other racials after we’ve seen more PvP.
Death Knight
Forums
Cataclysm Talent Calculator
Beta Skills/Talents
We want to make sure Unholy DKs prefer two-handed weapons.
Necrotic Strike needs to be affected by resilience.
For Cataclysm, we changed Death Strike almost completely into an ability for Blood DK tanks, which is a bit unfortunate. We want to make sure it is still a useful button for Frost or Unholy DKs who need healing.
We also want to address DK mobility in PvP.
Druid
Forums
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Beta Skills/Talents
Even after we fixed their mastery, Feral druid bleeds still do a lot of damage and are undispellable. We plan to shift some of that damage back to main attacks. They are also a little too hard to control. Given that they are already hard to root, snare, or polymorph, we think the fear immunity from Berserk is too much.
We’re buffing Wild Mushroom. It’s a cool spell that isn’t getting enough play.
Empowered Touch will now benefit from Regrowth as well. We’re also buffing the Glyph of Regrowth.
We are looking at Holy Concentration (after our most recent buff) and Omen of Clarity to make sure they don’t account for too much mana savings.
Hunter
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Beta Skills/Talents
As part of the Marks and Beastmaster buffs, we’re buffing Aimed Shot, Kill Shot, Chimera Shot, and Kill Command.
Mage
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To reduce mage control, we are discussing reducing the duration of Frost Nova and Ring of Frost.
Paladin
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Censure will no longer break Repentance.
Priest
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For Holy priests, we’re increasing Chakra’s duration and changing Surge of Light so it can now from Flash Heal and Greater Heal and can crit.
Rogue
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We want to make it clear that Combat is intended to use fast off-hand weapons. We also want to polish Revealing Strike a bit.
Shaman
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We want to make sure Enhancement shaman avoid caster weapons.
Warlock
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We are probably going to remove Drain Mana from warlocks. It is incredibly situational in PvE but causes problems in PvP. This might mean we need to evaluate Mana Burn as well.
Inferno will no longer increase the radius of Hellfire.
Shadow and Flame can now proc from Incinerate in addition to Shadow Bolt.
We want to redesign Improved Soulfire.
Warrior
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Arms warrior burst damage might still be too high in PvP, while we don’t have a great way to adjust their sustained damage for PvE. The Lambs to the Slaughter talent is a good place to address this. We also might nerf warrior stuns.
We think Arms and Fury warriors are getting too much damage out of Heroic Strike. We want it to be clear that it’s a rage dump and not make it the hardest hitting ability.
We have a lot of players at 85 now doing everything from Heroic dungeons to rated Battlegrounds, and the class design team is starting to prepare our list of items to investigate for our next patch.Before you dive down into the meat below (not really a pleasant image, that), be advised that we’re still early in the preliminary stages. The patch isn’t coming out tomorrow. I wrote this before the end of the year and other things may have cropped up in the meantime. Just because your class or pet problem isn’t mentioned below doesn’t mean we won’t address it.We’re happy with damage overall. We have very few traditional tank and spank fights (even Argaloth likes to parry melee) so it’s hard to get consistent numbers without very large data sets. Still, we see Survival hunters and Unholy DKs on top of a lot of single target fights. Arcane, Marksman, and Beastmaster damage is too low. Retribution, Shadow, and Fire and Frost mage damage might be too low, but we’re still watching them. We aren’t seeing a lot of Subtlety rogues in PvE yet, so that sample size is still small. On fights where there is a lot of area damage, Demonology warlocks, Frost DKs and possibly Survival hunters are all too high. Shadow priest AE, mostly due to a weak Mind Sear, feels too low.Healing in PvE is working out pretty much as intended. There are some Heroic dungeon bosses that are probably tougher than the required item level average permits. In general, you might have a tough time upon zoning into a Heroic dungeon with a bunch of strangers as soon as Dungeon Finder permits, especially if your group isn’t willing to communicate and work together. We want Heroics to be challenging -- if you want to zerg the content, stick to normal dungeons.Tank balance overall seems good at this point in time. Threat seems to be in a good place -- good tanks don’t have much of a problem, but they can’t “phone it in” either. We’re seeing all four tanks get a lot of use, even on Heroic raid fights. That could change as more guilds are able to make serious heroic attempts.The larger health pools, decreased impact of Mortal Strike debuffs, and slower healing are all having the desired effect in PvP. Burst damage has its place, but doesn’t determine the outcome of every encounter. There are several individual abilities that we aren’t happy with in PvP.We’re keeping a close eye on dispels. We still like the design of making dispels more of a commitment rather than liberally sprinkling around dispel resistance or consequences for every class. Defensive dispels (removing a debuff) generally feel good, but we think offensive dispels (removing an enemy buff) feel too powerful, especially for DPS specs. In particular, Purge and Spellsteal will probably get nerfed.We’re also looking at crowd control, interrupts, and self-healing in PvP. It’s possible we’ll reduce the durations of some crowd control effects, especially the area effect ones, and decrease the duration of interrupts.Priests are a little weak in PvP, especially at mobile healing. We have made some changes to glyphs and talents to enhance their survivability and instant healing.We also want to make sure the epic PvP gear isn’t too easy for just anyone to obtain, given that the PvE endgame content is more challenging than it was in Lich King. We don’t want the player base to just migrate to the most efficient epic delivery mechanism; we want you to participate in what you find most enjoyable.We’ll make a pass to make stats that aren’t attractive (but are supposed to be) more attractive. For example, we don’t want Assassination rogues to dismiss crit or Feral tanks to dismiss haste. We are considering making some physical attacks such as Lacerate, Steady Shot, and Slam scale with haste.Mastery is a new stat for us, and there are a few specs that don’t value it enough. In some cases (e.g. Combat rogues), the design for mastery is fine and we just need to buff the effects to make it more desirable. In others, we don’t think it’s possible to buff mastery enough in its current form. For example, the Retribution mastery, Hand of Light, is fun, but it doesn’t contribute enough damage. To make it contribute enough damage, the proc would need a very high chance, which then can cause paladins to devalue other sources of Holy Power. Instead, we are redesigning Retribution mastery to add a percentage of the damage of Templar’s Verdict, Crusader Strike, and Divine Storm as Holy damage (which also plays better with Inqusition). Because Hand of Light is fun, however, we are going to change Divine Purpose as a chance to proc Hand of Light instead of a chance for extra Holy Power (which will also remove a little of the randomness from the rotation). Unholy DKs are another spec for whom mastery just isn’t working out. Our current intent is to redesign their mastery so that their attacks cause more damage to diseased targets (in a similar manner to the Restoration druid mastery).Some additional class-specific tweaks (keeping in mind this is not the full list):“GC, is this the final list of changes? Does this mean I can expect no changes for my class? Does this mean you don’t care about me?”No. This is some stuff we are looking at so that you’ll have some context if you see changes on a future PTR. The final list of class patch notes for the next patch will doubtless be much longer.- Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street is the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft. He uses words like “potpourri.”So Ragen is a keynote speaker at a weight stigma conference in Iceland. Check out the page and read her bio because I am going to break it down for you.
“Ragen Chastain is a world-renowned size-acceptance activist.”
This is a little subjective. But I would hardly call her ‘world-renowned.’ She hasn’t had received any mainstream press in over two years.
“She authors the blog Dances With Fat, which received one and a half million views in 2014.”
This is a prime example of how Ragen massages the truth. I am not disputing that her blog received over 1.5 million views in 2014. But what she is not telling you is that these are page views – NOT unique visitors. She skews this even further because 80% of the links in her blog just link back to her old posts. I wrote about her blog claims here.
and is the body image and health blogger for NBC’s iVillage
iVillage doesn’t even exist anymore. It was merged with today.com in 2013. The most recent article I could find from her was from ivillage.ca in 12/14. There are some older links on the NBC Today site but the most recent I could find was from 2013.
she is a columnist for Ms Fit magazine
Most recent post was 12/2013.
She has been instrumental in a number of major activism campaigns, including The Georgia Billboard Project, which raised over $20,000 in eight days and put up six billboards and ten bus shelter ads in Atlanta, Georgia
I’ll give her the bus campaign because she did pull that off. But I’ve documented her other fundraising. None of which led to anything but her taking money from people and not delivering. For example, The Paper Mache Project and The History of Fat Activism.
Has completed a marathon
Technically true. But a 13 hour marathon is nothing to write home about. Even more concerning is her total lack of regard for the volunteers that waited around for 4 hours after the last person finished. And to put this in the proper context… the woman that finished four hours before her? Phyllis Church from Alaska. She is 77. Yup – Ragen Chastain, self proclaimed ‘Elite Athlete’ finished walking a marathon FOUR hours after a 77 year old woman.
AdvertisementsScientists have been making amazing advances in bionic technology in recent years: robotic exoskeletons that help people walk, artificial eyes that help blind people see. Some of these technologies are meant as medical aids to help people regain function. But some of this research — by, say, the military — is meant to help give people superhuman capabilities.
And that raises all sorts of thorny ethical questions. Is there any point at which human augmentation is just wrong? Or are these just tools like any other — and part of our inevitable future?
To explore these questions further, I called up Jonathan Moreno, an ethicist at UPenn who's written extensively on these issues, including in his book Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the 21st Century. Some highlights from our interview are below.
Artificial limbs may become so advanced, we'll prefer them to normal limbs
"People may end up liking them better," says Moreno. "But my guess is that they'll like them better for certain things, and under some circumstances they won't want to use them. A prosthetic arm might be a great idea if you're trying to play a sport. But if you're trying to make a sexual conquest, it may not be so good, unless we've evolved to the point where it's socially acceptable to put on your bionic arm."
But humans are unlikely to become full cyborgs
When many of us think of human augmentation, we think of cyborgs — people who are half human, half machine. Moreno is skeptical that this is what the future will look like. "That's the way we've sort of been conditioned to think of it," he says. "And then we know, of course, about the exoskeletons that DARPA is developing and so forth. We tend to think of it that way, but I'm not sure that's right."
"Could there be a world in which we're all bionic, the old science fiction stuff, all bionic bodies? I kind of doubt it."
Instead, the future will probably be a bit more biological — using human cells to create new organs or encourage the body to regenerate limbs, for example. "I think it's going to take a long time for this to work out, but what's going on right now in the tissue engineering labs, in the stem cell labs, ultimately I think that's where we're going and that these other sort of static-material technologies, these non-biological technologies, are a bridge — but they're not the final answer."
"There are certainly people who think that there's no reason that we can't somehow remember what our bodies have lost in evolutionary time, which is how to regrow a limb. Because there are obviously animals that do that, reptiles do that."
Steroids are nothing compared to what's coming
The military could possibly use the tissue-engineering approach to someday develop strong supersoldiers. "It would be figuring out a way to get our normal ability to grow muscle cells and tissues to be even better. So you would introduce stem cells that would help the muscles grow."
This may, however, be a ways off. "I won't be around to see it," Moreno says. "But I think in 30, 40, 50 years there will be some of that. And the junk that our athletes take now to grow muscle mass and so forth, that's going to be prehistoric. I really think that tissues will be the way to go."
"That's going to start mostly with tissues for therapeutic purposes, not for enhancement. You've got the tissue engineers and the people working with these new induced pluripotent stem cells and things like that, are trying to find alternatives to organ transplants. And eventually I have no doubt that people will find that there are some ways of using programs like that to build muscle."
There might be limits to how far we can augment humans
Moreno thinks there are likely natural boundaries of how far we can push the human body. Many advances might help restore human function — helping blind people see, helping people walk again. But superhuman soldiers could be more difficult. "If the cognitive-enhancement area has taught us anything, it's that it's hard to get the body, including the brain, to function at a continuously, reliably higher level than some physiological norm. It's much easier, it seems, to get somebody up to some physiological norm than it is to make them a lot better than that."
What's really at stake: our humanity
I asked Moreno what the creepiest thing about human augmentation was. "The creepiest thing is that we become more than human. Much of the history of ideas in the last 150 years, I think, is a response to Nietzsche, who said human beings, basically, that this is as far as we're going to get. And to solve all these problems we have we're going to have to develop an Overman or Superman, something that's more than human. And this whole business about transhumanism, the platform is really Nietzsche."
"For people like you and me, will we be able to redesign ourselves so that we really are transhuman and we live a lot longer and we live a lot healthier and we're a lot stronger and smarter and faster?"
"What that adds up to is a debate among social conservatives: Is there something we're giving up when we're no longer essentially what destiny decided we would be or what we were fated to be? At some point are we really giving up what it means to be human?"
"So part of that is the genetic lottery. And the other part of that is to be human you're supposed to strive. You're supposed to work really hard."
"The whole embryonic stem cell debate — that was all about this. That was all about feeling that the life sciences, biology, was taking us in a scary direction where we really were going to lose what it is to be truly human."
We might not ever be comfortable with some body modifications
In one sense, humans are already cyborgs — we're connected, via our smartphones, to an enormous body of information. We outsource much of our knowledge and memory to the internet. But people tend to freak out if you start talking about implanting an RFID chip into people, or a wire or electrodes. Interfering with the human body seems to be something we're uncomfortable with.
"It does seem to be," Moreno says. "But if it's cultural, then we can get habituated and become inured to it. It's an open question. And maybe people will not be freaked out by the wiring after a number of people have had it for a while. I don't know. These things that we do to our bodies, we do tend to become habituated. And artificial stuff, I think, is less tendentious as we go on with it."
"It's true there may be psychological limitations. No one really knows. I think if it's aesthetically acceptable, if it doesn't interrupt the contours of the human body, then I think it's more likely to be accepted — if it's invisible to us or if it fits a certain matrix we have in our head about what the human body's supposed to look like. So I think internal implants will be much more acceptable. But if it's grossly external it could be a problem."
"I think it's because we do have these deep — I would say even evolutionarily conserved — ideas about the human body that are really hard to change."
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Voicing his discontent with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in United States v. Pineda-Moreno, which declared the warrantless use of a GPS tracking device to be constitutional, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski warned, "We are taking a giant leap into the unknown, and the consequences for ourselves and our children may be dire and irreversible. Some day, soon, we may wake up and find we're living in Oceania."
Indeed, we are already living in George Orwell's totalitarian state known as Oceania, where the all-seeing government sees and tracks everything we do. By asserting that the police can constitutionally sneak onto a private driveway without a warrant and stick a GPS tag on your car so that they can remotely track you, the Ninth Circuit didn't necessarily break any new ground. Rather, they merely confirmed what we have suspected all along: that the concept of private property is dead and along with it, the right against unreasonable searches and seizures once protected by the Fourth Amendment.
Having outstripped our ability as humans to control it, technology has become our Frankenstein's monster. Delighted with technology's conveniences, its ability to make our lives easier by doing an endless array of tasks faster and more efficiently, we have given it free rein in our lives, with little thought to the legal or moral ramifications of doing so. Thus, we have no one but ourselves to blame for the fact that technology now operates virtually autonomously according to its own invasive code, respecting no one's intimate moments or privacy and impervious to the foibles of human beings and human relationships.
For example, consider how enthusiastically we welcomed Global Positioning System (GPS) devices into our lives. We've installed this satellite-based technology in everything from our phones to our cars to our pets. Yet by ensuring that we never get lost, never lose our loved ones and never lose our wireless signals, we are also making it possible for the government to never lose sight of us, as well.
GPS, originally known as Navstar, is funded and operated by none other than the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. military controls the satellites used by GPS devices and transmits signals to ground GPS receivers. The U.S. Air Force, by means of ground stations, sustains 24 operational GPS satellites at all times. These synchronized satellites emit signals at the same time. A GPS receiver located on earth collects the signals that travel at the speed of light. The receiver calculates the distance to the satellites by determining the time it takes for the emitted signal to reach the GPS receiver. Once a time is determined for at least four of the GPS satellites, the receiver can pinpoint your location in three dimensions, including latitude, longitude, and altitude.
While many Americans are literally lost without their GPS devices, it has also become a ubiquitous convenience for law enforcement agencies. For example, in 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) introduced a prototype "smart" police car. This smart cruiser is the most advanced of its kind, equipped with license plate cameras, computers, a GPS projectile launcher, and even a heat detector in the front grill to differentiate between people and animals. The license plate reader can scan and download five to eight thousand license plates per shift. It saves the information it collects and can access the information instantaneously through the computer system installed in the car. If a stolen or wanted vehicle comes up in the scan, the license plate reader will automatically label the vehicle as a threat and a camera will take a colored picture of the vehicle and send the GPS coordinates of the vehicle to the police station.
In addition to the high tech license plate readers and cameras, the smart car is equipped with GPS-enabled projectiles. The device is similar to a dart launcher and is near the front bumper of the vehicle. The projectile is three inches in diameter. When engaged, the device shoots the GPS projectile at the target vehicle. The law enforcement agent inside the car arms and fires the projectile. With the aid of a military grade laser, the law enforcement agent can aim with tremendous precision. Once attached to the target, the projectiles have the capability of tracking the target in real time for days. The LAPD is currently shopping for a manufacturer willing to mass produce these cars in order to make them available to law enforcement agencies across the country.
Frankly, given how attached Americans have become to their cell phones -- and how easily trackable, as a result -- it's a wonder the government even bothers with any other technologies. Currently, cell phone service providers have the ability to pinpoint a phone's location to an area as small as a city block. (It should come as no surprise that government agents have wasted little time in adding this technology to their bag of tricks, employing GPS on multiple occasions to track individuals without establishing probable cause or obtaining a search warrant.) Most corporate cell phone providers can also store vast amounts of data containing the location of the cell phone and its specific uses (such as the contents of text messages and websites visited), sometimes even in real time.
In an effort to handle the massive amount of requests from federal agents for access to the GPS data, several cell phone providers now offer automated services for obtaining internal cell phone data. Sprint Nextel, for example, has an entire website devoted to cell phone records that law enforcement officers can access. Called the Mobile Locator, the system allows law enforcement to access information, such as call history, without a search warrant, thus completely bypassing the protections afforded us by the Fourth Amendment. It also enables government agents to monitor an individual in real-time on a zoomable, online map.
A recent study by Indiana University reveals the extent to which government agents are making use of this resource. According to the study, over a period of 13 months, Sprint responded to eight million requests from law enforcement for GPS data. In addition to GPS data, Sprint also stores IP data and URL web history for a two-year period, which it also makes available to law enforcement upon request.
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies insist that a search warrant is not required to access the information because cell phone users, having disclosed their information to a third party, have no reasonable expectation of privacy anyhow. All the while, the American people remain clueless about the existence of these databases, the ease with which law enforcement agents can access them, and their overall loss of privacy.
The bottom line: there really is no place to hide in the American Oceania. As Judge Kozinski concludes:Getty Images
Updates from Thursday, April 24
Henry K. Lee of the San Francisco Gate reported on Agu's cause of death:
A Cal football player who collapsed in February during a training run outside Memorial Stadium died of a heart condition that has been a common cause of sudden deaths among athletes, authorities said Wednesday. Ted Agu, 21, died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or excessive thickening of the heart muscle, according to the Alameda County coroner's office. The ailment has killed many young athletes, including basketball players Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis.
Original Text
California Golden Bears defensive lineman Ted Agu passed away on Friday morning. He was 21.
Jeff Faraudo of the Contra Costa Times reports his death was confirmed by the school's football program |
gonna happen, but now we’re at least getting people to treatment. Now, let’s address that. We need more beds.”
The rise in out-of-town transports isn’t unique to Tulsa. Statewide, law enforcement transports increased by 86 percent from fiscal year 2012 and FY2016.
Decrease in access to care
As the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse has made cuts to its programs due to budget shortfalls, outpatient treatment options have decreased, said Carrie Slatton-Hodges, deputy commissioner of treatment and recovery of the agency.
“And so as we see our outpatient treatment decrease due to funding cuts, we see a higher number of calls throughout the state of people in crisis,” Slatton-Hodges said.
People who can’t access outpatient services as easily — or as early — are more likely to end up in a crisis situation, she said.
Outpatient care tends to be less expensive than inpatient care, and adding more inpatient beds would mean taking away funds from outpatient and preventative services, Beaman said.
“People love to beat this drum of no inpatient beds and sure, we all want more inpatient beds,” Beaman said. “I want them because I don’t like housing patients within the hospital or whatnot, but it’s really a chicken or the egg thing.”
“We’re talking about a very, very sick population who needs to take a pill every day, and if they don’t take a pill they get arrested. … And if we’re going to cut those services then we’re going to need more beds.”
The number of state beds in Oklahoma increased from 2010 to 2016, from 401 to 431. Many of those increases were in facilities in the Tulsa area.
In Tulsa, Hillcrest Medical Center is the only private hospital that accepts people in need of an inpatient psychiatric bed without a payer source. Laureate Psychiatric Clinic & Hospital generally only takes people without a source if they come in through its emergency room.
If a resident has a payer source — insurance or self-payments — their options for inpatient care grow significantly. But for residents without those resources, services in Tulsa can be slim.
When beds in state facilities that accept patients without a payer source fill up, the person in crisis is often transported out of town.
“Normally why that happens is there will be a person and there may be a bed in Tulsa at a private facility, but if the person doesn’t have insurance then they’re not going to accept a transfer of a person that doesn’t have a payer source,” Slatton-Hodges said.
“So they may have to go further to find a bed for someone that has no payer source.”
The budget shortfall and decrease of access to outpatient care isn’t the only to blame for the increase in out-of-town transports, Slatton-Hodges said. Patients with private insurance filling state facilities may be making the problem worse.
“I think also Tulsa over the years has lost private beds, as well,” she said. “So when you lose private beds and people don’t want to transport them, we might fill up (a state psychiatric hospital) with private insurance, medicaid, medicare patients.”
Correction: The original version of this story misspelled the name of Tulsa Police Department Capt. Shellie Seibert. It has been corrected.
Your financial support for our investigative journalism is now tax deductible. To become a Friend of The Frontier, click here.BENGALURU: Flipkart Internet Private Limited, the locally registered marketplace unit of the online retail giant, has seen its losses more than double to Rs 2,306 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2016.Losses were up by 110%, as the Bengaluru-based company continued to ramp up spending to fend off US-based online retail giant Amazon’s $5-billion war chest for India.Sales were up at a much faster clip of 153% during the year to Rs 1,952 crore, according to regulatory filings with Registrar of Companies (RoC). The pace of increase in both revenues and losses has come down as compared to the three-times jump in losses and four-times increase in revenues between FY14 and FY15. Flipkart Internet owns Flipkart.com and registers sales from seller commissions and other services like advertisements.Both Flipkart and Amazon have a slew of companies registered in India, which run their business across commerce, logistics, whole-sale and payments. These units gets capital infusion from investment holding companies registered overseas.Flipkart’s commerce business in India is housed under two companies, of which the first one is Flipkart Internet. Singapore-registered Flipkart Marketplace, which in turn is owned by the parent company Flipkart Limited, owns 99.74% stake in Flipkart Internet.The other main commerce unit is Flipkart India Private Limited, the wholesale cash-and-carry unit which is owned by Flipkart Limited directly and registers product sales.In FY15, Flipkart India and Flipkart Internet reported a combined a loss of Rs 2,000 cr ore. Combined sales trebled to Rs 10,390 crore in FY15, with Flipkart India accounting for over 90% of the sales. The numbers for financial year ending March 2016 for Flipkart India are yet to be filed.Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on Wednesday blasted Christian conservatives like Bryan Fischer who suggested that Americans were to blame for the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut because they had abandoned God.
“The fact is that is the ultimate statement of heresy,” he said on CNN. “This is not a religious man.”
Numerous figures on the Christian right, including James Dobson and Mike Huckabee, have linked the horrific mass killing of 20 young children to issues such as prayer in school, abortion and same sex marriage. They claim these issues prove the United States no longer respects God.
“Let’s be clear,” Boteach said. “Not only is he [Bryan Fischer] wrong that we kicked God out of our lives, the United States and the American people are the most righteous people in the world.”
“We have spent endless blood and treasure to defend complete strangers, women from being beaten up by the Taliban. Our soldiers died for those people. God is one our money. We give more charity than any nation on earth. We deserve better. I am tired of people maligning the American people and saying we deserve to suffer, we’ve kicked God out. This is the most religious country in the Western world.”
Boteach believes in a “theology of defiance” and that Americans should be holding God accountable.
“You know, the word ‘Israel’ literally translates as ‘he who challenges God’ and, if you look at the great stories of the Bible — yeah, the great stories of the Bible, like God says to Abraham, I’m going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He challenges God. He says, you are? But you’re the judge of the whole earth. How could you judge people unrighteously? We’re supposed to be in a partnership with God to protect life. We’re not supposed to always defend tragedy and blame ourselves.”
Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by CNN, below:? State Rep. Virgil Peck is defending his use of the state’s private plane to fly back to Topeka for an important vote on school finance earlier this month, despite the fact that he arrived too late to cast a vote.
Peck, a Republican from Montgomery County, was away from Topeka attending events in his district with Gov. Sam Brownback on Friday, March 13, when the House voted on final passage of a bill repealing the existing school finance formula and replacing it with a system of block grants for the next two years.
He had gone back home Thursday night, March 12, after the bill narrowly advanced to final action, in order to attend several public events in Coffeyville and Independence with Gov. Sam Brownback.
When the final action vote was taken Friday morning, there were initially only 62 votes in favor, one short of the 63 votes needed for passage. Peck was one of three Republicans known to support the bill who were absent, and so a “call of the House” was ordered at 8:15 a.m. to force those back to the chamber to vote.
The House held the roll open for two hours, waiting for the absent members to return.http://admin.ljworld.com/news/story/600063/
“I could have left in my car,” Peck said. “It would have taken three hours. I was told to wait for the plane.”
Brownback’s press secretary Eileen Hawley said the plane used that day was a twin-engine, propeller driven Air King plane that seats up to nine passengers.
According to the plane’s logs, which were obtained from the Kansas Highway Patrol through an open records request, the plane arrived in Coffeyville carrying Brownback and one aide at 9:12 a.m., nearly an hour after the call was ordered.
The logs show the plane left Coffeyville, carrying Peck as a passenger, about half an hour after that, at 9:43 a.m. and landed in Topeka at 10:15.
By the time it landed, however, the two other absent Republicans had just returned and cast their votes. The roll was closed and the final vote was tallied at 10:17 a.m., according to House records, and the bill passed, 64-57.
At 11:06 a.m., according to the flight logs, the plane left Topeka en route back to Coffeyville. Peck was listed as the only passenger on each leg of those flights.
Hawley had estimated the cost of each flight at $205. She said the Highway Patrol, which owns and operates the plane, typically sends a bill to the governor’s office for the cost of its flights.
Peck said he attended five events in Montgomery County that day, including three in Coffeyville and two in Independence.The Restaurant at Watermark chef Adair Scott | Contributed photo
Mention the word “Okanagan” to anyone, resident or visitor, and the first association is invariably “wine country.” And, while that is a huge and growing part of the sunny valley’s identity, it isn’t the whole story. From restaurants and innovative bakeries to breweries and distilleries, there is more than just wine to taste in the Okanagan. And, with the leaves turning and the cooler weather setting in, it’s an ideal time to go and explore what’s on the menu.
Integrated Eating
Chef Adair Scott of Watermark Beach Resort (WatermarkBeachResort.com) in Osoyoos has a keen interest in not only what’s local to the region, but also the stories behind the ingredients. The restaurant’s Farm to Vine menu has been recognized as one of Canada’s signature experiences and incorporates ingredients and wines from the Golden Mile in Oliver and the Similkameen Valley, as well as items that are made even closer to home. “It’s more than just the terroir,” says Scott. “It’s about telling the stories that have made this place what it is.” Take the Okanagan sockeye on the regular menu. Yes, it’s wild salmon from the Okanagan. Reintroduced to Osoyoos and Skaha Lakes as part of a community initiative led by the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance, the salmon that was once native and plentiful to these waters has been carefully restored and is providing environmentally-sustainable employment for the eight member bands of the alliance, not to mention some rather delicious fish for local restaurants like the Watermark.
The Hooded Merganser at Penticton Lakeside Resort (PentictonLakesideResort.com) follows a similar philosophy. The restaurant has, in fact, its own farm a short drive away from its downtown Penticton location. Valley View Farms lives up to its name, sitting on a hilltop overlooking wineries, gullies and the city of Penticton. It produces over 1,000 pounds of produce each week for the restaurant during the growing season, although staples are grown year-round. The farm is entirely organic, and in addition to the fruits and vegetables, there are laying hens that provide eggs and an apiary of ingenious Australian-designed beehives that allow you to remove the honey without disturbing the bees inside. Restaurant chef Chris Remington receives the daily deliveries from farm manager Michelle Younie and then designs menus around what’s in season. The restaurant also grows all of its own herbs onsite in the hotel gardens.
Valley View Farms supplied The Hooded Merganser restaurant at Penticton Lakeside Resort with much of its fresh produce. Anya Levykh photo
Meanwhile, at nearby Craft Corner Kitchen (CraftCornerKitchen.com), which just opened a few months ago, owner John Côté and executive chef James Holmes have taken their concept of “craft” and “local” to new levels of comfort. Everything that can be made in-house, from the bitters used in the cocktails to the house bread, is, or else is sourced as closely as possible. The pork is brined in ginger beer from The People’s Craft House just down the street, and it’s marvellously juicy and just a little sweet. The house bread, a dense chewy sourdough that is slightly toasted, gets drizzled with some balsamic reduction, herbs and salt. A buttermilk panna cotta steeped in Dubh Glass whisky from nearby Oliver is topped with local poached apricots and cornmeal tuile. Sit and enjoy at one of the massive reclaimed-wood tables or in the fairy-lighted garden patio and do not miss the pickled fried chicken if it’s on the menu.
Craft Corner Kitchen in Penticton. Anya Levykh photo
Small Bites, Big Flavours
Sometimes, the tastiest food can be found in the smallest places. Brodo Kitchen (TasteBrodo.com) in Penticton offers up simple and hearty sandwiches, soups and salads. This counter service restaurant is more than the sum of its mainly locavore parts. Ethereal tomato and parmesan soup with basil cream is topped with a parmesan crisp. The house green salad makes all other house salads cringe in shame, thanks to its bright pops of flavour from the fresh feta, seasonal berries, and bits of beets and bacon. Pair it with the barbecue pulled pork sandwich for a complete meal. A few streets away, Wine Crush Market (WineCrush-Market.com), which launched just before Labour Day, is doing something completely new. Owners Tyson Still and Bill Broddy, along with Broddy’s daughter Allie, have created a new product from what was originally destined for the compost heap. “Wineries pay to have their left over skins and seeds [the pomace] and lees [a dead yeasty substance that settles to the bottom of the tank] taken away when they’ve done their job in the tanks,” explains Still. “But, it’s still full of nutrients. We pick it up and mill it down into a dry powder that is added to our foods.” Those foods include a rather tasty and earthy sourdough bread, as well as muffins and other baked goods. There are also house pâtés and sausages, and even a cold-pressed grapeseed oil infused with Pinot Gris. You can also buy the powder on its own in different varietals. Some prepared foods have also joined the list, meaning you can now build a picnic to go.
For a sweet finish, hit up Patio Burger & Ice Cream Co. (PatioBurgerPenticton.com), a brand-new addition to the boardwalk that boasts an outdoor eating space reminiscent of a Fred Astaire summer flick, all white and shiny, with an actual boardwalk leading up to the counter. The ice cream is made in small batches using milk and cream from Blackwell Dairy in Kamloops. The French custard base is then used to create classic flavours like cookies and custard, hazelnut crunch, and blonde mint chip, as well as more seasonal flavours like the blueberry-peach sorbet. If you have room, definitely try the burgers, which are “single grip” and made from fresh chuck every day – and the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs are grown on the rooftop garden.
Sometimes, after a long day of sipping wine, all you want is some tacos and a soda. Enter El Sabor de Marina (no website), a tiny outdoor taco stand located in Oliver on Highway 97 along the Golden Mile. Sneeze as you drive by and you’ll miss it, but the tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc., will have you driving this stretch of highway more than once, especially once you try the pork pupusas. It’s not licensed, but that’s what ginger ale is for, right?
Spirited Moments
If you need a stronger chaser after wine tasting, check out Cannery Brewing (CanneryBrewing.com) for some of their excellent craft beers. Don’t be alarmed if you hear the sound of an axe thudding in the back, it’s just someone breaking up the Harker’s Organic pumpkins (from nearby Cawston) for the seasonal Knucklehead Pumpkin Ale. The pumpkins are roasted with brown sugar and brewed and seasoned for a warm, spiced flavour. The brewery also has a great pub-style menu featuring ridiculously good nachos with chicken, artichokes and peppers.
Need something even stronger? Old Order Distilling’s (OldOrderDistilling.ca) Black Goat vodka receives its dark hue from the plant minerals added during the blending process. It’s made entirely from barley from Vanderhoof, and botanicals grown on owner Graham Martens’ family farm in Summerland. Fairly neutral, it still serves up some earthy notes that make it a great martini spirit.
Overlooking Penticton is one of the Okanagan’s prettiest and most fertile spots, the Naramata Bench. Chock-full of wineries (and a few cheesemakers), it’s also home to the new Legend Distilling (LegendDistilling.com). Built in a former doctor’s office, the distillery focuses on gin and vodka, and one cold-brewed spiked coffee. While the Doctor’s Orders gin is perfect for a classic G&T with its notes of lavender, elderberry and mint, it’s the Defender Island gin, with its smoky taste (from the added charred local rosemary), that’ll keep you coming back. There’s also a brand-new kitchen, meaning some Southern-style barbecue with your vodka martini or cocktail (there’s a rotating list) is now a thing.
Legend Distilling in Penticton. Anya Levykh photo
Wine-Not?
Okay, I couldn’t resist adding in just one little winery. Play Estate Winery just opened its doors a few months ago, and, in fact, its own estate grapes are not yet ready for bottle (grapes have been sourced from local bench wineries in Naramata and Oliver), but the bistro here on the Skaha bluffs overlooking lake and city serves up some damn fine food thanks to chef Jeff Burns, like the pappardelle carbonara with double-smoked bacon, mushrooms, spring onions and parmesan. Pair with the rather nice Viognier, or for some more peppery notes, try the Syrah, with surprising acidity and pleasant cherry notes.
Play Estate Winery GM and winemaker Mohamed Awad. Anya Levykh
Where to Stay
Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos offers lake-front apartment-style accommodations in its suites and villas, with full, gourmet kitchens, oversized bathtubs and comfortable beds. Try to snag a villa, which all come with a private BBQ patio and at least two bedrooms. Great for families and groups. The littles will enjoy the waterslide, while adults will enjoy the pool-side service and excellent nosh. WatermarkBeachResort.com
Penticton Lakeside Resort is the only hotel in the city with its own private, full-service beach. Located in the heart of downtown Penticton, this is a great location from which to plan your walking and wine tours in the city and up on the famed Naramata Bench. PentictonLakesideResort.com
Want to find more places to visit? Check out VisitPenticton.com, WineCapitalOfCanada.com and DestinationOsoyoos.com.
Source: Tara Rafiq illustration
• Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.Former New York Jetsr starting quarterback Mark Sanchez is in Philadelphia tonight and is poised to take a physical with the Eagles on Thursday morning, according to multiple reports.
Sanchez is expected to sign with the Eagles and become their new backup quarterback behind Nick Foles after being released by the Jets last Friday. If Sanchez's surgically repaired shoulder checks out, he's expected to join the Eagles.
Sanchez was cut last Friday with a failed physical designation.
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He spent last season on injured reserve, undergoing minor knee surgery and a shoulder procedure for his torn labrum.
He was due a $2 million roster bonus this week.
The Jets saved $8.3 million against the salary cap by releasing him.
Sanchez went 37-31 as a starter. As a rookie, he passed for 2,444 yards.
He went to two AFC championship games, but struggled in 2011 and 2012 and was benched.
He led the NFL with 52 turnovers during that span.
Follow me on Twitter: @RavensInsider
Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun
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This story originally appeared on Nationalfootballpost.comOleg Volk It's time to act, every day, and all as one! Modern sporting rifles are no longer the only ones to be in danger!
It's thus more and more clear that anti-gun EU is not willing to back off, nor is it willing to stop at modern sporting firearms: they want all semi-automatic firearms to be banned everywhere, adopting British-style gun control EU-wide in a single move.
So, what to do next? First of all, everybody should answer to FIREARMS UNITED's call to action and make our voice be heard by the Members of the European Parliament: the more letters and E-Mails they'll receive, the clearer it will be for them that siding against the gun owners' community represents a political risk.
It's also paramount to do whatever possible in order to prevent the socialist and democrat group to reach a unitary position before the IMCO meeting scheduled for tomorrow, April 20th, 2016 (which will be broadcasted live here). Should it happen, Vicky Ford's draft report − which is all but perfect, but it's still undeniably a good starting point − could seriously risk to be be shot down.
That's why our entire community should mobilize once again, today, without delay, and all as one: everybody should write in their mother language and in English to all socialist-and-democrat MEPs and to all IMCO members in order to show them that the European people is overwhelmingly against the gun ban. This is the only kind of pressure that can counterbalance, or even outdo, the efforts of the anti-gun front that has so far shown its will to go to any lenghts in order to strip law-abiding European citizens of their rights!From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
The Walt Disney Company logo
The Walt Disney Company is a multi-billion dollar (NYSE:DIS) American media and entertainment corporation formed by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney on October 16, 1923, as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
Disney formerly owned the Miramax Films studio, formerly owners of the American rights to the Pokémon movies Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, Jirachi: Wish Maker, and Destiny Deoxys. The now-defunct Toon Disney cable channel, as well as the Disney XD family of cable channels that succeeded Toon Disney in the United States and Jetix in most of the rest of the world, occasionally showed those four Pokémon movies. Many versions of Disney XD air the Pokémon anime, such as Disney XD United States, Disney XD the United Kingdom and Ireland, Disney XD Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia), Disney XD Turkey, Disney XD Denmark, Disney XD Sweden, Disney XD Norway, Disney XD Poland, Disney XD Greece, Disney XD Italy, Disney XD France, Disney XD Germany, Disney XD Flanders/the Netherlands, and Disney XD India.
In terms of non-Pokémon anime, Disney also holds the outside-of-Japan worldwide rights to the majority of the films of noted anime studio Studio Ghibli, and co-produced a Japanese-only anime series based on its Lilo & Stitch franchise. It formerly held the airing rights for Digimon season 1-5 in the United States.North Korea calls for dissolution of United Nations Command in Seoul
Pyongyang : North Korea on Saturday called for the dissolution of the United Nations Command in Seoul. The call, made by the National Peace Committee of Korea the country's official institution dealing with inter-Korean issues said that the US brought the UN Command to Seoul in July 1957 in support of South Korea, shortly after the Korean War broke out in June 1950, Xinhua reported.
It said Washington's aim was to "internationalise the Korean peninsula issue and establish the Asia-version of NATO."
"The US and the pro-American elements of South Korea are working hard to preserve the UN Command, a leftover of the Cold War and lever for aggression," it added.
The statement accused the US of wanting to "ignite a second Korean war and stifle North Korea by force of arms under the signboard of the UN."Wednesday, December 7th, 2016 | Posted by Foz Meadows
The Axis trilogy (published in the US as the first three novels of The Wayfarer Redemption)
Owing to recent political developments, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about politics in SFF, not just as a general concept, but in relation to my own history with the genre. So often when we talk about politics in SFF, it’s in the context of authors – rightly or wrongly, consciously or unconsciously, skilfully or unskilfully – conveying their personal views and biases through the text, the whens and hows of doing so and why it matters, depending on the context. As a corollary conversation, we also talk a great deal in personal terms about the importance to readers, and particularly young readers, of representation; the power of seeing yourself, or someone like you, in multiple sorts of narrative. These are all vital conversations to have, and to continue having as both culture and genre evolve. Yet for all its similar importance, I haven’t often seen discussions about the ways that SFF informs our concept of politics in the more institutional sense: the presentation of different systems of government, cultures and social systems within narratives, and the lessons we take from them.
Which is, to me, surprising, because as far back as I can remember, I was always aware of the role of politics in genre stories, even if I couldn’t always articulate that knowledge at the time. At the very start of high school, Sara Douglass’s Axis trilogy became my entry point to the world of adult (as opposed to YA or middle grade) fantasy. In hindsight, there’s a great deal in that series – and in the sequel trilogy, The Wayfarer Redemption – that I now find deeply unsettling, but which, as a tween, I absorbed uncritically. But at the same time, I also recognised the predatory, insular monotheism of Artor the Ploughman as a deliberate analogue to certain toxic expressions of Christianity, its displacement of and propagandising about the Icarii and the Avar reminiscent of lies told about various native populations by white invaders. I wasn’t yet literate enough to identify the racial stereotypes underpinning the Avar in particular – a dark-skinned race who claimed to “abhor” violence, yet were externally said to “exude” it – but something in that description still unsettled me; I remember feeling strongly that it was an unfair characterisation in a way that went beyond the story, but couldn’t explain it any more than that.
[Click the images for bigger versions.]
A few years later, I started reading Raymond E. Feist at the recommendation of my then-group of geeky friends, all of whom were fans. I was still years away from coming to any sort of cogent understanding about tropes and their place in genre; nonetheless, while reading A Darkness at Sethanon, I was struck by one of the most important realizations about narrative of my young life. In the book, the heroes had just encountered a powerful dark army and were rushing to tell their allies of the unprecedented danger – yet when they reached the nearest stronghold, the commander in charge didn’t believe their claims that an ancient evil, long-prophesied and rooted in magic, was on his doorstep. My first reaction to his doubt was a surge of outrage: having just “seen” the army myself through the eyes of the protagonists, I knew the threat – to say nothing of magic itself – was very real. How could anyone doubt them? I thought to myself. It’s so obviously true!
Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Saga, including A Darkness at Sethanon
And this is when the epiphany struck. Thoughts churning, I realized in the very next breath that, from the commander’s perspective, the truth wasn’t obvious at all, and that if someone in real life ever approached me with a similarly outlandish claim, I’d likely dismiss them, too. I was – and still am – an atheist: I didn’t believe in gods and magic, just like the doubting commander; the only difference between us was that I had an omniscient perspective on the truth of his world that he, as an individual, lacked. I’d started reading the story in large part because I wanted to suspend disbelief in the non-existence of magic, but until that moment, I hadn’t considered that doing so involved a non-superficial shift in my perspective, not just of what was possible, but of people. For the first time, I realized the power of stories to make the reader sympathize with attitudes beyond their own, and the specific ability of SFF as a genre to accomplish this by retelling familiar dilemmas in unfamiliar settings.
Looking back, that moment was when I first started to become a critical reader, and to wonder at the relationship between stories and politics. My conclusions were often flawed or incomplete, and I regularly missed parallels which stand out to me now, but everyone starts that particular lesson somewhere, and for me, it was Raymond E. Feist.
Not long afterwards, on the recommendation of the same, predominantly male group of friends, I started reading Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. Up until that point, most of the fantasy I’d read was female-authored, in large part because I grew up in Australia, and the Australian fantasy market has long been female-dominated in a way that the American and UK markets aren’t. That being so, and unlike many other readers from different traditions, I wasn’t used to SFF stories where women routinely experienced sexism and gender-based violence, not as something clearly rejected by both the narrative and the characters, but for shock value. Even now, I find this a difficult distinction to articulate, and I want to be clear that, in addition to being a choice made by writers of all genders, it’s also frequently a Your Mileage May Vary Issue. Certainly, I’d read stories which featured the rape or sexual assault or women – Anne McCaffrey’s Acorna series springs prominently to mind, while the amount of rape present in some of Sara Douglass’s work appalls me in hindsight – but Goodkind’s was the first series I read where the repeated motif of rape and abuse made me feel alienated by the narrative.
The number of times that Kahlan was almost raped, with frequently graphic nearness, while other women suffered her intended fate without rescue, made me acutely aware of the way that a story could strongly convey a specific idea without ever stating it plainly – in this case, the idea that rape was the single worst, most horrific thing that could ever happen to a woman. The books made me uncomfortable in other ways, too – not just narratively, but politically. Where reading Feist sparked my critical awareness of narrative empathy and the power of stories to show the reader perspectives beyond their own, reading Goodkind taught me that it was possible to question or disagree with ideas that the story – and, by proxy, the author – portrayed as being morally correct.
The first novels in Terry Goodkind’s 17-volume Sword of Truth series
In Goodkind’s setting, a POV character was horrified by the idea that women in a town whose primary institution was devoted to magical study were deliberately falling pregnant to the male mages, so that the institution would, as per long-standing custom, pay them a generous stipend to help raise the subsequent magically-gifted children. This character, on coming to a position of power in the institution, therefore made it his first order of business to cancel the stipend forever: that way, it was argued, the women who’d been mooching financially off the magical institution would have no further incentive to do so, and the cynical practice of breeding for magic would stop. In text, it was presented as a sensible, moral reform for the (sympathetically-portrayed) character to make – a portrayal helped by its pairing with a clearly necessary shift in magical practice, one that changed the yardstick used to prove a mage’s readiness to advance away from “how much pain this person can endure” and towards “how much have they grown as an individual.”
I agreed with the latter decision – the traditional test was clearly horrific – but thought the former decision was deeply flawed. However cynically the stipend system was being abused both the townswomen and the mages alike (though only the women seemed to be censured for it), removing it wholesale meant that the existing children would suffer as their mothers were plunged into poverty. Though the townsfolk protested the change, the character considered this consequence unimportant – and as their opposition was portrayed as being just as backwards as the mages’ rejection of the magical reform, it was clear that the narrative itself endorsed the character’s decision.
Even as a teenager, I recognized the similarity of the argument put forward by Goodkind’s character to that of real-world politicians angry at the supposed abuse of benefits systems by unwed mothers, a claim to which I was actively opposed. Though I’d noticed plenty of similarities between SFF stories and real historical events before then, such as the religious and colonial aspects of Sara Douglass’s work, Goodkind was first time I’d recognized such a direct paralleling of modern politics. Reading Feist, I’d sympathized with the faith of religious characters despite being an atheist: I’d done it before in other books, but Feist was the first time I’d noticed. Realizing this not only helped me rethink some of the preconceptions I’d had about real-world religious beliefs, but gave me a fuller, more nuanced appreciation for a character I’d initially despised. Reading Goodkind, however, was a different experience: yes, the story was still asking me to be sympathetic to a perspective other than my own, but it was doing so in a way that required me to disregard my existing empathy for another group, while casting aspersions about the inherent morality of a group to which I belonged.
Earlier this year, in the course of sharing my love for Dragon Age 2 on Twitter, I ended up in conversation with a UKIP supporter who, to my complete astonishment, was also a fan of the game. I say astonishment, because UKIP, for those unfamiliar with that party’s policies, is avowedly anti-refugee and frequently homophobic, while DA2 is, rather undeniably, a game about a queer refugee who works hard to improve their new city. When I pointed this out, the UKIP supporter suggested I was naïve for seeing any similarity between the politics of the game and those which existed in the real world: to him, Hawke’s flight from Ferelden in the wake of the Blight and subsequent residence in Kirkwall was wholly understandable, while the plight of Syrian refugees fleeing war and turmoil and wanting residence in the UK was not.
We didn’t talk for long, but I’ve often thought about that exchange since, wondering at the sort of cognitive dissonance necessary to enforce that sort of narrative compartmentalization; to fail to even acknowledge the similarities between the real and the fictional. Perhaps he considered Hawke an obviously “good” immigrant, one who made a clear effort to benefit his new home, and therefore felt the character an exception to the rule. Perhaps he thought that Hawke’s blood-ties to Kirkwall nobility meant they weren’t really a refugee or immigrant at all, but a rightful citizen forced into unfair struggle to reclaim their birthright, and was therefore exempt from criticism. Perhaps he felt that the demonic Blight, an unambiguously evil, nation-killing horror, justified fleeing one’s country in a way that unmagical civil war does not. Perhaps it was simply that the default Hawke is a conventionally attractive white man who speaks fluent English, and therefore was not subject to the same automatic censure as foreign brown people with accents. Perhaps it was none of these things, or a combination of all of them; or perhaps he’d simply accepted the game as fiction without considering what that fiction meant. But either way, his lack of awareness of politics in narrative is not unique – and that, to me, is both fascinating and frightening.
Dark lords, demons, genocidal invading aliens and other such unambiguous evils are a narrative staple of SFF: indeed, they’re fundamental to many of our favorite renditions of the hero’s journey. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still political complexity to be found in such stories, to say nothing of ordinary political systems. Even in worlds where an ultimate, inherent morality is exemplified by a struggle between Dark and Light, Good and Bad, the actions of people are seldom cast in such a binary mould – and yet, I suspect, it’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking otherwise, because if the good guys are clearly on the side of the (demonstrably real) angels, then who are we to question their methods? As readers, we’re omniscient: we know, in a way the characters seldom do, exactly why their actions matter, what the outcome is going to be and how few paths there really are to achieving it. From that perspective, it’s comparatively easier to accept that the end justifies the means, because we’re in the best, most objective position possible to weigh motive against execution, intention against consequence, and to view the whole chain of events at a remove. We know the characters better than they know themselves, and that makes us judge them differently than if we were there beside them, working through the same problems with the same set of limitations.
The way we’re otherwise forced to do in life.
Since the |
wp-content, this is the directory you will make them in and changes will be automatically propagated to both nodes correctly. Also, note we've set permissions to user/group that has UID/GID 1000 - that's because our WordPress image has www-data user and group set to the same ID, thus we avoid any possible permissions issues down the line.
That's it, feel free to close the shell, our GlusterFS cluster is now properly configured and ready to be mounted into as many Kubernetes pods as we like!
Setting up MySQL
Luckily, Google Cloud comes with their hosted MySQL offering, which makes setting it up very straightforward, literally just a couple of clicks.
In Cloud console, navigate to SQL (click the hamburger icon on top right, if the menu isn't visible) then choose Create instance. On the following page, select MySQL and then Choose Second Generation.
The following screen should be familiar by now:
MySQL instance configuration
Feel free to select the same type of machine as we did for all other services: db-f1-micro. As the interface will probably warn you, this machine isn't covered by Google's SLAs, but is perfectly fine for testing and development, which is what we're doing here anyway.
Choose the location of the instance in the same Region/Zone as your container cluster, to minimize network latencies.
Google's MySQL supports failover replication out of the box, you just have to check the checkbox Create failover replica, but we will not use one for now - we can always come back and create it later, while the master instance is running.
Finally, create a root password (don't forget to save it somewhere safe) for your MySQL and click Create at the very bottom. After a couple of minutes, your instance should be ready, so proceed to check it out by clicking on the instance name ( mysql-0 in my case).
There's nothing to do here for now, but you can return to this page, later on, to add a replica, do backups and check its performance.
Before we continue with setting up Kubernetes, you only need one more thing: a Service Account. These are special types of accounts, used by services, rather than people, and come with some additional details, like private keys and roles.
To create a service account navigate to the Service accounts page (under IAM & Admin in the main navigation), click Create service account and fill the form out like this:
Service account configuration
(Make sure to select both: Cloud SQL Client and Cloud SQL Editor)
After clicking Create, a JSON file will be automatically downloaded; Store it somewhere safe, and remember where it is, because you will need it shortly.
Our WordPress will use this service account to provide connection to our MySQL instance (for increased security), so we also need to create an SQL user that will be attached to the service account. To create one, first list the instances in your shell, like this:
$ gcloud beta sql instances list
and create the MySQL user (change the values as needed):
$ gcloud beta sql users create wp_user cloudsqlproxy~% --instance=mysql-0
Creating the MySQL user in Terminal
Finally, create the database:
$ gcloud beta sql databases create wp_tutorial --instance=mysql-0
There's no need to grant any specific permissions because all users you define have access to all databases on the same instance. While this may seem like a bad idea, have in mind that this is an advanced setup and controlled entirely by you. We achieve security with other means, namely by using a proxy hostname (meaning no outside connection can be made to our MySQL instance) and a service account (meaning no fiddling with passwords).
You're now all done with setting up MySQL, time to finally deploy our WordPress!
Setting up Kubernetes
Since we'll be doing most of Kubernetes configuration through the command line, we first need to install the command kubectl, which is part of the gcloud suite of tools:
$ gcloud components install kubectl
Then, log in to Google Cloud and set up common settings (change the timezone and project ID according to your setup)
$ gcloud auth application-default login, which will open your browser to allow you to authorize your shell
, which will open your browser to allow you to authorize your shell $ gcloud config set project avian-current-168511 to set the current active project
to set the current active project $ gcloud config set compute/zone europe-west1-b to set the timezone
to set the timezone $ gcloud container clusters get-credentials cluster-1 to save your settings in a local file
Your kubectl command should now be available and connected to the correct cluster. To verify, run $ kubectl get pods --all-namespaces which should return something like this:
Pod list in Terminal
As I mentioned earlier, a pod is similar to a container, and here you see a bunch of them under the kube-system namespace, which are automatically created by Google Container Engine and needed to run the cluster properly, so you might want to leave them alone :)
Secrets
For our WordPress to run properly, we first need to set up a couple of secrets, the most important one being MySQL access credentials.
Remember the service account file we created earlier (named something like my-project-name-12345.json )?
Now is the time to use it; Copy it over into your project directory, rename it to credentials.json and run:
$ kubectl create secret generic cloudsql-instance-credentials --from-file=credentials.json
To verify your secret being properly deployed, run $ kubectl edit secret cloudsql-instance-credentials. This will open an editor (vim, most likely) with a single key in your data, called credentials.json and the value being contents of your original credentials file, base64 encoded.
While this may look confusing at first, it makes sense. Like I mentioned earlier, when secrets are consumed by Kubernetes they are mounted into the filesystem as regular files, which Kubernetes decodes automatically, which you'll see how shortly. Close vim by pressing :q (colon, then q).
The secrets we just created will be used by our CloudSQL proxy pod (explained shortly), but not our WordPress, so we need to create another set of secrets that WordPress can't run without. Namely, salts.
In your project directory, create a new one, and name it k8s (short for Kubernetes) and put the following file inside, named wordpress-secrets.yml :
Like the file suggests, you need to convert each of WordPress salts and keys (generated here into their Base64 encoded values, which is done with this command:
$ echo 'a-bunch-of-gibberish-here' | base64
Once all the values have been defined, deploy the secrets file:
$ kubectl create -f wordpress-secrets.yml
Now delete it, you won't need it anymore and it contains sensitive data you don't want mistakenly shared or committed to a Git repo.
Shared wp-content
Before we deploy WordPress, we need a way to access our GlusterFS volume we created earlier. As per official documentation on services, we need to create a service without selectors and a corresponding set of endpoints.
Create two new files in your k8s directory named glusterfs-service.yml and glusterfs-endpoints.yml and put the following content in:
To verify the service has picked up correct endpoints, run $ kubectl get svc and $ kubectl describe svc glusterfs. If you see correct endpoint IPs like the following screenshot it means our cluster is ready to connect to GlusterFS:
Getting GlusterFS information in Terminal
Don't worry about the port ( 1 ), it's just a placeholder port because services can't exist without defining one.
Deploying WordPress
With all our dependencies up and running, it's now time to finally deploy WordPress. Again, create a new yaml file, name it wordpress-deployment.yml and put the following content in it:
While this file may seem a bit intimidating at first, updating it becomes second nature once you figure out what's what.
Let's go over it to clarify:
Line 4 : The name of this deployment
: The name of this deployment Line 6 : How many replicas (pods of the same type) we want to run on this stack, in our case 3.
: How many replicas (pods of the same type) we want to run on this stack, in our case 3. Line 9 : One of the deployment's responsibilities is running any given number of replicas we define. Labels serve as Kubernetes' way to monitor pods' states. In our case it observes all pods labeled with app: wordpress.
: One of the deployment's responsibilities is running any given number of replicas we define. Labels serve as Kubernetes' way to monitor pods' states. In our case it observes all pods labeled with. Line 10 : When we deploy a new version of WordPress, how do we want the deployment to roll it out? We can either destroy old pods first, then create new ones, or we can do a Rolling Update, which deletes one pod, creates a new one with a new version and deletes one more old pod, again replacing it with one with a new version, and so on, until all pods have been updated. Most of the time, this is the preferred way, since we always have pods that are available to the internet, preventing any downtime during our deployment.
: When we deploy a new version of WordPress, how do we want the deployment to roll it out? We can either destroy old pods first, then create new ones, or we can do a Rolling Update, which deletes one pod, creates a new one with a new version and deletes one more old pod, again replacing it with one with a new version, and so on, until all pods have been updated. Most of the time, this is the preferred way, since we always have pods that are available to the internet, preventing any downtime during our deployment. Line 15 : The template (and subsequently spec -> containers on lines 19 and 10) is the most important part of the deployment. It serves as a blueprint for all created pods.
: The template (and subsequently -> on lines 19 and 10) is the most important part of the deployment. It serves as a blueprint for all created pods. Line 21 : First container in our pod is the WordPress container (but not the official one, I'm using my own, hence image: codeable/kubepress:4.7.5 )
: First container in our pod is the WordPress container (but not the official one, I'm using my own, hence ) Line 35 : livenessProbe is Kubernetes' way of checking whether our pod is properly running. If not it will prevent sending any traffic to it and attempt to restart it.
: livenessProbe is Kubernetes' way of checking whether our pod is properly running. If not it will prevent sending any traffic to it and attempt to restart it. Line 49 : Expose port 80
: Expose port 80 Line 52 : Mount the secrets we created earlier into /etc/secrets and our GlusterFS volume into /var/www/wordpress/wp-content
: Mount the secrets we created earlier into and our GlusterFS volume into Line 58 : Our second container in this pod is created by Google for the purpose of connecting to CloudSQL, so feel free to read this document how it works. What's worth noting here is that containers in the same pod share logical localhost (don't confuse it with the host virtual machine that's running the Kubelet, though - it's still an isolated environment), which is why we're connecting to 127.0.0.1:3306 in our WordPress pod.
: Our second container in this pod is created by Google for the purpose of connecting to CloudSQL, so feel free to read this document how it works. What's worth noting here is that containers in the same pod share logical localhost (don't confuse it with the host virtual machine that's running the Kubelet, though - it's still an isolated environment), which is why we're connecting to in our WordPress pod. Line 65 : Which MySQL instance do we want to connect this pod to. To get it, run $ gcloud beta sql instances then $ gcloud beta sql instances describe mysql-0 (change mysql-0 with your instance name) and locate connectionName.
: Which MySQL instance do we want to connect this pod to. To get it, run then (change with your instance name) and locate. Line 78: Here we define all the volumes that either of our pods want to consume. Here, you can see our GlusterFS volume and cloudsql-instance-credentials defined. Note how the name of each volume matches the one in volumeMounts on lines 54, 56 and 71? That's not a coincidence, so watch out for typos.
The moment of truth:
$ kubectl create -f wordpress-deployment.yml (make sure to update line 65!)
This will create 3 identical WordPress pods:
Listing WordPress pods and port forwarding
Now, we can't access our WordPress though a domain or an IP yet, since we haven't exposed the pods to the internet, but we can still try it out! Run $ kubectl get pods, choose one of them (doesn't matter which one) and run $ kubectl port-forward wordpress-pod-name 8080:80. This will map pod's port 80 to port 8080 on your computer, so you can now open your browser, navigate to http://localhost:8080 and install WordPress!
Debugging and logs
If, for any reason, any of your pods misbehave once you set them up, there are a few commands that can provide to be immensely useful to investigate what's going on:
$ kubectl logs wordpress-498979938-258sj will output the logs of any given pod. If the pod is being in a restart loop, then you might want to add --previous to the command. Alternatively, visit Google's log page to inspect them from within the browser
will output the logs of any given pod. If the pod is being in a restart loop, then you might want to add to the command. Alternatively, visit Google's log page to inspect them from within the browser $ kubectl exec -ti wordpress-498979938-258sj bash will connect to the pod's shell, much like SSH.
will connect to the pod's shell, much like SSH. $ kubectl delete pod wordpress-498979938-258sj will delete the pod and, since we're using a deployment, automatically create a fresh one in its place.
Exposing WordPress to the internet
The official tutorial suggest of creating a service of a type LoadBalancer to expose the port on our pods, but that's actually not the best practice, for several reasons:
We have no control over what IP the services will be exposed on
We need to take care of SSL termination ourselves, adding either another layer of complexity we need to maintain or an additional responsibility to our image
We can't expose multiple domains on the same IP
Our logs won't show proper visitor IPs but rather our service's internal one
So what we need to do instead, is create a service, of a type NodePort. This type of services maps our container port 80 to all nodes in the cluster regardless if the container is on a particular node or not to an arbitrary port, higher than 30000.
Save this file into your k8s directory, and run $ kubectl create -f wordpress-service.yml.
To verify the service created the necessary endpoints, run $ kubectl get svc,ep. If you see something like the following screenshot, then the service properly routing traffic from nodes' port 31586 (in my case, your may differ) to the pods' port 80.
So how do we now expose them to the internet? We'll use what's called an ingress. Similar to a service, ingress instructs Kubernetes master how to route traffic, the major difference being that ingress is responsible for mapping external traffic, based on a set of rules we define.
In your k8s directory, create a new file, called wordpress-ingress.yml and put the following contents in (update the domain):
Now before we can actually visit the domain to verify our WordPress up and running, we need to fix two gotchas:
in our DNS settings (with our domain registrar), we need to create an A record, pointing to the IP that Google allocated to ingress. Run $ kubectl describe ing wordpress and find a field, named Address.
and find a field, named Address. Since we installed WordPress through port-forward earlier, WordPress will most likely want to redirect us to port 8080, which won't work. So edit the deployment ( $ kubectl edit deploy wordpress ) and add two new environment variables (somewhere around the line 45 in our wordpress-deploy.yml file): WP_SITEURL and WP_HOME, both should be set to the final domain (including http:// ). Save and quit the file to update deployment and give Kubernetes a couple of seconds to deploy a new set of pods with these new settings in place.
Our whole stack is now properly configured, and we should be able to visit the domain in our browser to see our shiny new WordPress installation up and running!
We're pretty much done, but let's explore in our Google cloud dashboard what just happened.
Visit the load balancing page and click the only load balancer there to expand the view. There's a whole lot of things going on in there:
there's a frontend defined, which is an IP and port we accept traffic on
there are rules defined (which we did with our ingress)
there is a backend defined (which Google did for us)
I encourage you to edit this load balancer configuration and click around a bit to get a feeling how things fit together - I won't explain it in details here as this tutorial is quite long as it is, and Google's official documentation can be a good source for further learning.
Also, if you'd like to keep this new IP that Google has allocated to the ingress, visit the external IP addresses page and change the IP from Ephemeral to Static.
Bonus: Letsencrypt with Kube-lego
Now that our stack is fully up and running, adding a deployment that takes care of our SSL termination and registration of certificates only takes a couple of additional commands.
We will use Kube-lego for both of the tasks since it's a widely used and battle-tested approach to handling certificates on Kubernetes clusters.
The first thing we need is a ConfigMap. In Kubernetes, ConfigMaps are used, as the name suggests it, for configuration. The "map" part of the name stands for combinations of keys and their values. Since Kube-lego by default uses Letsencrypt's staging servers, our configmap needs to include the production server URL and our email address.
Save the file to your k8s directory and run
$ kubectl create -f lego-configmap.yml
(Note that the official Kube-lego documentation uses kube-lego namespace to deploy entities, but I found it more clear to use it on the kube-system namespace where all other system-related entities are)
With the configuration in place, it's time to deploy Kube-lego:
Save the file to k8s and run
$ kubectl create -f lego-deployment.yml
Let's verify it's running:
$ kubectl get pods -n kube-system
You should see a pod named kube-lego-1702644611-9hnt0 (the last two strings will be different for you).
Now for the last bit, we need to modify the ingress we created earlier to let Kube-lego know which domains we want certificates for.
Run $ kubectl edit ing default.
This will open your preferred editor with our original ingress significantly modified by Google (there should be a bunch of additional annotations in).
Compare it to the following gist:
You'll notice it's missing a couple of parts, so fill them in:
Two new annotations: kubernetes.io/ingress.class: gce and kubernetes.io/tls-acme: "true"
and tls key (which is an array) with hosts (also an array) and secretName defined
Save the file and exit. Since our Kube-lego pod automatically observes our ingresses, there's no need to do anything else, it will pick up the updates, request the necessary certificate from Letsencrypt and reconfigure the load balancer on its own.
That's it, visit the URL you used to set up this whole stack with https prepended and enjoy your newly acquired set of skills! (By the way, a tweet to this article would be much appreciated.)
I've been getting a lot of requests for this article and I'm thinking of organizing a live webinar/session in which I will stream this whole process. Let me know if you'd be interested in participating in the comments below.I struggled with what to title this post. It is not enough to discuss criminal justice reform. It is not enough to discuss immigration reform. It is not enough to support equal rights for men, women, and the LGBTQ community. It is not enough to stand for those marginalized by the religious right. It is not enough to support healthcare as a right as well as living wages. Social Justice encompasses all of these issues and more.
This post is the first of a group that will clearly and hopefully concisely express Bernie Sander’s views, proposals, and actual actions on the issues that are impacting America. At times I will contrast him with other candidates but for the most part he will be the focus. The goal here is to clear up the lies being spewed by the media and other candidates on his electability and what his plans really mean for us, the American people.
Social justice is a big umbrella and a bunch of important issues fall under it. One of these issues is criminal justice reform. Yesterday the grand jury in the Sandra Bland case chose to not indict anyone for her death. Bernie Sanders spoke out bravely about her story when it came out and met with her family without publicizing the fact or trying to gain points off of it. Below is his statement on the grand jury decision and it is worth the read.
“Sandra Bland should not have died while in police custody. There’s no doubt in my mind that she, like too many African-Americans who die in police custody, would be alive today is she were a white woman. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones tonight. We need to reform a very broken criminal justice system.” Bernie Sanders
This is a bold statement for an underdog in this campaign. He has been rebuffed by all the pundits and vilified for his ideals by some as well. Yet he marches on as he did so many years ago with Martin Luther King Jr.
Bernie Sanders has also issued a comprehensive plan for criminal justice reform. This includes but is not limited to demilitarizing the police, establishing community policing, requiring body cameras for police, as well as training in de-escalation techniques. A change in the code among police officers that allows for and gives good police officers the tools necessary to report the actions of the bad police officers. He made made clear that police forces should reflect their communities diversity in an attempt to help resolve the racism in our justice system.
“We must address the lingering unjust stereotypes that lead to the labeling of black youths as “thugs” and “super predators.”
Stereotypes like the ones that Hillary and Bill Clinton helped perpetuate. People of color need to understand that no matter how cool the Clintons have appeared to be they are not for people of color and have not been for a long time.
“They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way but first we have to bring them to heel and the President has asked the FBI to launch a very concerted effort against gangs everywhere.” Hillary Clinton 1/25/1996 C-Span
No longer, will this tough on crime approach be tolerated. Criminal justice reform must include the overhaul of the failed War on Drugs. When the right is admitting it has failed you know it really has. Bernie Sanders is clear on the need to legalize marijuana. It is not simply about legalizing a drug but about taking purposeful steps to end the era of mass incarceration.
Black and brown youth are more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, and receive longer sentences for drug offenses despite data that show that people of all ethnicities use and abuse marijuana at among the same rates. He is against the death penalty as well and cosponsored the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 that eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum prison term for first-time possession of crack cocaine.
He has also as a senator introduced legislation to end private prisons for federal prisoners. Bernie Sanders has no contributions from the private prison or private detention sector and is therefore not invested in their high recidivism rates. He also supports stopping local governments from relying on fines, fees or asset forfeitures as a steady source of revenue because this disproportionally impacts poor communities and minorities.
Bernie Sanders has committed himself to investing in mental health care. As a mental health care worker and advocate it is refreshing to hear something other than blame for the over 43 million Americans that suffer with mental illness. It is past time for the stigma to end. It is time for resources to be allocated to minorities and low SES individuals that need mental health care more than they need to be locked up. With Bernie Sanders we can have a president that will commit to getting people help rather than stick them in the pipeline that leads to jail over and over again.
“We need to invest in drug courts as well as medical and mental health interventions for people with substance abuse problems, so that people with addiction do not end up in prison, they end up in treatment.”
Criminal justice reform is just the first step, this segment will continue with the rest of the social justice issues that Bernie stands for as well as the other important issues impacting America today. Feel free to share it with the Bernie doubters, especially the ones that think that people of color have some sort of blind allegiance to Hillary. We owe her and any other politician NOTHING. Any support for Bernie is based on our research and our own reasoning.
Image link: http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/slide_detail/article/raised%20fists%20%C2%A9%20aleutie%20Fotolia_57624838_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg
AdvertisementsIf the story of Eric Cantor is to be used as a cautionary tale, Rand Paul should be aware that a candidate’s home state electorate is not always forgiving when it comes to national ambitions.
GOP candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul may be finding this out the hard way, although the Paul camp insists that his commitment is safely spread over two campaigns: the Republican Presidential nomination and his Senate reelection.
POLITICO reports that an anonymous Republican strategist said of the situation, “This Presidential dream needs to come to an end… Senate Republicans can’t afford to have a competitive race in Kentucky”. This rhetoric comes on the heels of more poll data that suggests Paul’s national campaign for the GOP nomination is in serious trouble.
The Rand Paul camp continues to say that it can successfully navigate the waters of both elections; when asked about potential worries regarding his Senate seat at home, Paul reportedly firmly said to reporters: “No”.
At home in Kentucky, Paul has missed several appearances that are traditionally attended by the Senator. A member of the Executive Council in his home state said, “He needs to pay attention to the Senate race, or we could lose the seat”.
Communications Director for the Paul campaign Kelsey Cooper said, “Sen. Paul’s No. 1 priority is doing the job he was elected to do and his nearly perfect attendance record in the Senate is evidence of his unwavering commitment to all Kentuckians… Sen. Paul has always said he would run for both Senate and president — which is exactly what he’s doing.”
According to the latest polling data from Real Clear Politics, Rand Paul is polling nationally at 2.3%, just ahead of struggling GOP candidates Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal. The Kentucky Senator has had a well documented feud with Donald Trump early on in his bid for the nomination, and has even stooped to name-calling as a campaign tactic.
[h/t to POLITICO]
[image via screengrab]
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Have a tip we should know? [email protected] is anger in Syria a day after a deadly security crackdown against anti-government protesters in the town of Daraa.
Protesters vowed to hit the streets on Saturday, despite a rising death toll in demonstrations that have put President Bashar al-Assad under unprecedented domestic pressure.
A Facebook group behind a string of demonstrations that have surfaced in Syria this month drummed up support for more rallies on Saturday.
"Today, Saturday... popular uprisings in all Syrian governorates," read a posting on The Syria Revolution 2011, which has garnered the support of over 86,000 fans.
People are set to gather today for funerals of those killed.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Damascus, said people in Daraa are angry at the government for the violence and government will have to work hard to reconcile with the people of the area.
Security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city of Sanamin near Daraa on Friday, killing at least 20 people, according to one witness.
"There are more than 20 martyrs.... they [security forces] opened fire haphazardly," the witness told Al Jazeera.
The crackdown has attracted the attention of the United Nations with Navi Pillay, the human rights commissioner, calling for an investigation and an immediate halt to violence, a message echoed by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General.
Human rights group Amnesty International said on Friday that at least 55 people had been killed since protests erupted. However, government figure stands at 37.
Meanwhile, Syrian authorities have released 260 prisoners, mostly Islamists, from Saydnaya jail on Friday, a human rights lawyer said.
"These are prisoners who have completed at least three-quarters of their sentences and are entitled to be freed but the authorities rarely granted them that right before," the rights lawyer, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, said Syrian forces on Friday apparently opened fire after protesters set fire to a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the late former president.
Footage on YouTube also showed protesters in the cental square of Daraa dismantling a portrait of his son, Bashar al-Assad, the current president.
Three people were also reported killed in Mouadamieh district of Damascus after a crowd confronted a procession of cars driven by supporters of president Bashar al-Assad, residents said.
Significantly, people do not want regime change at this point of time but want to protest peacefully to achieve their rights, our correspondent said. People want corruption to end, more political reforms and freedom of expressions, she said.
"The government promised reforms a couple of days ago and the real test for the government right now is to show that it is serious and these are not empty promises."
Malid Al-Abdeh, a Syrian journalist based in the UK, told Al Jazeera that people in Syria are afraid to call for regime change as they may face brutal repression or may be death penalty.
Regime supporters take to streets
Regime supporters also took to the streets in sizeable numbers on Friday, waving flags and images of al-Assad. A large crowd gathered in the evening outside Al Jazeera's bureau in Damascus, demanding to be shown on the network.
"Thousands and thousands are now out in the streets of the capital, driving around the capital, showing their support for President Aasad. There is no doubt the president does have support in this country. Bashar al-Assad is a popular leader," our correspondent said.
But Anas al-Abda, the chairman of the Movement for Justice and Development in Syria, told Al Jazeera that pro-government demonstrations were "most probably fabricated and organised by the regime".
Earlier, Reem Haddad, from the Syrian information ministry, told Al Jazeera that security forces had been given the order not to shoot at protesters "no matter what happens".
"But things took on a different hue because inside these peaceful demonstrations there was another group of people who were armed... and were shooting at the security forces and were shooting at other citizens in Daraa. At the end of the day this became a matter of national security."
But an eyewitness told Al Jazeera that "there were no people carrying arms among demonstrators".
"What happened in the square... was live ammunition, I was present myself and I saw the youth and other young demonstrators leading a peaceful demonstration.
"They were chanting slogans calling for freedom and transparency and an end [to] corruption."
'Day of dignity'
The latest clashes come after protesters demanding greater freedom called for a "day of dignity" on Friday following a week-long crackdown by pro-regime forces that has left dozens dead.
At least 200 people marched in the centre of Damascus after Friday prayers in support of the people of Daraa, scene of protests against Baath Party rule, Reuters reported.
Protests spread across Syria, with rallies also held in the central city of Hama and in Tel, near Damascus. According to our correspondent, numbers at these rallies ranged from hundreds of people to thousands.
Daraa, the main city of southern Syria, has become a flashpoint for protests. Officials have been on the defensive after protesters in the southern city were shot dead by police.Last night I came across this MyScienceAcademy gem featuring Kelvin Doe, a 15 year-old Sierra Leonean who is nothing short of an engineering, mechanical, and technological prodigy. For years this kid (and I use the term “kid” loosely when referring to such a fine mind) has been rooting through “dust bins” in his neighborhood to scavenge old electrical components that he has used to construct his own radio station, where he goes by the performer name DJ Focus.
A radio station may sound small at first, but this is a community where electricity is available for maybe an hour each week. From discarded materials Kelvin engineered his own batteries, electrical circuitry, broadcasting apparatus, and audio equipment, all for two reasons: 1) So that he could play fantastic music for his friends and family. Everyone should listen to this song by Bobby Fala, which DJ Focus endorsed and played over his station — Fala has now also made it to SoundCloud, largely I bet, because of Kelvin’s success and publicity. And 2) So that the community could use his radio station as a forum for public political discourse — a chance for the unheard to find their soapbox, a place for issues on the ground to find their voice.
Without question, Kelvin’s enthusiasm, passion, genius, and focus are an inspiration. Imagine if more teenagers shared Kelvin’s clarity of thought, his drive and his heart, his sense of commitment to community and to improving the lives of his friends and loved ones. Hopefully, with help of non-profit programs like Global Minimum Inc: Innovate Salone, the group that discovered Kelvin, more youthful brilliance will show itself.
Kelvin’s story gives us all reason to be optimistic about humanity’s future. What’s he’s done is truly astounding — and if he continues to receive the support he needs, I bet this radio station and his trip to MIT won’t be the last time this young man makes headlines — particularly if he starts working on something like sustainable energy technology, improving batteries and energy efficiency, or developing small-scale alternatives to traditional electrical grids (though admittedly, he’ll probably come up with better ideas all his own). I wouldn’t put anything past him.
To Kelvin! Cheers!
JM Kincaid
AdvertisementsDisclosure: The ChapStick® product, information and gift have been provided by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.
Here I sit, typing away and licking my lips… now where did I put that ChapStick?
I recently received a highly-anticipated package in the mail, a fully stocked box of ChapStick, including some the the newest flavors in the ChapStick lineup! I happily ripped open the package as soon as I got it… it was filled with some much-needed lip balms.
Just a few days later… these stinkers decided they wanted to try ChapStick too…
Ok, so I was down one ChapStick, but I had plenty of others I was able to test.
ChapStick® product flavors including:
ChapStick ® Classic Range: Original, Strawberry, Cherry, and Spearmint (well, not Spearmint)
® Classic Range: Original, Strawberry, Cherry, and Spearmint (well, not Spearmint) ChapStick ® Moisturizer: Raspberry Crème, Original, Green Apple, and Vanilla Mint
® Moisturizer: Raspberry Crème, Original, Green Apple, and Vanilla Mint ChapStick ® Tropical Paradise Collection: Mango Sunrise and Aloha Coconut
® Tropical Paradise Collection: Mango Sunrise and Aloha Coconut ChapStick ® Sun Defense
® Sun Defense ChapStick ® Medicated
Now, if I can keep those little stinker dogs away from them, they should last me awhile! ChapStick comes in handy all times of the day – getting ready in the morning, before bed at night, at the gym or during the day! It is a product I always have in my car, purse, pocket and gym bag! ChapStick is one of those products I just can’t live without. YOU?
Here is a peak in my purse (gotta have a few flavors of ChapStick depending on my mood)!
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This giveaway is a part of the Bloggin Mamas Network (So Easy Being Green Blog) and Viva Veltoro. The Giveaway Hop is called “LOVES Giveaways” – just in time for Valentine’s Day. The event will run from January 31st {12:01 am EST} through February 14th {11:59 pm EST}. A bunch of other bloggers are giving away prizes too… go check them all out for more chances to win great prizes!This may sound quite unbelievable to someone who does not know much about Android, but the fact is that the Android has really vast capabilities and it can be successfully embedded into various devices to get the best out of them. We have already seen the Android on cell phones, smart-phones, tablets, netbooks and very soon also on TVs. But that is not all, this tiny green robot from Google can do more.
There are rumors that the once ruling automaker, GM and the search engine giant, Google have teamed up to get the Android operating system to your automobiles. Although it is unclear what this can really do, my beliefs are that it would mostly be used in GPS navigation and CD/DVD playback. While, I have a strong feeling that it can bring something similar like BMW’s iDrive system |
social manners.
He was a stocky man. He would often stomp around Vienna (like later Viennese composer and Beethoven fanatic Johannes Brahms), deep in thought, looking like an eccentric genius. Which, I suppose, he was...
In 1809 various Princes and an Archduke gave Beethoven a lifetime annuity, but only if he stayed in Vienna. He readily agreed and settled there for the rest of his life. But late payments and currency devaluations make his income far from stable.
Beethoven wrote more symphonies (including the Fifth Symphony), string quartets, and his only opera Fidelio over the next couple of years as well.
He also composed some of his most well-known piano sonatas, like the Moonlight and the Waldstein.
We've arrived at the final part of the Beethoven biography...
The final years of Beethoven's life were tumultuous, the story of legends. By 1815 he was almost completely deaf, and his poor manners and personal appearance were even worse.
He spent a lot of his later life trying to gain custody of his nephew Karl, whose father (Beethoven's brother) died in 1815.
Beethoven, who wasn't very good as business or legal matters, used up a lot of his financial resources battling with Karl's mother. He eventually lost, which was a massive blow and damaged his ability to compose.
His music from this period is very intellectual and intense. Definitely the most famous piece from this time is his Symphony 9 (whose final movement has the "Ode to Joy").
He composed his last string quartets at this point, which shocked the musical world with their complex and modern sound.
Click to read about Beethoven's string quartets
He became quite ill during the last years of his life, with gout, rheumatic fever, and a variety of other illnesses. He began to sketch out a Tenth Symphony whilst suffering on his deathbed, but he never got to complete it.
While dying, his situation was terrible. He couldn't sleep at night, and he could barely move or drink. The grey skies outside only worsened his gloom.
Ludwig van Beethoven died in March 1827, after four operations on a stomach wound which eventually got infected. Twenty thousand mourners lined Vienna's somber streets at the genius's funeral.
There's been much speculation about the true cause of the great composer's death. I summarize all the ideas and provide my own opinion on the How did Beethoven die? page.
1770 Born in Bonn, 17th December.
1778 Performs in public for the first time, and his father lies about his age, advertising him as one year younger to get a bigger crowd
1780 Begins proper music lessons, and is praised by his teacher as being like Mozart (click for biography).
1787 Travels to Vienna and possibly meets Mozart) (no-one is quite sure! I like to think that it happened though).
1792 Goes to live in Vienna and studies with Haydn.
1800 Wins a piano duel against a famous Prussian pianist, and is celebrated as Vienna's greatest piano virtuoso. Also premieres his Septet and First Symphony this year.
1804 Premiere of the Eroica Symphony.
1808 Premiere of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.
1814 Fidelio Premiered.
1815 Beethoven's brother dies, and Beethoven tries to stop his sister-in-law from having guardianship of his nephew Karl by claiming to have aristocratic heritage (the "van" in his name, which is actually Dutch and not noble)
1819 The court finds out that Beethoven lied about being aristocratically-born. They rule in favor of the boy's mother.
1824 Premiere of the Beethoven Symphony 9.
1826 Beethoven has the first of several operations at the end of this year.
1827 Dies in Vienna on 26th March.
More on Beethoven and his pieces...
An overview of Beethoven's most important music - get to grips with the master's greats!
Some great Beethoven Quotes and pictures.
How did Beethoven die? A look at this mysterious question.
Fur Elise, probably Beethoven's most recognizable piano melody.
The poignant Pathetique sonata, one of Beethoven's earlier pieces.
Explore the inky mournfulness of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata...
Kreutzer Sonata, the groundbreaking violin sonata which redefined the genre.
A look at Beethoven's String Quartets, some of my favorite music from the composer.
Third Symphony, the grand Eroica, which ushered in a new era of symphonic expression.
Fifth Symphony, one of the most famous pieces of music in the world.
The Pastoral Symphony, which was inspired by Beethoven's love for nature.
Seventh Symphony, a joyful celebration of dance.
Ninth Symphony, a grand masterpiece and hymn to universal brotherhood.
The master's stunning violin concerto, one of the greatest concertos ever written for the violin - all the more surprising since Beethoven didn't play the instrument!
Here's a a comprehensive resource on Beethoven.
Ed Chang has a great blog, LvB & More - The Daily Beethoven. It's a daily journal about Beethoven with video and commentary.
I hope you enjoyed this Beethoven biography, and that you've become inspired to explore Beethoven more through the links above!
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If you like my site, please click "Like"... thanks!Streaming service Viewster has added the Tenjho Tenge television anime and the Galaxy Express 999 and Adieu Galaxy Express 999 anime films. In addition, the streaming service has expanded its regional availability for the DNA² and Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact! anime to include the United States and Canada — both shows were previously available in other territories.
The 2004 Tenjho Tenge anime adapts Oh! great's school fighting manga about the violent brawls that ensue at Todo High, a school dedicated to training its students in the art of combat. Geneon Entertainment previously released the series on DVD in 2005-2006, and Discotek Media released the series in 2014. Toshifumi Kawase (Beyblade, Matchless Raijin-Oh) directed the series at Madhouse Studios and Toshiki Inoue (Death Note, Dennō Coil, Chaos;HEAd) handled the series composition.
Viz Media is releasing the original manga unedited in North America. DC Comics' CMX Manga line previously released the manga series with edits through volume 18 before the imprint was closed in 2010.
The 1979 Galaxy Express 999 anime film, like the television series of the same name, is based on Leiji Matsumoto's original manga. Discotek Media released the film on DVD in 2011 and describes the story:
Galaxy Express 999 is the name of a train which travels through space, beginning at Megalopolis Station on one end of the galaxy and ending at Andromeda on the other. But the Galaxy Express is more than just a train - it's also a metaphor for life itself, with passengers constantly boarding, debarking, and dreaming along the way. Tetsuro Hoshino is a youth who'll give anything to board the Three-Nine, including a promise to accompany a mysterious woman named Maetel all the way to Andromeda, the planet where, she tells him, he can get a free machine body to avenge the cruel death of his mother at the hands of the villainous Count Mecha. But nothing is as easy as it sounds, and Tetsuro is about to learn the true price not only for boarding the Three-Nine and avenging his mother, but for leaving his childhood behind, falling in love, and becoming a man.
Discotek released the Adieu Galaxy Express 999 anime film on DVD in 2011, and it describes the film:
Tetsuro Hoshino was once a boy willing to give anything to board the Three-Nine, including a promise to accompany a mysterious woman named Maetel to the other side of the Galaxy, if only to fulfill a vow to avenge the cruel death of his mother at the hands of the villainess Count Mecha. Now, two years after the events of Galaxy Express 999, Earth has become a battlefield, and Tetsuro is summoned to board the Three-Nine once more. All questions will be answered and all mysteries revealed as Tetsuro embarks on a journey the destination of which is unknown even to the Galaxy Express Railways locomotive C6248 itself... a journey which will reveal a secret so awful, even Maetel herself can hardly bear speak of it.
The film debuted in 1981 as a sequel to Galaxy Express 999 and Galaxy Express 999: Glass no Clair films.
The television anime of the DNA² manga by Masakazu Katsura (Video Girl Ai, I''s ) aired in 1994. There was also a three-episode DNA² original video anime project in 1995. Central Park Media released the entire series in 2003 on DVD and described the story:
Junta has a problem. He's deathly allergic to girls! All this changes when a beautiful woman arrives from the future and transforms him into the super-suave Mega-Playboy. But the transformation is unstable, and if Junta can't unravel the time traveler's mystery, he (and the fate of the world) will never be the same!
Discotek revealed in 2013 that it had licensed the series, and it shipped the DVD with all 15 English-dubbed and English-subtitled episodes in June 2014. Crunchyroll added the anime in May 2015.
The Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact! anime is based on Go Nagai's 1972 Mazinger Z manga and television anime, and it premiered in 2009. Discotek Media released the series on DVD under its Eastern Star label in June 2015, and it describes the series:
What would you do if you had ultimate power thrust into your hands? As a normal high school boy, Kouji Kabuto never thought he would have to face that problem. But when your grandfather is a scientist known for having discovered the means to end the world's energy crisis, just living a quiet life in a mansion isn't going to last. Japanium, an ore capable of producing Photon Energy, promises to lead humanity into a bright future... though not everyone wants to use it for good. The evil Dr. Hell is determined to use Photon Energy to power his malicious Mechanical Beasts, which would make him unstoppable! Darkness falls upon Kouji's home town of Atami, the first city lit by Photon Energy, and the first step on the doctor's quest for world domination! Not all is lost, however, as Kouji's grandfather grants him the power of Mazinger Z - the ultimate fighting robot!
Crunchyroll added the anime earlier this year in April.
Thanks to Rukiia for the news tip.It's been awhile since we've heard any hype for Beetlejuice 2, but luckily Tim Burton was able to throw ShowbizSpy a bone! The director says they have the script finished, the cast they want on board, and all that's left to do is roll the camera! The director's exact quote can be found below...
The film is a go and has been approved by the Warner Bros. team, we have talked with the cast members we wanted for the film and they are all on board, this includes both Winona and Michael. We have the script in hand everything is in place all we need to do now is get ready to start filming.
I figured Keaton was a must have for the franchise, but I'm curious as to Winona Ryder's role in the film! Ideally I would like the film NOT to be Winona Ryder having a family and her daughter befriends Beetlejuice. What I would like to see is a further look into the world of Beetlejuice like they showed in the cartoons! Now that we have the technology I think Burton would best excel if he went in that direction...your thoughts?What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? If you’re anything like me you can’t decide and there is nothing wrong with that! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pies, the list just goes on and on! My mouth is watering just thinking about it, is yours? Well we’ve got something to get your mind off food until then…
Collector’s Bills are BACK!
Collect all 5 Thanksgiving Meal-themed Collector’s Bills and you’ll earn a 20 SB bonus!
For those of you who are wondering what Collector’s Bills are, we’re here to explain.
How Do I Get Collector’s Bills?
It’s simple. Search the web through the Swagbucks Search Engine starting Monday, November 2nd at 12:01am PDT/3:01am EDT through Friday, November 13th at 11:59pm PDT/Saturday, November 13th 2:59am EDT, and when you get a search win, you may get a special Collectors Bill valued at either:
5 SB
14 SB
18 SB
23 SB
39 SB
What happens when I get a Collector’s Bill?
When you win a limited edition collector bill you’ll receive the value of the bill and the bill will be added to your “Collector’s Bill” ledger. Collect all 5 bills and you’ll instantly earn a 20 SB bonus!
Is it possible to collect the same Collector’s Bills multiple times?
Yes, you could collect any of the Collector’s Bills multiple times throughout the week. After all, who doesn’t love Thanksgiving leftovers!
If you have any questions regarding the Swagbucks Collector’s Bills, post them in the comments below.
-Team SwagbucksHackers saying they are Anonymous-affiliated claim to have infiltrated North Korean servers, gaining access to 15,000 passwords. The hackers call it a bid to slow down a government that is “increasingly becoming a threat to peace and freedom.”
The Tuesday post at online file depository Pastebin claimed to have hacked uriminzokkiri.com, one of North Korea’s only Internet websites, which is run from China. They included six records in the post that appear to be from China and Korea, and were deciphered because of weak passwords. Questions have been raised, however, over one of the supposed hack victims, whose date of birth is listed as June 1, 1900.
While there has been little by way of verification, the hackers also detailed a list of demands. Among them were instructions for the North Korean government to halt its nuclear program, install a free and direct democracy and end restrictions to Internet access for all North Koreans. They also call for Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s resignation.
Included was a message to North Korean civilians.
“To the citizens of North Korea we suggest to rise up and bring [this]…government down!” it read. “We are holding your back and your hand, while you take the journey to freedom, democracy and peace. You are not alone. Don’t fear us, we are not terrorist, we are the good guys from the Internet. AnonKorea and all the other Anons are here to set you free. We are Anonymous.”
This leak comes just days after the hacktivist group Anonymous_Korea announced via Twitter that it had disabled five websites operated by the North Korean government. Using the Twitter hashtag #Tangodown, the hackers revealed that a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack disabled the North Korean Committee for Cultural Relations page, the Korean and English language versions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the website for the state-owned airline Air Koryo.
The online tension comes in the wake of Kim’s announcement that the North Korean government will begin developing a nuclear weapon as “a reliable war deterrent and guarantee to protect [North Korean] sovereignty” from perceived Western hostility.You know, there was another hit thrown by Brian Boyle — now more of a villain wearing a Lightning jersey in Islanders Country than he ever was wearing the Blueshirt — that did every bit as much damage as the one he threw at Thomas Hickey in overtime in Brooklyn caused on Tuesday.
And that was the hit on which the former Ranger concussed his good buddy, Dan Girardi, late in the third period at the Garden on April 5 with a blow out of nowhere that sent the defenseman into the rear boards.
“I talked to Danny that night after the game and then I called him again after they lost to Pitt,” Boyle told The Post after his goal at 2:48 of overtime, seconds after he creamed Hickey up high, lifted the Lightning to a 5-4 Game 3 victory and a 2-1 second-round lead. “Seeing him down that night in obvious distress wasn’t a good feeling. You never want to see anyone down like that, let alone a good friend.
“It’s a terrible part of our game. Knowing Danny was feeling much better last I talked to him makes it better, but still. People know that’s not the way I play the game.”
Well, Jack Capuano isn’t quite so sure of that. The Islanders’ coach railed about the hit that eliminated Hickey from the play before Boyle’s artful put-back from the goal line of Victor Hedman’s ricochet off the rear boards, which couldn’t have happened if No. 11 didn’t have the reach of a 6-foot-7 lefty. And we will learn what the ironically named Department of Player Safety thinks of the blow against the defenseman, whose own huge high hit had knocked Jonathan Drouin out of the game from early in the second period to midway through the third.
“I can’t say whether there will be any [supplemental discipline],” Boyle said. “I’ve never been in that position before. I don’t wish anyone ill. I don’t want anyone to be hurt. There was certainly no intent.”
Neither the Hickey hit nor the Boyle check appears suspension worthy at first, second or third glance. Hits like those are part of playoff hockey. This wasn’t Brooks Orpik concussing Olli Maatta or Kris Letang launching himself at Marcus Johansson.
Eliminate hits like Hickey’s and Boyle’s, and the game becomes two-hand touch.
The hits and the relentless physical nature of the game have created a Bad Blood Series where no history or rivalry previously existed between the clubs. This was a 60-minute-plus departure from the two vanilla affairs the clubs previous had split in the Sunshine State.
And the truculent nature of the match even preceded the opening puck drop when Travis Hamonic bumped the ubiquitous Boyle at the center line during the pregame warm-up.
“We all knew what kind of a game it was going to be,” Boyle said. “I’d never really been a part of anything like that before, but that’s OK.”
The Islanders had this entertaining game, had it locked away until Nikita Kucherov tied it at 19:21 of the third period with netminder Ben Bishop pulled for the extra attacker. They had it on a night on which the Lightning took away essentially all of John Tavares’ time and space, and really, can the Islanders possibly advance to the conference finals with Alan Quine playing first-line wing?
Into overtime it went and out came Boyle, a fourth-liner (and darn good one) through most of his career with the Rangers, and, truth be told, a fourth-liner through his two seasons in Tampa Bay after moving south as a free agent on July 1, 2014.
Out came Boyle, who has become a fixture on the Lightning’s first power-play unit in Steven Stamkos’ absence.
“If I’m going to get that opportunity, I’m going to do whatever I can to be successful in that role,” Boyle said. “I don’t want to be out there just taking up space, I don’t want to let down the power play and I don’t want to let down my team.”
Boyle had a huge first four games as Ranger against Ottawa during the first round of the 2012 playoffs. He was then concussed on an unpenalized headshot from Chris Neil in Game 5 and never again quite attained those postseason heights on Broadway.
This, though, was Brooklyn.Trump: Obama should be working, not campaigning
Donald Trump campaigns in Fletcher, N.C., on Oct. 21, 2016. (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)
Donald Trump spent part of Friday protesting the campaign tactics of the man he hopes to succeed in office: Barack Obama.
The president should stop campaigning and focus on governing, Trump told supporters in Fletcher, N.C., while also criticizing Obama's domestic and foreign policies.
"Why is Obama out campaigning?" Trump said. "He ought to be working."
The Republican candidate later added another frequent critic to his complaint list: First lady Michelle Obama.
"We have a president — all he wants to do is campaign," Trump said. "His wife — all she wants to do is campaign."
He prefaced that comment by saying, "We have a bunch of babies running our country, folks — we have a bunch of losers."
The president and first lady have hit the campaign trail enthusiastically on behalf of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, blasting Trump as wholly unqualified for the presidency.
"Donald Trump has nothing to offer but anger and grievance and blame," the president said during a campaign rally Thursday in Florida.
During a Thursday appearance in Arizona, the first lady hit Trump for his claims that the election is "rigged" and might not accept the results.
"And when a presidential candidate threatens to ignore our voices and reject the outcome of this election, he is threatening the very idea of America itself," Mrs. Obama said.
The Republican nominee, trailing Clinton in a variety of polls, urged supporters during his North Carolina event Friday to get to the polls for the Nov. 8 election.
"What a waste of time if we don't pull this off," Trump said.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2eZyJhlThis is no temporary blip. After 20 years of low or no growth during the 1990s and 2000s, Victoria's student population is forecast to grow for the foreseeable future. Yet not a single new state school will open in 2016. The 15 new state schools expected to open in 2017 and 2018 are just the beginning of what's required. What ends up being built at Fishermans Bend will be a far cry from this idyllic artist's rendition. This is a huge challenge for governments. Good long-term planning for schools is essential. We need permanent solutions, not ever more portable classrooms. Poor planning costs big bucks. It already has: the decision not to acquire land for schools in Fishermans Bend before it was rezoned wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of Victorian taxpayer money. Planning for new schools is complicated by uneven growth. Two-thirds of projected growth will occur in just 11 of Victoria's 80 Local Government Areas (LGAs): six in outer growth corridors and five in the inner city. The planning issues for each are very different.
Melbourne's outer growth corridors will house more than half the new students. Wyndham, Cardinia, Melton, Whittlesea, Hume and Casey each need at least 10 new schools to absorb more than 10,000 new students within a decade. Schools play a central role in these outer growth corridors. Good schools help new suburbs grow into strong communities. Land is relatively cheap in new suburbs, but designing schools that link well with other community facilities is complex. Successive Victorian governments have recognised this. They have built innovative models of primary schools that integrate childcare and health facilities. The challenges are very different in the inner city, where Melbourne's five most central LGAs are all projected to experience rapid growth. Here, the great challenge is the high price and scarcity of land. Many existing schools are already overcrowded. In the past, governments' chief response to this challenge has been wishful thinking. In Docklands, for instance, young couples were expected to move out to the suburbs once they had children. Instead, they chose to stay. Despite promises from successive state governments, there is still no school in Docklands. State primary schools in neighbouring suburbs are full. Victorian planning ministers should have learnt the lesson: space for schools must be part of any large urban redevelopment plan.
Fishermans Bend shows that the lesson was not learnt. And there, the costs will be much higher. Fishermans Bend, rezoned for development in 2012, covers the industrial areas of Port Melbourne and South Melbourne. More than twice the size of Docklands, Fishermans Bend was originally projected to house about 80,000 people. Recent estimates suggest that the eventual number could be closer to 150,000. The rezoning process was problematic. While developers and existing landowners captured billions of dollars in windfall gains, no land was set aside for the many schools that will be needed. This was a very costly mistake. In time, Fishermans Bend will probably need between six and 10 state primary schools. Only two are currently planned: Ferrars Street School in South Melbourne, and the South Melbourne Park Primary School. We can estimate the excess cost of land acquisition for schools by looking at the case of the Ferrars Street School. Scheduled to open in 2018, Ferrars Street will be Victoria's first "vertical school", with multiple stories, and recreation facilities on the roof.
Yet even a vertical school requires a substantial footprint. Ferrars Street, which has a projected enrolment of about 500 students, sits on a site of just over 5000 square metres. This land is now worth roughly $24 million – compared to maybe $6 million before rezoning. Of course, primary school students become secondary school students, and the land required per student is similar. Added together, the land acquisition bill for state schools in Fishermans Bend will eventually run to hundreds of millions of dollars. Maybe three-quarters of this money will line the pockets of whoever owned the land before rezoning. This is waste on a massive scale that could have been avoided with a bit of sensible planning. Every dollar that is spent on excess land acquisition costs in Fishermans Bend is a dollar that cannot be spent on developing a school elsewhere. The wasted cost of this poor planning decision could have paid for dozens of new primary schools in outer growth corridors, where land is cheap. There is hope in sight, with broad recognition that school planning processes need to be improved. More transparency about detailed population projections would be a good start. Without a clear view of the challenges, it's too tempting for politicians to duck hard choices that span multiple electoral cycles.
In the end, students must be educated. The schools will be built. Where and when they get built should be determined by demographics, not politics. Better planning would mean they get built when they're needed, and at a much more affordable cost. Peter Goss is School Education Program director at the Grattan Institute.SYDNEY, July 22 (Reuters) - Australia’s New South Wales state has imposed restrictions of the burgeoning coal-seam gas industry and extended a ban on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ until year-end to balance the needs of mining and agriculture.
Fracking, currently not practised in New South Wales, involves drillers blasting pressurised water, chemicals and sand deep underground to break rocks and release the gas, a technique that some farmers fear will contaminate ground water.
The state government would also ban the use of BTEX chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) as additives during coal-seam gas drilling and also ban the use of evaporation ponds relating to coal-seam gas, the state’s resource minister said late on Thursday.
Australia’s coal-seam gas sector is focused mainly on Queensland state but some investors have also been looking at New South Wales’ coal regions for gas opportunities.
Energy group Santos Ltd recently agreed to buy New South Wales-focused peer Eastern Star Gas Ltd in a deal valued at A$868 million to boost reserves.A lot of you have been writing in that you’ve contacted members of the House and Senate and they simply refuse to tell you how their bosses will vote on Paul Ryan’s Medicare Phaseout plan. They’ve never heard of it; there’s no bill; the boss doesn’t have a position yet. Yada yada yada. Here’s something that will help. There is a plan. In fact, there’s a bill. And virtually every member of the House at least has voted on it. The Ryan Medicare Phaseout proposal is part of the Ryan budget which has been voted on in the House every year since 2011.
Follow me below the fold for more details.
Here’s our write up from 2015 when the Ryan budget blueprint passed for the fifth time.
Like previous proposals by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the new plan by House Budget Chair Tom Price (R-GA) transforms Medicare after 10 years into a market exchange (which bears many similarities to Obamacare) where seniors receive a federal subsidy to buy insurance from a menu of options. The menu includes private insurance plans and the option of staying in traditional Medicare. Like Ryan’s proposal last year, it does not impose a cap on how much Medicare is allowed to spend per beneficiary, a GOP budget aide said. It is a response to criticism that the “premium support” structure could lead to high out-of-pocket costs that make coverage unaffordable for seniors.
The budget passed by a vote of 219 to 208. All 219 were Republicans, all but 26 members of the GOP caucus. Did your Rep vote for it? Easy enough to find out. Here’s the roll call. For all 219 of them, they’ve already voted for the plan. They know about it because they voted for it. So no one can wriggle out of saying they don’t know about it or there’s no plan or they haven’t announced a position yet. They already voted for it – at least if they’re among the 219 who voted for it.
The only question is whether they plan to vote on it again now that Obama’s veto pen is out of the way.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Nov. 9, 2015, 12:12 PM GMT / Updated Nov. 10, 2015, 8:38 AM GMT By Jim Miklaszewski, Moufaq Khatib, Alexander Smith, Cassandra Vinograd and Abigail Williams
AMMAN, Jordan — Two American contractors and a South African colleague were gunned down Monday at a U.S.-funded police training center in Jordan, officials said.
Jordan's embassy in Washington said two Jordanians also died in the attack at the facility in eastern Amman. The gunman — a Jordanian police officer — was killed at the scene, according to a statement from the embassy. It added that four others — including two Americans — were injured.
Government spokesman Mohammad Momani told NBC News that the attack unfolded in the cafeteria of the training facility and that an investigation was underway into the gunman's motives.
U.S. defense officials told NBC News that the attacker was a disgruntled former cop who'd recently been fired.Image caption The images included a man on a ventilator, diseased lungs and dead bodies
The US government cannot force tobacco firms to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages, an appeals court in Washington has ruled.
It said the government's plan undermined free speech in America.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had wanted to put nine pictures of dead and diseased smokers to convey the dangers of cigarettes.
But tobacco firms had argued that the images went beyond factual information and into anti-smoking advocacy.
The ruling comes as a number of other countries have ordered similar pictures to be placed on all cigarette packets.
Australia has gone a step further, banning even tobacco company logos from the cartons.
'Significant vindication'
The US Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier lower court ruling in a 2-1 decision.
It said the case raised "novel questions about the scope of the government's authority to force the manufacturer of a product to go beyond making purely factual and accurate commercial disclosures and undermine its own economic interest".
The court said that in this case it was "by making every single pack of cigarettes in the country a mini billboard for the government's anti-smoking message".
It added that the FDA "has not provided a shred of evidence" that the images would directly advance its policy aimed at reducing the number of smokers in America.
The verdict was welcomed by tobacco companies, with Lorrilard Tobacco's describing it as "a significant vindication of First Amendment principles".
The FDA has so far made no public comment on whether it intends to appeal against the ruling in the US Supreme Court.The death of a retired Manitoba RCMP officer who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder has advocates for first responders and their families urging those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to get help and support.
Cpl. Ken Barker, an RCMP dog handler who recently retired from the police force, committed suicide on July 11 in Winnipeg after a long battle with PTSD.
"Yeah, I don't have cancer, I didn't get shot, I don't have a tumour," said Paul Brisson. "I don't have visible injuries, but I assure you I have plenty of wounds and so did Ken."
Brisson and Barker were friends of 27 years and worked together in B.C.
Brisson also suffered from PTSD after going to Haiti following a major earthquake.
Both Brisson and Barker were originally from Winnipeg and hit it off immediately. But over the years the horrors they witnessed on the job caught up with them.
Brisson said it's an epidemic in the force, but many officers are scared to come forward to get help.
"Fearful because of the stigma of not wanting to be acknowledged to have some type of mental illness and even saying that you have PTSD right now within the force is still a tough sell," said Brisson. "With PTSD you have to say, you know, 'I'm burnt out, I'm broken.’"
Brisson retired from the RCMP two years ago and still sees a therapist. He estimated one quarter of officers suffer from PTSD.
"You try to keep it together, maintain a normal life and go about your business, but after a while it takes its toll," he said.
Brisson will read a prayer at a memorial service for Barker Wednesday afternoon.
Cpl. Ken Barker, an RCMP dog handler who recently retired from the police force, committed suicide on July 11 after a long battle with PTSD, according to the Facebook page of Families of the RCMP for PTSD Awareness. (RCMP/Families of the RCMP for PTSD Awareness) Lori Wilson, who started the Facebook page Families of the RCMP for PTSD Awareness, said Barker's wife asked her to share the Mountie's story. It has reached more than 250,000 people since it was posted on Monday.
"It was a profound response," Wilson told CBC News on Thursday via Skype. "It struck a chord to a lot of people."
Barker is among 13 first responders with PTSD who have committed suicide in the past 10 weeks, according to the Ontario-based Tema Conter Memorial Trust.
'National dialogue' on PTSD needed
"We suffer in silence," said McKenzie, a former Canadian soldier with PTSD.
"We don't like to call it suffering but the reality is that's what people are doing," said McKenzie. "They're suffering in silence and because of the stigmas — and especially work-related PTSD — people are too afraid to come forward. It hurts their careers."
Veteran Steve Hartwig and McKenzie are embarking on a cross-Canada walk with other soldiers to raise awareness for those struggling with PTSD.
Hartwig was once caught in an armoured vehicle explosion in the former Yugoslavia and knows what kind of affect traumatic events can have on soldiers, officers and their families.
Now, Hartwig is walking across the country with his fellow servicemen to raise awareness for people like Barker.
"It's like going back to the day, we're doing a lot of processing in the vehicle," said Hartwig. "We have moments of our own agitation, our own stuff that needs to be worked on and it's a great support system, so the brotherhood, the community of people with PTSD needs, we need a national dialogue."
Barker's family told the Winnipeg Free Press that Barker struggled to cope with a number of traumatic experiences on the job, including the murder and beheading of Tim McLean aboard a Greyhound bus in 2008.
"PTSD doesn't just affect the individual who's experienced the trauma. It also affects their family and the people around them," said Dr. Pamela Holens, a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor with the Operational Stress Injury Clinic at the University of Manitoba.
Wilson said her husband was an RCMP officer who eventually sought treatment for his PTSD. She said there was a time when she didn't know where to turn.
"I didn't understand his behaviour. I didn't understand why he didn't love us anymore," she said.
"There was at least over a year that I was terrified I was going to come home and find my husband hanging in our laundry room."
Wilson said police officers and other first responders, as well as their families, should know there is help available for those with PTSD, as well as love and support.Monterey County food bank fire was likely arson, firefighters say
A fire that destroyed an entire fleet of food delivery trucks at the Food Bank for Monterey County in Salinas was ignited by an arsonist, firefighters said Monday.Food Bank for Monterey County's executive director said the nonprofit, which provides food to more than 100 nonprofit agencies across the county, is at a standstill because of the blaze. As of Monday, no food was being distributed or received. SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Man torches food bank trucks in SalinasThe fire started just after midnight Saturday outside the Food Bank's facilities at 815 W. Market St., Capt. Chris Knapp said.Fire investigators said surveillance video from a neighboring business captures what appears to be a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt walking up to a stack of wood pallets and intentionally setting them on fire.The fire spread quickly from a loading dock and destroyed three refrigerated trucks used to collect and distribute food. The main building was not damaged in the blaze, but the large industrial-size refrigerator suffered water damage.The Salinas Fire Department acted quickly enough to prevent flames from spreading even further. Total damages were estimated at $500,000. "It looks really bad, but it could have been much worse," Knapp said.No arrests have been made. The food bank serves the elderly, ill, and needy families. Donations to the Food Bank for Monterey County can be made at foodbankformontereycounty.org.
A fire that destroyed an entire fleet of food delivery trucks at the Food Bank for Monterey County in Salinas was ignited by an arsonist, firefighters said Monday.
Food Bank for Monterey County's executive director said the nonprofit, which provides food to more than 100 nonprofit agencies across the county, is at a standstill because of the blaze.
As of Monday, no food was being distributed or received.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Man torches food bank trucks in Salinas
The fire started just |
, "Carter authorized the CIA to provide financial and other support to opponents." Also in that region, one of Carter's final acts as president was to order $10 million in military aid and advisors to El Salvador.
A final glimpse of "international co-operation based on international law" during the Carter Administration brings us to Afghanistan, site of a Soviet invasion in December 1979. It was here that Carter and Brzezinski aligned themselves with staunch anti-Communists in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to exploit Islam as a method to arouse the Afghani populace to action.
With the CIA coordinating the effort, some $40 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars were used to recruit "freedom fighters" like (wait for it) Osama bin Laden.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“Least Violent”
Was Jimmy Carter, as Chomsky once said, “the least violent of American presidents”? Perhaps. But have our standards dropped to the point where we meticulously rank the criminals who inhabit the White House? Will we ever eschew electoral deceptions and instead recognize and accept and name the big picture problems, e.g. white supremacy, capitalism, male supremacy and Male Pattern Violence?
To paraphrase something I recently wrote: If you think Jimmy Carter was once the answer or you believe Bernie Sanders is now the answer, you’re asking the wrong questions.
Mickey Z. is the author of 12 books, most recently Occupy this Book: Mickey Z. on Activism. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on the Web here and here. Anyone wishing to support his activist efforts can do so by making a donation here.
"Jimmy Carter: Just Like All the Rest" by Mickey Z. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://worldnewstrust.com/jimmy-carter-just-like-all-the-rest-mickey-z.The Houston Rockets had an amazing 2014-15 season, but they need a strong summer to make a jump forward in 2015-16.
When this past summer’s grand plan to sign Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh fell apart and they opted to let Chandler Parsons walk away to Dallas, the Houston Rockets were universally mocked by NBA media and fans alike.
So to recap the Rockets' offseason: Traded Asik for nothing, traded Jeremy Lin for less and lost Chandler Parsons. But got Ariza! Yikes. — Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 13, 2014
Morey traded Asik and Lin, lost Parsons to Dallas and gave up his first rounder to the Lakers. Good job. — John Ledesma (@JohnnyNBA) July 13, 2014
Wow. Cuban took Morey out behind on the woodshed on Chandler Parsons. How excellent is this for the Mavs? Truly turbo-excellent!!! — Ben Rogers (@BenRogers) July 13, 2014
But on that day, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey calmly proclaimed something that very few could understand at the time.
“By this year’s playoffs,” said Morey. “We will be a better team than last year’s playoffs.”
He was right.
Despite dealing with significant injuries, the Rockets exceeded expectations by winning 56 games, landing the 2nd seed in a brutal conference and making it to the West Finals. They put the 2013-14 disappointment behind them and got back on track. They did this largely because of the greatness of James Harden.
Morey deserves a lot of credit as well. Replacing Parsons with Trevor Ariza was a boost to the defense. Unloading Jeremy Lin was both a plus on the court and on the cap, allowing the Rockets to later add Corey Brewer. The additions of Josh Smith and Jason Terry played major roles in how far the Rockets got in the playoffs.
The last time the Rockets were in the Conference Finals was the first year for ClutchFans — 1996-97 — so I know well how long it’s been since they advanced this far. This was a hell of a season. I am proud of what they accomplished.
With that said, it’s clear the Rockets have weaknesses and while the future is bright, the window to contend with Dwight Howard can’t be too big. If the Rockets are to win a title with Dwight in his prime, they must fill holes and take a step forward in 2015-16.
Team Needs
Above all else, the Rockets need a point guard.
Yes, this series might have been different with a healthy Patrick Beverley defending Stephen Curry, but if Harden’s turnover-fest in Game 5 taught us anything, it’s that the Rockets desperately need a second playmaker — even when Beverley was healthy, that need was still glaring. A point guard that can shoot, defend and attack the basket should be a top priority, but those are not easy to come by. Goran Dragic represented the ideal, but that ship sailed once he made it clear he didn’t want to return. Kyle Lowry or, to a lesser extent, Ty Lawson may be targets.
They also could use a power forward upgrade. The Donatas Motiejunas back injury really hurt as the trio of D-Mo, Terrence Jones and Josh Smith looked strong heading towards the postseason, but defensive rotations and shots around the basket were a problem for both Smith and Jones at times — particularly Jones, who may have played his last game as a Rocket.
The Rockets have two amazing superstars as their core, but they do have flaws to their games. Rocket brass has to cover those up with the right complements in their role players, with three-point shooting and defensive versatility being absolute musts for the rotation on this team.
Free Agents
The Rockets have plenty of their own free agents to worry about.
Brewer will be an unrestricted free agent, though the Rockets have Early Bird rights on Brewer and can offer him up to $8-9 million. I would be a little shocked if he gets more than that on the market. Josh Smith is also a free agent and while they would like to bring him back, what they can offer him will be tricky. Both Brewer and Smith were big parts of Houston’s success this season.
Beverley will be a restricted free agent, giving the Rockets the right to match any offer sheet he signs. Don’t be surprised if the Dallas Mavericks rear their head again here. Rookie K.J. McDaniels will also be a restricted free agent.
Jason Terry will be an unrestricted free agent and, according to a report, the Rockets want Terry back. I would not be surprised if this is a Francisco Garcia-style situation where the Rockets would like to keep Terry at veteran minimum prices.
Draft and Assets
The Rockets hold picks 18 and 32 in the 2015 NBA Draft. They simply can’t afford a pair of misses here. Their needs are clear, but need has never trumped Houston’s desire for value — they’ll take the best player available.
Both picks are trade assets. My feeling is that Jones will be on the trade block, given that he and Motiejunas are both a year away from restricted free agency and D-Mo has shown more development, particularly as a scorer around the basket and long-range shooter. If the Rockets feel confident in Josh Smith’s willingness to re-sign, that may also make Jones more expendable. Clint Capela could be a strong backup center for the Rockets next season, but he also has to have enormous trade value right now given the potential he has shown. For a team in win-now mode, that raises an interesting dilemma.
Still Hunting Big Game
Everything the Rockets do is about value, as illustrated by letting Parsons walk and signing Ariza. They have always believed that the best value contracts are rookies and max superstars, so you can expect the Rockets to exhaust all options pursuing the top free agents and trying to move up in the draft.
I’ve been told they will definitely go after free agent power forwards LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love, but as crazy as it sounds, I’ve also been told they will reach out to Memphis center Marc Gasol, also a free agent.
The most cap room the Rockets can get to by waiving everyone eligible is around $9-$10 million, not enough to chase a top free agent. However, as they proved last summer in shipping out Omer Asik and Lin — you don’t need cap room to pursue a max contract, you just need the ability to unload contracts to get there. In this case, that’s Trevor Ariza, but that’s not a bridge the Rockets want to cross unless they have to. What they need is a top talent to want to join Harden and Howard in Houston — the Rockets will do the rest.
If they are to be this fortunate, the more likely route would be a sign-and-trade here as the Rockets have some attractive trade pieces — namely Capela — that could appeal to teams if their free agent opts to leave.
MLE Conundrum
The Rockets are likely to operate above the cap, giving them their mid-level exception ($5.3M) to work with. The problem is they have three players they could use it on — Josh Smith, European point guard Sergio Llull and restricted free agent K.J. McDaniels.
The hope would be that Smith is willing to take less again (a non-Bird contract of $2.5 million) and that the Rockets can finally lure Llull, who could be a very good complement to Beverley. That may leave McDaniels out in the cold, though we will see what type of contract he receives.
Kostas Papanikolaou, who the Rockets used their MLE on last season, is a very good bet to be traded as his contract counts for $4.8M in trades but is not guaranteed for next season. The same applies to Pablo Prigioni and his $1.7M partially-guaranteed salary for next season. The two combined could bring back almost $9.8M in a trade.
Conclusion
The Rockets proved that they are among the best teams in the NBA, but it was also clear that there is a gap between them and the very best. The Golden State Warriors, who won 67 games (11 more than the Rockets), present a good model to follow as they made one significant change to their starting lineup — removing David Lee for the versatile and defensive-minded Draymond Green — and it filled a hole to complete their team, turning them from a poor defensive squad into the very best in the league.
The Rockets have the ability to make that same kind of leap with an addition or two to their roster, and this is the offseason where it needs to happen.Obama's Cronkite moment Did the president lose Jon Stewart -- and his millennial base -- last night?
If President Obama has lost Jon Stewart, has he lost his base? It's a question worth considering after "The Daily Show" host tore into the president Monday night for a series of scandals and controversies that seem to be piling up by the hour this week. In a shouty, expletive-laden segment, Stewart said the IRS scandal will be fodder to the right-wing conspiracy theories he's been battling for years and that it single-handedly "shifted the burden of proof from the tin foil-behatted to the government:"
“Well, congratulations, President Barack Obama, conspiracy theorists who generally can survive in anaerobic environments have just had an algae bloom dropped on their f--king heads, thus removing the last arrow in your pro-governance quiver: skepticism about your opponents.”
By the time Stewart got around to the Department of Justice taking AP reporters' phone records, he couldn't even muster the energy for outrage, mumbling blankly, "mother f--cker."
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Stewart, more than any other broadcaster or political figure, has become a voice for the millennial generation and a conduit for its political awakening in the Obama era. Stewart has never withheld criticism for the president, but the tone is usually like that of a comedic roast, ribbing but generous, or the kind of sober, but compassionate warning a friend may give about the need to shape up. But Stewart's performance last night suggests the host is losing his patience with the president. Could his viewers and a core constituency of the Obama base be not far behind him?
It calls to mind one of the most famed moments in broadcasting, when CBS News legend Walter Cronkite delivered an editorial opinion after the Tet Offensive in February 1968 saying, "It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could."
Apparently watching at the White House, President Johnson, who had lost the left long ago, reportedly turned to an aide and said, "If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America." Just a few weeks later, Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. (Critics say the event has been widely misreported and overblown, but it still looms large in the American consciousness of the era, even if apocryphally.)
Obama can't seek reelection anymore, of course. But he lost the right long ago, and one wonders if at least some segments of his base may be losing patience as well, as the latest scandals on transparency and freedom of the press strike nerves close to the progressive heart. If George W. Bush targeted AP reporters, or systematically went after liberal groups, the left would be justifiably outraged (and was).
Meanwhile on CNN, Piers Morgan, who is also usually quite friendly to the president and willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, said Obama's failures on transparency is America "at its worst.”
"Four months into a fresh four years, President Obama is already assuming the familiar crouch of a scandal-struck second-termer," Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote today.JURUPA VALLEY >> A 70-year-old armed homeowner was able to stop a would-be burglar Friday afternoon, holding him at gunpoint until authorities arrived.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department received a call Friday afternoon from a 63-year-old female in the 5300 block of Riverview Drive who said her husband, who had a permit to carry a gun, had gone outside to investigate what they believed was a burglary in process.
Once outside, the 70-year-old homeowner found a suspect trying to break inside with a crowbar.
Deputies arrived within four minutes of receiving the call and arrested Jose Rodriguez, 34, of San Bernardino, on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools, and an outstanding arrest warrant.
Rodriguez was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center. Bail was set at $75,000.
Anyone with information about this incident can call, 951-955-2600.M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Spotted at Hillary Clinton's surprise birthday party
SPOTTED at HILLARY CLINTON’S SURPRISE 70TH BIRTHDAY PARTY yesterday afternoon at Elizabeth Frawley Bagley’s house in D.C. (Hillary was indeed surprised, and champagne, finger food and chocolate cake were served): Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Madeleine Albright, who spoke to the crowd, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Tom Nides, Ron Klain, Dennis Cheng, Mike Taylor, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Philippe Reines, Brian Fallon and Katie Beirne Fallon...
… Kiki McLean, Adrienne Elrod, Karen Finney, Bob Barnett and Rita Braver, Capricia Marshall, Lona Valmoro, Tony Podesta, John Podesta, Maya Harris and Tony West, Heather Samuelson, David Kendall, David Brock, Sidney Blumenthal, Huma Abedin, Maria Cardona, Guy Cecil, Lauren Peterson, Neera Tanden, Karen Dunn, Judy Lichtman and Allida Black.
This article tagged under: Playbook PlusThe Vault is Slate’s new history blog. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @slatevault, and find us on Tumblr. Find out more about what this space is all about here.
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum recently digitized a portion of the Kennedy administration’s national security files. Among these papers was this June 1963 memo that summarizes Soviet media coverage of the growing American conflicts over civil rights. These Soviet broadcasts, which reached audiences in Asia, Africa, and South America, tried to turn global public opinion against the United States.
The memo, compiled by Thomas Hughes, assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, saw an increase in volume of such Soviet broadcasts in the spring of 1963. That spring, after Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., during the first widely televised protests and sit-ins, activists staged 758 demonstrations in 75 Southern cities.
A few major arguments of these broadcasts, as Hughes summarized them: Capitalism provided a natural environment for racism, which would never end so long as the American system needed cheap labor. The federal government’s policy of limited intervention in Southern conflicts was tantamount to support of Southern racism. The United States could not claim to be the leader of the free world while hypocritically refusing to support civil rights within its borders.
In the most politically damaging line of reasoning, Soviet broadcasters argued that American domestic policy toward its black citizens was “indicative of its policy toward peoples of color throughout the world.” Emerging African, Asian, and South American nations, in other words, should not count on Americans to support their independence.
On the fourth page of the memo, Hughes argued that the Soviets had their own PR problem when it came to treatment of ethnic and racial minorities within their borders (facing, for example, ongoing accusations of anti-Semitism in the world press). Hughes thought that Soviets might be trying to distract from recent negative coverage of their own internal conflicts by pointing a finger at the United States.
Previously on The Vault: an August 1963 film, produced by the U.S. Information Agency for foreign distribution, that featured actors Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, and James Baldwin in conversation on the meaning of civil rights.× Make your TwitLonger posts ad-free For just £1 a month, you can support TwitLonger directly and remove ads from your posts
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/r/CoDCompetitive 6/28 tourney
READ OP FOR RULE CHANGES! (vetoes, etc.) http://www.reddit.com/r/CoDCompetitive/comments/299g96/rcodcompetitive_tournament_4v4_ghosts_628/
First Round Order:
Octane - SnD
Sovereign - Dom
Sovereign - SnD
Strike Zone - Dom
Octane - Dom
Octane - Blitz
Warhawk - Blitz
Freight - SnD
Strike Zone - SnD
Freight - Dom
Warhawk - SnD
Freight - Blitz
Second Round Order: (basically the first round for teams with a bye)
Sovereign - Domination
Strike Zone - Search & Destroy
Freight - Search & Destroy
Strike Zone - Domination
Freight - Domination
Sovereign - Search & Destroy
Warhawk - Search & Destroy
Octane - Domination
Freight - Blitz
Octane - Search & Destroy
Warhawk - Blitz
Octane - Blitz
Later rounds will be posted when we get things caught up.
Bracket Links:
Xbox 360: http://codcompetitive.challonge.com/628xbox360
Xbox One: http://codcompetitive.challonge.com/628xboxone
Looking to contact your opponent? Go to the OP (link at the top) and Ctrl + F to search your opponents team name in the comments. Grab the info from there.
Im on standby here on twitter as well as..
skype: lucasfacemire
xbox one: der bergsteiger
Reply · Report PostDigital media and technology company AtGames has revealed the launch dates for their line of six retro consoles, which feature a variety of Sega and Atari games, HD compatibility, wireless controllers, and more. Each system provides a unique experience, with options for portability and differing game libraries available at varying price points.
The Atari Flashback Portable Game Player allows you to bring a library of 70 games, including Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Frogger, on the go. Along with portability, this system offers the option to hook up and play on your TV. It will be available beginning September 1 for $59.99.
The Atari Flashback 8 Gold holds a library of 120 built-in games, including classic titles such as Pitfall!, Space Invaders, and Kaboom! Stylized after the Atari 2600, this system also integrates a save/pause/rewind feature and will be available starting September 22 at a price point of $79.99.
The Sega Genesis Flashback features 85 built-in games including the Sonic series, Mortal Kombat series, and Shining Force series. In addition, it is being released with an integrated cartridge port that plays most Sega Genesis and Mega Drive original cartridges. It becomes available on September 22 for $79.99.
For a full list of systems and their features, head over to AtGames Flashback Zone.
Our Take
After seeing the success of the NES Classic Edition and upcoming SNES Classic Edition, it's no surprise that Atari and Sega (via AtGames) are jumping on the retro console bandwagon. However, this is a situation where more does not equal better. The simplicity of Nintendo's singular console releases is part of what makes it such a successful endeavor. AtGames seems to be going for too much variety here, and while certain property licenses may be partly responsible for releasing so many different systems (six in total), I think the oversaturation of options is going to be a detriment to the performance of these consoles.TL;DR. GitHub Pages doesn’t currently support 3rd party theme gems. You can workaround this, by building Jekyll in your local machine or in a CI service like Travis-CI and push to Github the generated files inside _site. WARNING: This is not supposed to be a step by step tutorial, but my experience and some hints on how you can archive the same thing.
UPDATE: Since 29 of November 2017, GitHub Pages announced support for Jekyll Gem-based themes that are hosted on GitHub. This means that now you have two options to use Jekyll Gem-based themes on GitHub Pages: GitHub Pages new support for Gem-based themes Click here for more details.
Building Jekyll in your local machine or in a CI service as discussed on this blog post.
The initial idea
When I was setting up this blog, I wanted to use Github Pages and Jekyll.
I follow some tutorials, forked a few different themes, but it felt a hack to fork a repository, keep it update with original, making local changes which could result in future conflicts, bah That’s something that I didn’t want to do for a simple blog… I want to apply the KISS principle.
Then I find out that since version 3.2, Jekyll start supporting Gem-based themes, which seems what I was looking for, but after a quick search I find out this:
Note: Not all Jekyll themes are supported. For a list of Jekyll themes that are supported by GitHub Pages, see https://pages.github.com/themes. Adding a Jekyll theme to your GitHub Pages site
Github Pages only support a small number of themes, which made me return to the original plan of forking a repository.
A better way
After a while, when I was trying a new theme I found this github issue.
Question: Use with GH pages without requiring fork? Answer: … The problem is GitHub Pages doesn’t currently support 3rd party theme gems. Similar to how they don’t allow Jekyll plugins (except for a few that have been whitelisted). So instead of pushing commits to GH and having it build your site, you need to build it locally and push the contents of your _site folder. … A lot of people use CI services like Travis to build their site and deploy to GH. Question: Use with GH pages without requiring fork? · Issue #662 · mmistakes/minimal-mistakes
This was exactly what I was trying to archive! Basically if I perform the Jekyll build outside of github, like on my local machine or Travis-CI, I could still use Jekyll Gem-based themes, and push to github only the generated file inside _site.
I already tried the Jasper theme with Travis-CI so maybe that wouldn’t be that hard.
I followed this guide especially the sections Ruby Gem Method and Setup Your Site.
The most important files to get started are:
And after some tweaking and failed build’s, I got it working!
Conclusion
In general I’m satisfied with the setup, Travis-CI does all the heavy lifting for me, it builds the site in every commit, although I would like that the build times were faster, currently they are around two and half minutes.
If you have any suggestion to improve, or any issue trying to reproduce what I describe, please let me know.A new master’s degree in data, economics, and development policy (DEDP), announced today by MIT and offered by its renowned Department of Economics, represents a new path to earning an MIT master’s degree. The program is the first to be available solely to online learners who have earned another new credential, the MITx MicroMasters in DEDP, also announced today by the Institute.
The MicroMasters program is open to anyone in the world. Its courses are offered online via edX by faculty based at MIT’s Department of Economics, widely recognized as the global center of research in development economics, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a world leader in policy-relevant research. Students who perform exceptionally well in the MicroMasters program in DEDP may be eligible to continue their education on campus at MIT, ultimately earning a master’s degree — the first to be offered by MIT’s Department of Economics. The MicroMasters program is now open for enrollment for courses beginning in February 2017; the DEDP master’s degree will launch in 2019.
Performance in the online MicroMasters in DEDP will be a key selection criterion for those students who complete this program and then apply to the MIT master’s program. Upon acceptance, these students’ online work will be converted to credit and they will come to MIT for a single semester to earn an accelerated master’s. In the summer following their semester in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they will also complete a capstone experience — consisting of an internship and corresponding project report — to apply the skills they have acquired. Through this unique “inverted” admissions process, the blended master’s program opens new doors for those seeking education at MIT.
“Policymakers, NGO activists, and businesspeople in developing countries are increasingly aware of the importance of good data and rigorous evidence for designing and choosing policies and projects — and implementing them effectively,” says Esther Duflo, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics. “To become good producers and consumers of evidence, they need staff with a strong quantitative and analytical background. Today, few programs provide such training, and the available options are expensive and time-consuming. The blended master’s in DEDP, anchored at MIT, the home of J-PAL, is an ideal solution to this challenge.”
A program 15 years in the making
“The world of development policy has become more and more evidence-based over the past 10-15 years,” says professor of economics Ben Olken, who co-created the MicroMasters in DEDP program with Duflo and Ford Professor of Economics Abhijit Banerjee. “Development practitioners need to understand not just development issues, but how to analyze them rigorously using data. This program is designed to help fill that gap.”
This decade-and-a-half shift toward practical, empirical research and rigorous impact-evaluation methods aligns with the broader international development community’s focus on evidence-based policy and results-based development. Ever-evolving dynamics within developing countries, institutional challenges inherent in poverty, and the rising costs of economic intervention — which can run to billions of dollars — have made development policy increasingly complex.
To navigate these new realities, the governments and organizations responsible for implementing poverty relief programs must build their capacity and capabilities. The MicroMasters program and master’s in DEDP help to answer this demand and strengthen local capacity to produce and understand empirical research.
“I’ve worked in government and international agencies, and know how important a thorough grounding in economics and data analysis is to good policymaking,” says Rachel Glennerster, executive director of J-PAL. “Our aim with this MicroMasters is to give people — wherever they are in the world — the skills they need to bring the best analytical tools and empirical evidence to bear to help solve the world’s most pressing problems."
A longtime advocate for reducing poverty through evidence-based policy, J-PAL is well-suited to collaborate on the new programs. The organization has developed customized training sessions for a wide range of groups, including the International Labor Organization, UNICEF India, and the government of Gabon.
A major step for MicroMasters
MIT launched the first MITx MicroMasters credential, the MicroMasters in supply chain management, in October 2015. Since then, over a dozen universities have adopted the MicroMasters model, which enables online learners to take a semester’s worth of master’s-level courses on the edX platform, then complete a master’s degree in an accelerated path on campus.
The MicroMasters in DEDP brings innovation one step further by offering a brand new pricing structure based solely on income. Students are charged a personalized course fee determined by their ability to pay, no matter where in the world they live. There are no formal prerequisites for enrolling in the MicroMasters, which removes a major barrier in access to education, and the number of courses a learner takes at one time is flexible as well.
The MicroMasters in DEDP equips students with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing developing countries and the world’s poor. Through five online courses and five in-person proctored exams at facilities around the globe, the MicroMasters in DEDP prepares learners to bring a data-driven perspective to development policy.
Students will acquire a theoretical foundation in microeconomics, probability, and statistics while gaining practical experience through exposure to real-life scenarios and step-by-step training on how to conduct randomized controlled evaluations, a method used by J-PAL affiliates to measure the impact of a policy or program. Learners will also develop the ability to carry out the economic analyses of programs, get involved in hands-on data analysis, and acquire key skills needed to run randomized evaluations in the field.
“Students who earn the MicroMasters credential and master’s degree in DEDP will come out ready to be leaders in their field and to change the world,” says Duflo. “They’ll acquire the tools to be creative, analytical thinkers who will reinvent antipoverty policy. And they’ll gain the courage and skills to put all their ideas to the test, and fail, and try again until they succeed.”
“My ideal world is one where development practitioners come at whatever they are doing as a matter of solving a problem with the best tools, sharpest ideas, and the most sophisticated learning strategies available to them,” says Banerjee. “Poverty is a solvable problem, as long as we have the patience to keep trying and the will and the clarity to keep learning from our experience; I hope that this program will serve as a midwife to that process.”[Skill] description User
Evolution Deck Specialist
If your Deck contains 3 or more "Evolution Pill" cards, can be used each time your Life Points decrease by 1000. During your Draw Phase, instead of conducting your norma draw, draw a random "Evolution Pill" card. This skill can only be used twice per Duel.
Tyranno Hassleberry
Dino DNA!
Each time your turn begins, you gain 200 Life Points.
Tyranno Hassleberry
The Dino Within
Can be used each time your Life Points decrease by 1500. Send 1 Raptile-type monster on your side of the field to the Graveyard (except a Token). Then, randomly play 1 Dinosaur-type monster that is same Attribute as the monster you sent to the Graveyard, but is 3 Level higher from your Deck (the monster must be able to be Normal Summoned.) This skill can be used once per turn.
Tyranno Hassleberry
New Ultra Evolution Pill
Can be used each time your Life Points decrease by 1500. Send 1 Winged Beast-Type monster on your side of the field to the Graveyard (exept a Token). Then, play 1 Dinosaur-type monster from your hand (the monster must be able to be Normal Summoned.) This Skill can only be used once per turn.
Tyranno Hassleberry
Spacesaurus!
Can be used turn 3 and onward. Select 1 Level 7 or higher Dinosaur-type monster on your side of the field. The ATK/DEF of it becomes equal to your Life Points. When the monster leaves the field, you lose the Duel.
Tyranno Hassleberry
Unstoppable Dino Power!
This turn, the ATK of all Dinosaur-type monster on you field increases by 100. This Skill can only be used once per turn.
Tyranno HassleberryMotorcycle industry is on a roll heading into Long Beach show
Sales are up for the first time since 2006, and makers are eager to unveil new models at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show.
The show — in its 32 n d year and making its 18 t h annual swing through Long Beach — will draw more than 150 manufacturers of motorcycles, parts, apparel, accouterments and accessories.
"We're seeing a good appetite right now for new bikes in new segments," said Steve Menneto, vice president of motorcycles for Polaris Industries, parent company of Indian Motorcycles and the electric motorcycle maker Brammo.
The early buzz? The long motorcycle recession is ending. The 2012 sales year will show the first uptick since the glory days of 2006, when almost 1.2 million new motorcycles were sold in the U.S., from the depths of 2011, when fewer than half that many were sold.
More than 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to gather at the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend for the annual Progressive International Motorcycle Show.
Big-name bike makers use motorcycle shows to trot out their latest toys. This year, Ducati will unveil an upgraded version of its popular Multistrada 1200S, plus new editions of its Hypermotard SP and Hyperstrada. BMW will give the U.S. its first look at the F800GT. KTM will roll out a new line of street machines. The tarps will be taken off high-end cruisers, including a Yamaha custom Star, a Honda Gold Wing and a pair of Suzuki C90Ts.
The show will also include a Ducati fashion show, an exhibition of stunt riding by freestylers Nick Brocha and Aaron Twite, pinstriping lessons from TLC's "Overhaulin'" star Skratch, and a visit with world land-speed record holder Al Lamb and his turbocharged Honda CBR1000RR, which this year set a 1000cc record of 262.471mph.
Noting that the 2011 show's attendance figure of 53,000 was 11% higher than in the previous year and that this year's numbers are expected to be higher still, a show executive said good industry economics suggest more manufacturers will be bringing new models to the show, which presages more retail activity.
"It's a simple equation," said Danny Phillips, executive vice president of Advanstar Communications Inc., which owns and produces the show. "More new product equals more visits to dealerships equals more new unit sales."
Retail sales for 2011 were estimated at $6.15 billion. No estimate is available for 2012, but the Motorcycle Industry Council, an industry group, has said sales rose 2.8% for the first six months of the year.
There are also signs of a positive generational shift.
For two decades U.S. motorcycle sales were driven by baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964. As those riders age and retire from motorcycling, it appears they are being replaced by Generation Y enthusiasts, those born from 1980 to 2008.
Data collected by the Motorcycle Industry Council show that the median age of motorcycle and scooter owners rose from 24 in 1981 to 43 in 2008. In 2009, though, it fell to 40. More recent numbers are not available, but anecdotal evidence suggests the median age has continued falling. Boomers represented 48% of all U.S. motorcycle owners in 2003, the data show, but only 36% in 2009.
Manufacturers are responding. Floor displays at the Long Beach event will be crowded with cruisers and sport cruisers designed for the aging boomer, as well as smaller, less expensive bikes styled and priced to appeal to the relative beginner.
"Boomers like us may have been interested in horsepower and performance, but Gen X and Gen Y are also looking at safety, fuel mileage, cost of ownership," said Honda Powersports executive Jon Seidel, who expects strong sales for Honda's new line of CB500s. "These new 500 series bikes are going to be very significant with those demographics."Eric Cantor’s primary defeat by David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, sent the pundits scurrying. Shocked and bewildered, they searched around for theories to makes sense of what they had not anticipated happening. Hundreds of articles were written and dozens of explanations were offered.
One of the more fascinating threads that emerged from the cacophony of ideas put forward in the days following the primary was the effort to find a Jewish dimension to the story. Cantor, the House Majority Leader, was the highest ranking Jewish lawmaker in American history, with aspirations to be Speaker of the House. When one adds to that the fact that Brat is a religious Christian who speaks frequently of his faith, the temptation to uncover a Jewish angle became irresistible. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the leading Jewish weekly the Forward, and a variety of other publications duly turned out articles examining, from every perspective, the Jewish and religious sides of the election.
The problem was that there was no Jewish angle, at least not one of any consequence.
David Wasserman, a normally sensible political analyst, got things going with a much-quoted statement to the Times suggesting that anti-Semitism was at play in Cantor’s defeat. Cantor was culturally out of step |
compensated and agreed to the publication. The mods of /r/Travel which encourages unique travel tips seemed to misunderstand the User Agreement (UA) and felt that Redditors could simply tell Reddit no to publishing their content (they can’t), and when they realized this simply stated that users are the product of Reddit but expressed hope that Reddit would rightfully credit the authors. Finally the mods of /r/AskReddit said they had no book plans currently and offered no more comments.
(conversations above can be found in this imgur link with specific reddit mod names redacted for privacy: http://imgur.com/a/wGyzl)
And what if other social networks followed suit? Imagine if YouTube claimed ownership of all videos you uploaded and sold them to TV producers, if IMGUR sold a photo album of your memes, or if Instagram printed books of your selfies, if DeviantArt took ownership and printed copies of your artwork, if Twitter took ownership of your photos and vines and sold them on a disc – you would be rightfully outraged that your rights to your content had been violated and you would have no recourse since using the site you gave the website owners the rights to your works. A grand heist of creativity could be just now starting. You could walk into a Hobby Lobby or Target soon and see your creative works sold on display without ever seeing a dime.
How Reddit Can Take Your Copyrights Legally
Reddit changed their User Agreement on December 11th, 2013 which included paragraphs 17 & 18. These paragraphs read much like those on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.. and has been argued by social media networks as necessary to sell ads on their website against the content you post. Reddit never made a blog post about the change as seen in their blog’s December 2013 archives, they did, however, claim to be making changes to their self-service advertising system a few months earlier but those changes never materialized and the system is still built in a way that is difficult and ineffective for advertisers to use.
17 – You retain the rights to your copyrighted content or information that you submit to reddit (“User Content”) except as described below. 18 – By submitting User Content to reddit, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display your User Content in any medium and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
To their credit Reddit has promoted user content in the past to help it get visibility off of the site and co-founder Alexas Ohanian stated that in the long-term users will profit from their works. My response is included in the following Twitter conversation, but I’ll repeat it here. That’s a nice platitude, but offers nothing concrete to users. Reddit can and has now proven that they WILL take your content without your consent and assert their rights to ownership over it in order for them to increase profits. Post your creative work to Reddit at your own risk and be warned that the frontpage of the internet might just take ownership rights if and when it suits them.
Suggestions for Changes
I have no problems with Reddit wanting to make a profit, after all I’m in business for the same reasons. Here’s how they could accomplish their goals while protecting users rights to content.Drinking water contamination at North Carolina's sprawling Camp Lejeune military base could date to 1948, five years earlier than researchers had reported previously, a federal report indicates.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry plans to release a report Friday on the contamination that has led to a long-running dispute between former residents and the Marines Corps.
TCE, an industrial solvent now known as a human carcinogen, likely first exceeded the maximum contaminant level in August 1953, but evidence shows its presence in the water supply might date as far back as November 1948, the report states. A copy of the report was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
"Basically, it's vindication and confirmation for what I've been saying for nearly 16 years," said retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, a leader in a protracted fight for information about the contamination. "The truth is finally coming out."
Ensminger blames the contamination for the leukemia that killed his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, in 1985. Marines and family members have blamed the contamination for many kinds of cancers, including breast cancer in men and women, bladder cancer and liver cancer.
Wells at the base were contaminated by fuel leaks and other sources of pollution before being closed three decades ago. Health officials have said they think as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to tainted water. Tests done in the early 1980s showed that water at a base treatment plant was "highly contaminated" with chlorinated hydrocarbons.
The federal agency had initially set 1953 as the date for the earliest known contamination in a letter written in January to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In that letter, the agency said computer modeling showed drinking water in the residential area called Hadnot Point was unsafe for human consumption as far back as that year.
That was still four years earlier than Marines and their dependents can secure health care and screening for illnesses related to the water. President Barack Obama signed a law last year granting health care and screening to Marines and their dependents on the base between 1957 and 1987.
This week, Sen. Richard Burr filed to extend coverage back to 1953.
The report lays out levels at the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard water treatment plants on base for various contaminants, including TCE, PCE, vinyl chloride and benzene. All those chemicals are classified as causing or probably causing cancer. It also includes one other chemical that's not carcinogenic.
For TCE, the maximum level of 783 parts per billion was reached in November 1983 at Hadnot; at Holcomb it was 66 ppb in February 1985, the report says. The highest level allowed in drinking water is 5 ppb, set in 1989, meaning the Hadnot Point level was almost 157 times the highest level allowed now.
The Hadnot plant opened in 1942 and the second plant in the early 70s.
Until the summer of 1972, the Hadnot treatment plant supplied all finished water distributed to bachelor and family housing units, the report says. It noted that the Holcomb Bouelvard plant came online that year and its finished water wasn't contaminated except when it received water transfers from Hadnot Point.
Marine Corps Spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Motz said Thursday that tests called for in Navy documents from the 1960s through the 1980s would not have detected chemicals such as TCE and PCE. The Navy instructions did not address such chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents until the Environmental Protection Agency began to regulate them in the late 1980s, she added.
The estimated monthly contamination gives researchers the information they need to do human health studies. The agency is working on four studies expected to be released this year and next year: birth defects and childhood cancer; health survey of Marine Corps personnel and civilians; male breast cancer and mortality.Alexandra Chando as Sutton Mercer and Emma Becker in The Lying Game
Are you fixated on the intertwined inner lives of identical twins? Thoroughly? Are you certain? I offer Tia & Tamera (Style Network, Mondays at 9 p.m. ET)—a celeb-reality show, new this month, starring the actors Tia and Tamera Mowry—as a test of your derangement. If you can maintain consciousness through a complete episode of this amazingly bland series, then you can count yourself a hard-core twin obsessive entitled to all the rights, privileges, and quizzical stares appertaining thereto. If not, then you are just another garden-variety geminaphile and will be better served by another of this moment’s TV-show twin sets. There are a few to chose among, TV executives having doubled down on the concept. But let us briefly dally for a moment with Tia and Tamera Mowry, who are pleasant company to a fault. Do the names not ring a bell? Perhaps a glance at their bios will jog your memory. First, here’s Tia: “With her identical twin sister, Tamera, by her side, Tia became a teen TV star thanks to her work on the wildly popular comedy series Sister, Sister. She continued to act and produce while pursuing a psychology degree at Pepperdine University.” Then, there’s Tamera: “With her identical twin sister, Tia, by her side, Tamera became a teen TV star thanks to her work on the wildly popular comedy series Sister, Sister. She continued to act and produce while pursuing a psychology degree at Pepperdine University.” On six seasons of the show, they played sisters—one bookish, one party-hearty—adopted separately at birth and reunited at age 14. Unlike many former child stars, the Mowrys are perfectly level-headed, which is the whole problem with the show. There are only passing moments of tension between Tia (who is married with a baby on the way) and Tamera (who is preparing for a Napa Valley wedding), and these often involve Tia’s being so pregnant that she can’t give 100 percent as a matron of honor. For instance, there’s an Us Weekly photo shoot to attend and hideous bouts of morning sickness; her dread of being the pregnant lady in the club hampers her desire to attend the bachelorette party. But most of the conflicts amount to small misunderstandings that are swiftly and amicably resolved. Perhaps this is evidence of the twins’ synced brainwaves. In any event, it leaves you watching a program that’s mostly about mild-mannered women running errands. Where Tia & Tamera is a docu-soap stuck in neutral, The Lying Game (ABC Family, Mondays at 9 p.m. ET) is a traditional soap on training wheels. Based on a series of young-adult novels by author Sara Shepard, it is a product of Alloy Entertainment, the teen-tertainment juggernaut that is both a publishing company and a production outfit, and so the show counts as its forebears both Gossip Girl and the Sweet Valley High series, with its Wakefield twins, one bookish and one party-hearty. Here, actress Alexandra Chando plays sisters adopted separately at birth and reunited as teens, at which point the rich one, Sutton Mercer, sets out in search of their birth mother while the humble happy protagonist, Emma Becker, steps into her life. Early on in her imposture, Emma learns that she is supposed to be a conniving bitch. When, on the contrary, she acts like a decent human being, other people wonder, rhetorically, “Who are you?” and her gaze slips a bit. That’s the main action in this sub-subgenre where the “nice” twin operates as both the trickster and the dupe, the con artist and the mark. Her only ally is Sutton’s secret boyfriend, a kind and rugged young man brooding beneath a vintage Johnny Depp mess of dark hair. I would call the character, Ethan Whitehorse, a blue-collar hunk if his collar, like the rest of the shirt, were more frequently in evidence. Adults may well find The Lying Game less compelling than much ABC Family fare. It is one of the network’s few shows that doesn’t aim to entertain—or even pretend to pander to—persons who dispense allowances and set curfews. There is no sophistication to trap the parents. And yet there is something dreamily demented about it. The doubling has taken on a delusional and disorienting quality: All the handsome blonde moms and chiseled strong-chinned dads look alike, and a couple members of Sutton’s circle are practical doppelgangers. We wander through a Freudian dawn of the clones. Something interesting is up in the show’s fractured fairy-tale treatment of the daddy-princess dynamic; watching Emma clear one hurdle—cutting a rug at a father-daughter dance at Sutton’s country club—you watch an atavistic Disney cartoon theme collide with a new-school Disney Channel frolic. And there is something expressive of the adolescent condition in the difficulty Emma has being herself. The grown-up version of The Lying Game is Ringer, a much-anticipated drama debuting on the CW on Sept. 13. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sarah Michelle Gellar double the freshness as twins reunited after six years apart. At the start of the pilot, Gellar is Bridget Kelly, formerly an exotic dancer, now a recovering addict in Wyoming, and soon to be rubbed out, probably, by a crime boss whom she is slated to testify against in court. Bridget is plucky and funny and tough—tough enough, in fact, to steal a cop’s gun and go on the run the night before she is scheduled to take the stand. Back East, she sees her sis, a posh ice queen named Siobhan Martin, who tells Bridget that Mr. Martin doesn’t know that his wife has a twin. Then, leaving her engagement ring behind, Siobhan abruptly splits. Stepping into her sister’s Tory Burch flats—or whatever kind of hiking boots one uses for rugged social climbing—Bridget discovers that she is supposed to be a conniving bitch. There is permafrost on Siobhan’s relationship with her husband, and she is having an affair with the husband of her BFF/interior decorator. Her talent for scheming is such that none dare speak of its details, lest they move the plot along too quickly. This is a fine set-up for fine comic-strip pulp, and the role must be a fun challenge for Gellar, with the scenario demanding that she play a person caught in a never-ending improv exercise and forever investigating her motivations to pursue and escape. The early version of the pilot offers a lot of rouge and noir. Its tone shuffles knowing horror touches (vertiginous violins, a hook-handed assailant) with ripe melodrama and a lot of hall-of-mirrors black-swanning. Decorative Lynchianisms include the ‘50s-ish art direction of one Double Nickel Motel. Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” fills the soundtrack at a key moment, hinting that the heroine and her other half are so troubled because they’re incomplete. The twin-nut who is too mature for The Lying Game’s tween duplicity and too impatient to wait for Ringer’s pop riffs on identity could try tiding himself over with Buried Treasure (Fox, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET), starring Leigh and Leslie Keno, identical-twin antique dealers touted as “kings of collectibles.” The teasers for this one promise a hybrid of Hoarders’ ab-psych exploitation, Antiques Roadshow’s history lessons, and Pawn Stars’ strike-it-rich game-showmanship. The Keno’s twinness hardly seems essential to the content of the series, but it does influence the tone. They function as fairy godbrothers, turning junk into gold and dreams into cash, double-dealing in magic.Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Jewel Samad/Getty Images; Patrick Smith/Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Mandel Ngan/Getty Images; Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Saul Loeb/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Illustration by Jim Festante. Photos by Getty Images.
Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Though the gentlemen who vied for the Republican presidential nomination disagreed on many things, from tax policy to contraception to the feasibility of establishing a colony on the moon, there's one critical issue on which they were firmly in accord: facial hair. This was true of the eventual nominees in the last election, and the one before that, and in every other presidential contest going back to 1916. One hundred years ago, two of the four men running for president were proudly hirsute, as were two of the four vice-presidential candidates. Today, the sitting president can't grow whiskers and his challengers wouldn't dare try. When did the beard lose its political prestige?
In his delightful 1930 monograph Concerning Beards, Edwin Valentine Mitchell notes that "the fortunes of the beard have always fluctuated through the ages. It flourishes for a time in full splendor, then diminishes in size, and finally disappears altogether, only to burst forth once more in all its former glory." In much of the premodern era, a healthy beard connoted influence and high status; Mitchell says that "one ancient king actually made a terrible scene because the reigning head of another state sent a beardless youth upon a political errand to his court." The opposite is true, too: Men pressed into servitude were often shorn of their beards as a sign of subjugation.
By the time of the Revolutionary War, facial hair had gone out of style in America, explains Victoria Sherrow in her Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. And, indeed, the first 15 U.S. presidents were beardless, though John Quincy Adams did sport a rather nice pair of muttonchops. A sign of the times: In 1830, a man named Joseph Palmer was jailed for a year in Fitchburg, Mass., after fending off four men who attempted to forcibly rid him of his widely loathed beard. (Palmer's gravesite is marked with a monument that reads "Persecuted for Wearing the Beard.”)
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In the mid-1800s, whiskers made a comeback in American political life—or, as Reginald Reynolds put it in his odd 1950 volume, Beards, "a beard was becoming almost as necessary as a Bible to a rising demagogue." Abraham Lincoln began his presidency as a baby-faced rube from rural Illinois, governing a country on the brink of collapse. After growing a beard at the behest of a schoolgirl, he vanquished the South and passed into legend.
Every subsequent president up to William Howard Taft wore some sort of facial hair, except for Andrew Johnson, who was impeached, and William McKinley, who was assassinated. If you wanted the Republican Party's nomination, a beard was as necessary then as a Reagan fetish is now.
That changed in the early 1900s, likely due to the advent of the Gillette safety razor, which debuted in 1903 and eased the performance of what had long been a hated and bloody chore. Soon thereafter, the military banned beards, as they interfered with the seal on gas masks. By 1930, Edwin Valentine Mitchell would write that, "In this regimented age the simple possession of a beard is enough to mark as curious any young man who has the courage to grow one."
In politics, that's been the case ever since. No sitting president has worn facial hair since Taft. Charles Evans Hughes was the last bearded major-party presidential nominee; he lost to Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Today, it’s received wisdom that candidates should be clean-shaven. “Except for a brief window from Sept. 11 to 2003-2004, most of the last 15 years in politics have been about change, and a wizened graybeard doesn’t really convey change,” says Jeff Jacobs, creative director and founder of NextGen Persuasion, a campaign consultancy firm. “In 500 campaigns I’ve almost never had a conversation with a candidate about whether or not to have facial hair,” explains Democratic media consultant John Rowley. “It’s almost like conventional wisdom about facial hair has already hit candidates before they even run.”
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The beard’s absence from modern American politics can be partially blamed on the two scourges of the 20th century: Communists and hippies. For many years, wearing a full beard marked you as the sort of fellow who had Das Kapital stashed somewhere on his person. In the 1960s, the more-or-less concurrent rise of Fidel Castro in Cuba and student radicals at home reinforced the stereotype of beard-wearers as America-hating no-goodniks. The stigma persists to this day: No candidate wants to risk alienating elderly voters with a gratuitous resemblance to Wavy Gravy.
A few politicians have managed to win elective office in spite of their hairy visages. Moderate, beard-having Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette has been a House stalwart since 1995. Who liked Rep. David Obey's beard? The voters of Wisconsin's seventh district did: They elected its wearer to 21 consecutive terms before Obey retired in 2011. Sen. Tom Coburn sometimes wears a beard, and its occasional appearance is eagerly awaited by Hill types. Coburn's beard even has its own tribute Twitter account, which boots up whenever the senator's whiskers begin to sprout. (Sample tweet: "i've asked tom to spend a few minutes combing me before tonight's #SOTU, i must maintain my supple virility.")
Sometimes, a beard makes it seem like a politician is either emerging from or embarking on a three-day Smirnoff bender. “A lot of times people associate beards with what happens after you lose a campaign and you let yourself go,” says Jacobs. Indeed, one need only picture a dazed, broken Al Gore circa 2001, puffy and bearded like a white-collar woodsman gone to seed, to understand why politicos identify facial hair with failure and shame. There are other negative connotations, too. "One misperception is that somebody who has a beard is lazy and can't be bothered to shave, sort of on par with somebody who's too lazy to brush his teeth," says Phil Olsen, the founder and self-appointed captain of Beard Team USA, who would know. "Some people perceive beards as disrespectful."
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When I asked John Rowley if he could think of a circumstance when he might actually advise a candidate to grow facial hair, he paused for a few seconds. “Maybe when people have a lot of scars on their face from an accident,” he finally answered.
Barring a surge in the number of disfigured men running for office, voters shouldn’t expect the political beard to re-emerge anytime soon. Because the real reason most candidates don't have beards is because most men don't have beards, and there’s nothing to be gained by deviating from the mainstream. “Candidates get criticized mercilessly on what their appearance is, so they go to great lengths to get a political uniform down that isn't too distracting,” says Rowley. Which makes sense: The last thing a candidate wants is for his crazy beard to distract from his sober, rational message about living on the moon.
And yet, though beards might not be all that common, they’re actually well received among the general population. "I do a lot of work with visual communications, facial expressions, how people read faces," says Jeff Jacobs. "Facial hair poses no distraction or causes no aversions whatsoever." Academic research bears this out: In a 1990 paper for the journal Social Behavior and Personality, J. Ann Reed and Elizabeth M. Blunk reported "consistently more positive perceptions of social/physical attractiveness, personality, competency, and composure for men with facial hair." More recently, researchers Barnaby J, Dixson and Paul L. Vasey rejected the notion that "facial hair decreases a male's perceived social status because it is associated with traits such as vagrancy." In fact, participants in their study "rated bearded men as having higher social status than clean-shaven men."
Are there any politicians whose campaigns might have been helped if they had worn beards? “You put John Kerry in the room with a well-groomed beard, and it makes it a lot harder for that flip-flopper charge to stick,” says Jacobs. “He seems like a guy who changes his positions because they evolve, and because he thinks about things.” Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, only to drop out after getting no traction in Iowa and New Hampshire. Soon thereafter, he grew a beard; if he had had one during the primaries, voters might not have been scared off by his hideous double chin. And despite his name, Jon Huntsman struck this year's Republican primary voters as the sort of person who might faint in terror if invited pheasant-shooting. A beard might have lent his campaign a solidity that it so desperately lacked.
Beards won’t take hold in politics, it seems, until a bearded candidate wins a high-profile election. Politicians are unabashed copycats and generally won’t try a new campaign strategy until it’s been proven to work. Howard Dean’s successful use of online organizing in the 2004 presidential primaries paved the way for every digital campaign tactic in use today. Bill Clinton’s smooth jazz stylings in 1992 led directly to the “Saxophone Congress” of 1994.By Sarp Ozer
ANKARA
Daesh has been ousted from five villages in northern Syria as part of Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military said in a statement Wednesday.
According to Turkish Armed Forces, the terrorist group lost the villages of Mazraat al-Uyun, Beyt Misto, Tel Malid, Jisr al-Samukah and Seyyid Ali in northwestern Syria’s Aleppo province Tuesday.
Also, six Daesh terrorists were killed in five airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led coalition forces; three opposition fighters were also killed and six others injured in the offensives in the area, the statement said.
Turkey's military said 22 explosives were also destroyed. The total number of improvised explosive devices destroyed so far was now 1,208, while 31 land mines were also rendered useless since the onset of the operation.
Turkey-backed opposition forces have cleared over 1,260 square kilometers (486 square miles) of Daesh terrorists in northern Syria, including 155 residential areas from the terrorists as part of the Operation Euphrates Shield.
The Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on Aug. 24 backed by the Turkish Armed Forces, is aimed at bolstering border security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the threat posed by terrorist organizations, especially Daesh.Function over form. The Samsung Galaxy S5 ($660, or $27.50/month) is America's best-performing smartphone, bringing excellent voice quality, a terrific camera, speedy performance, and the best screen we've seen on a handheld yet. It's better than last year's Galaxy S4 in a bunch of ways, most notably in actually exercising restraint for the first time in a while. Mainstream smartphone fans, people who like to surf the Web, and shutterbugs will thrill to this model, making it one of our two Editors' Choices for T-Mobile smartphones.
But that's the thing—the Galaxy S5 doesn't stand alone, and why it doesn't stand alone is telling. Samsung simply can't figure out premium design, at least from an American perspective. I spoke to the designers behind the S5, and they declared its plastic form to be "modern glam" with a "warmth and softness" (as well as a removable battery) that isn't available on glass-and-metal phones. But hold the S5 next to our other Editors' Choice on T-Mobile, the HTC One (M8), and the S5 doesn't feel like the expensive one.
Physical Features
The Galaxy S5 still has an uncomfortable relationship with its own materials. At 5.85 by 2.85 by.31 inches (HWD) and 5.1 ounces, it's a big phone, but that's par for the course nowadays. It's all plastic. The back is a stippled, textured faux-leather, borrowed from the Galaxy Note series, which is a major step up from the slick, fingerprint-collecting casing on the Galaxy S4. The back comes in black, blue, gold, or white. The design is almost ruined, in my mind, by a cheap bezel. You'll learn to live with it, but I didn't learn to love it. Near the top, a useful colored LED blinks blue when you have a new message. On the bottom, a large micro USB 3.0 port promises fast charging and fast data transfer in exchange for needing to be covered by a silver plastic door. A physical Home button with dedicated, light-up back and multitasking buttons are a little more convenient than the purely virtual buttons on the HTC One.
View All 12 Photos in Gallery
The S5 is waterproof and just a bit rugged; it's about as tough as last year's Galaxy S4 Active. That means it's sealed against liquids and made from flexible materials, so you don't have to worry about getting it wet or dropping it on its edge. You can still crack the screen, though, so a screen protector would be useful.
Dr. Ray Soneira of DisplayMate Labs put it best: The Galaxy S5 has the best screen we've seen yet on a smartphone. It's brilliant, vibrant, and highly customizable, appearing brighter and punchier than competing displays in almost every circumstance. The trick isn't just the 5.1-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED panel, although the panel itself has better color representation and a more even subpixel layout than the S4's. It's software. Samsung's Professional Photo and Cinema Modes give picky viewers true while Adapt Mode constantly alters the display color for maximum readability, and Super Dimming Mode makes the phone viewable in the dark without blowing out your eyes. Adapt Mode also deals very well with outdoor viewing conditions; I had no problem reading anything on my S5's screen through a week outside in Seoul.
The screen has a few other neat tricks, too: It works pretty well with, including using the tip of a graphite pencil on the screen as a stylus. While there was still a tiny bit of lag, the GS5 showed much better precision when tapping with a small stylus than other Android phones I've tried, except for the Galaxy Note line.
Call Quality and Battery
The Galaxy S series have always been excellent voice phones and this model is no exception. The earpiece here gets really loud. If you need volume, you'll be happy. The earpiece tone can also be tuned to your specific hearing profile, just like on the Galaxy S4. Do that if calls sound a little muddy, which they might on the default setting. Transmissions in normal call settings come through clearly. The phone street and car noise very well, although some background chatter from a Starbucks came through under my voice.
The single, small, back-ported speakerphone performs perfectly adequately, but it's nowhere near as clear and powerful as the HTC One's front-ported BoomSound speakers. Transmissions through the speakerphone mic, on the other hand, are excellent thanks to Samsung's top-notch noise cancellation. I also had no problems with Bluetooth headsets.
Battery life looks very good. Because of SIM provisioning issues, I couldn't complete our standard single-long-call test, but the 2,800mAh battery was still at 41 percent after 11 hours, 15 minutes of calling. In a week's worth of use, it lasted out the day every time.
The new Ultra Power Saving mode delivers peace of mind: Kick it in when your battery is around 15 percent to limit the phone to calling, texting, Facebook,and Web browsing, and watch the phone report that it magically has more than a day's worth of standby time remaining. With the battery down to 2 percent, I managed to squeeze out several hours of standby, a few text messages, and even a brief phone call. That was magical.
Wi-Fi and LTE
The Galaxy S5 takes networking to a new level. Its Wi-Fi performance outdoes the HTC One significantly when 25-50 feet away from an 802.11n router. At a 30-foot distance from a router with a 30-Mbps-up-and-down connection in a tough environment, the HTC dropped to 7-10Mbps but the Galaxy S5 maintained 15-20Mbps. I saw a similar difference up to about 75 when they both dropped off. That will make a serious difference when Web browsing.
Lousy Starbucks wireless connections could be further enhanced by Download Booster, a Samsung feature which combines Wi-Fi and LTE throughput when you're downloading files larger than 30MB. I'm worried about this one, though, because it was disabled on my phone. Samsung insisted to me that it would be enabled with a firmware update at launch, but this is just the kind of thing a carrier could kill.
Otherwise, the S5 comes in four different LTE versions. We tested the T-Mobile model, which features the carrier's Wi-Fi calling. Radio-wise, the handsets all support various carriers' highest-speed networks but won't switch between U.S. carriers well. The non-T-Mobile models lack T-Mobile's main 3G band; the AT&T and Verizon models lack each other's 700MHz LTE, and the Sprint model won't work on anyone else's LTE network. So you need to buy the right model for your and stick with it, like with the HTC One but unlike with the iPhone 5s.
Annoyingly, both the AT&T and T-Mobile models lack LTE Band 12, which T-Mobile and some regional carriers are implementing at the end of this year to improve rural coverage, but no other phone has that yet, either.
The phone comes with 16GB of memory, with 11.5GB available (slightly more than on the HTC One). There's a microSD card slot under the back cover which took my 64GB card without complaint.Defenders of Ardania is a tower defense-like game set in the world of the Majesty fantasty strategy universe. Except that instead just building defense, you also build an army for offense and use magic to obliterate your opponents.
What sets that apart from just plain old real-time strategy, you might ask? More towers, I guess. 24 kinds of towers in fact. And knowing the Majesty series, there will be plenty of fantasy parody with silly accents. Why don't you let the guy in the video -- a Paradox developer if ever I saw one -- explain it to you?
There's a closed beta for the PC version which you can sign up for right here before April 11th, and if you are selected you'll receive a confirmation email on April 15th. Defenders of Ardania will be released on PC, PSN, XBLA and iPad in Q3 2011, and check below for a gameplay trailer.
You are logged out. Login | Sign upNets coach Jason Kidd was fined $50,000. (Photo11: Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights NBA docked Jason Kidd $50,000 "for intentionally spilling a drink on the floor to delay the game"
Kidd appeared to instruct Tyshawn Taylor to bump into him in the waning moments of Wednesday's game
Kidd attributed the spill to "sweaty palms" and Taylor also claimed the incident was accidental
The NBA fined Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd $50,000 for his spilled-drink shenanigans that took place in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 99-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the league announced Thursday.
The league said the fine was "for intentionally spilling a drink on the floor to delay the game."
WATCH: Was Kidd's spilled drink intentional?
REELING: Nets try to hold on before it's too late
With eight seconds remaining and the Nets with no timeouts left, Kidd subbed in Mirza Teletovic for Tyshawn Taylor. As Taylor headed to the bench, he bumped into Kidd, spilling Kidd's soda on the court.
The liquid needed to be cleaned up, giving the Nets, who were trailing 97-94, time to huddle and draw up a three-point shot. Nets assistant coach John Welch designed the play for Paul Pierce, who missed a potential game-tying three.
According to amateur lip-readers, Kidd said, "Hit me," to Taylor. In a season of woe for Kidd, it may have been his best coaching move this season.
"Sweaty palms," Kidd explained after the game. "I was never good with the ball."
Taylor also tried to say it was an accident.
"It might ice a free-throw shooter and be a timeout when you don't have one. But that wasn't the thought process," Taylor said.
The NBA did not buy Kidd's excuse and were not thrilled the first-year coach pulled that stunt. The Nets are 4-11, and scrutiny on Kidd and the high-priced Nets is increasing with each loss.
Follow national NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.
PHOTOS: NBA SHOT OF THE DAYGetting Started¶
To get things started we will try to run a very simple GTK based GUI application using the PyGObject provided Python bindings. First create a small Python script called hello.py with the following content and save it somewhere:
import gi gi. require_version ( "Gtk", "3.0" ) from gi.repository import Gtk window = Gtk. Window ( title = "Hello World" ) window. show () window. connect ( "destroy", Gtk. main_quit ) Gtk. main ()
Before we can run the example application we need to install PyGObject, GTK and their dependencies. Follow the instructions for your platform below.
After running the example application have a look at the “Python GTK 3 Tutorial” for more examples on how to create GTK apps and the “PyGObject API Reference” for API documentation for all supported libraries.
Windows¶ Go to http://www.msys2.org/ and download the x86_64 installer Follow the instructions on the page for setting up the basic environment Run C:\msys64\mingw32.exe - a terminal window should pop up Execute pacman -Suy Execute pacman -S mingw-w64-i686-gtk3 mingw-w64-i686-python3-gobject To test that GTK 3 is working you can run gtk3-demo Copy the hello.py script you created to C:\msys64\home\<username> In the mingw32 terminal execute python3 hello.py - a window should appear.
Ubuntu / Debian¶ Installing the system provided PyGObject: Open a terminal Execute sudo apt install python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0 Change the directory to where your hello.py script can be found (e.g. cd Desktop ) Run python3 hello.py Installing from PyPI with pip: Open a terminal and enter your virtual environment Execute sudo apt install libgirepository1.0-dev gcc libcairo2-dev pkg-config python3-dev |
$7.9 billion sales between 2005 – 2013. For 2014 -2015 Malaki has requested $15 billion in weapons, including 36 US F-16 combat aircraft and scores of Apache attack helicopters. In 2013 the Malaki regime registered 8,000 political deaths resulting from its internal war.
Iraq is a crucial center for US control of oil, the Gulf and as a launch pad to attack Iran. While Maliki makes ‘gestures’ toward Iran, its role as an advanced link in the US imperial gulag defines its real ‘function’ in the Gulf region.
Yemen: The Desert Military Outpost for the American Gulag
Yemen is a costly military outpost for Saudi despotism and US power on the Arabian Peninsula. According to a study, Yemen: Background and US Relations by Jeremy Sharp for the Congressional Research Service (2014), the US has supplied $1.3 billion in military aid to Yemen between 2009-2014. Saudi Arabia donated $3.2 billion in 2012 to bolster the Saleh dictatorship in the face of a mass popular anti-dictatorial uprising. Washington engineered a transfer of power from Saleh to “President” Hadi and ensured his continuity by doubling military aid to keep the jails full and the resistance in check. According to the New York Times (6/31/13) Hadi was “a carry-over of dictator Saleh”. The continuity of a jailhouse democracy in Yemen is a crucial link between the Egypt-Israel-Jordan axis and the Saudi-Bahrain imperial gulag.
Jordan: Eternal Vassal and Mendicant Monarchy
Jordan’s despotic monarchy has been on the US payroll for over a half century. Recently it has served as a torture center for kidnapped victims seized by US Special Forces engaged in the “rendition” program. Jordan has collaborated with Israel in assaulting and arresting Palestinians in Jordan engaged in the freedom struggle. Currently Jordan along with Turkey serves as a training and weapons depot for NATO backed mercenary terrorists invading Syria. For its collaboration with Israel, Washington and NATO, the corrupt jailhouse monarchy receives large scale long-term military and economic aid. The monarchy and its extended network of cronies, jailers and family, skim tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid, laundered in overseas accounts in London, Switzerland, Dubai and New York. According to a Congressional Research Service Report (January 27, 2014), US aid to the Jordanian royal dictatorship amounts to $660 million per year. An additional $150 million for military aid was channeled to the regime with the onset of the NATO intervention in Syria. The fund was directed to build-up the infrastructure around the Jordan-Syria border. In addition, Jordan serves as a major conduit for arms to terrorists attacking Syria: $340 million destined for “overseas contingencies” probably is channeled through Amman to arm the terrorists invading Syria. In October 2012, Jordan signed agreements with the US allowing a large contingent of Special Forces to establish airfields and bases to supply and train terrorists.
Turkey: A Loyal Vassal State with Regional Ambitions
As the southern military bulwark of NATO, on Russia’s frontier, Turkey has been on the US payroll for over 66 years. According to a recent study by James Zanotti Turkey – US Defense Co-Operation: Prospects and Challenges (Congressional Research Service, April 8, 2011) in exchange for bolstering the military power of Turkey’s “jailhouse democracy”, the US secured a major military presence including a huge air base in Incirlik a major operational center housing 1,800 US military personnel. Turkey collaborated with the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and supported the NATO bombing of Libya. Today Turkey is the most important military operational center for jihadist terrorists invading Syria. Despite President Erdoğan’s periodic demagogic nationalist bombast, the US empire builders continue to have access to Turkish bases and transport corridors for its wars, occupations and interventions in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. In exchange the US has stationed missile defense systems and vastly increased arms sales, so-called “security assistance”. Between 2006 – 2009 US military sales exceeded $22 billion dollars. In 2013-14, tensions between Turkey and the US increased as Erdoğan moved to purge the state of the Gulenists, a US backed fifth column, which permeated the Turkish state and used its position to support closer collaboration with Israel and US military interests.
Conclusion
The expansion of the US Empire throughout North Africa and the Middle East has been built around arming and financing vassal states to serve as military outposts of the empire. These vassal regimes, ruled by dictatorial monarchies, and authoritarian military and civilian rulers, rely on force and violence to sustain their rule. The US has supplied the weapons, advisers, and financing allowing them to rule. The US arc of imperial military bases stretching from Egypt through Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, is protected by a chain of prison camps containing tens of thousands of political prisoners.
The US engagement, its pervasive presence throughout the region, is accompanied by a chain of jailhouse democracies and dictatorships. Contrary to liberal and conservative policy pundits and academics, US policy for over 50 years has actively sought out, installed and protected bloody tyrants who have pillaged the public treasury, concentrated wealth, surrendered sovereignty and underdeveloped their economies.
Pro-Israel academics at prestigious US universities have systematically distorted the structural bases of violence, authoritarianism and corruption in the Islamic world: blaming the victims, the Turkish and Arab people, and ignoring the role of US empire builders in financing and arming the authoritarian civilian and military rulers and absolutist monarchies and their corrupt military, judicial and police officials.
Contrary to the mendacious tomes published by the prestigious University presses and written mostly by highly respected pro-Israel political propagandists, the remaking of the Middle East depends on the strength of the democratic currents in Islamic society. They are found in the student movements, among the trade unionists and unemployed, the nationalist intellectuals and Islamic and secular forces who oppose the US Empire for very practical and obvious reasons. Along with Israel the US is the main organizer of the vast chain of political prison camps that destroy the most creative and dynamic forces in the region. Greater Arab vassalage provokes the periodic explosion of a vibrant democratic culture and movement; unfortunately it also results in greater US military aid and presence. The real clash of civilizations is between the democratic aspirations of the Eastern popular classes and the deeply embedded authoritarianism of Euro-American- Israeli imperialismMelbourne man 'kicked out' of Uber for kissing male friend
Updated
A Melbourne man says he was kicked out of an Uber for kissing his male friend after heading home from a night out.
Drew Ezell said he and a friend left the Laird Hotel in Collingwood at about 1:00am on Monday to catch an Uber home.
But he said the driver made them get out of the car about 30 seconds into the journey.
"We were kissing and I heard the driver say something like 'That's really disgusting'," Mr Ezell said.
"I was kind of shocked and looked up and he was pulling over to the side of the road on Hoddle Street and just said, 'I'm not going to drive you guys because what you're doing is disgusting and I won't have that in my car at all'."
Mr Ezell said he reported the incident to Uber who he said responded to him with an email saying they would look into the matter.
He said the incident was particularly hurtful in the wake of the massacre of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
"Having that bigotry thrown in my face, it struck a really angry part of me," Mr Ezell said.
Mr Ezell said he thought about news reports quoting the Orlando shooter's father saying his son had recently seen two men kissing and was offended.
"That kind of phrase got stuck in my head and it made me really nervous and frightened," he said.
It is the second incident of its kind in Melbourne recently, with an Uber driver removed from the car booking service earlier this month for calling a lesbian couple "faggots".
The ABC has contacted Uber for a response.
Topics: lgbt, community-and-society, murder-and-manslaughter, crime, law-crime-and-justice, melbourne-3000, united-states
First postedIt looks like Smurf blood and it may keep Japan safe from nuclear waste. DeconGel is a liquid polymer that can spread easily on almost any surface. As it hardens it traps hazardous materials, including radioactive particles, and then easily peels away for disposal. CBI Polymers, the creators of DeconGel, recently donated ten pallets of the polymer to aid in Japan’s decontamination of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site – a $250,000 gift when you include the labor of the experts and support staff that will be tagging along. DeconGel’s lightweight and easy to use approach to cleaning up radioactive waste could go a long way to restoring the Fukushima prefecture. Watch CNN’s coverage of the DeconGel donation in the video below, followed by a quick demonstration of the gel being used in more mundane situations. Discovered by accident, DeconGel is another great example of the plethora of advanced materials waiting for humanity to find and use in the future.
It’s hard to imagine a better list of properties you’d want in a decontaminate than you find in DeconGel. It adheres to almost any surface, including porous ones, and bonds tightly around particles and oils. This effectively traps any waste (hazardous or otherwise) within the substrate. While it doesn’t actually chemically or radioactively neutralize the materials it contains, it does make them exponentially easier to remove, and without the use of water or soaps. While multiple layers are recommended for heavy clean up operations, like those at Fukushima, the resulting coating is still very lightweight, with an eight pound gallon of the gel being able to cover up to 100 square feet of surface.
DeconGel also applies easily: smooth enough to spread quickly but viscous enough to hold onto inverted surfaces. The liquid is available in different versions suitable to brushing or spraying, but both are high-tensile enough to hold together as they are peeled off. You can see how durable the hardened gel is in the following demo video taken around the University of Hawaii in Manoa. It’s incredible how clean those moldy concrete surfaces look as the DeconGel is pulled away.
In its short history (DeconGel has only been on the market since 2009), the miracle cleaning gel has already seen action in commercial nuclear power plants in the US, nuclear medicine and research labs, Department of Energy decontamination sites, and other hazardous chemical clean-up operations. CBI Polymer’s donation to Japan’s clean-up efforts was generous and a great bit of publicity, with DeconGel getting widespread discussion on the web, and CBI Polymer receiving interests from corporations and governments all around the world.
The cynic in me would like to point out that the short history of the substance means its possible there’s toxicity concerns we haven’t discovered yet, but I’m still pretty damn impressed with an inert polymer that can be stored or allowed to decompose as necessary. Even if DeconGel has some hidden environmental costs, its advantages make it a clean winner against using water or soap for many applications.
The arrival of DeconGel on the global market makes me wonder what other hidden treasures are waiting to be found by accident in the materials labs of the world. This gel spreads, bonds, and peels easily, but the decontamination products of the future may be able to neutralize the harmful materials they absorb as well. We’re lucky to have DeconGel as a solution to help with the latest nuclear problem – let’s hope that those future solutions arrive in time for the next toxic disaster.
[image credits: DeconGel]
[source: DeconGel press release]Science in the medieval Islamic world was the science developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age under the Umayyads of Córdoba, the Abbadids of Seville, the Samanids, the Ziyarids, the Buyids in Persia, the Abbasid Caliphate and beyond, spanning the period c. 800 to 1250. Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a wide range of subject areas, especially astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Other subjects of scientific inquiry included alchemy and chemistry, botany, geography and cartography, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physics, and zoology.
Medieval Islamic science had practical purposes as well as the goal of understanding. For example, astronomy was useful for determining the Qibla, the direction in which to pray, botany had practical application in agriculture, as in the works of Ibn Bassal and Ibn al-'Awwam, and geography enabled Abu Zayd al-Balkhi to make accurate maps. Islamic mathematicians such as al-Khwarizmi, Avicenna and Jamshīd al-Kāshī developed methods in algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Islamic doctors described diseases like smallpox and measles and challenged classical Greek medical theory. Al-Biruni, Avicenna and others described the preparation of hundreds of drugs made from medicinal plants and chemical compounds. Islamic physicists studied optics and mechanics (as well as astronomy) and criticised Aristotle's view of motion.
The significance of medieval Islamic science has been debated by historians. The traditionalist view holds that it lacked innovation, and was mainly important for handing on ancient knowledge to medieval Europe. The revisionist view holds that it constituted a scientific revolution. Whatever the case, science flourished across a wide area around the Mediterranean and further afield, for several centuries, in a wide range of institutions.
Context [ edit ]
The Islamic era began in 622. Islamic armies conquered Arabia, Egypt and Mesopotamia, eventually displacing the Persian and Byzantine Empires from the region. Within a century, Islam had reached the area of present-day Portugal in the west and Central Asia in the east. The Islamic Golden Age (roughly between 692 and 945) spanned the periods of the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) and, in particular, the early phase of the succeeding Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258), with stable political structures and flourishing trade. Major religious and cultural works of the Islamic empire were translated into Arabic. Islamic culture inherited Greek, Indic, Assyrian and Persian influences. A new common civilisation formed, based on Islam. An era of high culture and innovation ensued, with rapid growth in population and cities. The Arab Agricultural Revolution in the countryside brought more crops and improved agricultural technology, especially irrigation. This supported the larger population and enabled culture to flourish.[1][2] From the 8th century onwards, scholars such as Al-Kindi[3] translated Indian, Assyrian, Sasanian (Persian) and Greek knowledge, including the works of Aristotle, into Arabic. These translations supported advances by scientists across the Islamic world.[4]
Islamic science survived the initial Christian reconquest of Spain, including the fall of Seville in 1248, as work continued in the eastern centres (such as in Persia). After the completion of the Spanish reconquest in 1492, the Islamic world went into an economic and cultural decline.[2] The Abbasid caliphate was followed by the Ottoman Empire ( c. 1299–1922), centred in Turkey, and the Safavid Empire (1501–1736), centred in Persia, where work in the arts and sciences continued.[5]
Fields of inquiry [ edit ]
Medieval Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a wide range of subject areas, especially mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.[4] Other subjects of scientific inquiry included physics, alchemy and chemistry, ophthalmology, and geography and cartography.[6]
Alchemy and chemistry [ edit ]
Alchemy, already well established before the rise of Islam, stemmed from the belief that substances comprised mixtures of the four Aristotelian elements (fire, earth, air, and water) in different proportions. Alchemists regarded gold as the noblest metal, and held that other metals formed a series down to the basest, such as lead. They believed, too, that a fifth element, the elixir, could transform a base metal into gold. Jabir ibn Hayyan (8th–9th centuries) wrote on alchemy, based on his own experiments. He described laboratory techniques and experimental methods that would continue in use when alchemy had transformed into chemistry. Ibn Hayyan identified many substances, including sulphuric and nitric acids. He described processes such as sublimation, reduction and distillation. He made use of equipment such as the alembic and the retort stand.[7][8][9]
Astronomy and cosmology [ edit ]
Astronomy became a major discipline within Islamic science. Astronomers devoted effort both towards understanding the nature of the cosmos and to practical purposes. One application involved determining the Qibla, the direction to face during prayer. Another was astrology, predicting events affecting human life and selecting suitable times for actions such as going to war or founding a city.[10] Al-Battani (850–922) accurately determined the length of the solar year. He contributed to the Tables of Toledo, used by astronomers to predict the movements of the sun, moon and planets across the sky. Copernicus (1473-1543) later used some of Al-Battani's astronomic tables.[11]
Al-Zarqali (1028–1087) developed a more accurate astrolabe, used for centuries afterwards. He constructed a water clock in Toledo, discovered that the Sun's apogee moves slowly relative to the fixed stars, and obtained a good estimate of its motion[12] for its rate of change.[13] Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) wrote an important revision to Ptolemy's 2nd-century celestial model. When Tusi became Helagu's astrologer, he was given an observatory and gained access to Chinese techniques and observations. He developed trigonometry as a separate field, and compiled the most accurate astronomical tables available up to that time.[14]
Botany [ edit ]
The study of the natural world extended to a detailed examination of plants. The work done proved directly useful in the unprecedented growth of pharmacology across the Islamic world.[citation needed] Al-Dinawari (815–896) popularised botany in the Islamic world with his six-volume Kitab al-Nabat (Book of Plants). Only volumes 3 and 5 have survived, with part of volume 6 reconstructed from quoted passages. The surviving text describes 637 plants in alphabetical order from the letters sin to ya, so the whole book must have covered several thousand kinds of plants. Al-Dinawari described the phases of plant growth and the production of flowers and fruit. The thirteenth century encyclopedia compiled by Zakariya al-Qazwini (1203–1283) - ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt (The Wonders of Creation) - contained, among many other topics, both realistic botany and fantastic accounts. For example, he described trees which grew birds on their twigs in place of leaves, but which could only be found in the far-distant British Isles.[15][16][17] The use and cultivation of plants was documented in the 11th century by Muhammad bin Ibrāhīm Ibn Bassāl of Toledo in his book Dīwān al-filāha (The Court of Agriculture), and by Ibn al-'Awwam al-Ishbīlī of Seville in his 12th century book Kitāb al-Filāha (Treatise on Agriculture).[18] Ibn Bassāl had travelled widely across the Islamic world, returning with a detailed knowledge of agronomy. His practical and systematic book describes over 180 plants and how to propagate and care for them. It covered leaf- and root-vegetables, herbs, spices and trees.[19] Abū al-Khayr ( c. 11th century) described in minute detail how olive trees should be grown, grafted, treated for disease, and harvested. He gave similar detail for crops such as cotton.[18][need quotation to verify]
Geography and cartography [ edit ]
The spread of Islam across Western Asia and North Africa encouraged an unprecedented growth in trade and travel by land and sea as far away as Southeast Asia, China, much of Africa, Scandinavia and even Iceland. Geographers worked to compile increasingly accurate maps of the known world, starting from many existing but fragmentary sources.[20] Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (850–934), founder of the Balkhī school of cartography in Baghdad, wrote an atlas called Figures of the Regions (Suwar al-aqalim).[21] Al-Biruni (973–1048) measured the radius of the earth using a new method. It involved observing the height of a mountain at Nandana (now in Pakistan).[22] Al-Idrisi (1100–1166) drew a map of the world for Roger, the Norman King of Sicily (ruled 1105-1154). He also wrote the Tabula Rogeriana (Book of Roger), a geographic study of the peoples, climates, resources and industries of the whole of the world known at that time.[23] The Ottoman admiral Piri Reis ( c. 1470–1553) made a map of the New World and West Africa in 1513. He made use of maps from Greece, Portugal, Muslim sources, and perhaps one made by Christopher Columbus. He represented a part of a major tradition of Ottoman cartography.[24]
Modern copy of al-Idrisi's 1154 Tabula Rogeriana, upside-down, north at top
Mathematics [ edit ]
Islamic mathematicians gathered, organised and clarified the mathematics they inherited from ancient Egypt, Greece, India, Mesopotamia and Persia, and went on to make innovations of their own. Islamic mathematics covered algebra, geometry and arithmetic. Algebra was mainly used for recreation: it had few practical applications at that time. Geometry was studied at different levels. Some texts contain practical geometrical rules for surveying and for measuring figures. Theoretical geometry was a necessary prerequisite for understanding astronomy and optics, and it required years of concentrated work. Early in the Abbasid caliphate (founded 750), soon after the foundation of Baghdad in 762, some mathematical knowledge was assimilated[by whom?] from the pre-Islamic Persian tradition in astronomy. Astronomers from India were invited to the court of the caliph in the late eighth century; they explained the rudimentary trigonometrical techniques used in Indian astronomy. Ancient Greek works such as Ptolemy's Almagest and Euclid's Elements were translated into Arabic. By the second half of the ninth century, Islamic mathematicians were already making contributions to the most sophisticated parts of Greek geometry. Islamic mathematics reached its apogee in the Eastern part of the Islamic world between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Most medieval Islamic mathematicians wrote in Arabic, others in Persian.[25][26][27]
al-Khwarizmi (8th–9th centuries), considered[by whom?] the greatest mathematician of Islamic civilization, became instrumental in the adoption of the Indian system ot notation. He developed algebra, which also had Indian antecedents, introduced methods of simplifying equations, and used Euclidean geometry in his proofs.[28][29] Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801–873) worked on cryptography for the caliphate.[30] Avicenna ( c. 980–1037) contributed to mathematical techniques such as casting out nines.[31] Thābit ibn Qurra (835–901) calculated the solution to a chessboard problem involving an exponential series.[32] al-Farabi ( c. 870–950) attempted to describe, geometrically, the repeating patterns popular in Islamic decorative motifs in his book Spiritual Crafts and Natural Secrets in the Details of Geometrical Figures.[33] Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), known in the West as a poet, calculated the length of the year to within 5 decimal places.[citation needed] He found geometric solutions to all 13 forms of cubic equations. He developed some quadratic equations still in use.[34] Jamshīd al-Kāshī ( c. 1380–1429) is credited with several theorems of trigonometry, including the law of cosines, also known as Al-Kashi's Theorem. He is often[quantify] credited with the invention of decimal fractions, and with a method like Horner's to calculate roots. He calculated π correctly to 17 significant figures.[35]
Medicine [ edit ]
Anatomy, c. 1450 A coloured illustration from Mansur's1450
Islamic society paid careful attention to medicine, following a hadith enjoining the preservation of good health. Its physicians inherited knowledge and traditional medical beliefs from the civilisations of classical Greece, Rome, Syria, Persia and India. These included the writings of Hippocrates such as on the theory of the four humours, and the theories of Galen.[36] al-Razi ( c. 854–925/935) identified smallpox and measles, and recognized fever as a part of the body's defenses. He wrote a 23-volume compendium of Chinese, Indian, Persian, Syriac and Greek medicine. al-Razi questioned the classical Greek medical theory of how the four humours regulate life processes. He challenged Galen's work on several fronts, including the treatment of bloodletting, arguing that it was effective.[37] al-Zahrawi (936–1013) was a surgeon whose most important surviving work is referred to as al-Tasrif (Medical Knowledge). It is a 30-volume set mainly discussing medical symptoms, treatments, and pharmacology. The last volume, on surgery, describes surgical instruments, supplies, and pioneering procedures.[38] Avicenna ( c. 980–1037) wrote the major medical textbook, The Canon of Medicine.[31] ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288) wrote an influential book on medicine; it is believed[by whom?] to have replaced Avicenna's Canon in the Islamic world. He wrote commentaries on Galen and on Avicenna's works. One of these commentaries, discovered in 1924, described the circulation of blood through the lungs.[39][40]
Optics and ophthalmology [ edit ]
Optics developed rapidly in this period. By the ninth century, there were works on physiological, geometrical and physical optics. Topics covered included mirror reflection. Hunayn ibn Ishaq (809–873) wrote the book Ten Treatises on the Eye; this remained influential in the West until the 17th century.[43] Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887) developed lenses for magnification and the improvement of vision.[44] Ibn Sahl ( c. 940–1000) discovered the law of refraction known as Snell's law. He used the law to produce the first Aspheric lenses that focused light without geometric aberrations.[45][46]
In the eleventh century Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen, 965–1040) rejected the Greek ideas about vision, whether the Aristotelian tradition that held that the form of the perceived object entered the eye (but not its matter), or that of Euclid and Ptolemy which held that the eye emitted a ray. Al-Haytham proposed in his Book of Optics that vision occurs by way of light rays forming a cone with its vertex at the center of the eye. He suggested that light was reflected from different surfaces in different directions, thus causing objects to look different.[47][48][49][50] He argued further that the mathematics of reflection and refraction needed to be consistent with the anatomy of the eye.[51]
Pharmacology [ edit ]
Advances in botany and chemistry in the Islamic world encouraged developments in pharmacology. Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865–915) promoted the medical uses of chemical compounds. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936–1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris provides instructions for preparing "simples" from which were compounded the complex drugs then used. Sabur Ibn Sahl (died 869) was the first physician to describe a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (973–1050) wrote the Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), describing in detail the properties of drugs, the role of pharmacy and the duties of the pharmacist. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) described 700 preparations, their properties, their mode of action and their indications. He devoted a whole volume to simples in The Canon of Medicine. Works by Masawaih al-Mardini ( c. 925–1015) and by Ibn al-Wafid (1008–1074) were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by Mesue the Younger (died 1015) and as the Medicamentis simplicibus by Abenguefit ( c. 997 – 1074) respectively. Peter of Abano (1250–1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Mardini under the title De Veneris. Al-Muwaffaq, in the 10th century, wrote The foundations of the true properties of Remedies, describing chemicals such as arsenious oxide and silicic acid. He distinguished between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also of lead compounds.[52][16]
Physics [ edit ]
The fields of physics studied in this period, apart from optics and astronomy which are described separately, are aspects of mechanics: statics, dynamics, kinematics and motion. In the sixth century John Philoponus ( c. 490 – c. 570) rejected the Aristotelian view of motion. He argued instead that an object acquires an inclination to move when it has a motive power impressed on it. In the eleventh century Ibn Sina adopted roughly the same idea, namely that a moving object has force which is dissipated by external agents like air resistance.[53] Ibn Sina distinguished between "force" and "inclination" (mayl); he claimed that an object gained mayl when the object is in opposition to its natural motion. He concluded that continuation of motion depends on the inclination that is transferred to the object, and that the object remains in motion until the mayl is spent. He also claimed that a projectile in a vacuum would not stop unless it is acted upon. That view accords with Newton's first law of motion, on inertia.[54] As a non-Aristotelian suggestion, it was essentially abandoned until it was described as "impetus" by Jean Buridan ( c. 1295–1363), who was influenced by Ibn Sina's Book of Healing.[53]
In the Shadows, Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048) describes non-uniform motion as the result of acceleration.[55] Ibn-Sina's theory of mayl tried to relate the velocity and weight of a moving object, a precursor of the concept of momentum.[56] Aristotle's theory of motion stated that a constant force produces a uniform motion; Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī ( c. 1080 – 1164/5) disagreed, arguing that velocity and acceleration are two different things, and that force is proportional to acceleration, not to velocity.[57]
Ibn Bajjah (Avempace, c. 1085–1138) proposed that for every force there is a reaction force. While he did not specify that these forces be equal, this was still an early version of Newton's third law of motion.[58]
The Banu Musa brothers, Jafar-Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hasan ( c. early 9th century) invented automated devices described in their Book of Ingenious Devices.[59][60][61]
Zoology [ edit ]
Page from the Kitāb al-Hayawān by Al-Jahiz
Many classical works, including those of Aristotle, were transmitted from Greek to Syriac, then to Arabic, then to Latin in the Middle Ages. Aristotle's zoology remained dominant in its field for two thousand years.[62] The Kitāb al-Hayawān (كتاب الحيوان, English: Book of Animals) is a 9th-century Arabic translation of History of Animals: 1–10, On the Parts of Animals: 11–14,[63] and Generation of Animals: 15–19.[64][65]
The book was mentioned by Al-Kindī (died 850), and commented on by Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) in his The Book of Healing. Avempace (Ibn Bājja) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd) commented on and criticised On the Parts of Animals and Generation of Animals.[66]
Significance [ edit ]
Historians of science differ in their views of the significance of the scientific accomplishments in the medieval Islamic world. The traditionalist view, exemplified by Bertrand Russell,[67] holds that Islamic science, while admirable in many technical ways, lacked the intellectual energy required for innovation and was chiefly important for preserving ancient knowledge, and handing it on to medieval Europe. The revisionist view, exemplified by Abdus Salam,[68] George Saliba[69] and John M. Hobson[70] holds that a Muslim scientific revolution occurred during the Middle Ages.[71] Scholars such as Donald Routledge Hill and Ahmad Y. Hassan argue that Islam was the driving force behind these scientific achievements.[72]
According to Ahmed Dallal, science in medieval Islam was "practiced on a scale unprecedented in earlier human history or even contemporary human history".[73] Toby Huff takes the view that, although science in the Islamic world did produce localized innovations, it did not lead to a scientific revolution, which in his view required an ethos that existed in Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but not elsewhere in the world.[74][75][76] Will Durant, Fielding H. Garrison, Hossein Nasr and Bernard Lewis held that Muslim scientists helped in laying the foundations for an experimental science with their contributions to the scientific method and their empirical, experimental and quantitative approach to scientific inquiry.[77][78][79][80]
James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn, reviewing the place of Islamic science in world history, comment that the positive achievement of Islamic science was simply to flourish, for centuries, in a wide range of institutions from observatories to libraries, madrasas to hospitals and courts, both at the height of the Islamic golden age and for some centuries afterwards. It plainly did not lead to a scientific revolution like that in Early modern Europe, but in their view, any such external comparison is just an attempt to impose "chronologically and culturally alien standards" on a successful medieval culture.[2]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]Episode two of the four-part series, "The Evolution of Punk," aired on FOX Sports 1 earlier this week, chronicling Phil Brooks' (a.k.a. CM Punk) journey from the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon.
If you missed episode one, watch the full video replay right here.
"Punk continues his quest to become an MMA fighter," the official YouTube description reads. "His wife reluctantly attends a sparring session to see his progress. The couple decides to move to Milwaukee to be closer to the gym, but just as everything is starting to come together for the fighter, he experiences a devastating setback."
That setback was documented right here.
Brooks (0-0), after nearly two years of training, will finally make his Octagon debut at the upcoming UFC 203 pay-per-view (PPV) event inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 10, 2016. Waiting for him will be regional import Mickey Gall.
For much more on their upcoming welterweight showdown click here.See also: Porn Professor Hugo Schwyzer: "I've Had a Mental Breakdown"
Hugo Schwyzer, the social sciences academic at Pasadena City College best known as the "porn professor," tried to commit suicide last night, he told the Weekly today.
He was visiting his mother in the Monterey area, where he grew up, when it happened about 10 p.m., he said. He was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, the professor said:
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"I took an entire bottle of Klonapin," he said. That's a muscle relaxant and anti-anxiety drug.
Schwyzer said he's physically OK but reiterated how the social media fallout from a sexting relationship with a sometime porn star and multiple affairs with women made his marriage "over" and sunk him into a deep depression.
He wanted to make clear that none of these dalliances involved PCC students or employees.
The prof says Twitter and article comments roasting him as a woman hater and regurgitating a 15-year-old suicide attempt and attempted murder of a girlfriend have taken their toll.
Schwyzer is perhaps best known for his writings on women ("male feminist," he's been called), though many feminists have issues with his personal track record and his academic fascination with pornography.
(He says porn, a major piece of our media landscape, needs to be studied more seriously in this country.)
The professor also made headlines for inviting some of adult video's top stars, including James Deen, to speak during his course on pornography.
That class has been canceled, the prof said this week, because of his personal issues. But he told us he hopes to bring it back someday.
"Mental illness is a bitch, it really is," Schwyzer told us on the phone today.
Send feedback and tips to the author. Follow Dennis Romero on Twitter at @dennisjromero. Follow LA Weekly News on Twitter at @laweeklynews.Now, I know that the games reviewed on this site are meant to be the best of the best: the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter. This makes me proud as heck to be someone who is working to put this collection of reviews together. That being said, a little while ago I was asked what kind of game actually falls under the category of the best.
At first I was a little confused but ultimately I was able to answer. A really, really good Indie game has to be replayable. It has to be something that is |
understatement. The day started with Chairperson Aaron Davidson being arrested as part of the United States Department of Justice’s sting against high ranking FIFA executives and other individuals for their alleged corruption, racketeering, and other charges. It ended with the league being swept by the USL (6-0-1, 1-0 in PKs) leaving only two NASL clubs advancing to Round 4 of the 2015 US Open Cup.
On the positive side, the USL found success by going a combined 11-4-1 (1-0 PKs). Elsewhere, the USASA’s PSA Elite advanced to the Fourth Round for the second year in a row and since they are the last amateur club standing, they earned the $15,000 Division 4 prize money. Not to mention, they also earn a date with the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy.
Here is a brief recap of each Third Round game with links to the full match report (Check back as more will be added):The Presto prepaid electronic fare card now works on 100 of the TTC's 230 older streetcars and transit officials hope all streetcars will be Presto enabled by year's end.
At a news conference this morning, Ontario Transport Minister Steven Del Duca said Presto machines will be added to 10 to 15 of the older streetcars each day until the entire fleet is Presto-enabled.
Passengers can pre-load the electronic card with money at special kiosks inside stations or online. Riders can then pay their fare by tapping card readers at TTC stations and as they board buses and streetcars.
Byford expects customers will embrace Presto
TTC CEO Andy Byford said he expects passengers who currently use tokens or cash to embrace the shift to Presto.
"Very rapidly people come to realize the absolute benefit and convenience of tapping and not having to fiddle around with cash and tokens," he said.
TTC Chair Josh Colle said currently Presto accounts for about 2.5 per cent of all TTC trips. He said it will likely take some time for passengers to break the habit of paying with tokens or cash.
"People in Toronto have been using the same fare media for … it seems like 100 years," he said.
Colle said Presto adds convenience for customers and saves the TTC money, as staff will increasingly have less cash and fewer tokens to count and store.
"It's an inefficient way for us to operate and far less convenient to our customers," he said.
Presto allows the TTC to set different fares based on the time customers travel. Colle said the TTC is looking at peak-hour pricing, which means passengers travelling during rush hour would pay more.
The idea is to encourage more customers to travel at off-peak times to ease the rush-hour burden on the system.
Tickets and tokens will be sold until the end of 2016 and accepted until mid-2017.
The TTC's 11 new streetcars, which are currently only in service on the 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront route, come Presto enabled.
Transit riders will be able to use Presto on all TTC subway stations, streetcars and buses by the end of 2016.Jake Trotter | ESPN.com
Gary Patterson uses an interesting but bizarre analogy to explain why he completely revamped his offense this offseason.
"I like Gatorade," he said. "When you have to beat people 17-13 just drinking water, you'd like to be able to go back and find out what the different Gatorades are."
To clarify, Patterson had grown tired of relying exclusively on his defense to win in the Big 12. And instead of trying to slug out more low-scoring affairs, he wanted his offense to produce some routs -- to afford him time to walk behind the bench and sample different Gatorade flavors.
The Horned Frogs actually had a chance to win every game but one last season. But with a stone-age offense unable to score in the fourth quarter, TCU missed a bowl for the first time since 2004.
In turn, Patterson brought in coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie to install a modern, up-tempo attack. He also snagged Texas A&M transfer quarterback Matt Joeckel, who knows how to operate such an offense.
Despite losing Devonte Fields, the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year who was suspended over the summer after charges of assaulting an ex-girlfriend, TCU should still be stout again on defense, with seven other starters back.
But how the offensive changes pan out will ultimately determine whether Patterson will be drinking water again. Or, as he hopes, Gatorade.Well, they can’t call Patrick Brown “the man with no plan” anymore.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party leader has heard that taunt endlessly from various members of the Liberal government, because until this past weekend, Patrick Brown was essentially running on: “I’m not her” — referring, of course, to Premier Kathleen Wynne.
You will no doubt read and hear a lot about the “People’s Guarantee” between now and election day, next June 7. And almost all the focus will be on Brown’s commitments to cut taxes, lower electricity prices, make child care more affordable, invest heavily in mental-health services, and bring in new accountability measures.
And all the parties will have a great debate about those promises.
But for me, perhaps the most interesting line in the entire 80-page document doesn’t come until page 79.
“The fiscal estimates underlying the Ontario PC platform have been deemed reasonable by the non-partisan Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, University of Ottawa.”
That may not be the sexiest line in the plan, but it might be the most important, because it’s a thumbs-up from one of the most respected economic analysts in the country.
Related:
Kevin Page, president and CEO of the institute, burnished his reputation as the first parliamentary budget officer for Canada from 2008 to 2013. Despite constant attempts to undermine his authority and his integrity from the Conservative government of the day (and by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in particular), Page could never be moved. While the Harper government frequently played politics with its prognostications, Page did his best imitation of Sgt. Joe Friday from TV’s Dragnet (“Just the facts, ma’am”) and stuck to the empirically provable numbers which ultimately turned out to be far more trustworthy than the government’s.
Page never worried about the politics of the day. He never fussed over the ton of bricks he constantly invited to come crashing down on his head. He simply led a team that did its analysis without fear or favour, and in doing so, became one of the country’s most trusted sources for economic truth.
So, when Kevin Page says the Ontario Tory platform is based on reasonable economic assumptions, that’s seriously worth noting.
It gives the PC plan a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that the other parties (at the moment) simply don’t have.
In fact, the governing Liberals appear to be far behind when it comes to whose numbers you can trust the most. They have frequently run afoul of the auditor general of Ontario, who insists, despite the government’s protestations to the contrary, that the books of Ontario Inc. are not balanced. In fact, Bonnie Lysyk has accused the government of moving billions of dollars of debt it’s responsible for to the books of Ontario Power Generation, in order to subsidize the lowering of electricity prices and maintain the appearance of a balanced budget at the same time.
The New Democrats haven’t submitted a detailed fiscal plan yet and therefore can’t be similarly judged, although Page indicated he’d be delighted to offer his institute’s services free of charge to any and all comers.
Because of the way politics works, the Tories are going to run into a buzz saw of criticism over the next six months. The Liberals are likely going to allege that Brown’s plans will require massive program cuts and job losses. In fact, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca attended the PCs’ policy conference to begin the onslaught.
“This is a “Say Anything” platform,” Del Duca said. “Patrick Brown will say anything to anyone to get a vote, just like we’ve seen him do in the past. But we know that if it sounds too good to be true, then it’s not true.”
Except Kevin Page says the financial assumptions behind the plan are reasonable. And for the last decade, that has tended to end all arguments.
Brown’s unveiling of the People’s Guarantee went well. He looked on top of his brief. It was good theatre. And Page says it’s reasonable.
All of which means the Liberals are going to have to find something more persuasive to say over the next six months than this is a “Say Anything” platform.
Full disclosure: my wife is a volunteer for the Ontario PC Party. She co-chaired the health care policy development process, some of whose planks are in the PC platform.In their newsletter yesterday, Sam Adams announced the addition of three new beers that will start up the Barrel Room Collection. These beers represent the brewery's long tradition of aging beers in wood barrels, dating back to Triple Bock. Sam Adams is always experimenting with new beers and different wood aging. Up until now, those beers were only available to people that actually went to the brewery. Each beer comes in a newly designed 750ml cork finished bottle.
Samuel Adams New World Tripel: Pale gold in color, this ale is big, flavorful and complex. A special Belgian yeast strain adds tropical fruit and spice notes to the crisp dry ale, while Saaz hops add a subtle herbal note. (~10% ABV)
Samuel Adams American Kriek: The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging. (~7% ABV)
Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red: This unique brew defies traditional beer style definition. The rich, malty brew combines notes of tart fruit from the yeast with a toasty oak character from the barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like. This is a beer that is satisfying on its own and also pairs well with many foods such as braised or roasted meats, beef stews and strong salty cheeses. (~9% ABV)
"Samuel Adams New World Tripel and Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red have been bottle conditioned, a process which creates an extra smooth and balanced flavor in the beer. The Samuel Adams American Kriek is left uninterrupted to maintain the rich cherry flavor from the Balaton cherries used in the brewing process." The Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection beers are available for purchase at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery and will be available at select retail locations in Massachusetts, Denver, Colorado, Maine and New Hampshire for a suggested retail price of $9.99 per 750ml bottle in the near future.The frustration in Tyler Seguin's voice was palpable after the Dallas Stars' 12th loss in 26 games this season.
"I'm just sick of losing," Seguin told reporters after his club came out on the wrong end of a 5-2 decision with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
"There's no excuse for it. Losing sucks. The taste of losing is terrible. So, we're going to move on and go home. Gotta be ready for a huge tilt there Saturday against the Canadiens."
The 22-year-old appears to be doing his part to help the Stars succeed. Seguin leads the NHL in goals with 19, ranks second in total scoring with 32 points, and even boasts a plus-3 rating, for those who value that particular stat.
The issue, he contends, is team defense and the inability to hold on to the puck.
"It's turnovers and it's our coverage in our own end," Seguin explained. "... It starts with our club, our team, the way we're collapsing in our own zone, the way we're competing, they way we're having turnovers.
"We have to press the reset button here," he added. "It's still a long year, but we definitely dug ourselves a hole."
With the loss, the Stars remain in the basement of the Central Division, seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. As he mentioned, Dallas's next opportunity to turn things around is Saturday against Montreal, a team Seguin is all too familiar with after his time with the Boston Bruins.On one level, the research that emerged from HP Labs Friday is unsurprising: we tend to bow to peer pressure, and it's as true in social media as in real life.
But how much peer pressure does it take, and what other factors come into play? The answers may surprise you.
HP Labs computers scientists, including veteran online behavior researcher Bernardo Huberman, asked 600 participants to answer a few simple questions about online photos. Which of two baby pictures is cuter, and which of these two couches (above) would you choose to buy for a friend?
Whichever one they chose, the researchers rigged it so the other picture was shown to be more popular, using a Facebook-style Like system. The participants then had a chance to change their minds. Each time, however, they changed the number of Likes each picture got, and waited for a different length of time before giving them a second chance.
The result: 22% of people were swayed by the peer pressure — but only if there was a long gap between the first and second chance. Given the chance to change their mind immediately, only 14% of participants did so.
Most interestingly, people were only likely to change their minds if there were a moderate number of Likes on the other side. As soon as the Likes on their choice of picture were outweighed by 20 times or more, participants dug in their heels and stuck with their original choice.
Translation: if there's a large number of people who disagree with us, we're stubborn as hell. If you want to persuade someone to change teams, make sure their side does not appear to be outrageously unpopular, crushed by a giant weight of evidence. That, as I'm sure you're thinking too, could explain a whole lot about politics.
Huberman's advice for marketers? "Rather than overwhelming consumers with strident messages about an alternative product or service, in social media, gentle reporting of a few people having chosen that product or service can be more persuasive.”
Check out the full study, in PDF format, here.I have just created a syllabus for creating a syllabus. You read that right. The end product of my Recreate Historical Swordsmanship from Historical Sources course is a complete syllabus for the style of swordsmanship that you are researching. You can see the spiffy video intro here:
I created this course because many people have difficulty approaching the academic side of HEMA; the original sources can seem daunting, and figuring out how to approach them and develop a live training system from their pages is a major challenge for anyone. The course provides the assistance that beginner researchers need to help them get a working syllabus out of a fencing manual.
I have been creating syllabi for a long time; the seed of the current Swordschool syllabus was planted in a seminar I taught in Turku in 2001. I followed my instinct and in the course of the day, came up with five core drills. The only one of them that has survived almost intact is the current “Second Drill”. I won’t embarrass myself by describing the rest. They were state of the art in 2001, but in those days historical swordsmanship was developing faster than computer technology. We have come a long way.
While I have created many syllabi, I have never taught syllabus creation as a specific skill before so this has been mind-meltingly hard to pin down. I cracked it when I realised that I needed to define the end-point first, and then create the structure that would lead students to it. This part of the course is in three sections: Create the Cornerstone, Build the Foundation, and Construct the Syllabus. You begin by reducing the material to one key drill, then expand that to a small set of easily memorised drills, then use them as a framework for building the rest of the system. The three sections of the course should have been written in reverse order. As it happens, I began with the first section “Create the Cornerstone”. It covers how drills should be designed, what they are for, and how to figure out which elements of your system should be included in the most foundational drill in your system. But the next stage “Build the Foundation” had me stumped for a long time. I know how to do it, I’ve done it many times. But I couldn’t figure out how to explain it. Then it came to me: start with the end. So I wrote up how to create an entire syllabus (in “Construct your Syllabus”), and then worked back from there to explain how to create the foundation of that syllabus.
The course also covers choosing a source to work from, analysing its context, analysing the source, developing a basic interpretation, fencing theory, and a ton of other material.
I know some novelists who always start with the last scene of the novel, so they know where the book is going. Others who start from the first scene, and have no idea where they’re going, and yet others who plan the whole book out scene by scene and don’t write a line until they have the whole structure. I think that the students on this course will probably have the same mix of personalities as my writer friends— it strikes me as a universal human phenomenon. Clearly, when it comes to creating this course, I’m a start at the beginning, switch to the end, and then fill in the middle sort of person! I also used a completely new (to me) technique: I shot a first draft of the video, sent it off for transcription, then edited the transcription into a script for the video that ended up being published. It seems to work by engaging parts of my mind I’d had trouble bringing to bear on the problem.
You can see the course curriculum here (scroll down); a lot of it is free to access, so take a look!
(Visited 591 times, 1 visits today)Tall, lanky James Cromwell, 72, is best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Farmer Arthur H. Hoggett in 1995’s “Babe” and most recently as the dedicated valet of George Valentin in the Oscar-winning “The Artist.” He’s also appeared in countless movies, including 1997’s “L.A. Confidential,” and in TV series such as HBO’s “Six Feet Under” and NBC’s “ER.” The son of award-winning actor-director John Cromwell (“Of Human Bondage,” “The Prisoner of Zenda”) and actress Kay Johnson (“Madame Satan”), Cromwell has toiled in the theater since the 1960s. He is treading the boards once again in the Mark Taper Forum’s well-received production of Samuel Beckett’s masterwork “Waiting for Godot.” Cromwell plays Pozzo, a bombastic, vicious aristocrat who keeps his slave Lucky, who is saddled with heavy baggage, on a long rope. Cromwell talked about how “Godot” has resonated in his life.
Times critic Charles McNulty said in his review of “Waiting for Godot” that you are skinnier than most actors who play Pozzo.I heard someone say I wasn't fat enough. The idea we have of the oppressors is always of the bombastic. So they usually think of [a heavy person]. But I am not fat and I think that fascists come in every shape. Of course, I can't approach the person I am patterning him after, which is Newt Gingrich. He is a little on the pudgy side.My roommate [at Carnegie Tech] was very sophisticated and brainy. I was in the directing unit and I had to do my thesis play. He said I should do “Waiting for Godot.” Then I read the play. I hadn't the foggiest idea what to do with that.I started rehearsals and the head of the directing department took the play away from me, but the student body struck to get my play reinstated. The faculty decided that they would not allow any of the school to see the play. I have no idea what it was like. Then a couple of years later, I had been in England at the National Theatre and when I came back, my father had cut out a little squib that a theater touring in the South was looking for actors and directors. I became one of the directors and the play I was to direct and be in was “Waiting for Godot.” So I had another shot at it, but this time I had a context.The theater was sponsored by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and toured Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia in the midst of the civil rights movement. So my introduction to Mississippi was to enter McComb, where the site of the black church had been firebombed. I went to the Freedom House, where I saw more black men than I had ever seen in my life and they were listening to a 14-year-old girl describe how she had just been beaten and spat upon trying to integrate the local Woolworth's lunch counter.Definitely. We rehearsed it in New Orleans, where I was thrown out of my first restaurant because I went with the head of the theater, who was black. The minister of the Baptist church in the black neighborhood in New Orleans said something to me that I had never heard really described as succinctly. He said the master is as tied to the slave as the slave is tied to the master — the reciprocity of that relationship. That was the beginning of my understanding of the play.I tried to deal with the race issue in the play. I was white and Lucky was black. The slave relationship [of Pozzo and Lucky], which they understood all too well, was represented. I put on blackface and the black actors put on whiteface.The audience thought that was the stupidest thing they had ever seen. I used to ask [audiences]. In Greenville, Miss., I said, “Do you think Godot is coming?” This black-gloved hand went up in the back of the room. She said, “No.” She sounded so sure about it. I said, “How do you know?” She said, “I looked in the program and his name wasn't listed.”
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-- Susan King
Photo: James Cromwell, right, as Pozzo, and Hugo Armstrong, left, as Lucky in "Waiting for Godot." Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles TimesIn The Crusader Road, Michael A. Stackpole (New York Times best-selling author of X-Wing: Rogue Squadron) brings you a new novel of frontier adventure that offers a taste of the setting featured in the new Pathfinder Online massively multiplayer online roleplaying game. When the aristocratic Vishov family has been banished from Ustalav due to underhanded politics, Lady Tyressa Vishov is faced with a choice: fade slowly into obscurity, or strike out for the nearby River Kingdoms and establish a new holding on the untamed frontier. Together with her children and loyal retainers, she’ll forge a new life in the infamous Echo Wood, and neither bloodthirsty monsters nor local despots will stop her from reclaiming her family honor. Yet the shadow of Ustalavic politics is long, and even in a remote and lawless territory, there may be those determined to see the Vishov family fail...
Chapter Thirteen
A Dream Uprooted
Jerrad couldn't tell from which direction the scream had come. He'd been huddled beneath a blanket reading the wizardry text. Something about the words didn't require light for him to read—which made sense. Many of the spells were centered around illusions and projecting images into a subject's mind. The whole book, he decided, was primarily a practical text on illusion, and he devoured each lesson as the book choose to reveal it to him.
Don't move. He closed the book and trembled. Someone just had an accident. It can't be anything bad. Just stay here.
Someone else screamed.
Serra!
He threw off the blanket. Silhouettes ran through the night—some normal people and some small, like children, but with enormous heads and ridiculously large ears. He resisted the urge to duck beneath the blankets again, and instead cupped his hands around his mouth. "Goblins!"
Jerrad grabbed his belt and fumbled with the buckle for a heartbeat or two before realizing he didn't need to wear the belt. His hand drifted down to the dagger, and he drew it just in time for one of the goblins to bound into his tent, peg teeth flashing.
Time died. The goblin had daubed its face with reddish mud and some yellow paste probably made from flowers. It had tied feathers to its biceps and just below the knees. A mangy skin made up its loincloth and the short cloak it wore. It had a rusty knife tucked into a slender belt, but never made to draw it.
The goblin hissed and leaped for him. Clawed hands reached for Jerrad's throat. The young man thrust the dagger forward—less as an attack than an attempt to fend the goblin off. His dagger plunged into the goblin's throat right above a necklace of bones. Hot blood shot up Jerrad's sleeve, and the goblin's dying spin tore the slicked knife from his hand. The creature stumbled and fell against Jerrad's cot.
The goblin's claws rent the pillow asunder, then the creature slumped amid a blizzard of feathers. It sighed as if settling down for a welcome nap.
Jerrad stared at his gore-drenched hand. A feather landed on it, drinking in the goblin's blood. What have I done?
Then he heard another scream. Serra! I have to find Serra! He dropped to a knee and yanked the dagger from the goblin's throat. Trailing feathers in his wake, he ran into the night, and heard her scream a third time.
There!
Serrana ran pell-mell through the camp in a panic. She headed mostly west, angling toward the furthest of the root cellars. He raced after her, slashing goblins and pushing them out of the way. He didn't hurt many, but caught a couple solidly. They'd either not seen him coming or didn't care as long as there was loot to carry off. Odd, capering victory dances took precedence over fighting, adding absurdity to the night's horrific chaos.
Ahead, his sister tripped and fell against a pile of wood scraps. Three goblins moved at her. Two had knives.
"Hey!" Jerrad thrust his left hand high in the air as the goblins stared at him. This better work!
He cast the spell he'd been trying to perfect beneath the blanket. A brilliant light flared from his hand, rendering the goblins in silver and his sister in icy blue. One goblin screamed, dropping his knife, and clawed at his own eyes.
As darkness returned and a wave of fatigue washed over him, Jerrad let his run carry him into the nearest goblin. He bowled the creature over. His foe sank teeth into Jerrad's left shoulder, but the boy barely noticed. Hand tight on the dagger's sticky hilt, Jerrad stabbed again and again. His thrusts ruined the goblin's belly, but he didn't stop stabbing until the jaws slackened.
He pitched the body off and rose, blood coursing down his arm and dripping from the blade. He gave Serra a smile. "It's okay."
Her eyes grew wide and her voice rose with fear. "Jerrad, look out!"
He spun right into an avalanche of goblins. His knife sank into something solid and warm, but it didn't matter. A skull clipped his jaw, cracking teeth together. With horror contorting Serra's face, Jerrad sank beneath a wave of rending claws, biting teeth, and goblin flesh.
∗ ∗ ∗
Tyressa leaped from the battlements and landed in a crouch. She gathered her skirts and pulled the rear hem up between her legs, tucked it into her belt at the belly. Cool air chilled bare feet. Another two steps and she picked up a stout stick. Two more and she levered a hatchet free of the chopping block where they killed chickens. With one stroke she slashed the stick into a sharpened stake, then stalked into the night.
More screams drew her onward. She heard someone yell "Goblins!" and thought it might be Jerrad. At least he's alive. She killed the urge to run to him. Panic would slay her, and then she'd be no help to anyone.
The first goblin flew at her out of the darkness, screeching as it came. Tyressa twisted, thrusting with her left hand. The stake caught the goblin in the chest, but a skin vest prevented it from penetrating. The creature giggled at its good fortune, then grew quiet as an overhand blow with the hatchet split its skull.
Off to the right, one of the woodsmen cleaved a goblin in half.
"To me!"
The man looked up as she wrenched the hatchet from the skull, then ran to her, nodding as he came. "Goblins."
"I see. I'd prefer highwaymen."
"My lady?"
"Bigger targets, and they don't bite." She raised her voice. "To me, Silverlake!"
Tyressa had meant the call to draw the settlers to her. A few came, one with an arm hanging limp and blood pouring from his shoulder. More quickly, however, came the goblins, chittering and gibbering, snarling and giggling insanely.
Off to the north one section of the wall ignited in a wash of flames. Goblin silhouettes writhed across the landscape. They piled up against the longhouse, standing on each other to get in the windows. Knives cut some, broomsticks thrust others away. Yet more ran around carrying off even the most inconsequential of trinkets. One had even slapped a boot on its head, lacing the floppy helmet on beneath the chin.
All this Tyressa took in with emotionless clarity. She didn't even allow herself anger, because letting in one emotion would open the way for others. She thrust and cut within her guard, remaining safe as her husband had taught her to do, yet missed no opportunity to kill. The hatchet's dull end pulverized what the blade wouldn't slice. A slap with the flat shattered bone. Goblins reeled away trying to press their faces back into shape.
The wounded man went down, and the goblins dragged him away. Tyressa closed ranks with the others. More goblins came in a wave that broke against the ferocity of the settlers' defense. Blood splashed. Sweat stung the countless scratches on her legs and forearms. Bones snapped. They weren't hers, but one solid hatchet stroke sent a shock wave up into her shoulder, and the dying goblin carried the hatchet away with it.
Lady Tyressa understands that a true leader leads
from the front lines. Lady Tyressa understands that a true leader leadsfrom the front lines.
"They're running, my lady."
The woodsman was right. But that's not right. Tyressa frowned, wiping her brow and smearing blood across it. The goblins had thinned, scattering in all directions, but more were upright than dead or dying. Why would they break off the attack?
Then she felt it, through her feet. Tremors in the ground, matching heavy footfalls. Something crashed through the darkness, coming up from the lake. She couldn't tell what it was, other than big. Whatever it was, the goblins knew better than to be anywhere near it. And she'd have followed their example, except that she wasn't going to let anything drive her from her home.
∗ ∗ ∗
Welinn huddled just inside the southernmost portion of the wall, cloaked darkness. He could see plenty well through it, as could all the goblins. The problem was, he couldn't see anything but goblins. Attacking, looting, setting fires, dying, all he saw were goblins by the legion.
That wasn't the way it was supposed to have worked. He, being of the Brambleclaw Tribe, had gotten the blessing of his chief, then gathered a company of goblins. He'd told them all the things the manlord wanted, especially about the scaring and the girl. The scaring would be what earned him extra money, so he had stressed it to his fellows.
He'd had a special thought in that regard. The manlord had wanted the attack to come on the moonless night, but that made no real sense if scaring was the object. If men couldn't see the goblins, how could they be scared? They couldn't, so the plan had to be modified so there was enough light to allow the scaring.
The Brambleclaws had taken the news about scaring to heart. More than one approached him asking if they could invite a cousin, since more would be scarier than less. Welinn had accepted the first few offers, then started refusing, but no one had listened to him. Cousins had invited other cousins, and it looked as if every goblin between Thornkeep and Silvershade Lake had joined in.
Then he saw it. One of the goblins had gone to far with scaring. He invited Grakka.
The creature looked like an ogre, but Welinn had heard it was of mixed blood—human or elf, though looking at it the goblin couldn't have told which. The ogrekin lived alone in the wood, having been driven from or escaped from Mosswater. It came dragging the lower half of a sapling—complete with root ball, as it stalked up the slope from the lake. The footfalls sounded as thunder and the ground shook.
Too much scaring. The goblin made himself as small as possible. He waited for Grakka to pass, then Welinn snuck around the corner and darted into the night. It didn't matter how much gold money the manlord would give him, it wouldn't be enough to lurk within the ogrekin's bloody domain.
∗ ∗ ∗
Jerrad rolled and tried to heave a goblin off him. He might have succeeded, he didn't know. His push included his knife, but he didn't hear a grunt or scream. Then again, being at the heart of a ball of yowling, gouging, gnawing goblins meant he couldn't make sense of much at all.
I have to get free. He fought panic and bit. He drove his knees into things. He smashed his head backward into something which crunched. His left elbow slammed against hardness, and his left hand closed on something squishy. He yanked. That got a howl, then teeth closed on his right wrist and his knife went flying.
He lashed out with everything he had, but the goblins weighed him down. Any time he sent one flying, two more would pile on. He couldn't get a decent breath. And something had a hand on the side of his head, trying to work his head up to expose his throat. He fought it. Claws sank into his scalp. Blood ran. The grip slipped for a second, then moved down and hooked beneath his jaw.
Then it was gone. Something hit with a solid thunk, and that goblin vanished. Then another thump, and another. Weight left his legs, so he kicked. He arched his back, then twisted, trying to get his hands under him.
Another thump, and more weight evaporated.
And then he heard her voice. "Get. Off. Mouse!"
Jerrad wriggled from the pile. As he stood, two goblins came for him. An arrow splashed back to front through the throat of the furthest, then struck the other in the back of the head. The razored broadhead skewered the left eyeball on its way out. The goblin stiffened, viscous fluid streaming down its face, then flopped to the ground.
Beyond it stood Kiiryth, another arrow already fitted to his bow. He gave Jerrad a nod, then turned and sped another shaft into the night.
Between them stood Serrana, a four-foot length of pine sapling clenched tight in her fists. She whipped it up and around, spraying blood and goblin brains all over, then crashed it down. The blow pulped a goblin's bulbous head. The club rose again and struck the same goblin.
"Serra. Serrana!"
She looked up at him, feral fire burning in her eyes. Lips peeled back in a snarl. She flashed a grin, then whirled and battered another dead goblin's skull into wet mush. "Get. Off. Mouse!"
"Serrana, its okay, they're off me."
His sister stopped for a moment, a thick, dark slurry running down over her hands. "Mouse?"
"Yes, Serrana. You saved me."
"I saved you."
Kiiryth closed with both of them. "There are more to save. To the longhouse, now."
∗ ∗ ∗
Maraschal Sunnock stood alone in the chaos within the longhouse. He'd gone there to give some last-minute orders to his servants concerning the next day's journey. He'd heard the scream and seen forms running through the night before someone had closed and barred the door. And even when a goblin thrust its face through a window, he still couldn't believe it.
This is wrong, all wrong! His mouth went dry. I wasn't supposed to be here.
"You, help us!"
Sunnock looked up. One of the woodsmen had joined two other men at the door, pushing back against a horde of goblins. Boards began to creak. Nails squealed and worked free of the wood. The man waved him forward and, dazed by disbelief, Sunnock joined him.
The second his hands touched the door's wood, fear burst within his heart. Until that moment, the attack had been an abstract thing. Here, leveraging his muscle against that of the goblins, he could feel their insistence. They were avatars of gluttony and hatred and greed. A knot in a board popped free, striking him in the face. He stared out through it, eye to eye with a goblin.
Sunnock spun, slamming his back against the door. People w |
and the soft heartbeat under her ear it was little wonder that she fell asleep. She wouldn’t have even noticed if she hadn’t had somehow tucked herself in the small space between Anna and the back of the couch, her legs and arms keeping Anna tucked closely against herself.
It had been seamless, feeling like a blink with the only wake up call being the feeling of someone gently playing with her fingers. She didn’t bother to open her eyes, knowing the who but not the why. Teasingly she wiggled her fingers and curled them around the hand that held them.
“Anna? What are you doing?” Her voice was still soft and sleepy as the hands stilled.
“Your fingers. I don’t often get to touch them.” Elsa hummed at the answer, relaxing her hand. There was little harm with as calm as she felt and she trusted Anna. More so she was more trusting of herself around Anna. Permission granted Anna continued to move her hands this and that way. Probably getting the best look she had ever had, since Elsa normally hid them.
Her mother liked to call them ‘Pianist Fingers’ since they were long and narrow. Sure they were well kept, Elsa had always carefully maintained her hands and eventually became vain about her nails. Anything to keep them in good working order so there wasn’t the slightest chance that any damage might affect her ability to control herself. Or you know, supply a need to visit the doctor and all of the anxiety that tended to include.
She had just started to fall back into that halfway place between sleep and consciousness when she felt lips on the tip of her pointer finger.
The sensation made her gasp as her eyes snapped open. But Anna just carefully maneuvered the next finger in line, lovingly pecking it with an exaggerated smacking sound. Each finger was given the same affectionate treatment, even the thumb before Anna turned her attention to her palm. Instead of giving it a kiss she placed it on her collar bone, just above her heart.
“You are awesome.” Elsa stared at Anna as she spoke, who had started to look sheepish the longer she stared. “I don’t think you ever hear that often enough.”With just six days to go, I think far-right social conservatives are running out of names to call their opponents, but don't underestimate the power of nasty.
With just six days to go, I think far-right social conservatives are running out of names to call their opponents, but don’t underestimate the power of nasty.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), in her first attempt to be re-elected, is running an ad calling her opponent "Godless" because she accepted money from an organization of American voters who organized legally to express themselves politically and are atheist. Kay Hagan is not atheist, but she is running for office to represent all Americans, including atheists. Apparently Liddy Dole is not.
Disagree as I might politically with Dole, I never thought she would stoop so low, she didn’t seem like that kind of politician. Then again, her husband knows a thing or two about dirty tricks. In his first bid for re-election in Kansas, in 1974, he was in a very close race with popular Congressman Dr. Bill Roy, an ob/gyn, and in the last days before the election Bob Dole delivered photos of aborted fetuses in the form of door hangers into heavily Catholic precincts. Bob Dole won because tactics like that, then, were shocking.
After 35 years of far-right tactics that demean the intelligence of voters, one can hope the voters of North Carolina won’t fall for such a desperate ploy, and judge the candidates on their records. Dole has now used this "Godless" attack in mailers, online video and on television.
Get the facts, direct to your inbox. Subscribe to our daily or weekly digest. SUBSCRIBE
Here’s what fact-checking journalists in North Carolina have to say:
Some readers may be left with the impression that Hagan supports the
PAC’s position on the Pledge of Allegiance, Christmas and the Boy
Scouts — or that Hagan is an atheist. Hagan’s campaign said Hagan does not support removing "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Hagan is an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Hagan
does not support eliminating the Christmas holiday. Her family often
spends part of Christmas morning at a home for severely handicapped
people, where they cook breakfast, wash dishes and play Santa Claus to
relieve the home’s staff. Hagan’s son is an Eagle Scout. Her
campaign said that while Hagan opposes discrimination, she believes
questions about who can be troop leaders is a decision for the Boy
Scouts, not Washington, to make. Is the mailer accurate?
Yes and no. Hagan did attend the fundraiser in question. But the mailer
incorrectly suggests that Hagan shares the view of the Godless
Americans PAC on the Pledge of Allegiance, Christmas and the Boy
Scouts.
A larger question for all Americans is, regardless of your beliefs, do atheists have rights as citizens? Isn’t America about debating different ideas, in civil discourse, to determine the direction of the country? Faith that is threatened by the opinion of another isn’t really faith at all, it is fear.
Unfortunately Dole has revealed herself to be part of a pattern this election cycle. Rep. Michelle Bachmann called for an investigation into un-American activities by liberals in Congress. Sen. Barack Obama has been accused of consorting with terrorists, infanticide, and being Muslim, as if being Muslim is something of which to be ashamed. Gov. Sarah Palin called Obama a Communist and Sen Joe Biden was asked by a local TV anchorwoman (married to a GOP consultant) why Obama isn’t Marxist because of his proposed tax cuts to 95 percent of Americans. Angry mobs yell epithets and threats at McCain-Palin rallies and the campaign does little to stop them.
As Americans we should stand up for the rights of all Americans to be heard. As a person of faith, I will stand up for the rights of atheists to be heard as well, and am not the least bit threatened by ensuring they have rights. Those who will demean or take rights away from any group, will eventually try to take them away from you.
This is the far-right social conservative notion of civil discourse and how they define thier faith and love of country. This is what they propose we all live in when they talk about a "Christian Nation."
Fascinating, isn’t it?
See also: Culture of Lies: Strategies and Tactics.Michelangelo and Picasso, so often celebrated for their contributions to art history, now have something else in common. Kanye West likened himself to both artists in a circuitous two-hour interview that saw the Chicago rapper and fashion designer speak candidly about social class, race, misogyny in rap and the pressures of fame.
“All of my aspirations are things that currently only 60-year-old white people do,” West said, in the video interview live-streamed by fashion site Showstudio. When asked why he referred to himself as a creative genius and visionary, West said: “Because otherwise I’m called celebrity. I’m called nigger. I’m called rapper. And when they use the word celebrity, nigger or rapper, it’s not in a positive way. So I have to define who I am.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kanye West interviewed by Lou Stoppard for Showstudio, on 6 October 2015
During a conversation with journalist Lou Stoppard that veered from personal anecdotes about struggling to break into fashion – “me sitting here, trying my hardest, and everyone laughing at me” – to family memories, West outlined his positive vision of a society that overcame class hierarchy.
“I want everyone to win. I don’t even want to be in competition with everyone,” he said. “I just want people to be the best thems and live the happiest lives possible. If you keep information and opportunity away from a certain group of people, then it’s destiny that they’ll stay part of a lower class.” West’s comments on class echoed views he’d shared during an interview in March, when he’d talked about class holding people back from success more than race.
West’s optimistic outlook didn’t keep him from frankly addressing questions about racial politics in America. He spoke about the legacy of slavery contributing to African American people’s reluctance to speak with confidence and carve out their own space in public life. “Blacks, especially in America, have been raised with a slave mentality – they don’t feel that they have the right to speak as loud as possible,” he said. “And every time you hear a black person speaking as loud as possible, somebody’s going to say: ‘Look at those niggers over there’.”
Kanye West announces 2020 run for US president at VMAs Read more
Over the course of the inteview, Stoppard asked West questions submitted by his friends, peers and fans. Most focused on race, fame and when West’s forthcoming album would be released – still unconfirmed, for those wanting to know. “You want to deliver genius, you want to prove people wrong and prove people right that are fighting for you,” West said, before likening the pressure of expectation around the album to being pulled apart by horses in all directions.
Lighter moments arrived elsewhere. London mayor Boris Johnson asked what West would do to make London better – “widen the streets” – while West’s wife Kim Kardashian West asked what he would choose for his last meal. He opted, diplomatically, for some of her home-cooked fried chicken. But a fan-submitted question about the portrayal of black women in rap lyrics saw West offer one of his more hesitant and convoluted responses. “I definitely think generally rap is misogynistic,” he said, after a pause. “Not that that’s justifying the culture.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kanye West in LA last month with his wife Kim, who is pregnant with their second child. Photograph: MediaPunch/Rex Shutterstock
West spoke about rap music responding to trends, and communicating the current zeitgeist at the time that its lyrics are written. “There was a time when we had Afrocentric rap, and everybody was more like how Common is – ‘my queen’ and all that,” he said. He described misogynistic lyrics as an outlet for men who’ve found themselves belittled, turning towards the women in their lives and lashing out at them in order to feel validated.
Kanye West on Power 105.1: the most outrageous quotes Read more
“So let’s take that to the idea of a black male in America, not getting a job, or getting fucked with at his job, or getting fucked with by the cops or being looked down upon by this lady at Starbucks. And he goes home to his girl … and this guy is like … you just scream at the person that’s the closest to you.” West linked the use of misogynistic and violent language in rap to a “lack of opportunities” before switching tack and discussing hatred and racism.
Between sharing his pride about his wife’s former stepfather Caitlyn Jenner’s gender transition and labelling himself a humanist rather than feminist, West maintained that he understands his privilege as a celebrity. “Do I worry about being in the public eye and raising kids? Yeah. Any situation you’re in you’re gonna worry about raising kids. But it’s champagne problems, too. There are people who can’t feed their kids. I’m not gonna sit here and complain about these issues.”Ten doctors who refused to treat wounded Islamic State militants faced a familiar punishment meted out by the terror group — bullets to their heads, according to a report.
A photograph shows the doomed docs being shot 15 miles south of Mosul, the group’s stronghold in the northern Iraqi desert, the Daily Mail reported.
Several ISIS fighters were injured in battles in the Hammam al-Alil area but the doctors refused to treat them because they opposed the militants’ activities.
The Iraqi Al-Sumaria satellite TV network reported their killings as news emerged of the executions of 60 Sunni tribal fighters at the hands of jihadists in Anbar province.
ISIS fighters accused the members of the Al-Karableh, Albu Ubaid, Albu Mahal and Albu Salman tribes of collaborating with Iraqi security forces.
The jihadists were recently pushed out of key towns and villages by Iraqi troops and Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
Forces last week liberated the strategic city of Tikrit — a victory that the Iraqi army hopes will set the stage for recapturing Mosul and kicking ISIS out of the country.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Friday said the US has made progress in the fight against ISIS in Iraq — but could not provide a time frame for ridding the country of the jihadists, who have carved out a self-styled caliphate in large swaths of Iraq and Syria.A Mexican army general said his forces are increasingly coming under fire from drug traffickers protecting opium poppy plantations in Oaxaca state, where opium growers are moving production to take advantage of mountainous terrain and impoverished villages.
Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mujica said Wednesday that army patrols were fired at twice this week as they tried to cut down poppy plantations in western Oaxaca.
On Monday, an army helicopter searching for poppy fields was hit by gunfire from the ground, damaging the fuel tank. The chopper landed safely.
He said a third army patrol was blocked from reaching about 30 poppy fields they could plainly see in the distance, by a demonstration of Indian residents, mostly women and children. Armed with only sticks and machetes, the Triquis stood in front of soldiers and refused to move.
Walking a thin line
Duarte Mujica said the farm communities were being recruited by the cartels and acknowledged the army is walking a thin line in Oaxaca, where Indian communities jealously guard their territories and their rights.
Any confrontation with Indians would be a public relations disaster.
“The presence of the military in this and other areas of the state is because of the important presence of opium poppy and marijuana fields that the drug cartels have been planting in the mountains of Oaxaca,'' Duarte Mujica said. “I want to repeat that the Defense Department and particularly the soldiers of the 8th Region are respectful and sympathize with the traditions and practices of each of the Indian groups in Oaxaca state.”
Dangerous shift in Oaxaca
The shift to Oaxaca has officials worried. The state is better known for its colonial capital and beaches, but its large impoverished Indian population and mountainous terrain could make it ideal for growing opium.
The Mexican army faces a delicate task in moving into Oaxaca's notoriously conflictive Triqui Indian communities.
The region has seen three Triqui groups locked in a decades-long armed struggle that has led to dozens of killings.
Army told to leave the area
One of those groups, known as the Triqui Unification and Struggle Movement, demanded this week that the army be withdrawn completely from the area.
“Now we have the Mexican army coming in by land under the pretext of searching for poppy plantations. They staged incursions all last week in our territory, and found only corn fields and more cornfields,” the movement said in a statement. “Get the army out of Triqui territory! No to the militarization of our country's indigenous lands!”
The idea that authorities are finding only corn fields is questionable; in recent months, unusually large poppy fields have been found in Oaxaca, whereas opium production used to be centered in neighboring Guerrero state.
Increasing army raids in Guerrero — and the presence of a large number of violent small drug gangs who fight among themselves for the business of buying opium paste from farmers — have apparently made Oaxaca more attractive. And Oaxaca Indian groups like the Triquis have a long history of armed resistance. Dozens have been killed in the violence, including a Finnish rights observer.
Opium fields growing in size
One striking aspect is the size of the opium fields the army is finding in Oaxaca. In Guerrero, such plantations rarely measure more than an acre (half hectare).
But in February, federal police found a pair of poppy fields in another part of Oaxaca that measured almost 37 acres (15 hectares).
Altogether, in the last year, Duarte Mujica said troops had destroyed a total of 1,747 acres (707 hectares) of poppy and marijuana fields, most of them poppies.DIANA Backhouse knows her son Timmy, 2, will never live independently but she still holds hope for a cure for Angelman Syndrome.
This weekend she and her family will take part in a picnic at Broadwater Park to celebrate International Angelman Day and raise awareness of the genetic syndrome that affects their son and alert people to how close that cure may be.
For the Backhouse family, the past six months have been a huge learning curve following the diagnosis of Timmy’s condition, which sees chromosome 15 deleted or mutated.
“He wasn’t meeting his development milestones, by 12 months he wasn’t gurgling or cooing, and was diagnosed with a severe global developmental delay in fine and gross motor skills - and he was very happy all the time which is a lovely side effect of Angelman Syndrome,” Mrs Backhouse said.
“We’ve been able to get lots of support from Angelman parent groups worldwide and locally and just educating ourselves and starting him on therapy because early intervention is what will give him the best start to a quality life.
“Even though the diagnosis saddened us at first as our hopes and dreams for Timmy were dashed, Timmy is so affectionate, happy and brings so much joy to our family.
“It’s an intellectual disability so he’s always going to need support from someone but for all Angelman parents, the focus is on raising funds for research because there is a cure that’s imminent, we just need funding.”
The Queensland Angelman Association Picnic is on February 15 from 11am at Broadwater Park, Mansfield.
For more information on the syndrome visit www.angelmansyndrome.org or contact Lysandra Warren at [email protected] or 0413332509 for more about the event.TEN has announced the 2012 Formula One and MotoGP seasons will be broadcast on Sunday nights in primetime.
From Sunday, April 22, at 9.30pm, motorsport fans will get to see all of the action, excitement and drama of the 2012 Formula One and MotoGP seasons.
This year is shaping up to be one of the hottest motorsport seasons in recent history, with three of the Australia’s best motorsport competitors taking to the grid.
The 2012 Formula One season boasts two Australian drivers for the first time in history, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. It will also be the longest season in the sport’s storied past, contested over 20 races.
With MotoGP’s Casey Stoner topping the time sheets at the official MotoGP testing circuit earlier this month, 2012 is set to be another stellar year for the Aussie two-time world champion.
Commenting on the announcement, Ronald J Walker AC CBE, Chairman of Australian Grand Prix Corporation, said: “Network Ten has always been an outstanding partner for Formula One and MotoGP in this country and this announcement is a terrific development. Primetime, 9.30pm on Sunday nights on TEN will prove very popular with all motorsport fans.”
Ten Network Holdings Chief Executive, James Warburton, said the return of the world’s premier sport to prime-time on Sunday nights would be a powerful addition to TEN’s successful Super Sunday line-up.
Formula One Driver Mark Webber said: “When I was growing up we had to deal with the Sunday night movie and it was quite frustrating. If it’s live and people get a chance to follow a sport that’s consistent and they know when it’s going to be on, there’s a real chance for people to get their teeth into it.”
Network Ten’s Head of Sport, David Barham, said: “With Australians being so well represented internationally in motorsport, this is the perfect time to deliver both Formula One and MotoGP races to viewers on TEN in prime-time.”
Network Ten’s Formula One and MotoGP broadcasts and pre-race preview will be hosted by the sport’s premier commentators, Daryl Beattie, Greg Rust and Craig Baird. The Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix will air on April 22 at 9.30pm, with the MotoGP Spain Grand Prix airing the following Sunday.
RelatedVice President Joe Biden has decided to forgo a 2016 presidential bid, he announced Wednesday.
"I believe we're out of time -- the time necessary to mount a winning campaign," the vice president said from the White House Rose Garden with his wife Jill Biden and President Obama by his side.
No go for Joe
The decision ends months of speculation about whether Biden would step up to challenge Hillary Clinton, the current front runner for the Democratic nomination and his former Obama administration colleague.
The vice president took his time to consider whether he and his family had the "emotional energy" to endure another campaign, following the tragic death over the summer of his 46-year-old son Beau.
"As my family and I have worked through the grieving process, I've said all along -- what I've said time and again to others -- that it may very well be that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president - that it might close," Biden said Wednesday.
While his fellow Democrats gave him his space, pressure mounted for Biden to come to a decision as Democratic voters, party operatives and deep-pocketed donors considered which candidate to line up behind.
Biden was also running up against logistical deadlines: The first filing deadline for appearing on a 2016 primary ballot is November 6 in Alabama. Additionally, the Democratic primary debates are already underway; CBS News hosts the next Democratic debate on November 14 in Iowa.
Analysis: What Biden's decision means for candidates
The vice president insisted Wednesday that "there is no timetable" for the process of running for president. "The process doesn't respect or much care about things like filing deadlines, or debates and primaries and caucuses," he said.
Moreover, the vice president said he and his family have reached a turning point in their grieving process. Even so, he said he still believes he is out of time.
"While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent," Biden continued. "I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation."
The vice president said the Democratic Party and the nation would "be making a tragic mistake" if they were to walk away from or attempt to undo the Obama legacy.
"Democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record," he said. "We've got a lot of work to get done over the next 15 months... but let me be clear that we'll be building on a really solid foundation."
Biden stressed the significance of issues that are central to the Democratic Party platform, such as the need to address income inequality and pursue campaign finance reform.
"I believe the huge sums of unlimited and often secret money pouring into our politics is a fundamental threat to our democracy...the middle class will never have a fighting chance in this country as long as just several families, the wealthiest families, control the process," he said.
The vice president also declared, "I believe we need a moon shot in this country to cure cancer." While acknowledging the issue is personal for him, after his son's battle with brain cancer, Biden noted that the administration has increased funding for cancer research and development.
"I'm going to spend the next 15 months in this office pushing as hard as I can to accomplish this because I know there are Democrats and Republicans on the Hill who share our passion, our passion to silence this deadly disease," he said. "If I could be anything, I would have wanted to be the president that ended cancer because it's possible."
While Clinton has dominated the race for the Democratic nomination, there's clearly at least some thirst among Democrats for an alternative. Bernie Sanders, the socialist senator from Vermont, has drawn huge crowds to his campaign events, and he has stayed competitive with Clinton in polls in key states, as well as in terms of fundraising.
All the while, Biden had maintained a base of support. Polls throughout the year showed that Biden consistently won the support of at least 10 percent of Democrats nationally and in early-nominating states.
Biden's decision is good news for Clinton, though she hardly has a lock on the nomination. As her Democratic opponents work to keep her on her feet, Clinton will also have to fend off attacks from Republicans scrutinizing her use of a private email account and server, as well as her actions ahead of the September 12, 2012 Benghazi attack.Google is upgrading the digital certificates used to secure its Gmail, Calendar, and Web search services. Beginning on August 1, the company will start upgrading the RSA keys used to encrypt Web traffic and authenticate to 2048-bits, twice as many as are used now.
The rollout affects the transport layer security (TLS) certificates that underpin HTTPS connections to Google properties. Sometimes involving the secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol, the technologies prevent attackers from reading the contents of traffic passing between end users and Google. They also provide a cryptographic assurance that servers claiming to be Google.com are in fact operated by Google, as opposed to being clones created by attackers exploiting age-old weaknesses in the way the Internet routes traffic.
There are good reasons for Google to upgrade the strength of these crucial digital keys. The weaker the key strength of an RSA key pair, the easier it is for anyone to mathematically derive the "private key." Such attacks work by taking the certificate's "public key" that's published on the website and factoring it to derive the two prime numbers that make up the private key. Once the private key for a Google certificate has been factored, the attacker can impersonate an HTTPS-protected Google server and provide the same indications of cryptographic security as the legitimate service. Someone who was able to derive the secret primes to Google's private key, for instance, would be able to create convincing attacks that would fool many browsers and e-mail clients.
The factors in private keys are extremely time-consuming to find, but increases in computing power are making the task gradually easier. In 2009, researchers were able to factor a 768-bit RSA key, according to Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia went on to say that a 1024-bit key has not yet been factored. While it may take years for that to happen, it's only a matter of time until it is. And of course, secretive agencies within powerful nation states may already have the ability to factor larger bit sizes.
Another type of attack used to defeat cryptographic certificates is known as a collision attack. Rather than deriving a private encryption key, it forges a digital key used to sign software. It works against hashing algorithms by finding two pieces of plaintext that generate the same cryptographic message digest. While it's extremely time-consuming to find such collisions, certain algorithms—particularly MD5—have known weaknesses that significantly reduce the requirements. The Flame espionage malware that targeted Iran wielded a never-before-seen collision attack to hijack Microsoft's Windows Update mechanism.
Researchers have estimated that the SHA1 algorithm, which is considered more resistant to collision attacks and underpin huge parts of Internet security, could fall by 2018.
The new certificates being rolled out by Google could create headaches for some software developers, particularly those whose code is embedded in certain types of phones, printers, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, cameras, and other types of devices. For those developers, Google provided the following advice:
For a smooth upgrade, client software that makes SSL connections to Google (e.g. HTTPS) must: Perform normal validation of the certificate chain;
Include a properly extensive set of root certificates contained. We have an example set which should be sufficient for connecting to Google in our FAQ. (Note: the contents of this list may change over time, so clients should have a way to update themselves as changes occur);
Support Subject Alternative Names (SANs). Also, clients should support the Server Name Indication (SNI) extension because clients may need to make an extra API call to set the hostname on an SSL connection. Any client unsure about SNI support can be tested against https://googlemail.com—this URL should only validate if you are sending SNI. On the flip side, here are some examples of improper validation practices that could very well lead to the inability of client software to connect to Google using SSL after the upgrade: Matching the leaf certificate exactly (e.g. by hashing it)
Matching any other certificate (e.g. Root or Intermediate signing certificate) exactly
Hard-coding the expected Root certificate, especially in firmware. This is sometimes done based on assumptions like the following: The Root Certificate of our chain will not change on short notice. Google will always use Thawte as its Root CA. Google will always use Equifax as its Root CA. Google will always use one of a small number of Root CAs. The certificate will always contain exactly the expected hostname in the Common Name field and therefore clients do not need to worry about SANs. The certificate will always contain exactly the expected hostname in a SAN and therefore clients don't need to worry about wildcards.
Any software that contains these improper validation practices should be changed. More detailed information can be found in this document, and you can also check out our FAQ if you have specific questions.
People using mainstream browsers and e-mail clients aren't likely to notice any difference at all.Maybe the stars are blind after all. Or perhaps don’t care about talent. Yes, the heiress who rose to infamy following the release of her sex tape is continuing with her global domination of the electronic music scene. Well, at least in Ibiza.
Paris Hilton has started her residency at Amnesia Ibiza. Her “Foam and Diamonds” party was held over the weekend. Hilton received $2.7 million dollars for four nights of work as part of her two-month tour. That works out to be $347,000 an hour, or $5783 per minute. Hilton has been blasted for the outrageous paycheck because she does not do much of the technical work. Hilton pretty much just takes to the DJ booth and presses one button: play. The crowd did not seem to mind that her DJ skills aren’t up to par with say, the ones she has exhibited elsewhere.
“Good for her” some may say. However, while she’s raking in the bucks, one can’t help but wonder where dance music is headed from here..
SourceWhile publishers like IDW and Dark Horse have had luck releasing digital versions of their comics for the iPhone recently, many publishers have wondered whether a one-stop digital comic store would ever be created. And then Longbox was announced.
Longbox, which will be made available as a free download later this year by Quicksilver Software, was announced at this weekend's HeroesCon in North Carolina. Described as "a digital comics platform similar to iTunes," the software will offer downloadable digital versions of comics by publishers Boom! Studios and Top Cow for just 99 cents (Discussions are being held with other publishers to add their lines). Rantz Hoseley explains the thinking behind the new app:
Everyone's been talking now for half a decade about the holy grail of digital comics, and how do you solve that problem: How do you make something that everyone gets on board with? And rather than just kind of jump into it willy-nilly, we've done a lot of research and actual development on the platform prior to even discussing it with any publishers... Three years ago, when we started doing development, publishers were very, very resistant to it. The majority of publishers wouldn't even discuss the possibility of it: digital comics are the devil come to steal the milk from our children's mouths [but t]he difference is that now, every publisher realizes, especially with the increasing cost of monthlies and the declining sales of monthlies, that there has to be a way to expand the market. With every other form of entertainment embracing digital distribution and sales medium, it is very foolhardy to not do likewise.
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If you're wondering whether Longbox would have a problem with your potentially not-incredibly-legal downloaded comics, you're in luck:
While Longbox has a proprietary secure format, it also reads.cbr and.cbz files. Now, we're not advocating (and I'll be kind here) 'grey market' digital comic files, but it is ignorant to assume that there isn't a degree of crossover between people who currently read comics in a.cbr,.cbz file format and people who would want to read comics in a legitimate fashion — especially since so many of those individuals posit that they download.cbr and.cbz because there aren't 'legitimate' versions of these files in digital format. So if Longbox becomes the one stop for people to have their digital comics experience, it's a very short hop, skip, and jump for people to purchase files there, especially at the price point given.
Color us slightly concerned about talk of "proprietary secure format," but interested nonetheless. Initially, Longbox will be available for Mac, PC and Linux with a planned release date of September or October; Quicksilver is already looking at adding gaming and mobile platforms.
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Longbox Digital Comics [Comic Book Resources]Stanford researchers develop acrobatic space rovers to explore moons and asteroids
An autonomous system for exploring the solar system's smaller members, such as moons and asteroids, could bring us closer to a human mission to Mars.
Courtesy of Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics Illustration of how the mother spacecraft Phobos Surveyor and its 'hedgehogs' would work. (Click image to enlarge)
Stanford researchers, in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have designed a robotic platform that could take space exploration to new heights.
The mission proposed for the platform involves a mother spacecraft deploying one or several spiked, roughly spherical rovers to the Martian moon Phobos. Measuring about half a meter wide, each rover would hop, tumble and bound across the cratered, lopsided moon, relaying information about its origins, as well as its soil and other surface materials.
Developed by Marco Pavone, an assistant professor in Stanford's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the system relies on a synergistic relationship between the mother spacecraft, known as the Phobos Surveyor, and the rovers it houses, called "hedgehogs." The Phobos Surveyor, a coffee-table-sized vehicle flanked by two umbrella-shaped solar panels, would orbit around Phobos throughout the mission. The researchers have already constructed a prototype.
The Surveyor would release only one hedgehog at a time. Together, the mothership and hedgehogs would work together to determine the hedgehog's position and orientation. Using this information, they would map a trajectory, which the mother craft would then command the hedgehog to travel.
In turn, the spiky explorers would relay scientific measurements back to the Phobos Surveyor, which would forward the data to researchers on Earth. Based on their analysis of the data, the scientists would direct the mothership to the next hedgehog deployment site.
An entire mission would last two to three years. Just flying to Phobos would take the Surveyor about two years. Then the initial reconnaissance phase, during which the Surveyor would map the terrain, would last a few months. The mothership would release each of the five or six hedgehogs several days apart, allowing scientists enough time to decide where to release the next hedgehog.
For many decisions, Pavone's system renders human control unnecessary. "It's the next level of autonomy in space," he said.
Moon clues
The synergy between the Phobos Surveyor and the hedgehogs would also be reflected in their sharing of scientific roles. The Surveyor would take large-scale measurements, while the hedgehogs would gather more detailed data. For example, the Surveyor might use a gamma ray or neutron detector to measure the concentration of various chemical elements and compounds on the surface, while the hedgehogs might use microscopes to measure the fine crevices and fissures lining the terrain.
Although scientists could use the platform to explore any of the solar system's smaller members, including comets and asteroids, Pavone has designed it with the Martian moon Phobos in mind.
An analysis of Phobos' soil composition could uncover clues about the moon's origin. Scientists have yet to agree on whether Phobos is an asteroid captured by the gravity of Mars or a piece of Mars that an asteroid impact flung into orbit. This could have deep implications for our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system, Pavone said.
To confirm Phobos' origins, Pavone's group plans to deploy most of the hybrids near Stickney Crater. Besides providing a gravity "sweet spot" where the mother craft can stably hover between Mars and Phobos, the crater also exposes the moon's inner layers.
A human mission to Mars presents hefty challenges, mainly associated with the planet's high gravity, which heightens the risk of crashing during takeoffs and landings. The large amounts of fuel needed to overcome Mars' strong pull during takeoffs could also make missions prohibitively expensive.
But Phobos' gravity is a thousand times weaker than on Mars. If Phobos did indeed originate from the red planet, scientists could study Mars without the dangers and costs associated with its high gravity simply by sending astronauts to Phobos. They could study the moon itself or use it as a base station to operate a robot located on Mars. The moon could also serve as a site to test technologies for potential use in a human mission to the planet.
"It's a piece of technology that's needed before any more expensive type of exploration is considered," Pavone said of the spacecraft-rover hybrid. "Before sampling we need to know where to land. We need to deploy rovers to acquire info about the surface."
Making the most of low gravity
Today's rovers have trouble operating in the low gravity environment characteristic of small celestial objects. For example, such conditions can cause the wheels of mobile platforms to lose traction and spin uncontrollably. Pavone's team has designed the hybrid system to exploit low gravity by relying primarily on airborne motion.
The hedgehogs do not have wheels, as do the current Mars rovers. Instead they rely on three rotating discs enclosed within each hedgehog, with each disc pointing in a different direction.
In the microgravity of Phobos, the inertial forces of the spinning disks allow the hedgehogs to move nimbly and precisely in environments that would leave other robots bouncing or floating uncontrollably. Quickly accelerating the discs causes the hedgehog to hop, while spinning them even faster results in a bound. Accelerating the discs just slightly makes the hedgehogs tumble, ideal for fine maneuvering.
The team has already built and tested two generations of rover prototypes and are developing a third. Although the third generation is cubical, the geometry of future generations will include more facets, ultimately making the rover close to sphere-shaped.
Designing the hedgehogs for Phob |
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of the playoffs and he started talking about "my team" in reference to the geniuses who brought us The Decision.
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In fact, the most compelling storyline of the Cavs' 2009-10 season wasn't LeBron James, or Shaquille O'Neal. It was the saga of Delonte West, starting with his arrest on Sept. 17, 2009, when he was booked on weapons charges. West was pulled over while riding his trike on a D.C.-area highway armed with a 9mm Beretta, a.357 Magnum, a Remington 870 in a guitar case, 100 rounds of shotgun ammo, and an 8-inch Bowie knife.
On the Cavs' Media Day a few weeks later, West sloughed off the arrest as no big thing. Not long after that, in the locker room before a preseason game, he verbally assaulted a reporter after the reporter asked him how he was doing. "Step the fuck off," he snarled. "Motherfucking faggot. Fuck you." The team's media relations people cleared the room and denied that any such incident had occurred. The journalists covering the team agreed among themselves to ignore what had happened.
What had happened was no mystery. West had revealed the season before that he suffers from severe bipolar disorder. And now he was off his meds.
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It wasn't treated by the organization or reported by the media like any other illness or injury. It was as if a large dysfunctional family had agreed that Uncle Delonte and his illness were a horrible, inexplicable embarrassment, and the entire family was better off pretending that he was fucking invisible. Never mind that West's illness had a profound negative impact on the Cavs; Anthony Parker replaced West as the starting two-guard instead of playing the backup role he was signed for, and while Parker is a stable, steady vet, he brought none of Delonte's lightning on either side of the ball.
Nobody on the Cavs talked about it. Nobody in the press covered it. West never spoke of it—hell, he never spoke at all if the media was present. All season long, West was catatonic before and after games. He sat in silence in the middle of a loud locker room, staring into space, focused on nothing. Teammates, music, food, the pack of media hounds: West sat through all of it with a thousand-yard stare trained upon nothing visible.
Delonte's living image has stayed with me longer than LeBron's. I profiled Shaq during the course of the year, and Shaq talked about West with more admiration and respect than any other member of the team, including James.
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"I don't know what bipolar means," Shaq said. "But basketball-wise, I want him in there. If I'm going to war, I'm taking him with me. Two minutes left, I want him in the game with me. He's got that dog in him."
By the season's end, the Cavs had imploded, and rumors about Gloria James, queen mother, consorting with West had gone nationwide. I never bought into it for a second, but I tried to walk it back and figure out if anything at all had happened to hurt the Cavs besides the Celtics' ferocity. What I came away with was that the team had partied all night and into the morning of Game 2, when they played like they were hung over and lost by double digits at home. They were hung over.
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One other thing. A national NBA reporter told me he'd heard—but had never been able to confirm—that the Delonte-Gloria muck had been the brainchild of LeBron's manager and partner, Maverick Carter. I dismissed that as ludicrous, until one day during last season's Finals, when I heard Chris Broussard and Stephen A. Smith—two of Mav Carter's go-to guys—on ESPN2 talking about off-court issues hurting LeBron's play. It was just that vague until later that day, when the intertubes began to fill with stories about a dalliance between Savannah Brinson, the mother of LeBron's two sons, and Rashard Lewis.
By that time, Delonte West—still a pepper pot but no madman—had gone on the record denying that he and Gloria James had ever had a thing.
"Who knows who makes this stuff up?" he'd said. "It could have been a 14-year-old kid somewhere who threw that out."
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As for the Cleveland media and their unwillingness to report on West's bipolar battle, one quote from a beat guy summed it up nicely.
"I'm not in the business for sensational stories," he said. "There are outlets for those stories, and that's fine. But it's not for me."
Right. Some stuff, no matter how profoundly it impacts the team you cover, is simply too delicate or personal or shameful or troubling for a journalist address, even when the player himself has gone public with it already. Mental illness? Ssshhh. Don't breathe a word.
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Scott Raab is the author of The Whore of Akron. He is a Cleveland State University graduate and has been an Esquire Writer at Large since 1997.Transcript for Possible Trump VP Pick Mike Pence Addresses Disagreement Over Muslim Ban
That's what Donald Trump announces temporary ban on Muslims call the offensive and unconstitutional he still feel that way you know I've taken issue with our. Candidates from time to time and I'm supporting don't know how did you Cuddy president of the United States of America. He's your ticket if you have a disagreement with mr. trump you shoot at ticket you have a fundamental disagreement with him on the Muslim. I served in congress would vote years that governor for three and a half years. I haven't agreed it every one of my Republican colleagues and a record. On supporting him because change has come believe either presents the strong leadership at whole school. I grew to our ovaries make America great.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.Growing up in LA, one thing you could always count on in the Summer (other than the inevitable smog alerts) was the sound of Vin Scully's voice melodically echoing out of the speaker the opening line that creat excitement in a way only he could do: "Its time for Dodger baseball!"
Having been recruited right out of college, Vin found himself at the right place at the right time. When a contract dispute erupted between CBS Radio Director Red Barber and the World Series sponsor Gillette, Scully took Barber's spot and at the age of 25 became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game.
Scully became "the Voice of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, moving with the team to LA in 1957. At the time, the Dodgers played in LA's enormous Memorial Coliseum. Fans had a difficult time following the game because of the size of the stadium and would bring transistor radios with them to hear Scully describe what was going on. The tradition continued when the Dodgers moved to their own stadium in 1962.
Scully was one of the last broadcasters to work solo. He would announce the game simulcast on radio and TV for the first three innings, then continue with the remainder of the game on TV. Scully says that broadcasting solo allows him to have a conversation with the listener instead of a broadcasting partner, which establishes a rapport that wouldn't occur otherwise. This is true for me - listening or watching the games growing up, I always felt like Vin was talking TO me, rather than AT me. Something I strive to emulate in my own voiceover work to this day.
Scully called over NINE THOUSAND games, including 21 no hitters, 3 perfect games and 28 world series broadcasts.
Congratulations on a fantastic career, Vin. Your voice will be missed.
Photo courtesy: ESPN.com
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About Rob Marley - A Los Angeles native, Rob is an accomplished voice talent, producer and writer, now living in the Hill Country of Austin, Texas.
Find out more here.More and more Bitcoin wallets are enabling support for Bitcoin Cash right now. Blockchain.info is the latest one to do so in this regard. It is unclear what took the company so long, but the end result is what really matters.Users can now effectively store their BCH balance in the wallet. Moreover, outstanding balances have been credited. A welcome turn of events, even though BCH continues to struggle for traction.
Blockchain.info has always been one of the biggest wallet providers in cryptocurrency. That is not entirely surprising whatsoever. The company provides a convenient, albeit somewhat centralized service. In recent times, the company official rebranded to Blockchain. As part of this renewed focus, the company is wrapping up Bitcoin Cash integration after an eight-week wait. It is due time this happens, mind you, as users have been waiting for their coins far too long.
BCH Integration Finally Complete for Blockchain
Although Blockchain always stated integration of BCH would take weeks, people had hope for a quicker resolution. Then again, it is better to take the time and do things properly. In this company’s case, they did exactly that. In a way, the delay is a bit problematic, but they are effectively coming through for the users. As a result, users will now see their BCH balance in the Blockchain wallet. Additionally, the wallet now supports the use and transfer of this altcoin.
This means there is another major wallet officially supporting Bitcoin Cash right now. With this number growing continuously, things are looking pretty good for the Bitcoin fork. It is highly doubtful SegWit2x will get such a degree of support in this regard. Then again, nothing has been set in stone just yet, as a lot of things remain subject to change.For Bitcoin Cash, things are gradually improving, even though the price doesn’t reflect it just yet. It will be interesting to see how things change in the coming weeks.
This also means virtually all companies have effectively issued BCH tokens to all users. The long wait is finally over in this regard, by the look of things. Blockchain also guarantees users will retain full access to their BCH balance in the near future. This is a very positive sign, to say the very least. No one wants to give up control over their money in the long run. It remains to be seen how this situation evolves. More liquidity in the markets will lead to a lower BCH price, though.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstockby Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Having found the LittleBigPlanet marriage proposal so endearing, I decided to seek out some other inventive and geeky proposals. After all, geeks are great at looking outside the box. So here are a few proven geeky ways to say, “Will you marry me?”
1. …with a LOLcat. This past Valentine’s Day, a marriage proposal appeared on icanhascheezeburger, with a cat plaintively asking for the lady’s “hand in marridj.” (Bonus: She replied using a LOLcat of her own.)
2. …in Bejeweled. Earlier this year, a Jersey City man spent a month reprogramming Bejeweled so that when his girlfriend reached a high score, it would reward her with, “Marry me!” They are planning a Bejeweled-themed wedding, and PopCap has donated copies of the game for their guests.
3. …on Google Street View. A few months ago, a software engineer held up a sign that read “Proposal 2.0: Marry me Leslie!” as a Google Street View car drove past his Silicon Valley office. He then set up a website encouraging people to tell his girlfriend about it.
4. …with an iPod. In 2004, a Norwegian man proposed via an engraving on the back of a 20GB iPod. And the next year, someone did it with a nano.
5. …in a crossword puzzle. The clue for 111 across in a 2007 Boston Globe crossword puzzle was “a generic proposal.” The answer–“will you marry me?”–was intended for a specific woman, whose boyfriend had appealed to romantic side of the crossword puzzle’s writer.
6. …in Halo. Last year, a Halo 3 player used the game’s Forge map editor to write out “Will You Marry Me?” in the terrain for his girlfriend to see.
7. …using Reddit. Earlier this year, a young woman proposed to her “classic nerd” of a boyfriend with a reddit posting. (Apparently he clicked the up arrow…)
8. …in a comic. Penny Arcade fans may remember that back in 1999, Mike Krahulik proposed to his girlfriend on the popular web comic.
9. …on Slashdot. In 2004, a man proposed in the “most potentially embarassing way possible,” a posting to Slashdot. It only took the girlfriend fifteen minutes to reply!
10. …over Twitter. Just last week, a couple of “tweethearts” (ha!) decided to get hitched over Twitter. Apparently this geeky proposal style is getting to be a real trend!
So, can any of you geeky romantics beat these? I know that I’m hoping for a proposal someday that will land on the front page of Digg…In response to former FBI Director James Comey’s powerful testimony Thursday detailing President Trump’s efforts to squelch the bureau’s investigation into Michael Flynn, Trump is embracing a tried-and-true Washington tactic: divert attention from a scandal by smearing the messenger. He and his lawyers are accusing Comey of unlawfully “leaking” the memos Comey kept of his conversations with the president.
Lawmakers and the American public should not be fooled.
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The word “leak” has turned into something of a dog whistle of late. White House spokespersons use it to describe any public disclosure of government information by anonymous sources that reflects poorly on the administration. The term implies that the disclosure was illegal, perhaps even traitorous.
But here’s the thing: not every disclosure of government information to the press is a violation of the law. In fact, very few disclosures constitute crimes.
The primary exception is classified information. In almost every case, the unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a criminal offense, regardless of whether the disclosure serves the public interest or whether any harm results. The Obama administration upped the ante by using the Espionage Act — a law designed to punish spies and traitors — to prosecute leaks of classified information to the press. Several other, less draconian laws also criminalize such activity.
Comey openly acknowledged that he asked a friend to pass his memos along to reporters. Those memos, however, were not classified. He could not have classified them even if he wanted to. That would have violated the executive order governing classification, which requires all classified information to fall within certain subject areas and which prohibits classification to conceal official misconduct.
For unclassified information, agencies have internal rules and policies governing disclosures outside the agency. If an employee violates them, he may be subject to administrative penalties, including being fired. But he has not broken any criminal law. Moreover, once the employee leaves the agency, he is generally no longer subject to the agency’s directives (although some employees sign contracts agreeing to refrain from certain activities or disclosures for a period after leaving the agency).
Trump’s lawyers are trying to imply unlawfulness by describing the memos as “privileged.” This is meritless for several reasons. Most fundamentally, there is no privilege that would cover the contents of Comey’s memos. The closest fit is the “presidential communications privilege,” which applies to certain conversations between the president and his advisors. But the purpose of the privilege is to protect the president’s decision-making process in the exercise of his core constitutional functions. It applies only to conversations about such decisions — not demands of loyalty or thinly veiled orders to drop investigations.
Even if the privilege did apply, there is no law that prohibits — let alone criminalizes — the disclosure of presidential communications. The privilege provides current executive branch employees with a legal basis to resist congressional or judicial demands for information (although if Congress or the courts can show a specific need for the information, the privilege must yield). It does not prohibit government employees from making voluntary disclosures.
Of course, internal agency policies restricting disclosures might well encompass disclosures of presidential communications. But again, these policies generally do not apply to people who no longer work for the agency and violating them would not be a crime.
It’s puzzling that Comey chose to release his memo through an intermediary and did not immediately identify himself as the source. It’s less puzzling that he was reluctant to directly confront the president over his misconduct, but reasonable minds can disagree over whether he should have done more to push back. People can also reasonably debate whether he should have reported the matter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump says he hasn't spoken to Barr about Mueller report Ex-Trump aide: Can’t imagine Mueller not giving House a ‘roadmap’ to impeachment Rosenstein: My time at DOJ is 'coming to an end' MORE, despite Sessions’ imminent recusal, rather than just consulting with FBI senior leadership.
But Comey’s behavior is not the issue here. At worst, he should be fired, and that has already happened. He is no longer a government official; in his own words, he is “between opportunities.”
Trump, on the other hand, is still the president. And it’s increasingly clear that this president believes he is above the law. Trump’s statements to Comey were a blatant attempt to derail the Flynn investigation, notwithstanding his decidedly non-literal use of the word “hope.” He also reportedly attempted to rope Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Daniel (Dan) Ray Coats58 ex-national security officials rebuke Trump over emergency declaration DNC unveils new security checklist to protect campaigns from cyberattacks Overnight Defense: Trump to leave 200 troops in Syria | Trump, Kim plan one-on-one meeting | Pentagon asks DHS to justify moving funds for border wall MORE and CIA Director Mike Pompeo into the effort.
Most important, even though Comey acknowledged that Trump was not personally under investigation as of May 9, the FBI continues to investigate whether his campaign colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. And the president continues to show remarkably little concern about the interference itself. Even after belatedly and grudgingly conceding that Russia tried to meddle in the election (although he quickly added that “it could have been others also”), he tweeted that “Russia talk” was “fake news” put out by Democrats to mask their electoral defeat.
Congress must keep its eye on the ball and demand answers regarding the nature and extent of the ties between Trump associates and Russian interests. Regardless of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, will an administration so tightly connected to Russia do what is necessary to prevent interference in the next one? When the president tries to roll back sanctions on Russia, discloses to Russian officials classified information that was provided to us by a close ally and calls NATO “obsolete,” is he acting in America’s interests, or those of a hostile foreign power?
There are no questions more important to the security of our democracy. We cannot afford to fall for a distraction ploy when the stakes are so high.
Elizabeth Goitein is co-director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. Follow her on Twitter @LizaGoitein.
The views of contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.Get the biggest Business stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The plight of pubs is being highlighted as figures show two are closing every week in Wales.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) revealed the worrying statistic that often leaves rural areas without any pub.
This has now seen the Welsh Conservatives launch a Support Your Local Pub campaign.
They want to abolish business rates for small businesses, cut red tape and introduce the right to buy to help people protect community assets.
Communities have also been urged to use their local to help prevent more pubs closing.
Today Andrew RT Davies, Leader of the Opposition, Mark Isherwood, Shadow Minister for Communities and Janet Finch-Saunders, AM for Aberconwy, launched the campaign in the Albion Ale House in Conwy.
Mr Davies said it was time for more to be done to support pubs to halt the closures.
He said reducing rates, cutting bureaucracy and making it easier for residents to buy their local through Community Right to Bid would assist keeping pubs open.
But he added: “People and communities also need to support their local pub.”
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Mrs Finch-Saunders said: “Pubs are at the heart of our communities, but many face considerable challenges to stay open.
“Welsh Conservatives want to use a low tax agenda to support local pubs and protect the role they place in society as an economic, social and cultural hub.
“We support the Chancellor’s tax cuts to support pubs, breweries and everyone who enjoys the occasional drink by cutting or freezing duty on beer, spirits and cider.
“Welsh Conservatives have launched this campaign to protect the important role that pubs play in our economy and society as major employers and as the hubs which are integral to a community’s way of life.”
The three Welsh Conservative AMs were joined by landlord Stuart Chapman-Edwards, Welsh Director for CAMRA, Ian Saunders and the Director of Conwy Brewery, Gwynne Thomas.
Mr Thomas said: “The future of small breweries are closely linked to future of pubs as cask ale is the main part of our business. Therefore we support any campaign that could help to keep pubs open.
“Many pubs are struggling and reduced business rates would help but we would also like to see the VAT paid by pubs lower than that paid at off-premises(shops/off-licences).
Pubs also need to look at their offer and communities need to ensure they use their pub, it is a case of ‘use it or lose it’.”The Clintons hate the caucus system, and they want to see it die.
First they finished third in Iowa. Then they were out-organized by Barack Obama's campaign in the caucuses after Super Tuesday. Finally, they lost the showdown at the rules committee over how to reinstate delegates from the banned Michigan and Florida primaries.
According to one well-placed source, President Clinton himself is still raw over reports of caucus tampering in Iowa that he believes could have tilted the race in Barack Obama's favor, and has mentioned that possibility several times in conversation. A separate source who is also close to Clinton says the idea that people were "bused in" from Illinois to caucus is still a concern, as well. (The Iowa Democratic Party is not required by law to release its caucus rolls, and has not done so.)
In part, this fits with the pattern of retrospective analysis and persistent "what-if" thinking on the part of some Clinton officials, such as when communications director Howard Wolfson remarked on Fox News that John Edwards cost Sen. Clinton the nomination -- a claim that was later partially debunked.
So while a debate about the use of caucuses might seem moot to some, it remains terribly important to Clinton loyalists. And thus the battle over their use rages on -- sometimes in private, and sometimes in quasi-public forums. The most recent flash point was last weekend's DNC platform committee meeting in Pittsburgh. Included among over 100 proposed amendments to the party's platform was Amendment 93, which would have banned caucuses from future nominating contests.
Not surprisingly, it was a non-starter from the DNC's perspective. According to multiple sources, representatives for DNC Chairman Howard Dean ruled the proposed amendment out of order, since it spoke to a change in party rules, and referred it to the rules committee for a future discussion. Unlike other failed amendments, however, Amendment 93 was not even granted a debate at the platform meeting, a development which set some Clinton supporters on edge.
And after the fact, confusion over which draft of the amendment had even been rejected led to suspicion that it had been improperly referred to the rules committee in the first place.
Bob Remer, a Clinton delegate from Illinois who proposed the language of Amendment 93, told the Huffington Post he could only get a sentence or two out of his mouth before being interrupted at the meeting. Remer believes his preamble -- "The Democratic Party will practice its commitment to voting rights within our own nomination processes" -- would not have represented "a matter of mechanics or a change in rules."
"I just thought i was premature to rule it out of order," he said. Referring to the surrogates at the platform meeting who represented Obama and the DNC, Remer said: "They could have made their case and had it voted down. They could have entertained a motion to table. But at least you'd have a debate. I was caught in mid-sentence."
Still, after that preamble, Remer's amendment pivoted into some pretty rule-impacting language. In part, it read: "Caucuses inherently disenfranchise the elderly, disabled, shift workers, single parents, and others whose circumstance prohibits participation in caucuses. The 2008 primaries illustrated that a caucus vote is worth more than a primary vote because each delegate elected by caucus represents fewer votes than each delegate elected by (a) primary."
The language also went on to assert that "party officials" and "aggressive participants" often assert coercion over voters that is immune from federal oversight. Thus, Remer wrote, the party should "forbid caucuses" in the future and require all states to hold primaries -- an expensive proposition that the DNC points out many states cannot afford.
Remer said he could understand why that language would be referred to the rules committee, though he believes the preamble could have been adopted on the basis of "principals and policy."
DNC platform member and prominent Clinton fundraiser Lynn Forester was even more explicit. In a statement to the Huffington Post, she said: "You must ask yourself, why would the Democratic Party reject the language of Amendment 93, saying the 'Democratic Party will practice its commitment to voting rights within its own nomination processes'? The fact that they used a technicality to deny this language as a statement of the Democratic Party's beliefs is a stain on this process."
While the DNC would not comment on the dispute except to describe it as an internal party matter, a source with knowledge of the committee's thinking said the platform meeting was not the appropriate time or place for the discussion. Noting that the document is meant to bring the party together and speak to broader goals, the source said the prospect of hashing out internecine party disputes was anathema to the DNC.
As for whether caucus rules could be properly addressed in the "voting rights" section of the platform, the source distinguished the party's rules for a private nominating contest from its support for the Federal Civil Voting Rights Act and the 14th amendment. (Indeed, a suit alleging that caucuses and primaries were "voting rights" issues was tossed by a federal judge earlier this year.)
The source also admitted that the DNC knows it has to address the problems of the caucus system and its proportional influence over the entire nominating process, but that it will take time, perhaps years, to properly thrash out the details.
For his part, Remer says that was his only goal. "They sort of said, we know the problem but don't bug me here," he recalled, laughing. But he insists he wasn't interested in calling Barack Obama's caucus wins into question after the fact. "This wasn't for the purpose of changing the course of history. Barack Obama is our nominee and I'm happy with that. I want to change the course of the future."
Forester, however, sees a broader alliance between Chairman Dean and Barack Obama that she feels is bad for the party. "Howard Dean's representative struck down Amendment 93," she said after the platform meeting, which she attended as an appointed Clinton representative. "Governor Dean is afraid of this language and that's an outrage. And by extension he's carrying Obama's water like he has through this whole nominating process. He is compromising the basic principle of one person, one vote, in order to give the nomination to Barack Obama and that means the Democratic party has a big problem."
Remer didn't come away totally disappointed from Saturday's platform meeting, however. Another one of his amendments passed, paving the way for a stronger position on guaranteed health care for all Americans. Another source from the Clinton side expressed gratitude that other Hillary-like language made it into the platform. "The Obama and Clinton people were definitely making an effort to reach out," the source said.
Perhaps the most prominent linguistic olive branch in the platform comes in a passage that reads: "Our party is proud that we have put 18 million cracks in the highest glass ceiling," echoing rhetoric that Sen. Clinton herself used when suspending her campaign.
Still, despite such sounds of harmony, the issue of caucuses is destined to come up again. Remer said he plans to address the rules committee on the matter -- an opportunity he could have as early as next week. Describing an epiphany that occurred while he was carrying a blind and disabled elderly woman up the stairs at an Iowa caucus site in January, he said he determined then and there that "this thing has got to go."As promised after the recent survey, I’ll be more creating a few more blog posts and videos on the blues—particularly acoustic fingerstyle blues. To get started with the blues you really need to be 100% comfortable with the structure, otherwise it will all fall apart quicker than you can say “my baby gone left me”.
In today’s blog post, I’ll teach you how to get comfortable with the basics of blues as well as learn a super cool blues riff.
The 12 bar blues uses a set structure that lasts for—you guessed it—12 bars.
There are 3 chords played within this 12 bar pattern and they are played at particular times.
It is so important to understand the sequence of these chords as nearly all blues-based music out there will use this structure.
As I have stated before learning and understanding chord progressions will save you lots of time in the future. The 12 bar blues is a perfect example of this.
Once you know the structure and what key you are in, you will be able to play the song or piece of music with other musicians (or backing tracks) with complete confidence.
You will also be able to jam along with complete confidence knowing exactly what chord is coming next. This makes the blues a wonderful tool for creating awesome jams.
Remember the scene in “Back to the Future” where Marty is on stage at the “Enchantment Under the sea”?
He turns to the Starlight Band and says:
“This is a blues riff in B”
…and the band knows exactly what to play while Marty rocks the lead to Johnny B. Goode.
Before playing guitar I always wondered how the band knew what to play—thinking to myself “that is not realistic”.
How would they know how to play and fit their parts with Marty’s together without knowing what he was going to play?
Even though the song is in Bb not B (a technical error from the filmmakers, but I digress), the fact is the band WOULD be able to know what to play to jam with Marty as they know the 12 bar blues and as Marty points out, Johnny B. Goode is just a 12 bar blues.
Yes, the lead guitar (what Marty plays) may be different for every song but the underlying track – the rhythm follows this consistent structure.
That is just one example of why learning the simple structure of the 12 bar blues is so important.
Now, let’s learn the structure and most importantly, how to play it.
To begin with, we will learn a typical 12 bar blues shuffle.
This little piece is one that everybody will recognise and everybody should learn. It is lots of fun.
The 12 bar blues shuffle
Take a listen to the following audio track. This is what you are going to learn and understand today.
The above is something very similar to what you would hear in Johnny B. Goode. Here it is again slower.
To play this piece, firstly, put a capo on fret 5 as there are a few stretches and we want to make these as easy as possible for now and capos are great for this.
Take a look at the tab below, learn it over a few days and get comfortable playing along with the slow version above before before attempting the faster version.
Above all, take it steady, make each note clear and enjoy!
First four Bars (1-4)
We are starting off with an E power chord.
To play these four bars:
Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the A string and leave the low E string open
Strum the A and low E strings twice
Then add your ring finger onto the 4th fret of the A string
Strum the A and low E strings twice more
You then repeat all of the above to complete one bar
The first four bars are pretty simple as they are all played on just this one E chord. The tricky part can be getting the shuffle rhythm correct. The shuffle in simple terms is the bouncy feel you can hear in the track – this feel is very common in blues.
Be careful to only strum the low E and A strings here otherwise it sounds messy.
You can use all down strokes to play this if that is easier and at first you may want to play this with a pick if your strumming technique is not solid. Remember, we are using a capo at fret 5.
Next four bars (5-8)
Now we move to an A power chord.
To play these four bars:
Move your index finger on the 2nd fret of the D string and leave the A string open
Strum the A and D strings twice
Then add your ring finger onto the 4th fret of the D string
Strum the A and D strings twice more
You then repeat all of the above to complete one bar
Notice how this is the same as what we played in the first four bars but everything has just moved up a string and also notice now we only strum the A and D strings and NOT the low E string as before.
We only stay on this A chord for two bars before moving back to the E chord for the next two bars.
Last four bars (9-12)
Now, for bar 9 we introduce a new chord into the sequence. This chord is a B power chord and is the hardest to play as there are no open strings in this chord.
To play these four bars:
Fret the 2nd fret of the A string with the index finger and fret the 4th fret of the D string with the ring finger
Strum the A and D strings twice
Then add your pinkie to play the 6th fret of the D string.
Strum the A and D strings twice more
You then repeat all of the above to complete one bar
This is a big stretch in this bar and is the main reason we are using a capo. (The capo allows us to play higher up the neck where the frets are closer together and therefore less of a stretch). If you struggle with this stretch which everyone does at first, you may want to do some stretching exercises (which I`ll be writing a post on soon).
Once we have played this B chord, we then go back to the A chord for bar 10 and finally finish with the E chord for the final two bars.
Now, let’s put it all together.
Phew, that is a little tough and can be hard to remember at first if you have never attempted this before.
Firstly, I’d say, get playing it through at few times and get it sounding nice and musical. It’s a key piece of music to learn as it is the basis for a lot of music. You’ll hear it in rock ‘n’ roll, blues rock, rockabilly as well as other genres.
The 12 bar blues has a signature sound and one you should learn to recognise when you hear it.
Once you do hear it, it is pretty easy to jam along with. All you need to do is find out what key the song is in (which you can work out by ear – and which we will cover in a later post) and then move the capo up or down and play the above.
The 12 bar blues structure
Below is an outline of the piece we have just played as shown in chord form.
Pay close attention to the structure and remember to make sure you play each chord for the precise amount of bars before changing.
If you change too early or too late then you will be out of sync with the rest of the band or the backing track.
In the next few lessons in this series, I’ll take you through the exact structure for ALL 12 keys and exactly how you change keys, some variations of the pattern and how to really bring it to life!
I hope you enjoyed that one. This is a pure introduction to the 12 bar blues. It doesn`t matter if you have played for 10 weeks or 10 years it is well worth learning.
I didn’t want to get too technical with all the details in this lesson as for now I want you to just go ahead and get playing the blues.
Drop a comment with any questions and let me know if you enjoyed playing this piece.
(Visited 4,778 time, 35 visit today)There were times last year when you wondered if Sunderland and Newcastle were having their own private regional competition, a sort of Premier League Chicken where the loser was the first team to blink and pull out of a relegation nosedive. This is something that Sunderland’s supporters have had to put up with for some time. Last season was their eighth consecutive campaign in the Premier League and the fifth in which they have failed to break the 40 point barrier. But will they improve under Dick Advocaat?
The Sunderland supporters certainly think so. There was a widespread jubilation at Advocaat’s decision to sign up for another year on Wearside, and with good reason. It wasn’t that Advocaat made Sunderland a particularly good team in his short time with the club, it’s more that he stopped them from being a really bad one. Take the horrifying collapse to Crystal Palace and the meaningless last day bout with Chelsea out of the equation and Sunderland conceded only three goals in the other seven games, with three consecutive clean sheets against Everton, Leicester and Arsenal.
Outside of convincing Advocaat to stay, the club have made a number of other good decisions over the summer. The retention of Lee Cattermole was crucial and his new five year contract ties him to the club for the best years of his career. New signing Jeremain Lens will bring some much needed pace to the flanks and if Younes Kaboul can stay fit, he should be a more than useful addition to the backline. And there’s proven consistency in place too, in the form of a long-limbed Costel Pantilimon and rock steady Patrick van Aanholt.
But what about the rest of them? When will we see Connor Wickham live up to his potential? When will we see Jack Rodwell replicate the form that made him one of England’s brightest young talents? Will Jermain Defoe still be able to cut it as his 33rd birthday approaches? There have long been players with inflated reputations at Sunderland. The issue is making |
of the time.”
The writers often sprinkled in time-specific pop culture references, such as Frankie talking about her favorite shows, fellow ABC programs including “The Bachelor” and “Castle.” And when it came to touching on topical issues, for example a local mall closing, they did so to further flesh out “the fabric of their lives.”
Heisler says this was done to give the show a timeless appeal: “The colors and the way the show feels is because of the memories of DeAnn and I growing up in the ’70s, but it is kind of universal in that it didn’t turn out to be something glued to one specific time,” she says. “And I hope it makes it a show that lasts beyond now. I like to think that it will be perpetually relevant.”
Over the years Heaton has observed that relevance increase as discussion around the show broadened out from critical acclaim and audience acknowledgement to also include praise from others in the industry.
“You created a show that was supposed to be about a family in the middle, and it resonated from coast to coast.”
Channing Dungey
“When other writers say, ‘I love your show’ and ‘my family watches your show,’ that’s a tribute to our writers,” Heaton says. “They started with very full characters who were very distinct from each other, and that’s why as the show continues it actually gets richer. And what the writers are really good at doing is making you laugh, and then when you’re really vulnerable because you’re laughing, they pull on your heartstrings.”
In crafting the 200th episode, it was important for Heisler and Heline to follow that emotional path they carved over the nine seasons as well as to honor those who have been with them on this journey before they say good-bye with their series finale, which is slated for 2018.
The episode will see the Hecks in a sentimental place when their hometown of Orson makes a list of the top 200 cities in Indiana.
“How they feel about their town is how we feel about this town that we have, which is the show and our crew. We wanted to thank people and express the love that we have in that moment,” Heisler says. “It’s our home, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”The jobs of Bulls vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman appear to be safe, per K.C. Johnson’s story in the Chicago Tribune, and some fans are not happy about it. One fan in particular decided to actually do something about it.
Matt, an 18-year-old college freshman from the southwest suburbs of Chicago who asked that his last name not be used, has spent his down time organizing a protest against Bulls management.
Matt works at UPS by day and goes to school at a local community college in the afternoons. Like many Bulls fans, he’s fed up with the direction of the team and has found other fans that feel the same way.
Matt organized a protest through the Chicago Bulls’ reddit community, which has over 23,000 subscribers. The community generally shares links to articles, highlight clips and gripes. But the top link on the site has been held by Matt’s protest post. His protest is planned for March 4, the Bulls’ nationally-televised game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The reddit community has created T-shirts which they plan to wear during the game while they chant protest messages.
What is Matt’s motivation behind the protests?
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was the K.C. Johnson article the other day where he said there’s slim to no chance that GarPax gets fired in the offseason,” Matt told The Athletic in a phone conversation. “It’s really frustrating because I’ve seen it as a Sox fan and I’m glad they’ve been able to right the ship for baseball and start the rebuild.
“They’re handling [the season] in a really poor way. Hopefully they know the fans are upset, but it’s gotten ridiculous. I’m not gonna say that GarPax, they don’t know what they’re doing, they are basketball executives and we’re not. But this team just needs a new direction. They need someone else to take the team to what it used to be.”
What was the inspiration for a protest?
“Me and my friend, we were sitting around after one of our classes and we were talking about the team and how pissed off we were,” he said. “The team started to become unwatchable and I said what if we staged a protest? Why don’t we go to a game? Why don’t we get T-shirts?”
Matt was doubtful they could pull it off, but he decided to give it a try.
“It’s definitely been a lot more than I ever thought it would be,” he said. “I made that reddit post because I was sitting in my Political Science class and I was bored and I thought about what I was talking about with my friend and I’m like, I’m going to make a post. I forgot about it. That’s the first post I’ve ever made on Bulls reddit. I’ve commented here or there but that’s the first post I’ve ever made. Later that night, I had gotten off work and logged back onto reddit and was like ‘Oh my god. This blew up. What the hell happened?’”
Matt’s post was on the front page of the Bulls’ subreddit in just a few hours and the comments started pouring in.
Already had tickets to this game so will be buying the shirt and protesting the game with my wife and parents. That’s 4 of us!
I’m based in Australia but happy to buy shirts for my wife and I to support the cause #FireGarPax
Tickets and shirts purchased for my wife and I, section 309. Let’s go boys and girls.
Within 24 hours, his posts had received over 360 comments. The protest had been featured on Bleacher Report and other fan sites.
“Me and my dad and my brother, we’re all huge Bulls fans,” Matt said. “I told them about the protest and he’s like, ‘When I saw you were on Bleacher Report, I almost dropped my phone. I’m looking at the notification and thinking, ‘That’s my son.’
“I didn’t think more than 10 people would want to do it. But last time I checked, we had sold 66 T-shirts. It’s crazy how one tiny idea has really turned into something a lot bigger than that. Who knows what will happen from today until March 4 when we have it scheduled.”
There’s been plenty of criticism to Matt’s protest idea. The most common refrain is that it doesn’t make sense to protest ownership by buying tickets. Matt’s response?
“We’ve definitely thought of that and had discussions about that,” he said. “But people are always going to go to Bulls games. When you live in the third-biggest market in the country and have a team like the Bulls, it’s going to sell out no matter how pissed off fans are.”
The Bulls are once again atop the NBA attendance rankings, with an average crowd of 21,615. While the United Center is the biggest NBA arena, the Bulls are still packing above-capacity crowds, also leading the league with 103.3 percent of the listed capacity. The Bulls are also the sixth-best road draw, averaging 17,977 on the road, behind the Cavs, Warriors, Thunder, Spurs and Lakers.
“I feel that if you’re in the stadium, especially against a nationally televised game against the Clippers, they’re going to notice it and they’re going to have to be like, ‘OK, what’s going on why are they doing this?'” Matt said. “Yeah, we bought tickets and if [Jerry] Reinsdorf wants us to buy tickets, we’re gonna do it but we just feel like that’s the most visible way because if you see a bunch of guys protesting your front office, you’re going to take notice.”
What’s his ultimate goal?
“We’re really just looking for any sort of publicity,” he said. “That’s how a good protest works. People hear about it and they’re able to create their own judgment and figure out if they support it or not.”
So far, the response has been mostly positive.
“I’ve had people messaging me asking, ‘What can I do? How can I buy a T-shirt? Where do you guys want to meet up before the game? I’m coming with my wife and kids.’ It’s been really cool seeing everybody come together.”
Matt’s expectations seem fairly modest. He simply wants the Reindorfs to realize that a portion of the fan base is very unhappy as the Bulls hang onto a possible playoff berth with a 26-29 record, after a dispiriting loss Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
“It’s a peaceful protest of the Bulls’ front office because we’re fed up with management,” he said. “We’re fed up with ownership, we want to see change and the fans’ voices want to be heard.”GENEVA (Reuters) - The number of child soldiers in Central African Republic has more than doubled to as many as 6,000 in recent months as self-defence militia have sprung up to counter waves of attacks by former rebels, the United Nations said on Friday.
A Chadian army child soldier is seen in Am Timan in this December 2006 photo. REUTERS/Stephanie Hancock
World powers, led by France, are scrambling to contain a crisis that Paris and U.N. officials have warned could lead to genocide in Central African Republic, which slipped into chaos after rebels ousted the president in March.
Some 400,000 people have fled their homes since the uprising and the tit-for-tat killings that followed.
UNICEF, the U.N.’s children’s agency, warned of a complex crisis that has seen local communities set up self-defence groups to halt abuses by the northern, mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance that swept to power.
This has led to a spike in the number of children involved.
“It has increased a lot. We can estimate this number at between 5,000 (and) 6,000... with the armed groups,” Souleymane Diabate, UNICEF’s resident representative in Central African Republic, told a briefing in Geneva.
UNICEF said in April, a month after Seleka’s uprising, that more than 2,000 boys and girls were working as child soldiers.
That number swelled to 3,500 with the rebellion and surged again amid mounting violence, aid officials said, adding that the children were associated both with Seleka forces and the militias fighting them.
PEACEKEEPERS
There is a 2,500-strong regional peacekeeping force in the landlocked country that is home to 4.6 million. Rebel chief and interim president Michel Djotodia has officially disbanded Seleka, many of whom are fighters from nearby Chad and Sudan.
But he has little control over his country and violence is increasingly pitting the mainly Muslim rebels against largely Christian militia. Christians make up half the population and Muslims 15 percent, the CIA World Factbook says.
French defence and foreign ministry officials began a tour of central Africa on Friday to discuss the crisis, a day after Paris said the United Nations would give France and African forces permission to intervene.
No plan for an intervention has been made public.
France has about 400 troops in Central African Republic, mainly protecting the airport and French assets in the capital Bangui, but French diplomatic sources said that Paris would consider ramping up numbers to between 700 and 1,200 if needed.
Warning that the Bangui government had neither the will nor the ability to stem the violence, the United States has pledged $40 million to support the African force, which is due to receive reinforcements next month.
However, diplomats said the mission was still hamstrung by delays and a lack of troops.
“If the international community doesn’t stand up and do something, I think we will probably see a lot of killing going on there,” said UNICEF’s Diabate.
He added that the situation had been muddied by the local militia being “infiltrated” by former members of ousted president Francois Bozize’s presidential guard.
Bozize, currently believed to be in Kenya, has said he is seeking to return to power.
Central African Republic is rich in gold, diamonds and uranium, but decades of instability and the spillover from conflicts in its larger neighbours have kept it mired in crises.When Khalil Mack gets in his car Thursday and drives to the Napa Valley Marriott for the Raiders’ training camp, the defensive end is packing light.
Just some clothes and maybe his guitar to help him relax at night. Rookie roommate Greg Townsend Jr. has been given the list of mandatory snacks.
Most important, Mack’s not bringing any mental baggage, none of the accolades from last season or any of the expectations or hype for both him and the team this year.
“I’m still learning, just trying to get better” Mack said, taking a break from his workout at San Francisco’s Empower Gym on Monday. “That’s the key to all of this.”
Running back Latavius Murray now calls Mack “Slash,” after Mack became the first player in NFL history to earn first-team All-Pro honors at two positions in the same season (defensive end and outside linebacker). Mack, 25, finished with 15 sacks, one shy of the franchise record, and led all edge rushers in the NFL with 82 quarterback pressures and 54 run stops.
The “Slash” nickname is also appropriate because Mack thinks he was two players last season, and the one wearing No. 52 the first half of the season wasn’t all that great.
“I am very critical of myself,” Mack said. “Watching the tape of myself last year, it looked like two different players the first half of the season and the second half. This year, I want to start fast and finish strong.”
Mack thinks he overloaded himself the first eight games. He had only four sacks in that span, and would roll off 11 over the next six games.
“I switched it up too much the first part of the season, trying to show everything I worked on in the offseason,” Mack said. “All these moves and counters. … So mentally and physically, I made it simple. Just use speed and power and focus on two moves that I was having success with throughout the year. I was able to play faster and longer.”
To look at the sculpted physical specimen that Mack (6-foot-3, 255 pounds) is, one would miss what separates him and the league’s other great pass rushers: His motor doesn’t stop.
“Getting sacks is all effort,” Mack said. “Justin Tuck used to tell me that pass rushing is one of the luckiest things in the world. The quarterback can fall in your lap sometimes, and sometimes no matter what you do, you can’t quite get to them. But they all count.”
It’s seemingly rare in sports when a team’s best player is also the one grinding the most before, during and after practice. Defensive tackle Dan Williams says the Raiders are blessed.
“Khalil is such a hard worker,” Williams said. “You can’t put a ceiling on what he can do. … Khalil is going to be Khalil, and we all expect him to get more sacks this year. That’s kind of crazy when you think he had 15 last year. But he’s ready to take over the league.”
Mack tunes out compliments, whether it’s from a teammate or a talking head on TV saying the Raiders are going to go from 7-9 to winning the AFC West.
“You hear all different kind of things,” Mack said. “I like to focus on the negatives. Negative things tend to help me grind a lot harder. I don’t like positive stuff too much. … Not even in my relationships. Man, I don’t want to hear how great things are going from anybody.”
That wasn’t a problem with Mack’s mentor, Tuck. He is retired now, as is safety Charles Woodson, but they groomed Mack to take over the leadership role on the defense, if not the whole team, this season.
Said Mack: “It’s just about being a team player right now, getting everybody on the same page so we can accomplish what we want to. We have the talent, and with a positive mind-set and hard work, anything is possible.”
It’s one of the reasons that he is looking forward to training camp — because of how the team clicked last year and how well the new players have fit in. Big free-agent signings Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin and Sean Smith haven’t needed a transition period.
“What excites me the most is that we’ve put together a great group of guys,” Mack said. “Not only the players, but the coaches. I am excited to work with all the new cats.”
Mack knows he will be a marked man this season, with opposing coaches spending the week before games against Oakland scheming to double-team and erase him.
“You have to welcome the challenge,” Mack said. “But at the same time, being a leader on the team, you have to let the other guys know, ‘Hey it’s not just me on this side of the ball.’ We got big Bruce, I got Rio (Mario Edwards), I got Big Dan, Big Jelly (Justin Ellis) … We got 27 (Reggie Nelson), DA (David Amerson) and Big Sean on the back end …
“We got some playmakers and heavy hitters. We’re going to make some noise. … They say you can’t win them all, but we’re gonna try.”
Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @VicTafurJapanese corporate investment in Korea has dropped 40 percent so far this year compared to 2012.
After the nuclear plant disaster in Fukushima in 2011, Japanese businesses rushed to set up operations in Korea attracted by cheaper electricity costs and ready access to advanced industrial infrastructure.
That year, Japanese direct investment here totaled US$2.29 billion, up 10 percent from the previous year. In 2012, it rose 99 percent to a record $4.54 billion.
But now it has fallen to the same level as 2011, dashing hopes that it would continue to rise for some time.
The Chosun Ilbo analyzed foreign direct investment data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and found that Japanese investment here in the first nine months of this year totaled $1.96 billion, or only 60 percent of the same period last year.
In the first half of the year, Japan's total overseas investment fell 5.9 percent due to the weak yen, but investment in Korea fell a whopping 35.1 percent over the same period and the decline has become even more pronounced since the third quarter.
Chang Yoon-jong of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said at a time when Japan is pursuing pump-priming measures by bolstering homegrown industrial capacity instead of investing overseas, "Korean politicians are not making any effort to eliminate obstacles to foreign investment."Originally a Watch This! submission, Beyond The Berrics is proud to present Theo Krish and Philip Joa’s independent film: Epicly Palestine’d: The Birth of Skateboarding in the West Bank, the story of how skateboarding became a vital force in a nation under military occupation, a nation whose space is under siege. These young Palestinians use skateboarding as the ultimate act of freedom, skating to live their lives on their own terms. As Abdullah Milhem a 16-year-old from Qalqilya, West Bank, and one of the first skateboarders in Palestine said to me, “Skateboarding gives a message to the occupation, no matter what they do and no matter how many walls they build, and how many people they kill, we will keep living our lives, because we are human beings too, and we deserve to live.”
In addition to our presentation of Epicly Palestine’d, I caught up with producers Theo Krish and Philip Joa, and the small group of Palestinian teenagers, who built a skate scene in the face of military occupation. These young men are the first to bring to a nation its initial glimpse of the empowerment of skateboarding, representing to an entire country what is skateboarding, and what it means to our lives.
As seen in the independent film, the skateboarding scene in Palestine has grown exponentially thanks to SkatePal and its founder Charlie Davis. Davis and SkatePal gave Palestinians a launching point to build upon what Abdullah Milhem, Aram Sabbah, Adham Tamimi, and Majd Ramadan began. The first SkatePal project was in Ramallah Village, building a four-foot mini-ramp, hosting classes every day for 8 weeks, for 50-60 kids. That being said, none of this came easily, Palestinian skateboarders directly challenged the beliefs of their society, their families, and of course, the restrictions of military occupation.
In the summer of 2014, SkatePal built the first cement skatepark in Khilab Centre, Zebabdeh, giving Palestinians their first real environment for skateboarding. Every trick you land in skateboarding opens up the door to new tricks, skateboarding expands your mind, your body, and helps you in your life. It teaches you how to get to places you’ve never been. Looking at how Palestinians are so attracted to skateboarding, opens our eyes to the momentous struggles of military occupation.
Everyday in Palestine there is a protest, maybe not always large marches, but every day escalations with the occupation lead to violence and more suffering. Through skateboarding the youth of Palestine has found a new form of protest, step by step, trick by trick, cementing more hope for a future of freedom in a nation under military occupation. Skateboarding is the future of Palestine, as SkatePal plans to build another skatepark in the West Bank. Skateboarding has given these Palestinians a goal, a new interpretation of life, providing them hope far beyond the walls of Palestine, beyond skateboarding, and Beyond The Berrics.
“It is a tool for peace, I have been to Israel and made friends with the Israeli skaters. They want peace just like me but unfortunately not everyone believes in peace. When I am riding my board, I feel free, and the wall surrounding my city just becomes a spot for wallrides.” The words spoken by Milhem, echo to the world the potential of skateboarding to revolutionize the lives of individuals.
Each Palestinian who picks up a skateboard find something far greater than seven layers of compressed maple. From their first push, they craft a way to conquer the mundane, they infuse themselves with an identity and become a family beyond skateboarding. They attain freedom in their expression of movement. In the act of skating there exists an underlying drive to combat the complacent norms of everyday life, to resist a society attempting to commandeer their perception of space. All skateboarders flourish against society’s attempt to incriminate our movement, in the face of ‘no skateboarding’ signs posted by the hundreds of thousands, pinning us against law enforcement and subscribing us to a juvenile caricature. From this resistance, their world is empowered by those very forces attempting to ostracize their freedom.
In this sense, their world is a proud confession of breaking through society’s contentment. And although all skateboarders protest society’s attempts to force us into complacency with our passion for skating at any cost, it becomes imperative to understand the ability to do so is paradoxically rooted in society’s recognition of our personhood. That is to say, most skateboarders live in a nation representative of our interests, recognizing our needs of skate parks, free enterprise, and mobility. Without access to a skate shop and relying solely on donations from outsider organizations, Palestinians have to overcome immense challenges to be skateboarders, something we around the world take for granted.
Milhem explains, “The largest challenge is the absence of skate shops in the West Bank, making it impossible for us to get boards. Israel has several skate shops actually, but to go there I need a permit which takes months to process and usually ends in rejection. The largest skate park is in Israel, only five-ten minutes from where I live but I can not go there because I do not have a permit.” Although Palestinians can not easily leave the confines of their walls, and have virtually no access to skate products, they continue to nurture a growing skate scene.
Adham Tamimi, a 19-year-old from Ramallah Village, would rather skate than not skate at all. “In the Israeli-occupied parts of Palestine, they are not under our control, so we forget about it and skate what we got. Sometimes you got to do what life forces you to do.” We may never be able to experience military occupation as Palestinians, but we can experience military occupation vicariously through the experiences of Westerners in the West Bank.
Natives of London, Theo Krish and Philip Joa provide us with the outsider perspective we can expect traveling through Palestine. Krish and Joa experienced the realities of military occupation on their first day filming for Epicly Palestine’d. “It was on our first day,” said Krish. “Crossing the boarder between Israel and Palestine, the big modern highways changed to rugged roads laden with potholes. You see army vehicles stationed at each junction and countless military checkpoints as you travel through the country. The occupation is all around you, you can never escape it.”
“Yeah, travelling between the two countries is bizarre,” said Joa. “You go from Israel, this Westernized country where you feel free and everything is normal, into Palestine where suddenly you’re behind this giant wall, and you’re under military occupation. There are roads Palestinians are not allowed to drive on, towns Palestinians are not allowed to live in, and Israeli soldiers are everywhere. You learn to appreciate the freedom we take for granted at home.” The film-makers left the West Bank with their perception of skateboarding changed forever, and a recognition of the profound drives of Palestinian skateboarders.
“They’re like young skateboarders anywhere – they’re completely bitten by the bug and won’t stop skating,” said Krish, after filming with the Palestinians for Epicaly Palestine’d. “I think these guys in particular are super determined – the lengths they go to in order to keep skating is amazing.”
“Palestinians have to deal with more barriers than most, in life generally, but in skating too; there’s not even a skate shop in the entire country,” reveals Joa. “But that’s the point, they want to live a normal life and just go skate. So that’s exactly what they do, no matter what it takes. For most of us skating is a release from daily stresses – a time to stop thinking about work, money, emails etc., and have fun. For these guys, skating is an escape from something much bigger, from walls and borders, stigmas and stereotypes from their families and communities… from war.” These young Palestinians like skateboarders around the world, are willing to do anything it takes to sustain the revolutionary aspects of skateboarding that make it so impactful on our lives.
Skateboarding has given Adham Tamimi, a 19-year-old from Ramallah Village, West Bank, a complete reformation of the interpretation of his environment, visualizing urban spaces no longer as products of war, but as potential skate destinations. “The way I look at things in life changed when I became a skateboarder. You know insane stuff be going on around you, and in your head amongst the chaos. Israel is killing hundreds of people I know or my family knows, but watching the news footage of cities outside the wall, you think to yourself, those are some nice ledges over there… I wish I could skate those.”
“Skateboarding is a tool for getting our freedom,” said Majd Ramadan, a 17-year-old also from Ramallah Village, West Bank. “And to be honest, no matter how many ways they try and stop us, we’re going to keep skating.”
Aram Sabbah, an 18-year-old from Jenin, West Bank, fell in love with skateboarding because it awarded him something nothing else could. “When I saw Adham [Tamimi] skating, falling but always getting back up, I knew at that moment I wanted to skate too. Skateboarding represented my strength in a way nothing else could, it changed my whole life in a way I thought impossible.”
The communities of these boys have issues attempting to grasp skateboarding for the first time. It is hard for people surrounding Adham and the Palestinian skateboarders to understand how riding a piece of wood with metal skates can go beyond the scope of war, giving them something greater than following the practices of their society. Sabbah, explains how skateboarding appears alien to his community. “It is different in Palestine, people do not recognize skateboarding as a sport or art, they always ask us what is that beneath your feet? What are you doing? They expect us to already be married and have a job. At first it felt like we were outsiders in our own city, with few actually supporting us.”
Milhem explains, “My community doesn’t accept me or encourage me in any way. They see me as a grown-ass-man playing with a kids toy. They do not understand what skateboarding is about or what it means to me. I hate to say this, but people in my city are religious conservatives who treat me like a freak. During the filming of Epicly Palestine’d, people were throwing rocks and glass bottles at us… that’s how bad it was.”
This group of Palestinians were the first to introduce skateboarding to an entire country, a country where spending your time skating goes against the beliefs of their cultural needs.
“I was the first one to skate in my city, people thought I was crazy and that I would kill myself at some point, but I didn’t care and kept on pushing because that fake rusty skateboard made me feel special, it was my way to express that energy that has always been caged by a conservative community. Skateboarding changed everything in my life, it gave me that feeling of freedom I never had before. It increased my confidence and taught me to never give up on myself. It changed my mindset and made me more optimistic about my life, in general skateboarding made me a better person.” It was challenging enough for Milhem and Palestinians to impact their community in a positive light through skating, especially when disapproval began with their families.
“They believe I am wasting my time because they do not understand the way it makes me feel, because they grew up in a period of war and poverty,” explains Milhem. “Skateboarding doesn’t seem like the best thing someone can do with their time, but I still love them and try to convince them to like it. Hopefully one day they’ll understand but I am not giving up no matter what happens, and no matter how many pressures and restriction there are, I will keep skating every damn day.” Skateboarding allows Palestinian youth to live beyond the realities of military occupation and the expectations of their families. From their dedication since the release of Epicly Palestine’d, skateboarding in Palestine is headed toward a bright future.
Milhem, Sabbah, Tamimi, and Ramadan, are just like all skateboarders, using the forces against them to drive their skating, providing a platform for the future of Palestinian skateboarding. As Ramadan explains, “Until recently people didn’t get the idea that anyone can skate – they thought it was just for kids. But for some people, they like it now. When they see someone skating in the middle of Ramallah in the streets, people stop what they’re doing and just watch, enjoying and smiling and taking some videos, you know?”
“I’m glad to have been one of the first skaters in Palestine,” said Milhem. “Because I know one-day people will appreciate what we’ve done and how hard we tried to break through the walls of occupation and traditions. I believe skateboarding will become even more accepted and will be developed by the up coming generations, including women! Hopefully they wont face the same challenges I faced. I hope to be an inspiration for all the next skaters, and to make them understand anything is possible if you’re committed to what you believe in.”
For skateboarders outside of the West Bank, we are comforted by the unity of disapproval from society, our families and so on. But it is up to us to show these Palestinians they are not alone inside the West Bank walls; they are a vital part of the skateboarding family and we applaud them for bringing a new form of protest to the occupation of Palestine.
For more information on how you can help SkatePal in their efforts to ensure the growth of the Palestinian Skate scene, visit www.Skatepal.co.uk
Written by Zane Foley, Associate Editor
Participants:
Theo Krish
Philip Joa
Abdullah Milhem
Aram Sabbah
Adham Tamimi
Majd Ramadan
Photographers:
Emil Agerskov
Mohammad OthmanDead horses found dumped in South Australian conservation park
Updated
The bodies of 12 horses have been found dumped at a conservation park south of Adelaide.
The Environmental Protection Authority is investigating the illegal dumping and said that at least two have markings suggesting that they were race horses.
The remains were discovered by a member of the public at Mount Magnificent Conservation Park.
EPA investigations manager Stephen Barry said the horses appeared to have been shot and the dumping may have been going on for some time.
"We think some of the horses have been there for maybe in excess of a year," he said.
"There are some horses there that still have hide and hair and hoofs so they might have been there for a shorter period of time."
He said 11 horses were adults and one was a foal and added that it was unclear if the animals had suffered broken legs or any other ailment.
"It's impossible to say and without, you know, thorough forensic examination, you might never know that and even when the breaks occurred," Mr Barry said.
I want to assure the industry and the general public at large [that] action will be taken. TRSA Stewards chairman Johan Petzer
Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA) said since the discovery it had been working closely with authorities.
Chief executive Jim Watters said the area where the remains were found had been examined by the TRSA stewards department, including a veterinarian.
"At this stage, two horses have been identified as unraced thoroughbreds," he said.
The two horses were among those that were less decomposed.
TRSA stewards chairman Johan Petzer said he was very concerned about the discovery.
"I want to give the assurance to the racing community and the general public at large that we will deal with the matter swiftly and efficiently and if anybody has to answer to any breach of the rules then the action will be taken," he said.
Mr Petzer said the race markings would be crucial to the investigation.
"We are speaking to persons of interest in the industry," he said.
The EPA has the power to prosecute for illegal dumping, with penalties of up to $250,000 for a corporation, or $120,000 and two years' imprisonment for individuals.
Mr Barry said more evidence could be found during the clean-up over the next few days.
"What we will do is remove the remains slowly and then we will examine the ground level there and just see if there's any other indication of previous burial or disposal," he said.
Topics: animal-welfare, law-crime-and-justice, environment, mount-compass-5210, sa, australia
First postedRemember dieselgate? The Volkswagen scandal that led to huge emissions of harmful air pollution from their cars, criminal charges, and a $30 billion mea culpa? Well, dieselgate may be small compared to the new emissions scandal that is playing out across the country. This time, however, the emissions cheating would be explicitly allowed by Congress.
As with the VW scandal, it involves so-called emission defeat devices – equipment that shuts off a vehicle’s emissions control system, allowing the car to spew hazardous pollution into the air. These defeat devices are marketed to amateur racers (and sometimes the general public who think it’s fun to “roll coal” and blow black smoke at Priuses). Manufacturers of these defeat devices are pushing Congress to let them off the hook for selling products that are used illegally in our communities, and so far many in Congress are siding against clean air.
What do defeat devices do and who wants them?
All vehicles on public roads must have pollution control systems to remove dangerous air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and smog precursors (carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons) from vehicle exhaust. And this is a really good thing. The EPA estimates that current pollution control systems will prevent up to 2,000 premature deaths, avoid 2,200 hospital admissions, and eliminate 19,000 asthma attacks annually because some of these pollutants cause lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory harm.
These emission control systems can, however, be turned off by defeat devices which are frequently marketed as “tuners”, “oxygen sensor simulators” or “exhaust gas recirculation delete kits”.
Why would someone want to turn off their vehicle pollution controls? One popular reason is for amateur car racing. We’re not talking NASCAR here, as purpose-built race cars are already exempt from this requirement. Instead these are local races where people “convert” their regular cars into race cars to use at tracks. And if people want to modify a car that they use just for racing so that it goes a little faster on the track, it’s probably not that big of a deal.
Out of the millions of vehicles on the road, only a tiny fraction of them are modified to be used in racing competitions. However, if people bypass the emission controls on cars they use on our streets on a regular basis, that’s a different story: it imposes unnecessary pollution on the drivers’ neighbors and it’s against the law. So if device manufacturers are knowingly selling defeat devices for off-track use, they should be prosecuted.
How big of a deal could this be? Big. One settlement that the EPA made with H&S Performance states that they sold over 100,000 devices and that the pollution from those devices would be nearly TWICE the NOx pollution put out by VW diesel cars from 2008 until they were caught in 2015.[i]
One company, double dieselgate. It’s staggering
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It turns out that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of companies who are willing to sell people defeat devices that they can put on their own cars. We don’t have a complete handle on the number of devices sold, or how much extra pollution they are spewing out into our communities. But based on the emissions from just H&S Performance, it has the potential to be HUGE. And if manufacturers and retailers of these devices are marketing these defeat devices to the general public for use on our roads, the emissions, and therefore health, impacts could be enormous.
So, what does this have to do with Congress?
Manufacturers of defeat devices have a vested interest in making it difficult for regulators to stymie the illegal use of these defeat devices since the more they sell, the bigger their profits. There are bills in the House (H. 350 ) and Senate (S. 203) called the |
few tougher fights – not quite bosses, but in that ballpark – which require the smallest modicum of strategy, and you’ll wind up with so many different powers and items to use that there’s usually an option to try something new. These are exceptions rather than rule, because WoL wants you to amble through it with a smile on your face, not ever dash you against the rocks.
In the main, I absolutely endorse this approach, but as the game wore on the fights did get a little numbing. (Usual proviso though: I have to binge-play games for these write-ups, so I’m likely to see orders of magnitude more fights in the space of a day or two than you will).
This doesn’t stop WoL from being a joy, though it may mean I drift away from it after a while. For now, whenever I fire it up, I hear the bouncy cowboy soundtrack (itself full of gags, like a tiny wind-up piano you can carry around to play a different, tinnier soundtrack), I see the scribbly art whose looped, toonish animations conjure a thousand times more character than almost any multi-million photorealistic megahit I can think of, and I feel warm and welcome and happy and where I’m supposed to be.
WoL is most easily described as a comedy game, and though it is indeed a prime-cut ribtickler, that can be a backhanded compliment – as if jokes are all it has. WoL does something far more accomplished, far more rare, which is to be joyful.
West of Loathing is out now for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Steam. Right now it costs £7.19/9,89€/$9.89, which includes a 10% launch discount offered for the first week.‘ISIS has intensified its competition with the Al Qaeda by declaring a caliphate.’
‘Radical groups such as Boko Haram and the Al Shabaab are looking for inspiration and they find it in abundance in the ISIS’
Experts tell Rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa about the impact of the ‘Islamic state’ on the terror world.
The restoration of the caliphate by the dreaded Islamic State of Iraq has put the world on edge. Indian Muslims, mostly Sunnis, have denounced the declaration of an Islamic state. The ISIS’s decision to continue the battle during the holy month of Ramzan has not gone down well with them. The outfit is not a real protector and the militants not followers of Islam is a common sentiment.
However, there are a good number of Muslims who could subscribe to the ISIS and this is a matter of huge concern for security agencies across the world. How does the declaration of caliphate impact the terror scenario? What role would the Al Qaeda play?
Click NEXT to read further…Last week a new study showed that 92% of Canadians would recommend their doctor to friends and family. Two-thirds have had their doctor for over five years and 85% of Canadians have a regular doctor.
Does that sound like the health care system depicted in the right-wing Republican-backed smear campaign against Canada?
No care for life-threatening conditions, no choice, exorbitant costs, bureaucrat control, poor outcomes -- these are the bogeymen of the right-wing smear campaign. And like all bogeymen, once you look under the bed they don't exist.
Our system does have flaws. We need better prescription drug coverage, better remote access to care and better practices in hospitals and clinics. No honest advocate for our health care system would dismiss these things. But Canadian health care works -- and works well.
If you face a medical emergency -- you get the help you need. An admitting nurse doesn't check your credit card -- she checks your pulse. Across Canada innovative best practices in hospitals and clinics are cutting wait times for emergency treatment and elective surgery alike.
Costs are under control in Canada. We spend similar amounts on public care - around 7% of GDP. For that price, Canada covers everyone, the U.S. just one third of the population. In case you're worried Canada wastes money on bureaucracy, know that just 2.4% of our total costs go to administration compared to 7% of what your government spends. In end, Canadian care costs $2,500 less per capita - and covers everyone.
Our outcomes are excellent too: infant mortality is lower, people live longer and we are less at risk of cardiovascular disease than Americans.
Does all this mean that the United States should adopt Canada's health care system?
No. America can no more adopt our health care system than we can swap hockey for baseball as our national pastime. A good health care system reflects a country's values, and each country's values are different.
But a system with 47 million uninsured, coverage denied due to pre-existing conditions and people thrown off plans when they become ill? That doesn't reflect American values.
Fixing the health care system won't be easy -- from Truman to Nixon to Clinton presidents have tried and failed. But it wasn't easy in Canada either.
Sixty years ago Canadians families shouldered their own medical bills. Those with the money got the care they needed, but those without struggled -- they sold their farms, mortgaged their homes, or went without care, suffered, and even died.
Tommy Douglas, one of my predecessors as leader of the New Democrats, believed everyone should get the health care they needed, regardless of income. So in 1947 Tommy and his supporters launched a decades-long battle for Canadian Medicare.
The forces of the status quo -- like those in America today -- fought back. Small and big business, patients and doctors groups -- at different times they all fought reform. Doctors even went on strike, leaving sick women, men and children without care. But by 1984 the Canada Health Act had secured a national public health care system that has become part of our identity. It's not a perfect system, but it works.
With health care reform in the U.S. closer to success than at any time in my life, our hopes are with you. Don't let right-wing lies about Canada help derail health care reform in America.Kyle Turris doesn’t look like a guy with an appetite to clean out your refrigerator. In his street clothes, the slightly built Ottawa Senators centre doesn’t even much look like a professional hockey player. But truth be known, with a knife and fork in hand, the 23-year-old Turris is a trencherman of the first order, consuming between 5,500 and 6,000 calories every day. That’s about twice the caloric intake recommended by Health Canada for an active 19-30-year-old male. But make no mistake: the Burnaby product doesn’t eat this way because he’s a glutton. He eats this way because he has to. It’s a fact of life for high-performance athletes: They burn so much energy every day that they have trouble keeping weight on. And Turris is not alone. All of his Ottawa teammates, to a lesser or greater degree, struggle with the same problem. Just to break even, they have to eat a staggering amount of food every day. Last summer, Turris and Chris Schwarz, the team’s conditioning coach, worked at finding an ideal weight for Turris, one that would help him feel energized on the ice and one he could maintain all year. It turned out to be in the 190-pound range. In a normal 82-game season, it would be a challenge to stay at that level. But in a short season like this one, it’s even more difficult, because there are not many rest days during which the body can recover. The schedule is mostly practice-game-practice-game. So, on a normal game day, here’s what Turris eats: For breakfast, four eggs over easy, with four slices of white toast, with butter, then a small bowl of oatmeal, with some strawberry jam For his pre-game meal, he’ll take two chicken breasts from the kitchen at Scotiabank Place, make a mound of pasta at home with a rose sauce, and add the chicken breasts. For a snack before the game, he’d have a protein bar and some fruit. After the game, he’ll have a meal at Scotiabank Place (which the team started to provide after goalie Craig Anderson cut his hand trying to slice a frozen chicken breast last season). Then, he’ll go out with his fiance Julie Fuller and perhaps some teammates for another full meal at one of the local restaurants near the rink, for something like chicken Parmesan or a ribeye steak, which is a dietary staple. “Every day off, I’ll have at least a 12-ounce ribeye,” he said. While that’s enough food to make most of us gag, it’s only just enough to help Turris replace what he loses in games and practices. “With the schedule we have, it’s tough to maintain my weight, so off the ice I try to make sure I get the right foods at the right times and the right amount of food,” he said. “But if we go a week and don’t have a day off, say we play four games or five games in a eight-day span, then I’ll definitely be below the weight I’m trying to maintain, and it’ll take me a couple of days to get back to it.” When he was helping Turris sort out his diet last summer, Schwarz had to get Turris out of the habit of eating only when he was hungry. We’re all conditioned to eat that way, of course, but Turris needed more than three meals a day to keep his weight level.
That meant eating even when he wasn’t hungry, which wasn’t easy, because it meant sitting down for seven or eight meals a day. “In the summer, Kyle was probably consuming somewhere around 5,500, 6,000 calories a day, which is quite a lot,” said Schwarz. “But we also wanted to do something that he could manage, because it’s obviously not easy to eat 6,000 calories with all the meals you have to prepare. “So what we did was put more fat in his diet to keep the calorie intake up. “He’s not having saturated fats and french fries and that kind of thing, but he doesn’t have to be afraid to have guacamole and whole fat milks. “What happens is that they try to eat so clean that they just can’t get enough calories. “They can eat bushels of spinach and chicken and fish, but the problem is that they don’t get enough calories. “We try to get them going back a little bit more to how our grandparents ate. Don’t be afraid of fats but know what are good fats and what are bad fats.” Managing the diets of players is something that starts early within NHL organizations. From their first development camps, players are gradually nudged into a nutritional routine. In Binghamton, Senators nutritionist Molly Morgan takes Ottawa’s AHL players on tours of the grocery store to point out what they should and should not be included in their diets. She has also made available to them a smartphone app they can use when they go grocery shopping, to tell them what they should and shouldn’t be putting in the shopping cart. In Ottawa, the team has nutritionist Bruce Bonner to help them sort out the biochemistry of food, to find what is right for them. It can be a challenge, said Schwarz, because players have developed eating habits long before they reach the NHL. So he treads lightly when he starts talking about diets. “I don’t like to get into it and say ‘You need to eat this’, or ‘You need to eat that,’” he said. “If we have issues — and we’ve had issues before with young players who weren’t eating enough food — then we’re going to say, ‘Take this home with you and you’re going to have it again in the afternoon.’ “But unless something is really glaring, we don’t jump in and sort of analyze from afar. “You’ve got to remember that a lot of these guys are conditioned. They’ve been doing this since they’ve been 15, 16 years old. So when they make the NHL, it’s not like, ‘OK, and by the way, everything you’ve done for the last five, eight years is wrong.’ “We just try to gradually condition them into routines.” Defenceman Patrick Wiercioch, who grew up in Burnaby with Turris and trained with him in Ottawa last summer, is a prime example of how the system is supposed to work. After two years at the University of Denver, Wiercioch, a 2008 draft pick, signed with the Senators in 2010. So he’s been the beneficiary of several development camps and two seasons in Binghamton, where he listened closely to Morgan’s advice.
“I think I knew the basics of it, but I didn’t really know how much it could help me,” he said. “There are certain things you can’t change. I mean, you are who you are. “People have their own styles of what they eat. But there are changes you can make that will help you out. “I started eating more greens. I wasn’t supplementing my diet with greens and she just kind of stressed to eat them daily, eat your spinaches, stuff that you don’t like to eat as often but is good in your diet.” But good intentions can only take you so far, he said, since the reality in the AHL is that the post-game meal is pizza, burgers, or chicken on the bus ride home. “It’s like of like, well, pick your poison,” he said. But just as there’s an upgrade in transportation when players reach the NHL, planes instead of buses, there’s also an upgrade in food. The pre-game meal on the road is always the same: steak, chicken, fish as protein sources; pasta with either meat or tomato sauce; a full salad bar, and a variety of different vegetables and fruits. On the team charters, there is always a full meal that features chicken, steak, or fish. And there’s plenty of food at the rink, from oatmeal in the morning to post-game meals. So except for about 15 meals a week, when the players are on their own, the team knows exactly what they’re putting in their mouths. That’s part of the reason Schwarz doesn’t try to micro-manage what players are putting on their plates away from the rink. First, he already has a pretty good idea. Second, nitpicking doesn’t work. That’s why Turris gets away with eating white bread (though he does take shots from his teammates), and why other players, like Peter Regin and Ben Bishop, start their days with protein shakes, starting with Greek yogurt and including a variety of ingredients. “The problem is every guy has his own routine on game days, but mentally we don’t want to over-analyze things,” said Schwarz. “You can get to a point in sports performance where you can analyze everything right down to the nitty-gritty. “But the reality is you’re trying to develop confidence and routine. “It’s a tough sport. “In sports like football, where you have four or five days between games, you can mess around with the players and their psyches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then get back into the regular scene on Thursday and Friday. “In hockey, it’s hard to do that, because you’re playing the next day. “Routine is important, because you don’t have time to fiddle around and test something to see how it works.” For that reason, he’s loath to weigh a player on a game day. “We don’t want them looking down and saying “Oh, no, I’m four or five pounds down. What am I doing? I’m not going to play well.’” Once the season ends, though, the players face another challenge: Cutting back on the calories consumed. That can be difficult to manage, and is one reason the weight of high-performance athletes often balloons when they stop playing. They’re just not expending the same amount of energy. “In the summer you try to slow down on the carbs and not eat so much pasta,” said Peter Regin.Two week ago, Anniston police officers Matthew Preuninger and Brian Scott were on patrol on the 300 block of Chestnut Street in Anniston, Alabama when they came upon a sight they were not expecting. They encountered a bait dog clinging to life. The officers stopped, rescued the dog, and rushed him to a vet. The injured puppy was later adopted by one of the officers.
Preuninger said that while they were driving towards the dog, they weren’t sure what they were looking at, but once they passed the puppy, they couldn’t believe what they had found.
“It just looked weird. The closer we got the more strange it looked and when we passed it, I was like, wow,” Preuninger told ABC News.
The puppy was completely covered in blood and suffered from a swollen head due to sustaining multiple bite wounds. He was completely malnourished and needed immediate medical attention.
The officers rushed him to Anniston Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Tom Beam and his team helped stabilize the puppy and set him on the path to recovery.
When officer Preuninger’s wife learned of the puppy, she insisted on adopting the pet, and the dog’s rescuers couldn’t be any happier.
“I wanted him,” Preuninger said. “It was my partner’s and my responsibility to bring him here. I wanted to see him get the best care he needed and I wanted to be that one.”
Preuninger and his wife named the puppy Phil. He is now in a loving home where he will never again have to fight or endure any type of abuse.
To learn more about Phil, follow him on Facebook at Operation Phil.Although the official release date has yet to be set, Bethesda's clearly in the final stages, so when we were offered the chance to speak to Jeff Gardiner, lead producer on the DLC, to dig out some more details, we jumped as high as our irradiated legs would allow. Here's the result, along with three new screenshots of Operation: Anchorage.
The first of these, Operation: Anchorage, is due for release this month, with two others (The Pitt and Broken Steel) to follow in February and March respectively. Anchorage pops players in a "military simulation" within the world of Fallout 3 that replicates the Battle of Anchorage scenario from the game's back-story, with players heading a stealthy squad across a wintry Alaskan environment seeking to oust Chinese Communist invaders. It's got new toys, gamerpoints and all sorts, and is set to cost 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60).
By now you've probably all conquered the all-conquering Fallout 3, Eurogamer readers' number one game of 2008 and one of our favourite RPGs set in a post-apocalyptic American city where Qui-Gon Jinn's your dad. But that's no reason to stop playing it - or at least Bethesda Softworks hopes so, because the developer is busy crafting three discrete bundles of downloadable content for Xbox Live and PC users as part of a Microsoft exclusivity arrangement.
Eurogamer: Jeff! Can you describe what we're seeing in our sexy new screenshots?
Jeff Gardiner: All three of these shots are taken inside the'simulation.' One is a shot of the approach to a Chinese base. Another is a shot of a player, donning a winterised version of combat armor looking out over a lake. The third, and most sexy shot, is a "Chinese Stealth Suit". If worn, it will greatly increase the stealth rating of a PC while crouching. It makes for a quite interesting fight when equipped by enemies as well...
Eurogamer: Operation: Anchorage takes place in a simulation. Was that because you wanted to tell the story of Anchorage, or because it gave you the chance to experiment?
Jeff Gardiner: A bit of both, but mostly we were always intrigued by the Battle of Anchorage. It's a very compelling bit of Fallout lore, and we figured we could really do it justice.
Eurogamer: Given the military sim setting, would you say the balance in Anchorage swings more towards gameplay than storytelling? Or have you tried to remain consistent with the way the two are interwoven in the main game?
Jeff Gardiner: There definitely is a story here - the Brotherhood Outcasts are trying to acquire advanced military technology, and the only way to open the vault containing these relics is by completing a tactical simulation only the player can enter. The bulk of the gameplay in this DLC is gunplay and stealth, along with some 'team building exercises.'
The approach to the Chinese base, says Gardiner.
Eurogamer: Having stripped out resources for Anchorage, how do you tackle the potential for players to feel weak again having become so empowered in the latter stages of the main game?
Jeff Gardiner: Since Operation: Anchorage can be entered at anytime, we've made sure that the player will feel challenge no matter what their level is in the main game. And, since it's a simulation, we've taken liberty to add some traditional game elements to it since it's justified in this context - health and ammo replenishing stations, for instance.
Eurogamer: Can you tell us anything more about the way the Strike Teams under the player's command work, or elaborate on any of the "exotic gadgets" mentioned last week?
Jeff Gardiner: The player will be able to choose, from a limited resource pool, what type of team members will accompany him or her on several missions within the simulations. These choices include different troop types like snipers or heavy weapons troops. They'll also be able to make tactical decisions on how to deploy these troops in certain situations. The Chinese Stealth Suit was what I was hinting at last week - it works similar to stealth boy every time you crouch!
Eurogamer: Did you have a sense of what you'd do with the DLC during development of Fallout 3? Or did you sit down at the end and go, "Right, what the hell are we doing?"
Jeff Gardiner: "What the hell are we doing?" is much closer to the mark. We opened up to ideas from the whole development team, and Operation: Anchorage is just one of several that rose to the top.The CIA's claim that Russians hacked US political organizations to help Donald Trump win the US presidential election is "absolute nonsense"; in fact, the information was leaked by insiders disgusted by the corruption of the Clinton circle, former UK diplomat and whistleblower Craig Murray told Radio Sputnik.
On Friday the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) leaked a "secret assessment" of the 2016 election campaign, in which the agency alleged that Russia had intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency.
The CIA has not divulged any proof to back up its claim, nor has US law enforcement arrested anybody in connection with the allegations.
Former UK diplomat Craig Murray, a close associate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, told Radio Sputnik that the claim is a spurious attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the President-elect.
"There is no connection. From the Wikileaks side there is no connection to Russia whatsoever. Nothing came to Wikileaks from the Russian government or from any proxy for the Russian government. It's simply completely and utterly untrue."
"These weren't hacks, they were leaks by an insider, not somebody outside hacking in," Murray said.
"It's very important that those points are very clearly understood. It wasn't Russia, it was an insider who was disgusted with the corruption of the Clinton circle. Why they refuse to accept it, I'm not sure. They appear to be in complete denial. The Democratic establishment was so sure that Hillary would get in, it seems they are simply unable to come up with a rational reaction to their loss and are instead coming up with this absolute nonsense."
If the CIA really knew who was behind the leaks, or a hypothetical hack, they would have arrested or extradited the individuals responsible as they have in the past, Murray said.
"If you think about it, if they really did know who the hackers are, if it was a hack, they would be taking action against these people."
For example, anonymous sources have claimed that a reputed hacker who goes by the name Guccifer 2.0, based in London, was the source of the Democratic National Convention email leak that revealed the party's nomination process was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton.
"He wasn't the source of the leak, he is said to be in London. If he was the source of the leak, and was in London then by now the Americans would have had him arrested and subject to an extradition warrant as they did to Gary McKinnon and numerous other British alleged hackers recently."
"They plainly have no idea what's happening or they would be taking action against people. So the CIA is simply lying about knowing what's happening and knowing who the people are. They don't know, if they knew they would act."
© AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster Trump, Staff Call Russia Hack Claims 'Ridiculous,' 'Insane;' Senators Want Probe
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declined to support the CIA's allegation that a hack took place.
"The FBI has rather more integrity. It's a domestic law enforcement agency and putting out total lies is not in the normal FBI playbook. I'm not saying it's never happened, but it's not normally how it operates whereas of course, lies and deceit are stock-in-trade for the CIA."
"It is extremely amusing for the CIA to be accusing another country of interfering in domestic elections, when interfering in other country's domestic elections on scores of occasions is what the CIA has done to effect regime change for the last 70 years so really; this is almost beyond satire."The recent passage of a voter ID law in North Carolina has sparked opponents to issue the same polemic statements that always accompany these reform efforts.
Phrases like “poll tax,” “suppression,” and even “the new face of Jim Crow” filled dispatches from Georgia media and liberal advocacy groups back in 2005, when Georgia passed an almost identical law. Just like in North Carolina today, Georgia’s law was called a “deceitful, devious plan to deny votes to hundreds of thousands” by “callous lawmakers determined to restrict the franchise.” “Georgia now has the most draconian voter identification requirement in the nation,” claimed Neil Bradley, associate director of the Atlanta-based ACLU Voting Rights Project. Reverend Nelson B. Rivers, COO of the NAACP, called it “one of the worst anti-voting-rights laws in modern times.”
The outrage back then is almost identical to the outrage expressed now over North Carolina’s law by everyone from Eric Holder to Hillary Clinton. However, the Georgia law has now been in place for seven years: has it had the effect that opponents swore it would have, and that critics of North Carolina’s law say their proposed law will have?
When Common Cause Georgia -- a liberal “citizens’ lobby organization” -- originally filed a federal lawsuit in 2005 over Georgia’s voter ID law along with a number of other plaintiffs, the organization claimed that hundreds of thousands of Georgians would be unable to vote. They produced witness after witness -- who signed affidavits under penalty of perjury -- claiming that they did not have a photo ID and could not obtain the free Georgia photo ID the law provided, and therefore would be turned away at the polls. The plaintiffs lost their lawsuit (as well as a state court action) after the federal court concluded that the law was neither discriminatory nor a burden on voters, and that none of them would be unable to vote.
Was the court wrong? Were the claims of these witnesses true? Were these individual Georgians prevented from casting their ballots?
Official state voting records show that the court was right. Many of these witnesses -- again, who signed affidavits -- went on to vote in the 2008, 2010, and 2012 elections.
Clara Williams was a 68-year-old African-American resident of Fulton County, Georgia, and a named plaintiff in Common Cause’s suit. Because she had been adopted, Mrs. Williams swore in an affidavit that she was “afraid that election officials will not allow me to vote because I do not have (and cannot obtain) a Georgia Photo ID in my name as it appears on my voter registration.”
But voting records show she voted in local elections in 2009, and in state and federal elections in 2010 and 2012.
When Amanda Clifton got a divorce in 2005 and changed her name, she swore the same thing in an affidavit: “I am afraid that election officials will not allow me to vote because I do not have (and cannot obtain) a Georgia Photo ID in my name as it appears on my voter registration.”
But voting records show that Clifton voted in the 2008, 2010, and 2012 elections.
Annie Johnson, then a 75-year-old African-American woman, cited economic hardship, physical disability, and the lack of a car as reasons why she would be unable to vote.
Annie Johnson voted in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Ronnie Gibson, then a 49-year-old African-American man, signed an affidavit fearing disenfranchisement because he did not have and could not obtain a free photo ID card.
Georgia records show that he had no problems voting in the 2008, 2010, and 2012 elections.
Ruth Butler, then an 89-year-old white resident of DeKalb County, claimed she would be “unable to obtain a photo identification card without great personal and economic hardship.”
But there she was, voting in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Betty Kooper (90), Pearl Kramer (80), Norma Pechman (84), Eva Jeffrey, and Cheryl Simmons (45) all cited economic hardship as the reason for their inability to get a Georgia ID card, yet all of them voted in the 2008 election. (Several of these voters have passed away since voting in 2008.)
Georgia voting records disprove the insistent claims that voter ID laws strip minority and elderly voters of the right to vote. These witnesses, after signing sworn affidavits that they did not have and could not obtain a Georgia voter ID card, nevertheless did obtain ID cards and did cast their ballots.
Similar sky-is-falling claims are now being raised over the North Carolina and the Texas voter ID laws, and these claims will doubtless prove to be as baseless as the claims from Georgia. (Several faux martyrs have already been identified by critics of these new laws.)Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a toxin and a toxicant? What is poisonous and what is venomous? What is a normal urinary pH, and what on earth has uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation got to do with my emergency department?
The Toxicology Library is being built to assist with a plethora of questions including what is the best cocktail to put in your elephant gun at 3am when your drug addled patient steam rolls through your triage barrier.
Toxicology Library resources
Tox Tutes – 10-30 minute podcasts with toxicologists from around the globe, discussing how to manage the poisoned patient from the initial resuscitation to ongoing care on ICU.
Toxicology BSCC – tutorials covering the Basic Science in Clinical Context with pharmacology basics for the part 1 exam and also the clinical science behind drug actions and therapy concepts.
Tox Conundrums -Want to jump in and test your brain, here is the list of toxicology conundrums to pit your wits against.
Toxicology basics: How to manage the poisoned patient, snake bite, plants, toxidromes and interpretation of the toxic VBG and ECG.
Toxicant: The umbrella term for a toxic substance. However, in popular usage it denotes substances produced by humans e.g. cocaine; in contrast to toxins, which are toxicants produced naturally by a living organism.
Antidotes: Chemical management for ingested toxicants and toxins.
Toxins : (envenomings) – naturally produced toxicants produced within living cells or organisms. They are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues.
(envenomings) – naturally produced toxicants produced within living cells or organisms. They are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues. Anti-venom: Need some black or brown antivenom or just want to see what the debate about redback spider antivenom is all about.
Toxicology Framework
No discussion about managing the poisoned patient would be complete without a framework, listen to our quick tox tute on resus below or for more details watch the tutorials covering RRSIDEAD.
Resuscitation
Risk Assessment
Supportive Care
Investigations
Decontamination
Enhanced Elimination
Antidotes
Disposition
+ Tox Tute VIDEO – Toxicology Resuscitation
+ Tox Tute VIDEO – Toxicology Risk Assessment
+ Tox Tute VIDEO – Toxicology RRSIDEAD
Additional Resources
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Mitt Romney was against gay adoption before he was for it. Recent reporting from his home state of Massachusetts shows that during his term as governor, Romney opposed many popular gay rights causes. Romney opposed anti-bullying efforts, adoption rights for gays and efforts to prevent hate crimes. When lobbied by gay rights groups he was unwilling to engage. When urged to reconsider by his own state officials, he refused to listen to reason. Ad Policy
As I reported last week, the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed Romney, claiming he is a relative moderate on gay rights. When I pressed their executive director on how Romney’s policies differ from those of homophobes who LCR would have declined to endorse, such as Rick Santorum, one of the examples he cited was Romney’s support for gay adoption.
It turns out that in May, just a day after Romney declared qualified gays’ ability to adopt children “a right,” he reversed himself and said it is up to the states and he simply acknowledges that virtually every state allows it. But, even then, he was sure to note that Massachusetts has long allowed gay adoption and he believes that is correct.
But when he was governor, Romney was scandalized and disgusted by the thought of gays forming families. In 2003, Romney refused to make a small change to Massachusetts birth certificates to accommodate the families of gay couples. As Murray Waas reported Thursday the The Boston Globe:
It seemed like a minor adjustment. To comply with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2003, the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics said it needed to revise its birth certificate forms for babies born to same-sex couples. The box for “father” would be relabeled “father or second parent,’ reflecting the new law. But to then-Governor Mitt Romney, who opposed child-rearing by gay couples, the proposal symbolized unacceptable changes in traditional family structures. He rejected the Registry of Vital Records plan and insisted that his top legal staff individually review the circumstances of every birth to same-sex parents. Only after winning approval from Romney’s lawyers could hospital officials and town clerks across the state be permitted to cross out by hand the word “father’’ on individual birth certificates, and then write in “second parent,’’ in ink.
In addition to needlessly stigmatizing the children of gay couples, Romney imposed a cumbersome bureaucratic process. So much for his self-proclaimed mission to infuse government with efficiencies derived from his business acumen. Romney, in a remarkable display of ideology trumping competent governance, persisted with the policy throughout his term, despite being warned by the state department of health that, “Crossouts and handwritten alterations constituted ‘violations of existing statutes’’ and harmed ‘the integrity of the vital record-keeping system.’” He also ignored warnings that children with these birth certificates could face difficulties with processes such as applying for passports, driver’s licenses or joining the military.
Romney’s office generally granted the requests to cross out father and write in second parent. However, they refused, on at least one occasion, to list the mother’s spouse as “wife,” calling her instead “second parent.” They also refused to list a mother’s female partner at all if the couple was not married.
This is not the only area in which Romney would not listen to reason on gay rights. Boston Spirit magazine published an investigation of Romney’s dealings with gay rights activists. They were frustrated to find that he not only opposed their positions—for example, he backed a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and opposed even civil unions—but that he was completely uninterested in engaging with them or thinking critically about the issues. The Spirit reports:
Julie Goodridge and other plaintiffs in the landmark case [for gay marriage rights] had written a letter to the governor, asking for a meeting. He ignored it, so they staged a press conference at his office to read the letter to the media. That, finally, got them through his door. Once inside, they were shocked. For about 20 frustrating minutes, say those in attendance who Boston Spirit interviewed recently, they shared their stories, pled their case, and tried to explain how equal marriage would protect them and their families. Romney sat stone-faced and almost entirely silent.… “I didn’t know you had families,” remarked Romney to the group, according to Wilson. The offhanded remark underscored that Romney, the governor of the first state prepared to grant same-sex marriage, hadn’t taken the time to look at what the landmark case was really about.
Romney also opposed even the most minor and unobjectionable efforts to protect gays, even children, from violence and bullying. He abolished the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. He defunded the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes and tried to remove the words “bisexual” and “trans |
0 created very clear paths to progress for the home side.
Clear solutions
Gladbach were largely passive, preferring to block Weigl with both strikers staying narrow. For Bosz’ men, Sokratis and Toprak played very wide, with Weigl constantly positioned behind the Gladbach strikers. After long switch passes between the centre backs, the ball-near Gladbach striker would at times move up to press the ball. Blocking the pass to Weigl, but also making the switch to the far centre back difficult.
In these situations there were two clear options for Dortmund. Firstly, the ball-near 8 could drop into the space besides the forwards, receive the ball and switch to the far centre back or pass to Weigl, depending on the positioning of the ball-far Gladbach striker. Secondly, the centre back could pass out wide to the near full-back, if the near striker remained high to block the back pass to the centre back, then Weigl would be open in the central space behind the forwards. From this position the young German had the conditions to look and play forwards.
The ball recently coming from the wing, combined with Dortmund’s double wing occupation meant that the channel between Gladbach’s wide players (winger and full-back) and the nearest central players was open for Weigl to play through. A similar situation saw Dortmund take the lead with Aubameyang making a diagonal run through this open channel. The use of the wings to draw pressure from the passive Gladbach defence was a key feature in this game. And Gladbach’s inability to defend the clear paths Dortmund had to progress from the wings were fatal.
In the situations where Weigl received from a full-back and Gladbach had shifted well to close the channels between wide and central players, they inevitably left large space on the far side. Since Gladbach lacked access to the young German, he had the conditions to find the free space and set up dangerous attacks through switches to Philipp or Toljan following closely on the overlap.
Whilst the pass from full-back inside to Weigl allowed him to face forwards upon receiving the ball, due to his prior movement (sideways), the other option for the full-back in these situations was not quite as progressive. On most occasions when a Dortmund full-back had the ball, the near 8 would drop from their position between the lines, to just in front of Gladbach’s midfield line. This movements would often be followed by Gladbach’s closest central midfielder. In doing so, the passing lane to the open Weigl was often narrowed, both by the position of the 8, and the opponent brought with them.
The fact that the 8 was marked when dropping, combined with the dropping movement meaning a backwards facing field of vision meant that these situations often led to passes back across to the ball-far centre back. Whilst the 8s would rarely be able to receive from the full-backs if they remained between the lines, they would clear space for Weigl by staying in position. Furthermore, they could create a double threat whereby they could receive behind the ball-near Gladbach midfielder if he moved up to press, or allow Weigl to dribble forwards if the Gladbach midfielder stayed in position.
Use of Burki
There were a number of situations where both Stindl and Raffael pushed up, the ball-near striker doing so whilst covering the lane to Weigl, and the ball-far striker blocking the switch to the far centre-back. This was not done with much intensity, yet created issues in how to bypass the coverage without playing into undue pressure. In these situations the Dortmund goalkeeper played very high outfield, often around the centre circle area!
With his presence they created a diamond base. This created a very short back passing option for the ball carrying centre-back in this situation. With the ball at Burki’s feet he could threaten to play vertically into Weigl behind the strikers, in response Raffael and Stindl had to narrow their positions, allowing the centre backs to receive in space outside the strikers.
Structural shifts
On several occasions later in the first half Bosz’ men often used a structural shift to play even more directly in the space besides Stindl and Raffael that Hecking’s side struggled to control. The 8s would drop from their high position into the deep half spaces, with the full-back moving high on the wing and the winger moving into the 8s previous position. On a few occasions this led to an even more dominant build-up, since they could immediately advance from the half space, and they could progress diagonally from one centre back to the ball-far 8.
However the full potential of these structural shifts was not often utilised. Although the 8s often had time and space, they often passed too early. With short dribbles they could have drawn either the opposing winger or central midfielder out of position, and the nearby triangle (diamond including the centre back) would mean clear options to bypass this pressure, and access the space behind the pressing opponent.
Nagelsmann’s Hoffenheim trump Tedesco’s Schalke
Clearly structured build-up plans
Both coaches prepared clear plans for how to outplay the defensive structure and pressing of the opposing team, and these were visible during the match.
Hoffenheim
Tedesco’s Schalke typically defend in a 5-2-3-0 shape, forcing the opponents to the wings, and using the ball-near wing-back to move up and press in midfield as they shift into a 4-3-3. Nagelsmann’s side, in response, played in a 2-3-3-2 shape in build-up. The differences to their typical 3-1-4-2 were Vogt as a central defensive midfielder as opposed to at the centre of a back 3, and Geiger as a central attacking midfielder instead of as a defensive midfielder.
With Vogt positioned behind Di Santo (Schalke’s striker), he created a central triangle with the centre backs which would allow them to combine past his pressing attempts. The full-backs largely played in line with Vogt, and along with the centre backs they created a wide triangle to combine past the Schalke wingers, regardless of which angle they pressed from. With Vogt positioned in the space between Schalke’s 2-3, Geiger positioned in the space between Schalke’s 5-2 and the 8s (Kramaric and Amiri) positioned outside Schalke’s midfield 2, Hoffenheim created a central diamond. This central diamond could surround Schalke’s midfield pair, and thus act as a base to control the game.
This was assisted by the positioning of the roaming wide forwards, Gnabry and Uth who played between Schalke’s wing-backs and half backs. From this wide position they could pin back the Schalke defenders by threatening to run into any space left behind if a Schalke defender stepped forward to press. This positioning was particularly important to prevent Schalke from using their wing-backs in pressing as usual. If Schalke couldn’t send their wing-backs forward to press, Nagelsmann’s men should theoretically have been able to control the midfield through the central diamond.
The number of triangular and diamond networks that Vogt was involved in, meant it was clearly vital that he held his position in the space behind Di Santo.
Schalke
Hoffenheim defend in a 5-3-2 shape, with strong cover of the centre through the front 5 players they force their opponents to the wing, where the near 8 or wing-back can press and block diagonal routes into the centre. Schalke played a 3-4-3 with unique positions and movements, for clear purposes against Hoffenheim’s 5-3-2. Whilst most teams play with two 10s behind the central striker, Schalke’s wingers stayed wide on the flanks.
The central defensive 3 gave Schalke an overload in the first line, which could be used to create space for a half back to dribble forwards. These forward dribbles were often followed by inwards movements from the wing-backs, attempting to pin Hoffenheim’s wing-back and 8 back, and give the winger space to receive directly on the wing. When the winger was supported by the nearby central midfielder as well as the infield wing-back, they had a number of good breakthroughs through combining past the pressure of the Hoffenheim wing-back, and/or accessing the space behind them.
Schalke’s ball-far wing-back often moved into the half space, from here they could offer an option to switch and receive the ball in the space besides Hoffenheim’s 3-2 lines. The presence of the wingers high and wide on the wings would prevent Hoffenheim’s wing-back jumping forwards to press. After receiving, the wing-back could transfer this advantage to the winger by dribbling forwards until Hoffenheim’s wing-back moved up to engage them.
Spanners in the plans
Despite the well thought through plans of the two sides, there were a few factors which prevented them from consistently playing out as the coaches had imagined before the game.
Hesitance and Schalke’s pressing; Hoffenheim’s struggles
From his defensive midfield position Vogt was key in connecting Hoffenheim’s structure, ensuring there were options to combine past Schalke’s pressing. However, there were a number of situations where Schalke’s pressing blocked the paths to the full-backs, or to the centre backs whilst Baumann had the ball, and the ball carrier was hesitant to pass to Vogt. As such, they at times played long percentage balls unnecessarily despite Vogt being open and providing an alternative route to play to the full-backs.
Furthermore Tedesco’s side showed a nice adjustment in their pressing which allowed them to block Hoffenheim’s routes of combination in build-up. Schalke would push the ball-near central midfielder to block Vogt, whilst Di Santo pressed the centre back and blocked the pass to the far centre-back. This meant the Schalke wingers could stay wider and block the use of Hoffenheim’s full-backs. In addition, Schalke’s ball-near wing-back would push up, and guard the passing lane to Hoffenheim’s near 8 to ensure the channel between winger and central midfielder couldn’t be exploited. Although the wing-back pushing up left space for Gnabry/Uth to exploit, the rest of Schalke’s back four shifted well, meaning that a pass through would be diagonally towards the sideline, and thus relatively simple to cope with.
Weak half space support; Schalke’s issues
Schalke’s build-up was based heavily on the wide diamonds they created between the half backs, wing-backs, wingers and central midfielders and using this to advance through the wings in an advantageous way. However, the central midfield pair were often staggered in a 1-1, rather than a flat 2 as their base positions dictated. The 1-1 staggering meant they were both positioned in the centre, and were often slow to provide support in the half space to the winger and wing-back.
Without support from the central midfielders, Schalke were easily forced into linear attacks on the wing, and struggled to take advantage of the space behind Hoffenheim’s pressing wing-backs. On other occasions, the receiver on the wing was isolated and outnumbered when the wing-back ran too far forwards, or the winger played too far infield. This created tough situations to keep the ball, let alone progress.Eight days after my son, Sol, was born, my husband and I dressed him up in a one-piece suit, packed him into the carseat, and whisked him off to my grandmother's house, where my family members watched as a trained medical professional said some prayers, gave him a cloth soaked with Manischewitz, applied some numbing cream and antiseptic to his penis, and, with the deft hand of an old Italian master, quickly and quietly snipped off his foreskin. After the ceremony, my husband and I were given a handout of instructions for how to take care of his newly cut penis and asked if we wanted to keep the foreskin to bury underground, per Jewish tradition (we politely demurred). Then we went off to have bagels and mimosas with our family.
I would be lying if I said I enjoyed watching my child get circumcised. (I forced myself to watch the whole thing, and as I later told my friends, the whole process was similar to watching a potato get peeled.) I'd be lying if I said that I enjoyed watching my baby cry, which he did, a little bit (although to be honest, he cries way more when he gets his nails clipped). I would also be lying if I said it would have been my first choice to have him circumcised in this fashion. Although my husband and I are agnostic, I belong to a tight-knit Jewish family, and had it not been immensely important to them that my child have a b'rit milah (the Hebrew term for the ancient rite), we probably would not have done it at all.
And yet, the more I read about the debate surrounding circumcision, particularly in the wake of increasing anti-Semitism throughout the world, the happier I am that I did it. Despite the growing belief among many mothers that male circumcision is brutal and unnecessary, I'm happy that I circumcised my son, and I don't regret for one second that I did it.
Courtesy of Ej Dickon
To be honest, I didn't think twice about my decision to circumcise my child until a few days ago, when I read about legislation in Norway proposing to ban the circumcision of male children under the age of 16. The proposal was sponsored by the Progress Party, a right-wing populist anti-immigration group that has also advocated for, among other things, a ban on the hijab. Jewish community leaders were apoplectic about the proposal, calling it yet another example of the growing anti-immigrant, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic sentiment that has been gripping the European Union over the past few years. Yet anti-circumcision advocates worldwide applauded it, accusing the Jewish community of using anti-Semitism as an excuse to further their pro-genital mutilation agenda.
I can't speak for my fellow Jews having a pro-genital mutilation agenda because, contrary to apparent popular belief, I don't belong to a shadowy cabal of hook-nosed, curly-haired globalists congregating in a secret volcano lair somewhere conspiring to control the IMF and cut baby penises. What I can say, however, is that there are legitimate reasons why some people, particularly Jews and Muslims, would want to circumcise their sons, and they are much more complex than many anti-circumcision advocates suggest. In fact, in the larger conversation about circumcision, Jews and Muslims are often left out of the discussion altogether.
"That's outrageous," my father-in-law said. "Are you really going to let the rabbi suck the blood out of your son's penis?"
For me, it wasn't even a question if I would circumcise my son. The only question was whether we would do it in a hospital setting or have a standard bris. When the first question my grandparents casually asked when I left the hospital was, "So, who do you want to invite to the bris?," it was clear we didn't have much choice in the matter.
Not everyone was on board with this decision. "That's outrageous," my father-in-law, who was born in Italy and raised Catholic, said. "Are you really going to let the rabbi suck the blood out of your son's penis?" (He was referring to metizitzah b'peh, an ancient circumcision practice that is only practiced by a tiny sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews and is now banned for obvious hygienic reasons.) When we explained that a doctor mohel would be performing the procedure and that he would not, in fact, be sucking his grandson's penis, he relaxed somewhat, but he still had to knock back two G&Ts before he arrived at the ceremony itself.
Courtesy of Ej Dickson
My decision to circumcise my child was, admittedly, somewhat influenced by convention: according to the Centers for Disease Control, about 81% of newborns undergo the procedure at birth, largely for hygienic reasons, and the practice is endorsed by the CDC (although there is some debate as to whether or not circumcision actually decreases the risk of a child contracting HPV and UTIs, as some have claimed). It also occurred to me that circumcising my child would likely decrease the risk of him being subject to locker room mockery, or, worse, to having his penis compared to a Sharpei by a cruel future sexual partner.
But ultimately, my decision to circumcise my child wasn't primarily motivated by the above reasons. Ultimately, I chose to circumcise him because he is a member of a religious minority that has been persecuted for millennia and continues to be persecuted today, and I don't ever want him to forget that.
Courtesy of Ej Dickson
When I had my baby, I was suddenly confronted with an onslaught of choices as to what from my own upbringing I wanted to pass on, and what I didn't. I generally had a wonderful childhood, but I knew there were certain things I didn't want to do to my kid that my parents did to me: I didn't want to ever spank my kid, for instance, nor did I necessarily want to let him watch There's Something About Mary at the age of 5, as my parents did. (There were a few awkward post-movie conversations about semen.)
There was one thing, however, that my parents instilled in me that I knew I wanted to instill in Sol: a respect for and awareness of the traditions of the Jewish faith that he had been lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) enough to have been born into. Because Jews have been driven out of other people's countries for millennia, we're more aware than most of the role history plays in instructing us how to prevent future calamity; the mantra "never again" has been rammed into our skulls since birth. And while I used to roll my eyes at my grandpa's' admonitions to not do things like eat bacon or marry a goy or else I'd let Hitler win again, recent world events have forced me to question whether he was actually wrong.
In the absence of tolerance and acceptance, I want my son to practice resistance, just by virtue of never forgetting who he is and where he comes from. I didn't circumcise him for religious or even hygienic reasons, but for overtly political ones.
In a world where anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are on the rise, where synagogues and mosques are regularly being sprayed with slurs and swastikas, where major political candidates spouting hateful invective is not just acceptable, but encouraged, I'm starting to think that it is more important than ever for my son to know who he is, and where he comes from. I want him to look between his legs and know that he is a member of the Jewish faith, and that by virtue of his birthright, he will forever be permanently marked as different — not better, not special, not "chosen," but different — and that there are many people around the world who will resent him for this difference.
In an ideal world, I would want my son to be able to travel anywhere in the world and feel safe and protected. But the list of countries that are actively trying to make him and other Jews feel otherwise is getting longer and longer. So in the absence of tolerance and acceptance, I want him to practice resistance, just by virtue of never forgetting who he is and where he comes from. I didn't circumcise him for religious or even hygienic reasons, but for overtly political ones.
Courtesy of Ej Dickson
I realize that there is a growing contingent of parents who think it is barbaric to circumcise a child, and that these people will view my decision to circumcise my child as a violation of his bodily autonomy. I know there are some people who think male circumcision for religious reasons is akin to female circumcision, even though the latter is a non-religious practice that is explicitly intended to render women devoid of any sexual sensation whatsoever, while there is no conclusive evidence that the former does anything of the kind. (Anecdotally speaking, I've dated both cut and uncut men, and while they had little else in common, they did both really, really enjoy getting blowjobs.)
If you don't want to circumcise your kid for the above reasons or any other, that's fine. But don't for a second feel like you are doing me or my kid or any other parent who decides to circumcise their child a favor by framing the decision to circumcise as a clear-cut (sorry) decision. Because it is not, just as most other parenting decisions are not. Tradition plays a role. Politics plays a role. Health and safety play a role. History plays a role. And if there is anything that the past six months or so should teach us, it's the danger of ignoring history.I remember back in grade school that one of my teachers told us that fanning yourself with your hand or a crude fan made from a piece of paper would only make you hotter. The theory was that the energy you expended moving your arm would override any cooling effect from the air movement you created. Does this have any basis, or was my teacher just trying to get a roomful of kids to sit still after recess on a hot day?
Una replies:
Isn’t it sad how some of the simplest-sounding questions in life are the most difficult to answer? Such as “Why do we die?” “What is time?” and “If it’s a ‘2-minute warning,’ why is there still half an hour left in the game?” Well, this question falls into that category.
What makes things difficult is the large number of variables and assumptions in what is otherwise a basic energy balance problem. In theory, all we need to do is find two things:
The rate of heat removed by the fanning process. The rate of heat created in the body by the fanning process.
If the heat created in the body by fanning is greater than the heat removed by the fanning, then you’ll experience a net heat gain – and if the reverse is true, a net heat loss. As we’ll see, you can arrive at many different results depending upon your starting assumptions. There’s also a difference between being physically cooler and having the perception of being cooler, but in this article I’ll focus only on the physical heat transfer aspects of the fanning process. Since this is the Straight Dope rather than Highlights for Children, we’ll assume you have enough on the ball not to freak when you see an equation or two.
The most significant modes of heat transfer between you and your environment when subjected to moving air (we call this forced convection, as opposed to free convection) are:
Conduction by direct contact with the environment (Cond) Forced convection by air moving over your skin (Conv) Evaporation of sweat from your skin (Esweat) Evaporation of moisture in your exhaled breath (Ebreath) Radiation of heat to or away from you (Radiation).
The heat you generate when fanning depends on:
Your base metabolic rate (Met) The heat produced by fanning above the base metabolic rate (Fanning Work)
So the heat balance between you and your environment can be expressed as:
Heat Storage = Met + Fanning Work − Cond − Conv − Esweat − Ebreath − Radiation (Ref. 3)
Heat Storage simply tells us whether you’re getting hotter or colder. If Heat Storage is positive, then the body is producing more heat than is being removed, so your body temperature should increase. If Heat Storage is negative, then your body temperature should decrease. In order for fanning to cool you, the following must be true:
Met + Fanning Work < Conduction + Convection + Esweat + Ebreath + Radiation
Now for some simplifications. We’ll only consider convection and evaporation, because fanning doesn’t have a significant effect on the rate at which your body radiates or conducts heat. You might breathe faster when fanning, but it’s hard to determine how much, so we’ll assume heat loss due to respiration remains constant. We’ll also make a (big) assumption that your base metabolic rate stays constant during the brief time you’re fanning, and focus only on the additional metabolic heat produced by the work of fanning. Thus, the heat balance relationship above reduces to the following:
Fanning Work < Convection + Esweat
Even when reduced to these three terms the problem is still difficult due to the many variables and assumptions involved. My original write-up for this problem took so many of these factors into account that it was nearly six times as long, causing Little Ed, who edits these articles, to choke and splutter in an embarrassing manner. So as not to tax him or you unnecessarily, I’ve made some additional simplifications and assumptions, not all of which are spelled out here. If you have questions or doubts, pop on over to the Straight Dope Message Board and I’ll dump so much detail on you you’ll wish you’d never been born.
We’ll use two heat transfer equations to approximate the effects of low-speed airflow on human heat transfer:
Forced Convection. For the entire body of a standard worker wearing the customary single layer of work clothing, this is given by:
C = 0.65*Va0.6*(Tsk − Ta)*(0.0042 kcal/min / Btu/hour) (Ref. 6)
where:
C = convective heat transfer, kcal/min
Va = air velocity, feet/minute
Tsk = Mean weighted skin temperature (assumed to be 95 F)
Ta = Ambient air temperature in degrees F.
Sweat Evaporation. This is given by:
E = 2.4*Va0.6*(psk − pa)*(0.0042 kcal/min / Btu/hour) (Ref. 6)
where:
E = evaporative heat loss, kcal/min
Va = air velocity, feet/min
psk = water vapor pressure on the skin (assumed to be 42 mmHg at 95 F skin temperature)
pa = water vapor pressure of ambient air, mmHg
Now it’s time for the Math. Thankfully, if you hate Math, fear Math, or have even retired to a shack in Montana to write a Manifesto Against Math, I’ll do it all for you. Combining and simplifying the two equations above, and including a factor for the percent of the body affected by the fanning process, we come up with:
Q = Va0.6*[0.65*(95F − Ta) + 2.4*(42mmHg − pa)]*(% area of the body affected/100)*(0.0042 kcal/min / Btu/hour)
…where Q is expressed in kcal/min.
To solve this equation we need the ambient temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, and the body area affected. We can make assumptions about temperature and humidity, but how do we determine the air velocity from a hand fan? I could find no good reference at first, and crude experiments at home yielded unsatisfactory results. In some notes for a thermal sciences laboratory I helped teach, I found a cite indicating that a hand fan generates an average air velocity of 600 feet/minute (6.82 mph), which I was able to confirm from another source, so I used that as a first guess.
Next we need to find the body area affected by the fan air flow, as it has a large impact on the predicted cooling rate. Reference 7 gives typical body surface areas for an adult female, which other sources confirmed. All we need now is to plug in a temperature and relative humidity and we can calculate the cooling effect.
To determine how much heat is produced, I looked at industrial tables of metabolic rates for similar physical activities. I assumed one-handed fanning was equivalent to “Work, one arm, light,” which Reference 6 gives as 1.0 kcal/min. A range of 0.7 to 2.5 kcal/min is indicated for this activity, so there’s a sizable margin of error.
Now let’s assume that a young woman is sitting in 85F heat and 40% relative humidity, fanning herself continuously at 6.82 mph with one arm, producing 1 kcal/min of additional heat. Let’s say she’s wearing a strapless summer dress and is able to fan half of her face, neck, upper arms, and chest. This gives us a net cooling rate of 2.85 kcal/min. Since this is more than our heat production of 1.0 kcal/min, fanning makes the woman cooler.
But changes in assumptions can greatly affect the results. For example, a worst-case assumption (low air speed, only the head and neck cooled, 90 F and 50% relative humidity) yields a net cooling rate of only 0.377 kcal/min, which means that fanning would produce more heat than it removes. A best-case assumption (high air speed, half of the front half of the body cooled, 70 F and 10% relative humidity) yields a net cooling rate of 6.91 kcal/min, which is a large amount of cooling relative to the heat produced by fanning.
To show how the cooling rate is affected by three important variables (fan-produced air speed, ambient temperature, and relative humidity), I generated some graphs, assuming that all other variables were held constant at the values indicated above. I also drew lines noting the heat level produced by different assumed efforts.
You may quibble with the assumptions I made and calculate some heat transfer effects differently, but overall I think I’ve shown what’s involved in trying to answer this question. Because it’s a real-life effect that’s affected strongly by many variables, it’s impossible to say conclusively that fanning makes a person hotter or cooler. You have to treat each situation differently if you want the Straight Dope.
References
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME Steam Tables, 6th edition, United Engineering Center, New York, NY, 1997. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc., ANSI/ASHRAE 55-1992, “Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy,” 1992. —, ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, 1972 edition, George Banta Co. Publishers, Menasha, Wisconsin, 1972. Huang, Francis F., Engineering Thermodynamics – Fundamentals and Applications, 2nd Edition, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY, 1988. Incropera, Frank P. and De Witt, David P. Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 3rd edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 1990. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Industrial Ventilation – A Manual of Recommended Practice, 24th edition, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2001. Tanabe, S., Arens, E.A., Bauman, F.S., Zhang, H. and Madsen, T.L., “Evaluating thermal environments by using a thermal manikin with controlled skin surface temperature,” ASHRAE Transactions: 100(1) (1994), 39-48. Fang, Koh Look, Thermal Environment – Identification, Evaluation, & Controls, Institution of Singapore Engineers. Wenger, C. Bruce, Medical Aspects of Harsh Environments, Volume 1, pp 52-64.
Send questions to Cecil via [email protected].
Related
STAFF REPORTS ARE WRITTEN BY THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD, CECIL'S ONLINE AUXILIARY. THOUGH THE SDSAB DOES ITS BEST, THESE COLUMNS ARE EDITED BY ED ZOTTI, NOT CECIL, SO ACCURACYWISE YOU'D BETTER KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED.American coach Jess Markt trains disabled Palestinians to play basketball during a training course organized by the Palestinian Red Cross in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 28, 2016. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images)
The disabled of Gaza have warmly welcomed the long-awaited visit of American basketball coach Jess Markt.
Markt, a 40-year-old disabled basketball trainer, is visiting Gaza for the second year in a row to train wheelchair basketball teams in the besieged coastal enclave. It is hoped that his visit will help establish teams for the paralyzed men and women to play basketball regularly.
Markt is very absorbed inside the closed sport hall, guiding and watching the players in their wheelchairs. His coaching ranges from the basic rules of the sport to the more subtle skills designed for people with special needs.
The American coach chose to play basketball three years after a car accident that left him with a severe spinal cord injury when he was 19 years old. He perceives sports as a therapeutic tool that can accelerate the rehabilitation process requisite after a severe causality that completely alters one’s life. The physical rehabilitation approach is highly needed in Gaza, where the numbers of those physically disabled have doubled in the successive Israeli onslaughts waged on the Strip.
According to the Gazan Ministry of Health, more than 43 thousand Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are with special needs, constituting 2.4 percent of the population.
“Playing basketball on a daily basis will make Gaza’s disabled feel better, and it will certainly improve their sore and weak muscles,” Markt said. “They should be granted all they need of special halls and equipment to give them the chance to master the play and sharpen their skills in basketball.”
Markt will remain in the Gaza Strip for three weeks to train as many players and coaches in preparation for possible local and international tournaments in the future.
Initiative
The International Committee of the Red Cross brought Markt last year, and coordinated his visit again as part of its program to support Palestinians with physical disabilities in Gaza. This step could encourage them to adjust to their new health conditions and work to avoid exclusion and isolation within their communities.
The ICRC will organize a tournament at the conclusion of Markt’s visit to allow the players to implement and present their acquired skills.
Apart from Palestine, Markt has worked with the ICRC to bring this initiative to other places where conflicts impede practicing sport in a safe environment, including Afghanistan and Cambodia.
Mansour Shat, 37, sees in Markt’s visit a golden chance to sharpen his skills in basketball. He is very careful to attend all training sessions held by the American coach, never missing a detail or a move that could add to his skills.
“I want to move from being a beginning player to a skilled one. I always feel thrilled when I play basketball, but with Markt’s training and guidance, the play has another taste,” Mansour said.
He was severely injured during the Israeli onslaught waged on Gaza in 2012, and doctors decided to amputate his right leg, an incident he deems the most tragic in his life.
“My life became a living hell; I had difficulty accepting my new situation and I was not given the care needed from my surroundings, which aggravated the case,” he added.
However, Mansour’s decision to play basketball helps ease the troubles of his new life and provides him with a platform where he can spend his time practicing a sport that intrigues him.
According to Kamal Abu-Hassan, the head of the Palestinian Paralympic Committee, Markt’s visits to Gaza are giving people with disabilities a push to make progress and achieve success in their sport.
“Most of the disabled in Gaza turn to basketball because it can be played with the hands and many of them suffer from mobility disabilities,” he said.
Abu-Hassan is witnessing a marked increase in the number of people with disability who are coming to train with Markt this year. “It is their first choice, they organize their teams and matches around the year and they are very happy with the initiative,” he added.
Men are not alone in that regard. Disabled women in Gaza are also highly encouraged to assemble their own teams and play basketball in the closed hall.
Markt hopes that his visit will encourage women to play basketball more seriously. “Women should not be excluded when talking about the importance of sport, particularly for those with special needs,” he said. “I am going to train about twenty women this time, and other trainers will continue with the rest who might be interested to join the training with their friends.”
Zakia el-Shoubaki was born with a disability, and now decided to play basketball.
“At the beginning, I was not convinced in the efficacy of playing basketball in my case,” she said.
Yet, the 22-year-old woman has changed her mind when her friend invited her to see the activity at the hall. She was fascinated with the moves and the atmosphere. She was very happy when she saw her friend play and enjoy the game.
“From that day, I decided to join the training with my friend. I am still a beginner, but I hope that I will improve my skills with more time I dedicate for practice,” she added.
In a conservative society like Gaza, playing sport is not conventional for women. “We hope that all women in Gaza would realize how important sport is for our health and our lives,” el-Shoubaki concluded.CNN host Fareed Zakaria said on Sunday that President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE has resigned the U.S. role as a global leader just one year into his administration.
"Its creator, upholder, and enforcer, the United States, has withdrawn into self-centered isolation," he said on his show "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN.
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Zakaria, who is a vocal critic of Trump, went on to rip the Trump administration for its "foolish and self-defeating decision to resign as the world's leader."
"As the president might say in one of his tweets,'sad,'" he concluded.
Zakaria's comments come as Trump looks to wrap up his first year in office.
The president has bucked the international community throughout his presidency, most recently in his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Trump also took a step back from the global community when he disavowed the multination Iran nuclear deal and pulled the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord.
Supporters of the president say his policies are a part of his "America First" agenda.Erdogan is expected to run for the presidency in August, and Germany - with a Turkish community of three million, about half of them eligible voters - would be a strong constituency for the controversial leader.
Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) have polarized Turks at home and abroad over what critics call his authoritarian style, a crackdown on civil liberties and corruption scandals under his rule.
In the western city |
harbour in the parliament."
Both the MHP and the CHP support the bill in what some analysts see as a move aimed at winning support from nationalist voters who want to see Kurdish parliamentarians prosecuted.
"If they manage to eliminate HDP from politics and the parliament, it is clear to us that CHP and the rest of the opposition will be the next in line," the HDP's Idris Baluken told parliament.
Voting on the bill will be held by secret ballot and several MPs have said they may not vote with their parties.
'Completely constitutional'
Erdogan has previously called for members of the HDP to face prosecution, accusing them of being the political wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The HDP rejects that accusation and says Erdogan is trying to push them out of the parliament so that he can alter the constitution and replace the current parliamentary system with a presidential one.
Erdogan denies that charge.
In an open letter to the European Parliament the HDP criticised the bill as unconstitutional.
READ MORE: Erdogan - 'Strip PKK members of Turkish nationality'
"If passed, this motion would suspend Article 83 of the Constitution, which guarantees parliamentary immunity, through addition of a provisional clause," Selahattin Demirtas, a co-leader of the HDP, wrote.
"Lifting parliamentary immunity with such an anti-constitutional move would extend the Erdogan-AKP bloc’s monopolistic grip on the legislative body."
Huseyin Ozcan, who teaches constitutional law at Istanbul University, told Al Jazeera he believed the proposed bill was "completely constitutional.
"Article 83 of the Turkish constitution makes it clear that the parliament has the right to remove MPs' immunity under special circumstances, and MPs decided we are now facing special circumstances," he said.
As a result of a similar move in 1994, several pro-Kurdish MPs were stripped of immunity.Bolivians have voted in an election that is almost certain to hand President Evo Morales a third consecutive term in power, along with a legislative majority needed to consolidate his leftist reforms.
Around six million Bolivians cast their ballots on Sunday in presidential and congressional polls, with the incumbent leading with 59 percent in pre-election polls.
Morales, who has blended leftwing economic policy with nationalist rhetoric was more than 40 points clear of his nearest rival, business magnate Samuel Doria Medina, with 18 percent, opinion polls said.
Medina, however claimed the polls had a margin of error of 33 percent - roughly the swing needed to force Morales into a run-off.
"This is why we're still optimistic," Medina said after voting in a southern La Paz district.
Morales, who is also expected to win a legislative majority, has pledged to consolidate his socialist system that has expanded the role of the state in the economy and sharply reduce poverty levels.
Since he first came to office in 2006, a boom in commodities prices has increased export revenues nine-fold and the country has accumulated $15.5b in international reserves and economic growth has averaged five percent annually, well above the regional average.
The nation's first indigenous president has been credited with being an able steward of Bolivia's natural gas and mineral wealth, using the windfall to create subsidies for schoolchildren, pensions for the elderly and to pull about half a million people out of poverty.
Corruption questions
Morales' rivals accuse him of using his power to control the courts and of violating the constitution which limits a president to two consecutive terms.
Last year, the Supreme Court decreed his 2006-2009 period in office should not be counted as a first term as it preceded the adoption of the new constitution. Opponents blasted the decision.
Morales has also drawn opposition from environmentalists and many former indigenous allies by promoting mining and a planned jungle highway through an indigenous reserve.
Despite Bolivia's economic advancements, it remains one of South America's poorest countries and many economists think it depends too much on natural resources.
In the first half of 2014, natural gas and minerals accounted for 82 percent of export revenues.
Morales promotes coca's traditional uses and claims zero tolerance for cocaine. But his government's ability to combat crime and corruption has been questioned.
Last year, Transparency International's perception index ranked Bolivia as South America's third most corrupt country after Venezuela and Paraguay, and Morales' opponents say he has spent millions in government money on his campaign, giving him an unfair advantage.
NOTES FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN THE FIELD
Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman
Opponents of President Evo Morales tell us they are unhappy about his authoritarian style and control of the media, but pleased with Bolivia's economic growth.
"Morales combines conservative economics with Left wing rhetoric and social spending," policial analyst Andrés Torrez told Al Jazeera.
"Everyone is making money, wages have doubled and while the opposition loathes him, they say they are no hurry to see Morales leave."
Jorge Chawanca, a 65-year-old driver from Cochabamba in central Bolivia said "Evo taught those men in ties [politicians] a lesson. When Goni [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada] was president we thought because he spoke better English than Spanish he would develop Bolivia. All they did was steal and govern for themselves. Who would have thought an uneducated indigenous Aymara, a coca farmer, end up being the best President we've ever had."
President Evo Morales still holds the post of President of the Coca growers union in El Chapare, the tropical region in Bolivia where he voted.
"It's more of an honorary title," he told Al Jazeera. "I have no time to run the union".
"But it is an honour for the farmers and for me. This is where I learned about life and forged my political career. We learned to struggle, to cry and to succeed together."Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Script - Dialogue Transcript
Swing on back to Drew's Script-O-Rama afterwards for more free movie scripts!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Script
Much more than just a series of small, isolated incidents... it's apparent an organized criminal element is at work. And at the moment, business is good. o good, in fact, there appear to be no eyewitnesses... to any of these crimes. With complaints ranging from purse-snatching... to breaking and entering... police switchboards have been swamped... with the angry voices of more and more citizens... who have fallen prey to the recent surge of crime... that continues to plague the city. Instead of getting better, things have gotten worse. Even more alarming is the baffling... and often bizarre nature of these crimes. Merchandise of every size and description... from skateboards to stereo systems... has been disappearing from store shelves... and storage areas at an alarming rate. Even the victims themselves rarely glimpse the thieves. Many don't know they've been victimized until it's too late. In fact, police have yet to come up with an eyewitness. Only a few vague reports... of young boys or teenagers at the scenes have been filed. But whoever is behind these crimes, one thing is certain. These are much more than just a series of random incidents. Come on. Hurry up. Good. Crimes without criminals? An invisible gang at work? Who are we going to call? Unfortunately, the police are the only ones available... to combat what some are dubbing "the silent crime wave." But perhaps the most disturbing silence... is that coming from City Hall. April O'Neil, Channel Three Eyewitness News. You got to stop working so hard. What, give up all this glamour? Good night. Bad timing. You're telling me. Get her purse. Get away from me! What do you think... Help! - Get her jewelry. - I got her watch! What the hell's going on? Thought I'd seen it all. All right. Come on, tough guys. You all right, ma'am? I'm fine. Rest right here while we deal with these guys. Ted, give John a hand. Oh, man. Let's get them in the car. Damn. Oh, spectacular. We were awesome, bros. Awesome! Yes, dudes and dude-ettes... major league butt-kicking is back in town. Awesome! Righteous! - Bossa nova! - What? Bossa nova? Chevy Nova? Excellent! All right! Come on, let's move it. I'm starving. We're talking... major pizza attack here, dudes. Pizza! I need it. Oh, baby. Oh, man! What's eating him, bros? Give me three. You got it. We were great. Damn! We have had our first battle... Master plinter. They were many, but we kicked... We fought well. Were you seen? In this you must never lapse. Even those who would be... our allies would not understand. Our domain is the shadow. tray from it reluctantly. For when you do, you must... strike hard and fade away... Without a trace. I lost a sai. Then it is gone. But I can get it back. Raphael... let it go. Your ninja skills are reaching their peak. Only one truly important lesson remains, but must wait. I know it is hard for you here underground. I want a large thick crust with double cheese... ham, pepperoni... Your teenage minds are broad, eager. But you must never stop practicing the art of ninja... the art of invisibility. Oh, but no anchovies. And I mean no anchovies. You put anchovies on this thing, and you're in big trouble. Michaelangelo! That'll do. And the clock's ticking, dude. You are still young... but one day, I will be gone. Use my teachings wisely. I suggest we all meditate now on the events of this evening. Ninjitsu! Well, this is like meditating. Hey, Raph, where you going? Out to a movie. That OK with you? ock it to me, baby. How you doing? Fine. Nice night. Pizza dude's got seconds. Mikey, did you ever think about what plinter said tonight? I mean, about what it would be like not having him? Time's up. Three bucks off. Now,... /? One-twenty-two and an eigth? Terrific. Where the heck is /? You're standing on it, dude. Just slip it down here. Give me that! This is a. The tab's. You're two minutes late, dude. Come on! I couldn't find the place! Wise man say, "Forgiveness is divine... "but never pay full price for late pizza." I got to get a new route. And I thought I delivered everywhere. Yes, friends, the new Turbo Ginsu! It dices, it slices... and yet makes french fries in different... Kids. Where do they come up with this stuff? omebody stop them! - What the hell was that? - I don't know. That was a crime, you purse-grabbing pukes... and this is the penalty. Two minutes for slashing, two minutes for hooking... and let's not forget my personal favorite... two minutes for high-sticking. How about a five-minute game misconduct for roughing, pal? Hey, Bogey... who died and made you referee? You did your job. Get out of here and let me do mine. These JV lowlifes need to be taught a lesson. Not like that they don't. Not from you. It looks like you're the one who needs a lesson, pal. Class is Pain. Your instructor is Casey Jones. I don't want to fight you. Tough rocks, pal. A Jose Canseco bat? Tell me... you didn't pay money for this. That's it. Was a two-for-one sale, pal. Hey, what are you, some sort of punker? I hate punkers. Especially bald ones with green makeup... who wear masks over ugly faces. That's it. New batter! Trike one! Whiffer. Home run. Raphael wins! One-nothing! Well? New game, roundhead. Cricket. Cricket? Nobody understands cricket. You got to know what a crumpet is to understand cricket. I'll teach you. ix runs. o long, freak. I got work to do. Freak?! What the heck was that? Looked like a big turtle in a trench coat. You going to La Guardia? Come back here! I'm not finished with you! Damn! Come sit by me. Couldn't this wait till morning? You will listen now. My master Yoshi's first rule was... Possess the right thinking. Only then can one receive... the gifts of strength, knowledge, and peace. I have tried to channel your anger, Raphael... but more remains. Anger clouds the mind. Turned inward, it is an unconquerable enemy. You are unique among your brothers... for you choose to face this enemy alone. But as you face it, do not forget them. And do not forget me. I am here, my son. April, you could've called me last night, you know? April, you could've called me last night, you know? Call it a quirk, but I like to know... when one of my best reporters has been mugged. I wasn't mugged, Charles. Besides, I knew you'd just worry... and rush over here like you did this morning. From now on, ecurity is gonna escort you... to that stone-age van of yours every night. - Yes, sir. - I'm not kidding, April. Hey, Danny, how's school going? - Fine. - Wonderful. o wonderful I have to drive him there every morning now... just to make sure he goes. That's what he does when he wants to ignore me... sticks his head in those things. I wonder where the hell he got those things, anyway. Charles, give the kid a break. Just what is going on out there, April? I've never seen anything like this before. It's like the city's falling apart. It's getting so you can't step outside in the daytime anymore. I'll tell you one thing. After everything I've been hearing out of Little Tokyo... terns is gonna have some answering to do this afternoon. Just take it easy. He's already got the mayor breathing down my neck. We are presently executing a plan of redeployment... that will minimize response time... while maximizing coordination between patrol units... in a decentralized networking scheme. I'm not sure I understood all that, Chief terns. Would you mind repeating it... in English, perhaps? What that means, Miss O'Neil, is everything is well in hand. Hey, guys, look. That's her. I didn't say that either, Miss O'Neil. If you would stick to asking questions... I'm in love. What do you know about an organization... known as The Foot Clan? There is no evidence to link such a name to these incidents. Are you denying an organization known as The Foot exists? I'm not denying anything. You're putting words into my mouth. Find her. ilence her. - He's great. - An understatement as usual. You're telling me. The girl is a fox. Take a look at the local weather for this vicinity... as it stands at this hour. O'Neil, get in here. Time me. Just what is it you hoped to accomplish out there... besides busting my chops? I think you know as much as I do about this Foot Clan... and I don't think you're doing anything about it. You expect me to waste precious manpower... because a few immigrants are reminded of something... that supposedly happened years ago in Japan? Have you got something else? Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? One minute, seven seconds... a new record. Oh... great. Just great. We've been waiting for you, Miss O'Neil. Am I behind on my ony payments again? Your mouth may yet bring you much trouble, Miss O'Neil. I deliver a message. hut it. All right. That's it! Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Yeah, Leo, I'm crazy! A loony! Why? Why? Oh, I don't know. 'Cause I wanted to redecorate. A couple of throw pillows, a TV news reporter. What do you think? Raphael, what are you doing? he got jumped in the subway. - I had to bring her here. - It's the news lady. Can we keep her? Bring water, cold washcloth, pillow. Far out! Oh, my God! I'm dead! I'm dead, aren't I? - It's OK. - No, I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming. Those guys in the black pajamas, they jumped me. And that rat... I saw you in the parking lot. That explains you. And you guys... I have no idea where you came from. If you will please just sit down and calm yourself... I will tell you where we came from. It talks! It is really quite simple, Miss O'Neil. And he knows my name. Perfect. Fifteen years ago... Why don't I ever dream of Harrison Ford? For years now, we have lived here. Before that time, I was a pet of my master Yoshi... mimicking his movements from my cage... and learning the secret art of ninja. When we were forced to come to New York... I found myself for the first time without a home... wandering the sewers, scavenging for whatever I could find. And then, one day... I came upon a shattered glass jar... and four baby turtles. That was us. hut up. The little ones were crawling into a strange glowing ooze... from a broken canister nearby. I gathered them up in an old coffee can... and when I awoke the next morning... I received a shock, for they had doubled in size. l, too, was growing, particularly in intellect... and I was amazed at how intelligent they seemed. But nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. One of them spoke. Pizza! Pizza! More words followed, and I began their training... teaching them all that I had learned from my master. Radical! Radical! Radical! And soon I gave them all names... Leonardo... - Michaelangelo... - That's me. Donatello... and Raphael. I'm not dreaming, am I? I'm afraid not. Are you guys sure you know where you're going? th and Bleecker? Nope. This is only th street. - Get it? - Yuck. I'd like to invite you all in... but I don't have anything to offer you except frozen pizza. Let's go for it! You said the magic word. - You guys eat pizza? - Doesn't everybody? Well, all right... Did she say pizza? o, you live in an antique store? - Yep. Pizza! - Well, above, actually. What do you guys like on your pizza? Just the regular stuff... flies, stink bugs. It was a joke. Maybe I'll fight Apollo, and maybe I won't, you know? What do you think? Adrian! Hey, I got another one! - This is totally cool! - Oh, no, not Cagney. You dirty rat. You killed my brother. You dirty rat. That must be plinter's favorite. It was a joke. And speaking of which, we better get going. He worries. I don't know what to say. Will I ever see you guys again? Indubitably. That depends on how fast you stock your pizza. ee you around. - Bye. - Later. [Skipped item nr. ] No doubt about it. he loved us! It was the impressions. - You wish. - Hold it. What's wrong? Charles Pennington? Yeah. Who's this? You got a son named Danny, Charles? Who is it? It's me, Charles. It's my boss. Can you guys... hide? Charles, what's up? April... listen. You have been working awful hard on this story lately. Why don't you take it easy for a while? Just let somebody else handle it. Just for a little while, you know? What are you talking about? It's my story. No way. Look at you. You're exhausted. I just had a rough night. Let somebody else help you cover City Hall. Charles, that's ridiculous. What's with you today? Nothing's with me today. I just thought you might like a little help. I don't. Hand me a towel, will you? Where do you keep the towels? What's wrong? I just don't want you to see my unsightly bathtub ring. Out, out, out, out. I have to get ready for work. Are you sure you won't reconsider about some help? Danny, will you tell your father to relax? I wish. Just don't push any buttons today. That was close. Time to switch to decaf, April. I don't get it, Danny. I make more than enough money to provide for both of us... and you're stealing. Why? - I don't know. - You don't know? What the heck were you doing with a car stereo anyway? Or don't you know that either? - Orry. - Orry? Not as sorry as you're going to be after school. Danny, come back here! Check it out, man. Anything you guys want, we got. Anything you want to do... do it. Know what I'm saying? Anything. You got any cigarettes? Regular or menthol? Read 'em and weep, boys. Full house! Go. Play. You. Good. Never lower your eyes to an enemy. Yes, Master Tatsu. Master hredder. Money cannot buy the honor which you have earned tonight. You make us all proud. Only effort, discipline, loyalty... earn the right to wear the Dragon dogi. You are here because the outside world rejects you. This is your family. I am your father. I want you all to become full members of The Foot. There is a new enemy... freaks of nature who interfere with our business. You are my eyes and ears. Find them. Together we will punish these... creatures! These... turtles! Master. This is beginning to sound less and less... like your common, garden-variety subway mugging. he's a good reporter. he's a babe!...known as The Foot. I'm sorry... The Foot? I know it sounds like a funky club for podiatrists... but I've been speaking with a lot of Japanese-Americans... in the past few days who say that our recent crime wave... is reminiscent of a secret band of ninja thieves... who once operated in Japan. Are the police looking into this? I've included everything in my statement... but I doubt very much that Chief terns... is taking this possible connection seriously. Well, perhaps if any of our viewers... Oh, God. Mr. Pennington, Chief terns' office. Pennington, I thought we had a deal! You still haven't told us how you got away from your attacker. It's really quite incredible. ome citizens of New York actually came to my rescue. Who says everyone in the Big Apple looks the other way? eriously, June, I would like to take this opportunity... to thank one of those individuals in particular. And if he's watching, thanks, Raphael. tudly! Hey, look. I think he's blushing. I am not. I think he's actually turning red. Maybe not. o what do we do now? What do you mean, what do we do now? plinter's out there somewhere! I know plinter's out there. - Fight? - Fight. - Kitchen? - Kitchen. What are we gonna do about it? What can we do about it? April's our only link to these guys. We have to wait until she comes up with something. o that's the plan from our great leader? Just sit here on our butts. I never said I was a great leader. You sure act like it sometimes. Well, you act like a jerk sometimes. And this attitude of yours isn't helping anything. Maybe I'll just take my attitude and leave! - Why don't you? - I will! - Good! - Great! Go ahead. We don't need you! - Pork rind? - Pork rind. Damn! Move it, will you? You're letting him blow right by you! Can you believe this guy? Don't just... Ninja-kick the damn rabbit! Do something! April, you were great. Thanks, Mikey. he called me Mikey. - Hear anything yet? - Not yet. They're going to repeat the interview at : and at :... and we're going to have to wait and see... if it helps generate any new information. I told them to call me here immediately... if anyone calls the station. Thanks, April. We really appreciate, you know, everything. Forget it. Where's Raphael? I was going to give you guys a tour of the store. hall we go get him? He just needs to blow off some steam. You must be studying the abridged book of ninja fighting. I mean, come on. How do you guys expect to beat me? Good answer. I only keep it open part-time, mostly for my dad. He loved junk. I don't know. I guess it's kind of dumb to lose money on a business... just because you miss your father. No, it isn't. Ready? This place has everything. Just about. Hasn't Raph been gone a long time? He does it all the time. He likes it. Are you sure? Don't worry. He'll probably be back any minute. - Is he... - No, he's alive... barely. And I thought insurance salesmen were pushy. A fellow chucker, eh? Keep practicing. Take that! One of these guys knows where they're holding plinter... so don't knock them all out. I don't think that will be a problem, Leo. Gotcha. Hey, Donnie, Wheel of Fortune, dude. Bisentos now! I guess they're not game show fans. And I thought everybody loved Vanna. California roll! What a spaz. Missed again. Good thing these guys aren't lumberjacks. No joke. The only thing safe in the woods would be the trees. Guys, I'm not so sure if this is, structurally speaking... such a good time for your buddies to drop in. Whoa, wipeout. Man, we could really use Raph right about now. Now what? You guys mind telling me... what you're doing to my little green pal over there? Who is the babe? Who the heck is that? Wayne Gretzky on steroids? Attack! We got to get out of here. Help me. There used to be a trapdoor here to the basement. Come on, you all! Three more! We're getting out of here. Get away, man. I'll take care of these guys. You coming? I'll cover you. Good idea. Hi, this is April. Leave a message after the beep. April, it's Charles. I'm sorry. I don't know how else to say this. You're fired, April. I'm sorry. I know this comes as a blow. You can say that again, Chuck. Come on! Bye, guys. Got to run. Ninja, vanish. What are these... freaks? How do they know how to fight like this? You will answer. Then hang there until you die. Master Tatsu, stop, please. Please, stop it. hinsho. You'll be all right. How can a face so young wear so many burdens? o, you can talk. Yes, and I can also listen. ome say that the path from inner turmoil... begins with a friendly ear. My ear is open if you care to use it. I don't think so. What is your name? And have you no one to go to, Danny? No parent? My dad couldn't care less about me. I doubt that is true. Why? All fathers care for their sons. - How's Raphael? - Not so good. Didn't they use this place in The Grapes of Wrath? Very funny. I told you, I haven't been up here in years. Can you fix it? Does that answer your question? The block's got a crack the size of the an Andreas. Wonderful. I guess I've got some walking to do. What for? Our nearest neighbor is about four miles away. I need to get to a phone, and I need to call my boss. You mean Charles? How did you know that? He left a message on your machine just before we got out. You just saved yourself an eight-mile round-tripper. You were fired. I just saved myself... Did you take classes in insensitivity? I was just trying to break it to you easy. You failed miserably! Broadzilla, you wouldn't be here if it weren't for me. And what do you want? Do you want a thank you? It's me who should thank you for that privilege, right? Fine! Thank you. You're welcome! It's kind of like Moonlighting, isn't it? It's strange being back on the old farm. Even after all these years, it still feels like home. My amazing new friends... have suffered their first real defeat. That's bad enough, but they've also lost the opportunity... to find out about their mentor... and I'm sure that hurts them more than anything else. Each of them deals with this confusion in his own way. Donatello has found someone to latch onto. Not even close, zip neck. The Professor and Mary Ann, happily ever after. No way, atomic mouth. Gilligan was her main man. They'd be married and have six kids by now. Gilligan was a geek, barfarooni! You're the geek, camel breath. Dome head. Elf lips. Let's give this a try. ee if this transplant worked... fungoid. Here goes. What are we on? "G." Here goes, gack face. I'm ready, hose brain. It worked. Leonardo, meanwhile, has kept a constant vigil with Raphael. He'll be OK. And then there's Casey Jones... a nine-year-old trapped in a man's body. He might almost be cute if it wasn't for that pigheadedness. He's out with the others, exercising. Doing something together, I don't know. Want some help? I don't know. I am your man. I am Mr. Fix-it. Let's go. Lead the way, toots. Toots? Babe? weetcakes? Princess! Do you want to throw me a clue here? I'm drowning. You know what? That's OK. I'll take care of it myself. That's up to you. Just don't come around here asking for my help anymore. I wouldn't ask for your help... if you were the last thing on the face of this planet. It's coming along nicely. What? You're awake! How do you feel? What's a guy got to do to get some food around here? He's awake! He wants some food! Bring some food! You're going to be OK, Raph. Get a grip, will you? Listen, Raph... About what I said before... About not needing you and all... Leo, don't. Oh, boy, we missed you. It's a Kodak moment. The Turtles are four once again... and yet, still not whole. A lingering doubt remains... an unknown which they can't bear to face... their greatest fear. Your empire flourishes, Master hredder. What more from the rat? Nothing. It will not speak. And the boy who led us to the turtles? He is still missing. I do not understand. Why do the turtles trouble you, Master? They have not been seen for many days. omething about the way you described their fighting... something familiar. omething... from the past. Ointment? Funny, Mikey. What Russian novel, embracing more than characters... is set in the Napoleonic Wars? War and Peace. He's alive! Thanks, spaz. plinter's alive! We know, Leo. Of course he is. We all think he's alive. I don't think. I know. Leo, if you dragged us out here for nothing... Don't worry. I came prepared. Put those away. Everybody close your eyes and concentrate. Concentrate hard. I am proud of you, my sons. Tonight you have learned... the final and greatest truth of the ninja... that ultimate mastery comes not of the body... but of the mind. Together, there is nothing... your four minds cannot accomplish. Help each other. Draw upon one another. And always remember the true force that binds you... the same as that which brought me here tonight... that which I gladly return with my final words. I love you all, my sons. o you actually played professionally? Before I got hurt. Less than a year. I'm sorry. o was I. Just a minute. Guys, I told you... I hate it when you do that, all right? What is it? It's time to go back. Home sweet home. Now I know what it's like to travel without a green card. This isn't bad. Nice place, guys. You coming or not, dude? This is great. First, it's the farm that time forgot, and now this. Why don't I ever fall in with people who own condos? Guess it's hard to get good maid service in a sewer. Maybe you guys should try Roto-rooter. Would you quit complaining? It's just for the night. I still don't see why we don't get started right away. It's been a long drive, Raph... and before we go out advertising to The Foot that we're back... we could all use a few hours' sleep. You're right. I'm just... What's that? Don't shoot! I don't think it's loaded, kid. Danny, what are you doing here? - Hey, where'd he come from? - Beats me. I ran away from home. Your father's going to have kittens. Does this thing work? Please don't call. Just let me stay here the night with you. We can call in the morning. I promise. Danny, listen... Hold on. What is all this talk about spending the night down here? You're a claustrophobic. Do you want a fist in the mouth? I've never even looked at another guy before. What he means is that you're afraid of enclosed areas. Afraid? What, me? Is that what you think? I don't have to take this stuff about being afraid. I'm going to sleep in the truck. These are good. Do you think maybe I could have one? ure. Why not? I could really go... for a little deep-dish action right about now. I had some pizza down here the other day. There might be some left over. - Well? - Question. Do you like penicillin on your pizza? "Afraid of enclosed areas." You are here because the outside world rejects you. And you have no one to go to, Danny? This is your family. All fathers care for their sons. Look out, man. I have not seen you for days. I've been down at my hideout a lot lately. And do you now hide from your surrogate family as well? I don't know. l, too, once had a family, Danny. Many years ago, I lived in Japan... a pet of my master Yoshi... mimicking his movements from my cage... and learning the mysterious art of ninjitsu. For Yoshi was one of Japan's finest shadow warriors. His only rival was a man named Oruku aki... and they competed in all things... but none more fiercely than for the love of a woman... Tang hen. hen's love was only for my master... and rather than see him fight aki for her hand... she persuaded Yoshi to flee with me to America. But aki vowed vengeance. I remember it well as my master returned home... to find his beloved hen lying on the floor. And then he saw her killer. aki wasted no words, and during the struggle... my cage was broken. I leapt to aki's face, biting and clawing... but he threw me to the floor... and took one swipe with his katana, slicing my ear. Then he was gone, and I was alone. Whatever happened to this Oruku aki? No one really knows. But you wear his symbol upon your brow. What are you doing in there, boy? Nothing. Where have you been? Nowhere. You're lying to me. And you're hiding something as well. They're back! Master. There will be no mistake this time. I go myself. And the rat... kill it. What do you want? Recognize me now, kid? What's the deal? You got to come with me! What are you talking about, come with you? They're going to kill plinter. No sweat. I do hope there's more of them. Good! Where are the keys? Who are you? The name's Casey Jones. A friend. Let's get out of here. A little to the right... A little to the left. One more time. A little bit more like... that! And stop. Perfect. You're a natural, sis. A little Primatene might just help to clear that up there. That's going to cost you, Tinkerbell. I don't think that you're listening. You know, I'm starting to pick up... on a little language barrier thing going here. Fore! I'll never call golf a dull game again. Gangway! how-off! What are we just standing here for? Let's get him! Do you want to be first, Junior? We have a loyalty to The hredder. The hredder uses you. He poisons your minds to obtain that which he desires. He cares nothing for you or the people you hurt. We're a family. Family? Is that what you said? You call this here and that down there "family"? Hey, dudes, where you going? Donnie, looks like this one's suffering from shell shock. Too derivative. Boy, I guess we can really shell it out. Too cliche. Well, it was a shell of a good hit. I like it. Tep up. Awesome! Where do you think you're going? Wait for me! God, I love being a turtle! Aw, no more? Does anybody have any idea about who or what this is? I don't know... but I'll bet it never has to look for a can opener. You fight well in the old style... but you've caused me enough trouble. Now you face... The hredder. Maybe all that hardware's for making coleslaw. |
6.99 $9.99 a month
There have been concerns over patient safety at the unit. Mr McPartland said confidence in it was so low that GPs were refusing to refer patients.
“At least three people died, 8,500 patient records were lost and a whole host of serious failings led to the Care Quality Commission beginning proceedings to suspend Clinicenta-Carillion's licence to operate at the Surgicentre because of serious concerns for patients' safety,” he said.
The centre, which opened only 18 months ago, provides routine head and neck surgery as well as orthopaedics, gynaecology and eye services. It has six operating theatres, 26 beds and an urgent eye clinic.
The NHS Central Eastern Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) confirmed that services currently provided by Clinicenta will transfer to East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. Services will not be interrupted and the transfer will take place over the next few weeks, according to the CSU. The transfer of services had been mutually agreed by the Department of Health, East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS England and Clinicenta.
Mr McPartland said that Carillion “should never be allowed to manage another hospital facility in the UK” and criticised the former Labour government for putting “a building company in charge of highly sensitive and complex surgical procedures”.
A representative for Carillion could not be reached for comment.
Mr McPartland added: “I am delighted that the Lister Surgicentre will now be managed by the Lister Hospital which is a centre of clinical excellence. We can now begin the job of rebuilding trust and this facility with state of the art equipment can be managed properly inside our NHS, where it should have been from day one.”Amazon UK Cuts PS3 to £159.99, Global Price Drop Imminent?
First GameStop cut the price of the PS3 by $50, then Amazon US, now Amazon UK has also dropped the price by a whopping £40 ($64).
If you live in the UK and have yet to get a PS3, be sure to pick one up now. If you don’t, then the deal should still be of interest to you – Amazon US and GameStop’s price cuts could be seen as simply a price war between the two retailers, but with Amazon UK now joining in on the discount, it does seem like retailers are discounting ahead of an E3 price drop, something that has happened in the past. Michael Pachter previously said that Sony needed to cut the price of the PS3 to remain competitive in the US:
PS3 hardware sales should continue to lag those of the Xbox 360, and we expect sales to trend downward by 10 – 20% monthly, until Sony cuts prices once again, likely at E3.
$199 has often been called the ‘magic price point’ where a console finally becomes truly appealing to the mass market, so if a global price drop does happen, it will be interesting to see what this means for the PS3.Growing up on a farm creates the basis for a strong work ethic. A young man quickly realizes the basic principles of hard work, physical strength and mental endurance.
Brock Lesnar is no exception. Growing up in a small rural community near Webster, South Dakota, Lesnar learned from an early age what it meant to work hard. Lesnar was up before dawn every morning to do his morning chores. This was his life and his routine. What makes Lesnar an exception even to his own class of athletes is that he created an unconventional routine to build strength, speed and power.
"Lesnar Is Able To Maintain His Size, Strength And Endurance In The Gym And In The Cage."
With no gym or workout facility for miles, he used the land and the equipment from the farm to sculpt and shape his body. It wasn't uncommon to see Lesnar running full tilt down the road with a 180-pound tree log thrown over his shoulders just for fun.
Lesnar had unbelievable strength and excelled in wrestling and became a 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Champion. Soon after, he started an extremely successful career in the WWE. Despite fame and fortune, his early farm years and core values always remained at the forefront.
He sensed that the professional wrestling lifestyle wasn't for him long term and he chose to move on. His all or nothing mentality had built upon an innate quality that is the foundation of a man determined to work hard, stay true to his values and make an impact on the MMA scene.
Rising to the top of the wrestling world and with the potential to emerge as a top heavyweight contender in the UFC, Lesnar realizes the importance of exercise, diet and supplementation. Through quality products, Lesnar is able to maintain his size, strength and endurance in the gym and in the cage.
To increase his strength, build muscle and improve his overall performance, it is important to incorporate an advanced creatine formula and superior whey protein supplement. Lesnar consumes a high amount of calories on a daily basis although he usually doesn't strictly measure the amount.
He'll eat a large amount of protein and add in supplements when time doesn't allow him to eat a full meal. Immediately after a training session it is a good practice to get in 30g of a high quality protein as well as a good source of carbs to replenish the glycogen levels depleted from the intense training. Through the day, Lesnar will consume a minimum of a gallon of water with added electrolytes.
Lesnar's regular training regimen sees him train twice a day four times a week. The morning training session is focused on fighting skills and the evening session is geared toward running and weight training.
Sample Strength Training: 1 Hour Workout Duration
Leading up to a fight, these exercises need to be conducted with less weight, higher intensity that will also work on overall conditioning.
Grappling Training Four Times A Week
5 - 1 Minute Rounds
5 - 1 Minute Standing Drills
Striking & Ground And Pound Training Twice A WeekRich Sugg / Kansas City Star Roque Riojas, left, and Thedosia Mobley are two war veterans being cared for by Julius Anderson in his south Kansas City home. The foster home program, initiated by the Kansas City VA, helps place older veterans in homes, much like foster children. 4650853
Rich Sugg / Kansas City Star Roque Riojas, left, and Thedosia Mobley are two war veterans being cared for by Julius Anderson in his south Kansas City home. The foster home program, initiated by the Kansas City VA, helps place older veterans in homes, much like foster children. - Bulletin
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By Donald Bradley The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY — Morning coffee at the kitchen table.
Roque (Rocky) Riojas, 93, sits at one end, Bronze Star cap on his head, World War II shrapnel in his leg, and he’s telling how his son always comes to visit.
At the other end of the table, Theodosia Mobley, 84, who fought in Korea, scoffs: “He doesn’t always come to visit.”
These two are about what you’d expect in a new foster family. A little picking, a little sniping. But it’s early.
They are part of a new Veterans Affairs program that places military veterans in homes of people willing to open a door. Pretty much like the foster kid system. Most of these vets are old and alone. They have health problems and nowhere else to go other than a nursing facility, and they don’t want to go there.
That’s how Riojas, who grew up in midtown Kansas City, and Mobley, an Arkansas farm boy, two Americans who fought for their country and ended up alone after four score, came to share this breakfast table.
The ranch house on a narrow residential street in southeast Kansas City is their home now, maybe their last. It’s where they watched the World Series together.
“I’m not going to tell you everything is peaches and cream,” said homeowner and caregiver Julius Anderson. “They both have some dementia, and they don’t always see eye to eye.
“But we’re doing OK.”
Like family
A polite man who has worked most of his life in residential senior care, Anderson, 48, refers to his new boarders as “Mr. Roque” and “Mr. Theodosia.” For Thanksgiving, Anderson and his lady friend took the two vets to his family’s holiday gathering in Louisiana.
That’s how it’s supposed to work, said Lisa Foodim, manager of home-based primary care for the Kansas City VA.
“Having a spare room is the easy part,” Foodim said. “You have to open your home and your family.”
The Kansas City VA placed its first veteran in a military foster home a year ago. This has been the learning period. They say it works. At last report, the Kansas City VA had placed five veterans in homes around the city.
“This is a whole lot better than when I used to visit my mom in a nursing home,” said Riojas’ son, Roque Jr. “It’s a lot more like home. His memory’s not good, but he seems to be doing so much better and he’s only been here three months.”
The foster program is administered through the VA, but the veteran is responsible for his care, which ranges from $1,600 to $3,000 monthly for the caregiver, depending on level of care needed.
Now comes the push for more hosts for more vets.
“It’s not for everyone,” Foodim acknowledged. “Most of us are private about our homes.
“I don’t have a vet living with me.”
Creating friendships
Margie Cox does. Brian LaLone, a Marine back in the 1970s, came to her house in rural Bates City, Missouri, in August. They say they found each other.
Cox says her years as a Navy wife were the best of her life. She loved living on base, loved the camaraderie. But that all ended, along with her marriage.
“To be honest, I was lonely,” Cox said. “I’m 73, and a friend who was an Army nurse told me I should volunteer for the foster program. I wanted to do something for somebody who can’t do for themselves.
“That’s how I met Brian. He’s 59, way overweight, and I’m a vegetarian. We walk every day and do our exercises. I love his mother. I take him to her house every Friday.”
LaLone suffers sleep apnea, diabetes and heart failure. He had been living in a nursing home. He didn’t know what to think when someone suggested he go to one of the new foster homes.
“It sounded good if it would get me out of the nursing home,” he said in the dining room of Cox’s home. “But foster home sounded kind of weird too — is somebody going to adopt me?”
He chuckled.
Nursing homes would be easier and more convenient than the new foster homes, Foodim agrees.
“But it isn’t human,” she said.
Institutional living simply isn’t how people want to live, she said. Often two to a room and on strict schedules. Seniors tend to fight that arrangement as long as they can. But too often comes that time when they are living alone, begin to fall and stop paying monthly bills.
“And we also know that ‘I’m never leaving’ is an irrational stance,” Foodim said.
So a few years back, the VA started developing a model for the Veterans Medical Foster Home Program. Simply put, a homelike setting, warm and caring, where veterans can live out their years.
Qualifications
Here’s how it works: A veteran must be enrolled in VA health care and have needs that can no longer be met at home. The prospective homes are inspected and must be approved by the VA. The home must be able to provide 24/7 medical care, either by the trained caregiver or a backup.
While in the home, the veteran will be monitored by a VA home-based primary care team that includes a doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse, social worker, psychologist, occupational therapist, dietitian and pharmacist.
“And it’s a lot more socialized,” said Terry Curry, VA foster home coordinator for Kansas City. “We see vets going to church, shopping — even vacation.”
Cox plans on taking LaLone with her to visit family in Florida.
LaLone likes living in Cox’s farm home. He begins his story of how he got there by telling of the cold, snowy day 42 years ago when as a teenager he put his younger brother out of the car.
“He was being a pain, so I made him get out,” LaLone said.
His mother didn’t take that well. So LaLone, 17 at the time, took off hitchhiking west. It was 1973. He made it to Los Angeles, couldn’t find a job and joined the Marines.
The drawdown in Vietnam had begun, so he never left the United States. After he left the service, he sank into substance abuse, mainly pot and beer. His weight climbed to nearly 500 pounds, which eventually led to sickness and full disability.
“If I hadn’t put my brother out of the car that day, I may not be here,” LaLone said in Cox’s house.
His weight is down to 347, and he exercises regularly with Cox, who also cares for two other seniors in her house.
“I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said.
Blessing to others
As Anderson fixed breakfast, Riojas and Mobley told about their years in the service. No boasts, just a couple of guys who got drafted and found themselves in a war.
Riojas saw a bunch of it and has the card to prove it. He keeps it in his wallet.
The metal card tells how the 34th Infantry was the first outfit to fight in Europe, captured 40,000 German prisoners and served 611 days in combat, the most of any American unit during World War II.
Those days are a blur to Riojas now. He doesn’t remember exactly how the shrapnel got in his leg. He rubbed it.
“Sometimes at night it wakes me up,” said Riojas, who worked years as a railroad clerk.
Mobley, who grew up in a large family on a farm in Arkansas during the Great Depression, remembers Korea as cold and scary. But he was proud to go.
“I don’t know that I loved it, but I guess it wasn’t too bad,” he said.
Anderson said Mobley, who retired from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, sometimes thinks they’re related.
“He calls me Willie B.,” Anderson said.
Both men like to ride in the car, and Anderson obliges with weekend drives.
Three days a week, he takes Riojas and Mobley to adult day care. While they are there, Anderson works a part-time job in which he makes home checks on other veterans.
Why does he do this, open up his home?
Both his parents died young — his father of cancer and his mother of a heart attack.
“I didn’t get to take care of them at the end like I would have liked,” he said. “But now I can be there for someone else.
“I enjoy being a blessing to others.”
His girlfriend, Linda Thompson, who also works in health care, said she knew there was something special about Anderson.
“I’ve known him for six years and we’ve dated for three,” she said. “What he does with these men is his calling. He opened up his house to two strangers and gave them a home.”
Riojas and Mobley seem happy enough. When they lived alone, visits from friends dried up.
“After so long, you fade away,” Mobley said. “Here I can talk some, fix a sandwich, move around.
“I don’t feel no pain. I’m blessed.”
11650417There was a wide range of responses to a deadly terror attack in London Saturday night that left seven dead and dozens wounded. London mayor Sadiq Khan called on the people of Britain to be “calm and vigilant,” and said the country’s upcoming general election should continue as planned. President Donald Trump responded by inciting fear, lashing out at his critics (including Khan), calling for looser gun laws, an end to “political correctness,” and a ban on immigration from Muslim countries.
Ariana Grande, the 23-year-old pop singer whose concert at Manchester Arena was attacked by a suicide bomber last month, said her event to benefit the families of the Manchester victims and survivors would go on Sunday afternoon as scheduled.
“After the events last night in London, and those in Manchester just two weeks ago, we feel a sense of responsibility to honor those lost, injured and affected,” Grande’s manager, Scooter Braun, said in a statement Sunday morning. “We plan to honor them with courage, bravery, and defiance in the face of fear. Today’s One Love Manchester benefit concert will not only continue, but will do so with greater purpose.”
“We must not be afraid, and in tribute to all those affected here and around the world, we will bring our voices together and sing loudly,” he continued. “I am pleased to say we have the full support of Greater Manchester police and the government and are assured the safety of all those attending is the highest priority.”
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan also released a statement on Sunday: “There are two large-scale events taking place in Greater Manchester today and we would like to assure people that these will still take place, but with additional security in place to ensure the safety of everyone.”
He explained that there will be more armed officers at the concert, additional security checks, and bag searches, and suggested that attendees not bring a bag if they can. “I’d like to remind people that the threat level remains at severe,” he wrote, “which means an attack is highly likely.”
Twenty three adults and children were killed, and more than 100 wounded last month, when Salman Ramadan Abedi detonated an explosive device at the exit of the Manchester Arena, just as thousands of fans were leaving Grande’s concert. In the aftermath, the singer posted a long note urging her fans to be strong in the face of fear, and thanking them for responding with “compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness.”
“The only thing we can do now is choose how we let this affect us and how we live our lives from here on out,” she wrote. “We won’t let hate divide us. We won’t let hate win.”
Two weeks later, Grande is upholding her commitment to her fans, and honoring Britain’s resilience in the face of terror. She will be joined onstage by many other musicians including Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, and Coldplay. The benefit concert will air live in the U.S. on Freeform and on Twitter.The 2017-2018 season is the most exciting for AC Milan and for Rossoneri everywhere in years. After the completion of the club’s sale from Silvio Berlusconi into the hands of Yonghong Li and Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux, Milan have gone on a signing rampage throughout the summer, and the squad now, as compared to the past few years, is night and day.
Massimiliano Mirabelli and Marco Fassone have brought in ten brand new players to the squad in a complete makeover of a team who limped into sixth place last year. Gone are the days of Sulley Muntari, Andrea Poli, Philippe Mexes, and more.
Eight of the added players are of starting quality: Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva, Andrea Conti, Hakan Calhanoglu, Mateo Musacchio, Lucas Biglia, Franck Kessie and Ricardo Rodriguez. For depth, Milan has also added Fabio Borini and Antonio Donnarumma.
One can make a case for how valuable each of those eight additions are. Bonucci is (arguably) the best center-back in the world, and he has come from the defending champions and an arch-rival. André Silva is a young, promising striker who will only grow better, and has ringing endorsement from Cristiano Ronaldo. Conti brings stability to the right full-back position after years of questions (including players such as Poli and Juraj Kucka getting starts at the position in meaningful competition). Calhanoglu brings creativity into the midfield, which has appeared stagnant for years, and is a world-renowned threat on free kicks. Musacchio is a solid CB who can partner with Alessio Romagnoli or Bonucci, or play with both in a 3-set in the back, or be a very good substitute. Biglia is a classic regista, also from a Serie A rival, who can be a rock in the center of the midfield, which has been led by Riccardo Montolivo for years.
Milan also has seen the emergence of Patrick Cutrone, a 19-year-old youth academy product, who has developed into a solid option at striker and could see more time than anyone anticipated. In addition, the club has extended Gigio Donnarumma’s contract and has the likes of Manuel Locatelli, Giacomo Bonaventura, Suso and Gustavo Gomez at their disposal, another set of players of starting quality.
But for the true X-factors of AC Milan, look no further than the two of the first signings made by the new Rossoneri regime: Franck Kessie and Ricardo Rodriguez.
Franck Kessie has been talked about for much of the summer as a fantastic addition for Milan, especially in a midfield which in the past has been anchored with Montolivo, led by the light of Bonaventura, captained by Nigel De Jong (for a time) and featured Kucka, Poli, Muntari, Antonio Nocerino, Bakaye Traore, Valter Birsa, Urby Emanuelson, Michael Essien, Marco van Ginkel, Andrea Bertolacci, Keisuke Honda, Jose Sosa, Lucas Ocampos, Matias Fernandez, and more.
Kessie burst onto the scene for Atalanta last year, helping them to finish 5th and make into the Europa League. He proved himself as a tank in the midfield, and attracted interest from Premier League clubs, who wanted someone on their squad to emulate the success of N’Golo Kante. The Ivorian brings stability to a midfield that has lacked a hard-nosed ball-chaser, a tank, since the days of Rino Gattuso. The closest Milan has had was Kucka in recent years as a bulldozer in midfield, but Kessie looks to go past expectations. Already he has proven himself a consistent starter for the Rossoneri and has shown his movement on and off the ball. He is a disrupter, but more so, which is what Milan have been lacking. Not only do opponents find it hard to get past him, but he is able to do so much with the ball, either moving downfield or attacking. He works in coach Vincenzo Montella’s system and can succeed in a variety of formations, which is key given the newfound depth of the squad and any possible injuries (including current injuries to Bonaventura and Biglia). He is a key signing for a midfield that, for the majority of players not named Bonaventura, has been severely lacking and mistake-prone. He is versatile and has already shown that he is valuable, and will only grow into a better player at the ripe age of 20.. The second X-Factor for the red and black comes in the form of their third summer signing: left-back Ricardo Rodriguez. While not the most glamorous signing for Milan, Rodriguez will be essential for the Rossoneri as they look to succeed in Serie A and the Europa League. He has already made his mark on the squad, scoring an incredible free-kick against Craiova in the Europa League Qualifiers. Not only is he a set-piece magician, which Milan has been lacking in (again, for anyone not named Bonaventura) the past few years, but his movement on and off the ball on the left wing from the back and moving forward is crucial to the success of Milan this season.An Indian-origin scientist has developed a new, open-source 3D software that can track the embryonic development and movement of neuronal cells throughout the body of the worm, and it is now available to scientists.
Although scientists have identified a number of important proteins that determine how neurons navigate during brain formation, it is largely unknown how all of these proteins interact in a living organism.
"Understanding why and how neurons form and the path they take to reach their final destination could one day give us valuable information about how proteins and other molecular factors interact during neuronal development," explained Hari Shroff, head of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) research team.
The new technology will be pivotal in their project to create a 4D neuro-developmental "worm atlas" that attempts to catalogue the formation of the worm nervous system.
This catalogue will be the first comprehensive view of how an entire nervous system develops.
According to Shroff, it will be helpful in understanding the fundamental mechanisms by which all nervous systems, including ours, assemble.
They also expect that some of the concepts developed, such as the approach taken to combine neuronal data from multiple embryos, can be applied to additional model organisms besides the worm.
"We do not yet understand neuro-development even in the context of the humble worm but we're using it as a simple model of how these factors work together to drive the development of the worm brain and neuronal structure," he informed.
"We are hoping that by doing so, some of the lessons will translate all the way up to humans," Shroff added.
The worm known as C elegans has only 302 neurons, 222 of which form while the worm is still an embryo.
The worm even has its own versions of many of the same proteins used to direct brain formation in more complex organisms such as flies, mice, or humans.
The software is described in a paper published in the open access journal eLifeVadnais Heights’ mayor has told the Ramsey County Board that documents show Ramsey County Sheriff Jack Serier was not living in the county at the time he was appointed, which is a requirement of state law.
On Wednesday, Bob Fletcher provided county commissioners with a letter from Matt Bostrom — whom Serier succeeded as sheriff — that was dated Jan. 13. In the letter, Bostrom informed his homeowner’s association that his St. Paul home was vacant.
Serier, who was appointed as sheriff on Jan. 10, previously lived in Stillwater and rented Bostrom’s home before purchasing it in August.
A representative from the homeowner’s association wrote back Jan. 24, saying the board of directors had approved Bostrom’s rental request.
Serier told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday morning, before Fletcher emailed the county board with the Bostrom documents, that he started moving things into the residence in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in November and that it was December when he moved in.
RELATED: Former Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom blamed a typo for recent questions arising over Jack Serier’s residency when he was appointed sheriff.
Serier said he had a utility bill for the address, with his name on it, dated Jan. 10, and he also had a lease agreement.
“I vetted it with the county board way back when they were looking at appointing me to be sheriff,” Serier said Wednesday. Related Articles Minnesota man gets 10 years for attacking N.D. priest in dispute over woman
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A sheriff’s office spokeswoman said Serier was not available Thursday afternoon to provide further information.
But Fletcher — who was Ramsey County sheriff for 16 years before Bostrom defeated him in 2010 — wrote in Wednesday’s email to county commissioners that Bostrom’s letter “provides prima facie evidence that (J)ack Serier did not live” at the St. Paul address “at the time of his appointment on Jan. 10, 2017. Any claims of residency at this address by Serier are obviously false statements from him.”
Fletcher said he has prepared a draft complaint about Serier not residing in the county when he was appointed, in which he cites a state law that covers “illegally assuming public office,” which is a gross misdemeanor. Fletcher said he also is consulting with attorneys about the possibility of asking the Ramsey County District Court to vacate Serier’s appointment, based on state law and constitution.
Fletcher wrote that he has not made a decision about whether he will move forward with asking for a criminal investigation or seeking resolution in civil court.
Ramsey County Board Chairwoman Victoria Reinhardt said Wednesday that she had a conversation with Serier before he was appointed and he told her he had moved in full-time in December. Serier wrote in a Dec. 29 letter to Reinhardt that he met “all the statutory qualifications for this position.”
“As far as the county board is concerned, we did our due diligence,” Reinhardt said. “… Jack Serier took an oath; he stated what was the truth. … There is no reason that I would have said, ‘Gee, I wonder.’ ”
Asked why she thought Fletcher was bringing up the residency issue now, Reinhardt said, “Politics. … It just seems very clear … that it’s politically motivated — whether it’s for (Fletcher) or not, I don’t know.”
Serier announced in September that he will run for election next year. Reinhardt is his campaign co-chair.
Fletcher, whose city contracts with the sheriff’s office for police services, said his concerns about Serier’s initial residency have nothing to do with politics.
“At this point, I don’t have plans to run for sheriff,” he said.
“This is an attempt to right a wrong that was committed earlier this year,” Fletcher said Wednesday. “There were several other qualified candidates who deserved to have an opportunity to become sheriff. But Reinhardt and Bostrom fast-tracked Jack’s appointment and obviously no one confirmed his residency. As a consequence of that, he was unlawfully appointed.”
Fletcher said the issue is coming up now because a resident of the St. Paul townhouse association where Serier lives provided him with a copy of the correspondence from the homeowner’s association last week.
Bostrom retired in January, halfway through his second term as sheriff, and is completing a doctorate degree at the University of Oxford in England, he told a townhouse association manager in the Jan. 13 letter. Bostrom did not return a call seeking comment. Related Articles Arden Hills rejects mediation over 427-acre development at former Army plant
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Fletcher asked Serier in a Monday email to resign over the initial residency issue.
Fletcher wrote in his email to Serier that the sheriff tells his employees “that ‘truth’ and ‘respect’ are two character traits you expect from them.”
“In the spirit of ‘truth’ and ‘respect’ for the public and your employees, I hope you will agree that ‘living out these traits’ requires an honest answer to the question of where you were living on Jan. 10, 2017,” Fletcher wrote.
Before his appointment, Serier had been Bostrom’s second-in-command.Wherever there is injustice, you will find him. Wherever liberty is threatened, he may be available for booking. Wherever there is suffering, he will be enjoying a Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich™ at the nearest Chick-Fil-A.
With more than 10,000 minutes of hard hitting, mostly accurate coverage, Senior Latino Correspondent Al Madrigal has brought his caliente reporting style to the Daily Show since 2011.
In addition to more than 75 memorable appearances on many less than memorable sitcoms, Al has performed on the Tonight Show, Kimmel, Conan and The Late Late Show. He was named Best Stand-Up Comedian at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and he recently taped a Comedy Central hour special entitled “Why Is the Rabbit Crying?” along with his award winning docu-comedy “Half Like Me.”When the last NBA All-Star voting results were released, Amare Stoudemire was trailing Kevin Garnett by over 75,000 votes. It seemed improbable that the biggest star to play in New York in a decade would not be named an All-Star starter, so this was a surprise. However, it appears Stoudemire is closing the gap.
Stoudemire still trails Garnett in the latest NBA All-Star voting results, but now trails by just 24,059 votes for the second Eastern Conference forward spot. Garnett has a total of 850,687 votes, with Stoudemire not far behind with 826,628. Both trail LeBron James for the top spot, as James has 1,194,091 votes.
This isn't the only position that's hotly contested. The battle for the second Eastern Conferece starting guard spot between Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo has tightened. Rondo still leads, but only by 12,028 votes. Rose trailed by 56,000 votes last time. Out West, Carmelo Anthony has increased his lead over Pau Gasol for the second forward spot, and now leads by 39,425 votes.
Here are the starting lineups for the game as of today:
EAST:
G: Dwyane Wade (1,167,649 votes)
G: Rajon Rondo (929,781)
F: LeBron James (1,194,091)
F: Kevin Garnett (850,687)
C: Dwight Howard (1,205,159)
WEST:According to Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, a law school is "one of the few things that have been missing from A&M for a very long time."
That era is coming to a close.
The board of trustees at Texas Wesleyan University, a small, private university in Fort Worth has approved a letter of intent that would allow it to enter into a partnership with A&M, creating what will be known as the Texas A&M School of Law at Texas Wesleyan University. The A&M System Board of Regents is expected to vote on the matter by Friday.
Under the agreement, A&M would give Texas Wesleyan $25 million and would assume ownership and control of Texas Wesleyan's existing law school. Texas Wesleyan would retain the law school building and the surrounding property, and A&M would pay about $2.5 million each year to lease the facilities. Faculty and staff of the new school would be A&M employees. Sharp told the Tribune he is confident the money can be raised from alumni and university support groups.
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In addition to the A&M board, the proposed partnership must still be approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the American Bar Association before it can take effect, but neither Sharp nor Slabach anticipate anything getting in the way of making the transition to the new A&M-run law school by the end of the upcoming academic year in 2013.
Texas Wesleyan President Fred Slabach said the most significant change he expects students of the current law school to notice is an improved reputation. "Together, we are going to be able to quickly move this law school into the top tiers of all law schools in the nation," he said.
It's a 40-year agreement, but they anticipated that it would last well beyond that time frame. "We look forward to being in Fort Worth when my great-grandchildren are in the grave," Sharp said.
While it was Sharp who initially approached Slabach last October, the new law school will be under the purview of Texas A&M University's flagship campus, not the system. Sharp said that was where it belonged, and A&M President R. Bowen Loftin agreed. "If you look at the top universities — our peer institutions — most of them have a law school," Loftin said in a statement.
This is the latest in a rapid series of major announcements from A&M. Earlier this month, the system announced that it had secured a major federal contract to build a federal biosecurity center in College Station. That was followed by word that they were signing a multimillion-dollar contract to outsource some of the dining and support services at Texas A&M University.
"We've had some pretty dramatic announcements in the last 10 days," Sharp said, "but this one is going to be of more benefit to Texas A&M and the state of Texas than either one of the other two in the long term."
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Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.Network Address Translation has often been described as an unfortunate aberration in the evolution of the Internet, and one that will be expunged with the completion of the transition of IPv6. I think that this view, which appears to form part of today's conventional wisdom about the Internet unnecessarily vilifies NATs. In my opinion, NATs are far from being an aberration, and instead, I see them as an informative step in the evolution of the Internet, particularly as they relate to possibilities in the evolution of name-based networking. Here's why.
Background
It was in 1989, some months after the US National Science Foundation-funded IP backbone network had been commissioned, and at a time when there was a visible momentum behind the adoption of IP as a communications protocol of choice, that the first inklings of the inherent finite nature of the IPv4 address became apparent in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) [1].
Progressive iterations over the IP address consumption numbers reached the same general conclusion: that the momentum of deployment of IP meant that the critical parts of the 32-bit address space would be fully committed within 6 or so years. It was predicted that by 1996 we would have fully committed the pool of Class B networks, which encompassed one-quarter of the available IPv4 address space. At the same time, we were concerned at the pace of growth of the routing system, so stop gap measures that involved assigning multiple Class C networks to sites could've staved off exhaustion for a while, but perhaps at the expense of the viability of the routing system [2].
Other forms of temporary measures were considered by the IETF, and the stop gap measure that was adopted in early 1994 was the dropping of the implicit network/host partitioning of the address in classful addressing in favour of the use of an explicit network mask, or "classless" addressing. This directly addressed the pressing nature problem of the exhaustion of the Class B address pool, as the observation at the time was that while a Class C network was too small for many sites given the recent introduction of the personal computer |
The court’s rationale was that as Jobbik doesn’t call itself a “far-right party,” referring to it as such expresses an opinion and may leave viewers with a negative impression. Given Jobbik’s blatant anti-Roma and anti-Semitic agenda, “far right” seems like fair comment that courts ought to protect.
In early June, journalists and media freedom activists took to the streets to protest the sacking of the editor-in-chief of Origo, an online news-site critical of the government. Origo cited restructuring and reorganisation as the reason for the firing.
But the dismissal followed Origo’s publication of a story on the alleged misuse of public funds by the state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Concerns that the sacking might be linked to the story were heightened by the close links between Magyar Telekom, the owner of Origo, and the government. Another 30 journalists resigned from Origo to protest the dismissal.
Then on June 11 the government used its supermajority in Hungary’s single-chamber parliament to pass a controversial advertising tax on media. The law provides for progressive taxation in relation to ad
revenue, with a 40 percent tax on revenue above 20 billion HUF. It will primarily hit the German-owned commercial broadcaster RTL Klub,viewed as one of the last remaining big independent TV channels in
Hungary.
In an unprecedented move, media companies from all sides of the political spectrum condemned the legislation, running blank newspaper pages and halting broadcasts in protest.
It’s not the first time the media have come under attack in Hungary.
Soon after being elected for its first term in 2010, the Fidesz administration amended media laws to ensure it controlled appointments to the main media regulator, the Media Council, and introduced vague
content restrictions with the possibility of high fines, all of which have had a chilling effect on press freedom and triggered self-censorship.
In the past four years, the government has made a sport of creating a hostile and difficult environment for journalists. In 2011 and 2012,in three waves of dismissals, the head of the state broadcaster, closely linked to the government, fired over 1,000 people at the state broadcaster MTVA after a merger.
While the stated justification was the merger, at least some of those who lost their jobs were people who were unwilling to toe the party line.
From 2011 to 2013, the Media Council stubbornly refused to renew the frequency of a critical independent radio station, Klubradio, despite six court rulings in its favor. Current and former journalists employed by media outlets close to the government have complained of editorial interference.
As an EU member state, Hungary is obliged to respect the union’s core values of democracy, freedom and respect for human rights, in addition to other relevant standards, such as those set by the European
Convention on Human Rights to which it is a party.
While both Strasbourg and Brussels did make some limited interventions during the Hungarian’s government previous term, it appears that the institutional resolve of both the EU and the Council of Europe has since faltered, with both opting to regard matters as solved.
Well they clearly aren’t.
It’s high time for the EU and the Council of Europe to wake up and recognise that allowing Hungary to flout fundamental principles undermines not only the rights of Hungarian citizens but also risks bringing into question the credibility of these institutions themselves.
The writer is the Balkans and Eastern Europe researcher at Human Rights WatchI wrote this as a response in a Facebook discussion. I thought I’d share it here.
There’re two ways to approach libertarianism:
1) legal philosophy, and
2) political philosophy.
1) is *what* laws should be made, and
2) is *how* those laws should be made.
Liberty, hence libertarians, hence the non-aggression and self-ownership principles, demand that 2) be a decentralized, tort-based, common law type of environment. So long as we have a libertarian 2), then the best laws approved of by the most people will be discovered and gain acceptance. Private judges that rule with wisdom will gain customers. Mormons judges will rule based on the Mormon conception of just law, Jewish judges will rule based on Mosaic law, Muslims on Sharia law, etc.. Only when there’s a dispute across jurisdictions will a 3rd, impartial, possibly secular-based judge be called upon. One whose own reputation boasts fairness and justice.
You can prefer Mosaic law or whatever and still want 2) to be decentralized and tort-based. In other words, only real crimes, those with victims, would even be heard by a judge. If a couple gets pregnant, and they’re the only ones who know about it, and gets an abortion, then I don’t see how or why it would be anybody else’s business, besides theirs and their god’s. Who would bring that dispute to court? Who would claim they were wronged and demand compensation or restitution? Their families? And if they support it? I don’t see the prohibition of abortion being enforced in a libertarian 2).
A non-libertarian 2) is horrible for liberty, as we’ve seen. Central planning doesn’t work, and it’s unethical. Let’s get to a libertarian 2), and then we can fill in the gaps with education and persuasion. If kids weren’t controlled their whole lives in a horrible public education system, far less of them would be rebelling and acting stupid and having early pregnancies requiring abortion. I see this is a near-non issue in a truly free society. Like everything else, government has made the problem worse and isn’t interested in actually fixing it. It prefers to keep the masses distracted with these secondary questions. If we didn’t have 1) to argue about, we’d be arguing over 2), and the state can’t have that. It wouldn’t exist under a libertarian 2). 2) is more important than 1). Let’s fix 2), and 1) will fix itself.December 7, 2010 – Individuals with mental illnesses are better served in the community at a lower cost to the state, but I don’t necessarily agree that merely transferring individuals back to communities from in-patient or residential settings improves the quality of care, especially if the reduced cost of care is primarily related to lower Medicaid or state fund payments and no reinvestment of at least a part of the savings in propping up the severely lacking community mental health supports in this state.
As was recently noted by the US Department of Justice, Oregon lacks the supports within the community to appropriately care for individuals with a mental illness. There would be a cost savings but to adequately provide care for those individuals transferred back into the community, it would be necessary to reasonably ensure that the needed services and supports are actually present in Oregon’s communities. For the most part they are not.
It is not often I talk about my own battle with severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, especially publically, but I think now is an appropriate time when budgets are running at a deficit and the legislature will be attempting to balance differing needs of Oregonians. I have suffered from severe depression and PTSD for over 30 years. Fortunately now the severe depression is well controlled thanks to an implant and has been for three years.
Before 2007 I spent my share of time in emergency rooms, locked hospital wards and, at one point in a residential treatment facility. I will say that over the past 20 years the availability of mental health care in the community has, in a number of communities, disappeared altogether. I was required to travel to Southern California for residential treatment in 2004 because no adult residential treatment facilities existed in Oregon (and I don’t think they do today).
I am fortunate – I have good insurance that covers the cost of providing care for a chronic condition. A large number of individuals with mental illnesses are not so fortunate. I would highly recommend that the legislature take the time to make sure supports exist in the community to provide quality mental health care before the release of mentally ill individuals into communities where supports do not exist and, because of that, those individuals may well find themselves back in an inpatient setting.
Saving money in these times is a worthy goal but it will amount to short term savings if individuals moved from inpatient care to care in the community may be back in inpatient setting where costs may increase when the ability to cope deteriorates because the lack of appropriate care in the community. Too many Oregonians suffer from mental illnesses and many suffer in silence given the social stigma, the lack of community supports and the lack of the ability to pay for needed care.311 will return to New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center on March 11 and 12 for their biennial “311 Day” celebration. The run will mark the ninth incarnation of the event, as well as the sixth time that its taken place in the Crescent City.
But 311 Day is much more than just a two-night stand in a fun town. It’s a full-on party complete with rare songs, one-off covers and over-the-top theatrics. 311 has built up a sizable following with their exciting concerts, but the lengthy setlists and high production value of these shows really set them apart from everything else they do.
I spoke with 311 frontman Nick Hexum about what makes these gigs so special, and why New Orleans is the perfect place to host them.
What is it about New Orleans that makes it the perfect place to host 311 day?
I think it was just meant to be. The first 311 Day was more of a happenstance that we had a show on March 11 in New Orleans at the State Theatre. It was kind of spontaneous. Let’s call it 311 Day, and let’s play 3 hours and 11 minutes. Then it just became its spiritual home. And our fans just love to come there because it’s just the ultimate party town and it has just so much soul. I mean Vegas is a good party town too, but the soul of New Orleans cannot be matched. It’s a good fit.
So do you have any good stories from all of your time down in New Orleans over the years?
We have just had some incredibly wild nights that lasted through the sunrise, and I have some fond memories and some fuzzy memories about New Orleans for sure. More recently, I made the somewhat error of going down to Bourbon Street to see the 311 Day fan pre-party. I just wanted to see it and then all of a sudden everyone is so amped up and drunk and having so much fun that I literally was like getting mobbed. There were girls snatching kisses, it was like Beatlemania for a day. So I had to jump in a cab and get out of there, it was so chaotic. But it’s all in good fun.
I think it was 2004 when our old mayor, Ray Nagin, gave you guys a plaque and officially declared March 11 to be 311 Day. Was that weird? [Editor’s Note: It was actually former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial who made the proclamation in 2002]
That was awesome. We have that thing framed and it was commemorated in our home video, Enlarged to Show Detail, Part 2. It was a really nice honor and we were bummed when we had to move it away from New Orleans after the arena was flooded and needed to be repaired and everything. So it’s good to have it back where it belongs now.
For people who aren’t really familiar with the event, can you tell us what makes these 311 Day shows different from a standard 311 show?
Well, it’s a holiday. It’s like a New Year’s bash, that type of vibe. People come from all over the world. I don’t have the stats in front of me, but it’s many, many countries that people travel from. They come from all fifty states. I’s kind of like our convention, where fans can come together. People that know each other from online, from the really strong online community that we have, then get to meet in person. And for our hard core fans, we’ll play songs we don’t normally play in our regular 311 shows. We also make sure we dig deep to find unique experiences that we’ve never done before. Not just rare tracks, but also different elements with the production and guests and so forth. We have some really cool surprises in store for this coming 311 Day. It’ll be a two-day extravaganza.
These shows are even longer than three hours and 11 minutes now. Is there a lot of preparation that goes into this from a rehearsal standpoint? Do you really have to work on these tracks you haven’t played in a while?
Oh yeah, we spend a good month rehearsing and making set lists and re-editing them and planning different things. In the past, we’ve done one day 311 Day. Last time I think we played in the sixties, the number of songs. So that was five or six hours. Then when we split it over two days, it becomes like forty songs a night, something in that range. So it’s in the 80 range, the number of songs that we play. There’s a lot of conditioning, a lot of making sure that our chops and our voices and our bodies are ready. It’s kind of like a marathon, but it doesn’t really seem to get tiring for me because there’s just so much adrenaline and excitement. It’s not until about an hour after the show that I completely collapse.
You mentioned some big production elements, theatrics and things like that. Are they all going to be surprises or could you potentially even clue us in on some of the stuff that will go down?
I’ll just say that it’s really fun for us when it comes to the production and the special things. I do have to keep them all under my hat, but we do get to work with a bigger budget than we normally have at our regular shows. We make sure it’s a unique experience.
311 has an almost Grateful Dead-esque following, in terms of the dedication of the fans and their desire to see you play a wide range of material. Why do you think that is?
I think it’s because our fans feel that it’s not just a band. It’s kind of a philosophy, it’s kind of a way of looking at life and of keeping an attitude of gratitude. Our fans are positive people. That’s something that we fell into and it attracted like minded people. So you know, I get a lot of cool communication from our fans, whether it’s online or people just telling us how our music has changed their life and their outlook and gotten them through hard times. It’s a great privilege to have spearheaded something that’s kind of a philosophical movement to our fans. We’re just happy to keep that going.
What’s next for you guys, after 311 Day? I know that there’s an album in the works.
We’ve got the majority of an album recorded and we’re going to do another batch of songs when we get done with 311 Day. We’re looking to put that out around winter. That’s our target. Of course, every summer in July we’re out touring. So this sumemr we’re touring with Matisyahu. Then we kind of rotate. One year we’ll do 311 Day, and then the following spring we’ll do a cruise. We’re looking at different options to make that a unique experience for people that have been. We’ve had four of those cruises now, and we’re looking into how to make our fifth extra special.
Is there a chance you guys are going to bust any of those new songs at the 311 Day shows?
There is a chance.
That’s all I’ve got for you Nick, is there anything else you’d like to add before we go?
I never want to miss an opportunity to thank our fans for their longtime support. We love that we get to do something for a career that we would do for fun anyway. So thank you to all the people that support us.
311 will bring their 311 Day celebration to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12. Tickets for the shows are available now via Ticketmaster.Let’s get one thing out of the way…Maverick McNealy is a name that just REEKS of stardom. It’s got built in expectations. Not so much the McNealy part (well, that is if you forget about that fact that his father is billionaire founder of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy), but you can’t be named Maverick and manage a fucking Dollar Store. Rough to go through life being mediocre with such a badass name. It’s like being named Crystal and choosing a different path in life other than being a stripper. So much let down.
Maverick McNealy is more than a cool name. He’s more than the Top Gun jokes he probably puts up with regularly. He’s a 20-year-old college golfer who was expected to be a “roll player” on Stanford’s team and nothing else. This morning, I watched the profile above on Golf Channel and I found his process and determination to be remarkable.
McNealy was the 3767th ranked amateur golfer in the world going into college. His recruiting reports sounded like he had zero shot of making an impact on Stanford’s golf team. Anyone with less resolve would have allowed it to cripple them. But McNealy took all of that negativity and turned himself into the #1 amateur in the world. That’s not easy to do. But McNealy did it through his love of data, which is something he got from his father. And also, HARD WORK. Because DUH.
The craziest part of McNealy’s story is not even be his determination to prove critics wrong or his use of data. It’s that although he has reached this high level of golf, he has long said he doesn’t know if he wants to be a professional golfer. WHAT?!?! It’s stupefying, but it’s true; McNealy wants to do something bigger and more impactful with his life than just being a professional athlete. All I can say to that is AGREE TO DISAGREE. Plus, you can do a hell of a lot of good for the world and still be a successful athlete. Think about it, Maverick. Grab a few of your closest friends, throw on some jeans and go play beach volleyball while you think about it.The Environment The Canadian Arctic was one of the coldest and most unforgiving environments on Earth. Winters were long and cold, often with little light. Therefore, the people of the Arctic were forced to adapt to the harsh surroundings in order to survive.
They adapted every aspect of their lifestyle, from shelters, to food, to transportation, in order to survive in the cold north.
They lived in a large geographic area, and were some of the most sparsely distributed people on the planet.
The environment of the Inuit was diverse, and often varied seasonally. It included: Three Oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic) Mountains (Northern Rockies) Arctic plains (tundra)
Winters were long, so the Inuit had to live with ice and deep snow most of the year.
In fact, the sub-soil, even close to the surface, stayed frozen year-round. This thick frozen layer was called 'permafrost'.
In the far north, there were even periods of complete darkness during the winter, sometimes for months at a time, when the sun did not rise.
Most of the Canadian Arctic was like a 'frozen desert' with deep snow, and harsh weather most of the year.
There were frequent windstorms, which caused blowing snow and large snowdrifts along the barren landscape.
The summers were short, only lasting a couple of months every year.
In the very northern areas (near the north pole), there were periods of continuous sunlight when the sun never fully set.
During the winter, nothing was able to grow. The only time that plants were able to grow was during the summer, and since summers were so short, only small plants, like mosses, lichens, and scrub bushes were able to survive before winter arrived again.
Inuit Snowhouse
Winter Landscape
Snowdrift
Treeless Arctic Tundra
Summer in the Arctic Settlements and Housing The Inuit were nomadic people, so they rarely stayed in one place for very long. Therefore, their houses had to be quick and easy to build.
During the summer, the Inuit built tents out of driftwood or poles covered with animal skins, mostly caribou or sealskin. These tents were not unlike the Plains tipis.
A ring of boulders around the base held down the tent skin covering.
Since wood was so hard to come by, the wooden poles used to make the tents were jealously guarded.
People from different areas would form large villages during the summer. In the winter everyone scatted across the land into small bands again.
During the winter, Inuit families would follow the hunt. They needed a shelter that would keep them warm, and protect them from the harsh winter weather. The most common winter shelter was a snowhouse, more commonly known as an 'igloo'.
Summer Inuit Tent
Igloo at night The Igloo An igloo was a temporary, dome-shaped shelter made out of snow blocks.
The blocks were cut from the snow, and piled in a spiral shape, leaning in slightly. This gave the igloo its dome shape.
Soft snow was used to fill any holes, and add extra insulation.
Depending on the size of the igloo, it usually took the Inuit 20-30 minutes to build.
Larger, more permanent igloos could reach 4 metres in diameter and 3 metres in height.
Sleeping platforms were made of ice blocks, covered with fur.
Building an igloo
Putting the finishing touches on an igloo
Remains of an Inuvialuit house Inuvialuit House The Inuit of the western arctic (Inuvialuit) were about half of all Canadian Inuit. They lived in the richest part of the high arctic and had access to trees.
They used them to build permanent log-and-sod houses in which they lived mostly in the winter.
They excavated a hole into the ground and set up a ring of vertical poles.
The poles were tilted inwards at the top so that blocks of sod could be piled up over them and remain in place.
The result was a partially subterranean log-and-sod hut with the floor below ground to preserve warmth.
A fireplace provided warmth.
Sometimes villages of 10 to 20 of these log-and-sod houses were set up.Tinder demanded its name be removed while Grindr halted Aids Healthcare Foundation ads on site as AHF president called dating app companies ‘tone deaf’
A recent billboard campaign by the Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) encouraging users of dating apps Tinder and Grindr to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases has led to backlash from the two companies.
Popularity of 'hookup apps' blamed for surge in sexually transmitted infections Read more
Tinder sent a letter to the foundation demanding it remove all references to the hookup app from their billboards and that it cease making “false and disparaging statements against Tinder”; according to the AHF, Grindr halted the foundation’s paid advertising for its free STD testing services on their site.
“They’re tone deaf,” Michael Weinstein, president of AHF, told the Guardian. “It would have been much wiser for them to say that they’re concerned about their customers and look forward to working with us to help people get the checkups that they need. This would not have been the global story that it has become if they had not responded that way.”
In an emailed statement, a Grindr spokesperson said that they have “always been concerned with the issues of men’s health” and with keeping “users informed and aware of health issues”.
They added: “We were surprised at the approach the AHF took, and paused the campaign in order to speak with them and assess our relationship. In the end, we’re all on the same page regarding this issue, as health and wellness concerns us all.”
The ads, which suggest that users of the apps are at risk for diseases like chlamydia and gonorrhea, show the silhouettes of two couples leaning in. Tinder and Grindr are plastered across two of their faces in large pink letters, while the remaining two silhouettes have the names of STDs on their profiles. To the right of the couples, a website for free STD testing is listed.
“There are consequences to hooking up,” Weinstein told the Guardian. “That’s not a moralistic judgement. It’s just a fact and minimizing that is important.”
Currently, there are 12 billboards up in Los Angeles and 45 bus bench ads. According to the AHF, they plan to expand the campaign to New York and south Florida.
One of the billboards is only a few blocks from Tinder’s Beverly Boulevard headquarters, according to CBS affiliate KCAL9 TV. Tinder sent a cease and desist letter to the healthcare foundation on 18 September.
“These unprovoked and wholly unsubstantiated accusations are made to irreparably damage Tinder’s reputation in an attempt to encourage others to take an HIV test offered by your organization,” the letter read. “While Tinder strongly supports such testing, the Billboard’s statements are not founded upon any scientific evidence, and are incapable of withstanding critical analysis.”
The foundation responded just under a week later to deny Tinder’s request, saying it had “not made any false or disparaging statements against Tinder”. The organization cited an article in Vanity Fair titled Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse that explores the role dating apps play in “encouraging casual sex among young adults” and a report released by the Rhode Island Department of Health in May that credited the rise in syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV between 2013 and 2014 to high-risk behaviors like “using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters”.
They added: “Rather than trying to chill AHF’s public health message by threatening AHF with frivolous lawsuits, AHF urges Tinder to support its message of sexual health awareness by encouraging Tinder users to get tested for STIs and to get treated promptly if they have an infection.”
Tinder did not respond to requests for comment.Men who behave like Michael Douglas, Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood are to blame for women ending their reproductive life early, according to a new theory. All three celebrities are famous for wooing much younger partners. And it is the male preference for young mates that has led to the menopause, researchers have said.
Through the forces of natural selection, men have unwittingly stacked the Darwinian deck of cards against older women remaining fertile, it is claimed.
"In a sense it is like ageing, but it is different because it is an all-or-nothing process that has been accelerated because of preferential mating," evolutionary biologist Professor Rama Singh, from McMaster University in Canada, said.
The average woman hits the menopause at 51, but for some the "change" can come in their 40s. But quite why human women become infertile in middle age is an unsolved mystery. Only two other species, pilot and killer whales, are known to experience a menopause in a similar way to humans. Female chimpanzees, our closest animal cousins, only stop being fertile near the end of their lives, typically around the age of 45.
The new theory turns the conventional view that the menopause prevents older women from continuing to reproduce on its head. Instead, it holds that lack of reproduction has given rise to the menopause.
Another idea called the "grandmother theory" suggests that women evolved to become infertile after a certain age to free them up to assist with rearing grandchildren. This in turn improves the survival of kin, and so is an example of positive selection.
Evolutionary biologist Professor Rama Singh, whose theory is published in the online journal Public Library of Science Computational Biology, argues that this makes no evolutionary sense. "How do you evolve infertility?" he said. "It is contrary to the whole notion of natural selection.
Natural selection selects for fertility, for reproduction – not for stopping it. This theory says if women were reproducing all along, and there were no preference against older women, women would be reproducing, like men are, for their whole lives."
He said argues that the menopause did not emerge to benefit the species, but simply because fertility served no purpose beyond a certain age. Natural selection, which favours the survival of the fittest, protected fertility in women while they were most likely to reproduce.
Inherited genetic mutations that cause infertility at younger ages are weeded out, because young women carrying them cannot have babies. But the same reproductive check is not there to quell the accumulation of mutations interfering with fertility in middle age. Over many generations this has led to the menopause, the theory states.
If women had a history of choosing younger "toy boy" mates, the situation would be reversed, with men losing their fertility in their 50s, Dr Singh argues.
He and two colleagues developed computer simulations showing natural selection at work to back their theory.
But British expert Dr Maxwell Burton-Chellew, an evolutionary biologist from Oxford University, strongly rejects the hypothesis. He pointed to the evolution of sterile worker bees – which are all female – as proof that natural selection can favour infertility.
"Having offspring is not the only way to pass on your genes – you can also pass them on by helping your relatives, which is what good grandmothers do," Dr Burton-Chellew said. "The authors argue that the menopause exists in humans because males have a strong preference for younger females.
"However, this is probably the wrong way round – the human male preference for younger females is likely to be because older females are less fertile. The authors' paper offers no reason for why males prefer younger females – they just take it as a given, which is surprising."(CNN) — Cobblestone streets climb up Signal Hill, past homes painted in bright colors that even from the sky stand out against the sober tones of most buildings in Cape Town.
But that's just the most obvious of the ways that Bo-Kaap is remarkable.
It's a neighborhood that has preserved a distinctive identity over centuries of change in South Africa, and created a cuisine that's both global and unique.
"The place is special, it's as simple as that," says chef Reuben Riffel. "I come from a small town. Community is quite important, but things change, and in our village it has changed.
Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly colored houses. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
"I get a sense that in the Bo-Kaap it has stayed. They have managed to keep the traditions and to keep that going, and I love that about it."
Bo-Kaap sits just above downtown.
When the area was first occupied in the late 1700s, European craftsmen lived there alongside free black people and freed slaves, who were brought by the Dutch from Asia, East Africa and Madagascar.
Many were Muslims, some taken from their homes for their opposition to European colonization.
Deep traditions
After emancipation in 1834, more freed slaves moved into Bo-Kaap, turning it into a predominantly Muslim area.
That status was formalized in law in 1957, when the apartheid government declared Bo-Kaap a "Malay group area" and forced everyone else to move out.
While apartheid laws destroyed communities across South Africa, in Bo-Kaap the trauma of the forced relocations encouraged those who remained to deepen their traditions.
That gave food an especially powerful place in the community's memory.
"The slaves that arrived at the Cape of Good Hope as early as 1658 brought recipes and spices with them, indigenous from the countries they hailed from," says Cariema Isaacs, author of "My Cape Malay Kitchen."
"However, some ingredients that were not readily available locally were substituted and the modified version of a homegrown recipe now became a traditional Cape Malay recipe."
South Africa's popular memory of history tends, understandably, to focus on the more recent past and the struggle against apartheid.
The dishes have a mix of flavors from afar, such as chili, cardamom and cloves. Courtesy Nigel Deary © Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2016
Rhythms of life
Cape Malay food reaches into a history that's often overlooked, to the multicultural city that existed before apartheid, with a culinary tradition that traveled down foodways stretching across the entire planet.
But the food is also tied to intimately local details of life rhythm's in Bo-Kaap -- the days of the week when the fishmonger passed, or when salaries were paid, became connected to snoek fish or to choicer meats.
"When you say the name Bo-Kaap, I become really emotional," says Isaacs. "Because it's one of those places that you would love to grow up in.
"It's got such a lovely sense of community. Food is one element of the emotions that run very deep in the community."
Many of those foods are now so embedded in South Africa's national identity that few people would even think about their origins.
Cape Malay dishes like bredie stews feature in broad South African cookbooks, but its origins are revealed by the spices: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and chili.
Samoosas and fried chili bites that originated as street food in Cape Town are routinely served as hors d'oeuvres at corporate events or in high-end restaurants like Riffel's at the luxurious One&Only hotel
The success of Cape Malay cuisine, combined with South Africa's rapid embrace of urbanism, has brought new pressures on Bo-Kaap.
Smaller bites are served as hors d'oeuvres. Courtesy Nigel Deary © Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2016
The neighborhood itself occupies prime real estate near the city center, making the working-class neighborhood a prime target for gentrification.
Vibrancy of spices
The end of apartheid and sanctions brought an influx of international fast food that competes with local quick eats.
Freedom to move and to thrive in any profession means that many people have done just that.
That's why people like Isaacs and Zainie Misbach began collecting traditional recipes to preserve them.
[See below and check out the videos on this page for Misbach's recipe for koeksisters, a Cape Malay variation on donuts.]
Misbach opened a restaurant in Bo-Kaap that served dishes her aunts and uncles used to make.
Now she gives cooking lessons, often to foreigners, to spread the knowledge of a cuisine that's little known outside of the country.
Foreigners often enjoy a Cape Malay curry more than similar dishes in Asia, Misbach says, because of the adaptations that began in the days of slavery to make the flavors more appeal to the Dutch masters.
"The women had to cook for the Dutch," she says. "They had to find a way not to use chili but still use their spice. And this evolved into a curry that's palatable for the European tongue."
Malay cuisine is big on both sweet and savory treats. Courtesy Nigel Deary © Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd 2016
Her secret substitute for chili? Paprika. It gives the curry a good color and flavor, without the chili's heat.
For Isaacs, every dish tells a story that traces its origin to the days of slavery and that speaks to the strength of the community.
"Our traditional dishes tell the story of the slaves, how they cooked, what they cooked and why they created traditions that brought the community together," she says.
"Our dishes showcase the vibrancy of spices and flavors that came from the East and if you trace all of this back to when it all started, you'll understand that this rich heritage left behind by our forefathers gives us a sense of belonging, the pride of knowing where you come from."
Zainie Misbach's recipe for Cape Malay-style koesisters
• Mix together four cups of plain or cake flour, three quarters of a cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, one tablespoon of baking powder, two sachets of dried yeast and a tablespoon each of powdered ginger, cardamom and cinnamon and two tablespoons of aniseed.
• Melt 100 grams of butter in two cups of hot water. Once it's dissolved, add a tablespoon of sunflower oil then leave until it's warm to the touch.
• Add two eggs to the flour mixture then stir in the melted butter and warm water.
• Stir with a slow movement until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Then leave to rest, still in the bowl, in a warm place until it nearly doubles in size.
• On a floured surface, stretch the dough out into a sausage and chop into segments. These can then be left to rise a little further.
• When they're ready, deep-fry each segment in medium-warm canola or sunflower oil until they're a deep brown color.
• Once they've cooled it's time to glaze them in syrup. Heat one cup of water mixed with one cup of sugar until the solution starts to fluff. Drop each koeksister in for one-two minutes.
• To make the coconut filling, add one cup of desiccated coconut and three-quarters of a cup of sugar to three-quarters of a cup of water. Heat until it turns into a gluey paste.President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9. (Thomas Peter/AP)
Donald Trump projected a bombastic, tough-guy image during a campaign in which he promoted an "America first" foreign policy and vowed to "win" at the negotiating table with foreign rivals. But midway through the longest foreign presidential trip in 25 years, Trump is showing that a little flattery can go a long way with him.
In stops in Japan, South Korea and China, Trump was feted, pampered and celebrated with florid displays of diplomatic pageantry and poetry — choreographed and calculated gestures aimed at stroking the ego of the president, a builder of gilded office towers and resorts who should know a thing or two about the advantages of seducing clientele.
"Magnificent," Trump marveled to Chinese President Xi Jinping after a lavish welcome ceremony featuring a military honor guard and cannon fire at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday. Friends from around the world, he added, were calling him.
"They were all watching," Trump said. "Nothing you can see is so beautiful."
One year after Trump's electoral victory, foreign leaders have intuited at least one thing about the mercurial president: For Trump, the personal has both political and policy ramifications. Asian leaders seem to be betting that if they can flatter Trump into a friendship now, they then may be able to profit from — or even exploit — that relationship in the future.
[Japanese leader Shinzo Abe plays the role of Trump’s loyal sidekick]
On his Asia trip, Trump has reciprocated his host's hospitality, not just in warm words but, in some cases, in potentially favorable policy shifts that could pay long-term dividends for the Asian nations.
On Thursday in Beijing, for instance, Trump — who on the campaign trail had accused China of "raping" the U.S. economy and promised to label the country a currency manipulator |
chasm in Louisville’s Mega Cavern. Once you’ve caught your breath, race virtual horses at the Kentucky Derby Museum – an interactive, hands-on museum that every child is guaranteed to love. Baseball fans will rejoice at the Louisville Slugger Museum factory tour, where the Major League’s most popular bats are made. This city literally has something for everyone.
10) Chicago, Illinois
In the heart of the Windy City is the free Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the oldest in the nation. Your kids will enjoy Emerald City Theatre, combining arts and education into child-centric stage performances. Pig out on deep-dish pizza, take in a baseball game, and ride the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. Stroll past Cloud Gate (AKA The Bean) in Millennium Park to Maggie Daley Park, where in summer younger kids will adore the the huge playground or in winter the whole family can ice skate for free.
11) Crescent City, California
It’s not so much what this little town has to offer, but the useful base it provides for road trips. Take a drive through the majestic world-renowned Redwoods, home to the world’s tallest trees. Take in stunning sunsets from secluded beaches in southern Oregon. And embark on a daytrip to remember to Crater Lake – one of the most beautiful places on earth.
12) Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a sweet little seaside town that gives you a convenient base for discovering the Olympic peninsula. Here you’ll find the freakiest beaches in the US, jaw-dropping mountain vistas, and the real-life backdrop to the popular novel and film series, Twilight.
13) New Orleans, Louisiana
From edible insects to visiting above-ground cemeteries to a never-ending stream of festivals, New Orleans offers something fun and exciting for every type of youngster. But the biggest draw card is the also the tastiest – mouthwatering cuisine like gumbo, crawfish etoufee and beignets.
14) Coos Bay, Oregon
A number of the most scenic beaches along the west coast can be found here. But add to that a thrilling dune buggy adventure and you’ve got yourself a winning combination.
15) Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas with kids? Am I insane? Yes. Vegas is much more than just gambling and clubs. There is so much to do in this city. Your kids will love the magic shows, the buffets and of course, it’s a handy base for a daytrip to the must-see Grand Canyon.
16) San Diego, California
Home to one of the most amazing zoos on the planet. Need I say more? Oh, and the weather is beautiful too.
17) Atlanta, Georgia
Plan your day in Atlanta and start off with a sugar high at Coca-Cola World before letting them loose at nearby Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world. Older children may be interested in a behind-the-scenes tour of CNN’s headquarters or a stroll through the Center for Civil and Human Rights.
18) Buffalo, New York (Niagara Falls)
Yes, you are going here to see Niagara Falls – to feel the mist, to see the fireworks, to witness this natural spectacle. But there is much more to the region. Check out Buffalo Science Museum, Pumpkinville, Hidden Valley Animal Adventure, and a plethora of indoor playgrounds for the rainy days.
19) Salt Lake City, Utah
Often perceived as world’s Mormon capital, Salt Lake City has more than just temples to visit. You can explore any number of free museums, ski nearby slopes or get high at wAIRhouse Trampoline Park. This city also makes a handy starting point for a road trip through Bryce Canon and Zion National Parks.
20) Houston, Texas
This city offers a diverse mix of family-friendly activities – cowboy rodeos, Space Center Houston (think, “Houston we have a problem”), and the world-renowned Children’s Museum of Houston. No matter what your child wants to be when they grow up, cowboy or astronaut, Houston will have it covered.
I’m sure this list will inspire a few ideas for planning your next family vacation. And chances are at least one or more of these destinations are within one day’s drive from you right now. So if an international trip is not on the cards, you can still enjoy quality family time knowing there’s more in your extended backyard than you expected.
Need a Spring Break? Browse our full inventory of spring escapes: Explore Now
Erin Bender is an official Travelocity Gnational Gnomad. Gnational Gnomads is an exclusive group of high-profile travel and lifestyle experts who offer tips and inspiration on behalf of Travelocity. For more information on the Travelocity Gnomads visit travelocitygnomads.com.
Travelocity compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.SEAN HANNITY: Whoever heard of 200 agents surrounding a guy's ranch and stealing his cows and snipers hanging out on the outside perimeter of his ranch? We don't even secure our border anywhere near this way and I think people see it as very heavy handed regardless of who is right in the dispute or not. I don't think that's an issue at this point -- the tactics and how they are doing it. Do you believe the sheriff who says his sources are saying that they would engage in a late-night/early morning raid of this ranch, do you think that would happen?
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: I personally know the sheriff to whom you're referring and I know him to be a person of the highest intellectual honesty. He also has the highest fidelity to the constitution, as do the deputies who work for him or used to work for him. So do I believe that the most dangerous part of this is yet to come.
Look, the federal government has a legitimate valid court order. But they don't have to enforce it by bringing in militaristic techniques. They don't have to enforce it by stealing his private property. They can enforce it by filing a document in a courthouse which will enable them to collect the money to which they are entitled when he dies or when his property otherwise passes to somebody else and they know that.Behold, the all-time stupidest take on the bombs discovered in NYC and New Jersey, courtesy of MSNBC's Chris Hayes:
We're also very very lucky that the attackers tried to use explosives rather than guns. — Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 19, 2016
Right. That's a completely normal take on things. Slow clap for Hayes.
Had the bombs actually detonated properly, or if the 5K in New Jersey hadn't been delayed, or if the bomb hadn't been placed in a metal dumpster (muffling the blast), they very well could have killed dozens of people instead of mildly injuring 30. This is an absolutely foolish statement from Hayes.
The suspect, Ahmad Rahami, was captured following a gunfight with the police.
I guess we're "very very lucky" that the police had guns.(Reuters) - U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together a diverse cast of political opponents.
FILE PHOTO: Corn is seen in a field in Indiana, U.S. September 6, 2016. To match USA-BIOFUELS/VALERO REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo
They include an upstart gas station owners’ trade group, a former Obama administration environmental adviser and billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns a refiner and served as U.S. President Donald Trump’s special advisor on business regulation - until he resigned Friday amid allegations of a conflict of interest.
Even the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), a leading biofuels industry group, recently dropped its opposition to policy changes sought by this ad hoc coalition.
These players would seem to have few shared interests, but they share one key connection – close ties to Valero Energy Corp. (VLO.N), America’s largest oil refiner.
As part of an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign, Valero played a key role in bringing these people and groups together around a policy proposal that could save the refiner hundreds of millions of dollars each year in regulatory costs, according to two former Valero executives with knowledge of the firms’ lobbying strategy.
Valero is a big loser under current regulations, which require refiners to either blend biofuels into their gasoline and diesel or buy government-issued credits from firms that do such mixing. After selling off much of its ethanol-blending operations in cash-raising deals in 2006 and 2013, Valero was forced to spend $750 million last year alone buying the credits, according to Valero’s securities filings.
The policy overhaul favored by Valero would free refiners from the obligation to blend biofuels or buy credits, shifting that burden to firms further down the supply chain toward retailers.
Such a change would amount to a multi-billion-dollar transfer of wealth to Valero. It would also benefit Icahn’s refining company, CVR Energy (CVI.N), and a handful of other refiners that lack blending operations.
Top Valero officials wanted others to act as the public face of the push to upend renewable fuels policy, the former Valero executives told Reuters.
“There was an effort to line up people who would support us who were more palatable to decision makers,” said one of the former executives. “It’s easier to support a small business than a big refining company.”
In response to Reuters’ inquiries, Valero stressed that it has publicly criticized current regulations. Spokeswoman Lillian Riojas called the rules harmful to “workers, small business retailers, consumers, the refining base, energy security and even the drive for more biofuels blending.”
Valero has joined petitions to change the law, sued the EPA, and sent executives to challenge the policy at industry conferences. But its more extensive and less visible lobbying through proxies served a purpose – to create a perception of broader support for a change that would primarily benefit Valero and a small number of other refiners.
The push to change the so-called “point of obligation” for biofuels blending is opposed by most ethanol producers and large integrated oil companies with blending facilities. They argue the shift would rope in thousands of additional companies - from gasoline retailers to shippers such as FedEx - and undermine the program by complicating enforcement.
The Trump administration has said it is considering the regulatory changes, but it has not announced a decision.
In early August, three sources familiar with the administration’s biofuels policy deliberations told Reuters that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was preparing to reject proposals for the change. The White House declined comment and referred questions to the EPA, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Valero strategists viewed Icahn as a better public advocate to change biofuels policy despite his majority ownership of a small refinery, the two Valero executives said. That’s because the famous Wall Street investor has a diverse array of business interests and unique access to Trump, a longtime friend.
“Our folks wanted to get him involved,” said one of the Valero executives, who was regularly involved in company discussions on biofuels lobbying.
When Icahn wrote the EPA in August of 2016 to push for the policy change - arguing current rules create a “rigged market” - representatives from Valero helped him craft the letter, the executive said.
Valero declined to comment on its role in crafting Icahn’s proposal. Jesse Lynn, a lawyer for Icahn, said the billionaire “sought input from a number of people” on the letter but declined to name them.
Shortly after being elected, Trump named Icahn his special advisor on regulation, an informal role.
Icahn stepped down from the post on Friday after facing criticism that he was advising Trump on policy changes that would enrich his refining business. Icahn denied any conflicts of interest late Friday in an open letter to Trump.
“I never sought any special benefit for any company with which I have been involved, and have only expressed views that I believed would benefit the refining industry as a whole,” he wrote.
The White House has said there is no conflict of interest between Icahn’s refining business and his biofuels policy advocacy because he was not paid as a presidential advisor.
‘REGULATORY HAIL MARY’
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was adopted in 2005 during the presidency of Republican George W. Bush as a way to bolster U.S. energy independence, reduce pollution and support Midwest corn farmers. Today, about 10 percent of U.S. motor fuel comes from vegetation.
The law’s critics - which cover a broad ideological spectrum, from fossil-fuel firms to environmentalists - argue variously that it is essentially a farming subsidy; that ethanol hurts gas mileage and does little to help the environment; and that its impact in reducing foreign oil dependence has been dwarfed by booming U.S. oil production.
Jack Lipinski, chief executive of Icahn’s CVR Energy, told Reuters that the current rules create a “contrived and manipulated marketplace.” The law provides a windfall to major integrated oil companies - who profit from selling the credits - and unfairly punishes certain refiners for not investing in costly biofuels blending facilities, he said.
Lobbying against the mandates became more urgent for CVR and Valero in 2013, when prices for biofuels credits soared as energy firms worried about an impending increase in required biofuels blending volumes.
By then, major refiners such as Tesoro Corp TSO.N and Marathon Corp (MPC.N) were investing in blending facilities to lower regulatory costs.
But Valero, looking to focus on its core refining business, had been selling off its already limited blending operations as part of larger deals. It sold a pipeline and logistics unit in 2006 to raise $880 million and spun off its retail unit in 2013 in transactions that brought it $1.4 billion.
Valero has said it now has little ability to blend ethanol and biodiesel into the more than 2 million barrels of petroleum products it produces each day in the United States. As a result, the firm is forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on biofuels credits.
By 2015, Valero CEO Joseph Gorder was convinced that lobbying the EPA to change regulations was a better strategy than operating blending facilities, one of the former Valero executives told Reuters.
The second former Valero executive described the tactic as a “regulatory Hail Mary”.
SIGNING UP AN OBAMA ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISOR
In 2015, Valero’s external lobbying firm - Bracewell LLP, a Houston-based law and government relations outfit - hired Ron Minsk, a former advisor to President Barack Obama on energy and the environment, as a consultant.
Bracewell never announced the high-profile hire, made months after Minsk left the White House, and Minsk never registered as a lobbyist, according to U.S. Congressional disclosures.
In February 2016, Minsk testified before Congress as an expert on biofuels regulation, citing his experience as an Obama advisor and arguing in favor of a shift in the point of obligation for blending.
Minsk did not disclose his relationship with Valero in his written testimony but acknowledged it when a lawmaker pressed him about industry ties.
“I have been retained by a law firm to consult on issues related to the RFS, and Valero Energy Corporation is one of their clients,” Minsk said, referring to Bracewell.
Asked why he didn’t disclose the Valero connection before testifying, Minsk told Reuters: “I was sharing my own views, and not anyone else’s.”
Minsk also filed public comments to EPA in February 2017, urging the same policy change – again without noting his Valero connection.
Scott Segal, a Bracewell partner in Washington, said in a statement that Minsk “provides technical advice to us on a variety of topics” and that he was “certainly not testifying or writing on behalf of the firm or its clients.”
‘RETAILER OF THE YEAR’
Throughout 2016, Valero cultivated allies that would ultimately mobilize around the same policy proposal to the White House.
The refiner helped one of its retailers, Bill Douglass, launch a grassroots organization of small gas station owners that would argue biofuels mandates hurt their mom-and-pop businesses.
Douglass said he contacted all of his fuel suppliers for help in starting the organization, but only Valero provided assistance, giving him a list of its retailers to recruit.
Bracewell helped connect the fledgling Small Retailers Coalition with a website developer, the firm said. The site is devoted largely to arguing for the same regulatory changes Valero supports. Douglass also sent a letter to the EPA and spoke personally with an EPA official to urge adoption of the policy.
Bracewell was happy to help a political ally of its client Valero, Segal said.
“It should come as no surprise that groups with which we are allied, we help,” Segal said, while noting the firm did not control the website’s content. “We share information and frankly we’re glad to do it. We are not opposed to providing assistance when it’s appropriate.”
Valero’s spokeswoman denied the company had played a significant role in setting up the SRC and declined further comment on the firm’s relationship to the group.
Valero did, however, name SRC founder Douglass its "Retailer of the Year" in 2016.
Infographic ID: '2i9w5Yx'
‘TRYING TO SPLIT THE INDUSTRY’
Valero also sought to join biofuels industry groups and persuade them to back its policy position, according to the former Valero executives and three biofuels industry sources.
Valero had reason to join one of those groups. Although it lacked sufficient ethanol-blending facilities, it was one of the nation’s top five ethanol producers.
Still, Valero was seen as an outsider by many biofuels producers because the refiner had opposed regulations they supported, two oil and four biofuels industry sources told Reuters.
Michael McAdams, President of the Advanced Biofuels Association, said he received a phone call in May or June of 2016 from Valero’s Richard Walsh – a senior vice president and corporate counsel who led the refiner’s push to change biofuels policy, the former Valero executives said.
Walsh said Valero wanted to join the biofuels organization - but first wanted the chance to convince the group to support its proposed regulatory change.
“My board said, ‘No, thank you. We can’t align with you,’” McAdams said, adding that it seemed Valero was “trying to split” the biofuels industry, McAdams said.
Walsh did not respond to requests for comment.
NEUTRALIZING AN OPPONENT
The refiner, however, did end up joining the Washington-based Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), among the most prominent biofuels producer groups and a powerful lobbying force.
The RFA had previously criticized proposals to shift the biofuels blending point of obligation, arguing it would discourage production of blends with higher ethanol content and complicate enforcement.
Valero and RFA President Bob Dinneen declined to discuss how and why Valero came to join the group but said it had nothing to do with the RFA’s position on the refiner’s policy priorities.
The RFA, however, ultimately did agree to drop its opposition to the policy change sought by Valero – a clear victory for the refiner.
In February, Valero representatives and Icahn held a meeting with the RFA’s Dinneen. Icahn told Dinneen he believed Trump would support the refiners’ biofuels policy proposal – and that the RFA should lend its political support.
Dinneen told Reuters at the time that the RFA decided not to oppose what it believed was a done deal. He also said Icahn assured the group that it could win concessions from the Trump Administration in return, including support for a different regulatory change that would encourage production of fuel blends with higher ethanol content.
Other biofuel industry groups slammed the RFA’s policy shift. Fuels America, a coalition of renewable fuel and farm groups, dropped the RFA as a member of their alliance in response.
LOBBYING A LOBBYIST AT THE WHITE HOUSE
In March, Valero’s Walsh, CVR’s Lipinski and representatives from other refiners went to the White House to pitch their case to Trump’s top aide on domestic energy policy, Michael Catanzaro, a former energy industry lobbyist.
Trump had banned former lobbyists hired by his administration from participating in issues on which they lobbied for two years – but the White House later granted Catanzaro a waiver from that rule.
Catanzaro is advising on the same issues that were recently the focus of his lobbying for clients such as Koch Industries - a diversified conglomerate with major energy assets - and groups including the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which petitioned the EPA for the biofuels change last year.
Catanzaro declined to comment.
Slideshow (2 Images)
Valero’s Walsh invited Douglass to join the meeting to represent the Small Retailers Association, Douglass said.
As in other forums, Valero representatives let others take the lead in carrying the message, mainly Douglass and a union representative for workers at a Philadelphia refinery.
“They let me do most of the speaking,” Douglass said. “They let me hold the floor because I think they regard my dilemma as being more critical.”Apr 11, 2017 | By Benedict
Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a national development finance institution owned by the South African government, has invested 17 million rand ($1.23M) in Metal Heart, a Gauteng-based 3D printing startup. Metal Heart will produce South Africa’s first production-ready metal 3D printer.
A South African government institution is financing six companies based in the province of Gauteng
$1.23 million is a lot of money for a startup—especially one that hasn’t even started operations yet. That means Metal Heart, a new South African 3D printing company based in Gauteng, is probably thanking its lucky stars that the IDC, a government-owned finance institution, has put pen to paper on a massive investment in the young startup.
That’s not to say that Metal Heart doesn’t sound like a promising venture, of course. The South African startup is planning to launch what it says will be the country’s first production-ready metal 3D printer by June of this year. (The giant, Airbus-affiliated Aeroswift 3D printer appeared to be claiming that title, but commercial use for that machine is not expected until 2019.)
Gert Lombard, who is running Metal Heart alongside business partner Kim Gray, says that the IDC’s new industries unit “moved quickly” to seal the investment after the two parties met in November 2016. The investment, confirmed two weeks ago, comes in the form of a term loan and the IDC getting a minority equity stake in Metal Heart.
Although Metal Heart hasn’t started operations, it has agreed some kind of deal with a large tooling and injection mould company in Gauteng, ensuring it will be on the metal production map when it opens its doors. The startup admits that metal parts fabricated on its 3D printing system may cost more to produce than molded components, but promises that they will be available in half the time.
Startup Metal Heart is developing what could be South Africa's first production-ready metal 3D printer
If its government is to be believed, 2017 could be a good time to start an additive manufacturing venture in South Africa. Last summer, South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched an Additive Manufacturing strategy, aiming to position the country as a major global competitor in 3D printing technologies. R30.7 million ($2.2M) was promised to a 3D printing research and development program.
The IDC, the organization funding 3D printing startup Metal Heart, is not part of the DST, but part of the Economic Development Department, which is also pushing incentives to boost local additive manufacturing. The IDC’s new industries unit is currently focusing on eight priority industries (gas beneficiation, energy storage, fuel cells, medical devices, natural products, renewable inputs, additive manufacturing, and nanotech), and has already pledged R107.1 million ($7.7M) of funding since its inception in 2015.
R63.4 million ($4.6M) of that funding has been invested in six new companies in the fields of energy storage (1), additive manufacturing (1, Metal Heart), water (1), and nanotech (3). All of these companies are based in Gauteng; three are owned by young businesspeople, and three are owned by black businesspeople.
The IDC industries unit has reportedly received around 50 applications for funding.
Source: Ventureburn
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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tshediso george matekane wrote at 1/4/2018 9:53:33 AM:I am planning to start a welding company with a trainning centre around the Free State, I was wondering n how can the machinery from SLM solution assist me to grow my business? My number is +27 76 565 9493 email is [email protected] Burger wrote at 12/15/2017 8:31:20 PM:Dear Benedict Your article is incorrect and misleading. Metal Heart has established a 3D printing service bureau based on SLM Solutions systems with the assistance of the IDC. They will not develop original equipment. Aeroswift remains the only South African developed metal printing system. I would appreciate it if you put your facts straight,In a Tuesday interview with the "Around The League Podcast," impending free agent Greg Hardy said it would be "a big honor" if the Carolina Panthers apply the franchise tag as a means of keeping the Pro Bowl defensive end in Charlotte for the 2014 season.
General manager Dave Gettleman explained Tuesday that salary-cap challenges have prevented his front office from deciding whether to keep Hardy or allow him to hit the open market as the No. 1 pass rusher available.
"Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be out of (salary-cap purgatory) in two years," Gettleman said. "Everybody lets players go. There isn't a team in this league that hasn't let a big dog walk out the door.
"And don't print that I'm saying (Hardy's) going to go. I'm just making a statement. There isn't anybody who hasn't done that. Again, there's a whole, big puzzle we're putting together and he's one of the pieces."
We applaud Gettleman for introducing his answer with a folksy reference to a Southern idiom turned Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Cash ditty. After spending the majority of his life in New England and New York, he's adapted well to Charlotte.
Gettleman was faced with a tremendous challenge in trimming the roster fat on a tight budget last year. His "big puzzle" this offseason is even more complex. In addition to weighing his whopping 21 free agents, Gettleman must prioritize a contract extension for Cam Newton and devise a game plan for Hardy.
GMC Never Say Never Moment A stingy
VOTE NOW A stingy Panthers defense led by linebacker Luke Kuechly aided in a huge down-to-the-wire road win over the 49ers in Week 10. Was it the best moment of 2013?
"The Kraken" tied a franchise record with 15 sacks in 2013 after generating 11 in a breakout 2012 season. Prior to racking up seven sacks in the final two games of the season, Hardy said he would be willing to accept "some cut" in his market value to stay with the Panthers.
He won't come cheaply, though. Hardy's asking price is expected to be in the neighborhood of teammate Charles Johnson's six-year, $76 million contract.
The franchise tag for defensive ends is projected to be worth $12.5 million. Johnson's 2014 salary is roughly $9 million.
Can Gettleman afford to pay a premium for two pass rushers while also forking over a lucrative long-term deal for his quarterback? Will he strip his roster of depth in the process?
It's conundrums such as these that have kept every NFC South power from repeating as champion since the division was created in 2002.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" interviews Carolina Panthers star Greg Hardy and looks ahead to the Conference Championships.John Patrick Riley (also known as John Patrick O'Riley), (c. 1817 – August 1850?) was an Irish soldier in the British Army who emigrated to the United States and subsequently enlisted in the United States Army. During the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, Riley led a number of other Irish Catholics in the ranks who defected to Mexico, where they formed the Saint Patrick's Battalion in the Mexican Army.
Early life [ edit ]
Riley was born in Clifden, County Galway, Ireland around 1817–1818; his original Irish name is Seán Ó Raghailligh. Riley served with the British Army before emigrating to Canada. Connemara and other rural regions suffered greatly during the Great Famine, and millions of people emigrated by ship from Ireland to Canada and the United States to survive. Riley was among them.
Immigration to the United States [ edit ]
Soon after his arrival in the United States in Michigan, Riley enlisted in the US Army. Many immigrants were recruited in the 1840s; some served just to earn some money, as they had usually fled famine and severe poverty in their home countries.
Prior to his desertion, Riley served in Company K of the 5th US Infantry Regiment. Riley and Patrick Dalton deserted in 1846, just before the beginning of the Mexican-American War, and joined the Mexican Army where they eventually formed the Batallón de San Patricio, or Saint Patrick's Battalion. It was made up of mostly Irish and German immigrants, although it included Catholics from many other countries as well, plus some African Americans who escaped from slavery in the American South. The unit fought at several battles and finally at the Battle of Churubusco, on the outskirts of Mexico City, where more than 70 men were captured by US forces and the rest disbanded. Men of the disbanded battalion went on to fight at the Battle for Mexico City.
Because Riley had deserted before the US declared war against Mexico, he was not sentenced to death following his conviction at the court martial held in Mexico City in 1847. He testified to deserting because of discrimination against and mistreatment of Irish Catholics in the US Army, and anti-Catholicism which he had encountered in the United States.[clarification needed] While escaping the mass hanging of about 50 other captured members of the Saint Patrick's Battalion, Riley was branded on his cheek with the letter "D" for deserter.
Post court martial [ edit ]
Following his conviction and branding, Riley was released and eventually rejoined the Mexican forces. Reportedly he grew his hair to conceal the scars on his face. He continued to serve with the regular Mexican Army after the end of the war, being confirmed in the rank of "Permanent Major". Stationed in Veracruz, he was retired on 14 August 1850 on medical grounds after suffering from yellow fever.
John Riley bust on pedestal, Plaza San Jacinto, San Angel, Mexico city
John Riley plaque on pedestal, Plaza San Jacinto, Mexico city
Controversy over death [ edit ]
Robert Ryal Miller, author of Shamrock and Sword (1989), found what appeared to be Riley's death certificate in book of burials No. 6, entry 133, of the then parish (now cathedral) of Veracruz.[1] Like Riley's Mexican army records, it refers to the name "Juan Reley". It reads:
In the H. [Heroic] city of Veracruz, on the thirty first of August of eighteen hundred and fifty, I, Don Ignacio Jose Jimenez, curate of the parish church of the Assumption of Our Lady, buried in the general cemetery the body of Juan Reley, of forty five years of age, a native of Ireland, unmarried, parents unknown; died as a result of drunkenness, without sacraments, and I signed it.[2]
However, while Miller at the time believed this was in fact the death certificate of the San Patricio commander, both his own research and that of subsequent scholars suggest that he was mistaken. Miller died in 2004 before he could write an addendum. Some arguments [3] which cast doubt on Miller's original presumption include:
The U.S. Army enlistment records from September, 1845 indicate that John Riley was born in Clifden, Co. Galway, and was twenty-eight years old at the time of his enlistment. That would mean he had been born between 1817 and 1818 so would have been 33 years old in 1850.The Juan Riley buried in the churchyard was 45 years old according to the curate. It could not have been the leader of the San Patricios.
Major Riley was a teetotaler and his sobriety, leadership, ambition and example was commented on by several people who knew him. Even those who condemned his desertion were aware of these qualities. A death from drunkenness would have been highly unlikely.
Riley had been discharged on 14 August with medals for heroism, with uniforms, with a well-equipped horse and tack, with over $800 in retirement pay (the equivalent of $20,000 today). The death certificate for the indigent "Juan Riley" was dated 31 August, just seventeen days later.
No robbery was mentioned in any newspaper in Veracruz during this period, nor were there any police reports of big spenders. In such a small town they would have been noticed. Thus is highly unlikely that the well-known and highly decorated major, a redhead over six feet tall and handsome except for his scars, would have been suddenly impoverished and buried (as "Juan Riley") without last rites in the general cemetery just weeks after his discharge.
Research conducted in September 2012 in Clifden, Co. Galway failed to turn up any John Riley who would fit into the age described on the death certificate. Peter F. Stephens, author of The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion, agrees that the only Rileys which fit the profile had to be born in County Galway in 1818, a year that marks the birth of two male children to two different families each of whom were named John Riley, both of which were duly recorded by the Catholic Church records in Clifden, Co. Galway.
Legacy [ edit ]
Inscription to the memory of the St Patrick's Battalion - Museo de las Intervenciones, Coyoacán, DF, Mexico
Reilly. Sculpture in Clifden ; his surname is mis-spelled as
In his honor, and to commemorate Saint Patrick's Battalion, a bronze sculpture was erected in his birthplace of Clifden, Ireland, as a gift from the Mexican government.
In popular culture [ edit ]
Riley is featured prominently in James Carlos Blake's 1999 historical fiction novel In the Rogue Blood.
In the 1999 film One Man's Hero Riley was portrayed by Tom Berenger.
There is also a song about Jon Riley from the Irish folkband Shantalla.[4]
In music, Riley's story is the subject of Tim O'Brien's song "John Riley",[5] and features in his album The Crossing. David Rovics also sings of Riley in "Saint Patrick's Battalion".[6][7] The Street Dogs sing about the Battalion and Riley in "San Patricios " on their album State of Grace.
In historical-fiction, Riley features in James Alexander Thom's novel St Patrick's Battalion: A Novel of the Mexican-American War, 2008.
A half-hour documentary Saol John Riley (The Life of John Riley) was broadcast on the Irish language television channel, TG4 in 2011. Directed by Kieran Concannon, it followed the Irish singer songwriter Charlie O'Brien as he traced the path of Riley's journey from Clifden to Veracruz.[8]In 1985, the USFL voted to move from a spring to a fall schedule in 1986 to compete directly with the NFL. This was done at the urging of New Jersey Generals majority owner Donald Trump and a handful of other owners as a way to force a merger between the leagues. As part of this strategy, the USFL filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Football League in 1986, and a jury ruled that the NFL had violated anti-monopoly laws. However, in a victory in name only, the USFL was awarded a judgment of just $1, which under anti-trust laws, was tripled to $3. [2] This court decision effectively ended the USFL's existence. The league never played the 1986 season, and by the time it folded, it had lost over US$163 million.
On the field, the USFL was regarded as a relatively good product. Many coaches and team executives had NFL experience, and many future top NFL players and coaches got their start in the new league, including several who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame or the College Football Hall of Fame. The Michigan Panthers won the first USFL championship in 1983. The Philadelphia Stars won the second USFL championship in 1984, and after relocating to Baltimore, won the final USFL championship in 1985 as the Baltimore Stars in what was effectively a rematch of the first USFL title game.
Though the original franchise owners and founders of the USFL had promised to abide by the general guidelines set out by Dixon's plan, problems arose before the teams took the field, with some franchises facing financial problems and instability from the beginning. Due to pressure from the NFL, some franchises had difficulty securing leases in stadiums that were also used by NFL teams, forcing them to scramble to find alternate venues in their chosen city or hurriedly move to a new market. The USFL had no hard salary cap, and some teams quickly escalated player payrolls to unsustainable levels despite pledges to keep costs under control. While a handful of USFL franchises abided by the Dixon Plan and were relatively stable, others suffered repeated financial crises, and there were many franchise relocations, mergers, and ownership changes during the league's short existence. These problems were worsened as some owners began engaging in bidding wars for star players against NFL teams and each other, forcing other owners to do the same or face a competitive disadvantage.
The ideas behind the USFL were conceived in 1965 by New Orleans businessman David Dixon, who saw a market for a professional football league that would play in the summer, when the National Football League and college football were in their off-season. Dixon had been a key player in the construction of the Louisiana Superdome and the expansion of the NFL into New Orleans in 1967. [1] He developed "The Dixon Plan"—a blueprint for the USFL based upon securing NFL-caliber stadiums in top TV markets, securing a national TV broadcast contract, and controlling spending—and found investors willing to buy in |
IndiaNeeds — Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 2, 2016
• China is up there in the same order as the US and European Union; no more free riding on US hegemon: Dr Krugman
• There’s a good case that high denomination bills are a bad thing in the modern world: Dr Krugman
• I understand the motivation behind demonetisation but this seems like a highly disruptive way to achieve it: Dr Krugman
• On demonetisation, Dr Krugman says he doesn’t see highly significant change from it; the policy is unusual
• Dr Krugman says currency war is the last war; that’s not the war we must be fighting right now
• US had a quarter of the workforce for manufacturing, but now it’s 12 %: Dr Krugman
• India still has big problems with transportation infrastructure, says Dr Krugman
• India should count itself fortunate that it’s not a major trade surplus country, says Dr Krugman
• US is not going to be a drag on the world economy: Dr Krugman
• Economics is not a morality play, says Dr Krugman
• Macroeconomics of China looks more than like that of Japan. It’s Japan without the political stability and social cohesion: Dr Paul Krugman
• China’s underlying resources of long-term growth are drying up, says Dr Krugman.
All concerns about public debt seem misplaced. Interest rates across most economies are lower than growth rates: @paulkrugman #HTLS pic.twitter.com/xYxnOWt45t — Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 2, 2016
• By the time Donald Trump flies to Indiana and back, the US might lose 6000 jobs: Dr Krugman
• US fiscal austerity was not the product of sincere considered about debt... we will have a change in US fiscal stats, says Dr Krugman.
• All of concerns about public debt looks really misplaced: Dr Krugman
• What we are looking at in the US after Donald Trump is very large tax cuts: Dr Krugman
• Secular stagnation is the fundamental weakness: Dr Paul Krugman
Up now: Nobel laureate Dr Paul Krugman in conversation with Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, executive editor, Mint
Sadhguru, Founder- Isha Foundation
• “Tax evaders were heroes under the British Era because they were rebelling. However, that should have ended in 1947,” says Sadhguru
• We have been a “developing”country for far too long. We need to become a developed country and remonetization will ensure that: Sadhguru refers to finance minister Arun Jaitley’s session at HTLS
• Quantity of counterfeit money has been significant... it is more than the RBI admits, says Sadhguru
• Audience member says demonetisation is stressing a lot of people. “Depends on how much money you have,” jokes Sadhguru
• “If we do not do what can do, it’s disastrous.”
• Your destiny is not determined by what comes your way; it is determined by what you make of it: Sadhguru
• Everything we talk of is about division... but consciousness is about no division, says Sadhguru, reiterating the need to improve the environments we live in
• “Yoga is not twisting and turning. Yoga is not standing on your head. It means you’ve obliterated your boundaries. It’s a communication with everything. It’s a consciousness,” says Sadhguru
• Your individuality comes from your memory -- genetic memory, karmic memory, and other kinds: Sadhguru
• Social media is gossip gone global, Sadhguru says in response to a question.
"More" will destroy us. "All" will make our lives as well as those of others better: @SadhguruJV #HTLS — HT Leadership Summit (@htsummit) December 2, 2016
• A time has come when leadership should learn to migrate from individual ambition to a larger vision, says Sadhguru
• “Delhi is a micro-speck in the universe, and in that you are a big man. That is a ridiculous existence.”
• “Ambition is very animalistic.”
• Our inability to communicate was saving the planet, but our abilities are now destroying it, says the spiritual guru
• The nature of desire is driving towards a limitless expression. Our pursuit of ambition is like a monkey cutting the same branch that it is sitting, says Sadhguru
• Spiritual leader Sadhguru takes the stage. “Ambition is largely about expanding what we already have. Vision is about seeing the reality we already have,” he said at the start of the session ‘Leadership: From ambition to vision’
The inaugural session with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ended. Stay tuned for our next session with Sadhguru, founder of Isha Foundation
Finance minister Arun Jaitley
• With every passing day, remonetisation process will go on: Jaitley
• India always honestly tried to improve relations with Pakistan, current PM took a lot of initiatives: Jaitley
#HTLS @arunjaitley says #USElection2016 was an unsual election but will have to accept decision, says relations with US can only get better. — Krittivas Mukherjee (@Krittivasm) December 2, 2016
• I think our way of conducting economy was primarily responsible: Jaitley
• Finance minister says the way things are changing, we can’t defy technology and decision of demonetisation has only accelerated this
• If you look at the temperament of this country there is always a section which is reluctant to change: Jaitley
• Demonetisation will make political funding more transparent: Arun Jaitley
Once remonetisation is complete, will see more of digitised expenditure, developed taxation system, ease of business: @arunjaitley at #HTLS pic.twitter.com/BaLh1rHF77 — Hindustan Times (@htTweets) December 2, 2016
• Once remonetisation process is completed and GST is implemented, it will have a huge impact on India’s businesses: Jaitley
• 300,000 people are picked up for tax return scrutiny every year: Jaitley
• We are still at the cusp of change and therefore many people in India are trying to beat the system. The battle between them and taxman will continue: Jaitley
• World’s largest democracy is very hush-hush when it comes to political funding, says Jaitley
• Long term effects of demonetisation are going to be huge: Jaitley
• India is at a stage that we’ve been the fastest growing economy in the world, says Finance Minister
• From a developing economy to a developed one, we have come a long way in 70 years: Jaitley
• We have 23 cr e-wallets in circulation, and it started only one-and-a-half years back: Jaitley
• 80 crore debit and credit cards in circulation out of which 45 crore are in circulation. Almost 20 crore-wallets: Jaitley
• The volume of formal trade, volume of business will grow in size: Jaitley
• One of the advantages of this exercise is that you will reduce the quantum of paper currency: Jaitley
• The country at large has welcomed the demonetisation decision, says Finance Minister Jaitley
• Demonetisation had to be a closely guarded secret, says Arun Jaitley
• If you need to replace 86% of a country’s cash currency, you have to have a substantial part ready: Arun Jaitley
• Finance minister Arun Jaitley and NDTV Consulting Editor Vikramchandra have taken the stage for the first HTLS session.
Liza Donnelly, staff cartoonist with the New Yorker, is live-cartooning the sessions during the summit.
In pics | Live sketches by New Yorker’s Liza Donnelly from HTLS 2016
First Published: Dec 02, 2016 09:53 ISTSouth Korean man and his daughter lured to Africa by fraudulent email promising tens of millions of dollars in lottery scheme
The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed, to paraphrase the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. So when a South Korean man received an email promising him tens of millions of dollars in a lottery scheme if he travelled to South Africa, he fell for it.
The offer turned out to be a so-called 419 scam on an epic scale. South African police say the credulous man arrived with his daughter only for both to be taken hostage in a township for four days.
The kidnappers, a mainly Nigerian gang, demanded a ransom of $10m (£6.5m) but were thwarted by police who raided the house and freed the pair.
The term 419 scam to describe a confidence trick refers to section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code for obtaining property through fraud. Few users of email worldwide have been spared messages, often badly spelled, offering to deposit huge sums of money in their account for tenuous reasons.
While most instantly hit the delete button, the unnamed 65-year-old from South Korea and his daughter, in her 30s, evidently had a trusting nature. They landed at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg last week.
Col McIntosh Polela of the South African police service (Saps) said: "The suspects allegedly tasked a driver to fetch the victims from OR Tambo airport. The driver and the two Korean nationals were kidnapped and kept at a house in Meadowlands, Soweto.
"The driver managed to escape and alert the police. The suspects demanded a $10m ransom from the 65-year-old man's wife (who was back in South Korea), to be deposited into an account in Singapore. The amount was eventually negotiated down to $120,000 (£78,000).
"While the negotiations were ongoing, the wife alerted the South Korean embassy in South Africa. Members of the Saps rescued the captives, before the ransom money was deposited."
Six suspects, five Nigerians and a South African, were arrested during the early-morning rescue and charged with kidnapping. The South Koreans, tearful but grateful, left the country as soon as they could, without waiting to give evidence in court.
"They declined to testify because they were traumatised," Polela added. "They were also embarrassed at being lured to South Africa. This is common once victims discover they've been fooled."San Francisco Giants star outfielder Melky Cabrera mounted a campaign to avoid his 50-game suspension that included a fake website featuring a fictitious product in an effort that was quickly uncovered by MLB investigators, the New York Daily News has reported.
Citing an anonymous source close to the case and a Cabrera associate who told the newspaper he was "accepting responsibility for what everyone else already knows" concerning the fake site, the Daily News reported famed investigator Jeff Novitzky and agents from MLB's investigative arm have begun looking more closely at Cabrera and the scheme purportedly hatched in July as they seek the source of the synthetic testosterone found in his urine.
"There was a product they said caused this positive," the source told the Daily News of Cabrera and his representatives. "Baseball figured out the ruse pretty quickly."
Juan Nunez, who has been described by Cabrera's agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, as a "paid consultant" of their firm but not an "employee," is alleged to have paid $10,000 to purchase the fake website, according to the report.
The purpose was to fool MLB and the players' union, while presenting them with the website and resulting phony product information, into believing Cabrera had ordered a supplement fraudulently spiked with testosterone, therefore causing the positive drug test, the report says.
Players who test positive are allowed, as part of the collective bargaining agreement that covers MLB's drug program, to try and prove they ingested a banned substance through no fault of their own.
Cabrera's suspension was announced Wednesday.
Cabrera was to miss the final 45 games of the regular season and serve the remainder of the suspension at the start of next season or during the postseason, depending on whether the Giants make the playoffs and how far they advance.
The union initially had filed a grievance, which would have caused the case to go before an arbitrator, but then dropped it, a person familiar with the process told The Associated Press last week.
Cabrera's associates and his entourage, including trainers, handlers and agents, have now drawn the focus of Novitzky, along with agents from MLB's Department of Investigation, according to the report.
Novitzky is the Food and Drug Administration special agent who, in his prior job as an IRS special agent, ran the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). That probe led to the seizure of the baseball drug list and the indictment of home run king Barry Bonds.
The Levinsons denied to the Daily News of having anthing to do with the scheme, a claim backed by Nunez and a source from the union who also spoke to the newspaper.Arsenal of Hypocrisy
In his ode to free thinking, "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right when he affirmed that "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen." He understood the need for nuance, in daily life as well as world affairs. But Emerson was careful to note that not all consistency is foolish, and the flip side of his aphorism might well be that hypocrisy is the dark spirit toward which too many great leaders are drawn. The term of art used to rationalize the more questionable aspects of statecraft is realpolitik; the operative adjective is "Machiavellian." Both words, when heard in the public discourse, should set warning flags snapping in the wind. That’s because a little wiggle room in your positions is a perfectly good thing. Radically veering from one position to the next is a recipe for something awful.
This is particularly true in the matter of U.S. foreign policy today. It’s hard to find a point on the map where America isn’t acting in a hypocritical, utterly inconsistent way. Take Afghanistan, where the United States practices its most serious hypocrisy. We say we’re spreading democracy in Afghanistan — part of the hard but brittle core of American grand strategy toward the world. But it’s difficult to square with a dozen years of military intervention, at a cost of a trillion dollars, during which the democratic nation-building enterprise has been fatally undermined by American complicity in repeated election fraud and other corrupt governance. Then there’s Egypt. President Obama has averted his gaze from the military overthrow — let’s be honest and call it a coup — of an elected government, and the killing that has followed in its wake. Sure, he called off an annual war game with the Egyptians. But if we stand for democracy, calling off a joint military exercise is hardly a strong response reflective of our values.
Another terrible inconsistency has to do with the manner in which the intervention in Iraq concluded. President Obama is fond of saying that the war there is over. Well, we left, but the war is not over, people are being killed daily and the country is aflame. Having been the ones to overthrow all that country’s central governing institutions a decade ago, we bear some responsibility for Iraqi suffering today. And it does not suffice to say that the Iraqis are at fault for failing to negotiate an acceptable status-of-forces agreement with us. We had a scrap of paper that authorized our presence there during the years of the counterinsurgency campaign. That same paper could have been used to sustain a small presence that would have deterred the kind of violence that is now growing so uncontrollably.
The American approach to the conflict in Syria — or rather the reluctance, to date, to intervene — reflects yet another troubling contradiction. It stems from repeated calls by President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad — but without there being any willingness to act in support of the rebels. Thus the United States has stood by while over 100,000 have been killed in the fighting. It is extremely odd that a great power would remain unmoved, and unmoving, in the face of such carnage, while at the same time threatening to intervene militarily if chemical weapons are used.
Still in the Middle East, the recent rekindling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process provides yet another example of a troubling contradiction that undermines American credibility. Simply put, the United States cannot act as an honest broker while at the same aligning itself with and serving as Israel’s strongest ally. The process should be handed over to Spain and/or Norway, two countries that have done well in the past with the Israelis and the Palestinians. Or some other neutral party. But not the United States.
As to the simmering nuclear crisis with Iran, there is yet another big contradiction on display. Much pressure is being brought to bear to prevent nuclear proliferation; but Tehran knows that Washington still persists in its efforts to bring an end to the mullahs’ rule. A nuclear deterrent is probably seen by most Iranians as their only insurance against an American campaign aimed at regime change. Thus the logic of this difficult situation calls for a concession — not more coercion in the form of tighter sanctions. It could take the form of agreeing not to overthrow the Iranian government in return for the end of the covert nuclear weapons program. This sort of compromise (i.e., an American pledge not to invade) worked to get Russian missiles out of Cuba half a century ago.
The contradictions of American foreign policy extend even to the cyber realm. There has been a drumbeat of criticism of Chinese cyber snooping and theft of intellectual property in recent years, yet the world’s perception is that the United States was behind the Stuxnet attack on Iran. This incident was, and remains to date, the world’s most spectacular example of cyberwar — or at least "cybotage." For the United States to excoriate others for their offenses in the cyber domain while at the same time being seen, rightly or wrongly, as the perpetrator of cyber attacks of its own, is a real head-scratcher of a policy problem.
This long list of inconsistent behavior in and toward the world flies in the face of the dominant American self-image of fairness and forthrightness. But even at home the Dorian-Gray-like picture of our country conveyed by maps of gerrymandered Congressional districts is there to see, growing ever more hideous with each decennial redistricting. We see it in our popular culture, too. We once had both iconic heroes and anti-heroes roaming our screens — though the former were more prominent. Take John Wayne’s Sergeant Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima, or Bruce Willis’s John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. Not anymore. Now all too many protagonists are monsters, like Bryan Cranston’s Walter White in Breaking Bad. And what heroes we have left, we lampoon as muscle-headed has-beens in movies like The Expendables.
Where are the voices to counter all this? Even across the bitter partisan divide, Thomas Jefferson’s voice may still resonate. In a letter to fellow Founding Father and future President James Monroe on New Year’s Day, 1815, ex-President Jefferson tackled the issue of how the United States should be perceived in the world. He wanted American presidents always to be believed, and so enjoined Monroe to hew to "the naked truth always, whether favorable or unfavorable." America should have a reputation as a straight shooter. Refreshing. So too are some of the voices heard today. In the academy, Andrew Bacevich is perhaps the most articulate critic of America’s meandering, too-militarized foreign policy — see his Washington Rules at the very least. And in Congress Senator Rand Paul has energized the public discourse along Jeffersonian lines, calling for limited government and less foreign adventurism.
But the best solution to the problem of hypocrisy may come from Emerson, who stirred up a "consistency debate" back in the 19th century. At the end of "Self-Reliance" he calls upon all of us to wage this battle for our souls, to "enter into the state of war, and awake Thor and Woden, courage and constancy." Indeed, these are the truest aspects of what we think of as heroic. And as far as heroes go, at least there’s been a recent movie about Thor — a sure sign of hope.The above picture taken from our 2004 'Rice is Life' tour where we captured images from traditional, chemical-free paddy fields.
How would you feel if I told you that a group of scientists had come to the United States, and fed a group of 24 children aged between six and eight years of age a potentially dangerous product?
What if I told you that state authorities had come out publicly with clear directives against this very experiment, and yet the experiment had continued regardless?
You'd be pretty outraged, right?
Well this is what we believe is happening, EXCEPT that it is happening on Chinese soil and on Chinese children (and I hope you've managed to maintain that outrage.)
We discovered this in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that published a study backed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and that involved feeding genetically engineered (GE) Golden Rice to a group of 24 boys and girls in Hunan province, China, aged between six and eight years old.
It was actually back in 2008 that we first heard of this experiment and immediately informed the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry came back and assured us no Golden Rice had been imported and the trial had been stopped – something that unfortunately appears not to be the case.
Gambling with the health of these 24 kids isn't the only travesty here. From the bigger picture we're also seeing a huge amount of time, energy and talent being wasted on what is essentially yet another example of big business hustling in of one the world's most sacred things: our food supply.
The study hopes to propose that this genetically engineered rice is a solution to vitamin A deficiency among malnourished child populations. Fact is, we don't need this "silver bullet" rice, because (1) We have a solution – it's called overcoming poverty and accessing a more diverse diet. (2) Like so many silver bullets it's going to cause more trouble and potential harm than the existing solution.
Here are some of the big "cons" behind this so-called magic rice, according to our food and agriculture team:
By promoting GE rice you encourage a diet based on one staple rather than an increase in access to the many vitamin-rich food plants. These plants would address a wide variety of micronutrient deficiencies, not just VAD. We simply do not know if GE crops, including GE rice, are safe for human or animal consumption. GE crops certainly have the potential to cause allergenic reactions. The majority of patents for genetically engineered plants are held by a few large multinational companies. So it's in their financial interest – and not ours, the public – to get us hooked on their seed.
After 20 years of development, this not so-Golden Rice is still just a shadowy research project with no applications for commercialization anywhere in the world. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on what is a smoke and mirrors product, and that could have been better spent on programs that have actually proven to make a lasting and meaningful difference: programs that combine supplementation with home gardening in order to give the poverty-stricken access to a more diverse diet (something that has been successful in Bangladesh).
The battle to keep GE rice out of China has been a long, seven year struggle, and clearly it's not over yet.There are some who turn their nose up when served out-of-season fruit and vegetables. 'Out of OUR season' they squeak in outrage. So short-sighted if not downright daft.
The autumn plums currently begging me to buy were picked from orchards in Oregon, USA. This is their plum season. It's the same state we will soon be shipping our summer cherries and apricots to, with our growers (and bankers) hoping to reap the benefit of out-of-season fruit.
Then there are the pineapples arriving from the Philippines. Sweet, juicy, a refreshing taste for us – and an important export for them.
Carys Monteath Grilled pineapple with sugar, balsamic vinegar and mint.
Considering we have been shipping our home-grown and reared everything as fast and as far as possible for over a century, it's a tad hypocritical to turn the back on some other country's seasonal crops.
I'm not that extravagant that I welcome out-of-season asparagus or strawberries, but that's more about delicate flavours not standing up to mass transport systems, whereas the plums I bought this week were so firm they would probably bounce if dropped. I liked that the stones were easy to remove, the flavour of the tart/sweet juice and the way they kept their shape.
It pays to pick out the plums, checking each for blemishes or bruise and buying fruit all the same size. Keep in a cool dark place if not using immediately.
As for pineapples, I am enjoying the skinned (peeled?) fruit currently in-store. Not as cheap as skin-on pineapples, but arthritic wrists always prefer the easy options.
Out of our season? I prefer to think of it as sharing in the fruitful bounty of the planet.
Spiced plums
As we have come to expect, varieties of stonefruits are nameless in most markets. The plums I cooked were dark red/purple with yellow flesh. And very firm.
6 large dark red plums
1 star anise
pinch of five-spice powder
3 tablespoons raw sugar
1 large mandarin, peeled and segmented
15g unsalted butter
Cut plums into halves, remove stones and cut into quarters or eighths. Put with spices in a frying pan (you need a single layer, not a pile of fruit), cover with sugar. Chop up the mandarin skin and add with the fruit segments to the pan. Put aside for about 20 minutes, then cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring to ensure all sugar is dissolved. When the juices start running, keep stirring and simmering for anther minute or two, then dice the butter and add. Cook until the plum slices are soft and shiny (that's the point of the butter) but not mushy. Discard the spices, mandarin peel and segments. Keep the plums warm.
To use:
Arrange a generous spoon of plums (at room temperature or barely warm) and juice as a topping for a wedge of iced chocolate cake – even a bought chocolate cake will be the star of the meal when it is served topped with spiced plums. Serves 1
Buy or make a baked cheesecake and resist any idea of decorating the top. Have the plums warm and top the cheesecake, adding plenty of juice. The warm plums will sink through the cake if left too long, so serve immediately. Serves 2-8
Cut 4 large croissant in half and place all under the grill – inside upwards - to toast. A little charring on the edges is preferable as the smoky flavour works brilliantly with the plums. Have ready 1 cup of cold pastry cream, or use cream cheese. Allow 1/4 cup of pastry cream for each croissant half, and spread smoothly before topping with spiced plums and the other half croissant. Serve warm. Serves 4.
Fresh pineapple
Ripe pinapples are quite perishable. They can be stored at room temperature (up to 2 days), or refrigerated (up to 4 days). To peel, cut off the base then use a sharp knife cutting down the fruit in strips. Cut around the "eyes" in the fruit to remove them. Either keep the fruit round and slice off in discs or cut in half lengthways, cutting away the hard core.
Sweet and Sour Pineapple Chunks
An smart and simple grilled treat.
Cut the trimmed pineapple into discs, then halves, cutting away the hard core. Arrange in a single layer in a grill pan. Sprinkle with raw sugar and put under the grill until browned. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar and finely chopped mint. Serve warm.
Good Buy
Zip-up bags of raw peeled and "eyed" pineapple need no knife skills. Keep chilled. $4.99 a bag, most supermarketsWhen traveling, you’ll probably find that your accommodations eat up a good portion of your budget. Hotels don’t usually come cheap, and alternatives like Bed & Breakfasts may still be more than you want to spend.
The good news is that lodging doesn’t always have to cost you a lot of money.
There are lots of low-cost alternatives that most anyone can afford. You just have to know where to look, be creative and occasionally sacrifice a convenience or two.
1. Hostels
Hostels aren’t just for young people. And you don’t have to be subjected to a single room with 9 other people, either (unless you want to, of course).
When my mom and I traveled to New Zealand, we stayed in quite a few hostels. Yes, a lot of the people there were young. But there were quite a few older people, as well.
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You don’t always have to bunk up in a shared room, either. Many hostels also have private rooms with attached baths.
Good hostels will also have most of the amenities you need at a fraction of the cost of a hotel.
2. Camping
If you’re the rugged outdoor type – or even if you’re not, but willing to rough it for a night or two – you can opt to sleep under the stars.
You don’t always need all the fancy stuff like cots and cushions, though I’ll admit a tent does make things a bit nicer.
But at a minimum, you’ll want a sheet or sleeping bag and a flat surface to lie down on. That stuff shouldn’t cost you much. And for some, waking up to fresh morning air beats waking up in a stuffy hotel any day.
3. Airbnb
Airbnb.com is a unique option that came onto the scene in 2008.
People from all over the world list their places on the site and you can find anything from a spare bedroom in someone’s house to a luxury penthouse.
Prices will vary widely, but if you’re looking for something simple and affordable, you could score a really great place. Save $40 on your first trip of over $75 by using this link.
(Want to host people at your home and make some extra money? Learn about being an Airbnb host here)
4. Apartments
If you’ll be staying a week or longer at your destination, it’s worthwhile to look into renting an apartment on sites like VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner).
You’ll typically get a better deal on a place the longer you stay, and apartments rented by the week or month will lower your rate considerably when compared to a hotel.
5. House Sit
If you’re the responsible sort and you’re willing to help out a bit around the house, house sitting could be a great alternative to a hotel.
Many homeowners want their plants watered or their pets fed in exchange for a place to stay and sometimes a nominal fee.
6. Couch Surf
I know this one might be a bit of a stretch for a lot of people, and sleeping on some stranger’s couch might seem a bit sketchy. But the biggest perk of all? It’s free.
It’s not just about the price, though. CouchSurf.org really believes in the value of connecting fellow travelers with each other and you never know, you may just meet your next best friend on your travels.
To Sum Up
These low-cost alternatives to hotels can keep your travel costs super low or, in the case of couch surfing, at zero dollars spent.
What other alternatives do you suggest for finding affordable lodging options?
This article was written by Kim Olson over at Everything Finance, a site about just that, everything related to finance. Head on over to get information about investing, saving money, the best savings rates, shopping, blogging, and making money online.Oops. AT&T has egg on its face after leaving sensitive information on 114,000 owners of the iPad 3G exposed on the Web. A group known as Goatse Security has published the personal e-mail addresses of the victims--many of whom are popular celebrities, prominent executives and high-ranking dignitaries--that it obtained by exploiting an automated script on an AT&T server.
The true motive behind Goatse Security exposing this information is unknown. Had the group followed generally accepted vulnerability disclosure ethics, it would have contacted AT&T directly to notify them of the flaw, and allowed AT&T a reasonable amount of time to respond to the issue before announcing the discovery. And, of course, an ethical disclosure would not include exposing the compromised data. Perhaps Goatse Security simply wanted to embarrass AT&T or Apple.
The official statement I received from an AT&T spokesperson reads:
"AT&T was informed by a business customer on Monday of the potential exposure of their iPad ICC IDS. The only information that can be derived from the ICC IDS is the e-mail address attached to that device. This issue was escalated to the highest levels of the company and was corrected by Tuesday; and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses. The person or group who discovered this gap did not contact AT&T. We are continuing to investigate and will inform all customers whose e-mail addresses and ICC IDS may have been obtained. We take customer privacy very seriously and while we have fixed this problem, we apologize to our customers who were impacted."
Thankfully, the data leak did not include more sensitive data such as credit card number or home address. While the individuals involved in the data compromise might need a stronger spam filter--or simply new e-mail addresses--there isn't any real security concern resulting from the breach. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and Diane Sawyer of ABC News may be inundated with unwanted e-mail of all sorts, but most spam today is simply mass distributed to all possible combinations at a given domain. It's more likely that famous personalities might see an influx of unwanted messages from average citizens.
What was included aside from the e-mail address is the ICC-ID of each individual's iPad 3G. The ICC-ID, or integrated circuit card identifier, is a unique code assigned to the SIM chip in the iPad which allows it to connect with AT&T's 3G network.
There have been some concerns expressed over whether exposing the ICC-ID opens up any additional security repercussions. But, a Gawker report on the incident quotes Emmanuel Gadaix, a Nokia veteran, explaining that while there have been "vulnerabilities in GSM crypto discovered over the years, none of them involve the ICC ID... as far as I know, there are no vulnerability or exploit methods involving the ICC ID."
The fact that there is little to no security concern resulting from the data breach offers some consolation to the 114,000 affected iPad 3G owners. However, it doesn't do much for AT&T's reputation with customers or its credibility with Apple.
You can follow Tony on his Facebook page, or contact him by email at [email protected]. He also tweets as @Tony_BradleyPCW.The Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)
Israel announced Friday that it would suspend cooperation with the top U.N. cultural agency, charging that the international body ignored Jewish ties to its holiest site.
Israeli officials had reacted angrily to a UNESCO draft resolution approved Thursday that criticizes Israel’s actions in and around Jerusalem’s holiest site and fails to explicitly refer to the Jewish connection to the place.
Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett said the UNESCO decision “denies history and encourages terror.”
The resolution, which was submitted by seven Arab countries at a meeting in Paris, highlights a long list of what it called Israeli violations of the Haram al-Sharif and al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina, and other Muslim holy sites in the West Bank.
The document outlines Israeli refusal to implement previous decisions by UNESCO concerning Jerusalem and to appoint a permanent representative of the organization to be stationed there. It also criticizes Israel’s “persistent excavations” in East Jerusalem particularly in the Old City and its failure to allow free access to the mosque.
While acknowledging that the “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” are important for “the three monotheistic religions” — Judaism, Islam and Christianity — the resolution stops short of mentioning the significance of the site, where two Jewish temples are believed to have once stood, as holy to Jews.
Israeli politicians and U.S. Jewish leaders lashed out at the resolution for its failure to mention the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount or the Western Wall, Jewish terms for the same site, which is considered the holiest in Judaism.
The resolution requires final approval from UNESCO’s executive board during its official plenary next week.
[Meet the Israeli lawmaker who wants to see a Jewish temple at Jerusalem’s holy Islamic site]
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Facebook that the UNESCO decision was “absurd.”
“Today UNESCO adopted its second decision this year denying the Jewish people’s connection to the Temple Mount, our holiest site for over three thousand years. What’s next? A UNESCO decision denying the connection between peanut butter and jelly? Batman and Robin? Rock and roll?” he said.
Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hacohen, said, “Israel and the Jewish people do not need UNESCO or any other country to approve the unique connection between the Jewish people and the State of Israel and Jerusalem in general and its holy places like the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in particular.”
The resolution was backed by 24 countries. Six opposed it, 26 abstained and two were not present. The United States voted against the resolution.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was created to protect world heritage sites of “outstanding universal value,” among other things.
[Jerusalem’s ancient Damascus Gate is at the heart of a modern wave of violence]
The resolution focuses on alleged Israeli shortcomings in allowing access for Muslims to the mosque, excavations around the specific site and in Jerusalem in general and changes to its facade. It calls on Israel, which the United Nations sees as an occupying power in the part of Jerusalem where the Old City sits, to restore the historic status quo at the site and condemned Israeli “aggressions and illegal measures against the Awqaf Department,” the Muslim body charged with caring for the holy site.
Palestinian leaders welcomed the resolution.
“Israel always claims we focus on the religious arguments, but we are not denying any religious connection. The third paragraph of the resolution recognizes the historic importance for the three monothe |
in defending the 2015 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation.
The states, led by California, had asked the court last month to let them become intervenors in the case. They were previously amici, a position that lets them file briefs but doesn’t allow them to be active parties in the litigation with the right to appeal.
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The case began in 2015, when industry groups and states with conservative administrations challenged the EPA’s regulation limiting the allowable level of ozone pollution to 70 parts per billion, from 75.
The Trump administration is in the process of deciding whether it wants to change or repeal the regulation.
The EPA and the groups and states challenging the rule had fought the motion filed by Democratic attorneys general and asked the court to deny it.
In June, EPA head Scott Pruitt delayed compliance with the rule by a year, an action that Democratic attorneys general challenged Tuesday in a separate lawsuit.
Wednesday’s action by the D.C. Circuit court means that if the EPA decides not to defend the ozone rule, the states could carry on with the case themselves.Do not rebuild it or repair the Christ Church Cathedral – keep it as a precious ruin surrounded by reflective pool, an architectural practice suggests.
Inspired by ideas overseas, Walker Community Architects proposed what they call a third way to deal with the earthquake-wrecked church.
The suggestion follows Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews' recent suggestion the church give the cathedral to the public. The church has established a temporary cathedral two blocks east and received an insurance payout of around $42 million for the old building.
supplied Inside the glass tunnel option.
Walker Architects said their plan would leave the old cathedral as a publicly-owned "preserved and accessible archeological ruin". It proposed two options.
READ MORE:
* Anglican synod to consider gifting Christ Church Cathedral to the people of NZ
* The powerful symbolism of an unfinished Christ Church Cathedral
* Government offers new deal to break deadlock
* Christchurch Mayor 'blindsided' by synod cathedral decision
* Who has power over the Christ Church Cathedral?
One option would place a glazed cross-shaped enclosed passageway through the missing west wall and into the building. A second option would glaze the west wall with an engraved screen depicting what was once there.
Both options include removing the remains of the tower, porch, western wall and debris. The ruin would be surrounding by a large pool.
A glazed west wall is another option in Walker Community Architects' plan.
The plan would form "an island of magnificent ruins in the square", the architects said.
They suggest that if the Anglican church wanted a new cathedral, it could build a modern one elsewhere, perhaps underground alongside the site with a glazed ceiling looking towards the ruin.
The plan would save money and create "a preserved ruin for heritage, tourism, education and science".
A cross-section of how an underground cathedral could look, alongside a preserved ruin of the old building.
"Symbolic buildings that have fallen into ruin are rare in New Zealand, dissimilar to the many elsewhere in the world that have become major tourism and cultural attractions," the architects said.
The architects are part of the Walker Architecture Group, based in Auckland and Queenstown. They said the aim of their cathedral plan was not to present a fully-resolved architectural design, but to stimulate further discussion on possibilities for the cathedral.We Americans who voted you into power did so because we believed in you to carry out the policies you campaigned to return power to the American citizens and make America great again. These policies centered around the economy, trade negotiations, immigration, and the current power structure are what matter most to us Americans.
We're sick and tired of watching the media and fascist left lie, censor, bully, assault, vandalize, and fake hoaxes upon those of your supporters. We've seen it in video after video and story after story and we have had enough. We refuse to let them use these tactics against a patriot such as yourself President Trump. We support you and trust you to do what is best for America. So you do what you do best and know we stand behind you 100%. Make America Great AgainA report in The Guardian reveals that Donald Trump lost £26 million ($31.8 million) in 2014 and 2015 on his two golf properties in Scotland, Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire and Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire. That figure, discovered in recent filings with United Kingdom authorities, allowed the Republican presidential nominee to avoid paying U.K. corporation tax. Additionally, according to The Guardian, the documents show differences between those accounts and filings Trump has made with the United States Federal Election Commission.
The newspaper states that Trump declared in U.S. FEC filings that Trump Turnberry generated $20.4 million (£16.6 million) in income in 2014, with Trump International Golf Links earning just north of $4.4 million (£3.6 million). However, his U.K. company accounts highlight losses on both courses in 2014: £3.6 million at Trump Turnberry and £1.1 million at Trump International. Last year's operating losses for Turnberry came in at £8.4 million. Moreover, Trump faced £2 million in losses in dollar-to-sterling currency exchanges last year; in 2014, that number was £3.1 million.
Part of the losses in these years may be explained by investments Trump and his companies have made in improving the properties. According to The Guardian, Trump has invested a total of £62.7 million in buying and refurbishing Trump Turnberry. Trump's son, Eric, in the filings states the expectation is that the property will return to profitability "in the short to medium term", according to The Guardian.
Trump, who has boasted his business prowess and acumen throughout his campaign, has lost money on Trump International Golf Links for four straight years, from 2012 to 2015, according to the Daily Record.
WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOSA striking demonstration that sound-object correspondences are not completely arbitrary is that adults map nonsense words with rounded vowels (e.g. bouba) to rounded shapes and nonsense words with unrounded vowels (e.g. kiki) to angular shapes (Köhler, 1947; Ramachandran & Hubbard, 2001). Here we tested the bouba/kiki phenomenon in 2.5-year-old children and a control group of adults (n =20 per age), using four pairs of rounded versus pointed shapes and four contrasting pairs of nonsense words differing in vowel sound. Overall, participants at both ages matched words with rounded vowels to the rounder shapes and words with unrounded vowels to the pointed shapes (both ps <.0005), with no significant difference between the two ages (p >.10). Such naturally biased correspondences between sound and shape may influence the development of language.** UPDATE:
1. Unknown date: Klakas Inlet, Southern Alaska. In far southern Alaska on Prince of Wales Island, a Bigfoot was reportedly shot and buried at the mouth of a stream
2. Date unknown, modern era: Location unknown. A wealthy hunter reportedly shot and killed a Bigfoot, then paid a taxidermist to stuff it
3. Unknown date, modern era: Yankton, Oregon. Near the Colombia River north of Portland, a hunter shot a Bigfoot four times between the eyes and killed it.
4. Unknown date, modern era, Amboy, Washington. Near Mt. St. Helens, a hunter reported that he shot and killed a male Bigfoot on an old logging road.
5. Unknown date: Sonora, Mexico. Rich Grumley reportedthat a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then buried it.
6. 1856: Ohio or West Virginia. Possible Bigfoot skeletonfound with bullet holes in its skull.
7. July 4, 1884: East of Yale, British Colombia. “Jacko” captured by railroad men
8. 1900: Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. An Eskimo shot and buried a Bigfoot.
9. 1921: Terrebone, Louisiana. Hunters killed a Bigfoot and dumped the body in an old well.
10. 1924: Ape Canyon, Washington. Near Mt. St. Helens, miners shoot and kill a Bigfoot
11. 1928: South Bentnick Arm, near Bella Coola, British Colombia. On the coast of central British Colombia, George Talleo shot and killed a Bigfoot.
12. After 1937: Green River, Washington. In the Cascades east of Tacoma, a hunter saw a bear grubbing in a log and shot and killed it. Turned out he had killed a Bigfoot.
13. 1940: Southeastern Missouri. Jared Sparks killed an apparent Bigfoot (he described it only as “like a gorilla”)
14. Fall 1941: Near Basket Lake, Manitoba. A 17 year old boy hunting out of season shot and killed a Bigfoot that he thought was a moose.
15. 1943: Georgia, near the South Carolina border. A Bigfoot was shot and killed by a shotguns, hit with 60 bullets
16. 1953: Alder Creek Canyon, Sandy, Oregon. East of Portland, a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then buried the body. Reported by Peter Byrne.
17. 1958-1960: Overton County, Tennessee. Bigfoot stealing chickens was shot dead by the owner of the chickens.
18. 1960′s: Douglas, Oregon: In the Cascades west of the Umpqua National Forest, a farmer shot a Bigfoot and then somehow managed to take it back to his house
19. 1965: Kitimat, British Colombia. On the coast of central British Colombia, a Kitimat man shot and killed a Bigfoot near town.
20. December 1967: Teton National Forest near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Two college students from Marshalltown, Iowa, Lyle Bingaman and Mike Burton, shot and killed a Bigfoot, thinking it was a bear.
21. 1968: North of Carson, Wyoming. Three men were hired by a rancher to kill a Bigfoot that was killing his cows and sheep by tearing off their legs.
22. After 1968: Alabama. The same man involved in the Carson, Wyoming case above shot another Bigfoot later on.
23. 1969: Whiteface Reservoir, Minnesota. A hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then put the body on ice and displayed it for awhile before replacing it with a plastic replica.
24. After 1969: Clark, Washington. Neat Mt. St. Helens, a manshot and killed a Bigfoot, then tried to sell it, but stopped when he thought it might have been illegal to kill the Bigfoot.
25. 1970: Spokane, Washington. Grover Krantz reported that a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot.
26. June 1976: Baltimore, Maryland. As unlikely as it sounds, a Bigfoot was reported here in May 1976. Police were called, and K-9′s initially refused to track it.
27. January 1976: Elm Creek, Texas Panhandle. Three menshot and killed two Bigfoots.
28. January 2000: Honobia, Oklahoma. The Siege of Honobia. Bigfoot apparently shot and killed as part of a group that was raiding and harassing a rural residence.
29. November 12, 2003: Lafollette, Tennessee. A creature had been killing peoples’ animals. A goat and cat at the very least had been killed. Local sherrif and deputies tracked Bigfoot and shot it dead.
30. August 2006: Slim Buttes, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. A Bigfoot that had been named Chiye-tanka was shot and killed on the reservation.
CONCLUSION
"From 1884-present, a 125 year period, 32 Bigfoots have been shot dead by humans, hunters or otherwise. Humans kill or take into custody Bigfoots or their bodies once every 3.9 years or about once every 4 years. In most cases, after the Bigfoot was shot it was simply left in the woods where it fell. In some cases, it was buried. In the modern era, people who shot Bigfoots were often afraid to talk about it for fear of being prosecuted. They often thought that they had killed some sort of a human being and would be prosecuted for manslaughter or homicide.
In recent years, government officials seem to be taking the bodies away after Bigfoots are shot dead. There is a possible government coverup occurring in recent years, since 1968. In the future, humans will continue to shoot and kill Bigfoots in North America. In order for science to make use of these bodies, the legal question regarding shooting a Bigfoot to death needs to be resolved somehow. Otherwise, people who shoot and kill Bigfoots will continue to abandon them or bury them in the woods.
Bigfoot organizations should establish procedures about what to do the next time a Bigfoot is shot and killed. Probably the best plan would be to say that the organization is willing to accept and Bigfoot shot dead, no questions asked. The person could then donate the body to the organization without fear of being prosecuted. It’s doubtful that the government would go after the organization merely for holding a Bigfoot corpse.
The organization should then contact a scientist such as Dr. Meldrum immediately, and probably arrange to have the corpse delivered to him. At the same time, notify the media. The government would have a hard time stealing the corpse away from Meldrum after the media have been notified.
Anyone who shoots and kills a Bigfoot should try to protect the corpse and notify either Bigfoot organizations of prominent scientists such as Dr. Meldrum. Do not notify the authorities. If you do, you’re likely to never see the body again."
On July 11, 2013Cliff Barackman referenced this post on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. You can listen to the entire interview at the bottom of the post.Some feel the only way (or at least the best way) to prove Bigfoot is real, is a dead body. Many skeptics think so too, which leads to the often asked question, "Why hasn't anybody killed or shot Bigfoot?!"Lo and behold, Robert Lindsay with his same-named blog answers that very question. His finding? There have been at least 30 incidents totaling up top 32 shootings/killings in the last 125 years.For you long-time fans, you know we don't condone the shooting or killing of Bigfoot. We have covered those that claim they have proof of Bigfoot shootings. We have calso overed interviews of those that would kill Bigfoot. As for us? Although unlikely, we would prefer Bigfoot to let us swab his inner cheek with a Q-Tip and pluck a few rooted hairs--oh and a video would be nice.Below we have the condensed list of all 30 incidents followed by Robert's conclusion. The list will give you a taste of what Robert has in store, as he has extended versions of all 30 incidents at his blog.You can read about every incindent at his site. At the post titled Why Has No Hunter Ever Shot and Killed a Bigfoot? LISTEN TO CLIFF BARACKMAN on C2C AM W/ GEORGE NOORYTo start at the beginning of Cliff's interview go to the 01:16:22 markTo catch the part where Cliff references this post go to the 01:33:49 mark.How to Vote or Register to Vote
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Last Updated: October 31, 2018ARTICLES: HOUSE OF SOLITUDE
Michel de Montaigne (1533-92): On Solitude
Michel de Montaigne represents the consummate literary style of the French Renaissance in his Essays. He is at once an advocate of the classics (the Essays are crammed with quotations from Latin authors) and a modern, conversant with his society, his contemporaries, its temper. Montaigne lived during the seething religious civil wars of France, which formed the heart of his reflections on how an intelligent person copes with a world gone mad.
Ostensibly a neutral during the wars, Montaigne was a middle-class lawyer and civil servant of the king - whoever he happened to be. He was despised by the extremists on both sides of the Catholic-Huguenot wars. The Essays reveal him a fideist, a Stoic, a skeptic; there is an independence of spirit that suggests his allegiance is to none but reason alone, but there is also a melancholy that reveals Montaigne as a resigned soul.
On Solitude is number 39 of scores of essays. He returned to it three times during ten years of editing and emending for publication. Montaigne quotes Juvenal, Horace, Virgil, Persius, Lucretius, Tibullus, Terence, and Propertius, but these are exercises required to display his wide reading and to identify him with the ancients, whom he projects to be saner company. The essence of On Solitude is a stoic acceptance of the stupidity of society and the wisdom of living a life of imagination and virtue. Is this solitude? Not by a strict definition, except that like his true mentors, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, solitude is the sense of separation in the crowd, the disdain for ambition, the aloofness in the heat of war, the tragic sense of life.
Here are some representative passages:
Contagion is very dangerous in the crowd. One must either imitate the vicious or hate them. Both these things are dangerous: to imitate them because they are many, and to hate them because they are unlike us. The wise person will flee the crowd, endure it if necessary but given the choice, choose solitude. We are not sufficiently rid of vices to have to be contending with those of others. The aim of solitude is to live more at leisure and at one's ease.
Exchanging one trouble for another is the cycle of ambition, avarice, irresolution, fear and lust pursuing the individual who thinks it sufficient to change career or livelihood in order to change himself. But it pursues the solitary into "cloisters and schools of philosophy." "Neither deserts, nor rocky caves, nor hair shirts, nor fastings will free us of them."
It is not enough to have gotten away from the crowd, it is not enough to move: we must get away from the gregarious instincts that are within us, we must sequester ourselves and repossess ourselves.
Seneca said that we are all chained to fortune: some chains are gold, others more base. This may be inferred as a social condition, but Montaigne (without quoting this passage) offers us a psychological angle by saying that the chains are our own fashioning, the cravings and vices pursuing us throughout life. He quotes Lucretius to demonstrate the philosophical import of this necessity to "purge our heart."
We must take the soul back and withdraw it into itself; that is the real solitude, which may be enjoyed in the midst of cities and the courts of kings; but it is best enjoyed alone.
This is Montaigne's Stoic compromise versus that of Lao-Tzu or the Desert Fathers: to continue to reside in the world but assume one is not of the world. It is the heart of the issue, and Montaigne knows what our ideal should be:
Now since we are undertaking to live alone and do without company, let us make our contentment depend on ourselves; let us cut loose from all the ties that bind us to others; let us win from ourselves the power to truly live alone and at our ease.
He tries to identify what this solitude should consist of, revealing his own loyal but aloof fidelity: "We should have wife, children, goods, and above all, health, if we can; but we must not bind ourselves to them so strongly that our happiness depends on them."
A discourse on love and what Buddhists call loving-kindness would help elaborate and hone this noble ideal, despite the apparant sang-froid of Montaigne. Following is his most famous line:
We must reserve a back shop all our own, entirely free, in which to establish our real liberty and our principal retreat and solitude.
But the remainder of On Solitude suggests that solitude is retirement from the world, or at least from public service and civic obligation. Montaigne considers solitude a regard for a life devoted to others, a welcome relinquishing of social ties.
"Even in retirement we should not be held captive by anything, neither pleasures nor desires." Montaigne disagrees with Pliny's advice to use solitude to devote oneself to study, for even books and learning, he says, are a tyranny. "Books are pleasant; but if by associating with them we end by losing gaiety and health, the best parts of us, let us leave them." "I like only pleasant and easy books which entertain me," he declares, "or those that console me and counsel me to regulate my life and my death."
And Montaigne rejects that final temptation offered by Pliny's version of retirement: reputation, fame, glory, and the glow that accompanies the worldly man into his autumn years.
We must do like the animals that rub out their traces at the entrance to their lairs. Seek no longer that the world should speak of you, but how you should speak to yourself. Retire into yourself, but first prepare to receive yourself there; it would be madness to trust in yourself if you do not know how to govern yourself.... Borrow nothing except from yourself, arrest your mind and fix it on definite and limited thoughts, and rest content with them, without any desire to prolong life and reputation.
Adhere to these simple guidelines to a productive solitude, advises Montaigne, not to the "ostentatious and talky philosophy" of classical authors whose concept of retirement from the world is vainglory.
¶
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
Quotations adapted from Montaigne's Complete Essays, translated by Donald M. Frame. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1958. Reprinted in The Complete Works: Essays, Travel Journal, Letters, translated by Donald M. Frame with an introduction by Stuart Hampshire. New York : Knopf, 2003.8-year-old boy attacked by 3 dogs after jumping fence into neighbor’s yard in Clearfield
CLEARFIELD, Utah -- Lindsay Long's 8-year-old son was playing in their Clearfield backyard with a friend when his ball went over the neighbor's fence.
He decided to go get it, and, in a matter of seconds, three pit bulls were on top of him.
"The dogs ran after him," Long said. "They noticed him, got him to the ground, drug him across the yard a couple feet."
She heard the commotion and ran over to rescue him, but her son had already been bitten. She said she attempted to put her body between her son and the dogs, but they were relentless. She ended up throwing her son back over the fence.
The boy suffered some soft tissue damage, some abrasions and puncture wounds.
Long said she and her husband have both told their son not to go into the neighbor's yard, even if he has permission to retrieve a toy. The dog owner's uncle, Richard Palamara, lives in the home. He said to his knowledge, the boy was never given permission.
Palamara said no kids have ever jumped the fence before. He also said any other times the dogs have been around children, they have been friendly.
"They're good dogs, man; I'm kind of surprised that's what happened," he said.
Brian Smith, a Davis County Animal Control Field Supervisor, said any time multiple dogs get together, it creates a pack mentality.
"Something could set them off," he said.
That is what troubles Long. She said she wants the laws changed and made stricter when considering an attack made by multiple dogs. She added Davis County prohibits homeowners from having more than two dogs in the home, anyway. At this point, however, she feels the dogs' punishment does not suit the crime.
"[My son] went through so much trauma, and the fact that these animals are allowed to just stay there and are basically off the hook for attacking my son," Long said.
Palamara is trying to work things out with the Longs. He said he feels awful for what happened.
"I do feel for the kid 100 percent," he said. "I don't feel like anybody should deserve what he went through. It must have been traumatic for him."
Smith said their investigation will be based on evidence and testimony gathered at the scene.
The dogs are currently in quarantine and will be deemed dangerous. The owners are required to build a six-sided kennel to keep them in whenever the dogs are outside. They also must wear a muzzle unless they are in the kennel or house. If they go for a walk, they must be attended by an adult who is physically capable of handling them.How does an idea banished to the tundra of irrelevance make its way back to the mainstream? First, a moment of recognition – and ignition – is required. Someone must dare to make the initial leap, to retrieve the frozen thesis from its glacial prison.
In the case of Brexit, it was Norman Lamont, the former chancellor of the exchequer, who dragged the idea back from the snowy wastes. Since the 1975 referendum on Common Market membership – in which British voters opted to stay in by 67% to 33% – the notion that Britain might be better off outside the European Community had lost traction, apart from on the political fringes. Yes, withdrawal remained official Labour policy for much of the 1980s; but this was one of many reasons why the party was still unelectable.
So Lamont’s decision to grant the idea mainstream credibility was a significant moment – more so even than it seemed at the time. Most of the memoirs and histories cite his speech at a fringe meeting at the 1994 Conservative conference in Bournemouth, in which he railed against the tide of EU integration: “One day it may mean contemplating withdrawal. It has recently been said that the option of leaving the Community was ‘unthinkable’. I believe this attitude is rather simplistic.”
For a senior politician, recently sacked as chancellor, to make such a statement was an occasion of high drama. But it was not the first time that Lamont had road-tested the idea. I was present earlier that year at a private meeting of the Conservative Philosophy Group, at which Lamont had urged his audience – fellow politicians, academics, journalists – to bring Brexit (as it was not yet known) down from the naughty step of political discourse and restore it to the range of serious possibilities available to governments.
The meetings of the group, in Jonathan Aitken’s house in Lord North Street in Westminster, were invariably interesting: a reflection of the shared belief that Conservatism amounted to more than the electoral face of self-interest and that Conservative ideas, seriously under-represented in British universities, drew upon a rich and vibrant intellectual tradition. (I remember Sir James Goldsmith, the billionaire founder of the Referendum party, bringing along his young son Zac to hear the debates.) But the night of Lamont’s speech – the gist of which had been leaked to the media – was the only gathering that attracted television crews and photographers, who waited on the pavement for reaction. The atmosphere within crackled with excitement, Lamont’s features twitching like a mischievous badger.
This was the twilight of the John Major era, the long goodbye to a generation of Tory government. Then, as now, Europe was dividing the Conservative party and a terrible reckoning lay ahead in the 1997 election. In practice, Black Wednesday in 1992 (the day when the pound fell out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism) and the election of Tony Blair to the Labour leadership in 1994 had already done for the Tories. But they still had little collective sense of the electoral calamity in store.
By the time his party returned to office in 2010, Lamont’s former special adviser David Cameron had been its leader for more than four years. In the interests of electability, he had urged his fellow Conservatives to stop “banging on” about Europe – a plea that they had respected, up to a point. But only up to a point. Thanks originally to Lamont – Cameron’s former mentor – the possibility that Britain might leave the EU was now emphatically back in play. It was only a matter of time before it would rock his government to its very foundations.
It has taken 22 years for this simple idea – that we should withdraw from the EU – to grow to its present scale: we are eight days from a vote that could make real what Lamont made thinkable. The leave campaign has focused to a depressing extent upon immigration. But the case for departure has deeper intellectual roots that cannot be dismissed as mere nostalgia, xenophobia or reactionary reflex.
The idea of Brexit has become part of the warp and weft of contemporary politics. The question, surprisingly unexplored, is: how?
Long before it was so, Tony Blair believed that the true intention of the Tory Eurosceptics, whatever they claimed to the contrary, was always to get out of Europe. Though most of them insisted that their ambitions were confined to “renegotiation” of Britain’s membership terms or the partial “repatriation” of UK sovereignty, Blair was sure that this was a ruse: the Tories’ true objective was to liberate the nation from the EU’s clammy grip.
When Blair took office in 1997, this was definitely not yet the case. His own enthusiasm for the EU, and impatience with whatever “forces of conservatism” stood in his way, clouded his judgment. In practice, his management of the “European question” was a petri dish that created the environment for hostility to the EU to flourish among Tories. By the time he left office in 2007, a great many Conservatives had concluded that the European project was irredeemable and that exit was the only sensible option.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chancellor of the exchequer Norman Lamont arriving at the Treasury on Black Wednesday. Photograph: Adam Butler/PA Archive/PA Photos
It is easy to forget that Blair’s unambiguous intention when he became prime minister was to take Britain into the very heart of the EU, not least by joining the single currency. In 2002, he told the Labour conference: “The euro is not just about our economy, but our destiny.”
Gordon Brown, of course, did not share this dream, and successfully thwarted Blair’s ambition to take Britain into the single currency. Where Blair saw poetry in the European project, Brown saw only prose. But, for a decade, the occupant of No 10 was a fervently committed EU-phile. This was bound to have dramatic consequences for the politics of the opposition and the emerging shape of conservatism in the early 21st century. The more passionate he became about Britain’s role in the EU, the more convinced Eurosceptics became that the process of integration was spinning out of control and must be halted – by exit, if necessary.
A cohort of young Conservatives began to argue, with an intellectual coherence that could not be ignored, that Britain would be better off outside the EU. The two most prominent representatives of this tendency within the Tory movement were Daniel Hannan, an MEP since 1999, and Douglas Carswell, who has been an MP for Harwich and then Clacton since 2005. Carswell became Ukip’s first member of parliament in 2014, after his defection from the Conservatives forced a byelection in his constituency.
Rather than objecting to the EU on reactionary grounds, Hannan and Carswell argued that it was not modern enough. In the 21st century, as technology tranformed the way we live, they asserted that voters would demand devolution and decentralisation, accountability and transparency. Against this political and cultural backdrop, the EU was hopelessly out of date.
This was the beginning of the Vote Leave movement (both Hannan and Carswell now sit on its campaign committee). What is under-appreciated is the extent to which it was a response to the Blair years, an intellectual counter-revolution.
Much of its energy was generated by Blair’s conspicuous refusal to consult the electorate on the ratification of EU agreements. The treaties of Amsterdam (1997) and of Nice (2001) were significant steps along the integrationist path, but did not trigger plebiscites in this country. By the time the EU constitutional treaty was signed in Rome in 2004, the pressure for a referendum was immense – and not confined to the Tory benches. Here, after all, was an international pact that dramatically changed the rules on qualified majority voting (as opposed to the system where a single nation could veto a proposal), gave legal force to the EU’s charter of fundamental rights and extended the EU’s power into areas such as energy and space policy.
At first, Blair resisted the idea of a referendum, but in April 2004, he dramatically changed his mind. “It is time to decide whether our destiny lies as a leading partner and ally in Europe or on its margins,” he said. “Let the issue be put and let the battle be joined.” Blair believed that he could take on the Eurosceptics and secure Britain’s position in Europe once and for all. Alas for him, the plan was scuppered by referendums in France and the Netherlands, both of which rejected the treaty and sent the EU’s draftsmen scurrying back to their drawing boards.
By the end of his premiership, Blair |
That is all.
AdvertisementsShe supported the Texas senator through the early debates and even donated to his campaign.
"Everything that he said is what I believe in," she told CNN. But over time, something changed. Cruz seemed too "structured," Eagar said, like he's "talking by a script of some kind."
Enter Donald Trump.
The billionaire's favorability ratings -- or lack thereof -- with women are remarkably bad. According to a recent CNN/ORC poll, nearly 3-in-4 women registered to vote in 2016 hold an unfavorable view of the Republican front-runner.
But even as Trump allies fret over how to win more of their support, there is one group -- led by Eagar -- for whom there is virtually nothing he could do to lose it.
"The Group," as they call themselves, is a band of conservative Tucson area women who gather every month to discuss politics and government. They are highly educated, professional, observant Mormons -- and all fierce backers of Donald J. Trump.
So how do they support a man who, whether it be in a social media spat or during a cable TV rant, seems to violate every aspect of what they believe?
"Because the other side is worse," Eagar said to laughter.
Her friend, Crystal Junior, who is Mexican-American, offered her appreciation for Trump's "transparency."
"I just find that what you see is what you get with this man," she said. "And that is what I want."
"He's a strong man with a strong personality," said Brooke Steck, a church leader and, like Junior, a mother of four. "He really does love his country, loves people, he really has respect for women."
Steck is unmoved by the most recent outbreak of animus between Trump and Cruz, which has included implicit attacks on each other's wives.
"This tweeting, it's quite ridiculous," she said. "We need to focus on the issues at hand and what's going on in our country and around the world and problems. This is just a distraction and we need to get back to the main issues."
The women blame Cruz for the scuffle, citing an ad, created by an anti-Trump super PAC, that featured an old image of Melania Trump posing provocatively without clothes for a magazine spread.
Trump responded last week to its appearance by calling out Cruz, who denied any involvement, and threatening to "spill the beans" on his wife, Heidi, then retweeting side-by-side pictures of the women.
"No need to'spill the beans'," it said. "The images are worth a thousand words."
Lyn Kilian, who moved to the U.S. from Canada more than 50 years ago, conceded she has "cringed on occasion when he's said a certain thing."
"I wonder why (Trump has) said a certain thing, but that's his personality," she said. "He's just -- he just lets it roll."
So is there anything Trump could say or do to give these backers second thoughts?
For Junior, only his "going back on his policies and on the issues" could break the bond.
"It's his policies that we admire," Eagar agreed. "And that's really the crux of it and has nothing to do with what he might call somebody or what kind of terminology he uses."2 North Las Vegas officers shot in hostage standoff; suspect killed
Shooting
Two North Las Vegas Police officers were injured and a suspect was killed in an officer-involved shooting following a standoff at a house near Canyon Springs High School, police said.
North Las Vegas Police responded about 5:10 p.m. to a report of a subject with a gun in a domestic disturbance-type incident in the 100 block of Spur Ranch Avenue, near Alexander Road and Commerce Street, Officer Aaron Patty said.
The incident turned into a barricade and hostage situation involving multiple people including children, he said.
Six people were in the home including three children ages 6 months, 2 years and 6 years old, Patty said.
SWAT responded to the scene, and at some point, the suspect came out of the residence with a shotgun visible to officers, Patty said.
The adult male suspect and police exchanged gunfire, and two SWAT officers were struck, he said.
The officers suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and were transported to University Medical Center, Patty said. They have since been discharged.
The suspect, who was also shot, was pronounced dead at the scene, Patty said.
No other injuries were reported, he said.
Police were able to get all occupants out of the home, Patty said.
Nearby residents were evacuated, and some families gathered at the high school, which was also a temporary North Las Vegas Police command post, as they waited for police to let them back into the neighborhood.
Tywun Sam, whose sister lives close to the suspect's home, said he knew the suspect as a quiet man who never caused any trouble for neighbors and helped him fix his car.
"To me, he was a cool dude," Sam said. "He always wanted to help. If he could help you out, he would."
The suspect's name has not yet been released by police.
This is the second North Las Vegas Police officer-involved shooting this year.Can't get enough of Donald Trump-inspired pee fantasies but wish they had more dinosaurs? Chuck Tingle's newest book is just for you.
Tingle, America’s foremost chronicler of current events in gay erotica form, dropped a new Kindle book in response to Donald Trump’s alleged (and still unverified) Moscow "golden shower." Its florid title, "Domald Tromp Pounded In The Butt By The Handsome Russian T-Rex Who Also Peed On His Butt And Then Blackmailed Him With The Videos Of His Butt Getting Peed On," gives you a taste of what its jam-packed 35 pages will deliver.
Set at the fictional Buttz Carlton Hotel, the story combines Tingle’s biggest passions — dinosaur sex and parodying the PEOTUS — into one glorious volume and adds to his already lengthy canon of newsy takes, which includes hits like "Slammed In The Butt By Domald Tromp's Attempt To Avoid Accusations Of Plagiarism By Removing All Facts Or Concrete Plans From His Republican National Convention Speech" and the more succinctly named "Fake News, Real Boners."
Tingle is nothing if not prolific and lightning fast when it comes to responding to our political circus. He dropped the book on Amazon yesterday, and it has already garnered plenty of rave reviews. Reader "Seth" writes, "I laughed, I cried, I pissed myself!"
Image: amazon
Image: amazon
Image: amazon
If you haven't already reached your piss play saturation point, go ahead and soak it in.Get the biggest Manchester City FC 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
Marseille have edged ahead of PSV Eindhoven in the battle to land young Manchester City defender Karim Rekik.
The Blues are willing to sell the centre-back following his loan period in Holland with PSV Eindhoven.
Jason Denayer, who has returned to City following his own loan at Celtic, has jumped ahead of him in the pecking order and is tipped for a first-team squad place next season.
PSV are keen to take Rekik, who last season helped them to the Dutch league title, on a permanent basis.
But City still rate him highly and want around £3.5m - and a buy-back clause.
PSV had fancied their chances of landing him but Marseille have agreed personal terms with the player according to reports in the French media.
They are said to be preparing an offer to City.
Rekik is the youngest foreign player ever to play in the City first team, making his debut at the age of 16 years and 283 days.
He was initially expected to return to City this summer to push for a place in the first-team squad along with fellow loanees Rony Lopes and Denayer.
But 19-year-old Denayer has stepped ahead of him after a fine season with Celtic and after establishing himself as a Belgium international.
It now seems certain that Denayer will become the Blues’ fourth central defender with Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala, replacing Dedryck Boyata, who has headed in the opposite direction to Celtic in a permanent deal.
See who City fans want the Blues to sign this summer belowTaipei (AFP) - A Taiwanese man suspected of decapitating a four-year-old girl was beaten by an angry mob, as the case sparked fresh debate Tuesday about the death penalty for child-killers.
The man grabbed the child as she cycled to a Taipei metro station with her mother on Monday, and beheaded her with a kitchen knife, police said.
The suspect pushed away the girl's mother as she tried to save her daughter. Seven bystanders were also unable to stop the man, police added.
The girl has been identified only by her surname Liu. Local media have used her family nickname "little light bulb".
Police said the suspect, a 33-year-old surnamed Wang, had previously been arrested for drug related crimes and had sought medical treatment for mental illness.
The case, the second child killing in Taipei in less than a year, has sparked widespread public anger and criticism of calls to abolish the death penalty.
Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. Executions are reserved for serious crimes including aggravated murder and kidnapping, but the political elite is divided over whether or not to retain it.
Parliament says it will on Thursday a review of a bill that would ensure those convicted of killing children under 12 are given the death penalty, or at least a life sentence in the case of severe mental illness.
"I am deeply saddened by the case... (the suspect) should be sentenced to death in the case of a stranger killing a child," said lawmaker Wang Yu-min, who proposed the bill.
Children's welfare group the White Rose Social Care Association is planning to hold a rally in Taipei on April 10 to push for enforcement of capital punishment.
"This kind of random killing shows that Taiwan cannot afford to abolish the death penalty," said chairwoman Eva Liang.
The girl's mother, however, urged the public not to discuss the issue to allow the family time to grieve.
"If you are concerned about us or have sympathy, please respect us... I don't wish to see such discussions at the time being," she told reporters outside a funeral home, also asking people not to circulate photos of the girl's body.
- 'Stop beating' -
Television footage Monday showed dozens of angry people gathered outside a police station in Taipei where the suspect was being held.
Some attacked the man as he was being transferred to the prosecutor's office for questioning. He pleaded with them to "stop beating".
Others came to lay flowers and toys at the spot where the girl was killed and her family held a religious ceremony for her there.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen who will take office on May 20, also went to the scene to lay flowers.
"This incident deals a big blow to Taiwan's society. Many Taiwanese people are saddened and feel insecure... We should work together so parents don't have to worry and children can grow up safely," she said.There won't be any last-minute changes to the UFC card this week.
All 16 fighters who were tested out of competition from UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee came back clean, according to California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster. It was the largest amount of competitors tested out of competition in state history. The event takes place Wednesday night at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.
UFC lightweight Gilbert Melendez also tested negative in the full anabolic screen. Melendez, who was supposed to face Al Iaquinta in the co-main event, will no longer be competing on the card, because he tested positive for exogenous origin of testosterone metabolites in his fight-night test at UFC 188 on June 13 in Mexico City. It is certainly possible that any drugs had left his system between the date of the bout with Eddie Alvarez and his pre-fight test.
Melendez, who lost by unanimous decision to Alvarez, was suspended one year by the UFC. Melendez denied knowingly taking any banned substances.
"I did not inject anything, but I am responsible and accept the consequences for the results," Melendez said in a statement. "I will make sure I am better educated about the products I use and their implications.
CSAC was not able to test any foreign fighters from the San Diego event out of competition, but all fighters will be subjected to fight-night screening and potential carbon isotope ratio testing.
UFC Fight Night 71 is headlined by a heavyweight contender bout between Todd Duffee and Frank Mir. The co-main event features top lightweights Tony Ferguson and Josh Thomson and Holly Holm and Marion Reneau will meet in an important women's bantamweight encounter.Posted by Fred Chung, Android Developer Relations team
Android 4.2, Jelly Bean, introduced quite a few new features, and under the covers it also added a number of security enhancements to ensure a more secure environment for users and developers.
This post highlights a few of the security enhancements in Android 4.2 that are especially important for developers to be aware of and understand. Regardless whether you are targeting your app to devices running Jelly Bean or to earlier versions of Android, it's a good idea to validate these areas in order to make your app more secure and robust.
Content Provider default access has changed
Content providers are a facility to enable data sharing amongst app and system components. Access to content providers should always be based on the principle of least privilege — that is, only grant the minimal possible access for another component to carry out the necessary tasks. You can control access to your content providers through a combination of the exported attribute in the provider declaration and app-specific permissions for reading/writing data in the provider.
In the example below, the provider ReadOnlyDataContentProvider sets the exported attribute to "true", explicitly declaring that it is readable by any external app that has acquired the READ_DATA permission, and that no other components can write to it.
<provider android:name=”com.example.ReadOnlyDataContentProvider” android:authorities=”com.example” android:exported=”true” android:readPermission=”com.example.permission.READ_DATA” />
Since the exported attribute is an optional field, potential ambiguity arises when the field is not explicitly declared in the manifest, and that is where the behavior has changed in Android 4.2.
Prior to Jelly Bean, the default behavior of the exported field was that, if omitted, the content provider was assumed to be "exported" and accessible from other apps (subject to permissions). For example, the content provider below would be readable and writable by other apps (subject to permissions) when running on Android 4.1 or earlier. This default behavior is undesirable for sensitive data sources.
<provider android:name=”com.example.ReadOnlyDataContentProvider” android:authorities=”com.example” />
Starting in Android 4.2, the default behavior for the same provider is now “not exported”, which prevents the possibility of inadvertent data sharing when the attribute is not declared. If either the minSdkVersion or targetSdkVersion of your app is set to 17 or higher, the content provider will no longer be accessible by other apps by default.
While this change helps to avoid inadvertent data sharing, it remains the best practice to always explicitly declare the exported attribute, as well as declaring proper permissions, to avoid confusion. In addition, we strongly encourage you to make use of Android Lint, which among other things will flag any exported content providers (implicit or explicit) that aren't protected by any permissions.
New implementation of SecureRandom
Android 4.2 includes a new default implementation of SecureRandom based on OpenSSL. In the older Bouncy Castle-based implementation, given a known seed, SecureRandom could technically (albeit incorrectly) be treated as a source of deterministic data. With the new OpenSSL-based implementation, this is no longer possible.
In general, the switch to the new SecureRandom implementation should be transparent to apps. However, if your app is relying on SecureRandom to generate deterministic data, such as keys for encrypting data, you may need to modify this area of your app. For example, if you have been using SecureRandom to retrieve keys for encrypting/decrypting content, you will need to find another means of doing that.
A recommended approach is to generate a truly random AES key upon first launch and store that key in internal storage. For more information, see the post "Using Cryptography to Store Credentials Safely".
JavascriptInterface methods in WebViews must now be annotated
Javascript hosted in a WebView can directly invoke methods in an app through a JavaScript interface. In Android 4.1 and earlier, you could enable this by passing an object to the addJavascriptInterface() method and ensuring that the object methods intended to be accessible from JavaScript were public.
On the one hand, this was a flexible mechanism; on the other hand, any untrusted content hosted in a WebView could potentially use reflection to figure out the public methods within the JavascriptInterface object and could then make use of them.
Beginning in Android 4.2, you will now have to explicitly annotate public methods with @JavascriptInterface in order to make them accessible from hosted JavaScript. Note that this also only takes effect only if you have set your app's minSdkVersion or targetSdkVersion to 17 or higher.
// Annotation is needed for SDK version 17 or above. @JavascriptInterface public void doSomething(String input) {... }
Secure USB debugging
Android 4.2.2 introduces a new way of protecting your apps and data on compatible devices — secure USB debugging. When enabled on a device, secure debugging ensures that only host computers authorized by the user can access the internals of a USB-connected device using the ADB tool included in the Android SDK.
Secure debugging is an extension of the ADB protocol that requires hosts to authenticate before accessing any ADB services or commands. At first launch, ADB generates an RSA key pair to uniquely identifies the host. Then, when you connect a device that requires secure debugging, the system displays an authorization dialog such as the one shown below.
The user can allow USB debugging for the host for a single session or can give automatic access for all future sessions. Once a host is authorized, you can execute ADB commands for the device in the normal way. Until the device is authorized, it remains in "offline" state, as listed in the adb devices command.
For developers, the change to USB debugging should be largely transparent. If you've updated your SDK environment to include ADB version 1.0.31 (available with SDK Platform-tools r16.0.1 and higher), all you need to do is connect and authorize your device(s). If your development device appears in "offline" state, you may need to update ADB. To so so, download the latest Platform Tools release through the SDK Manager.
Secure USB debugging is enabled in the Android 4.2.2 update that is now rolling out to Nexus devices across the world. We expect many more devices to enable secure debugging in the months ahead.
More information about security best practices
For a full list of security best practices for Android apps, make sure to take a look at the Security Tips document.Read the full story and developments in the investigation on CNN.com. For local coverage, visit WPIX, WCBS and NY1.
Scroll down to catch up on the events as they unfolded.
[Updated at 3:19 p.m. ET] Two patients who were brought to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Friday have been discharged and one has been admitted, the hospital's public affairs office said in a statement.
The three people were brought to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Emergency Department as a result of a shooting outside the Empire State building shortly after 9 a.m., the hospital said.
Other victims were brought to Bellevue Hospital after the shooting, which police said left eight wounded and two dead, including the gunman.
Police initially said nine bystanders were wounded in an exchange of gunfire between shooter Jeffrey Johnson and police. That number was later revised to eight.
Pictures from the scene
Police killed Johnson as he pulled a gun on them while trying to flee the scene where he fatally shot a former coworker, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
The gunman apparently had a longstanding dispute with the victim over workplace harassment allegations, police said. Both men had filed prior complaints.
[Updated at 12:16 a.m. ET] New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised police and civilians for their quick response to a shooting outside the Empire State Building on Friday morning, which left two dead and nine injured.
"There is no doubt that the situation would've been even more tragic except for the extraordinary acts of heroism," Bloomberg said in a media conference. "New York City is the safest big city in this country but we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence."
Gunman Jeffrey Johnson, 53, killed one person before he was shot to death outside the busy tourist destination on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue in a chaotic scene just after 9 a.m., Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. In addition to being home to a popular tourist destination in Midtown Manhattan, the area is also a busy commercial district.
"I saw people running and I didn't know what happened. I thought it was a celebrity spotting," said witness Rebecca Fox, who was on her way to work when the shootings broke out. "It was a very surreal scene."
Fast Facts: The Empire State Building
The victim was Johnson's former coworker at Hazan Imports, where Johnson was a designer of women's accessories until being laid off last year.
As Johnson attempted to flee the scene, a construction worker across the street alerted two police officers, who pursued him up West 33rd Street, Kelly said. As Johnson pulled out a.45 caliber pistol, the officers opened fire, killing Johnson. It was unclear if Johnson managed to shoot a round.
Nine others were wounded or grazed in the exchange of gunfire, Kelly said. They were taken to local hospitals where they are expected to recover.
"Some may have been accidentally shot by police officers," Kelly said.
Photos and messages from Twitter and other digital platforms that appear to be related to the shooting outside the Empire State Building are being collected by CNN.com social media producer Dorrine Mendoza on this Storify page. CNN editors are working to verify this information and will be updating throughout the day.
[Updated at 11:26 a.m. ET] A gunman fatally shot a former coworker in the head outside the Empire State Building Friday morning before he was killed by police officers, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
The suspect, 53-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, was a "disgruntled former employee" of a business near the Empire State Building, Kelly said. As he tried to flee the scene, a construction worker alerted two police officers, who pursued him down 33rd Street, Kelly said.
Johnson pulled a.45 caliber gun on the approaching police officers but it not clear if he actually shot any rounds as police opened fire on him, Kelly said.
Nine people were wounded or grazed in the crossfire, Kelly said.
"Some may have been accidentally shot by police officers," Kelly said.
[Updated at 11:08 a.m. ET] The Empire State Building is fully operational after ten people were shot outside the popular tourist destination this morning, leaving at least two dead.
Building representatives released a statement saying the New York Police Department is concluding its investigation that occurred shortly after 9 a.m.
[Updated at 11:08 a.m. ET] New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to speak soon after a shooting outside the Empire State Building Friday morning left at least two dead, including the suspected gunman.
A witnessed said they saw a shooter with a "large gun"
[Updated at 10:40 a.m. ET] New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to speak at 11 a.m. after a shooting outside the Empire State Building Friday morning left at least two dead, including the suspected gunman.
Watch the news conference live on CNN TV, on CNN.com or on your CNN mobile app.
• There is no apparent link to terrorism, a law enforcement official said.
• Are you there? Share your story
• Police shot the suspect, whose body is still lying outside the building covered in a sheet, witnesses said.
• A woman was also killed in the shooting, which occurred as people were lining up to gain entry to the busy tourist destination on 34 Street and Fifth Avenue.
• An elevator worker from inside the Empire State Building ran outside and began chasing the alleged shooter, CNN producer Rose Arce said. At some point police, who were apparently inside the building, were alerted and chased and the alleged shooter.
• Photos and messages from Twitter and other digital platforms that appear to be related to the shooting outside the Empire State Building are being collected by CNN.com social media producer Dorrine Mendoza on this Storify page. CNN editors are working to verify this information and will be updating throughout the day.
[Updated at 10:33 a.m. ET] The body of the alleged shooter is lying outside the entrance to the Empire State Building after a shooting broke out Friday morning, leaving at least two dead, New York City officials said.
A woman was also killed in the shooting, which occurred as people were lining up to gain entry to the busy tourist destination.
An elevator worker from inside the Empire State Building ran outside and began chasing the alleged shooter, CNN producer Rose Arce said. At some point police, who were apparently inside the building, were alerted and chased and the alleged shooter.
Arce talked to several international tourists who were standing around. "They were completely stunned by what happened and were screaming," Arce reports.
[Updated at 10:17 a.m. ET] Ten people were shot outside the Empire State Building, leaving two dead, including the gunman, New York City officials said.
A witness told CNN she saw a man lying in the middle of the street surrounded by police.
"I saw blood on the sidewalk," Rebecca Fox said. "It was a very surreal scene."
[Updated at 10:09 a.m. ET] A suspect started shooting outside the Empire State Building this morning, killing at least one person, New York city officials say.
The suspect had a "large gun," a witness told CNN.
[Updated at 9:55 a.m. ET] - At least 10 people were shot Friday in front of the Empire State Building in New York Friday morning, the New York Office of Emergency Management said.
A suspect in the shooting was shot and killed by police, New York police said.
Authorities converged on the building around 9 a.m. after reports of gunfire.
A witness told CNN's Rose Arce that the gunman ran after and shot a man in the head. An unarmed guard chased the gunman away, the witness told Arce.
Police have closed several several streets around 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan.
New York resident Max Kaplan, 22, said he heard at least nine gunshots. He said several ambulances have arrived at the scene.
"We're all very shaken up at the office," he said.
The Empire State Building is one of the most famous skyscrapers in the world, and one of New York City's best-known tourist attractions.
Each year, about 4 million people visit the building's two observation decks. At more than 1,453 feet tall, the landmark building reaches more than a quarter-mile into the sky.Along with looking very stylish and bigger than other rival products, Hasselblad’s latest digital SLR camera is looking to win the competition with a photo finish.
Source: Wired
The Hasselblad H3DII-50 is a new DSLR camera that has not 10, not 12, but 50 megapixels. The mammoth of a camera uses Kodak’s 50 megapixel 36x48mm CCD sensor, which is twice the size of most DSLR sensors. Since its anything but small, the camera can capture 65 MB files, giving you a bigger and more detailed picture.
Other features include:
- Integrated 50 Mpix capture units with 3” display.
- Ultra-Focus: integral optimization of digital lens performance.
- Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution.
- Integrated CCD cooling sink for lower noise.
- Direct ISO/WB control.
- Thumbwheel control of digital menus.
- GPS accessory option.
But despite its wide array of features, there are two cons to the H3DII-50. Since it can capture 65 MB files, it doesn’t leave you a lot of space to take numerous pictures. On a 2 GB memory card, you’ll probably get about 30 frames. The retail price might be a major flaw as well. Even though the price and release date aren’t set yet, don’t expect the camera to be cheap as the previous model, the H3DII-39, cost almost US $40,000.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the specs, you can visit the following website.NASA's Global Hawk Mission Begins with Flight to Hurricane Leslie
Headquarters, Washington
[email protected]
202-358-0918
Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
[email protected]
757-824-1579
Steve ColeHeadquarters, Washington202-358-0918Keith KoehlerWallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.757-824-1579
NASA has begun its latest hurricane science field campaign by flying an unmanned Global Hawk aircraft over Hurricane Leslie in the Atlantic Ocean during a day-long flight from California to Virginia. With the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission, NASA for the first time will be flying Global Hawks from the U.S. East Coast.The Global Hawk took off from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday and landed at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., today at 11:37 a.m. EDT after spending 10 hours collecting data on Hurricane Leslie. The month-long HS3 mission will help researchers and forecasters uncover information about how hurricanes and tropical storms form and intensify.NASA will fly two Global Hawks from Wallops during the HS3 mission. The planes, which can stay in the air for as long as 28 hours and fly over hurricanes at altitudes greater than 60,000 feet, will be operated by pilots in ground control stations at Wallops and Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.The mission targets the processes that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change. The aircraft help scientists decipher the relative roles of the large-scale environment and internal storm processes that shape these systems. Studying hurricanes is a challenge for a field campaign like HS3 because of the small sample of storms available for study and the great variety of scenarios under which they form and evolve. HS3 flights will continue into early October of this year and be repeated from Wallops during the 2013 and 2014 hurricane seasons.The first Global Hawk arrived Sept. 7 at Wallops carrying a payload of three instruments that will sample the environment around hurricanes. A second Global Hawk, scheduled to arrive in two weeks, will look inside hurricanes and developing storms with a different set of instruments. The pair will measure winds, temperature, water vapor, precipitation and aerosols from the surface to the lower stratosphere."The primary objective of the environmental Global Hawk is to describe the interaction of tropical disturbances and cyclones with the hot, dry and dusty air that moves westward off the Saharan desert and appears to affect the ability of storms to form and intensify," said Scott Braun, HS3 mission principal investigator and research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.This Global Hawk will carry a laser system called the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), the Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS), and the Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS).The CPL will measure cloud structure and aerosols such as dust, sea salt and smoke particles. The S-HIS can remotely sense the temperature and water vapor vertical profile along with the sea surface temperature and cloud properties. The AVAPS dropsonde system will eject small sensors tied to parachutes that drift down through the storm, measuring winds, temperature and humidity."Instruments on the 'over-storm' Global Hawk will examine the role of deep thunderstorm systems in hurricane intensity change, particularly to detect changes in low-level wind fields in the vicinity of these thunderstorms," said Braun.These instruments will measure eyewall and rainband winds and precipitation using a Doppler radar and other microwave sensors called the High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), High-Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) and Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD).HIWRAP measures cloud structure and winds, providing a three-dimensional view of these conditions. HAMSR uses microwave wavelengths to measure temperature, water vapor, and precipitation from the top of the storm to the surface. HIRAD measures surface wind speeds and rain rates.The HS3 mission is supported by several NASA centers including Wallops; Goddard; Dryden; Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. HS3 also has collaborations with partners from government agencies and academia.HS3 is an Earth Venture mission funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Earth Venture missions are managed by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program at the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The HS3 mission is managed by the Earth Science Project Office at NASA's Ames Research Center.For more information about NASA's Airborne Science Program, visit:In Season 2, the Johnson brothers continue their quest to fulfill the ancient prophecy that would grant them the full powers of the gods.
1. And Then She Will Come To You 43m Mike has taken over Gaia's old room at Axl and Zeb's place. Meanwhile, Ty is preoccupied with his own dysfunctional marriage.
2. Frigg Magnet 44m Agnetha is still trying to win the boys over to her side and takes Ty and Axl out to dinner, but Ty gets 'detained' by Eva and doesn't show.
3. Charlie Truman 44m Ty's downward spiral picks up pace; Gaia hooks up with a stranger at a party.
4. Death's Cleansing Embrace 44m Agnetha admits that she killed Eva -- but what is Ty going to do about it?
5. A Damn Fine Woman 44m There are new women in the lives of both Axl and Ty -- but are they here to stay?
6. Folkmoot 43m As Ty sleeps soundly, Colin walks around him speaking in Old Norse. By the time his work is done, Ty is surrounded by walls of fire.
7. Effortless Manly Coolness 44m Axl's good nature is being taken advantage of as Ty palms Ingrid off on him.
8. Man-Flu 44m After the Johnson clan becomes infected with a virus, Axl slips into a coma.
9. Everything Starts With Gaia 44m Axl wakes to find Gaia shifting furniture in response to a dream she had about the perfect furniture arrangement for the flat.
10. Magical Fluffy Bunny World 43m Gaia is still not getting her head around the idea that she is Frigg -- in fact, she's openly mocking Axl and Bryn.
11. The House of Jerome 44m As Axl deals with dueling prophecies, a cold wind sweeps in from the North, leading to a marriage Anders never saw coming.
12. You Call This the Real World? 44m Axl and Gaia's escape from the real world takes a turn for the surreal, while Mike discovers his world is not his alone.TRENCH AND CAMP Vol. 1 No. 6
November 12, 1917
Staff of Famous Specialists to Man Million Dollar Hospital, One of Finest in Country
75 Buildings, Each for Specialized Work, Compose New Camp Unit, Now Open
One of the most interesting quarters of camp has recently been opened and is now running with that remarkable smoothness which soon characterizes all departments of this vast cantonment. It is the million dollar base hospital. The location in the P section which was used by the institution until the permanent buildings were sufficiently advanced for occupancy has been abandoned, and the Medical Department of camp is already becoming familiar with the lay of things in its seventy-building unit southwest of the “heart of the city.”
When completed, Upton’s base hospital will be one of the finest military establishments of its kind in the United States. IT is a small city in itself, with three score and ten buildings. These are connected by glass inclosed corridors and are steam-heated from the hospitals own plant. A power unit is included in the equipment which also embraces laundry, post exchange, guard house, chapel, mortuary, garage and fire engine. The buildings are all one-story wooden structure and when entirely completed will have a capacity of 1,000 patients.
Laboratories and special buildings for special departments of medical science are to be equipped with all of the appurtenances known to modern skill. One entire building will be devoted to surgery of the head and will have two operating rooms, complete in every detail, cases of the eye being treated in one and of the ear, nose and throat in another. Other branches of medicine will be housed in separate buildings and every care taken to insure complete attention to patients.
Has Notable Staff.
A staff of famous specialties medical men with national reputations will be maintained to make the treatment accorded Upton fighters the best which a finely manned hospital affords.
Major Jay D. Whitham, M.C., the commanding officer, has as his chief of medical service Major Harlow Brooks, M.O.R.C., of New York City, clinic professor of medicine at the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, and at present chairman of the section of medicine, New York Academy of Medicine. Capt. William Etickney, M.O.R.C., of Rutland, Vt., who accompanied one of Rear-Admiral Peary’s polar expeditions, is chief of the surgical service. The hospital adjutant chief of the service of men’s diseases is Major Howard Fox, M.O.R.C., of New York, attending derindologist to the Harlem, Polyclinic, German and Willard Parker Hospitals. Major G. Hammond, M.O.R.C., president of the New York Athletic Club, is the chief of the neurological service. Capt. Russell L. Cecil, M.O.R.C., is chief of laboratory; Major Edward H. Dench, consulting otolaryngologist; Capt. Frederick G. Ritchie, chief of the ophthamological service; Capt. Aaron J. Rosanoff, psychiatrist; Capt. John R. V. Wolfe, roentgenologist, and First Lieut. John H. Snapp,, D.C., chief of the dental service.
A staff of assistants, all specialists in their particular line, will be under these heads of departments The son |
ates with a mere few adversarial parties playing tug-of-war, switching back and forth every few terms.
Details differ among the different levels of government in Australia, but this problem is nearly always present. Even in the ACT's Legislative Assembly and Tasmania's House of Assembly, where multi-seat divisions are used, some disconnect between voter preferences and party results can be observed. The only places where the problem and flow on effects are unobserved are the Tasmanian Legislative Council and a number of rural Local Councils, where independent candidates dominate.
Partly as a consequence of of the 'tablecloth' ballot papers, substantial nomination deposits are required to stand in many elections around the country. For all but a handful of candidates, these deposits are effectively fees, taking up limited financial resources that would be better spent on campaigning. Further, the continued size of the Federal Senate and NSW Legislative Council ballots indicate that such fees are insufficient as a barrier to entry anyway. Finally, it is common for parties to stand candidates in areas those candidates have no connection to - because for parties, the nomination deposit is the only external restriction.
Other more minor issues also plague Australia's electoral systems. Federal division, State district, and Local ward boundaries differ wildly. Optional vs full preferencing differs depending on State, as does the methods of filling unexpected mid-term vacancies. Term lengths differ, both in length and fixed vs varying, between different levels of government. Single Transferable Vote is counted by software processing of scanned ballots, yet the software used is not made available for scrutiny.[156]
Solutions and non-solutions
Fixing the big problem and most of the follow-on effects requires a voting system that is designed to ensure that overall party support matches overall seats won. Voting systems that are designed to ensure this are called "proportional representation" systems. There are three well-tested voting systems that can provide this, or close enough to it.
Open Party List[157] is a system where voters cast a vote for a party and a candidate within that party. Seats are then allocated to each party according to the proportion of votes that party received, and those seats are filled by the most popular candidates within each party. Implementations often involve several separate multi-seat divisions, but overall proportionality can still be maintained by reserving some seats to allocate according to the overall vote. Of the three systems mentioned here, this has the highest number of other countries already using it. However it is the most different to all systems currently in use in Australia, and it has been previously tried and rejected by voters in the ACT. It also does not handle independent candidates well, nor does it do a good job providing localised representatives.
Single Transferable Vote[158] is currently in use for Local elections in some States, most Upper Houses, and the ACT Legislative Assembly and Tasmanian House of Assembly. Because political party is not taken into account, this system does not guarantee proportionality. It often gets close in practice but only when a single multi-seat division is used. This places practical limits on the overall number of seats and means no localised representation at all. The system does, however, handle independent candidates extremely well, and minimises potentially wasted votes when the available number of seats is small. These characteristics make it ideal for Local Council elections and the Upper Houses of Parliament, but not the larger Lower Houses that are generally intended to represent the population of the State/Territory/Country as a whole.
Mixed Member Proportional[159] is a system where approximately half of the available seats are filled with candidates elected from single seat divisions. Then the remaining seats are allocated to each party to ensure that the overall proportion of votes each party received corresponds to the number of seats each party obtains. If preferences are used for the single seat divisions, the required ballots closely resemble current Instant Runoff ballots. Independent candidates and localised representation are both handled about as well as with current single seat divisions. This system works best when the overall number of seats to be allocated is not too small, and most candidates are affiliated with a party. These characteristics make it ideal for the Lower Houses of Parliament. This system was chosen by New Zealand in the early 1990's when conducting reform to their electoral system.
Electronic voting, as in where votes are cast and counted entirely electronically, is not a solution. The most it could offer is an easier time handling excessively large ballot papers. But, as pointed out, that is only a minor symptom of the real problem, and in return for convenience electronic voting introduces a laundry list[160][161] of issues that compromise trust in any election. Electronically assisted voting, as in where votes are selected on a computer, printed out, then handled the same as other paper ballots, does not address the underlying problems. It too will only offer an easier time handling large ballot papers, and currently would add significant unnecessary expense to elections.
While it is distasteful to impose barriers to democratic participation, it is acceptable to require prospective candidates to demonstrate some level of community support. This support should not be measured in dollars (as it currently is), but rather in people: nomination signatures from electors of that district, region or state.
The importance of a Royal Commission
Any political party pushing directly to change the electoral system is subject to a conflict of interest. Political rivals will rightly have suspicions, and the entire issue will likely fail to gain traction. The only way to build a consensus and ensure a fair outcome is to empower an independent body to investigate the issue and come up with solutions. For that reason, the goal of this policy is to have a Royal Commission appointed which will determine a fair course of action.
Proposed Reforms
Pirate Party Australia advocates for a Royal Commission on the electoral systems used in all levels of government in Australia, to decide on how to best make our elections fairer, more democratic, and more accessible to the voting population.
To that Royal Commission, Pirate Party Australia will make the following recommendations:
Voting Systems
Mixed Member Proportional is the best option for use in all State and Federal Lower Houses This would ensure both accurate overall representation of the votes, and that all areas have an MP tasked with representing their concerns Optional preferential is the best option for electing the division seats, to allow voters full control and for consistency with Single Transferable Vote No thresholds should be used, as they distort the results away from how people voted The Largest Remainder Method with Droop quota [162] is the best option for allocating top-up seats to parties, for consistency with Single Transferable Vote Best Near Winner [163] should be used for filling top-up seats to ensure all MPs are directly elected by the people
Single Transferable Vote is the best option for use in all Local Councils and State and Federal Upper Houses This works well with both the large number of Independent Local Councillors and the small number of seats available in most State and Federal Upper House elections Above The Line voting should be abolished, as reform to the Lower Houses should ease the candidate crowding that originally necessitated Above The Line The number of Wards for Local Councils should be minimised, ideally using only one whenever practical to avoid geographic bias
Robson Rotation[164] should be adopted for all elections in order to eliminate the effects of donkey voting
Nominations
Abolish nomination deposits entirely, or else reduce them to a nominal level
Instead, require nomination signatures, from residents of the relevant electorate
The number of signatures should be set at a level reflecting the minimum number of campaigners required to interact with a majority of the electorate For the House of Representatives, 10 nominators per candidate, as the top 10 polling places in each Division serve about half the population there For the Senate, 10 nominators for every House of Representatives Division in the State or Territory, per candidate
To ease the volume of election-time paperwork: Prospective candidates would be permitted to lodge nominations throughout the year prior to the election Parties undergoing membership audits in the year prior to the election, who demonstrate membership numbers in any electorate equal to or exceeding the nomination requirements, would be pre-approved to stand candidate(s) in those electorates Members of Parliament who are re-contesting their seat would be exempt from these requirements
Consistency
State and Federal geographic division boundaries should be aligned, but Local Council areas should be left to reflect natural community boundaries This would be made practical through the flexible number of single division vs topup seats involved in Mixed-Member Proportional
All government elections should be standardised to fixed four year term lengths
Integrity
Paper ballots should remain the only method used for casting votes at all elections, with voters encouraged to cast votes in person at dedicated polling places
Any and all software used in the scanning and counting of paper ballots should have its source code made available to the public for scrutiny
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Economic reform
Merger of tax and welfare systems, and establishment of a basic income
Australia's tax and welfare systems have grown so complicated that they are almost impossible to understand.[165] The tax system now comprises more than 120 different taxes[166], and includes a range of bad incentives which favour property speculation and penalise work and saving.[167] The complexity nullifies any chance at real government transparency; it also forces more than two thirds of taxpayers to file returns through tax agents.[168]
The welfare system also faces problems with complexity. It has grown in ad-hoc fashion to encompass more than 20 separate payments, each with different means tests, sub-payments, administrative arrangements and compliance regimes.[169] Administrative costs for tax and welfare run to over $5 billion annually, and over $80 billion is "churned" (collected as tax and then returned to the saTwo years later, what ES6 (ES2015) features I use most
Gilad Dayagi Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 15, 2017
It has been almost two years since the ES6 standard have been released, and thanks to tools like Babel we didn’t have to wait for browsers support in order to adopt the new standard.
I have to admit that initially some of the new language features seemed weird and unnecessary, but as I started to use them their benefits became clear.
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to review the new features and list the ones that I use the most as JS developer (of course, your list could be different..).
Each section title links to the relevant MDN documentation, and I tried to add a short example for each feature that showcases its benefits.
These new declarations are block-scoped, which make good sense and is more intuitive.
Being able to define const s allows to be more specific with describing the intended use of the variables which in turn leads to more readable code which is safer to refactor (even though const’s can be mutated).
const foo = {a: 1, b: 2}
foo.a = 3 //allowed
foo = {} //error
The intuitive scoping and minimalistic syntax make this the new go-to way of defining functions.
const foo = name => {
console.log(`Hello ${name}`)
}
foo('world')
I use it mostly with objects and it really cuts-down on code repetition:
const foo = {a: 1, b: 2, c: 3, d: 4}
// ES6
let {a, b, c} = foo
// ES5
a = foo.a
b = foo.b
c = foo.c
Really useful for doing immutable transformations and augmenting existing objects — for example, integrating user specified options with defaults in a library.
const config = {a: 1, b: 2, c: 3}
const options = {b: 8}
// mutate
Object.assign(config, options)
console.log(config) // output: Object {a: 1, b: 8, c: 3}
// immutable update
const foo = {a: 1, b: 2, c: 3}
const bar = Object.assign({}, foo, {b: 8}, {c: 9})
console.log(bar) // output: Object {a: 1, b: 8, c: 9}
Being able to give default values to function arguments just makes sense and was really missing from the language.
Saves us from using ugly code like this:
// ES5
function oldWay (a, b) {
a = (typeof a!== 'undefined')? a : 'foo';
b = (typeof b!== 'undefined')? b : 'bar';
return a + b;
}
// ES6
function newWay (a = 'foo', b = 'bar') {
return a + b
}
This one is huge. We had module systems before (like CommonJs, RequireJs), but having a standard way of using modules in the browser is a big step forward.
Modules allow to easily structure the code in a modular way that encourages encapsulation and composability and lead to more maintainable and reusable code.
Note that this feature is not currently supported natively in any browser.
Again, this new feature just makes sense and saves us from unreadable code and excessive typing:
const foo = 1
// ES5
const str1 = 'Baz: '+ foo + ', '+ (foo + 1) + ', '+ (foo + 2) + ', '+ (foo + 3) + '!'
// ES6
const str2 = `Baz: ${foo}, ${foo + 1}, ${foo + 2}, ${foo + 3}!`
One of the ways to make async code more manageable and readable, a Promise represents a value which may be available now, or in the future, or never.
Through different library implementations, promises have shown their benefits for a while and now they are part of the standard.
const delayed = new Promise(resolve => {
setTimeout(() => {
resolve()
}, 500)
})
delayed.then(() => {console.log('Hello!')})
console.log('Wait for it...')
This is a small and simple new feature that can make the code shorter with all the benefits it brings:
const aaa = 1, bbb = 2, ccc = 3, ddd = 4;
// ES5
const foo = {
aaa: aaa,
bbb: bbb,
ccc: ccc,
ddd: ddd,
}
// ES6
const bar = {
aaa,
bbb,
ccc,
ddd,
}Conclusions. Long-term improvements in diversion-related ARV adherence will require initiatives to reduce demand for illicit ARV medications, as well as measures to reduce patient vulnerability to diversion, including increased resources for accessible housing, intensive treatment, and support services.
Results. The total indirect effect in the model was statistically significant ( P =.001), and the proportion of the total effect mediated was 53%. The model indicated substantial influence of neighborhood disorder on nonadherence to ARVs, operating through recent homelessness and diverter network size.
Methods. Using targeted sampling, we enrolled 503 socioeconomically disadvantaged HIV-positive substance users in urban South Florida between 2010 and 2012. Participants completed a 1-time standardized interview that took approximately 1 hour. We tested a multiple mediation model to examine the direct and indirect effects of neighborhood disorder on diversion-related nonadherence to ARVs; risky social networks and housing instability were examined as mediators of the disordered neighborhood environment.
The past 15 years have witnessed increasing recognition by public health stakeholders that social and structural factors are key drivers of pervasive health inequalities, with poverty, social exclusion, stress, unemployment, and inadequate living conditions contributing to elevated disease burden among vulnerable populations.1–3 One aspect of the movement toward a social-ecological understanding of health has been a growing interest in neighborhood effects on illness and disease, with recognition that neighborhoods exert substantial influence on individuals’ psychological well-being and physical health.4 The examination of neighborhood-level factors in the disease process has gained particular momentum in the field of HIV, given that HIV infection tends to cluster geographically in areas of high poverty and high behavioral risk.5,6 Neighborhood factors have been associated with increased engagement in risky behaviors, as well as reduced access to HIV-related medical treatment and elevated AIDS-related mortality.7–9 In fact, a recent study demonstrated that neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and those with higher racial segregation, were associated with poorer overall HIV disease management, manifested as lower CD4 counts.8
Neighborhoods have been viewed as operating on individual health through a variety of mechanisms, including exposure to risky social norms and networks, lower social capital, increased environmental stressors, and expanded opportunities for high-risk behavior.9 Neighborhood disorder theory emphasizes economic disadvantage as a driver of adverse health outcomes among residents; poverty and decay lead to the breakdown of physical and social order in the community, ultimately immersing the individual in stressful, hostile living conditions that weaken health.10,11 Communities with high levels of disorder are likely to be characterized by drug use, vandalism, and crime, and this disorder has been associated with poor sleep quality, psychological distress, depression, poor overall health, and increased risk for HIV.12–15
Crime, drug markets, and sex exchange venues thrive in disordered neighborhoods, which can intensify the environment of risk for HIV.16 Nevertheless, individuals’ experiences within neighborhoods have substantial heterogeneity and, as such, environmental conditions may be perceived in different ways and have differential impact on health behaviors and outcomes.17 We consider perceived neighborhood disorder as an indicator of an individual’s exposure to the local risk environment18 in which a variety of social, physical, and economic factors combine to influence drug- and disease-related harms.
Although neighborhood disorder has previously been implicated in increased HIV risk-taking behavior among injection drug users,19 to our knowledge previous research has not examined the impact of neighborhood disorder on behavioral disease management among HIV-positive individuals, which is critical for viral suppression.20 We hypothesized that location in a highly disordered neighborhood would expose HIV-positive residents to environmental pressures that have a negative impact on their adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) medications. In this regard, we recently documented the diversion (selling or trading) of ARV medications among high-needs HIV-positive substance abusers in South Florida,21 which was associated with reduced ARV adherence.
The diversion of ARVs to the illicit market appears to be driven by a variety of demand-related factors, including medication seeking among acutely disadvantaged HIV-positive individuals; in some instances, street purchases of ARVs serve as an informal mechanism for coping with limited access to, or gaps in, formal HIV care or medication insurance coverage and serve a need for urgent medication acquisition to replace lost, stolen, or ruined prescriptions.22 Of particular relevance to this analysis, much of the demand for illicit ARVs appears to be concentrated among networks of nonpatient pill brokers who seek out vulnerable HIV-positive individuals to buy their legitimately obtained ARVs, with the goal of acquiring unmarked bottles of expensive, frontline ARV medications that can be recycled back into the formal medication supply chain.22 Because ARV diversion is driven in large part by an organized system of pill brokers and local pharmacies targeting economically vulnerable patients for exploitation,21,22 we argue that highly disordered neighborhood environments increase exposure to such diversion activities and, as a result, reduce ARV adherence.
We examined risky social networks and housing instability as key elements of the disordered neighborhood environment that may mediate individual ARV diversion and adherence behaviors. High-risk personal networks have been demonstrated to act as significant sources of vulnerability for their members,23 increasing both risky needle-sharing behaviors and sexual risk for HIV.24,25 We propose that location in a disordered neighborhood environment increases an individual’s exposure to such risky social connections, which may promote ARV diversion and thereby inhibit full ARV medication compliance. Homeless individuals also have greater exposure to conditions on the streets than those who are housed9 and suffer from a range of health, economic, and social vulnerabilities.26–29 Because highly disordered neighborhoods are likely to have concentrations of residents who are unstably housed and economically disadvantaged, these individuals are likely to be targeted for ARV diversion and ultimately suffer from reduced adherence. We tested a multiple mediation model to examine the direct and indirect effects of neighborhood disorder on diversion-related nonadherence to ARVs.
METHODS Section: Choose Top of page Abstract METHODS << RESULTS DISCUSSION References CITING ARTICLES We enrolled socioeconomically disadvantaged HIV-positive substance users in urban South Florida between 2010 and 2012. Eligibility criteria for all participants were (1) aged 18 years or older; (2) active substance use, defined as 12 or more occasions of cocaine or heroin use in the 3 months preceding enrollment; (3) documented HIV-positive status; and (4) current prescription for ARV medication. The study design called for the enrollment of equal numbers of participants who diverted (sold or traded) their personal ARVs and participants who did not. For inclusion in the diverter sample, participants had to indicate engaging in at least 1 ARV sale or trade in the 3 months preceding the interview. Study Recruitment We recruited participants using modified targeted sampling techniques,30 which are widely used for contacting hard-to-reach populations. Recruitment was guided by 2 primary elements of targeted sampling. First, using county-level indicator data, we identified 6 specific geographic target areas in urban Miami (defined by zip code boundaries) that report intersecting and persistent high HIV prevalence and high poverty rates. Second, we collected information on ARV diversion from key informants in these target areas (including treatment professionals, community outreach workers, HIV service providers, and illicit drug users) to identify specific locales in which diversion activities were known to occur. Initial recruitment efforts targeted 6 geographically clustered areas to the north of downtown Miami. A team of professional field staff and outreach workers conducted direct outreach on at least a weekly basis to distribute study information cards and flyers to all major HIV service organizations within the identified target areas. On the basis of diversion activity reports from key informants, outreach teams also regularly distributed study recruitment materials in specific street venues and other identified service locations in the target areas. Following similar procedures, we subsequently expanded recruitment efforts to areas with high HIV prevalence and poverty in urban Ft. Lauderdale. Study Procedures Study recruitment materials contained contact information for the project, and potential participants were asked to participate in telephone screening for eligibility. Those meeting project eligibility requirements were scheduled for appointments at the field site, where they were rescreened. In total, 2112 individuals were screened for the study, 599 met study eligibility criteria, and 503 were enrolled. As mentioned, we enrolled approximately equal numbers diverting (n = 251) and not diverting (n = 252) their personal ARVs. After eligibility was confirmed, informed consent documents were reviewed with participants, and consent was obtained. A 1-time standardized interview assessment was then administered, which took approximately 1 hour to complete. Participants were paid a $30 stipend on completion of the interview and were provided educational and risk reduction materials, along with appropriate community resource referrals. Data Collection and Measures Trained interviewers conducted computer-assisted personal interviews. Interviews were offered in either English or Spanish, according to the participant’s language preference. The Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN)31 version 5.4 was the primary component of the assessment. The GAIN collects detailed information on demographics, mental health (including Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition [DSM-IV]32 criteria), environment and living situation, victimization, substance use, and DSM-IV dependence and has established reliabilities. For this study, we supplemented the GAIN with brief standardized instruments to assess HIV diagnosis and treatment history33 and recent ARV adherence and reasons for nonadherence34; newly developed items captured ARV diversion behaviors. Demographic information gathered on study participants included age, race/ethnicity, gender, level of education, and monthly income. We also computed length of time since HIV diagnosis. For this analysis, the health behaviors of interest included 3 domains. We assessed substance dependence using DSM-IV criteria, which consisted of 7 items measuring past-year drug problem severity. Endorsement of 6 or more items (e.g., using more or longer than intended, withdrawal problems) resulted in a classification of severe dependence. The α reliability coefficient for the DSM-IV dependence scale was 0.83. Participants self-reported ARV adherence in the past 7 days using an adaptation of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group instrument,34 which has previously been validated against electronic monitoring.35 Although self-reported adherence can be subject to reporting inaccuracies, its association with clinically relevant outcomes (viral load, treatment failure)36–39 supports its utility as an indicator of medication compliance. We used total ARV doses prescribed and total doses missed in this 7-day period to generate an adherence percentage score. We assessed reasons for ARV nonadherence for participants who had missed at least 1 dose in the 90 days before the interview using an adaptation of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group scale.34 Participants responded to a series of 19 items tapping a range of possible reasons, including forgetting, being away from home, falling asleep, feeling ill or depressed, and not wanting others to notice. One newly added item specifically measured diversion-related nonadherence: “How often did you miss taking your medication(s) because you ran out of pills because you traded or sold them?” Responses were reported on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from never to almost always. For analysis, we dichotomized these responses into never and all other. Diversion-related nonadherence was the outcome variable in this analysis. We examined information on environmental risk factors at the neighborhood and individual levels. Neighborhood poverty level was examined using residential zip codes reported by study participants. We categorized zip codes by percentage of individuals below the poverty level, using 2008 to 2012 5-year estimates from the American Community Survey.40 In addition, participants provided ratings of perceived neighborhood disorder using a brief, standardized 10-item scale10 that captures elements of social and physical disorder in the neighborhood environment. Twenty-one participants responded “don’t know” to 1 or more neighborhood disorder scale items, resulting in missing data for those variables. Nevertheless, because all 21 participants had valid answers for the majority of the neighborhood items, we retained their data in the analysis. Scores ranged from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater perceived neighborhood disorder. Alpha reliability for the neighborhood disorder scale was 0.94. Perceived neighborhood disorder was significantly correlated with poverty level (r =.296; P ≤.001), indicating correspondence between this self-report measure and objective neighborhood conditions. Perceived neighborhood disorder was the independent variable of interest in this analysis. The following item assessed participants’ personal housing stability: “When was the last time you considered yourself to be homeless or had to stay with someone else to avoid being homeless?” For analysis, we dichotomized this variable as within the past 3 months or not within the past 3 months. In addition, participants reported the type of housing they occupied at the time of interview. Finally, we assessed risky social network connections with 1 item: “How many people do you personally know who are involved in selling or trading their HIV medications?” We examined housing status and diverter network connections as mediators. Data Analysis We conducted all analyses with Stata version 12.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX). We computed descriptive statistics on the demographic characteristics of the sample, as well as the prevalence of substance dependence, the level of ARV adherence achieved in the previous week, and environmental characteristics of interest, including perceived neighborhood disorder. Using bivariate logistic regression models, we compared these characteristics across the outcome of diversion-related nonadherence. Subsequently, we tested a multiple mediation model to examine the direct and indirect effects of neighborhood disorder on diversion-related nonadherence to ARVs, using the Baron and Kenny41 approach. The mediating variables were past 90-day homelessness (0/no vs 1/yes), and ARV diverter network connections, a continuous variable. Models controlled for age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and substance dependence. We used a nonparametric bootstrapping technique to examine the significance of the indirect effects.42
RESULTS Section: Choose Top of page Abstract METHODS RESULTS << DISCUSSION References CITING ARTICLES Table 1 presents the sociodemographic and environmental characteristics of the sample, compared across diversion-related ARV nonadherence. Approximately 30% of the sample (29.8%) reported nonadherence because of diversion of their ARV medications in the past 90 days. The overall sample had a mean age of 46.1 and had been living with HIV for 13.3 years on average (data not shown). Just more than two thirds identified as African American, followed by Latinos/Latinas at 18.1% and non-Hispanic White at 13.5%. Study participants were economically disadvantaged, with 81% reporting a monthly income below $1000 (data not shown). We found no significant differences on any demographic characteristic by diversion status, with the exception of education. High school completers reported significantly lower odds of diversion-related nonadherence than those with less than a high school education. TABLE 1— Individual and Environmental Characteristics of HIV-Positive Substance Abusers by ARV Adherence and Diversion Status: Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2010–2012 Missed ARVs Because of Diversion, Past 90 Daysa Characteristic Yes (n = 150), No. (%) or Mean ±SD No (n = 353), No. (%) or Mean ±SD OR (95% CI) Demographics Age, y 46.0 ±7.7 46.1 ±7.8 1.00 (0.97, 1.02) Male gender (Ref: female) 96 (64.0) 203 (57.5) 1.31 (0.89, 1.95) African American race/ethnicity (Ref: all other) 106 (70.7) 234 (66.3) 1.23 (0.81, 1.86) High school education (Ref: < high school) 74 (49.3) 210 (59.5) 0.66* (0.45, 0.97) Monthly income < $1000 (Ref: ≥ $1000) 121 (80.7) 287 (81.3) 0.96 (0.59, 1.56) Years HIV diagnosisa 12.8 ±7.4 13.4 ±7.2 0.99 (0.96, 1.01) Health Behaviors Severe substance dependence, past 90 d (Ref: no) 84 (56.0) 145 (41.1) 1.83** (1.24, 2.69) ARV adherence, past week 0.49 ±0.37 0.91 ±0.20 0.01*** (0.006, 0.029) Environmental Factors Poverty levelb 0.27 ±0.10 0.29 ±0.10 0.98* (0.96, 0.99) Neighborhood disorder 25.8 ±9.7 23.3 ±9.7 1.03** (1.01, 1.05) Diverters in networkc 10.4 ±15.5 4.3 ±9.4 1.04*** (1.03, 1.06) Homeless, past 90 d (Ref: no) 76 (50.7) 121 (34.3) 1.97*** (1.34, 2.90) Current housing type Own or rent house or apartment 43 (28.7) 137 (38.8) 1.00 (Ref) Public housing 26 (17.3) 88 (24.9) 0.94 (0.54, 1.64) Residential facility 4 (2.7) 29 (8.2) 0.44 (0.15, 1.32) Staying with friend or relative 28 (18.7) 37 (10.5) 2.41*** (1.33, 4.39) Boarding house or hotel 4 (2.7) 7 (2.0) 1.82 (0.51, 6.52) Shelter 42 (28.0) 54 (15.3) 2.48*** (1.46, 4.21) Street location 3 (2.0) 1 (0.3) 9.56 (0.97, 94.29) In terms of health behaviors, 45.5% reported symptoms of severe substance dependence in the 90 days before the interview (data not shown). Past-week ARV adherence was modest, with participants reporting that, on average, they took 78% of their prescribed medication doses. Both of these health behaviors differed significantly by diversion status. Participants with severe substance dependence had 1.83 higher odds of nonadherence resulting from diversion than did those with fewer substance dependence symptoms (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.24, 2.69). Similarly, participants who reported better overall ARV adherence in the previous week had significantly lower odds of diversion-related missed ARV doses in the past 90 days (95% CI = 0.006, 0.029). Participants reported challenging environmental circumstances; on average, their residential neighborhoods were characterized by poverty levels of 28%, and more than one third (39.2%) had recently been homeless (data not shown). Self-reported neighborhood disorder had a mean score of 24.0 on a 40-point scale. On average, study participants reported knowing 6.1 individuals who diverted their personal ARV medications. Comparative analyses revealed several significant differences in the environmental characteristics of those who had recently engaged in diversion and those who had not. Of note, participants reporting higher neighborhood disorder had higher odds of diversion-related nonadherence (95% CI = 1.01, 1.05), as did those with larger diverter networks (95% CI = 1.03, 1.06) and those who were recently homeless (95% CI = 1.34, 2.90). Staying in emergency shelter or with friends also conferred higher odds of diversion-related nonadherence, relative to those with their own housing. Table 2 provides odds ratios, corresponding P values, and goodness-of-fit statistics for the 3 logistic regression models tested. Model 1 included only neighborhood disorder as a predictor of diversion-related nonadherence, model 2 added the mediator homelessness, and model 3 added a second mediator—diverters in network—to the model. Model 3 indicates that both recent homelessness and number of diverters in network are statistically significant predictors of diversion-related nonadherence; also, the coefficient of neighborhood disorder lost its significance with the mediators included. Goodness-of-fit statistics indicate that model 3 significantly improved model fit. TABLE 2— Diversion-Related Nonadherence to Antiretroviral Medication Regressed on Neighborhood Disorder, Recent Homelessness, and Diverters in Network: Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2010–2012 Model 1a (No Mediation) Model 2a (1 Mediator) Model 3a (2 Mediators) Variable OR (95% CI) P OR (95% CI) P OR (95% CI) P Neighborhood disorder 1.02 (1.00, 1.04).026 1.02 (1.00, 1.04).098 1.01 (0.99, 1.03).288 Recent homelessness 1.74 (1.15, 2.63).008 1.72 (1.13, 2.63).011 Diverters in network 1.04 (1.02, 1.06) <.001 Goodness of fitb Parameters 6 7 8 Raw likelihood (–2LL) 589.60 582.60 562.16 χ2 6.99** 20.45*** Figure 1 displays the results of the mediation analysis, controlling for the covariates age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and substance dependence described in Table 1. Neighborhood disorder significantly predicted the binary outcome variable, diversion-related nonadherence (P <.05), and both of the mediators, recent homelessness (P <.001) and higher number of social network diverters (P <.01). In the regression model that included neighborhood disorder and both mediators as potential predictors of diversion-related nonadherence, the direct effect of neighborhood disorder was substantially reduced and was statistically nonsignificant; on the basis of the resampling bootstrap estimation, both the indirect effect of homelessness and larger number of social network diverters as mediators were significant (P =.011 and.01, respectively). The total indirect effect was also statistically significant (P <.001). The proportion of the total effect mediated was 53%, which demonstrates that recent homelessness and diverter network connections carry a substantial part of the influence of neighborhood disorder to diversion-related nonadherence.
DISCUSSION Section: Choose Top of page Abstract METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION << References CITING ARTICLES We examined the effects of neighborhood disorder on diversion-related ARV nonadherence among a sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged HIV-positive individuals in South Florida. Although ARV medication compliance clearly falls within the realm of an individual-level health behavior, the diversion of ARVs is an organized profit-making activity in the illicit market that appears to exert significant environmental pressure on nonadherence among highly vulnerable substance-abusing HIV-positive patients.21,22 ARV diversion represents a somewhat unique phenomenon in the scientific literature on health behaviors, in the sense that there is tangible financial incentive offered to patients by outside parties to engage in a behavior that is potentially detrimental to the individual’s viral suppression and health outcomes21,43,44 and creates risk for transmitting resistant virus to others. The existence of such external ARV market pressures engendered this examination of environmental exposure to disorder and the mechanisms by which it may influence HIV disease management. Our findings indicate that higher neighborhood disorder significantly reduced HIV medication adherence among the most vulnerable individuals, through exposures to environmental risks. Our hypothesis related to recent homelessness was fully supported by the data, demonstrating a strong indirect effect on diversion-related nonadherence. These findings resonate with previous research that has indicated that those who are unstably housed face particularly difficult challenges related to HIV disease management and ARV adherence,28,29 but they add to our understanding of this vulnerability. Homeless individuals have few, if any, buffers or protections from a disordered neighborhood environment, which leaves them especially vulnerable to a variety of environmental threats, in this case exploitation by ARV pill brokers21,22 that ultimately reduces adherence. Social network exposure to ARV diverters also displayed statistical significance in the mediation analysis, demonstrating a strong indirect effect on diversion-related nonadherence. This finding indicates that the concentration of diverters in one’s social network increases individual-level diversion risk, which is consistent with previous research illustrating the influence of risky social norms on network members.23,24 This network effect may warrant examination in future research. A more detailed examination of social network structure, characteristics, and influences on diversion-related nonadherence may yield important results with possible implications for network-based intervention strategies. Limitations This study had limitations that are important |
He gripped the sides of his upturned handlebars with his bare arms, rose from the saddle and powered up Cat’s Paw hill.
He was in total control of the bike, and he left every other rider behind.President Obama’s nomination of Antonio Weiss to serve as the Treasury Department’s top domestic finance official is drawing fire from an unusual sector: his fellow Democrats.
Liberal lawmakers like Sens. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWoman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid Raising taxes on the wealthy is 'extremely popular,' says Dem pollster 64 percent say Democratic Party supports socialism, says poll MORE (D-Mass.) and 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 (I-Vt.) have been quick to oppose Weiss, a major investment banker with Lazard.
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Among their grievances is the fact that Lazard’s work is primarily in international finance and he is nominated for a domestic position. They’re also critical of his role in structuring several tax inversion deals, which have drawn criticism from the president himself.
But an underlying thread to the Democratic opposition is a fatigue with filling top-ranking administration spots with officials that have spent significant time working for or on behalf of Wall Street titans. Warren penned an op-ed in The Huffington Post criticizing the administration’s approach under the headline “Enough is Enough.”
Here’s a rundown of other top administration officials with ties to Wall Street:
Mary Jo White: Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
One of Wall Street’s top cops reaped plaudits on her way to a unanimous Senate confirmation to lead the SEC back in 2013. The former federal prosecutor was hailed as tough by both parties for taking on mob bosses and terrorists, but she also spent time as a prominent white-collar defense attorney where she represented some of the biggest names in finance like Morgan Stanley and Ken Lewis, the former head of Bank of America.
While unanimously confirmed on the Senate floor, Sen. Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell BrownDem introduces bill to push back Ohio presidential primary UAW sues GM to block plant closings Worse than nothing's been done since the massive Equifax hack MORE (D-Ohio) cast a protest vote against her nomination at the committee level, criticizing it as a broader sign of Wall Street’s presence in government.
“I don’t question Mary Jo White’s integrity or skill as an attorney. But I do question Washington’s long-held bias towards Wall Street and its inability to find watchdogs outside of the very industry that they are meant to police,” he said in a statement.
Jack Lew Jacob (Jack) Joseph LewOvernight Finance: US reaches deal with ZTE | Lawmakers look to block it | Trump blasts Macron, Trudeau ahead of G-7 | Mexico files WTO complaint Obama-era Treasury secretary: Tax law will make bipartisan deficit-reduction talks harder GOP Senate report says Obama officials gave Iran access to US financial system MORE: Treasury Secretary
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been a near-constant presence in Washington dating back to the Clinton administration. He has filled several roles under Obama, including chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget.
But between Democratic presidencies, Lew put in stints as a top official at New York University and Citigroup, where he was chief operating officer for one of the bank’s trading groups. The latter became a bit of an issue when Obama tapped him for the Treasury post, as it emerged that part of his Citigroup compensation was a $56,000 investment based in the Cayman Islands, infamous as a tax haven.
Lew defended his work and compensation at the bank, and said he was unaware part of his investment portfolio was based in the Caymans. He added he sold that investment at a loss when Obama asked him to join his administration in 2010.
Stanley Fischer: Vice Chair, Federal Reserve
While the Federal Reserve is not officially part of the administration, Obama did nominate Fischer to serve as the central bank’s vice chair. Even before being nominated, Fischer was renowned as a monetary policy expert, having previously taught former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and serving as head of Israel’s central bank.
But he also spent three years as a top executive at Citigroup. Warren pressed Fischer on that part of his resume during his confirmation hearing, noting that several other Obama officials had Citigroup ties, as she wondered whether one institution was enjoying too much influence at the top of the U.S. government.
Fischer said disproportionate influence would be a concern, but that wasn’t the case with him. Rather, he presented his time at the bank as relevant experience for regulating institutions, and said that while other Obama officials also worked at Citigroup, it’s not as if all were working on the same issues. Fischer went on to be confirmed by the full Senate without incident.
Michael Froman Michael B.G. FromanUS trade rep spent nearly M to furnish offices: report Overnight Finance: Trump hits China on currency manipulation, countering Treasury | Trump taps two for Fed board | Tax deadline revives fight over GOP overhaul | Justices set to hear online sales tax case Froman joins Mastercard to oversee global business expansion MORE: U.S. Trade Representative
The president’s top trade representative was another Citigroup alum tapped to take a key administration post. A longtime Treasury Department official, Froman spent several years at the bank, leading its insurance operations and other investment branches.
Like Lew, Froman also had Cayman investments, but he too was easily confirmed by the Senate. However, one of the four votes in opposition to the pick was Warren. The outspoken freshman opposed the Froman pick because she said he would not commit to sufficient transparency measures when negotiating trade agreements.
Gary Gensler: former chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The former head of the derivatives regulator had an extensive Wall Street resume before joining the Obama administration. Gensler made partner at Goldman Sachs when he was 30, and spent nearly two decades at the financial giant before taking a job in President Clinton’s Treasury Department.
Gensler also spent some time as a Senate staffer to former Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), but his lengthy time in the financial sector was yet again an issue when the president nominated him to lead the CFTC. Sanders placed a hold on his nomination, citing his concerns with Gensler’s time at Goldman. He ultimately lifted the hold after meeting with Gensler, setting the stage for an easy 2009 confirmation.
Despite a lengthy stint on Wall Street, Gensler developed a reputation as one of the toughest regulators on Obama’s early team charged with implementing the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Gensler stepped down from the job in 2014, replaced by Timothy Massad, a former Treasury official and corporate lawyer.
In response to charges there is too much Wall Street at the Obama administration, a senior Treasury official argued there is a wide range of experience at the highest levels of the federal government.
“I am not aware of any prominent Wall Street figures currently serving at the Treasury Department. It is important to note that Treasury’s senior staff represents a wide range of public and private sector experience, including those who have spent the vast majority of their careers in public service; such as at the Federal Reserve, on Capitol Hill and in state financial regulation,” the official said.
For example, Mark Mazur, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for tax policy, has logged over two decades in the public sector, working at the Joint Committee on Taxation and the National Economic Council. And Nathan Sheets, the department’s under secretary for international affairs, spent nearly two decades working at the Fed.
This story was last updated on Dec. 1 at 1:09 p.m.Minister for Railways Khuwaja Saad Rafique on Thursday inaugurated a special purpose 'Xmas Peace Train' ahead of Christmas festivities in the country.
The minister, while addressing the inauguration ceremony, hailed the role of minority groups, especially Christians, in the development and prosperity of Pakistan.
"The white colour of our national flag denotes minority groups, and it is incomplete without them," he said, adding that this train would serve as a symbol of unity, tranquility and harmony wherever it would go.
People viewing the first ever special Christmas train decorated with models of Santa Claus and other Christmas objects to mark the Christmas celebrations at railway station.─APP
People viewing the first ever special Christmas train decorated with models of Santa Claus and other Christmas objects to mark the Christmas celebrations at railway station.─APP
People viewing the first ever special Christmas train decorated with models of Santa Claus and other Christmas objects to mark the Christmas celebrations at railway station.─APP
People viewing the first ever special Christmas train decorated with models of Santa Claus and other Christmas objects to mark the Christmas celebrations at railway station.─APP
People viewing the first ever special Christmas train decorated with models of Santa Claus and other Christmas objects to mark the Christmas celebrations at railway station.─APP
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Federal Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael inaugurating Christmas train at Islamabad Railway Station ahead of Xmas.─APP
Policeman standing alert to avert any untoward incident during inauguration of Christmas train at Islamabad Railway Station ahead of Xmas.─APP
People take pictures with reindeer chariot with Santa Claus during inauguration of Christmas train at Islamabad Railway Station ahead of Xmas.─Online photo by Waseem KhanTech Death Thursday – The Zenith Passage Share:
One does not simply retain their facial structure on Tech Death Thursday.
Today we are talking about another incredible band, but first here’s a metric fuckton of news for ya:
Existential Animals have released a new single called “Prism Prison” which you can listen to here
have released a new single called “Prism Prison” which you can listen to here Hadal Maw have parted ways with their vocalist and in the meantime Separatist frontman Sam Dishington will be filling in for him. More on that over at Hadal Maw’s Facebook. Also, if you don’t listen to Hadal Maw you’re doing it all wrong.
have parted ways with their vocalist and in the meantime frontman Sam Dishington will be filling in for him. More on that over at Facebook. Also, if you don’t listen to you’re doing it all wrong. Theoktony have dropped a new single titled “Apostate” off of their upcoming album. That album will be released by Dissected Records later this year. Check it out.
have dropped a new single titled “Apostate” off of their upcoming album. That album will be released by Dissected Records later this year. Check it out. Defeated Sanity released a new track called “Generosity of the Deceased”. Mosh to that here.
released a new track called “Generosity of the Deceased”. Mosh to that here. The Ritual Aura’s new single “Time-Lost Utopia” rips and you can grab it from their Bandcamp. Big thanks to NoCleanSinging for turning me on to this band.
new single “Time-Lost Utopia” rips and you can grab it from their Bandcamp. Big thanks to NoCleanSinging for turning me on to this band. Continuum have announced that their debut album will drop via Unique Leader on April 21st. No new songs to speak of from these guys, however I found this and was all like this.
have announced that their debut album will drop via Unique Leader on April 21st. No new songs to speak of from these guys, however I found this and was all like this. Beyond Creation wasted no time in finding a new bassist and announced Hugo Doyon-Karout is the new bass player. More on that here. Time will tell how good he is at seducing dat fretless.
wasted no time in finding a new bassist and announced Hugo Doyon-Karout is the new bass player. More on that here. Time will tell how good he is at seducing dat fretless. Wrath of Vesuvius, also know as WRVTH have released an album sampler for their upcoming Unique Leader debut. Check it out here.
, also know as WRVTH have released an album sampler for their upcoming Unique Leader debut. Check it out here. Shortly after I wrote this article, The Faceless decided to creep me out with their timing and announce that the Zenith Passage’s Justin McKinney has joined them. Who wants to take bets on how long he stays with the band? In all seriousness though, good for him. He’s now a member of two of the greatest technical death metal bands out there. Check out that announcement here.
Phew, still with me? Good, let’s talk about The Zenith Passage. The first time I heard their 2013 EP Cosmic Dissonance I was absolutely blown away. This band writes songs and not just crazy riffs and weedlies. They combine groove, melody, Archspire-ish vocals and even a little ambiance to create some truly amazing music. If you took the Faceless and mixed them with Fallujah and a tad of Archspire, The Zenith Passage is what you would get. Incredibly precise instrumentation combine with some mind bending riffs and impressively fast vocals. One of the things about these guys that always stands out to me is the drums. Not only are they fucking incredible, but they do so without going super fast for the sake of speed. I don’t know if that makes any sense or if I sound like a crazy person, but I understand it in my head so deal with it. Check out this stream of their brilliant 2013 EP:
Late last year the band released a pre-production track that is just as incredible, if not more so than the EP. We featured the song at TOH a while back, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t gonna make a TDT about these dudes anyway. A little label you guys may have heard of called Unique Leader Records will be releasing their debut album later this year and I am so stoked I might start Archspiring* backwards when it comes out. Here’s that aforementioned track. Note that this is pre-production!:
That’s it for this week. Until next time,
Stay Tech
*Archspiring (/Arch’ spire (ING)) is the act of losing oneself in weedlies and deedlies and looking like a fool while flailing your arms about in a manner that would terrify even the bravest of warriors. [Editor’s Note: SMH]
Did you dig this? Take a second to support Toilet ov Hell on Patreon!Capital city and comune in Italy
Rome (Latin and Italian: Roma [ˈroːma] ()) is the capital city and a special comune of Italy (named Comune di Roma Capitale). Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[1] it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[2] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City (the smallest country in the world)[3] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.[4][5]
Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe.[6] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as the birthplace of Western civilization and by some as the first ever metropolis.[7] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[8][9] Rome is also called the "Caput Mundi" (Capital of the World). After the fall of the Western Empire, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, which had settled in the city since the 1st century AD, until in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all the popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued over four hundred years a coherent architectural and urban programme aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[10] In this way, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance,[11] and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.
Rome has the status of a global city.[12][13][14] In 2016, Rome ranked as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.[15] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[16] The famous Vatican Museums are among the world's most visited museums while the Colosseum was the most popular tourist attraction in world with 7.4 million visitors in 2018.[17] Host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is the seat of several specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The city also hosts the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of many international business companies such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo S.p.A., and national and international banks such as Unicredit and BNL. Its business district, called EUR, is the base of many companies involved in the oil industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and financial services. Rome is also an important fashion and design centre thanks to renowned international brands centered in the city. Rome's Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.
Etymology
According to the founding myth of the city by the Ancient Romans themselves,[19] the long-held tradition of the origin of the name Roma is believed to have come from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[20]
However, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[22]
from Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn has the same root as the Greek verb ῥέω ( rhéō ) and the Latin verb ruo, which both mean "flow"; [b]
or, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn has the same root as the Greek verb ῥέω ( ) and the Latin verb, which both mean "flow"; from the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 ( ruma ), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;
), whose root is "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills; from the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]
History
Earliest history
There is archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, but the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[6] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the bronze age and the beginning of the Iron age, each hill between the sea and the Capitol was topped by a village (on the Capitol Hill, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[23] However, none of them had yet an urban quality.[23] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[23] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These in turn boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[23] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[23] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[24]
Legend of the founding of Rome
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[19] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[25] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[26] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo, mention that there is also an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony and was founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believe that Rome was founded by Greeks.[27][28]
Monarchy, republic, empire
After the legendary foundation by Romulus,[25] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus.[25]
The Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine are a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill visibly express the power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic. Rome then began a period characterized by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, Marsi.[29] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[30]
The third and second century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the East, through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against the city of Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[31] Then were established the first Roman provinces: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[32]
From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates provoked the migration to the city of a large number of people. The continuous warfare made necessary a professional army, which was more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the second half of the second century and during the first century BC there were conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[33] and the war against Jugurtha,[33] there was a first civil war between Gaius Marius and Sulla.[33] To this followed a major slave revolt under Spartacus,[34] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[34]
monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also in the image can be seen the The Imperial fora belongs to a series of(public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also in the image can be seen the Trajan's Market
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a second civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[34] His assassination led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to another civil war between Octavian and Antony.[35] The former in 27 BC became princeps civitatis and got the title of Augustus, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[35] Rome was established as a de facto empire, which reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was confirmed as caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the world, an expression which had already been given in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire saw as rulers, emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[36] Flavian (who also built eponymous amphitheatre, known as the Colosseum)[36] and Antonine dynasties.[37] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularized by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[38] The Antonine age is considered the apogee of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[37]
[39] of land surface. The Roman Empire at its greatest extent controlled approximately 6.5 million square kilometres (2.5 million square miles)of land surface.
[40] The Roman Forum are the remains of those buildings that during most of the Ancient Rome's time represented the political, legal, religious and economical center of the city and the neuralgic center of all the Roman civilization.
After the end of the Severan Dynasty in 235, the Empire entered into 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century during which there were numerous putsches by generals, who sought to secure the region of the empire they were entrusted with due to the weakness of central authority in Rome. There was the so-called Gallic Empire from 260-274 and the revolts of Zenobia and her father from the mid-260s which sought to fend off Persian incursions. Some regions – Britain, Spain, and North Africa – were hardly affected. Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious, uncoordinated incursions from the 250s-280s that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire in the East invaded several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[41] Emperor Diocletian (284) undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced the so-called dominate which tried to give the impression of absolute power. The most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last. He or Constantine regionalized the administration of the empire which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses (the consensus seems to have shifted from 297 to 313/14 as the date of creation due to the argument of Constantin Zuckerman in 2002 "Sur la liste de Verone et la province de grande armenie, Melanges Gilber Dagron). The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control. Diocletian ruled the eastern half (with residence in Nicomedia). In 296, he elevated Maximian as Augustus of the western half where he ruled mostly from Mediolanum (Current day Milan) when not on the move.[41] In 292, he created two 'junior' emperors, the Caesars, one for each Augustus, Constantius for Britain, Gaul, and Spain whose seat of power was in Trier and Licinius in Srimium in the Balkans. The appointment of a Caesar was not unknown: Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession. Upon abdication in 305, Caesars succeeded and they in turn appointed two colleagues for themselves.[41]
After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian in 305 and a series of civil wars between rival claimants to imperial power, during the years 306–313, the Tetrarchy was abandoned. Constantine the Great undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalizing the competencies of the several ministries during the years 325–330, after he defeated Licinius, emperor in the East, at the end of 324.The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a Letter from Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including to Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). He transformed the town of Byzantium into his new residence, which however, was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan or Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in May 359 by Constantius II; Constantinople.[42] The creation of Constantinople would have a profound effect on Europe: it was the bulwark against invasion and conquest from the East for roughly 1,000 years.
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his sons, Arcadius and Honorius divided the empire into a western and an eastern part. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna after the Siege of Milan in 402. During the 5th century, the emperors from the 430s mostly resided in the capital city, Rome.[42]
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[43] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as art work in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[44] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus on 22 August 476, which marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[42] The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443; and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatized (according to "Rome, An Urban History from Antiquity to the Present", Rabun Taylor, Katherine W. Rinne and Spiro Kostof, 2016 pp. 160–179). However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. Population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, population dropped to 30,000, but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great. ("Rome, Profile of a City": 321–1308, Richard Krautheimer, p. 165.). The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the 5th and 6th centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the 6th century and probably prevented the population from falling further ("Rome, Urban History", pp. 184–185.) The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of 5 Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population. (Novel 36, 2, Emperor Valeninian III). Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).
Middle Ages
The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city. Its population declined from more than a million in 210 AD to 500,000 in 273[45] to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),[46] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[47] It is generally thought the population of the city until 300 AD was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in 400 AD, 450–500,000 in 450 AD and down to 80–100,000 in 500 AD (though it may have been twice this).[48]
After the Lombard invasion of Italy, the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in reality the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between the Byzantines, the Franks, and the Lombards.[49] In 729, the Lombard king Liutprand donated to the church the north Latium town of Sutri, starting the temporal power of the church.[49] In 756, Pepin the Short, after having defeated the Lombards, gave to the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the Exarchate of Ravenna, thus creating the Papal States.[49] Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city: the pope; the nobility, together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and the populace; and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor.[49] These three parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire Middle Ages.[49] On the Christmas night of 800, Charlemagne was crowned in Rome as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III: on that occasion the city hosted |
latest captured plant in person. As two of them pulled on a heavy chain to open the door, a burst of cheerful, happy music sounded out. It made Peach want to clap and sing. The entire floor-space behind the door was filled with mud, and in the centre was a flower with a happy smiling face. It looked like hundreds that existed peaceably around the Murshroom kingdom. "What is this, Toad? What has Bowser done to this poor bloom?" she asked, as she leaned in for a closer look. Unseen behind her, the small gardener held up a wand, and pushed it under her pink skirt. The Princess shrieked with agony as it touched her cunt through the silk of her panties. Magic flowed up into her body with the agony of an electric shock. It felt as it would to be hit in the snatch with a live cattle prod. Her hair stood out and her arms slammed against the door frame mindlessly as waves of sheer, mindless agony flowed through her being. The gardener pulled the wand away. The princess dropped to her knees and the greenhouse fell silent, but for the happy sound of cheerful mushroom kingdom music. Peach moved her hands to her cunt and sobbed on the floor, as Toads came through the greenhouse and dragged her into the small room. She looked up through tear bleary eyes into cruel faces without a trace of kindness. "Princess Peach, you are deposed as ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. We’re setting up a people’s collective. Long live the People’s Mushroom Republic!" He spat in her face, and the toads left the room. Peach watched the heavy door close and heard it being locked. She cried in the mud for several minutes, until the remains of her dignity forced her to her feet. She stood, and felt tenderly under her skirt. The magic had not physically harmed her, but it had hurt worse than anything ever inflicted on her before. The dark glass walls of the small room buzzed, and the shading turned to transparent magic glass. Outside she saw gallows, from which hung Mario and Luigi. A bloody red sign above their beaten, non-moving bodies denounced them as enemies of the people’s republic. A row of green heads on hastily erected spikes showed that the Mushroom Kingdom wasn’t taking any more trouble from anyone. Gathered around the small greenhouse alcove were hundreds of Mushroom Kingdom citizens, all cheering at the sight of the crying princess. She couldn’t hear them. All she could hear was the cheerful music, which seemingly emanated from the flower. As light streamed through the now transparent walls, the plant shivered, and the smiling faced flower rocked back and forth on it’s stalk. It turned to face Princess Peach directly, though it’s expression did not change. "Are you a prisoner too? Will you help me, friend?" she asked, stepping towards the flower. Thick green vines burst out of the dirt surrounding the smiling faced flower, two, then four, then eight, then sixteen. More flowers emerged around it, all happy, all smiling, all playing the same cheerful tune. The toad Gardeners had been planning this for some time. Peach yelped as emerged tendrils surged towards her helpless body. The vines wrapped tightly around the Princess’s forearms and pulled her arms apart. Simultaneously the strong sinuous vines wrapped tightly around her lower legs, painfully gripping her ankles and calves, and dragged them apart too. She strained futilely against them with her pale skinned hands bunched into little fists, but the plant’s strength far outweighed her own. She cried out as the vines finished pulling her legs into a mid-air splits. Thinner vines pushed down the neck of her dress, and tore it from her body. Princess Peach was suspended before her former subjects in only a white silk bra and panties, and pale pink high heeled shoes. She squirmed helplessly as more of the strong green vines wrapped around her limbs and squeezed painfully. "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" she screamed uselessly. Outside, the gathered mushroom kingdom folked cheered loudly as they saw her shake her head and cry out. A static buzzing cut through the cheering, and then the Princess’s screamed distress was broadcast out over the crowd from within the greenhouse. Many burst into laughter at her. Here and there in the gathered crowd some toads were overcome by their arousal. Small groups gathered around females in the massed crowd and dragged them to the ground, tearing the flimsy clothing from their bodies. Meanwhile, two slimy vines emerged forward and rubbed their slick bulbous heads against the crotch of Princess Peach’s panties. She moaned and stared down, eyes locked on the molesting vines. She realised with mounting horror that these had thorns, like those of an oversized rose, spaced along their length. More vines approached and rubbed against her breasts. The Princess’s large udders were mauled roughly by the gripping green plant. She squealed as two wrapped painfully tightly around the base of her breasts. Thorns punctured the toned flesh and blood began to drip down her chest, quickly running into streams down her stomach. The two at the blonde’s crotch pulled back for a few seconds only to surged forward suddenly and brutally. They tore through her panties and into her dry cunt and tight virgin ass. The crowd outside was momentarily silenced by the broadcast piercing scream, which the excruciating agony of her thorny violation brought from the princess. She screamed and screamed as they forced deeply inside of her, tearing the sensitive membranes with their brutal thorns. Then the plant pulled them out, and began to fuck the princess with it’s vines. The blood which began to pour from her torn up cunt and ass provided scant lubrication as the plant pleasured itself in her shuddering, screaming body. Peach’s breasts were darkening red and bruising in their bra as the plant continued to roughly squeeze the succulent titmeat with it’s thorny vines. Peaches head shook from side to side and she wept at the agony of her pain. She just wanted to die, to end her suffering. There was no Mario, no Luigi, no hope of rescue. The squelching sound of her bloody violation was relayed to cheering crowd. The plant wrapped a vine around her neck, and choked off her voice. Peach’s eyes started to bug out as she fought for air. There was none. The plant sped up it’s thrusting, enjoying the pleasurable squeezing as Peach’s asphyxiation slowly caused her body to respond. She looked through wide eyes as the smiling plant face moved towards her, and then darkness filled her vision as it pressed into her face. The petals wrapped into her blonde hair and gripped tightly as it’s vines continued to pump into her spasming cunt and ass. Peach felt pleasure building even through the agony of her ruined cunt and as her brain started to fog over she felt a powerful orgasm tear through her body. The plant’s vines exploded inside her with hot milky sap, filling into her womb and bowels with an explosive plant climax. It was the last thing she ever knew. A stream of piss blasted from hotly from her urethra as her body twitched in death. Peach’s corpse hung limply in the air as the plant finished blasting her with sap. The vines pulled back towards the muddy earth, and another cheer went up as her body was dragged under the ground. End. Feedback to [email protected] all of Patrick Stein’s life, Southwest Kansas — “God’s country,” he called it — had looked basically the same. Golden fields, white grain elevators, blue sky. But lately it was starting to look different. “Here come a couple of fucking raghead bitches,” Stein announced as he spotted a group of dark-skinned women in long, colorful robes and gauzy scarves walking up the avenue named for the great frontiersman Buffalo Jones. His buddy Dan Day, with whom he had attended a Garden City gun show that day — February 27, 2016 — slowed his truck. Stein, who was sitting in the passenger seat, poked his head out the window, and by the time he spat those last two words — raghead bitches — he was close enough that the women, startled, lifted their eyes toward the vehicle.
Men like Stein and Day — with drink-ruddy faces and ISIS HUNTING PERMIT bumper stickers — are a common feature of the landscape in Southwest Kansas, although Garden City has perhaps fewer than its neighbors Dodge City, the infamous gun-slinging town, and Liberal, which isn’t. As locals like to point out, there’s something a little different about “Garden,” which despite feeling like the middle of nowhere is populated by people from seemingly everywhere. The seat of rural Finney County, Garden City is situated in almost the exact center of the country, with attractions like the World’s Largest Hand-Dug Swimming Pool (built 1922) and the World’s Largest Hairball (discovered in the belly of a cow circa 1993). It has been a modest but consistent boomtown, host to a rotating crop of industries — sugar beets, cattle, wind turbines — that require a lot of land and a lot of people to work it. As a result, the area has always attracted immigrants, from the Mexicans who laid the tracks of the Santa Fe railroad in the early-20th century to the Japanese who arrived after the Second World War. And while there was some initial trepidation on the part of the locals, they usually found, in working side by side with the newcomers, that they shared those values considered to be midwestern: belief in God, family, and hard work. “All equal, regardless of wealth, color, or creed,” one resident boasted to Truman Capote when he visited the area in the 1960s to report In Cold Blood. “Everything the way it ought to be in a Democracy, that’s us.”
The militia splinter group “The Crusaders”: Patrick Stein. Photo: AP
Gavin Wright. Photo: AP
Curtis Allen. Photo: AP
This egalitarian spirit prevailed through the 1980s, when big meatpacking companies relocated to the area, bringing with them a wave of workers from Vietnam and Cambodia. Members of the police department underwent cultural-awareness training, learning to do things like take their shoes off when entering Asian households. When the International Rescue Committee opened an office in Garden City in 2014, headed by a no-nonsense former refugee named Amy Longa, and resettled over 200 transplants from war-torn countries like Somalia into jobs at the meatpacking plants, the police reached out to the elder males in the groups, to earn their trust. “To make sure that everybody is part of a community,” as Chief Michael Utz put it. Garden City became what NPR called “an unlikely progressive town.” Newspaper headlines regularly referred to it as an exemplar of “America’s future,” and although the area had long suffered its share of “brain drain,” its reputation drew a new class of educated millennials. Like John Birky, a young physician, and his wife, Lisa, Kansas natives who had spent time in Africa and moved back specifically to work with the refugees; and Benjamin Anderson, the 30-something CEO of a nearby hospital, who sold incoming interns on “the idea of America as a mission field” and espoused a philosophy of “unconditional radical love.” Thanks in part to their efforts, moonfaced med students could be found slurping pho in the area’s Vietnamese restaurants and trying on guntiino at one of two stores selling African goods. Main Street, which had languished after the arrival of chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, was showing new signs of life, and the Chamber of Commerce had come up with a logo that reflected the town’s multiculturalism: THE WORLD GROWS HERE, accompanied by a picture of a yucca plant with leaves the colors of the rainbow.
But not everyone was willing to accept this vision of America’s future. Most famously: Donald Trump, then running for the Republican nomination for president, who had made it clear that he saw immigrants, particularly Muslims, as the enemy.
As Stein and Day rolled through town, a speech Trump had given a few days earlier — praising the (apocryphal) methods of a U.S. general in dispensing with Muslim opponents in the Philippine-American War — was still playing on conservative radio. “He took 50 bullets, and he dipped them in pig’s blood,” he’d told the crowd. “And he had his men load their rifles, and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said: ‘You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened.’ ”
Looking out the window, Stein caught the eye of one of the Somali women. On the seat next to him was a pistol and next to that an automatic rifle with ten rounds of ammunition. If he wanted to, he could splatter her and her friend’s brains all over the sidewalk right then and there. Raghead bitch.
The moment passed. The woman averted her eyes. Stein relaxed his grip on his gun. There was no upside in acting impulsively, he reminded himself. Whatever they decided to do had to be carefully planned. And when the world saw it, they would be hailed as heroes.
Ifrah Ahmed. Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen
A few blocks away, Ifrah Ahmed was sitting cross-legged on a cushion in her apartment, packing a hookah pipe with sweet strawberry tobacco. Ifrah wasn’t supposed to smoke hookah, because she was a woman, but as Ifrah — and Beyoncé, of whom she was a fan — liked to say, she was an “independent woman.” She had been so ever since the day her mother told her, at age 14, that she was engaged to be married. You’re going to be happy, her mother said, as Ifrah cried her eyes out. That’s what you are born for. Everybody does it.
Not Ifrah, who later that night stole her mom’s keys and sneaked out of the house in Nairobi, where they’d lived since the Somalian government had collapsed in 1991. She spent the night in a mosque near the bus station and, through the charity of the imam and his congregation, bought a bus ticket to Uganda, where she bribed her way across the border, ending up in Nakivale, considered to be one of the nicer refugee camps in the world. “Everybody is just humble and kind and nice,” she recalled. “You don’t eat, you eat with the neighbors. The neighbors don’t eat, they eat with you.”
Ifrah’s people skills and proficiency with languages — in addition to Somali, she speaks Swahili, English, and some Arabic — made her useful to the camp’s administrators, and she was working as a translator for the U.N. when she got a call, at age 21, informing her she could come to America — specifically, Kansas City — as a refugee. From there, she made her way to Garden City, where her cousin worked for Tyson Foods. Ifrah got a job there, too, as a quality-control inspector. But it wasn’t long before her supervisors recognized in her the same traits the U.N. had, and soon she was being called off the production line to help them communicate with their African workers.
Their conversations were often about injuries. Meatpacking is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, physically and, perhaps, mentally. Tyson slaughtered thousands of cows every day. Some of the refugees had been through unspeakable horrors, and being around all that blood couldn’t be the healthiest thing. Then again, what else could they do, far away from home, unable to speak the language?
Ifrah’s shift at the plant was 3 to 11 p.m., but this part of the job — the helping — was more of a lifestyle. Ifrah had been elected a community leader by a council of elders, and this meant someone was always knocking on her door, needing something. Women whose genital mutilation left them with horrible recurring urinary-tract infections wanted her to help communicate their symptoms to doctors. Mothers asked her to talk to their children’s teachers. People needed rides to Western Union, to send money to relatives, or the African Shop, one of the hubs of the community, to watch Law & Order: SVU and eat sambosas with ranch dressing, a local delicacy that Somalis had taken to.
Unlike many of her neighbors, who were skittish about strangers, Ifrah didn’t limit her own relationships to other Africans. At her cozy apartment, adorned with inspirational sayings like DREAM and JOURNEY, she hosted friends of all kinds — Dominican, Burmese, white Kansans — making them tea and inviting them to sing on the karaoke machine. When a transgender Turkish-Iraqi with a long glossy wig under her hairnet appeared on the floor at Tyson, some of her co-workers tittered and stared, but Ifrah thought she was beautiful. “We are not God,” she admonished them. “We are not here to judge.”
A few of the older Somalis disapproved of these friendships and that Ifrah was still, at the ancient age of 28, unmarried. “Don’t lose your roots,” they warned.
“You cannot lose your roots!” she responded. She would know. She still heard regularly from her mother, who had recently called from Nairobi to complain about Ifrah smoking hookah — she’d heard about it from Ifrah’s neighbors.
Garden City was a small town, but she liked it. It was peaceful, and friendly. But in the lead-up to the presidential election, the atmosphere started to feel a little different, the way it had right before Ifrah saw her first tornado darken the sky. Down at the African Shop, detectives Benson and Stabler solved crimes on mute while people fretted over the things Donald Trump was saying about Muslims. Ifrah didn’t want to think the people she’d lived among believed him. At the same time, she’d noticed a shift in the way she was treated. Like the suspicious employee who’d followed her through Target, where she’d long been a regular. And Mimi, the trans woman, and her cousin Ghasak, who liked to go to the club and dance on the weekends, said one night the DJ had trained his spotlight on them and said he hoped Trump would “make America great again.” They’d laughed about it, but Ifrah was worried. Many of her supervisors supported him. Even this veterinarian she worked with — a nice vet, who’d been to Africa — had gone to one of his rallies and taken a picture with the guy.
“He doesn’t really mean all immigrants,” he’d said as he inspected a cow. “He just means illegal immigrants.”
“Just because they are illegal doesn’t mean they are going to harm you,” said Ifrah, thinking of a friend from Mexico. “They’re here because they want a better life for their kids.”
The vet shrugged. “He just talks,” he said. “It’s not like he’s gonna do it.” Then he patted the cow on the hindquarters and sent it out to meet its fate.
Somali refugees outside the African Shop in Garden City. Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen
As far as Patrick Stein was concerned, Donald Trump was “the Man.” Stein had grown up in Wright, Kansas, a tiny town outside Dodge City (“Maybe 450 to 500 people, if you count cats and dogs”) where “everybody knew everybody” and “you could always count on your neighbor.” His parents ran a farm and expected their six children to help out with the chores while they worked day jobs. In between, there was church, lots of it, including a Catholic Mass every morning before school. Stein was an altar boy. “It was a pain in my ass,” he said in his flat drawl. “But it was all right. You get good morals and good values.”
One could argue that when it came to Patrick, these didn’t stick. He was bright and charming: a good-looking kid, with sandy hair, a snub nose, and roguish blue eyes. But the slow country life didn’t suit him. He had a taste for action — fast cars, loud music, big guns. Marriage and two sons failed to settle him down, and in 1998, Stein allegedly forced his way into the home of a drug dealer who’d sold him some bum crystal meth and threatened “a bloodbath” if he didn’t get his money back. He left with the dealer’s mother’s gun as collateral, and when she called the police and told them it was missing, Stein was arrested. For a long while, the cops had taken it easy on him, “on account of everyone knowing each other,” he says. But it wasn’t clear he’d be able to avoid jail much longer: “Between the cops and a vindictive female, I couldn’t sneeze in the wrong direction.” It was time to, as they say, get out of Dodge. He went to Nebraska, where he “ran a ranch,” then moved to Colorado Springs before ending up working construction in Arizona. That’s where he was when his mother called early on September 11, 2001, and told him to turn on the television.
“That was my game-changer,” he said. “That’s what started me paying attention to the political world, our so-called representatives, and educating myself on the individuals that threw themselves into the planes, what the ideology is.”
When the U.S. invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, Stein was happy for the chance at retribution. “I knew we were going in to kick some ass and not take names neither,” he said. He might have gone and kicked some himself had his family not, around that time, summoned him back home to Kansas. His sons were getting older, and they needed their father around. Stein didn’t care for his ex-wife — “If she was standing on a ledge or something, I might push her off” — but he acknowledged his masculine responsibility. “Better get my ass back to Kansas,” he said.
The family farm was as money-losing as ever, but Stein soon came up with an idea that he thought could reap a major windfall. President Bush had just signed the Energy Independence and Security Act, and investors were scrambling to invest in renewable fuels. Stein had done some research online, and it turned out that on the farm, they had everything they needed to produce them. “The conversion process is actually quite simple,” he told his father and brother. “If we grew our own soybeans and processed them into biodiesel, it wouldn’t cost us a dime.”
They formed a company, Torsten Energy — the name was a reference to their family’s Nordic roots — and by 2008, had raised a substantial amount from local investors, according to Stein, who claims he was on the verge of making a deal that would take him the rest of the way toward his vision: four $40 million plants silhouetted against the Kansas sky, monuments to his ingenuity. “I felt like I finally made it,” he said. “We were going to be riding on cloud nine, peaches and cream.”
Then, one morning in 2008, Stein turned on the TV. “And it was another day like 9/11,” he said. “There’s Bernanke and Bush and everyone saying the markets are crashing, the world is coming to an end, there was no more money coming, nobody was doing nothing in terms of new projects. I knew at that point we were done.”
After the company collapsed, his father may have found solace in going to church, but Stein felt only the accusing eyes of the neighbors whose money they’d lost. “To have to see those people on a daily basis, those people who’d invested a good chunk of their lives …” he said. “It sucked.”
The next few years, he was in and out of rehab, struggling with alcohol and amphetamine addiction, after which he repaired to his trailer on his parents’ property to nurse his rage. “How many other companies across the country went bankrupt, they didn’t get a bailout?” he seethed. “Why should the banks?”
When they were setting up the company, Stein had made a few trips to the nation’s capital to meet with elected representatives, and the dismissive way they treated him still stung. “I really saw how disgustingly corrupt, how wasteful, our system is,” he said. “If you got money, if you know people, you get everything you want done. It’s a disgrace, if you ask me. It is everything our Founding Fathers feared. It literally makes me sick. And it’s ‘We the People’ who are responsible. Our system relies on the people to keep the government in check. But most people don’t pay any attention.”
Now Stein was paying attention. Back in his trailer, he developed a new addiction: content produced by right-wing media outlets, whose outrage matched his own. Stein was a fan of Fox News, and when this corporate entity failed to provide the high of extreme indignation, there were news sites like Breitbart, Infowars, and Reddit, plus Veterans Today, JewsNews, et. al, which Stein, whose mind was already addled by the information he’d mainlined elsewhere, took to be purveyors of the “real” truth. Among the things he came to believe: that the U.N. had built secret tunnels underneath all of the country’s Walmarts that linked to underground military bases. That there were Chinese troops lined up at the Mexican border readying to launch a communist invasion. That Cuba was going to invade Florida. “Been telling people for years it was all a hoax,” he wrote above a headline he posted on Facebook: “Sandy Hook Redux: Obama Officials Confirm That It Was A Drill and No Children Died.”
The nucleus of Stein’s rage was, of course, Barack Obama. “We are literally being run by a terrorist organization at the highest level, being the Oval Office,” Stein told people in the militia he joined during the president’s second term. “He is their leader. Their organization is called the Muslim Brotherhood, and of course it filters down through every other department and branch of the federal government.”
The Southwest Kansas Three Percent was a part of the Three Percenter movement, founded after Obama’s election by Chris Hill, a Georgia-based former Marine who goes by the name General Bloodagent. The group is named for what he claims is the actual percentage of Colonists said to have taken up arms against the British in the Revolutionary War (this figure is disputed by historians). Of its members’ many and varied fears, in early 2016, it was “radical Islam,” as Donald Trump was calling it, that perhaps loomed the largest. Down in Georgia, Hill’s Three Percenters had led an armed protest of a planned mosque, and a Kansas branch threatened to do the same thing when the Islamic Society of Wichita invited the sheikh Monzer Taleb to speak. They hadn’t had to — the event was canceled after then–U. S. representative Mike Pompeo warned the Society’s leaders that if they went ahead with the event, “they will be responsible for the damage.” Still, many of the militia’s members didn’t feel like their government was doing enough to protect them from the rising tide of fundamentalism. “Hell, it’s even getting down into the local governments now,” Stein pointed out. “It’s at the point where it’s got to be stopped or there is going to be no stopping it.”
When Stein talked like this, some people in the group looked at his wild eyes and thought he was crazy, maybe even dangerous. Others thought he sounded right on the money. Among them was Dan Day, whom Stein had met during a field exercise in Cimarron, Kansas. Day, a former probation officer with a goatee and glasses, lived in Garden City, which had been fairly overtaken by Somali refugees, who Donald Trump had warned might be terrorists in disguise. There were whole apartment complexes full of them, Stein said Day told him. Supposedly, the Somalis worked at the beef-packing plants, but Day thought they might be in cahoots with the Mexican drug cartels, which had been known to route product through the city. He’d watched them coming and going late at night, carrying duffel bags, which he suspected were filled with money that the Somalis — who seemed to use Western Union a lot — were funneling to ISIS. Not too long ago, he said, someone had found an ISIS recruitment flier at the Finney County Public Library. “I was blown away to find out that ISIS is recruiting in the public library,” said Stein. He and Day exchanged information and agreed to stay in touch to keep on top of this problem.
“If we don’t do it, who’s gonna do it?” asked Day.
They agreed to meet in Garden City the weekend of the gun show for a “surveillance mission.” After that, Stein told Day he had some other friends he wanted to introduce him to. “It’s such a relief to find like-minded souls,” he said.
The Africa Shop in Garden City. Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen
Stein’s friends lived about an hour outside of Garden City, in Liberal, where, the story goes, the town’s original homesteader, Seymour Rogers, had allowed thirsty travelers to dip into his well free of charge. “And they’d say, ‘Well, that’s mighty liberal of you,’ ” said Earl Watt, publisher of the Liberal Leader & Times newspaper, who notes that, despite the moniker, “we probably haven’t voted for a Democrat since Woodrow Wilson.”
The band struck up the national anthem, and Watt stood up. We were in the high-school gym, where his daughter was playing in a basketball game. Although the school is “majority minority,” as Watt puts it, the team is called the Redskins, which reflects the town’s complicated relationship with its diversity, one that partly stems from economics.
Unlike Garden City, Liberal is “a boom-bust town.” Industries come there for a short time, then move on, leaving residents bubbling with resentment, like the oil wells the companies had capped and left in the fields. “It’s been hard on the community,” said Watt. The town is divided, literally, between the longtime, mostly white residents who participate in events like Pancake Day, and the immigrants who are there to work whatever’s working, which at the moment is beef. “There is zero assimilation,” admitted Watt. “It’s a real dang problem.”
What they need, he said, is “some kind of program, so that when people come in — I don’t care where they’re from or how they got here or whatever — but we need to let them know, ‘Hey, you’re welcome. We love you. We want you to be an active part of the community. Stay. Let’s be neighbors.’ ” It’s surprising to hear this from Watt, who has written editorials in support of Building a Wall. “But I’m also behind adding 10,000 more agents down there to get them through,” he said. “They’re human beings looking for a better life. Who isn’t?”
Not everyone in Liberal feels this way, of course.
“They’re taking our jobs,” Curtis Allen complained to his neighbors. Pale, with dark eyes, a sullen mustache, and close-cropped hair, Allen, a native of Wichita, had washed up in Liberal a few years after being convicted on a domestic-assault charge. He told people he was a veteran of the war in Iraq, which was true, his brother later said, noting that he hadn’t been quite the same since returning home: He had anger issues and, sometimes, trouble processing his thoughts. He lived in a trailer packed with survival gear on the far side of town, where he liked to drink beer and skin animals, and he had some paranoid ideas about the government, although he lived mainly off disability checks, which he supplemented with work installing security systems.
This was how he met Gavin Wright. Wright, a single father with bushy gray hair and lonely eyes, was also relatively new to the area, having moved there from Manhattan, Kansas, after the death of his father, to help his brother set up the new branch of their family business, G&G, which sold modular homes. “He was an awfully sweet man,” said Tammy, the pretty blonde bartender at the VFW. “The other one I wasn’t so sure about.”
She meant Allen, with whom Wright hit it off: He ended up hiring Allen as a salesman at G&G, and together they joined a militia, the Kansas Security Force 3%, which is how they’d become acquainted with Patrick Stein, who was also a member. Militia etiquette has it that you aren’t really supposed to be in more than one, but Stein was, after all, a man of action.
Stein knew that Allen would be particularly incensed by Day’s news about ISIS fliers in the library. Allen hated Muslim refugees, or “cockroaches,” as Stein called them. It was all over his Facebook. “If anyone hears they are bringing these refugees into our state we have to spread the word imeadiatly [sic]!” Allen had written. “This just might get you killed, or worse your kids!!”
“They bring these fuckers in by the goddamn planeload,” Stein told him on a call that included Wright, Day, and other interested members of the KSF that June. “I mean, there’s gotta be a fucking line somewhere. And when that line is crossed, there’s gotta be action taken. I mean, am I wrong?”
“Not in my eyes,” said Wright.
“Say there was an ISIS attack in Garden City,” Day said. “Someone went into Walmart and mowed down 100 people. What would we do?”
“In my mind, I’m ready to just start fucking taking them out,” Stein said. “Kick in doors. Start cleaning this fucking state up.”
“I mean, we gotta have a plan,” said Day. “You know?”
They agreed to form a splinter group to deal with the problem, for which they communicated through an encrypted app, on a channel Stein named “Crusaders.” The group they formed wasn’t a secret, at least not at first. “They’d be all, ‘You gotta join our group, you have to know what’s going on with your government,’ ” said Tammy, rolling her good eye. Their meetings took place at the town library, or the Branding Iron, the bar inside the Liberal Inn and Suites, where Allen was friendly with the waitress, a bouncy, busty blonde named Cora. “He was fun,” she said. “A little racist, I’m sure. But at the time, I put it down to him being an asshole. I mean, he was a friend, but he was kind of an asshole, you know what I mean? I set him up with a Spanish woman and he had a great time, you know what I mean?”
Over the spring and summer of 2016, the fun-loving asshole she knew started to change. At the time, Cora attributed it to the sudden appearance of Donnette, Allen’s ex-wife — or maybe girlfriend, it wasn’t clear — who’d arrived in town out of nowhere. She was the jealous type, and eventually Curtis told Cora they couldn’t be friends anymore. She still saw him around occasionally. “It was so strange,” she told me. “He went from like a clean-shaven, good-looking guy to unshaven, kind of twitchy-looking.”
In hindsight, it makes sense. Allen was spending the bulk of his time at the G&G offices, where the group had started holding its meetings. “ ’Cause we couldn’t talk like this at the fucking restaurants,” he’d pointed out. Meaning they couldn’t say things like “Make sure if you start using your bow on them cockroaches, make sure you dip them in pig’s blood before you shoot them,” which was a suggestion Stein had made when discussing their Plan in public.
It’s not clear how the idea for the Plan progressed from something that was reactive to, as Allen put it, “preemptive.” But later, Stein would say the idea to move things forward had originated with Day.
“I can’t let what could happen a year from now, or six months ago, dictate what we fucking do now,” Day said, in August. “I mean, you just can’t.”
They were at G&G, listening to AC/DC, which they’d taken to playing to cover the sound of their discussions. “I think it needs to be something big,” Wright said.
“Something that’s going to accomplish something,” Stein affirmed.
“We need to come up with a manifesto,” said Day.
“To trigger the other like-minded people across the nation to fucking stand up and start doing the same thing we’re doing,” added Allen.
“Against the U. N.?” asked Stein.
“Muslims,” Allen said definitively. “Cockroaches. But we have to do it in a way to where they don’t play it off, like some fucking redneck with a fucking goddamn hundred pounds of fertilizer just, you know, hates his wife or something.”
They discussed targets. Sitting at the computer, Allen pulled up Google Earth to note where “cockroaches” were. “Do you know how to drop pins?” Stein asked.
“I mean, I’m just figuring it out,” Allen said.
“It’s harder than shit.”
Day, who had been quiet, spoke up. “I was thinking,” he said. “The Somali mall. That’s where we start this. No cameras back there. You can drive right up the back.”
The Somali Mall, in Garden City, isn’t actually a mall. It’s a store selling African imports and a popular Somali hangout, though its location on a back road makes it harder to see and for some people maybe a little bit scary. “The first time I went there, to be downright honest, my fear was some guy might come out with a machine gun and say ‘Allahu akbar!’ and shoot me,” said John Birky, the doctor. He laughed, embarrassed, because, of course, he went in and it was just a handful of Somalis drinking tea.
“For my people, it’s the solution to everything,” said Ifrah, who took me to the store one day for a cup made by an older, gold-toothed woman, who filled it with carefully foamed milk and an unconscionable amount of sugar. “Lots of sugar,” said Ifrah, who loves the stuff; I have seen her put maple syrup on scrambled eggs.
It’s a real problem in that community, according to Birky. “I tell them all the time, ‘That stuff will kill you.’ ”
The mosque at the Garden Spot Apartments. Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen
The crusaders never actually set foot inside the mall. They ended up deciding on a new target: an apartment building on Mary Street, near where Stein and Day had seen the Somali women the day of their drive-by. As it turned out, Wright was loosely related to the owner of the building, but never liked him, and they discussed killing him and maybe raping his daughter to send a message before someone remembered they’d heard the building contained a |
and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
This article was posted: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 6:54 am
Tags: drones, police state
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Comment on this articleTwitter, pressured by Jewish group, cleansing internet of anti-Netanyahu material
My letter to Twitter legal department
Twitter has asked me to remove the above tweet, due to a complaint from the leading French Jewish group, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF). Below is a copy of my email correspondence with the Twitter Legal Department.
Dear Twitter,
I most certainly am not going to remove this content. It consists of a brilliant, incisive work of art by David Dees, who is widely viewed as one of the two or three most important (and most-viewed) political artists working today. I am copying him on this email.
The art work in question is a passionate protest against the brutal abuse of the human rights of Palestinians by the war criminal leader of Israel, Netanyahu. Many thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians have been slaughtered in repeated assaults on Gaza by the Netanyahu regime, which routinely drops white phosphorus on civilian targets, bombs ambulances, schools, hospitals, refugee shelters and UN humanitarian installations, and refers to these regular massacres of thousands of innocents as routine “mowing the lawn.”
These and other atrocities are committed in order to ethnically cleanse Palestine and purify it as a “Jewish State.” So Dees’ use of the Israeli flag with the Star of David, and the images of rabbis, is entirely appropriate in context, as is the use of the US flag symbolizing US complicity in these crimes. (I am copying Naturei Karta International, a group of anti-Zionist Jews led by my colleague Rabbi Weiss, and will happily take down the content if the Rabbi thinks it is bigoted or inappropriate.) Calling out Jewish-Zionist and American oppressors does not amount to bigotry against Zionist Jews or Americans. Both of these two human groups are powerful in relation to other groups, and both are using their power to horrifically oppress the relatively powerless people of Palestine.
There is no bigotry in siding with the powerless against the powerful. The concept of bigotry is only meaningful in relation to prejudices against relatively powerless, oppressed groups, not powerful oppressing ones. If you start censoring people for “prejudice against the powerful” where will it end? Will we be prohibited from mocking, deriding, deploring, and otherwise verbally and artistically attacking rich people, politicians, CEOs, dictators, ruling classes, celebrities, bullies, and other powerful and privileged individuals and groups?
I will be happy to discuss these issues with representatives from Twitter and/or CRIF, am available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. US Central, and eagerly await your call. I speak fluent French and would love to speak with a CRIF representative en français.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kevin Barrett
(phone number redacted)Dan Snow has made some good history documentaries. He’s clever at finding his thesis, and adept at telling it economically. Snow is also – unlike some of the more academic TV historians – convincing and engaging (not to mention handsome). But even recognising all of that, I have to say that I’ve had enough of the recent spate of Dan Snow history documentaries.
In recent months, Snow has done the history of Congo and the history of the Winter Olympics. His latest film – the first of a two-part series – was The Birth of Empire: the East India Company (BBC Two). It displayed Snow’s usual strengths. In an hour, he managed to trot through 250 years of history, from the founding of the East India company at the start of the 17th century to what was effectively its death blow, the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Snow also managed to find a few visual exclamation marks, which emphasised his narrative. For example, he turned with a flourish to show Government House in Calcutta – rebuilt by Lord Richard Wellesley at the turn of the 19th century, to display the East India Company’s wealth and power.
Some strong visuals were, however, pointlessly wasted. As he recounted growing discontent among the East India Company’s 250,000 native Indian troops in the 19th century, Snow literally fell in step with a modern-day Indian military parade. The implicit comparison was clever – between Indian soldiers marching for the East India Company then, and Indian soldiers marching for India now. Yet that modern-day scene cried out for explanation. Why were some Indian troops wearing remarkable caps that rose into red and yellow crowns? Why were others playing the bagpipes?
Even worse were the long interludes that had no real visual accompaniment at all. Much of the programme, consisting as it did of monologues from Snow or from talking-head academics, would have been better on the radio.
All of which surely begs a bigger, more brutal question. Why was this programme ever commissioned? It certainly wasn’t to present its audience with unmissable – or even particularly original – images or stories. It’s not as if the BBC has ignored Britain’s imperial history lately (Jeremy Paxman’s 2012 series, Empire). And only this week, the BBC Trust (correctly) told bosses that they need to do better in current affairs.
Perhaps the well-funded BBC Two could do better with a bit less recycled history, and a bit more original storytelling. And the talented Mr Snow could use a better project, too.
READ: TV & RADIO HIGHLIGHTSThe cruelty of factory farms is a daily nightmare for billions of animals, but that might soon start to change thanks to a forward-thinking initiative by one of the biggest names in the meat industry. In a humane act of compassion for their livestock, the Oscar Mayer Company now requires its pork suppliers to give their pigs one thrilling sexual experience before sending them to slaughter.
It’s pretty difficult to overstate what a huge leap forward this is for animal rights.
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The details of the new policy are extremely promising: Once a pig reaches sexual maturity, factory workers must lather it in a warming lubricant and place it in an outdoor pen, where it will encounter dozens of sows in heat and boars specially bred to produce voluptuously potent pheromone levels. The pigs will then be encouraged to partake in any variety of sow-on-boar, sow-on-sow, boar-on-boar, or autoerotic swineplay they prefer. Only after they’ve bellowed long, guttural squeals of satisfaction will these pigs be killed, processed, and separated into their desirable parts for human consumption.
Conscious consumers can rest assured: Oscar Mayer pork will have been treated to full prostate and teat stimulation via double-prodded toys, clamps, and strategically placed ice cubes before being sent to the slaughterhouse. Farmers will even have to install sprinklers emitting warm hog urine for any pig who might be into that.
Wow. It seems like Oscar Mayer is truly dedicated to setting a new bar for ethical animal treatment.
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To put this in perspective, not even free-range operations keep pig behavior specialists on-site to spot hogs nearing ejaculation and pull them away in order to temporarily evade orgasm, thereby extending the hog’s arousal and making their eventual climaxes that much more explosive. For a household meat brand like Oscar Mayer to endorse this kind of practice is a really, really big deal.
“Before slaughter, we intend to treat our pigs to nothing less than the absolute highest order of hoof-shattering orgasms,” said Oscar Mayer President Mark Magnesen in a press release. “Our commitment to the well-being of animals means ensuring that no pig reaches an abbatoir without first experiencing a flesh romp so sensational it causes their numbing limbs to buckle under full-bodied tail-to-snout pleasure.”
Just yes. Even PETA has to admit that this is a great new direction for pork producers.
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Taste tests held by the company revealed that customers unanimously preferred meat from sexually gratified pigs over meat from pigs raised under typical factory-farm stresses. Interested in trying some yourself, or just want to support the cause? Look for the special label they’ve created to specify that their products came from a pig they made squeal in wanton rapture.
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Well, it looks like Oscar Mayer is finally getting on the right side of animal rights history. This is exactly the thoughtful kind of action consumers want to see food companies enact. They could have easily just asked suppliers to masturbate a few pigs to completion and called it change, but the level of care they’re pouring into these bacchanalian thrills shows that they’re truly making animal welfare a priority.
Any progress for farm animals is welcome progress, and hopefully this is a sign of even better living conditions to come. One blowout circus of carnal delights is the least they can do for these pigs.We have been very busy lately here at Amapola Creek! The hot, dry weather brought on some very quick ripening, and quite a few of our grapes were ready to come in over the course of the last week.
This picture is of the last of the Belli Chardonnay to come in for the year. These grapes will be pressed and the juice fermented separately from the Chardonnay we brought in earlier in the season, even though they will ultimately be blended together into a single wine. The second round of Belli Chardonnay is comprised primarily of Dijon clone 76, which is a selection of Chardonnay that has a distinct minerality and a strong backbone of acid, which will nicely balance the tropical Rued and Robert Young clones we brought in earlier this year.
We also recently brought in our Cuvee Alis, which this year will be a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. The different stacks of bins that you see above are the different varieties, we have to keep them carefully separated so that we know exactly what has been put into which fermentor. This year we were fortunate to be able to bring in all of the Cuvee Alis in a single day. Usually, these varieties of grapes ripen at rates different enough to require separate pick dates. Mourvedre, especially, is generally left out to ripen and brought in much later on its own. This year is very special, though, and we were able to bring in the entire blend at one time.
Things are still moving quickly here at Amapola Creek, don’t forget to check back soon for more updates!Hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries face a deadline Monday, but questions remain about how exactly that deadline will be enforced.
More than 400 dispensaries are under orders to close in accordance with the city's news medical marijuana ordinance. Eventually, the city hopes to whittle the number of pot shops down to 70 and to limit outlets to industrial areas.
Some estimates peg the number of medical marijuana dispensaries operating last summer in Los Angeles at 1,000. City officials said hundreds were not registered.
Dispensaries that opened before the city declared a moratorium on Nov. 13, 2007, will be allowed to stay open but, within six months, they will have to comply with the ordinance, which has a strict zoning component.
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Fines for violators are expected to run as high as $2,500 per day. Penalties also could include jail time.
The City Attorney's Office sent letters last month to the operators of about 400 dispensaries, ordering them to close by today.
"The sky isn't going to fall down," Asha Greenberg, assistant city attorney, told National Public Radio. "LAPD isn't going to go around kicking down doors, etc. Initially we're going to be doing information gathering."
MTV Movie Awards: Sandra Makes Steamy Comeback With ScarJo Smooch
City officials said they won't take any action until they count how many of them have defied the new ordinance. Authorities said they will spend about two weeks finding out which clinics aren't in compliance.
"All of us who chose to play by the rules as laid down by the city have been waiting years for this day,'' marijuana collective owner Joao Silverstein told The Associated Press.
Last week, a judge dismissed last-minute legal challenges from pot shop owners and patients seeking temporary restraining orders to keep those shops open. That decision allowed officials to enforce a long-awaited law that will slash the number of dispensaries to somewhere between 70 and 130.
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Owners and patients have filed more than 20 lawsuits over the ordinance. They argue it restricts access to medicine.
Stewart Richlin, a lawyer who represents 10 dispensaries that filed lawsuits, told the LA Times that he expects many will remain open Monday.
Sean Cardillo opened the Kush Clubhouse and Medical Kush Beach Club in Venice. He told the Times he plans to close the Clubhouse, for now. As for the Beach Club, it's legally registered but located near a residential building -- too close under the ordinance.
That facility would have to move within six months.
"I don't want to do anything to disrespect the city," Cardillo told the Times. "I'm not in this to do anything illegal."
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Southern CaliforniaA word that becomes difficult to use because it is transitioning from one meaning to another
A skunked term is a word that becomes difficult to use because it is transitioning from one meaning to another, perhaps inconsistent or even opposite, usage.[1][2] Purists may insist on the old usage, while descriptivists may be more open to newer usages. Readers may not know which sense is meant.
The term was coined by lexicographer Bryan A. Garner in his 2008 edition of Garner's Modern American Usage and has since been adopted by some other style guides.[2]
Usage [ edit ]
Garner recommends avoiding such terms if their use may distract from the meaning of a text.[3]
Some terms, such as "fulsome", may become skunked, and then eventually revert to their original meaning over time.[4]
Examples [ edit ]
"Decimate" used to mean 'to kill one in ten' (from the Roman practice of decimation), but now means 'to destroy' or 'to kill nine out of ten.'
"Hopefully" used to mean 'in a hopeful manner' but has come to mean 'it is hoped' since the early 1960s.[3][5][6]
Other examples include "niggardly", "Oriental", "data", and "media".[7]
The 2013 Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "literally" to include "figuratively"[8] and, towards 2014, the conflation of 'deep web' with 'dark web'.[9]
A'moot point' in British English has historically meant a point that is worth debating, but the meaning is shifting towards that in US English of a point that is irrelevant or academic.[10]With Rizin Fighting Federation (RFF) finding success with its first-ever event last month in Japan, promotion CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara is now hoping to take his show on the road in 2016.
And one of the stops he intends to make is Russia, home to the biggest star on his roster, Fedor Emelianenko.
According to statements made to RSport.ru (via Bloody Elbow), the upstart mixed martial arts (MMA) organization is hoping to host its third event in Mother Russia sometime later this year. That's because plans for a second Fedor-headlined show to take place elsewhere are already in motion, expected to go down in April.
"If possible, we want to organize the tournament Rizin in Russia as soon as possible. And, perhaps, it will happen in 2016. Yesterday, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Government of Japan, Mr. Hiroshi Hase, handed Fedor Emelianenko memorable gifts from the Japanese government. Relations between Russia and Japan in big sports are strengthening, and we would like to be a bridge towards that."
"The Last Emperor" made good on his MMA return, taking out Jaideep Singh in the main event of the promotion's New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2015) extravaganza in Saitama, Japan.
See the massacre again here.
As for who the former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion faces next and where, that's still up in the air. That said, there aren't a shortage of challengers eager to test themselves against the longtime great. Chief among them is Muhammed Lawal, who expressed interest in facing the Russian-born fighter.
Inside the Bellator MMA cage and on United States soil, however.Despite a bibliography responsible for some of the most profound contributions to weird fiction and the larger horror genre, H.P. Lovecraft lived a life of very little fame or fortune by his death at a age of forty-six. Yet today, the author of such famous works as “At the Mountains of Madness”, “The Dunwich Horror”, and “The Colour Out of Space” remains widely lauded as one of the best in horror—bridging the gap between Poe and Stephen King. Still, this minimal recognition during his own lifetime inspired a great deal of self-doubt and suspicion that often seeped into the celebrated author’s own creative prowess.
Lovecraft wrote on numerous occasions of his own hypercritical reactions to his work, so much so that he would often allow the manuscripts to collect dust rather than be published, or only finally publish the material after a considerable amount of time had passed. (In his notes on Thing in the Doorstep, renowned Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi writes in the eponymous book: “[Lovecraft] was so dissatisfied with the story upon its completion that he refused to submit it anywhere. At last, in the summer of 1936…when Julius Schwartz proposed to HPL to market some of his tales in England, HPL reluctantly submitted the story.” (pg. 493)) Perhaps the most amazing example of this mistrust in his own abilities, however, can be found in one of the author’s longest yet most profound of achievements, a novel unpublished during his lifetime due to his own dissatisfaction for the material—The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
Calling the novel a “cumbrous, creaking bit of self-conscious antiquarianism”, Lovecraft’s longest piece of fiction remained unpublished until his weird fiction peers August Derleth and Donald Wandrei managed to have the writing posthumously published (in abridged form) within the May and July 1941 issues of Weird Tales. Yet, most remarkably, for all Lovecraft’s creative and unprecedented literary creations: the Cthuhlu mythos, the cosmic horrors of the Old Ones, supernatural entities capable of transcending barriers of time and space, the author rarely employed personal and individual human tragedies into his work, though not without calculated reason. In a letter to E. Hoffman Price, Lovecraft explained his reasons for focusing less on his characters than the fantastic cosmic horrors of their adventures as such:
“Individuals and their fortunes within natural law move me very little. They are all momentary trifles bound from a common nothingness toward another common nothingness. Only the cosmic framework itself—or such individuals as symbolise principles (or defiances of principles) of the cosmic framework—can gain a deep grip on my imagination and set it to work with creating. In other words, the only ‘heroes’ I can write about are phenomena”. (S.T. Joshi, xxxvi of Introduction to Thing On the Doorstep)
And indeed, looking throughout the most famous of Lovecraft’s achievements, one finds that the author has distilled this existential philosophy to incredible effect, leaving the reader overwhelmed by climaxes confronting their insignificance amongst the cosmos and their personal troubles. Moreover, examining some of Lovecraft’s most famous character creations—from the humans of Randolph Character and Herbert West to his mythical creations of Cthulu and Yog-Sothoth—one finds clear examples of such principles in play: characters that serve more as functionaries of Lovecraft’s horror philosophy than characters whose individual hopes or failures are used to drive plot. Yet, it is in this respect, that Lovecraft manages to best represent the true tragedy of both horrors—of individual human tragedy and that of his existential cosmos—through the character of Charles Dexter Ward.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward begins with a structure not too unusual from many Lovecraft tales by hinting toward the final consequences of some unspeakable horror. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward opens in Providence within a private hospital for the insane, shedding few tangible clues, but laying out such preliminaries as to the fact that Charles has gone missing from his room and only left behind a trail of some fine gray dust.
Lovecraft then launches into an early biography of young Charles, jumping back to the chronological beginning of the tale, and providing a wealth of background information into his family history, setting, and position in society. With shades of the author’s own upbringing peppered throughout, Charles is described a precociously gifted scholar with very proud parents. Lovecraft then provides a number of incredibly gorgeous passages that describe everything from the town’s: architecture, landscape, and beauty of his colonial hometown of to contribute further perspective on Charles’ homelife. Following this brief, yet vital understanding into Ward’s family life and early prosaic upbringing, the essence of the plot begins upon Charles’ discovery into the existence of a great-great-great-grandfather whose identity had as of yet been a mystery: Joseph Curwen.
Lovecraft then pauses the present story and returns to the past—back to 1761— to doll out the disturbing history of Joseph Curwen’s infamous early existence and subsequent downfall. Though Curwen poses as a wealthy shipping entrepreneur, local suspicions arise concerning the astounding levels of beef that are delivered to Curwen’s barn, along with the strange, intermittent shafts of light that are periodically produced. Curwen’s enemies soon discover more details of his nefarious plans, which include the possibility of his being able to rise forth beings from the dead and outside realms of human experience. After a raiding party attacks Curwen’s property, the disgraced wizard is never heard from again and the surviving raiders agree to a unanimous secrecy of what they may have just witnessed.
Returning to the present, the narrative’s remaining bulk is devoted toward Charles’ increasing obsession toward his heretofore-unacknowledged ancestor. The young boy drops out of school, a social life, a relationship with his parents…all in the pursuit of unlocking the abominable secrets previously pursued by Curwen. The Ward family doctor—Dr. Marinus Willet—serves as the audience’s eyes, as he slowly discovers the horrid depths of Charles and Curwen’s plans through letters, old documents, interviews—all pointing toward a plan of complete cosmic destruction. Willet’s investigations into Charles’ unraveling psychology eventually lead him the underground catacombs found below Curwen’s old premises—long since abandoned since the attack by the raiding party years ago.
These passages—wherein the elder doctor stumbles down the subterranean depths to uncover a variety of terrible creatures housed by Curwen—present some of the most dread-filled pages within all of Lovecraft’s bibliography. Though these horrors are mostly hinted at, rather than given completely description (as say, the reveal of the Shoggoth in At the Mountains of Madness), they become all the more powerful for placing the reader directly into Willet’s shoes and being forced to finally discover the unspeakable monsters living beneath this tiny town.
Afterward, the tragedy of Charles’ obsession finally reveals that the young Ward has been replaced by the soul of his disembodied ancestor: Joseph Curwen. Willet surmises that through a variety of ancient spells, rituals, and hinted alchemy, Curwen killed and replaced Charles’ being, and now intends to finish the nefarious plans set in motion more than a century ago.
As is Lovecraft’s predominant style, the author embellishes his narratives with impressive depictions of fictional creations through a vivid command of language. The inimitable style pulls the reader into the transportive realm of the text before concluding in the reveal of that great, supernatural horror–one whose believability has been soundly constructed through passages designed to hypnotize the reader through this wall of atmospheric realism. As a result, the final reveal builds with an almost unbearable weight of dread. In each major section, Lovecraft has left a trail of clues, hints at horrors to come, that allow the reader to piece together the unspeakable terror until the ultimate reveal of his horrific creation.
While many of Lovecraft’s narratives are written from first-person point-of-view, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward uses third-person omniscient to expert effect. The story begins with a general impression into Charles’ life, then drastically changes gears to offer the full details of Curwen’s downfall, before reverting back to Charles’ perspective before ending with Dr. Willet’s.
In doing so, the reader becomes familiar with Charles, understanding his world as an actual person and not just as an investigate means of supernatural phenomena. Consequentially, his final fate allows for a demonstration of horror on both the cosmic and personal scale as Lovecraft has never executed so perfectly. Charles’ slow psychological unraveling, his inexorable descent into cosmic powers beyond his control, and the manipulation of this young boy into an expendable chess piece by his own ancestor all exemplify a beautiful merging of the true terrors found within the hearts of men and the cosmic horrors that they may conjure.
Unlike a number of other central Lovecraft characters—say Professor William Dyer in Mountains of Madness or Wilbur Whateley in Dunwich Horror—who either serve as the human functionary unraveling the horrors, or, as in Wilbur’s case, as the actual cosmic phenomena to be later revealed, Charles Dexter Ward represents as a unique combination of both. Charles begins as an innocent child with inclinations that border the bizarre, but never necessitate any cause for worry. But as he digs deeper into his unusual family lineage, Charles’ downward spiral into the occult echoes many of the familiar metaphorical tragedies that would befall a young man due to individual struggles, e.g.: alcohol/ drug addiction, depression, mental illness…that Charles’ ceaseless obsession into Curwen creates a very unique type of dread for the life of this young boy that separates itself from similar character in the Lovecraft canon.
As within the climaxes of cosmic horrors necessitating a very calculated amount of prior clues to propel the reader towards the ultimate reveal, Charles’ own storyline works in a similar, dreadful fashion. As the boy begins to psychologically unravel, his mother and father’s concerns escalate into a subplot of severe family tragedy. As Charles’ experiments with Curwen’s writings soon require his isolation from family, his mother is asked to leave all meals before his door and forbidden entry from contacting him. The mother’s clear disgust for her son’s unstoppable obsession soon becomes apparent, and the reader watches with accumulating dread as these parents must witness their young child begin to lose his mind. Eventually, Charles’ mother’s own sanity collapses under the mental strain and she is sent away to Atlantic City for an indefinite stay: never to see her boy again. Meanwhile, Charles’ father–Theodore–takes up the fight alongside Dr. Willet. The anxious father soon recognizes that his son’s interests with Curwen has driven into a treacherous realm of unstable mental illness, and perhaps toward death or an even worse, unspeakable conclusion.
After his discovery of Curwen’s catacombs beneath the farmhouse, Willet pieces together the true horror of what has happened—that Charles has been murdered by Curwen and the young boy’s body is being possessed by the very ancestor summoned by the boy. Upon realizing what he must do, and how he will be the one responsible for killing Curwen (vis-à-vis Chalres), Willet understands that his actions the following day will result in Charles’ death. What follows is Willet’s letter to Theodore—Charles’ father—explaining how the case will conclude:
“It is better you attempt no further speculation as to Charles’ case, and almost imperative that you tell his mother nothing more than she already suspects. When I call on you tomorrow, Charles will have escaped. That is all which need remain in anyone’s mind. He was mad, and he has escaped. You can tell his mother gently and gradually about the mad part when you stop sending the typed notes in his name…So don’t ask me any questions when I call…There will be nothing more to worry about, for Charles will be very, very safe. He is now—safer than you dream…But you must steel yourself to melancholy, and prepare your wife to do the same. I must tell you frankly that Charles’ escape will not mean his restoration to you. He has been afflicted with a peculiar disease, as you must realize from the subtle and physical changes in him, and you must not hope to see him again. Have only this consolation – that he was never a fiend or even truly a madman, but only an eager, studious, and curious boy whose love of mystery and of the past was his undoing. He stumbled on things no mortal ought ever to know, and reached back through the years as no on should ever reach; and something came out of those years to engulf him…There will be, indeed, no uncertainty about Charles’ fate. In about a year, say, you can if you wish devise a suitable account of the end; for the boy will be no more. You can put up a stone in your lot…that will mark the true resting-place of your son. Nor need you fear that it will mark any abnormality or changeling. The ashes in that grave will be those of your own unaltered bone and sinew – of the real Charles Dexter Ward whose mind you watched from infancy – the real Charles with the olive-mark on his hip and without the black-mark on his chest or the pit on his forehead. The Charles who never did actual evil, and who will have paid with his life for his ‘squeamishness’. That is all. Charles will have escaped, and a year from now you can put up his stone. Do not question me tomorrow. And believe that the honour of your ancient family remains untainted now, as it has been at all times in the past.”
While Lovecraft has written some of the most unsurpassably gorgeous descriptions of fantasy and horror in all of literature, the above letter from a doctor to a father explaining that his son will be dead tomorrow is undoubtedly Lovecraft’s most poignant and heartbreaking. In this above passage, Lovecraft has masterfully merged a union of horrors between the tragedy of human affairs and the consequence of cosmic insignificance. Though Lovecraft’s legacy both in literature and pop culture will always honor him for imbuing the genre with fantastically creative creatures and conceptions of dread that remain amongst the most innovative the genre has to offer, one of the author’s own best works was almost never given the chance to even be presented for any audience. Moreover, one of the author’s most unique characters was almost lost amongst the other classics of the Lovecraft canon. A tragedy that would have made impossible the case of a young man’s downfall—the precocious young Charles Dexter Ward—who provides an invaluable link in representing terrors indicative both to the author’s own philosophical output and those tragedies found in the heart of human nature.FLORIDA is edging towards unleashing genetically modified mozzies. The insects are able to slash the wider mosquito population through mating, and so can forestall diseases that the insects transmit.
A proposed trial release would have no significant negative impact on the health of people, animals or the environment, the US Food and Drug Administration provisionally ruled last week. The FDA is now accepting public feedback ahead of a final verdict.
UK firm Oxitec and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District hope to release mozzies modified so that their offspring fail to reach adulthood. “We have a mosquito-rearing facility in Marathon, Florida, that’s ready to go,” says Matthew Warren of Oxitec.
The approach has proved successful in trials in South America. The species being targeted is Aedes aegypti, which is known to spread Zika and dengue virus, as well as yellow fever. None of these are major public health issues in Florida yet, and the plan is to keep it that way.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Mozzie trial closer”The pitchforks are being sharpened and the angry mobs swelling ahead of the Lions squad announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
The pitchforks are being sharpened and the angry mobs swelling ahead of the Lions squad announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
Already we have learnt from my colleague Gavin Mairs that a clutch of England’s back-to-back Six Nations winners will not be boarding the plane, chief among them Jonathan Joseph, George Ford and Joe Launchbury.
Sadly and somewhat predictably this has been greeted in parts by unrestrained vitriol. Forget the Mother Of All Bombs, check Twitter at around 12.05 on Wednesday to witness the explosive power of social media.
There is no problem with Warren Gatland’s selections provoking talking points – that’s what we in the media have been feeding off for the past couple of months – or good-natured debate. The variety and scale of opinions is what makes the Lions such fun.
Unfortunately that fun element is spoilt the moment the personal and nationalistic attacks are unleashed.
Context will be quickly forgotten as poison-ladened keyboards are pounded. Firstly, I don’t believe Gatland will be selecting the best players in every position. Clearly he has been devising a strategy over the past 12 months to defeat the All Blacks, which may for example involve selecting Ben Te’o ahead of Joseph at outside centre.
Secondly, he will need a quota of good tourists. Was Matt Stevens the second best tighthead available to Gatland in 2013? No, but he was exactly the type of easy-going, upbeat character that was needed to offset the many prima donnas in the squad.
Short of selecting a squad of 75, there is no way that Gatland will find a way of appeasing all nations and factions and even then some dark conspiracy will be aired. The English angst at Joseph’s exclusion will be matched by Irish anger should Garry Ringrose fail to make the cut. Scotland beat both Ireland and Wales in the Six Nations but their representation is likely to be a third of their Celtic cousins. If Ken Owens is the fall guy in the race for hooking berths then expect accusations of reverse-bias from the Valleys.
After the last Lions series in which personal attacks on Gatland reached a fever pitch for daring to drop Brian O’Driscoll for the final Test – a decision for which he was subsequently vindicated – it would be nice to think that people may pause before proclaiming that a coach of 28 years’ experience knows nothing about rugby.
Agree or disagree with his selections – and undoubtedly I will dispute a handful of selections – the founding principle of the Lions is that it is meant to unite rather than divide. At a time when the country's politics is overflowing with rancour, I just hope that is remembered by real rugby fans on Wednesday afternoon.
Telegraph.co.ukThis Casa Magna Colorado builds into a nice full bodied cigar that delivers a ton of complexities when it comes to flavor. The transition from mild to full body is apparent in the second third for sure. The flavors stayed fairly constant throughout and built from a soft leather notes to a full coffee rich flavor towards the end. Definitely can't go wrong with this cigar.
Initial Thoughts
Over and over, I’ve seen this line of Casa Magna cigars sitting in my local cigar shop. I’ve never actually pulled the trigger and bought one though. Last weekend, my buddy Brian gave me one to try on my bachelor trip. I decided to hold off on smoking it because I wanted to take it all in and give it a thorough review, and lets be honest. That wasn’t going to happen while on a bachelor trip. So I decided today was the day. I pulled it out of my humidor and it was a lot larger than I remember it being when he handed it to me. I went back and forth between this and a smaller stick, and I ultimately decided on this Casa Magna Colorado because the fiancé was at band practice so I had some extra time.
From all my digging around online I wasn’t able to find a Casa Magna website, but I was able to pick out some background information on this cigar. Apparently, this cigar is the brain child of Manuel Quesada and Nicaraguans prominent tobacco grower Nestor Plasencia. In fact the robusto vitola won the ’98 cigar of the year honors from Cigar Aficionado. After reading more about the cigar from CA’s blurb, it confirmed my suspicion that the Colorado part of this cigar’s name was used because of the color of the wrapper leaf. Colorado is a specific shade of wrapper leaf it typically has a reddish brown hue. That describes this cigar perfectly. Since we’re already talking about color lets hop up into the review and get it going!
Looks
As I mentioned above this Casa Magna Colorado has a beautiful reddish brown wrapper leaf on it. Not much information is given on the exact type of wrapper leaf used, but we do know this cigar is a Nicaraguan puro. Which means all the leaf was grown in Nicaragua. The specific vitola that I’m smoking is the Extraordinario, for those of you fluent in Spanglish, I would assume this translates to Extraordinary. Yeah, I actually had to use Google Translate for that.
This is a behemoth of a cigar, as I said above, I don’t remember it being that big when he handed it to me (in Frank’s voice, “That’s what she said”). Seriously though, 7″ x 58. Tapered at both ends, this is a legit figurado. I don’t know if I’m ready for this thing, but I’ve made my choice and I have to live with. The wrapper leaf on this stick is gorgeous, very few veins, and there is a gorgeous glow to it. It looks like a very well oiled leather baseball mitt. Slightly dark, yet shiny, it’s a shame this thing is about to go up in smoke!
Function
Well this Casa Magna Colorado has a pigtail cap. Now, I still haven’t perfected the removal of pig tail caps, because honestly I don’t smoke them that often. This time though I told myself I’m going to pull the pigtail and remove the cap how you’re supposed to. Well that failed miserably. I ended up just pulling off the pig tail and didn’t remove the cap whatsoever. So failed again. I had to run back inside and grab my cutter. I’m not sure why I didn’t bring it with me, I guess I had way too much confidence in myself to remove this cap on my own.
The foot on this cigar is very interesting as well, because it’s a figurado it’s also tapered at the foot, or maybe because it’s tapered at the foot it’s also a figurado? Who knows… Anyway, the foot is slightly closed there is just a small opening at the end. Not enough to really draw any air |
109s himself. On 21 October he repeated his successes with a trio of Spitfires to reach 92. His 96th victim—yet another Spitfire—was claimed on 18 November 1941. It proved to be his last official victory for three years as he was about to be forbidden to fly combat missions. The RAF fighter probably came from 611 Squadron.
High command (1941–45) [ edit ]
In November 1941, he was chosen by Göring to command Germany's fighter force as General der Jagdflieger, succeeding Werner Mölders who had just been killed in an air crash en route to attend the funeral of Ernst Udet. Galland was not enthusiastic about his promotion, seeing himself as a combat leader and not wanting to be "tied to a desk job". He was the youngest General in the armed forces.
Soon afterward, on 28 January 1942, Galland was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten) for his service as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26. Although not keen on a staff position, soon after Galland's appointment, he planned and executed the German air superiority plan (Operation Donnerkeil) for the Kriegsmarine's (German navy, or War Marine) Operation Cerberus, from his headquarters at Jever. The German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sailed from Brest, France, up the English Channel to Kiel, Germany. The operation caught the British off guard. The RAF attempted to intercept with the forces available, but the German fighter defences were able to shoot down 43 RAF aircraft with 247 British casualties. The Luftwaffe had prevented any damage on the ships by air attack.
A strong proponent of the day fighter force and the defence of Germany, Galland used his position to improve the position of the Jagdwaffe. The need was now pressing, as Germany had declared war on the United States on 11 December 1941, and Galland was keen to build up a force that could withstand the resurgence of the Western Allied Air Forces in preparation for what would become known as the Defence of the Reich campaign. Galland was outspoken, something that was not often tolerated by Göring. Yet, by earning and cultivating the support of other powerful personalities in the Luftwaffe, like Erhard Milch and Günther Korten, and personalities in the industrial sector such as Albert Speer and even Adolf Hitler, Galland was able to survive in his position for three years.
The Circus offensive of Fighter Command, now magnified by USAAF fighters in large numbers, had combined with Eighth Air Force's bomber operations to make Western Europe the critical theatre of air operations by the late summer, 1943. Neither Göring nor many of his commanders expected this development. In January 1943 Göring suggested increases in the day fighter forces, but not because of concerns over Allied aircraft production, rather the emphasis was on fighters for the fighter-bomber mission. Galland, who was pushing for a major increase in his fighter force, did not appear to recognise the threat in the west at that time either. In January, he wrongly predicted that the main weight of the air war in 1943 would be the Mediterranean. The large fighter forces sent to Africa and Italy received support from Galland. Galland remarked in February 1943, that the fighter force had solved the problem of fighting four-engine bombers by day. Galland's confidence was misplaced; his airmen had not yet faced the hundreds of American bombers to fly over Germany in 1943, nor the thousands that joined the fight in 1944. Months later, Galland became one of the strongest advocates for more resources for Defence of the Reich duties.
Mediterranean [ edit ]
The first major crisis for Galland's command, under his tenure, occurred in 1943. Galland had been supporting operations in the area since April 1943, but the Tunisian defeat caused a reorganisation of Axis air forces in the south. Luftflotte 2 was divided in two, with Luftflotte South East controlling the Balkans and a new Luftflotte 2 controlling Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily. A general replacement of commanders also occurred. Wolfram von Richthofen arrived as Luftflotte 2 commander. Galland, went to Sicily to control fighter operations.
Galland's orders were to improve efficiency, morale and the supply of aircraft and pilots. Galland replaced the experienced Osterkamp as JaFü Sizilien (Fighter Leader Sicily) on 22 June after he had appointed his close associate Günther Lützow as Inspekteur der Jadgflieger Süd(Inspector of Fighter Pilots South) on 17 May. The challenge of a combat command was too tempting and Galland was not to prove a capable senior staff officer. Galland's failings delighted Richthofen who was content to allow Galland "enough rope to hang himself", which deflected attention from others.
Upon reaching the island, Galland found the state of German air forces shocking. The combat units were exhausted, short of spares, and under frequent attack—the 130 fighters on the island were the target. It was impossible to completely rebuild them. The air resources available could not prevent the Allied air forces acting with impunity. Göring threatened to have one pilot from each unit to stand trial by court martial, and if improvements were not forthcoming, they were to be sent as infantry to the Eastern Front. The commanders on the ground, recognising the true situation, disregarded the threat and the message. Specifically Göring ordered pilots returning without claims and undamaged aircraft suffer court martial for cowardice. The threat was aimed at JG 77, which at the time was severely stretched. Galland, also under pressure from Goering, berated the unsuccessful pilots, which earned him a mild rebuke from the commanding officer Johannes Steinhoff.
Along with these changes, considerable reinforcements arrived. The number of fighters increased from 190 in mid-May to 450 in early July 1943. Close to 40 percent of all fighter production from May 1 to July 15 1943 went to the Mediterranean Theatre and two new fighter wings, scheduled for Germany's defence, went south. The movement of fighters to redress Allied air superiority achieved only a rise in German losses, which reflected the superiority of Allied production. From 16 May to 9 July Allied forces flew 42,147 sorties and lost 250 aircraft to the Axis' 325 as the air offensive gradually rendered airfields in Sicily inoperable.
Losses too were high. In the first nine days of July 1943, Galland's command lost approximately 70 fighters. On the fourteenth day he was summoned to Berlin to explain the collapse of air defences on the island. As Galland departed the last dozen operational Axis aircraft departed Sicily on the 22 July. Since the Allied invasion of Sicily, Galland had lost 273 German and 115 Italian aircraft and imposed a cost of only around 100 on Allied air forces.
Conflict with Göring and failed leadership [ edit ]
Galland's position as General der Jagdflieger brought him into gradual conflict with Göring as the war continued. Galland was often at odds with Goring and Hitler on how to prosecute the air war. In 1942–44, the German fighter forces on all fronts in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) came under increasing pressure and Galland's relationship with Göring began to turn sour. The first distinct cracks began to appear in the spring, 1943. Galland suggested that the fighter forces defending Germany should limit the number of interceptions flown to allow sufficient time for re-grouping and to conserve air strength. Only by conserving its strength and its precious resources—the fighter pilots—could the Luftwaffe hope to inflict damage on the bombers. Göring found the suggestion unacceptable. He demanded every raid be countered in maximum strength regardless of the size of the Allied fighter escort. According to head of production and procurement Erhard Milch, who was also present at the meeting, "Göring just could not grasp it."
The combination of declining production and attrition left Galland with a thin resource-base with which to defend Germany. While the pressure eased somewhat in November, Galland and his command faced a formidable threat. The shadow of American escort fighters and the gradual extension of their range covered all of the zones occupied by German fighter units engaged in anti-bomber operations. By early October, German intelligence had reported that American fighters were accompanying bombers as far as Hamburg.
Several American fighter aircraft crashed near Aachen on the cusp of Germany's west border. Galland presented these wrecks as proof that the Luftwaffe was facing an enemy that could soon escort its heavy bombers with fighter aircraft to industrial targets inside Germany. Galland submitted his findings to Göring. Göring was livid with Galland and the fighter force. He called the report the "rantings of a worn-out defeatist", and gave Galland an "order", that no Allied fighters had crossed into Germany. Göring reasoned the only possible reason could have been that short range fighters ran out of fuel at high altitude and "they were shot down much further west... and glided quite a distance before they crashed." Galland questioned why an Allied pilot would choose to glide east instead of west. Both men also argued that they must increase fighter production to reach a three or fourfold advantage over the attackers immediately to prepare for this new threat. Göring even at this time, was bias in favour of bombers, to maintain the offensive on all fronts. It was a policy he persisted with until the autumn, 1943.
By October 1943, the fractious relationship came to the surface again. Galland met with Göring at Göring's estate, Schloss Veldenstein. During the conversation the need for new and improved interceptor aircraft arose. Göring, demanded heavily cannon-armed fighters be used en mass. Göring, prompted by the desires of Hitler, wanted cannons of some 2,000 lb in weight. Galland explained that such a weapon could not be used effectively in an aircraft; the cannon would be prone to jamming and the aircraft would be too difficult to manoeuvre. Galland also asserted the use of inappropriate weaponry such as the Messerschmitt Me 410, a favourite of Hitler's, had caused heavy losses. Galland argued such measures were deplorable and irresponsible. Göring disregarded Galland's arguments and continued his frequent attacks on the fighter force, accusing them of cowardice. Galland, as he always did, defended them, risking his career and, near the end of the war, his life in doing so. Galland stated that he could not agree to follow Göring's plans and requested to be dismissed from his post and sent back to his unit. Göring accepted, but two weeks later he apologised to Galland and attributed his behaviour to stress. Galland continued in his post.
Nonetheless, the arguments ultimately continued, mainly over aircraft procurement and armament for the defence of Germany from Allied bombing, and began to give rise to a growing personal rift between Göring and Galland. In November 1943 Galland issued a communique to the fighter forces, announcing the introduction of new weapons, such as heavily armed Fw 190s, to engage of destroy Allied bombers through the use of massed and formation-based attack tactics at close range. He also passed on Göring's dissatisfaction with wing and squadron commanders that did not press their attacks in this manner. For the first time, Göring ordered his units, through Galland, to use ramming methods, and risk sacrificing the pilot. It was not the first occasion Galland had ordered this; the General demanded the same from his men during the Channel Dash operation in 1942.[127]
Galland found the appearance of American fighters at this range alarming. German losses were so heavy that Galland held a special meeting with I Jagdkorps division commanders on 4 November 1943. Contributing to the day fighter losses was the fact that many German fighters did not possess direction finders to locate their bases in bad weather. It was decided the single-engine fighters must engage in protecting the heavier fighters, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 110, from escorts, so the latter could attack the bombers. The only available unit to protect the heavy fighters was Jagdgeschwader 300, with heavily armed but slow variants of the Fw 190. At the end of December, Galland and the staff of Jagdkorps I concluded that their new tactics had failed with high losses. The causes were "(a) the weather, (b) the considerable inferiority of German strength, (c) the impossibility of gathering sufficient strength in an area because of time and distance limitations ; result : weak and dispersed fighter attack."
The situation deteriorated in February 1944, with Big Week, as the Combined Bomber Offensive gathered momentum. In mid-March 1944, shortages of skilled pilots caused Galland to send the following message asking for volunteers:
The strained manpower situation in units operating in Defence of the Reich demands urgently the further bringing up of experienced flying personnel from other arms of the service, in particular for the maintenance of fighting power to the air arm, tried pilots of the ground attack and bomber units, especially officers suitable as formation leaders, will now also have to be drawn on.
The plea was desperate. By the end of March, the daylight strategic bombing offensive had put the Luftwaffe under enormous pressure. It retarded, although only for a short period, the expansion of fighter production. Importantly, it had caused devastating attrition. American air forces continued unrelenting pressure for the duration of the war. There was no hope of a recovery for Germany's daylight fighter forces under Galland's command and the Allied air forces were close to winning air superiority over all of Europe. A conference between Galland and Göring in mid-May 1944 underlined how enemy air operations were devastating the fighter force. Galland reported that Luftflotte Reich had lost 38 percent of its fighter pilots in April 1944, while Luftflotte 3 had lost 24 percent.
Altogether, the Germans had lost 489 pilots (100 officers), Galland reported, while training centres had forwarded only 396 new pilots (including 62 officers). Galland's proposals to meet the shortfall and attrition reflected the desperate situation. Galland urged all fighter pilots holding short staff positions be transferred immediately to operational units, that qualified night fighter pilots transfer to the day fighter force, that two fighter groups transfer from the eastern front as soon as possible, and that the ground attack command release all pilots with more than five aerial victories to the defence of the Reich. Finally, Galland reported that flying schools had released 80-plus instructors. Galland took this step even though he was critical of the high command for failing to produce a long-term plan for higher numbers of instructors in schools, particularly after production increased the number of aircraft available.
Innovations [ edit ]
To retrieve the situation for the fighter force, Galland looked to employ new technology in the air war. Galland flew the Messerschmitt Me 262 aircraft in May 1943 and became an enthusiastic supporter of the aircraft as the saviour of the fighter force. Galland's enthusiasm failed to appreciate the difficulties involved in transferring a design into production, especially under the circumstances. The Me 262 was not Willy Messerschmitt's priority. The designer was involved in a battle with Milch from 1942 over the cancellation of the Messerschmitt Me 209 in favour of the jet. There were also problems with the engines and series production was difficult because the company were making design changes at the same time they were working up production lines.
On 23 May 1943, Galland flew an early prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. After the flight, he described his experience; "It was as though angels were pushing." Galland became an enthusiastic supporter of the aircraft, realising its potential as a fighter rather than a bomber. Galland hoped that the Me 262 would compensate for the numerical superiority of the Allies. In a wartime report he wrote:
In the last four months [January–April 1944] our day fighters have lost 1,000 pilots...we are numerically inferior and will always remain so...I believe that a great deal can be achieved with a small number of technically and far superior aircraft such as the [Me] 262 and [Me] 163... I would at this moment rather have one Me 262 in action rather than five Bf 109s. I used to say three 109s, but the situation develops and changes.
Galland (right) with Milch (centre) and Speer (left) at the Erprobungsstelle Rechlin central test airfield, inspecting new aircraft types
Galland succeeded in temporarily persuading Milch to support cancelling the Me 209 program in favour of producing 100 Me 262s by the end of 1943. However, because of persistent problems with its turbojet engines and later, Hitler's determination to use it as a bomber, the Me 262 was not developed as a fighter until late in the war.
By spring 1944, the Me 262 was sufficiently ready for operational service. By this time, Galland faced rivalries amongst the Luftwaffe command over how best to employ the aircraft. Dietrich Peltz, commander of the IX. Fliegerkorps (9th Air Corps), wanted to use the aircraft as a weapon against a future Allied landing in France. Peltz saw the aircraft as an ideal fast bomber which could evade the overwhelming numbers of Allied piston-engine fighters and attack the landing grounds. Peltz also wished to use highly trained bomber pilots who he felt could better serve as home defence fighter pilots in place of the overextended and overworked Jagdwaffe. Their blind-weather experience and training, and background in multi-engine aircraft made them ideal for these operations in his view.
In the first five months of 1944, Peltz' conventional bomber force had suffered a significant defeat over England in Operation Steinbock but it did not dull his appetite for offensive action or dent his reputation with Göring. Galland argued against his suggestion. Instead, Galland thought the bomber corps should be disbanded and its pilots converted onto fighters. Göring adopted Peltz' idea to impress Hitler and regain his waning influence.
Galland did not give up. He made repeated appeals for Me 262 fighter aircraft. Göring refused Galland's requests to have equal numbers of Me 262 fighter and bomber variants built. However, Galland's close relationship with Albert Speer, the German armaments minister, enabled him to retain a small operational number. Even this was difficult, as Hitler had taken personal control of turbo-jet production and checked where each batch of the aircraft were being deployed.
It was not until September 1944 that Hitler rescinded his directive that the Me 262 be used as a fighter-bomber. Galland ignored the order and formed Eprobungskommando 262 to test the Me 262 against high-flying Allied reconnaissance aircraft. He selected the highly decorated pilot Werner Thierfelder as its commander. Hitler heard of the experiment through Milch and ordered Göring to put a stop to it at a meeting on 29 May 1944. Galland persisted with the experiments and ordered operations to be continued. They achieved isolated successes until Thierfelder was shot down and killed by P-51 Mustangs on 18 July 1944. On 20 August, Hitler finally agreed to allow one in every 20 Me 262 to go into service with the Jagdwaffe which allowed Galland to build all–jet units.
Galland closley followed Kommando Nowotny, the experimental all-jet fighter unit. The unit struggled into November 1944 without much success and high losses. Galland visited the base near Achmer on 7 November to observe this only jet unit. On 8 November 1944, he was present when ace Walter Nowotny took off with a force of Me 262s in an overcast to engage a USAAF raid. Galland listened over the radio then watched as Nowotny's aircraft dived from out of the clouds and crashed into the ground; an apparent victim of American escorting fighters.
Galland remained ambivalent about other types. He was initially sceptical about the design concept in the Heinkel He 162. Göring forced the program along, the hour was desperate and all designs were to be explored. Galland was concerned about dispersing production effort further but apparently changed his mind after viewing a mockup on 7 October 1944 and the seeing the prototype fly in December. He demanded wooden mockups be made for ground instruction while three percent were to serve as trainers.
In the meantime, Galland pursued innovations with existing designs. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft was formed into several Geschwader with distinctly upgraded firepower. Called the Sturmbock (Battering ram), these machines could inflict heavy damage on unescorted bomber formations. Galland supported the conversion of units such as Jagdgeschwader 300 to the Sturmbock role. The Sturmbock were heavily armed and armoured, which meant they were un-manoeuvrable and vulnerable without protection from escorting Bf 109s. Still, the tactics quickly became widespread and were one of the few Luftwaffe success stories in 1944. Galland said after the war, that had it not been for the Allied landing in Normandy which increased the need for lighter fighter variants, each Geschwader in the Luftwaffe would have contained a Gruppe of Sturmbock aircraft by September 1944.
Galland himself flew on unauthorised interception flights to experience the combat pressures of the pilots, and witnessed USAAF bombers being escorted by large numbers of P-51 Mustangs. Nevertheless, on occasions the Sturmbock tactics worked. For example, on 7 July 1944 Eighth Air Force bombers belonging to the 492nd Bomb Group were intercepted unescorted. The entire squadron of 12 B-24s were shot down. The USAAF 2nd Air Division lost 28 Liberators that day, the majority to a Sturmbock attack.[147]
Dismissal and revolt [ edit ]
Galland and Albert Speer. The two men had a mutual respect.
Despite Göring's apology after their previous dispute, the relationship between the two men did not improve. Göring's influence was in decline by late 1944 and he had fallen out of favour with Hitler. Göring became increasingly hostile to Galland, blaming him and the fighter pilots for the situation. In 1944, the situation worsened. A series of USAAF raids termed Big Week won air superiority for the Allies in February. By the spring of 1944, the Luftwaffe could not effectively challenge the Allies over France or the Low Countries. Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German-occupied Europe took place in June 1944. According to a report made by Galland, in the previous four months 1,000 pilots had been killed. Galland reported that the enemy outnumbered his fighters between 6:1 and 8:1 and the standard of Allied fighter pilot training was "astonishingly high".
To win back some breathing space for his force and German industrial targets, Galland formulated a plan which he called the "Big Blow" (German: Großer Schlag). It called for the mass interception of USAAF bomber formations by approximately 2,000 German fighters. Galland hoped that the German fighters would shoot down some 400–500 bombers. Acceptable losses were to be around 400 fighters and 100–150 pilots. Galland's staff could muster 3,700 aircraft of all types by 12 November 1944, with 2,500 retained for this specific operation. The night fighter force was to assist by employing 100 aircraft in southern and northern Germany, to prevent any crippled bombers making it to Switzerland and Sweden. Over the autumn 1944 Galland carefully husbanded his resources and waited for unusually bad weather to improve.
Hitler rejected Galland's plan. He hoped to improve Germany's position by winning a decisive victory on the Western Front. Hitler distrusted Galland's theory and believed him to be afraid and stalling for time. The Führer was also skeptical that the Luftwaffe could stop the American air offensive and was not willing to have German resources sit idle on airfields to wait for an improvement in flying conditions. Admittedly Galland's efforts had built up a useful reserve, but Hitler was now to use it in support of a land offensive. Göring and Hitler handed over the forces pooled by Galland to Peltz whom they had appointed commander of II. Jagdkorps—responsible for virtually all fighter forces in the west. Peltz appointed Gordon Gollob as Special Fighter Staff Officer for the offensive. Gollob ultimately was a vociferous opponent of Galland and eventually engineered his dismissal. Whether the "Big Blow" operation would have worked is a matter of academic debate. Historians remained divided, with some believing it was a lost opportunity while others think it would have had much less impact than Galland estimated.
The operation never took place. Instead, the fighter force was committed to the disastrous Operation Bodenplatte, designed to support German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. Galland's influence on matters was now virtually nil. Appalled by the Ardennes losses, he personally confronted Gollob and criticised him severely. Gollob contacted the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Himmler's reputation as the most powerful man after Hitler at that time may have been a prime motive. Gollob complained about his misuse in the Luftwaffe and Galland's leadership. The SS had already spread their influence into other areas of military affairs including the V-2 operations. Himmler, whose relationship with Göring was poor, took the opportunity to exploit the dissent in the Luftwaffe and undermine the Reichsmarschall by supporting Gollob. It was also an opportunity for the SS to seize control of the Luftwaffe and for Himmler to oust Göring from power. Göring, for his part offered no support to Galland when Himmler or the SS were mentioned. On 13 January 1945, Galland was finally relieved of his command.
On 17 January, a group of senior pilots took part in a "Fighter Pilots Revolt". Galland's high standing with his fighter pilot peers led to a group of the most decorated Luftwaffe combat leaders loyal to Galland (including Johannes Steinhoff and Günther Lützow) confronting Göring with a list of demands for the survival of their service. Göring initially suspected Galland had instigated the unrest. Heinrich Himmler had wanted to put Galland on trial for treason himself; the SS and Gestapo had already begun investigations into who he associated with. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) appointed the more politically acceptable Gollob, a National Socialist supporter, to succeed him as General der Jagdflieger on 23 January. Although professional contemporaries, Gollob and Galland had a mutual dislike, and after Galland had removed the Austrian from his personal staff in September 1944, Gollob started to gather evidence to use against Galland, detailing false accusations of his gambling, womanising, and alleged private use of Luftwaffe transport aircraft. The official reason for his being relieved of command was his ill health. Göring suspected Galland of organising the rebelion, and wanted all the ringleaders to face Court-martial.
For his own safety, Galland went to a retreat in the Harz Mountains. He was to keep the RLM informed of his whereabouts, but was effectively under house arrest. Hitler, who liked Galland, learned of the revolt and ordered that "all this nonsense" was to stop immediately. Hitler had been informed by Albert Speer, who in turn had been notified by one of Galland's close friends. After Hitler's intervention Göring contacted Galland and invited him to Karinhall. In light of his service to the fighter arm, he promised no further action would be taken against him and offered command of a unit of Me 262 jets. Galland accepted on the understanding that Gollob had no jurisdiction over him or his unit.
Self appraisal [ edit ]
Galland did not pretend to have been error free. After the war, he was candid about his own mistakes as General der Jagdflieger. Production and aircraft procurement were not his responsibility but Galland identified four major mistakes by the OKL during the war, and accepted partial responsibility for the first three:
Fighter pilots received no instrument training until very late in the war, after the training course had already been curtailed because of fuel shortages and the need to produce pilots more quickly to replace losses. Galland also did not make sure all-weather flying was incorporated into pilot training, which was of decisive importance in an effective air defence force.
Attrition by 1942 had created a shortage of experienced combat leaders. No special training was made available for this role. Galland set up a course in late 1943, but it only lasted a few months. Galland was quoted as saying he thought they could learn the skills while on operations, as he had. This ignored his own talents, and blithely expected other pilots to reach his high standards.
The Me 262, while not a war winner, might have extended the Defence of the Reich campaign. The problems with the engines, failures of production priorities and Hitler's meddling are well known, but the long delay between operational testing, tactical and doctrinal development and training were largely Galland's fault.
The German pilots were increasingly lacking in quantity and quality. Galland recognised this but could not correct it without stepping outside his own authority. Galland noticed that the highly educated engineers and trainees were selected for the bomber arm in the early war years. Most of the brightest youth were pulled by expert campaigners, toward the Waffen SS and Kriegsmarine. The Luftwaffe did not match this effort.
Unofficial combat missions [ edit ]
After his appointment, Galland was strictly confined to operational matters and not allowed to fly tactical or combat missions. As the war continued Galland flew missions in violation of these restrictions against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bombing raids during the Defence of the Reich. Galland was keen to familiarise himself with all types of German fighter aircraft and flew the Fw 190 on these interception missions. He would actively engage American bombers on some raids. On at least one mission, he shot down a USAAF heavy bomber. It is possible that as many as three USAAF heavy bombers were shot down by Galland while flying Fw 190s.
Return to front line service [ edit ]
Galland was initially assigned to command a Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54, at that time stranded behind Soviet lines in the Courland Pocket. Galland never took up this command but was given the task of forming Jagdverband 44 (JV 44). On 24 February 1945 the order for formation of Jagdverband 44 read:
JV 44 is established at Brandenburg-Briest with immediate effect. Ground personnel are to be drawn from 16./JG 54, Factory Protection Unit 1 and III./Erg JG 2. The commander of this unit receives the disciplinary powers of a Divisional Commander as laid down in Luftwaffe Order 3/9.17. It is subordinated to Luftflotte Reich and comes under Luftgaukommando III (Berlin). Verband Galland is to have a provisional strength of sixteen operational Me 262s and fifteen pilots. [Signed] Generalleutnant Karl Koller, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe.
The unit was officially formed on 22 February 1945. Galland did everything he could to introduce the Me 262s to the wing as quickly as possible. Göring showed sympathy for Galland's efforts, which thus far had only 16 operational jets in February. General Josef Kammhuber was asked to assist Galland. Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51 or Bomber Wing 51), 6 and 27 were behind their training schedules on jets, and they were to hand over their pilots and Me 262s to Jagdgeschwader 7 and Kampfgeschwader 54. Galland added a suggestion that all experienced fighter pilots flying with Bf 109 or Fw 190 units should be made to join the Me 262 unit. If this could be done Galland believed he could get 150 jets in action against the USAAF fleets. The general chaos and impending collapse prevented his plans from being realised.
On 31 March 1945, Galland flew 12 operational jets to Munich to begin operations. On 5 April, he organised the interception of a USAAF raid. The Me 262s destroyed three B-17s. On 16 April Galland claimed two Martin B-26 Marauder bombers shot down. On 21 April, to his surprise, he was visited by Göring for the final time. Göring officially assigned Günther Lützow to him and confessed to Galland that his assertions about the Me 262 and the use of bomber pilots with experience as jet fighter pilots had been correct. He enquired about the progress of his unit with outspoken civility. As they parted, Göring said, "I envy you Galland, for going into action. I wish I were a few years younger and less bulky. If I were, I would gladly put myself under your command. It would be marvelous to have nothing to worry about but a good fight, like it was in the old days."
In the space of six days, Galland's friend, Steinhoff was badly burned in a crash on 18 April, and then, on 24 April, his friend Lützow was posted missing. On 21 April, Galland was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 103rd and last Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
On 26 April, Galland claimed his 103rd and 104th aerial victories against B-26s, escorted by the 27th Fighter Group and 50th Fighter Group. Galland again made a mistake; he stopped to make sure his second victory was going to crash and he was hit by a USAAF P-47 Thunderbolt piloted by James Finnegan. Galland nursed his crippled Me 262 to the airfield, only to find it was under attack by more P-47s. Galland landed under fire and abandoned his jet on the runway. The battle was his last operational mission. Soon afterward, he was sent to hospital for a knee wound sustained during his last mission. The Americans lost four B-26s and another six damaged. Two Me 262s were shot down: the other pilot surviving.
In the 1970s, a San Jose State University graduate student came across Galland's memoirs The First and the Last while researching records of United States Army Air Forces records and matching them to German victory claims. He found that James Finnegan, a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot of the 50th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force, had made a "probable" claim on 26 April 1945, the day of Galland's last mission. The details of the engagement matched. Galland and Finnegan met for the first time at an Air Force Association meeting in San Francisco in 1979.
Surrender [ edit ]
By late April, the war was effectively over. On 1 May 1945, Galland attempted to make contact with United States Army forces to negotiate the surrender of his unit. The act itself was dangerous. SS forces roamed the countryside and towns executing anyone who was considering capitulation. The Americans requested that Galland fly his unit and Me 262s to a USAAF controlled airfield. Galland declined citing poor weather and technical problems. In reality, Galland was not going to hand over Me 262 jets to the Americans. Galland had harboured the belief that the Western Alliance would soon be at war with the Soviet Union, and he wanted to join American forces and to use his unit in the coming war to free Germany from Communist occupation. Galland replied, making his whereabouts known to the Americans, and offering his surrender once they arrived at the Tegernsee hospital where he was being treated. Galland then ordered his unit, which had then moved to Salzburg and Innsbruck, to destroy their Me 262s. At the time of his surrender, Galland had filed claims for 104 Allied aircraft shot down. His claims included seven with the Me 262.[Note 3]
On 14 May 1945, Galland was flown to England and interrogated by RAF personnel about the Luftwaffe, its organisation, his role in it and technical questions. Galland returned to Germany on 24 August and was imprisoned at Hohenpeissenberg. On 7 October, Galland was returned to England for further interrogation. Galland was eventually released on 28 April 1947.
Argentina [ edit ]
After his release, he travelled to Schleswig-Holstein to join Baroness Gisela von Donner, an earlier acquaintance, on her estate and lived with her three children. During this time, Galland found work as a forestry worker. There he convalesced and came to terms with his career and Nazi war crimes. Galland began to hunt for the family and traded the kills in the local markets to supplement meagre meat rations. Soon Galland rediscovered his love of flying. Kurt Tank, the designer of the Fw 190, requested that he go to his home in Minden to discuss a proposal. Tank had been asked to work for the British and Soviets, and had narrowly avoided being forcibly kidnapped by the latter. Tank, through a contact in Denmark, informed Galland about the possibility of the Argentinian Government employing him as a test pilot for Tank’s new generation of fighters. Galland accepted and flew to Argentina. He settled with Gisela in El Palomar, Buenos Aires. Galland enjoyed the slow life. His time there, aside from work commitments, was taken up with Gisela and the active Buenos Aires night life. Galland found South America a world away from post-war shortages of Germany. Soon, he took up gliding again.
In a professional capacity, Galland spoke fluent Spanish which eased his instruction on new pilots. During his time with the Argentine Air Force (FAA) he flew the British Gloster Meteor. Galland commented, mindful it was a contemporary to the Me 262, that it was a fine aircraft. He claimed that if he could have fitted |
Argentine struck home and the game was over.
Two options usually remain open for Leeds fans on the road in such circumstances, when they’re standing witness to a game that is already lost and are staring the wicked spectre of humiliation, square on in the eyes: shut up, sit down and accept it, or stand up, sing louder and make damn sure that even if we’re going down without a fight on the pitch, we can at least leave a stadium having scored a moral victory in the stands. Yesterday, Leeds fans plumped for a third option…
Terrace humour and satire is one of football’s great selling points, one of those things an extortionate Sky subscription, for all the hype, just cannot bring to the confines of an armchair. Leeds fans could’ve simply gone down the route of showing unstinting defiance yesterday, or they could have seized on the opportunity to unrelentingly call for Warnock’s head while the eyes of the national media looked on. But they didn’t. Although intermittent choruses of ‘Marching on Together‘ bellowed out from the South Stand, nobody believed they were going to see us win, while simply calling for the head of the manager – did we really want to spoil the biggest away day of the season with 75 minutes of negativity?
No, yesterday Leeds fans chose to employ humour, purely and simply as the best possible way to get their point across, and didn’t everyone just have a fantastic time for it? Calling for a manger’s head may be regarded the most direct way of getting a point across and chanting “We’re s*** and we’re sick of it!” may be as a blunt as it’s possible to be, but self-mockery is surely the most potent weapon of all?
Warnock may be able to react – and arguably with a degree of justification, considering the wider picture – that he’s not deserving of the calls for his head, but was powerless to argue with many of the points made by a self-deprecating Leeds end. Similarly, the Manchester City fans, although in truth, always one of the most likeable of football’s tribes were robbed any opportunity to mock and instead were left to look on in admiration as those visiting stole their thunder, ratched it up a notch and basked in it.
The line was drawn in the sand as soon as those in the South East corner of the stadium offered the standard, condescending chorus of “2-0 in your cup final” – the Leeds fans came straight back:
We lose every week,
We lose every week,
You’re nothing special,
We lose every week!
From there on in, the template was set for the best away day of the season. The City fans to their credit were quick to respond to the (wholly misguided) questioning of where they were when they were s*** by directing the Leeds fans‘ attentions towards Michael Brown:
He was here,
He was here,
He was here when we were s***
But back came the refrain:
Michael Brown is not for sale,
Michael Brown is not for sale
Suddenly, mercifully the game was rendered a side-show; having subsequently expressed the desire of seeing a team of Michael Brown’s play, it was just a case of making the best of the day while powerfully getting a message across; when a fan base is openly mocking their own club as being a laughing stock, not even making an effort to defend it in the eyes of critics; when anger is substituted by some degree of acceptance, there is no greater gauntlet thrown down to a board.
It’s as is the entire fan base had risen in unison and simply said, “Look David, look Salem. We’re not angry (any more) we’re just disappointed” – forceful, direct protests arrive in expectation that the owners will react, yesterday was essentially a move to call GFH-C’s bluff – that we’d get angry if we truly had any belief that things would change… it’s time for the owners to prove the many doubters otherwise. While the status quo remains, credibility will simply continue to erode.
But back to the game, or at least the supporters, the only thing worth lingering upon. While an exciting, developing side took the game to the hosts at Old Trafford, a stale, uninspired XI continued to chase – or rather, amble – shadows on the pitch. With Leeds unable to muster an effort on, or even at least in the general direction of goal, the fans decided to pretend we’d scored regardless. After counting down to a third consecutive goal celebration they turned on mass to the City fans…
2-0 and you ****** it up!
2-0 and you f***** it up!
An appreciative ripple of applause came back, as was also the case on the back of some impressively coordinated “Shoes off/Stand up if you hate Man U” chanting, the latter of which spread along the width of the East Stand. A couple of Poznan’s later and day out was already a triumph. Even when cries of ‘One Nigel Adkins!” resounded from the away end in response to a morning newspaper story the desire to self-mock was too irresistible to discard and those demands were quickly superseded as “Jose Mour-in-ho” became the new number one managerial target.
The second half continued much in the same way as the first; albeit it took City a couple of minutes longer to score as Tevez nudged home Aguero’s cross… another kick in the balls for Warnock. Still, the Leeds fans were not going to bow their heads down submissively…
You’ve only scored 3,
You’ve only scored 3…
How s*** must you be?
You’ve only scored 3!
A polite enquiry as to whether we could play the hosts every week followed, before the Etihad rang out to cries of “Ole!…Ole!” as Leeds strung a move involving in excess of half a dozen passes together. Ironically enough, shortly afterwards as another City attack concluded with a corner, those in the away end chose to join in the fun themselves – it didn’t go unnoticed by The Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter that this impromptu game of ‘keep ball’ did actually represent the longest spell of possession Leeds had enjoyed to that point.
As the ‘contest’ continued to trundle on toward its inevitable outcome, those who’d traveled with hope but had long since abandoned the notion stayed to the bitter end, their enthusiasm not dimmed one iota as the fourth goal went in. As the final stages of the game approached, “Warnock out!” chants did become more vocal, but the more effective work had already been done.
At full-time the Leeds fans left the stadium, heads held high, having risen above any possible baiting instigating the p*** taking themselves; while Warnock would still make the point that he considered calls for his head to be unfair, he simply couldn’t argue with anything else that emanated from the stands, nor could the media or opposition fans alike both of whom were wholesome in their praise on social media in the aftermath of the game.
From his post-match comments it would appear that Warnock has now accepted that he one foot already out of the door, and maybe, just maybe, the conduct of the Leeds supporters at the Etihad also brought an appreciation of why our patience has long since been exhausted. Everything he said spoke of post-match appeared the product of carefully produced spin on the behalf of someone who’s finally come to the realisation that he’s failed.
The lavish praise of the supporters and statement that he’ll stay on for as long as necessary or simply go now, depending on what is best for the club should at least build Warnock some bridges after the Middlesbrough game; and, if he goes this week, it should ensure that he leaves in rather more positive circumstances than might else have been the case.
In truth, Warnock deserves that; it should be remembered that he chose Leeds even when the Wolves job was potentially open to him, he’s also been severely hamstrung in his plans by a farcical takeover process. Even now, as much as he tries to paint a rosy picture of those at the top, you wonder whether he was in a position to do the sort of business he really felt necessary in the transfer window.
New man please. Nigel Adkins please. If that involves more upheaval at boardroom level, then yes please. The Leeds fans couldn’t have made their message any clearer and Neil Warnock could not have made their job any easier – your move, GFH-C.
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AdvertisementsNuclear Power, The Economic Dirty Bomb
Within the next 15 years as many as 100 industry standard 900 MW nuclear reactors, concentrated in the "old nuclear' countries will have to be decommissioned, dismantled and made safe - unless the sinister farce of reactor operating lifetime extensions goes on playing. In some countries, especially Germany, Switzerland and probably Japan this farce has already ended or could end very soon. When it does, nuclear debt will go into overdrive from its already high gear shift setting.
Nuclear power is capital intensive, lives on subsidies, thrives on false hopes and dies in debt.
Putting a figure on how much the nuclear "decomm" story will cost is in fact impossible - and is signalled by the tell-tale anticipative action of nuclear friendly governments, for example the UK, which now sets decomm as an activity that will only need to start a generous or foolhardy 30 or 40 years after the reactor was powered down and removed from the national power grid. Until then, the reactor can stay on the horizon as a contribution to national culture, or something. Decomm periods could or might be as long as 125 years, according to some nuclear apologists: why not 250 years?
Staying an extra moment in the UK which this month of August 2011 had a three-day low level civil war outbreak, countered by PM David Cameron with the same phlegmatic repressive "courage" as Bashr el Assad facing his own five-month real civil war in Syria, we get an additional glimpse of nuclear power's real and open ended risks and costs.
In a real civil war, in any country with real nuclear power plants, who exactly is going to tell us these giant Dirty Bombs will not get hit - possibly as early priority targets for insurgents and anti-government forces? In that case, what will be the economic costs and sequels of this?
ECONOMIC DISASTER
The keyword "disaster" suffers from overuse and erosion, for example the loss of Michael Jackson is a "disaster" for world culture, but nuclear disaster has a real and known meaning. While we do not know and will not know the real cost of the Fukushima 4-reactor meltdown because a period of 10 years is about the minimum needed to get a handle on it, the economic damage and loss from the Chernobyl 1-reactor meltdown has been relatively well costed - over the years since it happened in 1986. At a minimum and in today's depreciating and devaluing dollars, the cost ballpark starts at about $ 250 bn.
To be sure, this is chickenfeed relative to the multi trillion-euro and trillion-dollar sovereign debts being juggled in Europe and the USA (or the 1000 trillion yen sovereign debt of Japan), but it concerns real world spending in the real economy. The leverage relation between the real economy, and the high speed fantasy world of sovereign debts, is hard to estimate but we can suggest that $1 spent in the real economy is equal to at least $100 of funny debt fiat money being refinanced, restructured and extended.
Next we add that these two nuclear catastrophes, grave as they were, extreme as they were, occurred a long way from dense urban areas with high value properties and businesses, and millions of residents. The chance of Nuclear Luck continuing, with rural-type disasters rather than city region disasters, is not guaranteed - but nuclear power's extreme high costs and risks are guaranteed, sure and certain.
Worst-case scenarios for nuclear collateral damage in so-called "mature democracies" facing civil war because of political decisions made by the elite to defend their shrinking middle classes, waking up to the reality they are getting poorer, not richer, are relatively easy to construct. We can likely multiply the Chernobyl tab for economic and loss and damage by a factor of four, for city regional nuclear catastrophes of the future, taking the real economy risk of loss to around $ 1 trillion, a respectable number for players like Obama to put through their teleprompters. The impact of this on already so-fragile national finances and economic confidence in the Old Rich/New Poor countries would be, very simply, catastrophic.
RECYCLE, REUSE AND DEFEND THE ECONOMY
Nuclear waste business, as we know, is not business friendly and leads to the very basic reflex of simply dumping a considerable and growing part of the world's unmanageable nuclear wastes from the current world fleet of around 436 operating civil reactors (depending on how many Japanese reactors are brought back into service). Proliferation risks are in a decidedly Olde Worlde 1950s-way restricted only to conventional explosive nuclear weapons - totally ignoring both Depleted Uranium weapons using and "recycling" nuclear wastes, value-adding too, and the future Dirty Bombs which with almost no possible doubt will be used in coming civil wars and international wars. Both of these nuclear war options are above all cheap, and of course dirty.
Since the 1991 Gulf War 1 against Iraq, the war against Afghanistan starting in 2001, and second war against Iraq of 2003, at least 2500 tons of Depleted Uranium weapons have been used by the US, UK and France in these delightfully far away and "over the horizon" Indiana Jones type war theaters - causing a conservatively estimated 10 000 cancer deaths, and as many as 50 000 living sufferers of cancer in Iraq and Afghanistan. This has easily calculated economic consequences - when this concerns white democratic middle class sufferers of the same types of cancers: roughly $ 40 000 for a cancer death and $ 25 000-per-year fur surviving cancer sufferers.
To be sure these cancer deaths and injuries are chickenfeed in relation to the civilian deaths and refugees caused by the West's "pre-emptive" attack against Saddam Hussein's Iraq and its virtual stock of Mass Destruction weapons, and revenge crusade against the Taliban for so expertly organizing the demolition of New York's Twin Towers in 2001, exactly like the ratio of real economy damage cause by nuclear power and the notional debt mountains of the formerly-rich countries. However, total civilian deaths in these two completely illegal wars - probably more than 250 000 - and the real suffering caused to millions by these illegal wars will we can hope some day give way to reparations, which will be payable and due, exactly like debt repayment by the Old Rich/New Poor countries. The "cute idea" of recycling nuclear wastes as DU ordnance will generate the economic damage that these filthy weapons should generate. Those who profit from misery will finally pay.
To be sure, this cozy morality is fine - as long as the best0by date for muddling through is way in the future. When it comes home to roost with the very shrinking number of bird numbers - even bird species - this is another kettle of also rapidly depleting open ocean fish.
LOSS AVOIDANCE IS THE ONLY SOLUTION
Turning off the nuclear tap will soon become the only solution. With civil nuclear power plant growth and proliferation already cancelled in several countries, including Germany, Japan and Switzerland and likely to be placed on hold because of nuclear debt and the sheer un-economic nature of nuclear power in other countries - to be sure with China and India coming very late to the party - we can be sure that Nuclear Nirvana's murky underside of a Pandora's Box of evils will soon cause a sea shift in ruling elite thinking.
Options exist for the rapid removal of nuclear power from the scene. Since 2008, in more than a half of OECD countries exposed to the realities of the sovereign debt crisis, electricity consumption has fallen by double-digit amounts in 3 years. The need for nuclear power is cut by this real world trend. To be sure there are long-term and rising nuclear debts due to accumulated wastes and to the near-term future crisis of reactor decommissioning - which should (in a sane world) only hasten the total abandonment of this failed option for supplying "cheap, clean and safe" power.
The options are better known than ever. The pathology of "we didnt know" has worn awfully thin after the Fukushima disaster. The same applies to Depleted Uranium weapons, so nicely reserved for expert commentators to pontificate on - but which cause cancers and economic loss every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The choices and options are on the table for those who want to admit them. Unfortunately our current political decider elite is congenitally unable to admit them. Soldiering along and muddling through with the deadly, high cost option of nuclear power will continue - but not for long.
By Andrew McKillop
Contact: [email protected]
Former chief policy analyst, Division A Policy, DG XVII Energy, European Commission. Andrew McKillop Biographic Highlights
Andrew McKillop has more than 30 years experience in the energy, economic and finance domains. Trained at London UK’s University College, he has had specially long experience of energy policy, project administration and the development and financing of alternate energy. This included his role of in-house Expert on Policy and Programming at the DG XVII-Energy of the European Commission, Director of Information of the OAPEC technology transfer subsidiary, AREC and researcher for UN agencies including the ILO.
© 2011 Copyright Andrew McKillop - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.
© 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.
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Mark Goldes
16 Aug 11, 19:30 AN UNRECOGNIZED NUCLEAR THREAT
MELTDOWNS OF MULTIPLE NUCLEAR PLANTS ARE A HIDDEN HAZARD! The largest solar flare in years erupted earlier this month. Had its emission slammed into our geomagnetic field it could have collapsed critical global power grids for months. A nuclear plant without grid power for a month is a meltdown candidate. See the Aesop Institute website for an overview of the problem and a few maps that illuminate the threat, which is far greater than any terror attack.This originally appeared on LinkedIn. You can follow Vivek Wadhwa here.
When Wall Street Journal and Forbes published articles, a few years ago, predicting the demise of Indian IT, I responded in BusinessWeek that they were dead wrong. I said that the outsourcing market had a long way to go before it peaked; rising salaries and attrition rates were not a cause for long-term concern; and Indian IT would soon become a $100 billion industry. I was, of course, right.
Now I am ready to declare the end of the line for Indian IT. There are new $100 billion opportunities that could revitalize this industry. But from what I’ve seen, Indian executives seem incapable of steering their ships in the right directions.
It is not that Indian outsourcers have become less capable of servicing Western needs. It is that their customer base—the CIO and IT department—is in decline. With the advent of tablets, apps, and cloud computing, users have direct access to better technology than their IT departments can provide them. They can download cheap, elegant, and powerful apps on their IPads that make their corporate systems look primitive. These modern-day apps don’t require internal teams of people doing software development and maintenance—they are user-customizable and can be built by anyone with basic programming skills.
It takes decades to update legacy computer systems, and corporate IT departments move at the speed of molasses. So, Indian outsourcers have a few more years before they suffer a significant decline. They certainly won’t see the growth and billion-dollar outsourcing deals that have brought them this far.
The same advances that are changing the IT landscape are also creating new opportunities.
For example, advances in robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D printing are making it cost effective to move manufacturing back from China to the US, Europe, …and India.
Take the Baxter robot from Rethink Robotics. It has two arms, a face that displays simulated emotion, and cameras and sensors that detect the motion of human beings that work next to it. It can perform assembly and move boxes—just as humans do. It will work 24 hours a day and not complain. It costs only $22,000. This is one of many such robots.
AI is making it possible to develop self-driving cars, voice-recognition systems such as Apple’s Siri, and computer systems that can make human-like decisions. AI technologies are also finding their way into manufacturing and are powering robots such as Baxter.
A type of manufacturing called “additive manufacturing” is making it possible to cost-effectively “print” products. 3D printers can create physical mechanical devices, medical implants, jewelry, and even clothing. The cheapest 3D printers, which print rudimentary objects, currently sell for between $500 and $1,000. Soon we will have printers for this price that can print toys and household goods. By the end of this decade, we will see 3D printers doing the small-scale production of previously labor-intensive crafts and goods. In the next decade we may be 3D-printing buildings and electronics.
These technologies are becoming readily available and cheap, but America’s manufacturing plants aren’t geared up to take advantage of them. Most don’t have the know-how. This is where India’s companies could step in. They could master the new technologies and help American firms design new factory floors and program and install robots. They could provide management consulting on designing new value chains and inventory management. They could manage manufacturing plant operations remotely. This is a higher-margin business than the old IT services. And American’s would cheer India for bringing manufacturing back to their shores—rather than protest its taking their IT jobs away. We are talking about a trillion dollar market opportunity.
India’s technology companies can also develop sensor-based biomedical devices, cures for diseases by analyzing genome and health data, drone-based delivery systems, smart cities, digital tutors, and sensors to improve farming. Software and IT are the key to developing all these.
In my discussions with Indian CEOs, they all acknowledge the reality. They are becoming aware of what lies ahead. I have implored them to start retraining their people in the new technologies and to develop new businesses and consulting practices. They listen, nod their heads from side to side, and go back to trying to close the disappearing software-outsourcing deals. I tell them that they are shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
This article is part of Quartz Ideas, our home for bold arguments and big thinkers.Last Updated: Sept. 2, 12:20 AM ET
Daniel Quinn's series of books apparently inspired James Lee
NEW YORK (CBS) James Lee, who was killed by a SWAT team after holding hostages in the Discovery Channel building Wednesday, apparently based his environmental activism on the works of Daniel Quinn, author of several books on the human condition and broad environmental and social issues.
PICTURES: Who is Suspect James Lee?
On his MySpace page, Lee lists his interests as "The Daniel Quinn books Ishmael, My Ishmael, and the Story of B."
"Ishmael" won the $500,000 Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award (an award created by CNN founder Ted Turner, and given only once, to Quinn's book for offering positive solutions to global problems. Among the judges for the award were revered writers Nadine Gordimer, Wallace Stegner, Peter Matthiessen and William Styron.
Publishers Weekly described "Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit" as follows:
Quinn ( Dreamer ) won the Turner Tomorrow Award's half-million-dollar first prize for this fascinating and odd book--not a novel by any conventional definition--which was written 13 years ago but could not find a publisher. The unnamed narrator is a disillusioned modern writer who answers a personal ad ("Teacher seeks pupil.... Apply in person.") and thereby meets a wise, learned gorilla named Ishmael that can communicate telepathically. The bulk of the book consists entirely of philosophical dialogues between gorilla and man, on the model of Plato's Republic. Through Ishmael, Quinn offers a wide-ranging if highly general examination of the history of our civilization, illuminating the assumptions and philosophies at the heart of many global problems. Despite some gross oversimplifications, Quinn's ideas are fairly convincing; it's hard not to agree that unrestrained population growth and an obsession with conquest and control of the environment are among the key issues of our times. Quinn also traces these problems back to the agricultural revolution and offers a provocative rereading of the biblical stories of Genesis. Though hardly any plot to speak of lies behind this long dialogue, Quinn's smooth style and his intriguing proposals should hold the attention of readers interested in the daunting dilemmas that beset our planet. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
In his published a list of demands, Lee wrote:
"The Discovery Channel and it's affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael" pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each other's inventive ideas. Focus must be given on how people can live WITHOUT giving birth to more filthy human children since those new additions continue pollution and are pollution. A game show format contest would be in order. Perhaps also forums of leading scientists who understand and agree with the Malthus-Darwin science and the problem of human overpopulation. Do both. Do all until something WORKS and the natural world starts improving and human civilization building STOPS and is reversed! MAKE IT INTERESTING SO PEOPLE WATCH AND APPLY SOLUTION."
Lee took some of the themes in Quinn's works to a fatal extreme.
In an interview Thursday with the Washington Post, Quinn, 75, said the Lee exaggerated what he has written. "I've seen many people take off in odd directions from things they've seen in my books, but nothing so catastrophic as someone arming himself with bombs and guns.... I know this will have a big effect on my books themselves. Sales might zoom up, but that doesn't mean approval of it will zoom up. It might zoom down," Quinn said.
In the video below, from 1998 with Alan D. Thornhill, Ph.D., Quinn discusses population issues and how he was surprised at how inflammatory the subject became as a result of his Ishmael series. "Human's lived in the way that worked once upon a time," Quinn said. He advises that populations should be based on the availability of more local resources. He explained mechanisms for population growth rates, such as "when a species food is dropping the individual members don't have us much time for mating as when there was plenty of food....the females of species will not tend to carry young to term as much as when there was plenty of food or have offspring live through the first year."Well, the first (hopefully annual) Retro Valentine Giveaway is over, and the most-requested cards by a longshot from everyone who entered were these Sonic The Hedgehog cards. I wanted to get some Nintendo Valentines but couldn’t snag any, so I’m glad I was able to get some that were video-game themed.
These cards came out in 1994 at the height of Sonic-mania. I think I got my Sega Genesis in 1995 on my tenth birthday, and it came with Sonic II. I don’t know for sure, but I bet I had these Valentines at some point.
Sonic and Tails look pretty good on these cards, but I’m sure kids in 94 saved the Robotnik cards for their least-favorite friends (and teachers). “You’re so nice it’s disgusting!”….gee thanks.
I should have at least one or two more posts full of 80s/90s Valentine scans before Friday, so stay tuned!This ancient area of law is ripe for automation by cryptocurrency. Read what lawyers should learn about the technology and what the technology will need to learn about lawyering.
The Internet of Money
One of the great promises of cryptocurrency networks such as those underlying Bitcoin and Ripple is enabling a new paradigm of transactions that go far beyond transferring digital currency. The “Internet of money” refers to the capability of these decentralized ledger networks to create transactions and agreements that do not involve banks, courts, and other traditional players.
Smart contracts are a potentially revolutionary type of application using decentralized ledger networks. The idea underlying smart contracts is that software can automate much of the contracting process. This could allow for the performance, monitoring, and enforcement of contractual promises without human involvement. Like other types of automation, contract automation can lower the costs of operating a business and make mistakes less likely to happen. Another potential benefit is enabling parties to more efficiently structure their relationships. For example, automatic verification of a contractor’s work could allow the contractor to be paid more quickly and prevent unnecessary delays.
The most attractive feature of smart contracts may be the potential to greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for litigation and courts. By using a smart contract, parties commit themselves to be bound by the rules and determinations of the underlying code. Doing so in principle removes the potential for parties to have a dispute: both parties are held to whatever outcome the smart contract determines. In his seminal 1997 article, legal scholar and technologist Nick Szabo described what may happen to someone that breaches a smart car lease: “if the owner fails to make payments, the smart contract invokes the lien protocol, which [automatically] returns control of the car keys to the bank.”
Smart contracts could therefore reduce the need for litigators, judges, and arbitrators. However, by requiring parties to strictly commit, at the outset, to decisions of a smart contract, the need for transactional attorneys and others to structure smart contractual relationships may increase. Parties would most likely want to specify a more detailed range of contingencies and outcomes ahead of time before committing themselves to abide by the decisions of a software-driven contract.
Smart Contracts in Development
Today, a wave of companies and organizations are developing smart contract platforms and applications. Bithalo, for example, offers a platform that uses a joint account system whereby contracting parties deposit funds or work product into a secure account. Hedgy is developing smart derivatives contracts that reduce counterparty risk and increase settlement speed with straight-through-processing. Swarm, which uses the Counterparty platform, allows a company to crowdsource capital using “cryptoequity” contracts that give holders a variety of potential rights such as those relating to voting, sharing in profits, controlling executive decisions, and making further investments as the company reaches certain milestones.
Multi-Signature and Oracles
Certain features have come to typify smart contracts. One is the use of multi-signature (or “multi-sig”) to improve and assure performance. With a multi-sig feature, two or more parties are required to approve a transaction before funds can be released or some other aspect of the contract can move forward. Another is the use of an “oracle” to monitor prices, performance, or some other aspect of the real world. A smart loan agreement may, for example, automatically deposit funds in a borrower’s bank account once an oracle obtains information that the borrower’s loan application has been approved. A major obstacle to the development of smart contracts is embedding complex decision making into a cryptocurrency platform, something Ripple’s Codius software attempts to overcome.
Which Chain? What Coin?
A fundamental issue currently dividing smart contract developers is whether to build on top of the Bitcoin network (also known as a blockchain) or to use a different cryptocurrency. Ethereum, for example, uses a blockchain distinct from Bitcoin. Using its own blockchain allows Ethereum to implement a wider variety of smart contracts, according to its founding white paper. The Clearhinghouse blockchain likewise considers not using Bitcoin to be a major advantage that enables faster transactions and no risk of being held up by choices made by Bitcoin developers.
Counterparty, by contrast, builds contracting software on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. In 2014, Counterparty developers struggled with an update to the Bitcoin protocol that rendered their method of embedding message data useless. That problem has since been resolved. Counterparty insists that any costs associated with integrating their software into a changing protocol outside of their control are outweighed by the benefits of utilizing Bitcoin’s more secure, well-established blockchain and ecosystem.
Many of these smart contract platforms utilize their own unique cryptocurrency to develop and operate smart contract applications. For example, Ethereum uses Ether while Counterparty uses XCP. Appropriate mechanisms for creating and fairly distributing these novel tokens is another source of debate amongst smart contract developers. Counterparty created its XCP by automatically granting their tokens to any Bitcoin user who provably destroyed some Bitcoin by sending it to an address with no known private key. Counterparty calls the method proof of burn. Ethereum sold access to its platform through a pre-sale of Ether tokens. The cryptographic Ether tokens have yet to be generated and those purchasing them are implicitly trusting Ethereum’s developers to deliver once the protocol is up and running.
Choosing between Bitcoin and another blockchain may not be either/or, however. In November 2014, the Counterparty developers effectively made the Ethereum smart contract platform compatible with Bitcoin.
How to Improve Smart Contracts
Smart contracts using cryptocurrency protocols could revolutionize the world of contracting. Automated performance, however, does not guarantee that parties will always, or even often, be capable of determining all aspects of their bargain at the outset of the transaction. In the real world, things aren’t so simple.
Contracts often end up being ambiguous and imprecise. This is because what happens after parties strike a deal is often unpredictable. Parties also don’t have the time or interest in attempting to detail every possible eventuality up front.
Parties accordingly want some level of flexibility and seek to avoid locking themselves into rigid commitments and outcomes. What developers of smart contracts may overlook is that both parties can benefit from renegotiating their contract in response to changed circumstances. For example, CBS and stars of The Big Bang Theory both benefited when some of the actors’ contracts were renegotiated in response the show’s immense rise in popularity—something not entirely predictable when the actors first signed on. Smart contracts should have mechanisms to allow parties to amend their agreements when mutually desired instead of being stuck based on old assumptions.
Contracting parties also desire built-in mechanisms that adjust the terms of an agreement without the need for renegotiation. Commercial loans often use performance pricing provisions that adjust the interest rate based upon the performance of the borrower. Asset-based loans can be particularly valuable because they automatically adjust the amount of credit available to borrower based on the value of its assets. Smart contracts should likewise have protocols that adjust the terms of an agreement to the advantage of both parties.
Smart contracting proposals should also learn from the automation that is already taking place in the contract world but outside of cryptocurrencies. In the context of international trade, banks have been trying to convince corporate clients to adopt bank payment obligations that effectively act like smart contracts: a seller is paid only if she transmits the correct data to a bank showing that the goods were shipped to the buyer. Companies have largely failed to adopt the system, however, due to not being sold on its benefits or wanting to convert to a new system.
And it is not as if the world of business contracts is completely paper based. Oracle’s PeopleSoft platform automates much of the contracting process and related business operations. In the loan context, companies like ABLSoft and Ftrans enable lenders to continually monitor borrowers using their software. Much of promise of smart contracts may have already been captured.
If smart contracts using cryptocurrency networks are going to succeed, much less usher in a transactional revolution, they will have to overcome the problems of existing contract automation initiatives. They will also need to deliver features over and above those already being offered by companies that sell contract-enhancing software.
Smart contracts implemented over a cryptocurrency blockchain do, however, have important advantages over incumbent services. First, they function on a decentralized, open network where trust is established using deterministic software rather than reputation or law. In addition, because a blockchain publicly records transactions on a single ledger, it allows economic activity to be coordinated more easily. This could increase how well markets operate globally by, for example, enabling companies that are part of the same supply to chain to coordinate production in response to market conditions. Should smart contract technologies catch on, they’ll provide a robust means of establishing trust and integrating markets without having to join or trust a company or other intermediary that is focused on selling its own services and that could serve as a single point of failure.
Houman Shadab is professor of law at New York Law School and a Coin Center Fellow.Shoot the hostage.
Notes: Yeaaah, I know this story boiled down to “the group went kill-crazy for basically no reason,” but sometimes in RPGs, people gots to die. This is just a story of a simple plan turned into a clusterfuck by a group going berserker. It happens.
People have asked why the group was concerned why the guards had seen their faces since (a) it never would have happened if they hadn’t started a firefight in the first place, and (b) their faces were on camera anyway. I didn’t mention the security camera footage. I SORT of did, but did a shitty job.
Part of the reason they’d started to barricade themselves was the cameras. I think the initial plan was for the physad to cover his face on the way out so the camera didn’t catch him, but he slipped up when he triggered the alarm, freaked, and ran back to the group. The initial panic following the alarm led them to bunker down instead of running for it, perhaps fearing that the artifacts in question were amazingly valuable and they had to erase all evidence of their passing. They said that once the alarm was triggered, more than likely all the guards had seen the camera footage and had at least seen the physad’s face. They all had to die, according to their logic.
Anyway, eventually they tasked the decker with trying to wipe out the security camera footage. The guards told them that it was archived on the local servers, but the decker had fucked up the system so badly that he couldn’t even FIND the archive to access it. I think this was a major reason they decided to stall the police and wire the entire building to blow: they wanted to destroy the archived security footage and anyone who’d seen it.
The poor janitors were taken as hostages so that they couldn’t help the cops get in the building, or help them access the computers.SAN JOSE -- It was a surprising development when Sharks center Logan Couture stepped out on the ice on Wednesday morning at the team’s practice facility.
It was even more extraordinary when Joe Thornton joined him just a few minutes later.
Despite the Sharks’ top two centers suffering what appeared to be gruesome injuries, as well as some mixed |
ball at the wall for hours (for chrissakes).
In other words, Sanders may not be, as aide Tad Devine told reporters, "the voice of New York," but he undeniably has a voice of New York. Whether that and such issues as New York's income inequality—it ranks it is among the worst cities in the country for this—can drive New York voters to Sanders remains to be seen.
Clinton throws out the first pitch at a Cubs game in 1994. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty) read the tea leaves/eagerly await a Brooklyn Democratic debate and the April 19th New York primary, here is a little more food for thought: at least Clinton knows how to hold a slice of pizza.
Fourteen years of municipal governance by Bostonians who pour salt on their slice (Bloomberg) and eat it with a knife and fork (de Blasio) seem to show that the ability to perform a simple fucking task properly does not rank high on voters' priority lists. However, Clinton deserves props for doing something not even Trump could get right. Case in point: when Trump entertained Sarah Palin in the city in 2011 he a) brought her to a Famiglia in Times Square, and b) downed the deeply mediocre slice with the assistance of a fork. John Kasich is from Ohio—what's Trump's excuse? Trump also once shilled for Pizza Hut's chief war crime, the stuffed crust, and managed to work in a joke about divorcing Ivana. (Classy!)
Bizarrely, all of the presidential candidates at issue have a Pizza Hut connection. Clinton's was apparently unauthorized: a send-up of her carpetbagger reverse migration from Illinois to Arkansas to New York, around which time she also claimed to be a lifelong Cubs AND Yankees fan (friends of Sanders, for what it's worth, attribute part of his antipathy to large corporations to the betrayal he felt when the Dodgers skipped town for LA).
Bernie's tie to the pizza-mutilating chain is sadder: he was recently spotted dining alone at a combination Nathan's/Pizza Hut in Penn Station. C'mon Bernie! You didn't have to do this to yourself! Pizza Suprema was right outside the door!Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Governator of California and action megastar of our youth, stopped by Reddit earlier today to answer Redditors’ questions.
Schwarzenegger did the AMA session—the popular question and answer format used on the site—to promote The Last Stand, his glorious return to the action genre. Minutes before his session started, Reddit users had already left more than 3,000 questions for the governor, ranging from queries on marijuana legalization to popular lines from his movies.
Despite only answering questions for an hour, the IAmA is slated to be one of Reddit's most popular ones, accruing more than 11,000 total karma points as of this writing.
We've compiled some of the better Arnold responses below, including some answers he wrote out using his iPad.
1. What role do you most regret turning down? (via Salacious)
I most regret not doing The Rock. I love the movie, and it turned out well. When it was offered to me there was only an 80 page script with a lot of handwriting and scribbles and it didn't seem fully baked. But they obviously did a fantastic job.
2. What are your thoughts on the current state of the Republican party? (via y0nkers)
The most important thing is that we need to be a party that is inclusive and tolerant. We can be those things and be the party we always have been. We need to think about the environment - Teddy Roosevelt was a great environmentalist and people forget Reagan was the one who dealt with the ozone layer with the Montreal protocol. We also need to talk about healthcare honestly - Nixon almost passed universal healthcare. We need to have an talk about immigration and realize you can't just deport people. We need a comprehensive answer. We also need to stay out of people's bedrooms. The party that is for small government shouldn't be over-reaching into people's private lives. Mainly, we need to be a party where people know what we are for, not just what we are against.
3. Would you rather fight 100 duck sized Predators or 1 Predator sized duck? (via Synanon)
I would choose the 1 Predator sized duck instead of dealing with 100 duck-sized Predators. I've already fought a Predator-sized Predator so I am confident I could handle the duck.
4. In your films are all the "Ayyaagh's" in the script or do you improvise them? (via dev729)
All improvised. Every single one.
5. Politicians are wildly unpopular these days - if you had to pick one current American politician who best embodies what is good about politics, who would you pick, and why? I've always appreciated your perspective on American politics and admired your optimistic spirit, so I'd love to hear your answer to this. (via rycla)
Great question. And this has to be my last one. Even though Congress has an approval rating of 9% (and loses to cockroaches and colonoscopies in polling), there are still some leaders who are doing the people's work instead of the partys' work. That's political courage to me, being willing to risk your job to choose what's good for the public instead of getting stuck in your ideology. One of my favorites is Mayor Chuck Reed from San Jose. He's a Democratic who took on pension reform, he has always put the people first. You should look him up.
6. Is it a tumor? (via LGFL5000)
After answering his final question, Governor Schwarzenegger thanked Reddit and its users with a handwritten note and a drawing of the Snoo, the site's mascot alien logo.
Photo courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore
This article originally published at The Daily Dot hereChris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News
LONDON — The scandal over the manipulation of global interest rates until now has mostly put bankers in the spotlight. But the focus on Monday will turn to the regulators, both on what they did and what they did not do.
Paul Tucker, a deputy governor at the Bank of England, will give evidence on whether senior government officials put pressure on Barclays to lower its submissions to the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. Barclays agreed in late June to pay some $450 million to settle accusations from United States and British authorities that its traders and senior executives had manipulated the rate, which underpins trillions of dollars of corporate loans, home mortgages and derivatives around the world.
On Monday, the European Commission waded into the fray after Michel Barnier, the financial services commissioner, said he would propose amendments to draft market abuse legislation that would outlaw the manipulation of Libor and other benchmark rates.
Mr. Tucker’s testimony could put him at loggerheads with Robert E. Diamond Jr., the former chief executive of Barclays, who told the same committee last week that the Bank of England, as well as the Financial Services Authority of Britain and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, had repeatedly been informed about the issue, but had not moved to stop it.
After resigning last Tuesday, Mr. Diamond released an e-mail last week that indicated that Mr. Tucker had questioned why the bank was submitting rates consistently higher than rivals, a sign of relatively poor health.
How Mr. Tucker responds promises to be a pivotal in the central banker’s career. The 54-year-old Cambridge graduate is a leading candidate to replace Mervyn King next year in the top job as the governor of the Bank of England, one of the world’s most important central banks.
Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press
“The focus will be on whether his recollection tallies with what Bob Diamond told us,” said Pat McFadden, a Labour member of Parliament who sits on the committee overseeing Mr. Tucker’s testimony. “We want to know if anyone at the Bank of England or in other government departments asked Barclays to lower its Libor submissions.”
Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Tucker declined to comment.
The intense scrutiny confronting Mr. Tucker follows a career spanning more than three decades at the Bank of England. After brief stints in the 1980s at the British bank Baring Brothers and with the Hong Kong government, he rose through the ranks to become the British central bank’s deputy governor in charge of financial stability in 2009.
Mr. Tucker also is a leading figure in global efforts to overhaul financial regulation. Along with his Bank of England duties, he currently holds senior positions at both the Financial Stability Board and the Global Economy Meeting, whose memberships comprise officials from the world’s leading central banks.
Unlike some other regulators, Mr. Tucker is known for his practical understanding of both the financial markets and the current effort to provide extra financing support to prop up British banks, according to several of his current and former colleagues, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the importance of his testimony on Monday.
“He would be a good man for the top job” at the Bank of England, said one of the people. “He understands banks and is a naturally bright guy who gets how the financial system works.”
Mr. Tucker’s reputation, however, has been tarnished by the Libor scandal. The British government will start its search for a new central bank chief toward the end of the year.
Analysts say other potential candidates, like Gus O’Donnell, a recently retired high-ranking British civil servant, may benefit from Mr. Tucker’s involvement in the Barclays’ rate manipulation affair. “Intellectually, he’s not up to the job,” said David Blanchflower, a British economist who sat on the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee with Mr. Tucker from 2006 to 2009. “Every single call since 2007, he has got wrong.”
Mr. Blanchflower points to a Bank of England meeting in November 2007 led by Mr. Tucker when a number of officials raised concerns that Libor submissions were lower than market rates. “He was told about the problem, but didn’t do anything about it,” Mr. Blanchflower added.
A lot now depends on Mr. Tucker’s testimony. In a highly unusual step for a British government official, the central bank’s deputy governor released a statement last week, requesting to give evidence to the British parliamentary committee “as soon as possible.”
His testimony is expected to center primarily on a phone call with Mr. Diamond in late October 2008. Last week, the former Barclays chief told the parliamentary committee that Mr. Tucker had expressed concerns from senior British politicians that Barclays’ Libor submissions were higher than those of rivals.
Mr. Diamond then e-mailed Jerry del Missier, a top deputy, about the conversation, saying that Mr. Tucker had stated that it “did not always need to be the case that we appeared as high as we have recently,” according to documents released by Barclays.
Mr. del Missier, who also resigned last week because of the rate manipulation scandal, then directed employees to keep the submitted rates lower, or at least in line with rivals. His actions, some regulators say, were a result of a “miscommunication,” rather than instructions from Mr. Tucker.
Mr. Diamond has said that he did not tell senior executives to lower the bank’s Libor rate submissions. The former Barclays chief also said that he had been told only last month about the activity, which occurred amid the financial crisis.
“I was unaware that Jerry had the impression that Tucker’s phone call was taken as an instruction” to alter the rate, he told the committee.
The involvement of senior British officials has appeared to deflect some of the attention of the scandal away from Barclays. Some of the firm’s traders also had been altering Libor to benefit their own trading positions as far back as 2005.
Yet British politicians have expressed skepticism that the Bank of England actually put pressure on Barclays to change its Libor rates. Some contend that the conversations were part of officials’ ongoing checks on one of the country’s largest financial institutions at the height of a financial crisis.
“I doubt the Bank of England was leaning on Barclays to lower its Libor submissions,” Mr. McFadden, the British politician, said. “In the end, Barclays already had been doing that for years.”From Howard County Public Schools: Howard County public school students are graduating at significantly higher rates than their peers across Maryland. African-American students and those affected by poverty are showing notable gains.
"The graduation rate is a measure of our success in fully preparing students for college and the workforce," said Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) Superintendent Renee A. Foose. "The rates of improvement among our African-American and FARM student groups are especially encouraging, and affirm our system's progress in fulfilling the promise of preparation for every student."
At 93.21 percent, the HCPSS Class of 2016 graduation rate is the highest among the six Maryland systems with enrollment of more than 50,000 students, and exceeds the state average of 87.61 percent by 5.6 percentage points. While showing a slight dip compared to the 2015 rate of 93.47 percent, the 2016 HCPSS rate marks a five-year jump of more than 2.5 percentage points from 90.64 percent in 2011. The statistics reflect data for the cohort of students graduating within four years after entering high school. HCPSS has maintained graduation rates well above 90 percent for more than 10 years.
Graduation rates among specific student groups, including African-American students and those receiving Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARMs), show notable improvement. At 90.31 percent, the graduation rate for HCPSS African-American students is up more than two full percentage points over the 87.94 percent rate last year. African-American student achievement also exceeds the state average of 84.06 percent by more than 6 percentage points, and shows a five-year improvement of 9.36 percentage points over the HCPSS Class of 2011. The 83.31 percent rate for FARMs students shows an increase of 9.03 percentage points since 2011, and significantly exceeds the 79.2 percent 2016 average for the state.
HCPSS dropout patterns echo the graduation rate trends. At 3.96 percent, the dropout rate for the Class of 2016 is less than half the state average of 7.97 percent, and has decreased significantly from the 5.93 percent rate for the Class of 2011. Dropout rates among African-American students are down nearly 6 percentage points for the same period, with 5.8 percent for 2016 compared to 11.65 in 2011. The rates among FARM students show similarly impressive trends, falling from 19.32 percent in 2011 to 12.34 percent for 2016—a decrease of nearly seven full percentage points.
Details on graduation and dropout rates for the school system and individual schools are available at http://mdreportcard.org.
Image Courtesy Of HCPSSPolice officers are reflected in a mirror held by a protestor during a demonstration at the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Missouri, October 13, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Young
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue the Ferguson, Missouri, police department over allegations of racially discriminatory practices unless the police force agrees to make changes, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The network, citing sources, said the Justice Department would not charge the white Ferguson police officer involved in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last August but was expected to outline allegations of discriminatory Ferguson police tactics.
The department would file suit if Ferguson police did not agree to review and change those tactics, CNN reported.
The shooting of Brown last August by officer Darren Wilson led to months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and galvanized critics of the treatment by police and the U.S. criminal justice system of blacks and other minority groups.
A St. Louis County grand jury decided last year not to prosecute Wilson, who has since left the Ferguson police force. The Justice Department has been conducting probes of the shooting and the operations of the Ferguson police force.
Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment on the CNN report.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is preparing to leave office, said earlier this month he hoped to complete the civil rights investigation of the shooting before he steps down.
CNN said the potential Justice Department lawsuit could include allegations that police targeted minorities in issuing minor traffic infractions and then jailed them if they could not pay the fines.
It reported the agency would seek court supervision of changes taken by Ferguson police to improve its dealings with minorities.A former Richmond Hill councillor who owes the TD Bank more than $176,000 has lost a court appeal arguing he can pay off his debt using nothing more than a piece of paper with the words “consumer purchase” on it. Citing an obscure part of the Bills of Exchange Act, Elio Di Iorio says the “consumer bill” is a legitimate form of payment, like a cheque.
Citing an obscure part of the Bills of Exchange Act, Elio Di Iorio says the “consumer bill” is a legitimate form of payment, like a cheque. ( Toronto Star File Photo )
It is essentially a piece of paper with “consumer purchase” written on it that can be exchanged for goods and services when signed by the purchaser. The payee — a car dealer, for example — then signs the document and can take it to a bank and get money or credit in exchange. Di Iorio argues this counts as money because the bank takes that “unpayable debt” to the Bank of Canada which uses it to issue more currency. In June, Ontario Superior Court Justice David Price rejected Di Iorio’s argument and allowed TD Bank to proceed with an action to collect money owed from a loan, a line of credit and unpaid credit cards. Di Iorio represented himself in court.
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“There was no obligation upon the plaintiff to accept them (the consumer bills) in payment of the defendant’s obligation,” Price said. Di Iorio’s appeal was denied this week. “The appellant’s documents have no commercial value whatsoever,” the high court ruled. “Accordingly, the appellant’s debts to TD Bank remain unpaid.” But Di Iorio maintains consumers have the right to use these bills. “Government took away... my ability to directly access the resources of the earth,” he said. He has tried unsuccessfully to buy a car and pay a lawyer in this way.
Consumer bills can only be used to get goods and services for consumption, not for buying land or goods for resale. So the money he borrowed to buy his Orangeville house — now repossessed by the bank — cannot be repaid using a bill. However, according to Di Iorio’s complex argument —which he has worked on full-time for the last two years, scouring volumes of banking history and federal archives — he actually doesn’t owe TD Bank anything.
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He claims the bank can’t produce the original document he signed to obtain his loan and lines of credit, and that it has been passed on to the Bank of Canada. So if he is liable to anyone it’s the Bank of Canada, not TD. He’s taking his case to the Supreme Court, he said. “I’m a microcosm,” said the 40-year-old who was a Richmond Hill councillor from 2003 to 2006. This is about the “unjust enrichment” of the banks, and the spiralling debt that affects every family. “This is why there is an economic crisis.”
Read more about:KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan police officer shot and killed at least three American Special Forces soldiers on Friday after inviting them for a meal at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said, in what appeared to be premeditated killings of American soldiers by one of their Afghan allies.
Those deaths were among a total of eight American and British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan on Thursday and Friday, making it one of the deadliest 36 hours here this year, according to statements from the NATO-led coalition. At least two of the dead were British soldiers and their deaths were announced by the British Defense Ministry.
Six of the eight soldiers killed were attacked while they were inside bases and in the company of their Afghan counterparts. In addition to the three Special Forces soldiers, who were killed in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, three international troops from the NATO-led coalition were killed on Friday evening at a shared Afghan and coalition base.
Afghan officials said that attack occurred at the district police headquarters in Garmsir, another district of Helmand, and involved a member of the Afghan local police. However, a spokesman for the NATO coalition said that preliminary information indicated the assailant was an Afghan civilian who worked on the base for the uniformed police, and that an investigation was ongoing.
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Details of the deaths of the Special Operations soldiers remained sketchy, and Afghan and coalition investigators were still trying to piece together how the shooting unfolded as dusk approached. A dawn-to-dusk fast is being widely observed in Afghanistan during Ramadan.For two months prior to the first presidential debate, the networks’ evening news shows ignored news of "very weak" GDP growth in their broadcasts.
The Washington Examiner reported on Sept. 29, that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a “relatively weak” 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016. CNBC noted on the same day that “The current expansion's pace is the weakest of any since 1949.”
That figure was a revision to an earlier estimate of 1.2 percent, which the Wall Street Journal reported as “disappointing” on July 29. On the day of the first release showing 1.2 percent growth, National Association of Realtors Lawrence Yun told the Journal the U.S. economy was “barely above water.” Chief Economist at Prestige Economics Jason Schenker also told the Journal that GDP growth was “very weak.”
Despite the fact that voters continually ranked the economy as their top priority this election cycle, ABC, CBS and NBC stayed silent about that bad economic news. From July 29, to Sept. 28, evening news shows ignored GDP growth estimates, but covered positive economic news and found time to gush over a Harry Potter book release.
The three networks have routinely neglected to report GDP estimates and ignored bad news about the Obama economy this election season. ABC, CBS and NBC ignored an even lower GDP growth rate estimate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and for six straight months in 2012, skipped the nation’s declining GDP.
In the same two months leading up to the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the evening shows covered good economic news. Two of the three networks covered on Aug. 5, “good” July jobs numbers, and all three covered a Sept. 13, Census data for 2015 which showed rising median incomes and a drop in poverty rates. But a year earlier, when Census reported a high poverty rate and stagnant incomes (2014 data), the networks said little. Only CBS Evening News reported the news about stagnant incomes.A Co Cork woman with Crohn's disease is to sue the state over the introduction of water charges.
Elizabeth Hourihane of Maulbaun, Passage West claims a state asset has been handed over to Irish Water against the public interest.
She also fears another utility bill could leave her having to make decisions between food and water.
As a lay litigant she had sought a judicial review challenging the constitutionality of the Environment Minister's decision to set up Irish Water.
However she was advised by Ms Justice Marie Baker to restructure her case.
Outside court Elizabeth Hourihane told reporters she is concerned about what will happen to people who can't afford to pay water bills.
"I have the ability from time to time to earn some sort of money, if I do [so] from home. But there's an awful lot of people with disabilities [and] there's the elderly, that don't have the ability to earn a living," she said.[3] The extent of the Roman Empire under Trajan (117)
Anatolia, western Caucasus and northern Levant under Trajan
Trajan's Parthian campaign, also known as Trajan's Parthian War, was engaged by Roman emperor Trajan in the year 115 against the Parthian Empire in Mesopotamia. The war was initially successful for the Romans, but due to a series of setbacks, including wide-scale rebellions in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as Trajan's death in 117, ended in a Roman withdrawal.
In 113, Trajan decided that the moment was ripe to resolve the "eastern question" once and for all time by the decisive defeat of Parthia and the annexation of Armenia; his conquests marked a deliberate change of Roman policy towards Parthia, and a shift of emphasis in the "grand strategy" of the empire. In 114, Trajan invaded Armenia, annexed it as a Roman province, and killed Parthamasiris who was placed on the Armenian throne by his relative, the king of Parthia, Osroes I.[5] In 115, the Roman emperor overran northern Mesopotamia and annexed it to Rome as well; its conquest was deemed necessary, since otherwise the Armenian salient could be cut off by the Parthians from the south.[5] The Romans then captured the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, before sailing downriver to the Persian Gulf.
However, in that year revolts erupted in the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and northern Mesopotamia, while a major Jewish revolt broke out in Roman territory, severely stretching Roman military resources. Trajan failed to take Hatra, which avoided total Parthian defeat. Parthian forces attacked key Roman positions, while Roman garrisons at Seleucia, Nisibis and Edessa were evicted by the local populaces. Trajan subdued the rebels in Mesopotamia, installed the Parthian prince Parthamaspates as a client ruler, and withdrew to Syria. Trajan died in 117, before he could renew the war.[6]
Trajan's Parthian campaign is considered, in different ways, the climax of "two centuries of political posturing and bitter rivalry."[7] Trajan was the first emperor to carry out a successful invasion of Mesopotamia. His grand scheme for Armenia and Mesopotamia were ultimately "cut short by circumstances created by an incorrect understanding of the strategic realities of eastern conquest and an underestimation of what insurgency can do."[7]
Background [ edit ]
In 113, Trajan embarked on his last campaign, provoked by Parthia's decision to put an unacceptable king on the throne of Armenia, a kingdom over which the two great empires had shared hegemony since the time of Nero, some fifty years earlier.[citation needed]
Many modern historians consider that Trajan's decision to wage war against Parthia might have had economic motives: after Trajan's annexation of Arabia, he built a new road, Via Traiana Nova, that went from Bostra to Aila on the Red Sea. That meant that Charax on the Persian Gulf was the sole remaining western terminus of the Indian trade route outside direct Roman control,[9] and such control was important in order to lower import prices and to limit the supposed drain of precious metals created by the deficit in Roman trade with the Far East.
That Charax traded with the Roman Empire, there can be no doubt, as its actual connections with merchants from Palmyra during the period are well documented in a contemporary Palmyrene epigraph, which tells of various Palmyrene citizens honoured for holding office in Charax.[11] Also, Charax's rulers' domains at the time possibly included the Bahrain islands (where a Palmyrene citizen held office, shortly after Trajan's death, as satrap – but then, the appointment was made by a Parthian king of Charax[13]) something which offered the possibility of extending Roman hegemony into the Persian Gulf itself.[14] The rationale behind Trajan's campaign, in this case, would be one of breaking down a system of Far Eastern trade through small Semitic ("Arab") cities under Parthia's control and to put it under Roman control instead.[15]
In his Dacian conquests, Trajan had already resorted to Syrian auxiliary units, whose veterans, along with Syrian traders, had an important role in the subsequent colonization of Dacia. He had recruited Palmyrene units into his army, including a camel unit,[17] therefore apparently procuring Palmyrene support to his ultimate goal of annexing Charax. It has even been ventured that, when earlier in his campaign Trajan annexed Armenia, he was bound to annex the whole of Mesopotamia lest the Parthians interrupt the flux of trade from the Persian Gulf and/or foment trouble at the Roman frontier on the Danube.[18]
Other historians reject these motives, as the supposed Parthian "control" over the maritime Far Eastern trade route was, at best, conjectural and based on a selective reading of Chinese sources – trade by land through Parthia seems to have been unhampered by Parthian authorities and left solely to the devices of private enterprise. Commercial activity in second century Mesopotamia seems to have been a general phenomenon, shared by many peoples within and without the Roman Empire, with no sign of a concerted Imperial policy towards it. As in the case of the alimenta, scholars like Moses Finley and Paul Veyne have considered the whole idea of a foreign trade "policy" behind Trajan's war anachronistic: according to them, the sole Roman concern with the Far Eastern luxuries trade – besides collecting toll taxes and customs[21] – was moral and involved frowning upon the "softness" of luxuries, but no economic policy. In the absence of conclusive evidence, trade between Rome and India might have been far more balanced, in terms of quantities of precious metals exchanged: one of our sources for the notion of the Roman gold drain – Pliny's the Younger's uncle Pliny the Elder – had earlier described the Gangetic Plains as one of the gold sources for the Roman Empire. In his controversial book on the Ancient economy, Finley considers Trajan's "badly miscalculated and expensive assault on Parthia" to be an example of the many Roman "commercial wars" that had in common the fact of existing only in the books of modern historians.
The alternative view is to see the campaign as triggered by the lure of territorial annexation and prestige, the sole motive ascribed by Cassius Dio. As far as territorial conquest involved tax-collecting,[26] especially of the 25% tax levied on all goods entering the Roman Empire, the tetarte, one can say that Trajan's Parthian War had an "economic" motive. Also, there was the propaganda value of an Eastern conquest that would emulate, in Roman fashion, those of Alexander the Great.[28] The fact that emissaries from the Kushan Empire might have attended to the commemorative ceremonies for the Dacian War may have kindled in some Greco-Roman intellectuals like Plutarch – who wrote about only 70,000 Roman soldiers being necessary to a conquest of India – as well as in Trajan's closer associates, speculative dreams about the booty to be obtained by reproducing Macedonian Eastern conquests.[29] Also, it is possible that the attachment of Trajan to an expansionist policy was supported by a powerful circle of conservative senators from Hispania committed to a policy of imperial expansion, first among them being the all-powerful Licinius Sura. One can explain the campaign by the fact that, for the Romans, their empire was in principle unlimited, and that Trajan only took advantage of an opportunity to make idea and reality coincide.[31]
Finally, there are other modern historians who think that Trajan's original aims were purely military and quite modest: to assure a more defensible Eastern frontier for the Roman Empire, crossing Northern Mesopotamia along the course of the Khabur River in order to offer cover to a Roman Armenia. This interpretation is backed by the fact that all subsequent Roman wars against Parthia would aim at establishing a Roman presence deep into Parthia itself.[33]
Timeline [ edit ]
Planning the campaign [ edit ]
The campaign was carefully planned in advance: ten legions were concentrated in the Eastern theater; since 111, the correspondence of Pliny the Younger witnesses to the fact that provincial authorities in Bithynia had to organize supplies for passing troops, and local city councils and their individual members had to shoulder part of the increased expenses by supplying troops themselves.[34] The intended campaign, therefore, was immensely costly from its very beginning.[35]
Armenia [ edit ]
Trajan marched first on Armenia, deposed the Parthian-appointed king (who was afterwards murdered while kept in the custody of Roman troops in an unclear incident, later described by Fronto as a breach of Roman good faith[36]) and annexed it to the Roman Empire as a province, receiving in passing the acknowledgement of Roman hegemony by various tribes in the Caucasus and on the Eastern coast of the Black Sea – a process that kept him busy until the end of 114. At the same time, a Roman column under the legate Lusius Quietus – an outstanding cavalry general[38] who had signaled himself during the Dacian Wars by commanding a unit from his native Mauretania[39] – crossed the Araxes river from Armenia into Media Atropatene and the land of the Mardians (present-day Ghilan). It is possible that Quietus' campaign had as its goal the extending of the newer, more defensible Roman border eastwards towards the Caspian Sea and northwards to the foothills of the Caucasus.[41]
Mesopotamia [ edit ]
The chronology of subsequent events is uncertain, but it is generally believed that early in 115 Trajan launched a Mesopotamian campaign, marching down towards the Taurus mountains in order to consolidate territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He placed permanent garrisons along the way to secure the territory.[42] While Trajan moved from west to east, Lusius Quietus moved with his army from the Caspian Sea towards the west, both armies performing a successful pincer movement, whose apparent result was to establish a Roman presence into the Parthian Empire proper, with Trajan taking the northern Mesopotamian cities of Nisibis and Batnae and organizing a province of Mesopotamia, including the Kingdom of Osrhoene – where King Abgaros VII submitted to Trajan publicly[44] – as a Roman protectorate. This process seems to have been completed at the beginning of 116, when coins were issued announcing that Armenia and Mesopotamia had been put under the authority of the Roman people.[46] The area between the Khabur River and the mountains around Singara seems to have been considered as the new frontier, and as such received a road surrounded by fortresses.
Senatus Consultus) during 116 to commemorate Trajan's Parthian victories. Obverse: bust of Trajan, with laurel crown. Caption: Trajan's titulature. Reverse: Trajan standing between prostrate allegories of Armenia (crowned with a Sestertius issued by the Senate (SC,) during 116 to commemorate Trajan's Parthian victories. Obverse: bust of Trajan, with laurel crown. Caption: Trajan's titulature. Reverse: Trajan standing between prostrate allegories of Armenia (crowned with a tiara ) and the Rivers Tigris & Euphrates. Caption: "Armenia & Mesopotamia put under the authority of the Roman People".
After wintering in Antioch during 115/116 – and, according to literary sources, barely escaping from a violent earthquake that claimed the life of one of the consuls, M. Pedo Virgilianus[48] – Trajan again took to the field in 116, with a view to the conquest the whole of Mesopotamia, an overambitious goal that eventually backfired on the results of his entire campaign. According to some modern historians, the aim of the campaign of 116 was to achieve a "preemptive demonstration" aiming not toward the conquest of Parthia, but for tighter Roman control over the Eastern trade route. However, the overall scarcity of manpower for the Roman military establishment meant that the campaign was doomed from the start.[50] It is noteworthy that no new legions were raised by Trajan before the Parthian campaign, maybe because the sources of new citizen recruits were already over-exploited.
As far as the sources allow a description of this campaign, it seems that one Roman division crossed the Tigris into Adiabene, sweeping south and capturing Adenystrae; a second followed the river south, capturing Babylon; Trajan himself sailed down the Euphrates from Dura-Europos – where a triumphal arch was erected in his honour – through Ozogardana, where he erected a "tribunal" still to be seen at the time of Julian the Apostate's campaigns in the same area. Having come to the narrow strip of land between the Euphrates and the Tigris, he then dragged his fleet overland into the Tigris, capturing Seleucia and finally the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.
He continued southward to the Persian Gulf, when, after his fleet escaped a tidal bore on the Tigris,[54] he received the submission of Athambelus, the ruler of Charax. He declared Babylon a new province of the Empire and had his statue erected on the shore of the Persian Gulf,[55] after which he sent the Senate a laurelled letter declaring the war to be at a close and bemoaning that he was too old to go on any further and repeat the conquests of Alexander the Great. Since Charax was a de facto independent kingdom whose connections to Palmyra were described above, Trajan's bid for the Persian Gulf may have coincided with Palmyrene interests in the region. Another hypothesis is that the rulers of Charax had expansionist designs on Parthian Babylon, giving them a rationale for alliance with Trajan.[57] The Parthian summer capital of Susa was apparently also occupied by the Romans.[58]
According to late literary sources (not backed by numismatic or inscriptional evidence) a province of Assyria was also proclaimed,[59] apparently covering the territory of Adiabene.[60] Some measures seem to have been considered regarding the fiscal administration of Indian trade – or simply about the payment of customs (portoria) on goods traded on the Euphrates and Tigris. It is possible that it was this "streamlining" of the administration of the newly conquered lands according to the standard pattern of Roman provincial administration in tax collecting, requisitions and the handling of local potentates' prerogatives, that triggered later resistance against Trajan.[62]
According to some modern historians, Trajan might have busied himself during his |
LOC). And despite doing everything he could think of to do this correctly and test it properly, the change broke the build because of the binary modules. So having tried this approach a few times now, it appears quite difficult to get right, and as I pointed out above, the lack of actual documentation and real world examples suggests others either aren't using binary modules (which we know isn't true) or haven't had much better luck with this approach.
[3] Like a good Node-based distributed system, our architecture uses lots of small HTTP servers. Each of these serves a REST API using restify. restify uses the binary module node-dtrace-provider, which gives each of our services deep DTrace-based observability for free. So literally almost all of our components are or will soon be depending on a binary add-on. Additionally, the foundation of Cloud Analytics are a pair of binary modules that extract data from DTrace and kstat. So this isn't a corner case for us, and we don't believe we're exceptional in this regard. The popular hiredis package for interfacing with redis from Node is also a binary module.
[4] Note that I said this is an important principle for software version control, not using git in general. People use git for lots of things where checking in binaries and other derived files is probably fine. Also, I'm not interested in proselytizing; if you want to do this for software version control too, go ahead. But don't do it out of ignorance of existing successful software engineering practices.According to TechRadar, Windows 8 is not going to be as customizable as we might have thought.
In an entry of various Windows 8 news, it paraphrased Microsoft’s Chris Flores as indicating that users will not be able to use their own images as the background of the Start Screen. The reason? It might not lead to a high-quality experience. Instead, users will be allowed to pick from packaged options.
Despite the fact that we find this to be comically backwards on its face, it is also a bit insulting. Here’s why, again according to TechRadar paraphrasing Microsoft, users won’t be able to use images from their archives: “[Y]ou wouldn’t want a photograph as the background of the Metro-style Start screen. Not only would a photo not stretch and scale as you add more tiles and groups and zoom in and out of the Start screen, it would also be covered up so much by the tiles that you’d never see it.” That can be condensed down to something shorter: “End users are stupid, so to protect them from ugly, we won’t let them make their own choices.”
Perhaps, and only just maybe, if hundreds of potential backgrounds were included in Windows 8 this might be somewhat acceptable. Instead, there are but 8 included options, one being that ludicrous green that you are no doubt familiar with by now.
Whenever says that I need to be saved from myself, I prickle. Let’s hope that Microsoft reverses this decision and instead allows its users to do whatever the hell they want with the machines that they bought.
Read next: An inside look at ZURB's latest tool for designers: InfluenceA DEPRAVED movie director who was a high priest in the Mormon church when he molested young boys has pleaded guilty to a series of child sexual assaults.
Darran Scott — formerly known as Darran Page — faces years behind bars for his sickening acts of depravity committed against vulnerable boys under his care.
Scott, 52, is most notable for writing and directing the independent movie The Spirit of the Game, which told the real-life story of a team of Mormon basketballers who helped the Australian team prepare for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
He also worked as an actor and freelance cameraman for Channel 9 affiliate WIN.
Today (Monday) he pleaded guilty in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court to 21 charges, including two of raping a boy aged under 16.
Scott met six of his young victims through his position of authority with the Church of Jesus Christ.
media_camera Darran Scott once, jokingly, applied for the job of Australian Cricket captain, and framed his response.
On earning the trust of his victims’ parents, Scott used the boys like his personal sex slaves.
In an act of vile depravity, he forced two teenage boys to strip naked and shoot each other, and himself, in the testicles with an air rifle that fired plastic pellets.
Court documents allege Scott routinely asked his victim’s to measure their genitals where he would laugh and mock them.
The attacks took place within his own home and often while the boys were away with him on holidays.
Police allege one young boy was molested over a four-year period, including on a holiday.
He allegedly assaulted the boy in a hotel room and asked him to go skinny dipping with him in a lake.
Scott admitted to plying some of his victims with sedatives, cannabis and booze.
The abuse dates back to the mid 1990s, with some victims coached by the fiend while playing at a junior football club in Melbourne’s southeast.
Court documents state Scott would threaten the boys if they ever spoke out about their abuse.
One boy claimed Scott warned him that nobody would believe him and if he told his dad he would beat Scott up and go to jail, leaving his family destitute.
Scott was bailed to reappear in court later this month.
[email protected] there are a lot of amazing cars out there, for some reason this is the one I would want to find out in the driveway on Christmas morning! Talk about a beautiful and rare machine! It’s an Arnolt MG Coupe, one of only 67 coupes to be built from the relationship between Mr. Arnolt, Bertone and MG. I’m sure many of you have heard of the Arnolt Bristol, but it’s understandable if you’ve never seen or heard of the Arnolt MG. They didn’t build many and so far there are around 35 missing. The seller claims this one is all original, although I have my doubts, I still would love to have it. You can find this rare beauty here on eBay in Monte Carlo, Monaco with a current bid of £18k ($22k).
The story goes that Mr. Arnolt, a successful Chicago based car distributor spotted a beautiful Bertone bodied MG at the 1952 Turin autoshow. He loved the design so much, he ordered 200 bodies from Bertone and made arrangements with MG to provide him with MG TD chassis to install them on. After building just 102 cars, MG could no longer provide him with TD engines and chassis, leaving Arnolt to figure out how to meet his side of the deal with Bertone. Thankfully he was able to work out a deal with Bristol, giving birth to the Arnolt Bristol. As incredible as those cars are, I would love to have this MG Special.
MG hasn’t ever been known for building high powered engines, but they have a long history of building some wonderful sports cars. The 1.3 liter MG inline 4 only produces about 50 horsepower, but what the TD lacks in power it makes up for in handling prowess. While I’m sure the Bertone body adds a decent amount of weight, I doubt it’s enough to have a drastic impact on handling or performance. This one looks to be in nice and clean shape. That valve cover looks like an aftermarket replacement to me, but otherwise the engine looks to be original. I see some overspray around the engine bay, which suggests this car isn’t as original as the seller states.
The interior doesn’t look all original to me either, but it looks correct. It looks a lot more comfortable than a TD, or any MG T-series for that matter. It is still fairly spartan, but having a roof over your head and roll up windows makes a world of difference when your cruising down the road.
While I don’t believe that this car is all original, it does look to be in great shape and is complete. Finding replacement body and interior parts could be tricky, so having all the correct screws, bolts and trim pieces is extremely important. As much as I love it, I do have one major issue with it, I’d be scared to drive it. When you own a car this is just one of 67 or so left, it becomes your responsibility to protect and preserve it for the future. Once these cars are gone, they will be gone forever. Do you think you could bring yourself to actually drive it everyday or would you share my fears of damaging it? Either way, if it ends up in your driveway on Christmas morning, we sure would love to hear about it!Jared Kushner’s lawyer said Sunday the Senate Judiciary Committee has “jumped the gun” in accusing Trump's son-in-law, who is also a White House senior adviser, of not disclosing documents discussing WikiLeaks and Russian overtures during the 2016 campaign.
Abbe Lowell, who is representing Kushner, told CNN that Kushner in his email exchange rejected the idea of a meeting described as a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite" by the committee.
“If you look at the content of these emails, he’s the hero. He’s the one who’s saying there shouldn’t be any contact with foreign officials or foreign entities,” Lowell told CNN. “That’s what the Senate Judiciary Committee should pay attention to and not create some sort of partisan gotcha game.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Drug execs set for grilling | Washington state to sue over Trump rule targeting Planned Parenthood | Wyoming moves closer to Medicaid work requirements Senate reignites blue slip war over Trump court picks Lower refunds amplify calls to restore key tax deduction MORE (R-Iowa) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinHillicon 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 Ocasio-Cortez adviser says Sunrise confrontation with 'old-timer' Feinstein'sad' Key senators say administration should ban Huawei tech in US electric grid MORE (D-Calif.) on Thursday sent a letter to Lowell demanding additional documents from Kushner as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
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In the letter, the two senators said Kushner received and forwarded emails about WikiLeaks, as well as a communication about a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite.”
The letter, addressed to Lowell, gave him until Nov. 27 to comply with the request for additional documents.
Lowell said Sunday that the committee told Kushner and his team that they could provide initial documents and then hand over other relevant materials. By suggesting Kushner has not provided necessary documents, the committee is undermining its credibility, he said.
“In my communications with the Senate Judiciary Committee, I said, ‘Take these documents, and let’s talk about what else is relevant,’” Lowell told CNN. “They jumped the gun to make a media event.”
Both Kushner and Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE Jr. have come under scrutiny for meeting during the campaign with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE.
Trump Jr. more recently confirmed that he received messages directly from WikiLeaks leading up to the election.In the months and years following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, telling fact from fiction regarding seafood safety and ecosystem health was supremely difficult. Is Gulf seafood safe to eat or not? Are there really deformed shrimp and black lesion-covered red snapper? Will the Gulf ever be clean again?
A large part of the confusion was due to the connected, yet distinct, seafood issues surrounding the spill. Whether the seafood was safe for humans to eat was mixed with stories of the future of Gulf fisheries; harm done to wild fish was conflated with health of the seafood supply.
To clear up some of the confusion, here are seven topics of concern, some still unresolved, about the Gulf Oil Spill, brought to you by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI). These should help you better understand the spill’s effects on seafood and wildlife.
#1: Once oil enters the Gulf, it will stay there indefinitely.
The fate of oil is difficult to assess because it isn’t any single chemical; it’s instead a complex mixture of different-but-related chemicals that started out as dead plants and animals. Buried deep in the earth and placed under heat and pressure for millions of years, their bodies break down and the hydrogen and carbon rearrange into the components of oil. First they bond together to form long chains. Over time, some of those chains loop into strings of two to seven rings.
Crude oil contains the whole spectrum of these chemicals, from large to small; they degrade at different rates, and some can damage wildlife while others are harmless. The main question then is how long the dangerous chemicals in oil will persist in the Gulf.
When the spill began, many people immediately assumed that oil entering the ecosystem would never break down. That’s because we are so familiar with environmental contaminants that stick around for a very long time, such as DDT, CFCs, or mercury. These take a long time to degrade naturally (or don't at all in the case of mercury), and hence persevere in the environment for a very long time.
In contrast, oil “can be readily degraded,” said Ed Overton, who studies the fate of oil after spills at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and is a lead researcher with GoMRI. “We’re talking about a completely different type of chemical.”
Oil that dissolves into or mixes with water can be broken down by bacteria—and, fortunately, the Gulf of Mexico is loaded with oil-eating bacteria. Between 560,000 and 1,400,000 barrels of oil leak into the Gulf every year from natural oil seeps, and where there's a source of energy, you can generally find bacteria. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, the spill originated in the deep sea where the oil-degrading bacteria are also found, which helped them to start breaking down the oil quickly.
But for those bacteria to do their job, they need oxygen, and lots of it. As such, the most dangerous place for oil to end up is in marshes. There, oil can easily get buried in the low-oxygen soil and bind with the sediment, where it cannot be broken down and remains until it is flooded out by a storm. And if it sticks around there, being slowly released by flooding events over the course of decades, it can do harm to the 98 percent of commercially-important Gulf species that are dependent on saltwater marshlands during their lifecycle.
It's also possible that some oil sank as it was colonized by bacteria, sticking to and clumping with other floating particles on its way to the deep sea. In some cases, it was buried under the seafloor, where bacteria couldn’t access it as well. So if there is oil that stuck around in the Gulf, marshes and buried seafloor sediments are the places you'd find it.
#2: If a fish or other animal eats oil, it will remain in its body forever and get passed up the food chain.
Some of the oil got in the way of marine life before bacteria had time to break it down. Animals and plants that were physically coated with oil often died. But many animals that ingested smaller amounts of oil in the water have ways to get rid of the dangerous oil molecules, which are known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs.
When we eat or inhale PAHs, our bodies recognize them as impurities and send them to the liver—our clearinghouse for contaminants—to be broken down. During that process, enzymes break up oil chemicals into mostly less dangerous forms that typically are dissolved in urine and disposed of through normal body processes. However, some of the compounds that result from this breakdown can pose cancer risk. (More on this in the next section.)
Similar to exposed people, exposed fish will clear PAHs out of their muscles and organs within a few days to weeks. After that short window, the PAHs are not passed up the food chain because they aren’t being stored in the fish’s tissues. If that fish is then caught and sold at market, there should be no additional risk to people.
Oysters, mussels and other bivalves don’t have this enzyme system, so they hold onto oil contaminants for longer and in the short term can pass them onto people and other predators. But over time they release these contaminants across their gills back into the environment. Because of these factors (along with the need to be absolutely certain that the fish were safe), NOAA and the FDA closed Gulf fisheries during and after the spill to do extensive testing of seafood to make sure it was safe for human consumption.
In the months after the spill, federal and state agencies tested seafood for carcinogenic PAHs, heavy metals, and dispersants, going through some 10,000 samples. They rarely found any levels of concern; where they did detect measurable PAHs, it was hundreds or thousands of times below the limits that would raise health worries. The fisheries remained closed for a period of time after the initial spill as a precautionary measure and were slowly reopened after testing.
“Given the low levels of PAHs we found, when we found them at all, someone could eat 63 lbs of peeled shrimp (that’s 1,575 jumbo shrimp); or 5 lbs. of oyster meat (that’s 130 individual oysters); or 9 lbs. of fish (that’s 18 8-ounce fish filets) every day for five years and still not reach the levels of concern,” wrote Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods, in a blog post.
#3: All oil is poison.
No person in her right mind would eat a spoonful of crude oil, or eat a fish that was obviously contaminated. Oil in large amounts is not safe to ingest, inhale, or even handle. But when the body breaks it down to its small parts—the individual molecules and compounds that compose oil— there is much less risk to people or animals.
The portion of oil that poses the greatest risk to animals, including humans are the ringed molecules—the PAHs—because they can damage DNA. A newly developing organism with damaged DNA will often die, while DNA damage in older organisms can cause cancer. In particular, it’s the moderate-sized molecules that are considered the most harmful, like two-ringed naphthalenes (which are also found in mothballs) and three-ringed phenanthrenes (used to make dyes and plastics), because they can both damage DNA and dissolve in water, which gives them a route into an organism’s tissues and cells. These are broken down into smaller, harmless molecules through bacterial decomposition over time and some are readily lost to evaporation.
Luckily, the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill happened to be a light crude oil, rather than the heavier crude oil released during the Exxon Valdez incident. As such it mainly contained small and moderately-sized molecules—the ones that can dissolve in water and be degraded.
"While some compounds evaporated at the surface, we think that most of them dissolved in the water column at 1,100-meter depth and dispersed in the deep water," said Overton. There they would be broken down by oil-eating bacteria already present in the environment.
All of which is to say—yes, oil can be dangerous and it's best to prevent large amounts from entering the environment. But not all of it is poison, and the oil that spilled in the Gulf was less toxic than many forms of crude oil.
#4: The mixture of oil and dispersant is more toxic than either one alone.
During the spill, BP and various federal agencies applied 1.84 million gallons of dispersants to help break up the spill. Dispersants are similar to strong dishwashing soap and help to break oil down into smaller particles. The jury is still out on whether dispersants make oil more toxic.
You can imagine that it would take a long time for bacteria to degrade a massive oil slick if it had to start at the outside and work its way in. Broken up into small particles, bacteria can access the oil molecules more easily and have more time to degrade them before they wash ashore and get stuck in marshes.
While theoretically that sounds like a good idea, the decision to use dispersants was widely criticized. Part of this was very legitimate criticism and concern: While dispersants aren't known to hurt people in small doses (and all but one of the ingredients that make up the dispersants used in the Gulf are licensed by the FDA for use in food), we don't know much about how their presence in the environment affects wildlife, especially in such large amounts. The general feeling was: "do we need to dump more chemicals into the Gulf on top of all this oil?"
So when a paper came out claiming that the combination of dispersant and oil was three to 52 times more toxic than either one alone, observers of the spill were ready and waiting. Primed to expect the worst, fears were confirmed: we have made an already-toxic spill even more toxic.
But that sweeping statement obscures the real interaction between oil and dispersants. Dispersants don't change any inherent properties of oil molecules to make them more toxic; what they do is make the toxic PAHs more available to animals in the water column.
Fish and other large animals aren't going to intentionally eat globs of oil floating on the surface of the water. But animals have a harder time recognizing and avoiding smaller particles or ones dissolved in water, so they are more likely to be harmed by the dispersant-oil combination. Similarly, breaking the oil up into smaller particles and droplets makes them available to larval organisms and other small animals.
In exchange for making the toxic parts of oil more available to wildlife, those same parts were also available to bacteria. It was definitely a gamble; one couldn't be sure that the oil-eating bacteria would be as effective as they were. "Dispersants are a bad option to have to use, but it's a worse option to not use them," said Overton.
#5: The oil is mutating fish, destroying their populations, and putting our country's seafood at risk.
In the years following the spill, there were reports of misshapen or mutated fish. Eyeless shrimp. Tiny, clawless crabs. Fish covered in black lesions. Fish filled with a "black substance."
And often these observations led to widespread statements about the health of the country's seafood supply. One widely-read article in Al Jazeera read: "Given that the Gulf of Mexico provides more than 40 per cent of all the seafood caught in the continental US, this phenomenon does not bode well for the region, or the country."
It's crucial to remember that hurt to the Gulf fisheries will not threaten the country's seafood supply. While the Gulf is an important and significant source of certain types of seafood—70 percent of U.S. oysters, 69 percent of U.S. shrimp—it only supplied 18 percent of all U.S. seafood the year before the spill.
There weren't very good records kept of the mutations, but even if all of those reported were true, it's not as big a concern as you might think. Sure, they are ugly and scary. But the mutations and deformities that would hurt the Gulf fisheries most would happen to young fish—and would kill them before fishermen could catch and report them.
How do these deformities happen? It comes back to PAHs again. If PAHs cause DNA damage to an adult fish, it can cause cancer. DNA damage to a young fish can cause developmental problems that kill it, or it could survive with deformities. The more important question, and one that’s still poorly understood, is whether DNA damage will be passed on to future generations. That depends on whether a fish’s eggs or sperm were damaged, changes which could be passed on to offspring.
The lesions are scary because sometimes they look like black, oily open sores. But they aren't caused by direct contact with oil. "They develop because the fish is under a lot of stress—whether it’s from toxins in the water, not having enough food, or not being able to move out of the area," said Deb Murie, a fisheries ecologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville and lead investigator with GoMRI. "It's just like us: when we get stressed out it really impacts our immune systems.”
#6: If fisheries were going to crash, we would have seen it by now.
We still don’t know the long-term effects of the spill on fish populations. But we do know that the immediate danger to fisheries is damage to larvae that kills them before they grow up.
Without an oil spill, most larvae—around 99 percent— end up dying before they grow up. Larvae that aren't in good condition, like those damaged by oil, are weeded out of the population quickly by predators. This is why fish lay so many millions of eggs; only a few will survive.
If oil damaged fish larvae, those would be weeded out with the other 99 percent of larvae that do not grow to adulthood and things will be fine, right? That is a possibility, depending on how much larvae of a given species interacted with oil.
But "relatively small changes in mortality rates in early life stages can have big ramifications," said Frank Hernandez, who studies early life stages in fisheries oceanography at the University of Southern Mississippi in Ocean Springs and is a lead investigator with GoMRI. "Let’s say that for that one percent that survive, the food they need isn’t there for them, or they have some reduced heart capacity or some other critical body function. That’s not an effect you’re going to see right off the bat—not until they finally mature and enter the fishery.”
So when do they mature? Amberjack, for example, are caught at ages three or four, as are flatfish; any effects to fisheries due to the spill four years ago would be revealed in the coming season. Some fish species, like menhaden, are caught at younger ages, so we would have seen a fishery crash already. Meanwhile, others, like bluefin tuna, get caught at older ages so it will take more time.
"We’re just starting to get to the time period where we’ll be able to say something about it," Murie said. "In the next 3-5 years, I think we’ll feel a lot better if we see no effect.”
Many of the effects will also depend on when the fish released their eggs during the oil spill and where. Fish species, like red snapper, that spawn throughout the summer and throughout the Gulf will probably be fine, since there was a wide window of time and space for some eggs to be in unaffected water. But species like the bluefin tuna, whose spawning range and timing coincided with the spill, could potentially be in more trouble, as studies have found that tuna embryos develop heart problems when exposed to oil.
Another crucial confounding factor is that, shortly after the spill began, Gulf fisheries in the area were closed. There was essentially a whole season where fish were allowed to grow and reproduce without human interference by harvest. The adult females that produce the most eggs were able to spawn for an extra year before being caught, which means there was more larvae around to start with. This might mask some of the harm caused by the oil itself.
Without good data, researchers are hesitant to speculate on exactly how the spill affected fisheries. “It's inconceivable to me that there was no damage to fish populations from that much oil," said Overton. But whether that damage will change adult populations is not yet known, he added.
Hernandez noted that people always want to compare the Gulf spill with the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, where the herring fishery crashed four years later. "There's a cautionary tale there so we’re on guard. But this is a very different system,” he said.
The Gulf of Mexico is very large and open, giving mobile organisms plenty of space free from oil. The spill occurred 50 miles offshore, limiting the amount of oil that reached the estuaries and marshes that so many fish species rely upon. The frequency of natural oil seeps ensured that plenty of oil-degrading bacteria were around and ready to clean up. And the Gulf’s waters are much warmer than those of Alaska, especially during the summer, speeding up oil breakdown by bacteria.
“I’m optimistic,” Hernandez said. “I think the nature of the Gulf is going to be somewhat resilient.”
#7: Anything bad that happens in the Gulf can be attributed to the spill.
Since the spill, whenever anything "bad" happens in the Gulf, people automatically connect it to the spill. This isn't a bad impulse; the spill potentially did a lot of damage and left a huge emotional impact on the country.
But the Gulf as an ecosystem was far from pristine before the spill. Some 41 percent of the continental U.S.— mainly fertilized farmland—drains down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. This carries 1.7 million tons of nutrients (pdf) into the Gulf each year, causing massive growth of phytoplankton and plankton that consume all the oxygen out of the water. The massive growth forms a "dead zone" of low-oxygen water with little life near the bottom, averaging around 6,000 square miles in the Gulf. In the waters above the bottom, dead zones can cause reproductive problems in fish or, more frequently, just kill larvae and eggs outright. There are also other sources of pollution, such as oil leaks from vessels and toxins in runoff from land.
In addition to all these human influences, the Gulf has a lot of natural variability. Saltiness and temperature change through the year and big storms or hurricanes can shift coastlines and damage infrastructure. These all will affect the survival and health of animals, making it hard to separate man-made from natural influences.
This doesn't mean the spill did no harm, or that we should stop looking for effects of the spill because it would just be too difficult to identify direct causes. However, we need to be careful about where we lay our blame. We shouldn’t assume that all negative events in the Gulf since April 2010 were the fault of the spill. This not only obscures other potential problems, but also keeps us from fully understanding the impacts of oil spills. Without this understanding, we’ll be ill prepared for the next big spill.Stereotyping Japan
In 1945, The Saturday Evening Post proudly proclaimed that “The G.I. Is Civilizing the Jap” by showing the “savage” and “dirty” natives how to fix cars without breaking them, and how to go to the bathroom. A 1951 follow-up subsequently reported that the Japanese they visited six year prior, with their nightsoil gardens and Shintoism, now had gas stoves and Christianity! This idea, that the American Occupation would teach the Japanese how to act like modern men and women, was quite strong at the end of the Pacific War.
For General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Occupation administration (SCAP), democratizing Japan was as much a personal manifest destiny for him as America’s presence in Asia was a benevolent historical one. Since basic cultural stereotypes underwrote US policy and media coverage, the primary debate among the participants was about the Japanese people’s perceived educability by American teachers. The story of the Occupation, from 1945 to 1952, is about shared assumptions regarding the limitations of the Japanese psyche: how much racism would be applied, basically. In the end, the conservative viewpoint won out, due mainly to concerns about alleged communist infiltration, and ideas about the Japanese being naturally vulnerable to Bolshevism.
During WWII, the ruthlessness of the island hopping campaign, and revelations of war crimes throughout Asia had hardened American attitudes towards the Japanese. Frank Capra’s Why We Fight documentary series, especially the first installment, and his undistributed film Know Your Enemy: Japan (1945) embodied these views and helped shape them. Prelude to War (1942) certainly divided the world into good and bad guys. There was a free world and a slave world, which was colored in shadows, where “the march of history [is] reversing itself” and which “must die” if the US is to survive.
Prelude‘s primary focus was cultural difference: to make the GI aware that his enemies’ value system was the opposite of his, and that his was the just, modern, and thinking man’s cause. Capra’s The Battle of China (1944) proceeded to expand on the cultural characteristics of Japan that led to the war by contrasting China and Japan. China, despite its fragmentation and medievalism, had taken the “right” stuff from the West. Its people understood capitalism and constitutionalism. The Japanese did not. They only understood double-crossing and conquest – their “borrowing” was plagiarism without understanding, and their whole war machine was built on cheap knockoffs and grand deceptions. And the US “let” these “barbarians” get away with it because it did not understand what fanatical dreamers they were.
But why were the Japanese such dreamers? Know Your Enemy: Japan was meant to offer the definitive answer on that: the Japanese are volcanoes that all the humanitarianism is “burned out of” at a young age. Even the musical score reinforced this. Fantasia had been released in 1940, and anyone who had seen it would have recognized the soundtrack. Know Your Enemy borrowed the music used during the Disney feature’s most violent and supernatural sequences.
Demonization was not a consensus easily arrived at by the production crew, though. The film took so long to produce (and was deemed unnecessary in the end) because the War Department kept demanding it emphasize the Japanese people’s “negative” racial qualities – as “mad dogs” – while the screenwriters thought it would be better to blame Japan’s leaders and adopt a patronizing tone towards the “dumb” commoners. The War Department’s hardline views won out. “Whatever Japan took from the West or the Chinese, the warlords never took the moral or ethical principles that went with them.” The Japanese were barbarians, and even a serious academic journal, Far Eastern Survey, wondered if an occupation could succeed without “wholesale slaughter.”
However, as the US advanced on the home islands, and it became clear there would be a postwar occupation, this tone began to decline. Propagandists, bureaucrats, and journalists now focused on the question of the Japanese mind, the molding of “a developing Asian consciousness,” in the words of Secretary of State Dean Acheson. This represented a turn from wartime propaganda, which depicted the Japanese as alien, insectile, and simian.
Now, the official line was that “it is a mistake to think that all Japanese are predominantly the monkey-man type.” The Saturday Evening Post, in an indication of this evolving thinking, posited in September 1944 that the good behavior of Japanese and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii showed that the Japanese in Japan “can, in time, be turned into decent, law-respecting citizens” too and were not “a hopeless immoral race” after all. So, the Japanese could be redeemed. But how?
It was clear that the old certainties were useless. “There was a school of thought that believed it possible to determine the friends of the United States by table etiquette,” wrote SCAP economics officer E. M. Hadley in her memoir, “those with beautiful table manners were friends; those ignorant of such matters were not.” She felt that these individuals gravitated towards those Japanese most implicated in imperialism. This was a clear indictment of people like former Ambassador Joseph Grew, who surrounded himself with cosmopolitan Japanese that ultimately supported the Empire.
The idea of “genuine” Westernized Japanese, which is how redemption would take place, was therefore a tricky one. Here, a more cautious racism emerged than the imperial idea of baptizing the Japanese in Western values. The most common refrain from Grew’s critics, in fact, was not that he was a big business conservative, as later historians like Howard Schonberger would charge, but that he had been bamboozled by Japan’s “wily” fake liberals. Wealthy, squeezing, unscrupulous, and false were words of choice for these men. Duplicity was a perfected Japanese art form, and Americans – like ostriches with their heads in the sand – fell for it.
Grew himself supported this characterization: he did not think anything better could be expected of the “Yamato race.” Though his views were less extreme than the more openly racist feelings expressed by other U.S. officials, it was still grounded in a racial determinism: they “dress like us,” but “they don’t think as we do.” In contrast, the “reputable citizens” who peppered Grew’s memoir, Ten Years in Japan reads as a yearbook of Imperial Japanese high society. These were the people who would resume the westernization of Japan.
Grew knew and respected this old guard- men who the New Dealers from the start regarded as revanchist liabilities. They, Grew’s friend Joseph Ballantine told George F. Kennan in 1947, were “able to raise Japan from a feudal state into a first class power in the course of seventy-five years,” after all. Grew and his more business-minded associates, in what became know as the Japan Lobby after his retirement, were ideologically very close to these nobles, prewar politicians, and zaibatsu families. Despite all of the talk about alien Japanese mentalities and childish inferiority complex, one very strong trans-Pacific cultural connection before the war, and that was through the business communities that Grew and his allies circled through in both countries.
Most other areas of possible cultural exchange were anemic. What followed was only logical. American skeptics of the New Deal at home, like Grew and Ballantine, also skeptical of the “common” Japanese person’s capacity for free thinking, came to share the views of Japan’s ruling class that any substantial reforms would bring anarchy. “[My] experience [has] shown that democracy in Japan would never work,” Grew had concluded just before the war’s end.
Talk of social reforms that were “capable of jarring loose the psychological blinders and strait jackets which have been imposed on the Japanese” genuinely worried both Grew and his prewar friends in Japan. All agreed: American democracy and labor standards were not suited to Japan, and any attempt to dilute their power would end in a communist takeover. It is fascinating that American racism would ally with Japanese classism in such a manner to quash substantive democracy in the country. At the same time, though, it is a familiar story in many post-colonial states.
Thomas Arthur Bisson, briefly a member of SCAP and already a popular academic on Japan |
to defeat everyone on the opposing team's roster (5 wins, or a best of 9), will move on in the Winners Bracket, while the loser will drop down into the Losers Bracket. Keep in mind that this has a $20,000 prize pool, and only six teams will make it to the money!
Evil Geniuses
DeMusliM
ThorZaIN
PuMa
IdrA
LzGaMeR
Machine
JYP
iNcontroL
HuK
Infinity Seven
Pyre
jEcho
CrazymoviNG
Sanddbox
Insur
Axslav
DeMusliMThorZaINPuMaIdrALzGaMeRMachineJYPiNcontroLHuKPyrejEchoCrazymoviNGSanddboxInsurAxslav
The First Game of the IPL Team Arena Challenge 3 is on Tuesday, May 22 11:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) (we will also have a European re-broadcast as usual at Wednesday, May 23 5:30pm GMT (GMT+00:00) )
Poll: Who Will Win?!
Evil Geniuses (98)
82%
Infinity Seven (22)
18%
120 total votes (98)82%(22)18%120 total votes Your vote: Who Will Win?! (Vote): Evil Geniuses
(Vote): Infinity Seven
Results!
+ Show Spoiler [EG vs Infinity 7 Results] + IdrA < Daybreak > Sanddbox
IdrA < Entombed Valley > Insur
IdrA < Tal'Darim Altar > Axslav
IdrA < Antiga Shipyard > jEcho
DeMusliM < Sanshorn Mist > jEcho
DeMusliM < Metropolis > CrazymoviNG
iNcontroL < Ohana > CrazymoviNG
JYP < Cloud Kingdom > CrazymoviNG
Congratulations to Evil Geniuses, winning 5-3! They move on to WR2, and Infinity Seven falls to LR1!
Map List
IPLMap Sanshorn Mists AE
IPLMap Atlantis Spaceship
IPLMap Antiga Shipyard
IPLMap Daybreak
IPLMap Tal'Darim Altar LE
IPLMap Cloud Kingdom
IPLMap Metropolis
IPLMap Ohana
IPLMap Entombed Valley
All the maps can be found on NA, EU, or KR by searching for IPLMap!
The first map will be on a set rotation, and then it is loser's pick.
Casters
This week's games will be commentated by CatsPajamas and Doa!W_henever a friend asks me if I have any interesting tales involving text-messaging, I think of Jeremy. Jeremy, a man I am no longer in touch with, was someone I once considered a friend. It started out very simply: one day I received a text message from a phone number I did not recognize. Intrigued, I replied, and thus began an intimate and illuminating correspondence. I wish to share with you now my record of this peculiar kinship._
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/5 9:46 PM
sup you comnig to this thing?
MICHAEL 12/5 9:46 PM
hi oops I don’t know this number. I’m Michael, who is this?
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/5 9:58 PM
oops my mistake
MICHAEL 12/5 9:58 PM
hahahaha no problem—happens...where are you anyway? Like what city? Los Angeles? or...
MICHAEL 12/5 10:06 PM
I’m in LA
MICHAEL 12/5 10:34 PM
haha. I don’t really recognize your area #
—
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/6 11:39 AM
oh shit just saw yur messages yea I live north of la wish i lived down there tho :p
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/6 11:40 AM
sorry for the wrong number. peace
MICHAEL 12/6 11:42 AM
hey listen I already said don’t worry about it and I meant it. it’s no problem.
MICHAEL 12/6 11:46 AM
?
MICHAEL 12/6 12:14 PM
aaaannyway haha. how was da party?
:}
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/6 12:59 PM
not bad. not like a hollywood party lol like where you live. thad be fun
MICHAEL 12/6 1:30 PM
you should come to town one night and I’ll take you to a party at my buddy Michael Cera’s house
MICHAEL 12/6 1:43 PM
the actor haha
—
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/7 4:53 PM
you know him? yahh man thad be sick hes a cool
MICHAEL 12/7 4:59 PM
really? you don’t think his range is limited?
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/7 5:04 PM
lol nah whadever may be true
MICHAEL 12/7 5:14 PM
hahahahahahha
MICHAEL 12/7 5:19 PM
anyway i was just kidding before that’s actually me
MICHAEL 12/7 5:25 PM
hahaha
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/7 5:37 PM
huh? yur michael cera??
MICHAEL 12/7 5:38 PM
hahahahahahaah
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/7 5:39 PM
tha actor?
MICHAEL 12/7 5:41 PM
yes except I spell it with capital letters at the beginning of my first and last names, kind of like a display of common respect kind of thing
MICHAEL 12/7 11:48 PM
but yeah I’m that Michael Cera...
MICHAEL 12/7 11:54 PM
hahaha
—
MICHAEL 12/8 7:11 AM
didn’t catch your name btw...
—
UNKNOWN NUMBER 12/9 12:39 PM
yah my name is jeremy i live in delano ca. had your number confused with a friend from la lol. sorry bout that. peace
MICHAEL 12/9 12:39 PM
nice to meet you Jeremy, what’s your last name anyway? right now I just have you saved as “Jeremy Delano” haha
MICHAEL 12/9 12:48 PM
and that won’t do, will it? ahahaha
—
JEREMY 12/10 7:20 PM
yoooooooo i just saw you on tv ha so fucking weird
MICHAEL 12/10 7:20 PM
no way! what was it? one of my Films?
MICHAEL 12/10 7:28 PM
?
JEREMY 12/10 7:41 PM
yah a movie...you as a caveman
MICHAEL 12/10 8:13 PM
“Year One”! a comedy I made with Jack Black. really cool guy
MICHAEL 12/10 8:18 PM
you would really like him, he’s funny
MICHAEL 12/10 8:27 PM
and it was directed by Harold Ramis another comic luminary...haha
JEREMY 12/10 9:48 PM
hah nah it wasn’t that
MICHAEL 12/10 9:49 PM
yes it was :/
MICHAEL 12/11 1:41 AM
not really worth arguing about haha
JEREMY 12/11 12:08 PM
nah man no argument. all good right?
MICHAEL 12/11 12:08 PM
right!
MICHAEL 12/11 12:09 PM
k whoa you just now woke me up from craiest dream ever starring harry potter...tha fuck!? hehehe
MICHAEL 12/11 12:34 PM
our minds can be interesting some times...
Already I had become fascinated with Jeremy. It was clear that he was unsure exactly where the boundaries lay between celebrity and civilian, and he was afraid of accidentally overextending himself. Thankfully, he soon found his way to overcoming this feeling, and chanced an invitation.
JEREMY 12/19 4:33 PM
you party ever man?
MICHAEL 12/19 4:34 PM
hey man! your thumbs must have been burning because I was just texting someone about you!
MICHAEL 12/19 4:36 PM
yeah sometimes I party. just for fun
JEREMY 12/19 4:52 PM
yah man you should come by my friend j’s house
MICHAEL 12/19 4:52 PM
hahahahahah does his name have any other letters in it or is it just that one?
MICHAEL 12/19 4:56 PM
anyway...like when?
MICHAEL 12/19 5:05 PM
is it like a big group of people over there? is it weird if I don’t bring anything?
JEREMY 12/19 5:19 PM
it’s just me an j. he seen you in juno
MICHAEL 12/19 5:19 PM
oh cool! “Juno” was a really fun experience for Me
MICHAEL 12/19 5:21 PM
the script was really strong and the director Jason Reitman had a vision
MICHAEL 12/19 5:26 PM
what’s address? I’ll make a lotta soup and bringit! yyeeeeeah!
MICHAEL 12/19 8:47 PM
cool so I guess prolly I’ll just flush all this soup down the toilet...?
JEREMY 12/19 8:58 PM
hsit sorry hada pick up my sister and i was tired
MICHAEL 12/19 8:59 PM
yeah well fuck you too
JEREMY 12/19 10:42 PM
haha whoa chill
MICHAEL 12/20 3:30 AM
I don’t mean to be so pissed off but I made a lot of soup and nobody got to eat it
MICHAEL 12/20 3:31 AM
cause i dumped it into toilet when i got mad
MICHAEL 12/20 3:33 AM
so I thought that was kind of fucked i hate wastefullness and yeah its all over the floor of my bathroom now little bit
MICHAEL 12/20 3:40 AM
but thats nodyboys fault but mine i guess sorry I lost my cool I’m just a person too believe it or not. yeah so what are you up to?
JEREMY 12/20 11:28 AM
chillin dealin with people actin crazy
MICHAEL 12/20 11:29 AM
what people??? Me???
JEREMY 12/20 12:53 PM
nah
—
MICHAEL 12/23 3:08 PM
you got any kids? just realized I don’t know that...
MICHAEL 12/23 3:12 PM
cue jeopardy music...
MICHAEL 12/23 3:18 PM
haha...sensitive subject?
JEREMY 12/23 6:09 PM
nope
MICHAEL 12/23 6:12 PM
same. want to though. gotta meet the right girl. she’s out there somewhere! if you see her, give her my number! ha!
MICHAEL 12/23 7:49 PM
please really though please don’t give my number out to people cause I don’t want a bunch of weirdos like calling and wanting to meet Me and stuff
MICHAEL 12/23 7:55 PM
I appreciate fans though! just need space
JEREMY 12/23 8:53 PM
ya must be fuckin weird bein a actor
Despite our never having met, I now considered myself fluent in Jeremy’s emotional language. What I perceived intuitively was that he was unsure of who around him he could turn to for solace and fellowship. Fortunately for both of us, I’ve never been one to turn away from a challenge that I felt I could manage.
MICHAEL 12/24 8:55 AM
hey what are you up to tomorrow?
MICHAEL 12/24 9:23 AM
haha would you like to phone a friend or ask the audience maybe?
JEREMY 12/24 11:58 AM
i’m goin to my sisters house in south taft, t town. wht about u?
MICHAEL 12/24 12:10 PM
oh wow! and you guys are doing a family christmas type thing?
JEREMY 12/24 12:51 PM
xactly
MICHAEL 12/24 1:03 PM
is it like weird that you don’t have your own family so you are going and staying with hers on christmas?
JEREMY 12/24 1:14 PM
nah man shes the best
MICHAEL 12/24 1:47 PM
no way man that’s too sad. why don’t you drag your ass down to LA and hang with Me and some buddies of mine?
MICHAEL 12/24 2:09 PM
what do you think man? please let me know quick cause I’m at grocery store and need to know how much crane sauce to buy. ha!
MICHAEL 12/24 2:46 PM
*(A picture message of six cans of cranberry sauce in a shopping cart.)
MICHAEL 12/24 6:36 PM
hey Jeremy, you on your way? or...
JEREMY 12/24 6:43 PM
yoo just saw these. i’m in t town!
JEREMY 12/24 6:54 PM
*(A picture message of Jeremy, mouth open, holding a whole raw turkey up to his face.)
MICHAEL 12/24 6:55 PM
whoa!!! you’re black?
MICHAEL 12/24 7:23 PM
damn! I thought you were coming over...I sort of got a bunch of food, think your sister’d mind if I came up there?
JEREMY 12/24 8:22 PM
prolly not cool, we don’t see each other much. plus it’s a long ass drive from la lol
MICHAEL 12/24 10:19 PM
haha yeah my sister is the same way! hey actually I’m just pulling into south taft now like near the big town square, is your sister’s house kind of near here?
MICHAEL 12/24 10:21 PM
or...
JEREMY 12/24 10:25 PM
nah not really its kind of far actually
MICHAEL 12/24 10:26 PM
can’t be that far
MICHAEL 12/24 10:28 PM
can you give Me a break man? give me the address it’s getting silly
MICHAEL 12/24 10:32 PM
times up loser sorry.
MICHAEL 12/24 10:35 PM
going back to LA
JEREMY 12/24 10:45 PM
shit drive safe man
—
MICHAEL 12/25 1:33 AM
got home safe merry xams
—
JEREMY 1/3 8:40 PM
wer you in zombieland?
MICHAEL 1/3 8:42 PM
hi man. no. that’s jesse eisenberg
MICHAEL 1/3 8:43 PM
I also was not in adventureland
MICHAEL 1/3 8:48 PM
yeah there’s a thing called imdb
JEREMY 1/3 9:09 PM
oh dam! i thought that was you
JEREMY 1/3 9:10 PM
haha
MICHAEL 1/3 9:12 PM
I know
—
MICHAEL 1/5 12:01 PM
wow!!! we’ve been friends for a month! crazy...
MICHAEL 1/5 12:09 PM
time moves.
MICHAEL 1/5 12:46 PM
sorry bout our christmas fight we had. your sis is mad at me? or...
Here came a brief hiatus in our correspondence. I was somewhat confused by the up-and-down nature of our nascent friendship, but I knew enough about trust issues to understand that, to a man as sensitive as Jeremy, trust must be introduced in micro-increments.
MICHAEL 3/6 9:45 PM
haha my car is so dirty...I just found a cheese on the floor from like a thousand years ago hahaha!
MICHAEL 3/6 9:51 PM
?
—
JEREMY 3/13 5:53 PM
yup see you there
MICHAEL 3/13 5:54 PM
huh???! ware???
MICHAEL 3/13 5:56 PM
????
JEREMY 3/13 6:23 PM
oh shit sorry ahaha was suppose to send that to a diffrent person...
MICHAEL 3/13 10:39 PM
ah I hate when that happens. you too?
—
MICHAEL 4/18 4:44 AM
hope you’re good man
—
JEREMY 4/26 10:43 PM
I LUV UR MOVIES!!!
MICHAEL 4/26 10:45 PM
hahaha! well! thank you very much sir...
MICHAEL 4/26 10:46 PM
the pleasure was mine to have worked on them
MICHAEL 4/26 10:47 PM
some of them anyway...hahahahahah!
MICHAEL 4/26 11:33 PM
how you been, bitch?
MICHAEL 4/26 11:36 PM
(:p)
—
JEREMY 4/27 2:42 PM
sorry about that that was my friend caitlin, she loves your movies
MICHAEL 4/27 2:44 PM
haha that makes sense. I thought to myself wow this is out of character
MICHAEL 4/27 2:45 PM
like just texting me out of noware wit a compliment! haha bitces is crazy
MICHAEL 4/27 2:47 PM
*nowhere
MICHAEL 4/27 2:49 PM
**bitches are crazy
MICHAEL 4/27 6:41 PM
anyway tell her thanks! maybe we can all go to dinner soon...
MICHAEL 4/27 8:39 PM
tuesday maybe?
MICHAEL 4/27 11:10 PM
J?
—
MICHAEL 5/15 5:36 PM
I’m going to Vegas!!! haha. want to come with?
MICHAEL 5/15 5:38 PM
probably be more fun than going alone!
—
MICHAEL 5/18 4:38 PM
heading back to LA. you have have have HAVE to see Jersey Boys
MICHAEL 5/18 4:50 PM
I saw it twice in two days hahahaha you think that’s weird?
JEREMY 5/18 6:23 PM
haha nah
JEREMY 5/18 6:24 PM
least it wasn’t three times ha
MICHAEL 5/18 6:25 PM
ahhahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!
MICHAEL 5/18 6:27 PM
no just twice...hahaha!
MICHAEL 5/18 6:28 PM
o my god
MICHAEL 5/18 6:30 PM
I just laughed so hard I had to pull over!!!!!!!!! hahahahahA!
MICHAEL 5/18 6:31 PM
god...
MICHAEL 5/18 7:58 PM
i almost crash before
—
MICHAEL 5/23 5:42 PM
god. remember the Jersey Boys thing?
MICHAEL 5/23 5:46 PM
what are you up to biatch?
—
MICHAEL 5/28 7:45 PM
god I just had the most ridiculous conversation with my publicist
MICHAEL 5/28 7:58 PM
she was just saying that I should tweet more photos of myself with friends
MICHAEL 5/28 8:00 PM
like to make myself more likable or something haha. to my followers...she has no clue!
JEREMY 5/28 9:02 PM
weird
MICHAEL 5/28 9:04 PM
yes! that’s what I said too. anyway could be a fun excuse to get a party together
MICHAEL 5/28 9:06 PM
maybe you get some buddies together and it could be an opportunity for us all to hang out together and meet Me
MICHAEL 5/28 11:43 PM
what day is good for you guys?
—
JEREMY 6/7 6:07 PM
yo man how you doing?
MICHAEL 6/7 6:07 PM
hey man! I’m good how are you doing?
JEREMY 6/7 6:12 PM
up to anything tonight?
MICHAEL 6/7 6:12 PM
not really how about you???????
JEREMY 6/7 6:20 PM
yah well i been hangin out wit this girl caitlin and she really likes yur movies and wants to meet you really bad
JEREMY 6/7 6:21 PM
we’re goin to go to a party at my friend andres house tonight you shd come
On the long drive up to Delano, it hit me that I was about to meet Jeremy, face to face. I began to laugh about it, first softly, then in wild, uncontrollable convulsions as the yellow lines on the pavement flickered past.
A group of minglers on the front lawn welcomed me to the party with astonished faces. I munificently doled out smiles and handshakes while maintaining a steady course for the front door. Inside, Jeremy sat on a couch in the living room, watching the others dance.
MICHAEL 6/7 11:28 PM
sorry things got crazy, im going back to la
MICHAEL 6/7 11:39 PM
that girls nuts i think
MICHAEL 6/7 11:45 PM
hope you’re not still pissed off
In the weeks that followed the unfortunate incident at the party, I took a step back and allowed the healing properties of time to dissolve any lingering anger and confusion. Jeremy, perhaps embarrassed, did the same. After five weeks, however, I felt our marathon of reticence had run its course.
MICHAEL 7/17 5:14 PM
hey man what’s up?
MICHAEL 7/17 5:18 PM
are we ok? Caitlin’s lying...
—
MICHAEL 7/18 8:43 AM
jeremy can we talk on phone quick?
MICHAEL 7/18 8:45 AM
i can explain things easier on phone, pick up yeah?
JEREMY 7/18 10:41 AM
if you keep calling me i will nail you
MICHAEL 7/18 10:42 AM
hey shit sorry thought you were away from phone
MICHAEL 7/18 10:44 AM
wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk now or later...
MICHAEL 7/18 11:08 AM
aaaaaannyyyway haha so what are u up to anyway jeremy piven?
MICHAEL 7/18 11:10 AM
hahah (the actor)
MICHAEL 7/18 11:42 AM
oops! shit sorry accidentally hit redial that time...
—
MICHAEL 7/20 11:30 PM
think we had bad communication at the party, that’s all it was. ok?
MICHAEL 7/20 11:37 PM
AND i didnt enjoy it she kisses like a man
MICHAEL 7/20 11:38 PM
but yah i only did that cause like i thought that’s what you wanted me to do i guess.
MICHAEL 7/20 11:38 PM
cause when you asked me to take a picture with her in the kitchen and then we were just alone in there.
MICHAEL 7/20 11:39 P.M
.
i assumed...haha! maybe next time i shuld just ask you
MICHAEL 7/20 11:49 PM
but shes cute. u still together? i told her she was lucky she lives near u...
MICHAEL 7/20 11:52 PM
nice butt
MICHAEL 7/20 11:59 PM
her, not you oops! meant caitlins. duh.
—
MICHAEL 8/17 6:21 PM
what upppp mannnn?
MICHAEL 8/17 6:32 PM
listen we don’t have to get into a big thing, I just wanted to see if you’d feel ok with Me telling the caitlin story on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
MICHAEL 8/17 6:33 PM
I’m going on tomorrow, want to come and hang in the green room?
JEREMY 8/17 8:18 PM
Hi, I’m sorry I think you have the wrong number! Who are you looking for?
MICHAEL 8/17 8:28 PM
Jeremy?
JEREMY 8/17 8:31 PM
Yeah you have the wrong person. My name is Amanda, just got this number!
MICHAEL 8/17 8:37 PM
oh. I’m sorry. have a good night
AMANDA 8/17 8:40 PM
You too! Hope you find your friend!
As quickly as Jeremy had come into my life, he had left a hole in it. Still, I learned a tremendous amount about this mysterious man in our short-lived friendship, and I discovered a great deal about myself in his reflection. As the music kicked off in a flowery cascade, I bounded onto the stage of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Without Jeremy’s consent, I felt it would be inappropriate to tell the Caitlin story, and so I employed a trusty go-to: the farcical saga of my date with the Slovenian choreographer. Unfortunately, being my own worst critic, I felt it was not my finest rendering of the endearingly clumsy tangle of events, but I did manage to stick the landing, and the audience found me likable. ♦Background and introduction
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This page describes both describesand contains and interactive version.In the test you will be shown a series of symbols and have to remember them. For example, one series might consist of the following four items:These items would be shown to you one at a time, for about one second each, then you would be shown a group of eight items and asked to remember which of those eight you just already saw in the sequence. For example, here are possible answers for the example sequence (the correct ones have already been marked):It is important that you mark down items that were in the series, but it is also important not to mistakenly say you saw an item when you did not. Each item you correctly identify as having seen in the series is worth one point, for each item you claim to have seen but did not actually, you lose a point.In the full test you will do this (see a series, then have to remember what items were in it) 21 times. It should take most people 4 to 8 minutes to complete the test.Possible score range from -97 to 71 but almost all scores are between 15 and 60. In the population standardization sample, the average score was 36.3, with 70% of people scoring between 25.2 and 47.4.People who take this test here on this website obtain scores that are somewhat higher that the general population, likely due to low scorers self-selecting out of taking the test. The distribution of scores received by the people who have taken the test here on this website is graphed below.This test is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. The components necessary to use this test can be downloaded at memtest-materials.zipEddy Cue, the Apple executive who played a pivotal role in the building of iTunes and the iBookstore, revealed some potentially embarrassing information this morning at the company's ebook antitrust trial in Manhattan.
Cue took the stand after being called by Lawrence Buterman, an attorney for the US Department of Justice, which has accused Apple of participating in a scheme in 2010 to raise and fix ebook prices. Cue confirmed that very early on, when Apple was weighing whether to enter the ebook market, he discussed a plan with then CEO Steve Jobs that called for offering Amazon a deal: Apple would stay out of the ebooks market if Amazon stayed out of music. This kind of arrangement could be considered anticompetitive and illegal.
Apple never went through with the plan but the government certainly tried to illustrate that Cue and Jobs were willing to play fast and loose with the rules as they began to enter the ebook market. The morning definitely went to Buterman, who appeared to poke holes in Cue's story as well as embarrass Apple. Cue is likely to have an easier time in the afternoon when Apple's attorneys get a chance to question him. If Apple loses, it is likely to be required to pay damages by more than 30 different states and would have to absorb a serious hit to its reputation.
Cue acknowledged that as a result of Apple's agreement, ebook prices rose
The DOJ filed a lawsuit last year accusing Apple and five of the country's book publishers of conspiring to fix ebook prices and limit Amazon's ability to discount ebooks. The publishers believed the low prices hurt their distribution and Apple wanted to snatch away one of Amazon's most important competitive advantages, the government alleges. The publishers, however, settled with the government, leaving Apple alone to fight the charges.
Key to the government's claims is Apple's insistence that the publishers force Amazon to agree to an "agency" model, giving publishers the power to price ebooks and handcuff Amazon's managers when it came to discounting. Cue said on the stand that at some point, Apple quit caring because their contracts with the publishers guaranteed that Apple would get access to the lowest price offered online — and still be allowed to take its 30 percent commission.
The government tried to show that Apple was playing fast and loose
Cue acknowledged that as a result of Apple's agreement with the publishers, ebook prices rose. The government argues that because of Apple's guarantee to get the lowest possible price, the company forced publishers to require that all retailers boost prices. Cue said he was indifferent about what other retailers did.
"Do you think your customers cared?" Buterman asked, as someone in the audience gasped. "Who protected Apple's customers from the higher prices?"
"I did," Cue said. He told the court that customers were happy with the iBookstore. Later Buterman asked Cue if any of Apple's customers complained about the higher prices. Cue responded that "they may or may not have, I can't recall." Buterman then asked if any of Apple's customers thanked the company for raising prices. This is how it went for much of the morning.
UPDATE: Cue told the court that he "felt tremendous pressure" to get the ebook deal done with the publishers and was working on it "24 / 7." He said he had worked for more than 24 years for Apple and over a decade with Jobs. "You have to understand that Steve was near the end. I wanted to get [the ebook deal] done for him."Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery (1974) is a book by the economists Robert Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman. Asserting that slavery was an economically viable institution that had some benefits for African Americans, the book was reprinted in 1995 at its twentieth anniversary. First published a decade after the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, the book contradicted contemporary assessments of the effects of slavery on African Americans in the American South before the Civil War. It attracted widespread attention in the media and generated heated controversy and criticism for its methodology and conclusions.
Content [ edit ]
The scholar Thomas L. Haskell wrote in 1975 that Time on the Cross had two main themes: to revise the history of slavery and to support the use of the scientific method in history.[1]
The book directly challenged the long-held conclusions that American slavery was unprofitable, a moribund institution, inefficient, and extremely harsh for the typical slave.[2] The authors proposed that slavery before the Civil War was economically efficient, especially in the case of the South, which grew commodity crops such as cotton, sugar, and coffee. These types of crops were usually grown on plantations that employed a gang system of labor, which was closely monitored and considered more efficient than task-based work by smaller groups.
Fogel wrote that small farms were just as productive as free farms. He said that the large plantation-style slave farms (16+ slaves) were the most efficient, having a Total Factor Productivity ratio (A i /A j ) to be around 1.33. Fogel also wrote that if slaves had a day of rest, they tended to be more efficient because of the extra day of rest. They would be able to regain their energy and thus have more energy to produce more. "In their revised view slaves were hard working; slave labor was of superior quality. Indeed, this helps explain why large slave plantations were much more efficient than free southern farms."[3] In addition, since different crops were grown in the South and the North, he noted that although slavery was efficient in the South, it would not have been so in the North due to different weather and other conditions.
The authors predicted that if slavery had not been abolished, the price of slaves would have continued to rise rapidly in the late 19th century as more land was put into production for cotton. The book compares conditions and economics in the "Old South" (Atlantic Coastal states) with the "New South" (areas further west, commonly called the Deep South). It evaluates available statistics to shed light on slave life. The authors point out that following emancipation and the end of the Civil War, the life expectancy of freedmen declined by ten percent, and their illnesses increased by twenty percent, over slavery times. (At the same time, there was considerable social dislocation across the South following the widespread destruction of the war and loss of life among a generation of men. White militias directly attacked and intimidated freedmen, and with the agricultural economy being decimated, causing widespread problems and suffering among the entire population.)
The authors evaluated oral interviews conducted by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, United States Census information, and other statistical data to assert that many slaves were encouraged to marry and maintain households, they were given garden plots, the dehumanizing practice of "slave breeding" was virtually non-existent, the quality of their daily diets and medical care were comparable to the white population, and many trusted slaves were given great responsibility in managing plantations. This was in contrast to other accounts of the dehumanizing effects of slavery.
Fogel and Engerman asserted that slavery had a reciprocal economic benefit for slave owners and slaves. They wrote, "[S]lave owners expropriated far less than generally presumed, and over the course of a lifetime a slave field hand received approximately ninety percent of the income produced."(p. 5-6) They were estimating the value of housing |
was so much more assertive in both words and demeanor, is likely to calm incipient Democratic anxiety, which had been threatening to descend into full-blown panic as the polls tightened in the wake of the first debate.
Their sense of reassurance was bolstered by some instant polls in the wake of the debate. A CNN/ORC poll found that 46 percent of debate-watchers thought that Obama won, while 39 percent picked Romney.
A CBS News survey also gave Obama an edge, this time among uncommitted voters: 37 percent believed that Obama won the debate versus 30 percent for Romney.
Yet the same CBS poll also offered an apparently incongruous result, with 65 percent of those same uncommitted voters asserting that Romney had bested Obama on the issue of the economy, whereas only 34 percent favored Obama on those grounds.
Romney’s sharpness in articulating the economic critique might well be enough to save him from any real damage as a consequence of the debate.
Polls in the coming days will be scrutinized for evidence of whether Tuesday’s debate causes the tide to move back in Obama’s favor or simply puts an end to the seepage of support he had experienced since Denver.
The president’s strong showing sets the scene for the final three-week sprint to Election Day — and the final debate, which will take place in Boca Raton, Fla., on Oct. 22 and will focus on foreign policy.
Going into the debate, New York Times blogger and polling expert Nate Silver rated Obama as having a 64 percent chance of winning a second term. The nationwide polling average published by the Real Clear Politics website, meanwhile, suggested a de facto deadlocked race, with Romney leading by less than half of 1 percentage point.
Neither campaign looks likely to lack funds for the final sprint. The Obama campaign raised $181 million during September, and Team Romney $170 million. The days ahead will also see an increasing emphasis on the "ground game" of direct voter contact and get-out-the-vote efforts.
But, for the moment, Team Obama can take succor from the fact that, after all the buffeting winds of the past two weeks, even many objective observers believed their man delivered on Tuesday night.
“After the debacle in Denver, President Obama decisively won tonight’s debate in New York,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan. “He was under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform and he did just that.”
This story was updated at 8:33 a.m.Every Monday we jettison Brendan into the uncharted quadrants of early access and demand constant progress reports. This week, he makes himself a new home in the tropical forests of Empyrion: Galactic Survival [official site].
There’s something making noises out there. It’s growling, or they’re growling. I’m not sure. It’s pitch black in the jungle tonight and the noise is definitely not normal jungle noise. Not the same sounds that I heard during the daytime – whoops and whistles and insect chatter. No, there’s something else out there. And if it’s dangerous, I need to kill it. Because I don’t even have a shack to hide in. I’m just camping here beneath the canopy, next to some crafting contraption I barely know how to u–
Shh! The growling, it’s closer. They’re here.
I swivel around pointing my flashlight at the undergrowth, looking for the creatures. What will it be this time, oh great survival genre? Landmolluscs? Mantis-tigers? Murderwombats? I catch a glimpse of something in the dark. Three tall, lanky figures emerge, coming slowly toward me.
I back away and get ready to run. Oh my god, they have spears. This is it, this is my first death, I just know it.
But the figures just keep walking. Verrrry slooowwwly, they saunter through my camp, and while their guttural moaning is unsettling, they seem to totally ignore me. These, I would later learn, are the Talon Guardians, one of the few alien beings I met while playing Empyrion – Galactic Survival. This terrifying episode on my first night set the tone for my time in the game. I had crash-landed in an escape pod, as everyone does, on the planet Akua, and quickly set up a crafting machine in the nearest forest. My thinking was that the trees would cover whatever house I built. This was a multiplayer server and any other player would be able to come along and steal my things or murder me with an assault rifle (at least, that’s what I thought at the time, before I found out Akua was completely PvE and safe). The jungle would protect me, I thought, before I heard the first growl.
But the Talons went about their own business that night and every night, patrolling the jungle and growling at nothing, and I came to like them. A tribe of non-hostile AI neighbours. They brought a little atmosphere to the early days of crafting wooden blocks and building my first, doorless shack.
Crafting here is a mix of the expected and the streamlined. At the start, you have to pump things into the constructor and queue up items you want. Throw in wooden logs and queue up some planks, throw in some raw magnesium (found in big underground deposits) and queue up some powder. Normally, in this over-subscribed genre, this is where the work begins. Find deposits, mine mine mine. Find some trees, chop chop chop.
But either the game or this particular server is massively generous, filling your escape pod with all the tools and resources needed to get up and running at a much more reasonable rate. There was no need for me to build a drill or saw, no need to immediately hunt out iron ore. I had ample things to work with. And later you get a larger more efficient constructor which automates half of the crafting – eliminating the need to produce in-between items. So long as it has the absolute basic necessities (ores, water, ingots) it will craft the higher-level items by assembling all the other parts it knows it will need automatically. Good work, future machine.
The crafting and leveling menus can still be a little overwhlelming, though. It’s pretty much mandatory to dip into the lengthy tutorials on your astronaut’s ‘PDA’, or go scouring the wiki for help. But once you embrace the complicated web of metal ingots, motorcycle packs, clone tanks, fuel tanks, oxygen generators, H2O generators, power generators, water purifiers, growing pots, work lights, ammo crates, object crates, large constructors, fuel cells, reactors, computers, cores, motors, cables, electronics, metal bits, metal sheets, metal components, and all the rest of the messy library of usable or deployable items – then you can appreciate all of it for what it is. A very fine survival game.
Fresh off the underwhelming desert moons of Osiris: New Dawn, I was glad to find myself in this jungle, where the sprint button can be held for aeons and your backpack is capable of holding an obscene amount of material. The food meter still required me to constantly stuff my face with berries every half an hour or so but apart from that I was glad to have the thing I crave most in a survive-em-up. Freedom. This is a world where you get on a motorbike within the first hour and go zipping around the mountaintops, just because you can.
I’ll prove it to you. You see that moon? I was going to get there one day. But for that I’d need a spacecraft. There were a couple of options here. I could collect a bunch of different metal ores like iron, copper, silicon, and cobalt (all fairly common and abundant), refine these and plop them into a “factory” menu, whereby the game would poop out a spaceship for me after 20 minutes. That was one method. Or I could fix up a quick starter kit – the basic blocks – and then build my ship piece by piece. I am an ambitious man and I obviously chose to create my own ship.
My house wasn’t big enough, however, to hold the vessel I had pictured in the back of my head somewhere. I started work on an open-roofed pen and when I was finished I dusted off my astrohands, planted the first few blocks of my spaceship and felt proud. Everything was good. I had food in a fridge so it wouldn’t spoil and the beginnings of a craft that would take me to the stars. I logged off for the night.
The next day I arrived in my jungle house and the lights were off. I looked in the hangar, which was also the kitchen. The ship parts were gone. The fridge was full of rotten food.
It turns out you need to keep your base powered up at all times (at least on a multiplayer server like this one you do – not sure about single player). In my absence, my home’s power generator had steadily chowed through all the fuel cells I had stored in the fuel tank, like a hungry metal dragon, and then grumpily shutdown power across the entire home when it ran out of food. As a result, the fridge had lost power and was now full of spoiled food. I closed it without emptying the decaying matter.
As for the ship parts, I don’t know if some enterprising burglar jetpacked into the pen and dismantled it for parts or if it simply disappeared due to some early access hiccup. But I suspect the latter because nothing else in my base was taken. Not even the stylish cannon I had balanced precariously on the roof.
Unable to face the prospect of creating another ship from scratch, I decided to take the shortcut. I would send the ingots to the factory and get the game to build a ship for me. Life is too short to get robbed by somebody with a jetpack twice.
But I had a more pressing situation. All the food I had saved was gone. I needed more. This meant I would have to complete the half-assed vegetable garden I had started. This is more complicated than it ought to be. If you want to plant veggies, fruits and cereals, you need a ‘growing box’. Frustratingly, you can only put these growing boxes on part of an existing structure. This is one of Empyrion’s more irritating survival farts. I spent the opening hour of the game wondering why I couldn’t plant tomatoes directly into the ground of the rainforest – a soil so fertile that it has grown almost a dozen of these monstrosities.
This is an alien honey deposit. It is unclear if these are a plant, animal or something else. But the honey is good.
So the veg patch had to be inside, under special lights. The spoiled food in my fridge came in handy now – I used it to make fertiliser – but I still needed one last ingredient to make more growing boxes: fiber. I went out into the jungle, approached every visible plant and plucked it. None of them gave me fiber.
This is maybe one of the downsides of Empyrion. There are so many ingredients and resources, you are always questioning where or what they are. And the answers are not always forthcoming or sensible. Fiber, despite seeming like something you could get from any plant was actually only produced by a vicious carnivorous plant (one I never encountered) or a benign and completely unnoticeable weed, hidden amongst almost identical grass on mountain slopes. I hopped on my motor cycle and went on an expedition to find some in the nearby hills. I drove over the mountains into a gorgeous valley and found no weeds. But I did find a spaceship.
I drove up to the ship and parked. It had landed next to a big vegetable garden, which I admired and coveted.
If there is nobody here, I thought, I will steal some tomatoes. That’s when the astronaut appeared at the foot of the spacecraft’s ramp and started pointing a rifle at me.
I stood still and then jumped into the air twice. Then I strafed side to side. He jumped into the air, twice. I approached and he put down his rifle. I would not die yet.
We chatted – well, I chatted – by typing into the global channel. I asked if he had any fiber and he looked around, then ran into the elevator in his ship’s cargo bay and disappeared. This is it, I thought. He is going to come back with a friend and together they are going to make me drink some toilet cleaner. Or maybe they will take me into space and flush me out of an airlock without my helmet on. This is it, this is how I die in Empyrion. I wish the Talon people were here.
He came back down the elevator and dropped 17 strands of luscious fiber at my feet.
“Thank you!!” I typed and jumped once. I dropped some oxygen tanks as a trade and he took them and jumped once. I got back on my motorcycle and drove home. When I got back to my house in the jungle I saw a ship taking off in the distance. I never saw that man again.
When I was finished making growing boxes, fixing lights and planting sprouts, my own vegetable patch looked good. Nothing like the visiting astronaut’s garden but good enough for me. Eventually, I would be able to stuff all the ingredients into the food processor (another piece of furniture that looks like a stove from the Fifth Element) and pack my fridge with instantly-made pumpkin pies, tinned vegetables, bread, cookies and popcorn. I wouldn’t have food problems any more.
But I had been sidetracked. I was supposed to be going to the moon. For this, I still needed materials for the ship.
One night, as I emerged from the lake near my house where I had gone scuba-diving for seaweed to make biofuel to power my tools (!) I decided to check out the concrete ruin I always saw on the sand. Some other player had given up here, I don’t know when, and left a blocky stub of a building behind with some idle generators next to it. I had always ignored the ruin, speeding past on my motorcycle and generally being cool. But today I decided to take a look. When I got closer I saw something gleaming. Those weren’t generators. They were containers.
There was nobody around. I decided to take a look inside one of the crates. It was full of bullets.
I closed the crate and looked around. There were five other crates. I returned home that day with a bag full of seaweed and some other useful items. The ship was ready to be built. I stuffed everything into the “factory” and hollowed out a space in the hangar for it to sit, while also building a huge steel door for easy access. I also installed a roof. Take that, jetpack burglars.
When the ship finally came out of the factory, I spawned it in the hangar. It looked good.
I climbed inside and was ready to go. Here I come, moon. Adventure awaits! It took me 15 minutes to find the ‘on’ switch.
You see, you have to bring up a control panel and fill up the tanks with fuel cells and oxygen tanks directly from your inventory, essentially clambering into the cockpit with your pockets full of batteries. Then you can power it up with the ‘Y’ key. The same key you can use to switch all the power in your base on or off at will. It can be surprisingly deep game, this, but it can also be as opaque as a brick wall.
I powered up and hovered out of the hangar like a baby duck learning to flap its wings. Then I took off into the sky and flew above the jungle. Woooo! I sped over the lake and got carried away. I did a roll and immediately ditched into the water. This was it, definitely. This was how I was going to die for the first time.
Yet as I panicked and pulled up the ship rose out of the lake – with drops of water on the ‘windshield’ – and continued on as if nothing had happened. It might have looked as if it was made out of LEGO bricks, but my little scout jet turned out to be quite sturdy. I pitched directly up, put on my helmet and flew into space, which did not appear “seamlessly” so much as “suddenly”, like someone had snatched a cardboard background image from in front of me and hastily replaced it with a really big room. But as jerky and as wobbly as this transition was, the moon was still in front of me. When I paused and looked back ‘down’ I could see the bar of land between two lakes where my jungle was and where the Talon people lived. I was in space.
I shot towards the moon, which looked a bit funky as I approached but then burped into a proper shape when I got low enough. I landed next to a deposit of some mineral I didn’t recognise and powered down. I got out of the cockpit and looked back at the planet I’d been building on. Now it was the cardboard background. What a marvellous adventure.
Then I fell into the hole full of rare material.
Deciding to turn this crisis into an opportunity, I mined away at the mineral, collecting hundreds of bits of ore as my oxygen slowly ran down. Afterwards, I scrambled out through a tunnel (some previous moon-miner had created this) and then collected some blue crystals that littered another part of the moon’s surface. I would need these if I ever created a capital ship – the kind of vessel which can warp between planets using the refined crystals as fuel. My little scout could only go into high orbit or travel between the planet and it’s moon. The capital vessels are further along the tech tree.
My suit’s oxygen was depleted and I had forgotten to bring O2 tanks with me to replace it. But there was oxygen in the cockpit, so I was safe. I would not die on the moon either. In fact, as I took off and headed back to Akua, circling the planet and looking for the distinct bar of land I called home, I discovered that I would not die in orbit either. Nor would I die on re-entry, or when trying to land the ship in my hangar. Maybe all my fears had been misplaced. Maybe it was a little too easy to survive in Empyrion.
But to be honest, I don’t mind that at all. I like survival games best when they ease up on the pressure and let you live out your days in your slowly-improving hovel, when they throw you to the wilderness, but not the wolves. In other words: when they really let you build a home.
I landed in my hangar and got out of my spaceship, full of moon spoils. Outside, I heard the familiar growling of the Talon people.
Empyrion – Galactic Survival is available on Steam for £14.99/$19.99. These impressions were based on build 1369962.The South Australian black out — A grid on the edge. There were warnings that renewables made it vulnerable
Australians are going to be talking about this for weeks. Indeed, the SA Blackout is the stuff of legend.
The Greens are blaming coal (what else?) for causing bad storms and blackouts. Forget that Queensland gets hit with cyclones all the time and the whole state grid doesn’t break. Some greenies are also raging against “the politicization” of the storms. Yes, Indeedy. Go tell that to Will Steffen.
We are not being told the whole story. We do know that South Australia has the highest emphasis on renewables in the world. It also has a fragile electricity network, and wild price spikes to boot. (Coincidence?) The death of a few transmission towers should not knock out a whole state, nor should it take so long to recover from. The storm struck worst north of Adelaide near Port Augusta but the juicy interconnector from Victoria runs in from the south, and goes right up past Adelaide and most of the population. Why couldn’t the broken parts of the system be isolated?
Digging around I find ominous warnings that while the lightning and winds probably caused the blackout, the state of the South Australian grid appeared to be teetering on the brink, without enough reserve, or without well planned protection mechanisms to cope with an inherently unstable system. The excess of wind power made the system more fragile, and also made it harder to restore. There appear to be three reasons (at least) that excessive wind power is less fun, more costly, and golly, but if windmills don’t stop storms, why buy those expensive electrons?
1. Wind power adds instability of the system – not only does it ramp up and down frequently on an hourly scale, but it’s harder to mesh at the cycles per second scale too. This is about maintaining the “frequency” of the system (in Australia’s case thats 50Hz). Windpower is a type of energy that doesn’t easily synchronize with the 50Hz frequency (or any stable frequency). Other generators that have turbines that spin at regular speeds do (coal, gas, biomass, and hydro). They are easy to synchronize.
The frequency thing is critical — think of AC — Alternating Current — as being a push-pull of electrons 50 times a second. If any source of electricity joins the grid out of phase or at any other frequency, like say 49*, the waves of electrons are going to get out of synch fairly quickly. And we’d get horrible interference patterns of spikes and dips. This is a point where systems have to shut down (in seconds) to protect everything. This is an intrinsic design vulnerability in a system which prioritizes renewables over “thermal” energy.
*UPDATE: Thanks to Tomomason and Analytik and some great comments below, I now know that the frequency varies a little as load and supply ebb from 49.85 – 50.15 (See also the subthread by co2isnotevil at #5). These tiny variations are used as feedback for plant operators to adjust their operation. Read both subthreads for more information. This is why the whole grid is so much more stable with a dominant supply from synchronous turbines (ie thermal, biomass or hydro).
2. Wind power can’t be used to reboot the system and SA was getting warnings about that too.
Commenter Andrew W at WattClarity:
“ the ElectraNet boss on radio this morning mentioned that wind generated electricity cannot be used for ‘black start’ processes, that they need to get full control of load and frequency before introducing wind..“
To do a Black Start (cranking up the whole grid from nothing) we need hydro, or thermal, but wind power is not much use. InDaily reports that not only is wind not much use, but that SA electricity wasn’t prepared with extra fuel at the gas generators. (It’s amazing they got things running again at all really!)
[InDaily] A report on South Australia’s electricity system, published by AEMO last month, warned that there was a limited capacity to reboot the state’s electricity system in the event of a total blackout.
“There is a limited pool of strategically-located SRAS (system restart ancillary services) in South Australia to meet the current standard,” the report says.
“This indicates reliance on a single fuel source for all generation involved in the system restoration process in South Australia.
“Many of these gas-powered generating units do not have dedicated fuel storage facilities, exposing South Australia to further risk if there was a gas supply interruption during system restoration.”
3. Wind Turbines shut suddenly at high speeds. There is a possibility that a sudden shut down can happen when turbines are going full tilt in storm force winds hit “danger limits”:
This is speculative – There are suggestions that a lot of wind turbines were powered up at “high-wind, storm-velocity” levels and were generating high wattages when they reached their shut down limits and suddenly switched off. That would cause a major drop in the system. This type of failure would belong in the “census” night silly management category. Surely it could not be so? Surely, also, this could be overcome if wind turbines were shut in a staged sequence when known high wind incidents were coming. I want more data.
StopTheseThings explains both the first and third problems: Another Statewide Blackout: South Australia’s Wind Power Disaster Continues. The post on WattClarity supports the first one with a lot of detail. No hint of the third though. Both sites were very useful. The commenters too.
What wind-turbines poorly produce,
Is unstable, unsound and diffuse,
As they can’t meet demand,
Or high winds withstand,
They’re pointless, defunct and no use.
–Ruairi
An Unstable System
StopThese Things tells us that they hear that SA grid managers are running the system at 220V, not 230V (like the rest of Australia) in order to cope with the fluxes from wind power. It would be good to get confirmation of that. In November 2015 after a large blackout in South Australia, StopTheseThings predicted that after the coal plant was shut in April 2016, there would be statewide blackouts:
It’s also to be borne in mind that these 110,000 homes and businesses were plunged into darkness at a time when SA’s Northern and Playford coal-fired plants at Port Augusta (with a combined capacity of 784 MW) were still happily chugging away.
The owner of Port Augusta’s plants, Alinta has already signalled that it will close them in April 2016, due to the market distortions caused by the massive subsidies to wind power set up under the Large-Scale RET. If it does, South Australians can expect statewide blackouts with the kind of regularity that you’d be hard pressed to find outside of sub-Saharan Africa.
There was an August warning from AEMO that SA can’t cope with “contingencies”:
An ominous hint here on August 10th from the AEMO, reported on a dedicated electricity blog WattClarity. At the time SA faced a different threat (a planned outage in a Victorian supply). The AEMO was warning that SA doesn’t have enough local supplies to cope with any interruption:
“Another day where LOR2 notice issued for SA – what does it mean?”
[Paul McArdle August 10th] In shorthand, this means that if something happens (like the critical imports from Victoria tripping – a low probability event, but still a credible one, and so one AEMO needs to plan for) then South Australia would not have enough local supplies that could be dispatched in time to keep the SA system stable, so portion of SA load would be turned off (i.e. some lights would go out) to keep the broader system in South Australia online.
To sum up my understanding of some of the factors:
1) Plenty of wind in South Australia currently, making it uneconomic to run much thermal plant currently (especially with today’s gas price still $7.89/GJ at the Adelaide hub); 2) This is especially the case as the Heywood link constrained to flow west currently (i.e. South Australia can’t export its “economically surplus” wind), driving prices in South Australia lower; 3) Not much thermal plant running, so not as much capability to ramp up production in South Australia if needed, hence the LOR2 notice.
Paul McArdle goes on to point out (or quote someone, it’s not clear) that the AEMO arranged to pay some providers to carry spare capacity in case of a contingency:
My layman’s explanation of “Raise Regulation” FCAS is that it has to do with some generators agreeing with AEMO (in return for some small compensation) to keep a bit of “spare” capacity in reserve (i.e. not have it dispatched in the energy market), ready to give the system a (very quick) extra kick should the system suddenly slow below 3000rpm. This (frequency drop) would be what would happen in South Australia at these points in time shown if:
(a) the interconnector was to trip or
(b) some generator (wind, or gas) in SA was to trip.
Looks like we got (a) and (b).
So South Australia was already running a riskier system, with warnings that an incident could push the system over.
From WattClarity – a video on the complex South Australian situation unfolding on Wednesday.
This ten minute vid is for serious electricity-grid nerds. First it explains parts of the dashboard then they roll forward in 5 minute blocks through the day (you get a real sense of just how dynamic the grid is. What a headache to manage!) Helpfully the silent video has a few notes as it goes, but the central theme for me was how normal it appeared until it fell over in the space of five minutes. The lightning struck at 4:18, the “blackout” official notice was issued at 4:21, so this dashboard in the video shows normal at 4:20 and “black” by 4:25 (at 8:40 mins). The AEMO reported that 1900Mw was shed, and all supply and load in SA was lost. The interstate interconnectors are shown at “zero” by 4:30. It’s all over. Lights are off everywhere. People lie on dark operating tables, trains stop, lifts jam. Nearly 2 million people stop what they are doing.
_________________________________
Does the sudden shut down of high speed wind turbines add to the problem?
The StopTheseThings Another Statewide Blackout: South Australia’s Wind Power Disaster Continues.
STT lays the blame on the shifting surges in wind generation and the rapid shutdown of wind turbines. I’m not convinced, but it’s an interesting thesis that I’d like more information on. One of the things about wind power is that they have automatic shut offs at high wind speeds. Potentially they can be generating high levels of energy when suddenly they cut off — and that could destabilize the system. Did this happen (if it didn’t, could it?) STT has a lot of discussion, in the post and after it and on connected posts. I’d like to see a detailed graph of what happened from 4pm – 4:30, minute by minute.
Commenter Jackie Rovensky says
“We were all aware of the weather conditions being forecast, but no one in the energy or wind industry thought to start shutting the turbines down or off in a controlled gradual process to prevent a catastrophic effect of a sudden loss of energy in the system. Combined with this was apparently the Gas plant being hit by lightening. Why did the wind industry NOT take precautions, why did they just keep operating as hard as they could – was it because they were in competition with each other wanting to make as much money as they could during this period. How much damage was done to the Gas plant or was there any damage? No one has been asked that question by the media and our insipid Premier of course would not offer such information even if he new it.”
A few points about this graph. It does show a spectacular fall off. The time is WA time (I assume because I downloaded it). The AEMO said that lightning struck at 4:18 AEST. You can play with this graph on the Aneroid Site, including seeing individual wind farms and their production. There is not enough detail in the graph though on the scale of “the five minutes that matter”. The jaggies leading up to the crash are impressive but there are jaggies on other days I searched randomly like Sept 26, and Sept 24.
Thanks to commenters here for their helpful suggestions and links. Jaymez, your working theory was right.
Last word goes to TdeF September 29, 2016 at 2:03 am
The government is responsible for energy security, not the power companies or the electricity market or Victoria or someone else. This demolition job done on South Australia’s previously reliable and adequate power supplies should see the resignation of the Premier who has presided over this devastating nonsense at huge expense. Is this why South Australia gets twice the GST of WA? A desalination plant no one ever needed? Total blackouts? No gain whatsoever for the people of South Australia in this Green energy and windmill nonsense. How are the people of South Australia better off in any way? It is an utter disgrace. Hot summers and stormy days come and go but destroying a state’s infrastructure for a political agenda is an utter disgrace and a betrayal of the very purpose of a government. Wetherill should accept his responsibility for this utter mess and resign.
Freaky weather month: While there are storms on the East Coast, In the next 24 hours Perth may register its coldest September on record (or things might be a tiny bit warmer than in September 1906. Did coal burning cause that cold spell?) Thanks to Chris Gillham for tracking this exciting race so closely. More on that tomorrow.
BACKGROUND to the SA Electricity crisis (all the links).
People saw The South Australian black out coming. There were warnings that the dominance of renewables made it vulnerable. Then when it came, it all fell over in a few seconds — read the gruesome details of how fast a grid collapses: Three towers, six windfarms and 12 seconds to disaster. Ultimately the 40% renewable SA grid is crippled by complexity. The AEMO Report blames renewables: The SA Blackout was due to lack of “synchronous inertia”. The early estimates suggest the blackout costs South Australia at least $367m, plus their normal electricity is twice the price, and there are reserve shortfalls coming in January 2018 (pray for a cool summer). Welcome to the future of unreliable electricity: Rolling blackouts ordered in SA in 40C heat. And more bad luck for South Australia, yet another blackout, 300 powerlines down, 125,000 homes cut off. See all the posts on Renewable Energy and Electricity Grids.
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please wait... Rating: 9.2/10 (127 votes cast)A sequel to the 2003 hit Beyond Good & Evil has seemingly been in the works for years. It is one of those games that has never officially been cancelled and Ubisoft has now and again said it is still being made. This week it was revealed the original creator of Beyond Good & Evil Michel Ancel has joined the indie start up Wild Sheep. Even with this news Michel Ancel isn’t leaving Ubisoft and work on Beyond Good & Evil is continuing. A statement from Ubisoft reads.
“It’s still far too early to give many details about this new title, but what we can say is that while Michel and the team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of BG&E, they’re developing something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel and leverages next-gen technologies to deliver a truly surprising, innovative and exceptional game.”
Michel Ancel will split his time between Ubisoft Montpellier and Wild Sheep, also in Montpellier.
Ubisoft released a teaser trailer for the game back in 2008 and a HD remake of the original was released in March of 2011.
Ubisoft also stated.
“The entire team is excited about the direction this extremely ambitious project is taking, and we’ll have more to share later, as it progresses.”
It would appear the long awaited sequel is still a long ways off.
Share Have a tip for us? Awesome! Shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll take a look!Despite the psychiatrist’s warnings, Father Hullermann was allowed to return to parish work almost immediately after his therapy began, interacting with children as well as adults. Less than five years later, he was accused of molesting other boys, and in 1986 he was convicted of sexual abuse in Bavaria.
Benedict’s deputy at the time, Vicar General Gerhard Gruber, said he was to blame for that personnel decision, referring to what he called “serious mistakes.”
The psychiatrist said in an interview that he did not have any direct communications with Archbishop Ratzinger and did not know whether or not the archbishop knew about his warnings. Though he said he had spoken with several senior church officials, Dr. Huth’s main contact at the time was a bishop, Heinrich Graf von Soden-Fraunhofen, who died in 2000.
Even after his conviction in 1986, Father Hullermann, now 62, continued working with altar boys for many years. He was suspended Monday for ignoring a 2008 church order not to work with youths.
The former vicar general of the Munich archdiocese did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him for comment at home. Phone calls to the archdiocese for reaction on Thursday night were not answered. On Wednesday, speaking generally about the question of Father Hullermann’s therapy, a spokesman at the archdiocese, Bernd Oostenryck, said, “Thirty years ago, the subject was treated very differently in society.”
“There was a tendency to say it could be therapeutically treated,” Mr. Oostenryck said.
Father Hullermann was transferred in December 1977 to the St. Andreas Church in Essen, an industrial city in the Ruhr region not far from where he was born in Gelsenkirchen. The three sets of parents who complained to the church said Father Hullermann had had “sexual relations” with their children in February 1979, according to a statement this week by the diocese in Essen.
In the minutes taken by the priest in charge of the parish at the meeting with the parents, he noted that in order to protect their children they “would not file charges under the current circumstances.”
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For decades it was common practice in the church not to involve law enforcement in sexual abuse cases. Vowing to change that, Bavarian bishops called Thursday for strengthening the duty of church officials to report cases of abuse, and even urged a change in German law requiring them to do so.
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Spared prosecution after his transgressions in Essen, which according to the statement released by the diocese he “did not dispute,” Father Hullermann instead was ordered to undergo therapy with Dr. Huth. The archdiocese said that order was personally approved by Archbishop Ratzinger.
Dr. Huth said he had recommended one-on-one sessions, which Father Hullermann refused. Instead the priest took part in group sessions, usually seated in a circle with eight other patients, who had a mix of disorders, including pedophilia. Dr. Huth, 80, said that Father Hullermann had problems with alcohol, for which he prescribed medication, but that he was “neither invested nor motivated” in his therapy.
“He did the therapy out |
Rose Garden appearance, a hardened Bush excoriated the Chinese for not doing "the right thing." Insisted that "now it is time for our servicemen and women to return home."
These were, politically, cold assertions. The hollaback was equally frosty.
A day later, Chinese president Jiang Zemin finally responded. Zemin wanted nothing less than total kowtowing. Wanted the U. S. to "bear all responsibilities" for the collision. Wanted an apology. Wanted concessions. Wanted the U. S. to quit its spy flights along the China coast. Forever.
And it got real clear the circumstances might not now resolve themselves in a timely manner.
Just a few words. A few words choreographed to create some tough-guy theatrics from Bush and the situation had devolved from "incident" to "standoff."
And the loud-voiced whispers as to whether Bush had what it took to be a world leader began.
Diplomacy was needed. Smarts. Intellect and canny.
Bush made another decision. No "blink" involved. As The Washington Post reported, the way forward was made emphatic to all concerned: No more useless posturing. No more Independent Unity. Cheney was sent out to stump for the tax cuts Bush was shilling. And while Rumsfeld claimed to support the shift toward diplomacy, truthfully he was flatly told to butt out.
Dr. Condi and Colin would be given free rein.
The moderates had won round one of the administration wars. And for the first time in the history of the U. S.—a history of slavery, of abandoned Reconstruction, overt Jim Crow, and covert soft bigotry—a black woman and a black man were in the position of speaking for America to the world.
We, collectively—not just black America but all of America that truly bought into the bromides of liberty and justice for all—we had risen.
The accomplishment was unmistakable. For seven days running, in the written press and the international media, and doing the rounds in the 24/7 cable-news meat grinder, it was Condi and Colin. They pulled the administration out of a Retro Guard—dug hole. Projected calm and rationality, where just prior there was only ego. Sticking with their game plan to double-team with poise and savoir faire, they expressed "regret" over the loss of the Chinese pilot. Powell followed up his public statements with an international "sympathy card" sent to the Chinese: a regret letter of his own.
Getty Images
Simultaneously, Condi counseled the president to display some humanity. Bush made a public statement that he was sending his prayers to the dead Chinese pilot and his family.
Little gestures.
Big results.
By Thursday, April 5, the Chinese foreign ministry, if not quite ready to sing kumbayas, acknowledged the U. S.'s new moves were a "step in the right direction."
At the same time, Powell came with another, stronger statement of lament re: the Chinese pilot's death. And contrary to the hawks' beliefs, the heavens didn't open and the stock market didn't drop and the commies weren't turning our wives and daughters into pleasure girls. But twenty-four servicemen and women were that much closer to coming home.
So close the scavengers could pick up the stink of imminent triumph. Around they came, real late in the game, looking to gain some stature by glomming on to the accomplishments of others.
Jesse Jackson came knocking.
Jesse Jackson, who is president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He put in a call to Powell offering help. Offering to add an "ecumenical religious component" to Powell's efforts.
It was really just Jesse looking to shine up his image. It'd been just months since he'd been outed as having fathered a kid with the former head of the Rainbow Coalition's Washington, D. C., office, then given the girl tens of thousands of dollars from the Rainbow PUSH coffers as "shut up/go away" money.
Not sure if that's the ecumenical religious component Jesse had wanted to add to the standoff.
Powell smartly gave Jesse the go-by. Jesse and his old-school ways, even if they hadn't been offered belatedly and with self-service, were of no use to the New Black American.
Victory was at hand. The U. S. crewmen were just days and an official letter of regret to the Chinese government away from returning home. And you know that homecoming would have been filled with hoopla and pageantry. The Retro Guard would have to kneel before the superior intellect of the ascended black. Likewise, the Old-School Negroes and their liberal massas would be forced to acknowledge the evolutionary brother and sister. When the images of the homecoming were played and played and played from the morning empty-chat shows through the nightly news to Larry King and his first exclusive primetime interview (with call-ins!) of the crew, all of America would see freedom was won by a black man, a black woman.
They would have seen all that.
Except.
Niggers fucked it up.
THE LAST THING recorded by the dash-mounted camera in the police cruiser was officer Stephen Roach running across an intersection off Republic Street in Cincinnati. Then he enters an alley.
Then you can hear a shot being fired.
Beyond that, all you can do is speculate. And/or take Roach's statements as to what led to Timothy Thomas's shooting death.
What we know:
White cop.
Black kid. Nineteen years old. Troubles with the law. Fourteen outstanding warrants. All misdemeanors.
In the early-morning hours of April 7, 2001, Thomas was confronted by some cops looking to pop him for those warrants. Thomas ran. Same as he'd run twice before when cops were trying to pop him. Backup got called in. Roach was among them. Thomas wasn't armed. Roach had no way of knowing. All the cop knew was that he was doing a foot pursuit in what's plainly one of the most dangerous sections of Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine.
Thomas headed down that dark alley. Ordered to stop, he complied. Made a sudden move for his waistband. Roach fired. Thomas took a single slug to the chest. Died.
"Fifteen since '95" was the cry. Timothy Thomas being the fifteenth Cincinnati black man to die during an arrest or shortly after being apprehended by the cops. "Fifteen since '95" was heard from local Blacktivists hot for justice, for whom vengeance by way of legal recourse would not do: the New Black Panthers. Some outfit called the Special Forces. Only things special about them were the white-hatin', Jew-hatin' rants they could call up at a moment's notice. And did so at a city-council meeting they crashed the day after Thomas got shot. Crashed it along with Thomas's moms. And a couple hundred more whipped-up locals of color. They showed up to "talk" with city officials.
There was some white-hatin'. Some Jew-hatin'. Precious little talking.
Police patrol a looted Dollar Store during the riots in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, April 12, 2001. Getty Images
After three hours of contained ranting, the hatin' spilled out into the streets. Another thousand or so protesters got whipped up and swept along as the Blacktivists made their way to the Cinci police HQ. More screaming! More hatin'! Through the evening and into the night.
"Fifteen since '95!"
Rocks thrown. Bottles thrown. Broken glass was hurled at cops.
"Fifteen since '95!"
By 1:00 A.M. on Monday, April 9, while Powell and Rice were working to free detained Americans, the Blacktivists had achieved what they were pushing for, the typical post-civil-rights-era expression of urban rage when it unilaterally deems itself wronged: burning of businesses. Looting of businesses. Indiscriminate violence against whites and nonblacks; yanked from cars. Beaten near to death.
Simply, rioting.
If a gang of whites had done the same, the screams from the Blacktivists would've been of a roving racist pack. They, the whites, would've been called a lynch mob.
But the rioters were of color.
What was begging to be heard by the rampaging mob was some tacit approval from the self-appointed HNICs that burning and beating and stealing were the way to go.
Approval was given.
Kweisi Mfume (real name Frizzell Gray), who was the president and CEO of the NAACP, ranted that Cinci was the "belly of the whale."
Al Sharpton—he who is the high self-appointed HNIC of a constituency that no longer exists—demanded the feds take control of Cinci's police. Of all America's cops!
The Big House of the Liberal Plantation, The New York Times, opined that economic discrimination was at the heart of the riot (though it failed to explain why poor whites rarely did the same).
The Blacktivists of Cinci got what they wanted: some old-school R-Card shysters doing some fire fueling with platitudes and the war cry:
"Fifteen since '95."
On the surface the numbers held up; at the hands of the police, fifteen black men had died since '95. But the stats didn't reflect fact. Have you had a chance to meet some of the fifteen poster kids of cop abuse in Cincinnati?
Say hey to Harvey Price, who hacked up his girlfriend's daughter with an ax. She was fifteen. Harvey got shot when he refused to surrender peaceably. Went at tactical cops with a knife.
Give a yo to Mr. Jeffrey Irons. Confronted for stealing a few bucks in toiletries, Irons responded by grabbing a cop's gun. Shooting the officer in the hand. Another officer, options up, looking to avoid worse, shot and killed Irons.
Can I get a what-up for Daniel Williams? In February of '98 Danny flagged down officer Kathleen Conway's cop car. Then he punched her in the face. Then shot her. Four times,.357 Magnum. After all that, Conway managed to fire back—I would safely say in self-defense—killing Williams.
The final count of those "fifteen since '95"? Twelve had threatened arresting officers' lives with some type of weapon before they were killed. Seven of those twelve threatened cops with guns. Four cops were killed or wounded in making those arrests (in a period when three Cinci cops had been killed in three years).
But facts don't serve the cause. And "a couple since '95" doesn't make for much of a war cry.
Three days of chaos. Nearly $4 million in damage to the city, most of it in predominantly black areas that could ill afford economic downturn. Record levels of homicides, particularly among blacks, as the police, hamstrung by new rules of engagement, could no longer effectively protect the very people who had demonized them.
It was a mess.
The Blacktivists, they would call it victory.
THE NIGHT OF 4/11/01 was the worst of the rioting in Over-the-Rhine. Lowlights included a cop shot, a state of emergency declared.
The next day, 4/12/01, while Cinci was still calming down, the detained U. S. crew got loaded onto a commandeered Continental Airlines jet. Were flown from Hainan to Guam, Guam to Hawaii. The patience, the intelligence, of two blacks had set them free. But for Powell and Rice there was no reaction from the greater—or lesser—black community. None from lefty America. Energy drained by the orgy of appeasement it had been forced to offer up over Cincinnati, the best the black establishment and the national media could or would toss Dr. Condi and Colin was a collective shrug. A dismissive act, the effect of which was to minify the significance of their accomplishment.
And maybe in early 2001 it didn't matter so much. After averting crisis, there were sure to be other achievements. But, you know, things change. Nine-eleven. The towers came down. The Pentagon got opened up. A hole was made in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The war in Afghanistan. The war in Iraq.
And Hainan was officially forgotten.
NO MORE.
No more can we allow the crowning moment in our history to live in shadow, just as we cannot allow the deeds of our most accomplished to be overshadowed by the antics of our least ambitious. Near the end of his mortal existence, Dr. Martin Luther King famously queried, "Where do we go from here: chaos or community?"
Over-the-Rhine was chaos. Is this what we choose for ourselves? To continue as the ungodly construct of victim and aggressor?
I say there is only one direction for us to travel, the path already set. Dr. Condi and Colin are exceptional but not unique. Empirically, Hainan wasn't a one-off. With the pair as way points by which to plot a course, our collective ascension will be assured.
Undoubtedly, knees will jerk over this contention. The Reverends Al and Jesse and all those who judge actions by the single criterion of how they affect the remnants of the Movement will ask: These? These two are your ne plus ultra blacks? These two who caved to the will of the Right? Powell, whose dog-and-pony show at the UN revealed his true bent? Rice, whose "Why We Know Iraq Is Lying" for The New York Times showed her lack of spine? These two who sent America off to folly in Iraq?
I say yes.
Black America must look to that lost moment and realize that, short of a brother or sister actually being elected president, Hainan was the high-water mark of black political power. And whether Operation Iraqi Freedom is ultimately good and right and just, or if it is lousily named and uniformly disastrous, what is essential is that Dr. Condi and Colin earned for themselves positions from which to sway public debate.
That is, power.
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Dr. Condi and Colin personify what niggers have forgotten: All that matters is accomplishment. The very pinnacle of ascendancy is the ability to live and work without regard for the sentiments of others and with, as Sister Rand would tell us, a selfish virtue.
We came up from slavery to freedom without regard for the Constitution, which gave us nothing, and the plantation masters, who gave us the whip. We came up from oppression to civil rights without regard for hurled bricks and sicced police dogs. Water hoses. The word nigger.
This, then, is my directive: Let us achieve with equal disregard for the limitations of racism and the weight of those of us who threaten to drag all of us down with the clinging nature of their eternal victimization. Our preservation is too essential to be stunted by those unwilling to advance. And in my heart I don't believe all blacks cannot achieve in the absence of aid any more than I believe the best way to teach a child to run is by forcing him to spend a lifetime on his knees.
As long as we remain committed to holding high our individuals of supreme finish, others will be inspired to loose themselves of the gravity of the waywards and downtroddens.
Once free, they will rise. They will drift high toward the attainments of which we are invariably capable; being better fathers and husbands and lovers. Better mothers and daughters, sisters and best friends. We will rise to the simple obligation of taking care of our own with the same dedication we will give to improving our community and country and our world. Yes, our influence will extend so.
Where do we go from here?
The only direction we can.
The New Black America will ascend.
***
THE ORIGINAL RESPONSE TO THIS STORY
Published in the February 2007 issue:
In his essay ("The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger," December), African-American writer, film producer, and director John Ridley argued that rioting in Cincinnati in 2001 overshadowed the apex of African-American leadership in America: the skilled handling by then–national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and secretary of state Colin Powell of the crash landing of a U.S. surveillance plane in Hainan, China. To Ridley, this demonstrated how an emphasis on victimization and urban and street values was holding back the success of ascended blacks, and that it was time for New Black Americans to leave behind "those unwilling to advance."
Ridley is a genius. His brave essay is the most poignant and relevant black literary work I have read since Carter G. Woodson's 1933 book about the alienating effects of a Eurocentric education on African-Americans, The Mis-Education of the Negro. As black Americans, our self-inflicted recycled negativity and outright emasculation of our negritude continue to destroy us. Ridley's essay and Woodson's book should both be required reading before anyone can call himself a brother.
–L.E. Mackey, Mount Sterling, Ky.
I was deeply offended by your decision to publish John Ridley's rant. As a black man with a Ph.D. and no criminal record (no doubt one of the "good" individuals Ridley would consider ascended), I find his simple division of African-Americans into "good blacks" and "niggers" reprehensible. Moreover, since you guys would never publish a piece dividing other groups into whites versus crackers, Italians versus wops, or women versus bitches, the real question for Mr. Ridley is this: Whose nigger are you?
–William Jelani Cobb, Atlanta, Ga.
Ridley forgets that "ascending" requires a number of factors, not just hard work and a positive attitude. For most of the urban poor, opportunities are simply not available, which ultimately destroys hope. I'd bet every five-year-old in that demographic has goals and dreams (astronaut, fireman, veterinarian). However, years of violence, injustice, underfunded schools, a broken local economy, and government indifference can sap hope and will from the strongest of us all. I would suggest to all who ascend, regardless of race, that when you get there, reach back down and help a brother up.
–Mark Beneventi, Dallas, Tex.
As a Caucasian who has lived most of his life in the South, I relate to Ridley's point about chronic underachievers. He is correct: Most whites don't give much thought to other whites who won't make an effort when offered opportunities to overcome their circumstances. African-Americans should not be vilified for feeling the same way.
–Louis Howell, Jacksonville, Fla.
Bravo. Esquire has touched on the core essence of racism. Ridley has brilliantly illustrated how the American culture continues to foster the need for Americans to define their character through the debasement of others less fortunate. By the way, for those of us African-Americans who have ascended, do we get T-shirts so the rest of the world knows to separate us from the others?
–Suzanne Descanvelle, New York, N.Y.
As a twenty-nine-year-old African-American, that article had me twisting and rock- ing in my seat. It's like when someone talks about your kid, and you know your kid is bad as hell but you can't say anything. Ridley said what a lot of us think but are afraid to say.
–Derek Kelley, West Des Moines, Iowa
Even if we were to accept Ridley's premise that Dr. Rice and General Powell, solely and without the advice and consent of other members of the administration, achieved the greatest moment in black America's political history, Ridley's conclusion that this geopolitical masterstroke was undermined by the actions of a few largely disenfranchised blacks some four hundred miles away is irrational and logically indefensible. Even if I were to disparage the Cincinnati protestors (which I'm not prepared to do), even if I agreed with Ridley's assessment that police killing black men was somehow acceptable because those men had records or were otherwise of lesser human caliber, in what way should those men be used to diminish what the author sees as the accomplishments of Rice and Powell? The white establishment does not waste its time with such triviality, but it's a shortcoming that far too often seems to hinder members of the black intelligentsia.
–Keith Clinkscales, Hartsdale, N.Y.
If Ridley wants to complain about established black leadership that is deaf, dumb, and blind, that's fine. Lord knows there is enough criticism to go around. However, to lower himself to the use of a word that has been deployed by whites as a form of social and political control of black bodies; a word that has preceded lynchings, rapes, and all sorts of abuses; a word that has been thrown at Ph.D. and janitor and jailbird alike is a slap in the face of every black man or woman who has worked all of his or her life for a day when such a word would no longer exist. Mr. Ridley ought to be ashamed.
–Roger Sneed, Mount Pleasant, Mich.
I think this Modern American Nigger just ascended himself above further subscriptions.
–Anthony Frizzell, Washington, D.C.Equilibrium equations
A solid body is in static equilibrium when the resultant force and moment on each axis is equal to zero. This can be expressed by the equilibrium equations. In this article we will prove the equilibrium equations by calculating the resultant force and moment on each axis. A more elegant solution may be derived by using Gauss’s theorem and Cauchy’s formula. This approach may be found in international bibliography.
Consider a solid body in static equilibrium that neither moves nor rotates. Surface and body forces act on this body. We cut an infinitesimal parallelepiped inside the body and we analyze the forces that act on it as shown in Fig. 1. We will assume that the stress field is continuous and differentiable inside the whole body.
Figure 1: Infinitesimal parallelepiped representing a point in a body under static equilibrium. The stresses acting on the opposite sides of the cube are slightly different.
The stress components on each side of the cube is a function of the position since we have a non uniform but continuous stress field. For example on side \( 4 \) the normal stress is \( \sigma_{11}(x_{1},x_{2},x_{3})=\sigma_{11} \). On the opposite side \( 2 \) the normal stress is \( \sigma_{11}(x_{1}+\mathrm{d}x_{1},x_{2},x_{3}) \). By taking under consideration Taylor’s theorem we may write:
\[ \sigma_{11}(x_{1}+dx,x_{2},x_{3})=\sigma_{11}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}dx_{1} \] (1)
where the higher order terms have been neglected because they are relatively small. We follow the same procedure for all the components as shown if Fig. 1.
Equilibrium of the body demands that the resultant forces must vanish. By summing up the forces with direction parallel to axis \( x_{1} \) we get:
\[ \begin{array}{l}\left(\sigma_{11}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}-\sigma_{11}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}+\\+\left(\sigma_{21}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{21}}{\partial x_{2}}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{3}-\sigma_{21}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{3}+\\+\left(\sigma_{31}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{31}}{\partial x_{3}}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}-\sigma_{31}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}+f_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}=0\end{array} \] (2)
where \( \mathrm{d}x_{1} \), \( \mathrm{d}x_{2} \) and \( \mathrm{d}x_{3} \) are the dimensions of the parallelepiped and \( f_{1} \) is the component of the body force parallel to \( x_{1} \). By dividing with \( \mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3} \) we get:
\[ \dfrac{\partial\sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{21}}{\partial x_{2}}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{31}}{\partial x_{3}}+f_{1}=0 \] (3)
Similarly we can obtain the equations for the other two directions. The final set of equilibrium equations is:
\[ \begin{array}{l}\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{21}}{\partial x_{2}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{31}}{\partial x_{3}}+f_{1}=0\\ \dfrac{\partial \sigma_{12}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{22}}{\partial x_{2}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{32}}{\partial x_{3}}+f_{2}=0\\ \dfrac{\partial \sigma_{13}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{23}}{\partial x_{2}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{33}}{\partial x_{3}}+f_{3}=0\end{array} \] (4)
By using index notation we may write the three equilibrium equations in compact form:
\[ \sigma_{ji,j}+f_{i}=0 \] (5)
The resultant moment on each axis must also vanish. By taking under consideration all the forces that contribute to moment about axis \( x_{3} \) we may write:
\[ \begin{array}{l}-\left(\sigma_{11}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{2}}{2}+\sigma_{11}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{2}}{2}+\\+\left(\sigma_{22}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{22}}{\partial x_{2}}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{1}}{2}-\sigma_{22}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{1}}{2}+\\+\left(\sigma_{12}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{12}}{\partial x_{1}}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\mathrm{d}x_{1}-\left(\sigma_{21}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{21}}{\partial x_{2}}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\mathrm{d}x_{2}-\\-\left(\sigma_{31}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{31}}{\partial x_{3}}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{2}}{2}+\sigma_{31}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{2}}{2}+\\+\left(\sigma_{32}+\dfrac{\partial\sigma_{32}}{\partial x_{3}}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\right)\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{1}}{2}-\sigma_{32}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{1}}{2}-\\-f_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{2}}{2}+f_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\dfrac{\mathrm{d}x_{1}}{2}=0\end{array} \] (6)
by dividing with \( \mathrm{d}x_{1}\mathrm{d}x_{2}\mathrm{d}x_{3}\) and taking the limit \( \mathrm{d}x_{1}\to 0\), \( \mathrm{d}x_{2}\to 0\) and \( \mathrm{d}x_{3}\to 0\) we derive:
\[ \sigma_{12}=\sigma_{21} \] (7)
Following the same procedure for the other two axes lead to the conclusion that the stress tensor is symmetric:
\[ \sigma_{ij}=\sigma_{ji} \] (8)
For the case of two dimensional problems, equilibrium equations simplify as follows:
\[ \begin{array}{l}\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{11}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{21}}{\partial x_{2}}+f_{1}=0\\ \dfrac{\partial \sigma_{12}}{\partial x_{1}}+\dfrac{\partial \sigma_{22}}{\partial x_{2}}+f_{2}=0\end{array} \] (9)
Exercise
\[ \begin{array}{ccc}\sigma_{11}=12x_{1}^{2}x_{2}^{2}x_{3} & \sigma_{22}=-9x_{1}^{3}x_{2}^{2} & \sigma_{33}=4x_{2}^{2}x_{3}^{3}\\ \sigma_{12}=4x_{2}^{3} & \sigma_{13}=-12x_{1}x_{2}^{2}x_{3}^{2} & \sigma_{23}=16x_{1}^{3}x_{2}x_{3}\end{array} \] (10)
Calculate the body forces in order to achieve static equilibrium.
Show solution…In 1882 Peter Carl Fabergé took over his father’s very ordinary jewellery business. Together with his brother Agathon, he quickly transformed it into an international phenomenon. The success of the two brothers was changing the nature of the business. Out went the then fashionable style where diamonds prevailed. In came the design-led artist-jeweller with a penchant for colour through both stones and reviving the lost art of enamelling. They added objets deluxe to their repertoire, including objets de fantaisie such as the Imperial Easter Eggs, now regarded as pinnacles of the goldsmiths’ art. Today these are treasured in some of the world’s leading museums and private collections. The craftsmanship of all their creations was of the very finest standard. This formula of design and craftsmanship made Fabergé irresistible and the ultimate objects to own, as well as the gift of choice.TORONTO – Rule changes designed to expand video review, reduce penalties and improve player health and safety will be in place when the new Canadian Football League (CFL) season kicks off this June.
The league’s Board of Governors approved Thursday 10 of 11 rule changes proposed by the CFL’s Rules Committee, and tabled the other for further consideration.
“The Board of Governors continues to demonstrate its support for innovation and player safety,” said Senior Vice President, Football, Glen Johnson.
“We look forward to implementing changes that will continue to enhance our great game.”
The CFL is adding a video official in the Command Centre with a mandate to rapidly fix obvious errors that are not challengeable by replay. This official would act as a kind of “eye in the sky” with access to a feed from a special camera that will capture all 24 players on the football field.
For example, when both the offence and defence jump into the neutral zone prior to the snap and four officials have flags, all with a slightly different perspective, the Video Official would look at a play in a few seconds and communicate to the Referee which team jumped first, speeding up the game and ensuring the right call is made.
The video official would be a first in the world of professional sports in North America.
Two years ago, the CFL became the first league to subject judgement calls to video review, when it allowed coaches to challenge defensive pass interference. Now offensive pass interference, illegal contact and illegal interference on pass plays will also be reviewable.
The list of penalties reviewable by a coach’s challenge will be expanded further to include: no yards called, illegal blocks on kick plays, contacting/roughing the kicker or passer, and illegal interference at the point of reception on kick off attempts.
“Expanding what can be reviewed will not result in a slower game because coaches are not being provided with additional reviews per game,” Johnson said. “In fact, we are are looking to reduce the number delays, and the number of penalties, while improving the quality of the game and protecting the health of our players.”
Unsuccessful two-point convert attempts will now be automatically reviewed by the replay official.
The Board of Governors also passed rules to strengthen player safety. Players will not be able to push blockers through gaps in the offensive line on single point or field goal attempts.
The league has expanded the definition of a “peel-back” block to make it illegal for any offensive player to block an opponent low anywhere on the field when he is moving towards his own goal line, not just those players that start the play in the ‘close line play area’, commonly referred to as the tackle box.
“It’s vital to continue to eliminate dangerous plays from our game to ensure the safety of players,” said CFL’s Vice-President of Football Operations and Player Safety Kevin McDonald.
With the goal to reduce the number of penalties called each game, the league has modified the standard for illegal procedure to now allow line players to move slightly, point, or make signals for blocking assignments while in a three-point stance before coming to a set position for one second prior to the snap. This change and others have the potential to eliminate two to three penalties per game.
Additionally, the league governors passed several administrative or technical changes:
• The concept of off-setting penalties would be created for some scenarios, such as when the defence is offside and the offence commits holding on the player who is offside, which would result in no yardage difference being applied and the down being replayed.
• No longer allowing a team that gives up a field goal in the last three minutes of a game to choose to scrimmage the ball instead of receiving a kick off.
• A player who gives an opponent’s offensive ball to a fan after a turnover is ruled on the field would no longer be flagged for objectionable conduct, which had been an unintended consequence of allowing offences to use their own footballs.
The Board of Governors decided that further analysis was needed for a rule pertaining to how far downfield offensive linemen can block on a pass play. The proposed rule will be reconsidered next year.
The CFL Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10 and the CFL regular season kicks off Thursday, June 23 when the Toronto Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at their new home, BMO Field. Friday Night Football debuts June 24 when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Montreal Alouettes. On June 25, the Edmonton Eskimos host the Ottawa REDBLACKS, in a rematch of the 103rd Grey Cup, and the Calgary Stampeders visit the BC Lions.The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency that oversees IT and communications development, today released its latest annual report charting how well we are doing as a planet in getting everyone connected. Mobile is the topline success story: the ITU projects that by the end of this year, there will be 6.8 billion mobile connections, equal to the number of people living on earth today. Overall, there are 2.7 billion people online, using either a fixed or mobile connection.
The mobile growth counts the fact that some people have more than one handset, but even so, this works out to a total penetration of some 96.2 users for every 100 inhabitants/households. In other words, mobile carriers are now approaching what fixed-line services in all their years of service have never managed to do — despite the billions poured in by organizations like the ITU and governments, as well as private companies to turn teledensity around particularly in the developing world. For its part, fixed-line telephone subscriptions are on the decline and are now at 16.5 of every 100 households.
The ITU also provide some numbers that back up the push by companies like Facebook and Google to expand their footprints globally specifically on mobile platforms. While the ITU doesn’t spell out how many mobile users will be on smartphones, it notes that broadband penetration is gradually on the rise, with some 41.3 out of every 100 households now having some form of Internet access. But from the ITU’s figures, it looks like most of those users are on mobile today. For every 100 households/inhabitants, the ITU notes 9.8 fixed broadband subscriptions, but 29.5 mobile broadband subscriptions. In other words, if you want to target the newest netizens with your services, you need to do it on mobile.
That’s underscored also by where growth is coming: the ITU says that the proportion of households with Internet access in developing countries went from 12% in 2008 to 28% in 2013 “a remarkable 18% compound annual growth rate.”
Among the other data released today, the ITU crowns Korea for the third year running as the most tech-developed country in the world, taking into account, ITU says, some 11 factors including things like mobile and broadband penetration as well as take up of services on those networks. Northern European countries (Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Norway, in that order) make |
four lower-polling hopefuls will start at 6 p.m. ET. Here's what each needs to do and to avoid:
Donald Trump
Enlarge this image toggle caption Charlie Neibergall/AP Charlie Neibergall/AP
Need: Look like the front-runner; show energy and defend his controversial proposals, like his Muslim ban
Avoid: Fading from the debate, as he has in a couple of debates; getting upstaged, particularly by Cruz; appearing out of his depth on foreign policy
The helium looked like it might be coming out of the Trump balloon. And then Paris happened. Expect Trump's controversial plan to stop Muslims from entering the U.S. to play a major role in this debate. The proposal drew rebukes from the Republican National Committee, GOP chairmen in New Hampshire and South Carolina and many of his rivals who will be on stage. Each will see an opportunity to, again, try to paint Trump as unserious.
But for Trump, those same tactics are what appeal to his base, and Republicans have yet to find his kryptonite. This is the final debate of the year — and it's now just 47 days until the Iowa caucuses. His GOP rivals won't be pulling any punches at this debate, and Trump has to be ready to take them and respond without getting flustered.
Ted Cruz
Need: Show he's the choice for conservatives over Trump and hold his own with him
Avoid: Letting Trump's insults stick
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Cole/AP Jim Cole/AP
Cruz is the hottest candidate on the debate stage right now, rising in national polls and in crucial Iowa, where he has picked up a string of influential evangelical endorsements. The former champion college debater has consistently delivered in each previous face-off, but the stakes are much higher.
While he has avoided trying to tangle with Trump, a back and forth Tuesday night seems inevitable given the campaign trajectory. Cruz needs to continue finding a way to appeal to evangelical voters — many of whom disagree with Trump's drastic proposal concerning Muslims — while also trying to convince the GOP establishment that he could be an acceptable alternative to Trump.
Among the trio of first-term senators running, Cruz has only been in the Senate three years — the same amount of time Barack Obama had served in the chamber before running for president. With his new surge, Cruz could find himself defending his qualifications to be president, too.
Ben Carson
Need: Be relevant on stage and engage his competitors
Avoid: Foreign-policy missteps and fading into the background
It wasn't that long ago when Carson was on the rise in the GOP primary, but the neurosurgeon's support has plummeted over the past month. Just as the focus of the race turned to foreign policy, Carson began stumbling badly on the issue, and one of his advisers even openly questioned whether he was grasping anything he was being briefed on.
Carson has tried to change that narrative with trips overseas to visit Syrian refugees and has more foreign travel planned. But it still may not be enough, given how uncomfortable he's appeared talking foreign policy ("HA-mas," anyone?). Carson hasn't proved an adept or comfortable debater yet; he needs to make a memorable mark and show he can competently discuss pressing matters of national security to stop his slide in the polls.
Marco Rubio
Need: Be the acceptable alternative to Cruz and Trump
Avoid: Being upstaged in one-on-ones; going on the defensive over immigration
Last debate, it was the Florida senator who was the belle of the ball. Cruz has taken some of the spotlight away in recent days, but look for Rubio to do what he does — be the competent debater he's proven to be. The two freshmen senators are very different, and Rubio has been the one candidate Cruz has been OK with criticizing on immigration, pointing to his past support for comprehensive reform.
Expect Rubio to counter with arguments that Cruz is too soft on national security. His team has readily pointed out he supported limits on government surveillance this year. Rubio has done well when talking about foreign policy, too, and sits on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees. He's the establishment choice who's gotten a lot of traction so far out of past debates, and Tuesday's could help him further solidify that position.
Jeb Bush
Need: A breakout moment to spur some renewed momentum
Avoid: Being overshadowed again by other top-tier candidates
It's a familiar refrain by this point: Jeb Bush needs a good debate performance. Last month, he didn't do any damage and performed adequately, but it has still made little difference in polling. Bush remains in the game at least through New Hampshire, thanks to his money and superPAC support, but he needs something to put him back in the conversation.
Time's running out for that boost, and he needs a game-changing moment in this debate. He can't risk being eclipsed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie either, in trying to appeal to the political center. Expect Bush to again talk up his record as Florida governor and try to emerge as the sensible one on foreign policy — but he hasn't broken through in months.
Carly Fiorina
Need: Stay a part of the conversation; translate her international business experience into foreign-policy experience in a believable way
Avoid: Becoming irrelevant on the crowded stage; appearing too pessimistic
Despite a brief blip after the first debate that helped propel her onto the main stage, Fiorina has stagnated in both early state polls and in national surveys. Even though the former Hewlett-Packard CEO has consistently turned in solid debate performances, including some biting and salient attacks against Trump, she has mostly faded from the conversation as soon as they're over. Once again, her team has to try to find a way to channel a strong national performance into tangible momentum on the ground.
Chris Christie
Need: Seize the establishment mantle in the race; build on his strong last debate
Avoid: Being overshadowed by Trump or others competing for New Hampshire
A strong undercard debate last month helped the New Jersey governor get some momentum. He's back on the main stage, has been picking up endorsements in New Hampshire — including the Union Leader's backing — and could be rising at just the right time. The top Granite State paper cited Christie's experience as a U.S. attorney prosecuting terrorists as experience that's needed in the current climate, and expect Christie to convey that to a larger audience.
Also, if voters like Trump's bombast, Christie may try to show some of his own on stage Tuesday night — and he's someone party leaders would be a lot more comfortable with as their standard-bearer.
John Kasich
Need: Be more than a Trump attack dog; show he can be serious and statesmanlike
Avoid: Becoming too defensive and asking for more speaking time from debate moderators
The Ohio governor and his affiliated superPAC have been relentless in attacking Trump over his controversial comments and ideas in media and ads over the past month. The results? Trump has withstood the assault while Kasich has remained toward the back of the pack. Kasich showed some early momentum in New Hampshire, but has been overtaken by Christie and others. He needs to find some way to articulate why he is different and expand beyond simply attacking the front-runners.
Rand Paul
Need: Prove he belongs on the main stage; show that his message still matters in the GOP
Avoid: Being swept into a debate on surveillance amid concerns over national security
The Kentucky senator barely made it onto the prime-time debate stage. Now, he has to prove he belongs there. He's not been afraid to punch up, but his fledgling campaign has little to show for it. And, as national security concerns have come front and center in the GOP race, his push to curb surveillance and fight for other restrictions has seemed out of place at past debates — and that was even before last month's terrorist attacks elevated the issue even more with Republican voters.
The Undercard Debate: Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, George Pataki and Lindsey Graham
For all:
Need: A breakout moment that catapults them onto the next main-stage debate
Avoid: Becoming the "warm-up act"
The lower-tier debate is becoming far too familiar for some of these hopefuls — almost all mired in the low single digits. And with Iowa inching closer, it's harder to find a rationale for some of their candidacies.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal exited after last month's debate, and some of these contenders could be next. Both Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, got blows last week when top Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats — who backed them in 2008 and 2012, respectively — threw his support behind Cruz instead. The two past Iowa caucus winners are flat-lining in the state, and they each need to do something to turn around their campaigns. Huckabee lost his top spokeswoman and longtime aide Alice Stewart on Monday, too — never a good omen for a struggling campaign.
The same can be said for Pataki and Graham, too, who have never been able to find success nationally or in an early state. Polls last week even showed the South Carolina senator getting just 2 percent in his home state primary. He's back on the stage after missing the cut last debate. In a cycle in which being an outsider is an asset and an insider is a liability, it's been tough for Graham to break through. But the issue of terrorism certainly is in his wheelhouse.Oberlin students say cafeteria food is racist, protest leaders should be paid
Students at Oberlin College joined several other schools across the country to release a long list of demands in response to “the premises of imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism, ableism, and a cissexist heteropatriarchy” on which they claim their institution functions.
The list, which surfaced online, is the longest of its kind with over 14 pages of demands and sub-demands. There are at least 50 specific demands, which include calls for an increase in black employment, black enrollment, and funds for students of color. Although a list of demands is not a novel idea, since many Black Student Unions have released sets of demands at universities across the country, the types of demands on Oberlin’s list are unique and far reaching.
"...it’s about having a safe space. So it’s not just the dining hall. It’s everything. It’s the posts on Yik Yak. It’s the micro-aggressions.”
For example, students at Oberlin are demanding “black student leaders be provided a $8.20/hr stipend for their continuous organizing efforts around the well-being of Black people on Oberlin’s campus” and the creation of “exclusive black safe-spaces on campus,” including segregated spaces in the library and science building.
Some of the other demands include:
-The destruction of the school’s “No Trespass List,” which bans individuals who are unsafe from entering campus, because the list contains a disproportionate number of black men and women.
-Black financial aid officers for all black students so “students can fully understand the contents of their financial package.”
-An equal amount of tuning for pianos where students of color spend time in comparison to pianos “in white spaces.
-A $15 minimum wage for all employees on campus
-The immediate firing of several professors on campus for various racial offenses
-The establishment of a “bridge program,” which would allow recently-released prisoners to take courses at Oberlin College.
-“A more inclusive audition process” for musical programs at Oberlin that “does not privilege Western European theoretical knowledge over playing ability.”
-“The divestment from all prisons and Israel.”
While the authors of the list promised “a full and forceful response from the community” if administrators fail to succumb to the demands, the authorship remains nebulous. Some student groups have publicly endorsed the list of demands, including the school’s pro-Palestine group.
The initial google doc of demands was allegedly written by the schools Black Student Union but the google doc has since been removed. The list of demands is now posted on a blog entitled “Legal Insurrection.”
In addition to the list of demands, members of the Black Student Union, also known as “ABUSUA,” protested outside an on-campus dining hall, according to The Oberlin Review.
The protest was organized in response to a lack of “traditional meals” and “authentic food ideas” at Oberlin dining halls. Members of the Black Student Union called for a decrease in the amount of cream used in meals because “Black American food doesn’t have much cream it.” Black students also demanded fried chicken be made a permanent feature on the school’s menu. (ABUSUA) is also demanding dining service workers be given 40 hours per week, personal days, and benefits for part-time workers.
Director of Business Operations and Dining Services Michele Gross told The Review she is open to dialogue and is currently drafting a timeline to respond to the demands. Gross also organized a forum on Thursday to discuss the future of on-campus dining halls with students.
“We students are concerned about our safety,” Gloria Lewis, a student in attendance, told The Review. “And so beyond that, it’s about having a safe space. So it’s not just the dining hall. It’s everything. It’s the posts on Yik Yak. It’s the micro-aggressions.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowskiMelted candy led a Charleston convenience store clerk to have a meltdown on a customer Sunday. Now she’s in jail, charged with attempted murder and a weapons violation.
Charleston Police say Angela Tyreka Robinson, 35, beat a customer with a fan, later chased him down in her SUV, then cut and stabbed him.
According to police, the victim said he simply walked back into the Rosemont Pantry on Doscher Avenue Sunday to suggest the store keep its candy in a cooler place, after buying a piece only to find it was melted after he left the store.
It was at that point, the victim told police, Robinson became irate and attacked him. He told police he left the store, but Robinson later pulled up to him on Delano Street, got out of her vehicle, pulled a knife, and began attacking him again.
The victim received a cut to his left arm and a stab wound to his left leg, and was treated for is injuries at Roper Hospital, according to police.
Robinson remains in jail. Her bond has been set at $60,000.ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - When Islamic State militants began circulating names of Christians who must leave their Egyptian hometown of Arish or die, Munir Munir’s father Adel, a civil servant, brought home a hit list that had his own name as number two.
Christian families who left from Al-Arish city North Sinai’s Governorate capital after the escalation of a campaign targeting Christians by Islamic State militants last week, take a rest after arriving at the Saint Church in Ismailia, northeast of Cairo, Egypt February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
The first person on the list, shopkeeper Wael Youssef, was killed on Jan. 30. The Munirs barricaded themselves inside their house “like rats in a hole,” Munir Munir recalled last week.
Within a month, four more Christians in the town had been shot dead, one beheaded and another burned to death. After the seventh killing, the Munirs finally fled. Their father insisted on staying behind.
A shift in Islamic State’s tactics from attacking soldiers and police to targeting Christian civilians has become a potential turning point in a country trying to halt a provincial insurgency from spiraling into wider sectarian bloodshed.
Islamic State’s branch in Egypt, which has waged a low-level conflict for years by attacking security forces mostly in the Munirs’ native North Sinai province, has issued a new message inciting attacks on Christians across Egypt.
The militants’ aim, say analysts, is to weaken President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi by sowing the kind of sectarian chaos that has fueled lengthy conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
During the killing wave of the past month, about 145 families have fled North Sinai to Ismailia, a city on the edge of the Suez Canal that forms the western boundary of Sinai, and about 30 to Cairo. Others have made their way to other provinces, church officials and human rights groups say.
Several families, including the Munirs, told Reuters that Muslim neighbors unaffiliated to Islamic State have stepped up assaults against them, emboldened by the militants and the violence that has destabilized their province and seen hundreds of soldiers and police killed in recent years.
“Our neighbors took our land because we are Christian. They tried to attack me and my sister and when my father came to defend us they sprayed his face with acid,” said Munir Munir’s sister Dimiana as she huddled with four family members in a churchyard, waiting for volunteers to find them a new home.
The families gathered forlornly at Ismailia’s Evangelical Church around sacks overspilling with the clothes they managed to bring before they fled. Women wailed over lost homes and children ran around oblivious as volunteers brought in blankets and made calls seeking to secure shelter.
KILLED JUST FOR BEING CHRISTIANS
Copts comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people, the biggest Christian minority in the Middle East.
The violence is unlike previous waves of sectarian attacks in Egypt, because there is no longer any pretence of a reason, beyond killing Christians for their faith, said Ishak Ibrahim, researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
“What we are seeing here is new. There has always been violence against Christians but it was usually for a ‘reason’ like land disputes. Now Christians are killed just for being Christians,” he said.
“Militants are sending the government a message; saying they can change part of the country’s demographics. This is a dangerous precedent,” he said. “...And who knows if it will be replicated in Upper Egypt or elsewhere.”
Sameh Kamel had just made it out of the North Sinai with his wife and two children when his neighbor phoned. Islamic State militants had come knocking on their door just an hour after the family had packed their bags and fled.
“They’re knocking on doors and if they find a Christian they kill him,” said Kamel.
The opening salvo came in December, when an Islamic State fighter bombed a church adjoining Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic papacy, killing 28 people. The militants threatened all Egyptian Christians in a video in February.
The flight of the North Sinai Coptic families poses a challenge for Sisi, who promised to restore security in a U.S. ally seen as a bulwark against extremism.
Sisi, who’s ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 sparked an escalation in the Sinai insurgency, has sought to assure Egyptians that security forces would preserve national unity. He ordered the government to help resettle displaced Christians and met with top officials to discuss how to respond.
Slideshow (6 Images)
The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday it “possessed all the capabilities, will, and desire” to protect citizens. But those who fled do not believe the state is able to save them.
“The police and army cannot do anything; they cannot even protect themselves,” said Munir Munir.
“Of course we won’t go back to Arish. Go back to die?”Let’s just say right off the bat that Ellen DeGeneres has been making millions of people laugh for decades, especially over the past 13 years on her syndicated daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The fun-loving, award-winning host and comedian is also known for being a philanthropist and a pioneer, as well as a damn good dancer.
However, a columnist for Instinct magazine brought our attention to an eyebrow-raising sponsored-ad skit that appeared on her show last week. During the less-than-two-minute sketch, three “average-looking” shirtless men representing the bad ingredients in other soups (such as preservatives and MSG) were shooed away to make room for three younger, buffer guys who symbolized the better (yummier, perhaps) ingredients found in Campbell’s.
While Ellen’s show is notorious for featuring segments with beefy guys showing some skin all in the name of fun, this columnist brought up an interesting point: “Imagine if Harry Connick Jr. did this on his show with women.”
View photos Make way for the sexy guys! (Photo: The Ellen DeGeneres Show) More
One male viewer posted this comment regarding the skit on EllenTV.com: “Campbell’s soup used ever so slightly pudgy men to demonstrate it doesn’t contain bad elements and hunky guys to demonstrate the good elements. I’m surprised to see this on Ellen. What if they’d used chubby females to show bad and slender, toned females to show good?”
This keen observation begs the question: Why the double standard?
“We feel we can joke about something when it seems less threatening,” Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and author of Your Best Age Is Now, tells Yahoo Beauty. In the terms of one’s appearance, she explains that women are sensitive about being objectified “because historically it has meant their being disempowered in some way. Because the truth of the matter is, for women, their beauty has been connected to their power and their success, to some degree.” Ludwig refers this theory to the term “evolutionary psychology.”
“Women had to rely on their femininity because that was a form of power — of being desirable and of showing that they could carry on genetic lines,” she states. “So when we attack a woman or objectify her, that’s taking away her power, because that’s primarily where a woman’s evolutionary power came from. But for men, that’s really not so much the case.”
That’s because a man’s power, evolutionarily speaking, has been linked to his ability to earn a living and provide for his family. “And this has changed recently because women are becoming economically important — their financial status has become more important — which has equalized the playing field,” continues Ludwig. “So for men to be objectified is a fairly new concept, and these ideas take a long time to truly change.”
However, another relatively new concept is that men also suffer from body image issues and are diagnosed with eating disorders and body dysmorphia (also known as body dysmorphic disorder) at increasing rates.
“We tend not to think about men as being affected by these types of issues, but they are,” she states. “Because of the ads that are around, men have been impacted more about how they experience themselves and their looks. The more images they see to compare themselves to, the more this can increase their own level of shaming and their own insecurities about how they look and how they feel about their looks. Women have had to deal with this reality for much, much longer, but men have become vulnerable too.”
So even though times have changed, gender differences remain.
“While there are similarities, men and women are still different,” concludes Ludwig. “As much as we want to deny that reality, there are still some truths. It’s a cultural reality.”
Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.Scientists are planning to build a massive type of new power generator in south-western Arizona, which relies on evaporative cooling to create wind. It should deliver enough energy to power a medium to large city with no negative environmental impact.
The downdraft energy tower relies on the principle that cool air will sink while hot air rises. At the top of the tower, mist will be sprayed so that passing air is cooled, causing it to sink rapidly. The air then escapes at the bottom of the tower by passing through hundreds of wind turbines, generating power.
The overall efficiency of this process is around 45%, and these losses result from the need to pump cooling water to the top of the tower as well as other thermal losses. The cost of energy production will be lower than other power sources, and the tower will be able to provide enough electricity for a city of one million people.
The tower would stand about 3,000 feet tall and there would be several design issues to overcome before being able to build a structure taller than the Earth’s highest building, the Burj Khalifa. The company behind the project, Clean Wind Energy, has already leased the land necessary to build the tower.
The concept of the downdraft energy tower was first patented in 1975 by Philip Carson, and currently Israeli scientists at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology are working to fine-tune the tower at the projected scale.
[via Treehugger]A Secret Service agent stands guard outside of Trump Tower in New York City. | Getty Secret Service advertised as hot 'new amenity' at Trump Tower
The U.S. Secret Service is the hot, new “amenity” at Trump Tower, where desperate brokers are trying to lure well-heeled clients into the building on Fifth Avenue that has served as President-elect Donald Trump’s home as well as his campaign and transition headquarters.
Less than a week after Trump was elected, prominent New York real estate agency Douglas Elliman blasted out an email with the subject: “Fifth Avenue Buyers Interested in Secret Service Protection?” to advertise a $2.1 million, 1,052-square-foot condo in the tower on 721 Fifth Avenue.
Story Continued Below
“The New Aminity [sic] – The United States Secret Service,” screamed the flier sent in an email on Nov. 13 for a one-bedroom apartment on the 31st floor, represented by brokers Ariel Sassoon and Devin Leahy.
“The Best Value in the Most Secure Building in Manhattan,” it stated.
While there’s been a great deal of attention to how Trump plans to divest of his conflicts of interest, less attention has been applied to how business associates — including owners and marketers of his properties — may seek to profit from his new job in the White House.
As hard as Trump works to distance himself from his businesses, there may be no way of getting around other business associates using his brand for their own opportunity.
Trump was the developer and sponsor of Trump Tower when it was built 33 years ago, but most of the 263 units are individually owned. Trump Tower does not retain a portion of the sales but since the building is managed by Trump Corporation, it retains a processing fee for unit sales which is about $2,000 per application plus $250 per additional adult dweller, as part of its service as manager of the building.
The condominium collects the common charge, but Trump manages the garage and vendors like the bar and restaurant in the building.
A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Douglas Elliman, meanwhile, distanced the company from the listing. “This was completely unauthorized and done without the knowledge or approval of Douglas Elliman,” said the company representative in a statement.
Debra Stotts, a real estate agent for Town Residential brokerage, who has worked in marketing for the Trump Organization for eight years until 2011 and still represents many listings in its properties, said that the appeal of living in Trump Tower is “50-50.”
“Honestly, it’s 50-50 just like the polls. There are those who flee, there are those who are going to the building and want to be associated with Trump as a winner,” Stotts said.
POLITICO Screen grab
When asked about why the majority of the sale and rental listings have gone down in value, Stotts cited outside factors. “It’s the market," she said. "Before Donald had won, it’s been down. It’s because of the abundance of development that’s occurred in New York City. There’s just so many buildings in the market."
Meanwhile, last week the jeweler Tiffany and Co. located near Trump Tower at 727 Fifth Avenue warned of lower profit because of its flagship store’s location next to the Tower, which is being blocked by security causing traffic and congestion in the area.
Even after Trump moves to Washington, his wife, Melania, and son Barron plan to stay in Manhattan so that Barron can finish school. Melania Trump also is afforded security detail.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that securing Trump Tower costs the city $500,000 per day. He said that he is requesting $35 million from the federal government to guard the building from the election on Nov. 8 to the inauguration on Jan. 20.
CORRECTION: Debra Stotts is a real estate agent for Town Residential brokerage. An earlier version of this story misidentified her title.KBS’s “School” series will make a return in the second half of the year with “School 2015,” according to a representative of the network.
With the new chapter, the “School” series will make its return after two and a half years off the air. The last iteration of the series, “School 2013,” ran from December 2012 to January 2013.
As “School 2015” is still in its initial planning phase, not much is known about what the show will look like, according to the show’s director, Park Sang Hoon. “‘School 2015’ is still in pre-planning,” he said. “Nothing has been finalized.”
Featuring actors Jang Na Ra, Daniel Choi, and Yoon Joo Sang as teachers and Lee Jong Suk, Kim Woo Bin, and Park Se Young as high school students, “School 2013” was loved by audiences for its genuine portrayal of teachers and the conflicts, relationships, and growth experienced by students. The unique “male chemistry” between actors Lee Jong Suk and Kim Woo Bin also helped to raise the two actors’ popularity.
Make sure to check back for more on the return of “School 2015!”
[tv]Check out episodes of School 2013 on SoompiTV![/tv]Earth is wrapped in a donut shaped magnetic field. Circular lines of flux continuously descend into the North Pole and emerge from the South Pole.
The ionosphere, an electromagnetic-wave conductor, 100 kms above the earth, consists of a layer of electrically charged particles acting as a shield from solar winds. Natural waves are related to the electrical activity in the atmosphere and are thought to be caused by multiple lightning storms.
These are quasi-standing extremely low frequency (ELF) waves that naturally exist in the earth's "electromagnetic" cavity, the space between the ground and the ionosphere. These "earth brainwaves" are identical to the spectrum of our brainwaves.
(1 hertz = 1 cycle per second, 1 Khz = 1000, 1 Mhz =1 million. A 1 Hertz wave is 186,000 miles long; 10 Hz is 18,600 miles. Radio waves move at the speed of light.)
The Creator designed living beings to resonate to this natural frequency pulsation in order to evolve harmoniously. The ionosphere is being manipulated by US government scientists using an Alaskan transmitter called High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) which sends focused radiated power to heat up sections of the ionosphere, which bounces power down again. The Creator designed living beings to resonate to this natural frequency pulsation in order to evolve harmoniously. The ionosphere is being manipulated by US government scientists using an Alaskan transmitter called HAARP, () which sends focused radiated power to heat up sections of the ionosphere, which bounces power down again.
ELF waves from HAARP, when targeted on certain areas, can engineer weather and create mood changes effecting millions of people.
The intended wattage is 1,700 billion watts of power. A former govt. insider deduced they want to flip the world upside down. Sixty-four (64) elements in the ground modulate, with variation, the geomagnetic waves naturally coming from the ground. The "earth's natural brain rhythm" above is balanced with these.
These are the same minerals as the red blood corpuscles. There is a relation between the blood and geomagnetic waves. An imbalance between Schumann and geomagnetic waves disrupts biorhythms
These natural geomagnetic waves are being replaced by artificially created very low frequency (VLF) ground waves coming from GWEN Towers.
WHAT ARE GWEN TOWERS?
GWEN (Ground Wave Emergency Network) transmitters, placed 200 miles apart across the USA, allow specific frequencies to be tailored to the geomagnetic-field strength in each area, allowing the magnetic field to be altered.
They operate in the VLF range, with transmissions between VLF 150 and 175 KHz. They also emit UHF waves of 225 - 400 MHz.
The VLF signals travel by waves that hug the ground rather than radiate into the atmosphere. A GWEN station transmits up to a 300-mile radius, the signal dropping off sharply over distance. The entire GWEN system consists of, (depending on source of data), from 58 to an intended 300 transmitters, spread across the USA, each with a tower 299-500 ft high.
Three hundred (300) ft. of copper wire fans out in a spoke like fashion from the base of the underground system, interacting with the earth like a thin shelled conductor, radiating radio wave energy for very long distances through the ground. The USA bathes in this magnetic field which rises to 500 ft, even going down to basements, so everyone is subject to mind control.
The whole artificial ground wave spreads out over USA like a web. It is easier to mind-control and hypnotize people who are bathed in an artificial electromagnetic wave.
Location of Gwen Towers in the U.S.
GWEN transmitters have many different functions, including controlling the weather, mind, behavior and mood control of the populace.
They are also used to send synthetic telepathy disguised as infrasound to those victims of US government mind-control implants.
Related Voice to Skull - (Evidence and Anecdotes) What You Need to Know about Mind Control Technology
HAARP and the Russian HAARP. The Russians openly market a small version of their weather-engineering system called Elate, which can fine-tune weather patterns over a 200 mile area and have the same range as the GWEN unit. One such system operates at the Moscow airport. These towers work in conjunction withand the Woodpecker transmitter, a system similar to. The Russians openly market a small version of their weather-engineering system called, which can fine-tune weather patterns over a 200 mile area and have the same range as the. One such system operates at the Moscow airport.
Related Mass Mind Control Grid and the Basis of False Channeling and Contact? -- The Russian Woodpecker: Experiments in Global Mind Control? | Psychotronics, Weather Weapons and Tesla Technology
The GWEN Towers shoot enormous bursts of energy into the atmosphere in conjunction with HAARP.
How does this happen? The internet website: www.cuttingedge.org, published an expose on how the major floods of 1993 in the Mid-Western United States were instigated by these systems.
Invisible, enormous rivers of water, consisting of vapors that flow, move towards the poles in the lower atmosphere. They rival the flow of the Amazon River and are 420 to 480 miles wide and up to 4,800 miles long.
They are 1.9 miles above the earth and move 340 lbs of water per second. There are 5 atmospheric rivers in each Hemisphere. A massive flood can be created by damming up one of these massive vapor rivers, causing huge amounts of rainfall to be dumped. The GWEN Towers positioned along the areas north of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were turned on for 40 days and 40 nights, probably mocking the Flood of Genesis. (This was in conjunction with HAARP).
The damming of the vapor rivers creates a river of electricity flowing thousands of miles through the sky and down to the polar ice-cap, manipulating the jet-stream. Again, these two major rivers flooded, causing agricultural losses of $12-15 billion.
HAARP also produces earthquakes by focusing on the fault lines. GWEN Towers are positioned on the fault lines and volcanic areas of the Pacific Northwest.
In 1963, Dr. Robert Becker explored effects of external magnetic-fields on brainwaves, showing a relationship between psychiatric hospital admissions and solar magnetic storms. He exposed volunteers to pulsed magnetic-fields similar to magnetic storms, and found a similar response. In the United States, sixty (60) Hz electric-power ELF waves vibrate at the same frequency as the human brain. In the United Kingdom, fifty (50) Hz electricity emissions depress the thyroid.
Andrija Puharich (in the 1950 & 60s), found that a clairvoyant's brainwaves turned to 8 Hz when their psychic powers were operative. In 1956, he observed an Indian Yogi controlling his brainwaves, deliberately shifting his consciousness from one level to another. Dr.(in the 1950 & 60s), found that aturned to 8 Hz when their psychic powers were operative. In 1956, he observed an Indian Yogi controlling his brainwaves, deliberately shifting his consciousness from one level to another.
Puharich trained people via bio-feedback to do this consciously, that is, creating 8 Hz waves with the technique of bio-feedback.
A psychic healer generated 8 Hz waves through a hands-on healing process, actually alleviating that patient's heart trouble; the healer's brain emitting 8 Hz. One person, emitting a certain frequency, can make another also resonate to the same frequency.
Our brains are extremely vulnerable to any technology that sends out ELF waves, because they immediately start resonating to the outside signal by a kind of tuning-fork effect.
Puharich further experimented, discovering that,
7.83 Hz ( earth's pulse rate ) made a person "feel good," producing an altered-state
10.80 Hz causes riotous behavior
6.6 Hz causes depression.
Puharich made ELF waves change RNA and DNA in the body, breaking hydrogen bonds to make a person resonate at a higher vibratory rate.
He really wanted to go beyond the psychic 8 Hz brainwave and attract psi phenomena.
Related The "God Helmet" or Koren Helmet -- Controversial Invention Raises More Questions Than Answers about Death, God, Spirituality and How to Control the Human Mind
James Hurtak, who once worked for Puharich, also wrote in his book, who once worked for Puharich, also wrote in his book The Keys of Enoch that ultra-violet caused hydrogen bonds to break and this raised the vibratory rate.
Puharich presented the mental effects of ELF waves to military leaders, but they would not believe him. He then gave this information to certain dignitaries of other Western nations. The US Government burned down his home in New York to shut him up, whereas he then fled to Mexico. However, the Russians discovered which ELF frequencies affected what portion of the human brain; it was on July 4, 1976, that they began zapping the U.S. Embassy in Moscow with electromagnetic-waves, varying the signal, also focusing on 10 Hz. (10 Hz puts people into a hypnotic state).
Related Who Really Owns and Controls the Military-Industrial Complex and What Are They Doing? – An Extensive Research Report
Russians and North Koreans use this in portable mind-control machines to extract confessions. (This system can also be |
question of what happened to the document. Did Clinton delete it? Did she do so accidentally or on purpose? Did she delete other emails? Or, is there another technical explanation for the inconsistent paper trail?
The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for clarification.
Judicial Watch’s trove of new emails contains numerous others that Clinton sent and received as secretary of state but did not give the State Department.
But those emails were sent before March 18, 2009, which is the date the Clinton campaign claims she had the earliest access to her old emails.
Clinton’s campaign has given different explanations for the gap, but it has seemed to settle on the claim that Clinton only had access to emails that were housed on her private server, which was not activated until March 18, 2009.
Asked about the email, State Department spokesman John Kirby provided no specifics, but issued a standard statement.
“Secretary Clinton and her team have indicated that they provided the Department with all work-related emails in her possession from her time at the Department,” he told TheDC, noting that Clinton “has also indicated that she does not have access to work-related emails beyond those she turned over to the Department.”
“In addition, at the Department’s request, Secretary Clinton confirmed for the Court that she believed that all her emails on clintonemail.com in her custody that were potentially federally records were provided to the Department.”
He added that in Sept. 2015 the State Department also asked the FBI to inform them if any additional Clinton emails were recovered. He did not say if the FBI has contacted State in that regard.
Follow Chuck on TwitterImage caption Joshua Ribera was stabbed near a nightclub in Selly Oak last month
A knife amnesty is to be held in Birmingham following five fatal stabbings since March.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands, Bob Jones, announced the plans after a meeting about the issue between the force and Birmingham City Council.
Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said knife crime was falling.
Derrick Campbell, a former government advisor on knife crime, said an amnesty would not make a difference.
Speaking on Thursday, PCC Mr Jones said: "We haven't agreed the final details, we have agreed in principle that it's going to happen.
"We need to work through how it's going to work, how it's going to be publicised, and that's part of the task that we do have ahead."
'Not a deterrent'
But Mr Campbell, who founded and chaired the group Birmingham Reducing Gang Violence, said he had been involved in three knife amnesties in the past.
"Unless they are targeted and time limited they aren't effective," he said.
"They do very little to deter people who are determined to carry a knife and there won't be a real drop in crime.
"All it does is provide an opportunity for people to get rid of old rusty blades. For something meaningful to happen it's about changing people's attitudes to carrying knives."
Fatal stabbings since March Image caption Christina died from a single stab wound to the chest Joshua Ribera - 20 September
Azim Azam - 16 September
Hassan Mahmood - 15 July
Mohammed Saleem - 29 April
Christina Edkins - 7 March
Imposing tougher custodial sentences would have a more positive impact on reducing knife crime, he added.
The PCC said he wanted the idea of a knife amnesty discussed by the 200 young people who will be at a youth summit he is hosting on 3 December.
"We want this to be something that works and resonates with young people to make sure that whatever the strategy is, it's meaningful," Mr Jones said.
Mr Jones praised the ideas on tackling knife crime that came from an "excellent debate" organised by BBC WM.
West Midlands Police launched the Knives cost Lives campaign in January.
There have been five fatal stabbings in the city since March, including 15-year-old Hassan Mahmood in July and 16-year-old Christina Edkins, who was stabbed on a bus in March.
Her killer, Phillip Simelane, from Walsall, has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.
According to figures released by police, knife crime in Birmingham dropped by 25% between April 2011 and 2012.
In 2012-13, there were 1,615 knife-related incidents in the city, although police said over the past six years knife crime had fallen by 63% across the force area.
Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Overall knife crime is falling and a higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years.
"It's encouraging that cautions have fallen and those who have previously been caught carrying a knife are twice as likely to go to prison."The Social Democrats' losses were the conservative Moderate Party's gains, as main opposition party regained their position as Sweden's largest party with 25.6 percent in the latest poll.
The Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, and their Green coalition partners, as well as the Left Party, have 37.2 percent, compared to 42.8 percent for the four centre-right Alliance parties of the former government.
The poll also shows the opposition Christian Democrats nudging just above the 4 percent threshold necessary for representation in parliament.
However, the steady gains by the anti-immigration nationalist Sweden Democrats seem to have come to a halt, with their rating dipping slightly to 18.2 percent.
Analysts say the shifts in the poll likely reflect the problems the ruling parties are having dealing with the recent major increase in refugees.
The poll was conducted at the same time as the controversy surrounding Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström's Stockholm apartment was its height, something which may also have adversely affected the Social Democrats' rating.
Sämsta siffran någonsin för Socialdemokraterna i ny Sifo-mätning https://t.co/I8EgoH56uj pic.twitter.com/QLqhXebkfD — Aftonbladet (@Aftonbladet) January 23, 2016
In an email to the Swedish news agency, TT, the Social Democrats' party secretary, Carin Jämtin, responded to the poll by saying, "We have had a challenging year and this poll figure reflects the fact that Sweden faces several challenges that we must deal with.”
“In order to turn public opinion in 2016 we must continue to manage the issue of migration and make it a priority to protect welfare so people feel secure and continue the fight against unemployment so that more are involved in working and contributing to our society."
The Moderates' success was due to their leading the migration debate, political scientist Jonas Hinnfors told Svenska Dagbladet.
Meanwhile, the party secretary of the Moderates, Tomas Tobé, said, “Anna Kinberg Batra (the Moderates' leader) has proposed order in the economy, a temporary refugee break and more jobs. These are policies that more and more voters support.”
The political landscape in Sweden has been dominated by the refugee crisis over the past two years.
Sweden has recently taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other EU nation -- 160,000 asylum requests last year, including 26,000 unaccompanied minors, with 115,000 of them in the last four months.Creating fighter planes that morph into robots, humans struggle to fend off aliens who return to reclaim a spaceship that crashed in the Pacific.
1. Boobytrap 23m Earth is attacked by an armada of giant aliens.
2. Countdown 23m Earth's SDF-1 battle fortress prepares to lift off into space to battle with the alien invaders.
3. Spacefold 23m In order to avoid the total destruction of Earth, the crew of the SDF-1 make an untested jump into hyperspace.
4. The Long Wait 24m Rick and Minmei find themselves trapped inside an unexplored area of the gigantic space battle fortress.
5. Transformation 23m Capt. Gloval plans a daring strategy to convert the SDF-1 into a robotic configuration to do battle with the Zentraedi forces.
6. Blitzkrieg 23m The battle between the Robotech defenders and the Zentraedi is taken to the limits of the Solar System as the two forces meet in the rings of Saturn.
7. Bye-Bye Mars 23m The Zentraedi plan an ambush for the SDF-1 at a deserted Martian outpost.
8. Sweet Sixteen 23m As Minmei prepares for her 16th birthday, the Zentraedi prepare for yet another attack on the Robotech ship.
9. Miss Macross 23m A beauty contest on the SDF-1 is designed to boost morale as the valiant Robotech defenders make their way back to Earth.
10. Blind Game 23m The Zentraedi forces destroy the radar and communication systems aboard the SDF-1 and deliver an ultimatum for surrender.
11. First Contact 22m Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter are captured by the Zentraedi and held prisoner aboard the flagship of Dolza, the leader of the alien warriors.
12. The Big Escape 24m Max stages a daring rescue attempt for his friends captured by the Zentraedi armada.
13. Blue Wind 23m As the SDF-1 approaches Earth, the Zentraedi try for a final victory in their ongoing battle to commandeer the prized Robotech ship.
14. Gloval's Report 23m Back on Earth, Capt. Gloval recounts the events of the past two years in the war with the alien Zentraedi forces.
15. Homecoming 23m The population of the SDF-1 is celebrating their return to Earth while Capt. Gloval tries to convince the government of the the Zentraedi threat.
16. Battle Cry 23m Minmei's cousin Kyle is reunited with his family on board the SDF-1 moments before a Zentraedi sneak attack.
17. Phantasm 24m Rick lies in bed recovering from combat wounds. As his body fights for life, Rick's fevered imagination takes him through a demented nightmare.
18. Farewell, Big Brother 23m Roy Fokker's squadron is short-manned while Rick is recovering. A Zentraedi raid yields a tragic consequence.
19. Bursting Point 23m The 70,000 refugees onboard the SDF-1 are being evacuated. Khyron, the most evil Zentraedi, wastes no time jumping on an opportunity to attack.
20. Paradise Lost 23m After the tragedies of the recent past, everyone on board the SDF-1 is anxiously awaiting the release of Minmei's first feature film.
21. A New Dawn 23m The aliens believe that the humans possess a secret weapon and plan a stratagem to defeat their bothersome Micronian enemies.
22. Battle Hymn 23m A civil war brews aboard the Zentraedi warships as word spreads throughout the alien underground about the good life experienced in Macross City.
23. Reckless 23m Rick goes on the warpath to stop an invasion by the defecting Zentraedi. Minmei and Kyle, meanwhile, are faced with dangerous implications.
24. Showdown 24m Max Sterling meets the micronized Zentraedi warrior, Miriya, on a different field of battle -- as combatants of a video game championship.
25. Wedding Bells 24m Miriya's attempt to ambush Max turns into a more complicated affair when they fall in love and decide to get married.
26. The Messenger 24m In the wake of Max and Miriya's marriage, Exedore is sent to the SDF-1 to negotiate a peace settlement between the two warrior civilizations.
27. Force of Arms 24m Dolza surrounds Earth with 4.8 million armed ships. For Dolza, the time for talking has ended. The SDF-1 and Earth must be destroyed.
28. Reconstruction Blues 24m While the SDF-1's citizens try to rebuild, Earth has become a barren wilderness where the pioneer spirit of the survivors is put to the ultimate test.
29. Robotech Masters 23m The Robotech Masters find evidence of a battle that took place near Earth. They feel this might be the location of their lost protoculture factory.
30. Viva Miriya 23m Breetai organizes a raid on the last remaining Robotech factory to try to prevent the wandering Robotech Masters from finding their way to Earth.
31. Khyron's Revenge 24m Khyron plots to persuade the surviving micronized Zentraedi to rejoin the ranks of the elite Robotech Masters now under his command.
32. Broken Heart 23m Khyron has managed to capture Minmei and Kyle. He holds his micronian prisoners for ransom; the price for their freedom is the SDF-1.
33. A Rainy Night 23m Claudia gives Lisa a lesson in psychology as she recalls the early stages of her romance with the late Commander Roy Fokker.
34. Private Time 24m Minmei tries to become part of Rick Hunter's life again after returning from her tour of the frontier.
35. Season's Greetings 24m The Christmas season serves as a backdrop for Khyron's plans to steal Earth's remaining supply of protoculture matrix.
36. To the Stars 24m Adm. Gloval has ordered Lisa to command the new SDF-2 and undertake a new mission to search the far reaches of space.
37. Dana's Story 23m Dana, the child of Miriya and Max Sterling, recalls her parents' turbulent romance in order to soothe the fears of a new recruit.
38. False Start 24m The Robotech Masters have finally arrived near Earth to try to recover the lost protoculture factory.
39. Southern Cross 23m A counterattack by the United Earth Forces causes the Robotech Masters to re-evaluate their plans to regain the protoculture factory.
40. Volunteers 23m The Supreme Commander of the Army of the Southern Cross asks for volunteers to re-establish communications with an isolated space station.
41. Half Moon 23m On a routine patrol, Dana Sterling and Bowie Grant discover a plot by the Robotech Masters to excavate around the destruction site of the SDF-1.
42. Danger Zone 23m A gigantic ship from the armada is flying closer and closer to Earth. Dana's 15th Tactical Armoured Corps is called into action to solve the crisis.
43. Prelude to Battle 23m On the eve of a dangerous mission, the members of Dana's courageous squad prepare for battle, each in his or her very own way.
44. The Trap 23m Dana's squad succeeds in breaching the hull of the fallen alien vessel. They proceed through the gigantic ship without realizing it is a trap.
45. Metal Fire 23m Failing in their attempts to capture the humans who entered their ship, the Robotech Masters plot to raid a nearby city.
46. Stardust 23m Dana Sterling tries to get the war off her mind by attending a concert with Bowie. There, she meets a singer who turns out to be a spy.
47. Outsiders 22m The Robotech Masters introduce Zor into the ranks of the 15th Tactical Squadron with the hope of getting information about protoculture.
48. Deja Vu 23m Zor, the Robotech Masters' unsuspecting spy, is subjected to rigorous psychological tests to determine if he is human.
49. A New Recruit 23m Gen. Leonard is convinced Zor can help the army get information about the Robotech Masters, and places Dana Sterling in charge of his rehabilitation.
50. Triumvirate 23m Gen. Leonard orders an attack against the Robotech Masters. The plan does not include the 15th Tactical Squad, which is helping Zor regain his memory.
51. Clone Chamber 23m Things on Earth are settling into a pleasant domestic routine while the Robotech Masters and their bioroid army fights for their survival.
52. Love Song 23m A classic Cinderella story unfolds as Marie Angel and Sean Phillips plan a very important date. Yet things don't necessarily turn out for the best.
53. The Hunters 23m Louise Nichols, a member of Dana Sterling's squad, builds a Robotech device that is exploited by the Military Police into an offensive weapon system.
54. Mind Game 23m The ground forces of the Army of the Southern Cross are ordered to attack. Dana and her squad respond, only to be captured by Zor!
55. Dana in Wonderland 23m Trying to escape, Dana and her friends discover many secrets concerning the true nature of the Robotech Masters civilization.
56. Crisis Point 23m A critical battle takes place aboard the Robotech Masters' ship, as Zor and Musica, a Robotech clone mistress, defect and join the Earth's forces.
57. Daydreamer 23m Musica tries to assimilate herself into the "alien" environment she finds on Earth until Nova Satori, the military police, seeks her out as a spy.
58. Final Nightmare 24m Nova tracks Bowie and Musica to the SDF-1 and makes a startling discovery about the nature of protoculture and the impending Invid invasion.
59. The Invid Connection 23m Zor and the rest of Dana's 15th Tactical Squad make a daring trip to the Robotech Masters' ship to rescue Gen. Rolf Emerson, Bowie's guardian.
60. Catastrophe 23m Zor goes on the rampage to destroy the entire culture created by the Robotech Masters before the arrival of the Invid.
61. The Invid Invasion 21m The Robotech Expeditionary Force returns to Earth in the wake of the invasion of the Robotech Masters, only to find their planet overrun by the Invid.
62. The Lost City 21m Scott Bernard, the sole survivor of the Robotech Expeditionary Force's attack against the Invid stronghold, joins forces with Rand, a freedom fighter.
63. Lonely Soldier Boy 22m Scott, Rand and 13-year-old Annie try to help some citizens in a remote town fight off a gang of thugs and an attack by an Invid Scout Patrol.
64. Survival 22m The group of freedom fighters set up a base in the center of a forest under the constant scrutiny of Invid Scout Troops and Invid Shock Troopers.
65. Curtain Call 22m Yellow Dancer stages a rock concert to serve as a diversion, allowing the freedom fighters a chance to sneak into a protoculture storage area.
66. Hard Times 22m Rook is reminded of the past as the freedom fighters power their way through her hometown. Rook takes the opportunity to settle some old scores.
67. Paper Hero 21m Lunk is on a mission to deliver a manuscript to the father of one of his dead comrades. It was a promise he made and feels obligated to keep.
68. Eulogy 22m Scott Bernard and his comrades come upon Robotech Defense Forces under the command of one of his childhood heroes, Col. Wolfe.
69. The Genesis Pits 22m Scott, Rand and Annie are separated from the group and find themselves in a Genesis Pit, an experimental lnvid laboratory.
70. Enter Marlene 22m The Invid send a "simul-agent" among Scott Bernard and his friends in order to find out how much the freedom fighters know about their plans.
71. The Secret Route 22m The freedom fighters come upon a thriving community which makes its living by selling information to avoid the Invid.
72. The Fortress 22m In order to continue on to Reflex Point, Scott and his friends must first destroy an old Robotech Fortress that is now occupied by the Invid.
73. Sandstorm 22m Rand braves a sandstorm to find water for Marlene, who has grown ill following the destruction of the Invid fortress.
74. Annie's Wedding 22m While traveling through a forest of mature trees that were once active Invid Flowers of Life, Scott's group is captured by a tribe of outcasts.
75. Separate Ways 22m Following Annie's departure, a sense of melancholy settles over Scott and his friends. Arguments get blown out of proportion and the group splits up.
76. Metamorphosis 22m The queen of the Invid allows two of her children to transform their bodies into humans as part of the process of finding the ultimate life form.
77. The Midnight Sun 22m The fighters defend against a massive attack by the Invid, led by Sera, who is torn by her loyalty to the Regiss and her emotional instability.
78. Ghost Town 22m The group finds themselves in a high-desert ghost town populated by an assemblage of old timers who have Robotechnology.
79. Frost Bite 22m The Robotech freedom fighters discover the deserted remains of Denver, Colorado. They go through the empty streets looking for supplies.
80. Birthday Blues 21m A surprise birthday party for Annie turns into a nightmare as Corg sets up an ambush for the freedom fighters.
81. Hired Gun 22m A human who was used as an experimental subject by the Invid has his mind set on revenge as he destroys those he feels responsible for his torture.
82. The Big Apple 21m The fighters travel to a large urban center to replenish their dwindling supplies of protoculture and also to get information regarding Reflex Point.
83. Reflex Point 22m The Robotech Defense Force is planning an attack against the Invid, who have taken over Earth, and there's a battle over an advanced Alpha Fighter.
84. Dark Finale 22m Some fighters are told to stay away from the attack at Reflex Point, but they don't obey... and blast their way into a confrontation with Regiss!An unseen, sweet-smelling cloud drifted through parts of Manhattan last night. Arturo Padilla walked through it and declared that it was awesome.
"It's like maple syrup. With Eggos. Or pancakes," he said. "It's pleasant."
The odor had followed Mr. Padilla and his friend along their walk in Lower Manhattan, from a dormitory on Fulton Street, to Pace University on Spruce Street, and back down again, to where they stood now, near a Dunkin' Donuts. Maybe it was from there, he said. But it wasn't.
Mr. Padilla was not alone. Reports of the syrupy cloud poured in from across Manhattan after 9 p.m. Some feared that it was something sinister.
There were so many calls that the city's Office of Emergency Management coordinated efforts with the Police and Fire Departments, the Coast Guard and the City Department of Environmental Protection to look into it.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
By 11 p. m., the search had turned up nothing harmful, according to tests of the air. Reports continued to come in from as far north as 112th Street shortly before midnight. In Lower Manhattan, where the smell had begun to fade, it was back, stronger than before, by 1 a.m.
"We are continuing to sample the air throughout the affected area to make sure there's nothing hazardous," said Jarrod Bernstein, an emergency management spokesman. "What the actual cause of the smell is, we really don't know."American Geode
We are a source of geodes, minerals, gems, and fossils for collectors, academics in geology and paleontology, museums, and even interior design professionals. Rockhounding for unusual geodes, beautiful minerals, rare gems, and beautiful exotic crystals with positive energy keep us motivated. Some of our favorite finds are Indiana Geodes, NY Herkimer Diamonds, Connecticut Garnets, Kyanite, and Apache Peridot. We use a variety of tools for rockhounding including crack hammers, sledge hammers, demolition hammers, and 65lb jackhammers (lots of rockhound hammers) as well as diamond saws and soil pipe cutters. We enjoy researching and mining rocks and roadtrips while rockhounding across the USA.
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Our Geodes are some of the finest natural Geodes on Earth. We specialize in Indiana Geodes and all Geodes are for sale and sourced directly from rockhound sites in Indiana, USA. Our Geode sizes range from 3 to 18 inches in diameter. Finding Geodes is hard work and we hand crack them to show the natural geological beauty inside these mysterious natural wonders. Hidden inside include fractal Quartz crystals, white Chalcedony, red chalcedony, blue chalcedony, Baryte minerals, Citrine, and various other favorite gems. Every cracked Geode is truly unique, collectible, and a wonder.
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Now Get out and Rockhound!European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, right, welcomes Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras upon his arrival at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels Friday, March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) The Associated Press
By LORNE COOK, Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is urging Greece to speed up work on its economic reform plan so it can swiftly get rescue money that can help it pay upcoming debts.
With a deadline for completing the package fast approaching, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "not satisfied" with developments over recent weeks, as he went into talks Friday in Brussels with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
"I don't think that we've made sufficient progress," Juncker said.
Greece's creditors in the 19-country eurozone agreed last month to extend the country's bailout program by four months on condition the government draws up a credible reform package by the end of April. Rescue loans have been frozen pending agreement, piling pressure on the Greek government at a time when revenues are below expectations.
Greek officials confirmed that the country paid a 348 million euro instalment to the International Monetary Fund due Friday, part of a total 1.5 billion euros Greece has to repay the Washington D.C.-based institution fund this month. Tsipras has pledged that the country will pay all debts that are due soon, even if rescue loans are not forthcoming.
Greece has depended on 240 billion euros ($255 billion) of bailout cash to meet its debt obligations since 2010 and avoid going bankrupt. However, the rescue money has come with strings attached. Successive Greek governments have had to impose harsh austerity measures and enact economic reforms to get the money. Even after the current bailout program expires at the end of June, Greece is expected to need further assistance.
Figures Friday showed that tax revenues are not coming in as planned. Preliminary budget figures showed revenues significantly off-target in February, although this was largely offset by a further reduction in spending. The primary budget surplus — which excludes debt servicing costs — was 1.2 billion euros compared to a 1.4 billion target.
Tsipras insisted that Greece is doing its utmost to move the reform process forward, saying that he has spent 90 percent of his time since his left-wing government came to power in January discussing short term solutions to the bailout issue. But he said that now it was up to the EU's institutions to do more.
"This is for our common interest," Tsipras said. "There is no Greek problem, there is a European problem."
Tensions between Greece, its eurozone partners and the institutions supervising the debt — the Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF — have been heightened by the new government's continued election-style rhetoric and the EU's austerity demands.
Relations between Greece and Germany, Athens' most influential creditor, have notably deteriorated over Tsipras' plan to seek reparations from Berlin over World War II Nazi crimes.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who is from Germany, urged Tsipras and the eurozone to try clear up any misunderstandings, and said that raising the reparations issue is counter-productive.
"I find this absolutely inappropriate and we should not combine these two different things," he told reporters after Tsipras had left their press conference in Brussels.
Tsipras' visit came two days after technical talks started between debt supervisors and Greece aimed at fleshing out the reforms in more detail and establishing whether the whole package is even viable.
During their talks, Juncker and Tsipras agreed that Athens would set up a new task force to help it make better use of the EU funds it receives.
Greece has been allocated a total of 15.35 billion euros in so-called EU cohesion policy funds, which are aimed at helping bring poorer parts of the single currency bloc up to the same level as their partners.
A Greek minister will be appointed to supervise the process, along with Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis.
___
Nicholas Paphitis from Athens and Raf Casert from Brussels contributed to this article.Moustaches: 5 Things Men Should Know
5 Things You Should Know About Moustaches
Page 1 of 2
Today, only hipsters and women who have given up wear moustaches. The lip hair has become a laughable fashion statement; however, the Brillo Pad lip has a long and storied past dating back to prehistoric times. There are still groups who celebrate the moustache without irony. Documentaries and books are being devoted to the subject and world competitions glorify those who sport them. While most men are busy mocking the moustaches, AskMen has gotten down to the business of collecting fascinating facts.
Here are five things you didn’t know about moustaches:
1- Moustache experts rank Sam Elliott’s the best ever
Writers Jon Chattman and Rich Tarantino spent years researching moustaches to pick only the top-notched lip sweaters for their book Sweet 'Stache: 50 Badass Moustaches and the Faces Who Sport Them. Their highly scientific ‘stache analysis considers a moustache’s cultural relevance, hair quality, style, length, creativity, and ranks it on a scale from 1 to 10.
Sarsaparilla-loving actor Sam Elliot’s graying mutton-chop lip scores the book’s only perfect 10. “Most actors grow a moustache for a particular role, but Elliot doesn’t need a movie. The movie needs his moustache,” said Jon Chattman. “It’s like a live-action Captain Crunch’s. Its finest moment is in The Big Lebowski, it looks like Wolford Brimley’s moustache on steroids.” Chattman added that Elliot’s tipping point for greatest ‘stache is his ability to remain a true sex symbol despite the unruly lip hair.
2- The oldest portrait of a moustache is from 300 B.C.
While shaving with stone razors dates back to Neolithic times, the oldest image of a man with a moustache is a Scythian horseman from 300 B.C. The art piece, appropriately titled “Horseman,” is a Pazyryk felt artifact of a horseman with a thick, upward-curving moustache and partially shaved head. The Pazyryk people lived in southwestern Siberia, near the borders of China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia (maybe they inspired Genghis Khan’s tyrannical moustache). Permafrosted mummies from this era have also been dug up with tattoos. Moustaches and tattoos? They were prehistoric hipsters.
3- Mark Spitz caused the Russian swim team to grow moustaches
Seven-time Olympic gold medal winner Mark Spitz grew a moustache in college because his coach told him he couldn’t. It took him four months and became a personal accomplishment. Swimmers usually shave all body hair to reduce drag and Spitz planned on shaving his for the 1972 Munich Olympics; however, people gave him so much attention about it, he decided to keep it. He’s quoted as saying: “I had some fun with a Russian coach who asked me if my moustache slowed me down. I said, 'No, as a matter of fact, it deflects water away from my mouth, allows my rear end to rise and make me bullet-shaped in the water, and that's what had allowed me to swim so great.' He's translating as fast as he can for the other coaches, and the following year every Russian male swimmer had a moustache.”
We have 2 more things you didn’t know about moustaches after the break…She sat at her kitchen table staring out at the cloudy day. Tears running down her face. Sadness over whelmed her inside. He was getting older and he just didn’t act like himself anymore. She remembered the good days when they sat as a family around the dinner table, and each of them told about their day at school or work. She remembered school projects that he had helped her with. When the winds in March brought them together flying kites. Days filled with laughter,forming a bond between them. Sunday mornings packed in the car and proudly drove to their favorite church. Then after wards they would go to a family’s home for Sunday dinner. She had just come from seeing him at his home. She had visited on an over night visit. He was cruel. Sometimes saying hateful, hurtful things. Seeming like he didn’t realize who she was. Talked bounced around monetary objects, things we can touch and never got to the point of sharing how much we meant to each other. I loved him so much. I looked up to him my whole life. He was an idol that I worshiped daily. Now there was an emptiness in his heart, and an ache in mine, as I see him now for who he has become. It had grasped him, had taken a hold of him. Nothing I could do would turn back the clock. Tears streaming, hanky in hand, I got up and went in and rest my head upon my pillow. Thank you God for giving me the best gift I could ever have. The wonderful memories of my Dad.
41.238100 -85.853047
AdvertisementsSupreme Court of India has held that right to privacy is a Fundamental Right and it is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. In a unanimous decision the Nine -Judge Constitution bench overruled the Judgments in MP Sharma and Kharak Singh cases.
Reading out the operative portion of the judgment, Chief Justice J S Khehar said "few of us have written different orders""However these are our conclusion: Petitions are disposed of in following terms:"
WHO ARE THE JUDGES
The court had reserved its verdict on August 3 after marathon day-long hearings spanning six days across three weeks. The bench comprised of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, R.K. Agrawal, Rohinton Nariman, A M Sapre, D Y Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.
WHO ARE THE LEGAL EAGLES WHO ARGUED
A battery of senior lawyers, including Attorney General KK Venugopal, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Arvind Datar, Kapil Sibal, Gopal Subramaniam, Shayam Divan, Anand Grover, CA Sundaram and Rakesh Dwivedi, had advanced arguments in favour and against the inclusion of the right to privacy as a fundamental right.
Petitions questioned the violation of privacy in collection of information under Aadhaar.
Before the nine judge bench was set up, a five-judge constitution bench headed by chief justice J. S. Khehar earlier said that the larger bench would examine the correctness of the two judgments delivered in the cases of Kharak Singh and M. P. Sharma in which it was held that right to privacy was not a fundamental right.
Crucially, this bench examined whether the two earlier rulings were correct expressions of the constitution.
PETITIONERS’ STAND
Legal eagles Gopal Subramanium, Soli Sorabjee and Shyam Divan appearing for the petitioners strongly argued for declaration of ‘Right To Privacy’ as a fundamental right.
Subramanium contended that privacy is embedded in all processes of human life and liberty. “All human choices are an exercise of liberty. And they all presuppose privacy”, he argued
Sorabjee argued that privacy is an inalienable right inhering in the very personality of Human beings.” The fact that no express right to privacy is mentioned in the Constitution does not mean that it doesn't exist Article 19(1)(a) does not guarantee a freedom of the press. But you can deduce it from free speech, which courts have done. The framers said that freedom of the press was implicit in free speech”,
Divan argued that “We have an unbroken line of decisions since 1975 recognising the right to privacy. Privacy includes the right to be left alone, freedom of thought, freedom to dissent, bodily integrity, informational self-determination”
CENTRE’S STAND
Strongly backing the Aadhaar scheme, the Centre submitted that the right to life of millions of poor in the country through food, shelter and welfare measures was far more important than privacy concerns raised by the elite class.
Controversially, Attorney General K K Venugopal arguing for the Centre also stated that privacy claims required better priority in developed countries "not in a country like India where a vast majority of citizens don't have access |
vital resource for truth was brought to a stand-still by a large number of bogus service requests, with Kevin MacDonald noting that one IP address in Israel “attempted to access the site 13,125 times within the span of three days.” Our mission of enlightenment and liberation is deeply loathed by those intent on bringing our race to its knees. The Occidental Observer is a truly unique site, and we can be sure that the commentary and research it continues to present is giving our enemies sleepless nights. I’m certain that TOO, and other sites sharing our goals and worldview, have a special place in the hateful hearts of the alien elite. They won’t stop until they have found a way to silence us. But cyber-attack is just one prong in this assault on truth and our right to self-determination. Another major frontline in the assault on our mission is the international legislative effort to permanently shut us down.
A few days ago the fifth biennial meeting of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism convened in Israel. Run by the Israeli government, mainly its many-tentacled Foreign Ministry, the Global Forum makes a priority of fighting ‘cyber hate.’ A few days ago it issued statements recommending steps for international governments and major websites to radically restrict material critical of Jews and Israel. The Forum has also very cleverly presented the issue of restricting internet freedom as a moral imperative — our enemies are obviously playing to our weakness. A statement issued by the Forum on Thursday night read:
Given the pervasive, expansive and transnational nature of the internet and the viral nature of hate materials, counter-speech alone is not a sufficient response to cyber hate. The right to free expression does not require or obligate the internet industry to disseminate hate materials. They too are moral actors, free to pursue internet commerce in line with ethics, social responsibility, and a mutually agreed code of conduct.
The Forum should be seen as an exercise in the spread and influence of international Jewish power and activism. The number of representatives alone from various organizations totalled just over one thousand. That number also includes a number of non-Jewish representatives and delegates from governments under Jewish influence. The latest convention of the Forum, the largest of its kind in the world, included the Justice Ministers of Germany and Romania, the Education Minister of Bulgaria, the Mayor of Paris, and the Minister of State for Multiculturalism from Canada. More predictably, leaders from many of our most prominent opposition groups were in attendance, including the Anti-Defamation League; Simon Wiesenthal Center; American Jewish Committee; Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France; the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; B’nai B’rith; World Jewish Congress; and the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy.
The ‘recommendations’ of the Forum include a demand to adopt “a clear industry standard for defining hate speech and anti-Semitism.” This, of course, would be a definition of ‘hate speech’ and ‘anti-Semitism’ that would serve Jewish interests most effectively. This definition would be sufficiently wide-ranging that it would preclude, under threat of severe punishment, any criticism of Jews or Israel. This effort cannot be seen as isolated but as part of a conscious broader, global strategy. In January I wrote in The Noose Tightens on Europe that:
The Guardian reports that European Jewish leaders, backed by a host of former EU heads of state and government, are preparing to call for pan-European legislation outlawing ‘anti-Semitism.’A panel of four prestigious international experts on constitutional law backed by the Orwellian European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR) have spent the last three years drafting a 12-page document on “tolerance”. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, and in line with a renewed and intense Jewish drive for complete invulnerability, they are lobbying to have it converted into law in the 28 countries of the EU.
Efforts to enact legislation or enforce government policies that eliminate criticism of Jews and Israel are just another means to procure the immunity and special privileged status of Jews in our societies. To that end, the ‘cyber-hate’ activism is no different from more explicit efforts to criminalize anti-Semitism.
As part of its proceedings, the Global Forum hosted a panel chaired by “US special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism,” Ira Forman. Members of the panel included the head of the UK’s Cross-Government Hate Crime Programme, Superintendent Paul Giannasi, and anti-free speech academic Prof. Raphael Cohen Almagor. More importantly, the panel included Google’s Juniper Downs and Facebook’s Simon Milner. This mixture of law enforcement, academia, and internet behemoths points to increasing Jewish pressure in all of these areas, in addition to the continuance of pressure on governments to introduce laws against holding anti-Jewish attitudes. Indeed, Almagor openly called for ‘unity’ to combat ‘hate speech.’ The unity of whom? Not the White masses. He wants increased interactive efforts between governments, law officers, and anti-terrorism units, alongside companies and NGOs. He wants Big Brother to start watching you.
Attempting to provide some kind of context for this Brave New World, Jews are busily portraying themselves as being in grave danger. Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman informed the Global Forum that current levels of anti-Semitism around the world are “the worst it’s been since the 30s. We’re living in an era where again anti-Semitism presents a clear and present danger to Jews in various communities. It’s global in its nature, and it’s endangering the lives of Jews—not just where they live or their livelihoods—and it has a dimension of terrorism, jihadism.” No mention from Foxman of the fact that jihadism in Europe and America is the product of Jewish efforts to open our borders to the alien refuse of humanity that perpetrate these foreign-influenced acts and murders on our streets.
In order to address this problem, Foxman said, it is necessary to provide “physical safety and security” for Jewish communities. I’ve already documented the level of safety and security given to this privileged minority (“The Return of the Protected Jewish Minority in Europe”), but note again the insatiable search for total immunity.
Foxman also wants to continuously encourage the narrative of Jewish victimhood. He was at pains to convince the conference of the need “to clearly identify and label both the perpetrators and victims.” He argued that “there is a reluctance to identify sometimes not even the perpetrators but also the victims. It’s a sort of political correctness,” Foxman said, citing Barack Obama’s reluctance to name those shot at the Hypercacher market in Paris as Jewish, calling them instead “a bunch of folks.” Bear in mind that this only works one way. Explicitly mentioning that a victim of a shooting is Jewish is something the ADL is crying out for — but explicitly mentioning the Jewishness of a fraudster, a Communist mass murderer, a serial killer, a degenerate pervert, or several usurpers of our society (see here, here and here) is something liable to put you behind bars in the near future. ‘Jewishness’ is a badge only opportunistically worn.
Jews are not content with the status quo of lobbying individual governments. They want the introduction of international laws and practices that leave no stone unturned, and no avenue for criticism left open. They loathe the fact there is no unified global legislation, and that international fora provided by the internet continue to provide Whites around the world with the opportunity to come together and share strategies, information, and truths which may lead to their eventual rebirth. The Global Forum has now called for the adoption of global terms of service prohibiting the posting of materials critical of Jews. Jews also want to ring-fence their narrative of Jewish casualties during World War II by introducing an international legal ban on “Holocaust denial sites.”
The Jewish plan to eliminate ‘anti-Semitism’ is comprehensive. Among the recommendations for combating anti-Semitism are proposals to:
adopt a formal definition of anti-Semitism applicable throughout the European Union and its member states under law including reference to attacks on the legitimacy of the State of Israel and its right to exist, and Holocaust denial as forms of anti-Semitism;
apply agreed standardized mechanisms for monitoring and recording incidents of anti-Semitism in all EU countries;
take urgent and sustained steps to assure the physical security of Jewish communities, their members and institutions;
direct education ministries to increase teacher training and adopt pedagogic curricula against anti-Semitism, and towards religious tolerance and Holocaust remembrance.
Further recommendations to governments include the establishment of national legal units responsible for combating ‘cyber hate’; making stronger use of existing laws to prosecute ‘cyber hate’ and ‘online anti-Semitism,’ and enhancing the legal basis for prosecution where such laws are absent. Make no mistake. Under the noses of the ignorant materialistic masses, the noose is tightening rapidly on free speech. Faced with unrelenting censorship and prison cells, the future of our movement is likely to be one driven further and further underground. This may or may not bode well for Jews since people pushed to extremes are rarely predictable, and often volatile.
But it won’t be the first time they have upped the ante with catastrophic results. Jewish history is repetitive and cyclical because this ostensibly intelligent people are seemingly incapable of learning from their mistakes. In the 1920s Jewish groups in Germany worked very hard to protect themselves against ‘hate speech,’ and even succeeded in the introduction of swathes of speech-restricting legislation and the total banning of the NSDAP. In Weimar Germany, insulting ‘communities of faith’ — Protestant, Catholic or Jew — was a punishable offence commanding up to three years’ imprisonment. The dissemination of ‘false rumour’ with the intention of degrading or showing contempt for other individuals could result in two years. Incitement to class warfare or acts of violence towards other social classes was also punishable by up to two years behind bars. These were all favorites of the Jewish community. Leading National Socialists such as Joseph Goebbels, Theodor Fritsch and Julius Streicher were all prosecuted for their utterances against Jewish influence. Streicher served two prison sentences.
Flemming Rose notes that “rather than deterring the Nazis and preventing anti-Semitism, the many court cases served as effective public relations machinery for Streicher’s efforts, affording him the kind of attention he never would have found had his utterances been made in a climate of free and open debate. Only weeks after Streicher was sentenced to two months imprisonment for anti-Semitism, the Nazis trebled their share of the vote at the state legislature election in Thuringia.” Bernhard Weiss, Vice-President of the Berlin police, regularly dragged Goebbels into court on charges of anti-Semitism. In all these cases brought against the future head of Nazi propaganda, the prosecution came out on top, yet according to one observer, in the public eye Weiss consistently ended up looking more like the loser, as Goebbels’ anti-Semitic invective found a platform in the public process. In the period 1923 to 1933, Der Stürmer was either confiscated or its editors taken to court on no fewer than 36 separate occasions. In 1928, the paper and its staff were the subjects of five litigations in the space of 11 days. These proceedings, however, gave the general public the impression that Streicher was more significant than perhaps was the case. Those instances where Streicher was sentenced to terms of imprisonment were a golden opportunity for him to present himself as a victim and martyr. The more charges he faced, the more he was admired. On those occasions on which he was sent to jail, Streicher was accompanied on his way by hundreds of sympathisers in “what looked like his triumphal entry into martyrdom.” In the Brave New World which may loom ominously in our future, we too may need to embrace the triumph of martyrdom as a price for ultimate victory.
Surveying recent developments in the bandit capital of Israel, we witness a further chapter in the incessant search of organized Jewry for total security. It is the same frantic search for peace that marks the thief or the murderer. Like the protagonist of Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, they are perpetually haunted by the prospect of discovery, resulting in that remarkable and notorious sensitivity. How apt the protestations of Poe’s madman: “True! Nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am but why will you say that I am mad? The disease has sharpened my senses — not destroyed — not dulled them. Above all it was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and the earth. I heard many things in hell. How then am I mad?”
Observe by comparison the curious sensitivity of Jewry. This people, enjoying unheard of wealth and power, remains troubled by the smallest sound of dissent — by the beating of its heart. The cry goes out ‘It must be extinguished!’
We won’t go quietly. Thank you for reading, for commenting, for continuing to support us in our work, and for holding back the day when our voice is silenced and a new stage in this ageless conflict is forced to begin.When we talk about the human microbiome, bacteria usually get all the press. But microscopic fungi live in and on us, too. New research shows that a little-known fungus called Pichia lives in healthy mouths and may play an important role in protecting us from an infection caused by the harmful fungus Candida. The friendly fungus makes a substance that may even lead to a new antifungal drug.
Most of the time, Candida is a peaceful passenger that lives with the other harmless microbes in our mouths, but when a person's immune system is compromised, the fungus can run rampant, causing a yeast infection in the mouth known as thrush. This infection is common in people with HIV, where it can make swallowing difficult and contribute to poor nutrition. Any difference in the mouth microbiomes of people with HIV and those without the virus could give scientists clues about how a healthy population of oral microbes might help keep Candida in check, says medical mycologist Mahmoud Ghannoum of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. "If you have a disturbance in the community, you are likely to have disease."
So Ghannoum's group compared the microbes, both bacterial and fungal, in the mouths of 12 people with HIV and 12 healthy controls. One hypothesis holds that bacteria keep fungi in check, but Ghannoum's team didn't find any major differences between the bacterial populations in the two groups. The fungi, though, were a different story: Healthy people had more species of fungi in their mouths, and one particular fungus stood out as a possible competitor to Candida. Its name is Pichia.
Mouths where lots of Pichia lived tended to have lower levels of Candida, Ghannoum’s team found. If a lack of Pichia is failing to keep Candida in check in people with HIV, that could help explain why they are more susceptible to thrush. To confirm that Pichia is killing off Candida and not the other way around, researchers studied the fungal rivalry directly by mixing cultures of both microbes in the lab. When the two were incubated together, Pichia flourished and Candida withered.
The researchers suspected Pichia was producing a chemical that poisoned Candida, so they filtered out the fungal cells from the Pichia cultures. The leftover chemical soup proved to be a powerful antifungal, interfering with Candida's growth and its ability to form sticky mats called biofilms. When given to mice with Candida infections, the Pichia-produced concoction killed the Candida on their tongues, the researchers report online this week in PLOS Pathogens. The Pichia-based treatment even outperformed the standard treatment for thrush, an antifungal called nystatin.
"The other fascinating thing is it was able to inhibit other fungus that causes disease," Ghannoum says, including Aspergillus and Fusarium. That means the Pichia-derived solution shows promise as a broad-spectrum antifungal. Ghannoum also envisions a mouthwash containing live Pichia that could be used as a probiotic by HIV patients or others at risk for Candida infection.
"This is a tremendous advance in the field," says Anna Dongari-Bagtzoglou, an oral microbiologist at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Besides being the first study of the fungal microbiome in people with HIV, it's also the first study that compares bacterial and fungal populations in the same patients, she says. "These correlations are important because for many years we thought the two kingdoms were in competition," she says, adding that research from her lab has shown that some bacteria can even combine with Candida to make infections more severe.
While Pichia clearly inhibits Candida in the lab, more work is needed to tell if a lack of Pichia is the reason HIV patients are at a higher risk for thrush. The biggest mystery in the microbiome field is whether microbial changes are a cause or an effect of problems with the immune system, Dongari-Bagtzoglou says. "It's a chicken-or-the-egg question."Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sarah Shilling has been campaigning for a grammar school in Sevenoaks
England is to get its first "new" grammar school for five decades after ministers allowed a grammar school to build an "annexe" in another town.
Weald of Kent school in Tonbridge will open a site in Sevenoaks, Kent - side-stepping a ban on new grammar schools.
But Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said this would not "open the floodgates" to more schools being allowed to select by ability.
Labour described the decision as a "hugely backward step".
The decision to allow the new grammar school site, with places for 450 girls, has raised expectations of similar bids in other parts of the country.
But Mrs Morgan said this was a "genuine expansion" of an existing school - describing it as "one school, two sites" - and it "does not reflect a change in this government's position on selective schools".
Image caption This decision will not open the "floodgates" to more grammar schools, says Nicky Morgan
The education secretary said that the ban on new grammars would remain.
"I don't want to fight the battles of selective and non-selective... This is one particular application with one particular set of circumstances. Why would I deny a good school the right to expand?"
"I don't think this will open any kind of precedent or floodgates."
Any bids from other grammar schools would still face the "statutory prohibition" on new selective schools and would need to "meet the criteria for being a genuine expansion", said the education secretary.
The school in Sevenoaks is due to open in September 2017, after a long campaign by supporters.
Analysis
Sean Coughlan, BBC education correspondent
This will be seen as a symbolic reversing of the tide, after many decades in which grammar schools were seen as a receding emblem of the educational past, rather than an expanding destination for the future.
While this decision will be warmly welcomed by traditionalists in the Conservatives' ranks, it will be a double-edged sword for the government. Their education reforms, promoting academies and free schools, have made a prime virtue of raising standards for all, rather than focusing on the academically most able. That policy sits uneasily beside a rejuvenated 11-plus exam.
When David Cameron had the shadow education brief for the Conservatives, one of his clearest steps was to distance himself from the ideological trench warfare of the pro and anti-grammar campaigners.
Ministers won't want the return of grammars to drown out their education policy, so they will want to play down suggestions that this decision could open the floodgates to a wave of such satellite selective schools.
Grammar schools: What are they?
Grammar school decision a political risk
The persistent appeal of grammar schools
Labour passed laws in 1998 banning the creation of new grammars - which are selective state schools - but existing schools are allowed to expand if there is sufficient demand.
A previous plan for such an extension of the Weald of Kent Grammar School was turned down, when ministers were not persuaded that it would be a branch of an existing school rather than the creation of a new institution.
Image copyright PA Image caption Artists' impression of the grammar school to open in Sevenoaks in September 2017
Andrew Shilling, of the Sevenoaks Grammar School Campaign, said the decision was a "victory for parent power".
"Today's news is overdue recognition of the fact that a Sevenoaks grammar school is supported by the vast majority of local parents."
In last year's GCSE results, 99% of pupils at the Weald of Kent Grammar School achieved five A*-C grades. The national average for England is 63%.
Pressure on places
Local MP Michael Fallon welcomed the announcement as ending the "absurd situation of Sevenoaks being the only area in Kent not to have a grammar school".
"It will also help to ease the growing pressure on school places in west Kent."
But Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw says that while he backs the idea of a "grammar school ethos" such selective schools needed to "make sure they admit children from all backgrounds and particularly poor backgrounds".
"Remember this - for every grammar school you create, you create three secondary moderns and I can't see parents queuing up to send their children to more secondary moderns," said Sir Michael.
There will now be an expectation that others among the 163 remaining grammar schools could seek to open branches in other towns. There are some local authorities, such as Kent and Buckinghamshire, which have retained grammar school systems.
Image caption Sir Michael Wilshaw: "For every grammar school you create, you create three secondary moderns"
There has been a strong campaign by some Conservative MPs for greater availability of grammar schools, arguing that they drive social mobility by providing high-achieving schools for bright pupils, regardless of where they live or family income.
Grammar school supporters will see this as a symbolic boost for a type of school that was phased out in most parts of England more than 40 years ago.
Grammar schools
There are 163 grammar schools in England, admission by academic exam, non-fee paying
There were almost 1,300 in the mid-1960s, teaching about 25% of pupils
In 1965, the education department told local authorities to convert to a comprehensive system
It was not compulsory and some authorities retained grammar systems, including Kent
Since the late-1970s about 5% of secondary pupils attended grammar schools
In 1998, legislation barred the opening of new grammar schools
Supporters say they provide an opportunity for poor, bright pupils
Opponents say grammar school intakes are disproportionately affluent
But opponents of selective education were highly critical.
Melissa Benn, of Comprehensive Future, said that academic selection at the age of 11 was "unfair, unnecessary and divisive".
Ms Benn said it was "absurd" to suggest that the school would be an annexe, rather than a wholly new school, adding the decision could have "far reaching consequences".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mary Boyle, principal of the local academy, says this could undermine other nearby schools
Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee and a prominent campaigner for grammar schools backed the decision.
"This is a small but positive step. It improves choice for parents," said Mr Brady.
The Sutton Trust, which promotes social mobility, highlighted research that less than 3% of pupils in grammar schools were entitled to free meals, compared with an average of 18% in the areas they serve.
Labour's shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said the grammar expansion was a "new school in all but name" - and she called on Mrs Morgan to publish the advice given to her by civil servants.
Image caption Local authorities were told to switch to comprehensive schools from 1965
Ms Powell also accused the grammar school system of being a barrier to social mobility.
"They do not increase equality of opportunity, they make it worse. Tiny numbers of children from disadvantaged backgrounds pass their tests because they are the preserve of the privately tutored," she said.I need to thankfor the inspiration so i can make this. You should check her artwork out btw.Anyways this is my soldier from TF2 aka the Beggar's Lunatic.And yes I am using the Beggar's Lunatic. Not gonna lie but this particular Beggars is special to me, giving to an old friend who used to play tf2. People say its a noob weapon but when used by the right people, it is a dangerous weapon. When you think of this, picture your first weapon you fell in love with, then 3 years later you still use it. But a different version of it. You would be surprised how this weapon helped me. In a way it is looked down by people and before I was the same, but then after some months of training, I became somewhat loathed and infamous for it, till i met some nice guys like blindpryo and Cody who uses the Beggar's Bazooka as well. I know for a fact, I am not the king of the Beggar's because I would need to hit another level of gameplay, but instead called the Lunatic since people actually call me that. They call me crazy for using the weapon and well it stuck with me. The Beggar's Lunatic would be a suitable name for me since I been using this weapon since April 29, 2013 and for a fact, I am almost at 100,000 kills. I am currently at 91,000+ Kills. If i were to say anything about my TF2 experience, then I enjoy playing soldier for his crazy personality mixxed with my crazy mind and on top of that my insanity, then you have this Lunatic jumping on different maps. If you play on Virginia servers (escpically Hightower) You may have seen me on there acting like a lunatic on crack. Maybe one day I can make an short animated series with the Lunatic fighting the Original Dumpster Diver. It will happen.That is the main reason why I use the Beggar's Bazooka. It is my remember of how I went from an underdog with an underdog weapon to a lunatic who can hold his own against a team trying to kill him.The only thing that messes this guy up is he messes up against pyros, and he overextends to much."Why do you use the Beggar's Bazooka? No one uses it? Its a stupid Rocket Launcher!"Lunatic: I dont like being the same generic soldier. There are thousands of good rocket launcher soldier's but there are only a small handful of people who know how to use this weapon. Also its a personal reason why I use it. Were gonna chat or can we continue turning you into gib stew?"Little(r) home on the prairie
We plowed up more wild habitat in the Great Plains than in the Brazilian Amazon in 2014.
The Great Plains lost 3,686,960 acres that year; in contrast, the Brazilian Amazon lost 1.4 million, as the World Wildlife Fund points out.
The WWF calculates that an area the size of Kansas has been converted to row crops since 2009. That puts monarch butterflies — along with many other species of birds, plants, and insects — at risk.
“America’s Great Plains are being plowed under at an alarming rate,” said WWF’s Martha Kauffman in a statement. “Centuries old, critical prairie habitat that’s home to amazing wildlife and strong ranching and tribal communities is rapidly being converted to cropland and most people don’t even realize it.”
Ultimately, there are just two ways to stop conversion of land to agriculture: Reduce demand (i.e. eat less meat, use less biofuel), or grow more food in less space. More here.I gave a talk in Athens recently to a number of shipping lines about infosec. One thing that struck me were the similarities between the challenges maritime cyber is facing now and the challenges industrial controls security in utilities started addressing several years ago.
Back in the day, ICS ran on dedicated, isolated networks. Network protocols were custom and arcane, security was non-existent in these safety critical systems. But it didn’t really matter that much, so long as physical security of the endpoints and comms was good. The threat vector and attacks seen were mostly grumpy, knowledgeable ICS/SCADA engineers.
Now ships: complex industrial controls, but floating. Traditionally isolated, now always-on, connected through VSAT, GSM/LTE and even Wi-Fi. Crew internet access, mashed up with electronic navigation systems, ECDIS, propulsion, load management and numerous other complex, custom systems. A recipe for disaster.
Yet there still seems to be an attitude of ‘it won’t happen to me’. So I took my talk down the route of exploiting satcom terminals and OSINT; to make it as real as possible by showing real ships and real people in real time.
As some of the pen test team here used to work on board container ships, we have a fascinating knowledge of ship systems security.
Let’s start with our friend Shodan:
Big brands in the maritime satcoms space include Inmarsat, Telenor and Cobham. Let’s see what we can find on www.shodan.io.
Inmarsat is a bit easy, so a search for ‘org:”Inmarsat Solutions US”’. You’ll see plenty of logins for Globe Wireless over plain text HTTP, also an earlier branding as ‘Rydex’. Globe were bought out and rebranded as Inmarsat in 2013, so you can date the comm box by the brand alone. Most of these are very old, undoubtedly running dated firmware.
The Cobham ‘Sailor 900’ system is a bit more interesting from an information disclosure perspective:
Search ‘title:”sailor 900″’ and you’ll get the satellite antenna detail unauthenticated, e.g.
Now, in the absence of known exploits such as this one for the Sailor 900, to make changes or do malicious things, one needs to authenticate as an admin user. The default is admin/1234. I haven’t and won’t be checking these creds on someone else’s terminal, but what chance someone forgot to change these during installation?
Most of the maritime ‘hacking’ incidents reported in the press of late appear to me to be simple default/missing creds from comms terminals, then the ‘hacker’ clicking around a control system GUI. That doesn’t really count as a hack to my mind, though the consequence is the same.
Anyway, back to the talk and more searching Shodan:
Search for ‘html:commbox’ and you’ll see a nice collection of KVH CommBox terminals. This is where things got a bit silly.
Yes, missing TLS on the login again. But it gets worse. Look bottom right, you’ll see the vessel name – I’ve redacted it in black in this case.
Below the login is the following:
‘Show Users’ – WTF??
You can request the content by appending /rest.php?action=QCgetActiveUsers – or just click the link 😊
From which comes a list of all the crew online at that point.
Here’s the ship.
Here’s where it was today, from AIS: In the Malacca Strait, heading for Tubarao in Brazil.
A moment on Google and we had the Facebook profile of the deck cadet who we had spotted using the commbox:
This poor chap is ripe for phishing – we know pretty much everything about him.
Simple phish, take control of his laptop, look for a lack of segregation on the ship network and migrate on to other more interesting devices.
Or simply scrape his creds to the commbox and take control that way.
It shouldn’t be this easy!
Oh, and here’s some of the network config, simply by hovering over the GUI
Addressing this
Let’s start with basics.
TLS needs to be in place on satcom boxes. How can this be still missing on live devices today?
Password complexity is a must, particularly for high privilege accounts.
These boxes must be updated as a matter of urgency. It’s simply not acceptable to leave vanilla firmware in place.
There are many routes on to a ship, but the satcom box is the one route that is nearly always on the internet. Start with securing these devices, then move on to securing other ship systems. That’s a whole different story.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Radiation at the shoreline of the Fukushima Daiichi plant has measured several million times the legal limit just four weeks after the earthquake and tsunami. The seawater was tested Monday before the plant’s operator began dumping more than 11,000 tons of low-level radioactive water, after it ran out of storage capacity for more highly contaminated water.
Over the weekend, plant workers discovered a crack where highly contaminated water was spilling directly into the Pacific Ocean. Japanese officials maintained Tuesday that the contamination still does not pose an immediate danger. Experts say radiation dissipates quickly in the vast ocean, but they’re unclear what will be the long-term effects of large amounts of contamination. No fishing is allowed near the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The new levels, coupled with reports that radiation was building up in fish, prompted the Japanese government Tuesday to create an acceptable radiation standard for fish for the first time. Some fish caught Friday off Japan’s coastal waters would have exceeded the new provisional limit.
Japan says it will continue to update the International Atomic Energy Agency and other countries on the effects of the radioactive water. On Tuesday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano tried to assure neighboring countries.
YUKIO EDANO: [translated] We don’t believe that this current situation will have a direct effect on surrounding countries, but it does involve nuclear power, so there is a lot of interest. But there is a convention on early notification of a nuclear accident, and based on that, we are voluntarily offering information on the situation to the IAEA and to other countries.
AMY GOODMAN: Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.
Russian media reports that Japan has asked Russia to send a floating radiation treatment plant, which will solidify contaminated liquid waste from the crippled facility. Engineers also plan to build two giant “silt curtains” made of polyester fabric in the sea to block the spread of more contamination from the plant.
Several thousand people have been forced from a 12-mile radius area near Fukushima Daiichi plant because of the radiation concerns. Tokyo Electric Power Company said today it would give affected towns about $240,000 each. So far, at least one town has refused to accept the money.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami has risen to 12,341. More than 15,000 people remain missing. Another 160,00 are homeless.
For the latest update, we go to Japan. We’re joined in Tokyo by Philip White, international liaison officer at the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo, Japan.
Philip White, welcome to Democracy Now! Give us the latest on this contamination of the water.
PHILIP WHITE: Well, I think, during today and from last night, Tokyo Electric Power Company was releasing what they called low-level radioactive water into the sea. And the reason for doing that was because they needed to empty an area so that they could actually shift high-level radioactive water, which was already leaking into the sea, into this other space. They’re running out of space to hold all the radioactive water that’s flowing through the reactors and leaking out of the bottom. So, this was considered to be a less worse option.
Are you there?
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the millions — the radiation is millions of times the acceptable limit. What does this mean in the water, in the ocean?
PHILIP WHITE: Well, it depends how it spreads out, whether it goes off into the Pacific or whether it accumulates in pockets along the coastline. It will certainly have an effect on fishing. The fishing industry is already seriously damaged by this. But I think you’ve got to look at it as — it’s an ongoing thing. It’s not as if this one release solves the problem. Tokyo Electric Power Company says that this will have a very small — be a very small dose, represent a very small dose to people who continue to eat fish. But whether or not that is an accurate analysis, it’s not as if this is the end of the story. So, it’s a very serious situation, and it’s a long way before this is going to be brought under control.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the experts saying fixing the plant will now take months? What does that mean?
PHILIP WHITE: Well, I mean, it’s a gross underestimate. They won’t fix the plant. That’s the first thing. The plant will be abandoned. It’s a matter of whether or not they can actually bring it under some sort of control. And that “bring it under control” really involves taking away the heat from those radioactive spent fuel rods and the fuel rods that were in the plant. And they will be hot for years, decades, because that’s the way radioactivity works. It continues to send out energy, which takes the form of heat, for a long, long time. So, this notion of fixing it, I mean, it’s got no — makes no sense at all.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about the government setting its first radiation safety standards for fish today?
PHILIP WHITE: Well, they have set a number of standards for different food products and water, and these are all so-called provisional standards, and they are touting them at safe levels. However, you must realize that these so-called safe levels are actually emergency measures. They didn’t exist before. So these standards are based on the assumption that, “Well, we’ve got radioactivity out there; what are we going to do about it?” The levels are very high. If people continue to eat this sort of food for a long period of time, there’s a fairly strong probability that the rates of cancers will go up. But that’s a long-term issue. Cancers from this sort of level of radioactivity will not appear in the first few months or year; they will be late-onset phenomena. So, it’ll require a lot of monitoring of health to actually see what the impact of this is.House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2017. (Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images)
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — Rep. Mark Meadows intends to deliver an Obamacare repeal and replacement plan to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Tuesday that would leave in place the existing law's mandates for insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions.
“What I’m getting to him is based on conversations that I’ve had with (Tuesday Group co-chairman) Tom MacArthur and leadership, but I wouldn’t say that it’s approved at this point,” Meadows, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told USA TODAY. “What we’re trying to do is work through issues that are important to all of us but make sure that pre-existing conditions are taken care of."
Last month, an earlier version of Republican repeal legislation was pulled from the floor when it became |
, on plants 2.1m tall. Sweet to eat. Overall rating: 8/10.
'Golden Nugget': Not worth the effort. This open pollinated golden cherry tomato was quick to crop, taking only 19 weeks, but didn't last the distance, fruiting for only 12 weeks. (Compare that to the 22 weeks of ‘Gardener's Delight'.) Individual fruit weighed an average of 11.4g each. Overall rating: 3/10.
'Sweet Gold': Managing only a 50 per cent pass mark, this F1 hybrid golden cherry tomato took 19 weeks to harvest and continued cropping for 19 weeks, with fruit averaging 13.6g each. The plants grew 2.25m high. An average crop from this F1 hybrid cherry tomato. Overall rating: 5/10.
'Chef's Choice Orange': Of the five medium-fruited varieties in the trial, this had the largest and heaviest fruit, weighing in at 131g each on average. (And, as a bonus, studies by the New Zealand Heritage Food Crops Research Trust have shown that orange tomatoes are richer in health-giving lycopene too.) This hybrid variety took 22 weeks to harvest and the 2.03m tall plants fruited well for 19 weeks. Overall rating: 8/10.
'Juliet': The tallest and most vigorous of the medium-sized tomatoes, ‘Juliet’ grew to 2.13m. This F1 hybrid took 20 weeks to harvest but once she started cropping, there was no stopping her, with a very long fruiting period of 21 weeks. The fruit weighed 28.9g on average and recorded high Brix levels. Overall rating: 8/10.
'Money Maker': An old-time F1 hybrid. The plants were shorter than most of their compatriots, growing only to 1.73m high, and took longer to crop (22 weeks). Fruit was picked for 19 weeks and weighed 59.5g on average. This popular old-timer is no longer the best in its category. Overall rating: 6/10.
'Roma': This Mediterranean paste tomato struggles down under. I don‘t know anyone, including commercial growers with all the tricks of the trade at their disposal, who rates it here. Though long fruiting (21 weeks) in this trial, it was neither high yielding nor prolific, with fruit averaging 62.7g on short (1.57m) plants. This traditional saucing tomato is best left to the Italians! Overall rating: 4/10.
'Country Taste': With large red fruit, this F1 hybrid produced the highest yield by weight, with individual fruit averaging 158.2g. The plants grew to 2.2m tall and cropped for 19 weeks. It fell just shy of the 8/10 rating it needed to make the cut as a star performer in Auckland. Overall rating: 7/10.
'Beef Maestro': An F1 hybrid with large fruit weighing 111g on average. Slow off the mark (it took 23 weeks from seed for the first fruit to ripen), the plants grew 1.88m tall and cropped for 19 weeks. A middle-of-the-road tomato. An average performer in the large-fruited category. Overall rating: 5/10.
'Marriage Big Brandy': Although this chubby variety had the heaviest individual fruit of any variety in the trial, it soon ran out of a puff, with a pathetically short fruiting period of just nine weeks. And given that this tall (2.1m), large-fruited (168.2g) hybrid with heirloom genes took 23 weeks to harvest, it simply wasn‘t worth the wait. An inconsistently big and beautiful tomato that's sadly fleeting in fruit. Overall rating: 4/10.
Are you keen to grow your own tomatoes at home? Expert gardeners tell us what varieties they grow themselves at home.
JACK HOBBS, AUCKLAND BOTANIC GARDENS MANAGER
Hobbs' favourite tomato is the meaty red 'Country Taste'. "It's an F1 hybrid," he says. "People can say what they like about heirloom tomatoes but they don't perform like F1s and I have grown lots of both."
This indeterminate, or vine, tomato will easily reach 1.8m, so Hobbs suggests growing it up against a fence. Most years it receives no special treatment in his garden other than a regular liquid feed, although he does use copper spray to prevent fungal infections in especially hot summers. "And 'Country Taste' always produces lots of fleshy, large, delicious fruit."
READ MORE:
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* Q&A: How to prevent tomato blight
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Four expert gardeners reveal their favourite tomato variety to grow at home.
ROBERT GUYTON, SOUTHLAND FOOD FOREST GARDENER
Surprisingly, Guyton – usually a passionate advocate for heirloom varieties, the more obscure the better – picks a hybrid as his favourite – the cherry 'Sweet 100'. "They are pure summer wonderfulness," he says. "Very sweet, easy to eat, no mess and they stay on the bush a long time."
Plus they ripen quickly, which is useful in Southland's short summer, he says, and the ones in his tunnelhouse keep fruiting long after all his other tomatoes have bitten the dust.
Robert also expresses a fondness for the glamorous 'Ilse of Capri', a ribbed beauty queen of a tom. "Simply because I like the tactile pleasure of picking up a fluted tomato."
We asked expert Kiwi gardeners for their tomato preferences.
GERARD MARTIN, OWNER OF KINGS SEEDS, KATIKATI
Martin says he likes tart tomatoes with lots of bite. 'Black Cherry' is a favourite, he says. "It's prolific, with a great taste and a long season."
But he also rates the medium sized 'Diplom', an F1 hybrid that was, unusually, bred for maximum taste (hybrids are often bred for yield or disease resistance).
Martin also confesses to a fondness for big, meaty toms with heaps of flavour like 'Black Krim' and 'Black from Tula': "They can be ugly but they taste so good."
RUUD KLEINPASTE, CHRISTCHURCH BUGMAN
With no hesitation, Kleinpaste picked the attractively striped heirloom 'Tigerella'.
"It's consistent tasting. It's not too big and not too small – the perfect size for lunch boxes. You can use it fresh in sandwiches and salads but you can also use it cooked in sauces. Plus it's great looking."FORT MYERS, Fla. - A terminated Walmart employee was caught on camera causing a scene and a mess at the Walmart on Six Mile Cypress and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers late Tuesday night.
“It was pretty crazy,” said one witness.
Cell phone video shows the employee cursing and yelling as she walked through the store, followed by other employees trying to keep her contained until police officers arrived.
“I saw 2 liters busted all over the floor, there was bread loaves being thrown, the employee was punching holes in signs, throwing things all over the floor,” said Austin Sawyer, who witnessed the incident and caught it on video.
“I’ve never seen an employee freak out that way,” Sawyer said.
The incident now has customers wondering why Walmart didn't do more to quell the chaos.
“They should had better security so they could just get her and talk to her and try to calm her down instead of following her around,” said one customer.
When 4 In Your Corner reached out to the retail giant about the incident, a Walmart spokesperson stated, “We are aware of the situation but cannot discuss specific personnel matters.”
“It took me by surprise cause its such a big organization and they didn't do anything at all to prevent it,” said Sawyer.
It’s unclear who the woman is and if she will be facing any charges.“Do you want to get a drink or see a show?” asks Charlie Levy.
The local concert promoter stands in front of a pair of doors in the landing of Valley Bar, his new basement-level music venue and lounge in downtown Phoenix, as he poses the question. It’s more choose-your-own-adventure than “The Lady or the Tiger?” as far as propositions go, because one door conceals a cocktail lounge while the other leads to a music hall. Both are enticing choices, considering that Valley Bar has been in the works for almost a year. And we’re eager for a peek.
After opting for the former, Levy leads us into what will soon be known as the “Rose Room” (so named for Arizona’s first female governor, Rose Mofford) and starts pointing out the lounge’s amenities, which either already are in place or still under construction.
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“All the bones are done and everything else should fall in place pretty easily,” Levy says. “There’s banquette booths over here, and there will be pictures on that wall and some couches going in over there.”
Levy leads us through the lounge and down a hallway-like nook (where dart machines and pinball games soon will reside) to show off Valley Bar’s music hall and its most prominent feature, the 15-by-22-foot stage that will host local and touring bands after the venue opens, which it is scheduled to do this weekend.
“The room’s pretty good,” Levy says. “Once we put the sound baffling in, it’s going to be a warm-sounding room.”
Perhaps it’s due to Valley Bar’s work-in-progress state during our visit, or his unassuming nature, but Levy, who also owns downtown’s Crescent Ballroom and runs local concert promotions company Stateside Presents, sounds a little sheepish when discussing the venue and its potential success.
“I’m excited to see what people think,” he says. “I think they’re going to like it, or I hope they’re going to like it.”
He needn’t worry, given his track record with the ultra-popular Crescent Ballroom and the fact Valley Bar is one of Phoenix’s more eagerly awaited new music venues. That said, Levy will have to share the spotlight with another local promoter opening a much-heralded new venue in Phoenix this week, and it’s someone he’s worked alongside for years. A few miles to the east, Stephen Chilton is putting the finishing the Rebel Lounge, a mid-size spot along Indian School Road and the onetime home of famed Valley rock bar the Mason Jar. Chilton, former director of marketing for Stateside and Crescent Ballroom and a longtime promoter known as “Psyko Steve,” decided to open a joint of his own.
EXPAND An interior shot of Rebel Lounge Courtesy of Stephen Chilton
Both venues, which are scheduled to open within a few days of each other, underscore Phoenix’s growing prominence as a live music destination over the past few years, particularly downtown. Since 2011, several well-regarded venues have opened in the area, shifting the spotlight of the local music scene from other parts of the Valley (namely, Tempe, which lost a number of venues in recent years) to downtown. And the shift has brought more musicians and fans to the city’s urban core by offering concerts on a nightly basis. It’s gone hand-in-hand with the ongoing cultural reinvention and redevelopment of downtown. And the proximity of Arizona State University’s downtown campus and its cache of students interested in music and nightlife probably has helped.
“It just seems like the whole cultural center of Phoenix is shifting downtown with venues, restaurants, galleries, and all sorts of other things,” Chilton says. “They’re all related. It’s an across-the-board cultural shift. It’s not just music, but music is a big piece of that.”
Though downtown Phoenix has featured live music for decades — from arena shows to small gigs at galleries, bars, warehouses, dives, and boho hangouts dotting the arts district — it’s had few dedicated music venues or functioned as an interconnected music hub on the level of Tempe’s vaunted Mill Avenue scene of the ’90s. (Downtown flirted with both in the ’00s, however, when now-defunct concert halls Web Theatre and the Old Brickhouse prospered and both Grand Avenue and Roosevelt boasted a burgeoning network of performance-friendly art spots like Paper Heart, The PHiX, OnePlace, and Holgas.)
That started to change in October 2011 when Levy opened Crescent Ballroom. The stylish concert hall and lounge at Second Avenue and Van Buren Street quickly became a focal point for live music in downtown Phoenix and a gathering spot with its distinctive lineup of nightly shows and performances.
Seven months later, local arts nonprofit Jazz in Arizona debuted its combination jazz joint and education center The Nash on Roosevelt Row. Right about the same time, local DJ godfathers Peter Salaz and Sean Badger opened their electronic dance music haven Monarch Theatre next to their popular Washington Street nightclub Bar Smith. Then, in early 2013, local music impresario Brannon Kleinlein turned shuttered dive the Ruby Room just south of downtown into a revival of his Tempe rock bar Last Exit. A year later, the old Madison Events Center on Fourth Avenue was reborn as the Pressroom while the defunct Paisley Violin on Grand Avenue was transformed by entrepreneur Neil Hounchell into ThirdSpace, a quirky wine bar/bistro and retail compound with indie rock and punk shows on its back patio.
Though the origin stories behind these venues vary, the proprietors share a common raison d’être in open their spots downtown: They felt a certain energy developing and wanted to tap into it.
It’s one of the reasons why Levy chose to open Valley Bar in downtown.
“I think it’s obvious that downtown is changing in such a great way and people are moving here and opening businesses and artists are moving here and its just flourishing here,” he says. “And you can feel the energy in the air. And I wanted to be part of it.”
Joel Goldenthal, executive director of Jazz in Arizona, echoes Levy when explaining the genesis of The Nash. The venue came about in part, from the continued growth of the monthly First Friday art walk. Meanwhile, Kleinlein says he chose downtown after seeing the success of Crescent Ballroom and wanting to milk the same energy with an eye toward eventually transforming the area into a live music zone akin to Austin’s Sixth Street or Dallas’ Deep Ellum district.
EXPAND Brannon Kleinlein of Last Exit Live Benjamin Leatherman
“I liked the idea of putting the venue down there among the opportunity for other venues to come and be a part of it,” Kleinlein says. “Looking at other successful cities like Austin, one of the things they had going for them was a lot of music venues in close proximity to one another, and I thought downtown probably the best opportunity to do something like that.”
He certainly wasn’t going to find that in Tempe, which is a far cry from its former role as the Valley’s musical epicenter.
“I definitely was considering Tempe, but what venues that are still there are kinda spread out, and there’s no longer really a scene like on Mill Avenue in the ’90s,” Kleinlein says. “I just felt like there was a better opportunity for me in downtown Phoenix.”
Though Phoenix has a ways to go before emulating Tempe during the Gin Blossoms’ heyday, its influx of new venues has worked in tandem with go-to live music havens and arts district hangouts like Lost Leaf, Trunk Space, FilmBar, and Firehouse Gallery to create something approaching a walkable destination for concertgoers and music junkies. And you have to look no further than the success of Viva PHX, a one-night music festival promoted by Stateside that features shows at more than a dozen downtown spots. (Disclosure: New Times has co-promoted the first two festivals.)
“We couldn’t have done this five years ago,” Levy told New Times before the inaugural Viva PHX in 2014.
The roots of Phoenix’s live music resurgence reach back to the loss of one of its more beloved venues, Modified Arts. For most of the ’00s, the 150-capacity Roosevelt Row gallery was a hotbed for indie rock shows and one of several downtown spots, including outsider artist haven Trunk Space and blues joint the Rhythm Room, where live music flourished. In 2009, however, Modified stopped hosting concerts and reasserted itself as a visual arts gallery.
Coupled with the fact that Tempe offered a larger number of venues, the news caused a degree of hand-wringing among Phoenix’s music scene, inspiring former New Times music editor Martin Cizmar to infamously declare, “Downtown is ovah.”
In hindsight, “ovah” was hardly the case. Modified owner Kimber Lanning says Phoenix still was a viable home to live music and that ceasing shows at the gallery was a necessary step, mostly because it was ill-suited as a dedicated concert venue because of its size and setup. She cites a beyond-capacity gig in 2009 by alt-country artist Will Oldham, when fans spilled out onto sidewalk outside, as an example.
“We had shows at Modified that should have never been at Modified,” she says. “It served a very important purpose, and that is a stepping stone, but I recognized that it was never going to be the type of place that bands deserved and that fans deserved. And that’s not good for Phoenix... The right thing was to step aside and say that someone will have to step up and open a bigger venue that’s of a better quality.”
In other words, Crescent Ballroom or any of the venues that followed. Lanning says she wanted to be a catalyst for live music in downtown, which is why she even assisted Levy with finding the perfect spot for the Crescent.
“Without [Modified], that applied pressure, and Charlie and I spent time looking for the right place to open up a venue,” Lanning says. “We didn’t know it was going to be the Crescent, but because we knew the time was right for a larger quality venue to open.”
Chilton agrees.
“It feels like it was bound to happen,” he says. “When Crescent came in, it was a time when downtown was ready for it.”
One of the reasons was the increasing migration of bands, artists, and music fans to Phoenix from elsewhere.
“It used to be, 10 or 15 years ago, everyone had to drive downtown to play at Modified,” Chilton says. “Now, it’s become where a lot more people live downtown and a lot more of the bands are downtown, and a lot of their fans are downtown.”
EXPAND Steve Chilton takes a picture of the bar inside his soon-to-be-opened venue, Rebel Lounge. Coral Castro
They aren’t the only ones who are coming to Phoenix.
“You’re definitely seeing artists playing Phoenix that may not have played here before,” Chilton says. “Some of it is about having more venues, because if there’s four shows trying to come through on the same night and the one club is booked, there’s other options, so you’re not losing out on those shows.”
Local bands benefit as well, Kleinlein believes.
“Now, you can conceivably play your entire career in downtown. You can go from Lost Leaf and Trunk Space to Last Exit and Valley Bar to Crescent to the Pressroom and then to the Orpheum, whereas five years ago that was impossible,” he says. “And that’s kind of a huge difference: You could put any size show in Phoenix now.”
Lanning sees it as a maturation of Phoenix in general.
“Historically, it takes time to build a music community. So I think that it’s important to note that the smaller venues built the scene up enough that the bigger venues could take risks on these bands,” she says. “And so, today, when you look at the success that’s happening, it’s partly because of the vibrancy and the bodies downtown... but also because of the city growing up.”
The Rebel Lounge is scheduled to open Wednesday, May 20, and Valley Bar is scheduled to open in the near future.A couple of weeks ago Emily Watson wrote on this site that Britain is on the cusp of a re-education programme in Orwellian Newspeak.
Leading this programme is our national broadcaster – the BBC. The BBC is in a uniquely powerful position to alter perceptions and manipulate meanings.
That of course is what its Charter obligations are meant to protect it and us from – from exploiting its position as the national broadcaster, by stringently complying with the principle of impartiality.
But if we needed an example of how far the BBC has transgressed in this duty – which we don’t – it would be this extract from the BBC’s Style Guide (the document which dictates how BBC journalists write) on the issue of abortion.
This applies whatever your personal views are on the matter.
This, if a reporter is covering an abortion debate in Parliament for example, is what he must do:
“Avoid (the words) pro-abortion, and use pro-choice instead. (Because) Campaigners favour a woman’s right to choose, rather than abortion itself. And use anti-abortion rather than pro-life, except where it is part of the title of a group’s name”.
Unbiased? Neutral? Impartial? I think not. If they applied the same logic to so-called “pro-choice” groups, the BBC’s style guide would demand that they refer to “anti-abortion” groups as “pro-life” too.
However, that I suspect would be no more acceptable to the great and the good at the BBC than it would be to The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas).Though nominally a charity, like the BBC, bpas it also funded by the taxpayer – in their case to carry out two thirds of the nations annual 185,000 abortions under the euphemism of “reproductive choice”. It has, you might say a performance interest, in abortion.
Like bpas the author of the BBC’s Style Guide has as good a grasp of human psychology. Both know that if abortion ‘rights’ were designated as pro abortion and viewed in this light, rather less establishment and public support might be forthcoming than it is at present.
To be ‘pro’ is to be on the side of the angels. To be ‘anti’ is on the side of the devil.
Though there are two conflicting lobbies on the question of the desirability of abortion only one of them, the BBC has dictated, must have its ‘positive’ spin endorsed and relayed.
Arguably the guideline is probably now unnecessary so ingrained is the pro-abortion mindset at the BBC. A recent Newsnight feature on the Zika virus is a case in point (January 28). The entire feature was framed in terms of the lack of abortion rights in Brazil, as though that was the only conceivable response to the problem of possible (but not yet substantiated) birth defects. The only person interviewed was an abortion activist in conversation with, you’ve guessed, the clearly pro-abortion Kirsty Wark.
On the BBC, birth defects equal abortion. The only reason that old age does not yet (quite) equal euthanasia at the Big Brother Broadcasting Corporation I guess, is that the baby boomer generation is still in control at the top of the Corporation. Perhaps they are getting too close to their maker themselves. Even so, the language of “assisted dying” is to euthanasia what pro-choice is to pro-abortion – a whitewash of the facts, which in the case of abortion are that:
Two thirds of Britain’s annual 185,000 abortions (which are double the rate of 1970) are repeat abortions.
3,000 are performed on girls under 16
These figures exclude the ‘emergency contraceptive pill or morning after pill which has close to one million users – some taking it regularly, many buying it over-the-counter at chemists, and some getting it free at school.
Of course, the term ‘pro choice’ is as deceptive as it is inaccurate – which of course is what makes it so persuasive. Choice is a huge and inclusive concept. Is there any reason to suppose that somebody who is in favour of legal abortion actually really believes in choice in any other respect (for example, choice as to whether one buys BBC television services)? One suspects otherwise, so reluctant are the pro-abortionists to countenance openness and honesty regarding the downside of abortion – not least the way it has become a rather brutal form of contraception. For an open and unbiased investigation of the culture of abortion there is little hope from the BBC. Their linguistic ruling precludes it.
If you appreciated this article, perhaps you might consider making a donation to The Conservative Woman. Our contributors and editors are unpaid but there are inevitable costs associated with running a website. We receive no independent funding and depend on our readers to help us, either with regular or one-off payments. You can donate here. Thank you.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gerry McCann and Christopher Jefferies launch their national petition
Victims of press intrusion are urging the government to fully implement the Leveson Inquiry's recommendations on newspaper regulation.
Lord Justice Leveson called for a new independent watchdog - which he said should be underpinned by legislation.
Inquiry witnesses Gerry McCann and Christopher Jeffries launched the online petition, run by the campaign group Hacked Off.
Ministers say a draft bill on the report will be ready in a fortnight.
Lord Justice Leveson's 2,000-page report into press ethics, published on Thursday, found that some press behaviour had been "outrageous" and "wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people".
He said the press - having failed to regulate itself in the past - must create a new and tough regulator but it had to be backed by legislation to ensure it was effective.
The report exposed divisions in the coalition government, with Prime Minister David Cameron opposing statutory control, unlike his deputy Nick Clegg, who wants a new law introduced without delay. Labour leader Ed Miliband also supports a new press law.
'Stand up for people'
Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing in Portugal in 2007, said he would have liked the report to have gone further.
Launching the petition he said: "Clearly the public want it, there's been a judicial review and I think the recommendations should be implemented. There's no good reason why they shouldn't be."
Analysis Government sources say they expect to produce a draft "Leveson" bill within a fortnight. However they expect the draft bill to underline their argument that any legislation would be much more unwieldy and extensive than envisaged by supporters of Leveson. They believe the draft bill will support their view that legislation would therefore be a threat to the freedom of the press. Instead, ministers want the newspaper industry to come forward with their own plans for regulation "within months." It's also being made clear that if the industry fails to agree on an acceptable revised package..then "the legislative stick remains an option." Earlier, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said alongside the issue of legislation, she had "very grave concerns" about some of the other details in the Leveson report -including on the role of Ofcom and rules on data protection. Labour sources say they fear the government will produce draft legislation that looks like "something the Stasi has written" in an effort to discredit the Leveson proposals
Mr McCann, who was the subject of what he called "unbelievably damaging" newspaper reports that suggested he and his wife killed Madeleine, added: "The press has been given enough chances, and in my opinion Lord [Justice] Leveson has given them another chance to put a structure in place which they are happy with."
Christopher Jeffries, who was wrongly arrested for the murder of Joanna Yeates, said: "Certainly I think it [Mr Cameron's decision] has been influenced by the pressure he has received from newspaper proprietors and editors and by some MPs in his own party."
Meanwhile, Hacked Off said victims had refused to meet Culture Secretary Maria Miller earlier because they felt "too let down" by the prime minister.
Following cross-party talks on Thursday night - which will resume next week - the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will begin the process of drawing up a draft bill implementing the Leveson recommendations.
The prime minister believes this process will only serve to highlight how difficult it is to try to legislate in a complex and controversial area while Labour and the Lib Dems think it will demonstrate the opposite.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gerry McCann: Leveson does not go far enough
The Lib Dems pledged to ensure the legislation was drawn up "in good faith".
But the BBC's Norman Smith says Labour sources fear the Conservatives will produce draft legislation written in such a way as to discredit the proposals - "like something the Stasi [East German secret police] had written".
Culture Secretary Maria Miller told the BBC "the gauntlet has been thrown down" to newspapers to outline how they would set up tough self-regulation instead.
Proposed new press law Would: Create a process to "validate" the independence and effectiveness of the new self-regulation body
Validate a new process of independent arbitration for complainants - which would benefit both the public and publishers by providing speedy resolutions
Place a duty on government to protect the freedom of press Would not: Establish a body to regulate the press directly
Give any Parliament or government rights to interfere with what newspapers publish How new regulator might work
Mrs Miller said it was for the press to move forward "swiftly", putting in place a self-regulatory body that "adheres to the Leveson principles".
Government and industry sources have told the BBC that newspaper editors will meet Mrs Miller on Tuesday.
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins says she will tell them to draw up a better model for self-regulation than the one the press originally presented to the Leveson inquiry.
The Editors' Code of Practice Committee, which describes itself as the "foundation stone of the UK press self-regulatory system", said it would meet will meet next Wednesday to discuss the report.
Committee chairman Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, said: "We very much hope it will lay the framework for a fresh approach to the Editor's Code which will answer concerns raised during the inquiry."
Many of Friday's newspapers praised Mr Cameron's opposition to law-backed regulation.
But Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger told the BBC "a bit of statute" was a price worth paying for an effective new system of regulation and that he believed the press could "live with most of" the Leveson proposals.
Mr Rusbridger, who revealed that he spoke to other editors on Thursday night, said: "I think about 80% of it is right and can be agreed on."
Trevor Kavanagh, associate editor at the Sun, said there was no need for any new legislation.
"We welcome the report, its contents, its criticisms and we accept them. But I think that we've gone a long way as an industry to meeting also the recommendations for putting our house in order and making sure that it stays in order."The testimony of Lupe Marshall to a U.S. Senate committee on the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre, a day in which police opened fire on strikers.
When members of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) decided to strike the “Little Steel”companies in May 1937, they could hardly have expected it to result in a massacre. On the afternoon of Memorial Day, a flag-waving, ethnically diverse group set out for the companyÌs Republic Steel’s main gate but were stopped by a large contingent of policemen. When one of the policemen suddenly and inexplicably fired his revolver into the front of the crowd the march turned into a massacre. In the end, ChicagoÌs police killed ten fleeing workers, wounded thirty more and beat fifty-five so badly they required hospitalization. Lupe Marshall, a housewife and volunteer social worker in South Chicago was among those beaten. She gave this testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor, known informally as the La Follette Committee for its chair, Senator Robert La Follette, and charged with investigating the incident.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Were you successful in your efforts to get away from the police?
Mrs. MARSHALL: No; I was not. After I evaded these policemen that were immediately in front of me.... I was aware that my head was bleeding. I noticed that my blouse was all stained with blood, and that sort of brought me to, and I started walking slowly toward the direction from which a policeman had just clubbed an individual, and this individual dragged himself a bit and tried to get up, when the policeman clubbed him again. He did that four times.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: When he was on the ground?
Mrs. MARSHALL: While he was trying to get up. Every time he tried to get up the policeman’s club came down on him. Then he took him by the foot and turned him over. When the man finally fell so he could not move, the policeman took him by the foot and turned him on his back, and started dragging him. As he turned over, I noticed that the man’s shirt was all blood stained here on the side, so I screamed at the policeman and said, “Don’t do that. Can’t you see he is terribly injured?” And at the moment I said that, somebody struck me from the back again and knocked me down. As I went down somebody kicked me on the side here, a policeman kicked me on the side here.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: How can you be sure they were policemen?
Mrs. MARSHALL: Well, I could see from the sides. I could not identify the particular policemen that did it, but I could see their uniforms, and I could see the edges, the ends of the clubs from the side of my eyes.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: How much do you weigh, Mrs. Marshall?
Mrs. MARSHALL: I weigh 92 pounds now. I weighed 97 when this happened.
Senator LA FOLLETTE And how tall are you?
Mrs. MARSHALL: 4 feet 11.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Go ahead.
Mrs. MARSHALL: So, after he kicked me I tried to get up, and they hit me three times across the back, and then somebody picked me up and took me to the patrol wagon. As we were walking along to the patrol wagon I noticed men lying all over the field. Some of them were motionless. Some were groaning, but nearly all of those that were lying down had their heads covered with blood, and their clothing was stained with blood. They took me to one patrol wagon, and as I was walking toward it the policeman is dragging me by the arm. As I was walking toward it, one man that I presumed was a newspaper reporter asked my name...
Mrs. MARSHALL:...and I said“Lupe Marshall”, and I gave him my address as quickly as I could, and I was about to give him my telephone number when he twisted me around and he said, “Come on, get going!” And as we approached the patrol wagon I noticed that it was full, so they said, “No, we can’t get her in there.”
Then they took me to the other patrol wagon, and that patrol wagon was filled also, so they took me to a distance and at that moment a patrol wagon drove in, or got into position, but it was in motion, and it stopped right in front of us, and they opened the door, and I was going to step in. I had one foot on the step when a policeman put his hand on my back, on my buttocks, and shoved me in there, so that if I had not put my hands across my face I would have struck the grating of the window in the front of the patrol wagon in there. After I poised myself I walked over in the wagon and sat next to the door, and observed out as much as I could. When the policemen started to pick up those men that had been lying approximately where I had been standing when the thing started, they started bringing them in by their feet and their hands, half dragging them and half picking them up, and there was one man that they brought, the first one that they put in the wagon, he was a heavy set fellow. He weighed about 200 pounds, blonde fellow. They grabbed him, and shoved him in the wagon,...and I noticed that he had two red stains about the size of a penny, one on the upper side of his abdomen and one lower, and immediately after that other policemen started bringing the other wounded men, and that is the confusion in which they threw every one of the men that were in the wagon with me. None of the men that were in the wagon with me were able to sit up. None of them sat on the benches. I had to lift my feet up on to the bench to allow them to put the men in there.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Did they pile them one on top of another.
Mrs. MARSHALL: They piled them one on top of the other. There were some men who had their heads underneath others. Some had their arms all twisted up, and their legs twisted up, until they filled the wagon up, and one man said, “Well, I guess that’s all”, and they shut the door.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: How many would you say were in the patrol wagon at this time?
Mrs. MARSHALL: 16 men—16 men, besides myself.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Were there any others seriously wounded in the wagon?
Mrs. MARSHALL: They were all seriously wounded. On the way to the hospital—
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Just a moment. Had any of them, could you see, received any first aid?
Mrs. MARSHALL: No; none of them, because I saw where they were picking them up from. They were picking them up from the original position in which they laid there. They were bringing them into the wagon.
Senator LA FOLLETTE: Now tell us about the trip, and where you went.
Mrs. MARSHALL:As soon as the wagon started, and they had closed the door, one of the policemen stepped on the step of the wagon and held his hands on it while we were driving. Well, as soon as the wagon started I started helping these men that were in the wagon. I started straightening out their heads and lifting their arms from underneath, and I noticed that there was one particular fellow there who looked very gaunt and haggard, and he seemed to be in a terrible position. There was a heavy-set man that had fallen on top of him, and this fellow was pinned completely with his head over his knees. I straightened him out, managed to get his head on my lap, but when I did that I noticed that his face was getting cold and was black, turning black, and he was motioning to his pocket, his shirt pocket. He had a package of cigarettes there, and I understood he wanted me to light a cigarette for him, but I had no matches, and |
just results. Quarterback Sam Bradford was excellent again Sunday, completing 22-of-30 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns with nary a bad throw or decision to be found in the contest.
There’s no doubt that this team, left for dead after Bridgewater’s injury (and then again after Peterson’s) is a Super Bowl contender. They might be the favorites to come out of the NFC at this point.
How do they keep doing it? There are a few answers to that question — first and foremost, tremendous coaching, but also: great quarterback play by Bradford; prodigious, if unsuspecting, depth; and, of course — this has to be mentioned ad nauseam — that defense.
But here’s a better question: Who’s going to beat them this year?
Going 16-0 in the regular season is an absurd accomplishment, particularly in this parity driven NFL, but the Vikings are just about a third of the way to that mark.
When the question of who will beat Minnesota is first asked, it’s fair to scoff at the notion.
But then you look at the schedule.
And then you think about what they’ve already done this season.
You can’t eliminate the possibility just yet.
Let’s take a look at the remainder of the Vikings’ schedule and try to find that loss:
Week 7 – at Eagles — This is going to be a hell of a game, no doubt, but after seeing the Eagles lose to the Lions and with the Vikings coming off a bye you have to favor the Vikings here.
Week 8 – at Bears — On the road. But no.
Week 9 – Lions — Don’t joke.
Week 10 – at Washington — Hard to see it, but maybe?
Week 11 – Cardinals — Arizona’s vertical passing game against that Vikings defense? I’d like Minnesota’s chances.
Week 12 – at Lions — Stop it.
Week 13 – Cowboys — The Cowboys are good, but that defense isn’t elite and those short throws Dak Prescott lives on won’t be there with the Vikings’ defense.
Week 14 – at Jaguars — The Jaguars will be totally dissolved by this point in the year.
Week 15 – Colts — Come on, is this a prank?
Week 16 – at Packers — Here’s the best bet — a cold (probably) night in Lambeau — but we saw what happened the last time these two teams played.
Week 17 – Bears — Maybe because it’s a John Fox save-your-job game… On second thought, no.
There are some games in there that will give the Vikings pause, no doubt. You can find four losses on that slate and that discounts the fact that the NFL is absolutely insane and the unexpected happens all the time.
But we’re talking about the Minnesota Vikings going 16-0 this season, doesn’t that say it all?Soyomakei performing at the inaugural Jukumari Clinic Laundry Session Tico Noise
The city’s network of DIY venues has carved out a space for people to connect, fostering a resilient creative community.
This post is part of a CityLab series on open secrets—stories about what’s hiding in plain sight. Evan Hoffman lives in an apartment on a quiet street in Richmond, Virginia. On weekend nights, some music fans seek out his basement instead of downtown’s theaters and bars. Open Secrets Revealing the invisible city Go Underground concert venues—typically in someone’s basement, backyard, or living room—exist wherever there’s demand for live music. In Richmond, the handful of formal venues is vastly outnumbered by private house venues with colorful names like Sloth Sanctuary, Crystal Palace, or Lucy’s. Typically hosted by renters, the names of venues rove around the city as hosts change residences. Hoffman has run Good Day RVA, a non-profit music and film collective, since 2012. The project began as a music video series pairing bands with a particular location in the Richmond area. Good Day RVA shoulders the cost, allowing musicians that otherwise couldn’t afford the $500-$1,000 necessary to commission a professional quality video. The mission—to show Richmond off to itself and the world—remained unchanged as demand for the videos began to take off.
Eventually, Good Day RVA’s collaborators decided to move in together, creating a home base for their growing organization. As soon as he saw the basement in his current apartment, Hoffman thought about throwing shows there. “We had concerns about sound,” says Hoffman. “We live in kind of an active area.” But as of yet, the Good Day RVA house had hosted over two dozen shows with only a few rowdy crowds along the way. The basement is cluttered with props from past shows including an enormous stuffed monkey and a cityscape made from cardboard. Olivia Scibelli is the lead vocalist and guitarist in Idle Bloom, a Nashville-based psych-pop band. Now 28, Scibelli has played DIY shows across the country since 2009. Although DIY shows are rarely profitable—Scibelli has earned as little as $20 from some—she points out that DIY shows can yield important community connections. “The connection in playing a basement somewhere random compared to a venue—the energy is really different,” she says, citing the fact that DIY spaces are all ages and inclusive of teenagers who might not be welcome at a traditional venue. “Those kids are just ravenous for connection,” adds Scibelli. In Richmond, the notion of inclusion has merged with the national dialogue about safe spaces. “There’s no such thing as a safe space,” says Hoffman, pointing out that an environment that feels comfortable to a white man might feel profoundly fraught to a trans woman or person of color. His only guarantee is that there’s a conscious effort to make the Good Day RVA house a space that feels safe and comfortable to the broadest swath of guests possible.
Rivanna Youngpool used to run a sober venue called Sour Haus in a rapidly gentrifying Richmond neighborhood. On the day of a show, Youngpool would prepare by baking cookies, buying disposable cameras, and gathering firewood for bonfires in her backyard in between the scramble to communicate last-minute logistics to bands. “The word ‘safe’ can be taken in so many ways,” says Youngpool. Along with banning alcohol, she kept a sign with house rules prominently displayed during shows. During shows, Youngpool and her roommates would circulate through the crowd, introducing themselves and keeping an eye on their guests. Disruptions ranged from unwanted sexual comments to situations that became more blatant. Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... “One guy came in—belligerent, insane—and walked through the band’s set,” Youngpool recalls. “He was sitting on the floor, which is a safety hazard. I had warning signs when he came in.” When she approached the man to intervene, he pulled her in for a hug. “I was like, ‘I don’t know you!’” Youngpool says. She eventually managed to recruit a few friends to help escort him into a cab. Because DIY spaces fly below the general public’s radar, audiences are assembled through webs of personal networks, with attendees texting hosts for their addresses. “I think we had done a good job of curating that community,” says Youngpool. Although safe spaces have been criticized for having a chilling effect on controversial or difficult debates, in practice, the concept is not without political teeth. “DIY goes hand in hand with politics, whether you want to admit it or not,” says Scibelli, who points out that performing in DIY spaces allows bands to bypass the traditional system in which formal venues serve as the gatekeepers to audiences. “You’re going outside of a system to a radical space. DIY was created to break down that barrier. It’s important to bypass venues and traditional establishments to create fresh voices that are uncensored in the truest way,” he notes. When booking shows, Hoffman makes an effort to be conscious to invite a diverse range of bands, including both the types of music and the artists themselves. “I’ve always loved every type of music,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll put math rock on the bill with a singer-songwriter. We were like, ‘Hey, we can’t just have white dudes playing rock all the time.’” He also emphasizes that everyone is welcome at Good Day RVA. “We’ll be inclusive to conservatives, too,” he says, “but not to assholes.”
DIY spaces have also created space for new communities to emerge and thrive in Richmond. When Tico Noise moved to Richmond in 2013, she stumbled upon the DIY scene by accident. Thinking she was attending a house party, she was surprised to discover a full sound system set up in the house’s living room and bands that played live music all night. At the time, Richmond was dominated by rock music. “Hip-hop wasn’t even on the radar because it was so fragmented and so underground,” says Noise. “I’ve seen it explode.” When a friend’s recording equipment was stolen from his car, Noise channeled her desire to help into planning a two day event featuring over a dozen bands and visual artists to raise money for new gear. Now, she regularly books shows at friends’ houses in neighborhoods like Oregon Hill and Jackson Ward, plus a local venue called Strange Matter, transforming residences into DIY venues full of hip-hop, R&B, visual art, and creative lighting. Noise’s efforts to book hip-hop and R&B artists have come alongside the emergence of local collectives like Satellite Syndicate, *B.ckwards Haus Ops, and Mutant Academy that help individual artists work together to gain greater traction. She suspects that hip-hop artists who work together as organized groups are better able to convince traditional venues of their artistic integrity and professionalism. Despite its large population of socially progressive millennials, Richmond’s history as the former capital of the Confederacy still produces aftershocks that manifest, in part, as stereotypes about hip-hop and arts likely to draw largely African American crowds as threatening or dangerous. “I condemn that type of thinking,” says Noise, “and I have to use music to do it.”
Like Hoffman, Noise believes that social causes have helped the hip-hop community rally together. As it has coalesced in DIY spaces over the past two years, traditional venues have begun to soften, gradually booking more hip-hop acts. “You make your own space—now the venue wants to have you,” says Noise. Despite its ability to nurture emerging communities, the DIY scene isn’t without drawbacks. Larger venues have professional security staff and systems in place that insulate them from liability should anything go wrong. Sexual harassment, drunken mishaps, health emergencies, and injuries caused by crowdsurfing or moshing are all risks that formal venues are better equipped to handle. Crowds frequently exceed capacity and lack sufficient exits in underground venues; in December 2016, over 30 people were killed when a fire broke out at a warehouse rave in Oakland. DIY shows that are held in spaces zoned as private residences exist in a legal gray area, somewhere between a private party and a venue. Although Richmond is hospitable to underground venues, concert hosts in Los Angeles have found themselves in expensive, time-consuming legal battles with city officials over zoning permits. To avoid eviction, some suggest negotiating specific language into the space’s lease. The etiquette of the house show is delicate. Because they are hosted in private residences, hosts make different rules about where visitors are allowed to be. Typically, upstairs bedrooms are considered off limits. But at Good Day RVA, Hoffman has dismissed that rule. “We wanted to trust that people aren’t going to take anything,” says Hoffman, whose living room features a flat screen television, along with the video and camera equipment Good Day RVA uses to shoot music videos elsewhere in the house. “The openness has cultivated a very respectful community that comes here.” For Youngpool, Sour Haus eventually created legal complications. She was recently sued by her former landlord for damage to the property caused by the weight of audiences packed into her living room. After over two years of shows that packed audiences into Youngpool’s living room, the floor began to bow and sink—something Youngpool noticed and tried to remedy by building stints beneath the joists with her father. At the time of this reporting, she was in the final days of negotiating a settlement for the damages with her former landlord. For bands, DIY tours can also be punishing. “It’s not an old person’s game, usually. It’s a brutal life,” says Scibelli. “We’ve recently done touring that’s more professional, with booking agents. It’s really luxurious. You miss the connection, but you are more taken care of.” Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled “B.ckwards Haus Ops.”Anyone who plays Super Smash Bros. Melee and has access to all characters will either find themselves in love with or infuriated with Marth. Somehow elegant, slightly effeminate and terrifying, he’s also one of the most hated and popular Melee characters. He’s both the bane of casual players, but also their easiest way to enter competitive Melee. Emphasizing fundamentals more than arguably any other character, Marth has been called by many, including Mango in the past, as the “spirit of Melee.”
Whether you agree with this statement or not is another topic – when I’ve mentioned this before to my college smash friends, it’s been met with both ridicule and skepticism, due to my own bias as a Marth player. Either way, it’s hard to understate his influence on the competitive Melee community.
Rolling C-Stickers (late 2001 to early 2003)
Notable Players: Ken, Eduardo, your friend who keeps spamming forward smash, etc.
The first thing you’ll notice if you play Marth for the first time is his ridiculous range. Unlike other characters that use their body for direct hits, he has a sword that consistently covers more space within its moves than any other character. Although Marth doesn’t have any outstanding hitboxes (like Sheik’s nair), due to the arc-nature of swinging a sword, his ability to swat anything in his path is by far his biggest strength.
Because movement hadn’t advanced to the point where opponents could whiff-punish Marth’s moves, the threat of getting forward smashed was something that everyone had to consider when playing against him. Keep in mind that using smash attacks was a huge part of the early meta.
Due to Marth’s ability to control space, most of the strategies based around how to beat him involved quite a bit of camping or using characters with projectiles. Effectively speaking, Marth initially started as a defensive character, used to preemptively wall out his opponents and punish them for coming close.
It’s impossible to mention Marth in the early stages of competitive Melee without bringing up his far inferior counterpart in Roy. The latter was extremely popular within the game’s initial years and still is among casual players. For any competitive player today, even comparing the two is pretty laughable, but in 2002, tier lists were anything but definite conclusions for Melee.
Marth was still seen as one of the better characters within Melee, even if he wasn’t quite on the level of Sheik/Falco/Fox. After all, Eduardo dominated his small regional scene in Illinois and Marth was popular across all levels. But in the next four years, that changed – and many wondered if he was secretly Melee’s best character.
The King of Smash (mid 2003 – mid 2009):
Notable Players: Ken, Mew2King, Azen, EK, KoreanDJ, Tink, Husband
The King of Smash isn’t just a title for Ken’s dominance. If we’re talking about which characters actually ruled Melee, it’s hard to argue that this era was not predominantly ruled by Marth.
Ken’s use of the dash dance in particular revolutionized how Marth could be used to condition, bait and manipulate opponents. Since most of the Melee meta in its early ages was based around shield grabs, cross-up dash attacks and using projectiles to control stage, Ken’s use of movement to keep his opponents guessing illustrated a far greater understanding of Melee than his contemporaries. Marth’s movement and tools in the neutral game highlighted these strengths.
On the East Coast, Azen’s influence as a Marth player manifested itself in another way. His natural sense of spacing, guessing his opponent’s intent and knowing the innate risk-reward ratios behind specific in-game situations were enhanced by his Marth more than any of his other characters. Though it’s easy to look at Azen’s play and see it as someone spamming forward smash to win, keep in mind that the game hadn’t developed to where using such moves was significantly punishable.
Sheik was still thought of as superior based on the Melee tier list – and as shown through people who beat Ken, it’s not like Marth was unstoppable. But at the same time, think about Ken’s 4-2 Jack Garden Tournament victory against Bombsoldier. Facing an opponent with greater technical ability and a bigger punish game than anyone he might have ever played against, Ken adapted, showcasing how devastating Marth’s chaingrab could be. But if Ken showed a glimpse into how far Marth’s combos could be pushed, Mew2King went even further.
The video above isn’t just a showcase of what the top standard was for Marth’s combos in those ages. These are punishes and follow-ups that Marth mains still struggle with executing today. Claims of “2007 Mew2King” being the best player ever are righteously treated with a bit of skepticism, but any look into actual footage of his combo game proves that he was way ahead of his time.
Not only could Mew2King chaingrab both Fox and Falco with unbelievable consistency, he was also quite ahead of everyone else in the Marth ditto, in which he casually embarrassed his opponents. Consider it this way: if Ken invented Marth, Mew2King back then “perfected” his ability to convert off hits, off juggling opponents and going for low-percent kills off-stage.
Marth’s ability to finish stocks early, along with everything else Mew2King contributed, led to him being ranked second in what was supposed to be Melee’s “final” tier list on October 14, 2008. Yet based on results, you could have just as easily argued him as No. 1.
This briefly continued even in an era when Mew2King didn’t even treat Melee as his first priority. Even Azen, playing mostly Marth, placed ninth at the Revival of Melee, despite not having played seriously for almost a year. In fact, when Mew2King lost to Armada at the first GENESIS, many thought of it as a fluky upset. Unfortunately, this loss, along with his inability to overcome Mango with any of his characters, was a sign of stagnancy to follow for Marth.
The Betrayal (late 2009 – late 2012)
Notable Players: Mew2King, Taj, PewPewU, Tai, Arc, G$
In 2009, Mew2King posted a topic on the GameFAQS Melee board, claiming that Sheik was the best character. At the time, Mew2King played both characters, but he eventually began playing a lot more Sheik. This played a big role in Marth’s decline.
Part of why Marth dominated in the past was because of how successful he was against Fox. But remember that Fox players were also in a bit of a decline for most of the post-Brawl era. With less top-level Fox mains, Marth players had lost what was their most historically favorable matchup. It’s no surprise that at a time when Fox struggled, so did Marth.
Early in the MLG-era of smash, it wasn’t uncommon to come across people that thought Marth also held a distinct advantage over Falco. But in 2009, top-level Falco players weren’t the kind of people you could just spam shield grab against. They now had shield pressure and movement that made Bombsoldier look like he barely scratched the surface of tech skill.
As if that wasn’t enough, think about all the representation from other characters that traditionally give Marth a hard time. Captain Falcon players like SilentSpectre, Darkrain, Hax, Scar and S2J (later) were on the rise. You could also argue that the Sheik meta, pushed by Mew2King himself, KirbyKaze, Lucien, Tope and even the Netherlands’ Amsah made it difficult for Marth to succeed. That’s not even going into the reign of Mango – and later Hungrybox – showing how difficult Jigglypuff could be to fight.
For the first time, Marth looked like he had peaked. In the final tier list of 2010, he finished a disappointing fifth on the tier list – the lowest he had ever been since 2002. Yet in one of the most memorable bracket runs of the post-Brawl era, one old-school Marth managed to put together old-school tricks with new-school movement and combos. Enter Taj at GENESIS 2.
Usually when you hear about Taj, you think about two things: his Mewtwo or the notorious losers finals set at GENESIS 2 against Mango. The former is understandable, but the latter is unfair.
Taj was known to be particularly proficient against Falco, due to practicing with Axe’s Falco and being particularly good at edge guarding him. At GENESIS 2, Taj lost to ORLY in pools, but also turned heads with his dominant win over Dr. PeePee, while playing Marth. Even though Dr. PeePee was dreadfully sick at the tournament, it wasn’t as if this was a one-set fluke.
Making his way to top eight, Taj beat Larry Lurr (another Falco), Hax with Mewtwo and clutched out a long set with MacD. In winners semifinals, he faced Mango: a Falco that routinely made Mew2King look foolish and in the last round had four-stocked Mew2King’s Marth at the same tournament.
Mango’s talked about how this was the set in which he “got gimped twelve times” and lost. Either way, Taj showcased that Marth could still keep up with Falco at a top level, with a mix of hard reads in the neutral game, Mew2King-esque conversions off stage and slick movement to trick his opponents. Losing to Armada and Mango doesn’t change that.
To put in perspective how impressive his GENESIS 2 run was, Taj had previously finished ninth at Don’t Do Down There Jeff, `17th at Apex 2010 and 49th at Pound 3. His bracket run at GENESIS 2, no matter how favorable it was for Taj, was the first top three finish by a non-Mew2King Marth since Azen’s victory at Viva La Smashtaclysm. Clearly, there was more to be done with the character.
It doesn’t sound like much to note now, but at Rule 6 NorCal Regional – a tournament won by Mango after he threw a set as Fox against Bladewise in winners – a rising NorCal Marth named PewPewU raised quite a few eyebrows when he took the first game of a set off Mango in losers semifinals: the same Fox that made Taj quit mid-set.
Though he still ended up losing the set, the hype behind PewPewU was through the roof. In the post tourney thread, S2J wrote of the NorCal Marth’s play: “best fucking Marth that ever lived to play the game.” Others added to the hype, with Bob$ writing that PewPewU was “godlike” and “better than Mew2King’s Marth.”
Statements like S2J’s were almost certainly exaggerated, but it wouldn’t have been to crazy to think that PewPewU’s potential was extremely high. What’s noticeable with his Marth, more than with being “aggressive” or “defensive” is his willingness to skirmish. Even in comparison to Taj, who mostly used tricky movement to get his opponents to whiff moves, PewPewU was far more proactive, also incorporating shield stops in his game as early as 2012.
By the end of 2012, Marth was still struggling, but there was a glimmer of hope for the once reigning character – not to mention, Mew2King playing him a lot more again at tournaments like Zenith 2012. The years of stagnancy were contradicted at Apex 2013, in which Marth had his best performance in over half a decade.
The Unstoppable Secondary (early 2013 to now)
Notable Players: Dr. PeePee/PPMD, Mew2King, Mango, PewPewU, The Moon
It’s not entirely accurate to portray Dr. PeePee playing Marth at Apex 2013 as completely unexpected, given that he had tried playing him in tourney before. Additionally, PPMD was fairly active on the Marth forum in Smashboards, where he regularly gave advice to fellow Marth players. Either way, the smash world was shocked when his secondary managed to take a set from the world’s best player.
Prioritizing fundamentals like no one else did at the time, Dr. PeePee’s dash dance and ability to maintain stage control captivated spectators at the time. Trained by Cactuar, Dr. PeePee somehow managed to aggressively channel Marth’s positioning strengths while also being patient and aware enough to avoid overextending.
Remember that since his ascent to godhood, Armada had never lost to another Marth player. He had gone close with Mew2King, but still held an undefeated record against him and every other Marth. But at Apex 2013, Dr. PeePee posed a challenge to Armada in one of his historically strongest matchups, all while playing a secondary.
A month later at a special edition of a Xanadu weekly, Dr. PeePee decided to play all Marth, shocking people given that Mew2King was attending the tournament. In fact, when the two played the matchup at Zenith 2012, Mew2King beat him solidly in those games.
As anyone who watches this set can tell you, Dr. PeePee put on a clinic, revolutionizing the Marth ditto in ways that Mew2King hadn’t. Not only having far better control of Marth’s movement than the latter, Dr. PeePee maintained an extremely disciplined style that emphasized dictating the tempo of a match and using DI mixups to trick his opponents, rather than going for lengthy, Mew2King-esque explosions.
Perhaps more than anything else, Dr. PeePee’s sheer control of center stage seemed to negate what one of Mew2King’s biggest strengths as both a player and a Marth ditto specialist – his ability near the ledge. After getting swept in the first set of their rematch in grand finals, Dr. PeePee, to everyone’s surprise, stayed with Marth and defeated Mew2King, handing his Sheik the first loss it ever had to a Marth in a full set.
Dr. PeePee’s success with Marth was particularly exciting because it seemed to highlight that Marth could be pushed even further than Mew2King pushed him. He also showed that the character could deal with Sheik: his biggest nemesis. With a Marth player also taking a set off someone who was considered the world No. 1, suddenly the character was alive again, with many resources not just being put online for the character, but also players beginning to apply new concepts to Marth that even Mew2King hadn’t done.
It’s not like the character lacked any meta development over the post-Brawl era, but on June 7, 2013, frame data master and Austrian Marth player Kadano posted one of the most read and studied topics on Smashboards. In it, he covered different types of Marth tactics, along with ideas on how Marth could punish certain characters, including Jigglypuff, Sheik and Captain Falcon – three matchups Marth had struggled with over the previous years.
Much of Kadano’s guide provided the basis for what PewPewU later would apply in his game, including how to successfully use DI mixups off throws to dash pivot tipper forward smash Jigglypuff. Though a lot of the “technology” written by Kadano was based off what Marth players theorycrafted or did in the past, his guide gave Marth players a centralized location to view how to use their tools, leading to more character representation through 2013 and 2014 than in years past.
At Apex 2015, at the time the biggest Melee tournament of all-time, Marth finally broke through. Playing him in the majority of top eight and returning after a massive break from competing at national tourneys, PPMD gave the character its first big victory since Azen at Viva La Smashtaclysm.
It feels weird to say that this set is historical, mostly because it was just over two years ago, but it’s a good representation of how most Marths try to play against Fox today, while also showing just how valuable the character could be as a counterpick. Without Marth, Dr. PeePee probably doesn’t win this tournament, SKTAR 3 or Apex 2014. This isn’t going into how valuable Mew2King’s Marth was at both The Big House 3 and Shine 2016 – or even Mango’s Marth at WTFox 2.
As of late, players like Shroomed, Axe, DruggedFox and Colbol have had success experimenting with playing a lot more Marth having taken sets off several top players in a variety of different matchups. Upstart Marth mains like Smash G0D, Zain, Nightmare, Reeve and Rudolph in the last two years also show a new group of mains with varying play styles.
Earlier last year, I wrote about Marth’s worrying lack of strong national placings, along with his lack of successful “solo” title victories. Within a Reddit thread I posted about Marth’s troubles, PPMD wrote back, disagreeing with much of what I wrote.
I’m not going to mince words here: PPMD’s response, along with every other bit of data that we have from 2013 onward, proved that my previous conclusion was full of shit. What I was particularly wrong about was the ambiguous implication that Marth struggled because of his placings, use as a situational counterpick over a serious main and Fox players getting more representation. For reference, Marth did extremely well against Fox and Falco within the Top 100 in 2016, per this excellent article by smash.gg’s Kelly Goodchild.
If anything, Marth’s now at least have examples of the character doing well in “unfavorable” matchups. Even if you ignore PPMD, players like PewPewU, The Moon, Smash G0D and Zain have victories over Top 10 and 20-level Sheiks. PewPewU, a rising star of the previous era, has also improved his game plan against Captain Falcon, while also becoming the first Marth in years to take a set from Hungrybox.
Even worse, by the same data I used to suggest that Marth wasn’t as good as his perception, you could just as easily say the same for any character that isn’t Fox or Jigglypuff in the modern era (and maybe Peach).
He might not be the king of smash anymore, but Marth is currently thriving in the modern era, with many mains and being ranked third on Melee’s current tier list. In fact, players like the The Moon, the Crimson Blur and ZoSo have said before that they believe Marth could be the best character in the game. Time will tell if the Fire Emblem swordsman can return to the throne.Biomarkers outperform symptoms in parsing psychosis subgroups
Multiple biological pathways lead to similar symptoms – NIH-funded study.
Three biomarker-based categories, called biotypes, outperformed traditional diagnoses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychosis, in sorting psychosis cases into distinct subgroups on the basis of brain biology, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. A hallmark of severe mental illness, psychosis is marked by hallucinations and delusions, or false, irrational beliefs.
“The biotypes were more biologically homogeneous than categories based on observable symptoms,” explained Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., acting director of the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which funded the study. “Just as fever or infection can have many different causes, multiple psychosis-causing disease processes — operating via different biological pathways — can lead to similar symptoms, confounding the search for better care.”
The results lend support to the institute’s Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDoC) initiative, which frees scientists from designing research based on traditional diagnostic categories, encouraging them to explore groupings based on genomics, behavioral dimensions, physiological traits, or brain imaging findings. More precise diagnosis is expected to lead to improved treatments.
NIMH-funded researchers Carol Tamminga, M.D., of the University of Texas, Dallas; Brett Clementz, Ph.D., of the University of Georgia, Athens; and colleagues at other research centers, report on their multi-site study on Dec. 8, 2015 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The new findings come from a project called The Bipolar Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (BSNIP). They add to increasing evidence of biological overlap between traditional, symptom-based diagnostic categories for disorders in which patients experience psychotic symptoms. The BSNIP study used sophisticated statistical approaches to sort such cases into homogeneous subgroups, based on multiple neurobiological measures and levels of analysis.
Brett Clementz, Ph.D., University of Georgia
The researchers examined key biological and behavioral measures linked to psychosis in 1,872 participants — patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder with psychosis, their first-degree relatives and healthy control subjects. Measures such as performance on thinking, planning and memory tasks, eye-tracking, inhibition, and brainwave responses to auditory stimuli identified sets of biomarkers that differentiated subgroups of patients. Three distinct psychosis-related biotypes emerged that cut across clinical diagnosis boundaries.
These subsets of biomarkers differentiated groupings of psychosis cases from each other considerably better than did traditional clinical diagnoses. External measures — social functioning, brain structure, and rates of psychosis-related illness and biomarker patterns in patients’ first-degree relatives — also validated the neurobiological distinctiveness of the biotype subgroups more than they did the distinctiveness of symptom-based categories.
People with different biotypes differed in their mix of psychosis-related impairments. For example, cases classified as Biotype 1 showed the most severe impairment in a set of brain functions that the researchers distilled into a construct they call “cognitive control” — the ability to flexibly exert control over attention and information processing to meet one's goals. Biotype 1 cases were also the most socially impaired. Biotype 2 cases showed intermediate levels of impaired cognitive control, but had normal to accentuated brain responses to sensory inputs and fast visual orienting, a set of brain functions called “sensorimotor reactivity” — the ability to detect and process sensory stimuli. Those classified as Biotype 3 showed normal cognitive control, modestly impaired sensorimotor reactivity, were the least socially impaired and had the lowest positive (e.g., hallucinations and delusions) and negative (e.g., blunted emotion) symptoms.
Source: Brett Clementz, Ph.D., University of Georgia
Each biotype overlapped with the traditional diagnostic categories. For example, among Biotype 1 cases, 59 percent had a schizophrenia diagnosis, while among Biotype 3 cases 44 percent had a bipolar disorder with psychosis diagnosis. Among Biotype 3 cases, 32 percent had schizophrenia, and among Biotype 1 cases, 20 percent had bipolar disorder with psychosis.
Differences in brain structure also distinguish the three biotypes, further validating the categorizations. On brain MRI scans, Biotype 1 cases — and to a lesser degree Biotype 2 cases — showed reduced gray matter, the brain’s working tissue, across several areas of the cortex, or outer mantle, known to process higher-order information. By contrast, in Biotype 3 cases, the largest of the groups, such reduced gray matter was mostly localized in emotion-processing areas in deeper brain regions. No brain structural differences distinguished the traditional categories of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder from each other.
Unaffected first-degree relatives of psychosis cases tended to show similar, but reduced, abnormalities in cognitive control, sensorimotor reactivity, social functioning and brain structure, suggesting that they may harbor “constitutional” risk factors for the biotypes.
The different patterns of biomarkers across the biotypes may help to explain discrepancies in replicating biomarker studies across different clinical research centers, say the researchers. For example, since they tend to be the most compromised, Biotype 1 cases are more likely to be recruited in inpatient settings, while Biotype 2 and -3 cases are more likely to be found in outpatient settings. So even if patients have the same nominal diagnosis, they might tend to have different underlying illness processes. Similarly, researchers with mostly Biotype 3 cases might conclude that not much can be learned from studying first-degree relatives (their relatives were largely normal on the biomarkers) — and/or that a large portion of the genetic risk for psychosis comes from spontaneous mutations.
“The biotypes outcome provides proof-of-concept that structural and functional brain biomarker measures can sort individuals with psychosis into groups that are neurobiologically distinctive and appear biologically meaningful,” said Dr. Tamminga.
The new findings suggest several leads for future research, say the investigators. Biotypes 1 and 2 may lend themselves to genetic studies, while Biotype 3 cases may yield more leads on environmental contributions to psychosis risk. Treatments for Biotype 1 should target cognitive control and enhance brain mechanisms for discerning the relevance of environmental stimuli. Cases with Biotypes 1 and 2 might be good candidates for treatments that correct neuronal activity levels through effects on cellular potassium or calcium channels.
About the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visithttp://www.nimh.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®A lockdown was lifted Tuesday afternoon at Cook County Jail after the jail was placed on lockdown, restricting the movement of inmates, when 18 percent of workers on the day shift did not make it to work, officials said.
The 142 correctional officers gave reasons ranging from illness and family issues to the weather for not showing up |
Ministry of Interior (MoI) stated that a security patrol was attacked by a roadside IED.The attack took place on the main road through Ar-Rif in the city of Al-Awamiyah, in al Qatif, Eastern Province. Two officers were killed. A major counter-insurgency operation is underway searching for the perpetrators.
Saudi Arabia will begin to impose a new tax on tobacco and “sugary drinks” on June 10th. The explicit reason behind this new tax is to help reduce the national budget deficit. As part of an early February agreement between all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, all members will be introducing similar taxes during 2017. This new tax plan is in addition to the previous GCC wide introduction of a 5% value taxation (VAT) to take effect in early 2018.
[EGYPT]: JUN 3 – One police officer was killed, two others wounded, during a fire exchange on 16th Street in El Montazah, Alexandria. The police officer who was killed was apprehending two individuals what were believed to be selling narcotics. During the arrest, the two opened fire against the police officer, killing him. An nearby police unit engaged the criminals, and after an exchange of fire, was able to kill one shooter, and apprehend another..
MAY 31 – Four Egyptian soldiers were killed during counter-terrorism operations near Bahariya Oasis, in the Giza Province. The soldiers were killed when an insurgent rushed them, and detonated a suicide belt. The Egyptian Army spokesman did not mention what groupthe operation was targeting at the time.
A vehicle loaded with explosive materials was disabled in the al Shadid Ahmed Hamdi tunnel, which crosses the Suez Canal north of Suez City. The two individuals inside the vehicle were arrested.
[TURKEY]: MAY 30 – Turkish police arrested Halis Bayancuk, known for having strong affiliations with the Islamic State, in the Sarkaya Province on. This is the third time that Bayancuk has been detained by Turkish security forces during 2017. The arrest of Bayancuk also marks the 29th arrest in the past week of individuals that the Turkish authorities describe as “Islamic State-affiliated.”
[IRAN]: JUN 3 – 37 people were killed in an explosion inside a shopping mall on Nasr Boulevard, Shiraz, Iran. The Iranian government has stated that the explosion was due to a gas leak.
JUN 2 – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a statement asserting that Iran is adhering to the 2015 nuclear deal. The statement did note that Iran is again nearing its limit on heavy waters. Iran has in the past exceeded the limit, but has rectified the situation upon inspection and notification.
[OMAN]: JUN 1- Pirates attacked the Marshall Island-flagged oil tanker MT NAVIG8 Providence. Onboard security responded to the threat, and fought the pirates off using small caliber weaponry. The EU Naval Force in the Horn of Africa (EU NAVFOR) states that the area is presently seeing a spike in piracy activities.
LIMA CHARLIE, MENA Desk
Lima Charlie provides global news, insight & analysis by military veterans and service members Worldwide.
For up-to-date MENA news, please follow us on twitter at @LimaCharlieMENA and John Sjoholm @JohnSjoholmLC
In case you missed it:More than 60 per cent of Quebecers would vote “No” in a referendum on Quebec’s sovereignty if it was held immediately, a new CROP poll commissioned by Radio-Canada shows.
The poll of 1,400 people asked “If a referendum asking if you want Quebec to become a sovereign country was held today, would you vote Yes or would you vote No.”
Among decided respondents, 61 percent said they would vote “No” and 39 per cent said they would vote “Yes.”
“These are very stable numbers,” said Youri Rivest, vice-president of CROP.
Support for sovereignty is essentially at the same place it was since the election of the Parti Québécois in 2012.
The poll was conducted via the Internet between March 5 and 8, 2014. There is no margin of error because it was conducted over the Internet.It’s time to kiss goodbye to your implicit BroadcastReceivers
Iiro Krankka Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 21, 2017
This article was also posted on Codemate Blog.
Android O Developer Preview is out! It’s time to start guessing what delicious dessert the letter O will stand for.
Every Android developer should check the list of behavior changes in the upcoming OS version right now. It’s nicely sectioned, so you see the behavior changes for only apps that target Android O, and changes that affect every API level on devices running Android O.
But you can skip the Broadcast Limitations section. I’ve got you covered.
The tl;dr: if you aren’t planning to update your app to Android O, you’re fine. But if you want to target Android O and its shiny new features AND you have registered implicit BroadcastReceivers in your AndroidManifest, keep on reading.
NOTE: There’s a list of exceptions for broadcasts that aren’t affected. So if your app relies, for example, on ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED or ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG, with many others, they’ll continue to work normally.
It’s all about saving power
Maximizing performance & battery life has been a big priority for Android for a while. In Android Marshmallow, Doze and App Standby were introduced to dramatically optimize previously poor battery life, a real pain point of most modern mobile phones.
While Doze restricted all apps to do battery-consuming background tasks in special maintenance windows, App Standby deferred network activities for least recently used apps. Along with Doze the JobScheduler was introduced, and Google began to urge developers to use it to schedule all background tasks.
What does saving battery have to do with BroadcastReceivers?
With Android Nougat, the support for registering three different implicit BroadcastReceivers in your AndroidManifest was removed.
With apps targeting Android O, all implicit BroadcastReceivers registered in the manifest (except these) will stop working.
As it turns out, apps were registering a lot of unnecessary implicit BroadcastReceivers in their manifest, causing unwanted battery drain. For example, a lot of apps registered receivers for the CONNECTIVITY_ACTION broadcast. “So what”, you might think. “What does that have to do with battery consumption?”
Imagine this: you have dozen apps that listen for connectivity change events. You leave home to go grocery shopping. The connection for the home wifi drops once you exit your apartment. Android system sends the CONNECTIVITY_ACTION broadcast, and causes all of those dozen apps to wake up and react to that change.
Since the wifi is no longer available, you get connected to the mobile network. Guess what, the CONNECTIVITY_ACTION broadcast gets sent again. The same sequence happens again when you get back home and reconnect to your wifi.
Imagine 20 apps that each listen for network connection events, new pictures taken through camera, new app installed / uninstalled events, charger connected / disconnected events… You quickly realize the Android Team has a pretty fair point in eliminating implicit Broadcasts registered in the AndroidManifest.
Since all those apps register for these broadcasts in their AndroidManifest, they’re always woken up to receive these events. Even when they’re not in the foreground or even running at all.
I have registered a BroadcastReceiver in my manifest, what now?
Don’t panic. Remember that while it may be frustrating to migrate your existing code to be Android O compatible, it’s not a major change and it’s all for the greater good.
Determine if the BroadcastReceiver is implicit or explicit
According to the documentation, any Broadcast that’s not directly related to your app is an implicit Broadcast. Like the documentation states, ACTION_PACKAGE_REPLACED is an implicit broadcast, since it notifies you of every newly installed package.
Likewise, any Broadcast that’s directly related to your app is an explicit one. So ACTION_MY_PACKAGE_REPLACED is an explicit Broadcast, since it notifies you when only your app is updated.
Most of the Broadcasts you can listen to are implicit ones.
Check if your app is affected
Android Developer documentation provides a list of implicit Broadcasts that aren’t affected and will continue to work normally. That means if your app only registers listeners for these implicit Broadcasts in the AndroidManifest, and these only, you’re safe.
The most common unaffected ones are ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED, ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG and ACTION_CONNECTION_STATE_CHANGED for Bluetooth state changes, with many others.
JobScheduler to the rescue
If you listened for network connection, charger or device idle events, the chances are you want to use JobScheduler for your task instead.
JobScheduler plays nicely with the Android system and Doze battery optimizations. It allows executing tasks based on conditions that you can define. For example, you can schedule a Job to be executed once the charger gets connected and the device has a working network connection while being in idle mode.
JobScheduler is only supported on Android Lollipop (API 21) and up. If your app has a minSdkVersion below 21, there’s libraries with similar APIs that provide backwards compatibility. The officially recommended one is FirebaseJobDispatcher.
We at Codemate are currently having great success with Evernote’s Android-Job library. Android-Job uses JobScheduler on devices that have Lollipop or greater and falls back to GCMNetworkManager or AlarmManager depending on if the system has Google Play Services installed or not.
Context.registerReceiver() has always got your back
Whether your Broadcast is implicit or explicit, you can always register it by using the Context.registerReceiver() method inside your Activity, Service, Fragment or even a custom View.
So, for example if your AndroidManifest had a receiver for listening charger events:
You would remove that receiver from your AndroidManifest.xml and the BatteryReceiver class completely, and move listening logic inside your Activity, Service, Fragment, whatever:
The difference of registering BroadcastReceivers with Context.registerReceiver() is that you must eventually also unregister it, while receivers defined in you manifest will wake up your app no matter what. When to unregister depends on where you first register your receiver.
If done inside an Activity / Fragment, a good place to unregister is the onDestroy callback. Inside a Service, unregister when you don’t need to receive those events any more.
Conclusion
Get rid of all implicit (except these) BroadcastReceivers in your AndroidManifest. Use JobScheduler, FirebaseJobDispatcher or alternatives for your tasks instead. If those don’t support the event you were listening to, register BroadcastReceivers in your Activity, Service, Fragment or View depending on your needs.AB de Villiers expects no quarter to be given when South Africa and Australia resume their rivalry © AFP
Australia 'nudge the line a fair bit' - Warner David Warner has described sledging as "a form of the game" but he has conceded that the Australians occasionally do cross the line with their comments. Warner is not in Zimbabwe for the tri-series and was a guest on Fox Sports' Back Page Live TV show on Tuesday night. "We set a standard where we want to go out there and play aggressive and hard cricket and not cross the line," Warner said. "There are some times you do nudge that line a fair bit and the odd occasion you might step over that, but you do have to realise that we're out there to win. We do like to be aggressive and sledging is a form of the game when we're out there. And it happens in all sports." Warner also expressed regret comments he made during Australia's tour of South Africa in February, when he suggested AB de Villiers might use his wicketkeeping gloves to alter the condition of the ball. Warner was fined 15% of his match fee by the ICC for the comment. "Obviously with myself coming out and saying the comment about AB de Villiers probably wasn't the smartest thing, and I regret saying that," he said.
Fierce rivalry takes on a more literal meaning when it is between South Africa and Australia. Whether it is the actual blood on the floor from Mitchell Johnson breaking bones or the figurative kind - the howling of Faf du Plessis off the field as punishment for likening the Australia to a "pack of dogs," in March - there's something feral, almost brutal, about the competition between them.
Five months ago, the rawness of their relationship was exposed not just in the du Plessis incident but by interaction between two of their best players. Michael Clarke and Dale Steyn were nose to nose after a decision did not go Australia's way and the tension was more than any that had been seen between the two teams in a long time.
That was the last time the duo duelled, Clarke has subsequently apologised for being "out of line," and South Africa have in the words of ODI captain AB de Villiers "moved on," without forgetting. "I didn't know about that but apology accepted. It was a hard-fought series in SA, but there are definitely no hard feelings. We didn't expect anything less," de Villiers said ahead of their first meeting in the triangular series in Harare.
He went one step further by inviting Australia to pick up where they left off because South Africa are ready to brush them off in every sense. "When I get sledged at the wicket, I don't mind it at all. I really enjoy the challenge. I'm expecting to see more of that in this series," de Villiers said. "There was lots of personal stuff. Certain guys take it in a different way. I laughed at a couple of chirps I heard. It's part of the game and I see it in that way. But they can't expect us to be mates with them off the field if they get very personal."
If anything, dangling the threat of a withdrawal of goodwill is certain to pique Australia's interest but de Villiers has insisted South Africa are prepared. "In the same breath, we are also here to win this series so... whatever it takes," he said.
His men have geared themselves up not with extra net sessions or hours of video analysis but with a boot camp in beastliness. In their three days off, most of South Africa's squad headed to the Victoria Falls River Lodge - a luxury tented camp on the banks of the Zambezi River - where they were surrounded by "hippos and crocodiles" and channelled their inner Dale Steyn.
The leader of the pack had been in the bush for longer because he was rested for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe and used the time to be daring. While fishing, he ended up hooking himself and if that wasn't enough, he also jumped off the Zambezi River Bridge. Far from being concerned that he could render himself unavailable for the triangular, South Africa's management encouraged him to get his adrenaline fix because they believe that is what he and the rest of the squad needs.
"That is probably the reason he has been the No.1 bowler in the world for so long," de Villiers said. "He has got that adventurous streak about him and he loves challenges. His kind of challenge is jumping of a bridge. That's what he does at home in Cape Town too. He runs in the mountains there and there is always some sort of danger. And also some of the other guys, we also like adventure. We had hippos and crocodiles around us. It's part of going to a game lodge and part of switching the mind off. We are all here very fresh."
Inevitably, there was also some focus on cricket and the elephant in the room walked in too, although not literally. "I don't want any cricket conversation on those trips but it comes up all the time. The guys love the game and they love to talk about the game. Around the camp fire it came up a few times - how we are going to try and win this series," de Villiers. "The lodge owner wanted to know a few things about why we haven't won a World Cup."
If South Africa have an answer to that question, they are not saying what it is, except that they hope this time will be different. Meticulous planning sprinkled with some escapism is the recipe they are using this time and doubtless beating is Australia is part of what they see as being on the right road to success.
But if the sense of bravado is not enough to let Australia know South Africa mean business, de Villiers, who has only scored 29 runs in three innings on this tour, had a personal warning for them too. "I am hitting the ball better than ever so I expect myself to make an impact in this series," he said. "If I don't I will be very disappointed."
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.A long-running dispute between San Diego firefighters and police came to an abrupt and alarming head this week, after a cop arrested one of the fire department’s emergency responders who was working a road rescue. The firefighter refused to move his truck, which was parked across lanes on the California highway.
Chula Vista firefighter Jacob Gregoire, 36, was cuffed and taken into custody by a California Highway Patrol officer, whose name wasn’t known or released by a local station, which captured the scene on video. Mr. Gregoire was put in the back of a police car and kept there for fully 30 minutes while his fellow responders helped victims of the vehicle roll-over wreck, the news outlet reported.
“To detain one of our firefighters in the middle of an incident is ridiculous,” Chula Vista Fire Chief Dave Hanneman said, The Daily Mail reported.
The video showed an unbelieving Mr. Gregoire shouting to bystanders and fellow responders that he was being arrested, followed by the officer’s explanation.
“We asked you to clear the road and you said no, and you are getting arrested for not moving [the truck],” the officer said, in the video.
Mr. Gregoire, for his part, said he was only parking the truck in the manner of which he had been trained – to shield as many emergency responders as possible from passing traffic.
Meanwhile, Facebook posters seem to side with Mr. Gregoire.
“As a firefighter with 30 years’ experience responding to exactly this kind of incident, I can assure you that the truck was properly placed to provide maximum safety to the crews,” wrote Ernest Chiardonna, The Daily Mail reported.
Mr. Gregoire’s fellow firefighters, meanwhile, said they’ve been fighting with local police for some time, telling the local station that officers have previously disputed with several other emergency responders for similar infractions in recent years — but that this is the first time cops have actually initiated an arrest.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.(Adds context on economy, analyst quote on outlook for hryvnia)
By Alessandra Prentice and Natalia Zinets
KIEV, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian central bank moved to impose currency controls as the hryvnia plunged another 10 percent against the dollar on Monday — a move analysts said would do little to bolster the currency.
The hryvnia’s decline came amid growing concern a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine will not hold. The currency has now lost half its value in 2015, after falling by 50 percent over all of 2014.
“We will not allow the situation to get out of control,” the head of the central bank, Valeriia Gontareva, said at a press briefing. There were no fundamental reasons for the hryvnia to weaken further, she said.
The average hryvnia rate slid 10 percent on Monday to a fresh-record low of 30.55 to the dollar as of 1400 GMT, after Ukraine’s military said ongoing rebel attacks were preventing it from withdrawing its heavy weapons from the front line in eastern Ukraine.
A trader at a large foreign bank in Ukraine said he was seeing market rates at around 31.3-31.8 to the dollar.
“For now, the market is weakening and there’s no reason to see it stabilising so long as the war rolls on,” he said.
The latest hryvnia level is nearly 30 percent weaker than the 21.7 rate foreseen in Ukraine’ 2015 budget. If the weakness persists, it will upset the government’s strict austerity plans.
“They plan to raise (energy) tariffs. But if hryvnia devaluation continues, they will have to increase tariffs again in two to three months,” said Vasyl Yurchyshyn, the director of economic programmes at the Razumkov Centre think tank in Kiev.
Under currency controls that come into effect on Tuesday, the bank will verify all pre-payments for importers’ contracts over $50,000, to ensure they are legitmate. Any importer with a contract over $500,000 will need to have a letter of credit with a top-rated foreign bank, she said.
Banks will also be prohibited from lending hryvnia to companies for the purchase of foreign currency.
These measures and others in the central bank’s arsenal are not enough to prevent further hryvnia weakness, said Oleksandr Valchyshen of InvestCapital Ukraine.
“For people looking for loopholes, there are ways to buy currency and do what they want outside the sphere of the central bank,” he said. “At the moment, all flows want to head out by any means possible.” (Editing by Larry King)Former Baylor coach Art Briles is suing three member of the school's board of regents and Baylor vice president Reagan Ramsower for libel and conspiracy.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit accuses regents chairman Ronald Murff, board members J. Cary Gray and David Harper, and Baylor vice president Reagan Ramsower of falsely stating that he knew of reported sexual assaults and alleged gang rape by Baylor football players and did not report them.
"These defendants have been relentless in their false attacks upon Coach Briles in the media despite his repeated requests they cease and retract their onslaught of untruths," the lawsuit said, according to the AP.
Members of Baylor's board of regents spoke with the Wall Street Journal earlier this year and alleged that Briles was aware of one of the alleged gang rapes and did not notify the school's Title IX office.
Briles' suit, filed in Llano County, Texas, disputes that claim and alleges that Baylor officials have conspired to keep him from getting another coaching job since his dismissal. The lawsuit alleges the statements made to the Wall Street Journal and other outlets about Briles were meant to "expose Coach Briles to public hatred, contempt, ridicule and cause him financial injury."Matt Harvey just can't seem to figure it out.
In Saturday's loss to the Cleveland Indians, Harvey was halfway through a perfect game, dicing the Indians in Greg Maddux fashion, having thrown 38 pitches after four innings.
But when the fifth inning came around, Harvey's bid for perfection turned into a nightmare. He yielded two runs in the frame, and was then tagged with three more earned runs in the sixth, as the New York Mets lost 7-5.
As a result, his record dropped to 0-3 on the season with a ballooning 5.71 ERA.
“I thought he was going to have a big year,” Warthen told reporters. “I still think he’s going to have a big, big year. I think right now, if we’ve ever seen Matt Harvey press, this might be the time."
Warthen, described by Noah Syndergaard as "the greatest pitching coach to ever walk the planet," said Harvey is collapsing his back leg from the stretch. What that means is Harvey is trying to get the ball to the plate too quickly in order to minimize the running game.
But by trying a hurry-up technique, his pitching mechanics are suffering, and he's struggling to stay more upright on his pitches like he's used to, which explains his dominance with no one on.
Indians outfielder Rajai Davis re-emphasized that point, saying Harvey was "a different pitcher" once he got to the stretch - and he may have a point.
Through his first two games, Harvey's numbers with runners on base are ugly.
Split AB R H SO BA OBP SLG OPS None On 23 0 6 4.261.320.261.581 Men On 20 6 8 1.400.417.550.967
Not only that, but his numbers get astronomically worse as batters get a second or third look at him.
Split H BA OBP SLG OPS 1st PA 3.200.294.200.494 2nd PA 4.250.222.250.472 3rd PA 7.583.643.833 1.476
The poor start is carried over from last season for Harvey, who has been reeling since his late breakdown in Game 5 of the World Series.Swindale Shield | 20 November 2017 | Gordon Noble-Campbell
Above: The White Swan Hotel is the three-storey building on the left of the above photo, around 1920
WELLINGTON’S “GHOST” RUGBY CLUBS
Part 5 – The Tale Of The “Dirty Duck” Non-Conformists & The Carlton Football Club
The carpark now located between Cuba Street and Swan Lane (at 159 Cuba Street), was once the site of the White Swan Hotel, which in the 1930’s earned the rather curious sobriquet, “the Dirty Duck”. The hotel was originally built in 1860 by William Churchill, who lived nearby on Ghuznee Street. Churchill sold the building in the 1860’s, later experiencing bankruptcy, a fate which also befell many fledging rugby clubs of the era.
The White Swan Hotel became the home to a number of “non-conformist” rugby football clubs, which in 1890, formed the Wellington Junior Rugby Union, as a result of the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association either refusing them membership, or the clubs not being able to pay the Association’s hefty affiliation fee.
As readers will be aware, the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association was formally formed in October 1879, although the Association had existed for some six months prior to this date, under the umbrella of the (Wellington) “Football Club Association”.
In that early era, both the Victorian (Australian) and English rules were played by different clubs (sometimes under a hybrid of both rules), with the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association formally formed in October 1879, for those clubs willing to abide solely by the Rugby Union (English) rules and willing to pay the annual subscription fee of between 2 and 3 pounds, (around $700 in today’s money).
Among the clubs to form the rebel body was the Carlton Football Club (CFC), formed in 1888. The CFC was one of a number of clubs which either did not apply for, or were not granted, affiliation to the new Wellington Rugby Union Football Association. Together with the Surrey, Sydenham, Addington and Empire Football Clubs, “the Carltons” (who played in red and white jerseys), used the White Swan Hotel as their clubrooms for socialising and for conducting official club business.
The Carlton Club’s first reported team in 1888 (which played in a match against the Pirates Football Club), comprised: J. Hickey, J. Nicholls, Shannon, Phillips, Moffitt, Noon, O'Shea, Porter, Curtice, Rose, Walker, Marshall, Wallace, O'Connor and C. Nicholls (Captain). The Club was loaned a ground owned by Henry Crawford, the former Mayor of Melrose and well-known Wellington land-owner, for practice purposes.
Following their exclusion from the competitions of the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association, in March 1891 at the White Swan Hotel, seven clubs, Sydenham, Surrey, Carlton, Roseneath, Thorndon, Albion, and Rugby formed the Wellington Junior Rugby Union, with an annual membership fee of 10 shillings, (which was less than a quarter of the cost of the 2 pounds levied by the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association). The Carlton club played an important role in the Wellington Junior Rugby Union’s formation, with the Secretary of the Club (William H Reeve) also becoming Secretary and Treasurer of the Union. (Reeve was later made a Life Member of the Carlton club.)
It was decided that the Junior Rugby Union’s member clubs would play in two divisions. Division 1 (the Seniors) played for the Campbell Trophy (donated for competition by Thomas Campbell, a Cuba Street Tobacconist), while Division 2 (the Juniors) played for the Evans’ Ball (donated for competition by James E Evans, a Lambton Quay Saddler). All matches were played on the Railway Reserve at Thorndon, with the Union’s teams not playing on any of the more renowned rugby grounds in Wellington, such as Athletic or Newtown parks.
In 1891, while the Surrey club won four matches in Division 1 and Carlton only two, the Campbell Trophy was awarded to Carlton as a result of Surrey having forfeited competition points for breaking the rules of the Junior Rugby Union, by fielding ineligible players (i.e. players who were also registered with clubs affiliated to the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association). The Albion club won Evans’ Ball in Division 2.
Charles Henry William Nicholls (the captain of the 1888 Carlton side), was elected President of the club in the year of their Campbell Trophy victory. A decision was made at the 1892 Annual General Meeting to re-apply for membership of the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association, with the goal of competing the Junior Cup and Third Grade Championships. A proposal was also made by the Sydenham club to amalgamate, with a decision reached to do so on 9 March 1892, again at the White Swan Hotel. The combined Sydenham-Carlton side was to play in the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association’s Third Grade Championship.
Carlton’s affiliation application to the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association was approved on 31 March 1892, with the club’s first game in the Junior Cup Championship resulting in a 7 points to 2 victory over the Oriental Club. Nicholls was appointed as a delegate to the Union.
The 1892 season was very successful for Carlton, finishing runners-up in the very competitive Junior Cup, winning 8 of 11 matches played. As a result, in 1892, three players were selected for the Wellington Junior Representatives which played Manawatu: Hunter, T Campbell and (another) Campbell.
Meanwhile, the Junior Rugby Union continued to grow under the presidency of Colonel Pat Boyle, (a notable Wellingtonian, who was Private Secretary to the Governor-General of the time, Lord Glasgow).
The Star, Merivale and Montrose clubs were added to the senior competition in 1892, replacing Carlton, Sydenham and Roseneath (who had all withdrawn from the Union). The annual subscription for being a member of the Junior Rugby Union was lowered to 2 shillings and sixpence.
As Carlton did not return to defend the Campbell Trophy, in 1892, George Cochrane (of the Rugby Football Club) and “an enthusiastic supporter of the game”, donated a new Cup (the Cochrane Cup) to the Junior Rugby Union for competition. The Cochrane Cup was won by the Rugby Football Club, the following year (1893).
By 1894, the Junior Rugby Union had expanded to three grades, with the St. John’s and Korokoro clubs also becoming members. Linwood club joined the Union in 1896.
The March 1894 Annual General Meeting of the Carlton Football Club was notable for the fact that the Treasurer failed to appear to present the annual accounts. It transpired that many players had not paid their subscriptions (or were in arrears), which according to the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association’s by-laws, meant that those players could not play. “Owing to the amount of outstanding subscriptions”, the club decided to disband, with the Club Secretary (Charles Nicholls), suggesting to the Union that “some rule protecting young clubs from having such large amounts of outstanding subscriptions should be passed”.
Nicholls, who performed almost every role with the Carlton club from Club Captain to President over its seven-year history, went on to become an influential member of the Wellington Education Board, serving in that role for 17 years. He died at this home at 15 Seaview Terrrace, Northland in 1957, at the age of 87.
The Junior Rugby Union continued unchallenged until 1897, when the Wellington Rugby Union Football Association appointed a deputation to propose amalgamation so as “to prevent defaulters (i.e. those who had not paid subscriptions to the Wellington Union) from taking an active part in football in any club”. It’s interesting to note that even in this very early era of Wellington rugby, rugby enthusiasts had to “pay to play”.
As for the White Swan Hotel, in 1939 it was expanded and refurbished to become the Wakefield Hotel., which survived until the early 1990’s, before being demolished to create today’s carpark. Passers-by to Cuba Street will note that adjacent to the site of the “Dirty Duck” on Swan Lane, is a new wine-bar, “Noble Rot”.
The “White Swan” (a coastal steamer, after which the hotel was named), foundered 18 miles south of Castle Point in 1862, near Flat Point. The concept of participation in the game without financial obstacle, also foundered on Cuba Street, 35 years later.Perhaps this 50-50 combination of Scotch and Drambuie reminds you of your grandfather's poker nights. Or perhaps your grandmother drank them between Camels. Nevertheless, you probably think of the Rusty Nail as an old person's drink, a quaff too musty even for Mad Men.
It doesn't have to be this way. Drinks with these two ingredients date to the 1930s under a variety of names as David Wondrich recounted for Esquire: the B.I.F., the D & S, the Little Club No. 1. No one knows where or when "Rusty Nail" originated, but by the 1960s, the name had stuck.
Though the modern version calls for equal parts, earlier versions were drier, calling for substantially more Scotch. This is where you'll start. David Wondrich suggests 2 ounces Scotch to 1/2 ounce Drambuie, a 4:1 ratio. That's what I like, too. Want to add a dash of Angostura in there? Trust me, it won't hurt a thing.When you’re a “Master of the Universe” like Jon Corzine, taking huge risks and betting billions of dollars on European government bonds is no problem—it’s fun! It’s what you do!
But when it comes to finding $600 million of missing client funds when your firm, MF Global, collapses into bankruptcy, that’s a different matter. Responsibly keeping track of client money, keeping accurate books and records—those are the basic skills that this Master of the Universe apparently lacks.
Indeed, acting prudently and putting your clients’ interests ahead of your own is kind of boring. And it is becoming painfully obvious that the Wall Street titans who ran MF Global can’t find $600 million.
As Rick Perry so memorably put it: Oops.
The drama of missing customer money that is unfolding from the wreckage of MF Global is enough to turn your stomach. Simply put, where on earth is the $600 million in MF Global customer funds?
According to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal [subscription required for full article], the hundreds of millions of dollars missing from MF Global accounts may have disappeared four days before the firm filed for bankruptcy at the end of October.
Regulators are trying to assess whether hundreds of millions of dollars in customer accounts were transferred in the week before the firm’s collapse. In a highly suspicious finding, regulators from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission say that those transfers were not recorded in MF Global’s general ledger.
“We’re still trying to assess how far back this goes,” said Thomas Smith, a CFTC official, according to the Journal. Mr. Smith made his comments on Monday before the Senate’s agricultural and banking committee.
The CFTC believes the missing money could still be somewhere inside MF Global, but admits that is a “remote possibility,” according to the Journal.
Here is the fundamental question: How, in late 2011, can we still have a system that allows this to happen?
The segregation of customer funds, a cardinal rule in our securities industry for the safety of investors, was of no importance at MF Global. And apparently, it had no real interest in keeping accurate books and records.
We have to ask: Is MF Global a possible re-run of Madoff, Stanford and the other scandals from the darkest days of 2008 and 2009? Let’s hope not, but as the days pile up with no answer to the mystery of the missing funds, the question has to be asked.
Disclosure: Zamansky & Associates are securities attorneys representing customers against Wall Street institutions in arbitrations and state and federal court litigations.< Piro >
As you may or may not have noticed, for the past year or so I've been offering for sale in the MegaGear store a selection of original Megatokyo art, both pencil and color. A lot of what I've put up has been stuff I've been working on recently, but every once and a while i dig into the archives and pull up a few pages of art from the past. Quite a few of them get snatched up and purchased not too long after I post them, but right now there is a scattering of leftover and unloved art that I feel honor bound to pull from the store and retire properly ^^;;
In a somewhat compassionate gesture, I've reduced the price on a lot of these older arts to give them one last opportunity to find an honorable and loving home before I pull them back in and give them a good comfortable retirement in my archives. Much like pet adoption photos, here are some examples of some of the cuddly artwork looking for a home.
And there is plenty more to choose from. Visit the MegaGear store for a full list of art for sale in the store.
Admittedly, we are a no-kill shelter, and they will all be given a nice retirement, but think of how my happier they'd be with a loving home, hanging on a wall somewhere with a nice view of your gaming area, or perhaps your art table.
All this doesn't mean that some of the newer art isn't also looking for a good home:
So, in short, please consider buying some art or some of it might cry, and that's bad for graphite.
Thank you for your support!The stutter edit is an audio software VST plugin, implementing forms of granular synthesis, sample retrigger, and various effects to create a certain audible manipulation of the sound run through it, in which fragments of audio are repeated in rhythmic intervals.[citation needed] "In plain English, a stutter edit contains a single segment of audio repeated a number of times, giving a performance a decidedly digital flavor."[1] St |
2004 was rejected by 76% of the Greek Cypriots precisely because it failed to address legitimate concerns, particularly as regards the continuation of the presence of foreign troops on the island and the existence of the right of intervention by the guarantor powers.
We must never lose sight of the fact that any final plan will be put to the people in a referendum, and failing to address the legitimate concerns of both sides will lead to a rejection of the plan.
Cyprus is, and will continue to be an EU member state post reunification. A viable, functioning, modern European state is in no need of guarantees from a third country. The best guarantee for security of any country is a well-functioning state, and for a member state of the EU the best guarantee is membership itself.
In fact, President Anastasiades has stressed that constitutional provisions of the settlement, on which convergences have been achieved, effectively strengthen the sense of security of all citizens and constitute the best guarantee for the creation of conditions of peace, stability and prosperity.
Political equality, effective participation in the federal government, effective deadlock-resolving mechanisms, the guarantee of all the rights enjoyed under the EU treaties, are some of the provisions that will sufficiently safeguard the security of united Cyprus. These are parameters that render the maintenance of the 1960 system of guarantees obsolete.
Cyprus can be a diplomatic success, if only all parties demonstrate the same degree of political commitment. The Greek Cypriot side will remain firmly committed to reaching a comprehensive settlement for as long as division and occupation continue.
Cypriots deserve a chance at a reunited, viable European homeland in which they will coexist peacefully, without third country interventions. A solution to the Cyprus problem will be catalytic for the country itself but also beyond: it will lead to normalization of relations with Turkey, it will pave the way for regional collaboration and prosperity and can invigorate EU-Turkey relations.
By Nikos Christodoulides, Cyprus government spokesman
The views expressed in opinion articles published on euronews do not represent our editorial positionThe first of several prospect rankings have been released. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, who does an excellent job or covering prospects and the draft, has released his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball for 2012.
The Twins were represented by third baseman Miguel Sano, at No. 23 overall, and outfielder Aaron Hicks, at 72. And that's it.
So is that an indictment on the the Twins farm system? Class AAA Rochester is coming off of back-to-back 90-loss seasons, and we all saw what happened last year when the Twins started making calls to the Red Wings for players. If you ask Twins officials, they will argue that their farm system is closer to the middle of the pack, with most of their best prospects at the lower levels. There are a few players to watch who were at Class AA New Britain last year, but I'm not sure they would be considered upper-echelon prospects.
Two players you could make a case for the top 100 are outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, who was slowed by elbow surgery last season, and second baseman Eddie Rosario, Sano's buddy who is making the move from the outfield. I really think Rosario is an intriguing prospect and could zip up the charts in 2012. A healthy Kyle Gibson probably is on the list too.
Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law should have their top 100 lists out over the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see how the Twins stack up there.
I swapped e-mails with Mayo this morning, and he's releasing his Top 20 Twins prospects list sometime next week.
Since we're talking prospects, here is my Top 10 Twins prospects list, as of today. I have dropped Hicks to sixth. There's still tons of upside there, but he could use a big season.
1. Miguel Sano, 3B. 2. Eddie Rosario, 2B. 3. Oswaldo Arcia, OF. 4. Joe Benson, OF. 5. Liam Hendriks, RHP. 6. Aaron Hicks, OF. 7. Adrian Salcedo, RHP. 8. Madison Boer, RHP. 9. Brian Dozier, SS. 10. Chris Parmelee, 1B.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Clive Driscoll: "I passed the names on that had been passed to me as potential suspects"
A former senior Metropolitan Police officer says he was moved from his post when he revealed plans to investigate politicians over child abuse claims.
Clive Driscoll says his inquiry into 1980s London children's homes was "all too uncomfortable to a lot of people".
He also believes there were "disruption tactics" within the Met during his inquiry that led to the conviction of two of Stephen Lawrence's killers.
The Met defended its murder inquiry and said Lambeth investigations continued.
List of suspects
Mr Driscoll told BBC Newsnight that while conducting a 1998 inquiry into allegations of abuse in children's homes in Lambeth, south London, in the 1980s, he was passed a list of suspects' names, including politicians, that he wanted to investigate.
Speaking for the first time since retirement, he said: "Some of the names were people that were locally working, some people that were, if you like, working nationally.
"There was quite a mix really because it appeared that it was connected to other boroughs and other movement around the country."
He said after he had shared his suspicions at a meeting, he was taken off the investigation.
'Fear of reprisals'
"I certainly, in a case conference, disclosed suspects' names... but I was informed that was inappropriate and I would be removed from my post."
Mr Driscoll added: "Whenever people spoke to you... about what they had seen, it was almost on the proviso that they wouldn't make a statement and that they would be scared if you released who those people were that were talking, for fear of reprisals to both their selves and their families."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Clive Driscoll also told Newsnight there had been mistakes in the Stephen Lawrence investigation
He said he felt there had been mistrust on both sides.
"It appeared that certainly people didn't trust the Metropolitan Police Service, and I think the Metropolitan Police Service possibly didn't trust some of the people that it was working with."
Several convictions
Did he fear he was stopped from investigating the Lambeth claims because he suspected more than one politician was involved in child abuse?
He replied: "At the time I just felt that it was all too uncomfortable to a lot of people."
After Mr Driscoll said he was moved, police continued to look at more than 20 children's homes.
Investigations are still ongoing and there have been several convictions.
The Met said it was looking into his claims concerning his removal from the investigation and have called him to a meeting in Scotland Yard on Wednesday.
His claims come as two inquiries into historical child sex abuse allegations have dominated recent national headlines.
One is a sweeping, independent inquiry looking at how public bodies dealt with these types of allegations, while the other will look at how the Home Office handled abuse claims dating from the 1980s.
'Be honest'
Meanwhile, Mr Driscoll also told Newsnight that senior officers in the Met had discussions about holding back certain documents from the Ellison Review, the independent inquiry that looked into allegations of police corruption in the Stephen Lawrence case.
He warned: "One bad decision around disclosure undoes the remarkable work that police officers do up and down the country.
Image copyright PA Image caption Dobson (L) and Norris were convicted 19 years after the murder
"For me, just be open and honest, warts and all."
Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993, in a racist attack by a gang of white youths.
'Not enthusiastic'
After years of legal attempts had failed, Mr Driscoll eventually led an investigation that brought the case to court successfully.
David Norris and Gary Dobson were convicted of murder, in January 2012.
But Mr Driscoll said there had been officers inside the Met who did not want a "successful prosecution".
"There were certainly people I think in senior levels in the Met that weren't enthusiastic about the investigation. I certainly felt that."
He felt so concerned about what he described as "disruption tactics" that he said he emailed senior officers with his fears.
Now he has left the force, he said relationships between the Lawrence family and the Met were as bad as they had been just after Stephen's murder.
'Right the wrongs'
Mr Driscoll supports Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, but believes the Met must now be as transparent as possible to rebuild the trust of the public.
He said: "I believe we are in a position today where we have an opportunity to learn and we have an opportunity to put right some of the wrongs."
The Met told Newsnight no relevant Stephen Lawrence material had been intentionally withheld and its policy was to be open and transparent.
It added it was still committed to continuing the Lawrence investigation.It might seem strange to point out, but not all things written by women are feminism. Nor are all things that are written by women in the name of feminism–at least if you define feminism as fighting for the right of women to have equal personhood and participation in society.
Nowhere is this clearer than the excruciating parade of prominent opinion columns about the women around Anthony Weiner. Sydney Leathers may not be winning the prize for the world’s most prudent young woman any time soon, but she is definitely not the middle-aged guy asking the people of New York to vote from him after appearing to have learned nothing from his first go-round with scandal.
And Huma Abedin might not be acting in the way you believe you would if you were married to Weiner, but you are not Abedin, and her choices about whom to marry belong to her and not to you. Neither Abedin nor Leathers are advancing policy that harms women as a class. (Nor is Weiner, for all of the fond fantasies of Republicans who would like to I’m-rubber-you’re-glue “the war on women.”)
Neither of these women claim to represent or speak for all women. But let that not get in the way of a good tirade about what these women are doing wrong.
Below, an opinionated guide to what is and isn’t feminism.
Susan Jacoby, “Weiner’s Women,” for The New York Times:
“People ask how Mr. Weiner’s wife, the soulfully beautiful and professionally accomplished Huma Abedin, can stay with him. My question is why hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of women apparently derive gratification from exchanging sexual talk and pictures with strangers… Women who settle for digital pornography are lowering their expectations and hopes even more drastically than their male collaborators are.” “As a feminist, I find it infinitely sad to imagine a vibrant young woman sitting alone at her computer and turning herself into a sex object for a man (or a dog) she does not know… [it] expresses not sexual empowerment but its opposite — a loneliness and low opinion of oneself that leads to the conclusion that any sexual contact is better than no contact at all.”
Things that are not feminism:
Asking a question about why women do or want things and answering with why you do or want things, and calling it feminism. (Or, as Julia Wong put it, “My feminism demands that women be allowed to speak for themselves.”) Assuming that a “vibrant young woman” (separate from a “soulfully beautiful and professionally accomplished” one) suffers from false consciousness about her own sexuality, and that she needs your pity and implicit shaming, and calling it feminism. Claiming that you are not judging women’s sexual behavior differently from men’s, and then judging women’s sexual behavior differently from men. And calling it feminism.
Maureen Dowd, “Time to Hard Delete Carlos Danger,” for The New York Times:
When you puzzle over why the elegant Huma Abedin is propping up the eel-like Anthony Weiner, you must remember one thing: Huma was raised in Saudi Arabia, where women are treated worse by men than anywhere else on the planet.
Things that are not feminism, part II:
Proffering baseless knowledge of a woman’s motivations, premised on a potent cocktail of cultural stereotypes and actual facts, to explain a woman’s personal decisions in her marriage. Assuming misogyny is a thing that happens in other countries, or that only women in Other Places choose to forgive their partners.
Sally Quinn, “Blaming Huma,” for The Washington Post:
Though [Huma’s] friends say she is strong and resolute and defiant, sadly she makes all women look like weak and helpless victims. She was not standing there in a position of strength. It was such a setback for women everywhere.”
Recent things that are actually a “setback for women everywhere”:
This guy is still in office. So is this guy. Or maybe that this still happening. And it’s getting worse. These barely-varnished takedowns of women for their personal and sexual decisions, in column form, purporting to be feminism.
Related link: What a (male) feminist looks like.Venezuela has closed border crossings, deported 1,500 Colombians in what it says is a crackdown on smuggling and crime
BOGOTA, Sept 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations urged Venezuela on Monday to prevent human rights abuses of Colombians being deported from the country, including the separation of children from their parents, in a simmering border crisis between the two neighbours.
Venezuela closed several major border crossings and deported nearly 1,500 Colombians last month in what it says is a crackdown on smuggling and crime along the shared border.
Fearing deportation, another 15,255 Colombians have fled their adopted homeland to Colombia in recent weeks, many crossing rivers and bridges with their belongings on their backs, according to Colombian government figures.
"I am disturbed by the recent collective deportation of more than one thousand Colombians from Venezuela," said Zeid Ra'ad al -Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his opening statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
He said the deportations had involved rights violations such as a lack of due process, the destruction of property and the separation of children from their parents.
"I urge the authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee family reunification and to prevent further abuse of Colombians."
In a poor neighbourhood called La Invasion in Venezuela, the homes of Colombians, many of whom have lived for decades in the country, were marked "D" for demolition before security forces knocked them down last month, TV footage from Reuters showed.
The dispute has caused a diplomatic row between President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government and the center-right administration of Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia.
Critics say Maduro playing the nationalist card before a December parliamentary election.
The government said it is tackling gangs on the border who wreak violence and drain Venezuela's recession-hit economy by trafficking subsidized goods from flour to fuel, but the families deported have said they are not criminals.
Maduro has smarted at accusations of abuses, pointing out Venezuela was providing a home to 5.7 million Colombians - in a country with a population of around 30 million - who had fled Colombia's war and economic hardship in past decades.
In the city of Cucuta on the Colombian side of the border, 3,000 Colombians who have fled Venezuela are living in makeshift shelters and tents provided by the government, and another 4,000 are living with friends and families in the city.
"Cucuta can only support the deportee crisis for another three months.. We can't handle a bigger burden," said mayor Donamaris Ramirez, in a recent interview with Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper.
Foreign ministers from the two nations met on Saturday in Ecuador to try and smooth the way for the two leaders to meet and resolve the diplomatic spat and border closures. (Reporting By Anastasia Moloney, Editing by Ros Russell; Reuters Messaging: Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.One of the many variations of modern creationism (the folks that claim ‘god did it’ is the right answer) is called “Intelligent Design”. There they attempt to refute evolution via the promotion of scientific evidence for an intelligent designer, and also attempt to make it more palatable by omitting all religious terms from what is essentially a religious claim. Well, if they wish to take a scientific approach, then this becomes quite interesting because this is a measurable claim, all we need to do is to take a look and see if they have published any credible peer-reviewed articles within any recognised scientific journals.
Does this matter? Sadly yes it does, a good percentage of the public do still seriously doubt the reality of evolution as a well-established scientific fact, they have been successfully conned by some supposedly credible claims, so it is indeed appropriate to throw a spotlight upon the intelligent design community and reveal that their aura of credibility is simply an illusion.
Almost two years ago, I went through the list of Peer-reviewed articles posted up by the Discovery Institute, a well-financed US-based group that promotes Intelligent Design. What did I find? … (Oh come on, you can guess) … yes, that’s right, exactly nothing, they did not have anything credible, not one jot.
They have since then revised their list and greatly extended it, so the time is now right for a return visit to this bastion of creationist “peer-reviewed” fodder.
The title remains the same, “PEER-REVIEWED & PEER-EDITED SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS SUPPORTING THE THEORY OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN (ANNOTATED)“. My approach will be the same as last time – basically apply an initial filter to remove the junk, then take a look at what remains. But first, there is an observation to be made about some initial commentary they have added. They now make this claim …
Despite ID’s publication record, we note parenthetically that recognition in peer-reviewed literature is not an absolute requirement to demonstrate an idea’s scientific merit. Darwin’s own theory of evolution was first published in a book for a general and scientific audience — his Origin of Species — not in a peer-reviewed paper.
Seriously!! … Origin of Species, published in 1859, was not published in a peer-review journal, so that justifies adding books to their list. Do they not know that the Peer review process has only been a touchstone of the modern scientific method since the middle of the 20th century. No, the bottom line here is simple, books are out, anybody can publish anything (Harry Potter is evidence that Magic is real … right?), if they wish to refute evolution and propose an alternative, then they need to engage with the scientific community with real data, and publish it within a credible and appropriate scientific journal.
The Filter
OK, on to my initial filter:
There are articles from a Journal called BIO-Complexity : This is not a credible peer-review journal, instead it is a creationist journal issued by the Biologic Institute. They in turn are funded by the Discovery Institute … yes, it is their own pet journal and has exactly zero credibility within the scientific community, we can ignore all that.
This is not a credible peer-review journal, instead it is a creationist journal issued by the Biologic Institute. They in turn are funded by the Discovery Institute … yes, it is their own pet journal and has exactly zero credibility within the scientific community, we can ignore all that. There are also articles from Life : Yet another journal that has no scientific credibility and is treated as something to laugh at, we can ignore that as well.
The International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics : This is a fringe publication of the featherweight Wessex Institute of Technology, in other words it is also not a real scientific journal, but is simply a vanity journal that publishes papers written by its own editors. McIntosh, the author of a listed paper, is on their Editorial Board, and one of their other editors is the young earth creationist Stuart Burgess
Papers published as part of the proceedings of a conference are not recognised peer-reviewed journals, we can ignore these.
Chapters within books are not peer-reviewed journals, so they can also be tossed.
Peer-Edited and Editor-Reviewed articles are not peer-reviewed articles … finding these tossed in to inflate the list really is scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Articles in Philosophy journals … er no, we can ignore these, if you want to make claims regarding biology, you publish in a biology journal, and you also need real data.
Anything by David Abel, all his papers consist entirely of non-evidentially supported, non-laboratory confirmed, pure fabrication (I let a couple through this filter so that you can see what I’m on about). About 17% of the list is by him and can happily be ignored. Least you pause on the thought of a named individual being a filter, it is simply a short-cut to eliminate papers that are long-winded assertions that contain no data at all — no experiments, no measurements, and no observations … nada. Should he write a paper that contains some analysis of actual data, then this filter does not apply. So who exactly is this guy? He is David Abel, Department of ProtoBioCybernetics/ProtoBioSemiotics, Director, The Gene Emergence Project, The Origin-of-Life. Science Foundation, Inc., 113 Hedgewood Dr. Greenbelt, MD 20770-1610 USA, at least that is the title on his papers. Wow, sounds impressive … but google that address and you discover it is an ordinary residential house. Yes, the entire foundation is in his garage, and he is the sole representative. Somebody checked him out, this impressive sounding title and organization is a sham and is not real. The claimed title is completely fraudulent. But why does he get published? … well because Abel is making an argument, of sorts, and is backing it up with a reasonable amount of scholarship and some fancy sounding mathy stuff. On the surface it looks credible, so you need to read it all several times to work out that the assertions being made are not actually credible. Rarely do you find bullshit so tortuously Byzantine as the stuff churned out by him, which I guess is by intention.
What do we have left after filtering?
Well, lets take a look at the remains.
Joseph A. Kuhn, “Dissecting Darwinism,” Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, Vol. 25(1): 41-47 (2012).
This is a medical journal, a rather odd place to attempt to refute evolution.
The article itself is poorly written, dreadful, and full of scientific errors. It’s an embarrassment to the author, to the journal, and to the field of medicine as a whole. In essence we have a medical doctor claiming evolution is bunk and repeats the usual debunked Discovery Institute claims.
Is it credible? Nope, a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, explains why it is not. – Fail
Michael J. Behe, “Experimental Evolution, Loss-of-Function Mutations, and ‘The First Rule of Adaptive Evolution,’” The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 85(4):1-27 (December 2010).
Jerry Coyne has a good summary, he writes “this paper gives ID advocates no reason to crow that a peer-reviewed paper supporting intelligent design has finally appeared in the scientific literature. The paper says absolutely nothing—zilch—that supports any contention of ID “theory.” – Fail
Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig, “Mutagenesis in Physalis pubescens L. ssp. floridana: Some further research on Dollo’s Law and the Law of Recurrent Variation,”Floriculture and Ornamental Biotechnology, 1-21 (2010).
Published where? Yes, that is indeed a very obscure journal.
An Australian science communicator and biology student, explains here why this is just another daft paper that is not credible. – Fail.
William A. Dembski and Robert J. Marks II, “The Search for a Search: Measuring the Information Cost of Higher Level Search,” Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics, Vol. 14 (5):475-486 (2010).
There is quite a problem with Dembski’s and Marks’s definition of a search – it seems to be rather pointless, hence they really struggled to get this published.
You can find quite a lot of criticism regarding this specific paper here.
Here is a criticism of an earlier draft of the paper. Some of these concerns raised were fixed and some were not.
So is this a good paper? No it’s not.
How did the authors respond to the criticism? They attempted to sue … seriously!!! getting published is about engaging in a conversation with the scientific community, not suing them when you face criticism – Huge Fail
David L. Abel, “Constraints vs Controls,” The Open Cybernetics and Systemics Journal, Vol. 4:14-27 (January 20, 2010).
Yes indeed a paper by Mr Abel, and sure enough, no actual data, no experiments, no measurements, and no observations
The first eight references in it are him simply citing other similar papers he has written.
And what about the journal? It is an obscure IT journal that handles articles that relate to human computer interaction. – Fail
William A. Dembski and Robert J. Marks II, “Conservation of Information in Search: Measuring the Cost of Success,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part A: Systems and Humans, Vol. 39(5):1051-1061 (September, 2009).
What do others have to say about this, do they find it credible as an ID paper? Nope, see reviews here, and here, and here.
Dembski has, for years, been pushing an argument based on some work called the No Free Lunch (NFL) theorems. The NFL theorems prove that average over all possible search landscapes, no search algorithm can outperform a random walk. The NFL theorems are true and correct – they’re valid math, and they’re even useful in the right setting. In fact, if you really think about it, they’re actually quite obvious. Dembski has been trying to apply the NFL theorems to evolution: his basic argument is that evolution (as a search) can’t possibly produce anything without being guided by a supernatural designer – because if there wasn’t some sort of cheating going on in the evolutionary search, according to NFL, evolution shouldn’t work any better than random walk – meaning that it’s as likely for humans to evolve as it is for them to spring fully formed out of the ether. This doesn’t work for a very simple reason: evolution doesn’t have to work in all possible landscapes. Dembski always sidesteps that issue.
So yes, this is an appropriate publication in its context, and the maths is OK, but claims that it supports ID when applied to Evolution are not in this paper. Nor can that claim be substantiated by any data from either here or anywhere else
Status as a paper that supports ID – Fail.
Richard v. Sternberg, “DNA Codes and Information: Formal Structures and Relational Causes,” Acta Biotheoretica, Vol. 56(3):205-232 (September, 2008).
Sternberg’s paper is a theoretical one in which he takes a structuralist approach and proposes “that a variety of structural realism can assist us in rethinking the concepts of DNA codes and information apart from semantic criteria”
Little problem … no empirical data, so as a paper that actually support ID in our reality – Fail
Douglas D. Axe, Brendan W. Dixon, Philip Lu, “Stylus: A System for Evolutionary Experimentation Based on a Protein/Proteome Model with Non-Arbitrary Functional Constraints,” PLoS One, Vol. 3(6):e2246 (June 2008).
This paper describes a computer program (Stylus) that was used for the study of protein evolution using Chinese characters
The paper does not offer any support for ID. Indeed, Konrad Sheffler (the PloS editor for the manuscript) explicitly notes that he “did not detect any such [ideological] bias [towards ID] in this manuscript; nor do the results support intelligent design in any way.”
As he also points out, “there is still no substitute for empirical data” when examining biological processes – Fail
Michael Sherman, “Universal Genome in the Origin of Metazoa: Thoughts About Evolution,” Cell Cycle, Vol. 6(15):1873-1877 (August 1, 2007).
This a paper that makes some dodgy claims from ignorance that evolution can’t explain the Cambrian explosion or the evolution of body plans. It is then followed by an alternative hypothesis which explains nothing that can’t be explained by evolutionary biology, and simply relies on gaps in our knowledge to create doubt. (rebuttal here) – Fail
Kirk K. Durston, David K. Y. Chiu, David L. Abel, Jack T. Trevors, “Measuring the functional sequence complexity of proteins,” Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling, Vol. 4:47 (2007).
Ah yes a “ground breaking” paper that is cited many times, but mostly by the authors (Especially Mr Abel), and has failed to be of interest to anybody else.
There’s no reference to ID theory anywhere in this paper, nor is there any reference to the terminology used in ID. The paper does not actually support ID in any way at all, it simply describes a method to measure the functional sequence complexity. – Fail
Felipe Houat de Brito, Artur Noura Teixeira, Otávio Noura Teixeira, Roberto C. L. Oliveira, “A Fuzzy Intelligent Controller for Genetic Algorithm Parameters,” in Advances in Natural Computation (Licheng Jiao, Lipo Wang, Xinbo Gao, Jing Liu, Feng Wu, eds, Springer-Verlag, 2006); Felipe Houat de Brito, Artur Noura Teixeira, Otávio Noura Teixeira, Roberto C. L. Oliveira, “A Fuzzy Approach to Control Genetic Algorithm Parameters,” SADIO Electronic Journal of Informatics and Operations Research, Vol. 7(1):12-23 (2007).
“Advances in Natural Computation” are the proceedings of a computer science conference and is not a peer-reviewed journal – Fail
“SADIO Electronic Journal of Informatics and Operations Research” – An Argentinian Computer Science journal that is not actually peer-reviewed – Fail
Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig, Kurt Stüber, Heinz Saedler, Jeong Hee Kim, “Biodiversity and Dollo’s Law: To What Extent can the Phenotypic Differences between Misopates orontium and Antirrhinum majus be Bridged by Mutagenesis,”Bioremediation, Biodiversity and Bioavailability, Vol. 1(1):1-30 (2007).
Ah yes, Dollo opus by Mr Lönnig and his former boss at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding, plus others. This of course is the same chap who is on the editorial board of BIO-Complexity, the Discovery Institute’s pet journal.
This paper has not exactly caused much interest, it has been cited exactly four times … by Lönnig himself, and nobody else.
The term “Intelligent Design” is deployed exactly once in this paper – at page 18 about half way through.
It is all rather weird really, they explain that they tried to use mutagenesis experiments to cause some related plants to revert to a more “primitive” forms, but failed to do so, and thus suggest that this confirms Dollo’s law. They then proceed to use this as an excuse to plug a bunch of pro-ID people into the paper for no reason at all other than to promote their ideas, but none of it is justified in any way by their failed experiments – Fail
Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig, “Mutations: The Law of Recurrent Variation,” Floriculture, Ornamental and Plant Biotechnology, Vol. 1:601-607 (2006).
This was from an invited paper to a book on commercial flower growing.
This so-called “law” seems to exist only in the imagination of Lönnig. No one else has ever referenced, or ‘applied’ it, and it has been cited exactly 4 times by (oh I’m sure you can guess) Mr Lönnig himself and nobody else.
It boils down to the (apparent) limit of induced mutation within plants to alter phenotype (esp. outward appearance) before the chemicals, or radiation used kills the organism. This is hardly big news. Particularly in plants, more new species are the product of polypoid hybrids then any point mutations alone.
Includes references to Behe (his long discredited Irreducible complexity), and also Dembski (no free lunch of course) – yes, he is indeed rather desperately plugging in all the ID stars.
Does this paper actually support Intelligent Design in any way at all? Nope, it is just another of Lönnig’s failed experiments being used as an excuse to promote ID thinking without any justification at all. – Fail
Øyvind Albert Voie, “Biological function and the genetic code are interdependent,”Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, Vol. 28:1000–1004 (2006). –
It’s a paper in a maths journal; what we have here is an attempt to take Gödel’s theorem and try to apply it to something other than formal axiomatic systems … oh that’s such a bad idea. This is a journal for fractals, so it is no shock that the reviewers had the wool pulled over their eyes. If they were familiar with Gödel and information theory it would not have been published. Here is a link to an appropriate Subject matter expert who attempts to digest this and ends up spitting it out.
So in summary, it is not just a paper out of context, it is a bad paper that does not hold together – Fail
Kirk Durston and David K. Y. Chiu, “A Functional Entropy Model for Biological Sequences,” Dynamics of Continuous, Discrete & Impulsive Systems: Series B Supplement (2005).
And here we have a paper that is filled with unsupported assertions and unnecessary verbosity (this is very much becoming a theme with many of these paper). What it completely lacks is any evidence for any of the claims. If you disagree, then you might want to read the discussion with Durston on Jeff Shallit’s blog here – F ail
David L. Abel and Jack T. Trevors, “Three subsets of sequence complexity and their relevance to biopolymeric information,” Theoretical Biology and Medical Modeling, Vol. 2(29):1-15 (August 11, 2005).
Yes, another Abel paper consisting entirely of non-evidentially supported, non-laboratory confirmed, pure fabrication as usual. – Fail
John A. Davison, “A Prescribed Evolutionary Hypothesis,” Rivista di Biologia/Biology Forum, Vol. 98: 155-166 (2005). –
This is a non-peer reviewed proprietary journal. The article was only published here after the DI sponsored it – no regular journal would have it.
However, it was recognised, and did indeed win an award; it was voted “crankiest” on crank.net – Fail.
Douglas D. Axe, “Estimating the Prevalence of Protein Sequences Adopting Functional Enzyme Folds,” Journal of Molecular Biology, Vol. 341:1295–1315 (2004).
Yet another article that does not support Intelligent design theory. That fact was established during the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, you can read the testimony here that proves this.
If that is not enough, then here is a detailed analysis of the paper. – Fail
Michael Behe and David W. Snoke, “Simulating evolution by gene duplication of protein features that require multiple amino acid residues,” Protein Science, Vol. 13 (2004).
This article was indeed peer-reviewed according to the normal procedures. The conclusions, however, were rapidly and voluminously disputed by others in the field, and the controversy was addressed by the editors. It argues against one common genetic mechanism of evolution. It says nothing at all in support of design. It’s assumptions and conclusion have been rebutted (M. Lynch 2005). – Fail
Stephen C. Meyer, “The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories,” Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, Vol. 117(2):213-239 (2004)
All we actually have here is a very bad attempt to reorganize already existing information. This article was not peer-reviewed according to the standards of the Biological Society of Washington, but rather slipped into the journal by an editor without proper review.
The publisher later withdrew the article, but that well-known fact does not appear to deter the DI from claiming it – Fail.
Frank J. Tipler, “Intelligent Life in Cosmology,” International Journal of Astrobiology, Vol. 2(2): 141-148 (2003).
Nothing resembling an actual scientific hypothesis or theory is presented by this paper and it contains exactly zero evidence.
It does however give a great example of a truly weird bit of wishful thinking, and yes he is a kook, but then most creationists are, so I guess he fits right in. – Fail
David K.Y. Chiu and Thomas W.H. Lui, “Integrated Use of Multiple Interdependent Patterns for Biomolecular Sequence Analysis,” International Journal of Fuzzy Systems, Vol. 4(3):766-775 (September 2002).
Chiu and Lui do mention complex specified information in passing, but go on to develop another method of pattern analysis.
This paper does not actually support ID – Fail
Michael J. Denton, Craig J. Marshall, and Michael Legge, “The Protein Folds as Platonic Forms: New Support for the pre-Darwinian Conception of Evolution by Natural Law,” Journal of Theoretical Biology, Vol. 219: 325-342 (2002).
Here we find that Denton and Marshall and Legge et al. deal with non-Darwinian evolutionary processes, but they do not support intelligent design. In fact, Denton et al. explicitly refers to natural law. – Fail
Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig and Heinz Saedler, “Chromosome Rearrangement and Transposable Elements,” Annual Review of Genetics, Vol. 36:389–410 (2002).
Annual Review of Genetics does not publish new research results; it publishes review articles, which summarize the current state of thinking |
produce more garbage per capita than any other country on earth, a report from an influential think-tank says.
The Conference Board of Canada gave Canada a C grade on Thursday and ranked it in 15th place among 17 developed nations studied across a host of environmental-efficiency metrics.
"Our large land mass, cold climate and resource-intensive economy make us less likely to rank highly on some indicators of environmental sustainability, but many of our poor results are based on our inefficient use of our resources," said Len Coad, the board's director of energy, environment and technology policy.
Poor marks on garbage, water
The Conference Board measured air pollution, garbage production, energy consumption, water usage and many other factors across 17 developed economies around the world.
While Canada earned a few A grades in categories such as water quality, endangered species and the use of forest resources, overall the country scored a D average.
The 15th-place ranking put Canada only ahead of the U.S. and Australia in the ranking.
The board noted that those three countries have a few factors in common to help explain their comparatively dismal results: they have the largest land masses in the survey, and they have the most resource-dependent economies in the OECD.
Canada fared dismally in terms of the amount of waste we produce. In 2009 (the data year on which the study was based), Canada produced 777 kilograms of garbage per citizen. Across all 17 countries studied, the average was only 578 kg produced.
The numbers show that Canada produces more than twice as much garbage, per person, than Japan, the best country on the ranking in that category, which made only 377 kilograms per person that year.
Canada also fared poorly in use of our vast water resources. On average Canadians use twice as much water as do the residents of the other developed economies on the list. Indeed, we use nine times more water than people in the best country on that metric do, Denmark.
Canada's vast water resources encourage wasteful use, the board suggests.
"Excessive water withdrawals in Canada can be attributed to the lack of widespread water conservation practices and water pricing that does not promote efficiency," the board said.
The report found Canadians use 1,131 cubic metres per capita of water per year. The only country that uses more water is the United States, which consumes 1,632 cubic metres per capita.
The board gives Canadians credit for some progress on the water issue in their day to day lives — Canadian people cut their water use from 335 litres per day in 2001 to 327 litres per day in 2006, but increased use from industries caused far more water to be consumed in the country overall.
And overall, the quality of Canada's water supply was above-average. Canada ranked fourth in that category with an A grade. Overall, however, the report doesn't paint a pretty picture for a country that often prides itself on its vast natural resources.
"Canada must promote economic growth without further degrading the environment," Coad said. "Encouraging more sustainable consumption is crucial to achieve that objective."FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Jimmy Gomez For Congress campaign shows California state Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez in Los Angeles. Two Democrats, Gomez who is Hispanic, and one Korean-American, Robert Lee Ahn, are in a Tuesday, June 6, 2017, runoff for a U.S. House seat that is testing the boundaries of racial politics. (Mary Hodge/Jimmy Gomez For Congress Campaign via AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Gomez is going to have a hard time keeping some of his promises.
The liberal California Democrat who easily captured a vacant U.S. House seat on Tuesday goes to a Republican-controlled Congress with little interest in his campaign trail talk of debt-free college, fighting climate change and enacting universal health coverage.
He acknowledged the obvious in the era of President Donald Trump when he said “we are the resistance.”
With his victory over fellow Democrat Robert Lee Ahn in the 34th Congressional District, Gomez replaces another Hispanic Democrat who held the seat for years, Xavier Becerra, who stepped down after being appointed state attorney general.
He’ll go to Washington with a similar, left-leaning agenda that clashes with much of what the White House is trying to do.
Asked about Trump at a May forum, Gomez said the Republican president “ran on a platform of division, hatred and bigotry.” As a congressman, he said, he would “take a hard stand” against the administration.
Gomez wants to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, while Trump is trying to energize a faded coal industry and plans to withdraw from a global climate change agreement.
The White House insists that plans for the president’s border wall are on track despite resistance from Congress; Gomez wants to stop funding for the project.
Gomez has promised to push for universal health coverage, while congressional budget analysts say Republican legislation remaking the nation’s health care system would leave 24 million without coverage by 2026.
In joining minority Democrats in the House, his role is almost certain to be more about stymieing Trump proposals than delivering his own, which face a dubious future with the GOP in charge.
“As we confront the cruelty and recklessness of the Trump agenda in Congress, Jimmy Gomez will be a powerful new voice for the values and the dreams of working people,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
When the 42-year-old Gomez talks about immigration, it’s an issue close to home. His parents and four siblings are immigrants from Mexico, and he often speaks of their struggles in their adopted country.
He grew up in Riverside, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, and went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard University. The former union organizer emerged as the establishment pick in his race against Ahn, winning endorsements from Gov. Jerry Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
His challenges will include spreading the prosperity that can be witnessed in the turnaround in downtown L.A.
New high-rises, lofts and trendy restaurants dot downtown, but dilapidated buildings and homeless encampments are never far from sight. Nearly half the population in the district, considered among the poorest in the state, is foreign-born.
Unofficial returns show Gomez won 60 percent of the 33,000 votes counted in the low-turnout election.
He was backed by nurses and other unions known for getting out the vote, and supporters of Bernie Sanders were behind him. And Gomez was a more familiar name to voters — his state Assembly district overlaps with parts of the congressional district.
“I’m going to actually take this fight and make sure our values are protected,” Gomez said at a May forum. “I’m never going to back down.”Iranian Defense Minister stated that Iranian authorities could allow Russia to use the Hamadan air base in western Iran for Moscow's aerial operation against terrorist in Syria if the situation in the crisis-torn Middle Eastern nation demanded it.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik)Iranian authorities could allow Russia to use the Hamadan air base in western Iran for Moscow's aerial operation against terrorist in Syria if the situation in the crisis-torn Middle Eastern nation demanded it, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Saturday.
"If the situation and conditions [in Syria] demand to provide the support, we will do this job," Dehghan said, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.
Iran allowed the Russian strike force to operate from the base in the mountainous western Hamadan province in mid-August. The jets returned to Russia a week later, after completing their anti-terror mission, which targeted jihadists in Syria.Here, we've collected the best Minecraft mods, according to our experts on the game. Mods will help you get more out of Minecraft, no matter what it is you need. In this list, we'll collect incremental improvements to the game, dazzling worlds and entirely new types of games you can play within Minecraft. It's worth noting, not all mods are compatible with the latest version of Minecraft, and some require the installation of legacy versions of Forge to get them running. Thankfully, installing older mods isn’t too difficult. Most mods come with instructions, but if they don’t, we’ve got a mini-guide to get you up and running.
These mods are great on their own, but it's worth noting that they might conflict with each other somewhat if you try and install several at once. If you do have issues with that or anything else, consider trying a preconfigured modpack out instead—the launchers provided by Feed the Beast and the Technic Platform are some of the simplest ways to quickly and cleanly get playing modded Minecraft.
If you're looking for best Minecraft seeds, too, or Minecraft console commands and cheats, or best Minecraft servers, we can help with everything you need.
Here are the best Minecraft mods:
It’s Portal, but in Minecraft
[1.10.2]
How do you fancy creating your own Aperture testing lab? Included in this modpack are a wealth of different Portal-themed blocks and, more importantly, a selection of Portal appliances, which includes floor buttons for dumping companion cubes onto, pedestal buttons, and indicator lights. So if you decide to create a nefarious puzzle challenge, all the tools you’ll need will be there from the off.
A quick note: For the full Portal experience, you’ll first need to grab iChun’s Portalgun modpack first from here [Link 1]. After that, you’re safe to install Raptor’s mod-extension from here [Link 2].
Millénaire
[1.7.10]
How many times have you explored a new area only to be met with nothing but vast emptiness? The Millénaire mod fixes that by introducing a wealth of new content into spaces where there’d usually be nothing. Villagers are replaced by human men, women, and children, instead of the bog-standard villager. Even villages have had a makeover to incorporate 11th-century Norman, North Indian and Mayan themes. Grab it here.
Fossil and Archaeology revival mod
[1.17.10]
If there’s one thing missing from Minecraft it’s dinosaurs. Who doesn’t want to ditch creepers in favour of riding around on a T-Rex? Not only is there a massive amount of dinosaurs to spawn in creative, but in survival, the player can hunt down fossils and bring these forgotten beasts back to life. As well as a texture overhaul, there’s also a new mob boss in the Anu for those looking to put their prehistoric skills to the test. Grab it here.
Instant Massive Structures
[1.8.8, 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.9, 1.7.10]
Okay, okay, so this one may be cheating. We’ve all seen monstrous builds online which make our 5x5 dirt house pail in comparison. But what happens if you want to turn the tables? What happens if you want an enormous city in a matter of seconds? That’s where the Instant Structures mod comes in. Simply cycle through the creative menu, drop a block, right click it, and a building will magically spawn. Structures range from castles, to houses, all the way to tram stations. Yeah, sure, it’s technically cheating, but we won’t tell anyone. Grab it here.
The Lost Cities
[1.10, 1.11, 1.12]
Something has ended life as we know it. Buildings are in disrepair, and everyone has vanished, or so it seems. The Lost Cities, as the foreboding name suggests, spawns you into a city forgotten by time. The goal? See how long you can survive this post-apocalyptic wasteland without succumbing to death. If you fancy taking the survival one step further, this mod also interlinks with the Biomes O Plenty mod, meaning you’ll have a lot of stunning new areas to explore alongside the empty cities. Grab it here.
Biosphere
[1.7.10, 1.7.2]
Creating a biosphere, of decent size, takes around eight-hours, give or take. I know this because I spent eight-painstaking-hours making one. By the end, I wanted to chuck Minecraft into a nearby volcano. Making something spherical rather than a jagged diamond isn’t easy. Thankfully, the Biospheres mod removes all the annoying obstacles and spawns you into a world where the sky is overrun with various floating biomes. Just don’t fall off, yeah? Grab it here.
The Aether
[1.7.3]
The Aether (pronounced “ee-ther”) is the opposite of the Nether. While the Nether is seen as Minecraft’s equivalent of hell, the Aether is a sort of heavenly realm. Once transported via a portal, you’ll find yourself above the clouds surrounded by gorgeous, newly-designed floating islands. There’s also new mobs, including flying cows and flying pigs, some new boss enemies, as well as new block types to play with and new-fangled loot to find. Grab it here.
Optifine
[1.8.1]
Minecraft doesn't scale too well to the power of fast or slow machines. It runs surprisingly poorly on low-end laptops, and a high-end rig can't do much with its extra oomph. Enter Optifine—a mod that not only makes Minecraft run faster but also look far better. It supports HD textures, smooth lighting, and more, and framerate doubling is not uncommon. It's one of the first things I usually add when installing Minecraft. Grab it here.
Twilight Forest
[1.7.10]
Love adventuring? This mod adds a new, densely-forested dimension shrouded in perpetual twilight that hides both valuable treasures and dangerous monsters. Throw a diamond into a pool of water surrounded by flowers to create a portal there, then spend a while roaming around. You'll find hedge mazes, hollow hills, enchanted groves, glaciers, lich towers and more with rich rewards for those that delve the deepest. Grab it here.
Biomes O'Plenty
[1.7.10]
Since the 'Update That Changed The World' in late 2013, there's been a bit more diversity in Minecraft worlds. But Biomes O'Plenty adds vastly more—75 to be exact—from brushland and coral reefs, through lavender fields and ominous woods, to tundra and wasteland. You'll need to create a new world to use it (make sure to select the 'Biomes O'Plenty' world generation option), but it's worth it to see corners of Minecraft that you've never seen before. Grab it here.
The Lost Cities
[1.10, 1.11, 1.12]
Something has ended life as we know it. Buildings are in disrepair, and everyone has vanished, or so it seems. The Lost Cities, as the foreboding name suggests, spawns you into a city forgotten by time. The goal? See how long you can survive this post-apocalyptic wasteland without succumbing to death. If you fancy taking the survival one step further, this mod also interlinks with the Biomes O Plenty mod, meaning you’ll have a lot of stunning new areas to explore alongside the empty cities. Grab it here.
Biosphere
[1.7.10, 1.7.2]
Creating a biosphere, of decent size, takes around eight-hours, give or take. I know this because I spent eight-painstaking-hours making one. By the end, I wanted to chuck Minecraft into a nearby volcano. Making something spherical rather than a jagged diamond isn’t easy. Thankfully, the Biospheres mod removes all the annoying obstacles and spawns you into a world where the sky is overrun with various floating biomes. Just don’t fall off, yeah? Grab it here.
Botania
[1.7.10]
Some mods add powerful magical items. Others add intricate machinery. Botania just adds flowers—but wow, what flowers. Flowers that heal you. Flowers that feed animals. Flowers that turn hostile mobs against each other. Flowers that eat cake. Oh, and did I mention that you've can also use flowers to create a magical portal to a world of elves? If you want to try something wildly different from most other mods, Botania is it. Grab it here.
Inventory Tweaks, NotEnoughItems & Waila
[1.7.10]
This trio of mods are essential quality-of-life improvements, especially when you've got loads of mods installed at the same time. Inventory Tweaks allows you to sort your chests with a single click and automatically replace tools when they break. NotEnoughItems provides you with a searchable list of all the blocks available in the game, and the recipes for crafting them, and Waila lets you point your cursor at an unfamiliar blocks to find out what it is. Grab them here, here and here respectively.A group of senators have an important message for the people who help decide NASA’s budget: don’t cut the space agency’s education funding. In an open letter released today, 32 senators led by Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) are calling on members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to keep NASA’s Office of Education intact. That contradicts what President Donald Trump requested in his budget for fiscal year 2018.
Overall, Trump’s budget request didn’t slash too much money from NASA’s annual funding, but it did call for the cancellation of some Earth science missions, as well as the complete elimination of NASA’s Office of Education. The reasoning had to do with the office’s strategy and performance, according to the request: “The Office of Education has experienced significant challenges in implementing a NASA-wide education strategy and is performing functions that are duplicative of other parts of the agency.” The request also noted that duties of the office should be taken over by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate instead.
“We were disappointed by President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate funding for NASA’s Office of Education.”
That’s what the 32 senators are trying to fight. “Given the importance of STEM education and the success of Hidden Figures, which was recently celebrated by high-ranking members of the Trump Administration at a screening at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, we were disappointed by President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate funding for NASA’s Office of Education in FY18,” they wrote in today’s letter.
The Office of Education, which received $115 million in 2016, is primarily responsible for NASA’s educational outreach programs. It runs the National Space Grant and Fellowship Program, which gives money to students to help them prepare for jobs in aerospace, as well as the Minority University Research and Education Programs, which gives financial aid to minority colleges and institutions.
These and other programs are crucial and in need of saving, the senators say. “We recognize that you face significant budget constraints, but we urge you to support the NASA Office of Education because its mission is critical to boosting the nation’s workforce competitiveness,” they wrote. “This funding helps the nation make strides towards equipping students with the skills needed to enter the growing STEM workforce.”
“We urge you to support the NASA Office of Education because its mission is critical to boosting the nation’s workforce competitiveness.”
Leland Melvin, NASA’s former associate administrator of education and a former astronaut, voiced his support for the letter as well, saying NASA’s education programs are what helped him move ahead in his career. “A skinny black kid from a small southern town, who never imagined working in the space industry, was given an opportunity to do so because of NASA Education,” said Melvin. “The experiences, activities, and inspiration that NASA Education provides to students, teachers, and the community can't be duplicated by any other organization.”
Ultimately, NASA’s final budget for fiscal year 2018 won’t be decided until later this year. Appropriators from the Senate will come up with their own budget proposal for NASA, while appropriators from the House will do the same. A final, compromised bill incorporating both the House and Senate proposals will then be voted on by Congress, before it’s signed into law by the president.The 21-year-old is happy to commit his long-term future at Old Trafford and will put pen to paper on a £45,000-a-week deal at the end of the season which will treble his salary
By Greg Stobart | Northern Correspondent Danny Welbeck will sign a five-year contract with Manchester United at the end of the season after finally agreeing terms with the club,has learned.The 21-year-old has agreed to a deal worth around £45,000-a-week to treble his current salary and represent his value to Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad after breaking into the side this season.Basic terms were agreed in principle in November but United and Welbeck’s agent spent several months wrangling over further rises and bonuses before coming to an agreement.The England international, whose existing deal expires next summer, has told team-mates that he his happy to commit his future to the club while United were keen to agree a deal before the player sets off for Euro 2012.Welbeck, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season and has jumped ahead of Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez as the first-choice strike partner for Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford.United were eager to tie Welbeck down to a long contract to ensure there are no doubts over his future, especially with Berbatov and Michael Owen expected to depart in the summer.Ferguson has huge faith in the Manchester-born forward’s talent and believes the youngster is constantly improving as he develops physically."We were always aware of Danny Welbeck's ability," said the United manager earlier this year. "The issue with him now is addressing the physical side.“Our stats show there's still a bit to do before he becomes a complete adult."He has a good attitude, although he should have, he's a young player with an opportunity at Manchester United.“That's one of the reasons you pick these players, because they show their temperament as they come through the youth programmes and the reserves.”Lapchick, who pushes sports leagues to do more to promote equality, said the N.F.L. had wielded a powerful sword before. In 1990, Tagliabue, who had just taken over as commissioner, recommended that the N.F.L. abandon plans to host the Super Bowl in Arizona in 1993 if voters there did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
“Why should politicians or pundits force the league to become stuck at the center of prolonged political debate when it can be minimized” by moving the game elsewhere? he said.
When voters in Arizona again rejected a measure to celebrate the holiday, the N.F.L. moved the game to Pasadena, Calif. Two years later, voters reversed course, which paved the way for Phoenix to bid again for the Super Bowl. The game was played in Tempe, Ariz., in 1996.
It is unclear whether Roger Goodell, Tagliabue’s successor, reflected on these events when he chose to stick to the league’s plans in Houston. But the league has been reluctant to take a stand and slow to react to controversies in recent years.
In July 2014, Goodell suspended the former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for two games after video was made public of him dragging his then-fiancée from an Atlantic City casino elevator. Advocates for victims of domestic violence protested that the punishment was much too light, and a month later, Goodell, to his credit, apologized. But then more graphic video was released that showed Rice punching the woman, and Goodell suspended Rice indefinitely.
In other cases, the league has held its ground. Goodell has long defended the right of Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, to keep the team’s name even as thousands of schools have dropped logos and monikers that Native American groups consider offensive.
Without mentioning the Redskins by name, President Obama on Thursday took a shot at the league for its approach.Cheers! Thank you for coming and having a drink.
Usually I have two to three Scotches on a Monday mid-day, but I hadn’t had any today so…
So this is the first drink?
This is perfect. Yes, exactly [laughs].
I don’t know where to start. Thank you for everything you’re doing in my hometown. Before we get into Detroit and business advice, what were you like as a kid?
I always thought that is the only question someone shouldn’t answer about themselves. I guess just in broad strokes I was always entrepreneurial. I had candy sales. I once opened up a pizzeria in my mother’s kitchen. I put my younger brother and his friends on bikes for deliveries. We used to make those Chef Boyardee pizzas and we actually put flyers in a bunch of the neighbors’ mailboxes. Later that week, we got calls from the health department and they closed us down. We didn’t have licenses and we were violating all kinds of health codes, so it was actually my first exposure to regulation and government.
And both your father and grandfather had businesses in Detroit?
Yeah, my dad was in the U.S. military for many years and then he went and opened a bar in Detroit. Actually, he was out at Seven Mile and Woodward in a bar. I used to go with him sometimes. It was a bar like this sort of. It was about this size actually. There was an adding machine I used to play with. My grandfather had a couple of car washes.
What do you think your father and grandfather’s reaction would be to what you’re doing in Detroit now?
My dad had me later in life. He would have been 100 this year, believe it or not. When he died we weren’t in Detroit yet, but he used to follow around and go to different construction sites and things. Those generations would talk about Detroit… you have to be older than me — 10 years older than me — to remember what people characterized as the unbelievable downtown Detroit. So you’d hear that over the years from them, so yeah they would be excited to see this. Maybe they are, who knows!
You went to MSU. How old were you when you started your first business, Rock Financial?
I was 22. What happened was I went into one of those shared workspaces in the summer — well now it’s called WeWork, who we just put in Detroit — but back then it was called shared office space. You didn’t need a license for mortgages or anything at that point. I took a 12×12 office and you’d put loans in your car and broker them, get on the floor and beg and plead underwriters to approve our loans at the banks. I thought it was going to be a summer thing, now it’s 32 years later.
How much did you have in your bank account then?
I know exactly. I had delivered pizzas, a lot of pizzas to that point and I did have about $5,000 in the bank and that’s what I started the business with. Back then I had a RadioShack computer if you can imagine that. We hustled. We hired kids out of college. Back then, advertising mortgages was sort of looked upon as cheesy. Remember those Homes magazines? We used to have Homes before the Internet. They were free and you could pick them up at any store. We used to [advertise mortgage rates] and take the back cover out. People would say, “Why would you do that?” But the phones rang. We differentiated ourselves back then by trying to market differently and hustling.
Who along the way is someone you remember because they gave you a chance?
It’s kind of a weird thing, but I’m one of those people who never really had a mentor. It’s not because I wouldn’t want one or didn’t think it was valuable, but I never really had a mentor. I read two books in the ’80s by a guy named Tom Peters. He wrote “In Search of Excellence” and “A Passion for Excellence.” He was a McKinsey guy that spent 25-30 years going from company to company and he wrote about how messed up culture was in American companies, even back then. It really made a big impression on me. He made a comment I’ll never forget— and this was not a slight against the middle manager so hang on because it sounds crude. He said, “After 25 or 30 years of consulting big American companies, if 98 percent of the middle managers were not born, their companies would be further ahead.” And then he went on to explain he wasn’t criticizing the middle managers, he was criticizing the environment they put these otherwise good human beings into and turned them into worthless leaders and then he went in to all of the reasons why. That made a big impression.
Was this guy responsible for your ISMs — your unique philosophy and leading culture that drives success across your family of over 100 companies?
I mean he was responsible for sure for pointing out what culture was. Before I read those books I remember older people asking me, “Hey kid, what’s your company culture like?” I would really look at people like, “What are you talking about?” I had no idea what they meant. I thought, “I have to get a loan to the closing, dude. I don’t know what you’re saying.” But you learn over time how big and important it is. It’s everything.
Why do you think it’s important for people — even people who don’t live here — to care about what’s happening in Detroit?
There are four big categories of issues. If you look at Detroit or any urban core that has had problems, there’s blight, lack of jobs, education issues and crime. Everything can go into those four categories. Blight to me was number one because if you don’t take care of the blight you’re not even going to get to the other three. We are making major progress on that. Crime is down everywhere in the neighborhoods and the city. A lot of people think more people, more crime. It’s actually the opposite because there are more eyeballs. You can’t do crime when a lot of people are looking at you. Unemployment was 24 or 25 percent in the city and it’s down to [around] 7 percent. We still have to address people who have taken themselves out of the work force and there are things going on [for that]. Education is still the one that needs the most attention. There is finally some progress being made, but it has a long way to go. So if you look at all of those, those are going in the right direction. Downtown is full right now, there is no office space left. There are no residential units left, so we are going to be building. But the big thing is car technology. I went to CES in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronic Show, and all they want to talk about is car technology. In my meetings with the big three here and Waymo — which is google’s automated car technology — [we talk about how they] are coming to Detroit. They are opening offices in Detroit. It’s a sea change that is going to drive a lot of the economy over the next ten years and Detroit is ground zero of that. I’m very, very optimistic about Detroit.
Can you paint the picture of what it feels and looks like to live and work in Detroit in 10 years?
If someone would have said five years ago that we’re going to be out of office space and residential units, 100 percent occupancy downtown and Midtown it would be unfathomable and you would have said, “You’re crazy, that’s impossible.” But since that is the case here, the only way to grow is vertically. I think when you say five or 10 years from now you’re going to see big projects completely done, the whole skyline is going to be completely different. That will be the main thing people notice. I’m hoping that in 10 years Detroit is one of the handful of technology, entertainment and marketing centers of the United States or maybe the world. People like you for instance, who have their own business, 30 years old, they’re a creative class, this is the place to be. This is where the action is. What the manifestation of that will look like I don’t know exactly but those are the themes. And we are growing. That is the key thing. The population is growing, things are happening.
Was there ever a time you almost turned your back on the city like so many people did before you moved downtown?
I wouldn’t say turned my back on the city, but what I had done like a lot of entrepreneurs — it sounds like I’m a real old man but I did start young — for the first 20 years I had my head down and we were just grinding our one business and building, building, building. I never really looked up and paid much attention. I was just focused on our business. In a sense, it was turning your back because you weren’t paying attention. We had a name for folks in the suburbs and I may have been one of them for a long time. We called them “dozers.” We were just sleeping on it. I will tell you one thing though, when we moved, we only moved 1,500 people the very first day and I was one of them. From the day — not the second day — we got down here you just knew in your bones that it’s going to be so much better than being in a suburban office. Nothing against the suburbs, I’ve lived there my whole life. I grew up the first five years in the city. There is just an energy, collaboration, connectivity and a buzz you’re not going to get in Livonia or Troy, it’s not going to happen.
Is there anyone you want to see come back and reinvest in the city?
They are coming back! I took Madonna through the city a couple of years ago. Kid Rock is from here. There are other guys who aren’t as known but have a lot of wealth and connections in business. They are all investing. Steve Ballmer grew up here and went to Country Day. He retired from Microsoft. Now, he has a large foundation and he wants to do things. You can’t just say, “Hey, come on in and just do something.” We as a city have to say, “Here is what we think you should do.” A lot of them are already engaged.
Do you just pick up the phone and call anyone you want?
Detroit has this old negativity that people associate with it. It also has this cachet to it now, only the last year or two. Now the calls are starting to be inbound and it used to be us calling outbound. And that goes for people coming out of college. We just had an interesting thing in the middle of the winter called a “Winternship.” We had six kids from Brown and six from Harvard. They came here for two weeks and we put them on a project, but 150 kids applied from Harvard and Brown to come to Detroit in the middle of the winter. Who would have ever thought? That is craziness. It’s really starting to have that turn. When the smart people start realizing and they are realizing… they’re smart because the number one rule of economics and life is to buy low sell high. You want to get in before prices move up.
Right now you’re focused on building vertical in Detroit, when you first started buying buildings back in 2010 were you nervous at all?
Going up is a lot harder by the way. Just for the record. We have a little bit of an advantage in that we aren’t a real estate developer first, we are businesses first. So we had the employees, we had the people working. We moved in 1,500 people, our businesses were growing rapidly, we still had many people in the suburbs in leases that were expiring and at the same time beautiful architectural gems were available at low prices at bargain rates. We started picking them off. We didn’t have a plan we were going to buy 90 something buildings. We just said, “Okay, how can you not buy this beautiful building?”
How do you want to be supported, right now, today?
Well, it’s the first time anybody ever asked that. It’s all about young people, that’s our whole thing. Your generation, young people even down to 20 years old. We have this intern program, 1,400 interns came last summer representing 210 colleges and universities in the United States and the great news was 27,000 applications came in. And it’s not necessarily Quicken Loans, it’s just this Detroit thing. This generation wants to impact the community more than previous ones. I use it to sell against New York and Chicago. I say, “Look, you’re smart, you graduated from a great place, you have energy, you can go to New York, Chicago, Miami or whatever and you’ll do great.” I say, “But what you won’t do there is see the benefits of what you’ve done in the community immediately and you’ll impact the city.” You can do that here. Other cities are already evolved and you can’t do that there. That’s what I use to sell people now. Five or six years ago if you would have told me that, it’s just impossible to think that would happen. That’s the one thing I learned down here, momentum breeds momentum breeds momentum.
I love that you like journalists to interview you here in Detroit. To feel the energy and see what is happening in all of the buildings on the tour today was pretty cool.
You hit on it twice already and this is a great point because nothing I can do on the phone telling somebody can give you [that feeling.] In fact, it’s the opposite because people have 60 years of bad shit, for lack of better words, bad stuff that they’ve heard. Whatever I say on the phone isn’t going to get that out of their soul. So I always say come here and I’ll talk to you because you won’t get it unless you’re here.
Is there anything along this journey of reviving Detroit that surprisingly came easy?
Maybe you read this in the ISM book, “Doing the hard things doesn’t make the easy things easy.” It’s still hard to call somebody and confirm they got the message, even though you built a building. I think people who create businesses or work hard in anything know that. Nothing is easy, but surprisingly the interest of things like we touched on, so many young people being interested so quickly, the fact that things filled up as quick as they did. I wouldn’t say easier, but faster than we thought. And again, I want to stress… I don’t care how big you are; I don’t care if you’re doing what we’re doing. It’s never one organization. It can’t be just General Motors, just us, or just the Ilitch family. The city is lots of people and lots of companies and the interaction between them and the buzz and connectivity and creativity, there is an energy that gets formed from all of that.
Can you pick a favorite building you own?
There was an architect that was here for 50 years named [Minoru] Yamasaki. I think he worked out of Birmingham and maybe Detroit. This building that is on Jefferson and Woodward, One Woodward, that’s where Fifth Third Bank is. If you look at that building, you’ll notice one thing about it. You’ll say that building look likes the World Trade Center in New York. He was the architect for those buildings, he just happened to be from here. That building he |
square inch of Yukon land in the famous gold country!”
Quaker Oats hated the idea.
Too many potential legal problems, the lawyers said. It would cost far too much to register every deed to every little cereal-eater out there. Baker suggested, then, that they not register the deeds.
And he found a Yukon lawyer who thought it was legal. Baker flew to the Yukon and, after a harrowing midwinter boat journey, saw the land and bought it for $1,000.
Twenty-one million numbered deeds were printed up. And on Jan. 27, 1955, the promotion was begun on the Sergeant Preston radio show.
The response was far beyond Baker’s wildest hopes. Quaker’s puffed cereal plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, could hardly stuff the deeds in fast enough. Within weeks, every box was sold.
As time went on, Quaker redirected its cereal sales. “We do zero promotion now,” said Kathy Rand, Quaker’s public relations manager. “because we’re not positioned for kids. The cereals are no sugar, salt or additives, so they’re aimed at babies or the diet conscious.”
In 1965, the 19.11 acres were seized. In 1966, the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. was dissolved. There were always some “owners” writing for information. But it built to a flood more recently, involving Canadian consuls general in the United States, the Yukon and even the prime minister’s office in Ottawa.
Steven Spoerl wrote Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau to announce he was declaring the formal independence of his four square inches.
Each writer gets a polite reply that refers to Quaker’s “promotional gimmick” and suggests they write Chicago.
“The deeds were not meant to have any intrinsic value,” Quaker now says, “but rather to give the consumer the romantic appeal of being the owner of a square inch of land in the Yukon.”
Ironically, there are reports that-Baker’s late-night brainstorm, those 7-by-5-inch deeds that were 35 times larger than the piece of land they represented, are bringing upwards of $40 in some antique shops.
Here are some of the letters written:
Dear Sir: (via E-mail. 2000) I received a Deed of Land in 1955 from the Klondike Big Inch Land Co., Inc. in the city of Whitehorse as a gift which grants to me ALL AND SINGLLAR that certain parcel or tract of land situate. lying and being in the Yukon Territory more particularly known and described as follows: TRACT NUMBERED Y 634756 Now, I have wondered all these years about this little whiff of a piece of land and finally – through the advent of the internet – I may he able to discover something of its use and/or worth. Who knows? Maybe there’s been a gold or oil strike there or maybe the pipeline is built upon it. Are you aware of such a company? Thank You, Dan Maloney
Dear Sir I have a Deed of Land from the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. Inc. for one square inch of land in lot #243 in Group Two (2) in Yukon Territory. Can you furnish me any information on the Tract of land which is part of 19.11 acres? This deed of land was issued tome in 1-4-55. This land is located near Dawson near the Yukon River, please answer soon or forward this letter to the proper place. Thank You. Eugene Kerr
Well, probably the best-documented article concerning the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. Inc. was written in 1975 by Jack McIver for CANADIAN MAGAZINE. It’s a fascinating story and bears repeating, so here it is, just keep in mind it was written 25 years ago and some of the people mentioned in the article may now be in different circumstances.
By Jack McIver
This is a story about a bathroom, a Mountie, several hundred tons of breakfast cereal, a Canadian senator, a television game show, a murder, 21 million square inches of Yukon Territory land, a severe case of frostbite, and an advertising campaign that should have died 20 years ago – but didn’t
First, the bathroom. We lake you back to the fall of 1954, to Lake Forest. Ill. and the home of Chicago advertising executive Bruce Baker. It is 3 o’clock in the morning. Baker, creative director for the ad agency of Wherry, Baker & Tilden, can’t sleep. He is a desperate man. He is, as he recalls the moment today, “sitting in the can, smoking three cigarettes at once – well, at least two” (He is desperate, but not suicidal.)
One of Wherry, Baker & Tilden’s clients is the Quaker Oats Co., the Chicago-based firm that fires Puffed Wheat, Puffed Rice and a variety of other ready-to-eat cereals from cannons. But the breakfast cereal market is a highly competitive one, and the cannon gimmick is wearing a bit thin. Some cereal manufacturers have hired tigers and bears to promote their products; others are luring customers by stuffing their boxes with premiums – whistles and marbles, buttons and soldiers, plastic airplanes and baking-soda-powered submarines. Quaker Oats has tried toy cannons that actually shoot cereal across the kitchen, and rings with prisms that can actually burn holes in Mom’s tablecloth, but they haven’t gone over too well – Mom, after all, is the one who buys the stuff, and the kids weren’t yelling loud enough for it.
“Besides,” Baker remembers, “these plastic whistles and things were worth about 5 cents each. I had to come up with something that didn’t cost too much.”
Back to the bathroom: Baker also wants a promotional scheme that will tie in with Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, the radio (and later, TV) show sponsored by Quaker Oats. It stars Richard Simmons as a handsome, burly, moustached Mountie who always gets his man and never gets his scarlet tunic mussed. Sgt. Preston has a team of huskies led by Yukon King (“On King! On, you huskies!”) The show, which originates on WXYZ radio in Detroit, is broadcast by stations across the U.S., and Canada, and the kids love it. Now, thinks Baker, if only they’d love Quaker Oats products. Or at least buy them…
Few such instances are recorded, but it’s likely that many of mankind’s greatest discoveries originated in a bathroom. Remember Archimedes? Baker can’t recall if he yelled “Eureka!” when the idea finally came to him, but be knew it was a good one. A great one. “I took the 5 am train in to Chicago and my art director and I went to work on it right away. By 11 o’clock, I was at Quaker Oats with the presentation.”
Baker’s plan was this: Quaker Oats would buy a parcel of land in Sgt Preston’s Yukon Territory, subdivide it into square-inch lots, and give the lots away to buyers of Puffed Wheat Puffed Rice and other Quaker cereals. (Baker was partly inspired by a story that had run in Life magazine a few years earlier: a Texan had become a millionaire by selling – for $10 each – square-inch pieces of land in his state to expatriate Texans.) It would be a totally legal transfer of land: every kid who dug to the bottom of his or her cereal box would find a deed to one square inch of Yukon property. Lawyers would draw up the deeds. They’d be “gold-embossed,” and have loads of legalistic fine print on them. And a corporate seal. And a place to put the new owner’s name.
The kids would actually own a genuine piece of Canadian Gold Rush land. Sgt. Preston land. Yukon King land. They’d go crazy trying to get them! Quaker Oats would conquer the cereal market! The world!
Quaker Oats hated the idea.
It was impossible, the company’s lawyers told Baker. Registering the deeds to millions of tiny tots, even if it could be done, would cost the company a fortune.
Then we won’t register them, said Baker.
Forget it, said the lawyers.
But he wouldn’t forget it. In early October, 1954, Baker, his brother John (a lawyer, now retired), and a Quaker Oats advertising executive chartered a plane and flew to the Yukon, looking for land.
In Whitehorse, the three introduced themselves to George Van Roggen, a young lawyer who is today a Canadian senator. He had a law practice in Whitehorse with Erik Nielsen (now MP for the Yukon), and although he left the Yukon in 1957 and now practices in Vancouver, Van Roggen remembers the incident well – and fondly: “As a staid lawyer, I found the antics of these ad guys from Chicago most entertaining, certainly more so than drawing up wills. In the U.S., there’d be very little legal difficulty in dividing land into one-inch parcels, but they wanted to
know if, in Canada, you could give away deeds that couldn’t be individually registered. We gave the opinion that you could, that they’d be legal.”
Van Roggen also found Baker his land, 19 acres of government property seven miles up the Yukon River from Dawson. By then, Baker had convinced Quaker Oats that the promotion would work, and the company bought the land for $1000. Van Roggen drove the men from Whitehorse to Dawson (“He was absolutely intrigued by the whole thing,” says Baker), and in the early, frigid hours of Thursday, Oct. 7, the three set out in an open skiff to inspect their property. “It was,” Baker says, “the most exciting day of my life.” He has a wooden leg today to prove it.
Their guide for the trip up river was Constable Paul LeCocq, a real, live Mountie from Montreal who was stationed in Dawson. LeCocq, Baker remembers, actually had a team of huskies led by a lead dog named Yukon King, and he received all the fan mail addressed to Sgt Preston of the Yukon.
John Baker, the lawyer, kept a diary of their trip to the Yukon. Here’s an excerpt from that fateful Thursday:
“We arose at about 5:15 am., and after getting dressed found it was still dark. It was several degrees below zero. Finally Paul appeared in his pickup truck. We bundled up as well as we could and went down to the river it’s a forbidding sight with ice cakes zooming by at about six miles per hour… We didn’t have enough weight in the bow and the wake sprayed up over Paul and froze as it hit him – his leather jacket was soon completely covered with ice. Paul told us a human being couldn’t last more than three minutes in the water. We manoeuvred upstream against the swift current for about 40 minutes and came to a point opposite the land in question.
Poul turned in toward shore and suddenly -Crash! – we smashed up on a rock. About 15 gallons of water came in over the stern and immediately turned to ice in the bottom of the boat. We then paddled in about 50 yards, went ashore, and examined the motor – the shear pin had broken and we had no spare…”
They made a hurried inspection of the Quaker Oats property – “fairly level with a beach of stones about 100 feet wide; quite thick with jackpine and spruce, poplar and birch” – and headed back, wet and cold, to Dawson, drifting with the current.
“I remember there were all these old guys, real Gabby Hayes types, living in cabins along the river,” laughs Baker. “They must have wondered what was going on as we floated on by dressed in Brooks Bros. suits and chesterfield costs. We had no hats, and were just wearing shoes – no boots.
“The current was so strong that when we got to Dawson, we couldn’t stop. We just shot right by the town. I kept thinking I was going to wind up dead somewhere in the Arctic Circle. Finally the current changed, and we made it to shore.”
Bruce Baker’s feet were badly frostbitten, and complications years later led to the recent amputation of his right leg below the knee.
“when we got back,” he says, “we headed straight for the bar in the hotel and proceeded to get pickled on 180-proof rum.
“I wanted to get a picture of Paul in his Mountie uniform, the red, dress one, and I remember my brother and I trying to get him into it. I don’t think he’d worn it since he was in police school, and he’d gained weight by then.” Baker left LeCocq with some postcards of Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and they headed buck to Chicago, ready to launch what became one of the most successful promotions in advertising history.
100 YEARS 1950 ~ 1979 Whitehorse Star ~ Friday, August 18, 2000 217
QUAKER OATS STRIKES GOLD IN THE KLONDIKE
A Promotion where everyone could own a piece of “Sgt. Preston country.” Photo Courtesy of Ken Elliott
John Baker and George Van Roggen drew up the deeds for the giveaway scheme. “They were very carefully worded,” says Van Roggen. “Everything had to he absolutely legal – the competition in the food business was so strenuous that your competitors would try to get you on any small technicality.”
The deeds excluded mineral rights: although the area had by then been stripped of gold, they didn’t want deed owners trying to mine their square-inch properties. It was also stipulated that owners had to allow perpetual access, or “easement,” across their land to others who might wish to visit their own inches.
Quaker Oats formed a subsidiary, the Klondike Big Inch Land Co., incorporated in Illinois, to handle the promotion; Baker’s deeds could now be decorated with an official-looking corporate seal.
The subdivision plan was a problem. Van Roggen explains: “I just visualized that we would have a land surveyor divide the land into parcels. But 21 million deeds were printed, which takes up several acres of land. And since it would take a square inch of paper to mark in the deed number, we’d have to have a subdivision plan the same number of acres in size.”
A solution was reached: the deeds were numbered consecutively, according to a master plan. If you wanted to find, say, lot number 11,935,000 you simply had to start in the northwest corner of the land, travel east 7,000 inches, go south 1,705 inches, and there you’d be, standing on your inch. “Theoretically,” says Van Roggen, “you could find any square inch in the subdivision.” Nobody, as far as Baker knows, accepted the challenge.
The promotion was first announced on the Sgt. Preston network radio show on Jan. 27, 1955. At the same time, advertisements (“You’ll actually own one square inch of Yukon land in the famous gold country!”) appeared in 93 newspapers.
The public response outdistanced Baker’s wildest dreams. Quaker Oats cereal sold as quickly as the deeds could be printed and stuffed into the boxes. Grocers set up special Quaker Oats displays.
On the television game show Truth or Consequences, a contestant pulled a deed from a box of Puffed Wheat. His “consequence,” the host told him, was that during the next week he’d be flown to the Yukon to pan for gold on his square-inch property (although the deed said he couldn’t). A film crew accompanied the man and the following week, sure enough, a film of the contestant making a tool of himself in the Canadian North was shown on network television.
Quaker Oats didn’t mind at all.
The promotion made the front page of a Buffalo newspaper: “There was a man on trial there for murdering his wife with an ice pick,” says Baker. “On about the third day of the trail, the defence attorney made a motion that be allowed to withdraw from the case. Apparently his client had told him that he owned all this property in the Yukon the attorney assumed that payment would be no problem. Then he found out that the mans property consisted of about 1,000 Quaker Oats deeds he had collected.
Letters from new landowners flooded the Quaker Oats offices. “Where exactly,” thousands of children asked, “is my inch located?” “How much is it worth?” One youngster sent in four toothpicks and a piece of string and asked the Quaker people to erect a fence around his property. “Interest in the promotion,” says Baker, “was unbelievable.” A follow-up campaign offered cereal eaters a one-ounce “poke” pouch of genuine Yukon dirt” for 25 cents -it, too, was a success. To Senator Van Roggen, it was the fun part: “I called a fellow I knew in Dawson and told him to sift four tons of sand from the bed of the Klondike River. It had to be pebble-free, and I wanted him to store it in a warm warehouse. I couldn’t tell him, though, what we wanted it for. The people up there thought he’d gone out of his mind.
The sand was trucked to Whitehorse, packed into pouches, then sent overland to Anchorage, Alaska. It had to be mailed from there because of postal difficulties in sending it from Canada, but the Anchorage postmark didn’t seem to bother the recipients: “Americans all think that the Klondike is in Alaska, anyway,” says Van Roggen.
And so it went – newspaper articles, advertising awards, photographs of Mae West holding a Klondike Big Inch Land Co. deed and a poke of genuine Yukon dirt, and letters, letters, letters.
More publicity than Baker, sitting in his bathroom at night, had ever imagined.
And, he points out, the promotion cost “next to nothing – about $10,000 plus printing costs.”
But all good things, alas, must come to an end. Or so Quaker Oats thought. The Sgt. Preston show went off the air in the late 1950s. Actor Richard Simmons now owns a country club in California. Yukon King died. Bruce Baker, now 62, has retired to his home in Lake Forest. The Klondike Big Inch Land Co., kept alive for a number of years to handle inquiries, was dissolved a decade ago. And the 19 wilderness acres of Yukon land were repossessed by the Canadian government several yeas ago for non-payment of $37.20 in taxes, although a Quaker Oats spokesman in Chicago claims the company never received a tax bill.
Yes, Quaker Oats would like to forget the whole thing now. But it can’t. Unlike plastic whistles, airplanes and similar premiums, the Yukon land deeds weren’t, it seems, played with for a week and thrown away. People stuffed them into cookie jars, photo albums, drawers and safety deposit boxes instead. You don’t, after all, toss out a “gold-embossed” deed to land, even if it is just for one square inch. Who knows, it might be worth something some day. And so, thousands of people – no one knows how many -squirrelled them away and forgot about them. For a while…
Quaker Oats now receives hundreds of inquiries every year, from kids who have grown up and rediscovered a deed, and from executors of estates – many of them attorneys – who have come across a Big Inch deed in a deceased’s belongings. How much, they all want to know, is this land worth now? Is the deed genuine? Are there taxes owing on the land? Where exactly is it located?
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in Ottawa, has also had to deal with hundreds of letters over the years. Here’s an excerpt from one:
“I would like you so answer me as I would like to know how much money this in worth. I sure could use this money on a down payment on a house.”
And this, from a man in Texas who could neither type nor spell very well:
“So I have desides to sent you a copy (of the deed) instead of tiping all this.
I amm keeping the oreginal.I havent heard from them anymore and want to no if this is a foney Deed.
And what uses is required.
And what percent of the income on, it i get as i am the ’Grantie’ of the second part, so for i havent got any part.
Want you check on this for me and let me no right a way. Thank you.”
And this, from an optimist:
“I would like to take a trip to Canada sometime this fall. Would it be possible to tell me what exact transportation (either railroad or bus) that I can take to inspect my property? Where could I stay?”
Officials in Ottawa, only slightly amused, refer all correspondents to the Quaker Oats Co. in Chicago. And Quaker has the unhappy – and the time consuming – task of telling them that the deeds are worthless, that the Klondike Big Inch Co. no longer exists, and that the Canadian government has taken back the land.
Quaker has been threatened with lawsuits over the matter, and is tired of the time and expense required to answer letters. Quaker executives cringe at the mention of the promotion. John Rourke, the company’s public relations director, claims that they “probably wouldn’t get into such a campaign today because of the legal ramifications.”
It’s unlikely, however, that a lawsuit would proceed very far; since the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. has been dissolved, there’s nobody left to sue. In effect, it would be like suing a dead person who has left no assets.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that, thanks to the nostalgia boom, a number of memorabilia experts claim the old deeds are now worth as much as $40 each to collectors.
And Bruce Baker, the man who started it, takes special delight in pointing out that that makes the deeds worth about twice as much as a share of stock in the Quaker Oats Co. So there you have it. No Klondike property but a nice bit of memorabilia, and things could be worse. Additional information I have tells of one American gentleman who travelled all over the United States collecting these deeds until he had 10,880. He figured that amounted to about 75 square feet of land and wrote to the Quaker Oats legal department wondering if he could consolidate the different inches into one big chunk. He said he would prefer a piece of land “near the water” and “as quiet an area as possible.” Needless to say he was quite perturbed
when he found the deeds were worthless.
The Yukon News Friday, January 26, 1990 Page 11
Lifestyles
Quaker Oats Klondike deed scam still Sizzling
By Dave White
Yukon News Reporter
Two weeks ago a man from Dc Land, Florida wrote to the Yukon land titles office asking what had happened to his 11 square inches of the Klondike. That may seem like an unusual request but the employees at land titles answer calls and letters every year from people across North America wondering how much their square inch of land is worth.
Last year they received about a dozen written requests from people in Alabama, West Virginia and Quebec, to name but a few.
None of them actually own land in the Yukon. But they do have a deed from the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. which says the bearer owns one square inch of land and until the tax man caught up with the company, they did.
In 1955 the Quaker Oats cereal company in Chicago. III. was looking far a promotional gimmick.
The company sponsored the popular radio show “Sgt. Preston of the Yukon” and wanted to tie their promotion in with the new television show of the same name.
A Chicago advertising company came up with an idea that the company would buy a parcel of land in the Yukon, Sgt. Preston’s home turf, divide it into one-inch plots and give away deeds to the land in boxes of Quaker Oats cereals.
So the company paid $1,000 for 19.11 acres located seven miles from Dawson City up the Yukon River. The legal problems of registering the millions of deeds was solved by Whitehorse lawyer George Van Roggen.
Quaker Oats incorporated the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. in Illinois and 21 million deeds were placed in 21 million boxes of cereal. The promotion was wildly successful. Customers snapped up the cereal as fast as it could be made.
In fact a follow-up promotion selling Klondike River sand — 25 cents for a One-ounce “poke” — was also a winner.
For the cereal company it was a great gimmick. After selling all of the boxes containing the deeds, the company forgot about its Yukon land.
It also forgot to pay taxes on the land and in 1965 the Canadian government seized the land for non-payment of $37.20 in taxes Some of the title holders weren’t as quick to forget about their own deeds.
The land titles office has a stack of files containing hundreds of letters from people who want to know what happened to their inch of the Yukon.
I own deed no. W 8842824,” wrote David Frei, of Mill Valley, California, in 1963. I would like to know if it is still mine or what happened to it? Also where is it located; on a glacier, under a river or a rock.”
Las Vegas resident Curtis Gordon wrote in 1982: “I am enclosing a copy of one of the deeds that I have had since the 1950s…I am going to travel up there next year and would like to see it.”
Other title holders worried about the taxes on the land. Several wrote asking for details on how they could pay their taxes and keep their land while others wanted to know about mineral rights.
Erwin Von-Mehlem thought he had the whole thing figured out in 1975. The Willowdale, Ont. man sent a cheque for $37.20 to “ease the burden on the corporation (Klondike Big Inch Land) by making this an offer to purchase.”
The land titles office responds to the inquiries with a letter describing the seizure of the land, along with some past newspaper articles on the history of the Quaker Oats promotion.
Some of the deed holders are reluctant to give tip title to the land. Charles Matznick, of Detroit, wrote several letters in the mid-60s and at one point threatened
legal action if he wasn’t given title to the land.
On Jan. 4,1965 the commissioner of the Yukon and the Prime Minister of Canada received letters from Iowa resident Steven T. Spoorl and John A. Zook.
“This is to inform you that certain areas located between Dawson and Whitehorse…hereafter to be referred to as Xanadu, hereby declare themselves free and independant from the Yukon Territory, the Dominion of Canada and the British Commonwealth of Nations.”
Commissioner G.R. Cameron took the request seriously enough to write the federal department of Northern Affairs and National Resources to inform them that “a state of emergency now exists between the Dominion of Canada and the State of Xanadu.”
“In order to avoid alarming the populace, a suitable release is being prepared for the local Newspaper,” wrote Cameron. Not all of the requests are as colourful as the kings of Xanadu.
These days most of them come from people who found the deed among the papers of a deceased relative.
They want to know if the deed is any good or if the land is still there. Sgt. Preston is gone and the land near Dawson belongs to someone else now but all is not lost.
On the collectibles market, the Quaker Oats Yukon deeds are worth about $35.
R. Joe Sullivan
River City Journal
Those of us who throw away stuff thank those who keep everything. Particularly when your memory is about as reliable as a tomcat given the responsibility of
babysitting a canary.
Bob Ruff of Cape Girardeau was quick to respond to my plea in last week’s column for information about that square inch of land I said I owned in Alaska’s gold territory. Remember?
The offer came on a cereal box in the 1950s. Kellogg’s, I said. Ruff’s response was not only a random act of kindness, it was a gentle reminder about my oldtimer’s
affliction. Of everything I remembered about the cereal company’s land giveaway, I got the decade right.
Thank goodness my mind isn’t completely shot. Yet. Bob Ruff obviously can be counted among that half of the population known as keepers. The other half falls into the category of discarders. Fortunately, the two tend to balance each other.
Otherwise, we would either be smothered with old baby clothes and report cards or totally devoid of any nostalgic memorabilia.
In our home, I am the discarder, and my wife is the keeper. As many times as we have moved over the past 32 years, you would think we would lighten the load and get rid of some stuff — no, a lot of stuff.
All of this explains why I no longer have the deed to my square inch of valuable land. And Bob Ruff does. Ruff left a packet of information for me, and it brought back lots of 40-year-old memories. Included was a copy of the front and back of the deed he was issued in 1955 by the Klondike Big Inch Land Co. Inc. as the result of an offer on a Quaker Oats Co. (does that sound like Kellogg’s to you?) cereal box.
It looks mighty official to me. Also in the packet was a copy of a letter Ruff sent to the Quaker Oats folks in 1988, inquiring about the status of his square inch of land — in the Yukon Territory of Canada, not in Alaska as I remembered. Quaker was the sponsor in the mid-1950s of the popular television show, “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.” And who could forget his faithful companion, King, a dog not only smarter than Lassie but able to endure Arctic winters as well?
According to a reply from one Julia Conaghan of Quaker’s consumer response group, “millions of deeds to square inches of land were distributed through this promotion.” The deed itself says a total of 19.11 acres of land were owned by Klondike Big Inch Land Co. in the Yukon Territory.
Some of you mathematicians can figure out exactly how many square inches that is. My quick calculations say there are 119,870,150.4 square inches in 19.11 acres. (Check me on this. My math is worse than my memory.)
Miss Conaghan — who, by the way, was a senior specialist in 1988 — says truthfully that the “real value of these deeds now, as always, is based on the romantic appeal of being a property owner in the fabled Yukon Territory.”
She sent Ruff a store coupon for a free box of Quaker Oats along with her reply. He never used it, although he was still a fan of Quaker Oat Flakes — both regular and instant — and Quaker Oat Squares and Quaker Toasted Wholegrain Cereal.
Thanks, Bob, for taking the time to share all of this. And — please, don’t let my wife see this — thanks for being a keeper. Otherwise, we would be giving all the credit for this land deal to Kellogg’s. That wouldn’t be fair.
The thought crossed my mind that it might be fun to go find the Klondike Big Inch Land Co.’s 19.11 acres in the Yukon. But the deed information is pretty discouraging: “Your land lies in a rugged wilderness. There are no roads or even trails to your land.”
In other words, don’t try checking up on this deal. What did you expect from one square inch?Iran tried to obtain illicit technology that could be used for military nuclear and ballistic missile programs, raising questions about a possible violation of the 2015 agreement intended to stop Tehran’s drive to become an atomic armed power, according to three German intelligence reports obtained by Fox News.
The new intelligence, detailing reports from September and October and disclosed just ahead of President Trump’s planned announcement Thursday on whether the U.S. will recertify the Iran deal, reveals that Iran’s regime made “32 procurement attempts … that definitely or with high likelihood were undertaken for the benefit of proliferation programs.”
According to the document, the 32 attempts took place in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The report lists Iran as a nation that engages in proliferation, which is defined as “spreading atomic, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.”
Missile delivery systems are also included in the definition of illicit proliferation activity in the report.
THE CASE FOR A 'CLEAN WITHDRAWAL' FROM THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
The North Rhine-Westphalia agency accused Iran of using front companies in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and China to circumvent international restrictions on its nuclear and missile programs.
The intelligence report, which covered the year 2016 — the Iran deal was implemented on Jan. 16, 2016 — calls further into question Iran’s compliance with the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
The overwhelming majority of Iran’s illegal attempts covering the year 2016 in North Rhine-Westphalia encompassed technology for the clerical regime’s missile programs.
The year before, the agency recorded 141 attempts by Iran to secure illicit goods for proliferation purposes.
AS TRUMP CHALLENGES IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, THOSE IN TEHRAN WORRY
In a second intelligence report obtained by Fox News, the German state of Hessen said Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Sudan use “guest academics” for illegal activities related to nuclear and other weapons programs. “An example for this type of activity occurred in the sector of electronic technology in connection with the implementation of the enrichment of uranium,” the document reads.
The intelligence officials also cited an example of foreign intelligence services using “research exchanges at universities in the sector of biological and chemical procedures.”
When asked about whether Iran was involved in the academic and research cases, a spokesman for Hessen’s intelligence agency declined to comment.
In April, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told Fox News he’s “gravely concerned” about Iran’s role in helping Syria develop its chemical warfare program. Rubio, a Republican, said he was troubled by reports that both Iran and Russia were complicit in Syrian President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program.
IRAN ISSUES THREAT OVER US STRIKES IN SYRIA
“Congress and the White House should work together to hold the Assad regime accountable for its war crimes and impose harsh sanctions against its enablers,” Rubio told Fox News.
A third intelligence report, from the state of Saxony-Anhalt, said Iran works “unabated” on its missile program.
“With ballistic missiles and long-range rockets, Iran will be in the position to not only be able to threaten Europe,” it says.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2231 notes that “activities with Iran for nuclear and non-nuclear civilian end uses” should be sent to a technical UN working group on procurement.
When asked if Germany reported the illicit exports and the unlawful attempts to the UNSC, German diplomats told Fox News: "We have no indication of Iran violating its JCPOA commitments. Quite on the contrary, the recent 2016 Report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that there is no evidence of Iran violating the JCPOA.
"Having said that, we remain worried by Iran’s missile program. The aforementioned report, as well as reports from regional intelligence authorities, shows that Germany is highly vigilant in this regard and will continue to do so. However, this issue is outside the scope of the JCPOA and needs to be dealt with separately."
David Albright and Andrea Stricker, two experts on Iran’s nuclear program at the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, wrote in April that the UN’s “Procurement Channel is a potentially valuable transparency and verification condition in the JCPOA, aimed at controlling the export of goods to Iran’s authorized nuclear programs and non-nuclear, civil end uses.”
The experts added, “It seeks to deny Iran opportunities, or at least help expose any efforts, to violate the JCPOA and increase the transparency of Iran’s nuclear programs.”
Sigmar Gabriel, the outgoing Social Democrat foreign minister of Germany, has made several trips to Iran since 2015 to boost trade with Tehran. Gabriel is widely considered one of Europe’s most energetic advocates of the Iran deal.http://patprice.com
photo: Facebook
Welcome back to 5 Questions, where we pick the brains of people from all areas of the running scene. Today, we were lucky enough to catch up with Marvin Bracy, as he comes off a win at Millrose. Follow him on Twitter @_BraceYaself and ask him a questions at ask.fm/BraceYaself178
5 Questions with Marvin Bracy
1. Daily Relay: Congratulations on your big win at Millrose Saturday. How did it feel to win on that stage in NYC against a strong field? Were you worried you may have false started?
Marvin Bracy: Thank you! To be honest it felt GREAT, but it also felt like any other win. It’s just one race in the books now. It’s always great to beat great opponents. It kind of lets me know where I stand for now. I honestly didn’t know I flinched at all, but I’m truly happy they allowed me to stay in the race and compete.
2. Daily Relay: You have had a breakout season thus far. Did you see this coming? What has changed in your life to help you get to this next level?
Marvin Bracy: Like any other runner, you always look forward to your hard work paying off to have a great season. I knew that I’d have success, I just didn’t know how much. I just know what I have to do to be the best I can be at what I am doing. Also my drive is to put a muzzle on every doubter I can.
3. Daily Relay: Word on the street was that when you went professional, it was a gear deal with Adidas. Any truth to that? With your recent success, does your deal sweeten? How hard was it to leave football behind for track and field?
Marvin Bracy: Put it like this; I would still be at Florida State right now if adidas offered me a GEAR deal! I make great money, but my deal will get sweeter if I keep handling business on the track. Walking away from football was one of the hardest things I ever had to |
I’m ticked off about the one I missed,” he told me) and two forced fumbles helped turn the tide of the game. Very impressive start to the season for Miami, and Wake was the most important element.
Justin Smith, defensive end, San Francisco. With the Niners heavily undermanned on defense (no NaVorro Bowman for the first half of the season, no Aldon Smith for the first nine games), someone had to be a difference-maker against a powerful (or so we thought) Dallas offense. Leave it to the aging Smith to reprise his 2011 greatness on the field in Texas, sacking Tony Romo twice and getting six tackles in addition. The score was 28-17, but it was nowhere near that close, thanks in large part to Smith.
Cliff Avril, defensive end, Seattle. It’s eight straight great quarters for Avril (remember how impactful he was in the Super Bowl?) after his one-sack, four-QB-pressure performance Thursday against Green Bay. Detroit fans have to be asking, “Where did this guy get such a motor?”
Special Teams Players of the Week
Matt Bryant, kicker, Atlanta. Hard for a kicker to have a better, more clutch day than Bryant did in Atlanta. His 51-yard field goal as time ran out in the fourth quarter sent the game to overtime and his 52-yarder in the extra session won it.
Chris McCain, linebacker, Miami. What a debut for the undrafted rookie from Cal. On his first NFL punt rush, McCain burst through the guard-center gap in the New England line 75 seconds into the game and smothered Ryan Allen’s punt.
Alfred Blue, running back, Houston. Also in his first NFL game, Blue juked Washington punt-team end Roy Helu Jr., burst in on punter Tress Way, blocked the punt and recovered it for a touchdown. That’s how you break into the NFL.
J.J. Watt, defensive lineman, Houston. What an effort, power-wedging his way through the tightly packed guard-center hole of Washington’s PAT team, sticking his right arm in the air to block the kick.
Three picks, two of the dumb variety, will renew the doubts every Cowboy fan has about Romo’s ability to ever lead the team deep into the playoffs.
Coaches of the Week
Mike Zimmer, head coach, Minnesota. You know how many times over the years—over the last three, four, five years at least—Mike Zimmer has entered a season and looked at some of the head coaches in the league and said to himself, “That should be me.” He finally gets his chance, and he passed his first test with greatness, a 34-6 pummeling of the Rams on the road.
Darrell Bevell, offensive coordinator, Seattle. What I liked the most about the Seahawks’ performance Thursday night was Bevell’s approach: a smart combination of playing smashmouth with Marshawn Lynch and derring-do with plays like Russell Wilson stopping short on the read-option and firing a touchdown pass to Ricardo Lockette. Bevell has a John Stockton-type quarterback, smart and capable, the guts to call anything and the intelligence to not over-think. “We do have weaknesses,’’ he told me after the game. “The players have weaknesses. But it is our job as coaches to find the strengths in what our guys do. They all have strengths, and that’s what we highlight. What really helps is having Russell. He is so committed to improving on the littlest things every day.’’
Goat of the Week
Tony Romo, quarterback, Dallas. Stats lie. Romo was 23 of 37 Sunday against the Niners, but it was one of the worst games of his career. Three picks, two of the dumb variety, will renew the doubts every Cowboy fan has about Romo’s ability to ever lead the team deep into the playoffs.
Quotes of the Week
I
“I was booing myself.”
—Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly, on the fans who let his team have it when the Eagles were down 17-0 to Jacksonville in the first half at home.
II
“Teaching puppies how to bite.”
—San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh, on relying on so many young players and instructing them to play aggressive football.
III
“When I suck I’ll retire. I don’t plan on sucking for a long time.”
—Tom Brady, to WEEI in Boston.
IV
“They could have just washed their hands completely of it. But they thought about my personal issues and allowed me to come back on the practice squad so I still have insurance.”
—Cincinnati defensive lineman Devon Still, after the Bengals kept him on the practice squad so he could have the resources to deal with his 4-year-old daughter Leah’s battle with cancer.
V
“I wanted to do something to get our bodies right for the East Coast time. In my mind, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
—Oakland coach Dennis Allen, on flying his team from Oakland to Newark on Thursday for a Sunday game this week.
I understand, I guess. And who really cares about the expense involved, because money falls out of the sky in the NFL, even in Oakland. But the Raiders had an eight-game losing streak in Eastern Time under Allen entering the season because, obviously, they haven’t been a good team. The best idea for playing well in Eastern Time for a western team (other than actually having good players) is what Seattle does: practice early. Get your players ready to play a 10 a.m. body clock game by actually practicing in the mornings and meeting in the afternoons. Not very complicated.
Sunday brought more of the same at the Meadowlands: Jets 19, Raiders 14. And it would have been much worse if the Jets hadn’t given away some points.
Stat of the Week
In their last two games, the Seattle Seahawks have been devastatingly efficient, obviously. (Seattle 79, Denver/Green Bay 24.) The offensive symmetry for the Seattle offense in those two games is scary for future foes to consider.
Statistic vs. Denver vs. Green Bay Rushers used 4 4 Yards per carry 4.7 5.6 Different pass-catchers 8 8 Touchdown passes 2 2 Percy Harvin all-purpose yards 137 160 Offensive turnovers 0 0 Average gain per play 6.2 6.0 Possessions 10 10 Possessions ending in scores 6 6
Factoids of the Week That May Interest Only Me
I
No wonder so many young quarterbacks pine to attend the Manning Passing Academy each July. High school senior Harry Kraft, the son of Patriots president Jonathan Kraft and grandson of owner Robert Kraft, has attended the camp multiple times, and last year his small-group coaches were Carl Smith—quarterback coach of Russell Wilson in Seattle—and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston.
II
Hines Ward got married on the 50-yard line of Heinz Field on July 26.
III
Gunnar Esiason, son of Boomer and October 1993 Sports Illustrated cover boy, is the offensive coordinator at Friends Academy, a high school in Locust Valley, N.Y., on Long Island. He has quite a nice weapon to build his offense around—Tyrone Perkins, a running back bound for Syracuse, who scored 24 touchdowns last season.
IV
I’m not much of an oddsmaker, but think back to the day the schedule came out last spring, when Carolina was slated to open the season at Tampa Bay. Carolina ended last season on an 11-1 tear. Tampa Bay ended last season 4-12 and fired half the building. I know Cam Newton was questionable entering Sunday, but for Tampa Bay to be favored by a field goal … that blows my mind. It’s the power of the NFL standing for Not For Long.
Chip Kelly Wisdom of the Week
Another in a series of Progressive Football-Think from the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, this week on getting players experience in playing his up-tempo offensive system, the kind of football he played consistently as the Oregon coach before arriving in the NFL:
“Our players face it every day. When people tried to tempo us in college, it's like this is what we've seen every single day in practice so it's not like you're going to sneak up on us and run a tempo play. That's what they are used to. The game I think for our guys really slowed down in college on Saturdays and in the pros on Sunday because of the pace and tempo we practice on the practice field. People break in the huddle, you're looking for, ‘All right, what are they in? What's the personnel?’ You already know the personnel coming out of the huddle, and you're ready and equipped with the calls you're going to make depending on where the tight ends play and all that. I think it's one of the unintended consequences, but it really helps that people do try to tempo us. But I also think because the players have been trained in it—so when you're teaching people in the NFL now, tempo, well, [wide receiver] Brad Smith was an up‑tempo quarterback at Missouri so he understands that. [Quarterback] G.J. Kinne did that at Tulsa, and he understands that some of the receivers we have ran it in their system. [Wide receiver Jeremy] Maclin ran it when he was at Missouri. So it's not like when you start to introduce a concept to some people, they don't understand it. We started to use it back when we were at New Hampshire, when I became a coordinator, and when things were difficult on a defense to defend. Why wouldn't we do something that was hard for defenses to handle to try to get them out of their comfort zone?”
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
I sat next to the indefatigable Adam Schefter on my flight to Seattle last week. It was a 7:15 a.m. Delta flight. He had been up since 2 a.m. He saw the J.J. Watt signing news on his phone when he woke during the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. He figured he’d nap on the plane to Seattle. When the plane took off, he fired up his tablet, did some fantasy-draft prep (for his two leagues and for CNBC’s Jim Cramer, whom he helps). Midway through the trip Schefter saw that Colts owner Jim Irsay pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence. He typed out a 500-word story on Irsay, revealing that the NFL would discipline him before Thursday’s season-opener. (Irsay was suspended six games and fined $500,000 later in the day, in fact.) We chatted quite a bit, and Schefter went fishing for stories through emails and texts. No nap. When he landed, he reported on Wes Welker’s suspension and Michael Sam flying to Dallas to take a physical, and did some business in Seattle, and drafted two fantasy teams and helped Cramer draft his, and at 11 p.m.—2 a.m. East Coast time, 24 hours after he woke—he went to bed.
“I never got that nap,” he said. “Watt signing the biggest defensive contract, an owner suspended, Welker, Michael Sam … the madness never stops.”
Tweets of the Week
The top five most followed teams on Twitter, according to Twitter’s Brian Poliakoff, in order: @Patriots, @dallascowboys, @steelers, @49ers, @packers. Any of those surprise you?
I
I would caution against any sweeping conclusions based on one game but the Raiders are ttttteeeeeerrrrrrriiiiiibbbbbllllleeee. — Steve Politi (@StevePoliti) September 7, 2014
The columnist at the Newark Star-Ledger watched the Oakland mess at the Meadowlands
II
@ProFootballTalk @SI_PeterKing my little brother could use a few calls as well @nfl! — Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) September 5, 2014
The former NFL tight end and brother of an aspiring NFL prospect, Asa Watson, tweeted this after I reported and Pro Football Talk expanded upon a story that the NFL contacted multiple teams after Michael Sam was waived by the Rams, asking if they’d evaluated him for possible signing to their practice squads.
Michael Sam (LM Otero/AP) Michael Sam (LM Otero/AP)
Dallas owner and GM Jerry Jones denied that the league reached out to him to suggest he consider Sam. Dallas signed Sam on Wednesday to the 10-member practice unit.
I’ve heard quite a bit from readers and Tweeters who object to the NFL singling out any player for special treatment, which the NFL certainly did here. I would make these points:
One NFL executive I spoke to about this was miffed that the league was looking out for Sam like this. “Didn’t he want to be treated like everyone else?” the exec said. Yes, I told him—but that’s not really the point. Sam didn’t ask for anyone to do this. Don’t blame him.
Universally, everyone thinks the NFL shouldn’t be in the business of advocating for any player. I understand. And I agree—mostly. But some teams believe he brings too much non-football attention for a marginal player. The NFL’s effort has a tinge of affirmative-action to it: There was a time when minorities struggled to get equal-access to college admission. The story here is much different, but the concept is the same.
The NFL should have done one thing that truly could have helped Sam get a job on a practice squad—let Jeff Fisher explain, maybe in a statement the league could have made available to the 31 other front offices, about how having Sam on the team for 16 weeks (from draft day to the day he was cut) was not a distraction.
III
It sickens me to my stomach to see #JohnParry officiate this game. #Turd — Takeo Spikes (@TakeoSpikes51) September 5, 2014
The former linebacker was ejected by Parry in the last game of his career for getting into a helmet-grabbing altercation with Raiders running back Mike Goodson.
Seems Spikes has a long memory.
IV
When he was trying to stick with the 49ers, Ricardo Lockette lived on Colin Kaepernick's couch. — Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) September 5, 2014
The veteran football scribe on the man who scored the first touchdown of Seattle’s season.
V
Just told Vin Scully to have a good broadcast. That's like telling Picasso to paint well. #TheDumbThingsISay — F.P. Santangelo (@FightinHydrant) September 1, 2014
Former major league player F.P. Santangelo, now a member of the Washington Nationals’ TV team, upon seeing Scully before a game last week at Dodger Stadium.
VI
Picture of the day. Check out the last names on the back of these jerseys pic.twitter.com/L5ABNJDuzR — Matt Barber (@dixiefriedsport) September 6, 2014
South Carolina radio host Matt Barber tweeted this screen grab of Arkansas State teammates Jemar Clark and Darion Griswold (and their unintentional homage to the Chevy Chase character of the Vacation film series).
DeAndre Hopkins' 76-yard touchdown helped lift the Texans over the Redskins 17-6. (David J. Phillip/AP) DeAndre Hopkins' 76-yard touchdown helped lift the Texans over the Redskins 17-6. (David J. Phillip/AP)
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think this is what I liked about Week 1:
a. Seattle’s roster formation. Who keeps eight wide receivers on the final 53? GM John Schneider did. He cut rookie wideout Phil Bates on Saturday to make room for needed offensive line depth, signing offensive tackle Andrew McDonald off the Carolina practice squad. In Seattle it’s about finding and developing the best 53 plus 10, even when they overload at one position. All teams say that. Seattle does it.
b. Percy Harvin’s 39 snaps. He was a huge factor, on his fly sweeps and his short and intermediate routes. The Seahawks’ multiple threat continues to say he’s in great shape with no aches or pains (“Best I’ve felt since college”), and it showed against Green Bay. Pretty tough to defend Seattle with Harvin’s speed and Marshawn Lynch’s sledgehammer approach.
c. Richard Sherman’s presence. He shut down the right side of Green Bay’s offense the way Deion Sanders used to shut down his side of the field.
A To-Do List For Roger Roger Goodell admitted a mistake recently. He shouldn't stop there, writes Don Banks, as he runs down more problems for the commish to fix. FULL STORY d. Dennis Allen’s call to start Derek Carr over Matt Schaub. Coaches have to make tough calls like this to be good and to ensure the trust of the locker room.
e. The Dolphins having a moment of silence before their game to honor big Fins fan Steven Sotloff, the journalist executed by ISIS last week.
f. Andrea Kremer’s interview with Tom Brady on NFL Network. Asked good questions, such as whether he thinks he’ll get cut some day. “It’s happened to everybody, so why would I not think it would happen to me?” he said.
g. DeAndre Hopkins with a juking move and huge touchdown play to help beat Washington.
h. Frank Gore symmetry: He’s the 10th player to gain 10,000 rushing yards for one team—in 10 seasons.
i. Terrance West for the Browns: 100 yards on his first day in the NFL. Not bad for the kid from Towson who wouldn’t let football failure after football failure ruin his love of the game.
j. Allen Hurns, undrafted from the University of Miami, with a 110-yard receiving day in his first NFL game, and two touchdowns for the Jaguars in the first 10 minutes.
k. Tremendous stiff-arm-and-flinging-Pacman move by Steve Smith Sr., on his long TD catch and run.
l. Frank Caliendo doing Bill Belichick. There are not many funnier things in the world.
m. Knowshon Moreno, who is so obviously the best back on the Dolphins, with his 134-yard Miami debut.
Antonio Brown drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness flag for this play. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Antonio Brown drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness flag for this play. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
n. The line by Dan Patrick on NBC Sunday night, referring to Antonio Brown’s ridiculous flying kick of Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning: “Everybody was Kung Fu fighting!”
o. Good stat by Kenny Albert on FOX: Jared Allen was 0-6 in his career as a visiting player at Soldier Field. Now a Bear, he’s 0-7 there.
p. Julius Thomas, a matchup nightmare.
q. Arthur Jones, the defensive lineman signed in free-agency by Indy. He made a huge stop of Montee Ball late in the fourth quarter that kept the Colts in the game.
r. Rahim Moore, back on the field for the first time in 10 months after nearly losing his left leg, with two interceptions for Denver, both of them on instinctive plays.
2. I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 1:
a. Earl Thomas’ punt-return judgment. And if that’s the only thing I didn’t like about Seattle from a 60-minute game, it must have been a pretty good night.
b. The Packers’ depth, on each line. Losing B.J. Raji looks to be a huge blow in the wake of a poor performance on run defense in Seattle, and the right side of the line was turnstiled when Bryan Bulaga was lost in the first half with a knee injury.
c. The ridiculous, meaningless, massive over-coverage of whether the Jets’ backup quarterback is going to have a radio show in New York. If this is what covering football is coming to, please deport me to Auckland.
d. Rob Gronkowski with a big third-down drop on his first series back.
e. Eagles cornerback Cary Williams getting beat for a touchdown by undrafted rookie Allen Hurns early in Jags-Eagles.
f. Dropped pick by Calvin Pryor of the Jets. Simple catch.
g. Not a good debut for Washington special teams coach Ben Kotwica, who came over from the Jets in the off-season. Kotwica’s unit had a punt and extra point blocked in the first half at Houston.
h. Are you kidding, Antonio Brown? Kicking the punter in the head with a Bruce Lee move? Where in the world did that come from?
i. Josh McCown, who too often looked unsure and shaky. Last thing I thought I’d see out of him after last year’s success in Chicago.
j. Atlanta lost left tackle Jake Matthews to an ankle injury, the second starting left tackle lost in the last month. Matthews missed the second half against the Saints. That’d be a big loss if it’s serious.
k. The field in Denver. It looks that lousy Sept. 7? It’s like they had a rodeo on it or something.
Broncos CB Bradley Roby's fourth-down pass defense ended the Colts' comeback hopes. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images) Broncos CB Bradley Roby's fourth-down pass defense ended the Colts' comeback hopes. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
3. I think one of the plays of the weekend we won’t talk about enough was the last meaningful play of Sunday—rookie cornerback Bradley Roby, in his first game, had Reggie Wayne on a crossing route on fourth-and-six, and when Andrew Luck threw to Wayne trying to convert and keep hope alive, Roby timed his leaping drive perfectly, knocking away the ball. That’s a great sign for the Broncos, who need to develop a good young corner.
4. I think if you thought the new points of emphasis would somehow take the edge off Seattle’s secondary, you were wrong. Updating stat from last week: In Seattle’s five games this summer, the starting defensive backfield (Byron Maxwell, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas) has played 531 snaps and been called for zero penalties.
5. I think the best nugget I can think of to illustrate why the Texans trusted J.J. Watt enough to make him a $100 million player, the richest in franchise history: One day this off-season, Houston coach Bill O’Brien couldn’t sleep, so he decided to get up and get an early start at the office. He drove to work and there, at 4 a.m. on this summer weekday, was J.J. Watt working out in the weight room.
6. I think the swirling mayhem around Jim Harbaugh seems to suit him fine. After the first game of his fourth coaching season, Harbaugh is 28 games over.500. That’s better than Jeff Fisher, John Fox and Pete Carroll. Some people thrive in tense environments, and Harbaugh seems to be one of those people.
7. I think I would not be remotely surprised if, sometime in the second half of the Dallas-San Francisco game Sunday, Jerry Jones turned to son Stephen and said, “You happy about passing on Manziel now?” That was a brutal day for Tony Romo, in the top five of the brutal days of his career. The only way Dallas has a chance this year is for the offense to carry the team, and with Romo looking so shaky Sunday against the depleted 49ers, it bodes ill for the Cowboys to be competitive.
8. I think, not meaning to say your season is over or anything, fans of the Rams, but it’s only 240 days till the 2015 draft. Hope springs eternal!
9. I think you’re taking the Johnny Manziel criticism a little too far, Merril Hoge. “Juvenile punk?” Yeesh.
TALK BACK Have a question or comment for Peter? Email him at [email protected] and it might be included in Tuesday mailbag. 10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. What a courageous statement from the family of American journalist Steven Sotloff: “This week we mourn. But we will emerge from this ordeal. We will not allow our enemies to hold us hostage with the sole weapon they possess—fear."
b. Very smart, thoughtful column by Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News on the redeeming values of football, told from the perspective of the mayor of Dallas.
c. So the NCAA found that UConn coach Geno Auriemma violated NCAA rules by congratulating a girl a month out of eighth grade for having a shutout in the Little League World Series. “Shameful” is a word that comes to mind. No wonder so many people hate the NCAA.
d. Underrated album of the week: “Wrecking Ball,’’ by Bruce Springsteen. Good cross-country music. “This Depression” is addicting.
e. So glad to have given a few of my NBC friends some great pizza advice. They went to Serious Pie in Seattle, and their pizza taste will be forever spoiled.
f. Good luck, Ron Washington, with whatever it is that caused you to leave the Texas Rangers.
g. Coffeenerdness: I know you get tired of me and my coffee thing. But the care some of these coffee shops in Seattle (and elsewhere) take with their coffee borders on artistry. Some barista at Fonte Coffee in downtown Seattle made me a latte Thursday with a perfect palm tree etched in the foam. How do those guys do that?
h. Beernerdness: Is there a rival for Allagash White? I mean, could there be a beer as good in the United States? I may have found it: Avery White Rascal, from Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colo. A gem. Light but very flavorful.
i. The other day, in my Seattle hotel room, I flipped on the Red Sox-Yankees game to catch the first inning or so before heading out. And when I saw the Red Sox lineup, it hit me what a difference a year makes. How they lined up in the field Wednesday night in the Bronx:
P Anthony Ranaudo
C Christian Vasquez
1B Allen Craig
2B Jemile Weeks
SS Xander Bogaerts
3B Brock Holt
LF Yoenis Cespedes
CF Mookie Betts
RF Daniel Nava
j. A year ago, that team, in order, was in Pawtucket (R.I.) of the International League, Portland (Maine) of the Eastern League, St. Louis, Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League, Boston, Pawtucket, Oakland, Greenville (S.C.) of the South Atlantic League, and Boston.
k. Stay hot, Mookie Betts.
l. And I loved this photo (below) of high school football Friday night in Fond du Lac, Wis., taken by Stacey Raube and sent to me. Thought I’d share it with you this morning. Fond du Lac 61, Marshfield 14, by the way.
Who I Like Tonight
Detroit 30, New York Giants 20. The only way you like the Giants tonight is if you think preseason football is an absolute mirage. I don't see New York flipping the switch quickly after an awful August.
San Diego 33, Arizona 27. Love this game—a lot. I would have picked the Cards if Andre Ellington was healthy. He averaged a league-high 5.53 yards per carry last year, and Bruce Arians was going to use him all over the map as a matchup nightmare this year. If he doesn’t play, that’s going to put pressure on an immobile Carson Palmer against a good, young San Diego pass rush (and one old guy, Dwight Freeney). The Chargers need Kennan Allen to win his share against a very good Arizona secondary.
The Adieu Haiku
Such great plays Sunday.
A couple by a tall Vike.
Pronounced “Cor-DARE-ul.”This week, a friend pointed me to a website. He didn’t say anything about the website—he just left me with the link. After visiting the website, I realized why. He didn’t need to say anything because he knew how much it would hurt to see.
I started coding at the age of 10. I built websites for my favorite video games, writing walkthroughs and listing cheat codes—assuming everyone visited my website as soon as it went live. The websites didn’t look great—they included the same “under construction” gifs and rotating 3D text that every other website had at the time. I looked at these other websites for inspiration, pulling from them what drew me in. “View source” was my textbook—a free behind-the-scenes for every website on the internet. I copy/pasted every bit of code I hadn’t seen before and tweaked it to see what else it could do. Programming was new to me and I was excited.
A couple years went by and I continued to learn about programming. My mom would drive me to the book store so I could bury myself in the “Computers” section. I read as much as I could in the hour we were there, fascinated by every “Introduction to” this language and all the “Bibles” for that language. When it was time to go, I would beg and plead for the book I just had to have. The book was rarely relevant to what I was coding at the time—I just didn’t understand it and that’s why I had to have it. I wanted to learn.
After a few trips with mom, I discovered a series of books that showcased the “masters” of my programming world. Each book included a CD with the actual work of the masters and the book would reveal the thought process and decision-making behind each piece, often including an example tutorial. These masters became my idols and I tried my best to create work as impactful as theirs was to me. I completed the tutorials and raced to show my parents—never mentioning the book, or the masters.
A few more years went by and I continued to follow their work. When they launched something new, I would learn from it and try to recreate it—just to see if I could. I redesigned my website every month to include a fancy new loading screen or an animated mouse trail—similar to the ones they had, but different enough to call it my own.
While many of my idols dropped off the radar over time, I continued programming. Several more years went by and I now had an entire decade under my belt. I no longer felt the need to rely on others for inspiration—I had ideas of my own. I filled my school notebooks with these new ideas, then raced home to see if they were even possible. Every night, I went back to the drawing board, hoping to come up with something that would give others the same spark that I felt in the book store.
I started to receive emails from young developers, asking for advice on where to begin. I directed them to my favorite books and websites, and we stayed in contact as they learned the same way I did. From time to time, I would recognize my own style in their work—just little things, like my favorite hex color or my go-to font combination. This didn’t bother me much because I also learned by trying what others have tried.
Occasionally, I would see someone go too far. I always hoped it was an honest mistake, but sometimes it wasn’t. They either thought no one would notice, or even worse, they didn’t care. Most of them didn’t realize just how small this community is or how much this action would hurt the original person. I’d try my best to warn them of the fine line between inspiration and imitation. I could only hope that they heard me.
The link I received was to another project management service. With my recent work on integrations, I thought it might be another app worth integrating with, but as soon as the website finished loading, I knew something was wrong. My heart sunk and a tidal wave of thoughts and questions hit me. I had trouble processing what I was seeing.
I saw Cushion—not the name or the idea, but an undeniable resemblance to what I’ve spent the past year designing. I couldn’t sign up for it because it’s in private beta, too, but the video revealed enough to justify a conversation. I visited the Twitter page to reach the people behind it when my heart sunk even deeper—I recognized them.
They were Cushion beta users.
Aside from feeling sick, I felt betrayed. Not only because they were Cushion users, but because I remembered answering numerous questions they had about how I built parts of the app. I was naive to assume they were just curious developers, but this community is built on sharing what we know. And, there’s an unspoken trust that goes along with it.
I reached out, expecting acknowledgment and an apology, but I was met with a strong defensive stance—claims that the look is “standard design” and that Twitter Bootstrap scaled down would look the same; that the design existed before Cushion because they bought the domain name years ago; that I had no reason to be upset.
I was upset. The similarities were too blatant to ignore, but they weren’t seeing it. They offered to change the notification after admitting it looked similar, but how could they not see everything else? In a last-ditch effort to get through to them, I asked that they at least change the parts that look identical. They said they didn’t have time to, but joked that they could hire me to do it.
I was very upset. Almost an hour had gone by and nothing would change their mind. We ended the conversation.
Cushion has become my life, and I’m putting everything I have into making it my career. I’ve worked tirelessly for the past 15 months to turn this idea into something real, and it’s heartbreaking to see someone claim my work as their own.
Although this has been a truly emotional distraction, I’m going to continue making work that I can be proud of—because this is what I’m meant to do. I’m here for the long haul, and nothing is going to get in the way of making Cushion my own.Members of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist group Pravy Sektor took part in a commando-style raid against the Donbass referendum last Sunday, killing two unarmed civilians in the town of Krasnoarmeysk, an investigation by Paris Match has found.
Rumours had spread among separatists for several weeks about radical Pravy Sektor (or « Right Sector ») militants hiding amid government forces loyal to Kiev to perpetrate actions targeting pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine. Though a small political force, Pravy Sektor played a significant part in the street fights the lead to the downfall of former president Viktor Yanukovitch during the Maidan Revolution in Kiev last February. Formed as an alliance of tiny far-right groups, the movement is described as « fascist » by the pro-Russian populations of eastern Ukraine, which regularly accuse its militants of stirring trouble by any means. These accusations have been constantly repeated by numerous Russian media close to the Kremlin, and have become an important part of the ferocious disinformation war currently playing out in Ukraine. But they had, till now, essentially not been substantiated, to the point of being poked at as a farce on twitter and the Internet.
Andrey Denisenko, one of the leaders of the nationalist group Pravy Sektor, seen hear entrenched in the town hall at Krasnoarmeysk on Sunday, may 11, talking to the crowd who wants to get in to take part in the referendum. To the side, the same, photographed on March 22, 2014 in kiev, during a press conference given by Pravy Sektor. The group’s banner can be seen in the background : red and black with a trident. © DR/PARIS MATCH
The rumour, however, has been in part verified by a series of pictures taken by Paris Match photographers. These images show Andrey Denisenko, one of the Pravy Sektor chiefs, among a group of mysterious gunmen that attacked a voting station Sunday in the small town of Krasnoarmeysk, some 60 kilometres from the separatist « capital », Donetsk. After occupying the local town hall for several hours, the militiamen shot down point blank one local civilian, and killed two other unarmed protesters.
Sequence of events:
The group of over a dozen gunmen arrived in Krasnoarmeysk at about 14h30 on Sunday, chasing local referendum activists from the voting centre, where the ballot was being held.
To the right of the picture, Andrey Denisenko, one of the leaders of the nationalist group Pravy Sektor, shoots into the air to disperse the crowd trying to take part in the Donbass separatist referendum. The bearded man to his left was identified by many witnesses as a leader of the « Dniepr Battalion », a newly formed pro-Kiev militia. © DR/PARIS MATCH
The militia then locked themselves up in the town hall of this modest industrial city, lost in the vast flatlands of the Donbass plain, near the boundary between the Donetsk region and the region Dnepropetrovsk, which has mostly remained loyal to Kiev. « They arrived telling us they belonged to the National Guard, but we knew it was a lie » said Vitalik Naydiomov, a witness. « We all recognized the minivans they were driving, from PrivatBank ». This bank has seen several of its branches burnt to the ground in eastern Ukraine. It belongs to local oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, one of the main backers of the current interim government in Kiev. Kolomoisky happens to also be the governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Several sources allege he has created a new, pro-Kiev militia, the « Dnieper Battalion ». And many witnesses of Sunday’s killing insist they recognized his men among the gunmen, though no one could immediately back the accusation with evidence. Kolomoisky has not made any comment on the incident. The government, on the other hand, has categorically denied that the National Guard or any other unit of its regular forces had taken part in the raid. The transitional government added in a statement that it was opening a criminal investigation into the murders.
A Shadowy militia:
Though there is no evidence of whom the shadowy militia answers to, Paris Match was able to establish that one of Pravy Sektor’s leaders was indeed among the gunmen on Sunday. Andrey Denisenko, deputy chief of nationalist group and its acting head in the Dnepropetrovsk region, appears on stage in pictures taken by a Paris Match photographer during a party gathering in Kiev last March, as the movement announced it would take part in upcoming presidential elections. He also appeared on several Internet websites during a press conference announcing his group’s creation.
Civilans argue with Andrey Denisenko, one of the |
explains they plan to take action to tell both the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and the provincial government that students feel trapped in the middle of the dispute.
Students from Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School rally to demand an end to the dispute between B.C. and teachers. (Tim Weekes/CBC)
"The two sides are like parents who are divorcing and have stuck their children in the middle for the last 13 years," she writes on the Facebook page.
"Each side claims to be 'fighting for the students' yet each side fails to show how they are doing so."
Barker argues the rotating strikes by the teachers' union mean less time spent in school, and graduating students need that extra prep for exams and university requirements.
But she's also upset by the B.C. government's partial lockout of teachers, saying they can't get help from instructors at recess or lunch and limited time before and after school.
Wage cut ruling expected
Meanwhile, the B.C. Labour Relations Board deemed Wedneday afternoon that the government's decision to cut teachers' pay by 10 per cent during the partial lockout was legal.
The BCTF and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association are expected to spend three days at the negotiating table this week. The teachers and the province are divided over wages and class size and composition.
On Tuesday, the BCTF reduced its wage demand from a 15.9 per cent increase over four years to roughly 14 per cent over four years, including increases for the cost of living. The government is offering 7.25 per cent over six years plus a signing bonus.This is it! After several months of planning, cutting, painting and modding, Project: Red Iron is complete.
A bit thank you goes out to all the sponsors of the mod:
Cooler Master
Bitspower
ZOTAC
GEIL
ADATA
Without further to do, let me show you what the mod finally looks like!
There still a few final touches to be done……since I scratched some the paint work lugging the mod up to the roof top to take photos.
As you can see, as I hadn’t switched on the mod for about a week, some of the pastels in the coolant had separated. Switching the system on for a few hours thankfully got rid of this.
Once again I would like to thank all the sponsors for their support and contribution to this build. I’m already in the planning stage for the next mod!!
Take a look at the build log:Its fast-depleting groundwater table has raised concerns of desertification. Scientists are now warning of possible reverse flow of water in some blocks of Punjab from brackish towards good quality. This, they say, can pollute areas where watertable is fast declining with saline water from bordering blocks.
The direction of water flow in Punjab is from good quality in north-east to saline in south-west. While the direction is still the same, the fall in elevation of watertable height from mean sea level can change the flow of water at the border blocks. All six blocks of Moga district Nihal Singh Wala, Dharamkot, Moga 1 and 2, Bagha Purana and Barnala where watertable is declining can face this spectre, says Dr AK Jain, head, Soil and Water Engineering Department, Punjab Agricultural University.
While the solution lies in minimising extraction of groundwater in these blocks where groundwater level is declining by half-a-metre every year through both diversifying from water-guzzling paddy and water-intensive industry and recharging water the rise in level of brackish water too needs to be checked. At least in the latter, there seems to be some hope.
In July 2009, a delegation, led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, went to Israel and saw how wasteland was converted into water reservoirs and agro-processing was integrated with power generation. The same concept will be used to make 1.25 lakh hectares of water-logged areas in south-west Punjab useful for fish farming, biogas, dairy farms, orchards, food-processing industry and packaged drinking water.
Punjab Agro Industries Limited (PAIC), a state government organisation, is partnering with Sampuran Agri ventures, a unit of food-processing company Nasa Agro, in a public-private business model to create water bodies over farmers land and making saline water flow into them. Its an integrated model. These ponds will then be used for fish farming. A part of water will be drawn for desalination process and used for bio-gas digsters to process paddy straw. The desalinated water can also be used for irrigating orchards and in dairy farms. This is not all. The treated water to be used for food processing industry and packaged water, says Sanjeev Nagpal, MD, Sampuran Agri Ventures.
To back up the ambitious mega project, a centre of excellence will come up over 50 acres in Fazilka in Ferozepur district for training farmers in various agro-processing and allied activities. The last link in the integrated model will be a food processing industry belt to be set up over 100 acres for producing snacks such as barley noodles to kinnow juice, fish, poultry and dairy products.
Also partnering in the project through its patented bio-methanisation technology is the Kirloskar group. We have done pioneering work in the field of processing of paddy straw into biogas. The power will be supplied to the upcoming food processing industries in the proposed industry belt, says Deepak Palwangar, head, marketing, Kirloskar. The residue from the power plant would be converted into compost, which would be available at two-third price of chemical fertilisers. The effluent from the digester of bio-gas plant would be further treated for conversion into value-added products such as silica, lignin and cattle feed.
To begin with, two pilot bio-gas power projects will be set up at Sarjana (3 MW) and Fazilka (1 MW) and the plant will also generate 89,100 tonnes of bio-fertilisers. After successful run of the pilot project, it will be replicated in 30 sites in water-logged belt of the state, says Nagpal.
While Ludhiana-based Guru Angad Dev University for Veterinary Sciences is conducting experiments on fish rearing in saline water and the model can be replicated. However, PAU scientist Dr AK Jain, has words of caution: The usefulness of the project to reuse saline water will depend on the correct use of technology. The construction of drains in the water-logged areas has to be done with right slope and width.
As for central Punjab districts where groundwater is fast depleting, data collection needs to be made more effective to portray the gravity of the problem, he says. We have to rely on data provided by the irrigation and agriculture department. There should be a collaborative effort between Central and state agencies to deal with the problem, says Jain.Imagine how much different West Ham would have looked with Cavani rather than Carlton Cole up top. Well, it very nearly happened.
Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has revealed to Sky Sport Italia that he blocked a move to West Ham for Edinson Cavani, according to Football Italia.
Uruguayan striker Cavani has a habit of dividing opinion amongst the majority of fans, with many pointing to his tendency to blow big chances in crucial games (below), while others have argued that his astounding record of 139 goals in 208 league appearances for Napoli and PSG speaks for itself.
‘El Matador’s’ career could have turned out quite differently if former Palermo manager Stefano Colantuono had got his own way however, with Zamparini revealing that a cut-price move to West Ham was mooted before his successful switch to Naples.
“When Cavani was here, I had coaches who were knuckleheads!,” the outspoken Zamparini told Sky Italia, as reported by Football Italia.
“Colantuono, for example, wanted me to send him to West Ham. I told him, ‘you can go to West Ham’.”
According to Football Italia, Colantuono himself revealed soon after Cavani’s exit that the lank-haired hitman had personally requested a move to the English capital in 2010, though the president’s intervention left then-West Ham gaffer Avram Grant relying upon Carlton Cole (below), Freddie Piquionne and Zavon Hines.
West Ham ended the season bottom of the Premier League, scoring just 43 goals all season. It could have been so different, however, if Zamparini had been alert to the prodigious talent within his ranks.Allison Arieff on design and architecture.
Jeremy M. Lange
“Buildings are everywhere,” writes Alexandra Lange, “large and small, ugly and beautiful, ambitious and dumb. We walk among them and live inside them but are largely passive dwellers in cities or towers, houses, open spaces, and shops we had no hand in creating.”
Buildings are discussed — indeed aspects of them obsessed upon — but almost exclusively in the context of economics. This building went over budget, that surplus of houses led to the foreclosure crisis, that condo broke the record for residential real estate, etc. To the layman, then, architecture is conveyed as little more than something that costs a lot and causes a lot of grief, rather than something with the potential to enhance our daily lives.
But as the architecture and design critic Lange points out in her new book, “Writing About Architecture,” we need to engage our citizenry in architecture in ways that move from passivity or accusation (i.e., Nimbyism) and to do so we need more … architecture critics.
Of course, the reverse has been occurring over the last decade. You can almost count the number of architectural critics at major newspapers on one hand, and while there’s been an explosion of opinion design and architecture blogs in recent years, they tend to preach to the converted or veer, with few exceptions, toward noncritical celebration or gleeful snark.
Jeremy M. Lange
When I spoke at the D-Crit program at the School of Visual Arts last fall, many of us agreed that 24/7 media carries some of the blame — it’s hard to be thoughtful when you’re writing five blog posts a day — but there’s no shortage of reasons for the current dearth of insightful architectural criticism (like the current dearth of architectural projects, for instance).
It was Martin Mull (or Steve Martin or Laurie Anderson — check out the discussion of quote provenance here) who said that “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” To ruin the analogy further, writing about architecture is like mangling language, and far too often the experience of reading architectural writing feels about as pleasurable as tooth extraction.
To wit (with all apologies to the author, who will remain unidentified):
ANALYSIS: a territorial and social fragmentation, a typical “no-man’s land” undergoing the urban exodus, the settlement of the old and inactive persons, the absence of public place in the body scale substituted by the car. PROBLEMATIC: How to attract a new living to facilitate the social and urban mixity?
We can’t entirely blame the perpetrator of this crime, for it is this style of writing that is rewarded within academia. Indecipherability signifies superior intelligence. (The field of architecture is not alone in this — just ask this former Ph.D. grad student, who shudders at sentences she wrote while under the heady spell of such Continental theorists as Barthes, Derrida and Foucault.) And while I’m not suggesting we hew toward the lowest common denominator, architects and those who write about them are doing themselves a disservice by insisting on the impenetrability of discourse.
Why? Compare the above author’s approach with the one taken by the urban idol Jane Jacobs, who was uniquely successful in using her love of her surrounding built environment to make the case for preserving and expanding it. She writes in “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”:
The stretch of Hudson Street where I live is each day the scene of an intricate sidewalk ballet. I make my own first entrance into it a little after eight when I put out the garbage can, surely a prosaic occupation, but I enjoy my part, my little clang, as the droves of junior high school students walk by the center of the stage dropping candy wrappers. (How do they eat so much candy so early in the morning?) … When I get home after work, the ballet is reaching its crescendo. This is the time of roller skates and stilts and tricycles, and games in the lee of the stoop with bottletops and plastic cowboys; this is the time of bundles and packages, zigzagging from the drug store to the fruit stand and back over to the butcher’s ….
The advertising man David Ogilvy wrote, “Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.” It is admittedly unfair to compare these two snippets of writing but I’ll do so to make the point often forgotten about criticism: it should elucidate (not obfuscate) if it has any hope of making an impact. In the end, who would garner support at a city planning meeting? Both authors are talking about the same thing, but it’s evident who is making a better case. The former is worried about the “site condition”; the latter is successful in speaking to the human one.
Jeremy M. Lange
In “Writing About Architecture,” Lange recognizes the stakes inherent in the act of describing place. While she certainly is pushing writers, readers and her students to aim for clarity in criticism, Lange goes much further, arguing that architecture critics be invested intellectually and emotionally in the world that surrounds them. The iconic critics Lange celebrates enliven the spaces they write about — whether they love them or hate them. They notice things. They’re steeped in history, in context and provenance. They take their time. They make the reader want to experience the spaces described.
See for example, this paper’s former architecture critic, the late Herbert Muschamp, writing about Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao in 1997:
If you want to look into the heart of American art today, you are going to need a passport. You will have to pack your bags, leave the U.S.A. and find your way to Bilbao, a small rustic city in the northeast corner of Spain. The trip is not convenient, and you should not expect to have much fun while you’re there … [but] those who visit Bilbao, however, may come away thinking that art is not entirely remote from matters of life and death.
Jeremy M. Lange
And Michael Sorkin shows, in this 1985 Village Voice review of the Whitney Museum, how a building can be described vividly — no obfuscation required, no need to hide his delight, just clear description and unbridled enthusiasm:
The Breuer Whitney is a masterpiece … Breuer divided his Madison Avenue elevation into three parts: a thin concrete wall butted up against its neighbors: a narrow zigzagging band containing among other things, the great stair; and the main stepping mass, housing the galleries, to which are affixed the winning “eyebrow” windows, apt symbols of museum going.
Many of the writers Lange includes in her book offered perspectives that not only helped shape local and national conversations around design and the built environment, but affected outcomes as well. It’s rarer today that a piece of criticism might have that effect, rare that such pieces appear on page one. There is an amazing kaleidoscope of good writing about buildings online — though there’s also an infinite number of outlets for the dissemination of not-so-good writing.
Architecture, writes Lange, “is the art you cannot avoid” and it carries a burden that the other arts don’t — it must reconcile aesthetics and ideas with user functionality. A painting or a novel need only please or provoke its audience; it doesn’t then also require setbacks, parking minimums and LEED certification. Fewer of us are affected — or even in regular contact with the other arts — while all of us are inextricably connected to the built environment.
Jeremy M. Lange
Bold, opinionated, thoughtful words about the stuff that surrounds us might result in better buildings (and cities and suburbs, infrastructure and parks). And the importance of that can’t be stressed enough. Because, as Ada Louise Huxtable, another of Lange’s heroes, put it in one of her perfectly titled essays about the importance of successful planning in New York (this one: “Sometimes We Do It Right”), “It only takes one opening in the wrong place, one ‘bonus’ space placed according to current zoning (read ‘business’) practice, to ruin it all.” Architecture critics, Lange rightly concludes, can act not just as writers but as advocates, and, in so doing, can “try to make it better.”Predix Design System: Components that work in your framework and everywhere else too David Leonard Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 26, 2017 Predix UI components give product teams the building blocks they need to create a modern web applications. Illustrations by Tali Marcus, Design Technologist, Predix Design System If you build or use web applications, you’ll notice they all share similar building blocks. And that’s a good thing. We don’t need to reinvent user experiences that already work. At GE Digital, we have created a set of UI components that can be dropped into any web application so teams don’t have to build the same stuff again and again. They can focus instead on delivering the distinctive features their users need. These components are the core of the Predix Design System, a collection of web components that work across browsers and front-end frameworks to accelerate development of industrial internet applications on the Predix platform. Check out some neat interactive demos on the Predix UI website. Our components are built to work inside all modern JavaScript frameworks, or to work on their own with no framework at all. Each one is a web component — a self-contained bundle of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS that looks and works just like a standard HTML tag. In fact, they are standard HTML tags. The technologies used to make web components—Custom Elements and Shadow DOM—are part of the standard web platform just like <p> and <a> tags. In this post I’ll dig into why we make web components, and how that choice has freed product teams to pick up Predix UI using the skills and code bases they’ve already developed.
An animated look at how our components can be combined together to create a rich, interactive web app experience. (This also a sneak peek of our soon-to-be-released refreshed component designs.) Animation by Wade Fong, Sr. Staff Visual Designer, Predix Design System.
You already know how to use web components The front-end development landscape is changing incredibly fast. Every week, new tools and frameworks rise up as old ones fade. This rapid evolution is part of what makes the web great — it is constantly pushed, prodded, and pulled to fulfill new use cases and user needs. The downside of this constant change is developer fatigue. Keeping up with new skills and making technology choices that will be supported for the lifetime of a project is harder than ever before. We made Predix UI using web components standards so developers can start using our building blocks with minimal ramp-up. They look and work like standard HTML tags. You configure each component with attributes (like the `src` in <img src=”picture.jpg”/>) and listen for updates through DOM events. Web components—like our px-toggle component—look and work like HTML tags. Changing attributes can trigger animations or other complex interaction design patterns. Web components work everywhere you need them to Web components are part of the web platform. The major browser vendors — Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla, and Google — have committed to the web component standards for all future versions of their web clients. Our team tests and explicitly guarantees support for the last two major releases of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge (including IE11). With the webcomponentsjs polyfills, our components are very likely to work in older releases too.
A browser support showing adoption of web component APIs in all modern browsers. Browsers without native support have well-tested polyfills. Data sources: Are We Componentized Yet? and Polymer Project.Photos by Sascha Matuszak
Last weekend, the Holiday Inn near the airport in Des Moines smelled like Tiger Balm and sweat. Men and women of all ages marched with purpose back and forth through the halls in short colorful boxing shorts, capes and a Mongkol. The event center was an organized cacophony of hoarse cheers and instructions, grunts and slaps, and the constant drone of a man announcing ring assignments, results, and admonishing people to "not video tape the fights."
For North Americans who practice the Science of Eight Limbs, there is no better place to get ring time than at the annual Thai Boxing Association Muay Thai tournament held each summer in Des Moines, Iowa. The past weekend, more than 400 fighters crowded into the Holiday Inn near the Des Moines airport and competed over three days for 106 belts across every conceivable weight class.
Six year old boys from Arizona; twelve year old girls from Stockton; adults from Missouri, Michigan, New York, and Kentucky; old men still swinging hard in their 40s and 50s. The TBA has become a milestone of sorts for Nak Muay who have trained for a while and want to finally test their skills in the ring. It's where most people have their first encounter with hard left hooks to the head, repeated leg kicks, and the exhausting ordeal of three rounds against a stranger who wants to hurt them. This is also where the addiction formed after hearing the sound of a shin against a Thai pad for the first time is solidified into something like religion.
The TBA tournament started ten years ago after a brief dinner conversation between Ajarn Chai Sirisute, the man who brought Muay Thai to America, and Pete Peterson, a former Marine turned martial artist who had become one of Ajarn Chai's best students.
"We need a tournament for just Muay Thai," Pete told Ajarn Chai. "Where it's all about leg kicks, elbows and knees. Nothing else."
"You do it, sir," said Chai.
Pete and his wife Pam got to it. The first tournament, held in 2007, was cobbled together quickly ("Terrible," said Chai, shaking his head), but the seed was planted. The tournament has grown each year, from 122 fighters in 2008 to 323 in 2012 and 460 in 2016. Nak Muay finally had their own proving grounds, away from the mixed rules events which took away either elbows or leg kicks or both, and into a world where all eight limbs are weaponized.
The tournament is divided into Novice, Class B, and Class A; adults, seniors and juniors. Having all sorts of skill sets in one spot allows for everybody to learn really quickly what is and what is not Muay Thai. It's common for fighters to resort to wild swings and bull rushes when the going gets tough, to tap into their animal aggression and try and overwhelm their opponent. That can work, especially if the opponent isn't able to slip a punch, sidestep and deliver a cross, teep the bull away, or deliver a solid intercepting knee or elbow.
But as one moves up the ranks into Class B and A, technique starts to defeat aggression on a consistent basis.
"It's really about dominance," said Nat McIntyre, a coach for the MMA Academy out of Minnesota. "Dominance and not aggression. And you only achieve dominance through Muay Thai, not swinging."
A good example of the power of technique over aggression is the work of the Academy's Nick "Icy" Robinson, the Class A Bantamweight Champion and Fighter of the Tournament. Nick's structure is very solid and he is able to shell up, with his hands up, chest in, and elbows tight, while his opponents pound away. When they finish, he opens up with knees and kicks, only to shell back up and let them pound away in vain. A good Nak Muay is like a Greek Phalanx fighting the horde, implacable until the opponent panics and breaks, and then it's all over.
There are other schools of thought on the matter. Traditional Muay Thai tends to look like a tank marching forward, whereas Dutch is more fluid, and includes different hook and kick combos as well as stance switching. But for Ajarn Chai, Nick's ice cold phalanx style was what a brought a smile to his face.
"That a lot of what this tournament is about," said Pete Peterson. "Really spreading this art and getting more and more gyms involved. Developing the talent and giving fighters a place to compete and learn and improve."
"But more than anything," added Chai. "Is discipline, sir."
"That's absolutely true," said Peterson. "This is the type of art that can change lives, the discipline you learn here translates into all aspects of a person's life, and that's what I've seen happen time and time again. And that's really what this tournament is all about."
Check out these related stories:
A Tale of Two Kickboxing Gyms: Bor Breechaa and Udomsuk
An American Takes Gold at the Muay Thai Worlds
Cutting Weight The Muay Thai WayOakland PD Emails Reveal Oakland’s Determination To Keep Library Vacant | September 6, 2012
The Occupied Oakland Tribune just posted documents obtained as a result of a FOIA request about the People’s Library (properly known as the Biblioteca Popular Victor Martinez). This is only a partial response to the request, but already reveals quite a bit of interesting information.
If you missed the story, activists and community members in Oakland took over an abandoned library building, formerly a drug den, and cleaned it up. They filled the shelves with donated books and began planting a community garden outside. They held a potluck and a poetry reading. A Twitter account and Facebook page were set up to share the action with the world. It was the embodiment of what we aim to do – reclaim public space and put it back into use to serve our communities. It was beautiful.
And late that night, Oakland PD raided the library, evicting the activists and their books. It was a massive show of force on the most peaceful group of activists imaginable – volunteer librarians, readers, gardeners, and children. I watched it via livestream in dismay.
The good news is, the library is alive and well, several weeks later. They are not allowed inside the building but continue lending books, teaching classes, and hosting events from the sidewalk. There are police officers stationed to keep an eye on them at all hours, but their enthusiasm has not been dampened in the least. It’s inspiring to behold.
Now we have police emails and documents from the first day of the library’s existence through the night of the raid. More is forthcoming, but you can read the current document release here. I read through them and wanted to highlight some points I found to be particularly interesting.
► The police closely monitor our social media accounts. Hopefully you already knew that. OPD got information from official Occupy Oakland accounts as well as some personal accounts: @cliffpotts, @Federal_flashes, and @Jayron26. Two of those accounts belong to friends of mine here in Chicago. Very odd seeing their tweets and RTs quoted in OPD emails.
YIKES, my friends. I always say to assume the cops read everything, but this is confirmation that they have at least a rudimentary understanding of Twitter. Keep that in mind at all times.
► We sometimes bewilder them with our information-gathering skillz. See this email (from Deputy Chief of Police Eric Breshears): “There are twitter messages that talk about staying all night, which we expected. There are also twitter messages stating that they will need to set off an alarm if we show up. Unfortunately, KGO is reporting that we are issuing a vacate notice. How do you think they know that??”
It’s nice to know that we also have more of a heads up than they would like sometimes.
► They asked for an intermediary. At one point, they requested a civilian representing the city of Oakland to talk to the occupiers before OPD went in. To my knowledge, this didn’t ever happen. Still interesting.
► OPD knows what we look like…or do they? An email from Breshears states, “The crowd has now added what appears to be OO people and Anonymous people.”
REALLY? What do “Anonymous people” look like?? #lulz
► The numbers of officers present were NOT exaggerated. When I heard via Twitter and livestream that there were more than 100 officers present, I was having trouble imagining that. However, we now have an email to confirm it: “We have about 115 officers here tonight. [Approx double the number of occupiers at that point.]” The email goes on to say that if they wait until the next night, they will only have 80 officers available, which I suppose isn’t enough to remove a few dozen non-violent book lovers.
► A crowd of any size or demeanor is seen as a threat by OPD. Ongoing reports about the action list how many are present and that they are calm, peaceful, mostly children, etc. Never is there any indication that the people involved pose any kind of threat to themselves, each other, city property, or the community at large. Any time police made contact with activists, it is noted that there was a spirit of cooperation. It is simply the act of a group of people uniting in a public space with a common purpose that is seen as cause for massive police intervention.
► The police buy into the “unknown agitator” meme. In describing plans for the raid, Breshears writes: “We anticipate that there may be a few agitators there that we will need to deal with, but none are obvious at this time.” Nobody at this action gave OPD any reason to suspect there would be trouble, yet they mention “agitators” several times.
► ASSUME THAT EVERY ACTION IS INFILTRATED. They refer to sending an undercover through the building to assess the situation before the eviction: “About 8-10 in front, confident no more than 8-10 inside, none in back. No kids seen. He is going to see if he can get an under[cover cop] to walk inside and take a look. I let him know only if safe. He will advise in a few.”
All that talk about security culture? This is why. As much as we don’t like to think about it, we are planning actions with cops. We are marching with cops. We have probably had drinks with cops. Be very careful what you say or do, even when you think you’re among trusted friends. It doesn’t take much to charge somebody with terrorism these days.
► They are still reading your tweets. After outlining their plan for eviction, they leave room for contingencies, saying: “This of course can change if tweets go out and numerous people arrive.”
► There is a thing called Operation Dignity. When OPD sent an email requesting No Trespassing signs be posted at the library, this was the response: “Is it empty? If people are present we use Operation Dignity to post and talk to the ‘homeless’ to offer services. If people are there and not homeless then we would need to give signs to OPD to post. Please provide a contact and I will see who will handle this.”
I was not familiar with Operation Dignity, but apparently they are a group of veterans dedicated to helping homeless veterans (and others who are homeless). And it seems Oakland PD is in contact with them to do things like clear vacant buildings of squatters.
This was interesting to me because it’s a tactic that’s been used on us in Chicago, although not by an outside group. CPD will pull up and start asking us if we’re homeless, if we have somewhere to go, and offering to direct us to shelters if necessary. Because that is obviously the only reason for us to be out utilizing public space at nighttime. Now we have a name for it: Operation Dignity.
► OPD is shy. Apparently, they don’t want to be the center of attention. “In the past, OO has tried to make the police the ‘focus of attention’; lets avoid this.”
“Avoid this”…by showing up with 115 officers to evict some books from a vacant building? Or is that code for, “Leave the tear gas at home tonight, boys”?
► The city of Oakland is committed to keeping its vacant buildings empty. Four OPD units are assigned to the library action around the clock – and all four officers are receiving overtime pay for making sure the books stay on the sidewalk and don’t accidentally wind up inside a building built for that purpose…again. When an officer questions the need for four of them to be out there the response from above is: “I think the number is just right to maintain control.”
It sounds “just right” to me.
Two PDF attachments were also included in this document release, which I will now describe.
Letter from City of Oakland Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board
This letter is addressed to “Oakland Leaders and Library Organizers and Participants,” which I found hilarious. I guess it’s hard to know protocol when it comes to writing to a leaderless movement with no established membership.
The letter describes the work that Oakland LPAB does in preserving historically significant buildings in the city and gives a brief history of the vacant Carnegie library. It goes on to say that: “Even protective actions, however well-intentioned, such as securing a building or removing graffiti, can result in damage to historic building materials.”
Apparently they are more concerned with people “damaging” the building by cleaning it than they are with the state of disrepair it has been in for decades. Because it is such an important historic landmark to the city of Oakland…obviously.
Letter from Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana
This letter states that the City of Oakland owns the building and gives permission to Oakland PD to arrest for trespassing (and, presumably, vandalism and related charges). My favorite line: “No one has permission to enter, occupy, or trespass on this property…” Do you think they added “occupy” just for us? One can only hope.
AdvertisementsChris Matthews exploded at Reince Priebus on Monday's "Morning Joe," tearing into the Republican National Committee chairman and accusing his party of playing the race card. Priebus spoke out about the confrontation later in the day.
"That cheap shot... was awful," Matthews said, referring to the joke. "It is an embarrassment to your party to play that card... you are playing that ethnic card there." As Priebus apparently laughed and co-host Joe Scarborough tried to get a word in, Matthews continued, "you can sit there and giggle about it, but the fact is your party is playing that card."
"You think Mitt Romney's playing the race card?" Scarborough asked.
"There's no doubt he did," Matthews said. Co-host Mika Brzezinski speculated that Romney may have said what he said because he is an "awkward joker."
Priebus said Matthews was just trying to "push his brand" with his "monologue."
"It just seems funny that the first joke he ever told in his life was about Obama's birth certificate," Matthews said.
Later when Priebus alleged that Obama was looking at European policies for guidance, Matthews lost it again.
"Where do you get this from?" Matthews shouted. "This is insane." He charged that Priebus was "playing that card again."
"Let's just work on tone," Brzezinski said. "Chris, let him answer the question," Scarborough said.
"I'm not going to get into a shouting match with Chris so you guys can move on," Priebus said. "Because you're losing, that's why," Matthews said. "Garbage, garbage," Priebus muttered.
"It's your garbage," Matthews fired back.
UPDATE: Priebus weighed in on the confrontation on Sean Hannity's radio show Monday afternoon, saying that it was typical for Chris Matthews to "play the role of being the biggest jerk in the room."
"You know, at that point you just tell the guy to go take a jump in the lake because obviously he's just trying to build his ratings on a show that isn't very well viewed, and I let him do it," he continued.
The RNC chairman said that someone at MSNBC has been trying to call him, and surmised that the network wants to apologize.A 19-year-old Wescosville woman went "out of control" in a Mount Pocono condominium apartment early Sunday, yelling, breaking things and urinating on a man who tried to stop her, police said.
Paige E. Esterly was screaming about 2:35 a.m. when Pocono Mount Regional police arrived at the Snowshoe Condos on Sterling Road, police said.
Both Esterly and Aikem Rollocks, 27, the Mount Pocono man she was fighting with, were soaking wet, police said. Rollocks told police that Esterly urinated on him as he tried to get control of her, police said.
Another witness told police that Esterly became violent and would not calm down, police said. She called police and flagged down police as they arrived.
Esterly tried to leave when police showed up, and when police stopped her she gave a fake name, police said.
Esterly was charged with harassment, public drunkenness, identity theft and providing false identification to police. Police said she also was wanted in a Sept. 19 reckless driving case in Upper Saucon Township.
She was arraigned by District Judge Colleen Mancuso, who sent her to Monroe County Prison under $10,000 bail.
— Frank WarnerFrom bacteria to viruses, mites to fungi, our bodies are literally riddled with life. Perhaps to a greater extent than you ever thought imaginable. But are these guests up to mischief; should we throw them out for trashing the house? Or do we welcome them with open arms and beg them not to leave. From assisting your immune system to having sex on your face (wait, what?!), this article is going to explore the organisms that have set up camp on and inside our bodies.
The Human Microbiome
Let’s start with microbes. Microbes are microscopic organisms such as bacteria, archaea, protozoa and fungi, and these microorganisms that reside on or within your body are referred to as the human microbiome. This microbial colonization begins during and shortly after birth. Your body is composed of about 10 trillion human cells, but bacteria outnumber them by at least ten to one. Microbes actually make up around 1 to 3% of your total body mass. These microbes colonize lots of different areas of the body including your skin, gut, mouth, eyes, and genitals.
What's lurking in your gut
You can find anywhere between 500 to 1,000 different |
of any big blue, and is one of the few with a dedicated control panel overlay (like CE, SSF2, & C.Commando)Captain CommandoYou can see the slight differences from the first Big Blue. There is side art for CC that is missing from this pic**PRETEND THIS IMAGE IS EMBEDDED: http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/...8124215497.jpg **The PunisherDedicated Punisher cabinet. Black vinyl instead of blue. Most extensive use of side art seen on big blues, and only game along with Cap Commando and SF2CE to sport a dedicated control panel overlay. Need to compare control panels of the 3 cabinets to see what differences there are, as sizes appear to be slightly dissimilar.Knights of the Round (King of Dragons, Warriors of Fate)Same as Captain Commando except for 3-slot coin door instead of four. Dedicated Knights of the Round according to serial tag. Unknown if Big Blue-sized marquees exist for the other two titles.X-Men: Cota, MSH, XvSF, Street Fighter Alpha 1-2, Darkstalkers, Night Warriors, Star GladiatorThere are 6 different Q-sound cabinets. They are differentiated by the size of the marquees, size of the control panels, and whether the marquee is "attached" or "detached". This first variation is attached marquee, normal-sized control panel.Alien vs. Predator, Slam Masters, D&D: SoM, D&D: ToDAs you can see, it's the same as above except the control panel sticks out further from the cabinet to accommodate 3 (or 4) players. Don't let the pic fool you - the marquee is just as large as the cabinet above.MSHvSF, MvC 1-2, SFA3, Vampire Savior, SF: The Movie, Red Earth, Street Fighter EX, EX 2, EX 2 Plus AlphaDetached marquee is the "short" version, normal-sized control panel. Basically this is for all the cps2 fighters that didn't have the oversized marquees.Alien vs. PredatorSame as above except control panel is the wide version, and the detached marquee is barely separated from the cabinet. I'm not sure if that was adjustable or if it's a different type altogether. Small-marquee variant of Alien vs. Predator, seems to have come from the factory.Saturday Night Slam Masters (4p), D&D Tower of Doom, Shadow over MystaraTall detached marquee box, wide control panel. I've never seen a big Slam Masters marquee like this (just normal size or super big) but I assume the one in the picture isn't homemade.Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Slam Masters (2p)Tall detached marquee box, normal-sized control panel. Basically the 2-player version of the cabinet above. You can see this cabinet in the flyers for SSF2 and SSF2 Turbo.Slam Masters dual setup: http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/flye...m/10024801.jpg This is two detached marquee, normal-sized control panel cabinets joined together by a large base and oversized-marquee box, with a graphic/instructions piece in the center. No known intact ecamples currently exist.Super Street Fighter II: New Challengers Tournament setup: http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?pag...d=1148&image=2 Four detached short marquee, normal-sized control panel cabinets with a larger marquee sticking out of the top of the middle two short marquees (versus the Slam Masters cabinet which did not use individual marquee boxes). Unknown whether the cabinets are held together by anything or were free-standing with link cables (assuming the latter). Attached Images Qdetachedtallnarrow.jpg (27.4 KB, 4370 views) __________________
2018 WTB: Aliens, Night Striker, Irritating Maze, Wacko, Vendetta Last edited by KidVidiot; 02-12-2014 at 09:13 PM.“The standards for environmental protection are higher and higher, from the public and also from the government,” said Zhao Zhangyuan, a retired environmental protection official who has successfully campaigned for the last several years to block the construction of a large trash incinerator in a prosperous Beijing neighborhood.
Even as Chinese people demonstrate an increasing willingness to challenge local authorities, financial penalties are on the rise for Chinese companies and their owners who plan projects perceived as hazardous. Shares in the Sichuan Hongda Chemical Industry Company, which was going to build the smelter, plunged 9.2 percent in Shanghai trading on Wednesday.
Last month, about 1,000 people protested to block a trash incinerator in Songjiang, near Shanghai, with no decision yet announced there on whether it will proceed. Last December, local officials announced that they would stop a coal-fired power plant in Haimen, near Hong Kong, after an estimated 30,000 people marched to block the construction.
Last September, a solar energy company in Jiaxing, near Shanghai, was closed after demonstrations there that objected to chemicals used in the manufacturing process. And last August, local officials in Dalian, in northeastern China, said that a petrochemical plant would be closed and relocated after at least 12,000 people joined protests.
Events in Dalian offer a cautionary tale for environmental protesters in China, however. The petrochemical plant is still operating nearly a year later, as local and national officials have been unable to agree on where to it should be relocated, a person with a detailed knowledge of the factory said Wednesday, insisting on anonymity because of lingering controversy over the factory.
But the success of the Shifang protests suggests that opponents may find it easier to prevent environmentally threatening projects from getting started than shutting down existing ones.
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“A decision has been made that the construction of the plant has been stopped,” officials said in a statement on Wednesday, “and that Shifang now and in the future will never construct this project again.”
Thanks to the Internet — China has more Internet users than any other country — the protests appear to have resonated across the country. “Shifang” was the most-searched term on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service, on Tuesday and again on Wednesday morning, before abruptly disappearing entirely from the list of frequently searched terms in a possible sign of censorship.
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Several posts praising the Shifang protests on Tuesday evening had been deleted by Wednesday morning, another sign of censorship. But more posts had replaced them.
“Paying close attention to Shifang, because maybe the next one will be me, us,” a Weibo post said.
Public protests are not the only challenge for heavily polluting industries. In some industries, the Chinese government has taken action on its own.
Environmental activists and local residents have tended to be reluctant to challenge illegal rare earth mining operations, which are frequently connected to organized crime syndicates with well-deserved reputations for intimidation and even murder. But the government has lately been closing down even legal rare earth refineries all over China for months at a time to require them to install new emissions control equipment, after years of tolerating heavy emissions of toxic and radioactive waste that have turned areas into moonscapes.
Improving the environmental record of the rare earth industry may help China in a pending World Trade Organization case filed against it by the United States, the European Union and Japan.
Multinational corporations are generally already building cleaner operations in China, partly for fear of offending Chinese ultranationalists if there is a pollution scare and partly from public pressure in their home markets.
When Honda built a new auto assembly plant in Guangzhou several years ago, for example, the company included a wastewater management system that even went beyond the cleanup standards at many auto assembly plants in the United States. Honda executives reasoned at the time that China would someday toughen standards, and that it would be cheaper to build to strict standards from the start instead of retrofitting later.
But to the extent China toughens its environmental standards, it could erode some of the competitive advantage of Chinese companies and affect those multinationals that depend on Chinese suppliers for a huge variety of materials.AN Indian restaurant at the centre of a row about hygiene ratings has been dealt a further blow after inspectors gave them just two out of five following their latest visit.
The new team behind The Burj at Wanborough told the Adver in October that they were hoping for “at least four, if not five stars” at their next inspection.
But their latest score, published last week, suggests that those hopes may have been overly optimistic.
Rather than reaching for the top of the assessment scale, the restaurant was told improvement was still necessary.
Inspectors from Swindon Borough Council rated The Burj’s food hygiene and safety standard as ‘poor’ which means there was “some major non-compliance with statutory obligations, with more effort required to prevent a fall in standards.”
The restaurant’s structural compliance was rated as ‘good’ but inspectors reported that they only had ‘some’ confidence in the management.
The Burj was previously inspected in April before being taken over by new owners.
On that occasion they received the dreaded zero from inspectors.
The new management were dismayed to learn that despite splashing out on a full kitchen refurbishment and installing a brand new team, the zero rating had stayed on the Food Standards Agency website.
They say the old score cost them many bookings and put their ability to pay their staff’s wages in doubt. The most recent inspection was their big chance to overcome those issues.
While a score of just two might come as a bitter disappointment to many restaurants, the new owner of The Burj is staying defiant.
Swapan Roy said: “We certainly hoped to score more than this but it is better than having a zero.
“But to be honest with you I don’t think we are any less than five stars here – we have made lots of changes in the kitchen and the front of house.
“This is the feedback we are getting from customers too, they are very happy with how we are.”
Mr Roy said he had even offered to show some customers around his kitchens after they expressed concern about the zero rating.
“I always say to them I am happy to take them for a look round, we have a new kitchen and we are doing things the right way.
“The inspectors said we could ask for them to come again and regrade but we said we didn’t want that – but I am sure that next time they come we will score higher.”If you’re like me (and I am very forgiving), you probably have seen what seems like 100,000 found footage or “documentary style” horror movies. They all enjoy a shaky handheld camera, give no apologies for form or quality, and ultimately it’s up to the writing and acting to convey all of which you cannot see. As you’re aware, it’s very hit and miss (and usually it’s way left). But every once in a blood moon, a film is released that is so well-crafted within the realms of “found footage” that you forget all about the shortcomings that normally attach themselves to the subgenre and can focus on the story. Some good recent examples of well-executed (puns always intended) found footage films are The Visit (M. Night Shyamalan, 2015), about a brother and sister who visit their peculiar and estranged grandparents for the first time in their lives which was genuinely creepy AF, and also Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (Gregory Plotkin, 2015), the latest installment in the PA franchise (and arguably one of the better ones) about a family that discovers a video camera that can see spirits and one is targeting their daughter. On the flopside you have movies like The Gallows (Travis Cluff/Chris Lofing, 2015), a death during a school play 20 years in the past haunts a new generation when they try to recreate the same play, and mockbuster “masterpiece” Paranormal Entity (Shane Van Dyke, 2009) which, as you can imagine, is a terrible godawful rip off. The one thing all these movies have in common is that first person, POV, I’m about to vomit style of camera wielding that has become a staple and foundation for the genre. But every once in a while a fresh take on the subgenre is enacted and unfortunately sometimes those films fall through the cracks. That’s the case with The Poughkeepsie Tapes (John Erick Dowdle, 2007).
Instead of writing some words together, casting some decent looking nobodies, and giving one of them a camera and some direction, Dowdle decided to make a horror film in the fashion of an episode of Cold Case Files. In the movie, law enforcement is tipped off to a house that contains boxes and boxes of thousands of hours of homemade videotapes depicting the sadistic violence and torture of a practicing serial killer (kinda sounds like VHS right?). The tapes are analyzed and logged by the FBI and the content is shown and discussed by many “experts” through one on one interviews, archival police footage, narration, and reenactments in order to link these murders with existing unsolved cases. It really feels like a legit TV show (but maybe on HBO or some network they can get away with gore and excess violence). And don’t worry, you still get your up chuck inducing POV shots via the found video tapes (the experts even discuss the way in which the killer “selfies” him and one of his victims).
Let me start by saying this movie is kind of uncomfortable. If you’re not into grainy, hue changing, oddly intimate torture scenes, or creepy stalk and drop then maybe pass on the Poughkeepsie, but if you want to see an original take on a tired and butchered subgenre, with captivity scenes that affect your soul, then give it a try. It’s legitimately terrifying not in the “OMFG my heart is racing what a good kill” type of way, but more in the “holy shit what is he planning, what’s he about to do?” sorta thing. The film centers it’s narrative around the investigation in its entirety but also on a specific case of one of the victims, Cheryl Dempsey who is abducted and enslaved in the basement of the killer. Cheryl’s storyline is the ultimate creep factor when viewing such a film. There are elongated scenes of brutal torture and mental abuse. You see her broken down as a free-willed, proud, human being only to be rebuilt into some sort of Stockholm syndromed sex and murder slave. It’s really diabolical. Another A+ factor is the hyperstylized quality of the film. It’s filmed like you’re watching an early 90s VHS tape or something. It’s grainy, blown out, and even the audio has a scratchiness too it which really adds to the overall tone of the movie (which is dread).
With the kill scenes drawn out and the anticipation tantalizing, The Poughkeepsie Tapes really delivers on a sense of longing terror. The whole movie you feel like an episode of Dexter. Are they gonna realize it’s him? How did he do it? When is the inevitable capture of the killer? Wtf just happened? And just when the law connects two dots, three more appear and the killer is still a step ahead. He changes his MO multiple times to throw off investigators and has a high understanding of beaurocracy within the police force which is made evident through the means in which he discards his victims’ bodies (and is discussed by “experts” in the movie). Unfortunately, this film never got a proper release theatrically or on home video until 2014 when it appeared on DirecTV on onDemand (7 years after completion). I think this is the reason it never really got the justice it deserved–bad marketing (and probably explains why it has yet to receive a critic score on RottenTomatoes). I only have heard of it because I spend my days googling “best shitty found footage” and “horror? I hardly know her!” But if you’re a shameful fan of found footage like I am, let me help you sift through the shit which buries the treasured titles, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes is just that, a treasure surrounded by crap. Give it a watch and if you don’t find it genuinely creepy then comment below and tell me how bad I am at my jobby and we can discuss.
IMDB: 6.1/10 (9210 votes) (⬅anything over 6 for horror on IMDB is generally pretty good)
Rotten Tomatoes: 🍅No Critic Rating 🍿50%
DEAD🐶PUPPY: 3.2 sadistic VHS tapes/5
AdvertisementsChooses the best Mount for the job, with no configuration or set-up; its all based on your Mount Journal Favorites.
Includes any and all available Ground, Flying, Swimming, Vendor, Passenger, and Special Zone Mounts!
How does this AddOn work?
Add the following command to a Macro, and drop the Macro somewhere on your bars.
Code: /ravmounts
Dismount (if mounted) Vash'jir Mounts (if in Vash'jir) Swimming Mounts (if underwater) Flying Mounts (if in flyable area)[/i] Ahn'Qiraj Mounts (if you're in AQ) Ground Mounts Chauffeured Chopper
/mountspecial
Code: /ravmounts include
Code: /ravmounts exclude
Code: /ravmounts ground
vendor
two-person flying
two-person ground
swimming
waterwalking
flying
ground
chauffeur
ahn'qiraj
vash'jir
Code: #show [mod:shift] Grand Expedition Yak; [mod:ctrl] Sandstone Drake; [swimming,nomod:alt] Vashj'ir Seahorse; [flyable,nomod:alt][noflyable,mod:alt] Blazing Hippogryph; Red Primal Raptor /cancelaura Goblin Glider /ravmounts
whether or not you're underwaterto use a swimming Mount
whether or not you're in Vash'jirto use the Seahorse Mount
whether or not you're in Ahn'Qirajto show off your bug Mounts
defaults all the way down to the Chauffeured Heirloom Mounts
key modifiers to grant simple access to:
Vendor Mounts (Shift key)
Multiple-person Mounts (Control key)
Opposite Mounts (Alt key)- Ground Mounts in flying zones, Flying Mounts in non-flying zones, etc.
/ravmounts force
WaldenPond#11608
Make sure you assign it to anmodified key (no shift, alt, or control modifiers)!It's a lot simpler than it might seem. There are no profiles to set up, and there's no configuration. If you're used to using WoW's built-in Summon Random Favorite Mount button, this will feel very familiar to you.When you press theButton without a modifier key, it will run through a series of checks, in a specific order, to determine which Mount is the most appropriate to use, given your situation and location.Instead of using the designated Mount for the situation, this will use an alternate type Mount, if one is available.If you're underwater,will call upon a Waterwalking Mount.If you're in a Flyable zone,will call upon a Ground Mount.Instead of using the designated Mount for the situation, this will use a Vendor Mount, if one is available.Instead of using the designated Mount for the situation, this will use a Passenger Mount (ground or flying), if one is available.Instead of using the designated Mount for the situation, this will invoke theThe AddOn now runs in one of two modes:and. These modes change how Vendor and Passenger (ground and flying) are handled.Include Mode will add all possible, viable mounts to your Vendor and Passenger Mount lists, regardless of whether or not they are marked as a Favorite in your Mount Journal. Use this mode if you like having the AddOn randomly decide what to summon for you.If you do mark a Vendor or Passenger Mount as a Favorite, they will also be included in their respective default Ground or Flying Mount lists.Exclude Mode will only add mounts to your Vendor and Passenger Mount lists if they are marked as a Favorite in your Mount Journal. Use this mode if you like having full control over what Mounts are summoned for you.Vendor and Passenger Mounts marked as a Favorite willbe included in their respective default Ground of Flying Mount lists.All specific types include:I personally use the following, and keep in mind that most of this is tooltip logic:I guess thisreally only affords you to have some really long tooltip logic!It's probably best to think of thisas an upgrade to WoW's built-in Summon Random Favorite Mount button. Where WoW's button will automatically select a Ground or Flying Mount from your Mount Journal's Favorites, thiswill do the same thing, with a few extras to make acessing your variety of Mounts easier and more convenient.Boiled down to it, all the Summon Random Favourite Mount button does is determine whether your player is able to fly or not in the given zone, and then chooses an appropriate Ground or Flying Mount from your Mount Journal Favourites.Thistakes the logic a step further and checks a number of other given properties to determine even more accurately what kind of Mount you want to use. It extends things like:to force theto recache the Mount Journalthis shouldn't, however, be necessary, as thewill detect changes (new Mounts and changed Favorites) and update itself accordingly. Phanx for their immensely useful API_CanFly from AnyFavoriteMount yj368413 for helping me realise that the AddOn should be language-agnostic.My two best friends for being patient and helping me debug each version before release.I liked Aanan as soon as I met him. My field notes read: ‘What a nice guy, you can just see from his face.’ Open-faced and conversational, he was enthusiastic about the explosive growth in his quarry operations and excited to show me around. Together, we toured the open mines where his workers carve into the earth, producing boulders that are broken down into gravel by smaller labourers, often women and children. Together with his workers, Aanan laughed at my efforts to repeat the process for myself, the sledge held high over my head before arcing down, momentarily disappearing into shards and dust.
He showed me the crushing equipment that transformed gravel into silica powder, proudly explaining that the Indian multinational company, Tata, which makes generous donations to Harvard’s renowned business school, was the exclusive buyer of his materials. I had met Aanan through a friend of his, a reference that considerably eased his concerns about speaking with an outsider regarding his operations. The fact that I was most interested in challenging bonded labour – a contemporary form of slavery – didn’t matter.
Around half of the world’s slaves are held in debt bondage in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Debt bondage is a very old form of slavery in which radically marginalised members of society, often from India’s ‘untouchable’ caste, must trade all their labour for single small infusions of cash. Broader social and economic systems ensure that they do not understand the terms of such loans, and that the time required to repay them is interminable. Lack of other work, lack of credit, and the need to pay for schooling and marriages effectively guarantee that there is no single contractual debt between the landlord and labourer but rather a string of interconnected informal loans.
Workers are often promised that their debt will be repaid within a certain period of time, only to be told that they have somehow incurred new debts. Running debts are occasionally sold to other slaveholders, and in this way a worker can change hands several times. Local officials are more likely to turn a blind eye than to enforce a remote law.
The days of owning people are over, yet slavery still persists in dark pockets of the global economy. All forms of slavery are now illegal in every country on Earth, yet the practice still festers in unreformed nests of feudalism, where threats and violence can suppress or eliminate pay for work. Where slavery is verboten, psychological control through deception and fear is the new coin of the realm. In the case of debt bondage, it is the caste system – with Brahmin at the head and ‘untouchable’ beneath – that does the delicate work of stitching debts together into a seamless, infinite coercive system that leaves labourers feeling trapped.
Despite the abuse, the caste-based worldview frames these exploitative labour relations in familial terms. ‘You have to understand the mentality of labourers, and you should know how to make them work,’ says Aanan, who views himself as the caring parent and his workers as children. ‘To manage a group of labourers is like managing a group of primary-school children. They have to be provided with food or clothes, and they are taught how to behave … sometimes they start drinking alcohol; sometimes they indulge in feasts. So we have to pay them with caution. We divide them into small groups because larger numbers of workers tend to form a union and sometimes engage in mass holidays or strikes.’
Aanan says the happiness of his worker is paramount, even though his business model depends on entrapping the vulnerable and working them to the bone as they crush rock from dusk to dawn. He couldn’t come out and say this to me or to his workers – or perhaps even to himself.
Withholding pay and limiting opportunities to mobilise are important strategies for controlling workers. But all of this is done for the workers’ own good, Aanan insists. Though landlords complain about alcohol, such indulgences are also tactics for increasing debt. Rowdy festivals allow workers to blow off steam, effectively directing frustration away from their abusers. These events also allow workers to spend what little money they have, increasing the likelihood that they will remain dependent on the landlord’s line of credit.
To the erstwhile slaveholder, leisure activities – talking, idling, drinking – are vices, tangible manifestations of social decline
When asked if he needs the workers or the workers need him, Aanan explains that: ‘The worker is my cash machine, my fate.’ In this one statement, he has captured a central contradiction inherent in most human-rights violations worldwide: exploitation takes place at the intersection of culture and capital, in the overlap between relationship and extraction, at the moment where care and exploitation intersect.
Long accustomed to power, slaveholders work hard to sustain their status and baulk at any hint of equality. One previously powerful employer confided to me that his community was in decline. ‘In the olden days … labourers used to work in their fields, they used to think of their work,’ he told me. Now, however, they freshen up after work and drink coffee and tea while talking about ‘unnecessary things’, an opportunity for democratic discourse that is ‘deviating their minds’.
The public square is celebrated by scholars of democracy as a pillar of free and open society. But to slaveholders this space is a cauldron of ‘enmity, ego, and hatred’. Free workers spending their free time talking about life is what gives democracy its vitality – no wonder it’s perceived to be a threat to those who have benefitted from the caste hierarchy. To the erstwhile slaveholder, leisure activities – talking, idling, drinking – are vices, tangible manifestations of social decline.
For Brahmins such as Aanan, who don’t tend to drink, this stance of purity and power shrouds the larger tactical terrain in a mist of paternalistic pressure and concern. ‘Like a shepherd who knows his herd like the back of his hand, we know the labourers,’ he confides. ‘It’s like understanding psychology. Anyone can become a contractor, but a good contractor can gauge the mood of the workers and then make them work … Thus, little by little, with caution, we claim back our money. It is the emotional pressure that works.’ A key strategy for Aanan is keeping workers indebted while asking for their gratitude and undermining their perception that opportunities exist.
In a form of Stockholm syndrome, the oppressed often agree. In multiple conversations, I have been told by bonded labourers that they genuinely owe a debt – some having worked for years to repay an amount that would have taken 10 days of work at prevailing wages. Maintaining this sense of obligation requires emotional pressure at a moment of economic vulnerability – say, when a grateful parent is advanced medicine money for a sick child. Bonded labour requires an actual relationship in which the perpetrator is keenly aware of what kind of pressure – threats? violence? promises? – will ensure compliant work, despite abusive conditions and a lack of pay.
While not every one of the slaveholders I spoke with in the course of this research was as frank as Aanan, his approach bears all the traits of contemporary slaveholding: financial distress, emotional manipulation, illegality, and paternalism. At the end of our conversation, I inquired about Aanan with one of my research partners. Yes, they had heard of him. I updated my field notes: ‘Largest contractor in [town].’
When most people think of contemporary slavery, the popular imagination leaps to a desperate brothel, one pulled straight from the pages of a newspaper or an activist brochure. The scene is sordid: the victim – pure, and the perpetrator of this human-rights violation – an animal of the worst sort. Reality is nowhere near this simple. Contemporary slaveholders, like contemporary slavery, come in many forms. And these men have other terms for their socioeconomic roles and relationships, including ‘employer’, ‘boss’, ‘landlord’, ‘farmer’, ‘contractor’, ‘master’, and ‘landowner’.
Ahmed, a middle-class slaveholder in Uttar Pradesh in India, was eager to show me around the village where he was a member of the ruling elite. While I was grateful for the warm reception, I was visiting Ahmed’s community because of gross human-rights violations – bonded labour, child exploitation, and outbound human trafficking. Fathers pleaded for help in finding missing children, long gone, lured away by the promises of traffickers. Mothers who had recently and reluctantly formed a fragile women’s group waited nervously to meet and discuss their progress in negotiating higher wages. Behind the weeping men and the expectant mothers sat the children lucky enough to remain in the community, hand-rolling local cigarettes.
These scenes are common throughout rural India and are repeated across the global South, where the intertwined pressures of poverty and hope have been more likely to terminate in rights violations than a better life. Individuals exploited in slavery deserve safer lives, smarter laws and greater opportunities. There is a near-global consensus about victims’ needs. But who are the perpetrators? Do Aanan and Ahmed not see the scene – debt bondage, child labour, trafficking – as blatantly wrong?
As a sociologist, my work focuses on a few straightforward questions: where does social change come from? How do people mobilise for change? When does it work and why? Like my fellow travellers in the social sciences, I’m motivated by pressing social issues – poverty, inequality, violence.
Since the 1960s, telling the story of the powerless has seemed like our full-time job. The social historian E P Thompson in The Making of the English Working Class (1963) was explicit in this regard: ‘I am seeking to rescue the poor stockinger, the Luddite cropper, the “obsolete” hand-loom weaver, the “utopian” artisan, and even the deluded follower of Joanna Southcott, from the enormous condescension of posterity.’
The humanities and social sciences have spent the past few decades following suite. My fellow scholars of protest movements have rigorously catalogued critical struggles for civil rights, women’s rights, and the environment, as well as against wars and against colonial rulers. A sustained commitment to telling the stories of the powerless has increased our understanding of a previously silenced majority of downtrodden and oppressed people. But it has also narrowed our view of the oppressors.
It’s only now that we are waking up to ask new questions about Right-wing movements such as the Ku Klux Klan and Al-Qaeda. A fresh generation of scholars are writing books about the Tea Party and those who protest on behalf of the rich, such as Isaac Martin’s Rich People’s Movements (2013). In conversations with rights-violators such as Aanan, I heard the same thing again and again: ‘You’re the first person to ask me about my life.’ Attention to slavery and trafficking has grown exponentially in the past decade, but interviews with rights-violators are exceptions to the rule. To understand the story of exploitation, we must talk to exploiters, too.
I’ve tried to fill this gap. I got my start in the anti-slavery movement in the late 1990s in India as a representative for an advocacy group. In my first assignment, I posed as a customer in a brothel while capturing clandestine footage to help break a case against traffickers into the sex industry. In my assigned role, I demanded younger and younger girls, and then stormed out when the ‘goods’ didn’t meet my expectations. The footage was reviewed by a team of lawyers, forensics experts, and sometimes the police to determine whether a rescue operation could result in an actionable case. There was no use conducting a raid only for the case to fall apart, the perpetrator to go free, and the victim to slip through the cracks of a broken system, and then a month later show up again on our tape.
Yet over a decade of such work, I couldn’t shake the feeling that locking up perpetrators was the bluntest of instruments. Wealthy slaveholders simply bribed their way out of court while poorer perpetrators got caught in the system. Perhaps the term slaveholder brings to mind a wealthy plantation-owner, and the term trafficker summons the image of a terribly violent pimp – in reality, many perpetrators are small-time operators, no matter the name. In my research, I came across a slaveholder who was surviving with help from a bonded labourer and loans from the Grameen Bank, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance organisation dedicated to extending loans to the world’s poor. He was more powerful than his slaves, but not by much.
Goral paid his bonded labourer about $10 a year for two years, and then convinced him to continue working for three more years without pay
What an insight my boots on the ground revealed. In my talks with powerful-looking but powerless-feeling people, I discovered the power of nostalgia. We long for the past, which we remember with warmth, and we will do almost anything to keep what we have and grasp for what we have lost. This is as true in rural India, where the caste system is remembered with nostalgia, as it is in Indiana, where an industrial era is remembered wistfully, despite a history of racial exclusion. In times of cultural, political or economic upheaval, rights-violators are often trapped between the awesomely powerful and the completely powerless. What do we know of people who might once have possessed great power, but who are now in decline?
Across the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, and in 16 different communities, I sat down to speak with slaveholders. If you talk to rights-violators for long enough, they’ll tell you about their life. In interview after interview, these men – and they were all men – expressed a sense of loss. Each had been challenged by local efforts to end bonded labour in their community. Each yearned for the old days, when ‘we were like family’, and each member of the community knew his or her place.
When I asked Goral, an older man whose bonded labourer no longer worked for him, whether there had been any change in relationships between bonded labourers and masters, he replied: ‘There is no such change. We are like family.’ He explained that the labourer came to them as a child in order to repay a debt assumed by the boy’s father in a nearby village. Over time, Goral obtained the debt and the boy along with it. When I asked how their relationship began, he explained: ‘There was debt – that is why we kept him as a bonded labourer! After repaying the debt, he also worked as a bonded labourer for a few more years. His debt was 1,000 rupees [around $20] and he worked for four or five years. He remained with me because I had a shortage of labour, and the bonded labourer had some problems at home, so I requested that he continue for a few more years.’ In other words, Goral paid his bonded labourer about $10 a year for two years, and then convinced him to continue working for three more years without pay.
Goral was proud of the extent to which he had been able to care for this boy as he grew into a young man. The fact that the boy worked for years to pay off a $20 debt obscures the deeper social reality, which is that Goral cared for someone who had problems at home. This win-win was, in Goral’s retelling, an ideal form of mutual aid. It is what family does.
The familial model allows for the presence of a patriarch, a role that interviewees referenced consistently. I was told that, in better times, slaveholders’ fathers had ruled with fear and respect. Across these conversations, the paternalistic lines were easy to trace; respect was expected in exchange for care: ‘We served the people. If someone was lacking something, we would give it to them. It’s like that; we helped them.’ Labourers, in this nostalgic reckoning, were hard-working, grateful and honest. They held up their end of the cosmic bargain so central to caste, and benefited in turn.
Such were the olden days for slaveholders. The present, by contrast, is a time of loss and decline. As one high-caste slaveholder explained to me: ‘To be born in the higher caste has become a bane. Even when we do well, we are blamed and our rights are withheld.’
This problem is bound up in broader social change that slaveholders, in the agricultural sector especially, are ill-equipped to manage. New roads are built, new laws are passed, and new ideas spread. They face substantial changes in the form of rapid urbanisation and migration, the collapse of commodity prices, conditions of persistent drought, the disappearance of party allies, the diminished value of caste, and an uptick in challenges from the poor and marginalised. For many rural slaveholders, their surest resource is their caste status, yet rhetorical threats such as ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ ring hollow when mobile phones deliver news about better jobs in growing |
she has received plenty of harsh criticism because the tree - dated by park officials thanks to its ring samples - was a beloved historic symbol in Longwood, Florida.
Too late: Seminole County and Longwood firemen watched helplessly as the 3,500-year-old tree burned Not one with nature: Authorities found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at Barnes's home in Florida Model: Sara Barnes, 26, of Winter Park, Florida, was identified by two witnesses as the person who caused the 118ft bald cypress tree named 'The Senator' to burn and collapse on January 16, police said A $30,000 fence is planned to be built nearby to stop visitors stealing the remaining portions of the tree, or from standing too near Lady Liberty, a neighbouring 2,000-year-old cypress tree. The tree made it 165ft before a 1925 hurricane lopped off its top, park officials say. Native American Indians who lived throughout central Florida would use the tree as a landmark. RELATED ARTICLES Previous
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Next Firefighter WAS killed in a drug-related murder and main... Trouble under foot: Stunning black and white photographs... Share this article Share In the late 19th century it became a popular visitor attraction. It was the centrepiece of Longwood's Big Tree Park and believed to be the oldest of its kind in North America. It was also thought to be the fifth oldest in the world. Firefighters had a difficult time getting to the tree at Longwood's Big Tree Park and had to run almost a mile of hose to get to The Senator.
Famed: It was named for Senator M.O. Overstreet who donated the tree's land to the state in 1927
Tourist attraction: A plaque at the site of The Senator heralds it as the largest Cypress in the U.S.
Wreckage: A Seminole County firefighter foams down what is left of The Senator, a 3,500-year-old cypress tree that burned in Big Tree Park in Longwood, Florida, right, and as it used to stand, left
The tree, which had withstood lightning storms, hurricanes, droughts and other harsh conditions, burned for several hours before it was weakened so much that it collapsed in less than three hours.
Initially, authorities thought it was simply a natural accident and the damage from a strike of lightening. A 20ft section of the tree fell off at 7:45am, and the tree collapsed a half-hour later.
According to News13, firefighters had to keep a considerable distance. As the heat rose, the top of tree burned, sending burning limbs falling more than 100ft to the ground below.The world of football transfers moves at a fast pace, with clubs working daily to ensure they can bring in the best players available to enhance their competitive prospects. However, with players moving from club to club daily, not every signing can be that world-class signing that fans pin their hopes on.
The mentality behind transfers is often down to one player or club, many players look to progress their careers at better clubs, while others opt to accept deals at the club that will bring them the biggest wage-packet at the end of the week.
Clubs on the other hand tend to look at players that will fit into their squad to make them a more competitive side. But sometimes, there are transfers that nobody seems to be able to comprehend.
From free agents to signing players with severe injuries, here is a breakdown of five of the most bizarre transfer and loan deals by the biggest clubs in Europe.
Fabio Borini to AC Milan
Scoring just two goals for Sunderland last season, it was unlikely that Fabio Borini would secure a move, let alone a transfer to a much bigger club.
The Italian scored just eight goals in 62 appearances in the last three Premier League seasons. However, despite his poor form in front of goal, Borini has found himself at the centre of a £5.3million deal that will see him join Serie A side AC Milan on an initial one-year loan that will be made into a permanent move next summer.
The sleeping giant is currently in the process of rejuvenation, with money being poured into the club, meaning the signing of Borini becomes even more peculiar.
To put his form into perspective, his previous spell in Serie A proved more fruitful than his last three seasons in the Premier League, when he scored nine goals in 24 games for Roma.
It will be interesting to see how Borini performs next season in Milan – we’ll find out whether Borini simply had a poor time in the Premier League, or whether his agent is one of the best around.
Julien Faubert to Real Madrid
This is a move that will be remembered by many a Premier League fan. West Ham United signed Julien Faubert on July 1, 2007, only for the Frenchman to injure himself in a pre-season match that saw him sidelined for 6 months.
The Hammers player eventually made his first-team debut for the club in January 2008, going on to make just eight appearances that season.
Somehow those eight games earned Faubert a move to Real Madrid, signing on loan on deadline day of the January transfer window in 2009 in a deal that would see him finish the season in the Spanish capital.
After the shock transfer, Faubert unsurprisingly made just two appearances in a Madrid shirt, both of which from the bench accumulating 54 minutes of playing time.
The most memorable highlight of his career with Los Blancos came against Villarreal, where television cameras appeared to show him falling asleep on the bench.
Faubert’s adventure saw him fail to make any sort of impact in Madrid, his loan fee of £1.5million for a six-month spell appeared to be a costly one, with Madrid effectively having spent £750,000 per appearance.
Kim Källström to Arsenal
Kim Källström’s loan switch to Arsenal is yet another bizarre move. With Jack Wilshere, out struggling with injury, Arsène Wenger looked to find a replacement, completing a deadline day loan deal for Källström from Spartak Moscow that would see the Swede in an Arsenal shirt until the end of the 2013/14 season.
Källström-s medical at Arsenal found three damaged vertebrae in his back, leaving him sidelined for six weeks. Although having an injury, Wenger bizarrely decided to push the deal through, despite the intention of signing Källström being to fill the gap of an injured Wilshere.
Källström didn’t make his Arsenal debut until March 25, coming off the bench in the 79th minute as Arsenal drew 2-2 against Swansea City at the Emirates. In total, he made just 4 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners.
However, despite not securing a deal to stay longer than his six-month loan spell, the Swedish international did leave with an FA Cup winner’s medal, scoring in their semi-final penalty shootout against Wigan Athletic as Arsenal went on to win their first piece of silverware since 2005.
Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid
Jonathan Woodgate’s time at Real Madrid was plagued with injury, although such injury problems were already known by Madrid before they signed the Englishman for a sizeable £13.4million.
When Woodgate did finally make his debut for Los Blancos, against Athletic Club, it was possibly one of the worst debuts seen in a Madrid shirt.
He found his own net with a header, redirecting the ball past Iker Casillas, before then getting sent off later in the match for a second bookable offence.
The defender never lived up to his price-tag whilst at the Bernabéu, falling victim to yet more injuries just as he was establishing himself amongst the first-team players.
In July 2007, a year after his exit from Madrid back to England, Woodgate was voted the worst signing of the 21st century by the readers of Marca.
Ronnie O’Brien to Juventus
Ronnie O’Brien’s professional football career began at the age of 18 when he signed a contract with Premier League side Middlesbrough.
Two years later after failing to make any form of regular appearances for the North-East side, he was released.
However, he was then incredibly picked up by Serie A giants Juventus just a few weeks later, signing the then 20-year-old on a five-year contract in 1999.
This was a team that upon O’Brien’s signing boasted world class talent including the likes of Thierry Henry, Zinédine Zidane, Antonio Conte, Alessandro Del Piero and many more.
Unsurprisingly, given the talent in the squad, the Irishman struggled for first-team football soon finding himself out on loan at four different teams before being released from his contract.
He later went on to play in MLS at FC Dallas, Toronto FC and San Jose Earthquakes.
O’Brien signing for Juventus made him somewhat of a cult hero. The Irishman had such an influence that with the millennium fast approaching, he found himself being nominated by hundreds of thousands of people to win Time Magazine’s Person of the Century award. The publication had to enforce a rule to prevent whimsical candidates from being counted.news One of the UK’s foremost telecommunications experts, a former chief technology officer of British telco BT, has publicly stated that fibre to the node-style broadband is “one of the biggest mistakes humanity has made”, imposing huge bandwidth and unreliability problems on those who implement it, as the Coalition may do in Australia.
The UK Parliament is currently holding an inquiry into ‘superfast’ broadband, as the nation struggles with many of the same issues which the Australian political system has in Australia over the development of the National Broadband Network initiative in this country. Fronting that enquiry in March, according to a transcript seen by Delimiter this week, was Peter Cochrane, one of the country’s most experienced telecommunications experts.
Cochrane spent most of his career at BT, the country’s former monopolist telco similar to Telstra in Australia, where he started as a linesman before progressing into the telco’s research and development department, eventually leading that team and becoming chief technology officer. Since leaving that role a decade ago, he has worked extensively as a force helping to accelerate tech startups, as well as a consultant.
In Australia, the Labor-led NBN initiative is currently using so-called FTTH technology, which sees fibre rolled out to premises all around Australia. However, the Coalition has stated that it sees the deployment as too expensive, and instead is proposing to switch to a fibre-to-the-node style rollout if it wins the next election, where fibre is rolled out to neighbourhood curbside cabinets, with the existing copper cable used for the remaining distance to houses.
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has used BT’s FTTN rollout — which the telco has said will achieve 80Mbps download speeds and 20Mbps upload speeds this year — as evidence for his case that the style of deployment will work in Australia.
However, in testimony to the UK Parliament, Cochrane rubbished claims that FTTN was an appropriate rollout style for national broadband networks.
“Fibre to the cabinet is one of the biggest mistakes humanity has made,” he said. “It ties a knot in the cable in terms of bandwidth and imposes huge unreliability risks … It is a shame, but I understand why people have made that decision. They have made it worldwide, by the way.”
There were a range of problems with FTTN-style rollouts, according to Cochrane. To start with, he said, it was easy for the streetside cabinets to be vandalised. “Once the local bandits have recognised that there is a car battery in the bottom, you can bet your bottom dollar that a crowbar will be out and the battery will keep disappearing,” he said.
Other problems, he added, went to the speeds which FTTN offered (generally considered to be up to 80Mbps at the moment, although they may be extended in future) compared with fibre, which will in future off 1Gbps on Australia’s NBN infrastructure. “What are the leaders doing? There is Sweden in greater Europe, and in the Far East you have Korea, Japan and China. They have a minimum level of 100 Mbps. That is where they start,” Cochrane said.
“They are rolling out 1Gbps, but they are planning for the next phase of 10Gbps. To return to an earlier point, if you have got fibre to the cabinet and you are relying on copper, I can tell you that the network is going to collapse on copper when you get to 1Gbps. It will collapse much earlier. You may do 200 to 300Mbps over a short distance, but you are not going to do anything with a reasonable reach over 1Gbps, and you are certainly not going anywhere at 10 Gbps. So you have immediately got this knot in the bandwidth.”
And reliability was also an issue. “The number one fault problem with copper is water ingress,” Cochrane told the parliament. “Fibre does not care about water … The fault level in an optical network goes down very low. You can reduce manning, buildings, power consumption and everything.”
The Coalition has also raised the possibility that many Australians will primarily access the Internet through wireless networks such as the 4G (fourth generation) infrastructure currently being rolled out by Telstra and Optus, which will allow speeds dramatically higher than previous 3G rollouts. Telstra has stated claimed customers using the device in its 4G coverage areas (capital city CBDs, associated airports and more than 80 regional and metropolitan locations) could access download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and upload speeds from 1Mbps to 10Mbps.
However, on this subject also, Cochrane had much to say. “I am saying that it will not do what it says on the tin,” he told the parliament. “One of the things that amuses me greatly is “up to 20Mbps”. It is like “up to 5,000 cornflakes” in my box, but there are three. It does not help. It is an absurd product description. If anything needs deleting from the English language, it is “up to”.”
“If 4G is rolled out, for sure, if you are close to the base station, you will get bandwidth. The further away you go, the less bandwidth you will get. That is a function of physics; you cannot beat that. The only way to get a lot of bandwidth everywhere is to have more and more and smaller cells. That is really what the wireless future is about. To do that, you need more fibre.”
opinion/analysis
If you read beyond the commentary which I have included in this article and look at the wider transcript, it is clear that in many senses, Cochrane is the UK telecommunications equivalent of a hippy. In his segment in the UK parliamentary committee into broadband, he rants and raves about how great fibre to the home is, and highlights many examples where communities have independently rolled out fibre to their neighbourhoods without the assistance of major telcos like BT.
Cochrane is an out and out evangelist for fibre broadband, and it shows in his one-sided approach to the matter. There really is no point, he says repeatedly, in rolling out anything other than fibre; fibre is cheap enough and delivers such exorbitant levels of bandwidth that it will fill all of humanity’s broadband needs for the foreseeable future.
However, it’s important to realise several facts here.
Firstly, I have included Cochrane’s UK comments in Delimiter, a media outlet concerned with events in Australia’s technology sector, to illustrate how mainstream such discussions are overseas. In Australia, we very rarely see this kind of out and out fibre to the home evangelism, and in general, most of the media commentary around the NBN has been extremely negative. However, in the UK, in the US and in other countries, there are many groups pushing very hard for universal fibre rollouts to every neighbourhood. Cochrane, in the UK, is one example of such an evangelist. He won’t stop until he gets fibre everywhere, and fair enough, as he believes it has incredible benefits for industry.
We haven’t had many such evangelists in Australia, and what this has led to, I believe, is the creation of a debate that is somewhat one-sided.
The Labor Government has taken a strong view that fibre to the home is the appropriate high-speed broadband rollout mechanism for Australia, and there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that its approach is a visionary one which will serve the nation well over many decades to come.
But in the absence of avid broadband fanatics like Cochrane, what has happened in Australia is that the debate over the NBN rollout, despite its ongoing popular appeal, has become extremely one-sided. The volume of the NBN critics in Australia is just so much louder, that they get heard a lot more. In comparison, the volume of those for the NBN in Australia — even though they represent the majority of the country — is much softer. Without strong voices like Cochrane, Australia’s NBN continues to suffer from a bad public relations problem, which does not reflect its actual support in the community.
I suspect that in 50 years, we will look back upon people like Cochrane as visionaries, for daring to say out loud that fibre to every house and business premise will unlock a technological nirvana in global society. And I suspect that we will include Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the Rudd/Gillard Governments in that camp. In the meantime, for the NBN debate to progress beyond the current unintelligent sniping and become an intelligent, balanced one, Australia needs more voices on the pro-NBN side of the fence.
Image credit: Peter CochraneHi! I’m Jules Glegg, a Software Architect working on the League client update. We’ve been fielding a lot of questions about how the updated client’s Javascript/HTML/CSS works, and there’s a huge amount to cover there. I’m here to give a very broad overview of the most interesting parts of our UI architecture - we won’t get to cover every bolt and weld in this post alone, but we should get a good feel for the general shape of things.
If you see something you want to know more about, drop a comment and let us know! For now though, let’s dive in.
Anatomy of a League Client
Let’s take a moment to catch up on the overall architecture of the League client update.
Any given build of the League client is expressed as a list of units called plugins. Each plugin could be anything from a shared utility (like audio playback), to a single screen (like the splash art you see when you first launch the client), to a complex data flow (like patching the game). Back-end plugins that deal purely with data are written as C++ REST microservices, and front-end plugins that deal with presentation are written as Javascript client applications and run inside Chromium Embedded Framework, which we bundle alongside the client.
In all cases, each plugin is self-contained, can be independently developed, built, tested, and deployed, and uses Semver to communicate changes in its API.
{ "id": "league_client_next_release", "plugins": [ {"name": "rcp-be-login", "version": "1.1.0"}, {"name": "rcp-be-lol-patcher", "version": "0.2.3"}, {"name": "rcp-be-lol-gameflow", "version": "1.4.4"},... {"name": "rcp-fe-audio", "version": "1.0.0"}, {"name": "rcp-fe-lol-uikit", "version": "1.2.7"}, {"name": "rcp-fe-lol-navigation", "version": "2.5.1"}, {"name": "rcp-fe-lol-home", "version": "1.2.11"}, {"name": "rcp-fe-lol-gameflow", "version": "1.1.3"}, ] }
A JSON file describing how to construct a League Client
The rough idea is that when we feed the build system a list of plugins, we get a League client build - as long as the list of plugins satisfies each plugin’s dependencies and doesn’t contradict itself. This is the engine that allows engineers to rapidly create new, experimental iterations of the client without disrupting others, and for us to scale to many dozens of teams all working on the same client at once.
The world I’m describing might be very familiar to any of you who have worked with microservice architectures - and that’s no coincidence! The League client update really is a desktop deployment of an entire constellation of microservices.
Anatomy of a Feature
Deploying a bunch of self-contained codebases is one thing, but how do we get from there to a single cohesive, polished experience? We really want to have our cake and eat it too here - the seams between features need to be rock-solid in code, but invisible when it comes to the actual experience of playing League.
The secret, as it turns out, isn’t in the plugins - it’s between them, in the APIs they provide to one another. If the APIs are thoughtfully designed, any arbitrary combination of features can run cooperatively to create an amazing client experience.
In a traditional, monolithic web application the classic pattern is for dependencies to flow downwards. If your application has some kind of top-level navigation, for example, it probably contains a hardcoded list of navigation items and knows how to switch between screens.
In the League client, the common pattern is for dependencies to flow upwards. In this way, plugins register themselves with various systems (like Navigation) at runtime.
With the architecture laid out like so, we can completely isolate features from one another. If the Store Plugin is not present in a build, it won’t ever register a Navigation item or attempt to take control of the screen - it’s just gone. If the Chat feature is not present, it won’t ever register its controls in the Settings menu. And crucially, if ${SUPER_SECRET_FEATURE} isn’t in the build, it can’t be data mined and revealed early. Sorry, Moobeat. We love you but some secrets are too juicy to be Surrendered at 20.
Anatomy of a Front-end Plugin
We require each front-end plugin to provide a very small bootstrapper, which allows us to initialize each plugin with the right dependencies during startup. It looks something like this:
// Listen for the initialization event pluginContext.on(EVT_PLUGIN_INIT, function(evt) { let register = evt.registerPublicApi; // Call back with the public API for this Plugin // This example just plays a sound register(function(dependencies) { // Get the audio engine from dependencies const audio = dependencies.get(‘rcp-fe-audio’); // Return an API which plays sound on the Voice channel return { ‘makeNoise’: function() { audio.getChannel(`vo`).playSound(LUX_LAUGH_URL); } }; }); });
From this basic stanza onwards, it’s really all Just Web - you could initialize a complex Javascript application, use NPM modules, start up a data service or web worker, provide facilities for other plugins to use, or some combination of the above. Let’s take a look at a handful of things we could do from here to make our feature real.
Write an Ember Component or use NPM Modules
Ember has a truckload of super convenient features for developers (computed properties ftw), but it also squats the global namespace - a huge no-no in plugin land. To use Ember, we needed to make some modifications.
Firstly, we needed to keep memory usage down. Javascript libraries tend to be much, much larger in memory than their compact little source files would indicate, so we need to find a way to deduplicate them across plugins. For most packages, this is fairly simple as NPM modules can be compiled into plugins using Webpack and then provided to other plugins using an API like so: `const NeatLib = commonLibsPlugin.getNeatLib(‘v1’);`
Secondly, we needed to support multiple Ember versions. League of Legends puts new things in the hands of players every 2 weeks, so we can’t afford to put the client in dry-dock to upgrade our usage of Ember client-wide. Instead we support a small list of Ember versions and obsolete our usage of an old version before adding a new one, keeping our practices up-to-date on an incremental basis.
By default, Ember assigns things to the global scope. If we try to load two versions at the same time, they’ll collide and create many exciting bugs. That means we needed to put Ember in jail. The technique for doing this falls absolutely into the category of “if it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.” Candidly, I feel embarrassed to reveal how we did it. We use a custom Webpack Loader capable of wrapping libraries which have side-effects on the global scope. Here’s what it looks like:
module.exports = function(env) { var out = {}; (function() { var globalScope = window; var preGlobals = new Set(Object.keys(globalScope)); // Inject given vals into global scope Object.assign(globalScope, env || {}); {{{source}}} var postGlobals = Object.keys(globalScope); var newGlobals = postGlobals.filter(function(k) { return!preGlobals.has(k)}); newGlobals.forEach(function(exported) { out[exported] = globalScope[exported]; delete globalScope[exported]; }); })(); return out; };
Yes, it’s stupid, but it has exactly the effect we need. Once we’ve jailed Ember this way, any plugin can grab a specific version’s instance using the API: `const Ember = emberLibsPlugin.getEmber(‘v2.9’);`.
Data synchronization
In our previous article on the League client update, Andrew mentioned that the two halves of the client communicate over REST. That very easily solves for simple fetching or sending of data, but what about pushing data to the UI to ensure it stays up to date? To do that, we add one little bit of high-voltage magic - a WebSocket that allows the front-end plugins to observe back-end plugins for changes. This socket essentially tells the front-end “Hey - if you had just requested $URL, you would have noticed that the value has changed. Here’s the latest value.”
This design completely removes the overhead of having features talk directly to each other. The need for any kind of shared data layer - exactly the kind of system that could very easily slow down our iteration speed - evaporates completely.
To make this convenient, we created a small library called riotclient-data-binding which looks very much like your favorite REST client, plus support for the REST+WS architecture:
// One-time get dataBinding(‘/lol-chat’).get(‘/v1/buddies’).then(updateList); // Continuous observe dataBinding(‘/lol-chat’).observe(‘/v1/buddies’, updateList);
Animations and Video
Because the League client is patched out to players’ local drives, it doesn’t have the same immediate bandwidth constraints that most web applications have to work with. That opens up opportunities to use HTML5 Video in surprising ways to add some magical polish to the client.
To make implementation of complex video-based elements simpler, we created a state machine library based on Web Components that can be used to create simple groups of video with state-to-state transitions for hover, click, and other events. Unlocking artists to work with video directly in the client is a huge bonus.
<!-- This code defines what happens to the countdown ring when you click 'accept' on the readycheck modal. There's a quick interstitial "intro" video which is played when entering the "accept" state and a looping "idle" video which plays continuously while we wait for other players to accept the matchup. --> <lol-uikit-video-state state="accept"> <lol-uikit-video type="intro" src="/fe/lol-ready-check/timer-accept-intro.webm" fade-in="200ms" fade-out="300ms" preload> </lol-uikit-video> <lol-uikit-video type="idle" src="/fe/lol-ready-check/timer-accept-idle.webm" fade-in="200ms" fade-out="300ms" preload> </lol-uikit-video> </lol-uikit-video-state>
Video is great for ethereal, magical effects or highly-detailed mechanical animations, but there are a great many animations in the League client update that are much simpler. For those, we use a combination of CSS Animations and CSS Transitions. For consistency, we distribute a shared Stylus mixin with preset timings and easing functions to give animations that Hextech feel, client-wide.
Providing different easing functions allows animations to convey priority. In the leftmost example, pieces land softly in position - whereas on the right they snap into place to grab your attention and communicate urgency.
Audio
League has a surprisingly complex soundscape, and we wanted to ensure that plugins would make sound in a cooperative manner that respects player preference and sets an appropriately dramatic mood during Champ Select.
To achieve this, we provide a number of purpose-specific audio channels - UI SFX, Notifications, Music, Voiceover, etc. - through a plugin dedicated to managing audio. Using the fantastic Web Audio API we’re able to wire those channels together to ensure that VO always causes background music to duck slightly, that notifications take priority over ambience, and so on. The audio plugin also pays direct attention to the player’s volume settings, removing that burden from individual features and cutting down a potential source of bugs.
Typography and Shared styles
Chromium has excellent type support, and we take full advantage of CSS @font-face declarations to define type throughout the client. A single Plugin injects the appropriate fonts for the region you’re playing in, while a Stylus library allows plugins to apply the right type styles to their UI.
Click to open in a new window.
Stylus sees usage in many other plugins, and is our means of sharing common CSS snippets such as palette colors, content layouts, and more, using Stylus’ mixin system.
Shared components
Shared styles and colors are one thing - but to make a consistent experience client-wide you need a palette of globally-consistent buttons, dropdown menus, tooltips, dialogs, and other complex entities.
We use straight-up native Custom Elements with heavy usage of Shadow DOM (AKA Web Components) for these items. These native APIs are new to the web but are super powerful for creating truly encapsulated, portable UI pieces.
If you’re not familiar with Shadow DOM, it’s a way of creating complex arrangements of HTML and CSS that aren’t affected by other styles in the page. This behavior is perfect for sealing off components and guaranteeing that they will look and behave consistently throughout the client.
As a developer implementing a page, I can type: <lol-uikit-magic-button> I am like, super magic </lol-uikit-magic-button> But through the magic of Shadow DOM, the browser will render: <lol-uikit-magic-button> <div class="lol-uikit-primary-magic-button-wrapper"> <div class="button-frame-idle"></div> <div class="button-frame-interactive"></div> <div class="left-rune-magic"></div> <div class="right-rune-magic"></div> <div class="radial-container"><div class="radial-effect"></div></div> <lol-uikit-animated-border-overlay class="border-animation-container" speed="15000" /> <div class="lol-uikit-primary-magic-button-text"> <content>I am like, super magic</content> </div> </div> </lol-uikit-magic-button>
The end result of combining these pieces of tech is that we can give developers the ability to invoke complex, custom UI components and add content to them without tying them to a specific template engine, Ember version, or anything else. We can also let devs share components between features that use different underlying technology. We’ve historically worked as close as possible to web features that are standardized or on the standards track, and that approach has (for us) had way more upsides than down.
And more besides!
And that’s it - a very, very broad overview of the League client update UI architecture. There’s definitely a lot more that we’d love to cover in future posts - drop a comment if there's something you'd like us to dive into!"Depression can't be reduced to the psychological field. It questions the very foundation of being. Melancholic depression can be understood in relation to the circulation of sense. Faced with the abyss of non-sense, friends talk to friends, and together they build a bridge over the abyss.
Depression questions the reliability of this bridge. Depression doesn't see the bridge. It falls off its radar. Or maybe it sees that the bridge does not exist. Depression doesn't trust friendship, or doesn't recognize it. This is why it cannot perceive sense, because there is no sense if not in a shared space.
If we consider depression the suspension of the sharing of time, as an awakening to a senseless world, then we have to admit that, philosophically speaking, depression is simply the moment that comes closest to truth."
Franco Berardi - Precarious Rhapsody: Semiocapitalism And The Pathologies Of The Post-Alpha Generation
It's only truth; it's the truth. That's all.
(We all understand quite clearly, really, that depression is perfectly logical. In at least one sense, and maybe more, depression is not a mood; it's knowledge. And the capacity to transcend that knowledge – to laugh and roll your eyes and think, "Cheer up mate, it might never happen" and to get on with things and to forget – that's a very particular kind of magic. And if one day you wake up and you don't believe in magic... well, sometimes that's all it takes.)
There's plenty on this album you could describe as misleading, in one way or another. Disproportionate, overstated, skewed. But none of it is untrue.
(And no one will take care of you, because no one really cares. Even in the Britain of 1994, there were pretentions to human kindness when it came to perceptions of the mentally ill. People spoke of others' "problems" and strove, vaguely, to "understand" them. In 2014, the mentally ill are a giant drag, a drain, a sponge; takers, useless eaters, nudged increasingly firmly towards the inevitable by successive governments, distrusted or resented by peers who suspect they're malingerers, or that their supposed torments are just everyday stressors, poorly dealt with – weakness, if you like. Why can't you get a grip, like we had to? Look at all those famous, successful depressed people. They're doing all right for themselves. What's your excuse?)
The album title, I suppose, could be a half-sarcastic reference to the truth contained within. All those themes of cruelty and suffering, victimhood, personal identity under duress. It's a truth passed on without interpretation. It's only the truth.
(What do you get? Facile entreaties to "reach out" to your friends, imagined as selfless emotional benefactors rather than ordinary human beings who are, in reality, sick of your gloom. Neurotoxic antidepressants and ten weeks of inane assurance from a well-meaning hippy in a carpeted room. A wilful and convenient blind eye turned to any relevant social, political or economic factors – "I dealt with depression," chirp the listicles by 23-year-olds with double-barrelled names. "Here's how you can, too." Tip one, I guess: don't live in the ringing silence of a chilly, damp and insecurely-rented shithole, hearing the footsteps of the upstairs pachyderm, feeling hunted, feeling hungry, knowing you'll never make a living again, and will never be forgiven for that. Tip two: make yourself more useful to the worst people in the world – or else.)
The truth... it's a motherfucker.
(And there's nothing sacred or mystical or nourishing about this kind of pain. Yes, it can be revelatory – but what it tells you is not useful information. Plenty of pop music has set off down this road. Almost all of it has then turned back. You reach a certain point and you realise how broad and how deep the abyss really is. And the bridge does not exist.)
All this is just one part of a bigger, wider truth addressed in sections on The Holy Bible, one of the most astonishingly inventive and ambitious albums of the 1990s. But realistically, there's nowhere else to start. And realistically, there's nowhere else to finish. This probably isn't going to be much fun.
The Holy Bible is 20. Manic Street Preachers, soldiering on, have not allowed this fact to pass them by. This week they release an "anniversary edition" of the album – to go with the one they released ten years ago – then embark on a short tour of Britain, playing all those dense and horrified songs, together, for the first time since... well, since they were a different band, trashing the stage of the London Astoria, Christmas 1994 – grand finale of the single most emotionally exhausting concert I ever saw.
It's tempting to sneer. I mean, what is this? Yet another box set reissue, priced beyond the reach of people to whom the band are meant to speak. Yet another ancient album played in its entirety, as though suddenly everyone there will be able to fit into their old jeans again, or cease to be a parent, or a bore, or a disappointment to themselves. One more retreat; one more defeat. Those of us who were, in 1994, intrigued by the Manics as a force, a bug, a complex and contradictory presence – a band who did things differently, and did not do other things at all – shouldn't we be shocked and appalled or something? The crass exploitation? The nostalgia?
Well, not really. For one thing, every reckless claim or promise the Manics ever made contained the launch code for its own heroic or unheroic failure. That was part of the point. Besides, as Joan Robinson said, the misery of being exploited is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited.
And the fact is, there's something distinctly unusual about this particular trip down memory lane. The truth – of course – is that The Holy Bible can only really be understood in the context of the psychological breakdown experienced by Richey Edwards; Richey James, as he called himself then. I haven't played the album all that much in the last 20 years, considering how much I like it – got my own reminders and my own damn ghosts. For the members of the band, one would suspect that's more than doubly true. Watching Manic Street Preachers play The Holy Bible, then, knowing what it meant and what it still means, being transported back to where you were and how you felt when it was new, and it was the world to you... that's nostalgia? I dunno |
advocates on Capitol Hill. But supporters of the NSA are fighting back, and say the debate over phone data has overshadowed the national security imperatives that led lawmakers to empower the agency in the first place. They say recent world events have helped their case. Then last week, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) credited the Patriot Act with helping to prevent a terror attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The “attack” Boehner is referring to was completely manufactured by the FBI. It was never a real threat, see:
Manufactured Terrorism – U.S. Officials Claim Credit for Stopping Another Terror Attack Created by the FBI
The fact he is so willing to shamelessly lie in order to maintain surveillance powers is simply incredible.
Critics of the spy agency were quick to question Boehner’s take on the Capitol plot. The FBI said it relied on Twitter messages and an undercover source to gather information about the suspect, Christopher Cornell — not wiretaps or call records. Boehner told reporters there was more to the story, but declined to get into details.
So basically Boehner’s argument comes down to “we can’t tell you why we need to spy on you, but trust us.” The fact this clown is the leader of Republicans in the House of “Representatives” tells you all you need to know.
Fortunately, not all members of the House are such slimy liars. The Hill has also reported on the bipartisan bill to dismantle the Patriot Act, known as the Surveillance State Repeal Act. Here are some excerpts:
A pair of House lawmakers wants to completely repeal the Patriot Act and other legal provisions to dramatically rein in American spying. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday unveiled their Surveillance State Repeal Act, which would overhaul American spying powers unlike any other effort to reform the National Security Agency. “This isn’t just tinkering around the edges,” Pocan said during a Capitol Hill briefing on the legislation. “This is a meaningful overhaul of the system, getting rid of essentially all parameters of the Patriot Act.”
The bill would completely repeal the Patriot Act, the sweeping national security law passed in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, another spying law that the NSA has used to justify collecting vast swaths of people’s communications through the Internet. It would also reform the secretive court that oversees the nation’s spying powers, prevent the government from forcing tech companies to create “backdoors” into their devices and create additional protections for whistleblowers.
We should all do whatever we possibly can to move this bill forward, as well as thank Rep. Pocan and Rep. Massie for their efforts.
For related articles, see:
NSA Chief Admits “Only One or Perhaps Two” Terror Plots Stopped by Spy Program
NSA Holds “Top Secret” Meeting to Stop Powerful Anti-Spying Amendment
Congress Guts Anti-NSA Spying Bill Beyond Recognition; Original Cosponsor Justin Amash Votes No
Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Discusses The Constitution, NSA Spying and Torture
It’s Not Just Spying – How the NSA Has Turned Into a Giant Profit Center for Corrupt Insiders
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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Follow me on Twitter.There has never been a shortage of hora-chair commentary on the New York Times Weddings & Celebrations section, and it’s not hard to see why: New York is the status-consciousness capital of our status-conscious culture, and this makes the Times's wedding section a perfect natural experiment designed to answer the question, What do the world’s most self-important people think is important?
The neat thing about these announcements is that they’re fairly structured—if you read a bunch of them, you'll notice patterns in the way couples are introduced and how their basic “stats” are phrased. This makes it possible to test our intuitions about trends like:
The decline of debutante culture
When exactly Wall Street hit its period of peak decadence
How the average age of well-to-do brides changes over time
Whether Princeton’s stricter grading standards have resulted in the “nightmare scenario” envisioned by a concerned student in the Times itself
This is why we built WeddingCrunchers.com, a searchable database of about 60,000 Times wedding announcements published between 1981 and 2013. Specifically, Wedding Crunchers lets you measure the frequency of specific words and phrases in these announcements. When you search for a phrase (technically called an n-gram), you get back a graph displaying how usage of that phrase fluctuated over time.
Let’s see what we can find out with this powerful tool at our disposal.
Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number
As most young professionals (and every parent of a young professional) in New York could tell you, “the average age of people getting married is on the rise.” Why, I’d have to check, but there might have even been a few NYT Most E-Mailed articles on the very subject...
But is this popular conception borne out by the data?
The graph shows how frequently the terms "25" and "35" appeared in New York Times wedding announcements from 1980 to today.
When the Weddings column started including ages in the early 1990s, you were more than four times as likely to see a 25-year-old in an announcement than you were a 35-year-old, but by the early 2000s, 35-year-olds had completely closed the gap. Today you’re slightly more likely to see a 35-year-old than a 25-year old! Brides tend to be a bit younger than grooms, but the trends are similar for both sexes.
Let’s get a broader pictures of how ages have changed in the past two decades of wedding announcements:
Notice how the peak starts well to the left side of the graph in 1990 but then flattens and shifts to the right throughout the 2000s. Interestingly, it looks like the trend might have reversed itself by a small amount in the most recent years, but overall the distribution has clearly shifted to the right.
“Republicans buy sneakers, too”
- Michael Jordan (maybe), on his decision not to endorse Democrat Harvey Gantt in the 1990 North Carolina Senate race
The Times has a famously liberal editorial board. Have its wedded couples trended in the same political direction? Let’s search Wedding Crunchers for mentions of Democrats and Republicans—you know, stuff like “the groom’s father, a Democrat, is a senator from New Jersey”:
Back in the early Reagan days, you were actually more likely to see a Republican mentioned in the weddings section than a Democrat, but as the metropolitan area has become progressively more blue and Rockefeller Republicans have joined the list of endangered species, the political affiliation of the staffers, children of politicians, and politicians themselves getting hitched has reflected the surging Democratic tide of New York.
The Demographics Of Times Wedding Announcements They Are a-Changin’
Let’s not kid ourselves—the Times’s weddings column is indelibly associated with two demographics: Jews and WASPs. As it turns out, though, the wedding announcements have become more diverse over the past 30 years, perhaps deliberately on the part of the Times’s editors, organically on the part of New York’s evolving population, or some combination of both.
It’s hard to ferret out a WASP directly, but there are plenty of excellent proxies we can look at—traditional WASPy institutions like boarding schools, suffixes, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. Let’s see how those are doing:
So we see that references to famous boarding schools are all on the decline, although that appears to be part of a broader trend toward excluding high school credentials from the announcements. There are fewer “III” suffixes, and the traditional, affluent towns of Connecticut’s Gold Coast are also referenced less frequently. These data points are by no means conclusive, but they all support the notion that the weddings section has shed at least some of its aristocratic roots. Perhaps though the strongest indicator of the decline of the weddings section’s blue-bloodedness can be seen in the following chart:
Meanwhile, the words “Muslim”, “Buddhist”, and “Sikh” have all seen small increases, but “Hindu” has really exploded:
This seems consistent with demographic trends, namely that the city’s Indian population increased by 118% from 1990 to 2000, while the city’s overall population grew by 9%.
That might not be the whole story, though. The NYT and other media outlets have reported on South Asians’ growing presence on Wall Street, and if you believe that the wedding announcements largely reflect people on Wall Street (more on that later), and there are more Indians on Wall Street, then you would expect to see more Indians in the weddings section.
Another way to consider diversity over the years is to examine sets of surnames commonly associated with certain ethnicities:
From this graph we can see that Chinese, Indian, and Hispanic names have all become more frequent, with the Chinese making the largest increase. The increase in Indian names has been more recent, and the increase in Hispanic names has been the most gradual.
Now let’s compare those names to the single most popular Jewish surname, Cohen:
Hmm, ok, so while the Cohens haven’t seen an increase, they’re still ahead of the top 3 for the other ethnicities all by themselves! If we add in other common Jewish surnames like Goldberg and Rosenberg, the gap is even more dramatic.
So we can see that some things change less than others. Nowhere is that clearer than in... the Ivy League.
“To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say, ‘Well done.’ To the ‘C’ students, I say, ‘You, too, can be president of the United States!’
- President George W. Bush, to Yale’s graduating class of 2001
Columbia is the most mentioned of the Ivies, followed closely by Harvard. Dartmouth is consistently the least mentioned, and the rest are bunched in the middle. Remember, though, that the Ivies vary widely in total student enrollment, particularly in the number of graduate students.
Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivies as measured by total student enrollment, so in some sense it’s only natural that it would be the least mentioned. It’s also the farthest from New York, which might mean that its alumni are less likely to live in the city, and therefore less likely to appear in the Times when they get married. By the same token, Columbia is in New York, so it probably has the highest percentage of its graduates living or working in the city.
Let’s compare the total enrollment of each school to its representation in the Times weddings section:
It appears that after adjusting for student population, Princeton is the most overrepresented of the Ivies, while Cornell is the most underrepresented. Take this with a grain of salt though, because the table doesn't account for changes in enrollment over time, what percentages of each school’s graduates move to New York City, and the relative propensity for undergraduate alumni to be in the weddings section compared to graduate students (to say nothing of the stratification within graduate schools, namely among professional, doctorate, and other master’s degree programs).
You can’t talk Ivies in the Times without taking a look at Latin honors. Some Princeton students have expressed dismay that they are graded more strictly than their Yale counterparts, while Harvard embarked on its own quest a few years ago to crack down on the ease with which it handed out Latin honors. What does the Wedding Crunchers data say? We can used the advanced query feature to calculate the percentage of each school’s mentions that are preceded by the phrase “cum laude”:
Sure enough, Harvard appears to have the highest rate of graduates with Latin honors, while Yale and Princeton look comparable. Again, though, we should consider graduate programs: many of them don’t offer Latin honors, so graduate students might be contributing to the denominators in the above data without counting toward the numerators, lowering the overall ratios. Harvard is nearly ⅔ graduate students, Yale is closer to 50/50, while Princeton is about ⅔ undergraduates, so it might well be that all of the ratios should be higher by some degree, with a bigger relative increase for Harvard and a smaller increase for Princeton.
But no matter which Ivy League school you attended, you're going to have trouble name-dropping Phi Beta Kappa in your wedding announcement:
This is because in 1999 the NYT officially stopped allowing people to list Phi Beta Kappa honors in their announcements!
All of the Ivies have been co-ed for quite some time. We can see that the Seven Sisters colleges used to be mentioned quite frequently, but have experienced significant declines, especially the ones that haven’t gone co-ed themselves:
Are there any other colleges that can compete with the Ivies for total popularity in the weddings section?
This list is by no means conclusive, but NYU fares very well, while Duke and Stanford have also crept into the realm of the less frequently mentioned Ivies.
Which brings us to a riddle: what do nearly all elite colleges have in common? The answer, of course, is: kids who want to work on Wall Street.
To Have and to Goldman
They used to say, “As G.M. goes, so goes the nation.” Today they might as well replace “G.M.” with “Goldman Sachs,” and “the nation” with “the salesmen at Ferrari & Maserati of New York.”
Let’s look at some of the bigger names on the street:
You’ll notice that Merrill Lynch used to be way more cited than it is today. Wait a minute: does Merrill even exist anymore? Ah yes: It was bought by Bank of America at the depths of the financial crisis, or maybe BofA was forced to buy it by the Federal Reserve, but either way, it’s not quite as popular to include in wedding announcements anymore.
What about the banks that didn’t make it at all? Come to think of it, don’t Wall Street firms have this weird propensity to blow themselves up every few years, with long enough gaps in between that everyone forgets and gets all shocked when it happens again?
And out of the ashes, the hedge funds rise:
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but it’s worth noting that the usage of “hedge fund” in wedding announcements peaked in 2007, the same year that many high-profile funds suffered unprecedented losses as the financial crisis swung into high gear.
Of course, not to be outdone by Wall Street, Big Law has its foot pretty firmly in the Times wedding scene door, to say nothing of the aspiring doctors and consultants of the world. Let’s do a quick professional school analysis:
Overall it looks like the lawyers win, with the business students in the middle (and trending down), while the doctors are in third, but apparently riding an upward trend. One thing lawyers, doctors, and bankers share in common, though: they all have to live somewhere, and it better be somewhere nice!
“Everybody tells you they hate the Upper East Side. They wanna live on the West Side. But believe me, when it’s resale time, the East Side moves all the time. I mean what do you got on the West Side? Sean and Madonna?”
- Sylvia Miles, Wall Street (1987)
The Times’s wedding announcements didn’t include references to specific neighborhoods until the late 1990s, but now that they do, it would appear that Tribeca is all the rage. Closer examination, though, reveals that many of the Tribeca references are actually wedding venues, in particular the Tribeca Grand Hotel and the Tribeca Rooftop event space.
Let’s give venues a closer look:
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has recently surpassed the New York Botanical Garden (the one in the Bronx) and the Pierre as the top venue. Perhaps it’s part of some heretofore unexplored trend toward a cooler, hipper Brooklyn? If that’s the case, why hasn’t the Times reported on such a phenomenon?
There are infinitely many more questions we could analyze, including but not limited to:
but at this point, if you’re still here, it might be best to set you free and let you run your own searches at WeddingCrunchers.com. Enjoy, and be sure to share any interesting results that you discover!BANGALORE: Is someone in the city police conspiring with the accused in the case of the July 11 rape of a 22-year-old student in Fraser Town and putting her and the prime witness at risk? It seems to be so since the woman and her male friend have been getting threat calls on a number to which only the police have access.The survivor and her boyfriend, who was with her when she was raped in his moving car, alleged on Wednesday that they were getting threats from persons claiming to be acting at the behest of the accused. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the callers threatened them with dire consequences if they didn’t withdraw the complaint.Police sources confirmed the woman and her friend had been whisked away to a safe location and were reachable to the police only on exclusive telephone numbers. They admitted there appeared to be a weak link in their protection plan.The woman and her friend called on city police commissioner Raghavendra H Auradkar on Wednesday. She sought police protection in the light of the threat calls. According to sources, she expressed fears a suspended inspector might derail the investigation since he was trying to shield the prime accused and others.The woman’s boyfriend told Auradkar he had been getting threat calls and callers were asking him to withdraw the complaint. “I’ve directed investigating officials to record another statement from the victim and her friend, and investigate the threat calls,” Auradkar told TOI.Police sources said main accused Naseer Hyder, 23, who is behind bars, was closely associated with a constable from Pulakeshinagar police station where the woman filed the complaint. The constable was allegedly instrumental in getting the inspector to force the woman to tone down her complaint and make it a case of outraging of modesty. Later, the inspector was suspended and the charges escalated to include rape.“Hyder is said to have contacted this constable soon after he discovered that the woman and her friend were filing a police complaint,” a source said. “This constable called a politician who was in Shivajinagar at that time and that politician called inspector Mohammed Rafiq, directing him not to accept the complaint.”Hyder is the son of Sheikh Bahadur, a BSP leader who has contested few assembly and Lok Sabha electionsI have a type of synesthesia (or synaesthesia) called grapheme→color synesthesia. Put very simply, that means that I read in color. I have yet to find a particularly clear way to describe this condition accurately to someone who does not experience it (although I’ve done my best to create an extremely approximate demonstration here.) Honestly, I find the idea of reading without color to be as baffling as others seem to find how I read. I am hoping that by writing it all out I will be able to explain it a little better.
Here is a very approximate representation of the colors I read:
Well, kind of. Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that. Have you ever seen this?
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
While it is not clear whether or not this study ever actually took place, there is clearly at least some truth to this example, as evidenced by the fact that you can read it. It is evident that when reading, we tend to give the most attention to the first letter of each word. Also, we don’t read each letter individually; instead, we look at the collection of letters and interpret them as a single unit. Because of this, it is significnatly easier to overlook a typo when it’s at the ebginning of a word. (For example, I suspect that more readers noticed that I misspelled “beginning” than noticed that I misspelled “significantly” in the previous sentence.)
When I read a word, the color of the first letter sort of “tints” the entire word, as shown on the right. This is particularly apparent when looking at anagrams. For example, the word “praised” and the word “despair” are tinted differently, despite having the same letters. The “o” that starts the word “outlook” gives it a generally darker look than the word “lookout,” even though they are made up of the same two words.
I hope that all made sense. If not, don’t feel bad. I probably don’t really understand how you read either.
Frequently Asked Questions
So, can you see the real color too?
Yes, the colors that I see are completely independent from the colors that I read. I can see that this “A” is black and read that it is red at the same time, just like you can see that a basketball is orange and see that it is round at the same time. I know it doesn’t really make sense, but I haven’t found a better way to describe it yet.
So do you just constantly see extra colors all over the place?
Do you constantly see letters and numbers all over the place? I’m never entirely sure what people mean by this question, but to be clear, I only see colors when I read something. An “A” isn’t red until I read it, just like a circle isn’t an “O” until you read it. When I open a page in a book, I don’t know what all the colors are all at once, just as you can’t read all the letters on a page at once.
Are upper and lower case letters or letters in different fonts the same color?
Yes, because the color of the letter is tied to the meaning, not the shape. For instance, cursive letters or letters in heavily stylized calligraphy are the exact same color as their print equivalents, even though they often have completely different shapes. Color is the bridge in my mind between the various graphemes for a letter and the semantic concept that the letter represents. For this reason, grapheme→color synesthesia is sometimes classified as a type of “ideaesthesia,” because the inducer is semantic rather than sensory. No matter what it looks like, if I read it as “A” that means I’m reading it as red, and so on. Speaking of which…
Do you see music in color?
Yes and no. I don’t see sound as color. That is a different type of synesthesia.
I do, however, read written music in color. Written music, like all written languages, is expressed in graphemes. In the case of written music, the grapheme is a note instead of a letter, but my brain still goes through the same process. When I read an “A” on a staff, I still read it as red. Every note on the page is in color, but the color is tied to the letter name (the written concept) not the pitch (the sonic concept,) so, for instance, a C-sharp is a very different color than a D-flat, even though they represent the same pitch in equal temperament.
In addition, a note will be tinted by its accidental; lighter if sharp and darker if flat. And just as the primary color of a word is the color of the first letter, the primary color of a chord is the color of the root.
So, when you see something red, do you, like, read it as an “A” or something?
I get this question all the time. No, it doesn’t work in reverse. First of all, the colors for each letter are very specific, so when you point to your t-shirt and ask me what letter it is, chances are it doesn’t really match the color for any letter. Also, I don’t make a habit of going around trying to read everything. Do you read an “O” every time you see a circle, or read an “I” every time you see a vertical line?
But most importantly, it is not simply that “A” is synonymous with red for me; rather, a very specific shade of red is the bridge in my mind between the various graphemes for “A” and the semantic concept that “A” represents. If I’m not trying to interpret some sort of grapheme, the bridge isn’t used.
Are you just making this up?
No.
Doesn’t that make it harder to read?
I have no idea. I have nothing to compare it to, as I don’t know any other way to read. I suppose I’m not a particularly fast reader and generally prefer to listen to podcasts and audiobooks as a result, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily related.
So if I write everything out in the wrong colors, will you still be able to read it?
Yes, I can still read something even if someone colors the letters wrong. Again, the colors that I see are completely independent from the colors that I read. I do find lots of extra colors a little distracting though. (That’s one of the reasons I never used highlighters for taking notes.) So, if you take the time to incorrectly color each individual letter of an email, (yes, this has actually happened,) my brain is not going to be completely baffled by all the contradicting colors, as you probably hoped it would. I’m just going to be annoyed.
Isn’t synesthesia what happens when you do too many psychedelic drugs?
Unless someone has been spiking my water for as long as I could read, I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. There are cases of what is called “adventitious synesthesia,” in which temporary synesthesia is brought about by drugs or a stroke. I, on the other hand, have what is called “congenital synesthesia“ (which sounds much more life threatening than it actually is.)
Are the colors the same for all synesthetes?
No, each person with grapheme→color synesthesia has their own set of colors. However, I have read that there are some patterns. For instance, “A” is often red, “B” is often blue, and “I” and “O” are often black or white or one each.
When did you find out you had this?
For a long time, I didn’t realize this was something unusual. I’ve never read any other way so it didn’t occur to me that it might not be normal. One day in eighth grade, it occurred to me that my particular colors seems rather arbitrary, and maybe other people see different colors when they read. After asking a few friends what colors their letters were, I realized for the first time that I was seeing something weird.
If you’d like to find out a little more about the science behind all this, here is a nice brief summary:I’ve spent the past few months shooting an amazing and beautiful 35mm film SLR from Japan. This camera has it all – a complete system with detachable prisms, backs, winders, focusing screens, choice of attachable handles, and even limited releases in Titanium. Most important among these accoutrements are the ones containing glass – the camera couples with a complete range of lenses capable of unsurpassed image quality in their price point.
It’s a well-made camera, robust and ergonomically excellent, and it’s beautiful to look at. If it’s not the best professional SLR I’ve ever shot, it’s certainly in the conversation. Any guesses? Nikon F3? Canon F-1? Nope. It’s the Pentax LX, and that’ll surprise some of you. While the popular opinion that the K1000 is the best student camera ever made has become consensus, when it comes to professional-spec cameras, Pentax has largely failed to earn the high reputation enjoyed by its more well-known Japanese rivals.
But does any of that matter? Okay, it’s a less popular camera. Who cares? Not me. And that’s because I spent the final three months of 2016 shooting the LX, and came away feeling that it’s the best 35mm film SLR system camera around. But this can’t be true, can it? The best 35mm SLR system? Surely I’m just hyping this thing up for the sake of an article. Surely the continuous screaming of my two-week-old daughter has addled my sleep-starved brain to the point where I can no longer compose a viable opinion based on fact. Surely I’m an idiot. After all, if the LX were really this good, wouldn’t we all be subject to a sickening abundance of LXs populating the hippest Instagrams and photo geek blogs, a la the AE-1s and F3s of the world?
While I admit I’m certainly sleep-deprived, and though I may be an idiot (depending on my wife’s mood when you ask her), I can still write a cohesive theme. And believe it or not, it’s true – the Pentax LX is better than any pro-spec SLR that I’ve used from rival brands Canon and Nikon. But before you join the chorus of nay-sayers, there are real reasons I hold the opinion. Let’s talk about those.
Professional system cameras are typically heavy and large. They’re designed this way, ostensibly, in the pursuit of durability. A big, heavy camera can take a greater thumping than a lightweight machine, so the story goes. And while the truth of this can be endlessly debated (our upcoming durability test video will settle that score), it’s a bit irrelevant today. Most film shooters in 2017 aren’t using their cameras in war zones or aboard the lunar orbiter. We’re using them to shoot our every-day lives, and while durability is important it shouldn’t come at the cost of a neck-ache and excess travel weight.
But don’t assume that because I say we’re not using these cameras in rough service that I’m making excuses for the LX. I’m not, and I don’t need to. This machine is as robust as any ever made. With full-metal internal construction and metal top and bottom plates, the LX is strong, durable, and reliable. But unlike its competition, it’s also amazingly compact and light. At just 570 grams (20 ounces), it’s about 200 grams lighter than the F3 and about 400 grams lighter than the Canon F-1. Its physical dimensions buck the trend of “bigger is better” too, with a footprint that’s closer to a pocket machine than the pro-spec weapons it rivals. This combination of small size and light weight make it one of the best choices for people looking for an everyday camera, for shooters who travel, or for those who need to shoot the streets with subtlety.
Not content to simply meet the durability standard of its rivals, Pentax pushed further. The brand’s literature of the time boasts of reliability features that its rivals lacked. With full weather- and dust-sealing built in to every button, dial, lever, and switch, it’s a camera that provides the kind of internal protection that no other maker was offering at the time. Further longevity concerns were met at even the cosmetic level, with the body of the camera being coated in black chrome underneath black paint. This was to ensure that as the paint wore from heavy use, the camera would remain a shadowy silhouette. Sorry, steampunk enthusiasts. No brass here.
I think you’ve gotten the point by now. The LX is a tiny camera in a strong package. But just in case you’re unconvinced, let’s pepper you with a few more reliability features – the shutter is mechanical, operating at all speeds faster than 1/60th without the need for battery power. The shutter curtain is a Titanium foil construct. The strap lugs and handle mount are virtually indestructible. And if all this isn’t enough, there are even two special editions featuring Titanium body covers.
You may assume that this strength and portability comes at a cost, that perhaps the camera lacks certain specs that the other makers’ pro-spec models boast. You’d be wrong. The LX’s spec-sheet is as good as those flaunted by Canon and Nikon models of the era. The shutter is capable of speeds as fast as 1/2000th of a second, same as the F3 and F-1 from Nikon and Canon respectively and excellent for those of us who love using fast glass. It’s got a depth-of-field preview lever, self-timer, mirror lock-up, exposure compensation dial, ten replaceable focusing screens, nine optional prisms, and all the rest that you’d expect from a full-featured machine. Yes, the LX packs the same performance as its competition into a tighter body, and in some instances it even offers more.
Some examples of where it beats the rest? Out in the field, when your battery dies, the LX will operate across five shutter speeds, whereas Nikon’s F3 will shoot only one mechanical speed. And compared to the pro-sec F-1, the LX provides the ability to shoot in aperture-priority auto-exposure mode, something the manual-only Canon lacks. And this is a biggie. Auto-exposure is huge, and aperture-priority is the best. This shooting mode allows the photographer to control the aperture of the lens (and by extension, deth-of-field and subject isolation) while leaving the task of selecting the correct shutter speed up to the camera. In this mode, the through-the-lens, off-the-film metering system works beautifully to create perfect exposures every time, and it’s my preferred method of shooting. Nikon’s F3 offers this, but it does so in a much larger and heavier package.
The viewfinder is large, bright, and fully informed. When shooting in manual mode, the user-selected shutter speed is displayed via a needle and gauge, and unlike many cameras, the Pentax also displays the recommended shutter speed based on real-time light readings via a set of multi-colored LEDs. This is fantastic and superior to so many other cameras because when shooting manually it takes only a simple glance to see how your current settings will impact your final exposure. At the top of the viewfinder we find a display of the selected lens aperture. This combination of information and real-time readouts allows the photographer to compose a shot, adjust for exposure, focus, and shoot, all without removing the camera from the eye. Essentially, the LX’s viewfinder is perfect.
Perfect too are the camera’s ergonomics. With or without the optional handles, it fits in the hand confidently and rests with a nice balance that some of its heavier, brickier rivals can’t match. All controls (but one) are relegated to the right hand side of the machine, and all can be actuated with fingers in their natural rest positions. The previously mentioned mirror lock-up, depth-of-field preview lever, and self-timer switch are all ingeniously integrated into the same, single switch. And though this description sounds complicated and obtuse, in use it’s quite intuitive, especially considering the lever will mostly be used as a stop-down lever with the secondary functions being used rarely, if at all.
There’s a shutter lock surrounding the release button, selected with a quick flick of a finger, that prevents any accidental exposures and battery drain. A threaded cable release socket exists in the center of this take-a-picture button, and the shutter speed selector is exactly where you’d expect it, actuating with just the right amount of resistance.
Exposure compensation is handled on the left side of the top plate, integrated into the ISO selector knob, film back opener, and rewind lever. Standard stuff, and the only annoyance on the entire machine given that the exposure comp is a locking affair. This bothers me. Call it a pet peeve, but I detest control locks.
Shooting the LX is about as straight-forward as any exceptional SLR gets. Peer through the viewfinder, frame your shot, focus, and shoot. What’s special about the LX is just how well it does everything involved in this process. It’s about as concise and precise an SLR as you’ll ever find. It’s got everything you need, without overcomplicating things, which is and has always been the hallmark of timeless design. Equally special is the feeling it communicates in the hands, of being constantly ready for any situation, and of being able to surreptitiously shoot the streets without drawing attention. It’s a camera that’s the quintessence of what a great camera should be – a machine that facilitates the craft and gets out of the way of making great images.
And the images made with it can indeed be great, thanks to that gorgeous, metal mount poised on the nose of the machine. It accepts all of Pentax’s K mount lenses, which have long been regarded by those in-the-know as some of the best in the business. The brand’s SMC glass (super multi-coated) is among the very best at solving chromatic aberration, flares, and ghosting, and does remarkably well to coax out the very best color and contrast from the world around us. I’ve never shot a Pentax lens I don’t love, and with an astounding range of focal lengths and designs there’s something in the K mount for every shooter’s needs.
And that’s about all you need to know about the LX. It’s an advanced and astounding camera that’s simply better than the more popular competition. It’s small, capable, precise, and beautiful. It’s durable, reliable, and reasonably-priced. It may not have been as popular as competing models from other brands, but those who bothered to notice were keenly aware of its excellence.
Proof of this fact can be gleaned from the stunning duration of the machine’s production. For a miraculous twenty-one years, from 1980 to 2001, this camera could be purchased new. Take a moment and imagine another tool or gadget that’s just as effective and attractive in 2001 as it was in 1980. Your computer? Your car? And for that matter, think about whether or not your latest digital camera will have the staying power of the Pentax? If that matters to you, and if having the best matters to you, give the LX a shot. I can nearly guarantee you’ll love it.
Want your own Pentax LX?
CASUAL PHOTOPHILE is on Ello, Facebook, Instagram, and YoutubeDutch company ‘Builder 3D Printers‘ today announced the launch of their latest 3D printer. It is a printer that could be considered comparable to the MakerBot Replicator Z18, as far as buld size goes.
This latest printer has a build size of 220x210x665 mm (8.66 x 8 |
Bandra, injuring four homeless people and killing one. Patil, who had been assigned as Khan’s body guard, was in the car with him when the mishap occurred. He died in controversial circumstances in October 2007, amid speculations that he was under immense pressure to change his testimony. His statement that the actor was drunk, and was driving despite being advised against it, is key evidence in the prosecution’s case against Khan. It was Patil’s testimony that caused a Mumbai sessions court to order, on 2 July, that Khan be tried for culpable homicide instead of the relatively lighter charge of causing death due to negligence.
On 8 July, Banerjee took down both of his posts on Patil and the hit-and-run case (published on 26 and 27 June 2013) and uploaded a public apology to Khan, which says, “The last two days have been really excruciating for me. I have received a communication from Mr Salman Khan. There I have been instructed to remove two blog posts that I have written about him. Those articles have been removed from this blog. Here’s a public apology to Mr Salman Khan for writing two blog posts that he didn’t consider appropriate. I am taking a break from writing on this blog till I am in a proper frame of mind to write again. I am really sorry."
What was the exact nature of this “communication" from Khan that made a feisty journalist withdraw his posts all of a sudden? Why were the past few days “really excruciating"? Why was he not in a “proper frame of mind"? In other words, what was going on?
Since I happened to be in Mumbai last week, I wanted to meet Banerjee and get the full picture. But he sounded strangely out of sorts on the phone, and reluctant to meet or talk about it. He finally agreed to meet me “for old times’ sake" and on the condition that he would not discuss the Salman Khan apology.
So I braved one of the wettest days Mumbai had seen this year, traversed half the length of the city, and made it to a coffee shop in a mall in Andheri (West). While quite a few of my other appointments got washed out, Banerjee kept his word. Two hours and several phone calls later, when he finally walked in, the first thing he said was, “I have to leave in five minutes".
He would not reveal the nature of the “communication" he had received from Khan, except to say that he felt intimidated by it. “I do feel threatened," he said. “Wouldn’t you—if you suddenly start getting persistent calls from unknown numbers?"
On being pressed, he pleaded that he was too “afraid of consequences" to say anything more, while his friends report that he has shifted his wife and five-month old baby to a “safer location"—something Banerjee would neither confirm nor contradict. One of the reasons he chose to back off, he says, was pressure from his wife and worried family members.
All this seems way out of proportion for a couple of pieces about a film star on a blog that has not more than a 1,000 followers. But a member of the power elite seeking to turn the internet into a censornet is not a new phenomenon, and it is one that must be condemned and the perpetrators shamed every time it occurs.
India has already had its fair share of cyber-bullies but this is the first time that a Bollywood superstar has clamped down on a film blogger.
It seems like it was only yesterday that everyone was singing paeans to the “democratizing" nature of the online world. But the powerful elements of the offline world—governments, corporations, individuals (what the media likes to call “influentials")—have lost little time in replicating the power hierarchies of the real world in the virtual one.
Banerjee has since resumed blogging, and has promised that he will not stop writing about Khan. But in a new post, he insists, bizarrely enough, that he has no idea why he apologized to Khan: “Why was I required to apologize to Salman when I did nothing wrong? I am still looking for an answer to that question." Really?
Khan has made a career out of playing the little good guy bashing up the big bad guy. In the real world, as we all know, the little good guys don’t stand a chance. More often than not, they either end up like Patil—sacked and humiliated by his employer, disowned by his family, and dying a terrible death, with nobody to even claim the body—or like Banerjee, get silenced, and remain silent if they know what’s good for them.Our other breakdowns got a ton of positive feedback so I thought I would share this video of Marcelo Garcia rolling with JT Torres back in August.
This is a great nogi BJJ match between two high level black belts.
It’s hard to understand just how good Marcelo is. I remember watching some of his matches from the ADCC Tournament in 2005 and trying to figure out how he was crushing everyone, no matter their size. It’s because of him that I became obsessed with arm drags, the x-guard, and taking the back. Now I’m starting to realize that it’s not his build or those techniques that made him so good.
Marcelo Garcia is a master of the fundamentals.
I’m starting to see some the small things that he does that makes him so good, and I’ll do my best to break that down below.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Breakdown
From the start, Garcia is looking for the standing sweep. He’s starting with wrist control to pull JT’s weight down. He’s looking to hook JT’s ankles and come up with the sweep or single leg takedown. At :15, Garcia snaps JT’s head down, hooks his calves with his feet to pull him in and gets up right away into the single leg. Most people will start the sweep and let the guy on top scramble out. Instead, Garcia always follows up his techniques because he knows that it’s the off-balance and the transitions that give you your sweeps and takedowns. At :27, Garcia stands up and JT goes straight into a De La Riva/Spiral guard where he’s hooking the ankle with his hand and keeping pressure on Marcelo’s leg with his legs. The idea is to go into different sweeps, but Garcia kills it with his movement until JT goes into a great transition from deep half guard to a single leg. Watch Marcelo’s right hand at 1:00. He goes straight into the butterfly sweep then uses that arm and shoulder to force JT flat and end up with the guard pass. A great back take from 1:50 and on. JT goes for half guard and when he does, Marcelo steps over and takes the back while trapping JT’s arm with his leg. JT shows a high level sweep at 4:45. Watch how he transitions from the De La Riva guard and comes under to try to take Garcia’s back. To lock the sweep when he knows he can’t get the back, he triangle’s his legs so that Marcelo can’t move his hips. Watch the BJJ transition from 7:00 and on. JT starts to pass so Marcelo goes for a butterfly sweep. JT goes with it and swings his right leg under Marcelo to start to take his back. He stays locked to Marcelo with his upper body then locks in the triangle body lock. He doesn’t force anything. Instead, JT waits for Marcelo to give him a little space and immediately uses that space to get deeper onto the back. Pay attention to the constant adjustments of his hips JT uses to keep the back.
Post any questions you have about the match in the comments section below!Voices: High school over-testing fails college students
istock
When President Obama announced his Testing Action Plan for high schoolers last week — which aims to reduce the amount of time students spend taking standardized tests — the move was met with general ambivalence by my college peers.
While just about everyone I talked to said they hated taking standardized tests, they preferred to put that strenuous, stressful part of their lives behind them and forget about it.
Most college students, though, do not realize the extent to which standardized over-testing in high school negatively impacts students’ experiences once they get to college. We should be outwardly praising the president’s efforts rather than skimming an article and just saying, “That’s cool, I guess.”
Obama’s initiative aims to reduce class time spent taking standardized tests down to 2%.
For a little bit of comparison, I come from a Title IX inner-city, public school in midtown Atlanta called Henry W. Grady, where students in 2014 spent an average of 20% of instructional days taking some kind of school-, district- or state-mandated test, according to data collected from Grady teachers by The Southerner. (In the fall of 2013, 8% of instructional days were impacted and only 3 % in 2012 and 2011.)
Imagine if you had English once a day, but every Friday was spent bubbling in numbers. There was the Writing Diagnostics, the Reading-Plus Diagnostic, the Student Learning Outcome (SLO) Pre- and Post-Assessment, the Performance Series Computer Adaptive Assessment, the Benchmark Assessment, the Georgia High School Writing Test, the Georgia Milestones test and the PSAT, not to mention the End of Course Tests taken during “testing week” every May. And yes, those are real test names.
So I know firsthand how these tests — aimed at increasing accountability and strengthening curriculum — can be so detrimental to students once they get to college. How many standardized tests have I taken since getting to Boston University? None. Most exams are short answer or essay form.
Sure, I’ve taken multiple-choice exams and used Scantrons, but it was all based on the individualized material from that class, not some institutional curriculum created by a higher body that decided what “all students in (insert grade level) should know.”
Most standardized tests in grade school are based on rote memorization of facts rather than learning broader trends, developing critical thinking skills and creating valuable class discussion. These are the traits that most are valuable in college and they’re what we should be teaching our elementary, middle and high schoolers. Colleges don’t really care, for example, that you know Abraham Lincoln got rid of slavery if you can’t place the Emancipation Proclamation in the greater context of history.
So why are we teaching young people these “skills” and facts that they won’t need in a few years?
Many say it’s for teacher accountability; to make sure they're teaching their students “what they should be.” This takes a completely backwards approach to college and life preparation and prioritizes upper-level approval over individual student achievement. Teachers are forced to focus on themselves — and meeting what I feel are meaningless testing benchmarks — instead of teaching their students skills that will properly prepare them for college (and hopefully the real world as well).
So, fellow college students, next time you hear about a push to reduce time spent testing in grade school like Obama’s Testing Action Plan, don’t just stand idly by. Spread the word. Applaud it. Think about how much more you — as a college student—would be prepared if you spent less time learning how to take a test and more actually engaging with concepts, other students and the world around you.
J.D. Capelouto is a Boston University student and fall 2015 USA TODAY College correspondent.
This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2PbXBAWRestoring Hair to the Goatee, Mustache, Beard, and Sideburns
Facial hair transplant is a procedure which restores hair to areas where facial hair growth is thin or missing. It can be done to restore the goatee and mustache, as well as sideburns, the cheek beard, and anywhere that hair is desired, even if hair has never grown in the area before. Facial hair transplants can also be used to conceal acne scars and other types of scars.
Here Dr. Epstein demonstrates the placement of hair grafts into the beard using the Implanter Pen, minimizing the trauma to the grafts for the most natural results and highest regrowth rate.
Loss of facial hair may occur for a number of reasons. It can be the result of genetics, laser hair removal, electrolysis, surgery, burns or injury. Transgender female to male patients (FTM) may also benefit from this procedure. Goals for this procedure can vary from a minor filling in or thin coverage of a limited area to the full restoration of a thick, full goatee or beard. The procedure can be performed on areas where there is no hair, or on areas where hair growth is thin and more fullness is desired.
The number of grafts required can vary but averages are as follows: 350-500 grafts for the mustache, 600-900 grafts for a full goatee, 200-300 grafts for each sideburn, and 300 to as many as 900 grafts for each cheek beard. While not very common, some patients may require and or desire a second usually smaller procedure to transplant additional grafts if they desire more than moderate density.
*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary.
Just as with a hair transplant to the head, the donor hairs for a facial hair transplant come from the back or sides of the scalp, in most cases by the FUE technique. Which site is used typically depends on which area of the scalp Dr. Epstein feels offers the closest match to the facial hair; sometimes it’s the back of the scalp while other times it’s the side of the scalp. Oftentimes, hairs from the very back of the head will be the closest match for the goatee/mustache region and anterior/central cheeks, while donor hairs from the sides will be a best match for the sideburns and posterior/lateral cheeks. Once transplanted, the hairs are permanent and typically grow just like facial hair with similar texture and other characteristics. Furthermore, the transplanted hair can be shaved just as you would other facial hair.
Before and after one procedure of 1,700 grafts Before and after one procedure of 850 grafts Before and after one procedure of 2,300 grafts
Dr. Epstein most commonly uses a combination of single and two-hair grafts in order to optimize naturalness and density. He is also careful to place the grafts at the exact correct angle and direction and, in the case of gray hair, he will even go so far as to aesthetically distribute any existing gray hairs into the restored areas. To minimize scarring, Dr. Epstein uses all-microscopically dissected grafts that can be placed in the smallest possible incisions. For patients concerned about future hair loss of the scalp, it’s important to note that hairs transplanted to the face are no longer available for hair transplantation to the scalp – thus, if future hair restoration is desired to address male pattern hair loss of the scalp, the facial hair transplant patient will have fewer hairs available in the donor area with which to work.
*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary.
Dr. Epstein is truly a leader in the field of hair restoration and facial hair transplantation in particular. He routinely writes scientific articles and lectures at national and international meetings and authored the chapter on beard hair transplants for the definitive hair transplantation textbook “Hair Transplantation 360” put together by his colleagues. As an expert in this procedure, Dr. Epstein performs an average of three to four of these procedures each week. In fact, many patients travel to him from across the country and the world due to his reputation and unique experience.
Donor Hairs for Facial Hair Transplant
The donor hairs most commonly come from the scalp, which typically grow like normal facial hair in their texture and other characteristics, and can be shaved like other facial hair.
Procedure & Recovery
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The facial hair transplant is usually performed under local anesthesia with an oral sedative but can be done under twilight intravenous sedation if desired, depending on the patient’s choice. Lasting three to as many as eight hours, it is a relatively easy procedure for the patient to undergo, and essentially painless. As far as the recovery period goes, the first 5 days after the procedure the transplanted area must be kept absolutely dry, and the tiny crusts around each graft will typically fall out after 4 to 6 days, then the transplanted hairs will fall off 1 to 2 weeks later. Meanwhile, the donor area will take no more than 3 days to fully heal up. As most patients have the grafts obtained by the FUE technique, depending on the number of grafts obtained, the back and sometimes the sides of the head will need to be shaved for larger procedures, unless the no-shave FUE technique is utilized, a technique in which Dr. Epstein offers for patients who prefer this approach.
By the second day, patients are able to travel home and resume nonstrenuous activities. However, the face will look like something was done for at least the first 3 to 4 days. With FUE no sutures are removed and this area will be fully healed up in a matter of a few days.
The transplanted hairs fall out at around 2 weeks, then start to regrow at 3 months, where they will continue to grow for a lifetime.
Hi Doc, Things are going well. I am took all of my antibiotics, and things appear to be going well. I'm kind of shocked. The hair hasn't fallen out that was transplanted. It seems like some of the hairs are growing. Is that normal? I appreciate everything. It looks fantastic! Thanks so much for everything. I have even gotten complements on the beard! 5 stars
5 stars Real Patient
Risks & Results
There are few risks with the procedure, and most are those associated with standard hair transplants. The donor site area typically heals up with undetectable tiny dot scars that result from the 0.9mm and smaller FUE punch sites, even with the head shaved.
As this is a procedure in which Dr. Epstein specializes, most patients travel from out of town to have it performed. The entire procedure can be scheduled by email, phone, and virtual consultation, by photo review and or webcam, allowing Dr. Epstein to give his recommendations and for his assistants Roxy and Dannette scheduling the procedure with the patient.In the past few years, the story of Bloc Party has taken a tumultuous turn. After a short hiatus in 2009, they returned to form with ‘Four’, only to then say goodbye to half of the band. Now, however, life’s looking up. Having recruited two new members – bassist Justin Harris and drummer Louise Bartle – Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack are returning with fifth effort ‘Hymns’. It’s a whole new chapter. “Despite all the recent turmoil with the band,” begins frontman Kele Okereke, “I was in a very calm headspace. I think the nature of the music that I wanted to make, it brought a sense of calmness; I wasn’t really stressed about anything. It felt like the music was coming from a different place, like there was a purpose with this record that I don’t think there has been with any of the others we’ve made.” The departure of Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong seems to have opened up the group to explore a little. “This record was really an opportunity for the freedom to do what we wanted,” he says. “We had to make sure that we captured all the delicacy and have the opportunity to take it where we want to take it. I was conscious that it needed to feel serene, I guess. Given the nature of the title and where everything’s coming from, I realised it had to have a certain reverence. I don’t think we’ve ever been able to explore that fully in our previous incarnations. Now, we have a new chemistry and I was keen to explore that.”
“This idea of death was never far away; every day I was thinking of this idea of permanence and how nothing is gonna last.” Kele Okereke
Explaining that he wanted their new songs to feel “like modern hymns”, the subject matter of the record isn’t such a surprise. “I’m not a religious person,” Kele offers, while conceding he did grow up with religion at the forefront of his life. “It was a challenge to me to make a record that explored what I believe faith to be. It forced me to ask questions of myself that I’ve never really asked before. “I had a very religious upbringing, and although it was never something that I really subscribed to, I still think there are residues of those experiences that have influenced me as an artist. Looking back at our previous records, I see now there are lots of references to faith and religion in the music. That was part of the reason why, on ‘The Love Within’” - the first track taken from the record - “I took a lyric from ‘The Prayer’ from our second record. It just seemed to make sense really, that direct reference to where I’d been as a songwriter in the past.” The idea of faith and permanence was something the band were also faced with on a day-to-day basis when it came to recording: they were holed up in Lynchmob Studio near Wormwood Scrubs prison, where they spent a month staring out at the graveyard that lay nearby. “Being in a confined space and seeing rows and rows of tombstones, it fed into the spiritual nature of the music. This idea of death was never far away; every day I was thinking of this idea of permanence and how nothing is gonna last.”
Despite delving into some of the bigger unknowns of life, Kele is now feeling calm and confident. Adding that this record was “the easiest recording experience” he’s ever had, it’s an album that will forever mark a change in the tide for Bloc Party, and in his eyes, it’s been “a real pleasure.” “It definitely feels like an exciting time,” he confirms. “I think I would’ve maybe been stressed by the idea of working with new musicians if I hadn’t had the experiences I’d had making solo records and collaborating with people that I didn’t know as well, and realising it can be just as fulfilling as working with people you’ve known half of your life. “To be honest, I was starting to feel like, with our previous line-up, that the way we were playing was, personally, feeling a bit stale to me. After making ‘Four’, we were relying on a default setting when it came to making music. It was a feeling that kept coming back to me when we were touring ‘Four’ that I wasn’t feeling perhaps as inspired as I should’ve been. “I very much welcomed the experience of working with new musicians because it’s given me a new perspective. Justin’s a genius and I’ve always felt that; I was a fan of the band he was in, Menomena. It’s been a pleasure to work with him because it feels like anything is possible. It was a real pleasure to hear the songs coming to life, and that was what I was most excited about.”
Bloc Party’s new album ‘Hymns’ is out 29th January via Infectious Music. Taken from the November 2015 issue of DIY, out now.But on Tuesday, the family of the American being held hostage by ISIS revealed devastating news.
They received it, officials said, in a message from her captors.
"We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life," the family said in a statement. "Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice and peace."
"Once this information was authenticated by the intelligence community, they concluded that Kayla was deceased," Meehan said.
The message sent to the family included photos. One picture showed her wrapped in a burial shroud, but there was enough showing for the family and forensics examiners to identify her, a U.S. official briefed on the matter told CNN.
The photos also showed bruises on the face, The New York Times reported, but it was unclear whether her injuries were consistent with being killed in the rubble of a flattened building, as ISIS claims.
The new information does not confirm how Mueller died, a law enforcement source familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity.
On Friday, ISIS said that Mueller, 26, an aid worker captured in northern Syria in 2013, had been killed in a building hit during a Jordanian airstrike on Raqqa, the militants' de facto capital in Syria. At the time, ISIS offered no proof to back up its claim, other than an image of a building in rubble.
But a White House spokesman on Tuesday placed blame for her death squarely on ISIS.
"This was, after all, the organization that was holding her against her will. That means they were responsible for her safety and well-being, and they are therefore responsible for her death," spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Confirmation of Mueller's death drew condolences and tributes from across the country and around the world. In Jordan, where seething leaders have vowed revenge after ISIS burned a captive Jordanian pilot to death, government spokesman Mohammed Al-Momani expressed "grief and anger" over Mueller's death.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he had ordered flags at state government buildings to fly at half-staff until sundown Wednesday in her honor.
Speaking in Mueller's hometown of Prescott, Arizona, family and friends said they were still finding strength in her seemingly boundless desire to help those in need and share their stories.
Kathleen Day, a friend of Mueller, read from a blog post the aid worker wrote in Syria before her capture: "Every human being should act. They should stop this violence. People are fleeing. We can't bear this. It's too much. I hope you can tell the entire world what I have said here, and what I've seen."
That, Day said, is what friends and family will do now.
"They tried to silence her. They locked her up. They kept us silent out of fear. But now she's free, and she says that she found freedom even in captivity, and that she is grateful, so her light shines," Day told reporters. "And we thank you for shining your light not on Kayla, but shine your light on the suffering that Kayla saw. And let's tell Syria, we hear you, and we're going to do something."
Rescue attempts failed
Mueller made it her life's work to help others. She graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2009 and worked with humanitarian groups in northern India, Israel and Palestinian territories, a family spokeswoman said.
"She had a quiet, calming presence. She was a free spirit, always standing up for those who were suffering and wanting to be their voice.... Kayla's calling was to help those who were suffering, whether in her home in Prescott, or on the other side of the world," her aunts, Lori Lyon and Terri Crippes, said Tuesday.
In August 2013, Mueller fell into the hands of hostage-takers in Aleppo, Syria, her family said, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital.
Her family said ISIS contacted them in May with proof that she was alive. The militants eventually said they would kill her if the family didn't pay nearly $7 million by August 13, according to a source close to the family. What happened after that deadline is unclear.
A number of rescue and negotiation attempts to free Mueller failed, officials said.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, told CNN's Jake Tapper that he and his staffers tried to facilitate Mueller's release on several occasions. Negotiations between the family and ISIS at one point, he said, included discussion about whether Mueller could be swapped for a prisoner being held in Texas who was convicted for conspiring with the enemy.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the government had worked to free Mueller and other hostages.
"We devoted enormous resources, always devote enormous resources to freeing captives or hostages anywhere in the world. And I deployed an entire operation -- at significant risk -- to rescue not only her but the other individuals who had been held, and probably missed them by a day or two, precisely because we had that commitment," Obama said in an interview with BuzzFeed News
"The reason is that once we start doing that, not only are we financing their slaughter of innocent people and strengthening their organization, but we're actually making Americans even greater targets for future kidnappings," he said. "So it's as tough as anything that I do -- having conversations with parents who understandably want, by any means necessary, for their children to be safe. We will do everything we can short of providing an incentive for future Americans to be caught."
Obama called the Mueller family Monday night, a U.S. official said.
"He committed that we will relentlessly pursue the terrorists responsible for Kayla's captivity and death," said Meehan, the National Security Council spokeswoman, "and underscored that his team stands ready to help the family in the difficult weeks and months ahead."
Letter gives glimpse into time in captivity
"I DO NOT want the negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any other option take it, even if it takes more time," the letter said. "This should never have become your burden."
Parts of the letter sound despondent, describing how much she misses her family.
Mueller said she could write the letter only a paragraph at a time. "Just the thought of you sends me into fits of tears," the letter says, and "all in all in the end the only one you really have is God."
But she also wrote that she was fighting to survive.
"I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes," the letter says.
"Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy (put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/the utmost respect + kindness."
The message, Day said, showed that even in prison, Mueller continued to be free.
Others held captive with her told her family and friends that Mueller stood on her head as prisoners tried to exercise in a small space. And she tried to teach the guards to make crafts, showing them how to make origami peace cranes.
"We just delight in that," Day said, "knowing that Kayla remained Kayla."New Delhi: India's second indigenous nuclear submarine is likely to be launched in less than a month's time, towards the end of September or the beginning of October, government sources said.
Launching of a boat refers to the process of transferring the vessel to the water from a dry dock. Once launched, the boat will undergo extensive sea trials before it is inducted into the Indian Navy sometime in 2019.
The launch is likely to be done by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in keeping with the tradition that a boat is launched by a woman. The first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was launched in 2009 by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife, Gursharan Kaur.
INS Arihant was quietly inducted in the Indian Navy in August 2016. It was the first nuclear attack submarine built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Being built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, the second boat, Aridhaman, will have double the number of missile hatches than its predecessor. It will also be powered by a more powerful reactor than INS Arihant's 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor.
Aridhaman will have a seven-blade propeller powered by a pressurised water reactor and can achieve speed upto 12-15 knots on surface and 24 knots under water.
It has eight vertical launch tubes and can carry up to 24 indegenously-developed K-15 (Sagarika) missiles or eight K-4 missiles. The K-15 has a range of 750 km while the K-4 has a range of 3,500 km.
INS Arihant has four vertical launch tubes and can carry 12 K-15 missiles or four K-4 missiles.
The K-4 missile was developed as the Agni-III missile could not be deployed on INS Arihant due to space constraints.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.If anyone at Wesleyan ever engaged in ethnic profiling they’d be drummed out of the University community, but not only is socioeconomic profiling permitted, it’s inflamed by the administration itself.
In the debate on the future of Wesleyan’s fraternities, one argument that is constantly used to discredit fraternities is that they are bastions of white privilege. To listen to fraternity opponents, you’d think every brother had grown up in a mansion, owned a yacht and gone scuba diving in the Maldives. Ironically, some of those who themselves won the birth lottery are among the first to take cheap shots at fraternities.
This stereotype starts at the top. In a September 3, 2014 memo to the Trustees, Roth described fraternity members as privileged members of society who enjoy access to graduate members “ensconced in positions of power and influence in society” and to “affiliations post-graduation.” As a DKE alumnus, I can only say, “I Wish!”
The truth is that when I went to Wesleyan in the ‘70s, DKE brothers were hardly the privileged elite that their opponents claim. In fact, because we mostly came from middle and working-class families, when we surveyed the rest of the campus, what we saw were plenty of kids who came from more affluent backgrounds than we did. We certainly did not hold that against them and we were friends with many of them. But because of our modest backgrounds, fraternity life was a valuable support system that helped me and my brothers navigate the stresses of academia, social life, and finding our way.
The same is still the case today. The current DKE members are actually more economically and racially diverse than Wesleyan as a whole. About a two-thirds of current DKEs are on financial aid, compared to fewer than half of the student body. Twelve percent of current DKEs are first-generation college students, compared to seven percent of the student body, and twelve percent are black compared to nine percent of Wesleyan as a whole.
In other words, there’s more diversity at DKE than in the college itself. Without frats there’d be even less diversity because one of the reasons that working class guys agree to go to Wesleyan in the first place is because they know they can get the support they need in fraternities. More than a few of my brothers have said they would not have stayed at Wesleyan if it had not been for the support of the friends they made at DKE.
Yet the myth of privilege persists and no one seems to feel ashamed to make arguments based on outdated stereotypes. As we move forward in this debate, I hope we’ll have more intellectual honesty than we’ve had in the past. And to fraternity opponents I’d say, check your own privilege first before you start casting stones at us.The forces of nature that so often dictate how life unfolds in the Arctic may also help give Canadian scientists new opportunities to work in the North, particularly in remote coastal areas.
Small mobile labs capable of harnessing wind and solar power are arriving in the Nunavut communities of Cambridge Bay and Gjoa Haven for testing, with hopes they can be more fully used in the Kitikmeot region next year.
In setting up these facilities, there is also hope of forging stronger links with people who live in the local communities.
Shipping containers are being converted into the high-tech, movable outposts for science. They are being created through a multimillion-dollar project spearheaded by the Arctic Research Foundation, one of the non-government partners in the ongoing efforts to find and explore the 19th-century shipwrecks of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition.
"As the Arctic opens up, there is a great need for a lot of science, but it's very expensive to get there, it's hard," says foundation co-founder Jim Balsillie, the former chairman and co-chief executive of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion.
"You've got a very narrow window to do it. So the approach was really to begin to build more and more shared infrastructure that supports scientific work."
Six shipping containers decked out with 15 solar panels each and equipped to support two wind turbines are arriving via water from southern Canada. Five will be in Cambridge Bay and one is bound for Gjoa Haven, on King William Island.
The Arctic Research Foundation equipped a former fishing trawler and transformed it into the Martin Bergmann scientific research vessel. (Parks Canada)
That container-turned-archeology-lab could eventually be positioned on an island near the wreck site of the Franklin ship HMS Erebus, which was found in the shallow waters of Wilmot and Crampton Bay a year ago, or perhaps placed on a barge near the wreck site, says Adrian Schimnowski, the foundation's operations director.
Another container will be equipped for marine science, complete with aquariums and equipment that can measure heart rates of fish and other aquatic animals.
High-tech communication
"Normally, you don't have a lab like that in a remote place where you can actually catch fish or different types of animals, put them in the water and monitor them and conduct experiments on breathing rates and then be able to release them back in the wild without any harm," says Schimnowski.
The nine-metre-long containers are insulated and wired for satellite communication. They aren't intended as living spaces — containers decked out for sleeping accommodation may come later — but do have composting toilets and water purification equipment that can take seawater or water from a lake and make it suitable for drinking or scientific work.
Scientists have worked from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent but larger vessels like it can't get into shallower, coastal waters. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
They can also provide power to supply 10 or 12 tents for scientists.
When the solar panels can take advantage of 24-hour sun, they can produce energy equivalent to what a house in southern Canada would use during the day, says Schimnowski.
A battery bank will store power. Diesel generators designed for extreme cold will be on hand as backup.
"The reason to go with sun and wind is it's just hard to transport fuel drums from place to place. It's very expensive," says Schimnowski.
"The idea is certainly to take advantage of what the environment provides and if you do that in |
3.6-liter V6 and the 5.7-liter V8 engines. The V6, which makes 290 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, now offers 25 mpg on the highway and a 600-mile range. The V8, with 360 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, will bump up to 21 mpg on the highway.
Eco mode, also new for 2014, contributes to improved fuel economy by changing the transmission's shift schedule. Cylinder deactivation also helps at cruising speeds. In the Grand Cherokee, eco mode is automatically on. You'll need to press a button on the center stack to turn it off when more aggressive driving is on tap.
It's not all about fuel economy, however. The new transmission also promises to improve acceleration and increase the smoothness of each shift.
For the avid off-roader, the 2014 model offers three 4x4 options: Quadra-Trac I, Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II.
Quadra-Trac I offers full-time all-wheel drive without any knobs to turn to make a four-wheel drive selection. Quadra-Trac II uses a two-speed transfer case to determine slip and improve traction as needed. The next step up is Quadra Drive II, which incorporates a rear electronic limited-slip differential and has the ability to immediately detect tire slip and distribute engine torque as needed.
Both Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II come with Selec-Terrain, which lets the driver choose between sand, mud, auto, snow and rock settings for maximum performance -- no matter the driving surface. Sport mode is still available but has been moved to the shift lever.
For even further ride and handling customization, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee will continue to offer a Quadra-Lift air suspension system with five height settings:
Normal ride height: 8.7 inches of clearance
Off-road 1: Lifts the vehicle an additional 1.3 inches from normal ride height (NRH)
Off-road 2: Provides an additional 2.6 inches from NRH for 11.3 inches of ground clearance
Park mode: Lowers the vehicle 1.6 inches from NRH for easy ingress/egress
Aero mode: Lowers the vehicle 0.6 inch from NRH. Aero mode is controlled by vehicle speed and adjusts for optimal performance and fuel economy. The vehicle will also lower to Aero mode when in sport mode.
Interior
The Grand Cherokee's looks are only slightly modified, but the primary goal was to differentiate each Grand Cherokee model.
The traditional seven-slot grille remains, but is now a bit shorter and bookended with thinner headlights. Fog lights have moved upward and are more pronounced.
Around back, the taillights are larger and the spoiler is more aerodynamic. Rear fascias are now trim-level specific with dual exhaust standard on all Limited, Overland and Summit models.
Safety
We like the new three-spoke steering wheel with paddle-shifters in the cockpit of the 2014 model. We were also happy to see technology updates. Jeep Grand Cherokee buyers will get to choose from either a 5-inch or an 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen, but a 7-inch digital display in the gauge cluster is standard on all models.
Just as has been done with the exterior, Jeep has worked to make the interior of each Grand Cherokee model unique. Here are some key points of each trim:
Laredo -- Cloth seating upholstery, dark wood trim on the dash and doors, brushed chrome bezels have a slight gold hue.
Limited -- Capri leather seating upholstery is standard, dark wood trim on the dash and doors, chrome accents also have a slightly golden tone as in the Laredo.
Overland -- Stitched-leather instrument panel, steering wheel is leather wrapped with wood accents; ambient lighting is added to the rear-seat footwell and rear-door pocket, dual-pane sunroof with power sunshade.
Summit -- Heated and ventilated Natura-Plus leather seating, available open-pore wood trim and copper accents, A-pillars and headliner are covered in a suede-like material, premium 19-speaker Harman/Kardon surround sound system, dual-pane sunroof with power sunshade.
About the Detroit auto show
As a favorite among families, the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee does not skimp on safety. Improvements for the new model include: forward collision warning with crash mitigation, hill-ascent and descent control, Uconnect access via mobile that connects you to 9-1-1 with the push of a button on the rearview mirror, and cloud-based voice recognition that lets you keep your hands on the wheel while using voice commands to text, set a navigation destination or control the radio.
The annual North American International Auto Show, better known as the Detroit auto show, has maintained its place as a barometer for the entire industry. For 2013, NAIAS takes place Jan. 14-27 and will host concept cars, green cars and supercars from all the major automakers, including what's expected to be a highlight this year: the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette. Check out Autoweek's complete coverage of the Detroit auto show here.By JOE GUZZARDI
CAGLE CARTOONS NEWS SYNDICATE
After a three week hiatus from the debate circuit, eight Republican hopefuls took the stage last week. Held in economically devastated Michigan, the debate gave candidates a chance to come out swinging against the federal policies that led to the state's unemployment rate which peaked at 14 percent after the 2007 meltdown. Currently, Michigan unemployment is 11.1 percent, the nation's third highest.
For those of us who were waiting for a meaningful dialogue about immigration, the effect of which directly impacts not only employment but also the quality of education, health care, the environment, crime and national security, last night was long and lonely. During the two hour session, immigration was mentioned only in passing. You'd never guess that, because of Arizona and other states' enforcement laws, immigration has been headline news for months.
During the earlier debates, except for a few passionate exchanges about the DREAM Act and parroting the universally accepted mantra that the border should be secured, candidates mostly avoided immigration.
But since the adverse impact over-immigration can so easily be woven into America's other social problems, it's a mystery why the candidates won't step up to connect the dots. How hard would it be to make the indisputable observation that accepting over one million legal immigrants annually and giving them work permits creates more American joblessness?
While some immigration-related topics like ending birthright citizenship might be considered too controversial to defend in the national limelight, other immigration restrictions have Americans overwhelming support.
I'll cite as an example the failure of the U.S. government to enforce the time limits written into the millions of non-immigrant visas issued every year. Simply put, too many of the 45 million annual United States visitors never go home. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, about 35 percent of illegal aliens first enter the United States on legal visas and then overstay. Yet, since 1996 when Congress authorized a check-in and check-out system, no president has fully implemented it.
Currently, US-Visit makes no effort to track foreign visitors and has no idea where they are either during their stay or after their visas expire.
Enforcing visa terms is an important part of national security. And since many overstayers get jobs, visa abuses adversely impact American employment opportunities. Making sure people return when their visas expire is not controversial.
Another topic that has broad voter appeal is enforcing existing deportation laws. The United States deports only 4 percent, or about 300,000, of its illegal aliens. Among those who remain, many enroll their children in school, work under the table and access emergency health care.
Stepped up deportations would create two positive consequences. First, consistent with the law, existing aliens would be removed. Second, those considering entering the United States illegally would be deterred. Potential aliens could be further discouraged if other Congressional measures like mandatory E-Verify and eliminating birthright citizenship were in place to further reduce their incentives.
In a perfect world, there would be no illegal immigration. Aliens have, for the most part, come against the American people's will. Immigration has never been a ballot issue. Still, even though Americans want to know the candidates' positions, immigration is a taboo topic.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Guzzardi has written editorial columns, mostly about immigration and related social issues, since 1986. He is a senior writing fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS). Contact him at [email protected] Representative Phyllis Kahn was challenged by Somali-American Mohamud Noor in the DFL primary for House District 60B in 2014, the district saw dramatic increases in voter turnout. This election year, the competitive three-way race in the district makes a repeat of high voter turnout very likely.
Kahn, who has served in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 21 terms, won the 2014 primary with 54% of the vote. Kahn pointed to the Somali community’s opportunity to elect the first Somali-American legislator as a driving force behind the high turnout two years ago, and predicted it would occur again. This year, Kahn faces two Somali-American opponents, with Noor returning and a new challenger, Ilhan Omar. Omar nearly won the DFL endorsement at the party’s convention in April.
“As everyone says, two opponents are better than one,” Kahn said. “The young woman (Ilhan Omar) has done a very good job of mobilizing students to get out to the caucuses and she’s also very attractive to the kind of, what we call the young, liberal, white guilt-trip people.”
In 2014, Precincts 2 and 3 in Ward 6 saw enormously higher rates of same day registration and absentee or early voting than any other precinct according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office. The high levels of same day registration and absentee voting resulted in the two precincts having the highest total estimated voters of any precincts in the county according to the Secretary of State’s data, and they were focused on one race and one race only: the DFL primary for House District 60B. The 2nd and 3rd precincts of Ward 6 include parts of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, which is home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States.
“The absentee was probably due to early voting, not really mailing in an absentee ballot,” Kahn said.
In Precinct 2, 115 voters registered on Election Day, and 411 voted early or by absentee ballot, rates that were 10 and 19 times higher respectively than precinct averages in Hennepin County as a whole. Precinct 3’s rates were even more disproportionate, with 294 same-day registries and 994 early or absentee voters, which were respectively 25 and nearly 46 times higher than the county-wide average rates.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, out of 1,280 total voters, 98 percent voted in the 60B primaries compared to only 28 percent voting in the gubernatorial primaries in Precinct 3. Similarly, 98 percent voted in the 60B primaries, while only 52 percent voted in the gubernatorial races in Precinct 2.
“It’s likely that voter outreach by supporters of both candidates drove the increased turnout, absentees and election day registrations,” Ryan Furlong, the Secretary of State’s Communications Director said. “Many of the supporters likely only had an interest in the 60B race and didn’t vote in the other races on the ballot for the primary.”
Kahn predicts that the race will become even more intense this year with the two Somali candidates battling it out. Meanwhile, Kahn herself has decided to focus on her record representing the district and emphasizing her seniority in the legislature.
“I just talk about my record and what I can continue to do and the issues I’ve worked on,” Kahn said.
Mohamud Noor’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.Share the joy
There is always a backstory that’s cleverly told about all professional basketball players, from people that have known them since the inception of their pre-pro careers. During many break out moments, players’ stories can unfold.
Drew Ebanks is just the right person to tell the story of Memphis Grizzlies’ guard/forward Dillon Brooks. Ebanks has been following Brooks’ basketball career since the now 21-year-old was in high school — and it was right when he launched his digital media and sports news company in 2012 that their professional relationship began.
Ebanks, the Founder & CEO of On Point Basketball Inc., and has been a long time innovator and media personality who provides exposure to amateur and professional Canadian basketball players in addition to documenting the growth of the sport in Canada.
Ebanks has been eagerly watching Brooks since going into the NBA this season. It was last Wednesday (Oct. 18) — the Grizzlies season opener — and Brooks dealt Memphis fans a break out performance against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Canadian-born guard/forward made his presence known in his season debut finishing with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting off the bench in 103-91 win. He grabbed five rebounds and snatched four steals.
The Grizzlies’ second unit player is making his mark on the team that has lost a few of its veteran players (Vince Carter, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph) to other teams. Ebanks knew Brooks would be successful for a team like Memphis, that needs strong bench players.
“I truly thought if given an opportunity Dillon would succeed in the NBA, so no I’m not surprised,” Ebanks said. “I mean he’s proven it time and time again at all levels, including in high school and college and now he’s starting to show it in the league, that he’s a straight up winner. He thrives on competition and has a tremendous will to succeed and take on all challenges. He’s a gamer with a chip on his shoulder, especially after going in the second round of the draft.”
Often referred to as Mr. Canada Basketball, Ebanks’ said he was always proud of Brooks and appreciates his passion for the game prior to his entrance into the NBA. The six-foot-six University of Oregon standout was drafted in the second round in the 2017 NBA draft as the 45th overall pick by the Houston Rockets and traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
“I was actually invited to attend his draft party in Toronto which was an honor,” Ebanks said. “I honestly thought he could get drafted in the first round and I assumed he would especially with him being the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac -12 All Tournament Team and 2nd Team All-American. As the picks came and went I wondered what the NBA front offices weren’t seeing that many of us here in Canada saw. It was quite a long and frustrating wait but Dillon never lost his enthusiasm for all the friends, family and supporters who were there for him. When his name got called it was an amazing moment because one of his life’s dreams came true. He hugged and thanked everyone, took pictures as he finally became a member of the NBA fraternity that evening.”
Early in the season, Brooks is averaging 10 points and 2 steals in 27 minutes while shooting 55 percent from the field. He is an integral part of the Grizzlies’ second unit, which is now outplaying opposing benches 120-46. Brooks plays as if he has something to prove and wants to show he belongs in the league. Ebanks spoke with All Heart about the Grizzlies’ rookie sensation.
1) You have been covering Brooks since he was in high school, how far along has he developed since then?
Ebanks: In high school, Dillon was a beast. He was a slasher, a dunker and one tough cookie playing for Father Henry Carr and their passionate Head Coach Paul Melnik and the same thing at Findlay Prep. He was a no-nonsense player that scored mostly within 15 feet of the basket.
But he has developed his outside shot, midrange spot up shooting and long range game over the last couple years. He’s a threat not only to dunk on you but also to make jump shots and drain game-winning threes as witnessed by his heroics while donning the Oregon Ducks uniform. He’s put in the work and now he’s a multi-dimensional player that won’t back down from anyone.
Also, more importantly is that he’s coachable and if he’s willing to continue to put in the work defensively he’ll have a very long NBA career.
2) What part of his game are we still yet to see?
Ebanks: I think he can get better in the post and use his size on smaller defenders and he can continue to improve his handle in order to use his quickness against bigger opponents. Coming into the draft the pundits said he didn’t have a position, but to me his position is he’s simply a good young basketball player. I think he’s proving that early on and he’ll put in the work to keep it going.
3) If he continues to play like this, do you foresee that he will be in Rookie of the Year Discussion?
Ebanks: Well it’s a bit early for R.O.Y. talk to be honest, but what he’s bringing to the Memphis Grizzlies can’t be understated. He wants to win but he’s also a team player so he can fit in anywhere from my experience watching and being around him over the years. If he’s given the opportunity and adequate playing time he has a chance to snag it. Don’t ever count Dillon out.
4) The Pac-12 Player of the year recorded the highest point total ever by a Canadian-born player in his NBA debut, how important is that milestone for future Canadian-born players?
Ebanks: When you think of all the solid Canadians before him, it’s a testament to his abilities that he set that scoring record. He simply gets after it and wants to be the best he can be. He’s definitely a role model and just like guys like Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray, etc., he will continue to influence and inspire the next wave of highly talented Canadian basketball players.
Check out this video with Ebanks and Brooks:The UK Government is trying to "bully" Scotland into voting against independence by ruling out a formal currency union, the Scottish Deputy First Minister has said.
Nicola Sturgeon said reports that Chancellor George Osborne would reject any deal that would allow Scotland to leave the UK and keep the pound were a campaign tactic ahead of September's independence referendum.
The Tory Chancellor has already said it is "unlikely" that the rest of the UK would agree to a currency union.
A report last year from the Treasury said: "In the event of Scottish independence, the economic rationale for the continuing UK to enter a formal sterling union with another state is not clear.''
It is now being reported Mr Osborne will go further than that and rule out any such arrangement if there is a Yes vote in the referendum.
It comes after David Cameron said yesterday that Mr Osborne would be "discussing this later in the week".
The Prime Minister said it "would be very difficult to justify a currency union post-independence" and added: "I think it's important we set out these arguments in a very clear and rational way.
"It's a very important issue for people in Scotland to understand that this is an argument we are going to make on the basis of economic evidence and advice, not on any a priori views.
"The Chancellor will have more to say about this later."
Ms Sturgeon hit back at claims in the Guardian that Mr Osborne, his Labour shadow Ed Balls and Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander are all set to rule out a currency union with an independent Scotland.
"People won't take kindly on the Westminster establishment ganging up to bully Scotland in the decision we're being asked to take on the referendum," the Deputy First Minister told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme.
She claimed this showed the "Westminster establishment trying to gang up on Scotland because they see it in the polls that they are losing the argument" over Scotland's future.
Ms Sturgeon also said it would be "absurd" for UK politicians to reject a currency union, saying this stance would damage businesses south of the border and impact on UK debt levels.
The Scottish Government has set out plans to retain the pound if people vote for independence, creating a ''sterling zone'' with the rest of the UK.
Economics experts in the Fiscal Commission Working Group, set up by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, have backed this, saying that keeping sterling as the currency in an independent Scotland is ''sensible'' and an attractive choice for the rest of the UK.
Ms Sturgeon said today that ruling out a deal on currency would be "an absurd position for any Westminster government to be in", adding this would "cost their own businesses hundreds of millions in transaction costs, it would blow a massive hole in their balance of payments, it would leave them having to pick up the entirety of UK debt".
She added: "This is a position that makes no sense. It is a tactical position for the purposes of a campaign in which their whole approach is to stir up fear and uncertainty."
The Deputy First Minister said: "No matter what the No campaign, the Westminster establishment, says now, the reality will be very, very different if Scotland votes Yes.
"We have set out a reasonable case that we, Scotland, should continue to use our pound, because it is our pound as much as anybody else's.
"For all of the reasons I have set out, the position that a UK government would turn its back on a currency union doesn't bear scrutiny. It would be a move that would be completely against the interests not just of Scotland but the rest of the UK.
"It's a campaign manoeuvre, it's posturing, it's a tactic, and what they say now on currency will be very different to what they say after Scotland votes Yes.
"People can see the sense of the position we're putting forward, for Scotland and the rest of the UK, and they know this is a rather cack-handed, panicky campaign manoeuvre."
When pressed on whether the Scottish Government had a plan B if it failed to get a deal on a currency union, Ms Sturgeon would only say: "I'm not going to be bullied out of the right position for Scotland and the rest of the UK."
Stewart Hosie, the SNP's Treasury spokesman in Westminster, indicated that a refusal to reach a deal on sterling could result in Scotland not accepting a share of the UK's national debt.
He said: "The UK Government themselves two weeks ago when they made their announcement said that the debt was UK debt and they had to honour it. Now we are perfectly happy to service and pay our share of that but the discussions on the liabilities, including the national debt, go hand in glove with the assets, which includes the Bank of England and a currency union. And George Osborne can't have it both ways."
He too accused the Chancellor of "bullying" tactics.
"It's bullying, it's panic in the No campaign, it's utterly bizarre and it will backfire," he said.
"This is pure politics and George Osborne has got it wrong."
Ruling out a currency union would have an "immediate impact on sterling balance of trade" and "put transaction costs on £60 billion of trade that flows from the rest of the UK, mainly England, into Scotland, with a commensurate loss of jobs", Mr Hosie claimed.
If no deal could be reached on a formal currency union with the rest of the UK, an independent Scotland could still use the pound as its currency.
Sam Bowman, research director at the Adam Smith Institute think-tank said: "An independent Scotland would not need England's permission to continue using the pound sterling, and in fact would be better off using the pound without such permission.
"There is very little that an English government would actually be able to do to stop Scottish people from continuing to use the pound sterling if they wanted to."
He added: "Scotland's position would be closer to that of countries like Panama, Ecuador and El Salvador, which use the US dollar without American 'permission', and, according to research by the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, consequentially have far more prudent and stable financial systems than if they were part of a formal currency union.
"An independent Scotland that used the pound as its base currency without the English government's permission, with banks continuing to issue notes privately and private citizens free to choose any currency they wanted, would probably have a more stable financial system and economy than England itself."
He concluded: "It's up to Scots to decide whether they want independence, but the Chancellor's announcement today should be seen as a feature, not a bug."
Mr Cameron's official spokesman confirmed that the Chancellor will make a speech on the independence debate tomorrow, but declined to say whether Mr Osborne would rule out the possibility of currency union.
Asked whether the official policy was shifting to a position that Scotland would not be able to keep the pound, the PM's spokesman said: "The position is as the Government has been setting out in terms of the analysis paper that's been previously published."
Responding to Ms Sturgeon's complaints of bullying, Mr Cameron's spokesman told a daily Westminster media briefing: "It is not the first time I have found the Scottish Government's approach rather puzzling. I doubt it will be the last between now and September.
"It is the Scottish Government that wants to leave the United Kingdom. What the Prime Minister and others are doing is making - and will continue to make - the strong positive case why we are better together."As Fiat Chrysler continues to pile up record setting sales each month, the brand officially announced Monday it would look to the past for a new 2017 vehicle launch. The long awaited Jeep Pickup was confirmed by Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and Jeep Global Chief Mike Manley during the 2016 North American International Auto Show. Manley said the automaker would produce the new pickup at the company's Toledo Assembly Plant, alongside the next generation Jeep Wrangler. Rumored as a future production vehicle since late summer, Manley also said during the confirmation Monday that the new pickup would utilize the Wrangler platform. “Sergio and I work very, very closely on the Jeep product portfolio," Manley told the Detroit News during Monday's press conference. "Both of us have been a fan of a potential Wrangler pickup. For me, there is a historical place in our lineup for it.” Marchionne added that the pickup should launch late-2017 after the next generation Wrangler rolls out which, he said, is 'phenomenal'. “The car is done, the car is designed and it’s been engineered, so we just need to get off our butts to start producing,” he said. "It's the best thing we've ever made. The design won’t see a drastic change, in order to keep the SUV true to its historical DNA and instantly recognizable." “It’s a phenomenal vehicle. It cures all the ills, whatever few ills the old Wrangler had. And I’ve think we’ve updated design without hurting its history which is really, really important to us.” Jeep produced pickups continuously from 1947-1992 under such iconic names as Willy's Jeep Truck, Gladiator, Comanche, and - simply - Jeep Pickup. American Motor Corp. also produced the CJ-8 Scrambler from 1981-86 which extended the wheelbase of it's popular CJ-7, essentially creating a pickup bed. Many expect the new pickup to bear the Scrambler name as well. Following Chrysler's buyout of AMC in 1987, the automaker began phasing out the pickup line and finally ceased production of the Comanche in 1992 thanks to low sales and the brand's desire to separate Jeep and Dodge. However, Jeep engineers never really abandoned the idea and peaked their fanbase's interest with the Gladiator prototype (pictured above) release during the 2005 Detroit Auto Show. Jeep also produced a limited amount of its J-12 pickup concept vehicle over the past few years, which it rolled out for various events such as the Moab Easter Jeep Safari. While additional details regarding the 2017 pickup have yet to be announced, Fiat Chrysler is expected to release more info later this month during its 2016 earnings call.by
Wikileaks has done it again. I guess the US will really have to get tough now with Julian Assange and Bradley Manning.
In a secret US cable to the State Department, dated November 9, 2006, and recently published online by WikiLeaks, former US ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, outlines a comprehensive plan to destabilize the government of the late President Hugo Chávez. The cable begins with a Summary:
During his 8 years in power, President Chavez has systematically dismantled the institutions of democracy and governance. The USAID/OTI program objectives in Venezuela focus on strengthening democratic institutions and spaces through non-partisan cooperation with many sectors of Venezuelan society.
USAID/OTI = United States Agency for International Development/Office of Transition Initiatives. The latter is one of the many euphemisms that American diplomats use with each other and the world – They say it means a transition to “democracy”. What it actually means is a transition from the target country adamantly refusing to cooperate with American imperialist grand designs to a country gladly willing (or acceding under pressure) to cooperate with American imperialist grand designs.
OTI supports the Freedom House (FH) “Right to Defend Human Rights” program with $1.1 million. Simultaneously through Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), OTI has also provided 22 grants to human rights organizations.
Freedom House is one of the oldest US government conduits for transitioning to “democracy”; to a significant extent it equates “democracy” and “human rights” with free enterprise. Development Alternatives Inc. is the organization that sent Alan Gross to Cuba on a mission to help implement the US government’s operation of regime change.
OTI speaks of working to improve “the deteriorating human rights situation in” Venezuela. Does anyone know of a foreign government with several millions of dollars to throw around who would like to improve the seriously deteriorating human rights situation in the United States? They can start with the round-the-clock surveillance and the unconscionable entrapment of numerous young “terrorists” guilty of thought crimes.
“OTI partners are training NGOs [non-governmental organizations] to be activists and become more involved in advocacy.”
Now how’s that for a self-given license to fund and get involved in any social, economic or political activity that can sabotage any program of the Chávez
government and/or make it look bad? The US ambassador’s cable points out that:
OTI has directly reached approximately 238,000 adults through over 3000 forums, workshops and training sessions delivering alternative values and providing opportunities for opposition activists to interact with hard-core Chavistas, with the desired effect of pulling them slowly away from Chavismo. We have supported this initiative with 50 grants totaling over $1.1 million.
“Another key Chavez strategy,” the cable continues, “is his attempt to divide and polarize Venezuelan society using rhetoric of hate and violence. OTI supports local NGOs who work in Chavista strongholds and with Chavista leaders, using those spaces to counter this rhetoric and promote alliances through working together on issues of importance to the entire community.”
This is the classical neo-liberal argument against any attempt to transform a capitalist society – The revolutionaries are creating class conflict. But of course, the class conflict was already there, and nowhere more embedded and distasteful than in Latin America.
OTI funded 54 social projects all over the country, at over $1.2 million, allowing [the] Ambassador to visit poor areas of Venezuela and demonstrate US concern for the Venezuelan people. This program fosters confusion within the Bolivarian ranks, and pushes back at the attempt of Chavez to use the United States as a ‘unifying enemy.’
One has to wonder if the good ambassador (now an Assistant Secretary of State) placed any weight or value at all on the election and re-election by decisive margins of Chávez and the huge masses of people who repeatedly filled the large open squares to passionately cheer him. When did such things last happen in the ambassador’s own country? Where was his country’s “concern for the Venezuelan people” during the decades of highly corrupt and dictatorial regimes? His country’a embassy in Venezuela in that period was not plotting anything remotely like what is outlined in this cable.
The cable summarizes the focus of the embassy’s strategy’s as: “1) Strengthening Democratic Institutions, 2) Penetrating Chavez’ Political Base, 3) Dividing Chavismo, 4) Protecting Vital US business, and 5) Isolating Chavez internationally.”
The stated mission for the Office of Transition Initiatives is: “To support U.S. foreign policy objectives by helping local partners advance peace and democracy in priority countries in crisis.”
Notice the key word – “crisis”. For whom was Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela a “crisis”? For the people of Venezuela or the people who own and operate United States, Inc.?
Imagine a foreign country’s embassy, agencies and NGOs in the United States behaving as the American embassy, OTI, and NGOs did in Venezuela. President Putin of Russia recently tightened government controls over foreign NGOs out of such concern. As a result, he of course has been branded by the American government and media as a throwback to the Soviet Union.
Under pressure from the Venezuelan government, the OTI’s office in Venezuela was closed in 2010.
For our concluding words of wisdom, class, here’s Charles Shapiro, US ambassador to Venezuela from 2002 to 2004, speaking recently of the Venezuelan leaders: “I think they really believe it, that we are out there at some level to do them ill.”As research continues on the benefits of medical marijuana, scientists have discovered its impact on weight loss. Although the use of this drug is typically associated with the munchies, and people eating more food, studies reveal that people can actually lose weight by using medical marijuana. A paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology reveals that those who used marijuana had lower rates of obesity and lower body mass index. Another paper published in the American Journal of Medicine points out that study participants who used marijuana were skinnier and had lower blood glucose levels. Research published in Medical Hypotheses mentions that THC could be a potential treatment for obesity. There are already cases of doctors and patients using medical marijuana to deal with their weight.
As the use of medical marijuana increases, and it is applied to more health problems, there are several issues that are appearing. The facts about medical marijuana protections remain unclear, and anyone using the product, as well as doctors prescribing it, can encounter certain risks. Even if you have a medical marijuana card, your employment may be at risk. With contradictions at the federal level, the industry may find itself in front of the courts very soon.
Understanding HIPAA
Many people tend to think of HIPAA as a set of protections meant to retain patient privacy, and at its core this tends to be the most important function. Doctors are required to keep patient information confidential. In addition, they are currently transitioning to secure electronic medical records in conjunction with the HITECH Act. The combination of these rules and other restrictions under HIPAA mean that your employer is not permitted access to your medical records. If your doctor recommends medical marijuana for your weight problems or other issues, you may be able to get a state-issued card, but your employer cannot see these records.
At first glance, the rules seem to provide protection. Your employer has no right to see your medical records, so they have no legal right to know about your medical marijuana use. Unfortunately, the reality is more complicated than this. Especially since employers rarely look at your records. Instead, they simply mandate employee drug tests. This can force employees to disclose private health information that seems to circumvent HIPAA.
Federal contradictions
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There have been many conversations about the contradictions between state marijuana laws, which apply to both medical use and limited recreational use, and federal regulations. These conversations started because of the new legal recreational use at the state level. In both cases, but particularly for states that allow medical marijuana, the U.S. Department of Justice has advised against prosecuting medical marijuana use as of 2013. However, marijuana still remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance. This means it is the same classification as heroin and cocaine.
Ultimately, the federal government has left both users and employers in a difficult position. Even if the federal government recommends against prosecution, the controlled substance status remains in place. Using marijuana, even medically with state support, is still illegal at the national level.
Health aid or employment harm?
Medical marijuana has been steadily embraced as a potential treatment for numerous medical issues including weight problems, spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis, epileptic seizures and pain caused by cancer or chronic pain conditions. For those living with these conditions, medical marijuana sometimes helps in treating symptoms that have been otherwise impossible to manage. It has even allowed patients to go back to work after months or years of medically-caused unemployment. However, depending on the job, it can also be the thing that forces them right back out.
In order to deal with the conflict and help to enforce HIPAA’s privacy regulations, Illinois has begun a pilot program that prohibits employers from discriminating against medical marijuana users. The program, known as the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, seems promising at first glance, but it faces the same contradictions as all marijuana regulations. Employers can still require drug testing, enforce zero tolerance workplace policies and fire anyone who tests positive for marijuana use with no exceptions for medical marijuana. They cannot discriminate up front, but they can fire you as long as they have a drug test in their hands.
Helpless under HIPAA
As illustrated by the Illinois example, the existence of drug testing for marijuana means that HIPAA protections fall short for those who use marijuana to treat health problems. Employers do not need access to employee medical files in order to establish evidence of marijuana use. Instead, they can confront employees with a positive test, and those workers have two options. They can defend themselves based on medical use or allow themselves to be fired to protect their privacy.
In response, patients are entering the advocacy scene in an attempt to make medical privacy protections meaningful again. As chronic pain sufferer and medical marijuana user Allie Haroutunian puts it, patients are struggling under “obtuse cultural norms that allow and ban possession and consumption in the same breath.” The rules are self-contradictory and make more important practices like medical privacy meaningless. Until the rules are reconciled at the federal level, medical marijuana users will continue to be punished under one law for what other laws allowed.A former ambulance paramedic who sexually assaulted patients in the back of an ambulance has been jailed for 14 and a half years.
Christopher King, 49, was sentenced by Judge Geoff Rea in Napier District Court this morning. The non-parole period was set at eight years.
Judge Rea said sentencing was difficult because he could find no similar cases and King's was possibly the worst of its kind.
The judge said King's offending had devastated the victims who had suffered the indignity of not having their |
antis and Meereen
Theon from Winterfell to the Iron Islands
Varys from Meereen to Dorne, and Back Again
Littlefinger from the Vale to Mole’s Town
Sansa, Cardboard, and Davos’s Northern Walking Tour
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Creative Use of Telepathy
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Olenna knows her family is dead in KL when she shows up in Dorne
Littlefinger knowing Sansa would be at Castle Black (and alive for that matter)
Davos intuiting that Mel could raise the dead.
Davos knowing who the Night’s King is
Brienne knowing not to mention Sandor by name to Sansa.
Brienne knowing that Sansa escaped Winterfell
Smalljon and Ramsay anticipating that Jon might lead an army of Wildlings to attack Winterfell and writing the pink letter to make sure he really does
Marg’s spidey-sense in that the Sept is going to blow up
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best “I have amnesia” Moment
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Davos never asking Mel about Shireen and Stannis.
Roose forgetting everything he knows about Ramsay.
Faullaria and the Sand Fakes forgetting who they’re meant to be getting revenge on.
Brienne strutting around with Oathkeeper.
Cheryl totally forgetting to deal with Ellaria
Dany forgetting that Varys wanted to poison her in the past
Everyone forgetting about Rickon the episode after he was killed
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most EvHUL Ramsay Moment
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Ramsay feeds his girlfriend’s corpse to dogs
Ramsay kills his dad
Ramsay kills his step-mom and lil’ bro
Ramsay writes Jon a rude letter
Ramsay makes rape jokes with Lord Karstark when Lord Umber mentions a gift
Ramsay shanks Osha
Ramsay makes rape jokes at the parlay and calls Jon a “bastard” a lot
Ramsay turns Rickon into a pin cushion
Ramsay kills Wun Wun
Ramsay says unkind things to Sansa while she kills him
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Larrol Moment
Nominees:
When Larry tells Carol to “fuck prophecies and fate” because they’re the only two people who matter
When Larry defends Carol to the High Sparrow without knowing her crimes
When Larrol crash the Small Council and everyone leaves
When Larrol crash the Small Council again and jointly persuade the Tyrells to go to war
When Carol comforts Larry about getting sent off to Riverrun and they have sloppy kisses
When Larry tells Edmure he will murder his baby…out of his love for Carol
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Relatable Carol Moment
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Carol isn’t allowed to go to her daughter’s funeral 🙁
Carol isn’t allowed to participate at the small council 🙁
Olenna calls Carol the most vile person she’s ever met 🙁
Carol’s long-term boyfriend gets sent away 🙁
Carol gets sent to the gallery by Kevan because she’s a woman 🙁
Carol’s threatened to be dragged out of her house by bullies 🙁
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Moving High Sparrow Speech
Category Presentation
Nominees:
The one where he fishes for *something* for Marg to confess
The one where tells Larry about the eyeball stones
The ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ monologue for Tommen
“I had fun once – it was terrible”
The one where he teases a walk of shame for Marg that he knew wasn’t going to happen
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Deadpanny Dany Moment
Category Presentation
Nominees:
When she rattles off her titles to the Dothraki
When she burns the Khals
When she returns to find Meereen under siege
When she engages in aggressive negotiations with the slavers
When she dumps Daario
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The Saint Tyrion Ultimate Fan Award
Nominees:
Varys
Kinvera the Red Priestess
Missandei
Dany
Viserion & Rhaegal
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Tyrion’s Most Saintly Act
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Brokering peace with unfeasible demands and sex workers
Giving to the poor
Being the “Abraham Lincoln” of his time
Teaching MissWorm how to drink and make merry
Taming the dragons
Teaching Deadpan about the intersection between the personal and the political
Convincing the red priestess to get all the priests to preach about Dany when they already were
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Tyrion/Grey Worm/Missandei conversation
Category Presentation
Nominees:
When Tyrion teaches them about dragons
When Tyrion teaches them about drinking games
When Tyrion teaches them about slavery
When Tyrion teaches them joke-telling
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The Horrific Implications Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Tyrion’s comedic alcoholism
Theon’s PTSD getting screamed away by Yara
Sansa’s PTSD getting aced by murdering Ramsay
Larry not being too fussed about his golden hand
Yara being a rapist for purchasing a sex slave
Tommen’s suicide being the result of his statutory rape by Marg and not being able to handle his abuser’s death
Male sexual assault is comedic (fingers up the ass scene)
“Weak men will never rule Dorne again” perpetuation of toxic masculinity
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The “Backtrack Award” for Most Creative Retcon
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Davos not caring too much about Stannis because he’s a Jon-stan
Hizdahr’s deals with Yunkai and Astapor vanishing
Daario’s magically acquired fleet of ships burning
Blackfish taking over Riverrun
Kingsmoots always being “the law” despite Theon being referred to as “heir” before
Dany and Hizdahr were married
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Praise-worthy Kinslaying
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Faullaria killing Doran
Obara killing Trystane
Euron killing Balon
Ramsay killing Roose
Ramsay killing Walda and his lil’ bro
Cheryl killing Kevan
Middlejon Umber wanting to have killed his father himself because why the hell not
Larry boasting with Kinslaying to the High Septon’s face
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best personality flip
Nominees:
Sansa going from petrified to boss-ass after putting on lipgloss
Theon heading back ‘home’ to the Iron Islands after his Stark-centric redemption arc
Arya going from sleeping with Needle drawn to smirking her way around Braavos
Carol becoming Cheryl and burning the mothafucka to the ground
Davos being Mel’s cheerleader and then remembering to ask about Shireen
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The Serendipity Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Rhaegal and Viseron breaking out just as Drogon flies overhead
Ramsay changing his mind and staying put all season.
The Synchronized Murder™ of the Martell men
Nobody noticing Jon’s corpse in the middle of the yard when Thorne called for his midnight
assembly
Bran waiting to go back to the ToJ until the final episode so we can reveal the SHOCKING MYSTERY OF JON’S TRUE PARENTAGE (or at least the fact his mother is Lyanna) in the last episode
Drogon lurking around the corner of the cliffs so Dany could give a speech to close the episode
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The “Well That Earned My Loyalty” Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Qyburn giving Varys’s little birds candy
The High Sparrow talking about mothers to Tommen
Dany burning down the Dothraki leaders & holy place
Euron talking about his dick and admitting to killing Balon
Lord Umber siding with Ramsay for murdering Roose
Jon marching into a trap to become King in the North
Cheryl burning down the entire government
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The “What Was the Point of That?” Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Brienne’s mission to Riverrun
Larry’s mission to Riverrun
Septon Ray’s peaceful utopia mini-episode
Arya being blind
Jon being dead
Mel revealed as old
Benjen showing up
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The “They Earned Their Paycheck” Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Natalia Tena (Osha)
Max von Sydow (The Three Eyed Raven)
Ian McShane (Septon Ray)
Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark)
Alexander Siddig (Prince Doran)
Clive Russell (Blackfish)
Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand)
Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy)
Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar)
James Faulkner (Randyll Tarly)
Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark)
Toby Sebastian (Trystane Martell)
(note 7/20, 9:00pm: it was brought to our attention a slightly different list was used for Kate to read than the nominees that appeared on the ballot. The list above represents the latter.)
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Use of a Minor Character
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Brynden Blackfish Tully getting killed offscreen.
The off-screen Passion of the Loras.
Rickon the Mute.
Ghost, as visible as his name.
Osha, Ramsay-sue offering/sacrifice #26703
Summer does not appear except for being thrown into wights
Ramsay mourning his Harley Quinn
Podrick being an awesome killer who can correct Sansa Stark on courtesy
The Waif being Arya’s antagonist
Jorah being sent off to find a cure for greyscale
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Use of a Major Character
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Wyman Manderly popping in for one scene
Bran the Exposition Machine
Sam stealing a sword and visiting a library over the course of a season
Doran reading a letter and getting stabbed
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Prop
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Shireen’s inflammable wooden stag
Shaggy Dog’s tiny, but very well preserved, head
Ramsay’s very poorly peeled apple
Melisandre’s Magic Necklace
Cheryl’s shoulder pads
“Dawn” with the sun emoji on its pommel
Frey pies with fingers sticking out
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Book Detail Misappropriation
Category Presentation
Nominees:
“Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood.”
Frey Pies
Tower of Joy
Episode 10 being titled “The Winds of Winter” (without even having The Wall or the White Walkers appear)
Arya using “Mercy” as her name
The Pink Letter
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Character Misappropriation
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Jonny playing Arthur Dayne (the legendary swordsman)
Young Ned playing Jaime Lannister
Sansa playing Theon and Jonny Playing Stannis to re-enact Theon I (TWOW)
Tyrion playing Dany
Tyrion playing Quentyn
Tyrion playing Barristan Selmy
Sansa playing Ramsay
Larry playing season 1 episode 1 Jaime.
Qyburn playing Varys.
Davos playing Melisandre.
Yara’s sex slave playing Qarl the Maid.
Yara playing Victarion
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Identity Theft Award
Nominees:
“The Waif”
“Ellaria Sand”
“Jaime Lannister”
“Sansa Stark”
“Yara [Asha] Greyjoy”
“Arya Stark”
“Tyrion”
“Brienne”
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Best Scene Featuring an Original Character
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Septon Ray and the Shire
The “Fingers up the ass” scene
Lady Crane’s revengeful monologue
Olly’s swinging corpse
Random cock guy from last season getting GPS tracked by FrankenGregor
“Khal, what is best in life” / Dothraki inquisition skit
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Sensitive Child-Death
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Olly
Rickon
Tommen
Baby Bolton
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
Most Stylish Plot Armor
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Jon in “Battle of the Bastards”
Brienne popping into an active siege and leaving without being spotted.
Arya’s gutsy parkour.
Dany’s asbestos skin.
Sansa riding off alone through the North to meet the Vale troops.
Saint Tyrion releasing the dragons.
Penniless Theon getting from the middle of hostile territory all the way back to the Iron Islands alone.
Dothraki suddenly needing the permission of their Khal to rape a captured Dany
The Khal totally buying that Dany is a Khaleesi despite having no proof whatsoever
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Most Justified Plot Kryptonite
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Hotah dropping like a sack of potatoes to a single stab wound.
Lancel incapacitated by a small child.
The Khals inability to think or act as soon as a fire starts.
Summer committing suicide by jumping at the wights instead of going with Bran to defend him.
The Sons of the Harpy suddenly being an army that can be defeated
And the Golden Carol goes to…
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Category commentary
The “Devil is in the Details” Award
Nominees:
The Sword of the Morning’s TWO swords
“Wyllis” as Hodor’s real name
No winter roses for Lyanna
The indefensible Moat Cailin
Jon’s selective memory for traitors.
Jon executing the traitors as Lord Commander before deciding that death ended his Watch
Wildlings and Vale Lords shouting “The King in the North!”
Stannis’s former camp being a short walk away from Winterhell
The flexible sword of Jon
Everyone knows that that tall Kingsguard is a zombie Gregor Clegane, and no one cares
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Best Use of Resources
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Horn Hill
Riverrun
Volantis (or wherever Theon and Yara were between Iron Islands and Meereen)
Oldtown
Dany giving the completely useless speech from Drogon’s back
Spider Wights
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Biggest Shock™
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Mel’s tits are OLD
Rickon’s death
Tyrion’s plans DIDN’T WORK
Fireproof Deadpan 2.0
Jon is the baby! THE BABY IS JON!
The Children of the Forest created the White Walkers
OH MY GOD IT’S BENJEN
Jon lives again!
HOLD THE DOOR!!!
“OMG, did Arya just get stabbed to death?” said everyone for 1.7 seconds
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Most Compelling Ship
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Dany/Yara
Yara/The Sex Slave with a great ass
Tormund/Brienne
Larrol
Sansa/Jon
Sansa/Littlefinger
MissWorm
Dany/Jorah
Dany/Daario
Sam/Gilly
Marg/TomTom
Larry/Bronn
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Best Fandom Name Award
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Field Marshal Sandra Snark
Cheryl Lannister
A Thousand Eyes and Two
Discount Russell Crowe (Euron)
Babs (Boss.Ass.Bitch)
Brittany Stark
Benjen Ex Machina
Tryskebab
Wildling Louie C.K. (Tormund)
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
The “Creatively it Made Sense Because We Wanted it to Happen” Award
Nominees:
Sansa withholding information about the Vale Troops
Jaime and the Tyrells mounting a war without securing the king
Jon’s “we fight with the army we have” timeline
Cersei being coronated for murdering everyone of importance
The Pornish Guards backing a coup and a Sand ruling Porne
Jon being made King in the North while Robb’s heir is sitting right there
Ramsay murdering Roose, Walda, and their baby with the approval of all of Roose’s Lords
Dany burning a temple in front of the Dothrakis to win their support.
Davos totally being a follower of Jon because the script said so
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Editor’s Choice Award for Most Egregious Oversight
Category Presentation
Nominees:
Cheryl torturing Spoonella and handing her over to Gregor in “most empowered act of violence.”
The entire category: “Biggest Middle Finger to Martin”
Benjen Stark in the “They Earned their Paycheck”
Ellaria playing Doran/Olenna playing Arianne in “Best character misappropriation”
“I wonder what Khaleesi tastes like” says the Khal” should be in Most Emmy Worthy Line
Best Cosplay category: Cheryl cosplaying Tywin, The other Red Priestess cosplaying Melisandre, Larry cosplaying Tywin too, Lyanna Mormont cosplaying a Night’s watch member (is black is the only color they wear in the North?)
The Broken Man speech in “Best Book Detail Misappropriation”
“You’re not going to serve, you’re going to die.” in “Most Emmy Worthy Line”
Yara’s “Buck up, Theon” speech be in the “D&D Best Allies” category
High Sparrow telling Marg to lie back and think of Weissreroff in “Best High Sparrow Speech”
And the Golden Carol goes to…
Click for the winner
Category commentary
Well that does it, folks. No more Golden Carols to hand out.
Thank you all for a truly fantastic event! It will no doubt be a night long remembered in the annals of fandom. There were upsets, there were moments of triumph. But above all, it was about that spirit of Book Snobbery that we all share. The true meaning of the Carol Awards: deep, and thematically significant, Dramatic Satisfaction.
And remember, though not everyone took home a Golden Carol (Marg got robbed, in the opinion of these editors), we truly all are the winners. Because Game of Thrones is the best show on TV.
For full, interactive results, click here. We’ll see you next year!
Images courtesy of HBO
[starbox id=”Julia,Kylie”]Disrupted Physician
They can be a terror to your mind and show you how to hold your tongue
They got mystery written all over their forehead
They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young
They don’t believe in mercy
Judgement on them is something that you’ll never see
They can exalt you up or bring you down main route
Turn you into anything that they want you to be–Bob Dylan, Foot of Pride
Although no reliable statistics yet exist, anecdotal reports suggest a marked rise in physician suicide in recent years. From the reports I am receiving it is a lot more than the oft cited “medical school class” of 400 per year.
This necessitates an evaluation of predisposing risk factors such as substance abuse and depression, but also requires a critical examination of what external forces may be involved in the descent from suicidal ideation to suicidal…The Problem With Mandatory Drug Sentencing
Want to hear a sobering fact? The United States of America is the only country in the developed world that doles out sentences to teenagers involved in small-time, non-violent drug offenses. Shockingly, the Department of Justice hands out these sentences to young people with unbelievable regularity. America spends $40 billion dollars, annually, to lock up hundreds or thousands of first-time, low-level dealers. Ignoring the glaring fact that we are not in an economic position to spend such an exuberant amount of money every year on something so absurd, locking up this many people, many of which have serious drug and alcohol dependencies, does nothing to curb the amount of drug and alcohol abuse that takes place every day across the country.
Prison Sentences
America’s “War on Drugs” intensified in the late 1980s when the United States Congress enacted new, federal mandatory, guidelines for prison sentences for individuals convicted of drug offenses. The problem with these guidelines is that they do not care whether or not a person is a first-time, young, non-violent offender that is in far greater need of rehabilitation than incarceration. These draconian sentences do nothing to address the underlying issue involved with drugs, which is abuse. Millions of Americans struggle every day with addictions to drugs and alcohol, and throwing them in jail does not mean that society is any safer. These individuals, given proper counseling and treatment, could become proactive, contributing members of society. Instead, we send thousands of people every year to jail.
Current Policies
While campaigning for office, President Obama was vocally critical of the current system of mandatory jail sentences for drug offenders. However, since he has taken office, he has done little to end the practice of locking up people who have committed non-violent drug offenses. This is not surprising, as the nation as a whole does not seem ready to admit that locking up so many individuals does nothing to stem the epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse in this country.
Research
Not until people are made fully aware of the staggering amounts of research that show how rehabilitation at drug rehab programs is far more effective at curtailing drug abuse than prison sentences are will we be able to openly discuss whether or not our current policy should be abandoned. Research has shown, over and over, that residential treatment programs are far more useful in stopping a person from destroying their lives by abusing drugs or alcohol than going to prison is. Addicts who may really want to stop but can’t or don’t know how, are being punished for their disease instead of being treated for their addiction.
If and when these people get out of jail, it is nearly impossible for them to find a quality job, their addiction has gone untreated and many resort back to their days of abusing drugs and alcohol. This perpetuates a vicious cycle that shows no sign of ending. When Ronald Reagan reorganized the “War on Drugs” in 1986 to impose harsher sentences for drug-related offenses, both drug usage and production skyrocketed. It is time we call this war. Drugs won. It wasn’t even a fair fight. It is time for our country to reevaluate how we address the drug problem in this country. By giving the option for some drug offenders to go to a rehabilitation center instead of prison, we will be making a much greater impact on the drug culture in America.Despite higher-than-expected enrollment of Ohioans newly eligible for Medicaid, overall costs of the tax-funded health-insurance program in the most-recent fiscal year were nearly $2 billion below original estimates. According to a report released on Wednesday by Gov. John Kasich's administration, total Medicaid spending was $23.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30; that was 7.6 percent less than projected.
Despite higher-than-expected enrollment of Ohioans newly eligible for Medicaid, overall costs of the tax-funded health-insurance program in the most-recent fiscal year were nearly $2 billion below original estimates.
According to a report released on Wednesday by Gov. John Kasich�s administration, total Medicaid spending was $23.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30; that was 7.6 percent less than projected.
State Medicaid officials credited a number of recent initiatives and efficiencies in the health-insurance program, which now covers 3 million poor and disabled Ohioans.
Medicaid Director John McCarthy said savings have been achieved through expanded home-based care for seniors, shorter nursing-home stays, expanded managed care, capitated reimbursement policies � pay per patient rather than per patient visit � and other cost-controlling efforts.
�This is a good example of where you have better management tools, you can better manage the program and control costs,� said Greg Moody, director of the Governor�s Office of Health Transformation.
The program also has new automated systems to more accurately determine the eligibility of applicants and to pay care providers. As of May, about 90,000 people who were no longer eligible had lost benefits.
Moody said work continues on improving primary care by focusing more on keeping people healthy rather than just treating them when they are sick, and by more efficiently treating the most common conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The state�s lower-than-anticipated tab came in the wake of Kasich�s controversial decision two years ago to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama�s Affordable Care Act.
>> Related story: Kasich stands by his view of what conservatism means
Expanded eligibility brought more than 500,000 low-income adults without dependent children onto Medicaid rolls last year, pushing overall enrollment to nearly 3 million. Although enrollment in the expansion population was 150,000 higher than anticipated, state officials said, it was offset by a drop in traditional enrollment.
�The improving economy has helped move people off Medicaid and into the (health-insurance) exchanges,� said state Sen. Dave Burke, who chairs the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.
The panel has closely watched per-member, per-month costs to gauge the success of cost-saving initiatives. The goal, Burke said, is to limit increases in the state�s share of Medicaid costs to 4 percent or less a year.
Ohio Medicaid spending grew 3 percent in the most-recent fiscal year, down from 4.6 percent in the previous year.
�We want this to continue,� Burke said. �It�s good public policy regardless of who is governor."
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@ccandiskyBJP’s massive victory in Uttar Pradesh has stunned the opposition leaders into silence. But there was one that spoke: BSP leader Mayawati. The Dalit leader was rather upfront when she blamed tampering of electronic voting machines (EVM) for her party’s near annihilation in the polls.
“Either the EVMs did not accept votes other than BJP, or the votes of other parties have gone to BJP in the EVMs,” Mayawati said. “Looks like voting machines have not accepted any vote from another party than BJP,” she added.
While her claims could be easily dismissed as a desperate last-ditch posturing by a ‘bad loser’, can the more critical issue regarding the vulnerability of EVMs be ignored as easily?
BJP leaders blamed EVMs too
Politicians and media have very short memories. While the BJP and its supporters are mocking Mayawati for raising doubts over possible EVM tampering, they seem to have forgotten that the saffron party’s top leaders were the first ones to raise serious questions over the credibility of these electronic devices following their drubbing in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in the hands (no pun intended!) of the Congress.
So much so, that in 2010 BJP’s prominent spokesperson GVL Narasimha went ahead and wrote a book on the topic (Democracy at Risk! Can we trust our Electronic Voting Machines?) with a foreword by party’s then PM-in-waiting L K Advani. The book is still selling on Amazon at $10.62.
Another BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has been among the most vocal leaders to challenge the credibility of EVMs. Swamy, in his inimitable modus operandi, also moved the Supreme Court on the issue and the apex court ordered the poll panel to introduce ‘paper trail’ to EVMs through the country. Listen to what Swamy had to say about EVMs below.
Meanwhile in 2010, a trio of scientists – Hari K. Prasad, Rop Gonggrijp and J. Alex Halderman – claimed India’s EVMs are vulnerable to fraud. They refuted claims of security made by the Election Commission and demonstrated how they can hack into the EVMs.
Besides, there are several videos doing the rounds, including the one below, which shows how vulnerable these electronic devices are to external manipulation.
Questions about EVMs have been raised in the Maharashtra local bodies poll held last month as well, with many candidates from nearly all the parties in fray protesting against the result.
Supreme Court orders paper trails to EVMS
Moving on Swamy’s petition, the Supreme Court in October 2013 had directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to introduce the EVMs with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system in gradual stages to ensure complete transparency and achieve confidence of voters in EVMs.
In the VVPAT system, when a voter presses the button for a candidate of his choice in the EVM, a paper ballot containing the serial number, name of the candidate and poll symbol would be printed for the voter.
The VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their votes were cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.
With the ECI and Central government moving at a snail’s pace on the matter, the apex court in January this year reiterated the necessity to implement VVPAT in EVMs ahead of the recently concluded assembly elections in five states.
Following which, the ECI decided to use VVPAT for the first time in all the 40 seats of Goa while in Uttar Pradesh it was used only in 20 of the total 403 seats. But a compulsory VVPAT is still a work in progress, without an official deadline being declared by the ECI.
EVMs banned in several countries
One may laugh at Mayawati’s allegations of EVM fraud, but the larger concern that she raises about EVM fraud can’t simply be brushed aside.
There are serious questions about these machines, which is why many developed countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy have banned their use in elections. Many states in the United States have banned EVMs if they do not accompany a paper trail.
Countries such as Venezuela, Macedonia and Ukraine stopped using EVMs following reports of massive rigging. On the other hand, England and France have never used EVMs and they do not have any plans to do so in future.
Disregarding Mayawati’s vital warning on EVMs in the long run would mean compromising on the fundamental foundation of democracy – that of a free and fair election. BJP must pay heed to the questions raised by their own erudite spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao viz. Democracy at Risk! Can we trust our Electronic Voting Machines?
(The author is a Gulf-based Indian journalist. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent those of JantaKaReporter)The National Research Council, which gave the country canola and the atomic clock, will now be taking its scientific cues from Canadian industry as part of a makeover of the country's flagship research labs.
The overhaul, quietly begun two years ago and formally unveiled Tuesday, means the 97-year-old NRC will focus on a clutch of large-scale, business-driven research projects at the expense of the basic science that was once at its core. The Conservative government says it wants to leverage the NRC's world-class resources – everything from wind tunnels and ice tanks to high-powered microscopes – to help reverse the country's chronically lagging innovation performance.
"Our businesses are not doing the research that they need to do," Gary Goodyear, the minister of state for science and technology, told reporters in Ottawa. "So something had to be done."
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The move is in keeping with the Conservative government's emphasis on a business model for public policy, such as tying foreign aid to economic development. It is also another significant foray into the science file, with critics saying the new approach is shortsighted and may shut the door on vast areas of promising fundamental research.
Mr. Goodyear insisted the government isn't abandoning basic science, just shifting its focus to commercializing discoveries. "The day is past when a researcher could hit a home run simply by publishing a paper on some new discovery," he said. "The home run is when somebody utilizes the knowledge that was discovered for social or economic gain."
As part of the overhaul, the NRC is consolidating its disparate operations into a dozen business units and will focus on just five core areas of research: health costs, manufacturing, community infrastructure, security, and natural resources and the environment. Companies, or industries, will be able to tap the NRC's expertise and labs, while sharing the cost of projects – as well as the intellectual property that results.
"Our job is to change innovation performance," NRC president John McDougall explained in an interview. "So we have to do the things that will make that happen. Discovery science is necessary, but it's not sufficient."
Mr. McDougall, an Alberta-bred engineer and businessman, said that while no country has the magic solution to driving innovation, the changes announced Tuesday will help "industry go places they wouldn't go on their own."
Some critics say Ottawa is essentially turning the NRC into a for-hire research organization, a suggestion Mr. McDougall denied.
"You can't convert a government research agency into a contract research organization," warned Peter Morand, former dean of science and engineering at the University of Ottawa and a past president of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council. Instead of collaborating with universities, the NRC will be competing with them for lucrative private-sector contracts, he warned.
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While the transformation of the NRC furthers the government's agenda of targeting research toward economic outcomes, it worries those who say the country's strength in basic science will suffer.
"It's a very sad day for science in Canada," said David Robinson of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, who added that the NRC "was established to develop Canada's basic research capacity and did perform admirably."
Canada isn't alone in trying to find the right balance between basic and applied research as countries struggle to speed the translation of research toward economic ends. U.S. President Barack Obama, for example, is pushing for more near-term results from federally funded research in his 2014 budget.
A closer comparison for Canada, in light of the NRC change, is Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, which calls itself Europe's largest application-oriented research organization. While supported by the German government, the institute getss roughly 70 per cent of its funding from outside contracts.
"We do need some system for moving knowledge from universities to society as a whole," said Adam Holbrook, associate director of the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology at Simon Fraser University. He added that the NRC can be positioned to play such a role, but added that too much focus on an immediate return on investment could be detrimental. "They've got to have a least some kind of eye on the medium-term future – beyond the next election," he said.
The changes unveiled this week stop short of the breakup of the NRC urged by a 2011 government advisory panel on science and technology, headed by Tom Jenkins, executive chairman of software maker Open Text Corp.
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"It's a big first step," Mr. Jenkins said in an interview. "The government is now making it possible to do an assessment of what industry really wants and can make use of, and what they can't."
What has changed
Old
Wide-ranging and often disparate research efforts;
Two dozen quasi-independent institutes and labs across the country;
Work directed by NRC scientists;
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Greater emphasis on "discovery" science.
New
Conducting collaborative R&D projects with private industry, sharing the costs and the risks;
Focus on five areas of research: health costs, the manufacturing supply chain, community infrastructure, security, plus natural resources and the environment;
Closing NRC's medical imaging lab in Winnipeg, along with support facilities in Halifax and Calgary;
12 business units.Mark Cuban recently announced that he is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a new hoverboard range by May 31. If you are wondering how this new hoverboard is different, well, let me count the ways.
Mark Cuban Hoverboard’s Defining Feature: High Price
For starters, the new hoverboard, which Cuban named as Radical MOOV, will cost you an arm and a leg. Kickstarter stated that those who pledge support early are entitled to avail of the scooter for $1,099, the retail price. However, once the hoverboards start hitting the market, the price will be $1,299.
Both of these price tags are still outrageously expensive, especially when competing hoverboards go for as little as $209. It is understandable how Cuban and Radical Transport, the startup producing MOOV, were able to identify the steep price-tag. Based on the announcement, the manufacturing of the MOOV hoverboards will take place in Dallas, Texas.
This is not unlike saying the next generation iPhones will begin selling at more high prices. Once Apple starts relocating its manufacturing facilities from China to the U.S. The cost of manufacturing the hoverboard will only go up so Cuban will have to backup their pricing just to recoup the investment.
Can MOOV Stake Exclusive Claim To Hoverboard Safety?
Radical Transport is careful to underscore that a number of their competitors build their products in China.
“Everyone else uses Chinese manufacturers,” Cuban said in a CNBC report |
and ambiguous, but Lord Oliver, the secretary of state in the 1920s, admitted a predominant bias in British officialdom in favour of the Muslim community to offset Hindu nationalism. The British also sponsored a Shia-Sunni divide in Lucknow and generally transformed religious differences into public, political and legal issues.
There are also reminders of the vile racism of Winston Churchill: “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion... Let the Viceroy sit on the back of a giant elephant and trample Gandhi into the dirt.” Tharoor seeks to demolish the myth of “enlightened despotism” given brutalities like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, with soldiers “emptying their magazines into the shrieking, wailing, then stampeding crowd with trained precision”. It is a pity he does not give the context for the comment of William Joynson-Hicks, home secretary in the 1928 Conservative government of Stanley Baldwin, that “we conquered India by the sword and by the sword we shall hold it. I am not such a hypocrite to say we hold India for the Indians.”
Up to 35 million died unnecessarily in famines; London ate India’s bread while India starved, and in 1943 nearly four million Bengalis died. It was their own fault, according to the odious Churchill, for “breeding like rabbits”. Collectively, these famines amounted to a “British colonial holocaust”.
Tharoor finds the argument that modernisation could not have taken place in India without British imperialism to be “particularly galling”. In response to the claim that empire laid the foundations for eventual success in a future globalised world, he quite rightly observes that “human beings do not live in the long run; they live, and suffer, in the here and now”. And although the “gift” of the English language cannot be denied (“I am after all using it as I write”), there was only a 16 per cent literacy rate at the time of Indian independence.
Inglorious Empire is not, however, a polished effort; it seems rushed. Tharoor admits the decision to write it, following online reaction to a provocative lecture he gave at Oxford, was “made rashly”, and it shows. It is too derivative and at times sloppy and sketchy, and the over-reliance on anecdote does not generate confidence. (“The story is told – I cannot pinpoint the source”; “There is a story – perhaps apocryphal”). He generalises when there is no need to, and the book becomes too repetitive (“Let’s look at the numbers one last time”).
There are also too many sweeping assertions: “By the early 1800s India had been reduced from a land of artisans, traders, warriors and merchants functioning in thriving and complex commercial networks into an agrarian society of peasants and moneylenders.”
Unromanticised history
Still, the book is a timely reminder of the need “to start teaching unromanticized colonial history in British schools”, as “the British public is woefully ignorant of the realties of the British empire”. The book is helpful as a deconstruction of Niall Ferguson’s argument, because the evidence Tharoor piles high – mostly by synthesising the work of others – is overwhelming.
Indeed, it is so staggering that it becomes quite exhausting, but that should not merit too much sympathy for the well-connected, -heeled and -staffed Tharoor. He thanks his “two tireless researchers... who bore the brunt of the load” and a staff that “backed me up in a hundred vital ways throughout the writing of this book”.
Tharoor also had the generous hospitality and support of “His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan”, without whom “I would have been unable to write this book or finish it within deadline”.
Isn’t it well for him?
Diarmaid Ferriter is professor of modern Irish history at University College DublinPhoto
The billionaire activist investor Daniel S. Loeb has sued Sotheby’s to remove a poison pill preventing his hedge fund from buying more of the auction house company’s shares.
Mr. Loeb’s hedge fund, Third Point, called the poison pill an “improper attempt by the directors of Sotheby’s to entrench themselves in office and to hinder Third Point’s or any other stockholder’s ability to run an effective proxy contest,” according to a court filing on Tuesday.
The lawsuit is the latest move by Mr. Loeb, who has compared the auction house to “an old painting in desperate need of restoration,” and sets the stage for what promises to be a no-holds-barred battle at the annual shareholder meeting on May 6.
Mr. Loeb has been locking horns with management at Sotheby’s since last fall, when he declared a large stake in the company and called for William F. Ruprecht, the chief executive, to step down.
In response, Sotheby’s adopted a one-year poison pill in October that prevents activist investors from accumulating more than 10 percent of the company’s stock. It has defended the pill, saying it gives shareholders and board members “time to make informed judgments.”
But in the complaint filed Tuesday, Mr. Loeb, who has a 9.6 percent stake, accused the board of adopting a poison pill out of fear that it would be pushed out if Mr. Loeb began a proxy contest.
Mr. Loeb said the board adopted the poison pill in an attempt “to maintain the status quo” and to “keep all of their board seats — and the prestige and lucrative compensation package that accompanies them.”
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By suing Sotheby’s, Third Point is hoping that the courts will rule that the poison pill is illegal, allowing Mr. Loeb to buy more shares in the company and make more demands for control over the board.
The battle between Sotheby’s and Mr. Loeb turned bitter last month when he mounted a proxy battle, calling for three seats on Sotheby’s board. The company rejected his nominees, which included Mr. Loeb himself, saying they added “no relevant expertise not already represented on the board of directors.”
Sotheby’s then announced its own nominees for independent directors, naming Jessica Bibliowicz, a senior adviser at Bridge Growth Partners, and Kevin C. Conroy, a senior executive at Univision Communications.
Poison pills have become a common strategy for companies to fend off investors who buy stakes in companies with the intention of shaking things up on the board. If an investor buys above the pill threshold, it directs a flood of cheap shares into the market, diluting the value of existing shares.
A spokesman for Sotheby’s said the board had not yet received the complaint, but added that “we continue to believe that the board’s decisions to adopt and maintain the 12-month rights plan are both valid and legal.”
“The plan is designed to limit the ability of any person or group to seize control of the company without appropriately compensating all Sotheby’s shareholders,” he added.This Sharing SLO page gives an overview of some of San Luis Obispo’s sharing economy.
Photo by Denise Carbonell (CC BY 2.0)
Every town has a “Sharing Economy,” which sometimes goes by names like “caring economy,” “solidarity economy,” “transition,” and “community resilience.” There are currently movements afoot around the world to try to organize local sharing economies and help them to grow and thrive. Elements of the sharing economy include:
Making / Repurposing / Repairing / Recycling Things
Food & Garden
Mostly Food & Beverage
Mostly Farm & Garden
People Helping People
Sharing Economy Entrepreneurs & Experiments
B-Corporations
FarmBot.io — develops and sells open-source gardening technology
Credit Unions
Worker-owned Cooperatives
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Cottage food producers
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Renewable and Off-the-Grid Energy Providers
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Environmental Protection
Commons and Public Spaces
Skills-Sharing & Education
Neighborhood and Common Interest Groups
Religious Congregations
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Support Groups
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Fraternal Organizations
Cacophony Society — subverts the mundane and plays the knee-jerk reactions of the populace like a pipe organ
Fraternities — Cal Poly's communal living and mutual benefit societies
Rotary — fosters the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise
Xi Sigma Pi — Cal Poly's forestry honors society
Health & Fitness
AIDS Support Network — assisting our neighbors, friends and families who are living with HIV disease and AIDS
Alpha Pregnancy & Parenting Support — provides free services for local women, their infants, and families during pregnancy and for a year after birth
Community Counseling Center — provides short-term, low-cost, professional counseling for individuals, couples and families who would not otherwise be able to afford it
Community Health Centers — enhances the health status of people in the Central Coast of California, with special emphasis on the medically underserved
Low-Cost Yoga — free and very-low-cost yoga classes in SLO
Noor Foundation — high quality free healthcare to uninsured people living within our community
Planned Parenthood — combines medical services with education and public advocacy to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their families
RunFreeSLO — connects those who are experiencing life's challenges with the power of running
Vita Fitness Course — a course around Meadow Park that has stations set up for fitness exercises
YMCA — helps you develop your mind, body, and spirit in a relaxed atmosphere that makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome
Transportation
Cal Poly Bicycle Coalition — promotes and advocates for a better pedestrian and bicycling atmosphere at Cal Poly
Ride-On — provides door-to-door transportation 24 hours a day every day with advance reservations
Rideshare — promotes alternative modes of transportation such as biking, carpooling, or taking the bus
SLO County Bicycle Coalition — transforms San Luis Obispo County into a safer and more livable community by promoting biking and walking
SLO Safe Ride — facilitates safe transportation for people at events that facilitate inebriation
SLO Transit — bus service in the San Luis Obispo area
Public & Local Media
Blogs — do you know of a blog that covers the local scene? list it here.
Cal Coast News — cranky, cantankerous, a thorn in the side of the local political establishment
HopeDance — a local take on the latest in the left-leaning idealistic harmonic convergence zeitgeist
KCBX public radio — the local NPR affiliate
News by the People — reporting contributed directly to this wiki
wikiSLO — you’re soaking in it
Legal Assistance & Mediation
SLO ACLU — protecting what's left of civil rights in America, locally
California Rural Legal Assistance — a nonprofit legal services program that strives for economic justice and human rights on behalf of California's rural poor
Creative Mediation — provides dispute resolution services to individuals and organizations as a low-cost alternative to filing a suit in court or to resolve suits already filed
SLO Legal Alternatives — provides and promotes affordable legal-aid services, assistance in self-representation, and conflict resolution for low and moderate income individuals
SLO Solutions — offers free conflict resolution services to all San Luis Obispo residents
Free Public Events and Activities
Concerts in the Plaza — a series of a free, two-hour Summer evening concerts in beautiful Mission Plaza
Disc Golfing — local, public disc golfing courses
Free Events — some of the many free events in the SLO area
Geocaching — a GPS-based treasure hunt for hidden containers containing some sort of surprise
Lunchtime Bocce — free, Thursdays at noon, Emerson Park, all ages
Write-A-Thon — spread the word and create content for this wiki
Bike Events
Bike Breakfasts — a part of Rideshare's "Bike Month" that features free breakfasts for bicyclers
Bike Happening — a monthly night-time bike ride through downtown SLO on the first Thursday of every month
Bike-in Movie — a free, family-friendly event put on by Rideshare as a part of Bike Month
Bike Month — an annual event celebrating bicycling in San Luis Obispo
Full Moon Bike Rides — if you know the right people, you’ll be invited
Little 500 — a bike race that happens a few times a year around the Terrace Hill Loop
Tweed Ride — a leisurely bike ride where cyclists are expected to dress in traditional early 20th century attire
Housing
Community Living — communes, co-housing, and people who happen to share the same roof
HomeShare SLO — matches home providers (seniors with an extra room) with home seekers (people who need a room)
Hope’s Village — providing sustainable community living for local unhoused adults
RVs for Veterans — links donors of campers and other such inhabitable recreational vehicles with homeless veterans who need a place to live
SLO Housing Trust Fund — more affordable housing in San Luis Obispo County for low and moderate income households
Sunny Acres — provides a clean and sober environment for those with drug and alcohol addictions
The Lavra — an intentional community of people dedicated to discovering new ways of interdependent living
MiscellanyRunKeeper announced Tuesday that it had found a bug in its Android code that resulted in the leaking of users’ location data to an unnamed third-party advertising service. The blog post came four days after the Norwegian Consumer Council filed a complaint against the Boston company.
Like other Android apps, when the Runkeeper app is in the background, it can be awakened by the device when certain events occur (like when the device receives a Runkeeper push notification). When such events awakened the app, the bug inadvertently caused the app to send location data to the third-party service. Today we are releasing a new version of our app that eliminates this bug and removes the third-party service involved. Although the bug affected only our Android app, we have decided to remove this service from our iOS product too out of an abundance of caution. The iOS release will be made available once approved by Apple. … We take our responsibility for the privacy of user data very seriously, and we are thankful to the Runkeeper user community for your continued trust and support.
In the blog post, CEO Jason Jacobs wrote
In an e-mail sent to Ars, Jacobs declined further questions, noting the statement "will be our only comment at this time."
In November 2015, Ars reported how apps in both Google Play and the Apple App Store frequently send users' highly personal information to third parties, often with little or no notice, according to recently published research that studied 110 apps.
For those who would like to switch to a different app, RunKeeper does give the option to export one’s data.A 32-year-old Syrian man was sentenced to five years in prison after video footage emerged showing him beating his three-year-old son at a refugee camp in Chios, Greece.
Read more
The man, identified as Usama Abdu, initially claimed that he had beaten his child because he had refused to wash, but later conceded that he was trying to blackmail his estranged wife into joining him in Greece. Initially appearing without a lawyer because no member of the Bar Association would represent him, the presiding judge had some harsh words for Abdu before sentencing him on Friday, politischios.gr reported.
“How a man can love his wife and not love the child this woman bore him? With what kind of heart did he do this? From what is this man made?” Judge Maria Tompazis asked the defendant. Abdu, in turn, offered up “a thousand apologies.”
“What can I do to apologize?” he asked with tears in his eyes.
“He has hurt his own child,” the judge replied. “This crying won’t convince us.”
The complaint against Abdu was initially made by the Smile of the Child charity, which reported the video of the beating that was circulating on social media to the police. The man and his son had been staying at the Souda refugee camp since arriving in Greece on October 16. It is believed that the boy’s mother is still in Turkey, along with their other child.
Read more
Doctors and a psychologist who examined the child said there were no signs of prolonged abuse or anything requiring hospitalization, and the boy has been moved to a hostel for unaccompanied minors run by the NGO Metadrasi.
It was initially reported that Abdu may have been connected to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), though photos on social media showing him holding weapons were actually captioned ‘Rebel Free Syrian Army’ and the allegations could not be independently verified.
Greece has borne the brunt of the Syrian refugee crisis due to its proximity to the Middle East and Turkey. Although the flow of asylum seekers has slowed since the EU struck a deal with Turkey, many asylum seekers have been left stranded on the Greek islands, which has exacerbated tensions with locals. In a report released in October, Doctors Without Borders condemned the conditions in Greece’s refugee camps, calling them “appalling.”Amphetamine microinjection into the nucleus accumbens shell enhanced the ability of a Pavlovian reward cue to trigger increased instrumental performance for sucrose reward in a pure conditioned incentive paradigm. Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets. They were separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue (30 sec light) with free sucrose pellets. On test days, the rats received bilateral microinjection of intra-accumbens vehicle or amphetamine (0.0, 2.0, 10.0, or 20.0 microgram/0.5 microliter), and lever pressing was tested in the absence of any reinforcement contingency, while the Pavlovian cue alone was freely presented at intervals throughout the session. Amphetamine microinjection selectively potentiated the cue-elicited increase in sucrose-associated lever pressing, although instrumental responding was not reinforced by either sucrose or the cue during the test. Intra-accumbens amphetamine can therefore potentiate cue-triggered incentive motivation for reward in the absence of primary or secondary reinforcement. Using the taste reactivity measure of hedonic impact, it was shown that intra-accumbens amphetamine failed to increase positive hedonic reaction patterns elicited by sucrose (i.e., sucrose "liking") at doses that effectively increase sucrose "wanting." We conclude that nucleus accumbens dopamine specifically mediates the ability of reward cues to trigger "wanting" (incentive salience) for their associated rewards, independent of both hedonic impact and response reinforcement.Scores of articles and books published over the past half-century have sought to understand Henry Kissinger’s role as National Security Adviser, Secretary of State, and confidante of American presidents, to say nothing of his position as the conflicted American Jew. Niall Ferguson’s Kissinger, Vol. 1, 1923-1968: The Idealist is the first to devote several pages to a hitherto-unexplored aspect of Kissinger’s wartime military service: His liberation of a Concentration Camp. As Ferguson explains: “On April 10 [1945], just days before the roundup of the Gestapo sleeper cell, Kissinger stared the Holocaust in the face when he and other members of the 84th Division stumbled upon the concentration camp at Ahlem. For many years, this was an event Kissinger did not talk about. Indeed, his presence only came to light because one of his fellow GIs, a radio operator named Vernon Tott, decided to publish the photographs he had taken on that day. Seeing Ahlem, Kissinger later acknowledged, was ‘one of the most horrifying experiences of my life.’”
Kissinger wrote a two-page letter describing his emotions at encountering the thirty-five malnourished prisoners who survived out of the original 850 Jews who had been sent to Ahlem. These very raw emotions that the young Kissinger expressed in the weeks after the liberation remained hidden among his papers, which he donated to the Library of Congress in 1977, until Ferguson published them in his new volume. Under the title “The Eternal Jew,” Kissinger wrote the following stark and horrifying description of what he saw:
The concentration camp of Ahlem was built on a hillside overlooking Hannover. Barbed wire surrounded it. And as our jeep traveled down the street skeletons in striped suits lined the road. There was a tunnel in the side of the hill where the inmates worked 20 hours a day in semi-darkness. I stopped the jeep. Cloth seemed to fall from the bodies, the head was held up by a stick that once might have been a throat. Poles hang from the sides where arms should be, poles are the legs. “What’s your name?” And the man’s eyes cloud and he takes off his hat in anticipation of a blow. “Folek… Folek Sama.” “Don’t take off your hat, you are free now.” And as I say it, I look over the camp. I see the huts, I observe the empty faces, the dead eyes. You are free now. I, with my pressed uniform, I have lived in filth and squalor, I haven’t been beaten and kicked. What kind of freedom can I offer? I see my friend enter one of the huts and come out with tears in his eyes. “Don’t go in there. We had to kick them to tell the dead from the living.” That is humanity in the 20th century. People reach such a stupor of suffering that life and death, animation or immobility can’t be differentiated any more. And then, who is dead and who is alive, the man whose agonized face stares at me from the cot or Folek Sama, who stands with bowed head and emaciated body? Who was lucky, the man who draws circles in the sand and mumbles “I am free” or the bones that are interred in the hillside? Folek Sama, your foot has been crushed so that you can’t run away, your face is 40, your body is ageless, yet all your birth certificate reads is 16. And I stand there with my clean clothes and make a speech to you and your comrades. Folek Sama, humanity stands accused in you. I, Joe Smith, human dignity, everybody has failed you. You should be preserved in cement up here on the hillside for future generation[s] to look upon and take stock. Human dignity, objective values have stopped at this barbed wire. What differentiates you and your comrades from animals[?] Why do we in the 20th century countenance you? Yet, Folek, you are still human. You stand before me and tears run down your cheek. Hysterical sobbing follows. Go ahead and cry, Folek Sama, because your tears testify to your humanity, because they will be absorbed in this cursed soil, dedicating it. As long as conscience exists as a conception in this world you will personify it. Nothing done for you will ever restore you. You are eternal in this respect.
In 2005, Vernon Tott published an “inch-thick homemade book” with stories from his fellow liberators of Ahlem and photographs that he took using his vest-pocket camera and in 2007, he prepared a documentary film about his unit, which liberated Ahlem. Angel of Ahlem was produced by the University of Florida’s Documentary Institute. The film premiered at an event in May 2007 at New York City’s Lincoln Center and the audience included a dozen of the survivors from the Ahlem Concentration Camp. Just before the movie was shown, Henry Kissinger delivered the following remarks, which do not appear in Ferguson’s biography, but which give some indication of the lifelong impact of what he saw in Ahlem as a young GI:
“I speak to many groups and have many opportunities to express myself, but I can say that there’s no group that means as much to me as this particular group this evening and I am proud that you have let me come here. I was with the 84th Infantry Division. I started out in G Company of the 335th Regiment, digging foxholes in Louisiana. When the division moved to Germany, I was still with the G Company of the 335th Regiment and one day our General came on inspection and called me over and said, “soldier explain what’s going on here” to me. So I did. Next thing I knew, I was transferred to the G-2 section, which dealt with intelligence. And in that capacity, I then served with the 84th Infantry Division when it took Hanover. And in the outskirts of Hanover, as the survivors here know, was the concentration camp—or labor camp—of Ahlem. And I of course had read about concentration camps. Later on I found out, I knew that my grandmother and many members of my family were sent to concentration camps. In fact, thirteen of my family died in concentration camps, including my grandmother. But I could not imagine what it was like, I had never seen people degraded to the level that people were in Ahlem. They barely looked human. They were skeletons. I don’t have to tell this to the survivors. In fact, they were such skeletons that it was dangerous to give them solid food because some of them could not digest it. It was the single most shocking experience I have ever had, and that’s been impressed on my memory. There were many articles written about me and they say I was traumatized by what happened in Nazi Germany as a child. That’s nonsense! When I was in Nazi Germany, they were not yet killing people. I left in ’38. But the traumatic event was to see Ahlem. That is when one saw the bestiality of the system and the degradation of human beings and there is nothing I am more proud of of my service to this country than having been one of those who had the honor of liberating the Ahlem Concentration Camp. And it is something we must not forget. It’s an obligation we all have. I don’t talk about it much, because people won’t understand it, who haven’t been through it. But I salute the survivors here, and I’d be honored if they came up here and had a picture taken with me. I want to thank you all.”
Previous: Why Kissinger Dismissed the Soviet Jews
Related: The Servile Fanatic: Niall Ferguson’s Grotesque but Telling New Biography of Henry Kissinger
Happy Birthday Mr. Kissinger
Menachem Butler, a contributing editor at Tablet Magazine, is the program coordinator for Jewish Law Projects at The Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at the Harvard Law School, and a co-editor at the Seforim blog. Follow him on Twitter @MyShtenderOver the past two weeks, as Syrian and Russian warplanes bomb rebel-held east Aleppo around the clock, regime-allied fighters have begun to etch out small advances on the besieged city’s perimeter.
The Syrian army appears to be inching towards its long-standing goal of retaking all of Aleppo city—and thus driving Syria’s insurgency out of high-stakes cities.
But what exactly is the Syrian regime’s strategy in Aleppo? Will the Syrian army launch a ground assault of the city? What do Assad’s backers want?
“My feeling is, if it comes to an assault on the city, what we would see is a protracted battle; the rebels would simply be worn down, wouldn’t be able to sustain that battle or that kind of situation over time,” says Jeffrey White, a defense analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy with more than 30 years of experience studying the Levant and Iran at the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“I’m not saying the regime would simply automatically march to victory in Aleppo," White tells Syria Direct’s Orion Wilcox. “But I think we’ve learned that they keep coming…the regime is very persistent and willing to suffer setbacks.”
Q: Following the collapse of the most recent US-Russia brokered ceasefire on September 28, we’ve seen a massive escalation in the bombardment of rebel-held east Aleppo by the regime and Russia, with Syrian state media reporting a possible ground advance to take the opposition neighborhoods. What is the plausibility of a regime ground invasion of east Aleppo in your perspective? What would that cost Assad?
Anyone following the Syrian war so far would have to believe that a ground fight for eastern Aleppo would be a long and drawn-out affair with lots of casualties.
My original thinking, a month or so ago, was that they probably wouldn’t try to storm the city, at least initially…that they would wait for the effects of the siege and bombardment to wear down the defenders. They may still be tending to follow that strategy.
But if they feel that there is time pressure to take back Aleppo, then an earlier assault on the city becomes more likely.
Q: And in your opinion, what would be the potential impetus for the regime to attempt an earlier invasion?
One consideration might be the willingness of the Russians to continue to support a drawn-out siege. The Russians might not be prepared for the Syrian government to conduct a leisurely siege to slowly wear down the opposition defenses. Especially given the enormous amount of bad press that [Moscow] has gotten recently.
This is war in a fishbowl. The actions of everybody involved are subject to immediate and microscopic examination. So the Russians may not be as patient as Syrians would like to be.
Also, the defeat of the rebels in Aleppo is something the regime might want to accomplish sooner rather than later. This would be yet another demonstration that the regime is not going away, and that it is successfully pursuing its intent to recover all of lost Syria.
Another factor is that holding Aleppo has been in many ways the rebellion’s single greatest accomplishment. The regime might want to remove that from the ledger sooner rather than later.
Q: Are there any precedents that can give an idea of what a ground invasion of Aleppo would look like?
One example of how this would work is the fight for Qusayr back in 2013. There, the regime and Hezbollah forces did in fact storm the city in a difficult battle that turned out to be quite costly in terms of casualties. So that’s an example of how tough this kind of fight can be. But obviously Aleppo would be much more difficult than that.
Q: Holding territory in Aleppo city grants the opposition legitimacy. If the rebels lose more of it, they basically become just a rural insurgency. Do you see any change in the Syrian rebels’ level of morale and fortitude in keeping Aleppo? Do you think that if the regime were to attempt a sustained advance or engage in street-to-street fighting that the opposition’s backers would step back or step up their engagement?
My instinct says the rebels would try and defend the city, and that they wouldn’t abandon it except under dire circumstances. But something I think we’ve both seen in the war is that when the regime decides it wants to take a place or do something, it’s very persistent. It’s willing to suffer setbacks and failures on the road to success.
When I say the regime, I mean all its allies. They’re persistent. And they’re willing to keep fighting and come back even if they had to suffer a setback.
The problem for the rebels is how to deal with that the regime has a significant advantage in firepower and just keeps coming. My feeling is, if it comes to an assault on the city, what we would see is a protracted battle. The rebels would simply be worn down, and wouldn’t be able to sustain that battle or that kind of situation over time.
I’m not saying the regime would simply automatically march to victory in Aleppo. It would be a tough fight and there would probably be some reverses, but I think we’ve learned that they keep coming. That’s a real problem for the rebels.
Q: Do you see any indicators that this reality could shift with regard to manpower shortages or the resolve of the Russians and the Iranians?
People, including me, have been saying for a long time that the regime is running out of people. But they keep coming up with bodies. And as long as the Russians are willing to provide the firepower support, or the Iranians and their allies are willing to provide the bodies, I think we could see this kind of a fight.
When I look at the casualties that the Iranians and their allies have suffered over time, they’re not that great. They’re not losing hundreds of people or thousands of people. They’re losing some. There’s a steady kind of attrition, but to me, it’s not very dramatic.
The willingness of Hezbollah and Iran and so on to continue this kind of fight I think is there, especially if they’re in a situation where they’re being successful, even if it’s kind of a grinding battle of attrition type success. The willingness to stay in that kind of fight is there. Nothing that I’ve seen so far indicates that Hezbollah or the Iranians are ready to quit the war just because they’re losing people. They’re still committed.
Q: I’d like to go back to the first part of your previous question about the fishbowl effect. We’ve seen the regime strategy of encirclement, then offering negotiating terms, then when the negotiations inevitably fall through, tightening the siege, increasing bombardment, coming back with new terms and extracting concessions. We’ve seen that work in places like Darayya and Waer. Like I said earlier, Aleppo is very different.
Is there a threshold within the international community of how much it will tolerate regarding east Aleppo’s 250,000 people? Following the bombing of the SARC convoy in the west Aleppo countryside, we asw somewhat more candid remarks from Europeans and the Americans at the UNSC. How much influence does the international community hold?
Talk is cheap. I don’t think we’re going to see any radical change by the Obama administration. I think there’s a low order of likelihood that Obama will change policy on Syria.
So I don’t think the United States is going to get involved in any kind of serious response to what the Syrians and Russians are doing in Aleppo – what the regime and the Russians are doing in Aleppo.
Q: Is there any chance of the GCC countries or some of these EU countries going it alone without the US?
I think that’s unlikely. Clandestine aid, that’s quite possible. We’d see more anti-tank weapons, more covert military support for the rebels.
But I don’t think we’re going to see any type of dramatic intervention in the conflict. It’s going to be basically up to the opposition military forces to carry on the fight against the regime.
Q: Could there be any kind of change after the US election? That’s what we are hearing people have been waiting for. Is that a realistic expectation?
In four months, the regime could potentially recapture the eastern part of the city.
The problem for the rebels is they don’t have a lot of offensive capability. They were successful in breaking the siege at one point, but the regime was able to reassert that.
So that’s part of what I was talking about: the persistence of the regime. The rebels are, at least in my mind, on the defensive.
I don’t see much that could change that situation as long as the regime military alliance holds together and you still have the Iranian-Russian support. It’s going to be very tough for the rebels, even with some increase in support, to go on the offensive.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk of medieval siege tactics used by the regime and their allies. As someone who has taken a deep look Middle East conflicts in which sieges have been a tactic, how is this war different? Are they all that unique?
That’s a good question. I don’t think it’s been looked at very seriously by anybody. So I’m trying to formulate an intelligent response. This is a siege in a civil war, it’s not comparable to, say, the Israeli so-called siege of Beirut.
It’s not comparable in the sense that the besieging parties were bound by the rules of international law and politics relating to war. This is a civil conflict in which the primary actors in a way are from the same country. Maybe that affects the way the sieges are conducted and are being conducted.
Aleppo might be more like Hama in 1982, which was also part of a civil conflict or Bosnia or Sarajevo, in which the willingness of the besieging power to use all available military means is less restricted.
It may be that there’s a greater expectation that more violence will be used than is appropriate. It’s an internal conflict as opposed to an international conflict.
Q: One reason why the siege of Madaya was much more intense than in other areas is because Hezbollah maintained very tight control of the checkpoints, not allowing food in for bribes.
That strikes me as more of a tactical-level issue.
In the broadest sense, I think what you see is that the regime has demonstrated a willingness and an ability to persist in these siege situations and force them to a conclusion one way or another, either by breaking the will of the population, or by storming and taking an area by force. That’s the broad pattern.
The overall pattern has been a willingness of the regime to use these very medieval tactics to achieve military successes.The Taliban militants beheaded three policemen in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan, the local government officials said Wednesday.
The policemen were abducted by the militants few days earlier and their dead bodies were found from Qaisar-Ghormach highway.
District administrative chief for Qaisar, Abdul Jamil Sediqi, confirmed that the decapitated bodies of the policemen were found today.
He said the policemen were serving with the highway police and were abducted while they were on their to spend holidays with their families.
The Taliban group had confirmed that the policemen were abducted by Taliban militants but the group has so far not commented regarding the execution of the policemen.
The group had earlier said the cases of the policemen will be reviewed in Sharia court and will be tried accordingly.
Faryab is among the relatively volatile provinces in northern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militants are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities.This week China announced the construction of the largest animal cloning facility in the world. The target is to produce up to one million cow embryos per year to help meet China’s growing demand for meat.
Although I’m a clone myself (or is it my twin brother who is the clone?), the idea of one million cloned cows feels somehow wrong. We all know that farming is a deeply industrialized process, but the image of a field of identical cows, all with the same markings, tips over into the uncanny.
This is just another example of how we anthropomorphize farm animals. We want to see them as individual and cute — the stuff of story books and children’s songs — not think about why they’re on a farm in the first place. Meanwhile, we’ve been cloning crops, fruit, and vegetables for millennia. In fact, this is how many plants propagate — when a strawberry plant sends out a runner to create a new plant, it’s making a clone of itself.
When we grow a new plant from a cutting, we’re using a technique called vegetative propagation, copying the plant’s natural cloning abilities to develop variants that are more productive or aesthetically pleasing.
In the late 1950s, bot |
to execute prior to that paint task occurring. This is in sharp contrast to setImmediate() where its JavaScript task is inserted after the last paint task already existing in the event loop queue. The implementation differences lend to the use case differences.
process.nextTick() and callbacks
The assertion that setTimeout(fn, 0) is always used for animations also falls apart when you look at Node.js. Node.js has had a method called process.nextTick() 6 for a long time. This method is similar to setImmediate() in Node.js, it simply inserts a task at the end of the current event loop turn queue (whereas setImmediate() inserts a task at the beginning of the next event loop turn). If setTimeout(fn, 0) is mostly used for animations then why would Node.js, an environment devoid of graphics, find it necessary to add such a method?
First and foremost, Node.js was designed to use asynchronous processing wherever possible. That means using callbacks to be notified when an operation is complete. The callbacks must always be executed asynchronously for consistency even when the result could be achieved synchronously. To illustrate this, consider a read-through cache of a remote data fetch, such as:
var remote = require("./remote"), cache = {}; function getValue(key, callback) { if (key in cache) { process.nextTick(function() { callback(key, cache[key]); }); } else { remote.fetch(key, function(value) { cache[key] = value; callback(key, cache[key]); }); } }
In this case, remote data is stored in a variable called cache whenever it is retrieved. Whenever getValue() is called, the cache is checked first to see if the data is there and otherwise makes the remote call. Here’s the issue: the actual remote call will return asynchronously while reading from cache is executed synchronously. You wouldn’t want callback() to be called synchronously in the cached situation and asynchronously in the non-cached situation as it would completely destroy the application flow. So process.nextTick() is used to ensure the same flow by deferring execution of the callback until the next time through the event loop.
When you want to do something like the previous example, using a timer is incredibly inefficient, which is why process.nextTick() was created (as mentioned in the Node.js documentation itself7). Node.js as of v0.9 also includes setImmediate(), which is equivalent to the browser version.
This asynchronous callback pattern isn’t unique to Node.js, as more browser APIs moved to asynchronous models, the need to be able to defer code execution until the next time through the event loop is becoming more and more important. Read-through caches in the browser will only become more prominent, as I suspect will be the need to defer execution so that it doesn’t block UI interaction (something that can sometimes, but not always, be done via web workers).
Polyfills, etc.
In 2010, David Baron of Mozilla wrote was has become the definitive resource for creating truly zero-millisecond timeout calls entitled, setTimeout with a shorter delay8. David’s post highlighted the desire for shorter timeout delays and introduced a method to achieve it using the postMessage() API.
The approach is a bit circuitous but nonetheless effective. The onmessage event handler is called asynchronously after a window receives a message, so the approach is to post a message to your own window and then use onmessage to execute what would otherwise be passed into setTimeout(). This approach works because the messaging mechanism is effectively using the same methodology as setImmediate() under the hood.
Since David’s post, a number of polyfills, most notably the NobleJS version9, have been released. Such polyfills continue to get used despite the availability of requestAnimationFrame() due to the different use case.
What’s holding us back?
As mentioned previously, both Mozilla and WebKit have been against setImmediate() for some reason. The arguments seem to range from “you should just to use requestAnimationFrame() ” to “it’s easy enough to create a polyfill, just do that instead.” The first argument I hope has already dispelled in this argument, the second argument I find devoid of meaning as there are plenty of things that are easy to polyfill (note: setImmediate() is not actually one of them) and yet are still standardized. The classList property of DOM elements comes to mind.
What’s most surprising has been the reaction of the Chrome team, a group who I’ve credited numerous times for pushing forward on incremental API changes that make the web platform better. In a ticket asking for support10 there is a conversation that has gone nowhere, instead focusing on how polyfills could work (the bug is still open but hasn’t been updated in a while). A more recent one looking at Chrome’s poor performance on an IE11 demo[11] that uses setImmediate() has a rather disappointing sequence of comments:
…Yup, it looks like a bug in their test. They’re specifically using setTimeout() in the Chrome version which gets clamped to 5ms (as per the spec). If they used postMessage() instead then it would run fine in Chrome… …To summarize my findings, this test is running intentionally slow JS in all browsers besides IE. This is because setTimeout(0) is incorrectly used as a polyfill for setImmediate()… …Yes, that’s due to a bug in the test, see comment #7. The test basically has a check for IE11 (more or less) and does something unnecessarily slow on all other browsers…
So basically, the commenters are saying that the IE demo was rigged to make IE look faster than the other browsers because it wasn’t including the correct hack to do something similar in Chrome. Lest we ascribe evil to every single thing Microsoft does, I would suggest several alternative explanations:
Many people are using setTimeout(fn, 0) when they would much rather use setImmediate(), so this is a reasonable, cross-browser fallback. The person writing the test likely didn’t have the bandwidth to fully develop a polyfill for setImmediate(). The person’s goal was to write a demo page, not write a library. Why would they include a postMessage() -based solution when the whole point of the demo was to show the utility of setImmediate()? This was an omission because the person writing the demo didn’t have the knowledge about alternative polyfills.
I would comment on the bug itself, but comments have been locked-down for some reason.
The interesting thing is that with a postMessage() polyfill, the commenters claim that Chrome runs faster than IE11 in this demo. That’s great, now why not just wrap that into a formal setImmediate() implementation and then brag about how you beat IE at their own API? I’d buy you a beer for that!
Conclusion
I’m still not entirely sure why there’s such an allergy to setImmediate() outside of Microsoft. It has demonstrated utility and some pretty clear use cases that are not adequately serviced by requestAnimationFrame() or any other means. Node.js recognized this from the start so we know for sure that there are non-UI-based reasons for using setTimeout(fn, 0).
I can’t draw any conclusions as to why this particular API, which pretty much just exposes something that’s already in the browser, is being vilified. It seems like there’s enough data at this point to say that setImmediate() is useful – the presence of polyfills alone is a strong indicator as are the continuing discussions around why postMessage() is faster than setTimeout(fn, 0). I think it’s time for the holdouts to listen to what developers are asking for and implement setImmediate().
Update (09-July-2013): Updated description of process.nextTick() per Isaac’s comments below.
ReferencesThe first thing that came to our minds when we read the name of today’s interviewee is, “long time no see”. And indeed it has been a little while since we’ve seen this person. First making an appearance as a trainee-contestant on the Mnet program “MyDOL” in 2012, following by a year long stint as a member of DEMION, allow us to introduce Nakhun as today’s guest.
Noah Ro (Korean name: Ro Nakhun, born December 8, 1990) is South Korean entertainer, formerly from Sydney, Australia. He appeared on the survival competition program ‘MyDOL’ in 2012, vying for a chance to become a member of idol group VIXX. Following that, he formally debuted as a member of DEMION in 2013, before the group disbanded the following year. Since then, he’s been pursuing various interests of his before beginning his military enlistment in September of 2015. Recently, Nakhun took a short break from his service and by chance we were able to contact him and get some words on what he’s been up to and how his feels about his fans, among other things…take a look!
For those who aren’t familiar with who you are, please introduce yourself briefly.
What a great opportunity to catch up with you guys! I host quite a few mention parties on Twitter to interact with you guys, but I always found it difficult to keep up with the tweets you guys send me. And my mention parties were all set at random times which must have given you guys a hard time coming up with a good question to ask before each event closed. For those of you who have no idea who I am, my name is Nakhun Ro (my English name is Noah), and I am a former K-pop artist. I debuted in 2013 as a member of Demion, but most people know me better as one of the original members from MyDol (competition program set to form the members of VIXX), or Leo’s best friend.
It’s been a long time since you’ve greeted fans, How have you been? You’re currently doing your enlistment requirement, right?
I’ve been keeping myself busy with a lot of different things before my enlistment; photography, videography, travelling, etc. I did manage to enlist in the army at a late age, and so far I’m quite liking the lifestyle as a soldier. Sure, it gets rough and tiring from all the hard training, but I’m kind of enjoying it.
How do you feel about having fans cheering for you since day one, no matter what it is that you’re pursuing?
I CAN’T THANK MY FANS ENOUGH! They have always been supportive through my SNS (social media). Having people that know who you and who care about you from all over the world? It’s just so amazing that I can’t even find the right adjectives to express myself.
As some fans know, you originally debuted as a member of boy band DEMION in 2013, followed by a disbandment the following year. Firstly talk about your experience as a member of the group.
The experience as a member of Demion was very dynamic. From such a small company with so little budget, I never expected us to be able to do all the things we’ve done. We promoted ourselves through radio, TV broadcasts, and even had our own mini concert in Japan. I am very grateful for the things I got the chance to experience during that time.
What were your thoughts when your found out your former company could no longer support the group?
Our disbandment was expected and not quite surprising, but it still was a disappointment. I didn’t blame the company because I knew they did their best. The most difficult thing for me wasn’t the end of my idol career nor was it our packing and leaving the shared house, but coming up with the best timing to notify our fans about the news.
If things had been different, do you think you guys would still be together as a group?
Yes, why wouldn’t we? We still hang out together as a group from time to time.
Are you still in touch with the other members? What have they been up to since then?
I’ve always been in touch with my members. Yoon was the first to enlist in the army in May 2015, then it was Sangbum in June 2015, and then I enlisted in September of 2015. Haekeun, on the other hand, had kept himself busy preparing for a fresh debut in a new rookie group but eventually it didn’t work out. He was the last to enlist, in December of 2015. Ssun, or better known as Taeyang, has being studying and working on his own music with the help of a music producer friend, as a solo artist.
Fans that have been with you since day one know also that you competed to become a member of VIXX in 2012. Through all the experiences you’ve had, what has changed the most about your goals as an artist, your passion for music etc.?
Honestly, my passion as an artist has always been the same. I’ve always loved art and I always found new ways to express my ideas through it. I don’t want to limit my art in the category of K-pop and that’s why I’ve been working on photography and videography, etc.
Any insight that you can share to those considering entering Korea’s music industry, whether as a trainee, singer etc.?
Of course preparing and working on your vocal and dancing skills is mandatory. But being able to speak Korean would be a major plus. Doors won’t open to those who give up easily!
You also hosted Pops in Seoul with four other talented artists – SAM, Coco, Tasha and 1Kyne. Talk about that experience.
I had been a part of Pops in Seoul for almost a year since my first appearance as a guest while Hyerim of Wonder Girls was hosting it. The other four MCs and I haven’t had the chance to meet up regularly except when we were filming special editions, but we definitely had some fun times together. I remember when I was the main MC for a winter special edition, it was planned out like a mini Christmas concert, and I enjoyed our writers giving me a hard time on stage asking me to buy some time while the next artists get ready. I did have a script in hand, but the interactions with the fans were 100% real. I wasn’t good with following up to whatever the script said anyways! hahaha
Once you finish your military service, what’s next for you?
I’m planning a small business. Something that I can get artistic about. But I’m still being careful about giving out any details because I always have so many ideas in my head, and who knows which idea I’ll stick to when I finish my service.
Can fans expect any solo releases down the road?
I may or may not participate in certain small projects of my music producer friend in the future, but I can’t make any promises.
As far as music is concerned, who gives you your inspiration?
I’ve always loved the music of Skylar Grey and her dramatic voice. Her choice of lyrics also inspires me a lot. Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Charlie Puth and Sam Smith’s music.
Have you had the chance to visit Australia since you left to pursue music?
Sadly, I haven’t. I did have a few chances to travel overseas, but I postponed visiting Australia every time because I wanted to visit somewhere new to me. But I’m actually planning a family trip to Australia after I finish my military service!
After the disbandment, you started pursuing photography. Is that something you want to do more full-time or is it just a hobby?
Photography is also something I love. I’ve had many thoughts on whether I should work full-time on this, but keeping photography as a hobby lets me be more creative and less stressed. I’m guessing that nothing would be full-time for me because I want to do so many things with my life!
What is your guilty pleasure currently? It can be anything!
I just can’t stop humming the Produce 101 songs these days. The songs are just awesome!
When you have spare time, what do you do for fun?
In my spare time, I am quite a heavy gamer. I can play for so many hours straight. I enjoy playing League of Legends and Diablo 3. I also daydream a lot. That’s when all the good ideas come into my head. I just love planning out my ideas and thinking about how I could bring those thoughts to life.
Name one thing that fans may not already know about you.
Starlights (VIXX fans) refer to me as ‘Taekwoon’s mom” because I care about my best friend and support him that much. But the truth is, he takes care of me more than I do for him. He nags me when I act immature, bring me things that I might need, and invites me to all his performances. I bet you guys didn’t know that! Leo is a very kind and caring friend.
Anything else you want to say to your fans and the readers?
I love chatting with you guys via Twitter. I just hope you guys will still be there to chat when I finish my military service! I’ll plan out some awesome ideas and bring you guys some fresh and entertaining news. Thank you rhythm.connection for this great opportunity, and thanks to all my minions!! (that’s what i call my small group of fans. hahaha)
Many thanks to Nakhun for taking the time to answer our questions and give you folks quite the update. Until next time, this has been a rhythm.connection exclusive! 🙂
Advertisements"Teoria" by Eduardo Basualdo at the Frieze Art Fair in London, October 16, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program broadly attempts to reward students who work for the government or non-profits, if they are unable to meet payment amounts given the generally lower compensation for these roles than private sector jobs. Because of design flaws, however, many people earning substantial sums will be eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan forgiveness.
PSLF allows people in "qualified professions," including the government and 501(c)3 non-profits, to receive tax-free forgiveness of their remaining federal student loan balance after 10 years of making eligible payments on an income-driven plan, which caps monthly payment at 10-15% of discretionary income. The WSJ detailed last week what some financial planners refer to as the "doctors' loophole" in PSLF, which will enable doctors and other graduates in lucrative fields that often require expensive graduate education funded by student loans, to get six figures' worth of loans forgiven despite strong earnings.
This "loophole" is actually simply the lack of any limits on the amount of loan forgiveness available. Since medical school students graduate with an average of $180,000 in student loans, and many go to work for non-profit hospitals or other qualifying employers while making little in their first years of employment, they can position themselves for substantial forgiveness if they structure their first 10 years out of school wisely. Anyone who borrows heavily for undergraduate or graduate study can receive these benefits, and the amount they receive is dependent on their compensation relative to their loan payments.
The White House is attempting to cap the benefit from PSLF at $57,500, which would likely retroactively affect people who have been counting on the benefit since it was announced in 2007. The first PSLF benefits are set to be awarded in October 2017, and Gradible's proprietary research and data indicates an annual forgiveness benefit of $300 million in 2017, increasing to $2.8 billion in 2027 and a total of $13.5 billion in its first decade of operation.
The critical question is whether these benefits are actually helping struggling borrowers, or merely subsidizing the expensive education of professionals who receive substantial lifetime compensation in return for their personal investment. Will Congress and the White House allow the six-figure student loan loophole to remain open? It's sure to be a contentious part of the broader election year debate over the future of the student loan problem in the U.S. If you are interested in learning if you qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and what your benefit might be, you can take Gradible's free student loan evaluation to find out.Updated below
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is attempting to conceal unclassified information about the structure and function of U.S. intelligence agencies, including the leading role of the Central Intelligence Agency in collecting human intelligence.
Last month, ODNI issued a heavily redacted version of its Intelligence Community Directive 304 on “Human Intelligence.” The redacted document was produced in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from Robert Sesek, and posted on ScribD.
The new redactions come as a surprise because most of the censored text had already been published by ODNI itself in an earlier iteration of the same unclassified Directive from 2008. That document has since been removed from the ODNI website but it is preserved on the FAS website here.
Meanwhile, the current version of the Directive — without any redactions — is also available in the public domain, despite the attempt to suppress it. (Thanks to Jeffrey Richelson for the pointer.)
A comparison of the redacted and unredacted versions shows that ODNI is now seeking to withhold the fact that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency functions as the National HUMINT Manager, among other things.
ODNI also censored the statement that the Central Intelligence Agency “Collects, analyzes, produces, and disseminates foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, including information obtained through clandestine means.”
Among intelligence agencies, in my experience, ODNI is usually the most responsive to Freedom of Information Act requests, while CIA leads the competition to be the least helpful and cooperative. In this case, it appears that CIA’s pattern of defiance overcame ODNI’s better judgment.Uniform Throwing Chair for Seated Throwing Sporting Events
The authors collaborated on the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a throwing frame that adjusts to accommodate seated throwing athletes at all classification levels. The benefits of the throwing chair design are that participation will be easier, more standardized, and fair to all competing athletes. The throwing events considered included javelin, discus and shot put events among athletes in fully seated to partially standing positions and various throwing strategies. The throwing chair was designed with input by athletes who are also wheelchair users. Evaluations will be made by competitors at the Warrior Games of the US Paralympics from May 10-14, 2010 at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs and the National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games in July 4-9, 2010, in Denver, CO.
BACKGROUND
Physical activity has an important effect in the quality of life for everyone. However, it is more likely that its effects go far beyond in the quality of life of some people with disabilities. Regular exercise is important not only to maintain health but also to reduce the probability to develop secondary health problems as musculoskeletal or cardiovascular problems (1). Additionally, a decline in health status can lead to other psychosocial conditions such as depression, low self-esteem, reduced independence and adaptation.
Within prior studies, there are indications that the percentage of people who practice any kind of physical activity is greater for those without a disability (1). This seems apparent since people with disability may first have physical or mental retraining that hinders activity levels. However, disability itself is not the only factor that hinders the person to do exercise. In the Physical Activity for People with a Disability (PAD) model developed by Hidde P. van der Ploeg et al. (1), environmental barriers have been pointed out as one of the most important factors that discourage people with disabilities from participating in physical activities. Environmental barriers are, as defined by the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), those barriers imposed by the physical place (e.g. home, school and job), society (i.e. social attitudes), institutions, country’s laws, regulations, etc. (2). Examples of environmental barriers to physical activity include poor accessibility to physical activity settings and a lack of adaptive equipment and regulations that delay social inclusion. Reducing such environmental barriers can lead to more inclusion of people with disabilities to the sport sphere and thus, to become more physically active.
In the United States, there is already a positive attitude toward the reduction of those environmental barriers. This spirit is reflected at several national competitions organized to allow people with disabilities to demonstrate their physical capabilities in a wide variety of sports. The impact of these games on people´s life and the true competitive spirit of sports have motivated organizing committees to develop regulations that best diminish unfair competition settings and increase accessibility. As one example, the U.S. Paralympics committee published a discussion paper (3), with a primary goal to discuss reviews and/or implementation of regulations for competitive equipment such as running prosthetics, racing wheelchairs and throwing chairs.
The present design team has responded to work on the US Paralympics recommendations and address other studies carried out to assess the performance of seated throwing athletes (4-6). These studies point out the need of throwing chair designs that allow the participants to perform their best by enhancing their capabilities without providing extra abilities. The equipment should allow a fair competition between athletes in which the winner will be the athlete with the best performance independently of the equipment used. Currently, most athletes create their own custom-made throwing chairs. Time restrictions challenge athletes in their competition setup and organizers when inspecting competition equipment. Additionally, the athletes have to transport their chairs to the competition site, where their participation may be compromised, or in the worst case, disqualified or rejected.
DESIGN OBJECTIVE
While investigating existing throwing chair designs, the team identified several key design goals for improvement. First of all, most throwing chairs have been custom designs for athletes with specific techniques (4-7). This kind of design helps the athletes to execute their best performance; however, limits generalizability for other athletes with different sizes and levels of capability. Second, the athletes with custom chair designs only have three minutes to adjust their seat into desired position with limited assistance (8). Furthermore, these chairs required specific tools for adjustment and differing tie-down methods for securement.
The purpose of this design project was to develop a throwing chair with three main objectives:
Incorporate features enabling athletes to perform optimally Design a safe, adjustable throwing chair for fair competition among athletes Manufacture a uniform system to reduce inspection and set-up time
Seeing how throwing chair designs impact competitive performance, several design objectives were defined in addition to the competition rules for seated throwing events.
METHODS/APPROACH
Design
Based on the recommendations of the US Paralympics (3) and the design objective stated above, the team established the following design criteria for a uniform throwing chair shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Uniform throwing chair design criteria. Category Design Criteria Throwing frame has to be divided in different removable modules Modularity and adjustability Different seat heights Different seat’s rotation angles Different backrest heights Different leg positions Different position and orientation of the pole Different foot placements Fast adjustability One-handed adjustability of all modules It can be adjusted in less than 3 minutes Tie-down method Accessible tie-down method Frame easy to tie Tie-down mechanism does not block transfer path Game rules Rigid backrest made of non-storing energy material Backrest perpendicular to the ground Maximum seat height 75cm Seat surface parallel to the ground Holding bar/pole does not have articulation or joints, does not bend or flex during the throwing action. Non-storing energy materials for all components Frame footprint dimension is within the field area Footrest made of non-storing material
The throwing frame was designed iteratively in SolidWorks Premium 2009, and prototyped in a 1:10 scale using selective laser sintering (SLS) to evaluate the feasibility of the design. The throwing frame consists of a telescopic base with a seat frame to which all seating implements are mounted (Figure 1). The throwing chair subassemblies include the grab bar, tie-down ring, foot plates, knee blocks, thigh strap, lateral supports, backrest, and seat frame rotational adjustment. The telescopic base is height adjustable to accommodate athlete seating at the maximum allowed seat height during competition (including seat cushion). Throwing chair features are all adjustable to support athletes in all classification levels or varied throwing strategies. Additionally, seat frame and pole support subassemblies have a rotational adjustability to allow for different throwing techniques. Figure 1 also shows the rotational subassembly for adjustment of the seat frame orientation.
Fabrication
Fabrication of the device was completed with laboratory prototyping and machining facilities. Plastic, steel, and aluminum parts were machined using hand tools and manual or computer numeric controlled (CNC) lathes and mills. Clamps and adjustable features were built using electrical discharge machining (EDM) machines. All fabricated parts that were welded together used gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and brazing operations. Figure 3 shows the final prototype of the uniform throwing chair.
RESULTS
Figure 1: Uniform throwing chair (design and scale prototype).
The throwing chair design incorporated adjustability at all interfaces in order to accommodate the widest range of athletes permitted to participate in seated throwing events for competition. Beyond adjustability, the following user needs drove design decisions and manufacturing efforts.
Modularity
Modularity provided flexibility and variability of the seating system. Due to unforeseeable differences between athletes with disabilities, accommodation in the seating system allowed for a uniform base to support custom seating needs. Moreover, transferring into and out of the throwing chair was another essential aspect to competition. Thus, removable and modular supporting accessories not only reduced the expected time to change subassemblies, but also increased the possibility to allow custom features inherit to competitive sports. Modularity in the design was reflected in the center post interface to the proposed seat frame subassembly, sleeve interface to the back rest post, and quick-release bracket to the foot plate assembly.
Fast Adjustability
Figure 2: Uniform throwing chair (final prototype)
All the parts on the seat could be easily reconfigured by pulling a pin and releasing it in a new orientation. Thus, this quick-release pin design reduces the setup adjustment time between athletes and simplifies the procedures by eliminating the use of special tools.
Fast adjustment of throwing chair features was best reflected by the rotation of the seat frame orientation and grab bar position adjustment. While an athlete would be able to switch throwing orientations between throwing events (ex. front-on to side-on throwing), the seat frame orientation could potentially empower athletes to make minor positioning adjustments when throwing attempts land out of bounds. This reduces the psychological impact of modifying the throwing technique to compensate for improper orientation within the throwing circle. The adjustment would also potentially be independent, where the athlete would lift up on the lever to disengage the brake and use the grab bar to reorient the seat frame incrementally.
Distinguishable Tie-down Ring
The tie-down ring is located in the lower section of the center post, which is a location that could be easily found and accessed. Also, the visual appearance of the ring is strikingly different than other parts on the chair to simplify its identification and proper use.
Game Rules Compliance
The throwing chair fulfilled all requirements specified in the official competition rules of the Paralympics committee. All parts were built of non-energy storing materials such as steel, aluminum, and plastic. The seat and backrest are parallel and perpendicular to the ground, respectively. Finally, the maximum height of the seat can be adjusted to 75 cm with or without a seating cushion.
DISCUSSION
The uniform throwing chair is intended to accommodate a broad range of athletes across all competitive levels of classification. The design allows accommodation for varying anthropometrics of the upper and lower extremities, and allows grab bar orientation for right and left handed athletes. Adjustments can be made without any specialized tools. Lengths, widths, and angles can be adjusted by one-handle pins which make the set-up easier and faster. In addition, the frame can be easily secured with the tie-down ring, because the part is unobstructed and radially-symmetric for multiple configurations.
Although, the design was developed to allow a broad range of throwing techniques, these features of the frame have not been assessed. The team has arranged to evaluate the performance of this design during routine field event competition by voluntary athletes outside of competition. The evaluations will take place at the Warrior Games of the US Paralympics from May 10-14, 2010 at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs and the National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games in July 4-9, 2010, in Denver, CO. Feedback from competitive athletes will inform future redesigns to enhance user satisfaction, ease of use and compatibility for varying throwing strategies.
FUTURE EFFORTS
Total cost of the prototype is estimated to be between 6,000 and 7,000 USD. However, this cost will change according to type of materials used. Currently, the prototype is made with steel but will later be redesigned for weight reduction and simplification of manufacturing steps. Additional iterations will improve generalizability and affordability for throwing event athletes to acquire a uniform throwing chair.In the economic downturn that began in late 2007 and persisted through the middle of 2009, millions of people in their 50s and 60s were laid off, bought out, downsized or otherwise left without a steady paycheck. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, in a report titled, “How Will Older Workers Who Lose Their Jobs During the Great Recession Fare in the Long Run?” found that the recession hit many more workers over 50 compared with previous downturns.
By 2012, many of these people were still out of work, said Matthew S. Rutledge, a labor economist at the Center for Retirement Research and a co-author of the paper. “It was really difficult for them to get back in,” he said. “It didn’t matter if they had retired or were laid off.”
The stock market decline and the collapse of the housing market also took a huge toll on the financial resources of older Americans. For those without jobs, that put even more pressure on them to return to the work force and impelled many to keep working well past their original target for retirement.
One result is that the work force is growing older. According to Andrew G. Biggs, an American Enterprise Institute resident scholar and a former top official at the Social Security Administration, there are 3.9 million more workers ages 60 to 64 today than in 2005, the last full year before the beginning of the economic slowdown. By comparison, he noted in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, there are fewer Americans ages 20 to 55 working today than in 2005.
For older Americans, paths to returning to full-time work vary. Some go into consulting, others seek specialized knowledge and new contacts by working as a volunteer. Still others resume their education through courses online or at a for-profit or community college, while some enroll in professional association courses. Many decide to start a business.
The biggest challenge for those seeking a new job after an extended period of unemployment is updating their skills for the current workplace.
“If you have been laid off or retired for a couple of years, skill sets may have moved on quite rapidly without you,” said Mark Schmit, executive director of the SHRM Foundation, a research affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management. “This puts you at a disadvantage to the people who are working, including peers who are the same age.”Share this...
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Australia’s wind energy production hit a new high last week, according to National Electricity Market
Australia has reached a new wind energy milestone, according to the country’s National Electricity Market. Powerful winds visiting the country allowed its wind farms to generate more electrical power than ever before for at least one week. The National Energy Market notes that wind power served as the new base load provider, supplying the country’s eastern states with a significant portion of their electrical power for a prolonged period of time.
91% of South Australia’s energy demand satisfied through the use of wind power
Wind energy supplied two thirds of South Australia’s total energy capacity last week, meeting 91% of the entire state’s energy demand during that period. On June 25, some 2.8 gigawatts of wind power was generated within the span of 30 minutes, accounting for 15.1% of total energy duration for that day. During the past week, Australia significantly reduced its consumption f coal and gas, relying instead on the electricity that was being generated by wind turbines. Hydro power also saw an increase in terms of energy generation last week.
Renewable energy has become the subject of controversy in many parts of Australia
Renewable energy has become something of a controversial subject in Australia. The government had been a strong supporter of solar power and other forms of clean energy in the past, but recent changes in the government have put an end to some support initiatives. These initiatives had helped support the development of new energy projects, but now these projects must find the support they need from the private sector.
Country is still a promising market for the solar and wind energy sectors
Though Australia has begun to focus more heavily on fossil-fuels once again, the country is still an attractive solar and wind market. Both of these forms of renewable energy have managed to find success throughout Australia and have managed to gain momentum with the support of consumers. Homeowners, in particular, are beginning to demand access to clean energy as an alternative to the energy they purchase from utilities.His more conservative supporters were no doubt puzzled, probably irritated, by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s sound bite, following the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. Asked what was the most important decision, he quipped, the urgency of “civilizing capitalism …” It was a smart aleck bon mot one might have expected from a Barack Obama, not from one of the most conservative leaders in the democratic world — a former Goldman Sachs banker, no less. It was signal of the rising panic among politicians of every stripe about the threats to their parties and nations.
Even Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, one of the most conservative world leaders, realizes the need to address economic inequality, write Robin Sears. ( ALY SONG / REUTERS )
The headline alarm bell is, of course, Donald Trump. He has less well-known, but equally terrifying cousins, in Germany, France, Poland and sprinkled across Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is almost trite, by now, to admit that his angry populism is driven by deepening divisions across racial, ethnic, social and class lines. Today, even conservatives admit that failure to slow and then reverse rising inequality in family income and assets risks destabilizing democracy itself. The research is conclusive: seriously unequal societies are more unstable and violent, less productive and more corrupt. What to do about it is somewhat less clear. Thomas Piketty, the controversial French political economist, in his bestseller, Capital, starkly framed the challenge. Some conservative economists whinged that he had torqued his numbers in making his case for equality. No one challenged his core thesis. The 20th century narrowed social inequality in most advanced countries for one reason only: successive rounds of disastrous asset destruction.
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Two major wars and a dozen less painful ones combined with a deep global depression, overlaid with massive tax increases to fund the wars and then the rebuilding, crushed wealthy family fortunes everywhere. The explosion in inequality kicked off by the unprecedented wealth creation of the Industrial Revolution — one that gave birth first to Marxism and then fascism — was temporarily blocked. Technology, productivity gains and globalization have returned us to “normal”: the rich are getting richer. Faster. Until the ’80s, most policy-makers — Keynesian and conservative — claimed that they had |
It would have been easy to put just about any artist on Fight Club 2, and sell it based purely on Chuck Palahniuk’s name and on the name of the book. But the question was, how do we elevate this beyond that? No one tells comic stories better than Cameron Stewart does and I knew he could bring something to it that would make it even better than what Chuck envisioned. Fight Club is a creator-owned book. I’m sure there are people whose synapses aren’t quite firing, who are thinking Fight Club is a licensed book. But Chuck created it and has total control over it.
HMS: I think it’s a matter of changing peoples’ expectations, even in comics, because this book is so unusual. It’s coming from a hit property and yet it’s a different story, but by the same person who created the hit property in another medium originally. Two mediums if you count film as well as prose. It’s going to take people a little while to realize what that means. It’s very unusual what you’ve accomplished there, and hopefully it will happen a lot more often in comics.
SA: Fight Club was the first novel Chuck published 20 years ago, and now everyone knows Tyler Durden. It was an extreme, out-there book at the time, and in the 20 years since, Chuck has just gone deeper down the rabbit hole. So with Fight Club 2, coming back to it 20 years later, Chuck brings to bear all he’s learned in the meantime. It’s a lot crazier in that respect than people might think if they have a dim memory of the movie or book. It’ll burn past peoples’ expectations.
HMS: Having seen some of the first issue myself, I’d say that it is a wild book already. The prose is so specific and speaks so directly to the reader in a narratorial way, and yet it’s very unsettling, because from the very beginning, there’s nothing safe about this book. You don’t know what’s going to happen to any of the characters. For me, introducing a child into that situation just makes me nervous, because it’s such an unsafe feeling that Tyler could potentially be around. It’s edgy already.
SA: Yeah, it doesn’t waste any time. The Free Comic Book Day offering will do an excellent job of recalibrating everyone’s memories, if they’re not clear on how the book ended. The book and the movie ended a bit differently, though they are very close. David Fincher gave it a more Fincher ending, changing it just a little bit. It’s good for folks to read the FCBD story to be reminded where the book ended, to be ready for the sequel.
HMS: Whereas the first issue of Fight Club 2 starts 9 years later. There are several hilarious, scary premises at the beginning of the series that really are playing with fire, particularly concerning Marla.
SA: I couldn’t help but Tweet recently that Marla Singer is the worst person. Everyone in this book is terrible. Marla’s boredom with her own life causes havoc. She wants a little bit of Tyler Durden. But doesn’t everybody? How much Tyler Durden can you really handle?
HMS: I like the phrase “Tyler Durden Lives” because it’s also about the impact and the footprint of his effect on their lives afterwards. In a sense, they can never be free of him. It’s like a fingerprint on their lives, the aftermath.
Speaking of Cameron Stewart, there’s some really impressive design work that ranges from really complex geometric layouts to very open ones. You can really see his toolbox, since he doesn’t use really strict geometry that often, but when he wants to, he suddenly breaks into complexity when the narrative needs it.
SA: Yes, he’s so inventive and effective. He’s been one of my favorites for a long time. Sin Titulo is a masterpiece. I want to see him write more stuff. Cameron is a guy who I’m always asking to write more. I actually don’t throw too many scripts his way, because I want to see him do his own thing, but when the opportunity to do Fight Club came up, it was just a good move for everybody.
HMS: We spoke about this in a previous interview, but Cameron and Chuck actually had an unusual back and forth working on this, didn’t they?
SA: Yes, this past summer, Cameron actually came here [to Portland] from Berlin to live for the summer in order to work with Chuck. Cameron was here for a few months, and they’d go to Dave Stewart’s house and go over the scripts and layouts. We had lots of discussions about what we wanted to do, and about comic book aesthetics. The letterer, Nate Piekos, is an incredible part of the team, as he was on Umbrella Academy. Because of the experience working with Nate and Dave Stewart on Umbrella Academy, I knew that we needed them both on Fight Club. Nate flew out for a week so that we could all spend time together and talk about how we’d use lettering, how we’d use pag layout, and how we’d use color in unique ways. It was really fun, and we established a language to use, and the parameters of what we wanted to do with the book. That was a unique opportunity. Cameron deciding to live here for most of the summer was a great thing for all of us and put us in the right place to be a real team.
HMS: How would you, personally, describe the aesthetics of the comic so far to readers? How does the world of the comic feel to you, artistically?
SA: Well, Chuck and I had been looking for someone who could handle an exaggerated style. I’m sure that other people in my role, when thinking of Fight Club, would’ve gone in a very different direction. They would have thought that it needed gritty, dark realism. If you’ve read Chuck’s novels, that’s not the case. When Gone Girl was coming out, I heard David Fincher being interviewed. He was asked, “Are you ever going to do a comedy?” Without missing a beat, Fincher said, “Fight Club was a comedy.” The interviewer thought that was funny, but it was a comedy! So many people don’t get that.
There’s a strong comic element in everything that Chuck does. It’s so grim and dark and it goes so far, some people are too disturbed by the story to notice how funny it is. But Chuck’s readers get that, and readers who got into Fight Club as a movie or as a book understand that it’s a comedy. Grim artwork would not have carried the story the way Chuck is writing it. The other thing about Chuck’s writing that makes Cameron such a perfect fit is that his prose is so punchy. He’s a minimalist, to a degree, but he throws these sentences at you, and every one of them just hits like a bullet. He’s very precise with imagery and very precise with language. As is Cameron.
The day I met Chuck, he showed up with the complete script. It’s changed a lot since then, but I got to read it at that point, before we had a deal in place, and it was such an interesting hybrid of comics script and prose. Chuck throws a line at you, he throws an image at you, in a very driving way. Sometimes it’s a really big image, but often it’s a small, precise image. One of the aesthetic choices from the get go was that the layouts would be very dense. We didn’t want to do a comic where you could read 22 pages in 4 minutes, which is common these days.
We met up recently and looked at Issue 2 together, and Chuck said, “I can’t believe how much stuff we fit into 22 pages.” So much story comes at you in every issue. And it’s 10 issues. The way that Chuck and Cameron are telling this story, they are doing in 10 issues what would’ve taken 40 issues for some other folks. It’s not that it’s crammed. Sometimes prose writers, when they move from prose to comics, can’t lighten up on the language, so you get these text-heavy comics that don’t use art effectively. That is not the case with Fight Club. Chuck leans on the images so hard, and the sequence of the images. We have 9-panel pages, and pages with more than 9 panels, composed of these precise little images. Because Cameron’s storytelling is so nuanced, he can nail all the things Chuck is trying to do. To the point that Chuck will go back and strip out some of the dialogue before it’s lettered. You’re getting comics that work in the most pure sense of the art form, in my opinion.
Silent storytelling is a very difficult thing. Some artists just can’t do it. Some knock it out of the park, some can’t do it. Chuck and Cameron have a number of silent sequences that work well because Chuck is great at selecting an image and Cameron just cannot fail at creating the flow on the page that takes you through it in this incredibly graceful way.
HMS: Can you tell us anything about the release date for Fight Club?
SA: Yes. It’s May 27th. The good news for retailers is that FOC is the Monday after Free Comic Book Day, and as I mentioned, FCBD this year features a 14 page retelling of the end of the novel by Chuck and Cameron. We’re getting a lot of support from Chuck’s book publisher, Random House, since he has a short story collection coming out the day before the first issue. It’ll help give the launch a lot of visibility, and we hope we’ll get a lot of new customers into stores. The Random House book is called Make Something Up. It’s got a short story that ties in with Fight Club. Chuck writes in a very different voice on that story, and it’s very fun and weird. It doesn’t connect directly with what we’re doing, but it’s very cool.
HMS: Is there anything you can say about long-term plans for Fight Club 2 and working with Chuck?
SA: It’s 10 issues, which we’ll do in one giant hardcover, rather than doing a couple trades. It’ll be a beautiful book. Many issues are more than 22 pages, so the hardcover will be 10 issues of that and a fair amount of cool ancillary material that we’ll be including.
HMS: Do you get the sense that comics are something that Chuck will now consider doing in the future because he’s become so immersed in comics through doing this? I know you said in the past that he took researching the form and its strengths really seriously.
SA: We’ve talked about other stuff he might do next, though we haven’t nailed anything down. I don’t foresee him writing a run on Hellboy, although that would be pretty interesting (laughter). He’s done a great job of recognizing the potential in the artform and he’s done something unusual with it.
HMS: Will Fight Club 2 be a presence at conventions this year?
SA: Chuck will be coming to some conventions with us this year. One of the reasons he got into comics was an interest in comics culture and conventions, as well as hanging out with other comic creators and talking about graphic novels. He’s seen something that he likes in our community and wants to plug into it.
Ei8ht
HMS: That’s a nice vote of confidence! Can we talk about this new series Ei8ht a little? I’ve actually seen the first 3 issues. Rafael Albuquerque is blowing my mind. I can’t believe how ingenious the color scheme idea in it is, using different baseline colors for different time-lines to keep the reader on track. It’s just astonishing.
SA: I know. Rafael is a master, and he knows exactly what he’s doing with this series. Comics have unlimited potential for this kind of thing visually complex sci fi saga. One thing I find remarkable about his art is how much he uses white, especially on covers. So it’s not just the color scheme you’re talking about that’s impactful. He uses different colors for the Past, Present, Future, and the “Meld,” but it’s also his heavy use of white to balance those poster-like colors. It doesn’t look like anything else—no one could have done this but him.
HMS: This demonstration is probably going to influence people to try stuff like this. Lots of people have experimented with color, but when you read Ei8ht, you feel like you’re looking at something new. There is innovation going on here. The reader gets to watch the experiment in motion.
SA: Another unsung hero who I mentioned before is Nate Piekos, who is also the letterer on this book. He doesn’t do it for every book, but for quite a few he comes in and invents a whole lettering vocabulary for a given title. That’s why I wanted him on Fight Club. When I read the first issue of Ei8ht, it had a special quality to it that gives the book even more personality in each of its parts. Nate has done that on so many books, from Umbrella Academy to the Alien: Fire and Stone stuff, to working with Richard Corben. It’s incredible working with a guy like him.
HMS: He’s at top of his field and his game, he really is. Were you the one who received the pitch for Ei8ht? How did it strike you?
SA: Sierra Hahn is the editor on that and was the one who brought that in. And she just raved about it. We trust Sierra, and we’d worked with Rafael before. I think it was pitched to us as a sci-fi and time-travel thing. That was all we needed to hear.
HMS: It’s visually surprising, with interesting narrative flow. It also reminds me again that sci-fi is really at home with Dark Horse. And this is a great flag waving as a reminder.
SA: For me, it’s the best kind of sci-fi because it really digs into some ideas and goes to speculative places. The simplest form of sci-fi reads: if there are aliens and space ships and robots, then it’s sci-fi. But if it doesn’t deal with ideas, is it really doing what sci-fi is capable of? Horror is the same. If you just have monsters running around punching each other (laughter), you’re dealing with the tropes of horror without really getting at what the genre can do to give you an experience.
The Goon: Once Upon a Hard Time
HMS: What’s going on with The Goon? I hear ominous things about the series in the future maybe not even being called The Goon? I talked with Eric Powell awhile back about “Occasion of Revenge” and I know he made some Reddit announcements around the holiday season.
SA: Yes. Occasion of Revenge set up the framework for a tragic turn of events and it’s the events of that book that put the Goon in a dark place. Part of how I perceive real tragic storytelling, classical tragedy, is that we don’t always act in our best interest, especially when we’ve been pushed to the edge. Sometimes being pushed to the edge creates a great hero who rises above everything, but sometimes we get our heart torn out, and our friends get beaten down, and our judgment crumbles. In Occasion of Revenge, the Goon went to a violent, dark place and that’s where we find him in Once Upon a Hard Time.
The first issue of Once Upon a Hard Time ends on such a sour note, and there’s a fight bearing down on Goon that could change everything. What’s actually going on inside of Goon might be the darker truth to face. There’s a big panel on the last page of Once Upon a Hard Time, and it’s a close-up on Frankie, who’s of course this silly a riff on a Little Orphan Annie-like character. But the look on his face in that panel is so tragic and upsetting, you know readers are in store for something. This arc resolves everything that’s been hanging over Goon’s head since the series launched many years ago. It’s all coming down now. Eric said on Reddit recently that after this, the book that he does might not even be called The Goon.
HMS: I know! Isn’t that shocking?
SA: Well, he’ll continue with this world and these ideas, some of these characters—this isn’t the end of everything—but it is the resolution of a story that he’s been telling since before 2003. What comes next will be different by necessity because of what happens here.
HMS: Eric really pulls out all the stops on the artwork of that first issue. It’s like all the characters are sculpted out of marble—it’s amazing.
SA: His extremely limited color scheme is so weird and moody. He’s doing a poster-like approach with color, throwing color into word balloons, to get these graphic pops. Goon is drinking a lot and in the first issue, he starts to take things out on his friends, and mangles someone. It’s going to a dark place, indeed.
HMS: It’s very powerful. I’m a little nervous about where things are going for him, but I think I’m supposed to be.
Rebels
HMS: What about this new series, Rebels? It’s not that common for Dark Horse to do a purely history-based series, is it?
SA: Brian Wood has a lot of different interests, and this book will be unlike anything else. Brian looks at important issues and ideas. He looks at conflict in this world and how it affects people. He’s bringing an important time in American history—our revolution—to life here in a really accesible way. It’s not a history lesson—it’s a fight, a struggle. My ancestors have been in the States since the 1630s and a little earlier. When we were kids, we talked about ancestors involved in the conflicts Brian’s bringing to life in a way that people haven’t seen before.
HMS: Looking through the first couple issues, some things that struck me are how high-energy and how fast-paced everything is because there’s so much going on. Wood is pushing the comics medium to contain all this—all the detail, the groups of people, the places, and their activities. He’s jumping over periods of time, then deciding to settle in and give you tons of detail about particular moments in time. It’s very interesting from a narrative standpoint.
SA: And he’s paired with Andrea Mutti, who has done a lot of stuff with us over the years, but this is such a great use of his abilities. He makes it all real and relatable, personal. Comics are the perfect medium for this kind of thing. This is somewhat like what they do with comics in Europe, so it makes sense that we’re working with a European artist.
HMS: You can’t get much more American with the subject matter! I can already see a really interesting idea developing about American identity in the comic, and it’s not exactly what you might expect. It’s not a cliché. Brian is interrogating what it means to be American.
SA: Can we quote you on that? That’s a great way to say what Brian does a lot of the time. He interrogates what it means to live in this world. He takes a timeless approach to these things, whether it’s The Massive, or DEMO, or Star Wars. This is another book that nobody else would have done, the best example of creator-owned.
HMS: It’s going to be a stand-out. And hopefully encourage more people to try unusual subject-matter in comics. You have to believe you can do these things in comics before you can bring yourself to work on them. People need to see what’s possible, and hopefully it’ll prompt more experimentation.
SA: That’s typical of comics right now. Typical in a good way! We don’t need to do the comics we grew up on. You can go to new places. Rebels, PastAways, Black Hammer, Fight Club 2, are all examples of making the art form more exciting. These are things that never could’ve existed when I was a kid.
HMS: Even a few years ago, you could predict to some extent predict what you’d see on shop shelves. Now there’s no way you could really have predicted the swath of beautiful, interesting books that people are producing. Everything is a brand new experience now.
SA: It’s an exciting time to be in comics and reading comics. The store I go to, Excalibur in Portland, is always turning me on to books I haven’t heard about.
Past Aways
HMS: Can you tell me a little bit more about Past Aways? I’ve seen some artwork, and I’m a huge fan of Matt Kindt.
SA: Matt Kindt is another guy like Brian, who’s become a big part of what we do. Mind MGMT has been a critical darling, so when he pitched this to us, another time-traveling sci-fi story with a heavy adventure vibe to it, we were all psyched. Scott Kolins is someone I’d only worked with once a long time ago, and when I saw the unlettered pages for #1, I was amazed. Every page is crammed with sci-fi ideas in a kind of rollicking, intense adventure style. It’s great to see Matt paired up with a very different kind of artist who normally he might have only worked with on Justice League or something. I love a comic full of crazy ideas and imagery.
HMS: There’s definitely a strong sense of humor. There’s a tone of humor throughout, but it’s edgy. It reminds me a little of sci-fi in the vein of The Fifth Element rather than sci-fi in the vein of Event Horizon.
SA: There’s the lovely image of a full-page of a guy sitting on the toilet looking at his iPad. There’s sophisticated humor here, but there’s a lot of in your face humor too.
Rat God
HMS: Can we talk about Corben’s Rat God? That is a wild book. It was actually much freakier than I expected even.
SA: After he had done the Poe adaptations for us, I said, “What next?” and he was thinking H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. I’m a big Lovecraft fan, but I don’t feel his stories adapt as well as Poe’s stories. I also wanted to see Corben write his own stuff, so I suggested he take his favorite ideas from Lovecraft and write a longer arc of his own. Now if I’ve cheated the world of seeing Richard Corben do Shadow over Innsmouth, then I’m probably a bad person (laughter). But seeing him do his own thing with Rat God is more exciting to me, as a reader. He gave us something really original, and it wasn’t the typical choice of Lovecraft elements. No tentacles or octopus monsters, but the most unnerving ideas of Lovecraft.
His artwork gets better all the time, too. Seeing him do this book is a career highlight for me. He’s been a hero of mine since I was a little kid, but seeing him with free reign at this period of his career is beautiful. You and I were talking before about horror and sci-fi comics not embracing everything those genres are capable of, but Rat God sure as shit does. It makes you wonder what’s real, and gives you imagery that’s not about splattering blood, but creating characters who make you legitimately uncomfortable. That’s on full display in this book. His protagonist is a very Lovecraftian character, and he’s among a bunch of inbred rat-people. Way to go, Corben!
HMS: He brings the quality that many people bring to cover art to every page. It gets under your skin even more because of that—the sculptural quality.
SA: He gets even more detailed as the series progresses, rather than losing steam. There’s nothing about this guy that slows down.
Abe Sapien #23 drawn by Kevin Nowlan
HMS: You mentioned another hero of yours, Kevin Nowlan, and his connection to Abe Sapien #23?
SA: Working on Abe Sapien, we occasionally have these stand-alone issues that jump back into the past. We’ve been working on issue #23 for a while. I get to work with someone who’s been an art-hero for me since the early ’90s. We’ve been lucky enough to have Kevin come in occasionally to do a Hellboy one-shot, and now we get him on Abe. There was a panel in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil, a flashback, where Hellboy talks about how tough Abe is. He says one time they were in British Columbia investigating lake monsters and Abe got thrown 50 feet onto some sharp rocks and had to go to the hospital, but was okay afterwards. Mignola drew one panel of Abe flying through the air in that story. When Kevin told me what he was interested in drawing for the one shot, I flashed back to that story, and realized this was the place to tell it. Mike and I got the story together, with Hellboy and Abe in the early 90’s in British Columbia. Kevin drew it, inked it, lettered it, did the cover, the whole thing. Thse comics with Kevin are some of the only comics we do that Dave Stewart doesn’t color—we’re all happy to defer to Kevin Nowlan. To see Kevin draw some classic Hellboy in the middle of the Abe series is great.
Frankenstein Underground, Hellboy in Hell #7 and #8
HMS: There are so many hints about things that have happened in the Hellboy universe that have never been told, that things just expand over time.
SA: That’s part of the plan with how we do these books, intentionally putting in little hints, little buds on a branch, and we don’t know which ones are going to flower. Like Varvara. She was a character we didn’t think was going to be a big deal when we created her in B.P.R.D. 1946. We had no idea how important she’d be, but artists loved to draw her. John or Mike would then think of ways to use her, and the next thing you knew, she’d taken on massive significance. And she is going to be even more significant character going forward. It happens organically, not all by careful design—though there is some planning…
That’s how Frankenstein Underground came about. We did the House of the Living Dead graphic novel with Richard Corben. It was Mike’s chance to throw the Universal-style characters into one story, but do it at a mad scientist’s lab in Mexico. You’ve got a werewolf, a vampire, and a Frankenstein’s monster that Mike and Corben designed together. Of all the characters in that book, the monster survived and wandered into the desert. Mike says that at that time he didn’t know this was the “actual” Frankenstein’s Monster from literature. But Mike has had a lot of fun creating stories set in Mexico, so it felt good to go back to that.
The first thing Mike told me about Frankenstein Underground made it sound like it was going to be this inconsequential monster rampage. But one of the things I love about Mike’s work is the tension between the dumb guy action and the more contemplative stuff. Whenever he feels himself having gone too far in one direction, he goes in the other direction. Frankenstein Underground could have just been a monster romp, but he felt the need to put something more deeply engaging in it, so the story has taken on a lot more, says more about Mike’s world, and where things are heading … It’s a Journey to the Center of the Earth-style monster romp, with history’s greatest monster, at the same time exploring some of the weirdest corners of Mike’s mythology.
HMS: The thing about this is, you could’ve read everything that Mike has done so far in his career, and it still really wouldn’t totally prepare you for this. Because this is really Mike unchained. The leaps of imagination go so far into the strange. He told me in a previous interview that he was balancing out the strangeness of Hellboy in Hell by the more practical, basic Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. It’s a beautiful thing to see him totally off the leash.
SA: I know exactly what you’re saying. The ultimate version of the “leash” for Mike is actually the B.P.R.D.—the organization, not the book … When he created Hellboy, and made him work for a government organization, that limited Mike in certain ways. It set the story in the real world in a way that’s not really where Mike’s brain goes. So much of what he’s done in the last ten years has been about getting off the leash. If you go back to the collection Strange Places, with two of the most difficult stories Mike ever created, “The Third Wish” and “The Island,” those stories were about taking Hellboy away from the real world with its cars and its guns. They put Hellboy deep into a mythological world where Mike can creates anything he wants.
Hellboy in Hell is the ultimate version of Mike going wherever he wants. Frankenstein Underground, similarly, creates a world where Mike can do anything he wants. The nice thing is that the stuff that Mike finds interesting makes for incredibly entertaining comics. Frankenstein Underground delves into key secrets of the Hellboy universe, but it’s most satisfying as a stand-alone, bizarre story about a monster with philosophical overtones. Mike takes the monster and some of the ideas from the Mary Shelley novel, then goes full tilt in a direction only he would go. It’s unchained and unbridled, and it’s set in the center of the earth where no one can tell Mike what to do.
HMS: (Laughter) That’s a great summation that Mike has to go to the center of the earth just to do what he really wants to do! I think there were hints of that wild freedom in Midnight Circus, with Duncan Fegredo, and it really captured peoples’ imaginations. This is like the same strain but taken to a higher magnitude. Because he gets away from all the organizing elements.
Now, speaking of Hellboy in Hell, when is that coming back?
SA: Yes. Mike finished Issue #7 and is nearly done with #8. They’re coming out in August in September, two issues in consecutive months. Mike wants to make sure the books never ship late, so he makes sure they are nearly done before we solicit.
[*Hellboy in Hell #7 Cover Art Revealed]
Baltimore: The Cult of the Red King
HMS: What’s going on in the Baltimore universe?
SA: The new series, which we just announced this week, The Cult of the Red King, takes us into the big final act of Baltimore. The Baltimore stories work in two big chunks. The first four hardcovers preceded the events of the novel by Mike and Christopher Golden. The fourth volume resolved a big plot-point. The vampire who began this plague of evil across Europe and killed Baltimore’s family was the longtime object of Baltimore’s revenge, and Baltimore finally got it. In the wake of the death of the vampire, the real evil behind this plague of monsters is revealed as a much deeper, more evil personality known as The Red King. His cults of worship have popped up across Europe, and nobody is even sure if he’s real. In the first four volumes, Baltimore took on Mike’s perverse version of Dracula, then managed to kill him. Volume 5 kind of re-set Baltimore, as he got his feet under him. The new series kicking off this spring defines Baltimore’s greater purpose. First he defeated Dracula, but now he has to figure out if Satan exists, and then go after him.
HMS: Hah! Wow. I remember hints about the Red King previously and they were gruesome.
SA: Yeah. In real-world mythological terms, the best correlation to the Red King is the Devil. Baltimore will start with his worshipers, to see if he can get to him and end this damnation and suffering. Baltimore and his crew go up against the most evil people they can find in the hopes of confronting a bigger power of evil. Across the next few volumes, Baltimore will sacrifice everything to go up against the weirdest stuff that Mike and Chris Golden can think up to throw at them.
You can find out more about the recently announced Baltimore: The Cult of the Red King here.
Lady Killer #2 arrived this week and you can find out more about it here.
Pastaways is arriving on March 25th and is currently listed in Previews World with item code: JAN150085
Rebels arrives April 8th and is currently listed in Previews World with item code: FEB150008
The Goon: Once Upon A Hard Time arrived this week. Find out more about it here.
Frankenstein Underground arrives on March 25th and is currently listed in Previews World with item code: JAN150084
About Hannah Means Shannon Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Independent comics scholar and former English Professor. Writing books on magic in the works of Alan Moore and the early works of Neil Gaiman.
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None foundMelania Trump flew separately to join President Trump for a long Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago, getting the chance for some quality family time – while also contributing to her husband's growing taxpayer-paid travel tab.
The first lady arrived in West Palm Beach Thursday on a government aircraft – the military version of a Boeing 757, about 6:30pm, just minutes before her husband landed on Air Force One.
Vice President Mike Pence took the same plane Melania used to a conference in Munich earlier this year.
The first lady lives at Trump Tower with her and the president's son, Barron, whose private school in New York is off this week for spring break.
The per-hour cost of operating the plane is $15,846, meaning the total trip cost was at least $100,000.
Melania Trump dressed arrives at West Palm Beach International Airport Thursday alongside son Barron Trump. President Trump flew separately aboard Air Force One
Conservative pro-transparency group Judicial Watch estimates that it costs taxpayers $1 million for each trip President Trump takes to Mar-a-Lago.
Another available figure is the $3.6 million it cost President Obama to take a single trip to Chicago and Palm Beach while in office. This has prompted some to tabulate Trump's running costs at over $20 million.
Tom Fitton, president of the group, sued to gain access to Obama-era travel documents, said Trump should be cognizant of the costs born by taxpayers.
'Taxpayers are on the hook for each trip. We have a right to expect that the president be a steward of these funds, and funds that he has direct control over, because he decides whether to go or not,' Fitton told DailyMail.com.
LETS CARPOOL NEXT TIME: Melania Trump arrives at West Palm Beach International Airport
The plane carrying the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump arrives at the Palm Beach International Airport so her and US President Donald Trump can spend Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago. Vice President Mike Pence sometimes uses the same aircraft
PLENTY OF ROOM AND FREE WIFI: President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump arrive together on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport to spend part of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago resort on March 17
FRIENDS FLY FREE: President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe walk off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida as they arrive to spend the weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, February 10
Air Force One carrying President Donald Trump arrives at the Palm Beach International Airport so the President can spend Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago resort on April 13, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida. President Trump has made numerous trips to his Florida home and according to reports has cost over an estimated $20 million in his first 80 days in office
SKY HIGH TRAVEL TAB Cost to operate a military version of the 757 for first lady travel: $15,846 per hour Cost to operate Air Force One: $142,380 per hour Cost to fly first lady round trip from La Guardia airport to Palm Beach International Airport: about $100,305 Cost to fly President Trump round trip from Joint Base Andrews to Palm Beach International Airport: about $332,173 Combined cost: $432,478 (flight times may vary) Source: Obama administration records obtained by Judicial Watch Air costs only: Does not include Secret Service, lodging, motorcade, hotels, accidional local law enforcement
But Fitton said Obama took more egregious trips, practically using Air Force One 'for touring every golf course in America.'
'She is staying in New York to be close to her son. Should she be punished, should the Trump family be punished by not being all to travel where the president is going to be on a holiday like Easter?' Fitton asked.
The Air Force makes additional outlays each time the president travels aboard Air Force One.
The price is $142,380 per hour, or about $332,173 to fly from Joint Base Andrews.
According to the New York Times, the president has spent 22 days at Mar-a-Lago during his presidency, which hit its 85th day Friday. He has spent 27 days, or nearly a third of his time in office, visiting a Trump property.
His travel has sometimes drawn criticism for providing brand promotion for his properties at taxpayer expense. Annual club dues at Mar-a-Lago were doubled to $200,000 after Trump took office.
For some other trips, the first lady has hopped aboard Air Force One for the trip to Mar-a-Lago, as she did during the eighth week of his president. Melania Trump, the president, and Barron Trump could all be seen exiting the plane. The first lady waived at one point and the president made a fist for the gathered crowd.
DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE: President Donald Trump sits in his vehicle before being driven away after arriving on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport to spend Easter weekend at Mar-a-Lago resort on April 13
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has defended the president's trips to Florida, saying Mar-a-Lago 'is where he goes to see his family. He brings people down there. This is part of being president.'
"I can't think of anything like this that we've seen at anytime in the modern era," George Washington Law School professor Steve Schooner told NBC News for a story on the president's travel.
"It's just another example of his consistent efforts to exploit public office for private gain,' the ethics expert added. 'He's using his official office and the fact that people have to travel with him, meet him, and follow him to promote his commercial enterprise, in this case his privately owned club.'
The government has yet to release Secret Service or Air Force data that would provide the precise costs of Trump's travel to Mar-a-Lago.
There might be ways to cut on costs. It wasn't immediately clear why the first lady had to take a large 757-type aircraft for the trip. She would most likely be accompanied by a team of Secret Service agents who look |
who are actually struggling for democracy firsthand. The leaders of the Green Movement and Iranian human rights and democracy defenders have adamantly opposed broad sanctions and warned that confrontation, isolation and broad economic punishment only undermine the cause of democracy and rule of law in Iran. A new report by the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) documents how sanctions are destroying the sources of societal change in Iran. "The urban middle class that has historically played a central role in creating change and promoting progress in Iran are key casualties of the sanctions regime," according to the report.
As documented by the report’s firsthand account on the ground, sanctions are not driving the working class to join Iran’s democracy movement, they are doing the opposite — decimating the Iranian middle class, that has been at the center of the democracy movement, by intensifying their economic struggles. The greatest impediment for Iran’s pro-democracy movement — as we saw at the height of the Green Movement protests in 2009 — has been that working class Iranians who are preoccupied with immediate financial struggles are unable to enlist in a struggle for political freedoms.
Additionally, economist Djavad Salehi-Isfahani argues that "As basic services deteriorate, and the shortages and long lines that were common sights during the Iran-Iraq war reappear, the government will once again become not the source but the remedy to their problems." Populist hardliners in Iran have proven adroit at exploiting economic vulnerabilities to consolidate political power, investing in working class constituencies and directly dispersing direct financial aid and even food and basic goods. Hence, sanctions have played a major role in Iran’s transformation from a theocracy to a "thughocracy." And with private businesses increasingly being squeezed out, Iranians are becoming more dependent on the state and "thus unable and fearful of engaging in civil activism" at the risk of losing their livelihood, according to the ICAN report.
At the same time, the ICAN report also finds that women are bearing a disproportionate burdened under sanctions. Educated woman, who "have been the primary engine of socio-political change in Iran," face diminishing opportunities in the public and private sphere as conservatives exploit the political and economic impact of sanctions to advance a regressive social agenda.
But the sanctions are not just robbing Iran of its greatest assets in the struggle for democracy; they are also entrenching anti-democratic forces like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran’s quasi-state, quasi-military, quasi-business conglomerate, has been the chief benefactor of thirty years of sanctions, and has established a near-economic monopoly in Iran as escalating sanctions have crushed Iran’s private sector and driven the middle class out of legitimate businesses. The IRGC itself has been largely untouched from the sanction’s economic impact.
If sanctions do indeed trigger a domestic backlash, it will not come in the form of a pro-democracy movement, but instead in the form of food riots that will provide an easy target for the Iranian regime’s well-honed apparatus of repression. The IRGC’s modus operandi has been to prepare to stamp out any internal unrest in its embryonic phase, and bread mobs will provide the perfect pretext for the IRGC to consolidate its power by commencing an official curfew, using overwhelming force to stamp out any rioters and attempt to eradicate the domestic opposition as Iran drifts towards military dictatorship.
If Washington truly cares about the establishment of democracy in Iran, it should first and foremost understand the nature of Iran’s century long struggle for democracy: the Constitutional Revolution in 1906, the nascent democracy that was toppled with Mossadegh in 1953, and the Green Movement in 2009. As the most successful incarnation of the pro-democracy movement after the 1979 revolution, the Green Movement was able to sustain six months of protest through the networks cultivated throughout the 2009 election campaign. It represented a continuation of the democratic impulse that has run through Iran for the past century, not a spontaneous blowout of blind anger over food prices.
Punishing the social backbone of Iran’s democracy movement in an effort to engineer discontent demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding about the movement’s origins and strengths. But advocates of this strategy appear unconcerned with the details. Just as advocates of sanctions supposedly designed to stop Iran’s nuclear program now say they have failed, there will come a time when the rebranded sanctions supposedly aimed at producing a democratic Iran will also be pronounced dead. And with "economic warfare" no longer on the table, sanctions hawks will tell us there is only one remaining option to "liberate" Iran.
Mohammad Sadeghi Esfahlani is a PhD student in Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary, and was the founder of the first virtual political campaign on Facebook in the Middle East.
Jamal Abdi is the Policy Director of the National Iranian American Council. He previously worked in US Congress as a Policy Advisor on foreign affairs.— Dogs have been an important part of the United States military for decades. One even helped aid in the killing of Osama bin Laden.
But according to doctors, these combat canines return from war many of them are suffering from some of the same health problems that are on the rise in their human counterparts.
Military working dogs are trained to jump out of helicopters, repel down walls, swim long distances, and sniff out bombs from up to two miles away.
“We’re not always going to be able to crack open a door and go in, so a dog has to be able to hit it,” Staff Sgt. Chad Atchnley told CBS 2’s Maurice Dubois.
However, no matter how much preparation a war dog receives, the combat experience can still be traumatic. Months of exposure to explosions, helicopters, gunfire, chaotic situations, and death can take a toll. An increasing number of dogs are returning home from war with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to veterinarians.
“Let’s say they’re doing a detection task. They’re missing stuff they normally wouldn’t miss. They’re making mistakes they just wouldn’t make,” explained Dr. Walter Burghardt.
Veterinarians first suspected canine PTSD in 2007. It is now an official animal condition which can shatter a dog’s nerves and undercut combat effectiveness.
It’s estimated that at least 10 percent of the dogs that have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan have developed PTSD, and like their human counterparts, dogs can be treated with training, conditioning, and medication like Xanax.
Experts told CBS 2 that there may also be a correlation between a handler getting PTSD and a dog developing it as well.
“I’ve been to Iraq with a dog. I’ve been on Secret Service missions protecting the president and the vice president with a dog, and the jobs that these dogs do is irreplaceable,” one handler told CBS 2.
The United States War Dog Association is located in Burlington, N.J. The organization sends packages to war dogs and their handlers who are deployed overseas.
You may share your thoughts in our comments section below…This article was written by Simon E. Davies. Contributor at Ancient-Code.com
Many cultures from around the world speak of mythical lands, sunken cities and lost kingdoms that have defied all attempts in being discovered. It’s possible these mysterious civilizations have come and gone, reaching back further in time than history will ever know. There forgotten lands, if discovered today, could shed light on our ancient culture via their ancient structures, cryptic hieroglyphics and forgotten artwork.
Atlantis was a mythical island that was said to have sunk below the ocean. It was first mentioned by Plato at around 350 BC, who wrote about a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean that was swallowed by the sea in one day and one night. He wrote two books about the history and culture of this mythical island.
Another sunken city was Ys, which legends claims reached back as far as the prehistoric era where a settlement was built off the coast of Douarnenez, France. The myth states that Gradlon, a King of Cornouaille, built a city within these walls on the request of his daughter Dahut who loved the sea. However, one day a wave as high as a mountain collapsed on Ys, dragging the city to the depths of the ocean.
Lemuria is the name of a lost land located somewhere in the Indian or Pacific Ocean. The island was not based upon legend but rather scientific guess. Though Lemuria is no longer considered a valid scientific hypothesis, it has been adopted by occult practitioners who believe a mysterious continent once existed in the ancient world that has now sank beneath the ocean as a result of a cataclysmic event.
Mu is the name of a hypothetical lost continent proposed by 19th-century traveller Augustus Le Plongeon. He claimed that several ancient civilizations, such as those of Egypt and Mesoamerica, were created by refugees from Mu, which he located in the Atlantic Ocean (others suggest the Pacific). Today scientists dismiss the concept of Mu as physically impossible, arguing that a continent can neither sink nor be destroyed in the short time required by this premise.
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legends. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 1136 ce “historical” account British history. Within his book he claimed that a mysterious island to the west of England had forged Arthur’s sword Excalibur, and later acted as a place of refuge after Arthur was wounded in the Battle of Camlann. Avalon was has always been associated with mystical practices and supernatural beings.
Agartha is a legendary city that is said to reside under the earth’s surface. It was first mentioned in the west by Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre who proposed that this hidden civilisation protected of secret knowledge and incredible wealth. Theosophists regard Agartha as a vast complex of caves underneath Tibet, inhabited by supernatural creatures called asuras.
In Tibetan and Buddhist traditions, Shambhala is an ancient kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It is mentioned in various ancient texts, the oldest being the Bön scriptures (which vastly predates Buddhism). They all see Shambhala as a pure realm that lies on the edge of physical reality, connecting this world to the next (a gateway between the physical and spiritual realms). Only the most enlightened of beings can enter this paradise, (indeed, Tibetan lamas spend a great deal of their lives in spiritual development before attempting the journey to this mythical realm).
In Greek mythology, Hyperborea was a mythical land situated “beyond the North Wind”. The Greeks believed it was a fertile paradise that lay far to the north of Thrace, ‘where the sun shone twenty-four hours a day’ (which to modern ears suggests the Arctic region). However, it is also possible that Hyperborea was not a physical location at all, for according to the Greek poet Pindar, neither by ship nor on foot would you find the marvellous road to Hyperborea.
Thule was first mentioned in classical European geography as a region that lay far to the north of Britain. Prior to the 19th century, many thought of this northern mystery as hell, surrounded by raging volcanoes in the midst of a frozen wilderness. Conversely, after the 18th century, it came to be known as a land of plenty; where fish were caught abundantly and there was plenty of grazing for the production of meat and butter. The legend of Thule has therefore been appraised as being both heaven and hell. The term ‘Ultima Thule’ denotes any distant place that is located beyond the “borders of the known world”.
When Spanish explorers arrived in South America in the early 16th century they heard rumours of a lost city called El Dorado which was filled with gold. Local folklore said that every time a new ruler was appointed in this city, gold and precious jewels were thrown into a lake called Guativita. This lake was found it 1545, by explorers who managed to lower its level enough to find hundred of pieces of gold along the lake’s edge. However, attempts to drain the lake further have remained unsuccessful, and the city of gold remains lost.
Paititi is a legendary Inca lost city which was the equivalent of a western utopia. It was said to be abundant with food and mineral wealth. Folklore places this forgotten city somewhere within the remote rain forests of Peru, northern Bolivia or southwest Brazil. The Paititi legend revolves around the story of the culture-hero Inkarri, who, after he had founded Q’ero and Cusco, retreated toward the jungles of Pantiacolla to live out the rest of his days in his refuge city of Paititi.
Brasil is a phantom island which is said to lie west of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean. It is described as being cloaked in a perpetual mist, except for one day every seven years, where its incredible beauty became visible to the naked eye. Expeditions left Bristol in 1480 and 1481 to search for the island; but nothing was found. Then, in 1674, Captain John Nisbet claimed to have found the island when on a journey to Ireland. He described strange black rodents and a magician who lived in a stone castle. A follow-up expedition by captain Alexander Johnson also found Brasil, confirming the same findings. But then, Brasil reverted to its elusive self. Only a few sightings have been made since.
Featured image credit: ShutterstockThe Paper-Flower Tree: An Illustrated Ode to the Courage of Withstanding Cynicism and the Generative Power of the Affectionate Imagination
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way… As a man is, so he sees,” William Blake wrote in his spectacular 1799 defense of the imagination. More than a century and a half later, illustrator and designer Jacqueline Ayer (May 2, 1930–May 20, 2012) offered a beautiful allegorical counterpart to Blake’s timeless message in her 1962 masterpiece The Paper-Flower Tree (public library) — a warm and whimsically illustrated parable about the moral courage of withstanding cynicism and the generative power of the affectionate imagination.
As vibrant and vitalizing as the tales Ayer imagines in her children’s books is her own true story. Born to first-generation Jamaican immigrants in New York City, Jacqueline grew up in the “Coops” — a communist-inspired cooperative for garment workers in the Bronx. Her father, a graphic artist and the founder of the first licensed modeling agency for black women, taught her to draw. Her mother, a sample cutter, imbued her with an uncommon aptitude for pattern and color. In the 1940s, Jacqueline enrolled in Harlem’s iconic public High School of Music & Art, whose alumni include cartoonist Al Jaffe, graphic designer Milton Glaser, and banjoist Bela Fleck.
After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in fine art, she continued her studies in Paris, where she became a fashion illustrator and starred in a Dadaist film alongside Man Ray. Her singularly imaginative artwork attracted the attention of designer Christian Dior and Vogue Paris editor Michel de Brunhoff, who procured for her an appointment as fashion illustrator for Vogue in New York. There, she supplemented her meager salary — for those were the days before the Equal Pay uprising that revolutionized the modern workplace, and she was a woman of color — by illustrating for the department store Bonwit Teller alongside young Andy Warhol.
Three years later, Jacqueline went back to Paris on vacation and fell in love with Fred Ayer — a young American who had just returned from Burma and had grown besotted with the cultures of the East. The couple got married and began traveling through East Asia until they finally settled in Thailand, where Ayer raised her two daughters and drew incessantly as she traversed the strange, hot, fragrant wonderland of Bangkok on foot along the sidewalks, on scooter in the streets, on boat via the canals. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, she launched the fashion and fabric company Design-Thai, which printed her vibrant designs onto silk and cotton using traditional Thai craftsmanship.
Ayer spent the remaining years of her life translating her distinctive aesthetic into home furnishings for New York and London’s glamorous department stores, working for the Indian government under Indira Gandhi to help develop the country’s traditional textile crafts, and creating children’s books of uncommon beauty and emotional intelligence. She was only thirty-one when she won the 1961 Gold Medal of the Society of Illustrators, considered the Oscars of illustration.
The Paper-Flower Tree, originally published in 1962 and now lovingly resurrected by my friends of Brooklyn-based independent powerhouse Enchanted Lion, is one of four books about Thailand Ayer wrote and illustrated, like Tolkien’s Mr. Bliss, for her own children.
It tells the story of a little girl named Miss Moon, who lives under “the enormous blue sky” of rural Thailand and wanders the horizonless rice fields with her baby brother.
One day, a most unusual sight punctuates the noonday torpor of the village. Ayer writes:
Miss Moon saw a little man in the distance, puffing and blowing as he walked slowly along. He carried over his shoulder a bamboo stick, on which were tied colored bits of paper that fluttered in the wind.
Mesmerized by the burst of color, Miss Moon asks the elderly stranger, addressing him with the respectful and affectionate “grandfather,” where he is headed and what marvel he is carrying.
Returning Miss Moon’s affection, the old man addresses her as “little mouse” and explains that he is following the road to wherever it takes him, carrying a paper-flower tree. Ayer writes:
Miss moon smiled. She loved the tree. It was then she knew she had to have one. “How pretty it is!” she said to the old man. “All those paper flowers twinkling in the sun. I wish I had a tree like that one.” “One copper coin will buy you two flowers. If one of them has a seed,” the old man said, “who knows? Perhaps you can plant it — perhaps you can grow a tree for yourself.”
But Miss Moon’s heart sinks, for she has not a copper coin. The benevolent stranger meets her sadness with a smile and gives her a paper flower to keep — the smallest one on his tree, but adorned with a tiny black bead on a string — a seed.
He instructs her:
“Plant it — perhaps it will grow. I make no promises. Perhaps it will grow. Perhaps it will not.” Miss Moon thanked the old man. “Thank you for my tree.” “It’s not a tree yet; its only a flower, and a paper one at that,” he replied as he waved goodbye.
Much of what makes the story so wonderful is the magical realism of this deliberate interpolation between reality and make-belief — the characters themselves dip in and out of the river of consciousness on the shores of which they are co-creating the half-real, half-imagined miracle of the paper-flower tree, as if to assure us that splendor and delight are only ever the response of consciousness to the world and not a feature of the world itself, no less real, no less splendid or delightful, for being born out of the uncynical imaginations of kindred spirits.
When the old man continues on his open-ended journey, Miss Moon diligently plants the paper-flower seed, builds it a tiny roof to shield it from the unforgiving sun, then begins waiting and watching for it to sprout.
Days and weeks go by, seasons turn, the rice fields change color. Life in the village continues its usual cycle, until a whole year passes — with no paper-flower tree. The other villagers mock Miss Moon’s hopefulness. “You can’t possibly grow a tree from a bead,” they scoff. “You’re wasting your time,” they jeer — responses reminiscent of Leonard Bernstein’s thoughts on the failure of imagination at the heart of cynicism. But Miss Moon remains enchanted by the memory of the beautiful paper-flower tree and resolutely hopeful in her enchantment.
One day, a ramshackle truck rumbles down the road, tooting its horn and kicking up dust.
It rolled into the little village, and — rickety, rackety, crash bam — it came to a stop. A strange little brown man, dressed in flashy, raggy tatters, hopped up like a bird to the top of the truck.
The odd fellow announces at the top of his lungs that his troupe of musicians and dancers will entertain the people of the village in exchange for a few silver coins.
But then Miss Moon spots amid the performers her old friend — the man with the paper-flower tree. She rushes over and asks “grandfather” if he remembers her. Of course he remembers the “little mouse.” When she laments the fate of her infertile seed, the old man’s face grows sad as he reminds her that he never promised it would grow:
I only said it might grow. Perhaps it won’t, and then again, perhaps it will.
As the spectacle of the circus unfolds into the warm night until the moon sets — drums and cymbals, dancers and clowns, flowing silks and tattered costumes — Miss Moon drifts off to sleep in her own bed and dreams of “bright-light colors and rice fields filled with paper-flower trees.”
When she rises with the sun, awakened by the smell of her mother’s cooking, she steps into the dawn to find aglow in the morning breeze a paper-flower tree.
Just then, she sees the rickety circus truck huffing and puffing away from the village. She runs after it, shouting excitedly at the old man that she finally got her paper-flower tree.
He smiled and waved as the old truck rumbled and roared away. “Goodbye, little mouse!” he called.
When Miss Moon shows her treasured tree to the other villagers, they dismiss her enthusiasm with the same cynicism — it’s just the old man’s paper flowers on a stick, they say and hasten to remind her that it’s impossible to grow a tree from a bead. But Miss Moon’s radiant joy is undimmed by the cynics — their failure to see the tree as real is their own tragic limitation, and hers is a sovereign joy.
Complement The Paper-Flower Tree with other courageous and imaginative treasures from Enchanted Lion — Cry, Heart, But Never Break, The Lion and the Bird, Bertolt, and This Is a Poem That Heals Fish — then revisit Umbrella by Japanese illustrator Taro Yashima, a kindred-spirited gem from the same era serenading time, anticipation, and the art of waiting.
Illustrations and archival images courtesy of Enchanted Lion Books; book photographs by Maria Popova(Photo by Ronald C. Modra/NHL/Getty Images)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson gushes when he’s asked about the Arizona Coyotes’ offseason and some of the moves the team has made with new general manager John Chayka.
Defenseman Alex Goligsoki, “is going to help our team to get better to take a couple of steps closer to the playoffs.”
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Defenseman Luke Schenn, “plays strong and physical.”
Chayka himself is, “obviously he’s a smart guy and still a pretty young guy. He’s super smart and he knows what he’s doing.”
When asked about Pavel Datsyuk, the former Detroit Red Wings forward who left that team for the KHL, Ekman-Larsson laughs.
The Coyotes acquired Datsyuk’s salary cap hit during the offseason in order to help them get past the salary cap floor and increase their level of young assets.
“It would be fun to have him on the roster, but obviously he’s going to play in the KHL,” the 25-year-old Swedish defenseman said.
For the first time in a while there’s a legit sense of optimism around the team. Last summer the Coyotes handed the keys to the organization to Ekman-Larsson along with forwards Max Domi and Anthony Duclair. The team knew what it had in Ekman-Larsson, but Domi and Duclair were wild cards. After strong rookie years by both forwards there’s a much more positive vibe around the franchise.
When he signed his six-year contract extension with the team in 2013 they were coming off a run to the Western Conference Final. Since then the Coyotes had fallen on hard, the most difficult year coming in 2014-15 when they held the second-worst record in the NHL. Ekman-Larsson admitted he wondered about the team’s direction after that season, and worried about being locked into a long-term deal with a rebuilding group.
Story continues
Last season they made the dramatic improvement from 56 points the year before to 78 points. This upcoming year, making the playoffs will again be tough but they’re certainly a greater possibility than last season. Ekman-Larsson, who is widely regarded as one of the top young defensemen in the NHL, set career-highs with 55 points and 34 assists.
We talked to Ekman-Larsson about the Coyotes’ future, his future with the team, the World Cup of Hockey and of course, his clothing line.
Q: Is there a move John Chayka made that you liked the most?
Ekman-Larsson: I think the trade and the signing of Alex Goligoski is going to help our team to get better to take a couple of steps closer to the playoffs. You see last year he was around good players and he’s a really good player – good puck mover and good skater too. I think he’s going to help us a lot this upcoming season here. Luke Schenn is a good player. He plays strong and physical, so I’m super excited about the back end.
Not Pavel Datsyuk?
It would be fun to have him on the roster, but obviously he’s going to play in the KHL, which is — yeah, he’s a world-class player. That would have been fun to play with him, but that’s not going to happen.
Did you ever think about reaching out to him that maybe he would change his mind?
No, I didn’t think about that. He made up his mind before but obviously it’s too bad for the league and too bad for Detroit too. He had been a good player for them and a tough, hard player in this league for a long time.
What was your reaction when the team decided Chayka would be the general manager? You two are around the same age. Did you ask him if he wanted to hang out or something?
Yeah, obviously he’s a smart guy and still a pretty young guy. He’s super smart and he knows what he’s doing. If you look at what he has done so far with the team, he looks super interested, but I haven’t talked much with him. He was around the last season but it’s going to be fun to catch up with him and see what he wants me to do and what he wants the team to do moving forward here.
What was your relationship with him when he was with the team as assistant general manager last season?
I saw him a couple of times. I talked to him when I saw him. We didn’t talk much hockey or anything like that, but I’m super excited he got the GM job and I think he’s going to be really good for us.
Has he reached out to you to discuss the team’s plans this offseason or his vision for the Coyotes?
No, I haven’t talked much with him. I’ve been trying to focus on the offseason here, but I think it’s interesting to see that he wants to improve this team and he really wants us to move along here and take a couple of steps in the right direction. With that said I thought Don did a real good job with this organization and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.
Two years ago when you guys had the second-worst record in the NHL, what was your mindset at the end of the season? You had four years left on your contract but it seemed like there wasn’t much hope on the horizon. Did you ever feel stuck or trapped?
Your mind keeps floating away and I was wondering what was going to happen here about the team. Are we going to stay or are we going to go somewhere else? But I’m super happy that I have three more years with the organization. I’m just happy to be a part of this process here and I want to be a leader with this team and I want to be a difference maker. I’m super happy about the situation now.
What was the room like last year with Max Domi and Anthony Duclair coming in? It seems like that gave you a boost of energy.
They helped us out a lot. They’re unbelievable guys and unbelievable players and they’re only going to get better for us too. So hopefully they can keep moving along here and keep getting better so they have to keep working hard and I think going into this season here and I think Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak are going to come in and help us here more so I’m super excited about the future and I’m happy to be a part of that.
What does Shane Doan do as captain that some of us don’t see?
He’s a big help. When I came over he helped me with everything and to be able to play with a guy like Shane and being around him helps a lot because I want to be a leader like I said and to be around a guy like Shane helps me a lot. I think everybody in that locker room can look at him and see what he does and see how he acts and takes care of himself on and off the ice. I think that’s really good for our young team to see a guy like Shane.
What is the goal this year? Is this a playoff team?
I think we have to focus on the development of the younger players like Max and Duclair and Strome and Dvorak. We know they’re going to be good players for us and we will have a better chance to make the playoffs. I don’t know if we’ll be in the playoffs next year or two years from now but the future is looking bright, so I’m super excited about that.
Has your World Cup training started? Where are you on getting ready for the tournament?
We had a meeting last week so we went through the basics and how we were going to play and everything like that. It’s good to see everybody and we’re getting closer and getting more excited for every day. We’re going to meet up in September and start in Sweden here for two weeks then head over to Washington for an exhibition game and then to Toronto.
Was it tough to get yourself up and going quicker than usual for the World Cup? Training?
I’ve been running a lot and working on my quickness. I’m feeling really good and hoping to be ready to go when the World Cup starts. I’m ahead of the program a little bit.
I took two weeks off and then was back at it. It was a short break but obviously I’m super excited for the World Cup coming up here and it should be a lot of fun. Yeah, obviously I love what I’m doing and I don’t have a problem with starting a few weeks early.
So how is the clothing line going?
We haven’t been promoting the clothes or the brand very much this season. I’ve been busy with hockey and other stuff, but it’s a lot of fun to have something else to do besides hockey and you have to focus on something else during the offseason. We’re doing pretty good
What’s it like being involved in the clothing business and also playing hockey? It sounds like you have a ton on your plate right now.
Hockey comes first and that’s what I’m focused on, but at the same time I decided to do something with my name and it would be kind of fun to do it when you’re playing and when you’re in your prime time instead of doing it when you’re done playing. That’s why I decided to do it.
– – – – – – –
Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!Jonathan Chait is farsighted enough to get this:
Undermining Obamacare in order to placate angry individual-insurance holders makes no sense even on narrow political terms. People losing individual insurance they like are angry right now, but they’re a tiny minority of the market, and their anger will fade over time as the exchanges come online. Higher premiums would affect far more people, and their impact would be felt much closer to the midterm elections. Imagine it's next year, insurers are pulling out of the exchanges, rates are rising, all because of a law Congress hastily passed the year before — is that a better situation?
But many others are not, as they rush to put out the immediate fire. Now, it should be noted that this is all conjecture—there is way too much in flux in the creation of this entirely new marketplace to know what we can expect from future rate increases. It is safe to assume that Obama’s proposed fix would keep some healthier people out of the exchanges, and that the proposal from Sen. Mary Landrieu, the Louisiana Democrat, would have an even stronger impact in that regard because it actually requires insurers to keep offering the canceled plans, whereas Obama’s proposal only allows them to (some insurers will not want to keep offering the plans, which they were only too happy to cancel under the cover of Obamacare duress.) This effect would be exacerbated by something that is already underway: Insurers are offering "early renewals" for non-exchange plans to healthy customers they want to keep, in advance of the exchange plans' Jan. 1, 2014 debut.*
There is, though, some reason for hope that the resulting rate increases could be limited at least in some places, notes Linda Blumberg, a health policy analyst at the Urban Institute. There are, for one thing, provisions in the law to help insurers in the initial years of implementation who ended up with costlier-than-anticipated pools of customers. There is also the fact that the customers who will be getting some of the biggest subsidies on the exchanges are young people with low, early-in-career incomes —even if they are allowed to stay on a pre-ACA plan, they may well find that the exchange plans are a better deal (assuming, that is, they can get into the darn Web site.) And then there is the simple competitive aspect of the exchanges—in places where they have attracted a healthy critical mass of insurers, there will be competitive pressure on insurers not to try to recoup all losses from their 2014 pool in their 2015 rates. “For 2015, a lot depends on what the markets look like for different areas,” Blumberg said. “If you’ve got a reasonably competitive market and you try to recoup 100 percent [of 2014 losses], they may put themselves in the position to charge too much” vis a vis their rivals.
But that last mitigating factor only applies in places with healthy competition for plans being offered on the exchanges. As has been reported, there is much less competition so far in large swaths of rural and small-town America. That is, in the parts of the country from which many of the nervous Democrats hail. All the more reason for them to think twice before rushing to fix a political problem now that causes another political problem at a worse moment. Believe it or not, in this case, bald self-interest may just jibe with doing the right thing on policy. Will Democrats be far-sighted enough to grasp that?
*5 p.m. Thursday: Wording of this line tweaked for clarity.The attempt by the Congress-led government of Karnataka to ban the film 'Marathi Tigers' is the best example of their intolerance and hypocrisy, Shiv Sena leader and MP from Arvind Sawant said on Sunday.
"They talk about intolerance and create a huge controversy. However, their party's government in Karnataka seeks to impose a ban on 'Maratha Tigers'. Is this not intolerance?" asked Sawant, who was speaking in a public meeting organised by the leaders fighting for border dispute.
Maratha Tigers is releasing on February 5. Young Sena leader Dr Amol Kolhe has played a lead role in it. Some organisations in Karnataka feel that the film is provocative and might create unrest in the state.
According to media reports, the police in Belgaum are also evaluating the matter ahead of the release, leading to speculations that the state might approach court, seeking a ban on the movie. Sawant extended full support of his party to the movement of including Belgaum and other disputed areas in Maharashtra.
Leaders from disputed villages observed first 'Hutatma Diwas' in Mumbai on Sunday. It has been celebrated in disputed areas every year for several decades in the memory of people who sacrificed their life for the issue. They also branded their movement as the "second battle for Samyukta Maharashtra".
Over 865 Marathi-speaking villages of Belgaum, Bidar and Karwar districts are part of Karnataka since the two states were formed. Belgaum-based party Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) has been fighting since then to include them in Maharashtra on linguistic grounds. The matter is at present pending in the Supreme Court.
Chief guest of the event Deepak Pawar, professor of politics at Mumbai university, told the gathering that Karnataka is converting Marathi medium schools into Kannada medium in a planned way just to weaken the movement. MES leader Deelip Mistry and others urged parliamentarians of Maharashtra to come together and lobby with the Centre for this cause.
Shiv Sena leader and lead of the movie Maratha Tigers Dr Amol Kolhe spoke to dna. Excerpts:
How do you view Karnataka's reported attempt to ban your movie?The proposed ban would be most unfortunate. The film doesn't intend to create a rift between Kannadigas and Marathis in the disputed area. It just portrays the problems of 40 lakh people living in the disputed area. As a state, they must first see the film and take care of the people they proclaim as their own. Some pro-Kannada organisations have started a campaign against my film without even watching it.
Can you explain the subject of the movie?It's a symbolic love story based in the disputed area.
What is your next step?I will start promotion of my film from Belgaum from Monday, where I am attending an event to pay homage to martyrs. Let them do whatever they can.
Does that mean that the Sena will promote the film in Shiv Sena-style?We will do it in Marathi style. Party chief Uddhav Thackeray has not yet declared his stand on the film, but the party's stand on the border issue is clear since its birth.
But your party has earlier showed a lot of intolerance, the latest being protesting Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali to perform in Mumbai...My film is not from Pakistan. I'm also not a Pakistani. Those who were supporting Ali disappeared when the Pathankot attack happened.At 28, Plemons has gone highbrow (The Master) and lowbrow (Battleship) and appeared in your favorite prestige television (Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, Fargo). And yet he’s the rare actor that hates the one thing all actors are supposed to |
to her also nodded.
That’s right; Saji and the others are already thinking of next year.
“But isn’t the student council Sitri-peerage only? Is it fine for outsiders to join?”
When I asked, the members of the council looked at each other and nodded.
“Others beside the Sitri peerage can join the council and this is Kaichou’s opinion. It’s not like we can increase the number anymore anyway.”
Saji replied. That is also true since it won’t be easy to run the student council with just the Sitri peerage. The number of peerage that the [King] can have is 15 maximum. So that means that after the Sitri-peerage graduates, the student council must be made from people outside the peerage.
So considering that, they are recruiting people outside the council from now on.
That must be why Ravel is one of the best contenders.
I thought about it for a long time. It’s not like I need to give them an answer right now. It’ll be better if I talk with Ravel and the rest of the ORC members.
When I was considering this, Kaichou walked towards us.
“Please don’t say things that might put Ise-kun on the spot.”
Kaichou threw me a life support! Thank you so much!
Fixing her glasses, Kaichou changed the subject.
“Now that the brawl against Ise-kun has finished, we can have a reflection meeting. Everyone is fine with that right?”
“”””Yes.””””
Everyone in the Sitri peerage spoke in unison. So they are having a proper reflection meeting. They are doing self-analysis way more strictly than us.
— At that time, Kaichou spoke directly to me.
“Ise-kun. Can you spare some of your time after the reflection meeting?”
“Yes?”
While I was wondering what was going on, Leviathan-sama with her sparkling eyes came into my sight.
“…… Ah, I know what you mean.”
Part 3
The place that me, Kaichou and Leviathan-sama arrived to after coming out of the training field was— a Mega toy store, one of the ones that open even during night time.
“Kyaa~! The best toy stores are definitely the ones in the Human world, especially the ones in Japan.”
The highly motivated Leviathan-sama ran around the store acting like someone not of her age! Ahh, she has started to look around the store running here and there!
That’s right; the reason why Sona-kaichou asked me to spare my time was to visit this toy store on the way home. All In all, to help Leviathan-sama with her shopping.
Walking around the store, Kaichou asked me
“Ise-kun. What did you think while fighting my peerage?”
“I think it’s a great team. Let’s just say the balance in the team is great, I think it’s a team that can cover each other’s weakness when it is needed.”
“It doesn’t have impact—some kind of special flair, doesn’t it?”
I did think that…
It’s probably because I know my team, the Bael peerage and the bunch from the hero faction that I might be thinking that. We’re all one weird bunch after all.
“I still think its fine as it is right now. The people I have chosen have great synergy and are people who can learn new powers.”
It’s true their synergy is one of the best. They’ll probably be able to learn more useful things than us.
Kaichou continued.
“Like Rias, I am thinking of entering the Rating Games in proper matches in the future. However, my peerage and I, unlike the Gremory peerage, will taste the defeat in the beginning.”
… This is the complete opposite to Gremory peerage that I belong to. We are expected to win everything as soon as we debut and that just shows how many high-level people there are in there as well as how we are judged right now.
Kaichou then gave me a confident smile.
“But that’s all fine. The life of a devil is long meaning the amount of time being active in the rating game will also be vast. I will take my time and polish this team. I am planning to make this team into something that can react towards any event or any opponents.”
Then she suddenly asked me.
“By the way, Ise-kun. Don’t you think that it’ll be difficult to face off against opponents who are hard to defeat even after vast amount of research and investigation?”
— Uuu!
…. That’s scary. Kaichou had the same smile like any other days on her face but when I heard what she had just said, I just got a chill.
… this person is already planning for games in the next ten years…. No next hundreds of years if not thousands of years.
It just got chilly. This team— to think that far in the future, this team led by Sona kaichou will be our rival. In all honesty, it scares me.
We are a bit special. People expect us to be one of the rising stars. As soon as we enter the official games and thanks to our flashy style, we will be able to rise in ranks early on.
But… what if the other teams study us?
Not everyone is adaptable in the first place. Unlike real battles, there are many rules in the game which can either be a great weapon or a great drawback against us.
… Like us who have many exceptional abilities, the rules tend to hinder us but wouldn’t teams like the Sitri peerage be able to use these rules to their advantage?
A team composition that’s able to hold its ground among the many different rules—
So maybe she got hold of people with high adaptability so she’ll be able to use their abilities in the long term.
That was a great lesson learned since it seemed like this would have been a great thing to note when making my own peerage in the future.
I then began thinking about my future peerage while looking around the shop
Just then, Leviathan-sama spoke while touching a displayed toy.
“They said that this place stock their item a day before release but if you negotiate then you’ll be able to buy them early ☆. I really wanted to come here since there’s gonna be a new release related to Milky ♪.”
She looked so happy right now, seeing her like that, Sona-kaichou said.
“… She made some time out of her busy schedule so I’m happy that she’s able to enjoy herself at least for now. It’s going to get busier than ever, so I think that even a Maou-sama can act like this for now.”
— Uuu. I can feel a warm and fuzzy feeling which that she has towards her sister.
Yeah, since the terrorist started to make suspicious moves, she would have more and more jobs to do as Maou. That’s why this Maou-sama’s toy shop visit must be like a peace moment that is granted upon Leviathan-sama briefly.
Leviathan-sama then turned around towards me.
“That’s right. Going forward, I’ll also call Seikiryuutei-san by Ise-kun! Since Sona is calling you that, I’ll also call you that ☆.”
“Ah yes! It’s my honour!”
I’m so glad that she’s not calling me Oppai Dragon, especially since she has Oppai Dragon as her rival.
— Just then Maou-sama stopped in front of a toy.
“This is it ☆.”
The thing that Maou-sama pointed to was— a wand from a certain magical girl anime.
Hmm. Its name is [Milky Miracle Hyper Stick Triangle Ver].
“”Is this…the New item from the Milky series?
When I asked, Leviathan-sama gave me a bright smile and nodded.
“That’s right ☆.”
Leviathan-sama made the brightest smile while grabbing it.
I thought that we have finished the shopping without any trouble but— Leviathan-sama’s gaze followed somewhere else.
“Ah! That’s Pla-model of Mobile Gundam J! I love that too!”
Having turned her gaze, Leviathan-sama then proceeded to drag me and Kaichou around and checked out every item in the shop. She even got herself a shopping cart and put everything inside there!
Seeing that, Kaichou’s patience ran out.
“Onee-sama! Please restrain yourself! What are you going to do after buying all these toys?!”
“Oh Sona, you can’t say that this far in.”
“No way! Please only buy one toy! Take everything back beside the Milky item!”
“Uwwwwah~! Sona’s bullying onee-chan! Then let’s negotiate and only buy five?”
“ONLY ONE!”
Ahh. That kaichou who was talking strategy with a sense of coolness around her can’t do anything against her older sister. It looks like Leviathan-sama’s shopping will continue for a long time.
As I was sighing, I started to look for a gift to give to Milicas.The Foxes are expected to announce the signing of Hull City’s Harry Maguire soon in a deal worth £12million up front and rising to £17m with add-ons.
The 24-year-old has completed a medical with the 2015/16 champions and a deal has been agreed.
But Leicester, whose manager is former Albion midfielder and coach Craig Shakespeare, have also approached Albion with an offer for Evans.
Albion, however, have rebuffed their advances because they do not want to sell the influential Northern Irishman, who is favourite to replace Darren Fletcher as captain.
The Baggies have just four senior defenders at the club after Jonas Olsson was released in March and loanee Marc Wilson returned to parent club AFC Bournemouth.
Evans, who interested Arsenal last summer, still has two years left on his contract, but there have been concerns he might be keen to follow long-term friend Fletcher out of the Albion door this summer.Call of Duty: Ghost's PlayStation 4 debut hasn't gone too smoothly, with some reviews citing noticeable performance issues - even compared to the 360 game - along with the recent revelation that the single-player campaign is only running at 720p and not the full HD 1080p resolution promised by the developer.
Curiously, it turns out that the resolution issue is just a bug that slipped passed quality assurance testing, and this has since been resolved in a day-one patch. All retail and download copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts are affected, so in order to get the full 1080p experience you'll need to download and install the update when it goes live in time for the PS4's European release on the 29th November.
So, the PS4 version of Ghosts now runs natively in 1080p across all modes, but how much of an upgrade are we looking at? And have the performance issues pointed out by early reviews been resolved? While working on the upcoming next-generation Face-Off, we took the time to find out, capturing a few hours of the game with and without the patch installed to get a comprehensive view of the situation. Our head-to-head video below should give you an idea of what to expect, and we've also put together a small comparison gallery.
First up, it's clear that the patch restores 1080p resolution, as promised. Imagery is naturally much sharper, and the increase in artwork clarity is obvious. While the compromised 720p presentation is clearly superior to the current-generation versions of the game, the boost in resolution to 1080p makes the difference far more obvious.
Now equalised with the PC version at native 1080p, we also get a sense of just what compromises have been made in the PS4 game compared to the flagship computer version. Initial impressions reveal a downgrade in texture resolution, slightly lower quality shadows, and less advanced ambient occlusion offering less coverage across the scene.
"1080p resolution is restored to the campaign, giving us a kind of halfway house between the launch version and the PC running at max settings."
The 720p original, unpatched version of Call of Duty: Ghosts compared with the revised edition. There's a palpable increase to overall quality. Be sure to select full 1080p resolution.
The improved lighting model over the consoles remains, however, as does the addition of expanded visual effects work. Interestingly, the PS4 game isn't quite as sharp as the PC release despite now rendering at the same resolution: it turns out that post-process anti-aliasing - perhaps FXAA - is used on the PS4, slightly smoothing over texture detail in comparison to the sharper approach provided by multi-sampling on the PC.
We'll be taking a closer look at things in the Face-Off, but for now there's certainly a noticeable difference between the PS4 and PC versions of Ghosts, even if the two share many of the same graphical upgrades over the current-generation console releases.
One of the main issues surrounding the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Ghosts is the somewhat erratic frame-rate reported by reviewers. On playing the unpatched version of the PS4 code for the first time, the difference in smoothness between the mostly solid 60fps of the 360 game and the more inconsistent PS4 release is quite obvious - in many scenes we see the appearance of judder and what appears to be slowdown on the PS4, perhaps surprisingly in areas where performance isn't impacted upon in either the PS3 or 360 versions.
The day-one patch restores the native 1080p presentation missing from the single-player campaign on the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Ghosts. We now get the clean and crisp output expected from running at such a high resolution, in which fine details in the artwork are better resolved. Despite the native 1080p resolution boost after the day-one patch, the PS4 version of Ghosts appears softer than the PC game. The use of FXAA on the PS4 - compared to 4x multi sampling on PC - results in some mild blurring of fine texture details. Texture detail is clearly a step up from the current-gen versions of the game, but PC owners get even higher quality art that contains more subtle detail. Ambient occlusion is dialled back on the PS4 when compared to the PC, while computer owners get a DirectX 11 enhanced HBAO (horizon-based) solution featuring a wider radius of coverage, encompassing more objects.
Taking the affected clips and running them through our performance analysis tools, we expected the results to show clear frame-rate drops and small bouts of tearing, but surprisingly this wasn't the case at all, with the results showing us a largely locked 60fps bar one or two minor dips and a solitary torn frame. Furthermore, when seeking through the footage in performance-affected areas we were confronted with unique frames on a consistent basis, thus indicating a 60fps update that we just didn't feel when playing the game.
So just what is going on? Well, a close look at our captures reveals that Call of Duty: Ghosts actually runs at higher frame-rates than 60fps on a fairly frequent basis, despite the video output being limited to 60Hz. In scenes where we experienced judder and perceived frame-rate loss, what we are actually seeing is the appearance of skipped and incomplete frames - an effect that is arguably far more noticeable than a few prolonged drops down to 50fps or so seen the 360 version of the game.
Since the patch restores the correct 1080p rendering mode, you would assume that these performance issues caused by the game running fasted than 60fps would be resolved, if not heavily reduced due to the additional per-pixel workload undertaken by the GPU - there's simply far less opportunity for the engine to be able to render frames faster than the targeted refresh rate. The good news is that the issue of skipped frames is reduced to a noticeable degree, particularly in some of the opening moments of the game, although the problem hasn't been completely eliminated. There is still noticeable judder present throughout the patched campaign that appear on a regular basis, which is often distracting when trying to line up a quick succession of precise shots in the heat of battle. Update: Having reviewed the patch captures, there's an odd issue with tearing which caused some confusion, but we're fairly convinced now that in the revised version of the game at least, any judder is down to frame-rate drops and not the game running faster than 60Hz.
"Stutter in the launch version wasn't down to dropped frames - but rather the game running faster than 60fps. This is improved with the 1080p patch, but the increased res introduces frame-rate drops."
The original unpatched version - running at 720p - compared to the 1080p patch. While we see frame-rate drops in the new version, the skipped frames we saw in the launch version (a cause of off-putting judder) are minimised - but not totally fixed.
The increase in pixel workload also means that the engine drops frames more often in demanding scenes. At worst we're looking at a drop down to 40fps when the engine is more heavily stressed, while most of the time the dips in performance stick to fluctuating between 50 and 60fps. Thankfully, the effects of these normal frame-rate drops are less obviously visible than the judder caused by the renderer exceeding the 60Hz refresh, although even with the 1080p patch enabled things don't appear as smooth as the Xbox 360 version of the game.
So, on the whole, while the issues with stuttering are not completely gone, we'd highly recommend downloading the day-one patch before you start playing Call of Duty: Ghosts on PS4. Extra frame-rate drops and the inclusion of small pockets of traditional tearing are apparent compared to the unpatched, upscaled 720p, but the experience is also more consistent, if not quite as stable in demanding scenes.
The boost to a full 1080p resolution is also worthwhile: images are sharper, clearer, and better defined, while the slight texture blur caused by the use of FXAA has less of an impact on overall image quality due to the additional pixel precision afforded by the higher resolution framebuffer.
Overall, though, the patch is far from perfect, but it is a significant improvement over the initial 720p experience.More information has been released regarding “Battlefield 4’s latest DLC “Naval Strike,” which will launch in late March, according to the game’s official blog. “Naval Strike” will be available for “BF4” premium members. EA DICE posted the following on the “Battlefield” blog on Feb. 28.
Battlefield 4 Naval Strike takes the dramatic water-based combat introduced in Battlefield 4 to four all-new maps set in the South China Sea. Take control over new weapons and gadgets, pilot the new hovercraft vehicle, and experience the Carrier Assault game mode in this intense expansion pack. Read on for details and the first official screenshots.
Photo: Courtesy/EA Dice
Take the Fight to the Sea
Water-based combat has always been a vital part of the all-out war of Battlefield 4, and with Battlefield 4 Naval Strike the fights at sea are more intense than ever. With the introduction of the amphibious hovercraft vehicle, your possibilities to dominate the sea will be even greater.
Four All-New Multiplayer Maps
Blow open a crashed passenger plane and capture fishing villages across the tropical Lost Islands. Drop a submarine on your foes as you infiltrate a naval base or rush between shipping docks and rocky islands on the massive Wave Breaker map. Wage war across stormy seas in the largest ocean stretch in a Battlefield map yet with Nansha Strike. Storm an abandoned cliff-side resort, or get lost in the breathtaking vistas in Operation Mortar.
Photo: Courtesy/EA DICE
A Classic Game Mode Re-Imagined
Battlefield 4 Naval Strike lets you re-live the classic Titan Mode of Battlefield 2142, with the introduction of the Carrier Assault game mode. Stay tuned to the Battlefield Blog for more details on this re-imagining of a classic.
EA DICE's Player Appreciation Month ended on Feb. 28. The 28-day event awarded players with gifts like ringtones and battlepacks. "DICE is saying THANK YOU to all players by hosting a month filled with fun community missions and daily giveaways that you get just for jumping into a match," EA DICE General Manager Karl Magnus Troedsson posted on Jan. 28. "We appreciate all of the great feedback you continue to provide about all aspects of Battlefield 4. We take this very seriously, and hearing directly from you has helped to make the experience better." The player appreciation campaign included missions, exclusive interviews and player rewards.The judge ordered two sports-streaming websites to be returned to their owner
The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its case against two Spanish websites that stream sports events nearly 17 months after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized the sites and shut them down for alleged copyright violations.
In a one-page brief to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the district said his office had dropped the case against Rojadirecta.com and Rojadirecta.org. ICE seized the two sites on Jan. 31, 2011, and the DOJ asked the court to order that Puerto 80 Projects, the owner of the sites, forfeit the sites to the U.S. government.
Judge Paul Crotty agreed on Wednesday to dismiss the case and return the websites to Puerto 80.
Bharara's office offered little explanation for the dismissal, although Puerto 80 had fought the forfeiture. "As a result of certain recent judicial authority involving issues germane to the [case], and in light of the particular circumstances of this litigation, the government now seeks to dismiss its amended forfeiture complaint," Bharara's office wrote in a letter to the judge. "The decision to seek dismissal of this case will best promote judicial economy and serve the interests of justice."
Earlier this month, Puerto 80 filed a court brief pointing to an Aug. 2 ruling by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which said linking to streaming videos hosted elsewhere on the Internet did not encourage or assist copyright infringement.
Puerto 80 had also argued that a Spanish court had found the websites to be legal. A lawyer for the company wasn't immediately available for comment, nor was a representative of ICE.
The Rojadirecta seizures, along with the yearlong seizure of music site Dajaz1.com, show the problems with ICE's copyright seizure methods, said Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs for digital rights group Public Knowledge.
"It is far too easy for the government to seize domain names and hold them for an extended period even when it is unable to make a sustainable case of infringement," Siy said in an email. "These sorts of abuses are likely to continue until there are adequate safeguards to assure accountability."
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is [email protected] Image 1 of 2
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What’s a military museum without firearms of yesteryear?
Chicago Alderman Edward Burke introduced an ordinance last week that would allow museums in the Windy City to possess and display unloaded guns classified as “curios or relics” after learning that the Pritzker Military Library and other city museums are currently banned from including them in exhibits. If passed, the museum’s president and CEO told FoxNews.com it would allow its estimated 15,000 annual visitors to see a significant World War II artifact personally returned stateside from a now-deceased U.S. Army officer.
“Alderman Burke heard our story about this and really came to the same conclusion we did – there’s really no clear code for museums,” Ken Clarke said Tuesday. “And because of the lack of clarity, we haven’t taken any chances. So rather than hope for the best, we wanted to do this properly.”
A German Walther PP 7.65-mm. handgun donated to the museum by relatives of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William P. Levine — one of the highest-ranking Jewish generals in American history — is currently kept in a safe along with a dozen other handguns at a gun range in suburban Lombard, where they are exempt from the Chicago Firearms Ordinance, Clarke said.
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Levine, who obtained the semiautomatic pistol from a Nazi officer during World War II, was among the first Allied soldiers to liberate the Dachau concentration camp in 1945. His relatives donated his uniform, military papers and artifacts, including the handgun, to the Pritzker Military Library following his death at age 97 in March, but the historically significant firearm remains outside Chicago limits and away from visitors’ eyes.
“General Levine had the very unique experience of interviewing both captors and captives at Dachau as a U.S. intelligence officer,” Clarke said. “So when you actually have a story attached to Levine, the historical value goes through the roof. For us, it means a heck of a lot historically.”
Under Burke’s proposal, which was formally introduced on Wednesday, Chicago museums would be permitted to display unloaded firearms like Levine’s firearm if classified as “curios and relics,” which are defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as firearms that are at least 50 years old, certified by the curator of a municipal, state or federal museum or any gun that derives a “substantial part” of its monetary value from rare features or associations with historical figures, periods or events.
“Chicago is home to several world-class museums,” Burke said in a statement. “And it has come to my attention that such an exemption is reasonably warranted to allow such institutions to display unloaded firearms that often accompany uniforms and other historical artifacts.”
Levine, with the permission from U.S. military officials, brought the handgun back to the United States after 30 years in the Army Reserve. His experiences at the concentration camp near Munich reportedly haunted him for nearly four decades after the war.
"Every time he'd talk about it, when he'd come to the sentence, 'And then I came to Dachau,' he'd break down," his wife Rhoda told the Chicago Tribune in April. "He couldn't get that sentence out without the vivid memory of it. That choked him up."
In 1995, Levine told the newspaper he ultimately began to share his experiences to local high school and college students, as well as with visitors at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, as a way to educate others about the atrocities of war.
"For me, the most important and effective method of preventing another Holocaust is truth and education," Levine said.0 0 0 0
Estación de Sevici, en Sevilla.
Aún faltan unas semanas para conocer el desarrollo final de MyBici, el sistema de bicicleta pública de Madrid. Sin embargo, ya se conocen algunas de las características principales que tendrá el nuevo servicio, cuyo comienzo está previsto para el 1 de mayo de 2014. Y decimos “nuevo”, porque han cambiado muchas cosas respecto al primer proyecto fallido, cuyos detalles publicábamos hace 3 años en ecomovilidad.net.
Un centro lleno de bicicletas
El ámbito de actuación previsto es muy similar al del primer concurso: la zona delimitada por el primer cinturón (Rondas y los bulevares) el cual durante el próximo mes será señalizado para priorizar la circulación ciclista.
En el margen este, las estaciones llegarán hasta el segundo cinturón (Doctor Esquerdo) hasta Pacífico, una zona algo mayor que la inicial, que no pasaba de Conde de Casal. En el otro extremo las estaciones llegarán hasta Moncloa y Paseo de Moret.
En estos pliegos no se recoge una ampliación por fases como hace cuatro años, cuando se anunció que el servicio podría alcanzar hasta Nuevos Ministerios y Plaza Castilla en sendas fases. Si que se plantea una posible extensión del servicio, pero a definir posteriormente, sin indicar zonas concretas.
Las estaciones
El sistema se compone inicialmente de 120 estaciones fijas, ubicadas preferentemente sobre la calzada utilizando las bandas de aparcamiento. Las estaciones estarán ubicadas en puntos de interés de forma que disten 300 metros entre ellas. Todas ellas contarán con los sistemas propios de este servicio: pantalla de información, lector de tarjetas, sistema de anclajes… así como de un terminal TPV para pagar con tarjeta de crédito o débito los alquileres de los no abonados. Además, las estaciones podrán emitir justificantes de pago y de depósito de las bicicletas.
La mayoría de estaciones contarán con 25 anclajes, aunque también habrá de 20, 30, 50 y hasta de 100, como Sol-Alcalá. El número de anclajes totales será de 3.120, el doble que el de bicicletas disponibles, con el fin de garantizar plazas libres en destino. Además, el operador habilitará estaciones móviles de 75 plazas, para cubrir grandes eventos o atender picos de demanda.
Las bicicletas
Nuevamente se hace énfasis en que las bicicletas tendrán un diseño “exclusivo” para Madrid. La imagen, color y marca será definida por el propio Ayuntamiento y no por la empresa concesionaria. Por lo demás, los 1.560 vehículos previstos contarán con el equipamiento propio de estos sistemas: 3 marchas, pata de cabra, elementos reflectantes, iluminación (incluso en parado), sillín ajustable, timbre, guardabarros y ruedas de un mínimo de 22 pulgadas, aptas para tráfico urbano. También estarán identificadas visiblemente.
Adicionalmente, las empresas podrán ofrecer prestaciones adicionales, como un mayor número de marchas, ruedas anti-pinchazos, o transmisión por cardan.
Tanto las bicicletas como las estaciones estarán diseñadas para poder albergar elementos publicitarios, que como expusimos la semana pasada, resultan muy habituales en otras ciudades para financiar sus servicios de bicicleta pública.
Horario y tarifas
MyBici funcionará las 24 horas, 365 días del año. Un avance frente al anterior concurso, donde el servicio cesaba por la noche como en otras muchas ciudades. La bici pública podría convertirse así en una alternativa para el transporte nocturno, especialmente si se confirman noticias como el cierre anticipado del metro, o la supresión de MetroBúhos.
Las tarifas atenderán tanto al usuario habitual como al ocasional. Para abonarse a MyBici tendremos que obtener una tarjeta en el acto en las oficinas del CAC del Ayuntamiento de Madrid, o bien solicitarla para recibirla en correo postal a los 2 días. La cuota anual de abonado será de 25 €, mientras los portadores del Abono Transporte pagarán sólo 15€.
[editado] La Tarjeta Transporte Público podrá ser compatible con el sistema, pudiendo darse de alta como abonado en MyBici sin necesidad de utilizar un nuevo soporte.
Frente a una cuota más baja de lo habitual, el sistema presenta una diferencia notable frente a otras ciudades: el pago por cada uso, incluso para la primera fracción.
30 min: 0,50 €
60 min: 1,10 €
90 min: 1,70 €
120 min (máximo): 2,30 €
El primer tramo gratuito es práctica común en la mayoría de sistemas, ya que se entiende como el tiempo normal de desplazamiento dentro del ámbito de la bici pública. La modalidad de tarifas de Madrid puede condicionar la demanda futura del sistema, más enfocado al uso ocasional frente al diario. No en vano, usar MyBici sólo para ir al trabajo o a clase supondría unos 20€ al mes, más la cuota anual y, en trayectos intermodales, el Abono Transportes.
Otra característica será la bonificación según demanda (en principio, de 10 céntimos menos) destinada a optimizar la distribución de las bicicletas, un aspecto complicado en cualquier sistema de bicicleta pública. La tarifa será más baja si partimos de una estación con alta ocupación (más del 70%) y recibiremos una nueva bonificación si depositamos la bicicleta en una estación muy vacía (menos del 30 % de ocupación). Para conocer el estado de las estaciones, se creará una aplicación móvil para los tres principales sistemas operativos.
Para los usuarios no abonados, el coste será de 2,00 € la primera hora, y de 4,00 € la segunda, importe que podrán abonar en las propias estaciones o mediante teléfono móvil. No se permitirá por tanto el alquiler de larga duración (por días completos) al ser un público diferente que ya está atendido por varias empresas de alquiler en la capital.
Estos son los datos básicos de servicio, de interés para todos los posibles usuarios. Durante la semana que viene analizaremos los Pliegos de Contratación y los posibles candidatos, con el fin de destacar las claves más importantes previstas para MyBici.With Western Sydney Wanderers having raided Japan this week ahead of their 2017 ACL campaign, Goal Australia takes a look at other potential recruits
Jumpei Kusukami's move to Western Sydney Wanderers should serve as a reminder to Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar to look north when recruiting imports.
The Wanderers made it clear on Monday that one key reason behind their decision to sign Kusukami is that the Japanese attacking midfielder will fill the Asian import slot in the squad for the 2017 AFC Champions League (ACL).
This year both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC reached the ACL's Round of 16 with only three imports - due to their lack of a visa player from another Asian Football Confederation nation - but this forced Kevin Muscat and Graham Arnold to rely on second-stringers in key positions throughout their continental campaigns.
The addition of a player like Kusukami - who joins Western Sydney from J.League club Sagan Tosu and has ACL experience - may have been enough to see Victory or the Sky Blues reach the last eight.
Kusukami's decision to join the Wanderers is another reminder that A-League clubs can lure players from Asia's leading leagues on more than salary alone.
To assist Adelaide coach Guillermo Amor or his Brisbane counterpart John Aloisi in finding a J.League bargain, Goal Japan has helped Goal Australia to compile a list of players that could provide value.
Name: Ryota Nagaki
Position: Midfielder
Club: Kashima Antlers
Nagaki is a hard-working versatile midfielder who creates balance in both attack and defence.
The 28-year-old joined Kashima at the start of the 2016 season but has only started three matches.
With a big engine, Nagaki's best position is as a holding midfielder and he is a decent in dead-ball situations.
Name: Manabu Saito
Position: Winger
Club: Yokohama F. Marinos
The pint-sized forward loves to hug the touchline and beat opponents one-on-one with his impressive skill.
Saito's form has been affected by Marinos' struggles in the first half of 2016, although they have started the second stage of the J.League season unbeaten.
The 26-year-old was known as 'Ehime's Messi' when at the second-tier club in 2011.
Name: Takayuki Morimoto
Position: Striker
Club: Kawasaki Frontale
The former Italy-based forward has the type of physique that should be able to thrive against powerful A-League defenders, and he arguably plays better abroad than in Japan.
Injuries have kept Morimoto out of Kawasaki's starting line-up this year.
The 28-year-old played in the ACL in 2013, scoring three goals in six matches for Al Nasr of United Arab Emirates.
Name: Takumi Miyayoshi
Position: Striker
Club: Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Miyayoshi loves to stretch defences with his pace and will look to exploit space in behind.
The 23-year-old has generally found the step up to Japan's top tier difficult, with his best seasons coming in J2, and his first campaign with Sanfrecce has followed that trend.
Miyayoshi made his senior debut at 16 for Kyota Sanga and was known as the 'Treasure of Kyoto'.
Name: Yuzo Iwakami
Position: Midfielder
Club: Omiya Ardija
Another in Japan's long line of midfielders with top-line stamina, Iwakami is an underrated player in his homeland as he's never played for one of the J.League's biggest clubs.
At 26, Iwakami is entering his prime and his versatility would help him fit in at any A-League club.
The midfielder's long throw and set-piece prowess provide an added bonus.: Chief Justice of India, Justice JS Khehar led Constitution benches are all set to deliver the two landmark verdicts on triple talaq and right to privacy, next week.The verdict would come days ahead of Justice Khehar's retirement which is due on August 27.After a marathon hearing for six days, on May 19, SC had reserved the verdict in the triple talaq case. On the last day of the hearing, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had submitted before the court that it would issue an advisory to all the Qazis so that an option can be given to the Qazis so that the woman can opt out of triple talaq before giving her consent for the Nikah.The five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S Abdul Nazeer.The matter originated in October 16, 2015 at the order of the top court by which it had directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women. The court on the first day had stated that the matter only pertained to |
in the slow lane and preventing Europe from exercising its collective power on the world stage.
The tragedy is that the coalition government in Britain, by deliberately marginalising itself in European decision-making and refusing to take part in the rescue of a eurozone that accounts for almost half of all British trade, is making this last scenario the most likely.
Mark Leonard is director of the European Council on Foreign RelationsWeiss called for legislators to help the struggling island, saying that administrative authorities are "simply insufficient" to end the crisis.
The U.S. Treasury had urged Congress on Wednesday to help debt-stricken Puerto Rico, saying the U.S. commonwealth needs the ability to file for bankruptcy protection, changes to Medicaid funding and access to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
"Only Congress has the authority to provide Puerto Rico with the necessary tools to address its near-term challenges and promote long-term growth," Treasury said in a statement.
Read MoreHow can Puerto Rico get out of this'mess'?
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory home to 3.5 million, is buckling under $72 billion in debt and a 45 percent poverty rate. With financial creditors resisting reductions to debt payments and political gridlock threatening proposed spending reforms, some Puerto Rican leaders have called on the U.S. government to step in.
"Without federal action, this crisis will escalate and result in further economic contraction, out-migration and suffering of American citizens in Puerto Rico," Weiss said.
—Reuters contributed to this report.MUMBAI: Sixteen tainted contractors responsible for shoddy roads in Mumbai have again been given a large chunk of the Rs 2,500 crore contracts handed out this year by the civic administration for repairing and laying of new roads.TOI has learned that of the 1,004 road contracts awarded by the BMC in the current financial year, 648 works—that is, 64%, worth about Rs 1,500 crore—will be carried out by the same set of 16 contractors who were found to have defrauded taxpayers’ money worth Rs 959 crore.Work on the first phase of the road works began in the first week of October. Of the 1,004 works, 329 are already in progress.A senior civic official not wishing to be identified said, “The BMC has already decided to withhold payment to these contractors either through their security deposits or through the new works they would have to be paid for. Repairing the 648 roads is their liability and responsibility, and in case they do not undertake the works appropriately, they would be prohibited from any bidding for any road works in the future.” Samajwadi Party leader in the BMC Rais Shaikh said the BMC’s tendering process is designed such that it favours the same contractors over and over again. “Now we are in a situation that if we punish these contractors, they could hold the entire city to ransom by not executing the road works appropriately. The civic administration needs to ensure now that even while the contractors are penalized, the city’s roads do not suffer,” said Shaikh.Sandeep Deshpande, MNS leader in the BMC, said that since the last six months he has been asking why the same tainted contractors were being given the road works. “At that time I was told they had not yet been proven guilty and therefore could bid for the works. As far as withholding payments of the contractors is concerned, then in case of them (contractors) going to court, the BMC would have to release their payments for new works.”The roads scam in the BMC came to light last year when Mumbai mayor Snehal Ambekar alleged malpractices in roads works in the city in a confidential letter to BMC chief Ajoy Mehta. The civic commissioner immediately appointed a committee headed by additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh to probe road works undertaken in the city in the last three years. Work on almost all the 34 roads thus examined was found to be shoddy in nature.On April 25, the panel’s report was tabled before the mayor by Mehta. Following this, two civic officials were served a suspension notice and were later arrested and FIRs were filed against six contractors and two third-party auditors at the Azad Maidan police station. Over 25 arrests have been made in this connection so far.For reasons obscure, the Supreme Court has declared that trade in alcohol is res extra commercium, that is, beyond commerce, and therefore, not entitled to protection under constitutional and fundamental rights. But the SC has provided enough loopholes to recognise the liquor trade constitutionally.
In the famous Khoday case (1995), the court denied constitutional legitimacy to the liquor trade and allowed it by saying that if a government permits the trade, it is constitutionally obliged to regulate the same in a fair manner. The Kerala case (2015) went further to say that if the trade is permitted, it is constitutionally legitimate. This confusion in the Supreme Court decisions tries to bridge the gap between constitutional diktat and reality.
The moral case for prohibition comes from the Directive Principles of the Constitution (Article 47). The issues raised by it are indeterminate.
Prohibition and control
Some states have declared prohibition for different reasons. For example, Gujarat and Bihar have declared prohibition. The Bihar prohibition case is before the SC. The reason for prohibition is socio-economic. Families, especially women, complain that family incomes are soaked up by alcohol.
In Delhi, alcohol could not be sold on Friday (pay day). As a token, liquor is not sold on October 2. Both practical and moral reasons are projected for prohibition and control. The moral intuition is strong. In 1957, the SC declared gambling constitutionally unprotected. The venerable Krishna Iyer in 1977 declared his animadversions to the rural debt trade by declaring it constitutionally unprotected — an entirely moral decision.
The SC has provided enough loopholes to recognise the liquor trade constitutionally.
There is something seriously wrong with this constitutional unprotected doctrine of res extra commercium as applied to gambling, liquor and rural debts. The court seems to be saying, “We abhor these things, you can ban them if you want. But if you permit them, they can be regulated as legitimate. (i.e. commercium).”
This dissonance between doctrine and reality is involuted, but regulation is not.
Highways case (2016)
The Highways case emanates from a judgment of Justice Chandrachud on December 15, 2016. Its watchword was “public safety” — a serious issue in the light of drunk driving on highways. But the Chandrachud judgment went well over the top. As one lawyer in the 2017 proceedings put it: “Intoxication is a matter of the mind.” It was a pun covering alcohol as well as power.
The essence of the judgment is based on statistics that alcohol-related accidents and deaths on highways are 3.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent, whereas speeding figures are 47.9 per cent and 44.2 per cent. Even drunken driver fault cases were 4.2 per cent and 6.4 per cent.
No one can argue that drunken driving on highways is a menace and steps have to be taken to tackle it. The first and obvious step is better enforcement. This is totally lax. The second is to control access to alcohol. The Union government reported that road fatalities are highest in India and an accident occurs every four minutes.
In 2004, the National Road Safety Council agreed that there should be no licensed liquor shops near national highways. Section 188 of Motor Vehicles Act makes drunken driving an offence. The Union government has been issuing advisories to state governments to shut liquor vends near highways — with states laying down 100-200 metre limit.
Chandrachud’s judgment prescribes 500 metres with “no exception”. Why was the Chandrachud judgment questionable?
First, it wholly misinterprets constitutional law relating to alcohol. Second, and most important, national highways are within the jurisdiction of the Centre, while the rest of the roads come under states. How could the SC with one stroke wipe out all legislations of states? All the states were not present either. Third, the 500-metre limit came totally out of Chandrachud’s imagination — lacking balance and perspective.
Former SC Judge Radhakrishnan had recommended 100 metre. Eight states protested. Liquor retailers came to SC to say the judgment was wrong. With all its flaws, the case should have been reheard. But few judges repent on their mistakes. In two instances, Hidayatullah plainly admitted he was wrong.
Senior Chandrachud regretted his Emergency decision. Chief Justice Khehar came to Chandrachud Junior’s rescue — with unwarranted aggression. There was to be no rehearing. What was permitted was to rewrite the judgment.
The outcome
Chandrachud’s second highway decision on (March 31, 2017) found his previous unconstitutional judgment constitutional. According to him, constitutionality was “trammelled with technicality”. Strangely, the busy town through which state highways run had to comply by the 500-metre criteria. Existing licences could continue till September 30.
An exception was made of Meghalaya and Sikkim because they were hilly states with uneven terrain. Why not other hill states? What the court should have done is leave it to the states.
Such judgments lack principle and perspective — judicial overreach contrary to law.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)
Also read - Highway liquor ban: The man behind it and the story of his long drive
Watch:With a little help from my bank: Japanese SMEs' export decision
Tomohiko Inui, Keiko Ito, Daisuke Miyakawa
While large Japanese firms have been present internationally for years, small firms have found it difficult to overcome the information obstacles associated with entering overseas markets. This column argues that lender banks can help as they not only provide financial support but also business consulting services using their extensive knowledge obtained through lending transactions. It shows that small and medium firms whose lender banks accumulate more overseas market information are more likely to start exporting.
The successful globalisation of Japanese firms, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is an important issue in Japan (as it is elsewhere). Facing sluggish domestic sales against the background of an aging and shrinking population, Japanese firms have been shifting their sales and profits to export markets.
While well-established, large firms have been diversifying their destinations of sales and locations abroad, it is generally difficult for SMEs to overcome the various obstacles associated with entering overseas markets. In fact, the share of exporters among SMEs is very small while the majority of large firms are engaged in exporting. In our database that includes all of the Japanese manufacturing firms with 50 or more employees, only 25% of SMEs (50-300 employees) are exporters while 60% of large firms (300+ employees) are exporters. Given that a significant share of firm activities (e.g., number of firms, number of employees, and value added) are accounted for by SMEs in the manufacturing sector, it is important from a policy perspective to induce SMEs to expand their business activities toward overseas markets.
Survey evidence
According to a survey conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan, it is clear that many enterprises that would like to export face problems such as finding an “outstanding partner enterprises” and “ascertaining the needs of local enterprises and residents overseas.” Especially compared to large enterprises, a high percentage of SMEs have not been able to undertake export operations as a result of the difficulty of finding partners. This survey result implies that it is an important task for SMEs to obtain information on foreign firms and overseas market conditions, which may lead to a possible reduction in costs and uncertainty associated with exporting activities.
This information hurdle is a serious challenge for SMEs given that they have only limited managerial resources to conduct research on export markets compared to large enterprises (Japan Small Business Research Institute 2008). While collecting overseas market information through information exchanges with their current transaction partners is an effective approach, SMEs usually have much fewer transaction partners than large firms due to their small size of activities, and it is expected that SMEs are more likely to face serious difficulties in exporting. These arguments motivated us to study the role of overseas market information available for SMEs in their export decision and the information channels that are particularly important for them.
Some previous studies already have examined the role of overseas market information on the firm export decision. For example, information exchange with other exporting firms reduces the individual fixed costs associated with collecting and analysing market conditions, and therefore increases the probability that the firm will export (e.g., see Krautheim (2012) for a theoretical investigation). According to the hypothesis, having access to information on foreign markets substantially reduces uncertainty and encourages firms to engage in export activities. Empirical work by Koenig et al. (2010) confirms this hypothesis, showing that the presence of other exporters nearby has a positive effect on the export decisions of the firms.
Banks as information conduits
In the case of Japan, lender banks generally provide not only financial support but also business consulting services using their extensive knowledge collected through lending transaction relationships and from various information sources. Since the monitoring of borrower firms is important for banks, in general, they are expected to accumulate information on borrower firms and related parties. Thus, if we assume that a particular bank is very knowledgeable about overseas business opportunities either through its own banking activities (e.g., foreign branches) or transactions with client firms with experience in exporting, potential exporter firms would find it helpful to consult with such a bank. Concrete examples of support services that banks provide to their borrowers to help them with regard to international activities are provided by a Japanese Bankers Association report (Japanese Bankers Association 2011). According to the report, other than traditional banking services such as the usual loan business, deposit services, payment services, lease and leaseback deals, or the issue of stand-by letters of credit, lender banks often provide client firms with information on potential business partners in foreign countries as well as advice on recruiting employees, advertising, tax systems, and administrative issues such as accounting systems, laws, and regulations.
The information provided by lender banks could be more important for SMEs than that for large firms for the following two reasons. First, although SMEs tend to have less resources about overseas markets than larger firms (e.g., smaller number of trading partners, lower exposure to overseas information through imports, or more constraints on internal resources allocated to the collection of overseas market information), they usually keep close ties to lender banks and thus are in a good position to obtain feedback from banks on their business strategies. Hence, lender banks could play an important role as a conduit of export market information for SMEs. Second, lender banks themselves have a strong motivation to provide such information to client SMEs since the expansion of client firms’ business activities naturally leads to larger business opportunities for lender banks. In other words, as far as lender banks have accumulated overseas market information, it is natural for them to share such information with their clients.
New research
In new research we confirm the importance of lender banks’ role as an information provider for potential exporters (Inui, Ito and Miyakawa 2014). We find that firms whose lender banks accumulate more overseas market information are more likely to start exporting. Moreover, the information provisions by lender banks also reduce the likelihood of firms stopping exports, suggesting that such information substantially reduces the fixed entry costs of exporting as well as the costs associated with maintaining firms’ export status. We also find that the role of such information provisions by lender banks is more conspicuous for SMEs than for large firms. These results suggest that lender banks play a crucial role as information sources for the export decision of SMEs who are likely to lack internal resources.
Our results may imply that the government should proactively involve banks in its export promotion policies. The availability of information from lender banks is particularly important for SMEs to start exporting. On the other hand, Japanese banks may also be interested in providing more support services for firms trying to expand their business abroad. In fact, small regional banks particularly see their client firms face declining domestic demand and therefore worry that their own business may shrink. Helping such banks to build international service networks and building on the banks’ support services may allow the government to implement its export promotion policies more effectively. Moreover, since banks have accumulated significant information on their client firms’ business, they may have useful knowledge on the type of firms that should receive support from the government and the type of support that is most effective. The government should recognise that SMEs strongly need useful information on export markets in order to lower the fixed costs of exporting and consider how to provide useful information effectively to SMEs.
References
Inui T, K Ito and D Miyakawa (2014), “Lender Banks' Provision of Overseas Market Information: Evidence from Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises' export dynamics”, RIETI Discussion Paper Series, 14-E-064.
Japanese Bankers Association (2011), Ajia Keizai-ken ni totte Nozomashii Kinyu-Hoken Shijo no Arikata: Ginko no Torihikisaki Kigyo no Kaigai Shinshutsu ni okeru Shien Jisseki [The Shape of a Desirable Financial and Capital Market for the Asian Economy: Case Studies on Banks’ Services to Support Client Firms’ International Activities], March 2011, Japanese Bankers Association.
Japan Small Business Research Institute (2008), “White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan 2008: Improvement of Productivity and the Challenge of Community Revitalization,” The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.
Koenig P, F Mayneris and S Poncet (2010), “Local Export Spillovers in France”, European Economic Review 54: 622-641.
Krautheim, S (2012), “Heterogeneous Firms, Exporter Networks and the Effect of Distance on International Trade”, Journal of International Economics 87 (1): 27-35.Based on estimates from the CPS budget and the CIP, it will cost the district approximately $750 million—$15 million per school—to provide 50 schools with computer education, counseling and social work, additional safety and security, and renovations. This figure includes $129 million in CIP costs for pre-kindergarten, students living with disabilities, libraries, play lots, air conditioning and computer labs.
Safety and security is an overwhelming concern for the CTU and the thousands of families who will have children uprooted and traversing gang territories en route to receiving schools. CPS has promised an approximately $676,000 per school to bolster safety programs and add additional security guards and Chicago police support, despite concerns from some alderman that police resources are already stretched thin on the city’s South and West sides. CPS held that more than $550 million was needed to repair the buildings that housed the schools on its hit list, which supposedly made the structures too costly to manage. But a question remains of how the district can expect to sell or repurpose the buildings without making hundreds of millions in repairs—expenses that are in addition to the resources it says it will provide for thousands of transferred children.
“CPS is making all of these promises of how it will support these students and their schools, but once again, they’re lying just to make families sympathetic to what they’re doing,” said CTU President Karen GJ Lewis. “They’re promising students all of these things which will cost a billion dollars, which is the same amount of money they’ve claimed not to have.”
The CTU contends that it is no coincidence that the $1 billion dollar deficit CPS has claimed is nearly equal to the cost of all closing actions.
“They’ve had these plans in the works for months, which is extremely insulting and demeaning to all the families and teachers who have been out here fighting for their schools,” Lewis said. “The mayor and CPS had sealed their fate from the very beginning.”A fire broke out in the stockroom of a Samsung store in Singapore just one day before the South Korean company is set to unveil its highly-anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone.
The small fire at the Samsung Experience Store in the AMK Hub shopping mall shut down the shop and affected a few other businesses nearby, according to Channel News Asia. The AMK Hub’s general manager, Andy Kau, told the news outlet that the flames were extinguished by the fire sprinkler “within minutes” and caused no injuries.
Even though the fire was contained quickly, surrounding stores in the mall were forced to temporarily close for safety reasons. “We will be working with the few affected tenants to assist them in resuming their business operations as soon as possible,” Kau said.
Update: Fire breaks out in storeroom of Samsung Experience Store at Ang Mo Kio Hub https://t.co/hn5TSij7ro pic.twitter.com/vFVrtuFEt3 — The Straits Times (@STcom) March 28, 2017
Samsung did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment, but released a statement to Channel News Asia. “We are currently assessing the property damage and working closely with the authorities to determine the cause of the fire. The store will remain temporarily closed during this period. We sincerely regret any inconvenience caused.”
Last year, Samsung recalled an estimated 4 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after a slew of the devices caught fire due to faulty batteries that would overheat and sometimes burst into flames.
One of Samsung’s factories in China that helped manufacture some of the combustable batteries also battled an inferno in February. While the fire didn’t cause any injuries, it took 110 firefighters and 19 trucks to extinguish it, according to The Telegraph.
Samsung will officially launch its highly anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone Wednesday amid rumors that the device will include new features such as a larger edge-to-edge screen and gigabit-download speed capability.The argument from relevance
There are people who argue that in order to be fully respected one must belong to the human species. In addition, those who reject the full moral consideration of nonhuman animals sometimes maintain an environmentalist viewpoint that values something different than the wellbeing of individuals, such as the preservation of particular ecosystems or species.
The argument from relevance shows that none of this can be right. In a nutshell, it claims that when it comes to respecting someone, what we should take into account is how that individual can be positively or negatively affected by our actions or omissions, rather than other conditions or circumstances; and that in order to be positively or negatively affected one only needs to be sentient. Features and circumstances other than sentience do not actually matter. Let’s see now how the argument works in more detail. The argument has two parts.
We should consider how we may benefit and harm others
To morally consider some individuals, that is, to respect them, means taking the interests of those individuals into account when we are deciding how to act, and trying to do what is better for them. But what is it exactly that we take into account? It is simply the way in which our acts or omissions can affect them. For instance, we do not ask whether we should take into account the interests of someone living in a foreign country if we are trying to decide whether to read one book or another, because it will not affect that person at all. But we are taking some individuals into account if we are in a situation in which we may harm them if we do something, and we refrain from doing it precisely because doing it may harm them. This may happen, for instance, if we refuse to eat meat because we know an animal will be killed for it. We are also considering some individuals if we know they may be harmed if we don’t act, and we act to save them from being harmed. This is what usually happens when we help someone, such as if we save someone from drowning.
Actually, to be more accurate, what we do in these cases is consider how our acts and omissions may positively or negatively affect others. In other words, we consider how we can benefit others or harm them.
Defenders of speciesism often claim that those we should defend are only human beings, for the simple reason that they are human,1 or that humans should be privileged for some other reason not related to their susceptibility to being harmed or benefited, as, for instance, when it is claimed that those who have power are to be respected.2
However, the argument from relevance shows what happens if we believe that our moral decisions should be made based on relevant factors. Then, if what we are concerned with is how one can be benefited or harmed, those we take into account should be those who can be benefited or harmed. If we accept this idea, we will have to reject the above-mentioned conditions such as species membership or possession of power as ones that must be met in order to be respected. Instead, we will defend the position that those who should be respected are those who can experience suffering and well-being.
The argument from relevance has two parts. This is the first part of the argument, which can be expressed as having the following four steps:
(1) We should make our decisions on the basis of what is relevant to the effects they will have.
(2) When we respect someone, we take into account how our decisions can harm or benefit them, and try to benefit and not harm.
(3) What is relevant to someone being benefited or harmed is their capacity to be benefited or harmed.
(4) We should respect those who can be benefited or harmed.
In order to be benefited and harmed, one must be sentient
Once we accept that we should take into account those who can be harmed or benefited, the next step is apparent: we need to discover what the feature or circumstance is that makes it so that one can be harmed or benefited.
Many defenders of speciesism claim that we should respect those who have certain complex intellectual capacities,3 or those who have certain special relations of solidarity with others.4 But neither of these conditions determines that one can be harmed or benefited by others. They simply determine some of the ways in which one can be harmed or benefited. If one has certain intellectual capacities one can be harmed in certain ways. For instance, one can be made to feel fear in situations in which others without those capacities wouldn’t suffer because they wouldn’t understand the reason to feel fear. Or, if one has certain relationships, one can be harmed in other ways – for instance, if one’s friends are killed. But one can be harmed in other ways, too, even if one doesn’t have those capacities or relationships. And the same is true if we consider benefits instead of harms. Our particular circumstances or cognitive abilities may affect some of the particular ways in which we can be harmed and benefited, but they don’t determine whether we can be negatively and positively affected in the first place.
This shows that conditions based on cognitive capacities or relationships are irrelevant to whether or not we should respect someone. They aren’t relevant because they are not the conditions one needs to meet in order to be able to be benefited or harmed.
What, then, is the condition that must be met? To answer that we can think about what makes life good or bad for us. In our lives positive or negative things can happen to us, such as moments of joy or of suffering. In order for us to experience them we only have to have the capacity to experience suffering or enjoyment. Note that it is not that we are simply alive that makes us able to have these experiences. Suppose that we are irreversibly unconscious but still alive. Whatever happens to us will pass completely unnoticed. So it is irrelevant for us that we are still alive. If we don’t have the positive or negative experience of something, it’s as if it never happened to us. For anything good or bad to happen to us, we have to be sentient. That is, we have to have experiences, which can be positive or negative ones.
One can be sentient in many different ways. The kind of experiences that, say, dolphins, turtles, and humans have may be completely different. Yet what they have in common is that they can all be positive or negative for the individual who is having them. However, an object like a rock that is not conscious, and thus is not sentient, cannot have an existence with positive and negative things happening to it. It’s for this reason that in order to be able to be harmed or benefited one must be sentient.
So, the second part of the argument from relevance can be presented like this:
(4) We should respect those who can be benefited or harmed.
(5) Sentient beings are the ones that can be benefited or harmed.
(6) We should respect sentient beings.
This can all be summed up very simply: Respecting someone means taking their wellbeing into account, and in order to be taken into account, sentience is what matters. Any other condition would be irrelevant to the question of whether one’s wellbeing should be considered. Other conditions may be relevant for something else (for instance, having certain intellectual capacities certainly appears to be relevant for being admitted to a university). But they are not relevant for being taken into account when what is at stake is wellbeing.
Of course, we could reject the claim that we should take into account only what is relevant. That is, we could choose to make our decisions on the basis of irrelevant factors. But this hardly seems acceptable. Suppose, for instance, that driver licenses were given to those who are unemployed, and that unemployment benefits were given to those who can drive. That would certainly be absurd, because we would be making those decisions on the basis of irrelevant factors. The same happens when instead of accepting sentience as the criterion for respect we accept other criteria, such as intellectual capacities or relations of solidarity.
Further readings
Bernstein, M. H. (1998) On moral considerability: An essay on who morally matters, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bernstein, M. H. (2002) “Marginal cases and moral relevance”, Journal of Social Philosophy, 33, pp. 523-539.
Bernstein, M. H. (2004) “Neo-Speciesism”, Journal of Social Philosophy, 35, pp. 380-390.
Comstock, G. (1992) “The moral irrelevance of autonomy”, Between the Species, 8, pp. 15-27.
Cushing, S. (2003) “Against ‘humanism’: Speciesism, personhood and preference”, Journal of Social Philosophy, 34, pp. 556-571.
DeGrazia, D. (1996) Taking animals seriously: Mental life and moral status, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ehnert, J. (2002) The argument from species overlap, master’s thesis, Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [accessed on 23 August 2018].
Hare, R. M. (1989) “Relevance”, in Hare, R. M. Essays in ethical theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 191-211.
Horta, O. (2010) “What is speciesism?”, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 23, pp. 243-266 [accessed on 30 May 2013].
Horta, O. (2018) “Moral considerability and the argument from relevance”, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 31, pp. 369-388 [accessed on 14 July 2018].
McMahan, J. (1996) “Cognitive disability, misfortune, and justice”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 25, pp. 3-35.
Pluhar, E. B. (1988) “Is there a morally relevant difference between human and animal nonpersons?”, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 1, pp. 59-68.
Pluhar, E. B. (1995) Beyond prejudice: The moral significance of human and nonhuman animals, Durham: Duke University Press.
Robinson, W. S. (1997) “Some nonhuman animals can have pains in a morally relevant sense”, Biology and Philosophy, 12, pp. 51-71.
Ryder, R. D. (1975) Victims of science: The use of animals in research, London: Davis-Poynter.
Ryder, R. D. (1998) “Speciesism”, in Bekoff, M. & Meaney, C. A. (eds.) Encyclopaedia of animal rights and animal welfare, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, p. 320.
Sapontzis, S. F. (1987) Morals, reason, and animals, Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Singer, P. (2009 [1975]) Animal liberation, reissue ed., New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Notes
1 Diamond, C. (1991) “The importance of being human”, in Cockburn, D. (ed.) Human beings, Cambridge: Royal Institute of Philosophy, pp. 35-62. Gaita, R. (2003) The philosopher’s dog: Friendships with animals, London: Routledge. Posner, R. A. (2004) “Animal rights: Legal, philosophical and pragmatical perspectives”, in Sunstein, C. R. & Nussbaum, M. (eds.) Animal rights: Current debates and new directions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 51-77.
2 Narveson, J. (1999) Moral matters, Toronto: Broadview. Goldman, M. (2001) “A transcendental defense of speciesim”, Journal of Value Inquiry, 35, pp. 59-69.
3 Francis, L. P. & Norman, R. (1978) “Some animals are more equal than others”, Philosophy, 53, pp. 507-527. McCloskey, H. J. (1979) “Moral rights and animals”, Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, 22, pp. 23-54. Leahy, M. P. T. (1991) Against liberation: Putting animals in perspective, London: Routledge. Carruthers, P. (1992) The animals issue: Moral theory in practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4 Becker, L. C. (1983) “The priority of human interests”, in Miller, H. B. & Williams, W. H. (eds.) Ethics and animals, Clifton: Humana Press, pp. 225-242. Midgley, M. (1983) Animals and why they matter, Athens: University of Georgia Press. Callicott, J. B. (1989) In defense of the land ethic: Essays in environmental philosophy, Albany: State University of New York Press. Petrinovich, L. (1999) Darwinian dominion: Animal welfare and human interests, Cambridge: MIT Press.29 October, 2015. 13:27
CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The ABC is reporting that LNP backbencher Tony Abbott has been denied re-entry into Australia.
The Member for Warringah had his Visa revoked by customs at Heathrow Airport today while attempting to return to Australia after speaking at the Margaret Thatcher Lecture in London.
Mr. Abbott’s speech implored Europeans to not let their society crumble by showing anything resembling human compassion towards refugees, saying that: “We are rediscovering the hard way that justice tempered by mercy is an exacting ideal, as too much mercy for some necessarily undermines justice for all.”
It was shortly after these comments that the current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, was urged by fellow members of the now relatively progressive Coalition, to revoke Mr. Abbott’s passport and to ban him from re-entering the country.
Mr. Abbott now joins the ranks of Chris Brown, Tyler the Creator, Troy Newman, and author of ‘How to Molest Women’, Julien Blanc.
“The Australian public do not want people entering this country who will do harm to our unique society and culture,” said the Prime Minister to the Canberra press gallery,
“We do not want or need a man stirring up hate speech and encouraging divisiveness amongst our peaceful community – Mr. Abbott does not represent Australian values.”
The BBC has reported that a frantic Mr. Abbott has been making calls all over London, going as far as to offer his services as a squire to the now knighted Prince Phillip.
He also sought a position in the House of Lords, much like former Australian Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce, but was told by British PM David Cameron that the House of Lords has a strict “No Catholics” policy.
Last reports indicate that Mr. Abbott has spent a considerable amount of his parliamentary retirement income on paying a local ferryman to smuggle him and his family back into the country by boat.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has stated that if Mr. Abbott is caught trying to enter Australian waters he and his family will be sent to Nauru for processing.
“No one knows better than Tony that that’s just a polite way of saying you’re not coming in.”This post will aim to explore the effective number of bets (https://kylebalkissoon.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/effective-number-of-bets/) of various risk parity strategies (https://kylebalkissoon.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/risk-parity-using-various-risk-measures-volatility-expected-shortfall-semi-deviation-maximum-draw-down/).
Why?
Let’s see if it explains why some strategies outperform and others underperformed. If it is because we are not betting efficiently (ENB<Assets) relative to the other strategies it may indicate that a certain method or type is better or worse than another.
So I took the most recent portfolio weights of the previous risk parity strategy and plugged them into ENB and plotted them.
As you can clearly see vol/semi dev have the highest ENB, if we were to compare with performance:
This is generally in line with the performance.
If you have been following along you’re probably thinking, that’s great that we know which one is the best backwards looking, but what happens if I wanted to rotate my risk metric by which one gave me the greatest ENB at a point in time?
So let’s rerun the previous risk parity experiment and switch to the most diversified one by enb at any point in time.
Professional Note: I would highly advise against doing this in practice as ENB did not exist for all the time (Meucci’s first paper was in 2009 iirc) and the analytical framework that made me choose ENB as a risk metric incorporates my views on the past, which would essentially be cheating. To properly do this you would need a model to select an optimal risk metric out of a potential candidate set.
As you can see the technique clearly outperforms. Managing risk and diversifying can be an effective tool in portfolio construction.
Code for ENB and evaluation
library ( PerformanceAnalytics ) library ( quantmod ) Effective_Number_of_bets = function ( R, w ) { num_assets = ncol ( R ) ##Calculate covariance matrix sigma = cov ( R ) ###Calculate eign vectors E and eigenvalues eigen_vectors = eigen ( sigma ) $ vectors eigen_values = eigen ( sigma ) $ values principal_variances = NULL for ( i in 1 : ncol ( R ) ) { principal_variances [ i ] |
never really know what’s coming until it rears its head.
Add to that a pair of warm boots, a flask of Glenfiddich and a few good friends and it’s easy to see why thousands of people around the world brave sub-zero temperatures and grind holes through meter-or-more-thick ice to drop a line each winter. As a bonus, unlike other styles of fishing, your tackle is usually as simple as can be — a worm on a jig or a fluttering spoon will pretty much catch any fish species through the ice. No need for a PhD in fish biology for this sport!
Looking for a cold weather fishing adventure? Check out these hot ice fishing locations:
Pigeon Lake, Alberta, Canada
This is Alberta’s premier walleye fishing location — in any season. However, winter allows the boat-less to take advantage of this waterbody’s famous “a fish per cast” promise! Along with dozen-a-day walleye, you can expect whitefish galore too. A simple nightcrawler- or maggot-baited jig, four-pound-test line and a short, light rod is all you need.
Lake of the Woods, Manitoba & Ontario, Canada
Is this the world’s greatest ice fishing lake? Thousands of anglers think so! Each year, a veritable shanty town of ice fishing huts is erected on this cross-provincial lake, as fishermen vie for lake trout, walleye, perch, crappie and bass in record numbers. Bring your arsenal of jigs, spoons and artificial baits to see what all the fuss is about.
Whiteswan Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Canada’s warmest province, British Columbia, isn’t generally considered an ice fishing mecca — but that just means the crowds keep away. Head to BC’s southeast region, the Kootenays, and jig on Whiteswan Lake for Gerrard rainbow trout that can top 10 kilograms or more!
Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
Could any ice fishing waterbody be more aptly named than “Cold Lake?” Located in the northeastern quadrant of this frigid province, Cold Lake is known for massive lake trout — some topping 15 kilograms or more. Take big baits, stiff rods, stout line and drill a wide hole.
Tobin Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada
The world-record ice-caught walleye was pulled out of Tobin Lake last winter. Do you need another reason to visit? OK — how about the fact that the second-largest ice-caught walleye also came from this central-Saskatchewan Lake? Good enough now? Plus, despite these claims-to-fame, its secluded location keeps the maddening crowds at bay.
Lake Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada
Locals call this west-central Manitoba lake “the walleye factory” — I’ll let you guess why. Even a novice will take the daily limit of medium-size walleye from Dauphin, with the occasional lunker cruising by. A snowmobile is your friend in this part of the world — wind drifts and snowed-in roads are commonplace in winter.
Bay of Quinte, Ontario, Canada
Located on the shores of massive Lake Ontario, this ice fishing locale is easily accessed from Canada’s largest city, Toronto, yet still produces dozens of walleye daily for any angler who visits. Jig a spoon with a nightcrawler on it and you’re good to go!
Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada
One of Canada’s largest and coldest lakes also offers some of the country’s best fishing. Great Slave Lake, located in the southern Northwest Territories, is the ninth-largest lake in the world, covering more than 27,000 sq-km. So you can imagine there are quite a few fish in there… such as lake trout up to 30 kilograms? Pike 120 centimetres long? You’ve got it — just dress really warm.
Kathleen Lake, Yukon, Canada
Located in the secluded and beautiful Kluane National Park, you’ll need a snowmobile to access prime fishing areas on Kathleen Lake in winter, but it’s worth it. The lake is virtually an aquarium — lake trout will attack your jigged-spoons all day long. They may be medium sized fish, but the sheer quantity will more than make up for it. Keep a couple for an on-ice barbecue lunch!
Mondeaux Flowage, Wisconsin, USA
Wisconsin is an ice fishing paradise, and the Mondeaux Flowage, in Chequamegon National Forest, is the cream of the crop. Isolated — you’ll have to snowmobile or snowshoe in during winter — and gorgeous, anglers can expect daily limits of huge northern pike and scrappy-and-delicious panfish.
Saginaw Bay, Michigan, USA
Located in the southwest corner of huge Lake Huron, Saginaw Bay is a typical Great Lake fishing area — meaning loads of ice and tons of fish. Expect world-class perch fishing in particular, but blue gill, crappie and walleye are also caught. It is located near to several towns where ice fishing guides can be hired — these experts will take you to lesser known, highly productive hot spots for some serious action.
Manistique Lakes, Michigan, USA
Consisting of three relatively shallow, medium-sized lakes — Big, South and North Manistique lakes — this waterfront tourist area is a wonderful vacation spot for the whole family. In winter, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and, yes, ice fishing for bass, walleye, panfish, northern pike and musky are popular. It’s a great spot to teach your kids to fish!
Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, USA
Perch, perch and more perch! Located in one of the coldest states in the continental USA, Devil’s Lake will put you into so many fish you’ll think you signed a pact with Mephistopheles. Hire a guide to trundle you around the lake in a all-terrain vehicle, or venture our on your own with a power ice auger, a load of maggots or worms and some light tackle.
Ammassalik, Greenland
One of the world’s most secluded and exciting ice fishing destinations, the fjords of Ammassalik, in eastern Greenland, offer an experience like none other. Here, the adventurous can ice angle for halibut topping 50 kilograms or even the infamous Greenland shark, which can reach more than 200 kilograms! Plus, your guide will tour you around the area on a traditional dogsled, adding to this experience-of-a-lifetime.
Tampere Region, Finland
Is this Finland’s best ice fishing location? With a long season, often starting as early as November, plus opportunities for perch, zander, pike and stocked rainbow trout… it just might be! Lakes too numerous to mention are found all within a stone’s-throw of the city of Tampere, making this an easily accessed, family-friendly fishing destination.
Ramfiord, Norway
You’ll enjoy a truly Scandinavian experience at this north-central Norway location. Tour the area via snowmobile, ice fish for species such as pike and perch all day long at the numerous frozen lakes found in the region — then retire to your cabin at night and revel in the glory of the Aurora borealis. Perfect wintertime fun!
River Lulea, Sweden
Located near the northern Swedish town of Lulea, in the Swedish Lapland, you can expect to find plentiful salmon, trout and grayling, which are easily caught on a jig through the ice on the River Lule. Guides are readily available and recommended for this region — not just for their fishing knowledge, but for their on-ice culinary prowess as well. For seafood, it doesn’t get any fresher than that!
Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia
Located in south-eastern Siberia, this is the world’s deepest freshwater lake — hitting a maximum depth of almost 750 metres — and it also contains more than 20 per cent of the world’s surface freshwater. In winter, average temperatures are about -18 to -20 or colder, so warm clothes are a must should you decide to venture to this isolated location. When you arrive, local fishermen can take you on a guided trip for Baikal oil fish or grayling — which you can cook and eat right on the ice after you bring it in. Expect not only a great fishing trip, but a memorable cultural experience as well.Growing up, my dad loved the Rolling Stones. I didn’t get it as a kid… by that point they were just old men. And there was nothing I wanted to be associated less with at that point then old men.
Then something funny happened… I grew up. And I began to love and really value the Rolling Stones. My dad passed away 8 years ago, but his love for his favorite band lives on through me. And I have to say, seeing them in San Diego with my girlfriend a few years ago was one of the best nights of my life.
‘Mick’ was made on an 11″x14″ canvas using hand-cut stencils and Plutonium Paint.
‘Mick’ is available as a high quality poster print from my Etsy shop. Find it here
More of a Beatles fan? Check out my piece featuring John Lennon, titled ‘Imagine” HERE
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AdvertisementsNew questions surrounding Melania Trump's path to US citizenship have surfaced, with one attorney stating she received her green card in 2001 'based on marriage', four years before she wed Donald Trump.
Melania, a Slovenian-born model who worked in Paris and Milan before landing in New York, said she had never been married before she met the business tycoon.
But Michael Wildes, an immigration attorney who worked for Trump Organization 'on behalf of Trump models', alleges Melania was married before 2005, Univision reported.
A spokesperson for Trump shot down the shocking claims, telling Dailymail Online: 'Contrary to inaccurate reports today, Melania was not married prior to her marriage to Mr. Trump in 2005. She obtained a green card on her own.'
New questions surrounding Melania Trump's path to US citizenship have surfaced, with immigration attorney Michael Wildes stating she obtained a green card in 2001 'based on marriage', four years before she wed Donald Trump
Melania Trump issued a statement Thursday where she said she had been in 'full compliance' with the nation's immigration laws
Melania, who became a US citizen in 2006 after her marriage to Trump the year before, had obtained a green card in 2001 'based on marriage', Wildes said.
Wildes added: 'Before that, she had a work visa and was in full compliance on her visas and never disrespected any of them. That has been made clear to me.'
Michael Wildes worked as an immigration attorney for Trump Organization
The immigration attorney, who said he had been authorized by Trump Organization to speak about Melania, could not comment further on her status.
He told Univision: 'There are certain parts of the process that remain private. The immigration authorities don't discuss this nor should we.'
He also called the inquiry into Melania's immigration status'moot and ridiculous'.
Wildes worked for Trump, ensuring competitors in the Miss Universe pageant obtained legal paperwork when the real estate magnate owned it.
Melania has faced media scrutiny surrounding her journey to the US as the wife of the GOP candidate - whose promises to crack down on illegal immigration have become central to his campaign.
His supporters regularly chant 'build the wall' at his rallies, referring to his plan to block Mexicans without proper documentation along the southern US border.
Italian businessman Paolo Zampolli said his agency Metropolitan Models sponsored Melania in 1996 with an H-1B work visa, which typically allows people to stay in the US for three years at a time, the Washington Post reported.
In March, the Donald said: 'The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.
'I will end forever the use of H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first.'
But Zampolli's account is inconsistent with Melania's statements in a January Harper's Bazaar interview.
In the interview, the former model said she would make frequent trips home to renew her visa - a move usually associated with a temporary business visa or a simple tourist visa.
Racy photos of Melania from 1995 also resurfaced in the New York Post this week, with Politico pointing out that they were taken in Manhattan a year before the former model claimed she came to the US.
Melania Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to push back at 'inaccurate reporting and misinformation' about her immigration status – which she has touted as part of the American Dream in interviews as well as her speech at the Republican Convention.
'Let me set the record straight: I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period,' the Slovenian born model said on Twitter.
She continued: 'Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue. In July 2006, I proudly became a US citizen. Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to live, work and raise a family in this great nation and I share my husband's love for our country.'
Melania Trump has appeared with her husband on the campaign trail, as she did in Waterloo, Iowa in February
She told Harpers magazine in July: 'It never crossed my mind to stay here without papers. That is just the person you are. You follow the rules. You follow the law.
'Every few months you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001.'
She used similar language about required trips home in an interview with MSNBC, saying: 'I never thought to stay here without papers. I had visa. I travel every few months back to the country to Slovenia to stamp the visa.'
Paolo Zampolli, on Thursday told the Associated Press he got Melania Knauss her visa when he was a partner at the agency Metropolitan Models.
'She qualified. We got her the H-1B as soon as she came,' he said, mentioning the H-1B visa for 'fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.'
He said he used her work in Paris and Milan as the basis for the application. 'We used whatever she did before to get her a visa. She had enough tear sheets to qualify,' he said.
Melania Knauss married Donald Trump in 2005 at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Her website suddenly disappeared after questions were raised last month about her academic credentials.
Her official website, and her bio published by the Republican National Committee, stated that she earned 'a degree in design and architecture at University in Slovenia.'
CBS reported that she did not graduate and dropped out after a single year.SAN JOSE -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp has a message for Hawks’ fans: “We’ll be better because of this.”
As strange as it sounds, Sharp and the Hawks are hoping their six-game losing streak eventually brings them closer to being the team they want to be. Maybe completely bottoming out on defense is the way to start over.
“If I had the right quote or the magic recipe I’d throw it out there,” Sharp said after a lengthy practice at HP Pavilion on Thursday. “All I can say is we’re working through it. We’re not happy. We believe in each other. I know our fans out there want us to win every game and we know we have the support of them and we’re going to be a better team because of this.”
It’s a positive outlook to a situation that looks bleak. But this is early February not April so there is plenty of time to turn things around—even if the Hawks haven’t shown the ability to do so.
On Thursday, coach Joel Quenneville conducted a hockey clinic during practice stressing the basics of defense through the neutral zone. The day before he had what one Hawk described as an “ugly” film session in Denver after an awful 5-2 loss in which they gave up no less than eight odd man chances to the Avalanche.
“[Wednesday], we were at an educational facility at Denver University,” Quenneville said. “We had a perfect theater for a nice session and we did. I thought it was longer than we generally do.”
And what they found is really no different today than it was months ago: breakdowns all over the ice leading to high quality chances in the other direction.
“We’re doing too many high risk plays right now and with no outcome,” Bryan Bickell stated. “We need to do the simple things. The hard working, hard hat type of things.”
That might include dumping the puck and chasing it down. It will avoid the blue-line turnovers the Hawks were so proficient at in Colorado.
The Blackhawks are counting on Corey Crawford to get them back on the winning track. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
“We talked about details, we talked about our positioning and more so on the defensive side of things and trying to keep the puck out of our net,” Quenneville explained. “That’s an emphasis that we’ve gone through and probably let it slide a little bit when we were scoring goals and weren’t looking to prevent them at the regular rate.”
It’s refreshing to hear Quenneville admit to a coaching mistake, if only to show that he understands the big picture problem. He allowed offense to run the show too long. It’s now or never to get back to playing team defense like the Hawks did when they won the Stanley Cup.
“I think Joel does a good job of reinforcing systems and reinforcing the way we like to play,” Sharp said. “We have similar practices for days before games but today [Thursday] we did a little bit more instructional stuff and working to get out of this.”
Film and then intense practice. The Hawks went back to school the last couple of days. Hockey 101 is in session. Grades start to come out Friday night.
The vibe
Many fans must be wondering what it’s like in the dressing room during the toughest stretch in several years. The Hawks are simply not used to losing six games in a row.
“It sucks,” Brent Seabrook said. “No one wants to go through this. It’s something that happens in hockey. We’re going to get out of this. We have to work hard to get out of it. Everyone understands that.”
And it’s not just your every day fans that are asking questions. Friends and family members want to know what’s wrong and when it’s going to be changed.
“There are a lot of different solutions,” Patrick Kane said. “I’m sure everyone has their two cents to put into it but it’s the players and the coaches, our job, to get ourselves out of it.”
And while frustration mounts the Hawks were quick to point out that’s all it is. Frustration with each other can sometimes lead to anger between teammates. The former can be healthy, the latter can be detrimental.
“We’ve talked the last couple days how we’re going to come out of this and be a better team for it,” Sharp said. “Now isn’t the time to start pointing fingers and going against each other.”
Sharp knows it would be easy for this team to do exactly that. The defense might point to the forwards and the forwards to the defense. Goalies could point to everyone.
But maybe being so bad on defense allows no one off the hook. At this point everyone could be looking in the mirror.
“I don’t want to say it’s a fun time but it’s a challenge to get ourselves out of it,” Kane said. “We’re doing some different things to get out of it.”
Nothing like a long, losing road trip to kill the enjoyment of being a professional athlete. Their paychecks might still cash but that doesn’t mean the day-to-day is all that fun.
“It hurts when you lose this many in a row,” Seabrook said. “It sucks coming to the rink. It’s definitely a pride issue.”
Crawford starts
Joel Quenneville is grabbing onto anything he can in deciding who gets the net these days. If Ray Emery had won the last game or even played better in a loss, he’d assuredly be the starter come Friday against San Jose. Quenneville chose to go back to Corey Crawford.
“He [Crawford] played great in here last game,” Quenneville said of a 1-0 loss to the Sharks in November. “I thought he had a real strong game. Ray was in there the last two games and we’re going to need both guys and so he gets back in the net.”
Invoking a game from months ago isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement and “needing both guys” really means they don’t have one they truly have confidence in. It’s doesn’t take a hockey expert to see the Hawks are unsure at their goaltending position. There’s been no definitive evidence they’re looking at the trade market to help save this season but at this point it wouldn’t come as a shock.
New lines -- again
Practice on Thursday consisted of new forward lines as Quenneville tries to find the right combinations to end the six game losing streak. Jonathan Toews centered Marian Hossa and Michael Frolik while Marcus Kruger was between Patrick’s Kane and Sharp. Dave Bolland played the middle on the third line with Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw on the wings and Jamal Mayers centered Viktor Stalberg and Andrew Brunette.
The most glaring change was Frolik’s addition to the top line while Stalberg was dropped all the way down. Frolik has five goals to Stalberg’s 15 but Stalberg is more likely to make the big turnover as he did in one sequence against the Avalanche leading to the winning goal.
As usual, Quenneville said he was looking for “balance” in the makeup of the lines but Frolik is the beneficiary of a message being sent: turnovers will demote you quicker than scoring will promote.
Slappers
• Steve Montador missed practice for a second consecutive day with an upper body injury. Quenneville called him doubtful for Friday’s game against San Jose. There was no indication on Thursday who would take his place in the lineup.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson also missed a second consecutive practice with an illness but Quenneville said he was “doing better” and would likely play on Friday.
• Sharks coach Todd McLellan would not reveal his starting goaltender for Friday’s game as San Jose prepares to embark on a nine game road trip of their own. But he is well aware of netminder Antti Niemi’s past success against his former team.
“That will weigh into our decision,” McLellan said. “We also have a lot of hockey coming up so there’s a good chance we’ll see him but we still have to make that choice.”Chowderclef
Darkness loomed over the streets of Night City, the shadows casting long shadows over the cracked asphalt pavement, the city's dark darkness lurking deep within its shriveled black hearts, as black as pitch and as shriveled as the lungs of a chain-smoking sailor.
Joe Knife pinned the girl up against the wall, his ugly, slobbering face sneering as he sneeringly pulled up her skirt. "Don't worry," he sneered. "I'll make sure this hurts a lot. I'm a rapist, this is what I do, rape and things like that."
It was then that he was clobbered by a bowl of chowder, steaming hot and packed with delicious clams and white potatoes, cooked just to firmness, with quite a few celery bits as well to give snap and flavor. It was New England clam chowder, for the figure who stood on the rooftop wearing a black apron and a tall chef's hat made of black cloth (blacker than the blackest of blacks that a black-wearing goth kid would wear at midnight) was not fond of tomatoes in his clam chowder, and considered it an abberation, nay, a heresy, which must be purged.
Joe Knife screamed in pain as he raised his gun and fired it at the rooftop, but the black-clad, mysterious figure was too fast for him, and vanished in a flash of black cloth. "Come out!" he screamed. "Who the hell are you? Where the fuck are you coming from?"
"Right here," said a voice, and it pounded him in the back of the skull with a ladle.
Joe Knife grabbed the back of his head. "OW! That HURTS!" he shouted. "And you didn't answer my question, who are you?"
The mysterious stranger drew himself up to his full mysterious seven feet of height, and the grin on his face was wide and mysterious. Moonlight glinted off the horns on his forehead.
"The name is Clef," he said. "Chowderclef. Defender of the World."
CHOWDERCLEF, DEFENDER OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER 1: THE BADASS AND THE HOT CHICKS WHO WANT TO BONE HIM, OR BE BONED BY HIM
Site 19 was in a tizzy. "Oh no!" shouted Doctor Rights. "All the SCPs are out of their pens!"
"I'll save you!" said Doctor Clef, and he ran into the room with his shotgun.
"Oh noes," said SCP-682. "It is Clef. He gong to kill us."
"Ha ha ha!" said Doctor Clef, and he shot at SCP-682 with his shotgun rocket missiles.
"Argh!" shouted SPC-682, and it fell down and was ded.
"You saved us!" said Doctor Rights, and she kissed him. And then they had sex.
"The SCP Foundation would fall apart without Doctor Clef here," said Doctor Gears, and he gave Clef a promotion to O5.
To everyone at Site 19, Doctor Clef was just a mild mannered researcher, an ordinary guy like any other.
But Doctor Clef had a sekrets. At night, when the rest of Site 19 was alseep, he put on a black chef's toke and a black aporn. And he went to the Site 19 kitchen and he made a big pot of clam chowder. Then he went to Gotham City or Night City or Metropolis and he fought crime. He was Chowderclef! Defendeer of the innocent and the protector of the world.
This si his story.
"I'm sorry to call you away from your work on such short notice."
"Always glad to help out a senior staff member. What can I do for you?"
"I have a question for you. Do you remember this?"
"But of course. How could I forget? It took me hours to type up this report."
"Please read the report again."
"All right… it seems in order… wait. Oh my god…"
Vanessa Danielle Heartilly picked up her tray of food and walked over to the lunchroom table. Halfway, there, she felt something grab her backpack and pull her down. She stumbled and fell, scattering her milk and spaghetti all over the front of her shirt.
Alexis Evilmeir sneered at her. "Nice job, nerd," she said, flouncing her stringy blonde hair. "It looks good on you." She laughed and walked away, accompanied by the other popular researchers, who sat around with all of the jocks at their own table, gossiping about something stupid and lame.
Vanessa whimpered and knelt there on the lunchroom floor. A single tear rolled down her face and splashed on the food. "Get the hell up and clean that up," the lunch lady said, and Vanessa slowly got to her feet and started to gather up the fallen food.
Then a hand reached down and helped her. "Here," a soft, gentle voice said. "Let me help."
She looked up into the face of the most handsome man she had ever seen. His eyes were limpid blue, green, and brown orbs, their sparkling hues warming her heart, and his perfect white skin peeked from under the collar of his immaculate white labcoat. A broad smile on his face as he carefully wiped the tear from her cheek and licked it off the tip of his finger. "Beautiful girls shouldn't cry," he said.
"I'm not beautiful," Vanessa mumbled.
"I think you are. I've thought so for a long time," Doctor Clef said. "I've watched you for a very long time, you know." He picked her up off the ground and carried her away, while Alexis and her stupid friends looked on jealously.
"Are you sure this is a good idea," Vanessa whispered. "I mean, what if the other senior staff see?"
"Fuck the senior staff. Love is greater than this," Clef growled, and he started to take off her blouse. "But first, you need to know something," he whispered into her ear.
"Anything," gasped Vanessa.
"Late at night," Clef uttered, "I put on a black hat and apron and fight crime as Chowderclef."
"My god. How far has it spread?"
"As far as we can tell, to all of your records. Everything from your personnel files to your reports to your SCP articles."
"This is ridiculous. How could anyone believe any of this? Ex-GOC sniper? I was a clerk! And my god, I'd never been anywhere near a gun, much less used one… they're like bad…"
"Bad fanfiction, yes. SCP-732 is known to do that."
"Can the records be retrieved?"
"Perhaps… but it will take a while. Some of them may never be completely restored."
"My god… all those years of work, all that data, reduced to the testosterone-laced ramblings of a preteen, violence-obsessed…"
"I'm sorry, Doctor Clef. I really am."
"DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" Clef screamed, and he blazed away with his twin Pancor Jackhammers, filling the air with lead. The zombies exploded into showers of gore, splattering blood and internal organs across the walls. "KEEP KILLING THEM, YOU FUCKERS, DON'T LET THEM GET AROUND US!"
"SIR!" screamed Strelnikov. "THE DAMNED CHECHEN ZOMBIES ARE COMING THROUGH THE WALLS!"
"FUCK THAT! KILL THEM ALL!" Clef roared. He threw down his twin Pancor Jackhammers and grabbed a pair of Mateba Autorevolvers, firing off the exotic.38 caliber weapons akimbo, as he dove under cover. "GRENADE OUT!"
A whole bandolier of grenades flew over the desk and landed in the middle of the group of zombies, turning them into chunks of writhing flesh. "It's over," Demitri said.
"No. Not yet," Clef snarled. He put on a black chef's hat and an apron. "The criminal scum who did this is still out there. We must bring him to justice."
"I'll go with you," Damitri said.
"No. I must do this alone," grimaced Clef. "Chowderclef always works alone."
— Alice screamed with pleasure. "Chowderclef, oh god, I love you!" she screamed, as she came. Chowderclef's massive, throbbing —
— "Fire photon torpedoes!" shouted Captain Picard. The U.S.S. Chowderclef raced after the Romulan invaders, firing a massive stream of photon torpedoes and quantum phasers, launching X-Wing fighters and Mark XI Vipers in massive —
— "CHOWDER FOR THE CHOWDERCLEF, POTATOES FOR THE SPUD THRONE!" screamed the Chaos Space Marine, as he —
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"… no, I think I'll be fine. But as long as the initial infection is gone, we should be fine."
"You seem to be taking this well."
"It is actually pretty funny. And I must admit, this… other Doctor Clef… seems to have a much more interesting life than I do. Instead of being cooped up in a lab, he seems to be living the life of some kind of action movie star. Killing… sorry, what's the word 732 used… decommissioning SCPs… claiming to be Satan… he's actually quite the badass."
"Isn't that the truth. Some personnel claim that we should keep these older files, simply for entertainment purposes, at least."
"The originals will have to be restored, of course."
"But of course. In any case, that is all. Oh yes, and here."
"Ah, thank you. I'd wondered where they'd gone off to."
"I wouldn't want you to lose them. After all, you'll need these if you want to fight crime as Chowderclef."There’s a wheelchair onstage at the Belasco Theater, and it’s drawing an abundance of attention. There’s also a wheelchair onstage at a small theater not far away, and it’s drawing practically no attention at all. The gulf between the two says quite a lot.
At the Belasco, the Broadway house on West 44th Street, the wheelchair is one of the conspicuous elaborations the director Sam Gold has brought to his production of “The Glass Menagerie,” the beloved Tennessee Williams drama. The chair isn’t just a prop; it’s a necessity for the actress playing Laura, Madison Ferris, who has muscular dystrophy.
That bit of casting is, of course, a significant change from the shy girl with a limp that Williams called for in his play. And Mr. Gold’s staging leaves no doubt that Ms. Ferris is not some able-bodied actress pretending to have a disability. He has her enter by painstakingly climbing stairs, one of several times that he takes her out of the wheelchair and confronts the audience with the difficulties of having severely limited mobility.
Some leading critics have objected to the transformation of Williams’s subtle play about a family enveloped in denial into something more strident. The kindest objections say that Mr. Gold’s interpretation simply doesn’t mesh well with the text; harsher ones on theater chat boards have called his use of Ms. Ferris exploitative.Market Square, 1986
This is the story of one city, but it’s every city. Struggling with the urban sprawl, de-industrialization, automobile culture, malls, and suburbs, cities all over North America have been fighting for decades against flight from the centre – often finding themselves astonished victims of the Law of Unintended Results. Nathan Storring does an amazing job in this essay of exemplifying the general trend with a particular case, in this instance, the redevelopment, destruction and rebirth of the downtown core in Kitchener, Ontario. He writes: “To me Kitchener’s history is the quintessential parable about the cost that these midsize cities paid to take part in Modernity because we tore down our bloody City Hall. We didn’t have a physical City Hall for 20 years, just a floor in a nondescript, inaccessible office building! It was the ultimate sacrifice in the name of ‘rationality’ – a complete disavowal of any historic or emotional connection to the city.” The beauty of this piece is Storring’s attention to the details – civic debate, architects, planners, theorists, trends, fads. An era comes clear. After reading this, you’ll walk around your town and see it in a different way.
Nathan Storring is a writer, artist, designer, and curator based in Toronto. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design University’s Criticism and Curatorial Practices program, he is compiling a graphic novel depicting conversations that friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances had with renowned urban thinker Jane Jacobs. He is also the assistant curator of the Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, a media intern with the Centre for City Ecology, graphic designer and webmaster for NUMUS Concerts Inc., and he has been performing archival research for the autobiography of Eberhard Zeidler, architect of the Toronto Eaton’s Centre (among many other things).
dg
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A man dines alone near closed stalls in the food court of the Market Square.
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Introduction
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A ruin lies at the heart of Kitchener, Ontario. As one looks East down King Street from anywhere in the downtown core, one will see its gleaming green edifice, its almost-Victorian clock tower protruding above many of the buildings, one of its spindly glass pedestrian bridges stretched over the road like the arm of a yawning lover at a movie. Kitchener’s inhabitants call this shabby emerald city the Market Square – a name it inherited long ago, whose meaning it slowly devoured. The Market Square block bordered by Frederick, King, Scott and Duke Streets once held Kitchener’s Neoclassical City Hall and Farmers’ Market building, but in 1974 both were demolished and the Market Square Shopping Centre was built in their place as part of an effort to revitalize the ailing downtown. The City Hall offices moved into a high-rise office building across the street that was erected as part of the shopping centre development, and the Farmers’ Market was granted a portion of the shopping centre itself, with the primary produce section occupying the parking garage. Today, most of the building has been converted into offices. The City Hall and the Farmers’ Market both have new homes. Only a meagre offering of shops remain, and what is left of the retail area is riddled with dead ends and empty storefronts.
A view down King Street in downtown Kitchener. The green glass clock tower of the Market Square Shopping Centre presides over the cityscape.
For many, this ruin is emblematic of the loss of heritage and identity Kitchener endured during the numerous postwar redevelopment schemes that beset its downtown. But could it not be an emblem of another kind? To invoke the architect Augustus Pugin, who erroneously identified Gothic ruins as evidence of a medieval Christian utopia,[1] could the Market Square be interpreted as evidence of a modernist, post-industrial dream that preceded us?
Throughout its history, Kitchener has often imagined big plans for its urban development, but since the 1960s most of these grand plans for downtown Kitchener only ever found form in the Market Square Shopping Centre. Market Square is the most complete and concrete repository of Kitchener’s attempts at re-imagining itself in the postwar period. It is a chimera of styles and ideas – the symbolic and aesthetic laboratory in which architects and city planners forged alternative visions of this city. This thesis is a case study examining the methods by which the city of Kitchener, Ontario attempted to reinvent itself through the Market Square, and what these attempts have left in their wake.
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Redevelopment: Trojan Horse Modernism in the Market Square
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John Lingwood, Market Square development, 1974, Kitchener, Ontario. High-rise building that held the |
. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages!"
Watch the video for "Hold On, We're Going Home":Washington (CNN) For a showman president who has come to relish the made-for-TV aspects of his job, perhaps it is no surprise that Donald Trump's first foreign outing will not be to Canada.
Skipping a low-key stop in the United States' low-key northerly neighbor -- a traditional dry run on foreign travel for a new president -- Trump will instead touch down in the capitals of three major world religions, a dramatic in-person entry into the fraught intersection of faith, politics and national security.
The trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican is a splashy debut for a president who has, until now, largely avoided major trips outside of Washington.
He's spent most of his time away from the White House at his private estate in Florida. When he arrives in the Middle East toward the end of May, he'll be traveling abroad later in his presidency than any commander in chief since Lyndon B. Johnson, who waited more than 10 months after President John F. Kennedy was killed to travel abroad.
After the Vatican, Trump will make stops in Brussels and Sicily for NATO and G-7 meetings. Those stops were announced earlier this year.
Effort to counter radicalism
According to Trump's aides, the trip is designed as a symbolic show of resolve to top US allies, whom the Trump administration hopes will renew their efforts to combat radicalism and intolerance around the world.
But people familiar with the trip's planning said it's also meant to demonstrate a new era of American foreign policy in high-octane fashion. Revealing the trip during a Rose Garden ceremony Thursday for the National Day of Prayer, Trump deemed it a "major and historic announcement."
"Someone clearly saw the Vatican, Israel and Saudi Arabia as a broad stage where the President could demonstrate a certain degree of unity and ecumenism and go to places where he could be guaranteed a high degree of symbolism when it came to his first presidential trip," said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
"The trip provides a dramatic stage on which to act out his presidential role," Miller added.
The first stop in Saudi Arabia was designed specifically to rebut perceptions that Trump is anti-Muslim, according to a person who helped plan the stop.
The Islamic world has been rattled by some of Trump's actions, including signing an executive order barring entry to citizens of certain Muslim-majority nations and vowing during the campaign to end all Muslim immigration into the US.
"We thought that was very important because obviously people have tried to portray the President in a certain way," said a senior administration official. "But I think that what he wants to do is solve the same problem that a lot of the leaders in the Islamic world want to do."
Speaking Thursday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said he believed the trip will help rebut impressions that Trump is anti-Islam.
"It's a clear and powerful message that the US harbors no ill will toward the Arab and Muslim world," he said. "It also lays to rest the notion that America is anti-Muslim."
Trump's stops in Riyadh, Jerusalem, Rome, Brussels and Sicily are not set to be long -- in some cases, he expects to spend only a night, according to officials who are planning the trip. But at each stop, Trump is hoping to demonstrate his faith in traditional US allies that his administration claims were slighted by the previous administration.
Contrast with Obama
President Barack Obama skipped a visit to Israel during his first trip to the Middle East in 2009, an opening slight in what became a sour relationship during his tenure in office. Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab Gulf nations, then felt neglected when Obama brokered a deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons, leading to fears the US was realigning its interests in the region.
"All the conversations we've had with all the leaders around the world show that there is a lot of frustration with how things have been done to date, and I think he's driven by common sense, and he's driven by a real practical approach to try to get things done," said a senior administration official.
President Barack Obama's first stop abroad was in Canada, and every US president since Jimmy Carter has made that or Mexico his inaugural foreign destination. The stops reaffirmed what have traditionally been close cross-border ties in North America -- relationships that have grown tense under Trump amid trade disagreements and a dispute over his proposed border wall with Mexico.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited Trump to visit during a phone conversation soon after Trump was elected in November. Trump, at this stage, hasn't accepted, though a person close to Trudeau said he doesn't feel snubbed.
People who helped plan past presidents' foreign trips said a jaunt across the border also provided new White House aides a relatively easy trip to work out the logistical kinks of moving a president into a foreign country.
Trump's approach is markedly different, and could present pitfalls. Trump has not yet named a chief of protocol -- an ambassador-level position that assists in working out detailing plans with a foreign government before a President travels abroad.
In countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel -- each with distinct religious and political sensitivities -- matters of protocol can become essential in how a trip is perceived. Even if Trump's hosts are eager to execute a gaffe-free visit, Trump himself will need at least some preparation to avoid a cultural miscue.
"I don't think there are any traps that will be set," Miller said. "The question is whether he generates them on his own. And gets out of his own way. And there's no way to predict that. As carefully orchestrated and choreographed as these trips may be, there's always the possibility of a stumble or an inappropriate remark."
Past presidents have found that dealings with the tradition-bound Saudis can sometimes prove awkward. Photos of President George W. Bush holding hands with then-Crown Prince Abdullah in 2005 led to accusations he was too close to the oil-rich kingdom. Obama faced claims he was overly deferential after he appeared to bow to Abdullah -- who by then was King -- during a summit meeting in London in 2009.
Trump's maiden voyage overseas will look different than Obama's international forays for other reasons as well. They aren't likely to feature the types of sweeping addresses that Obama delivered regularly abroad. Nor are they expected to feature the types of cultural stops that Obama relished during his foreign swings.
Short stays in each place
The in-and-out itinerary hews closely with Trump's preferred style of travel as chief executive of his real estate business, when he would fly his private jet abroad for business meetings but rarely linger for long.
A person who traveled with Trump during his tenure atop the Trump Organization in the 1990s described a businessman not particularly enthralled with foreign travel: He did not easily adjust to time-zone changes and was regularly jetlagged, the official said. He steered clear of local cuisine. And the customs of foreign businessmen -- particularly in Asia, where deals are regularly sealed over a night of drinking -- sometimes irked the teetotaler Trump.
For a president and his aides, foreign travel can be a particularly grueling slog. Meetings regularly begin as soon as Air Force One touches down in a far-flung time zone, leaving little time for a commander in chief to adjust to a new setting, or clock. Visits in foreign capitals often involve state dinners that extend late into the evening followed by early talks the next day.
Trump's ambitious itinerary for his first trip -- five stops in a little more than a week -- is also bound to be taxing. But in the minds of White House officials, the grind is worth it in order to properly introduce Trump to a world that's still largely skeptical of his presidency.The company is accused of breaching labour laws with its internal policy banning workers from writing about workplace concerns
Google is being sued over its internal confidentiality policies which bar employees from putting in writing concerns over “illegal” activity, posting opinions about the company, and even writing novels “about someone working at a tech company in Silicon Valley” without first giving their employer sign-off on the final draft.
The lawsuit, revealed by industry news site The Information, accuses Google of breaching California labour laws through its confidentiality provisions, by preventing employees from exercising their legal rights to discuss workplace conditions, wages, and potential violations inside the company.
It has been brought by an individual employee under a Californian act that allows employees to sue on behalf of co-workers; if the employee wins, the state gets 75% of the penalty, while the remaining payout would be split among Google’s employees. The maximum fine in Google’s case is almost $4bn.
The lawsuit opens with a strong claim: “Google’s motto is ‘don’t be evil.’ Google’s illegal confidentiality agreements and policies fail this test,” it says.
The core of the complaint is that Google’s confidentiality policies prevent employees from exercising speech rights which are protected, both constitutionally and in federal and state law.
In a statement given to the Guardian, Google described the suit as “baseless”.
“We’re very committed to an open internal culture, which means we frequently share with employees details of product launches and confidential business information”, the company added. “Transparency is a huge part of our culture. Our employee confidentiality requirements are designed to protect proprietary business information, while not preventing employees from disclosing information about terms and conditions of employment, or workplace concerns.”
The policies, the lawsuit claims, restrict Googlers from effectively seeking new work, because they cannot use all the skills they gain at the company in future jobs; they unlawfully limit what employees can do out of work, by preventing employees from speaking to the press “or otherwise exercising their speech rights”; and they prevent employees from disclosing information to government or regulators, even if the employee believes that Google is breaking the law.
One such policy, cited in the lawsuit, instructs Googlers to “avoid communications that conclude, or appear to conclude, that Google or Googlers are acting ‘illegally’ or ‘negligently,’ have ‘violated the law,’ should or would be ‘liable’ for anything, or otherwise convey legal meaning.”
Another training program warns them: “Don’t send an email that says ‘I think we broke the law’ or ‘I think we violated this contract.’” The filing also claims “the training program also advises employees that they should not be candid when speaking with Google’s attorneys about dangerous products or violations of the law.”
The suit says that Google’s confidentiality policies go so far that they also “prohibit employees from writing creative fiction. Among other things, Google’s Employee Communication Policy prohibits employees from writing ‘a novel about someone working at a tech company in Silicon Valley’ unless Google gives prior approval to both the book idea and the final draft.”
While confidentiality policies are common in Silicon Valley, the suit argues that Google has a responsibility to include in its employee training the fact that staffers are allowed to speak about Google with non-Googlers, even press and regulators, in certain circumstances.In the actual filing, she explicitly states that the court either didn't read the original complaint or (and get this) is being controlled by, and in conspiracy with the executive branch. Get a load of this language:
"The fact that Court's 14 page order does not address any actual statements in Plaintiff's complaint by page or paragraph number, or any page citation to her TRO, suggests to a reasonable and objective mind that the Court either did not read these documents or was summarily instructed by that same illegitimate "chain of command" alleged above not to address at least three key questions asserted in Plaintiff's complaint..."
and then it goes even deeper in accusing the Court of conspiracy by saying:
"The Court's failure to address these three key issues again, standing alone, is suggestive that the executive branch is exercising control over the Court's decision making process, and is sufficient ground, by itself, to justify this Court's grant of an EMERGENCY STAY OF DEPLOYMENT for at least TEN DAYS..."
So she is saying, in the actual Court filing, that the Court either is incompetent or is in conspiracy with the administration.
Wow. Just plain wow.
If nothing else, this outta put her on the fast track to a serious fine, a court summons, disbarment, contempt of court charges and possibly even jail time.
Orly Taitz, Esq. Onward and upward!
Update: Thanks for making this hit the rec. list.
Update #2: Seems my typing and spell checking is as good as Ms. Taitz legal acumen. Fixed "contentment of court" for "contempt of court". h/t to jgilhousen for the catch.
Update #3: Fixed a grammatical error in the second sentence. h/t to JackND for the catch.This article is about the prison. For the musical piece, see Agustín Barrios
Coordinates: La Catedral was a prison overlooking the city of Medellín, in Colombia. The prison was built to specifications ordered by Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar, under a 1991 agreement with the Colombian government in which Escobar would surrender to authorities and serve a maximum term of five full years and the Colombian government would not extradite him to the United States. In addition to the facility being built to Escobar's specifications, Escobar was also given the right to choose who would guard him and it was believed he chose guards loyal only to him. Moreover, the prison was believed to have been designed more to keep out Escobar's enemies and protect him from assassination attempts, than to keep Escobar in.[1]
The finished prison was often called "Hotel Escobar" or "Club Medellín", because of its amenities. La Catedral featured a football pitch, giant doll house, bar, jacuzzi and waterfall. Escobar also had a telescope installed that allowed him to look down onto the city of Medellín to his daughter's residence while talking on the phone with her.[1]
PBS reports that although the government was willing to turn a blind eye to Escobar continuing his drug smuggling, the arrangement fell apart when it was reported Escobar had four of his lieutenants tortured and murdered within La Catedral. The Colombian government decided it had to move Escobar to a standard prison, an order Escobar refused. In July 1992, after serving one year and one month, Escobar again went on the run. With the Colombian National Army surrounding La Catedral's facility, it is said Escobar simply walked out the back gate. The ensuing manhunt employed a 600-man unit force, specially trained by the United States Delta Force, named Search Bloc and led by Colonel Hugo Martínez.[1]
Pablo Escobar
Location advantage [ edit ]
Fog comes over after six o'clock in the evening and returns foggy[clarification needed] at dawn. Therefore, air assault is impossible to carry out. The location's steep topography also prevented the military or rival cartels from attacking La Catedral easily.[2] In addition, Pablo Escobar also had a large magazine that ensured his safety in the prison.[3]
Current day [ edit ]
La Catedral remained deserted for several years. In 2007, a group of Benedictine monks from the Benedictina Fraternidad Monastica Santa Gertrudis arrived at the site and transformed it. The monks came there because it is a great place for meditating and away from the city. They built a chapel, a library, a cafeteria, a guest-house for religious pilgrimages, workshops and a memorial to victims of the cartel in the prison. In addition, the monks hired laid-off people to help with the daily running of La Catedral. Considering their efforts of reconstructing the prison, the city Envigado then ceded the entire prison to those monks. [2]
See also [ edit ]Big tech seems to get smaller and smaller, both in terms of sales and number of employees. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said it would rebalance its workforce. Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) announced it would cut 1,100 people. These announcements come shortly after Intel Corp. (INTC) said it would fire 5,000 people. While job cuts from the recession may have ended, old tech cannot afford to hold on to its workers.
IBM needs to cut staff. Revenue in the fourth quarter dropped 5% to $27.7 billion. Its old line System and Technology segment lost 26% of its revenue, down to $4.2 billion. The segment contains much of IBM's hardware sales. Some of IBM's revenue has gone to newer age companies like Oracle Corp. (ORCL). That trend appears to have continued.
ALSO READ: Cars So Hot They Are Out of Stock
At Texas Instruments, revenue barely rose to $3.03 billion from $2.98 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The company blamed sales at its Embedded Processing business, although they grew slightly. TI has battled to get into newer consumer electronics devices. Arm Holdings PLC (ARMH) and Intel have pressured TI's sales in one of its largest segments.
ALSO READ: The Cars Americans Do Not Want to Buy
And, of course, Intel continues to look for a way out of its reliance on PCs, which plagues the company more than any other trend.
As the growth of hardware has moved elsewhere, some of America's most mature tech companies have continued to be eclipsed by ones that are only a few decades old -- if that. What has been a worry has become an inexorable erosion of prospects. Layoffs may not be a hallmark of the overall tech market -- considered one of the healthiest in the United States -- unless a company lost its way several years ago and has paid the penalty recently.
ALSO READ: States Where the Most People Work Two Jobs
Related ArticlesWeakened pound pushes Swedish furniture chain to look at making and sourcing more than the odd mattress or sofa in UK
Ikea is considering making more products in the UK as the Swedish furniture chain bids to fend off Brexit-led price rises.
The retailer already makes some sofas and mattresses in Britain, but UK boss Gillian Drakeford said it was actively examining how it might increase that work while looking at other products that can be sourced domestically.
Drakeford told the Guardian that the chain’s growing UK sales gave her the capacity and resources to source more locally.
“We have a number of sofa suppliers in the UK we work with today and we are looking at what more products could we source in the UK.” She said manufacturing and sourcing more locally could help offset the risks in importing goods.
“Currency is our biggest challenge,” she said, referring to the fall in value of the pound against the euro and the dollar, which despite recent fluctuations, is down by between 10% and 12% since the EU referendum. The lower value of the pound has made it more expensive to import goods while potential tariffs once the UK exits the EU formally could also adds to costs.
Ikea to create 1,300 UK jobs in three new stores Read more
About 60% of Ikea’s products are made in Europe with only a small proportion made in the UK.
“We believe we can double market share here,” Drakeford said. “We’ve been here for 30 years and will be here for the future.”
She said inflation, which hit a three-and-a-half-year high of 2.7% last month, was feeding into the UK furnishings market and the company was determined to maintain its reputation for good value. So far this year, Drakeford said Ikea had not seen shoppers holding back on buying expensive items such as kitchens and that the number of people visiting its stores had continued to rise.
But she said: “We know that wallets are going to be squeezed and inflation has started to kick in now and people are going to have less money in their pockets.”
All Ikea products are designed in Sweden but the group does develop local goods for certain markets if there is demand. Drakeford said any UK sourced goods would be developed alongside manufacturers. “It’s not us just going in and buying what you have,” she said.
She added that selling a bigger volume of items through its existing stores would help Ikea lower prices for shoppers. The company is also looking at using different materials, such as bamboo, in its furniture to keep prices down. Although Drakeford admitted there may be some price rises in the new Ikea catalogue when it is published in the UK in August, she said the price of some items which were clearly important to people would be cut.
Earlier this week Ikea said it would add 1,300 more jobs in the UK by the end of next year as it opens stores in Sheffield, Exeter and Greenwich, south London. The chain has begun expanding again after opening its first major new store in seven years in Reading last year. It is also experimenting with small stores in high streets and at a shopping centre.
A double-digit percentage rise in online sales helped overall UK sales rise by 8.9% year on year to £1.7bn for the 12 months to the end of August 2016. Today about 15% of Ikea’s UK sales are online. Drakeford said she wanted to introduce a proper “click and collect” service in the UK early next year, which will allow shoppers to check availability for items in store online and order goods digitally for pick up later.
She said the company wanted to test its four small stores for up to a year longer before deciding whether to open more. Drakeford said the stores held an advantage because they were closer to where shoppers lived.
“Even after 30 years in the market we only reach 64% of the people. We know that there is huge market potential and our idea is to bring Ikea closer to the people,” she said.LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron made a dramatic appeal to voters across the generation gap on Tuesday to back staying in the European Union two days before a cliff-hanger referendum that will shape the future of the West.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron gestures while speaking with campaign volunteers for "Stronger In" during a visit to Panorama Antennas, a small family business in Wandsworth, south London on June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Adrian Dennis/Pool
Britons vote on Thursday on whether to quit the 28-nation bloc amid warnings from world leaders, investors and companies that a decision to leave would diminish the former imperial power’s influence, unleash turmoil on markets and send shock waves through Europe and the wider Western world.
In a rare televised address outside his Downing Street office, Cameron hammered home his message that leaving the EU would jeopardize Britain’s economy and its national security, with fewer jobs, fewer allies and higher prices.
“Brits don’t quit,” he said, using the official backdrop to make a direct pitch to older voters considered more eurosceptic and more likely to vote.
“It will just be you in that polling booth. Just you, taking a decision that will affect your future, your children’s future, your grandchildren’s future.”
The Conservative prime minister’s last-minute intervention came as an opinion poll showed support for remaining in the EU shrinking. The Survation poll put the “In” camp just one percentage point ahead of the campaign for a so-called Brexit, well within the margin of error.
Opponents said the hastily arranged appearance suggested Cameron, who promised the referendum in 2013 under pressure from lawmakers in his Conservative Party, and the “In” campaign were very worried about the outcome.
“Cameron is panicked, it’s out of his hands now,” Arron Banks, a multi-millionaire insurance tycoon who is funding one of the Leave campaigns, said on Twitter.
Raoul Ruparel, co-director of Open Europe, a think-tank, said Cameron wanted to project a solemn, statesmanlike image.
“Because it was called off the cuff it looks panicked, but all people will see from the news are the clips which show him looking very measured and relaxed,” Ruparel told Reuters.
As each side sought to play its last trump cards, the pro-EU “Britain Stronger in Europe” campaign issued a final poster of a door leading into a dark void with the slogan: “Leave and there’s no going back.”
If Britain votes to leave, Cameron would face pressure to resign, though he has said he will continue as leader.
STARS AND MARKETS
Former England soccer captain David Beckham, a hugely popular public figure, added his voice to Remain’s list of celebrity supporters. “For our children and their children we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone,” he said.
Leave campaigners stepped up their relentless focus on what they call uncontrolled immigration, saying Cameron had been warned four years ago his goal of reducing net arrivals was impossible due to EU rules.
The anti-EU UK Independence Party issued a poster showing a traffic jam with the message “The school over-run” and saying nearly one in four of Britain’s primary schools were full or oversubscribed.
Already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone, the EU would lose its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its richest financial center.
George Soros, the billionaire who bet against the pound in 1992, wrote in the Guardian newspaper that a vote to leave would trigger a bigger, more disruptive devaluation than the fall on Black Wednesday, when market pressure forced sterling out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
In the latest warning of potential economic damage, two sources familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters that Britain’s biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, estimates its annual profit could be cut by 1 billion pounds ($1.47 billion) by the end of the decade if Britain leaves the EU.
Speaking before the U.S. Senate’s Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said a Brexit would unleash a rush to safety that would push up the dollar and safe-haven currencies.
Sterling, which climbed to a 5 1/2-month high earlier on Tuesday on opinion polls suggesting the mood of the public was swinging behind the “In” camp, fell back after more polls and surveys showed the vote was on a knife-edge.
POLLS AND ODDS
An earlier ORB survey for the Daily Telegraph put support for Remain at 53 percent, up 5 percentage points on the previous one, with support for Leave on 46 percent, down three points.
“All the signs of ORB’s latest and final poll point to a referendum that will truly come down to the wire,” said Lynton Crosby, a political strategist who advised the ruling Conservative Party at the last national election in 2015.
Campaigning was suspended for three days after the murder of pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England last Thursday.
Some Leave campaigners accuse the Remain camp of exploiting her death as part of what they portray as a campaign of scaremongering by the establishment at home and abroad.
Turnout is likely to be key to the result, and the ORB poll found that Remain supporters, who had been regarded as being more apathetic, were increasingly motivated to vote.
After Cox’s murder, polls indicated sentiment had swung back to the “In” campaign after a major shift toward Leave.
According to Betfair betting odds, the implied probability of a British vote to remain in the EU is 76 percent, but analysts in the financial markets were more cautious.
“We will go into the vote without high confidence in predicting the outturn in either direction,” JPMorgan researcher Malcolm Barr said in a note to clients.
Slideshow (13 Images)
The “Out” campaign says it is the anti-establishment choice, and its message that EU membership has handed political control to Brussels and fueled mass immigration appears to have struck a chord with many Britons.
While Remain can count on well-known faces from sport and entertainment for backing, the Leave camp has outstripped its rival in terms of donations. The campaigns for Britain to quit the EU received 16 million pounds ($23.5 million) in donations between Feb. 1 and June 9, while “In” campaigns received 12 million pounds.The Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaderships all backed the bill after it cleared the House of Lords on Monday.
It paves the way for the first gay and lesbian wedding ceremonies to take place next summer.
MPs decided not oppose a number of minor changes to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill and it is now expected to receive Royal Assent later this week
Among the changes agreed by peers were protections for transgender couples which will allow people to change sex and remain married.
There will also be a review of whether belief organisations such as the Humanists will be allowed to carry out marriages, while ministers said they were prepared to look at eliminating any difference in the treatment of gay couples when it came to pension schemes.
During the two hour debate in the Commons tonight, Tory former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth accused the Government of bulldozing the "wretched" legislation through Parliament despite it offending large swathes of the Conservative Party.
Sir Gerald, who previously said the "aggressive homosexual community who see this as but a stepping stone to something even further", warned people who do not agree with gay weddings could feel inhibited from expressing their true views on marriage.
He said: "I have to say that it is astonishing that a Bill for which there is absolutely no mandate, against which a majority of Conservatives voted against, has been bulldozed through both Houses and just two hours of debate tonight is an absolute parliamentary disgrace.
"I think the Government should think very carefully in future if they want the support of these benches, offending large swathes of the Conservative Party is not a good way of going about it."
Sir Gerald added: "I do advise the House to be very careful. There are lots of people out there now who despite all that's been said here will feel unable or inhibited from expressing their true opinions that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
"Because we live in a politically correct society and it's going to be very interesting to see what happens to teachers. How many teachers will feel able to express their views even in denominational schools for fear of upsetting their political masters and might lose their jobs?"
Openly gay Tory former crime minister Nick Herbert said Sir Gerald's use of the phrase "aggressive homosexuals" took freedom of expression "to an unreasonable extent".
Mr Herbert said it would be intolerable to talk of "aggressive blacks" or "aggressive Jews".
Lynne Featherstone MP (left centre), Ben Summerskill, (centre) and Jochanan Senf, (right centre) with a one metre tall wedding cake, in front of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London to celebrate the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill (PA)
He said the Bill had not been "bulldozed through" the House but was voted through by considerable majorities in the Lords and the Commons and reflected a fundamental change in attitudes for the better.
In an impassioned speech, Mr Herbert said: "I must say to Sir Gerald that it also behoves those who call for freedom of speech to ensure that words they choose are temperate and reasonable.
"And although words may not and should not become a matter for the criminal law, when phrases are used such as 'aggressive homosexuals', which is the phrase Sir Gerald used in an earlier part of this debate, that took freedom of expression to an unreasonable extent which did cause offence."
Addressing Sir Gerald's concerns about freedom of speech for teachers who did not want to teach children about same-sex relationships, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said:"The title of this Bill might be marriage but its fabric is about freedom and respect.
"Freedom to marry regardless of sexuality or gender but also freedom to believe marriage should be of one man with one woman and not be marginalised – clear affirmation that as a nation respect for each and every person is paramount regardless of age, religion, gender, ethnicity or sexuality."
She added: "Extending marriage to same-sex couples changes nothing in respect of freedom of speech.
"That is why in relation to other questions around the operation of the Equality Act 2010, and in particular the position of employees and teachers, we are clear that further changes to the law are not necessary and could indeed be harmful by casting doubt where none currently exists."An A Rating from the NRA… But An F in Geography
Maine’s Question 3
New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg has been hard at work this election, with his pro-gun control non-profit group Everytown for Gun Safety The non-profit was originally founded in 2014 with partnership with Moms Demand Action. Since then, the group has been at war with the National Rifle Association, mirroring some of the pro-gun rights group’s political tactics – like endorsing candidates and ballot initiatives and airing political ads.It was only a matter of time until the two diametrically opposed groups started aiming their attacks at one another directly – with this ad focused on Maine, which faces crucial gun control legislation on this year’s November Ballot.The ad opens up with a bourgeoisie narrator saying “The New Yorkers are here, and they’re trying to tell Mainers how to live.” But as a silhouette of the “New York” skyline opens up on the screen, one can soon see The Transamerica Pyramid, the Oakland Bay Bridge, the 555 California building... and then it becomes obvious that this skyline is from another big liberal city – San Francisco. The NRA did throw the Statue of Liberty in there for good measure though.The ad continues attacking former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for “spending $3 million dollars to try and boss Mainers around with Question 3 this election.” The narrator is referring to a citizen-initiated referendum question on Maine’s ballot this November that would require a background check for all gun transfers in the state, with some exceptions.The NRA explains further, “Let’s say you loan your neighbor a shotgun. You would both have to drive to a dealer and get permission. If you don’t – jail.”“Question 3 will not make Maine safer,” the narrator concludes. “It just puts the New York billionaires in charge of your life.” The San Francisco skyline takes up the screen one more time.Maine’s Question 3 has gained some national recognition, as other states like Nevada are looking at similar universal background check legislation. If these laws are successful, Maine and Nevada would join 11 other states that require universal background checks.NEW DELHI: The tax department has asked banks to report deposits in any account aggregating Rs 10 lakh in a year, as well as cash payments of Rs 1 lakh or more on credit card bills.In a January 17 notification, the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) listed cash transactions which need to be reported to tax authorities and set up an e-platform for doing so.It reiterated its November 2016 instruction asking banks to report all cash deposits of Rs 2.5 lakh or more made in one or more accounts of a person during November 9 to December 30, 2016.Post demonetisation of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, the government had allowed the junked currency to be deposited in bank accounts during a 50-day window ending December 30, 2016."Cash deposits during the period November 9, 2016 to December 30, 2016 aggregating to Rs 12.50 lakh or more in one or more current account of a person (and) Rs 2.5 lakh or more in one or more account (other than a current account) of a person" will have to be reported to tax authorities, it said.Also, cash deposits during April 1, 2016 to November 9, 2016 in any account that are reportable should also be intimated to the the tax authorities by January 31, 2017, the notification said.It made it mandatory for a banking company or a cooperative bank to report cash deposits aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year, in one or more accounts (other than a current account and time deposit) of a person.Payments made by any person of an amount aggregating to Rs one lakh or more in cash towards credit card dues will have to be reported. Also to be reported are Rs 10 lakh or more of payments made by any mode (including cheque or wire transfer) to settle credit card dues in a financial year, CBDT said.It made a company or institution issuing bonds or debentures to mandatory report receipt from any person an amount aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year for acquiring bonds or debentures.A similar limit was set for reporting purchase of shares and mutual funds."Buy back of shares from any person (other than the shares bought in the open market) for an amount or value aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year" will need to be reported by a listed company, the notification said.Purchase of foreign exchange including travellers cheque and a forex card aggregating to Rs 10 lakh would have to be reported to tax authorities.Property registrar will have to report to tax authorities "purchase or sale by any person of immovable property for an amount of Rs 30 lakh or more."Also, cash payment exceeding Rs 2 lakh for sale of goods or services of any nature would also have to be reported, the CBDT said.One or more time deposits (other than a time deposit made through renewal of another time deposit) of a person aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year of a person will also need to be reported, the CBDT said.Payment made in cash for purchase of bank drafts or pay orders or banker's cheque of an amount aggregating Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year as well as payments made in cash aggregating Rs 10 lakh or more during a year for purchase of pre-paid instruments issued by RBI need to be reported.A banking company or a cooperative bank would also have to report cash deposits or cash withdrawals (including via bearer's cheque) aggregating Rs 50 lakh or more in a financial year, in or from one or more current account of a person.The 51st volume of Kadokawa's Dengeki Bunko Magazine revealed on Tuesday that the new original video anime (OVA) series adaptation of Gakuto Mikumo's Strike the Blood light novels will have four two-episode volumes, with the first volume slated for DVD and Blu-ray Disc release on November 23. The OVA will start by depicting the story in the ninth light novel volume (cover shown right), and will take place in Blue Elysium, a resort facility near Itogami Island.
The second volume is slated for December 21, the third on March 29, and the fourth on April 26. The first volume's home video release will include the creditless opening and ending sequence, as well as a booklet containing annotations, an original story by Mikumo, and a manga.
The magazine shows the draft character designs for Kiriha Kisaki and Yume Eguchi, who first appear in the ninth light novel volume. Kadokawa published the ninth novel volume in October 2013.
The school action fantasy story of Strike The Blood begins with Kojō Akatsuki (voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya in the earlier television anime), a boy deemed the "fourth progenitor" — the world's most powerful vampire, once thought to only exist in legend and lore. In the Itogamijima special zone for demons, a girl named Yukina Himeragi (Risa Taneda) is entrusted with watching over |
town called "the jungle," right in the heart of San Jose.
JUST WATCHED Opinion: Meet the children of Silicon Valley's 'Jungle' Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Opinion: Meet the children of Silicon Valley's 'Jungle' 06:57
'Moral shame' of Silicon Valley
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told me these inequities are the "moral shame" of Silicon Valley. He's right, but there's little sign the valley's millionaires and billionaires see it that way.
True, some of the richest people in tech are quite generous. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, for example, lists three Silicon Valley tech billionaires among its top 10 American donors of 2014. Those three men -- Jan Koum of WhatsApp, Sergey Brin of Google and Nicholas Woodman of GoPro -- donated a combined $1.4 billion to charity that year alone. They should be commended for it. But much of that money goes outside Silicon Valley, leaving local nonprofits strapped for cash and unable to meet the needs of the homeless and hungry.
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which holds $6.5 billion in assets and is the main target of the valley's big donors, gave less than 46% of its 2014 grants to organizations in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, which includes Silicon Valley as well as seven additional counties. The foundation's CEO, Emmett Carson, told me the mix of global and local donations reflects the diversity and priorities of the Silicon Valley community. Carson also contends the actual amount of the local donations is still sizable: $216 million.
It is, but it's also clearly not enough.
While there are countless worthy causes around the world, I find it hugely upsetting that poverty and homelessness are allowed to persist in Silicon Valley amid such jaw-dropping wealth. Especially since Big Tech helps exacerbate these local problems.
This is more the fault of the donors than the foundation. Ninety percent of the contributions given to the foundation are put into donor-advised funds, according to Carson. The donor gets a tax break immediately -- and can decide later how and where to spend the money, as long as it goes to a nonprofit.
"(Facebook CEO Mark) Zuckerberg gave a billion to the community foundation, and it's sitting there," said Peter Hero, founder and principal of the Hero Group and former CEO of the community foundation's predecessor organization. "It's actually sitting on Wall Street. It's not going out. (Zuckerberg) hasn't decided what to do with it."
(Foundation spokeswoman Sue McAllister told me at least $225 million of Zuckerberg's $990 million donation has been allocated, including $75 million to a San Francisco hospital, $120 million to Bay Area schools and $5 million to the Ravenswood Family Health Center in East Palo Alto, California.)
"Being a good neighbor is extremely important to Facebook," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "It's not just about philanthropy but listening to and working with the larger community to improve and revitalize the local area we share. Facebook and its executives have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to over 50 local organizations, but we understand it's not just about money. Facebook's employees lead by example in sharing time, knowledge and access."
'Death by a thousand cuts'
It's true philanthropy alone won't fix Silicon Valley's problems.
In addition to funding solutions, however, the area's most influential people -- the billionaires who design our smartphones and shape the digital world -- also could throw some more hip behind smart policies that would help people survive.
That lobbying should start with affordable housing. Silicon Valley suffers from an incredible dearth of housing stock, in part because of its geography. Located south of San Francisco, the valley is hemmed by mountains and ocean on the west and mountains on the east. In response to my reporting on child poverty in Silicon Valley, many readers suggested poor people should just leave the valley.
That's offensive and impossible for two reasons: There's no place to go but the Central Valley of California, which is largely agricultural and would result in an expensive, two-hour commute; and because Silicon Valley needs low-wage workers, both to function economically and to be a diverse, inclusive society. It can't operate as a valley of programmers.
The valley's municipalities, meanwhile, have been negligently slow to allow new housing developments. In one particularly shocking example, which the San Jose Mercury News detailed in 2013, voters in Palo Alto rejected a 60-unit apartment complex for low-income seniors.
Some of this is structural. There are about 100 municipal entities in the Bay Area, said Egon Terplan, regional planning director at SPUR, a nonprofit that deals with urban planning issues. Each seems to be hoping that someone else will allow denser, taller housing developments. But none of them, with the possible exception of Redwood City, in Silicon Valley, wants to allow it.
"It's a death (by) a thousand cuts," he said.
It's also about attitudes, which, again, are shaped by the big players in tech.
'Silicon Valley is becoming Aspen'
The tech companies "have these record profits and are really driving the cost of living up," said Maria Noel Fernandez, campaign director for Silicon Valley Rising, a grassroots and labor movement pushing for economic justice in the valley. "Just as we would expect any other piece of our community to respond when something is not working for the vast majority, I think there is a responsibility for these tech companies to engage in conversation and to be part of the solution -- and to really be a part of this community. There's a sense that the headquarters of these companies are these little islands. They're such different worlds."
Many of the valley's engineers ride company-owned buses to a company-owned "campus," where they get a free company-funded lunch at a company-owned cafeteria. These employees typically work long hours -- and then ride the company bus back home.
Like many hardworking people in transplant cities, they have few roots in the community and often know remarkably little about it. It's as if the tech giants have manufactured a way to keep employees from caring about the people and places around them.
It's a phenomenon Fernandez calls "occupational segregation."
And the outcome isn't pretty.
"Silicon Valley is becoming Aspen," Peter Hero, the philanthropist, told me. "It's becoming a region of rich people and its servants, and it shouldn't be that way. There's not a sense of community. There's not a sense of civic engagement and civic responsibility...
"We need people to participate -- to serve on the board of the food bank, to serve on the board of the preschool association. If everyone did, we wouldn't have a problem. They'd see the issues first hand... (But) there isn't that sense of volunteerism and engagement."
Bill Somerville, founder of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, and another major player in Silicon Valley philanthropy, agrees. He told me it's "very easy, on the peninsula, to isolate yourself from poverty."
"The big question is, 'What is Silicon Valley doing with regards to poverty in its midst?' " he said. "I don't think (the big tech companies) can say they're doing much."
In an e-mailed statement, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company donated $50 million to Standord's hospitals; supports technology in schools; and matches employee donations to charitable organizations, including making donations when employees volunteer.
Google spokeswoman Meghan Casserly, meanwhile, said in an e-mailed statement that, "Thousands of Googlers call the Bay Area home, and we want to be good neighbors. Since 2010 we've given more than $100 million to local nonprofits and employees have volunteered thousands of hours in the community; we're excited to be expanding that work in 2015."
Google also says it has a policy of matching employee donations. Employees, for example, donated $1.3 million to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties last holiday season.
Tami Cardenas, vice president of development and marketing for the food bank, told me many of the valley's tech executives and employees are "incredibly generous," and that companies, many in tech, provided 18% of the organization's $32.5 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending in June 2014.
Other nonprofits feel far less supported. And it remains true that "there are a lot of hungry kids, and there are a lot of hungry people in these counties," Cardenas said.
'Silicon Valley Rising'
There are reasons for hope, however.
One is Fernandez and the Silicon Valley Rising movement
Protesters have helped persuade Big Tech to provide better wages and benefits for some of the lower-income workers who support its operations -- the janitors, security guards and bus drivers. In recent months, Apple and Google announced they would bring many contract security guards onto their payrolls, giving them a bump in wages and benefits. The companies also are giving raises to contract bus drivers. And contract bus drivers for Facebook, meanwhile, voted to unionize.
These companies "were not receptive at the beginning, but the fact they have made this movement makes me more hopeful than I would have been if you talked to me four months ago ago," Fernandez said. "It's clear (economic justice) is not going to happen magically. We're going to have to demand it, and we're going to have to work for it."
Such efforts should include a push for a "Silicon Valley minimum wage," an idea supported by Terplan, from the regional planning group. The fragmented mosaic of wage laws is confusing and unfair to workers. NPR's Planet Money reported on a mall in Silicon Valley that actually paid two different minimum wages within the same building. The mall splits the line between the communities of San Jose and Santa Clara, according to the report, and each of those municipalities paid a different minimum wage.
'A race to the bottom'
Another bright spot is Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, based in San Francisco. He's been an outspoken critic of the tech industry's cool indifference to economic inequalities.
"As practiced today, capitalism too often becomes a race to the bottom," he wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed. "In low-growth economies, a focus on earnings-per-share is leading to more unemployment and deepening inequality. According to Oxfam, the richest 1% in the world are expected to hold more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016. In fact, today just 80 individuals account for the same amount of wealth as more than 3.5 billion people. Imagine what would happen if those 80 individuals made a simple decision to give a large portion of their wealth back before they die? What progress could we make?"
More progress than we're currently making, certainly.
Better still would be taxing these companies and individuals fairly, and using the money to help reduce economic inequality. Bloomberg News found in March that the eight biggest tech companies " added a combined $69 billion to their stockpiled offshore profits over the past year " -- in theory to avoid higher tax rates in the United States. Not all of the companies are located in Silicon Valley, but Apple ($69.7 billion offshore in total) and Google ($47.4 billion offshore) are listed as among the biggest offenders.
"The difference with Silicon Valley is we're the one region in the country that could actually eliminate child poverty -- because of the amount of accumulated wealth," said Raj Jayadev, from the group Silicon Valley De-Bug, which raises awareness about poverty and other social justice issues in the valley. "If we don't take that opportunity, you sorta wonder what the larger point of Silicon Valley is."
The point seems to be for a few people to get wildly rich.
And, consequently, to drive low- and middle-income people away.
It doesn't have to be like that. Silicon Valley can afford to fix these problems. It just needs to open its eyes and then do what it's known to do best: Create another future.A team of Boston and European scientists have found evidence for a “female protective effect’’ in autism that could explain why boys are at far greater risk for the disorder than girls.
For years, it’s been known that boys are disproportionately affected by autism spectrum disorders, outnumbering girls four to one. What has never been clear is the reason for the gender imbalance: were males more biologically suspectable, or were females somehow insulated from the disorder and its suite of communication and behavioral problems? In a study published Monday, scientists studied thousands of pairs of twins and found evidence that supports the idea that females are protected.
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What remains to be done is the difficult task of pinpointing the biological reasons that underlie the gender imbalance, which could provide clues about how to prevent or treat the disorder.
“The first step is to understand what is going on. The question is whether being a girl actually truly prevents one from manifesting symptoms of autism,’’ said Elise Robinson, an instructor in analytic and translational genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School who led the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers used two large databases of thousands of fraternal twins that included information about autistic behaviors, including problems with social interactions, communication, and repetitive behaviors. Since the siblings share similar genetic risk factors and environmental exposures, studying the autistic traits the children in each family had was one way of trying to isolate the role gender could play in the disorder.
What the researchers found was a clear signal that girls were protected; in other words, females needed to have a greater burden of familial risk factors in order to manifest classical autistic behaviors. The researchers figured that out by comparing the siblings of two groups: girls whose behaviors put them in the top 10th percentile of autistic behaviors and boys who were similarly ranked. If gender had a protective effect, the researchers would expect girls to be more likely to have a sibling with autistic traits than boys in the same group. That’s because girls would need more familial risk factors to overcome the protective effect, and those same risk factors would also be experienced by their siblings.
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John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusettts Institute of Technology, said that the study was striking because it shows evidence that something biological — in the genes or environment — is “muting’’ autistic traits in girls.
“It’s worth studying, practically, because it is so impressive. Because if you understood some of these mechanisms, maybe it would be a suggestion of a treatment for boys or prevention for boys, or a naturally-occurring preventive treatment,’’ Gabrieli said.
The big follow-up question is what factors could be protecting females from autism. That will be trickier to discern. Robinson said that she hopes to first take the suite of genetic risk factors that are beginning to emerge, each underlying a tiny fraction of autism risk, and go back to examine them in large populations, to see if known genetic risk factors cause greater risk to boys than girls.
She also said that it’s possible that autism in females may encompass different traits.
“The other option is being a girl changes the way a lot of these behaviors are manifested, so girls who are at risk may be protected from showing these traits that are extremely typical of autism as it is currently defined,’’ Robinson said. “But they might show different behaviors or have different types of behavior problems we don’t understand yet, and I think it’s important to tease things apart.’’Home prices have crashed. Interest rates are at all-time lows. If you're in the market to buy, homes are more affordable than they've been in years.
Or are they? An interesting counterargument was made by analysts Andrew Davidson and Alexander Levin of consulting firm Andrew Davis & Co. this week. By their reckoning, homes are barely more affordable today than they were at the peak of the housing bubble.
How? Because there's more to the cost of buying a house than home prices and interest rates. There's a down payment, too. During the housing bubble five or six years ago you could "buy" a home with no money down. Today you'll likely need a 20% down payment before a bank will look at you. Factor that in, and it takes about the same financial effort to buy a house today as it did in 2007.
Some background: In 2005, the median down payment was 2% of a home's value. Nearly half of first-time homebuyers bought homes with no money down. In California, 60% of mortgages were interest-only or negative amortization.
That's all changed, as this report from The Wall Street Journal showed last year:
The median down payment in nine major U.S. cities rose to 22% last year on properties purchased through conventional mortgages.... That percentage doubled in three years and represents the highest median down payment since the data were first tracked in 1997.
This is how it should be, of course. A 20% down payment (at least) had been the norm before the housing bubble. In the 1950s, homeowners had more than 70% equity in their homes, financing only a small portion with mortgages. By 2006 that fell to 55%, and now sits at around 36% after the housing bust.
Going back to a sane world where large down payments are necessary changes a lot of perceptions about housing. The weight of writing a large check has to be taken into consideration to get the true cost of buying a home. And it's not just coming up with a chunk of cash that poses a burden. The opportunity cost of tying that money up in a house has to be included, too.
Here's a true story from someone I know who bought a house in the early 1990s and paid all cash. Let's say the house was purchased for $100,000, and sold in 2010 for $160,000 (I've changed the numbers, but the percentage increase the owner experienced was the same). In the 17 years the house was owned, the owner paid $18,000 in property taxes, $13,000 in homeowners insurance, and spent $15,000 for repairs and upkeep. In total, they got back just about every penny they put into the house, plus a little extra. They basically got a free place to live. That's great! Had they rented a similar house for 17 years, they would have spent something like $200,000 on rent. They clearly came out ahead.
But hold on. Had they put their $100,000 down payment in a simple Dow Jones (INDEX: ^DJI) index fund, their investment would have been worth more than $400,000 in 2010 (including dividends). That's the opportunity cost of their down payment. Yes, there are intangible benefits of homeownership like security and social standing. But financially, these people would have actually been better off renting, even after paying capital-gains taxes on their stock investment. I suspect this is true for millions of homeowners across the country.
Now, most people don't pay all cash, so the opportunity cost of the down payment isn't as large. But running through the exercise is important regardless of how much you're putting down. A 20% down payment is a lot of money for almost anyone buying a house. The average home in America now sells for $272,000, so a 20% down payment totals about $55,000. The median household net worth, meanwhile, was $67,000 in 2010, suggesting the average homeowner needs to tie up a tremendous amount of their net worth in a down payment. Can you really afford to part with that much of your savings? Is it money you might otherwise need for an emergency fund, or saving for college tuition? Would it be better off somewhere else? There's a real cost of sinking that money into a house that can't be ignored.
This is especially true when you detach yourself from the widely held belief that housing will make a good investment over the long run. As famed Yale housing economist Robert Shiller told me in an interview last year, that's just not the case:The Russians and Democrats are not the same. I’ve actually known honorable Russians.
In 1991 I met a man from the USSR named Valentin Suchkov. I was working with a Ukrainian trading company in Cincinnati, headed by a man named Vechilev, from Kharkov. Mr Suchkov was leading a trade delegation from Gorkiy, a well-known “closed city” and the internal exile home of the Soviet refusenik, Andrei Sakharov, who had only died the year before in Moscow. Vechilev only told me that Mr Suchkov headed an oil and gas company in Russia and was using his firm to sign blank invoices for services rendered that would allow them to buy American gifts for family back home.
A short, stocky man, a little disheveled, we shook hands and gnarlier hands I’d never gripped. An engineer I guessed, those hands signified years of handling heavy drilling tools, not the typical executive type you’d expect to see in America. I gave him my card, which was called “Retrotechnology” at the time, and after it was read to him, he asked it meant. He spoke no English, so everything was translated by Vechilov. I explained that I helped developing economies acquire older, retired production processes in the US, where they would be a generation or two more advanced than what were currently used in various countries. I explained there were many opportunities in Asia, with which I was familiar, but there could also be many in the USSR now that Perestroika was in full swing.
He seemed interested, so we shook hands again, and he left to meet his delegation, no doubt for a raid on Home Depot. Next day Vechilov called to say Mr Suchkov would like to have dinner, and could I join him? I met them at the old Rookwood Pottery Restaurant (now closed I’m told) and we had a nice friendly meal over vodka, wine and fine beef. Mr Suchkov quizzed me about “biznez in Amerika”. We talked for maybe two hours.
Then we shook hands, and I drove back across the river, and he winged his way home to the USSR.
Later that year, 1991, one of the silent partners of the Ukrainian firm, a lawyer, offered me the opportunity to spend three months in Ukraine. I would be working with a “red biznez” private bank in Kharkov, (one of Gorbachev’s efforts at private investment) to make contacts for their trading company. A great opportunity, I closed my office and was in the USSR at a very historical time, from December 1991 thru March, 1992. I got to see the Hammer and Sickle taken down all over the empire, and heard them sing “Svoboda Ukraina” a thousand times in Ukraine. I was one of the few unattached private Americans in the USSR at that period of history. It was very heady and frightening for a lot, especially around Leningrad, Moscow and Odessa, where there were always stories of automatic gunfire. I first met Moses Sands there, (who gave me this non de plume) in the then-famous Moscow McDonalds, which began a long friendship until he died. I also had an old friend, a Russian linguist with the Defense Attache’s office, who would keep me up on the diplomatic corp’s worries about the pending breakup of the country.
In mid-January, the bank president in Kharkov came to me and said that Mr Suchkov, of Gazprom in Gorkiy, wanted me to come and spend a few days with him there. “How do you know this man?” he asked. I explained our meetings in Cincinnati. Mr Suchkov would meet me at the rail station in Moscow, was all he said.
About rail travel in the USSR, I traveled several times, always on overnight sleepers. I had to be escorted with a Soviet national everywhere, since, even though I could read the language, I couldn’t speak it, and would have to pay full “foreign fare” if discovered by the several large women they sent around to collect the tickets as the train pulled out of the station. Always dressed to the nines, I was told to sit over by the window, with a pissed-off, superior frown on my face while my valet showed her our tickets. Worked every time. Instead of $200, a First Class overnight fare was about $20.
The trip to Moscow was uneventful and we arrived late morning. I gathered my bag, and Sergei, my regular escort who always used the occasion of one of my trips to Moscow to spend a little afternoon delight with his girl friend before taking the 3rd class sleeper back to Kharkov, we walked out to the back door that looked onto the parking lot. It was bitter cold, probably six inches of old snow. I spotted a long stretch Black Maria skid to a stop about 100 feet away, and a short stocky man, with no coat, only a white shirt and tie, and a wild look in his eye, jump from the back seat, search the station ramp, spy me, then rush up like a wild man, grab my hand, then proceed to kiss me. Right on the mouth. Turning to Sergei, shaking his hand, almost gratefully, that he had gotten me there safely, he basically said “I can take it from here” and dismissed Sergei.
In all the days I spent with Mr Suchkov, he never even told me about his Party rank, and only once or twice even displayed it. He was an oil and gas engineer in the fourth most powerful city in the Soviet Union. I spent four days learning just how powerful he was.
The driver’s name was Sasha, the patronymic (nickname) for Alexander. And the car was either a GAZ Chaika or a ZIL. We always called them Black Maria’s, long black limos. There was a sliding privacy window between front and back seat, a television and intercom system, a back seat with plenty of leg room, and a small pull down seat facing to the back, for a translator. Our translator was named Rolf (real name Vladimir) who spoke with an English accent. We became great friends as I did 90% of my talking the entire week through Rolf.
The distance between Moscow and Gorkiy (recently changed to its pre-Stalin name of Nizhni Novgorod) was 265 miles, which in the best of times, is close to 7 hours (do the math) over a highway that, in snow-plowed mid-winter, took over 9 hours, with almost no traffic. And not even the comfort of house or street lights from the black landscape to the right or left.
We spoke of many things, but as I relearned many times over the years, like southern Americans (versus urban northerners) Russians, and east Europeans of almost every stripe, want to get to know you before talking biznez. Russians perception of Americans is that we all-biznez, and therefore dull.
Those first 2 hours, we shared pictures. My sons, one in college, both swimmers (ah “plovim”) his son and daughter, both in their 20s, his wife, Sonja, a great cook (as I found out), and his dacha, which he kept closed up in the winter. Rolf, the translator was probably 25, a really great kid, told me he had been trained in English-English instead of American-English, yet his favorite music was Metallica and Jethro Tull. And could I find him some albums? (Which I did.)
It gets late very early in Russia in winter, so most of our drive to Gorkiy was in pitch black, over roads almost empty of traffic. And a landscape that was like you were traveling through a 200 mile long graveyard….with no moon. We stopped twice, the first at an unlit resort with a log-cabin North Woods façade. Not a vehicle, not a light, the owner has obviously been notified ahead that we were coming, because the lights came on, and we were ushered into the dining room, and were waited on by the owner. It was then I realized the power of Mr Suchkov, who could call ahead and have a person open his establishment just so four people could drop in the middle of winter, have a couple of drinks, soup and whatever sort of kielbasa he had in the fridge and then be on their way.
Although I didn’t make the comparison then, Mr Suchkov treated this business owner as Donald Trump has been said to treat his own staff, and I was taken by his informality, neither Jersey bossy, nor Massachusetts condescending. More like Chicago stock-yards, been-there-done-that familiarity, the way you’d expect a man with gnarly hands to behave.
Back in the car, we stopped at Vladimir, near midnight, just to take photos of the gates of the city. Vladimir is the religious capital of Russia, from when the Mongols invaded, and Christians prayed that their churches would be spared, and they were. It was a “permitted” religious pilgrimage during all the communist years. Our Lady of Vladimir is one of the most sacred of icons, and my wife has one.
Mr Suchkov and I talked the rest of the way, a couple of gulps of vodka making him more relaxed. But we discussed philosophy, not biznez. He grabbed my hand, and Rolf said, “He wishes to tell you a secret.” He was a poet, only no one knew it. I asked him to recite one for me, so, still holding my hand, recited a melancholy piece, (but what Russian poem isn’t?) and Rolf translated. So then I recited the ancient Japanese saying that every man is composed of four men; the public man, the professional man, the private man and finally, the man that is known only unto himself. He kissed me again, only not on the mouth. He held my hands in his hands, and asked if we could sing songs,. Sure. And he sang a really sad song about hard lives on the Volga. Trying to liven things up, I added a spritely version of “Buffalo Gals” and we finished with me doing the bass overbeat while he and Rolf sang the dirge of the Volga Boatmen.
At home at about 2 AM, it would be the next night before I would meet his son and daughter, who shared a bedroom in a small 2-story walkup….1600 sq ft, tops. His wife Iliana was there to greet me, along with a (2-yr old) wolf breed named Ling. Who hated me, and bit me the first time I put my hand out to pet him, and every other time my hand was exposed, which it generally was when I slept, while he stood sentinel.
They put me to bed on the couch in the living room, which was the only available bed. I asked myself how can a man with such power have to live in such meagre surroundings? Of course, the best answer is appearances, which communism still demands. But it was fun, at 7AM, to stand in line for the bathroom for the first time in 25 years,
Sasha picked us up at 9 AM after poached eggs, toast and coffee. The GAZPROM central office was not large, Suchkov had a private office with a private entrance, which we entered from the hallway. We then went out to meet his secretary, where a giant photo of Lenin loomed, and a smaller one of General Secretary Gorbachev. Through another double-door was the conference room, where, inside milled around about 20 men, who snapped to attention when Suchkov came in. He introduced me, then each man came up to shake my hand and say his name. They were the regional managers of his company. Every Soviet ethnicity was represented there.
It appears this was a scheduled manager’s meeting, and I was privileged to sit in on it.
Soviet conference rooms are universal by design, and I suspect they haven’t changed, where there are two long conference tables running parallel to one another, capped with the Director General’s desk at the head, elevated about 18″ on a platform, signifying rank. I sat just next to Suchkov, as he talked to his managers, and Rolf translated in whispers. It sounded very routine. After an hour or so, we broke for tea and cakes, and I asked Suchkov about the size of the territory his company delivered natural gas services to. He reached behind him, and pulled down a large map. About 60 million customers, in an area about the size of France, the entire Volga River drainage, down to Volgograd (Stalingrad) to where it drained into the Caspian Sea.
Rolf then escorted me out of the room and gave me a tour of the complex, models of equipment in glass enclosures. In any culture this is called “killing time.”
After about two hours Mr Suchkov re-emerged and we went back to the car, but without Rolf. Mr Suchkov said, in broken English, “I show you Kremlin,” Almost every major centre in Russia has a Kremlin, a citadel that signified the center of government. Gorkiy’s was on high ground, and over-looked the Volga, captured here by my camera in January 1992, the river frozen.
The Kremlin was completely snowed over, unplowed, and may had grass or concrete underneath. The length of a football field, we began to walk around it, twice around, me in regular shoes and only a wool suit and raincoat. My toes froze on the first lap. Why we did this I never knew, for Suchkov spoke to me in very broken English…but about capitalism, not biznez. Perhaps he wanted to be where there were no listening devices. I tried to explain in my best broken English my limited Adam Smith rendering of free markets. This was not a nuts-and-bolts Q & A, carried out on a primary school level, but a leap into esoteric notions. And it took awhile for me to catch on to what he was trying to lead up to.
Back in the car, Rolf said they had a special treat for me, that Mr Suchkov had ordered a Finnish bathhouse opened up several miles upriver. After a small meal, and about 30 miles (almost 2 hours) over a plowed one-lane path, we pulled into a small parking lot of three pine-log buildings, flumes of smoke coming out of the larger one. We went into a changing area, where Mr Suchkov’s engineers already were sitting, partaking of vodka and sausages,. We went into small rooms, changed our clothes to long white towels, and joined the crew. Rolf didn’t change, telling me was asthmatic so couldn’t go into the sauna, and I would be on my own. The meal was, well, once-in-a-lifetime, 20 naked men in towels, passing toasts and chewing on kielbasa, all from a thousand miles in every direction, with friends they likely saw only 2-3 times a year. It was cheery, a cacophony of language I couldn’t understand, but was just glad to be a part of, a few began tracking out, 2-3 at a time, across the 20 feet or so into the main sauna. A large room, which could have accommodated three times our group’s size, with two tiers of all-wood slat-board seats, with room to sit or lay down.
In answer to my first worry about protocol, having never been in a real Finnish bath before, the engineers had all dropped their towels and used them for seating mats over the boards or as one would a beach blanket. I was told that it was best to stay inside only thirty minutes, then go across to the changing shack for more food and vodka, where Rolf was diligently standing by, and we talked. Mr Suchkov was talking with his managers. After perhaps 10 minutes, more sausage and a shot of vodka, I returned to hot room and sat down. Oh, there were birch twigs? Mr Suchkov came up and showed me how to swat and be swatted, with easy stokes over the back. It seemed sort of gay to me, only was a thousand year old tradition. After a few minutes, Mr Suchkov suddenly jumped up, and called me by my first name, and said, “Come, follow me”. Like a wood nymph he jumped up and charged though the front door, buck naked, as was I, took a hard left, and ran maybe fifty feet to a clearing of open snow, suddenly stopped, turned and fell backwards, summoning me to follow. By the time I hit the icy snow he was already making snow angels. He just as suddenly jumped back up, and was back in the sauna house. me lagging behind. In an out in maybe two minutes.
Next day, after a second night of Ling hovering over me, and snapping if I exposed my hand from under the cover, Mr Suchkov had arranged for us to travel to a small town called Semonov, some miles north of Gorkiy, The town is famous for its crafts, which even Americans would be familiar, the nesting dolls, or matroishkas, and the high-end Khlokhoma factory, where were produced the USSR’s most notable cultural export, lacquer artwork.
But Semonov itself was a place of interest for unlike Soviet towns that had been turned into concrete Cabrini Greens, the town had its own signature, where every house was in competition with the next house, and the next, just by the colors they painted the house, and the display of the window shudders. It was a kaleidoscope of colors.
I could write a thousand words on my visit to both factories, for they were symbols for Russian arts abroad and in the Soviet bloc as well. In Bulgaria, where I later spent many years, Semonovas, or Semonov nesting dolls were dismissed as “mass produced” only they weren’t. Every part of the dolls were hand-painted, And I got to shake the hand of everyone in the production line, from the fellow who hollowed out the wood, then put in a kiln, to the ladies who painted each mark.
In anticipation of better things for the New Russia, Mr Suchkov wanted me to share my ideas how these factories might improve. He introduced me to the Directors Generals of both factories and we were able to discuss reaching broader markets.
On the ride back to Gorkiy, Mr Suchkov spoke to Sasha, redirecting him to a small cluster of apartment buildings. We parked some distance away from one building, and after speaking to Rolf, Rolf told me that we would visit one of the buildings, where was housed the apartment of Andrei Sakharov, who had been exiled there for close to 7 years, 1980-1986. It had only been opened as a landmark in late 1990. The place was arranged as you might have found rooms at Monticello or Mount Vernon, roped off. But no visitors were there, just a lady at the front |
the complexity of his proposals. On the other hand, he noted that life may not be as miserable and brutish (as otherwise portrayed) if we were absent some of the technology currently delivered to us at a premium cost to the planet [283]. Amidst the optimism, he raised warning flags concerning unintended consequences. He placed them along a river-like course into which the tributaries of natural environments, biodiversity, microbial ecology, and quality of nutrition would flow. The ultimate destination of this collective current was toward generalized aspects of well-being, quality of life, and the promotion of personal and planetary health. He referred to this as humanistic biology and reminded his audiences that “even when man has become an urbane city dweller, the Paleolithic bull that survives in his inner self still paws the earth” [284]. A contemporary look at the work of Dubos would quickly reveal words such as these delivered to the World Health Organization’s 1969 Annual Assembly “Air, water, soil, fire and the natural rhythms and diversity of living species are important not only as chemical combinations, physical forces, or biological phenomena but also because it is under their influence that human life has been fashioned. They have created in man deep-rooted needs that will not change in any near future” [285]. In 1968, while addressing an audience at the United States National Institute of Mental Health, he suggested that shifting dietary practices in affluent nations would take its toll in the mental health realm: “It would be surprising if such acquired dietary habits, in addition to being physiologically objectionable, did not also have unfavorable behavioral manifestations.” Pushing it further, he stated that humans, should they continue to become disconnected from nature in the emerging technological society, would begin to resemble animals in captivity: “The domesticated farm animals and the laboratory rodents on controlled nutritional regimens in controlled environments will then become true models for the study of man.” [286], page 67]. That highly controlled, sanitized, and calorie-dense environment, we are now learning, is associated with the promotion of inflammation and chronic disease development [35]. Dubos was also concerned with the industrial or public policy application of technological endeavors made without consideration of unintended consequences. As a way to exemplify his concerns related to unbridled enthusiasm toward technology, he often referred to the primary theme of the 1933 World’s Fair—Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms. Here, we provide a primary quote from that 1933 Guidebook: “Science discovers, genius invents, industry applies, and man adapts himself to, or is molded by, new things…Man uses and it affects his environment, changes his whole habit of thought and of living. Individuals, groups, entire races of men fall into step with the slow or swift movement of the march of science and industry” [287]. Where does the swift portion of the march of science and industry meet with unintended consequences? For Dubos, the implications of such words within the Guidebook were obvious. His interpretation: “It implied that man must conform to the environment created by industry, instead of using science and technology to develop conditions really suited to fundamental human needs…it is not man which must conform to technology, but technology which must be made to conform to the human condition.” [288]. Decades before terms such as “biophilia,” “hygiene hypothesis,” “developmental origins of health and disease,” “green space,” “blue space,” “nutritional psychiatry,” “narcissism epidemic/empathy drought,” “intestinal microbiota ecology,” “microbial deprivation,” “fecal microbiota transplantation,” “epigenetics,” “biodiversity hypothesis,” “screen time,” “evolutionary mismatch,” et al. became popularized, Dubos was already directly (or indirectly by sewing together various strands of ideas and publications of his peers) researching, writing, and paving the way for these realms. For any researchers tempted to claim that trans-generational and/or social-behavioral interactions with microbiota and physiological end points are novel concepts, a read at his work on specific pathogen-free mice [167,289] would be a good starting point. His concerns about the future implications of these broad issues were sometimes based on published evidence, and at other times, they were self-admittedly of a speculative nature. Critics of the day pointed out that much of his positioning remained on the side of opinion rather than available evidence; however, they still understood his primary message. Renowned philosopher of science David L. Hull captured it in elegant fashion: “Although such gene pools can change over long stretches of time, the needs of humankind are so pressing that we can hardly pin our hopes on changes in our genetic endowment. If we are to survive, Dubos argues, we must exploit the plasticity of expression of our genetic endowment” [290]. Based on research outlined in this review, his forewarnings may have at least some contemporary scientific validation. Dubos began his scientific career in the most reductionist way possible—combing through countless soil microbes to get to the species which would help him synthesize a clinically relevant antibiotic. At the end of his life, he continued to underscore the necessity of the reductionist approach in experimental science. However, he was keenly aware of its limitations as a means to inform clinical relevancy to humans in their total environment. For Dubos, it was the interactions and synergy between micro- and macro-environmental variables that required more study. “Like other biological sciences, medicine is a complex structure resting on several supports. If it were limited to the art of the medical practitioner and to the reductionist philosophy of the biochemist, it would be a two-legged structure and would soon collapse through lack of balance and adequate support” [291]. Each of our three main sections—natural environments, nutrition, and microbes—are potentially intertwined. For example, lack of sensory experience (visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile) in natural environments could influence affect, cognitive restoration, stress resiliency, and sleep quality. In an environment where cognitive load and screen technology use is often high, this could very well influence dietary choices [292]. These dietary choices may, in turn, influence motivation and mood state [11]. Lack of experience in natural environments, or certain dietary patterns, may also influence individual microbial diversity. This, in turn, may have many health consequences. Lack of natural light and a compromised ability to secure normal circadian rhythms can interact with all of the above [243,248,293-297]. Physical activity, unquestionably of value to human health and well-being, may be more pleasurable in outdoor natural environments, with diminished perceptions of exertion and an increase in the likelihood that an individual will be motivated to engage in further physical activity [298-302]. Exercise therefore becomes yet another variable intertwined with dietary choices, affect, intestinal microbiota [303,304], natural environments, and so on. As surely as discussions concerning beneficial microbes and brain health were on the fringes in the early 2000s [89], the tide may also be turning in another marginalized conversation—the non-thermal biophysiological influences of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) [305-307]. The median of total radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in Austrian bedrooms has almost doubled between 2006–2012. Notably, analysis of all households showed higher loads (over 3× higher median) in urban than in rural areas [308]. What are the synergistic effects of EMR and environmental contaminants [309]? For now, we can only conclude that EMR exposure differs significantly from our ancestors; however, it would seem remarkable if an increasing human-generated EMR load had absolutely no consequences to life on Earth [310,311]. What are the psychological consequences of a collective deficiency of ancestral influences in the modern landscape? What is the fallout from more time indoors and less experience with variables associated with natural environments or parts thereof? The “less” we refer to is broad—it ranges from the diversity of birdsong and non-pathogenic microbes to the blue spectrum of daylight and varieties of vegetation around a residence. It includes less dietary diversity via loss of traditional foods and the diminishing phytochemicals within them. In the context of evolutionary experience, we consider these to be modern deficits. We wonder could this collective deficit manifest in a “disorder,” a sort of paleo-deficit disorder, that while not pathological per se, taps into unrealized quality of life, empathy, perspective taking, low-grade anxiety, psychological distress, resiliency, and negative mental outlook? Could this deficit accelerate an individual toward the checkmarks required for medicalized diagnoses? Might the collective deficit in “Paleolithic experiences” compromise an individual’s ability to maintain optimal emotional health and by extension, prevent optimal health of neighborhoods, cities, societies, and nations, especially those undergoing rapid urbanization? Please see Figure. Our primary concerns and questions are not dissimilar to those of Dubos. Open in a separate window The evidence discussed in this review forces many questions concerning the deeper level essentiality of natural environments and the elements within them. Trees, of course, remove millions of tonnes of airborne pollutants from cities each year [312]. Their presence can therefore diminish some of the direct effects of grey space, while at the same time adding to the benefits of microbial diversity. Yet, they appear to provide benefit at a much deeper psychological level. Dubos raised this possibility, and others like it, to scientific colleagues and the public 50 years ago. His concerns related to the mental health consequences of environmental degradation are no less relevant today. On the contrary, we consider them to be urgent. Future research in the area of environmental variables and mental health should consider the application of simple, validated instruments such as the Nature Relatedness (NR-6) [313] and scales of contentiousness [79]. For example, how might those who score high on nature relatedness differ in their dietary practices? Might dietary practices and frequency of “contact with biodiversity” influence their individual microbiome? How does a community-level nature relatedness interact with social capital and regional quality of life [314]? How does blue space influence urban mental health [315]? If mindfulness, contentiousness, and the ability to perceive nature’s beauty are essential components to achieving the maximal health benefits associated with natural environments [316-320], then it seems fair to ask if the technological society, as Dubos claimed, is compromising our ability to be mindful and capture those perceptions within such environments. The existing research, despite its many limitations, does suggest that natural environments and “access” to biodiversity (including microbial diversity) are indeed essential to public health, especially in urban settings. We need to learn more concerning the socioeconomic and political factors that influence ecosystem services and promote healthy cities (or perceptions of a healthy city) for all citizens [253]. This entails input from minorities, immigrants, and the socially disadvantaged. As others have pointed out, in this process, we cannot assume that simply adding “green” will provide a simple solution [321,322]. At the same time, we cannot assume that in the Gold Rush known as the microbiome, where so many are staking a claim, microbes will provide us with all the answers. Lest our own very broad discussion get confined to the all-microbe zeitgeist, we should point out some important and seemingly overlooked references. Stress can promote systemic inflammation independently of microbiota [323]. Moreover, whatever its deficits may be, the germ-free mouse maintains microbe-independent communication via neurotransmitters and the odortypes that can govern social behavior, mating, and reproduction [324,325]. Therefore, properly nourished, capable-of-reproduction germ-free mice might also provide some much-needed perspective. As cited above, microbiota are undeniably linked to many variables highlighted throughout our discussion; at a certain tipping point [326], bacteria, viruses, and living members of the human ecosystem may amplify or abbreviate other paleo-deficits. Our more immediate concern, as it was with Dubos, is the collective deficit—the total environment—in which dysbiotic microbiota is a part. Put simply, one might have in their procession the most ideal microbiota profile, the gold standard against which all future commercial fecal products will be measured, and still fall well short of optimal mental health. Our stance does not dismiss the strong probability that lifetime microbial experiences, especially the early ones, could have long-lasting influences on how and even why an individual responds in a differential manner to visual, olfactory, and other sensory aspects of natural environments. Microbial interactions with genetic factors will likely be linked to Nature Relatedness, emotional well-being, and intestinal or skin microbiota. Indeed, that is our primary point—in common parlance, “it’s all connected”. Reading Dubos, it would be tempting to state that there is nothing new under the sun. Maybe we have reached a point where theory after theory, hypothesis upon hypotheses, are all variants on the same theme. Perhaps discussions of natural environments, biodiversity, microbiota, nutrition, and mental health are often one in the same. We consider this to be an important consideration simply because it might help guide plausible solutions. Decades before the global rise in allergic diseases were considered to be at epidemic proportions; Dubos addressed membership of the American Academy of Allergy at its annual meeting. We close on his words, communicated in 1969, as keynote speaker to his audience of allergists: “The etymological meaning of allergy is, of course, ‘altered reactivity.’ In this sense, all aspects of life can be considered as manifestations of allergy, since most anatomical and functional characterizes of man can be modified by the stimuli—physical, chemical, social—that impinge on him throughout life…developing counter technologies to correct new kinds of damage constantly being created by technological innovations is a policy of despair…we must try to imagine the kind of surroundings and of life we want, lest we end up with a jumble of technologies that will eventually smother body and soul” [327].
Footnotes Competing interests ACL has received consulting fees from Genuine Health Inc (Toronto, ON, Canada). He is co-author of the trade paperback Your Brain on Nature (Harper Collins, 2012). MAK and VBM declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions All authors made significant contributions to the manuscript. ACL provided the primary framework for the content. MAK and VBM provided oversight and important intellectual content within each major section. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.The Snowden revelations in the Guardian showed the most catastrophic secret accretion of power by the British state in our peacetime history, yet the reaction on this island that invented liberty under the law has been beyond parody. The three lines of defence of our freedoms – the press, parliament and the law – have so far bent the knee to the secret state.
Newspapers that are meant to defend freedom have argued instead for the investigation of the Guardian, while the House of Commons has proved itself an overblown electoral college from which the executive is selected, rather than an independent legislature with clout to hold ministers to account.
GCHQ has the capacity to scoop up and store the email and voice traffic of the entire population of this country, regardless of whether they are suspects or have ever committed any crime. GCHQ says it only looks at the suspect messages, but what are its checks? Given its inability to keep its own secrets, how credibly can it promise to keep ours?
The invasion of privacy is breath-taking. The defence that you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide is as outrageous as it was when made by the totalitarian states. Citizens may – for good or bad reasons – want their activity to be private without in any way being illegal. Privacy matters.
Not only were the cabinet and National Security Council not told of this programme, neither was the committee set up to scrutinise the communications data bill (proposed by the Home Office to take the same police powers that GCHQ already exercised). We know of the Home Office's disingenuous deception from a pair of former chief whips – the Tories' David Maclean (now Lord Blencathra) and Labour's Nick Brown. These are not lightweight players, and they were shocked.
Where were the watchdogs? After huffing and puffing about how everything was in order, the Commons intelligence and security committee has at last announced an inquiry. We can write its conclusions. It will give GCHQ a clean bill of health, and argue for some modest improvements in controls.
How do I know? Look at the composition of the committee, which is hand-picked by the prime minister, and only rubber-stamped by the Commons. All its MPs are paid-up members of the security establishment. Sir Malcolm Rifkind is chair, even though he had executive responsibility for the agency he is now overseeing when he was foreign secretary.
The home affairs select committee under chairman Keith Vaz has succumbed to pressure from rightwing Tory MPs to investigate not the disastrous state invasion of privacy, but the behaviour of the Guardian in bringing it to our attention. And the joint committee on human rights – which includes peers as well as MPs – has stayed bizarrely silent even though state aggrandisement at the expense of individual freedom falls squarely in its remit.
Surely the first question is who signed off this programme? I discount the possibility that GCHQ went rogue. Its head at the time, Sir David Pepper, was a bureaucratic stickler. Sir David Omand, cabinet office permanent secretary in charge of intelligence, would also have insisted on ministerial sign-off.
So which prime minister and foreign secretary were responsible? Given that the Home Office later thought a full-scale parliamentary act was necessary to take similar powers for the police – the communications data bill – just what was the legal basis of GCHQ's activity?
The GCHQ Tempora programme was trialled in 2008. The decision might have been taken as early as 2006, which would put it just within the purview as foreign secretary of Jack Straw (June 2001 to May 2006). It is more likely to have been Margaret Beckett (May 2006 to June 2007) or David Miliband (June 2007 to May 2010).
If it was David Miliband, this may well explain why the Labour frontbench has been so muted. Though Ed Miliband has been happy to admit past Labour errors on Murdoch and other matters, his appetite for political fratricide may be sated.
And the responsible prime minister? Tony Blair resigned in June 2007, so either he or Gordon Brown could be responsible. Was the Labour cabinet told? Or was this an extraordinary instance of prime ministerial authority and our "elective dictatorship"? These questions are of constitutional importance, but none of them has been asked, let alone answered.
If parliament is condemned to behave like the executive's poodle, we will have to rely on the law. Liberty is taking a case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, but GCHQ has boasted to its US counterpart that it has never lost a case before that body, and that its compliance regime is substantially more lax than the Americans'.
That leaves judicial review. As Lord Macdonald QC, the former director of public prosecutions, says: "The question is whether the government had proper lawful authority for what they have done. It is potentially a subject for judicial review." There is an overwhelming democratic interest in testing whether that decision was ultra vires – outside legal powers voted by parliament.
There is normally a three-month time limit with judicial review, but that should not be an impediment when the powers continue to be used and when the original decision was secret. The Snowden revelations show an executive arm snatching exaggerated powers with no public debate or parliamentary approval. For the sake of our freedoms, but also our democracy, this needs to be put right.German Regulator Seizes Funds From a Onecoin Associated Company
The infamous Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) scheme and so-called ‘cryptocurrency’ Onecoin is under investigation once again. On April 10 the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority otherwise known as Bafin has frozen funds connected with a Onecoin payment processor.
Also read: NSA Exploits Reveal the World of 1984 Is Here
German Regulator Bafin Freezes a Onecoin-Associated Company’s Assets
A German-based company called the IMS International Marketing Services Gmbh is under scrutiny for accepting funds coming from the Onecoin organization. In a recent report, the German regulatory agency Bafin reveals they have seized funds in excess of €29m from the IMS firm. The agency states that IMS raked in a total of €360m from the MLM based company Onecoin Ltd., for over a year.
Bafin says Onecoin is part of a vast network of marketing agencies selling virtual units the company declares as a cryptocurrency. The financial regulator says the Onecoin MLM scheme is used in Germany and across the world by many people. However, Bafin calls IMS an “unauthorized money remittance business,” and the company is in violation of sentence 4 of the German Payment Services Supervision Act.
“In its decree of 5 April 2017, BaFin ordered IMS International Marketing Services GmbH to immediately cease and wind down its unauthorized money remittance business with investors in “Onecoin” for Onecoin Ltd.,” explains the German supervisor’s office.
In case IMS should not abide by the order to cease business, Bafin threatened to impose a coercive fine of 1.5 million euros; for non-compliance with the winding-down order, it will also impose a coercive fine of 150,000 euros.
Investigations in Germany and All Over the World
Onecoin and its associated companies have been under investigation in Germany before. Bafin started investigating Onecoin in June of 2016 due to solicited investments through the German bank Commerzbank AG. The bank is the second largest financial institution in Germany and may have accepted unauthorized funds from the MLM organization in the past. Furthermore, the alleged Ponzi scheme has been frowned on by government authorities in Belgium, Nigeria, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and many more countries.
Bafin says they don’t have the power to decide whether or not Onecoin tokens are valid under civil law. However, operations will be investigated says the regulatory agency and “orders may still be subject to judicial review.” Although they can’t legally define Onecoin’s business practices at the moment, Bafin can shut down unauthorized remittances.
“On behalf of Onecoin Ltd, IMS International Marketing Services had investors who had bid to buy “Onecoins” and transfer the sales to various accounts held by IMS International Marketing Services with different banks in Germany and forwarded the money on behalf of Onecoin Ltd to third parties, based in particular outside of Germany. This kind of financial service is classified as money remittance business,” Bafin’s report details.
What do you think about Bafin freezing a company’s assets with connections to Onecoin? Let us know in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, and Pixabay.
Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.Sabbats: Southern Hemisphere Calendar Many Thanks
to Kiwi Catherine The Magikal Festivals The days for rest, the Sabbats are seasonal celebrations. Each one of these Sabbats were and often still are a celebration of the feminine spirit. Worshiping or honoring what can be called the triple Goddess. The word Sabbat is French and is derived from the Hebrew Sabbath which means "to rest". Now what if your seasonal celebrations are just the opposite from the most commonly advertised dates? Huh? If you live in the southern hemisphere your seasonal cycle is just the opposite from the northern hemisphere where these original celebrations were established. If the Sabbats were meant as specific dates to be honored and celebrated; then you might be celebrating a harvest festival when in your region of the world, it's really planting season. So what do you do? Thanks to a wonderful Kiwi named Catherine we have an answer. Catherine posted an answer to this very question on our Message Board. After a little more research to verify the information, I think we can finally post a calendar here with a bit of confidence. Woohoo! Holiday Alternative Name Astrological Event Date Purpose Samhain 15° Taurus May 1 Pagan New Year, Honoring the Dead, Cleansing and releasing Yule Winter Solstice Jun 21 Rebirth, Life triumphs over death Bridgid Imbolc 15° Leo Aug 1 Purification, Initiation, Dedication Eostara Lady Day Spring Equinox Sep 21 Conception, Regeneration, New Beginnings Beltane May Day 15° Scorpio Oct 31 Passion that fuels Life, Joy, Fertility Litha Midsummer Summer Solstice Dec 21 Transition, Planning Lammas Lughnasadh 15° Aquarius Feb 2 Gratitude, Abundance, Fruition Mabon Autumn Equinox Mar 21 Giving thanks, Reflection
Additional Reading The Sabbats
Sabbats - Southern Hemisphere Calendar Esbats: Working By The Moon The Celtic High Holy Days Wiccan Sabbat Rituals
Source: 1, c3, c4, c8, c9, c13, c14, s1, s2, s4, s5, s6, s7, s11, s14 Created: 04.08.1999 Updated: 01.05.2010What is an animation?
As the last day of this part, we are going to discuss something more interesting about sprites. What brings sprites to life is them evolving and moving around, and that’s what animations are. Below is a simple example of an animation. The picture below shows an atlas containing 5 different poses of the character “Grace” from the game “Give Me a Kiss!”
As you might guess, these frames, when played in the right order, give the impression of her walking. Take a look at the animation below:
If we give numbers 0 to 4 to the frames in the atlas from left to right, then for this animation the frames are played in this order: 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 3, 4, 3. This is the simplest form of animation for image sprites. What we simply did with a sprite here was to modify its frame with an interval. Sprites can be animated over their other properties, too. This includes position, rotational angle, and scale or even transparency. So, this brings our definition of an animation to change of a sprite’s properties over time. This is what we are going to implement today.
Animation handler
Simple interface
There are many ways to implement animation for game engines. Some high-end engines use reflection to directly modify an object’s properties. In our finalized framework, we can plug that approach in as well. But for now we like things simple. Artenus approaches animation handling through an interface called AnimationHandler. This interface is called back by a sprite for each frame to perform the required modification. Create a package called animation as a sibling to sprites package, and add the following interface to it:
package com.annahid.libs.artenus.animation; import com.annahid.libs.artenus.sprites.Sprite; public interface AnimationHandler { public void advance(Sprite sprite, float elapsedTime); }
This interface only has one method, which takes a sprite, and the time elapsed in terms of seconds (it is a floating point number so it can be a very small fraction of a second). How can this be any useful? The main answer is that this way each animation handler can process the sprite in the exclusive way it desires. Later on we will design an example animation handler to make this clearer.
Modifications to Sprite
The next step is to plug animation handling into sprites. We have animation handlers, so we just need to assign them to sprites. So, open your Sprite class and add the following field to it:
protected AnimationHandler anim = null;
A single animation handler should handle all animations corresponding to a sprite. If a sprite needs to be animated over several properties, it is the handler’s responsibility to handle all of them. Group and chain animation handlers can be implemented to enable multi-dimensional animations. We also add a getter and a setter:
public final void setAnimation(AnimationHandler animation) { anim = animation; } public final AnimationHandler getAnimation() { return anim; }
We now get to the most important method we need to add to Sprite. Important as it is, it is simple and self-explanatory:
final void advanceAnimation(float elapsedTime) { if(anim == null) return; anim.advance(this, elapsedTime); }
This method is called only from within the framework to advance the sprite’s animation. That’s why we implemented it with package access level. What happens when the scene is to move on to the next frame is that it goes through all sprites, and it asks them to advance their animation if they have any through this very method.
Image animation
We now implement a simple animation handler to demonstrate how the interface is used. Image animation is a kind of animation handler in Artenus that is responsible for frame animations in image sprites.
How it works
An image animation holds an array of frames, for example 0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 3, 4, 3 in the initial example. It also holds frame delay. Each time its advance method is called, it checks to see if enough time has passed to advance one frame. When the time is right, it advances by one frame and resets its timer. This is the main mechanism. We also define three kinds of animation trends:
Once: animation is played only once. When it reaches the last frame, it stops there.
animation is played only once. When it reaches the last frame, it stops there. Loop: animation will loop forever. When it reaches the last frame, it goes back to the first frame.
animation will loop forever. When it reaches the last frame, it goes back to the first frame. Ping pong: animation is looped forever, but when it reaches the last frame, it reverses and plays backwards until it reaches the first frame. Then it reverses again and plays forward, and it keeps on playing this way.
Basic structure
We begin with what we explained so far. We define constants for different trend types, and add in basic fields. We also need to add the advance method since we are implementing AnimationHandler :
package com.annahid.libs.artenus.animation; import com.annahid.libs.artenus.sprites.Sprite; public final class ImageAnimation implements AnimationHandler { public static final int TREND_LOOP = 0; public static final int TREND_ONCE = 1; public static final int TREND_PINGPONG = 2; private int[] frames; private int trend; private int currentFrame; private int frameDelay = 33; public int getFrame() { return currentFrame; } public int getTrend() { return trend; } public void advance(Sprite sprite, float elapsedTime) { // TODO: We'll get to this later } }
In case you are wondering, frameDelay is the time distance between frames in terms of milliseconds, and currentFrame is the field that is going to change per frame. trend is just a piece of information we will use later.
Constructors
We add three constructors for most convenience.
public ImageAnimation(int[] animationFrames) { this(animationFrames, TREND_LOOP, 0); } public ImageAnimation(int[] animationFrames, int trend) { this(animationFrames, trend, 0); } public ImageAnimation(int[] animationFrames, int trend, int startIndex) { frames = animationFrames; this.trend = trend; currentFrame = startIndex; }
The third constructor is rarely needed, but we just keep it there in case it is needed.
Advance method
In order to advance frames according to our frame delay, we need to keep a small frame timer. The simplest approach is to keep the last time the frame changed. This is where System.currentTimeMillis() comes to help, since it provides current system time in milliseconds. Add the following field to the class:
private long lastFrame = 0;
Now, we begin the advance method with the following lines:
if(System.currentTimeMillis() - lastFrame >= frameDelay) lastFrame = System.currentTimeMillis(); else return;
What these lines do is to check whether the time passed since lastFrame is more than frameDelay, which indicates that the frame should be advanced. In such case it sets lastFrame to now and moves on. Otherwise it returns from the method as it is not yet time.
Next comes the tricky part. As we have three animation trends, we need to plan how we advance frames. For our ping-pong trend, the animation is played backwards at times. So, first thing that comes to mind is that the direction of frames is not fixed. So, we add a field, indicating this direction:
private int delta = 1;
We add this value to the current frame each time we advance it. So, if it is 1, the animation will go forward, and if it’s -1, it’ll go backward. Now, let’s get back to the advance method. We have to handle different trends differently.
The simplest code is for TREND_ONCE. We just advance the frame if it is not the last frame:
if(currentFrame < frames.length - 1) currentFrame++;
For TREND_LOOP, we should go back to the first frame after the last. We do this by getting the remainder of the current frame over the total number of frames:
currentFrame = (currentFrame + 1) % frames.length;
For TREND_PINGPONG we should take care of delta reversal:
currentFrame += delta; if(currentFrame == 0 || currentFrame == frames.length - 1) delta = -delta;
After we are done deciding what the next frame will be, we simply update the image sprite with it. The final advance method becomes like this:
public void advance(Sprite sprite, float elapsedTime) { if(System.currentTimeMillis() - lastFrame >= frameDelay) lastFrame = System.currentTimeMillis(); else return; if(trend == TREND_LOOP) currentFrame = (currentFrame + 1) % frames.length; else if(trend == TREND_PINGPONG) { currentFrame += delta; if(currentFrame == 0 || currentFrame == frames.length - 1) delta = -delta; } else if(currentFrame < frames.length - 1) currentFrame++; ((ImageSprite)sprite).gotoFrame(frames[currentFrame]); }
Setting frame delay
For more flexibility, we enable setting frame delay after the animation is created, or even while it is played. Internally, this delay is saved in terms of milliseconds. But since our framework speaks to the developer in seconds, we also add a method to set this value in seconds:
public void setFrameDelay(int delay) { frameDelay = delay; lastFrame = System.currentTimeMillis(); } public void setFrameDelay(float delay) { frameDelay = (int)(delay * 1000); lastFrame = System.currentTimeMillis(); }
Example of usage
Using this framework is simple. To reproduce the animation at the beginning of this article, you only need to do the following:
ImageSprite sprite = new ImageSprite(R.drawable.anim_girl, girlCutout); sprite.setAnimation(new ImageAnimation(new int[] {0, 1, 2, 1, 0, 3, 4, 3}));
When you add this sprite to the scene, it will automatically walk on the stage. Note here that all building blocks are not implemented yet, so you won't be able to see results yet. But we will implement this animation during the next part of the guide, when everything else is in place.
Next steps
This part of the guide is over. We covered different aspects of sprites. There are still little things to do, but we leave them at that. Next part of the guide will revolve around stages and scenes. If everything goes as planned, we will be able to create an animated scene by the end of next part. So, bookmark GDD and get ready for the next part. Today's code can be downloaded below:
last updated onTrucking holds a special importance in the American economy. More than two-thirds of the nation's freight--some 10.5 billion tons of goods--is transported by truck, a feat that requires 3.5 million drivers and nearly as many heavy-class trucks. In 29 states, truck driving is the most common job.
But that might not be the case for long, as the potential savings from automating trucks are too tempting for the industry to ignore.
Trucking companies lose a whopping $49.6 billion annually due to congestion, according to the American Trucking Association. Moreover, driver error is at least partly to blame in about 90 percent of the more than 4,000 deaths and 10,000 injuries attributed to trucks and buses every year. There also is a driver shortage currently estimated by the ATA at 50,000 positions. In less than a decade, the trade group expects nearly 900,000 will be needed.
"Autonomous vehicle technology is real, folks, and it's here whether we like it or not," said ATA President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Spear in his 2016 "State of the Industry" speech before the trade association's annual conference. "This technology has the potential to get trucks moving, reduce fuel burn and emissions and increase miles driven -- all measurable returns to drivers."
Truck manufacturer Peterbilt, which is part of PACCAR (PCAR), and Daimler's Freightliner are among the makers of 18-wheel tractor-trailers that are developing autonomous technology. Earlier this summer, Peterbilt agreed to build test trucks using the technology developed by tech startup Embark. Freightliner Inspiration, the first licensed autonomous commercial truck to operate on an open public highway in the United States, made its debut a few years ago at the Hoover Dam.
Cummins, which has been synonymous with diesel engines for nearly a century, last week unveiled an electric semi, a month ahead of Tesla's (TSLA) plans to do introduce a similar vehicle. Elon Musk's company is engaged in a high-stakes battle with Alphabet (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL), among others, over self-driving technology.
"You have prototypes out there that are pushing the envelope," he said. "Essentially, the technology that drives the Tesla applies to any other vehicle. It's just trucks are a lot more complicated because they have trailers and more axles and have a lot more weight."
Not surprisingly, the Teamsters Union, which represents about 600,000 commercial truck drivers, is leery of self-driving technology and is calling for comprehensive federal rules regarding autonomous vehicles, including strong minimum safety standards.
The union also argues that raising wages for truckers, who earn a median salary of $41,000 a year, would go a long way toward solving the labor shortage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 18 percent of workers in the transportation and warehousing industries are represented by unions. About a quarter of truckers are not employees at all, but independent contractors.
"We have concerns about the technology and our number one priority... as a union is the safety of our members and the driving public," said Kara Deniz, a Teamsters spokeswoman. "Our position is there needs to be a full understanding of what the risks are and limitations as well as the potential with automated technologies."
But while the government ponders regulating the sector, money is pouring in--and fights are breaking out. Last year, Uber acquired start-up Otto for $680 million. Otto |
Monday, league sources told ESPN. Former Browns coach Pat Shurmur also is interviewing for the job Monday, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Jets coach Rex Ryan was on the same Ravens staff as Jackson and Cameron in 2008, so the familiarity factor would seem to give them an edge. All three have experience as a coordinator and head coach. Cameron was the head coach of the Dolphins in 2007 but was fired after one season. Jackson was the head coach of the Raiders in 2011 but was fired after one season.
In Cameron's five seasons as the Ravens' coordinator, Baltimore was ranked as high as 13th and as low as 22nd in total offense. He helped develop quarterback Joe Flacco, but was dismissed after a Week 14 loss to the Redskins.
ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini contributed to this report.Napoli get San Paolo money
By Football Italia staff
The Mayor of Naples announced €25m funding to fix up the Stadio San Paolo from this summer.
The stadium was described as “a toilet” by Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis, who vented his frustration for years at the red tape holding up restructuring work.
“I can confirm that we have a credit of €25m to restyle the stadium,” said Mayor Luigi De Magistris on Radio Kiss Kiss.
“It is an enormous result, I went to close the deal with the CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) President 10 days ago.
“The money will be available immediately and work will begin after the end of the season. We will first of all fix the bathrooms and the electricals, while all of the seats will be replaced.
“This is a certain result and not a hypothesis. The team and the city are going strong, the stadium is in a difficult situation and therefore it is a priority.
“The restyling can happen now because we are credible as a city. Before the accounts were disastrous and they wouldn’t even have meetings because they knew we were bankrupt.”We should have seen this coming. Apparently, after CNN broke its big old scoop about how the White House tried to use the FBI to help squash news stories about the connections between Russia and the Trump team, the administration put together a fairly solid pushback by which it claimed that the whole mess was a kind of casual conversation at a White House meeting between members of the administration and FBI officials. This is a plausible political strategy in response to an incredibly serious threat to an administration's credibility.
Then, somebody looked away and the president* found his phone again.
The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security "leakers" that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even...... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
FIND NOW!
TRUMP SMASH!
Yeah, that'll get everyone on the same page. Won't drown out the echoes, though.
Subsequent thereto, Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his subordinates and agents in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation of such unlawful entry; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities....Wherefore Richard M. Nixon, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
—Article I, Passed By the House of Representatives, July 27, 1974.
Maybe Watergate marked me. Maybe it made me prone to overreact and to jump at shadows and to assume the worst in every smoke-or-fire story that pops in Washington. Maybe it just touches off the visions of Gordon Liddy and Tony Ulasciewicz that forever dance somewhere in my subconscious. Maybe my brain went modified limited hangout 45 years ago and never came back.
Or maybe not.
From the aforementioned CNN scoop:
The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, multiple US officials briefed on the matter tell CNN. But a White House official said late Thursday that the request was only made after the FBI indicated to the White House it did not believe the reporting to be accurate. White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said. The reports of the contacts were first published by The New York Times and CNN on February 14. The same White House official said that Priebus later reached out again to McCabe and to FBI Director James Comey asking for the FBI to at least talk to reporters on background to dispute the stories. A law enforcement official says McCabe didn't discuss aspects of the case but wouldn't say exactly what McCabe told Priebus. Comey rejected the request for the FBI to comment on the stories, according to sources, because the alleged communications between Trump associates and Russians known to US intelligence are the subject of an ongoing investigation.
The fact that it was obvious anagram Reince Priebus who reached out, marking him once again as one of the most dangerously oblivious lightweights in the history of the Republic, further proves the truth of the old political axiom that you should never put into a position of great power someone who couldn't get elected to the state senate from Kenosha.
(And, again, James Comey steps center stage as the most interesting man in politics. However, if I'm Comey, I'm running the ol' Geiger counter over every takeout order for the next few months.)
Getty Images
As I said, maybe I was marked forever back in the John Sirica Days, but this seems like something that could be the beginning of the end of the end of the beginning. Or something. You can't use the FBI like your own private spin team. You can't have an office in the White House and even think you can do that. If the idea ever crosses your mind, you should immediately hand in your hard pass, walk out to Pennsylvania Avenue, and catch the first bus to the nervous hospital. God only knows if it was actually legal for them to do this, since nobody's really sure what "adjustments" Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III has wrought in the Department of Justice regulations since he took over—or since the story broke at around 7:30 last night. But legality is far too narrow a metric for a fck-up of this magnitude. As RN used to say, let me make this perfectly clear.
You can't use the goddamn FBI to squash news stories you don't like any more than you can send the FBI out to shoot the guy who dented your fender outside the goddamn pro shop. Do you think the guys with the badges are valet parking attendants or your own private security goons? And you can't do it when the FBI is already investigating you on suspicions of the very same conduct detailed in the stories you're trying to squash. What in the hell is wrong with you, man?
First of all, Priebus has to go. Today. Even if there's nothing illegal in what happened—and even, as seems completely implausible, the request was made out of simple anger at inaccurate reporting instead of abject terror that accurate reporting was getting too close to where the borscht got made last year—Priebus is revealed as a guy who should not be allowed to spread butter with anything sharper than his thumb, let alone run the staff of any White House, including Camp Runamuck. This is, or ought to be, a career-ender.
This is, or ought to be, a career-ender.
Second, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III shouldn't be allowed within an area code of any investigation of the contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. (I suspect there might be several of these.) He's hopelessly compromised.
Third, come on, man. You don't go this far out on a limb because you're pissed about fake stories. Not even this White House is that stupid. You take this kind of long chance because you believe that there's something out there that's worse than being found to be using the FBI to ratfck the New York Times. That's why old RN said this to Harry Robbins Haldeman on June 23, 1972.
"That the way to handle this now is for us to have [CIA director] Walters call [FBI director] Pat Gray and just say, "Stay the hell out of this…this is ah, business here we don't want you to go any further on it." That's not an unusual development…"
In our current parallel situation, the FBI is the CIA and the New York Times is the FBI, and that's the only thing that may keep this from being an actual obstruction of justice. But, as I said, that's a very limited way to measure the magnitude of this story. This is plainly a White House that has no compunction about asking the federal law enforcement apparatus to run its errands, and to operate as barroom bouncers on call whenever the jefe feels inconvenienced. At least Nixon hired his own investigators when he got pissed at newspaper leaks. These clowns tried to turn the FBI into the Plumbers. It's going to get really crowded in DC parking garages pretty soon.
Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page.Mika Brzezinski waits for an elevator last year in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
A common reaction to Donald Trump’s presidency has been a sense that reality has outstripped even the most feverish fiction. The only thing to do when the world has come to feel like the implausible output of an ambitious but not particularly talented television writer is to cover it that way. Welcome to our recaps of “The Trump Show.”
We’re coming up on the halfway point of the first season of “The Trump Show,” which means that this is a good point to step back and see how the writers are settling into a groove. As with most freshman series, “The Trump Show” has played around with different identities, teasing audiences with the possibilities. Was it going to be an insurgent politician drama, a right-wing answer to “The West Wing”? Is it yet another attempt to capture the antiheroic magic of “The Sopranos”? Or was it an upstairs-downstairs drama, in which the imperious, mercurial man in the Oval Office drove the people who served him to utter distraction?
I think this week provided a fairly definitive answer. When the president of the United States attacks a pair of cable news hosts, suggesting that the woman in question was wandering around his estate bleeding from a face-lift; the cable news hosts respond that no, the woman merely had a little tuck on advice from her mother and allege that the president was blackmailing them via a supermarket tabloid; and the president fires back by validating at least some of that latter charge, what can this show possibly be but a soap opera?
“The Trump Show” has always resembled a soap opera in terms of its pacing. Audiences have long been exhausted by the pace of new developments and the series’ tendency to drop bombshells at inconvenient hours, both exacerbated by the fact that the show airs every day. But the stakes of “The Trump Show” are so high that they have often protected the series from being labeled as such. The lingering and irksome sense that “soap opera” is a pejorative term, rather than a set of tonal and emotional conventions that can be applied to any subject, is probably a subject for another column. In any case, it is no longer rational to deny that “The Trump Show” is one.
It wasn’t merely the escalation of the main character’s feud with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that reinforced “The Trump Show’s” new commitment to its chosen genre.
This week, the writers doubled down, as if to make clear that anyone watching the show for tough negotiation scenes or plots involving major legislation was consuming the show the wrong way. In the health-care storyline, for example, Trump told Republican senators that “this will be great if we get it done and if we don’t get it done it’s going to be something that we’re not going to like and that’s OK and I can understand that.” The substance of that storyline isn’t the details of the bill or Congressional Budget Office scores: It’s the operatic emotions behind a twist like a pro-Trump group attacking one of the very Republicans Trump would need to get the bill passed.
The same thing is true in the simmering Qatar storyline. The consequences of the geopolitical brinkmanship underway in the region may be grave. But on “The Trump Show,” those results are just a sideline: The real story is Trump’s relationship with his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. This sort of calibration is the reason that “The Trump Show” is simultaneously endlessly entertaining to watch even as it’s a morally queasy viewing experience. The great strength of the show is seducing us into seeing the world in its terms; with every new surprise or emotional jolt, we have to wrench ourselves back to our true moral convictions. I wish I could turn it off in favor of more intellectually and ethically serious programming. It’s a flaw in my own character that I can’t.
And if the possible outcomes of all of this weren’t so grave, I’d say we should just get on with the ridiculousness already. The moment when Trump supposedly “becomes president” will never actually arrive. But the episode where “The Trump Show” fully embraces its soap operatic identity and produces a secret sibling, or a years-in-the-making revenge plot, or reveals who got shot on Fifth Avenue, just might.AARON Sandilands is set to miss the start of Fremantle's JLT Community Series campaign after suffering a calf strain.
Sandilands was a notable absentee on the track at Fremantle Oval on Wednesday.
The club has confirmed the veteran experienced some tightness in his left calf at training on Monday and scans have revealed a minor strain.
The giant 211cm ruckman will spend between three-to-five weeks in the rehabilitation group to ensure he is available for the Dockers' round one clash with Geelong at Domain Stadium on March 26.
Sandilands' setback is a blow to Freo's pre-season preparations and comes after star midfielder Lachie Neale recently rejoined main training following three bouts of off-season surgery on his wrist, shoulder and knee.
Harley Bennell is still on the comeback trail after another setback with his troublesome calves in November, with the 24-year-old building up his running program.
In more positive news for the Dockers, big man Jonathon Griffin is back in full training after Achilles soreness interrupted his pre-season.
However, 203cm ruckman Zac Clarke is still working his way back to fitness after injuring his knee in the gym in December.
Griffin and Clarke shouldered the majority of the ruck load last year with No.1 big man Sandilands missing most of the season with broken ribs.
AFL and club access members will have free general admission entry to those matches in which their club is competing (subject to availability, upgrade fees may be applicable). Click here to learn more.• As Trump re-imagines his immigration stances, an adviser is reassuring fellow Republicans that Trump will also reimagine his promises not to cut Social Security if he's elected. "He's not making the case [for "reform"] because it's a political suicide to make this case. [...] So no smart politician is going to step into this milieu." Apparently there isn't a single thing Trump says that his advisers believe he'll still think once the election is over; say what you want, it would certainly make for an interesting first 100 days.
• Another notable pivot: Trump has gone from promising he'd release his taxes after an IRS audit is completed to an assertion that he probably won't because, like the details of his other promises, "people don't care." Only "some members of the press" care whether a prospective President of the United States is a crook or a tax cheat; the rest of America cares about... well, if not a candidate's specific policies, and not a candidate's own past records, what's left?
• Oh, right. Whether or not someone looks presidential. How could we presume that the proud purveyor of a famous beauty pageant would not eventually boil the leadership of the free world down to a lookin’ contest.
• The connection between several state attorneys general declining to investigate Donald Trump's dodgy but pricey Trump University and Donald Trump's gifts to those attorneys general continues to be not news despite "optics" that look shady indeed. While cynics may attribute this apparent double standard of pundit attention as evidence that pundits are lazy dullards not so much interested in exploring unseemly "optics" as they are getting pre-packaged "optics" from a small set of the usual suspects, a more charitable interpretation is that everybody already knows Donald Trump is crooked so there's no "optics" left to dwell on.
• That said, it seems to go a bit beyond "optics": Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi "personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump" during the period in which her office was investigating Trump University practices. Trump, however, says they never spoke.
• The former deputy chief of consumer protection for the state of Texas says he was prepared to sue Trump over the University "scam", but was told to stand down. "It had to be political in my mind because Donald Trump was treated differently than any other similarly situated scam artist in the 16 years I was at the consumer protection office."
• The refs appear to be working themselves: As the presidential debates approach, CNN correspondent Dana Bash says “the stakes are much higher” for Hillary Clinton “because she is a seasoned politician, she is a seasoned debater” while Trump “is a first time politician. So for lots of reasons, maybe it’s not fair but it’s the way it is, the onus is on her.” Debate moderator and Fox News host Chris Wallace, meanwhile, says he won’t intervene if a candidate makes an assertion he knows to be untrue. “I do not believe it is my job to be a truth squad.”
• Though the Trump campaign has sorely taxed the reflexive Republicanism of some top military brass, the campaign has been able to secure the backing of 88 retired military figures. They include some curious people indeed.
• A new pro-Clinton ad re-airs a few of Donald Trump's foreign policy greatest hits, from "I'm really good at war, I love war" to "nuclear, just the power, the devastation, is very important to me."
• We didn’t mean that kind of “free”: The 'USA Freedom Girls', a patriotism-flogging pre-teen all-girl singing troupe most famously known for their appearance at a Donald Trump event to sing a song praising freedom 'n stuff, is now suing Trump campaign for not only not paying them, but for stiffing them in every other way it's possible to stiff someone. (Seriously, read that. It features everything short of Trump's people fitting the girls for their own pairs of cement shoes.)
• Trump's March 15th victory party at his own Palm Beach country club cost Republican donors $1 million. Over $600,000 of that total was funneled to Trump's own businesses.
• Former CNN host Soledad O'Brien took to her old network to blast CNN for "normalizing" white supremacy in their coverage of the Trump presidential campaign.
The former CNN host argued that the question that journalists should be asking is if Trump is “softening the ground for people — who are white supremacists, who are white nationalists, who would self-identify that way — to feel comfortable with their views being brought into the national discourse to the point where they can do a five minute interview happily on national television?” “And the answer is yes, clearly,” she said. “And there is lots of evidence of that.”
• While the campaign at first denied the involvement of now-fired Fox News head Roger Ailes, now Trump insiders are saying Ailes' campaign role could "extend beyond the debates."
• Trump has taken to calling Hillary Clinton “the Merkel of the United States.” It’s a talking point that has white supremacist roots.
• Donald Trump surrounds himself with only the best people.
• Ivanka Trump: My dad can’t be sexist because he hired me.
• If it seems that Donald Trump's supporters see reality so differently that they cannot even agree on the weather, there might be something to that.
x Loud boos right now for Syrian refugees at Trump town hall in Virginia Beach — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 6, 2016
x Flynn asks Trump about Libya. Trump: We should have kept the oil. #facepalm — Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) September 6, 2016
x Trump Zen for the day: âÂÂCyber is becoming so big today⦠a short number of years ago it wasnâÂÂt even a word.â â Trump town hall, 9/6/16 — John Aravosis (@aravosis) September 6, 2016
x For those keeping track, Trump and Clinton are holding "dueling" events and all three cable news channels are airing Trump, not Clinton. — Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) September 6, 2016
x Mainstream media never covered HillaryâÂÂs massive âÂÂhackingâÂÂ
or coughing attack, yet it is #1 trending. WhatâÂÂs up? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2016
x Aaaaaaand Donald Trump botches Phyllis Schlafly's name. https://t.co/rN3nBTICBn pic.twitter.com/SRr3M3oNhj — Brian Tashman (@briantashman) September 6, 2016David Graeber, a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics, is a man who wears many hats. He's an academic, of course — and a respected one at that. But he's also an author, an activist and political anarchist. But his most unique attribute may be this: He's an honest-to-God public intellectual in an era when such figures are few and far between.
Graeber proved as much with "Debt: The First 5000 Years," his ambitious tour de force overview of the role debt has played throughout the history of civilization and into the present day. And while it may be the case that, in the years since "Debt" was first released, Graeber has come to be best-known for his role within the Occupy Wall Street movement, he is still, fundamentally, a writer and a thinker who tries to grapple with some of life's biggest and most unwieldy ideas. On that score, his latest release, "The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy," stands as proof.
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Recently, Salon spoke with Graeber over the phone to discuss the book and his views on the bureaucratic phenomenon. Our conversation also touches on why Graeber thinks it was a mistake for the left to abandon a more thorough critique of bureaucracy, how bureaucracy can be a response to a deep-seated, psychological need, and why it is that it so often makes us both act and feel, well, "stupid." This interview has been edited for clarity and length and can be found below.
What was it that made you want to devote so much time to writing about bureaucracy?
I’d actually written a couple of these essays beforehand, but I realized that bureaucracy was sort of a theme that kept popping up in all sorts of different things that I was working on... Also there wasn’t a very interesting existing literature on it. Part of it comes from my academic work and my political work — both constantly bumping into themes of bureaucracy, and not having a book like that that I could read. (You often write books you would have liked to have been able to read.)
The more time went on, the more I realized [bureaucracy] was also politically important. The fact that the discourse of the way we talk about bureaucracy, the political issue of bureaucracy, used to be a big left-wing issue back in the '60s, and now it’s sort of been abandoned to the right — I think the political consequences of that have been disastrous.
How so?
Because, in a way, the left began against bureaucratization of life. It’s about freedom. The mainstream left, which is barely left at all at this point in traditional terms... has really embraced a combination of market and bureaucracy, an equal synthesis of the worst aspects of capitalism and the worst aspects of bureaucracy.
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Nobody really likes it. It’s this kind of constant compromise in principles, which creates this [policy] mish-mash that basically nobody would come up with or promote as a program in itself. The very fact that people vote for these guys — Blair, Obama, etc. — at all just shows the enduring power of the appeal of leftist ideas. And because it’s a horrible program, the right-wing grabs all the popular rebellion votes.
So in terms of mixing the bureaucratic and the capitalist in a way that gets you the worst of both, the high-profile policy that came to my mind most immediately was the Affordable Care Act. Is that a good example?
Yeah, pretty much. You can’t tell if it's public or private; and it’s partly government regulated profit-taking, forcing you into a profit-making enterprise [whether you like it] or not. And it creates completely unnecessarily complicated layers of bureaucracy.
This brings to mind a concept you call "the Iron Law of Liberalism." Mind telling me a bit more about that and its significance?
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There was this liberal fantasy in the 19th century that government would dissolve away and be replaced by contractual market relationships; that government itself is just a feudal holdover that would eventually wither away. In fact, exactly the opposite happened. [Government has] kept growing and growing with more and more bureaucrats. The more free-market we get, the more bureaucrats we end up with, too.
So I kind of looked around for a counter-example: Is there an example of a place where they did market reforms and it didn’t increase the total number of bureaucrats... I couldn’t find any. It always goes up. It went up under Reagan.
The idea that free-market policies create bureaucracies is pretty counterintuitive, at least for most Americans. So why is it the case that laissez-faire policy creates bureaucracy?
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Part of the reason is because in fact what we call the market is not really the market.
First of all, we have this idea that the market is a thing that just happens. This is the debate in the 19th century: market relations creeped up within feudalism and then it overthrew [feudalism]. So gradually the market is just the natural expression of human freedom; and since it regulates itself, it will gradually displace everything else and bring about a free society. Libertarians still think this.
In fact, if you look at what actually happens historically, this is just not true. Self-regulating markets were basically created with government intervention. It was a political project. Certain assumptions of how these things work just aren’t true. People don’t do wage labor if they have any choice, historically, for example. So in order to get a docile labor force, you have to create police and [a] large apparatus to ensure that the people you kick off the land actually will get the kinds of jobs you want them to... this is the very beginning of creating a market.
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Basically, we assume that market relations are natural, but you need a huge institutional structure to make people behave the way that economists say they are "supposed" to behave. So, for example, think about the way the consumer market works. The market is supposed to work on grounds of pure competition. Nobody has moral ties to each other other than to obey the rules. But, on the other hand, people are supposed to do anything they can to get as much as possible off the other guy — but won't simply steal the stuff or shoot the person.
Historically, that’s just silly; if you don’t care at all about a guy, you might as well steal his stuff. In fact, they’re encouraging people to act essentially how most human societies, historically, treated their enemies — but to still never resort to violence, trickery or theft. Obviously that’s not going to happen. You can only do that if you set up a very strictly enforced police force. That's just one example.
Stipulating that the bureaucratic state inexorably grows in response to free-market policy, why should it bother us? It's annoying, sure; but are there costs bigger than that?
I really think that bureaucracy is a way of crushing the human imagination. It also makes people stupid. And that was the thing that really impressed me about my first major encounter with bureaucracy — I found myself turning into an idiot! I was filling out the form wrong, I was making the obvious mistake that anybody with any degree of intelligence wouldn’t do, and constantly being told: "But you did it wrong!" And that experience of wandering around and feeling like an idiot and incompetent in life, is the necessary clunkiness of living under a bureaucratic regime.
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You also write in here, though, that there is a kind of appeal to bureaucracy, at least in the abstract. What do you mean when you say that?
Because it’s like a machine; you don’t have to worry about other people, you don’t have to do all that work of interpretive labor... you just press a button and things will appear. You can just go to the store and give them your money, and you don’t have to explain why you want this or why you need it. That’s a total separation of means and ends.
And on a deeper level... there’s this dream of a world where you actually know what the rules are, and that has a deep appeal. And this is why I called the book what I did. The phrase “Utopia of Rules” actually applied, when I first coined it, to games. Why do we enjoy games? Well, one reason we enjoy games is because it’s one of the only situations we ever experience in life, perhaps the only experience, where we know exactly what the rules are.
There’s always rules [in life], but usually they’re not spelled out; everyone has a slightly different idea of what they are, there’s all these ambiguities, it’s sort of complicated and then people break them all the time anyway. Life is this endless game of trying to figure out what the rules are and nobody quite understands. Then, [with bureaucracy], you create this imaginary situation, totally bounded in time and space, where everybody knows exactly what the rules are, people actually do follow the rules, and even people who follow the rules can win — which is very unusual in real life.
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So there’s two fantasies or freedoms you can imagine: one based on play and one based on games. Play is like pure creativity; in fact, it sort of generates rules. It’s like the ultimate power. But pure creativity is scary on a certain level. On the other hand, pure rule-bound game is a stifle and boring. So there’s a kind of constant tension between those two principles that seems to play in every aspect of human existence. Bureaucracy is seizing on one of those impulses and riding it as far as it can go.Have I mentioned lately that DotEmu is awesome? Because it is, and not just because it's the only Android game developer that sounds like a dating service for flightless birds. The company specializes in porting old console and PC games to Android and iOS, perfectly preserving graphics and game mechanics while adding great extras like controller support and Google Play Games integration. At the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles, DotEmu announced that its next release will be Titan Quest.
Titan Quest was originally released for the PC in 2006. It's a modern take on the top-down dungeon crawler formula typified by Diablo, but instead of a Heaven vs. Hell story backdrop it uses classical Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythology. Technologically, the 3D graphics in Titan's Quest were cutting edge when they were released - the game will probably be the most high-end title that DotEmu has worked on so far. Fans of the original praised its lengthy single-player campaigns and huge open world. It's not clear if the well-received multiplayer mode will make its way to the mobile re-release.
DotEmu didn't give a specific date for the Android release of Titan's Quest, but representatives said that it should be available in late 2015.Set 1
Jack Straw-> Sugaree-> Little Red Rooster, Bird Song, It's All Over Now, It Must Have Been The Roses-> Let It Grow
Set 2
Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin's Tower-> Estimated Prophet-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> I Need A Miracle-> China Doll-> Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad-> Good Lovin', E: Day Job
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Reviewer: Not-a-Robot - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 31, 2015
Subject: No More Whistle This is the only version I've heard without a high-end whistle sound intermittent through the show, particularly during the Help-Slip-Frank, Estimated sequence. Very pleased that you someone took the trouble to rid this scourge from the earth forever. Oh, and great show!!! - October 31, 2015No More Whistle
Reviewer: kee-zee - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 22, 2015
Subject: I'll tell you where the four winds dwell~~~~ Love the sound on this matrix..crispy indeed..this one smokes from the get go~! You knew the summer was gonna be HOT after this blazing spring tour..Why end a perfectly great show with Day Job~same for Hershey..left me scratching my head??? GIVE IT A WHIRL~Forever Grateful>Forever Dead - May 22, 2015I'll tell you where the four winds dwell~~~~What is weirder than thinking about Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong casually chilling out with indie-jazz super chanteuse Norah Jones? How about if the two of them get together and record an album of Everly Brothers covers? In an instance of something so weird it actually makes perfect sense, the two musicians recently convened in NYC to bang out their own version of the Everly Brothers’ album Songs Our Daddy Taught Us. The original album, released in 1958, was itself a kind of covers record: a collection of traditional country songs that were previously made famous by the likes of Gene Autry and Tex Ritter. Hearing Armstrong and Jones take on these songs is something of a quiet revelation. While a country standard might not exactly seem out of place in Jones’s oeuvre, hearing her harmonize with Armstrong — a vocalist who doesn’t always get the chance to show off the subtle range of his voice — is both surprising and pretty wonderful. Foreverly not only gives listeners the chance to hear a couple of very established artists creatively letting their hair down — purely for the fun of it — but it also brings to light some beautiful old songs that might otherwise never come to the attention of a contemporary audience.
I had to the chance to talk to both artists about the origins of the project and the experience of recording together. You can check out their version of “Long Time Gone” below.
STEREOGUM: I realized after listening to your new record that I actually have a history with the original Everly Brothers album.
NORAH JONES : Oh wow, but you didn’t realize it at first?
STEREOGUM: Not at first. That record, Songs Our Daddy Taught Us, was played a lot when I was little by my grandparents in Oklahoma. I just never realized that’s what it was called.
JONES : That’s so cool!
BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG : That’s great.
STEREOGUM: And the song about the shoes –- “Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?” — is something that my great-grandmother used to sing. I always thought it was the weirdest song when I was a kid — that putting shoes on feet was a creepy and weird thing to sing about.
JONES : It is a weird thing to sing about.
STEREOGUM: I’m just curious how this project originally came to be. Were you guys friends? Did you know each other before this?
JONES : Well, we met 10 years ago at the Grammys, but other than that we didn’t really know each other that well. Then I got a call…
ARMSTRONG : Yeah…
JONES : You tell him, actually, I don’t really know how it started.
ARMSTRONG : It all started with Stevie Wonder. [laughter] We sang together with Stevie Wonder and his band and a whole bunch of people, that’s how Norah and I first met. Then … well, I got into the Everly Brothers’ record a couple years ago and I thought it was just beautiful. I was listening to it every morning for a while off and on. I thought it would be cool to remake the record because I thought it was sort of an obscure thing and more people should know about it, but I really wanted to do it with a woman singing because I thought it would take on a different meaning — maybe broaden the meaning a little bit — as compared to hearing the songs being sung by the two brothers. And so my wife said, “Why don’t you get Norah Jones to do it?” and I was like, “Well, I kinda know her.” Well, I mean, we had Stevie Wonder in common. And so I called her and she said yes. So it was kinda like a … well, I keep saying it was kinda like a blind date.
JONES : It was, yeah. It was kinda like jumping into something. You know, we’ve both done a lot of different things in our careers but jumping into making a whole record with somebody is definitely the bigger commitment. I think we agreed to go into the studio for a few days just to try it out, remember? And…
ARMSTRONG : Yeah, yeah.
JONES : And we ended up pretty much doing the whole record in about five days. It was really fun. And then we went back a few months later to revisit it and do a few extra songs over again.
STEREOGUM: Norah, were you familiar with this material beforehand |
government appealed to the Supreme Court, where the lower court's decision was summarily affirmed in Coit v. Green (1971). Meanwhile, on July 10, 1970, the Internal Revenue Service announced it could "no longer legally justify allowing tax-exempt status to private schools which practice racial discrimination."[12] For a school to get or keep its tax-exempt status, it would have to publish a policy of non-discrimination and not practice overt discrimination. Many schools simply refused. A decade later, similarly aggrieved appellees argued again in Allen v. Wright (1983) that the standards were too low. The appellees had asserted that "there are more than 3,500 racially segregated private academies operating in the country having a total enrollment of more than 750,000 children."[13] The court considered whether the parents standing to sue, and concluded not, because they did not allege that they or their children had applied to, been discouraged from applying to, or been denied admission to any private school or schools.[14] Specifically, it ruled that citizens do not have standing to sue a federal government agency based on the influence that the agency's determinations might have on third parties (such as private schools). The judges noted the parents were in the posture of disappointed observers of the governmental process. The IRS would continue to enforce the regulations it had promulgated in 1970. Any school that was not tax-exempt in this period was likely a segregation academy, the standard for non-discrimination being low.[15] Not many of the 3,500 appear in lists, if there were 3,500. After 1983, any school named in a judgement or IRS document in this period absolutely was.[16] Many schools did not regain tax-exempt status until the 1990s.
By state [ edit ]
Virginia was an early adopter of techniques to establish and finance segregation academies. Virginia was first to respond to Brown with the establishment of segregation academies and first to be told in federal court that segregation academies were unconstitutional (Runyon v. McCrary (1976)), leading to their decline. The state was a bellwether for other states. Eventually, five states—Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia—defied the court's decision in Brown by 1970.[17] Segregated private schools lost their tax-exempt status in Coit v. Green (1971). Between 1961 and 1971, non-Catholic Christian schools doubled their enrollments nationally.[18] By 1969, 300,000 of 7,400,000 white students attended segregated school in eleven southern states.[19]
Virginia [ edit ]
In Virginia, segregation academies were part of a policy of massive resistance declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. He worked to unite other white Virginia politicians and leaders in taking action to prevent school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954.
In its September/October 1956 special session, the Virginia General Assembly passed a series of laws known as the Stanley plan to implement massive resistance. In January, Virginia's voters had approved an amendment to the state constitution to allow tuition grants to parents enrolling their children in private schools. Part of the Stanley plan established tuition grants program, which allowed parents who refused to allow their children to attend desegregated schools funding so each could attend a private school of choice. In practice, this meant state support of newly established all-white private schools which became known as "segregation academies".
On February 18, 1958, the General Assembly passed (and Governor Almond signed) additional legislation protecting segregation, what the Byrd Organization called the "Little Rock Bill" (responding to President Eisenhower's use of federal powers to assist the court-ordered desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas).[20] Since new segregation academy facilities often failed to meet construction, health and safety standards for public schools, these were also loosened.
Segregation academies opened in various Virginia cities and counties subject to desegregation lawsuits, including Arlington, Charlottesville and Norfolk where Governor Almond had ordered the schools closed rather than comply with Federal court orders to desegregate.[21] Arlington and Norfolk desegregated peacefully in February 1959. In Arlington, many (if not most) white students remained in the desegregated schools. However, that was not the case in Norfolk and other areas such as Richmond where whites largely abandoned the public schools for segregation academies and other private schools, home schooling, or moved to the suburbs. Today, more than a half-century after school desegregation, largely due to white flight, the Richmond City and Norfolk Public Schools are the school divisions with the most racially and economically isolated schools in Virginia.[22]
Segregation academies in Warren and Prince Edward Counties and the City of Norfolk are discussed below, as examples of why even in the fall of 1963, only 3,700 black pupils or 1.6% attended school with whites. NAACP litigation had resulted in some desegregation by the fall of 1960 in eleven localities, and the number of at least partially desegregated districts had slowly risen to 20 in the fall of 1961, 29 in the fall of 1962, and 55 (out of 130 school districts) in 1963.[23]
Warren County also planned to integrate its only high school, Warren County High School, but Governor Almond closed the school (along with schools in Charlottesville and Norfolk) in the fall of 1958. Education continued in private and church facilities for that school year. By the fall of 1959, John S. Mosby Academy (1-12) was constructed and opened as an all-white school. A public high school for black students was built and opened (Criser High School), and Warren County High School reopened with a significantly reduced white student population and 22 black students. Criser operated until 1966, and Mosby operated through the 1968–69 school year.
When faced with an order to integrate, Prince Edward County closed its entire school system in September 1959, and kept county schools closed until 1964, as it kept litigating (although Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County had been a companion case to Brown). The newly-founded private Prince Edward Academy operated as the de facto school system for white students. It enrolled K-12 students at several facilities throughout the county. Many black students were forced to move in with relatives in other counties, attend makeshift schools in church basements, or move to northern states to live with host families through a program of the Society of Friends in order to gain education. Even after public schools re-opened, Prince Edward Academy remained segregated as discussed below.
In Norfolk, churches and other organizations offered classes, teachers from the shuttered public schools formed tutorial groups, and classes were also held in private homes. The Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary (now Old Dominion University) provided classes for some high school students. Other students from Norfolk attended schools in the neighboring cities of Hampton Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth. Some parents sent their children to live with relatives in other parts of Virginia or in other states. The Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties founded the Tidewater Educational Foundation to create a private school for white students in Norfolk. The Tidewater Academy opened as a segregation academy on October 22, 1958, with 250 white students with classes meeting in local churches.[citation needed]
Although on January 19, 1959, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals struck down the new Virginia law that closed schools before integration, as contrary to a public schooling provision in the state constitution (and a three-judge federal panel struck down other provisions of the Stanley plan on the same day, (the Virginia state holiday honoring Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson),[24] individual state tuition grants to parents continued, allowing them to patronize segregation academies.
In 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County that Virginia's tuition grants where the public schools had been closed for reasons of race (such as in Prince Edward County) violated the U.S. Constitution.[25] This decision finally effectively ended massive resistance within state governments, and dealt some segregation academies a fatal blow. Later rulings put the academies' tax exemption status in jeopardy if they practiced racial discrimination.[26]
In 1978, Prince Edward Academy lost its tax exempt status. In 1986, it changed its admission policy to allow black students to attend but few black students can afford the tuition to attend the school, which today is known as the Fuqua School. All other Virginia segregation academies have either closed or adopted non-racial discrimination policies. Ironically, because the Catholic Church had desegregated its schools before Brown, the Huguenot Academy (a segregation academy implicitly disavowing that Catholic policy by its title), merged with Blessed Sacrament High School, a nearby Catholic High School, to become Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.
In 1985 the Bollingbrook School, originally founded as a segregation academy for white students in 1958, merged with Gibbons High School, a nearby Catholic High School in Petersburg, to become St. Vincent de Paul High School.[27]
Mississippi [ edit ]
In Mississippi, many of the segregation academies were first established in the black-majority Mississippi Delta region in northwestern Mississippi. The Delta has historically had a very large majority-black population, related to the history of the use of slave labor on cotton plantations. The potential for integration resulted in white parents' establishing segregation academies in every county in the Delta. Many academies are still operating, from Indianola, Mississippi to Humphreys County. These schools began to accept black students late in the 20th century, although many of them still enroll relatively small numbers of black students. In a region with low incomes among blacks, many African-American parents cannot afford the private schools. At least one school in Mississippi, Carroll Academy, receives substantial funding from the segregationist Council of Conservative Citizens.[28][29] The governor of Mississippi Ross Barnett, said in September 1962, "I submit to you tonight, no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your governor".[30]
Arkansas [ edit ]
Between 1966 and 1972, at least 32 segregation academies were established in Arkansas.[31] By 1972, about 5,000 white students attended such schools.[31]
Arkansas is one of twelve states that have not adopted the Blaine Amendment to their state constitutions. The amendment forbids direct government aid to educational institutions that have a religious affiliation. Many segregation academies have since adopted curricula with a "Christian world view".
Louisiana [ edit ]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana mandated integration of public schools in Washington Parish (1969), St. Tammany Parish (1969), Tensas Parish (1970), Claiborne Parish (1970), and Jackson Parish (1969).[32]
Alabama [ edit ]
Alabama, like Mississippi, largely ignored the 1954 ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. In 1958, a conflict over segregation in city parks brought Martin Luther King to Montgomery. The city closed its parks; King recommended that black parents attempt to enroll their children in city schools, expecting to establish cases testing the Alabama Pupil Placement Act. Montgomery Academy was the first segregation academy established in Alabama; others followed in the late 1960s.
South Carolina [ edit ]
In South Carolina, where private schools have existed since the 1800s, there were no fully racially integrated private schools before 1954. Some 200 private schools were created between 1963 and 1975; private school enrollment hit a peak of 50,000 in 1978.[33] In Clarendon County, for example, the private academy Clarendon Hall was established in late 1965, after four black students enrolled in a previously all-white public school in the fall term. By 1969, only 281 white students were left in the public school system, and only 16 white students were in public schools when they officially desegregated a year later.[34]
Texas [ edit ]
Texas was an early opponent of desegregation. In 1956, blacks were turned away from Mansfield High School in defiance of Brown and other federal orders to integrate. In Dallas, for example, the DISD subdivided itself into six subdistricts, each of which was "one race" (more than ninety percent white or black).[35] The Texas Education Agency was ordered in November 1970 to desegregate Texas public schools (United States v. Texas).[36] The state did not offer any financial assistance to private schools as Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama had.
[n 1] List of schools founded as segregation academies [ edit ]
^ This list is incomplete. Reliable sources are required for inclusion. Closed segregation academies, especially, may not have sufficient references to support inclusion. See also Category:Segregation academies
In federal law [ edit ]
Green v. Connally (1971) set the standard by which the Internal Revenue Service identifies a segregation academy, a so-called "Paragraph (1) School".[26] The IRS must deny exemption to schools:
which have been determined in adversary or administrative proceedings to be racially discriminatory; or were established or expanded at or about the time the public school districts in which they are located or which they serve were desegregating, and which cannot demonstrate that they do not racially discriminate in admissions, employment, scholarships, loan programs, athletics, and extracurricular programs.
See also [ edit ]
The "Southern Manifesto", a document written in 1956 by legislators in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places
Runyon v. McCrary (1976): U.S. Supreme Court affirms private schools may not discriminate due to race based on 42 U.S.C. 1981.
(1976): U.S. Supreme Court affirms private schools may not discriminate due to race based on 42 U.S.C. 1981. Allen v. Wright, a 1984 U. S. Supreme Court case challenging public subsidy for private schools that are effectively segregated.
Further reading [ edit ]
Felton, Emmanuel, "The Secessionist Movement in Education," The Nation, Sept. 25, 2017, pp. 12–24.
Sept. 25, 2017, pp. 12–24. Rooks, Noliwe, "Cindy Hyde-Smith Is Teaching Us What Segregation Academies Taught Her," New York Times, Nov. 28, 2018.A former Catholic priest was found guilty in the brutal murder of a Texas beauty queen nearly six decades ago, a jury announced Thursday.
John Bernard Feit, 84, was sentenced to life in prison for the death of 25-year-old Irene Garza, who disappeared the night before Easter in April 1960. She was found dead in a canal five days later.
Prosecutors had pushed for a 57 year sentence for Feit - which was reflective of the time he spent walking free from the heinous crime. He was indicted for the murder last February.
The gorgeous Garza was a schoolteacher and Miss All South Texas Sweetheart 1958 before she abruptly vanished.
She was last seen at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where she was a parishioner, visiting Feit for confession.
Former priest John Feit leaves the 92nd state District Court after closing arguments in his trial for the 1960 murder of Irene Garza at the Hidalgo County Courthouse in Edinburg, Texas Friday
Feit sits with his lawyer O. Rene Flores before the start of the sentencing phase of his trial
Noemi Sigler, a relative to the victim, hugs Hidalo County Assistant District Attorney Michael Garza following the guilty verdict for Feit
Feit, 84 (right), was long-believed to have killed 25-year-old Irene Garza (left), a Texas beauty queen
Garza's shoe and purse were found first before her body was. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped while unconscious and then beaten and asphyxiated.
Also found on her was a slide viewer with long black cord, which belonged to Feit.
Authorities questioned the then-27-year-old priest who had scratches on his hand and failed a lie detector test.
He was later ruled out as a suspect after church officials allegedly pressured police to leave him alone, according to the Houston Chronicle.
At the time it was unthinkable for a priest to commit such a horrible act.
Garza (pictured), a schoolteacher and Miss All South Texas Sweetheart 1958, disappeared on Easter weekend in April 1960 and was found dead in a canal five days later
She was last seen at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where Feit (pictured) was a visiting priest, for confession with him
The case went cold until 2002 when McAllen police and Texas Rangers decided to reopen the case.
They interviewed Reverend Joseph O'Brien, a McAllen priest who said he'd seen the scratches on Feit's hands in the days following Garza's disappearance.
He eventually told Rangers that Feit confessed to killing Garza, as did another priest.
Authorities questioned the then-27-year-old priest (pictured) who had scratches on his hand and failed a lie detector test. He was later ruled out as a suspect after church officials allegedly pressured police to leave him alone
Two priests revealed that Feit admitted killing Garza. The re-opened case sparked a grand jury probe in 2004, but Feit was never indicted due to a lack of new evidence (Pictured, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas where Feit worked and where Garza was last seen)
After Ricardo Rodriguez was elected Hildago County district attorney in 2014 he reopened Garza's case and requested a new grand jury, which led to a subsequent indictment against Feit (pictured) in early February 2016. He was arrested at his home in Arizona
Jury selection began Monday with opening arguments Friday. Since his extradition last March, Feit has remained in custody at the county jail under 24-hour medical watch because of a slew of ailments (Pictured, Feit with a walker in court)
The re-opened case sparked a grand jury probe in 2004, but Feit was never indicted due to a lack of new evidence.
The case went cold again, until it became the center of the 2014 race for Hildago County district attorney.
Ricardo Rodriguez, who was running to replace Rene Guerra, promised to re-open the case and bring justice to Garza's family if he won.
After winning, he reopened Garza's case and requested a new grand jury, which led to a subsequent indictment against Feit in early February 2016.
Garza's body was found in a canal (pictured) five days later. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped while unconscious and then beaten and asphyxiated
Garza's shoe (right) and purse (left) were found first before her body was. Also found on her was a slide viewer with long black cord, which belonged to Feit.
Feit was arrested that month at his home Scottsdale, Arizona, home Rodriguez argued there was enough evidence to prosecute him.
Since his extradition last March, Feit has remained in custody at the county jail under 24-hour medical watch because of a slew of ailments.
Since the 1970s, Feit has enjoyed family life. He got married, had children and grandchildren and regularly volunteered at his church.
He publicly denied any involvement in Garza's death on multiple occasions previously.Human beings, it would seem, have a fascination with death. While most of us would tend to agree that it is something best avoided, it also holds a sense of wonder for us. As the short story “The Body” by Stephen King (later made into the film Stand by Me) graphically illustrates, even as children, we are drawn by the allure of the dead. Just consider how many ways we have of saying that someone has died; Wikipedia counts at least 80, and there are doubtless dozens more.
But nowhere is our fascination with death exemplified as much as how we treat our dead. In most Western countries, death is celebrated with a (often solemn) ceremony, and the deceased is interred in a necropolis, a city of the dead (more colloquially known as a graveyard or cemetery). The burial site is often given a marker or memorial so the deceased may be remembered by future visitors to the site. Of course, funeral rites vary from place to place, but in most cases, great care and ceremony are involved.
Here I present (in no particular order) the 15 most common means of putting someone’s mortal remains to rest.
15 Aquamation
Aquamation is the most environment-friendly way of disposal of human bodies. The process involves the rapid disintegration of the human body into high quality fertilizers. In comparison with cremation, about 10% of the energy is used, and all of the associated pollution is avoided.
With Aquamation, an individual body is gently placed in a clean, stainless steel vessel. A combination of water flow, temperature (~90C) and alkalinity are used to accelerate the natural course of tissue hydrolysis. Typically the process takes about four hours to complete.
14 Burial
Burial is the act of interring a person or object in the ground, and is probably the simplest and most common method of disposing of a body.
Burial is generally accepted to be one of the earliest detectable forms of religious practice, and many hominid remains have been discovered interred with grave goods, or with obvious signs of ceremony. Even today, most burials are presided over by a religious figure, and in many cultures they are conducted with great reverence.
In some cultures, exactly how one is buried may make all the difference. Christian burials, for example, often demand that the body be laid flat, with arms and legs extended and aligned east-west, with the head at the western end of the grave. This is to allow them to view the coming of Christ on Judgment day. In Islam, the head is pointed toward and the face turned to Mecca. Warriors in some ancient cultures were interred upright, and an upside down position is typically symbolic of suicides, or as a punishment.
It is interesting to note that humans are not alone in their practice of burying the dead, either. Chimpanzees and elephants have been observed to cover dead family members with leaves and branches. An elephant that trampled a mother and child buried the remains under a pile of leaves.
13 Burial at Sea
Burial at sea is the term used for the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean. Many cultures have regulations to make burial at sea accessible, and it is fast becoming a popular choice. In the United States, ashes must be scattered no less than three nautical miles from the shore, and bodies given over to the sea must be buried in locations of at least 600 feet depth.
Traditionally, the service is conducted by the captain or commanding officer of the ship or aircraft. Possibilities include burial in a weighted casket, burial in an urn, being sewn into sailcloth or scattering the cremated remains. Burial at sea by aircraft is normally done only with cremated remains. It is also possible to have the ashes mixed with concrete to form an artificial reef. This gives the deceased a form of immortality by allowing their remains to contribute to an entire ecosystem.
Most major religions permit burial at sea, and some have very specific rituals concerning it. Islam and Judaism both prefer burials on land, but both have allowances for maritime burials, should the need (or desire) arise.
12 Entombment
Entombment is the act of placing human remains in a structurally enclosed space, or burial chamber. This differs from burial in that the body is not consigned directly to the earth, but rather is kept within a specially designed sealed chamber. There are many different forms of tombs, from mausoleums (specifically built for this purpose), to elaborate (and often decorative) family crypts, to a simple cave with a sealed entrance. A mausoleum is typically an above-ground structure, but a tomb may also be an underground chamber.
Tombs may be designed for singular use, or may serve to house the remains of several generations. Individual remains within a tomb are often sealed in coffins or sarcophagi, though in some cases they are placed in interment niches. Tombs may belong to families, religious organizations or even entire cities. Catacombs, such as the famed Parisian catacombs, are a form of tomb (as well as a mass grave), and in some cases, as with the Capuchin Catacombs of Palmero, serve as macabre tourist attractions.
11 Dismemberment
Dismemberment involves cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of some creature. It is typically committed after death, for a specific purpose, but on occasion has been the cause of death.
Until the late 19th Century, hanging, drawing and quartering was a common punishment for high treason. This involved the offender being dragged through the streets by a horse while tied to a hurdle, then being hanged by the neck until nearly dead (but certainly still alive), having the vital organs removed from the abdomen and burned in front of them (males were typically castrated at this time, as well, and their genitals also burned), then being decapitated and the body cut into four pieces. The head and pieces were then typically boiled and displayed as a warning to others. In the Netherlands and Belgium, those convicted of regicide had their arms and legs tied to horses and the abdomen sliced open.
In modern times, the most likely reasons for dismemberment are to hide the identity of the deceased, or to make the corpse more accessible for transport or fitting into tight spaces. Thus, it is typically performed postmortem. Because fingerprints, hair samples, facial modeling and toe prints can all be used to indicate identity, there are good reasons why many murderers take the extra time to do this.
Dismemberment has also been practiced in the past on the bodies of Catholic saints, as their earthly remains are considered to be holy relics.
10 Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing dead bodies to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is most often performed in a crematorium, though some cultures, such as India, do practice open-air cremation. Generally, temperatures of no less than 1500oF are required to ensure complete disintegration.
After the process is complete, the dry bone fragments that remain are swept out of the retort (the chamber in which the body is immolated) and passed through a cremulator. This machine grinds the bones into a fine, sand-like powder.
In some cultures or regions, pulverization may be performed by hand. These “ashes” are then provided to the family to be kept, scattered or interred in a traditional grave.
In Japanese and Thai funeral traditions, the bones are not pulverized (unless requested by the deceased). Instead, family members sift through the remains and remove the bones with special chopsticks intended for this purpose. There is a great deal of ceremony involved in this process. The bones of the feet are picked first, with the bones of the head being placed in the urn last. This is done so that the deceased will not be upside down in the urn. The urn is then kept in a place of honor or a small shrine within the home.
9 Space Burial
In the late years of the 20th Century, it became the vogue to be “buried in space,” that is, to have a small part of the cremated remains placed into a capsule (about the size of a tube of lipstick) and launched into space using a rocket. Since 2004, there have been about 150 space burials.
This option is not commonly chosen, as it can be quite expensive and only one company currently specializes in providing this service. In most cases, the remains are fired into Earth orbit, though some have been launched into other trajectories, including to the moon, Pluto, and deep space. Famous people who have been “buried” in space include James Doohan (“Scotty” of Star Trek fame), Gene Roddenberry (creator of the aforementioned Star Trek), Timothy Leary (American writer, psychologist, and drug campaigner), Clyde Tombaugh (American astronomer and discoverer of Pluto), Dr. Eugene Shoemaker (Astronomer and co-discoverer of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9), and Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, Jr. (American astronaut and one of the original Mercury Seven pilots).
8 Mummification
The Egyptians are perhaps the best-known adherents of this process (although they are far from the only ones), in which a corpse has its skin and organs preserved, by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity or lack of air. The oldest mummy found to date was a decapitated head that dates back to 6000 BC. The earliest Egyptian mummy dates back to about 3300 BC.
The Egyptian mummification process is well-known to modern science, through opportunities to study mummies from that culture, and by means of references from Egyptian and other classical accounts, as well as paintings in tombs that demonstrate the process. In short, the internal organs are removed and dried out using natron, and are then placed either in canopic jars, or else made into four packages to be reinserted into the body cavity. The brain is scrambled by means of a hook run up through the nasal cavity, then pulled out through the nose and discarded. The heart was considered to be the organ associated with intelligence and life force.
The body cavity would then be washed out with spiced palm wine and filled with dry natron gum resin and vegetable matter. It was then placed in a bath of natron and left for as long as 70 days. This would dehydrate the body and better preserve the skin. The body cavity was then excavated and refilled with permanent stuffing, and, often, the viscera packages. The abdominal incision was closed, the nostrils plugged with wax, and the body anointed with oils and gum resins. The remains would then be wrapped in layers of linen bandages, between which amulets were inserted to guard the deceased from danger and evil.
But it is also possible for a body to undergo natural mummification. The extreme cold of a glacier in the Ötztal Alps resulted in the mummification of a hunter who lived about 5,300 years ago, now known as Ötzi the Iceman. Bog bodies, who were victims of murder or ritual sacrifice, are a common find in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia Denmark.
7 Cannibalism
Also known as anthropophagy, cannibalism has been recorded throughout history and continues to be practiced even today. Specifically, it is the act of humans eating other humans. If humans are specifically killed to be eaten, it is called homicidal cannibalism. If the practice is restricted to those already dead, it is called necro-cannibalism. There are two kinds of cannibalistic social behavior: endocannibalism (the act of consuming humans from the same community) and exocannibalism (eating humans from other communities).
Cannibalism may be practiced for a number of reasons. Among primitive peoples, it was often believed that consuming an individual’s flesh could grant their abilities to the cannibal. Cannibalism might also be performed simply because the cannibal enjoys the taste, as a form of insult to the dead, or to honor them.
Cannibalism has long served as a recurrent theme in myth and legend, dating back to Ancient Greece, with stories of Cronus, an elder god who was said to have devoured his children. Baba Yaga is a famous Russian cannibal, and the Brothers Grimm related the story of Hansel and Gretel, in which two young children, left in the woods to die by their parents, find a cottage made of cake and gingerbread. The building turns out to be the residence of a cannibalistic hag who enjoys the tender flesh of young children and plans to cook and eat the pair, but is slain by the cleverness of the children.
6 Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Because, in the United States, cryonics can only be legally performed on humans after they have been pronounced legally dead, procedures ideally begin within minutes of cardiac arrest and use cryoprotectants to prevent ice formation during cryopreservation. However, the idea of cryonics also includes the preservation of people after longer post-mortem delays because of the possibility that brain structures encoding memory and personality may still persist or be inferable. Whether sufficient brain information still exists for cryonics to work under some preservation conditions may be intrinsically unprovable by present knowledge. Most proponents of cryonics, therefore, see it as a speculative intervention with prospects for success that vary widely depending on circumstances.
Unfortunately, current methods are clumsy and far from perfect, and must be undertaken with the hope that a future society that can revive and cure the body might also be able to repair the damage done to cells and body structures by the freezing process. Certain chemicals can be utilized to offset the effects, but some of these are highly toxic and, unless purged from the body before revivication, the effort may be rendered pointless.
5 Dissolution
Dissolution is a tried-and-true favorite of those who really want to make certain that remains are never found: simply dissolve the body in a strong solvent, such as lye or hydrochloric acid. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.
While boiling lye will definitely render a victim unrecognizable in a matter of a few hours, it doesn’t do the job completely. Bits of bone, teeth and any unnatural parts (such as pacemakers) are left behind. Even a single tooth can contain enough DNA to identify a victim and lead the police to your door. That is, if the strong smell of lye doesn’t alert them first. Such methods have been used in the United States for almost two decades, to dispose of animal carcasses. Now, it’s being considered as an alternative to burial.
The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies, using big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers. A straining device catches things like teeth, bits of bone and the aforementioned inorganic entities. Bones and teeth are crushed to a fine powder and offered to the family in the same manner as ashes. The rest of the body turns into a viscous brown fluid with the consistency of motor oil and a strong smell of ammonia. This is simply washed down the drain.
4 Exposure
Exposure is not typically practiced intentionally in the West today. More often, it results from an accident where someone dies in an isolated location and the body goes unnoticed for a period of time. However, there are people who dispose of bodies in this manner on a regular basis.
Tibetan sky burial (known as a jahtor ) is the ritual dissection of the body, which is then laid out for the animals or the elements to dispose of. Tibet is a mountainous land where the soil is too rocky to dig graves and there is a scarcity of fuel for cremation, so sky burial arose as a logical alternative. Here’s how it works:
After being sent on their way with ceremony, the remains of the deceased are toted up to a designated location, where the body is laid out (typically naked).
Then the rogyapas (body-breakers) go to work. Flesh is stripped from bones, limbs are hacked away and the whole is ground up and sometimes mixed with tsampa (a mixture of barley flour, tea, and yak butter or milk) and offered to the vultures (which have learned to keep watch on the traditional burial site). The rogyapas do not go about their task with somber ritual, but rather they laugh, joke and chat as in any other manual labor.
3 Mass Grave
When expedience is an issue, as is often the case with a plague or a disaster, a mass grave may be used. A mass grave is simply a singular location in which multiple human remains are interred. Mass graves are common as a result of wars, plagues, famine and disasters, when health concerns become an issue and it would be unwise to wait for each body to be identified and given the proper rites. Mass burial is generally frowned upon because it detracts from the identity of the deceased.
Mass burial was once far more common than today, but the practice is hardly lost to modern people. Locations known to harbor mass graves include The Killing Fields of Cambodia, the Soviet Union, Chechnya, Iraq and even the United States. Hart Island is a potter’s field, a place intended for the burial of unknown or indigent people, for the city of New York. It is the largest tax-funded cemetery in the world and currently houses over 850,000 “residents,” dating as far back as the Civil War, and is still used even today.
2 Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting, or reproducing, dead animals for display (e.g. as hunting trophies) or for other sources of study. However, some people haven’t let that stop them from taking the next step to immortality and having themselves taxidermied after death. The process is rather simple, but requires a lot of skill. The animal is skinned and the innards disposed of (often without the taxidermist ever seeing any of the internal organs). The skin is tanned and then placed on a polyurethane form. Clay is used to install glass eyes. Forms and eyes are commercially available from a number of suppliers. If not, taxidermists carve or cast their own forms.
The legalities of the taxidermy of human beings escape me (I could find no specific references to them), but I would assume that the process is legal, if one makes all the proper arrangements and can find a taxidermist willing to take the job. However, the difficulties involved in such an enterprise have meant that few people have had the process done. One such individual, however, was philosopher Jeremy Bentham.
Born in Spitalfields, London, in 1748, Bentham was a prolific writer (he left manuscripts amounting to some 5,000,000 words) on the subject of law, equality between the sexes, animal rights, economics and utilitarianism. As specified in his will, Bentham’s body was dissected as part of a public anatomy lecture. Afterward, the skeleton and head were preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet called |
and incredible scene in which a supposedly passionate resistance member wraps her naked body in a Nazi flag and stands on a London hotel balcony in mid-November. There is also an exposed willy (how avant-garde!) and the tedious use of cigarettes (I counted 13 lit in an hour, despite tight rationing by the Nazis) to show we are in the past. What a missed opportunity.
If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click here1 Princess Victoria is born (24 May 1819)
“Plump as a partridge… more of a pocket Hercules than a pocket Venus”, is how the Duke of Kent described his spirited newborn daughter Princess Victoria on the day she was born at Kensington Palace.
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Yet though she went on to become one of Britain’s most iconic monarchs, Victoria’s birth did not herald national celebration. As the daughter of King George III’s fourth son, at the time of her birth Victoria was only fifth in line to the throne. Expected to be just another minor royal relative who would end up married into a European royal family, Victoria’s arrival slipped under the radar somewhat. Few could have predicted that she would sit on the throne for more than 60 years.
On 24 June 1819, the princess was christened in a low-key ceremony. Frustrated by his own inability to produce a surviving heir, Victoria’s uncle, the Prince Regent, only allowed a handful of people to attend. Also under the direction of her uncle, she was given the name ‘Alexandrina Victoria’. At the time, Victoria was far from a regal name – it was highly unusual and of French origin. When it became clear that Victoria would indeed accede to the throne, her name was seen to be completely inappropriate for a queen of England. She was advised to change it to something more traditional, but refused.
Miles Taylor will be speaking on ‘Victoria, Queen of England, and Empress of India’ at our Kings and Queens Weekend in March 2019. Find out more here
2 The young princess becomes a queen (20 June 1837)
On the morning of 20 June 1837, Victoria was woken at 6am. Still wearing her nightgown, she was informed that her uncle, King William IV, had died during the night. This meant that she was now queen of England. She took the news calmly and simply requested an hour alone.
Victoria had turned 18 less than a month before acceding to the throne. This was a crucial milestone, as it meant that she was able to rule under her own steam, rather than alongside her mother in a regency. Throughout her childhood, Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her manipulative advisor, Sir John Conroy, had held a tight, claustrophobic grip on the young princess. Becoming queen granted the young Victoria freedoms she had never previously experienced.
Victoria began her new life by moving away from her childhood home at Kensington to Buckingham Palace, in part to escape from the controlling influence of Conroy and her mother.
In June the following year, Victoria was crowned in a five-hour-long ceremony at Westminster Abbey followed by a royal banquet and fireworks. “I shall ever remember this day as the proudest of my life” she recorded in her diary.
3 The Bedchamber crisis (1839)
Victoria took the throne at a time when the monarch’s role was intended to be largely apolitical. Yet early in her reign, the inexperienced queen got into hot water for meddling in political matters, in an event termed ‘The Bedchamber Crisis’.
The first prime minister of Victoria’s reign was the Whig politician Lord Melbourne, with whom she enjoyed a remarkably close relationship. Melbourne held significant sway over the young queen, who appointed the majority of her ladies-in-waiting according to his advice.
In 1839, Melbourne resigned following several parliamentary defeats. Tory Robert Peel stepped forward to become prime minister, on one condition: he requested that Victoria dismiss some of her existing household – who largely held Whig sympathies and were loyal to Melbourne – and replace them with Tory ladies. As many of Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting were also her closest friends, she took offence at Peel’s request and refused.
The queen had already been criticised for her over-reliance on Lord Melbourne, and now she was widely condemned for being not just politically partisan, but unconstitutional. The tense situation was eventually defused by the ever-reasonable Prince Albert, who arranged for some of Victoria’s ladies to resign their posts voluntarily.
4 Victoria marries Prince Albert (10 February 1840)
A key figure throughout Victoria’s life and reign was her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Victoria met the German prince at Kensington Palace when the pair were both just 17. The meeting of Victoria and Albert, who were also first cousins, had been masterminded by Victoria’s uncle, Leopold I of Belgium, who believed he could benefit politically from the match.
Yet despite the marriage brokering that had led the couple to meet, this was most definitely a love match. Victoria’s diary revealed that she found the young prince “extremely handsome”. She wrote, “his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful”. As royal tradition dictated that no one could propose to a reigning monarch, in October 1839 it was Victoria who proposed to Albert.
Their wedding, which took place in St James’s Palace chapel, was the first marriage of a reigning queen of England since Mary I in 1554. Victoria wore an 18-foot-long train carried by 12 bridesmaids and kicked off a modern-day tradition by wearing white. Outside, the nation erupted into huge public celebration. Victoria recorded how she “never saw such crowds of people… they cheered most enthusiastically”. She reflected on the event as “ the happiest day of my life”.
Over the course of their 21-year marriage, Victoria and Albert had a passionate, if sometimes tempestuous, relationship. Although the couple had blazing arguments, Victoria clearly adored her husband, describing him in her diary as “perfection in every way … oh how I adore and love him”.
5 Victoria and Albert start a royal family (21 November 1840)
Just over nine months after their wedding, Victoria and Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria, was born at Buckingham Palace. The queen soon after recorded how “after a good many hours suffering, a perfect little child was born… but alas! A girl & not a boy, as we both had so hoped & wished for”. The royal couple’s wishes were granted less than a year later, however, when Victoria gave birth to a male heir: Edward, known by the family as Bertie. Victoria and Albert went on to have a total of nine children – four boys and five girls.
Surprisingly, Victoria hated being pregnant, and historians have suggested that she may have suffered from post-natal depression. She compared pregnancy to feeling like a cow and wrote that “an ugly baby is a very nasty object – and the prettiest is frightful when undressed”.
Many of Victoria’s children were married into the royal families of Europe, yet throughout her life she maintained a close, perhaps even suffocating, relationship with them. She had a notoriously fractious relationship with her eldest son, the charismatic yet quick-tempered Bertie, who later succeeded her as King Edward VII.
6 Albert dies (14 December 1861)
When she was 42, Victoria suffered a shocking blow. Albert, her beloved husband, friend and advisor, unexpectedly died. After visiting Bertie in an attempt to persuade him against a scandalous affair, Albert had caught a chill, which then developed into typhoid fever.
Albert was an active man in his forties, so his death came as a complete shock to the nation. To Victoria, however, the loss was not just shocking, but earth-shattering. In his role as prince consort, Albert had not only offered her constant emotional support but also shared her workload, continually offering advice and tirelessly helping out with royal duties, especially while she was pregnant. Unable to control her grief, the queen (whose mother had also died earlier the same year) withdrew from public life. She refused to open parliament on several occasions or to take part in royal celebrations. Victoria blamed Bertie for Albert’s death, writing “I never can or shall look at him without a shudder”.
Although the queen was eventually coaxed back into participating in public life, she never truly recovered from losing Albert. She continued to wear mourning dress and plan elaborate monuments to her beloved husband right up until her own death more than four decades later.
7 Victoria becomes Empress of India (1 January 1877)
Over the course of her reign, Victoria witnessed a mammoth expansion of the British empire. During her first 20 years on the throne, Britain’s imperial conquests had increased almost fivefold. By the time she died, it was the largest empire the world had ever known and included a quarter of the world’s population. As the monarchy was seen as a focal point for imperial pride, and a means of uniting the empire’s disparate peoples, Victoria’s image was spread across the empire.
The queen herself took a great interest in imperial affairs. In 1877, prime minister Benjamin Disraeli pronounced her empress of India in a move to cement Britain’s link to the “jewel in the empire’s crown”. The queen had pushed for the title for several years, but, concerned about its absolutist connotations, Disraeli had been hesitant to agree. By 1877, however, Victoria had become so insistent he felt he could not resist any longer, for fear of offending her.
8 The nation celebrates Victoria’s golden and diamond jubilees (20 June 1887 and 22 June 1897)
Years after her damaging retreat from public life following Albert’s death, Victoria was eventually coaxed back into the limelight. Her golden and diamond jubilees of 1887 and 1897 were crucial to restoring her reputation. Designed to be show-stopping crowd-pleasers, these national festivities reinvented the ‘widow of Windsor’ as a source of national (and imperial) pride and celebration. Grand processions and military displays were jam-packed with patriotic pomp, while Victoria’s face was plastered on all manner of commemorative products.
During 1897’s diamond jubilee (marking Victoria’s 60th year on the throne), street parties, parades, fireworks and cricket games took place across the country. Some 300,000 of Britain’s poor were treated to a special jubilee dinner, while in India 19,000 prisoners were pardoned. During a royal procession to St Paul’s Cathedral, Victoria was reportedly so overwhelmed by the cheering crowds that she burst into tears.
9 Victoria’s reign comes to a close (22 January 1901)
As she entered her eighties, Victoria was still actively taking on her royal duties. Yet, after six decades on the throne, her health finally began to decline. After being diagnosed with ‘cerebral exhaustion’, she died aged 81 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Despite their previous fights, her eldest son and successor, Bertie, was at her deathbed, alongside her grandson, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm.
After a grand funeral procession in which silent crowds lined the streets of London, Victoria was buried beside Albert in the royal mausoleum at Frogmore house. In accordance with her request, Albert’s dressing gown and a plaster cast of his hand – alongside a lock of her Scottish servant John Brown’s hair – were lowered into the coffin with her. Her death heralded the end of an era.
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This article was first published by History Extra in September 2016The concept that voting changes anything gets it completely backward. What happens is, the masses move and threaten the system’s profitability, and the ruling class calculatedly grants concessions.
No candidate will risk upsetting their super-rich backers by granting concessions if the masses have not made it clear that inaction will be more costly than granting them.
If we want both concessions and revolution, we can build a party, a people’s headquarters, that can unite and coordinate all the various liberation struggles so they can overlap and empower each other, growing bigger, more disruptive, more coordinated, and more rebellious over time.
If we want nothing, we can waste our energy getting out the vote and trying to convince people that voting is what changes things, instead of mass action.
These two conceptions of how politics work are mutually exclusive—winning someone to “voting changes things” is precisely to win them away from understanding the genuinely empowering truth: the people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.
We need more Fergusons, Baltimores, and Standing Rocks. And even more than that, we need a party—we need a people’s headquarters to help people struggling everywhere link their struggles up and support each other as strategically as possible.
And we need a people’s army, to keep the pigs out of our shit as we build and grow a new world where the authorities are just people themselves, chosen by the community and wholly accountable to them.
Edit to elaborate, September 23, 2016:
Q: Shouldn’t revolutionaries advocate voting for someone who can create a more viable situation in which to make revolution?
A: Two-part answer:
First, at the higher levels, the will of the politician never gets any meaningful “life of its own.” They never cause meaningful change in themselves, they aren’t a motive force–the election results are only ever one filter through which the capitalist class tries to read the will of one subsection of the masses. It is the capitalist class that determines government policy, not the whim of whichever politician got elected, and what the capitalists end up doing is determined by the state of class struggle at any given time, not the voting turnout. Thus, voting at this level literally cannot “create” these situations–only the masses in uprising can do that.
In short, it is an illusion that the vote has power. If a vote passes a piece of legislature that hurts the capitalist class and the people are not then prepared to cause unprofitable disruption if the spirit of the new law is not enacted, the capitalist class will enshrine the law but gut it of its substance using bureaucratic measures. If no law is on the ballot regarding a specific policy but there is a viable threat of unprofitable disruption if the policy that is actually being enacted doesn’t change, the policy that is being enacted will change with or without a vote, with or without a change in law. The constant is that, so long as the capitalist class still desires to maintain the illusion of democracy, what the people demand through threat to continuously disrupt profit is what they get–including nothing.
Second, at the lower levels, the politician has some room to maneuver and make their own decisions, but still only within the confines of what is acceptable to the capitalist class, who have a thousand ways to ensure the politician doesn’t leave those bounds. It must be understood that politicians at this level are even more vulnerable to the capitalist class as a whole, because their supporter base, media access, and budget are tiny in comparison to what can be brought in from the outside and mustered against them. Faced with such obstacles, there is nothing such a politician could accomplish that would be so helpful to the communist movement that it could pay for the “cost” of having alleged revolutionaries encouraging people to vote. That’s the key factor that this question refuses to consider: advocating a vote is not a “cost-free” act for the revolutionary movement. What makes revolution is when the broad masses themselves become revolutionary. An irreplaceable part of the process of the masses becoming revolutionary is the correct leadership of communists. This involves those communists orienting around the most class-conscious sections of the proletariat and helping them bring the rest of the proletariat forward. The fact is, the most class-conscious sections of the proletariat are already those with the lowest voting turnout and most cynical attitude toward the entire process. They are the front-most “train car,” which must be linked to the communist movement to bring the entire consciousness of the proletariat forward, because only through the mass support and assistance of the advanced masses can the even broader masses of the less class-conscious middle sections be reached and communicated with and won to revolution. Meanwhile, if you try to link up the communist movement directly to the middle sections, who are kind of cynical but kind of think we might get some progress out of the electoral system, you abandon the advanced sections, and the middle sections aren’t able to lead anyone toward revolution–only back into the electoral system. Meanwhile, the advanced section would then (rightly) think the “communist” movement is full of shit and would go on to formulate its own theories about how to make revolution, which would invariably be lacking in the historical lessons the communist movement could have offered, and would resort to individual acts of violence and riots, neither of which can overthrow capitalism.
AdvertisementsMirantis' business is to make it easy on you to run and manage OpenStack clouds. They're still doing that, but they're also making managing containers on clouds easier by adopting Kubernetes.
The Sunnyvale, Calif. company is doing this by launching a new single integrated distribution of OpenStack and Kubernetes: Mirantis Cloud Platform (MCP) 1.0. This new release also offers a unique build-operate-transfer delivery model.
Boris Renski, Mirantis co-founder, explained, "Today, infrastructure consumption patterns are defined by the public cloud, where everything is API driven, managed, and continuously delivered. Mirantis OpenStack, which featured Fuel as an installer, was the easiest OpenStack distribution to deploy, but every new version required a forklift upgrade."
This, as anyone who's upgraded OpenStack from one major version to another knows, is all too true.
Mirantis addresses this, Renski explained, by departing "from the traditional installer-centric architecture and towards an operations-centric architecture, continuously delivered by either Mirantis or the customers' DevOps team with zero downtime. Updates no longer happen once every 6-12 months, but are introduced in minor increments on a weekly basis. In the next five to 10 years, all vendors in the space will either find a way to adapt to this pattern or they will disappear."
Those are bold words, but Renski isn't the only one blowing Mirantis' horn.
Lisa Davis, Intel's Data Center Group VP and general manager of Enterprise & Government IT Modernization, revealed that "over the last two years, Intel has worked closely with Mirantis to optimize OpenStack to meet the requirements of large enterprise and comms service providers' environments. Examples of our joint work include improved network, storage, and high-availability capabilities as well as Kubernetes enhancements. Customers will now be able to take advantage of these optimizations with this release of the Mirantis Cloud Platform."
In a statement, OpenStack's COO Mark Collier added, "As the industry embraces composable, open infrastructure, the 'LAMP stack of cloud' is emerging, made up of OpenStack, Kubernetes, and other key open technologies. Mirantis Cloud Platform presents a new vision for the OpenStack distribution, one that embraces diverse compute, storage and networking technologies continuously rather than via major upgrades on six-month cycles."
MCP features:
• OpenStack will provide a single platform to orchestrate VMs, containers and bare metal compute resources by:
Including Kubernetes for container orchestration.
Complementing the virtual compute stacks with best-in-class open source software defined networking (SDN), specifically Mirantis OpenContrail software-defined networking (SDN) for VMs and bare metal, and Calico secure networking for containers.
For storage it uses Ceph, the popular open-source software defined storage (SDS).
• Mirantis DriveTrain sets the foundation for DevOps-style lifecycle management of the open-cloud software stack by enabling continuous integration, continuous testing, and continuous delivery through a CI/CD pipeline. DriveTrain enables:
Increased Day 1 flexibility to customize the reference architecture and configurations during initial software installation.
Greater ability to perform Day 2 operations such as post-deployment configuration, functionality, and architecture changes.
Seamless version updates through an automated pipeline to a virtualized control plane to minimize downtime.
• Finally, StackLight provides continuous monitoring of the cloud software stack. This in turn makes it easier to ensure customers get the the quality of service their service level agreements (SLAs) promise. The Mirantis StackLight toolchain is purpose-built for MCP to enable up to 99.99 percent uptime service level agreements with Mirantis Managed OpenStack.
StackLight avoids vendor lock-in by including best-in-breed, open-source software for log management, metrics, and alerts. It also includes a comprehensive DevOps portal that displays information such as StackLight visualization and DriveTrain configuration settings.
Mirantis is betting the farm on this new model of delivering cloud services. With the release of MCP, the company is also announcing end-of-life for Mirantis OpenStack and Fuel by September 2019. Mirantis will be working with OpenStack customers with a tailored transition plan from MOS to MCP.
Want to know more? You can watch an overview video and sign up for the introductory webinar.
Me? I'm certainly interested. The distribution model of OpenStack works well enough, but no one can pretend that even if you stick with the same vendor that it's easy to upgrade from one major OpenStack release to another. Mirantis' MCP course sounds like it could be just what corporate cloud customers want.
Related Stories:Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has earned another honor. This time, the 24-year-old has officially been NFC Offensive Player of the Month for the month of October.
Here’s a look at Wentz’s stats from the 10th month of the year: 89 completions on 148 attempts (60.1% completion), 1,247 yards (8.4 average), 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 110.4 passer rating. Wentz also had 120 rushing yards on 28 attempts. The Eagles wet 5-0 in October.
Wentz’s award is obviously well-deserved. He’s in the discussion for National Football League MVP thanks to his performance through the first eight weeks of the season. At the very least, he is easily Philly’s MVP.
Wentz is the first Eagles player to win NFC Offensive Player of the Month since LeSean McCoy (December 2013). He’s the first Eagles quarterback to win the award since Nick Foles (November 2013).
Carson Wentz, baby. He’s our baby. He’s it, baby.A week ago, HTC took the wraps off the U11. One of the biggest selling points of the flagship is its camera, which currently has the highest DxOMark score of 90. It is followed by the Google Pixel in second place (89), and the HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S7 Edge, and Sony Xperia Performance in third, all of which have a score of 88.
Sample images taken with the HTC U11 have now made their way online, and give us a better look at how good the flagship is in the photography department. Looking at the images, we can see that the camera does its job extremely well in low-light conditions, where a lot of flagship struggle. You can check out some of the pictures in the gallery below.
Based on the images above, we can say that there’s a good reason why the U11 has the highest DxOMark score. There are more pictures available, which you can check out via the button below.
What do you think about the pictures taken with the HTC U11? Does the device have a better camera than the Galaxy S8 or any other flagship device? Let us know by posting a comment down below.The next phase in the UFC’s plan to ascend to a higher plane of profitability may have hit a snag. According to a report from “Sports Business Journal,” the exclusive negotiating period between the UFC and current TV partner FOX has ended, and the UFC has thus far failed to attract a flood of interest from other potential bidders.
Part of it is the price tag. As outlined in investor documents last summer, the UFC’s new owners are banking on a huge increase in rights fees to help justify the company’s enormous price tag.
The current deal with FOX, which ends in 2018, brings in an average of $120 million a year, with the price jumping to $160 million in the final year.
For its next deal? The UFC reportedly wants $450 million per year – a nearly threefold increase of the peak price under the current deal. At present, FOX, according to SBJ, is prepared to make an offer of $200 million a year. Not quite the leap the UFC’s owners at Endeavor were hoping for.
So what does the UFC of the very near future stand to offer a TV partner? And how could the drive for a huge price increase affect the way fans watch UFC fights once the FOX deal expires? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answers to these two questions could have a lot of overlap.
With the UFC comes tons of content and a very loyal audience
If we’ve learned anything from the UFC’s wandering broadcast positions over the years (hey, remember Versus?), it’s that hardcore fans will follow the UFC wherever it goes.
Seriously, make up a new channel. Call it whatever you want. Put it way out there on the cable TV hinterlands, sandwiched between car shows and the network that only plays ’80s miniseries. MMA fans will grumble about it and mock it relentlessly, but come fight time we’ll find our way there. And if you’re lacking programming, just dig into the UFC’s vault. If there’s an upside to the UFC over-saturation of recent years, it’s the accumulation of hours and hours of content.
All of that is appealing to any broadcast partner trying to draw eyes to a new network or streaming service – or both. Which leads us to the next point…
UFC fans are already accustomed to a variety of viewing platforms
An online stream, a cable TV channel, and a pay-per-view broadcast? That’s a fairly normal Saturday night for an MMA fan, jumping from one platform to the next. The UFC has already gotten its fans used to streaming live content (case in point, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 122 event from Shanghai), and for the right broadcast partner, that’s a big boost.
Maybe that explains why Turner Sports is said to be one of the more interested parties so far. Turner is a subsidiary of Time Warner, which is at the center of a suddenly troubled merger with AT&T. If the merger goes through, as the Sports Business Journal report notes, the new company “could let DirecTV handle the UFC’s pay-per-view, AT&T oversee UFC’s mobile apps, and Turner use UFC content on its channels and (over-the-top) platform.”
The big problem there is the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the merger. Critics say it’s a sharp shift in antitrust policy from the U.S. government, and point to President Donald Trump’s frequent criticism of CNN, which Time Warner also owns, as the real explanation for the pushback.
The uncertainty over that merger may take a key player out of UFC negotiations, at least for a while. If AT&T has to sell DirecTV, or Time Warner has to unload Turner in order to get approval, suddenly the ability to leverage the UFC across multiple platforms might seem less attractive.
But what, exactly, would you get if you spend hundreds of millions on UFC broadcast rights?
Here’s where it gets really tricky. The UFC has the power to draw many millions of viewers with the right offering, but there are several tiers to UFC programming, and just because you pay for TV rights doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the good stuff.
Look at the FOX deal. Events on the big FOX network started with a UFC heavyweight title fight that drew nearly 9 million viewers, but the quality of the cards soon dipped and ratings fell with it. The most recent UFC on FOX event, in July, drew some of the lowest ratings in series history. And while the UFC Fight Night events on FS1 are far more frequent, they clearly don’t represent the best content the UFC has to offer.
As of now, the UFC still relies heavily on pay-per-view, which is the company’s single-biggest driver of revenue. The investor pitch didn’t call for a new TV rights deal that would replace that revenue, but rather add to it. That makes you think that the UFC has no plans of putting its few reliable pay-per-view draws on regular old TV, so why would a network spend $450 million a year just to get the UFC’s leftovers?
Earlier reports have suggested that a new deal might have to come with a share in pay-per-view revenues, or at least more of a say in which bouts go where. That could be good news for fans who are feeling the financial strain of buying all those pay-per-views, and it could also help the UFC’s growth if its best and most interesting fighters get seen by more potential fans.
The problem is finding the right deal that makes the best use of all that the UFC has to offer – and for the exorbitant price Endeavor is asking.
As you may recall, one of the justifications for the huge bump in price was the lack of other available sports properties up for grabs in the next few years. In other words, UFC owners were expecting a lot of competition among networks, and with more bidders and fewer items up for sale, they expected prices to skyrocket.
So far, however, it doesn’t seem like the bids are flowing quite as expected. If that doesn’t change it might mean it’s time to adjust the price – or the offer that goes along with it.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.A large majority of German economists opposes Italy exiting the Eurozone: 61 percent are against an exit, versus 29 percent in favor. These are the latest results of the Economists Panel jointly conducted by the Ifo Institute and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Around 52 percent of the economists surveyed fear that an exit by Italy could negatively impact the Eurozone’s stability, while around 23 percent believe its impact could even be “"very negative."
"Italy’s exit would be the beginning of the end of the Eurozone," warned Niklas Potrafke, Director of the Ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy. "The key question is: what would be the implications for the EU’s stability if Italy were to leave the euro."
However, 57 percent of German economics professors believe that Italy is unlikely to exit, while 14 percent think that it is "very unlikely" to do so. Only 20 percent of the economists surveyed believe that Italy is "likely" to leave the Eurozone, while 6 percent assessed this outcome as "very likely."
At the same time, 48 percent of panel participants are convinced that exiting the Eurozone would positively impact Italy’s competitiveness, while 14 percent believe that it would even have a "very positive" effect. These results are based on speculation over the potential depreciation of a new Lira. The constitutional reforms recently rejected by Italians would have been a sensible step, according to 52 percent of German economists.
Around 100 German economics professors participated in the panel.To the embarrassment, more accurately the humiliation, of Deborah Wasserman Schultz and Nancy Pelosi, not to mention dozens of Democratic congressmen and women -- all of whom used Imran Awan for help with their government computers -- the Pakistani-born IT specialist was arrested Tuesday by the FBI at Dulles Airport for alleged bank fraud. He was trying to flee the country for Qatar. (Yes, that Qatar!)
But that's just what the shrinks call "the presenting complaint." There may be a lot more to it -- a whole lot more.
At best, Awan is a fraudster who, working with his family, bilked the U.S. taxpayers out of over four million in IT fees and overpriced computer equipment. At worst he's an agent of Pakistan's ISI in league with Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, or even ISIS. There are other possibilities in between that are also of a frightening nature, including (although more remote) the mysterious death of Seth Rich.
Hello, what?
To take the worst first, for those who do not know the ISI, if you Google "Which intelligence service is the best in the world?" Pakistan's ISI is number one, followed by India's RAW, Israel's Mossad, the CIA, and MI6. Russia's FSB doesn't make the cut. More on the ISI:
After fall of the Soviet Union, the ISI provided strategic support and intelligence to the Afghan Taliban against the Northern Alliance during the civil war in Afghanistan of the 1990s. [2] During more recent times, however, it has come under increasing criticism from both civilian and military circles for not having kept terrorist forces in society in check, especially against harbouring terrorists and acts against military forces, particularly those in neighbouring India. Recent political commentators and journalists, including Seymour Hersh, have noticed how dreaded terrorists like Osama Bin Laden had taken refuge close to military headquarters in Abottabad, Pakistan, and how it would be "impossible for the ISI not to know".
For years, Imran Awan had access to the secret data and correspondence of many House committees, including foreign affairs. What did he do with it? As I said, that's the worst-case scenario (I guess). But I don't want to bury my own lede in a welter of ledes, so here it is:
Jeff Sessions should immediately appoint a special counsel in this case whose tentacles are so vast they reach the highest levels of our government. The FBI, working unsupervised, has already been tainted by its heavily criticized investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, an investigation that actually may turn out to be related to this one. It cannot be trusted to do this by themselves. We need a special counsel.With the controversy surrounding his attacks on the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier swirling all around him, Donald Trump on Monday focused his complaints on CNN’s coverage of the presidential race.
“You look at CNN. It’s called the ‘Clinton News Network,’” Trump said at a town hall in Columbus, Ohio. “All day long: ‘Trump. Trump.’ All day long, CNN: ‘Trump. Trump. Trump.’ Such a bad guy, I just want to bring back your jobs. I want to bring back your safety, because we’re not safe.”
The Republican nominee began his critique of the cable news network in a flurry of Twitter posts.
“CNN will soon be the least trusted name in news if they continue to be the press shop for Hillary Clinton,” Trump tweeted early Monday afternoon, a few hours before the event. “CNN anchors are completely out of touch with everyday people worried about rising crime, failing schools and vanishing jobs.”
CNN will soon be the least trusted name in news if they continue to be the press shop for Hillary Clinton. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
CNN anchors are completely out of touch with everyday people worried about rising crime, failing schools and vanishing jobs. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
He didn’t stop there. He further accused CNN of not reporting stories that would be critical of his Democratic rival.
“When will we see stories from CNN on Clinton Foundation corruption and Hillary’s pay-for-play at State Department?” he tweeted. “Will CNN send its cameras to the border to show the massive unreported crisis now unfolding — or are they worried it will hurt Hillary?”
Will CNN send its cameras to the border to show the massive unreported crisis now unfolding — or are they worried it will hurt Hillary? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
The people who support Hillary sit behind CNN anchor chairs, or headline fundraisers – those disconnected from real life. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
“The people who support Hillary sit behind CNN anchor chairs, or headline fundraisers — those disconnected from real life,” Trump continued.
That tweet was published shortly after Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria’s GPS,” ridiculed Trump for saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not going into Ukraine, you can mark it down,” despite the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Trump later clarified that he meant Russia would not attempt such a move if he became president.
“There’s a pattern here,” Zakaria said. “Every time it is demonstrated that Donald Trump is plainly ignorant about some basic public policy issue, some well-known fact, he comes back with a certain bravado, and tries to explain it away with a tweet or a statement. … Usually he adds that the press hates him.”
“This is the mode of a bulls*** artist,” Zakaria said.
At the rally, Trump later returned to attacking CNN amid a tangent in which he also bashed the New York Times and Washington Post.
“I think their ratings are going to go down really sharply now,” the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host told the crowd. “They’ve been asking me to go on for months; I won’t do their shows. And the reason I won’t is because it’s so dishonest that, until they straighten up, I’m not doing their shows. And when people finally realized I’m not doing their shows, they stopped watching. That’s what happens.”
Trump, though, has not stopped.
Earlier Monday, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents who appeared onstage at last week’s Democratic National Convention, continued their criticism of Trump on several morning shows, including CNN’s “New Day.” And judging by the timing of this tweet, Trump was watching the Khans on CNN too.
“Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same,” he tweeted. “Nice!”METALLICA is planning to reissue its third album, 1986's "Master Of Puppets", before the end of 2017 or early next year. Like the group's first two LPs, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning" — both of which were reissued in April 2016 — "Master" is expected to be remastered for the most advanced sound quality and will be available in several formats, including a deluxe box set.
Speaking to Quebec, Canada's Voir, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about the "Master Of Puppets" reissue: "It should be coming maybe later… We'll try to see if we can get it out at the end of this year. It's coming soon. We're working on it. There's a lot of stuff associated with 'Master Of Puppets'; that's a big project. And we've spent so much time looking forward, with [the latest METALLICA album] 'Hardwired [… To Self-Destruct]' and so on, but 'Master Of Puppets' is obviously next. [It will be out] hopefully late this year. If not, soon thereafter."
"Master Of Puppets" was released on February 24, 1986 and was the first album METALL |
on
There's a lot of options out there and finding the best notebook for yourself (or the person you're buying an awesome gift for) can be overwhelming, so I put together this guide to the different aspects that you'll see in notebooks and journals, as well as a few tips on what to look for. Onward!
The Basics
Here are the core characteristics of a notebook that you need to consider:
Notebook Size
One would think that there is a nice, neat, standardized system of notebook sizes, and they would be oh so terribly wrong.
Most people are passingly familiar with the classic A-Series B-Series sizing system (An A4 notebook, for example), which is a really handy as a rough guide or for more standard-sized notebooks and journals. For a summary of standard A & B Series sizing and popular brands like Moleskine, Delfonics, and Rhodia, check out this comprehensive article from Notemaker.au
For the rest of us, we've made this handy dandy graphic that reviews the most common sizes and some visual examples:
Here's a list of links to those notebooks:
Pocket / Passport Sized
Moleskine Pocket
Field Notes
Rite in the Rain
Traveler's Notebooks
Midori
The Wanderings Notebook
Standard A5 Sized Journals
Leuchtturm 1917
Rhodia A5
The Rebels: Non-Standard Sizes
Moleskine Classic
Rhodia Classic Notepad
Rustico Ranger
Notebook Material
I like to look at this in two overarching categories: Durable and Non-Durable.
Non-Durable Notebooks
You would probably want to go with a non-durable notebook for something like taking notes on the fly, schoolwork, or a planner. These will have covers made out of some kind of paper product and could be damaged more easily.
Some examples of non-durable notebooks:
Rhodia Notepad
Moleskin Classic
Durable Notebooks
These are perfect for a cherished journal or diary, sketchbook, or keeping important notes that you would like to archive. Typically, durable notebooks are made of either leather. If you want to save what you write or draw I would also highly recommend a refillable notebook. Durability is the main reason that we made The Wanderings Notebook of top-grain leather and with refillable pages.
Here's a few examples of durable notebooks:
The Wanderings Notebook
Rustico Trek Notebook
Paper Type
There are two variables here: What's on the paper, and how it's made.
What's On The Paper
Lined - For writing
Blank - For writing, sketching, painting, or a combination (check out this article for inspiration on different ways to combine methods in your notebook!)
Graph - Preferred by engineers, some technical designers, and nerds everywhere (looking at you Dad)
Dotted - This option has been gaining popularity lately as an unobtrusive page-type that helps to keep the layout organized while not being too visually overwhelming. It's perfect for bullet journaling. P.S. If you haven't heard of bullet journaling before please allow me to share this introductory article and say: you're welcome.
And that's not even considering custom paper types for special tasks like planner inserts.
How The Paper Is Made
The key metrics here are:
Paper weight (measured in GSM)
Acid free or not
Paper Weight
GSM refers to the weight of the paper, but not necessarily the density. For a full explantion check this out. GSM is most important when using fountain pens, other heavy inks, or paint in your notebook. As a frame of reference, typical high-quality office documents would be 80 - 90 GSM and company letterhead is 100 GSM. A brochure or flyer might be 150 GSM. 90+ GSM is good for fountain pen users.
Paper Acidity
Most journals (except for the really cheap ones) use acid-free paper these days. The technical details of why some paper is acid free can be found in this riveting Wikipedia article, but for most of us it's enough to know that if you want to save what you are writing or drawing then the paper should be acid free!
The Extra Features
Refillable Journals
Obviously I am a big fan of refillable notebooks, since that's how we designed The Wanderings Notebook! There are a few advantages to this layout:
Buy the notebook once and use it forever. Paper refills can be archived for reference once they are full of drawings, notes, or journal entries.
Sections can be re-ordered inside the notebook to better organize ideas.
Different refill types can be combined to keep everything in one place! Many people use The Wanderings Notebook or Midori Notebook as a combination journal, notebook, and planner.
as a combination journal, notebook, and planner. Tons of accessories can be put into a refillable notebook like Zip Pocket or Card holder
The Wanderings Notebook with refills visible
Pockets and Add-Ons
Customizing a refillable notebook is awesome, but there are some notebooks with pockets and other accessories already built in. The Moleskine Classic Notebook popularized the back-page pocket (shown below)
A great feature of refillable notebooks is that they can be customized with all kinds of pockets and folders inside. Behold!
Hopefully that got you PUMPED to customize your notebooks. Here's are list of a few accessories to get you started:
Midori Craft File
Midori Card Holder
Midori Card & Note Holder
Linshi Tasks Zip Pocket
and that brings us to...
Pen Holders
Any notebook that has an elastic closure will work just fine as a pen holder. Here's how I like to keep my wooden ballpoint pen tucked into my Wanderings Notebook:
If your favorite notebook doesn't have an elastic closure or somewhere else safe to stash your pen, there are clip-on pen holders available like this one:
Midori has a similiar style as well. Check it out here.
And so finally!
Go Forth and Journal!
I hope that this article has helped you start thinking about what is important to you in a notebook, whether it be for journalling, sketching, painting, or productivity.
It would be great to hear about your main considerations when buying a new notebook. What's important to you? Where do you start?
Leave me a comment and let me know!
Happy Wanderings
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You can catch movies at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights from June 13 through Sept. 5.
Here’s the full list:
The Blues Brothers – June 13
1980, Rated R, 132 minutes
This screening is presented in conjunction with the Chicago Blues Festival, happening June 9–11, in its new location in Millennium Park.
Caddyshack – June 20
1980, rated R, 98 minutes
Julie and Julia – June 27
2009, rated PG-13, 123 minutes
El Norte – July 11
1983, rated R, 141 minutes
Screened in Spanish with English subtitles
La La Land – July 18
2016, rated PG-13, 128 minutes
Network – July 25
1976, rated R, 121 minutes
Bend it Like Beckham – August 1
2002, rated PG-13, 112 minutes
FULL MOON DOUBLE FEATURE: Ghost and The Shining – August 8
Ghost
1990, rated PG-13, 127 minutes
The Shining
1980, rated R for strong violence, strong language, 144 minutes
Hidden Figures – August 15
2016, rated PG, 127 minutes
Five Heartbeats – August 22
1991, rated R, some sexual content, 122 minutes
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 80th Anniversary Family Daytime Screening
Thursday, August 24 at 10am
1937, rated G, 83 minutes
The Princess Bride – August 29
1987, rated PG, 98 minutes
Wayne’s World – September 5
1992, rated PG-13, 95 minutesPoliZette Refugees Skip Nations with Similar Cultures on Route to U.S. Mass resettlement in Western countries violates international law, long-standing doctrine
A Somali refugee, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, tried to kill 11 people on the Ohio State University campus last week.
No one was fatally injured. But that was luck. Artan rammed his car into a crowd and then slashed at 11 people with a large knife.
“The people we are taking in are very often our enemies.”
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Americans learned Artan came to the United States from Somalia, joined by his mother and six siblings. But what did not necessarily permeate was that he and his family were resettled in Pakistan first, circa 2007. The family was in a Muslim nation much better suited to their cultural and religious needs.
And they were safe — safe from the anarchy, poverty and violence of Somalia.
But for some reason, a Christian charity funded by the federal government resettled the family in Dallas in 2014.
According to the Stream, a Christian news website, his family was settled first in Dallas. Catholic Charities of Dallas sponsored the family, attracting federal dollars to help with the resettlement.
Artan and his family were then resettled in Ohio.
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[lz_table title=”U.S. Refugee Admissions” source=”U.S. State Department”]
1975 v. 2015
|Africa
1975, 0
2015, 22472
|Near East-South Asia
1975, 0
2015, 24579
|Asia
1975, 135000
2015, 18469
|Europe
1975, 1947
2015, 2363
|Former USSR
1975, 6211
2015, 0
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|Latin America
1975, 3000
2015, 2050
[/lz_table]
Artan’s example shows just how abused and troubled America’s refugee program is. The current refugee program was formed in 1975 as a response to a flood of Asian refugees expected when North Vietnam won its civil war. The policy was supposed to be aimed toward friendly foreigners who were under siege from their own governments — governments the United States usually opposed, such as those of the USSR and Vietnam.
It was fairly easy to vet the refugees from Southeast Asia. The United States left behinds tens of thousands of Vietnamese and Laotian allies.
The 1975 program was designed to take a yearly influx of refugees, especially from Asia. That first year, the United States took in 135,000 Asians. It also took in more than 6,000 people from what is the former USSR.
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Today, the United States takes no refugees from Russia and the former USSR. The nation took in just over 18,000 Asian refugees last year, according to the State Department.
But the United States took in 47,000 refugees from Africa and the Near East. The focus has changed.
Every year, in a communication with Congress, the president can alter the numbers, thanks to the Refugee Act of 1980. And Congress has little or no say, which irks Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.
Since the 1980 law, the refugee program has become abused and even sloppy in its vetting, according to Krikorian. In the case of Somalia, a troubled nation-state, it’s hard to vet people and their records.
It’s more efficient, less costly, and safer for the refugees to be given assistance in their own country or region, Krikorian says. Krikorian said what it costs to resettle one refugee can feed 12 in their home nations. It’s like refusing to feed 12 people but giving one special treatment — and caviar.
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“It’s immoral,” Krikorian said. “Refugee resettlement is morally wrong.”
President-Elect Donald Trump has said he prefers helping refugees at their home. Trump said he would focus on setting up “safe zones” in another war-torn country, Syria, to protect refugees from ISIS and the nation’s dictator.
But complicating recent refugee policy are two issues.
One is that refugees are, by international law, supposed to seek safety in the nearest safe country. For Somalia, that could mean Saudi Arabia, Jordan, or many other predominantly Sunni Muslim nations. Many of these nations accept few refugees, though, and expect the United States, Canada and European nations to carry the burden.
The problem is cultural assimilation. It’s not an easy process to get immigrants to grow accustomed to their new home, say experts. And the new era is quite different from when immigrants came to Ellis Island from Ireland and Italy.
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Today, the nations that shoulder much of the refugee burden are not culturally or religiously similar to Somalia or Syria. And immigration reform advocates say Sunni Muslim refugees need vetting because that is the population from which al-Qaida and ISIS sprang.
“The people we are taking in are very often our enemies,” said Krikorian.
And terrorist groups are not even denying it.
“[ISIS] has told us that they intend to use the refugee flow to insert operatives” into Western countries, said Ira Mehlman, the media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Another problem with current U.S. refugee policy is that it is abused by the State Department as a tool of diplomacy, Krikorian said.
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Just after the election, the United States agreed to accept 2,465 refugees who tried to get into Australia but got stuck on Pacific islands. Australia rejected these refugees and the terms of the deal were made secret by President Obama and Australia.
Krikorian said another State Department program began in 2008, when the United States started accepting refugees from Bhutan. Most had first fled to Nepal. After relocating to the United States, the Bhutanese refugee community saw a surge in suicides, according to a 2014 report in The Wall Street Journal.
“Assimilation is not an easy process,” said Mehlman.Kim Dotcom tweeted that a statement on
Seth Rich will be forthcoming on Tuesday.4
Sources:
Wikileaks' policy is to never reveal their sources. Julian Assange reiterated this when he recently tweeted: 1 This is likely a response to the recent claims by Kim Dotcom when he tweeted 2 Kim's claim was followed by an offer from Sean Hannity 3 to have Kim as a guest on his radio or TV show:Kim Dotcom has a mixed record with his promises and predictions, but his recent claim does raise the question, 'Why did Julian feel the need to restate Wikileaks' policy on revealing sources?'Julian knows who their source was for the DNC leaks. Kim Dotcom has claimed the source was Seth Rich. If this was not correct, there would be no need for Julian to protect Wikileaks' reputation by repeating that Wikileaks never reveal a source, but that other parties might.Once again, Kim Dotcom has a mixed track record, but he was absolutely right back in 2015 when he said, "Julian Assange will be Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare in 2016." 5 However, given that Wikileaks are dedicated to exposing the truth and exposing corruption, it didn't exactly take a genius to work out that Julian Assange could cause problems for Hillary Clinton.So there are three possibilities:* Kim Dotcom is trolling for attention.* Kim Dotcom is trolling with the intention of causing the DNC to panic in the hope that they make a mistake.* Kim Dotcom has real information.If Kim Dotcom's intention was to cause the DNC to panic then he has succeeded. In response to Kim Dotcom's tweets, Democrat crisis PR consultant Brad Bauman tweeted a series of tweets attacking Kim Dotcom, as well as tweets attacking Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich.For now I think the best strategy is 'wait and see' what emerges over the coming days, but whatever happens there does remain the question of why Julian would tweet, "Sources sometimes talk to other parties but identities never emerge from WikiLeaks," unless he believed that at some point there was the possibility of other parties confirming who the DNC leaker was.- - - - - - - - - -Somewhere on a Midwest farm, this Lamborghini Countach slumbered in an old barn for 15 years. To think a rare European spec Quattrovalvole was just parked in this barn and forgotten! Not only is this car a carbureted 5000 QV, it has some interesting history. The seller claims it participated in the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix. They don’t state to what degree it participated in the Grand Prix and the only evidence they have to backup the claim are the car’s old Monaco license plates. Whether it ran at Monaco or not, this is still an incredible find! While the US spec fuel injected V12 is impressive, the European version was even more powerful! When new, the chest pounding 5.0 liter V12 put out 455 horsepower and could fling this wedge to 60 mph in under 5 seconds! Sadly, being parked for the past 15 years likely means the engine will need to be rebuilt and it’s hard to say what else might be wrong with it. Of course if you can afford the current $225k bid, an engine rebuild probably won’t be much of an issue! You can find this Lambo here on eBay. So would you fully restore this Countach or just get it running and safe to drive?Open Letter From William Barber To Mitch McConnell
Open Letter From Moral Activists To Senator Mitch McConnell In Regards To Tax Reform
To Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:
The U.S. Senate and House have passed tax legislation that, if given final approval, would amount to one of the most immoral laws in our nation’s history.
As this legislation heads to a final vote in Congress, the country’s poor and disenfranchised, along with moral leaders and people of conscience nationwide, call on you to stop the gross act of violence these bills would commit against our nation’s most vulnerable to serve its richest and most powerful.
You and your colleagues in the Senate approved this legislation under the cover of night, voting in the final hours to reward some of the country’s most powerful corporations and industries. The poor, working poor and most vulnerable in our society will pay for the billions in tax breaks you approved for the most wealthy among us.
The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation has found that while big corporations, millionaires and their heirs will benefit, most people making under $75,000 a year will see their tax burdens rise. Meanwhile, this legislation will add $1.4 trillion to the national debt, setting the stage for future cuts to programs that help the poor. In the short term, we could see automatic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. In the long term, this tax plan lays the groundwork for massive cuts to Social Security and other programs that sustain the poor, the elderly, and the most vulnerable among us.
This is not blind speculation. We have watched the agenda you are now pushing in Congress play out in statehouses from Kansas to North Carolina to Michigan and Wisconsin.
The voice of the prophet Isaiah speaks to each of us in this democracy:
Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:1–4)
You and many of your colleagues say you are Christians and that you let your religion guide your policymaking. You even say you are “pro-life.” But your actions are stripping people of the healthcare they need to survive. You are working to pass legislation that is antithetical to the more than 2,000 verses that call on all of us to care for the poor and the sick.
You assert that this tax scheme will grow the economy, thus helping everyone. But no independent analysis agrees. Mr. Majority Leader, you are acting on faith, in spite of the evidence. We are writing to inform you that your faith is not in line with the Scriptures, nor with what your party’s first President called “the better angels of our nature.”
This country’s most vulnerable will not remain silent as this immoral legislation moves through Congress. Tens of thousands of poor and disenfranchised people, clergy and moral leaders today announced that we are coming together to launch the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. We will combine direct action with grassroots organizing, voter registration, and power building in the largest wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in U.S. history. Fifty years to the day after Dr. Martin Luther King and others called for the original Poor People’s Campaign, this legislation you are championing makes clear that we need this work now more than ever.
You do not have to move forward with this legislative violence. No opinion poll says that the American people are with you. The Scriptures and the Constitution itself condemn it. Whatever has convinced you that this is the right thing to do, you can live without. But people will die because of this attack on our people.
Today, we are serving notice that we will not remain silent while the basic institutions of our democracy are undermined. We invite you to join people of conscience across the country in rejecting the war on the poor that this tax legislation would wage. But even if you will not, we vow to move forward with a campaign to reconstruct America. Our nation’s soul is at stake. We cannot turn back — not now, not ever.
Respectfully,
Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival Steering Committee Members:
Aaron Scott, Chaplains on the Harbor
Al McSurely, Esq., North Carolina NAACP
Avery Brook, Vermont Workers’ Center
Catherine Flowers, Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise
Fernando Garcia, Border Network for Human Rights
Justin Jones, Moral Mondays Tennessee
Luis Rodriguez, Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural
Shailly Gupta Barnes, Esq., Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary
Ben Wilkins, Fight for $15
Rev. Claudia de la Cruz, Popular Education Project
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Red Letter Christians
Cherri Foytlin, Bold Louisiana
Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Drum Major Institute, Riverside Church of New York
Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon, The United Church of Christ
Rev. Nelson Johnson, Faith Community Church
Rabbi Sharon Brous, IKAR
Rev. Shawna Foster, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist Church
Sister Simone Campbell, NETWORK
Maureen Taylor, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization
Roz Pelles, Repairers of the Breach
Penda Hair, Esq., Forward Justice
Gina Belafonte, Sankofa.orgThe weekly power ratings are a day late today. I had the option to either write the power ratings yesterday or do another draft, so I did another draft. My thinking was that it would be better to put this together after getting one more draft in. With that said, I ended up doing five individual drafts this weekend, and video chatted in for three other drafts, for a total of eight drafts over three days. This is the part of the format that I find most exciting; the time when we can start to throw the limited format against the grinder and see what comes out. A link to the previous week’s power ratings can be found here.
White has been impressing me more, but I have three of the bottom three color combinations as white, and it doesn’t feel right to move white out of the bottom slot while that is true. It is strange because many players are still drafting white pretty highly, and I think that is still because of the natural pro-White bias that most limited players have when they approach the format. But white can definitely be a strong supplementary color when paired with red or black, so it’s hard to tell exactly where these colors are going to shake out in the end. I’m confident that blue and red are the best two colors, but the other three colors could basically shake out in any order. I have found green based ramp decks to be fairly strong in the format; they can flood out the board with Eldrazi scions and then they have enough fixing to play the best cards from every other deck, and it turns into a pretty decent fallback strategy when you move in on another color combination and it gets cut off.
This is the week where we start to see huge changes in the archetype ratings. I still think that UR is the best archetype, and I’ve seen a lot of people coalescing around that deck as a power and aggressive way to approach the format. There are a couple of other big movers in the list, specifically with RW and WB. It seems that people are sort of figuring out how to draft the WB deck, and Kalastria Healer is a much better card than I anticipated, and it is the card that makes the WB deck work. I’ve also found RW to be one of the very good aggressive decks that exerts a ton of pressure on the format, and just drafting a ton of allies is a solid strategy. The deck that probably stands out the most here is UG, and I’ve seen a lot of people saying that they haven’t really seen UG come together as a strategy. Basically, UG is focused on two strategies, ramping into Eldrazi and picking up fixing for the best cards from the other colors. Typically you have enough fixing that you can easily run five colors, and then you flood the board with Eldrazi scion tokens. As you hold the board, you start deploying bigger and more powerful threats than your opponent can produce using either Eldrazi or multicolored cards. You can also lean on Tajuru Warcaller and Tajuru Beastmaster to leverage the Scion tokens into a win. It’s sort of a misnomer to call it a UG deck, since it’s usually a base green deck that uses blue cards for board control and then just runs all five colors, but that’s one of my pet decks in the format.
There are two major changes to this list. First, Quarantine Field moves up into the number one slot. And second, Rolling Thunder moves up into the number two slot. These are both displacing Ob Nixilis Reignited. Both of these cards are simply absurd in the format. I thought that Rolling Thunder would be less absurd here than it used to be, but I was dead wrong. The biggest difference is that this format is full of Eldrazi scions that can power out truly tremendous X spells, and it’s not a coincidence that I moved both of these X spells to the top of the list. And as good as Rolling Thunder is, Quarantine Field is even better. Nabbing two creatures is trivially easy, but hitting three or four is also completely reasonable with the help of scions, and the effect is incredibly backbreaking. At least it’s mythic rare. Rolling Thunder definitely gets the vote as the more oppressive card since it is an uncommon. The other biggest change here is Drana shifting up the ranks. It’s possible that Drana makes it all the way up to slot four or five, but I need to get a better view of her in action before I make such a dramatic change.
There were two major changes to the uncommon list. The first is dropping Turn Against off the list. It is a fine card, but costing five mana is a pretty big deal, and enough of the creatures in this format have strange power and toughness combos that make it difficult to get a two for one off of it. Getting one card is still great, but not enough to make the top ten slot. On top of that, it’s definitely possible to play around Turn Against and mitigate the potential damage that it will do. In its place we have Drana’s Emissary. It is a multicolor card, which puts it in stiff competition, but it is also the key to the WB lifegain deck. When the deck has Emissary, it is good, and when it doesn’t it is bad, and there isn’t much room in between. It’s an evasive creature that makes a four point swing every turn for 3 mana, and it is even an ally to boot.
The biggest change here is a precipitous fall of Sheer Drop to tenth place. The more I see of Sheer Drop, the more it falls off the list. It just doesn’t fit well into white’s strategy of attacking with creatures. I’ve found myself stuck with the card in hand and wishing that I had a creature that could just attack simply because my opponent was leaving their creatures on defense. You’ll also notice that I have an unabashed love for Incubator Drone and it keeps going up and up my rankings. I doubt that it cracks the top five, I feel very good about that list in particular, though there might be some shifting between 2-5, but moving it above Gideon’s Reproach feels very good considering how badly Gideon’s Reproach fits into the white strategy.
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March 5, 2015, 3:25 PM GMT / Updated March 5, 2015, 4:35 PM GMT
The Supreme Court has set April 28 as the date for historic arguments on gay marriage.
The justices agreed in January to definitively answer whether the Constitution allows states to ban same-sex marriage. A ruling is expected by the end of the term in late June.
The argument in April will run about two and a half hours, beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The court will release audio of the arguments that afternoon.
The court granted cases from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. It will decide whether states can refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and whether they can refuse to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere.
Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage. The Alabama Supreme Court this week defied a federal judge and ordered probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
— Pete Williams and Erin McClamAfter Zhao Ziyang was made acting general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 1987, key party elder Chen Yun asked Zhao why the Politburo Standing Committee never had any meetings. Zhao was in a bind – while Chen wanted more opportunities to express his opinions, preeminent leader Deng Xiaoping wanted to simply tell Zhao what to do. Zhao told Chen, “I am just a big secretary. As for a meeting, we can have one after you discuss with Comrade Xiaoping.” Chen muttered to himself, “A big secretary…”
Anecdotes like this one challenge the narrative that Deng, who became China’s top leader a few short years after Mao Zedong’s death but never formally assumed the party’s top post, was the father of collective leadership and institutionalization in elite Chinese politics. According to this viewpoint, after Mao’s disastrous Cultural Revolution, a radical political experiment that included the persecution of huge swathes of the Chinese elite, China’s leaders, led by Deng, are said to have introduced rules to deliberately prevent such a catastrophe from ever occurring again.
For example, Alice Miller has written of “a deliberate effort engineered by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s to establish an effective collective leadership system that builds in checks and balances among the leadership oligarchy against attempts by any individual member – and especially by the party general secretary – to assert dominating power over the others.” Carl Minzner has concluded that “The searing experience of the Cultural Revolution convinced [Deng] and other leaders of the need for deep change… Unlike Mao, Deng never exercised one-man rule.” According to Susan Shirk, “Xi is trying to live the antithesis of what Deng Xiaoping recommended.”
We can now see that this is a myth. New research based on previously unavailable documents and memoirs decisively shows that in fact Deng does not deserve credit for introducing real changes that would restrict the power of top leaders. Journalists, analysts, and scholars writing about Chinese leadership struggles should take note.
This might seem like a tiny footnote to the arc of history, but there is more at stake. Deng, who enjoyed an astounding level of authority, was probably the last leader who could have brought real change to Chinese politics. The 1980s in China are often portrayed as a time of introspection and change in elite politics, but that is not the case. The decade was instead defined by “old person” politics and a failure to truly come to terms with the lessons of the Cultural Revolution.
These findings suggest that even if elite Chinese politics later became increasingly shaped by traditions and principles in a relative sense, policymakers have reason to doubt the robustness of those rules a hypothesis supported by recent news from Beijing about current Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Without unambiguously legitimate rules guaranteeing both collective leadership and a stable succession, Xi may feel he has little to lose and much to gain by concentrating personal power in his hands.
The Evidence
Certainly, Deng never concentrated everyday decision-making in his own hands, and he did bring more institutionalization to the promotion of cadres. He never formally led the party or the government, and he even gave up his Politburo Standing Committee membership in 1987 and chairmanship of the Central Military Commission in 1989. But on the key issue of the power of the top leader, evidence for Deng’s own lack of respect for rules is ubiquitous in the historical record.
New evidence shows Mao Zedong’s initial successor, a man named Hua Guofeng, actually did embody a spirit of consensus and collective leadership. Marshal Ye Jianying described Hua as “modest, careful, sincere, he has a democratic style.” He was a figure fundamentally different in personality from Deng. In the words of the great China watcher Michel Oksenberg, while Hua was the “reconciler” Deng was the “asskicker.” Mao called Deng a steel factory, and Marshal Ye described Deng as a man that monopolized power and did not listen to the opinions of other people. According to party elder Li Rui, “Deng Xiaoping was half a Mao Zedong.”
Warren Sun and Frederick Teiwes show that no real policy differences between Hua from Deng on economic reform. However, Deng used mean-spirited political machinations and false charges to climb to the predominant position within the party. For example, Deng accused Hua of blocking old cadres from returning to work and maintaining a dogmatic political ideology – two charges that have now proven to be false.
Scholars who believe Deng took rules and norm-based governing seriously often point to a famous speech he gave to the Politburo in August 1980. Then, Deng said, “It is not good to have an over-concentration of power” and called for a solution to “the problem of succession in leadership.” According to Miller, Deng’s desire to channel competition “within institutional constraints” was explicit in this speech, which she calls “a text that bears continual re-study and so merits placement on analysts’ bedside tables.”
Yet taking Deng at his word fails to appreciate the political context. At the time, Deng was seeking to complete Hua’s political defeat and needed to provide a theoretical justification. The notorious leftist politician Deng Liqun wrote that “this speech by Comrade Xiaoping in actuality was directed against Hua Guofeng, it was preparation for Hua to leave his position, to find a theoretical justification.” When a friend of Zhao Ziyang pointed out that this speech was a reason many people believed that Deng supported real inner-party democracy and institutionalization, Zhao, then under house arrest, discounted this analysis: “At this time Deng was primarily addressing Hua Guofeng, he was struggling against Hua Guofeng.” In October 1980, a decision was made to no longer distribute Deng’s August speech because of the political instability in Poland caused by strikes and the formation of Solidarity.
The defeat of Hua Guofeng was not only a transition in authority. This historical moment also represented the closing of a different path for Chinese politics – one of collective leadership. Unlike Deng, individuals like Hua and Ye did learn the lessons of the Cultural Revolution and tried to honestly make collective leadership work.
Hua later told a group preparing his official biography:
After the destruction of the “Gang of Four” and when I was Chairman, collective leadership was very strongly emphasized, democratic centralism. It was not one or two people who could make decisions, collective leadership was needed. If collective leadership was good, matters would be dealt with well. The party center all lived at Yuquanshan together, stabilizing measures were all discussed collectively. All of my speeches were discussed by the Politburo collectively.
In fact, Hua was so democratic that he refused to fight for his position because he was afraid it would hurt the party:
If the party had another internal struggle, the regular people would suffer. I stubbornly resigned from all positions. I told Marshal Ye before I did it. Some said that I was a fool. Some said that I was too honest. I do not regret it.
Almost two years before Deng’s August 1980 speech, Hua had already spoken of the importance of collective leadership, both at the famous Third Plenum of the 11th Party Congress and preceding work conference in 1978. Deng’s only reference to collective leadership at those proceedings was negative: “Lenin said: using collective leadership as an excuse to avoid responsibility is the most dangerous disaster.” In Deng’s mind, the party could only have one “mother-in-law” – himself.
Deng also rejected attempts by Hu Yaobang, Hua’s replacement as general secretary of the party, to create a true system of collective leadership. Hu had wanted to create a “chairman system [主席团]” in which every individual was considered equal, had a single vote, and each would take turns running meetings.
In 1987, Deng removed Hu in a way that offended many party leaders, including Xi Jinping’s own father. The process was so obviously against party rules that when Jiang Zemin replaced Zhao Ziyang as leader in 1989, he refused to be installed in a similar process.
The protests in the spring of 1989 centered on Tiananmen Square ended with force, despite the personal opposition of a majority of the PSC, military leadership, the Chinese state legislature, and even many key revolutionary elders. In 1992, Deng flaunted his relationship with the military and threatened to remove the newly elected party secretary, Jiang Zemin, even though at the time Deng held no formal high-ranking position in the party or state.
Some scholars have argued that Deng’s power was limited because he had to compete with other formidable revolutionary figures like Chen Yun. Chinese historian Yang Jisheng, for example, describes Chinese politics in the 1980s as consisting of |
Monaco. She also has posted the best result of the season (49.33s), which is an all-time personal best for the Botswanian sprinter. This is no small feat for a 30-year old athlete.
The only serious competition that Montsho will face in the 400m World Championship final will come from the 2008 Olympic Champion Christine Ohuruogu (PB: 49.61s and SB: 49.75s) from Great Britain. Ohuruogu goes into the final as the second best athlete in the semi-finals – her 49.75s was not good enough to match Montsho’s 49.56s. As the most successful individual sprinter besides Montsho, however, Ohuruogu should never be written out.
Who is missing?
The big miss here is Sanya Richards-Ross (PB: 48.70 and SB: 51.43). The 2012 Olympic Champion took time off after London to heal some of her ongoing injuries and mentally relax. Richards-Ross time off during which she was also involved with her own reality show, however, resulted in her not making the cut during the 400m US Trials.
A notable, if not as successful, miss from the World Championships’ final is the Jamaican Patricia Hall (PB and SB: 50.71s). Hall was the master of the World Challenge meet this season but finished last in the first semi-final heat and now can only keep her fingers crossed for fellow Jamaicans Novlene Williams-Mills and Stephanie McPherson.
Prediction:
Montsho takes an easy win in the low 49s. If she is seriously challenged by Ohuruogu, the Botswanian might take a shot at the African Record (49.1s).
Sources: IAAF, Athletics Africa, Daily Mail, Slate, UT SportsBarcelona manager Luis Enrique, on the verge of coaching his first Champions League final, gave a lengthy and sensational interview to UEFA.com's Graham Hunter about his career, his philosophy as a coach, and the chances of the Blaugrana winning the trophy on Saturday. Enjoy:
"I started my career as a coach in the youth team. It wasn't the first team, but I already had people at my disposal. Of course, as you become more senior at a club, you have to manage a greater number of people, and higher-level players which always makes the situation different. That's part of the coach's job - it's about how you approach it and how you go about your work. My years as a coach have always been very intense and they tire you out too of course. Managing many things such as human beings does come with its difficulties."
Barcelona's style
"We always tend to romanticise things in the past. No two teams are the same; every team has its own time. A coach's job is to get the best out of the players. On top of that, at Barcelona we want to do that in an attractive way, because our fans are used to watching good football and you can play good football in many ways. We need the ball and we want to have it. In most games - except, I think, against Bayern where the possession was quite even - we use the ball to dominate the match and we try to do that in the opposition half.
"But that doesn't mean you're always going to be able to do that - because you've got opponents in front of you, because players don't always have a perfect day, because we coaches make mistakes all the time when we prepare for or envisage certain things. We think one thing is going to happen and then something different happens. That's because things are constantly changing and it's a very complicated sport. You have a huge pitch, 11 players who are supposed to have the same identity and the same ideas. It's very difficult to do things collectively."
This season
"That's why the greatest thing about this season, in my opinion, is the fact we have a team with a unique and special strike force who have shown themselves willing and able to work for the rest of the team - realising that in order to defend we all have to defend together. To concede just 19 goals in 37 league games, you need everyone to work hard and work together, and to press as a unit and do whatever we decide to at any given moment.
"That requires hard work, which is what the players have produced, and it's been rewarded with the possibility of winning trophies. I find that very gratifying as a coach, and then obviously it's a joy to behold the individual quality up front when a player finishes things off in the box, which is the most difficult area."
Coach's vision
"It's the coach who has the overall vision. When I decide who's in the team, the player's response might simply be 'that bastard didn't pick me', when maybe I haven't picked him because I'm thinking about the next match when he's going to play, so I don't want to risk him here, or I think it's the best thing for this particular match.
"Your vision is an overall one. That means you have to handle a lot of information and often use it to help the player; then other times you don't tell them whether or not they're going to play, because you consider that it's better for them to be on their toes so that they're ready.
"There are lots of things. What I'm getting at is that the vision is very different to a player's. Some of the coaches I had, I didn't even remember the drills they would run, and then when I wanted to start coaching I thought, 'Wow, that guy who used to do that, it must have been for this reason.'
"That thought process came later, not when I was a player. When I was a player the vision was individual. It was, 'How can I get through on goal? How should I mark my man? I wonder if I'll start. Here's hoping we win trophies.' It was individual."
Adapting to coaching
"When you look at it as a coach, the picture certainly changes! It really is complex and there are lots of difficulties. It's a profession that unfortunately I take home with me - you spend many nights thinking, 'X isn't working, Y...' It's a very intense profession and it takes a lot out of you, but it's also exciting, it's got both sides of the coin. When you see your team do things that you've told them, you've communicated something and you see that the players have taken it on board and it pays off in the result, that reinforces the group's faith in you and is a very nice feeling."
Xavi
"Xavi Hernández... He was on the verge of leaving last summer but luckily he stayed. With Xavi now, it is the same as what happened with me and Frank Rijkaard ten years ago. You are no longer a leader on the pitch, although you may still be able to bring things to the table. During my last year here, it was the first year for Frank Rijkaard and his coaching staff. Well, it's difficult for a player to suddenly... You always played, you were one of the leaders, and then suddenly you stop playing. It's hard. But then you see you can do another job.
"In the end I'm glad I did it because I am proud to have done so and achieved what I have this season. Although the ideal of a team is to have players on the inside helping those coming from the outside - players advising and encouraging each other during important times - in reality it's an important role that not many players fulfil, because it is difficult. I understand, it is difficult."
Juventus
"Three seasons ago I was lucky enough to be the Roma manager. So for the last two years I have been following Italian football. At home I watch lots of Roma games and Juve games, as a fan... I follow Italian football. I watched Juventus in recent years with Antonio Conte. They were a very hardworking team who I think played good football. Maybe they were unlucky in Europe, but they had the ability to go a lot further in the Champions League. They are the Italian team who have been playing at the highest level in recent years.
"So get ready for a final between two teams fighting for the ball. Juventus are able to shut down and play their own way without being punished. They can maintain possession. They are capable of counterattacking. I think they are a very well-rounded team. And I think you can see what the manager brings to the table."Round 2 Feature Race Penalties
Three drivers were handed time penalties by the race stewards for incidents during this afternoon’s feature race at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona: one for failing to serve a penalty handed down during the race, and two for actions during the Virtual Safety Cat (VSC) period early in the race.
Ralph Boschung was judged to have exceeded the VSC speed limit while he was exiting pitlane, with 20 seconds being added to his time. Johnny Cecotto also received a 20 second time penalty, as he failed to completely remove pressure from throttle within the proscribed time period.
Finally, Sergio Sette Camara was handed a time penalty during the race and failed to observe it: 10 seconds has subsequently been added to his overall time.
Boschung, who was provisionally in the points after finishing tenth, is now classified 12th: Nyck De Vries takes his point, with Louis Deletraz promoted to P11. Sette Camara drops one place from 13th to 14th in the classifications, while Cecotto drops from P15 to 17th position.Eileen DiNino, 55, of Reading, was found dead in a jail cell Saturday, halfway through a 48-hour sentence that would have erased about $2,000 in fines and court costs. The debt had accrued since 1999, and involved several of her seven children, most recently her boys at a vocational high school. "Did something happen? Was she scared to death?" said District Judge Dean R. Patton, who reluctantly sent DiNino to the Berks County jail Friday after she failed to pay the debt for four years.
If you thought debtors prison was something straight out of Charles Dickens—and something long ago left behind us—think again. Debtors prison is becoming very much a part of the American prison-industrial complex, and on Saturday, a Pennsylvania mother of seven died there While dying in jail over truancy fees may be rare, going to jail over truancy fees is all too common, and it disproportionately hits women: "More than 1,600 people have been jailed in Berks County alone—two-thirds of them women—over truancy fines since 2000, the Reading Eagle reported Wednesday." Of course it goes without saying that people who go to jail over $2,000 in fines accumulated over years are not wealthy. Increasing court fees get added to fines—DiNino owed money for things like postage and a "judicial computer project"—often creating a cycle of debt owed to the state that it's almost impossible for low-income people to escape, no matter how hard they work to avoid incurring further debt. Somehow the answer our criminal system has arrived at is to spend money jailing people because they owe the system money they cannot afford to pay. And that's why Eileen DiNino died in jail.by Georgi Stankov, July 23, 2012, copyright 2012
www.stankovuniversallaw.com
The recent discussions on the date of our ascension and the essence of this ascension have necessitated a final clarification. Indeed, we have also discussed in the last days some alternative scenarios that must be re-evaluated in the light of our latest information.
One of these scenarios was that some of us will ascend prior to the Olympic Games and appear in front of humanity at the opening ceremony. The reason to consider such an alternative, was that humanity is still in a deep slumber and that there is no chance for it to revolt on its own against the current system this summer and thus abolish the old matrix. This revolutionary impetus was considered to be vital for the triggering of the ID split.
However, the latest information, which Dorie and Jerry received from their HS and shared with us, confirmed one more time that we are still in the same old scenario of 11.11.11. We, as Planetary Ascension Team – that is why we carry this name – must ascend as a group and thus perform the ID split and the ascension of the balanced earth A/B to the higher 4th dimension. It is the same objective as extensively discussed before the opening of the stargate 11.11.11, as anybody can re-read in the earlier SOARs.
During our collective ascension through the portals, which we have built long time ago, we will augment the energies of our fields one million times each one of us and then transmit this huge energy, equivalent to the explosion of a supernova, to Gaia. At the same time we will separate from our three lower chakras and delegate them to Gaia as powerful energy fields. In this way we will be inextricably linked to the field of Gaia in all eternity. This is an inevitable energetic prerequisite for us in order to fulfil our future mission as powerful Earth Keepers /Creator Gods. We can do this mission only if we fully immerse with the soul energy of the ascended Gaia. This should be cogent to everybody.
In this case, our ascension will be at the same time the ID split of Gaia, when the balanced earth A/B will separate from the catastrophic earth B and will ascend this time to the higher levels of the 4th dimension, that is to say, beyond the lower astral levels of the former PTB from the Orion/Reptilian empire.
The new balanced earth will be free of any negative off-world influences and will be only populated with human souls. This new timeline, which we have created with our relentless efforts in the last 10 months after we opened the stargate 11.11.11, will be under our full supervision as ascended masters. We will also have the right, and duty, to appear on this earth in our crystalline bodies as often as it is deemed necessary and lead the people, first to their mass ascension in Dec. 2012 to the new 5d-earth A, and later on to help humanity arrange the new society under the new energetic conditions on both timelines A/B and A.
Life on the balanced earth A/B will be from the very beginning completely different from present-day life. The most important difference will be the abolition of linear time as I have recently discussed in an article.
The awareness of the ascended human beings will be much more expanded immediately after the ID split and will operate in a more simultaneous manner. Past incarnation memories and experiences will be accessible to many human beings and this will facilitate the coming revelations about the true history of mankind and the earth. These revelations will be necessary for humanity to understand the true situation and prepare mentally for mass ascension to the 5th dimension by the end of this year.
The energetic conditions on the ascended, balanced earth A/B will be much more favourable, so that the shortening of the time of revelations due to the perennial delays of the ID split in the past will not significantly diminish the quality of the awakening process of the people.
Considering this whole energetic background, it is unlikely that, if we will ascend before the Olympic Games and unleash the ID split, this sports event will ever take place on the balanced earth A/B.
It may however take place on the earth B in a rather catastrophic manner, when this portion of humanity may even experience the explosion of a dirty atomic bomb that may trigger a big war on this debased planet, where less than one quarter of humanity will most probably survive the magnetic pole shift and the devastating effects of the rapidly approaching Nibiru.
Simultaneously with our ascension and the ID split, the magnetic pole reversal will take place. However its catastrophic consequences will be only felt on the remaining earth B, where many people will die in the course of it and will leave this timeline.
Altogether, it is expected that about one quarter of humanity will leave earth during the ID split and shortly thereafter. Roughly half or humanity will continue living on the balanced earth A/B under completely new energetic and social conditions. This part of mankind will not experience any natural catastrophes, but only the psychological shock of awakening all of a sudden on a completely new planet.
However, the advantages this new planet will offer them, such as new advanced 4d-technologies, which we as ascended masters will introduce, new more efficient and just forms of social life etc., will immediately mesmerize the masses and compensate for their shock. They will very quickly and easily adjust to the new much better living conditions, where poverty will no longer exist.
It is possible that many cities of light, which now exist above the earth, will merge with the ascended balanced earth A/B, so that this portion of humanity will experience an immediate improvement of a miraculous nature.
In this way humanity does not need any fake arrests in the End Times, as these are favoured currently by most stupid LW on the Internet, as the dark Cabal and all the other unripe and dark souls, and clones will be separated within the blink of an eye from the rest of humanity, which has voted to further evolve and ascend, and will stay on the catastrophic earth B.
Considering all this, we actually need not do anything anymore, but strictly stay the course and send clear signals to our souls that we no longer accept further optimizations of the ascension scenario by participating any longer in new test runs. This is unlikely though, as we have trespassed all divine deadlines of Ascension set by All-That-Is. But it is still important for us to clearly demonstrate our desire to finish with this dirty and extremely exhausting job once and for all and ASCEND.
After all, we have already become sovereign ascended masters, fully aligned with the Great Central Sun, since July 9. We are now the ones, who not only create our destiny, but also that of whole mankind as the new Earth Keepers. We must now step up on the plate and show that we are advanced enough as spiritual and sentient beings – as the new elohims of this planet – and resolutely take over the leadership in the creation of the new transgalactic human society. Not more, and not less!If you are an expat living in Vienna or you have been there many times, I guess you have already seen all the top attractions like St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg, Schönbrunn Palace, Prater, Belvedere etc. (check also: 10 best things to do in Vienna) and you wonder if there are any other interesting things to do. Or maybe instead of running between sights you just prefer exploring off the beaten path places and looking for hidden gems? Well, I have spent one year in Vienna and I must admit there was a time when I felt tired of visiting crowded touristic places and I was more excited by discovering offbeat spots in town. If you also are looking for some altervative things to do, I hope you will find some ideas in this post.
1. Exploring the outskirts of Vienna.
Have you ever wonder what is at the metro end station or where the tram that you catch every day goes from? I did!
And what’s more, I’ve discovered many interesting places in that way such as Tichy Eissalon at Reumannplatz U1 with the best peanut ice-cream I have ever had, the newly built-up area of Seestadt Aspern U2 or Karl Marx-Hof, the longest single residential building in the world, located next to the metro station Heiligenstadt U4 (see: Interesting facts about Vienna). The great thing about places like these is they are rather non-touristic so you’ve got a chance to see the everyday life of Vienna.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for places where you can have some rest from the city rush and get closer to nature, there are 9 well signposted and accessible by public transport city hiking paths (Stadtwanderwege) that run mostly through the Vienna Woods or local recreation areas.
Never heard of Böhmischer Prater, Kurpark Oberlaa, Sisi Chapel or Bisamberg? Well, it’s time to change it! Don’t forget to visit the green area of wildlife preserve Lainzer Tiergarten with scenic viewpoints and beautiful Hermesvilla hidden in the woods.
2. Visiting the UNO City, a modern part of Vienna.
Tourists who visit Vienna are usually focused on sightseeing the historic center, some of them not even heard about UNO City. The Vienna International Centre is a new part of the city with modern skyscrapers and building complex hosting the United Nations Office. The fun fact is that DC Tower, the highest building in Austria is located there.
Don’t forget to visit the beautiful Donaupark while walking there. This large green area is a perfect place for a picnic or kite flying. You can also enjoy a view of the city and its surroundings from the 150 meter-high Danube Tower or ride around the park on a board of the quaint Danube Park railway. The area of UNO City is located near the Danube River, best get off at metro Kaisermühlen VIC U1.
3. Sailing on the Old Danube waters.
The Old Danube (Alte Donau) is an idyllic recreational area of Viennese where you can rent an electric or paddle boat and sail on the calm waters, enjoying the spectacular view of UNO City skyscrapers. There are many charming restaurants with floating beer gardens. In Schinakl you can even rent unique, ecological ‘swimming islands‘ with cozy sofas, tables, and sun terraces. Five times a year during the full moon, boat rental companies offer romantic cruises by moonlight where a man can admire the beauty of Old Danube with a bottle of Prosecco. Every July the Light Festival takes place there with a great fireworks show.
4. Getting lost in the city.
Sometimes the best way to find something really interesting is to leave a map and get wonderfully lost so I suggest you just to get off at metro wherever you want and go for a walk. Don’t run between sights and top attractions, take it easy!
Maybe you will explore some beautiful off the beaten path places or hidden courtyards. Whatever it would be, you will be proud of yourself that you discovered something new. Just like this, I have found a charming little quarter Spittelberg.
5. In-line skating on the Danube Island.
Vienna has its own island and no, it’s not a joke. What’s more, the Danube Island (Donauinsel) is a paradise of skaters. It’s a 21 km long free of traffic area which was constructed when the new bed for the Danube was dug to prevent flooding. The island is very long, but only about 200 m wide and because of its shape it’s often called The Spaghetti Island.
If you have never had roller skates on your foot before don’t worry, you will learn quickly and soon you will appreciate how fast you can move from one end to another. However, be careful in the south-part Lobau area, I think steep shores might be quite dangerous, especially for beginners. I suggest you get off at metro Donauinsel U1 and choose the north, ‘Kahlenberg’ direction.
Vienna is not only Innere Stadt, Prater and Schönbrunn Palace, be an explorer and find your own favorite sights in town and remember, some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.
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(Visited 13,434 times, 2 visits today)Julia Ross's Villa del Mare is on the market for more than $40 million. Instead, neighbours report it is the occasional sound of leaf blowers and the footsteps of security guards patrolling the huge 3334 square metre home and grounds which can be heard these days, with neither of the Packers nor their three young children, whom much of the house was specifically designed around, choosing to live there. Those same neighbours endured 18 months of construction, including massive excavation works which made the site resemble an open-cut mine, the cavernous hole filled with a winter garden, wellness room, gym, sauna, a fully equipped commercial kitchen, expansive living quarters for staff, 22-seat cinema, a room described as a ''dance hall' and a 13-car, soundproof garage with living areas spread over six levels. While Erica Packer has reportedly been given the property in her divorce settlement, though her friends say she was never a fan of the place, it is not clear if she intends to hang on to it. Not far from the Packers' unloved pile rests another cavernous trophy home which has stood empty for years, despite once ranking as the most expensive home in the country: Altona.
The Barford estate in Bellvue Hill sits empty night after night. Having sat unlived in for years as its former owners Deke and Eve Miskin opted for the warmer climes of Byron Bay, Altona was finally sold last year for $52 million to Chaimovich Investments Pty Ltd, a company whose sole director and shareholder is Xiuzhen Ding, a 75-year-old born in China who lives in Melbourne. Neighbours say there has been no life at the property since it changed hands, and when PS last visited Altona, the designer furniture was covered in dust protectors. Altona at Point Piper was sold last year for $52 million. Its owner resides in Melbourne. Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox spent millions renovating the historic Boomerang mansion in Elizabeth Bay after paying $21 million for it in 2005. But for all the effort, and controversy, considering he had not sought council approval before some of the work commenced, Fox has barely spent a night there. Instead Boomerang has become something of a function centre, used for charity fundraisers, rather than a living breathing family home.
Over in Point Piper, the huge home Mandalay sits empty, and is on the market with a price tag around the $60 million mark. The house was bought by William Webb, a former tobacco company CEO, and his wife Marijke, in 2004 for $20 million. The Webbs reside in Melbourne, with Mandalay barely occupied for the past decade. Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox spent millions renovating the historic Boomerang mansion in Elizabeth Bay, but has barely spent a night there. The Barford estate in Bellevue Hill also sits empty night after night. Owner Ian Joye has had the place for 25 years but these days Hawaii is home. With an asking price of $60 million, Barford is more of a celebrity holiday home for the likes of sometime occupant Will Smith and Jay Z, but has largely sat empty for years. Former headhunting queen Julia Ross moved out of her Italianate mega mansion in Point Piper years ago. Known as Villa del Mare, the vast limestone palazzo stands on 1508 square metres of level land and famously has a remote control-operated billiard table which sinks into the floor when not in use. Ross has had the place on the market, asking more than $40 million, since 2011. The $100 million Packer family mansion at Vaucluse lies empty.
As one real estate agent told PS this week: "Point Piper, Vaucluse and Bellevue Hill are practically ghost towns... there are so many trophy homes sitting empty around there it's almost incomprehensible. The lights might be on, but that's because the timers flicked them on... there's most definitely no one home." Sydney flocks to Paris for fashion frolics There were a few familiar faces in the crowds this week in Paris for the haute couture fashion shows. Giorgio Armani at his Prive show with Francesca Cumani. Sydney is home to several women who would be considered afficionados of this most elite world of fashion. In fact, they are such good customers the various fashion houses shout them a luxurious trip to Paris to see the collections first hand.
Eastern suburbs decorator Blainey North was a guest at Giorgio Armani's Prive collection show, along with racing royalty Francesca Cumani, who was hosted along with her Scone-raised fiance, polo player Rob Archibald, who was once voted by SVanity Fair magazine as one of the world's sexiest polo players. Cumani and Archibald are preparing for their wedding in Tuscany later this month. Brawled with The Sex Pistols: Molly Meldrum. Credit:James Geer Word around Paris this week suggested Cumani will be wearing a tailor-made Armani wedding dress on her big day. Armani is known for creating such gowns for favoured clients, including Danielle Spencer when she married Russell Crowe. Also spotted in Paris was Ashley Dawson-Damer, along with Erica Packer, no doubt making a decent dent on her $100 million divorce settlement from James Packer. Erica has a penchant for Dior gowns, including the one worth $50,000 she wore on the cover of Vogue Australia earlier this year, which was completely see through. Adamant that she is "fine": Tara Moss. Credit:Peter Brew-Bevan
Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin turned up to see Karl Lagerfeld's show for Chanel, while Sydney fashion designer Anna Plunkett, the pink-haired half of kooky local label Romance Was Born was also at Kaiser Karl's show. It may not look it to the untrained eye, but haute couture gowns take teams of seamstresses hundreds of hours to construct. It's not uncommon for such gowns to sell for the same price as a bed-sit in Elizabeth Bay. Molly finally pens tell-all memoir Even before he fell off his roof, Australian rock and roll personality Molly Meldrum was not known for being the most succinct storyteller. But even PS was pleased to hear that after spending about 30 years writing his memoirs, Meldrum's first autobiography will finally be published in November.
It was reported in 1997 that the hatted guru was penning a tell-all expose on the music industry with rock journo Jeff Jenkins. But it never materialised. Then, in 2000, Meldrum revealed he had been working on his autobiography for 15 years. While PS has no clue as to what happened to the advance he was reportedly paid by Random House for his autobiography, this column can faithfully report that Meldrum's book is now finished and in the hands of rival publishing house Allen & Unwin. John Farnham has written the foreword of the book, titled The Never Ending Story, which begins with Meldrum falling off his roof just before Christmas 2011 and then focuses on the Countdown years from 1974 to 1987. In the book Meldrum writes: “You could probably write a book about the writing of this book. When the book started, Michael Jackson was at number one with Don’t Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Madonna had just landed a job with the Patrick (‘Born To Be Alive’) Hernandez Review, Malcolm Fraser was prime minister and Daniel Johns from Silverchair was yet to celebrate his first birthday."
Meldrum has dredged up plenty of anecdotes, including stories about Kylie Minogue, Deborah Harry, Iggy Pop, Jimmy Barnes, Patti Mostyn, John Mellencamp, Brian Mannix, John Paul Young, Daryl Somers, Joe Dolce, Plastic Bertrand, Nick Rhodes, Elton John, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cold Chisel, ABBA, Sherbet, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, INXS and many, many others.
There's even a lengthy account about Meldrum brawling with Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten during a blackout in a London pub after they refused to do an interview. Meldrum was furious, having cancelled a flight on the proviso he had the interview, and putting at risk an interview with Prince Charles he had scheduled in Australia in just a matter of days. Miraculously Meldrum made it back in time to interview the Prince on Countdown which went on to make Australian television history. NO WORDS FROM MOSS ON ASSAULT Author and former model Tara Moss has refused to shed any further light on her alleged assault near Hyde Park this week. After alerting her tens of thousands of social media followers on Tuesday with claims that she was ''bruising up'' following the mysterious attack, the leggy beauty, who is in the midst of the publicity trail to promote her latest book, The Fictional Woman, assured PS she was ''fine'' but was adamant there was nothing further to add. Moss opted not to respond to specific questions about the incident or the injuries – minor or otherwise – she says she sustained, despite the significant public reaction to her alarming status updates. JONES OFF TO SEA
Clearly Alan Jones would be a different kind of guest to host on your superyacht than Miranda Kerr – for starters, he probably prefers a one-piece over a bikini. But who could blame the radio presenter for wanting a few days' peace and quiet aboard James Packer's super tinnie the Arctic P? PS hears one of the reasons Jones has decamped to the European summer during the radio ratings break is because his neighbour at the dress-circle Bennelong apartments is undergoing renovations – of the loud jackhammer variety. FEARS FOR RISING STAR CORR Friends of actor Ryan Corr have expressed concerns for the emerging star since it was revealed he had been charged by police who allegedly found him smoking heroin in a Bondi laneway. Corr, who has starred in Packed to the Rafters, most recently worked with Russell Crowe in The Water Diviner. On a set recently Corr was filming a fight scene, which one observer described as ''really taking it to the edge... sometimes what makes people a brilliant actor is what causes their demons''. Corr's matter is due in Waverley Court on September 2. MORE CRUMBS AT PLANET CAKE Self-anointed Sydney ''cake queen'' Paris Cutler has seen her empire placed into administration for the second time in two years, with several long-time staff complaining they are owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid superannuation entitlements. Cutler, who baked Nicole Kidman's wedding cake and has gone on to become something of a celebrity in her own right, featured in PS in February last year when she was last in financial hot water, facing debts of $500,000, with her company placed in the hands of administrators on Christmas Eve. Burton Glenn Allen has been appointed administrator, the same firm brought in 18 months ago, when a new entity was registered which revealed it intended to honour all existing contracts. Time will tell if Cutler manages to see her cake empire ''rise'' yet again.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Paul Adams explains the challenges of removing Syria's chemical weapons
Two Syrian rebel groups in the town of Azaz have agreed a ceasefire.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), linked to al-Qaeda, seized the northern town on Wednesday from the larger Western-backed Free Syrian Army.
Fighting between rebel groups has raised fears of a war within a war.
The clashes come ahead of a deadline, on Saturday, for Syria to provide a list of its chemical weapons facilities as part of a US-Russian deal for the country to destroy its deadly arsenal.
Syria's chemical weapons CIA believes Syria's arsenal can be "delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
Syria believed to possess mustard gas, sarin, and tried to develop VX gas
Syria has agreed to join Chemical Weapons Convention; it signed Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in 1972 but never ratified Sources: CSIS, RUSI UN findings analysed Western military options Chemical weapons allegations
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, is currently holding talks in Damascus about the deal.
But the agreement still faces many hurdles - including the differing opinions of the US and Russia.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said a "definitive" UN report had proved that the Syrian government was behind a deadly chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs of Ghouta on 21 August.
But Damascus - backed by Moscow - insists that rebel forces carried out the attack.
The West also wants any UN resolution on Syria's chemical weapons to include the threat of military force in the result of non-compliance - but Russia objects to any mention of this.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview with Fox News, said it could take about a year to destroy Syria's chemical stockpiles and could cost about $1bn (£623m).
Impact unclear
Analysis What threatened to be an all-out conflict between jihadis linked to al-Qaeda and other rebels in the Free Syrian Army has now been averted - for the time being anyway. But it is unclear what effect this ceasefire will have on the wider situation. There have been clashes between FSA brigades and groups linked to al-Qaeda elsewhere in northern Syria - Azaz is just one small, though important, town. What does this ceasefire mean for the armed uprising? In the short term, if the rebels are fighting each other, they are not fighting the regime. But in the long term, the US and other Western governments might be more willing to support the FSA if they see real distance between it and the jihadis. Clash exposes Syria rebel rifts
The BBC's Paul Wood, on the Syrian border with Turkey, says that under the ceasefire deal in Azaz the two rebel sides have agreed to exchange prisoners and hand back property.
It is unclear whether the ceasefire will have an impact on clashes between the groups elsewhere in the country, he says.
Analysts say there is more chance that the US and other Western powers may arm the Free Syrian Army if it shows a distinct separation from the Islamists.
The fighting in Azaz began when a wounded rebel - either from Isis or from an allied group, al-Muhajireen - was taken to a field clinic and, while there, he was filmed as part of a fundraising exercise.
The wounded fighter demanded the film, and called some of his friends to come and help him.
Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels from a unit called the Northern Storm brigade were guarding the field clinic, and there was a confrontation which ended up with Isis launching a full attack on the town, pushing out the Northern Storm brigade.
Isis is reported to have made a number of arrests of activists, journalists and even Sharia court officials during the time it controlled Azaz.
One eyewitness inside the town said no-one was smoking on the streets - tobacco is forbidden according to strict Islamist doctrine.
While the Azaz violence seems to have been the result of a particular set of circumstances rather than a long-planned offensive, our correspondent says there is a record of skirmishes between the Jihadis and FSA brigades for control of the border crossings into Turkey.
Syrian stalemate?
Meanwhile, the party of Syria's Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil insists he was misquoted in Friday's edition of the UK's Guardian newspaper.
Mr Jam |
. The security guards saw us and gave chase. Two women and myself began to climb a hill fearfully. After a few hours, we came to a small deserted enclosure and remained there until morning.
When the sun rose, we could see we were in a cave. The floor was cement, and the cave contained some used cooking utensils and pieces of broken furniture. The cave doors were still in good condition. We felt hungry, so we went out to search for food. To our surprise, we found that we were in a large, deserted garden with fruit trees filled with mangoes, longans, apples, and jackfruit. It was a still, quiet place, with a small pagoda nearby.
In the evening, the two women prepared to leave, but I was so weary from the fears of the past years and so despairing that I didn’t want to move anymore. I chose to stay.
The first night alone, I became afraid of my lonely, deserted situation. I left the cave and knelt down on a rock to pray. Through my tears and my loneliness, I asked Father in Heaven to give me the courage and strength to survive this ordeal. A peace and calm came upon me, and I knew that I could remain there.
This is my testimony of prayer. Whenever I have been upset or have struggled, I have prayed. Heavenly Father always hears and answers my prayers. He always listens to his children.
My life as a hermit began. Shaving my head, I disguised myself as an old, poor Buddhist nun. Occasionally, I went to the market down the hill to exchange ripened fruit for things I needed. I learned that the cave was called the Tiger Den because a tiger used to live there before the villagers drove it out and made the cave into a shelter.
Each day at sunset, I sat on a rock looking out over the Pacific Ocean. I often imagined that on the other side of the water was our Heavenly Father’s temple, near which many of my brothers and sisters were living in happiness. I couldn’t help but weep, remembering the wonderful times I had had with my fellow Saints in the Saigon chapel.
Four years passed by slowly. I pondered and prayed. I wrote songs, poems, and books and tended a garden. No one knew who I was. Two of my children were still in Viet Nam, and I was able to send them letters. But I could not receive any—I didn’t have an address. Besides, I could not see anyone because I felt I would bring trouble to them.
One morning, after working very hard in the garden, I felt unusually tired and decided to go to the hospital. In the office, I put my health card on the table. It was the only document I had with my real name on it, and a woman close by saw it. She asked, “Are you Mrs. Cong Ton Nu Tuong-Vy?”
I backed away and said, “Why are you asking me this?” She gestured for me to follow. In the large lobby, she took a wrinkled letter from her bag. She removed one page and allowed me to read this paragraph: “My dear Sister Thuy, you should try to find Mrs. Cong Ton Nu Tuong-Vy, who we think is living somewhere near the Vung-Tau seashore. The Church of Jesus Christ at Salt Lake City wants to contact her. Signed Quoc-Phong.”
When I saw the name of the Church, I burst into tears. Through my new-found friend, I was able to contact the remaining members in Saigon. It was 1985, ten years since I had lost contact with the Church.
That Christmas was a memorable one. I took the bus to Saigon, and the members met together for the first time in ten years in Viet Nam. The meeting was in a park. There were nearly one hundred people there. We had ice cream and cake. Later, at our table, brethren holding the priesthood broke bread and poured water into small glasses for the sacrament. We bowed our heads and prayed silently. Our joy was full.
From that day forth, our small branch awakened as if from a deep sleep. A presiding elder was chosen to lead us. We were able to communicate sometimes with the Church and other members through VASAA (Veterans Assisting Saints Abroad Association).
I was finally given permission to leave Viet Nam. VASAA had helped to arrange with the Canadian and Vietnamese governments for my immigration. My oldest son, who lived in Toronto, sponsored me.
Less than a year later, in March and April 1988, I was finally able to visit Salt Lake City for ten days and attend general conference. I met many friends, missionaries, and General Authorities. The first time I saw Temple Square I could not help but weep for my blessings. In the Tiger’s Den, it had been my greatest wish to see the temple. At last, I was able to receive my endowment in the Lord’s house.
Although I am now in America, the memory of my experiences in Viet Nam stays with me. I pray that our Lord will bless all my brothers and sisters who remain in Viet Nam. I know by personal experience that nothing can destroy the gospel our Heavenly Father has given us.Dangerous car chases through heavily populated urban environments has always been a cornerstone of the wonderfully ludicrous'Fast and Furious'series and the latest film is certainly not going to be an exception. Filming is currently underway on'Fast and Furious 7'and the production is looking for some fans to fill out some key scenes.
If you happen to live in or around Atlanta and want a chance to see the latest automotive adventure of Dom and his increasingly large crew, this is your chance. Although the exact details of the shoot are unknown, the production has announced that it is seeking Hispanic men for one sequence and "hot, hip and trendy cool types of all ethnicities between the ages of 18 and 45" for another. If that sounds like you (or if you can go a good job of faking being "hot," "hip," "trendy" or "cool"), you may get to stand around in the background while cars go really fast. If you want to know the details of the casting calls, fire off photos and other relevant information to [email protected].
And if you do get on set, let us know what you see.
'Fast and Furious 7' is directed by 'Insidious' and'The Conjuring'maestro James Wan and will hit theaters on July 11, 2014. The still-secretive plot involves Tokyo, a vengeful Jason Statham, the return of Lucas Black and, of course, lots of cars going crash and/or boom.As I write this, a pneumatic young couple are writhing in the shagpile behind me. It's all grunts and groans and bodily fluids. By the time I've explained what I'm actually writing about, it will have turned into a full-blown orgy. But you'll be gripped. You'll stay for the explication, because you'll be transfixed by those golden bodies, entangled and unconstrained. That, in a nutshell, is "sexposition": the art of outlining all that tedious plot against a background of no-holds-barred sex. You might have seen a bit of it in Homeland, or maybe True Blood, both currently showing on British TV.
"Sexposition" was coined by the US blogger and critic Myles McNutt to describe the many and varied scenes in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones that play out against a backdrop of sex and nudity. "I felt this particular trend within the series was something that we as critics should be talking about," he says via email. "Ultimately the term ended up catching on with some of my fellow critics and becoming an actual topic of conversation."
One of the early adopters was James Poniewozik, the TV critic of Time magazine, who offers his own definition of sexposition: "It's something more than gratuitous or ample sex and nudity in a show – it's using that sex to divert the audience or give the characters something to do in scenes that involve a big download of information or monologue. I wouldn't say Game of Thrones is the first – I think of all the Sopranos scenes in the Bada Bing, with strippers on the pole while two characters discuss plot points, or Deadwood, when Al Swearengen would deliver long monologues to a whore who was fellating him."
Classic sexposition: Peter Dinklage and Esme Bianco in HBO's Game of Thrones. Photograph: Supplied By Lmkmedia
Actually, sexposition goes back further than that, but there's no doubt the US cable channels – such as HBO – that specialise in long-form dramas requiring a serious commitment of both time and mental energy have raised the bar. Long before The Sopranos, cop dramas (especially in the cinema) would routinely feature someone being questioned in strip clubs. British cinema historian Matthew Sweet takes it back further. "I wonder whether the root of it might be from the newspaper comic strip," he says. "Some feeble joke is played out and the protagonist just happens to have no clothes on." That would be George and Lynne, in the Sun, where Lynne – no matter where she happened to be – would somehow find herself disrobed. But Sweet goes back further still. "That itself is rooted in the wartime comic strip Jane, where there would be a moment of nudity not driven by the narrative."
And then he goes back still further. "The nudity in Game of Thrones goes back to something even older – a classical context meant nudity was permissible and casual and everyday, and that comes from 19th-century painting." So what's new about the new wave of nudity? "What may be different here is that you didn't have as much need for exposition in past TV shows," Poniewozik says, "because the narratives weren't as complex. In other words, the sex part is not that new; the position part is newer."
At which point, you might be forgiven for wondering when I'm going to get round to some graphic sexual imagery, instead of having all these critics witter on about historical antecedents. So let's do it. Let's get physical. Let's take arguably the definitive piece of Games of Thrones sexposition, in which the Machiavellian palace fixer Littlefinger engages in a long soliloquy, interrupting himself occasionally to offer direction to the pair of prostitutes whom he is instructing in the art of putting on a lesbian sex show. Classy. But actually, as McNutt explains, it's an example of how sexposition can work to inform us about a character, too. "The Littlefinger sequence is an interesting one in that it has clear thematic implications on his view of power, on the idea of Littlefinger as the prostitute [of the government], always able to convince others that they are in control when it's really a charade."
The problem comes, though, when you can't get through an episode without seeing stiffened nipples during a discussion of statecraft. As Poniewozik says, the individual scenes make sense and are justifiable, but "there are just too many, to the point that it becomes shtick … Relying on it too much kind of insults the audience, suggesting they need to look at tits to keep interest in what is a very sophisticated show." That bit about the show being sophisticated is key, here. Game of Thrones (and Homeland) are not tat, but clever shows, aimed at a clever audience. McNutt reckons that's why sexposition has become a cultural meme: we're seeing the tactics of exploitation applied to shows that demand to be taken seriously, whereas no one would bat an eyelid were they not marketed as premium TV.
Deadwood – ready for another monologue? Photograph: 0NC/WENN
Sweet agrees. "In the 70s, when [cinema] producers had to be very aware of giving their audience the things they couldn't get on TV, producers would say to the writer: 'We need nudity and a murder before the titles.' The rules of screenwriting laid that down quite forcefully. You'd think HBO could be free of those diktats, but they-re not – they're giving you something that's not available on free-to-air TV. This is premium TV, but it gives you the same thrill that you got from 70s exploitation movies."
For some, though, sexposition is a diminution of the screenwriter's craft. "There's a great Hollywood saying," says Craig Warner, writer of TV dramas Britain's Greatest Codebreaker and Maxwell, among others. "'Breasts are still our cheapest special effect.'" He feels that a writer who needs to lay out huge chunks of detail in monologues or dialogues has usually failed. "I work hard to make sure there's no information that feels like it's just being given to the audience. Actually, I just never put in any expository material that one character doesn't need to tell another."
Will the second series of Game of Thrones still be awash with sex? Or will its producers recognise that we know sexposition when we see it? That point was put to executive producer David Benioff last year by the Daily Beast. Mary Whitehouse wouldn't have liked his answer: "We will address this issue with a 20-minute brothel scene involving a dozen whores, Mord the Jailer, a jackass, and a large honeycomb."
• Have you noticed any shameless sexposition in your favourite TV shows? Which do it well and which make you squirm?The pop star Rihanna relies on a team of songwriters to make her hits.
Unless you’re a pop music junkie, or a New Yorker reader, his name may not be familiar to you, but, by some measures, the 44-year-old Swedish songwriter Max Martin is closing in on the Beatles’ Paul Mccartney as the most successful songwriter in pop history. With The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” recently topping the Billboard Charts, Martin has received a songwriting credit on 21 number one-hits. That is third only to Paul Mccartney (32) and John Lennon (26).
But Martin’s run is in a quite different context. Yes, Martin was a writer on “Can’t Feel My Face”, Katy Perry’s “Roar” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”, but he was far from an auteur. He was one of five credited writers on “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Roar” and one of three on “Shake It Off” (yes, Taylor was one of them).
On a significant number of his 58 top ten hits, Martin is part of a team of more than four writers. In contrast, Lennon and McCartney’s hits were generally written with the other or alone. One song Martin can claim for himself though is Britney Spear’s late 90s pop anthem “... Baby One More Time”. The loneliness must have been killing him.
Chart data shows that Martin is part of a trend of writing pop songs by committee.
We used Billboard Hot 100 data from a publicly available dataset to look at the number of credited writers on songs that reached the Billboard Hot 100 from 1960 to 2008 and discovered a steady increase since the early 1980s. The chart below displays this trend. We removed the 19% of songs that were missing songwriting information from the dataset, and do not believe it impacts the conclusions.
Dan Kopf, Priceonomics; Data: Billboard
In the early 1980s, the average number of songwriters on a pop hit was fewer than two, but by the late 2000s, this had increased to over 3. To check if this trend continues, we hand coded a random set of 150 Hot 100 songs from 2015. The movement does not appearing to be slowing down. We found that the average number of songwriters is getting closer to four.
Prior to the 1990s, the percentage of Billboard Hot 100 songs with 4 or more writers was never greater than 10% in a given year. By 2001, this number was consistently over 25%. The following chart shows the growth of this number. We excluded the years 1980-1982, for this measure, because too much of the songwriters' data was missing.
Dan Kopf, Priceonomics; Data: Billboard
Increasingly, it takes a village to write a pop hit.
This trend is even more pronounced at the top of the charts. By decade, we looked at the number of writers on #1 songs versus songs that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but not the top 10. In the 1990s and previous decades, the number of songwriters for top songs and the ones below them was similar, but the number of songwriters on the megahits took a big jump in the 2000s.
So what’s going on here? Why does it take so many songwriters to write a chart topper these days? We consider three possible cause of songwriter inflation.
Specialization
Pop music is big business and big business leads to the division of labor.
In “The Song Machine”, a New Yorker article on modern pop, John Seabrook explains how specialization in songwriting works. He gives the example of Rihanna’s 2010 number one hit “What’s My Name.” The song began as a backing track created by the Norwegian production duo of Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen (known as Stargate). At this early stage, all there is to the track is a beat, chord progression and synth arrangement. The producers then called in the songwriters Ester Dean, to work on the melody, and Traci Hale, to assist them with the lyrics. Finally, the rapper Aubrey Graham (aka Drake) was asked to do a verse on the song, which he wrote himself, as far as we know.
And there you have it, five songwriters: Eriksen, Hermansen, Dean, Hale and Graham (notice that Rihanna is not of them). This style of writing a song is increasingly common. Given the huge amounts of money at stake (Rihanna’s 2013 tour generated $140 million dollars in revenue), it is reasonable for record labels to spend money on the best people at every aspect of the songwriting process.
The Rise of Hip Hop
Until the 1990s, Hip hop did not have a large presence on the Hot 100. Songs in this genre have more songwriters because they credit all the rappers, the music producers, and any bands they sample. It is this dynamic that led to the 11 credited songwriters on Puff Daddy’s “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” which samples Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride” and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message.”
Demanding More Credit
Participants in the making of hits may be increasingly demanding songwriting credits because of their financial value. Songwriters get a share of of the royalties from sales and streams of a song.
Allegedly some pop stars demand songwriting credit when they have made little or no contribution to the song. The songwriter Adonis Shropshire, who has worked with Alicia Keyes and Chris Brown, told the Associated Press that some stars will only work with songwriters if they are given a songwriting credit. Songwriters that have worked with pop stars Beyonce and Avril Lavigne suggest those singers may take credit even when they have only made minor changes to the song. As the saying goes, “change a word and take a third.”
It is also possible that deserving participants now better understand the importance of getting songwriting credit. Robbie Robertson, the lead songwriter in “The Band”, famously took sole writing credit for the group’s songs, which led to their breakup and a battle over the royalties for their music. This is one of many disputes over the credits to successful songs that eventually became worth a lot of money. It may be that artists today are more aware of the importance of establishing their role in song creation.
***
“I just believe in collaboration,” Max Martin told Pop Justice in 2009. “I mean I’ve written songs on my own, you know, but I think if the artist has something to bring to the table – someone like Pink, for instance – where they have something to say, it makes your job easier and more special.”
Mostly gone are the days of Bob Dylan, Curtis Mayfield or Paul Simon, on their own, agonizing over every detail of a song. Pop music songwriting is increasingly about combining the work of many talented people in the search for a hit. Like it or not, the factory model of making Top 40 seems to work.
For our next post, we explore the ways that the NSA revelations of 2013 affected the way people behave on the Internet. To get notified when we post it → join our email list.
This post was written by Dan Kopf; follow him on Twitter here.Competitor Group, Inc., which puts on the Rock ’n’ Roll half-marathon and marathon series, will no longer pay appearance fees or travel expenses for elite runners in its North American races, effective immediately.
"With the dramatic increase in competition with more races than ever before across all distances, we are making a strategic decision in the U.S. Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series to increase our investment in the runner experience and entertainment, shifting resources away from our historical support of elite athlete participation in several of our races," Competitor said in a statement. "[W]e intend to maintain our commitment to amateur road racing and the promotion of the sport as we have over our 16-year history in every Rock 'n’ Roll Marathon Series event, both domestic and international.”
The news was first reported on Friday by RunBlogRun.
Competitor will still pay prize money at its races; many offer $1,000 for first place. Competitor will also retain its relationships with a handful of well-known elites, including Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher, Competitor CEO Scott Dickey told Runner's World Newswire.
"We have always been about the back of the pack," Dickey said. "The Rock ’n’ Roll series is more about the lifestyle than the sport.
"From time to time we will bring in runners who have some of the highest profiles," Dickey said. Dickey said the well-known runners Competitor will continue to work with will not only appear at races and race expos, but also meet with sponsors, develop training plans, and/or develop content for Competitor's media outlets.
"Some are multi-year, some are by the project, some are single-year," Dickey said of Competitor's arrangements with elites. Dickey listed Hall, Goucher, Kastor, Meb Keflezighi, Frank Shorter and Rod Dixon as current and past elites who Competitor will continue to work with.
One near-future race affected by the decision about appearance fees is the Rock ’n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon on September 15. Competitor has told runners' agents that they will be reimbursed for travel already booked to the event, and that already-invited elites are welcome to seek the event's prize money, but that appearance fees already agreed upon will not be paid.
Dickey said that the series' next race, a half-marathon in Virginia Beach on Sunday, is unaffected by the new policy.
In recent years, Competitor had moved toward a system of paying relatively modest prize money and bringing in a few high-profile elite runners to some of its races, reportedly for substantial appearance fees. The Rock ’n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon in February, for example, was won by Olympic and world champions Mo Farah and Meseret Defar, and also featured Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher.
In March, Competitor announced a new half-marathon grand prix, with $75,000 for each of the male and female winners of the two-year series. At the time, Competitor also announced that it would pay time-based prize money--for example, $1,000 for breaking 1:05 (men) or 1:15 (women) at a half-marathon, regardless of finishing place--at most of its half-marathons and marathons.
Dickey said Competitor hasn't "made a decision about the specifics of the two-year series." Speaking about the various aspects of Competitor's announcement, Dickey said, "This decision is not a fundamentally black-or-white decision. This is a process."
Competitor said it will continue its elite runner program at its European races.
Competitor grew out of the California-based firm Elite Racing, which launched the Rock ’n’ Roll series in San Diego in June 1998. Last December, Falconhead Capital, which formed Competitor in 2007 when it bought Elite Racing, announced that it had sold the company to Calera Capital, a private equity firm.
The Competitor news comes in the same week in which the Baltimore Marathon announced that it will not pay prize money at this year's running on October 12.
Proponents of not devoting race resources to elite fields say the average runner doesn't much care about how fast the winners run. Proponents of having professional runners at races say that elite runners are integral to running being perceived as a sport and that they're the main way that races attract media attention.
Toni Reavis, a veteran running broadcaster who has done work for Elite Racing and Competitor, was saddened but not surprised by Competitor's decision.
"I don't blame them," Reavis told Runner's World Newswire. "Instead, it is the stakeholders in the sport who have allowed the every-event-a-universe-unto-itself mentality to take such deep root, requiring nothing of the elite athletes other than a quick run on race day, that slowly eroded public interest. So by the time [Competitor] came into the game as strictly business people, the seeds of our own destruction had already been sown."I arrived home yesterday to find a giant box inconspicuously hidden underneath my doormat. Upon closer examination I saw a Reddit Alien and my username drawn on the box. How freaking awesome! I was so excited that I grabbed the box, which was surprisingly heavy, and ran to the kitchen to cut into it.
The first two items were a pair of heavily bubble pint bottles of beer, a RastafaRye Ale from Blue Point Brewing Company in Long Island and a Coney Island Lager from Schmaltz. How on earth did my santa know I love beer?
Then I saw an envelope that said "READ AFTER YOU OPEN EVERYTHING", I obediently put it aside. Below the envelope was a pair of books, Einstein's Dreams and Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Space Chronicles. Mind blown! I had been planning on buying Space Chronicles for a while now, how did he know? I have not heard of Einstein's Dreams before, but I am excited to crack it open because it looks like it is really relevant to my interests. Inside of one of the books was a piece of paper with a two month membership to "SiriusXM", so awesome!
Finally I opened the envelope, inside was a little note explaining the gifts. It turs out that my santa, lihiker, had researched my comments and seen that I love the local breweries from my home state and thought I should try some from his neck of the woods. I am so excited to taste them. He also recommended that I check out "Sirius XMU" for some good indie music, I have never really listened to satellite radio and am excited to try it out. The book Einstein's Dreams is one of lihikers favorites, this is intriguing I am excited to read it.
I can't believe how spot on lihiker was with these gifts, it is unreal. I am literally blown away by his generosity and thoughtfulness. Thank you so much lihiker, I love everything and am extremely appreciative of everything you put into these gifts. Now its time for me to crack open one of these beers, open up one of the books, and turn on some tunes.The Unbroken Machine: Canada's Democracy in Action
By Dale Smith
Dundurn, 152 pages, $21.99
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Turning Parliament Inside Out: Practical Ideas for Reforming Canada's Democracy
Edited by Michael Chong, Scott Simms and Kennedy Stewart
Douglas & McIntyre,165 pages, $22.95
Should We Change How We Vote? Evaluating Canada's Electoral System
Edited by Andrew Potter, Daniel Weinstock and Peter Loewen
McGill-Queen's University Press, 230 pages, $19.95
Back in October, 2015, running for the NDP in a no-hope riding, the prospect of strategic voting was making a bad situation worse. Victory a preposterous notion, I could afford to be philosophical. Votes, I argued, carried all sorts of information that altered attitudes in the short, medium and long term, so that even ballots cast for the seemingly losing side are not "wasted." Besides, I'd say, you are not voting for one issue but a platform; a vote for the Liberal Party may be strategic today, but will be taken to advance any of the of the policies it has proposed. Respect your vote. Vote for whichever party you believe in, it doesn't have to be mine. To do otherwise is to deprive yourself of your due.
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I don't expect my arguments had any sway. And the conviction voters had that they were doing the right thing in exerting the power of their vote simply to oust Stephen Harper exposed, as much as Justin Trudeau's ecstatic elevation, that other conundrum of the election – which is that hordes of Canadians now vote presidentially. They vote for a brand, and to elect a party leader rather than their local representative, whose qualities and responsibilities are overshadowed if not forgotten. Our Westminster system, so-called, has been weakened, if not broken.
Needing to fix it (or not) is the subject of several books appearing in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's broken promise that 2015 would be the last Canadian election to depend upon a "first past the post" single member plurality (SMP) voting system. Votes are much on our minds: what they mean, what they intend, what they can achieve.
In The Unbroken Machine, Dale Smith, a freelance reporter who has been on the Ottawa beat for just three elections, contends that all is in fact well with SMP, the House of Commons, the Senate and the monarchy. In his astonishingly conservative reckoning – positively irate at times – the fault lies not in the system's design but in its practice and, specifically, with MPs "who don't even know their own job descriptions" and voters' "collective lack of understanding" in this age of "civic illiteracy."
This is not an endearing path to tread. Smith disses the idealism of the candidates and volunteers upon which healthy democracies depend with alacrity and underestimates the rationale of voters' choices "grounded in ignorance of how the system operates." It is the consumer, alas, that is at fault. And yet, Smith is an entertaining writer, unquestionably knowledgeable – and concerned. Certainly, he is the most readable of this particular triad. His slim book constitutes, despite its haughtiness, a timely education. The job of the MP, he assiduously reminds the reader – and, to be frank, teaches this former candidate who, "full of [his] own ideas about how to change the world," was of exactly the idealistic hue he holds in contempt – is to "hold the government to account" by scrutinizing and controlling the public purse, and therefore the means for policies to be enacted. He deplores MPs regarding themselves as lawmakers ("one of the biggest misnomers in Canadian politics") rather than as simple conduits between government and the membership that properly determines policies, as he does party leaders using comparatively recently gained powers to "wield a cudgel over the heads of caucus."
Back in the Westminster day, of course, that task of scrutiny extended also to governments formed by one's own party. The MP not appointed to cabinet – the executive – was an overseer whose sense of "responsible government" extended to constituents more than to the party. But, in Canada, all this changed in 1970, with the "well-intentioned" series of amendments to the Canada Elections Act. Bill C-215 dramatically augmented the power of party machines and party leaders, if only through its enforcement of the right and necessity of leaders to sign off their approval of candidates. So, if today's elected members, clapping their leaders' every word like auto-programmed morons; if, as visitors routinely see in Question Period, they are not willfully oblivious to proceedings and perusing their Facebook pages; and if the speeches they read are dull and scripted by higher-ups, are they really to be blamed?
The idea of an MP as an officer whose work it is, on the one hand, to represent constituency concerns to caucus, and, on the other, to see that cabinet behaves responsibly or even, quite legitimately, to hire and fire the prime minister (as can still happen in Britain and did recently in Australia), has been upended by the powers the prime minister, party leaders and unelected denizens of the PMO gained in 1970 at the expense of ordinary members. The selection and retention of candidates has been wrested from riding associations and the grassroots control to which Smith, in some form or other, would like to see it restored. The centre approves candidates, interference in the very process is rife and MPs that behave with a modicum of independence, let alone badly, are likely to be disciplined, ostracized and likely thrown out of their party.
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This control curtails the ability of MPs to "hold the government to account" and contributes to voters' quasi-presidential assumption, if not belief, that they elect a prime minister directly. It is why – Conservative MP and leadership contender Michael Chong the notable exception – Canada has no tradition of the eloquent, forceful backbencher. On the Westminster backbenches is where Jeremy Corbyn but also Winston Churchill and Nye Bevan, the architect (in more than a Sajjan-esque way) of the NHS, gained respect; it is a tradition of the MP believing his primary loyalties are not to party, but the House of Commons itself. Instead, in Canada, we have minions, occasionally stepping up with a private member's bill almost inevitably quashed, and that's all we'll have for as long as party machines hold inordinate powers.
It used to be the case, as Elizabeth May points out in her fine contribution to Turning Parliament Inside Out, that, were an MP appointed to the executive, "there was an expectation he would step down and run again in a by-election." In this way, the member acknowledged the impending conflict of cabinet duties and the responsibility, to his constituents, of asking "tough questions" of government.
May's brisk, erudite essay is the most eloquent in this anthology of sitting MPs' views, edited by Conservative Michael Chong, Liberal Scott Simms and the NDP's Kennedy Stewart. As with Smith, May points to the stranglehold party leaders have upon MPs – only "incidentally" members of political parties (this, according to the Conservative MP Mark Warawa's plea for free speech in the House that she supported) – but disappoints when, in conclusion, she pushes proportional representation (PR) rather than curtailing the power of leaders and the PMO as the urgent reform needing to be made. It's a good, if uneven volume. The NDP's Nathan Cullen makes an appropriately articulate case for unscripted speeches in Question Period – another casualty of Bill C-215 – and Stewart, whose private member's bill proposing electronic petitions and (given sufficient signatures) their mandatory discussion on the floor won a rare victory against Stephen Harper's Conservatives, speaks compellingly to the rise of such initiatives in "Empowering the Backbench."
But Should We Change How We Vote? remains a fervent issue on many reformers' minds and is the question and title of an anthology that has been compiled, is the impression, to keep its parent (the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada) rather than readers, happy. Endlessly repetitive in the warnings made by several contributors that no form of PR should be introduced unless its merits and pitfalls and likely outcomes are compared with our present SMP arrangement (well, that's a no-brainer) the volume might as easily have been entitled Why We Should Absolutely Not Change the Vote.
But glide over these dour cautions, and the book's own version of Smith's condescension (voters, Peter Loewen writes, are "uninformed," they "make up their public opinions off the top of their heads" and are "poorly motivated and deeply biased") and there are nuggets of wisdom within. Pace Smith, who calls such an advent "tokenism," Erin Tolley notes that a mixed member proportional system (MMP), in which MPs selected from a list not tied to ridings adjust the number of seats allotted to each party in order that their portion of the vote is more accurately reflected, constitutes the quickest way to address systemic biases and the underrepresentation of women, if to a lesser extent Indigenous and other groups. (And yet, argues Emmett MacFarlane, "electoral reform is not a rights issue.") She argues, as Anita Vandenbeld does in Turning Parliament Inside Out, that changes in nominating processes and parliamentary practices will ultimately be the things that increase their number in a system in which "the failure of parties to identify and recruit candidates" is more to blame than how we count ballots. And Melissa Williams argues, in another outstanding contribution, that steps toward greater Indigenous representation in New Zealand's Parliament have increased that institution's legitimacy. Williams would like to see parallel "Canadian Citizens" and "Indigenous" assemblies here.
And yet, the cumulative effect of these essays is to show the endgame absurdity of believing that just democratic practices will be attained in the rigorous reflection, through our representatives, of highly arbitrary aspects of society. What, in the long run, are we imagining? That Parliament – like some Canadians' idea of literature – reflect the country's constituent parts perfectly? The slow but steady move Parliament – and so many corners of Canadian society – has been making away from its white patriarchal origins is to be commended, and the work is unfinished. But do we really imagine, like Leadnow, that elections are about single issues, or that members are incapable of supporting or opposing the policies a narrow interpretation of their identity (skin colour, gender, party inclination) is thought to determine? In the dual function of "holding government to account" and properly representing a riding, MPs have many obligations, not one, and can surely imagine their way past their own skin or party platform – were they allowed.
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In truth, our system does not need reform so much as outright repair. And yet, the way forward is not necessarily into new territory – changing the way we count and attribute value to the ballot – but, as Chong tried to make happen, through the reduction of powers accrued to |
it's not so unconstitutional that I'm not willing to enforce it.' If we're in this new world, I — I don't want these cases like this to come before this court all the time. And I think they will come all the time if that's... the new regime in the Justice Department that we're dealing with."
Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Sri Srinivasan: "Justice Scalia, one recognized situation in which an act of Congress won't be defended in court is when the president makes a determination that the act is unconstitutional. That's what happened here. The president made an accountable legal determination that this act of Congress is unconstitutional."
Paul Clement, lawyer for GOP House leadership in defense of DOMA: "The House's single most important prerogative, which is to pass legislation and have that legislation, if it's going to be repealed, only be repealed through a process where the House gets to fully participate."
Justice Kennedy: "Suppose that constitutional scholars have grave doubts about the practice of the president signing a bill but saying that he thinks it's unconstitutional — what do you call it, signing statements or something like that? It seems to me that if we adopt your position that that would ratify and confirm and encourage that questionable practice because if the president thinks the law is unconstitutional, he shouldn't sign it, according to some view. And that's a lot like what you're arguing here. It's very troubling."
Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Sri Srinivasan: "But my point is simply that when the president makes a determination that a statute is unconstitutional, it can follow that the Department of Justice won't defend it in litigation."
4. Were members of Congress who voted overwhelmingly for DOMA 17 years ago bigots?
Chief Justice John Roberts: "So that was the view of the 84 senators who voted in favor of it and the president who signed it? They were motivated by animus?'
U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., arguing for administration in opposition of DOMA: "We quoted... the Garrett concurrence in our brief, and I think there is a lot of wisdom there, that it may well not have been animus or hostility. It may well have been what Garrett described as the simple want of careful reflection or an instinctive response to a class of people or a group of people who we perceive as alien or other."
Justice Elena Kagan: "So we have a whole series of cases which suggest the following: Which suggest that when Congress targets a group that is not everybody's favorite group in the world, that we look at those cases with some — even if they're not suspect — with some rigor to say, do we really think that Congress was doing this for uniformity reasons, or do we think that Congress' judgment was infected by dislike, by fear, by animus and so forth?
"I guess the question that this statute raises, this statute that does something that's really never been done before, is whether that sends up a pretty good red flag that that's what was going on."
5. Are circumstances surrounding gay marriage efforts changing so quickly that there's no need for the court to get involved?
Chief Justice John Roberts and lawyer Roberta Kaplan
Chief Justice Roberts: "I suppose the sea change has a lot to do with the political force and effectiveness of people representing, supporting your side of the case?"
Roberta Kaplan, lawyer for Edith Windsor, who is challenging DOMA: "I disagree with that, Mr. Chief Justice. I think the sea change has to do, just as discussed was Bowers and Lawrence, was an understanding that there is no difference — there was no fundamental difference that could justify this kind of categorical discrimination between gay couples and straight couples."
Chief Justice Roberts: "You don't doubt that the lobby supporting the enactment of same-sex marriage laws in different states is politically powerful, do you?"
Chief Justice Roberts: "As far as I can tell, political figures are falling over themselves to endorse your side of the case."
Kaplan: "The fact of the matter is, Mr. Chief Justice, is that no other group in recent history has been subjected to popular referenda to take away rights that have already been given or exclude those rights, the way gay people have."TL;DR The book is full of decent and intriguing ideas that are poorly executed. There is no character for the audience to use as an anchor. It takes 160 pages for anything resembling a story to get started.
This book is a surprise and mystery if you have never read metaphysical horror before. To see what Annihilation would look like if executed flawlessly, read House of Leaves. The now-commonplace horror elements of humans encountering the utterly foreign and unknowable make up the backbone of the narrative. But whereas it is on glorious and staggering display in Lovecraft, King, amd other giants, here it is reduced to a bizarre oddity that induces head-scratching instead of spine-tingling.
The primary reason for this is the clashing styles. The first 160 pages of the book are so sterile and cold that even the strangest things are as interesting as unfinished jigsaw puzzles. The main character, The Biologist, states that this is to provide an objective account of events which necessotate a subjective experience in order to terrify. The last 30 pages are forced to give up the objective description, and only then does Annihilation actually become interesting.
The Biologist herself is done great injustice by the first 160 pages. In providing nothing but objective descriptions of events, the author fails to establish her as anything resembling a human being. She is nothing more than a camera lens that requires occasional flashbacks by the author to establish that she has Emotions and these are often at odds with the character as portrayed. The Biologist is a heavy introvert. She eschews people for her work. This is mentioned often and in bold fashion. Yet this person married, for reasons that are never explained beyond "he offsets my introversion". The Biologist is not portrayed as a person interested in the feelings or experiences of others. Why marry?
At the end of the book the semblance of a person begins to emerge from the Biologist, but by then the narrative has established her so firmly as a non-presence that her character feels like something the author shoved in when he realized there was no point to which the audience could attach. She is a walking fight between a detached third-person objective lens and a woman who wants to tell her own story. It does not end well for either party.
Finally, the book simply starts. No world-building or character history or any point of reference that would be helpful for an audience seeking a way into the story. In theory this plays along with the idea that the characters themselves know little, and are themselves poorly informed. In practice it is disorienting and dull. We know nothing about the state of the world. No baseline is established. Even the characters know more than we do, as is revealed later in the book - well past halfway in. The effect is like waking up to find yourself weightless inside an empty sphere. There is no point of reference and you can only make guesses until someone pops in and tells you what is happening.
There are many more small details that add up into a large pile of errors - debunked pop psychology from 1950 paired with hard science, characters that serve no purpose and go nowhere, jarring switches between clinical observation and surrealist prose, a world that is somehow both tantalizingly alien and horribly mundane - but describing those would take much longer.
Read a summary on Wikipedia. I guarantee it will be much more cohesive, interesting, and above all much less time-consuming than reading this book.You’ve almost certainly heard that if you’re saving for retirement, taking full advantage of your 401(k) employer match should be your first step. That match represents an immediate 50% to 100% return on investment, which is better than anything you’ll find anywhere else.
It’s the standard advice because it’s good advice. Making sure you’re getting the full employer match should almost always be the first step in your retirement savings plan, no matter what other options you have available to you.
But there’s a catch to this advice that’s often overlooked and it’s called vesting.
If your 401(k) has a vesting policy, those employer contributions may not be yours right away. And while that doesn’t often mean you should skip your employer match, it can make that match less valuable than you think.
What Is 401(k) Vesting?
If your 401(k) has a vesting schedule, that simply means that you have to work for the company for a certain amount of time before any employer contributions to your 401(k) are 100% yours.
For example, your company might have a policy in which 20% of your employer contributions vest each year. That means that if you leave your company before you’ve been there at least one year, you won’t get to take any of those employer contributions with you. After one year, you’d get to take 20% of the value of those contributions with you. After two years, it would be 40%, and after five years you’d have 100% ownership of all the money your employer has contributed to your 401(k).
It’s important to note that we’re only talking about employer contributions here. Contributions YOU make to your 401(k) are always 100% yours, though of course the value of those contributions will rise and fall with the market.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a single vesting clock for all employer contributions. Once you’re 100% vested, ALL employer contributions are 100% vested no matter when they were made, including all future contributions. There isn’t a separate clock for each individual contribution.
But the point here is that it might be a year before any portion of those employer contributions are yours, and it may be up to five years before they’re completely yours.
Which means that your employer match may not be quite as attractive as it initially seems.
How to Find Your 401(k) Vesting Schedule
The best way to find out if your 401(k) has a vesting schedule is to ask your human resources representative for a copy of your 401(k) plan’s summary plan description and to search through it for the section on vesting. Your company’s policy will be spelled out there. You might even find that you’re 100% vested in all employer contributions right away.
If you have any questions about it, you can ask your HR representative for clarification. You can also ask them for your official employment start date so that you know how long you’ve been with the company, and therefore how far along the vesting schedule you are.
Another good source of information is your most recent 401(k) statement, which should show you how much of your 401(k) balance is attributable to employer contributions. You can then multiply that amount by your current vested percentage to figure out how much of that money would be yours if you left the company today.
For example, let’s say that your total 401(k) balance is $40,000 and that $10,000 of that is attributable to employer contributions. If you’re currently 40% vested, that means that:
The $30,000 attributable to your own contributions is 100% yours.
$4,000 of the $10,000 attributable to employer contributions is yours.
If you left the company today, your 401(k) would be worth a total of $34,000.
How Vesting Should Factor into Your Retirement Savings Plan
So the big question is this: When should your vesting schedule prevent you from prioritizing your employer match over contributing to other retirement accounts?
The short answer is rarely. Because let’s say that your employer has a relatively stingy matching policy where they only match 50% of your contribution, and those contributions vest 20% every year.
Even in that situation, staying with the company for one year means that you get a 10% return on your investment just from your employer contribution (20% of 50% is 10%). Given that long-term returns from the stock market are expected to be in the 7% to 8% range and always come with some uncertainty, a guaranteed 10% is a very good deal.
And let’s say that it doesn’t work out with that company, and you don’t end up staying there for even a full year. You wouldn’t end up getting any match, but you’d still get all the other tax benefits of a 401(k). It wouldn’t be ideal, but even the worst-case scenario is good.
Still, there are some scenarios where you may want to save money elsewhere first.
For example, the IRS allows companies to wait three years before any of their contributions vest, at which point their contributions immediately vest 100% (see “cliff vesting” here). If that’s your company’s vesting policy, and if you don’t plan on staying with the company for three years, and if your 401(k) has low-quality, high-cost investment options, then it might be worth prioritizing an IRA or health savings account ahead of your 401(k).
Your vesting schedule might also be worth considering if you want to change employers. It certainly shouldn’t be the driving factor, but if you’re just a couple of months away from a significant increase in your vested percentage, it may be worth sticking it out a little longer.
Related: Five Signs You Need a Career Change
Are You Vested?
In most cases, your 401(k) employer match is a good deal even with a vesting schedule in place. You are almost always entitled to something after one year with your company, and in that case the risk is low and the reward is high.
Still, it’s worth understanding your vesting schedule just so you know exactly how valuable that employer match is. Better to find out now than to be surprised later on when you get less than you thought.
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Matt Becker, CFP® is a fee-only financial planner and the founder of Mom and Dad Money, where he helps new parents take control of their money so they can take care of their families. His free book, The New Family Financial Road Map, guides parents through the all most important financial decisions that come with starting a family.After four-plus years of the 60-vote Senate, many reporters apparently still don’t get it. I still see reporters and pundits asking whether there will be filibusters on particular items, such as, most prominently right now, the Chuck Hagel nomination.
The answer is simple: Of course there’s a filibuster, as there is on everything. Everything needs the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. Anyone counting votes on something coming before the Senate is counting to 60, not counting for a simple majority.
That’s why the key vote on Hagel has always been John McCain, not Chuck Schumer; getting all 55 Democrats (that is, 55 percent of the Senate) was never going to be enough.
And it’s also why Carl Levin needs to cater to McCain and other Republicans, as he’s doing now by delaying the final committee vote (after Ted Cruz and other Republicans decided to engage in what veteran hill watcher Norm Ornstein considers “unprecedented” requests). It’s possible that Levin may just be trying to maintain comity within his committee, but looming over everything is that a party-line vote on cloture won’t be enough to get Hagel confirmed.
Remember, all of this is new. It used to be (roughly before 1993) that most nominees and most legislation needed only simple majorities; even after 1993, all the way up through 2008, filibusters were not universal.
Now, to say that there’s a filibuster doesn’t mean that the filibustering side will win; reporters need to learn how to talk about losing filibusters under modern conditions, which look nothing like, say, Strom Thurmond’s famous record-breaking losing filibuster against civil rights legislation. But they’re (losing) filibusters, just the same. It’s also certainly worth noting that McCain and perhaps one or two other Republicans have indicated they could vote for cloture and then against confirmation. That’s a significant part of this story, too. But it’s significant because it’s an exception; most Republicans who oppose a nominee will also oppose cloture on the nominee if there’s a vote.
Which is what it takes to make 60, and not a simple majority, the key number. Which, in turn, means that the Hagel nomination, like virtually everything else beginning in 2009, is being filibustered. This is what a filibuster looks like in 2013. The job for reporters is to let us know how much support the filibuster has, not whether it exists.Steve Jobs died four years ago this past Monday. Today (Oct. 9), a movie based on the most complete biography of the former Apple CEO’s life was released in the US. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, famed for making films and TV shows involving smart people talking while walking around corners, said at a press interview Monday that he didn’t want to make a standard biopic of Jobs’ life. “I didn’t want to do just the greatest hits,” he said.
The film instead is constructed as a series of linked vignettes about three product launches that Jobs orchestrated. Sorkin chose to dramatize two commercial failures—the original Apple Macintosh in 1984 and the NeXTcube in 1988—and the iMac in 1998. Most of the products that Jobs oversaw as he put the company on the path to having more cash reserves than the US government—like the iPod, the iPhone and the MacBook—aren’t featured. And the movie conflates every struggle Jobs faced in his life—relationship issues, the paternity suit over his daughter, his being an orphan, his departure from Apple—into stressful moments that somehow managed to come to a head right before he was about to launch a product.
“I didn’t want to do just the greatest hits,” Sorkin said.
Arthur Holland Michel wrote for Vice that the only thing Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of Jobs appeared to inspire was fear. And he’s not wrong—the Steve Jobs in the movie is cold, singular in vision, and insecure. “I’m poorly made,” Fassbender’s Jobs finally tells his daughter near the end of the film, suggesting this is why he has been a terrible father over the years. Many of Jobs’ friends and colleagues have spoken out—whether they’ve seen the movie or not—that Jobs was in fact a caring person and the movie doesn’t represent him accurately.
Which isn’t surprising, really, considering that it’s a movie.
But it doesn’t really matter. All these inconsistencies aside, the film, directed by Danny Boyle—the man who showed us that a zombie movie can have heart, and that James Franco doesn’t really need two arms—is a powerful movie worth watching. It invokes what we remember about Jobs, without getting caught up in things like reality. Unlike Jobs, the film is not poorly made. However, it’s at best just a series of snapshots generally based on a man that didn’t code, didn’t design, and wasn’t an engineer, but is remembered as a visionary that “redefined the digital age.”
Here’s what Jobs looked like at each product launch in the film, and in real life.
1984: The Macintosh
The film
Universal Seth Rogen (left) as Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, and Michael Fassbender (right) as Jobs.
Real life
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma Life imitating art.
The film pretty much gets this one spot on. In the early ’80s, Steve Jobs—bowtie and double-breasted suit and all—dressed more like Bill Nye the Science Guy than the minimalist icon we remember.
1988: The NeXTcube
The film
Universal Jeff Daniels (left) as former Apple CEO John Sculley.
Real life
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma FYI: That’s not Sculley behind Jobs, but David Norman, former president of computer retailer Businessland.
The film deviates a bit from reality here. Fassbender’s Jobs is skinnier, slicker, and dressed more in the archetypal mid-80s businessman style than Jobs really was when he launched the NeXTcube. Also, as Mike Elgan pointed out, Fassbender seems to have adopted a Brooklyn gangster accent to go with the power suit in this scene, even though Jobs was raised in California.
1998: The iMac
The film
Universal Short hair, doesn’t care.
Real life
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma Jobs was rocking the air tie at the 1998 launch.
This one is just wrong. The filmmakers decided to conflate the 2000s-era Jobs, in his black-and-blue uniform, with this 1998 launch.
Universal There’s an app for that.
In another weird piece of prolepsis, the filmmakers seem to be hinting at the iPhone/iPad/iPod app future with this shot. In the reflection of Jobs’ Robert Marc glasses, we can see a series of colored pieces of paper, arranged very specifically on a lightboard. It wasn’t clear what Jobs was meant to be doing with these in the film, but it does a look a lot like an iPhone homescreen.
Bonus: later in 1998
AP Photo/Ben Margot
This picture is from October 1998, five months after the launch of the iMac. It’s worth noting that 1998 does indeed seem to be the year that Jobs became the minimalistic style icon he is remembered to be, wearing only Issey Miyake-designed mock-turtlenecks, Levi’s 501 jeans and New Balance sneakers more or less every day until his passing. He just hadn’t started doing that when he launched the iMac.Every share makes Black Voice louder! Share To Share To
The popular musician finally broke his silence on touching political issues as he voiced his concern about the treatment of Black people in the country
The Weeknd, who has become quite prominent in the music industry after dropping several hit songs and a hugely successful album, has recently spoken about political issues in the country. He tweeted about Black Lives Matter and canceled a performance on Jimmy Kimmel in May because it came to his attention that a presidential candidate was also making an appearance on that same episode.
enough is enough. it’s time to stand up for this. we can either sit and watch, or do something about it. the time is now. #blacklivesmatter — The Weeknd (@theweeknd) July 7, 2016
He claimed that he broke a promise he made to himself. He never wanted to get political, as his only concern was making good music as usual. But recent cases of police shootings forced his hand. He expressed his dismay at how Blacks are badly treated by the police in the country.
“I promised myself that I would never tweet or talk about politics and focus on the music, but I was just so bewildered that we lost more of our people to these senseless police shootings,” he says in the publication’s Fall/Winter 2016 cover story. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are people who can’t or won’t see what Black Lives Matter is trying to accomplish. I wish I could make music about politics. I feel like it’s such an art and a talent that I admire tremendously, but when I step into the studio I step out of the real world, and it’s therapeutic. It’s an escape, but recently it’s been very hard to ignore, and it’s also been very distracting. Maybe you’ll hear it in my voice, but it is not my forté.”
The racial tension is quite obvious for everyone to see. It’s absolutely disgusting that in a country like ours that is so racially diverse, Black people suffer from Police brutality so often. The cops are supposed to protect the people, not just a few but all the people. We believe it is high time the oppression of Blacks stopped. Enough is enough.
After another summer filled with tension between the Black community and the police, many popular Black stars have spoken out about the systemic racism in the country. After the murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. The Game took a stand against social injustice. Even Drake, who usually stays mute, spoke against the racial tension in the U.S.
Source: HiphopdxWikipedia defines Talc as “a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate…. In loose form, it is the widely used substance known as talcum powder.” Talcum powder helps cut down on friction and absorbs moisture, making it useful for keeping skin dry and helping prevent rashes. It is widely used in products like as baby powder and adult body and facial powders, as well as in a number of other consumer products. But its use does not come without some contention.
Talcum Powder And Cancer?
A concern with using talcum powder is that the mineral Talc is often co-located with deposits of asbestos ore which could lead to contamination of the Talc. While this problem has been largely eliminated by the use of quality control processes to separate industrial-grade Talc with food/cosmetic grade talcum powders, some manufacturers have elected to use substitute ingredients and use the term “talcum powder” as more of generic term.
Talcum Powder and Shaving
Using talcum powder after shaving is a long established tradition, though not without some disagreement even among barbers. Traditionally talcum powder is used as the very last thing to do after shaving, applied to the face and neck to calm the skin, absorb residual moisture and oil, and in some cases to reduce the look of dark (though shaven!) stubble over light skin. Sometimes the powder is applied to the hands of the barber which in turn is applied to the shaver’s face. Others shake a little powder into a towel which is then massaged into the face and neck. However some barbers discourage the use of talcum powder, one arguing “I never use talc in anything to do with shaving. This would be counterproductive in my opinion as talc will ‘soak up’ any moisture, which of course is the very last thing you want to do to the beard before, during or after shaving.”
My personal opinion is that using talcum powder is probably most useful for those who have oily skin or live in hot, humid environments. Give it a try and see how you like it.
Products
Here are several products that approach shaving talcum powder in different ways:
King Talc (from the makers of Barbicide) and Pinaud Clubman Talc are probably the two classics, both primarily using Talc and zinc stearate (to cut down on friction) as their major ingredients.
Taylor of Old Bond Street’s “talcum powder” actually uses magnesium carbonate (a powder often used by gymnasts and rock climbers) as its primary ingredient.
New York Shaving Company’s “After Shave Powder” specifically says it’s talc free, instead relying on a mix of kaolin, corn starch, tapioca starch, and other ingredients.
Do you use talcum powder? Leave a comment below!What’s new in Bundler 1.15?
Hot on the heels of the many small fixes in Bundler 1.14, we’re pushing out 1.15. The list of changes is much shorter, but we think you’re going to love it all the same, since this time around we’ve focused on making Bundler a whole heck of a lot faster.
Speed
Due to Julian Nadeau’s prompting, we’ve made loading up Bundler fast. Up to a half a second faster than before, on every bundle exec, require "bundler/setup", Bundler.setup, and Bundler.require. This is going to save developers a lot of time, given how often we tend to run things!
The mere act of initializing a Gemfile has been sped up by turning array lookups into hash table accesses, making expensive comparisons lazy, and generally avoiding object allocation.
We also now only validate git gems when they are first downloaded & installed, meaning projects with many git gems won’t be validating each and every one of them over and over again.
Finally, we’ve managed to avoid evaluating the full.gemspec of all the gems that are being loaded when running on RubyGems 2.5 and above. Taking advantage of a feature called stub specifications, Bundler is able to grab all of the information it needs from the first two lines of a serialized gemspec file, without evaluating the rest. This represents a massive time savings for very large Gemfiles.
New Commands
We’ve added 4 new commands that have been on our wish list for a long time.
bundle info
This command prints out basic information about the given gem, and is intended to replace bundle show once Bundler 2 rolls around.
bundle issue
Have you ever been frustrated by a Bundler issue that wasn’t a crash? Have you found it difficult to figure out what information to put in a new GitHub issue? Well, no more! bundle issue will gather all of the information present in the error template, on demand.
bundle add
Bundler has long included the bundle inject command, which has been a source of some confusion. inject has always been intended to serve as plumbing for other tooling, doing a whole bunch of verification along with adding a new gem line to the Gemfile. Due to popular demand, we’ve extracted that latter part out into the bundle add command, making it easier than ever to automate adding dependencies to your Gemfile.
bundle pristine
Have you ever accidentally edited an installed gem’s files and wished you had a way to undo that? Mirroring the gem pristine command, Bundler now supports bundle pristine, restoring all of the gems in your Gemfile to pristine condition.
More Man Pages
Documentation improvements are amongst my favorite contributions, and Liz Abinate came through big for us this release. We now have man pages for every single Bundler command. This means that bundler.io will also have documentation for all of the Bundler commands. We hope to do a better job of keeping our documentation up-to-date in the future, and this release is a great starting point for that effort.
Various improvements
In addition to those larger additions, we made some smaller tweaks with the aim of smoothing and improving the overall experience of using Bundler:
bundle update will now print gems whose versions are regressing in yellow.
will now print gems whose versions are regressing in yellow. bundle inject has gained --source and --group options.
has gained and options. bundle config has a --parseable option, suitable for use in scripts.
has a option, suitable for use in scripts. Resolver version conflicts will only list relevant dependencies.
When installing a gem fails, Bundler will print out the reason why that gem was being installed in the first place.
Bundler will let you know when a new version of itself is available. How meta.
bundle update works a lot better now when only unlocking a single gem.
We also fixed over 20 separate bugs, and you can read about every single one of them in the Bundler 1.15 changelog.
How To UpgradeAt the Very Least, Your Days of Eating Pacific Ocean Fish Are Over – with updates
Opinion by Gary Stamper
The heart-breaking news from Fukushima just keeps getting worse…a LOT worse…it is, quite simply, an out-of-control flow of death and destruction. TEPCO is finally admitting that radiation has been leaking to the Pacific Ocean all along. and it’s NOT over….
I find myself moving between the emotions of sorrow and anger.
It now appears that anywhere from 300 to possibly over 450 tons of contaminated water that contains radioactive iodone, cesium, and strontium-89 and 90, is flooding into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daichi site everyday. To give you an idea of how bad that actually is, Japanese experts estimate Fukushima’s fallout at 20-30 times as high as as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings in 1945
There’s a lot you’re not being told. Oh, the information is out there, but you have to dig pretty deep to find it, and you won’t find it on the corporate-owned evening news.
above: German Scientists have calculated the dispersion of Cs-137 in the Pacific Ocean
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOOD CHAIN? – May 2013 – Researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology reported in early 2012 that they have detected radioactive cesium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in plankton collected from all 10 points in the Pacific they checked, with the highest levels at around 25 degrees north latitude and 150 degrees west longitude. Plankton, and the radiation they contain, moves right up the food chain through fish, whales, seals, etc., and when larger fish eat smaller fish. Kyodo: Highest levels of Fukushima contamination in plankton already east of Hawaii?
A WARNING TO SEAFOOD LOVERS EVERYWHERE – Scientists previously reported higher-than-expected concentrations of radiation in fish off Japan. Now there are calls for testing of seafood sold in the U.S. Although contaminated air, rainfall and even radioactive debris from Japan have drifted toward the U.S. West Coast since the disaster occurred 2 1/2 years ago, scientists are unclear about how the contaminated waters could impact the health of Americans, and while scientists say that 300 tons of contaminate water is diluted in the Pacific, no one knows how long that’s been going during those 2 1/2 years as we also now know TEPCO has been lying all along. Nuclear experts are calling on the U.S. government to test West Coast waters and Pacific seafood sold in the U.S. in the wake of Japan’s alarming admission about an ongoing radiation leak, something the EPA and the FDA have so far refused to do, as they are only testing imported fish, not wild-caught. WHY? The only way to protect your children and grandchildren is by NOT EATING SEAFOOD from the Pacific Ocean until we have better information. Source.Information posted at the website of heThe Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California recommends not buying any fish from the Pacific Ocean or western states, including Baja.
WHAT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TOLD ABOUT FISH CONTAMINATION
Australian Physician and anti-nuclear advocate Dr. Helen Caldicott Warns of Contaminated Fish and Ocean
Japan Nuclear Crisis: The Dangers of Radiation
Also see this video of her speaking in 2012
Quotes from Dr Caldicott
“Plumes of radioactivity from Fukushima are migrating in the Pacific towards the U.S. West Coast.”
“[Chernobel]] is one of the most monstrous cover-ups in the history of medicine”
“Then we extrapolate to japan. Japan is – by orders of magnitude – many times worse than Chernobyl.”
“I knew the three GE engineers who helped design the GE Mark 1 reactors. They resigned because they knew they were dangerous. Japan built them on an earthquake fault.”
“ Diablo and San Onofre are both built on earthquake faults, haven’t you seen enough of an earthquake to see what it does…and in a tsunami area.”
What is the greatest threat to humanity? We are, of course….and our technology. Like a dangerous weapon in the hands of a child, technology has overtaken our capacity to control potential consequences. Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, led by director Nick Bostrom, says we have entered this new kind of technological era that we have no track record of surviving.
Our technological intelligence may have the potential for creating a better world, but so far, in areas of the economy, genetics and biologics, arms and warfare, security and surveillance, as well as the environment and energy, technology is also completely indifferent to the law of unintended consequences.
Fukushima is what happens when we have the moral responsibility of infants and the technology of adults.
Update: August 16th, 2013
It’s been an interesting 36 hours: This website went from 200-300 visitors a day to 0ver 16,000 visitors yesterday and over 39,000 today (so far!). There have also been more comments than any other post that has appeared here, and honestly, the majority of them have been negative.
It started with the graphic that I posted. It turns out, unknowingly to me, that it was an image from NOAA that showed the Tsunami wave height that had been edited to look like the Pacific Ocean Fukushima radiation path. I’m going to look for updated information and will change the graphic and accompanying information as soon as I have time to look for it. Unfortunately, the gigantic jump in viewership crashed my site and I’ve been working on that since yesterday morning. Support and I finally figured out what had happened and I have upgraded the site to handle the traffic.
The negative comments seem to be mostly from people who aren’t willing to have a conversation, demanding that I take the article down, that it’s not credible, that the information is garbage, and even with some resorting to name calling and insults. I have left them all up. Even the one that says I don’t have dose counts. Well, if the FDA would actually do dose counts, we might be able to know that, but since they’ve refused to measure radiation, we can’t know.
We should just trust them when they tell us the radiation levels are safe (levels that keep on changing), that GMO’s are not harmful, that we don’t do do experiments on US citizens, that we’re not spying on the American people, the economy is improving, and that we should live in fear of terrorists. I ask, who are the real terrorists?
Support and I were concerned the the site crash was caused by a “denial of service attack,” but after checking the access logs, we agreed it wasn’t likely, but not out of the question. I find it unbelievable one article could cause that drastic of a jump in hits. There’s also been a significant number of new members, non of whom are paying or making donations. Let’s see if it holds. I doubt it.
I believe the article is credible and that while reasonable people can disagree, a lot of the negative comments a have a “climate-denier” feel to them. How many years has that argument been going on? Most people are going to believe what they want – or have to – believe. it’s not coming through mainstream sources so it can’t be true? Get real.
For those who say that if I don’t take the article down, “it clearly shows they are not interested in facts, only in trashing the system,” in case you haven’t noticed, the system needs no help being trashed…it’s perfectly capable of doing that itself.
Meanwhile, here’s some more fodder for the fodder cannons.
MSN: Nuclear experts call for testing U.S. West Coast waters and Pacific seafood for Fukushima contamination — “I definitely recommend FDA and EPA increase their vigilance”
The Fukushima Nightmare Gets Worse
Water, Water Everywhere: Incentives and Options at #Fukushima Daiichi and Beyond
Insight: After disaster, the deadliest part of Japan’s nuclear clean-up
Update: August 18th, 2013
The original map posted in the article that many pointed out was an edited version of wave height has been replaced with |
husband Dick Meeker, died of an accidental and self-inflicted shotgun wound in 1980. He was 24. Two years earlier, her sister, Elizabeth, died at age 21 from a drug overdose. And her brother, John, died of liver cancer in 1992 at age 47.With a Hunger Games finale and a Star Wars sequel to contend with this time out, the record-high box office triumph of Skyfall should not be the bar for success for Spectre.
We are now less than thirty days out from the United Kingdom theatrical release of Spectre. And as such this will hopefully be the start of a handful of posts related to the entire 007 franchise. But just in case it's not, there is one critical point that needs to be emphasized as we await the release of the 25th (yes, I'm counting Never Say Never Again) James Bond adventure. This EON Productions/Sony release will, of course, be the follow-up to Skyfall, which crushed any and all previous box office records for the 53-year old franchise. And because director Sam Mendes is returning along with the key new cast members (Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, etc.), the film is treated as much as a direct sequel to Skyfall than "the next 007 movie."
So, in an age where Avengers: Age of Ultron is being treated as a flop and a sign of superhero fatigue because it only made $1.4 billion worldwide, I think it's worth taking a moment to remind us all that Skyfall's obscene success is not the bar for success this time out. Skyfall opened in America with $88.3 million in its Friday-to-Sunday weekend, crushing the previous best of $67m for Quantum of Solace (which in turn smashed the $47m debut of Die Another Day and the $40m debut of Casino Royale). If you toss in the IMAX preview day, its opening "weekend" is $90.5m. And then it earned an additional $11.3m on Monday, meaning it made a whopping $101m in its first five days of domestic box office.
Skyfall capitalized on rave reviews, a popular Adele title tune, and free buzz concerning the franchise's 50th anniversary to utterly demolish the prior opening weekend benchmark. And then it just kept going. It turned terrific word-of-mouth and a relative lack of competition into a somewhat leggy $304m domestic total, or a 3.35x multiplier (similar to Walt Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy as well as fellow November 007 films The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day). Now obviously a big part of Skyfall's success in America was due to the fact that audiences really liked the film and that it looked appealing enough to snag presumably an enormous number of moviegoers who had never seen a 007 film in theaters, or at least hadn't done so in a very long time.
But part of this was the fact that Skyfall had no blockbuster competition between November 9th and the December 14th debut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. But what about The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn II, which opened the next weekend with a $141 million weekend and eventually earned $292m in America alone? Here's the thing: Franchises like Twilight, Harry Potter, and (to a lesser extent) The Hunger Games play somewhat in a vacuum since their later chapters played almost exclusively to the fans. And since the big Thanksgiving family animated film, DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians, pretty much tanked. The next two December weekends had basically no major releases (sorry, critically beloved Killing Them Softly and not-so-acclaimed Playing For Keeps).
For what it's worth, Skyfall was either number one or number two at the weekend box office for its first five weekends. The weekend after The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (which arguably also was somewhat of a fans-only affair) had a bunch of smaller films (Jack Reacher, a Monsters Inc. 3D reissue, This is 40, etc.) that had a combined opening weekend of around $45m. Christmas saw the one-two-three punch of Les Miserables, Django Unchained, and Parental Guidance, but by that time Skyfall was already bleeding screens and had already earned 95% of its money.
Comparatively, Spectre will be going head-to-head with 20th Century Fox's monster The Peanuts Movie (yeah, I think that one is going to be pretty big). At least many of the prior Bond movies got to open on the second weekends of (respectively) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Madagascar 2, and Wreck-It Ralph, respectively. Although it's just as likely that a 007 film would open on the same day as Titanic, Sleepy Hollow, and Happy Feet. By the way, I will never understand why Casino Royale didn't open the weekend before Happy Feet, which would have allowed it to earn a bit more than its solid $40m debut versus only the second weekends of Borat and The Santa Clause 3. But I digress as it nabbed a great 4.1x weekend-to-final multiplier in a year without a big December action picture.
But anyway, even if Spectre doesn't suffer some real hurt from The Peanuts Movie, it will have to contend with Disney's The Good Dinosaur on Thanksgiving. Call it a hunch, but I think The Good Dinosaur will be a bit more successful than Rise of the Guardians. December is pretty quiet after that until you-know-what drops on December 18th. And if we argue that The Hobbit was something of a fans-only affair, I think we can agree that Star Wars is going to have a lot more general moviegoers/impulse attendance. Now all of this doesn't mean that Spectre won't make lots of money when it opens. But Skyfall nearly doubled the domestic total of any other prior 007 film, trouncing the $167m/$168m totals of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Even adjusted for inflation, it's at least 33% larger than any other 007 film save Thunderball, Goldfinger, and You Only Live Twice and at least 61% bigger than the adjusted grosses of the bottom half of the franchise. And worldwide, the film nearly doubled the $599m/$586m totals of Casino Royale/Quantum of Solace and nearly tripled the closest competitor. The notion that every 007 film from here on out should reach these sky-high numbers is a little disingenuous. It is the kind of thinking that will label Furious 8 a flop if it only makes $950m worldwide next time out. The release, reception, and response to Skyfall was something of a perfect storm.
It was the 50th anniversary of James Bond. It was coming back from a four-year break. It had gorgeous and exciting trailers. It offered the most overtly theatrical main villain since Tomorrow Never Dies if not License to Kill. There was copious free publicity regarding the uncertain fate of Judi Dench's "M." Finally, the review embargo dropped early so Sony could let everyone know how good it was well in advance of its UK debut. All of these elements combined to boost a film that had the good fortune to open in a period without a lot of real competition. For much of the end of 2012, it was basically the only game in town for blockbuster thrills, a position it hadn't really enjoyed since The Spy Who Loved Me opened in 1977 right as Star Wars was kicking into gear. Spectre is merely "the next 007 film," the apparent goodwill from Skyfall notwithstanding.
There is no guarantee that the movie will be as critically-acclaimed as Skyfall, or that the final Hunger Games film won't be a bigger headache than the final Twilight film in terms of stolen audience. And the Thanksgiving weekend will provide much more competition in the form of The Good Dinosaur and the "nobody coulda seen this coming!" Creed. And yeah, to the extent that it's even still making money by December 18th, The Force Awakens will basically finish it off for good just in time for the Christmas holiday. That's not to say that it won't pull a $100m+ opening weekend and a mere Quantum of Solace multiplier and flirt with $250-$260m domestic and then pull in another $$550-650m overseas for an $825-$925m worldwide cume if everything goes right overseas. But let's not pretend that the notion of a $200m+ domestic/$700m+ worldwide total wouldn't qualify as a hit for a franchise that until four years ago never hit $200m domestic or $600m worldwide.
It's been a bloody long time since "nobody did it better" than the James Bond franchise. The fact that the franchise is still this big and still this relevant 53-years on is in itself an incredible achievement. It is possible that Spectre will, in fact, flirt with the obscenely successful Skyfall. But that's not the bar for success, and it shouldn't be tagged as a failure if it doesn't clear that once-impossible bar.3D LUTs for Direct3D and OpenGL applications (e.g. games) under Windows
Download DisplayCAL. Follow the DisplayCAL quickstart guide to set it up.
Select the "Video 3D LUT for ReShade (Rec. 709 / 1886)" preset under "Settings". On the "Profiling" tab, optionally increase the number of patches with the slider. More patches will yield higher accuracy of the resulting profile and 3D LUT. If desired, adjust the lookup table size on the "3D LUT" tab. Sizes 16x16x16, 32x32x32 and 64x64x64 are supported. Click "Calibrate & profile". Adjust the whitepoint of your display if necessary, then continue on to profiling. Wait for measurements and calculations to finish.
Select the profile in DisplayCAL under "Settings". If the profile was initially created together with a 3D LUT, the respective tab should already be selectable. If not, it will be grayed out. In the latter case, you can enable it in the "Options" menu. Go to the "3D LUT" tab and select "ReShade" under "3D LUT file format". If desired, adjust the lookup table size. Sizes 16x16x16, 32x32x32 and 64x64x64 are supported. If "Create 3D LUT after profiling" is checked, un-check it. The button at the bottom of the window will change to "Create 3D LUT...". Click "Create 3D LUT..." and wait for the process to finish.The German grocer, which has 5,000 stores in nine European countries, has committed itself to abolishing caged hens for all its supermarkets across the continent, the company announced on Monday.
After working with animal protection nonprofit The Humane League, the grocer decided to commit to ending the sale of eggs from cage-reared hens in its stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark, and Portugal.
Raising hens in basic cages - so-called battery production - was banned in Europe in 2012, but farms were still allowed to house hens in "enriched" cages, a form of husbandry The Humane league describes as "cruel".
“Aldi Nord is the first multinational grocer in history to commit to source 100 percent cage-free worldwide. The supermarket's timeline to eliminate cages from its egg supply chain is an indication that this kind of policy is the future for companies across the globe,” said David Coman-Hidy, executive director for The Humane League.
"We believe that every grocer in the world will make a similar commitment to phase out cages, just as we see happening in the United States."
Many other supermarkets - including Walmart in the US and Tesco in the UK - have already pledged to stop selling eggs from caged hens on a national level.
Aldi Nord is a separate retailer to Aldi Süd, which has stores in the United Kingdom.Sage 4.1 was released on July 09, 2009. For the official, comprehensive release note, please refer to sage-4.1.txt. The following points are some of the foci of this release:
Upgrade to the Python 2.6.x series
Support for building Singular with GCC 4.4
FreeBSD support for the following packages: FreeType, gd, libgcrypt, libgpg-error, Linbox, NTL, Readline, Tachyon
Combinatorics: irreducible matrix representations of symmetric groups; and Yang-Baxter Graphs
Cryptography: Mini Advanced Encryption Standard for educational purposes
Graph theory: a backend for graph theory using Cython (c_graph); and improve accuracy of graph eigenvalues
Linear algebra: a general package for finitely generated, not-necessarily free R-modules; and multiplicative order for matrices over finite fields
Miscellaneous: optimized Sudoku solver; a decorator for declaring abstract methods; support Unicode in LaTeX cells (notebook); and optimized integer division
Number theory: improved random element generation for number field orders and ideals; support Michael Stoll’s ratpoints package; and elliptic exponential
Numerical: computing numerical values of constants using mpmath
Update/upgrade 19 packages to latest upstream releases
The following people made their first contribution in Sage 4.1:
Golam Mortuza Hossain Peter Jeremy Peter Mora Stanislav Bulygin
In this release, we closed 91 tickets and added two new components to the list of standard packages. These new spkg’s are mpmath for multiprecision floating-point arithmetic, and Ratpoints for computing rational points on hyperelliptic curves. This brings the total number of standard packages to 95. We increased doctest coverage by 0.3%, bringing the overall weighted doctest coverage score to 77.8%. A total of 216 functions were added; the total number of functions is now at 22398. For detailed information on what changed in this release, refer to trac.
Here is a summary of main features in this release, categorized under various headings:
Algebraic Geometry
Construct an elliptic curve from a plane curve of genus one (Lloyd Kilford, John Cremona ) — New function EllipticCurve_from_plane_curve() in the module sage/schemes/elliptic_curves/constructor.py to allow the construction of an elliptic curve from a smooth plane cubic with a rational point. Currently, this function uses Magma and it will not work on machines that do not have Magma installed. Assuming you have Magma installed on your computer, we can use the function EllipticCurve_from_plane_curve() to first check that the Fermat cubic is isomorphic to the curve with Cremona label “27a1”: sage: x, y, z = PolynomialRing(QQ, 3, 'xyz').gens() # optional - magma sage: C = Curve(x^3 + y^3 + z^3) # optional - magma sage: P = C(1, -1, 0) # optional - magma sage: E = EllipticCurve_from_plane_curve(C, P) # optional - magma sage: E # optional - magma Elliptic Curve defined by y^2 + y = x^3 - 7 over Rational Field sage: E.label() # optional - magma '27a1' Here is a quartic example: sage: u, v, w = PolynomialRing(QQ, 3, 'uvw').gens() # optional - magma sage: C = Curve(u^4 + u^2*v^2 - w^4) # optional - magma sage: P = C(1, 0, 1) # optional - magma sage: E = EllipticCurve_from_plane_curve(C, P) # optional - magma sage: E # optional - magma Elliptic Curve defined by y^2 = x^3 + 4*x over Rational Field sage: E.label() # optional - magma '32a1'
Basic Arithmetic
Speed-up integer division (Robert Bradshaw ) — In some cases, integer division is now up to 31% faster than previously. The following timing statistics were obtained using the machine sage.math: # BEFORE sage: a = next_prime(2**31) sage: b = Integers(a)(100) sage: %timeit a % b; 1000000 loops, best of 3: 1.12 µs per loop sage: %timeit 101 // int(5); 1000000 loops, best of 3: 215 ns per loop sage: %timeit 100 // int(-3) 1000000 loops, best of 3: 214 ns per loop sage: a = ZZ.random_element(10**50) sage: b = ZZ.random_element(10**15) sage: %timeit a.quo_rem(b) 1000000 loops, best of 3: 454 ns per loop # AFTER sage: a = next_prime(2**31) sage: b = Integers(a)(100) sage: %timeit a % b; 1000000 loops, best of 3: 1.02 µs per loop sage: %timeit 101 // int(5); 1000000 loops, best of 3: 201 ns per loop sage: %timeit 100 // int(-3) 1000000 loops, best of 3: 194 ns per loop sage: a = ZZ.random_element(10**50) sage: b = ZZ.random_element(10**15) sage: %timeit a.quo_rem(b) 1000000 loops, best of 3: 313 ns per loop
Combinatorics
Irreducible matrix representations of symmetric groups (Franco Saliola) — Support for constructing irreducible representations of the symmetric group. This is based on Alain Lascoux’s article Young representations of the symmetric group. The following types of representations are supported: Specht representations — The matrices have integer entries: sage: chi = SymmetricGroupRepresentation([3, 2]); chi Specht representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [3, 2] sage: chi([5, 4, 3, 2, 1]) [ 1 -1 0 1 0] [ 0 0 -1 0 1] [ 0 0 0 -1 1] [ 0 1 -1 -1 1] [ 0 1 0 -1 1] Young’s seminormal representation — The matrices have rational entries: sage: snorm = SymmetricGroupRepresentation([2, 1], "seminormal"); snorm Seminormal representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [2, 1] sage: snorm([1, 3, 2]) [-1/2 3/2] [ 1/2 1/2] Young’s orthogonal representation (the matrices are orthogonal) — These matrices are defined over Sage’s SymbolicRing : sage: ortho = SymmetricGroupRepresentation([3, 2], "orthogonal"); ortho Orthogonal representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [3, 2] sage: ortho([1, 3, 2, 4, 5]) [ 1 0 0 0 0] [ 0 -1/2 1/2*sqrt(3) 0 0] [ 0 1/2*sqrt(3) 1/2 0 0] [ 0 0 0 -1/2 1/2*sqrt(3)] [ 0 0 0 1/2*sqrt(3) 1/2] You can also create the CombinatorialClass of all irreducible matrix representations of a given symmetric group. Then particular representations can be created by providing partitions. For example: sage: chi = SymmetricGroupRepresentations(5); chi Specht representations of the symmetric group of order 5! over Integer Ring sage: chi([5]) # the trivial representation Specht representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [5] sage: chi([5])([2, 1, 3, 4, 5]) [1] sage: chi([1, 1, 1, 1, 1]) # the sign representation Specht representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [1, 1, 1, 1, 1] sage: chi([1, 1, 1, 1, 1])([2, 1, 3, 4, 5]) [-1] sage: chi([3, 2]) Specht representation of the symmetric group corresponding to [3, 2] sage: chi([3, 2])([5, 4, 3, 2, 1]) [ 1 -1 0 1 0] [ 0 0 -1 0 1] [ 0 0 0 -1 1] [ 0 1 -1 -1 1] [ 0 1 0 -1 1] See the documentation of SymmetricGroupRepresentation and SymmetricGroupRepresentations for more information and examples.
Yang-Baxter graphs (Franco Saliola) — Besides being used for constructing the irreducible matrix representations of the symmetric group, Yang-Baxter graphs can also be used to construct the Cayley graph of a finite group. For example: sage: def left_multiplication_by(g):....: return lambda h : h*g....: sage: G = AlternatingGroup(4) sage: operators = [ left_multiplication_by(gen) for gen in G.gens() ] sage: Y = YangBaxterGraph(root=G.identity(), operators=operators); Y Yang-Baxter graph with root vertex () sage: Y.plot(edge_labels=False)
Yang-Baxter graphs can also be used to construct the permutahedron: sage: from sage.combinat.yang_baxter_graph import SwapIncreasingOperator sage: operators = [SwapIncreasingOperator(i) for i in range(3)] sage: Y = YangBaxterGraph(root=(1,2,3,4), operators=operators); Y Yang-Baxter graph with root vertex (1, 2, 3, 4) sage: Y.plot()
See the documentation of YangBaxterGraph for more information and examples.
Cryptography
Mini Advanced Encryption Standard for educational purposes (Minh Van Nguyen) — New module sage/crypto/block_cipher/miniaes.py to support the Mini Advanced Encryption Standard (Mini-AES) to allow students to explore the working of a block cipher. This is a simplified variant of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to be used for cryptography education. Mini-AES is described in the paper: A. C.-W. Phan. Mini advanced encryption standard (mini-AES): a testbed for cryptanalysis students. Cryptologia, 26(4):283–306, 2002. We can encrypt a plaintext using Mini-AES as follows: sage: from sage.crypto.block_cipher.miniaes import MiniAES sage: maes = MiniAES() sage: K = FiniteField(16, "x") sage: MS = MatrixSpace(K, 2, 2) sage: P = MS([K("x^3 + x"), K("x^2 + 1"), K("x^2 + x"), K("x^3 + x^2")]); P [ x^3 + x x^2 + 1] [ x^2 + x x^3 + x^2] sage: key = MS([K("x^3 + x^2"), K("x^3 + x"), K("x^3 + x^2 + x"), K("x^2 + x + 1")]); key [ x^3 + x^2 x^3 + x] [x^3 + x^2 + x x^2 + x + 1] sage: C = maes.encrypt(P, key); C [ x x^2 + x] [x^3 + x^2 + x x^3 + x] Here is the decryption process: sage: plaintxt = maes.decrypt(C, key) sage: plaintxt == P True We can also work directly with binary strings: sage: from sage.crypto.block_cipher.miniaes import MiniAES sage: maes = MiniAES() sage: bin = BinaryStrings() sage: key = bin.encoding("KE"); key 0100101101000101 sage: P = bin.encoding("Encrypt this secret message!") sage: C = maes(P, key, algorithm="encrypt") sage: plaintxt = maes(C, key, algorithm="decrypt") sage: plaintxt == P True Or work with integers such that : sage: from sage.crypto.block_cipher.miniaes import MiniAES sage: maes = MiniAES() sage: P = [n for n in xrange(16)]; P [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] sage: key = [2, 3, 11, 0]; key [2, 3, 11, 0] sage: P = maes.integer_to_binary(P) sage: key = maes.integer_to_binary(key) sage: C = maes(P, key, algorithm="encrypt") sage: plaintxt = maes(C, key, algorithm="decrypt") sage: plaintxt == P True
to support the Mini Advanced Encryption Standard (Mini-AES) to allow students to explore the working of a block cipher. This is a simplified variant of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to be used for cryptography education. Mini-AES is described in the paper:
Graph Theory
Fast compiled graphs c_graph (Robert Miller) — The Python package NetworkX version 0.36 is currently the default graph implementation in Sage. The goal of fast compiled graphs, or c_graph, is to be the default implementation of graph theory in Sage. The c_graph implementation is developed using Cython, which allows graph theoretic computations to run at the speed of C. The c_graph backend is implemented in the module sage/graphs/base/c_graph.pyx. This module is called by higher-level frontends in sage/graphs/. Where support is provided for using c_graph, graph theoretic computations is usually more efficient than using NetworkX. For example, the following timing statistics were obtained using the machine sage.math: # NetworkX 0.36 sage: time G = Graph(1000000, implementation="networkx") CPU times: user 8.74 s, sys: 0.27 s, total: 9.01 s Wall time: 9.08 s # c_graph sage: time G = Graph(1000000, implementation="c_graph") CPU times: user 0.01 s, sys: 0.14 s, total: 0.15 s Wall time: 0.19 s Here, we see an efficiency gain of up to 47x using c_graph.
(Robert Miller) — The Python package NetworkX version 0.36 is currently the default graph implementation in Sage. The goal of fast compiled graphs, or, is to be the default implementation of graph theory in Sage. The c_graph implementation is developed using Cython, which allows graph theoretic computations to run at the speed of C. The backend is implemented in the module. This module is called by higher-level frontends in. Where support is provided for using, graph theoretic computations is usually more efficient than using NetworkX. For example, the following timing statistics were obtained using the machine sage.math: Improve accuracy of graph eigenvalues (Rob Beezer) — New routines to compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors of integer matrices more precisely than before. Rather than converting adjacency matrices of graphs to computations over the real or complex fields, adjacency matrices are retained as matrices over the integers, yielding more accurate and informative results for eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and eigenspaces. Here is a comparison involving the computation of graph spectrum: # BEFORE sage: g = graphs.CycleGraph(8); g Cycle graph: Graph on 8 vertices sage: g.spectrum() [-2.0, -1.41421356237, -1.41421356237, 4.02475820828e-18, 6.70487495185e-17, 1.41421356237, 1.41421356237, 2.0] # AFTER sage: g = graphs.CycleGraph(8); g Cycle graph: Graph on 8 vertices sage: g.spectrum() [2, 1.414213562373095?, 1.414213562373095?, 0, 0, -1.414213562373095?, -1.414213562373095?, -2] Integer eigenvalues are now exact, irrational eigenvalues are more precise than previously, making multiplicities easier to determine. Similar comments apply to eigenvectors: sage: g.eigenvectors() [(2, [ (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) ], 1), (-2, [ (1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1) ], 1), (0, [ (1, 0, -1, 0, 1, 0, -1, 0), (0, 1, 0, -1, 0, 1, 0, -1) ], 2), (-1.414213562373095?, [(1, 0, -1, 1.414213562373095?, -1, 0, 1, -1.414213562373095?), (0, 1, -1.414213562373095?, 1, 0, -1, 1.414213562373095?, -1)], 2), (1.414213562373095?, [(1, 0, -1, -1.414213562373095?, -1, 0, 1, 1.414213562373095?), (0, 1, 1.414213562373095?, 1, 0, -1, -1.414213562373095?, -1)], 2)] Eigenspaces are exact, in that they can be expressed as vector spaces over number fields. When the defining polynomial has several roots, the eigenspaces are not repeated. Previously, eigenspaces were “fractured” owing to slight computational differences in identical eigenvalues. In concert with eigenvectors(), this command illuminates the structure of a graph’s eigenspaces more than purely numerical results. sage: g.eigenspaces() [ (2, Vector space of degree 8 and dimension 1 over Rational Field User basis matrix: [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1]), (-2, Vector space of degree 8 and dimension 1 over Rational Field User basis matrix: [ 1 -1 1 -1 1 -1 1 -1]), (0, Vector space of degree 8 and dimension 2 over Rational Field User basis matrix: [ 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0] [ 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1]), (a3, Vector space of degree 8 and dimension 2 over Number Field in a3 with defining polynomial x^2 - 2 User basis matrix: [ 1 0 -1 -a3 -1 0 1 a3] [ 0 1 a3 1 0 -1 -a3 -1]) ] Complex eigenvalues (of digraphs) previously were missing their imaginary parts. This issue has been fixed as part of the improvement in calculating graph eigenvalues.
Graphics
Plot histogram improvement (David Joyner) — Some improvements to the plot_histogram() function of the class IndexedSequence in sage/gsl/dft.py. The default colour of the histogram is blue: sage: J = range(3) sage: A = [ZZ(i^2)+1 for i in J] sage: s = IndexedSequence(A, J) sage: s.plot_histogram()
You can now change the colour of the histogram with the argument clr : sage: s.plot_histogram(clr=(1,0,0))
and even use the argument eps to change the width of the spacing between the bars: sage: s.plot_histogram(clr=(1,0,1), eps=0.3)
Linear Algebra
Multiplicative order for matrices over finite fields (Yann Laigle-Chapuy) — New method multiplicative_order() in the class Matrix of sage/matrix/matrix0.pyx for computing the multiplicative order of a matrix. Here are some examples on using the new method multiplicative_order() : sage: A = matrix(GF(59), 3, [10,56,39,53,56,33,58,24,55]) sage: A.multiplicative_order() 580 sage: (A^580).is_one() True sage: B = matrix(GF(10007^3, 'b'), 0) sage: B.multiplicative_order() 1 sage: E = MatrixSpace(GF(11^2, 'e'), 5).random_element() sage: (E^E.multiplicative_order()).is_one() True
in the class of for computing the multiplicative order of a matrix. Here are some examples on using the new method : A general package for finitely generated not-necessarily free R-modules (William Stein, David Loeffler ) — This consists of the following new Sage modules: sage/modules/fg_pid/fgp_element.py — Elements of finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain. Here are some examples: sage: V = span([[1/2,1,1], [3/2,2,1], [0,0,1]], ZZ) sage: W = V.span([2*V.0+4*V.1, 9*V.0+12*V.1, 4*V.2]) sage: Q = V/W sage: x = Q(V.0-V.1); x (0, 3) sage: type(x) <class'sage.modules.fg_pid.fgp_element.FGP_Element'> sage: x is Q(x) True sage: x.parent() is Q True sage: Q Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (4, 12) sage: Q.0.additive_order() 4 sage: Q.1.additive_order() 12 sage: (Q.0+Q.1).additive_order() 12 sage/modules/fg_pid/fgp_module.py — Finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain. Currently, only the principal ideal domain of integers is supported. Here are some examples: sage: V = span([[1/2,1,1], [3/2,2,1], [0,0,1]], ZZ) sage: W = V.span([2*V.0+4*V.1, 9*V.0+12*V.1, 4*V.2]) sage: import sage.modules.fg_pid.fgp_module sage: Q = sage.modules.fg_pid.fgp_module.FGP_Module(V, W) sage: type(Q) <class'sage.modules.fg_pid.fgp_module.FGP_Module_class'> sage: Q is sage.modules.fg_pid.fgp_module.FGP_Module(V, W, check=False) True sage: X = ZZ**2 / span([[3,0],[0,2]], ZZ) sage: X.linear_combination_of_smith_form_gens([1]) (1) sage: Q Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (4, 12) sage: Q.gens() ((1, 0), (0, 1)) sage: Q.coordinate_vector(-Q.0) (-1, 0) sage: Q.coordinate_vector(-Q.0, reduce=True) (3, 0) sage: Q.cardinality() 48 sage/modules/fg_pid/fgp_morphism.py — Morphisms between finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain. Here are some examples: sage: V = span([[1/2,1,1],[3/2,2,1],[0,0,1]],ZZ) sage: W = V.span([2*V.0+4*V.1, 9*V.0+12*V.1, 4*V.2]) sage: Q = V/W; Q Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (4, 12) sage: phi = Q.hom([Q.0+3*Q.1, -Q.1]); phi Morphism from module over Integer Ring with invariants (4, 12) to module with invariants (4, 12) that sends the generators to [(1, 3), (0, 11)] sage: phi(Q.0) == Q.0 + 3*Q.1 True sage: phi(Q.1) == -Q.1 True sage: Q.hom([0, Q.1]).kernel() Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (4) sage: A = Q.hom([Q.0, 0]).kernel(); A Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (12) sage: Q.1 in A True sage: phi = Q.hom([Q.0-3*Q.1, Q.0+Q.1]) sage: A = phi.kernel(); A Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants (4) sage: phi(A) Finitely generated module V/W over Integer Ring with invariants ()
Miscellaneous
An optimized Sudoku solver (Rob Beezer, Tom Boothby) — Support two algorithms for efficiently solving a Sudoku puzzle: a backtrack algorithm and the DLX algorithm. Generally, the DLX algorithm is very fast and very consistent. The backtrack algorithm is very variable in its performance, on some occasions markedly faster than DLX but usually slower by a similar factor, with the potential to be orders of magnitude slower. The following code compares the performance between the Sudoku solver in Sage 4.0.2 and that in this release. We also compare the performance between the backtrack algorithm and the DLX algorithm. All timing statistics were obtained |
; the largest catholic church in the Netherlands.
St. John's Cathedral is a so-called ‘Kanjermonument’ (whopper-monument, loosely translated) and being such, it receives financial support from the Dutch government.
In 1985, it received the honorary title of Basilica Minor from Pope John Paul II.
General History [ edit ]
Originally, the cathedral was built as a parish church and was dedicated to St. John Evangelist. In 1366 it became a collegiate church, and in 1559 it became the cathedral of the new diocese of's-Hertogenbosch. A Romanesque church used to stand on the spot where the St. John now resides. Its construction is thought to have started in 1220 and was finished in 1340. Around 1340, building began to extend the church, from which its current gothic style came. The transept and choir were finished in 1450. In 1505, the romanesque church was largely demolished, leaving only its tower. Construction of the gothic St. John was finished about the year 1525. After 1629, when the city was conquered by the Protestants and Catholicism was banned, a Protestant minority used the church, which came to be in a heavily dilapidated state, partly due a lack of funds to maintain the building[1]. When Napoleon visited the town in 1810, he restored the building to the Catholics.[2]
Napoleonic era [ edit ]
The French Revolutionary army conquered ’s-Hertogenbosch in 1794 and the city was to the French Empire under Napoleon in 1810. Shortly afterwards, in 1813, the Prussians defeated the French and made ’s-Hertogenbosch a part of the Batavian Republic.[3] This had as a consequence that the Dutch Reformed Church was no longer the privileged state religion. Napoleon had already promised to give the Cathedral back to the catholic majority in 1810 but it was finally arranged when King William I ordered a royal decree that the Cathedral was to be in Catholic hands indefinitely.[4] Since 1646 the Catholic religion was repressed and the diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch was a mission, with priests secretly performing their ministries. [5]Napoleon had tried to create another diocese under the governance of Monsigner Van Camp and dividing the Netherlands into two large dioceses, Amsterdam and ’s-Hertogenbosch.[6]
Post-Napoleonic era [ edit ]
In 1840 the Cathedral became the church of the Parish again. In 1853 The Episcopal hierarchy was restored by Pope Pius IX, who restored the hierarchy in the Netherlands as a whole.[7] Because of the new constitution of 1848 there was more religious liberty. The diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch was made suffragan to the Archdiocese of Utrecht and the Cathedral became the episcopal seat of the Bishopric of ’s-Hertogenbosch.[8] Ordained as the first bishop of ’s-Hertogenbosch was Msgr. Johannes Zwijsen who endeavored to bring back the Miraculous statue of Our Lady of ’s-Hertogenbosch. The statue was brought to Brussels during the reformation but was carried back to ’s-Hertogenbosch in a procession on the 29th of December 1853.[9]
The tower [ edit ]
In the year 1584, a fire broke out in the high wooden crossing tower, more majestic than the current one. Soon the whole tower was set ablaze, and it collapsed upon the cathedral itself, taking with it much of the roof up to point where the organ was situated. In 1830, another fire damaged the western tower, which was repaired by 1842.
Underneath the clock tower there is a carillon. The clockwork can be found at the top of the Romanesque tower.
Restorations [ edit ]
The first restoration of the cathedral lasted from 1859 to 1946. A second attempt at restoration was executed from 1961 to 1985. The third and most recent restoration started in 1998 and was completed in 2010, costing more than 48 million euro. Major parts of the building are once again covered by scaffolding erected for restoration of the outer stonework, but also, ironically, to remedy mistakes made by earlier restoration attempts.
Angel with a mobile phone [ edit ]
During the restoration 25 new angel statues were created by sculptor Ton Mooy, including one with a modern twist. The last angel in the series holds a mobile phone and wears jeans. “The phone has just one button,” the sculptor said. “It dials directly to God”.[10] The mobile-using angel had to be first approved by the cathedral's fathers, who rejected earlier designs which included jet engines on the angel's back.
The Organ [ edit ]
The large organ in St. John's Cathedral is one of the most important organs of the Netherlands. The organ case of this organ is one of the most monumental of the Renaissance in the Netherlands.
This organ has a long history that begins with the construction in the period 1618-1638 by Floris Hocque II, Hans Goltfuss and Germer van Hagerbeer. The rood loft and the organ case were built by Frans Simons, a carpenter who probably came from Leiden. The sculpture of the organ case was carved by Gregor Schysler from Tyrol, who, however, like Floris Hocque, was originally from Cologne.
The organ was renovated, expanded and improved in past centuries by several organ builders, according to the latest fashions. The last renovation took place in 1984 and was conducted by the Flentrop firm. The organ was restored to about the situation of 1787, as the German organ builder A.G.F. Heyneman left it. Use is made of many pipes of that era, but also of pipes from later periods. In late 2003 the organ was thoroughly cleaned.
I Rugpositief C–f3 Praestant 8′ Bourdon 8′ Quintadena 8′ Fluyttravers 8′ Octaaf 4′ Fluyt dous 4′ Super Octaaf 2′ Flageolet 1′ Mixtuur V Sexquialter II Trompet 8′ Dulciaan 8′ Tremulant II Hoofdwerk C–f3 Praestant 16′ Bourdon 16′ Praestant 8′ Holpyp 8′ Octaaf 4′ Teriaan 31/ 5 ′ Quint 3′ Super Octaaf 2′ Mixtuur VII Trompet 16′ Trompet 8′ III Bovenwerk C–f3 Quintadena 16′ Praestant 8′ Roerfluyt 8′ Viola di Gamba 8′ Octaaf 4′ Open fluyt 4′ Quintfluyt 3′ Open fluyt 2′ Super Octaaf 2′ Sexquialter II Carillon III Cornet V Trompet 8′ Vox Humana 8′ Hautbois 8′ Tremulant Pedaal C–f1 Praestant 32′ Praestant 16′ Bourdon 16′ Octaaf 8′ Gedekt 8′ Octaaf 4′ Bazuyn 16′ Trompet 8′ Clairon 4′ Cornet 2′
See also [ edit ]Nox is an action role-playing game developed by Westwood Pacific and published by Electronic Arts in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It details the story of Jack, a young man from Earth who is pulled into a high fantasy parallel universe and has to defeat the evil sorceress Hecubah and her army of Necromancers to return home. Depending on the player's choice of character class at the beginning of the game (warrior, conjurer, or wizard), the game follows three largely different linear storylines, each leading to its unique ending. In the multiplayer, players can compete against each other in various game modes such as deathmatch and capture the flag, while the freely downloadable expansion pack NoxQuest added a cooperative multiplayer mode. The game was generally well received by critics and the media.
Gameplay [ edit ]
The player controls Jack from oblique perspective with the mouse and a number of pre-defined hotkeys. The line of sight is limited by an innovative[3] and well-received[4] fog of war system named "TrueSight", which dynamically blacks out portions of the screen which Jack cannot see from his current position. The single-player campaign consists of multiple locations which Jack must explore, killing enemies and monsters and assisting his allies. Most of the game time is spent in dungeons and wilderness where Jack gathers experience points (the highest possible level in the game is 10) and collects items such as weapons, armor and spells, which can be equipped, learned, or sold to traders found on several locations throughout the game. The story is told through dialogue with non-player characters, cut scenes using the game engine, and a few pre-rendered full motion videos.
Depending on the character class the player selects at the beginning of the game, the style of gameplay varies greatly. The warrior characters are able to equip nearly all armour and mêlée weapons available in the game but cannot use bows, staves, or magical spells. They do have five spell-like special abilities but instead of using up magic points like the other classes' spells, they recharge over time. The conjurer class specializes in conjuration of various monsters found throughout the game, healing himself and his allies, and the use of bows and crossbows. They have a smaller array of spells than wizards but can summon monsters they've learned about from items called "Beast Scrolls". Alternatively, they can tame wild animals and monsters into following and fighting for them. The wizard characters are very limited in equippable weapons and armor and have very few hit points but can learn the largest array of magical spells, which they can use not only to kill enemies, but also to teleport themselves, to become invisible, and to heal themselves and their allies. Owing to its origins as a multiplayer magical combat simulator,[5] the magic system is complex and allows for spell combinations and traps, inspired by Magic: The Gathering.[3]
Weapons in the game come in many varieties and largely restricted to certain classes: most melee weapons and a few ranged weapons can only be used by warriors; bows and crossbows, by conjurers; and many magical staves, by wizards. Some weapons have enchantments on them that add magical bonus to the physical damage they deal to enemies. Armor can also have enchantments on it, protecting the wearer from certain types of harm (fire, poison, etc.). With very few exceptions, both weapons and armor wear down when used, so the player must either have them repaired by NPC traders or replace them with new items. At several points of the single-player campaign, non-player characters temporarily follow Jack, either to assist him or to be led to safety by him. These NPCs can be neither controlled by the player nor equipped with better items.
The multiplayer game types are similar to those found in online first-person shooters: deathmatch (further subdivided into "free for all", team, and clan modes), capture the flag, "Flagball" (similar to the "Bombing Run" mode in Unreal Tournament), "King of the Realm", and "Elimination" (deathmatch with limited respawns). The expansion pack NoxQuest introduced an eponymous cooperative multiplayer mode, wherein a player team must navigate through various locations, killing monsters and looting items. Originally, Westwood ran an online ladder ranking system of Nox multiplayer matches and team-based "Clan Matches" but it has since been closed down. The online services of the game were officially replaced by redirecting to the server portal XWIS[6] maintaining the game's online playability; a feature shared by other Westwood Studios Command & Conquer titles.
Plot [ edit ]
Synopsis [ edit ]
The back-story of Nox is explained through location loading screens. Some decades before Jack's arrival to the Land of Nox (the eponymous fictional setting of the game), a group of Necromancers attempted to seize control over the world but was stopped by the legendary hero Jandor wielding an artifact weapon named "the Staff of Oblivion". Following the Necromancers' defeat, Jandor trapped their souls within the magical Orb, which the Arch-Wizard Horvath then transported to another dimension later revealed to be modern Earth. One of Jandor's last deeds of the war was saving a female infant he found in the Necromancers' lair: unsure what to do with a possible Necromancer offspring, he left the girl in the care of an Ogre village. He then disassembled the Staff and gave each piece to one of the three powerful factions in the game: the Fire Knights of the fortress Dün Mir (the Halberd of Horrendous), the wizards of Castle Galava (the Heart of Nox), and the conjurers' Temple of Ix (the Weirdling Beast). After this, he assumed the nickname "Airship Captain", under which he plays a mentor role to the player throughout the game.
The game opens with a pre-rendered video of a grown-up Hecubah, the Necromancer girl, who has rediscovered her roots and proclaimed herself the Queen of Necromancers, summoning the Orb back from Earth to greatly increase her power. However, her magic also transports the current owner of the artifact, Jack (who believes it to be a fireplace mantel decoration), to the Land of Nox. Jack lands on Jandor's airship and at this point, the storylines branch, depending on the player's selection of character class. The warriors start the game near the subterranean fortress of Dün Mir; conjurers, near the Village of Ix; and wizards, near Castle Galava. Upon completing any one of the storylines, the Airship Captain's voice during the rolling credits prompts the player to complete the game using another class.
Upon reaching Dün Mir, the warrior characters must go through the Gauntlet, a labyrinth full of monsters, to prove their skills to the Warlord Horrendous and to gain the rank of a "Fire Knight". Horrendous then sends the player to the Village of Ix to help the conjurers get rid of hedgehog-like monsters harassing the settlement. On the way back, Jack runs into some undead and to investigate them, the Airship Captain transports him to the Field of Valor, the battlefield-turned-graveyard of the Necromancer war. In the crypts beneath the Field, the player first encounters Hecubah and has to fight one of her Necromancer henchmen and many undead. Jack exits the crypts to find the nearby city of Brin devastated by an Ogre invasion and is entrusted with rescuing a group of women taken to the Ogre village of Grok Torr. Afterwards, Jandor arrives and tells Jack to reassemble the Staff of Oblivion and to defeat Hecubah with it. The first part to retrieve is the Halberd of Horrendous so Jack returns to Dün Mir, now besieged by undead, and witnesses Hecubah killing the Warlord. He is able to retrieve the Halberd and travels to Castle Galava to collect the second part of the Staff, the Heart of Nox, guarded by hostile wizards. The third part is the Weirdling, a living creature kept in the Temple of Ix and guarded by powerful monsters. The final part is the Orb itself, so Jack has to find his way to the Necromancers' Land of the Dead through the Dismal Swamp. Upon reassembling the Staff, he follows Hecubah to the Underworld and defeats her in the climactic final battle. After her death, Jack is immediately transferred back to Earth through a magical portal.
The conjurers start the game in the vicinity of the Village of Ix. Jack's first tasks are to locate his future mentor Aldwyn and to clear out the same monster lair as in the warrior's storyline. The third task is to rescue the Mana Mine workers near Ix who were befallen by monsters and scattered. Suspecting Hecubah behind the Mana Mine incident, the Airship Captain sends Jack to the Field of Valor. This part of the game is identical to the warrior's route, except that the conjurer must retrieve the Arch-Wizard Horvath's Amulet of Teleportation from Grok Torr instead of rescuing Brin women. Upon retrieving the Halberd of late Horrendous, Jack travels to Galava to find it overrun by the Ogres. Unlike the warrior, the conjurer is assisted by the wizards, and Horvath sacrifices himself to let Jack escape Hecubah. Retrieving the Weirdling and the rest of the game is identical to the warrior's storyline but the finale is different: using his abilities to possess Hecubah's Ogre bodyguards, Jack entraps her soul within the Orb, and the ending video sees Jandor pondering how to transport him back home.
The wizards route begins near Castle Galava, where Jack is tutored by Arch-Wizard Horvath. The first task is to locate Horvath's missing apprentice whose death prompts the Arch-Wizard to replace him with Jack. Now a wizard apprentice, the protagonist performs multiple duties around Galava, one of which sees him fighting a Necromancer. Like in the other two storylines, the Airship Captain transports Jack to the Field of Valor after this, and the plot remains the same except that Horvath himself must be rescued from the Ogre village. Unlike the warrior and the conjurer, however, the wizard has to take the Halberd from Horrendous by killing him. Jack returns to Castle Galava where Horvath hands him the Heart of Nox before being killed by Hecubah, who also teleports Jack to the Underworld. After escaping it, Jack retrieves the Weirdling and travels to the Land of the Dead like in the other routes. However, the wizard characters receive a twist ending wherein upon being defeated, Hecubah turns into an apparently innocent and amnesiac version of herself. Jack's final words in the game suggest that he stays in the Land of Nox with the redeemed Hecubah.
Characters [ edit ]
Jack Mower [7] is the protagonist of the game. At the beginning of the story, he lives in a trailer with his girlfriend Tina on Earth and is the owner of the Orb. After Hecubah's magic transports him to the Land of Nox along with the Orb and his TV set, he is tutored by Jandor and either Horrendous, Aldwyn, or Horvath to become the new hero of Nox. In the warrior route, Jack returns to Earth; in the conjurer route, his return home is left uncertain; and in the wizard route, he stays in Nox. He is voiced by Seann William Scott. [8]
is the protagonist of the game. At the beginning of the story, he lives in a trailer with his girlfriend Tina on Earth and is the owner of the Orb. After Hecubah's magic transports him to the Land of Nox along with the Orb and his TV set, he is tutored by Jandor and either Horrendous, Aldwyn, or Horvath to become the new hero of Nox. In the warrior route, Jack returns to Earth; in the conjurer route, his return home is left uncertain; and in the wizard route, he stays in Nox. He is voiced by Seann William Scott. Hecubah is the self-proclaimed Queen of Necromancers and the chief antagonist of the game. Her origins are unknown, as Jandor found her in the Land of the Dead after the Necromancer war and left her in care of an Ogre village. Her magic summons both the Orb and Jack to the Land of Nox, eventually leading to her demise. Jack kills her in both the warrior and the conjurer routes but as a wizard, he is able to purify her soul, turning her into an innocent and amnesiac version of herself. She is voiced by Joanna Cassidy. [8]
Jandor, also known as the "Airship Captain", is the legendary hero of the Necromancer war who defeated the Necromancer army with the Staff of Oblivion. After that, he assumed the identity of an eccentric old airship captain, who plays mentor role to Jack throughout the game. His real identity is revealed half-way through the game, when he instructs Jack to reassemble the Staff. He is voiced by Alan Oppenheimer. [8]
Warlord Horrendous is the leader of the Fire Knights of the fortress Dün Mir and the guardian of the first piece of the Staff of Oblivion, the Halberd named after him. In the warrior route, he tutors Jack for a short time before sending him to the Village of Ix. In all storylines, Horrendous is killed before Jack acquires the Halberd, either by Hecubah or by Jack himself (as a wizard). He is voiced by Mark Rolston. [8]
Aldwyn the Conjurer is the most powerful conjurer in the Land of Nox, who briefly tutors Jack in the conjurer route. He is loosely affiliated with the Temple of Ix, where the Weirdling is kept, and lives far to the east of the Village of Ix. He is brother of Mordwyn the Druggist. Aldwyn is voiced by Warren Burton. [8]
Arch-Wizard Horvath is the head of the wizards of Castle Galava, where the Heart of Nox, the second part of the Staff of Oblivion, is kept. He doesn't appear in the warrior route but is a prominent figure in the wizard's one, wherein he first accepts Jack as his apprentice, is then saved by him from the Ogre village, and finally sacrifices himself to let Jack escape Hecubah. He is voiced by Ian Abercrombie. [8]
Morgan Lightfingers is a notorious thief and con artist whom all classes meet under different circumstances: the Wizard must capture him early in the game, while the Warrior must cooperate with him to escape from Castle Galava prison; to the Conjurer, Morgan simply sells a cheap bow. He is voiced by Warren Burton. [8]
Mordwyn the Druggist is Aldwyn's brother who lives in the Dismal Swamp and appears late in every game route to briefly assist Jack on his quest. He is voiced by Bill Woodsen, who also provides the narrator voice in the game. [8]
Gearhart is the chief engineer of Dün Mir whose commendation is necessary for Jack to apply for a Fire Knight rank. He is voiced by Michael S. Booth, [8] who was also the author of the original concept of the game and its lead programmer.
who was also the author of the original concept of the game and its lead programmer. Mayor Theogrin is the cowardly chief of the Village of Ix. He plays a minor role in warrior and conjurer routes. He is voiced by Lee Perry. [8]
Tina is Jack's girlfriend on Earth who appears in the intro and the warrior ending video. She is voiced by Susan Chesler.[8]
Development [ edit ]
Production [ edit ]
The development of the game started in 1995 as a personal project of Michael Booth,[5] the future technical director and lead gameplay designer of the game. An avid gamer, Booth began programming his own games on Apple II and Commodore VIC-20 computers while still at school, and started working on Nox "in a spare bedroom of [his] house" in college. To help produce the game, he co-founded Hyperion Technologies, a company that also worked on driving simulators. After Booth showed a demo of Nox to John Hight, an executive producer of Westwood Studios, at the 1997 Game Developers Conference, Westwood decided to acquire it and moved the development team to California.[9]
Booth originally envisioned the game as an "updated version of Atari's Gauntlet", focusing on real-time magical combat in the vein of Magic: The Gathering and Mortal Kombat.[3] Inspired by the "epic wizard battles" described in fantasy literature, Booth wanted to create a "multiplayer wizard battle game"[5] and decided to set it in a medieval fantasy setting.[3] It wasn't until Westwood started working on the game that it began to lean towards the RPG genre and two more classes (warrior and conjurer) and a single-player campaign were added.[5]
The game was originally intended to be played with a gamepad, with spells cast by quickly pressing several buttons, inspired by Mortal Kombat's combos, but it was eventually deemed to be "a large barrier for new and less dexterous players" and replaced with numeric hotkeys and mouse-controlled movement. The leftovers of this system are, however, still seen in the released game in the form of syllables and hand gesture icons accompanying the casting of each spell. The "TrueSight" vision system has been programmed by Booth early in the development and served as one of the cornerstones of the gameplay.[3]
The game is incredibly quick paced, requiring lightning reflexes and hand movements. Wizards have to be especially quick with hands, since toggling through 5x5 spell slots in the middle of a battle is a necessity, using obelisks and another obstacles in order to shield yourself from opponents. Warriors have to use precision and run around a lot, in order to predict the movement paths and strike in the correct moment. Conjurers are the most fragile class, but with the most deadly spells and weapons, finding angles and using monsters as their shield[clarification needed].
The multiplayer modes were inspired by the online first-person shooters, such as Quake and Unreal, both of which the development team played extensively.[3]
Marketing [ edit ]
The game was "one of the most-hyped games" at E3 1999[10] and well received by journalists.[4] In particular, they praised the TrueSight vision system,[4] the "elegant" interface, and the dynamic game world.[10]
In October 1999, Westwood began "Meet Nox Tour" in San Francisco Bay Area as part of a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the game and receive beta-testing feedback.[11] The event was a LAN party lasted about five hours and capped off with a series of multiplayer tournaments; with a final prize of US$200 CompUSA stored-value card.[11] The entire tour ended shortly before the release of the game and was, according to the executive producer John Hight, "a tremendous success".[3] To promote Nox in post-launch, another event was organized in June 2000 in Las Vegas by Westwood; the LAN party was a mass tournament, ended with a final head-to-head clash between two highest-score gamers to win a new computer system worth US$2,500.[12]
Nox has been re-distributed via digital delivery[13] on Origin,[14] and CD Projekt's GOG.com.[15]
Reception [ edit ]
Nox was generally well received by critics and on the review aggregator, GameRankings, the game has an aggregate score of 81 out of 100 based on 33 reviews.[16] Nox was often compared to Diablo II,[4][10] which was released five months after it. IGN staff praised the game as a successful clone of Diablo and highly recommend Nox to everyone, citing the game's graphics and gameplay quality, but criticized some of its sound effects.[18] Desslock of GameSpot said that some Nox's gameplay elements are completely new, and appreciated both single-player and multiplayer component of the game, defining it challenging and entertaining.[17] On the contrary, Game Revolution, declared that Nox has "nothing very original", although it has appreciable graphics, variety and gameplay.[19]
The game was reviewed in 2000 in Dragon #271 by Johnny L. Wilson in the "Silicon Sorcery" column. Wilson comments: "The game has beautiful art, impressive technology, near-limitless action, and a marvelous style in its use of traps."[20]
Possible sequel [ edit ]
Executive producer John Hight stated that Westwood was considering an expansion pack and a sequel to Nox.[3] The expansion, titled NoxQuest, was released as a free download on August 1, 2000 and focused on the multiplayer aspects of the game.[21] It included the last patch, updating the game to version 1.2, and featured a number of new spells invented for but not implemented in the original game.[3]
Shortly after the 1.2 patch release, Westwood Studios (which is a subset of Electronic Arts) lost full rights of Nox to EA, which then took over "development". EA chose to no longer support Nox, and the official Westwood servers for Clan, Ladder and Standard multiplayer were closed, as well as the online ladder ranking system.[22]
References [ edit ]Getty Honey, I shrunk the kingdom On foreign policy, David Cameron’s UK is behaving like a second Belgium.
LONDON — During the British general election Ed Miliband scored a hit that few noticed. In a speech at Chatham House he accused David Cameron of pursuing an “isolationist” foreign policy that has led to the “biggest loss of influence for our country in a generation.”
It’s the sort of charge that you might expect to hear from a Tory backbencher on the Right. But the Labour leader was actually echoing warnings from centrist establishment sources like the Financial Times, which ran an editorial in February worrying about “Britain’s drift to the foreign sidelines” pointing out that “as global challenges mount, the UK is increasingly absent.”
The Economist, equally Europhile and internationalist, was even tougher on the Coalition. In a scathing leader titled “Meet Little Britain, a shrinking actor on the global stage” it said that a cautious post-Tony Blair foreign policy would be understandable but that David Cameron has been “not so much cautious as apathetic, ineffective and fickle."
Shrinking Clout
Witness a paradox. Even as the British economy has strengthened, and even though London is more than ever a global hub, and even though the UK has access to reserves of human capital unequalled in Europe, British power and influence has gone into steep decline since Cameron first became prime minister.
That decline was not an issue during the election campaign. The only foreign policy matter the Tories were keen to talk about was a referendum on membership of the EU — prompted by the need to counter UKIP.
But the decline has been been noted by the UK’s friends and enemies around the globe. And there was embarrassing proof of it only 48 hours before Britons went to the polls, when the US Navy began escorting British commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain had discreetly asked for ships to be chaperoned after Iran seized a cargo ship flagged to the Marshall Islands on April 28. The request was an admission that the Royal Navy has shrunk to such a size that it can no longer protect British shipping in the strategic waterways that were, until recently, a British zone of influence. This zone includes Yemen, to whose collapse the UK has had no response. Britons had to be evacuated from Aden by Indian and Chinese vessels.
Although these manifestations of British weakness and the Cameron government’s seeming indifference to Britain’s influence escaped notice in the UK, previous ones did not.
David Cameron saw no reason to get involved with the emergency talks about Ukraine that saw Angela Merkel and François Hollande rush to Moscow. This was despite the fact that Britain was one of the three guarantors of Ukrainian security (in return for that country giving up its nuclear arsenal) under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Any hopes that Cameron’s refusal to get involved in Ukraine might soothe British relations with the Putin regime were quickly scotched as the UK became the subject of increasingly aggressive probes by Russian bombers and warships. Cameron’s apparent unconcern about Ukraine prompted the recently retired top British commander in NATO, General Sir Richard Shirreff, to complain that the Prime Minister is a “bit player...nobody takes any notice of” and that Britain is becoming “a foreign policy irrelevance.”
Shirreff might also have pointed to Cameron’s notable absence from the international negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program. Or the fact that despite Cameron’s typically impressive rhetoric about the “generational threat” from Islamist radicalism (a phrase he used in support of the robust French intervention in Mali) the UK has done considerably less than other Western states to combat it.
The UK’s contribution to the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, has been in the words of the Commons Defense Select Committee “strikingly modest.”
Much smaller countries like Denmark have contributed more troops to train and advise Iraqi Kurdish forces, and the Netherlands has deployed more fighter jets. The UK is limited in its ability to carry out airstrikes by the shrinkage of the RAF to only 6 fast jet squadrons, down from 11 during the first Gulf War. Outside the Kurdish region of Iraq, the UK has only three personnel training and advising Iraqi forces; Australia, Spain and Italy have sent 400, 300 and 280 troops, respectively.
No account of Cameron’s retreat from the world would be complete without reference to the scuttle from Afghanistan while claiming a mission accomplished.
British allies in ISAF were dismayed by the UK’s decision not to play a role in the successor to ISAF — Operation Resolute Support. In the UK’s absence, the lead in that 12,000-man effort is being taken by Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US.
The Cameron government decided to limit future military assistance to a small team working at the Afghan National Army Officers Academy, nicknamed the ‘Sandhurst in the Sand”. Rumors from inside the MOD say that the Cameron government is planning to renege even on that minimal commitment.
Allied disappointment in Afghanistan was dwarfed by the sense of betrayal among the thousands of Afghans who have worked with British during the last decade; the latter were understandably baffled by British assertions that the war in Afghanistan is “over.”
Vanishing Soft Power
There was a point early in his first term when Cameron sounded as if he were inclined to follow an assertive foreign policy. Although he had at first treated foreign affairs as primarily the promotion of British commerce, the Arab Spring caught his imagination. By early 2013, Cameron had become an early advocate of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and enthusiastically supported the French campaign in Mali. There was even some excited talk of a “Cameron Doctrine.”
But things changed rapidly after Cameron lost a Commons vote in August 2013 that would have authorized limited intervention in Syria after the Assad regime used chemical weapons. Stung by the defeat, the Prime Minister seemed to turn against foreign affairs in general. Even after a British aid worker was decapitated by a (British) ISIS executioner, he was reluctant to join in any international intervention against the organization.
Any doubt about the low priority of foreign affairs after the Syria debacle should have been dispelled soon after the sudden resignation of William Hague as foreign secretary in July last year. Cameron proceeded to hand the office once held by Canning and Castlereagh to a party apparatchik named Philip Hammond, who had not previously shown any particular aptitude for (or interest in) foreign policy, and whose previous tenure at the Ministry of Defense was unimpressive even by the low standards of Tory defense secretaries.
But there is an argument that Cameron and his team were never really interested in foreign affairs in a traditional sense. Why else would they have been so sanguine about imposing severe cuts on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) soon after taking office?
The “Cameroons” cut the FCO’s annual budget by almost a third from an already inadequate £2.4 billion in 2010 to £1.7 billion in 2014. As the FT pointed out, the sum is less than the UK spends subsidizing the heating of pensioners.
Embassies and consulates have closed and diplomatic missions have shrunk. This means that the UK will have less intelligence on which to base foreign and security policy, and that the UK’s “soft power” — much boasted of by Cameron at the beginning of the last government — will diminish.
The Cameron government’s failure to give the FCO adequate resources has been particularly damaging for British interests in Latin America. Relations with Chile and Brazil, key allies during the Falklands War, have been neglected despite Argentina’s aggressive rhetoric about the Falklands and the likelihood that Russia may soon sell Buenos Aires game-changing warplanes.
The cuts to the FCO budget, like the even more damaging defense cuts (about which more later), cannot simply be explained by economic necessity.
After all, the Cameron government simultaneously increased spending on the already much bigger Department for International Development (DID) by more than £2.5 billion pounds per annum. (This year the DID budget will actually hit £12 billion in total, in accordance with the goal of spending 0.7 percent of GDP on aid).
Ring-fenced from austerity measures to which all but two other government departments have been subject, the Foreign Aid behemoth is now so lavishly funded its staff have had difficulty making good use of its wealth.
Cameron justified giving additional billions to DID with the claim that foreign aid can prevent war, terrorism and mass migration (he has never distinguished between development aid and humanitarian/emergency aid and may not even be aware of the difference).
However, successive reports have found that DID’s spending is inefficient and often fails to accomplish much good in the countries where it works.
It is not clear if Cameron truly believes that foreign aid has a magical ability to bring about global stability, or if it’s merely the only form of foreign engagement that he feels comfortable dealing with.
But if he and his circle were truly as interested in the projection of British Soft Power as they have been in softening the Tory brand, you would expect them not to put all their eggs in the Aid basket and to have boosted expenditure on the Foreign Office and the British Council, and above all on the BBC’s World Service.
The latter has long been the most important source of British soft power. But during the last five years its influence has diminished, thanks to swingeing budget cuts. In 2011 for example, World Service radio stopped broadcasting to Asia in Mandarin Chinese. It had been doing so for 70 years and its news reports played an important role during the 1989 Democracy protests.
If that weren’t bad enough, in 2014 the government also switched the source of the World Service’s funding from the Foreign Office budget to that of the main BBC, where it is an orphan vulnerable to that Corporation’s internal politics (and, therefore, further cuts).
It’s almost as if the Cameron government were unaware of the regard in which the World Services’ broadcasts are held in many parts of the world, that it reaches at least 170 million people a week even after the cuts, and is unconcerned that countries like China, Russia, Qatar and Iran are all heavily investing in international broadcast networks explicitly inspired |
uncertain.
The NRA responded to the Manchin-Toomey agreement by saying it would fail to address the core issues of gun violence.
"Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools," it said in a statement.
Following the Newtown shootings by a lone gunman, Obama called for a series of proposals including "universal" background checks on all gun purchases. Currently, the federal law requiring background checks covers licensed firearms dealers, with private sales excluded.
Fierce opposition by the NRA and its allies in Congress -- mostly conservative Republicans but also some Democrats from gun-friendly states -- made clear that the universal checks sought by Obama had no chance of passing, leading to efforts by Manchin, Toomey and others to work out a compromise.
"The bottom line for me is this: If expanding background checks to include gun shows and Internet sales can reduce the likelihood of criminals and mentally ill people from getting guns and we can do it in a fashion that does not infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, then we should do it, and in this amendment I think we do," Toomey told reporters on Wednesday.
Asked later about criticism by the NRA and others, he told CNN that the proposed legislation was "not a cure-all, but I think it would be some progress."
Manchin noted that the proposal meant that firearms buyers at gun shows would face the same background check currently required in sales by federally licensed gun dealers. In addition, it would close a loophole that exempts intrastate gun sales on the Internet from requiring a background check, he said.
Addressing concerns of the NRA that expanding background checks would burden law-abiding gun owners seeking to trade or gift weapons in a personal transfer, Manchin declared that "personal transfers are not touched whatsoever."
Another provision would recognize the legitimacy of concealed weapons permits across state lines.
The Manchin-Toomey compromise also would require states and the federal government to provide records on criminals and the "violently mentally ill" to the national background check system, addressing a criticism by the NRA and other opponents of gun laws that the existing system lacks substantive information.
In addition, the plan calls for a new National Commission on Mass Violence to report in six months on "all aspects of the problem, including guns, school safety, mental health, and violent media or video games."
The NRA said rejection of the universal checks sought by Obama was "a positive development," and it called for "serious and meaningful solutions" to gun violence instead of "blaming law-abiding gun owners for the acts of psychopathic murderers."
Obama said there are aspects of the proposal that he would like to see strengthened.
"But the agreement does represent welcome and significant bipartisan progress. It recognizes that there are good people on both sides of this issue, and we don't have to agree on everything to know that we've got to do something to stem the tide of gun violence," he said.
"Congress needs to finish the job," Obama added, saying he would continue "asking the American people to stand up and raise their voices because these measures deserve a vote."
Other reaction ranged from cautious support to angry rejection.
The Brady Campaign, named after the former White House press secretary wounded in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, called the compromise a "good step forward," while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo described it as "better than nothing" but a sellout to the gun lobby.
"This is a Congress that is captive of the extremists and there is no clearer proof of that than this," Cuomo said on the "Capitol Pressroom" radio show, adding that the compromise meant "we are not talking about a significant package of gun control anymore."
Manchin told reporters the compromise on background checks would be the first amendment offered when the Senate begins debating the package of gun legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Tuesday he would hold a vote on opening debate on the gun package Thursday, putting pressure on Manchin and Toomey to finalize their agreement intended to overcome a Republican filibuster of the legislation.
The filibuster pledged by 14 GOP senators means Reid, whose Democratic caucus holds 55 seats, needs 60 votes to open debate on the gun legislation.
Democrats believe that as many as a dozen GOP senators will vote with them, making up for the handful of pro-gun Democrats who might vote against launching debate on the bill.
Obama has made gun measures a major focus of his second-term agenda, holding events across the country to push for Congress to vote on the package.
He spoke Monday in Connecticut, where the Newtown shootings occurred, and Vice President Joe Biden made a similar call for action at the White House on Tuesday.
A successful GOP filibuster would prevent a vote on specific components of the legislative package. Even if an amended bill passes the Senate, approval from the Republican-led House remains uncertain.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, was noncommittal on Wednesday on prospects for gun legislation, telling reporters he would wait to see what the Senate passes.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of California and Republican Rep. Peter King of New York said they planned to introduce legislation in the House similar to the Senate compromise by Manchin and Toomey.
Obama's rhetoric has reflected the political uncertainty, with the president and his aides using increasingly personal language intended to shame Republicans into allowing public votes on measures that have public support but are fiercely opposed by the NRA.
On the other side, the NRA and its supporters in Congress say the Democratic proposals threaten the constitutional right to bear arms, and also offer ineffective responses intended as political show instead of real solutions to the problem of gun violence in America.
"On firearms questions, on Second Amendment questions, there's a divide in this country," NRA President David Keene told CNN. "To call it an ideological divide is too simple because it's a cultural divide. When something happens, the folks on the other side from us say, 'well the problem's the gun, we need to do something about guns.' "
Failing to pass new gun laws would be a stinging defeat for Obama and Democrats.
However, a public perception that Republicans blocked popular proposals, such as expanding background checks, could harm GOP prospects in 2014 and 2016 among moderates they need in their corner to have any chance of countering strong support for Democrats by minority demographics such as Hispanic Americans, African Americans and the gay-lesbian vote.
A new national survey showed that 86% of Americans support some expansion of background checks.
At the same time, the CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday also showed a majority of respondents fear that increased background checks would lead to a federal registry of gun owners that could allow the government to take away legally owned weapons.
Keene and other opponents worry that an expanded background check system would create a paper trail that could eventually be used to build a national gun registry, which they reject as unconstitutional.
They also contend it would prove a burden to law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to stop criminals from getting hold of firearms.
"The one thing you know today is that if the government creates a record, it's not secure," Keene said, adding that requiring background checks on all gun sales -- the so-called universal system -- raised the question of "is it linked to a national registration scheme."
According to a summary of the compromise proposal, it includes language that prohibits creation of a national gun registry or misusing information from background checks.
The high political stakes of the divisive gun law debate have bred hardball tactics and strategies.
The NRA has long kept a comprehensive scorecard of the voting records of legislators on gun issues, which it combines with campaign contributions to try to influence elections.
In response, a group led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced this week it was launching its own scorecard to identify members of Congress who vote against tougher gun laws.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a package of gun laws proposed by Obama after the Newtown attack by a lone gunman.
Proposals in the committee's package included expanding background checks on gun buyers, toughening laws against gun trafficking and straw purchases, banning semiautomatic rifles modeled after military assault weapons as well as large-capacity ammunition magazines, and coming up with ideas for improving school safety.
The weapons ban, which would update a similar 1994 law that expired a decade later, already has been dropped, though Reid has promised a floor vote on it as an amendment to the package.
Some states already have passed stricter gun laws similar to the federal proposals since the Newtown shootings. They include Connecticut, where the killings occurred, and Colorado, the site of two other notorious mass shootings that contributed to a renewed gun debate in America.
The current background check system was created in 1989. It requires federally approved gun dealers to check whether gun buyers have a criminal background or other problem to make them ineligible to purchase a firearm.
Under the system, the gun dealer maintains a record of the transaction, but the federal government keeps no such identifying paperwork.
According to a Justice Department report, less than 2% of those seeking to purchase firearms were denied because of background checks from 1998 through 2009.
Opponents cite that figure as evidence that the system fails to stop illegal weapons sales that the legislation seeks to target, while supporters say the result shows the system keeps some guns out of the hands of the wrong people and the system should be expanded and strengthened.A well-written, efficient layout can increase performance and simplify maintenance. In this GOTO Copenhagen talk, Daniel Lew goes over how to write the best layouts for your application. We’ll cover a range of improvements including choosing the right ViewGroup, effectively leveraging resource qualifiers, avoiding code duplication, and more tips and tricks. Come and learn how to get the most power out of every View!
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Introduction
I’ve been doing Android drawup for about seven years, first at the Travel App company, then Expedia, and now currently at Trello. This talk is about efficient Android layouts, and when I was writing it, what I found was that I was really interested in wasn’t so much so the efficiency in terms of performance, but the efficiency in terms of leverage that you have as a developer.
I started thinking about it in the way that Archimedes was referring to how fulcrums work, where if you give him a proper place to stand, he can move the Earth. That’s the focus of this talk. How to get the most leverage as a developer, because a lot of Android teams are fairly small, and you’re asked to do a lot of things.
ViewGroups
Let’s talk about picking which ViewGroup to use for any particular layout. I think the main thing is, the simpler the ViewGroup you can get away with, the better, because the more complex ones require a lot more maintenance, and you can run into a lot more bugs.
On the high end of things, RelativeLayout is one of the most complex. (ConstraintLayout looks like it’s probably going to be more complex than RelativeLayout when it’s finally done.) Somewhere in the middle of there is LinearLayout, and then down at the bottom is FrameLayout, which is one of my favorites because it’s so simple.
There are many other views, but these are the main building blocks for most applications. RelativeLayout and ConstraintLayout sort of occupy the same space in Android right now, which is that they position views relative to each other. RelativeLayout is limited, but it’s what we’ve had since the beginning, whereas ConstraintLayout is new and can do all these amazing things.
But there are key problems with both of them, besides the fact that they’re fairly complex. RelativeLayout is slow, and ConstraintLayout is alpha-ish at the moment. They haven’t officially released it yet. There are alpha builds out on Maven Central, but a few times they’ve completely changed the API around, so it’s not production ready.
LinearLayout is great for stacking views vertically and horizontally; you can distribute the weight. This is a simple view where rows are stacked vertically, and then also I distributed the weight between those two spinners equally.
I’m actually okay with nested LinearLayouts as opposed to RelativeLayout. Yes, LinearLayouts are sometimes slow. If you use layout weight, and you nest them pretty deep, then they can get pretty slow. But that’s only a sometimes thing, whereas RelativeLayout always has to do two passes. It’s always slow. The hope is that eventually ConstraintLayout will be our savior and save us from having to decide between the two of them.
In the meantime, I think what’s most important is to focus on profiling. Whatever layout you end up with, turn on profile GPU rendering and see if things are running fast enough on your test device. If you’ve never used profile GPU rendering, I highly recommend looking into that because then you get these nice bars that show you whether or not you’re hitting 60 frames a second, and if you don’t, what sort of things you’re spending too much time on.
FrameLayout is my favorite layout in the world because it’s so incredibly simple. All it can do is position things based on the parent bounds. You can position things inside the center of the FrameLayout, or you can position things on one of the eight cardinal directions of the FrameLayout. There’s a lot you can do with this. It turns out that if you want to have a simple progress bar in the center of some large screen, that’s a FrameLayout: you don’t have to do anything complicated with RelativeLayout or what-have-you.
It’s also really great as a simple layout for overlapping views, so if you need two views to be on top of each other, FrameLayout is a great container for that. It’s also good for things like clickable item backgrounds, so if you have some image that takes up a very small amount of space, but you want to have multiple views that compose a single thing that you click, it’s good to have a FrameLayout as the parent. That can actually have the click detection so when you click on it, it looks like something is happening.
A good example of this, like in the Trello application, is the notification bar in the upper right corner. This is always present on the screen. It’s a single FrameLayout, and there’s an icon inside of it. That white icon is always present, and then if you have unread messages, it’ll put that little red thing on top of it. The white icon is centered and the red icon is actually pegged to the upper right corner, but then you can use the margin or push it in so it doesn’t just ram up against the sides. On top of all of that, I can just have these views be very simply positioned, and then pair with clickable item background behind that, so when you actually click on it, something happens.
Another thing I really like using FrameLayouts for is what I’m calling “toggle containers.” If you have two different states that you toggle between, sometimes you have a single view that you actually change. I’ve found it handy to have multiple views that you can switch between. A FrameLayout is a good way to contain two things in exactly the same spot and then toggle between them.
A good example of that in the Trello app is the avatar view. This is whenever you represent a member of a card or something like that. If the user has their avatar set, then we want to show that. If they’ve never taken a picture, then we want to show their initials. It’s essentially choosing between an image view or a text view.
View reuse
The avatar view brings up the next thing I want to talk about, which is view reuse. We use this avatar view all over the application. These are just three screens, like the Trello board. An open Trello card, some activity on the side, and there’s a few other locations where we use an avatar view within the application.
The question becomes, how do I reuse this in multiple places without having to rewrite the code everywhere? The most obvious way is to use something called an include.
< LinearLayout xmlns : android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "wrap_content" android : orientation = "horizontal" > < include layout = "@layout/avatar_view" android : layout_width = "48dp" android : layout_height = "48dp" /> <!-- Rest of layout here... --> </ LinearLayout >
If you’ve never seen it before, the include tag allows you to point to a direct layout, and then it’s as if that layout was just copy-and-pasted into the code right there. You can’t modify much of what you’re including, but you can modify any of the layout parameters–that’s any of the things that starts with layout_. That’s a nice way to include something that may have been match-paired, but you don’t quite want it to be in the end.
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The problem here is that you get the XML in every single location, but you don’t get any of the logic. Now you have to come up with some way to find these particular views that were in the include, and then add the logic for actually binding that to the view. What I actually prefer these days is using custom view.
< com. trello. view. AvatarView android : id = "@+id/avatar_view" android : layout_width = "48dp" android : layout_height = "48dp" />
With a custom view, I call instead of include. I have the view in reference directly. Then I need to write the actual custom view itself, but it’s not very hard, because this isn’t a custom view that’s doing custom drawing or anything like that. It’s just taking the place of what would have been in that include.
With this custom avatar view, I’m extending FrameLayout, so I’m saying the topmost is going to be a FrameLayout. Remember, I’m toggling between the two states.
public class AvatarView extends FrameLayout { ImageView icon ; TextView initials ; public AvatarView ( Context context, AttributeSet attrs ) { super ( context, attrs ); LayoutInflater. from ( context ). inflate ( R. layout. view_avatar, this ); icon = ( ImageView ) findViewById ( R. id. icon ); initials = ( TextView ) findViewById ( R. id. initials ); } public void bind ( Member member ) { //...Load icon into ImageView... // OR //...Setup initials in TextView... } }
I’ve got an ImageView and a TextView, and then inside of a constructor itself, it actually inflates all the views that are underneath it. As a parent using avatar view, I don’t have to worry about what’s inside. It’s handling all of that for me. Then I can have this one nice bind method where I take my member object and figure out whether I should be loading an icon or loading the text.
This makes my life a lot easier. One thing worth noting, though: if you’re using this sort of custom view setup, this is a very hand-wavy version of what would be the included XML.
< FrameLayout xmlns : android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "match_parent" > < TextView android : id = "@+id/initials" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "match_parent" /> < ImageView android : id = "@+id/icon" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "match_parent" /> </ FrameLayout >
But if you include the XML like this, you end up with a view hierarchy with an avatar view on the top. It’s a FrameLayout and then it inflates another FrameLayout, which then has the ImageView and TextView. The middle FrameLayout here is pointless. We don’t really need it.
The lint check in Android returns a particularly harsh message when you do this, something like “has no reason to live” or “has no reason to exist.” The way that we get rid of that is through a LayoutInflater trick.
LayoutInflater. from ( context ). inflate ( R. layout. view_avatar, this );
Normally when you’re using LayoutInflater, everywhere you see it, there’ll be a third parameter there, and it’ll be false. That’s because most of the time that’s what you want. But in this one particular case, you want it to be true, which happens to be the default.
When it’s true, what happens is that the XML that’s inflated tries to attach itself to the view group that you passed in as the second parameter. In this case, it’s this.
And then in the XML, if you use something called the merge tag instead of a FrameLayout, what happens is, it tries to then merge these views into the parent view group without any interstitial FrameLayout.
< merge xmlns : android = "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" > < TextView android : id = "@+id/initials" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "match_parent" /> < ImageView android : id = "@+id/icon" android : layout_width = "match_parent" android : layout_height = "match_parent" /> </ merge >
And then you end up with the hierarchy that you actually want: no unnecessary FrameLayouts involved.
Custom drawing
This third view-specific piece of advice has to do with custom drawing, which is useful in cases of particularly complex views. You can save a lot of time by just drawing yourself instead of trying to figure out how to wedge these views into what you want it to look like in normal views.
A good example of this in the Trello app is the labels. There are green and blue and red and yellow and purple labels on these cards. When we first launched the Trello app, there were six colors and that was it; that was the most you could apply to any card. And whoever was working on it back in the day did not know about custom drawing, and decided that those would just be six views. That meant that every single card potentially had six views inflated.
Later on, Trello changed this. It allowed any number of labels to be drawn, so then you could end up with a nightmare scenario where every single card could have dozens of labels on them if someone’s going really crazy. Then we were talking about recycling those views. It just gets really slow, and if you talk about putting something like this on a tablet, it gets really slow because you can see even more cards and it’s rendering even more views. It was much simpler then to just take all of those views that were being rendered, and instead, have one custom view that draws really simple shapes.
There’s two steps to it. Custom views used to be very intimidating to me, because I thought they looked really hard, but they really are not. The first step is telling the custom view how big it should be.
How much space does it need to take up? I have my label view, which is really nice, but no one knows exactly how much space it’s going to take up. onMeasure is what you use to tell any parent view group how much space you need. You can often skip this step because in any view, you can specify, “I want this view to be 48 dp by 48 dp.” If it turns out that your custom view is always going to be the same size, skip this entirely, just define it in your XML, and you don’t have to worry about that.
In this particular case, because the size varies based on the number of labels, I had to write my own measures.
void onMeasure ( int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec ) int widthMode = MeasureSpec. getMode ( widthMeasureSpec ); int widthSize = MeasureSpec. getSize ( widthMeasureSpec ); int heightMode = MeasureSpec. getMode ( heightMeasureSpec ); int heightSize = MeasureSpec. getSize ( heightMeasureSpec );
With onMeasure, you have this widthMeasureSpec and heightMeasureSpec, which was sort of confusing to me at first. It turns out that these are just packed integers. It’s a single integer. These two parameters basically take the place of four parameters, which are a width mode and size and a height mode and size.
The size is just a dimension value, but the mode is telling you how it wants you to handle that particular size that it passed. There are three different MeasureSpec s for the mode. One is EXACTLY, which means the parent view group wants you to be this exact size. The other is AT_MOST, so it take up as much space as possible, and undefined means you get to define whatever ideal width you would like.
Your typical onMeasure looks something like this for the width, and then you would copy the same code for the height.
protected void onMeasure ( int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec ) { int widthMode = MeasureSpec. getMode ( widthMeasureSpec ); int widthSize = MeasureSpec. getSize ( widthMeasureSpec ); int width ; if ( widthMode == MeasureSpec. EXACTLY ) { width = widthSize ; } else { int desiredWidth = 500 ; // Whatever calculation you want if ( widthMode == MeasureSpec. AT_MOST ) { width = Math. min ( desiredWidth, widthSize ); } else { width = desiredWidth ; } } //...to be continued... }
You grab the mode and the size. If the MeasureSpec is EXACTLY, you probably just want to pass back the size that it gave you. You don’t want to screw up the parent view group too much, or else it might get confused.
Otherwise, calculate what your desiredWidth is, and if the width spec is AT_MOST, then make sure your desiredWidth is not larger than that size. Otherwise, if it’s undefined, you just get to pick whatever desiredWidth you want.
Then, once you’ve done this for both the width and the height, you are required to call setMeasuredDimension in order to tell the view what you decided for the width and height.
@Override protected void onMeasure ( int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec ) { int width ; int height ; //...Calculate width and height... setMeasuredDimension ( width, height ); }
Because there’s no return value for onMeasure, you just have to call this measure at the end. That’s measuring how big the view is, and the second is onDraw, and this one is pretty simple. It just gives you a canvas and you draw.
Another thing worth considering is that in some cases, you don’t actually need a custom view: you could just write your own custom drawable. And the advantage there is, you could take this custom-written code and apply it to any view. That’s good if you want some special custom background. In that case, onMeasure becomes something like getIntrinsicHeight and getIntrinsicWidth on a drawable, and then ondraw becomes draw.
Styles
Let’s move away from views and talk about kind of another layer above views, which is styles. If you’re applying XML to a view, this view has no style. Not because it’s uncool, but because there is no style tag on it.
No style
< View android : background = “# FF0000 ” />
Style
<!--- some_layout. xml --> < View style = "@style/MyStyle" /> <!--- styles. xml --> < style name = "MyStyle" > < item name = "android:background" > # FF0000 </ item > </ style >
If you have a style, all that means is I’m creating some style resource, which has the same attribute inside of it, and then the view itself then applies that style on top. The style’s applied first, and then those attributes are applied on top of it. In the same way that includes take layout XML and stuff it into a view group, styles take a bunch of attributes and stuff them into a view.
Where is this useful? It’s very efficient when you need to style a bunch of semantically identical views the same way. What I mean by semantically identical is that each view does exactly the same thing in your hierarchy. A good example of this is a calculator, because in a calculator you want all these buttons, or at least the main number ones, to look the same.
Another way to put it is that all the style views should change at once. If I want to change the text size of one of those buttons, my expectation is that all of them change at once. That saves me a whole bundle of time.
I see a lot of people misusing styles in very inefficient ways that end up biting you in the long-run. And one way is single-use styles.
< TextView android : id = "@+id/title" android : textColor = "@color/blue_200" android : textColorHint = “ @color / grey_500 " /> <TextView android:id=" @ + id / body " android:textColor=" @color / blue_200 " android:textColorHint=“@color/grey_500" />
Here we have a view that’s representing a style, and that style’s only used once. That’s just extra work that didn’t need to be there. Some people really like separating all this code out, but it’s so easy to refactor later and create a style. There’s even a refactoring option in Android Studio that lets you do this.
This is more crucial when you have two views that are coincidentally using the same attributes. Say I’ve got these two text views, and I say, “Oh look, they’re using the same text color and text color hint, great, I’ll use a style here.” But if you look at the IDs, you can tell that these two mean something very different from each other. One’s supposed to be title and one’s the body.
Suppose later on I decide, “Oh, I want the title to be a different color.” Well, if I change the color of the title now, that also changes the body. And so this style which was supposed to be handy is now just a hindrance, because it’s very hard to modify that style without having some unintended consequences later.
I liken this to an example in Java: imagine I have two constants. One is the number of columns I’m going to show in some grid. And the other is the number of retries I’ll do in some HTTP request if it fails.
// static final int NUM_COLUMNS = 3; // static final int NUM_RETRIES = 3; static final int NUM_THREE = 3 ;
And so I think, “Aw, these are the same value, I’m going to optimize this and have a single constant.” This is problematic for two reasons: one is that three is already a constant, but the other is I’ve lost all semantic meaning. These numbers meant something very different. If I want to increase the number of retries for HTTP, suddenly now I’ve changed how my UI looks as well, incidentally. Those are mistakes people can make with styles.
Themes
Themes are sort of like styles on steroids. Styles apply to individual views. Themes can apply to multiple views at once. And so that can be a view group, it can be an activity, or it can be the entire application. It allows you to apply default styles as well, so if I want all of my buttons to look slightly different across the app, without themes I would have to go take that style and actually add it to all of my XML. With themes I can say, “I want a default style for all buttons,” and it automatically gets inflated for everything.
Themes also help you with configuring your system-created views. If you’ve got popup windows or toolbars or something that the system creates, that’s one fewer thing you have to create. But before you could theme on a view level, there were problems with “oh, I have to create some attributes that affect just this one weird popup”, but then it screws up another part of my app. But a theme is very useful for configuring just things that the system will create.
There are three ways to apply a theme.
< application android : theme = "@style/Theme.AppCompat" > < activity android : theme = “ @style / Theme. AppCompat. Light ” > < Toolbar android : theme = "@style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar" app : popupTheme = "@style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Light" />
You can apply it to the entire application, or to individual activity–if you do that, it ends up overriding whatever’s in the application. You can also apply it to an individual view. And in the view case, it ends up actually overlaying, so you can overlay a few changes to an individual view’s theme.
View theming is very handy. Remember the days of Holo? There was a holo.light.width action bar, and that was because there was no way to theme just the action bar part of the screen differently. You had to say in the theme, “I want to define most of the screen to be light, but I want this one part of it to be dark.” Whereas nowadays, you can say, “I would like a light theme,” and then manually apply a dark theme to the tool bar itself. It makes things so much easier.
AppCompat, one of Google’s support libraries, makes theming a lot easier. It gives you Material on all devices. That’s the latest design language from Google. There’s a lot of subtle differences between Holo and Material in terms of spacing, and also in the visual metaphors that they’re using. It’s so much easier to start from one single baseline and then theme from there.
Another thing AppCompat gives you is baseline themes and styles. You might want to change the default look of all your buttons, but you don’t want to have to actually go and define a style, which defines every single attribute that a button has to have. You just want to take the main one and tweak it, like add a little padding to all of your buttons. AppCompat makes it easy to take the AppCompat button style and extend from that and modify it. Without that, it becomes sort of a nightmare, especially between Holo and Material.
The third really important thing AppCompat enables is that it allows you to do view theming pre-Lollipop, in XML. That was one of my favorite things because Lollipop had this view theming which seemed really cool, but I was like, “Oh, but you can’t get it backported.” They actually did manage to backport that all the way back to some API that you shouldn’t even be using anymore, I think 11. (Sorry, people who are still having to support apps on 11.)
Here are a few examples of things you can do with themes. ColorTheming gets touted everywhere.
< style name = "ColorTheme" parent = "Theme.AppCompat" > < item name = "colorPrimary" > # F00 </ item > < item name = "colorPrimaryDark" > # 0 F0 </ item > < item name = "colorControlNormal" > # 00 F </ item > </ style >
Instead of having to use individual drawables for everything, I can just set up colors and most of the things in Android will get colored automatically.
These are some examples of applying default styles.
< style name = "AppTheme" parent = "Theme.AppCompat" > < item name = "buttonStyle" > @style / MyButton </ item > < item name = "android:spinnerItemStyle" > @style / MySpinnerItem </ item > < item name = "android:textAppearance" > @style / MyText </ item > < item name = "android:textAppearanceInverse" > @style / MyTextInverse </ item > </ style >
Just in case you’ve never seen this before, the top line defines the button style for the entire application. That gets applied to every button. The spinner item style is handy because what if I want to use the built-in spinner item layout row that Android provides, but I want to style it a little bit? I can use that here. Text appearance is nice because that can apply to text views, and then you can still apply another style on top of that.
Another useful thing you can do with themes is set up attributes which are then referenced in your XML.
< style name = "AttrTheme" parent = "Theme.AppCompat" > < item name = "selectableItemBackground" > @drawable / bg </ item > </ style > <!-- some_layout. xml --> < Button android : background = "?attr/selectableItemBackground" />
So in this case, selectableItemBackground (one of my favorite attributes) is referenced with that?attribute/ instead of the @drawable that you normally use, and it derives that value from the theme instead of going to it directly.
Why is this useful? If you happen to have an app that supports multiple themes, it makes it very easy to swap between those values. More importantly, your system might have multiple ideas of what a selectableItemBackground is, because pre-Lollipop there weren’t any Ripple drawables. It was just a flat color that you changed to whenever you click on something. Post-Lollipop, you want to have those ripples because it looks really cool. If you use a selectableItemBackground, the theme can automatically figure out which one it wants to take.
Resources
Resources are all the things that go into your app that aren’t just pure Java code. Before I talk about resources, I want to talk about device configurations.
If we look at this screenshot, there’s a whole bunch of things that one can derive about it in terms of its configuration. For example, I can say it’s in portrait orientation, it’s got a height of 731 density in a pint of pixels, it’s got a width of 411 of them, it’s a Nexus 6p, so it’s got a density of xxxhdpi, it happens to be in English right now, the US locale, so it’s showing en_US, and it’s version 24. These are all things that the Android system knows about the device, and you can query this manually on your own if you want. With resources you can have it select things automatically.
Some of these device things will change throughout execution, some of them won’t. So portrait vs. landscape, unless you’re locking your orientation, that can change very rapidly. Users probably won’t change the locale often, but they can change it while your app’s running. And then some things like the density and what operating system version probably aren’t going to be changing while you’re running your app.
So what sort of things do you want to vary on this? Landscape versus portrait is a classic example, because it usually presents a different mode of operation. The built-in calculator app, when it’s in portrait, only shows four rows, but when it’s got more space to stretch out, it can show some of the cooler functions by default.
Locale is a very easy one: if you want to have your app translated into different languages, you just have have it select different text strings based on the locale. On the left here it’s in English, and on the right it’s in Japanese. You can have things break on the width of the screen, so on the phone the card when it’s opened is small enough that it just decides to take up the full width, whereas at some point, if the device gets large enough, it just looks kind of ridiculous having it be full width, and so we start having a break point at some moment with width.
Another example of that would be our search results. We have the staggered grid view, and again, on the wide tablet it wouldn’t make sense to have a single column |
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