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around the web. It’s important to jump into these conversations quickly to add your expertise and increase the odds that readers of the content will proceed on to your site. You’ll also benefit from building relationships with the writers of the blogs/content you are interacting with.
You can also discover inbound links by checking Webmaster Tools, but the most reliable place to check is the Yahoo Site Explorer.
Add your site, then click explore and hit -> InLinks. It’s the best way to figure out who’s linking to you, which leads into part 2 where we optimize these links.
Step 2: Optimizing inbound links
Schedule a monthly audit of all the sites that are linking to you. You can do this by trawling through your Google Alerts as per step 1. Then make contact with the author of the link (often someone who wrote a blog post mentioning you) and politely ask them for a favour: to change the anchor text in the link to something that will help your organic search results for your key terms. This is way better and more legit than the lamo old-school link exchange requests that spam artists send to you.
42. A/B TEST YOUR LANDING PAGES
If you’ve ever had a boardroom (or family) argument about design direction or page layout (button color, messaging, logo size, use of video, amount of text) then you’re not alone. We’ve all been there and most often it’s the boss who wins the argument.
A/B testing allows you to remove conjecture from these types of decision and is the basis for any conversion rate optimization strategy. It lets you pit different pages against one another in a contest or experiment to see which performs (converts) the best.
There are many tools available that aim to make this process simple:
Google Website Optimizer (GWO) - requires that you have some technical chops to set up scripts throughout your pages, but it is free
- requires that you have some technical chops to set up scripts throughout your pages, but it is free Visual Website Optimizer (VWO) - a visual alternative to GWO and also includes some advances features like heatmaps/clickmaps
- a visual alternative to GWO and also includes some advances features like heatmaps/clickmaps Optimizely - similar to VWO it lets you make testing changes in a visual environment
- similar to VWO it lets you make testing changes in a visual environment Unbounce (disclaimer: I’m a co-founder) - dedicated to creating and testing new landing pages specifically, whereas the other solutions listed are targeted more at testing (rather than creating) pages
You know you want to run a test, but what exactly should you test? A little bit earlier ( #34) we used the landing page scorecard to help you figure out what you should be changing on your page. Refer back to this when you conceptualize and design an alternative page for testing.
NOOB TIP: If you aren't using standalone landing pages yet and don't really know how to make a landing page that converts well you might want to read HOW TO: Create a landing page design concept in 10 minutes.
43. TRY A 5 SECOND TEST
Another great way to do a gut check on your landing pages is to run a 5-second test. The theory here is that most visitors only spend about that much time on your page before deciding to stay or leave. In other words, you have to get your sales pitch in one ear and hopefully not out the other in a fraction of the typical elevator ride (where an elevator pitch is more like a 30-second spew).
To run the test, find a relevant guinea pig (ideally someone from your target market who hasn’t been exposed to your brand before) and sit them in front of a computer. Flash your page up on screen for 5-10 seconds then take it down again. Ask the user what the page was about. If they didn’t “get” your value proposition or understand what the page is asking you to do, then it needs to be simplified.
Cool tool: FiveSecondTest.com lets you run these tests online in front of their user base.
NOOB TIP: Remove, rinse, repeat
To improve your page, you need to simplify it. Try removing as much text as you can while leaving the purpose intact. Add some whitespace for clarity and ease of visual browsing. Use a clear and succinct header (this the most important thing for this type of test). Then try the test again (with a new set of subjects) and see how many more people “get” the page than before.
44. WRITE ABOUT OTHERS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Here’s a simple but effective tip. By writing about others - and giving them a nicely optimized link - you will place yourself on their radar and garner some goodwill in the process. There are four main ways that people will become aware that you wrote about them:
If you are linking to a blog post of theirs, they will often be notified of the link by their blogging platform (Wordpress etc.)
If they have Google Alerts set up for their domain or brand name they will see your article
When you share a link to the post via social media, include their name (@them via Twitter for example) so that they notice
Email them directly to tell them that you wrote about them
This is a great way to establish relationships with other companies or develop rapport with important online influencers.
A Side benefit of writing about others
If you’re lucky, and are creating positive and interesting content about another company, they will join in the promotional process by sharing it with their network - thereby extending your reach and bringing in new potential customers. Remember to have a call to action at the end of your blog post to maximize this traffic.
In our final month we get to some more advanced marketing techniques. We’ll learn how to be plugged into live conversations about your brand and business segment, how to utilize social contest rules for viral potential and how to get feedback from your customers right at the critical point of conversion. We’ll end things by segmenting every inbound marketing channel for improved measurement and optimization opportunities and learn about the power of infographics as a way to gather links.
45. STAY IN THE CONVERSATION: LEAVE TWITTER TABS OPEN FOR “LIVE” SOCIAL INTERACTION
What are the most important keywords that would spark a conversation about your business’s core purpose? These will often be very close to the keywords you choose for your organic search and PPC campaign strategies. Pick a few of these, plus your own brand name and open a new browser tab for each. Then do a search for that term in Twitter and just leave the search results open in that tab.
This allows you to be “always on” and catch the conversation in real-time as it happens. You’ll see that the tab title will be prepended with a count of new messages like this: “(x) Your term” as shown above. As soon as you see a conversation or comment occur, you can jump in and engage with people that are actively talking about you or your area of subject matter expertise.
NOOB TIP: Make it easy - Bookmark your favourite Twitter searches and add them to your browser toolbar for easy access.
46. CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST PAGE WITH VIRAL FEATURES
Contests are a simple way to gain some exposure for your brand. It’s essential to offer up a prize considered valuable by your demographic, whether it’s based on your product or service (a free year for instance) or a “toy” that your customers would like (an iPad etc.)
The viral nature of a contest is in part to do with the value of the prize, but also the manner in which you facilitate and enforce the sharing of your contest page.
A clever way to encourage sharing, is to make it part of the entry process for the contest. Examples include:
Twitter “Tweet This” Box: Now as part of the contest entry, people can retweet your message and a link back to the contest page - and do it without leaving your contest page, driving more traffic to your contest and greatly extending your reach. This widget requires that you set up a Twitter @Anywhere app.
Facebook Like Box: This allows you to acquire new fans for your Facebook page. It also helps to build your social proof by showing your fan count and optionally some photos of your fans. You can customize this widget and grab the embeddable code for it from the Facebook share section.
For an example page, you can see a contest landing page I created last year.
47. LEARN FROM YOUR USERS USING FEEDBACK WIDGETS & LIVE CHAT
There are many ways to input ideas and theory into your optimization efforts: analytics, expert review, experience, and of course a couple of pinches of conjecture for good measure. What’s missing from this list? User feedback.
User feedback at the point of conversion
Why aren’t people converting? Why not just ask them? You can embed some simple feedback widgets on your page to do exactly that. There are two main types: survey tools that pop a little question up from the bottom corner of the screen, and live chat which lets you engage in a conversation. Both can provide insight into points of confusion that you hadn't thought of.
Conversion is all about reducing friction and barriers to entry, and every little improvement you make can make the experience better for the next visitor. As shown in the diagram, you can use the feedback to create an alternate version of your page for an A/B test.
NOOB TIP: Talk to your visitors
Add a survey widget ( Olark, KISSinsights) or a live chat widget (SnapEngage) to your site or landing page and get some feedback. Then turn it off, build a new page that incorporates the feedback and run an A/B test.
48. SEGMENT INBOUND TRAFFIC SOURCES
Most marketers use many sources of inbound traffic - especially if you’re super smart and are reading a post like this :) However, if you send your PPC, banner, social media, email and organic search all to the same place it can create the following issues:
Harder to measure: you need to get pretty fancy with your analytics to understand how each source is performing
you need to get pretty fancy with your analytics to understand how each source is performing Harder to test: you can’t optimize your page for one channel without affecting the others (which is a killer if your changes boost your email conversion rate but negatively impact your SEO ranking and PPC quality score)
The graphic below shows how using a separate landing page for each source of traffic allows you to tailor the content and message while simplifying testing and measurement.
The results from a segmented approach to marketing can help you decide which channels don’t work (and should be canned) or how much you should budget for each channel to maintain an appropriate ROI.
49. CREATE AN INFOGRAPHIC
Infographics are exactly like they sound, graphics with information on them. Often presented in the form of stats, but really they can be any self contained unit of visual content. An obvious example is the one at the top of this blog post - although they’re not generally as gigantic as that.
Infographics have the benefit of being very popular and very sharable. People also bookmark them for reference, and people like to write about them and collect them into “roundup” posts making them excellent link bait.
Some examples of marketing infographics
How to encourage sharing and gain inbound traffic from your infographics
Follow these simple tips to ensure your infographics attain maximum exposure:
Use social sharing buttons (retweet etc.) on the page that holds the infographic When someone clicks your infographic to see it full size, remember to repeat the social sharing buttons. Provide an embed code, so that people know they can take it and use it on your own site (don’t be afraid of this - encourage it). The embed code also makes this very easy. Cut and paste.
Flowtown is great at this.
Designing an infographic
This is the hardest part. They can be very time consuming to do right and they need to communicate a strong and useful/entertaining concept. If you don’t have the design skills you can get a company like Column Five Media to design one for you.
50. GET SOME HELP FROM A PPC EXPERT
Now that you’ve got your feet wet with PPC, you might be a natural and are acquiring customers at an acceptable price. But if you find that the click through rate of your ads isn’t as high as you’d like (everyone would like a higher click through rate right?), then it’s worth considering bringing in some ad experts. Trada is a PPC marketplace where a crowd of experts can help you with your campaigns and the folks at BoostCTR “Guarantee better text ads or your money back!” So you’ve basically got nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Give it a try.
GRADUATION DAY!!!!!!!!
Woohoo, you made it to the end. Congratulations and thanks for taking 3 hours to read all this! Also, apologies to your boss if it means you are now going to deliver your project late. Of course, if it’s marketing related then you can write it off as research and you’ll be prepared to do bigger and better things next time.
I hope you learned a lot from this course and that you can use it as a resource as you start or continue your journey from online marketing noob to internet marketing expert.
Remember to give a shout out on Twitter (using the hashtag #noobmarketing) and share this with your friends and colleagues.
A FINAL NOTE - LET'S GET A COMMENT FEST GOING!
I know this was a really long post, but my hope is that it will help people:
By teaching them a few tricks, techniques and methods they didn't already know See the daunting task of multi-disciplinary marketing as less scary Gain a couple of advanced insider secrets that only usually come about through experience
If you have ANY questions about any step in the course, have at 'er in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.
Cheers
OliBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
May 3, 2015, 9:26 PM GMT / Updated May 3, 2015, 9:51 PM GMT / Source: NBC News By William J. Gorta
The governor of Kansas was taken to school by a waitress who objected to his controversial school funding program – and her tip to Gov. Sam Brownback went viral.
Chloe Hough was working her last shift at Boss Hawg’s Barbeque in Topeka when she sent out an urgent message to her friends on Facebook : “You guys 911 emergency. It’s my last shift and I am waiting on our governor. What should I say to him. This is not a test. Go.”
When Brown finished his dinner Saturday night, Hough presented him with his credit card slip for $52.16 – with the tip line marked with a large “X” and handwritten instructions for the governor: “Tip the schools,” reported KSNT, the NBC affiliate in Topeka.
“It was my last shift at the restaurant as I had quit so it worked out nicely,” Hough told KSNT.
Hough posted a picture of the slip on her Facebook page with the caption "Mic Drop."
In March, Brownback instituted a change in funding Kansas public schools, switching to block grants for two years instead of relying on complicated formulas to determine each district’s share. The grant program also freezes funding for two years.
Educators complained the funding plan, rushed through the Kansas legislature, will hurt many schools, but Brownback said last months that the plan should not create cuts.
“The way I understand it, zero percent of Kansas educators voted for it,” Hough told KSNT. “He [Brownback} and his followers are robbing Kansas of equal opportunity.”
KSNT has yet to hear back from Brownback's office and Boss Hawg's Barbeque.
Hough said she didn’t know whether her boss was thrilled with her method of protest, but he did laugh.
“I just knew I had to say something or I would regret it.”The former chief executive of Republic Windows and Doors, a company that in 2008 became a national symbol of how the economic crisis hurt workers, is planning to plead guilty this week to charges he looted the company, his attorney said Tuesday in court.
Richard Gillman, 60, and his attorney, Edward Genson, met with prosecutors Tuesday in the chambers of Judge Domenica Stephenson to discuss the case and hear Stephenson's recommendation on a possible sentence.
Gillman, who is charged with stealing more than $10 million from the company, rejected a plea deal offered just last month by Cook County prosecutors. That deal called for Gillman to be sentenced to four years in prison and fined $100,000 in return for his guilty plea. He could have ended up serving about half that time in prison. By contrast, if Gillman were convicted at trial, he would face six to 30 years in prison.
Republic Windows, which manufactured doors and vinyl windows, became a national symbol in late 2008 after some of the more than 200 union workers who lost their jobs in the plant's closing staged a six-day factory sit-in, demanding wages they had earned.
Then-President-elect Barack Obama weighed in, telling reporters, "I think that these workers, if they have earned these benefits and their pay, then these companies need to follow through on those commitments."
In charging Gillman with multiple counts of theft, fraud and misappropriation in September 2009, prosecutors alleged that the plant closing was part of a monthslong plot to strip the business of its assets. Key manufacturing equipment from the Goose Island factory was loaded onto semi trucks and secretly moved to a new operation in Iowa controlled by Gillman.
But that operation failed, too, just a month and a half after it started, leaving hundreds of employees from both Chicago and Iowa out of work and devastated.
The trustee handling Republic's bankruptcy has alleged in filings that the fraud dated to 2004 with a series of real estate transactions that left the company insolvent but put about $8 million into the pockets of Gillman and another company official who has not been charged.
Gillman also caused the company to pay him a $320,000 bonus in 2007, even as Republic was facing severe financial pressures, and to pay off the balance of his car lease just weeks before Republic shut down, the bankruptcy trustee, Phillip Levey, alleged.
Judge Stephenson, who is assigned to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, noted after the morning meeting in her chambers that prosecutors had wanted Gillman to plead guilty Tuesday. Genson, however, asked that the case be continued to Thursday so his client could "settle some matters," an indication that Gillman might be taken into custody if he indeed pleads guilty.
"We'd be planning to plead Thursday," Genson told the judge.
[email protected] Jenkins is set to direct an adaptation of “If Beale Street Could Talk” for Annapurna Pictures, marking his first feature film since his hit “Moonlight” won this year’s best picture Oscar.
The project marks another high-profile title for Annapurna, which recently entered the distribution game after spending years as a financier. Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit,” which bows on Aug. 4, is the first movie under the studio’s new slate.
Based on the novel by James Baldwin, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” the story follows Tish, a newly engaged Harlem woman who races against the clock to prove her lover’s innocence while carrying their first-born child. It is a celebration of love told through the story of a young couple, their families and their lives, trying to bring about justice through love, for love and the promise of the American dream.
Production on the film is expected to start in October.
Jenkins, who has wanted to make the film for many years, wrote the screenplay during the same summer sojourn in 2013 when he penned “Moonlight.” Since then, Jenkins has been working with the Baldwin Estate. Baldwin’s sister, Gloria Karefa-Smart, says, “We are delighted to entrust Barry Jenkins with this adaptation. Barry is a sublimely conscious and gifted filmmaker, whose ‘Medicine for Melancholy’ impressed us so greatly that we had to work with him.”
Related ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins to Write, Direct ‘Underground Railroad’ Series at Amazon
“James Baldwin is a man of and ahead of his time; his interrogations of the American consciousness have remained relevant to this day,” Jenkins said. “To translate the power of Tish and Fonny’s love to the screen in Baldwin’s image is a dream I’ve long held dear. Working alongside the Baldwin Estate, I’m excited to finally make that dream come true.”
The movie will mark Jenkins’ first production with Annapurna and a reunion of “Moonlight’s” producing team with PASTEL and Plan B.
Jenkins will also write and direct an hourlong drama series about the Underground Railroad in development at Amazon, based on Colson Whitehead’s best-selling book “The Underground Railroad.”
Jenkins is repped by CAA and Silent R Management, and Plan B is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.When a character in my recent book, “Sweet Tooth,” publishes his short first work of fiction, he finds some critics are suggesting that he has done something unmanly or dishonest. His experience reflects my own. A novella? Perhaps you don’t have the necessary creative juice. Isn’t the print rather large, aren’t the lines too widely spaced? Perhaps you’re trying to pass off inadequate goods and fool a trusting public.
Composers, including those of the highest rank, have never had such problems of scale. Who doubts the greatness of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and string quartets or of Schubert’s songs? Some, like me, prefer them to the symphonies of either man. Who could harden his heart against the intimate drama of Mozart’s G minor trio, or not lose himself in the Goldberg variations or not stand in awe of the D minor Chaconne played on a lonesome violin?
Strangely, the short story never arouses suspicion of short-changing, probably because the form is so fundamentally different from the novel.
I believe the novella is the perfect form of prose fiction. It is the beautiful daughter of a rambling, bloated, ill-shaven giant (but a giant who’s a genius on his best days). And this child is the means by which many first know our greatest writers. Readers come to Thomas Mann by way of “Death in Venice,” Henry James by “The Turn of the Screw,” Kafka by “Metamorphosis,” Joseph Conrad by “Heart of Darkness,” Albert Camus by “L’Etranger.” I could go on: Voltaire, Tolstoy, Joyce, Solzhenitsyn. And Orwell, Steinbeck, Pynchon. And Melville, Lawrence, Munro. The tradition is long and glorious. I could go even further: the demands of economy push writers to polish their sentences to precision and clarity, to bring off their effects with unusual intensity, to remain focussed on the point of their creation and drive it forward with functional single-mindedness, and to end it with a mind to its unity. They don’t ramble or preach, they spare us their quintuple subplots and swollen midsections.
Let’s take, as an arbitrary measure, something that is between twenty and forty thousand words, long enough for a reader to inhabit a world or a consciousness and be kept there, short enough to be read in a sitting or two and for the whole structure to be held in mind at first encounter—the architecture of the novella is one of its immediate pleasures. How often one reads a contemporary full-length novel and thinks quietly, mutinously, that it would have worked out better at half or a third the length. I suspect that many novelists clock up sixty thousand words after a year’s work and believe (wearily, perhaps) that they are only half way there. They are slaves to the giant, instead of masters of the form.
To sit with a novella is analogous to watching a play or a longish movie. In fact, there’s a strong resemblance between the screenplay (twenty odd thousand words) and the novella, both operating within the same useful constraints of economy—space for a subplot (two at a stretch), characters to be established with quick strokes but allowed enough room to live and breathe, and the central idea, even if it is just below the horizon, always exerting its gravitational pull. The analogy with film or theatre is a reminder that there is an element of performance in the novella. We are more strongly aware of the curtain and the stage, of the author as illusionist. The smoke and mirrors, rabbits and hats are more self-consciously applied than in the full-length novel. The novella is the modern and post-modern form par excellence. Conrad’s famous contribution to the tradition is typical. It begins with exquisite artifice, in “luminous space”—Marlowe gearing himself up to tell his story while he and his friends sit in a yacht at anchor in the Thames estuary at dusk. As the light drops, the notion of darkness is set before us, and will be relentlessly pursued through a hundred pages or so.
“Heart of Darkness” is not among my favorite novellas. Conrad falls short of his own prescription (in the celebrated preface to “The Nigger of the Narcissus”) “to make you see” what is at that heart. But those opening pages, the frame, have a self-conscious grace than honors the form.
The poem and the short story are theoretically perfectible, but I doubt there is such a thing as a perfect novel (even if we could begin to agree among ourselves on what comprises a good sentence). The novel is too capacious, inclusive, unruly, and personal for perfection. Too long, sometimes too much like life. It doesn’t need or look for perfection. “Great” novels are not perfect novels. You might improve “Anna Karenina” by altering the clumsiness of the description of the station master’s peaked cap—a much-discussed example. And I always want to take a blue pencil to Emma Bovary’s overextended death throes (it makes me suspicious that Flaubert wept over her), though I never doubt the novel’s greatness.
But I could at least conceive of the perfect novella. Or, rather, imagine one approaching perfection like an asymptotic line in coördinate geometry. I don’t think the novellas I’ve long treasured (among which, Edith Wharton’s “Ethan Frome,” Tobias Wolff’s “The Barracks Thief,” Italo Calvino’s “The Watcher”) are perfect, any more than my oldest friends are. But the polished, intact, self-enclosed quality these titles share with all good novellas sets them on perfection’s road. One senses it as an aesthetic ambition, in the necessary authority of the opening pages.
The great novella is Joyce’s “The Dead.” A simple binary structure (a party, a hotel room) supports the evocation of an entire social milieu (decorous and fractious by turns) with extraordinary warmth. They seem to play out in real time, the dancing and singing at the aunts’ annual dinner, the family tensions, the barbed exchange about national identity. Then Gabriel and Gretta’s exchange in their hotel room, the muted drama of his disappointed ardor, her piercingly sad revelation of a boy who once loved her and died, and at last, Gabriel’s final, drowsy, shamed reflections on his own lovelessness, and on mortality, prompted by memories of the evening’s merrymaking—these are among the most exquisite passages of prose fiction in the entire canon. I’d swap “The Dead”’s concluding pages for any fifteen from “Ulysses.” The young Joyce surpassed himself. I sometimes fantasize that on my deathbed, celebrated phrases from this novella will see me out: “I think he died for me”; “one by one they were all becoming shades”; “the time had come for him to set out on his journey westward”; snow “softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves”; “snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.’ There could be worse final moments.
I’m certain that, Joyce’s genius apart, it was the particular demands of the novella, the way it lays on the writer a duty of unity and the pursuit of perfection, that brought him to shape in this fashion one of the loveliest fictions in the English language.
Photograph: National Library of Ireland.An asylum seeker on Sunday stabbed a 65-year-old Belgian priest before fleeing, and the assailant is still on the run, authorities said.
The priest, identified as Father Jos Vanderlee, sustained wounds to his hands and required surgery. His injuries were not life threatening, according to Le Soir, a French language Belgian newspaper.
Prosecutors said the attack, which occurred in Lanaken, is not terror related, and police are searching for witnesses. The attacker is not a resident of a nearby refugee center, Le Soir reported.
Vanderlee celebrated his 40th anniversary as a priest in July and is responsible for eight local parishes.
The attacker allegedly told Vanderlee on Sunday afternoon that he was an asylum seeker, and he asked the priest if he could take a shower at Vanderlee’s home. The priest agreed, but after showering the man asked for money. When Vanderlee declined, the man allegedly attacked him with a knife and fled.
The attack on Vanderlee comes just days after a pair of terrorists who pledged allegiance to ISIS slit the throat of an 85-year-old priest in France, killing the man. The attackers then used nuns as human shields when trying to leave the church, but both were shot dead by French authorities. ISIS claimed responsibility for the Tuesday attack.Sean Lahman‘s name is well-known to many long-time players of Out of the Park Baseball, thanks to his popular database of historical player statistics that the game uses, as well as the exposure he gave OOTP during its early years. We wanted to learn more about how the database came about, and how he got involved with OOTP and sims in general, so we dropped him a line.
“I started with a table top game called Statis-Pro Baseball, which was put out by the Avalon Hill game company,” he recalls. “My parents gave it to me as a Christmas present in 1981, when I was 13. I played a lot of solo games, and joined some play-by-mail leagues as well. In high school, there were groups of us who played Strat-o-matic baseball (and football), and I was infatuated with these type of simulations. I bought just about every one that I could find, and with a friend even made some of our own.”
He adds: “I was a fan of the earliest computer games, particularly Earl Weaver Baseball, and the scores of other games that came out in the 1980s and 1990s. Odds are that if I heard of it, I probably played it. Console games tended to rely less on statistical simulation and more on hand-eye coordination, so my interest in those never really took off.”
The desire to tinker with home-brewed baseball sims is what led to the creation of his database. “It started because I was a gamer, and I needed data to create my own player cards,” he says. “I started by creating a spreadsheet with player statistics from one season, typing them in from my dog-eared copy of the baseball encyclopedia. I did not set out to create a digital version of the encyclopedia, but that’s what happened.”
Building Complete Historical Stats
The further back one goes in baseball’s history, the less complete the record-keeping was, but that didn’t deter Lahman as he dove into his project. “I spent a lot of time at the Research Library at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and more time than I’d care to admit looking at newspaper accounts on microfilm at various public libraries,” he says. “Some of that stuff is available on the Internet now, but there’s a lot of valuable information in file cabinets and desk drawers across the country.
“However, my efforts have been meager compared to the giants of baseball research, primarily the work of Pete Palmer. He’s the one who meticulously built the data that appears in most of the printed encyclopedias published in the last forty years, from Total Baseball to the ESPN encyclopedias to Baseball-Reference.com. All of us build on his lifetime of work. And the researchers with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) have done great work to fill in the gaps in the record, documenting things like Hall of Fame ballot totals and so forth.”
Today, he’s the database specialist for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper, but he continues to work on baseball statistics in his spare time. “Much of my work these days is focused on reconstructing minor league statistics, which have never really been compiled into a single source,” he says. “Working with some expert researchers from SABR, we’ve digitized almost all of the minor league stats back to the mid-1950s, and we’re continuing to work our way back in time — this data is added to baseball-reference in batches a few times a year.”
He adds: “I’ve also devoted a lot of my energies to curating an archive of reference sources, like the early Spalding guides, that are the best record of 19th century baseball as it was played.”
Enter OOTP
Asked how the relationship between him and OOTP came about, Lahman replies: “I got an email from a kid in Germany named Markus one day in 1998. He said he was working on a baseball game and asked if I would take a look at it. I said sure, expecting to see something very rudimentary. But when he sent me a demo of the game, I was blown away within about 15 seconds. It had some glitches at that point, but the concept was fully realized, and the simulation engine was really robust. And he clearly understood the most important piece, which so many of the other sims at the time were missing: the ability to have a game that you could play pitch-by-pitch, or zoom out and do seasons at a time.”
Lahman continues: “My baseball website was pretty popular — this was before MLB or ESPN were online — and I offered to help him with marketing. I also had the capability to produce CDs, which was not a trivial task at the time. And of course, the idea of downloading a game was impossible. It was a hit from day one.”
He notes that he “never really stopped” playing OOTP since trying out that initial demo. “I have it on my phone now, which is great,” he says, but he continues to play the computer game too, mostly to recreate interesting historical scenarios. He explains: “For example, what would a team that had a bunch of great base stealers look like, a mid-1980s lineup with Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, and Vince Coleman? Or how would things play out if the Big Red Machine didn’t dump all of their aging stars?”
He adds: “I think OOTP does a great job of simulating history, because it lets you take these alternate timelines in plausible directions.”
When it comes to his personal baseball history, Lahman says: “I’m a lifelong Reds fan. My highlight as a fan was being in the ballpark (but leaving early) the night Tom Browning threw his perfect game.”THE young New Zealand man who survived a crash on a remote West Australian road that killed his two best friends took his own life before help could arrive.
It is believed Kadin Wallace was driving when his ute crashed and rolled on a stretch of gravel road on Friday night 400km southeast of Perth.
His two friends, Dylan Sherriff and Jeremy Vergeer, were fatally injured in the crash.
The men - who were all from Southland - were on a hunting trip.
Police said that Mr Wallace died of "injuries he did not receive in the crash". It is believed he killed himself.
Mr Sherriff's brother, Brett, told the Herald today that he did not blame anyone for what happened. "Kadin and Verg were two of my childhood friends.
I don't hold any bad feelings towards anyone."
He also spoke about his brother, a farmhand who, like Mr Wallace and Mr Vergeer, had lived in Australia for several years. "He was the best f***ing human you could imagine."
Relatives of Mr Wallace and Mr Vergeer did not wish to comment.
Mr Vergeer, who leaves behind a young son, became engaged this month. His fiancee, Lauren Withers, posted a heartbreaking tribute to him on Facebook yesterday.
The three young men, (from left to right) Kadin Wallace, Jeremy Vergeer and Dylan Sherriff were best mates from New Zealand. Photo / Facebook Facebook
"You were my soulmate, my best friend, my everything. The future seemed so promising for us and I struggle with the idea that it's now all just a beautiful dream I had.
"We really were both so unbelievably happy. I know [you're] here with me now, you will watch over me and your beautiful little boy who you loved so deeply."
Mr Sherriff and Mr Vergeer were to have been groomsmen for fellow former Southlander Rory Watt when he marries in Esperance in July. Last night he was mourning the deaths of mates he regarded as family. "They were my brothers, basically," he told the Herald.
"We all did everything together. They were just awesome boys."
They became best mates after they moved to Western Australia to work, Mr Watt said.
"I've been here for nine years and Jeremy said he wanted to come over. I contacted one of my old bosses and said, 'I've got a mate who wants to come over and work'."
Mr Sherriff followed afterwards, before Mr Wallace arrived.
Mr Watt did not want to comment on revelations Mr Wallace seemingly took his own life after surviving the crash.
Family members and friends are now gathering in Esperance, where a memorial service will be held for the trio tomorrow. Plans are being made to bring the men back to New Zealand for their farewell services.The $150m was stolen from Ethereum itself and must be returned.
Alex Amsel Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 23, 2016
There’s a black hole where there used to be $150m* of investment for Ethereum. We’ve heard many technical and moral arguments, now I’m making an economic one which is critical for everyone vested in the Ethereum project.
This $150m was committed to The DAO in order to back projects built on Ethereum, it was not a pure single purpose project in itself unlike some random casino. The attacker has stolen the funding for a very large number of projects, which would have gone on to provide utility, features and safety for Ethereum, i.e. value.
Projects that would have brought mainstream users to Ethereum through innovation; helped security or provided better mining software; and provided scaling and other core
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being formed from one of Adam’s ribs was not true. (He assumed that if the [Page 262]rib story were true, human males and females would have a different number of ribs.)
At home, I excitedly told my family about the skeleton. I also proudly explained my new understanding of the Adam and Eve story. My devoutly religious parents were not impressed with this new perception. They contacted the school administration to voice their concern that my teacher’s comment about Adam and Eve was inappropriate. Nonetheless, what is most impressive was how my parents responded to me.
Instead of jumping into the scriptures and making this conflict a contest between science and religion, they only reasoned with me. With the full support of my father, my mother pointed out that children are still born with arms, legs, eyes, and so forth even if one or both parents lost one or more of those body parts before conceiving the child. Therefore, she patiently reasoned, a rib could have been taken from Adam, and his male children would still have the same number of ribs as his female children., As proof of this principle, my parents also noted that baby boys are still born with foreskins even though many generations of their forefathers were circumcised.
My parents were not trained scientists, but their arguments were the perfect response. Not only did my mother and father convince me that my teacher’s interpretation of the biblical rib story was wrong, but also, I have come to realize, they showed me that the use of reasoning, data, and patience is the best way to handle questions between science and religion and that these conflicts can be resolved to the detriment of neither scripture nor science. My parents’ example was invaluable in helping me later reconcile evolution and creation.[Page 263]
Introduction
In the 1850s, Charles Robert Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace put forth the theory of evolution by natural selection. The theory was incompatible with popular interpretations of the scriptural record of creation, and in the more than fifteen decades since, many have considered the theory an affront to belief in God. Some believers in God argue that evolutionary concepts are heretical and that alternative models can explain the record of nature (i.e., the observations documented by Wallace, Darwin, and many other scientists). Institutions have been set up to promote these non-evolutionary ideas. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of scientists attest that the record of nature unambiguously shows that evolutionary processes occurred and continue to occur. But because the scriptural account seems incompatible, some evolutionists promote the idea that scripture should be regarded as fictitious tales from an ancient and unenlightened people.
A much quieter group of people — including many scientists — accepts both the record of scripture and the record of nature. For example, most Americans appreciate science and faith in God. Evidence of this duality is the fact that both scientific and religious institutions are well funded and enjoy broad support in the United States. In general, people who accept both scripture and science are uncomfortable when asked to choose between creation and evolution. Many profess that with advancing knowledge, the controversies will eventually be resolved. However, despite this “middle ground,” the idea persists that evolution is incompatible with belief in God.
The root of the conflict between creation and evolution is a desire for the “golden prize” — physical proof of God’s existence or nonexistence. Therefore, each side in this debate stands to win or lose a cherished conviction, but neither side should claim dominance because the theory of evolution is compatible with both faith in God and faith in atheism.[Page 264]
The Theory of Evolution
Mechanistically, the theory of evolution by means of natural selection can be summarized in two simple principles: First, changes occur in inherited traits (see footnote 2). Second, changed traits are selected or rejected.
Characteristics passed from parent to offspring can vary randomly. For example, changes may be mutations within an existing gene, the insertion or deletion of an entire gene or a portion of a gene, or changes to how a gene is regulated. Modifications can also result from normal genetic variation among individuals of the same species as genes are recombined during reproduction.
Selection of changed, inherited traits occurs. Modifications that give offspring advantage are carried forward to successive generations. Unharmful (neutral) mutations or changes also are passed forward. Disadvantageous modifications result in premature death or diminished reproductive capacity, and hence the trait is either not passed on to offspring, or the prevalence of that trait diminishes over time.
Genetic change followed by selection allows successive generations of living things to be modified compared to their ancestors. This process allows organisms to adapt to changing conditions, or the lack of adaptation causes the population to become extinct. Different species can arise from a common ancestor after long periods of time, many changes in traits, a physical separation, or a combination of these events. However, between successive generations, the change may be imperceptible. Rapid changes also have been observed. For example, in some cases when a new animal species was introduced into an area, significant and rapid changes in anatomy, physiology, behavior, or life span have been observed. Adaptations in guppies were observed within only four to eight years or seven to thirteen generations. Studies of [Page 265]lizards showed notable changes within ten to thirty-six years or twenty to thirty generations.
The theory of evolution is a mechanistic explanation of how the diversity of life developed from primitive or ancestral life forms. The theory also provides an explanation for how traits are related among living things. In addition, evolutionary studies often estimate when an organism appeared or disappeared.
Evolutionary principles provide powerful tools for understanding biology, including disease. For example, these principles are used to understand and develop treatments for drug-resistant pathogens. Genes in pathogenic organisms mutate, often conferring resistance to drugs such as penicillin. The often-rapid evolutionary response of pathogens prevents many new drugs from being used. Evolutionary principles also help researchers understand how a protein from a bacterium, yeast, plant, worm, fruit fly, fish, mouse, or other organism is relevant to a similar, but mutant and malfunctioning, human protein. Within a person suffering from cancer, malignant cells evolve and compete with healthy cells in the same way that whole organisms evolve and compete with each other.
Evolution theory does not explain why the earth was created nor the agent responsible, if any. As far as the theory is concerned, the earth and living things could have a purpose or they could not. They could have been a random accident or the plan of an intelligent creator. The theory is silent on these matters. Any claim otherwise is conjecture.
[Page 266]On the existence of a supreme being, the theory of evolution is no different from any other scientific principle. For example, atomic theory, laws of motion, germ theory of disease, the “Big Bang” theory, and so forth are silent on the question. One may argue that scientific principles are compatible with the existence of God who made an orderly, complex, precisely tuned universe, but no scientific idea proves or requires a supreme being. Conversely, one may argue that the universe can be explained through random or accidental processes, but no established scientific principle proves or requires the lack of a supreme being. The same reasoning applies to the question of whether life on earth has a purpose. Science only describes physically observable events. Science cannot answer whether God exists and if life on earth has a purpose.
Just a “Theory”
In scientific language, theory means “a well-established set of principles that explain observed phenomena.” An explanation that is not well grounded is a hypothesis. Therefore, the common use of theory to mean “a guess” or “speculation” does not apply to Darwin’s and Wallace’s ideas. The theory of evolution is well justified in numerous observations and is a foundation principle of modern biology. Like hypotheses, theories can be overturned or modified by new data, but thus far, the theory of evolution has stood for over 150 years. One of the most surprising things about the theory is how well new discoveries have fit with the ideas that Wallace and Darwin proposed in the 1850s.
The Creation
Divine revelation gives us why and who answers. The scriptures say that God is responsible and that he created the earth and living things to give [Page 267]humans, his children, a place where we could learn to develop faith and show our willingness to follow the Lord’s commandments.
Although the scriptures give a brief, simplified account of what happened during the Creation, the emphasis is (1) who was responsible, (2) why the earth was created, (3) humans are made in God’s image, (4) humans are to populate the earth and care for the Lord’s handiwork, and (5) physical creations have a spiritual counterpart. Before relating the Creation to Moses, the Lord explained that he created the world (Moses 1:4, 31–34). God also answered Moses’s specific question “why these things are so?” (Moses 1:30): to give us immortality and the opportunity for eternal life (Moses 1:39). The simple story cannot have been intended as a detailed scientific account. The purpose of the scriptures is to explain spiritual concepts, not scientific observations.
The Conflict
At one extreme of the creation–evolution debate are people who reject divine creation. At the other end are people who reject evolution. Ironically, despite contempt for each other’s point of view, both groups interpret scripture and scientific data in the same way with regards to the creation–evolution controversy: (1) The Genesis account is a literal account of a creation process that took place in six consecutive twenty-four-hour periods (as we currently measure time) and occurred only a few thousand years ago. No symbolism or metaphor exists in the scriptural account. It is a precise description — that is, a scientific document. (2) If the theory of evolution is true, then God cannot exist. (3) If the establishment of life on earth can be explained only by the use of miraculous (i.e., unexplainable or supernatural) processes, then God must exist and must have created the earth. (4) If random processes occur, then God cannot be involved.
The conflict is rooted in the assumption that scientific observations can be used to prove or disprove God. At stake is the desire to once and for all settle the question of God’s existence or nonexistence with physical evidence and scientific proof. The biblical declarations that God created the earth have led some to look for evidence of his creative hand in nature; essentially, they have tried to use natural phenomena to prove that God exists. After the theory of evolution was deduced, some have used its postulates to try to prove that God does not exist.
[Page 268]Before the theory of evolution was put forward, scientists assumed that animals and plants were formed in their present states. This was the principal idea that Darwin’s and Wallace’s work overthrew. Their work and the vast amount of study since showed that present animals and plants have changed or evolved from earlier forms. The pre-evolution idea that animals and plants were formed in their present states was assumed to be consistent with the biblical story. After that conjecture was shown to be scientifically incorrect, many have made another assumption — that God does not exist because the scientific model supposedly based on scripture was found to be erroneous and because evolution involved random events. Consequently, the conflict is between (1) extending the biblical record beyond its intended scope and purpose to say that animals and plants were created in their present form a few thousand years ago or (2) extending the scientific theory beyond its limits to say that God does not exist.
Evolution Is a Constructive Process
One of Darwin’s most effective arguments was his comparison of artificial and natural selection. Humans selected domestic animals and plants based on desired characteristics, he noted, which led to many varieties with vastly different attributes. For example, the dog breeds Great Dane and chihuahua are thought to have a common ancestor, the wolf. Maize, the common grain also known as corn, was domesticated from teosinte. Modern maize looks very different from its wild ancestor. These types of artificial selection, Darwin reasoned, were analogous to what nature did through natural selection.
Similar reasoning, comparing artificial and natural evolution, can help us with the creation–evolution controversy. Because random manipulation followed by selection can lead to correct solutions for complex problems and can be used to design machines and proteins, we can deduce that life on earth could have developed via evolutionary processes that were put in place by an intelligent creator.
The seeming randomness of evolution leads many to conclude that evolution must be a godless process. But, must randomness mean godlessness? Is the evolution of life analogous, as is commonly suggested, to the production of a dictionary via an explosion in a printing shop?
[Page 269]If the complete process were random, then yes, evolution might be like such an explosion. However, evolution is not just a random process. Evolution is a random procedure followed by a selection mechanism. The combination of random variation followed by selection is a constructive and orderly process. Such a combination is a powerful way to solve physical or mathematical problems that have a large number of potential solutions.
For example, antibodies are protein molecules that recognize and chemically attach to foreign objects within our bodies. Once attached, the antibody neutralizes the object or signals an additional response by the immune system. Antibodies can be extremely specific. For example, an antibody to a specific virus will not bind to even closely related viruses. How is such specificity produced? The answer is via a random procedure followed by a selection mechanism.
Every day a human body manufactures millions of B cells; each produces an antibody with randomly different specificity. To make different specificities, a random selection is made from several antibody genes. Then random misalignments occur as the genes are spliced together, giving additional variety. Finally, random mutations may occur within the selected genes. This provides enough different specificities so that the variety of foreign antigens (foreign molecules) encountered can be recognized. The immune system has no way of knowing what new foreign molecules will be present, so randomly generating an enormous number of antibody specificities is an efficient way to be prepared. Each B cell that encounters a foreign object is activated and copied to fight invaders. Cells that do not encounter foreign antigens die or are inactivated. Therefore, the selection process allows “correct” and “incorrect” solutions to be determined. Although antibody production includes a random process, the overall production is an orderly and efficient way to fight pathogens.
In addition to having a selection mechanism following a random event, evolution of life or evolution in problem solving is iterative. In other words, each generation builds upon the previous one. Complex mathematical problems can be difficult to solve because the path to the solution is unknown, or the solution is one number in a very large set [Page 270]of possibilities. Beginning with an initial estimate or random number and then iterating until a solution converges can be a productive way to find a solution. A key to success is to also have a selective mechanism to choose correct answers from incorrect ones.
In three-dimensional electron microscopy, my own field of research, randomly selecting a starting point can lead to the correct answer (see Figure 1). Objects lie in random, unknown orientations in the electron microscope and are imaged in two dimensions (see Figure 1A, B). To properly reconstruct the three-dimensional object, the unknown orientation angles must be determined. My laboratory and other laboratories have shown that assigning random starting angles can lead to the correct result through an iterative process (see Figure 1C). However, wrong answers are also possible. Proper selection criteria are essential to distinguish correct and incorrect results[Page 271].
Evolutionary processes can be used to design and build machines. Analogous to evolution of living things, an engineer makes an initial design and then does the following:
[Page 272] Random changes (“mutations”) are made in the design. Each random change results in an altered characteristic of the machine. The new machine is constructed and tested. A selection process determines if the change is advantageous or detrimental.
Advantageous changes are kept and used as a starting point for additional “mutations.” Over time, cumulative changes produce an improved machine. Random alterations cause a variety of changes, and the selection process keeps only those modifications that improve or do not debilitate the device. The entire process can be automated in a computer. This significantly improves efficiency because many “generations” can be produced and tested without physically constructing each one.
In 2000, Hod Lipson and Jordan Pollack used this engineering process to build and optimize small machines to crawl across a surface. Each machine could have bars connected by ball joints to allow flexibility, actuators to change the length of a bar to produce movement, and an electrical network (termed “neurons”) to stimulate movement. A standard stepper motor provided propulsion. At the beginning, two hundred separate machines with no bars or neurons were each given random characteristics and allowed to evolve for 300−600 generations. Characteristics that were allowed to mutate included length of bars, number of bars, number of joints, number of neurons, connecting a neuron to a bar (allowing it to become an actuator), and neuronal function. As the authors stated, “Both body (morphology) and brain (control) were thus co-evolved simultaneously.” Selection, or fitness, of each machine was assessed by locomotive ability — each device was tested for how well it could move on a horizontal surface. A machine was selected if it could move farther in a certain time than other machines. Interestingly, this artificial evolution experiment showed similarities to natural, biological evolution: (1) From the similar starting point of the 200 machines, significantly different machines were produced. Differences were both structural and functional. (2) Some machines diverged into different forms. (3) Other machines that had diverged [Page 273]earlier in the experiment converged into similar forms. (4) Despite never being specified or favored, symmetry was found in some machines.
In a process termed directed evolution, evolutionary principles are used to design new proteins or alter the functions of existing proteins. Just as the sequence of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet determines the meaning of words and sentences, the sequence of the twenty amino acids determines the structure and function of a protein. In directed evolution of proteins, a person starts with an initial amino-acid sequence, which may be random or based on a known protein. Next, the sequence of amino acids in the protein is altered randomly. All or only some of the amino acids within the protein may be allowed to change. The result is tested. Products with enhanced function are selected, and products with debilitated function are rejected. The randomization and selection steps are repeated. In addition, multiple trials are necessary to produce the desired output because many runs will not be successful. In one notable example, directed evolution was used to form proteins that could perform an entirely new function.
A common microbiological method is to use evolution to make bacteria or viruses with a desired characteristic. Mutations can be induced by radiation (e.g., ultraviolet light) or chemicals. The researcher then sets up conditions to select for a specific characteristic. For example, in a technique known as bioremediation, many are seeking to use bacteria to clean up toxic chemicals. Commonly, evolution is used to induce or generate organisms to tolerate and metabolize these compounds.
If human beings can use evolutionary principles to design machines and solve problems, an intelligent creator also could use random variation coupled to selection to produce and maintain life on earth. If humans [Page 274]can use evolutionary means to make microbes or proteins with desired characteristics and the selective process to get desired traits in animals and plants, then a super-intelligent being could have used evolution to physically make people, animals, plants, and microbes.
Evolution is a process that started with simple organisms and then gradually increased to more complex organisms and more complex interactions among living things. Evolution allowed the complexity of life to increase in a natural, orderly way. Evolution allowed, and continues to allow, living things to respond effectively to each other and to environmental changes. As with foreign antigens and antibodies, the situations each species may face are unknown. Randomly generating mutations allows each species to respond to a variety of conditions.
“Intelligent Design”
The idea that an intelligent creator could have used evolution to form life on earth is much different from the ideas promoted by the “intelligent design” movement. Proponents of intelligent design postulated that some biological machines and processes are so complex that evolution could not produce them. However, others showed that such mechanisms could indeed evolve from simpler components. Indeed, the vast complexity of life suggests that evolutionary processes must be involved to improve functionality, allow adaptability, build complexity, and permit trade-offs.
Simple Explanations
Parents, teachers, museum curators, authors, documentary filmmakers, and others use simple explanations to enlighten and educate. They do not intend to deceive or hide important information. Rather, they exclude or minimize details to explain an important principle, process, or event in a way that the intended audience understands. Otherwise, the audience may misunderstand or lose interest. Details can be learned later.
If modern teachers, curators, parents, and others use simple explanations for their audiences, why do some expect the ancient scriptural record to be correct according to our modern understanding of astronomy, geology, and biology? The accounts by Moses and Abraham were written thousands of years ago to people who, for example, [Page 275]understood nomadic agriculture but had little if any understanding of science, as even lay people do today. The scriptural explanations are very simple and should be taken as such.
When given at different times or to different audiences, simple explanations often vary. For example, depending on a child’s maturity, parents give divergent answers to the question “where do babies come from?” Because of differing elements or details, simple explanations given to one audience may seem inconsistent, confusing, or even inappropriate when given to another. Details unimportant in one context may be important in another. Latter-day Saints have four scriptural accounts of the Creation: in the books of Genesis, Moses, and Abraham, and in the temple endowment ceremony. The differences in these narratives — and in particular, as noted by Bruce R. McConkie, the “different division of events” between the temple account and the accounts by Moses and Abraham — suggest that one should indeed view the four renderings as simple descriptions. All accounts relate the most important messages: God was responsible, the divine purpose of Creation, and so forth. Only the details differ.
[Page 276]If we regard the scriptural accounts of the Creation as simple explanations, then remarkable parallels exist between those stories and the record of nature. The fossil record and scripture indicate that initially the earth was barren of life. Then, vegetative life appeared followed by animal life, which began in the sea. Terrestrial animals followed, and humans appeared after other animals.
But, what of the inconsistencies between our current understandings of the scriptural and natural records? For example, Genesis states that the creation occurred in six days, flowering plants appear on the same day as other plants, and whales appear before terrestrial animals. Each of these points disagrees with the record of nature.
Some define each creation “day” as a twenty-four-hour period. Yet, for example, the fossil record shows millions of years between the first-known fossilized plants and animals. If one imagines teaching the creation to very young children, the use of a day as a metaphor for a creative period is perfectly appropriate. The Hebrew word for day, used in the Genesis account, can also be interpreted as an indefinite period of [Page 277]time. Therefore, considering the geologic record, day in Genesis 1 most likely means “an unspecified time period.” Because the latter definition is compatible with both the Hebrew text and the fossil record, we can assume this is the correct interpretation.
The other two examples are not as easy to reconcile. However, if we remember the purpose of the story was not to recount a detailed chronology, then the following reasonings may be credible.
Flowering plants reproduce sexually as pollen from the male anther is placed in the female stigma. Genesis states that flowering, or fruit bearing, plants were created on the same “day” that other plants were created, implying that flowering plants were present before animals appeared. However, in the fossil record, the first-known flowering plants appeared after animals were already in existence. In addition, although some aquatic or terrestrial flowering plants are fertilized as pollen drifts through water or air, most flowers require an animal to transfer the pollen. These plants cannot reproduce if animals are not present to pollinate them. In other words, most flowers are useless without animals. So, is the scriptural record in error in saying flowering plants were formed before animals were formed? No, to explain simply, one could group flowers with the other plants because the mechanism was in place for flowers to develop. The flowering plants could then evolve with the pollinating animals. Explaining this in the simple biblical story would be an unnecessary detail.
The record of nature indicates that whales evolved from terrestrial animals, but Genesis states that whales were created when aquatic life was created. Rather than explain the complex process of aquatic life leading to terrestrial life followed by some terrestrial animals adapting back to aquatic life, a simpler explanation would be to say that all aquatic life was created on the same “day.” The detail that whales actually came after land animals could be omitted — the mechanism was in place for whales to develop because land animals developed from aquatic ones. Explaining that whales developed from terrestrial animals would be an unnecessary complication that would likely be misunderstood by the people of Moses’s day.
An Imperfect World
[Page 278]One argument for godless evolution is the fact that life is messy and the design is far from ideal. The retina of the vertebrate eye has the sensory layer facing away from incoming light, not towards it. The plant enzyme that converts carbon dioxide to sugars is “notoriously inefficient.” The human mouth grows more teeth than it has room to hold — forcing people to have wisdom teeth extracted; many of us get expensive orthodontic work to straighten the teeth. An intelligent designer, the argument goes, would have made things more intelligently.
In addition, incredible suffering occurs in the world. Not only are human beings often cruel to each other, but animal brutality abounds. For example, as Darwin noted, some wasps are extraordinarily cruel as they lay eggs in living caterpillars and the larvae eat their host alive. Why would a truly loving God make a world with such brutality and inefficiencies? The scriptures provide explanations for these apparent [Page 279]inconsistencies. This is another example in which scripture is compatible with the record of nature.
The scriptures speak of Adam and Eve leaving the peaceful Garden of Eden and entering a world of competing organisms (see Genesis 3:16−19, 23; Moses 4:22−25, 29). Adam and Eve would have to work for their food and other sustenance. The world would contain sorrows. Death would come. Childbirth would be extremely difficult. Wasps cruelly enslaving caterpillars and animals brutally killing each other are consistent with the world where God sent Adam and Eve.
Scripture speaks of God having a perfected body and humans being made in God’s image (see Philippians 3:21; Genesis 1:26−27). Therefore, humans are similar to God but not exact copies. Each of us likely has more defects than simply a retinal layer on the opposite side of input light and too many teeth. Therefore, one should not be surprised that life on earth is not perfectly designed. How could it be perfect and be the testing ground that the scriptures say it is? How could you and I develop faith if our bodies were perfect, if we were not challenged by physical limitations?
These gospel teachings are compatible with an imperfect world that came to be through messy evolutionary processes. The argument that a designer would create perfect organs and a perfect world assumes a peaceful, perfect “Garden of Eden” world, not the messy, competitive, cruel, and sorrowful world into which, the scriptures say, Adam and Eve were sent.
Conclusion
Scientists often express frustration that many people do not accept evolution. The scientists point out the overwhelming biological evidence and cannot comprehend how anyone can deny that evolutionary processes occurred. On the other hand, believers in God point out the order, complexity, and beauty of nature and cannot fathom how anyone can claim it arose by accident. Are the only alternatives really godless evolution and a “miraculous” six-day process? The creation–evolution conflict exists because (1) science has been extended beyond its bounds to say God does not exist and (2) scripture has been extended beyond its bounds to say evolutionary theory is false.
My former teacher erroneously assumed that males should have fewer ribs than females if the Genesis rib story was correct. Likewise, many have surmised similarly unfounded ideas about evolution and creation. If these ideas are tied to deeply held values of faith (in God [Page 280]or atheism), people are reluctant to give them up when confronted with contradictory evidence. Hence, we have conflict. However, data, reasoning, humility, and patience can help us resolve the conflict.
At the root, the creation–evolution conflict presumes that God’s existence or nonexistence can be proven, but attempts to scientifically verify or refute a supreme being are futile. The randomness and messiness of evolution does not prove the nonexistence of God, just as the existence of God is not proven by the beauty and order found in nature. Scientific or mechanistic methods do not have the capability to answer questions about God’s existence or the meaning of life. What would be the physical test or observation that would confirm or deny his existence? Besides, the scriptures are clear that belief in God is a choice and cannot be forced on others (e.g., see Alma 30:7−9; Joshua 24:15). People must be free to choose to follow God or not. People cannot be free if his existence is proven scientifically because that proof would be another way people could be forced to follow him. As the scriptures say, faith is hope or belief in “things which are not seen” (Alma 32:21; Hebrews 11:1). If scientific observations are “seen” things and if science cannot prove or disprove God, then faith in atheism and faith in God should be viewed as equivalent positions as far as science is concerned. Logical arguments for either belief can be made.
Therefore, we should call a truce in this war and concede that belief or unbelief in God cannot be proven by current scientific understanding, no matter how much one may wish it to be otherwise. Believers in God need to renounce the notion that evolution must be disproved to save the faith; likewise, atheists need to abandon the idea that evolution is evidence of God’s nonexistence.
Also, some have attempted to resolve the concern of God-fearing people by noting that many scientists believe in God and accept evolution. Merely pointing this out is not enough. Too many believers in God view such people with suspicion. The idea that evolution is incompatible with faith in God has persisted for so long and the conflict is so deep that many believers in God are convinced that if a person starts to accept anything about evolution, the individual will eventually discard his or her faith in God. The scientific community needs to acknowledge that science is neutral on the existence of God and needs particularly to note that the theory of evolution does not disprove the existence of a supreme being.
[Page 281]Believers in God must realize that insistence on a creation model that excludes evolution facilitates the argument by atheistic evolutionists that God does not exist. Believers and prospective believers in God should not have to choose between accepting scientific observations and having faith in God.
If humans can use evolution to construct machines, engineer proteins, produce living organisms with desired characteristics, or solve complicated problems, then certainly a super-intelligent creator could have used the same principle to create life on earth. But this does not prove that God created life by means of evolution; this reasoning means that evolution is compatible with belief or nonbelief in God. Therefore, faith (in God or atheism) is put back where it should be — on each person’s spiritual conviction and choice.
I thank family members, friends, and colleagues who have helped me develop these ideas and prepare this article for publication. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.After a great inaugural 2016 event, the 2017 US Junior Camp and Contest (JRCC) is GO!
The 2017 event will be hosted by the SSA Youth/Junior Committee at Harris Hill in Elmira, NY on July 1-8. Harris Hill is an incredibly unique flying site. Situated ~700 feet above the valley below, it offers a beautiful view on takeoff and some great east coast soaring weather. It’s also a good, place to learn XC techniques. If you miscalculate a final glide, you have 700 ft of margin to the auxiliary landing field below.
Though the weather tends to be good, every contest has a few challenging days. The fields in the soaring task area are still very landable.
So… how does the event work?
The event is separated into two groups: single seat (“sports” as it’s known on the SSA site) and two seat. The only requirement to fly in either class is that you will be 25 years old our younger on the first event day (defined as a “Junior”). If you will be over 25 but interested in participating, you are able to register and fly in Region 3 during the same week (Register at: http://www.ssa.org/Contests?cid=2379) and participate in the JRCC lectures.
Single seat is intended for pilots who have some XC experience (either a silver badge or OLC 50km flight) and are interested in flying in an SSA sanctioned regional contest. The single seat classes is ranked and provides a score that can be used to enter national soaring events. Two seat class is intended for juniors new to soaring, student pilots, licensed pilots, CFI-Gs, etc. who do not have sufficient cross country soaring experience, confidence, or the ability to borrow a glider for the single-seat class. In two seat class, you will fly with an experienced mentor pilot who will coach you as you fly a cross country task. This mentor pilot will keep you out of trouble while sharing their racing experience.
Each day will begin with a pilots meeting where everyone will get a briefing on the weather and operations notes. After this meeting, we will give a short lecture on a cross country soaring topic and have a group discussion. The two-seat juniors will then be assigned their mentor for the day and the single-seat pilots will begin preparing to fly.
Lunch will be provided (paid for and prepared) by the JRCC and served in the Harris Hill clubhouse. Glider launches will begin at approximately 12:30 PM each day. The single-seat and two-seat flights will nominally be 2-3 hours. Depending on the number of two-seat gliders and pilots, each two-seat pilot will expect to fly at best, every day and at worst every-other day. On the two-seat pilot’s off days, we will have Condor (a glider racing simulator) setup for them to practice race techniques.
After flying is done for the day, there will be a de-brief for everyone to discuss their flights over dinner (also provided by the JRCC). Throughout the week, there will be several social events and a few soaring movie nights. Of course, there is also a campfire…
The JRCC has reserved the use of the Harris Hill youth camp and will have the camp site and shower houses available right next to the airport. As the event becomes closer, we will coordinate tents, sleeping bags, etc to make sure that everyone has a comfortable place to sleep and can make arrangements if you do not have the ability to bring them.
The entry cost for the event covers all tows/flight fees, the campground use fees, and all meals through the week. It is currently set at $200 for the event though there may be a refund at the end depending on the success of fundraising efforts.
You can register for the event at: http://www.ssa.org/Contests?cid=2379 If you are bringing a glider to fly in single seat (“sports”) class, please fill it out accurately. If you are flying in two-seat class, please fill it out as completely as possible and put “N/A” in any fields that are related to the glider.
If you have any questions or suggestions about the event, need help with anything, would like to help host or fund the event, or anything else… please do not hesitate to reach out here: http://juniors.ssa.org/home/how-to-help/
Thanks for reading, I look forward to seeing you there!
JP"This is going to burn down the entire warehouse... thousands and thousands of tonnes of food, medical supplies and other emergency assistance are there."
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said he was "outraged" by the attack on the UN compound and demanded an explanation as he met Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.
Intense shelling
About 500 people were inside the hospital in Tal al-Hawa when it came under attack. Many had taken shelter in the hope of escaping the onslaught.
"The last hit was on the Red Crescent's operations building and destroyed the pharmacy. There's a hole in the roof and a fire is still burning," Sharon Locke, a hospital volunteer, told Al Jazeera.
A building housing a number of international media organisations and several housing blocks were also reportedly hit on Thursday.
Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said that the Israeli shelling was the closest to the centre of the city that it had been during the Israeli offensive.
"There have, no doubt, been a series of air strikes that have destroyed so many of the buildings here in the heart of Gaza City, but this is the first time we have seen this kind of shelling," he said.
"We are getting some very horrific accounts from people trapped in buildings unable to leave."
Mays al-Khatib, a Gaza resident, was speaking to Al Jazeera on the telephone when her building came under attack.
"The shelling is continuous since last night, we are here in this place, we are around 500 families here under bombardment," she was narrating, when the telephone went dead.
Al Jazeera sources said she survived, though her building collapsed.
Israel also hit smuggling tunnels from Egypt into the southern Rafah area of Gaza.
"They used bombs that went deep into the tunnels and shook the whole Rafah refugee camp. The land trembled beneath our feet," Bassam Abdallah, a local Palestinian cameraman, said.
One of Israel's stated objectives is to stop the smuggling of weapons across the border to Palestinian fighters.
The tunnels are also used to bring in basic supplies for the territory which has been suffering under an Israeli blockade.
At least 1,054 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its assault on the Gaza Strip on December 27, medics said.
More than 4,800 people have been injured in the violence.
'Unbearable' toll
Ban told a news conference in Tel Aviv that the death toll was "unbearable".
"The time has come for the violence to stop and for us to change fundamentally the dynamics in Gaza" Ban Ki-moon,
UN secretary-general
"The time has come for the violence to stop and for us to change fundamentally the dynamics in Gaza and to pursue again the peace
|
and having bad things happen to you—there's a lot of drugs, people getting shot. A lot happens at Degrassi. You know, to be honest, if I was a parent and I saw the track record of either of those schools, I would move.
What are you doing with all those Teen Choice Awards surfboards? Are you like building a new wing on your house?
No, and you know what, it's false advertising. They don't actually give you all the surfboards that you win.
Bummer!
They give you one surfboard and they write down on the surfboard all the other awards that you won.
Wait, the awards from all the different years on just one surfboard? Like they ask for it back and write the new ones on there?
No—so for last year I think we won like eight or nine awards and I got one surfboard that listed all of the awards on the one surfboard and this year we won six? So I'm going to get another one that says the six awards that we won on it. So I'll only have two. But still! It's really cool, not to discount how cool it is. It's really, really, really awesome and what I'm going to do is—I have an office in my house—and I'm going to mount the surfboards on the ceiling of my office.
Well, that's fine, I guess. I was picturing like thirty surfboards somewhere in your home that you have to store.
That's what I thought! And I bought my house with that in mind. I was like looking for a house and for the requirements, the realtors were like, What do you want? Do you want a pool? How much square footage do you want? I just said I need enough room for the thirty surfboards that I'm hoping to win someday. And then I got two and I was really disappointed because I'd gotten the square footage for thirty. And now I'm going to have to try and win more awards just so I can fill that space.
Only twenty-eight more seasons of Vampire Diaries to go!
Exactly.NARVA, Estonia -- Aleksandr Brokk calls himself an "Estonian patriot." His family has lived in the country for generations and he makes his living running a successful tech park.Like the vast majority in the sleepy eastern Estonian border city of Narva, Brokk is an ethnic Russian. And while he's proud of his language and heritage, all he needs to do is look across the river at the dilapidated Russian fortress city of Ivangorod to know which side of the border he wants to live on."People come and go. When you cross into Ivangorod, straight away you can see the atmosphere there," Brokk says. "Who is going to want to join that?"Brokk's opinions are not an anomaly here. In Narva, Russian is the lingua franca, Russian media is the main source of news, and orange-and-black St. George ribbons symbolizing military victory adorn cars.But the Russians of Narva, who make up 88 percent of the city's population, call the European Union and NATO their home. And while they may feel the emotional tug of Moscow and certainly have their grievances with the Estonian government in Tallinn, few say they want to follow the example of Crimea and join Russia.Most here have become accustomed to their stable and predictable lives on the EU's eastern frontier.Oleg Uglov, who heads NTT, a table-tennis-racket manufacturer, and is one of Narva's most successful entrepreneurs, praises the lack of corruption, the security of property rights, and the ease of doing business in Estonia."You can feel confident they won't come for your [business] tomorrow, they won't take anything away or change the laws in such a way that it's really difficult to do business," Uglov says. "In this way Estonia overall is a good country to live in and to do business in general. You can get insignificant problems or certain serious failings in any country."When Russia expressed "concern" in the UN Human Rights Commission on March 19 that Estonia was marginalizing its ethnic Russians, many took notice and worried that Moscow would expand its policy of stirring up its neighbors' Russophone populations for geopolitical gain.But local journalist Roman Vikulov, a reporter for the weekly "Viru prospekt," says he's certain that if Narva held an independence referendum similar to last month's in Crimea, the result would be very different.His idea goes to the core of the sentiment in the Russian community: the wish to finally put to rest tensions between Russians and Estonians that have festered since independence. In fact, Vikulov believes that such a referendum -- although highly unlikely to take place -- would prove that Narva's Russians are loyal to Tallinn."There is a certain mistrust of residents of Narva and the northeast. There is an expectation that, one day, at some critical moment, local people will turn their back on Estonia and toward Russia and do exactly what they did in Crimea, that is, to vote to be in the Russian Federation," Vikulov says. "I am certain a referendum here would provide precisely the opposite result."To be sure, ethnic Russians in Estonia have their complaints -- most of which revolve around issues of language and citizenship.The vast majority of ethnic Russians in Estonia moved there after Soviet forces occupied the county and forcibly incorporated it into the U.S.S.R. after World War II. In the 1940s, tens of thousands of Estonians were sent to Siberian labor camps, where many perished.Prior to the war, just 9 percent of Estonia's population was ethnic Russian. Today about 25 percent is.When Estonia regained its independence in 1991, those who moved to the country after World War II, mainly Russians, were not automatically granted citizenship. Instead, they were required to "naturalize," a process that includes passing an Estonian-language test.In Narva, just 46.7 percent of the city's residents are Estonian citizens, while 36.3 percent hold Russian passports. An additional 15.3 percent are "gray" passport holders with neither Russian nor Estonian citizenship. In effect, this means that less than half of Narva's residents can vote in national elections.The citizenship issue has long been a bone of contention for ethnic Russians like local rock musician Vladimir Cherdakov. He says it is "very unpleasant" that his wife, who has lived her whole life in Estonia, cannot receive citizenship because she doesn't speak Estonian.Aleksandra, a 22-year-old ethnic Russian university student who declined to give her last name, is studying to be a primary-school teacher. She says language requirements make it harder for her as a non-native Estonian speaker to get employment in the public sector.As someone who has lived her entire life in an independent Estonia, she says she feels trapped between two worlds -- not quite Russian, nor fully Estonian. "We are an island, cut off from the world. We don't belong either to the Russians who live in Russia or to the Estonians here. We are a little community with its own order," she says. "Now I speak to some Russians from Russia and we have moments when we do not understand one another."And although they are not keen on joining Russia, many here say they supported Moscow's recent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.Vladimir Alekseyev, 67, who heads the Narva Energia labor union, condemns the West's support for the Euromaidan uprising that ousted Ukraine's pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych and praises what he calls Crimea's act of "self-determination.""Everyone could see, and Europe couldn't help but see, that this was the will of the absolute majority of Crimea's residents to join and reunite with Russia -- to return to Russia," Alekseyev says. "There was no annexation here. That's a lie. This was a normal process. And the reaction of the West has not been constructive -- extremely unconstructive."With Russian television dominating the airwaves in Narva, some worry that ethnic Russians here could easily be incited.Ants Liimets, 59, a prominent member of the city legislature and leader of Narva's Estonian community, says Russian "propaganda" could create a problem. But he adds that the absence of street protests here shows Narva's Russians have not been radicalized.Indeed, many feel themselves integrated.Aleksandr Pavlov, a 56-year-old ethnic Russian who has lived in Narva since the 1970s, is a volunteer with the Estonian Defense League, the "," a national volunteer paramilitary that is subordinated to the Defense Ministry. Pavlov does not speak Estonian well, and yet he calls himself an Estonian patriot in no uncertain terms.Still, many worry what would happen if the current East-West tensions escalate into a broader conflict between Russia and NATO. How would they behave?"How am I supposed to behave? I am patriot of Estonia. I love this country and I was born here," Brokk says. "I grew up and live here. I am a Russian man. If some kind of action was to start, how should I behave? Would it be civil war? No, we are different countries. This is why I don't even allow this thought into my head."Curly Haughland, of Bismarck, N.D., makes a compelling reason why you shouldn’t pay much attention to those lectures about your duty to vote in primary elections: You don’t matter.
Speaking with NPR’s Steve Inskeep this morning, Haughland, a delegate to this summer’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland and a member of its rules committee, said the votes of people who vote in primaries are “absolutely irrelevant,” something that’s become obvious to even casual voters watching the GOP’s gymnastics to deny Donald Trump the party’s endorsement.
At least he was honest enough to say it.
“A longstanding tradition in the Republican Party that began in 1880 or earlier is the fact that all delegates to the national convention are free to vote their conscience,” he maintained.
That conflicts with what the media has reported, Inskeep said, that delegates who are pledged to Trump will have to vote for Trump on the first ballot.
“It’s been in there [the rules] since 1880 when James Garfield wrote the language that’s still in Rule 37,” he insisted.
Point of order,sir. It’s not. At least not in Rule 37.
Here’s Rule 37 from the last Republican convention.
That’s not to say the rules can’t be rewritten to favor whatever the power brokers of the convention want it to say.
“The RNC probably can exercise that power to bind or unbind,” Gregory Magarian, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, tells CNBC. “But what matters here is not the law but politics. Reaction from the voters, delegates, party regulars saying if the RNC stepped in it would be ‘unfair and improper.’ This is more about structural politics. As a matter of law the RNC could step in and do whatever it wants to do. But if they stepped in it would be seen as a power grab.”
And it would underscore Haughland’s assertion that, unless you’re a delegate to the convention, it doesn’t matter what presidential candidate you think you were supporting in a primary or caucus. You don’t matter.A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.
Film [ edit ]
In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each shot are generally numbered starting with "take one" and the number of each successive take is increased (with the director calling for "take two" or "take eighteen") until the filming of the shot is completed.
Film takes are often designated with the aid of a clapperboard. It is also referred to as the slate. The number of each take is written or attached to the clapperboard, which is filmed briefly prior to or at the beginning of the actual take.
Only those takes which are vetted by the continuity person and/or script supervisor are printed and are sent to the film editor.
A single-take or one-take occurs when the entire scene is shot satisfactorily the first time, whether by necessity (as with certain expensive special effects) or by luck.
Long takes [ edit ]
Some film directors are known for using very long, unedited takes. Alfred Hitchcock's Rope is famous for being composed of nine uninterrupted takes, each from four to ten minutes long. This required actors to step over cables and dolly tracks while filming, and stagehands to move furniture and props out of the camera's way as it moved around the room. The eight-minute opening shot of The Player includes people discussing long takes in other movies.
Aleksandr Sokurov's Russian Ark (2002) consists of a single 90-minute take, shot on a digital format. Mike Figgis' Timecode (2000) consists of a single 90-minute take as well, albeit with four camera units shooting simultaneously. In the finished film, all four camera angles are shown simultaneously on a split screen, with the sound fading from one to another to direct audience attention.
Multiple takes [ edit ]
Other directors such as Stanley Kubrick are notorious for demanding numerous retakes of a single scene, once asking Shelley Duvall to repeat a scene 127 times for The Shining. During the shooting of Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick asked for 97 takes of Tom Cruise walking through a door before he was satisfied. Charlie Chaplin, both director and star of The Gold Rush, did 63 separate takes of a scene where his character eats a boot—in reality, a prop made of licorice—and ended up being taken to the hospital for insulin shock due to the high sugar intake.[1] Chaplin also did 342 takes of a scene in City Lights (1931).
In other cases, it is the actors who cause multiple takes. One fight scene in Jackie Chan's The Young Master was so intricate that it required 329 takes to complete. [2]
Director Bryan Singer tried for a full day to get his desired shots of the cast of The Usual Suspects behaving sullenly in a police lineup, but the actors could not remain serious and kept spoiling the takes by laughing and making faces. In the end, Singer changed his plan and used the funniest of the takes in the final movie to illustrate the contempt the criminals had for the police.
During the filming of Some Like It Hot, director Billy Wilder was notoriously frustrated by the retakes required by Marilyn Monroe's inability to remember her lines.
Music recording [ edit ]
In music recording, a take similarly refers to successive attempts to record a song or part. Musical takes are also sequentially numbered. The need to obtain a complete, acceptable take was especially important in the years predating multi-track recording and overdubbing techniques.
Failed attempts are called "false starts" if, for example, not even a complete chorus or verse is recorded; longer almost-complete attempts are called "long false starts".
Different versions of the same song from a single recording session are sometimes eventually released as alternate takes (or alternative takes) or "playback masters" of the recording. Notable examples of releases of alternate takes include The Beatles Anthology box set, Johnny Cash's Bear Family box sets and Johnny Cash:The Outtakes and a series of alternate takes of recordings by Elvis Presley released by RCA Victor beginning in 1974 with Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1.
See also [ edit ][This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]
Montreal, June 19, 2017 - The Bot Colony update shipping today integrates Microsoft’s Cognitive Services speech API. North Side hopes this speech recognition technology will revolutionize the Bot Colony game experience. “Internal tests show that Microsoft speech API performs very accurately out- of- the- gate, without training”- says Eugene Joseph, the Bot Colony game designer and author of the Bot Colony sci-fi novel. Why does this matter? ”For years, online posts criticized voice recognition as a technology not fit for real applications due to lack of precision. The inability to deal with particular accents, noisy environments, ambiguity as to what words to assign to particular audio inputs - posed a formidable problem for North Side: many players bought its game expecting to talk to robots normally and be understood. Though North Side focuses on natural language understanding ( NLU) technology and is only an integrator of speech recognition, the quality of the overall experience heavily depends on how well speech recognition performs - as many players choose to speak rather than type. Concern about speech recognition negatively impacting the game became so high that the February 21, 2017 update to Bot Colony encourages players to type instead of speaking. The Cognitive Services speech API now enables the kind of immersive game experience we wanted Bot Colony to offer,” says Joseph. North Side advertises its Bot Colony videogame as ‘the first intelligent conversation game on the planet’. In Bot Colony players use their own words to investigate mysteries, command robots, or get oriented in the game. Bot Colony has some unique features that push NLU boundaries: players command robots to manipulate objects in the 3D environment, to erase the traces of an intrusion or dispose of a bomb - using colloquial English. Players can use words like ‘this’, ‘it, ‘the last one’, ‘the blue one’, ‘the one on the stovetop’, ‘the open one’, ‘the other one’ to refer to objects. Bot Colony understands English sufficiently well to enable players to conduct a complex investigation - rewarding them with videos of robot observations that are missing pieces of a puzzle. North Side uses the same NLU pipeline for both the Bot Colony videogame and to enable conversational access to financial services API’s, such as used in banking, insurance or wealth management.According to the Nevada Legislature's website, AB 511 "revis[ing] certain provisions governing transportation" passed the Assembly (36-6) and the Senate (20-1) and was signed into law by the governor this week. Although I am aware of no law that prohibits driverless cars, this appears to be the first law officially to sanction the technology. Specifically, the law provides that the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles "shall adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways within the State of Nevada." The law charges the Nevada DMV with setting safety and performance standards and requires it to designate areas where driverless cars may be tested. (Note that this could take some serious time: Japan, for instance, has been promising standards for personal robots for years and has yet to release them.)
I believe a previous version of the bill had an exception to the ban on texting for passengers in cars that drove themselves. Otherwise, the law is substantially similar to the bill I discussed in April. So I have the same nits. Overall, however, this is great development. Autonomous driving has serious potential but its safety and savings need to be evidenced in a controlled environment. Nevada---former host of the DARPA Grand Challenge---is now the lead car in the caravan. PDF of the law is attached below. UPDATE: The texting ban exception was passed as a separate bill. It reads in relevant part: "For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed not to be operating a motor vehicle if the motor vehicle is driven autonomously through the use of artificial-intelligence software and the autonomous operation of the motor vehicle is authorized by law." Thanks Bryant!As soon as the news broke that Netflix had registered a political action committee called FLIXPAC, speculation that one of the items on its agenda would include anti-piracy legislation soon morphed into headlines like “NETFLIX FORMS PRO-SOPA PAC.” I’m not linking them on purpose.
Netflix has issued an official statement saying that neither SOPA nor PIPA is behind their formation of the PAC.
"PACs are commonplace for companies that lead a big, growing market and Netflix is no exception. Our PAC is a way for our employees to support candidates that understand our business and technology. It was not set up for the purpose of supporting SOPA or PIPA. Instead, Netflix has engaged on other issues including network neutrality, bandwidth caps, usage based billing and reforming the Video Privacy Protection Act."
Aside from the fact that any company would have to be braindead or crazy to publicly associate itself with one of the least popular bills in the history of the Internet, Netflix took a publicly neutral stance around the time of the debates. Politico does speculate that their private stance might have been more aggressive, however.
The word "copyright" is listed on the registration, but Netflix would be foolish to pick this as its hill to die on. While its stance on anti-piracy laws will be interesting to watch the next time legislation pushes the issue, for now I think we can believe it when it says that’s not what’s behind the PAC.Leading Korean filmmakers Park Chan-wook and Ryoo Seung-wan have joined a group of 100 public figures in a petition against Israel’s attack on Gaza and “civilian massacre”.
The joint petition for “Peace to Palestine!” was announced by non-profit peace organization Nanum Munhwa: Culture of Sharing yesterday (Aug 3), to go to the Embassy of Israel in Seoul as well as the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Park Chan-wook, director of Oldboy and Stoker, and Ryoo Seung-wan, the filmmaker behind The Berlin File, are among those to sign. Park recently attended the Jerusalem FIlm Festival as the tensions started to escalate between Israel and Hamas; his masterclass at the festival was interrupted by an air-raid siren.
Headlining with “Israel’s attack and civilian massacre in Gaza, Palestine, must stop immediately”, the petition calls the attack “’unilateral massacre’ and an explicit ‘war crime’ by the world’s 10th biggest military power”.
It stated: “Israel’s attacks which began on July 8 have taken the lives of 1,500 Palestinians. More than 80% of them are civilians and 25% are minors. Israel bombed schools and playgrounds for students, a hospital, UN school which is a place of refuge for civilians, and resident buildings where families were sleeping.”
The petition also demands a stop to the US and European countries “supporting and overlooking Israel’s deeds” and the South Korean government’s silence and arms sales to Israel.
Some 100 public figures participated in the appeal including film producers Choi Jae-won (The Attorney) and Kang Hae-jung (The Berlin File), former minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea Peter Kang U-il, president of the Reconciliation Committee of Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and monk Dobeop, singer Yoon Do Hyun, poet Park No-hae and other leaders in arts, entertainment, academia, religion and politics.
“There are many urgent issues in Korea too,” said the petition, but that in the era of global community, “where conscience, justice and children are massacred, that is the centre of the world.”....................................................................................................................................................................................
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man found fatally shot in his driveway in a quiet Northeast Heights neighborhood early Friday may have been killed because he confronted a group of people who were breaking into cars and houses, police said.
Police are waiting for the state Office of the Medical Investigator to confirm the man’s identity before releasing his name, but said he is a 59-year-old homeowner who lived with his wife in the 1400 block of Chihuahua NE, near Lomas and Tramway. Officers arrived at the scene around 3 a.m. to find the man dead.
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“Overnight, a group of individuals was breaking into different vehicles throughout the neighborhood,” said officer Tanner Tixier, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department. “At this point, we believe the man went out to confront the individuals and was shot because of that.”
Tixier said that at least five cars had been broken into overnight and that a man in his 80s who also lives in the neighborhood had been shot at but was not hurt. Police have not found any other witnesses or home security camera video that could help the case and are asking for anyone with more information to come forward. They have no description of the suspects.
“Our only eyewitness is now deceased,” Tixier said. “The other individual that was shot at said there were multiple people, but he couldn’t give us a number, couldn’t give us genders and couldn’t give us ages.”
Tixier said the assailants had been breaking car windows to get to garage door openers, then entering homes. He did not know if the man who was shot had seen the offenders breaking into his own car, someone else’s car, or his house.
Jarrett Truett, who lives in the house next door to the man who was killed, said he believes the same group of people tried to break into his house shortly after 2 a.m. Friday. When the people entered his house, Truett’s roommate said “hi” and scared them away, he said.
“I heard the door open and I heard a scream,” he said. “And then I heard gunshots five minutes later.”
Truett said his roommates didn’t get a good look at the people who had entered their house or see how many were there.
They were too shocked to go outside to investigate when they heard shots, he said.
Another neighbor said he heard two or three gunshots, but assumed they were fireworks and went back to sleep. In the morning, police told him his neighbor had been killed.
“He’s a bartender. He comes home late and walks his dog at night,” said Joe Gaiter, who lives three homes down. “He’s just a good guy, a good neighbor. He talked to everyone.”
Gaiter said he’d chat with the man whenever he saw him working in his front yard or leaving on his motorcycle for work.
He said the man had lived in the neighborhood with his wife for about 10 years, but had put their house up for sale a couple of days ago.
“They said they’re just downgrading,” Gaiter said. “It’s too big, with just him and his wife. They tried to do it last year and didn’t get nothing out of it, so they’re trying again.”
In the 20 years Gaiter has lived in the quiet neighborhood tucked into a maze of streets in the foothills, there has been hardly any crime or cause for concern, he said.
“I’ve been here since ’95, and the only thing that ever happened is some teenagers knocked the mailboxes down one day,” he said. “It’s a quiet area; nothing ever happens. Then this happens.”Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast for a direct connection to the cable and Internet service provider's network, a move that will improve streaming video quality for Comcast customers, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
The deal was subsequently confirmed by the companies, but financial details were not disclosed.
News of a paid peering deal comes two days after a traceroute showed that the two companies were exchanging traffic with each other directly. Netflix performance on Comcast had been getting worse for months, suggesting a feud between Comcast and Netflix or between Comcast and Cogent, one of Netflix's Internet transit providers.
Netflix has tried to convince ISPs to join its Open Connect program, which involves either peering, caching, or both. Video caches inside an ISP's network bring content closer to customers, while peering involves a direct connection between Netflix and an ISP, potentially improving quality by eliminating middlemen traffic providers.
Numerous ISPs have turned down this offer, saying Netflix should pay for direct connections, and it appears Comcast has had its way.
A source close to Netflix told Ars that the company will not confirm whether there is any payment changing hands, but that a compromise was reached. Comcast and Netflix are interconnecting at Internet exchanges, the source said, suggesting a peering agreement.
"In exchange for payment, Netflix will get direct access to Comcast's broadband network," the Journal wrote today, quoting sources. "The multiyear deal comes just 10 days after Comcast agreed to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., which if approved would establish Comcast as by far the dominant provider of broadband in the US, serving 30 million households."
"Under the deal, Netflix won't be able to place its servers inside Comcast's data centers, which Netflix had wanted," the Journal wrote. "Instead, Comcast will connect to Netflix's servers at data centers operated by other companies."
The story noted that Netflix had been sending traffic primarily through Cogent, and then said that "Comcast presented Netflix with more attractive deal terms than the operator had been offering," suggesting that Comcast either bettered Cogent's pricing or lowered its previous demands. (Cogent says Comcast is charging more than it does.)
Netflix's business relationship with Cogent will continue, since Netflix doesn't have direct agreements with Verizon and other ISPs.
Update: After this story published, the companies released a joint statement that said, "Comcast Corporation and Netflix, Inc. today announced a mutually beneficial interconnection agreement that will provide Comcast’s US broadband customers with a high-quality Netflix video experience for years to come. Working collaboratively over many months, the companies have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that’s already delivering an even better user experience to consumers, while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic. Netflix receives no preferential network treatment under the multi-year agreement, terms of which are not being disclosed."
The companies' plan is for all traffic to eventually pass through the direct Netflix/Comcast connection. Until that happens, Netflix could still send some of the traffic through intermediaries like Cogent or Level 3. Still, redirecting even some traffic should at least reduce the stress on the congested Cogent/Comcast connections, potentially benefiting all Netflix users who are also Comcast subscribers.
Netflix/Verizon battle continues
Netflix and Cogent are still at odds with Verizon, apparently resulting in deteriorating quality of streams on Verizon's network.
The Netflix source told Ars that the sheer amount of customers hooked up to Comcast's network played a role in Netflix's willingness to make a compromise. Negotiations with other ISPs were not confirmed, but the source said it wouldn't be surprising to see Netflix seek compromises with other major ISPs.
Today's agreement comes after a court decision that gutted US network neutrality rules, allowing ISPs to block or degrade third-party traffic such as Netflix's. Comcast is still bound by those net neutrality rules until 2018 because of a condition on its 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal. However, the net neutrality rules only governed the path from consumer ISP networks to home customers.
The peering and transit agreements that cover interconnections further away from consumer homes weren't covered by the net neutrality rules or the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger agreement. Thus, Netflix traffic could still be degraded when ISPs like Comcast and Verizon don't invest properly in upgrading connections with network operators like Cogent that serve a lot of Netflix traffic.
The Federal Communications Commission hasn't given any sign it plans to regulate peering and transit, but could examine the issue as part of its investigation into the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger.
The Journal called the Netflix/Comcast deal "the latest sign that broadband providers are gaining leverage in their dealings with content companies. Over the past several years, technology companies like Microsoft Corp., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. have also started paying major broadband providers for direct connections to their networks that would provide faster and smoother access."Series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water
This article is about disturbances in bodies of water that are sometimes called "seismic sea waves". For the radiated energy that earthquakes generate, see Seismic wave
3D tsunami animation
A tsunami (from Japanese: 津波, "harbour wave";[1] English pronunciation: soo-NAH-mee[2] or [3]) or tidal wave,[4], also known as a seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.[5] Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water.
Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their wavelength is far longer.[6] Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide.[7] For this reason, it is often referred to as a "tidal wave", although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might give the false impression of a causal relationship between tides and tsunamis.[8] Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves, with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called "internal wave train".[9] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous, and they can affect entire ocean basins. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history, with at least 230,000 people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
The Ancient Greek historian Thucydides suggested in his 5th century BC History of the Peloponnesian War that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes,[10][11] but the understanding of tsunamis remained slim until the 20th century and much remains unknown. Major areas of current research include determining why some large earthquakes do not generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do; accurately forecasting the passage of tsunamis across the oceans; and forecasting how tsunami waves interact with shorelines.
Terminology
Tsunami
Tsunami kanji "Tsunami" in Japanese name Kanji 津波 Transcriptions Romanization tsunami
The term "tsunami" is a borrowing from the Japanese tsunami 津波, meaning "harbour wave". For the plural, one can either follow ordinary English practice and add an s, or use an invariable plural as in the Japanese.[12] Some English speakers alter the word's initial /ts/ to an /s/ by dropping the "t", since English does not natively permit /ts/ at the beginning of words, though the original Japanese pronunciation is /ts/.
Tidal wave
Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal waves.[13] This once-popular term derives from the most common appearance of a tsunami, which is that of an extraordinarily high tidal bore. Tsunamis and tides both produce waves of water that move inland, but in the case of a tsunami, the inland movement of water may be much greater, giving the impression of an incredibly high and forceful tide. In recent years, the term "tidal wave" has fallen out of favour, especially in the scientific community, because the causes of tsunamis have nothing to do with those of tides, which are produced by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun rather than the displacement of water. Although the meanings of "tidal" include "resembling"[14] or "having the form or character of"[15] the tides, use of the term tidal wave is discouraged by geologists and oceanographers.
Seismic sea wave
The term seismic sea wave also is used to refer to the phenomenon, because the waves most often are generated by seismic activity such as earthquakes.[16] Prior to the rise of the use of the term tsunami in English, scientists generally encouraged the use of the term seismic sea wave rather than tidal wave. However, like tsunami, seismic sea wave is not a completely accurate term, as forces other than earthquakes – including underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, land or ice slumping into the ocean, meteorite impacts, and the weather when the atmospheric pressure changes very rapidly – can generate such waves by displacing water.[17][18]
History
While Japan may have the longest recorded history of tsunamis, the sheer destruction caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami event mark it as the most devastating of its kind in modern times, killing around 230,000 people.[19] The Sumatran region is also accustomed to tsunamis, with earthquakes of varying magnitudes regularly occurring off the coast of the island.[20]
Tsunamis are an often underestimated hazard in the Mediterranean Sea and parts of Europe. Of historical and current (with regard to risk assumptions) importance are the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami (which was caused by the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault), the 1783 Calabrian earthquakes, each causing several tens of thousands of deaths and the 1908 Messina earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami claimed more than 123,000 lives in Sicily and Calabria and is among the most deadly natural disasters in modern Europe. The Storegga Slide in the Norwegian Sea and some examples of tsunamis affecting the British Isles refer to landslide and meteotsunamis predominantly and less to earthquake-induced waves.
As early as 426 BC the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunami, and was the first to argue that ocean earthquakes must be the cause.[10][11]
The cause, in my opinion, of this phenomenon must be sought in the earthquake. At the point where its shock has been the most violent the sea is driven back, and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes the inundation. Without an earthquake I do not see how such an accident could happen.[21]
The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (Res Gestae 26.10.15–19) described the typical sequence of a tsunami, including an incipient earthquake, the sudden retreat of the sea and a following gigantic wave, after the 365 AD tsunami devastated Alexandria.[22][23]
Causes
The principal generation mechanism (or cause) of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea.[24] This displacement of water is usually attributed to either earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calvings or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests.[25][26] The waves formed in this way are then sustained by gravity.[how?]
Seismicity
Tsunami can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the Earth's crustal deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position.[27] More specifically, a tsunami
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goat for over fifty years.
Historically, Tibet had not been willing to allow foreign explorers into the country but the 1921 British expedition had been permitted in connection with an arms deal. Monastic opposition to the arms and the expeditions increased until by 1925 the country was close to revolution. The Tibetan army chief was closely associated with the British and the debacle was probably partly responsible for his fall from grace in 1925. The subsequent decline of military influence within the Tibetan government may have made the country more vulnerable to the Chinese takeover in 1950.
Background [ edit ]
Diplomatic [ edit ]
Francis Younghusband, about 1905
Lord Curzon, about 1902
Fearing Russian military intervention into Tibet, in 1904 the British Raj made a military incursion into Tibet led by Francis Younghusband. Sometimes known as the "Mission to Lhasa", this was largely instigated by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India. The ensuing 1904 treaty and 1906 convention formalised Chinese suzerainty over Tibet while declaring that it would permit no foreign interventions (including by Russia or Britain). In 1910 China invaded Tibet and to escape the savagery the Dalai Lama fled to Sikkim, where he was sheltered by the British. Sikkim, sandwiched between India and Tibet, was under firm British protection and was only nominally an independent state.
Following the Xinhai Revolution, which established the Republic of China in 1912, China withdrew from Tibet. The Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa and Britain briefly supplied armaments to what it now regarded as an independent country but the First World War in Europe led to Britain losing interest. By 1919 a renewed fear of Russia and China felt by both Britain and Tibet led to a mutual desire for closer diplomatic relations. Charles Bell, Britain's political representative in Sikkim, was sent to Lhasa at the end of 1920 to negotiate. He was the first European to be invited to Lhasa and he stayed for almost a whole year. Bell and Thubten Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, developed a warm personal friendship. In 1921, Britain again started supplying Tibet with arms, ammunition, military support and training.
British aspirations towards Mount Everest [ edit ]
On his 1904 military mission, Younghusband had seen Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. and had enthused Curzon with the idea of a grand British imperial expedition to make the first ascent of the mountain. Eventually this led to Britain's magisterial Alpine Club adopting the idea in celebration of its 1907 golden jubilee. Mount Everest lies on the border between Nepal and Tibet but neither country would allow entry to foreign expeditions. The Secretary of State for India refused to request permission from Tibet and then the 1914–18 War intervened.
In 1913 John Noel had entered Tibet clandestinely and had reached to within forty miles of Mount Everest, closer than any other foreigner before him. After the war, in an attempt to inject new impetus, Noel was invited to address a joint meeting of the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club. Noel's 1919 talk was inspirational and the two societies again started lobbying. Younghusband (soon to become president of the RGS) wrote to the Secretary of State for India to see if Tibet could be asked for permission. Even with the political backing of Lord Curzon, who was now Britain's Foreign Secretary (and who had been RGS president from 1911 to 1914), Younghusband only received lukewarm support from Whitehall but was still able to send Charles Howard-Bury to India to try to take things forward. Howard-Bury met the Viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, who was sympathetic but said he could do nothing while negotiations with Tibet were pending, although he suggested that Charles Bell should be approached. By serendipity, Howard-Bury met Bell shortly before Bell's diplomatic visit to Lhasa. As a small piece in the diplomatic jigsaw, Bell negotiated that British expeditions be allowed into Tibet, starting with the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition. However, in the minds of the Tibetan elite, Everest expeditions became associated with military expansionism within the country.
Early in 1921 the Mount Everest Committee was set up jointly by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club to manage all future British expeditions – Younghusband was appointed chairman.
1922 and 1924 Mount Everest expeditions [ edit ]
Noel filming from the North Col in 1922. In 1924 he was able to use a 20-inch (510 mm) Cooke lens.
John Noel was photographer on the 1922 Everest expedition and was made responsible for producing the subsequent official film, Climbing Mount Everest. Shown in cinemas around Britain it had been a reasonable success. When the 1924 expedition was being planned Noel offered to fund £8,000 of the estimated £9,000 total cost of the expedition if he was allowed to make a second film and retain all the rights to it and other photography. Noel, who was quite a showman, was determined to make the film a success and he planned filming in such a way that he could produce a mountaineering epic if the summit attempt succeeded or a Tibet travelogue if it failed.
On 8 June 1924 Mallory and Irvine set off for the summit, never to return.
For those on the expedition at the time, the loss of Mallory and Irvine did not seem like the magnificent tragedy it was soon to become. Noel raced back to civilisation to start work on his film; John Hazard went to the West Rongbuk Glacier to do further surveying but then went beyond his remit by going north to Lhatse and the upper part of the Tsangpo River; the others went to the Rongshar Valley[note 1] to recuperate before the long trek home. In Britain matters were treated differently – the climbers' memorial service in St Paul's Cathedral was attended by King George V, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.
The Epic of Everest [ edit ]
The Times had the scoop headline "Everest: The Last Climb: Hopes That Summit Was Reached", and Noel's 1924 film, according to Wade Davis, "elevated Mallory... into the realm of the Titans". Noel's film The Epic of Everest: The Immortal Film Record of This Historic Expedition had its premiere at the New Scala Theatre on 8 December 1924.[note 2]
A production company Explorers' Films, with Younghusband as chairman, had been set up to make the film. Because there was no film footage high on the mountain and it was not known if the summit had been reached, Noel planned a total theatrical experience. The stage setting was a Tibetan courtyard with shimmering Himalayan peaks painted on the backdrop. To provide what Noel called "large doses of local colour", before the film started a group of monks was to come on stage equipped with ethnic accoutrements to perform pseudo-religious music, chanting and dance.[note 3] The headline in the Daily Sketch "High Dignitaries of Tibetan Church Reach London; Bishop to dance on Stage; Music from Skulls" was not couched in terms that the Tibetan authorities would wish for. The performers were genuinely monks (despite the publicity proclaiming "seven lamas", there was in reality only one) but they were from nowhere near Mount Everest and they had been inveigled out of Tibet without permission from their superior.[27] To the satisfaction of the press when the monks went to the London Zoo they were shown the llamas. To begin with the show was a critical and public success. It toured Britain and Germany and over a million people in the United States and Canada went to see it. However, the political difficulties turned things sour and by the end of 1925 Explorers' Films had gone bankrupt in Colombo, requiring the Mount Everest Committee to send £150 to get the monks back to India. Only a few of them returned to Tibet and those who did were severely punished.
Diplomatic representations from Tibet [ edit ]
Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, about 1910
The government of Tibet lodged an official diplomatic protest. They believed that the film, and its accompanying carnival, ridiculed Tibet. They found particularly offensive a scene showing a man delousing a child and then eating the lice.[note 4] After seeing the performance the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India wrote that it was "unspeakably boring" but that it could not cause "more than that smile of kindly superiority which we generally assume when we see or hear of strange customs".
The Dalai Lama regarded the film and the monks' performances as a direct affront to his religion and called for the arrest of the monks. Noel initially said he had received official permission to take them from Tibet but this was found to be false. In Britain an official inquiry reported, "Captain Noel's statement about the monks taken to England is in direct variance with the facts". The Mount Everest Committee was forced into an apology: "The Committee regret very deeply the humiliating position in which they were placed by the discovery that Captain Noel's statements were incorrect". The prime minister of Tibet's note demanding the monks' return ended with "For the future, we cannot give permission to go to Tibet" and no more expeditions were allowed until 1933.
In Tibet the matter was extremely sensitive because at the time that country was close to revolution. The modernisation and militarisation being introduced by the Dalai Lama and the head of the army, Tsarong Dzasa, were deeply unacceptable to the governing religious conservatives who were opposed to any British presence or influence. They had good reason to be so opposed – Britain was secretly trying to provoke an uprising in support of the military, although this ultimately failed and Tsarong had to escape to Sikkim.
The affair may have had long-term effects beyond mountaineering – when China invaded in 1950 Tibet no longer had an effective army and could offer little military resistance.
Cover-up and scapegoat [ edit ]
The Mount Everest Committee was unable to distance itself from the film – it had supported its production and benefited financially. It therefore laid the blame elsewhere for the diplomatic catastrophe and for over fifty years the cover-up succeeded in public, the impression being given that Hazard's unauthorised detour was to blame for the ban on expeditions.
In 1969, as the last item under "Accidents, Equipment and Miscellaneous Notes", the Alpine Club in its Alpine Journal reported the death of John Hazard (spelling his name incorrectly) and made it clear that he had never been a Club member. The obituary said he had been "something of a misfit", best remembered for leaving four Sherpas behind at the North Col in 1924, requiring "very risky rescue operations" by other members of the party. After the expedition, he had gone off the main route with "a porter or two to the Tsango Po river on a jaunt of his own". The report concluded that such detours had been acceptable in 1921 and apologised for in 1922, but in 1924 it was the last straw and Lhasa had clamped down on expeditions for nine years.[note 5] In the 1990 Alpine Journal's obituary of John Noel the dancing lamas are not mentioned at all.
By 1996, however, the Alpine Journal was willing to publish an article entitled "The Scapegoat" by Audrey Salkeld, the Everest historian. In it she reviews Hazard's life and his role concerning the Sherpas on the North Col and his unauthorised Tsangpo journey. She concludes that the Tibetans' strongest complaint was over the monks' publicity visit and credits Walt Unsworth with uncovering the "dancing lama furore" in 1981. The diplomatic affair had been swept under the carpet for over fifty years because Younghusband (president of the RGS and chairman of the Mount Everest Committee) must have been aware of, or even a party to, the scheme to invite the monks.
"The Affair of the Dancing Lamas" [ edit ]
In 1981 Walt Unsworth revealed in his book Everest that "The Affair of the Dancing Lamas" was the primary reason why Mount Everest expeditions had been again banned by Tibet.[41][note 6] The main blame for the diplomatic incident is indeed laid on Noel rather than Hazard but Unsworth views the position of the Tibetan government differently from the more recent accounts of Hansen and Davis, whose analysis has been given above.
When in 1921 Charles Bell retired from being effectively the British diplomatic service for Sikkim and Tibet, Frederick Bailey took over. Whereas Bell had been a classical scholar and Tibetologist, Bailey was an adventurer. He had accompanied Younghusband to Lhasa on his 1904 "mission" and later had made a lengthy, arduous and illegal excursion into Tibet to explore the Tsangpo Gorge. As poacher turned gamekeeper he went out of his way to hinder expeditions to Tibet – or at least that was the view of the mountaineering establishment in London. Unsworth says it was for reasons unknown, possibly personal ambition, whereas Salkeld says he was believed to have scores to settle with the Mount Everest Committee. He was exceptionally well placed to be awkward as he was the single point of contact between London and Lhasa and so was inevitably involved in passing on and composing diplomatic notes for both sides. Unsworth supports the "Mount Everest Committee view" in seeing Bailey as the creator of much of the antipathy towards expeditions whilst relying on mere acquiescence from Lhasa. Hansen explicitly rejects this view and regards it as a British "orientalist" attitude that people in Tibet were merely primitive and backward. He criticises Unsworth (and the Mount Everest Committee and others) for denying any independent agency to the Tibetans. Hansen claims that Lhasa did indeed drive the diplomatic protests for rational reasons and Bailey tended to go along with them. The authors agree that the India Office in London became enraged by the Mount Everest Committee's indiscretions and it suited everyone concerned in the debacle to keep the whole thing quiet.
Notes [ edit ]
^ The Rongshar Valley is near the Nepalese border close to Nangpa La ^ A trailer can be viewed online and there is a 2013 review. ^ A newsreel of the monks in Britain is available online. ^ Whether they were lice or fleas seems to have had diplomatic significance but the identification was never resolved. ^ This paragraph is based on remarks of a similar tone made by Audrey Salkeld in the Alpine Journal of 1996. ^ In his preface Unsworth credits Salkeld for "a great deal of the research".
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]Former Toronto politician Adam Giambrone has been appointed director of a new transit project in New York City. The project, called the BQX (Brooklyn Queens Connector) is a plan for a roughly 26-kilometre streetcar route that would run along the waterfront connecting those boroughs.
The project is still in its infancy: funding for construction, which is estimated at $2.5 billion US, has not yet been secured, nor has the BQX been through the official approval process. Generating public support for the streetcar — which would be the first built in New York City in about 70 years — is Giambrone's primary task.
Giambrone declined to speak with CBC News, but New York city hall spokesman Austin Finan said that "having someone with hands-on experience from North America's largest streetcar system will be valuable as we undertake the project."
Giambrone represented Ward 18 (Davenport) from 2003 to 2010, and served as chair of the TTC from 2006-2010. Along with then-mayor David Miller, he spearheaded a plan to build a network of streetcars in Toronto called Transit City. A few elements of that plan remain, but when Rob Ford was elected mayor in 2010 it was largely on the strength of his opposition to Transit City, most of which has been scrapped.
Giambrone ran a short-lived campaign for mayor in 2010, ending his run after 10 days when news surfaced of sexual relationships with women other than his live-in partner. They subsequently reconciled, and Giambrone has been working as a transit consultant for cities including Montreal and Milwaukee since leaving elected office.House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has said he would be “strongly opposed” to US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament during his state visit to the UK according to BBC News.
Mr Bercow told MPs “opposition to racism and sexism” were “hugely important considerations”.
He was applauded by SNP MPs after his comments.
A petition to withdraw the invitation will be debated by MPs on 20 February after attracting 1.8m signatures.
Responding to a point of order in the House of Commons, Mr Bercow set out his opposition to a Parliamentary address as part of the state visit.
He told MPs addressing the Lords and the Commons was “an earned honour” not an “automatic right”.
He said he was one of three “key-holders” for Westminster Hall, and referred to the US president’s controversial travel ban.
“Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall,” he said.
“After the imposition of the migrant ban I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.”
The Speaker said he would also be involved in any invitation to address Parliament’s Royal Gallery….
….”However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.”After finding success with the Mi 3 and the Redmi 1S, Xiaomi has launched its third device in the Indian market, the Redmi Note. The handset will be available starting December 2 on Flipkart, and will be offered in two variants: A 3G dual-SIM version which retails for Rs. 8,999 ($145), and a single-SIM 4G version with Indian-specific LTE bands that costs Rs. 9,999 ($160).
The standard dual-SIM version of the Redmi Note features a 5.5-inch 720p display, 1.7 GHz eight-core MediaTek MT6592 SoC, 2 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, microSD slot up to 32 GB, 13 MP camera at the back and a 5 MP front shooter. There's also 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and a 3,100 mAh battery. The device features support for fast charging and comes with a 2A adapter. On the software side of things, the Redmi Note runs Xiaomi's MIUI v5 atop Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The 4G variant eschews the MT6592 for the 1.6 GHz Snapdragon 400 SoC, and features 1800 and 2300 MHz LTE bands that will allow the device to work on Indian carrier Airtel's network. The device also runs MIUI v5, but this time on a foundation of Android 4.4 KitKat. In addition to Flipkart, the Redmi Note 4G will be available via Airtel's flagship stores in six cities across the country.
Registrations for the standard version of the Redmi Note commence on November 25 at 6 PM IST, with the sale itself set to take place on December 2. The 4G variant will be available later in the month. Xiaomi has indicated that all customers purchasing the Redmi Note will receive a free screen protector and SIM card sleeve. For more information on where to register, head to the link below. If you're looking for a chance to get the device for free, Xiaomi has you covered.
Considering the entry-level pricing and great feature-set, it is likely that Xiaomi will have a hard time keeping the device in stock. Who's looking to pick one up?
Source: Mi IndiaA Baptist Church near Asheville, N.C., is hosting a “Halloween book burning” to purge the area of “Satan’s” works, which include all non-King James versions of the Bible, popular books by many religious authors and even country music.
The website for the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, N.C., says there are “scriptural bases” for the book burning. The site quotes Acts 19:18-20: “And many that believed, came and confessed and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
Church leaders deem Good News for Modern Man, the Evidence Bible, the New International Version Bible, the Green Bible and the Message Bible, as well as at least seven other versions of the Bible as “Satan’s Bibles,” according to the website. Attendees will also set fire to “Satan’s popular books” such as the work of “heretics” including the Pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren.
“I believe the King James version is God’s preserved, inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God,” Pastor Marc Grizzard told a local news station of his 14-member parish.
Grizzard’s parish website explains that the Bible is the “final authority concerning all matters of faith and practice,” for Amazing Grace Baptist Church. In the Parish doctrinal statement, Grizzard expounds that “the Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the preacher.”
The event also seeks to destroy “Satan’s music” which includes every genre from country,rap and rock to “soft and easy” and “Southern Gospel” and” contemporary Christian.”
David Lynch, a resident of nearby Asheville, N.C., told Raw Story “it’s a little disconcerting how close this is to my home.”
“They are burning so much stuff I’ve dubbed them the hypocritical Christian Taliban,” Lynch said in a phone interview with Raw Story. “Just the scope of all the information they want to destroy is pretty disturbing.”
Church leaders did not respond to Raw Story’s requests for comment, but the website notes they will be providing “bar-b-que chicken, fried chicken and all the sides” at the book burning.These days, with smartphones in our pockets, it’s hard to truly get lost. Gone are the days of trying one route and then the next, of stopping to to ask for directions or letting yourself wander because you have no other choice. But is it always more beneficial to know where you are going?
“We all want to be efficient in some way,” says writer Peter Turchi. “Sometimes there’s a different kind of efficiency that comes from allowing ourselves to explore and get lost.”
Turchi is not talking about navigating literal roads of course, but rather, the process of creative thinking. He’s interested in the idea of “story as a model of information design,” a concept he explores in his book A Muse and a Maze. Creative writers can learn a lot from puzzles and maps, he believes.
Walk into a room with a map on the wall and you may very well find yourself gravitating toward it, leaning in, trying to make out the names of places and details marked there. A map tells a story. But to do that, every map must leave out certain details and put others in.
Every mapmaker must ask: What do I want my final product to do or say? How do I want people to interact with it? What process do I need to take to get there? In other words, lots of wandering and exploration needs to happen to arrive at an end result.
Imagining new worlds, fiddling with details and figuring out how to present it all as a finished product are challenges every creative professional and artist faces. “We compile mental maps that are wildly skewed, a mental atlas so large and complex that we can never fully convey it to anyone else,” Turchi writes in his book, Maps of the Imagination. “Then we live in the world those maps create.”
But how to actually build something from that wild terrain of ideas? Mapmakers give us a window into how our minds work, particularly during the creative process. I spoke with Turchi, whose study of maps has inspired writers, artists, and designers for more than a decade, about what maps can teach us when it comes to the creative process. Here are five key points to help you tackle your creative work with more confidence:Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes has promised to roll out a single telecoms market throughout the EU before she leaves office in one and half years.
“I'm the same age as [ex-Manchester United football club manager] Alex Ferguson, but I have no intention to retire until I've knocked down all the barriers to the single market," the 71-year-old commissioner told an audience at the European Business Summit in Brussels on Tuesday (16 May).
Student, retired or simply can't afford full price? No worries.
Kroes said the commission will soon bring forward proposals for a single telecoms market.
“Just think it through, a telecoms market without borders, without fragmentation, and that is the major priority for the rest of my mandate,” she noted.
The commission says completing the internal market in telecommunications could provide an additional €110 billion or 0.8 percent of GDP.
The original deadline for the proposal was this October but it has been brought forward to June, reports the Financial Times.
A single European telephone number that would render roaming charges obsolete might be part of the proposal.
Other ideas include creating a single telecoms regulator as opposed to the current 27 national ones.
The commission also wants to improve the spectrum uptake for broadband and mobile applications.
The European telecom industry has expressed support to the idea in the hope of regaining a competitive edge over US and Asian companies.
“Europe used to lead the way in mobile and ICT [Information and Communications Technology], if we are honest, we have lost our edge,” said another panellist, Michael Duncan, CEO of Telefonica Digital Europe.
“Countries like the United States and China are now setting the agenda, the way Europe used to do five years ago,” he added.
He said Kroes' push for a single digital market will create faster networks, provide better access to digital services and the basis for pan-European services that could become the next generation of global standards.
The Brussels-based European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), which represents 37 companies, says the decline is mainly due to the fragmentation of the European market.
ETNO says fragmentation makes it more difficult for operators to develop new services throughout the EU.
Europe has 1,200 fixed operators and over a hundred mobile operators. The US has six mobile operators and China has three.
Experts say the market for devices that are connected to the Internet, such as smartphones and tablets, will double in the next three to four years.
Christian Morales, vice president and general manager of Intel, says there are about 10 billion devices connected to the Internet.
“By 2015, 2016, we expect 15 billion devices to be connected and we expect 25 to 30 billion by 2020,” he noted.
He said every 11 seconds one petabyte of information is created.
“If one individual would like to watch high-definition films of what one petabyte means, it would take 13 years non-stop,” he added.On March 18, 2000, Terence Young was at home catching up on the weekend paper when his 15-year-old daughter, Vanessa, came to ask his permission to go out with some friends that evening. Exhausted and not relishing the idea of another conversation about Vanessa’s curfew time, Young asked her to wait until after dinner. There was nothing remarkable about it.
But as Vanessa turned to leave, she suddenly went limp and collapsed, her head making a loud thump on the carpeted floor. Young ran to her, calling out to ask whether she was okay, thinking momentarily that it could be a joke, an overdramatic gesture by his teenage daughter. It wasn’t. As she lay motionless on the floor, Young frantically felt for a pulse, finding the spot on her neck where his first-aid training had taught him to press his fingers, but there was nothing. An ambulance rushed Vanessa to the hospital, and an exhausting, haunted night followed as the family kept vigil in intensive care. The next day, Vanessa Young died.
Her cause of death was later determined to be cardiac arrest, caused by the effects of Vanessa’s bulimia nervosa and possibly an undiagnosed underlying heart defect. But there was another factor: Vanessa had been prescribed a drug called Cisapride—better known by its trade name, Prepulsid—to assist her digestion and prevent vomiting. Terence Young was later to learn the drug had been linked to irregular heartbeats and other cardiac problems. In July 2000, Janssen-Pharmaceutica Inc., a subsidiary of drug giant Johnson & Johnson, voluntarily pulled Prepulsid from U.S. pharmacy shelves. In August 2000, Health Canada pulled it from the Canadian market. On April 24, 2001, a coroner’s jury concluded that Vanessa Young’s arrhythmia and cardiac arrest resulted “from the effects of bulimia nervosa in conjunction with Cisapride toxicity and possibly an unknown cofactor such as congenital cardiac defect.”
The potential danger of Prepulsid was known, but key information about the drug didn’t make it to the right people at the right time. Eventually the right decision was made—but it was too late for Vanessa Young.
Canada’s drug-approval process suffers some serious flaws. The proceedings lack transparency; scientific data often goes fully or partially unpublished; once on the market, approved drugs seldom receive long-term monitoring for adverse effects; compared to other countries, drug labelling is less rigorous; and the whole process is paid for, in large part, by the same companies it is supposed to be regulating.
To be fair, Health Canada, the ministry responsible for approving pharmaceuticals, is often in a difficult position: patients and doctors want effective treatments made available quickly, but the department’s job is to thoroughly test drugs for safety, which takes time. Speeding drugs to market and protecting public health are two mutually exclusive goals, afflicted at every stage by interests that are often financially, and sometimes emotionally, vested. And at every stage, the pharmaceutical companies themselves are there, embedded in the approval process.
The result is a system with conflicting loyalties, bizarre blind spots, and, sometimes, dangerous outcomes. Why is it that Canada lags so far behind in providing an open, accessible drug-approval process? I sought out some of Canada’s leading experts on health policy and drug safety to try and understand what in our drugapproval system is broken—and how we can fix it.
Part of the problem of understanding Canada’s drug-approval process is that so much of it takes place behind closed doors.
“The way that we deal with drug approvals is actually quite different than the U.S., in that theirs is a much more open process,” says Dr. Barbara Mintzes, assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology, pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of British Columbia. When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for instance, approves a drug for the market, the full review report is published online. Expert advisory committee meetings are open to anyone and transcripts are published on the FDA’s website. The public is invited to submit input, and scientific reviewers’ comments are also made public. Almost none of that happens in Canada.
Dr. Joel Lexchin, a professor at the School of Health Policy and Management at York University in Toronto, agrees that lack of transparency is a problem.
“The FDA demands that drug companies submit the raw, clinical data,” says Lexchin. “Then they will do their own reanalysis of the data to make sure that the way the companies analyzed it is appropriate.” Drug trials in the U.S. are also catalogued with redacted information in an online registry. “Not only do you know what trials were started but you’ll be able to see what the results of those trials are,” says Lexchin. “Health Canada doesn’t require the posting of trial results.” In contrast, the comments of Health Canada researchers reviewing drug company applications are never made public. In fact, the public may not even find out that a drug is under review.
“The drug-approval process in Canada is secret,” says Mintzes, “in that when a drug is being considered for approval, there’s no announcement to the public by Health Canada to say that’s happening. It’s up to the company whether or not they want to publish the clinical trials [they submit] and often they will decide to publish only a subset of their studies.”
Health Canada’s approval process, then, is a kind of black box: drugs go in one end, and some emerge at the other, but what exactly transpires inside to influence that decision is unclear. (Health Canada’s only response to interview requests for this story was to refer me to its website.)
Many critics say that money exerts too big an influence on approvals. The biggest culprit is user fees, in which pharmaceutical companies pay the government to fund the approval process. User fees were introduced in 1995, partly in response to federal budget cuts, based on the idea that, because they benefit from having their drugs for sale, drug companies should shoulder some of the cost of approving them.
“I think this is a mistake,” says Lexchin. By 1999, the Therapeutic Products Directorate, the Health Canada department responsible for assessing drugs’ safety and efficacy, got close to 70 percent of its budget from the companies it was supposed to be regulating. Today, Lexchin claims, it’s about a third, though recently proposed regulations from Health Canada aim to cover 50 percent of TPD’s budget with user fees. At that level, critics question who’s actually setting the agenda—the pharma companies or the public interest?
“User fees are totally inappropriate,” says Terence Young, Vanessa’s father, who is also a Conservative MP in Oakville, Ontario, and founder of the advocacy and research group Drug Safety Canada. “They create a situation where a drug reviewer feels that the company is like a client, that they should be working fast to get this drug approved because these companies are paying up to 50 percent of the cost of having drugs reviewed for approval. That is an inappropriate relationship.”
After the death of his daughter, Young became a fierce critic of the pharmaceutical industry and wrote about the civil and classaction lawsuits subsequent to Vanessa’s death in his book Death by Prescription. He echoes the sentiment—common enough to have become cliché—that drug companies have put profits above patients.
“Big Pharma’s profits are multiples, in most cases, of other industries,” says Young. “You cannot overstate their influence on modern medicine. We spend more money on pharmaceuticals, both prescription and non-prescription, than we do on doctors.”
In Canada, the effect of user fees is not just that it makes the drug companies clients of Health Canada, expecting value for money; the user-fee structure also influences approval deadlines. The 2004 User Fees Act gives Health Canada a set timeline to approve new drugs; if the agency misses its deadline, there are financial penalties: user fees for the following year are cut. “If you go, say, 20 percent over deadline, then next year the user fees are going to be cut by 20 percent,” says Lexchin.
That pressure to approve, says Young, inevitably influences the decisions of Health Canada reviewers. “Drug reviewers should not feel that their job depends on, in any way, approving a drug,” he says. “You approve a drug when you believe it’s effective and safe,” he says. “You don’t approve it by any given date. And if it’s doubtful, you don’t approve it.”
Lexchin and Young both argue for the elimination of user fees, to make the whole process publicly funded and cut down on industry influence. Young proposes a mandatory levy on pharmaceutical companies so they still fund the process, but without the strings attached.
Once a drug is on the market, additional problems crop up: follow-up research on drugs is relatively rare, and drug labelling is inconsistent.
With few exceptions, once a drug reaches the market and is being prescribed routinely by doctors, there is no system evaluating the long-term effects or adverse reactions for prescription drugs.
“Health Canada, at this point, doesn’t have the ability to require companies to undertake post-market trials; all they can do is ask companies to do it,” says Lexchin. He draws attention to a Health Canada policy called Notice of Compliance with Conditions that approves the drug but requires further testing. “They will approve it on the requirement that companies undertake additional trials to show that what looks promising actually is promising.”
But there’s no reporting on the progress of meeting those conditions. “You have drugs that were approved nine years ago under this policy that still haven’t met their conditions, and you can’t find out why because it’s considered confidential,” says Lexchin. “With the cancer drug Iressa, the trials showed it didn’t work, but Health Canada still left it on the market.”
Lexchin believes it’s probably still on the market because some cancer doctors think that, although it doesn’t work statistically, it might work on individuals. “We’re always dealing with statistics,” he says.
Monitoring of adverse drug reactions across the country is largely confidential. Young says it’s meaningless: “Health Canada never insists follow-up studies be done; they don’t even call the drug company back and say, ‘Did you do those studies?’ Because they get approval, and it’s open season.”
Pharmaceutical labels are notoriously difficult to read, and potential side effects or drug interactions get lost in a sea of technical and legal language. “They’ll say, ‘See look, here on page 19, right near the bottom it says you shouldn’t take it with grapefruit juice, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!’” says Young. “The labels are written by lawyers, for lawyers, to confuse. They should issue effective safety warnings in plain language so patients and doctors will know when a drug is safe.”
To try and reform some of the problems he and many doctors see with the Health Canada drug-approval regime, Young has tabled a private member’s motion to create an independent drug agency that focuses purely on safety. “If Air Canada had a crash of one of their planes, you wouldn’t ask Air Canada to investigate the crash. So when a drug company has a crash of its drug, like Prepulsid, why would we ask them to investigate their own crash?” he asks. “Prescription drugs used as prescribed in hospitals with no error are the fourth leading cause of death in our society. That’s why everybody has an interest in this
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I was 9 years old when President Clinton was impeached. I distinctly remember the news anchor’s discomfort when he tried to explain that he was interrupting regular programming to begin coverage of the Senate’s consideration of perjury charges. When I asked my dad what the president had done and why everyone was mad at him, he told me that Clinton had “kissed another woman,” and married people weren’t supposed to do that. To me, it didn’t seem like a big enough deal to warrant canceling Saturday morning cartoons. Ad Policy
A few years later, I watched the Supreme Court pick our president after we learned just how poorly a ballot could be designed. By age 13, it had become clear that the government was leading the country into an unnecessary war, and no one even seemed to be trying to stop it—especially not the media. In high school, during my first trip out of the country without my parents, European citizens lectured me on the hubris of my nation’s actions.
These were some of the formative political experiences for my generation, all harbingers of worsening dysfunction to come. Millennials’ low levels of social trust may be the direct result of watching the major political institutions in America break down as we came of age. It’s no surprise that we have turned elsewhere for inspiration. Every generation needs heroes, but ours are not military generals like Eisenhower or MacArthur, White House titans like FDR or Kennedy, or even government-funded scientists like Oppenheimer. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg: many of our icons are software entrepreneurs who made their fortunes in the private sector.
This follows a certain logic: in a volatile era defined by economic bubbles and bursts and an anemic job market, the tech industry is consistently growing, delivering new goods and services at a remarkable rate. The big tech firms are always hiring young graduates, and even the scrappiest startup can get a shot at an IPO if its latest app goes viral. Millennials believe in the power of our tech innovators and the utilitarian, efficient and aesthetically appealing systems and products they create. Our government and elected leaders continue to fail and disappoint, while our phones get faster and thinner and serve ever more functions. As Washington falls deeper into a pit of corruption, Silicon Valley presents itself as a meritocratic utopia. A recent Deloitte survey puts this issue in stark relief: in many areas of public life, such as education and healthcare, millennials believe that businesses have a more positive impact than the government.
Although I can understand why millennials are so drawn to Silicon Valley, watching my generation absorb the high-tech mindset is deeply troubling. Behind the happy talk of empowerment through connectivity lies a more sinister reality. The techno-libertarianism that pervades the Bay Area may be driving innovation in certain areas and enabling the acquisition of private wealth, but it comes at a high cost to the public, transferring power away from government and toward these new companies and the individuals who run them. Pushing back against this corrosive ideology, and redirecting young Americans’ entrepreneurial drive to help reform our broken political institutions, will be one of our generation’s defining struggles.
While there are different strands within this amorphous ideology, most techno-libertarians tend to be socially liberal. However, they generally possess a strong belief in the power of markets, a distaste for government and large institutions and, paradoxically, apathy about the importance of privacy. They believe that innovation is both an end in itself and a means to solving nearly every problem. New communications technologies, many argue, can empower people to bypass sclerotic or antagonistic institutions and create new economies, jobs and services. According to this worldview, government bureaucracies and regulators are not only unnecessary; they are roadblocks to progress.
The most effective proselytizers for techno-libertarianism are the companies and employees who stand to benefit from it. The tech sector, at this point an immensely powerful lobby, tends to identify with Democrats, especially with Barack Obama. All that love has started to blind liberals to some of the more unsavory practices of the tech-sector darlings. President Obama’s visit to an Amazon fulfillment center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last summer should have been a wake-up call to progressives. Besides its long history of anti-competitive practices and tax dodging, Amazon is notoriously rough on its warehouse workers, who are often paid minimum wage in extremely difficult conditions without the benefit of basic labor protections. It’s an interesting economic vision for a president focused on income inequality to embrace.
In the largely Democratic Bay Area, high-tech companies are able to shelter their profits offshore without consequence. In fact, they also receive tax exemptions as an incentive to keep their headquarters in the vicinity. Highly paid workers are chartered to glittering space-age campuses on private buses equipped with Wi-Fi, while the public transportation system suffers. “Sometimes the tech workers on their buses seem like bees who belong to a great hive,” Rebecca Solnit wrote in the The London Review of Books, “but the hive isn’t civil society or a city; it’s a corporation.”
Some of the uglier aspects of the techno-libertarian ideology were on display last summer during a public transportation strike in San Francisco. “People in the tech industry feel like life is a meritocracy,” Sarah Lacy, founder of the web publication Pando Daily, told a reporter from American Public Media’s Marketplace. “You work really hard, you build something and you create something, which is sort of directly opposite to unions.” Richard White, CEO of software provider UserVoice, told the same reporter that his response to the workers’ grievances would be “Get ’em back to work, pay them whatever they want, and then figure out how to automate their jobs so this doesn’t happen again.” The strike ended after four days, with an agreement to a cooling-off period. The workers went on strike again in October, with the ultimate result being a significant pay increase coupled with a rise in the amount they have to pay for medical and pension benefits. No word yet on when they will be automated away.
Bitcoin is the purest manifestation of the techno-libertarian ideal, not to mention a perfect example of the hazards it poses. Global, unregulated and wildly volatile, the digital currency was greeted with effusive praise by Silicon Valley before its initial promise gave way to untamed speculation, technical error and allegedly massive levels of untraceable theft. Bitcoin’s value still hasn’t recovered from the Mt. Gox implosion last February. Regulators in the United States, China and elsewhere are cracking down on the crypto-currency and establishing stricter regulations.
The Bitcoin community itself is splintering, much like the original hacker community did once money got involved. On one side stands the Andreessen Horowitz–backed Coinbase, a startup looking to tame Bitcoin and monetize it. (Andreessen Horowitz invested very early in Facebook and Twitter, among other companies.) They’re definitely onto something. The underlying technology that makes Bitcoin work has the ability to eliminate many of the inefficiencies and middlemen that plague traditional currency. Coinbase wants to become the new middleman—charging fees, yes, but less than companies like Visa.
On the other side stand the true libertarians now backed with massive levels of funding from their early investments in the currency—they want to keep Bitcoin entirely unregulated and anonymous. “The new Bitcoin millionaires are a weird breed: government-hating libertarians rich enough to hack the systems that make Washington, DC, function,” says Robert McMillan in a recent article for Wired. Whether Bitcoin will survive is hard to say, but there are plenty of wealthy backers and VCs who at this moment seem to be doubling down.
Not all techno-libertarians are so blinkered. Some are genuinely motivated by a drive to help people through fostering civic innovation and creating platforms that connect donors with progressive causes. Social entrepreneurs who use crowd-sourcing tactics to help lift Americans out of poverty are mirroring the strategies of companies like Facebook, though typically without a drive for profit maximization. But their facility with virtual networks often betrays a naïveté about how the real world works. Private donations for safety-net programs are paltry compared to public investment, and the end result is a decrease in financial support for programs that were once the purview of the state. Whether they realize it or not, techno-libertarians are pushing the illusion that deeply ingrained social problems can be solved online when what’s really needed is broad public buy-in and governmental support.
This same naïveté extends into the international theater, where the State Department thinks that keeping Twitter open is a legitimate policy response in the face of Iranian protests and many consider Facebook to have been essential to the fall of oppressive Arab regimes. But the Internet is hardly a pro-democracy utopia. As writer Evgeny Morozov has astutely pointed out, oppressive and dangerous groups (like religious extremists) are leveraging social media to advance their message, and governments are using the Internet to monitor citizens who are looking to revolt. The Internet is just another battlefield.
Since global institutions are weak relative to many state institutions, social entrepreneurs are able to exploit the global commons more easily. Last year, Google proposed Project Loon—a “moon shot” scheme to improve global connectivity by launching a network of Internet-providing balloons over the world’s most remote areas. Bill Gates, who is hardly off the hook in terms of encouraging the techno-libertarian ideology, scoffed at the idea. “When you’re dying of malaria,” he told BusinessWeek, “I suppose you’ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it’ll help you. When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there’s no website that relieves that.” Of course, Google isn’t doing this out of the kindness of its heart (which one can only imagine is a giant, sentient server farm). It wants to be the company that makes first contact with new users. Maybe when the mother searches for how to save her child from malaria, she’ll click on an ad.
The company’s hubris extends to international diplomacy. A recent ad from Google India demonstrates how the company may help bring peace between Pakistan and India, two people at a time. The ad, which was embraced by many in both Pakistan and India, highlights the potential of Google Search, Google Maps and the Google Android operating system to reunite long-lost friends who were separated as a result of the partition. The only hitch, many observers noted, is that getting a visa between Pakistan and India is very difficult. Those pesky governments! Don’t they understand that, in a connected world, peace and democracy are inevitable?
Why does this ethos resonate so broadly with millennials? For one, the simplicity of the techno-libertarian argument is seductive. But more important, I think, is the allure of meritocracy to a generation that has played by the rules but has not gotten what was promised. Many young Americans have worked hard and gone to school and taken out loans to do it, yet their careers are going nowhere, if they even found a job in the first place. There simply aren’t that many jobs available, and successful applicants likely benefited from a personal connection, usually a combination of luck and privilege.
Coding, on the other hand, is extremely meritocratic. A certain type of mind can learn basic programming relatively quickly, and thanks to open-source platforms, amazing products can be created with little initial capital or experience. Even the products encourage the belief in meritocracy: social networks and web platforms offer the same resources to everyone for free, granting each user a level playing field from which to gain influence. We have all become our own content creators and managers, and while our audiences are typically very small, the positive affirmation is intoxicating.
The problem is, that sense of meritocracy is an illusion that tech companies maintain to keep users coming back. Despite the meteoric success of some startups, the dominance of established actors remains unquestioned, and their influence is strengthening in a relatively weak regulatory environment. As they buy up competitors, these large corporations have an increasing amount of control over our lives, not to mention a shocking level of access to our personal information.
Despite all this, I can’t help but be sympathetic to many of the techno-libertarian arguments. Mark Zuckerberg is too rich to be relatable at this point, but I was hardly alone in relating to Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of him in The Social Network. I rooted for Zuckerberg when he pushed against the aristocratic Winklevii and left the stifling, elitist confines of Harvard Yard for the West Coast. I mock Peter Thiel, the PayPal cofounder and influential Silicon Valley investor who’s funding a scholarship that pays web-savvy kids to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams as an alternative to college, but I’m offended by the way our institutions of higher learning are maximizing revenues on the backs of students and taxpayers and shirking their primary mission of actually educating students. I believe that our personal data are valuable and should not be given over for free, but I still use Gmail. Of course I use Gmail—it’s amazing.
It’s embedded within me that hard work, intelligence and creativity are the traits that will lead to my success. The stories of tech entrepreneurs spectacularly failing on their first startup only to come back and create a billion-dollar product serve as inspiration for me to take risks and comfort me that my missteps are moments of creative destruction that will make me a stronger person.
Unfortunately, not everyone gets a second chance after they fail—or, for that matter, a first chance to succeed. One reason we need strong safety net programs is because our society is not in the least bit meritocratic. Only the government has the power and scope to guarantee all citizens’ right to pursue fulfilling lives. I have very little faith in our current crop of leaders to face the challenges of an economy and political system rapidly consolidating power and wealth around fewer and fewer people, but I’m not willing to abandon the ideal that government can help solve some of society’s ills. A techno-libertarian would argue that government is hopelessly archaic and ineffectual, and that we should emphasize efficiency over social cohesion, meritocracy over social insurance. These notions are increasingly appealing to a generation that has never seen the government be particularly inspiring or effective. But giving in to that temptation forces the government into an ever-smaller role, causing us to look toward social entrepreneurship and philanthropy, the scale of which will never be big enough to fill the void.
Millennials should resist the temptation to turn away from our broken government in search of some post-government Mecca of apps and open-source networks. And there is hope: a recent Pew survey reports that millennials are the cohort most supportive of an activist government, by a large margin. And according to the Deloitte survey, while millennials think business is doing a better job right now, they also believe that the government ought to be doing much more. This is the struggle: a fundamentally optimistic group is pushing up against dysfunction, and the soul of a generation is at stake.
My inclination is to “disrupt” the current political system, to engage in some of that “creative destruction” I’ve been taught to believe in. But “disruption” isn’t quite the right word. Like meritocracy, disruption is a myth that people believe while private power continues to consolidate. The government has ceded much of its responsibility to check the consolidation of private wealth and power, but we don’t need a revolution for government to reclaim that task. We just need to elect leaders who take it seriously. Our safety net may be eroding, but that can be fixed by electing leaders with different fiscal priorities and values.
One area that certainly does need some creative destruction is the political process itself. My generation’s fondness for disruption could suit our need to shake up the system with fixes that make it more inclusive, ideally giving alternative parties a chance to succeed so that new, fresh and young voices can participate. In many ways “disruption” is a capitalistic euphemism for much more dangerous words like “rebellion” and “dissent,” and that’s what we need.
So let’s blow some shit up (figuratively, of course). But let’s aim this disruptive energy at the government, not the market. We cannot afford to turn away from government. As terrible as our political system is right now, our best chance for a just and cohesive society lies there.Despite being totally blind, Terry Garrett has managed to complete The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's not been a simple task: it's taken him nearly five years to finish.
Garrett first started back in May 2011, posting a video showing a chair he had rigged with two speakers that split the game's left and right audio. Using the sound from the speakers he was able to navigate 3D worlds in games like Zelda. He had previously shown he could complete 2D games like Abe's Odyssey but wanted to rise to the challenge of 3D space.
Garrett used an emulated version of the game that allowed for quicksaving and reloading but that was the only concession. He didn't, for instance, skip through the notoriously difficult Water Temple section.
On January 2nd, 2016, Garrett posted a final video. This 30 minute video shows him defeating Ganon and escaping Hyrule Castle with Zelda, bringing an end to his five year quest:
"After five years of taping, with long breaks in between, I have finally beat Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," Garrett says, signing off the last video of his mammoth undertaking. What an achievement!Chronic underfunding of essential services and fears over land losses prompt Attawapiskat chief to go on hunger strike
When images of Canada's First Nations people living in mouldy shacks and frosty tents, without toilets or running water, emerged last year, Canadians were shocked.
It was Canada's "Katrina moment" says Charlie Angus, New Democratic party member for Timmins-James Bay in north Ontario.
Fast forward a year, and progress has been excruciatingly slow. The indigenous community only received 22 trailer homes to deal with the housing crisis. A construction trailer with three bathrooms and a kitchen still caters for around 50 people, according to Angus.
As a result, the chief of the Attawapiskat, Theresa Spence, has been on a hunger strike living in a teepee across from parliament since 11 December as winter descends on Canada's capital, Ottawa. She says she is willing to die for her people if the Queen and the prime minister, Stephen Harper, don't meet Canada's indigenous chiefs to discuss the treaty rights they signed with the crown.
Many of Canada's aborigines live in what can only be described as developing world conditions.
Chronic underfunding of essential social services and complete collapse of infrastructure on reserves results in high mortality, unemployment, substance abuse, suicide and incarceration.
Early development is obstructed for children on reserves by a bureaucratic financial hole that gives 30% to 50% less educational funding than to other Canadian youngsters.
Unrest is growing among Canada's First Nations as the conservative government makes sweeping changes to environmental protections and the Indian Act which many fear will fast-track the absolute surrender of indigenous territory, terminate treaty rights and endanger land and water in favour of economic gain.
The past two weeks has seen the largest series of nationwide protests in two decades, and on Friday a grassroots-led campaign under the Twitter hashtag #IdleNoMore will see thousands in over a dozen cities across Canada, the US and UK take to the streets and call on Harper and Governor General David Johnston to enter negotiations with Spence.
Pamela Palmater, lawyer, professor and director of the Centre for Indigenous Governance, believes the unprecedented changes to legislation combined with drastic cuts to native organisations will open up Canada's indigenous lands to mineral extraction sell-offs to China.
The spokesman for the minister of Aboriginal affairs and northern development was asked what consultation process was conducted with First Nations before amending the Indian Act. Jason MacDonald didn't specify, but said the government conducts "over 5,000 consultations with First Nations" every year.
First Nations chiefs across Canada disagree and after more than 250 of them wanting to discuss the budget bill were denied entry to the house of commons in early December, some rallied behind a grassroots campaign, Idle No More.
Angus says that frustration and anger has built up for a long time as communities feel they are moving backwards while the government's attitude is increasingly dismissive and derogatory, "like a colonial power treating First Nations like a hostage population".
The budget bill dismantles a 130-year-old environmental law removing from federal oversight 99.7% of Canada's 32,000 major lakes and over 99.9% of Canada's more than 2.25m rivers.
This will disproportionately affect First Nations, as decades of underfunding and neglect have left 73% of all water systems and 65% of waste water systems on reserves at medium to high risk.
The government can dismantle environmental protections, but First Nations still have constitutionally protected rights to be consulted and accommodated on any developments that could cause irreversible damage to their land.
Earlier this year the government signed Angus's motion to close the funding gap between aboriginal children and the rest of Canadian children and Attawapiskat is set to get a new school 12 years after the previous one closed.
Meanwhile, plans to build 30 houses this summer did not get a green light from the minister of Aboriginal affairs and northern development, John Duncan, whose press officer said they had made repeated offers to assist, but "the community has yet to submit a housing plan, nor are there any lots ready for any homes to be installed".
Rather than provide state-of-emergency assistance last year, Duncan removed Spence's council's financial authority, blamed the housing crisis on its financial mismanagement, and placed them in third-party management, a move later ruled unreasonable by the federal court.
As Spence approaches week three of her hunger strike, and indigenous people across the country and people as far away as Egypt and the UK have fasted in solidarity, there is little indication that Harper will meet her, portending turbulent times ahead.Students from primary school to junior college will have to clean classrooms, canteens and corridors daily when schools reopen next month.
All schools have now implemented cleaning activities, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told The Straits Times in an update. The aim is to help students cultivate good habits for life.
Schools are given the flexibility to decide on what these daily activities should be and when they take place.
This comes after the ministry announced in February that it will make daily cleaning compulsory across schools by the year end. There are currently 365 schools.
Xinmin Primary School in Hougang has implemented daily cleaning activities since July. After teachers finish their last lessons, about 10 minutes before the end of a school day, pupils clean their classrooms. Vice-principal Clement Lee said this helps pupils develop good values.
At Coral Secondary School in Pasir Ris, students - armed with rags, tongs and disposable gloves - empty the dustbins and arrange the classroom furniture, as well as sweep the floor, for five minutes at the start of the school day.
To motivate them, the school introduced cleanliness checks, done at least twice a term.
After each check, classes are informed of their scores in four respective areas - floor, rubbish bin, classroom furniture, white board and notice board. Classes that have done well are lauded during morning assemblies at the end of each term.
Mrs Chang-Loy Wee Meng, the school's vice-principal, said students can also identify areas for improvement. For example, some classes have introduced storage spaces to arrange their files and books. The initiative inculcates a greater sense of ownership among students in managing common spaces.
"In fact, the cleaners had given positive feedback on the state of cleanliness in the classrooms," she said.
At Teck Ghee Primary School in Ang Mo Kio, pupils clean classrooms and corridors alongside their teachers for five minutes at the end of the school day. Songs, adapted to suit the cleaning theme and sung by the teachers, are played over the public address system while the pupils clean. Vice-principal Raps Azrinah said teachers are role models for the pupils. "Everyone must play their part to keep shared spaces clean and tidy."
MOE said feedback has shown that such activities have helped to "cultivate good life habits in students both in school and at home".
It had looked at similar practices at schools in Japan and Taiwan. Cleaning the school compound is a daily routine for students there. Many also do not employ cleaners.
Parents who spoke to The Straits Times have given MOE's move the thumbs up. Many explained that cleaning activities will teach students important values, especially for those who have maids at home.
Mrs Jenny Lee, 47, who has two teenage sons, said: "Kids these days may take cleanliness for granted. The daily cleaning activities would help them pick up good habits."
One parent, who would not give her name, however, has her doubts. "Such activities may not be appropriate for the younger ones," she added. "They may get tired easily and lose focus on their studies."
Dr Timothy Chan, director of SIM Global Education's academic division, said students get more than just clean classrooms. "It puts all students, regardless of social status or wealth, on an equal footing and builds character in them," he added.
"Some parents criticise our schools for being like cookie-cutters, producing the same type of students who know only how to pass exams and lack life skills. Hence, getting students to take part in cleaning exercises in school is a good way to impart fundamental life skills."
Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, said such activities keep students grounded, and cultivate the habit of picking up after oneself.
"It is important to ensure that this cleaning activity is not the latest flavour of the month and will remain a habit for life," she added.The reaction of Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, right, to Brexit has been ‘very damaging’; Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is said to believe he has ‘become part of the problem’ Fabrizio Bensch
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, is under pressure to resign after reportedly “gloating” over Britain’s departure from the EU and describing it as a chance to push for greater EU integration.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is understood to believe that Juncker has become “part of the problem”.
“Juncker has time and again acted against the common interest and his reaction to the British referendum has been very damaging,” a German minister told The Sunday Times.
“This is not a time for institutional bickering, but the pressure for him to resign will only become greater and chancellor Merkel will eventually have to deal with this next year.”
Juncker’s decision to meet Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, in Brussels, and to talk…If you’re reading this, you’re probably familiar with the pickle that the Sacramento band Death Grips have found themselves in, but just in case, we’re gonna summarize. Death Grips signed to Epic Records, which confused everyone including Death Grips, because Death Grips are punk as fuck and Epic, which is a subsidiary of Sony, is pretty much The Man. Then, Death Grips canceled their tour so they could work on a record that they subsequently put out for free without the label’s consent. Following that, they leaked a personal email from an executive at Epic that asked them to remove the record from the Internet and that they were going to put the record out so the label could at least make a little bit of money on it. They leaked it by posting the email in question on their Facebook, with the commentary of, “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW FUCK OFF.” Yesterday afternoon, Epic announced plans to sever ties with the group for good.
As for who’s winning in the case of Death Grips vs. The Man, well, that all depends on which court you’re hearing the case in. In the Regional Appellate Court Of Fucking Awesome, Death Grips wins all day. But what about Real Court? We’re not lawyers, but we found a lawyer and asked him: Now that they’ve continually flipped off their label to the point where they dropped them, are Death Grips totally screwed?
NOISEY: You’re familiar with what’s been going on with Death Grips, right?
LAWYER: Yes, I am.
Do you think they’re putting themselves in any kind of danger with their actions, especially like leaking their major label record?
They definitely violate the terms of their recording agreement. I haven’t seen their recording agreement but just guessing…Actually, not guessing. Any recording agreement will assign the underlying copyright and masters to the label therefore the band no longer owns those masters and the record label has the rights to distribution, so just like any third party that would not be able to distribute it--they were in possession of it because they recorded it but they didn’t not have the right to make copies and publicly distribute it.
They violated copyright law and they violated the terms of their agreement so their record label could sue them. It’s also most likely a breach of their recording contract, so their record label could terminate their agreement and keep them from making money off future albums and just leave them at this point.
Well, is it Death Grips’ responsibility--because their label says there can be no secondary distribution--to make sure no copies of the record exist?
If you aren’t the person who has distribution rights in a piece of music you’re not allowed to distribute it no matter what. With or without Death Grips being the leak you can’t then subvert the rights that belong to the record label just because you have possession of the content.
It’s like a Napster situation where Metallica can sue certain fans, certain users. It wasn’t that they uploaded that Metallica song, they just downloaded it from someone else, but they’re still liable.
Well, copyright protects the right to make copies. It’s a bundle of rights: distribution, copying, making derivative works, and many other rights. Two, that we’re talking about now is copying and distributing. You can’t make a copy other than for personal use and then publicly distribute it without being the person or entity that has those rights.
One thing about the record label: the record label guys’ letters said ‘once we clear all the samples we’re going to release the record,’ which implies that there were uncleared samples on the leak. What are the legal implications of that?
That means that Death Grips could be liable for copyright infringement. The label didn’t intentionally release it so most likely they’re not liable. Even if the label is sued by copyright owners, there’s probably indemnification language in their agreement that would cover the label though, because Death Grips committed a breach of contract. Typical identification language states, “If we’re sued because you breached this agreement then we could push all the costs of defending ourselves and any kind of liability that results from that, onto you.’ They weren’t intending on releasing it until they cleared all the samples, therefore, if the label was sued from an owner of the sample or if Death Grips is sued, I think the liability would primarily fall on Death Grips.
Death Grips originally leaked their album after Epic wanted to push the release date back, that was the impetus for them saying ‘fuck it,’ we’re putting it out now.
Knowing the way that a band like Death Grips operates, they probably didn’t tell them about all the samples that were included. They were probably being pretty guerrilla about, you know? They’re weren’t giving them cue lists of every little piece of sampling used. So maybe the label found that there were more samples to be cleared, but that’s just speculation.
Also the fact this is all behind Epic: If Epic owns the masters and Death Grips has now put out songs with illegal samples, wouldn’t the people that own those samples want to sue Epic immediately?
Yeah, but the label didn’t intentionally release it, Death Grips did. So it would be tough to pursue the label. Also, that’s why I brought up the indemnification language. Indemnification language allows you to push the liability to the person who breached the agreement, if that resulted in your liability. If Epic were to be held liable as a result of Death Grips’ breach, Death Grips is responsible to defend, hold harmless, and account for any kind of damages that Epic suffers as a result of their breach
So the chain of lawsuits would go something along the lines of… a third party who owns some kind of piece of music that was sampled illegally, they sue Epic and then Epic sues Death Grips?
Well they [Epic] may have to defend themselves in that lawsuit, they might have to hire an attorney and they may lose that lawsuit, but then they’ll be able to sue Death Grips under the identification language--which is undoubtedly in their recording agreement-and under the letter of the agreement for all costs incurred.
Is there a possibility that this is a publicity stunt?
Yes, there’s a possibility.
Is it legal to pretend to be taking legal action?
Like if they were in cahoots with the label to do this spectacle?
And they made it look like they were in trouble?
I can’t think of a cause of action that would result in legal action, not in this situation. Maybe some sort of defamation by lying about the lawsuit by saying something untrue about a third party that wasn’t compliant with that kind of conspiracy, so maybe that person could have some sort of abstract defamation claim but that seems unlikely in this situation.
Could you give us a ballpark figure of how much money these lawsuits go for? Is there a range?
They would look to expected profits as a result of being able to premiere that album and the decrease in that number as a result of them leaking it.
This might all be qualified by the terms of their agreement together and what constitutes a “breach” and if there’s any limit on liability but there’s expectation damages, which are also extended foreseeable damages, so I don’t know--there’s injury to their reputation, maybe effects on the touring, and their ability to make money off touring in connection with sales of the album…
How long do lawsuits like this generally last? What they’re doing seems punk as fuck now but if they’re going to be bogged down in litigation for years…
It could be years. Or a year.
That’s not punk. Do you think they’re going to go to jail?
Jail? No.
Do you think they’re going to be fined a million dollars?
They may.
Two million?
I can’t give you an exact number--it would be based on the lost profits. Obviously a percentage of income from their album would have been remitted to them as a royalty under their recording agreement, but still, I don’t know what kind of sales they would be expecting. I don’t think it would be near two million dollars. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps?
Oh my god, they’re fucked.
Well and then there’s the added liability that we didn’t talk about which is a bit more theoretical.
What do you mean “added liability?”
Invasion of privacy and copyright infringement as a result of publishing the email.
There’s two theories for liability when it comes to publishing an email; the first is copyright infringement as emails are arguably protected by copyright--the threshold for originality for copyright protection is pretty low, therefore whoever the representative of Epic that wrote that email could theoretically claim that he has copyright over that email, and though they were the intended recipient, they weren’t authorized to publish the email. In addition to that he could claim it was a violation of his privacy, an intrusion of his selfhood because it disclosed his phone number in conjunction with his name and especially since he’s a high-powered individuals, that ‘s private information that you don’t want everyone to know, so he could suffer harassment, he could suffer annoyance and there’s liability associated with both of those.
But if they’re going to sue them they could, in addition to the copyright infringement, the breach of contract, they can add these invasion of privacy claims and potentially copyright infringement for the email itself--though the email didn’t suggest they were planning on suing.
Can you think of any precedent for that type of invasion of privacy in relation to rock n’ roll?
No.
So, again: They signed to major label, they go on tour, they cancel the tour, they make the record, the label pushes back the date, they leak the record, the label pleas with them to remove from everywhere it’s been distributed, and then they print those emails and curse. What laws have they actually broken there?
They’ve broken civil laws. They’ve committed copyright infringement, breach of contract, invasion of privacy with the email, another cause of action for copyright infringement for publishing that email, so four causes of action I can think of. None of which have any criminal liability, so they’d be sued for money damages not brought to jail.
In your opinion, if there were a trial, would they be found guilty on all four counts?
Undoubtedly they committed copyright infringement for music they don’t own. They’re liable then for copyright infringement for music distribution, liable for breach of contract, liable for invasion of privacy for disclosing that guy’s email address and that private email that contained a disclaimer below his signature, and perhaps liable for copyright infringement for publishing that email.
Do we put them in any danger by publishing this piece?
This isn’t legal advice, this is a casual conversation, I don’t have all the facts in front of me--this is just the casual opinion of an anonymous attorney, so I don’t think this will be very influential.
How much can they actually make them do? It’s so clear that they don’t give a shit about anything--so what happens if they get sued and just don’t pay the label?
You can force wage garnishment, so any money that they make in the future gets paid to you first. You basically become a creditor; you’re indebted to the plaintiff who won the lawsuit.
What about the money off the merch table?
Well, that’s difficult to account for being that it’s all unaccounted cash--but typically you get a lean on future income and the winner of the suit gets paid first, just like the bank if your loan is foreclosed upon.
Do you respect them for what they’re doing or as a lawyer do you think that this is this the most asinine, stupid move they could make?
I think it’s interesting and it’s cool. Is it smart business decision? Perhaps in the long run. But it’s going to be a lot of annoyance to work through in order to keep up that cred.
They’re digging
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they’re being protected. So there was that going on.
And then the biggest part of this was right after Sochi, Vladimir Putin goes and attacks Ukraine. All of a sudden was, people are dying. Literally there is blood on [Rodchenkov’s] hands because Russia, they’re success at Sochi, these 33 medals, gave Russia this spectacular national pride. You look at Germany and the World Cup. After they won that World Cup, it was insanity. That is what sports does, is it unites people. When the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, six million people turn up for a parade. People are into this.
And in the case of Russia, they’re winning Sochi, Putin’s approval rating shot through the roof, and he used that consolidation of national pride to go and attack another country. People died and were murdered, and [Rodchenkov] had blood on his hands. And that is why he decided to embark on this journey. I think he had a bigger game plan. He knew that the noose was tightening. And I was his way out, to tell this story.
CT: So you had no idea going into this, that that was his ulterior motive. You two sort of used each other, in a sense. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but you needed something from him, but he also, when he agreed to it, he saw something that you could offer him that you were not aware of.
BF: I believe so. And what ultimately really happened was trust, which was this unbelievable story. In the year and a half that I’m working with him and he’s under investigation most of that time, he is basically my advisor. He’s my guru. He is taking these risks, these extraordinary risks to help me basically prove this thesis, to help me make this film. And never once was there a dime of money exchanged, not once ever. This was a friendship. We were on this journey together. And then, when the tables turned, and that investigation comes out November 2015, he is truly in jeopardy of his life. I was the guy that he trusted. I was the guy that he knew was going to protect him. And it was because he had protected me. It was the friendship, truly this friendship that the two of us developed, that allowed this story to come forward, the movie to be made, and what happened, happened.
Beneath all of it was a friendship, a true trust and care about each other. He knew that when he came to me, because of the trust that we had built, that I wasn’t going to go run to tell the story. I wasn’t going to do anything without seeing for his wellbeing. He put his life into my hands, essentially. That was an extraordinary responsibility and very, very, very stressful.
Ultimately, it was a decision to bring this story forward. We did it for all the clean athletes in the world, that is really the bottom line. You see it on the faces in that WADA meeting in the film where I’m presenting what had happened. I’m sitting there with Beckie Scott, who’s the head of the WADA Athlete Committee, and Claudia Bokel, who was in charge of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. You’re seeing these two athletes that have spent their lives competing under the Olympic credo and believing, essentially, in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny, and seeing that every value that they had held out to be truth in sport was being taken from them. And that there have been thousands, and thousands, and thousands of medals stolen from athletes who might have otherwise won, or stood on that podium, because they were cheated. That was a pretty huge burden to bear. It was also why we decided to go to the New York Times, because I had no faith in the IOC. I had no faith in WADA. And I had no faith in the Department of Justice of the United States that this story would come forward in the way that it needed to come forward, and that it wouldn’t be obstructed and destroyed and picked apart before the truth came out.
That was part of Grigory’s decision too. We wanted to make sure that this came out before the Rio Olympics. We wanted to make sure that the athletes of the world that had been cheated, whether or not they could do anything about it or not… that this knowledge was not there. Because that’s the only way that there can be change, whether or not the anti-doping system has a solution in all of the hurdles that it faces, there has to be integrity within the leadership of these organizations — the Olympics and the individual sporting federations — to uphold rules. Because if not, what is the point of the Olympic games? What is the point of any of these competitions if the organizers themselves are basically encouraging you to cheat? Because there’s really no punishment in that.
Doping at the Haute Route
CT: Let’s circle back to riding the Haute Route on performance-enhancing drugs. Did you feel like you were cheating any of the riders there?
BF: No, no. I didn’t. There were multiple things. One, the race said that they tested. They didn’t test. Two, there was all these guys in their thirties and forties, and I believe that the vast majority of them were taking something. And third of all, there were no prizes. There was no money to be had. It’s guys, basically masochists, from all over the world that are going to do this thing.
The guy who won the event like six years in a row is a guy by the name of Peter Pouly. And I am not saying that he was doping or not, because I don’t have any proof of it, but what I do know is the guy basically holds the record on Strava of every single climb in the Dolomites, in the Alps, and in the Pyrenees. If you go look this guy up, he holds like every single Strava record, unless, now, eBikes or something have destroyed it. I don’t know. He’s got faster times than all the guys in the Tour de France up these climbs. And not only that, he rode in two Tours de France. He was found doping, and instead of serving his suspension, he retired and got sponsored by the country of Thailand to be its cycling ambassador. And he now comes and does these Haute Route races every year where he wins, and is basically the ambassador to cycling in Thailand.
So, look, I have no idea if he is clean or not. But there’s certainly a lot of suspect information, and this guy is riding on a level… I mean, his times up these climbs, when you look at his Strava times, are literally like Chris Froome-caliber times. I mean, this guy was on a whole other level of anybody else in the race. He came in, in both of those years, and decimated it. But then he won it again last year. He won it for two years before I got there. I mean, his closest rival he beat by like 30 or 40 minutes.
CT: Have you had any communication with Haute Route organizers since the film was released?
BF: No. I’ve got a communication from some of the race people that shot it, how beautiful the footage is. Look, the film is an extraordinary advertisement for the Haute Route. I mean, wow. What amateur hardcore cyclist doesn’t now want to go do the Haute Route? I mean, it’s an amazing event. And the scenery and the organization behind it is pretty awesome. There’s not anything like that in the United States; they brought one to Colorado this last year. I would think that anybody in the Haute Route organization should be incredibly grateful that I’ve given their race that level of exposure that tens of millions of people around the world are going to see.
CT: In your estimation, do you think that Haute Route is interested in having a clean event? Or do you think that’s not their priority?
BF: Look, here’s the thing — the cost of testing is incredibly expensive, right? So who’s going to pay for this? Who’s paying for the testing? And that is even half the problem of the current system, where … Who’s paying for it? Who’s paying to do a carbon isotope ratio test for testosterone? Who’s paying to do the better testing for HGH, which can actually determine HGH in a smaller period, versus the current test that most organizations, and the NFL, and everybody else uses, that basically allows you to not be able to detect HGH after 12 hours? Who is paying for the advanced detection of erythropoietin in blood?
So you’re talking about incredibly expensive stuff. And who’s paying for this? This is an amateur race that is a for-profit event, right? And there’s no prizes at stake other than bragging rights and Strava times. So who’s paying for this?
CT: At the professional level, pro cycling teams are paying for it. That’s actually a substantial part of their budget. [An initial estimation in the conversation was incorrect, the figure is closer to $200,000 per WorldTour team per year. — Ed]
Bryan: You just look at this, and these guys … And I don’t know what the solution is. I mean, these guys are under 24/7 Whereabouts programs. They have no privacy. They’re being woken up at two or three in the morning, as they’re supposed to be recovering. They’re constantly getting their blood taken, their urine taken. I mean, it’s really kind of nutty that our athletes are turning into these human pin-cushions. It’s a very complicated issue of how this system ultimately works, and what is involved in that. If you are truly a professional athlete, subscribing under your federation’s protocol and under the anti-doping federation’s protocol, and subscribe to the Whereabouts program, you might as well be wearing a collar and be under house arrest. It’s serious.
CT: I realize you’ve been busy putting the film together, and everything that comes with after it’s released, but do you still ride? And if so, do you still feel any long-term effects from the performance-enhancing drugs you used in the film?
BF: It’s funny. I saw that it was actually yesterday, two years ago today, that the second Haute Route ended. And it was basically two years ago today that I went from being a professional recreational cyclist, training 16-20 hours a week, to getting out on my bike a couple hours a week at best. So I haven’t been riding like I’d like to. Hopefully I’ll find time to be able to do that again, in the near future. Because I really love it.
As to the long-term effects… first of all, I experienced no negative side effects. And I’m not a doctor, but pretty much everything I was taking, with the exception of erythropoietin, I was able to get a prescription for through the auspices of anti-aging. And then I was being monitored, and my blood levels checked, and all that stuff, too, to try to keep it at safe levels.
So I didn’t experience any negative side effects, and quite the contrary. I experienced better recovery, better libido, I found myself sleeping better. Better metabolism. My body just seemed to be metabolizing fat better, with the increase in hormones. My Achilles tendonitis went away, my hip dysplasia went away. I was having these knee problems, that went away. So you’re kind of going, “Wait. All these ailments suddenly are going away, and I’m sleeping better, and I’m recovering better, and my libido’s amazing, and I’m burning fat.” It was kind of like, “Huh. I don’t know what the negatives are.” Other than if you’re a competitive cyclist, or athlete, and you’re under WADA Code, and the rules are that you don’t take this. And that’s the rules, so I believe that you should be clean, 100%, if you’re competing.
But if you’re an amateur, and you’re out there and just enjoying the sport, and you’re just out there and just love the sport, and you’re training for your own purposes, and you’re in your forties, or in your fifties, or in your sixties, my own personal experience would say that these really helped in my recovery, and just helped my overall wellbeing.
CT: And when you say, “the sport,” I’m assuming you’re referring specifically to the activity of cycling, and not amateur racing. Because obviously, if you’re taking performance-enhancing drugs, even at an amateur level, you would still be cheating other amateur racers who aren’t taking drugs. So when you say, “enjoying the sport” you mean enjoying the activity of cycling — correct?
BF: Right. If you have a USCF [USA Cycling] license, if you’re going into licensed events, then you should be competing under the rules. And the rules are, “You don’t take this stuff.” That’s the rules. And you have that code among other athletes. And if I was a licensed cyclist, and I was competing in Masters, or as a Cat. 2, or whatever that is, I flat out wouldn’t take this stuff. Because those are the rules.
And cheating at the amateur level is just so lame anyway. I mean, you’ve just got to be just such a loser. So, what, you’re just beating somebody to beat them? I mean, there’s not even prizes or money. It’s just like, “So, why you going to go in there?” And how can you feel good about that? Oh, great. So you cheated somebody, and you’re an amateur. In that case, you’re just a loser.
CT: The male ego can be a powerful thing.
Bryan: Right. But if you’re just riding recreationally, and you’re out, and you’re not racing, and you’re not licensed, and you’re not going in and competing under those rules, there certainly seems to be some positive side effects as far as overall health and recovery, especially as we age.
But what I’m hoping will come of this film, for me, is a couple of things. Outside of the doping, and cycling, and anti-doping, and all that stuff that you and I have discussed, I think the bigger questions are, “What are we, as a planet, willing to tolerate in terms of the Olympics, and what these games are?” Because, to me, the film calls into question, “Why are we having the Olympics?” What is the point of the Olympics if we see how the Olympic body themselves have operated in the face of this spectacular scandal — and how they have basically failed to try to protect any single athlete on planet Earth that is actually going in and competing in these games under the credo that they’ve set forth?
I think we have to look deeper, and look at this film as a keyhole into “What is Russia willing to do to assert itself on a global and geopolitical level?” And what this film shows is that, beyond a reasonable doubt, they have perpetrated this level of fraud in the sporting world. And if they were willing to do that over the last 40 years, what else are they willing and are they capable of? And what are we willing to accept?
And so when you look at the current election hacking, and the meddling, and the current U.S. administration, the questions have to be brought up as to, are we going to accept this? Are we going to accept a foreign power meddling into our democracy, and into our political process, in this capacity? Because the same thing that they have pulled off for 40 years in sport in the Olympics they seem to be able to now pull off in regard to politics and our own electoral process. And what are we going to do about this? Because we see that there is zero accountability. I mean, what we’re seeing in the fallout of this film is that, even with all this evidence, Russia has still not admitted it. They’ve still not confessed. They’ve still not apologized.
I mean, so these are the bigger questions that I’m hoping that people will take from this.
And in regard to athletes around the world, the Olympic athletes who are going into these games clean have got to band together and say, “We’re not going to accept this. We’re not going to participate in these games if you’re not going to protect us. As the athletes who are coming there, who have trained and spent our whole lives preparing for this opportunity, knowing that a country can come in and cheat and steal our medals, and there’s no punishment for that.”
So these are the much bigger questions than that which is of [specific] interest to the cycling community, and amateur cyclists, and enthusiasts of the sport. These are, to me, the takeaway questions of this film that I hope will be thrust into a much broader and bigger narrative.
Leaving a legacy
CT: I’m sure your mind must have been blown on a regular basis towards the end of this project. What you had started out to produce began crossing these, as you said, these geopolitical lines. All of a sudden you’re five people removed from Vladimir Putin. The last question I wanted to ask, and maybe it’s one and the same question, or maybe it’s two questions: How has your life changed since the film was released? And specifically, Grigory is now in the Witness Protection Program, and there is reason to believe that his life may be in jeopardy. What about you? Based upon your relationship with him, do you fear for your safety? If so, would that be how your life has changed since the film was released?
Bryan: Well, look, I mean, my life has changed in so many ways since the film was released, and the making of this film, from Sundance to now. I mean, it has been game-changing for me in every way, on a career level, on a filmmaker level, et cetera.
On a personal level, I think everybody… We all make certain choices in our lives. And those choices may be right, they may be wrong, they might put you at risk. But they’re our choices. I followed this story. I pursued this story. And ultimately, this story came and manifested itself to me. And I made a choice that it was more important to me, and in the greater good of this planet, and the greater good of all these athletes, and our democracy, that I operate with integrity in bringing this story forward.
I’m sure I could’ve sold this to the Olympics, and they probably would’ve paid anything to sweep this under the rug. I probably could’ve gone to Russia… There’re so many places where I could’ve basically just decided that, “Hey, I would rather profit than do this.” Or, “I’m scared of the risk, and I don’t want to take on Putin. I don’t want to take on Russia, and this is not worth the risk to my life.”
But, then, that’s being a coward, and I don’t believe in being a coward. And I think it’s the same mentality of anybody who’s into cycling. It’s the same kind of thing of why you want to go climb Mont Ventoux, or why you put yourself through these insane endurance events. There’s just kind of this spirit about it. And I actually think that it’s been my background as a cyclist which has made me pretty tough, and not scared. Because every single time I go out on that bike, I’m taking risks. And this film just was an extension of that, to me. So I try not to focus too much on that.
I also know that if something happens to me… Russia is not ISIS. They don’t claim responsibility for anything. You’re just going to have a heart attack, or end up in some random accident. And I’m hoping that I’ll be okay. Regardless of that, I have a legacy of my work. I think that anybody that goes through life wants to leave a legacy, and I have one now.Town in Norwegian valley enjoys winter sunlight for the first time in its history… using giant MIRRORS
Industrial town of Rjukan gets no sunshine between September and March
Three giant mirrors or 'heliostats' have been set up on the mountainside
They will track the path of the sun and beam light onto the town square
Idea was first suggested 100 years ago but a cable car was built instead
A similar scheme has been successfully implemented in an Italian village
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Giant mirrors will bring a Norwegian town its first rays of sunshine this winter.
The industrial town of Rjukan is nestled deep in a valley floor in rugged Telemark county.
With the sun moving low across the sky during winter, it gets no direct sunlight between September and March.
Scroll down for video
People gather at a spot illuminated by reflected sunlight in front of the town hall of Rjukan in Norway
For years the sun-starved locals have had to take a purpose-built cable car to the top of the mountainside to catch a few winter rays. But that is set to change.
Helicopters have hoisted three huge mirrors into position some 450 metres above the town at the top of the valley.
Known as heliostats, they have been designed to trace the movement of the sun and reflect the light directly onto Rjukan's main square.
Helicopters have hoisted three huge mirrors into position 450 metres above the town
Genius: The sun beams down onto the mirrors which reflect the light onto the town of Rjukan in the valley below
The idea is not new. It was first suggested in Rjukan 100 years ago by a worker at the nearby hydroelectric plant.Martin Andersen drew up the plans and won funding of about 5million kroner (£522,700) for the project.
Steinar Bergsland, the town's mayor, told The Telegraph: 'It is really special to stand in the light down on the square and feel the heat. This is for the pale little children of Rjukan.'
In 2006, a similar project was successfully set up in the village of Viganella in northern Italy which had suffered from exactly the same problem.
A delegation from visited Viganella to see how their mirror had transformed people's lives, and was suitably impressed.
In 2006, a similar project was set up in the village of Viganella in northern Italy which suffered from the same problem (left) and a (right) Rjukan on the map in Norway
After five years of debate, Rjukan town council finally agreed to to build the mirrors.
They are controlled by a computer to follow the path of then sun, adjusting to the best angle to ensure the town square is bathed in light.
Solar panels will power equipment to automatically wash the mirrors and move them into position.
Designers hope the sunshine will revitalise the town during the winter months.Real Dissociative
Information and coping for those with dissociative disorders
TEXT Monday, 22 May 2017 Kin without Ableism Identifying as otherkin or having kintypes can be a fantastic coping mechanism or a spiritual belief, however, neither coping nor spirituality are exempt from potentially being ableist. Please don’t: Use the word “system” to describe your collection of kintypes. This is a word used by people with Dissociative Identity Disorder to describe the collection of identities severe childhood trauma split off. This is not appropriate to use for kin. This especially goes for alter- alters are trauma-split identity fragments in DID, not kintypes. I’d prefer you not use “headmates” either, regardless of what kin experiences you’re using the word to describe, there’s probably a better word to use.
Use the word fronting to describe kinshifts. Instead of, “Keith is fronting right now,” please try “I’m kinshifting Keith,” “I’m really feeling Keith right now,” etc. Fronting is related to alters and DID. It’s not appropriate to use for kin.
Claim amnesia between kinshifts. Kinshifts are shifts of your identity, how you feel, how you react to situations. You shouldn’t have memory issues or a different core identity between kinshifts, and if you do, you need to seek professional help because you could be having seizures or another serious issue.
identity, how feel, how react to situations. You shouldn’t have memory issues or a different core identity between kinshifts, and if you do, you need to seek professional help because you could be having seizures or another serious issue. Intentionally fracture off parts of yourself or treat specific kintypes as “not you.”
Diagnose your kintypes with mental illnesses and claim to have those mental illnesses because of kintypes. If you feel like you might have a severe mental illness, it’s up to you to cope with that and work on feeling better.
Equate kin memories to repressed memories or “true” body memories. If a part of your spirituality is believing in past lives and you have memories of your kintypes, that’s great! However, equating it to recovered trauma memories, body memories (things you’ve experienced in this lifetime), etc is ableist.
Don’t take up trauma survivor’s spaces based on kin memories of trauma. If you have a kintype that’s survived CSA, you may not claim space as a CSA survivor unless you’ve experienced that trauma in this body/life. If you have repressed trauma, it could present as nightmares and you could misinterpret that as kin memories. If you have nightmares of trauma or think you have traumatic kin memories, it’s definitely worth looking into with a therapist. You could be recovering memories and it would be damaging to cast them aside as kin memories. Please do: Seek professional help if kintypes make you feel worse. If you feel out of control, if you feel like kintypes are controlling you or hurting yourself/others, if you feel disconnected from reality, if you have vivid or traumatic kin memories, if you have hallucinations/delusions, if kintypes make you feel worse instead of better at any point, please seek professional help. There could be something else going on.
If you feel out of control, if you feel like kintypes are controlling you or hurting yourself/others, if you feel disconnected from reality, if you have vivid or traumatic kin memories, if you have hallucinations/delusions, if kintypes make you feel worse instead of better at any point, please seek professional help. There could be something else going on. Do educate yourself on the differences between tulpas, soulbonds, kintypes, etc and alters. Fictives (fictional introjects) are a type of alter, which again are specific to DID. Alters are split off from severe childhood trauma, and fictives are just alters who have similar grounded identities to that of fictional characters. This is not equatable to kintypes, IDs, soulbonds, etc.
to kintypes, IDs, soulbonds, etc. Listen to members of marginalized groups and keep your coping and spiritual beliefs free of ableism, racism, transphobia, etc!
Use your kintypes to make yourself a better person! It can be a powerful coping tool and a powerful tool for spirituality! If you’re using kin to cope with trauma, mental illness, everyday life, etc, that’s great. I’m pro-kin, just not pro-ableism and silencing of trauma survivors!
Kintypes are not the same as alters. The core difference is that kintypes are you, whereas alters are split from severe dissociation and trauma and are not you. It’s disrespectful and ableist to equate these. Most of the time, kintypes and related beliefs and behaviors can be changed and directed. If your behavior is ableist, racist, or unhealthy for you, it can be changed for the positive! Coping behaviors and spiritual beliefs are not exempt from criticism.
Posted 1 year ago | 1,931 notes
Show more notes Loading...Noted Malayalam writer K P Ramanunni on Friday filed a police complaint in Kozhikode in connection with a letter he received with threats of physical violence over an article he wrote in a newspaper.
In the letter, received a week ago, the writer was berated for the article -- entitled To dear Hindus and Muslims, from a believer -- in which he sought religious harmony between the two communities.
Ramanunni said he was told to “convert” to Islam within six months or face the fate of T J Joseph, a professor whose right palm was chopped by a group of radical Muslim activists in 2010. “There are people with extremist ideologies using both Hinduism and Islam as a front. The person who wrote this letter appears to be from the second group. The letter says that my article which equates Islam with Hinduism could mislead innocent Muslims,” the writer said.
Joseph, then Malayalam professor at Newman College in Thodupuzha in Idukki district, was assaulted by Popular Front of India activists over portions in a B.Com question paper he had prepared for an internal examination that allegedly denigrated Prophet Mohammed. Joseph’s palm was later re-attached in a surgery. A National Investigation Agency court, in 2015, sentenced 10 persons to eight years’ imprisonment and three others to two years’ imprisonment.
Ramanunni filed a complaint with the City Police Commissioner in Kozhikode. A critically acclaimed author of novels and short stories, the 62-year-old Ramanunni is recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for his first novel, Sufi Paranja Kadha.Idiocracy wasn’t just a hilarious satirical comedy, it felt eerily prescient. In the years since Mike Judge ’s film hit theaters, “ Idiocracy is real life” has become a running joke, particularly now that Donald Trump is running for President — with many noting the resemblance between the presumptive Republican nominee and the fictional President played by Terry Crews. It’s a fairly easy (and humorous) comparison to make, and in case you were wondering, the filmmakers see it, too.
Not long ago, screenwriter Etan Cohen tweeted a joke similar to one that I’m sure many of you have undoubtedly made at some point during this election cycle:
According to BuzzFeed, the Idiocracy screenwriter is reuniting with Mike Judge to make a series of anti-Trump ads featuring Terry Crews, who played the memorable role of President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho in the film. After Cohen’s tweet drew a fair amount of attention, he says he contacted Judge and they came up with a series of ads targeted at Trump, and now they’re just waiting for Fox to clear up some rights with Crews so they can start filming them.
Cohen says that the process wasn’t as easy as you might think because if they actually made an Idiocracy sequel in which Trump became President “it would be too silly to be in a movie.” And although Camacho has some extremely dumb ideas, Cohen says Crews’ character would be a better candidate than Trump:
“The most dangerous contrast to Trump is that Camacho actually realizes he needs advice from other people, and knows that he’s not the smartest guy in the room,” Cohen continued, noting that he would “definitely” vote for Camacho over Trump. “Also, not a racist.”
Hopefully Judge and Cohen will get those rights cleared up because a series of Idiocracy -themed political ads featuring President Camacho sounds like just about the best thing that could happen during this election.Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss.
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach is a fan of Final Fantasy, and she clearly demonstrated that recently. On Twitter earlier this week, Square Enix invited her to attend the Final Fantasy XV release date event in March, a gesture that apparently blew her mind. It started with this tweet below (via Epicstream).
.@PiaWurtzbach We hear you're a Final Fantasy fan! If you want to come to our big FFXV event in March, let us know! pic.twitter.com/CSC0uUqYo9 — Final Fantasy (@FinalFantasy) February 16, 2016
Wurtzbach posted a series of responses to this tweet, one of which contained a reference to "Phoenix Down." This is a Final Fantasy item that can revive knocked-out characters.
Wurtzbach didn't confirm if she will in fact attend the Final Fantasy XV event in March, during which Square Enix will announce the release date for the long-in-development role-playing game. We know it's coming sometime in 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the exact date will be announced during the Los Angeles event hosted by Kinda Funny.
Earlier this year, Wurztbach called herself a "closet gamer."
Final fantasy and Tekken. I'm a closet gamer. -Pia #askmissuniverse https://t.co/Yh00ouJgtn — Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (@MissUniverse) January 28, 2016
In a Reddit AMA just a couple weeks ago, Wurtzbach also talked about her gaming habits, specifically, who her favorite Final Fantasy character is.
"I started with Final Fantasy VIII. Not a lot of people like VIII because they usually start with FFVII. But I started with VIII because I'm a girl and I fell for the love story," she said.
"My favorite character...that's a tough one... is Quistis. The one with the whip. I like her," she added. "And my favorite GF, you know when they summon the GF, is Shiva. She's my favorite. Then I do the boost, as well, so I get more damage. I love Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. I finished all of Kingdom Hearts with no gameshark."
Wurtzbach was named Miss Universe 2015 during the Miss Universe Pageant in December that gathered more attention than usual because host Steve Harvey made a big mistake.Mathieu Flamini and Mesut Ozil talk of the bond between them and how much they have helped each other at Arsenal. Mathieu Flamini and Mesut Ozil talk of the bond between them and how much they have helped each other at Arsenal.
It's no easy thing, persuading Mesut Ozil to do an interview in English, writes Sky Sports' Patrick Davison.
In the two-and-a-half years since he signed for Arsenal, there's been the odd word at the end of post-match interviews but basically, when he's spoken to reporters, it's been in German. And even then, not very often.
But, as I discovered this week, there is a way to his heart - via one man able to persuade him that sitting down for an interview might not be such a bad idea.
Ozil has been in superb form for Arsenal this season
Mathieu Flamini returned to Arsenal in August 2013, as it happened just a few days before Arsene Wenger pulled off one of the deals of his career and brought Ozil to the Emirates.
Flamini made it his job to take the new boy under his wing and their friendship flourished - at the club awards night at the end of last season, they won 'Biggest Bromance'.
In a video announcing the award, Danny Welbeck joked that they were closer than twins, Laurent Koscielny that they followed each other everywhere, and Theo Walcott that they could occasionally be spotted enjoying a candlelit dinner.
The serious side to it is that, after a slow start to his Premier League career, Flamini has helped Ozil settle and look like what he is - one of the best players in the league.
Arsene Wenger signed Ozil from Real Madrid, just days after Flamini arrived
"When you move to a new club and a new country, at the beginning you are a little bit shy. He was the guy, with the German guys, who helped me a lot," says Ozil, who finally agreed to do the interview for this week's Super Sunday - in English - but only if Flamini did it with him.
The French midfielder, now in his seventh season with the Gunners, agreed. He thinks Ozil should do more interviews and show supporters a bit more of what he's really like.
"He's very funny but he's very reserved," says Flamini. "He likes to be with his close friends and his family, it's then that he lets himself go."
That's why he avoids interviews, particularly in this country. He's not arrogant, aloof or anything like that. Rather, as he says, he is shy, not fond of the limelight and thinks, wrongly, that his English isn't very good.
Flamini celebrates after scoring the winner against Tottenham in the Capital One Cup this season
There's much more to him than you might guess. For example, the friendship with Flamini blossomed partly because of the Frenchman's knowledge of the capital.
"I love London," says Ozil, who settled off the pitch in England before he settled on it. "I go to museums, parks, restaurants - all the normal things. [Flamini] is the one who helps me know where to go.
"I'm happy to play for such a big club and happy to live in London."
Often they head into London together. At the training ground, they drive each other on in the gym and stay on after sessions for a little shooting competition they have between themselves.
"He won today [Friday] for the first time in three years," says Ozil, revealing a little of the humour which saw him suggest on Twitter that Flamini was the rightful winner of the Ballon d'Or.
"We like to challenge ourselves," says Flamini, chipping in. "That's why I don't like to be the one to tell him he's a top player. Of course he is and he has done lots already but he can do more.
At the club awards night at the end of last season, Ozil and Flamini won 'Biggest Bromance'
"We are winners, when we talk among ourselves we say: 'Why aim for the sky, when there are footprints on the moon?'"
What would footprints on the moon mean for Arsenal?
"We want to win the title," says Ozil. "And not just the Premier League. We are still in the FA Cup and still in the Champions League. Against Barcelona, it will be difficult, but in football anything is possible."
Interviewing Ozil was enlightening. He has deep interest in culture, a burning ambition and drive not always apparent from his body language and, according to Flamini, he's hugely popular among players and staff.
Sitting down with him was worth the wait. But if Arsenal are to get their faltering title challenge back on track, their main man will have to continue do his talking on the pitch.
Watch Arsenal in Premier League action away to Bournemouth on Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12
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strange but I feel that I became white to everyone when I attained success. I have no explanation of it, but I feel that is what happened. I still have people ask me if Romero is an Italian name." - John Romero
In an effort to address some of these issues, Native developers have begun creating their own games, realizing that the traditional game development cycle probably won’t make games about them or their struggles for a long time. Blood Quantum is the first game that tries to tackle these issues. It’s still in production, but tries to teach others about the real-world effects of trying to measure exact lineages to establish tribal identity. Project lead Renee Nejo said that she wanted to see something, anything that addressed who she was.
“When I was young, and we were starting to learn about manifest destiny in school, I couldn't wait... I felt like my little heart had a lot to offer to the conversation. But when It came time to read in class, that's really all we did. There was no discussion. No interaction. My short window to talk about what I thought made me special had closed… This is what set the tone for me with regard to my identity: ‘nobody cares’.”
Silence is a common theme in speaking to Natives of all kinds. They’ve been either forced into silence or simply told that no one cares about their struggle. It’s dehumanizing on a level that is hard for even the people who have lived it to really understand.
Prey's Tommy
Manuel Marcano, known as Hurakan to his tribe, is a Taino developer who has worked on several big-budget titles like The Darkness and Bioshock in addition to the forthcoming Treachery in Beatdown City, and has since moved into the independent space. When I asked him why, a big part of his response was the prejudice he and other Natives still openly face. “I've been called stuff ranging from Geronimo to Tonto,” he lamented. “And of course, there was all the millions of times someone asked me if I wanted to have a powwow. Now add the fact that I was raised an omnisexual and I don't even have a personal gender identity, you can likely imagine there was other kinds of issues that could come up." These stories, much like Custer’s Revenge, aren’t relics of the past but a disturbing and painful part of the present for those that must face them every day.
Original Custer's Revenge boxart.
Part of that problem almost certainly stems from the extreme rarity of Natives in game development. As of 2011, the International Game Developer’s Association only had 41 indigenous developers out of 6,438 responded to the survey, or a little over one-half of one percent. While there’s certainly far fewer Natives around today than most other ethnicities, that still means that Natives are less than half as common as they should be if game developers were representative of the general population. Women and other people of color face the same kinds of disparities, but the solutions for each group have to be appropriate for their cultural context. For Natives that means addressing extreme poverty and a lack of opportunity head-on.
“Can we expect a kid on a rez with no internet access to upload a game for Ludum Dare?” Hurakan said, referencing the competitive game jam series. “Can we expect a group of Natives who can't afford new cloths or food to bring a $500 laptop to Molyjam?”
Bringing in Native perspectives, he says is important, but we won’t see that if we don’t deal with poverty, with the lack of access to resources. “Most of my games don't have experience points which removes the need to grind, which in turn stops rewarding random violence. In one of my projects the player is severely penalized if they kill anything. Sustainability is another theme I work with. Most games are inherently about conquest or progression. My games focus on building communities and establishing lasting settlements.”
John Romero echoed those sentiments. “Don’t ever hide your identity. Diversity in games is a great thing and can only help the industry by bringing different culture and experiences to game design. I have no idea how many Natives are in game development because it seems like more of them are ‘coming out’ on a weekly basis.”
Never Alone
Many Natives including Hurakan have at one point or another, pretended to be someone else. “When I was younger I really played up being from Puerto Rico. People would perceive me as a Spanish speaking, super macho Hispanic. I was ‘in the closet’ about being from a tribe because I was surrounded by colonized people and because a person from the Caribbean is held to that stereotype. Seeing other people from tribal backgrounds did not cause me to ‘come out’, but it did make me feel that being myself was worthwhile.”
This past month we saw the release of a very special game. Never Alone is a game about Natives made (at least in part) by Natives. The game centers on a young Alaskan Native girl wandering the tundra, searching out the source of endless blizzards that have wreaked havoc on her village. The narration is in the Iñupiat tribe’s native language, and the art style based on traditional scrimshaw. It was made to give Native children hope and something modern that represented them and their culture.
Life for many Native children is dominated by statistics. Rates of suicide, dropout rates, alcoholism, substance abuse, and domestic violence are all high in Native communities. These are each complex problems requiring complex solutions, but with the rising prevalence of video games, giving children hope, teaching them about their language and their culture has never been more important.
To that end, some tribes have been in partnership with tech companies and game developers to work on these kind of projects. The Hoopa Valley Tribe even has working games made with Microsoft’s Project Spark that aim to teach children more of the language. Others like Elizabeth LaPensee have been involved in the game development community and provided talks, videos, and educational resources to start cleaning up the presentation of Natives in gaming. These projects are still in their early stages, but they’re the first signs that the culture is changing.
“Millions of people play video games, and because of the interactivity it becomes an interesting way of allowing people to experience a culture that might seem alien to them. It's much easier to empathize with someone if you know something about them and interactivity can create that bond. With more Natives being in games, and making games we can educate others,” Hurakan said. “At the very least I hope people will stop asking if I know anything about peace pipes.”
While many will, no doubt, see Never Alone as just another in the burgeoning “art game” movement, for Natives in the games industry, though it is by far the biggest step in the right direction that’s ever been taken. It’s taken more than 30 years, but the hope and will is there to undo the damage of the past, and with more Native voices standing up and moving into development, maybe 30 years from now we’ll have put some of these pernicious stereotypes to bed for good.lot to say.The Story (2/10) (Prepare for a butt-ton)So before some of you start trying to point fingers at me, I will say right now that the story for this anime was most unexpected. What I expected from this anime was a sorta action, shounen thing going on except from the perspective of the main characters being female teens, I mean after all, the genre does say action and shounen right, to my surprise the first episode actually made me believe that was going to be true as well however, episode 2 is where it all went downhill. Now I am not a fan of slice of life anime such as K-on or Lucky Star at all, I think they are dreadfully boring and nothing but girls screwing around doing random crap amongst themselves, having real life random conversations. I do believe the point of anime is to escape reality, so when I see an anime taking place in an unrealistically awesome place such as Death Weapon Meister Academy, the last thing you'd expect to see is the main action of the anime being the main characters planting pumpkins, going shopping and getting jobs as being maids at Death Bucks Cafe, a lot of this anime is just of them doing regular girl teenage stuff given the environment around them isn't normal at all, the things they do are just too normal for the setting.Now unlike Lucky Star and other SOL animes, there is an actual plot in Soul Eater Not however, I wouldn't necessarily call it "Good" in any way due to the fact that the pacing behind this so called "Plot" is god awful, here's my brief summary of the plot pacing: Main girl almost gets killed by witch, goes to get a maid job. Main girl gets attacked by mind controlled man, Fanservicey Physical Exams and Pool Cleaning time! Girl slices her fucking neck open right in front of the main girl, plants pumpkins! I don't think shit like this mixes together at all in my opinion, even when the serious stuff like that does happen, its very brief and barely lasts before going back to the screwing around style, barely any of the story is really explained. It's like just when you think the story is actually about to pick up it slaps a big NOPE in your face.The last few episodes didn't have much screwing around as it finally started to fully pick up on the background story that the first 9 episodes barely had but there was one problem here, it wasn't the main characters that were involved in the main pick up of the story, it was two side characters that got into the action as the main characters had their own little personal troubles to deal with like Meme being possessed, Anya being escorted back to her home and Tsugumi hurting her leg. Alright so why is the whole show based around these characters then? I know I failed to mention why all them ran into these problems but honestly I don't even care enough to explain. What I will mention though is that near the end, finally Tsugumi and Anya fixed their problems (with the shounen ways of friendship) and now wanna get Meme back from the clutches of the evil antagonist. Oh Yeah! By the way, there's an evil person behind the story, almost forgot. Haha must of not been important enough, maybe if they explained who she was a little better or why she is trying to kill everyone or just something, anything that would make me care to remember at all. The show ends in the most bs and predictable way possible however I won't spoil that much, you'll probably see it coming though.That was a lot of typing so I'm hoping you got the main reason of why I think this story sounds like it was made by some 12 year old writing a bad Soul Eater fan-fic.The Art (6/10)I'm not gonna say the art is necessarily bad or anything but I'm not gonna say that I liked it. Personally I didn't like it because it made all the soul eater original series characters look like tools but I'll be lying if I said it didn't look polished and clean. Some awkward animation quirks here and there, action scenes really aren't the best either but I wouldn't write it off as "bad"The sound (8/10)The first time I heard that damn opening I just couldn't stop listening to it xD I found it very catchy. The ending theme wasn't my cup of tea but overall the soundtracks in the actual show were nice and fit the moods of the situations. The JP voice actors were also very good at portraying the voices of the characters, especially Anya, they got the snobby rich girl voice right.The Characters (1/10)Two words, One dimensional. One dimensional characters can be described as characters that have a set personality trait and right from episode 1 you can see that they set up these personality traits like they stamped it on their fucking foreheads. You got your nice but insecure girl Tsugumi. You got your busty air headed girl Meme and you got your snobby tsundere rich girl Anya. Character development is near non-existent, these personality traits stick throughout the entire show. Hell a side character named Kim got more character development then any of the main characters and even that was scarce. I can maybe see some people enjoying the personalities they have but I am not one of those people.Enjoyment (2/10)Did I enjoy Soul Eater Not? Yes I did! I enjoyed the parts that didn't include the main characters. I enjoyed the parts that included these two guy side characters and the soul eater main series characters. However since the amount of screen time these characters got ranged around 15 minutes in this entire 12 episodes series, that is not a good thing. To sum it up, I barely enjoyed Soul Eater Not. I didn't like the main characters at all and I didn't like the way they portrayed the show. It was boring. I found myself drifting off while watching it very often.Overall (3/10)You could say I rated this show based on personal preference of anime. If you prefer the kind of anime where there are girls screwing and around doing shit all then by all means I recommend it. If you're like me and don't wanna watch a show that includes girls fooling around, doing barely anything in a place called Death Weapon Meister Acedemy, which by the way I don't think I saw in any point of this anime of them actually training as weapons and meisters but correct me if I'm wrong, then I do not recommend this show as it will just make you love and miss the original Soul Eater series even more (that is if you watched it). Remember though, this is just my opinion and if you disagree that's perfectly okay. Sorta. I mean seriously in any aspect I look at this show I can't call it good. I can't call it good for being a slice of life anime but then again I never liked Slice of Life animes in this style however all I do know about a lot of Slice of Life fans is that they like it for its cute style, well frankly I didn't find it all that cute so I'm gonna throw that out there. I can't call it good for being a action/shounen/supernatural anime because it barely had any of that, maybe the shounen part. For the comedy part well, I didn't find it that funny, only part that made me giggle were the flat chested jokes they were throwing at Tsugumi. Overall 3/10 and I still think I'm being generous about giving it this score.Sitting down every Tuesday to watch this felt like a chore, I thought about dropping this anime numerous times but as I did with K-on, I kept pushing through. Bored out of my mind, I finished. This will most likely be the last Slice of Life anime I watch (In the K-on style at least). Huh, funny. I keep calling it a Slice of Life yet it's not even listed as it's genre. Something must be wrong. Whelp that's my first review done, this was probably written poorly so hopefully I won't have to come across something like this show that I'll have the urge to review.There has been quite a bit of buzz around the BlackBerry Passport. You’ve seen what the media has said and have read the excellent feedback we’ve received on Amazon. People are loving how the BlackBerry Passport handles their business. With strong chops in business applications, it only makes sense that good things are being said by big names about the big phone. Here are a few things that a few heavyweights in the business, sporting and entertainment worlds have said about the smartphone that helps you to Work Wide.
Look what I have got to play with.New BlackBerry passport.will report in 2 weeks my findings. Great screen and camera pic.twitter.com/H2krRpJCnv — Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) September 28, 2014
A self-made billionaire, Lord Alan Sugar is a UK tech entrepreneur and host of The Apprentice UK television show.
I’ve been playing with the @BlackBerry #passport for the past three months — it’s AWESOME. especially for email/writing/spreadsheets — jason (@Jason) September 25, 2014
Jason Calacanis is a Silicon Valley technology investor, entrepreneur and blogger. His hits include gadget blog Engadget and fast-rising car-sharing service, Uber.
Milos Raonic is the top Canadian male tennis player, ranked 8th in the world. Learn more about him here.
“@EbyEmenike: IPhone 6 Plus or the BlackBerry Passport? Life’s tough decisions… #iPhone6Plus #blackberrypassport” Passport all day!!! — Tyler Florence (@TylerFlorence) September 19, 2014
Tyler Florence is a San Franciso Bay Area-based-chef, television host of several Food Network shows, and entrepreneur involved in eight companies, including restaurants, retail shops, media production companies, and technology startups.
Comedian Tim Allen touted the BlackBerry Passport on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Brian Carenard is a rapper better known by his stage name, Saigon. He is all about big business. “While all yall riding that iPhone 6…The BIG boys are doing BIG business with these BlackBerry Passports,” he wrote on Instagram.
Bayern Munich and Peruvian national team football star Claudio Pizarro is working wide.
Blackberry launch a new phone today…hmmm! Think I’m gonna have to give that a go. Not happy with this iPhone! #BlackBerryPassport — Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) September 24, 2014
Kevin Pietersen, @KP24, is a world -renowed international Cricket player who also owns various businesses in London.
“The BlackBerry Passport has made a huge difference for me. It’s like a real passport. It’s the key to everything: pictures, emails, work stuff you have to type up, my calendar. Trust me, I’m always on my calendar and schedule. You’re typing fast, you’re receiving fast, and that’s daily life. It’s 24/7 and it flows.”
Masai Uriji is president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors professional basketball team.
UK journalist and former CNN host Piers Morgan wants to get his hands on a BlackBerry Passport, too.
Camarotti is a media executive who is founder/CEO of the Brazilian editions of Forbes and Billboard magazines.
Dimitris Tsigos is President of YES, a European group representing young entrepreneurs, and founder & CEO at a Greek startup incubator.
Pricing and Availability
You can get your factory-unlocked BlackBerry Passport from ShopBlackBerry.com at these links:
Black (currently $599, regular $699)
White (currently $599, regular $699)
Limited Edition Red: $699
…and at Amazon HERE, with AT&T offering it for $649.99 unsubsidized or $199.99 with a 2-year contract. The BlackBerry Passport is also available in Canada via Rogers for $249 and Telus (for as low as $150 up front) and other carriers.
For those outside the North American market, you can get your BlackBerry Passport directly from us at our global shopping portal HERE.
(Check with your local carrier for device compatibility.)
Remember – the BlackBerry Passport has a battery capacity that exceeds all rivals in milliamp hours:*
Runtime BlackBerry Passport 30 hours Samsung Galaxy S5 23 hours iPhone 6 21 hours iPhone 6 Plus 25 hours
(*Based on third-party lab testing sponsored by BlackBerry, under 4G and 3G wireless conditions, using a mixed-usage profile. Results will vary by carrier and network conditions.)Image copyright Youtube Image caption The motorcycle is now kept in a glass case at the roadside shrine
People are visiting a roadside shrine in north-western India to pray to a motorbike called Bullet Raja, which is believed to protect drivers, it seems.
Devotees come to the Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in the Rajasthan village of Bandayi to pray for a safe journey, News18 Rajasthan reports. "I have come to this place many times," one worshipper says. "Whenever I cross this temple I get down to take blessing from Om Banna to have a safe journey ahead."
In 1988, a young man called Om Banna was reportedly killed when his 350cc motorcycle hit a tree. Locals say the bike kept returning to the scene of the accident by itself, even after a police officer took it to India's northern state of Punjab. Some people believe the motorcycle possesses supernatural powers - one man told News18 the spirit of Om Banna gave him 20,000 rupees (£200).
The motorcycle is on display in a glass box, decorated with flower garlands. People also pray at the tree where the fatal accident happened. One UK-based traveller has even set up a Tripadvisor page for the shrine, noting it was a lucky spot for his party - they found a camera lost earlier on the trip.
Roadside shrines are not unusual in India, but they are sometimes blamed by authorities for causing traffic bottlenecks. In 2009, India's Supreme Court halted the building of religious sites on public land, but it did not affect existing roadside holy places. One such shrine, built in the middle of the road, was a communal flashpoint, The Times of India reported at the time.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The British-designed Royal Enfield Bullet was first built in the 1930s, and has been made in India since 1948
Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.While paying a visit to Europe in October, Erdoğan addressed an AKP rally in Strasbourg. Thousands of Turks turned up, waving Turkish national flags and listening to Erdoğan’s speech full of nationalistic references to epic wars that Turkey waged against Europe, a speech fraught with religious rhetoric. Europe should be on its guard and take this religion-driven Turkish nationalism very seriously, since history teaches that such statements may not end well.
European politicians had better take notice of the fact that so many AKP supporters showed up in Strasbourg, so much so that the city is not a Turkish rural area nor are the Turks present at the rally simple villagers: to the contrary, the participants of the mass meeting have been living in Europe, the center of the western cosmopolitan world, for decades. Analysts should not downplay the symbolism used by the president of Turkey as meaninglessness. Erdoğan’s reference to the Battle of Gallipoli1, when the Ottomans defeated the Europeans, was chosen with care as a strong and unambiguous message. A direct parallel between the said historic event and the defeat of the European Union by the AKP can easily be drawn, and Erdoğan’s visit to Brussels could be interpreted as an intended humiliation of the European Union, with the subsequent visit of Chancellor Merkel to Ankara as an act of Europe’s capitulation.
The way Erdoğan and the AKP have ruled Turkey for the past years is in violation of all the values the European Union is based on. Still, as long as Turkey regulates the influx of refugees into Europe, European Politicians and Brussels are willing to do everything to please Ankara. The offer by Brussels to resume the accession negotiations with Turkey was the ultimate surrender and humiliation of the EU. Turkey has done everything to show Brussels that it will never comply with the rules necessary to become a European Member country. With closing down Twitter, YouTube in 20142, being the world leader in jailing journalists for the 2nd year in 20133, the crackdown on the judicial system in 20144, there is no chance Turkey will ever be a European Union member. It is clear Turkey is far from being interested in becoming a member of the European Union: rather, Erdoğan has put the proposal to good political use, showing his fellow countrymen that it is not Brussels that imposes conditions on Ankara but the other way round. The European elite will have to eat humble pie in the end.
It was in September this year that a mysterious event triggered a two-million refugee flood directed towards Europe, a flood made up of people who had lived in Turkey for 3 years. Without any doubt this was masterminded by the Turkish AKP government that has at least four reasons to do so:
Erdoğan feels abandoned by Europe and the US in the fight against Assad. Turkey does not get enough support from Europe for the burden of housing more than 2 million refugees. Germany and Great Britain support the Syrian Kurds with training and weapons5. The AKP regard the Syrian Kurds as the natural allies of the PKK. The AKP needs to prevent the EU from imposing sanctions on Turkey for the way the political opponents are dealt with there.
While the Western media consumer is completely unaware of the root cause of the events as they are unfolding, European politicians do know that the key to the refugee problem is Turkey and Mr Erdoğan. The European political elite is paralyzed by the unfolding refugee crisis, not able to deal with the problem at the European or a local level. The European Union i.e. 28 member states, has to act collectively. As it is, most member states are trying to limit the number of refugees coming to them, while countries like Greece and Italy, because of their geographical location, are forced to receive most of the migrants. The European Union has no mandate or authority to have those people accommodated in areas or camps close to its external border. The implementation of European refugee policy has to be ensured by particular member states, most of them trying to limit their share of the burden.
Erdoğan knows he is holding Brussels hostage, thus preventing Brussels from criticizing AKP’s ruthless way of dealing with its opposition and demanding extra money for housing the large number of refugees now living in Turkey. Chancellor Merkel’s visit just before the second general elections was a victory for the AKP6. Erdoğan must have realized he had literally broken the moral spine of Europe and could proceed with his plan to gain power, cost it what it may. Without any objections from Brussels two Turkish newspapers recently known for fierce opposition to the policies of President Erdoğan and the AKP turned pro-government overnight after their management had been seized by a prosecutor earlier this week.
European citizens should be extremely wary of the cause of the events and the lack of moral condemnation for Turkey’s failure to observe democratic rules. The European Union sees itself as the basis for human and democratic rights, so an aspiring member state is expected to respect these values. After all, it is because the EU acts as the champion of the fight against corruption and tyranny, and styles itself as a promoter of good governance that it supports Ukraine in the latter’s dealings with Moscow.
It is the first time in the history of the European Union that Brussels has rewarded a political leader who is violating all the values the European Union stands for. It may be an unfortunate, not to say a dangerous, precedent that while Erdoğan is in the middle of the process of literally removing free press, Brussels offers Turkey to resume the European Union accession negotiations.
Erdoğan’s is not merely an electoral victory: it is Ankara’s triumph over Europe. The Turks did not only defeat Europe at Gallipoli in 1915; Erdoğan also defeated the European Union’s moral superiority. Angela Merkel’s capitulation will pave the way for the transformation of Turkey into an Islamic state with Erdoğan as its undisputed leader.“The agreement on the BRICS $100 billion currency reserve pool came into force Thursday. The fund was set up by the developing nations group to protect their national currencies from volatility in global markets,” RT reports.
“The arrangement is important not only because it provides the possibility to quickly obtain additional liquidity, but its very existence has a positive, stabilizing effect on the market. Similar agreements created by other countries (for example, the European Stability Mechanism) continue to be in force and fulfill their functions,” Russia’s BRICS group representative told TASS. He also noted there is a number of technical documents to be signed soon, preferably during the next meeting of the BRICS Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers.
The official also said that currently there are “no signals of an immediate need of the pool’s funds from BRICS partners.”
The BRICS countries contributions to the liquidity fund look as follows:
$41 billion – China
$18 billion – Brazil
$18 billion – India
$18 billion – Russia
$5 billion – South Africa
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
$100 billion – TOTAL
In July 2014, a historic milestone for the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) was reached as the group signed a document to form the the $100 billion New Development Bank (NDB) in addition to a reserve currency pool worth over $100 billion, known as the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
China’s Parliament ratified the creation of the $100 billion New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank, on July 1.
It’s worth noting that the BRICS bank will start lending in local currency by April 2016 and its member countries will be the primarily focus of the bank, K.V. Kamath, the President of the NDB told the Press Trust of India (PTI) on July 10.
“I think we will start the lending process sometimes early first quarter next year … the idea is that by April next year, we will create a state of projects from all the member countries (for lending),” Kamath told PTI in an interview.
BRICS Bank To Start Lending In Local Currencies In Q1 2016, President Says http://t.co/h1QWlqvAru pic.twitter.com/82CKAvnJj0 — EMerging Equity (@EM_Equity) July 10, 2015
The BRICS will start to open local offices of the New Development Bank (NDB) in 2016, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
The first office in South Africa will be opened at the end of 2015 or by the beginning of the next year, Andrey Bokarev, a department head at the Russian Finance Ministry said. After that, an office in Brazil will open, and then in Russia, the official noted.
BRICS Bank Said To Open Offices In Member States In 2016 http://t.co/bTlgzDHijv pic.twitter.com/akZHTtZKPx — EMerging Equity (@EM_Equity) July 22, 2015When it comes to life away from the silver screen, Hollywood star Brad Pitt usually plays second fiddle to his wife Angelina Jolie, who is well known for her humanitarian work for the UNHCR. But Pitt may well soon be adding a new and noble feather to his cap (which we can only assume is of the Bavarian felt variety) with his nomination for 2014's "Keeper of the German Language" title.
The annual award - run through the German language publication "Deutsche Sprachwelt" - is awarded for outstanding services to the German language, and is voted by the public.
The American actor is of German ancestry, speaks the language and is a regular to the country, including during the filming of Quentin Tarantino's 2009 alternative war flick "Inglourious Basterds" shot in Potsdam's historic Babelsberg Studios, and in which Pitt plays a ruthless Nazi hunter.
"I like the language - I even find it beautiful and melodic," Pitt told the "Cologne Express" newspaper.
Despite his Hollywood action training, however, Pitt is up against some formidable opponents for the title - including cabaret artist Monika Gruber for her resistance against the encroachment of political correctness into the German language. Also in the running is the vice president of German parliament, Johannes Singhammer, nominated for his tireless work in promoting the use of the German language within the EU. Volunteer German teachers assisting refugees are also amongst the nominees.
The winner has big boots to fill - previous winners include German rail giant Deutsche Bahn and former Pope Benedict XVI. Voting is open until January 31, 2015.
jt/cd (ots)With authorities ineffective, the 2,200-strong Ka’apor, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, are taking on the illegal loggers with technology and direct action
With bows, arrows, GPS trackers and camera traps, an indigenous community in northern Brazil is fighting to achieve what the government has long failed to do: halt illegal logging in their corner of the Amazon.
The Ka’apor – a tribe of about 2,200 people in Maranhão state – have organised a militia of “forest guardians” who follow a strategy of nature conservation through aggressive confrontation.
Logging trucks and tractors that encroach upon their territory – the 530,000-hectare Alto Turiaçu Indigenous Land – are intercepted and burned. Drivers and chainsaw operators are warned never to return. Those that fail to heed the advice are stripped and beaten.
It is dangerous work. Since the tribe decided to manage their own protection in 2011, they say the theft of timber has been reduced, but four Ka’apor have been murdered and more than a dozen others have received death threats.
Now the Ka’apor are seeking support through NGOs and the media. Earlier this month, the Guardian was among a first group of foreign journalists and Greenpeace activists who were invited to see how they live and operate.
Reaching their land was a long haul. After flying to São Luis, the capital of Maranhão state, it took more than eight hours to drive along a potholed highway flanked by cattle farms and palm plantations before turning off on to a bumpy dirt track through tracts of deforested land, until a dense thicket of jungle marked the limit of Ka’apor territory.
The path was so close to the foliage here that branches constantly scratched and scraped the sides of our 4x4 until finally, just a few minutes before midnight, we emerged into a clearing bathed in moonlight.
This was Jaxipuxirenda, one of eight former logging camps that have been taken over by the Ka’apor and settled by a handful of families so the timber thieves cannot return. It was very simple; six thatched roofs under which families slept in hammocks.
Living in such outposts is a sacrifice. Longer-established villages have electricity, health centres, football pitches and satellite dishes. Jaxipuxirenda is bereft of such creature comforts.
But it is a key part of a drive to regain territory, independence and respect – all of which have been steadily eroded by loggers for more than two decades. Alto Turiaçu, which covers an area equal to Delaware or three times that of Greater London, is a vulnerable and lucrative target. Although 8% has already been cleared, the indigenous land contains about half of the Amazon forest left in Maranhão state. This includes much sought-after trees, like ipê (Brazilian walnut), which can fetch almost £1,000 ($1,500) per cubic metre after processing and export.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ka’apor Indians setting up trap cameras in areas used by illegal loggers to invade the indigenous territory. Photograph: Lunae Parracho/Greenpeace
The Ka’apor asked the government to protect their borders, which were recognised in 1982. Last year, a federal court ordered the authorities to set up security posts. But nothing has been done, prompting the community to organise self-defence missions.
In the morning, one of the forest guardians, Tidiun Ka’apor (who, like all of the leaders of the group, asked to have his name changed to avoid being targeted by loggers) explains what happens when they encounter loggers.
“Sometimes, it’s like a film. They fight us with machetes, but we always drive them off,” he says. “We tell them, ‘We’re not like you. We don’t steal your cows so don’t steal our trees.”
The main weapons used by the Ka’apor are bows and arrows and borduna – a heavy sword-shaped baton. One of the group also owns a rusty old rifle. Mostly though, they depend on greater numbers.
Tidiun Ka’apor takes us to a charred truck and tractor that the group burned in a confrontation a little over a week earlier and uses the ashes to paint his face. “This gives us strength,” one of his associates says. The Ka’apor are thought to have set fire to about a dozen loggers’ vehicles. Further along the road, they build a pyre of planks seized inside their land, douse it with gasoline and then watch it burn.
Another of the group’s leaders Miraté Ka’apor says the use of violence – which has resulted in some broken bones but no deaths among the loggers – is justified. “The loggers come here to steal from us. So, they deserve what they get. We have to make them feel our loss – the loss of our timber, the destruction of our forest.”
Compared with the past, he said the missions were effective. “Our struggle is having results because the loggers respect us now.”
But the loggers also appear to be responding with lethal force. On 26 April, a former chieftain, Eusébio Ka’apor was murdered by gunmen on his way back from a visit to his brother. Like most killings of indigenous people and environmental activists in Brazil, the crime has not been solved, but the dead man’s son has little doubt who is responsible and what they were trying to achieve.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ka’apor Indians stand next to a logging tractor that they discovered and set on fire inside the indigenous territory one month before. Photograph: Lunae Parracho/Greenpeace
“He was a target because [the loggers] thought he was the main leader of the group,” said Iraun Ka’apor. “They thought the Ka’apor would stop if they killed him. But we will continue with our work of protection. I’m not afraid. This is my home, my land, my forest.”
Ten days before we arrived, Iraun received a death threat and was told that the bullet that killed his father had been meant for him.
The authorities in Maranhão – the poorest state in Brazil – warn the Ka’apor that although they are within their rights to protect their land, it is ultimately up to the state to resolve disputes over territory.
“The involvement of the Ka’apor in the defence of their territory against the loggers should be understood as legitimate defence, since the action of the loggers puts their survival at risk,” said Alexandre Silva Saraiva, regional superintendent of the federal police. “But the presence of the state is the only way to diminish the agrarian conflicts and reduce homicides.”
Inside Alto Turiaçu, people are sceptical that the police and government are willing to look after indigenous interests. Last year 70 Indians were murdered in Brazil, a 32% increase on 2013, according to the Missionary Indigenous Council. In many cases the killings were related to land disputes with loggers or ranchers. In their community gathering, many Ka’apor expressed the belief that the authorities were colluding in the sell-off of the forest.
“We are very concerned,” Miraté says. “Even the local authorities are involved
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son and D. L. Myers; an immense assemblage of the writings of Leah Bodine Drake; and some projects that I am not at liberty to mention as yet. I pity the pocketbooks of my legions of fans!
↓ Entries from 2018…Tony Gwynn could have done many things when his 20-year Hall of Fame career concluded with the Padres.
He chose to be a college baseball coach at San Diego State, where he became not only coach of the Aztecs but an ambassador for the game.
That legacy will live on with the Tony Gwynn Classic, an eight-team college baseball tournament set to debut Feb. 26-28, 2016.
An official announcement of the event is scheduled for Tuesday morning adjacent to Gwynn’s statue at Petco Park, one year to the day after the Hall of Famer’s death.
"Tony was so excited about this," said his widow, Alicia Gwynn. "He talked about it all the time. It was something he really, really looked forward to.
"It's a sad day in a sense because Tony's not here, but he made me promise not to let it die.
"When they came to me and said they wanted to call it the Tony Gwynn Classic, I said. 'That's perfect.' The family wants to carry on his legacy and give San Diego a chance to carry on his legacy."
SDSU and USD will co-host what is to be an annual event played the second week of the college season.
“This is the result of a group of passionate people whose passion for college baseball intersected with Tony’s passion,” said Jack Murray, who is founder and chairman of the event. “We are blessed to announce it as a celebration of what Tony truly loved, college baseball, with San Diego State involved, in the city that he loved.
“The beauty of us being able to announce this, to celebrate his passion, on a day many people will mourn, is an honor.”
Murray, the longtime play-by-play voice of the Toreros, turned immediately to former USD coach John Cunningham to help make it a reality.
Cunningham, drawing on contacts developed over more than 50 years around the college game, was instrumental in procuring the participants for the tournament.
Teams from Bryant University, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Tulane and UC Santa Barbara will join the Aztecs and Toreros for the inaugural event.
SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium and USD’s Fowler Park will be the venues for the tournament. The teams will be split into two four-team brackets, with the winners meeting in the championship game at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Baseball America editor in chief John Manuel believes the event holds great promise.
“College baseball has had a variety of big events early in the season, such as the Astros College Classic in Houston, but the Tony Gwynn Classic should stand out from the crowd,” Baseball America editor in chief John Manuel said. “It will have great weather, teams from around the country to attract scouts and the on-campus locations to attract fans as well.
“I hope the event can become one of the highlights of the college baseball calendar, and I believe it will.”
Teams for the 2017 event also have been secured, with Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Seton Hall, Wichita State and UC Irvine signed on to participate.
According to event organizers, Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Cal State Fullerton and USC are among the schools expected to be included in future years.
“Hopefully, this can be a focal point for the beginning of each college baseball season nationally as we start bringing in some top programs to play here and get exposure for college baseball,” SDSU coach Mark Martinez said. “There’s a lot of people behind the scenes who made this happen, and we can’t thank them enough for putting Tony’s name out there....
“The idea behind it was to have it ongoing to celebrate Tony’s legacy — and do it forever. This is the way to carry the baton and he can continue to be the ambassador for college baseball with the Tony Gwynn Classic.”Spain finally has a date for its next general election: December 20. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the Popular Party (PP), made the announcement on Thursday night, during a television interview on Antena 3.
Many PP leaders had been expecting a December 13 date, believing December 20 to be too close to Christmas and likely to find many Spaniards away on vacation.
Rajoy justified his choice on the basis of the congressional agenda.
If it were held on the 13th, we would have to constitute parliament practically in the middle of Christmas” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
“If it were held on the 13th, we would have to constitute parliament practically in the middle of Christmas,” he said. “This way, there’s a little more leeway, we have until January 14. We can pass the budget, hold the elections and constitute parliament after the holidays.”
The Spanish leader had been a long time coming with a definitive date for an election that could mark the end of the two-party system in place since Spain returned to democracy in the 1970s. Two newcomers, Podemos and Ciudadanos, will be competing with the traditional PP and Socialist Party (PSOE) for a share of power on the strength of their anti-corruption message.
The PP, in power since November 2011, stands to lose significant ground if May’s municipal and regional elections are any indication. After sustaining deep losses across the country, the conservatives performed dismally again in the Catalan regional election held last Sunday.
Regardless of the poor forecast, Rajoy on Thursday expressed confidence in his chances for re-election thanks to the economic recovery and incipient job creation. The prime minister is promising to create up to two million jobs over the next four years.
English version by Susana Urra.Story highlights Anisha Bhavnani was reprimanded for entering a temple while she had her period
"I refuse to be treated as less capable, weaker, dirty or impure," she writes
Have a personal essay to share with the world? Submit via CNN iReport
First Person is a series of personal essays exploring identity and personal points of view that shape who we are. The latest contributor, Anisha Bhavnani, is an 18-year-old student in Mumbai, India. She is studying social sciences and humanities at St. Xavier's College. A version of this piece first appeared on CNN iReport and her personal blog, Adoxographia.
(CNN) Six years ago, I was in the fifth grade and my teachers were planning a school trip to the nearby town of Karjat. A hundred chatty students were to go there by bus, engage in a little sightseeing and return at night.
At that age, getting a monthly visit from a certain bloody friend was relatively uncommon. The boys were kept in the dark and my friends and I talked about it in hushed tones. Getting one's period was frightening and no one was particularly excited about this coming of age rite. To make us feel more comfortable, the teachers asked us to inform them if we got our periods and reassured us that we'd be taken care of.
I got mine on the day of the trip. It wasn't my first time, but I informed a teacher anyway and hopped on the bus.
One of the places of interest in Karjat was a huge, historic temple. My classmates and I went inside and marveled at the carvings (or picked our noses; I don't remember). As we exited, another teacher pulled me aside and asked me if I had my period. I said yes. Her expression changed instantly and in a terrifying, angry voice, she told me this:
"How did you go inside the temple then? Don't you know you're not supposed to? Hasn't your mother told you that you can't step inside a temple when you have your period? Call your mother tomorrow; I want to meet her!"
Read MoreI never thought I’d see the day when an “energy-balancing smudge kit” would have a “product sku” number 34519397 and a “color code,” 012 and yet, until recently, it was featured on Urban Outfitters’ website. You can still find it on Pinterest.
Screengrab via Pinterest
The kit comes with its own “wild turkey smudging feather, stoneware smudging dish, candle and instructions.” Yes, instructions. It’s hard for me to imagine how they are written. I got my instructions from my relatives while being taught our traditional ceremonies passed down for generations in my family. These ceremonies were originally given to our Dakota/Lakota people by the Pte San Win (the White Buffalo Calf Woman), a sacred being who came to us and brought us the sacred pipe.
The Dakota don’t generally use turkey feathers in ceremony (although, some tribes do), but since the eagle feathers we do use are illegal for non-federally recognized tribal members to sell or possess, Urban Outfitters would not be able to sell them. The illegal sale of eagle feathers is punishable by up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This “smudge kit” is manufactured by “The Local Branch” owned by Mackenzie Edgerton & Blaine Vossler, a traveling, artisanal, white hipster couple living in an Airstream who sells these kits to Urban Outfitters. The couple also advertises “Bison Beanies,” “handcrafted holsters for the modern pioneer,” and “artisan screen printed” tank tops that feature appropriated Native American designs. The Local Branch’s aesthetic is like a more millennial, festival-inspired Ralph Lauren with Americana heavily featured; they proudly display both an American flag and a bison skull (also sacred to the Dakota) in their Design Sponge-featured Airstream rustic renovation.
Screengrab via The Local Branch
The company also sells a $146.00 “holster” on its website for carrying cell phones. This is ironic, of course, because most of us are familiar with them from gunfights in old-fashioned Westerns. But for Native people, both in actual history and in the movies, that same gun culture meant that those “pioneers,” as the couple markets themselves, signified death, total war, war crimes, and genocide. “Pioneer” is derived from a French word referring to “peons,” the disposable poor who were sent ahead of the regular military. Whether in the American West or elsewhere, the term has always been a reference for the dispossession of land and the truly free people who live on it.
Screengrab via The Local Branch
They say that we were not Dakota until we began practicing these ceremonies—then we became Dakota. The ceremonies brought to us by Pte San Win represent the formalization of our sacred, life-sustaining relationship with the buffalo nation, the Tatanka Oyate. This relationship cannot be purchased, not even “artisanally,” and should not be sold by a corporate entity traded on Wall Street.
The Great Plains were once littered with the bodies of the buffalo people left to rot as part of a total war waged against Native Americans by the U.S. and its “pioneers.” Bison and Dakota people were shot by guns held in those holsters. The U.S. implicitly understood the intimate relationship our people had with those 25 million-plus buffalo that roamed the plains, and they destroyed them for it. By 1889, the numbers of the buffalo were just a few hundred and our people, or what was left of them, were forced into so-called “happy camps.” The fact that Edgerton and Vossler thought nothing of profiting off our ceremonies and our cultural heritage, even though they knew so little about history that they didn’t know it wasn’t OK—or that calling themselves “pioneers” was not ironic but actually true to form.
These ceremonies, like smudging, mean something to us. They mean a connection to our past of being a free people or person, an ikce wicasa as we say—and not a peasant or peon or pioneer. Being tatanka and not cattle means something.
I am shocked that Urban Outfitters up to its cultural appropriation tactics again. My mom’s people, the Navajo Nation, are actually suing them in court for doing so, which they’re arguing amounts to a slew of trademark violations. In 2012, the Navajo Nation filed suit arguing that American Apparel’s clothing violates trademark standards established by “the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which makes it illegal to sell arts or crafts in a way that falsely suggests they were produced by Native Americans,” as the Guardian reports. The original suit took issue with the retailer’s line of Navajo-themed underwear, complete with a flask, a particular affront to a group of people disproportionately affected by alcohol addiction.
But despite numerous culturally insensitive gaffes, Urban Outfitters is doing quite well: Sales are surging, and stocks up 12.5 percent. Meanwhile, CNN Money reported in March, “Last month, the company was criticized for selling a tapestry that many thought looked too much like a Nazi concentration camp uniform. That followed two ridiculously insensitive pieces of apparel last year: a Kent State sweatshirt that appeared to have blood splatter and bullet holes on it and a drunk Jesus T-shirt in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.”
Screengrab via Urban Outfitters
For those interested in Native American clothing and culture, the solution is simple: Stop buying it from Urban Outfitters and their affiliated chains. Don’t support their bottom line. Instead, check out Nooksack artist Louie Gong’s site, Inspired Natives. The goal of this project is to promote the work of Native artists, the “Inspired Natives” of the title, rather than work that is simply inspired by their culture and steals from it. On his site, Gong notes that, on top of the cultural appropriation issues, the biggest problem with “‘Native-inspired’ goods on the market [is that they] ultimately squeeze out Native artists.”
I asked Gong what he thought of “The Local Branch” product line. “Culture and cultural art are like other types of resources,” he told me. “Regardless of how well-intentioned you might be, if you keep taking it without putting anything back into the environment that created it, you eventually destroy it. This is a lesson indigenous people have been trying to communicate for centuries. It’s ironic that the business people who are so eager to align with our values and the environment are still perpetuating a way of being that killed the buffalo and clear-cut the forests.”
Gong is right: We can’t change the past, but we can help change the future. This starts when we work to support the actual artists who represent Native cultures, as well as paying tribute to the rich and complicated behind these designs and ceremonies. It might look like just a bunch of paint to Urban Outfitters and The Local Branch, a way to look hip at an outdoor music festival, but to my people, “smudging” is much more—and that meaning should be fought for. In order to avoid reliving our own histories, it’s best to stop repeating their mistakes, while allowing multi-billion dollar businesses to profit off of them.
Jacqueline Keeler is a Navajo/Yankton Dakota Sioux writer living in Portland, Ore., and is a founder of EONM.org (Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry). She has been published in Salon, Indian Country Today, and the Nation. Keeler is finishing her first novel “Leaving the Glittering World,” set in the shadow of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State during the discovery of Kennewick Man.
Photo via Brian Tomlinson/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)MATT KREMKAU - EMPIRE OF SOCCER
by GLENN CROOKS
As eight teams prepare for the knock-out stage of the Major League Soccer playoffs, the New York Red Bulls went through a light training session on a cold Tuesday morning at their practice facility in Whippany, New Jersey.
Although the Red Bulls fell short of their second straight Supporters Shield, the Jersey side managed to capture their second consecutive Eastern Conference championship despite losing six of their first seven matches to begin the 34-game regular season schedule.
“It felt to me that a lot of people were happy how we started – maybe that’s me being a bit paranoid – but from what I saw in the outside world,” said RBNY striker, Bradley Wright Phillips. “They thought last season was a fluke. So, to come back and show that we have a system and we work for each other – it’s a good feeling. We’re building something real here.”
BWP has been prominent in the current 16 game unbeaten stretch for the Red Bulls – 20 without a loss in all competitions. With 24 goals and the MLS Golden Boot, the England international is a strong candidate for the Most Valuable Player Award in MLS.
“There was a time I questioned myself early this season – I thought I was letting down the fans and the team,” said BWP, who did not score a goal in his first seven matches this season. “I think very deeply – when I go to games I see children with the shirts on with my name on their back – I feel bad, almost leaving games thinking I really am not doing my job.
“My teammates and coaching staff – they were there to get me through the tougher times.”
Wright-Phillips, with a wool hat and hoodie pulled over his head in the chilly conditions, suggested that his annual sluggish starts mimic specific aspects of his normal 24-hour day.
“I feel like that’s just me – even my personality at home,” said the man who has scored 68 goals in the last three years – more than any player in MLS. “I feel like I start the day a bit slower. I’m quite moody in the morning and get nicer as the day goes along – so maybe that’s how I go to work.”
After clinching the Golden Boot, his chief competitor for the honor, New York City FC striker, David Villa, tweeted his congratulations.
“I expect nothing less from him – its almost embarrassing for me to even be mentioned with his name – it’s David Villa,” said Wright-Phillips, who never appeared for his national team while Villa is the all-time goal scorer for Spain with 59 tallies. “I hope he hasn’t thought about it (the Golden Boot) as much as me. Because me, after awhile it gets in my head and I hate being like that. I read it everywhere.
“I would like to thank him for reaching out – he’s an amazing player.”
The seeding in the East is set up for a BWP-Villa match-up in the Conference Finals – perhaps an MLS pipedream when the season began. Looking ahead, Wright-Phillips declared that watching Red Bulls II win the USL Championship on Sunday, was an inspiring visual for the first team players.
“Its hard to envision something when you haven’t won it,” said Wright-Phillips.
“That was an inspiring moment for our club – and I think important for our first team and our players to see that, to feel that,” chimed in RBNY head coach, Jesse Marsch. “We are very close to that team and to feel the joy of the club being able to raise that trophy, it creates even more hunger and inspires us to want it even more.”Google Street View Shows Pittsburgh’s Incredible Transformation
Let’s hop into the DeLorean and take a trip back to 2007.
BY VIRGINIA MONTANEZ
Google Maps recently unveiled an update that allows users to view a street at various points in time since 2007, when Street View first began its cross-country scan of America.
When LA Weekly’s Jennifer Swann used this new update to reveal 20 before-and-after images showing how Los Angeles has changed since 2007, I knew I had to apply that same research to Pittsburgh.
After hours spent virtually driving the streets of Pittsburgh with one eye on the present and one eye on the past, I found that Pittsburgh truly has undergone a metamorphosis in the past seven years.
Lawrenceville
Perhaps one of the most well-known areas of revitalization is hipster heaven Lawrenceville — especially Butler Street, where vacant, rundown facades have been renovated into busy, colorful storefronts.
Hill District
The city recently trained an eye on the Hill District as an area for redevelopment, but a look at Google Maps shows some changes already have taken place. On Dinwiddie Street, new housing and other developments sparkle among aging structures.
Braddock
Thanks to a mayor and residents who have thrown their hearts and souls into the town — refusing to give up even when UPMC walked away — Braddock indeed is rising as evidenced by mixed-use developments such as this one at the intersection of Braddock Avenue and 4th Street.
Market Square
The Market Square redesign was met with criticism from those who weren’t fans of a big cement square taking the place of raised tree beds. But with the overhaul complete and the square hosting crowd-drawing events throughout the year, including the uber-popular Christkindlmrkt in December, those critics seem to have been silenced.
North Shore
It all began with a simple rebranding — the land closest to the rivers no longer is the North Side; it’s the North Shore, home to many of the most visible new structures in Pittsburgh. In addition to Heinz Field and PNC Park, you’ll find Stage AE and the Hyatt Place hotel where an empty lot once stood, Rivers Casino on once-empty prime riverfront property and a bronzed Mister Rogers taking his seat underneath a remnant of the old Manchester Bridge.
East Liberty
Perhaps topping Lawrenceville as the most-overhauled neighborhood is East Liberty. The transformation began with the demolition of several dilapidated high-rise towers and really kicked into high gear with the arrival of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and the Bakery Square complex. Here you’ll see how Bakery Square and Target transformed their spots. A little further down Penn, you’ll find Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina’s clean green lines replacing vacant, boarded-up structures. You’ll also find the “Happy Birthday, Julia” window still looking down on passersby before Google saved it from demolition.
Downtown
Once a ghost town with newspaper tumbleweeds rolling down empty streets as soon as the workday ended, downtown is now a thriving neighborhood. There’s vibrancy and activity well into the night hours on any given day. In addition to Market Square, some of the more notable updates since 2007 include the new Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel, the rising Tower at PNC Plaza and the sleek Greyhound Station where Grant Street becomes Liberty Avenue.
Things that aren’t there anymore
Building up cities often involves tearing down old structures, and Google Street View gives us a glimpse into the past. The Civic Arena now is a parking lot, while empty space is all that remains of the embattled St. Nicholas Church off of Route 28.
And some things … as evidenced by the two shots of Route 28 taken years apart … just never change...Kate Beaton
I didn't dwell on Cloak very much in a comic about tit windows, but, here's something. I tweeted this essay a while ago when I read it, but Cloak's lack of a body really brought it to mind again, and you should totally read it, though mostly it is about the character Cyborg, it is relevant here too:
Humanity Not Included: DC's Cyborg and the Mechanization of the Black Body by Robert Jones, Jr. I had a lot of fun with this on twitter, so I just kept on going with it. But you know, I'm always kind of touched by how strongly fans support their favourite characters, and there is a lot of love for Cloak and Dagger, and you can see why because there are some pretty great things about that pair. But that costume, come on, it's a big old slice of tit window pie. They don't always dress Dagger like that, but yeah they mostly do! But they probably won't on the tv show!I didn't dwell on Cloak very much in a comic about tit windows, but, here's something. I tweeted this essay a while ago when I read it, but Cloak's lack of a body really brought it to mind again, and you should totally read it, though mostly it is about the character Cyborg, it is relevant here too:by Robert Jones, Jr. Store!The Classic Theme Restorer add-on for Firefox will stop working when Mozilla releases Firefox 57.0 Stable, and Firefox 59.0 ESR.
Classic Theme Restorer was developed as a direct response to Mozilla refreshing Firefox with the Australis theme release in Firefox 29.
The add-on allows Firefox users to restore many theme features that Mozilla removed and changed with the Australis launch, or introduced with it.
The extension grew quickly, and features an immense set of features and tweaks nowadays that give you control over many features of the browser. Check out 10 reasons for Classic Theme Restorer to find out more about the add-on's functionality.
The death of Classic Theme Restorer for Firefox
Back in November 2016, we suggested that Classic Theme Restorer might be dead once Mozilla makes the full switch to WebExtensions exclusively in Firefox.
We based this on posts by Aris, the developer of the add-on who stated that the extension will be dead by the end of 2017. Reasons given at that time were that Mozilla had not come up with WebExtension APIs that would allow the add-on to be ported, and then continued as a WebExtension.
If you check out the official add-on page of Classic Theme Restorer on Mozilla's AMO site today, you will notice the following paragraph at the top:
This add-on will stop working when Firefox 57 arrives in November 2017 and Mozilla drops support for XUL / XPCOM / legacy add-ons. It should still work on Firefox 52 ESR until ESR moves to Firefox 59 ESR in 2018 (~Q2). There is no "please port it" or "please add support for it" this time, because the entire add-on eco system changes and the technology behind this kind of add-on gets dropped without replacement.
Aris posted a request on Bugzilla to get Mozilla to introduce APIs that would allow him to port the add-on, but Mozilla marked the request as Wontfix. This means basically, that Mozilla won't create the APIs required to port Classic Theme Restorer, and many of the other add-ons that require this kind of access.
While the new theme API may introduce some features, it is too limited to create a viable WebExtension version of Classic Theme Restorer.
Classic Theme Restorer, at the time of writing, is one of the highest rated add-ons on AMO. It has a five star rating based on 1176 user reviews, and more than 413,000 users at the time of writing.
413,000 users may not be much when compared to Firefox's total population. Most of these users have -- likely -- used Firefox for years, even before the Australis days.
There is not much Firefox users can do about it if they rely on add-ons that cannot or won't be ported to WebExtensions. Sticking with the last working build may work for a time, but it means that security issues will pile up, and that support for new web technologies won't find its way into the browser either.
Switching to third-party ports may be an option, but it remains to be seen how many of those will survive the year 2017. The developer of Cyberfox stated recently for instance that the browser will reach end of life with the release of Firefox 52.x ESR.
Pale Moon will survive, but that is the only web browser based on Firefox that we know of that will do so.
Now You: If you are affected by the change, what's your plan moving forward?
Summary Article Name The death of Classic Theme Restorer for Firefox Description The Classic Theme Restorer add-on for Firefox will stop working when Mozilla releases Firefox 57.0 Stable, and Firefox 59.0 ESR. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo
AdvertisementLift Labs’ spoon is specially designed for people with hand tremors.
Image via Lift Labs
Google has taken a break from buying robots, drones, and artificial-intelligence companies to acquire Lift Labs, a small startup that makes spoons.
As you can see in the video below, Lift’s spoons are not your ordinary flatware. They’re designed for people whose hands shake, whether from essential tremor or a neurodegenerative disorder such as Parkinson’s. Embedded in their oversized handles is an electronic system that senses the tremors and responds with counter-movements designed to keep the spoons’ business ends relatively stable. The handle moves, but the business end stays relatively stable, so the food doesn’t fall off on its way to your mouth.
The Lift Labs spoon costs $295 and you can buy it here. The company is also working on soup spoon, fork, and key holder versions.
Cool, right? But what does that have to do with Google?
Well, as Reuters’ Alexei Oreskovic points out, Google has been taking a greater interest in health technology lately, and Lift will be joining a growing Life Sciences group within the company. That group, profiled recently in the Wall Street Journal, is working on a “smart contact lens” that monitors glucose levels for diabetics. Google also led a $130 million investment earlier this year in a startup that produces cancer treatment software.
More broadly, Google appears to believe that some of the same computing technologies it has developed to organize the Internet could be used to make better sense of the human body. Last year it launched a whole new company called Calico with the goal of fighting old age.
But there’s another, more personal reason why Google might have been attracted to Lift Labs in particular. Sergey Brin’s mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and Brin himself carries a gene that’s associated with the disease. In 2010, Wired’s Thomas Goetz wrote about Brin’s quest to harness software and computing power to help find a cure for Parkinson’s.
In a statement on Google Plus, the company wrote of Lift Labs:
Their tremor-canceling device could improve quality of life for millions of people. We’re also going to explore how their technology could be used in other ways to improve the understanding and management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
Previously in Slate:‘Island-Hopping’ to the Stars
We tend to think of interstellar journeys as leaps into the void, leaving the security of one solar system to travel non-stop to another. But a number of alternatives exist, a fact that becomes clear when we ponder that our own cloud of comets — the Oort Cloud — is thought to extend a light year out and perhaps a good deal further. There may be ways, in other words, to take advantage of resources like comets and other icy objects for a good part of an interstellar trip. That scenario is not as dramatic as a starship journey, but it opens up possibilities.
Let’s say, for example, that we only manage to get up to about 1 percent of lightspeed (3000 kilometers per second) before we run into technical challenges that are at least temporarily insurmountable. Speeds like that take well over 400 years to get a payload to Centauri A and B, but they make movement between planets and out into the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud a straightforward proposition. A civilization content to create way-stations and take its time could establish habitats all along the way, its distant descendants reaching the next solar system.
The idea takes me back to the island-hopping of Polynesian cultures as they pushed ever deeper into the Pacific, which is sometimes invoked to describe a civilization expanding from star to star. But the ‘island-hopping’ may actually involve small, dark objects exploited step by step all the way across to the target star, a process that could take millennia. A space-faring culture at home in the dark outer regions emerges. All of this depends, of course, upon the resources available, but the Oort Cloud is thought to be vast, comprising perhaps trillions of icy and rocky objects, a supply of raw materials on which such a culture could thrive.
Nomads Between the Stars
Adam Crowl recently passed along a new paper that takes this idea to another level. Louis Strigari (Stanford University) and colleagues have been looking at unbound objects, free-floating planets formed either directly in the collapse of a molecular cloud or ejected due to gravitational interactions in a solar system. Right now we know little about such rogue planets — Strigari and team call them ‘nomads’ — but they are quite interesting from the interstellar expansion standpoint as they, too, could provide even more stepping stones to distant destinations. Moreover, they cannot be ruled out as worthwhile targets on their own, as the paper suggests:
The name “nomad” is invoked to include that allusion that there may be an accompanying “flock,” either in the form of a system of moons (Debes & Sigurdsson 2007) or in its own ecosystem. Though an interstellar object might seem an especially inhospitable habitat, if one allows for internal radioactive or tectonic heating and the development of a thick atmosphere effective at trapping infrared heat (Stevenson 1999; Abbot & Switzer 2011), and recognizes that most life on Earth is bacterial and highly adaptive, then the idea that interstellar (and, given the prevalence of debris from major galaxy mergers, intergalactic) space is a vast ecosystem, exchanging mass through chips from rare direct collisions, is intriguing with obvious implications for the instigation of life on earth.
It’s a dizzying thought when you couple this with the paper’s estimates on the number of free-floating planetary objects. The authors estimate there may be up to 105 compact objects per main sequence star in the galaxy that are greater than the mass of Pluto. The mass function of the lowest-mass nomads is modeled from what we see in the Kuiper Belt and the distribution of diameters in KBOs, while at the higher end (corresponding to masses several times that of Jupiter), evidence exists that nomads in open clusters follow a smooth continuation of the brown dwarf mass function. Drawing in evidence from microlensing as well as direct imaging, the paper goes on to suggest a galaxy in which the space between the stars is well populated with objects of planetary mass, most relatively small but some larger than Jupiter.
The authors acknowledge that much uncertainty exists about the mass function as we move from larger to smaller nomads, which makes space-based observations critical for refining these estimates. One way to move forward is through a survey of the inner galaxy (the proposed Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope, or WFIRST, could be significant here), while large scale galaxy surveys like the Gaia mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) should be sensitive to nomads greater than Jupiter mass. Even Kepler may come into play, as any anomalous microlensing events it encounters could imply a high value for the number of nomads between the stars. From the paper:
…we note that an additional outcome of the observational approach discussed above, especially regarding the detection of short timescale microlensing events, is that upper limits may be set on the density of nomads. This could set very interesting constraints on the population of planetesimals in nascent planetary systems.
Indeed. If resources like these are available in quantity between the stars, then a pattern of slow expansion would make interstellar migration almost inevitable if humans (or their machine surrogates) can adapt to life in the outer Solar System and beyond. Propulsion is always a huge issue, but in this scenario we also focus on the ability to build and maintain habitats on distant objects, exploiting their raw materials and preparing for the next leap outwards. Long-haul technologies would surely arise from a culture capable of these things, but the possibility exists that interstellar travel will mean slow and steady outpost building before the target is reached.
The paper is Strigari et al., “Nomads of the Galaxy” (preprint).Mexico's President says 22 people have died at a school that collapsed in the nation's capital due to Tuesday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said that two of the bodies found were adults.
It is not clear whether the deaths are already included in the overall toll of at least 149 across the country.
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Pena Nieto visited the school late on Tuesday and said in comments broadcast online by Financiero TV that 30 children and eight adults were still reported missing.
Rescue workers were continuing to search and listening for sounds from the rubble.
Earlier the head of Mexico's civil defence agency said the nationwide death toll from Tuesday's earthquake has risen to 149.
Luis Felipe Puente said 55 people died in Morelos state, just south of the capital, while 49 died in Mexico City and 32 died in Puebla state, the location of the earthquake's epicentre.
Ten people died in Mexico State, which surrounds the capital, and three in Guerrero state. The count did not include one death reported by officials in Oaxaca state.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the magnitude 7.1 quake was centered near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is saddened by the loss of life and damage resulting from the earthquake.
Shape Created with Sketch. Mexico City earthquake in pictures Show all 13 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Mexico City earthquake in pictures 1/13 A handout picture provided by the citizen Edgar Cabalceta shows a general view of Mexico City following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, in Mexico City, Mexico EPA 2/13 Rescuers and residents look for victims amid the ruins of a building knocked down by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted central Mexico damaging buildings, knocking out power and causing alarm throughout the capital on September 19, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. The earthquake comes 32 years after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit on September 19, 1985 Getty Images 3/13 A police officer stands guard near a building which collapsed after a quake rattled Mexico City RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images 4/13 Rescuers, firefighters, policemen, soldiers and volunteers remove rubble and debris from a flattened building in search of survivors after a powerful quake in Mexico City AFP/Getty Images 5/13 Rescuers and residents look for victims amid the ruins of a building knocked down by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted central Mexico damaging buildings, knocking out power and causing alarm throughout the capital on September 19, 2017 in Mexico City Getty Images 6/13 People try to rescue survivors from a collapsed buildings after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on the
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him being stuck in this position outside of Miles Elementary School.
"I don't know what his story was but it must not have been good enough, fifteen minutes later when I went back by the other direction going home he was cuffed up in the backseat. He smiled for the camera," Sensibar said.
Sensibar's picture he posted on Facebook has gone viral.
KGUN9 has reached out to TUSD and Tucson Police Department for comment.Sound Transit says used cars are worth more than they actually are. That’s one reason why some people have been shocked by higher car-tab fees being collected for transit expansion approved by voters last year.
Sound Transit thinks your car is worth more than it actually is.
That’s one reason why Sound Transit 3’s car-tab tax increase is leaving some folks with sticker shock.
While the higher car-tab tax included in Sound Transit 3 is new — it applies to tabs that expire after March 1 — the way that Sound Transit calculates your car’s value is not.
The agency has long used a simple but inflated formula that it inherited from the state Legislature to calculate how much a car is worth, and how much its owner should be taxed.
Learn more about Traffic Lab » | Follow us on Twitter » Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around. It is funded with the help of community sponsors Alaska Airlines, CenturyLink, Kemper Development Co., NHL Seattle, PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company and Seattle Children’s hospital. Seattle Times editors and reporters operate independently of our funders and maintain editorial control over Traffic Lab content.
The formula dates back to 1990, when the state still charged a statewide tax based on the value of your car, and legislators changed the formula to bring in more revenue.
Over the first 10 years of a car’s life span, Sound Transit’s formula consistently overvalues a car’s worth compared with Kelley Blue Book values, resulting in higher car-tab fees for owners and more money to pay for light rail, buses and commuter trains in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
Sound Transit 3’s car-tab fees, along with a property-tax and sales-tax hike, will fund transit projects that include 62 new miles of light rail by 2041.
The newer the vehicle, generally, the more Sound Transit’s formula inflates the value.
Sound Transit says a 1-year-old car is worth 95 percent of its sticker price. Kelley Blue Book says the average 1-year-old car is worth only 70 percent of its sticker price.
Sound Transit says a 2-year-old car is worth 89 percent of sticker price; Blue Book says only 59 percent.
Take, for instance, a 2014 Toyota Camry, with 30,000 miles on it. It has a Blue Book value of about $10,700.
Sound Transit’s tax totals 1.1 percent of the car’s value — following an increase of 0.8 percentage points from ST3 — which would yield the agency $117 from that 3-year-old Camry.
But Sound Transit doesn’t think the Camry is worth $10,700. When new, it had a sticker price of about $23,000. At 3 years old, Sound Transit says the car is still worth $19,090, which means its portion of the car-tab fee is about $209.
Brad Benfield, a spokesman for the state Department of Licensing, which collects car-tab taxes for Sound Transit, said the formula is just a standardized way to collect tax money, not an accurate representation of a car’s worth.
“It’s not related to fair market value,” Benfield said. “It was designed to be an easy way to collect what’s essentially a property tax on a vehicle. They wanted to make sure that people who had similar cars paid the same tax.”
While Sound Transit’s valuation formula is not well known, the formula has never been hidden (it’s on the Department of Licensing’s website) and it did not change with the passage of ST3. Tax estimates published before voters approved ST3 last year were all based on the formula now in use.
Geoff Patrick, a Sound Transit spokesman, said more than half of cars taxed by ST3 will see car-tab fees for Sound Transit of less than $100 this year, and more than 80 percent will see fees less than $200.
“While there have been some stories about people who clearly have significantly more expensive vehicles,” Patrick said, “the vast majority are going to be in that range I just mentioned.”
Not budging
The state and Sound Transit have a winding, convoluted history with how they value vehicles and, despite a recent push in the Legislature to change the formula, the current one appears to be stuck in place for the next decade.
The state started collecting car-tab taxes during the Great Depression but moved to the boost formula in 1990 as part of a broad transportation funding package.
In 1996, Puget Sound-area voters approved the Sound Move initiative, creating Sound Transit and authorizing a 0.3 percent car-tab tax to help fund light rail in the region. That tax — for the Sound Transit region only — was on top of a 2.2 percent car-tab tax that was, at the time, applied statewide.
To make things simpler, Sound Transit adopted the state’s inflated valuation chart for figuring out how much a vehicle was worth.
Sound Transit began selling 30-year bonds to fund light-rail construction in 1999. That same year, statewide voters changed course. They passed the Tim Eyman-backed Initiative 695, which ditched the 2.2 percent car-tab tax and replaced it with a $30 flat fee. The courts ultimately ruled I-695 unconstitutional, but the Legislature got the message and enacted the change anyway.
At this point, Washington no longer collected a statewide tax based on a car’s value, but Sound Transit continued to collect one, and kept the state’s old valuation formula.
In 2002, statewide voters passed another Eyman initiative, I-776, which repealed Sound Transit’s car-tab tax, replacing it with the $30 fee. But that initiative got overturned too.
Sound Transit, remember, had already started selling bonds based on the tax rate and inflated vehicle-valuation chart that were in place after Sound Move passed. The state Constitution prohibits laws from “impairing the obligations of contracts.”
So the state Supreme Court ruled, essentially, that there were no take-backs. After voters authorized taxes and Sound Transit sold bonds based on those taxes, voters could not go back and change those taxes, because that would imperil Sound Transit’s ability to repay the bonds.
The Legislature has, in fact, already repealed the inflated valuation chart, replacing it with a more modest one in 2006. But the new chart is a bit of a phantom. No one uses it.
Sound Transit is the only agency in the state that charges a car-tab tax based on a car’s value. And, since it sold those bonds based on the old valuation chart, Sound Transit will continue to use the old chart until the bonds are paid off, in 2028.
Patrick said that ST3’s tax increases could have been applied to the more modest valuation chart — which would have meant less revenue for the agency — but, for simplicity’s sake, were not.
So, for car owners frustrated about their car-tab fees, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Come 2028, barring other changes, Sound Move’s 0.3 percent car-tab tax expires, and the remaining car- tab tax, from ST3, will be applied to the newer, more modest valuation chart.
“It’s paying for transportation relief in a region where we’ve got some really chronic traffic and there’s been a huge amount of public support,” Patrick said.Search anywhere online and you’ll be surrounded by a bazillion opportunities to reduce your wrinkles, anti-age your skin and freeze your face in time. While it’s nice to know you’re taking the best care of yourself possible, it’s also nice to remember that wrinkles are normal, wrinkles are your story and wrinkles can be fabulous.
Take this for instance.
Tribes in Uganda believe a full, voluptuous figure is the most beautiful one possible. To them it symbolises health, fertility and wealth. On the other hand, being skinny, symbolises all of the opposite. Being unhealthy, being unfertile and being unable to afford food.
Mind changing ‘eh. What’s beautiful to us, can be considered the complete opposite to someone else.
… it doesn’t stop there.
If like me, you live in the west, you’ll likely see a tan as a symbol of health. You might feel a tan makes you glow like nothing else can. You might believe everything looks better with a tan. You might even find yourself competing for maximum bronzeness. If however you live in Asia, you’ll believe the complete opposite. You’ll see tanning as your arch nemesis, wearing head to toe coverage on the beach, using umbrellas in summertime and layering on the SPF thickly and often. In the east, tanning is seen as a show you worked in the rice fields all day, in the west tanning is a show you can afford to sun bask for a day!
What you value as beautiful, is what you decide is beautiful. You have the power my friend, which is why today I wanted to share with you these 7 reasons why your wrinkles are fabulous…
1. Wrinkles Let You Communicate Without Saying a Thing
Your boyfriend reaches for the last strawberry cream chocolate and without saying a thing, your opposite of come to bed eyes tell him this is a completely unacceptable move. Reversing his chocolate foraging crane hand, he de-selects the last remaining strawberry cream giving you a cheeky glance that communicates, ‘yes I know I’ve eaten more than my fair share, but I thought I’d give it a go anyhow, but you know, since you picked me out on it, it’s fine, you have it, you deserve it oh beautiful one’…
The best communication needs no words and all of your tiny micro-wrinkles, let you chat in infinitely different grades of happiness, confusion, contentment, joy, curiosity, gratitude, love.
Imagine trying to read someone whose face had no ability to wrinkle. Are they showing you love or hate? Are they telling you they’re happy or sad? Are they bursting with excitement or do they just need the toilet? Truly, without the ability to wrinkle, it’s like trying to crack a 1,000 digit combination lock.
Your wrinkles are fabulous because they unlock the ability to communicate on a much deeper level than words ever will.
2. Your Wrinkles Are Your Story
Imagine if all a palm reader had to work with were a wrinkleless hand of skin and nails. It’s be like your story never existed. They’d be nothing to separate yours from the 100 other wrinkleless hands that surround you. Your wrinkles are your story and you deserve to be extremely proud of this.
I don’t know about you but things I’m proud of are usually the things I like to lead with.
Instead of thinking about your wrinkles as a sign of age, try thinking about them as a sign of all the things you’ve accomplished. A degree, children, being accepted into a sport’s league, learning to salsa dance in 6 months, buying a house, cooking dinner from scratch every night this week, helping your best bud through a tough time (meaning 2am best-bud counselling calls), having the courage to confront your worst fears, partying until the wee hours of the morning with your most valued family and friends.
A wrinkle isn’t a sign of age, it’s a sign of experience. A sign that you’re travelling a path laid full with memories and achievements.
3. Wrinkles Show You’re a Natural Beauty
You are fabulous, why cover up that fabulousness by trying to look like someone else? By trying to look like something that doesn’t naturally exists? Last week I saw this stunning picture of Meryl Streep, she’s 67, she’s a natural beauty and my oh my does she look like she’s enjoying it! Meryl’s natural look shows grace, elegance and a super-sized spoonful of inner confidence.
4. Imperfections Are What Make You Beautiful
What I love about this image most is Meryl’s smile lines and really isn’t that such a positive way to think about wrinkles. Not as wrinkles, but as lines of happiness? Would you give up that night you laughed so hard you might of temporarily lost bladder control for a wrinkleless face? Would you trade the evenings of hard work you spent achieving your calling in life for a wrinkleless face? Would you swap interrupted nights of sleep spent caring for your newly born daughter or son for a wrinkleless face?
Dimples, smile lines, eyebrow furrows, a squinty wink, freckles, beauty spots… you my friend have a unique mixture of imperfections that are exactly what make you beautiful. Wrinkles are just one of them. Have you ever head this saying, ‘by trying to fit in, you are literally covering up what makes you stand out’. Imagine if you didn’t have those cute dimples your perfect partner found knee droppingly gorgeous. Imagine if your stand-out squinty wink didn’t exist to inspire cackles of friendly giggles wherever you went? Imagine if you looked exactly like everyone else and there was absolutely nothing to make you unique.
Wrinkles are just one kind of imperfection that make you uniquely beautiful.
5. Winkles Are Human
Despite what air-brushed magazine images try to tell us, wrinkles are natural and wrinkles are human. By trying to avoid wrinkles by using the most drastic treatments available, you’re literally trying to avoid being human. Avoid being a recognised member of the human race and attempting to join clan frozen.
…and whatever you achieve in life, wouldn’t you rather be a relatable human being? Wouldn’t you rather let everyone know that yes you achieved all this and yes you are human and yes they can do it too? Whereas if you’re a member of clan frozen, how is a normal human being supposed to be inspired by you? How could a normal human being take a walk in your footsteps?
Your wrinkles are fabulous because they make you human, they make you relatable and they give you the power to inspire others.
6. Your Wrinkles Allow Connection on a Much Deeper Level
The how – mirror neurons. The why – because you can wrinkle your face. Have you heard of them? Mirror neurons are a type of neuron found in your brain, when you like someone, they naturally let you mirror that person’s body language. That mirroring unconsciously lets the other person recognise that you like them, that you relate to them, that you feel comfortable with them. If you find yourself catching a yawn, or smiling because someone smiled at you or lifting a cup of tea just as your best bud did, it’s likely your mirror neurons are to thank.
It’s estimated only 7% of what another person understands from you, is based on what you say. The rest comes from things like tone of your voice, body language and facial expressions. Sounds kinda crazy ‘eh, but imagine someone telling you they loved you with a scowl on their face, imagine your partner telling you they find Americas Next Top Model interesting and then yawning, imagine a new date telling you that home cooked meal was fantastic when they left half on their plate. Mixed signals ‘eh.
Being able to mirror someone’s facial expressions creates friendship, inspires trust and forms lasting bonds going much deeper than words. Your wrinkles are fabulous because they allow you to do this, they allow you to make human connections on a much deeper level than words ever could.
7. Your Winkles Show Confidence
The best kind of confidence you can find in life, is to be true to yourself. To match up the life you live on the outside with the one you want to live on the inside. When the two match, everything else can’t help but fall into place. Usually when we start to find ourselves fixating on what we see as flaws e.g. wrinkles, we’re trying to find a way to make ourselves feel a different way.
‘If only I didn’t have those smile lines, I’d be happy’
‘If only my eyebrows didn’t furrow like that, I’d be able to find a partner’
‘If only I could lose 5 pounds, I’d love my body completely’
Really, those changes are band-aids, because what you really want to find, is a different feeling. What you’re really needing to build on is confidence in yourself. Your wrinkles are beautiful, your wrinkles are confident and your wrinkles are fabulous. You don’t need to change yourself, because as Colin Firth once said to Bridget Jones, ‘I like you just the way you are’.
Your wrinkles are fabulous because they are you and you are them. There’s no-one else out there exactly like you and finding love and acceptance for exactly who you are brings the best kind of happiness’.
There you have it dear friend, your wrinkles are fabulous. YOU are fabulous. Tell me your story’s below, tell me how you’re able to see yours…
SaveOn November 5, four days after leaving San Diego on what was to be a two-year circumnavigation, singlehander Dennis Howard was taken off his San Diego-based Flicka 20 Avalo by the crew of the 378-ft Coast Guard vessel Mellon, and his boat was left to drift. Howard has now filed a claim against the Coast Guard for $150,000 in damages, part of it being the loss of his boat — and most of his earthly possessions — which haven’t been seen since.
It is a complicated situation. The decision to force Howard, a former health care executive, to leave his boat rested on the shoulders of the Executive Officer of the Mellon. The Coast Guard says that in such a situation, it’s the responsibility of the commanding officer of the cutter to assess the overall situation — from the sea state to what he knew about the boat — to determine if it was a life-threatening situation. If it was, he was obligated to declare it a "manifestly unsafe voyage" and have Howard taken off the boat.
Some of the things that might have swayed the Executive Officer’s decision is that Howard, 62, is legally blind as a result of an illness. Significantly, the Coast Guard was there with a 378-footer from San Diego because some of Howard’s friends, responding to what Howard apparently had described as an emergency in a phone call, had called them. In addition, Howard was on a mere 20-ft boat, the boom’s gooseneck had broken in a storm the night before, he’d lost the use of his small outboard, and there was another strong storm approaching.
Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that the Coast Guard made the correct decision, they should consider the other side of the story. Howard claims that he’s been a sailor for 30 years. A number of other legally blind people have made remarkable passages. For example, Hank Dekker did the ’86 Singlehanded TransPac in a Laser 28 named Outta Sight, and Scott Duncan and Pam Habek, both of whom are legally blind, did the Ha-Ha and sailed their Valiant 32 Tournesol all the way to Australia. Howard was aboard a Flicka 20, a little brick shithouse of a boat as opposed to some lightly built daysailer. The fact that the boat no longer had a motor nor a useable mainsail should have been irrelevant, because there was plenty of sea room, and eventually Howard would be sailing downwind. Once the storm passed, he would no doubt have been able to jury rig his main. Howard had also prepared for the upcoming storm, having deployed a storm anchor. Lastly, although he had an EPIRB, he apparently didn’t set it off. Those are a lot of arguments for his contention that he should have been allowed to stay with his boat.
As we said, it was a difficult situation. The Executive Officer probably doesn’t know the different between a Flicka 20 and a lightly-built Clipper Marine 20, and likely had no idea whether the little boat was suitable for such weather. Then, too, he was in no position to evaluate Howard’s ability to see. Can you imagine the uproar — and lawsuit — that would have followed if Howard had been allowed to stay with his boat and was never seen again? Or how such a decision might have haunted the Executive Officer for the rest of his life?
We also understand Howard’s point of view. This voyage had no doubt given purpose to his life. An apparently experienced sailor with a seaworthy boat, he hadn’t declared a mayday or set off his EPIRB. And there was no reason to expect that once the next storm had passed, he couldn’t easily continue on to a Baja anchorage under jib and/or jury-rigged main.
Howard’s complaint is that he never got to talk to the decision-maker, and that he didn’t even know why they were on his boat until they started shouting at him to get off the boat.
We don’t have all the itty-bitty details, but given the basic story, we’d like to hear if you think the Coast Guard’s decision was correct or not, why, and who you think will win the lawsuit. Please keep your answers short and to the point.Democratic candidate for Senate Doug Jones, center, accompanied by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., shakes hands with supporters as he arrives for a canvas kickoff rally at his campaign field office in Birmingham, Alabama. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Roy Moore is nowhere to be found.
The embattled GOP nominee in the Alabama Senate race has not made a public appearance since Tuesday, though Moore did sit down for an interview on a local Alabama political program. Meanwhile, his opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, has traveled to multiple parts of the state in the weekend leading up to the Dec. 12 special election.
Moore’s absence from the campaign trail means he can avoid questions from constituents and reporters (and video of him refusing to answer questions) about multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including assault, that have dogged his campaign.
Moore was accused of inappropriate advances with women when they were teenagers and he was in his thirties. Moore, the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has denied any wrongdoing.
Watch: In Alabama Race, Jones Has Funding, Moore Has Trump, Bannon Support
Moore told “The Voice of Alabama Politics” on Sunday that he did not know the women who accused him of sexual misconduct nor do anything wrong.
“I had no encounter with them,” he said in the nearly 30-minute interview. “I never molested anyone, and for them to say that, I don't know why they’re saying it, but it’s not true.”
Moore initially told Fox News' Sean Hannity on his radio program that he did know two of the women who said they dated Moore when they were in their late teens, but Moore said he did not have relationships with them. He later said at a campaign event that he did not know any of the women.
The Moore campaign’s spokeswoman clarified told the Associated Press that Moore meant he did not know the women accusing him of sexual assault.
On Sunday Moore campaign strategist Dean Young did appear on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday to discuss the race, and was asked about the allegations.
“We believe Judge Moore has been telling the truth the entire time,” said Young. He called the allegations a “fake narrative.”
Moore campaign officials did appear at an event Friday that was billed as a press conference in Montgomery, to discuss news that one of Moore’s accusers said she had made notes around Moore’s signature in her high school yearbook. They did not take any questions from the press.
Jones has used Moore’s absence to draw a distinction between how he and Moore would conduct themselves as senators.
“What kind of senator hides from his constituencies when he’s running for office?” Jones said to reporters outside his campaign field office in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon. “What kind of public servant hides and goes only into enclaves and doesn’t address the media?”
Jones rallied supporters at a packed field office in downtown Birmingham, along with New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Alabama Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell. Booker also joined Jones on the campaign trail Saturday.
The Moore campaign took a swipe at Jones for bringing in Booker, when asked to respond to Jones’ criticism of Moore’s absence on Sunday.
“Doug Jones has been running around the state with Cory Booker lying about Roy Moore and calling on President [Donald] Trump to resign,” said Moore campaign adviser Brett Doster. (Booker has suggested the president should resign due to sexual harassment allegations, but Jones has not).
“We’ve got our strategy. Doug Jones has his,” Doster said in a text message. “We’ll see which one Alabama likes better on Tuesday.”
Doster said Moore has been active since Tuesday. He said Moore met with builders and contractors on Wednesday and attended an grass-roots “organizational meeting” on Thursday. Doster said the meetings were not open to the public.
When asked about what Moore has been doing over the weekend, Doster said Moore has been making calls, “living on the phones” on Friday and Saturday.
Moore did not attend services Sunday morning at his home church in Gallant, Alabama, or at a church that members of his family reportedly attend about 12 miles southeast in Rainbow City.
Rev. Tom Brown, who leads Gallant First Baptist, said he was not surprised Moore did not attend the Sunday morning service.
“Would you all show up with this?” Brown said, referencing group of news cameras outside the church. “I wouldn’t show up with this.”
Brown said he had not seen Moore in person since the allegations first published in the Washington Post four weeks ago, but he has spoken with Moore over the phone.
Moore will attend a “Drain the Swamp” rally in the southeast corner of the state Monday night. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon and Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert are also expected to attend.Conservative Christian anti-gay TV star Josh Duggar on charges he sexually molested children: ‘I acted inexcusably'
People reports that Josh Duggar, his wife Anna, and his parents Jim Bob and Michelle are now doing a media tour responding to reports that Josh is accused of molesting five underage girls as a teen. Josh is a son in the large conservative Christian family featured in the reality show "19 Kids and Counting," on The Learning Channel.
"Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends," Josh, 27, told People in a statement.
"I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life."
Josh has resigned from his position at the Family Research Council as a result of the accusations becoming public. His family supports him, People reports.
The Family Research Council is an American conservative Christian anti-gay hate group and lobbying organization formed in the early 1980s by James Dobson, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, and George Alan Rekers.
Here are the organization's thoughts on being queer: "homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed" and it is "by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects... there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn."
What a bunch of sickos.On the Listening Post we track the treatment of media around the world. With the muzzling of news outlets, censorship of content and the arrest of journalists, Iran is a repeat offender.
Over the past days, at least 14 reporters have been detained in a sweep of reform-minded news outlets in the country. They worked for seven different news outlets but the implication is that most of them also did work for foreign media outlets the government calls 'anti-revolutionary'.
The timing of these arrests is significant: In five months, Iran will hold presidential elections - the first after the 2009 polls that saw huge protests in Tehran, the footage of which was beamed around Iran and across the world.
Hanging over the Iran media story - like a dark cloud of context - is the spectre of those 2009 protests, and these fresh arrests signal a government that is taking pre-emptive action. The warning from the regime could not be clearer: collaborate with the voice of “the enemy” and you are no longer reporting, you are agitating.
On one side of the News Divide this week are journalists Saeed Kamali-Dehghan from the Guardian, Kasra Naji from BBC Persian and Maziar Bahari. Suffice to say that none of these writers and broadcasters would be welcome in Iran at this time. Reza Marashi from the US-based National Iranian-American Council offers essential perspective, and the countervailing voice is Hillary Mann Leverett. Her latest book Going To Tehran urges us to see it from the Iranian side. She asks: Are they paranoid or are we really out to get them?
On Newsbytes this week: In Ukraine, a former security official has been sentenced for the killing of the journalist Georgiy Gongadze in 2000 – a case that has revived memories of past oppression; Twitter has closed down the account of Somalia’s al-Shabab movement after the group used it to spread threatening propaganda; a cautious welcome from media watchers in Myanmar where the state censorship body has been dissolved; and finally, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has apologised publicly for a cartoon targeting Binyamin Netanyahu that has angered pro-Israel organisations.
Our feature takes us to Georgia where media is too often the plaything of politicians. Last year, a video of violent abuse in a Tiblisi prison helped carry Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to electoral victory but the timing of that release raised questions of media manipulation.
The Listening Post’s Flo Phillips investigates the power of the media and the power that shapes the media with Baia Tsanava from Imedi TV; Giorgi Lapherashvili from Rustavi TV; Tamar Rukhadze, the former head of news at TV9; and Mathias Huter from Transparency International.
Lastly, our internet video of the week wonders what is driving the changes behind the scenes at Facebook. UCB Comedy offers us this tongue-in-cheek look at the kind of focus group that might be helping the social media giant to shape our user experience. We think you will find a lot you can relate to – if not actually agree with.
Listening Post can be seen each week at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0830, 1930; Sunday: 1430; Monday: 0430.
Click here for more Listening Post.
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A federal court temporarily blocks the White House transgender ban, but the need for a watchful eye remains.
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Earlier this week, a federal judge temporarily blocked the military from carrying out major parts of the White House-directed ban on transgender service members, ruling that current and aspiring transgender service members would likely have their Fifth Amendment rights violated. Although the judge’s ruling puts the entire ban in jeopardy, the story is far from over because the judge did not provide for a complete and permanent victory for the transgender litigants and appeals are likely. So the saga continues for transgender service members.
To recap: In July 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted that “the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.” Confusion reigned. Was this a direct order? Should the U.S. Department of Defense act on this tweet immediately?
Following internal discussions, the Pentagon effectively demurred, stating, “we don’t execute policy based on a tweet.” Meanwhile, currently serving transgender service members were left waiting for a month while the White House drafted official guidance on what, exactly, the President’s tweet meant. In August, the White House finally issued formalized guidance in the form of a Presidential Memorandum to the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security with the subject, “Military Service by Transgender Individuals,” which established what was on track to be a full transgender service member ban by March 23, 2018.
Four days following the issuance of the Presidential Memorandum, Secretary of Defense James Mattis released his own statement on transgender service members, announcing that “current policy with respect to currently serving members will remain in place.” Confusion once again followed, with some national media outlets erroneously reporting that Mattis was not following the White House memo. But upon closer review, it was clear that Mattis’s statement was aligned with the Presidential Memorandum. A couple of weeks later, the Defense Department issued important Interim Guidance that, among other things, reaffirmed that every service member will be treated with dignity and respect.
So, where do we go from here? The Presidential Memorandum identified three key dates that, if allowed to go forward, will have an outsized impact on the estimated thousands of transgender service members currently serving. In addition, in both Houses of Congress, legislators have drafted bills that would bar the Pentagon from involuntarily separating or denying reenlistment to members of the armed forces solely on the basis of their gender identities.
Various groups have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the ban—including the lawsuit that resulted in this week’s temporary court order. But the appellate process continues and considerable uncertainty remains. If the injunction is lifted, the three key milestones outlined in the Presidential Memorandum would be rapidly approaching.
First, the Presidential Memorandum directed the Defense Department to stop transgender accessions into the military on January 1, 2018, unless the Secretary of Defense—after consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security—provides a recommendation that the President finds convincing. The federal court enjoined this part of the Presidential Memorandum.
Second, the Presidential Memorandum required Mattis—in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security—to submit a comprehensive transgender implementation plan in accordance with the White House memo by February 21, 2018. Significantly, this plan must determine “how to address transgender individuals currently serving in the U.S. military.” This is, in my estimation, the most difficult issue, as numerous transgender service members relied upon the earlier Obama-era guidance that allowed open transgender service. Indeed, the proposed ban raises fundamental issues of fairness for honorably serving transgender personnel who in good faith relied on earlier guidance permitting open service. At least two plaintiffs in the current lawsuit came forward and identified as transgender after then-Secretary Ashton Carter announced the open service policy. These transgender service members have a particularly strong reliance interest that makes them particularly sympathetic to any court. Hence, the Pentagon will have an exceedingly difficult task in reconciling transgender service members who were allowed to serve openly pursuant to the earlier Defense Department policy.
Finally, the full transgender ban is slated to take effect on March 23, 2018. After this date, Defense Department resources to fund sex reassignment surgical procedures will also be halted “except to the extent necessary to protect the health of an individual who has already begun a course of treatment to reassign his or her sex.” The federal court denied the plaintiffs’ request to lift this prohibition on sex reassignment surgeries on jurisdictional grounds. And this part of the Presidential Memorandum—that is, the ban on surgical procedures—remains in place for now.
Of course, as the court ruling this week suggests, the timetable for implementing the Trump Administration’s transgender ban could change. As of this writing, three potential avenues exist that could slow down or potentially even permanently halt all of the major Presidential Memorandum provisions.
The first avenue is the active litigation already underway challenging the ban’s constitutionality. Of critical importance, the federal court applied a heightened, intermediate level of scrutiny to the White House’s exclusion of transgender service members, akin to the level of scrutiny applicable in traditional gender discrimination cases. And the court issuing the injunction rejected the reasons behind the transgender ban, explicitly noting that these purported reasons “do not appear to be supported by any facts.” But the court order was not a total victory for the plaintiffs, since it did not grant the transgender service members’ challenge to the Presidential Memorandum that prohibited spending military resources on sex reassignment surgeries.
Second, Congress could intervene with legislation protecting transgender service members. But any such legislation would be subject to a likely presidential veto that would have to be overridden.
Finally, the Presidential Memorandum keeps the door slightly open for Secretary Mattis to provide an alternative recommendation for continued transgender service. But the President must ultimately find this argument convincing. The Pentagon is looking at alternatives now, taking into account the relevant criteria of military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion with “due regard for budgetary constraints and applicable law.”
As I have previously argued, service members—regardless of who they are—require consistency, stability, and faithful support from their leaders on personnel policies that affect their individual health and ability to serve. Although the transgender litigation is far from over, the decision demonstrates the critical role that the judiciary has in protecting the rights of politically powerless individuals. Make no mistake, as tumultuous as this past summer has been for transgender service members, turbulent times surely lie ahead. Keep a watchful eye on the courts, the Congress, and the military’s civilian leadership as the biggest battles about who can serve this great nation are yet to come.
Mark Nevitt is the Sharswood Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a member of Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council.Someone at the U.S. Department of Defense has seemingly been studying the art of the subtweet.
On the same morning President Donald Trump is expected to order a temporary ban on refugees, the department’s Twitter account posted a heartwarming story about an Iraqi refugee who enlisted as a Marine and went back to Iraq as part of his military duty.
“From refugee to #Marine,” @DeptofDefense tweeted, in what many see as a precision-strike subtweet at Trump’s anti-refugee rhetoric. “@USMC Cpl Ali J. Mohammed takes the fight to the doorstep of those who cast his family out.”
Linked within the tweet is an article published Monday on the official Marines website telling the story of Cpl. Ali J. Mohammed, a Marine who, when he was 16, sought refuge in the U.S. with his family from Iraq.
“Despite the challenges Mohammed faced [in assimilating to U.S. culture], he graduated from high school less than five years after coming to the United States,” the blog read.
“On Nov. 4, 2014, Mohammed made a life changing decision, one which would bring him back to Iraq… he raised his right hand and swore his oath of enlistment into the [Marines]. His story is like many who take that oath, one that includes a desire to serve his country while being part of something larger than oneself.”
The subtle jab at the president, from within his own government, comes
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neuronal signaling and the protection against neuronal losses. An extensive study on structure-function relationships of flavonoid activities provides valuable information for rationale drug designs of future pharmaceuticals in the prevention and treatment of several life-threatening diseases. In conclusion, the pomegranates, figs, and date palm fruits grown in Oman provide possible protection against the inflammation in Tg2576 AD mouse brain and the mechanisms of protection may be related to their antioxidant activities of phenolic constituents (Fig. 4). Based on the in vivo experimental studies and the active ingredient profiles, it can be concluded that these fruits showed promising therapeutic potential against neurodegenerative diseases including AD, that areassociated with elevated inflammation. However, these results warrant further investigation of the mechanisms by which anti-inflammatory properties of these fruits can exert such beneficial effects on the brain in AD-like models. PPT PowerPoint slide
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larger image TIFF original image Download: Fig 4. Schematic diagram. The conclusive figure showing the inflammatory signaling pathways in Alzheimer’s disease mouse model (APPsw/Tg 2576) and protection by dietary supplementation of pomegranates, figs and dates as potential complementary and alternative medicine for the neurodegenerative diseases. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120964.g004
Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: MME SS. Performed the experiments: SS. Analyzed the data: GJG MME. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MME. Wrote the paper: SS GJG MME MA SAA.Alice McBrearty has been jailed for 16 months
A ‘gifted’ young teacher sobbed in the dock as she was jailed for having a four-month relationship with a teenage boy.
Alice McBrearty, 23, used social media to contact the 15-year-old boy and the pair went out for meals together. She also bought him gifts, a court was told.
The teacher kissed him in a classroom, took him to a hotel for sex, and performed sex acts on him in her car and – as a ‘birthday treat’ – in a garage. She also took the teenager to her parents’ home in Manor Park, East London, where they had sex.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court, she was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.
Sentencing, Judge Sheelagh Canavan said: ‘You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child. I accept he was consenting – what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?
‘I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn’t matter. But it did.
‘You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions. Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones. You knew better and you did it anyway. He was precisely at the age when he was at the mercy of his hormones.
‘You breached the trust between student and teacher to satisfy your physical and emotional needs. This was the grossest breach of trust over a period of months.’
The judge described McBrearty as a ‘bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong’, but said she had committed the ‘grossest breach of trust’.
McBrearty, 23, kissed and had sex with the boy at her parents' home, in her car, in the classroom and in an IBIS hotel
Judge Canavan called her conviction a ‘spectacular fall from grace’.
McBrearty, who appeared in court dressed in black with her hair tied in a ponytail, admitted to having a sexual relationship with the pupil between February and May this year. The court heard that the relationship began when McBrearty sent the boy, who cannot be identified, a friend request on social media.
McBrearty and the teenager 'kissed passionately' in the classroom
Prosecutor Lisa Matthews said: ‘He woke up one morning to see a friend request from Alice McBrearty on Facebook. He felt special and accepted it.
‘She messaged him asking for his number. They unfollowed each other but then she messaged him again and they started following each other on Instagram.’
Dates began, with the pair acting as a couple, going for strolls and out for meals. Miss Matthews said: ‘He appeared to be besotted with her.’
Several members of staff raised concerns that McBrearty was getting too close to the pupil, but the affair continued.
The court heard the pair had seven sexual encounters, starting when the petite blonde took the youngster to her family home during the February half-term break.
On other occasions, she booked a room at an Ibis hotel in London’s Docklands for sex, and performed sex acts in a garage and in her car. She also kissed the pupil in a classroom at the school.
The relationship unravelled when the boy’s father went to the police after obtaining his son’s telephone records. The pupil was interviewed by police and social workers, and admitted the affair.
His father said the family had been ‘terrified’ about the impact of the case, not only on his son but on the family’s ‘honour’, the court heard.
Emma Shafton, defending, said: ‘This is a young lady who has had a spectacular fall from grace – university educated, comes from a respectable family – she has been utterly disgraced by this.’
She told the judge her client ‘is not sexually attracted to children’, but added: ‘She will of course be branded a paedophile for the rest of her life. She is a sex offender.’
The court heard the relationship began in January, when McBrearty followed the boy on social media and asked for his phone number.
As a 'birthday treat' McBrearty picked the boy up and took him to a nearby garage for oral sex
The teacher was jailed for 16 months at Snaresbrook Crown Court after having an affair with a pupil
The barrister said McBrearty had been ‘thrown in at the deep end’ after joining the profession through the Teach First fast-track training scheme and soon ‘detested’ her job.
She added: ‘She was low at the time. She was asked to teach subjects she had no experience in. That is why instead of socialising with her colleagues she socialised with students in the classroom.
McBrearty has resigned from the teaching profession. Miss Shafton added that while on bail, McBrearty ‘has not been able to get a decent job that matches her qualifications’ and has instead been delivering parcels for Amazon on a zero-hours contract.
McBrearty pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.Who wants to see the living world destroyed? Who wants an end to birdsong, bees and coral reefs, the falcon’s stoop, the salmon’s leap? Who wants to see the soil stripped from the land, the sea rimed with rubbish?
No one. And yet it happens. Seven billion of us allow fossil fuel companies to push shut the narrow atmospheric door through which humanity stepped. We permit industrial farming to tear away the soil, banish trees from the hills, engineer another silent spring. We let the owners of grouse moors, 1% of the 1%, shoot and poison hen harriers, peregrines and eagles. We watch mutely as a small fleet of monster fishing ships trashes the oceans.
Why are the defenders of the living world so ineffective? It is partly, of course, that everyone is complicit; we have all been swept off our feet by the tide of hyperconsumption, our natural greed excited, corporate propaganda chiming with a will to believe that there is no cost. But perhaps environmentalism is also afflicted by a deeper failure: arising possibly from embarrassment or fear, a failure of emotional honesty.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘We have all been swept off our feet by the tide of hyperconsumption, our natural greed excited, corporate propaganda chiming with a will to believe that there is no cost’.
I have asked meetings of green-minded people to raise their hands if they became defenders of nature because they were worried about the state of their bank accounts. Never has one hand appeared. Yet I see the same people base their appeal to others on the argument that they will lose money if we don’t protect the natural world.
Such claims are factual, but they are also dishonest: we pretend that this is what animates us, when in most cases it does not. The reality is that we care because we love. Nature appealed to our hearts, when we were children, long before it appealed to our heads, let alone our pockets. Yet we seem to believe we can persuade people to change their lives through the cold, mechanical power of reason, supported by statistics.
I see the encyclical by Pope Francis, which will be published on Thursday, as a potential turning point. He will argue that not only the physical survival of the poor, but also our spiritual welfare depends on the protection of the natural world; and in both respects he is right.
I don’t mean that a belief in God is the answer to our environmental crisis. Among Pope Francis’s opponents is the evangelical US-based Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, which has written to him arguing that we have a holy duty to keep burning fossil fuel, as “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork”. It also insists that exercising the dominion granted to humankind in Genesis means tilling “the whole Earth”, transforming it “from wilderness to garden and ultimately to garden city”.
There are plenty of senior Catholics seeking to undermine the pope's defence of the living world
There are similar tendencies within the Vatican. Cardinal George Pell, its head of finance, currently immersed in a scandal involving paedophile priests in Australia, is a prominent climate change denier. His lecture to the Global Warming Policy Foundation was the usual catalogue of zombie myths (discredited claims that keep resurfacing), nonsequiturs and outright garbage championing, for example, the groundless claim that undersea volcanoes could be responsible for global warming. There are plenty of senior Catholics seeking to undermine the pope’s defence of the living world, which could explain why a draft of his encyclical was leaked. What I mean is that Pope Francis, a man with whom I disagree profoundly on matters such as equal marriage and contraception, reminds us that the living world provides not only material goods and tangible services, but is also essential to other aspects of our wellbeing. And you don’t have to believe in God to endorse that view.
In his beautiful book The Moth Snowstorm, Michael McCarthy suggests that a capacity to love the natural world, rather than merely to exist within it, might be a uniquely human trait. When we are close to nature, we sometimes find ourselves, as Christians put it, surprised by joy: “A happiness with an overtone of something more, which we might term an elevated or, indeed, a spiritual quality.”
Exegesis of Pope Francis’s encyclical call for action on climate change | Letters Read more
He believes we are wired to develop a rich emotional relationship with nature. A large body of research suggests that contact with the living world is essential to our psychological and physiological wellbeing. (A paper published this week, for example, claims that green spaces around city schools improve children’s mental performance.)
This does not mean that all people love nature; what it means, McCarthy proposes, is that there is a universal propensity to love it, which may be drowned out by the noise that assails our minds. As I’ve found while volunteering with the outdoor education charity WideHorizons, this love can be provoked almost immediately, even among children who have never visited the countryside before. Nature, McCarthy argues, remains our home, “the true haven for our psyches”, and retains an astonishing capacity to bring peace to troubled minds.
Acknowledging our love for the living world does something that a library full of papers cannot
Acknowledging our love for the living world does something that a library full of papers on sustainable development and ecosystem services cannot: it engages the imagination as well as the intellect. It inspires belief; and this is essential to the lasting success of any movement.
Is this a version of the religious conviction from which Pope Francis speaks? Or could his religion be a version of a much deeper and older love? Could a belief in God be a way of explaining and channelling the joy, the burst of love that nature sometimes inspires in us? Conversely, could the hyperconsumption that both religious and secular environmentalists lament be a response to ecological boredom: the void that a loss of contact with the natural world leaves in our psyches?
Of course, this doesn’t answer the whole problem. If the acknowledgement of love becomes the means by which we inspire environmentalism in others, how do we translate it into political change? But I believe it’s a better grounding for action than pretending that what really matters to us is the state of the economy. By being honest about our motivation we can inspire in others the passions that inspire us.
• When this article was first published George Monbiot was under an obligation, to a third party unrelated to the Guardian, to assist the charity Widehorizons. This note was added on 1 September 2016.November 25, 2014 at 1:09 PM
A $2.5 million claim has been filed against the city of Seattle, citing a collision more than two years ago in which a vehicle driven by Councilmember Sally Clark injured a bicyclist.
The claim, brought by Steve Fairbanks, a former Lakewood, Pierce County, man who now lives in Oregon, represents the first step in a potential lawsuit if the claim is not settled.
It was filed Nov. 10, detailing a May 12, 2012, collision in Tacoma that purportedly occurred when Clark was on her way to an event “in her official capacity” as a City Council member.
Fairbanks, 45, was riding a bicycle on South Ninth Street trying to get through South Market Street when Clark’s Ford Escape turned in front of him, the claim says.
Fairbanks “possessed the right of way” when the collision knocked him to the ground, according to the claim.
The claim alleges Fairbanks suffered serious injury, including a broken left leg left permanently deformed with a loss of feeling and chronic pain. He underwent surgery to remove an existing plate and screws in the leg as part of his treatment, according to the claim.
As part of the claim, Fairbanks, an electrician, is seeking lost wages.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Clark described the collision as an accident, saying it occurred on a Saturday morning as she was on her way to a speaking engagement in Tacoma.
“I was in my personal car and taking a left turn just before arriving at the location. I did not see an oncoming cyclist and he didn’t have time to stop before running into my passenger side door. I and others immediately called 911 and stayed with the cyclist until he was taken to the hospital. He had a clearly broken leg,” Clark wrote.
Clark said she received and paid a citation, but did not give the sum.
“I immediately alerted my insurer, followed by city staff from FAS (Risk Management) and Law,” the statement said, referring to the Department of Finance and Administrative Services.
“This was an accident and a reminder of how quickly something like this can happen,” Clark wrote. “ As a driver and a cyclist — who rides my bike to work not often enough — I continue to be shaken by what happened. I’m thankful (if that’s the right word) that what was a bad outcome for the cyclist wasn’t worse. I am sorry for the medical time and recovery process that the cyclist has had to endure. Now that the claim is filed it’s up to insurers and lawyers to manage the process, but I wanted to share a few of my thoughts about the accident.”
In a police report, Clark was quoted as saying she was looking for a church on a corner and did not see the cyclist.
Clark has registered as a candidate for one of two at-large seats ahead of the council’s 2015 election. The council’s seven other seats are moving to district representation.
Clark was appointed to a vacant seat on the council in 2006 and then won election later that year.ALEXANDER COCKBURN
Counterpunch
Monday, Aug 25, 2008
“Change” and “hope” are not words one associates with Senator Joe Biden, a man so ripely symbolic of everything that is unchanging and hopeless about our political system that a computer simulation of the corporate-political paradigm senator in Congress would turn out “Biden” in a nano-second.
The first duty of any senator from Delaware is to do the bidding of the banks and large corporations which use the tiny state as a drop box and legal sanctuary. Biden has never failed his masters in this primary task. Find any bill that sticks it to the ordinary folk on behalf of the Money Power and you’ll likely detect Biden’s hand at work. The bankruptcy act of 2005 was just one sample. In concert with his fellow corporate serf, Senator Tom Carper, Biden blocked all efforts to hinder bankrupt corporations from fleeing from their real locations to the legal sanctuary of Delaware. Since Obama is himself a corporate serf and from day one in the US senate has been attentive to the same masters that employ Biden, the ticket is well balanced, the seesaw with Obama at one end and Biden at the other dead-level on the fulcrum of corporate capital.
Another shining moment in Biden’s progress in the current presidential term was his conduct in the hearings on Judge Alito’s nomination to the US Supreme Court. From the opening moments of the Judiciary Committee’s sessions in January, 2006, it became clear that Alito faced no serious opposition. On that first ludicrous morning Senator Pat Leahy sank his head into his hands, shaking it in unbelieving despair as Biden blathered out a self-serving and inane monologue lasting a full twenty minutes before he even asked Alito one question. In his allotted half hour Biden managed to pose only five questions, all of them ineptly phrased. He did pose two questions about Alito’s membership of a racist society at Princeton, but had already undercut them in his monologue by calling Alito “a man of integrity”, not once but twice, and further trivialized the interrogation by reaching under the dais to pull out a Princeton cap and put it on.
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In all, Biden rambled for 4,000 words, leaving Alito time only to put together less than 1,000. A Delaware newspaper made deadly fun of him for his awful performance, eliciting the revealing confession from Biden that “I made a mistake. I should have gone straight to my question. I was trying to put him at ease.”
Biden is a notorious flapjaw. His vanity deludes him into believing that every word that drops from his mouth is minted in the golden currency of Pericles. Vanity is the most conspicuous characteristic of US Senators en bloc, nourished by deferential acolytes and often expressed in loutish sexual advances to staffers, interns and the like. On more than one occasion CounterPunch’s editors have listened to vivid accounts by the recipient of just such advances, this staffer of another senator being accosted by Biden in the well of the senate in the week immediately following his first wife’s fatal car accident.
His “experience” in foreign affairs consists in absolute fidelity to the conventions of cold war liberalism, the efficient elder brother of raffish “neo-conservatism”. Here again the ticket is well balanced, since Senator Obama has, within a very brief time-frame, exhibited great fidelity to the same creed.
Obama opposed the launching of the US attack on Iraq in 2003. He was not yet in the US Senate, but having arrived there in 2005 he has since voted unhesitatingly for all appropriations of the vast sums required for the war’s prosecution. Biden himself voted enthusiastically for the attack, declaring in the Senate debate in October, 2002, in a speech excavated and sent to us by Sam Husseini:Okay, well maybe not the always terrifying ZOMBIES, but we are getting close to halloween. Apparently, Washington Square Park, the heart of NYU, keeps a terrifying secret. Buried beneath the paving stones, and the fountain, and the arch, and the rolling lawns, and the trees, and the flowers, and really underneath the whole park, are bodies. Yes, bodies. How many bodies, you ask?
20,000 of them.
Yes, 20,000 bodies are buried beneath beautiful Washington Square Park. Until 1797, the area now considered part of Greenwich Village and the university was, like much of Manhattan, farmland. In that fateful year, it was decided that the area that now constitutes the park would be turned into what is known as a “Potter’s Field,” or a burial ground for those who could not afford a proper funeral. After the turn of the 19th century, the field was also used to bury victims of Yellow Fever for hygienic reasons (is there still a risk of infection? Maybe a scientist can weigh in).
At one point, the Potter’s Field was even used as a place of execution, with two eyewitnesses placing the gallows somewhere between where the fountain and the arch now sit. The only person recorded to have been executed in the cemetery was one Rose Butler, in 1820, for arson. Contrary to some tour books and local legends, the tree in the northwest corner of the park known as “Hangman’s Elm” was not used for executions- it seems like this bit of lore was added later, though the tree itself is more than 300 years old.
So how did the Potter’s Field become the park? In 1827, it appears the city just plowed over the field and turned it into a military parade ground. In 1849, they first began to turn it into a park.
And the bodies?
Still there. Still waiting. ZOMBIES!!!
AdvertisementsThe Obama administration has significantly increased the frequency of drone strikes and other air attacks against the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen in recent months amid rising concern about political collapse there.
Some of the the strikes, carried out by the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have been focused in the southern part of the country, where insurgent forces have for the first time conquered and held territory as the Yemeni government continues to struggle against escalating opposition to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule.
Unlike in Pakistan, where the CIA has presidential authorization to launch drone strikes at will, each U.S. attack in Yemen — and those being conducted in nearby Somalia, most recently on Thursday near the southern port city of Kismayo — requires White House approval, senior administration officials said.
The officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, said intended targets must be drawn from an approved list of key members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula deemed by U.S. intelligence officials to be involved in planning attacks against the West. White House counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan last week put their number at “a couple of dozen, maybe.”
Although several unconfirmed strikes each week have been reported by local media in Yemen and Somalia, the administration has made no public acknowledgment of the escalated campaign, and officials who discussed the increase declined to provide numbers.
The heightened air activity coincides with the administration’s determination this year that AQAP, as the Yemen-based group is known, poses a more significant threat to the United States than the core al-Qaeda group based in Pakistan. The administration has also concluded that AQAP has recruited at least a portion of the main insurgent group in Somalia, al-Shabab, to its anti-Western cause.
From its initial months in office, the Obama administration has debated whether to extend the air attacks that have proved so effective in Pakistan to the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Military and intelligence officials have long argued in favor of attacks against al-Shabab camps in Somalia, which have been under overhead surveillance for years. Other officials have questioned the legal and moral justification for intervening in what, until recently, has been a largely domestic conflict.
The administration has said its legal authority to conduct such strikes, whether with fixed-wing planes, cruise missiles or drones, derives from the 2001 congressional resolution authorizing attacks against al-Qaeda and protection of the U.S. homeland, as well as the international law of self-defense.
“The United States does not view our authority to use military force against al-Qaeda as being restricted solely to ‘hot’ battlefields like Afghanistan,” Brennan said in remarks prepared for delivery Friday night at Harvard Law School. “We reserve the right to take unilateral action if or when other governments are unwilling or unable to take the necessary actions themselves.”
“That does not mean we can use military force whenever we want, wherever we want,” Brennan said. “International legal principles, including respect for a state’s sovereignty and the laws of war, impose important constraints on our ability to act unilaterally — and on the way in which we can use force — in foreign territories.”
In Somalia, the administration backs a tenuous government whose control does not extend beyond the capital, Mogadishu.
In Yemen, Saleh has been a close counterterrorism ally, and Brennan said last week that Yemen’s political turmoil, which began in March as part of the upheaval known as the Arab Spring, has not affected that cooperation. U.S. officials have emphasized that violence between loyalist troops and those backing breakaway army officers and tribal leaders has not involved U.S.-trained Yemeni special operations forces. This week, government forces reportedly made gains fighting against entrenched insurgent fighters in the southern port town of Zinjibar.
In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, thousands of anti-government protesters have been camping out in what is known as Change Square for several months, demanding an end to Saleh’s rule. The camp has remained quiet for weeks, but Reuters, citing doctors, reported Saturday that soldiers opened fire near the camp overnight and wounded eight protesters. The troops shot in the air to stop demonstrators from trying to expand the area of protest.
As the political conflict drags on, concern has increased over insurgent expansion and future cooperation with whatever government emerges in Yemen.
For months, the administration has called on Saleh to sign an agreement put forward this summer by Persian Gulf states to transfer power to an interim government and hold early elections. His intransigence seems to have increased since June, when Saleh departed for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia after being severely injured in an attack on his presidential palace. He has repeatedly insisted he intends to return to Yemen and retake control of his government, currently being run by Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Last week, the ruling General People’s Congress sent a delegation to Riyadh and secured Saleh’s agreement to allow Hadi to negotiate with the opposition and implement a political transition. While the opposition called the deal a trick, the Obama administration has tried to push Hadi and the government to take the initiative and negotiate a deal with opponents.
In a statement released late Thursday, the State Department called on the Yemeni government to sign and implement the agreement “within one week.”
Until May, the first and only known drone strike in Yemen was launched by the CIA in 2002. As part of its stepped-up military cooperation with Yemen, the Obama administration has used manned aircraft to strike at targets indicated by U.S. and Yemeni military intelligence forces on the ground. In May, JSOC first used a drone to kill two AQAP operatives as part of its new escalation in Yemen.
This summer, the CIA was also tasked with expanding its Yemen operations, and the agency is building its own drone base in the region. It is not clear whether the unilateral strike authority the CIA has in Pakistan will be extended to Yemen.
Administration officials have described the expanded drone campaign as utilizing a “mix of assets,” and a senior military official said he knew of no plans or discussions “to change the nature of operations.”
“The new base doesn’t connote that [the CIA] will be in the lead,” the official said. “It offers better teamwork and collaboration between the agencies.”
Staff writer Greg Jaffe contributed to this report.Pat Sullivan Statement
Samford President Dr. Andrew Westmoreland Statement
Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton Statement
Samford Head Football Coachhas decided to step down from his position and move into another role within the University immediately, the school announced Tuesday.Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner as a player at Auburn, recently completed his eighth season as Samford's head football coach. He is the program's all-time leader in career wins. He has led the team to four-straight winning seasons for the first time since 1999, and the Bulldogs have won at least seven games for three-straight seasons for the first time since 1962.In 2013, Sullivan led the Bulldogs to their first Southern Conference championship since joining the league in 2008. The team also earned the program's first bid to the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs since 1992.In addition to his successes on the field, Sullivan has excelled at developing student-athletes and making a positive impact on the lives of his players. Throughout his time on the coaching staffs at Auburn, TCU, UAB and Samford, Sullivan has mentored young men for nearly 30 years.During the 2014 season, Samford renamed its football field house the Sullivan-Cooney Family Field House to honor Sullivan, his wife Jean and their family.Sullivan will now serve as Samford President Dr. Andrew Westmoreland's Special Advisor for Campus and Community Development where he will, among other things, serve as a University ambassador working to extend Samford's reach in the state of Alabama and beyond.Below are statements from Coach Sullivan, Dr. Westmoreland and Samford Director of Athletics"Effective today, I am transitioning out of my role as Head Coach of the Samford Bulldogs. I will immediately assume a position as President Westmoreland's Special Advisor for Campus and Community Development.""This is not a decision I've taken lightly. A head coach never likes to think about stepping down, particularly me. I've always been a competitor and that spirit never fades. I love my job and I love this University. I have loved working with Samford's young men, helping them grow as football players, as student-athletes and spiritually. I am so thankful to each and every one of my players and their families for allowing me to be a part of their lives.""The past couple of years have been difficult. I've been dealing with health issues; more than I would have liked. Our young men have never blinked. This coaching staff never blinked. I am so proud of each and every member of the Samford football program.""Coaching is a grind. Right now I need more balance in my life. I need to pay more attention to my health and I want to spend more time with Jean, my children and grandchildren. I owe that to them. But I'm not done working and I'm not leaving Samford.""Dr. Westmoreland has always been supportive of the Samford football program and of me. He and I share a vision for Samford's future and will continue to work side by side to make it happen. We've been in this together from day one and we'll have a special relationship forever. Jean and I can't thank him enough for his leadership, friendship and spiritual support.""The search for my successor will start immediately. I will be actively involved in that process and will do all that I can to make sure Samford gets the best head coach possible – the right man and the right fit for this special place.""I am so thankful for the entire Samford family and love this University. Thank you for the opportunity to have served as your head football coach. Now, on to the future! Go Bulldogs!""In an age in which public figures so often disappoint us, it is refreshing and inspirational to reflect on the long and successful career of. As I have grown close to Pat in the years since he became Samford's Head Football Coach in 2006 and as I have seen him in some of the highest and lowest moments of life, proximity has only enhanced my profound respect for him.""In every sense, he is exactly as he appears to be: a person of intelligence, persistence, wisdom, good humor, with an impenetrable core of ethics that is rooted in a vibrant faith. He cares deeply about his family and his student-athletes. He is respectful of every person he encounters. I am grateful beyond words for his service to Samford over the past eight years, and I look forward to continued association with him and with Jean as we seek to provide greater experiences for our students now and in the years ahead.""How do you say thank you to someone who has meant so much to so many? Words cannot express the gratitude the Samford Family has for. He is the epitome of character and integrity. He is a true teacher that leads by example and has taught us all to love God, our family and each other on a daily basis.""I have yet to find anyone who has a negative word to say about Coach Sullivan. He transcends the football field and shows us that relationships really do matter. I look forward to continuing to learn from Pat in his new role with the University and can't thank him enough for his commitment and service to Samford University.""He is... Samford Strong!"Hurricane Maria grew into a Category 5 storm on Monday as it barreled toward a potentially devastating collision with islands in the eastern Caribbean just beginning to recover from Hurricane Irma.
Forecasters warned it was likely to grow even stronger as it entered warmer waters. It's still too early to know whether Maria poses any threat to the U.S.
Currently though, the storm is on a path that will take it near many of the islands already wrecked by Hurricane Irma and then on toward Puerto Rico and the Dominican
Republic. Maria could hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, said Ernesto Morales with the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan.
'This storm promises to be catastrophic for our island,' he said. 'All of Puerto Rico will experience hurricane force winds.'
Scroll down for video
Hurricane Maria strengthened into a Category 5 storm on Monday. It's expected to hit the Leeward Islands Monday night
Men remove a boat from the water ahead of Hurricane Maria in the Galbas area of Sainte-Anne on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe early Monday
The U.S. territory on Monday imposed rationing of basic supplies including water, milk, baby formula, canned foods, batteries, flashlights and other items.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph Monday afternoon, and called the storm 'extremely dangerous'.
The eye of the storm is expected to pass near the island of Dominica on Monday evening.
At 5pm ET, the storm was centered about 45 miles east-southeast of Dominica.
Hurricane warnings were posted for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique and St. Lucia. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Anguilla.
Forecasters said hurricane conditions should begin to affect parts of the Leeward Islands by late Monday, with storm surge raising water levels by 6 to 9 feet near the storm's center. The storm was predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more in isolated areas.
Forecasters say Maria could get even stronger as it enters the warm waters of the eastern Caribbean tonight
Hurricane warnings were posted for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique and St. Lucia. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Anguilla
Hurricane Maria swirling east of the Leeward Islands on Monday, in this satellite photo
A projection shows islands that have already been hit by hurricanes could be impacted by more high winds in the coming days
The area is also set to receive massive downpours as we head towards the weekend
Officials in Dominica closed schools and government offices on Monday and urged people to evacuate and seek shelters.
'We should not take this storm lightly,' said Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. 'Let us continue to pray for our safety.'
Officials in Guadeloupe said the French Caribbean island would experience extremely heavy flooding starting Monday afternoon, and they warned that many communities would be submerged overnight.
In nearby Martinique, authorities ordered people to remain indoors and said they should be prepared for power cuts and disruption in the water supply. All schools and non-essential public services were closed.
On Wednesday, Maria was expected to be near or over Puerto Rico, which was spared the full brunt of Irma, although much of the island had its power knocked out. Nearly 70,000 people remain without power, and Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Monday warned of another widespread outage.
Getting rough: The skies were gray and waves picking up on Monday on the Fench Caribbean island of Guadeloupe as Maria approached
A man points at a screen monitoring the weather and the progression of Hurricane Maria onboard the French marine frigate Germinal which is in Saint Martin delivering post-Irma aid
'We have an extremely weak infrastructure that has already been hit by one storm,' he said. 'This is going to be a catastrophic event.'
Forecasters said the storm would dump up to 18 inches of rain across Puerto Rico and whip the U.S. territory with heavy winds for 12 to 24 hours.
Officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to bring drinking water and help restore power in Puerto Rico immediately after the storm.
Rossello said officials had prepared about 450 shelters with a capacity for nearly 68,000 people - or even 125,000 in an emergency. There are still nearly 200 people in shelters from Hurricane Irma. Schools were cancelled for Monday and government employees would work only a half day.
Officials in the Dominican Republic urged people to leave areas prone to flooding and said fishermen should remain in port.
Farther north, long-lived Hurricane Jose continued to head northward off the U.S. East Coast, causing dangerous surf and rip currents. It wasn't expected to make landfall but tropical storm watches were posted along the coast from Delaware to Massachusetts' Cape Cod.
Jose was centered about 265 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and was moving north at 9 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
The ocean washed over parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks as Hurricane Jose passed well to the east, and five people were knocked off a coastal jetty in Rhode Island by high surf caused by the storm. Officials said rescuers had to fight through rough surf to load the injured onto stretchers and get them to shore. All five were taken to a hospital with minor and major injuries.
In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Norma's threat to Mexico's Los Cabos resort area at the southern end of the Baja California Peninsula seemed to ease as forecasters said the storm's center was likely to remain
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Antonio Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and the talented and hardworking team of LAPD investigators. They shared our outrage at this senseless and singular act and worked passionately to reach a resolution. The arrest of the suspects in the tragic deaths of our graduate students, Ying Wu and Ming Qu, begins the process of healing and of closing a painful chapter in the life of our community. We will always mourn the loss of Ying and Ming, but find comfort in the hope of achieving justice.”Potential applicants who do not have a prior graduate degree or the requisite marine experience to qualify for study toward the M.M.A. degree may make application for the degree of Master of Arts in Marine Affairs. This academic degree counterpart to the professional M.M.A. degree is a two-year, 45-credit thesis program. In this program, students acquire knowledge and analytical skills through required and elective courses.
The thesis track M.A.M.A requires writing a defending an in-depth research activity.
The non-thesis track M.A.M.A. requires writing a major paper and passing a comprehensive examination.
Candidates for the M.A. in Marine Affairs take 18 required course credits (six courses). Additionally, a minimum of 21 credits (seven courses) is earned in elective courses. This program of study enables a student to specialize in a given area and still receive the multidisciplinary influence of the M.M.A. program. A six-credit master’s thesis of an inter-disciplinary nature (or major paper plus comprehensive exam, depending on student track) completes the program of study.
The “core” of the MAMA graduate program consists of the following six courses:
MAF 482 – Quantitative Methods in Marine Affairs
MAF 502 – Research Methods in Marine Affairs
MAF 511 – Marine Science and Ocean Uses
MAF 577 – International Ocean Law
MAF 651 – Marine Affairs Seminar
REN 514 or ERE 465 – Economics of Marine Resources
For the University of Rhode Island Catalog go to www.uri.edu/catalog
For more information on MAF application process, see: https://web.uri.edu/maf/how-do-i-apply-to-maf/MLG has announced that the upcoming MLG Anaheim event in June 2014 will feature its first Pokémon tournament. Teams will compete for a first place prize consisting mainly of personal satisfaction that one can only gain from completing a relatively easy task while cooperating with extremely stupid people.
“Not really sure how mass-team Pokémon works,” said MLG VP Adam Apicella, shrugging and flexing his prominent trap muscles. “But I often talk to the StarCraft and Dota communities so I know how to effectively deal with mass idiocy.”
The tournament, whose official title is MLG Applebees All You Can Eat $9.99 Boneless Wings Wednesday MLG.tv Plays Pokémon Tournament, will pit teams of players against one another using the popular “anarchy” ruleset. Teams must consist of a minimum of 1,000 players and all players must present themselves at the venue four hours ahead of start time for registration and delousing.
“We’re confident we can win the first MLGAAYCE9BWWMPPT,” said one former Halo “bro” who has now switched to mass-Pokémon. He added, “MLG 420 no-ghost.”
Additionally, MLG announced that the following Pokémon will have their names changed to better market the game and promote sponsors:
BenQsaur (Bulbasaur)
Dodritos (Dugtrio)
iBuypowerkachu (Pikachu)
Sony Ericcson Squirtle (Squirtle)
Strideduck (Psyduck)
Dr. Pepper (Charmander)
The tournament will be played and streamed on MLG.tv, and while viewers will finally be able to appreciate the Nintendo Game Boy’s graphics in crystal clear 1080p, the platform poses a unique challenge for the reigning 100,000 player mass-Pokémon champion team TwitchPlaysPokémon. The team is accustomed to stumbling through the game using Twitch chat, and thus far has threatened to boycott MLG’s tournament unless certain chat emoticons are added.
“← → → a, → ↑ ↑a → ← ↑ ← ←,” said one Twitch chat user. “← → →, → ← ↑ ↑ b.”Everything I publish on Facebook has been public and posterity can have access to my ego. Forever.
How Facebook Memorialization works to replace the newspaper obituary
Facebook Memorialization works by offering a form for a loved one or friend to fill out after someone passes away. Unlike other charges on Facebook, this service is free and the request allows the good Facebook employees know there won’t be anymore management on their account. After providing proof of death in the form of an obituary or death certificate (you can upload a copy!), the good folks at Facebook will ensure that the term “Remembering” will be shown to the right of the name of the deceased wherever it appears on Facebook-managed pages. Key points to remember:
Public posts stay public to future generations (i.e., grandchildren), but private posts will stay private.
Keep in mind that Facebook respects the privacy of posts. Anyone posting to “Friends Only” or to “Friends of Friends” will likely not have any posts available to progeny or anyone researching that person in the years to come. Facebook says, “Depending on the privacy settings of the account, friends can share memories on the memorialized Timeline …. Content the person shared stays on Facebook and is visible to the audience it was shared with.” Furthermore, nobody can log into a memorialized account.
And, of course, I’m Murphy-Lawing myself to go first by pushing my agenda here. If I go first, then please follow the official Facebook Memorialization protocol as they’ve set out on the website.
How to commit suicide on Facebook after you die
Facebook honors your wish to go “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” by allowing users to proactively delete any memorialization that might occur in the future:
Click on Settings on the top right hand of Facebook
on the top right hand of Facebook Click Security
Click Legacy Contact
Click Have Your Account Permanently Deleted
Why I’m gonna miss my friends who didn’t post publicly on Facebook
That’s how Facebook Memorialization works – it keeps or deletes all your posts and pictures after you die. I’m disappointed in you, my friends, who don’t post publicly on Facebook and especially those who don’t post at all. I’m sorry I won’t be able to find your legacy of endless pictures and pedantic posts after you die. I’m sorry I won’t find memes with cats or dogs or other overdone images with butterscotch plagiarisms taken from Instagram. Too bad you didn’t have your settings on PUBLIC and all your posts will be lost to your grandchildren.
Yes, I watched your feed during the greatest days of our youth, I pulled for each of your failed diets, I sent condolences when your pets died and I wished you happy birthday, too! You posted a lot. You were ornery sometimes but you, the cute one, seemed to embody the spirit of the animated GIF better than anyone. But I also especially liked the family photos and quick sentiments posted and tagged. You and similar friends showed up on my news feed constantly.
I tried to keep up, I really did. I scrolled, I liked, I commented. And when I retire I’ll go back and visit your Facebook wall to remember all those great times we had together! Except for those of you who didn’t post publicly on Facebook. Anything set on private will be lost forever, so if you really want your record to be wiped clean, then be sure to learn how Facebook Memorialization works and follow the instructions below.
Print obituaries are being replaced by Facebook Memorialization and it’s gonna be difficult to research the dead if you posted privately.
How Facebook Memorialization works against religions
Yeah, an zealous Facebook friend clutters up a website as much as a sucky website slider. There’s a spiritual point here that isn’t lost to me. Vanity is a sin if you’re a Christian, and Mada is a sin if you’re a Buddhist, and the sin of Riya means that if you’re doing things to impress people in the name of virtue then you’re committing a sin against Islam. Well, there’s also another side of the argument if you want to demonstrate the good works in your life by memorializing your life on Facebook and all the good deeds you’ve done.The CFL provided a statement to TSN's Dave Naylor, explaining the 10-day window for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to offer a contract to, trade, or release Johnny Manziel has been extended to evaluate the former NFL QB.
Here is the CFL statement on why Ticats were given extension on 10-day window to decide what they will do with @JManziel2: (1/2) — David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) September 15, 2017
"The window was extended to facilitate a process of evaluation for the player. We'll have no further comment until and unless that process has been completed,” the CFL said in their statement.
Manziel is subject to a domestic violence assessment and interview with commissioner Randy Ambrosie before being eligible to play in the league. Manziel faced a domestic violence charge after he was accused of hitting and threatening his former girlfriend in 2016 that was later dismissed upon conditions.
"The window was extended to facilitate a process of evaluation for the player. We'll have no further comment until,,, (2/3) #CFL #Ticats — David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) September 15, 2017
,,, and unless that process has been completed.” (3/3) So Ticats need to know Manziel's status with CFL before they can decide what to do. — David William Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) September 15, 2017
The Ticats need to know Manziel's status with the league before deciding what to do with the former NFL quarterback and college football star.Sonic and Tails are doing everything they can to save Mobius from Dr. Robotnik and his foolish robots, who have plans of taking over the planet.
1. Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad 22m Sonic outsmarts Coconuts and then stumbles into a convention of bounty hunter robots, where Robotnik puts a price on his head.
2. Subterranean Sonic 22m Sonic and Tails find an underground world of diamonds, but they are held captive there by a miserly Mole-Troll.
3. Lovesick Sonic 22m Sonic saves a damsel in distress and falls in love with her, not knowing she's a robot built by Robotnik.
4. Sloww Going 22m Scratch and Grounder use Robotnik's new slo-mo ray gun to capture Sonic.
5. High-Stakes Sonic 22m Tails and other Mobius citizens are lured into Robotnik's robotic games of chance, and when they lose, they're sent to slave labor camps.
6. Sonic Breakout 22m In order to free Sketch Lampoon, a satirical comic book artist, from Robotnik's new high-security prison, Sonic allows himself to be captured.
7. Trail of the Missing Tails 22m Tails gets trapped in the Warp of Confusion by Robotnik's cousin, Dr. Warpnik.
8. Close Encounter of the Sonic Kind 22m Sonic and Tails befriend a pair of aliens who crash-land their spaceship on Mobius.
9. Momma Robotnik's Birthday 22m Robotnik's momma escapes from the home for mothers of villains and demands her birthday present.
10. King Coconuts 22m Coconuts is exiled by Robotnik to a remote jungle, where he uses a giant baby ape to destroy villages.
11. Sonic's Song 22m Outraged by a new hit song written about Sonic, Robotnik outlaws music on Mobius and then takes pop star Catty Carlisle captive.
12. Birth of a Salesman 22m A fast-talking traveling salesman named Wes Weasley sells Robotnik various hedgehog-catching gadgets, including the Darkenator and the De-Atomizer.
13. Best Hedgehog 22m Sonic rescues Lucas, a rival of Robotnik's, from Robotnik's dungeons. But Robotnik will do anything to keep Lucas from finding his lost love, Lucinda.
14. The Robotnik Express 22m The leader of a group of biker bears mistakes Scratch and Grounder for Sonic and Tails and teams up with the pair to attack the real Sonic and Tails.
15. Too Tall Tails 22m Tails gets a megadose of Robotnik's growth gas and grows quickly to monstrous proportions, eating everything in sight and terrorizing the countryside.
16. Tails' New Home 22m When Sonic decides to find Tails a suitable foster home, Robotnik finds out and creates a robot fox family, who pose as Tails's long-lost parents.
17. Over The Hill Hero 22m An elderly, out-of-shape, overweight superhero keeps trying to help Sonic battle Dr. Robotnik -- and keeps getting Sonic in more jeopardy.
18. Blank Headed 22m After an accident, Scratch thinks he's an eagle and on Sonic's side.
19. Mystery of the Missing Hi-Tops 22m Sonic turns detective to solve the mystery of his missing red sneakers.The dominant statistic in the evaluation of goaltenders is save percentage. A goalie with a high save percentage is considered good and a goalie with a low save percentage is bad. Simple enough really. Now, it's quite obvious that the reality is somewhat more complicated than that. One of the problems that we don't often consider is the rather small spread between a good save percentage and a bad one. Although there are players with more extreme save percentages I usually consider anything above.920 excellent and anything under.900 poor. That's only two goals every one hundred shots. There's an awful lot of things other than "goaltender skill" that can eat that difference. After the jump we'll take a look at one of those things, namely the distribution of shots in various game states.
The following chart should be rather self-explanatory. I've included every goaltender who has faced a minimum of 400 shots so far this season and broken down each one's shots by the percentage faced in each game state. Remembering that the average goalie has a save percentage around.915 when on the power play and at even strength but around.870 while penalty killing, it's easy to see how shot distribution by game state might impact a goaltender's overall numbers. I've listed the goalies who benefited from a favourable distribution first.
So there is actually a pretty wide spread with Martin Brodeur taking home the most favourable distribution without a problem. The differences between teammates are also pretty interesting. In Tampa you have Mike Smith near the very top and Antero Nittymaki in dead last. I would assume that goaltenders have very little influence on these distributions and that they're mostly a function of team skill. If that's the case, we haven't reached a sample size where that's showing itself clearly.
So what difference does this make on overall save percentage? Well, if we take the numbers for an average goaltender and give him Martin Brodeur's shot distribution his overall save percentage would be at.909. If we give the same goaltender Antero Nittymaki's shot distribution his overall save percentage would be.904. A.005 shift in save percentage at the extremes is both not much and quite a bit. It means that for most goalies the effect will be small but that when we're comparing two guys near the margins (say Bryzgalov and Miller for the Vezina trophy) it could make a substantial difference. We've looked at save percentage here but a higher distribution of shots on the PK will also have an impact on the other prominent goaltending statistic, goals against average. When we're making comparisons between goalies I think it's worthwhile to take into consideration.
Nonetheless, the effect is still small. To illustrate this I'll use an example from the Edmonton Oilers. Jeff Deslauriers currently has the fifth most favourable distribution out of the 45 goalies who meet the criteria. Right now his overall save percentage is.906 but if we take his.913 EV save percentage and his.873 PK save percentage and plug them into J-S Giguere's shot distribution (he's had the fifth least favourable distribution) then his overall save percentage drops modestly to.904. On the one hand, this is a small difference. On the other hand this is 10% of the difference between an excellent goaltender and a bad one. Such is the nature of goaltender evaluation where the difference between poor and excellent is so small.In a while, together Plasma 5.3 will be released (independently) a new package: plasma-sdk, containing some very useful tools for development around plasma, some old KDE4 era ones will return, some are new.
plasmate : lightweight IDE for plasmoids (experimental port to KF5, work in progress)
: lightweight IDE for plasmoids (experimental port to KF5, work in progress) plasmoidviewer : useful to test a single plasmoid, in different formfactors (like desktop, panel, and so on)
: useful to test a single plasmoid, in different formfactors (like desktop, panel, and so on) plasmaengineexplorer : test and debug tool for dataengines.
: test and debug tool for dataengines. cuttlefish : tool for exploring icon themes
: tool for exploring icon themes plasmathemeexplorer: tool used to explore Plasma themes, let’s talk about this one.
Plasma theme explorer is a new tool that is targeted at designers of Plasma themes.
It can open any installed theme and preview it as a grid of thumbnails of the actual elements rendered.
The thumbnails all have a green or a red dot in it. The ones with a green dot mean that the theme directly provides that element, red means the theme doesn’t have it, so it will fallback to the default theme (currently Breeze). So it makes it very easy and fast to assess the completeness of a theme and to decide what elements to do in order to make the theme more complete.
A sidebar on the right will show a bigger preview of the theme element, together a short description of what the element is for, and an edit button (enabled only for themes installed locally in the user home).
Clicking the edit button, will open the SVG of the theme in inkscape, and will run a little sanitizing script on the file after inkscape is closed.
If the theme doesn’t provide the particular element (and we have a red dot in the thumbnail) the corresponding file from Breeze will be copied in your theme folder, and that one will then be opened in inkscape, making the job of completing a theme easier and faster.Welcome to the Joseph Plan Foundation
The Joseph Plan Foundation is a non-profit educational foundation dedicated to inspiring individuals and the general public to achieve fulfillment through charitable service.
Founded by Tara Singh in 1993, the Foundation responds to opportunities to contribute to the service work of others and disseminates materials which instruct, uplift and inspire. If ever you have a question about us, our work, or the materials we provide, you can Contact Us here.
To Joseph Plan Foundation it is you, the individual, who is important.
Upcoming Retreat on A Course in Miracles
with Charles Johnson
April 18-21, 2019
A Gift for All Mankind:
Discovering A Course in Miracles
New Kindle Release
Tara Singh's best selling book, A Gift for All Mankind: Discovering A Course in Miracles is now available as an eBook through Amazon.
Click here to order from Amazon.
In A Gift for All Mankind Tara Singh, one of A Course in Miracles' leading teachers, shares how and why the Course came at this time and the kind of attention required to bring it to application.
Tara Singh guides you step by step through the first ten Lessons of A Course in Miracles. He focuses their wisdom on how to change your values, simplify your life, and let go of the pressures of today’s world with its distortions of fear, loneliness, and pain. He shows how the Course can help you heal relationships and attain the silent energy of the spirit.
“Tara Singh’s words…have a life behind them ― an inspired life wholly dedicated to sharing the Course with earnest students.”
— Gerald Jampolsky, M.D., Author ofLove is Letting Go of Fear
“If you have become disillusioned with any spiritual teaching because you just couldn't make it work for you, this book will provide insight and start a revolution in your life.”
— New Visions
“Tara Singh’s words are powerful, yet empowering; piercing, yet gentle; compelling, yet freeing.”
— Hugh Prather, Author ofNotes to Myself.
“Tara Singh is for me the most eloquent spokesman for serious students of A Course in Miracles. Not since J. Krishnamurti has there been a voice so aware of our deepest spiritual needs.”
— James Kavanaugh, poet, philosopher, psychologist, author
SaveSaveSAN FRANCISCO — Uber completed a deal on Sunday to sell a significant stake of itself to SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate, paving the way for the ride-hailing company to make sweeping governance changes and to go public by 2019.
Under the agreement, a consortium of investors led by SoftBank will buy at least 14 percent of Uber through a combination of new and existing stock, according to three people briefed on the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because those details are confidential. SoftBank plans to buy about $1 billion of fresh stock at Uber’s current valuation of about $68.5 billion, but the bulk of the deal will be purchasing existing Uber shares from investors.
SoftBank is to buy the existing Uber shares in a process called a tender offer, which takes at least a month to complete. During that process, a price will be set for the existing Uber shares. If investors are reluctant to sell and SoftBank cannot hit its threshold of 14 percent ownership of Uber, SoftBank can walk away from the deal.
“We’ve entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment,” Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesman, said. “We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber’s long-term potential. Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance.”Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
Holly Holm's left leg did more than take the UFC championship from Ronda Rousey. That emphatic loss changed everything, and not just for Rousey. It was one of the few times a single athlete's performance has effected the landscape of an entire sport.
It was the shot heard around the MMA world, its echoes still being felt by a promotion that had devoted much of its energy to building Rousey as a sport-defining superstar.
For months after the first loss of her professional career, Rousey kept a low profile. When she did emerge, it was for mainstream appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Saturday Night Live. Fighting seemed the furthest thing from her mind, to the point she even banned journalists from asking her about it.
That all changed within minutes of Holm's upset loss to long-time Rousey rival Miesha Tate. Suddenly Rousey was texting UFC President Dana White that she was ready to "get back to work."
What should fans make of her instantaneous about-face? Bleacher Report lead writers Jonathan Snowden and Chad Dundas are here to help you figure out what's really going on here.
Jonathan Snowden: There was something so utterly predictable about Rousey's decision to insert herself back on the chessboard the very moment Holm was removed from the game. It fits perfectly with everything she's revealed to us since things didn't go exactly her way for the first time in almost eight years.
MMA fans have been blessed with great champions over the years, men and women with a true martial spirit. MMA fighters, traditionally, have challenged themselves and the world, willing to take the hardest fight, the most compelling challenge, to avenge even the most heinous loss.
Rousey, it seems, wasn't cut from that cloth. At least not the post-Holm Rousey, a fighter who seemingly lost more than just a fight. She lost the aura, confidence and swagger that made her so compelling to fans and intimidating to opponents. The first time she drew a bad hand, after she'd spent her entire career with pocket aces, first for Strikeforce and then for the UFC, Rousey folded.
Only when Tate, a fighter she's beaten twice, emerged with championship gold, did Rousey regain interest in the sport. That's the antithesis of what MMA has always been. That's a boxing mentality. Is that where this thing is headed Chad, into a brave new future where carefully protected company champions do their best to avoid danger? If so, I don't like it.
Chad Dundas: I agree it’s an awkward look for both Rousey and the UFC. The complete about-face it represents from her emotional appearance on Ellen makes you wonder what’s really going on in the ex-champ’s world.
From the company’s side, we can’t be surprised by the sheer cold-blooded pragmatism. If the rise of stars like Rousey and Conor McGregor has reinforced any one truth, it’s that the UFC will go for the money every single time. Right now, it obviously feels the most lucrative choice is to have Rousey back as champion.
Remember though, it also seemed pretty gung ho at first to move her into an immediate rematch with Holm, even though conventional wisdom said Rousey would only lose again. To me, that doesn’t necessarily equate to careful protection so much as good business.
And as for Rousey herself? Considering all we have to go on is White’s secondhand account of their text exchange, I’m not quite ready to hang her out to dry. For all we know, she was planning to return against the winner of Tate-Holm anyway. So long as she comes back and continues to fight every top contender in her weight class, I suppose I won’t find much fault, aside from perhaps a poorly timed text.
JS: I agree that we don't know with any certainty what happened. What we do know is that when Holm was champion, Rousey was conspicuous by her absence. The very night Holm was deposed, Rousey is suddenly ready to step into the limelight again.
Maybe she would have been ready to return either way. Maybe she would have sent White the same text message if Holm had won the bout. But that it happened only when Tate secured the title seems telling in some way.
I don't think there is much doubt that UFC wants Rousey to succeed. They've spent much of their institutional capital in Los Angeles and New York making sure she made a bigger splash than any fighter ever.
But this is hardly a sport built on pragmatism. This is a spectacle made great by the will of its athletes to dominate all comers. We love great fighters because they look the hardest challenge dead in the eye and agree to see what happens when they step into a steel cage.
The difference between how Rousey has handled her upset loss and the way Conor McGregor faced his own unexpected defeat speaks volumes about who they are. McGregor immediately owned up to his loss, faced the media in a series of intimate interviews and issued a promise to face his conqueror Nate Diaz again.
That all speaks highly of McGregor, but it's not particularly unusual. We can conclude Jose Aldo wants nothing more than to face McGregor again, despite being brutally knocked out. Brock Lesnar couldn't stop thinking about Frank Mir until he'd avenged his defeat. And Georges St-Pierre made it his life's goal to knock an albatross named Matt Hughes off his shoulders.
That's how fighters respond. If Rousey really is keener to fight Tate than she was Holm, that signals to me a problem with her makeup. Is it possible, for all her athletic skill, Rousey's mean mask and manufactured rage was covering up something deeper, some insecurity she tried to hide even from herself? Don't get me wrong here. Rousey has proven her courage over and over again. But this is a sport that requires absurd confidence to succeed on the highest level.
"This is a broken woman," Tate opined on the Jay Mohr Sports Show. "I don't know if she'll ever come back the same."
Unfortunately, Tate may have hit the nail on the head. I want to see the Rousey we'd all grown to care about, whether we loved her or hated her. That Rousey was a monster. That Rousey would have wanted Holm in the worst way. And if that's not the Rousey who's returning, she belongs in the world of "lights, camera, action" and not the less forgiving world of "let's get it on."
Scott Barbour /Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
CD: No doubt about it, Rousey’s immediate response to getting KOed didn’t do her public image any favors. Especially now that it’s juxtaposed with McGregor’s grace in defeat, it seems particularly ignoble.
Maybe I’m being naïve here—and, believe me, I made disapproving, sportswriterly clucking sounds as I watched Rousey walk through LAX with that pillow over her face—but I’m OK with the idea that people respond to losses differently.
Rousey hadn’t experienced that kind of pain in a long while, and the amount she had to lose, as well as the public scrutiny on her, outweighed even what McGregor had to deal with. If I had that many people exalting in the worst moment of my life, I might seek refuge in my favorite pillow, too.
Look, has Rousey done a lot of things I didn’t love? Sure. I didn’t love the pillow thing. I didn’t love the text. But do I think those things are indicative of some deep flaw in her spirit? Maybe. Maybe not.
The proof will be in the doing. If she takes out Tate in under a round and then immediately announces her retirement as champion? Or if she ducks Holm in some way? Then, yeah, that’ll be pretty janky.
If she comes back, fights Tate, fights Holm and goes on with the business of being Ronda Rousey? That’ll be good enough for me.
Jonathan Snowden and Chad Dundas cover combat sports for Bleacher Report.[Content note: violence, guns, mass shootings, misogyny]
We’re all familiar with the pattern now: a solitary young white man goes on a shooting rampage. People die. The media describes him as “crazy,” “disturbed,” “troubled,” “insane.” Everyone collectively bemoans the failings of our mental healthcare system, presuming that its failure is relevant here. People with mental illnesses cringe at the reminder of what our society thinks of them. A few people advocate stricter restrictions on guns. The victims are buried and memorialized, the killer’s parents shunned or comforted, and the killer gradually forgotten.
And it happens over. And over. And over. Again.
Whatever depth there is in this analysis is limited to the parts of the internet where I live. You won’t see the anchors and talk show hosts on CNN or MSNBC or, obviously, Fox News, wondering what it is about white men that produces so relatively many mass shooters–relative to other gender/racial groups and relative to other countries. They will talk about one of two things, mostly depending on their party affiliation: gun control or mental healthcare.
And it’s so difficult to ask them to talk about something else because we should be talking about gun control and mental healthcare. More and better gun control and more and better mental healthcare would vastly improve quality of life in the United States, and maybe in the right combination, could even prevent many of these shootings.
But wouldn’t it be better to fight the ideas and beliefs that lead to violence?
There’s plenty of evidence that Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old white man who murdered six people and injured seven more in Santa Barbara yesterday, felt entitled to sex with women and hated them for denying it to him. In a YouTube video uploaded just a day before the mass shooting, Rodger said:
You girls have never been attracted to me. I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me but I will punish you all for it. It’s an injustice, a crime because I don’t know what you don’t see in me, I’m the perfect guy and yet you throw yourselves at all these obnoxious men instead of me, the supreme gentleman. I will punish all of you for it. [laughs] On the day of retribution, I am going to enter the hottest sorority house at UCSB and I will slaughter every single spoiled, stuck-up, blond slut I see inside there. All those girls I’ve desired so much. They have all rejected me and looked down on me as an inferior man if I ever made a sexual advance toward them, while they throw themselves at these obnoxious brutes. I take great pleasure in slaughtering all of you. You will finally see that I am, in truth, the superior one, the true alpha male. [laughs]
If this weren’t terrifying enough, OllieGarkey at Daily Kos points out that the YouTube channels to which Rodger has been subscribed included well-known men’s rights activists. According to David Futrelle, he was also a commenter at PUAHate, a misogynistic forum that has been down since the shooting. On one forum post, Rodger wrote:
Women have control over which men get sex and which men don’t, thus having control over which men breed and which men don’t. Feminism gave women the power over the future of the human species. Feminism is evil.
Rodger’s various online postings have all the language of sexual entitlement and misogyny: “get sex,” “breed,” “alpha male,” “slut,” “not fair.” I’ve heard this from many men who have assaulted or abused me or others. It is not uncommon.
I’m going to say something that should be obvious: a minority of men think about women in quite this violent and hateful a way. An even smaller minority act on that violence so brazenly. But many men violate women’s boundaries and autonomy constantly, and all men are socialized to think about themselves, about sex, and about women in similar ways.
In the coming days you will hear all about mental illness. (This is because most people only talk about mental illness when they get to blame an act of violence on it, and not when millions of people are merely suffering in silence.) You will hear about how the mental healthcare system failed Rodger, how mental healthcare is too expensive, how there aren’t enough mental healthcare professionals, how insurance coverage is fucked up, how medication doesn’t work or doesn’t work well enough or works too well, how irresponsible parents don’t get their children mental healthcare quickly enough.
You will not hear that, while 2 percent of violent acts can be attributed to people with mental illnesses, people with mental illnesses are four times more likely to be the victims of violent crime than people without mental illnesses. You will not hear about the ways in which people with mental illnesses are discriminated against for many reasons, one of which is that they’re believed to be inherently violent, partially because of how the media focuses on mental illness in the wake of every single mass shooting. You will not hear that Black people who commit violent acts are never presumed to be mentally ill; they’re just presumed to be Black. You will not hear about how it’s only “terrorism” if a brown person does it; the fact that it’s politically motivated and intended to terrorize a particular group of people is not, apparently, enough. You will hear a lot about “not all men,” but you will not hear that misandry irritates and misogyny kills.
You will not hear that boys and men are taught to believe that they are entitled to women’s bodies in uncountable ways, every day, in every setting, by their parents and by the media and by everyone else. You will not hear again about the boy who stabbed a girl to death for refusing to go to prom with him, or about this entire list of women being hurt or killed for ignoring or rebuffing men’s sexual interests, or the constant daily acts of violence to which women are subjected for exercising their right to autonomy.
And before you call Rodger “crazy”: it is not actually “crazy” to believe stuff that’s been shoved down your throat from birth.
I wish it were. It’d be nice if humans reasoned rationally by default, that if you grow up with people telling you things that don’t make sense, like religion or that sex is dirty or that women owe you anything at all, you’d just go, “Well, that makes no sense!” and refuse to ever believe it.
But we didn’t evolve that way, at least not yet. Unless we work very hard at it, we’ll inevitably believe what we’re taught so incessantly, as sexism is taught to all of us. Yet we are all capable of rational thought if we work at it, which is why I hold Rodger and all other men who believe in their conditioning and subject women to violence fully accountable for their actions.
A very good therapist could have helped Rodger with this process. Maybe. But when mass shootings happen and everyone bemoans the fact that the shooter didn’t go to (or wasn’t helped by) therapy, they never seem to ask themselves what this therapy would entail. You don’t go to therapy or go on medication and suddenly become happy. What you have to do is unlearn the maladaptive and harmful ways in which you’ve learned (or been taught to) think. For someone like me, this means learning not to be so afraid and not to treat every minor setback as the end of the world. In Rodger’s case, this might’ve meant learning how to be okay with not having sex with women for a while, learning the social skills to eventually find and keep a partner, and, most importantly, learning that women do not owe him a single damn thing. With that realization might’ve come freedom.
In other words, the way to help Rodger would have been to help him unlearn what he never should have learned in the first place. And there’s no guarantee that even the best of therapists could succeed at this; everyone in the field knows that sometimes clients are just beyond help (at least by a given therapist) and that it’s tragic and sad and don’t we wish we could’ve caught them earlier?
What if our culture had never taught Rodger these horrible beliefs?
What if our culture didn’t still treat women as possessions?
What if
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. District Court in Denver and mouthed an emphatic “thank you” to members of the jury as they left the courtroom.
The six-woman, two-man jury, which deliberated for less than four hours following a sensational week-long trial, also rejected claims by radio personality David Mueller that members of Swift’s management team - her mother and a radio station liaison - got him fired from his “dream job” as a DJ by making false accusations.
“I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this,” the 27-year-old singer said in a statement released immediately following the verdicts.
“My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard,” Swift said, adding that she would make donations to organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.
Mueller, 55, showed no reaction as the verdicts were read.
The DJ had initiated the litigation after he was fired from his job after the groping claim was reported to the radio station. In his lawsuit he called the groping accusations false, and he sued Swift, her mother, Andrea, and radio station liaison Frank Bell over his termination.
During closing statements in the case, Mueller’s attorney, Gabriel McFarland, argued that his client was a respected industry veteran who would never have risked his $150,000-per-year radio job by grabbing a major celebrity’s rear end.
But Swift was firm on the witness stand, saying that there was no question in her mind that Mueller had intentionally slipped his hand under her skirt to clutch her bare bottom. Her attorney, Douglas Baldridge, said during his closing remarks that Swift was seeking only $1 in damages because she had no desire to bankrupt Mueller, but only wanted to send a message.
“It means ‘no means no’ and it tells every woman they will decide what will be tolerated with their body,” Baldridge said of the principle Swift was trying to defend.
Slideshow (19 Images)
U.S. District Judge William Martinez on Friday dismissed Mueller’s accusation against Swift, saying there was no evidence that she had acted improperly. The judge left standing the entertainer’s assault and battery countersuit against Mueller.
He also left intact a single claim by Mueller accusing Swift’s mother and Bell of interfering with his contract and effectively ending his career at radio station KYGO-FM. The jury rejected that claim.
Before the trial, Martinez had tossed out Mueller’s defamation-of-character claim against Swift, ruling that he had waited too long to file a lawsuit on those grounds.Today the eurogroup finance ministers rejected Syriza's request for a bridge loan to work things out.
Germany upped the ante, calling Greece's Letter Requesting Extra Time a "Trojan Horse" and instead demanded a three sentence letter accepting all Trioika demands.
Official request for an extension Promise to complete the current programme Commit to negotiating any changes with bailout monitors
Athens’ chances of finding itself without an EU financial backstop in one week will come down to a bitter face-off in Brussels on Friday between the Greek and German finance ministers after Berlin rejected Greece’s request to extend its €172bn rescue by six months.
The German rebuff came just hours after Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, reversed his government’s long-held promise to kill the current bailout by submitting a letter to his fellow ministers formally requesting the additional time and vowing to bring the programme to a “successful conclusion”.
Berlin told counterparts [the letter] amounted to “a Trojan horse” designed by Athens to change the conditions it must meet to receive €7.2bn in aid available for finishing the bailout.
“The letter from Athens is not a substantive proposal for a solution,” said Martin Jäger, spokesman for the German finance ministry. “In truth, it aims at bridge financing without fulfilling the demands of the programme.”
Germany took an even harder line in a pre-eurogroup meeting of finance ministry deputies on Thursday, calling on Athens to submit no more than a three-sentence letter requesting the extension, promising to complete the programme, and committing to negotiating any changes with bailout monitors.
In addition, the official said Berlin wanted to take back €10.9bn in bailout funds sitting unused in Greece’s bank bailout facility — money some EU officials believe could be needed if its financial institutions further weakened.
One person briefed on the talks said an earlier version of the Greek letter was more in line with German demands to agree to all aspects of the current bailout, with limited “flexibility” to negotiate its terms once an extension deal was signed, before it was hardened in Athens.
But the Greek government said it would not revise its letter, arguing the eurogroup had just two choices: accept or reject the Greek request. “This will show who wants to find a solution and who doesn’t,” a Greek official said.
In his maiden address to parliament as prime minister two weeks ago, Alexis Tsipras vowed not to accept an extension of the bailout, insisting the new government was elected to end its economic and financial strictures, which already makes Mr Varoufakis’s letter a significant U-turn even without further concessions.
A two-thirds majority of the governing council’s 21 voting members would be needed to end the ELA — which would in effect force Greece to adopt capital controls or quit the currency area.
Germany’s rejection of the Greek request cut short a market rally in Greece that had pushed short-term borrowing costs close to a month-low.
Yields surged back up above 17 per cent while shares on the Athens stock exchange slid 5.5 per cent in early afternoon trading.
However, market commentators say that even if Athens does not meet its obligations and leaves the eurozone, contagion will be limited.
Slovakia’s prime minister [Robert Fico] has vowed to oppose Athens’ push to ease the terms of its bailout, and warned that Bratislava was “calm” about a possible Greek exit from the eurozone if the country refused to honour its commitments.
“This is a red line for us. It would be impossible to explain to the public that ‘poor’ Slovakia... should compensate Greece,” Mr Fico told the Financial Times in an interview in his office on Thursday. “To explain to people that we have to give money to Greece for their salaries and pensions? Impossible. Impossible.”
While Germany is frequently portrayed as the biggest obstacle to Greece’s new leftwing government, Slovakia’s hard line is a reminder that Berlin is hardly alone. Officials involved in the talks said Slovakia has been one of the toughest opponents of relaxing the rules governing Greece’s loans.
“The [previous] Greek government has agreed to the conditions of financial assistance,” said Mr Fico. “It is not possible that a new government comes and immediately declares that, er, well, we will not respect this.”
Mr Fico, who has strongly criticised austerity measures imposed on his own country, said he would only accept concrete promises from Athens that ensure it “will behave in a way that will guarantee that in 10, 15, 20 years, Greece will be able to pay [back] what they get”.
Slovokia's portion of EFSF guarantees is €1.5 billion. It's total exposure to Greece is €2.2 billion. That's not much, but it is a lot to Slovakia.
Spain's exposure to EFSF guarantees is €18.1 billion. Spain's total exposure to Greece is €32.7 billion.
Germany's exposure to EFSF guarantees is €41.3 billion. Germany's total exposure to Greece is €72.7 billion.
I have a simple question: What's left to negotiate other than how big a capital surplus Greece must have and for how long.And those, Germany wants a Greek capital account surplus of 3.5% this year, and 4.5% next year and the following years.Athens wants 1.5%. Any room for serious negotiation here?I rather doubt it.Media still clings to hope that a collision can be avoided. For example, the Financial Times headline reads German and Greek Ministers Set to Collide Recall that eurozone rule changes require every country to agree. Right now it is 18-1 against Greece, with Germany leading the nay-sayers.But it's not just Germany. For example, Slovakia rules out further financial aid for Greece Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but governments change agreements all the time. No law is permanent. Even the constitution can be changed, although it's purposely difficult to do so.As for Slovakia not wanting to give money to Greece. It's going to happen one way or another, unless Slovakia acts like Greece.For more country-specific details, please see Greece Has Less Than One Week of Cash; Another DOA Proposal Discussed Thursday; Exceptional Game Playing The idea that all of this is ring-fenced and will not matter is simply preposterous. One way or another, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, and in fact all 18 remaining eurozone states will pick up a portion of Grexit.All that remains is when will that be recognized. I suggest there is no time better than now.It is in the best interest of Greece to let Germany force it out of the eurozone, especially if Germany takes the blame.I proposed long ago that may have been Syriza's game all along!No politician wants to take the blame when things go bad. And in that regard, Syriza has played a perfect game, bending a bit, but receiving no meaningful concessions from Germany.Syriza has the support of its people. Germany, not Alexis Tsipras will take the initial blame should Grexit occur.Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.comAs far as I’m concerned, it not only can, it is.
We have made a lot of strides in the world of gender equality. Little girls are no longer relegated to playing dolls and dress-up; women have held almost every job in the country. We haven’t reached a state of equality; no matter how you calculate it, women still make less money than men, and we have to look pretty while we do it. However, the girls who are more interested in sports than stickers and the women who would rather work in a boardroom or join the army are no longer universally regarded as freaks. That is a huge step.
We have not done nearly as well on the flip side of the coin. Stay-at-home dads face the same trials and tribulations that working women fought through fifty years ago. Little boys who want to play dolls or paint their toenails pink are still considered freaks.
So, what does all this have to do with My Little Pony?
The newest incarnation of MLP revolves around the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It is an awesome show, and much of that is due to the show’s original creative director, Lauren Faust. She set out to make something that was more than just “girly,” and she succeeded. Kids like it, adults like it, and, somewhat surprisingly, young men like it.
They call themselves “Bronies” (a portmanteau of bro-ponies), and they are teenage boys and young men who proudly proclaim their love of My Little Pony. They watch the shows, they wear the T-shirts, they sleep on the sheets, and they do it with enthusiasm and without irony. There is even a faction of Bronies who write fanfic and create fan art. They are called “Cloppers” and the two groups can be a bit like Sharks and Jets. It is fascinating to me, because it is one of the happiest sub-cultures I have ever come across. And I love the fact that their unofficial motto is “Haters gonna hate.”
This is a friend of my son’s. I called him to explain my idea for a post and ask if I could use his picture. When I got to the part about how the Ponies were originally for little girls, he interrupted me with an affronted, “Ponies aren’t for girls, ponies are for everybody!” This is a glimpse of the utopian future I dream of, when there aren’t “girl things” and “boy things,” there are just things that people are welcome to be interested in, or not. As long as we cling to the idea of gender stereotypes, we won’t be able to let go of gender roles. As long as gender roles are a part of our society, true gender equality will never be possible. The Brony sub-culture, and the fact that people who are not a part of it accept it, is another important step toward my utopian future. My son’s friend may not have understood everything I said about how his love of Rainbow Dash was helping further the cause of gender equality, but when I summed it up by saying that Bronies were making the world a better place, he agreed with a, “Hell yeah we are.”
I leave you now with Pinkie Pie, showing us exactly how much she cares about the haters:
Author’s note – I must clarify. Fanfic and fan art is not limited to Clopppers, the Cloppers are the subset of Bronies who take their artwork into adult territory and prove Internet Rule #34. I apologize to any Pony fans I may have offended with my mistake.Gov. Bill Haslam did not acknowledge the multiple alternatives to his proposed gas tax increase that legislators have introduced in the statehouse as viable options during an interview with Knoxville media Friday.
"No one else has laid out a plan and said 'This is how we're going to pay for it,'" Haslam said.
"Right now we're the only plan out there that says 'Here's how much it's going to cost. Here's how we're going to pay for it. And here are the road projects that are involved.' Any other plan needs to say 'Here's how we're going to pay for it.' And if it's less than what we're talking about, 'Here's what road projects we're not going to do,'" Haslam said.
His spokesperson added the other proposed plans take money from the general fund to pay for transportation projects. The governor's plan proposes a user fee that would go to the road fund, not the general fund.
Haslam's plan calls for a 7-cent hike on gasoline and a 12-cent increase on diesel fuel to pay for the state's $10 billion in backlogged road projects. His plan, called the IMPROVE Act, includes cuts to the grocery tax, franchise and excise tax and the Hall income tax.
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Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) has created a plan to take one-quarter of one percent of sales tax revenue to create a recurring dedicated fund to address transportation needs long-term.
RELATED: House leaders push alternative to Haslam's gas tax plan
Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville said his constituents are pushing him to find an alternative to a tax increase by pointing out the state is sitting on a $1 billion dollar budget surplus and another $1 billion surplus is projected for this year.
He has proposed allocating a quarter of any state surplus money over $5 million each month to TDOT.
"I think there have been multiple plans proposed. I've talked to representatives. Mine is not a long term solution by any means but is a one-time kick start to begin to move us down the path of addressing the infrastructure needs," Zachary said.
RELATED: Alternatives to Haslam's IMPROVE Act surfacing
However, Haslam, who spent Friday morning trying to sell the gas tax increase to business and political leaders at a Knoxville Chamber breakfast, dismissed those alternate plans.
During Friday's breakfast, he explained the IMPROVE Act also includes city and county governments receiving funding to pay for local road repairs.
"The city of Knoxville and Knox county will get $2 million each every year to maintain your local roads in addition to the $500 million worth of projects that will happen here," Haslam said.
Haslam also argued that the using surplus money is not a long term solution.Anyone up for a game of Cool Spot Buries the Bodies or Don’t Make the Dog Happy?
The Sega CD is often cited as one of Sega’s first big missteps on their slow spiral out of the console market. The system was criticized for featuring far too many Genesis ports and Full Motion Video (FMV) games. With only a handful of must-play titles the system was soon phased out for the more powerful Sega Saturn. If only there were more quality Sega CD games out there for us to fawn over.
Enter Twitter account @SegaCDGames, an unofficial online entity that has been posting very convincing mock-ups of hilarious and bizarre Sega CD games. The account, which has been posting games since March of 2016, has amassed over 16,000 followers. And who’s surprised with gems like these.
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Though the account reveals nothing in the way of who is to credit for this madness, I managed to reach out to the mysterious owner for permission. As it turns out, @SegaCDGames is actually run by... actor and writer Brian Firenzi. Best known for his work in RocketJump Studio’s Video Game High School, Firenzi never thought the account would take off like it has.
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Firenzi posts whacky Sega CD titles daily to his now-not-so-secret account. His first book, Exquisite Boy, was recently released on Kindle and carries much of the same outlandish humor. Firenzi tells me he is currently working on a second book, but admits that it sadly doesn’t revolve around the Sega CD.The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) Executive Director Bryan Ardouny outlined key priorities in the congressional testimony submitted to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. In the testimony, Ardouny reiterated the bipartisan letter sent to the Subcommittee, spearheaded by Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and commended the Members of Congress for signing.
In particular, the Assembly’s testimony calls for: $40 million in U.S. economic assistance to Armenia; $40 million to support Armenia’s efforts to serve as a regional safe haven for refugees; $20 million to implement the Royce-Engel initiative to advance peace; $11 million in U.S. military assistance to Armenia; $8 million to Artsakh; assistance to the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia; regional energy security; and reaffirmation of the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide. Armenia continues to demonstrate its resilience, which is why the Assembly also strongly supports a second U.S.-Armenia compact of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
The Assembly’s testimony specifically drew attention to Azerbaijan’s deadly cease-fire violations, including last April’s unprecedented offensive that started with the killing of a 12-year-old boy and continued with the gruesome ISIS-style beheading of an Armenian soldier and mutilation of an elderly Armenian couple. Given Azerbaijan’s blatant cease-fire violations, the Assembly called upon the United States to “directly condemn such actions and avoid engaging in false equivalency between the aggressor and those defending themselves” and urged the Subcommittee to cease military funding to Azerbaijan. America cannot afford it and Azerbaijan does not need it.
Ardouny highlighted the fact that Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301 A.D. and emphasized the importance of safe guarding Christian and other minority communities wherever they may reside. The Assembly testimony also commended the work of the Near East Foundation (NEF) in this regard and urged funding to support NEF’s work in Armenia. In addition to allocating aid to Armenia and Artsakh, Ardouny urged Members to visit Armenia as well as watch the movie titled The Promise, a film which depicts the extraordinary events of the Armenian Genocide and comes to theaters this month.A Calgary coffee shop is putting a lot of faith in its customers.
At its new downtown location in Fifth Avenue Place, Monogram Coffee is asking patrons to pour and pay for their own java.
Owner Jeremy Ho calls it the "honour bar."
"We trust them to pay. We don't really even police it," said Ho.
Customers can also grab a few pastries before ringing themselves through a tablet register system.
The onus is on customers to ring in their coffee and pastries through this laptop register at the Fifth Avenue Place location of Monogram Coffee. (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC)
Need for speed
Ho says relying on the honour system helps his staff meet the needs of Calgary's fast-paced downtown crowd.
While Monogram baristas staff a separate espresso bar — slinging Americanos, cappucinos and lattes — customers who just want drip coffee can quickly serve themselves at the honour bar.
"You know they don't have to wait in line. They like the efficiency."
The hot black brew is stored beneath the honour bar in kegs, which customers access through a tap.
Monogram customers serve themselves drip coffee from converted beer taps at the 'honour bar.' (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC)
With files from the CBC's Sarah Lawrynuik and the Calgary EyeopenerRory Gilmore vs. Amber Holt. The winner? Us!
Lauren Graham has taken part in two of TV's most iconic and beloved mother-daughter duos, and her TV daughters, Mae Whitman and Alexis Bledel, came face-to-face for the first time ever over the weekend at the 2015 ATX TV Festival, and the result basically redefines the word epic.
Whitman posted a photo of the trio on Twitter on Monday, with the caption, "AT LONG LAST WE MEET #drawyourswords#breaktheinternet." Their facial expressions? Priceless.
Graham and Bledel were at the event for the highly anticipated Gilmore Girls reunion, while Parenthood star Whitman is an ATX TV Festival regular, and participated in the live-reading of the Dawson's Creek pilot, playing the role of Dawson (James Van Der Beek). Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.cityscape Worldly Veggies Take Root in Scarborough
Growing crops from around the world on a rooftop near Victoria Park and Danforth.
Good things are growing in some unlikely places in Scarborough. Picture a local schoolyard and rooftop where fresh vegetables are being cultivated. But don’t just picture lettuce and tomatoes; these east-end gardens are growing much more than that. They are home to a harvest of okra, callaloo, Asian eggplant, and yard-long beans—crops that are more likely to be seen in specialty grocery stores than sprouting up from Southern Ontario soil.
Even more exciting than the unique array of foods being grown are the people who have a hand in it—young gardeners from Bendale B.T.I., a Scarborough high school, and Access Alliance, a multicultural health and community centre. Alongside a dozen other sites across the GTA that are taking part in the World Crops Project, they are intentionally sowing diversity into their community-worked soil.
Dubbed “world crops” for their global heritage, the vegetables found at Bendale and Access Alliance are starting to be grown locally on a larger scale as well. Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, near St. Catharines, is spearheading world crop testing at several locations in Ontario’s Greenbelt, forging a path for would-be growers of these crops. The idea is to better understand which varieties will grow well locally and how best to grow them. Meanwhile, the Greenbelt Foundation is supporting The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto to help connect urban growers to the world crops research and to the Greenbelt lands where local food is grown.
Where a lawn would normally sprawl, a garden grew this summer at Bendale B.T.I., located on the busy Midland Road north of Lawrence. Four young people worked full-time in the garden, learning not just new gardening skills, but also some business savvy at the on-site market (Tuesdays), and culinary tricks—they cooked with the produce every Friday.
Callaloo is a crop that holds a special place in the heart of Shabaka Sawyers, the farm manager at Bendale. Having grown up in Jamaica, he jumped at the chance to grow this cultural staple so close to his new home. When we visited, the team was cooking a vegetarian stir-fry featuring only the best, freshest, and most locally grown vegetables imaginable—including the prized callaloo.
While Bendale is making the most of its underutilized lawn, Access Alliance’s newest site, over at Victoria Park and Danforth, is reaching new heights in rooftop gardening. Plenty of okra, hot peppers, and callaloo (known as amaranth amongst the garden’s South Asian participants) were harvested from the green roof this year.
Eight young women there have just joined a youth environmental program and are excited to learn about growing food, especially the world crops. For many participants at Access Alliance, world crops are dietary staples. Born in Bangladesh, Mushfika eats okra a lot at home and is happy it is being grown so nearby. “I love gardening,” she smiles. “I am excited to learn how to grow plants and teach my family how to grow them.”
And that’s the key point, it seems. “These crops, along with many other food plants cultivated on the green roof, are being used as an educational tool for the many new immigrants and refugees the organization serves,” explains Lara Mrosovsky, a health promoter at Access Alliance.
The education goes further than that. Passersby or visitors to the gardens will often recognize a world crop from their homeland. Shabaka Sawyers even recalls seeing some elderly folks teaching the young staff in the Bendale garden how to grow and harvest the crops—often using excited hand gestures to fill in any language gaps.
In the field or around the table, food continually proves its potential to bring people together and create connections. We all came from somewhere. At Bendale and Access Alliance, people are celebrating that together.
Photos by Emily Van Halem.The rate of deaths due to cancer in the United States is dropping. Americans today have a 20 percent less chance of dying from cancer than they did nearly 20 years ago.
The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer was released by the American Cancer Society on January 21. According to the report overall deaths due to cancer dropped from 215.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991 to 173.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2009 – a 20 percent decrease. Men and women showed similar drops in risk between 2000 and 2009: risk of cancer among men decreased 1.8 percent per year, while risk for women dropped 1.4 percent per year. Children between 0 and 14 years of age were 1.8 percent less likely to die from cancer over the same time period.
For adults the drop in mortality is due in part to fewer new cases being diagnosed. Between 2000 and 2009 men and women showed an average decrease of 0.6 percent of new cases per year. Children, on the other hand, showed an average 0.6 percent increase in number of new cases. The faster decline in deaths, however, is attributed to better screening and treatment, and the decreasing number of Americans who choose to smoke.
The report also showed that mortality due to the four most common types of cancer – lung, colon, breast and prostate – all declined by at least 30 percent. The decrease in deaths due to lung cancer among men, a trend that began in the 1990s, has continued through the past decade. Women have seen deaths due to lung cancer drop over the past three years. And while the rate of breast cancer cases has actually remained steady between 2000 and 2009, the number of deaths due to breast cancer has declined. These trends are thought to be due to declines in smoking.
The news isn’t good for all types of cancer, however. Among women, rates of new cases increased for melanoma, thyroid, kidney, pancreatic, liver and uterine cancers as well as leukemia. The report mentions that excess weight and a lack of physical activity is a risk for these cancers.
And while the 20 percent decrease in cancer-caused mortalities means 1.18 million cancer deaths were prevented, cancer still remains among the deadliest killers for Americans, second only to heart disease. In addition to those forms mentioned above, the incidence of colon and rectal cancers is also increased with obesity.
Which makes America’s expanding waistline all the more problematic. Right now two-thirds of American adults are obese and a third of American children. And projections indicate it’s going to get worse, with more than half of Americans becoming diabetic or pre-diabetic by 2020.
So while cancer mortality rates are decreasing, for the time being, let’s hope that the benefits of better screening and treatments tip the scale against the obesity epidemic that’s almost certain to worsen in the coming decade.Michigan State Spartans cornerback Trae Waynes, right, celebrates after he intercepts a pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)
The conversations have nothing to do with schemes or shuttle runs, and most of them start with an exclamation along the lines of: "Wow, what a kid."
Then come the questions from various NFL team representatives to Joe Panos about his client, Trae Waynes. They've already watched his film and measured his physical ability in every way possible. They ask about his personality and his girlfriend and his parents, Ron and Erin, former college track athletes who raised their sons in Kenosha, Wis., and sent Trae to Michigan State.
"That's the big one, character," said Panos, a former Wisconsin star lineman and seven-year NFL veteran who, like Waynes, was overlooked as a high school prospect. "I played in the NFL for a long time and that's a lot more important than some people realize.
"These teams aren't asking if he can play in the Cover 2. They know what he's good at and what he's not good at. They want to know who he is, and I just tell him, 'Be yourself, answer the questions and they'll love you.' "
Certainly, NFL teams make exceptions when it comes to character questions — witness this take on rationalizations from Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, who told reporters this week that if fictional movie madman and cannibal Hannibal Lecter "ran a 4.3, we'd probably diagnose it as an eating disorder."
But when character falls into the asset category, that can help immensely, and that's part of why Waynes is the consensus pick as the No. 1 cornerback and expected to go in the first round Thursday on the first night of the draft in Chicago.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said this week that Waynes is the No. 1 cornerback because he's "clean on and off the field," and he projects Waynes to go as high as No. 7 to the Bears, with a likely landing spot between picks 11 and 20.
That would give MSU first-round cornerbacks in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, after Darqueze Dennard went No. 24 to Cincinnati a year ago. The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Waynes, who helped MSU go 24-3 the past two seasons with Rose and Cotton Bowl wins, isn't so highly regarded just because of the personality.
A second-team All-American as a fourth-year junior in 2014, Waynes was put on an island in MSU's scheme, pressing receivers most of the time, and was mostly dominant. Then he ran a blazing 4.32 in the 40 at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, all but clinching top cornerback status in the process.
Of course, that's not guaranteed for Waynes, who has been ill the past few days — nothing serious, Panos said — and was not able to do an interview. Waynes has reportedly made visits to Minnesota, St. Louis and Jacksonville during the process.
"I tell him 'Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst,' " Panos said of a draft night that will include 23 of Waynes' family members and friends in Chicago. "This is not an exact science by any means. I said, 'If it doesn't work out like we're hoping, don't let your jaw drop and drop the water bottle to the floor.' And he says, 'Hey man, I just want to be drafted.' He knows he's blessed, he really does, and he takes nothing for granted."
And not all draft analysts are fully on the bandwagon. Mike Renner, a writer for Pro Football Focus, ranked Waynes among the draft's most overrated prospects, citing a slow 20-yard shuttle (4.39 seconds). That, Renner wrote, is "a problem" because it reflects subpar change of direction.
Mayock acknowledged that Waynes can be "a little bit stiff" but added: "Most of those long guys are."
Waynes' length and speed, Mayock said, make him a top prospect. The intangibles, it seems, are a big part of why he's the top cornerback prospect.
Waynes was soft-spoken in his time at MSU, but he wrote a letter that was published in the Feb. 10 edition of the MSU student newspaper, The State News. In it, he thanked his coaches, teammates, fans, trainers and professors.
"I also want to assure all of you who helped me so much academically that I will earn my degree as soon as possible," the psychology major wrote, "and that will be as important to me as all of our great accomplishments on the field. I look forward to being a graduate of this great academic institution."
The Waynes file
•Who: Former MSU cornerback Trae Waynes
•From: Kenosha, Wis.
•Born: July 25, 1992
•Height/weight: 6-1, 182
•Major: Psychology
•Career highlights: Waynes lettered all three seasons after redshirting in 2011, starting the past two seasons and finishing with 101 tackles, six interceptions and 13 pass break-ups in 36 career games. He was a Walter Camp, Sporting News and Athlon second-team All-American, unanimous first-team All-Big Ten and a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.While accepting the Democratic primary nomination to the US Senate for New Jersey, Newark Mayor Cory Booker lays out his vision for the state and country as senator. He also takes aim at his Republican opponent Steve Lonegan.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the Democratic nomination in New Jersey's special primary election by a landslide Tuesday night, putting him one step closer to a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Booker beat out three other Democratic competitors in the contest to succeed the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, defeating Reps. Frank Pallone and Rush Holt as well as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. With most precincts reporting late Tuesday, Booker had a 40 point lead over the runner up, Pallone.
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Booker thanked and praised his Democratic opponents, and said he planned to bring a new style of politics to Washington.
“They say we are being naïve, to them I say have you ever met us, do you know where I’ve been working for the last seven years. This is Newark, New Jersey, and we don’t do naïve," he said.
Now, the popular celebrity mayor faces a special general election in just over two months, when he will face Republican Steve Lonegan.
The former Bogota, N.J., mayor and conservative activist won the GOP nomination over physician and first time candidate Alieta Eck. Lonegan, who is legally blind, unsuccessfully challenged Chris Christie in the 2009 Republican gubernatorial primary.
In a state mostly dominated by Democratic office holders, Booker will be a heavy favorite to win the Oct. 16 special general election.
During his victory speech he promised to fight for issues like child poverty, women's health and marriage equality.
“If you want someone in Washington that plays by the same old rules, you should find someone else," Booker said.
The most recent Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Booker topping Lonegan by 25 points in a general election matchup.
Regarding his opponent, Booker promised a clean fight, on his part, saying, “I will match his negative attacks with positive vision.”
Lonegan meanwhile, in a fiery victory speech, blasted Booker as a candidate "anointed by Hollywood" and the top choice of "Silicon Valley moguls" who want to make him California's third U.S. senator.
"We know what we believe in," he said. "We're going to say what we believe, and when we go to Washington, D.C., we are going to do what we say."
Whoever wins in the fall will serve out the remainder of Lautenberg’s term. The seat is being temporarily filled by Republican Jeffrey Chiesa, the state’s former attorney general, who was Christie’s interim pick.
If Booker wins, the balance of power in the Senate would return to a 55-45 advantage for Democrats, meaning Republicans need to win six seats in next year’s midterms to gain control of the upper chamber.
The winner of the special election would face voters again in 2014 for a full six-year term. Christie set the controversial special election timeline — with the costly special election slated just three weeks before regularly scheduled statewide elections on Nov. 5 -— saying, he wanted to give voters a choice as soon as possible.
But some critics charge that without a contested Senate campaign happening at the same time as his own re-election, turnout among Democrats is likely to be far lower, allowing Christie to run up the margin of victory in a race he is already a big favorite to win.
The shortened time 10-week sprint to the Democratic primary may have helped Booker, who has a close relationship with the GOP governor. The Twitter-savvy and energetic politician had the highest statewide name ID and a heavy financial advantage over his competitors, and he never relinquished his early lead.
Booker had already announced he was running for the open seat in 2014, but he did so even before Lautenberg announced in February that he would not run again, bristling the senior senator and many of his allies.
But when the 89-year-old passed away in June, the timeline was pushed into high gear.
The trio of Democratic competitors couldn’t make headway against Booker, who faced questions over his finances in the race's final week. Each tried, but all three were hamstrung by the crowded race.
Pallone had the backing of Lautenberg’s family, who praised him as a “workhorse” in the face of “showhorse” Booker. Holt tried to woo the progressive crowd, talking about privacy issues and how he would work to stop controversial NSA surveillance programs.
And Oliver, who was hamstrung at the beginning by the ongoing legislative session, said the Garden State needed a female representative in Washington.
Either way, the Democratic leadership has already thrown their support behind Booker, with Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, Chairman of
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Transit: Telia, NTT, Cogent, Zayo (soon: GTT, Tata)
Peering: Dallas Equinix Internet Exchange
We chose 1950 Stemmons and 2323 Bryan Street, two major regional carrier hotels, as our points of presence in Dallas. Also known as The Infomart, 1950 Stemmons is one of the largest buildings in Dallas, measuring at over 1.5 million square feet. Power and connectivity are plentiful at the Infomart; the building has four diverse power feeds and 100+ carriers redundantly built into the building.
Fremont
Retrofitted: September 23, 2016
Transit: Telia, Hurricane Electric, Cogent (soon: NTT, GTT, Tata)
Peering: San Jose Equinix Internet Exchange (soon: Any2 Los Angeles)
While there are several good options for points of presence in the Bay Area, we decided on 11 Great Oaks and 55 S Market, two large facilities with great carrier diversity. These are our longest fiber spans, requiring amplification in order to take a trip under the San Francisco Bay.
Atlanta
Retrofitted: September 21, 2016
Transit: Telia, NTT, Cogent, Zayo (soon: GTT, Tata)
Peering: Atlanta Telx Internet Exchange
In Atlanta we chose a single facility, 56 Marietta, to serve as our regional point of presence. This well-known carrier hotel was selected over all the other options in the Atlanta metro area simply because no other facilities could compete with Marietta’s connectivity. To ensure total physical redundancy, our diverse dark fiber enters 56 Marietta through different building entrances and lands in separate meet-me rooms using entirely distinct power systems.
Newark
Retrofitted: August 1, 2016
Transit: Telia, NTT, Cogent, Zayo (soon: GTT, Tata)
Peering: NYIIX, DE-CIX New York
In Newark, we chose to light points of presence in 165 Halsey and 111 8th Avenue, both famous carrier hotels in the NJ/NY metro area. We selected 165 Halsey in particular to give us physical diversity from the island of Manhattan. Having our physical footprint spread out over the entire New York metro area makes us much less susceptible to downtime during a catastrophic event like Superstorm Sandy.
London
Retrofitted: July 11, 2016
Transit: Telia, NTT, Cogent (soon: GTT, Tata, Vodafone, Sparkle)
Peering: LINX, AMS-IX, LONAP
In London, we chose 8/9 HEX and 14 Coriander Avenue to light points of presence. Because of the stature of these facilities and the more friendly peering climate in Europe, we are able to directly connect with hundreds of major networks over the largest Internet exchanges in Europe. This allows us to route up to 50% of our traffic over peering instead of transit, providing our customers with the shortest paths and lowest possible latencies to many of the largest European networks.
Singapore
Retrofitted: N/A
Transit: Telstra, PCCW, Tata (soon: NTT)
Peering: Singapore Equinix Internet Exchange
Tier 1 networks in the South Asian transit market are much more siloed than in other parts of the world, making it difficult to provide good connectivity using any single provider. This presented an unforeseen challenge when launching this facility in 2015: for the first time, we needed to be truly multihomed. With this realization, we decided to delay Singapore so that we could install our first pair of Cisco ASR 9000s as edge routers and launch on what would become our global public ASN. The facility we chose for Singapore is well connected, obviating the need to light dark fiber to remote carrier hotels.
Frankfurt
Retrofitted: N/A
Transit: Telia, Cogent (soon: GTT, Tata, Vodafone, Sparkle)
Peering: DE-CIX Frankfurt
Building on the experiences learned in Singapore, we now had a blueprint for all future Linode facilities. Choosing a colocation facility now considers how many quality networks are available to us, including in the colo facility itself. The Frankfurt datacenter is extremely well connected and we did not need to light dark fiber into remote carrier hotels.
Tokyo 2
Retrofitted: N/A
Transit: NTT, Tata, PCCW (more to come)
Peering: BBIX
We’re opening a brand new Tokyo facility next month. This will enable customers in the region to take advantage of several recent Linode announcements: KVM hypervisor, our latest plan specs including double the RAM and SSD servers, and mass availability. Stay tuned for the announcement within the next few weeks.
Filed under: announcements by Linode Security TeamJAMAICA, Queens – A water main break is causing “significant’ traffic issues entering and leaving John F. Kennedy Airport Wednesday morning.
Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said Wednesday a major water main break on the outbound Van Wyck Expressway has closed a section of the roadway, forcing all traffic to exit the airport via the JFK Expressway.
“There are significant traffic delays,” Coleman said. “Air passengers are urged to take the JFK AirTrain if traveling to the airport until repairs can be made.”
He says Port Authority crews are on the scene assessing the damage and beginning to fix the roadway.
Additionally, PIX11’s Traffic Center says there are heavy delays reaching the terminals and on the Belt Parkway in the area.
If passengers must drive to the airport, they should allow additional significant travel time to make their flight.
MTA says Q3 buses are running with delays in both directions, due to the water main break.
This is a developing story; check back for updates and get the PIX11 News app to stay informed all day.MILWAUKEE — Everyone knows Milwaukee County is not Donald Trump country; southeastern Wisconsin Republicans are expected to go heavily for Ted Cruz in Tuesday's GOP primary. But in case there was any confusion, the Milwaukee County Republican Party's "Wisconsin Decides 2016" event Friday night was a three-hour lesson in why Trump is having problems in the Badger State.
Cruz and John Kasich appeared at the event. Trump sent Sarah Palin as his surrogate. Kasich was introduced by former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who managed to get pretty worked up on behalf of a candidate who is a distant third in a three-man race. Cruz was introduced by Gov. Scott Walker, who won ovation after ovation before even mentioning Cruz's name. And Palin? There was no one to introduce her. County GOP chairman David Karst dutifully did the job, after explaining that the Trump campaign had asked him to.
The audience sat on its hands when Palin spoke. Taking in the scene, it was hard to remember how popular she was with Republicans eight years ago, when she was the GOP vice presidential candidate, and even four years, when some thought she might run herself. On Thursday, Palin stuck mostly to a script touting Trump's positions on trade, illegal immigration and military strength. The room was extraordinarily quiet.
Of course, it was a non-Trump crowd in a non-Trump part of the state. The audience wasn't going to enthusiastically receive Trump, or his surrogates, under any circumstances. And then Walker's reception shed some light on why Trump is having difficulty here. Specifically, it showed why Trump was ill-advised — crazy, actually — to attack Wisconsin's Republican governor. For three reasons:
1) State Republicans respect Walker tremendously. At enormous political, and sometimes personal, risk, Walker's Act 10 budget reform broke the back of the hugely powerful Democratic public-sector unions in Wisconsin. In the process, Walker became the target of the entire Democratic power structure — organized labor, office holders (up to the president himself) activist groups, big donors. They threw everything they had at Walker, first in the original Act 10 fight, then in the recall, then in Walker's re-election fight. Walker earned accolades from Republicans not only in Wisconsin but nationwide. Today, he has an 80 percent approval rating among likely Wisconsin GOP voters, according to the most recent Marquette Law School poll. Trump had nothing to gain by coming to the state and dumping on Walker, even after Walker endorsed Ted Cruz.
2) Wisconsin Republicans take criticism of Walker personally. They don't just respect Walker. They take pride in themselves for helping him win. They sent him money, made phone calls for him, knocked on doors for him, defended him to their Democratic friends, and stuck with Walker when he was under fire. They've all been through the Long March together, and now they are enjoying Act 10's success. When they praise Walker's achievement, they're praising themselves, too. So when Trump attacked Walker, they saw it as an attack on themselves.
3) Badger Exceptionalism. Many Wisconsinites are fond of heaping praise on their state, and themselves, for being "different" from other states. In their view, Wisconsinites are more civil, more serious, and better informed than other Americans, and the state's politics is conducted on a higher plane. (This self-regard obviously does not extend to Wisconsin Democrats, who seemed to go insane during the Act 10 fight.) Charlie Sykes, the conservative radio host who is leading #NeverTrump forces here, told Fox Business recently that Wisconsin voters would provide "the firewall of rationality in this Republican madness." "I frankly do not think that Donald Trump is going to win in Wisconsin, because his brand of what you call 'gutter politics' may play elsewhere, but Wisconsin is different," Sykes explained. "And that is kind of the point I'm trying to make here, is that Wisconsin has a different political culture, our culture is different but also our politics are different here."
So in attacking Walker, Trump was wrong not just on the substance of Walker's achievement, but also wrong on the psychology of Wisconsin's Republicans. It's the kind of mistake that is hard to recover from.In now-deleted social media images, the Russian Ministry of Defense used what is almost certainly a screenshot from a mobile game as part of its supposed evidence that the United States military was supporting ISIS troops in Syria.
The posts, which went up on Facebook and Twitter Tuesday morning, included pictures that the text described as "irrefutable evidence" of "direct cooperation and support provided by the US-led coalition to the ISIS terrorists." But as Kings College research associate Elliot Higgins noted on Twitter one of those pictures matches precisely with images found in an online trailer for AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron, a little-known mobile game from Byte Conveyor Studios. A warning from that trailer that the video was "Development footage / This is a work in progress / All content subject to change" was only partially cropped out of the Ministry of Defense posts, helping highlight the original source.
The original tweet has since been deleted (archived here) and the Facebook post updated to remove the image from the game. Other images in the posts were seemingly taken from existing footage that the Iraqi Air Force posted of attacks against ISIS and remain up on Facebook.
"The Russian Ministry of Defense is investigating its civilian employee who mistakenly attached photos to a statement on the US-led coalition's interaction with the Islamic State militants in the area of Abu-Kamal," the military said in a statement given to Russia-affiliated outlet RT.
AC-130 Gunship lets players provide air support to ground-based units in a Vietnam War setting, using the now-familiar black-and-white infrared targeting viewpoint popularized by footage from drones and other military aircraft (and used memorably in Call of Duty IV: Modern Warfare's "Death from Above" mission in 2007). The mobile game screenshots look passably realistic when shrunk down to thumbnails of nondescript trucks on dirt roads, but when blown up to full size, the angular polygons, sharp focus from afar, and lack of detail on the trucks make the image's true origins more apparent.
Last year, a Russian UK embassy account used an obvious Command & Conquer screenshot to illustrate the supposed delivery of "chemical ammo" to extremists near Aleppo. There have also been plenty of instances of news outlets presenting game screenshots as real photographic evidence, including an Assassin's Creed backdrop standing in for war-torn Syria, a Fallout 4 screenshot used to illustrate Russian hacking, an Arma II screenshot mistaken for an IRA attack on a British helicopter, a Halo UNSC logo mistaken for the real UN logo, and a Metal Gear Solid 5 image used to illustrate child warriors in South Sudan.
As games continue to become more realistic (especially at a cursory glance), it's going to become easier and easier to intentionally use their imagery as a stand-in for reality to less observant viewers. And as these kinds of game images increasingly clog up unrelated Google image searches, it's only going to become easier for sources to unintentionally present gaming screenshots as real-world scenes. Then again, once artificial intelligence figures out how to fully create convincing "news video" out of whole cloth, our ability to discern fantasy images from reality may be well and truly doomed.
Listing image by Eliot Higgins / TwitterI am sorry for continuing a rant here. The heads of the auto companies are driving nine hours to Washington for their bailout pleas; I am sure many would rather see them crawl. I am not a cheerleader for General Motors and the Detroit auto industry, and think cars are a menace. However one cannot, as so many of the commenters in my earlier post did, just say that GM was stupid and Toyota was smart, and that the American car industry should roll over and die and make room for those innovative Japanese and German car makers. Look at the numbers. What is the worst performing car (in sales) in America in November? The Prius. What is Ford's best performing vehicle? The F-150 truck.
Ford is in the process of hiring back workers to make the F-150 because demand is so strong. My point is this: The only way to wean America off big cars and trucks and into cars like the Europeans and Japanese drive is to price gas the way the Europeans price gas- with a big fat tax to make it four or six bucks a gallon. Then we will see viable alternatives, investment in cycling and transit infrastructure, and very efficient little cars.
Jay Leno got this one right:
Well, it looks like the government is going to bail out Citigroup, yet they don’t want to bail out the auto companies. See, I don’t think this is fair. I mean, blue collar guys who make our cars, they don’t get the bailout. But the white collar guys on Wall Street, they get the bailout. You know what I think we should do? I think they should work together. I think the guys in Detroit should keep making the cars, and the guys on Wall Street should be making the license plates.
UPDATE: Hybrid Car Review thinks I am full of it and makes some good points.
Graphs from New York Times
More on Detroit and the Bailout
Tom Friedman Can't Make Up His Mind
The US Should Be Denmark: Tom Friedman on Greening the EconomyStory Highlights 60% dissatisfied with current level of immigration; 33% satisfied
Republicans more likely this year to be dissatisfied
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As congressional Republicans weigh whether to file a lawsuit against President Barack Obama for his executive actions on immigration, 60% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the level of immigration into the country today. This is an increase of six percentage points from 2014, but is comfortably lower than the 2008 high of 72%. By contrast, one-third of Americans are satisfied with current levels of immigration.
Few issues on Gallup's annual Mood of the Nation poll saw such a drop over the past year in the number of Americans expressing satisfaction -- or the corresponding climb in those voicing dissatisfaction -- as the desired level of immigration. The poll, conducted Jan. 5-8, saw larger drops in such high-profile issues as the nation's security from terrorism (10-point drop from 2014) and a 25-point decline in satisfaction with the state of race relations.
The increasing level of dissatisfaction with current immigration levels comes at a time when immigration is once again a major issue in the political debate. Late in 2014, President Obama issued an executive action protecting some immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally from deportation. While the move has been politically popular for the president among Hispanic Americans, it is not without controversy. Republicans on Capitol Hill have vowed to undo the measures, and in fact the House has passed a spending bill that includes language to roll back the president's actions. That legislation is unlikely to receive approval in the Senate, but it speaks to the broader partisan conflict unfolding on immigration.
Importantly, this survey question does not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. While many Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are careful to say they support legal immigration, the party is nonetheless known for housing many outspoken politicians on this issue, such as influential Rep. Steve King of Iowa, whose anti-immigration rhetoric often does not distinguish between legal or non-legal status.
Nearly Two in Five Want Less Immigration
In a follow-up question that queried Americans who are dissatisfied with the current levels of immigration, the majority -- 39% of U.S. adults in total -- said they would like to see the level of immigration decrease. This ranks among the lowest level of Americans who are dissatisfied and express a desire for less immigration since Gallup began asking the question in 2001, even if it is nominally higher than last year's 35%. The share of Americans who are dissatisfied and want more immigration (7%) was unchanged from 2014.
Fourteen percent of Americans said they were dissatisfied with the current level of immigration in the country, but did not express a specific preference for either increasing or decreasing it.
Republicans Most Dissatisfied With Level of Immigration
More than four out of every five self-identified Republicans say they are dissatisfied with the current level of immigration (84%), a figure that towers above the number of independents (54%) or Democrats (44%) who feel similarly. Moreover, the number of GOP affiliates saying they are dissatisfied on this issue swelled by 19 percentage points compared with 2014 -- suggesting that the overall increase in public dissatisfaction with immigration levels is driven primarily by Republicans, perhaps in reaction to the president's actions. However, even among Democrats, dissatisfaction increased by eight points this year.
Bottom Line
Republican lawmakers who oppose the president's recent executive action on immigration are finding different venues to challenge the decision. This is happening via legislative measures, and will perhaps make it through the court system. The matter will likely weigh heavily on the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings of Attorney General-nominee Loretta Lynch.
The president's disputed actions may have had some effect on how Americans perceive immigration levels, providing Republicans additional fodder with which to challenge the president. The number of Americans saying they are dissatisfied with current immigration levels increased by six points and seems mostly driven by self-identified Republicans, although dissatisfaction among Democrats is also up slightly. Still, compared with earlier times this century, a smaller than usual proportion of Americans say they are dissatisfied with immigration levels.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 5-8, 2015, with a random sample of 804 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
View complete question responses and trends.
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RaDonna Kuekelhan and her sister, Cathy O’Mara, have spent their whole lives in and around southeast Kansas, a largely rural area wedged up against Oklahoma and Missouri. Long pastoral stretches separate the region’s smattering of ghostly quiet small towns, the depopulated remains of a thriving industrial past. Cathy left the area briefly as a young woman, following a man to Florida, a decision she still regrets.
“I said, ‘God, if you let me get back to Kansas, I will never leave again,’” she recalls, laughing at herself but not really joking. She had missed the closeness of community in Kansas, the way it eases life’s challenges. When she arrived back home without a job, she walked into the factory where her mom worked and started on the line that same day. She’s still there 34 years later.
Closeness has defined Cathy and RaDonna’s relationship, too. The sisters have rarely been separated by more than a long drive. And that is fortunate, because over the past five years, Cathy has been RaDonna’s lifeline as her body has slowly and steadily failed.
RaDonna is dying. She’s a stout, white-haired 59-year-old who’s proudly willful, and she has cheated death twice before. Her first health crisis arrived back in the late 1990s. “It was end of August,” she says. “I went to a softball game and hollered for two hours and I lost my voice. Well, I just assumed it was from the hollering, but it didn’t get no better. So finally my sister told me, ‘You’re going to the doctor.’”
It turned out RaDonna had cancer of the larynx. She says she endured 35 rounds of radiation to beat it back. The treatment was challenging, but at least it was covered. Back then, she had a job making motors for small appliances at Emerson Electric, and it came with a health plan.
Within a couple of years of her recovery, however, Emerson shut down. After two decades in a secure job, RaDonna could now find only temp work, and most of that in factories over the border in Oklahoma. Like most temp work, hers didn’t come with insurance. That made things more complicated when her most recent health crisis began.
In early 2010, she developed severe acid reflux and struggled with fatigue. She was constantly short of breath. “I couldn’t keep nothing on my stomach,” she says now in her gasping whisper, the strongest voice she’s able to muster. “I thought I was having pneumonia.” Cathy scrambled to find a doctor who would see her uninsured sister.
Kuekelhan’s medications.
Southeast Kansas is home to four of the state’s five least healthy counties, according to an annual ranking by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. People die younger here than anywhere else in the state. They’re more likely to have diabetes, to be obese, to smoke, and they’re less likely to have insurance coverage for dealing with these ailments. In 2010, as RaDonna grew ill, 16 percent of Americans had no coverage; in Montgomery County, RaDonna’s home, the uninsured rate was nearly 22 percent. Few of these people qualified for Medicaid, the national program designed to insure poor people, because Kansas has long had one of the more restrictive programs in the country. At the time, working parents couldn’t earn more than 32 percent of the federal poverty level—or $5,859 a year for a family of three. Childless adults like RaDonna didn’t qualify no matter how little they took home.
But in March 2010, change was in the air. President Barack Obama had just signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which promised a massive nationwide expansion of Medicaid. States were asked to open their programs to all adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or just about $27,000 a year for a family of three. In return, Washington would pay the full costs of new enrollees through 2016 and 90 percent from 2020 forward. It would be hard to overstate the magnitude of this change. It was arguably the largest expansion of an anti-poverty program since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, when Medicaid was created—and it could very well have saved RaDonna’s life.
But the pitched battle to bring Medicaid expansion to Kansas reveals much about how we arrived at today’s healthcare reality—one in which there is very much a red and a blue America. The difference between those two worlds is stark, perhaps nowhere more so than in Kansas.
* * *
By the time the Affordable Care Act became law, Sandy Praeger had already spent 25 years in Kansas public life, much of it in the Republican Party’s leadership. She’d been the mayor of Lawrence, served in both legislative chambers, and was about to complete a second term as the state’s insurance commissioner, one of just six posts elected statewide. It felt like time to step aside, and she was actively considering retirement. Obamacare changed her mind.
The health of Kansas’ residents had been Praeger’s life work, and she considered the healthcare-reform law a historic development. So she pursued and won another term in 2010 and got to work creating a state-run insurance exchange. “We had a great effort going,” she recalls wistfully, five years and a political lifetime later. “A lot has changed.”
By February 2011, Praeger had positioned Kansas to become a case study for the Affordable Care Act’s successful rollout. The Obama administration chose Kansas as one of seven “Early Innovator” states, each tasked with creating models for others to copy in the complex job of revamping their information-technology systems to meet the demands of a new insurance marketplace and Medicaid expansion. Kansas won a $31.5 million grant to demonstrate how states could blend their Medicaid authorization systems into the exchanges.
The Kansas rollout held huge political significance. Sam Brownback, once one of the Senate’s most prominent social conservatives and a champion of pro-life causes, had just taken office as governor. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, had been Kansas’ governor until 2009, when she left to become President Obama’s health secretary and lead his healthcare-reform charge. If her famously moderate home state, now helmed by a Tea Party favorite, were to become a central player in Obamacare, it could help mainstream a policy that conservatives had tarred as radical.
But the political challenges would be formidable. Praeger and Brownback are not from the same Grand Old Party. Praeger calls herself a “Nancy Kassebaum Republican,” after the senator who, together with Bob Dole, helped establish the state’s moderate-Republican brand during the Reagan years. Brownback, on the other hand, won on a staunchly conservative platform that, among other tax-cutting, zero-government stances, fully rejected the Affordable Care Act. So Washington wanted assurances from the new governor before it cut a check.
“I talked with him, and I talked with some of the more conservative members of the legislature,” Praeger recalls. She describes the sentiment across Kansas’ conservative political spectrum at the time as more petulant than obstructionist: Fine, we’ll do health reform, but we’ll do it our way. “It was the whole mantra of ‘Well, we want to be in charge.’” With that understanding, Brownback sent a letter to the feds endorsing Praeger’s planning as an “exercise of prudence,” and Kansas got the money. “Our office will work with the insurance commissioner…to implement the Kansas exchange in a way that ensures Kansas, not Washington, maintains control over its own healthcare choices,” a Brownback spokesperson said at the time.
From the vantage point of 2015, both Praeger’s optimism and Brownback’s reluctant acceptance appear fantastic. But this was before the Supreme Court had agreed to hear any challenges to the ACA. And while the individual-coverage mandate was still provoking intense pushback, Medicaid expansion had the air of inevitability: Rejecting expansion meant opting out of federal funding for the entire program. Brownback didn’t have a lot of alternatives.
“From where I was sitting,” says Scott Brunner, who ran the state’s Medicaid program at the time Brownback took office and is now a senior analyst at the nonpartisan Kansas Health Institute, “it seemed like the governor had to decide how much of the Affordable Care Act he could tolerate.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the late spring of 2011, as RaDonna’s undiagnosed breathing problems intensified, she found herself facing yet another health crisis: colon cancer. She was still working a temp job with no insurance, but she escaped the surgery with almost no debt because the Oklahoma State University hospital at which she was treated absorbed most of the cost. Members of her church pooled money to help pay for the rest.
RaDonna had been struggling to maintain her independence as her health worsened. But after the colon surgery, her doctor warned her it was time to stop working. Cathy agreed. She insisted RaDonna come back to Montgomery County and live with her, and then she set about finding someone who could figure out why her sister was having breathing problems. Medicaid expansion was still on the horizon—slated to take effect in January 2014—so Cathy turned to the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC), a nonprofit network that offers primary care to the uninsured.
Cathy O’Mara opened her home to her sister in 2011.
The sisters drove 30 miles from Cathy’s house down to the nearest CHC clinic, in Montgomery County’s largest town, Coffeyville. There, they met Julie Griffin, the doctor in charge. Griffin is also an evangelical minister, and as with many of the people I met in socially conservative southeast Kansas, Brownback’s politics force a tension in her core values. She’s resolutely pro-life and supports Brownback for his famously firm stance against abortion. But for her, valuing life means valuing universal access to healthcare, too. And she blames southeast Kansas’ ailing health on a toxic mix of poverty and political neglect.
“If you can’t find a job, you can’t feed your kids, you don’t feel like there’s any help for your kid in terms of success, that’s going to affect your mental health,” she says in a typically energetic riff about the challenges her patients face. “And if you don’t take care of your mental health, then your diabetes is going to be a thousand times worse.” She says much of her work is a matter of convincing patients to fight for their own lives, despite the dearth of care. She can call the roll of uninsured patients she’s coaxed away from preventable death, only to have them tumble back to grave illness when they grow defeated because she’s run out of subsidized meds or can’t connect them with a free specialist: “People that didn’t want to take care of their diabetes because there’s no hope anyways.”
Griffin immediately saw this grim potential in RaDonna and began scrambling. She sent the sisters on a 65-mile trek over the border to Joplin, Missouri, where she found specialists at a private hospital who would see RaDonna without insurance. “We went there for a year, back and forth,” RaDonna says. “We went to a throat doctor, went to a lung specialist, a stomach guy,” Cathy chimes in. Finally, they discovered the problem: All that radiation to clear RaDonna’s larynx cancer had destroyed her esophagus.
“The top of her throat is paralyzed,” Cathy explains. “Everything that she puts into her mouth and swallows, some of it aspirates down into her lungs. They told me that she is ‘terminal’—that was their words to me. ‘Your sister is terminal. We don’t know how long she will live. She will either slowly starve to death or she will aspirate and choke to death.’”
RaDonna was too young to collect Social Security, and she was trying to survive on a $231-a-month pension from Emerson. Despite her diagnosis and collapsing income, as a single adult she still didn’t qualify for Medicaid. The only way into Kansas’ program was to qualify for disability—and in 2013 the state rejected her application. “They denied it,” says Cathy, still angry. “They said she was not ill enough.”
RaDonna’s body was a financial time bomb. Inevitably, she would land in the emergency room, which would bankrupt Cathy and her husband.
As all of this unfolded, the sisters weren’t paying much attention to the debate over healthcare reform in Kansas. Medicaid expansion would give RaDonna a fighting chance, but its prospects were fading fast. Up in the state capital, Praeger was losing battle after battle in her effort to implement the Affordable Care Act.
* * *
Over the course of Brownback’s first months in office, any cautious support that he’d shown for Obamacare quickly evaporated, as movement conservatives made it clear that they wanted a united front in opposition to the law.
Oklahoma, like Kansas, was one of seven states that won federal “Early Innovator” grants. In April 2011, facing conservative outrage, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin sent that money back to Washington. Pressure mounted for Brownback to do the same. By early August, the state GOP was poised to vote on five separate resolutions demanding that Brownback and the legislature do the legal minimum to implement Obamacare and reject the innovator grant. Four days before the vote, Brownback beat the party to the punch and returned the $31.5 million. “Every state should be preparing for fewer federal resources, not more,” he declared in a statement, previewing an argument he’d use against Medicaid expansion as well. “That requires freeing Kansas from the strings attached to the Early Innovator Grant.”
That same week, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the 26 states, including Kansas, that had argued that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. By November, a Supreme Court showdown was set, freezing further action on healthcare reform in Kansas. Praeger argues that her conservative colleagues in Kansas wanted to game the Court. “If it looked like the states were cooperating, there was less of a chance the Supreme Court would act,” she says. “It was about creating the public political environment to influence the Court.” Praeger’s office carried on where it could, doing public education about the ACA, but she increasingly found herself in exile.
In June 2012, the Court upheld the ACA’s mandate that Americans buy insurance. But the justices shocked even close Court observers by ruling that states could not be compelled to accept Medicaid expansion. Brownback and other GOP governors were now free to opt out without sacrificing funding for their current programs.
By this point, the governor had launched a stunning political offensive designed to rid the state of any remaining Republican moderates. Brownback had run on a radical platform, vowing to eliminate the state income tax, rewrite funding for public schools, create judicial elections, dismantle welfare—on and on toward a libertarian zero-government utopia. Yet once in office, he faced frequent obstruction from the Nancy Kassebaum Republicans, who still controlled the state legislature. In 2012, Brownback purged them.
“We did not see the onslaught coming,” says former Senate president Steve Morris, a moderate Republican who lost his 2012 primary to a Brownback-supported challenger. “We had 21 races in play and we lost 16.”
As leader of the caucus, Morris became a particular target of movement conservatives. “Unhappy that Obama and five Supreme Court justices are forcing you to accept ObamaCare?” asked a postcard sent by Americans for Prosperity to tens of thousands of voters in contested districts. “Thank Steve Morris.”
Money gushed into the state. Koch Industries put at least $125,000 into the campaign via the Chamber of Commerce PAC, which spent $675,000 on the primary overall, most of it targeting the Senate. Moderate Republicans found themselves in the awkward position of raising money from unions, in what became the most expensive campaign season in Kansas history. It wasn’t enough. “Sam Brownback has shaped government,” says Jean Schodorf, a moderate Republican and 12-year incumbent who lost her seat in the primary. “He’s shaped it from top to bottom. It has taken Kansas down the drain.”
Brownback has said he remains “open to Medicaid expansion,” which may someday leave him room to maneuver. But the antigovernment legislature he now controls passed a law in the spring of 2014 seizing authority over the expansion decision. And for now, Brownback continues to be an effective foe, tapping themes that resonate deeply in Kansas: a visceral distrust of President Obama and a moral rejection of “dependency.”
A June 2014 interview with the Daily Signal, a Heritage Foundation news site, illustrates both of these lines of argument. In it, Brownback explains his opposition by asserting “the likelihood, at the end of the day, that there’ll be a bigger price tag on this thing to the people of Kansas than what they’re currently advertising.” (Of course, by this logic, Kansas would have to reject the hundreds of millions of dollars it receives in federal cost-sharing for dozens of other initiatives, including its existing Medicaid program.) The governor also suggests that Medicaid expansion might foster dependency: “We’re trying to push people that are able-bodied right now to get a job. So when they come to Kansas to apply for public assistance, we say, fine, if you’re able-bodied we’re requiring that you apply for work.”
Brownback now brags that he’s cut the number of people receiving public assistance in Kansas by more than half. But reducing benefits and reducing need isn’t at all the same thing. The poverty rate has remained flat. The share of children who qualify for subsidized school lunches has grown to more than 50 percent for the first time in
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M. Pope, who chairs the RNC’s Budget Committee, defends Steele’s expenses, arguing that a bump in costs is unavoidable for a party that lacks control of any of the levers of government. “Michael Steele does travel more, but he’s in far more demand. He’s a huge part of the fundraising apparatus,” said Pope. “Nobody is living it up at the RNC. There are a number of upscale events, but those are all profitable.”
But disclosure reports document the exodus of prominent donors who have decided to shift their giving to other party committees. In 2005, the RNC raised $46 million from donors who gave more than $250 and $55 million from small donors. In 2009, Steele’s RNC brought in just $24 million — nearly half as much — from big donors and $58 million from small donors.
When Steele took over the chairmanship last winter, he inherited a $23 million surplus. Since then, the former Maryland lieutenant governor has raised $10 million less than the party collected in 2005 and has spent $10 million more. By the end of 2009, the committee’s surplus had shrunk to $8.4 million, according to campaign finance reports.
Just last week, RNC officials touted a January fundraising haul of more than $10 million. But after hosting the sun-filled winter meeting in Hawaii, paying for the holiday party and taking care of other bills, the committee spent almost all of it. Consequently, the RNC added only $1 million to the committee’s $8.4 million in cash, the reports show.
Pope acknowledged the falloff but said some of it was caused by frustration and exhaustion after the 2008 election and that things are turning around. “Major donor events were up in the latter part of the year, once the party learned to raise money better without a president,” and Obama’s agenda rallied the base, he said.Workers at a major distribution center in Los Angeles aren't directly employed by the e-commerce giant. But they insist it should take responsibility for their conditions.
Davis Turner / Wikimedia Commons / Via commons.wikimedia.org
The busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere is ever so slightly less busy. Staff at a major Los Angeles warehouse serving Amazon and other big retailers went on strike Tuesday, protesting unpaid wages and overtime, dangerous conditions, a lack of breaks and water during hot summer months, and retaliation by management against their organizing efforts. The strike continued on Wednesday. The stoppage is the latest tactic in a campaign to improve conditions at the distribution center at the Port of Los Angeles, according to Sheheryar Kaoosji, director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center. Workers and advocates have previously filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint, a class-action lawsuit, and an Occupational Safety and Health complaint, the last of which triggered an ongoing investigation. The other cases are pending. An Amazon spokesperson said the company had no statement on the matter. The non-union workers at the distribution center are a classic illustration of the "Who's the Boss?" problem that is widespread in the modern labor market: They are contracted by a staffing agency, which is contracted by the warehouse operator, which is contracted by Amazon and others. The multiple layers mean each party can claim it has little leverage to determine pay and conditions.
https://flic.kr/p/bN5ETx
It's an example of the "fissured workplace" the Department of Labor has focused on in recent months, issuing a new guidance on misclassifying contracted workers. Some labor experts say a recent National Labor Relations Board decision expanding the definition of "joint employer" could allow large corporations, such as McDonald's or Amazon, to be held liable for labor law violations committed by contractors down the line, such as franchisees or warehouse operators. But such claims have yet to be tested. Critics of efforts to reclassify such workers say the move could drastically upend business relationships to the detriment of companies heavily reliant on contract work, both large and small. While corporate giants like McDonald's or Amazon would be hit by any such move, so would smaller business, including fast-growing tech companies in the so-called gig economy. "The law is certainly becoming more friendly to claims of joint employer status, even in cases where there is no direct or immediate supervision by the putative joint employer," wrote Benjamin Sachs, professor of labor and industry at Harvard Law School, in an email to BuzzFeed News. "The NLRB's decision in Browning-Ferris Industries is the leading case in this evolution." In the Browning-Ferris decision, the NLRB found that two or more entities are joint employers of a single workforce if they share or co-determine matters "governing the essential terms and conditions of employment," from hiring and firing to wages and hours.
Kenneth Lu / Flickr / Via flic.kr
The Democrat-controlled NLRB wrote in the ruling that "it is not the goal of joint-employer law to guarantee the freedom of employers to insulate themselves from their legal responsibility to workers, while maintaining control of the workplace." Such claims have been at the heart of campaigns to pressure big employers to improve wages and conditions for their frontline staff. Worker advocates hailed the ruling as a victory for millions at the bottom of the labor pyramid. "This shared responsibility under the joint-employer standard should result in better oversight and compliance with important labor laws across industries," wrote Christine Owens, the executive director of the National Employment Law Project, in response to the decision. Business groups have contested the ruling, pledging to aggressively lobby against it and saying it will wreak havoc on industries based on profitable franchise and contract models.
Wikimedia Commons / Via upload.wikimedia.org
In Tuesday's warehouse strike in L.A., distribution company California Cartage operates the warehouse, a set of three 1940s-era buildings where workers move products such as clothes, furniture, refrigerators, and electronics for retail giants. Amazon is the warehouse's largest customer and accounts for more than a third of its business, according to Kaoosji. The center also serves Kmart, Sears, and Lowes. While retailers have contracts with California Cartage, the distributor in turn contracts with staffing agencies, which provide workers to load and unload containers and trucks. The warehouse in question employs between 150 and 400 workers at any given time, many of whom have worked in California Cartage's warehouses for years. A spokesperson for California Cartage declined to comment. "The city of Los Angeles and Cal Cartage customers like Amazon... need to know that the conditions at this warehouse are dangerous, that workers are not treated with respect, and that we are standing up for our rights," said Jose Rodriguez, who has worked at warehouses operated by the company for over 22 years. "This warehouse moves products for some of the largest companies in the world, but pays us barely more than minimum wage."
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:On_the_Waterfront_(1954_film)#/media/File:Eva_marie_saint_marlon_brando_waterfront_11.jpg Marlon Brando as a dockworker in On the Waterfront.
In September, workers and advocates filed federal charges alleging retaliation against workers at the warehouse. The parties state that supervisors tried to provoke a physical fight after employees asked to take a break during the excessive summer heat. In December 2014, workers filed a class-action lawsuit against both California Cartage and SSI Staffing, alleging they owe millions in unpaid wages and overtime, dating back to 1999. The suit claims the companies have paid less than the mandated City of Los Angeles living wage for decades. The city's Living Wage Ordinance requires public contractors and many companies that lease public land to pay workers with wages about $2–3 above the state minimum. Kaoosji also describes workers facing a form of "on-call" scheduling. The suit claims that warehouse staff, like old-time dockworkers on the waterfront, are required to report to the site every day, but can be sent home without pay if they aren't needed. And in June, workers filed a complaint with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Association (Cal/OSHA), detailing dangerous work conditions, including unsafe equipment, lack of protective gear, and lack of training.
Via Wikimedia CommonsNATO’s former deputy military chief in Europe says his book, a fictional story which describes a nuclear war with Russia over the Baltic nations taking place in 2017, is based on an “entirely plausible” scenario.
General Sir Richard Shirreff, from Britain, served at the second-highest NATO military office in Europe between 2011 and 2014. He says his experience acquired in the alliance of war-gaming future conflicts helped him model the narrative for the book.
According to his scenario, starting next year Russia would first occupy Ukraine to secure a land route to Crimea and then invade the three Baltic nations, all of which are members of NATO. The move, Shirreff argued, would be driven by the perception of NATO’s weakness and Russia’s opposition to what it sees as the alliance’s attempts to encircle it.
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“We need to judge President [Vladimir] Putin by his deeds not his words,” the retired general told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “He has invaded Georgia, he has invaded the Crimea, he has invaded Ukraine. He has used force and got away with it.”
The supposed invasion of Georgia in 2008 was Russia’s response to a Georgian attack on its breakaway region of South Ossetia, which started with the killings of Russian peacekeepers stationed there to prevent such hostilities. Russia responded by defeating the NATO-trained Georgian Army and withdrew. Moscow later recognized South Ossetia as a sovereign state, formalizing its de facto independence from Georgia that had been in place since the 1990s.
The supposed invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was Russia’s use of its troops, which were legally deployed in Crimea under a treaty with Ukraine, to prevent hostilities after an armed coup in Kiev. The Crimean people, who overwhelmingly opposed the new Ukrainian government and its nationalistic leanings, voted in a referendum to part ways with Ukraine and rejoin Russia.
If Russia used military force against any NATO members, the entire alliance would be obliged to declare war on Russia. The US is the most powerful member of NATO and has the world’s biggest military force. According to Shirreff, Russia would use its nuclear arsenal to counter NATO’s response.
“Be under no illusion whatsoever – Russian use of nuclear weapons is hardwired into Moscow’s military strategy,” he said, omitting the fact that NATO’s nuclear nations – the US, Britain and France – have always kept a pre-emptive nuclear strike as a possible option. Russia dropped its pledge not to use nuclear weapons first in 1993.
A scenario of conflict between Russia and NATO members over one of the Baltic states was earlier explored by the BBC in a film, which focused on decision-making at a British advisory body responding to the crisis. In the film, the stand-off escalated into a full-scale nuclear conflict and the advisers contemplating an option to destroy Russia’s biggest cities with Trident missiles.Upstairs, Ibrahim Amara and his friends gather around the computer to watch YouTube preachers offering a vision of Islam that rejects democracy and elections. “Democracy’s freedom is absolute,” Ibrahim says, “and we don’t accept that. In our religion, freedom is limited to the freedom God gives you.”
Downstairs, Ibrahim’s father, Saleh Amara, explodes in frustration over his son’s new, post-revolutionary passion. Saleh and his wife have gone along with some of their 27-year-old’s new restrictions — okay, they’d stop watching soap operas and “Oprah” on TV, because there was too much sexual content — but Saleh says his son goes too far. Growing the long beard of the pious is fine, though it will probably limit his job opportunities. And if Ibrahim insists that his secular-raised, college-educated wife cover her hair and wear gloves, well, that’s his business. But how can he spurn free elections, the sweetest fruit of Tunisia’s revolution?
One year after the uprising that sent autocratic leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali packing to exile in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia stands divided between two visions of its future. Last year’s street clashes in this sun-spangled city by the sea have morphed into a different kind of battle — more intimate confrontations in which many families struggle with essential questions of identity.
Secular parents, surprised to find their daughter covering her hair in public, worry they are losing their child to extremism. Moderately religious families argue over a son’s decision to grow a beard and demonstrate against aspects of Tunisian life they have always taken for granted: beer and wine, bikinis on the beach, Hollywood movies on TV. In workplaces, kitchens and sidewalk tearooms, one question dominates: Can and should Tunisia’s blend of Western and Islamic values and practices be maintained under the North African country’s new freedom, or has that freedom unleashed a religious extremism that threatens to push this land of 10 million people toward a new kind of dictatorship?
Sixteen months after a humiliated Tunisian fruit vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi poured paint thinner on himself, lit a match, and sparked a wave of revolutions across the Arab world, the birthplace of the Arab Spring is in many ways better off than the other countries where rulers were toppled. Tourists are starting to return to Tunisia’s Mediterranean beaches, there is relative peace on the streets, and fair elections were held, bringing to power a coalition of Islamist and secular parties led by Ennahda, an Islamist movement that asserts its moderation at every turn — even as many secular families don’t believe a word of it.
But Tunisians are anything but flourishing. Jobs remain scarce, and the sense of hopelessness that led to the uprising is little abated. Hardly a day goes by without some new confrontation between Islamists and secular Tunisians.
In a country that is nearly 100 percent Muslim, a growing rift over religion threatens — in the view of the secular president of the new parliament — to throw Tunisia into “chaos.”
“For 30 years, we had no freedom or democracy,” says Mustapha Ben Jafar, who presides over the country’s Constituent Assembly in a baroque, mirrored office from which the Ottoman Empire once ruled Tunisia. “Now, our situation is so fragile and sensitive because we are caught between two forces — one that wants progress and one that wants to go back in time.”
Ben Jafar — who won his position when Ennahda sought to show it would share power with secular parties — argues that “freedom always has its costs. Before the revolution, these extreme movements existed but they were forced underground. Now everything is in the open, and thank God for that.”
But followers of an austere version of Islam known as Salafism, including Ibrahim Amara, are not satisfied merely to exercise their new right to demonstrate. “We must adopt sharia law,” making the Koran the law of the land, Ibrahim tells his family in their stucco house in the working-class suburb of Le Kram. If the state “tries to silence us, we will use any means — violence, too.”
Ibrahim’s older brother, Ahmed, who is 29 and sports a fashionable goatee, shudders at his brother’s anger. “Ibrahim used to be normal — go to clubs, go to parties, not just pray all the time,” he says. “I’m more open. I still think we can have that balance, to be both Western and Islamic.”
Why Ibrahim, an educated young man from a middle-class family, turned to Salafism is not clear to his family. What they do know is that, like many well-educated young Tunisians who have had trouble finding work in recent years, Ibrahim found structure and purpose in a movement that paints the rest of society as hedonistic and directionless.
Ahmed gets exasperated just looking at his brother’s scowl as he stares at the floor during arguments with their father, who calls himself a “normal, moderate Muslim.” “People like Ibrahim — they’re just so... I don’t know. They close themselves off,” Ahmed says. “I mean, Ibrahim doesn’t even have any photos from his wedding. He wouldn’t allow any pictures. He said it was against Islam.”
New fears of a hard line
Two neighborhoods away from the Amaras’ place, amid driveways full of Mercedes-Benzes and Audis and a block from the Mediterranean beach where French tourists sunbathe in bikinis, the Ayed family gathers with relatives and friends for Sunday brunch. The chatter flits seamlessly from French to Arabic to English.
The Ayeds — Adnen Ayed spent years in various world capitals as a top executive for Sony, and his wife, Houda Cherif, is a former teacher who co-founded one of Tunisia’s secular political parties — came home from Japan a year before the revolution. Then, in January 2011, on what Cherif calls “the dream day,” she and Ayed joined the huge crowd downtown, got chased by security police and celebrated with strangers at news of Ben Ali’s flight.
Ayed got a face full of tear gas and Cherif lost her car keys, but their joy at the prospect of life after dictatorship overwhelmed any inconvenience. Within a few months, however, that thrill began to yield to worry over growing division. “We are all Muslims, but we were starting to separate into one kind of Muslim and another,” recalls Cherif, 42.
In the campaign leading to October’s elections and in the months since, small but violent demonstrations by Salafists have frightened many Tunisians.
Islamist preachers calling for sharia law, a return to polygamy and a reduced role for women do not represent a majority but are making headway, some secular Tunisians worry. At brunch, over spicy tuna salad and brik — Tunisia’s fried phyllo snack — served on Royal Albert china, Cherif tells of a well-educated friend whose mother chastised him for voting for a secular party. “You voted against Allah,” the mother said.
“How do you fight against that?” Cherif asks. “How do you educate people about our mild Tunisian brand of Islam when Islamist parties are telling voters that their path is the only one to paradise?”
In downtown Tunis, on the grand Avenue Bourguiba, a thousand well-dressed people appear one afternoon and plop down on the sidewalk, against tree trunks, on the steps of the National Theatre, each person intently reading a book.
It’s a read-in, organized by secular parties to warn against the ignorance they believe leads to religious extremism. Cherif takes her place on the theater steps, reading a sociology book about rampant egoism. Around her, professors, students, physicians and engineers read Camus, Balzac, Beckett and other classics — almost all in French.
A professor of French literature, Maatallah Gleya, looks up. “See, everyone is reading a different book,” she says. “If you went to a Salafist demonstration, everyone would be reading the same book.”
Ali Gaidi, a college student who happens by the read-in, gets the point. “They’re saying we shouldn’t just read Koran,” he says. “But the extremists these people are so afraid of won’t pay attention to this. All they would see is elitists reading French.”
What secularists don’t realize, Gaidi says, is that “even people who wear the veil read books. These people are so afraid of the extremists that they don’t see we are all Tunisians. We will stay moderate, as we have always been.”
Cherif and her friends wish they could share that confidence. In some ways, the country is embracing a Western openness. In the ancient Roman city of Carthage, Tunisian designers this month staged a Fashion Week show with thumping house music, daring displays of skin and designs that served as a commentary on the hijab, the head scarf some religious women wear.
In other ways, hard-line Islamist values are spreading. A mother at brunch tells of girls at her daughter’s school who informed a secular classmate they would no longer speak to her, because she did not wear the hijab.
After the revolution, elite lawyers, academics and business people scrambled to form political parties — 110 of them, including Afek Tounes (Tunisian Aspiration), which Cherif and friends created to focus on defending civil liberties.
“The secular message was aimed at the elite,” says Cherif, a slim, elegant woman who drives a big sport-utility vehicle, a rare sight in Tunis. “We targeted the brain, and the Islamists went for the heart. They talked about honesty, faith and justice — and jobs. We were completely wrong.” Her party won only four of 218 seats in the parliament.
Ennahda, which won a plurality of seats, put hundreds of volunteers to work writing pro-Islamist, anti-secular comments on Tunisians’ Facebook pages. Ennahda portrayed the secular elite as dominated by intellectuals who had spent too much time outside Tunisia or as affluent capitalists who had remained silent under Ben Ali and were complicit in his reign.
Now, with what some secular Tunisians call “the beards” on the rise, some in the new government worry that Tunisian democracy could prove brittle. “The people are losing patience, waiting for jobs,” says Yadh Ben Achour, who ran the country’s constitutional commission. “The risk is that protests could lead to chaos, which could take us right back to dictatorship.”
But if the ruling coalition cracks down on extremists, he says, it can buy time to rebuild the economy. “Radicals in Tunisia don’t have deep social roots like in Egypt,” he says. “The average Tunisian already has democracy in their heads.”
Cherif beams as her 16-year-old daughter tells of an Islamist man who stood outside her high school, a French private academy, and told students not to drink Coca-Cola, because it’s American and against Islam. The kids laughed at the man until he went away.
Three worlds, one new one
It was in high school, in 1979, that Samir Layouni started to pray. His parents were not religious; like most Tunisian women, his mother eschewed the hijab. But Layouni found peace and fulfillment — and a sense of rebellion — in the open expression of faith that Tunisia’s government declared dangerous, even seditious.
Prayer, Samir says, “helps you disconnect from the material world,” and when he stands up from five minutes of afternoon prayer with his wife and two daughters, he seems lighter in manner and step than when he began.
For most of his life, Samir, 50, lived in three worlds — in the mosque, where regular attendance brought regular encounters with the security police; in secular Tunisia, where his customers and colleagues often took overt signs of devotion as evidence of extremism; and in the underground cells of Ennahda, where Samir as a college student joined other Muslim men who were organizing for political revolution and religious awakening.
It’s all in the open now: His political work. His wife Hela’s decision to wear the head scarf again, after 12 years of going uncovered so she would not be harassed by Ben Ali’s security forces. Their regular visits to the mosque in their village of Sidi Bou Said, known for its artists colony and spectacular views of the sea.
Still, when fellow Tunisians learn of his Ennahda background, they often seem frightened of him, he says. People like Houda Cherif see Ennahda supporters as stalking horses for extremist clerics preaching intolerance. People like Ibrahim Amara view Samir and his comrades as sellouts, suspiciously clean-shaven captives of the West.
Samir has no beard — just a trim moustache. He says those who insist on a narrow version of Islam will fall by the wayside as Tunisia matures.
As for secularists, “our challenge,” Samir says, “is to show we are not what they think. We do not want to oppress women or make them stay at home or let people have four wives.”
Like Samir, Hela grew up in a secular home; she didn’t even pray regularly. Her parents, suspicious of Samir’s activism, asked: Why would you want to marry a zealot? Especially one who is in prison, which is where Samir was sent after he joined the banned Ennahda party.
But Hela fell in love with Samir and his life of prayer. She remains the only veiled woman in her family.
Samir escaped from custody and spent four years underground, moving from one hideaway to another, missing his son’s early childhood. Later, after turning himself in, he was regularly summoned by police interrogators who beat and tortured him, he says.
When Samir set up a cheese factory, he says, he refused entreaties to bribe regime officials. He figured they could not do anything to him that he had not already survived. That same reasoning led him last year to defy his mother and join the anti-government demonstration, despite her fear of violence.
The revolution turned out to be mainly peaceful because “Tunisia’s different,” Samir says. “The secular opposition and our party spent years in prison together. We’re not out to change each other. This is not an Islamic country — it’s a Tunisian country.”
One wall of the Layounis’ living room is covered with souvenir plates from places Samir has visited — from Istanbul to Venice to London. In an ornate, Ottoman-style room of deep red brocade, tasseled tablecloths and prayer rugs, the plates stand out as a sign of worldliness. As a businessman who sells his Gouda, Edam and pate to all, he moves easily among Tunisia’s different factions. But some in his party live more isolated lives, a separation many secular Tunisians find alienating.
Bridging that divide is the task facing Rachid Ghannouchi, Ennahda’s 70-year-old spiritual leader, who spent more than two decades in exile in London after his party was banned. Now, from his spacious office atop Ennahda’s headquarters, he contends the party is more moderate than secularists or hard-liners believe.
“When you want people to come together, you have to be in the center,” he says.
Ghannouchi has steered Ennahda in a different direction from Muslim Brotherhood-related groups in Egypt and elsewhere in the region.
He made a show of meeting with Jewish leaders after an extremist cleric called for the murder of Tunisian Jews. He says he supported excluding Islamic law from Tunisia’s constitution because “we want to bring the hoo-ha over sharia to an end and get on to the most pressing problem — unemployment.”
Ghannouchi sees extremism on either side of him. In a rumble so soft as to be barely audible, he talks of “inheriting an extremist secularism where the hijab was banned. In Tunisia, we need time to get used to the idea that the citizen is free to choose his own way of life.”
He says he wants Tunisia to become “a model of compatibility between democracy and Islam — the Switzerland of the Arab world.”
That Tunisia is a long way off, Samir knows. But he and Hela are emerging from a life led behind closed doors. She goes to the mosque now without worrying that someone will call her a terrorist. He goes to party meetings without taking circuitous routes.
“For the first time after 50 years, I am free,” Samir says. “I can breathe.”
One suburb up the coast, Cherif feels her freedom slipping away. She wants her children to grow up in her homeland, where her grandfather fought against French colonizers. Now the opponents are religious extremists. “We must stay and fight,” she says.
And one village in the other direction from Samir’s house, Ibrahim Amara works on converting his family, and then his country. “Every Muslim will reach our phase and be like us,” he says. “Our duty is to convert others, and if they don’t let us express ourselves, we will have to fight.”Last week, privacy advocates turned up some unsettling news: for two years, Verizon's Precision Insights division has been seeding web requests with unique identifiers. If you visited a website from a Verizon phone, there's a good chance the carrier injected a special tag into the data sent from you phone, telling the website exactly who you were and where you were coming from, all without alerting customers or informing the public at large. Today, Forbes' Kashmir Hill reports that AT&T is testing a similar program, although it may be possible to opt out. In both cases, the message is clear: there's a lucrative business in tracking users across the web, and carriers want in on it.
Networks like this have been used for surveillance before
Carriers have usually stayed out of the ad-tracking business, although many of the same divisions have offered pilot programs in tracking users' locations. Instead, most of the tracking on the web happens through third-party firms like Google's Doubleclick, which use easily identified cookies to follow users from site to site. But the carrier programs are inserting trackers at a higher level, in the process of routing data requests, which make the cookies both harder to identify and nearly impossible for a user to shake off.
Verizon and AT&T will tell you they just want to help serve you more relevant ads, which isn't so bad on the face of it — but we've seen networks like this used for much more questionable ends, most notably when the NSA took over Google's cookie-tracking network to help target malware injections. Tracking is tracking, and it's hard to tell what else might be built on top of the network once it's in use. For Verizon and AT&T customers — which, put together, compose a little more than two-thirds of US citizens — the result is a comprehensive surveillance system that they didn't approve and, until this month, were largely unaware of.Housing is Britain’s top policy issue. It is the “crisis” of our day. London’s mayoral elections, says Labour’s Sadiq Khan, should be a “referendum on the housing crisis”. The migration crisis, the NHS crisis and the poverty crisis all pale before its awesome might. So what is the “solution”?
Sadiq Khan urges Tory rival for London mayor to fight housing bill Read more
There is no solution. As in all political crises, there are tribal myths and economic realities. When the myths win, policy degenerates into chaos and counterproductivity. First, let’s deal with the myths.
1 That there is a housing “crisis”. There is none. Too many people cannot find the house they want in London and the south-east, which is where most politicians and commentators live. This is inevitable where an economy is booming. Average prices in London may be £500,000, but in the north-west and north-east of England they are £150,000. You can get a decent home in Salford for £65,000.
2 That an average is a minimum. It is not. Housing hysteria is based on averages. When someone asks “How can I possibly afford £500,000?”, the answer is: you cannot, but somebody presumably can. But go on Zoopla and there are houses in parts of London for £180,000. Even the poorest newcomers seem to find somewhere (usually private) to rent.
3 That there is a national “need” for 250,000 new houses a year. For decades this has been Whitehall’s meaningless concept of “household formation”, taking no account of regional preference, propensity to move home, house prices or cost of finance. Housing need implies homelessness. It should refer to the 60,000 people currently in temporary accommodation, who ought to be the chief focus of policy attention. All else is “demand”.
Renting aids labour mobility and channels savings into productive investment
4 That the solution to house prices lies in building more new houses. New houses are always worth building, where the infrastructure is in place. But new houses account for a mere 10th of housing transactions. The chief determinant of house prices is the state of the market in existing property and the cost of finance. During the sub-prime period, prices soared in America and Australia despite unrestricted new building. It was cheap money that did the damage. The house-builders lobby equates housing to “new build” because that is where their interest lies.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest New social housing: ‘Security of tenure and low turnover – not to mention right buy – renders the fixed stock of public housing inflexible and immobile.’ Photograph: David Davies/PA
5 That the solution lies in the green belt. This is an anti-ruralist’s version of myth four. Even were the green belt obsolete, which few accept, or partly so (which I accept), it will not dent the pressure of overall demand. Nor is sprawl remotely “sustainable” development. It requires new infrastructure and puts more pressure on roads and commuting. It is bad planning.
6 That high buildings are the answer. They are inefficient as the higher you build the more is spent on servicing. London’s most popular and economic housing is “high density/low rise”. Towers have supplied mostly empty pads for the rich, housing no one.
7 That the answer lies in new social housing. Security of tenure and low turnover – not to mention right to buy – renders the fixed stock of public housing inflexible and immobile. Increasingly it has become a generous donation by the taxpayer to a fortunate few, for life. It is largely irrelevant to acute homelessness.
Why Labour must become the party of home ownership | Owen Jones Read more
8 That people have a “right” to live where they or their parents lived before. Localities benefit from stable populations, but conferring and bequeathing such a right to discriminatory subsidy is in no book of rights.
9 That there is also a “right” to home ownership. The state has a housing obligation for those who need help. Home ownership is capital accumulation, developed out of the Tories’ mortgage tax relief as a form of saving for old age and to endow offspring. It promotes inequality and cannot be termed a right.
10 That renting is stupid. Renting is buying a service. About 60% of Germans rent. They do not think of buying until their 40s. Booming Berlin has 90% of its population renting. Renting aids labour mobility and channels savings into productive investment. As a result, Germany has little house price inflation and no “ladder” advantage to owning not renting.
11 That buy to let is evil. The poorest people rent from the private sector. The more houses are available to rent, the more flexible is the housing stock and the lower are rents for those who do not buy. Whether buyers-to-let should enjoy tax breaks and whether rents should be regulated are quite different matters.
Facing these myths stand a few realities.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Stamp duty is a tax on transactions, and thus on downsizing and more efficient use of space.’ Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
1 There is no “need” to build on rural land outside cities. Jobs, leisure and infrastructure are available in cities. We should not aid hypermobility with sprawl. Every city, in de-industrialising, leaves empty sites stuck in planning arguments or delayed decontamination. The London agents Stirling Ackroyd have identified sites for 500,000 houses in London without touching the green belt. People may like houses in the countryside, but that is preference not need.
2 The one massive reservoir of vacant residential property in Britain is under-occupied property and underdeveloped city land. London is awash with small houses and empty rooms, its residential density the lowest of any big city in Europe. Detached houses, spare rooms and gardens are the nation’s luxury. Britons had 1.5 rooms per person in 1981 and have 2.5 today, even as new housebuilding is declining. Freeing up this capacity should be the overwhelming goal of policy.
I’ve been happily renting my council flat for 24 years – but for how much longer? | Maurice Mcleod Read more
3 Tax makes it worse, not better. VAT discriminates in favour of new building and against the conversion of existing properties. Stamp duty is a tax on transactions, and thus on downsizing and more efficient use of space. Council tax is wildly regressive, promoting wasted space. Inheritance tax relief rewards hoarding.
4 Planning control is too strict. Permitting an extra storey, apartment or back extension on every existing property would drastically increase density and capacity. London can grow higher without growing high.
5 The most effective way to relieve housing poverty is through housing benefit, at present chaotically administered. Cash payments are more flexible and fit for purpose. They should extend to a new “public sector Airbnb”, geared to bringing vacancies to market.
6 The only way to force down rents and house prices in the south is to strain every policy sinew to make London poorer and the regions richer. That seems too radical for anyone.To The Bitter End Games are often left unfinished. Sometimes they’re too difficult, too vast, or too repetitive to see all the way through to the closing credits. To The Bitter End is our look at those endings that are worth fighting for—or at least worth reading about.
Altered Beast asks the impossible from the second it starts when a pixelated Zeus commands players to “Wise from your gwave.” But cheating death is the least ridiculous demand Sega’s arcade classic makes of us. You’re apparently supposed to take this game seriously—very, very seriously. Striking a dire tone halfway between the fantasy schlock that remained a gaming staple and the stone-faced pulp of Robert E. Howard, Altered Beast is full of vile swamps, grotesque head-throwing demon lords, and heavy-metal transmogrification. But it’s all a feint. Get to the end and there’s a cast party, with heroes and villains raising a toast to a great show, subverting the self-seriousness of fantasy and action games by diffusing the tension Altered Beast demanded up front.
Truth to tell, Altered Beast is kind of terrible. It’s beautiful, even now, thanks to Sega’s fibrous pixel art and booming, acidic music. But playing Altered Beast is vintage arcade misery, with enemies that come out of nowhere, instant deaths, and boss fights built for the sole purpose of bilking you out of a quarter. Why it’s remembered now comes down to both the novelty of its premise and its unforgettable opening moments. What follows that ridiculous introduction is so strange, yet soberly presented, that you either have to walk away immediately or surrender to the idea that this is totally righteous.
Beast’s in-brawl hook is equally dynamic. Not only does Zeus actually bring the two main characters back to life—apparently a couple of leotard-wearing Barbarella extras were buried in ancient Greece—but these guys turn into massive beefcakes when they touch floating blue balls that erupt out of dead albino wolves. Get enough balls, and the musclemen will morph into a werebeast, one for each of the game’s five stages: wolf, dragon, bear, tiger, and the sweet golden wolf. The beast modes dominate the regular enemies that cause problems throughout the stages and are essential for getting past Neff
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now, inevitably, the youth was leaving the nest. The bandleader was a tightly wound, thickly self-protected man, one who nursed his hurts deep in the sub-basement of his soul, and this was a wound that would stay with him till the end of his days. Good Luck, KiddoIt really should come as no surprise that The CW is tapping the Arrow and Flash well for another spinoff. But what did shock fans was the announcement that Caity Lotz, whose Arrow character Sara Lance died earlier this season, would somehow play a role on this new superhero team-up project.
The untitled drama—which is being developed by Arrow and Flash executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti, as well as Arrow boss Marc Guggenheim and Sarah Schechter—stars Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/The Atom), Wentworth Miller (Leonard Snart/Captain Cold), Dominic Purcell (Mick Rory, Heat Wave), Victor Garber (Martin Stein/Firestorm), Ciara Renee (Kendra Saunders, Hawkgirl), Arthur Darvill (Rip Hunter) and Lotz. But, seriously, how?! EW has a few (albeit far-fetched) theories on how the actress will appear on the new project:
1. Lazarus Pits: Putting Sara’s corpse into Ra’s al Ghul’s own fountain of youth is pretty much the No. 1 theory right now. If the comics have proven anything, there are some severe side effects to taking a dip—including basically going insane—which could bring out a whole new side to Sara that viewers have never seen before, offering up a wealth of story lines in the potential series. On the flip side, Sara has been dead for quite a while, so even the Lazarus Pits may not be able to save her.
2. Anthology Series: Creating an entirely new show that can last and stay fresh for multiple seasons can be daunting—especially if it means we start getting superhero fatigue. But what if the producers are actually planning a storyline based on this set of characters for only one season? If they did an anthology, we could see future seasons focused on different characters throughout the DC Comics universe. What does this have to do with who Lotz is playing, you ask? Because she could still be playing Sara, but only in flashbacks. If the anthology told the past, present and future of some of our favorite heroes and villains, then Lotz could presumably appear in stories that detail the missing time of how she joined the League of Assassins and became the Canary.
3. Parallel Universe: Another theory high on the list is the possibility that this new project is inspired by Flashpoint, a five-issue miniseries that led to DC’s New 52s. In short, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) traveled back in time to prevent Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) from killing his mother, which fractured the fabric of reality and caused a seismic change in the future—like Captain Cold is actually Citizen Cold, Central City’s greatest hero. What if the changes go beyond that and Sara is still alive in this parallel universe? Possible proof: Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg recently teased at PaleyFest that the show would be adapting “a fairly big Flash storyline from the comics” in the future.
4. All of the above: It’s feasible, but good luck wrapping your brain around that.
5. None of the above: Maybe the producers just love Lotz so much that she’s going to play an entirely new character we haven’t seen before on either The Flash or Arrow. If they change up her look enough, just maybe the fans could believe her as another character, possibly someone like Power Girl. But that option seems even more far-fetched than the new project taking place in an alternate reality.
What are your theories on how Lotz will appear on the Arrow–Flash spinoff?The man who’s been delivering us inspiring fortunes for 30 years is nearly out of ideas.
For 30 years, Donald Lau has served as “Chief Fortune Writer” at Wonton Foods, which bills itself as the largest manufacturer of fortune cookies, noodles, and other Chinese staples. Now, he’s stepping down.
Why? He’s got writer’s block.
“I used to write 100 a year, but I’ve only written two or three a month over the past year,” Lau recently told Time.
In the ’80s, when Lau first landed the role at the Queens and Brooklyn-based company, cookie fortunes were, well, fortuitous (think: “A dream you have will come true”). But today, he says, the premium is on new, inspirational sayings that promote Yogi tea bag-style well-being.
The pressure has led Lau to hand his soothsaying responsibilities to another employee: James Wong, a nephew of the company’s founder. Lau will continue to serve as Wonton Food’s Chief Financial Officer.
Time writes:More than 20 years have passed since Ikea opened its first British store, and it’s a reasonable bet that some of the original customers are still trying to put their bookcases together. Classlessness is usually cited as the secret of the Swedish furniture giant’s success, but what really makes its customers equal is the shared experience of mopping your brow while looking blankly at what they give you instead of instructions.
Never short of a cost-saving wheeze, Ikea pulls you into its alluringly-lit, meatball-scented mega-outlets, and sends you home with a cardboard box full of flat-packed cuts of wood, a sachet of screws and a sheet of paper featuring drawings of a little man with a hammer and a plot line that ends in tears.
Many doubted – for obvious reasons – that the blue-and-yellow behemoth would ever hit the big time in cack-handed Britain. But last week it was revealed that almost 10 per cent of everything we spend on furniture now goes to Ikea, and that a third of us buy something from the chain every year. Across Europe, its success is even greater. It has cornered the market in low-price furniture to such an extent that it is now estimated that one in 10 babies is conceived in an Ikea bed.
Today, the Ikea-verse encompasses the United States, Asia and, as of this year, South America. And, as each day carries it closer to global domination, the question of what lies at the heart of the company’s unstoppable rise becomes more pressing.
Last year, 600 million customers visited Ikea’s stores, spending £20 billion, eating their way through two billion of those meatballs, and carrying off 168 million catalogues. Nothing deters them: not the long crawls around greasy retail-park feeder roads, nor the pitched battles for parking spaces, the mob scenes in the aisles, the habitually overwhelmed and bewildered staff, or ordering systems conceived by alien intelligences.
Ikea can happily ride out such brickbats because its customers know that there’s simply nowhere else on Earth that you can buy such stylish modern furniture at such low prices, while leaving the kids in a supervised play park on the promise of hot dogs and lingonberry mousse if they’re good.
Some studies portray Ikea as a cult, others as a kind of social networking forum where harassed modern homemakers go for solidarity. But the core truth is that, no matter what you intend to buy when you go to Ikea, you will always come out having bought more. And, as your home fills up with those coolly named Scandinavian-style ranges, you will need even more of them to maintain your now-unmistakable “look”.
Soon you become an expert in the language of Ikea, debating the qualities of the Poang furniture against the Ektorp, the Grundtal kitchen range against the Arstid lamps, until you can reflect, as you pull a CD from your pine-look Benno rack and whack back a deserved slug of vino from a Hederleg wine glass the size of a goldfish bowl, on just how modern and sophisticated you have become.
And then your wardrobe falls over. Tales of “Ikea rage” have arisen from all corners of the globe, and, even if Russell Crowe denies taking a sledgehammer to his son’s half-built cot (the actor later claimed he had merely called a carpenter), there are thousands for whom the chain’s glue-it-and-screw-it dictates are a torment too far.
They are, however, only the last of many. What you find on entering Ikea is, perhaps, the most fiendishly clever, ruthlessly targeted concept in the whole history of selling. The stores don’t have a bed department over here, and a kitchen shop over there. That sort of simplicity would be far too easy for the customers to suss out, and use to their advantage. Instead, Ikea takes you on a journey along a winding blue path past lots of things that you didn’t know you needed until you saw them – towels, saucepans, measuring spoons – all enticingly displayed in baskets and racks, at prices so low it seems insane not to buy them. And if, in the process, you miss what you are actually looking for, you have to follow the path again, collecting even more stuff. And so it goes on, until you stagger out with a trolley stacked high, and you understand why Ikea is the biggest retailer of its kind in the world.
“Everybody I know hates it,” says Alan Penn, an urban planning specialist at University College London. “But everybody goes. It’s a form of sado-masochism. They make it a complete nightmare. You double back on yourself, can’t see the shortcuts, you don’t see the outside world. It’s psychologically disruptive – a kind of brainwashing, really.”
Who could have dreamed up such a place? Ikea’s story begins in the southern Swedish village of Agunnaryd. Here, in June 1926, was born Ingvar Kamprad, a farmer’s son, who grew up with a knack for selling things. By the time he was 17, Ingvar was running his own mail-order business from a garden shed, supplying matches, candles, cigarette lighters and, occasionally, small pieces of furniture. One day, when he was struggling to load a table into a customer’s car, he was struck by a thought that would change not only his life, but the whole shape of 20th-century living: wouldn’t it be easier, he reasoned, if I took the legs off?
Today, Ingvar lives in semi-retirement in Switzerland. By some estimates, he is the world’s richest man, although assessing his true worth is made difficult by the complex web of tax-avoiding trusts and charitable holdings that make up the company’s legal ownership. Not that the boss flaunts his wealth. Or his past. Biographers have claimed that he was once a member of Sweden’s equivalent of the Hitler Youth, that he has fought a life-long battle with the bottle, and that he is so mean that when he goes to coffee shops he wipes the plastic spoons clean and takes them home.
All that Ingvar is happy to share with the world are his rules of success, the first being: nothing is impossible. Not even lining up those damned screws.I’m just throwing this one out there because it’s not too often that you see such a rad old church for sale on Craigslist for only $99,000. I know a lot of our readers live in or around the NYC area, so this church is kind of a rare steal.
The church, built in 1920, is located in the Catskills, 90 minutes outside of NYC and is 2500 ft2. How awesome is that?
I am an Architect and I bought this amazing building several years ago with hopes to make it my weekend home- but then Sandy happened and all my focus went to rebuilding my NJ home with 6 figure damage. So, sadly, I need to sell my upstate retreat to someone who can give it the TLC it deserves.
snip~
I have always used the church as a weekend retreat as-is. I have attached my sketched floor plans (I am an Architect) that shows how easily this can accommodate 4-5 bedrooms. At the moment it is one glorious loft-like space. There is a furnace that heats the main huge space nicely (propane tank outside for easy fill ups).
The church also has a cemetery. Yes, a cemetery. According to the listing, the cemetery is privately owned and very well-maintained. The owner of church says that the cemetery is very old and he has never seen anyone actually visit it.
I can totally see this church being transformed into an amazing artist’s space or recording studio. Seriously, just check out the pictures. More about the church can be read on Craigslist.ISLAMABAD: A full blown campaign against unhygienic food and conditions in hotels and restaurants got underway in the city on Wednesday and saw at least 17 high class and popular food outlets sealed by the evening.
“They were found in violation of laws governing healthy, unadulterated food, vaccination record and proper wages to their staff,” Assistant Commissioner retired captain Waqas Rashid said.
But the manager of the popular Savour food outlet in the Blue Area, Irshad Ahmed, claimed to Dawn that the raiding party gave “no reason” for sealing the outlet.
Savour’s owner Chaudhry Mohammad Naeem described the action as ‘unjustified’ and said he would seek clarification from the deputy commissioner on Thursday.
FIRs have been registered against the 17 sealed outlets under the Penal Code and the Pure Food Ordinance of 1960. Some others among the restaurants, confectionaries and eateries raided in the Anti-Adulteration Campaign were fined a total of Rs144,000, officials said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Abdul Sattar Isani supervised the crackdown with the assistance of the Punjab Food Department, as directed by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan the previous day.
The 17 outlets sealed included the restaurant of the Best Western Hotel, the popular Savour outlet and the up-end café Chaye Khana.
Some citizens welcomed the campaign. But others had different ideas. In fact regular clients were as upset as the restaurant owners against the campaign.
It seemed the public revulsion created by the raging scandal that meat of dead and dying and ‘haram’ animals was being sold and served in the cities of Punjab had not diminished their appetite for their favourite dishes at the food outlets.
In fact, the clients of Savour joined a protest the staff and the Blue Area trading community staged outside the outlet.
The administration rushed police squads there to control the situation.
Traders’ Union official Imran Bukhari criticised the raids and his senior colleagues threatened a ‘shutter down strike’ if the food outlet was not unsealed by Thursday.
A funny situation arose when the Savour staff offered the arriving police their dishes but they refused.
“We used to eat here but after seeing the snaps taken of the conditions in the kitchen by the raiding party we could not take Savour’s offer,” a police officer told Dawn.
“We were told they use leftover bones to prepare fresh dishes to serve new clients,” he said.
Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google PlayImage caption Mr Sarkozy admitted he had not visited Fukushima, adding there had been an exclusion zone around it
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has conceded he did not visit Fukushima on a visit to Japan after last year's tsunami, despite saying he had.
Election rival Francois Hollande had queried Mr Sarkozy's claim that he had been to the stricken nuclear plant.
Mr Sarkozy admitted on Friday that he had not. "I'm not an engineer, I don't need to stick my nose in the situation at Fukushima," he said on I-tele.
The future of France's nuclear power industry has become an election issue.
The Socialists have pledged to reduce France's dependence on nuclear energy for its electricity, from 75% to 50% by 2025.
Mr Sarkozy's centre-right UMP government argues that the nuclear industry is good for the country economically, generating employment and exports along with clean, reliable electricity.
'Pioneer in everything'
Mr Sarkozy had told an election rally in Normandy last Friday that he had visited Fukushima with his then ecology minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.
Mr Hollande, the Socialist presidential candidate, said on Tuesday that he had checked out Mr Sarkozy's statement and that "he never went there".
French nuclear industry Supplies 75% of electricity
Operates 58 power stations
Exports both electricity and nuclear technology source: World Nuclear Association
"It's the first time in the history of the Republic that an outgoing candidate has described a trip he never made," Mr Hollande said. "He'll have been a pioneer in everything. Even on a trip he never took."
Mr Sarkozy acknowledged on I-tele: "I went to Japan with Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, I met the Japanese authorities, I discussed with the [Japanese] prime minister the situation at Fukushima and Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet went there."
He said that he had been making the point that linking what happened at Fukushima to the debate over a nuclear power plant in France was absurd.
"I simply said that at Fukushima what happened was not a nuclear incident - it was a tsunami, with a wave that reached 42 metres in height that demolished the pumping systems that enabled the cooling of the central core, and that to say as a result of Fukushima that you should shut Fessenheim [nuclear plant] in Alsace, that seemed to me to be a particularly remarkable absurdity."
It is not the first such gaffe Mr Sarkozy has made.
In 2009, he posted on Facebook a picture of himself at the Berlin Wall, saying he had chipped away at it with a pickaxe on the day the wall came down.
A caption dated the photo "9 November 1989", but the man who took it said it was definitely from the following day.Crowdsourcing Law Enforcement
from the first-10-callers-to-identify-this-fugitive... dept
In a move that seems calculated to evoke the film adaptation of 1984, the FBI has announced a plan to begin using some 150 Clear Channel digital billboards in major American cities to show national security alerts, information about recent crimes, and photographs of fugitive criminals and missing persons, all with real-time updates.
A pilot billboard in Philadelphia has already helped to capture several wanted criminals, and a spokesman for the outdoor advertising industry suggests that these kinds of publicity tactics can be as useful at demoralizing criminals as they are at generating tips:
"What law enforcement tells us is it contributes to an environment where the criminal feels they have no where to go. A lot of times they end up just giving up."
In a way, the surprising thing is that law enforcement officials hadn't previously taken such visible steps to make use of the distributed eyes and ears of ordinary citizens. The problem, of course, is that publicity can also generate lots of time-consuming false leads. An advertisement currently ubiquitous on New York subways applauds the thousands of New Yorkers who phoned in reports of suspicious packages in the past year. But since we haven't heard reports of thousands of bombs recovered on the A train, it seems safe to surmise that the noise-to-signal ratio on such tips is quite high. As for national security alerts, our experience with color-coded national security warnings, and the attendant spectacle of panicked citizens mobbing Home Depot for plastic sheeting and duct tape, suggest that the Bureau might be well advised to exercise a bit of circumspection about those real-time updates.
Filed Under: billboards, criminals, crowdsourcing, fbiI went out door-knocking Tuesday night in Lawrence Park with two volunteers. They were asking people to vote Liberal — not because they think Marco Mendicino is the best candidate, but because they think he's got the best chance to beat Joe Oliver, the Conservative finance minister. They were strategic voting lobbyists with the non-partisan, grassroots group called Leadnow.
Leadnow canvassers Kelly Graham and Norm Beach call on targeted homes in the Lawrence and Yonge neighborhood to garner support for the group to strategically vote against Stephen Harper's Conservatives. ( Chris So / Toronto Star ) Leadnow canvassers Kelly Graham and Norm Beach invite residents in Lawrence and Yonge neighbourhood to consider voting strategically, even if the party involved isn't their first choice. ( Chris So / Toronto Star ) Leadnow is one of several groups that are encouring strategic voting in this federal election. ( CHRIS SO / TORONTO STAR ) Leadnow canvassers Sharon Howarth and Alec O'Hanley begin their route in the Lawrence and Yonge neighborhood, hoping to convince voters to mark their ballot for the candidate most likely to defeat the Conservative. ( Chris So / Toronto Star )
"You have to think of the long term outcome, versus the short-term pay-off," explained Kelly Graham, a 26-year-old urban planning student. Her partner-in-crime was Norm Beach, a 61-year-old ESL teacher who likes the Green Party best, but won't vote for them again this election. "The only way the Green party has any chance in Canada, is if we reform the voting system," he said. "And for that, we need to get Harper out." In years to come, we'll remember this election for many things: its exhausting length, the niqab, maybe the Duffy trial, definitely Alan Kurdi. I predict we will also remember it as the election when strategic voting came of age.
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My inbox has been jammed for weeks with group letters from professors, Chinese workers, feminists, all denouncing Conservative campaign tactics. The subtext seems clear: "Get these guys out." A bouquet of different campaigns has sprouted, each urging Canadians to vote with their heads, not their hearts. None are as organized as Leadnow. They have lawn signs, voter lists and canvass routes. At the prep meeting before the volunteer teams set out on Tuesday, the local campaign organizer went over a script on how to persuade people to vote Liberal when they prefer another party. They were also armed with the results of the latest riding poll, conducted by Environics Research, which shows Mendicino ahead by five percentage points. In past elections, voting strategically required making a crude guess, based on past election results, national polls and a wander around the riding counting lawn signs. Leadnow has commissioned local polls in 37 swing ridings across the country, all crowdfunded by its members — now numbering some 500,000. In Eglinton-Lawrence, it has commissioned three polls.
The organization was formed four years ago by disheartened environmentalists furious with the Conservative government's inaction on climate change. They've hosted hundreds of community meetings since then and broadened the scope to include changing the first-past-the-post electoral system and a "fair economy." There's a staff of 18, many of whom have been focused on this election for two years. Two days after the election was called, Leadnow canvass teams were out in 12 ridings. Already, they claimed 44,000 signatures on their pledge to "vote with people across Canada to defeat the Harper Conservatives and move Canada forward."
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Last Saturday, Leadnow posted the names of candidates in 16 swing ridings across Canada that its members agreed had the best chance to do just that. Nine are Liberal, seven are NDP. (The plan is to endorse 14 more by week's end.) Most of the ridings saw the Conservatives win or lose by a small margin in 2011. Eglinton-Lawrence is an exception. Oliver trounced his Liberal opponent, Joe Volpe, by 4,000 votes. But this had been a Liberal stronghold forever, and honestly, a sitting minister seemed too delicious a target to miss. Some 200 volunteers have canvassed here a few times a week for months now. "Yes, yes, yes," said one woman, opening her door with a kid on her hip. "You guys have contacted me three times today. I'm committed. I'm voting for the Liberal guy." Other porches were less welcoming. "I don't talk to solicitors or people I don't know at the door, and I don't know you," pronounced one man. Slam. Despite social media, elections are still won at the door. That always astounds me, because canvassing is so much work, particularly in a lofty riding like Eglinton-Lawrence, where the houses are big and the front doors distant. In two hours, the duo bagged just eight commitments. I wondered aloud if they were wasting their time, particularly since the latest predictions call for a red sweep across Toronto. "Last time, the polls predicted a Conservative minority, and it ended up being a Conservative majority," Beach responded. They kept knocking. Even if Leadnow is successful in all 11 ridings where its members have been canvassing furiously, who could say that it was their campaign that cinched it? Local wisdom has it that a local candidate's popularity can only offer a boost of 5 percentage points, says Wilfrid Laurier University political science associate professor Barry Kay. Strategic voting campaigns haven't worked in the past, he says, but they've never been this robust. If nothing else, Leadnow has increased political engagement, which won't stop after this election. In fact, if a minority government forms, organizers plan to lobby hard for many changes, particularly dismantling the first-past-the-post voting system. "I don't want to do this. I think this is crazy that we have to vote for a party we don't completely agree with," Beach said. "If the Liberals win, Leadnow will have to... hold their feet to the fire." Catherine Porter can be reached at [email protected] bird genome sequenced
The kiwi, national symbol of New Zealand, gives insights into the evolution of nocturnal animals
Its unusual biological characteristics make the flightless kiwi a unique kind of bird. Researchers of the University of Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now sequenced the genetic code of this endangered species and have identified several sequence changes that underlie the kiwi’s adaptation to a nocturnal lifestyle: They found several genes involved in colour vision to be inactivated and the diversity of odorant receptors to be higher than in other birds - suggesting an increased reliance on their sense of smell rather than vision for foraging. The study was published in the journal “Genome Biology”.
Like all kiwi species, the Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is adapted to living in darkness. The birds spend all day in a cave which they only leave at nightfall. In their nocturnal forays, they rely on smells and sounds - an unusual behaviour for birds. © 123RF/Eric Isselee Like all kiwi species, the Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is adapted to living in darkness. The birds spend all day in a cave which they only leave at nightfall. In their nocturnal forays, they rely on smells and sounds - an unusual behaviour for birds. © 123RF/Eric Isselee
Kiwi have a number of features that make them interesting for study: They only have rudimentary wings, no tail and a very long beak with nostrils. They are mainly nocturnal with a low basal metabolic rate and the lowest body temperature among birds. To date there has been little genetic information available for this species that might help scientists to understand their unusual biology better.
An international team led by Torsten Schöneberg of the Institute of Biochemistry of the Medical Faculty at the University of Leipzig and Janet Kelso of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have now sequenced the genome of the brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). Their analyses show genetic changes that likely reflect adaptation to nocturnal life. Although mutations have inactivated some of the key genes involved in colour vision, the number of odorant receptor genes is expanded suggesting that the kiwi sense of smell is highly developed. These changes happened about 35 million years ago which is after the kiwi’s arrival in New Zealand.
“Already French botanist and zoologist Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, who lived in the 18th century, hypothesized that evolution works in accordance with a ‘use it or lose it’ principle. It is therefore very likely that the kiwi lost its colour vision since this was no longer needed for its new nocturnal lifestyle”, says first author Diana Le Duc, MD, at the University of Leipzig. “The kiwi’s sense of smell – which was required for foraging in the dark of the night – became more acute and the repertoire of odorant receptors increased adapting to a wider diversity of smells.”
DNA analyses of two kiwi individuals show, however, that according to first estimates there is little genetic variability in the population. This could further endanger the survival of this species and will have to be taken into account when planning future breeding programs. “The genome of the kiwi is an important resource for future comparative analyses with other extinct and living flightless birds”, says computational biologist Janet Kelso of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
The kiwi is the national symbol of New Zealand and belongs to a group of birds called ratites that also includes the extinguished New Zealand moa as well as flightless birds like ostrich, emu and rhea. Following human migration to New Zealand around 800 years ago, many of the local bird species became extinct. Despite intensive protection efforts the kiwi is highly endangered.
SJ/HRStudy predicts plants will start budding three weeks sooner by end of century as climate change exerts direct effect on seasonal calendar
Spring coming earlier in US because of climate change, scientists say
Scientists have confirmed what gardeners have long suspected: spring is coming much earlier in the US, with plants projected to bud three weeks earlier by the end of the century because of climate change.
By 2100 plants will green up 22.3 days earlier in much of the country, with the biggest jump on spring occurring in the western US.
In the Pacific north-west the researchers expected an even shorter winter with spring kicking in up to 28.5 days earlier by the end of the century.
The findings, published on Wednesday in Environmental Research Letters, suggest even bigger shifts in the plant calendar due to climate change than had been expected.
Earlier this year another team of researchers suggested that spring was arriving as much as 14 days earlier in most parts of North America because of climate change.
The researchers from the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Programme drew on thousands of records, from frog mating calls to bird migration patterns and tree and plant flowerings, to compare the shift in timing of natural events.
In some parts of the country, including Wisconsin, some flower species, such as wild geranium, were blooming 24 days earlier in 2012 than in 1945.
The newest group of researchers, from government scientific agencies as well as universities, combined historical records of lilac and honeysuckle growth with 19 climate models to project first leaf and first bud in the coming decades.
“We know spring is getting earlier. But we provide actual evidence for how much earlier,” said Andrew Allstadt, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was part of the research team.
The change would have far-reaching effects - both for farming and other industries and the natural world.
“The timing of events is important,” Allstadt said. “If plants are shifting earlier in the year, there is a worry that the animals that depend on the plants won’t keep up with those shifts.”
Those living in warmer parts of the US, such as the south, are unlikely to see as big a difference in the arrival of spring, because it is already so warm.
But much of the country will see a shorter winter, Allstadt said.
The biggest factor triggering the first green shoots of spring was the slow build-up of milder weather over the course of the year – rather than a burst of above-average days in February or March, he said.
That was especially the case at higher altitudes and across the wind-swept Great Plains, he said.
The researchers did not find a rise in false springs, or hard frosts that could damage or kill off a new season’s growth.Community Transcription
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3 September 2015
The drive on Sol 1093 went well, and Curiosity drove ~15 m towards Bridger Basin. In the Sol 1094 plan, we’ll drive for ~30 m to round the turn into the basin, as we continue making our way through the Stimson unit. These rocks exhibit a lot of beautiful cross-bedding, as seen in the Sol 1093 Navcams.
Today’s plan consists of ChemCam and Mastcam observations on the targets “Whitewater” and “Whitefish,” two targets that are within a bright, bleached area near a fracture. After a short drive, we’ll take standard post-drive imaging to help with targeting in tomorrow’s plan. The plan also includes a ChemCam RMI autofocus test to assess temperature effects. Looking ahead, tomorrow will be a busy 4-sol plan to prepare for the long weekend!
By Lauren Edgar
--Lauren is a Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and a member of MSL science team.I found Nested last night, led to it by a Quinns Tweet. Nested is a game/toy/program that generates infinite universes, nested inside one another, and filled with the physical elements of reality. At first I didn’t understand. Sure, this kind of thing is neat, but I’m not particularly excited about the chemical structure of an opaline interstellar cloud.
And then I found life, in the form of a couple of people driving a car into an alley. I read their thoughts and memories. They had seen something that led them to believe they’d die in that car and two pedestrians in the alley were blissfully unaware, one thinking ‘everything is going just fine’ and the other remembering ‘stargazing with my mother’. A tragic accident nested in a crab’s eye (really – that’s where the particular universe resided). This is my new favourite thing.
Made by the person responsible for Cookie Clicker, Nested is an experiment in the application of random generators. It’s also an experiment in storytelling and an extraordinarily successful one. It has the same attraction that Dwarf Fortress and Ultima Ratio Regum have – the generation of worlds and histories – but without any of that pesky UI and interactivity to get in the way of the narrative threads.
There is interaction, of course, because you’ll decide which areas you want to zoom in on. Do you want to know what is happening in the boiling sea of this new planet or would you rather explore a black hole? Will you explore the nested universes until they become babyverses and multiverses? Will you discover the habits and memories of every single inhabitant of a particular kingdom?
Look at this philosopher dinosaur I found earlier today.
And here are some forgotten realms that I found.
Just now, I’ve been exploring the meat racks (calm down SHODAN/Finbarr) and thoughts of a jungle tribe – “Does sun sleep behind mountains?” “Beasts are getting scarce. Absolute baloney.” Inside chief Kneeling Nose’s blood vessels, I found lipids and inside those lipids I found a dimensioverse. Inside that dimensioverse I found a planet with a continent called Antartica, which contained several countries. I zoomed in on Bapan, the capital of which contains a Crooked Bronze Tower. It’s packed with tourists. One of them, Michael Miller, is wearing a monocle, cargo pants and a hoodie. Inside the pocket of the pants is a note. I expect something that I can turn into a profound story to place at the end of this post.
It’s a recipe.
“Recipe :
-taco shell
-ice cream
-vinegar”
Fuck you and your gross desserts, Michael Miller. You don’t deserve to live in Kneeling Nose’s blood.
I know this isn’t new but I’m baffled that nobody has told me about it. You should all have been telling me about this pretty much constantly.The day before Tisha B’Av three years ago, I ate the egg and ashes prescribed as the meal before the fast begins, taking my last bite of the sliced white bread. On the eve of the darkest date in Jewish history, as I sat on a milk crate and gazed into a field and its tree-lined background, I began to cry.
I wasn’t only crying because of Tisha B’Av, but also for myself: I knew something was wrong. For weeks, while I’d been teaching at an Orthodox Jewish summer camp in upstate New York, I had been waking up in bed sheets dampened by sweat, despite sleeping in air-conditioning. My exhaustion and the lumps in my chest and throat had grown so rapidly that even in my bed, I could find no rest. Before settling upstate for the summer, I had gone to see a dermatologist to deal with an insatiable itch throughout my body; like a fire spreading, it gave no warning, no sign of rash. A prescription for an ointment to soothe my skin was filled but never used. And now, weeks later, I was getting worse.
The next morning, on Tisha B’Av, I read Eicha, Lamentations, at camp—it was the first time I’d read it publicly. Assigned the fifth chapter, I came across verses that left me trembling, just as I did when I tried to sleep, shuddering from a cold that wasn’t there.
The fifth and final chapter of Lamentations is different from the previous four. It is the only one not arranged alphabetically, symbolizing the chaotic order and misalignment I felt going on within me. “Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers; our houses to foreigners,” it reads (5:2), much like my own body. “Upon our necks we
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stars” column. Uh-oh.
We reset the df_reviews data frame from scratch and merge again, explicitly stating the “by” column for merging. Now we know where reviews were made, and that might provide helpful information.
Aggregation Station
It might be interesting to know the average star rating by city. dplyr allows for group_by and summarize operations in a similar manner as SQL.
df_cities <- df_reviews %>% group_by ( city ) %>% summarize ( avg_stars = mean ( stars.x ))
…that’s not good. The original Yelp Dataset Challenge page mentioned that the dataset is only from specific cities, not “1023 E Frye Rd.”
Hmrph.
From the map, it appears there is no overlap between any of the cities with geographic states, so let’s use state instead. Additionally, we can add a count of reviews from that state, and sort by that count descending.
df_states <- df_reviews %>% group_by ( state ) %>% summarize ( avg_stars = mean ( stars.x ), count = n ()) %>% arrange ( desc ( count ))
Looks good enough, but that’s tempting fate.
ggplot All the Things
We can plot state vs. avg_stars with ggplot2. Setting it up is easy:
ggplot ( data = df_states, aes ( state, avg_stars ))
The blank plot is actually new to 2.0.0: running the code without any layers would normally throw an error. The axis values appear valid. Let’s add columns via geom_bar :
ggplot ( data = df_states, aes ( state, avg_stars )) + geom_bar ()
…and this results in an error. geom_bar by itself does histograms on raw values, as shown in the qplots. The correct fix is to add a stat="identity" parameter to geom_bar, which tells it to scale the bars by the given value of the aesthetic.
Better. But the x-axis is cluttered and the States would look better on the y-axis. Time for a coord_flip.
Better. Now time to fix the order. You may notice that the order of the states is alphabetical going from the bottom of the axis to the top, and R will always set this order for any character vector. We want the sort the labels by their average star rating, descending. To do that we change the internal factor labels of state volume to the specified order.
In the recording, this took awhile due to several brain farts (which happen often when dealing with factor ordering). First, we need to remove a few states with few reviews using a filter The easiest way to do this is to sort the original data frame by avg_stars descending, then set the factor order by using the new state order in reverse. (Ok, ok, it might be easier to just sort ascending and not reverse, but it makes the overview harder to visualize)
df_states <- df_states %>% arrange ( desc ( avg_stars )) %>% filter ( count > 2000 ) %>% mutate ( state = factor ( state, levels = rev ( state )))
Rerunning the plot code afterward yields:
Good! Why not add labels for each point? This can be done with geom_text, along with adding hjust=1 to offset the label, changing the size, and setting the text to white. We can round the avg_star values to 2 decimal places as well.
ggplot ( data = df_states, aes ( state, avg_stars )) + geom_bar ( stat = "identity" ) + coord_flip () + geom_text ( aes ( label = round ( avg_stars, 2 )), hjust = 1, color = "white" )
The “3.7” label requires using the sprintf function instead of round to print “3.70”, which is not fun. Otherwise, these labels are nice so far. Why not add a theme and axis labels?
I go to my previous ggplot2 tutorial and copy-paste the FiveThirtyEight-inspired theme from there because I am efficient. (The theme required loading the RColorBrewer package, though). The axis labels are added through the labs function. (note that since the axes are flipped, the labels must be flipped too!)
ggplot ( data = df_states, aes ( state, avg_stars )) + geom_bar ( stat = "identity" ) + coord_flip () + geom_text ( aes ( label = round ( avg_stars, 2 )), hjust = 2, size = 2, color = "white" ) + fte_theme () + labs ( y = "Average Star Rating by State", x = "State", title = "Average Yelp Review Star Ratings by State" )
Why not add 95% confidence intervals for each average? (Note that the normality assumptions for the confidence interval may not be entirely valid). We can calculate the standard error of the mean and rebuild the dataframe and reorder factors again.
df_states <- df_reviews %>% group_by ( state ) %>% summarize ( avg_stars = mean ( stars.x ), count = n (), se_mean = sd ( stars.x ) / sqrt ( count )) %>% arrange ( desc ( avg_stars )) %>% filter ( count > 2000 ) %>% mutate ( state = factor ( state, levels = rev ( state )))
Time to add a geom_errorbar (not a geom_crossbar!)
ggplot ( data = df_states, aes ( state, avg_stars )) + geom_bar ( stat = "identity" ) + coord_flip () + geom_text ( aes ( label = round ( avg_stars, 2 )), hjust = 2, size = 2, color = "white" ) + fte_theme () + labs ( y = "Average Star Rating by State", x = "State", title = "Average Yelp Review Star Ratings by State" ) + geom_errorbar ( aes ( ymin = avg_stars - 1.96 * se_mean, ymax = avg_stars + 1.96 * se_mean ))
Averages are very stable for all cities due to the large sample size.
At this point I realized the recording is too long and I end it there. For a normal blog post, I’d add more theming, adjust colors so they don’t clash, and add annotations, such as a line representing the true review average from the population. And ideally, performing statistical tests to determine if any averages are different from the population average.
Hopefully this gives some insight into the mechanical process of creating simple data visualizations with R and ggplot2 (the “abridged summary” ended up being as long as a typical blog post!). As my screencast shows, programming is a recurring process of saying “this is easy to do!” then failing miserably for stupid reasons. Even after the 40 minute screencast, there’s still much, much more polish needed for the data visualization. My blog posts take a very long time to produce for those reasons; the clear, clean code from the finished product is not indicative of the unexpected errors that occur when writing it.
I did this recording “blind” to test whether or not it’s feasible for me to stream the coding of data visualization on services like Twitch. It’s definitely possible, but has more logistical challenges. (namely, that OBS is fussy outside of Windows and I still need to figure out how to configure it optimally). I admit the code in this screencast may not be the highest-quality code (in retrospect I should have put the code in an editor instead of directly in the console, and reuse dataframe/ggplot objects), but the transparent process for coding data visualizations is important. If there is enough interest, I may revisit Yelp data again, or even more advanced datasets.
You can access the R code used for the data visualizations and the Python scripts used to process the raw Yelp dataset in this GitHub repository. However, the raw data itself cannot be redistributed.
For those wondering what I used for recording the screencast:
Computer: Late 2013 13" Retina MacBook Pro running OS X 10.11.2
Recording Software: Screenflow 4.5
Microphone: Shure MV5 Digital Condenser
Music: Various artists from the “No Attribution Required” section of the YouTube Audio LibraryThe stuff dreams are made of…
A first impression always has a lasting effect on how you envision something or someone. Sitting on a friend’s velvet couch, he begins to describe his trip to Lake Tahoe. As he presses the play button on the remote, the TV goes from black to a picturesque scene, transporting me to another place… A deep blue sky, the sound of chains clanking on the road, and massive walls of snow. As the car makes the final turn into the meadow, it exposes me to the endless steep terrain known as Kirkwood Ski Resort.
It seemed pure, untouched by mega-tourism, and most of all, had unimaginable amounts of snow. It seemed almost like a mecca for snowboarders. As the images flashed to ‘The Backside’, I found myself standing atop a large cornice, aptly named ‘The Wave’. Highly animated, my friend describes the drop off that cornice. The imagery felt like a dream… Dropping massive air into deep, soft, velvety snow, wafting around me as I made turn after turn which seemed to last forever.
How Kirkwood came to be
This was my first introduction to Kirkwood. Once I visited myself, I found out reality was even better than my imagination could ever make it. Driving up CA SR-88 during a famous Sierra Nevada snowstorm can seem treacherous. It’s hard to envision this was the same route wagons in the late 1800’s traversed during the California Gold Rush. As weary prospectors passed the horse-shoe canyon in their quest for gold, little did they know in 1971 ‘white gold‘ would be found under the chairlifts at Kirkwood Ski Resort.
Bud Klein – A man of vision & drive
Being the most remote and arguably one of the most rugged resorts in the Lake Tahoe region, it makes sense that the start of this resort followed the same rocky path. Captivated by the mountains surrounding him, Bud Klein saw a beauty and opportunity he had to pursue. With a dream and the strong work ethic of a bean broker from Stockton, he conquered every obstacle put in front of him. First up, he needed approval for his vision to start a ski resort – which he received in 1968.
The next pressing issue – Bud needed SR-88 plowed during the winter so snow enthusiasts could get to this legendary venue. Not surprisingly, he accomplished that in 1971 with cooperation from the state of California. The last hurdle was rounding up help to start installing chairlifts. First on the list were four double chairlifts named Snowkirk, Caples Crest, Iron Horse, and Solitude. These originals can be seen on the 1975 trail map above. If you compare the two maps, you will see which remain virtually untouched from the very beginning.
Dick Reuter – A mountain man’s man
It’s fitting that one of the chairs, The Reut, is named after the man that almost single-handedly built it. Dick Reuter was much like the men that discovered the Carson Pass. He was a rugged explorer, a mountain man’s man, a pillar that stood as tall the Sierra Nevada’s (metaphorically). Dick Reuter was made for this mission.
All the men that built this mountain were tough, resilient, and most of all visionaries. Overlooking Kirkwood from the summit, you will understand why these men put their heart and soul into opening this resort. There are cliff bands, chutes, trees, gullies, bowls, and even a well groomed beginner’s area separated from the rest of the mountain. Like an MMA fighter, Kirkwood is fit, well trained and every pound of it is chiseled to perfection. The trail map may state that it’s 2,300 acres, but it skis much larger. Technically speaking, every inch of the mountain can be attempted… If you put in a little extra effort.
Kirkwood’s layout divides the area naturally by skill level
Experts – Head to the top since the slopes are going to be steeper the higher you go
– Head to the top since the slopes are going to be steeper the higher you go Intermediates – Check out ‘The Backside’ or take any of the lifts that go halfway up the mountain
– Check out ‘The Backside’ or take any of the lifts that go halfway up the mountain Beginners – Keep towards the bottom like Timber Creek Express Area
To help gauge your skill level and find your perfect terrain, beeline for The Reut (Chair #11). This chair accesses everything from gladed trees to groomers such as Wagon Trail and even one of Kirkwood’s trademark gullies. If you find this is too technical or steep, give Solitude (Chair #5) a try; it offers lots of groomed runs with a lesser pitch.
Experts
There is a decent amount of terrain for intermediates and beginners, but Kirkwood is built for experts. With 68% of its terrain in this category, Kirkwood is a formidable opponent. Everything off of Cornice Express (Chair #6) is serious business with access to some of the steeper groomed runs like Zachary. The magnitude of this slope requires winches on the snowcats for grooming otherwise they would slide down the mountain! For more ungroomed technical lines, head over to Olympic which has bumps, cliffs, and chutes. If you still need a bit more adrenaline, its time to head over to The Wall (Chair #10).
The Wall – Intimidation at its best
The intimidation factor begins at the entrance of the lift with a skull and cross bones stating ‘Expert’ terrain. As the slow, fixed-grip triple chair lumbers its way towards the top of the mountain, it feels like the ascent of a roller coaster. You begin to think twice about taking this lift. As you leave the forested corridor, the chair opens up into the bowl where a fierce wind begins to howl. Now you ask yourself “Did I make the right decision?” Finally arriving at the summit, the wind greets you with a torrential gust trying to shove you back down the mountain. Stand strong!
As quickly as you try to unload and prepare for your descent, the ferocious wind aggressively yells at you to hurry up. Your nerves are now frayed, but it’s time to trust your judgment and drop into The infamous Wall. Turn after turn, you gain confidence and begin to notice how amazing the snow is. Halfway down The Wall, you begin to feel a sense of accomplishment and a grin begins to form. At the bottom of the bowl, you will smile and look up at The Wall and think “I – yes I – have conquered The Wall.”
Intermediates
For intermediates, ‘The Backside’ is the place to go, once Ski Patrol opens it up of course. The easiest way to get there is to take Snowkirk (Chair #1) followed by Caples Crest (Chair #2). From the top of this chair, drop down any of the trails. Just enjoy the ride as any of these runs will lead you to ‘The Backside.’ One thing to note…be sure to keep up your speed! You’ll need it to fly past the base of Iron Horse (Chair #3), taking you over to Sunrise (Chair #4).
Once you reach this part of the mountain, you’ll notice this valley is a little different than the original part of Kirkwood. Tucked away from all the parking lots and lodging, this is truly a winter haven surrounded by wilderness. As Sunrise (Chair #4) whisks you up the mountain, initially the lift will be enclosed by a canopy of tall pine trees. In a flash, the forest recedes and suddenly you are exposed to a wide open bowl. Your mouth will drop at the options in front of you. As far as the eye can see are bowls, gullies, widely spaced clumps of pine trees and tons of white snow. You’ll begin to salivate at your newly found opportunities.
From the top of Sunrise (Chair #4), you will see nothing but purity and nature. Take a quick look to rider’s right and you will find the famous ‘Wave’. If you’re lucky, you’ll see people jumping off of it, hooting and hollering all the way to the bottom. The trails straight down the center of the bowl like Happiness Is or Elevator Shaft hold a good intermediate pitch that lets you open up and make giant turns down the entire mountain. After you’ve lapped ‘The Backside’ a few times, most likely you will want to enjoy this “Rare Earth”, as Kirkwood has been tagged, as long as possible. Luckily, a lone structure sits at the bottom of Sunrise (Chair #4) called the Outback Grill. It’s a great place to lounge in an Adirondack chair, have a snack and enjoy the sunshine and remoteness of its location.
Beginners
The intermediates may have ‘The Backside’, but the beginners at Kirkwood have two sections all to themselves. My suggestion would be to stay in the Timber Creek area which has nice wide open groomed runs to learn how to ride. Squirrel Ridge off of Timber Creek Express (Chair #7) is a run that every kid or beginner would want to play on. It’s a ‘gentle’ gully that snakes, winds and rolls its way through widely spaced giant Ponderosa Pines all the way to the bottom. It will make anyone giggle with joy, regardless of age. The other beginner area is based around Snowkirk (Chair #1) near the main lodge. Both beginner areas have separate bases. To easily get from Timber Creek to the Main base area, either take Jane’s Jaunt, a cat track, or a free shuttle ride.
Insider tips
First thing to know is Locals call the lifts by number, not by name. So, if someone says “Head over to #6”, they mean Cornice Express. If you are lucky enough to be at Kirkwood on a powder day, ski patrol will “roll” the openings of the lifts, so keep your ears perked to find out what part of the mountain they will open up next. Normally, they start with Cornice Express (Chair #6) and then incrementally open up everything that is on the frontside. Finally, if you are really lucky, they will open up Sunrise (Chair #4) and ‘The Backside’ bowl will be untracked! Like everything at Kirkwood, patience and knowledge is the name of the game.
BEWARE: Ask the frontside lift operators first if Sunrise (Chair #4) is open before you start your trek to ‘The Backside.’ Days after a storm, Ski Patrol could still be digging out this chairlift. You don’t want misinformation leading you that direction to only have to travel all the way back.
After the day is done
A Little History Lesson
A nice way to finish your day at Kirkwood is to go back in time … 1864 to be exact. As you leave, take a right at the exit and head down the road about a quarter mile. There you will find the Kirkwood Inn. When Bud Klein was looking for a place to build a ski resort, this is where he stayed. In fact, that year, 1864, there was so much snow they had to dig DOWN to find the Kirkwood Inn.
This place is like a time capsule with stories of great ski days and even rowdier times when folks passed through California for the Gold Rush. One of these stories relates to the fact that the Kirkwood Inn sits in three counties. During the prohibition era, when a county inspector came to the Inn, they would literally ‘roll’ the bar from one side of the building to the other so that it wouldn’t be in that particular county.
Along with its legendary past, this historic bar and restaurant offers great food and fantastic bartenders. The food is so good in fact that several Locals, who don’t even ski, frequent the place and call the Kirkwood Inn their ‘watering hole’. The award-winning chili and jalapeño cornbread are amazing on a cold wintry day. Be sure to ask the bartender to tell you stories from its past. You never know what they’ll tell you.
Peace, Quiet and No Signal
A little bit farther down the road lies Sorenson’s. This is a great place to stay if you truly want to leave the modern world behind and connect with people again. The lodging consists of small one-of-a-kind cabins that don’t have any televisions or cell phone service. They do have all the essentials with small kitchens, cozy beds and even some fireplaces. The main lodge has a great restaurant that serves food family style and their mixed fruit cobbler is one of the best cobblers you will ever have!
Kirkwood is truly a unique place. We hope you visit and experience it for yourself and don’t forget the hidden gems around Kirkwood Ski resort as well. For more around Lake Tahoe, be sure to check out our Tahoe homepageSelect here -------------- Channel Islands -------------- Guernsey Jersey -------------- England -------------- Beds, Herts & Bucks Berkshire Birmingham Black Country Bradford Bristol Cambridgeshire Cornwall Coventry & Warwickshire Cumbria Derby Devon Essex Gloucestershire Hereford & Worcester Humber Kent Lancashire Leeds Leicester Lincolnshire Liverpool London Manchester Norfolk North Yorkshire Northants Nottingham Oxford Shropshire Somerset South Yorkshire Southampton Stoke & Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey, Sussex Teesside Tyne Wear Wiltshire -------------- Northern Ireland -------------- Paddywhackerry or Patron? Secrets of Lough Kernan The Hound of Ulster -------------- Scotland -------------- Borders Central & Fife Highland Lothian North East Scotland Orkney and Shetland Perth & Tayside South West Scotland Strathclyde Western Scotland Western Isles -------------- Wales -------------- North East Wales North West Wales Mid Wales South East Wales South West Wales Broadmoor’s word-finder
Book worm
Murray and Minor did not meet for many years
© Reprinted by permission of the Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press It was his passion for books that brought Minor to wide public attention for the second time, in the romanticised story of his meeting with Dr James Murray, the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The idea of a new, all-encompassing "Big Dictionary" of English was first touted in 1857. It was a huge undertaking, and from the start its editors recognised that they would need the help of many volunteers, to search their shelves for quotations to support each definition. Even with this help the dictionary took 70 years to complete!
Murray assumed editorship of the dictionary in 1879, and issued an appeal for volunteers to magazines and newspapers. A copy of the appeal found its way into Minor's hands, and he seized upon the opportunity to help; whether he saw it merely as something to occupy his time, or whether it gave him the feeling he was working towards his redemption, we will never know.
Minor started collecting quotations around 1880-1, and continued doing so for 20 years, working systematically through his library. Simon Winchester in 'The Surgeon of Crowthorne', says this work became the "defining feature" of Minor's life.
Working on the OED
© Reprinted by permission of the Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press Minor certainly made an enormous contribution to the dictionary over the years, and this did not – could not – go unnoticed. Murray said Minor's contributions were so great they "could easily have illustrated the last four centuries [of words] from his quotations alone".
An enigma
Minor always signed his letters in the same way: Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire. His identity remained an enigma to those working on the dictionary, and Murray and Minor did not meet for many years. In 1915, a sensationalised account of their meeting appeared in Strand magazine, and was quickly reprinted across the world, even in China.
It described how, following Minor's failure to attend the Great Dictionary Dinner in 1897, Murray decided to visit Minor himself, to find out who this mysterious man was. Arriving at the large Victorian mansion, it continued, Murray expected to find Minor a typical country gentleman. When shown into the study of Broadmoor's director he naturally assumed this man was the evasive Minor, only then did he find out that Minor was actually an inmate of the asylum.
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BBC News profile: Broadmoor hospital History of the OED Crowthorne history The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Web sites. Lady Mabella de Tichborne's curse
The gibbetting of Spence Broughton The forgotten Braveheart Andrew Marvell, man of contradictionsThis came up after I wrote a column earlier this year called “The Daily Me.” I argued that most of us employ the Internet not to seek the best information, but rather to select information that confirms our prejudices. To overcome that tendency, I argued, we should set aside time for a daily mental workout with an ideological sparring partner. Afterward, I heard from Jonathan Haidt, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. “You got the problem right, but the prescription wrong,” he said.
Simply exposing people to counterarguments may not accomplish much, he said, and may inflame antagonisms.
A study by Diana Mutz of the University of Pennsylvania found that when people saw tight television shots of blowhards with whom they disagreed, they felt that the other side was even less legitimate than before.
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The larger point is that liberals and conservatives often form judgments through flash intuitions that aren’t a result of a deliberative process. The crucial part of the brain for these judgments is the medial prefrontal cortex, which has more to do with moralizing than with rationality. If you damage your prefrontal cortex, your I.Q. may be unaffected, but you’ll have trouble harrumphing.
One of the main divides between left and right is the dependence on different moral values. For liberals, morality derives mostly from fairness and prevention of harm. For conservatives, morality also involves upholding authority and loyalty — and revulsion at disgust.
Some evolutionary psychologists believe that disgust emerged as a protective mechanism against health risks, like feces, spoiled food or corpses. Later, many societies came to apply the same emotion to social “threats.” Humans appear to be the only species that registers disgust, which is why a dog will wag its tail in puzzlement when its horrified owner yanks it back from eating excrement.
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Psychologists have developed a “disgust scale” based on how queasy people would be in 27 situations, such as stepping barefoot on an earthworm or smelling urine in a tunnel. Conservatives systematically register more disgust than liberals. (To see how you weigh factors in moral decisions, take the tests at www.yourmorals.org.)
It appears that we start with moral intuitions that our brains then find evidence to support. For example, one experiment involved hypnotizing subjects to expect a flash of disgust at the word “take.” They were then told about Dan, a student council president who “tries to take topics that appeal to both professors and students.”
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The research subjects felt disgust but couldn’t find any good reason for it. So, in some cases, they concocted their own reasons, such as: “Dan is a popularity-seeking snob.”
So how do we discipline our brains to be more open-minded, more honest, more empirical? A start is to reach out to moderates on the other side — ideally eating meals with them, for that breaks down “us vs. them” battle lines that seem embedded in us. (In ancient times we divided into tribes; today, into political parties.) The Web site www.civilpolitics.org is an attempt to build this intuitive appreciation for the other side’s morality, even if it’s not our morality.
“Minds are very hard things to open, and the best way to open the mind is through the heart,” Professor Haidt says. “Our minds were not designed by evolution to discover the truth; they were designed to play social games.”
Thus persuasion may be most effective when built on human interactions. Gay rights were probably advanced largely by the public’s growing awareness of friends and family members who were gay.In December of 2015, Magdalena Sanz Cortes was seeing patients at Texas Children's Hospital and teaching classes in the ob-gyn department at the Baylor College of Medicine, when she got a call from Barranquilla, Colombia. Miguel Parra Saavedra, a gynecologist in the coastal metropolis, was worried by all the patients coming to his office showing signs of the mysterious Zika virus that had hit Brazil less than a year before. Alarming reports of microcephaly—abnormally small heads and brain damage caused by the Zika virus—were beginning to come out of Colombia’s neighbor to the east. Sanz Cortes and Parra Saavedra decided to start monitoring Barranquilla’s pregnancies to see if a similar wave would hit Colombia.
It never did.
In Brazil, more than 2,300 Zika-infected babies have been born with microcephaly since 2015. In Colombia, the world’s second largest outbreak has produced far fewer: only 82. Taking total population into account, that's still more than an order of magnitude less. The disparity has bewildered public health officials, and caused many to question the link between the birth defect and Zika. The US Centers for Disease Control formally declared a causal link between microcephaly and the virus in April of 2016, citing a compelling accumulation of data from Brazil, including finding Zika virus in the brain tissue of affected infants. But Colombia's microcephaly cases never materialized.
By collecting detailed brain images of more than 200 developing fetuses from expecting mothers along the Colombian Caribbean coast, Sanz Cortes and Parra Saavedra think they have found something close to an explanation: Microcephaly wasn’t appearing in just a few cases, it was appearing in just the worst cases. Zika was still causing significant brain damage even in babies without below average-sized skulls.
“We now suspect that microcephaly is just the end of the spectrum,” says Sanz Cortez, who presented the results of her team’s study at a meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine on Friday. “But the brain tissue stops growing well before that.” What this means for doctors, she says, is that simple head measurements are not enough to make a diagnosis for the suite of developmental defects caused by the virus—sometimes called congenital Zika syndrome. Physicians should also be using ultrasound and fetal MRIs to identify less obvious signs of infection. While early detection won't change outcomes—doctors still don't have a treatment for the disease’s congenital effects—it’s important for expectant mothers to mentally and emotionally prepare for the challenges ahead. Especially if those challenges aren't obvious in the delivery room.
Despite the fact that those results haven't yet been peer-reviewed, they do match up with another recent study from a group of researchers in Seattle and Brazil who reported on 13 Zika-infected infants born with normal-sized heads. As they got older, these children began to develop new complications. Their heads didn’t grow as fast as the rest of their bodies; they had strange muscle weaknesses and spasms. MRIs showed that inside their skulls they had similar symptoms to the Colombian babies—decreased brain volume, too much fluid in certain brain tissues. That means there may be a lot of babies out there who have yet to show signs of congenital Zika defects. And if brain scans don’t expose them, time will.
“How these infants fare in the first year of life is an absolutely critical public health question that right now we don’t know the answer to,” says Margaret Honein, chief of the CDC’s Birth Defects Branch. She heads up a task force that monitors babies born to Zika-infected mothers in the US and its territories. They’ve learned a lot in the past year: Even moms without symptoms can pass on the virus and its congenital effects to their babies, for example. And the first trimester is probably the most dangerous time to get infected. “What we know less about is the full range of bad outcomes that can happen from these infections,” says Honein.
And scientists know even less about how Zika causes these bad outcomes. How does the virus get into a fetus? Where does it go once it’s inside? Why does it do more damage in some than others? That kind of research is nearly impossible to do in humans—so instead, scientists are relying on monkeys to fill in the gaps.
At the University of Wisconsin, virologist Dave O’Connor has been infecting macaques with Zika and carefully tracking the virus' progress through time and tissues. During the pregnancies, his team repeatedly samples blood and amniotic fluid to determine how quickly the virus can infect a fetus. They take fetal MRIs to make measurements on how the baby macaque is growing. And once the pregnancy is complete, they analyze more than 60 different fetal tissues for little bits of Zika DNA and virus-induced damage.
They hope their studies, when combined with epidemiological data, will shed some light into the big black Zika box. Right now the CDC estimates that about 5 percent of babies born to Zika-infected moms show clinical signs of birth defects. Other studies in Rio de Janeiro put it closer to 30 or 40 percent. Getting to the bottom of that will take a real collaborative effort from the scientific community, a framework O'Connor says they're going to need going forward.
“Zika is not the only virus that causes birth defects,” he says. “It’s one of many that seems to have found a niche in a new place due to globalization, and that’s a trend that isn’t going to reverse itself.”
The threat of more emerging diseases may be lingering on the horizon, but back in Barranquilla it's still Zika that's on Parra Saavedra's mind. While it's not easy to get a fetal MRI in Colombia, ultrasound is widely available through most of the country. If Colombia's doctors can screen for the disease's congenital defects, they may turn up more of the missing Zika cases.In this image taken on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz stands at the Princi bakery, in Milan, Italy. Longtime CEO Howard Schultz's vision for Starbucks was largely inspired by the Milan coffee bars he experienced on his first trip to the northern Italian city in 1983. Schultz will continue on with the company to open ''the quintessential Roastery'' in Milan by the end of 2018. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
MILAN (AP) — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's vision for the chain was largely inspired by the coffee bars he saw on his first trip to Milan more than three decades ago. But it took the company growing to about 26,000 stores in 75 countries to win the credibility he felt necessary to make the leap into the country that gave espresso to the world.
"I didn't think we were ready to come to Italy," Schultz told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. "I think Italy is such a special place. I am so respectful of the Italian coffee heritage and the Italian culture, and I think we had to earn that respect, opportunity, and I think over the years we got to the point that we are now ready to come."
As he prepares to step down as CEO in April, Schultz will focus on innovation. That includes a Milan location that will open in 2018 of what he called "the quintessential Roastery" — one of the high-end shops featuring in-house roasting and complex coffee drinks. The journey of 35 years, he said, completes "my own dream and the circle of Starbucks."
Unsurprisingly, skeptics like 70-year-old Christine Kung see Starbucks as a coals-to-Newcastle enterprise.
"We are happy the way we are," Kung said on her way to a bar for coffee in central Milan. "We don't need to be invaded by American scenery. We already have McDonald's and that's enough."
Indeed, the entry of McDonald's into Italy three decades ago sparked the Slow Food movement that encourages local food traditions, although it ultimately did not prevent the Golden Arches and other fast-food chains that followed from becoming part of the Italian landscape.
Still, espresso drinks are part of Italian tradition and the fabric of everyday life in a way a quick bite still is not. Italians are accustomed to "taking" an espresso standing at the bar for an average price of 1 euro, or just about a dollar, even in major cities; 1.20-1.50 euros is on par for a cappuccino.
In Italy, baristas generally make the coffee in full sight of the consumer, and hand brioche and other pastries across a glass case, often with a quip. Taking a seat in an Italian bar may incur an extra charge, especially in prime locations. There are few sugary embellishments and Wi-Fi access is spotty, at best.
It is not uncommon to see waiters with silver trays delivering coffee in porcelain cups covered with foil to neighboring business, a practice that underlies the rarity of the takeout coffee cup.
This sort of humanity attracted Schultz's admiration on his first Milan visit. His response is to position the first Starbucks in Italy as a premium operation.
The Milan store at Piazza Cordusio will be among the early wave of up to 30 Roastery locations Starbucks says it expects to open around the world. The Milan store will launch a new partnership with an Italian partner, the Princi baker, offering deli food and baked goods. The first Roastery is in Seattle, with others announced for Shanghai, New York and Tokyo.
Besides mainstay espresso drinks, Schultz hopes customers will be attracted by specialized brewing techniques developed by Starbucks that are not typical in Italy. As in other markets, customers can take coffee out, or drink out of porcelain cups if they're staying in. Starbucks says it hasn't yet determined its prices.
Located in an old post office building just steps from Milan's cathedral, the store will be the largest to date at 25,500 square feet, or about 2,400 square meters — compared with 200 square feet for the average Starbucks location.
It is hard to gauge how many in Italy might share Kung
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? It could work. Plus people actually, you know, like that one.
For my money, it seems as though the good ship "Popularity" is somewhere long in the distance for Final Fantasy 14. Fixing it, patching it, whatever the case, I just think the time has gone. Can you say that you will be excitedly booting up Kingdom Reborn? Most of you will remember the horrors of the last time you got excited about an online Final Fantasy game.
You weren't there man. You weren't there. Find that plot in New Mexico and bury this one alongside E.T. The Game. If that doesn't work, severe the head and burn the body. This one was a living mistake, an abomination from the Ancients. Let it die. It doesn't belong.
This is my take on the FFXIV situation. My "Bad-Cop" rant as it were. Next week, Devil's Advocate columnist Victor Barreirro will take the high road and tell us why FFXIV should be given a second chance. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and save your torches and pitchforks until next week when Victor has had his say.Ableton Live’s MIDI mapping is a double-edged sword: super-easy, but somewhat limiting. What if we could go beyond basic mapping? The fact is that complex MIDI translations in Live shouldn’t require a doctorate in computer science to pull off, which is exactly why we’ve created Mapulator, a new Ableton Max for Live patch that allows you to map knobs in ways that we could only have dreamed about with the standard mapping system. We’re giving this first version out for free – see inside for more about this incredible device.
Mapulator is the first in a series of new DJ TechTools devices that we’re calling Smart Tools. This first version of Mapulator is absolutely free to DJ TechTools readers! Mapulator’s super-simple interface and utilitarian functions can be appreciated by all users, from veteran MIDI mappers to first-timers.
Mapulator: What Does It Do?
Mapulator allows any control in Ableton to be controlled by a knob in almost any way – controlling multiple parameters of an effect or synth, or even multiple parameters of a chain of synths and effects is a breeze. Mapulator enables the user to go beyond the limitations of mapping in Ableton live in a very simple and easy to use fashion.
What’s Wrong With Ableton’s MIDI Mapping?
If you visualize how Ableton would normally map a control, it’s a straight line from one origin value at the start of your knob to another destination value at the very end of the knob. If you want the knob to go up slowly incrementally and then exponentially ramp up quickly towards the end of the knob, it’s simply not an option. What if you want a value to ramp up, then down again? Also not possible.
Wondering why you’d want a knob to be able to raise in value just to fall again? It’s ideal for controlling multiple parameters of an effect at different rates, which is the heart of what an expressive smart knob is all about. This can be a useful function for packing multiple effects across a knob. For example, if you wanted to create a delay effect that morphs into a phaser, then cuts out and finally morphs into a reverb with an awesome freeze effect, you would be able to do this with just a single knob, as Mapulator lets you create these sorts of effects!
How Do I Get Started Using Mapulator?
Download the patch here!
Current Version: 1.02
*to run Mapulator, you’ll need to have Max For Live
All support inquiries regarding Mapulator should be directed to [email protected]
You first need to download the patch – we only ask for your email in exchange, which allows us to keep you up to date with the latest versions and releases of our Smart Tools. After signing up, you’ll receive your copy of Mapulator in your email.
Update: V1.01 – there was an issue affecting windows users which is now fixed in this latest version. If you havent updated already check your email for a link to the latest version.
Update: V1.02 – there was an issue affecting the ability to save parameters inside of a live set which has been fixed in this release
See the ReadMe.txt inside of the download for the full changelog.
Installation:
First, unzip the file (need help? please visit here) Open Ableton Live and locate Max Audio Effect in the Live Devices tree (usually under Audio Effects). Find the folder you unzipped the.zip file into and locate Mapulator.amxd Drag Mapulator.amxd onto the Max Audio Effect device Congratulations! Mapulator is now installed and is ready to use.
Note: This device was built in Max 5 and is mostly untested in Max 6 – let us know how it works out for you.
How to use:
Double click on Mapulator in your Max Audio Effect device and it will open up just the same as any other audio effect.
Before we get started mapping out what is controlled, we need to assign the knob on our MIDI controller to this instance of Mapulator. Start Ableton’s MIDI mapping mode by clicking MIDI in the top right, then click on the “Smart” knob inside of Mapulator. Finally, move the knob on your controller that you want to control Mapulator with, and it should show up in the list of MIDI mappings.
Let’s continue by creating a simple and useful highpass filtering effect that controls both the frequency and the resonance at the time. Load up an Auto Filter effect into a track of your choice. We want a highpass curve, so select the highpass icon. Your Auto Filter should now look like this:
Let’s bind a couple of properties of the filter to the knob. The two parameters we’re interested in are the frequency (kHz) and the resonance (below the frequency, labeled as Q). Click on the filter frequency parameter and the box around the frequency will get a slightly thicker line around it, showing that it is the currently selected parameter – when we click learn in the next step you will see this is how we select a parameter that we want Mapulator to control.
Back in Mapulator, click the learn button: note that when you do this, the parameter name appears in the drop down list as shown below.
Next, let’s tell the knob how to interact with the parameter. Mapulator relies on curve drawings – so start by clicking and inside of the grid – you’ll see a line appear that you can raise and lower. This corresponds to the parameter value, and you can continue to click on that line and adjust different points to change the curve. In this example, we’ll start with a simple curve – so two points will do fine – one in the bottom left and one in the top right.
Now when you turn the knob on your controller, you should see the filter follow the line of the graph as you turn the knob. This linear mapping is pretty bland, so let’s spice it up to give you greater control over cutting of the lower frequencies.
Hold control on your keyboard, and click and drag down and to the left on the point in the top right of the graph. See how the graph morphs to to create a exponential curve.
This is how you create all different shapes of curves in a super simple and easy to use way, have a play around to see what different shapes you can come up with! When you’re done playing around make your graph look like this:
Time to assign a second control – click on the drop down list and select “Parameter 2”, this will let you control a second parameter in the patch: note that you can control up to 8 parameters with a single knob. Go back over to the filter and this time click on the resonance setting (labeled as Q), then once again hit Mapulator’s learn button.
Now you’ve selected two parameters to be controlled by Mapulator, at the same time! What we want to do now is have the resonance increase as the filter filters out the lower frequencies, really allowing those high frequencies to sing. We want to create a line again, but this time we want to start at the 0.2 position on the left and ramp up to about 0.7 on the right.
If you look at the top left of the graph when hover over or drag a point in the graph, you’ll see that the patch gives you XY coordinates for the point. With this in mind, create one point at X:0.0 / Y0.2 then another point at X:127 / Y:0.7, then control-click on the right-most point again and create a curve so your patch ends up looking like this:
You have just created your first knob using Bézier curves! This is a simple example, but this is a great first knob that will be useful for pretty much anyone out there.
Now play around with the tool: maybe try adding an effect that kicks in near the end of the filter. For this, just map something like the wet/dry parmeter of a reverb effect that only starts churning up halfway though the graph. Or perhaps even add a little delay near the end to spruce up the filter into something unique.
Additionally, you can zoom into areas by clicking and dragging on the bars above and to the right of the graph. To reset the zoom back to normal, just click on the circle button in the top right of the graph. If you mess up a graph and want to start fresh, just click the clear graph button.
Full list of the commands you can use on the graph:
Left Click = create a new dot; select & move a dot; deselect a dot
Left Click + shift = restrict movement to vertical
Left Click + shift + alt = restrict movement to horizontal
Left Click + ctl (+ drag left of right) = create a bezier curve point
Left Click + ctl + shift = create symmetrical bezier curve points around the point
Left Click + alt = delete a dot or a bezier point
Double Click + Command/Win + shift = lock or unlock all dots
If you need to see these commands in Ableton, just hover your cursor over the graph. You will see these commands in the Ableton hint window, or you can open the patch in the Max editor to see a list of the commands in presentation mode.
What Can I Use Mapulator For?
The most obvious use for Mapulator would be to control a bank of effects to create a smart knob. Each paramater will follow your own user-defined response curve to create a highly expressive effects knob that sounds exactly how you want it to at any position the knob is in.
There are quite simple but powerful uses for Mapulator as well- turn your APC-40 into a turntablist’s scratching battle mixer, the line faders could be edited to allow for the track to cut in much quicker, the bottom third of the fader representing more than half of a regular fader. This would mean it only takes a slight fader move to produce a very large increase in volume. Using the Bezier curves drawing in Mapulator will allow you to get any shape you desire, so you can tweak the fader just how you like it.
You can also use this patch to control any parameter of a synthesizer, a totally indispensable tool if you’re playing some live synth. A small twist of the knob can control multiple parameters including your wavetable position, pitch bends, tuning, filters or any other automatable parameter your synthesizer can throw at you. This is a great way to active degrees of a new preset on a device – let me turn up my Awesome knob!
As with most things in Live, Mapulator is not just limited to stage use, it certainly has uses in the studio. If you’re a producer who likes to get their hands dirty with MIDI controllers and finds yourself recording automation using a MIDI controller, you’ll find that setting up a mapping will make your complicated actions much easier.
Thinking outside the box, you could even automate the knob in Mapulator so you can give Ableton some much-needed Bézier curve automation crafting!
We’re super excited to see what you all can make with this tool.
Who Made Mapulator?!
After spending years creating these sorts of effects using other MIDI translation tools like Bomes MIDI Translator controlling Traktor or Ableton, I really grew frustrated at why it couldn’t be easier and much less time consuming. When making this patch, my primary focus was to make a smart knob as simple as possible to create yet without skimping on any functionality.
Some fun facts about BentoSan:
I’ve been creating digital music since I was 13. Started with production and then moved to Controllerism when DJTT was still an infant.
Been around DJTT since the early days and was even lucky enough to be DJTT’s first ever employee!
In my time at DJTT, I’ve administered the forums, replied to hundreds of DJTT support emails, organized writers for the blog, and written my own articles.
My popular other previous DJTT projects include the Native Live 7 Smart Mixer and routing audio from Traktor to Ableton.
Find me on Facebook; Twitter; and stay tuned for my new website, www.BentoSan.net.
Mapulator has a really bright future ahead – we’ve got a ton of planned features that will come in future releases. If you like Mapulator please consider making a donation here – a lot of time and energy has been spent creating this patch and was even totally recoded at one stance to bring you the best user experience possible.About This Game
[Dual Combat System] ：features a fusion of real-time and turn-based dual combat modes, with both modes able to be freely selected by players.
：features a fusion of real-time and turn-based dual combat modes, with both modes able to be freely selected by players. [Combat Formations] ：adds more variety to enemy battles. In normal combat, players can control one character, and use formations to execute skills to break through enemy defense or deal damage. Players can go commands for such things as a focused attack, priority to heal, etc. There are also special modes such as aerial fights and ranged shooting.
：adds more variety to enemy battles. In normal combat, players can control one character, and use formations to execute skills to break through enemy defense or deal damage. Players can go commands for such things as a focused attack, priority to heal, etc. There are also special modes such as aerial fights and ranged shooting. [Difficulty ] ：Easy, Normal and Hard difficulties are available for selection. Hard difficulty will be available after the first playthrough. Players can also lower the difficulty during gameplay -- once the difficulty is lowered, it can not be changed. (Players who lower their difficulty can not challenge the Hard final boss in their first playthrough.)
：Easy, Normal and Hard difficulties are available for selection. Hard difficulty will be available after the first playthrough. Players can also lower the difficulty during gameplay -- once the difficulty is lowered, it can not be changed. (Players who lower their difficulty can not challenge the Hard final boss in their first playthrough.) [Charged Attack] ：features a new special attack system. Using MP accumulated during battle, players can use either “Technique,”“Harmony,”or “Slash” Charged Attacks and turn the tide of battle!
：features a new special attack system. Using MP accumulated during battle, players can use either “Technique,”“Harmony,”or “Slash” Charged Attacks and turn the tide of battle! [Surprise Attack] ：players can surpised attack enemies during combat encounters. Players will deal surprise attack damage based on the difference between player and enemy levels. If the party leader is of a much higher level than the average level of the enemies, a surprise attacks can even be an instant victory, without going into battle.
：players can surpised attack enemies during combat encounters. Players will deal surprise attack damage based on the difference between player and enemy levels. If the party leader is of a much higher level than the average level of the enemies, a surprise attacks can even be an instant victory, without going into battle. [Scenario Battles]：During scenario Boss fights, combat can occur directly after the cutscene ends, without switching modes or going into an encounter screen. This is a new storytelling mechanic introduced for the first time in the series.
[Exploration Jumps] ：Characters can freely explore the map, seeking out secret spots and paths. Maps and stages are larger and have more vertical space than ever before, with mysterious items waiting to be found. These items not only have special effects, but also increase player reputation, which can be used to exchange costumes and titles.
：Characters can freely explore the map, seeking out secret spots and paths. Maps and stages are larger and have more vertical space than ever before, with mysterious items waiting to be found. These items not only have special effects, but also increase player reputation, which can be used to exchange costumes and titles. [Weapon Transmogrify] ：players can mold the appearance of their weapons to their desire. Players will be able to change the look of their weapon to another that they already have, while the basic stats of the weapon remain unaffected. As the weapons are shown in real-time in the game, players dictate not only the fashion, but also how their battles and skills look during combat.
：players can mold the appearance of their weapons to their desire. Players will be able to change the look of their weapon to another that they already have, while the basic stats of the weapon remain unaffected. As the weapons are shown in real-time in the game, players dictate not only the fashion, but also how their battles and skills look during combat. [Reputation] ：awarded by completing quests from NPCs, items can be exchaged with different factions if the reputation requirements are met. Faction-specific items can be exchanged with especially high reputation.
：awarded by completing quests from NPCs, items can be exchaged with different factions if the reputation requirements are met. Faction-specific items can be exchanged with especially high reputation. [Meridian System] ：Each character in the game has 3 souls, with their own different attributes. Players can customize the characters by choosing different attributes in those souls. Each node selected has different effects, and special hidden effects may be found if the right nodes are selected.
：Each character in the game has 3 souls, with their own different attributes. Players can customize the characters by choosing different attributes in those souls. Each node selected has different effects, and special hidden effects may be found if the right nodes are selected. [Event Mini-games] ：various mini-games are scattered throughout the game. Puzzles, traps and games can be played using character-specific stage skills. With the free exploration that the game world offers, players can discover hidden events, and possible even find secret items.
：various mini-games are scattered throughout the game. Puzzles, traps and games can be played using character-specific stage skills. With the free exploration that the game world offers, players can discover hidden events, and possible even find secret items. [Stage Skills]：Each of the six main characters have their own “stage skills” that can be used. Players will need to utilize these skills to overcome certain puzzle and traps. Yue Jinzhao’s “Flight of Sword” allows players to fly over obstacles to reach places impossible to travel to otherwise.
Since the birth of the ancient god Shen Nong, the nine springs of Jiuquan have anchored the Heavens and Earth. Each of the Jiuquan possess supernatural powers, and each are a fountain of energy and life for the universe. In the War of the Three Tribes, the Beasts were defeated by the coalition of Humans and Gods. The tribe of the Beasts retreated to the Demon World and since then Gods, Demons and Men have lived in isolation. After the war, Shen Nong and the Jiuquan disappeared from the world, and as time flowed on… the legend of the Jiuquan was lost.Yue Jinzhao and Yue Qi arrive in the West Side, searching for something they had lost -- what they will find instead is an ancient secret uncovered. Elsewhere, a gargantuan slumbering beast awakens in the sea -- soaring to the skies, and bewildered at the voice in its head.In the martial world, factions struggle for control: True Martial Alliance, Risen Soul Saints, Hengdao Society and the demonic Piscis… who are the true masterminds behind the traps within traps, the devious plans and evil designs? Destinies will unfold and become undone, as sacrifices are made… in the celebration of life.Many people believe millennials continue to live at home so they can afford a party lifestyle.
But a new study by Vancity of millennials in Metro Vancouver pokes holes in the stereotype.
The study found that local millennials living at home spend less on alcohol and tobacco than people their age did 25 years ago.
And they aren’t blowing all their money — one-third of local millennials living at home are saving more than half of their earnings for their own place.
That said, 57 per cent of local 20-to-35-year-olds living at home say they can’t afford to pay rent.
“The affordability of housing is impacting them, so they’re staying at home longer,” said Vancity’s William Azaroff.
“(But) many are saving towards being able to move out, (saving for) a down payment or some kind of little nest egg to allow them to get into the rental market.”
Arrested Development: the Impact of Affordability on Millennial Living surveyed 407 parents and 409 millennials living at home in Metro Vancouver.
It found that 61 per cent of local millennials are still living at home, and that 23 per cent of the millennials between 25 and 35 have never had their own place.
This is higher than across Canada, and going up. In 2011 — the last year for national numbers — Statistics Canada found that 47 per cent of B.C. millennials between 25 and 29 were still living at home, compared to 42 per cent in the rest of the country.
It’s a far cry from 1981, when 27 per cent of people between 25 and 29 across Canada told Stats Can they were still living at home.
One of the big factors is the high cost of rent. Today’s millennials are spending 30 per cent of their earnings on rent, compared to 22 per cent for Gen-Xers in 1992.
“They actually spent more on shelter than any other age category, except people over 75,” said Azaroff.
Another problem is the high cost of transportation.
“We talk a lot about shelter, but it’s shelter and transportation together,” said Azaroff.
“If you have to move farther and farther out in order to afford something you spend more on transportation. So the second largest cost for Canadian millennials is transportation, at between 16 and 22 per cent of their household income.
“(If) you put those two things together, a pretty staggering amount of their income is spent on shelter and transportation.”
Twenty-five-year-old Becca Clarkson recently moved back in with her parents in Vancouver, partly to save money, partly because her parents have retired and are travelling.
She agrees that the stereotypes about her generation living large can be off-base.
“We’re not all staying in on Friday nights and Saturday nights and doing nothing,” she said.
“But the demographic that I hang out with are quite thrifty. (We don’t) go to clubs unless we have a free cover, and we’re not buying drinks at the bar, we’re generally pre-drinking or something like that.”
The UBC creative writing grad is paying the bills working in communications and freelancing. But finding a good job is tough.
“I’ve been looking for more writing jobs,” she said.
“I was just offered one where the salary was $25K, and they required a degree. So I would be paid minimum wage to do 48 hours of work a week. That’s not a living wage, I actually wouldn’t be able to live by myself.”
She knows, because she’s lived in some nasty rentals, including a basement suite she shared “with two other dudes and a lot of mice” and a two-bedroom on a truck route at Clark and Broadway that was so loud her roommate couldn’t sleep.
She’s determined to get her own one-bedroom condo with her boyfriend, so “I’m just saving like a crazy person.” But she finds Vancouver’s escalating housing prices “incredibly” intimidating.
“It feels like I can’t navigate it by myself, and that I need to hire a bunch of people to help me figure it out,” she said. “Which is another expense.”
[email protected]
Arrested Development Vancity Report by The Vancouver Sun on ScribdPosted on 9/12/2017
Take a look at some recent highlights of coins conserved by NCS.
Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS) uses a variety of proprietary techniques to remove harmful surface contaminants, stabilize and protect a coin's surfaces and, in may cases, improve a coin's eye appeal. After coins are conserved by NCS, they are seamlessly transferred to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), an independent affiliate of NCS, for grading and encapsulation.
Below are a few highlights of coins that were conserved by NCS and graded by NGC recently.
This 1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar had spent a good deal of time most likely in a questionable coin holder probably held in place with transparent tape. Yellowish residue that is noticeably raised on the surface can be seen in various spots on both sides of this dollar. Residues such as this can have a corroding effect underneath and cause unusual oxidation patterns on the exposed surfaces if left too long. This coin was able to be freed of all glue residues and grade with NGC following careful conservation work at NCS.
1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar
Before conservation
Click images to enlarge.
1888-S Morgan Silver Dollar
After conservation
Click images to enlarge.
This obscured coin, or token, or medal (below), was submitted to NCS for obvious reasons. Underneath a thick layer of wax was a 1933 South Africa Penny. How this layer of wax came to be on this coin likely was the result of a numismatist in the past making a misguided attempt to protect the surfaces of a prized coin. Oftentimes, when a coin is submitted to NCS with such an extreme case of residue that its very identity is not immediately known, someone has forceably tried to remove some of the offending substance. That force will nearly always cause permanent damage. In the case of this South African coin, no attempt to remove the wax prior to NCS conservation was made, and through long careful conservation work, this coin was able to grade numerically with NGC.
South Africa 1933 Penny
Before conservation
Click images to enlarge.
South Africa 1933 Penny
After conservation
Click images to enlarge.
This 1902 Barber Quarter came to NCS in need of help to remove the remnants of a paper sticker and glue on the reverse. While the purpose of adhering this sticker to the reverse of this quarter may not be known for certain, the red border that remains is certainly reminiscent of a vintage price tag sticker. Conserving this coin required both removal of the paper and removal of the hardened adhesive material while leaving the pleasant color on this coin to remain as much as possible. Careful conservation work was able to accomplish that end and leave a naturally toned coin to grade numerically with NGC.
1902 Barber Quarter
Before conservation
Click images to enlarge.
1902 Barber Quarter
After conservation
Click images to enlarge.
For more information about NCS, visit www.NGCcoin.com/NCS.It is called the Jiangnan TT.
Although the iconic Maruti 800 has long been discontinued in the Indian market to make way for the Maruti Alto 800, you'd be surprised to know that it still lives on in China with a different name - Jiangnan TT.
Like the Maruti 800 was for so many years in India, the Jiangnan TT is the least expensive car in China. It's priced at 15,800 yuan, which is INR 1.67 Lakhs as per the current exchange rate. The TT is built by Jiangnan Auto, a subsidiary of Zotye Automobile, a manufacturer infamous for creating clones of various global models for the Chinese market. Suzuki has licensed the car's manufacturing and retailing to Zotye, so the TT is the original design.
As expected, the TT is as basic as a car gets. It's powered by a 0.8 liter three-cylinder petrol engine producing 36 hp and 60 Nm. It is paired to a four-speed manual gearbox, can enable the TT to hit a top speed of 120 km/h, and averages a fuel consumption of 19.23 km/l.
The Jiangnan TT mainly targets people in the smaller cities and the Chinese countryside, where the average income would be much lower than in the cities, and where people wouldn't necessarily care about their image with such a car.
[Source - Forbes.com]In the waning days of the debate over health care legislation, the White House’s political team did a fairly good job of convincing Democrats in Congress, Washington reporters, and like-minded writers that the act would somehow get a lot more popular after it was actually signed into law. The latest CNN poll (PDF) shows that is not really happening–opinions about the health care law, in general and specific, are little changed.
Currently, only 40 percent favor the new health care law, while 56 percent oppose it. This represents only a modest improvement over late March, when the law polled at 39 percent in favor, 59 percent opposed. The poll has found that opposition to the legislation from the left has remained effectively unchanged. In March, 13 percent opposed the bill for not being liberal enough, which is identical to the 13 percent who currently dislike the law for the same reason.
Interestingly, for every three people who support the new law, there is one individual who opposed it for not being progressive enough. Of the 53 percent of people you could roughly consider to be center-left, a full 25 percent still oppose the act because it failed at being progressive.
Not only have overall opinions about the law changed little since March, support for several individual components are almost the same now as they were in February. Currently, 59 percent favor preventing insurance companies from dropping people who become ill, while back in February, the poll found 62 percent favored that provision. Fifty-eight percent of Americans today favor a provision to prevent insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, identical to the number back in February
The heath care fight was one of the longest and most heavily debated legislative battles in decades. It gave people plenty of time to form firm opinions about the law, and, not surprisingly (to me, at least), the opinions didn’t change simply because the bill passed. Democrats hoping time would magically make the law popular are out of luck. Of course, if the law actually started directly doing something for millions of Americans, I could see that moving opinions, but, in their infinite wisdom, Democrats delayed almost all benefits until 2014. Somehow, Democrats convinced themselves helping people with health care during the greatest economic downturn in decades was nowhere near as important as a pretty CBO score.Demetrius Jackson (Photo: Elsa, Getty Images)
Chicago — It’s funny how a year changes things.
Last season, the Pistons were mired in a six-year slump of missing the playoffs — and in the draft lottery, getting a top-10 pick, yet again.
Their fortunes turned this year, making the postseason for the first time since 2009, with a 44-38 record, which pushed them down the draft ladder to No. 18 this summer. While they made a two prudent picks in getting Stanley Johnson with the No. 8 overall selection and Darrun Hilliard in the second round, they’ll look to have the same luck with lower picks in this year's draft, on June 23.
They’re slotted at No. 49 in the second round and it’s unclear how they’ll play the first-round choice, as they already showed some of their hand with the voided deal with the Houston Rockets for Donatas Motiejunas near the trade deadline.
The Pistons still could trade the pick and look to bolster their roster with a rotation-ready veteran or just to avoid the guaranteed contract — or they could settle on a player that they think might be able to help them in the short term.
Coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower, along with assistant GM Brian Wright are gathering notes and making some of their initial determinations this week at the NBA Draft combine, where they’ll get to have one-on-one interviews and see drills for some of the players who could be available with the 18th pick.
That could include Notre Dame guard Demetrius Jackson, or Gonzaga big man Domantas Sabonis — who is skipping the combine. Some mock drafts have the Pistons making those selections, looking to fill their most pressing roster needs, at backup point guard and power forward.
The measurements, drills, interviews and evaluations will continue today and Friday.
[email protected]
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeardRealizing that the production of the space vehicles we loved was generating a great deal of Carbon Fiber waste, Ryan, an engineering student and Greg, an entrepreneurship instructor, set out to create a win/win solution to this problem. We knew we could make something awesome from this amazing aerospace grade material and 121C was founded. The Aileron skateboard became the first product of our upcycling mission. It’s a perfect marriage of technology, environmental benefits and inspired design; Made in the USA.
After investigating the way aerospace firms disposed of excess and scrap carbon fiber (landfills), we determined that if the material was collected, processed and stored properly, it would retain the incredible characteristics of the original material: awesome strength and that gorgeous carbon fiber look. Additionally, it was important to develop a manufacturing process that was less capital and time intensive than the curing methods (ovens and autoclaves) traditionally used by aircraft and spacecraft manufacturers.
We were given the opportunity to test our upcycling protocols and manufacturing processes on a small scale with excess material and scrap generated by the Rocket Propulsion Lab at the University of Southern California. Ryan designed and built a prototype hot press and began to press skate decks. The initial results were flawed but promising. More than a year of work went into perfecting the process and after many iterations, we are proud to present the Aileron, the ultimate cruiser style skateboard. Now that we've established our process, supply chain and manufacturing, we want you to be part of our story. Please help support our solution to this environmental problem by becoming a backer of this project and if you’d like to, reserve your new board!
Other Carbon Fiber decks are either made mostly from wood or fiberglass, with a thin layer or two of carbon and are constructed using lower quality, “wet layup" consumer grade materials. We’ve even seen one made from the sweepings off fibers of a factory floor that has no weave to provide structural integrity. Aileron is in a class by itself being made entirely of top quality military-space grade prepreg carbon fiber requiring a more sophisticated manufacturing process.
Dude! Did DARPA design a skateboard or what? Bill Thomas, FB follower
Your new board will be crafted with the highest quality carbon fiber collected from the production lines that build today’s coolest commercial rockets. When you step onto an Aileron, you’re riding on a spacecraft.
Ryan spent the summer following his freshman year designing, wiring and building a hot press to make a carbon fiber skateboard. Reaching the 121 degrees Celsius required to cure the epoxy was a real challenge. After conquering that temperature threshold, the name 121C just stuck. Since that time almost two years ago, we have upgraded our old wooden hot press to a newer aluminum tool!
Sticking with the aerospace theme, we chose to name our board after the aileron on an airplane. An aileron is the surface on the back of a wing that allows a plane to turn and maneuver.
Much like the aileron that drives the turning of an airplane, our skateboard is made for smooth turns and a fun cruise.
Excellence in product quality is a core principle at 121C. When we discovered that the space and military grade material we are upcycling is so sophisticated that its uncured export is restricted, we were actually pretty excited. We have to make our decks in the USA and competitors simply can’t offshore this stuff in order to save money by polluting the environment or exploiting offshore workers in China or elsewhere. We strive to source all our major components from American manufacturers.
In fact, as is fitting to the origin of skate, all these items come from Southern California. Our decks are pressed by Akra Plastics in Ontario. We finish them off with Randal trucks, cast in South Gate, and Fireball wheels, poured in Lake Elsinore. Shark Wheels are also made in California.
Each skateboard is made from pure carbon fiber and the stealth design reflects that. The board is light, strong and frankly it’s pretty badass. With due respect, we have intentionally chosen to avoid traditional skate graphics. Instead we’ve boldly gone where no board has gone before with a sharp, clean, engineering inspired look that embraces the origins of our material.
Make sure to let us know which graphic you want on your pure carbon Aileron in the rewards section.
Since signing our first collection contract, top quality carbon fiber is beginning to accumulate and we need your support to scale our manufacturing. The $10,000 we are asking for will expand our production capacity. This includes capital investment in our processing systems as well as the labor, storage and logistics required for our unique upcycling protocol. We have created some awesome rewards to thank our supporters at all levels. Check them out!
Our 50-50 Cotton Polyester stealth black t-shirt is made in the USA has the 121C pure carbon logo on the front and our stealth logo on the back.
We've taken our logo, most prominently displayed on our grip tape, and turned it into a glider. Everything on the glider is made from pure carbon, with the exception of the 3D printed nosecone, and this thing actually files! (NOT A TOY for children)
The Aileron has been engineered with a wheel to wheel camber making the board incredibly responsive and perfect for pumping through turns. Using only carbon fiber the board is less than half the thickness of an equivalent wood deck and much much lighter. The Aileron deck is available in two sets of graphics, “Technical Hexagon” or “Space Inspired.”
You can get a deck alone or complete with Randal 150 Trucks and either Fireball or Shark Wheels. You can have any color you want as long as it’s black.
If you would like to get more technical on your own built out board or create your own style, here are the links to our awesome suppliers:
Randal 150mm Trucks http://randal.com/150mm-50-black/
Fireball Incendos http://fireballwheels.com/incendo-black-70mm-87a.html
Shark Wheel Makos http://shop.sharkwheelskate.com/products/mako-formula-70mm-80a
The
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respect our views," Meyer said.Article updated on Oct 14th for Angular 2 alpha 42.
I want to tackle some points on this article and a simple rating directives will do the work. Let’s build the simplest rating directive ever!
I need a directive where I can rate something and better than a simple input, we want to see 5 stars where I can click on them to get a rating.
Before jumping into code, I want to analyze it and how could we resolve this with Angular 1.
Angular 1 way
What’s the input we need for this directive? We need some kind of model that represents a rating (a number). For output we want to give back the updated rate. So that means that we give it a model and by clicking on the stars, that model gets updated.
Now for the implementation. What to use? = or @? If we use @, the changes we do inside the directive won’t update the parent, so there is no output. That means that we need to use = and thanks to that, we have our input and our output:
<rating rate="rate"></rating>
To implement it, we can code:
File: rating.js
.directive('rating', function() { return { scope: { rate: '=' }, templateUrl: 'rating.html', link: function(scope, element, attrs) { scope.range = [1,2,3,4,5]; scope.update = function(value) { scope.rate = value; }; } }; });
File: rating.html
<span tabindex="0"> <span ng-repeat-start="r in range track by $index" class="sr-only">({{ $index < rate? '*' :'' }})</span> <i ng-repeat-end ng-click="update($index + 1)" class="glyphicon" ng-class="$index < rate? 'glyphicon-star' : 'glyphicon-star-empty'"></i> </span>
Simple directive. We use ng-repeat to generate as many stars as we need which in this case, we have it hardcoded to 5. When we click on a star, we call the update method that will assign a new value on scope.rate and thanks to the $watch that the = creates, our parent gets updated as well.
NOTE: The inner span is for accessibility purposes.
Check it here
It works nice, right? Sure it does.
I see some flexibility problems here. There could be use cases you don’t want the “raw” output. I mean, imagine that you want to use the rating, but instead of having each star counting as “1” you want each star to be “0,2” so a 5 stars is actually 1 point. How could you do that? A $watch in our controller perhaps? Let’s do it:
$scope.$watch('rate', function(newVal) { $scope.customRate = newVal / 5; });
Now every time the rate changes in our controller (AKA when we receive an output), we create a new variable with our custom rate. The problem in here is that now we have two watches. One that the directive creates to maintain both “rates” in sync and this one to generate our custom rate. The downside is: We are already receiving an output, why couldn’t I just hook into that output and do what I want to? Also, even when I am creating this custom rate, the controller’s rate is also updated nonetheless.
Could we pass a static number to this directive? Yes:
<rating rate="'3'"></rating>
A bit of an ugly syntax but works. The problem is that we lost our ability to receive any output from the directive. We could create some kind of callback like:
<rating rate="'3'" on-update="onUpdate(value)"></rating>
Then update our directive like:
File: rating.js
.directive('rating', function() { return { scope: { rate: '=', onUpdate: '&' }, templateUrl: 'rating.html', link: function(scope, element, attrs) { scope.range = [1,2,3,4,5]; scope.update = function(value) { scope.rate = value; if (scope.onUpdate) { scope.onUpdate({value: value}); } }; } }; })
Thanks to the weird callback syntax, it now works, both with two-way databinding and also passing a simple value.
See it here
Another problem I see with this approach is the side effects. If you use the first approach, you’re forced to have “two-way databinding” you want it or not. Your controller’s rate is going to be updated every time you click on a star. Luckily you can use bindonce :: to fix that issue except if the third party directive is using ng-model. It is not an issue you will see every day, but there is always a use case for every weird problem.
Angular 2 way
First, get this plunker so you can follow along.
If you read my previous article on directives, the next code will be pretty familiar:
File: rating.ts
import {Component, View} from 'angular2/angular2'; @Component({ selector: 'rating', }) @View({ template: `<div>Rating</div>` }) export class Rating {}
This is the basic skeleton of a component directive in Angular 2. We say in here that we want a component with rating as the element selector and a simple message on a div.
Our first step would be to print our 5 stars. To do that, we need to output some HTML for each star. In the Angular 1 version we used a ng-repeat and here we have the ng-for. There is a problem tho. In the angular 1 version we want the ng-repeat to repeat not only one element but two, the span for accessibility and the <i> tag for the actual stars. We managed to fix that with ng-repeat-start and ng-repeat-end.
How can we do that in Angular 2? We can use a div wrapper and stick the ng-for to it or we can use a <template> that doesn’t output any markup. Let’s see how can we do that:
File: rating.ts
@View({ template: ` <span tabindex="0"> <template ng-for [ng-for-of]="range" #index="index"> <span class="sr-only">(*)</span> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-star"></i> </template> </span> `, directives: [NgFor] })
So here we say that we want a <template> element with the ng-for directive in it. We give to it the collection we want to repeat (AKA range ) and also that we want a reference to the current index on the collection. Notice that I am not getting a reference to the current item on the range collection, I don’t need it for this basic directive, I just need that template to be repeated as many times as items in the collection. Also notice that I am telling the component that we are using NgFor in it (don’t forget to import it too!).
Now we just need the range collection:
File: rating.ts
export class Rating { private range:Array<number> = [1,2,3,4,5]; }
Let’s wire our directive into the app now. First we import it:
File: main.ts
import {Rating} from './rating';
And we tell our component that we want to use it:
File: main.ts
@View({ templateUrl:'src/main.html' directives: [Rating] })
File: main.html
<rating></rating>
If we execute the app now, we will see our 5 stars, and if we inspect our HTML, we can see:
Yay it works!
Let’s receive some input, shall we? To do that, we just need to create an inputs array on our component:
File: rating.ts
@Component({ selector: 'rating', inputs: ['rate'] })
Ah, this inputs is so convenient and well named. Now that we assume that we will have some kind of input, we can update our template to make use of it:
File: rating.ts
@View({ template: ` <span tabindex="0"> <template ng-for [ng-for-of]="range" #index="index"> <span class="sr-only">({{ index < rate? '*' :'' }})</span> <i class="glyphicon" [ng-class]="index < rate? 'glyphicon-star' : 'glyphicon-star-empty'"></i> </template> </span> `, directives: [NgFor, NgClass] })
We use ng-class to apply a star or empty start depending on our input. Easy right? If we pass 2 as input, the first two stars will be normal stars and the other 3 will be empty stars. Don’t forget to import NgClass.
Let’s try it:
File: main.html
<rating rate="2"></rating>
It works. Notice how we passed a literal number and our directive doesn’t care. Can we pass a dynamic value that comes from our app component? Sure:
File: main.ts
export class MyApp { private rate:number = 3; }
File: main.html
<rating [rate]="rate"></rating>
That was really really easy, no changes needed on our directive.
For our next trick, let’s first update our HTML so we can see also the value of rate in our app component:
File: main.html
<rating [rate]="rate"></rating> <pre style="margin:15px 0;">Rate: <b>{{rate}}</b></pre>
Now we can see our current rate, but remember, we are seeing the value from the component that is consuming our rating directive and not its internal rate.
Now, let’s make our stars clickable so we can change the rating. First, we modify our template to put a click event:
File: rating.ts
@View({ template: ` <span tabindex="0"> <template ng-for [ng-for-of]="range" #index="index"> <span class="sr-only">({{ index < rate? '*' :'' }})</span> <i class="glyphicon" (click)="update(index + 1)" [ng-class]="index < rate? 'glyphicon-star' : 'glyphicon-star-empty'"></i> </template> </span> `, directives: [NgFor, NgClass] })
And now the event handler:
File: rating.ts
export class Rating { private range:Array<number> = [1,2,3,4,5]; private rate:number; update(value) { this.rate = value; } }
If we click now in our stars, we can see how they get updated, but the rate property in our my-app component doesn’t update. Why is that? What? Why should it? Our directive only has inputs but no outputs. Updating our “internal” rate won’t make the “parent” one to get updated. That makes lots of sense to me.
Let’s add some outputs:
File: rating.ts
@Component({ selector: 'rating', inputs: ['rate'], outputs: ['updateRate: rateChange'] })
Again, a well named property. Here we are saying that we will have an output called rateChange but we want to call it updateRate locally.
Note: Prior to Angular2.41. You would name your output with the same name as the input, but now you have to suffix it with Change.
Outputs in Angular 2 are events, so now we are going to initialize it as a proper event:
File: rating.ts
export class Rating { private updateRate:EventEmitter = new EventEmitter();... }
Don’t forget to import EventEmitter at the top. Now we just need to emit an event every time our rate gets updated in our update method:
File: rating.ts
update(value) { this.rate = value; this.updateRate.next(value); }
The Angular 2 EventEmitter is using Rx, so this is a proper Observable. Here we just push a new value every time we click on a star. How to use it on my-app component?:
File: main.html
<rating [rate]="rate" (rate-change)="onUpdate($event)"></rating>
So now we specify an input (our rate property) and an output (the rate-change event calling a method). So we just need to define that method on our my-app component:
File: main.ts
export class MyApp { private rate:number = 3; onUpdate(value) { this.rate = value; } }
If you test the application now, you can see our my-app rate value getting updated.
To summarize, in Angular 2 we have to define our inputs and our outputs. The inputs are properties and the outputs are events. What are the advantages in here? We don’t have those flexibility problems I mentioned earlier. You want your my-app rate to have different values? You can do it like:
onUpdate(value) { this.rate = value / 5; }
You want to pass an static number as an input but still be able to manage the output? Sure you can:
File: main.html
<rating rate="2" (rate-change)="onUpdate($event)"></rating>
We get all the different behaviors without any extra code.
Let’s think about:
File: main.html
<rating [rate]="rate" (rate-change)="onUpdate($event)"></rating>
Isn’t it a bit verbose? If I want to “emulate” the old behavior of having some kind of “two-way databinding”, I need to write more html and also a event handler. Luckily, the Angular team created some syntactic sugar for that. You can do:
File: main.html
<rating [(rate)]="rate"></rating>
Now we are using our rate as input and output at the same time. Again, the nice part of this is that you don’t need to write extra code for that, this comes for free. Our users can use the default behavior of having rate being updated which each click on a star, we can also let our users to be able to manage the output by hand to do some extra logic (and maintaining our rate without changes) or even be able to send static input and still receiving nice outputs.
You can see an example of all of that here
ConclusionsDAVID SPEEDIE: I'm David Speedie, director of the program on U.S. Global Engagement here at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Welcome to another in our regular series of Ethics in Security Bulletins.
Today we shift focus somewhat. We have focused on the crisis in Ukraine in past weeks, but there are, of course, other extremely important issues at play in the world, and one of these certainly deals with the P5+1 talks between Iran and the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, Russia, the United States, China, Britain, and France, plus Germany, on the question of the future of Iran's nuclear program.
To discuss this today, we're delighted to have Professor William Beeman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, who has conducted research in Iran for over 40 years and is author of a book that we'll discuss a little later called The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other.
There's a fetching title, Professor Beeman. Welcome to the Carnegie Council.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: Thank you very much.
DAVID SPEEDIE: Let's get right into the heart of the matter. As I say, we have had Russia and Ukraine dominating the headlines and the mainstream media, and perhaps even causing us to overlook recent news on the Iranian nuclear negotiations. What have we been missing? How have the P5+1 negotiations with Iran in Vienna been progressing?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: Actually, they've been progressing rather well. The Iranians and the P5+1 nations have been sitting down; they have been discussing matters very reasonably and rationally. I should say that part of the reason is that there are some very good negotiators in Vienna working on this.
The Iranians are very lucky after the recent presidential elections to have gotten Dr. Javad Zarif to be their negotiator. He's the minister of foreign affairs in Iran. Dr. Zarif has a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of California, San Diego, (Editor's note: according to sources we have seen, he got an MA from San Francisco University & a Ph.D. from the University of Denver) and was the former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations. So he's a very practiced, very skilled, and extremely intelligent gentleman.
Catherine Ashton has been taking the lead for the P5+1. She is also an extremely accomplished and very wise, I think, negotiator.
The personal interactions between these individuals have been very good.
That said, there are always sticking points that really do need to be negotiated. One of the things that does not help is the fact that we have parties on the sidelines who are not party to these negotiations—may I be blunt and say the government of Israel and the pro-Israeli lobbyists in the United States?—who are trying very hard to affect these negotiations without actually being part of them, and having, actually, no legitimate right to really weigh in on these. They are trying to affect the negotiations indirectly by lobbying the parties who are party to the negotiations.
DAVID SPEEDIE: Of course, another issue here is the question of sanctions on Iran that have been in place for decades at this point. Obviously, Iran is hoping to gain more sanctions relief in the final deal. But is there also some pushback in Congress, as I understand, for even more sanctions? Does that also complicate matters?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: It does indeed. We've had a really terrible bill that was put forth in Congress. Senator Kirk of Illinois and Senator Menendez of New Jersey tried to put forth a bill that would preauthorize additional sanctions on Iran in the case that the talks failed. This was really egregious. It had absolutely no real functional value in the negotiations. The only thing it did was to serve to irritate the Iranians.
It is a bill that failed, I should tell you, in the Senate, because it just didn't get enough votes. I think the senators were heavily lobbied by their constituents. There were petitions that were sent to senators. More than 150,000 voters in the United States petitioned their senators to please kill this bill because it was interfering with the negotiations.
I must say, I agree that Congress should not be trying to conduct diplomacy from the floor of the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives.
DAVID SPEEDIE: On the issue of the pushback from Congress and, as you say, from Israel and elsewhere, you mentioned the last presidential elections. President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif actually were both in New York last fall. I and others—perhaps you—attended a couple of presentations that the president made. Certainly the reception was generally very positive. I don't think there was much doubt that people saw this as a positive step forward from Mr. Ahmadinejad to Mr. Rouhani.
Where do you place the lingering skepticism in terms of what might be a breakthrough with new leadership in Tehran?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: It was really disconcerting to see that the detractors for Iran tended to discount President Rouhani's visit in New York. They called him a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Actually, since I realize that you're from Scotland, his Ph.D. degree is from Glasgow.
DAVID SPEEDIE: He had very good judgment, yes, Glasgow Caledonian University.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: Glasgow Caledonian. And that's quite a respectable degree.
The detractors tried to say that, in fact, he had not received such a degree, that he was padding his résumé.
They did everything they could to try to make him seem less attractive than he actually was in New York. But one couldn't avoid the fact that he was an extremely intelligent interlocutor and was a very pleasant person to have in discussions with the public and with others at the United Nations.
His visit was dismissed as a "charm offensive," as opposed to the hostility that we had seen from President Ahmadinejad. Well, there's no question that he was much more charming than Mr. Ahmadinejad, but I don't believe that anybody could say with any legitimacy that he was really not serious in trying to negotiate a better arrangement with the P5+1 nations—in fact, really, with the whole world.
DAVID SPEEDIE: But am I also right in thinking, Professor Beeman, that there has also been some pushback in Iran itself, that there have been some moves by hardliners perhaps even to undermine Rouhani, to cast some aspersions or damage on the talks in Vienna?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: That's correct. There are as many hardliners in Iran as there are detractors in the West, who are trying very hard to make sure that Iran doesn't literally give away the store. What they're really worried about—and I think that this is a legitimate worry—is that the Iranian negotiators may compromise on Iran's nuclear energy program.
I should point out that this is a program that has been in place for more than 40 years, pretty much as long as I have been in Iran. It was instigated largely by the United States during the time of the Shah, who convinced the Shah that in order for Iran to be a modern nation, they had to have a serious nuclear energy program and tried to sell him nuclear reactors made by Westinghouse and General Electric. So this is something that has gone on for a very long time.
The United States also, by the way, funded scholarships for young Iranians to come to the United States and learn nuclear technology, at the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other places.
So the Iranian nuclear energy program has a very, very long history and it has a very long history of cooperation with the United States and with other European powers. So the idea that somehow Iran could be convinced to completely and totally dismantle every aspect of their nuclear engineering was a nonstarter from the beginning. And that's what the hardliners are really afraid of, that this multibillion-dollar, 40-year program would be somehow completely and utterly dismantled.
DAVID SPEEDIE: And my understanding also is that Iran's demographic projections in terms of population growth and so on mean that nuclear energy is, for them at least, a fairly compelling argument.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: It is indeed. At the very beginning, in 2003, when the hue and cry first went up over Iran's nuclear program, a number of detractors said, "Well, they have a lot of oil. They don't need nuclear power for generating energy." But, in fact, they do. Their natural gas supply has been largely depleted or they have found that they can really sell their natural gas with much greater profit by liquefying it and sending it to China and other places. The conventional petroleum is not really suitable for generation of electricity.
They really do need the nuclear power, much as many other nations who have limited oil supplies have needed to supplement their oil supplies with nuclear power.
So there's no question that it is an important source of energy for the Iranians, and that's how they have been building their plants.
I should point out to you that all of the speculation that Iran may be using their nuclear energy program in order to generate nuclear weapons has been completely and utterly well disproven. Certainly there's no evidence at all that there is such a thing as a nuclear weapons program in Iran. No intelligence agency anywhere in the world has been able to definitively demonstrate that they have evidence that there is such a nuclear weapons program. So Iran is being accused of something for which there is no evidence and being asked to essentially prove a negative, to prove that they are not doing something. And that's logically impossible.
DAVID SPEEDIE: Let me have you elaborate on that a little bit. You have written very forcefully and eloquently about that. You said that the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, was charged with carrying out inspections of Iran's nuclear program, and indeed the nuclear programs of all signatories to the treaty. They never once found the slightest evidence that Iran had a nuclear weapons program or had diverted any nuclear material for military use.
Having said that, am I right in thinking that IAEA has, however, said that Iran may not have always been fully compliant with revealing all details of the program? I realize that's a rather vague question, but it's really an issue, not of proving a positive, but that Iran may have been withholding some information. Is that a valid recollection?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: Right. The situations that the IAEA refers to are extremely minor. Iran missed a reporting deadline by a matter of a couple of days back in 2003.
The treaty requires that nations declare nuclear facilities within 180 days of introducing fissile material to those facilities. So, in fact, anybody, according to the treaty, can build a nuclear anything—a nuclear weapons plant or a nuclear energy-generating plant—and they don't have to declare the existence of such a facility until 180 days before they introduce this fissile material.
Iran missed a deadline in one of its facilities by a couple of days. So yes, indeed, they did technically miss that deadline.
The IAEA has also gotten evidence—and let's be really frank about this; they don't disclose the source of their evidence, but the evidence was coming from Israel, and we know that—that Iran was engaging in the development of some kind of nuclear facility in places where there was no fissile material. The IAEA asked Iran to clear this up, and Iran said, "Well, you give us the evidence that you have and we'll be glad to put your mind at ease. But we have to know what we're being accused of. We can't be given a blank accusation that says, 'You're hiding something, and so please come clean about what you're hiding,' without knowing what it is you're talking about."
The IAEA said, "Well, we would compromise our source if we actually told you what we were talking about. We just want you to generally come clean."
This is a kind of blank accusation that really is rather foolish.
Under the former head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, such hijinks were just not entertained. ElBaradei wouldn't stand for it. The United States tried to get him fired from that position because they didn't feel that he was being cooperative with those who wanted to prove that Iran was actually manufacturing nuclear weapons.
Now, Yukiya Amano, who came in after Mr. ElBaradei, has been much more compliant, and even though every single IAEA report has declared that Iran has not diverted any fissile material, any nuclear material, for military purposes, the reports come out and say, "Well, we can't completely prove that Iran might not be possibly developing something that might have to do with military weaponry."
These are weasel words. They have no meaning at all. But it's about as far as Mr. Amano can go to please the United States, who is pressuring him to declare that Iran is actually manufacturing nuclear weapons.
But there is no evidence, and for the integrity of the IAEA, they can't really say that Iran is engaged in militarization of nuclear material, because it's simply not true.
I should also point out that the American national intelligence estimate has consistently said that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program.
This is also, by the way, true of Mossad in Israel. They also admit that Iran doesn't have an active militarization program for nuclear material.
So there simply is no evidence at all. The people who are trying to accuse Iran of this are doing so thoroughly and completely through what we call truth by repetition. They just simply declare that they are doing it and hang the actual evidence from the actual intelligence agencies. They just don't believe them or they discount them. It is a process of, as I say in the book, real demonization.
DAVID SPEEDIE: And that brings us back to this captivating title, The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other.
From what you've just been saying, it certainly sounds like a question of politics rather than technical verification or any proof of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. But the title leads me to ask you, Professor Beeman, the United States and Iran demonize each other. Does this simply go back to the hostage situation in the late 1970s?
Also get in a little bit to the "each other" question, because you're implying that there's a bit of, in a sense, fault on both sides there.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: You're quite right. A lot of people have read the book and accused me of being supportive of the mullahs and all of this. But, in fact, the book deals just as much with the Iranian demonization of the United States, which is largely based on a false image of the United States and what it's doing. It's quite easy to see how the Iranians would come to this conclusion. Maybe it's easy to see how some people in the United States would come to the conclusion about Iran.
It does go back to the revolution of 1978-1979 and the subsequent hostage crisis. But actually it goes back much further than that. One has to understand that Iran, throughout the 19th century and early 20th century, was dominated by Russia and by Great Britain. They were really in sort of a neocolonial state. It was said during the late 19th century that Iran was governed from the Russian embassy and from the British embassy. The British and the Russians divided Iran up into spheres of influence. The British took the south and the Russians took the north.
After World War II, in the Iranian mind, the Russians were supplanted by the Soviet Union and Great Britain was supplanted by the United States. After Great Britain pulled out of the Persian Gulf in 1971, the United States moved with great force to try to cement its relationship with the Shah and created what they called a twin-pillars policy, where Iran and Saudi Arabia would defend the oil-rich Persian Gulf region from incursion by the Soviet Union.
Iran saw this as a continuation of this outside influence from other nations, with the United States inheriting the mantle of the British. The installation of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1952, with the coup that was engineered by the CIA against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, was really a kind of key event in U.S.-Iranian relations. Iranians have never forgotten that. They see that the United States is continually trying to interfere with their internal affairs. So anything that provides evidence for that kind of interference in Iranian internal affairs is seen as yet another sin on the part of the United States. Whether, in fact, the United States intended it that way or not, that evidence is continually cited as an example of how the United States is really an evil force trying to influence Iranian affairs from outside.
Then the Iran-Iraq War, where the United States tilted toward Iraq, is another example of evidence that Iranians have of the United States trying to interfere with their internal affairs. And, frankly, during the George W. Bush administration, there were members of the administration who openly and actively said that our real goal in Iran is to get rid of the Iranian government, to effect regime change, to get rid of the mullahs.
With those kinds of evidence, the internal Iranian dialogue with regard to the United States is actually very harsh. The sanctions are a part of this. The sanctions are a part of what Iranians see as yet another example of the United States unreasonably trying to affect internal affairs in Iran. Quite honestly, again during the George W. Bush administration, we had people in the State Department who openly said, "The sanctions are in place so that the Iranian people will be so upset with their own government that they will rise up and overthrow their own government and install a more reasonable government. And if we keep putting on the pressure, then that will continue to happen."
Again, you can see how the impression might be made in Iran that the United States is continually putting on the pressure to try to dominate Iran politically and to overthrow the government internally.
Of course, when you present this to people in the United States, they throw up their hands and say, "No, we're not really trying to do that at all," but you can see how these impressions grow.
DAVID SPEEDIE: Coming to the present time, our mutual friend Gary Sick, at Columbia University, wrote a piece just a couple of days ago on the question of the U.S. role in the Gulf and specifically in Iran. He describes the Obama doctrine or policy statement in the Gulf as "unusually parsimonious and candid." [Editor's note: Check out David Speedie's September 2013 interview with Gary Sick right after President Rouhani's speech to the UN General Assembly.]
I won't go through all the details, but essentially it speaks of the de-emphasis on liberty, democracy, human rights, etc., in favor of basically two things: the Iranian nuclear issue and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Do you see the Obama doctrine, as Gary describes it, in the context of a new and more reasonable regime in Tehran—do you have any degree of optimism?
WILLIAM BEEMAN: The Iranians are actually quite anxious to have better relations with the United States. They have been for quite some time.
The function of the sanctions has really been quite unclear. They were established right after the Iranian Revolution and they were renewed and increased several times over the last 40, 50 years, even during the Clinton administration. The nuclear issue was never on the table at that time. The sanctions had really almost no directed function. There was some idea that Iran was supporting outside groups like Hezbollah and they should stop doing that, and then the sanctions would stop. It has only been since 2003 that they have been directed toward the nuclear program, because that was never an issue before 2003.
The Iranians have been actually quite puzzled as to why the sanctions are even in place, and they would like to see them removed. They point out that if, in fact, the sanctions were lifted, there would be a boom in economic trade between the United States and Europe and Iran.
Even the very, very preliminary talks that took place in Geneva to try to get the Vienna talks in place, where a little bit of the Iranian assets were released, triggered an absolute flood of American and European businessmen in Tehran. There were really thousands of businessmen going to Iran, bankers and other people, because they anticipated that the sanctions would ultimately be lifted. They are ready and willing and waiting to try to conduct trade with Iran.
This actually triggered a bit of an alarm in the United States and a statement by President Obama saying, "Look, nothing has happened yet, and anybody who violates the trade sanctions is going to be subject to legal sanctions by the United States."
There is a great willingness on the part of Iran to try to regularize relations with the United States, and at least in the U.S. business sphere, there's great pressure on the White House to try to regularize these relations.
The big pushback is, quite honestly, with Israel and with the Israeli lobby and also, on the other hand, with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's concerns are very different than the Israeli concerns. Saudi Arabia has a large population of Shia Muslims. They are largely Sunni Muslims. The Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia live in the areas that are oil-rich. Essentially, the Shia community is sitting on top of Saudi Arabia's oil wells, and they are worried that if the United States becomes more friendly with Iran, then they are going to have trouble with their own Shia population, just as the Shias, who are a majority in Bahrain, right across a bridge from the Shia area in Saudi Arabia, have created great consternation for the Saudis.
This is why we have this very strange alliance between—it's not a real alliance, but, I guess, a common thought that Iran can't be getting closer to the United States, on the part of both Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are themselves enemies, of course. But their reasons are very different.
DAVID SPEEDIE: Finally, Professor Beeman—we only have a minute or so—back to my comment at the beginning about us being focused so much on Russia-Ukraine, sometimes these issues do hang together. The P5+1 is already perhaps not the most robust of international coalitions. Do you see tensions from the Ukraine crisis, the annexation of Crimea, impacting the group dynamic and final-deal negotiations, specifically the Russia-Iran relationship coming into play? I realize it's a rather complicated question to answer in a minute or so, but if you could give us just your basic idea on that.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: It is a very strange dynamic. The Iranians, in a rather gentle way, are really supportive of the Russians. I will point out to you that Iran is very sensitive to the fact that forces in the United States have fomented internal revolutions in a number of the post-Soviet countries—Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Ukraine. That's a very important point. Ukraine had a revolution, and the United States was very active in that. The push of Ukraine toward Europe was seen as largely instigated by the United States and by other forces.
Iran looks at these developments and says, "Well, the United States seems to be trying to get rid of us, too." So they make common cause with the Russians in the sense that they don't want the United States to be successful in fomenting internal change in countries where there are existing interests.
So they have been rather sympathetic toward the Russians in the Ukrainian situation. And, as you know, the Russians have been supportive of Iran in the negotiations, in saying that they don't believe the sanctions are justified and that Iran is not manufacturing nuclear weapons. I think in that regard the Russians are telling the truth.
DAVID SPEEDIE: On that thought-provoking note, thank you for some candid and thought-provoking opinions throughout, Professor Beeman.
Again, Professor William Beeman, University of Minnesota, joining us to speak on the P5+1 negotiations going on in Vienna.
Thank you so much, Professor, for your time in joining us this morning.
WILLIAM BEEMAN: You're most welcome.
DAVID SPEEDIE: The views expressed by Professor Beeman are based on 40 years of study of Iran and the nuclear question. There will be a forthcoming response and commentary on the P5+1 talks by Joseph Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, in the next Security Bulletin.
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— North Carolina would create 43,000 jobs and draw down $21 billion in federal funding over five years if state leaders agreed to expand Medicaid as allowed by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report conducted by George Washington University researchers and sponsored by the Cone Health Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
"At county levels, if Medicaid is not expanded by 2016, Mecklenburg and Wake counties would crate about 4,500 fewer jobs each by 2020," says the report, which argues Medicaid expansion could drive down the state
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typically used, e.g. who gets access to certain accounts or contacts?
Salesforce.com User Record
User Record - Definition
A user record represents a single person or entity who is a user of salesforce.com. All other security components act on the user record to determine that user’s level of access to functionality and visibility of data.
User Record - Use
The user record is typically used for each person, employee, customer or partner accessing Salesforce.com. It can also be leveraged to associate users with territories, public groups, and other variables that may be utilized in other parts of the application. Another common use is assigning user records to applications that need to access Salesforce data such as data management tools, ETL integration middleware, etc. This is a great way to identify records that have been touched, imported or modified by an external application. There is also a hierarchical relationship-type that is unique to the user object. This is used to relate users to other users, which can then be leveraged in approval processes. e.g. An approval process requires VP approval, which is several roles above a user, so the direct relationship can be established and this hierarchical relationship field is leveraged in the approval process.
Salesforce.com Role Hierarchy
Role Hierarchy - Definition
The role hierarchy allows administrators to specify whether users have access to data owned by or shared with their subordinates in the hierarchy. The role hierarchy works in conjunction with Organization-Wide Defaults (OWDs) to determine the base level of access granted to records through the hierarchy.
Role Hierarchy - Use
The role hierarchy in Salesforce is used primarily for record access, reporting, forecasting, dashboard, and content purposes.
Roles effectively segregate users into logical groups, typically based on organizational structure, although this is not a requirement. It’s useful to follow the organizational/corporate structure all of the corporation’s employees who are using Salesforce. In this case, it’s logical to follow the corporate structure for approval processes and reporting.
Managers are able to filter down lists and reports to view only records they and members of their team own.
A common use is to group a global organization first by continental grouping, per corporate structure, then by job function. e.g. North America > Sales VP > Sales Manager > Sales Rep.
Salesforce.com Security Organization-Wide Defaults (OWDs)
OWD - Definition
OWDs can be established to dictate the visibility of records within each object in the database. The options for most objects include:
Private: Access to record is limited to record owner, users above owner in the role hierarchy, unless sharing rules or account teams grant access to additional users
Access to record is limited to record owner, users above owner in the role hierarchy, unless sharing rules or account teams grant access to additional users Public Read-Only: All users in the organization can access the records within the object, regardless of ownership and role hierarchy, but not edit the record unless ownership, role hierarchy, sharing rules or account teams grant edit access
All users in the organization can access the records within the object, regardless of ownership and role hierarchy, but not edit the record unless ownership, role hierarchy, sharing rules or account teams grant edit access Public Read/Write: All users in the organization can access and edit the records within the object, regardless of ownership and Role Hierarchy
All users in the organization can access and edit the records within the object, regardless of ownership and Role Hierarchy Controlled by Parent: Record access is dependent upon settings of its parent object. This is typically only possible where a certain type of relationship (master-detail) exists between the objects. This is also available on standard objects such as contacts, being controlled by accounts
OWD - Use
Organization-Wide Defaults are the cornerstone of the Salesforce security model. In most cases, a hybrid model is used, where some objects are public, and others are private. For customer-obsessed organizations, an open security model can be leveraged so any employee can engage your clients, regardless or their department. Empower employees by giving them access to the data they need to provide exceptional customer service. Don’t you just hate it when you get bounced around customer service departments as no-one can access your account history!?
Salesforce.com Public Groups
Public Groups - Definition
A public group represents a custom group of users defined by an administrator. Users can be added to a public group individually, or based on their assignment to a role (and its subordinates). Once an administrator has created a public group, other users in the organization can use it for security, content, and knowledge.
Public Group - Use
There are seemingly countless uses for public groups, the primary of which is to arrange bigger sets of users, into a group. So if you remember from our role hierarchy discussion, you could have several roles under the North American region, but what if you want a simple way to share all accounts in USA with all users in USA + a legal team? You could add both of these roles + subordinates to one group. This just makes things a little easier to manage. For example, if you have a new role that needs to be added to several sharing rules, rather than editing all sharing rules, you could add them to one group, and now that role inherits all sharing. Later, we’ll discuss what actually happens ‘under the security covers’ when sharing rules, roles, groups, and ownership changes. Pretty crazy stuff.
Salesforce.com Sharing Rule
Sharing Rule - Definition
Sharing rules allow administrators to automatically bypass organization-wide sharing settings. Sharing rules can open visibility to users in public groups, roles and territories, but are never used to restrict visibility. Sharing Rules can also be driven from specific criteria on the record that you are creating the rule on. The data used for criteria must reside on the object in the sharing rule.
Sharing Rule - Use
As you can tell from the name, sharing rules are used to share groups of records with groups of people. Since they are available in all standard and custom objects, you have a lot of flexibility here. They are really only used if the OWD for a certain object is anything other than public read/write. For example, you could open up read/write access to an operations team when the OWD dictates it’s read-only for everyone else (aside from record owners & those above them in the role hierarchy).
Salesforce.com Account and Opportunity Teams
Account and Opportunity Teams - Definition
An account/opportunity team is a group of users that work together on an account/opportunity. For example, your account team may include an executive sponsor, dedicated support representative, and project manager.
You can build an account team on each account that you own. When selecting an account team member, choose a role to indicate the role the person plays on the account. Also, depending on your sharing model, you can specify the level of access each account team member will have to the account and any contacts, opportunities, or cases associated with that account. So, you can give some team members read-only access and others read/write access.
Account and Opportunity Teams - Use
Per the definition, account and opportunity teams are primarily used for team selling and team account management. Users can also set up a default account/opportunity team. The default account/opportunity team should include the users that you normally work with on your accounts/opportunities. You have the option to automatically add your default account team to all of your accounts or a default opportunity team to all of your opportunities. A common use of default teams would be if the same group of users always work together on accounts or opportunities., e.g. the Sales Rep John Doe is always supported by Sales Engineer, John Smith.
In a custom list view, you can filter account/opportunity lists by the account/opportunity teams in which you are a member. When creating or editing a custom list view for accounts/opportunities, simply select the My Account/My Opportunities teams filter. In account/opportunity reports, you can filter accounts/opportunities by the account/opportunity teams in which you are a member.
Force.com Managed Sharing and Implicit Sharing
Force.com Managed Sharing and Implicit Sharing - Definition
Force.com managed sharing involves sharing access granted by Force.com based on record ownership, role hierarchy, and sharing rules. Effectively, this is what's happening ‘under the covers’ of our cloud security blanket and how Salesforce associates additional users with records, implied through role hierarchy, rules, etc. The sharing capabilities of the Force.com platform include a wide variety of features that administrators can use to explicitly grant access to data for individuals and groups. In addition to these more familiar functions, there are a number of sharing behaviors that are built into Salesforce applications. This kind of sharing is called implicit because it is not configured by administrators; it is defined and maintained by the system to support collaboration among members of sales teams, customer service representatives, and clients or customers.
Implicit sharing:
Is performed on accounts, contacts, cases and opportunities only
Grants access to a parent account—if you have access to a child contact, case or opportunity record of an account, you have implicit read only access on that account
Grants access to child entities—if you have access to a parent account, you may also have access to the associated contact, case or opportunity child entities. access is configured per child object within a role
Force.com Managed Sharing and Implicit Sharing - Use
So, there’s not really anything I can suggest here since this is not configurable. It is simply what Salesforce does in the background to ensure your users are seeing what you’d expect them to see when you assign users to a role or transfer ownership. However, since it happens whether you like it or not, it must be considered as performance could be jeopardised if mass ownership transfers are happening. Even if you’re only transferring 1000 records, millions of recalculations of data access can be happening behind the scenes.
Group Membership Operations and Sharing Recalculation
The Salesforce role hierarchy, public groups, and territories are closely connected to sharing rules and the special security features of Salesforce applications. Because of these relationships, seemingly simple changes to groups and group membership can sometimes involve substantial recalculations of users’ access rights. For example, when an administrator moves a user from one branch of the hierarchy to another, Salesforce performs all of the following actions to ensure that other users have correct access to data owned by that relocated user.
If the user:
Is the first member in his or her new role to own any data, Salesforce adds or removes access to the user’s data for people who are above the user’s new or old role in the hierarchy.
Has a new role with different settings for accessing contacts, cases, and opportunities, Salesforce does the following to reflect the change in settings: Adds shares to those child objects where the new settings are more permissive Removes existing shares where the new settings are more restrictive
Owns any accounts that have been enabled for either the customer or partner portals, Salesforce removes any child portal roles from the user’s original role and adds them as children to the user’s new role. Note: Salesforce also adjusts boss-implicit shares, which provide access in the hierarchy to records owned by or shared to portal users. Salesforce must perform these tasks for every portal-enabled account the user owns.
Salesforce also recalculates all sharing rules that include the user’s old or new role in the source group. It removes all of the user’s records from the scope of sharing rules where the old role is the source group and adds those records to the scope of rules where the new role is the source. Depending on the sharing rule settings for accounts, Salesforce might also add or remove shares to account child records.
Note: If the user owns portal accounts, and there are sharing rules that use portal roles as the source group, Salesforce might need to recalculate those rules. Some sharing rules may no longer be valid given the user’s new location in the hierarchy, in which case an administrator might need to modify or delete them. During the user’s move, the managers in the branch above the user’s old role lose access to all the data that the user owns, as well as to child records shared through the managers’ role settings. Managers in the branch above the user’s new role will gain access to the user’s accounts and to child records according to their own role settings. See: Designing Record Access for Enterprise Scale
Well, there we have it, all the components on the Force.com platform that dictate data security. However, this is only half the story. In my next post, The Definitive Guide to Salesforce Security: 102, I cover Force.com application security. Topics will include security profiles, permission sets, field-level security, etc.
A special thanks to Julie Harden and Brendan Conroy for their contributions to this guide.
Keep up with the evolution of Salesforce security in 2016 with our guide for IT professionals: download it here.Reuters reports that the plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against Google have finally withdrawn their case. The case, which was brought against Google nearly a year ago, accused the company of being anticompetitive with several of its Search and Android practices.
Samsung U28E590D 28-Inch 4K Monitor
Essentially, the case centered around the idea that Google was forcing Android manufacturers to give its services and apps a more prominent placement on devices. The plaintiffs in the case said that this ended up increasing the price of Android devices for consumers. Google has always been adamant that it is possible to use Android without Google, however, and that the amount of variety in the Android spectrum has actually driven prices of smartphones down.
The case was dismissed by a California judge in February of this year, but with the option for the plaintiffs to return with stronger evidence to support their claims. With plaintiffs withdrawing their case, though, Google is now in the clear with this specific lawsuit.
Google has faced other antitrust allegations in the European Union and United States recently. In the EU, the European Commission is reportedly gearing up to announce charges against Google for its anticompetitive Search practices. In the United States, however, Google was cleared of charges after an elaborate FTC investigation. The results from that investigation likely contributed to the dismissal and now withdrawal of this class-action suit against the company.The lawyer representing the family of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has alleged that potential jurors may be too scared to take part in the case against his alleged killers.
The Moscow District Military Court was unable to form a jury for the Nemtsov trial on Wednesday after 45 of the 59 potential jurors refused to be involved in the Nemtsov case for “personal reasons.”
“It's suspicious that so many people [refused to serve],” said lawyer Vadim Prokhorov. “It seems to me that people are simply scared of whoever ordered this crime,” he told the Interfax news agency Wednesday.
The jury selection process is still ongoing, but it may take some time before a new committee is formed, said Prokhorov.
The court will repeat its jury selection process on Sept. 28.
Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot in the back in a drive-by shooting while walking across Moscow's Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, close to Red Square, on Feb. 27, 2015.In the last article, we concluded by saying that HTTP manages the interactions between a client and a server, and explained the notion of HTTP headers. There will be a lot more to say about these later on in this article series: they influence interactions and performance. In the meantime, let’s look at an equally important and related aspect of these interactions: HTTP Response codes.
A stroll through the streets
One morning, I took a walk to go to a coffee shop and read a book. To my surprise, when I arrived there, the shop was closed. A message on the door said that during this week a festival was being held, so the coffee would be served temporary in their food truck — “The 307” — near the river. I went there and enjoyed the coffee.
Next I decided “This is a good day for browsing in a bookshop — I’ll head to my favourite bookshop in town.” When I got there, I found that the shop was unfortunately closed, but all was not lost: there was a message on the door saying that the bookshop needed more space and they had permanently moved to a new building at “301, Berners-Lee Street”. “Cool,” I said to myself, “that’s not very far away — I’ll go and visit them.” When I arrived there, the employees recognised me, greeting me in 200 ways. OK, I’m exaggerating, but you get the idea!
On my way back home, at number “410 Berners-Lee Street”, there was a shop with dust gathering on the window. A notice from the owner said that they applied for bankruptcy and had to close, for ever gone. I was then even more surprised when I arrived at the end of the street, number “500, Berners-Lee”: a full 4 storey building had completely collapsed. I’m not sure what happened there!
Anyway, it was very good day overall, and I thought I’d round it off by writing about HTTP codes sent by the server in response to the client making requests.
HTTP Response Syntax and Status Line
In the last article, we touched upon the first line of the response syntax sent by clients (including the methods). This time we will focus mainly on the first line of the response message coming from the server, and what the different codes that can appear in that line mean. Note that these two types of message — request and response — are very similar. As stated in the HTTP/1.1 revision (still at work but almost finished):
An HTTP message can either be a request from client to server or a response from server to client. Syntactically, the two types of message differ only in the start-line, which is either a request-line (for requests) or a status-line (for responses), and in the algorithm for determining the length of the message body (Section 3.3).
The first line in the response is called the status-line. The line starts with the HTTP protocol version, a space, a 3-digit integer code, a space and finally an explanation sentence. Here is an example:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Note that the short explanation sentence is completely optional and should be ignored by clients; a script should not rely on it for processing purposes. Let’s go through some of the most common status codes and look at their intended meaning.
Server and HTTP Response Codes
200, ok — everything is fine!
Each time someone wants to visit Opera’s home page, a client requests a https://www.opera.com/ by sending this kind of message:
GET / HTTP/1.1 Host: www.opera.com Accept-Language: fr User-Agent: BrowseAndDream/1.0
The server will analyse the message from the client and give an answer according to what it has understood from the URI and the headers. As said in previous articles, it’s all about managing an interaction to the best ability of the two parties: the client and the server.
If understood, the server will respond to the request with a message starting with 200 OK — everything is fine, the request has been successful. This message will contain a few HTTP Response headers and the page’s content, which might vary depending on the client HTTP request headers; there is no absolute answer. As with any negotiation, this is a dialog to find the best compromise for both parties. Here is an example response to our above request:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012, 13:56:44 GMT
307, moved temporarily elsewhere
The server could respond to the client with a message stating that the content has been temporary moved to a new location. This is useful when you want to redirect a client to a specific page for a little while. For example, imagine a Web address giving the weather forecast for Taipei, and there has lately a very strong typhoon. It would be a good idea to inform users specifically about the typhoon, until it has passed. The request might look like this:
GET /taiwan/weather/today HTTP/1.1 Host: meteo.example.org
The server might want to reply to the client saying “here is a page elsewhere that will give you very specific information about the current crisis in Taipei.”. The response would look something like this:
HTTP/1.1 307 Temporary Redirect Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012, 13:56:44 GMT Location: http://meteo.example.org/taiwan/weather/crisis
Usually browser clients automatically follow the redirection to the new address mentioned in the Location line. The redirection could be to another domain on the Web. Once the crisis is finished, the redirection will be removed from the server. A client is not supposed to remember that redirection as something definitive. That’s important in the case of bookmarks or history. It would be perfectly possible to program a client to manage these redirections in a meaningful way.
Even though such redirects are not seen by the user in most browsers, it would be possible to create a body (the payload of the HTTP message) with a short message giving a link to the new location, to allow the user to click through to it.
301, address changed permanently
When managing information on a Web site, sometimes we really need to inform the client (and its users) that a web page has changed address permanently. In a company, sometimes business units are reorganised, through mergers or a change of priorities. Let’s say that in a technology company the electromechanical unit has been absorbed completely by the electronics division. A client requesting
GET /section/electromech/about HTTP/1.1 Host: inc.example.com
could be redirected to the following:
HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012, 13:56:44 GMT Location: http://inc.example.com/section/electronic/about
The difference between this status, and the previous 307 code we looked at, is that this change is permanent and the server is sending a clear message to the client that if it has bookmarks that have the old URI in memory, it might be time to adjust to the new URI. This could be handled automatically or via a user confirmation.
There are also two direct benefits of redirecting old URIs to the new ones. You create trust for your users by maintaining the information and showing that you care about the information you are managing. The second benefit comes with the stability of the resources. Web sites with a reputation for maintaining their links will be more likely to have other sites linking to them on a long term basis, hence improving its search engine karma.
410, this is the end — my only friend, the end
Sometimes a Web site needs to say to the client that the information that existed at this precise URI is gone forever. There might be good reasons to do that. We all know that cool URIs don’t break; 410 Gone is the appropriate way of “breaking them”. More exactly it is a way to tell users that the content previously available at this URI has been intentionally deleted. The server is informing clients accessing the resource that they should not remember the URI. In a system that has bookmarks or a history log, it is a way to tell the client (and its user) that this can be safely erased. Imagine the case of a social network, and requesting a specific user’s page:
GET /people/jeanpaulsartres HTTP/1.1 Host: socialnetwork.example.com
The person no longer wants to be part of your social network and has decided to close their account. On the server side, you might want to warn other users accessing the URI because they might have it in their bookmarks or history:
HTTP/1.1 410 Gone
500, I have a bad feeling about this
Sometimes the server is unable to answer the request without knowing why. HTTP doesn’t deal at all with the way the web sites are working, for example how the data are stored in a database, or how the server-side code retrieves and manipulates that data. The server might have delivered the request to some internal software but not got an appropriate answer. So the server notifies the client and its user that there is something wrong happening that it is not sure about with a response like this:
HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error
Implementing response status lines in web servers
When designing a system to manage content, separating the layers out into resources and their URIs is essential. It helps when answering client requests with the right information. Serving content to software or a person is something crafted in the fabric of time. The information evolves, changes. Caring about that in advance makes the system more flexible. Giving all code strategies for implementing server responses is not the purpose of this article, but the following examples should at least give you a starting point, although be warned that they probably won’t scale very well to large operations involving thousands of URIs.
Redirecting with Apache
If we want to redirect http://inc.example.com/section/electromech/about to http://inc.example.com/section/electronic/about, one way of doing it is to put an.htaccess file at the root of our site with the following instructions:
RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^/section/electromech/about /section/electronic/about [L,R=301]
Note: There are other ways to handle this as well: through httpd.conf, through databases, through scripting, etc. It depends on the way your system is built.
Redirecting with nginx
Nginx is another frequently used server, more specifically for Content Delivery Networks. The above example rewritten for nginx would look like so:
server { listen 80; server_name inc.example.com; rewrite ^/section/electromech/about http://inc.example.com/section/electronic/about permanent; }
HTTP codes, we are family
Above we have looked at just a few of the available HTTP codes; there are many others. Some are very well-known, such as 404 Not Found, but others are quite obscure and don’t crop up very often. Whatever the case, the first digit is always an indication of the family of codes they belong to:
1xx (Informational): Request received, continuing process.
(Informational): Request received, continuing process. 2xx (Successful): The action was successfully received, understood, and accepted.
(Successful): The action was successfully received, understood, and accepted. 3xx (Redirection): Further action needs to be taken in order to complete the request.
(Redirection): Further action needs to be taken in order to complete the request. 4xx (Client Error): The request contains bad syntax or cannot be fulfilled.
(Client Error): The request contains bad syntax or cannot be fulfilled. 5xx (Server Error): The server failed to fulfil an apparently valid request.
Summary
And that brings us to the end of our study of HTTP status codes. I encourage you to explore each HTTP code, and familiarise yourself with their purposes. Some have particular consequences for caching and the resource payload of the HTTP message; we will look at caching next time around.
What you need to rememberComment In the middle of the Major years (back in the 1990s), David Mellor, then a Cabinet minister (whose fascination for female toes was discussed by the tabloids, in the "public interest" of course) famously said that the press were drinking at "the last chance saloon". Fifteen years of hard drinking later, the recent events into phone hacking have shown that some journalists and editors were too drunk to notice.
In this fast-moving field, there are four data protection issues to watch out for. These are:
The hacking issue is not limited to the News of the World ;
; The absence of a custodial sentence in section 55;
The Courts interpretation of Special Purpose exemption; and
The role of the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice.
For good measure, I suggest a solution to this mess which does not mean the government are controlling the press: we need a free press, but not this free perhaps.
The issue is not limited to the News of the World
The Information Commissioner has documented in his What Price Privacy? series that the practice of hacking is likely to be endemic. He reported that the invoice trail indicated that the few private investigators he had investigated had delivered "services" to the following tabloid newspapers:
Daily/Sunday Mail had paid for 1,218 investigations to be undertaken by private investigators on behalf of up to 91 different journalists. The Daily/Sunday Mirror ordered 824 investigations on behalf of up to 70 journalists. The Sunday People ordered 802 investigations involving up to 50 journalists, and the News of the World (the paper of current interest) had ordered 228 transactions of up to 33 journalists.
The evidence above suggests there were large number of invasions of privacy by hacking and the News of the World are not the only culprits. Any ministerial attempt to limit any inquiry to the Murdoch empire is an attempt to limit the scope of any inquiry.
The absence of a custodial sentence at section 55
The Labour government had greeted the What Price Privacy reports by conceding the need for custodial sentences. However in 2008, it backed down over its plans to introduce jail sentences of up to two years for those who obtained personal data by underhand methods. Although, it tabled two amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 signifying the custodial offence was coming; the actual implementation of the custodial sentence needed the Minister to exercise his powers and lay an order before Parliament.
As there was no use of these powers, the effect of the amendments was to maintain the status quo of the current Section 55 offence and further delay any custodial element. The changes also created a new defence for journalists to the Section 55 offence which is operational.
Eighteen months of New Labour inaction followed. In the autumn of 2009, the Ministry of Justice tabled a consultation document on "The knowing or reckless misuse of personal data". This consultation ended in January 2009 and since the General Election was looming, the product of that consultation was quietly dropped. The reason for this can be found in my blog of 12th Feb 2010, where I wrote:
"The sticking point (of commencing the custodial offence) I suspect is the application of the offence to the special purposes and in particular journalism. It has dawned on the government that embracing legislation which could imprison journalists has very little to commend it when a general election is looming. One can also imagine the fuss if this measure was actually passed by a Parliament full of MPs whose credibility is about zero, thanks the expenses scandal."
However, back to the main point. When ex-Labour Ministers or MPs claim invasion of privacy on our TV screens in the next few days, remember: they had their chance to do something about it, and blew it.
The courts' interpretation of Special Purpose exemption
The courts have changed how Section 32 works in the way Parliament did not intend. Back in 1997, Lord Wakenham for the Press Complaints Commission came to an agreement with the government of the day in Section 32 that was endorsed by Parliament. This was that there was an exemption for the Press (except the 7th Principle) up to the point of publication.
Lord Phillips (para 127 and 128 of Naomi Campbell*) has made an interpretation of section 32 which effectively ignores this agreement which said the exemption only applied prior to publication, to one that continues after the time of publication.
The result is that the Information Commissioner has been denuded of his few powers in relation to the press. Whether he should do is another matter, but at the moment the government has not made any attempt to address the Court's finding – mainly one suspects of fear of antagonising the press.
The role of the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice
The Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice has already been identified as being relevant, but the Code is not a statutory Code. For instance, Section 32(3) in relation to the Special Purpose states:
In considering for the Special Purposes "... whether the belief of a data controller that publication would be in the public interest was or is a reasonable one, regard may be had to his compliance with any code of practice which: (a) is relevant to the publication in question, and
(b) is designated by the Secretary of State by order for the purposes of this subsection".
The Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice has been identified in the "The Data Protection (Designated Codes of Practice) (No. 2) Order 2000" as being relevant. However, if Section 32, following Lord Philips interpretation that S.32 applies all the time, then the Code has become irrelevant to data protection compliance as there is nothing really to have regard for! The exemption applies: full stop.
My solution to this mess
1. Make the Press Complaints Code of Practice a statutory Code of Practice (similar to the data sharing Code of Practice) where failure to comply with the Code's terms must be taken into account by the courts and Commissioner when looking at a problem. This will add "bite" to the compensation provisions in Section 13 where data subjects can take action on grounds of distress alone. Note that the change ensures that a newspaper has to take the Code of Practice seriously. Make the Press Complaints Code of Practice a statutory Code of Practice (similar to the data sharing Code of Practice) where failure to comply with the Code's terms must be taken into account by the courts and Commissioner when looking at a problem. This will add "bite" to the compensation provisions in Section 13 where data subjects can take action on grounds of distress alone. Note that the change ensures that a newspaper has to take the Code of Practice seriously. 2. Reverse Lord Phillip's remarks in Campbell so the consensus agreed in 1998 is restored: namely, that the S.32 exemption applies only up to the point of publication. This would give the Commissioner back his powers (Special Information/Enforcement Notice), AFTER publication. You would also have Monetary Penalty Notices in relation to security breaches by the press – you know the accidental disclosures that happen on Twitter. 3. Make sure the Commissioner can call on public funds if he "takes on" the press (or assists data subjects) in the courts if there is an issue of "public interest" to resolve. If you don't have this, he will not be able to fund the legal case. 4. Give the Commissioner the power to serve a Notice that can require changes to the Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. Any such change to be subject to the usual notice procedures (eg, to the Tribunal), so that differences in view can be resolved by a judicial process, having regard to the importance of freedom of expression.
The Duke of Wellington is famously supposed to have said "Publish and be damned" in 1824 when a publisher threatened to reveal details of a tryst. Nearly 200 years later, there is still a lot of "damning" yet to be done. ®
* Lord Phillip’s comments at Para 128 of [2002] EWCA 1373: Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers.
This story originally appeared at HAWKTALK, the blog of Amberhawk Training Ltd.Here are the 15 most amazing numbers from this game. Now prepare for the saddest pictures.
Michigan had five times as many touchdowns as Rutgers had first downs. pic.twitter.com/JKwwMujdtJ — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 9, 2016
Rutgers' twitter account stopped providing live updates of the Michigan game at 14-0. Seven touchdowns ago pic.twitter.com/q3aQfuK9G9 — Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) October 9, 2016
"Poaching" is one angle. "Getting these kids the fuck out of New Jersey" is the other. pic.twitter.com/FpysL2l7km — Andy Reid (@misterAndyReid) October 8, 2016
CONGRATS ON THE FIRST DOWN, RUTGERS https://t.co/Cn9HgR3r0g pic.twitter.com/Sx1B4bZVqZ — SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) October 9, 2016
Rutgers invited something like 250 recruits to its 78-point loss last night https://t.co/O8KM59S15a — SB✯Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) October 9, 2016
(Rutgers fires that cannon after its own touchdowns, of which there have been none since Sept. 24. Michigan fans spent the evening encouraging the cannon operators to go rogue.)
CFB in your inbox, everyday, for free! Get an original mini-column on the college football thing of the day, plus news, links, and fun stuff! Email:
Elsewhere!
Oh right, Georgia and South Carolina played Sunday football. What you should know: UGA ran for the W, and Will Muschamp was bleeding from the lip.
Think about this moment the next time you make Nick Saban robot devil jokes. I sure will.
Danny O'Brien, the Tennessee player who was stretchered off on Saturday, tweets that he's doing fine.
New bowl projections, with suspiciously clear Playoff paths for a few teams at the top.
LSU-Florida! What if other SEC games moved around in order to make room for it?
Hi, an Arkansas professor was arrested shortly after screaming and cussing at Bret Bielema.
This Adoree' Jackson interception looks like what happens when a cat falls off a bookshelf and sticks the landing.
Utah's head coach has beef with Arizona's defensive line.
USF is really good. Its fan support looks really bad.
Podcast Ain't Played Nobody sprints through its own top 25, including an Alabama that's actually fun to watch!
The Solid Verbal, on Week 7 and the Zombie Vols.
And finally...This week's United Nations climate talks are being held in the oil-rich Middle East -- a region now making a strategic shift to renewable energy. While some people may find it ironic that countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are making massive investments in renewable energy, we think it is absolutely fitting and a logical step.
Since the first oil concessions were signed in the Middle East, our hydrocarbon resources have been the backbone of economic growth. Today, those same resources are providing the financial underpinning for an economic transformation the world has never before seen.
Leveraging decades of expertise gained as exporters of conventional energy, the Middle East, and in particular the Gulf, is now poised to become exporters of clean, renewable energy. And the addition of renewable energy is critical to our long-term economic diversification. The region is also embracing the realities of climate change, energy access and security, and heavily invested in accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the government is planning a $109 billion investment to develop 41 gigawatts of solar power. That's enough electricity to power three million U.S. homes. And just like the rest of the world, Saudi Arabia needs to diversify its own energy mix to keep up with the rising demand for electricity.
In the UAE, we have embarked on a program to transform our economy from one based on resource depletion to one based on resource enrichment. By focusing on education and developing our tremendous human capital, we are working to empower our most important resource -- our
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87.
CLOSE Insider Nate Taylor provides his thoughts on the Pacers trading Paul George to the Thunder. Nate Taylor/IndyStar
“I like that it’s back in Indiana,” Oladipo said of his NBA debut before the game. “A lot of people are going to be here that I know. My family is going to be here and they can share this special moment with me.
“It’s crazy. It’s a great feeling to come out here and see all these people in red. It’s just a blessing to be here. I’ve been praying about it, asking God for it and now it’s finally come true. I’m going to enjoy it.”
After the game, in which Oladipo received numerous ovations, the former Hoosiers star was appreciative of the support.
“It was amazing,” Oladipo said. “I got a lot of love out there. It was pretty impressive for them to come out tonight and support and watch me. I’m grateful and thankful.”
Bonus: In 2015, Oladipo donated $15,000 to breast cancer research at the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. The money was a portion of his winnings from the slam dunk contest and a social media fundraiser at the NBA's All-Star weekend. He finished second in the slam dunk contest.ABC, Fox News, and Rasmussen now have polls suggesting Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton nationally and for the first time during this campaign RealClearPolitics 'tracker' has Trump with a 0.2pt lead - the unofficial "death cross" of Clinton's campaign as Wayne Allyn Root right remarks "Hillary is sinking faster than the Titanic." Voters are putting their money where their polls are too as bookies odds of a Hillary victory in November are tumbling.
Hillary's lead has gone as the blue line "death cross"-es below Trump's rising red line...
Source: RealClearPolitics
And the bookies' odds of a Clinton victory in November are sliding to 2-month lows as Trump's hit record highs...
Source: PredictIt
This comes as Mark Cuban said in an interview with NBC anchor Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press," that he would consider being the running mate for either Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton or presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
He said he liked that Clinton “had thought out proposals.” “That's a good thing because at least we get to see exactly where she stands,” he said. "But I think Sen. [Bernie] Sanders has dragged her a little bit too far to the left.” And Cuban, who called himself an independent, said he would also be open to discussing a vice presidential spot with Trump. “I’d have the same conversation for Donald,” he said. "I think Donald has a real chance to win, and that’s scary to a lot of people. But what's scary about it to me is that you can see him now trying to do what he thinks is right to unify the party.”
Either way America remains deeply divided...
And try as they might, The Donald does not fit neatly into the liberal/conservative stereotypes beloved by journalists, especially pinko ones. As CLSA's Chris Wood notes,
The pinko paper’s aggregate demand obsessed Martin Wolf stated this week: “Mr Trump is a misogynist, a racist and a xenophobe” (see Financial Times article “An elite at the mercy of its own creation”, 18 May 2016). Meanwhile, the establishment media’s continuing efforts to disparage The Donald are likely to backfire in GREED & fear’s view because the electorate at large is fed up with politically correct discourse, most particularly white men. On the latter point, GREED & fear’s attention was caught by a poll this week which showed that Trump has a 53% support rating among whites whereas he only has 28% support among Hispanics and a mere 9% among blacks. This is an important point in a country which remains obsessed about “race”, and which politics remains strongly influenced by race, just as Britain remains obsessed by “class” even if no one wants to admit it. Still if Trump’s lack of appeal outside the white world represents a formidable obstacle in an election, it does not mean it is impossible for him to win since whites, for now at least, are still the majority in America accounting for 66% of the voting-age population. This is why national polls are still showing the race to be very close (see above) while polls also show that Trump has a chance of winning key swing states such as Michigan and Florida. Clearly all of the above should be seen in the context of the fact that the election is still six months away. Still it has to be said that The Donald looks a lot more energised than Hillary who also faces the irritation that Bernie Sanders has, for reasons best known to him, still chosen not to exit the race. Indeed Trump looks to GREED & fear to have all the momentum with establishment Republicans almost rushing to endorse him. Remember Americans, more than most cultures, like a winner. Meanwhile, Democrats are beginning to dare to hope that the continuing FBI investigation of Hillary’s emails will trigger an event which will force her to step down from the presidential race providing an excuse for Vice President Joe Biden to emerge as a last-minute candidate. They are hoping this because they believe, probably correctly, that Biden has better prospects against The Donald. Still the longer this takes to happen, assuming it happens at all, the longer The Donald has to build momentum.
Which leads nicely to Wayne Allyn Root's discussion, via Fox, on the collapse of Clinton...
I’ve predicted publicly for a year now that Hillary Clinton, although a prohibitive favorite, still may never become the Democratic Party’s nominee.
Don’t look now, but at this moment Hillary is still far from a sure thing to become the Democratic standard-bearer. This week, she lost Oregon and barely squeaked by in Kentucky. Bernie has now won 11 of the last 14 primaries and caucuses.
I ask Democrats, is this your nominee? The winner of your presidential nomination has lost just shy of 80 percent of her races coming down the homestretch. If Hillary were a racehorse with that record, she’d be sent home.
Call me crazy but don’t presumptive nominees usually win about 80 percent of their races? This has to be the first time in history the leader of her party has lost 80 percent of them. I’m not sure you call someone like that a “leader” or “nominee.” Usually you call someone like that…“loser!”
Hillary is certainly still the favorite — if only because of the scam of superdelegates. The Democratic nomination is basically rigged. Because of those superdelegates Hillary already has the nomination locked up. But she appears to be crawling on her knees, over razor blades, towards the finish line.
First, while she’s the clear-cut delegate winner and we all know that everyone loves a winner, it’s gotta be downright frightening for Democrats that she still can’t put away a wild-eyed radical socialist from Vermont who wants tax rates as high as 90 percent and would add an estimated $18 trillion to the national debt.
Then, there’s the FBI. They are closing in. No matter how many times Hillary or her delusional aides claim the investigation is only a “security inquiry” it doesn’t change reality.
FBI Director Comey recently set them straight. Turns out the FBI doesn’t do “security inquiries.” Hillary is the subject of a “criminal investigation.”
Then there’s that millstone hanging around Hillary’s neck — Bill Clinton. Can you become president when your husband’s past behavior with women raises more questions every day? We’re about to find out.
The stories about Bill’s reckless and possibly criminal behavior keep popping out of the closet. First there’s the beautiful blonde “friend” who got $2 million from the Clinton Global Initiative and another $800,000 in government contracts with Bill’s help. Don’t we all wish we had friends like that?
Worse, there’s the new disclosure that Bill took 26 flights on a sex offender’s plane, an aircraft actually called “The Lolita Express.” It flew nonstop to “Orgy Island” where old men cavorted with young (13 to 15-year old) girls.Bill flew five times on this aircraft without his Secret Service detail. This isn’t a scandal, it’s a disaster for Hillary.
It’s already May and now the question is: Can Hillary crawl past the primary finish line? And if she does, will she be so crippled for the general election that she becomes a sitting duck for Donald Trump?
Have you seen the latest polls? Last week the experts were shocked to see Hillary tied with Trump. This week it got even worse. In the latest Fox News poll Trump leads Hillary.
I have close friends in high Democratic Party circles. Trust me, they are beginning to panic. They are starting to think about Plan B… and that doesn’t include either Hillary or Bernie being their nominee.
So let me lay out a very plausible scenario. What if Hillary’s approval ratings slide continues? What if over the next 60 to 90 days she finds herself down by 5 to 7 points to Trump? What if she goes down by double digits? Would the panic become hysteria?
What if the FBI recommends indicting Hillary over the email scandal — my law enforcement sources tell me this is a very real possibility.
But it gets worse. Have you heard that Russia claims to have 10,000 of Hillary’s hacked emails? They say they will release them. If this is the case, Hillary better stop worrying about the White House and start worrying about the Big House.
Would President Obama allow the Justice Department to indict his former secretary of state? I used to think “no.” But I now believe the answer to that question depends on only one factor — is Hillary beating Trump?
Every Washington insider knows that Obama has no love or loyalty for Hillary.
I’m betting if Obama senses Hillary is a sinking Titanic — and he still has time before the convention — he will throw her under the bus.
At this point, I would guess the president gives Hillary a choice that is no choice at all. Be indicted, lose the presidential race, and risk a long jail term, or announce to the world that your cough has become a real medical issue and you will have to decline the nomination, then receive a presidential pardon.
That means all her delegates become free agents and a new nominee can be substituted at the Democratic convention in July.
I’ve always predicted Obama would prefer Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren as the nominee, or the combination of Biden/Warren. He may yet get his wish. But this much I know:Do you ever find yourself dreaming of having your own business? I think most people do at one time or another (that is, those who aren’t already self-employed). Striking out on your own to blaze an independent career path is an integral part of the American Dream. But is being your own boss something for everyone to pursue? Should you start your own business?
You probably should be self-employed if…
Being self-employed requires, as much as anything else, a different mindset. What makes up that mindset?
You LIVE to work! Some people work to pay the bills, but others live for work itself. This is often a matter of finding the right kind of work, the kind that you truly find fulfilling, and sometimes it’s that you’re on a hot streak and making a lot of money. But what ever it is that drives you, if work is your obsession, having your own business is a natural development.
You’re flexible and creative. Obstacles and difficulties may slow you down, but they never stop you completely. You’ll do what ever you have to do to move forward, and you’re the kind who can think around problems. Most jobs today require an increasing amount of both flexibility and creativity, but when you’re running your own business, you’ll need to have both qualities in unlimited supply!
You’re a self-starter. You don’t need a supervisor setting your agenda—you know what it is you need to do and you’re fully capable of setting and executing the plans that will make it happen.
You have sales skills. No matter what kind of business you might choose to go into, you need sales skills. Having them is often the fundamental difference between an employee and a business owner. Having the right skills or products is an important part of running a business, but nothing happens in the business unless you can sell those skills and products to willing customers.
You’re security drive isn’t very high. A high security drive is to a new business owner what excess weight is to a marathon runner—too much of it will keep you from moving forward. A business owner needs to be able to function effectively in a situation where nothing is guaranteed—not cash flow, customers, supply lines or even employees.
You have “retail skills.” I’m not referring to retail experience here, but of having the type of skills that can be sold directly to the public or to a specific client base. For example, a corporate accountant would have some difficulty translating his skill set into a “product” that could be sold to the general public; a certified public accountant (CPA) would have a much easier time of it because he can prepare tax returns and conduct independent audits.
You’re a natural saver. Income can (and most typically is) a roller coaster when you have your own business. One of the best ways to deal with the income instability is to have a well-fed savings account. If you’re a saver by nature, this will come easily. If you’re not a saver, your business may fail for lack of ability to manage cash.
You probably should NOT be self-employed if…
As much as you might want to go into your own business, there are certain personal preferences that might make it the wrong path to take.
You value your free time. It’s often thought that one of the benefits of self-employment is having more free time, but nothing could be further from the truth. The self-employed typically work longer hours than those on someone else’s paycheck, especially when the business is new. If you like having your evenings and weekends free, you’re probably better off not working for yourself.
The prospect of an un-steady paycheck stresses you. If you like financial predictability, you should work for someone else. There’s much to be said for a steady paycheck, especially one with benefits and paid time off.
Outside interests take up a lot of your time. If your primary interests in life are non-work related, you should work for someone else. When you do, there’s a limit to the amount of time, energy and concern that you need to expend in the earning of your income. That frees up your time and even your mind to concentrate on your outside pastimes.
You live paycheck to paycheck. For many people this is just a way of life, even if no one ever admits to it in public. And when you’re on someone else’s payroll it’s much easier to live on the financial edge—not only will there always be another paycheck coming after the last one, but there are usually benefits in the mix as well.
You’re more comfortable working within a structured environment than working alone. Some people are self-directed—they do their best work when there’s no supervision. Others thrive on structure, order and authority. If you fall into the second category, you’re better off working for someone else.
Never assume you’ll be better off being in your own business. In the end, being self-employed or working for someone else isn’t a matter of one being better than the other—it’s mainly about what works better for you personally. For some that will mean working for someone else; for others it will mean striking out on their own. What’s most important is knowing which will work better for you.
Have you ever worked for yourself and found out that it just wasn’t the right thing for you?10.Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler is a former English striker who played for Liverpool between 1993-2001 and 2006-2007.
He was regarded as one of the greatest natural finisher the club has ever seen. He earned the nickname “God” from the Anfield crowd, as he earned a place among Liverpool legends due to his ruthlessness in front of goal.
He played a total of 369 games,scoring 183 times.He was voted as the PFA played for the year in 1995 and 1996.He also earned 26 caps for the national side and scored 7 goals there.
9.Alan Hansen
Alan Hansen is a retired Scottish centre-back who played for the club for 14 years between 1977 to 1991,playing 620 times.
Hyypia and Carragher were magnificent, but Alan Hansen has to go down as the finest defender ever to play for Liverpool.
He helped the club to three European Cup triumphs,eight league titles, four league cups and two FA cups. Bob Paisley said he was a “defender with the pedigree of an international striker.” He was skilful and intelligent.
8.Ian Callaghan
Callaghan made 857 appearance for Liverpool across all formats,which is highest ever by any player.He was voted the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1974 and played on the wing before being moved into midfield.
He made his debut in 1960, flourishing in midfield through the Shankly and Paisley era before leaving in the year Liverpool won their second European Cup in 1978.
7.Luis Suarez
Despite playing for only 3 seasons with the club,Suarez is regarded as one of the best Liverpool players ever.He is such a talent that he could have become the greatest ever at the club,had he stayed at Anfield.
The player Steven Gerrard says is the best he’s ever played with and the man who almost helped end Liverpool’s lengthy and painful title drought.
The Uruguayan ended with 82 goals in just 133 games, joining Barcelona for £75 million in 2014.AMD Slams SYSmark Benchmark - Calls it Biased and Unreliable
AMD Slams SYSmark Benchmark as Unreliable
| Source: AMD Author: Mark Campbell
AMD Slams SYSmark Benchmark - Calls it Biased and Unreliable
In a new video AMD has Slammed the SYSmark system Benchmark as unreliable and is only optimized for Intel, recommending Futuremark's the PCMARK benchmark as a reliable and accurate alternative when it comes to comparing performance.
In AMD's testing SYSmark AMD has found that SYSmark provides data that is not comparable to the difference in real world performance when it compared AMD and Intel CPUs, giving a performance delta of 50% for a comparable system when other benchmarks like PCMARK only give a delta of 7%.
The US' Federal Trade Commission, the FTC, now required Intel to post a disclaimer when using data from this benchmark, stating that SYSmark may only be optimized for Intel platforms.
AMD says that using SYSmark to judge PC performance and using it as a basis for judging PC performance will result in dramatic overspending, as this benchmark is only optimized for the Intel platform and only really judges CPU performance.
SYSmark is not a performance benchmark that we have ever used at OC3D, so we do not have any results comparing AMD and Intel platforms, but judging from the results of other websites and AMD's public damning of the benchmark it is certainly not a benchmark that we would consider using in the future.
You can join the discussion on AMD's public shaming of the popular SYSmark benchmark on the OC3D Forums.
AMD Slams SYSmark Benchmark - Calls it Biased, Unreliable and only optimized for Intel. https://t.co/054xOWSOlL pic.twitter.com/uIXcifdRVS — OC3D (@OC3D) January 15, 2016
1 - AMD Slams SYSmark Benchmark as Unreliable «Prev 1 Next»
Most Recent CommentsA man who authorities said entering or attempting to enter women's apartments over a span of months was arrested Thursday.
OCALA - A man who authorities said entering or attempting to enter women's apartments over a span of months was arrested Thursday.
Shortly before 7:30 a.m. March 26, 2010, a woman told officers a man reached through her window at College Square Apartments. She said she was going to call police and he ran away.
In November 2010, the woman said the same man attempted to enter her apartment around 6 a.m. one morning, but she confronted him and he ran.
Ocala Police detectives said on April 11 at the complex, another woman told them she was asleep when someone snatched a comforter from her feet and rubbed them. She screamed and the intruder fled.
On May 31, a security official said he saw a man try to enter two apartments and confronted him, but he got in a vehicle and fled. The officer got the tag number and gave it to police.
Detective Elias Conde found that the vehicle belonged to Luke Andre Pino, 29.
Pino later was identified by several victims in photo line-ups.
Conde and Detective Jimmy Deas interviewed Pino. He admitted being at the complex, but said he was looking to purchase drugs. He said he entered one apartment and pulled a comforter off a woman, but denied touching her feet.
Pino faces charges including attempted residential burglary, residential burglary and battery.
Officials believe he may have committed other offenses. Anyone with information can call Conde or Deas at 368-5406, the Ocala Police Department at 369-7000, Crime Line at 369-7061 or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP, or visit www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.Property observers have warned that a “quiet credit squeeze” is negatively impacting Melbourne’s home auction market and could hit house prices next year.
But despite a tightening mortgage lending environment the city’s housing market produced reasonable results for sellers on the last big auction weekend of 2017.
On Saturday, the Domain Group reported a clearance rate of 68.8 per cent from a large sample of 887 reported auctions. A total of 1320 auctions were scheduled for the weekend, with vendors withdrawing 29 homes from auction. The results of a further 404 booked auctions are yet to be reported by agents.
The most expensive house reported sold was a contemporary four-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 12 Cole Street, Brighton. Located in the suburb’s Golden Mile beachside precinct, the brand new property sold through Marshall White for $5.5 million, which was below the initial $5.95 million asking price.
Other top sales for Melbourne included a four-bedroom Victorian terrace house on a 317 square metre allotment at 173 Drummond St, Carlton. It fetched $3,825,000 through Woodards, while a house at 6 Belmont Avenue, Deepdene, sold for $3,680,000 through Marshall White.
Buyers’ advocate Adam Woledge, of Woledge Hatt, said numerous off-market transactions for $1 million-plus homes were taking place, which was a normal occurrence as the market slowed down for Christmas and the summer break.
He said 2018 would be an interesting time for buyers and sellers as bank lending practices were tightening up.
“The effects of the changes to lending introduced by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority have really had an impact and they probably will into next year as well,” he said.
“That’s the big thing for buyers at the moment.”
Greville Pabst, the executive chairman of PropertyDuo by WBP Group, said the market was being affected by a quiet credit squeeze and it was more difficult to obtain finance compared to 18 months ago.
“The goal posts have shifted in terms of eligibility for loans and the levels at which the banks will qualify people for loans,” he said. “The loan-to-value ratios have also changed, so it is harder to get money.”
Home owners in some prestige suburbs – Toorak, Armadale and Canterbury, for example – typically have substantial amounts of equity in their properties. But other areas such as Brighton have historically seen a much higher level of gearing in their residential markets. As a result, these suburbs could be more quickly affected if official interest rates rise or bank lending further tightens.
Mr Pabst said it was harder to borrow large sums of money: “If you are looking at buying a $5 million house, you basically have to put down 30 per cent in cash: the banks won’t lend more than 70 per cent for anything over $3 million.
“On $3 million, you basically have to put down $1 million plus stamp duty. Not many people have a million bucks lying around that they can use to put equity into a deal.”
The market for mid-priced and entry-level property was hit and miss on Saturday.
About 30 onlookers turned out to see Hocking Stuart auctioneer Daniel Atsis try to find a buyer for a small double-fronted period house at 62 Appleton Street, Richmond.
But the property in a light industrial area near the Victoria Gardens shopping centre did not get a genuine bid. Quoted at $1 million to $1.1 million, it was passed in on a $1 million vendor bid. The published reserve is $1.05 million.
Buyer’s advocate Miriam Sandkuhler, from Property Mavens, said the market was slowing down in the lead up to Christmas.
“Crowd attendances in the north and the west appear to be shrinking, however good quality stock is being absorbed when vendors’ reserves are realistic and agents don’t underquote,” she said.
She attended several slow-to-start auctions at the weekend.
At the auction of 21 Locksley Avenue, Reservoir, the bidding kicked off with a vendor bid of $650,000. Three bidders then stepped into the auction ring, but the property was passed in to a young couple for $750,000. After the post-auction negotiations, the three-bedroom house was sold by McGrath Northcote for $775,000, well ahead of its $650,000 to $700,000 quote.
Frank Valentic, from Advantage Property Consulting, also reported small crowds at auctions and lower rates of bidder participation.
He said a two-bedroom art-deco house at 14 Hammerdale Avenue, East St Kilda drew a crowd of 25, including a bidder couple in their 30s and young single male bidder.
The Buxton listing snared an opening bid of $1.25 million. It was on the market at $1.4 million before selling to the couple.
“It wasn’t a runaway result; the property sold for just over reserve at $1,412,500,” Mr Valentic said.
The lack of tearaway results appears to be a phenomenon across different price brackets.
Among the high-end properties that have changed hands quietly in the past few weeks is a large Queen Anne-style residence at 23 Barry Street, Kew.
Marshall White auctioneer Doug McLauchlan sold the five-bedroom home at a private mid-week auction this month. The property was appraised by the agent at $7 million. It subsequently sold for $7.1 million to the sole bidder at the private auction.
Mr McLauchlan said buyers and sellers were seeing a market that had peaked after a very long growth cycle and which was also being affected by the new state government controls on price quoting.Armin Meiwes ( German: [ˈmaɪvəs] ; born 1 December 1961) is a German former computer repair technician who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh. [1] Because of his acts, Meiwes is also known as the Rotenburg Cannibal or Der Metzgermeister (The Master Butcher).
Looking for a willing volunteer, Meiwes posted an advertisement on the website The Cannibal Cafe (a defunct forum for people with a cannibalism fetish). Meiwes' post stated that he was "looking for a well-built 18- to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed."[2] Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes, an engineer from Berlin, answered the advertisement in March 2001. Many other people responded to the advertisement but backed out; Meiwes did not attempt to force them to do anything against their will.[3][4]
The two made a videotape when they met on 9 March 2001 in Meiwes' home, in the small town of Rotenburg, showcasing Meiwes amputating Brandes' penis (with his agreement) and the two men attempting to eat it together. Before doing so, Brandes swallowed twenty sleeping pills, and a bottle of cough syrup, likely causing an effect of slowed breathing and extreme tiredness. Brandes initially insisted that Meiwes attempt to bite his penis off. This did not work, and ultimately, Meiwes used a knife to remove Brandes' appendage. Brandes apparently tried to eat some of his own penis raw but could not, because it was too tough and, as he put it, "chewy". Meiwes then fried the penis in a pan with salt, pepper, wine, and garlic; he then fried it with some of Brandes' fat, but by then it was too burnt to be consumed. He then chopped the penis up into chunks and fed it to his dog.[1] According to court officials who saw the video (which has not been made public), Brandes may already have been too weakened from blood loss to eat any of his penis.
Meiwes then ran Brandes a bath, before going to read a Star Trek book, while checking back on Brandes every fifteen minutes, during which time Brandes lay bleeding in the bath. Later, Brandes got out of the bath and collapsed, falling into unconsciousness due to blood loss. Brandes continued to drift in and out of consciousness before finally collapsing again. After long hesitation and prayer, Meiwes killed Brandes by stabbing him in the throat, after which he hung the body on a meat hook. The incident was recorded on a four-hour videotape. Meiwes ate the corpse over the next ten months, storing body parts in his freezer under pizza boxes and consuming up to 20 kilograms (44 lb) of the flesh. According to prosecutors, Meiwes committed the act for sexual pleasure.[5][6]JTA — A Palestinian principal was punished over a spontaneous beach party that emerged during a field trip in Israel. The school head lost his job, and was reassigned to a different West Bank school.
Mohammad Abu Samra, 33, says he landed in hot water when video and images of his pupils dancing on a beach in Jaffa with bikini-clad women and Israeli beachgoers were sent to the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
The incident took place at the close of the Qalqilya Al Salam Secondary School’s 11th- and 12th-grade field trip to Jaffa beach led by Abu Samra, reportedly the youngest principal in the history of the Palestinian Authority, according to the Dubai-based Al Nisr Gulf News.
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According to Abu Samra, an Israeli DJ began setting up on the beach as he attempted to load the buses to leave before their day permits expired.
“My pupils started dancing, and I also joined them at the beginning to let them have fun,” Abu Samra told the news agency.
“Volunteers shot a video and took a couple of still photos and forwarded them to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, with a complaint that the incident would imply that there was normalization of ties with Israel and it exposed the young generation of Palestinians to Israel’s illicit code of conduct,” he added.
Abu Samra was reassigned to a school about 30 miles away. Students reportedly have protested the education ministry’s actions.In today’s Gospel Jesus gives us a different sort of teaching. Instead of speaking of Himself and the Kingdom obliquely or through Parables, He confronts us with a vision of the Last Judgement. This Glorious vision is of Him, the Son of Man, as King of all nations, for all nations will be judged, those we like, and those we do not like. All nations before the Throne of Glory are judged based on how they recognized the Image of God in the least of them.
Some will see the King as joy and bliss; others will see the King as judgement and condemnation. And the dividing line is “How did we treat others.”
And He divides the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the wicked. One thing to note is that neither the righteous nor the wicked are aware of who is which. The righteous question being considered righteous; the wicked question being considered wicked. The righteous are unaware that by ministering to the least of these, they ministered to the King.
He was: hungry, and they fed; thirsty and they gave drink; a foreigner, and they welcomed Him; naked, and they clothed Him; sick and imprisoned and they visited Him The righteous ministered to Him by ministering to the least of these. They didn’t know that by ministering to the Image of God in the least of these, that they ministered to God, the King. For God does not need food, drink, asylum, clothing, a physician, or liberty — but the least of those created in His Image do. Come ye blessed, inherit the Kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation.
To the goats, the wicked He says: Depart you cursed ones. He does not curse them. They have cursed themselves. Depart to a place that was NOT prepared for you, but for the devil and his demons. The fire of punishment was not designed for you, but you have brought it upon yourself; you have chosen it.
They choose it by refusing to do all the things the righteous did.
Brothers and sisters, we live in a culture dominated by protestant calvinism. If you read social theory you will find that they have divided the poor into “deserving poor” and “undeserving poor” But SS John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Ambrose of Milan will have nothing of this.
For most people, when they see someone in hunger, chronic illness, and the extremes of misfortune, do not even allow him a good reputation but judge his life by his troubles, and think that he is surely in such misery because of wickedness. — St. John Chrysostom
Lift up and stretch out your hands, not to heaven but to the poor; for if you stretch out your hands to the poor, you have reached the summit of heaven. But if you lift up your hands in prayer without sharing with the poor, it is worth nothing. — St John Chrysostom
Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead. — St John Chrysostom
If you see any one in affliction, ask no more questions. His being in affliction involves a just claim on your aid. For if when you see a beast of burden choking you raise him up, and do not curiously inquire whose he is, much more about a human being one ought not to be over-curious in enquiring whose he is. He is God’s, be he heathen or be he Jew; since even if he is an unbeliever, still he needs help. For if indeed you had been charged by God to investigate and to judge, well and good, but, as it is, the fact that he has fallen into misfortune is all you need to know. If you see him in affliction, do not say that he is wicked. For when a person is in calamity, and needs help, it is not right to say that he is wicked. For this is cruelty, inhumanity, and arrogance. — St. John Chrysostom
The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally. — St. John Chrysostom
The rich seize common goods before others have the opportunity, then claim them as their own by right of preemption. For if we all took only what was necessary to satisfy our own needs, giving the rest to those who lack, no one would be rich, no one would be poor, and no one would be in need.— St. Basil the Great
He who strips the clothed is to be called a thief. How should we name him who is able to dress the naked and doesn’t do it. — St. Basil the Great
The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you put in the bank belongs to the poor. — St. Basil The Great
There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering. — St. Ambrose of Milan
You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not just to the rich. — St Ambrose
Feed him who is dying of hunger; if you have not fed him you have killed him. — St. Ambrose of Milan
I was hungry and you took my food away; I was thirsty and you gave my water to someone who paid you; I was a foreigner and you sent me back to the perils of the country I escaped, I was naked and you condemned my morality; I was sick and you made it impossible for me to see the physician; I was in prison and you forgot me.
Rather than take Jesus’ words to heart we try to find a way to justify our greed, our hard heartedness, our neglect, our theft of the resources that belong to all mankind.
In a week we will begin a time when we are asked by the Church to simplify our lives, to soften our hearts, to be generous with alms, to turn down the volume of our noisy world.
Brothers and sisters, listen. Our souls are on the line. Jesus taught us to pray that our debts be forgiven as we forgive our debtors — our debts, those things we should have done but didn’t. Jesus did not accuse the goat people of adultery or murder; He accused them of lack of mercy.
I would be guilty of not clothing you if I soft-peddled this. This is what our Lord expects of us. This is the criteria by which we are judged.
The Kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning, the joy of all joys — or, the punishment that was not prepared for you but rather for the devil and his angels. Which will we decide? We must decide whether to let the medicine of these commandments be a healing for us. Or by not applying the medicine a fate which was never ours to begin with awaits.
But by our actions or inactions, we decide.
AdvertisementsInfrared view of a dust devil–like vortex spawned by a volcano.
Photo by Nicarnica, from the video
Hot on the heels of the incredible volcanic explosion video I posted recently comes another in the “holy cow these things really exist
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many ports New Zealand had and where they should be.
"Some of the political parties think we need some comprehensive document that sets things out. The government's view is to let the ports do their thing.
"We do need to see that council-owned ports ensure that they have good commercial directors on their boards but then to make their own decisions," Mr Bridges said.
CentrePort is owned by Greater Wellington Regional Council, whose chairman, Chris Laidlaw, was delighted with this development.
"This is a really progressive initiative, it gets logs off the roads and there will be a substantial drop in overall emissions," he said.
"It will reduce congestion and it raises the question as to how much better can we use rail networks."
CentrePort is taking this action against a steady rise in log exports - up 100 percent in five years - mostly headed to China.Michael Hohl and Amber Maxwell were removed from a United Airlines flight by a US Marshal as they flew to their wedding in Costa Rica
A bride and groom were removed from a United Airlines flight after moving to an empty row to allow another passenger to stay asleep in their seats.
Michael Hohl and his fiancée Amber Maxwell were flying to Costa Rica for their wedding on Saturday afternoon when they were told to disembark at Texas's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The couple from Salt Lake City, Utah, say they boarded the plane to find another passenger asleep in their seats.
Rather than wake them up, they went to sit in an empty row which they claim was in the same class.
When a United Airlines flight attendant approached them to ask if they were in their ticketed seats, they explained that they weren't and asked for an upgrade but were turned down.
The couple claims they returned to their original seats calmly but that a US Marshal appeared moments later to escort them off.
They were able to board another flight the following day and make it to Costa Rica in time for their wedding on Thursday.
The couple said they were left bemused by the airline's treatment of them.
'We thought not a big deal, it’s not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat.
'We were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat,' Hohl told NBC about their attempt to move.
The couple had stopped over at Texas's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (above)
The airline however claims the pair did try to sit in an upgraded seat without permission and that they refused to return to the ones they paid for.
'These passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase and they would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats.
The airline accused them of trying to sit in a more expensive seat without paying
'We’ve been in touch with them and have rebooked them on flights tomorrow,' a spokesman said.
A company spokesman told DailyMail.com that the pair were in fact trying to sit in Economy Plus seats and that no police or US Marshals were involved.
They were booked on to another flight on Sunday.
The incident caps off a nightmarish week for the embattled airline which has been flooded with complaints, criticism and worldwide outrage since a video emerged showing police violently dragging a doctor off a flight in Chicago.
Dr David Dao was left with severe injuries and bleeding from the mouth when he was physically dragged against his will from the aircraft.
A video of his shocking removal from the flight went viral last week.
He had been selected at random to be removed from the plane because it was overbooked and was forcibly removed when he refused.
He now intends to sue the airline.In Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity Vijay Prashad offers a cursory history of Asian and African cultures, within the framework of polyculturalism, a term first coined by historian Robin Kelley in 1999, referring to the notion that most people in the Americas, and the world, are a product of a variety of different “cultures” – living cultures, not dead ones. These cultures live in and through us everyday, with almost no self-consciousness about hierarchy or meaning. In this respect, the term “polycultural” works a lot better than “multi-cultural”, since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side, a kind of zoological approach to culture[1].
In essence, Prashad’s project is to rethink race and culture – as operating in an American context – and the organization of society by problematizing the ‘standard’ histories of Africa and Asia. As in many cases, Prashad’s preface is the most informative part of the book: tracing the historical development of systems of racial and cultural organization, he argues for the use of polyculturalism in against white supremacy and multiculturalism, which he argues, is simply a blanket term that undermines unequal societal systems. Not only does it imply that cultures can be separated from another, as Kelley notes, but also relies on the (false) criteria of authenticity and purity. Similarly, Prashad avoids the term influence, since it “presupposes that the transit was one way. Polyculturalism does not make a strong statement about the direction of adoption, but it does indicate that those forms hitherto seen as pure are perhaps less so (89)”.
To legitimate this claim, Prashad traces the emergence of a novel European imposed racial ideology, against, what he portrays as, the natural tendency of human societies to blend together. Before the arrival of Vasco Da Gama and the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean world, cultural groups did not view each other in racial terms. They certainly classified and distinguished amongst each other – particularly in the realm of the slave trade in Chinese and Arab cultures, where religion was the criteria of freedom – but only because the advent of colonial powers and the use of slavery as the main means for mass production did feudal/caste/religious systems evolve into racial/biological ones.
After establishing this, and the institutionalization of race theory within early European academia, Prashad then situates the modern problem of race discourse. Abandoning it entirely is not productive; nonetheless, neoliberal democracies conflate any kind of race discourse with racism (and in polyculturalism is the remedy). This is where the crux of Prashad’s argument emerges: in embedding the polycultural race theory within the Marxist framework of class struggle. In contemporary America, discussion of race and culture are ignored because of their ‘irrelevance’ to a supposed free and fair capitalist system. For an example Prashad deconstructs the image of the model Asian minority, who demand nothing (in terms of affirmative action) and instead ‘work hard’, unlike ‘lazier’ groups who simply do not work hard enough to make enough money and attain a better economic status. Taking the analysis to various scales, he argues that both on the individual and state level, “Public institutions that seek to redress inequality are to be downsized in favor of private institutions committed to the extraction of profit (46)”.
Thus the changing, dynamic vision of cultural identity in polyculturalism is subsumed within class identity. In fact, Prashad claims that the most illustrative instances of polyculturalism emerged out of the working class: from the Chinese/Indians coolies working under colonial state, unable to negotiate their wages while British workers participate in the Labour movement; on the plains of Jamaica, where Rastafarianism emerged out of contact with East Indian migrant laborers; or in British Guyana, where the polycultural festival of Hosay, incorporating elements of Islamic, Hindu and African-Christian traditions, provided the ideal conditions of a worker’s strike and was subsequently suppressed by colonial authorities through cultural separation. His notion of Third World Solidarity is what stands out the most. The preceding four chapters are spent building up this concept– of polyculturalism representing the unity of the working classes. The last chapter and the conclusion of the book is simply a cursory history of the interconnectedness of independence movements and moments where such polyculturalism and radicalism interact, including gems like Malcolm X’s death in the arms of Yuri Kochiyama; connections between Red Guards and Black Panthers; Ho Chi Minh’s times in ‘Garveyite halls in Harlem’; and the meetings of Nkrumah and Nehru. Marxism and Communism, and largely, post-colonial solidarity, is the main framework of his “Afro-Asian Connections”. Thus perhaps his generous use of the phrase “Third World Solidarity” would be more appropriate in the title of the book. Indeed, it is not until the conclusion of the book that Prashad outright states:
polycultural solidarity is not the melancholic hope for unity that sometimes guides the imagination of the Left, but it is a materialist recognition that people who share similar experiences create the platform for cultural interaction… solidarity of the class, across color, grew not from any predisposition toward class unity, but because Japanese and African Americans had to live side by side, share a similar set of circumstances, and create a common cultural world[2],
an understanding that is much different than Kelley’s. Perhaps this is the greatest weakness of Prashad’s work, that he does not acknowledge it as a work of class relations and not simply a ‘history of polyculturalism”. For its work on the intersections of race and class it is commendable; but after reading Robin Kelley’s article in which ‘polyculturalism’ is first posited, and without a claim by Prashad about his class dimension, Prashad’s book feels like a disappointing attempt at producing a historical study of the theory. Thus one wonders if Prashad himself may not have misconstrued Kelley’s argument… his emphasis on South Asian and West Indian contexts and his tendency to problematize Black cultural norms by ‘tracing’ their origins to migrant laborers in the colonial period or to Asian Marxism in the postmodern period appear suspiciously one-sided, although Prashad to takes care to constantly remind the reader that “culture is not a category”. But this is simply a virtue of the fact that Prashad tends towards radical class activism, both in colonial and postcolonial periods, while Kelley is focused only on culture.
Nonetheless, for a popular work that attempts to theorize and historicize ambiguous concepts of race and class, Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting provides a fast-paced, colorful introduction. Surely a rhetorical gesture, the book itself is a polycultural product, incorporating vibrant references of poems, rap lyrics of the Ruff Ryders and Rakim, historical photographs, and witty sub-titles, all neatly wrapped up in the metaphor of Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting, a Chinese-American pop song by Indian songwriter Bindu and performed by the African-American Carl Douglas. Though the argument’s clarity sometimes suffers from its kaleidoscopic approach, it still offers an insight into the overlap of race and class, and unwittingly highlights some of the theoretical challenges of studying race, culture and class together.
Works Cited
Prashad, Vijay. 2001. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting: Afro-Asian connections and the myth of cultural purity. Boston: Beacon Press
Prashad, Vijay, and Russell Endo. 2003. “BOOK REVIEWS – Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Racial Purity”. The International Migration Review : IMR. 37 (4): 1313.
Kelley, Robin. “People In Me: “So, What Are You?”.”ColorLines, Winter 1999. http://communitylearningpartnership.org/share/docs/Kelley.People In Me.pdf (accessed March 17, 2014).A long delayed nuclear weapons facility slated for construction in Tennessee will cost an additional $540 million just to raise its roof by 13 feet.
A new report (pdf) released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) blamed the added cost on the lead design firm hired by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, to develop the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at the Y-12 national security complex in Oak Ridge. The firm, Babcock & Wilcox Technical Service, a partnership of Babcock & Wilcox and Bechtel, failed to “adequately manage and integrate the design work” of four subcontractors, according to the GAO.
The design problem has resulted in the facility’s roof needing to be elevated another 13 feet in order to fit all of the equipment and other contents planned for the uranium facility.
Construction of the building has not begun, but this problem has caused the project’s “phase one” completion date to be pushed back another five years, from 2020 to 2025. While the facility is slated to be “operational” by that date, it is not expected to be fully equipped until 2038.
The revised timetable has raised concerns about the safety of the plant’s World War II-era 9212 uranium processing complex, which the new UPF is designed to replace. The old complex is said to be deteriorated, with upgrading to current standards deemed impossible. Operations in that structure have been described as inconsistent, with repeated equipment failures. It also no longer meets safety requirements or seismic codes.
The NNSA has not responded to media questions regarding worker safety at the old complex, according to Frank Munger of the Knoxville News Sentinel. The delay now means that the dilapidated facility will have to operate for another 12 years.
In a 2009 interview with the newspaper, Y-12’s then-general manager, Darrel Kohlhorst, said that if a replacement complex was not built and operational between 2018 and 2020, “you may be out of luck. Because there’s going to become a trigger point where the infrastructure, where this facility, is just not safe to continue operating.”
When it was first proposed, the project was expected to cost a total of $1.1 billion to complete. Now, that figure has soared to $6.5 billion, and the cost might increase further because the roof revision burned through nearly half of NNSA “contingency” funds, the GAO found.
-Danny Biederman, Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
Contractors Slammed for Uranium Project's Ballooning Expense (by Diane Barnes, Global Security Newswire)
Feds Confirm Slowdown on UPF, Raising Questions about Cost, Safety (by Frank Munger, Knoxville News Sentinel)
Briefing on the Uranium Processing Facility: Factors Leading to Cost Increases (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)
The Government Project that is $6 Billion Over Budget and 10 Years Late (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)
Nuclear Complexes Could Save Billions by Shopping at Hardware Store Instead of Building New Facilities (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)Hi,
My parents named me as Imran. It's an Arabic word, which means, "a human". Following it would be my last name which is, Sajid, it's another Arabic word which means "a person who bows to God or just bows to something or someone.
I feel our name as a perfect personality of a Muslim but for some questions that our mind evolved a few years back made us think out of the box. I started exploring the meaning of life and it's purpose and ended up losing all of it for nothing seemed explicit.
The only way out was by not thinking about it and that we did for I felt being stuck in a single state of mind, asking the same questions.
I can easily get inspired, I love going in details in emotions and feelings, I like making friends but I find it hard to keep them because I find no one trust worthy, not even myself.
I write stuff, I like staring at things, music (not all sort of), I like movies (again, not all sort of), religions and stop. I can tell about myself in different ways. Why? That would be because I share more than one personality in me.
I wouldn't say no more. Ready my stuff, I am sure you would get to know me better.
Peace, love.The 26-year-old woman had booked her Uber ride from Mid Valley to Puchong Jaya.
She had failed to notice that there was a man sitting in the front passenger seat, whose presence she only realised after the Uber driver started chatting with him.
However, when the cab was near the One Puchong Business Centre, the man turned around holding a knife and told her to hand over her valuables.
"I became frightened and started crying and begged them not to hurt me because I'm pregnant," The Star Online quoted the woman, Wong Mei Yan, as saying.
While the man robbed Wong off her valuables, the driver kept on driving until he reached Koi Kinrara, where he dropped her off in the middle of the road at 10.20pm.
She was later helped by a passer-by who drove her to the police station.On Wednesday evening, in a veritable Night of the Long Knives, Wisconsin's integrity was brutally murdered on the floor of the state Capitol in Madison. On 9 March, integrity and trust built up over a century was obliterated as Wisconsin state senators quickly reversed course and cleaved its budget "repair bill" in half. Financial items require a quorum, thus, collective bargaining was split off from the budget repair bill and voted on separately so as to permit its being voted on now. Even so, this still broke the state's open meeting law requiring 24 hours' notice to ensure transparency. Instead, the Wisconsin senate Republicans pulled out this new legislation without advance notice and began voting, leaving only a stunned Democratic legislator, Peter Barca, to read the open meeting law out loud to prevent the senators from voting. The senate voted over his objections anyway.
The Wisconsin brand has always centered on integrity. This was really about the only distinctive comparative advantage the state could lay claim to. Now, it is gone. With collective bargaining abolished, huge issues remain beyond labour. The privatisation of public assets is now on the agenda, with the yet-to-be-voted-on budget repair bill.
Governor Scott Walker emerges from Wisconsin, a state that invented Progressive Era Republican rule in the 19th and early 20th centuries under such exemplars as Robert LaFollette. Under their tenure, rent-seeking from the public domain and similar insider corruption were checked by a strong public sector anchored in integrity. The state's long history of reforms nurtured a prosperous middle class and made it a model of clean government, solid infrastructure, trade unionism and high value-added industry managed by socialists and the LaFollette Progressives.
Fast-forward to Scott Walker today. Representing a new breed apart from Wisconsin's earlier Republicans, he is seeking to re-open the asset-grabbing Gilded Age style. A plague of rent-seekers is seeking quick gains by privatising the public sector and erecting tollbooths to charge access fees to roads, power plants and other basic infrastructure.
Economics textbooks, along with Fox News and shout radio commentators, spread the myth that fortunes are gained productively by investing in capital equipment and employing labour to produce goods and services that people want to buy. This may be how economies prosper, but it is not how fortunes are most easily made. One need only to turn to the 19th-century novelists such as Balzac to be reminded that behind every family fortune lies a great theft, often long-forgotten or even undiscovered.
But who is one to steal from? Most wealth in history has been acquired either by armed conquest of the land, or by political insider dealing, such as the great US railroad land giveaways of the mid 19th century. The great American fortunes have been founded by prying land, public enterprises and monopoly rights from the public domain, because (to paraphrase Willie Sutton) that's where the assets are to take. Throughout history the world's most successful economies have been those that have kept this kind of primitive accumulation in check. The US economy today is faltering largely because its past barriers against rent-seeking are being breached.
Nowhere is this more disturbingly on display than in Wisconsin. Today, Milwaukee – Wisconsin's largest city, and once the richest in America – is ranked among the four poorest large cities in the United States. Wisconsin is just the most recent case in this great heist. The US government itself and its regulatory agencies effectively are being privatised as the "final stage" of neoliberal economic doctrine.
A peek into Governor Walker's so-called "budget repair bill" reveals a shop of horrors that is just the opposite of actually repairing the budget. Among the items listed in the bill until Wednesday night were selloffs of state power generation facilities – in no-bid contracts notoriously prone to insider dealing. The 37 facilities he wants to sell off that produce heating and cooling at low cost to the state's universities and prisons. Walker's budget repair bill would have unloaded them at a low price, presumably to campaign contributors such as Koch Industries – and then stick the bill for producing this power at higher rates to Wisconsin taxpayers in perpetuity. (And this is all being sold as a "taxpayer relief" plan!) Invariably, this will make its way into new legislation once attention is diverted from the current controversy.
The budget bill also plans to tear down the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). This is not New Jersey, where a succession of corrupt governments have underfunded (read: stolen) the state pension system in order to shift resources to pay for budget shortfalls in general revenues caused by tax breaks for the rich. The WRS is one of the nation's most stable, well-funded and best-managed pension systems. Although Wisconsin is not a big state, the WRS has amassed $75bn in reserves, and pays out handsome pensions to its public retirees, without needing new public subsidy. The Walker bill has language providing for tearing down this system, raiding its assets to pay for further tax cuts for the rich (especially property owners), and then throwing Wall Street a meaty bone as public employees would be shifted to 401k plans handled by money managers on commission.
In a separate proposal, Governor Walker would start privatising the University of Wisconsin's two flagship doctorate-granting campuses. Ironically, the land grant universities – of which Wisconsin has long been among the best – were created by protectionist 19th-century Republicans as an alternative approach to British free-market doctrine, which dominated the prestigious and largely anglophile Ivy League universities. These universities, like their German counterparts, taught a new economic policy of state management and public enterprise that formed the basis for subsequent US and German development. Walker would kill off this tradition, and return intellectual production to the highest bidder.
Other proposals suggest selling off Wisconsin's public northwoods lands with their cornucopia of mineral and timber wealth. And much more is said to be in the works.
So Walker's war is not only against the Democrats and labour, it is against Wisconsin's Progressive Era institutions. His policy threatens to pauperise the state and deal a coup de grace to Progressive Era institutions and impoverish the state's middle class. Contra John Maynard Keynes's gentle suggestion of "euthanasia of the rentier", it is the middle class that is being euthanised – throughout North America and Europe.Free Haifa exposes the secrets from Razi Nabulsi’s interrogation
All over the last week we followed the detention of Razi Nabulsi, a young Palestinian activist from Haifa. He was taken from his home on Wednesday 9.10.2013, with his computer, cellphone, books and papers.
His detention was extended twice, based on his statuses in Facebook and tweets in Tweeter. In four different court hearings during the week (two remands and two appeals) the Haifa court decided that his statuses constitute a danger to the state of Israel.
The most wired thing about it was that the prosecution refused to tell in the court what did Razi write in those statuses… They claimed that at the stage of remand the prosecution is allowed to conceal the “secrets of the investigation”. All the protestations of the lawyers from Adalah, which claimed that statuses that you publish can’t be defined as “secret” that you should not see and that there is no logic to accuse somebody of “incitement” without relating it to specific sayings, were in vain.
You might understand that we were all deadly curious to know what is in those statuses…
So today (Wednesday 16/10), after full seven days in detention, when Razi was finally released, we went to his family’s home in ‘Iblin (in the Galilee), where he is under house arrest, to say Hamdillilah ‘A Salameh and ask what those dangerous statuses were all about.
Razi gave us many examples to the statuses he was interrogated about, divided between the foolish, misleading translations, ignorance, gossip, whatever. But at least in one case I could understand the horror his status aroused in the people that are responsible to state security.
Razi wrote in his status: “One day the nightmare will be over”. The interrogator claimed he clearly wrote it to express his wish that the state of Israel will cease to exist!
***
Razi himself has his own blog and I’m sure that he will write all the important details about his detention and interrogation… But as of now he is prevented by the court’s order from touching any computer or any other “media tool”, including a phone (until Sunday).
Actually the police didn’t even ask for this as a condition for his transfer to house arrest. But after so many judges in Haifa declared that the state of Israel is under real danger from his status lines, the judge today volunteered to add this media blockade and salvaged the state security from the idea that nightmares may go away, at least for another full five days!
***
For more details about Razi’s detention you may read previous posts in Arabic, Hebrew and English.
Advertisementsby Countable | 3.20.17
On Monday night, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) attempted to force President Donald Trump to turn over 10 years of his tax returns and forced the full House to vote on it, but was stonewalled by Republican lawmakers on a party-line vote.
Pascrell’s legislation would’ve had the House request 10 years of Trump’s tax returns and send them to the House Ways and Means Committee for review in a closed session. The committee would then vote to send the information from the returns to the House as a whole.
Pascrell was seeking privileged status for his resolution, which would’ve required the House to take action within two legislative days. That request was rebuffed by House Republicans who found that the resolution wasn’t actually privileged, and when Pascrell tried to appeal the House voted 229-185 to table the resolution, which for all practical purposes kills it.
There’s a bill in the House that would require the president to disclose their federal income tax return. Go here to vote on it and tell your reps what you think of it.
Take Action
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: 401(K) 2013 via Flickr / Creative Commons)by Kaila Colbin, Featured Contributor, May 13, 2016
It has begun.
A week ago, the venerable law firm BakerHostetler announced a new hire, Ross. Ross is joining the bankruptcy department of the 100-year-old firm. Despite being new to practicing law -- BakerHostetler is Ross’ first job -- Ross brings a myriad of skills to the role. In addition to reading and understanding language, Ross can also “postulate hypotheses when asked questions, research, and then generate responses (along with references and citations) to back up its conclusions.”
You’ve guessed it: Ross is the world’s first artificially intelligent “lawyer,” based on IBM’s Watson.
High-profile AI flops like Microsoft’s Tay and Facebook’s glitchy chatbots may have created the impression that artificial intelligence isn’t quite ready for prime time, but Watson is hitting home run after home run.
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At Georgia Tech this year, students were helped online by a Watson-powered artificially intelligent “teaching assistant” -- and no one knew the difference.
The robots are coming, and they’re not just gunning for factory workers and truck drivers. They’re after the white collar wrapped snugly around your middle-class neck, and they are much, much better than you.
That’s a good thing, by the way. In 2013, medical insurer WellPoint (now Anthem) claimed that, in tests, Watson had a 90% success rate in diagnosing lung cancer. The success rate of human doctors? A mere 50%.
As a Wired article explained, Watson had ingested “more than 600,000 pieces of medical evidence [and] more than two million pages from medical journals and [had the] ability to search through up to 1.5 million patient records for further information… It would take at least 160 hours of reading a week [for a human doctor] just to keep up with new medical knowledge as it's published, let alone consider its relevance or apply it practically.”
You’re better off having Watson diagnose you. You’re better off with Watson answering your questions about the exam, or reviewing the case law as it applies to your bankruptcy proceedings. In ways big and small, your life will be better when artificial intelligence begins to realize its true potential.
Which leaves us just one teensy question. When lawyers, teaching assistants, and diagnosticians -- along with accountants, marketers, and, yes, factory workers and truck drivers -- are replaced by Watson and his brethren, what will you do?
If you’re thinking you’ll look for another job, it’s time to go a level deeper. The idea that we need to be gainfully employed is so ingrained that we regularly forget we made it up. Our work is an integral part of our self-identity. What happens when an integral part of your self-identity disappears?
As J. Bradford Delong, a Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley, puts it, “[M]any people derive their self-esteem from their jobs. As labor becomes a less important part of the economy, and working-age men, in particular, become a smaller proportion of the workforce, problems related to social inclusion are bound to become both more chronic and more acute.”
It’s no wonder the idea of a universal basic income is starting to sound pretty appealing. In a 5,000-word essay on FiveThirtyEight, Andrew Flowers describes a plethora of basic income experiments and possible motivations for undertaking them: improving the welfare system, offering a solution to the specter of technological unemployment, giving people the freedom to pursue their creative expression.
We don’t yet have enough data to know whether a universal basic income will work. But pull the plug on Watson, and you’ve traded an accurate cancer diagnosis for a 40-hour-a-week job. Personally, I’d rather have Watson.Russia and the US reached an outline arms agreement in July The United States has rejected fresh concerns raised by Moscow about its planned missile defence system. The State Department statement came after Russian PM Vladimir Putin said the US plans were holding up a new nuclear disarmament treaty. The statement said the two issues were completely separate, and discussions would continue separately. Russia and the US are yet to find a successor to the Cold War-era Start I treaty, which expired on 5 December. Analysts say Moscow wants a clause in the new treaty that would limit the scale of any US defence shield. The US has shelved plans for missile defence stations in Central Europe, but intends to use a sea-based system. The BBC's Imtiaz Tyab in Washington says it is clear from Mr Putin's comments Russia still sees any missile shield as a threat - one it is now pledged to counter. But the hardening of Russia's position must be frustrating for US President Barack Obama, our correspondent says, after the concessions he has made. 'Keeping the balance' The US statement said that Washington and Moscow's joint position recognising the inter-relationship between defensive and offensive weapons systems had not changed. "While the US has long agreed that there is a relationship between missile offence and defence, we believe the Start follow-on agreement is not the appropriate vehicle for addressing it," it said. ANALYSIS Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC Moscow correspondent Russia's government said until just a few days ago that these strategic arms reduction treaty talks were in their final stages, that they were perhaps just a couple of weeks away from signing a new document. And now suddenly Mr Putin has come out with this statement, which really does put a spanner in the works. It shows just how nervous Russia is about the idea of a US missile defence shield, despite the fact President Obama in September said they were going to scrap land-based missile defence in Europe. The US plans to build another system; the Russians don't know exactly how that's going to affect them and how it may neutralise their nuclear deterrent. I think Mr Putin is voicing a concern that is held by many experts in this country. "We have agreed to continue to discuss the topic of missile defence with Russia in a separate venue." Earlier Mr Putin said the US plans would allow them to do whatever they wanted and thus upset the balance. He said that "to preserve the balance, we must develop offensive weapons systems", but did not specify what kinds he had in mind. Earlier this month, President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would continue to develop new warheads, delivery vehicles and launchers despite the disarmament talks, describing this as "routine practice". Russia and the US are negotiating in Geneva on the details of a new treaty. Last week, the Russian foreign minister said a deal was very close. The 1991 Start I treaty led to deep cuts in nuclear arsenals by Washington and Moscow. Both sides have agreed to continue observing Start I until they reach a new agreement. Under a joint understanding signed in July, deployed nuclear warheads should be cut to fewer than 1,700 on each side within seven years of a new treaty - a huge cut on Soviet-era levels. Nonetheless, between them the two countries will retain enough firepower to destroy the world several times over. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says that Russia's nuclear arsenal is the only part of its military that remains world-class, and therefore it fears that it could be disadvantaged by cuts to nuclear capability. Mr Putin's comments could be a negotiating ploy, rather than a reversal of Russia's commitment to a treaty, our correspondent says. Analysts in Moscow think what Mr Putin really wants is a commitment from Washington to only deploy a small-scale missile defence system, that would be effective against Iran and North Korea but would not neutralise Russia's nuclear missile force, he adds.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionWhen Thames Valley Police was first made aware of allegations of rape and sexual assault against teenagers in August 2006 — and on at least three further occasions — it failed to pursue the investigations after the terrified victims withdrew their complaints.
Seven men of Asian or North African origin were found guilty of grooming six vulnerable white girls before putting them through a “living hell” during which they were forced to commit acts of “extreme depravity”.
In a case that bears harrowing similarities to the Rochdale grooming scandal, carefully chosen victims were showered with gifts and plied with alcohol and drugs before being subjected to years of terrifying abuse.
The gang recruited its victims from the Oxford area between May 2004 and January last year, deliberately targeting vulnerable girls.
Some were spotted drinking or playing truant along the city’s Cowley Road, while others were chosen as they were living in care homes.
Once under their control the abusers forced the girls to have sex using threats of extreme violence. Some were gang-raped, while others were prostituted to men who would travel from all parts of the country to have sex with them.
If the girls did not comply, they were beaten and burned with cigarettes. One girl was even branded with her abusers’ initials.
When another victim became pregnant aged 12, she was forced to undergo a dangerous backstreet abortion. Another was abused with sex toys to “prepare” her for one of the gang rapes.
Police were first alerted to the activities of the grooming ring in 2006 when a 14-year-old girl complained that she had been held against her will by two Asian men and forced to take drugs.
Seven months later the same girl was found by officers in an Oxford park saying that she had been forced to perform a sex act on one of the defendants, Akhtar Dogar.
Dogar was interviewed by police but denied raping the girl and the case was dropped when the girl withdrew her complaint.
In the same year another 14-year-old girl told police she had been forced to have sex with several men, but again the case was dropped when she became too scared to press charges.
Police were called again to a guest house after a man dialled 999 to report that he feared a prostitute was being assaulted in an adjoining room.
When police arrived they found a 14-year-old girl cowering in the basement and complaining that she had been raped and beaten. She too withdrew her complaint and the case was dropped.
Social workers claimed they alerted police to concerns about one of the victims who regularly ran away from her care home and was often seen in the company of older Asian men.
A serious case review has been announced while Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire county council apologised for their failure to spot the pattern of abuse earlier. Det Chief Sup Rob Mason said: “Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire county council social services deeply regret that this activity wasn’t identified sooner and that we were too reliant on victims supporting criminal proceedings, and that they suffered a terrible ordeal.”
Joanna Simons, the chief executive of Oxfordshire county council, also apologised to the victims. She said: “We are incredibly sorry we were not able to stop it any sooner. We were up against a gang of devious criminals. The girls thought they were their friends.”
Left to right, top: Akhtar Dogar, Anjum Dogar, Kamar Jamil, Assad Hussain. Bottom: Mohammed Karrar, Bassam Karrar and Zeeshan Ahmed Photo: PA
Jon Brown of the NSPCC said the girls had been let down by those supposed to be looking after them.
“The barbaric treatment of the victims in this case was depraved, almost beyond imagination and must never be allowed to happen again.
“The girls were let down by those who were meant to care for them and obvious signs of abuse were missed.”
The case is the latest high-profile trial involving Asian gangs convicted of targeting and abusing vulnerable white girls. Last May eight men of Pakistani origin and one Afghan were convicted of trafficking and raping girls in the Rochdale area.
Last week a gang of Asian men who groomed vulnerable white girls in Shropshire between 2006 and 2009 were jailed for more than 50 years.
Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: “The majority of Asians from all backgrounds abhor these crimes these criminals have brought shame on themselves and their families and the wider Asian communities.
“We have to use our faith to actually tell how horrific these crimes are and how forbidden they are in our faith.”
Two sets of brothers, Akhtar Dogar, 32, and Anjum Dogar, 31, and Mohammed Karrar, 38, and Bassam
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Jabotinsky in the early part of the 20th century. Netanyahu was already talking about terrorism in 1979 when he wrote his book International Terrorism: Challenge and Response that year. He wrote another book on terrorism in 1995, a major work entitled Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism. The book explains all sorts of themes that have now become public knowledge and household terms and ideas: terrorism, radical Islamic suicide attacks and Iran pursuing a nuclear program. He repeatedly uses the phrase “Weapons of Mass Annihilation” throughout the book – now you know where the term “WMD” (Weapons of Mass Destruction) originated from! Netanyahu is not a prophet but rather a driver of these agendas. Using the immense power of Zionism, Jewish lobbies in America and the Jewish international banking cabal, he persuaded the US to align itself with Israel and view Islam as the next great enemy.
Netanyahu’s Pre-9/11 Speech
According to this source, Netanyahu made a speech in Israel at the Jewish Agency Assembly Plenary meeting held in Israel on June 24th, 2001 (2-3 months before 9/11) where he made these points:
“1. The Palestinians are to blame for the conflict in the Middle East, and specifically Yasser Arafat. 2. It is legitimate for established states to engage in wars, because the societies are imperfect. 3. Palestinians are not waging a legitimate war (like established states using regular armies) and are terrorists. 4. The Palestinian terrorists deliberately attack civilians. 5. The Israelis are responding in self-defense. 6. When the Israelis respond, they respond against combatants. 7. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel. 8. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority are using the illegitimate and criminal means of terrorism. 9. The Palestinian are wrong and the Israelis are right. 10. Terrorism invariably comes from terrorist regimes. 11. Terror is useful, only if the cost of waging terrorism, the cost of that regime is lower than the benefits of waging terrorism. 12. To stop terrorism, one must make the terrorist regime pay very very heavily. 13. The root core of the Middle East conflict is the existential opposition by a great many in the Arab world still, and certainly by the Palestinian leadership to Israel’s very existence. 14. The first way of ensuring Israel’s existence is that the Arabs simply understand that Israel is so powerful, so permanent, so unconquerable in every way that they will simply abandon by the force of the inertia of Israel’s permanence all opposition to Israel. 15. The second way [of ensuring Israel’s existence] is for the forces of democratization get to the Arab regimes. 16. Using propaganda techniques, like broadcasting American television serials (which Netanyahu sees as subversive material) will ultimately bring down regimes like the Ayatola regime and the Khoumeni regime in Iran. 17. In the 21st century, you cannot achieve a military victory unless you achieve a political victory to accompany it; and you cannot achieve a political victory unless you achieve a victory in public opinion; and you cannot achieve a victory in public opinion unless you persuade that public that your cause is just. 18. It doesn’t make any difference if you are on the side of the angels or on the side of the devil. Anyone fighting in the international arena for public opinion must argue the justice of his cause. Hitler argued for the justice of his cause and Stalin argued for the justice of his cause. They all had propaganda machines. Whether you are right or you are wrong you must argue the justice of your cause.”
Note how he was already setting up a distinction between “legitimate” war and “illegitimate” war, thus trying to provide a legal and moral justification for war (which is legalized violence and mass murder) that would be initiated by Israel, the US and allies in the years to come against the Palestinians and other Muslim-majority nations. He made the point that states using regular armies can engage in legitimate war, but not loose bands of fighters which he brands terrorists.
Dubya Enshrines the War on Terror as Official US Policy and Ideology
Soon thereafter, George W. Bush declared the Netanyahu doctrine of War on Terror as official US policy on September 20th, 2001:
“We will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime … the civilized world is rallying to America’s side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror, unanswered, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments.”
This speech included the famous “you’re either with us or with the terrorists” ultimatum, a manipulative way to force other nations to take sides and to make a complex issue black and white. It also echoed Netanyahu’s concept of “legitimate” nations, “legitimate” war and “legitimate” government. In this way, the US tried to claim the moral high ground and granted itself the tyrannical power of being able to list any individual or group as “terrorists” and justify killing them them on those grounds, as well as branding any nation as a ”terrorist haven” and justify invading them on those grounds – both in stark violation of international law.
Netanyahu’s Post 9/11 Speech
It wasn’t long before Netanyahu expanded this now official War on Terror doctrine to include Israel. Netanyahu now expanded upon the childish “Us” vs. “Them” demarcation set up by Dubya to make it “US, Israel and the civilized democracies of the world” vs. “Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and other Arab and Muslim dictatorships of the world.” Here are the main points of his speech on April 10th, 2002 in front of the US Senate, from the same source:
“1. The American victory against terror in Afghanistan is only the first step in dismantling the global terrorist network. The other terrorist regimes must now be rapidly dealt with in similar fashion. 2. Israel, a democratic government that is defending itself against terror should not be equated with the Palestinian dictatorship that is perpetrating it. 3. Israel should not be asked to stop fighting terror and return to a negotiating table with a regime that is committed to the destruction of the Jewish State and openly embraces terror. 4. Israel has the right to defend itself. 5. The government of Israel must fight not only to defend its people, restore a dangerously eroded deterrence and secure the Jewish State, but also to ensure that the free world wins the war against terror in this pivotal arena in the heart of the Middle East. 6. Israel must dismantle Arafat’s terrorist regime and expel Arafat from the region. 7. Israel must clean out terrorists, weapons, and explosives from all Palestinian controlled areas. 8. Israel must establish physical barriers separating the main Palestinian population centers from Israeli towns and cities to prevent any residual terrorists from reaching Israel. 9. There can never be a political solution for terror. The grievance of terrorists can never be redressed through diplomacy. That will only encourage more terror. Yasser Arafat’s terrorist regime must be toppled, not courted. The Oslo agreements are dead. Yasser Arafat killed them. 10. A political process can only begin when this terrorist regime is dismantled. 11. The urgent need to topple Saddam is paramount. The commitment of America and Britain to dismantle this terrorist dictatorship before it obtains nuclear weapons deserves the unconditional support of all sane governments. 12. America must show that it will not heed the international call to stop Israel from exercising its right to defend itself. If America compromises its principles and joins in the chorus of those who demand that Israel disengage, the war on terror will be undermined. 13. For if the world begins to believe that America may deviate from its principles, terrorist regimes that might have otherwise been deterred will not be deterred. Those that might have crumbled under the weight of American resolve will not crumble. As a result, winning the war will prove far more difficult, perhaps impossible. 14. To assure that the evil of terrorism does not reemerge a decade or two from now, we must not merely uproot terror, but also plant the seeds of freedom. 15. It is imperative that once the terrorist regimes in the Middle East are swept away, the free world, led by America, must begin to build democracy in their place. 16. We simply can no longer afford to allow this region to remain cloistered by a fanatic militancy. We must let the winds of freedom and independence finally penetrate the one region in the world that clings to unreformed tyranny.”
Some key themes are introduced here, which those who follow Middle Eastern and Zionist affairs will notice. Firstly, Netanyahu pushes for the US to invade Iraq, a wish was fulfilled a short time later. Secondly, Netanyahu pushes back against calls for Israel to stop its harsh and barbaric treatment of the Palestinians, by simply declaring that Israel has a right to defend itself – even if Israel attacks first and uses missiles and bombs against Palestinian Arabs who throws sticks and stones at it. Thirdly, diplomacy doesn’t work with terrorists so Israel must keep fighting and killing its enemies (note the dehumanization that comes along with the word terrorist and the big lie that there’s no point talking or negotiating). Lastly, Netanyahu even promotes the idea of US seeding “democracy” (which has always been a big con – see US infiltration through NGOs) in other nations after the invasions – i.e. more permanent US occupation and military bases abroad, which only serve to expand the US (NWO) Empire! Time for the world to learn that when America or its allies say “democracy”, it’s a codeword for forced regime change.
The War on Terror is an Israeli War Strategy
If you are thinking that the term and concept itself of “War on Terror” has all the hallmarks of a New World Order scheme, you’re right. This article by Christopher Bollyn provides further background:
“The War on Terror is essentially an Israeli war strategy. It was first promoted on the world stage by Benjamin Netanyahu and Menachem Begin (of the terrorist Likud party) at the Jerusalem Conference hosted by the Netanyahu Institute in July 1979. According to the War on Terror doctrine advocated by Netanyahu, “Islamic terrorists” attack Israel because it is a Western state with Western values. The West, Netanyahu says, is the real target so the U.S. must lead the West in waging a global War on Terror to destroy Islamic terrorists and the regimes that support them. This is exactly what the United States has done since 9/11, at incredible expense to its own population, leaving a trail of devastated nations in its wake.”
The War on Terror™ has been used by Israel to bring in the US (and the West) to help destroy Israel’s enemies by branding them as terrorists. The Zionist State has been fundamental in the creation of fake Islamic terrorism (Zio-Islamic Terrorism™) and in the manufacturing of scary enemies (al Qaeda, Daesh/ISIS, etc.) to serve as an excuse to target sovereign Arab and Muslim-majority nations surrounding them. Needless to say, the Zionist-controlled MSM has dutifully played its part by selling the fraudulent War on Terror to a largely unsuspecting public.
Final Thoughts
The War on Terror™ is an all-encompassing concept with which the NWO is expanding its Empire across the world. It’s a war that can never end. It’s a war whose success or failure can never be measured. It’s a war that leaders can always invoke to justify more money, power and regulation. 16 years on, have enough people woken up to the propaganda in order to break its spell?
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Makia Freeman is the editor of alternative media / independent news site The Freedom Articles and senior researcher at ToolsForFreedom.com, writing on many aspects of truth and freedom, from exposing aspects of the worldwide conspiracy to suggesting solutions for how humanity can create a new system of peace and abundance.
Sources:
*http://www.truth-and-justice.info/origwat.html
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CSPbzitPL8
*http://tapnewswire.com/2016/05/how-israel-created-the-fiend-for-the-war-on-terror/Opinion exchange models aim to describe the process of public opinion formation, seeking to uncover the intrinsic mechanism in social systems; however, the model results are seldom empirically justified using large-scale actual data. Online social media provide an abundance of data on opinion interaction, but the question of whether opinion models are suitable for characterizing opinion formation on social media still requires exploration. We collect a large amount of user interaction information from an actual social network, i.e., Twitter, and analyze the dynamic sentiments of users about different topics to investigate realistic opinion evolution. We find two nontrivial results from these data. First, public opinion often evolves to an ordered state in which one opinion predominates, but not to complete consensus. Second, agents are reluctant to change their opinions, and the distribution of the number of individual opinion changes follows a power law. Then, we suggest a model in which agents take external actions to express their internal opinions according to their activity. Conversely, individual actions can influence the activity and opinions of neighbors. The probability that an agent changes its opinion depends nonlinearly on the fraction of opponents who have taken an action. Simulation results show user action patterns and the evolution of public opinion in the model coincide with the empirical data. For different nonlinear parameters, the system may approach different regimes. A large decay in individual activity slows down the dynamics, but causes more ordering in the system.
Opinion dynamics tries to describe the process of public opinion formation in social systems. Many opinion models have been presented that explore how the local individual behavior affects collective phenomena. However, those model results are seldom empirically justified using large-scale actual data, and whether traditional opinion models suitably describe online opinion interactions requires further exploration. We analyze users' opinions regarding a certain topic using large-scale actual data collected from a famous social network, i.e., Twitter, and discover two nontrivial results: first, consensus is difficult to achieve in a finite time and second, users seldom change their opinions, and the number of individual opinion changes decays as a power law. We present a discrete opinion model including agents' internal opinions and external actions that are determined by agents' activity. Agents' activity also evolves during the dynamics. Simulation results show our model can retrieve similar properties to those of actual data. We hope theoretical opinion models will be verified by actual data in different social systems so that they can better characterize actual social interactions. In the future, whether opinion models can predict the evolutionary trend of public opinion in actual situation will be investigated. This study will improve the applicability of research on opinion dynamics.
I. INTRODUCTION models have been presented, simulating opinion interactions from a personal perspective. Given an individual interacting rule, the research on opinion dynamics aims to understand the global complex properties in the area of social science. 1,2 81, 591 (2009). 1. C. Castellano, S. Fortunato, and V. Loreto, Rev. Mod. Phys., 591 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.81.591 36, 343 (1981). 2. B. Latane, Am. Psychol., 343 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.36.4.343 3 3. S. Galam, Sociophysics: A Physicist's Modeling of Psycho-political Phenomena ( Springer, 2012), Vol. 439, p. 297 illus. 261. models, agents hold one of several possible opinions, corresponding to discrete opinion models, 4–7 94, 178701 (2005). 4. V. Sood and S. Redner, Phys. Rev. Lett., 178701 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.178701 274, 132 (1999). 5. S. Galam, Physica A, 132 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(99)00320-9 285, 66 (2000). 6. S. Galam, Physica A, 66 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(00)00272-7 9, 1 (1982). 7. S. Galam, Y. Gefen, and Y. Shapir, J. Math. Sociol., 1 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1080/0022250X.1982.9989929 models. 8,9 7, 55 (2002). 8. G. Weisbuch, G. Deffuant, F. Amblard, and J.-P. Nadal, Complexity, 55 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1002/cplx.10031 5, 2 (2002), see 9. R. Hegselmann and U. Krause, Journal of Artifical Societies and Social Simulation, 2 (2002), see http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/5/3/2.html models try to find the formation of public opinion and the conditions of phase transition. Discrete opinion models, such as the Ising model and the Sznajd model, 10–12 11, 1157 (2000). 10. K. Sznajd-Weron and J. Sznajd, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C, 1157 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129183100000936 96, 48002 (2011). 11. K. Sznajd-Weron, M. Tabiszewski, and A. M. Timpanaro, Europhys. Lett., 48002 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/96/48002 238, 66 (1997). 12. S. Galam, Physica A, 66 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(96)00456-6 models, and agents update their states following the pattern of ferromagnetic spins, explaining social systems through the analogy of physical systems. In most models, neighboring influence plays a vital role in individual decisions. The final macroscopic state of the system may be consensus, fragmentation, or polarization. In binary opinion models, the consensus state is often favored as a result of imitation and compromises among neighbors, but polarization may also be observed in some other discrete models, such as the model with discrete vectorial opinions 13 41, 203 (1997). 13. R. Axelrod, J. Conflict Resolut., 203 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002797041002001 model with three opinions. 14 2, 57 (2012). 14. S. Banisch and T. Araújo, Discontinuity, Nonlinearity, and Complexity, 57 (2012). https://doi.org/10.5890/DNC.2012.12.002 15–17 77, 016102 (2008). 15. B. Kozma and A. Barrat, Phys. Rev. E, 016102 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.77.016102 57, 147 (2007). 16. D. Stauffer and M. Sahimi, Eur. Phys. J. B, 147 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2007-00106-7 21, 025116 (2011). 17. C. Qian, J. D. Cao, J. Q. Lu, and J. Kurths, Chaos, 025116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3602220 models, such as memory, 18 101, 018701 (2008). 18. H. U. Stark, C. J. Tessone, and F. Schweitzer, Phys. Rev. Lett., 018701 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.018701 19,20 79, 046107 (2009). 19. R. Lambiotte, J. Saramaki, and V. D. Blondel, Phys. Rev. E, 046107 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.79.046107 377, 362 (2013). 20. Y. Liu and F. Xiong, Phys. Lett. A, 362 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2012.11.044 21 73, 046120 (2006). 21. N. G. F. Medeiros and A. T. C. Silva, Phys. Rev. E, 046120 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.73.046120 22 87, 042807 (2013). 22. A. C. R. Martins and S. Galam, Phys. Rev. E, 042807 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.87.042807 In recent years, many opinionhave been presented, simulating opinion interactions from a personal perspective. Given an individual interacting rule, the research on opinion dynamics aims to understand the global complex properties in the area ofStatistical methods are used to explore how the local rules affect the collective behavior of social agents.In theseagents hold one of several possible opinions, corresponding to discrete opinionor the opinions of agents take value from a certain range of real numbers, i.e., continuous opinionStarting from an initial opinion configuration, agents update their opinions according to the interacting rules, and finally thetry to find the formation of public opinion and the conditions of phase transition. Discrete opinionsuch as theand the Sznajdtend to use the analogy of ferromagnetic spins from the science of solid-state physics. Interacting rules are defined in opinionand agents update their states following the pattern of ferromagnetic spins, explainingthrough the analogy of physical systems. In mostneighboring influence plays a vital role in individual decisions. The final macroscopic state of the system may be consensus, fragmentation, orIn binary opinionthe consensus state is often favored as a result of imitation and compromises among neighbors, butmay also be observed in some other discretesuch as thewith discrete vectorial opinionsand the voterwith three opinions.In addition, virtual and actual complex networks have been used to mediate opinion interaction.Sociological and psychological features have also been introduced into opinionsuch as memory,inertia,noise,and conviction,characterizing the way in which these features change individual behavior and the global dynamics in a specific scenario. models, the question of whether the models can adequately describe the process of opinion formation in real society and explain or even predict social phenomena still requires further exploration. In Ref. 23 374, 3197 (2010). 23. S. Banisch and T. Araujo, Phys. Lett. A, 3197 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2010.05.071 model, and it was found that the transient opinion profiles produced by the model are in agreement with the real data. In Ref. 24 73, 633 (2010). 24. P. Sobkowicz and A. Sobkowicz, Eur. Phys. J. B, 633 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2010-00039-0 Internet forum. They chose several hundred posts and identified their sentiments. Focusing on the growth and topology of the network, they proved that quarrels and personal conflicts between participants boost the growth of discussions. They identified the final state of discussions, finding that opinion exchanges do not lead to consensus formation and opinions tend to go to extremes. Similar results are found in Ref. 25 390, 2936 (2011). 25. A. Chmiel, P. Sobkowicz, J. Sienkiewicz, G. Paltoglou, K. Buckley, M. Thelwall, and J. A. Holyst, Physica A, 2936 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2011.03.040 24,25 73, 633 (2010). 24. P. Sobkowicz and A. Sobkowicz, Eur. Phys. J. B, 633 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2010-00039-0 390, 2936 (2011). 25. A. Chmiel, P. Sobkowicz, J. Sienkiewicz, G. Paltoglou, K. Buckley, M. Thelwall, and J. A. Holyst, Physica A, 2936 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2011.03.040 models suitably describe online opinion interactions, and whether the interacting rules reflect the actual characteristics of human behavior. Except for these few studies, due to the limitations of data acquisition and processing capability, large-scale empirical analysis has seldom been carried out to check the validity of opinion models. Although more and more actual factors are being included in opinionthe question of whether thecan adequately describe the process of opinion formation in real society and explain or even predict social phenomena still requires further exploration. In Ref., the Finland 2003 election data of the voting sets were applied to verify an opinionand it was found that the transient opinion profiles produced by theare in agreement with the real data. In Ref., the authors studied political discussions on anforum. They chose several hundred posts and identified their sentiments. Focusing on the growth andof the network, they proved that quarrels and personal conflicts between participants boost the growth of discussions. They identified the final state of discussions, finding that opinion exchanges do not lead to consensus formation and opinions tend to go to extremes. Similar results are found in Ref.. These studiesraise the question of whether traditional opinionsuitably describe online opinion interactions, and whether the interacting rules reflect the actual characteristics of human behavior. Except for these few studies, due to the limitations of data acquisition and processing capability, large-scale empiricalhas seldom been carried out to check the validity of opinion Internet has become one of the most important ways to obtain information. As a popular application service on the Internet, online social media have attracted millions of users. On social media, users interact with others, build relationships, publish posts or replies, and discuss topics. Therefore, the growth of social networks is promoted by users' actions. The process of opinion formation on social media is more complicated than in real society, and information diffuses and evolves more rapidly. For instance, users always discuss issues with others anonymously. They do not know the true names of their neighbors, and they cannot become well acquainted with the personality characteristics of their neighbors. Moreover, users cannot directly see the internal opinions of their neighbors but instead learn about their opinions through the posts they publish. In Refs. 26 and 27 19, 617 (2008). 26. A. C. R. Martins, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C, 617 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129183108012339 78, 036104 (2008). 27. A. C. R. Martins, Phys. Rev. E, 036104 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.036104 model with continuous opinions and discrete actions was presented; the findings suggested that after observing the actions of neighbors, agents update their own internal opinions that cannot be noticed by others. This model may be an attempt to interpret the opinion evolution on social media. Thehas become one of the most important ways to obtain information. As a popular application service on theonline social media have attracted millions of users. On social media, users interact with others, build relationships, publish posts or replies, and discuss topics. Therefore, the growth ofis promoted by users' actions. The process of opinion formation on social media is more complicated than in real society, and information diffuses and evolves more rapidly. For instance, users always discuss issues with others anonymously. They do not know the true names of their neighbors, and they cannot become well acquainted with the personality characteristics of their neighbors. Moreover, users cannot directly see the internal opinions of their neighbors but instead learn about their opinions through the posts they publish. In Refs., awith continuous opinions and discrete actions was presented; the findings suggested that after observing the actions of neighbors, agents update their own internal opinions that cannot be noticed by others. Thismay be an attempt to interpret the opinion evolution on social media. 28 and 29 329, 1194 (2010). 28. D. Centola, Science, 1194 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1185231 334, 1269 (2011). 29. D. Centola, Science, 1269 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1207055 social network. In Refs. 30 and 31 7, e1002199 (2011). 30. M. Salathé and S. Khandelwal, PLoS. Comput. Biol., e1002199 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002199 2, 1 (2013). 31. M. Salathé, D. Q. Vu, S. Khandelwal, and D. R. Hunter, EPJ Data Sci., 1 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds16 social network. From social media, one can also collect user relationships and posts easily and freely, and analyze the sentiments of the posts to reproduce the opinion evolution process. In this study, we collect abundant data from a popular social medium, i.e., Twitter, and obtain users' opinions from posts. Studying the evolution of public opinion, we determine differences in opinion formation compared with traditional opinion models. Based on our findings, we propose a discrete opinion model in which individual opinions are latent and only agents' actions are accessible to others. Individual actions are induced by their activity, which evolves during the opinion evolution, and individual opinion changes nonlinearly depending on the proportion of opponents. Social media provide huge amounts of user and topic information. In Refs., the authors empirically studied the spread of health behavior in an onlineIn Refs., the dynamics of health behavior sentiments was investigated by real data collected from a largeFrom social media, one can also collect user relationships and posts easily and freely, andthe sentiments of the posts to reproduce the opinion evolution process. In this study, we collect abundant data from a popular social medium, i.e., Twitter, and obtain users' opinions from posts. Studying the evolution of public opinion, we determine differences in opinion formation compared with traditional opinionBased on our findings, we propose a discrete opinionin which individual opinions are latent and only agents' actions are accessible to others. Individual actions are induced by their activity, which evolves during the opinion evolution, and individual opinion changes nonlinearly depending on the proportion of opponents. analysis of opinion interaction on Twitter. Section model with internal opinions and external actions driven by individual activity. Section model. Concluding remarks are given in Sec. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section II carries out an empiricalof opinion interaction on Twitter. Section III presents awith internal opinions and external actions driven by individual activity. Section IV illustrates simulation results and provides a discussion about theConcluding remarks are given in Sec. V
II. EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF OPINION FORMATION ON ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter, a microblogging service, has become one of the most popular social media on the Internet. With its huge number of readers, Twitter has demonstrated its strength for information propagation. Twitter is sometimes the source of popular topics and can even cause online emergencies. Therefore, studying public opinion on Twitter can help us to understand the opinion formation process in online social networks. We collected an abundance of data from Twitter through our directed robot, including information about users and their related posts. After several hours of collection from Twitter, 2 348 854 user profiles and approximately 6 million posts from December 2010 to June 2011 were downloaded. The data in each month contain 301 184, 908 976, 967 328, 1 390 116, 1 282 112, 1 354 921, and 725 435 posts, respectively, and contain 164 154, 435 632, 447 910, 611 082, 586 182, 592 893, and 435 813 active users, respectively. Users of Twitter usually publish a post to express their ideas, attitudes, or sentiments toward a social event or product. User's posts do not always track the real evolution process of user's opinions because a user may not publish posts all the time, and the active users that create posts frequently only comprise a small proportion of the population. Even so, we can also analyze the total posts belonging to a certain topic to investigate the dynamic trend of public opinion on Twitter. In our sentiment analysis (see the Appendix), these posts may have positive or negative polarity. In this paper, we treat the sentiment of a post as user's current opinion so users can hold one of two possible opinions on a topic. We chose three topics about electronic products (i.e., “iPhone 4,” “Blackberry,” “iPad 2”) and gathered related posts. Each of the topics contains 102 815, 225 954, and 199 702 posts, respectively. For the three topics, we calculated the proportion of cumulative positive posts at different time to quantify the opinion dynamics on Twitter; thus, we can observe the change of public opinion over time. polarization of opinions can also be observed; however, in a disordered state, the densities of the two opinions are equal and no opinion dominates. 32 76, 042102 (2007). 32. J. Y. Guan, Z. X. Wu, and Y. H. Wang, Phys. Rev. E, 042102 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.76.042102 1 1 33 75, 030101 (2007). 33. R. Lambiotte, M. Ausloos, and J. A. Hołyst, Phys. Rev. E, 030101 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.75.030101 model in which agents within a community hold the same opinion but opinions of agents across communities are different. Then, we check the real user network of Twitter, and cannot find a clear community structure with consensus within, and the proportion of positive posts for these three topics in any subset of the real network is generally different. In this paper, we consider that the system achieves an ordered state, if there exists a clear majority-minority splitting of two opinions, and theof opinions can also be observed; however, in a disordered state, the densities of the two opinions are equal and no opinion dominates.Figureshows the evolution of the proportion of total positive posts on these topics. As shown in Figure, the public opinion for each topic fluctuates in the early stage, and then the dynamics is extremely slowed down after a short time. Ultimately, the public opinion evolves into an ordered state and one opinion predominates absolutely, but a state of complete consensus is difficult to reach. At first, one opinion takes a slight advantage, but this advantage gradually grows toward the initial majority opinion in the evolution process. On these three topics, the majority of people hold a commendatory attitude, and more approvers are attracted by the product “iPhone 4” and “iPad 2.” We also study the evolution of other topics, and find that an ordered state is a common stable state for online dynamic systems. In Ref., the authors proposed a non-consensus opinionin which agents within a community hold the same opinion but opinions of agents across communities are different. Then, we check the real user network of Twitter, and cannot find a clear community structure with consensus within, and the proportion of positive posts for these three topics in any subset of the real network is generally different. 2 γ = − 2.343 ± 0.008, γ = − 2.451 ± 0.004, and γ = − 2.767 ± 0.011, respectively. More than 10 000 users only publish one post on a certain topic, but several enthusiasts discuss and comment on the product more than 100 times. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity in users' participation in the topic “Blackberry” remains the largest among these topics, implying that users have less interest in this topic. It is also found that the results for the topics “iPhone 4” and “iPad 2” are similar. The reason may be that these two products “iPhone 4” and “iPad 2” are provided by the same corporation, and a lot of users hold positive attitude towards the corporation, as well as its products. Many users participate in both the topics “iPhone 4” and “iPad 2,” and have similar activity on these two topics. Now, we study the participation level of users in each topic. As shown in Figure, the distribution of the number of users' posts decays as a power law with a long tail. The power exponents of the distribution for “iPhone 4,” “iPad 2,” and “Blackberry” are, and, respectively. More than 10 000 users only publish one post on a certain topic, but several enthusiasts discuss and comment on the product more than 100 times. Meanwhile,
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It is really painful."
Joseph says it isn't just a loss for those who speak it; it's a loss for human culture and human heritage. He isn't alone in his concerns. As it turns out, there are some efforts to preserve Aramaic.
Ariel Sabar is author of an article on the disappearing language in February's edition of Smithsonian magazine. He says it's astonishing to think that Aramaic could be disappearing because it once was as common as English.
The language was spoken by Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians. At its height, it could be heard from the Mediterranean to the borders of China. Now, it may be one or two generations away from vanishing. It's only spoken in small villages across northern Iraq, Syria and southern Turkey.
"That led me to this wonderful, scrappy, adventure-seeking group of linguists who have literally criss-crossed the globe in search of these remaining pockets of Aramaic speakers," Sabar tells Jacki Lyden, host of weekends on All Things Considered.
Most of the towns where Aramaic is spoken are small, mountain hamlets or farming villages. For research on his piece, Sabar, author of My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for his Family's Past, interviewed five linguists, including Hezi Mutzafi, a scholar at Tel Aviv University.
The Sound Of Aramaic Esho Joseph Singing "Bridge Song 2” Listen Children Singing in Aramaic Listen
"He would get a phone call from Finland, someone saying — you know a priest, an Assyrian priest saying — I've got a guy here who speaks this dialect that's never been documented," Sabar said. "And Hezi would sort of drop everything, get on the first plane and go out there, because he was worried that this guy might not live another week.
"I said, 'What is that thrill like?' And he said, 'Remember the scene in Jurassic Park where the scientists come across, you know, a living dinosaur?'"
War and migration have taken a heavy toll on the village cultures whose very isolation preserved Aramaic over the centuries. In the last decade alone, it's estimated that nearly half of all Christians who speak Aramaic have fled Iraq. In his piece, Sabar writes about the search for people from those villages who speak what linguists call a pure dialect.
"[University of Cambridge linguist Geoffrey Khan] said they're speakers of what he called pure dialects," Sabar said. "And by pure he meant typically elderly people who had spent their entire lives in sort of small, isolated villages," Sabar says. "And whose dialects had not been diluted either by, you know, moving to bigger cities where a bunch of different dialects would converge."
There is some effort to preserve Aramaic today in northern Iraq where schools teach the language. But linguists are right to scour the globe searching for the last links to the oldest, purest forms of an ancient language.Steve Bence has driven up to Pre's Rock countless times over the past 38 years. Every visit is different.
Some days it's quiet and he feels the presence of Steve Prefontaine, his former University of Oregon teammate. On other days, the little spot at the bend of the narrow road in Eugene, Ore., is crowded with visitors taking pictures and leaving tributes -- track shoes, race bib numbers, singlets, hats, medals and heartfelt handwritten notes -- around a granite monument to Prefontaine.
It's a shrine, and people from across the country and the world visit just hoping to get a little closer to the dynamic distance star who set every American record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters by the time he died at the site in a late-night car crash in 1975. Bence, a longtime Nike executive, sometimes brings company employees to Eugene from Beaverton to learn about Nike's roots.
On those trips, he usually stops at Pre's Rock to give them an idea what "Pre" was like.
"I try to tell at least one personal story with him, just to make him real," Bence says. "It's not just some mythical guy. He was a runner and a friend."
Often after he speaks, people approach to ask questions or to take his picture. They've read about Pre in books, seen the documentary or the two dramatic films about his life, or been inspired by his quotes and his go-for-broke running style. Bence understands.
"It's kind of like if they can touch me, I touched Pre, and so therefore if they touch me they touch a person who touched Pre," says Bence.
He has no single explanation for why Prefontaine, who died at age 24, remains so loved and such an inspiration to so many, yet he knows it's true.
"He's been dead longer than he was alive, and he still has an impact on people," Bence says.
Stronger with time
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Prefontaine's last race for Oregon -- when he completed an undefeated season in the fall of 1973 by winning his third NCAA individual cross country title -- and his legacy at Oregon, around Eugene, and across the state of Oregon is as strong as it's ever been.
A giant mural at Oregon's Hayward Field, where he won so many races, features multiple images of Pre. Visitors to the campus bookstore find Prefontaine posters, shirts, books and movies for sale. Incoming freshmen on orientation tours hear about his exploits and learn about nearby Pre's Rock and Pre's Trail, a public jogging path where he used to run.
His pictures and quotes adorn walls in the offices of the Daily Emerald, the student newspaper. There's a statue of Prefontaine at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, another in Portland, and a large memorial in his hometown of Coos Bay, where he is buried. That city also has a permanent exhibit of his trophies, memorabilia and photos at the Prefontaine Gallery at the Coos Art Museum.
The Ducks host the Prefontaine Classic every year (billed as the nation's premier track and field meet), and the 34th annual Prefontaine Memorial 10K race will be held Sept. 21 in Coos Bay over trails run by Pre as a teen.
Prefontaine's words live on, too, sometimes etched into the skin of runners inspired by him. The most popular: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
It's probably not a surprise, then, that in Eugene -- Track Town, USA -- it's Prefontaine who rises above even a football program that has become one of the nation's best, something you won't see in other football hotbeds like Ann Arbor, Tuscaloosa or Gainesville.
Says Oregon student Jake Crump, 20, who is from Coos Bay and is an editor for the Daily Emerald: "I would say it's pretty hard to grow up in Oregon and not know Steve Prefontaine and his story."
New Oregon football coach Mark Helfrich, who also grew up in Pre's hometown, passes a picture of Prefontaine every day in the hall outside his office. And former coach Chip Kelly, who took his team to Pre's Rock in 2009 for inspiration, urged those Ducks to play the way Prefontaine ran.
"Steve Prefontaine did not care who he was running against," Kelly said at the time. "He was going to run as hard as he could for as long as he could. That's what I hope our attitude is in this football program."
To Cole Watson, a middle-distance and cross country runner at Oregon, Prefontaine's aura is "as strong as ever," and he knows other runners feel that way, too. Watson, going into his fourth year with the Ducks, was a six-time state champion at Rogue River High School in the southern part of the state. He knew about Prefontaine in grade school.
"I watched the movies before I even started running, and when I did start running, I thought, 'Man, I want to be just like this guy,' " he recalls. "You know, he's a rebel. He makes this sport that isn't about contact and hitting people -- it's not necessarily cool in a lot of other people's eyes -- and he made it cool for us."
Once Watson began running, he wanted to follow Pre's path to Eugene. Then in 2010, Watson won the Nike-Steve Prefontaine Award, given to the state's best senior high school distance runner.
"I wanted to run for Oregon, but I didn't think I would be good enough," he says. "But as I grew and got stronger, it became a reality. Oregon wasn't the first visit I took, but it was the last. You fall in love with it because all the coaches talk about 'Hayward Field magic,' and it kind of just feels right when you're here."
Pilgrims young and old are drawn to Pre's Rock to pay tribute to Oregon's biggest hero. Courtesy Daniel Wojcik
The allure of Pre
What is it about Prefontaine that attracts teens, 20-somethings and even non-runners who never watched him compete?
"I don't think there is one good answer," says Linda Prefontaine, Steve's sister. "I think there are many good answers."
For one, the movies and books continue to tell his story. For another, Pre was a phenomenon during his time at Oregon, capturing championships and national headlines, packing the stands at Hayward Field with "Pre's People" and even inspiring "Stop Pre" T-shirts worn by opposing fans (countering Oregon's "Go Pre" shirts).
As author and Oregonian Ken Kesey once said: "Pre was more than a name -- it was a condition."
That legend has been passed on by word of mouth and media. Also, his story was an everyman's tale of a guy "from Nowhere, Oregon," as Linda describes it, who became "this huge star based on his own hard work."
"Steve knew he didn't have the speed or the talent of some other runners, yet he willed himself to be great, she says. If other runners were going to beat him, Pre once said, "They are going to have to bleed to do it."
His strategy often was to storm to the early lead and force the field to chase him. It was a style that endeared him to thousands. Even in a losing 5,000-meter race at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, he captured American hearts. He jumped to the lead in a slow race with about 1,500 meters to go and dared the rest of the field to catch him. Three did, and he finished a gallant forth, totally spent and dejected.
"He knew he didn't have great speed at the end, so, you know, what are you going to do, run with the guys that have the kick and you don't, and save yourself to the end and then get your ass kicked?" Linda says. "Or are you going to try to make those guys bleed in the middle of the race and hope that they lose some of that extra oomph they have at the end, to out-kick somebody. What are your choices?"
Another part of the allure, of course, is that Prefontaine died young. People were left wondering what could have been. A gold medal at the 1976 Games? World records? Also, says Oregon professor Dr. Daniel Wojcik, Prefontaine was seen as a man of the people and a rebel. He lived in a trailer outside Eugene, worked at a tavern and spent time with his fans.
He also defied conventional running strategies, sometimes clashed with his coaches and fought the Amateur Athletic Union. Even before his death, he was compared to James Dean -- a comparison that now seems eerie. Also, Prefontaine ran in a different era.
"Something about him was true grit and just a guy who didn't compromise," says Wojcik, who has studied Prefontaine's life and written a detailed examination of the pilgrimages to Pre's Rock as part of his research into modern shrines and spiritual tourism. "I think we live in an age when a lot of athletes are seen as being corrupt or using performance-enhancing drugs or in it for the money. Prefontaine is imagined as kind of uncorrupted, you know, unadulterated."
Though the University of Oregon has produced scores of brilliant athletes, to Wojcik, Prefontaine "is hailed above the rest" in the popular imagination, his mythos attached to Hayward Field and so many other points in Eugene. He's a folk hero.
"Prefontaine really lives on," says Wojcik.
Dominance and inspiration
After taking time off from school to compete in the 1972 Olympics, Prefontaine still had college eligibility remaining, so he came back for one final cross country season in the fall of '73. His return helped Oregon win the NCAA championship, and his winning race was a classic.
Steve Bence has a special connection to Pre's Rock and his friend and teammate. Courtesy Daniel Wojcik
He trailed by a good margin to Western Kentucky's Nick Rose at the midpoint, but then pushed past Rose to win by more than five seconds over the 6-mile course in Spokane, Wash. His third collegiate cross country championship was added to four NCAA 3-mile track championships. In four years at Oregon, he never lost a race longer than a mile.
Today, Bence remembers Prefontaine as a friend, not a legend.
"He was just like the rest of us, a knucklehead," he says, chuckling. But he was a friend who did legendary things. "It wasn't so much about what he did or his times or his place, it was how he went about competing and living his life that inspired people."
And on race day at Hayward Field, with the stands full, Bence can still feel the excitement and anticipation that surrounded a Prefontaine race.
"He'd walk through the gate and all heads would turn," he says. "It was like everybody knew that Pre was walking into the field there. The electricity just caught on. … He'd go flat-out every race and give it everything he had, and that's the way he was."
Linda Prefontaine is grateful that so many people still remember her brother. She's seen the people come to Pre's Rock wanting to pay their respects, and she's touched by their sincerity. Almost 40 years after his death, the name Steve Prefontaine is very much alive.
"What a great thing, to do something in that short of a life that all these years later, it's not dying, it's growing. The story is growing," she says. "Other than the ending, it's a great story, a motivating story."The assumed end for Kobe Bryant will come on a Wednesday night in April at Staples Center. April 13, to be exact, when the Utah Jazz visit Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers for the final regular-season game of Kobe’s 20th (and farewell) season.
Our advice?
Don’t assume.
It is more than conceivable that our last dose of Kobe hooping at the highest level could actually come in August, with those goodbye waves and thankful blown kisses to the crowd dispatched from atop a medal stand.
In Brazil.
The sheer math of it will undoubtedly make the mere suggestion sound outlandish to some. Give a roster spot to the battered Bryant for the Rio Olympics? With such a deep pool of players to pick from?
Just trust me: No. 24 will draw serious consideration from USA Basketball elders Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski -- two of the biggest Kobe fans on Planet Roundball -- if Bryant makes it to the summer in reasonably good health and makes himself available to be chosen.
Editor's note Remember our encyclopedia-length Weekend Dimes back in the day? On Fridays, whenever the schedule allows, we like to try to recapture the spirit of the WD thing with a mini Son of Weekend Dime... because you know what nostalgic saps we are here at Stein Line Live.
After Colangelo and Coach K's decade together in charge of the national team, it is well understood within the USAB inner sanctum that assembling a squad for the Olympics does not mean simply picking the 12 most talented players. Not for the competition that, unlike the FIBA World Cup, typically attracts every top American name in the game.
Not when the coach has only 40 minutes per game to dole out.
The 11th and 12th men, and maybe even the 10th man, can reasonably expect to do much more watching than playing. Which helps explain why USAB, in similar circumstances, brought Jason Kidd to the Beijing Games in 2008 at age 35.
Kidd averaged 1.6 points and 2.0 assists per game for that Olympic team. He wasn’t there because his country needed him on the floor. He was there because Krzyzewski loved the leadership/presence/mentoring he could offer to the rest of the team as a virtual coach in uniform.
And that’s the same sort of role USAB would offer Bryant, at 37, if that's what makes sense for both sides at season’s end.
Colangelo, Krzyzewski and USAB executive Sean Ford have made it clear that they intend to use the whole NBA season to evaluate all of their options, since they're arguably staring at the hardest cut-down to 12 in the history of the program.
LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, John Wall, Jimmy Butler and Dwight Howard... there’s a quick 20 names off the top of our heads to throw at you just to get the dissection and debate started. There are so many different ways USAB can go, while also allowing for the usual disclaimers that injuries and contractual conundrums that arise between now and the end of June will inevitably make some of the decisions for them.
In general, though, USAB officials like to see an old head (a la Kidd in 2008) or a fresh-faced future star (like The Brow suiting up at the 2012 Olympics before he had ever spent a minute in the NBA) on the end of the bench. It's proven to be a wiser approach than stuffing the roster with a dozen dudes who merit major minutes, which would only set Krzyzewski up to find two or three of them seething about sitting.
What the USAB folks won't (and obviously can’t) say, meanwhile, is that the threat of losing in Rio isn't nearly what it was in Beijing or London. As we've lamented in this space more than once since the 2014 FIBA World Cup, we've actually hit a bumpy patch worldwide where the gap between Team USA and the rest of the world is regrettably widening when it should be shrinking. Once-mighty Spain is aging and no other country in circulation has been able to establish itself as a foe that can legitimately steal a gold-medal game from the Yanks.
Which is to say that there is absolutely zero basketball risk in giving Kobe a seat on the plane to Brazil at the expense of a player who presumably has more to contribute numbers-wise.
We repeat: Consider this a Stein Line Live-engraved guarantee that the United States, no matter who else it sees in the 12-team tournament next Aug. 5-21, will be collecting another round of gold medals on Aug. 21, 2016.
So why not let Bryant, two days before his 38th birthday, go out in glory?
Will Kobe finish his basketball career with a gold medal around his neck? Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports
Maybe he won't be healthy enough to play top-level basketball in July (when USAB convenes for training camp) and August. Maybe he won’t have the requisite emotional fuel to even put his name forward for Olympic consideration. Maybe Bryant will ultimately decide, after becoming the first player in league history to spend 20 seasons with the same team, that he wants our last meaningful glimpse of him to be in Lakers colors.
Yet you can rest assured that bringing Bryant to Brazil isn't going to hurt the team one whit. It’s likewise a safe assumption that playing with all those American stars, as well as that shorter 3-point line, would help Kobe look a lot better than he has in this opening quarter of his swan song in Lakerland, where he's been plagued by a lack of explosion to create openings for shots on top of his own stubbornness... but also the sort of proven talent around him to make the game a little easier.
I know, I know. I hear the Kobe Haters in the audience shouting: How many farewell tours does this guy need? The Lakers have 64 games left on their schedule. There’s every chance Bryant will be voted in to start in the All-Star Game in Toronto on Feb. 14. Do we really have to send him to the Olympics, too?
No.
We don’t have to.
It has to be right for everyone involved.
Yet if you’ve had the privilege to follow Team USA around with Ambassador Kobe decked out in red, white and blue, and thus seeing how much he means to basketball fans abroad with his top-10-ish of all-time resume and his flawless Italian and Spanish, you can’t help but be intrigued by the idea.
Especially when you’re an unapologetically sappy basketball romantic like moi.
Eastern Conference
The Pacers, amid their stunning 12-5 start, have made swingman Solomon Hill available via trade, according to league sources. A first-round draftee as recently as 2013, Hill is out there after falling out of favor in Indiana despite playing in all 82 games last season and averaging 29.0 minutes in 2014-15 for the old, plodding Pacers.... Tough news in Boston: Brad Stevens says Marcus Smart's injury absence will be longer than anticipated, potentially stretching into the new year. According to one trusted scout, Smart’s hounding perimeter D makes him “the new Tony Allen -- he simply refuses to be screened.”... With the recent release of Martell Webster to open up a roster spot for Ryan Hollins, Washington is now paying $5,623,500 to players this season who aren’t on the roster. That equates to 6.8 percent of the Wizards’ current $82.2 million payroll, which puts them at No. 3 in the league’s Dead Money Standings, narrowly ahead of Brooklyn. Detroit is at No. 2, with $9.4 million -- or 12.2 percent of its $76.7 million payroll -- going to five waived players, most notably Josh Smith ($5.4 million) and Danny Granger ($2.2 million). No team, of course, can compare to the 76ers, who are paying $25.9 million this season -- or 43.2 percent of Philly’s $59.9 million outlay overall -- to eight players who were let go before the season started. JaVale McGee and Gerald Wallace, acquired by the Sixers in deals that cleared cap space for other teams and released soon thereafter, soak up $22 million of that total.
Western Conference
Your obligatory Steph Curry update: The NBA’s Golden Child has six 40-point games already this season after just three in his entire MVP season in 2014-15. He’s also already earned six fourth quarters of total rest in the Warriors’ first 20 games and is scoring 37.8 percent of his points this season in the third quarter. In total, Curry has rung up 640 points in 685 minutes on a mere 403 shots, while averaging 11.1 3-pointer attempts per game. The single-season record for 3s per game is Baron Davis’ 8.7 in 2003-04.... Can’t say I know exactly what the Sixers’ young players are going through, but I think I have an inkling. A 15-game (or more) losing streak to start one’s NBA career is not exclusive to Jahlil Okafor and T.J. McConnell, nor last season’s unfortunate Philly rooks Nerlens Noel and K.J. McDaniels. The Clippers once had a trio of rookies who began their careers with an 0-16 nightmare: Lamond Murray, Eric Piatkowski and Matt Fish in 1994-95. And I will never forget it because it was my first full season on the NBA beat for the Los Angeles Daily News.... As covered recently in this space, Bryant says he doesn’t have any plans to satiate his fans abroad by playing a season in Italy or China when he’s done with the NBA. But playing in the Olympics could serve as that farewell to the international basketball public, which Bryant addressed in a Friday morning visit on ESPN Radio with Mike and Mike, saying: “Obviously I grew up overseas and have seen basketball grow globally. It’s come so far, so fast. (I) would love nothing more to be in an international environment and be around so many other great athletes one more time. That being said, it’s not something I’m obsessing over, either, because I’ve got to listen to my body, too. If my body can’t do it, there’s no sense in doing it. So God willing, hopefully, if they feel I can make a significant contribution and my body is up for it... if that’s the case then I would love to play.”
The List
Kevin McHale’s 11 games in Houston before his dismissal are the second fewest in league history for a coach who returned to his team after a conference finals appearance in the previous season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Gene Shue’s six games with Philadelphia in the 1977-78 account for a shorter stay. McHale, mind you, was just 11 games into a new three-year contract.
Fewest Games Coached, Season Following Conference Finals
1977-78: Philadelphia’s Gene Shue -- 6
2015-16: Houston’s Kevin McHale -- 11
1998-99: L.A. Lakers’ Del Harris -- 12
1956-57: Syracuse’s Al Cervi -- 12
PS -- The last coach before McHale not to make it through the following season, after a trip to at least the conference finals, was Miami’s Stan Van Gundy in 2005-06. Van Gundy led Miami to the 2005 East finals before resigning 21 games into the next season and was famously succeeded by Pat Riley, who wound up leading the Heat to a championship after they fell into a 2-0 hole to Dallas in the NBA Finals.We hear much these days about our ‘Judeo-Christian’ heritage and its early and enduring influence on our culture,” says the Jewish Press. But given that only about 2,500 Jews lived in the American colonies in 1776, it continues, “usually those of us who speak of that early dual influence are referring to the Christian Bible with its Jewish roots.” Turns out, however, there was at least one influential Jew at the time of the first official Thanksgiving in 1789. Gershom Mendes Seixas was the cantor and spiritual leader of New York City’s only synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel, until it shut down operations during the Revolution, and he became the leader of a synagogue in Philadelphia, where he used his pulpit to speak out in support of General George Washington. When Washington was inaugurated as president, Seixas was one of the presiding clergy. “This was certainly an act of gratitude by Washington for the preacher’s stalwart support during the war,” says the Press. “It was also, though, an expression of Washington’s thinking about the importance of religious freedom and diversity in the new nation.”
And when Thanksgiving became an official holiday that year, Seixas, back at Shearith Israel, preached that Jews were “equal partakers of every benefit that results from this good government” and should try “to live as Jews ought to do in brotherhood and amity, to seek peace and pursue it,” which, says the Press, “is every bit as relevant to all of us 220 years later.”
This Thanksgiving, Please Pass the Brisket [Jewish Press]Chapter 6: A Magic College in a Cold Land
Weiss's Perspective
I walked up to the stairs that led to the college with the encouraging words of my teammates ringing in my ears. "You can't possibly fail twice!" That was enough to make me want to break Yang's arms. I reached the woman who stood at the entrance to the walkway to the school and prepared myself for a failure that may or may not come.
"Welcome to the Coll… Oh, it's you again." The woman said, clearly not happy to see me again.
"I can do magic this time." I told her with my head held high, as per the usual.
"Oh? Can you now, we'll see about that. Since you seem so confident, how about make things a little different this time." She said, grinning.
"In what way?" I ask, now suddenly concerned.
"Well, based on the way you're speaking, a simple spell such as Magelight must be far too simple for someone like you. So instead, let's have you conjure a Flame Atronach on the seal right here." She said, pointing to the seal on the floor.
"No problem." I say to her with the same tone as before. Thank Talos that I found that book in that cave. I thought about the book and the seal on the ground while I balled my fist. Within a second it glowed purple, which freaked me out so I threw it open at the seal on the ground. A bright red, floating girl that seemed to be made of lava suddenly appeared in front of us.
"Well then, perhaps I misjudged you. You are now permitted entrance into the College of Winterhold. Oh, and my name is Faralda, I teach Destruction magic here at the college." Faralda said.
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Weiss." I told her.
"Now then, please follow me to the main gates, and try not to fall behind." Faralda said.
"Yes ma'am." I said to her, forcing the polite tone. We walked down the path and she began to tell me about the college.
"So the College itself isn't all too large, but you'll find it more accommodating than most places in Skyrim. The main hall, or the Hall of the Elements, is primarily where you'll find students practicing magic. Speaking of which, how familiar are you with the five schools of magic?" Faralda asked.
"Not very. I'm new here." I told her, keeping the forced polite tone.
"Well, that's plainly obvious. But based on your performance back there, you're more adept than most natives are, so you shouldn't have too many problems." Faralda said.
"That sounds fantastic." I say, smiling at the praise.
"Now then, you'll be staying in the Hall of Attainment, which is located in the left tower of the college when facing the entrance. The Hall of Countenance is in the right tower of the college, and is where all the teachers reside." Faralda said.
I sighed in relief at the thought of having a bed.
"And if you ever need to research anything, the Arcanaeum should have whatever book you're looking for. You can access it from the Hall of the Elements by entering the door on the left." Faralda said.
I paid close attention because this is where I would have to look to research those "Elder Scrolls".
"It's run by Urag gro-Shub, and he's very picky about the order of things. As long as you don't mess up anything in there, you should be fine." Faralda said.
"Thank you for the tip." I respond.
We walked up to a very large gate that loomed over the walkway. Instinctively, I reached my hands out to open it. It seemed to respond to us walking up, and opened, leaving me with my hands held out for nothing. Faralda giggled at me not knowing about the gate, causing me to blush with anger.
"Now then, Mirabelle Ervine, our Master Wizard, should be able to answer any more questions you have. She's standing by the entrance over there." Faralda said, pointing to a brown haired woman standing by a set of large wooden doors.
I walked over to her and said "Faralda told me to talk to you. I'm new here." I said, politely.
"Ah, pardon me, this is a bit unexpected." She took a moment to seemingly go over pre-rehearsed lines in her head before continuing. "My name is Mirabelle Ervine, I'm the Master Wizard here at the College, and you are?"
"Weiss Schnee, pleased to make your acquaintance." I said with forced politeness.
"If you had put more thought into that tone of yours, It would've been somewhat believable." Mirabelle said, a slight harshness present in her tone.
I was thrown back by the fact that she saw through my, seemingly, impregnable façade.
"I'm sorry. Let me try again. I'm Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet you." I say to her with, mostly, genuine politeness.
"The pleasure is mine, and for future reference, you should stave away from such obvious attempts at forced tones. There are people all around Tamriel who live and breath speechcraft, and I can clearly tell that you aren't one of them." Mirabelle said, with a mixture of politeness and sternness.
"Yes ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." I say with sincere tones.
"Now then, what is it that you seek from the college?" Mirabelle asked.
"Where is my room?" I ask her.
"We'll get to that once you answer my question." Mirabelle said.
"And it was?" I ask her, now confused.
She sighed, clearly annoyed. "Everyone who comes to the college seeks something, so what is it that you wish to gain from the college?"
"Knowledge about the Elder Scrolls." I tell her plainly.
"Hmm…" She paused to think about it. "The college may have the knowledge you seek, but it would be very limited. Now then, is that all you seek?" Mirabelle asked.
"I also want to learn more about the 'Arcane Arts'" I said, quoting Faralda.
"Ah, of course. Now, which of the five schools are you most interested in?" Mirabelle asked.
"What are there?" I ask in response.
Mirabelle cringed slightly, clearly she was hoping that I had at least some idea on what I wanted to study. I mean, come on, I only arrived here a few days ago.
"There's Destruction, Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion, and Restoration." Mirabelle said.
"Alteration and Restoration sound interesting." I reply, making my decision.
"Ah, then you should speak with Colette and Tolfdir after I show you to your room. Tolfdir teaches Alteration and Colette teaches Restoration, and you'll find both of them either in the main building or the Hall of Countenance." Mirabelle said.
"Thank you ma'am." I respond to her, keeping the genuine politeness constant.
"Now then, let me show you to where you'll be staying." Mirabelle said.
"Alright." I reply, falling in line with her.
We made our way to a door located on the left side of the wall, which leaded into one of the other side towers. When we walked in, I immediately noticed that it had another one of those weird blue light-pillar-things in the center of the room, with side rooms surrounding it. We reached the center of the room and turned right, and entered a small but nice looking room. It had a decent looking bed in the center with two wardrobes on either side of it, with two large and one small wardrobe on the right. The left side had a small table and chair next to three barrels, for now, I think I'll stick to the bed.
"This is where you'll be staying. The bed and wardrobes are yours, so feel free to put anything you want in them." Mirabelle said.
"Sounds good." I comment, staring longingly towards a comfortable looking bed.
"Now then, once you get settled, be sure to stop by the Hall of the Elements for a brief lesson in Alteration. We're supposed to be having some more apprentices come in a few days, but I'm sure Tolfdir won't mind giving you a headstart." Mirabelle said, leaving the room.
As much as I wanted to go to classes, I was too tired to move any further. I never really got a good night's sleep at any of our locations, so a bed is amazing.
I rolled over and felt great after my short nap in a comfortable bed. I fell out of my bed when I saw the human skulls and goat head on the wardrobe in the right side of my bed.
"Who puts these kinds of things there?" I asked no one in particular.
While I mumbled about weird things lying around in my room, I prepared for my Alteration classes with Tolfdir. I put on the Mage's robes, hood, gloves, and some shoes that I was given in my wardrobes and walked over to the main building. I hesitated by the door, thinking it would open on its own like the front gate. When it didn't, I pushed it open and walked in.
I saw high-ceilings and a long walkway to a grand circular hall, which I assume is the Hall of Elements. An old looking man was talking to Mirabelle, discussing lesson plans. When she referred to his name as "Tolfdir", I knew this was the teacher I was looking for. Good. I don't have to ask people for directions. After they finished talking, I walked over to the man Mirabelle called "Tolfdir".
"Hello. Are you Tolfdir?" I asked him.
"Indeed I am, and who might you be?" Tolfdir asked.
"Weiss Schnee. I talked to Mirabelle and she said that you teach Alteration. And I wanted to learn Alteration." I tell him, saying my name as only a formality.
"Ah! So you're the new apprentice she mentioned! It's always good to see young people taking an interest in magic. Now then, do you know the concepts of Alteration?" Tolfdir asked.
"Not really. The only spell I know was the one that got me into the college." I admit to my teacher.
"Well then, let's start with a basic explanation, are you ready?" Tolfdir asked.
"Yes." I reply, preparing for something that I have no idea about.
"Alteration provides pure mages and magic dab
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backyards before
sunset, are unafraid of humans and nothing can be left outside," said Shiner.
"We have a serious raccoon problem," Ford confirmed. "I don't have the answer."
The mayor said raccoons are no longer scared of him. But he said unless the small, bandit-masked mammals are attacking children, they should not be euthanized.
He said his driver, Jerry Agyemang, is frightened of the raccoons near his recycling bins. His wife and children are also scared of raccoons. Ford said he's seen some sick raccoons that frighten him.
He sees the raccoons when he takes out his recycling and garbage, and says the creatures do not move when he approaches.
"We have to make deals about who is going to take out the garbage at night," admitted Ford. "It's not funny."
Animal experts often cite behavioural adjustment to regular contact to humans for many generations as a reason raccoons do not appear to be fearful of humans.
Toronto Animal Services reported that although all mammals can carry the rabies virus, raccoons are not a major carrier of this disease in Ontario.
The Ontario SPCA views raccoons as a part of Toronto living.
"With a little understanding, patience and a few precautions and common sense steps, we can all enjoy the wonderfully interesting wild animals who share our backyards and cities," said the organization.- General Mills and health officials are investigating an ongoing, multi-state outbreak of E. coli that may be linked to Gold Medal flour, Wondra flour, and Signature Kitchens flour. Out of an abundance of caution, a voluntary recall is being made.
State and federal authorities have been researching 38 occurrences of illnesses across 20 states related to a specific type of E. coli (E. coli O121), between December 21, 2015, and May 3, 2016.
While attempting to track the cause of the illness, the CDC found that approximately half of the individuals reported making something homemade with flour at some point prior to becoming ill. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour, and some may have also consumed raw dough or batter.
A CDC investigation indicates flour produced at the General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri is a likely source of this outbreak.
E. coli O121 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, the very young, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.
The specific products in the recall can be viewed here.
13.5 ounce Gold Medal Wondra Flour Package UPC 000-16000-18980 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017 2 lb. Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Package UPC 000-16000-10710 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017KC 2lb Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour Package UPC 000-16000-11710 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 23AUG2016KC 10lb Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Package UPC 000-16000-10410 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 02JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC 5lb Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Package UPC 000-16000-10610 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC 5lb Gold Medal Unbleached Flour Package UPC 000-16000-19610 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC 10lb Gold Medal All Purpose Flour- Banded Pack Package UPC 000-16000-10410 Recalled Better if Used by Dates 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KCWASHINGTON - Josh Stieber, who is a former soldier of the “Collateral Murder” Company, says that the acts of brutality caught on film and recently released via Wikileaks are not isolated instances, but were commonplace during his tour of duty.
“A lot of my friends are in that video,” says Stieber. “After watching the video, I would definitely say that that is, nine times out of ten, the way things ended up. Killing was following military protocol. It was going along with the rules as they are.”
Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16, whose members were involved in the incident captured in Wikileaks' “Collateral Murder” video, which has made international headlines by depicting a July 2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which over a dozen people, including two Reuters employees, were killed. Although he was not present at the scene of the video, he knows those who were involved and is familiar with the environment. Stieber, who now works to promote peace and alternatives to war, is speaking publicly about his time in Iraq and the incident captured in this video.
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“If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.”
Stieber currently lives in Washington, D.C.
BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER:
Branch of service: United States Army (USA)
Unit: 1st ID
Rank: Spc.
Home: Laytonsville, Maryland
Served in: Baghdad (Rustamiyah) 07-08 Fort Riley, KS 06-07, 08-09
###Let me tell you how my day went. So I got on a 8+ hour flight, which was delayed by 1 hour by the way, and the air con inside the plane was off. Something was wrong with it, the captain apologized and explained etc. Then when he updated that the issue was being fixed, it went off again, along with the entertainment system (the little TV screen in front of seats). For some reason they mistakenly turned off the system instead of on (?!) and had to do a hard reboot. Which meant we had to sit inside this hot stuffy pile of steel with nothing to do and nowhere to go for about half an hour. So that sucked.
And as that delayed my arrival by an hour and a half, I had to run to my next flight, and got to the gate right when they were doing the final call. So I thought, phew, can't wait to get home.
Nope. They lost my suitcase. From the domestic flight. How the suitcase was fine along 2 international trips lasting ~12 hours, but got lost on a domestic 1 hour flight, is such an irony that got me on the verge of tears. And in fact I was. As I sat in the cab home, with a file number of my lost baggage and a mind so exhausted and broken and lost, I thought, wow. Happy Valentine's to me. I was like, ok life, what else have you got, throw it at me. And low and behold, I arrived home spotting a huge box waiting at my door. You'd probably understand if reddit gifts was the last thing on my mind at that moment, so I was surprised, to say the least - even though I knew it was waiting for me at home. And oh how happy I was, opening that carton box, and how healed my soul felt, seeing what it was, reading the simple note you wrote. Thank you, fellow redditor, for making my day, oh wait my Valentine's day, not as bad as I thought it would be. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(And I'm very sorry again for taking so long to get it)Close
Although Netflix seems more popular than ever, some users seem to believe that the streaming subscription service has a lot less content than it carried in the past.
And it's not in their imagination: a new report recently revealed that the number of movies and TV shows on Netflix has declined in the past few years.
Exstreamist pulled numbers from uNoGS (unofficial Netflix online Global Search) and discovered that in the United States, Netflix only has a little more than 5,000 movies and TV shows available to its users. However, in early 2013, the service offered nearly 9,000 movies and shows, signaling a 40 percent drop in content.
So what's going on with Netflix? One of the main reasons that content has dropped is the pushback from content providers: many of the networks and big movie studios have grown concerned about Netflix pulling customers away from their programming and movies. Netflix even angered big movie studios and major theater chains by releasing its original movie, Beasts of No Nation, on both Netflix and in movie theaters on the same day.
This, along with increasing numbers of consumers cutting the cable and satellite cord, make content providers nervous, meaning that they are far less likely to offer their content to Netflix, instead focusing on maintaining their dwindling viewership numbers.
Another reason, though, is because Netflix has started to focus on its own original content. The service not only offers its own original movies, but also has critically acclaimed TV shows it can focus on. And that original content continues to grow, thanks to growing partnerships with Marvel and other properties.
It's a case of Netflix wanting to offer quality over quantity. A few years ago, many users would log in to their accounts and spend hours trying to figure out what to watch because there were so many choices. Now, with fewer options, Netflix's customers will probably watch more of the service's original shows.
In the meantime, Netflix allowed other partnerships to end, including a deal with Epix that keeps big movies like The Hunger Games off of its site. That begs the question: does Netflix even need those big movies to compete?
The answer is probably no, especially after a weekend where many binge-watched the latest season of Orange is the New Black on the service. Most might argue that's better than watching a 10-year-old TV series or big budget Hollywood movie. Perhaps quality over quantity is the way to go.
All is not lost, though, for viewers who want more Netflix stuff to watch: the service recently sealed an exclusive deal with Disney to stream its movies, including Marvel films.
ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.In this Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft card reveal, we have the latest intel from the front lines on one of the Warrior’s powerful class-specific cards—Commanding Shout.
Do you want to learn about the way of the Warrior? Do you have what it takes to be in command? What was that? Could you speak up? Say that again. We can’t HEAR YOU! Why the need to shout?
HERE’S WHY!
EVEN THE CAPTIONS ARE YELLING
*ahem* Sorry about all that. We got carried away. We’re just excited to show you what Commanding Shout can do for the bold (and brash) Warchief of the Horde, Garrosh Hellscream.
Commanding Shout keeps your minions alive—albeit barely—but barely breathing is good enough. In Hearthstone, you’ll often use your minions to attack your opponent’s minions. When you attack, if both your minion and the enemy minion die, it’s called a “trade.”
Commanding Shout makes sure you never trade. Upon hearing the bellowing roar of your Commanding Shout, your minions will survive engagements with enemy minions instead of trading. Sure, they’re probably standing on the precipice of death, but they’ll live to fight another day... or moment... whatever.
Some minions enjoy getting hurt. Check out this guy:
You won’t like me when I’m angry!
The Amani Berserker thrives in the midst of battle, as reflected by his Enrage ability. This troll gets +3 Attack while he’s damaged.
You have numerous ways to damage your minions and Enrage them. Some cards can deal direct damage to minions, including your own. You can also send your minions into battle, ideally attacking a weaker enemy. It can be tricky to find just the right opportunity to attack another minion without trading, though. That’s where Commanding Shout comes in. With this card, your rage-filled minions are guaranteed to survive any attack!
But Enrage isn’t the only reason you’ll want to keep your minions bruised and bloodied....
Who’s almost dead, now???
Rampage turns that nearly dead minion into a RAMPAGING POWERHOUSE for only 2 Mana!
Nothing feels better than watching your opponent deal a few damage to your minion, hoping desperately to finish the job on the next turn, only to see it become an unstoppable behemoth.
Warriors love to deal damage, but they also love to TAKE it. So next time you’re on the opposite end of the table staring down the son of Grom Hellscream, poised to launch a Fireblast at one of his soldiers, think twice before you hurl it. You might be playing right into his hand.A Jewish settler moves a window after a house was demolished at an outpost near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Negohot November 16, 2009. According to witnesses, several structures were demolished by Israeli authorities on Monday at an outpost that Israel considers illegal. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A group of Israeli soldiers disobeyed orders Monday to help in the dismantling of several structures that Jewish settlers had built without government authorization in the occupied West Bank.
A military spokeswoman said two of the soldiers were sent to prison for 30 days and permanently dismissed from command or combat positions. Several others were still being investigated, the spokeswoman said.
The mutiny followed a similar incident last month that raised concern in Israel about rebellion in the ranks of soldiers opposed on religious or political grounds to any settler evacuation in a future peace deal with the Palestinians.
“It should be emphasized that the soldiers’ actions were fundamentally wrong and contradictory to the (military’s) core values,” an army statement said about Monday’s events.
A Reuters photographer at the scene, a settler-outpost erected without government permission outside the West Bank town of Hebron, said two wooden houses were dismantled by police.
The area was secured by soldiers from an infantry battalion, some of whom “did not follow orders given to them,” the army spokeswoman said, declining to provide exact numbers. The YNet news Web site said six soldiers were relieved of duty.
Last month, a group of conscripts disrupted their swearing-in ceremony at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, calling for continued Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Palestinians say settlements could deny them a viable state.
The military said two soldiers were sentenced to 20 days in jail for their actions at the holy site and removed permanently from the unit.
In a report Sunday that stirred debate in Israel, the Haaretz newspaper said the chief military chaplain, Brigadier-General Avichai Rontzki, told religious conscripts last week to show no mercy toward their enemies.Continuing his efforts to move past the scandal surrounding the George Washington Bridge lane closings, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Thursday named an ombudsman to strengthen ethics policies in his office, and eliminated the department that an internal investigation found had rewarded and punished mayors across the state depending on whether they supported the governor’s re-election.
The moves were based on recommendations from lawyers Mr. Christie hired to do the internal investigation. He also said that he would propose legislation making it a crime for government officials not to report official misconduct by others.
In interviews with the lawyers, the governor’s staff described an intensely political atmosphere in the office that was eliminated, known as legislative and intergovernmental affairs. While it had been set up to answer concerns of legislators and municipal leaders, the office developed into an arm of the governor’s re-election campaign.
The office will be replaced by the Office of Community and Constituent Relations, which the governor’s office said would address the needs of the public “in a nonpartisan fashion.”Have you heard the latest rumor? Facebook could sell shares to the public in an IPO -- valuing the social network from $75 billion to $100 billion -- sometime between April and June. But there are four good reasons why this will be a non-event.
Even though I am not among its 800 million users, Facebook is profitable. It sells advertisements directed at those users and eMarketer estimates that between 2009 and 2011, Facebook’s revenues grew at a 127% annual rate to $3.8 billion in 2011 with operating profit of $1.5 billion, according to BusinessInsider.
So why is one of history's biggest IPOs a non-event? Here are four reasons:
It's grossly over-valued. On a price/sales basis, Facebook would trade at 19.7 -- that's 497% higher than Apple (APPL) at 3.3 and 294% above Google's (GOOG) P/S of 5. And assuming Facebook shares Google's net margin of 26%, Facebook's P/E of 80 is far higher than Google’s 19 or Apple’s 12.7. This means that Facebook's stock might not hold up after the first-day IPO pop -- the same fate that greeted most of 2011's tech IPOs.
On a price/sales basis, Facebook would trade at 19.7 -- that's 497% higher than Apple (APPL) at 3.3 and 294% above Google's (GOOG) P/S of 5. And assuming Facebook shares Google's net margin of 26%, Facebook's P/E of 80 is far higher than Google’s 19 or Apple’s 12.7. This means that Facebook's stock might not hold up after the first-day IPO pop -- the same fate that greeted most of 2011's tech IPOs. It won't unleash corporate capital spending. In 1995, Netscape's IPO spurred a wave of corporate capital spending. That's because the web browser made the Internet easier for people to use than it had been before. A wave of supporting industries ranging from web consultants to makers of Web infrastructure – that got their fingers into the corporate Internet investment pie, as I described in my 1998 book, Net Profit. Facebook is not doing that -- its revenues represent a mere 1% of the world's $507 billion in total ad spending and its IPO would not lead to a major change in the trajectory of corporate spend.
In 1995, Netscape's IPO spurred a wave of corporate capital spending. That's because the web browser made the Internet easier for people to use than it had been before. A wave of supporting industries ranging from web consultants to makers of Web infrastructure – that got their fingers into the corporate Internet investment pie, as I described in my 1998 book, Net Profit. Facebook is not doing that -- its revenues represent a mere 1% of the world's $507 billion in total ad spending and its IPO would not lead to a major change in the trajectory of corporate spend. It doesn't change much for Facebook insiders. Facebook's investors and employees were able -- until last week when trading there was halted -- to sell their shares for cash on SharesPost, a secondary market. On January 26th, Facebook was valued at $73.4 billion there -- a few billion below the estimated IPO range. Sure, an IPO, made logical by an SEC requirement for public financial reporting after Facebook topped 500 shareholders, will add to Facebook the cost of running a public company -- but beyond that, things there should not change much.
Facebook's investors and employees were able -- until last week when trading there was halted -- to sell their shares for cash on SharesPost, a secondary market. On January 26th, Facebook was valued at $73.4 billion there -- a few billion below the estimated IPO range. Sure, an IPO, made logical by an SEC requirement for public financial reporting after Facebook topped 500 shareholders, will add to Facebook the cost of running a public company -- but beyond that, things there should not change much. It won't boost the overall venture financing market. If a Facebook IPO created a fever to invest in tech start-ups, it might be good for the venture capital industry. But since the IPO does not change much for Facebook investors, does not spur the growth of a range of related industries, does not unleash corporate investment, and might not even help out the IPO market, the after-effect of Facebook's IPO could be modest.
It is popular in the media to compare the Facebook IPO to that of Google whose price has risen nicely since its 2004 IPO from $84 to $580. That 30% compound annual growth is good – but Google trades 19% below its 2007 peak of $715.
To be fair, there is a bit of good news for those hoping that Facebook stock will climb after it goes public. A quick look at Google’s 2004 prospectus reveals that its IPO price of $84 valued Google at a P/E of 80 – the same as Facebook’s estimated P/E (Google had 271 million shares and estimated 2004 net income of $286 million at the time of its August 2004 IPO).
That’s the only glimmer of good news for why Facebook’s IPO might breathe some life into the business of VCs and tech entrepreneurs. But Facebook’s inability to transform the way companies operate their business means that it will remain a niche phenomenon in the grander economic scheme.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Reid said reconciliation had been used 21 times since 1981, mostly by Republicans when they were in control of the Senate for the passage of items like the Bush tax cuts. (Here's a handy chart of when the procedure has been used.)
Under reconciliation, Democrats would need a simple majority in the Senate to pass legislation, as opposed to the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
"They should stop crying about reconciliation as if it's never been done before," Reid said.
Following Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon, Reid said "nothing is off the table" but that "realistically, they should stop crying about this. It's been done 21 times before."
"The question is: Is reconciliation the only way we can do health-care reform?" he said. "The answer to that is no. But I've been told that my Republican friends are lamenting reconciliation, but I would recommend for them to go back and look at history."
"It's done almost every Congress, and they're the ones that used it more than anyone else," he added.
In his own press availability Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said "it appears as if the administration has already made up their mind to go forward with a beefed up Senate version and to try to jam it through under a seldom-used process that we commonly refer to around here as reconciliation."
Republican Whip Sen. Jon Kyl told reporters that "it's hard for us to quite understand why, with reconciliation being planned, we're having a meeting [Thursday] which is allegedly designed to engender some bipartisan agreement for a way forward."
"It seems to me at least that, until the Democratic leaders take reconciliation off the table, it'll be very hard for Republicans to believe that they intend to engage us in good faith," Kyl added.
Will Obama Health Care Plan Pass Via Reconciliation?
A War of Words Before the Health Care Summit
Obama's Health Care Plan at a GlanceA VIOLENT thug slit a puppy’s throat in the street after swinging it around by its neck and headbutting his girlfriend in a “bizarre and horrifying” drug-fuelled rampage.
Dean Popham, of Wallace Road, Grays, killed the young Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross, named Edley, using a kitchen knife taken from the young woman’s flat after leaving her with a cut lip.
The unemployed 30-year-old then fought with police officers and bit one on the thumb before they dragged the blood-soaked maniac to the ground.
Popham was jailed for a total of 20 months at Basildon Crown Court.
Loreen Hussain, prosecuting, said the horrific incident in Thames Road, Grays, on September 4, was preceded by vile sexual threats Popham made over text message and Facebook.
He then stormed round to his victim’s flat in a rage, forced his way in and began kicking Edley.
She said: “The puppy, not knowing any better, was happy to see the defendant.
“He ran towards him but the defendant started kicking him, so much so that he lost one of his shoes.
“It was so bad that Edley lost control of his bowels. The young woman was screaming and told Popham to stop.
“He said; ‘I don’t care, he’s lucky I don’t throw him out the window.’”
Popham then picked the dog up by the ears and swung it around by its neck. “You can imagine the pain that he must have felt,” Miss Hussain said.
Popham headbutted his girlfriend before marching out of the flat clutching Edley and a knife.
The police officers who later found Popham covered in blood said he told them “meeting me is the worst mistake” before threatening to bite them.
Popham carried out his threat against one officer, sinking his teeth into his thumb and knee. The officer later had to have a tetanus injection.
Edley’s body was found nearby. A vet told police the wound would have caused Edley “pain, unnecessary suffering and distress”.
Miss Hussein said: “Not only did the victim have to deal with her own injuries and her upset children, but she had to deal with the death of a much-loved family pet.”
Madeline Corr, mitigating, said Popham was “full of remorse” and wanted to “throw himself on the mercy” of Judge Ian Graham after admitting the offences at an earlier hearing.
She said he still has no memory of the night and cannot explain his behaviour, but she said he was self-medicating for mental problems.
Popham, who has previous convictions for violence and cultivating cannabis, suffers from emotionally unstable personality disorder.
Jailing Popham for a total of ten months, Judge Graham said he had gone “berserk” for no apparent reason and called the killing of the dog “bizarre and horrifying”.
Popham was jailed for 12 months for causing actual bodily harm to his partner, six months for actual bodily harm to the police officer and two months for criminal damage to the dog, all to run consecutively.
He was handed one month each for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and assaulting a police officer, to run concurrently to each other and the other sentences.When I write that we don’t have much to fear from the Islamic aggressor, one reaction I often get is that I am overly and unduly optimistic, making light of a massive threat. Recently someone paraphrased my position as: “Europeans can go to sleep peacefully tonight.” This is an allusion to what, according to legend, the Dutch Prime Minister Hendrik Colijn said in a radio speech on the eve of the German invasion in May 1940, in a ludicrous world record of false reassurance. In reality he said it years earlier, though on a related occasion, viz. the German remilitarisation of the Rhineland. Moroever, he said it after announcing a partial mobilization of the army, thus presenting the common people’s peaceful sleep as the reward for the vanguard’s vigilance. At any rate, I am not at all saying that Europeans should go to sleep. On the contrary, my position is that we should be alert and outwit the Islamic aggressor.
In this endeavour, we may take inspiration from some of our ancestors, who faced the same problem. Not that they were successful in their counterstrategy, we should learn from their limited results as much as from their correct premises. They had at least got the basics right: the solution for the Islam problem is to liberate the Muslims from the mental prison-house of Islam.
The first Orientalists were Christians trying to re-establish contact with the various Christian churches in the Muslim world, and to lay the intellectual foundations for the conversion of the Muslim heretics. (In Catholic theology, Muslims are not so much pagans, who have never known Christ, but heretics, who have known Christ but embraced a false doctrine about him, viz. that He was a mere prophet and was superseded as such by Mohammed.) The most famous example should be Raimundus Lullus, the polymath from Catalonia who went to North Africa to preach, but died as a consequence of the stoning he received. He is not known to have wrought any lasting conversions.
An example from the Netherlands was Nicolaas Beken Cleynaerts, better known as Nicolaus Clenardus (1495-1542). He grew up in Diest, a town in the eastern corner of Flemish Brabant, now called “Diestanbul” by its fast-growing Turkish community. He spent most of his working life teaching Greek and Hebrew in Leuven University. After studying Quran Arabic on his own, he went to Spain and Portugal to learn spoken Arabic, all while teaching his usual courses. He crossed to Morocco, initially only to get to know the place, but took ill soon. Shortly after his return to Spain, he died and was buried in the Alhambra in Granada. So, mission not accomplished at all. A statue in Diest commemorates him: “Verbo non gladio gentes Arabas convertere ad Christianam fidem nisus est”, “He made the effort to convert the Arabs to the Christian faith with the word, not the sword.”
Preaching on a town square in Tunis or Fez proved to be less than effective as a method to free the Muslims from Islam. Elsewhere, even military conquest rarely proved successful. The Russians left the defeated Tatars and Chechens to their Islam, and the French, British and Dutch colonial policies only strengthened the position of Islam in their respective domains. So in that respect, the past does not offer us much guidance. It is our own job to find better ways of reaching out to the prisoners of Islam. If this lack of alternatives for self-reliance is a reason for pessimism, then please consider that we may not be all that important.
Can’t you feel the impact of knowledge and its novel ways of direct availability in colleges and private homes throughout the Muslim world? The phenomenon of ex-Muslims speaking out openly and informing their stay-behind relatives is slowly but surely changing the ideological landscape of the Muslim world. The attempts by Muslims to present their religion as tolerant and pro-woman are admittedly untruthful but do nonetheless show an impact of non-Islamic values and sensibilities that is bound to increase and hollow out the attachment to Islam.
This wind was already blowing in the colonial age, when a full option for modernization could have been the end of Islam. Through calculations of short-term interest and a lack of ideological focus, the colonial administrators instead chose the way of compromise with the Islamic establishment, thus giving it an unnecessary new lease of life. In the postcolonial age, de-islamization can no longer be imposed from above even if we had wanted to, but it is now growing from inside. It is up to us to find inconspicuous but effective ways of strengthening this tendency. This is an appeal to European alertness and resourcefulness.Security smoke being released in a warehouse
Security smoke is a thermally generated white fog, aimed at inhibiting intruders from accessing items to steal, much used in the storage of high-value goods, and recommended by police and insurers. It consists of glycol or glycerine mixed with distilled water, which vaporises and then condenses in the air.
History [ edit ]
A modern "rapid deploy" security smoke machine
The market for using security smoke as a theft prevention tool came about because of an increase in the ability of thieves to circumvent existing physical security measures, often by simply raising the level of violence utilised to gain entry. Burglar alarms often have a delay of several minutes before police or private security are able to respond, meaning a well organised criminal has a period of time in which to enter and take what they like. Closed-circuit television and recording devices have been nullified as thieves routinely hide their identities. The security smoke market developed as an alternative security method, designed not to deter entry, but to prevent loss if a thief did gain access.
The first security smoke system was designed, manufactured and installed by Concept Engineering in 1974 to protect gold bullion in specialised vaults. In 1993 Concept launched the Smoke Screen range, the first commercial security smoke system to be designed and manufactured under ISO 9000.
Composition of the smoke [ edit ]
A smoke "simulant", usually a glycol or glycerine mixed with distilled water, is vaporised and then condensed in free air to produce the distinctive smoke-like effect. The particles produced are on average 0.2-2.0 micrometres in diameter, meaning that the fog settles very slowly (and therefore has excellent longevity). This also means that residue and contamination is highly unlikely.
Applications [ edit ]
Security smoke systems have been employed in a wide variety of industries, including banks, jewellers, retail premises, cash-handling chains, offices and private homes. Often businesses have turned to security smoke systems when other, more traditional, security methods have failed to prevent repeated break-ins and stock loss. It is estimated that as of January 2010 there are over 100,000 premises using security smoke systems in the UK.[1]
Protecting high-value products [ edit ]
Security smoke systems have been successfully used to protect high-value items from opportunistic smash and grab style raids, for example jewellers' window displays. Major retailers, such as Aurum Holdings – owner of Mappin & Webb, Goldsmiths and Watches of Switzerland – have installed security smoke systems and have seen a dramatic decrease in losses from such break-ins.[2]
Cash handling chains [ edit ]
Security smoke machines have been successfully used in protecting personnel and currency during the delivery and collection of cash. The introduction of a portable security smoke generator was awarded best new physical product at IFSEC 2009,[3] providing cash-carriers with a high-level of protection against an increased risk during out of hours cash deliveries.
Endorsement by crime prevention organisations [ edit ]
Guidelines from the Association of Chief Police Officers approve security smoke devices, and the ACPO Secured by Design accreditation scheme endorses certain manufacturers of security smoke systems. UK insurers also recommend security smoke as an approved method of reducing stock loss and deterring break-ins.
Safety considerations [ edit ]
One of the primary concerns raised is the possibility of contamination of premises, stock and personal possessions by the generated fog. Independent tests performed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Molecular Profiles Ltd (on behalf of Concept Smoke Screen Ltd[4]) have shown that well-installed, properly maintained security smoke systems leave no residue, and some security smoke installers offer a guarantee of this. Alternative concerns suggest that the smoke can cause some intruders to panic and put staff at risk. To minimise this risk, a great deal of care is taken in selecting where the smoke generators are installed. Security smoke now has its own European standard EN50131-8, which specifically states that it must not be used in such a way as to create a mantrap.[5]
Another safety consideration is that the ejection nozzle of the fog machine does not become blocked. Some products incorporate an audible alarm in the event of nozzle blockage.[6]BL3P, the trading platform of Bitonic B.V., a euro-focused bitcoin exchange which is the Netherlands largest has announced the deployment of a new version of BL3P.
Although the update has of course been fully tested, it is possible that users could encounter some bugs. The company said it would appreciate if customers kindly let them know of such right away. Finally, the exchange thanked all its users who submitted a bug report or feature request, which is of great value to continuing improvement and building of the platform.
The changes include the following:
Miners fee for bitcoin withdrawals is now dynamic – The ‘add extra fee’ option, which is now enabled by default, will ensure your withdrawal confirms within 2-3 blocks typically. If you untick the box withdrawals gets low priority, but should still confirm within a few hours.
Added history page – As soon as your account is verified, ‘verify’ will be replaced by ‘history’. Users can now also browse through their order history.
Added year/month filter to history
Added live trades (via WebSocket)
Orderbook will update more frequently, based on WebSocket
Made the order book expandable
Added a year summary page (useful for tax returns)
Several bug fixes, user interface & security improvements
Back in December 2016, it became possible to all residents of the European Union to open an account with BL3P with SEPA deposits, although outside the Netherlands video identification is required.While retail jobs are falling across the Country, Miami has continued to add retail sqft across the city; But will that be enough for the new American Dream Mall?
There have been a plethora of articles describing what is being called the incoming “Retail Apocalypse” (The Atlantic, April 2017). 8 million people work in front-end retail services in the United States, making up about 6% of the total workforce. Since last October, 100,000 jobs have been lost in department store closings alone, with more predicted this coming year. These drops are attributed to an increase in e-commerce and restaurant/entertainment spending. For perspective, that is more people than worked in coal mining at its height of production. Despite these statistics, Miami developers continue to build and promise millions of square feet of retail development across the city.
While most retail statistics look bleak, South Florida remains a seemingly healthy market. While the national retail vacancy rate sits around 10%, Miami’s is 5.7%, with an average rent of $23.7 psf, the highest of any growing retail market in the country. Fortune Realty Group estimates the vacancy rate to drop over the next year to 4.7%, and the NOI to increase 10% as retail rents will rise due to increased demand. Miami-Dade County has 145,600 retail workers. While these numbers are good, it is important to zoom in and understand why Miami appears to be an anomaly among major cities.
Miami Design District Brickell City Centre
Since the recession, the major growth in Miami retail has been primarily in the luxury space. Both the Design District and Brickell City Centre together have added close to a million square feet of luxury retail in the past 3 years. Before 2000, Bal Harbour was the only place for luxury brands in Miami due to a protectionist lease stipulation. After 2002, and the opening of Merrick Park,
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and tax as much money as needed and a Federal Reserve to print whatever Congress lacks the “courage” to raise. Combine that with a cult-like belief that the path to prosperity in America is to create more growth through more infrastructure spending, and you have a recipe for financial disaster. There is no negative feedback loop here that will slow this madness. Even Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann is a shill for massively unproductive transportation projects in her own district.
So in steps the American Society of Civil Engineers. If this is an infrastructure cult, they are the normal-looking guy that is there to reassure anyone who might think of leaving. That is probably what upsets me the most. I’m proud to be a civil engineer, but I will have nothing to do with ASCE and their self-serving, narrow view of the world. Consider the following:
ASCE estimated the “costs to households and businesses” from transportation deficiencies in 2010 to be $130 billion. (pg. 3 of the report)
ASCE estimated the cumulative losses to businesses will be $430 billion by 2020. (pg. 5)
ASCE estimated the cumulative losses to households will be $482 billion by 2020. (pg. 5)
If you add these together, the total cost to households and businesses is $1.042 trillion. Well, ASCE states that to reach “minimum tolerable conditions” (a pretty sad standard) would take an investment of $220 billion annually. Over 10 years, that’s $2.2 trillion. Yeah, you read that right. The American Society of Civil Engineers wrote a report that suggested over the next decade we spend $2.2 trillion so that we can save $1.0 trillion. And you wonder why we’re broke.
There are some things to understand about the $1 trillion as well. Those aren’t losses to businesses and households as in money out of their pockets. This is the same old game we reported on extensively last year with our disucssion of the cost-benefit analysis approach on the Staples overpass. The costs are all very real dollars that we spend. The benefits — or in this case the losses — are things like lost driving time and wear and tear on your car.
Say you work at a job making $25/hour. By ASCE math, I as an engineer spend untold sums and improve your commute by two and a half minutes in each direction. Each day that is five minutes saved. Each week it is 25 minutes. Each year I’ve saved you 22 hours. Over the 25 years of that road, I’ve saved you 540 hours which, at $25 per hour, is worth $13,500. Now, it is not just you that has enjoyed this tremendous windfall. Look around at the thousands of others on the road with you. Add them all up and, according to ASCE and the standard engineering approach, this transportation project is making us all very rich.
ASCE is touting some other GDP costs as well, although it is hard to discern them clearly since, due to the ridiculousness of the numbers, they are forced to project out to 2040. Anytime someone has to project out that far to make an economic argument, they are grasping. For some context, consider that 30 years ago, inflation was over 10 percent, interest rates were over 15 percent, the internet was still a decade and a half away, Ronald Reagan was president, and the big event of the year was the launching of the Space Shuttle. Think they’ve factored in that kind of volatility? And you have to love the hubris of engineers making projections. What other profession would do a 30-year projection and come up with a precise number like $3.248 trillion?
ASCE estimated that, in a 30-year trend projection, we would have 400,000 more jobs in 2040 if we fully funded our transportation system (pg. 13). The ridiculousness of this number can’t be overstated. New jobless claims last week alone were 400,000. We’re supposed to make a multi-trillion dollar investment over the next three decades on a trend line projection that we’ll have 400,000 more jobs? Are they serious?
One other thing in the report that made me shake my head was a table they had titled “Top 20 Countries and Economies Ranked by the Quality of Roads and Railroads” (p
g. 17). For roads, the United States is ranked 19th, behind such countries as France (second), Switzerland (third), and Germany (fifth), all countries that I have driven in. Anyone who has done likewise will attest that the standard highway in Europe is like a country road here in the U.S. I agree that their freeways are awesome, but they are also designed to connect towns, not feed strip development. I would attest that the “quality” in this case is less engineering-based and more a function of their adjacent land use not messing things up as ours does.
The table itself is based on an “Executive Opinion Survey” from “The Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011” [PDF]. ASCE doesn’t point out that, despite the sad opinion of our roads, the report ranks the United States as the fourth most competitive economy in the world. It is not really clear how we became so competitive with an infrastructure system ASCE ranked as a ‘D’. Just maybe there is more to an economy than infrastructure?
At Strong Towns, we want our infrastructure maintained. In fact, it’s the common denominator of a Strong Town. But the reason why we can’t maintain our infrastructure is not because we lack the money or are afraid to spend it. It is because the systems we have built and the decisions we’ve made on what is a good investment are based on the kind of ridiculous math you see reflected in this ASCE report. We spend a billion here and a billion there and we get nothing but a couple minutes shaved off of our commutes, which just means we can build more roads and live further away from where we work. (Or, as we call that here in America: growth.)
Sixty years of unproductive infrastructure spending later, we are awash in maintenance liabilities with no money to pay for them. This is what happens when you have a government-subsidized, Ponzi-scheme growth system that, at all times, lives for the next transaction. America is all about new growth, which is why we don’t even bother to question the findings in a study like this.
The ASCE report is an embarrassment to the engineering profession. The fact that politicians, journalists, and bloggers are all lined up to mindlessly parrot these conclusions is pathetic. If we are actually going to get this country moving in a positive direction, we need a real understanding of how infrastructure spending is used to create value. We need a new approach to land use.The job offer is, no doubt, the most exciting aspect of hiring journey! It is the culmination of a long, and sometimes tedious process – for everyone involved. After weeks of sourcing, screening, scheduling interviews, coordinating follow-ups, and checking references, it provides that satisfaction that makes the work (and the waiting) all worthwhile.
So WHY would anyone want to screw it up?
The answer to that question is: NO ONE does!
However, there are important steps that need to occur along the way to ensure that everyone’s time, effort, and enthusiasm is not in vain. The job offer should be the victory party for a smooth and positive experience, not a tragic ending to what could have been a great relationship.
Here are some tips to keep in mind throughout the interview process to ensure that your job offer won’t be rejected.
The Beginning of the Interview Process
Whether you are a business owner, an HR professional, or a third-party recruiter, there are some critical details that must be discussed (and addressed) very early in the process. Without clarity in these areas, you are leaving a window of ambiguity. When a job seeker does not have a clear picture of what the company has to offer, he or she has every reason to say “no”.
Salary Expectations: With the new law passed in California prohibiting an employer from asking current salary, clarity in this area will become increasingly important. A distinct understanding of what a candidate’s salary expectations are will prevent much of the miscommunication that can easily take place during an offer, often resulting in lengthy negotiations, or simply a rejection of the offer.
Commute Requirements: Having a clear understanding of how far (or how long) a person is willing to commute on a daily basis from the beginning will eliminate the need for second thoughts at the offer stage. If the person indicated he or she is willing to commute 45 minutes, no matter how perfect he is for the role, the fact that the job is 90 minutes away will always be a factor.
Travel: The same factor rings true when it comes to travel. Pay attention to the first thing a potential employee says about his or her travel preferences. This is usually the most accurate indicator.
Motivation for Looking: A candidate that tells you they “aren’t looking”, or one that is strictly motivated by salary or title when asked “why are you looking?” should be pursued with caution. This is most likely the individual that would accept a counter offer as soon as they are approached with one. They may even be interviewing for the job simply to receive a counter offer from their current employer. Investing time and effort in the interview process, only to use your offer as motivation for a raise is probably not the ending any employer wants.
Other Concerns: Pay attention to other concerns a candidate may mention during the interview process. What may seem like a small concern at the beginning could prove to be a deal-breaker at the offer stage.
During the Job Offer
When it comes time to extend the job offer to a candidate, communication becomes even more critical! One wrong move during this stage can mean the difference between a happy new employee, and being back at square one!
Make no mistake about it, there is often a bit of friction during this phase – this is a candidate’s one and only chance to ask for what they want. He or she may never be able to again (or may have to wait until the next annual review).
So, listen to each request, and keep an open mind!
Some important tips to remember:
Move Quickly: Nothing puts a negative spin on a job offer like time does! If you have indicated that you plan to extend an offer, do so in a timely manner. Many candidates are considering multiple opportunities, and could be off the market if you decide to drag it out for another two weeks.
Secure a Response Time: Give the candidate a clear time frame to give either an acceptance, negotiate the offer itself, or a reject it. 72 hours is standard, though you may give a little more time if the offer is extended on a Friday. Do NOT expect a candidate to accept an offer on the spot. Even if he or she has every intention of accepting the job, the acceptance will most likely take place after the offer is discussed with the individual’s inner circle.
Extend the Offer Verbally (in Person if Possible): An emailed job offer will never be able to exude the same enthusiasm as a live offer over the phone, or an in-person offer. As far as the ideal person to extend the offer – the jury is still out on that one. Many HR departments like to handle the job offer (for standardization purposes), but there are many cases where the hiring manager or recruiter makes the verbal offer.
Make Sure the Salary is There: Many publications discuss the “10% Rule”, but the rule of thumb I use is a bit broader. I repeatedly tell candidates that an expected increase will typically fall into the 8%-12% range. On rare occasions, an offer will come in at up to 20% more than a candidate’s current salary, but again, I stress the word “rare”. Presenting a candidate with a Many publications discuss the “10% Rule”, but the rule of thumb I use is a bit broader. I repeatedly tell candidates that an expected increase will typically fall into the 8%-12% range. On rare occasions, an offer will come in at up to 20% more than a candidate’s current salary, but again, I stress the word “rare”. Presenting a candidate with a lateral offer (or, gasp – less money!), is almost a ticket for an immediate rejection. There are cases, however, where a person is willing to take less. Be sure that it is clearly communicated early on so that the candidate is not insulted.
Be Prepared to Offer Alternative Options: There are times during a job offer when a candidate’s current benefits package cannot be replicated by a new employer. Such cases would be instances where a candidate has a great deal of vacation time, or when a person’s benefit premiums are completely covered. Be prepared to get creative! Options such as flex time, working remotely, or floating sick or personal days are great options to satisfy shortcomings in an offer. This is when knowing a candidate’s motivations really comes in handy. Offering a perk that makes a person’s life easier can be worth far more than money in the long run.
Don't Make Hiring Harder Than It Has to Be! Download our FREE Offer Letter and standardize YOUR hiring process! Great! Check your email to download your offer letter!
Conclusion
The job offer stage should be the most exciting part of the hiring process. Follow the correct steps to make the most of everyone’s time in this exciting, yet frightening process!
by Natalie Lemons
Natalie Lemons is the Founder and President of Resilience Group, LLC, and The Resilient Recruiter and Co-Founder of Need a New Gig. She specializes in the area of Executive Search and services a diverse group of national and international companies, focusing on mid to upper-level management searches in a variety of industries. For more articles like this, follow her blog. Resilient Recruiter is an Amazon Associate.The political climate has changed and many of the poor bureaucrats at the EPA are in denial. After eight years in the ideologically simpatico Obama administration, they are struggling to deal with the angst created by the election of Donald Trump. Panic and depression have set in with some people taking sick leave to manage their grief and others breaking down in tears. From E&E News:
U.S. EPA employees were in tears. Worried Energy Department staffers were offered counseling. Some federal employees were so depressed, they took time off. Others might retire early. And some employees are in downright panic mode in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory. “People are upset. Some people took the day off because they were depressed,” said John O’Grady, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, a union that represents thousands of EPA employees. After Election Day, “people were crying,” added O’Grady, who works in EPA’s Region 5 office in Chicago. “They were recommending that people take sick leave and go home.”
According to this Office of Personnel Management fact sheet, sick leave is supposed to be used for “personal medical needs,” “family care or bereavement,” caring for a “family member with a serious health condition” or “adoption-related purposes.” There’s nothing in there about feeling bad about the outcome of an election which means, technically, this is abuse of sick leave. But pampered government workers, the very people who make sure everyone else sticks to the rules, are notorious for taking “mental health days” and thus turning their sick leave into just another big bucket of paid hours off. In this case, it’s not just employees abusing their leave, it’s the managers at the EPA telling people to take a sick day.
One career EPA employee tells E&E News, “If you look at the seven stages of grief, I’m still in denial. I will not look at the news.” It sounds like there are a lot of deniers at the EPA this week. Apparently the irony of this is lost on them.
The article goes on to suggest that many distraught employees may decide to retire rather than deal with the change. “If [Trump] starts doing rotten things, then people will say, ‘Enough of this crap,'” Union president John O’Grady tells E&E News.
But there appear to be a few stoics among the life-long bureaucrats. One career employee tells the news site, “We have been through Reagan, got through [George W. Bush]. We will get through this.”
Steady, bureaucrats. Your large pensions, Cadillac health plans and guaranteed pay increases will help you through this."Most households approaching retirement have low savings." That's the no-nonsense title of a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on retirement security. Here are a few of its sobering results:
About half of all households age 55 and over have no retirement savings.
Many older households don't have other financial resources to tap during retirement.
Of those households without any savings, more than half don't have a pension from a traditional pension plan, and almost half don't own a home.
The GAO's report discusses the mixed evidence on the adequacy of retirement savings in America, noting that the various studies use different assumptions about how much income is needed in retirement and what appropriate retirement ages are. These studies show that anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of Americans are at risk of falling short of adequate retirement incomes. Many older workers say they want to continue working in their retirement years, yet some studies indicate that many Americans retired earlier than they had planned.
The GAO report joins the deluge of information about the inadequacy of retirement savings in America. A quick Google search shows recent articles from a variety of media sources, including Huffington Post, Forbes, Reuters, The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The subtitle of the Huffington Post article certainly grabs your attention: "22 percent of Americans would rather die than retire without enough money."
These articles cite authoritative reports from think tanks and academic institutions such as the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Employee Benefit Research Institute, Federal Reserve, National Institute on Retirement Security, National Bureau of Economic Research and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies as evidence of their claims.
There's no doubt that some significant part of the population won't have a financially secure retirement. The main source of disagreement seems to be on the size of this group and what should be done about it. The potential solutions are easier said than done, but they include some combination of the following:
Spend less and save more today
Retire later
Reduce your standard of living in retirement
Another thing is clear: Simply admonishing people to save more hasn't worked. Somehow, individuals, employers and governments will need to find the collective motivation and will to address these serious challenges.
Some people might call this a looming retirement crisis, while others might just think it's a big disappointment because many people are falling short of their financial expectations and may need to work a long time. Whatever you call it, it's fair to say we have a problem.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Germany's Angela Merkel was booed as she visited a shelter for asylum seekers
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to take a stand against "shameful" anti-migrant protests, on a visit to an asylum shelter which was the focus of clashes at the weekend.
Far-right protesters booed and shouted "traitor" as she arrived at the newly-opened centre in Heidenau near Dresden.
Germany has seen a sharp rise in attacks on asylum centres, as it deals with record numbers of arrivals.
Earlier, police in Hungary fired tear gas at migrants at a reception camp.
They tried to disperse crowds amid unrest at the centre in Roszke, on the Serbian border. Hungary has said it is considering the use of troops to secure the border.
'Shameful'
After visiting the centre in Heidenau, Mrs Merkel said Germany was facing a "gigantic challenge".
The country expects up to 800,000 asylum applications in 2015 - more than any other EU country.
"There is no tolerance for those people who question the dignity of others, no tolerance for those who are not willing to help where legal and human help is required," Mrs Merkel told reporters.
She condemned violent protests as "shameful" and "vile".
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption An onlooker, standing across the road from the asylum centre, holds a sign that reads "traitor of the people" during Mrs Merkel's visit
On a separate visit to an asylum centre in Berlin, President Joachim Gauck praised volunteers who had shown a "bright Germany full of light", rather than the "dark Germany" that arose from attacks on asylum seekers.
Rise in attacks
Dozens of police were hurt at the weekend when neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists hurled bottles and fireworks.
During Mrs Merkel's visit, protesters outside the centre chanted slogans including "We are the mob", mocking remarks used by Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel when he visited Heidenau.
Tracking perilous migrant journey to Germany
Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?
Most people in Germany are welcoming to the migrants, opinion polls suggest. But a minority are vocally opposed, with a sharp rise in attacks on housing for asylum seekers:
Police arrested two men who had charged into a shelter wielding knives in the eastern town of Parchim on Wednesday
A man in the eastern city of Leipzig was seen flinging a Molotov cocktail into a building, which was due to house 56 asylum seekers the same day
A school sports hall in Nauen, west of Berlin, was burned down on Tuesday
Mrs Merkel's government confirmed on Tuesday that it had decided to consider asylum cases from most Syrian applicants, regardless of how they entered Europe.
It said it was suspending the EU's Dublin regulation, under which asylum seekers must make their applications in the first member state they reach.
Cabinet ministers are also discussing plans to give German regions €500m (£366m) this year to help with influx of people arriving.
Tear gas
Many thousands of people are now following a dangerous route through Greece and the Western Balkans to reach the EU passport-free Schengen zone.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Migrant protesters shouted "Help us!" during the protest at a reception centre near Hungary's border with Serbia
At Roszke, inside the Hungarian border with Serbia, officers used tear gas to quell unrest after migrants at the reception centre refused to be fingerprinted.
The authorities in Budapest have announced plans to send more than 2,000 extra police officers to boost border security. MPs are also set to discuss deploying troops next week.
Bulgaria says it will also send soldiers to its border with Macedonia.
Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, criticised both countries' plans as "ill-advised", saying "militarisation of borders is [the] wrong answer to migration".
Hungary is already building a 175km (110 mile) fence in a bid to stop migrants entering.
Officials say a record number of migrants - more than 2,500 - entered Hungary on Tuesday.
The European Commission has announced that it is releasing an additional €1.5m in humanitarian funding to Macedonia and Serbia to help cope with the crisis.
Western Balkans route 181,500 migrants have arrived in Greece by boat so far in 2015 3,000 expected to enter Macedonia daily 90,000 have passed through Serbia since January
80,000 asylum applications expected in Austria in 2015
800,000 asylum applications expected in Germany in 2015“It’s extremely unfair that a vote has not happened,” one of them nearly sobbed—on the first night of the convention.
This is not to ridicule their naivete but to point out how little effort was made to either select or school them by Bernie’s minimalist campaign. Nothing better illustrated how unequipped Sanders is to run anything bigger than the city of Burlington, Vermont. If it is the responsibility, in politics, of the old to teach the young mercy, humility, and judgement, that duty was sadly neglected by Sanders, who—even as Hillary generously thanked him from the podium—slumped in his box looking as grim as a satrap whose sapphires had been insufficiently burnished that morning.
Other muses rushed to fill in the instructional vacuum left by the great man. Dr. Jill Stein—during her quadrennial glamour run—took to the airwaves to claim that Hillary Clinton would be willing to risk nuclear war with Russia. Susan Sarandon assured delegates that Hillary had stolen the election with massive voter fraud, and that Trump was likely a preferable alternative anyway.
Ms. Sarandon, who was not a delegate herself, was able to sit in the front row of the Florida delegation for the same reason she will be able to escape the consequences of a Trump presidency: She is rich and famous. While many of the Americans she would enlighten will have to actually consider leaving this country to get health care if Trump is elected, Sarandon can always return to the swankier precincts of Europe, where she has lived much of her life.
And yet, whenever the angry left was not on hand—as was the case on the second night, when the Berners walked out of the convention to occupy a media tent, and were not heard from again (only the American left could find a way to disappear after taking over a media center)—it felt as if all the air had gone out of the hall.
There were some good speeches. Booker lifted his to a rousing finish, after a lugubrious start. Michael Bloomberg deftly battered the empty piñata that is the Trump business record, Joe Biden and Jennifer Granholm brought passion, and Bill Clinton gave us a surprisingly charming reminiscence of his years with Hillary, reminding us that, for all its manifest shortcomings, theirs is a real marriage.
The “regular people”—Sharon Belkofer, the gold-star mother who remembered having “cried all over the president’s suit”; the Reverend William Barber, calling on Democrats to be “the moral defibrillators” of this democracy; the survivors of fallen police officers, disabled individuals, and the victim of Trump U.—all excelled, even if the Bernie wailers were too busy shouting to hear them.
But too many of the speeches fell flat, or failed to live up to the quality or the urgency achieved by so many Democratic speakers in 2012. Carting in a constellation of Hollywood talent was probably a mistake, and Meryl Streep’s bizarre self-parody didn’t help matters. There was little else to be gleaned from Tim Kaine, beyond that Hillary Clinton seems to have chosen a simple country woodsman to be vice-president. One who speaks Spanish.
Hillary Clinton’s convention might well have gone down as a strangely sterile dud—save for those two, scintillating addresses by the first couple. In both cases, they elevated the Clinton campaign above anything it deserved, while simultaneously exposing all the maggoty ooze of the American right-wing.
Michelle Obama’s fabulous speech not only rescued the first night of the convention from the Bernie venters, but also nudged the right into further self-immolation with one simple, beautiful passage on how she and her daughters now lived in the greatest house of the land, a house built by slaves. This was an undeniable truth, and one that most Americans doubtless found as uplifting as the first lady herself did, but it reduced the internet right and Fox’s Bill O’Reilly to an orgy of outrage.
Her husband’s oration was a tour de force, easily skewering Trump’s bombastic acceptance shout (“We don’t look to be ruled.... America has never been about what one man can do for us…”), challenging the Bernie babies to join the fight (“Don’t boo, vote”), and anointing Hillary, with a thrilling nod to Teddy Roosevelt, as “the woman in the arena,” fighting the good fight, instead of just insisting on the suffocating purity demanded by Susan Sarandon and Jill Stein.
It was a speech that, in its spirit, easily outstripped the plagiarism of Melania. As many observers noted, it might have been a Republican speech in its rousing, defiant optimism, and it was the perfect note to strike. How ironic that the Democratic Party, which has for so long lived up to Will Rogers’s observation that he was not a “member of an organized party,” but a Democrat, managed to pull together an ordered message and wholesale appropriation of conservative themes even as the Republicans spiraled into continued chaos—a chaos so disordered that the media have struggled publicly to come up with a proper metaphor. Was Trump’s coronation a shit show? A goat rodeo? Or was it, as RedState contributor Ben Howe suggested, something else, revealed as he expressed his reluctant preference for Hillary: “The status quo is better than a dumpster fire in the name of conservatism by a sociopathic fraud.”
On its last night, the Democratic convention came together, as it so often does, in a celebration of diversity. This is the party that looks like America, and it has been for a long time. This year it came off with an almost runaway momentum.
The Reverend William Barber’s magnificent, rolling cadences, and then speeches from the survivors of slain police officers sought to unify a country divided by racial tensions. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar showed how comfortable Democrats have become as the party of America’s diversity, introducing himself as “Michael Jordan” because Donald Trump “wouldn’t know the difference.” He introduced a Muslim-American father, who movingly eulogized his son, Capt. Humayun Khan, who gave his life for his country in Iraq. At one point he pulled out a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution to school Donald Trump. “You have sacrificed nothing,” Khan reminded the Republican draft-dodger. “And no one.” A retired Marine general, John Allen, literally marched onto the stage to a martial drumbeat, surrounded by a phalanx of incredibly diverse veterans, one even wearing a Sikh turban, and thundered out a vow of victory over ISIS, while the crowd went wild, waving American flags and chanting, “USA!”
This display of patriotism, predictably, brought about a Berner retort of “No more war!”—even through the following testimony of Captain Florent Groberg, as he described how he won his Medal of Honor and lost part of a leg, saving his fellow soldiers. But it was too late. The crowd had turned, buoying a determined, well-delivered, even eloquent acceptance speech by Hillary. There were intermittent chants and shouts even then, but the Democrats were off and running out of Philly, having out-hustled the outraged and the outrageous, at least for now.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Saudi Aramco CEO: Diversifying is 'timely and overdue'
"Welcome to Saudi Aramco" - that's not a message you see very often as a foreign journalist.
The normally secretive state-owned oil company has invited a select group of journalists - including the BBC - to its HQ in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia.It's a rare opportunity to meet senior executives and hear about the company's planned role in Saudi Arabia's modernisation efforts, as part of a corporate charm offensive.
But sadly for other oil producers that will not extend to pushing up oil prices by cutting production.
In fact, chief executive Amin Nasser says that production will increase in 2016, ahead of a share sale that could value the company at over $2 trillion (£1.4 trillion) - four times the value of Apple.
Vision 2030
The sale of up to 5% of the state giant is an eye-catching part of a plan to dramatically expand the Saudi economy by 2030 and reduce the Kingdom's reliance on oil and gas.
The timescale is tight because the Kingdom has left it too long, according to Mr. Nasser. "It is timely and overdue to identify more resources, and rely more on investment for additional streams of revenue," he told me.
But just to be clear, the planned diversification is not in place of fossil fuels - it's in addition.
Saudi Arabia's so called Vision 2030 will require coffers full of oil money to invest in other industries such as petrochemicals, mining, tourism and construction.
The plan hopes to double the size of the economy and create 6 million Saudi jobs over the next 15 years. It will require massive foreign investment.
The proposed sale of a 5% stake in the Saudi state's corporate crown jewel may represent a goodwill gesture to get the investment ball rolling.
It's a very tall order for a country that currently derives 90% of its income from oil and gas.
Even if it succeeds, oil production may not get reined in any time soon. And that could spell more trouble for rival producers in Venezuela, Nigeria and, indeed, the North Sea.News: Are you ready for the next 100 years of IoT? Holidays in space, 3D printed homes/food/furniture, underwater cities and mega-skyscrapers will be the norm.
In the space of 100 years time, humankind will change its living, working and playing habits beyond recognition with different IoT technologies coming together in the 22nd century.
Commissioned by Samsung’s smart home SmartThings business arm, the SmartThings Living Future report predicts that humans will be living, not only overground but also in ‘Earth-scrapers’, underground buildings that will go as deep as 25 floors or more.
By 2116, the report also predicts that humans will be living in giant underwater ‘bubble’ cities enabling humans to live below the surface level using the water itself to create breathable atmospheres and to generate hydrogen fuel.
Taller buildings will be enabled by carbon nanotubes and diamond nano threads which help to create towering megastructures that will dwarf today’s skyscrapers, according to the study.
As for transportation, humans are likely to be flying around in their own personal flying drone, "some strong enough to carry entire homes around the world for holidays".
The report was put together by alumnus, professors and architects from the University of Westminster including space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, futurist architects Arthur Mamou-Mani and Toby Burgess and urbanists Linda Aitken and Els Leclerq.
Dr Aderin-Pocock, said: "Our lives today are almost unrecognisable from those a century ago. The internet has revolutionised the way we communicate, learn and control our lives.
"Today we are making the next giant stride, the age of the smart home. But what can we expect in the next 100 years? Over the next century we will witness further seismic shifts in the way we live and interact with our surroundings.
"We are likely to see the emergence of towering megastructures as well as sub-aquatic cities and transportation via advanced flying drones – some of which could be strong enough to transport entire houses on holiday."
She continued to explain that homes will get a lot smarter, as flexible smart walls will mean that humans will never need to decorate their homes, with LED room surfaces adapting to suit the mood of those in the home.
When it comes to entertaining, people will be downloading dishes from famous chefs and will also be enabled to tailor these to their own personal needs. "We will be able to 3D-print a banquet or a favourite cake in minutes," Dr Aderin-Pocock said.
Working habits are also set for a major shift. Over the weekend, experts claimed that robots will overtake most jobs in the world in the next 30 years, with humanity facing "its biggest challenge ever" to find a meaning in life as work patterns change dramatically.
In the SmartThings report, researchers suggest that a three day working week will be a real possibility as we work smarter and attend meetings remotely via holograms.
The report has also looked into the opportunities for healthcare, and suggested that stepping into home medi-pods will confirm if a person is really ill, providing a digital diagnosis and supplying medicine or a remote surgeon if needed.
Lastly, the report also looks at the opportunities in space, and suggests that by 2116, humans will have colonised the Moon and will be spending their holidays there, as well as permanent living. The report also says that Mars will follow and "then far beyond into the galaxy".
Dr Aderin-Pocock said: "Remember, these are just predictions for the century ahead, but the technical and medical breakthroughs are moving at pace and an ever increasing life expectancy you may not need to take my word on it, you might just be around to see it for yourself."
However, the document has failed to convince all in the industry. Speaking to CBR, Saverio Romeo, principal analyst for M2M, IoT wearable technologies and smart solutions at Beecham Research, said that Samsung’s report is a marketing piece.
He said: "First, what is the technology that can solve critical problems we have around us? This is a sort of marketing from Samsung. There are a lot of questions that have not been answered.
"For example, why this argument that cities are the place that we are going to live? We have to think about new concepts. I would prefer to see a study of human living with multidisciplinary. The concept of city itself will change. The EU, for example, is pushing the concept of smart region."
Romeo also said that in terms of IoT technology that can support this, we are going to see a new set of things that support this scenario. "You can write about science fiction, but be a bit sceptical. Everything is achievable though. Samsung has to show innovation technology power. In the field, we all know that Samsung is incredible.
"The problem that we know in the community is that Samsung has to deliver these messages to groups of people, such as governments, the wider public and companies, to fascinate people."
Romeo also said that the media is reporting too much hype as it gets into the fascination of technology.
He said: "The media should look more at the implications of these technologies. This is a bit more complex than the picture portrayed. We need to dream, but then we have to come down to the table and see what is achievable. Be real."
SmartThings has also surveyed 2,000 British adults to find the top ten predictions for future living.
48% said virtual reality working meetings are their top prediction for the smart future. This is followed by commercial flights into space (41%), virtual interior decoration (26%), 3D printed houses, food and furniture (25%) and at-home scanning capsules or pods to diagnose health problems (24%).
From those surveyed, 19% said that colonising other planets will be a reality as we use up resources on Earth, 18% said AI will be part of everyday life, and 18% said giant skyscrapers will become a reality and cities on their own.
17% see at-home hydroponic farms (that do not require soil) as part of the future living, and 16% envision the construction of the mention Earth-scrapers underground.Finally, the Phoenix Suns might be able to concentrate on signing Tom Gugliotta once and for all.
The Rocky Mountain News in Denver and The Arizona Republic reported Friday that Antonio McDyess signed with the Nuggets.
The Suns, meanwhile, focused their attention on Gugliotta, who arrived in Phoenix
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than most people that were working here. In situations like this I’m quite shy and silent, I’m just thinking about the broadcast and that I’m so nervous. To be fair I’m not really sure why I was so nervous to begin with. I think it has something to do with that since I was there as a talent, I had certain expectations on me compared if I would join the panel as a player sometime during the event. Then I would be there as a player and no one would judge me if I didn’t do a perfect job, if that makes any sense.
I spoke a lot to my girlfriend throughout the whole event which helped me a lot. She gave me pep talks before and after the first couple of segments (actually between all segments she could watch ^^) and told me I did a great job which I really needed to hear :D. I tried to stay away from social media because I felt I would get really hurt if someone tweeted me something mean. Usually I don’t really care if someone tweets something bad or mean, I’ve learnt to deal with that in the past when someone is angry that we lost a game or didn’t like something I did during a game but when it comes to playing I’m very confident and good at separating good criticism from bad. But when it came to this, something that I was very insecure doing, I couldn’t deal with it at all. Luckily I have the best fans in the world who just wrote nice things to me and I really appreciate it, it made me being able to get more secure and better throughout the days. Love you guys.
I was very nervous the first two days but after that I started to feel more confident. There was even a time where when we were done with a segment I felt I just wanted to get up there again and talk about the game. The easiest part was talking about the draft and it was also quite fun. PPD and Merlini were very easy to talk to and fun to hang out with. The hardest segments was in the beginning of a day when we would recap the day before and things like that. The first day was especially hard since everything was very vague. The teams hadn’t played any games on the main stage yet and I feared getting a question like “Akke how does Newbee play”. Luckily Day9 asked me before we went live what I didn’t want to be asked so he knew I didn’t want a question like that but I was amazed of how PPD could just go on and talk about those things. PPD would be like “well they play more like the western teams, they like to focus around this player and tend to have a lot of team fight” and so on.
Day9 was super fun to work with. I’m not sure how he do it but the energy he had the whole days were just amazing. Constantly happy, joking around at the same time as he was very serious about what was going on. In the end, even though I was super nervous in the beginning and all that I’m very happy I got the chance to do this. I feel like I’ve grown as a person, gotten a really cool life experience to be at the panel during an event with hundreds of thousands of viewers. It was also a lot of fun to get to see how the broadcast team work and everything behind the scene.
I would like to sincerely thank Valve for giving me the opportunity to do this. It’s been two great weeks and it was fun to get to meet you all again. Thank you!Image copyright AFP Image caption The macaque attempted to mate with at least two Sika deer
A male Japanese monkey has been filmed trying to mount and mate with a Sika deer.
Researchers saw the primate attempting to mate with at least two deer in November 2015, during the macaque breeding season.
The macaques regularly bathe in hot springs in snow-covered parts of Japan, and live side-by-side with the deer.
The macaques have previously been observed grooming the deer or riding them in a playful manner.
The curious behaviour is outlined in a study published in the journal Primates.
The monkey seemed to be a low-status male, who guarded his "love interests" by chasing away other male monkeys who came near.
Co-author Alexandre Bonnefoy commented: "The male mounted the deer and displayed some copulation behaviours, which included about 15 sexual movements over a period of 10 seconds, before dismounting."
It's not the first example of inter-species mating. In 2014, reports of an Antarctic fur seal coercing king penguins into sexual relations made headlines worldwide.We generally try to show our creativity in many things. One such way is to set your wifi name as most funny wifi name which is top and best and is hilarious too. Hence today I will be talking about the trending funny wifi names. These wifi names I have penned down and you can use them to be cool and funky in front of your friends.
Many people will have really cool attitude by changing their WiFi Name. So you can also be cool by changing your wifi name into some Funny WiFi Names. When it comes to wifi name, we should think out of box. That is when you will get cool and best wifi name. Hence here is the list of funny wifi network names.
Table of Contents
Funny Wifi Names
Below is the list of funny wifi names that you can use. I have tried my best to provide you with the most trending wifi names for router. With the latest hilarious names of your wifi you can show off in front of your friends. Hence below is the list.
Best Wifi Names For All Time
Top Hilarious Wifi Names
Being hilarious is the latest cool. So everyone wants to be hilarious these days. Hence I have decided to give you the most funny and most hilarious names for your wifi network. So that you can keep them and be as cool as anyone around you. If you will go through these names you will find that we have specially provided you the special and funny wifi names network. Hence you can say that these are the best ones that are currently trending.
404-Not found
Virus Infected WiFi
GOD of Network
Internet Of Demons
Connect To Hell
Origin Of Life
Pirates Of Internet
Enter at Your Own Risk
Internet 69
Connect at You Risk
Life Of Internet
Hunter Internet
Go Home Tourists
Jail Break
Connect To Oliver’s D
I am touching your Daughter
Drop it like its Hotspot
Dad Of Speed
Use Beggars
Not Your Wifi
Speedsters
Kinky Superstar
World Of Daemons
Way To Hell
Connect For Free
Dad’s Gift
Paid by “Your_name”
Reality Heated
Free Ka Maal
No Cut Only Speed
Best Funky Names For Wifi
These are the best of the latest names for your wifi network. I have specially got these names from people who are currently using it. Hence they have been using these names since so long. So you can also use these names as these are the best ones from the lot.
Get Off My Lawn
No Free Wifi for you
Feel Like Flying
Warlords
Fat Man on the 7th Floor is a douche
BIG_P3NIS
DON’T TOUCH
Pigeons
GO BEARS
Miwifi
I Can Hear You Having Sex
Swizzle House
LindsaysBl0wj0b
FBISurveillanceVan2
Fairy Queen
Fairy Queen
Try_Stealing_This_Shit_No0b
Semper WiFi
Paris Hilton
Real Men Don’t Pull Out
Sankar
Tortuga
Wanna Meet Me? I’m Upstairs
Boo Boo and Stinky
Gnome Saying
I could eat a knob at night
Princess
Shillybots
Diarrhea_everywhere
Chicken_N_Waffles
Awesome Names for Wifi Networks
These are some of the latest awesome wifi network names that I have found people using. Let me tell you they are pretty interesting names to be used for wifi. You have the chance to use these awesome names and be the coolest one. I have also laid stress on the originality of these wifi names. These names are 100% original and can be used by anyone. Below is the list of awesome names for wifi networks.
2 Girls 1 Router
You Pay Now
Bazooka
Virus Distribution Center
BuyAnotherCupYouCheapSkate
No Device Found
The Promised LAN
Bring Beer and Chicken to 40.2
Feel Like Flying
LAN Down Under
I Am Under Your Bed
Work Work Work
Wi Believe I Can Fi
I have seen you naked
Don’t Even Try It
Series Of Tubes
Our internet is faster than yours
Ninja Warriors
Pump it. ROUTER!
Osama bin laden
War Of Titans
Sour patch kids
Pakistani Wifi
Network of Network’s
Virus network
Your music is annoying
Connect To Space
Super Charges
Hidden Wifi
Royal Network
WiFi Network Names
These are basic wifi network names that are generally used by us. If you want to be subtle and moderate with naming your wifi network then you can use these names. As these names are the good wifi network and have the basic tone to it. You can use these wifi names and amaze people around you.
Online Streaming
Tell My Wi-Fi Love Her
Internet Love
Connect To Reality
YourBabyIsReallyUgly
Only For Movie Streaming
Stay Away
Hide Yo Kids Hide Yo WiFi
Wi-Fight the inevitable
Internet Loot
Ouch…sat on my nutz
Do Not Enter
Connecting
Super Thanks For Asking
Titanic Sinking
Have Fun
Optimus Prime
I feel naughty
Great Partners
Virus Detected! Do Not Join
Unsecured connection
Don’t Steal
Connect and download anything
Friendly Neighborhood
Get OFF My Net
99 problems but WiFi ain’t one
Protection Required
Spider-LAN
I can read your emails
Call Me Maybe
Cool Wifi Names
The below list would tell you about some of the cool wifi names that you would ever come across. These names are cool. They are funky. And they are hilarious. Hence you can go through the list and choose the funniest names that you like and be a cool dude in front of others.
The promised lan
Alien Planet Zoo Park
Silence of the lan
Hidden webcam
I am cheating on my wifi
Promise Chargers
I am the internet
Quit Using My Wi-Fi
Router, I Hardly Know Her
Anonymous
Series of Action
Mom, Click Here for Internet.
WiFi Router Names.
2 Girls 1 Router
Look ma, no wires?
Not Free So Use 3G
Protected CeX.
LANDownUnder And Above
Kids Using This
Lan of milk and honey
I can haz wireless?
Series of tubes
Jack And Jill
StayOFFmy router
Park 360
Pretty Fly For A Wi-Fi
It burns when ip
Feel like Flying.
69 Is Not Only A Number
Area 514
Clever Wifi Names
Below are the some of clever wifi names that we are presenting for you. These names called clever wifi names for a reason. Because they would provide you a sense cleverness in the name itself. By using these clever names for your wifi, every one would be able to say that you are clever.
The Lan Before Time
Dogs World Inside
Gay Server
CXXXXX {}:::::>
Untouchable
I Bet You Connection
You Are Here
Sorry For Loud S3X
Your m0ms Sw33T @$$
Security Risk
B(.)(.)BS
I Give Free BJZ
Phaser Quick
This Ain’t For Ya
World War III
Get Some Speed
Potha Pio
Feeling Needy
Laad Chaatbe
Randi Ho Tum
Kacch-Kachar
Final Word On Best Wifi Names
So this was all on the best of funny wifi names. I will be updating this list in future as well. You can bookmark this page for any further updates on this. I hope you enjoyed these hilarious names for your wifi network and router. I have specially handpicked these names for you guys. Hence I wanted to give the 100% quality and funny names that could be used.
You may share this article with friends and family members on social media as they also might be searching for the best of the funny names for their wifi routers.
This article was originally posted on YourTopBest.comMissing emails between the parties involved in an audit of VeraCrypt, which began today, are now being blamed on errors in mail.app and GPGMail.
Update To say the VeraCrypt audit, which begins today, got off to an inauspicious start would be an understatement.
On Sunday, two weeks after the announcement that the open source file and disk encryption software would be formally scrutinized for security vulnerabilities, executives at one of the firms funding the audit posted a notice that four emails between the parties involved had been intercepted.
“We have now had a total of four email messages disappear without a trace, stemming from multiple independent senders. Not only have the emails not arrived, but there is no trace of the emails in our ‘sent’ folders. In the case of OSTIF, this is the Google Apps business version of Gmail where these sent emails have disappeared,” the post to the Open Source Technology Improvement Fund (OSTIF) website read. “This suggests that outside actors are attempting to listen in on and/or interfere with the audit process.”
Today, Fred Raynal, CEO and founder of Quarkslab, the company hired to audit VeraCrypt, told Threatpost that wasn’t the case.
“I think this news announcement was a mistake. I lost a message I sent to Mounir (Mounir Idrassi, VeraCrypt’s lead developer) and Derek (Derek Zimmer, OSTIF CEO and president). They experienced similar issues, three times before that,” Raynal said. “Then Derek issued that statement but he should really not have done that. On my end, I am pretty sure it is a local problem on my computer between Mail.app and GPGMail.”
VeraCrypt has been posited as an option for users looking for free file and disk encryption since the developers behind TrueCrypt closed up shop in 2014. VeraCrypt is a TrueCrypt fork (this happened in 2013), and since TrueCrypt went away, many of the vulnerabilities uncovered in its much-publicized audit and in the time since have been fixed in VeraCrypt, Idrassi said. Idrassi also told Threatpost that he accelerated plans to launch EFI system encryption this week so that it could be audited as well.
“Of course, I welcome this audit. I think this is an important milestone for the project and its credibility,” Idrassi said. “There were many calls in the past two years to organize such audit in order for users to have assurances about the changes introduced in VeraCrypt and I always answered that I will not be able to organize this without external help. So the fact that OSTIF was able to organize this is a positive step.”
Raynal said that all new code introduced since the demise of TrueCrypt will be audited, along with a focus on EFI and disk encryption, and any newly implemented algorithms.
“This is by far the most important and critical feature compared to TrueCrypt,” Idrassi said of EFI encryption. “TrueCrypt only supported MBR system encryption, and with the advent of EFI, most users were unable to encrypt their machines using TrueCrypt or VeraCrypt. With the introduction of EFI support in VeraCrypt 1.18, system encryption will again be available to most users.”
Some of other new features implemented in VeraCrypt since TrueCrypt, Idrassi said, include support for SHA-256 for Master Boot Record encryption, a mechanism that detects most evil-maid attacks in the MBR, additional compatibility for TrueCrypt volumes that allow for an easier transition to VeraCrypt, and a new feature called PIM, or Personal Iterations Multiplier, which enables the user to choose different security levels for volumes.
“Many things changed in VeraCrypt since the official end of TrueCrypt,” Idrassi said. “Many security vulnerabilities were discovered in TrueCrypt and subsequently fixed in VeraCrypt. Also, several parts of TrueCrypt code were rewritten for robustness and to avoid security issues.”
OSTIF said in its Aug. 1 announcement that Quarkslab is expected to wrap up in 30 days, by mid-September, and deliver its results to Idrassi; OSTIF said it will not have access to the results ahead of the public, and that it will publish the results once any vulnerabilities have been remediated. OSTIF said DuckDuckGo and VikingVPN also donated funds to the audit.
Raynal said Quarkslab will use a French scheme in the assessment called CSPN, which was developed by France’s national security body ANSSI. He said that the level of funding provided allowed for this type of assessment, which he said generally takes between 30 and 35 days to complete.
OSTIF did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
OSTIF’s Zimmer said the fact that TrueCrypt has been audited allows for a narrower scope with the VeraCrypt audit, and the opportunity for financial savings.
“This allows us to instruct QuarksLab to focus their audit on code that was added or changed after TrueCrypt 7.1a and any residual impact that those changes have on existing code,” Zimmer said. “The narrower scope of the audit allowed us to operate on a shorter timetable and therefore budget.”
Zimmer said that in addition to VeraCrypt, OSTIF hoping to examine other open source packages, including OpenVPN, OpenSSL, GnuPG, and Off-The-Record (aka OTR).
“The 30-day window (with the VeraCode audit) is due to budget constraints, and the narrowing of our focus to new and changed code,” Zimmer said. “When we move forward with other open-source projects, larger budgets will be required as some of these applications have never been audited before and there’s a lot of legacy code laying around to be looked at.”
Quarklabs’ Raynal said the threat model guiding the audit is primarily a stolen or lost laptop and whether an attacker could access the encrypted hard drive or volume. Raynal said the VeraCrypt driver will also be audited for vulnerabilities.
“Since many fixes were already done in VeraCrypt, I don’t expect any new major findings, except maybe on the new EFI bootloader that didn’t exist in TrueCrypt and for which I will publish the source code today,” Idrassi said. “But knowing the expertise of Quarkslab, it is possible that will come up with novel attack or vulnerability ideas.”
This article was updated Aug. 17 with comments from OSTIF.Alberta Health Services has declared a whooping cough outbreak in northern Alberta.
So far this year, 182 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, have been confirmed in the region, which includes Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.
That number makes up about half of the total diagnosed cases in the province.
The northern region normally sees 40 to 50 cases over an entire year, said Dr. Albert de Villiers, medical officer of health for the AHS northern region.
"Fortunately, at this point, we've only had three people that were actually hospitalized because of this."
The region hasn't had an outbreak like this in several years.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that causes severe coughing fits, and can lead to pneumonia, convulsions and other serious medical issues. According to AHS, infants under six months old are at the greatest risk for severe complications.
Alberta children are typically given a pertussis immunization shot as part of the province's immunization program, with doses administered at ages two months, four months, six months and 18 months, once between the ages of four and six years old, and once again in Grade 9.
But de Villiers said only about 72 per cent of kids are currently fully immunized.
Some people just don't make time to get their children vaccinated, others are hesitant and might need more information, he said.
"There's a very small minority of people, a few per cent, who are actively anti-vaccine. We're not necessarily going to focus on them."
AHS is recommending anyone living in the area who has not been immunized, or whose shots are not up-to-date, go into a public or community health clinic for a single dose immunization.
In particular, AHS says young children and those who come into close contact with infants, as well as health care workers and women who are at least 26 weeks pregnant, should ensure they are immunized.VIENNA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it feared Iran may be working now to develop a nuclear-armed missile, as Washington warned Tehran of “consequences” for ignoring international demands to stop its atomic program.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to journalists after a news conference in Tehran February 16, 2010. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi
In unusually blunt language, an International Atomic Energy Agency report for the first time suggested Iran was actively pursuing nuclear weapons capability, throwing independent weight behind similar Western suspicions.
The IAEA seemed to be cautiously going public with concerns arising from a classified agency analysis leaked in part last year which concluded that Iran has already honed explosives expertise relevant to a workable nuclear weapon.
The report also confirmed Iran had produced its first small batch of uranium enriched to a higher purity and had set aside the vast bulk of its low-enriched uranium stockpile for this purpose even though this seemed far in excess of possible civilian needs.
The developments will intensify pressure on Iran to prove it is not covertly bent on “weaponizing” enrichment by allowing unfettered access for IAEA inspectors and investigators, something it rejects in protest at U.N. sanctions.
The United States is already leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran because of suspicions it may be developing nuclear weapons and has received declarations of support from Russia, which has until now been reluctant to expand sanctions.
“We always said that if Iran failed to live up to those international obligations, that there would be consequences,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One as President Barack Obama flew to a political event.
Senior Obama administration officials, briefing reporters on the IAEA report, said they were struck by the number of significant technical problems Iran appeared to be encountering and the apparently slow growth of its uranium stockpile.
One of the officials, noting Iran had “increased the level of non-cooperation,” said it may take Tehran longer to build a nuclear weapon because of the technical problems “but the pattern of behavior is one that I think is very disturbing.”
Tehran says its nuclear program is meant only to yield electricity or radio-isotopes for agriculture or medicine. It took an opposing view of the report’s conclusions.
“The IAEA’s new report confirmed Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities and the country’s non-deviation toward military purposes,” Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told the state news agency IRNA.
INTELLIGENCE REPORTS
For several years, the IAEA has been investigating Western intelligence reports indicating Iran has coordinated efforts to process uranium, test explosives at high altitude and revamp a ballistic missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead.
In 2007, the United States issued an assessment saying Iran had halted such research in 2003 and probably not resumed it.
But its key Western allies believe Iran continued the program — and the IAEA report offered independent support for that perception for the first time.
“The information available to the agency is extensive... broadly consistent and credible in terms of the technical detail, the time frame in which the activities were conducted and the people and organizations involved,” the report said.
“Altogether this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”
IAEA’s new chief, Yukiya Amano, is seen as more inclined to confront Iran than his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, who retired on December 1.
“Now we see from (available intelligence) that certain activities may have continued after 2004,” said a senior official close to the IAEA. “We want to find out from Iran what they’ve had to do with these nuclear explosive-related activities.”
The U.S. director of National Intelligence concluded last year that Iran would not be technically able to devise a nuclear weapon before 2013. But a new intelligence estimate is due soon.
Iran has dismissed the intelligence reports as fabrication but failed to provide its own evidence. Tehran has boycotted contact with the IAEA on the matter for 18 months.
The report, to be considered at a March 1-5 meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation board, said it was vital for Iran to cooperate with IAEA investigators “without further delay.”
HIGHER ENRICHMENT
Last week, Iran announced a start to higher-scale enrichment, saying it was frustrated at the collapse of an IAEA-backed plan for big powers to provide it with fuel rods for nuclear medicine made from uranium refined to 20 percent purity.
The IAEA report complained that Iran had begun feeding low-enriched uranium (LEU) into centrifuges for higher refinement before inspectors could get to the scene in the Natanz pilot enrichment facility.
“We have expressed our dissatisfaction,” said the senior official close to the IAEA. “It is of paramount importance to have this information in a timely way to make sure there are no undeclared activities or facilities in Iran.”
The big powers accused Iran of reneging on an agreement to ship out two-thirds of its LEU reserve to be turned into fuel rods for the medical reactor. This would have prevented Iran retaining enough of the material to fuel a nuclear weapon, if it were refined to about 90 percent purity.
Only France, one party to the U.N. draft deal, and Argentina are known to possess the technology. So analysts ask why Iran would enrich uranium well above its needs, except to lay the groundwork for producing bomb-grade uranium.
The report also said Iran increased its LEU stockpile by some 250 kg (550 pounds) to 2,060 kg since November — enough for one or two nuclear bombs if enriched to 90 percent purity.
Iran had earmarked 1.95 tons of its LEU for enrichment up to 20 percent, it said, a significant escalation as further refinement to the weapons-grade threshold would need only around six months.
“This quantity is far in excess of the (medical reactor’s) needs,” David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, said in an online commentary.
But the IAEA report also attested to stagnating capacity at Natanz. It said the number of operating centrifuges had dropped to 3,772 from nearly 4,000.
This was well under half of all the machines installed in Natanz, the report indicated. Analysts and diplomats close to the IAEA say Iran may be having serious mechanical problems in keeping thousands of antiquated centrifuges running in unison.
Related Coverage Factbox: Key points of IAEA report citing Iran atom bomb fear
The U.S. official said the Iranians were accumulating LEU “at a fairly low rate compared to what they should be able to do on paper” and that Tehran seemed to be “at least several years” away from accumulating enough 20 percent enriched uranium that could then be converted into bomb-grade material.
But the senior official close to the IAEA said Iran seemed to be shifting focus to a second enrichment site at Fordow near Qom, which Iran has said will preserve the program if foes bomb Natanz and be operated with advanced centrifuges able to enrich two to three times as fast.
Tucked deep inside a mountain bunker to ward off attack, the plant at Fordow is scheduled to open in 2011.How We Use Music to Manage Our Stress and Emotions
Listening to music is one of the most common ways we manage our stress and emotions.
When we feel tired after a long day at work, many of us like to unwind by kicking back, closing our eyes, and turning on our iPods. Or when we feel down after a heated argument with a boyfriend or girlfriend, we may listen to some uplifting tunes to help distract us from our anger or sadness.
Even at this very moment I’m listening to some calm instrumental rock music, because it helps me stay relaxed and focused when I’m writing.
These are just some of the ways we use music to improve our psychology. And more and more research is beginning to show that music can serve a very positive function in our everyday lives.
Music and stress management
In one study (PDF) done at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, it was found that participants who listened to music after a stressful episode in their everyday lives reported decreased levels of stress when compared to individuals who didn’t listen to music after a stressful episode.
And in another study done by the same team of researchers, it was found that listening to music was an effective way to reduce long-term cortisol levels, a hormone commonly released when we are experiencing stress. This suggests that listening to music can have a real biological effect on our mental health.
Listening to music can be a big part of art therapy, and these new studies are consistent with a growing body of research that shows the benefits of music on our stress and anxiety.
To note just a couple other related studies: a study from Drexel University found that music reduced anxiety in cancer patients, and another study from Temple University found that music reduced stress in heart disease patients.
Although music certainly isn’t a cure-all for stress or anxiety disorders, it can be a valuable way to combat daily stress.
Music and emotions
According to researchers, there are several ways we listen to music in order to better manage our emotions:
Entertainment – listening to music to maintain a positive mood or to evoke positive emotions.
– listening to music to maintain a positive mood or to evoke positive emotions. Revival – listening to music to relax or get energized.
– listening to music to relax or get energized. Diversion – listening to music to forget about something undesirable.
– listening to music to forget about something undesirable. Discharge – listening to music to release an emotion, such as anger.
– listening to music to release an emotion, such as anger. Strong Sensation – listening to music to stimulate our senses in new ways.
– listening to music to stimulate our senses in new ways. Mental work – listening to music to get inspired or get new ideas.
– listening to music to get inspired or get new ideas. Solace – listening to music to experience comfort after an unfortunate event.
These are all examples of the different ways we may listen to music in order to regulate our emotions and channel them in positive ways.
In another study (PDF) researchers studied self-reported episodes by over 200 participants. Out of the 2,297 reported episodes, roughly 30% of them were music-related. In fact, listening to music was one of the most frequently reported main activities along with “eating” and “other activity.” And of the music-related experiences, up to 67% of individuals reported that listening to music had changed their emotions. The majority of these emotions were reported to change in positive ways.
The researchers found that this effect was strongest when people chose to listen to their own preferred music style, rather than having to listen to music chosen by someone else.
However, it’s also important to keep in mind that some people may choose different types of music depending on what they want the music to do for them.
In another study they discovered that individuals who listened to uplifting music while working out (the researchers used Top 20 Hits from artists like Madonna, Cher, The Corrs, and Blink 182) were more likely to push themselves at the gym when compared to people who listened to dissonant music (avant-garde composers like Dennis Smalley, James Dashow, and Stephen Kaske).
These findings ring true for me because although I like a lot of experimental and dissonant music, the music that works best for me at the gym is usually more upbeat, rhythmic, and inspiring.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that some types of music are healthier to listen to over others. Perhaps different types of music are better for different functions.
If you want to relax, maybe you’ll listen to a soothing classical composition. If you want to get pumped before a sports competition, maybe it’s better to listen to some fast techno or hip-hop. If you want to vent some anger, maybe you’ll listen to some heavy rock or metal.
Music and health
Research is clear that there is a strong relationship between stress and physical symptoms, such as a weakened immune system and a greater susceptibility to viruses and illness. This is because stress can be very taxing on our bodies’ energy and resources.
Due to this, psychologist Barbara Fredrickson from the University of North Carolina believes that using music to minimize stress can have benefits to both our mental and physical well-being.
One study found that soothing music can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” part of our nervous system). This leads to decreases in blood pressure and heart rate while enhancing blood flow to vital organs. Other studies have shown that pleasant music can also help in reducing physical sensations of pain and discomfort.
In short, music can be a great way to help relax our bodies and put them in a more restful and rejuvenating state.
Daily music listening
Here are some suggestions of ways we can use music to improve our psychology and well-being (as well as some personal recommendations):
These are just some suggestions on the different ways you can use music throughout your daily life. Some of my recommendations may not suit you, but you should get the general idea of what I’m going for in each category.
If you don’t already, practice integrating music more into your day and see how much it enhances various aspects of your life and well-being.
Stay updated on new articles and resources in psychology and self improvement:The most important changes, Motorola says, were to the screen and speakers. People wanted a bigger screen, so the new Moto G has a 5-inch, 720p AMOLED display. They wanted better speakers, so the G (like the new Moto X) has two grilles on its front face, blasting sound toward you instead of away from you. One particularly consistent request was for an SD card slot, which is apparently a popular way to share files and information between phones, particularly in developing markets. So the new Moto G has an SD card slot. It has two SIM card slots, This is a phone made for everyone, for every need, and it reflects exactly what people want.
As ever, the G is aesthetically just a lower-rent version of the Moto X, minus some of the nicest aesthetic touches and LTE connectivity. (The last-generation G with LTE is staying in Motorola's lineup, and reps avoided the question of whether there's a new model with LTE coming.) It's plastic, a little bit lighter and cheaper than the metallic X, but it still feels surprisingly good. It's a little heavier and a little wider than the last model, which is to be expected thanks to the larger screen. Motorola also upgraded to an 8-megapixel camera, plus a 2-megapixel sensor on the front.It looks good, too, especially thanks to the 15 colorful, interchangeable backs that Motorola will also be selling. This, too, is something consumers are apparently asking for — reps said that there are people who buy every one of the shells and pick a different one to use each day. (The front is still only either black or white.)
Motorola asked customers what they want, and then made exactly that smartphone
The differences carry over into the software, too. Motorola brags in both cases about using stock Android, but on the Moto X it's customized and added a number of things, like the Moto Voice and Moto Display features. The Moto G has Moto Assist and Moto Alert, but in general it's quite pared down. It has no frills, no extras, almost no customization; this is truly a stock Android experience. To buy the G is to miss out on some of Motorola's most impressive engineering achievements — most of which were probably impossible to implement without the custom processor in the X — but stock Android is still better than most phones offer.
But its purpose hasn't changed: to bring as much smartphone tech as possible to as large an audience as possible. The original G has incredible momentum, and the new model should only speed it up.My favorite infographic from the April issue of Scientific American appears in a fascinating article about Pelagornis sandersi, an extinct species of bird that lived about 25 million years ago. This bird is a recently discovered member of the pelagornithid group, many of which evolved to be veritable giants compared to the birds of today. Fossils unearthed in Charleston, South Carolina revealed new information about the astounding scale and unique biomechanics of these massive flyers.
Upon reading such an introduction, one’s next question is bound to be: “Just how big was this bird?” (Also, did it happen to resemble an eight-foot-tall yellow Muppet, as some might surmise?) Fortunately, the excellent work of illustrators Raúl Martín and Daisy Chung provides visual clarification. The infographic below shows what paleontologists believe P. sandersi looked like, and compares its size, structure, and flight style to that of some well-known modern birds.
Graphic by Raúl Martín (P. sandersi) and Daisy Chung (silhouettes)
As an aside, the opening image of the associated article also features a scientifically based representation (though not actually an infographic) of this captivating creature. In a fun and informative video, artist James Gurney shows how he went about visualizing a bird that no longer exists.The Gaza Strip is not experiencing a humanitarian crisis, the Israel Defense Forces quoted a Red Cross official as saying on Wednesday.
In an interview conducted by Rotem Caro-Weizman and published on the IDF website, Mathilde Redmatn, deputy director of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, said that there "is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza," adding: "If you go to the supermarket, there are products. There are restaurants and a nice beach."
A Palestinian youth shopping at a supermarket in Gaza City. AP
Rather, according to Redmatn, the issue in Gaza was "mainly in maintenance of infrastructure and in access to goods, concrete for example."
Referring to Israel's blockade on the Strip, Redmatn said that while "Israel has the legitimate right to protect the civilian population, this right should be balanced with the right of 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip."
"Despite the easing of the closure and the partial lifting of export bans in the wake of the flotilla incident, continued restrictions on the movement of people and difficulties in importing building materials hampered sustainable economic recovery and dashed any hope of leading a normal and dignified life," the Red Cross official was quoted as saying.
"Our goal is not to negotiate peace, but to ensure the well-being of the civilian population," Redmatn told the IDF website.
"We understand and recognize Israel's right to security but it needs to maintain the balance between that and the right of Palestinians living in Gaza to [
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Lyn started the conversation, and the only chasing I did with her was to make sure some big dude with a mace didn't try to hurt her when she demanded he apologize for bumping into us. Which you'd have known had you not lost her in the first place." I pointed out causing her to grimace that I'd found a flaw in her accusation.
"Whatever! I know you were thinking it, because all men like you are after my little sister's pure heart, but you won't get it you hear me!" She shouted causing her long blond curls to flounce all around her.
"Will you four shut up?!" A girl in all white called from the side. "First Ruby, now some crazy girl who can't stop shouting out obscenities, this is getting ridiculous." I frowned softly before laying back on my cot placing my head on the pillow with a sigh.
"What's-her-name's right, we should get some sleep." I said softly. "Who knows how the initiation will go tomorrow?" No sooner had the lights gone out that I heard a rustling sound nearby. Opening my eyes, I saw Lyn checking to ensure her sister was asleep before slowly crawling to my bunk.
"Hey…Calyx. Are you awake?"
"Yeah Lyn, I'm awake." She gasped biting her lip.
"H-how did you know it was me?" She whispered and I just chuckled.
"Faunis have good night-vision. Anyway what's wrong?" Lyn blushed slightly before leaning closer and placing a gentle kiss on my cheek much to my shock.
"I just wanted to say thanks for stepping between me and the mace guy earlier. It's not often that you meet a guy so…heroic? I know tomorrow will be pretty dangerous…so I really hope you do okay. No matter what happens, promise me you won't do anything too reckless."
She was concerned for me? "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm sure of it." I whispered. "You be careful too okay?" She smiled softly and nodded.
"Oh and Calyx…"
"Yes?"
"Good luck." She whispered, showing me her cute smile.
"Thanks Lyn…good luck to you too. Who knows…maybe we'll end up on the same team."
Her smile became even brighter as she went back to her bed. "Yeah…that'd be nice." She agreed as she let out a yawn. I couldn't help but watch her as she rolled over and fell asleep. Sheesh, what was most likely my first crush and it had to be on a girl whose psychopath sister was as vigilant as a watch dog. My tail curled around my hips, and I found myself grateful that Bakulah couldn't read minds. If she did, chances are she'd have my hide to wear like a coat.
"Good night everyone." I whispered softly to no one in particular. Perhaps tomorrow things would finally begin to shake loose.
To be continued…Soon after they’re born, American’s minds are stuffed with interesting and inspirational stories about their nation’s Founding Fathers. These men are a large part of our national mythology, our pantheon of mortal gods.
Everyone knows that George Washington could not tell a lie (he could and did), that he chopped down a cherry tree (he didn’t), that he had wooden teeth (big whoop; so did forty percent of the adult population) and that he apparently slept in every bed in New England. We know that Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence in three days. We know that Paul Revere went on a late-night ride to warn folks that the British were coming. John Hancock signed his name really big “so King George could see it.” Ben Franklin flew a kite in a lightning storm, informed the world that a “penny saved is a penny earned,” invented a book called an almanac and bifocal lenses. We know many of these tales by heart by the time we can hold a Fourth-of-July sparkler without burning our fingers.
What we are not told, and I think we can guess why, is that booze played a large part in the lives of our most popular Revolutionary heroes. Like it or not, the American Revolution happened hand-in-hand with bouts of awe-inspiring drunkenness and the United States is a nation built upon intoxication.
So settle back, uncork a jug, and let’s examine some astounding facts about our Founding Fathers that many of our history books have chosen to ignore.
George Washington
George Washington is easily the most famous American. The first president of the United States. A military genius. And a full-bore hooch-hound.
To begin with, his false teeth: they were so obviously wooden because his daily intake of wine and whiskey stained the grain. No amount of soaking could alter the color, so when they got too brown he sent off for a fresh set.
When he was a young lieutenant in the Continental Army, Washington took leave to run for the Virginia State Legislature. He lost spectacularly, but learned a valuable lesson from the experience. When he ran again two years later, he met voters squarely on their terms by arranging for 144 gallons of rum, punch, cider, wine and beer to be divvied out among as many polling places as possible. If you were voting, George was buying. He won by 68 votes.
Some years and several promotions later, General Washington earned the unshakable respect of his troops by his willingness to level mountains and part waters to make sure they got their daily ration of rum. During the that hellish winter at Valley Forge, Washington insisted that the enlisted men got their rum before the officers did. It’s no surprise the men fought like tigers for their beloved commander.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, Washington reluctantly ascended to the office of President of the United States. His inaugural celebration was a hoocher’s heaven. It was illegal at the time to import rum from anywhere outside the states, but Washington ignored that silly law and ordered a barrel of Barbados’s best to go along with the hundreds of gallons of other potent potables he had arranged to keep his guests lubricated well into the night.
When he left politics and retired to his estate at Mount Vernon, Washington’s first order of business was to construct a brewery on the premises and start production of both molasses-based and ordinary beers. These he served to a never-ending stream of guests and well-wishers. His home brew was known around the state for its excellence, and he savored them himself, enjoying a couple of pints each morning with his breakfast. He also constructed a distillery and for a time was the largest producer of whiskey in the United States, cranking out 11,000 gallons in 1799 alone.
If there is anything left to be said regarding George Washington and his presidency it’s this: while in office he spent over seven percent of his sizable income on alcohol. Seven percent. On hooch.
Hail to the Chief.
Thomas Jefferson
It is true that Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft of the Declaration of Independence over only a few hectic days. What is not generally known is that he did it while seated at his usual table in the Indian Queen Tavern in Philadelphia while downing glass after brimming glass of Madeira.
As America’s first (well, only, actually) scientist-president, Jefferson educated himself on all aspects of viniculture, including the cross-breeding of grapes and experimentation with all sorts of flavorful additives. He corresponded with wine makers in France and Germany, trading information and recipes. When Jefferson left the White House, he was stuck with an enormous $11,000 wine tab (about $200,000 is today’s dollars.)
His estate at Monticello housed both a winery and a brewery, and his wine cellar was second to none. Jefferson was fond of dinner parties and his guests knew that his table would be set with gourmet food and large quantities of delicious wine. He hated to see a guest’s glass run dry, but he also had a soft spot for his household servants, the people who made all those trips downstairs to the wine cellar and back up again. In order to make life easier on everyone, Jefferson had a dumbwaiter installed between the dining room and the wine cellar. It spared his staff’s knees and shortened the time between refills upstairs.
Dinner at Monticello was a tipsy good time.
John Hancock
The owner of the world’s most famous signature may have nodded at King George’s failing eyesight as a justification for its size, but it could well be that John Hancock signed the Declaration in so large a hand because he was more than a wee bit sozzled at the time.
Hancock was known throughout New England for his massive intake of alcohol, especially beer.
As a student at Harvard College, he was a regular at its brewery, and was known to sit in his college bed chamber drinking through to the light of dawn. After graduating, Hancock pursued a successful business career, so successful that at one point he was the wealthiest man in all the Colonies. When England tried to tax various types of alcohol, Hancock used his business connections to smuggle booze into the country and sell it at discount prices.
Hancock spent his money well, frequenting several taverns around his home in Boston. His willingness to buy rounds of beer for the house earned him an eager audience for his anti-British rhetoric. It can be argued that his beer-fueled tirades against the British crown led directly to the Boston Tea Party.
Historian Eric Burns points out that the expression “George Washington slept here” is far less accurate than “John Hancock drank here.” Such was his reputation.
Benjamin Franklin
Ben was quite fond of hearty red Madeira, and while he was something less of a dedicated drunkard than some of his colleagues, he possessed a deep understanding of intoxication and all the positive elements of tying one on. The biblical flood, Franklin insisted, went down because men became wicked from drinking too much water, something God corrected once Noah hit dry land: “God, to relieve his dryness, created the vine and revealed to him the art of making le vin. By the aid of this liquid he unveiled more and more truth.”
A man with a sense of humor, Franklin composed a list of over 200 synonyms for being smashed. A few highlights: “he’s eaten a toad-and-a-half for breakfast”; “he makes Indentures with his Leggs”; “he’s had a Thump over the Head with Sampson’s jawbone.”
Franklin also suggested that we drinkers should thank the heavens that the human elbow is located where it is because we “are enabled to drink at our ease, the glass going directly to the mouth.”
How true.
Assorted Others
Before embarking on his famous ride, Paul Revere visited the home of distiller Isaac Hall and tossed back two drafts of rum to steel himself for the coming jaunt.
Revolutionary gadfly Ethan Allen was obscenely fond of a drink called a Stonewall, a mixture of rum and hard cider (try it, it’s quite tasty). Friends often had to carry him home after the wall fell on him.
John Quincy Adams loved his wine and once correctly named eleven out of fourteen Madeiras in a blind taste test.
Patrick Henry owned his own tavern and tended bar there. Not averse to joining his customers in a tipple, many evenings found Henry stomping up and down the trestle tables, playing his fiddle and exhorting people to join him in song.
Martin Van Buren was born on the floor of his father’s tavern and spent much of his later life on the same floor after a dozen tankards of ale.
Following the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, the 55 signers celebrated the birth of the fledgling nation with a full-bore blowout, putting away 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, eight bottles of whiskey, 22 bottles of port, eight bottles of hard cider, 12 beers and seven bowls of alcoholic punch large enough that, according one observer, “ducks could swim in them.”
It needs to be noted that the notorious traitor and all-around weasel Benedict Arnold didn’t care for drink and looked askance at drunkards. Which should be surprising to no one.
America. Land of the Free, Home of the Boozeheads. Let’s raise a tankard to our Founding Fathers. They would’ve done the same for us.
(Note: The Author is indebted to the works of Eric Burns, Mark Edward Lender & James Kirby Martin, Mitchell Beazley and Sharon V. Salinger.)We are each born with different physical abilities, health and potential. Many of us work, over our lifetimes to optimise our bodies through routine checks, regular exercise and when required, proper diagnosis and treatment. It is a bizarre state of affairs that at the same time we pay scant attention to our mental health. Just as our society has for years ostracised the physically disabled, the mere hint of a mental health ‘issue’ brands a person a ‘nutjob’ or a ‘whacko’. In recent times, celebrities such as Deepika Padukone have opened up about their own battles with depression and even shared that they needed medication to recover. She escaped the censure and branding that so many others undergo, however a lot of what she disclosed was simply associated by the public with her sadness at the ending of her relationship with another celebrity. This propensity to trivialise a serious mental illness with an episode or a transient emotion is one of the most insidious biases that haunts our level of awareness and results in neglect of our core mental health.
So how many of us are affected? Reports suggest that 10% of our population suffer from depression, one in five women and one in 10 men. While all suicides cannot be attributed to depression, a WHO report claims that India accounts for 25% of all suicides in the world. With over 2 crore people affected, and only 43 public mental hospitals, a single psychiatrist for 4,00,000 people, no national level mental health survey, policy or legislation (the bill has been stuck in parliament since 2013), India is in a mental health crisis. The impact of this on physical health, the economy and wider societal issues, such as crime, has never been quantified. Many people report family and even so-called professional responses as ‘it’s all in the head’ or that they should try ‘meditation’ as a cure. While there are certainly positive elements to mental exercises, these cannot be considered cures for mental illnesses. The brain is a complex organ and one that requires extremely careful and expert diagnosis and treatment.
The most common mental illnesses to watch out for are depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse and epilepsy. The last has several physical manifestations and so is often associated as a physical disorder. Given successful research on this disease, treatment is now both cost and cure effective. Alcohol abuse in India is a much ignored issue. India has seen the third highest rise in alcohol drinking population over the last decade and it is estimated that 10 – 15% of the alcohol drinking population suffer from dependence issues. Lax underage drinking law enforcement, significant monies spend on marketing alcohol and increasing societal acceptance on consumption with no corresponding responsible consumption awareness make for a dangerous path ahead.
While life events do cause stress and such stresses can result in a variety of negative emotions that impact our physiology and mental health, merely feeling sad or anxious is not a sufficient symptom of depression or anxiety. To make matters worse, many sufferers of depression also experience some form of anxiety which makes accurate diagnosis difficult. So what are the symptoms to watch out for?
Depression:
Prolonged and persistent negative moods that last days or weeks
Loss of interest in previous hobbies, activities, including sex
Decreased energy levels, being ‘too tired’ a lot of the time
Lack of ability to focus
Extremes in Eating and Sleeping, either eating and sleeping too much or too little
Thoughts of death and suicide
Physical symptoms such as headache, tummy issues and pain that recurs and does not seem to respond to treatment
Anxiety:
Feelings of panic, fear, uneasiness
Feeling cold while having sweaty or numb or tingling palms/feet
Difficulty breathing, like shortness of breath
Heart palpitations
Irritability and unable to sit or stand still
Dryness in the mouth
If you or your friends or family experience these symptoms on a sustained basis, seeking professional help is a necessity.
There is a direct correlation between mental and physical health. Poor mental health affects organs such as the liver, kidney and heart resulting in chronic diseases that impact quality of lifestyle in many ways. As the symptoms themselves show, very little of this is ‘in the head’ and depending on the extremity of the illness, there are several treatment options, including therapy, medication, physical exertion and nutrition available to those who need it. Did you know that there was a link identified between Vitamin D levels and depression? Which brings us back full circle – our focus on our bodily health without regard for our mental health is an incomplete and flawed approach. The route to wellness is a holistic one.Migrations
As our customer base grew to 100+ customers and as our application grew to 100+ tables, we started to notice things slowing down. I don’t have precise numbers to back this up, but we found a direct correlation between the number of Postgres schemas, the size of the tables in those schemas being altered while running migrations and the time it took to complete the migration. The more schemas/larger the tables, the longer migrations took.
It’s well known that index changes to large tables can take time and even cause table locking. Ideally, for things like column additions, you’d get constant O(1) performance. Under a separate schemas approach to tenancy, you now get O(N) performance where N=# tenants. Now when you get into less predictable changes like index additions, it’s a hell of a lot worse. I don’t know exactly how to represent that in Big O, but I think it would look something like O(WTFxN).
Migrations started to become the bane of our existence, which meant that deploying started to become a hassle. No one wants friction in their deployment process, especially as we’re attempting to deploy daily or more frequently.
Database Resources
I’m not an expert on the inner workings of PostgreSQL, but the amount that we’ve needed to scale out our main production database when using this tenancy strategy seems to dramatically outpace that on any of our other services that use column scoping for tenancy. My guess is there’s an upper limit — if not a hard one, then at least a soft, recommended one — on the number of tables/indexes etc that you store within one postgres db. We’re running an RDS r3.4xl which costs about $3k monthly, to house a database that should otherwise be able to live on something much smaller. We haven’t exactly dug into this, but I’m quite sure the sheer number of tables we have is an issue.
Client Memory Bloat
This one is relevant to Ruby and more specifically ActiveRecord (but possibly any other library with a similar implementation) Although some fixes have been made, the root cause remains largely unfixed. ActiveRecord, on connecting to the database, iterates through all tables and stores metadata about the columns in order to properly map Postgres data types to Ruby ones. Unfortunately the way this happens is by iterating through all tables in all schemas, then caching what it finds. This unnecessarily bloats the running client given that all the types are the exact same across all tenants, but we’re unable to configure ActiveRecord to just map through a single schema.
Right now, the moment any of our ruby processes connect to the db, it grows to about 500mb in memory right off the bat. Other services with similar data amounts, but not using schema based tenanting do NOT have this problem. This of course will continue to get worse with each customer (tenant/schema) we add to the system.
Record Identification
One major drawback of schemas as tenants is that your sequence generators will reside independently in each tenant. This means, if you have a tenanted user table, you now have X number of users identified with id=1 (and for every other generated sequence id assuming uniform distribution). If you ever try to join across these or report globally on all of this, you’re going to get some conflict. Furthermore, one could actually get some permissions issues if you ever copy this data to other systems without scoping things to a tenant id.Asylum Jam, a 48-hour game jam to promote mental health, is back for its third consecutive year. Against the tide of misinformed tropes and unfortunate allegories consistent with popular culture that suggest mental health is something to be feared, Asylum Jam asks participants to design horror games that break from such associated stigma.
We’ve all played them – horror games where the setting is a mental health institution, where its patients are obstacles at best and villains at worst, where we’re expected to fear mental illness. Given that issues of mental health affect a lot of people – one in four British adults per year – making games that incorporate these themes in their horror narratives seems like a pretty damning assessment of the human condition. Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate, no? That’s where Asylum Jam steps in: to convey scary horror games minus the stereotyping. Over the last two years, the jam has accrued more than 100 games that have been enjoyed by its community and beyond, as well as prominent YouTubers, such as Markiplier and PewDiePie.
“Asylum Jam has been received almost totally positively over the past two years, with developers from all over the world coming together to create some fantastic horror titles for a good cause – fighting harmful stigma in our media, and exploring the amazing genre of horror,” creator Lucy Morris told RPS. “We’ve had procedurally-generated horrors, beautiful visual novels, point-and-click hororrs – the works – and we’re excited to see what we can do this year. We’re being supported by Games for Change Europe and Prescription Pixel this year, and we’re also hoping to connect more solidly with the fantastic horror Let’s Play community so we can get a bunch of neat horror titles out in the open to play this November.”
Morris continued: “For me personally as an organiser, the 2014 Asylum Jam onward became even more crucial for me to make happen as I lost my stepsister to suicide a month before the previous jam happened in September. Stigma prevents people from reaching out and seeking help; it makes people feel ashamed and embarrassed. Media perpetuates a lot of this stigma in the form of inaccurate and sometimes harmful stereotypes, and that’s what Asylum Jam is here for – to explore horror gaming outside of tired, negative tropes and test the limits of what we can do as horror game developers.”
Asylum Jam 2015 will be hosted by Game Jolt and will run for 48 hours November 6th-9th.I won’t tease you.
As the title suggests, yes, you are about to see a real life Major League Baseball player get thrown out at first base all the way from left field – and there’s nothing up my sleeve.
There are some extenuating circumstances (you’ll see), but the short version is that Tigers’ first baseman Sean Casey (now a broadcaster for MLB Network) hits a liner to left that he *thinks* is caught by the third baseman, when in reality it flew just over his head.
White Sox left fielder Pablo Ozuna – who was paying a bit more attention – bare hands the ball in left freakin’ field and fires to first, barely beating out Casey. Check it out:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Upon replay, you can see that Casey does a quick (disappointed) spin, thinking that his liner was caught, before taking off for first … but still. By my clock, that’s just under 8 seconds from the hit to the time he reaches first. The average speed of a runner from home to first, according to Top End Sports, is 4.3 seconds, so … it took Casey nearly twice as long.
And yeah, this play occurred well before replay, but honestly, even if he was safe he doesn’t deserve it. That might be one of the funniest, knucklehead plays I’ve ever seen.Thanks to technologies like Microsoft's Kinect, we're getting closer than ever before to being able to interact with our computers by simply waving our hands in the air. But what if you want to wave my PC on or off even if you're not in front of a camera? Believe it or not, the technology may be coming soon and its core, Wi-Fi routers, are already likely to be in your home or office.
University of Washington (UW) computer scientists have developed gesture-recognition technology, WiSee, that's well on its way to making Iron Man or Minority Report-style science-fiction computer interaction a step closer to reality.
It turns out that with existing Wi-Fi hardware you can re-purpose "wireless signals that already exist in new ways. You can actually use wireless for gesture recognition without needing to deploy more sensors," said lead researcher Shyam Gollakota, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering.
It's not perfect yet. The UW researchers claim that the average accuracy is 94 percent with a standard deviation of 4.6 percent when classifying between nine gestures and up to five individuals in an apartment-sized space. Still, for something that's still a laboratory experiment, that's impressive.
UW also claims that their "technology is simpler, cheaper [than Kinect and similar video-gesture user-interface devices." The only "new" technology that's needed to make it work is a “smart” receiver device that listens to Wi-Fi transmissions. This receiver could be little more than an existing multiple-input/multiple output (MIMO) 802.11n Wi-Fi router with a firmware update.
“This is the first whole-home gesture recognition system that works without either requiring instrumentation of the user with sensors or deploying cameras in every room,” claimed Qifan Pu, a WiSee collaborator.
WiSee works by detecting the slight changes in Wi-Fi signal as you move. Just moving your hand or foot can cause enough of a Doppler frequency shift for the system to recognize your movement as a command. So, for example, you could make a motion that tells the system that you're about to issue an order and then make the actual command.
This could be as simple as "Start the coffee-maker," or start a chain of commands such as "Turn on the PCs and download last night's data from the branch servers."
The project is based on earlier work done by two of the UW researchers with Microsoft Research on a pair of projects with similar goals--SoundWave, which uses sound, and Humantenna, which uses radiation from a home or office's electrical wires--to track users' motions. WiSee stands out from these earlier gesture-recognition systems because it can be used throughout a small office or house instead of a single room.
The technology will be shown in public for the first time at the 19th annual MobiCom in Miami, Florida in late September and early October. Sometime after that, we may start seeing smart-homes and smart-offices to go with our smartphones.
Related Stories:Premier Kathleen Wynne will meet Tuesday with Toronto deputy mayor Norm Kelly, bypassing Mayor Rob Ford after his admission of smoking crack and off-colour comments about oral sex. News of the meeting, where Kelly said he plans to raise “a wide range of issues,” prompted a tirade from Ford’s brother, Doug.
Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly speaks to aide Earl Provost, right, as the budget committee at City Hall on Monday. ( Steve Russell / Toronto Star )
Officials said the noon-hour tête-à-tête will be the first chance Wynne has had to chat with Kelly since Ford — who is under investigation by police for links to an alleged drug dealer and has become the butt of jokes on late-night comedy shows — was stripped of all but ceremonial powers in a recent vote by city council. “It’s a get-to-know-you meeting,” said a source in the premier’s office, noting Wynne is a Toronto MPP from Don Valley West. “She wants to show solidarity with the city of Toronto and she wants to meet him.” “We’re interested in knowing whether the city council is operating as it should. If the deputy mayor is bringing forward any requests, we’re not aware of that.”
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Kelly told reporters at city hall that “I’ll be doing my best to make some points on behalf of the city of Toronto.” Wynne has left the door open for city council to ask for assistance from the province in the wake of the Ford scandal, which put city hall at the centre of worldwide media attention. The premier described Ford’s behaviour — including a video of him inebriated and threatening to kill someone — as “truly disturbing.” Councillor Doug Ford, who has mused about running in Etobicoke North for Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak in a provincial election expected next spring, appeared annoyed that his brother has been bypassed. “So I guess it’s going to be a meeting of two unelected officials running the largest city and largest province,” Ford said Monday, calling for provincial and municipal elections.
“I’ve got an idea: why don’t we go to the polls tomorrow, why don’t we do a two-for-one deal— the unelected premier and the unelected deputy mayor. Why don’t we just go to the polls and let the people decide like a true democracy rather than this coup d’état that’s happening.” Wynne came to power last February after being selected Liberal leader by party activists following the resignation of her predecessor Dalton McGuinty.
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Kelly took issue with Doug Ford’s jab. “Residents of Scarborough—Agincourt voted for me, residents of Premier Wynne’s riding voted for her, and having been voted, we each were voted into a system that chooses positions inside that system. So everything was done democratically and legitimately.” “I think there are a number of Christmas wishes that I’ll be taking there with me.” With files from Daniel Dale and Betsy Powell
Read more about:Uber Technologies Inc., facing a federal probe into whether it broke laws against overseas bribery, has embarked on a review of its Asia operations and notified U.S. officials about payments made by staff in Indonesia, people with knowledge of the matter said.
As the Justice Department looks into a possible criminal case, Uber is working with law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP to examine records of foreign payments and interview employees, raising questions about why some potentially problematic business dealings weren’t disclosed sooner, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
Attorneys are focused on suspicious activity in at least five Asian countries: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. For instance, Uber’s law firm is reviewing a web of financial arrangements tied to the Malaysian government that may have influenced lawmakers there, the people said.
Uber said it’s cooperating with investigators but declined to comment further. Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to comment.
Late last year, Uber had a run-in with Indonesia police over the location of an office in Jakarta providing support to local drivers, people with knowledge of the events said. Police officers said the space was outside city zoning for businesses, so an employee decided to dole out multiple, small payments to police in order to continue operating there, the people said. The transactions showed up on the employee’s expense reports, described as payments to local authorities.
Uber fired the employee, the people said. Alan Jiang, the company’s head of Indonesia business who approved the expense report, was placed on a leave of absence and has since left the company. Jiang didn’t respond to requests for comment.
At least one senior member of the legal team at Uber initially decided not to report the incident to U.S. officials when he learned of it late last year, the people said. After the Justice Department approached Uber about possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Uber informed officials about what happened in Indonesia. The Justice Department can be more lenient when a company voluntarily discloses information.
Multiple Investigations
Uber’s law firm is also investigating a corporate donation, announced in August 2016, of tens of thousands of dollars to the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre, a government-backed entrepreneur hub. Around that time, a Malaysian pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), invested $30 million in Uber, said people familiar with the deal. Less than a year later, the Malaysian government passed national ride-hailing laws that were favorable to Uber and its peers. Lawyers are trying to determine whether there was any form of quid pro quo.
Emil Michael and Eric Alexander, two former business executives at Uber, played key roles in negotiating those deals, the people said.
“We strongly refute our involvement in any quid-pro-quo arrangements,” a spokeswoman at Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre said via email.
Uber’s law firm is also asking questions about how Alexander came into possession of an India rape victim’s medical records, a document he regularly carried around with him for several months in 2015. Michael and former Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick were aware that Alexander had the medical report, and they discussed it with colleagues. Alexander and Kalanick declined to comment through spokespeople, and Michael didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Dealings in China and South Korea are also under review, though the details are unclear. The bribery inquiry is one of at least three federal probes the San Francisco-based company faces — the other two involve software developed by Uber to gather data on competitors and deceive law enforcement officials conducting stings on Uber drivers.
Before the probe into foreign payments, O’Melveny & Myers advised self-driving car startup Otto on its sale to Uber. Alphabet Inc. is now suing Uber over trade secret claims related to that deal. In June, Uber asked O’Melveny & Myers to focus on the India probe, and the scope expanded.
It’s common in corporate fraud cases for companies to conduct an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct and report those findings to the Justice Department. Such internal probes often help the government decide the size and scope of an investigation.
The mounting legal troubles have played a role in the departures of several top executives, including Kalanick. He was pressured to step down by investors, who said his leadership put the company at legal risk. The head of compliance left this month, and Salle Yoo, the chief legal officer, also said she plans to depart after helping new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi find her successor. On Tuesday, Michael Brown, head of operations in Asia, said he plans to leave.
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
This article was written by Eric Newcomer from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected] a Cow Produce 100 Pounds of Pig Feed a Day? (Poland)
This entry is about cows and pigs. But before we get down and dirty let’s start with some basic facts about humans’ and pigs’ nutrition to make sure we’re on the same page.
What does it take to fatten pigs efficiency?
It is said that all animals need proteins to be fattened efficient. Is it really true? Not entirely — in fact all we really need is a substance which proteins are made of: amino acids. Some of which the body can ‘produce’ on its own. These ‘self-made’ substances are called non-essential amino acids and they are synthesized mainly from carbohydrates and other amino acids.
And those amino acids that humans and pigs cannot produce themselves are called essential amino acids.
Essential amino acids:
phenylalanine
valine
threonine
tryptophan
isoleucine
methionine
leucine
lysine
We shouldn’t forget that children also need two additional amino acids:
histidine
arginine
Here’s where it gets interesting — if we don’t provide our bodies with sufficient amounts of essential amino acids, over time this will lead to amino acid deficiency and that can result in:
Heart diseases (our heart simply will not have enough amino acids to regenerate)
Depression
Kwashiorkor
Loss of hair
And many, many more
But in rich countries you should not be afraid of an amino acid deficiency — unless you’re on a very strict diet where either quality or quantity of essential amino acids doesn’t meet one’s daily requirements or if a particular person has some digestive or health related problems.
The same rules apply both to humans and pigs, with which we have a lot in common, especially when it comes to digestion. But it may be a little bit more difficult to notice this since the life span of a pig is much shorter than ours (domesticated pigs can live up to 15-20 years, and wild pigs 4-8 years), so the deficiency and its consequences are not so easily recognizable. For example: What if the speed of fattening or speed of growth shows that a pig has nutritional deficiencies? At the end of the day feed conversion ratio (a simple measure of an animal’s efficiency in converting feed mass into increased body mass) is just an indicator of how much food it takes for the pig to grow, not necessarily for them to be healthy. The animal industry has a long track record of using substances that enhance an animal’s growth, but are not particular healthy for the animals or the people who may ultimately eat them. Think of subtherapeutic use of antibiotics….
Studies show that a shortage of even just one essential amino acid in pigs’ feed will cause them to convert it into lard (pork fat) instead of producing structural protein (meat). Of course there’s nothing wrong with that as long we are raising pigs just for our own needs — pork lard from pasture-, orchard- or forest-raised pigs was traditionally used by our ancestors here in Poland for centuries. But if you have a business to run, then fat pigs is not what you’re looking for….
Here’s some simple math:
First of all the meatiness ratio (how much meat a pig embodies) is dropping, and most consumers prefer lean pork. E.g. example 1 pound of lard cost about 0, 5 – 1, 5 PLN and 1 pound of meat cost around 5-7PLN in Poland. So that means pork-breeders get paid less for fat pigs.
Secondly, protein is the most expensive ingredient in pigs’ feeding formula (assuming you have to buy it from an outside source).
And last but not least — it takes more calories of pig feed for the pig to create fat than to create protein (9 kcal for 1g of fat and just 4 kcal to create 1g of protein)!
So pig breeders will lose x3 if they sell fat pigs.
All the amino acids are needed at the same time — if even one is missing; the proteins from food will not be used efficiently. Old textbooks on biology, nutrition and animal husbandry differentiate complete protein (animal) and not complete (plant). The amino acids, just like a wooden barrel holding water, can have 99% efficiency, but even if one tight plank is missing, then the barrel fails. And back to barrels…. Water can
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a world-building crackle that allows the series to soar, even with occasionally rusty material. Last night’s revelation that it was Chuck, not Howard, who had blocked Jimmy’s professional ascent couldn’t have been a surprise to anyone — anyone except Jimmy, of course. And Bob Odenkirk is so good at playing the neediness behind the bluster that the truth, when it finally arrived, rattled like an earthquake. It’s a feat of engineering that Better Call Saul divulged how and why Jimmy McGill came to abandon his family name and embrace the seedier side of the law. But it’s a feat of performance, and direction, that Saul made us care so much about it happening.
At a time when superlatives are the new normal, I feel it’s important to say that Better Call Saul isn’t a great TV series — at least not yet. And it doesn’t need to be. It’s a particular joy to revel in Saul’s brand of very good. Though heavier things are always looming — Gustavo Fring didn’t get out of the van last night, but there’s no avoiding that he eventually will — it’s important to appreciate the irresistible, knockaround noir of where we are right now. Saul is already operating in a fictional universe I love dearly, one in which desperate people are forced to rely on little more than what a great improv comedian once called a “particular set of skills.” It’s a place where cab drivers know crooked veterinarians and crooked veterinarians know drug dealers. It’s a place where smoking guns can be pieced together from scraps of paper, an old man can disarm a goliath, and a well-placed black light can illuminate the truth. Unlike the apocalyptic end of Walter White’s reign, Saul’s Albuquerque still has room for fumbling goofballs like “Pryce” and Betsy Kettleman. And, crucially, it has room for Rhea Seehorn, the Bacall of basic cable. Her Kim Wexler — tough but kind; half cynic and half realist — is more than a moll. Like Jimmy, she’s wedged between a world of gangsters and a world of gentlemen, and often it’s tricky to distinguish the difference.
As Better Call Saul develops, the gulf between hard work and easy money is likely to widen — yesterday’s bribe is tomorrow’s bounty. So it’s especially gratifying to remember that the show’s creative brain trust seems never to have had to choose between the two. Like the crooked lawyer its protagonist will one day be, Better Call Saul has an interest in truth and a passing familiarity with justice. But what it has above all else is style. And that alone can take you a very long way.Climate change could drive a 400% increase in the number of extreme summer downpours in some parts of the United States by 2100, exacerbating flash flooding events that have wrecked havoc in communities across the country in recent years, according to new research.
The scientists behind the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and the Southwest will be most affected while some areas including large swathes of the Midwest may see no increase in downpour frequency at all. Rainfall in the affected regions may be more as much as 70% more intense, in addition to being more common, the researchers found.
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“These are huge increases,” says study author Andreas Prein, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). “Imagine the most intense thunderstorm you typically experience in a single season. Our study finds that, in the future, parts of the U.S. could expect to experience five of those storms in a season, each with an intensity as strong or stronger than current storms.”
The study is the latest research to show the link between increased precipitation and climate change. Clouds can hold more water in warm temperatures allowing for larger downpours. In fact, the increase in precipitation due to global warming has already begun, scientists say. The U.S. has experienced at least six extreme storms this year classified as one-in-500-year events, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.
The new study relies on a sophisticated computer model that required a year of computing time. Researchers noted that the study has one significant flaw: the model cannot account for how weather patterns may change due to climate change in the future.
Write to Justin Worland at [email protected] presidential nominee Donald Trump debated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on Monday night on Long Island. (Left photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images; right photo by David Goldman/AP)
Is the 2016 presidential election a personality contest? That’s what many observers apparently think — and it’s how many interpreted Monday night’s debate between the two nominees.
“From the beginning of the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump has faced a nagging question: Does he have the right temperament to be commander-in-chief?” wrote Linda Feldmann of the Christian Science Monitor. At USA Today, political scientist Ross K. Baker wrote, “Clinton will probably get a modest bump in the polls for her solid and well-informed performance, but the debate was a personality test more than it was an SAT.”
[In the first debate, Clinton went specific — like a Democrat. Trump went broad — like a Republican.]
Can Republican nominee Donald Trump prove to voters that he has the temperament to be president? Can Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton persuade the public that she’s more trustworthy than many believe?
Of course, the “personality contest” narrative isn’t new. Ronald Reagan’s charisma and Bill Clinton’s ability to connect with voters are, in the folklore, key to their electoral success. Because Trump and Clinton’s difficulties seem particularly acute, many assume that voters’ sense of their personalities will decide who reaches the White House.
But that theory is often wrong. In a new paper, I show that over the last 60 years, presidential candidates’ personal attributes have actually become less important to voters and less correlated with election outcomes.
So, what really matters? Policy, group affiliations and ideology.
[Here’s what new research tells us about presidential ‘coattails’ in down-ballot races]
Voters don’t care as much as they used to about candidates’ personalities
Consider the graph below. There we plot the percentage of American National Election Studies respondents who, when asked what they liked and disliked about the major party candidates, mentioned personal attributes. These include comments about the candidates’ integrity, reliability, competence and leadership abilities, along with appearance and such demographic information as age, race, social class and former occupation.
In 1952, for instance, 79 percent mentioned Dwight Eisenhower’s or Adlai Stevenson’s leadership abilities, intelligence and so forth. By contrast, that number had fallen to 61 percent in 2012 — an election in which Mitt Romney’s “empathy deficit” was supposed to be a big voter concern.
Other research has been finding the same thing: What voters say they like and dislike about the candidates now are their positions on issues. And so as the parties have polarized on everything from policing to abortion to health care, the candidates’ policy positions have mattered more and their personalities have mattered less.
[Don’t trust a single forecast. The consensus all year has been that Clinton will win.]
In fact, I find that young Americans are now substantially less likely than older people to focus on candidate personality. Having grown up in a much more polarized political environment, young voters have come to focus more on policies than candidate character. If this generational pattern continues, personality will probably keep getting less and less important in elections.
“Which candidate would you want to have a beer with?”
Another way to examine this trend is to look at how favorably voters have evaluated the candidate’s personal qualities since the Eisenhower era — or, to use the common line, which candidate a voter would like to have a beer with. To do so, I created a score based on how many positive and negative comments ANES respondents made about each candidate’s personal attributes. When there’s a higher ratio of positive to negative comments, there’s a higher score.
I plot these scores in the graph below, with separate lines for the winning and losing candidate. Both lines trend downward. That tells you that voters like the candidates less and less over the years.
Here’s the flip side of this: Having the more appealing personal qualities is no longer a good predictor of who wins. In the 10 elections between 1952 and 1988, the candidate with the personality advantage won seven times. Since then, however, the candidate with the higher score has won only twice: Bush in 2004, Obama in 2012. Bill Clinton survived abysmal ratings on integrity to win in the 1990s; the 2000 election was fittingly a tie on personality, and in 2008, McCain enjoyed a wide lead on competence over Obama.
[Our new book, ‘The Science of Trump,’ helps you understand the rise of Donald Trump]
Or to be more direct: Presidential elections are rarely won or lost these days on the basis of candidate personality.
In our increasingly polarized politics, people have come to hold more black-and-white views of the candidates — and judge personal character through the lens of political bias. Marc Hetherington, Meri Long and Thomas Rudolph find more and more polarization in ratings of recent candidates’ honesty, competence and leadership in recent elections, with voters assessing those traits based on party.
I found the same pattern in the open-ended comments. Between 1952 and 2000 the average correlation between the personal ratings of the two major candidates was -0.26; in the past three elections the correlation has averaged -0.40. What this means is that, increasingly, the more one likes one candidate, the less one likes the other. Gone are the days when people commonly said they liked both candidates’ personal qualities.
Of course, voters still care about candidates’ personalities. It’s always better to be seen in a positive light than a negative light. But a disadvantage on candidate personality can now be overridden by other factors, such as policy and group affiliations.
Martin Wattenberg is professor of political science at the University of California at Irvine and author of “Is Voting for Young People?” (Routledge, 2011).Leading Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has never held elected office and isn't known for his in-depth understanding of public policy issues. Critics have questioned whether it makes sense to elect him president. But Carson has a response to this criticism:
It is important to remember that amateurs built the Ark and it was the professionals that built the Titanic. @my_ccu pic.twitter.com/6Nqod4sicS — Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) October 29, 2015
This is a common sentiment among Republican voters. Many conservatives believe that professional politicians and other Washington insiders have made a hash of things, resulting in soaring deficits, crony capitalism, and other ills. So there's a lot of appeal to the idea of the citizen politician — someone who makes his or her career in the private sector, spends a few years in government, and then goes back to private life.
Conservatives like to hark back to the early days of the American republic, when this kind of thing was more common. In the 19th century, getting elected to federal office didn't require raising millions of dollars, so it was easier for someone with no prior political experience to get involved in politics. Supporters of Ben Carson see him as the 21st-century embodiment of this ideal.
But the ideal of the citizen politician misses something important about how the United States has changed over the past two centuries. In the 19th century, it was easy to be an amateur politician, but it was also a lot easier to be an amateur lawyer, journalist, scientist, or physician. That's because the state of the art in all of these fields wasn't very good, so it didn't take very long to master them.
Today no one would want an amateur doctor to do brain surgery on them — they'd want a highly trained professional like Ben Carson. Most jobs doing scientific research require a PhD, because it takes years of study to master the scientific state of the art. And it's a good thing that, generally speaking, we expect politicians to have some previous experience in government — or related fields — before elevating them to the highest office in the land.
This doesn't necessarily mean people need to be a member of Congress or a governor before becoming president. Dwight Eisenhower, for example, became president after a successful career in the military.
But people do need relevant experience. Carly Fiorina, for example, spent six years managing one of the nation's largest companies — a job with many similarities to the presidency — and has spent the years since then advising the CIA. And it's clear from interviews that she's done her homework, mastering many of the complex policy issues she'd be called on to deal with as president.
Carson, by contrast, seems to relish his standing not only as an outsider but as a non-expert in public policy. He seems to believe that he'd be able to govern by applying "common sense" to the nation's problems. But this is nonsense. The presidency is a hard and complex job. Electing a true amateur to the White House makes as little sense as having an amateur doctor do brain surgery.Let me build on Lazebnik’s metaphor but instead of biologists, I’ll have aliens from a technologically advanced civilization visit earth and study man-made objects. And rather than a radio, I use a smartphone as the metaphor for living organisms because of the unambiguous separation between the codical domain (information coded in the software) and material domain (hardware)—a fundamental concept that defines all biological systems [2, 3].
Our visitors, which we’ll assume are generously funded to perform basic exploratory research by limitless grants from the Alien Science Foundation, become intrigued by smartphones, which they note are ubiquitously used by humans throughout their daily routines. They pry open a phone, and not only do they describe and classify the shape, color, and size of every component but they also measure all electronic connections and signals using the most sophisticated technology. They recruit human users to play with the phone and study how the phone responds to the user’s actions. They achieve a perfect understanding of the system dynamics at multiple levels from a single electronic chip to the phone in its entirety to the way the phone responds to its user’s actions. They develop a perfect understanding of the phone in all its intricate physical and electronic details. They write complex mathematical models that describe how the phone operates and responds to the user’s stimuli. They even figure out how individual phones interact with each other and how they form higher-level webs of complex and dynamic networks ruled by various laws and principles.
1 5 4 5 5 6 Yet despite this ultimate sophisticated understanding of the system, our aliens will not figure out why the letters in the phone keyboards are arranged in the QWERTY configuration (Fig.) []. This is because a smartphone fulfils another fundamental feature of living organisms—historicity, the historical constraints that have shaped its evolution []. The QWERTY keyboard in a smartphone is a historical artefact from an early keyboard design that became widely adopted because it was integrated in one of the first commercial typewriters []. There is no particular need for such a keyboard arrangement in modern smartphones and computers, and our aliens will be hard pressed to identify the raison d'être of the QWERTY keyboard by studying modern human societies.
This example illustrates the limits of systems approaches to studying living organisms. Organisms are not optimally designed. They are messy. They have evolved through evolutionary tinkering [4, 7, 8]. They suffer from the constraints of being linked through the unbroken chain of heredity to a series of ever more distant ancestors. This fundamental concept is what most vividly differentiates biology from design and engineering.
How would our aliens crack the problem? Which approach would allow them to gain useful insights into the QWERTY question? The breakthrough will emerge from studying and comparing multiple phones. Let’s say our aliens have landed in multicultural London. Rather than studying and dissecting a single phone, they end up collecting a whole bunch of them. A persistent young alien scientist named Karla Darwin noticed after long hours of careful observation that letters in some keyboards are arranged differently. Whereas most phones have their keys organized as QWERTY, others follow the AZERTY configuration (Fig. 1). Young Karla is intrigued by this odd finding and spends much time researching why this is the case. At some point, and after many fruitless leads, Karla discovers a striking correlation between the keyboard organization and the language used by the phone’s users. She collects more comparative data between QWERTY and AZERTY phones, and performs experiments such as swapping keyboards and then noting that the users initially type gibberish but can still switch back to typing correctly although with reduced speed. She discovers that keyboards are not unique to smartphones but are found in other devices, some of which are no longer in use. A breakthrough occurs when on one of her random London walks she discovers typewriters in an antique shop on Portobello Road and realizes that these have relic keyboards that predate computers and smartphones. She gains much insight from this comparative analysis, which allows her to develop and test various hypotheses on the ancestral functions of the keyboard. After many years of systematic analyses, she develops the theory that keyboards have evolved from a common extinct form and have diverged into different patterns to adapt to the user’s language. She speculates, although she struggles to fully demonstrate this, that the various keyboard designs were probably useful in some way in the relic typewriter keyboard. She stands accused of adaptationism by some of her colleagues, who ridicule her with extreme examples. Nonetheless, Karla Darwin persists and her treatise “On The Origin Of Keyboards” will become widely viewed as the birth of the alien science of evolution.
Here lies the limit of Lazebnik’s thesis that there are fundamental flaws in how biologists approach problems. Astute biologists would not study just one single model radio or phone (although many do). They will study populations of radios and phones that vary so slightly yet yield different phenotypes shaped by their descent from a common ancestral form. Some of these changes will be functional (adaptive), explaining differences in how the radio or phone operates. Others would be the product of chance. Yet, many differences will be the products of historical constraints—vestiges of past adaptations or random events that have drifted over time into endless shapes and patterns that sharply deviate from the rules of design. This is why, in the absence of an evolutionary perspective, understanding the systems features of the hardware in all their intricate details is unlikely to shed light on the innate messiness of biological systems.DENVER – Hundreds of thousands of people are gathering in Civic Center Park in downtown Denver for the Women’s March on Denver Saturday.
RELATED | Hundreds expected at Women's March on Denver: What you need to know
MORE | RTD will deploy extra buses, light rail during Women's March
Denver7 reporter Amanda del Castillo was at Civic Center Park early Saturday as crowds started to walk to downtown in preparation for the march.
8:10 a.m. - While the march was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., dozens of people were already at Civic Center a little past 8 a.m.
The picture in my last tweet taken just 30 minutes ago. Look how the crowd at Civic Center Park is growing. #Denver7 #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/vstaLT8z35 — Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaDTV) January 21, 2017
11:25 a.m. - Denver7's Amanda del Castillo spots several signs at Women's March Denver.
Viewers who called into the Denver7 newsroom said crowds were big enough to take up four blocks before anyone could reach Civic Center Park.
The hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Civic Center Park caused communication issues. Denver7's Amanda del Castillo said many, including the Denver7 field crew, were unable to complete calls, send texts, or post to social media.
While nearly 100,000 people participated in the march through downtown Denver, hundreds of others stayed behind at Civic Center Park and even lined steps at the State Capitol.
GALLERY | Thousands march in downtown Denver for Women's March
11:42 a.m. - Approximately 200,000 people are currently in downtown Denver for the Women's March, according to Boulder Daily Camera reporter John Bear, who cites an organizer speaking at the event.
Organizer on stage said 200k people are at #WomensMarchDenver. — John Bear (@johnbearwithme) January 21, 2017
11:50 a.m. - Denver Police tweets officials "are unable to provide accurate crowd numbers" from the Women's March at Civic Center Park.
#DPD : We are unable to provide accurate crowd numbers. For march details, please contact event organizers at https://t.co/gDGeCcZs17 — Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) January 21, 2017
12:03 p.m. - There are approximately 100,000 participants at Women's March on Denver, according to Lisa Cutter, a March on Colorado spokesperson. The number could swell up to 200,000 by the afternoon.
12:17 p.m. - So far, three people have been arrested: One person had an active warrant, another was arrested for an assault to a police officer and a third was in possession of an illegal weapon, according to a spokesperson from the Denver Police Department.
The Women's March Denver is expected to go through the rest of the morning into late Saturday afternoon.
Watch the crowds march in Denver as seen from AIRTRACKER7 below:
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Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle.MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 22-year-old Lakeville man is accused of illegally entering his neighbor’s garage in the middle of the night, driving their car to Walgreens and then returning to the home, where he took off his clothes and knocked on a young woman’s bedroom door.
Anthony Leonard Beck is charged with one count of third-degree burglary in connection to the incident last Monday, court documents filed in Dakota County show.
A criminal complaint states that Inver Grove Heights Police responded around 4 a.m. to the home where the young woman and her mother lived. At the scene, the young woman said she thought her mom was knocking on her bedroom door that morning and didn’t expect Beck to enter naked when she said, “Come in.”
She told police that she demanded Beck to leave and that he only did so after getting an “adult depends” from the bathroom. After collecting his clothes at the base of the stairs, the 22-year-old allegedly left the house, shouting “thank you … I’m gone!”
The woman and her mother noticed the car in their garage had been moved and that the radio station had also been changed. They told officers that Beck knew the code to the garage, because he’d watched their dogs over the winter.
When police went to see Beck, he answered the door in his underwear, the complaint states. He told police he drove his neighbors’ car to Walgreens because he “thought the world was ending.” He admitted to taking drugs earlier in the day.
Beck also told police that when he returned the car to the garage, he went upstairs “dressed lewdly,” hoping for sex.
Police then arrested Beck.
If convicted of the burglary charge, he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and/or and $10,000 fine.Resized to 31% of original ( view original Loading...
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Before commenting, read the how to comment guide. Oteck about 2 years ago Add one more to the list of how to make a proper manga ZeroSpace about 2 years ago She's a Stand User?! T34/38 about 2 years ago It's the work of an admiralty stand! nayami about 2 years ago I guess Abe's role as Tamon Yamaguchi was more iconic than I thought. T34/38 about 2 years ago nayami said: I guess Abe's role as Tamon Yamaguchi was more iconic than I thought. Should we tag Yamaguchi then? TUZOIVAN about 2 years ago ORAAA! USS Brony Alicorn about 2 years ago Hiryuu:"Susanoo!" randomTTK about 1 year ago This manga is on drugs and I enjoy it fullyThe Lightning were in a pretty familiar situation last night in Pittsburgh. It was Game Seven, on the road in hostile territory, and it was for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup once again.
Flashback to last season when Tampa Bay played two back to back seven games series. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Lightning had a shot to close out the series in Game Six at home in Amalie Arena. They failed to do so and sent the series back to Madison Square Garden for a Game Seven.
Jump back to 2016 it was Game Seven in Pittsburgh all eyes were on the young rookie goaltenders playing in their first career Game Seven. Tampa Bay had been plagued with injuries all postseason and still managed to find a way to pull out the big wins.
There was something about this Thursday night that was different then all the other games played this postseason. That’s right. You guessed it, Steven Stamkos arrived to the stadium with the regular roster and was scheduled to play.
Stamkos presence was felt on the ice with his speed and ability to make something happen. The Lightning were happy to have him back but it was too little too late. The Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1, behind Bryan Rusts two goal night.
Season Storylines
When the season finally approached the All-Star break the Tampa bay Lightning sat in the final playoff spot in the East. Clinging to a chance to get back to the playoff, the team ripped off an impressive nine game winning streak which allowed them to get to the top of the standings and secure a playoff spot.
Not only were they fighting for a playoff spot, but there were some distractions in the form of Jonathan Drouin. Drouin and his agent publicly announced that they wanted a trade to get out of Tampa after he was sent down to the Syracuse Crunch. Drouin failed to report to his minor league games and Yzerman was looking for answers.
Yzerman decided he would look for teams interested but there needs to be value. In one of his press conferences he stated “We are in the midst of a playoff push. If I can trade Drouin for value we will respect his decision, but if not we aren’t going to deal him for nothing.”
Many Tampa fans were not sure how this would carry over to the post season. Would Drouin be playing in Tampa much longer? Does he actually care about his teammates and the team goals? Drouin answered all of these questions and proved that he wants to be apart of the future with the Lightning by producing five goals and nine assists in his 17 postseason games played.
To anyone who was skeptical about how he would respond to being sent down, there is your answer. All the kid needed was a little wake up call and he starts scoring big time goals in the postseason for his team. Drouin stepped up and filled a hole that was left by Steven Stamkos when he had to have surgery for his blood clots.
The craziest storyline out of this season was the return of players from injuries stepping up in big ways. Anton Stralman was the first player to return after being out for more than six weeks with a broken leg. In his first game back Stralman would get the rally going in Game 2 pushing the deficit to 2-1 before Drouin would tie it late in the First. Stralman would contribute defensively in the postseason after missing the first two playoff series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have a lot of questions to answer this offseason. Many of which are contract offers and what this team will look like heading into next season. If you don’t agree with our storylines feel free to comment below and tell us what your favorite moment of Tampa’s Season was.
Follow @ACAANHL and @ACAllAmericans for all your NHL needs, as well as up-to-date sports reporting.If Charles Dickens had been a parallel processor, if Leo Tolstoy had been made of silicon, if Vladimir Nabokov had written in hexadecimal, if John Updike had had a universal power supply and a cooling fan, one of them might have written Cheap Complex Devices, winners of the inaugual Hofstadter Prize for computer-written novel awarded by the prestigious Society for Analytical Engines. Cheap Complex Devices represents the state of the art in mechanically-constructed narrative, and the future of fiction.
Reviews
I encourage you to use that ole search engine and go find a few reviews of this short little book, of which I'm inordinately fond. I particularly appreciate David Weinberger's comparing this book to the works of Nabokov and (professor) Giuseppe Granieri's calling me "The Borges of Silicon Valley").
The Mind Over Matter trilogy
Mind over Matter comprises the novel Acts of the Apostles by John F.X. Sundman and the novellas Cheap Complex Devices by John Compton Sundman and The Pains by John Damien Sundman (with illustrations by Cheeseburger Brown). These three books, although different from each other in genre, literary technique, authorial voice, and so forth, share a common theme of exploring how mind arises from matter. As a set they embody a "strange loop" like those expounded by Douglas Hofstadter ( very crudely summarized, Hofstadter postulates that self-aware minds arise from strange loops that reference themselves). As to the reality or fictitiousness of each of the three John Sundmans who ostensibly wrote these books, (and how they relate to me) readers are advised to read all three books and form their own opinions.Let's be clear. I think that there is a fair change of a repetition of the global financial crisis. After the financial crash of 2007-2008, major central banks ran to the rescue of the world economy by pushing interest rates to zero (or below) and filling the world with artificial liquidity through programs of quantitative easing. These measures have distorted asset prices in a way that has not seen in modern history. I consider it to be unlikely the asset bubbles they have created can be reined in without seriously damaging the underlying economy.
At the same time, politics are in disarray. There has been a fierce backlash against, e.g., globalization in developed countries. Tensions, especially in Europe, are running high. Elections in France, the Netherlands and in Germany could lead to starkly opposing outcomes, with other winners pushing for exit from the common currency and others for a transfer or a political union, which is highly unpopular in the Northern member states of the euro.
These developments bear a comparison to run-ups to two very different eras with some very different outcomes. These are the global recession and fast recovery in the 1980's and the Great Depression in the 1930's.
1980's and the global recession
The 1970's ended with high inflation, which was driven mostly by the oil price shocks and loose monetary policies aimed at establishing full employment. Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker to run the Fed in 1979. By that time, citizens and corporations were grown tired of the raging inflation, which had reached double-digits. The US economy was basically in stagflation (no growth + inflation). After Ronald Reagan become the 40th President, Volcker enacted draconian measures to bring down inflation. The Fed funds rate was raised to 20 % (June 1981) and by 1982, inflation was brought down to 3.8 percent. High rates were kept in place for two years with the support of President Reagan. They crushed inflation expectations but created a recession, which turned into a fast recovery fueled by tax reductions and financial deregulation.
Although inflation is currently under control, asset price inflation has been fierce, which has led to a financial bubble induced by the ultra-loose monetary policies (see Figure 1).
The question is, where do we go from here? Volcker and Reagan worked together to bring down inflation and create a recovery. What will Donald Trump and Janet Yellen (or some other future Fed president) do? Could the asset bubble be wound down causing only a mild recession followed by a brisk recovery? I am skeptical, but economic wonders have been achieved before.
1930's and the Great Depression
Current situation could also lead to a considerably more negative outcome, which would bear similarities with the 1930's. This scenario demands a fair amount of speculation, but I consider the following to be firmly within the realm of possibilities.
The world had enjoyed on very high economic growth, globalization (which peaked before WWI, however) and political stability after the First World War. US rose to global economic dominance through astonishing accumulation of private capital and due to the destruction of private capital in Europe. Capitalism was living its heyday.
The crash of the US stock market between October 24 and 29 in 1929, which followed the crash of London stock market in September, started a global financial crisis. After the crash, voices for nationalistic and isolationist policies grew and countries tried to protect their economies with tariffs and barriers sparking an international trade war. Global economy halted and the crisis morphed into the Great Depression (see Figure 2). It shed over 40 billion of the GDP of the US alone and eventually led to the onset of the most destructive war world has ever seen.
Although the tone of some political discussions bear similarities to the 1930's, there are three important differences between now and the 1930's: rising employment, lack of (oppressive) ideology and international cooperation. However, if for example the US stock market would crash, it would onset crashes also in other major markets. This would send financial markets into panic with flocks of investors heading for the 'exists' at the same time. Fire sales would ensue collapsing the prices of assets and bonds. Banks all over the world would suffer balance sheet crippling losses leading them in the verge of failure, starting from developing countries and Europe. Central banks with their already stretched balance sheets would be unable to stop the fall and global financial crisis would commence. Due to the crisis, unemployment would rise and international cooperation would become under heavy strain. Failing financial and political systems would give a raise to ideological movements, like (maybe) socialism.
If this were come to be, political leaders would face the same options as in the 1930's. That is, to embrace global coordination and push through harsh and possibly career-killing corrective measures or resort to isolationism and protectionism. How would they choose?
World at cross-roads
Although historical comparisons, like the one presented here, are never fully comparable to the present day, they do shed some light on the possible outcomes. It may be impossible to avoid a global recession or a crisis within the next few years, but lot depends on responses when it hits.
Distrust to political leaders, the "elite" and the media has grown to exceptional levels even among the high-income and college educated citizens. The current course of concentrated wealth accumulation, centered decision making (especially in Europe) and biased media practices will only lead to democratic backlashes, like Brexit, and hurl us towards a catastrophic outcome if (when) the next crisis hits.
The world is at cross-roads. We can either embrace the democratic process and pragmatism or resort to ideologies, like globalism, federalism, populism or isolationism. In any case, we cannot dodge the decision.Legislators in San Francisco are taking aim at the role of corporations in American politics with a new bill that would make it official city policy to oppose the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
"Although corporations can and do make important contributions to our society using advantages that the government has wisely granted them, the people of the city and county of San Francisco do not consider them natural persons," reads the text of the non-binding policy statement being introduced Tuesday by Supervisor John Avalos.
The measure states that campaign contributions should not be considered the same as political speech and pushes for increased restrictions on campaign spending.
"It is also the position of the people of the city....[that the] ruling in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission...presents a serious threat to democracy by rolling back remaining legal limits on corporate spending in the electoral process," the bill reads, "allowing unlimited corporate spending to influence elections, candidate selection, and policy decisions; and potentially unleashing unprecedented amounts of corporate money into our political process."
The Supreme Court's 2010 ruling freed up corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns through the use of Super PACs.
The measure would put San Francisco on record as being opposed to the political system's ever-increasing reliance on corporate cash and push the city's representatives in Washington to work towards campaign finance reform. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, it will go before voters in November.
"As we are seeing the rise of great corporate influence over what's happening in our public realm...we need to be able to fight back with statements like this from the public," Avalos told the San Francisco Examiner. "San Francisco is ripe for making such a statement this November on the ballot."
Other cities around the country--such as Los Angeles, Oakland and New York--have enacted similar resolutions condemning Citizens United. In July, the California Assembly joined state legislatures in Hawaii, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island and New Mexico in passing a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the controversial Supreme Court ruling.England right now is to football what the vuvuzela is to music : one note going nowhere.
I’ve had my doubts about Capello since he stripped John Terry of the English captaincy earlier this year because he had an affair. For an Italian, that seemed a little rich. Discipline is all very well, but Terry’s a leader and would have led. England doesn’t do the barricades, but insurrection is close.
So here we are, 10 days into the first African World Cup, a power-shift event. And it’s proving a nice illustration of the effectiveness of asymmetrical warfare.
Traditional powers with the big guns are struggling: Italy, France, England — even Germany and Spain. The insurgents — Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovenia, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico — are pulling off deadly ambushes (and for once the gutsy Americans are not targets.) Switzerland, in its 1-0 defeat of Spain, proved unpredictable for the first time in history. The cuckoos lost their clocks.
Even North Korea, with zero fans — Kim Jung-Il would not allow them out of his police state — showed surprising tenacity until their Portuguese debacle. They’ve been using a public gym (“Virgin Active” in Eco Park) to train because they could not afford a facility.
Sorry, they do have 100 “fans,” a platoon of Chinese nationals hired by Pyongyang and not available for interview. In the realm of the bizarre, this outfit runs Maradona close.
But the Argentine coach — who tried more than 100 players
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Superior Court on Friday. Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close 'Mayor of Aurora' sentenced to 10 years for assaulting, filming unconscious prostitutes 1 / 7 Back to Gallery
He was known as the "Mayor of Aurora," offering refuge in his Aurora Avenue RV to drug-addicted sex workers who needed a place to eat, sleep and detox.
On Friday, 67-year-old Laughn Doescher, known by his middle name Elliott, was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for filming and sexually assaulting a slew of incapacitated women who trusted him as a friend.
It's unknown how many women Doescher attacked, but detectives identified seven, one of whom passed away after his 2014 arrest and charging. Authorities believe many more could have fallen prey to his trap.
"Mr. Doescher was a trusted friend," Seattle Detective Donna Stangeland said at Friday's sentencing hearing in King County Superior Court. "... His betrayal of them... affected them deeply."
Read our prior story on the case.
Doescher was charged in 2014 with six counts of voyeurism, four counts of second-degree rape and one count of indecent liberties, but took a deal in August to plead guilty to four counts of indecent liberties and two counts of voyeurism.
Both prosecutors and the defense agreed to recommend 116 months of prison time for Doescher -- the top of the standard range for the crimes, but a sentence Assistant Attorney General Joshua Choate called a "significant break" given his previous slate of charges.
Seattle police learned of the situation when a 35-year-old woman flagged down police to say she had been sexually assaulted repeatedly in Doescher's RV after he offered her shelter while she was strung out on heroin, according to Stangeland's initial report to the court.
The woman had just reportedly been raped by a "john" when Doescher approached her and offered his RV as a place for her to sleep. She had known him and stayed in his RV before and accepted his offer.
However, while trying to sleep, she said she awoke several times to Doescher sexually assaulting her. She tried to stop him but passed out repeatedly. At one point, he hid her clothes from her. Ultimately, she found her clothes and escaped the RV to sleep outside, but she felt guilty about leaving another woman behind in the vehicle who also appeared "out of it."
Detectives located photos and videos in Doescher's cell phone depicting several women being sexually assaulted while unconscious, court records say. Investigators tracked down victims and heard several more stories of women who knew Doescher as a friend and trusted refuge who even offered them drugs to help them with symptoms of their drug addictions. Some women had a history of trauma, ranging from rape to child molestation.
Deputies rolled Doescher into Judge Theresa Doyle's courtroom in a wheelchair. He appeared weary, his breath and speech labored, complaining his legs felt as though they were on fire.
Doescher was diagnosed after his arrest with stage 4 lymphatic cancer and has undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation while in custody. He moaned and panted throughout his sentencing hearing.
One victim who addressed the court Friday called Doescher a "sexual predator" and "psychosexual deviant." She didn't know Doescher had filmed her in his RV until Stangeland contacted her to say she found images of her in Doescher's phone.
"I never, ever wanted sexual activity with you, whether you paid me or not or whether I was conscious or not," she said, adding that he victimized her at the peak of her drug addiction and during her life's darkest days.
"You picked the wrong woman to target and abuse," she continued.
Doyle followed the sentencing recommendation proposed by attorneys.
"What you did was particularly awful," Doyle told Doescher as he put his head down on the table before him. "What's worse is you created... a place of refuge for people who particularly needed that... and you violated that trust."
Related:The Alchemist Heady Topper
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sublimely balanced double IPA that's long been ranked the best beer in the world on Beer Advocate. It's insanely good. One sip delivers successive waves of all the types of flavors that are associated with hops: rose, raspberry, thyme, grapefruit, cannabis-like must, steely bitterness. The Alchemist in Waterbury, VermontAll year longHeady Topper is one of just two beers brewed by The Alchemist, and they make it all year long. So unlike the rest of the beers on this list, it's not limited by time -- just space. You can only find it in Vermont. The Alchemist used to sell it at its brewery, but its popularity caused so many logistical hassles that they were forced to close the brewery to the public in November 2013. There are plans to open a new retail location, but until then, the best place to try is one of the locations listed on The Alchemist website ; each gets an allocation on a specific day of the week. Heady Topper has also been known to pop up on the beer menus of other restaurants throughout the state. If you can't make it to Vermont, and are tempted to buy some Heady Topper on the black market, beware: Police have started to crack down on illegal scalping of this wonderful beer.I'll take another. Hollis Johnson Consumer Reports has released its Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey, and the publication has extracted a brand ranking from the results.
Tesla fared well, finishing No. 1. A whopping 91% of current owners said they "would buy again," according to Consumer Reports.
"Our brand rankings represent owner sentiment across each brand's product line," CR's Mike Monticello wrote.
He added that model satisfaction was "determined by the percentage of owners who responded 'definitely yes' to the question of whether they would buy the same vehicle if they had it to do all over again."
The methodology was straightforward: "To determine brand love — or disdain — we took a straight average of the satisfaction score for each brand's models," CR wrote. "In order to qualify, the brand had to have at least two models with data. For this analysis, we focused on cars from model years 2014-2017 to represent the current state of the brands, which included over 300,000 vehicles from the survey."
Porsche finished second, with 84% of owners reporting that they'd buy again. Audi, Subaru, and Toyota rounded out the top five.
Fiat finished last, with only 53% jumping on the buy-again bandwagon. But in fairness, Fiat is selling very few vehicles in the US at the moment.
Tesla's high score for brand loyalty is a warning to the numerous carmakers launching Tesla competitors. If an automaker can get nearly 100% of owners to buy again, the brand is nearly impossible to "conquest," to use some industry jargon.
It also means the brand projects a powerful image, which in Tesla's case has been built on the strength of the company's story and on the charisma of CEO Elon Musk rather than on paid marketing and advertising.
For Tesla to have developed a level of brand loyalty this elevated in such a short period of time is arguably more impressive than the fact that it has put so many electric cars on the road.While the more eye-catching curial reforms of the Francis era have, thus far, centred on the combining of smaller department into new “super-dicasteries” and other obvious structural changes, yesterday saw a fairly broad reshaping of a curial department in the form of its personnel. The new members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments were announced in the Vatican Press Office’s daily bulletin, and the names and sheer numbers of the new members have raised a few eyebrows.
In total, 27 new members were appointed, and there was a distinctly global complexion to the announcement, with many of the new members coming from sub-saharan Africa and further afield. While the African bishops as a group tend to be known for their doctrinal orthodoxy, liturgically they are much more diverse, with the continent producing some of the most stridently traditional liturgists in recent years, as well as the current and former heads of the Congregation itself in Cardinals Arinze and Sarah, while also being home to some of the most “enculturated” liturgies in the Church.
While the global membership of this, or any congregation, is a fairly rough indication of how this, or any Pope, sees the Catholic world, it is worth noting that in Rome, as everywhere else, the decisions tend to be made by those who show up. Consequently, more attention is often paid to the appointment of bishops or cardinals who actually live in or near Rome who can attend the ordinary business meetings of the congregation, and consequently are expected to wield a more immediate influence in the working of the department. There are a number of names included on the list of 27 new members which fit into this category. Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, has been made a member; as he has grown more and more into the traditional role of Papal Prime Minister, his inclusion is hardly surprising and seems to indicate Pope Francis’ confidence in him serving as the curial centre of gravity.
More surprising, and generating much more public reaction, has been the inclusion of Archbishop Piero Marini. Marini is a controversial liturgical figure, having served as secretary to Annibale Bugnini, the Archbishop responsible for the liturgical reforms which followed Vatican II, and is also the former master of papal liturgical ceremonies. His preferences for liturgical dance, and other deeply “enculturated” forms of expression in the liturgy, have proven somewhat controversial in the past. In addition, he is notoriously and publicly impatient with those favouring the Extraordinary Form and other traditionalist liturgical practices, like the celebration of Mass ad orientem. According to a long-circulating Vatican rumour, he was originally intended to become the Prefect of the Congregation when Pope Francis first took office, but such was the resistance of the Congregation’s members that he was passed over for Cardinal Sarah.
Also of note is the appointment of Cardinal Beniamino Stella as a new member of the CDW. Cardinal Stella currently serves as Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and has privately earned a reputation for being fiercely opposed to the rise of seminaries and priestly societies which promote or lean upon particular forms of liturgy in their formation and ministry; his personal campaign for “one priesthood, one formation, one seminary” would seem at odds with the liturgical diversity which has been favoured in recent years.
While the appointment of 27 new members to a single congregation is bound to have an impact on its character, it must be noted that the Vatican announcement failed to mention which of the current members of the congregation would be staying on. This has not stopped instant and vociferous internet speculation from taking off, with some websites insisting that Cardinals Burke, Pell, Ouellet, and Scola were all leaving the congregation. This speculation, for that is all that it is at the moment, is being framed as a removal of the “Ratzingerians” and a purge of the traditionalists from the congregation. Meanwhile the new Rome-based members are being pitched as arch-modernists who will leave Cardinal Sarah effectively isolated at the top of his own congregation. Wild interpretations of this sort should be taken with a large measure of salt.
In the first place, none of the supposedly departing “Ratzingerians” has actually been confirmed as yet. Even if these so far unconfirmed reports are true, they fail to account for the considerable depth of experienced members of whom nothing has yet been said, and who can be assumed to be carrying on until we hear otherwise. These include formidable minds and characters like Cardinal Peter Erdö, the Relator General of the Synod of Bishops’ General Assembly; Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Columbo and former Secretary of the CDW; Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, former Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and current head of the Apostolic Penitentiary; and Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
While the simultaneous appointment of 27 new members to any congregation represents a real changing of guard, as with so many of the acts of this pontificate there has been an instinctive rush to interpret events through the most ecclesiastically partisan lens to be found.
While it is true that some of the new members have distinct and forceful thoughts on liturgy, few can contend that they are unqualified for membership. Similarly, while it may come out that some of the more seasoned traditionalists in the CDW have not had their membership renewed, it would be a gross overstatement to insist that there has been some kind of philosophical coup, or that there are not still several loud and authoritative voices to be heard on both sides of the liturgical discussion. Surely the whole point of a global and diverse membership is to have the best of all sides in the conversation.Brazilian aeronautics firm Embraer inked a R$7.2 billion ($3.3 billion) deal with the local Air Force on Tuesday to build 28 of its newly launched mid-sized cargo planes. Embraer's big money deal with the Brazilian Air Force essentially builds the market for the KC-390 plane, the first of its kind by the Brazilian manufacturer.
Embraer's shares rose to over $34.25 on the news, a price it hasn't seen since February.
The KC-390s will be part of a Brazilian Air Force process to phase out old C-130 Hercules built by Lockheed Martin, the government said on Tuesday. Brazil's Ministry of Defense currently has around 21 C-130s, according to the 2011 World Airline Census.
The planes will be built in São Paulo state over the life of the 10 year contract, which will keep at least 1,500 jobs in tact at the Embraer facility in Gavião Peixoto, located in the interior of São Paulo.
The KC-190 is a smaller looking Hercules and will be used for the air patrol along Brazil's Amazon border. The country shares around 17,000 kilometers with relatively peaceful neighbors, despite the Amazon jungle being a haven for drug running.
Embraer said Tuesday that their first KC-390 will be delivered later this year, with the first official Air Force versions to take flight sometime in early 2016.
Over its history, Embraer has been careful not to tread on the turf of American and European aerospace firms. It competes directly in the mid-sized aircraft market with Canada's Bombardier, and on the light attack defense side it competes with the Beechraft Corporation. But this new cargo plane gives Embraer a bigger presence in the Latin America and African defense markets, all traditional sales points for Embraer defense contracts, competing directly with Lockheed Martin.
Embraer President Jackson Schneider said the company hopes the KC-390 will be able to capture between 15% to 20% market share in the mid-sized cargo plane market by 2030. Market size for that type of military craft is relatively small, at around 7,800 worldwide over a 20 year period.
"Now we are looking for new contracts. We have 32 letters of intent already signed with other countries that are looking to turn those letters into firm orders," Schneider told Brazilian reporters on Tuesday. Embraer already has letters of intent with Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Portugal and Czech Republica defense departments.Christianity, as we know, has never been static. Throughout history, it’s taken twists and turns, both enabling and hindering social progress. If there’s anything remotely consistent about it, it’s this: Christianity has almost always double-dipped in the spiritual and the political.
No one can accuse the faith of not leaving its mark on human history. In 21st-century America, that mark looks a lot more like a stain.
Writing for the New Yorker, author and pastor Timothy Keller documents the curious rise and humiliating fall of the word “evangelical,” and what it means for future generations.
He differentiates between “big-E Evangelicalism,” the political movement that now endorses alleged child molesters, with “little-e evangelical,” the average, day-to-day followers of Jesus who say they love God but fall short of perfection. As a pastor, Keller has much to lose based on how relevant and useful his movement proves to be, so the bias in his article is, well, rather obvious.
Churches with more conservative (some prefer to say “bigoted”) views like his are at risk of being pushed to the margins by younger, progressive (or, as Keller says, “urban”) churches:
These new urban churches are certainly not mainline Protestant, yet they don’t look at all like what the average person thinks of by the term “Evangelical.” Will these younger churches abandon the name or try to redefine it? I don’t know, but, as a professional minister, I don’t think it is the most important point to make. What is crucial to know is that, even if the name “evangelical” is replaced with something else, it does not mean that the churches will lose their beliefs…In some ways, the Democratic Party is more liberal now than when the older label was set aside, evidence that it is quite possible to change the name but keep the substance.
What “substance” is this? From my standpoint — as one of those liberal-leaning progressives who attended churches like Keller’s for the better half of the last decade — that “substance,” which consists of white-washed racism, misogyny, and homophobia, doesn’t deserve to be kept. It deserves to be sealed in the history books. For all the posturing of his credentials, Keller doesn’t attempt to engage with the issues that are ruining evangelicalism, but instead refers to the “substance,” as if it’s supposed to be obvious to everyone.
For too many Christians, that “substance” is a Jesus that hates abortion but approves defunding Planned Parenthood so more women who can’t afford babies will be unable to avoid conceiving them. It’s a Jesus who is more concerned about making life hell for the LGBT community while homeless people continue to sleep on benches in some of the wealthiest cities in the nation.
That Jesus that Keller’s ilk embraces so much is the reason people are leaving the faith, no matter what fancy label it’s replaced with.
(Image via Shutterstock)Fifty years ago, historians advised politicians and policy-makers. They helped chart the future of nations, by helping leaders learn from past mistakes in history. But then something changed, and we began making decisions based on economic principles rather than historical ones. The results were catastrophic.
Photograph of dust bowl survivors, by Dorothea Lange
According to historians David Armitage and Jo Guldi, authors of a new book called The History Manifesto, historians ceded authority to economists by losing their long view. They stopped studying broad stretches of time, refused to analyze long-term trends over centuries or even millennia. Instead, according to Armitage and Guldi, they gave in to "short-termism," focusing on obscure moments in history that weren't relevant to the public sphere.
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Writing in Aeon, the authors explain:
The humanities departments of our universities should be the place to go for a long look in the rear-view mirror... within the humanities, it is the discipline of history that provides an antidote to short-termism, by giving pointers to the long future derived from knowledge of the deep past. Yet at least since the 1970s, most professional historians – that is, most historians holding doctorates in the field and teaching in universities or colleges – conducted most of their research on timescales of between five and 50 years... A recent survey of some 8,000 history dissertations written in the US since the 1880s has shown that the average period covered in 1900 was about 75 years; by 1975, that had shrunk to about 30... Moving to a Short Past, without an eye to action or a tilt towards the future, marked professional skill but also broke historians from their long-developed habit of informing the public sphere.
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At the same time, they write, economists began to move into the political arena.
In the 1970s, as historians became enchanted with microhistories, economists were expanding the reach of their discipline. Nations, states and cities began to plan for the future by consulting with economists whose prognostications were shaped by investment cycles rather than historical ones. The problem wasn't so much with economics in general, but with using it as the only method for thinking about decision-making. Armitage and Guldi argue that economists delivered short-term solutions to the public, while historians retreated into the "Short Past," rarely educating a public desperately in need of some long-term perspective.
This need has become particularly acute over the past decade, as long-term issues like climate change have come to the fore. It's time, say Armitage and Guldi, for historians to start taking the long view of history again. And that means reclaiming their places as public figures who can help us understand the many pathways the future might take. After all, history is a vast dataset of choices and consequences. We should be learning from it.
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To spur this transformation, Armitage and Guldi want to revive a mid-twentieth century idea coined by French historian Fernand Braudel. Called the "longue durée," it means simply "long term." Braudel conceived it while in a German detention camp:
Between 1940 and 1945, Braudel planned his masterwork while he was held in detention camps in Germany where he had lectured to his fellow inmates on the course and meaning of history. He later reflected that the unchanging rhythms of internment – the repetitive routines, seemingly without hope or reason – forced him to think along longer timescales in order to recover hope beyond the tedium of the daily round. Camp life strongly shaped Braudel's vision of the Mediterranean past, which he told as three successive histories: a'seemingly immobile' story of the unchanging physical environment; a 'gently paced' history of states, societies, and civilisations; and the more conventional narrative of those 'brief, rapid, nervous oscillations' called events. For Braudel, events were the 'froth' on the waves of time but they should not be confused with history, which took place at much greater depths and often hidden from view. Braudel offered history as the only discipline capable of explaining how immediate events fit into larger, indeed, longer patterns.
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Right now, it's as if short-term economic thinking has locked us into "rhythms of internment," preventing us from understanding how to respond to long-term problems like energy and the environment. Armitage and Guldi have issued a call to change that.
Their view is that history combines the best of science with the humanities, offering us reams of data while also placing it in an interpretive framework. History, they suggest, helps us understand that there are many possible outcomes any any given situation, but that certain courses of action are more likely to succeed. Unlike economics, whose sole preoccupation in our finance-obsessed era is the near-term profit motive, history offers a way to place our tiny lifespans in a narrative that spans dozens of generations — perhaps even reaching into a future where capitalism is no longer our dominant form of economic organization. After all, economic systems rise and fall just like empires. That's the kind of perspective we need to take, if we hope to prosper for centuries rather than for the next quarter.
The question is how we'll do it. Armitage and Guldi describe how historians are now able to use new software tools for analyzing big data sets from history. They're also joining forces with people in the natural sciences, studying the human impact on the environment.
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But Armitage and Guldi aren't just in it for altruistic reasons. They want to reintroduce historians as what they call "statesmen," and have nothing but disgust for non-academic historians whom they call "unaccredited writers" and "non-historians" who produce a "dirty longue durée." They write, "In the last forty years, the public has embraced a series of proliferating myths about our long-term past and its meaning for the future, almost none of them formulated by professional historians."
So the goal here isn't just to replace a short-term economic view with a long-term historical one — it's also to get jobs for professional historians. Given that academia has become such an unstable source of employment, it seems odd that they aren't encouraging "non professional" historians to join them in their quest for the long view. After all, you can't truly have public history if only "accredited" people are allowed to dispense it.
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Armitage and Guldi also set up what many historians would call a false dichotomy between long view histories and short-term ones. The authors admit that short-term histories have allowed historians to explore "more original topics," including "the experiences of communities – women, the enslaved, ethnic minorities, among others – that had been sidelined from more traditional histories." Why not argue for a mixture of longue durée and short-term history, so that we have an understanding of both things? I imagine that, if pressed, Armitage and Guldi would admit that's what's needed. But for the purposes of a manifesto, they prefer to take a simplified rhetorical stance.
If we set aside these problems, and ignore the notion that one must be "accredited" in order to explore history, The History Manifesto is an intriguing clarion call for long-term thinking. As the authors write:
History as a discipline is poised to recover its ancient mission as the guide to life but in a new guise as a critical human science, capable of judging data, incorporating it into complex narratives, and presenting its conclusions in forms accessible to the widest possible range of publics as well to those who make the policies that shape all of our lives.
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Most importantly, we may be on the cusp of understanding that human history is our greatest guide to the future. Especially if our goal is to thrive over millennia, rather than simply to profit in our lifetimes.
Annalee Newitz is the editor-in-chief of io9 and this is her column. She's the author of Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction. Follow her on Twitter, or email her.Have you got your account FATCA (foreign account tax compliance act) compliant? If you haven't then Monday could be a problem for you. Mutual fund investors, bank account holders and those who have invested in insurance schemes cannot operate their accounts, which were opened between July 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, from May 1 if they are not compliant with FATCA.FATCA enables automatic exchange of financial information between India and the US. Indian financial institutions have to provide necessary information to Indian tax authorities, which will then be transmitted to the US. The inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the US for implementing FATCA came into effect on August 31, 2015. Financial institutions were told to obtain self-certification and carry out due diligence procedure to determine the reasonableness of the self-certification in respect of all individual and entity accounts opened from July 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.a) For bank account holdersIf you are a bank account holder and if you haven't given a self-certification till 30 April 2017, your account could be frozen, which would mean that the financial institution would prohibit the account holder from effecting any transaction with respect to such accounts.Investors and account holders have to provide a self-certification about 'tax residency' to their respective financial institutions for compliance with FATCA failing which the account will be blocked.b) For NPS account holdersIf you have opened a National Pension System (NPS) account on or after July 1, 2014 and it is being maintained with NSDL as Central Recordkeeping Agency for NPS, it will also get blocked unless you have submitted a self-certification of FATCA.You may have got an email, sms to download the self-certification form and submit the duly filled up physical self-certification (along with documentary evidence) to NSDL-CRA with signature.c) For mutual fund investorsAs per a Finance ministry release issued on April 11, 2017, all accounts/Folios with mutual funds, opened between July 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, must be FATCA compliant by April 30th, 2017.In case of non-compliance by this date these accounts will be blocked i.e. no financial transactions will be allowed in such non-compliant accounts after April 30, 2017. Financial transactions, such as purchase, redemption, will be allowed only after these accounts become FATCA compliant.One can copy and paste the following links of the registrars of the mutual funds to update one's details.1. CAMS: http://www.camsonline.com/FATCA/COL_FATCAOnlineIndividualForm.aspx?amc=ALL2. KARVY: https://www.karvymfs.com/karvy/fatca-kyc.aspx3.Sundaram BNP Paribas Fund Services Limited; https://www.sundarambnpparibasfs.in/web/service/fatca/4.Templeton: https://online.franklintempletonindia.com/aspx_app/Investors/fatca/Inv_FatcaDetails.aspxRead more at:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/58412226.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstFATCA compliance simply requires a declaration giving information such as your PAN details, country of birth, country of residence, Nationality, Occupation, Gross Annual Income, and details of whether you're a politically exposed person. It is a mandatory exercise for both Individual and Non-Individual Investors. If you have been paying taxes in any country apart from India, you need to provide the tax identification number.Let's hope he thinks it is a good idea :)
He is well aware that automation is fast eliminating jobs, while the net is rapidly expanding the pool of people who can perform systems design work and write apps to replace physical processes.
These twin forces are eliminating 'traditional' work at an unparalleled (and increasing) rate.
An unfunded Basic Income provides the perfect tool to transition us to a new style economy where most of the supply chain is automated and there is global competition for work.
Automation promises to lift the burden of repetitive work from the bulk of the population (first in the developed world, and swiftly - 20 years - across the rest of the world, if we can also move to a use-based circular economy).
It means we can spend more time looking after the young, old, disabled and sick in our family, as well as continually re-educating ourselves and doing private research, inventing, coding, playing sport, engaging in theatre, music art, craft, dance, games, gardening, beautifying our environment, socialising, and the thousand other things that people do to create meaningful lives once the burden of poverty is lifted from them.
Paying a Basic Income will not transform society into a magic kingdom.
What it will do is put a floor under the services that we need to deliver in health (especially the management of addictions of all kinds) and education, transport and so on. People will still need to be shown/learn the 'life skills' that are part of a well functioning society. This too can be done more easily if people have the money and time to devote to 'looking after themselves and their family' (rather than working 2-3 jobs, or being left on the scrap heap of 'unemployment').
All money is created 'out of thin air' (primarily as bank loans for consumer goods, or housing and construction, or for capital goods, etc) and is spent into the economy by the borrowers. More recently it has also been created via QE to buy financial assets, with most of the money going back into investment (pushing up asset prices, but doing little else).
The Central Bank can just as easily issue new money to pay it to every citizen so as to keep the labour market in balance:
Increasing the rate if there are too few jobs, until people start to drop out of work, and dropping it if too many jobs are going begging.
If the Basic Income is tied to employment, no one can complain if someone is not in paid work, as by definition, there is no paid work for them.
An Unfunded Universal Basic Income means that the new money is spent into the economy by everyone, rather than only those who can afford to borrow for specific purposes: consumer goods, or housing, or business capital goods, etc.
The Basic Income is good for the poor (and general population), as it gives them the ability to buy more necessities (proper food, clothing, housing, transport,health care, education, etc). It also improves job prospects, as it is good for business as demand increases; and good for the rich, as money flows up (via profit from their businesses) much faster than it trickles down… and good for the government as the extra money spent generates more tax revenue, helping to balance the budget.
As it results in a permanent increase in the money supply, without attendant debt, it would also lessen the tendency to booms and bust. Though it would not eliminate the problem, as it is certain that people would continue to borrow. However, with a Basic Income in place, QE can be phased out allowing interest rates to return to normal... with higher rates putting a natural brake on excessive borrowings.
If too much money gets injected and triggers excessive inflation, the Central Bank can also be given the power to take it straight back out via a broad based GST (with the money being written back into the thin air from which it came).
It should also eliminate the need for a huge bureaucracy to manage the payment of' unemployment benefits' while eliminating the poverty trap that currently exists... as people could take any extra work without losing their Basic Income.
It also eliminates having two classes of citizens: those that give through tax (who feel they are being used) and those that receive through benefits (who are made to feel like they are second class citizens).
Importantly, it can help to smooth the transition to a new style economy.
No one can complain because everyone is treated equally (rich and poor alike).
It really is that simple.
As Elon seems to be a fan of'simplicity' in design, fingers crossed that he agrees :)The more things change, the more they stay the same. On the eve of midterms elections that could make him House Speaker, John Boehner announced, "This is not a time for compromise." His lieutenant Mike Pence (R-IN) echoed that line, declaring that with a new Republican majority "there will be no compromise" with President Obama and the Democrats. Of course, with their record-setting use of the filibuster, unprecedented obstruction of presidential nominees, and unified no votes on almost every major piece of legislation, the past performance of Congressional Republicans is a guarantee of future results.
Even before Barack Obama took the oath office, Republicans leaders, conservative think-tanks and right-wing pundits were calling for total obstruction of the new president's agenda. Bill Kristol, who helped block Bill Clinton's health care reform attempt in 1993, called for history to repeat on the Obama stimulus - and everything else. Pointing with pride to the Clinton economic program which received exactly zero GOP votes in either House, Kristol in January 2009 advised:
"That it made, that it made it so much easier to then defeat his health care initiative. So, it's very important for Republicans who think they're going to have to fight later on on health care, fight later on maybe on some of the bank bailout legislation, fight later on on all kinds of issues.."
And so, as the table above reveals, it came to pass.
On issue after issue, even when President Obama extended his hand, Republicans showed him the back of theirs. Despite dedicating 40% of the $787 billion stimulus package to tax cuts (making it, as Steve Benen noted, the "biggest tax cut ever"), Obama got no GOP votes in the House and only three in the Senate. Months of painful concessions to supposedly moderate Senate Republicans only served to produce a watered-down health care bill - and no GOP support.
Time after time, President Obama could count the votes he received from Congressional Republicans on the fingers (usually the middle) of one hand. The expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) to four million more American kids earned the backing of a whopping eight GOP Senators. (One of them, Arlen Specter, later became a Democrat.) Badly needed Wall Street reform eventually overcame GOP filibusters to pass with the support of just three Republicans in the House and Senate, respectively. This summer, it took 50 days for President Obama to get past Republican filibusters of extended unemployment benefits and the Small Business Jobs Act. As for the DISCLOSE Act, legislation designed to limit the torrent of secret campaign cash unleashed by the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, in September Republican Senators prevented it from ever coming to a vote.
And when they weren't showing up to vote no on President Obama's initiatives, Senate Republicans blocked voting altogether.
Back in 2007, former Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott explained the successful Republican strategy for derailing the new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate:
"The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail. So far it's working for us."
And the Republicans of the 110th Congress were just getting warmed up. The Senate GOP hadn't merely shattered the previous records for filibusters. As McClatchy reported in February 2010, the Republicans of the 111th Congress vowed to block virtually everything, counting on voters to blame Democrats for the GOP's own roadblocks:
As even Robert Samuelson (no friend of Democrats) acknowledged, "From 2003 to 2006, when Republicans controlled the Senate, they filed cloture 130 times to break Democratic filibusters. Since 2007, when Democrats took charge, they've filed 257 cloture motions." The Senate's own records reveal obstructionism is the new normal for Republicans:
The Republicans didn't merely eviscerate the old mark for cloture motions and filibusters after their descent into the minority in 2007. As Paul Krugman detailed, the GOP's obstructionism has fundamentally altered how the Senate does - or more accurately, doesn't do - business:
The political scientist Barbara Sinclair has done the math. In the 1960s, she finds, "extended-debate-related problems" -- threatened or actual filibusters -- affected only 8 percent of major legislation. By the 1980s, that had risen to 27 percent. But after Democrats retook control of Congress in 2006 and Republicans found themselves in the
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’re involved in a case like this, you either have a choice to stand up and fight for your rights, or you can choose to shut your mouth. If I could go back in time, for the sake of my life, my peace, my sanity, I would choose the latter option. Yes, I might have been emotionally scarred, but I would not have had to deal with the trauma of the press, the cops; being asked the same question a hundred times over.
People have come up to me and said that this is the best thing I could have ever done, but I rather wish I had not told anyone – just lived my life and tried to move on. Even though it has been a year since I’ve moved to a different city, half my mind is lost to this case which is yet to receive justice, thinking, “What is happening in Bangalore?”
But however hesitant I may feel about reporting to the cops, I do not wish to discourage other girls from doing the same.
*As told to Nadia Lewis. Trisha’s and Rakesh’s names have been changed.
Do you have a story of wanting to report, but not having been able to yet? Or not wanting to report at all? We’re all ears. Write to us at [email protected] and tell us how much ever you’d like to share. We’re happy to correspond electronically or chat on the phone with you. Or you can approach Amnesty by filling in their handy FIR questionnaire or, if you prefer to be interviewed in person, you can contact Gopika Bashi, Women’s Rights Researcher & Campaigner at [email protected].
Read other accounts of reporting sexual violence here.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nicola Sturgeon to publish new referendum bill
A consultation gets under way next week on plans for a second Scottish independence referendum, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
She told the party's Glasgow conference that an Independence Referendum Bill would be published next week.
It marks the first step to holding a second vote.
Ms Sturgeon said Scotland had the right to choose a different path if it was not allowed to protect its interests "within the UK".
The first Scottish independence referendum, which took place on 18 September, 2014, resulted in 55% of voters saying "no".
Ms Sturgeon told delegates that Scotland had the right to seek something better if there were prospects of an unstable future as part of the UK.
Image copyright PA Image caption The push for a second independence referendum continues
She said: "I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to reconsider the question of independence and to do so before the UK leaves the EU - if that is necessary to protect our country's interests.
"So, I can confirm today that the Independence Referendum Bill will be published for consultation next week."
On 24 June, the day after the UK voted to leave the EU, Ms Sturgeon said a second independence referendum was "highly likely".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption SNP Conference: Nicola Sturgeon webcast
Those who voted in Scotland backed remaining in Europe by 62% to 38% while the UK as a whole backed leave, by a margin of 52% to 48%.
However, Scottish Secretary David Mundell called on Ms Sturgeon to "commit her government to working constructively with the UK government to seize the opportunities that will bring, not taking Scotland back to the divisive constitutional debates of the past".
He said: "Constant talk of another independence referendum is creating uncertainty and damaging the Scottish economy at a time when our growth is lagging behind the UK as a whole."
Will a second independence referendum happen?
By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor
Consultation does not mean decision. It does not mean a date for the ballot. It does not mean action. It does not mean a referendum will definitely happen. It means next to nothing.
However, there was in the speech a far more significant announcement which, shorn of rhetoric, drew relatively little applause.
That was when the FM said her government would put forward proposals - which they are already crafting - to maintain as much of Scotland's links with the EU as may be thought feasible, post Brexit.
Crucially, this would be within the UK. It would not require indyref2. It would not require independence. It would, however, require new powers for the Scottish Parliament - including the power to reach transnational agreements.
It would require, therefore, a flexible UK: perhaps on the lines of the relationship between Flanders and Belgium as a whole. Perhaps maintaining connections to the single market, Norway style. Perhaps also driven by the need to accord special status to Northern Ireland.
In essence, Ms Sturgeon is making that the core of her pitch. She is challenging Theresa May to smile upon this prospect, to take it seriously and, ultimately, to advance it as part of the UK Brexit pitch if it is judged worthwhile.
Read more from Brian
Ms Sturgeon's opening address also saw her issue a warning that the right wing of the Tory party was seeking to "hijack" the EU referendum result.
She told the 3,000 delegates gathered that the Tories were using the result as a "licence for xenophobia".
Ms Sturgeon insisted that the Prime Minister Theresa May needed to respect the 62% who voted to remain in the EU.
She also confirmed that SNP MPs would oppose Brexit legislation when it comes before the House of Commons in 2017.
The MSP said: "I can confirm today that SNP MPs will vote against the Brexit Bill when it comes before the House of Commons next year.
"That bill will repeal the legislation that enacted our EU membership. Scotland didn't vote for that and so neither will our MPs.
"But we will also work to persuade others - Labour, Liberals and moderate Tories - to join us in a coalition against a hard Brexit: not just for Scotland, but for the whole UK.
"The Conservative Party manifesto, on which Theresa May and all other Tory MPs were elected said this: 'We are clear about what we want from Europe. We say: yes to the Single Market'.
"The prime minister may have a mandate to take England and Wales out of the EU but she has no mandate whatsoever to remove any part of the UK from the single market."
Responding to Ms Sturgeon's address, the prime minister's spokeswoman said she was "absolutely committed to engaging with the people of Scotland, with understanding their interests and making sure that as we go through the process of negotiating the UK's exit, we do what's in the interest of the UK".
What message is Nicola Sturgeon sending to Theresa May?
By BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith
Nicola Sturgeon told the SNP conference that not a day passes without someone telling her to "hurry up" with a second referendum on Scottish independence.
And every day someone tells her to "slow down".
It is certainly true that every day since the EU referendum the question is asked when, or if, the SNP's call for Indyref2 - as it's known - might happen.
With many commentators (myself included) concluding that the cautious, canny Sturgeon will not rush into a vote she knows she might lose.
Today Ms Sturgeon made very clear that she is prepared to trigger a second referendum if she feels that is the only way to protect Scotland from what she calls a "hard Brexit imposed by the hard right of the Tory party".
She was angered by what she heard from the prime minister at the Tory conference last week.
Read more from Sarah
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Angus Robertson has been voted the new deputy leader of the SNP
At the beginning of the three-day conference, if was announced that SNP MP Angus Robertson had been voted the new deputy of the party.
Mr Robertson defeated Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard, Alyn Smith MEP and Inverclyde councillor Chris McEleny to take 52.5% of the votes cast.
About 120,000 SNP members were entitled to vote in the contest.A tweet from hockey writer and statistical analyst Tyler Dellow earlier in the week got me thinking. Dellow posted to social media: “Good way to realize how hard it is to get to the final is to go back and look at a team that lost and count the players who get another shot.” I decided to take him up on that offer and examine the post-season histories of the 20 players in uniform for the Vancouver Canucks on the night of June 15, 2011.
While head coach Alain Vigneault returned to the final in 2014 with the New York Rangers and assistant coach Rick Bowness was there a year later as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning staff, not a single player on the Canucks roster in 2011 has made a return trip to the National Hockey League championship series, let alone had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
That 2011 team had two cracks to get its hands on the trophy and forever change the lives of every one of the players. Somehow, though, those moments slipped through their grasp. Twice the Canucks were 60 minutes away from winning it all, and, now, six years down the road, it’s clear just how fleeting success can be at the highest level of hockey.
What’s truly remarkable about the 2011 team is how little playoff success any member of that group has experienced in the years that have now passed. No one from that team has played 50 playoff games since getting to Game 7 against the Bruins.
Ryan Kesler leads the way with 49 post-season appearances with the Canucks and Anaheim, followed closely by Tanner Glass with 43 spread between Pittsburgh and the Rangers. For perspective, 100 different players around the league and nine separate teams have played 50 or more playoff games in that span, led by Carl Hagelin with 111 and the New York Rangers with 93.
Kevin Bieksa (29), Alex Burrows (27, with 15 of those coming with Ottawa this spring), Jannik Hansen (21) and Max Lapierre (20) are the only other members of that 2011 squad that have suited up for twenty or more playoff games since 2011.
Players get close to the pinnacle of their sport, and surely believe they’ll have another shot somewhere along the line. Henrik Sedin is living proof, however, that it simply isn’t the case. The Canucks captain celebrated 15 playoff victories in the spring of 2011. He has appeared in just 15 playoff games since and brother Daniel, who missed the first three games of the Canucks 2012 playoff series with Los Angeles with a concussion, has played in just 12 post-season games since the run to the final.
The others in the line-up for Game 7 of the 2011 final all barely saw the playoffs again: Alex Edler has 15 post-season appearances with a chance to log more as his career continues. But Chris Higgins and Raffi Torres have seemingly played their final NHL games and added just 15 playoff games to their resumes. Chris Tanev and Roberto Luongo have suited up 11 times, Sami Salo dressed for seven more playoff games, Manny Malhotra got into an additional five post-season contests which is where Cory Schneider stands all these years later. And Andrew Alberts dressed for four more games after appearing in the 2011 series against Boston.
At least they all had another taste of the playoffs. For Christian Ehrhoff, Jeff Tambellini and Victor Oreskovich, that was it as far as post-season play was concerned. They were on the cusp of hoisting hockey’s ultimate treasure and never played another NHL post-season game again. In fact, Oreskovich only appeared in one NHL game after Game 7, yet that was one more than Tambellini.
In all, the 18 skaters and two goalies dressed for the Canucks in the highest-stakes game of their NHL careers have logged a collective 304 playoff games since 2011. That’s it. Twenty players averaging 15 playoff games apiece over the past six seasons.
Dellow was right. Man, was he right. When you get your shot at glory, you have to make the most of it, because as the members of the 2011 Vancouver Canucks can attest, it’s not easy to earn another chance.
Jeff Paterson writes Sundays on the Canucks in The Province. Follow him on twitter: @patersonjeff.Rubio, Nelson urge Trump to send more aid to Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson — who made joint appearances in Belle Glade and other Florida locales after Hurricane Irma — are urging President Donald Trump to approve additional aid to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to address a “life threatening situation” in the U.S. territories after Hurricane Maria.
Click here for a copy of the letter signed by the Florida senators.
Trump, who visited Texas after Hurricane Harvey and stopped in Southwest Florida after Hurricane Irma, plans to visit Puerto Rico next Tuesday.
Rubio visited Puerto Rico on Monday and told Senate colleagues Tuesday: “What I saw is over three and half million American citizens potentially on the verge of a serious and growing humanitarian crisis.”
Click here to see Rubio’s Senate floor speech.
Nelson also spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday and said Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands deserve the same post-hurricane attention that Texas and Florida received.
“Now what we need to do is to take that same effort that we saw in Texas and we’ve seen in Florida of people helping people and we have got to help the people of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico,” Nelson said.
Click here to see Nelson’s Senate floor speech.So we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be cooking for one of Bar Marco’s upcoming No-Menu Mondays, on Feb. 3! We’ll be featured a winter-themed menu of three savory pies and two sweet pies, with sides and salads. We’re still perfecting the menu, but we’ll let you know before the event kicks off!
For those of you not in the loop, Bar Marco’s No-Menu Monday is a weekly event. A guest chef(s) takes over the kitchen, bringing his own ingredients and taking home the sales from the food served. It’s a chance for the guest chef to get a little more exposure, customers of Bar Marco to try something different from their normal fare–but more importantly, for friendships to be made and good food, drinks, and merriment to be had by all!
Bar Marco is a wine bar in the Strip District, located at 2216 Penn Ave, Pgh, 15222. So come on out to support your local Pie Guys, sup on some delicious food and drink, and enjoy the lively atmosphere of one of Pittsburgh’s coolest bars! Again, the Pie Guy No-Menu Monday is on Monday, February 3 from 5p-11p! See you there!
-the Pie GuyBuy Photo The brand new dedicated autonomous vehicle track near Mound Road in Warren is shown last month. General Motors Co. expects to grow its autonomous vehicle development team by hundreds of people at its Warren Tech Center, just as the automaker aims to begin testing a fleet of self-driving cars on the campus later this year. (Photo: Todd McInturf / The Detroit News)Buy Photo
Warren — General Motors Co. expects to grow its autonomous vehicle development team by hundreds of people at its Warren Tech Center, just as the automaker aims to begin testing a fleet of self-driving cars on the campus later this year.
“We’ve got several hundred people in this space right now... expanding to several hundred people more (by end of this year into next year),” said Ken Kelzer, vice president of global vehicle components and subsystems and an executive overseeing the $1 billion Warren Tech Center transformation and renovation project.
The carmaker earlier this year created an autonomous and technology vehicle development team and brought together engineers working on autonomous vehicle development. The workforce, from all areas and locations of GM, now are housed in an engineering building at the Tech Center built in 1954; some of the space already has been renovated and other areas will be renovated by the fall.
The site will serve as the hub of autonomous vehicle development, Kelzer said.
The sprawling Tech Center also is the site GM selected to test a fleet of autonomous Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Employees will begin testing the Volts on campus roadways later this year; the company already has tested some self-driving Volts on a new 1/10th-mile autonomous loop test track at the Tech Center, Kelzer said. The track was completed in the fall.
GM announced the self-driving Volt fleet last fall and said employees would be able to reserve a ride in an autonomous Volt through a smartphone app and be shuttled around the campus, while the vehicle handled interactions with pedestrians and traffic.
“The nice thing about the Tech Center is there are a lot of different traffic maneuvers,” said Jon Lauckner, chief technology officer, in an interview last fall. “For example, we have roundabouts where you have to merge on and merge off. It turns out to be a fairly complicated situation. There are definitely medians, left turns across traffic, you know the kinds of things you’re going to find definitely in an urban environment. And the kinds of things that are going to allow us to basically refine and further develop the sensing and processing that we’re going to need to have a fully autonomous vehicle in the future.”
The fleets will help the company better understand on-demand ride-sharing services, as GM, other carmakers and tech companies want to provide transportation as a service. Automakers and tech firms are working to develop autonomous driving technology and vehicles because they see benefits in reducing traffic crashes and deaths from and to provide service to the disabled or elderly.
“We’re going to start with a handful of vehicles for testing and then it’s going to go into dozens as the years go on as we start to develop it,” Kelzer said. “We’ve got to be cognizant of the safety systems out there, too. As the safety systems evolve, so will the fleet evolve.”
The autonomous track at the Tech Center wasn’t part of the master plan for renovating the aging Tech Center. But it came together in just six weeks after Kelzer said he contacted an executive in the company’s global facilities group to carve out some space for engineers to conduct initial self-driving vehicle testing.
“You can’t go from zero autonomous to full autonomous,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out all the safety systems. We want to be safe and secure for not only the people driving the cars, but the people who are on the campus.”
GM’s movement in the autonomous space has been quickening since the fall.
In January, it announced a $500 million investment into ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. and last month it acquired San Francisco-based Cruise Automation, a software company it hopes can help speed development of autonomous vehicle technology. Cruise, which is adding employees in San Francisco, is operating independently within GM’s autonomous vehicle development team. The company also earlier this year also announced Maven, a growing car-sharing service GM launched in Ann Arbor.
GM leaders have said they see the first phase of autonomous vehicles on the road will come in a controlled ride-sharing service in an urban area. The service could include boundaries to operate within a certain city and not to exceed a set speed limit. The carmaker is working with Lyft to develop and test a fleet of on-demand self-driving Chevrolet Bolt EVs for ride sharing.
“We fully anticipate deploying autonomous vehicles with drivers in some sort of ride-sharing application within the next couple of years,” Mike Ableson, GM’s vice president of strategy and global portfolio planning, said last month during Citi’s 2016 Car of the Future Symposium.
GM also is using the Milford Proving Ground and a newer 52-acre, $14 million Active Safety Test Area at the proving ground, to test autonomous vehicles. The carmaker has only tested self-driving cars — a Chevrolet Bolt EV — on public roadways in San Francisco.
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Video Exposes Dangers of Obamacare Law
Urgent:
Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin is appealing to Republican lawmakers to boycott President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Jan. 28 as a symbolic gesture “to give the American people a choice between liberty and tyranny.”Long a harsh critic of the president and his policies, particularly Obamacare, Levin railed against Obama again on Thursday, calling him a “lawless president,” Mediaite.com reported. He suggested the boycott as a last ditch effort to stop his policies since Congress is “not going to take a stand constitutionally and legally.”“Here's what should happen at the State of the Union speech,” Levin began. “Since these men and women will not use the Constitution to defend this nation, since they will not use the Constitution to confront a lawless president — worse yet, since they are funding his activities with these omnibus bills filled with all kinds of crap — what the Republicans should do is boycott the State of the Union.”By such a “bold” act, he said, half of the House floor will be empty and it will grab the attention of the American people and the media, “which will attack it, but cannot ignore it.”“It would be historic, it would be profound, that finally the opposition party demonstrates that it opposes not just the Democrat Party, but the destruction of this republic, but this president and his willing dupes in Congress," he added.He suggested Republicans present their own State of the Union by, perhaps, joining together on the steps of the Capitol to lay out their case against the president's agenda.Among the subjects the president is expected to address when he appears before a joint session of the 113th Congress are jobs, the economy, tax reform, and immigration, the latter an issue that has sharply divided lawmakers and made headlines at the last State of the Union when House Speaker John Boehner remained seated while the audience rose to applaud Obama’s call for immigration reform, Bloomberg reports.In an apparent effort to engage more young people, the White House is again calling on Americans to “take part” in the president’s address by joining its State of the Union social blog this year, where members can watch the speech on line, share graphics with their own social networks, and to discuss Obama's remarks with White House officials immediately following the address.”Those interested can apply for a chance to join in the conversation at WhiteHouse.gov/social “Officially launching early next week, WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU will be your number one resource for all things State of the Union, and the best place to watch the enhanced Livestream of President Obama’s address, featuring charts, graphs, data and more to help explain the issues and policies he’s discussing alongside the remarks,” the White House announced on its blog earlier this week.We should be very clear. There is no way to save the beautiful and majestic coral reefs of our world without a rapid cessation of fossil fuel burning. And, if we continue burning fossil fuels, we will not only lose the reefs and corals — we will also turn the world’s oceans into a mass extinction engine.
(Masses of dead sea life wash up onto Chile’s shores after the worst red tide in history for that nation. As we witness the tragic carnage in Chile, we should remember that the red tide there, the mass coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the onset of ocean acidification damage to the Florida Reef are all linked by the same thread — fossil fuel burning and a related heating up of the global climate. Image source: Largest Red Tide in Chilean History.)
Mass Extinction Driven by the Awful Engine of Greed
Killer Seas. That’s what we’re turning the world’s oceans into in our allowing the fossil fuel industry to retain dominance over the world’s energy sources. In allowing them to continue to keep us captive to the burning of high carbon fuels through their corrupting and pervasive political and economic power. We certainly bear some of the blame for apathetically allowing ourselves to be hood-winked and lead about by the noses. But we shouldn’t fault ourselves too much. For the blame mostly rests within the policy-making apparatuses of dominance-based economic systems and in the very few individuals around the world who now hold the keys to that power.
An enforced global injustice set in place by wealthy individuals like the Koch Brothers, Rupert Murdoch and Warren Buffet — who through a corrupt monetary influence regularly hijack the political process to protect legacy fossil fuel assets and to assault renewable energy industries. Those like the members of the governing board of Exxon Mobile — who have waged a decades-long campaign to misinform the public on the dangers of human-caused climate change. These so-called global elites are the authors of the climate change denial that has now crippled and deeply divided most legislative bodies around the world. The same fossil fuel drug pushers who’ve worked so hard to keep the global economic system addicted to the most damaging and corrupting of energy sources — oil, gas and coal.
These people are the real monsters of the climate crisis. The ones who, often without any kind of visibility or accountability, have done everything they can to ensure that we, the people of an ailing Earth, have less and less power to make the right decisions and to form the kind of political consensus that would actually provide a pathway to leading us out of this worsening global nightmare. And so, whether we individually realize it now or not, we are in the fight of our lives — what is likely to be the most important struggle for justice that the human race has ever undertaken. For as difficult as such a fight will ultimately be — we must fight the fossil fuel interests and win if human civilization and much of life on Earth is to survive.
The Advent of Killer Seas
I don’t usually talk about religion here in this blog. And I’m not what many people would consider to be a religious person. I do not, for example, attend church very often. Nor do I tend to agree with many so-called religious authorities — whom I often see as short-sighted and relying too much on mythical and dogmatic beliefs that are at best failures in logic and at worst the outgrowths of institutional corruption or general backwards-thinking and small-mindedness. But in this particular case — in the case of the killer seas that are starting to plague our world — I cannot help but to often be struck by how one of the deadly sins that the Bible warns of is resulting in so much terrible harm to the Earth, to its creatures, and to her people. And it is impossible to turn away from the clear-sighted and beautifully written moral imperative laid down by the Pope Francis in his Encyclical. A warning that we should all heed and not turn our eyes from.
(Nothing is Frozen — by Miep. This is what happens when the world loses its ice — Killer Seas. Image source: There are So Many Things Wrong With This.)
For in the book of Revelation, the Bible speaks of a terrible global disaster. One that begins when the seas turn blood-red and a third of all the fish are killed. Many have interpreted this book, this passage, as a kind of inevitable wrath of a literal God coming down from heaven to divide and punish the human race. But I think that this is a false interpretation. A loving, nurturing God is not a God of Wrath. No, that does not ring true to me at all. I think of this passage, this book, instead as a kind of stark warning against the direct and deadly consequences of bad actions. Of what happens to us if we succumb to what the Bible identifies as the sin of greed. For ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.’
The Bible is, after all, a sort of lore of the ancients passed down over hundreds of generations. A book of parables and lessons for how human beings should treat one another in ways that help not only individuals — but the entire race to survive. In this way, the Bible could be seen as an ancient guide for civilization survival. A book that includes numerous passages on how cities and nations can prosper by living in balance with one another and with nature. And one that issues this essential and stark warning to those who do not treat the Earth and her creatures with kindness. For ‘those who destroy the Earth shall be destroyed.’
Well, we’ve already destroyed 2/3 the globe’s predatory fish that humans eat through over-fishing alone. But the kind of ocean-wrecking destruction of callously-over-fishing pales in comparison to what happens when the short-sighted protection of money in the form of ‘legacy fossil fuel assets’ forces the dumping of billions of tons of toxic carbon into the world’s airs and waters. If you do that, then the ocean really does turn blood-red and purple-red. If you do that, you unleash the mass extinction machine that was the killing mechanism in four of the five great die offs in Earth’s deep history. You begin to temp the fates by invoking the names Permian, Triassic, Devonian, and Ordovician. And if you allow the fossil fuel powers to keep on doing it for the sake of their imagined wealth, then you make the oceans so acidic that the skeletons of the fragile and yet ever-so-beautiful and necessary creatures living within the world’s waters dissolve.
Florida’s Coral Reefs Start to Dissolve
Here, we’ve frequently warned of the two-pronged threat posed to global coral reefs as a result of human fossil fuel burning. In the south, as oceans heat up due to fossil fuel emissions, coral bleaching begins to take hold. Becoming more pervasive as temperatures rise into a range between 1 and 2 C above preindustrial averages, by the 2030s about 90 percent of the world’s reefs will fall under threat of ghosting away into whiteness.
This year, we saw some of these stark consequences begin to unfold as the Great Barrier Reef suffered a horrific bleaching event. This kind of event was predicted and expected by ocean researchers. Brave scientists who acted as modern-day prophets in their issuing of warnings to Australian and global governments. Governments which are now, in so many cases, stacked to the gills (due to the corrupting influence of fossil fuel money mentioned earlier) with the political extremists we today call climate change deniers.
The second prong of the threat to global reefs comes in the form of ocean acidification spreading down from the north. Because waters in northern regions of the world are colder, they are able to take in more of the excess greenhouse gasses produced. As more carbon is drawn into these colder waters, their acidity increases to the point that ocean organisms with calcium carbonate skeletons begin to see those skeletons dissolve. And corals are one of many key ocean organisms that possess calcium carbonate skeletal structures.
(A global ocean acidification front resulting from a rampant burning of fossil fuels is starting to dissolve higher latitude reef systems. The Carysfort Reef — above — has had numerous coral structures completely dismembered due to ocean acidification creeping into this section of the Florida Reef. Image source: Science Daily.)
Until recently, the threat of ocean acidification to reef systems was still thought to be at least a couple of decades off. And many mainstream scientists believed that acidification would not seriously threaten corals until the 2050s. Unfortunately, a new study has found that the United States’ only large reef — stretching from Biscayne Bay to the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean — is now starting to waste away due to ocean acidification. A surprising event that researchers are saying is disturbing, unprecedented, and unexpectedly soon.
According to a recent article in National Geographic:
University of Miami scientists called the collapse of the reef’s limestone framework, a critical habitat for fish, “unprecedented” and “cause for alarm.” “Lots of scientists think that ocean acidification is not going to be a problem until 2050 or 2060,” says Chris Langdon, a marine biology professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “This is happening now. We’ve just lost 35 years we thought we had to turn things around.”
In essence, the reef is wasting away. During the Spring and Summer, reef-building corals bloom and produce the calcium carbonate (limestone) structure that is the body of the Florida Reef. During Fall and Winter, however, reef building activity halts and the newly acidified water begins to take limestone away. The study found that the rate of loss now exceeds the rate of gain. The corals aren’t able to keep up, the reef has reached a tipping point, and the limestone structures the corals rely on for life is dissolving.
The Florida Reef is one of the highest Latitude coral reef structures in the world. But if it is starting to succumb to ocean acidification now, it means the progress of the acidification front is presently, during 2016, starting to enter regions the corals inhabit. If fossil fuel burning continues and atmospheric CO2 concentrations — this year peaking at around 408 parts per million at the Mauna Loa Observatory — continue to rise, it won’t be long before a growing portion of the world’s reefs begin to succumb to effects similar to those now destroying the Florida Reef.
And while coral bleaching is a condition that reefs have at least some chance to recover from, acidification is inevitably lethal. Once a certain oceanic carbon concentration is reached, acidification impacts the reef for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, robbing it of the very skeletal structures necessary for coral survival. And since about 1/4 of all the fish in all the world’s oceans (not just the large, predatory fish we eat) rely on coral reef systems for their own life-giving habitats, the loss of coral reefs would truly be a disaster of biblical proportion.
Hot Pacific Ocean Runs Bloody off the Coast of Chile
Back during March, another lethal ocean condition associated with a warming of the world’s waters began to appear in the ocean zone off the southern coast of Chile. There, a massive algae bloom spread over a region where sea surface temperatures were ranging between 1 and 3 C hotter than normal.
(Abnormally warm sea surface temperatures driven by human forced climate change sparked a the largest red tide ever witnessed off the coast of Chile. The image above shows sea surface temperature anomalies as recorded in late March of 2016 by Earth Nullschool.)
The algae bloom — called a red tide — generated toxic levels of domoic acid that subsequently killed off massive amounts of clams, fish, and even marine mammals. Beaches across Chile were littered with dead sea creatures and Chilean officials are now saying that the current red tide is the worst ever to occur off Chile.
The red tide forced Chilean officials to ground the nation’s fishing fleets — sparking mass riots and protests as thousands of poor fishermen lost access to their means of generating a livelihood. The Chilean government has since offered 150 million dollars in aid to the fishermen. But locals say it’s not enough to make ends meet. The severe blow to the fishing industry, which makes up 0.5 percent of Chile’s GDP, will also negatively effect the Chilean economy. This severe red tide has lasted for months now. But recent reports indicate that the bloom is growing larger as more and more sea life succumbs.
As has been the trend with most major media sources this year, El Nino has been linked by BBC and others to this record red tide. But doing so is short-sighted and fails to take into account the larger context of the global climate picture. Warm ocean waters are well known to generate conditions favorable for red tide development. The warmer waters favor a more rapid rate of algae reproduction and allow algae access to a greater range of food sources. Over the past Century, the world has warmed by more than 1 C above preindustrial levels. And this year is the hottest on record — not due to El Nino, but due to a century-long increase in temperatures exploring a new threshold of extreme global heat.
(An algae bloom spurred by global warming is turning the waters off Chile blood-red. Poisonous domoic acid and mass fish and sea life killings resulting from this event are wrecking Chile’s fishing industry, ruining the lives of poor fishermen, and damaging Chile’s economy. Image source: Lethal Red Tide.)
In the Northeast Pacific, this record global heat forced waters there to new extremes — setting off a 2015 record red tide together with a chain of related mass mortality events affecting ocean life. An event that is linked, by ocean warming and climate change, to the largest ever red tide in Chile. One that is also linked, by climate change, to the terrible damage inflicted upon the Great Barrier Reef this year due to coral bleaching. One that is linked to ocean acidification now starting to take down the Florida Reef. And since we are taking a moment to engage in establishing links in a chain of evidence, we can draw one last link from all these events to the ongoing fossil fuel emission that is still being vomited into the world’s airs by an industry that is, itself, nothing more than a means for some of the world’s richest people to continue to increase their amount of individually accumulated wealth.
Ultimately, it’s pretty clear that people all over the world have a crucial choice to make —
What’s more important? The ability of a few people to grow their wealth through the continued burning of fossil fuels? Or the preservation of the vitality of the oceans which all life on Earth ultimately depends upon and the prevention of the warming that will transform the life-giving waters into Killer Seas?
To this point, I’ll leave you with the end-note of the recent National Geographic article on corals succumbing to ocean acidification:
“The only way to prevent that is to prevent the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere.”
Links:
Ocean Acidification Impacting Reefs in the Florida Keys
Predatory Fish Have Declined by Two-Thirds
A Death of Beauty
The Pope’s Encyclical
Awakening the Horrors of the Ancient Hothouse
Chile’s Red Tide Outbreak Widens
Lethal Red Tide
Hot Pacific Ocean Runs Bloody
Warren Buffet’s Disaster Capitalism
Still Disinforming — Exxon Mobile’s Continued Culpability in Climate Change Denial
Earth Nullschool
There are So Many Things Wrong With This
Hat tip to Colorado Bob
AdvertisementsIn modern-day men’s tennis, no pattern of play is as prevalent as the serve & forehand scheme. Back in the day, it would have been serve & volley, but given the technological changes in racquet technology and surface composition, serves and forehands reign supreme.
By contrast, women’s tennis is much less static in patterns of play. The diversity in styles and strokes is truly part of why the WTA entertains fans day in and day out – particularly next to their generally big-serving, big-forehanding male counterparts.
The number of top WTA players who prefer their forehands to their backhands is much slimmer than on the ATP. The few lefties in the Top 25 thrive on the unique spin afforded to their forehands, and a few clay court connoisseurs look to their forehanded weapons for greater effect – yet for the most part, the women’s game is a game of backhands.
It is fitting, then, that the subject of this week’s #SaturdayNightShots is one of the most identifiable and devastating shots in women’s tennis – spoiler alert
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(FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64-mini-memstick.img) = 00a9e99a9596e48fb1491a35fedf719ff4a55fbc080a5bfb1e3acef06ea3294d SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64-mini-memstick.img.xz) = a9ca5ce87bb530187c8845eee65472254fc2f84de8bbfaeb34cb1515c106d09d == VM IMAGE CHECKSUMS == o 11.0-RC2 amd64: SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.qcow2.xz) = b5b8e1982f62466acfb39c1747d629d8cb99034ae8cd8a682dcf8c2e61ae299baf388743ee742717ce65b7441abd06f59ae85f577e632b92ef20d4dab4176c2a SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.raw.xz) = 0a36756f9558f1a24def3db7d181a398f7a90f56a6dd2e260acf2b97894f37afe3fb97e5763dc96cc02397151d5d69f92ab7d1a222847ad13fcb3d072cf8030b SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.vhd.xz) = 17fc84f368cedaf26a30f700420f05c3bc630cfaabbd8384d89f40cb0565cc6fbe4ec7e5044ef0cb5346bc7d75b86be054100a705ed5fcc883b28b6d1ef38466 SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.vmdk.xz) = de696e5352d904d8be4472c966e7c42c240fb2c92b094281d064bcc5face8febdf6b9407b0f171c087787b2b6841e6cdf17fee9a93e4a339480841a8bdbe99b0 SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.qcow2.xz) = b80bd52fe511ad09ddcca2293262534b6ee3f17b9421618ccc7fd786747614cf SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.raw.xz) = 8c814df5feef784f425d191d07c04b7dbc1e6a6820e56b63ec45461728d0562c SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.vhd.xz) = 58cd982286772fa1461b07523655d122719f046a304f0c0b2bcecfda0f90084a SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-amd64.vmdk.xz) = 43e9e132720d13c3b22947364a39cd77cf9fe4f034575747e7d01094d3392567 o 11.0-RC2 i386: SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.qcow2.xz) = c1ebdea3881949c7fee688e734d56558f7028c6579045ceed84ecbf8170a66897877af0901532c9ad79c30f982c80feb649d381fa3aedb328c847412cc8ee576 SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.raw.xz) = 7b80f9f813ae3cf1ccefbafd76a0a9effb56724e1593ce285d82d423d0c3572ecaa2d07b0ccd79824f81f6c21177002e4efcb92f7d195faae44690a0d9d8ff5c SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.vhd.xz) = 262026c0c75ed93e8476d3d990df0dfe38676b22606cea12783625bb3832589c1e1869855a0cbac8b00ee407f49a9d6638267aa96450fb8a92c20ad289eb6c1f SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.vmdk.xz) = 6ff2bd563621461dcd7d055f3d43d94607ec8f5e7d6a91da905d1d16f4f3c06672173f52aba2ebe52a7a37b78a60112db2ad6522cd0101e0b0bb4a77d271b2f1 SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.qcow2.xz) = 111481b47f5dd241d527173f8ec0cb518756392bfaddbd0772b2b755cee9ea5b SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.raw.xz) = 97cb088f639b37075f9ef67a76c1d792bab7c61d0cfeea0b90c0d9e8a8dea04d SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.vhd.xz) = 7dfc6545df46f282d555b0575c396b6786d8ba077a82679a03846a02e6038c86 SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-i386.vmdk.xz) = cbb3bc6cb905a7aacf45e8fd165d5d6ee6734a294a7472ce6abbb5648c3350dd o 11.0-RC2 aarch64: SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.qcow2.xz) = a2a5d01f00eac52a64980bb4b42c77892b8ab9df96fe9e7415db348e30efe8b9e9b9470c25138aaa187519d0bb6e9c543d3f98ab4452d4796b76de7b59090a22 SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.raw.xz) = 117b39f63d1599239b48b43c65fa4e260b5c64050fed184582125ee589ad24bef15983130847ca2e9dd786b7db9299ffc10747fe20fcc234c31df9336b2a48ef SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.vhd.xz) = 147a7b9cd2944a2b02916e3915dda451325385a89a9ba6ba958a91d6b702efb247d97b4f2fd5194ec7868f0551ab2d20ebb813ee86f62b89c0f8f8e2272e9efa SHA512 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.vmdk.xz) = 7d28f6efee0cf8354a35479cb992daa7720416834381229054e108baff4319204a763e00a5c2e571bc79d5841e270ac7fd31f28f1284068492572c9d2753ab0c SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.qcow2.xz) = d6c187ef9b9c97860ca3abd3f11162d84f83ed0dbcda5a9699d7dca922dbdd56 SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.raw.xz) = aaa5efb0766a21238e07680ccddab9c8f43266264b3b7476cc759a0f38f4cb2e SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.vhd.xz) = 08bff51a45cce9ad614941b294e5a464baad0e5663b6dc8dc254f1d049ed9f9c SHA256 (FreeBSD-11.0-RC2-arm64-aarch64.vmdk.xz) = 561557879ce88afdd56d66b30bff681cc86e5419fb93f37c249523d50c3aabac Regards, Glen Love FreeBSD? Support this and future releases with a donation to the FreeBSD Foundation! https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/donate/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iQIcBAEBCAAGBQJXvmKHAAoJEAMUWKVHj+KTLYQP/2pFFA5oDr7hlBJFWGTYjFkE q+UE7gZVzkpXW23Djuuc7ymmG5OgSyQ9yXSKzuTDh4m4GZm50pLpSSIZAYYP0Jdz AciuvjRhUPSqVfZ82dk8QAoWQgE4RhKdjoeuZyQdAVXARAtHQ8ib+RBetYuICZ+d 8LecATUmr4/2cdiKEkSyWbQ3hKTJclpbBWScVQb46/7IBbuOWrTJ76GOXt4EHbIb jawpaFMhaF8a8Q/8ljQsdIsOLsHWn897py9sgryG3V47+yXFFCgCvdAqrbpyF5so ooPO4tc2mI3rbWCt09/XoN0jtw1WWVegBXRLFHpw0z8LyJxid00vuZ1C3KFvggJ3 N6hn8PAOQlb377NoVZlJFoJ5W3NDUZTVgE59VJIb2oLDpXd/wrq93SLoSJ+Ul3x3 gaQDhxYvoaMQwM0W+2FjMOzDdTJv04+WsedwsID22EfkNkmF3rutIjALW8bnMzyQ 6Q3LpUTM3gm+CMzxxSoaB0BxASvQTS3XVRUPouwydC4xYyefmTqNOZ8/E8H7fnfY w9opTNAvGzyQqVLpo+ZKCzMn5XNeWum3lqQyhjXYYy2JdC3OA6+LDe4E6W3WiJH0 hEGd09dFX18iyqwMxcvZlGtN7C32mS7GEvWj8iHcO7IflnLfNc+pd4Sc6EbFhyKS qqLUWUzjqv8sc3rP5k6Y =HuOj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----Here's a revolutionary thought - what happens if it is revealed that Bernie Sanders is not the outlier?
What if Bernie Sanders is the candidate running who is most in tune with the current American zeitgeist? Can it be that Bernie is the one who is selling what America wants?
What if it is the Parties and the media who are the ones who are out-of-touch?
My friends, that may be exactly the situation we find ourselves in. For your perusal, may I suggest the following superb editorial from the New Jersey Star Ledger:
Like it or not, Sanders socialism is mainstream
The editorial is not long but it makes excellent points - by and large, Americans share Bernie Sander's views on wealth inequality, higher taxes for the wealthy, the corruptive influence of money in politics, overturning Citizens United, reducing student debt, pro-active climate change policies, a $15 minimum wage, and breaking up the banking monoliths.
BERNIE IS THE MAINSTREAM.
Savor that. What will TPTB do when they realize that not just the candidate but the candidates positions are gaining traction? What happens when Americans are no longer scared by people calling Bernie a (gasp!) Socialist? What if they don't care about his hair or his age? What if they decide independently and collectively to reject the mindless blatherings of the pundits who call him "unelectable" and elect him?
I honestly believe it could happen.New Zealand is most known for its host of natural wonders, but not everyone of us has been lucky enough to witness them for ourselves. Until now.
These photographs are from the production of a BBC television mini-series called New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands, which premiered in the UK on Tuesday.
Narrated by actor Sam Neill, you'll catch glimpses of Snares Islands penguins waddling along a coast, sheep assembling along the country's lush greenery and serene mountains that "the land of the long white cloud" seems to be abounded with.
Just take us there already, please.
Snares Islands penguins congregate alongside the ocean. Image: bbc/mark macewan
Image: bbc/mark mcewan
Although there are 60,000 snares penguins, they are considered vulnerable, largely due to their breeding colonies being restricted to one small island group. Image: BBC/Mark MacEwen
Image: BBC/Mark MacEwen
A tusked weta. Image: BBC/Nick Easton
Fly fishing in New Zealand is said to be some of the best in the world. Image: BBC/Nick Easton
Image: BBC/Nick Easton
Image: BBC/Nick Easton
Named after its constant fizzing of carbon dioxide bubbles reminiscent of champagne, "Champagne Pool" is one of New Zealand's most iconic geothermal features. Image: BBC/Nick Easton
A kea, found in the alpine and forest regions of New Zealand's South Island. Image: BBC/Tom Walker
Glow-worms light up the night.
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ite in a Cafe A Holiday Task The Model Millionaire Bertie's Christmas Eve The Colonel's Ideas The Tell-Tale Heart Transients in Arcadia Gentle Hand Jim Baker's Blue-Jay Yarn Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas The Sphinx Without a Secret The Hand A Lickpenny Lover The Interlopers How the Leopard Got His Spots Two Friends The Lumber Room A True Story, Repeated Word for Word As I Heard It Babes in the Jungle The Unrest-Cure After the Race The Last Dream of Old Oak Springtime a la Carte Hyacinth According to Their Lights How I Edited an Agricultural Paper The Fly The Princess And The Puma The Striding Place The Nightingale and the Rose The Cop and the Anthem Federigo's Falcon The Masque of the Red Death The Mockingbird The Notary of Perigueux A Telephone Call Hands The Last Leaf The Cask of Amontillado Gabriel-Ernest The Way to the Dairy A Father's Confession The Furnished Room Chickamauga A Horseman in the Sky The McWilliamses And The Burglar Alarm Aloha Oe The Shoemaker And The Devil The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County How the Widow Won the Deacon A School Story The Necklace A Retrieved Reformation The Bet The Doll's House Christmas Every Day Turkeys Turning The Tables The Last Fight In The Coliseum The Story of Keesh The Nice People The Affair at Coulter's Notch The Laughing Hippopotamus Berenice
Return to American Literature Home PageD’Angelo’s 1995 classic debut Brown Sugar is a charming and daring record that cast the Virginia singer as the antithesis of the clean cut, boyish R&B star that dominated the day. He revolutionized soul and R&B music, continuing to invent new ways to deliver his dreamy ballads with a lengthy career that’s low on output—just three studio albums followed Brown Sugar—but very high on impact. To commemorate his 21-year-old brilliance, D’Angelo is set to re-release his Brown Sugar album on Friday, replete with 21 brand new tracks comprised of remixes, tweaked instrumentals, vocals and more.
Three remixes have been liberated ahead of Friday’s release, and you can listen to them here: “Cruisin (Who’s Fooling Remix),” “Brown Sugar (Incognito Remix),” and “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine (Two Way Street Remix).” On them, the 43-year-old singer plays with synthesizers, drums, and vocals, as he breathes new life into records that have been iconic to more than one generation since their mid-’90s release. There are even new guests, legends like Kool G Rap, Erick Sermon, Redman, AZ, and DJ Premier pop up to make Brown Sugar sound even sweeter.
In addition to new music, D’Angelo’s re-release will include a new set of liner notes that boasts a Nelson George essay about the specific effects Brown Sugar has had. “It is clear that Brown Sugar opened doors for a wave of artists and recordings that have become anchors of black music,” writes the director of the Finding the Funk music documentary, which featured D’Angelo.
Below you can view the full tracklist of the “More Sugar” disc on the Brown Sugar re-release, which also features Dallas Austin, DJ Dodge and more. You can pre-order it here.
1. “Brown Sugar” King Tech Remix feat. Kool G. Rap (released on 12” promotional single)
2. “Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine Def Squad Remix feat. Redman (Remixed by Erick Sermon for Funk Lord Productions; released on 12” single)
3. “Cruisin’” Cut The Sax Remix (Remix by King Tech; Released on 12” single)
4. “Lady” Just Tha Beat Mix/featuring AZ (Remixed by DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions, Inc.; released on CD Maxi-Single)
5. “Brown Sugar” Soul Inside 808 Mix (Mix by DJ Dodge; released on U.K. 12” single)
6. “Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine” Two Way Street Mix (Remixed by DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions, Inc.; released on promotional 12” single)
7. “Cruisin’” Dallas Austin Remix (released on 12” single)
8. “Lady” 2B3 Shake Dat Ass Mix (Remix produced by Neville Thomas and Pule Pheto for 2B3 Productions; released on U.K. CD Maxi-Single)
9. “Brown Sugar” Incognito Molasses Remix (released on “She’s Always In My Hair” promotional 12” single)
10. “Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine” Dreamy Remix (Remixed by Erick Sermon for Funk Lord Productions; released on promotional 12” single)
11. “Cruisin’” Wet Remix (released on CD single)
12. “Brown Sugar” Dollar Bag Mix (released on U.K. 12” single)
13. “Cruisin’” God Made Me Funky Remix (released on promotional 12” single)
14. “Brown Sugar” CJ Mackintosh Remix (Additional production and Remix by CJ Mackintosh; released on the various artists CD collection Nu Classic Soul)
15. “Lady” CJ Mackintosh Mix Radio Edit (Additional production and Remix by CJ Mackintosh; released on U.K. CD Maxi-Single)
16. “Cruisin” Who’s Fooling Who Mix (released on promotional 12” single)About
Dominion is a deck-building card game by Donald X. Vaccarino and Rio Grande Games. I am not affiliated with either and this project is completely unofficial. This project is not endorsed by them or any of the rights-holders or trademark-holders. I am just a broke dude who wants to make a cool case for Dominion.
If funding is successful, I will create the unsleeved and sleeved versions of the case.
I have designs for two versions of the case: one for unsleeved cards and one for sleeved cards (I tested it with a few different types of sleeves). Both versions of the case will be manufactured in the US and have the following features:
Low-cut foam interior with individual slots for every card in the game
Soft-sided case with a zipper on three sides
Slots for game accessories (player mats and game tokens)
Learn more about how I came up with the design for the Dominion case by viewing the posts on my site.
Two Parts to the Dominion Case
The Unofficial Dominion Card Case has two main components: the internal foam, which has slots for the Dominion cards, and the outer case, which holds the foam/cards.
The foam is the main feature as it houses and organizes all of the Dominion cards. It has been designed, prototyped, and tested. It may need a few refinements, but this is near completion.
3D render of the internal foam piece that stores the Dominion cards
The case is prototyped and just needs a few refinements. I would like to get feedback from the backers about this. The case will also have a pocket that will fit the instruction manuals as well as the Dominion Card Caddy from Boardcrafting.
The soft-sided case that houses the foam
The foam interior inside of the case, filled with Dominion cards. Sweet.
The first sample of the Dominion Case
Weight test: 30+ pounds resting on top of the case. The cards were undamaged.
Layout Diagrams
You can view some vectorized-PDFs of each case, which show a top-down view of the case's interior. Keep in mind, the card layouts can be changed; I just organized them by game for the purposes of the diagrams.
Reason for the Dominion Card Case
Dominion has too many cards and too many boxes to carry around. In addition, if you decide to sleeve your cards, they will no longer fit it the original box.
One thing I liked about the original boxes was that there was enough spacing between the cards to pull out a stack of them with two fingers. Many of the storage solutions I found online just tried to condense all the cards into a small case, which is great for transportation, but not for setup and gameplay.
From Concept...
To Prototype
Sleeved version of the Dominion case (the case is not pictured since I do not have a protoype of it yet)
I wanted a case that would strike a balance between storage and usability.
Therefore, I came up with a set of requirements. The case(s) needed to:
store all of the Dominion cards and accessories
of the Dominion cards and accessories store cards with or without sleeves
allow players to remove the cards easily during gameplay
allow players to read the titles of the cards
allow players to organize the cards in any order they desire
Because of these requirements, I opted for soft foam with slots for the cards. The foam would offer protection for the cards while keeping them organized.
As far as card labeling goes, I did not find it very feasible for an unofficial project, so I decided to design the case so that the card titles could be read while inside the case. This also allows players to change the layout of their case if they wish to do so.
Your name or alias will be added to the list of supporters on our Website. If you want to contribute but do not want your name posted, I will not post it.
Thank you for your support!
Stackable token case holds all Dominion game tokens. Separates into four containers during gameplay and combines into one unit for storage.
Prototype Dominion Case holds 48 Kingdom cards along with one set of treasure/victory/randomizer cards
Unsleeved version of the Dominion case (the case is not pictured since I do not have a protoype of it yet)
Sleeved version of the Dominion case
Kickstarter’s most successful projects are typically small projects over a short period of time. That said, I have narrowed the scope of this project to create an Dominion case capable of storing all the games. In order to keep the project small, I decided to keep the case simple and functional.
In addition, my long-term vision is to make custom cases for all types of games like Catan, Carcassonne, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Magic the Gathering, etc. I would even like to collaborate with people who are launching brand new card or board games via Kickstarter and design a case to go along with their game.
March 2013
Launch the Kickstarter project
April 2013
Gather user information via Backerkit on the day the project ends
Collect pledges (over the required two-week processing period)
May 2013
Place order with manufacturer (1-3 week lead time)
Stay in touch with backers via Backerkit
June 2013
Begin packaging and organizing orders
July 2013
Start shipping rewards to project backers
Additional Pictures
Sleeved version: close up of slots (case not pictured)
Sleeved version: close up of treasure/victory slots (case not pictured)
Sleeved version: close up of player mat and trash card slots (case not pictured)
Unsleeved version: ability to read card titles 1
Unsleeved version: ability to read card titles 2
Sleeved version: showing distance between cards (case not pictured)
Pictures of the case
Mayday Premium Sleeves (left) and Fantasy Flight Sleeves (right)Smoking may be a sign of psychiatric illness, experts say. Doctors should routinely consider referring people who smoke to mental health services, in case they need treatment, they add.
The controversial recommendation from the British Lung Foundation, a charity, comes in response to a major report, Smoking and Mental Health, published this week by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Psychiatrists with the Faculty of Public Health. It says that almost one in three cigarettes smoked in Britain today is smoked by someone with a mental disorder. When people with drug and alcohol problems are included the proportion is even higher.
The reason is that smoking rates have more than halved over the past 50 years, but the decline has not happened equally in all parts of society.
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“Smoking is increasingly becoming the domain of the most disadvantaged: the poor, homeless, imprisoned and those with mental disorder. This is a damning indictment of UK public health policy and clinical service provision,” the report says.
Of the ten million smokers in Britain, up to three million have a mental disorder, up to two million have been prescribed a psychoactive drug in the past year and approaching one million have longstanding [mental] disease, it says.
While smoking rates among the general public have fallen dramatically, from 56 per cent in men and 42 per cent in women in the early 1960s to 21 per cent in both sexes today, they have hardly changed among people with mental disorders and remain at over 40 per cent.
Professor Stephen Spiro, deputy chair of the British Lung Foundation, said persuading people with mental disorders to give up smoking was a major challenge. But so was identifying smokers who might need psychiatric treatment.
“Routinely considering whether someone presenting with a lung disease, or indeed any patient who smokes, might benefit from referral to mental health services, could make the key difference for many individuals,” Professor Spiro said.
Smoking increases with the severity of mental disorder, and amongst those with a psychotic illness almost all smoke. Nicotine appears to provide some relief from symptoms of anxiety, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which may explain why people with these conditions become smokers.NEW YORK -- Don’t despair too much about Matt Harvey’s predicament. The New York Mets remain in a legitimate battle for first place in the National League East.
Wilmer Flores provided the heroics -- again -- as the Mets rallied for a 9-7 win against the first-place Washington Nationals on Thursday at Citi Field in the opener of a four-game series.
Despite a pair of two-homer games this week, Flores had not been in Thursday’s starting lineup as he began to recede to a backup infield role now that Jose Reyes is on board. However, shortly after Bartolo Colon was knocked out in the fifth inning, Flores entered on a double-switch. Half an inning later he delivered a three-run homer that gave the Mets their first lead after early deficits of 4-1 and 6-4.
Since getting swept in Washington in late June while going scoreless during a season-high 23-inning stretch, the Mets (47-38) have won seven of eight games. They have now moved to within three games of the division lead with the All-Star break looming.
“When we went in there and got swept, you’re looking at six games back,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “It’s pretty dangerous if you get too much farther back. So I just thought coming into the homestand that we had to make up some ground.”
Amid pregame news that Harvey is considering season-ending surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, Collins had dryly said: “I don't want it to sound like woe is me, but woe is us.”
Hours later, the series opener against the Nationals (51-36) took a turn for the worse when Bryce Harper, Clint Robinson and Anthony Rendon all delivered solo homers in the fourth inning against Colon. The last Mets pitcher to allow three homers in an inning also was Colon -- on April 13, 2014, in his third appearance as a Met, when Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Raul Ibanez all took him deep in the first inning at Anaheim.
Wilmer Flores took a curtain call after his home run in the fifth inning. Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
After eight straight starts allowing two runs or fewer, Colon had a stinker. He allowed six runs on a season-high 10 hits in 4⅔ innings. Collins wondered if a recent leg issue hampered Colon, but the righty said he got treatment pregame and it was not an impediment.
It was a game filled with oddities. Ex-Met Oliver Perez, pitching in relief after Nationals rookie Lucas Giolito lasted only 3⅔ innings, went 2-for-2 at the plate and scored a run. Perez last had a two-hit game on May 2, 2007, with the Mets against the Marlins.
Reyes also got into the act, producing his first homer with the Mets since Sept. 27, 2011. The shot induced that familiar “Jo-se, Jo-se” soccer-style chant from the pro-Mets crowd. The teams combined for a Citi Field-record eight homers.
The night, though, belonged to Flores, who turned a two-run deficit into a 7-6 lead with his fifth-inning long ball against Perez.
"I wasn't playing today," Flores said. "I got the opportunity to go out there. And I was just ready for him. I faced him a couple of times. The first pitch I saw, I put a good swing on it."
The Mets then opened a two-run cushion on Asdrubal Cabrera’s homer against Matt Belisle in the sixth. Antonio Bastardo gave that run back a half-inning later when he served up a leadoff homer to Daniel Murphy, who now has five homers and 14 RBIs in 10 games against the Mets.
Flores’ previous homer against the Nationals came on July 31, 2015 -- two days after his trade with Zack Wheeler to the Milwaukee Brewers fell through. That long ball was a walk-off shot in the 12th inning that helped turn around the Mets’ season en route to overtaking the Nationals for first place in the National League East.
“That’s the first thing I thought of -- that, this guy gets huge hits against these guys in big situations,” Collins said. “We said before the game: When you’ve got some guys that are swinging the bats great, the nights they’re not playing, you can use them sporadically when you need somebody to come off the bench and get a big hit. And he did that.”
Said Flores: "This is definitely a similar series."
Did the Mets begin a similar climb to overtake Washington behind another Flores homer on Thursday? Stay tuned.
What’s next: In a battle of starting candidates for the NL in the All-Star Game, Noah Syndergaard (9-3, 2.41 ERA) opposes right-hander Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 2.71) on Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET.In August of 2014, I had never heard of Milo Yiannopoulos. How did I first hear about the man, you ask? Well, during the early part of GamerGate, I was introduced to Milo by way of him making an appearance on 4chan during the height of the action over there. We were all looking for a real advocate in the media, and so his arrival was basically treated like the Second Coming of Christ:
The guy was so cool that everyone loved him right off, me included. It wasn’t only his charm that won people over, though. Out of all our big names, he’s always been the most ferocious when it comes to defending our cause. Since he’s been battling SJWs for years, he already knew the deal when he came to our aide. He’s seen what they’ve done across the cultural spectrum and so he could read their assault on video gaming for what it was: an attempt to indoctrinate new recruits through the most interactive form of entertainment that we currently possess.
When I think back over all the hits Master Milo has had over the last 14 months, I find it hard to come up with a concise list. Nonetheless, I’m going to try to give you one here. Take a look at some excerpts from the last year:
After his temp ban was over…
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/532133683210510336
His reaction to my Zoe court dox story…
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/554309365046718464
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/554311922968182786
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/554314217252458498
What about the time he punked out Zoe’s puss rag, Nathan Grayson?
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/555142688102551552
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/555145014246772736
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/555149652509474816
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/555171605069201409
Who could forget the time he wrecked Shanley?
Kane is one of the most high-profile feminist activists in San Francisco. She publishes long pseudoacademic essays on her website, Model View Culture, which have been characterised by critics as “man-hating diatribes” and she uses a profanity-laced Twitter account to attack prominent figures in the tech industry, such as Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, journalists, start-up employees and even other women. Yet Auernheimer says Kane switched to feminism and social justice merely as an excuse to bully people, and that until very recently she was an outspoken racist… The problem, critics may note when considering the charges of racism now facing Shanley Kane, is that they do not represent an embarrassing forum post from a decade ago, as is the case with so many manufactured scandals of the internet era. If Auernheimer is to be believed, they form part of a pattern of ugly, racist behaviour just a few short years ago. Which rather begs the question: why should anyone listen to her now?
His YouTube debut was also a sight to behold…
Or the time he challenged Anita the Fraud to a debate, which she of course refused…
In April, I challenged Feminist Frequency host Anita Sarkeesian to debate me some time around the E3 conference in Los Angeles this month. I offered a $10,000 donation to the charity of her choice. Well, E3 is looming and I’ve heard nothing. So what, dear reader, am I to do with all this cash? Obviously, my first thought was to donate to the Republican National Committee, or the NRA, or a men’s rights charity. Or perhaps AIPAC, in honour of her producer Jonathan McIntosh’s virulent hatred of Israel. But, as amusing as those options would be, I don’t think any of them truly captures the mischievous democratic spirit of #GamerGate. So I’m instead presenting six options for interested readers to vote on. What should I spend muh dollas on?
The Nyberg destruction is simply legendary…
In a shocking post on Nyberg’s own FFShrine forum, dated 26 October 2005, Nyberg, who used the screen name “Sarah,” describes herself as a “submissive male to female transsexual pedophile that’s fond of ageplay and penisgirls that really misses Alice (Nyberg’s 8-year-old cousin).” Elsewhere in the logs, she says “yes, I am a pedo. I embraced my childlover soul long ago.” Nyberg says she knows pedophiles: “I’ve probably known 8-12 pedo trannies,” she says...
Nyberg claims to have been the subject of some kind of investigation in the past. She says that her computer was seized in 2005. Nyberg expressed concern that they might find her encrypted drive, which contained what she described as “non-nude model” pictures. She also admitted to hosting pictures of “ptms” (pre-teen models) on one of her websites. In her view, naked pictures of children “isn’t cp.” (CP is web slang for child pornography.) There seem to have been other members of the FFShrine chat room Nyberg operated who had similar inclinations. One member, writing under the pseudonym “Ego” tells the group that he is “waiting on the little neighbour twins to develop.” In response, Nyberg requests pictures of them.
Big Randi will never be the same, either…
I didn’t eat anything but a little dietary aid I lovingly refer to as meth. Yes, that’s right. Meth. I put meth in St. Johns Wort pills and took them for a few weeks straight… …Harper said she was taking cocaine in the bathrooms at her workplace. At around the time Harper said she was trying to smoke meth from lightbulbs with her boyfriend Curtis, she quit her job at Yahoo! and applied for one at Google… What does interest those who watch her relentless policing of others’ sexual mores and opinions is how dramatically she has reinvented herself from the slow-motion car crash seen in these blog entries to a supposed pillar of the online community without ever acknowledging her own sins.
(full article)
It is pretty amazing, Milo. Only as an SJW could you pull off such a reinvention without any atoning whatsoever. There’s nothing wrong with having a colorful (even checkered) past. I have one myself. Although, I never tried to set myself up as the person who was gonna stamp out Internet abuse. I also don’t have a Patreon collecting thousands of dollars a month for doing nothing. There’s a lot of other differences between us as well.
For one, I never gave up my own child. But, knowing how Randi has turned out, I’d say that’s for the best. Here’s part of my exclusive follow-up:
After a somewhat turbulent childhood, I ran away to New York City, where I stayed with some friends I knew off UnderNet. I stayed there a week, but then had to go back home. It’s not easy to survive in the city with $12 in your pocket. I moved back in with my mother in Illinois, but the damage had already been done. I missed the city, so I left for New York once again. After three weeks I came back home, but only temporarily. I stayed in town long enough to drop out of high school, and then I moved to yet another small city, Ocala, FL. After a month of living in Ocala, I got pretty bored and realized there were no IT jobs to be had. I left to live in Stillwater, OK to work for Creative Labs. I moved in with Duke, DigiEbola, and DataShark, but that only lasted a month or two before I met Datule on IRC. He also lived in Stillwater, and shortly after meeting him I moved in with him. After a month of living with him, we had sex, and I got pregnant. Stupid move, but such is life. We were determined to make the best of it, so we started looking into adoption. I got fired from my job at Creative Labs after they found out I was pregnant, so life got pretty hard. Chad (Datule) was supporting me at this point and going to OSU full time. We ended up giving our daughter to friends of a friend, a very good family in upstate New York. We were both fairly fed up with Oklahoma at this time, as Creative Labs was the only IT job to be had in the area we lived in. Atlanta started looking like a good option.
And finally, here’s Milo chastising the rest of the conservative media for missing the boat on GamerGate (which most of the completely did)…
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/626139613913088000
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/626140623880462338
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/626142060987482116
There’s so much that this man has been right about over the last year, that it’s truly staggering. Not only that, the motherfucker is just flat-out hilarious. Also, as I’ve pointed out on my show many times (it’s a running gag now), he’s an absolute pleasure to meet in person. The guy has it all, and I’m not just sucking up to him. He’s been an absolute joy to work with over the last year or so, and I can only hope that we have the chance to do more on that front in the future.
https://twitter.com/Nero/status/639647548752437249
Check back later this morning for more, and share your favorite Milo Moments down below.Turkey has called on the US to meet two preconditions in return for its participation in the liberation from Islamic State (ISIS) of the northwestern Syrian town of Manbij. The two proposals put forward aptly demonstrate how the Turkish government’s monomaniacal obsession with containing the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) invariably renders it incapable of offering logical solutions for combating ISIS.Their demands – put forward by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Washington last week – basically boil down to the US having the SDF halt its current advance on Manbij and calling on the non-Kurdish Arabs and Turkmen split from the group, which would effectively break it up.Then, it would provide support, including direct air support, to some of the questionable groups Turkey has been backing in Syria’s northwest against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. A border area occupied by Islamists which include Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, the two most infamous and notorious Islamist groups in Syria. Which would essentially pit the US directly against that regime and risk a clash with its Kremlin supporter while possibly even enabling jihadis in that area to gain more ground.Since they were formed in October 2015, the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have successfully merged with local tribesmen and representatives from various different non-Kurdish communities in northeastern Syria. Dismantling the SDF and undoing these successful endeavors ahead of an upcoming offensive against Manbij would be the equivalent of demanding an army to shoot itself in the foot before marching forward into battle.Manbij is located on the west side of the Euphrates River south of the Jarablus-Azaz line, which Turkey has declared its “red line” in Syria. The SDF has a presence in that area since crossing from the Tishreen Dam last December. Capturing Manbij would give it a greater foothold in that area and would further cut off ISIS from the outside world.If the US abides by Turkey’s preconditions it will more or less guarantee that Syria’s northwest border remains open and that many Islamist groups can still funnel in recruits and weapons. Doing this while simultaneously handicapping a force as effective as the SDF at this stage in the counter-ISIS campaign would be far too costly and recklessly risky.Even if Turkey agrees to assist the coalition’s anti-ISIS efforts after its preconditions vis-à-vis the SDF are met in good faith there is little it can do apart from close its own side of the border. It is unlikely to send its ground forces into Jarablus to clear out ISIS or Nusra from elsewhere in that strip of border territory, never mind Manbij. It is also unlikely to even contribute additional airpower against ISIS since Ankara clearly doesn’t want to risk sending its jets into Syrian airspace in case the Russians avenge the downing of their warplane last November by shooting down a Turkish F-16 or two.So, fundamentally, not only is Turkey’s willingness to contribute substantial resources to the fight against ISIS in question, its very capability to do so is also in question.The SDF remains the US’s most concrete and reliable ally on the ground in Syria. Instead of continuously placating Turkey the US should remain firm that its own red-line in Syria are firmly denying a foothold anywhere in that war-torn country to either ISIS or Nusra, which would require their removal from the northwest. Something the SDF can do much more effectively than if the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) had done so itself.Washington could placate the Turks by setting preconditions for the SDF. Namely that its incursion into the northwest is an ad-hoc one aimed at removing ISIS and Nusra and not an endeavor, however tempting, to link up the remaining disjointed canton of Afrin to Kobani through the Jarablus-Azaz line.That’s a solution which has a chance of succeeding: The SDF is a tried and tested battle-hardened force with the resolve and the capability to neutralize these jihadis. Its continued contributions to this essential fight should not be taken for granted or, even worse, compromised.Paul Iddon is a Rudaw reporter based in Erbil, Kurdistan Region.I am currently a third year medical student at Nova Southeastern University that was awarded a research fellowship. Prior to medical school, I worked at the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine as a Research Associate, where I primarily worked on the CDC Multi-Site Clinical Assessment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study. For undergraduate studies, I attended the University of Florida and graduated cum laude with a Bachelors of Fine Arts.Even though I no longer worked at the INIM while in medical school, I still maintained contact with Dr. Klimas and her incredible staff. Last year when she and I were talking about possible summer projects, this project came about. From the beginning it seemed like such an exciting project. The idea of creating the first ever unique ME/CFS genetic database that is linked to online symptom questionnaires, will open up countless doors for future research discovery revolving around ME/CFS. Therefore, throughout the summer and over the course of the school year, myself and my research partner Kristina Gemayel, created the study IRB and generated the online RedCap platform where participants are able to upload their genetic information. Then, with the incredible support and man power from Nova Southeastern University Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine the project was able to launch.As a Research Fellow, I am able to fully dedicate this year to further development of this study. Our goal is to have over 10,000 participants, so one of my main priorities is global recruitment through the use of social media. Our thoughts are since ME/CFS affects people worldwide, we want to reach out and recruit the world! I am reaching out to any website or support group that is willing to listen. The beauty of this project is that every step of this project can be performed by the participant, on their computer in the comfort of their home and geographic location or physical ability is not a limitation.In addition to recruitment, I will be conducting preliminary pilot studies with the data we collect along the way to see if we are able to establish any early noteworthy trends.The intention of this database is to allow investigators the possibility of nearly limitless research opportunities, such as indentifying biomarkers used for establishing diagnoses or correlations between symptom clusters and specific genetic SNPs. Due to the constellation of symptoms that exists among the ME/CFS community, establishing a more definitive diagnosis tool for physicians, will help alleviate the stress and time currently involved. As well as, hopefully lead to sub-grouping symptom categories for effective treatments.To my knowledge, this is the first database of its kind to include both genetic data and symptom questionnaires of worldwide participant origin who have graciously donated their genomic data. The crowd-sourcing efforts have played a pivotal role in this project. Without the invested efforts and generosity of the ME/CFS community, this project would never had gotten off the ground.Absolutely! I have to believe that we will discover insights to the genes that control different pathways of the body, and eventually allow physicians the be ability to tailor effective treatments towards them. Quite a bit of research is involved to reach that point of understanding, but that is ultimately the goal of this study and what we are working so hard to accomplish.Matt Holliday to the New York Yankees might become a reality.
As a much cheaper option than top free-agent designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, the Yankees' interest in Holliday is increasing, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman, citing industry sources.
That being said, the Yankees haven't ruled out signing Mike Napoli, or a reunion with Carlos Beltran.
At 36 years old, Holliday has spent 12 of his 13 major-league years in the National League, so a move to the AL is probably an ideal scenario at this stage in his career.
The slugger would fit perfectly as the Yankees' DH - a position vacated by Brian McCann, who was dealt to the Houston Astros. There's also a slim possibility that acquiring Holliday would jeopardize Brett Gardner's playing time in left field.
Holliday has been limited by injury over the past two years, playing just 183 combined games. He strained his right groin in 2015, and fractured his right thumb last season, which required surgery.
Nevertheless, he's a consistent veteran presence when healthy.
Last season, Holliday slashed.246/.322/.461, with 20 homers and 62 RBIs in 110 games.A ballistic missile launched by Iran on Sunday was North Korean in construction or design, according to the Pentagon. The missile test, which ended in failure, was not a violation of 2015's Iranian nuclear deal, but arguably was in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. Either way, this latest test could set Iran on a collision course with the Trump Administration, which has promised to take a hard line on Iran.
According to Reuters, the missile traveled 630 miles before it exploded, either by accident or by design. There are no official details regarding what kind of missile it was, although it was certainly a ballistic missile. An anonymous U.S. government official told Reuters the missile was launched from a test site near Senman, east of the Iranian capital of Tehran, and said it was the same type of missile last tested in April 2016.
A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016. MAHMOOD HOSSEINI/AFP/Getty Images.
As pointed out by arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis on Twitter, the Pentagon identified the July 2016 missile as a locally produced version of the Musudan, a North Korean intermediate-range missile. Also known as the Hwasong-10, the missile is allegedly derived from an obsolete Soviet Cold War missile, the R-27 Zyb.
The Musudan has been adapted from a submarine-launched missile to a road-mobile missile, and is launched from 12-wheeled heavy transporters. The missile has a payload of 2,000 to 2,500 pounds and a theoretical maximum range of 2,500 miles. The range of the missile is open to some debate because so far, despite Pyongyang's claims to the contrary, it hasn't been successfully tested. North Korea may have launched as many as eight Musudans in 2016 alone, and not a single launch was considered successful by outside observers.
(Musudan by JamesMartinCNS on Sketchfab)
Missile tests are not covered by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 multinational agreement that effectively ended Iran's nuclear weapons program. However, Iran is prohibited from testing ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead under U.N. Resolution 2231. The Resolution specifically calls on Iran not to test any ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, or using
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point. The women’s physical presence silences anyone who might still have a shred of doubt—as a collection of real faces, real women courageous enough to speak out, the allegations metastasize, become more tangible than headlines. No one can deny their multitudes, and the sheer horror and revulsion that accompanies their stories, of Bill Cosby allegedly drugging them and raping them and using his tremendous power and influence to silence them. No more.
Victoria Valentino.
Their words are awful, and they are resonant. Barbara Bowman:
I was invited down to Atlantic City to see his show and had a very confusing night where I was completely drugged and my luggage was missing. When I called the concierge to find out where my luggage was, Cosby went ballistic. He slammed the phone down and said, ‘What the hell are you doing, letting the whole hotel know I have a 19-year-old girl in my hotel suite?’ The next morning, he summoned me down to his room and yelled at me that I needed to have discretion. He threw me down on the bed and he put his forearm under my throat. He straddled me, and he took his belt buckle off. The clanking of the belt buckle, I’ll never forget.
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PJ Masten:
I told my supervisor at the Playboy Club what he did to me, and you know what she said to me? She said: ‘You do know that that’s Hefner’s best friend, right?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She says to me: ‘Nobody’s going to believe you. I suggest you shut your mouth.’
Tamara Green:
People often these days say, ‘Well, why didn’t you take it to the police?’ Andrea Constand went to the police in 2005—how’d it work out for her? Not at all. In 2005, Bill Cosby still had control of the media. In 2015, we have social media. We can’t be disappeared. It’s online and can never go away.
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The crux of Malone’s essay piggybacks off that statement, as she details how rape culture has changed through the decades, all four of them, that Bill Cosby has allegedly been a serial rapist. Social media has enabled victims to be heard regardless of the press angle, she argues, and young women are stronger and more vocal about what’s happened to them than we’ve ever been; Emma Sulkowicz is one of her examples. Whether that’s entirely true—it’d be a mistake to leave out the estimated 68 percent of women who are still afraid to come forward and report their rapes—it’s at least a hopeful view in a story so gruesome and heartbreaking it needs it. Read the full piece, and see the portraits, here.
Contact the author at [email protected].
Images via Amanda Demme / New York MagazineAfter every SSL round FloorballToday looks back at the matches played. Make sure to visit FloorballToday regularly to stay up-to-date about the most prestigious league in the world.
Highlighted games
Mullsjö AIS – Pixbo Wallenstam 3-8
Mullsjö AIS home premiere would end up being far from what they had in mind. Already after 33 seconds Pixbo Wallenstam was in the lead, which went on to result in 6 more goals before Mullsjö scored their first in the 43rd… [read the complete match report]
IBK Dalen – Storvreta IBK 6-3
After just 48 seconds Svahn opened the score after a fine pass of Mattias Wallgren. Storvreta was warned, got better into the game and realized the equalizer just more than ten minutes later: Stenberg, assisted by Pettersson, got himself in a scoring position and used his backhand… [read the complete match report]
Other results
Karlstad IBF – Team Thorengruppen 7-6
Växjö Vipers – FC Helsingborg 2-6
Warberg IC – Höllvikens IBF 8-5
Ranking
Floorball Worldwide Facebook Group - 1.920 members! Become a member For lovers of floorball worldwide! Here you find the latest news about floorball!
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Do you own a Motorola phone and wonder why some of your counterparts have Lollipop and you don't? Motorola is attempting to shed some light on the situation.
In a blog post on Thursday, the company announced that Android 5.0 Lollipop is now available for the Moto G (first and second generations) in India and Brazil. That's good news for Moto users in those countries. But Motorola actually kicked off its Lollipop push last November, shortly after Google officially released updated OS. Why is it taking so long to fan out?
Google's mobile OS is cursed by fragmentation as each new version takes considerable time to arrive on the phones and tablets of all Android users worldwide. A peek at Google's Android Developers Dashboard earlier this month revealed a 39 percent share of the market for KitKat -- the predecessor to Lollipop. Jelly Bean -- the predecessor to KitKit -- was still at the top of the charts with a 46 percent share. And Lollipop wasn't even on the radar yet, meaning it had less than a 0.1 percent share. This situation frustrates not only users but app developers, who must try to design programs that can support multiple versions of Android.
In its blog, Motorola explained the process involved in an Android upgrade and why it takes so long.
After Google creates a new version of its mobile OS, Google performs a "public push," Motorola said. That means the source code for the OS is released to the Android Open Source Project, usually tied to the debut of a new Google Nexus flagship phone.
Following the public push, mobile phone makers then test the new OS with local carriers and other organizations, a process that varies with each region of the world. After completing that testing, Motorola can start pushing out the upgrade to users.
Okay, but why do some users receive the upgrade early and others have to wait weeks or months?
Motorola said that before it can roll out an upgrade to a wide number of users, it performs "soak" tests. Through such tests, the upgrade is deployed to a small group of people so Motorola can monitor its performance and collect user feedback. Such testing is critical because it can reveal any bugs in the software, giving the company a chance to fix them before the upgrade reaches a wider audience.
In some cases, Motorola expands the number of soak test users to catch issues that might pop up in a larger group. After this test is done, the company launches the upgrade for all users in a specific country and for a specific device.
To add to the complexity, testing may be required for different software versions for each device, which further impacts the availability of a new upgrade, both by region and carrier. Finally, mobile carriers get into the act through their own testing to make sure the upgrade meets their requirements.
"These requirements vary from carrier to carrier and across different regions." Motorola said. "They also have lab testing times that can range from weeks to months. In some cases, devices on older or less powerful chipsets may need more work to ensure good performance when running Lollipop."
Motorola did say that Google improved the Android upgrade process with Lollipop by releasing developer previews early enough so manufacturers had more time to test the software. As such, Motorola was able to push Lollipop to its Moto X (second generation) Pure Edition eight days after Google's public push.
And the rollout continues. Last week, Motorola said that Android 5.0 would be to its Moto G (second generation) phone in the United States. Motorola users who haven't yet gotten a taste of Lollipop can check the company's Upgrades page to see if and when your model is slated to receive the upgrade.
With so many manufacturers, carriers, and devices involved, upgrading all Android devices with the latest version is always going to be a long, time-consuming process. Android users, you have two choices: be patient or switch to Apple's iPhone.IRS employees have told congressional investigators that they were ordered by the agency’s Washington office to give extra scrutiny to tea party groups’ applications for tax-exempt status, according to excerpts from interviews with the employees that were released by House committee chairmen Wednesday.
Carter Hull, a tax law specialist with 48 years of experience at the IRS, told investigators that Lois Lerner, the former head of the Exempt Organizations division, demanded he send some of the reviews of tea party groups to the IRS chief counsel’s office in Washington. The chief counsel is one of two political appointees in the IRS.
The Internal Revenue Service has come under fire over the past several months after the agency’s auditor, J. Russell George, exposed that the agency was targeting conservative groups for intrusive scrutiny. This week, The Washington Times reported that government employees also improperly accessed IRS information to look at data on a handful of political candidates and donors.
Sen. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, said Wednesday that the investigation into the troubled agency must be expanded.
“It is clear that misconduct at the agency was not isolated to ‘rogue employees’ in the tax-exempt applications division,” Mr. Flake said. “This recent development suggests that political targeting was potentially more widespread.”
Even as Republicans push to broaden the inquiries, Democrats are preparing to go after Mr. George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, whose May report first exposed the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Mr. George and Mr. Hull are scheduled to testify Thursday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
On Wednesday, Democrats accused Mr. George of suppressing evidence that the IRS also went after liberal groups, which they say would show the agency wasn’t following a political agenda when it asked intrusive questions of hundreds of groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Under questioning from Democrats on the House Small Business Committee, IRS acting Commissioner Danny Werfel said Mr. George blocked him from releasing documents that could have shown that progressive groups were also scrutinized.
Mr. Werfel said he disagreed with Mr. George but withheld the information “out of an abundance of caution.”
Mr. George has said that while some progressive groups were given scrutiny, it was just a small percentage. By comparison, the auditor said, every group with “tea party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in its name was subject to special scrutiny.
The back-and-forth underscores the stakes in the 2-month-old scandal, which Republicans say exposes a nasty political streak within the government, but which Democrats said only highlights the need for clearer rules about what tax-exempt groups can and cannot do in politics after they were unshackled by the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case.
Mr. Hull told congressional investigators that the IRS was grappling with its response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case, which left the door open for interest groups to play bigger roles in political activities.
Part of the answer of the IRS was to single out some tea party-affiliated groups’ applications as test cases, which Mr. Hull was handling. Some of those test cases still haven’t been decided, three years after they were filed, Mr. Hull said.
“That’s a very long time period,” he told investigators.
Mr. Hull described his own scrutiny of applications. He said he sent a letter and thought he received sufficient information to make a determination. But he was overruled by Ms. Lerner, who said the applications should get extra scrutiny.
Ms. Lerner has refused to testify to Congress, citing her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. But committee Republicans have said she waived that right by declaring her innocence to the committee, and they have said they will consider recalling her.
In addition to probes from Congress, the Justice Department also opened an investigation into the matter. Ms. Lerner’s attorney has said she would testify if lawmakers were willing to erase any potential legal jeopardy.
In a statement Wednesday, the IRS said the chief counsel’s office is consulted on decisions when applications for tax-deductible status are going to be rejected, but that is the extent of the office’s responsibility.
“Otherwise, operating division personnel make the ultimate decisions on disposition of particular cases. Those decisions take into account legal advice from counsel attorneys, but they are not controlled by that advice,” the agency said in its statement. “Counsel attorneys do not control cases unless and until they are docketed for litigation in the United States Tax Court.”
The IRS has acknowledged asking intrusive questions of tax-exempt groups and of delaying many of their applications for far too long.
Democrats have said progressive groups also were given special scrutiny, which they said shows the IRS wasn’t engaged in political targeting but rather was trying to sort through groups in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, released a memo Tuesday that included other excerpts of interviews with IRS employees who scoffed at charges of political targeting.
“Despite an extremely aggressive investigation involving thousands of documents and more than a dozen interviews of IRS employees, the overwhelming evidence before the committee reveals no political motivation or White House involvement in this process,” Mr. Cummings said.
On Wednesday, Mr. Cummings accused the Republican chairmen of skewing the story by giving only small snapshots of the interviews.
“Rather than describing the whole truth, your letter appears yet again to create a skewed account based on partial, incomplete, and cherry-picked information while disregarding key evidence that contradicts your political narrative,” he wrote in a letter to oversight committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa, California Republican.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Law enforcement personnel are searching for the person who hung up “anti-feminism” posters around American University’s campus late Tuesday evening.
The posters parody the recent International Women’s Day as “International Nags [sic] Day,” and include the meme “Stop talking and bitching woman on March 8 and make me a sandwich.”
Rather remarkably, as Fox-5 reports, police are investigating this “vandalism” as a hate crime.
A crime alert was issued to the A.U. community which included photos of the suspect:
Misogynistic posters were put up on American University's campus on the eve of International Women's Day. https://t.co/SNXZ9H0vyz pic.twitter.com/MVJYrjYFz0 — DCist (@DCist) March 10, 2017
The Eagle reports Provost Scott Bass sent out an email noting that the posters “were against AU’s poster policy,” and said “We condemn the message as misogynistic, disrespectful, and divisive. Our university is no place for such hostility and disrespect.”
Kogod School of Business Dean John T. Delaney added that “This is not the place for such disrespect to be shown. We must stand together to overcome hate and ignorance.”
These days such statements are quite expected from college administration. But hate crime charges for what is really, at most, a tasteless joke?
Check out my latest story for @TheEagleOnline about the posters on campus yesterday https://t.co/Ux5K76mZ5q — maria (@mariaspov) March 9, 2017
From the Eagle story:
“I can believe that people feel those things,” [graduate student Alexandra] Long said. “I’ve seen and heard sentiments that are similar to that, but the fact that today someone would have gone through the effort of putting that in our faces, it made me disgusted and sad.” … The Student Advocacy Center, led by director Will Mascaro, recently passed a recommendation in February so that the Student Conduct Code now has specific language for identity-bias attacks. According to the new code “significant factors” in determining sanctions will include “evidence that the respondent’s conduct was motivated by bias towards an individual or group on the basis of real or perceived, race, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, ethnicity, veteran status, or sexual orientation.” With this change, if the perpetrator in this incident is caught and is a student, the Student Conduct Code will include in the report that this was a gender-biased attack, Mascaro said. If that is the case, Mascaro said it will test the new conduct code and the University.
Read more.
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
IMAGE: ShutterstockJoe Lauzon loves him some Nate Diaz.
The pair of UFC lightweights emerged in 2007 as castmates on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, but have somehow avoided having to scrap.
Hosting a Q&A session Tuesday, a fan told Lauzon he'd asked Diaz why the two haven't been booked. According to Diaz, he just plain likes Joe too much.
"I also love Nate," Lauzon replied. "I think it's kind of a natural thing that we'll probably fight at some point, maybe. But I would always try to fight someone else before I fought Nate. Just because I like Nate a lot. It would probably be an exciting fight, but I like Nate too much."
Diaz was a particular point of interest to fans and Lauzon spent a goodly portion of the chat just telling Diaz stories.
"I love Nate Diaz," said Lauzon. "We were both on [The Ultimate Fighter] together. We were on opposite teams. He actually arm-locked me the very first day for the tryouts. The tryouts were to pick teams and I got matched up with Nate. I hadn't done jiu jitsu in two months because my brother, we don't get along so well sometimes, we were doing kickboxing sparring and he double-legged me through the ropes into a hard piece of metal.
"I had a huge lump and I couldn't do anything off my back for two months. So the first day, it's the first time I've done any sort of jiu jitsu and of course I'm paired up with Nate and he arm-locks me right off the bat. It was such a nice arm lock."
Despite his propensity to start brawls in casinos, Diaz is also the type to sprint across a lobby to hug your mom and dad. Well, Lauzon's at least. If you've got beef with Nate, you've got beef with Joe.
"Everyone's like, 'He kind of looks like a jerk.' Lauzon said of Diaz. "He seems like a dick.' I try to explain that the Diaz brothers don't like doing media, but if you met Nate Diaz you would love him. Nate is the man. I wish it would come off a little bit clearer how awesome those guys are. He'd give you the shirt off his back. The 209 don't give a f**k."
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Pretty good. Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar have verbally agreed to fight in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale on Dec. 11.
The Time is Now, Again. UFC's "Go Big" event on Sept. 4 features Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, and many headliners.
'It will feel great to shut this guy up.' Junior dos Santos says he hopes Alistair Overeem "doesn't fail the drug test this time."
'I'm going to dominate this fight.' Luke Rockhold is predicting to finish UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman with "a left kick or a left hand."
Hard feelings. WSOF exec Ali Abdel-Aziz calls Bellator lightweight Melvin Guillard is "the world champion of tapping."
MEDIA STEW
UFC 191: Extended Preview.
The BMF crew goes through their mail.
What to watch for at Bellator 141.
Holly Holm won't be talking trash to Ronda Rousey.
Saku still out there trolling his training partners.
Shinya Aoki doesn't look happy about this ride.
Long watches.
...
TWEETS
Finally.
Agora é oficial. Dia 19 de dezembro em Orlando FL Vocês sabem que eu não escolho adversário, mas... https://t.co/VSuKDHCPOj — Junior Dos Santos (@junior_cigano) August 25, 2015
Beef.
If anybody has a question about me and Melvins sparring sessions contact greg jackson and he will tell you. He remembers. @arielhelwani — Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) August 25, 2015
@AliAbdelaziz00 @arielhelwani Ali has been training with us for a very long time... I've seen him submit many high level grapplers ;-) — Renzo_Gracie_BJJ (@RenzoGracieBJJ) August 25, 2015
Hungry.
Congrats.
Big news to announce today a slight delay in my return to the octagon! I planned on spending as much... https://t.co/8aOzOfhOtB — Alexis Davis (@AlexisDavisMMA) August 25, 2015
I'd love to fight Alexia, but I heard that she's pregnant!Cheers!If I may choose,I'd like to fight my rival @MieshaTate @seanshelby @ufc — Bethe (@bethecorreia) August 25, 2015
In the movies.
Very cool.
Not impressed.
Ayo Rock this ain't to hard! @officialslystallone Haha #slownsteady @christinahenry7 @mark_henry7 A video posted by Frankie Edgar (@frankieedgar) on Aug 25, 2015 at 7:20pm PDT
Outstanding.
My dog #dog #Hooch A photo posted by nickdiaz209 (@nickdiaz209) on Aug 25, 2015 at 9:21pm PDT
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Aug. 25 2015)
Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale
Magomed Mustafaev vs. Joe Proctor at UFC 194
Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem at UFC on FOX 17
Danny Castillo vs. Nik Lentz at UFC on FOX 17
Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we'll include it in tomorrow's column.Ecologists and Pintupi hunters in Australia’s Gibson Desert are employing ancient techniques in a bid to control the feral cats that threaten native wildlife
When Pintupi hunters from the Kiwirrkurra community in the Gibson Desert in central Australia catch a feral cat, they have two tasks. The first is to lop off a bit of the tail to give to Central Desert Native Title Services (CDNTS) in exchange for a $100 bounty.
The second is to cut out the stomach, which goes into a dedicated, rather stinky freezer to await the attentions of ecologist Rachel Paltridge, who sifts through the stomach contents in front of a crowd of interested locals on her regular visits to the community.
Paltridge is looking for clues for the cat’s distribution and hunting habits in the entrails, as well as any remnants of threatened species, such as the bilby.
Australia writes to Morrissey and Brigitte Bardot to defend plan to kill cats Read more
“We don’t often find any bilbies in cat stomachs in central Australia but that partly reflects the low numbers of bilbies in the area – we’d have to be lucky to get the one cat that ate a bilby,” Paltridge told Guardian Australia.
“Other threatened species like the great desert skink we find a bit more. But I am sure that they are eating bilbies – at least the young ones.”
Pintupi and other central desert tribes have been hunting feral cats for their meat for generations, but handing over their stomachs for science is a relatively new step. The CDNTS introduced the bounty for cats caught on Kiwirrkurra traditional lands last year to encourage the community to put more effort into the hunt.
The small, extremely remote community near the Northern Territory border, about 1,200km east of Port Hedland and 850km west of Alice Springs, is one of a few communities where cat hunting is still actively practised.
The hope is that the bounty, which is just enough to cover petrol costs and some compensation for time, will help preserve the rapidly dying skill and provide scientists such as Paltridge with data on the population and eating habits of local feral cats.
In the first 18 months of the scheme, bounty has been claimed for 18 cats. Kate Crossing, a CDNTS land management officer, said that was a pretty good result. Cats are hard to catch, much harder than goanna and kangaroo, the other main bushfoods in the area, and are prized accordingly.
“Pintupi people see cats as a good food source and also as a medicinal food source,” Crossing told Guardian Australia. “A young man has recounted to me about how as a young fellow he was sick and his family went out and got a cat.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pintupi women Yukultji Napangarti and Christine Michaels hold up a dead feral cat. Photograph: Kate Crossing/Central Desert Native Title Services
Crossing said while most people from central desert tribes have memories of hunting and eating cat in years past, very few actively practise the skill today, which affects both cultural knowledge and land management.
“The two go hand in hand, being on country to do patch burns and walking around and hunting,” she said. “And that patch-burning is really good for the habitat of native species, particularly bilby.”
The community has applied for a $50,000 grant from the West Australian government to fund a four-month trial of monthly hunting trips to targeted areas within the 4.2m hectare Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area, including areas of known bilby habitat.
Threatened species given lifeline by new bait developed to kill feral cats Read more
Crossing said the project would allow their “elite strike-force team”, a group of about a dozen highly skilled cat hunters, to work with ecologists to monitor and actively reduce cat predation on threatened species.
The grant would also allow Pintupi trackers to be trained in the use of western hunting techniques such as shooting, baiting, using detector dogs and rubber-lined leg traps. Paltridge said a similar project with the Nyirripi people over the border in the Northern Territory had shown that working with skilled Aboriginal trackers to lay cat traps significantly increased the success rate.
The use of baiting would be limited, however. The WA government released a new type of cat bait, using 1080 poison in a kangaroo-chicken sausage, in June, but it cannot be used in areas where Kiwirrkurra hunters might catch cats for bushmeat, or in areas with a high dingo population, because dingoes also prey on feral cats.
But Paltridge said that over a small area, strategic use of traditional hunting methods could be effective.
“We see this approach to threatened species conservation as an important alternative to relying on predator-proof fencing to protect rare wildlife,” she said.OpenGApps
Do not use Stock or higher. Nano is recommended.
TWRP 2.8.6.2 or higher. I always use @ashyx newest builds (TWRP builds by @ashyx)
Applied bootloader update, e.g. by flashing the stock 5.0(or higher) samsung rom or by applying bootloader directly with odin (Link).
, e.g. by
Cleaning System
Reboot into recovery. Go into wipe menu. Select "Advanced Wipe". Check Dalvik Cache
System
Cache
Data and wipe them. Don't reboot just yet.
This step is only necessary on the initla installation.
Install this ROM
Go into Install
Flash aosp-XXX.zip
On initial installation it is necessary to Reboot to Recovery. Don't skip this step!
(E:unknown command [log] messages can be ignored.)
Install Google Apps and SuperSU
Go into Install
Flash GAPPS.zip
Flash SuperSU.zip
Reboot to System
Fix Google Apps SetupWizard Bug
As soon as the SetupWizard is display don't press any key but execute the following command on you pc using adb
> adb shell pm grant com.google.android.setupwizard android.permission.READ_CONTACTS
> adb shell pm grant com.google.android.setupwizard android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS
> adb shell pm grant com.google.android.setupwizard android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
This is only a temporary workaround, hopefully this issue will be solved soon.
OpenDelta - OTA support
Check Settings->System Updates (Creates /sdcard/OpenDelta/FlashAfterUpdate)
Copy SuperSu and Gapps zip to /sdcard/OpenDelta/FlashAfterUpdate (If directory does not exist, create) so that they are automatically applied after OTA update. Else your system will be unusable after an OTA!
Wifi
Bluetooth
HW Video Accel
DRM
Camera
Fingerprint
Basically everything that is not mentioned in the open issues list below...
Graphical glitches on rotation and screen off
RIL, meaning no telephony support so far
Exchange services have been dropped by google. You will have to use a third party app for Exchange syncing.
Hearthstone and serveral other Unity games: Enable 4x MSAA in development options else it won't work
Slither.io and a few other games don't run if 4x MSAA is enabled: Disabled 4x MSAA in development options else it won't work
If you install Gapps after the ROM has been booted for the first time you either need to wipe data or manually delete /data/system/users/0/runtime-permissions.xml and reboot. Without this Gapps will crash constantly. This is due to the new permissions-system in M.
Code: /* * Your warranty is now void. * * I will not accept responsibility for any adverse effects to your device, * including, but not limited to: bricking, dead SD card, bootloops etc. * * You mod your device at your own risk. */
XDA:DevDB Information
Nougat, ROM for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S
Contributors
Version Information
This ROM is for T700, T705, T800 and T805.It is directly based on vanilla Google Android sources.If you like my ROMs please donate by pressing the "Donate to Me" button below my name on the left side or by pressing the following link.Don't skip this step! If the incorrect bootloader is used your deviceAre you already running AOSP Marshmallow? Awesome!At the moment dirty flashing this ROM on top of AOSP Marshmallow has not yet tested.So please create a backup of it first and install AOSP Nougat as a clean install.Dirty flashing of AOSP Nougat on an existing installation of AOSP Marshmallow will be supported in a few days.If you like my ROMs please donate by pressing the "Donate to Me" button below my name on the left side. It takes a lot of my spare time developing these ROMs for the community and every penny is greatly appreciated7.x NougatLinux 3.4.xTab S Lollipop BooloaderAOSPAlpha2016-08-272016-09-18Adobe, one of the world’s largest and most powerful software companies, is trying something new: It’s applying machine learning and image recognition to graphic and web design. In an unnamed project, the company has created tools that automate designers’ tasks, like cropping photos and designing web pages. Should designers be worried?
The new project, which uses Adobe’s AI and machine learning program Sensei and integrates into the Adobe Experience Manager CMS, will debut at the company’s Sneaks competition later in March. While Adobe hasn’t committed to integrating it into any of its products, it’s one of the most ambitious attempts to marry machine learning and graphic design to date. There have been efforts to use AI in the design world before–for instance, Wix’s Advance Design Intelligence and automated projects like Mark Maker, but Adobe’s is notable because of the company’s sheer reach in the design world. Although it’s just a prototype, it’s one to watch closely.
The as-of-yet unnamed new product is designed, first and foremost, to make it easier to customize websites for users at large-enterprise customers. When I viewed a demo, for instance, machine learning and AI techniques were applied to editing the Food Network’s web pages.
Instead of a designer deciding on layout, colors, photos, and photo sizes, the software platform automatically analyzes all the input and recommends design elements to the user. Using image recognition techniques, basic photo editing like cropping is automated, and an AI makes design recommendations for the pages. Using photos already in the client’s database (and the metadata attached to those photos), the AI–which, again, is layered into Adobe’s CMS–makes recommendations on elements to include and customizations for the designer to make.
According to Cedric Huesler, a product management director for Adobe Marketing Cloud who worked on the project, the idea is offering what he calls “human-augmented” design. The AI offers recommendations, which designers can manually override.
“The problem, obviously, is personalization at scale,” Huesler tells Co.Design. “We can repeat the same process just by providing different inputs”–once implemented, the machine learning tool is designed to let large-enterprise users quickly generate customized content. In the case of large-enterprise customers like the Food Network, Adobe says, partial automation lets them create customized web and mobile experiences for customers more quickly and more affordably than they could otherwise.
The AI is meant to make design easier for large projects. It includes both image recognition components that automatically crop or otherwise edit photos, and more conventional components that rely on text metadata for design decisions.NEW DELHI: Amid reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at Ufa in Russia, the two countries were locked in a bitter tussle at the ongoing United Nation Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva where New Delhi, for the first time, used its ‘right to reply’ to send a strong message to its neighbour. The right to reply is a special rule allowing a delegate to interrupt a speaker Under the Modi government, there has been a constant endeavour to name and shame Pakistan at international forums and the opportunity was used by India’s delegation in Geneva as well.In a statement, India also criticised Pakistan’s move to raise matters related to J&K at the UN forum and asked Islamabad to look deep within over killings of innocent children at Peshawar in December 2014.“A part of the territories of our state remains under the forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that in recent times the people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir have become victims of sectarian conflict, terrorism and extreme economic hardship because of Pakistan’s occupation and discriminatory policies,” India said at the UN.The provocation came from Pakistan. It said: “The people of J&K have been denied their right to selfdetermination, subjected to consistent and forceful foreign occupation and their democratic rights have been usurped and suppressed by conduction of sham elections at gun-point.”The rebuttal from India underlined the fact that J&K has recorded 65% voter turnout in the recently concluded assembly polls, despite threats from Pakistan-based terror groups.What You'll Be Creating
If you're asking, "What's Yii?" check out my earlier tutorial, Introduction to the Yii Framework, which reviews the benefits of Yii and includes an overview of what's new in Yii 2.0, released in October 2014.
In this Programming With Yii2 series, I'm guiding readers in use of the Yii2 Framework for PHP. In today's tutorial, I'll walk you through the basics of browsing, uploading and downloading files to and from Amazon's cloud-based S3 storage service. Essentially, I've created a simple storage model and controller as examples which you can extend for your needs.
Just a reminder, I do participate in the comment threads below. I'm especially interested if you have different approaches, additional ideas, or want to suggest topics for future tutorials. If you have a question or topic suggestion, please post below. You can also reach me on Twitter @reifman directly.
What's Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 provides easy-to-use, advanced cloud-based storage for objects and files. It offers 99.99% availability and 99.999999999% durability of objects.
It offers a variety of features for simple or advanced usage. It's commonly used as the storage component for Amazon's CDN service CloudFront, but these are distinct and can be used independently of each other.
You can also use S3 to migrate files over time to archive in Amazon Glacier, for added cost savings.
Like most all of AWS, you operate S3 via APIs, and today, I'm going to walk you through browsing, uploading and downloading files from S3 with Yii.
Getting Started
To run the demonstration code, you'll need your own Amazon AWS account and access keys. You can browse your S3 tree from the AWS console shown below:
S3 consists of buckets which hold numerous directories and files within them. Since I used to use AWS as a CDN, my WordPress tree remains in my old bucket. You can browse your bucket as well:
As I traverse the tree of objects, here's a deeper view of my bucket contents:
Programming With S3
Again, I'll build on the hello tree from GitHub for our demonstration code (see the link on this page.) It's derived from Yii2 basic.
Obtaining Your Access Keys
You will need access keys for the AWS S3 API if you don't already have them. If not, you can get them by browsing to Security Credentials and creating a new pair:
For our code demonstration, you'll need to place them in your hello.ini file with other secure keys and codes:
Installing the Yii Extension for AWS
For this tutorial, we'll use Federico Motta's AWS extension for Yii2. He's definitely the youngest Yii programmer whose code I've used for an Envato Tuts+ tutorial:
Isn't it amazing how quickly kids are picking up programming these days?
Here's the installation process using composer:
Afterwards, I also installed the two libraries it suggests, but did not install all of the next level of suggestions for my local development machine:
I also registered the awssdk component within hello/config/web.php:
Browsing My S3 Directories
For today's demonstration, I created a hello/controllers/StorageController.php with action methods to run each example, such as http://localhost:8888/hello/storage/browse to browse directories.
These methods in turn call the Storage.php model I created with their own methods.
Here's the controller code:
It requests that the Storage model reach up to the clouds in the "S3ky" and browse the manual directory.
Each time the Storage.php model is instantiated, it loads the AWS SDK extension and creates an S3 instance:
In my browse example, I'm just echoing the directories and files, but you can feel free to customize this code as you need:
Here are the results when I browse to http://localhost:8888/hello/storage/browse:
Uploading Files
To upload a file, you need to specify the local
|
pretty much all you need to know about AbyssRium. The guide’s pretty big, so use the Table of Contents below to look around!
Catch up on new features on my YouTube! I do a new video for every new update/feature. See the Guides Index for guides on other aspects of AbyssRium, or other games. You can also chat in my Discord server!
You can support me and my guides monthly on Patreon (and score some rewards like cute cat pictures)! The more I earn the more time I can spend on improving guides like this. My PayPal is a thing too if you can’t do monthly subscriptions.
2019-02-06: Sorry for the downtime on 2019-02-06! It’s all fixed and I upgraded my server (and it costs more now). It’s a good time to support me on Patreon or PayPal if my guides have helped you out!
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Due to persistent abuse, all comment vectors for all of my AbyssRium content are permanently disabled. If it’s not in the guide (spoilers: it is), ask the official support account or the subreddit.
2019-02-04: Please note the ingame Facebook feature has been completely broken for over 6 months, don’t expect it to work.
2019-01-28: Valentine’s Day info is coming in, guide created.
2019-01-15: For some reason an update removed the cloud save buttons in the event tanks. You can still find them in the options menu of the main tank.
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Older updates were moved to the Updates Archive.
AbyssRium Guide Index
Other resources useful for Tap Tap Fish – AbyssRium players:
My Patreon Page – Where you can support me, or use paypal instead.
Striped Marlin/Bonito/Star Striped Marlin guide – Because these stupid RNG fish generate 10x as many questions as anything else
Video Guides – A YouTube playlist full of my AbyssRium video guides & updates
Other mobile games – Bored? Check out some other mobile games I’ve made guides or reviews for.
Limited Event Fish
Periodically AbyssRium has events, they’ve become different over the months, so the specific details are in the event-specific guide now. Events only partially repeat; later events let you get old fish, but often through inconsistent, expensive, or luck-based methods.
For info on specific events, go to the Mini-Guide for that event. Alternately you can watch my video guides for events.
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Valentine’s Day 2019
New Year’s 2019
Christmas 2018 Event
Halloween Event (2018)
2nd Anniversary Event (2018)
Pirate Event (2018)
Ancient Egypt Event (2018)
Spring Event (2018)
Valentine’s Disaster (2018)
New Year’s Gift (2018)
Christmas Event (2017)
Halloween Event (2017)
Fall Event (2017)
Anniversary Event (2017)
Spring Event (2017)
Valentine’s Day Event (2017)
Christmas Event (2016)
Halloween Event (2016)
AbyssRium’s Hidden Fish
For hidden fusion fish, see the Fusion Fish guide instead.
As a general note, AbyssRium is a pretty buggy game, and if something requires 10 Things, don’t be particularly surprised if it doesn’t pop up after exactly 10 actions. It might take a bit of time or a few more actions to properly register, and fish will generally not pop until you’re back to the main menu if you’re taking photos/etc.
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Legendary Sun Fish Tap Sunfish vitality over 100 times Please stop emailing me to tell me the fish is back, it’s been ‘back’ since 2017 Easier if you store ALL fish but the sunfish, and ideally buy more than one, then tap the Expand tab so you can move around the camera to follow them, making it easier to tap their icons Stored in the Event tab not the regular tab for some reason
Blue Clownfish Take a picture of Percula Clownfish (orange ones) 3 times
Snowflake Clownfish Push Twitter button 5 times in Settings It’s a good idea to unlock these two immediately so you don’t end up too many Orange/red clownfish repeats
Randall’s Goby Take 3 pictures of Gobies
Clown Tang Take pictures of Tangs 5 times
Convict Tang Do nothing for 1 hour You must leave Abyssrium open, which means you’ll want AbyssRium in Battery Saver mode and on a charger because Abyssrium is crazy battery hungry.
Naso Tang Own 50 Tangs Fusion Tangs still count towards this number, and making Fusion Tangs will speed up this otherwise arduous process due to the Vitality boost they provide, so it’s highly recommended! Obviously, you’re going to want to do this one after finishing most other objectives or your aquarium is going to be very boring The time period after Z vitality is ideal to get tons of fish quickly for this
Jewel Damsel Tap the upper left corner of screen 1,000 times (seriously) Don’t watch the Hard Worker counter while trying this, it won’t necessarily sync up. You’ll get it, just keep it up Midas Tap doesn’t count for hidden fish, you’ll need to manually tap. Use 3 fingers as Midas Tap will only trigger on one. You can use a finger on one hand to “hold” the midas tap and two/three fingers on the other hand to “drum” the top left corner to make it go a bit faster
Narwhal Tap the top left corner of the screen 5,000 times It doesn’t have to be consecutive, but you can do it all in one session without much trouble. It takes a while but not hours.
Cross Damsel Take 3 pictures of a Damsel Chromis count as Damsels
French Angel Save picture of Angelfish 3 times That’s save to your device, not just take it or share it
Springer Dottyback Share picture 3 times You can press the share button, delete the draft and still get it credit for sharing as long as it switches apps
Panther Grouper Share a picture of Parrotfish 10 times Mahi Mahi counts as a Parrotfish
Moorish Idol Take picture of Mystery Chest 5 times (wait for it to spawn first obviously) Tap the chest to make sure you’re focused on it, it needs to be the focus not just in frame Some people report only getting it after sharing not just taking the pictures, so if you’re having trouble try that instead Technically an Angelfish
Scribbled Angelfish: Push See More button in Photo Award 10 times This actually almost always takes many more than 10 times This is in the Photo icon in the top right next to trophies, not when you take a picture yourself
Peppermint Angel Own 30 Angelfish Moorish Idol counts as an Angelfish Fusion Angelfish still count towards the total, and making Fusion Angels will speed up this otherwise arduous process due to the vitality boost while not “losing” any Angels, so it’s highly recommended! Note Masked Angel currently does not count because of a bug! Like the Naso Tang, save this for one of your final challenges in AbyssRium. It’s not as bad as it might sound, but it’s a long grind even after reaching Z vitality
Queen Angel Fragile Staghorn Coral level 3000
Juvenile Pinnate Spadefish Have 5 Facebook friends in game The Facebook list ingame should have 7 people total for this unlock: Yourself, Kim (a bot), and 5 real people who are not you. This requires connecting to facebook have having 5 friends who actually downloaded Abyssrium and linked to Facebook If none of your friends play, there are facebook groups you can join to get people to add temporarily, unlock the fish and leave. I’ve heard of moderation and harassment issues with certain groups, so I don’t like to link to any specific groups and make sure you stay safe.
Pajama Cardinal Open app 20 times in one day (you don’t have to close the app, just home screen-> back into app)
Mahi Mahi Play at 0:00 AM (midnight) 10 times A way that’s worked for at least some people is to cheat your phone’s clock to 11:59, let the clock move to 12 AM “naturally”, then open the app, leave to the home screen and re-open Abyssrium 10 times If you don’t want to ‘cheat’, you could change your time zone so that ‘midnight occurs’ while you’re playing…though it’s really the same thing This one seems a bit inconsistent and may be bugged Some people say the game seems to give it them after Abyssrium runs in the background overnight, then they got the unlock much later the following day I got it randomly at 7 PM after trying the time cheat, it’s possible it does unlock, but is delayed or something, or it’s since been fixed
Prized Walking Fish Play AbyssRium for two days on the Attendance Calendar All “play game for X days” achievements must be earned online If you somehow missed it, you’ll have to ask the devs on Facebook /email them to ask them to get it A big calendar will pop up and show you your daily rewards with a new fish every 7th day These days do not have to be consecutive This is called an Axolotl, popularized in part by the pokemon Wooper & Mudkip Counts as an “event fish” with no vitality multiplier, and you only get one If you somehow didn’t get one, you’ll need to send a bug report and they can send you one I believe
Sea Slug Play game for 7 days
Giant Isopod Play game for 14 days
Oarfish Play game for 21 days
Coelacanth Play game for 28 days
Giant Squid Play game for 35 days
Camel Cowfish Share picture of Blowfish 3 times Boxfish, Puffers, Cowfish, Triggers, the Lionfish, and even the Sea Slug all count as Blowfish for this task
Spotted Mandarin Dragonet Start AbyssRium upon notification This has nothing to do with the “vitality full” notification, it’s a special notification that specifically says “it is time to get the hidden fish”. See the above link for much more info
Juvenile Spotted Boxfish Start AbyssRium upon notification Notification fish are unlocked in order, so this will only unlock after the Dragonet
Whale Shark Start AbyssRium upon notification Requires Star Horn Coral Note people report having significantly more trouble getting the Whale Shark than any of the other similar fish If you’re having trouble with it and have Star Horn coral, I would strongly recommend just using the manual method to force the unlock
Potbelly Seahorse Share picture of Seahorse 3 times Amusingly, the Giant Isopod appears to count as a “seahorse” for this
Pygmy Seahorse Play at 4 AM 5 times You can change your phone’s time to cheat this because, I mean, screw that You can just leave the Abyssrium app to the home page then reopen it 5 times This one worked perfectly fine with time cheating for me, but some people report similar issues to the Mahi Mahi, so read the info there.
Nautilus Use Delicious Food skill 50 times
Red Lobsters (Hidden, Fusion) Sea Urchin Farm required Use the Delicious Food skill 100 times Did you know most lobsters only turn red during cooking? RIP This is a Fusion Fish and is created in the Fusion tab
Striped Marlin Appears to require Star Horn Coral Take a photo of Striped Marlin. I made a dedicated Striped Marlin Guide since this fish is so hard to get with extra details. They may start appearing the first 30 minutes after Star Horn Coral is purchased, but they aren’t guaranteed. They have what is said to be a”10% chance” of showing up every half hour of ingame time (not real time, the app has to be open). Time is not consecutive. You do not have to reset the app after 30 minutes if you don’t see them, that will never help. Playing the game will not prevent them from appearing I really can’t stress enough that there is no magic trick to this. Asking me won’t get you them faster,and whatever you think is preventing them is almost certainly not. They are just extremely rare. Remember that with a 10% chance it is not out of the ordinary to need to try 15 or even 20+ times. Here’s a photo of them so you know what you’re looking for If you don’t mind eating some electricity, you can farm it a bit better by setting your device to keep it’s screen on (instructions for iOS and Android ) and keep an eye on your device while it’s going. Be sure to turn these features off once you’re done. It will be a swarm of them moving rapidly all around the map, it’s fairly easy to notice them. Take a picture of it when it appears to unlock it. Make sure to “lock on” to it like any other fish, it can take a couple tries because they move fast. Take a picture immediately when you first see one, then you can pan and zoom the freeze-frame while the app asks if you want to save/share. Find the marlin and tap it to change focus, then take another picture and boom, you’ve got it! They’ll make many loops around the screen so don’t panic, but you do want to be fairly quick. If you miss them, they will come back.
Bonito (Hidden, Fusion) Unlock: Take a picture of Bonito. Yes, like the Marlin… I found it only a couple hours after getting the update and wasn’t paying much attention, it may be much more common May spawn without Sea Urchin? Probably just identical to the Marlin in that case More info on “swarming” fish and pictures of Bonito here This is a Fusion Fish, found in the Fusion tab, not with the other fish
Mauve Stinger Jellyfish Take a picture of a Moon Jellyfish 10 times Some people don’t seem to get this until they share the image. If it doesn’t seem to work and you’ve counted 10 shots try that
Leatherback Turtle Open the Mystery Chest 50 times This is the last time you’d never need to watch an ad to unlock a fish, so I’d strongly suggest never watching an ad again after unlocking it
Commerson Dolphin Save a picture of a dolphin 3 times The Narwhal counts as a dolphin for this task, and is available sooner The listed requirement of “save picture of the Coralite 3 times” is completely wrong and has been present for almost a full year Seasonal event dolphins do not count
Manta Ray Share a photo of “Stingray” 3 times There is no stingray, it means the Spotted Eagle Ray or any ray It says “to twitter” but it’s a lie, any sharing service works The Oarfish counts as a Stingray for this
Hammerhead Shark Save picture of shark 3 times Goblin Shark does not count
Dugong Own 78 types of Normal fish What a beautiful Dugong! (chew)
Octopus Requires Blue Table Coral Costs 3.265 AC to unlock.
Cuttlefish Requires Blue Table Coral Acquire 3 Octopi Only the actual “Octopus” fish will count for this
Vampire Squid Requires Blue Table Coral Tap upper right corner 1000 times For any following fish that requires coral in addition to a condition, you can complete the condition first and the fish will unlock immediately upon getting the Coral Did you know the Vampire Squid is not quite a squid nor an Octopus? It has it’s own Order, Vampyromorphida
Piglet Squid Requires Blue Table Coral Share a photo of Vampire Squid 5 times
Colossal Squid Requires Blue Table Coral Collect all Mollusca (Misleading) Acquire Octopus, Cuttlefish, Vampire Squid, and Piglet Squid That’s all the other Blue Table Coral fish (Trivia) It’s description should really read “Cephalopods,” a more narrow classification, but even then its written description is misleading
Leafy Seadragon Requires White Swing Anemone Costs 191.223 AV Vitality Coralite level 2500
Ribbon Seadragon Requires White Swing Anemone
Weedy Seadragon Requires White Swing Anemone Take a picture while using Delicious Food
Red Weedy Seadragon Requires White Swing Anemone Start Application Upon Notification Will not come without Whale Shark, so if you still don’t have Whale Shark when you have White Swing, it’s time to force the unlock with the method in the above link.
Giant Seadragon Requires White Swing Anemone Acquire all 4 other Sea Dragons
Sawfish Requires Orange Blade Coral Costs 11.196 BP Vitality Coralite level 3500
Shovelnose Guitarfish Requires Orange Blade Coral
Torpedo Ray Requires Orange Blade Coral Own 75 types of normal fish
Bowmouth Guitarfish Requires Orange Blade Coral Upgrade Volcanic Eruption, Delicious Food, and Song of the Moon to Level 11 Skills can go above this level as of the Expand update, but level 11 is still enough to unlock this The nautilus, Magic Conch and Mysterious Shell don’t count for this You won’t get quite enough gems to get this just from Achievements/attendance, so it’s recommended to spend all your gems to get these to level 11 as soon as possible Here’s the math on Free Gems vs Bowmouth, thanks /u/farmerlesbian!
Giant Guitarfish Requires Orange Blade Coral Own 200 total fish
Sea Pig Requires Pink Tree Coral Costs 158.645 CS vitality Coralite Level 5000
Hatchet Fish Requires Pink Tree Coral
Blob Fish Requires Pink Tree Coral Share picture of a Sea Pig 5 times
Megamouth Shark Requires Pink Tree Coral Acquire 15 Great White Sharks
Gulper Eel Requires Pink Tree Coral Own 250 fish
Basking Shark Requires Giant Green Kelp Cost:92.893 DL Vitality.
Beluga Whale Requires Giant Green Kelp Acquire 10 Irrawaddy Dolphins
Dwarf Whale Requires Giant Green Kelp Own 99 kinds of fish
Migaloo Requires Giant Green Kelp Share images of 100 different fish species. Here’s a checklist you can use to help you keep track Thanks Nina Hansen for compiling the Spreadsheet! Shares before getting the Giant Green Kelp still count; if you already have 100 unique shares before getting Kelp you’ll unlock it the next time you “share” an image of a fish. Easiest way to do this is to just make sure to “share” an image of each new fish as you unlock it. You’ll have over 100 fish by the time you unlock the Giant Green Kelp. A more painful way to do this if you’ve already been playing for a while is to store all fish then take out a single fish of each species at once, sharing then storing them. Remember to not actually share them. Click the share button, let it swap apps/bring up the Share menu, then back out. Don’t spam your friends with 100+ pictures. Event Fish don’t count
1000 Year Old Blue Whale Acquire all normal fish (114 total) Event fish & Fusion are excluded Premium fish count toward the unlock as well It’s thus possible to get the 10kYOBW without Giant Green Kelp as long as you have enough Premium Fish, but it’s likely most players will have to wait until getting Giant Green Kelp to get 114 different species anyway Only one 1000 Year Old Blue Whale can be obtained, apparently due to performance reasons
Normal Fish
Not all fish are hidden, but hey, just in case you want their requirements.These usually just require that you buy all prior fish in the chain and own their respective coral.
Percula Clownfish Fragile Staghorn Coral
Red Clownfish Fragile Staghorn Coral
Fire Goby Fresh Seaweed ‘Coral’ Own 5 Clownfish
Blue Banded Goby Fresh Seaweed ‘Coral’ Own 5 Clownfish
Helfrich’s Firefish Fresh Seaweed ‘Coral’ Own 5 Clownfish
Scissortail Goby Red Sea Fan Own 5 Clownfish
Yellow Watchman Goby Red Sea Fan Own 5 Clownfish
Blue Tang Mysterious Starfish Own 5 Goby
Achilles Tang Mysterious Starfish Own 5 Goby
Yellow Tang White Anemone Own 5 Goby
Powder Blue Tang White Anemone Own 5 Goby
Black and Gold Damsel Pearly Anemone Own 5 Tang
Blue Fin Damsel Pearly Anemone Own 5 Tang
Bluegreen Chromis Pearly Anemone Own 5 Tang
Black Bar Chromis Pearly Anemone Own 5 Tang
Emperor Angel Cactus Coral 3 Damsel/Chromis required
Bicolor Angel Cactus Coral 3 Damsel/Chromis required
Asfur Angel Cactus Coral 3 Damsel/Chromis required
Royal Dottyback Orange Cup Coral Own 5 Angelfish
Orchid Dottyback Orange Cup Coral Own 5 Angelfish
Diadem Dottyback Orange Cup Coral Own 5 Angelfish
Burgess Butterfly Blue Cabbage Coral Own 3 Dottyback
Racoon Butterfly Blue Cabbage Coral Own 3 Dottyback
Triangle Butterfly Blue Cabbage Coral Own 3 Dottyback
Lined Butterfly Blue Cabbage Coral Own 3 Dottyback
Blue Parrotfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 3 Butterfly fish
Red Parrotfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 3 Butterfly fish
Eastern Smooth Boxfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 2 Parrotfish
Yellow Boxfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 2 Parrotfish
Clown Trigger Green Spongodes Coral Own 2 Parrotfish
Longhorn Cowfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 2 Parrotfish
Orange Cowfish Green Spongodes Coral Own 2 Parrotfish
Orange Seahorse Glowing Sea Flower Own 3 Boxfish/Trigger/Cowfish
Black Seahorse Glowing Sea Flower Own 3 Boxfish/Trigger/Cowfish
Brazilian Seahorse Glowing Sea Flower Own 3 Boxfish/Trigger/Cowfish
Moon Jellyfish Sapphire Sea Fan Coral Own 3 Seahorses
Kemps Ridley Turtle Ruby Cabbage Coral 45 fish total Keep it away from Samus (har har)
Loggerhead Turtle Ruby Cabbage Coral 45 fish total
Green Sea Turtle Ruby Cabbage Coral 45 fish total
Hawksbill Turtle Ruby Cabbage Coral 45 fish total
Bottlenose Dolphin Star Horn Coral 50 total fish
Irrawaddy Dolphin Star Horn Coral 50 total fish
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Star Horn Coral 50 total fish
Pink Dolphin Star Horn Coral 50 total fish
Spotted Eagle Ray Star Horn Coral 55 total fish
Thresher Shark Star Horn Coral 60 total fish
Zebra Bullhead Shark Star Horn Coral 60 total fish
Great White Shark Star Horn Coral 65 total fish
Sun Fish Star Horn Coral 70 total fish
Killer Whale Star Horn Coral 75 total fish
Sperm Whale Star Horn Coral 80 total fish
Blue Whale Star Horn Coral Own 70 types of fish
Freshwater Tank Fish
Unlocking Freshwater
First, you must reach level 300 in the Saltwater Tank, then Free Him in the Stone tab. Then you unlock the Map icon, access it by closing the main menu.
What’s New in AbyssRium Freshwater
The Freshwater update is not an event but rather a whole new play mode. At level 1500 for Lonely Coralite (the Saltwater one) you’ll unlock the “little coralite”, the Freshwater coralite and get the option to “Switch Worlds” to the freshwater tank.
The Freshwater tank starts from 0 vitality but nothing is lost; switch back to the Saltwater tank to see everything in your “old” world. They’re separate, you’re not really starting from zero.
The Freshwater tank basically functions as a second game; there’s new skills, different coral, many, many new fish, and some new features in this update. Since it’s a separate mode I’ve put all the info in this mode into a separate page (the one you’re reading of course).
Freshwater world works a bit differently as well; each fish adds 1 to a total vitality bonus instead of simply doubling it, so buying fish is less profitable. However, Coral/Coralite multipliers increase by more than double and the vitality curve is extremely different in general. The game should be very fast compared to the normal game until around Y vitality.
It’s unknown if any bonuses from the main game, such as Craters, affect Freshwater mode.
The Puffin subscription does not prevent ads in Freshwater. Do not under any circumstances rent the puffin, it is terrible and should feel bad.
Maximum Vitality
Freshwater is unique in that, in it’s seemingly unfinished state, it has a hard cap on Coral and Coralite bonuses. In combination with Achievement vitality boosts being removed and Fish not giving a meaningful vitality multiplier, this means there is an effective cap on the most vitality (and thus fish) you can get.
There’s plenty of Vitality to make one (or even 2) of every fish in the game, but there is not enough to say, make 150 Guppies then finish the rest of the requirements.
The max levels are:
Coralite: 5500
Coral: 3000
Fish: Roughly 180
VitalitY: Roughly AW vitality
The safest thing to do is avoid making duplicate fish until the final hidden fish are unlocked. It should be safe to wait until you have 150 or so fish before stopping.
Freshwater Hidden Fish
All Hidden Fish (Freshwater)
Please note the update just came out and has a massive number of fish, so they’re not all known yet.
Freshwater Hidden Fish are slightly more complicated, requiring a couple different conditions simultaneously. As usual, no event fish or saltwater fish count towards Freshwater fish unlocks.
Snow Mosaic Guppy Own 3 guppies Share a photo of a guppy 3 times Note, as with the Saltwater fish, you never have to actually post the images to count as a share. Cancel the draft immediately and it will count too.
Neon Tetra Own 1 Bleeding Heart Tetra Take 3 photos of a Tetra
White Dragon King Crown Betta Own 1 Giant Betta Share a photo of a Betta 5 times
Amazon Dart Frog Own 1 African Bullfrog Cast Blooming Coral 100 times
Banded Horned Tree Frog Own 1 African Bullfrog Save a photo of a frog 5 times
Flowerhorn Cichlid Own 3 Cichlid Do nothing for an hour Leave the game on and open and your phone plugged in and don’t touch it for a bit over an hour, should unlock no problem
Eastern Newt Own 2 Salamanders Share a photo of a Salamander 5 times
Himalayan Newt Own 1 Eastern Newt Own level 5 Blooming Coral skill
Albino Platinum Discus Own 1 Blue Diamond Discus Own 3 Discus Take a photo of a Discus 5 times
Alligator Snapping Turtle Own 1 Snapping Turtle Collect Achievement rewards (trophy menu) 20 times
Bicolor Corydoras Own 3 corydoras Play 3 times at midnight (UTC) This doesn’t work for some people, some suspect a later update changed it to midnight local time zone, so try that if it doesn’t work Messing with the clock doesn’t work, you’ll just get it in a few days You also have to play for at least 5 minutes
Giant Piranha Own 1 San Francisco Piranha Cast Blessing of the Firefly 100 times
Blue Moon Crayfish Level 200 Thin Leaf Coral Collect Achievement rewards 35 times
Yabby Own Blue Moon Crayfish Take picture of Blue Moon Crayfish 5 Times Use Blooming Coral 300 Times That’s 75 hours of waiting for ads if you watched an ad every 15 minutes…
King Salmon Own 1 Sockeye Salmon Share 5 Pictures of a Salmon
Palm Cockatoo Own 3 Birds Take picture of Mute Swan 1 time Use Blessing of the Flower 300 times
Super Red Arowana Own 1 Silver Arowana Collect rewards for Achievements 50 times
Sri Lankan Arowana Own 1 Super Red Arowana Share a photo of Arowana 5 times
Danube Sturgeon Own 1 Syr Darya Sturgeon Play 5 times at Midnight (UTC) This doesn’t work for some people, some suspect a later update changed it to midnight local time zone, so try that if it doesn’t work Messing with the clock doesn’t work, you’ll just get it in a few days You also have to play for at least 5 minutes
Chinese Paddlefish Own 1 Danube Sturgeon Use Blessing of the Firefly 300 times
Mekong Giant Catfish Own 1 Shark Catfish Level 5 Blessing of the Flower skill Share a photo of catfish 5 times
Albino Alligator Blooming Corallite lv10 Own 1 Nile Crocodile Use Blooming Corallite 500 times Screw whoever thought that was fun, or even acceptable. That’s basically “watch 500 ads”
Alligator Gar Own 1 Longnose Gar Share a photo of a Gar 5 times
Hippo Own 1 Alligator Gar Level 10 Blessing of the Flower skill
Nessie Own 1 Pirarucu So basically, own all other fish Own 120 fish
Freshwater Normal Fish
The unlocks for all of these are listed ingame.
Goldfish
Black Goldfish
Comet Goldfish
Red Tuxedo Guppy
Neonblue Tuxedo Guppy
Sunset Micariff Guppy
Buenos Aires Tetra
Golden Tetra
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Red Doubletail Betta
Big Ear Halfmoon Betta
Giant Betta
Green Swordtail
Montezuma Swordtail
Marble Swordtail
Japanese Tree Frog
Boreal Digging Frog
Asiatic Toad
African Bullfrog
Banana Cichlid
Blue Zebra Cichlid
Window Cichlid
Freshwater Jellyfish
Axolotl
Korean Crevice Salamander
Blue Diamond Discus
Red Turquoise Discus
Golden Checkerboard Discus
Black-knobbed Map Turtle
Pig-nosed Turtle
Snapping Turtle
Gold Stripe Corydoras
Bronze Longfin Corydoras
Red-Bellied Piranha
Black Spotted Piranha
San Francisco Piranha
Chum Salmon
Masu Salmon
Sockeye Salmon
Cormorant
Pelican
Mute Swan
Silver Arowana
Black Arowana
Beluga Sturgeon
Syr Darya Sturgeon
Electric Catfish
Shark Catfish
Chinese Alligator
False Gharial
Nile Crocodile
Florida Gar
Longnose Gar
Rocket Gar
Pirarucu Fun fact, this is most commonly known as the Arapaima
Freshwater Premium Fish
As always, IAP fish are not required to unlock any other fish and should be considered entirely optional/unnecessary.
Also note the vitality/fish cost reductions disappear into the ether pretty quickly; due to the exponential nature of the game, they’re basically cosmetic only not a significant gameplay boost.
If the IAP fails (they often do) and charge without giving you the fish, immediately request a refund directly from Google Play/the App Store.
Red Panda $10 Only in the Freshwater tab 10% vitality bonus (listed as 110%) 30% lower vitality cost for new fish (possibly freshwater only?)
Baby Hippo $10 Only in the Saltwater tab 10% vitality bonus (listed as 110%) 30% lower vitality cost (possibly saltwater only?)
Freshwater Gameplay Features
The Y Vitality Wall
The game gets extremely slow at certain points, usually Y or X, and very notably it continues being slow at AB.
Unfortunately there is basically no actual gameplay in Freshwater. There is no way around the wall. There’s nothing you can do but watch the recharge skills ad, cast all 3 skills, upgrade the Coralite as much as you can, buy a fish if you can, and upgrade Coral if you like with whatever is left.
You’ll have to repeat that process several hundreds of times to get the insane 500 skill casts anyway so it seems basically intentional, as incredibly boring and unfun as it is. When in doubt, stop playing and wait for the next event which is how I play, or hope they tweak the gameplay later (early responses from the PR person indicate they won’t be likely to do that however).
Freshwater Corals
Even though freshwater coral doesn’t exactly exist IRL, there’s a new set of corals (most of which are real coral, just not stuff that lives in freshwater) for the Saltwater tank.
Just like the Saltwater tank, each coral unlocks at set Little Coralite levels, unlocks new fish, adds (Freshwater) vitality per second, and adds to your maximum displayed fish count. Unlike the Saltwater coral, for some reason these max out at a mere 3,000 levels, so do not upgrade coral after Y vitality unless you’re getting the 25 coral levels daily mission.
If you’re late game in the Saltwater tank, you may be tempted to largely ignore coral (intentionally or otherwise).
Pink Dwarf Seaweed
Green Mushroom Coral
Green Hook Seaweed
Round Trumpet Coral
White Cotton Seaweed
Smooth Shells
Yellow Pearlgrass
Light Green Tall Lotus
Yellow Umbrella Coral
Blue Leaf Coral
Turquoise Cloud Coral
Yellow Bell Coral
Thin Leaf Coral
Green Dinosaur Foot Lotus
Yellow Plume Coral
Orange Heart Coral
Green tall Seaweed
Freshwater Skills
The Little Coralite has separate (but extremely similar) skills to the Lonely Coralite.
Blooming Coralite Unlock: Little Coralite level 100 Effect: “10 time per second 2x production per tap 40 seconds auto production” (I don’t know what this means exactly but it’s basically Volcanic Eruption) +5 times per second, + 0.5 per tap per level Cost: 150 gems +50 gems per level The least good one to upgrade, get it and a couple levels, but it’s not the best
Blessing of the Flower Unlock: Little Coralite level 300 Effect: Produces 1000 times per-tap vitality instantly +1000 per level up to 5 +3000 per level from 6-10 20,000 max Cost: 150 gems +50 gems per level One of the better ones to upgrade, and level 5 is required for a hidden fish
Blessing of the Firefly Unlock: Little Coralite level 500 Effect: Doubles total Vitality earned for 3 minutes +0.5 times vitality per level 6x max? Cost: 200 gems +100 gems per level The best to upgrade along with Blessing of the Flower Always cast this skill first before Flower to get the maximum bonus
Freshwater Artifacts
Freshwater Artifacts work more like skills with a skill duration, but they cost pearls instead of gems. I don’t get how these work exactly yet since I’m without my phone.
Breath of Life Effect: Multiples total Vitality earned by 5x for 12 hours This is a one-off skill, not a permanent unlock Don’t buy this ever, it sucks Cost: 500 pearls Don’t. Singing Snail Unlock: Little Coralite level 500 Effect: Produces 100 auto-taps of Vitality per minute permanently +200 per level Cost: 100 pearls +100 pearls per level Expensive, but oddly the best upgrade of the set Lotus of Life Unlock: Little Coralite level 700 Effect: Decreases skill cooldown by 10% Note: the lotus is bugged and currently does literally nothing +2% per level Cost: 100 pearls +100 pearls per level Not worth it after the first level
Freshwater Achievements
The Freshwater World has it’s own set of achievements, so Coral/Coralite/Fish achievements will start from 0, since it’s basically it’s own game with some currency overlap with AbyssRium (Saltwater). There’s also a few new ones:
Keep Going Use Super Partner assistance Level 1: Use it 20 times, 15 Gems
Amphibians Lover! Own Amphibians Level 1 5 Amphibians, 15 Gems
Reptilia Lover! Own Reptiles Level 1 5 Reptiles, 15 Gems
Super Partners
You can attach IAP fish (“Super Partners”) to the Little Coralite to get bonuses. Up to 3 can be attached at a time.
Note the Platypus/Puffin do not work with this, and the Puffin also does not prevent ads in Freshwater.
Double vitality from tapping fish’ hearts Increase total vitality production 10% Reduces new fish price by 30%
In addition to these bonuses, you can tap the fish’s icon in the Coralite tab to get a burst of vitality every X seconds, each fish has a different amount but longer waits scale identically to larger amounts, so it doesn’t really matter which you pick, other than slower ones mean less tapping.
AbyssRium Fusion Fish
Fusion Fish are created in the new Fusion tab of the Fish menu.
Fusion fish are special fish created using a base fish and some “farm materials” such as Seaweed, Calms, etc. Making a Fusion fish generally adds to the base multiplier of all Vitality you earn, potentially multiplying Vitality several thousand times over!
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Fusion Fish can be created with the “Fish Plus” icon subtab at the top of the main Fish tab. This is an important feature of the game for maximizing Vitality and also used in some new Events but it’s not explained in the game’s tutorial at all, so I’ve included all you need to know here..
Important Fusion notes:
You’ll want to start gathering Farm Materials like Seaweed as soon as possible
Only one fish at most is “consumed” when fusing, it’s not really “fusion” Additionally, the next fish price and base vitality multiplier remain the same as well, so nothing is really lost, just transferred
Layering of multipliers is
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but helps more effectively load the glutes and hamstrings as well. Keep your anterior core strong. It’s virtually impossible to keep your ab strength on par with your lower back (especially as you get stronger), but you need to keep it as balanced as possible. The more imbalanced you get from front-to-back with regards to core strength and stability, the more likely you are to get injured.
It’s virtually impossible to keep your ab strength on par with your lower back (especially as you get stronger), but you need to keep it as balanced as possible. The more imbalanced you get from front-to-back with regards to core strength and stability, the more likely you are to get injured. Only deadlift with a round back on maximal attempts. Maintain neutral spine as long as possible while working up to your heavy sets, and realize that when it’s time to “perform,” your goal is to lean on the patterning you develop with the light weights.
Maintain neutral spine as long as possible while working up to your heavy sets, and realize that when it’s time to “perform,” your goal is to lean on the patterning you develop with the light weights. Avoid end-range lumbar flexion. Dr. McGill will tell you the end range of lumbar flexion (the last 2-3 degrees) are the most injurious. Avoid this at all costs, and if you get into a bad position, simply drop the weight. Better to be smart and avoid a major injury than show your buddies in the gym how you can really “grind it out.”
Mike, you’re just one of those “technique” guys – why should I listen to you?
I’m really not. I’ve competed on and off in the sport of powerlifting for 12 years now, and I’ve had my share of flat-out ugly deadlifts.
More importantly, I’ve worked with some of the strongest athletes in the wold via my relationship with Elite Fitness Systems. I realize that max effort deadlifts aren’t always going to be pretty, and the spine won’t always stay in this 100% neutral, biomechanically perfect position when the weights get to bar-bending levels.
I’m a realist here – trust me.
All I’m saying is that if you value your long-term health, and want to perform at a high level for a long period of time, follow the above suggestions.
You’ll not only be stronger, but you’ll stay healthier to boot.
Summary
Unless your goal is to become a national champion powerlifter or win the title of World’s Strongest Man, round back deadlifts probably aren’t a smart addition to your training regimen.
However, if you want to lift the heaviest weights possible, understand that keeping the spine completely neutral probably isn’t going to happen, either. Do your best to avoid end range lumbar flexion, and know when to bail on a lift when and if necessary.
Now get off the damn computer and go pick up something heavy!
Stay strong
MR
P.S. – If you enjoyed this post, please help me spread the word by e-mailing it to a friend, sharing it on Facebook, or throwing it some link juice on Twitter. I’m spending a ton of time on these and I hope you are enjoying them!
References
Panjabi, M. (1992). The Stabilizing System of the Spine. Part I. Function,
Dysfunction, Adaptation, and Enhancement. Journal of Spinal Disorders and Technique. Vol. 4(5); 383-389.Two bombs on a train travelling from India to Pakistan caused a fire in which at least 66 people were burned alive. Officials said the attack was an attempt to disrupt the peace process between the two countries.
The blasts, which occurred at midnight on Sunday outside the village of Sewah, 50 miles north of Delhi, saw flames leap into the sky and caused distraught passengers to jump from one of the two burning coaches.
Witnesses said the fire in the other coach was so intense that its occupants could not open the doors. Two victims died beside the tracks.
Kailash Sharma, a 32-year-old local resident, said he saw a fireball and heard screaming. He said he was among 30 villagers who rushed out with buckets of water. "We could not put the fire out... it was so hot and a shock for us. The fire engines took two hours to put out the flames."
Authorities said two suitcases packed with crude unexploded bombs and bottles of gasoline were found in train cars not affected in the attack, indicating the fire was sparked by an identical explosive device. "These were low-intensity devices whose purpose was to cause fire and burn people alive," said VN Mathur, general manager of the Northern railway.
Crash investigators were poring over the blasted coaches yesterday morning. The blue paint of the carriages had been peeled off by the heat and inside little was left apart from the charred skeletal remains of seats and luggage racks.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been improving since the two countries came close to war in 2002. Pakistan's foreign minister, Khurshid Ahmed Kasuri, will arrive in New Delhi today for talks on the peace process.
Analysts said it was likely the attack was orchestrated by militant Islamist groups, concerned that warmer ties between India and Pakistan may see the two cut a deal on the disputed territory of Kashmir without considering them.
Kuldeep Nayar, a veteran analyst with contacts in both establishments, said: "That is a factor especially in Pakistan. It says you cannot do [peace] without us. It is an indirect impact on the peace process."
Early yesterday the charred remains of the victims, most of whom were Pakistani, were being taken to hospital in Panipat. The survivors who were said to be in a critical condition were rushed to Delhi.
At Panipat hospital relatives of the dead milled around the three dozen coffins stacked beside the morgue. Inside a dazed Muhammad Fayaz, 29, wandered around the morgue clutching the platform ticket he used to see his mother, Shokeena Begum, off from Delhi.
"She was going to see my cousins in Pakistan. Now she will never come back," he said.
The service, called the Samjhauta, or Compromise, Express, was meant to reunite families divided by Indian-Pakistani animosity. When the train restarted in 2004 it symbolised closer links between the estranged countries.
Officials on both sides said the train service would resume, with beefed up security. Relatives had complained that lax checks in Delhi railway station were to blame.
Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Indian railway minister, touring the burned out carriages, called the bombing an "act of sabotage... to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan".
The Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf, said: "We will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."Lauren Reyes-Grange hasn't added a story.
I found Dawson in a park during Easter weekend. We brought him to the emergency vet to check for a microchip and the shelter to report him found. Instead of leaving him at the shelter, I decided to keep him while I searched for his owners. No one has claimed him or reported him lost. After a visit to the vet, we learned Dawson has an enlarged prostate, severe dental disease and a heart murmur. The vet thinks he's never been to a vet before. Safe to say, Dawson is not a runaway - he was abandoned. Despite his medical needs, Dawson is the sweetest and happiest little dog.. not to mention, loving, well mannered, adorable and house trained. Once he's had surgery and is in good health, finding him a new home will be much easier. Thank you so much for your help.If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But if you’re not self-motivated, this world will be a challenge because the walls, ceilings and floors that protected people are also disappearing. That is what I mean when I say “it is a 401(k) world.” Government will do less for you. Companies will do less for you. Unions can do less for you. There will be fewer limits, but also fewer guarantees. Your specific contribution will define your specific benefits much more. Just showing up will not cut it.
Image Thomas L. Friedman Credit Josh Haner/The New York Times
The policy implications? “Just as having a 401(k) defined contribution plan requires you to learn more about investing in your retirement, a 401(k) world requires you to learn much more about investing in yourself: how do I build my own competencies to be attractive to employers and flourish in this world,” said Byron Auguste, a director at McKinsey and one of the founders of Hope Street Group, which develops policies to help Americans navigate this changing economy. “As young people rise to that challenge, the value of mentors, social networks and role models will rise.”
Indeed, parenting, teaching or leadership that “inspires” individuals to act on their own will be the most valued of all.
When I say that “everyone has to pass the bar now,” I mean that, as the world got hyperconnected, all these things happened at once: Jobs started changing much faster, requiring more skill with each iteration. Schools could not keep up with the competencies needed for these jobs, so employers got frustrated because, in a hyperconnected world, they did not have the time or money to spend on extensive training. So more employers are demanding that students prove their competencies for a specific job by obtaining not only college degrees but by passing “certification” exams that measure specific skills — the way lawyers have to pass the bar. Last week, The Economist quoted one labor expert, Peter Cappelli of the Wharton business school, as saying that companies now regard filling a job as being “like buying a spare part: you expect it to fit.”
Finally, every major news Web site today has a “most e-mailed list” that tracks what’s popular. Journalists who tell you they don’t check to see if their stories make the list are lying. What makes those lists possible is the use of Big Data and the cloud, which can also measure almost any performance in any profession in real-time and tailor rewards accordingly. More schools can now instantly measure which teachers’ kids are on grade level in math every week, Jamba Juice can see which clerk sells the most between 8 and 10 a.m., and factories in China can find out which assembly lines have the fewest errors. On schoolloop.com, you can track your kid’s homework assignments and daily progress in every K-12 class. A most e-mailed list is coming to a job near you.
I find a lot of this scary. We’re entering a world that increasingly rewards individual aspiration and persistence and can measure precisely who is contributing and who is not. This is not going away, so we better think how we help every citizen benefit from it.Scott Griessel - Dreamstime.com
I’ve never been someone who had a burning desire to be a mom. I never liked babysitting. The one and only time I did it at age 13, I remember thinking “I don’t ever need to do that again.” And, I never did. I am the person who still, to this day, does not understand the overwhelming desire to hold babies. I have always been always the person awkwardly standing aside as everyone “oohs and aahs” over babies thinking to myself, “I hope they don’t give it to me.”
You may judge me for this. I spent years judging myself for it. I thought something was wrong with me. I am female for heaven’s sake. What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I want to have kids? Why don’t I want to hold that baby?
I spent my 20s and the early part of my 30s wondering when my biological clock would begin ticking. I thought I’d wake up and suddenly feel the “I have to have a kid” feeling. It never came. I wondered if I had a biological clock. I stopped waiting for it when I hit my late 30s and finally accepted the fact that I didn’t want to have children. But don’t kid yourself (no pun intended), this wasn’t an easy decision. We live in a kid-filled world. Everything revolves around children and their lives and when you’re not part of that world, you’re a bit of an outsider. You’re not part of the conversation and don’t quite fit in. This can make you wonder: Am I missing out on something? Am I going to wake up at age 50 and think, “Crap ― there’s my biological clock, about 20 years late,” or am I going to wake up at the end of my life and realize I’m all alone with no one to take care of me? But the bigger question is: Are these reasons to have a child? I think not and thankfully, I decided they weren’t.
If I chose to have a child based on the fear that I’d regret it one day or that I’d end up alone on my deathbed then I’d be making the decision from a place of fear, and, as I know too well (and as I’ve written about previously), this is not the way to live or make decisions. It would have been easy though; to choose to have a child for any of those reasons because that’s what many people do so that’s a “norm”. Very few question the choice to have a child. People question your choice to not have one. Interesting, isn’t it? In my experience, people assume I could not have children before they assume I did not want them.
The best choices in life are those that come from our heart and a true desire to create something in our lives; be it a new career, home, relationship, body, or child. When we choose with that heartfelt desire we choose what’s right for us. When we choose from fear of being the outsider, being alone, not fitting in, being rejected, or misunderstood by others, we choose what’s not right for us.
I’m grateful I did not allow those fears to drive my decision about having children. Like many of you, I grew up assuming I would have kids. That’s what you do, right? You go to college, get a job, get married, and have kids (maybe not in that order.) There weren’t a lot of people around me who didn’t have children. And, if they existed it was usually because they could not have them. They tried but it didn’t happen. I didn’t know anyone who was child-free by choice. And that’s another reason many people make the decision to have children. They think it’s what they’re “supposed to” do. So that’s what they do. Again, in my opinion, having a child because you think you “should” isn’t a great reason to do it. I don’t recommend doing anything that’s attached to a “should”.
Today I still don’t know very many child-free by choice people but I am proud to be one of them. I made the decision that was best for me and did not let societal norms, pressure, or fear drive me to make such an important choice. As I’ve observed from the millions of you who have children, it is no small feat and is not a decision to take lightly. I have mad respect for you but please don’t ask me if I want to hold your baby. I don’t.A recent article in Tablet Magazine challenges the religious message of Star Wars in interesting ways (HT The Lead and Religion Nerd).
On the one hand, the article makes some good points about the superficiality of some Star Wars spirituality, or the attempt to let “following one’s bliss” be a guide to life.
Yet on the other hand, the Star Wars movies themselves seem at times to offer a more profound vision than much of the popular religiosity and philosophy that appeals to them.
See also on this topic the article in the New York Times about the video on hating religion but loving Jesus which recently went viral. As that article concludes, “Effective rebellion isn’t just expressing your personal feelings. It means replacing one set of authorities and institutions with a better set of authorities and institutions. Authorities and institutions don’t repress the passions of the heart, the way some young people now suppose. They give them focus and a means to turn passion into change.”
Or as master Yoda might have put it, “Excitement, adventure, bliss, freedom from the constraints of institutions, communities, and discipline – a Jedi craves not these things.”A first-grade student at Reedville Elementary wasn't feeling well last Thursday and asked to go home, but she ended up leaving school with the wrong guardian.
The Hillsboro School District issued a statement Tuesday describing the incident as a case of misidentification. "The child was misidentified upon arrival in the office," said Beth Graser, Hillsboro School District spokeswoman.
Office staff called the wrong guardian, a grandfather, to pick up the girl. The grandfather arrived, showed his identification and signed out the student, taking her home.
Realizing his mistake, he returned the girl to the school within five minutes, Graser said.
"It's a very unfortunate incident but certainly not indicative of any widespread problem," said Graser.
The school district, which has 20,300 students, is reviewing its release protocols, but immediately put in place requirements that students identify themselves and ensure staff ask the child "do you know this person?" before sending them off, Graser said.
-- Wendy OwenA Policy A Day: Freshwater Pricing
Andrew Chen Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 20, 2017
In the lead-up to the election, we are examining a policy a day. We’re exploring a variety of policy areas, explaining the background and analysing some of the policy options, with a mixture of technocracy and values-based approaches. Inevitably, some opinion will make its way in and we make no apology for that — after all, we’re voters too. A list of all the articles is available here. Enjoy!
Today’s post is by Nicole Buxeda
New Zealand truly is the land of milk, honey… and water. Water is significant in our childhood memories of the beach and river adventures, in our tourism promotions, and in our cultural makeup [1]. Fuelled by vocal public sentiment [2], political parties are seizing upon water pricing and bottled water export as flagship environmental policy issues. Three main questions arise in regards to freshwater policies — freshwater ownership, freshwater pricing and freshwater exportation.
Who owns Freshwater?
In common law, freshwater can’t be owned, but this can be altered by an Act of Parliament [3]. The Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 vested the sole right to dam, divert, take or use natural water in the Crown, and the Resource Management Act 1991 (“RMA”) preserved this right [4]. Resource consents are required when proposing to take, use, dam or divert fresh water [5], and the RMA specifies that resource consents are neither real nor personal property [6].
Traditional Māori views of water revolve around the concept of kaitiakitanga and guardianship, rather than ownership. A 2005 report from the Ministry for the Environment (Wai Ora: Report of the Sustainable Water Programme of Action Consultation Hui) states Māori consider ‘they have both customary and Treaty interests in freshwater, that freshwater should be considered a taonga in terms of the Treaty, and that … Treaty, ownership and relationship issues must be addressed before any major changes to water management can be considered’.
The National Party has always held firmly that no one owns the water. By sticking to this view National have avoided Treaty processes arising regarding freshwater. The Labour Party’s stance is that everyone owns the water. This will raise questions of rights under the Treaty, which Labour welcomes. The New Zealand Green Party thinks that ‘water is a public good’ and should be in public ownership of water. New Zealand First firmly believes that ‘as a country we own the water, in the same way as we own in common the air and the environment which we’re in’. The Māori Party are circumspect about their position, likely based on their current coalition position, however, it is safe to say they will be in agreement with the 2005 Wai Ora position that Māori have customary and Treaty rights in freshwater. The Opportunities Party has said that they will give Māori rights to freshwater, and consider resolving issues with regards to the Treaty as a precondition to establishing a commercial model for water.
Bottling and exporting Freshwater
Currently, a company must apply for a resource consent to extract freshwater, but no resource consent is necessary to bottle from a reticulated supply. National is waiting for a report from the Ministry of the Environment’s water allocation technical advisory group. This report won’t be produced before the election in September. However, National has come out strongly and said that they won’t impose a moratorium on the exportation of water. Labour would support exportation with a royalty imposed. The Greens would ban all new water bottling consents until regulation is in place to ensure priority is given to supplying clean drinking water for all New Zealanders. Following implementation of regulations, the Green Party would allow export of water for commercial purposes and would impose levies on this use and exportation. NZ First and the Māori Party supported the moratorium on bottled water exports. TOP’s position on bottling, outside charging for commercial bottling, is uncertain.
Charging for Freshwater
Currently, there are no charges for taking and using freshwater for domestic or commercial use, for exportation, or for agriculture. Water rates and water metering fees are charges on use of the water infrastructure, not charges for the freshwater itself. National is open to charging as long as it is a ‘fair system’ and is waiting on a report from the governmental technical advisory group looking into water allocation and pricing before formulating anything more concrete. The Labour Party would impose a royalty on commercial consumption of water. They have not indicated the rate of the royalty, but have committed to setting this through consultation. Revenue from royalties is planned to be shared between councils and iwi. The Green Party would put an immediate 10 cents per litre levy on still or sparkling bottled water, with revenue going to mana whenua and the wider community through local councils. The Green Party have also proposed a broad levy on all commercial uses of water. NZ First would put a royalty on drinking water exports. The Māori Party has more of a focus on ensuring clean and healthy waterways, and their position on charging for water use is uncertain. TOP supports charging market price for commercial use of water and auctioning of future resource consents. They plan to use these funds to establish regional Nature Improvement Funds which will allow investment by Councils in environmentally beneficial projects.
Criticisms of water pricing policies
Water pricing is definitely proving to be one of the hot topics in this election. National is (deliberately or not) pushing debate on this out by delaying on announcing a more detailed policy until they hear back from the working group appointed to discuss this issue. Not letting this stop them criticising other parties’ policies, National has hit back hard against Labour’s policies and to a lesser extent the Green’s policies. National has said that the policy of imposing a levy on all commercial users is too broad and uncertain, the price that would be levied is uncertain, and queries whether this levy would include hydroelectricity usage. The agricultural sector worries about the impact of such a levy on farmers and their communities, and the price of any outputs which are subject to such a levy resting ultimately upon the consumer. They are concerned that water charges would make goods (including food) not only more expensive domestically but also lower international competitiveness of New Zealand products.
National continues to cite statistics about the amount of water being extracted for international bottling purposes being so low as to constitute a drop in the bucket, however this is not the point — the public sentiment is not about the quantity or the statistics, it is the sense that something precious in New Zealand is being exploited for commercial gain without any benefits going back to New Zealand communities or back into the water bodies being extracted from. There are lessons to be learnt from global trends tending toward more nationalistic thinking. We need to rethink our position on those making a commercial profit from freshwater resources.
This issue has been influenced by the debate about the quality of water and the swimmability of rivers, and the policies which link these two issues together and allocate funds from exporting water to directly clean up rivers will likely strike a chord with New Zealanders — at least those New Zealanders who are not involved in agriculture.
Your vote here?
Your approach to freshwater policies should essentially boil down to the weight you give various factors. One side says that New Zealand attracting foreign investment in regards to our natural resources, and avoidance of further claims in the Waitangi Tribunal, is important. That side probably agrees with people involved in agriculture in any capacity. However, it’s important to consider the parallels between the Foreshore and Seabed debate and the Freshwater debate.
The other side wants to see levies acting as environmental and economic tools to attempt to re-incentivise and re-distribute profits arising from natural resource exploitation, a focus on regional infrastructure and water quality improvement, and an acknowledgement of the Māori role in this future. Resolution of Treaty issues involves an uncertain level of commitment, time, financial investment and social and political capital, although at some stage we will need to resolve these issues and pushing the boat out on this will not make the process disappear.
There is a third side, one that focuses on the claim that New Zealanders deserve to benefit from others commercially using our natural resources, regardless of Treaty issues or sustainability/conservation. We’ll leave you to decide which set of factors are most important to you.
Nicole Buxeda studied law and politics at Canterbury University and, while desperately seeking to avoid full-time employment, gained a Masters in International Law from the University of Auckland. Nicole is currently employed at a specialist Environmental and Public law firm in Auckland [the views expressed in this article are her own]. Outside of work, Nicole’s engagement in policy is mostly focused on inviting people to her house, feeding them baking, and subsequently shouting her views at them. A highlight of the past month was being told to ‘wake up sheeple’ — a parting cry one of the aforementioned trapped friends.
[1] For the Māori view of water see for example the Whanganui River — Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 s13 ‘Te Awa Tupua is a spiritual and physical entity that supports and sustains both the life and natural resources within the Whanganui River and the health and well-being of the iwi, hapū, and other communities of the River… Te Awa Tupua is an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea, incorporating the Whanganui River and all of its physical and metaphysical elements… The iwi and hapū of the Whanganui River have an inalienable connection with, and responsibility to, Te Awa Tupua and its health and well-being.’
[2] A 15,000 strong petition for the government to place a moratorium on freshwater exports was presented to parliament in March 2017.
[3] Sir William Blackstone Commentaries on the Laws of England — A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765–1769 (University of Chicago Press, 1979) “Because water is a moveable, wandering thing, and must remain common by the law of nature.”
[4] Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 s21 Rights in respect of natural water; Resource Management Act 1991 s14, s386
[5] Resource Management Act 1991 s14
[6] Resource Management Act 1991 s122(1)Right out of the gates with OOTP 16 users are greeted with a landing page which teases a cool new feature in this year’s game: official logos. This year’s iteration features all 30 MLB logos, over 150 minor league logos as well as historical MLB logos, as promised from the pre-launch press release.
The powered by Baseball Prospectus logo is neat to see as well, not only as someone who interned with the company, but has a lot of respect for what they do. One thing that BP can lend to a baseball game — and it’s something I wish we saw more on console versions — is a deeper understanding of the intricacies that go along with the game. This is a good thing.
Start up Screen
The upfront menu is almost daunting, but in a good way. In this review we’ll provide a good sampling of what each feature has to offer you as a jumpoff point, and from there the rest of your experience is limited by your own creativity. Simply put, that’s where we’re at with this franchise.
The standard game again promises many options, with 11 different leagues — such as the KBO, Cuban leagues and Mexican leagues — to choose from. We’ll load an MLB game for ease of communication, but it would be fair to say the Cuban Baseball League option has piqued the interest of yours truly.
Again, the neat facts and quotes have made a return to the load screens. The first one we see is “The first tarpaulin was used on baseball fields in 1884.” Neat. Not only am I playing a baseball game, but I have my very own John Thorn here with me. That’s pretty cool.
The load screens are a bit slow and arduous, but that isn’t unexpected for the amount of data and options that are about to rush at you as though you’re opening a college dorm door with a garbage can full of water propped against it. You’re about to get soaked — in a good way. As is customary, I’ve selected the Minnesota Twins as my club purely out of familiarity. That way, I can relay to readers the accuracy of the information in the game, whether it’s roster sets, player values or anything, really. I think it works.
General Manager’s Office
Every year I’m in awe of the opening menu and all the information it not only delivers, but all the different buttons and options is presents. The buttons on the right range from in-game email, to lineup changes, to in-game settings that can alter park factors, injury frequency, and a veritable bevy of other things. Have a look:
Game Settings
All of these options are simply from pushing the button represented by the gear under MLB — the second listing — and yet there are options to customize pretty much everything you can imagine. Want to reset all injuries? Boom. Fill teams with fictional players? You got it. Edit and modify ballparks? Absolutely. Run an expansion draft? OK, you get it. Again, the only limits here are your own personal creativity, and to what end you’re willing to sacrifice personal relationships to devote to this game. Keep in mind, 14 more menus to click on.
For ease of reviewing we’re just going to change a few settings that make things easier to convey to you as the reader. In the online leagues I’ve played, we use the 1 to 100 scale for player ratings. I’ve adapted that for this review. Now, we’re ready to play a game.
Options & Preview
As far as opening-day lineups and 25-man rosters go, this isn’t too bad. Having Shane Robinson with the Twins and Kennys Vargas in the minors probably won’t happen, but it isn’t egregious. Let’s play ball.
The gameplay screen isn’t entirely different from previous versions, though the official logos are awfully nice. The out of town scoreboard is a cool feature, and it shows rolling scores that flip about every five seconds. There are also three different options for a broadcast view, a 3D view and a webcast view, and each have their own merits.
Example Game View
The pitch sequence tool on the right is a nice feature which operates similar to ESPN Gamecast in terms of pitch location and color coding for outcomes, such as green for balls, red for strikes and blue for balls in play resulting in outs. Small things like that just add to the immersive experience for baseball geeks such as myself.
The first trade proposal rolls into the email inbox in mid April. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak proposes the following trade: 30 year-old centerfielder Jon Jay for 31-year-old catcher Kurt Suzuki and 19-year-old shortstop Nick Gordon.
Blech. Gordon’s listed as a phenomenal, five-star prospect and easily the most valuable piece in the deal. Jay is a nice piece — a 2.5-star player in his own right — but isn’t worth that much more than Suzuki. The positive gleaned from this trade proposal experience is that each of these players seems to be fairly valued in terms of ratings, which is always a big battle for simulation games, and where the first bit of disconnect can come into play. Bad ratings can undermine the entire game’s viability, and OOTP is on good ground here.
A neat feature during in-season play is that when the draft pool becomes available, there are some familiar draft-eligible names, such as Brady Aiken, Michael Matuella, Dillon Tate and countless others.
That’s about pretty much all there is to cover in terms of regular gameplay in this area. Now, let’s branch out and have a look at what else the game has to offer.
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For years we’ve extensively covered just the main portion of the game, but this time we’d like to give some love to some of the secondary aspects of it. Here are some highlights of other game modes.
The other options include “import OOTP 15 game” — pretty self explanatory — as well as new custom game, new historical game and new quickstart game.
Quickstart gives you the option of “All Time Greatest,” “Majors,” “MLB 1994” and “US Baseball League” for different options. For this case we’ll use MLB 1994 as a nice change of pace. This allows users to play out the remainder of the strike-shortened season, with completely history up to that point updated. As a brief primer, US Baseball League is a fictional league with 24 teams and five levels of the minors, designed to be played for 10 seasons as a primer to more immersive gameplay. Majors is a stripped down version of the regular standard game, and All Time Greatest allows you to play with the greats across multiple eras and includes Negro Leagues greats as well as Nippon (Japanese) and other greats, too.
Manager Setup
As someone whose formative years came around the 1994 strike, this setup seems like a slam dunk hook for someone like me. I love to see the Expos, Brewers, (California) Angels and Astros logos that were all prevalent in the game I grew up watching. That’s pretty cool.
The opening page is complete with the news of Ryne Sandberg’s retirement — his first retirement when he felt he wasn’t justifying his contract — and with the completion of the season we have the first playoffs under the six-division setup. Most of you may remember this was the first year the Wild Card was enacted, but not used due to the cancellation of the remainder of the season.
Spoiler alert – here’s how the regular season shook out in the eyes of OOTP. As you can see, it came down to a game 163 to determine which AL Central team won the division (White Sox) or the Wild Card (Indians):
1994 Season Replay
Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) would be happy to find out that the Expos won the World Series — a sentiment held by a number of people who studied the MLB that year. These Expos dumped the Oakland A’s in a thrilling seven-game set, and the ease of this setup. It makes for a good setup if someone doesn’t want the completely immersive experience of the full league, and the other nice thing is that you can continue on into 1995 as a historical league.
The other league that we’ll examine is the historical league.
Historic League Setup
Here you can see all eight options for taking over a historical league. For fun, I’m going to go with the Early Years (1871-1900) — an era I know a little bit about but not a ton. For your league, you’re allowed to have whichever minor league affiliates you deem fit, or none, which results in a reserve roster but no affiliates. For simplicity, I’m going to do just that. The teams you can choose from are the Baltimore Canaries, Cleveland Forest Citys, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Brooklyn Atlantics, Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings and the Cincinnati Reds. These were all teams that existed in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, which existed from 1871 to 1875. I took over Philadelphia, and selected third in the player dispersal draft — as seen below.
Draft Screen
The names available are some of the greatest names in baseball history, like Cap Anson and Al Spalding. Interestingly, and coinciding with the era, pitchers have minimal stuff (like 10 or 11 out of 100) with phenomenal movement and control (90-100). Considering that pitchers like Cherokee Fisher — the first overall pick — could lead the league with fewer than two strikeouts per nine innings, this seems very era specific and well done. The same thing goes for power, as this was in a deadball era and some of the great hitters had power ratings of 20 out of 100. Truly amazing. Also, as you would expect, finances are era-specific, with a team budget for player payroll set for $2,188.
Ultimately, this is a fun way to compare the game across eras, and see just how much the game has evolved. If you want to do something a little different, I would strongly suggest this.Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte[6]) is a laccolithic butte composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Mountains (part of the Black Hills) near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet (265 m) from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet (1,559 m) above sea level.
Devils Tower was the first United States National Monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt.[7] The monument's boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres (545 ha).
In recent years, about 1% of the monument's 400,000 annual visitors climbed Devils Tower, mostly using traditional climbing techniques.[8]
Origin of Name [ edit ]
Devils Tower, 1900
The name Devil's Tower originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, when his interpreter reportedly misinterpreted a native name to mean "Bad God's Tower".[9] All information signs in that area use the name "Devils Tower", following a geographic naming standard whereby
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for Go90; Endemol Beyond USA also said yesterday that it would launch three series on Go90, two of which would come from YouTube stars, Cassey Ho and Sonya Esman. Finally, production company New Form Digital said today that it would create six comedies and dramas for Verizon's network.
New Form Digital will be making short-form series, and it's likely that that's what the other producers will be focused on, too. Verizon's upcoming streaming service, Go90, is focused on mobile, and that essentially means it's targeting teens who seem to like shorter bursts of video. That said, Verizon also has more traditional content creators on board, having made deals with DreamWorks, AMC, and Fox, as well as with ESPN, CBS Sports, and the NFL for sports content — though, presumably, they won't be providing exclusive video. Variety says that Go90 should launch this month.The recent storm in Philippines was not a result of global warming, but about poverty.
Man in Tacloban, Philippines, tries to rebuild his shanty near the shoreline. (Photo: Dondi Tawatao, Getty Images) Story Highlights Connecting typhoons and global warming is possibly the worst way to help.
Actually, the trend for strong hurricanes around the Philippines has declined since 1950.
Cutting CO2 is one of the least effective ways to help. Fighting poverty is the answer.
The recent Typhoon Haiyan was terrible. Hitting the Philippines, it killed thousands, because of poverty: flimsy houses that were swept away, inadequate shelters and poor planning.
It is a pattern we know only too well. When a hurricane hits rich Florida, it makes significant damage, but kills few people. When a similar hurricane hits poor Nicaragua, it destroys the economy and kills tens of thousands.
Yet, many of the world's top opinion leaders have not talked about poverty but rather linked Haiyan to global warming, focusing on cutting CO2. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a climate "wake-up call." World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and British Prime Minister David Cameron both speculated Haiyan was caused by climate change and emphasized the need to cut emissions.
At the ongoing Warsaw climate summit, the Philippine negotiator Naderev Saño stated "climate change will mean more intense tropical storms," and that a climate treaty could fix this. To a thunderous, standing ovation he exclaimed: "We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now, right here."
Yet, this connection is wrong and the focus on climate is possibly the worst way to help.
Global warming is real, and there are many good arguments for cutting CO2 effectively. But hurricanes are not one of them.
There is no indication of an increasing number of hurricanes around the Philippines or even globally. The longest comparable, global scientific study "does not support the presence of significant long-period global or individual basin linear trends for minor, major or total hurricanes." Actually, the trend for strong hurricanes around the Philippines has declined since 1950.
Even when measured by total energy of hurricanes, the so-called Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), the Philippines' area is below the norm, even after Haiyan. The Atlantic has had no major hurricanes and the global total ACE is at its lowest since the 1970s. You cannot take Haiyan and claim it is caused by global warming, without -- incorrectly -- claiming that the lack of global hurricanes is also caused by climate change.
Moreover, cutting CO 2 is one of the least effective ways to help. Even if we accept that climate change in the long run will make hurricanes slightly stronger but slightly fewer, cuts would matter little. The European Union's climate policy will cost $20 trillion over the century and yet, it will immeasurably reduce temperatures by 0.1oF.
If we want to help, it is all about poverty. In the short run, it is obviously about securing all the help necessary for the suffering in the Philippines. In the medium term it is about ensuring better shelters, warning systems, evacuation plans and emergency relief. And in the long run, it is about making sure Filipinos emerge from poverty, so they can move from being vulnerable like Nicaraguans to being well-protected like Floridians.
Spending trillions of dollars to do nothing towards these very simple goals is a poor way to help. And using a human tragedy as a vehicle for promoting CO2 cuts is just immoral.
Bjørn Lomborg, an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, directs the Copenhagen Consensus Center. His new book is How Much Have Global Problems Cost the World? A Scorecard from 1900 to 2050.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the opinion front page or follow us on twitter @USATopinion or Facebook.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/I5qLOTSen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., warned against the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media, writing in a Crain's editorial Monday the proposed deal "threatens to do permanent damage to the American tradition of local broadcasting and will take a wrecking ball to the pillars of objectivism and diversity in local broadcasting."
The proposed merger would put the conservative-leaning Sinclair in more than 70 percent of American homes, but Durbin said his concerns are not with ideology, but diversity of viewpoints, as FCC rules currently encourage.
Those rules limit the total number of broadcast outlets a single company can own nationwide as well as the number of stations one company can own in a single market.
Softening those rules, as Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, has done, would erode the public's trust in local broadcasters and "fundamentally change the nature of broadcasting in America," Durbin said.
"What was Pai's motivation for putting this loophole back in place?" Durbin asked. "I'll just note one coincidence: The loophole was reinstated in April and Sinclair announced its acquisition of Tribune in May."
Tribune-owned WGN in Chicago would be among the stations falling under the Sinclair umbrella should the merger take place, putting Sinclair's conservative editorials and programming into more than 80 million homes nationwide that receive the superstation via cable and satellite.
"This is not the broadcast media Americans deserve," Durbin said. "It is my hope the FCC will not take any further actions to relax its media ownership limits without an honest public review of the state of the broadcast marketplace today."
Sinclair has said it is willing to sell off some of the stations to meet the FCC's limits.Tom Cruise Net Worth, salary and career earnings: Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who has a net worth of $570 million. Over the last three decades, Tom Cruise has starred in dozens of major blockbuster movies and is generally considered one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Tom Cruise spent his early years moving around the country, with a brief stint in Canada. His first taste of acting came in high school when, after a knee injury forced him off the wrestling team, Cruise won the lead role in Guys and Dolls. After high school, Cruise moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. After a handful of minor and supporting roles, Cruise had his big break with Risky Business, and secured Cruise as an up and coming star and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.
His next big hits were the 1986 film Top Gun, which grossed $356 million worldwide and 1989's Rain Man, which won four Academy Awards. Cruise's first Oscar nomination came a year later with Born on the Fourth of July, followed by a Golden Globe nomination for A Few Good Men. Cruise simultaneously starred in and produced the blockbuster hit Mission: Impossible, which grossed worldwide at $457 million and produced two more successful sequels. Other films produced by Cruise include The Last Samurai, The Others, and Shattered Glass. Cruise's second and third Academy Award nominations came with the critically and commercially successful films Jerry Maguire and Magnolia, for which he did earn a Golden Globe Award. To date, over twenty of Cruise's films have grossed well over $100 million worldwide. Tom has been married several times, to actresses Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and most recently Katie Holmes.Arthur was born and raised in New York City, a 1st generation Chinese-American boy with a love for the arts. His interest in art began almost immediately as he won local competitions starting in elementary school, and as he entered high school his interest in the occult began to pique. It wasn’t until his senior year of high school that he began to see art as more than a hobby. At the urging of his teacher, he applied to art school and, while gaining acceptance to all his choices, decided to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology, where there was a thorough mix of both the arts and sciences. He graduated with a BFA in Illustration, though also grew fond of psychological and anthropological studies during his time at college. After teaching art in Brooklyn for a year, Arthur decided to investigate the more research and user-oriented aspects of art through the lens of product design. Two years later, he graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Master’s in Industrial Design, and has since been working full-time in the field.
One year ago, he started to paint True Black. True Black is a 78-card tarot deck, complete with magnetic closure box and accompanying booklet. The box, booklet, and every card’s front and back are adorned with black-on-black gloss/foil stamped designs. Core to the concept of True Black is exceptional and unparalleled quality, both in its imagery as well as its construction and manufacture, setting a new standard in build quality and execution. Where the artwork speaks of timelessness, the deck will stand up to the rigors of everyday use.
What inspired you to create this tarot deck?
I was searching for my first tarot deck online and I actually saw one that I thought looked very good, but only from a distance. After inspecting it closer, it seemed to me that the style of the artwork was very modern and trendy, but from my design background I understood that trendy things have a habit of peaking in the “now”, but wind up looking outdated soon afterwards. I kept searching around and kept finding that most modern decks seemed to have this quality of trendiness, whereas older decks most definitively showed their age through the archetypal medieval or Baroque, almost exclusively western, visual styles. It was really at this point that I challenged myself to make a deck that would be difficult to place in any specific geography or time-period, something that could feel simultaneously new but also hint at the familiar. That’s really where the start of True Black came from. I wanted to make a deck that felt timeless, and I wanted its construction and build quality to reflect this exceptionally tall order.
What was your initial thematic vision when creating the deck, has that vision changed at all during the creation of this deck?
I started to think of this deck as an artifact of our human psyche, and I choose the word “artifact” to be a physical object that an unknown civilization has left behind. I wanted to see the tarot through the eyes of something removed from ourselves, something that studies and watches us but is not among us. It’s through this lens that I portrayed the objects and figures to be floating in a field of nothingness, spotlit from above in what could be a museum or stage. This tarot is the study of us, our dreams and fears on display in a museum of us. If this hypothetical civilization is far-enough removed from us, what would the collective clothing of humanity look like to them? Would they be able to make out specific faces and identities, or would we all be vague figures? One thing that I realized we all had in common was the stars. Every human civilization from every continent has seen eternity in the stars, and awed at them the same way a child does today. I knew that this would be a theme I wanted to carry on throughout the deck; the omnipresent hopes and fears that all of human civilization shares, projected and embodied by our collective love and fear for the stars and the unknown.
What are your favorite tarot decks? Do you feel they’ve inspired True Black in any way?
The Visconti-Sforza decks are among my favorite. They are gorgeously and richly illustrated, which makes sense given their intended audience, but despite how elaborate the linework was or how sprawling the background patterns were, there was a simplicity and straightforwardness to those cards that I greatly admire. The images had “a lot going on”, but you never got lost in them. I don’t think I realized it until you asked this question, but I think I subconsciously tried to emulate that straightforwardness!
Which card is your favorite in the deck?
Oh boy! That’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is! It is cruel and unusual, but I’ll answer it anyway. Visually, of course, I love many, many cards in this deck. I’m a perfectionist so I don’t really send something out into the world until I believe it’s amazing. However, to help narrow things down, if we couple the visual with the meaning, my favorite is the Queen of Swords. Chief among the meanings of this card is honesty and fairness. I’ve painted her with a sword at each side, one levitating between her fingers while another pierces through her hand. This is somebody who faces the unpleasant truth, refuses to cheat and trick her way out of a situation, and accepts the consequences of her actions. I think of the tarot as a compendium of fears, hopes, and guidance to navigate the two, and I think the Queen of Swords carries a message that very many of us need to be reminded of. Too often we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt while we cut into others as quickly as we see the slightest of flaws. It is unfair and it is cold, and the Queen of Swords reminds us that we must be subject to our own standards.
There are a lot of things that make this card stock exceptional! With a deck that speaks to timelessness, I wanted to make sure that its construction was also the best I could possibly make. Firstly, the stock is 18pt thickness, which is about 50% thicker than your standard store-bought RWS deck. They feel very solid, and more like a slab than a card. I want every single card to feel like something you can hold close to you and treasure, a singular artifact. Most noticeable is the coating on this card, which makes it, might I say, absurdly matte. It reflects nearly no light, so the blacks on the card are an exceptionally deep black. I hated how many cards have a glossy treatment that bounces glare off so you can only look at the card at certain angles, so I made sure these cards didn’t have that problem. The artwork looks the way it’s intended to look 100% of the time, and with the card titles and selective spots glossy, the only thing that reflected light does is accentuate the content. The same coating also makes the card very tough, scratch-resistant, and incredibly water-resistant. Again, I wanted maximum quality so we’re pulling out all the stops!
The figures on the cards are beautiful. There’s a sort of androgyny and ambiguity in regards to the gender of a lot of them. Are these modeled after real people?
Yes! Every figure is a friend of mine. Well, some may have started out as a friend-of-a-friend, but through the process of making this deck we’ve all gotten a lot closer. The androgyny you’re noticing is surprising, as I never suspected it to be so noticeable, but also appropriate. The vast majority of the models for these paintings are queer or members of alternative subcultures, so it makes sense that some figures appear sexually ambiguous. I didn’t want to make their sexual orientation a selling point so I never advertised it anywhere, but I did want to buck the historical trend of tarot having very set parameters of what masculine or feminine energy looks like. A good example is that two of the four Knights are portrayed by females, both of whom I personally know to have fiery and, in one case, stubborn passions.
One of the things that I think is so striking about this deck is how minimalist it is while still retaining the very heart of traditional symbolism of the tarot, even if it’s expressed a bit differently. A lot of minimalist decks tend to be too simple, while other decks are overly cluttered. Why did you choose to go with a minimalist approach?
It’s probably my design background! When we strip the field of anything unnecessary, what’s necessary is so much easier to grasp and understand. I started painting figures and objects on a black background a long time ago, and I think for this very reason. Our eyes are drawn to what is there, and all of this deep black recedes into the background, creating the perfect stage for the symbols that we hold dear to shine and take the spotlight.
What are your plans for the deck from here?
Well, I want to keep the Kickstarter going as strong as I can! I’ve introduced a number of stretch goals that, if funding meets, will add an additional card to the deck; being a brand new card named “Anant”, Hindi for “endless”. With this card I want to embody the simultaneous feeling that within the grand scope of the universe we are so very very small, while at the same time our very small experiences and lives are the biggest things we will ever have. The Indians were one of the first civilizations to study cosmology, and regarded the universe as infinitely complex and simultaneously within our own selves. If the Kickstarter meets these additional funding goals, I’ll also be donating funds to aid in the recovery of the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean as well as to organizations that help establish LGBT equality. I want this deck to keep on giving!
Any other projects that you’re working on or on the horizon?
I have some ideas in the fairly-distant horizon, though I consciously try to avoid thinking about them too much so I can stay centered and focused on True Black! With that said, I had thought of creating a sister deck to this one, with a very light-gray and nature/exploration-based feel to it, with a fair deal of landscape and environment involved. It would “feel” a lot softer and open, but first thing’s first!Gorillas in the mountain mist, tortoises clambering over Galapagos rocks, zebras galloping on the Serengeti plains - those are the subjects of nature documentaries.
But pigs on a small farm in upstate New York, on their short path to become pork chops and bacon? How much drama and charm can there be?
Emmy award winning filmmaker, Allison Argo, of Brewster, has made films about elephants, tropical frogs and parrots, sage grouse and even the Incas but her latest, "The Last Pig," is making its U.S. debut this week at the Provincetown Film Festival. This one hits closer to home, in our kitchens.
It details a year in the life of pig farmer Bob Comis, as he decides he can no longer shepherd his charges to the slaughterhouse.
"They follow me. They are curious, interested, irresistibly gregarious," Comis says in a scene from the film. "What they don't know is this communion is a lie. I am not their herd-mate. I am a pig farmer."
Pigs raised for food have a short life. In about five months they'll reach 200 to 250 pounds - optimal size. They can live many years longer and continue gaining weight but they're adding fat, and the quality of the meat goes down. There's no point in keeping them around.
"I’ve long wanted to make a film about the plight of farmed animals, but I’ve never found a story that felt right," Argo explained via email from Italy. "I’m drawn to stories that are very intimate and personal. Three years ago, a friend sent a link to a blog written by a pig farmer who was having a crisis of conscience. I found his dilemma and emotional rawness very moving. I contacted him and, to make a long story very short, he agreed to let me document his life on the farm."
She commented by email while in Italy screening the film at the Cinemambiente Film Festival and the movie won a special award in the documentary category.
"Pigs, I quickly learned, are extremely intelligent and sensitive and tremendously social," Argo reflected. "But on Bob’s farm he had 250 pigs living in large herds. He didn’t give the pigs names, but we got to know the various pigs in the herds over the course of the nine months we were shooting, and they seemed to be happy to see us when we’d arrive for a shoot. The flip side is that this made it all the more difficult to see them loaded onto the truck to be taken to the slaughterhouse, never to return."
People have a lot of misconceptions about pigs; that they're dirty, spend all their time wallowing in mud and do little but eat.
"I don’t think there’s another animal so highly maligned as pigs," Argo argued. "They’re actually very clean. They’re unable to sweat, so, like elephants, they cool off with water, and they protect their skin from the sun and insects with mud. We keep them in abysmal conditions on most farms. We’d be considered filthy, too, under those conditions."
They are among the smartest, most aware animals.
"I’d never had the privilege of spending time with a pig, but after spending nine months with them, I am totally smitten," Argo declared. "They are incredibly good natured, playful, curious - and I’d say, celebratory about everything around them. They love life, which makes it particularly hideous when they are slaughtered 18 years before they would naturally die."
While the pigs provide grunting commentary, Bob Comis is the voice of the movie.
"There’s no narration, only Bob’s voice as he shares his thoughts. The film doesn’t advocate or campaign for any agenda; it asks nothing of the viewer – only 54 minutes of their time," Argo said. "There’s space within the film for the audience to think about what they’re seeing. And this is my hope – that people will think; that they will ponder life and death, and ask their own questions, just as the farmer does."
Over 115,000,000 million pigs are slaughtered every year in the U.S. They are often raised in small pens on factory farms and produce massive amounts of manure that filters into rivers and streams.
"There’s a huge disconnect between what we eat and what it once was. We buy meat in tidy little packages. And the cheaper the meat, the happier we are.," Argo noted. "But there’s a price for meat. If we eat meat, I think it’s important that we recognize where it comes from. I’ve long been a vegetarian, but during the course of making this film, I learned more and realized that for me, being vegetarian wasn’t enough. Dairy cows have it worse than any other farmed animals. The egg industry is pretty nasty, too. I’ve given up dairy and eggs as a result of learning more about the practices behind the products. And physically, I feel great."
Argo's films have often appeared on "Nature" and other television shows but this project lacked support.
"The lack of funding has been tough, and finding distribution is a huge challenge," she said. "But witnessing the slaughterhouse – seeing pigs whom I’d come to know and care for being slaughtered was traumatic. And then editing that footage for a year and a half was deeply disturbing. Seeing those pigs day after day – pigs that are no longer here – was really tough. I became depressed during the edit and have had to work hard to turn that around."
But she is happy with the finished project.
"I set out to make a film that wouldn’t preach or manipulate – and I think we achieved that," Argo said. "The film simply invites the audience to experience and to think."
See the film
What: 'The Last Pig,' documentary by Brewster resident Alison Argo
When: Friday, June 16, noon, Waters Edge, Provincetown; Saturday, June 17, 4 p.m., Wellfleet Preservation Hall
Tickets: $15, provincetownfilm.orgHang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like. Close
“GET THE DAMN BAND OFF THE FIELD,” a parent of one of the football players said at the AHS Marching Atoms “mid show” of their Senior Night performance on Nov. 8.
The Annandale Atoms faced South County in their last game of the season. The night began as a typical Friday night football game in the fall would; cold and under the lights in Bolding Stadium but then turned sour for the marching atoms. In the beginning of the game, the band stood out in the cold weather, making a tunnel for all the seniors in the football team, dance team and cheerleading squad to walk through for their senior night. At halftime, all of the seniors were announced, the band started performing their show, “Music of the Night” with 7:36 left in the halftime period. As they played their first song, the football coaches brought their football teams back on the field to start to warm up for second half. At first, the teams stayed in the end zone, however, that changed when the band began performing their second piece, when both football teams entered the field by going past the goal line in the direction of the performing band students.
Unfortunately, this was not new. Throughout the entire 2013 season, the football team has been known to come too close to our performance, or even interrupt some of the students marching, while they performed.
Then the unspeakable happened. Coach Mike Scott and a few other coaches as well as some players began yelling at the band and Band Director Adam Hilkert to “get the band off the field.” According to the game clock, we had about 4:30 left and halftime wasn’t over.
The screams from the fans and coaches became more intense, and Coach Scott resorted to his own measures by shaking the podium of junior Assistant Drum Major Douglas Nguyen, and then yelling at the other Assistant Drum Major, senior Noah Wolfenstein, to stop conducting and get off the field. Yells came from the stands and the coaches to the press box and the field.
This, in its own right, was very rude. There were parents and grandparents of band members, alumni band members and friends of Annandale, who were enjoying the performance.
Suddenly stopping the performance in the middle of a piece, like they wanted us to, would have been distasteful and wrong from a musicians’ perspective. Putting it another way, would any football team ever be forced to stop playing in the middle of a quarter and told to get off the field?
For the marching band, there couldn’t have been any more disrespect shown to us, the band staff, the band alumni who were present, and the students.
Prior to the game, the band had a special “Band Senior Recognition Ceremony,” where all seniors gave speeches reminiscing about what band has meant to them at Annandale. Principal Vincent Randazzo was in attendance and praised the seniors, saying, “The marching band embodies what this school is all about.” If that’s true, why couldn’t they have been shown respect for us?
According to Principal Randazzo and Director of Student Activities Karl Kerns, the Atoms football team would have received a 15-yard “Unsportsmanlike” penalty if we hadn’t been removed from the field when we were.
According to the National Federation of Schools Football Rule Book, on page 19, rule number three says “As the teams leave the field [at the end of the first half], the timer places 20 minutes on the clock and upon reaching 0:00, places three additional minutes on the clock” to allow the football team to warm up for the second half. If this is so, it was inexcusable for Coach Scott to bring the football team back on the field with 4 minutes still left on the halftime clock.
In any case, the football team would have still received their allotted three minutes. This rule was created to make sure that the teams are on the field by the end of halftime to be ready to warm up, rather than still in the locker room, thus not gaining an unfair advantage against the opposing team.
Before the game, Principal Randazzo discussed with the referees that due to it being Annandale’s Senior Night, halftime might run over and that we needed extra time, and fortunately South County agreed to the time allotment during halftime.
According to sources, many people warned the Athletic Office and Kerns about this dilemma before the Friday night football game and they were advised to have the band perform their show post game instead of during halftime. However, we were told to march during halftime, because there should be enough time.
The penalty is just 15 yards. Yes, it is still a penalty, but would that have really made a big difference? The marching band shows respect for the football team and supports them no matter what. Is it asking too much to take one for the team and allow one “Unsportsmanlike” penalty to allow us to have two extra minutes to show appreciation and respect to the band?
The VHSL and NFS have very strict rules about treating the game, its players, and the whole game experience with the highest quality of sportsmanship in mind.
Apparently, the treatment of the marching band has not been figured into that equation. The way this was handled by the Annandale coaching staff and administration was poor in taste and brought out the worst kind of “unsportsmanlike” behavior. So administration, why couldn’t you respect us for once?
Under the direction of Coach Scott, the football team has won one game throughout their 2013 season while the band received Virginia State Champions and won a National award for their “III-Open” class, (which is the hardest competition division). And all the while, the band stands proud with the football team through every loss and through every win. Since when has administration asked the football team to support the band by going to a competition, whether we win or lose?
It is odd to think about how a team with a head coach that has a losing record during his tenure gets more recognition and respect than the marching band who competed in an open class and won a State Championship Title and their first ever National Award.
The players on the football team were not at fault in this altercation because they were just doing what they were told by administration. Many of the football players even felt bad for the members of the marching band as their coach made them get off the field.
While we understand the rules of the halftime time limit, the way this was handled by the coaching staff and by the Administration was flawed.
Do the Marching Atoms truly embody what this school is about or is that something they say?He had one-hundred-and-nine hours to rehearse his lines, and his lines amounted to a mere thirteen words. He could have spent eight hours on each word if he really wanted to. He could have devoted an entire working day to making sure each word came out just right.
You couldn’t have blamed him for doing so. It had cost $25 billion to get him to this point. He’d travelled 240,000 miles. Half a billion people were watching.
It had officially kicked off eight years ago, but this event was the fulfilment of a dream as old as dreams themselves. After centuries of learning, of striving, of fantasising, this was to be humanity’s finest hour. This was to be our first stop on our way out of the cradle and into the big, wide universe. A human being was going to walk on the moon.
The occasion was momentous enough to be recorded to the second. At 02:56:15 UTC on the 21st of July 1969, Neil Armstrong set his left boot on the surface of the moon and delivered those famous words:
Exactly which famous words he delivered have been the subject of debate ever since. Clearly, he meant to say ‘one small step for a man.’ ‘ Man ’ and ‘ mankind ’ mean roughly the same thing so the sentence makes little sense without the ‘ a. ’ B ut that crucial little letter is tough to hear. NASA’s official transcript includes the ‘a’ in square brackets, claiming it was obscured by radio static in the transmission. The New York Times report from 1969 has the ‘a’ missing. Since then Armstrong has been vindicated and not-vindicated by different audio analyses. Linguists have weighed in, claiming Armstrong’s Ohioan accent disguises the ‘a’ at the end of ‘for.’ Snopes claims Armstrong omitted the ‘a.’ The BBC have flip-flopped on the issue.
These kinds of arguments could go on forever, but let’s just say it how it is shall we? He fucked up.
He fucked up.
These were the first words of an entirely new era of human history, words that will echo down the ages. These were words heard live by half a billion people. They were at the time – and perhaps still – heard by more people than any other string of words in the history of the planet. And he fucked them up.
Extra! Extra! Astronomical fuck-up! Read all about it!
Humanity had come so far. We created tools, discovered fire, invented the wheel, invented language, invented maths, invented science, crafted metal, burnt oil, built cars, built planes, built rockets, flew humans being to the goddamned moon and garbled a thirteen-word sentence. We came down from the trees and blasted off into the heavens and spoke total nonsense when we got there.
The lesson seems clear. Don’t get your hopes up. People will let you down. Even in the midst of historic successes there will be catastrophic failures. Great expectations inevitably lead to great disappointments. In a world where things so often go wrong, optimism is a mug’s game.
Of course, many will disagree. ‘Look on the bright side!’ they’ll say, ‘We still went to the moon! Everyone knew what he meant to say. Plus it’s funny that he messed up a bit.’ They’ll say an optimistic attitude is the best way to deal with things going wrong. Optimism is not so much the cause of disappointment as its solution.
to prove to prove it. This kind of confusion about the benefits of optimism versus pessimism clouds a lot of our thinking. Newspapers and magazines ricochet between the two: one month optimism is the answer and there are studies it, the next month pessimism is the answer and there are studies
The Atlantic serves as a useful case study. Here’s a selection of headlines over the years: ‘Pessimism, The Key to Happiness?’ (June 2010), ‘A Pessimist Manifesto’ (September 2010), ‘How the Power of Positive Thinking Won Scientific Credibility’ (April 2012), ‘Why We’re Born Optimists, and Why that’s Good’ (December 2012), ‘The Benefits of Optimism Are Real’ (March 2013), ‘A Case for Pessimism’ (March 2013), ‘Why Do So Many People Hate Optimists?’ (December 2013), ‘The Secret to German Success: Pessimism?’ (April 2014), ‘The Upside of Pessimism’ (September 2014), ‘Optimism is the Enemy of Action’ (October 2014).
What’s going on? Why is it so difficult to decide which is best? Scientists have sent people to the goddamned moon. What’s causing all this confusion?
Shoddy thinking – that’s what – the kind of shoddy thinking that would have Socrates rubbing his hands in anticipation. What’s common to each and every one of these articles is that their authors have failed to think critically about what optimism is. These authors have read scientific studies and laboured to translate them into beautiful, readable prose. They’ve crafted anecdotes to draw the reader in. They’ve injected humour and emotion. But at no point during this long, arduous labour of love did they think to ask the most basic question: what is optimism?
Had they done so, they almost certainly would have consulted a dictionary. Had they gone to dictionary.com, they would have come across this:
Optimism
noun
1. a disposition or tendency to look on the more favourable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favourable outcome.
and. See it? Those bastards at Like Armstrong’s famous line, this definition features a crucial, little ‘a’-word that’s easy to miss:. See it? Those bastards at dictionary.com have squeezed two definitions into one slot! The rascals at Merriam-Webster have done the same! And those good-for-nothings at Cambridge
The ‘and’ is crucial because there really are two definitions here. The first half says optimism is ‘a disposition or tendency to look on the more favourable side of events or conditions’. The second half says optimism is ‘a disposition or tendency to expect the most favourable outcome.’ These are different things! It’s pretty clear that you could be an optimist in the first sense without being an optimist in the second sense and vice versa. Optimists in the first sense say ‘The glass is half-full’ and ‘Look on the bright side.’ They’re being optimistic about what’s already occurred. Optimists in the second sense say ‘Dream big’ and ‘ Expect the best. ’ They’re being optimistic about what will occur. These are different kinds of optimism, so let’s draw a distinction. Let’s call optimists in the first sense interpretation-optimists and optimists in the second sense expectation-optimists. Then we can draw a corresponding distinction for pessimism: people who focus on the bad sides of things are interpretation-pessimists and people who expect bad things to happen are expectation-pessimists.
The failure to make these distinctions has infected almost all of our thinking about optimism and pessimism. I believe it's also contributed to the confusion surrounding which is the better attitude to have. Check out the way both kinds of optimism are mashed together in the Wikipedia article
And how about this Guardian article? It begins as if it’s very much about interpretation-optimism:
“The glass can be half-full, or it can be half-empty, depending on your outlook on life – or on which side of the bed you get out of any particular morning. But can optimism or indeed pessimism really affect your health?”
But then the quotation from scientist Eric Kim makes clear that the study is about expectation-optimism:
“Our work suggests that people who expect the best things in life actively take steps to promote health,” lead author Eric Kim of the University of Michigan said at the time. “Optimism seems to have a swift impact on stroke.”
Nonetheless, the author fails to heed the difference, and ends the article by again talking about interpretation-optimism:
“And if you are a glass-half-empty person desperately trying to see it as half-full for the sake of your health, there is bad news from yet another study carried out in 2006, showing that we learn to be positive or negative in
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awarding it a suspicious 3.5 out of 5. The section which writer Jean-Claude Suttun had played however was just a single player demonstration and obviously not representative of the full game, prompting industry-savvy readers to respond. The Sun later amended its web version of the story with the following statement:
Clarification: In the paper this morning, you will’ve noticed that we gave Max Payne a score of ‘3.5’ – or 70% as it’d be online. We’d like to clarify that this was a mistake, and that we have NOT reviewed nor marked the game yet, and won’t do so until May 18th, its release.
70% is by no means a bad score, though for a majority of casual gamers it will have connotations of “probably not as good as CoD or FIFA,” which many who have seen the game will know is probably an unfair observation. Though the “review” won’t have a major impact on public perception, it could still sway a number of would-be buyers and highlights The Sun’s care-free approach to video game coverage. We probably wouldn’t see the same mistake happy when reviewing a blockbuster such The Avengers or the next Adele album, eh?Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has announced she will push for a controversial plan to extend Israeli civil law to West Bank settlements – a move that critics say would be tantamount to the annexation of territories beyond the Green Line.
READ MORE: 'Israeli settlements in West Bank destroy environment' – Abbas to UN
“Conditions need to be equal. There are basic laws that do not apply in Judea and Samaria [West Bank]. It is my goal to equalize conditions within one year, either by a GOC [General Officer Commanding] decree or through legislation,” Shaked said at a conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, as quoted by Ynet News.
Read more
Shaked is seeking to revive the ‘Norms Bill,’ which was first introduced in 2014 and sought to provide Jewish settlers living in the occupied territories with the same legal rights as citizens living in Israel.
A special committee to work on the legislation alongside the Israeli Defense Ministry has already been established, Shaked noted.
The law, if passed, would widen the existing gap between Jewish settlers and the Palestinians who are all currently living under martial law.
“What we’re trying to do is to make the process more orderly. At the end of the day, hundreds of thousands of people live there, and just like you can’t fire a woman for being pregnant in Israel, that should also apply to women in Judea and Samaria,” the minister said, according to The Times of Israel, adding that the legal status of the areas involved would not change and the process would run in compliance with international law.
READ MORE: Israeli justice minister turns to police after professor calls her ‘neo-Nazi scum’ on FB
Opposition members of the Knesset have scorned the proposal, saying that it undermines the possibility of future peace talks with the Palestinians.
“Minister Ayelet Shaked continues to fan the flames and pour oil on the fire that is Israel’s relations with the world. This move will sabotage any chance of a political agreement,” Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.I get asked a lot if I'm a Penn State fan, or if seeing Penn State lose makes me unhappy. If I'm as upset about a last minute loss to Ohio State and Michigan State as everyone else.
The short answer is no.
The longer answer is a bit more complicated.
In this line of work you get to know people. The job is in many ways just as much about building trust as it is telling stories. For some that takes time, for others it come more naturally.
The job means sitting down with Saquon Barkley before his sophomore season just a few feet from the Heisman Trophy and hearing how much winning means to him, and how hard he is on himself. It means hearing DaeSean Hamilton tell you about his self-doubt and how he has had to reinvent himself to become successful in this offense.
It means hearing Mike Gesicki tell you about his disappointments early in his career and how he had to move on in order to grow as a player. It means asking Trace McSorley following the Rose Bowl what went wrong while he sits in his locker still wearing his pads, trying to find the right words to explain it to himself as much as anyone else.
So you get to know the people behind the numbers. You aren't rooting for either result, but you know what victory and defeat means to them. I've never found it to be a crippling ethical handicap to say that knowing people and seeing their arc is a rewarding privilege, and that it is easy to be happy for someone or feel badly for them, without losing your objectivity. Empathy is not taboo, if anything it's necessary.
All told, I don't really care that Penn State has won or lost, but I feel for the people who had a hand in that result.
Which brings us to this Penn State team. One that is living in this unenviable world of being beloved and belittled. The Nittany Lions had a very good chance to make the playoffs for the first time ever. They even (when healthy) had a punchers chance of beating anyone they faced. Penn State was right there on the cusp and for a lot of different reasons that chance has slipped through its fingers.
For fans that's a difficult pill to swallow, it's hard to know that Penn State is on the path to back-to-back 10 win seasons and still feel like it could have been better. A team en route to the kind of two year stretch that has not common for the program since joining the Big Ten. That reality feels secondary to the fact the Nittany Lions are going to come up short of their goals.
But that's sports. Basically everyone fails at the end of the year. I'm a big fan of the Eagles and the Flyers. One of those teams is going to break my heart while the other won't even get it together enough to make the playoffs. I know this, but I'm watching now anyway and I will watch again next year and the year after that. Because I'm an idiot, but in the end that's what being a fan means.
It is also true that my favorite team was a failure. The 2009-10 Flyers made the Finals as the lowest seed in the bracket. They won four straight to beat the Boston Bruins after falling behind 3-0 in the series and then again in Game 7. It was amazing and I loved it.
But they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. It broke my heart. I prayed more during that series than I've ever prayed in my life and it wasn't enough.
And still to this day I love that team. That team never gave up, and that was all I wanted.
The point of all of this comes back to the people I get to cover and the people you root for. I get what we will call "copious" amounts of feedback about Trace McSorley and his imperfections, which to me is the insanity of fandom personified.
McSorley is without question, one of the best and more successful quarterbacks in the history of Penn State football. He has piloted one of the most entertaining teams you will ever see to one of the more improbable seasons you will ever witness. He is completing nearly 65% of his passes, which blows just about every Penn State quarterback out of the water, and rarely throws interceptions.
My point isn't to go to bat for Trace. That's not my job and I'm not going to sit here and say he is the perfect quarterback and has been perfect this year. He hasn't and I've said as much before.
But in a few days this bunch will take the field for the final time at Beaver Stadium. A team that is full of guys known by their first names. Jason, Trace, Saquon, Marcus, Mike, DaeSean and Grant. A team full of players that rebuilt your favorite college football program and won a Big Ten title. They will, for 60 minutes, be on the same field at home for one final time.
And two games beyond that, they will never play together again, scattered off in the winds to whatever might be next for them. Then 2018 will come and Penn State will look very different, with different issues and different strengths.
I'll miss telling that story. They've been a fun bunch to watch unfold over the years, and an easy bunch of guys to like. But I'll meet new players and new stories and tell them and my life will go on. I'm looking forward to it.
But for you, that fan who sits on the edge of your seat every third down and cheers for every Barkley leap through the air, you will never get another chance to say goodbye.
And sooner rather than later, you will wish you had.WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. power regulator outlined its case of market manipulation against JPMorgan Chase & Co on Monday as industry sources said a final settlement on the issue should come on Tuesday.
Traders used improper bidding tactics in California and the Midwest to boost profits, officials said in a statement that brought to light some details of an extensive investigation.
Reports of that probe have circulated for months and a deal with the regulator could put an end to a distraction for JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff has found “eight manipulative bidding strategies” used by a JPM affiliate in 2010 and 2011, the regulator said.
JPMorgan declined to comment.
Two industry sources said a settlement over the trades could come as early as mid-morning on Tuesday. The bank is expected to pay around $400 million to end the investigation and the settlement could include other payments, according to reports and an industry source.
Monday’s regulatory move did not contain any mention of specific traders or commodities chief Blythe Masters, who had been mentioned in media reports as having been singled out by investigators.
The FERC action is a reminder of the tougher regulatory environment commodity traders are facing, particularly banks, which have been under intensifying public and political pressure over their ownership of things such as metals warehouses and power plants.
JPMorgan announced abruptly on Friday that it was quitting the physical commodity markets, seeking a buyer or partner to take over an operation that includes ownership of three power plants, as well as a handful of large tolling agreements.
The alleged violations in Monday’s letter offered little new insight into the bank’s trading, as most of the details had already been laid out in previous FERC filings.
If there is a settlement, JPMorgan would close the book on a probe that dates back more than two years when California’s power grid operator noticed the bank was using an “abusive” trading strategy that effectively forced the grid to pay for plants to sit idle, ultimately adding to costs.
The FERC has been particularly active this month. The regulator approved a $470 million penalty against British bank Barclays Plc and four of its traders for manipulating California power markets. Barclays said it would fight the fine in court.
For JPMorgan, a deal would also allow CEO Jamie Dimon to make good on his promise to resolve multiple government investigations and regulatory run-ins over the past year. The bank, which is the biggest in the United States by assets, is under pressure in Washington for its size and for its $6.2 billion “London Whale” loss on derivatives trades last year.
(Reporting By Patrick Rucker in Washington and Jonathan Leff in New York; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Andre Grenon)While it could have been worse, Funcom’s Q1 2015 financials could have been a heck of a lot better, too. In yesterday’s financial report, the company announced that its revenues dropped $144,000 from the previous quarter, bringing in $2.77M since the start of the year. Its main money makers are still Age of Conan and The Secret World.
However, not all is doom and gloom in Funcom’s world. Operating costs are down significantly for the studio, and it just appointed a new CEO, Rui Casais, who took up the position on May 13th.
A big portion of the report was devoted to the upcoming business model shift to buy-to-play for LEGO Minifigures Online. Funcom admitted that “monetizing the game has proven challenging” but has hopes that the new model plus the game’s summer release on tablets will help its outlook significantly.Pin 1 5 Shares
Ever think about how the workplace of the future will be different? Here’s some food for thought: a few scenarios to consider as we plan our careers in a changing world.
1. Driverless Cars
This isn’t so much about the workplace, but will certainly change commutes and also fundamentally alter fields like mass transit and transportation, and maybe also change the face of the auto industry forever.
2. No More Offices
More and more companies might opt to have workers set up remotely, either at home or in shared co-working spaces. This will save companies lots of money on office space and give them the ability to hire talent from around the world.
3. Big Brother
GPS monitoring might enable employers to track your location, your health, and your productivity. This certainly won’t be popular, but as long as the technology exists, some companies will want to use it.
4. Workers’ Choice
More and more millennials entering the workforce are demanding that their employers meet their ethical standards. Expect workers to switch companies and jobs more than they used to as they follow their passions and try to sculpt their ideal careers.
5. Work ‘Til You Drop
We’re all living longer, and companies are getting rid of costly retirement programs. We’ll all probably have to work much, much longer, particularly as medical advances keep us alive well past the life expectancy of our parents’ parents.
6. Part-Time Plus
Freelancing may be the wave of the future. It’s much cheaper for an employer to hire a freelancer, without having to provide benefits or health insurance. And many workers prefer the control and flexibility that lifestyle affords them. The steady 9-5 may be a dinosaur by the time our kids enter the job market.
7. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence will start to replace as many jobs as feasible, putting more manual tasks in digital hands. This will destroy certain jobs, but create others in technology and service.
8. No More Bosses
Zappos did it with their controversial “holacracy.” More and more companies are restructuring from the typical linear grunt-level-up-to-big-boss model. We can expect more lateral, integrative hierarchies to start forming, which will change the face of how we work and who we work for.
9 ways the workplace will be different in 2050
Pin 1 5 SharesCall fucking [MSNBC president Phil Griffin], I don't care who the fuck you have to call.
I seen Shane O'Neill do a bigflip front blunt on TV, and I was, like, "How the fuck do you do that?
our dog saul and his occasional friends who come fetch him also fuck a
Fuck you, walls seeking to split a body in two; you steel, imaginary boarders on pick-pocketed land.
No fuck you stupid, what are you his fucking mom, get the fuck out of here," Caparulo said.
IN ITS MOST OBVIOUS ITERATION, FUCK YOU IS AN ACT OF AGGRESSION.
Vive Palestine, Vive LAlgerie, Fuck Israel, Fuck Natanyahou the asshole;" "If you want to contact me, dont.
Our souls might belong to God, but sure as fuck, our candy asses belonged to the drills.
We can't see any way round mentioning Fuck Buttons' upcoming Belfast show without either breaking the asterisk key or allowing four-letter filth to sully the purity of this page.
The person I fuck is a bio woman and I am a bio man, but on any given day that may not be the way we identify.
Just for good measure, Mel added, "I'm going to fuck you" to the male arresting officer.Sprint officials today announced an accelerated rollout of LTE wireless technology on Friday -- and said that it will continue to support its millions of Wimax smartphone and device customers beyond 2012.
Sprint officials told analysts that the company's LTE network will begin rolling out in some markets in mid-2012, and that it would reach some 275 million potential U.S. customers by early 2014.
During the Sprint network strategy update, which was also Webcast, CEO Dan Hesse said that Sprint will continue selling Wimax-based smartphones and devices running for the Clearwire network through 2012. Srint will support the Wimax devices for an unspecified period beyond 2012, he added.
Analysts estimate that about 17 million Sprint customers could be using Wimax networks by next year.
In a testy exchange amid questions about a potential Clearwire bankruptcy should Sprint halt its funding after 2012, Hesse repeatedly said he didn't know of any bankruptcy potential that would shut down Clearwire. He added -- at least twice -- that "No wireless bankruptcy has ever led to service being turned off."
Sprint would be a party to any possible Clearwire bankruptcy, he added. Sprint owns 54% of Clearwire.
One unidentified analyst told Hesse it would be "ridiculous" if Sprint didn't anticipate a Clearwire bankruptcy once Sprint stops funding it. The analyst's comment generated applause from her colleagues in the room.
Hesse didn't respond to the analyst's contention, though he did repeat that the Wimax service wouldn't be disrupted.
Earlier this year, Sprint said its LTE rollout would take three to five years to cover the country. At the time, officials said the build-out would start in some markets in mid-2012.
But Steve Elfman, president of network operations, said today that the rollout is "more likely a two to three year plan" that would be mostly complete by the end of 2013.
He called the project a "rapid LTE deployment--we're building as we're speaking."
The first LTE smartphones coming in mid-2012 will include Qualcomm technology running over the 1900 MHz wireless spectrum, Elfman said, without offering further details.
Fared Adib, vice president of product development at Sprint, said that Wimax is "an important part of Sprint's strategy" even as the carrier gradually moves to LTE.
Wimax, first launched as Sprint's first 4G network in October 2008, gave Sprint a "first to market" advantage, Sprint officials said.
Since then, Verizon Wireless and AT&T have started rolling out LTE service in U.S. cities.
Verizon has said its LTE network offers downloads of data at 5 Mbps to 12 Mbps, while AT&T has not disclosed download speeds for its LTE network.
Sprint, whose Wimax network operates at up to 9 Mbps for downloads, hasn't stated what its LTE speeds are expected to be. Sprint officials did tell analysts Friday that the LTE network will be somewhat faster than its Wimax offering.
Investors have been concerned about the expected cost of Sprint's move to LTE, especially after it rolled out Wimax on the Clearwire infrastructure. Sprint CFO Joe Euteneuer argued that the Wimax move gave Sprint an early 4G lead, making the investment worthwhile.
Sprint has a two-year, $1 billion agreement to use Clearwire's Wimax network service through 2012, Hesse said, adding that Clearwire is also moving to a different version of LTE from Sprint as well.
Sprint expects to save $11 billion in the next six years with its so-called Network Vision project, first announced last year.
Sprint put the cost of the project at $4 billion to $5 billion at the time of the announcement, although analysts said Friday that it could be as high as $10 billion when LTE upgrades and other factors are fully accounted for.
The Network Vision project will consolidate Sprint's existing 3G CDMA network switches and cell tower antenna infrastructure with the coming 4G LTE network.
It also phases out the iDen network in 2013 that has been used to support Push-to-Talk (PTT) devices mostly used by service workers. Sprint launched PTT over its CDMA network on Oct. 2 while introducing a new ruggedized PTT phone.
The retired iDen network will free up 800 MHz spectrum that Sprint said it will "harvest" it for other purposes still being considered.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His e-mail address is [email protected] Harry Truman once advised, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," a pup in Argentina is proving that dogs will be your friend in the afterlife too.
The dog, a German shepherd named Capitan, has loyally sat by his owner's grave for the past six years, rarely leaving the graveside of the man, Miguel Guzman, who adopted him as a gift for his teenage son in 2005.
Guzman died suddenly just one year later, in 2006, and when the family returned from his funeral, Capitan was gone, the UK's Daily Mail reports.
"We searched for him but he had vanished," Guzman's widow reportedly told a local newspaper, The Cordoba. "We thought he must have got run over and died."
When the family returned to the cemetery, which Capitan had never previously been to, just days later to visit Guzman's grave the dog was there.
"He [Capitan] turned up here one day, all on his own, and started wandering all around the cemetery until he eventually found the tomb of his master," the cemetery's director, Hector Baccega, told the newspaper. "During the day he sometimes has a walk around the cemetery, but always rushes back to the grave. And every day, at 6 o'clock sharp, he lies down on top of the grave stays there all night."
Staff at the cemetery, located in Villa Carlos Paz in central Argentina, are feeding and taking care of Capitan as their own and Guzman's son, for whom Capitan was adopted, says he doesn't think the dog will ever leave.
"I've tried to bring Capitan home several times, but he always comes straight back to the cemetery," said the son, 15-year-old Damian. "I think he's going to be there until he dies too. He's looking after my dad."When you’re a talented team that is off to an 0–3 start, even against a challenging open to the schedule, there are usually multiple things that need to be improved on. That’s exactly where the Ravens are at this point heading into a Thursday night game against the rival Steelers.
Missing left tackle Eugene Monroe (concussion) and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (season-ending Achilles surgery) has been an issue. The offensive line hasn’t protected well enough or cleared enough room for the run. The Ravens are having to scheme pressure without Suggs, and that’s putting stress on a shaky secondary.
There’s another issue, however, that hasn’t gotten enough attention. While he hasn’t been a big part of the problem and some of the other issues negatively affect him, quarterback Joe Flacco just hasn’t been good enough. If you’re getting paid an average of $20 million, you’re supposed to be able to mask some of the other deficiencies on your team. Flacco’s not doing it.
In the four games dating back to last year’s playoff loss to the Patriots, Flacco has had the ball in his hands late in the fourth quarter with a chance to win, tie or put the game out of reach. He’s 0-for-4 in those opportunities. In fact, Flacco has lost his last seven opportunities in those situations going back to last season. Flacco’s most recent come-from-behind victory came in Week 3 last season when he drove the Ravens 37 yards in six plays (they took over at the 50-yard line) for a game-winning field goal as time expired to beat the Browns 23–21.
The man known for staying cool under pressure hasn’t been so unflappable lately.
His ESPN QBR of 46.5, which is “clutch weighted,” is ahead of Drew Brees and Andrew Luck, but it’s still ranked 24th in the league. Flacco finished 10th last season (67.0).
Last season, and over his career, Flacco’s statistics have been fairly consistent by quarter, including the fourth when he completed 61.9% of his passes with a 7.93 yards per attempt average and a 99.7 rating. For his career, Flacco is 61.9%, 7.2 and 87.5 in the final quarter.
This season in the fourth quarter, Flacco has completed just 51.2% of his passes with a 5.72 average and a 56.9 rating.
Here’s a look at his end-of-game struggles over this season and last season, starting with the most recent:
Bengals 28, Ravens 24, Week 3 of 2015 season: Before guard Kelechi Osmele’s facemask penalty negated a fourth down conversion, Flacco threw low and incomplete on a short third down to Steve Smith on what could have gone for a big gain had it been complete. On fourth-and-17, Flacco couldn’t connect with rookie tight end Maxx Williams on a bomb. Running back Justin Forsett was open underneath and could have converted had he made one player miss in the open field, an opportunity Flacco should have given him.
Raiders 37, Ravens 33, Week 2 of 2015 season: With the game tied at 30, Baltimore’s maligned defense made a play when Will Hill’s interception of Derek Carr set up the offense at the Oakland 37-yard line. Flacco completed 1 of 3 passes for 11 yards (he missed a wide open Smith in the end zone on third down) and Baltimore had to settle for a field goal. The Raiders won the game with a touchdown on the next drive. Yes, the loss goes to the defense because you should win every game when you score 33 points, but had the offense had done its job, Oakland’s score should have only set it to overtime.
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Broncos 19, Ravens 13, Week 1 of 2015 season: Baltimore drove 62 yards in 11 plays to get into position to win the game at the Denver 16-yard line in the season opener. On first down, Flacco was hit as he threw. On second down, a possible touchdown was dropped by Smith, who was distracted by the defensive back going for the ball. The third down pass in the end zone could have been hauled in by tight end Crockett Gilmore, but the pass was, ultimately, slightly underthrown and intercepted. With a down to play with, Flacco needed to put that pass where only his receiver could come down with it. He did not.
Patriots 35, Ravens 31, divisional round of 2014 playoffs: To be fair, Flacco was nearly flawless all game and was the main reason why the underdog, beaten up Ravens had two 14-point leads at New England during this game. But then he floated a pass off his back foot into double coverage, on second-and-five from the Patriots' 36-yard line with 1:46 to play, and it was easily intercepted by Duron Harmon to send the Patriots to the AFC Championship Game.
Chargers 34, Ravens 33, Week 13 of 2014 season: Baltimore left the door open for a San Diego comeback after only getting a field goal, which made the score 33–27, despite having the ball at the Chargers’ 30-yard line with 3:29 to play (Flacco was 1 of 2 for 12 yards). The Chargers took the lead and the Ravens needed a field goal to win with the ball at their own 14 with 32 seconds remaining and one timeout. A tough situation, but not impossible. They didn't get the chance to try for one, as Flacco was 2 of 4 on the drive for 28 yards.
• SI.com's complete coverage from NFL's Week 3
Bengals 27, Ravens 24, Week 8 of 2014 season: After again only getting a field goal with good field position (at the Cincinnati 43-yard line) when a touchdown would have given Baltimore an eight-point lead, the Ravens trailed with no timeouts, 57 seconds left, the ball on their 20 with a field goal needed for overtime. A game-winning touchdown to Smith was wiped out by offensive pass interference, and Flacco wound up 1 of 4 on the drive for 13 yards.
Colts 20, Ravens 13, Week 5 of 2014 season: Indianapolis fumbled at the Baltimore 10-yard line to give the Ravens a final shot. Flacco was 3 of 7 for 40 yards on the drive with a sack. The drive ended on fourth-and-three at the Baltimore 43-yard line with 27 seconds left when Flacco threw incomplete deep to Torrey Smith.
Combined on those seven final drives, Flacco was 19 of 41 (46.3%) for 191 yards (4.7 average), no touchdowns and two interceptions (39.8 rating).
Flacco isn’t the big problem in the Ravens’ 0–3 start (they have a lot of them, including a lack of experienced targets for Flacco, which is clearly frustrating him) and he’s played some good football at times. But when you're paid as much as Flacco is, you’re expected to lift the team to a few wins while the rest of the roster figures things out. Tom Brady did it last year for a scuffling Patriots squad. Luck found a way to win on Sunday against the Titans despite putting his Colts in a hole.
The bottom line is that Flacco has had a chance to do just that in each of the Ravens’ first three games, and he hasn’t gotten the job done in any of them. It’s a trend that isn’t just an aberration because it happened last season as well. But it needs to end if the Ravens have any hope of climbing out of their 0–3 hole.“Absent a sharp social critique, Buddhist practices could easily be used to justify and stabilize the status quo, becoming a reinforcement of consumer capitalism.”
-American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi
I work as a teacher’s assistant at a school for children with low-functioning autism. On Martin Luther King day the students had the day off, but TA’s were called in for a special seminar. I assumed that it would be additional training for the job. I was wrong.
What I walked into that morning was “Zensational Kids”- a mindfulness seminar. Two hundred people were crammed into the gym and instructed on basic yoga techniques, which we could not perform for lack of room, and breathing exercises. We recited chants (“I am amazing”, “I am strong”) while we held poses and practiced deep breathing.
I don’t have anything against mindfulness. I suffer from anxiety and depression. My therapist has me practicing mindfulness techniques and cognitive therapy exercises all the time. They’ve helped me avoid panic attacks and sometimes they are the difference between sitting in my room paralyzed with anxiety and going out to see my friends. My girlfriend practices yoga and it helps to improve her mood and reduce stress. These things can play a positive role in peoples lives.
By writing this essay I am not targeting mindfulness, but the cooptation of mindfulness. I take issue with the way a certain type of mindfulness is deployed on a macro level. Both the therapeutic technique that I’ve worked on with my psychologist and the stress relieving wisdom of eastern scholars have become warped and commodified.
During my particular experience with this distorted version of mindfulness we performed ridiculous exercises completely foreign to anything I learned in therapy. For example, we were told to close our eyes and picture a balloon. We were instructed to take deep breathes, filling the balloon with positive energy. When the balloon was filled we were to mentally send this balloon, swelling with positive thoughts, to someone we thought was in need of it. We were told that positive energy is communicated through vibrations and our targets would receive these good feelings from us. This was said in all seriousness to a group of adult educators. We were told, “You always have a choice in how you feel. You’re wrong when you tell someone ‘you’re making me angry!’, you are choosing to be mad”. We were told that our heart vibrations and our brain vibrations often did not match, and we must strive to synchronize them. Apparently something called “synchronous energy” is the best kind of energy.
This terrible seminar is not an isolated incident. It is, in fact, indicative of a larger, more pernicious, phenomena: a distorted form of mindfulness being used to harm the interests of the working class.
Employers attempt to use this form of mindfulness to boost employee productivity. It has been adopted by fortune 500 companies to squeeze more value from their workers- to increase the rate of exploitation. The reasoning is that if employees can learn the skill of mindfulness, their stress will be reduced without their material conditions improving, and this stress relief would lead to workers producing more profits. Additionally, mindfulness is pushed as a skill individuals in the job market can use to get ahead of the competition. In theory mindfulness increases an individuals chance of employment and it increases the profit of the capitalist.
But none of this is true. An employee’s mental health at work will not improve dramatically without their material conditions improving. After taking part in mindfulness seminars the worker is only happier and more productive in theory. In reality the corporate manifestation of mindfulness serves the function of reinforcing the narrative of personal responsibility as the determining force in an individual’s life. The mindfulness seminar re-ensures its audience that life’s stresses are not imposed upon us from without, but are created from within. If we are feeling negative emotions it is simply because we are choosing to feel this way.
I’ve written before about the cult of individualism that exists under capitalism, especially in the United States. The overarching narrative that we are fed is that of the context-less, ahistorical individual. The way we see the world is through this lens. It is only through this lens, for example, that the poor are able to be perceived as lazy and undeserving. It is the only way homelessness, hunger, discrimination, addiction, racism, and the entire system can be justified and defended. Mindfulness has a part to play in maintaining this narrative.
If you are stressed because minimum wage won’t pay the rent, or you cannot pay your medical bills, or you are suffocating under crushing debt, or you cannot afford mental health treatment, it is your own fault. The constant stress of living under 21st century capitalism is a personal flaw. You “have a choice” in deciding how you feel. All you need to do is strike a few poses and practice some breathing techniques and your brain will be in sync with your heart. Then all that stress will melt away. Your employer will give you tips on how to de-stress your life while simultaneously cutting your health benefits. They’ll teach you breathing exercises to help you get to sleep after an all night shift for 12 dollars an hour. You don’t need a day off of work, or a higher salary, all you need is a seminar on mindfulness.
Instead of individuals working in solidarity to change this society that produces and exacerbates mental illness while offering little material aid for the vast majority of us who suffer economically and emotionally because of it, we are offered corporate mindfulness. It’s not the organization of society that is fundamentally flawed, but the individual. The onus is on the individual to change themselves and their thinking.
The construction of this narrative has become a billion dollar industry. The woman giving the seminar today was able to quit her job as a physical therapist to tour around the country full time, educating teachers and students alike in the healing art of mindfulness. Like a snake-oil salesman she explains that if everyone holds hands and breathes the right way then we can pass our “heart energy” around the circle. A wonderful cure for the anxieties and stress of working at a special needs school.
This billion dollar industry is built upon a population of people who think that their unhappiness is a personal failing. It is built on the backs of people desperate for change. It is a weapon bent on obfuscating the real cause of our unhappiness: debt, low wages, racism, sexism, poverty, exploitation, mental illness, and all of the problems of a society organized under the capitalist mode of production.
We must reject the notion that our anxieties, depression, and stress are personal failings that can be solved through training our brains how to work properly.
People suffering from mental illness need more than mindfulness seminars. We need mental illness to be de-stigmatized. We need affordable access to medication. We need access to counselors. We need more mental health professionals available in emergency rooms. We need beds available at drug rehab centers. We need, and deserve, so much more.
The working class, especially those living in poverty, needs more than mindfulness seminars. We need good paying jobs. We need universal healthcare. We need free education and job training. We need affordable housing. We need, and deserve, nothing less than liberation from exploitation and oppression in all its forms.
We must resist commodified, weaponized, corporate mindfulness and embrace system change through solidarity. It is the only way to truly fight against the mental health crisis in this country. It is the only way to create a society that works towards achieving humanity’s potential instead of stifling it.
Suggested Reading
Corporate Mindfulness Is B.S, Alternet
Mindfulness: the saddest trend of 2015, The Telegraph
The Mindfulness Business, The Economist
Capitalism’s New Favorite Tool for Maintaining the Status Quo, Alternet
Advertisements3 surprising health facts about Cannabis. Cannabis users are skinnier…
It seems almost paradoxical.
Cannabis use is typically associated with getting the munchies and over-eating on high-fat, high-salt snacks. However, studies looking into cannabis and THC (the active ingredient of cannabis) found very different real-world results that actually suggest that THC may be a good way to manage your weight more effectively.
1. Cannabis will help you burn more calories
A study done in the late 70s found that study participants who took 7.5mg of THC had an 18% higher heart rate during exercise and a 50% higher heart rate during recovery1. A higher heart rate increases the body’s work rate, which burns more calories.
It’s been a long held myth that 60%-70% of our maximum heart rate is the optimal “fat burn” zone. This simply is not true. Calories in vs calories out
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Explanations abound: “superstar” rewards for those at the top; globalization (by expanding markets for the talented); warped corporate compensation practices. But the biggest contributor was the long financial market boom that inflated executive stock options and Wall Street compensation. “So many people in this group (corporate managers, bankers, traders) have pay that’s tied to the stock and financial markets,” says economist Bakija.
Consider: From 1980 to 2000, stocks rose almost tenfold; from 2000 to 2007, the gain was about 40 percent. And the boom’s largest cause was declining inflation, which reduced interest rates. As rates fell, stocks and other assets rose. The ultra-rich benefited partly from good luck. Ironically, because the boom is spent, the rise of inequality may cease or reverse (Wall Street bonuses are shrinking) just as political attacks on the rich intensify. From 2007 to 2009, the number of tax returns with incomes exceeding $1 million dropped 40 percent, says Scott Hodge of the Tax Foundation.
So, raise tax rates on Warren Buffett and others to upper-middle-class levels. But recognize that the anti-wealthy populist rhetoric is mostly political expediency. It distracts from the serious issues the country faces — creating jobs and closing long-term budget deficits. The anti-rich backlash is growing; a Pew poll finds 66 percent of Americans see “strong” conflicts between rich and poor, up from 47 percent in 2009. Pandering to this is easier than dealing with the future.This article is over 9 years old
• Camp Liberty shooting occurred at 2pm local time • Toll highest for US personnel in a single attack since April 10
US soldier shoots and kills five fellow troops at Baghdad base
An American soldier killed five of his fellow troops at a base in Baghdad, the Pentagon said today.
The five were killed in a shooting 2pm local time, at Camp Liberty near Baghdad international airport.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths is underway. The toll was the highest for US personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in the northern city of Mosul.
In a separate incident, a US soldier was killed yesterday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Basra province of southern Baghdad.
Earlier this month, two US soldiers were killed by a man wearing an Iraqi army uniform at an Iraqi military training centre in northern Iraq.
Violence has dropped sharply in Iraq, but insurgent attacks continue, and a rash of big bombings has raised questions about security less than two months before US forces are due to withdraw combat troops from urban bases.
Thirteen US soldiers were killed in combat in April, including the five who died in Mosul.
In other violence, a senior Iraqi traffic officer was assassinated on his way to work in Baghdad, in the second attack on a high-ranking traffic police officer in the capital in as many days.
A car cut off Brigadier General Abdul-Hussein al-Kadhoumi as he drove through a central square in the capital. Gunmen in a second vehicle pulled up alongside and opened fire, police said, citing witnesses. Al-Kadhoumi was director of operations for the traffic authority.
The gunmen were armed with pistols equipped with silencers, according to police. Incidents involving gunmen armed with sophisticated weapons, including silencers, have been on the rise since a string of high-profile robberies in April.
The attack came one day after the convoy of the Baghdad traffic department head, Major General Jaafar Toma, was hit by a roadside bomb. Four of his bodyguards were wounded but the general escaped unharmed.
Police today reported discovering the body of a 5-year-old Christian boy, Tony Edward Shawel, who had been kidnapped 10 days earlier in the town of Sheikhan, near Mosul. The body was found yesterday and police said it showed signs of torture. His family had been negotiating with the kidnappers to reduce the ransom from the originally demanded $50,000 (£33,127).Those concerned with environmental pollution in Wyoming can no longer take soil samples or even photos of possible contamination without risking going to jail.
The Republican-dominated state has adopted a new law, the “Data Trespass Bill,” which outlaws “citizen science,” the collecting of ecological data on private and public lands. Violations can result in a year of prison time and fines of $5,000. It also makes any samples inadmissible as evidence in court, even if they show environmental hazards.
The law was adopted in response to a fight between 15 ranchers and the environmental group, Western Watersheds Project, in Fremont County. The ranchers sued the group, claiming it collected water samples from their land without permission. Western Watersheds took the samples because it suspected the landowners were allowing manure to contaminate local water sources. Their tests of the samples revealed the presence of E. coli bacteria, which can cause serious illness and even death in humans.
Supporters of the law are framing it as protecting property rights, but that doesn’t explain the prohibition from taking samples—and photos—from public lands. “The purpose of the bill is to discourage this kind of activity,” Debra Donahue, a law professor specializing in wildlife science at the University of Wyoming, told Courthouse News Service. “The state would prefer not to have citizens going out on public lands collecting data that could then be used against landowners.
“The idea is, if the water quality in the streams doesn’t meet standards, that [the ranchers] should do something about it. And whatever action that was, it would have an effect on their ability to raise cattle.”
The new law prohibits the gathering of photos and soil samples used for ecological purposes, even in state and national parks. Opponents say it is so broad, it would prevent taking photographs at Yellowstone National Park.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, Steve Straehley
To Learn More:
Wyoming Criminalizes Citizen Science (by Emma Gannon, Courthouse News Service)
Wyoming Senate Bill 12 (LegiScan)
Four Charged with Violating Utah’s “Ag-Gag” Law (by Ken Broder, AllGov)
Can Private Drones be Used to Counter “Ag-Gag” Laws in 7 States? (by Noel Brinkerhoff and Steve Straehley, AllGov)An East Windsor man who belongs to a white supremacist group was sentenced in federal court yesterday to nearly three years in prison for his role in an assault on two Middle Eastern men in Sayreville last year, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said yesterday.
Michal Gunar, 29, a member of the Aryan Terror Brigade, had attended a New Year’s Eve “meet and greet” with other white supremacists at the East Brunswick home of Christopher Ising, 31, Fishman’s office said in a press release.
Ising, Gunar and Kyle Powell, 24, West Collingswood, were drinking and listening to white supremacist music while discussing a random attack on non-whites, indictments for the three men said.
The three men then traveled to Sayreville with the intention of committing an assault, Fishman’s office said. They came upon two Middle Eastern men and began attacking them and shouting anti-Arab slurs, the office said.
Gunar pulled one of the men out of a parked car and punched him in the head, Gunar said when he pleaded guilty in April. Gunar brandished a knife as he attacked one man, and Ising used brass knuckles as he assaulted another man, repeatedly punching him in the head, authorities said.
Powell allegedly brought leather gloves with steal pellets sewn into them — “sap gloves” — to the scene of the assault, but his indictment does not explain his role in the attack, and he did not plead guilty to the attack itself.
In an online conversation shortly after the attack, Gunar boasted “we went to hunt down some (racial slur) … we whooped them,” his indictment said.
Gunar was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault and commission of a hate crime assault. He was sentenced to 33 months by U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano.
Powell, another Aryan Terror Brigade member, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault. He was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison.
Ising, a member of the Atlantic City Skins, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Gunar and is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Previously, Ising spent 10 years in prison after, as a 17-year-old, he pummeled a 14-year-old girl in the head with his fists and a crowbar.
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists both the Aryan Terror Brigade and the Atlantic City Skins as active racist skinhead groups with multiple chapters in New Jersey.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Atlantic City Skins is the largest of the New Jersey-based racist skinhead groups in numbers and reach, while the Aryan Terror Brigade has national reach.
Contact Brendan McGrath at (609) 989-5731 or at [email protected].
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• Like Times of Trenton on Facebook
• Follow @TimesofTrenton on TwitterNaomi Campbell was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court Friday for scratching a paparazzo's eye in August 2009.
The model was given a six months suspended prison sentence, according to Britain's Telegraph, which her lawyer has vowed to appeal.
"We are appealing the ruling surrounding the 2009 incident," attorney Guido Carlo Alleva said in a statement obtained by E! News. "Due to the ongoing legal process, we cannot discuss the matter further at this time."
Per the Telegraph, the incident occurred when the photographer, Gaetano Di Giovanni, was snapping pictures of the model with her then-boyfriend, Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin, as they stepped off their boat in the Sicilian town of Lipari. Di Giovanni took photographs of the couple as they strolled through the narrow streets and did some sight-seeing, when Campbell hit him with her purse.Austin company purchases Lone Star Brewery
A pickup game of basketball takes place Tuesday near the old Lone Star brewery. Austin developer Aqualand purchased the industrial site in April. A pickup game of basketball takes place Tuesday near the old Lone Star brewery. Austin developer Aqualand purchased the industrial site in April. Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 84 Caption Close Austin company purchases Lone Star Brewery 1 / 84 Back to Gallery
The old Lone Star Brewery site has been sold to AquaLand Development, the Austin real estate company confirmed Tuesday afternoon. The sale price was not disclosed.
AquaLand wants to turn the site into a mixed-use development that could include a microbrewery, multifamily housing, a theater, music venues, restaurants, a farmers market, retail, offices and parks, according to a news release.
“It’s going to be more targeted to the south part of town,” AquaLand Vice President Mark Evans said. “We’re going to do everything we can to preserve the historical features … there’s a lot of folks who have been in South San Antonio for a long time, and we’re listening to their wants and needs. So, there’s no leveling of buildings that’s going to happen here.”
AquaLand has purchased roughly half of the 60 acres from the Newell family, with an option to purchase the other half at a later date. The initial purchase includes the old brewery, cannery building and the grind shop.
Many observers see the old Lone Star Brewery’s potential as being similar to the Pearl, but south of downtown. Like the Pearl, the Lone Star Brewery industrial site faces the river — but the Mission Reach portion instead of the Museum Reach.
[email protected]
Twitter: mySAdowntownA public university run by private donations
Rise in corporate presence on campus
By Carly Simpson | 12/4/13 7:07pm
GVL / Hannah Mico DTE Energy sponsored the construction of the library; this area is on the third floor.
Grand Valley State University has earned a reputation for being ‘born’ by the West Michigan community and its business leaders. Although the university is past the bottle and diaper stage, corporations continue to nurture it.
“As a community asset, we know the corporations in the area feel that this is an excellent investment of their philanthropic dollars so that Grand Valley can continue to attract, educate and retain the best and brightest talent for West Michigan’s future,” said Karen Loth, vice president of University Development.
State funding has steadily decreased since 1997, and with little money coming from the government, the university relies on tuition and donations to sustain its budget.
Since 2009, University Development has raised around $1 million to $1.5 million each year from corporations, Loth said. In 2012, monetary gifts from corporations represented 11 percent of total private giving.
“In the last 20 years, the state has not had much money for construction,” said Matt McLogan, vice president for University Relations. “Of necessity, we asked business leaders to help us produce graduates. Grand Valley is no different from any other college. From day one, we’ve solicited gifts. We were born with them.”
Students and professors see proof of this as they walk past the campus buildings and rooms named after top donors, which has earned the university another reputation.
As mentioned in a previous Lanthorn article, “Roasting Lubbers,” GVSU alumnus and Ionia Mayor Dan Balice joked about having a toilet dedicated in his honor.
“If you’ve ever been to Kistler Hall, go to the fourth floor, men’s lavatory, third stall, it’s the Balice toilet,” he said. “Cost me 50 bucks, and Tom Haas tells me tonight there are still naming opportunities for the urinals.”
Although bathrooms on campus remain untouched by corporations, a growing trend is being seen at GVSU as students’ study spaces are being transformed by corporate undertones. This year alone, 31 rooms on campus have been named after corporations. The L. William Seidman Center has 18, the Robert B. Annis Field Station has 10, and the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons has three.
“Corporations give to non-profit organizations, like Grand Valley, to support their desire to be good corporate citizens and community partners,” Loth said.
Along with the warm, fuzzy feeling of philanthropy, though, these corporations are getting another return on their investments: name recognition. Thousands of GVSU students use these rooms every day.
“I really like going to the DTE Innovation room at the library,” junior Kelsey Martin said. “It’s a comfortable environment to study in and for meeting with groups. I think it can be seen as a form of positive advertising for them. It brings a twist to our campus that I think many students will notice.”
Loth disagreed, stating that corporate philanthropy and outreach is not the same as advertising.
“While their corporate name might get exposure in a building, they are not giving for that reason, and they could get much more exposure if they invested the same dollars into actual advertising,” she said.
The Grand Valley University Foundation plays a large role in creating and maintaining the university’s private and public partnerships and completing fundraising campaigns. Top donors to any given capital project are offered naming opportunities as available, Loth said, and they are able to select within a set of options or decline recognition.
“Corporations don’t come in and say ‘I want to buy a classroom,’ typically anyways,” said Nancy French, senior director of communications for University Development.
GVSU has five donor societies, which receive recognition for the different amounts they contribute. There are three lifetime giving societies: the Gillett Society, DeVos Society and the Seidman Society. The Lubbers and University societies are comprised of annual donors.
The DeVos Society includes donors such as Amway Corp., Meijer and Steelcase Inc., which have made gifts totaling $1 million or more in their lifetime.
The Seidman Society has three recognition levels: Founder ($500,000- $999,999), Pacesetter ($250,000-$499,999) and Benefactor ($100,000- $249,999). Autocam Corp., SPX Corp. and the DTE Energy Foundation are several members of the Founder level. Hines Corp. and the Grand Rapids Press are Pacesetters. Contributors at the Benefactor level include IMB Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
At GVSU, the top donors—including Amway, Meijer and Steelcase Inc.—are also top employers for graduates.
“Their support is essential today,” McLogan said. “We are delighted that the same businessmen who support our university also hire our graduates. It’s a great relationship.”
[email protected] have described Scotland’s red deer population as being “at crisis point” because animals that are too weak to escape are being culled.
Stalkers in the Highlands are blaming conservation groups for “slaughtering” the beasts at a time they do not have the strength to run away.
The business of shooting them out of season is really not on Gamekeeper Donald Cameron
It is claimed stag numbers on one Knoydart estate have dropped from 1,000 to just 350 in the past decade.
Graham Waugh, head gamekeeper at the Barisdale Estate on the shores of Loch Hourn, about 40 miles north-west of Fort William, said numbers have dwindled to such a low that just ten stags will be tracked during the summer season.
Mr Waugh said: “It’s a problem right across Scotland. When we are stalking stags, we go out and find the right one and it’s a very controlled process. We are lucky if we get two a day and quite often we go out and come back with nothing.
“Basically, out of season if you want to you can go out and slaughter them because they are too weak to even run. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
He claimed the practice of shooting in winter was unfair on the stags and potentially damaging to Scotland’s £350 million country sports industry, adding: “It’s putting a real strain on the estates, which don’t make a lot of money at the best of times.”
Donald Cameron, gamekeeper at neighbouring Kinloch-Hourn Estate, added: “The deer are getting scarcer and scarcer. The business of shooting them out of season is really not on.”
The stag shooting season runs from July to October, while hinds are normally culled over the winter.
Robbie Kernahan, of Scottish National Heritage, said licences for deer culls had to be considered on a “case by case basis” and there were often good reasons for shooting out of season.
He added: “There are legitimate reasons for land managers using authorisations to cull deer out of season to prevent damage to the natural heritage.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said legislation regarding deer management have all retained closed seasons for deer shooting to prevent poaching, reduce disturbance of deer during calving and to ensure animals are in prime condition when culled.
He added: “Organisations that adopt a ‘no deer fencing’ policy and reject fencing as a management tool must apply for licences to cull deer outwith the legal seasons. This is often justified by the misleading argument that there are ‘too many deer’. This is an inaccurate generalisation. In the Monadhliaths, there has been a drop of 10 per cent since 2004. Knoydart’s deer numbers dropped 26 per cent from 1996 to 2003.”
Mike Daniels, of conservation charity the John Muir Trust, said: “Deer numbers have to be controlled to protect nature. High deer numbers have a potentially adverse impact on woodland regeneration.
“Through responsible management of the deer population on our land in Knoydart, the John Muir Trust has begun to transform what was a barren landscape into a flourishing native woodland. This inevitably attracts stags from neighbouring sporting estates.
“We have improved the habitat for our native deer. But when densities are too high, deer can cause damage. In the absence of natural predators they have to be culled.
“There is nothing to stop estates from improving the habitat on their own land so that deer aren’t forced to seek food and shelter elsewhere in the winter.”
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iPhone | iPad | Android | KindleAggies appreciate SMU player's kind act
COLLEGE STATION - SMU center Blake McJunkin tries abiding by 2 Timothy 4:2-5, so much that he's prominently displayed the Bible verses on his Facebook page.
One verse reminds readers to "keep your head in all situations." McJunkin, however, took that slice of solid advice a step further in the heat of competition on Sunday night. By helping Texas A&M's Trent Hunter keep his head in a sticky situation at Kyle Field.
Hunter, the Aggies' affable safety, had returned an interception early in the first quarter against the Mustangs, and in the process lost his helmet when McJunkin and SMU teammate Kelly Turner wound up on top of him for the tackle.
With Hunter's head exposed and with players still moving around, McJunkin committed an act that serves as a sweet reminder that good kids still play this good game - even if it's a game sometimes causing old men in suits to bicker about things way above the players' heads (see conference alignment).
A helping arm
McJunkin, with one swift, spontaneous move, shielded Hunter's head with his burly left arm, providing safety for the safety in what could have been a dangerous situation for A&M's defensive team captain.
Texas A&M safety Trent Hunter received some help from an opponent after his interception against SMU. Texas A&M safety Trent Hunter received some help from an opponent after his interception against SMU. Photo: DAVE EINSEL, Associated Press Photo: DAVE EINSEL, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Aggies appreciate SMU player's kind act 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
"It was just a natural reaction," McJunkin said. "When he lost his helmet, it was just the right thing to do, no matter the color of his jersey. I've seen people get hurt in that situation."
Hunter, in watching the game tape, recognized McJunkin's kind act - and appreciated it in a way that only guys who've put their well-being on the line to play a game can.
"My helmet popped off and I really didn't know what had happened," Hunter said. "When I was watching the video later, I saw that (McJunkin) was protecting my head from any other hit. I really appreciate that gesture - it's what sportsmanship is all about."
McJunkin appreciated the outpouring of thanks from Aggies via the Internet after he looked out for one of their own - in a moment that might have filled lesser men with rage following a key turnover.
"People just said, 'Hey, man, thanks for protecting our player,' " McJunkin said. "That was humbling, to get those messages."
SWC ties abound
McJunkin, a senior from Plano, comes from what he describes as a "big old mixture" of old Southwest Conference teams. His mother attended Baylor and his dad, Kirk, played at Texas, while his grandfather, Herb, and uncle, Brad, played briefly at A&M. McJunkin attended games at Kyle Field as a youth.
"I was very familiar with A&M and Kyle Field and the whole atmosphere," McJunkin said. "I kind of came full circle in getting to play a game there."
It's a game he won't forget - and neither will a bunch of Aggies thanks to the example he set in a single, pure moment of sportsmanship. When he kept his head - and wrapped a protective, hefty arm around the head of a foe.
[email protected]
Football
The No. 7 Aggies whipped SMU 46-14 on Sunday night at Kyle Field, but don't play again until Sept. 17 against Idaho. Coach Mike Sherman said it's not easy on his team to have an immediate break after opening the season.
"You have a long preseason, then you start the season, and then you're off again," said Sherman, adding that his team got a "little sloppy" late in camp. "Part of that is a certain amount of boredom had set in. (During) a game week, the kids get excited and more focused. I'd rather be playing."
Meanwhile defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie arned Big 12 defensive player of the week honors after collecting three of the Aggies' eight sacks against SMU.
Soccer
The Aggies (3-3) take on sixth-ranked Duke (5-1) at 3 p.m. Friday and top-ranked North Carolina (4-0) at 11 a.m. Sunday in Durham, N.C., as part of the Duke Nike Classic.When asked, most individuals will describe themselves as better-than-average in areas such as leadership, social skills, written expression, or just about any flavor of savvy where the individual has an interest. This tendency of the average person to believe he or she is better-than-average is known as the “above-average effect,” and it flies in the face of logic… by definition, descriptive statistics says that it is impossible absurdly improbable for a majority of people to be above average. It follows, therefore, that a large number of the self-described “above average” individuals are in fact below average in those areas, and they are simply unaware of their incompetence.
It seems that the reason for this phenomenon is obvious: The more incompetent someone is in a particular area, the less qualified that person is to assess anyone’s skill in that space, including their own. When one fails to recognize that he or she has performed poorly, the individual is left assuming that they have performed well. As a result, the incompetent will tend to grossly overestimate their skills and abilities. A few years ago, two men from the Department of Psychology at Cornell University made an effort to determine just how profoundly one misoverestimates one’s own skills in relation to one’s actual abilities. They made four predictions, and executed four studies.
Justin Kruger and David Dunning made the following predictions before beginning their investigation:
Incompetent individuals, compared with their more competent peers, will dramatically overestimate their ability and performance relative to objective criteria. Incompetent individuals will suffer from deficient metacognitive skills, in that they will be less able than their more competent peers to recognize competence when they see it–be it their own or anyone else’s. Incompetent individuals will be less able than their more competent peers to gain insight into their true level of performance by means of social comparison information. In particular, because of their difficulty recognizing competence in others, incompetent individuals will be unable to use information about the choices and performances of others to form more accurate impressions of their own ability. The incompetent can gain insight about their shortcomings, but this comes (paradoxically) by making them more competent, thus providing them the metacognitive skills necessary to be able to realize that they have performed poorly.
In each study, the men tested participants in areas where knowledge, wisdom, or savvy was crucial, specifically humor, logical reasoning, and English grammar. The participants were then asked to guess at the accuracy of their own performance so their self-assessment could be compared to the actual results.
In short, the study showed that the researchers’ predictions were spot-on. Participants scoring in the bottom quartile grossly overestimated their test performance and ability, and analysis confirmed that this miscalibration was due to deficits in metacognitive skill (the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error). Those who were incompetent tended to suspect that their abilities were unequal to the tasks, but the suspicion often failed to anticipate the magnitude of their shortcomings. As predicted, training the participants on the subjects in question increased their metacognitive competence, and allowed them to better recognize the limitations of their abilities.
Also interestingly, the top performers tended to underestimate their own performance compared to their peers. The researchers found that those participants fell prey to the false-consensus effect, a phenomenon where one assumes that one’s peers are performing at least as well as oneself when given no evidence to the contrary.
Were the researchers’ conclusions accurate? If asked, they would probably answer in a confident affirmative. However their execution forces one to ponder whether these chaps may have overestimated their own competence. In the first study, participants were asked to rate the “funniness” of a series of jokes, and the correctness of their responses was used to measure their metacognitive competence in humor. The test’s answer key, which was used to grade the participants’ responses, was provided by a panel of expert comedians. The comedians were asked to rate the jokes on a scale from 1 to 11, and one comedian’s responses were discarded because their answers did not correlate well with the others. One hopes the irony of these decisions was not lost on the researchers.
The British philosopher Bertrand Russell once wrote that “the trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” This is true whether one interprets “stupid” as foolish (short on smarts) or as ignorant (short on information). Deliberately or otherwise, his sentiment echoes that of Charles Darwin, who over one hundred years ago pointed out that “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”
The Internet is a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet of such misplaced confidence. Online, individuals often speak with confident authority on a subject, yet their conclusions are flawed. It is likely that such individuals are completely ignorant of their ignorance. Cough.
Certainly the “Unskilled and Unaware of It” research backs up the idea that when a person cannot recognize his or her own poor performance, their self-assessment does not include that negative information. This results in an artificially inflated view of one’s own skills, often tempered by ego. The same effect will cause the incompetent to congratulate one another as they fail to detect one another’s inadequacies. One possible corollary to these conclusions is Scott Adams’ Dilbert Principle, which tells us that the most ineffective workers are systematically promoted into management. Perhaps those doing the promoting are incompetent, and therefore fail to recognize the incompetence in those they reward.
Obviously not all confidence is misplaced; sometimes it is the result of strong skills and accurate self-assessment. But all too often, confidence is an artifact of ignorance. As is the case with many human flaws, perhaps the best remedy is to never stop learning, to seek out and absorb constructive criticism, and to always be prepared to admit that you may be wrong about something.
Of course, the researchers may have drawn the wrong conclusions… perhaps most people really are above average.BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Hours after U.S. troops handed over control of Iraq’s cities to its domestic security forces, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 100 on Tuesday, police said.
People stand by a fire at the site of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, June 30, 2009. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed
The blast tore through a busy market in a largely Kurdish part of the city, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint between ethnic Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.
The U.S. pullback to rural bases from towns and cities is the first step toward a full U.S. withdrawal by 2012 agreed under a bilateral security pact.
Some Iraqis fear it leaves them open to attack by insurgent groups but many Iraqis celebrated what the government named “National Sovereignty Day,” more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Citizens and Iraqi soldiers drove around the streets of the capital in vehicles draped in flowers and Iraqi flags. Signs were draped on Baghdad’s many concrete blast walls reading “Iraq: my nation, my glory, my honor.”
“This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address.
“Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake.”
The day’s festivities included a parade in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic district, viewed by Iraqis as the ultimate symbol of the foreign military presence until local forces took control of it in January.
In a display of the military muscle Iraq will use to combat a stubborn insurgency, thousands of soldiers and police paraded on foot or in U.S.-donated Humvees, armored cars and tanks in a compound where Saddam’s forces once staged elaborate displays.
U.S. and local officials said the pullback of U.S. troops showed how far the country had come since it was almost torn apart by tit-for-tat sectarian killing in 2006/2007.
But the Kirkuk bomb underscored the fragility of the security gains. Iraq is less violent that it has been for years, but militants still stage frequent attacks.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama lauded the U.S. troop withdrawal as an important milestone but warned of “difficult days” ahead.
Frantic relatives of those who had been in the area dug through the rubble in Kirkuk, searching for missing loved ones.
“I went to the market to get some bread and there was a huge explosion,” said Taseen Azad, 21, who was lightly wounded. “I saw people falling on the ground, shops burning and dead people. Then someone took me to the hospital.”
The U.S. military said four U.S. soldiers based in Baghdad had died of combat-related injuries on Monday.
OIL CONTRACTS
In another sign of what Maliki called the start of a new era, foreign oil executives attended an auction at a Green Zone hotel for eight oil and gas fields in the country’s first major energy contracts for almost four decades.
Iraq needs the expertise of the oil majors to restore its oil infrastructure, hit hard by sanctions and war.
But its ambitions soon struck commercial realities as it found that there was a big gulf between what it was willing to pay for the 20-year service contracts and the fees the companies were willing to accept.
A consortium led by British-based BP accepted a deal to develop the biggest oilfield, the 17-billion barrel Rumaila in the south, but only after a group led by Exxon Mobil of the United States had rejected the government offer.
Slideshow (5 Images)
Awards to U.S. and British firms could anger opponents of the invasion, who have said the war was designed to give Western oil companies control over Iraqi oil reserves. U.S. and British officials deny the accusations.
The tight security at the auction, and the presence of bodyguards with earpieces escorting the international energy executives, was a reminder of Iraq’s still uncertain stability.
The political situation also remains unsettled. Tensions have grown between Baghdad and the minority Kurds in Iraq’s north, and all eyes are now on a parliamentary election in January that will test Maliki and Iraq’s fledgling democracy.OF the many remarkable things about Christopher Hitchens, who died on Thursday after one of the most prolific and provocative careers in modern Anglo-American letters, perhaps the most remarkable was how much religious believers liked him.
Not all believers, of course: When Hitchens’s esophageal cancer diagnosis became public last year, the famous atheist took obvious pleasure in quoting the none-too-Christian sentiments that bubbled up on various religious blogs and message boards (e.g., “Who else feels Christopher Hitchens getting terminal throat cancer was God’s revenge for him using his voice to blaspheme him?”). But in the world of journalism, among his peers and competitors and sparring partners, it was nearly impossible to find a religious person who didn’t have a soft spot for a man who famously accused faith of poisoning absolutely everything.
Intellectually minded Christians, in particular, had a habit of talking about Hitchens as though he were one of them already — a convert in the making, whose furious broadsides against God were just the prelude to an inevitable reconciliation. (Or as a fellow Catholic once murmured to me: “He just protests a bit too much, don’t you think?”) This is not a sentiment that was often expressed about Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, or any other member of the New Atheist tribe. But where Hitchens was concerned, no insult he hurled or blasphemy he uttered could shake the almost-filial connection that many Christians felt for him.
Some of this reflected his immense personal charm, his willingness to debate with Baptists and drink with Catholics and be comradely to anyone who took ideas seriously. But there was something deeper at work as well. American Christian intellectual life is sustained today, to a large extent, by the work of writers very much like Hitchens — by essayists and journalists and novelists and poets, from G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis to W. H. Auden and Evelyn Waugh, who shared his English roots, his gift for argument and his abiding humanism.
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Recognizing this affinity, many Christian readers felt that in Hitchens’s case there had somehow been a terrible mix-up, and that a writer who loved the King James Bible and “Brideshead Revisited” surely belonged with them, rather than with the bloodless prophets of a world lit only by Science.Adolescents often struggle to develop an appropriate level of self-esteem. But among ethnic minority groups, the problem may be significantly compounded as youth are challenged by issues unique to their ethnic group, such as dealing with social stigma.
However, a new study shows that a rise in young people’s ethnic pride can positively affect their mental health.
The study, carried out by researchers at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, and Walden University, appears in the November/December 2009 issue of the journal Child Development.
The researchers studied more than 250 African American youths from urban, low-income families in an effort to assess the unique effects of racial identity and self-esteem on mental health.
They found that when young people’s feelings of ethnic pride rose between 7th and 8th grades, their mental health also improved over that period, regardless of their self-esteem.
Even for those with low self-esteem, the investigators found, a sense of pride in their ethnic group served as a buffer to some mental health problems. Racial identity was a stronger buffer against symptoms of depression for boys than for girls.
“These findings imply that ethnic pride is important to African American adolescents’ mental health for other reasons than it simply makes them feel better about themselves as individuals,” according to Jelani Mandara, associate professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, who
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4 showdown with former prime minister Stephen Harper after his office accused her of inappropriately intervening in the defeated nomination of Marc Nadon.
She told CBC News this week, in her first public comments about that episode, that she was "shocked" and "astounded” by the accusation.
"I knew I hadn't done anything wrong...I thought about it and I said, ‘Well, you know, I'm not going to get into into a fight. Judges can't get into fights with politicians,’” she said. “But I do believe the public is entitled to the facts.”
The court came out with a statement pushing back on media reports of the feud. “At no time was there any communication between Chief Justice McLachlin and the government regarding any case before the courts,” it read.
Fielding multiple questions on the incident from a room full of reporters Friday, McLachlin declined to elaborate on her remarks to the public broadcaster.
“I don’t think I have much more to say on that. I have spoken about it as much as I was prepared to at the time — which was very little,” she said.
“Basically, it was something that happened. It all turned out fine, and I really don’t think I have much more to add.”
McLachlin said she’s always tried to be “reasonably circumspect” in her public remarks about any topic. She’s tried not to be political, talk openly about recent Supreme Court cases, or discuss what’s coming before the court.
She expressed hope that she had made the court more open and had tried to “reassure” Canadians that the courts are theirs.
She said she believes that, "as chief justice of the country, there is a role to be played in explaining or commenting on justice issues, as they play out in the courts, to the Canadian public.”
Outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin on Dec. 15, 2017 in Ottawa. The retiring top judge said she was proud of developing Indigenous rights while she was on the Supreme Court. Photo by Alex Tétreault
'Everybody knows that wrongs were done'
McLachlin said she was proud of developing Indigenous rights while she was on the high court.
The Supreme Court has ruled on a number of such cases recently, including on the Peel Watershed, blocking the Yukon government from rewriting a land use plan, and on Clyde River, which said Indigenous people don’t have a veto over resource projects affecting their territory.
In 2015, McLachlin made waves after she said Canada attempted "cultural genocide" against Indigenous peoples. "The most glaring blemish on the Canadian historic record relates to our treatment of the First Nations that lived here at the time of colonization,” she said at the time.
“‘Indianness' was not to be tolerated; rather it must be eliminated. In the buzzword of the day, assimilation; in the language of the 21st century, cultural genocide.”
At the press conference, she said she was “very proud” of what the court has done in the area of Indigenous rights. She described her work as the "development of a legal structure into which Indigenous rights can function” and called it “very, very important and interesting work.”
“We know, historically — everybody knows — that wrongs were done, that there was a policy of undermining...Indigenous cultures,” she said.
“We’re now embarked on a process of looking at our history, and learning from it, and this is what we call the process of reconciliation….the courts have played a role in this, and it’s been an interesting and important role.”I often wonder why some men strongly advocate for circumcision. I mean, if you are circumcised and happy about it, why would you go out of your way to advocate circumcising baby boys?
I understand why a circumcised man who is unhappy would advocate against circumcision. After all, he recognizes that a part of him was removed without his consent. If he is like me, he is unhappy that he has less than all the body parts he was born with. I think my sex organ is a pretty important part of my body. I would have preferred to keep it all. People that feel wronged often become advocates to stop what they perceive as an injustice. But, what is it with these other guys that preach incessantly about circumcision and advocate circumcising babies?
I came across this Aesop's Fable that seems to provide a reason. The parallel is uncanny, even though the fable is over 2500 years old. This fable may explain why some men so strongly advocate to circumcise the genitals of infant boys. There are several versions of the fable. Below are two.
The Fox Who had Lost his Tail
A Fox, caught in a trap, escaped with the loss of his brush. Henceforth feeling his life a burden from the shame and ridicule to which he was exposed, he schemed to bring all the other Foxes into a like condition with himself, that in the common loss he might the better conceal his own deprivation.
He assembled a good many Foxes, and publicly advised them to cut off their tails saying "they would not only look much better without them, but that they would get rid of the weight of the brush, which was a great inconvenience." One of them interrupting him said, "If you had not yourself lost your tail, my friend, you would not thus counsel us."
The Fox Without a Tail
It happened that a Fox caught its tail in a trap, and in struggling to release himself lost all of it but the stump. At first he was ashamed to show himself among his fellow foxes. But at last he determined to put a bolder face upon his misfortune, and summoned all the foxes to a general meeting to consider a proposal which he had to place before them.
When they had assembled together the Fox proposed that they should all do away with their tails. He pointed out how inconvenient a tail was when they were pursued by their enemies, the dogs; how much it was in the way when they desired to sit down and hold a friendly conversation with one another. He failed to see any advantage in carrying about such a useless encumbrance.
"That is all very well," said one of the older foxes; "but I do not think you would have recommended us to dispense with our chief ornament if you had not happened to lose it yourself."
Both versions of the fable above describe how someone who feels a loss advocates for others to also suffer the loss. Considering that the vast majority of men in the United States are circumcised, it is not a stretch to assume that those who strongly advocate circumcising others are themselves circumcised. By advocating circumcision, they, like the tailless fox, are trying to make everyone else just like them. I suppose that this is their way of validating their circumcision and denying that they lost anything by being circumcised.
With the current rate of routine infant circumcision falling in the United States, I am sure that these men are feeling particularly threatened. I hope that they soon realize the futility of their advocacy for routine infant circumcision and move on with their lives.Jan Groen and Menno MiddeldorpCentral bankers closely monitor inflation expectations because they’re an important determinant of actual inflation. Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) are commonly used to measure bond market inflation expectations. Unfortunately, they were only introduced in 1997, so historical data are limited. We propose a solution to this problem by using the relationship between TIPS yields and other data with a longer history to construct synthetic TIPS rates going back to 1971.The United States, like many other countries, learned the importance of inflation expectations during the 1970s, when employees demanded wage increases to protect themselves against higher inflation, which resulted in businesses passing along increased labor costs in the form of higher prices. Unfortunately, inflation expectations are difficult to measure. One way is to ask people what they expect through surveys. Another is to use inflation-linked bonds.TIPS are publicly traded government debt securities that compensate investors for the change in consumer prices. So while nominal Treasury holders demand a higher yield to offset expected future inflation, owners of TIPS are willing to accept an initial lower yield. The difference between the nominal yield on ordinary Treasuries and the real yield on TIPS (called the break-even rate) reflects expected inflation. However, nominal bondholders also recognize that actual inflation may deviate from the expected rate and, if they’re risk averse, will also want to be compensated for this uncertainty. In addition, investors care about the liquidity of a security because they don’t like to sell at a discount if they need to unload their holdings. While TIPS offer insurance against inflation, they’re also less liquid than nominal Treasuries; as a result, the break-even rate reflects both inflation risk and liquidity premiums in addition to expected inflation. Nevertheless, the break-even rate is the most commonly used measure of inflation expectations. One reason for this is that bondholders have an incentive to forecast accurately. Another is that break-evens are available in real time. Unfortunately, TIPS aren’t directly useful in helping to understand periods of high inflation, like the 1970s, because they didn’t exist until 1997, and inflation has subsequently been low and relatively stable.Fortunately, if we can estimate a relationship between real yields and longer time series and are willing to assume that the relationship is stable over time, then we can use a “backcasting” procedure to construct a TIPS real yields series for earlier time periods. Then we can use historical nominal bond yields to calculate break-even rates. We believe it makes more sense to backcast real yields rather than attempt to estimate historical break-evens directly, because while inflation expectations are unbounded, historical real interest rates are likely closer to levels experienced since 1997.We select 108 monthly time series dating back to 1971 that are plausibly related to real yields. Nominal yields are at the top of the list because they’re the sum of real yields and inflation expectations. Changes in real yields should thus result in changes in nominal yields. Furthermore, other indicators included in the data set are intended to capture changes in inflation expectations, so together with nominal yields they help identify real yields. The indicators related to inflation expectations are a collection of current price indexes and measures of the output gap. We also include different indicators of economic growth, which should affect real yields. In addition, we include several measures of financial stress, such as credit spreads and realized volatility in financial markets, because in times of financial crisis central banks tend to cut interest rates to cushion the impact on the economy. We include as well a history of private sector expectations from the Philadelphia Fed’s Survey of Professional Forecasters for the GDP deflator (inflation), GDP growth, and the gap between the estimated non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) and the actual unemployment rate (a proxy for the output gap).To combine all of those data efficiently in a way that best matches TIPS yields, we use a statistical technique called partial least squares (PLS). The PLS methodology boils the data down into a small number of factors—linear combinations of our variables—that have maximum explanatory power for the TIPS yields. The TIPS yields data since 1997 are then regressed onto the factors to determine coefficients that best combine them into a single estimate. To correct for changes in TIPS market liquidity, which appears to have affected pricing before 2005 and during the financial crisis, we also include the transaction volume of TIPS in the regression (see chart below). We can again use regression analysis since 1997 to obtain loadings—coefficients that relate each individual factor to each of the time series in the data set. The key to our approach is to recognize that we ultimately form a link between the TIPS yields and the data set—the regression coefficients relate the TIPS yields to the factors, while the loadings relate the factors to the data set. Consequently, the product of the loadings and the coefficients allows us to map the data set (either post-1997 or earlier) into historical estimates of TIPS yields.Clearly measuring liquidity in the TIPS market prior to its creation isn’t possible; however, to generate a backcast we need to set a value for TIPS transaction volumes. Simply setting this value to zero would result in a large wedge between the backcasts and the actual TIPS rates in the period immediately after the TIPS bonds started to trade when the market was much less liquid. Instead, we define a level of TIPS transaction volumes that approximates stable market conditions. The aforementioned chart suggests that this was most likely the case between 2005 and mid-2008, as transaction volumes have been substantially more volatile both before and after this period. Therefore, when producing the backcasts we assume that the TIPS transaction volumes are fixed at the average of the period 2005 to mid-2008. This last step completes our backcasting procedure for the ten-year TIPS yield. The next chart presents a comparison between the backcast and actual ten-year TIPS yields. Subtracting the backcast real rates from the historical nominal yields produces break-evens for each of these maturities.We can confirm that our synthetic histories are reasonable by comparing them with other available estimates that have long histories.Regarding long-term real rates, theory tells us that these should be related to potential GDP growth. We therefore compare an estimate of potential growth from the Congressional Budget Office with our twenty-year real rate backcast, and find that with the exception of the mid-1970s they track closely (see next chart).Regarding break-evens, one of these is the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumer Confidence Sentiment, which has asked for expectations for inflation over five to ten years since 1979. Another is a measure of long-term inflation expectations spliced together from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (from 1990), the Hoey survey of market participants (from 1981 to 1989), and a model of inflation expectations developed by Kozicki and Tinsley (2001) (before 1981). The last chart shows that the ten-year break-even rate tracks these series relatively well, although in the early 1980s the rate appears to be elevated relative to the other measures. This may reflect an elevated inflation risk premium, because there may have been greater uncertainty about the success of the Fed’s inflation-fighting policies.Overall, the backcast seems to provide a plausible synthetic history of break-evens, allowing for analysis of financial market inflation expectations over a forty-five-year timeframe. Interested readers can download the historical estimates of break-evens here The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors. Jan Groen is an officer in the New York Fed’s Research and Statistics Group.Menno Middeldorp is affiliated with Utrecht University. He was an economist in the New York Fed’s Markets Group when this post was written.THE owners of a cat that went missing four years ago got a late surprise Christmas present when they were reunited with her the day after Boxing Day.
Willow, who is now 10 years old, disappeared after being let out to play from her home in Princetown, Devon in 2007.
The black cat was one of three that vanished from the same street within months of each other.
While one of them turned up in Taunton, Somerset, Willow was finally found in Plymouth.
"It's really only sinking in now, but it's the best Christmas present ever," owner Cristel Worth said.
"How she managed to stray from Princetown to, about 20 miles away, to get to Elburton, I have no idea."
Willow was taken in six months ago by a family until a space became available at a nearby animal rescue centre.
But it was not until last week that the Gables Farm Dogs' and Cats' Home finally identified her thanks to an implanted microchip.
Worth said she was with her husband, Mark and their two young daughters when she received the call from the charity last Tuesday.
"We had almost given up hope that we would ever find her again and it was a really wonderful experience to know that she had finally come home," she said.
"I wish she (Willow) spoke, as all we know is that for the last six months she's been living in Elburton, but the previous three and a half years are a mystery."
She added: "I'm not sure what has happened to her during the last four years but she does seem a lot more timid than before she left our family...She's now getting lots and lots of TLC, lots of cuddles and more cats' toys than you could imagine."Currently screening in German cinemas, "Far End of the Milky Way" is a trip to the periphery of society. In the far reaches of Mecklenburg, wealth and jobs are scarce, but the 50-strong community wants to stay. With stubbornness and a sense of humor, they make the best of their situation, living on the margins of subsistence and dependent on the surrounding nature. Their daily life is dominated by work and memories of loss. With infectious curiosity, directors Leopold Green and Dirk Uhlig look for a gap in the system and from inside explore what the community holds to heart. Between grazing ponies, flowering trees and gentle rain, "Far End of the Milky Way" gives a touching image that is both soothing and bittersweet. DW's Melanie Sevcenko sat down with Leopold Grün to talk about making an observational film while becoming an honorary local.
DW: How did you first encounter the people of this one-street village?
Leopold Grün: A friend of mine wrote an ethnological paper about the question of what happens to a region without any jobs at all. This paper is looking into what sort of work is needed and has to be shared in order to survive in those regions. When we read this scientific work we found those biographies so interesting that we decided to go exactly to this place she wrote about. One street, 50 people, 20 houses, that's it.
So we look at this biotope, this village, to show what happens to a region that falls out of time. A region with nothing left, where nobody cares about you, what's happening there for real? That was the first idea. So we went and talked to the people with the camera for one year. Then we stayed until 2011, for three years.
Your camera follows the villagers everywhere. How did you gain such intimate access into the lives of your characters while earning their trust?
This intimacy we're showing can only be achieved by talking to the people over a period of time. When they feel that you won't betray them, things can get more intimate. It was all about finding out how these people live. So we started filming early in the morning and stopped in the evening. Not everybody lets you in his bedroom or takes you to the physical therapist, but Max, the man you see getting up in the morning and who shows his body during the massage, doesn't talk about his feelings - but he shows his body. That's his way of letting you get closer.
Gabi talks in the film about losing her husband
Others, like Gaby, the woman with the horses, also talks about her feelings and tragic moments in her life like her husband dying, but she would never let you film her in her bedroom. You can't have this sort of intimacy when you have this constant pressure: Hurry up, we need results fast, come on, go, go, go. No, we had all the time in the world. It wasn't always easy. Sometimes people said stop and we accepted it. I guess that's the secret.
The entire film is straight-forward observation. How do you find the structure for the film after three years of filming?
The structure comes as you slowly get closer through observing. The faces, the people become more complex by the minute. And suddenly they talk. They don't talk at the beginning. You only watch the situation. But at some point they talk and they even have their own point of view. They have something to say. It's not us talking to them. They are talking to us.
I think that's why the structure and the script work. It's not a classic script with a climax. There is no conflict except for the one that has always been there.
The other thing is that we are not protagonists. Dirk and me, you don't hear us talk in the movie. You only hear the protagonists talking to us. This had been decided early on. In today's documentaries you often see the director clowning around on camera. We didn't want to have the director in the foreground because then his relationship with the people becomes more important and we take that for granted.
We know this village is in East Germany, but there are no titles telling us exactly where we are. Why did you make that decision?
The film is now playing in select German theaters
This place represents many other places, little towns and villages. It was important for us that you can tell it's Germany - Northern Germany, the former East. We also felt that it was important to feel the characters. That's why a lot of stuff did not have to be spoken out loud. You look at their faces and wonder what their story is, whether they feel good or not. You don't get all the information, but you feel something about the individual characters, or at least we hope that's what the audience does.
What is your relationship to the villagers now?
This friend of mine lived there, so I often go there. We didn't want to make a film about friendship. That's not the issue. Art is also about radicalism. So, what do you do? You show what's going on in a radical way, which can also be hard for these people. But, nonetheless, I believe they keep their dignity. It's a process between those two sides, but it's necessary to have a radical approach to make the film. So we still have a good relationship.
This film has two directors - Dirk Uhlig and yourself. What form did your collaboration take?
First we just wrote down our impressions and later compared them. What did the other see and find important? During filming I did the interviews while he concentrated on the images with the cameraman. But sometimes we switched. Then we were in the editing room for 106 hours. Terrible! But we had three years of filming, which was great.A couple of years ago, some friends and I took a road trip from the east coast to the southwest. We spent about two weeks across the Mexican border in the state of Chihuahua, mostly in Ciudad Juarez. It was here where I first tasted horchata- creamy, sweet, and so refreshing in the summer heat. I've been trying to recreate that experience ever since with all sorts of powders and boxed rice milks, but it wasn't until I stumbled upon this recipe that I was really taken back to Juarez. As far as I know, this recipe is very authentic, with evaporated milk thrown in for an extra creamy punch. Trust me, your friends and family will be amazed!
All of the ingredients are cheap and easy to find. One thing you should make sure you have for this recipe is a cheesecloth, which can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores.
If you don't drink milk, this horchata is still good without the evaporated milk, just increase the sugar to about 1 cup or to taste.Opening batsman Martin Guptill has been left out of New Zealand's squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan. Uncapped Auckland batsman Jeet Raval and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme have been picked, while allrounder Todd Astle, who played his only Test in November 2012, has been recalled.
Raval, who was in the squad for New Zealand's Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year, is set to take Guptill's place at the top of the order. The 28-year-old left-handed batsman averaged 55.71 in last season's Plunket Shield and in three matches this season has scored 244 runs at an average of 40.66.
Guptill's form in Tests this year has been a worry for the side. In nine matches, the batsman scored 393 runs at an average of 24.56 with two fifties, struggling for runs in the home series against Australia and on the tours of South Africa and India. Four other players who were part of the India tour - Doug Bracewell, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi and Ish Sodhi - missed out. Among the excluded players who toured India, Ronchi had the best performance, ending as the highest run-getter for New Zealand with 200 runs in six Test innings. Patel and Sodhi picked up six and three wickets respectively, while Bracewell did not get a game.
"Jeet has been in the picture for a while now and he benefitted from spending time in the environment during the tour of Africa," New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. "His form in recent seasons has been excellent and the opportunity for Jeet to begin his international career in familiar conditions will be important.
"Luke, Martin, Doug miss out this series, but we know that they and the others who miss out will continue to work hard on their game and get the chance to continue staking a claim in the domestic competition."
Astle and de Grandhomme were rewarded for their consistent performances in domestic cricket, with Astle's legspin set to cover for the absence of allrounder Mitchell Santner, who fractured his wrist recently. Astle is the only specialist spinner in the squad.
Astle has taken 116 wickets in the last three Plunket Shield seasons, and 14 in this edition of the tournament. He has also contributed with the bat for Canterbury, scoring 267 runs, including a career-best 195 against Northern Districts in the first round.
De Grandhomme, who has played an ODI and four T20Is for New Zealand, has been picked as an all-round option. He has scored 216 runs in three Plunket Shield matches so far, including one century, and has taken five wickets for Auckland as a seamer. The century, an unbeaten 144, came in tight two-wicket win against Otago, in a run chase of 373.
"Todd's been incredibly consistent at the domestic level, having been one of the top four wicket-takers in the Plunket Shield for the past threes seasons," Larsen said. "His bowling has continued to improve and he's also shown impressive form with the bat, so Todd provides a similar skill set to Mitchell Santner in his absence.
"Since Colin returned from injury last season, he's made a number of key contributions with bat and ball. He's made an impressive start to the current Plunket Shield season and he provides us with another strong allrounder option."
Six players were not considered due to injury: Santner, Mark Craig, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and George Worker. Corey Anderson, too, was not considered, as he continues to work on building up his bowling workload, after recovering from a back injury. Anderson had been picked as a specialist batsman in the ODI series against India, but bowled four overs in the fifth match.
The first Test will be played in Christchurch from November 17, while the second Test starts from November 25. Astle and de Grandhomme have been withdrawn from the New Zealand A squad for the tour match against the Pakistanis, with Kyle Jamieson and Luke Woodcock taking their place.
New Zealand squad Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ WatlingArmed Danish police on Sunday raided an Internet cafe in Copenhagen as authorities investigated two deadly shootings on the weekend that left two dead and five police officers wounded.
At least two people at the cafe were taken away by police in handcuffs, according to media reports.
"It's part of our investigation," a police official told the broadcaster DR.
The raid on the cafe came hours after police told reporters they were carrying out searches in several parts of the Danish capital.
Suspect 'known to authorities'
Earlier, the head of the Danish intelligence agency PET, Jens Madsen, said the suspected gunman behind the shootings on Saturday night and early Sunday morning was known to the intelligence services prior to the shooting.
The 22-year-old gunman, who was suspected of killing two people and wounding five officers before he was shot dead by police early Sunday, had a history of assault and weapon offences and a background in criminal gangs, police said.
Although the attacker's identity has been established as a citizen born and raised in Denmark, police said they would not yet publish his name due to the ongoing investigation.
Madsen told a news conference that authorities were investigating whether the suspect had been inspired by an Islamist killing spree in Paris last month in which 17 people died. He said, however, that his agency did not believe the man had received jihadist training in the Middle East.
Police shot dead the suspect outside his apartment building after being tipped off by a taxi driver. The driver had given the man a ride after the first attack at a discussion on free speech attended by Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who has received death threats for satirizing the Prophet Muhammad in cartoons.
A 55-year-old man, later identified as documentary filmmaker Finn Noergaard, was killed in the attack. Three police officers were wounded.
The suspect then went on to shoot a Jewish security guard, identified as 37-year-old Dan Uzan, outside Copenhagen's main synagogue, where around 80 people were celebrating a bat mitzvah. The guard later died of his injuries. Two police officers were slightly wounded in the attack.
Thorning-Schmidt: Not a conflict between Islam and the West
'Attack on democracy'
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt told a televised news conference on Sunday that she was liaising with the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Sweden.
"When the Jewish community is attacked, our democracy is attacked, the whole of Denmark is attacked," she said.
"We don't know the motive for the attacks, but we know that there are forces that want... to crush our freedom of expression, our belief in liberty," she said, adding that it was "not a fight between Muslims and non-Muslims."
Denmark's Queen Margrethe has expressed "grief over the scope of the events" and urged citizens to "stand together."
Security threat
European governments have been increasingly concerned about the threat posed by young radicalized Muslims returning to Europe after traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside violent jihadist groups such as the "Islamic State."
The three days of violence in Paris, which began with an attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7, have put security forces throughout Europe on high alert.
Denmark became a target for violent Islamists after cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad were published there 10 years ago. The images led to sometimes deadly protests in the Muslim world.
Many Muslims consider it blasphemous to create any artistic depiction of the prophet.
tj/cmk (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)In January, Sarah Howe, a writing research fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute (previously a research fellow at Caius) won one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious literary awards: the TS Eliot poetry prize. Hailed for its exploration of the complexities of a dual British-Chinese heritage (Howe was born in Hong Kong and moved to Britain when she was nine years old), Loop of Jade is evocative, rich, and for me, intensely relatable – reading this collection of poems made me nostalgic for home, but also forced me to think about my fundamental inability to experience life as a local, due to my – let’s face it – whitewashed education. When I read that Howe was the recipient of this award, I was so happy – happy for the representation, happy for the amplification of a voice that is so rarely heard in mainstream English-language literature.
Imagine the anger I felt, then, when I came across Private Eye’s (“the UK’s number one best-selling news and current affairs magazine” – figures) suggestion that Howe was awarded the prize based on “extra-poetic reasons” implying that she was only successful because she is “a successful and very ‘presentable’ young woman”. Imagine my disgust at Oliver Thring’s (Sunday Times) patronizing description of Howe’s verse as “pummel[ing] the reader with allusion, scholarship, and a brusque, sixth-formy emphasis on her own intelligence” in an interview with the poet. As would be expected Thring was almost immediately called out on social media for his belittling comments. As would also be expected, his terrible reply elicited even more uproar – the sentence “this gentle interview with a leading young poet has led various deranged poetesses to call me thick, sexist etc” was greeted by the creation of the hashtag #derangedpoetess, used by women writers to criticize the plainly misogynistic undertones of Thring’s critique. (I mean, I’m not one to speculate, but something tells me that Thring would have no problem with the male British Eliot’s own The Waste Land, which drips so heavily with allusion that it is almost incomprehensible without a full working knowledge of the Western canon, Buddhism, and the Hindu Upanishads. I mean, God forbid a poet reference Jorge Luis Borges.)
What this debacle made clear to me, however, is that it is almost too easy to forget that Sarah Howe wasn’t just criticized because of the fact that she is a woman poet who happens to be beautiful and young. The title of Thring’s article, “Born in the rubbish tip, the greatest poetry of today”, does not read solely like an eye-catching hook; the sentence “[r]egardless, what she calls ‘the fluidity of my racial experience’ seems destined to remain the central theme of her work” does not seem like a wholly unbiased criticism of the content of Howe’s poetry. It’s a kind of prejudice less pronounced, more implicit, than that often seen in the media, but one that demands to be discussed; it’s an experience of race not very often taken up in forums and discussions, even those that champion intersectionality, but that is still so important and so pervasive. In castigating Thring’s reactions to Sarah Howe’s success, people are often quick to forget that his view is indicative of a certain kind of racialized misogyny. It is this neglect that has been one of the missing pieces of intersectional discourse, the lack of recognition that yellow is a colour, too.
To be East Asian – to be yellow – is to live with a certain detachment from conversations about race while experiencing racism on a day-to-day basis. To be East Asian is to have one’s experiences continually negated or undermined through references to individual countries’ economic successes, to be constantly looking for spheres of solidarity despite our communities’ false consciousness of the nonexistence of racism. Drawing on an example from my own life, the FLY Hosts Men of Colour event in Lent term demonstrated to me the current lack of discourse on East Asian identity politics. The event itself was fantastic – I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to and learn from the experiences of men of colour in Cambridge, given that it is difficult enough to find like-minded activists in this University who want to engage in meaningful dialogue rather than pointless, abstract debate, let alone people who want to share their experiences of racism, alienation, and micro-aggression (for good reason –1 as was discussed, our responsibility is, first and foremost, to ourselves). And personally, I found this forum so important in developing an understanding of my own privilege as an East Asian woman: while oppression does find visible expression in my life, with many of my frustrations originating from microaggressions and hurtful and damaging stereotypes, FLY Hosts Men of Colour gave me the opportunity to listen to stories about how the intersections of gender and race make ‘the Cambridge experience’ even more impossible than it already is for some people of colour. But the fact that the event brought together so many people of colour that there weren’t enough chairs to accommodate us all made it more than a little disappointing when I realized that there were no East Asian men in the room.
Or more precisely, the most disappointing aspect of this realization was that rather than feeling frustrated right away, I immediately blamed myself for even having entertained the notion of representation: of course no one would show up – I mean, barely anyone had indicated interest in attending the event (I checked), and out of all the East Asian men I knew, none were even remotely interested in discussions about race. If I was being completely honest, the lack of presence of East Asian women in FLY should have set me up for a similar dearth in similarly-engaged men. Maybe the stereotypes were right – maybe we East Asians were just less interested in the world around us, less political… or maybe we just wanted to (justifiably) get on with our degrees, without involving ourselves too much with the vagaries of student politics.
A couple of conversations after the fact knocked some sense back into me: laughing incredulously (and perhaps nervously) with others who also noticed the lack of East Asian men, my self-doubt turned into something like anger: anger at the apparent indifference with which East Asian people treated intersectional issues, anger at the general East Asian community’s inability to carve out a meaningful space within the BME community at Cambridge, anger at our apparent adherence to stereotypes of passivity and apoliticality. Running in my mind were the following questions: why are we so reluctant to join in the fight for liberation from oppressive structures of racism, sexism, cissexism, classism, and disablism? Why, at a place like Cambridge, where we constitute a large part of the BME intake, do we amount to such a minority within groups like FLY?
My anger was assuaged when I realized that I myself questioned for half a term whether I could be considered a BME woman. Internalized racial hierarchies, ideological insularity, personal indifference – my anger was not unjustified, but it may have been misplaced. I realized that there may have been and there may be a good reason for the general lack of East Asian people at these events. Maybe it wasn’t egotism. Maybe it was respect for space. Personally, what deterred me from FLY in the beginning was the fear that I had no right to be there. And perhaps that was and is why so few of us want to get involved. We do not see the intersection of race and gender as particularly damaging to our existence: this is not our fight, and moreover, to claim it as such would be selfish. As a middle-upper class woman from Hong Kong, I embodied privilege in the city – I constituted the majority. After arriving in Cambridge, there were just enough people who looked like me on the streets that
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the "Art of Fooling!"," he said while posting a picture of Modi with the offensive tweet.
At the party briefing later, Congress media incharge Randeep Surjewala said, "Digvijaya Singh has already spoken about it and clarified the issue. I think there is nothing further to add in the matter."
BJP spokesman G V L Narasimha Rao lashed out at Singh, saying opposition leaders like him have "degenerated into abusive trolls" after repeated electoral drubbings.
Singhs "crass comments demonstrate the degeneration of a party that prides itself on a great legacy. These comments amount to insulting 130 crore people of India whose mandate is vested in the prime minister," Rao said.
"The Congress will have to publicly apologise for the filthy abuse of its front-ranking leaders who in the wake of repeated electoral drubbings have degenerated into abusive trolls on the social media," he said. PTI SKC KR RT SMN AKK AKKBill Odenkirk (born October 13, 1965) is an American comedy writer.
Biography [ edit ]
Odenkirk was born in Naperville, Illinois. He is the younger brother of American actor and comedian Bob Odenkirk, and worked as a writer, producer and actor on sketch comedy TV show Mr. Show with Bob and David, which featured his brother as co-star. Odenkirk went on to write for Tenacious D and Futurama. He has written and executive produced episodes of The Simpsons. He holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Chicago.[1] He was a co-inventor of 2,2'-Bis(2-indenyl) biphenyl.[2]
Writing credits [ edit ]
Tenacious D episodes [ edit ]
He is credited with writing the following episodes, along with Jack Black, David Cross, Kyle Gass, Tom Gianas, and Bob Odenkirk:
The Simpsons episodes [ edit ]
He is credited with writing the following episodes:
Futurama episodes [ edit ]
He is credited with writing the following episodes:
References [ edit ]China’s lack of transparency has long posed a daunting challenge to outside observers trying to understand what the government’s interests, goals, and intentions are. Gary King, a Professor in Government at Harvard University, has provided telling new insights into these questions with his research on the government’s censorship of social media websites.
Using unique software developed for the project, King and his colleagues were able to capture posts on social media sites in China before censors removed them, and then analyze what kinds of subject matters and posts the censors were targeting.
After the team captured over 11 million posts over a 6-month period from popular social media sites in China like Weibo and Baidu, King and two of his colleagues at Harvard, Jennifer Pan and Margaret Roberts, published their findings in a recent article in the American Political Science Review.
The major conclusion from the study was that Chinese authorities do not often use censorship to prevent citizens from criticizing the government, its officials, or its policies. Instead, the results strongly suggest that censors are primarily interested in targeting posts with the potential to prompt “collective action,” such as organized protests and gatherings.
Indeed, according to the research, the actual substance of the post is of limited importance. As King explained in an interview with The Diplomat:
“Our data show that the Chinese censorship program allows for a wide variety of criticisms of the Chinese government, its officials, and its policies. As it turns out, censorship is primarily aimed at restricting the spread of information that may lead to collective action, regardless of whether or not the expression is in direct opposition to the state and whether or not it is related to government policies.”
In fact, even some posts in support of CCP policies were targeted for censorship if they were likely to prompt collective action. Moreover, not all of the censored subject matters were even political in nature. Pornography, for instance, is one area of interest for censors.
Interestingly, the information gathered from the software allowed the team at Harvard to clearly identify when major decisions had been made by the Chinese government, which was often days before a public announcement was made. In the interim period, the government would begin ramping up censorship of the topic or event in anticipation of announcing the decision. For example, by monitoring social media censorship, King was able to anticipate how the government was going to handle the Bo Xilai scandal before any media source simply by noting the increase in censorship of Bo’s name and related topics.
As King explained to MIT Technology Review, “We have examples where it’s perfectly clear what the Chinese government is about to do. It conveys way more about the Chinese government’s intents and actions than anything before.”
The researchers note that the sheer efficiency of the censorship operation was astonishing. Much of the censored material, for instance, was removed within 24 hours of being posted online. As King and his co-authors point out, the level of coordination that needs to happen among so many different government actors in such a short span of time is remarkable. In the journal article they explain,
“Given the normal human difficulties of coming to agreement with many others, and the usual difficulty of achieving high levels of intercoder reliability on interpreting text… the effort the government puts into its censorship program is large, and highly professional.”
This strategy of censorship has other implications as well. As many scholars have argued, the Chinese national government has often been able to harness local protests to improve the Party’s legitimacy, by identifying what the citizenry’s largest grievances are, and then trying to address them before the protesters turn their criticisms to the central government. The same appears to be true with social media websites; by meticulously monitoring social media websites, the government can gauge what the strongest grievances are among Chinese netizens. In this way, monitoring social media sites may actually improve the government’s responsiveness to ordinary people’s concerns.
Still, without the ability to freely gather and associate, China’s civil society has a long way to go before it can flourish. As the authors write in the APSR article, “With respect to this type of speech, the Chinese people are individually free but collectively in chains.”
Elleka Watts is an editorial assistant at The Diplomat.The United States told Iran Sunday it's time to consider extending nuclear talks, the first formal recognition by Washington that frenzied last-minute diplomacy may not be enough to seal a deal by a rapidly approaching deadline.
A senior U.S. official said that with the Monday evening cutoff date a little more than a day away, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Java Zarf that the two sides start discussing post-deadline talks in their latest meeting since Kerry arrived three days ago to add his diplomatic weight to the talks.
At the same time, two Western diplomats said, negotiations were continuing with Iran on trying to bridge differences on reducing Tehran's ability to make nuclear weapons to levels acceptable to Washington while giving the Islamic republic the relief it seeks from international sanctions over its atomic activities.
All three officials demanded anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the diplomatic twists and turns of talks that have been under a blanket of confidentiality since the sides started negotiating a comprehensive nuclear deal eight months ago.
The U.S. official said a number of options were under discussion.
"An extension is one of those options," the official said. "It should come as no surprise that we will also engage in a discussion of the options with the Iranians at some point as well."
Foreshadowing the developments, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told German television: "If there isn't quite a conclusion, we will have to search for possibilities to ensure that nothing breaks off here and the process can be continued."
Extension deal difficult
But reaching an agreement that allows for more negotiations could be difficult. Beyond assurances that the Iranians aren't just talking for the sake of winning time, the U.S. administration wants to show to congressional skeptics that there is sense to continuing the talks. That means Washington might push the Iranians to accept at least one of their demands on the table.
Should such a plan be agreed upon, talks could resume in early December when Kerry plans to return to Europe for a previously scheduled NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, and an international conference in London.
Outlining some differences between Washington and Tehran in general terms, President Barack Obama said the U.S. goal is "to shut off a whole bunch of different avenues whereby Iran might get a nuclear weapon, and at the same time make sure that the structure of sanctions are rolled back step for step as Iran is doing what it's supposed to do."
"I think Iran would love to see the sanctions end immediately, and then to still have some avenues that might not be completely closed, and we can't do that," he told ABC's "This Week" in comments aired Sunday
Foreign ministers arrive
As the clock ticked down, other foreign ministers from the six negotiating powers were converging on Vienna in a concerted effort to at least get an acceptable way to extend the talks even if the deal deadline is missed.
The foreign ministers of Germany, Russia and France were already in Vienna by late Sunday. Britain's foreign secretary was en route and China's foreign minister was scheduled to arrive Monday.
Kerry, who arrived Thursday, also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, whose country is vying for Middle East influence with Iran. Diplomats said Saud flew to Vienna from Paris solely for the briefing, and the two talked in his plane parked on the Vienna Airport tarmac.
The talks in Vienna aim for a deal that could transform the Middle East, open the door to ending economic sanctions on Iran and start to bring a nation of 76 million people in from the cold after decades of hostility with the West.
The cost of failure to reach a deal could be high. Iran's regional foes Israel and Saudi Arabia are watching the Vienna talks nervously. Both fear a weak deal that fails to curtail Tehran's nuclear ambitions, while a collapse of the negotiations would encourage Iran to become a threshold nuclear weapon state, something Israel has said it would never allow.
It became increasingly clear during a week of intensive negotiations between the top U.S. and Iranian diplomats that what officials close to the talks have been predicting privately for weeks is proving to be correct: a final deal is still too far off to hammer out by the parties' self-imposed deadline.
A European official said the possibility of securing a final agreement "seems physically impossible," echoing comments by Iranian officials.
Iran must not be allowed to set itself up as a nuclear threshold state. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
With the deadline less than 24 hours away, the issue was one of several options for negotiations raised in Kerry's latest meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China began the final round of talks with Iran on Tuesday.
Some Western officials describe two possible options for a likely rollover. Under one scenario, described as the "stop the clock option", the talks would simply break off and experts from the parties would reconvene in a few weeks for another attempt.
A lengthier option would be a formal extension into next year, adding new elements to an interim accord from last year.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, discussed a possible extension of the negotiations, as a deadline for a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers fast approaches. (Ronald Zak/Associated Press) Tehran blames the West for the deadlock, saying it has consistently made unreasonable demands of Iran.
They have also warned that the upcoming change in U.S. Congress, where hard line Republicans will soon dominate both houses, means U.S. lawmakers may push for new sanctions on Iran, which the Obama administration has said could torpedo the talks.
The negotiations aim to end Western suspicions that Iran is seeking an nuclear bomb capability, while allowing Iran to have the civilian nuclear program it says is its right under international rules. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
In a breakthrough preliminary deal reached a year ago, the United States and European Union agreed to ease some sanctions on Iran while Tehran agreed to some curbs on its nuclear programs. But a final deal proved elusive, with the sides forced to extend an earlier deadline in July.
The main sticking points in the talks are the scope of Iran's enrichment program, the pace of lifting sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and the duration of any deal.At least it's something to celebrate! Clean sweep for Valencia at United awards bash
Manchester United may have ended the season empty handed, but for Antonio Valencia there was a small personal triumph with which to console himself.
The winger, who cost United £16million when he moved to Old Trafford from Wigan in 2009, was named both fans' and players' player of the year as well as scooping the goal of the season award for his strike against Blackburn in April.
Valencia was presented with the Sir Matt Busby award after polling 37 per cent of a vote on the club's official website.
Clean sweep: Antonio Valencia won all three of the main prizes at Manchester United's end of season do
He is the eighth overseas player to win the award since 1988, following in the footsteps of Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andrei Kanchelskis, Javier Hernandez, Nemanja Vidic, Gabriel Heinze and Cristiano Ronaldo.
'I am very happy to receive all three awards,' Valencia said. 'After last night, the longest night of my life, I will take heart from this.
'There should be 20 of these awards because all of my team-mates deserve one. I'd like to thank them and to thank my fans at home in Ecuador and Manchester United fans everywhere.'
Wayne Rooney finished as runner-up with 24 per cent, while Paul Scholes, who it was announced would play on another year, came third with 12 per cent.
Speaking at the event, Rooney insisted Manchester United will bounce back from Sunday's crushing Premier League title disappointment.
For a few precious seconds following the final whistle at Sunderland, United thought they had retained their crown and secured a 20th league championship, only for their dreams to be dashed by Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner for Manchester City.
It left United on 89 points, but condemned to runners-up spot on goal difference. Already Rooney is looking ahead to next season and the chance to reclaim the title.
Lads night out: Some of the players bought girlfriends (including Phil Jones, Federico Macheda and David de Gea - all above), while Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley arrived with their team-mates
He said: 'Sunday was a difficult day for everyone. One minute you think we have won the title, then we haven't, which was heartbreaking. That is how it goes sometimes. We have to believe in ourselves.
'We have to look forward to next season and hopefully we can win some trophies next season. I am sure we will be back. We all believe in ourselves.'
Rooney has no doubt where it all went wrong for the Red Devils as they tossed away an eight-point lead with just six games remaining.
'The biggest disappointment was the Everton game,' he said. 'To be 4-2 up, with 10 minutes to go and to lose that lead is disappointing.
Bouncebackability: Wayne Rooney delivered a speech to his down-trodden team-mates
'But there are a lot of young players in the team. That is only going to benefit them. They will learn from that.'
That view was shared by central defender Rio Ferdinand.
'Sunday was a crazy day of emotions,' he said. 'I thought we had almost bagged it but then the impossible happened. We have to dust ourselves down and make sure we are in the right frame of mind.
'We have experienced players in the squad. We all have to learn and be stronger. You have to be together during the good times and the bad.'A deadly shooting that took place at an outdoor concert venue on the Las Vegas strip last night has left at least 58 people dead and over 500 injured. The shooter, identified as Stephen Paddock had a variety of firearms in his Mandalay Bay hotel room that he used to fire into a crowd of tens of thousands below him.
Paddock is believed to have committed suicide as law enforcement officers closed in on his position.
Several sources in the firearms industry, law enforcement and prior military members that spoke to us indicated that the sustained rate of fire was faster and more consistent than a standard semi-automatic rifle would be able to produce under most circumstances.
Now, according to a Fox News report citing a law enforcement source it does seem that the weapons used by Paddock were modified to fire faster than designed. According to Fox News:
Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock bought more than 30 weapons and had more than a dozen stashed in his hotel room as he carried out the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, Fox News learned Monday.
The deadly cache included converted, fully automatic AR-15 style assault rifles with high capacity magazines, according to a law enforcement source. The weaponry suggests Paddock passed numerous FBI background checks.
A senior law enforcement source tells Fox News that Paddock had “about” 19 guns in his hotel room.
The source also indicated that the rifles were chambered in both the popular 5.56mm and.308 calibers. The 5.56 is considered an intermediate round. It is used by the US military in the M-4/M-16 line of rifles as well as other weapon systems. The.308 is a larger caliber and is very similar to the 7.62×51mm NATO round which is used by the US military and its NATO allies for longer range applications. The.308 caliber itself is popular among hunters and long range shooters.
It is unclear how exactly the rifles were converted to fully automatic. It is also unclear if they were actually converted or if they used one of the popular add-on devices for AR style rifles that can increase the rate of fire, but usually not into the same speed as true select fire weapons.
A separate New York Times report indicates that two weapons were found mounted on tripods near two broken windows facing the scene of the shooting. A tripod would certainly help to increase the accuracy of fully automatic fire at the ranges Paddock was shooting from.Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones’ rehabilitation from his offseason foot surgery has progressed well and he has targeted the start of training camp for his return.
Atlanta Falcons star WR Julio Jones is on track to be ready for training camp at the end of July.
He had a bunion, a bony bump on his left foot that caused him to miss substantial practice time late last season, surgically removed in March.
“I just had to get something repaired,” Jones said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That was it. It was light. It wasn’t nothing.”
Jones has had two stress fractures surgeries on his right foot, raising concerns about this most recent surgery.
“I’m just so explosive,” Jones said. “Every year, it’s something with my feet. Hopefully, I’m glad, thank God, it hasn’t been anything with a knee or anything. But I’m an explosive player and my feet can’t really take it.”
Jones jogged off to the side while the team worked through an OTA (non-contact practice) and during the mandatory minicamp.
Despite being slowed by the injuries, Jones turned in another spectacular season with 83 catches for 1,409 yards and six touchdown catches.
In the playoffs, Jones recorded 19 catches for 334 yards and three touchdowns. He made a spectacular catch in the Super Bowl to move the Falcons to the 22-yard line with 4:40 to play.
Jones is ready to move forward.
“We have to work with this team now,” Jones said. “We lost some pieces from last year, but we also gained some pieces. We just have to gel again … let’s go one game at a time. If we get there, we get there.”
Jones, who starts his rehabilitation routine at 7 a.m. each morning, has been keeping up with the offense and believes the league’s top scoring attack will be dangerous again in 2017.
“We’re still out here,” Jones said. “Our offense is still potent.”
Jones has also been impressed with new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
“Sark has come right on in,” Jones said. “Sark is a really, really cool OC. He listens.”
Sarkisian has also said he has to find a way to get Jones more red zone touches, which makes him even cooler in Jones’ book.
The Falcons gave the hard-charging Jones all the time he needs to recover from surgery and other ailments.
Mohamed Sanu was a strong free agent pickup. He had a career-high 59 catches for 653 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Taylor Gabriel was slowed over the offseason by a lower leg strain after landing a $2.8 million deal. He also had the highest passer rating of any receiver on passes thrown to him in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus.
The passer rating of 148.1 on balls thrown to Gabriel last season was significantly better than the second-best rating of 129.8 on passes to Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan. Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams had the third-highest, at 124.6.
Last season, Gabriel finished with 35 catches for 579 yards and six touchdowns, playing as the No. 3 receiver behind Jones and Sanu.
Andre Roberts was signed in free agency and is the favorite to replace returner Eric Weems, who signed with Tennessee in free agency. Undrafted rookie Deante Burton had an impressive offseason, but he’ll have to main that when they put on pads.
Here’s a look at the projected depth chart heading into training camp:
OFFENSE
WR 11 Julio Jones, 14 Justin Hardy, 19 Andre Roberts, 1 Reggie Davis, 17 Marvin Hall
LT 70 Jake Matthews, 66 Kevin Graf, 79 Will Freeman
LG 67 Andy Levitre, 64 Sean Harlow, 72 Cornelius Edison, 69 Marquis Lucas
C 51 Alex Mack, 63 Ben Garland, 61 Travis Averill, 62 Cam Keizur
RG [71 Wes Schweitzer, 63 Ben Garland], 68 Trevor Robinson
RT 73 Ryan Schraeder, 76 Daniel Brunskill, 75 Andreas Knappe
TE 81 Austin Hooper, 80 Levine Toilolo, 82 Joshua Perkins, 86 D.J. Tialavea, 85 Eric Saubert, 49 Darion Griswold
WR 12 Mohamed Sanu, 18 Taylor Gabriel, 13 Devin Fuller, 15 Nick Williams, 16 Anthony Dable, 87 Deante Burton, 7 Josh Magee
QB 2 Matt Ryan, 8 Matt Schaub, 4 Matt Simms, 4 Alek Torgersen
RB 24 Devonta Freeman, 26 Tevin Coleman, 28 Terron Ward, 38 Brian Hill, 35 B.J. Daniels
FB 40 Derrick Coleman, 39 Tyler Renew
DEFENSE
DE 99 Adrian Clayborn, 98 Takkarist McKinley, 96 Martin Ifedi
DT 92 Dontari Poe, 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 92 Joe Vellano
DT 97 Grady Jarrett, 91 Courtney Upshaw, 74 Taniela Tupou
DE 44 Vic Beasley Jr., 95 Jack Crawford, 90 Derrick Shelby, 93 Chris Odom
SLB 59 DeVondre Campbell, 44 Vic Beasley Jr., 50 Brooks Reed, Jack Lynn
LB 45 Deion Jones, 53 LaRoy Reynolds, 52 Josh Keyes
WLB 36 Kemal Ishmael, 42 Duke Riley, 56 Jermaine Grace, 55 J’Terius Jones
CB 23 Robert Alford, 29 C.J. Goodwin, 25 Akeem King, 39 Janor Jones, 38 Taylor Reynolds
NB 34 Brian Poole, 33 Blidi-Wreh-Wilson, 27 Damontae Kazee
CB 21 Desmond Trufant, 32 Jalen Collins, 30 Deji Olatoye, 41 Quincy Mauger
S 37 Ricardo Allen, 20 Sharrod Neasman, 35 Marcelis Branch
S 22 Keanu Neal, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 48 Jordan Moore, 49 Deron Washington
SPECIALISTS
K 3 Matt Bryant, 6 Mike Meyer
KO 5 Matt Bosher
P 5 Matt Bosher
KR 19 Andre Roberts, 14 Justin Hardy, 13 Devin Fuller, 38 Brian Hill
PR 19 Andre Roberts, 14 Justin Hardy, 13 Devin Fuller, 18 Taylor Gabriel
LS 47 Josh Harris
H 5 Matt BosherEarlier today, the FT published a report saying that noted watch manufacturer Apple was in talks to buy a small racecar company in the suburban England. Rumors went wild for about two hours, until McLaren spokespeople firmly denied any talks were ongoing.
The FT isn't in the habit of totally making stuff up, so what exactly is going on?
DON'T MISS: Apple trying to take over supercar and F1 maker McLaren, report claims
Another important piece of the puzzle came from NYT reporter Brian X. Chen, who confirmed talks between Apple and McLaren from his own sources. He also added that Apple was also looking at investing in Lit Motors, a small San Francisco startup that makes self-balancing electric motorcycles.
Add this into recent news that Apple is "rebooting" its Project Titan car project, and recently laid off dozens of in-house engineers, and a pattern starts to emerge.
Let's say for a minute that Apple has been working on some kind of self-driving car project, entirely in-house, for the past couple years. (That idea is backed up by a long list of reports by this point.) But at some point in the recent past, things stopped going to plan, and Apple either realized it was heading in completely the wrong direction, or maybe its team just wasn't making any progress.
Worried by the fast progress being made by self-driving rivals like Tesla, Uber, Google and Volvo, Apple decided it needed to hire in some talent. So, it started doing the rounds to find a small car company with a strong R&D department that it could acquire.
McLaren, which is famous for its prowess in computer systems and materials science developed at its own R&D facility, would be an obvious candidate. So initial talks happened, as confirmed by the FT and NYT, but it wasn't the right fit. So it's a good guess that McLaren and Lit are just two of a list of companies that Apple is looking at acquiring.
Although buying a stake in a car company would be a strange move for Apple historically, the timing makes sense. Tim Cook has been on a campaign of unusually large investment recently, between buying Beats and a stake in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing. With the British pound at a historic low and the bulk of Apple's cash sitting outside the US, a major investment also makes financial sense for Apple.
So even though an Apple/McLaren takeover may not be on the cards, it sounds suspiciously like Apple is shopping around for a team of engineers to further its self-driving car plans. Of course, buying up a brain trust is one thing; competing with already-established self-driving car companies to be the big player in a brand-new industry is quite another.
Trending right now:
See the original version of this article on BGR.comTo get a sense of how Ebola might be affecting the national electorate, it's worth considering how a simple bottle of hand sanitizer affected students at Cornell University.
In their 2012 paper "Dirty Liberals! Reminders of Physical Cleanliness Influence Moral and Political Attitudes," Erik Helzer and David Pizarro stopped 52 Cornell students in a campus hallway and asked them to take a short survey. But there was a catch. Half the students were asked "step over to the wall to complete the questionnaire." The other half were asked to "step over to the hand-sanitizer dispenser to complete the questionnaire."
the simple reminder of hand sanitizer changed students' self-reported politics
The results were startling: the simple reminder of hand sanitizer — which is, itself, a reminder that disease is everywhere, and you need to be protecting yourself — changed students' self-reported politics. On average, students in the control group rated themselves a 4.93 on a scale where 1 was extremely conservative and 7 was extremely liberal. But students who were cued to think about the hand sanitizer rated themselves, on average, a 4.30 — and the difference held on fiscal, social, and moral issues.
The mere nearness of some hand sanitizer was able "to shift participants' responses toward the conservative end of the political spectrum," Helzer and Pizarro concluded.
The behavioral immune system
The researchers weren't just following up on a hunch. They were building on a rich and unnerving body of evidence that suggests some of our political beliefs run deeper than mere partisanship — they're evolutionary Jedi mind tricks that help us avoid infectious diseases.
The theory, at its core, is this: for most of humanity's history, infectious diseases were the single most profound threat to the survival of the species; they likely killed more humans than "all wars, noninfectious diseases, and natural disasters put together." But humanity fought back on two fronts. The first was the development of highly tuned immune systems. But the second was the development of behavioral responses — like the feeling of disgust when you smell rotted meat, or the shiver of fear you get when you see a rat — that helped us avoid carriers of infection.
Mark Schaller, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of British Columbia, calls this the "behavioral immune system," and once researchers began looking for it, they found it everywhere. People are disgusted by yellowish liquids that look like pus but unbothered by bluish liquids with the same texture. Women have stronger disgust responses when they're pregnant — and thus vulnerable to infection — than when they're not. Societies tend to be more xenophobic when they're in areas with higher risks of infectious disease.
Xenophobia is a completely rational response to the threat of disease
Xenophobia, in particular, is a completely rational response to the threat of disease: a group's immune system might be tuned against local pathogens but helpless against foreign agents, and foreigners may not be schooled in the local norms and behaviors that protect against infection. As such, it makes a lot of sense for groups who are more vulnerable to disease outbreaks to fear foreigners.
Researchers tested this by looking at whether people exhibited more xenophobia when they felt subjectively more vulnerable to infection. They did. In one experiment, Schaller — working alongside coauthors Jason Faulkner, Jason Park, and Leslie Duncan — showed some people a series of pictures that focused on how easily bacteria could be transmitted in modern life and other people pictures showing how easily accidents could happen. The subjects cued to think about disease showed much more prejudice and fear toward immigrants they perceived as particularly foreign than did the subjects cued to think about accidents.
It's not just xenophobia, and it's not just in labs. There have been a number of studies looking at whether high rates of infectious disease risk correlate with different kinds of governments and social behaviors in the real world. They do, and powerfully. As Ethan Watters writes in an overview of the evidence, researchers have found "severe pathogen stress leads to high levels of civil and ethnic warfare, increased rates of homicide and child maltreatment, patriarchal family structures, and social restrictions regarding women's sexual behavior."
How Ebola could twist American politics
The claim here is radical and discomfiting: many of our cherished political beliefs and even cultural and religious practices are, on some level, a faux-rational rebranding of behaviors and attitudes developed to protect against disease. And the reemergence of infectious disease threats can trigger the reemergence of some of these latent beliefs and behaviors.
Which brings us to Ebola, a threat that seems custom-designed to activate our worst instincts. It's an infectious disease, of course, and a particularly scary one at that. It comes from West Africa, and so it lights up the part of our evolutionary hardwiring that connects disease to foreigners. And we're hearing about it all day, every day. If the gentle, neutral mention of hand sanitizer can change someone's politics, what will the constant storm of Ebola coverage do?
If the gentle, neutral mention of hand sanitizer can change someone's politics, what will the constant storm of Ebola coverage do?
From the evolutionary perspective, what the American people want the government to do in response Ebola has been exactly what you would expect: there's been nearly instant pressure to shut down the borders and to quarantine anyone who has been anywhere near the foreigners. These ideas are wildly popular: a recent NPR poll found that 77 percent of Americans supported a travel ban.
As that poll suggests, this isn't really about Democrats and Republicans. When researchers say that infectious disease threats tend to increase traits associated with conservatism, they're talking about traits that run far deeper than party affiliation, and that can live in both parties simultaneously. What an infectious disease threat can do is shift the terms of the entire political system — both Democrats and Republicans will become a bit more closed to outsiders and mistrustful of change than they were before. These instincts long predate the invention of political parties.
You can see it with the travel ban. As modern as a travel ban sounds — it's about airplanes, after all — it is, in its way, an example of our most ancient reactions to infectious diseases: to draw a clear line delineating who is "us" and who is "them" and then make sure the line doesn't get crossed. The problem is, in the modern world, these instincts, which really did work for a very long time, can be counterproductive. "These kinds of reactions may have been adaptive in the past," says Schaller, "but in the current environment, there can be some really negative outcomes from these actions."
Travel bans, for instance, can lead to people hide their contact with Ebola victims, and thus spread the disease in ways we can't trace. They can also make it harder to get health workers and medical supplies to West Africa, where they're desperately needed if we're going to stop the Ebola outbreak. Quarantines effectively criminalize the health workers trying to stop Ebola in West Africa and might lead to fewer health workers willing to help victims.
For most of human history our only defense against disease was to hide from it, and to shun outsiders who might bring new diseases to our tribes. But recent events have proven that we can't hide from Ebola. A regional disease can turn into a global epidemic in an instant. The only way to stop Ebola in America is to stop it in West Africa. And that means our ancient instinct to close our borders won't work. Our only option is to fight Ebola together.AKRON, Ohio- The University of Akron no longer features "Ohio's Polytechnic University" as its brand.
The phrase, featured prominently with the university's name for a year, has been replaced by "Home of Williams Honors College" on the main school website.
The phrase has been de-emphasized to a tagline that can be replaced by others, said Larry Burns, vice president for advancement.
"When it (Ohio's Polytechnic University) was presented a year ago it was seen more as a tagline that could evolve into something more permanent," he said. "As time went on we felt, based on the reaction from many, that it works as a tagline for certain audiences but not for all audiences."
Students who met with university board of trustees Chairman Jonathan Pavloff on May 12 said Pavloff admitted the rebranding did not work.
"I'll also admit that... it didn't work... I'll offer that it's not something that will continue... The fact that it didn't work, I'll be the first to stand up and apologize," Pavloff said, according to a summary of the meeting posted on the Ohio Student Association Akron Chapter Facebook page.
Two members of the association, a student leader from the Student Democrats and one from Liberation in Progress, had met with Pavloff.
The students wrote that the branding was described by Pavloff as a way to make UA the distinctive choice for students who are deciding where to go, but that it failed.
"Ohio's Polytechnic University" became part of the university's identity and placed next to the university's name on its website after it was unveiled by President Scott Scarborough last May at the City Club of Cleveland.
"A polytechnic university is a university that educates students in the application of science and the arts and uses technology to connect higher education to business and industry," he said in his speech.
The announcement was met with plenty of criticism.
University of Akron to become career-focused university
Scarborough said he was not announcing a name change. That idea had drawn strong opposition from faculty, students and alumni. He said he was announcing a "repositioning, a clear identity, a clear direction."
The university spent $111,000 to determine the new brand.
Why polytechnic? That direction was determined after the university worked with four firms and financed the work with an unrestricted $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, said Wayne Hill, chief marketing officer.
Where is the brand featured now? "Ohio's Polytechnic University" still is included on the web page of some departments, including the law school.
"The usage of 'Ohio's Polytechnic University' has been de-emphasized from a consistency standpoint," Burns said. "But what hasn't been de-emphasized is the experiential learning concept that polytechnic represents."
The university still has a page on its website about why it should be a polytechnic university and describes polytechnic on a page describing the proper use of the brand.
What's the university featuring now? The university now features the honors college by its name.
The college was renamed in February in honor of Dr. Gary and Pamela Williams, who provided a $3 million gift.
There is no mention about a polytechnic university on the university's "About UA" page for prospective students.
"The University of Akron is the region's most influential public research university, contributing to the resurgence of the local economy, providing a workforce highly trained in diverse disciplines, and known for an innovative approach to higher education," the university says on that page.
This story has been changed to include comments from the University of Akron.CLARA's plan is to build new regional, compact, sustainable, smart-cities and connect them by most advanced high speed rail
IT SOUNDS like utopia.
“New cities where data is open. Energy is renewable. Water is valued. Homes are affordable. People can live within 10 minutes of all they need. Cities where world class healthcare meets high tech education. Where new and existing businesses will converge to create more vibrant regional ecomonies. Cities built to unlock all human potential.”
That’s the plan for a high speed rail network that will
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comment last week. Medea Benjamin of the radical group Code Pink agreed: “the antiwar movement is a shadow of its former self under the Bush years.” Cindy Sheehan quipped that “The ‘anti-war left’ was used by the Democratic Party. I like to call it the ‘anti-Republican War’ movement.”
The demise of the anti-war left isn't something new - it started declining in 2003 - but the total abandonment of the issue by liberals, like the de-emphasizing of economic issues, leaves Democrats will precious few ways to connect with a majority of voters.
It also leaves the Dems with the fundamental problem of describing what the party actually stands for, outside of identity politics.Image caption When the Bushmen were relocated they were given cattle or goats to encourage them to become herders
The Kalahari sun is merciless: Two young women and two children little more than a year old are huddled under the only tree in the yard to escape the baking heat.
We are in New Xade, a resettlement camp an hour's drive from the nearest town, Ghanzi, in western Botswana.
It is the new home of the Basarwa - Kalahari Bushmen, southern Africa's first inhabitants and yet they do not take much pleasure in this honour.
Sisters Boitumelo Lobelo, 25, and Goiotseone Lobelo, 21, are kneeling in front of a basin of dirty water, washing their children's clothes.
Their eyes fill with anger when they speak of their life here, a desolate village half a day's drive from their original home, which is now part of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
Image caption Boitumelo (L) and Goiotseone Lobelo (R) do not enjoy their new lives
"I miss my home and the way we lived. Life was easy, there were lots of fruits, animals and there were no bars and no beer. Now we are lost," says Goiotseone.
They have been to visit a number of times since they were evicted but are not allowed to stay there any more.
When they were aged nine and five respectively, Boitumelo and Goiotseone were moved to New Xade with their parents.
They speak fondly of life in the reserve, where they would wake up every morning and join the women in the village in collecting berries, nuts and roots to eat.
But Goiotseone also remembers the day they were forced to leave.
Who are the Bushmen? Original inhabitants of southern Africa - pushed out by both Bantu groups coming from further north and European colonisers
Now, just 100,000 left - mostly in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia
Traditionally lived by hunting wild animals and gathering fruits and nuts
Divided into several linguistic groups
Some find the term Bushmen offensive but this group say that is what they prefer to be called
Also called San, Basarwa and Khoisan - some of these terms are also seen as derogatory
"The police came, destroyed our homes and dumped us in the back of trucks with our belongings and brought us here. They dumped us here like we are nothing," she tells the BBC.
These two are the new generation of Basarwa: they go to school and have learned English and the Tswana language, the most widely spoken in the country.
But they say this new life has come at too high a price.
"We are getting Aids and other diseases we didn't know about; young people are drinking alcohol; young girls are having babies. Everything is wrong here," Boitumelo says.
Thousands of Bushmen lived in the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert for many millennia.
But today most have been moved, many argue forcibly, to government-built resettlement camps far from the reserve.
There are an estimated 100,000 Bushmen across southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
While some people find the term Bushmen offensive, this is what this group of people prefer to be called.
Battle lines
The Botswana Bushmen have been at odds with the country's government for more than 15 years, embroiled in several legal battles over their right to live inside the game park - and to continue their traditional lifestyle as hunter-gatherers.
At some point they were denied access to water in the reserve. Their boreholes were capped and they were banned from drilling more.
The Botswana Appeals Court, in a 2011 judgment on the matter, described the plight of the Bushmen as a "harrowing story of human suffering and despair" and ruled that they be allowed access to water.
Today many say court orders in their favour have been ignored by officials. They need permits to enter the reserve and are not allowed to hunt. Those found hunting face arrest.
But why were they relocated?
The government says the restriction of people on the land is intended to preserve the wildlife and the ecosystems of the vast reserve, which is slightly bigger than Denmark.
But human rights groups and the Bushmen believe the real reason is more sinister.
Mining is one of Botswana's key industries, with diamond mining the leading source of revenue.
We are now dependant on government hand-outs: we are being made lazy and stupid Roy Sesana
The ancestral lands of the Bushmen lie in the middle of the world's richest diamond field. They believe they were relocated to make way for a multimillion dollar mining project.
A London-listed diamond producer has begun plans for production about 45km (28 miles) from the eastern border of the reserve.
Construction of the first phase of the project began in 2011, with the first output expected later this year.
The government has always denied that there is a link between the relocations and the diamond deposits, first discovered in the 1980s.
The state has provided some amenities in the resettlement camps: There are clinics, schools and concrete houses in fenced-up yards - all part of a plan to modernise this community.
But modern life does not work for everyone: The Basarwa have built huts in their yards, as a reminder of happier times and their traditional lives.
Changing lifestyles
Image caption The Bushmen have always been hunters and say they have never learned the skills needed to breed cattle
Unemployment is high and this community has no expertise to speak of, or at least none that they can use in the outside world.
The village's liquor shop has no shortage of customers. It is not uncommon to see young men stumbling out of local watering holes in the mid-afternoon.
It is not just living and social conditions that are proving problematic.
Hundreds of cows and their herders are resting under thorn trees preparing for a 5km-walk (three miles) to the nearest grazing patch.
When the Bushmen were relocated, each family was given five cattle or goats to encourage them to become farmers.
But being pastoralists has had its challenges.
"If you push somebody to a certain kind of lifestyle that he doesn't know, he will be facing a lot of difficulties," says one bushman farmer, Jumanda Galekebone.
"Our people don't know how to look after the cows when they get sick, they don't know about diseases of cattle like foot and mouth disease," he explains.
His peers agree, so there under the thorn trees, surrounded by cattle who could do with some fattening up, they tell me that they want to go home.
They say modern life has not worked for them.
"This life hasn't improved any of their lives. We still get a lot of people going inside the park to hunt and they get arrested. Some of us here are facing court penalties for hunting. It just proves that you can't force change on people," says Mr Galekebone.
But it appears that the Bushmen have no choice but to change, to adapt - at least as far as the latest government plans reveal.
Out of touch?
Some believe that the Bushmen's way of life does not belong in modern Botswana society.
Some officials have referred to them as "remote area dwellers", a "Stone-Age" people who should be pulled into the 21st Century.
Image caption Some fear that traditional Bushman culture would be reserved for tourists
In 2006, another court ruled that the government's refusal to allow the Basarwa into the CKGR was unconstitutional.
A handful have been allowed by officials to return to the park but only those whose names appeared in the court papers.
Roy Sesana, a community leader, is one of them.
But he says he does not enjoy the victory. He now lives between CKGR and New Xade to be close to his family and his people, he tells me.
"We have been separated from our children and our wives. What kind of life is this? We didn't do anything to deserve this," he says.
Mr Sesana was one of the main applicants in a number of cases against the government.
For a people who have spent most of their lives roaming the land freely, hunting wild animals and gathering berries and nuts for food, this place offers them no chance to live off the land.
"We are used to feeding ourselves - now dependant on government hand-outs, we are being made lazy and stupid," says Mr Sesana.
"Now we are being treated like dogs. The dog is the only thing that can't bring its own food home. It has to wait for its owner to give it some food."
International human rights groups are calling for a boycott of Botswana's tourism industry, its second largest revenue generator until the government "stops persecuting the country's first inhabitants".
President Ian Khama, who is seen as more subtle when it comes to managing the Bushmen situation, has announced that hunting in controlled areas would be outlawed by January 2014.
"The decision was necessitated by available scientific based information indicating that several wildlife species are in decline," Mr Khama told parliament.
He said the Bushmen would be taught "non-consumptive" ways of using their resources.
But the Bushmen argue that their years of living in harmony with the environment prove that their ways are ecologically sustainable.
They say instead that this move is an attempt to do away with their culture.
"The only place where you find Bushmen now in our traditional clothes surrounded by traditional huts is in the local tourism villages," says Mr Sesana.
"We are worried that in the future, there will be no-one who would be able to practice the Bushman culture unless they are parading in front of tourist for companies who are using them for business," he says.Protesters at the Republican National Convention, scheduled to start next Monday in Cleveland, will be able to carry guns, but will be prohibited from carrying a laundry list of other potentially dangerous items.
Water guns, toy guns, knives, aerosol cans, rope and tennis balls are among the verboten items in the area around the Quicken Loans Arena, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ohio is a state with loose open carry laws, meaning the police aren’t able to establish a gun-free zone in the protest area. The police chief for the City of Cleveland says he’d have preferred to disallow guns in the area.
The RNC has the potential to be a fairly chaotic scene. The New Black Panthers Party, a radical group of black activists, have promised to show up armed. The white nationalist group called the Traditional Workers Party has also promised to show up to counter protest, though they haven’t said if they will be armed.
The Secret Service will be banning guns in the area immediately around the arena, but only credentialed convention attendees are able to access that area.Denver Police are looking for several suspects after three people were killed Friday night at a home in Park Hill in what police said Saturday afternoon was likely a “drug deal gone extremely bad.”
Police said they received a call about a shooting on the 3600 block of Hudson Street at 8:13 p.m. Friday. When they arrived, they found a man outside with a gunshot wound to the arm, and then discovered two dead people inside the home.
The man with the gunshot wound to the arm was transported to the hospital and remains in serious condition, said Denver police spokesman Tyrone Campbell.
A fourth victim was transported to the hospital by a private party, said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police spokesman. That person later died.
The block of Hudson Street is lined by duplexes and multifamily homes with well-manicured lawns. People were walking their dogs Saturday morning and slowing to look at crime scene technicians still working in the area.
The victims have not been identified, but Jackson said he believed they are all adult men. Campbell said it is unclear if the men all lived in the home or not, and would not release details about what drug may have been involved.
“We don’t believe it to be gang-related at this time,” Jackson said.
Police initially said they were looking for multiple suspects, according to information they released on Twitter. By Saturday afternoon, Campbell said police are looking for a 2015 or newer, maroon, Chevy Tahoe with temporary tags that may be traveling out of state.
“We are looking for a person or persons of interest,” Campbell said. “Anyone tied to that vehicle.”
Campbell said police are still looking for more witnesses or anyone who may have information about the shooting, and encouraged anyone with information to call 911.
Saturday morning, neighbors said the block is usually quiet, despite being a few blocks away from Holly Square.
“In all situations we’re always asking our community to be vigilant,” Campbell said. “But this appears to be an arranged encounter.”A considerable share of the country's low-skill jobs are at risk of automation and offshoring, according to a new study. Vincent Yu/AP
Researchers at Muncie, Indiana's Ball State University recently published an illuminating – and concerning – dive into expectations for the future health of the U.S. labor market in a paper titled "How Vulnerable Are American Communities to Automation, Trade and Urbanization?"
The answer: Pretty vulnerable.
Drawing on new and existing research focused on job movement and potential displacement in the U.S., the researchers indicated as many as 25 percent of American jobs could be offshored in the years ahead, at risk of replacement by foreign competition. And half of all low-skill jobs could eventually be automated, potentially displacing millions of U.S. workers.
"We do not wish to be alarmist. Both trade and automation related economic growth are hallmarks of a vibrant economy," they said. "The findings of direct and indirect impacts of displacement are not homogeneous across populations. The negative long-term impacts of displacement have been found to be worse for low-skilled, less-educated workers, who are likely to work in more vulnerable jobs."
The study goes on to profile specific communities that have essentially become trapped in an economically treacherous cycle, noting that a disproportionate percentage of business expansion and job growth in recent years has been enjoyed by only a small number of metropolitan areas. Since the recession that ended in 2009, researchers estimate "half the net establishment growth [or business formation] in the United States … occurred in just 0.64 percent of the more than 3,100 U.S. counties."
This has allowed some regions of the country to diversify their local workforces and limit exposure to automation and offshoring. But it has also generated a sort of "clustering" in which communities see wealth diminish as opportunities dry up. Those with the means and skillsets to find jobs elsewhere are more likely to move away, taking their skills and education with them. The low-skill opportunities left over in the wake of this population flight – like manufacturing and industrial positions – are often among the most at-risk of automation or displacement.
"[T]here is a great degree of regional variation in the risk of job losses due to offshoring and automation. There are clear clusters of high risk in the industrialized Midwest and in several urban places across the country," the report says. "Industrial structure, educational attainment and the degree of rurality all affect the potential employment risk of increased automation and trade-related job losses."
The Aleutians East Borough of Alaska was found to be the single highest-risk area for both offshorability and automation. But rural counties in Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Virginia and the Carolinas were all found to be particularly vulnerable to job displacement.
Communities Most At-Risk to Offshoring
Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Pontotoc County, Mississippi Tippah County, Mississippi Roseau County, Minnesota LeGrange County, Indiana Los Alamos County, New Mexico Clinton County, Indiana DeKalb County, Tennessee Chickasaw County, Mississippi Kosciusko County, Indiana
Communities Most At-Risk to Automation
Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Quitman County, Georgia Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska Buena Vista City, Virginia Chickasaw County, Mississippi Allendale County, South Carolina Tyrrell County, North Carolina Coosa County, Alabama LeGrange County, Indiana Murray County, Georgia
"These rankings will no doubt offer pause to many communities. Indeed, the authors work in a state that can claim four of the top 25 counties in the automation category, and seven of the top 25 counties in the offshorable category," the study says. "What this analysis does provide are maps of vulnerable places where people live and work. It is these places where job disruptions are most likely."
The results of this economic cluttering are multifaceted. Less affluent, rural communities are likely to continue to see labor market erosion without some sort of correction, which could ramp up perceived frustration with trade deals and technological advances among communities that feel as though they have not been heard. The authors theorize that "with broad job losses, red districts get redder, and blue districts get bluer," something they believe should be evident to "any observer of the 2016 presidential primaries."
And with such a divide cropping up in the midst of "one of the largest labor market expansions in history" since the Great Recession, the "less robust economic conditions" that likely lie ahead "offer a much more disquieting forecast," the report says.
"We cannot know the pace or depth of automation and offshoring, but it is clear that large swathes of the American economy are likely to face these changes," according to the report. "Moreover, the risk, especially of job automation, is concentrated across labor markets, income, and educational attainment levels."
Still, the report hardly suggests well-educated Americans with higher-paying jobs are completely out of the woods in terms of offshorability and automation. Computer programmers, actuaries, statisticians and film and video editors are all among the most at-risk for offshoring, while telemarketers, insurance underwriters, mathematical technicians and library technicians are all at risk of automation.
Among the "safest" jobs in terms of displacement, on the other hand, were recreational therapists, mental health and substance abuse social workers, audiologists and first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers.Used Fraudulently Acquired Government Credit Cards to Obtain Over $113,000 in Cash
A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) employee was sentenced today to two years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co. out of more than $113,000 using fraudulently issued government credit cards.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (DOJ OIG) Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement.
Keenya Meshell Banks, 41, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty in April 2015 to one count of wire fraud. In addition to imposing the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ordered Banks to pay restitution in the amount of $113,841.
According to her plea agreement, Banks was employed by the DEA as a Program Manager, and was responsible for the approval and issuance of government credit cards to DEA employees. Banks admitted that, while serving in that role, she submitted dozens of fake credit card applications to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for fictitious DEA employees, using names and identifying information of individuals who did not work at the DEA. In at least one instance, however, Banks submitted the identifying information of an actual DEA employee. Through this scheme, Banks admitted that she obtained at least 32 fraudulent credit cards, which she then used to withdraw more than $113,000 from ATMs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. As part of her plea agreement, Banks agreed to forfeit the proceeds she received as a result of the scheme and to pay full restitution.
The case was investigated by the DOJ OIG. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Justin Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom of the District of Maryland.CNN's Don Lemon abruptly ended an interview Tuesday afternoon after one of his conservative guests refused to stop talking about former President Bill Clinton's many sex scandals.
The moment occurred after the CNN host failed repeatedly to get conservative columnist Kurt Schlichter to comment on GOP front-runner Donald Trump cracking bathroom jokes about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"Why did he have to go there?" Lemon asked Schlichter and Trump supporter Tara Grant.
"Don, it's going to take a lot more for me to get upset at a woman who enabled a guy who turned the Oval Office into a frat house and his intern into a humidor," Schlichter responded, "I just don't care. I so don't care."
After some brief laughs, Lemon kept at it, trying to coax the conservative columnist into commenting on Trump's toilet humor.
"Have you ever heard a presidential candidate say things like this?" the host asked.
Bill Clinton "set the standard a little lower than Donald Trump has even approached," Schlichter reiterated.
Lemon interjected, arguing that his guest's response was an "apples and oranges" comparison.
"You're talking about someone who is running to be the leader of the free world. If you're Republican and a conservative, you would hope that would have better practices at least in the Oval Office than the ones you're mentioning," the host said.
"So my question to you, without mentioning the Clintons and Bill Clinton, which has already been litigated and re-litigated on the own merits, Donald Trump's statements on the campaign trail — you don't think it's fair that the media should be covering it?" Lemon added.
Schlichter conceded that it's not wrong for media to cover Trump's many controversial statements, but he added he doesn't understand why the press' isn't focusing on the fact that the Democratic front-runner is an enabler of a "sexual harasser" and "abuser."
"You're talking about something that happened over a decade ago," Lemon said. "She's not responsible for her husband's actions. Yet, you're bringing it into a campaign and it doesn't seem fair."
Schlichter begged to differ.
"I would like to bring Hillary Clinton's actions into it," he said. "When she was given a chance to stand with a serial sexual abuser —"
"Stop, stop, stop. That's not fair," the CNN host said. "It is not fair. It is a low blow. It is not fair. I want to end this. This is the lowest of the low. It has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton. It's a cheap shot."
Lemon then motioned to his producers to cut Schlichter's microphone, and the discussion was brought to an abrupt end.
Undeterred, the conservative columnist appeared soon afterwards on Twitter to defend himself and criticize CNN.
"No, neither @DonLemon or anyone else gets to set the agenda. Hillary Clinton's enabling of Bill's antics is an issue to me & millions more," he said on Twitter. "The media wants to put Hillary's support of her husband's misogynist antics off limits. Nope."This morning while reading tweets on the bus on the way to work, I spotted this tweet from the @PostSecret, which led me to this article from the Huffington Post.
One thing I think we have a bit of a duty to do as Fat Acceptance activists is challenge when negative language and connotations are put on to thin bodies as well as fat ones. In the case of both the tweet from @PostSecret, and the article from the Huffington Post, while I agree we need to be questioning the body image messages sent out by these very thin mannequins, I don’t think it’s fair to refer to them as either anorexic or emaciated. Both words imply that being very thin is by default unhealthy – and as voices calling out for positive body image for ALL bodies, I feel it’s important that we challenge these implications as well as those that suggest fat bodies are unhealthy.
In the long run, it benefits all of us, regardless of what size or shape we are.
It is important that people know that very thin does not by default equal either anorexic or emaciated. The definition of anorexic is a person who suffers anorexia nervosa. Not all thin people suffer anorexia nervosa. Not all people who suffer anorexia nervos are in fact, very thin. Likewise, the definition of emaciated is “wasted away”. Again, not all very thin people are wasted away – or in any way unhealthy. Instead, people who are on the extreme end of thinness can have many reasons for being so. Yes, from ill health or eating disorder, but also because they are just naturally built that way. Like fat people, thin people have many factors in determining the shape and size of their body, from genetics, environment, to diet and activity levels. That’s the thing about bodies, you cannot tell very much about them at all just by looking at them.
When we challenge people about the language around fat bodies, we also need to be mindful of our own language when referring to thin bodies, especially those on the very thin end of the spectrum. For example, that old chestnut “real women have curves”. As I’ve said before on this blog, all women are real, unless they are robots created by an evil genius, or perhaps figments of our imagination. A woman who is thin and angular is just as much a woman as one who is fat and curvaceous. Plus, who’s to say that fat bodies are necessarily “curvy”. I have curvy bits on my very fat body, but some parts are pretty damn boxy too!
It’s important that we do not define womanhood by any one type of body, any one shape or size or set of measurements. Womanhood is inclusive of all of us, not exclusive to some.
There are of course plenty of other examples. We can’t suggest that thin people “eat a sandwich” any more than thin folk can suggest we “put down the cheeseburger”. We can’t assume that thin people don’t have body issues because they don’t have the pressure to lose weight like we do. We can’t assume that thin bodies are thin because they are physically active and eat less than those of us with fat bodies.
This doesn’t mean that the privilege of thinness goes unacknowledged, we all know that there are plenty of things that people with thin bodies can take for granted that those of us with fat bodies do not have the luxury of, but it does acknowledge that nobody should be judged because of their body size and shape, even those with bodies that are considered the social “norm”.
What I guess is the important message is, that if we want the world to change their attitude towards fat bodies, we need to lead by example when talking about any bodies, and squash any generalisations and negative judgements on bodies when talking about ANY bodies.
Besides, as I think it was Lesley over at Fatshionista recently said – all living things have curves, that’s what distinguishes the animal and plant from the mineral.
One type of body is not better than the other.
It’s not either/or in this situation.
It is ALL.
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Is there trouble in paradise between the San Antonio Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge?
Apparently so according to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan.
Appearing on CSNNE.com's Early Edition, MacMullan says there are rumblings LaMarcus may not finish the new season in silver and black and could be on the trading block. And if that isn't enough, she says she has heard there is some discord between the Spurs and Aldridge.
For instance, sources were telling me the other day that LaMarcus Aldridge may not even finish the year with the Spurs. That experiment hasn't quite worked out the way they hoped.
When asked if she would want Aldridge on the Celtics' roster she emphatically said no.
No! Not after what I heard the other day. I don't.
There's some stuff going on."
Watch at the 55 second point of the video below.
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If the Spurs do trade Aldridge, the team would get plenty in return for the NBA All-Star but keep in mind this is just a rumor. There's been nothing remotely close out of San Antonio that the Spurs and Aldridge have "stuff going on" as MacMullan stated.
Now, should this rumor be true, then consider the Spurs in full rebuilding mode. But what better piece to dangle in front of team than a player of LaMarcus' caliber. Any team would want his production on the court and would possibly give a lot in return.
What is concerning is if there is friction between the team and LaMarcus. The Spurs are known for having minimal team-chemistry issues and if there are any, the team has zero issues at getting rid of distractions on the court and in the locker room. Ask former Spur Stephen Jackson.
Is this a situation of where there's smoke there's fire? Perhaps. MacMullan isn't the first to report on the possibility of LaMarcus being jettisoned out of San Antonio. Recently, ESPN's Zach Lowe.
It be interesting to see if the Spurs do end up trading Aldridge. He just has one season with the Spurs, signed a max deal, and played well in the postseason prior to re-injuring his finger averaging 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field.
Let me know what you think on Twitter at.From Oskar Blues:
Longmont, CO & Brevard, NC-- Oskar Blues Brewery, the first craft brewery in the country to brew & hand-can their beer in November 2002, continues explosive growth in 2015 and earned a position in the top half of the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America for the fifth year in a row.
Colorado's funky and unapologetic brew-pub has grown to become the largest American craft brewery to package beer exclusively in cans, while reaching towards 200,000 BBLs in 2015. The brewery climbed to 24th on the Brewers Association Top 50 Breweries list which ranks craft breweries based on beer sales volume.
Growth continues to be fueled at both East and West Oskar Blues breweries. The North Carolina brewery in Brevard added a second 50-barrel mash tun, a silo capable of holding 100,000 pounds of spent grain and is in process of completing the second phase of its 17,000 square foot expansion project. The Colorado brewery acquired an additional 60,000 square feet last year in Longmont and is increasing capacity and developing an Oak Aging event venue.
In addition to capacity increases, strong double digit growth of Dale's Pale Ale including a 43% YTD growth trend in Total U.S. Food (Scans) has led the way. In fact, the original craft beer in a can and flagship of Oskar Blues Brewery remains 50% of the brand mix amongst strong new brands Pinner Throwback IPA and Oskar Blues IPA.
The release of Pinner Throwback IPA (6-packs, 12-packs and draft) and Oskar Blues IPA (6-packs) as year round core packages added firepower to an already strong can-centric brand family. The addition of Pinner Throwback IPA cans to the CANundrum Mixed 12-packs (Dale's Pale Ale, Mama's Little Yella Pils, Old Chub Scotch Ale) is seeing strong 70% growth rate vs. 2014 depletions.
Development of the Oskar Blues sales team continues, eclipsing 68 reps including an experienced chain team. The brewery has expanded distribution to 44 U.S. states and plans to reach all 50 states by mid-year 2016.
Oskar Blues' 2015 milestones:
Oskar Blues Brewery Depletions growth is at 28% YTD
Dale's Pale Ale 6-pack cans are experiencing 43% growth and are the leading craft can 6-Pack in US Total Food while Oskar Blues Brewery growth is at 60% growth in that segment
CANundrum Mixed 12-pack growth is at 70% YTD
Pinner Throwback IPA, a 4.9 % crushable beer, available year-round in cans and on draft has surpassed Mama's Little Yella Pils in 2015 sales
Oskar Blues IPA, a 6.43 percent beer using Australian hops is available in cans across the country and soon to be on draft
Increased distribution to 44 states
Oskar Blues continues to bring innovation to the craft beer industry. The introduction of the Crowler Seamer by Oskar Blues and Ball Corporation provides recyclable 32-ounce cans filled with fresh draft beer to taproom customers for off-premise consumption. In 2015, nearly 200 other breweries and bars across the country purchased Crowlers and cans, creating a side business at the brewery that has accelerated quickly and organically.
About Bil Cord Founder, owner, author, graphic designer, CEO, CFO, webmaster, president, mechanic and janitor for mybeerbuzz.com. Producer and Co-host of the WILK Friday BeerBuzz live weekly craft beer radio show. Small craft-brewer of the craft beer news sites and one-man-band with way too many instruments to play.Tristan Taormino is an award winning author, sex educator, speaker, and filmmaker. She is the author of seven books, including The Secrets of Great G-Spot Orgasms and Female Ejaculation, The Big Book of Sex Toys, Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, and The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. She has edited 25 anthologies including The Ultimate Guide to Kink and the Lambda Literary Award winning series Best Lesbian Erotica. She’s written for a multitude of publications from Yale Journal of Law and Feminism to Penthouse. For nine and a half years, she wrote a column in The Village Voice and has written an advice column for Taboo Magazine since 1999.
As the head of Smart Ass Productions, she directs and produces adult sex education and erotic films, including The Expert Guide series for Vivid Entertainment. Her films have won more than a dozen awards, and she was honored with the prestigious Feminist Porn Trailblazer Award in 2010. Tristan and her work have been featured in over 300 publications including O: The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Men’s Health, and Playboy. She has appeared on HBO’s Real Sex, Ricki Lake, The Howard Stern Show, Loveline, MTV, CNN, NBC, and The Discovery Channel. She lectures at top colleges and universities including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, and NYU. She teaches sex and relationship classes around the world.Image caption The Domesday Book records the how many houses were demolished
Evidence of ruthless land clearance by Norman knights has been found in Lincoln.
Archaeologists working in the castle grounds have discovered remains of Anglo-Saxon houses.
When William the Conqueror decided to build a castle inside the old Roman fort, he swept away 166 homes - more than 10% of the existing town.
Now the first of a series of digs has uncovered a fireplace, pottery and the marks of structural timbers.
Lincoln was one of the first castles built by William, following his victory at Hastings in 1066, to help secure the country.
'Laid waste'
The Domesday Book, a survey of his new kingdom, records how many houses were knocked down to make room but this is the first time their physical remains have been studied.
Cecily Spall, from Field Archaeology Specialists (FAS), said the discoveries, made in the north lawn area, give a glimpse of a revolution in the country.
"The Saxons would not have been able to do anything about this. The Norman Conquest remodelled Anglo Saxon England.
"New landlords were appointed and they laid waste to houses and they reassigned the ownership of property and land rights."
The dig is happening ahead of the construction of a £2.1m Heritage Skills Centre, the first new building inside the castle for 150 years.poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201608/645/1155968404_5080226105001_5080214675001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump lawyer: Advising release of tax returns would be ‘malpractice’
Donald Trump is not releasing his tax returns until his audits are completed, his special counsel said Thursday. In fact, he said, advising Trump to do so would be “malpractice.”
“I personally will not allow him to release those tax returns until the audits are over,” Michael Cohen, Trump’s special counsel, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “There is not a lawyer on this planet that should give that advice — any advice other than what I just gave — to their client short of suffering malpractice.”
Story Continued Below
Democrats — and even some Republicans — have repeatedly challenged Trump to release his tax returns. A source close to Hillary Clinton said the Democratic presidential nominee intends to release her 2015 tax returns “in the coming days,” a move to ramp up pressure on Trump.
Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, and his wife are also expected to release tax returns for the past decade, the source said.
Trump has wavered on whether he will release his tax returns before the November election, insisting that it’s not wise for him to do so while he’s under what he’s framed as a routine IRS audit. Cohen, however, suggested Trump won’t be releasing any earlier tax returns, either — at least, not until the audit concludes.
“Wolf, I would give absolutely nothing until the audit is over,” Cohen said. “That’s my advice to Mr. Trump.”GameShow League S2 goes into playoffs
The second season of GameShow League is moving on to the next stage where the top eight teams from group phase will be distributed into the double elimination playoffs bracket.
GameShow League Coverage Hub Click here for results, VODs and all the other information
After a very successful first season, GameShow returned with its second season where we saw its number of participating teams expandfrom 12 to 16. These teams were
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Lane, director of the observatory at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, said based on the descriptions from witnesses, “It sounds very much like a fireball or an extra-bright meteor, meaning a chunk of rock from space that got in the way of Earth and burns up in the atmosphere."
Lane said it's difficult to guess the size of the rock that burned as it depends on many factors, including how far away from the witness the meteor is.
“It’s really hard to tell, but venturing a guess, we’re not talking about something really big, probably something maybe the size of a car or something like that,” he said.
He said even if it did happen to fall to the ground, the odds of finding the meteorite are small.
“The chances of finding it are pretty slim. You really need a lot of good camera reports that shows the streak in the sky so that scientists can follow up a... to do, essentially a triangulation and pinpoint a target search area,” said Lane.
“It’s almost analogous to the search going on now for that airplane in Asia. You know, having one or two points of radio contact is not enough to triangulate where it actually is.
He said finding a meteorite is very rare. Only one meteorite has ever been confirmed to have been found in the Maritimes.
I looked out the window and caught it out of the corner of my eye, this ball of fire come down out of the sky. - Jeff Locke
“Fireballs happen all the time. There’s something like 100 tonnes of stuff that hits the Earth every day from space but Nova Scotia, or I should say the Maritimes, there’s only been one meteorite ever found on the ground,” said Lane.
It was found in Benton, N.B., in 1949.
University of Moncton astrophysicist Francis Leblanc was not surprised to hear reports coming in from such a large area.
"It starts burning up tens of kilometres in altitude, so you can see it from very far away. And if it enters the Earth's atmosphere at a low-grazing angle, it can cross a large geographic region," said Leblanc.
'Like sun dropping out of sky'
Capt. Dan Roy, with New Brunswick's Keswick Valley Fire Department, saw the fireball.
"On my way home from a fire call in Chateau Heights around 5 a.m. this morning, I witnessed what I thought was an airplane falling from the sky. There were flames and sparks and then it just disappeared. Not like any [meteor] I've ever seen before," he said.
Found in Benton, N.B., in 1949, this meteorite is the only one confirmed to have been discovered in the Maritimes. (CBC) Jeff Locke, who lives in Fredericton, said the “fireball” he saw lasted about three seconds.
“I looked out the window and caught it out of the corner of my eye," he said. "This ball of fire came down out of the sky. I’ve got two big fir trees out here on my front lawn, and the light showed between those two trees, and I mean, it came down out of the sky. It wasn’t just up over above the trees. It was like somebody had fired a flare out of their gun or something.”
Morris McIntyre, who lives in Charlottetown, said he's not sure what he saw.
“It was just this great big orange ball. It was like the sun was dropping out of the sky,” he said.
George Hayes, a cattle farmer from Shigawake, Que., said he and his wife were awoken by something that sounded like thunder.
“It sounded a lot like thunder, it was just about 4 o’clock [ET], and we’re in calving season here, so any little noise we usually awaken, and this was a loud rumble of thunder. My wife and I both woke up,” he said.
Hayes said he thought the noise might have been a structure on his farm falling down.
“I went out to check on the animals and they had been disturbed, they all ran outside and they were as startled as we were,” he said.
Chris Fair of Beresford, N.B., said he also saw the bright flash of light at about 5 a.m. AT, followed by what looked like the remnants of a flare falling into the woods behind his house.
Burning space junk
Paulo Levesque of Moncton, N.B., saw the light while driving near St. Leonard.
"It looked like a piece of either sheet metal or something that was on fire. And I saw it slowly come down. And I saw bursts of flame all over."
Rick Parker, who lives on Mattatall Lake near Wentworth, N.S., said the light was so bright it got him out of bed.
“It was a bright light and it lit up the whole sky, and when I looked out the window, I just saw what appeared to be maybe the tail end of it, if you like, and it was almost like a meteor but not the same," he said. "It was falling in the northern horizon.”
The International Space Station was passing over the region at the time, but Rick Parker said he has seen the ISS passing over before, and this was something else. 'This was much, much brighter.' Parker said he has seen the ISS passing over before, and this was something else. The International Space Station was passing over the region at the time, but
“This was much, much brighter. It started as a bright light. It lit up the sky enough to make me look out. I was just lying in bed, thinking about a fire in the wood stove, actually, and it lit up the whole sky. I mean it was very bright.”
According to NASA, the ISS had to dodge a piece of space debris that was in its orbit Sunday. The debris was from a Russian weather satellite launched in 1979.
Burning space junk is one possible explanation for the fireball that was witnessed Tuesday morning. The Associated Press reported the ISS fired its on-board thrusters, pushing the orbiting lab about a kilometre.A three-year old girl is the sole witness to the brutal gang rape of her mother and death of her baby brother.
A 28-year-old woman was reportedly attacked on a private bus in Utter Pradesh by two men while her daughter was hiding in the corner.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
The pair forced the woman to drink alcohol before the rape occurred, and so she was unable to explain the attack to the police, the Times of India reports.
However, her three-year-old daughter had witnessed the whole ordeal, and told the police what had happened.
There are conflicting reports about exactly what happened to the woman’s 14 –day-old son, with the Times of India saying he was “flung to death by the two assailants”, while The Indian Express said that the boy “reportedly fell from her lap and died”.
Two men - conductor Ishwari Prasad and helper Shiv Kumar - both residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district, have since been arrested and charged with gang rape and culpable homicide not accounting to murder - and will also be charged under the Gangster Act.
The Indian Express says the incident happened at a bus station in Shishgarh, which is 50 kilometers from Bareilly.
Shape Created with Sketch. India protests against sexual violence Show all 20 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. India protests against sexual violence 1/20 April 2015 School girls wear black bands on their faces during a protest rally against the rape case of a 16-year-old girl at Dhupguri town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal Reuters 2/20 March 2015 Students of Convent of Jesus and Mary School participate in a protest against the alleged gang rape of a nun in her 70s AP 3/20 March 2015 Official figures for the number of women raped in India are often disputed by Women's Rights experts who claim the numbers are far higher SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images 4/20 March 2015 Women protest after the horrific rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in India BBC 5/20 June 2014 Women in India protest against rape and other attacks on women and girls in the country AP 6/20 June 2014 Indian activists from the Social Unity Center of India (SUCI) shout slogans against the state government in protest against the gang rape and murder of two girls in the district of Badaun in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and recent rapes in the eastern state of West Bengal, in Kolkata AFP/Getty 7/20 June 2014 Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were protesting against the rape and hanging of two girls Reuters 8/20 May 2014 Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans during a protest against a gang rape of two teenage girls in Katra village, outside the Uttar Pradesh state house, in New Delhi. A top government official said the northern Uttar Pradesh state has sacked two police officers who failed to respond to a complaint by the father of the two teenage girls who went missing and were later found gang raped and killed. The placard at right reads, "Punish the culprits of gang-rape and murder of two Dalit girls" AP Photo/Manish Swarup 9/20 January 2014 Student protesters outside a Suri hospital where a rape victim is being treated Andrew Buncombe 10/20 January 2014 West Bengal Women's Forum activists walk a protest rally against a rape case in Calcutta, eastern India. A young girl was gang-raped on October 25 and afterwards repeatedly threatened by the accused, following which the disturbed girl set herself on fire December 23. She was admitted to the hospital with 40 percent burns and finally succumbed to her burn injuries on 31 December EPA 11/20 August 2013 Republican Party of India supporters protest in Mumbai against the rape of a female photographer Reuters 12/20 May 2013 Indian demonstrators shout slogans at the police during a protest calling for better safety for women AFP/Getty Images 13/20 April 2013 An Indian woman holds a poster as she protests with others against how Indian authorities handle sex crimes near the Parliament in New Delhi, after a second suspect was arrested in the rape of a 5-year-old girl. Child rights activists say the rape of the girl is just the latest case in which Indian police failed to take urgent action on a report of a missing child. Three days after the attack, the girl was found alone in locked room in the same New Delhi building where her family lives AP 14/20 March 2013 Indians protests against all-too-common gang-rapes in their country Getty Images 15/20 January 2013 Indian students of various organisations hold placards as they shout slogans during a demonstration in Hyderabad Getty Images 16/20 January 2013 A protester chants slogans as she braces herself against the spray fired from police water canons during a protest against the Indian government's reaction to recent rape incidents in India, in front of India Gate on December 23, 2012 in New Delhi Getty Images 17/20 January 2013 Indian children paint messages during a gathering to mourn the death of the 23-year old rape victim. Her statement was used in the trial AP 18/20 January 2013 Indians hold a candlelight vigil in Delhi in memory of a gang-rape victim. Five men have been charged with murder AP 19/20 December 2012 Indian protesters are escorted by police as they demonstrate against the brutal gang-rape of a woman AP 20/20 December 2012 Indian protesters destroy a police van during a violent demonstration near the India Gate against a gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus AP 1/20 April 2015 School girls wear black bands on their faces during a protest rally against the rape case of a 16-year-old girl at Dhupguri town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal Reuters 2/20 March 2015 Students of Convent of Jesus and Mary School participate in a protest against the alleged gang rape of a nun in her 70s AP 3/20 March 2015 Official figures for the number of women raped in India are often disputed by Women's Rights experts who claim the numbers are far higher SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images 4/20 March 2015 Women protest after the horrific rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in India BBC 5/20 June 2014 Women in India protest against rape and other attacks on women and girls in the country AP 6/20 June 2014 Indian activists from the Social Unity Center of India (SUCI) shout slogans against the state government in protest against the gang rape and murder of two girls in the district of Badaun in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and recent rapes in the eastern state of West Bengal, in Kolkata AFP/Getty 7/20 June 2014 Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were protesting against the rape and hanging of two girls Reuters 8/20 May 2014 Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans during a protest against a gang rape of two teenage girls in Katra village, outside the Uttar Pradesh state house, in New Delhi. A top government official said the northern Uttar Pradesh state has sacked two police officers who failed to respond to a complaint by the father of the two teenage girls who went missing and were later found gang raped and killed. The placard at right reads, "Punish the culprits of gang-rape and murder of two Dalit girls" AP Photo/Manish Swarup 9/20 January 2014 Student protesters outside a Suri hospital where a rape victim is being treated Andrew Buncombe 10/20 January 2014 West Bengal Women's Forum activists walk a protest rally against a rape case in Calcutta, eastern India. A young girl was gang-raped on October 25 and afterwards repeatedly threatened by the accused, following which the disturbed girl set herself on fire December 23. She was admitted to the hospital with 40 percent burns and finally succumbed to her burn injuries on 31 December EPA 11/20 August 2013 Republican Party of India supporters protest in Mumbai against the rape of a female photographer Reuters 12/20 May 2013 Indian demonstrators shout slogans at the police during a protest calling for better safety for women AFP/Getty Images 13/20 April 2013 An Indian woman holds a poster as she protests with others against how Indian authorities handle sex crimes near the Parliament in New Delhi, after a second suspect was arrested in the rape of a 5-year-old girl. Child rights activists say the rape of the girl is just the latest case in which Indian police failed to take urgent action on a report of a missing child. Three days after the attack, the girl was found alone in locked room in the same New Delhi building where her family lives AP 14/20 March 2013 Indians protests against all-too-common gang-rapes in their country Getty Images 15/20 January 2013 Indian students of various organisations hold placards as they shout slogans during a demonstration in Hyderabad Getty Images 16/20 January 2013 A protester chants slogans as she braces herself against the spray fired from police water canons during a protest against the Indian government's reaction to recent rape incidents in India, in front of India Gate on December 23, 2012 in New Delhi Getty Images 17/20 January 2013 Indian children paint messages during a gathering to mourn the death of the 23-year old rape victim. Her statement was used in the trial AP 18/20 January 2013 Indians hold a candlelight vigil in Delhi in memory of a gang-rape victim. Five men have been charged with murder AP 19/20 December 2012 Indian protesters are escorted by police as they demonstrate against the brutal gang-rape of a woman AP 20/20 December 2012 Indian protesters destroy a police van during a violent demonstration near the India Gate against a gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus AP
Bareilly police officer Yamuna Prasad told the website: “Her child had been sick for some time and she went to visit her sister to meet a tantrik.
“She was returning to Rampur when she met the two accused at the bus station. She was allegedly raped inside the bus at the bus station. Later, she found her child dead.”
Many have drawn parallels between this case and that of Jyoti Singh, the 23-year-old medical student who died of her injuries following a gang rape on a bus in Delhi, prompting outrage across the country.
Nandita Bhatla, Senior Technical Specialist in gender, violence and rights at the International Centre for Research on Women, told the Independent: “News of rapes continue unabated in the national newspapers.
“One is forced to think what has changed since the uproar following the rape of a young woman in December 2012.
“True, there were landmark changes in sexual harassment laws and in specific police procedures to prioritise crimes against women resulted after the incident, but it is obvious that there is a deep chasm between changes at policy and their impact on society at large.
“Issues of changes in the ‘mind-set’ are difficult and thus often talked about but rarely acted upon. And that perhaps is why, for the common person, the reality does not change.”
She said questions need to be asked about whether the way men think about women has changed, including their attitudes towards using power to abuse them when they have the opportunities. Also, whether women have less fear when they step outside, and if they feel more able to report crimes and receive justice.
“If the answer to these questions is a resounding no, then it is difficult to imagine how change in the concurrence of sexual crimes against women will happen.”
Ms Bhatla continued: “If men know they will escape, and women know no one will intervene – if the apathy and impunity remain, little will change.
“Dialogue needs to happen in every school and every institution to question rape – and who is to blame for it.”
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
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Subscribe nowHONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) pledged a new era of higher dividends on Tuesday, laying out plans to slash nearly one in five jobs and shrink its investment bank by a third to combat sluggish growth across its sprawling empire.
Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver has made it his mission to boost profits since taking the helm of Europe’s largest bank by assets in 2011 but his efforts have so far been foiled by high compliance costs, fines and low interest rates.
In the bank’s second big overhaul since the financial crisis, it will speed up a cull of unprofitable units and countries by cutting almost 50,000 jobs - half of them from selling businesses in Brazil and Turkey.
The bank also planned to increase its business in Asia, particularly in China.
HSBC will cut its assets by a quarter, or $290 billion on a risk adjusted basis (RWA), by 2017, and slice $140 billion from its investment bank, which will subsequently make up less than a third of HSBC’s balance sheet from 40 percent now.
Gulliver also pledged higher payouts for investors. “I believe that we are in the foothills of another prolonged period of dividend growth for the firm,” he said. The bank’s dividend had grown for 17 years from 1991 to 2008.
But investors were cautious about how HSBC would translate job cuts into meaningful savings given the higher cost of doing business in a tougher post-crisis business environment marked by new rules on risk and compliance.
“Slaughtering the staff is not necessarily the solution unless management makes the bank considerably less complex,” said James Antos, analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia.
HSBC shares closed down 0.94 percent, pressured also by disappointment after the bank cut its target for return on equity to greater than 10 percent by 2017, down from a previous target of 12-15 percent by 2016.
European rivals including Barclays (BARC.L), RBS (RBS.L), UBS UBSG.VX and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) have axed thousands of jobs, but many are facing fresh calls for more radical cuts in investment banking given tough operating conditions.
Some investors and analysts reckon HSBC should consider breaking up, on the grounds that extra compliance and regulatory costs outweigh the benefits of scale.
But Gulliver defended the bank’s global footprint and universal strategy.
“The answer isn’t the network should be broken up, the issue is there are four or five countries that are a major problem,” Gulliver told investors and analysts during a five-hour presentation. He cited Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, the United States and Britain as countries where weak performance or high conduct costs and fines had destroyed value.
He estimated the bank achieved $34 billion of revenue benefits from its size and diversity, including $22 billion of client revenue stemming from its international network.
NO SACRED COWS
Jobs will be cut by introducing more automation and consolidating IT and back office operations, and the bank said it would close 12 percent of branches in its seven biggest markets. It has 5,800 branches globally.
Gulliver said about 7,000-8,000 job cuts would be in Britain, or one in six UK staff. The UK retail banking business would also be rebranded to meet new rules designed to ringfence customer deposits from riskier investment banking operations.
Gulliver said it was too early to say whether the group would keep the ring-fenced bank, which will be headquartered in the English city of Birmingham and account for about two thirds of UK revenues, or $11 billion.
A man walks past a logo of HSBC outside a branch at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China June 2, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
The bank also set out 11 criteria for helping it decide whether to move its headquarters from London to Asia, likely Hong Kong, including factors such as economic growth, tax systems and long-term stability.
HSBC said it would complete the review of the possible move by the end of the year, and its strategy update clearly marked a greater shift to Asia, where it plans to redeploy assets cut in Europe and the Americas.
In particular, it plans to increase the size of its insurance business and its presence in China’s Pearl River Delta, a region in southern Guangdong province into which Beijing wants to integrate Hong Kong and which already represents a major economic hub.
“The cuts provide significant headroom for the group to
fund asset growth in Asia and absorb RWA inflation, whilst protecting its ability to pay a progressive dividend,” said Gurpreet Singh Sahi, analyst at Goldman Sachs.
The sale of businesses in Brazil and Turkey, where HSBC is the sixth and 12th biggest bank respectively, will cut $110 billion of risk-weighted assets. HSBC could fetch more than $4 billion for the pair.
The process of disposing of HSBC Bank Brasil Banco Múltiplo, as the unit is formally known, is well advanced. Brazil’s top three private-sector lenders have placed bids, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. The sale could fetch between $3 billion and $4 billion, said the source, who requested anonymity since the talks remain private.
Itaú Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB4.SA), Bradesco (BBDC4.SA) and Santander Brasil (SANB4.SA) - the nation’s three largest non-government lenders in that order - had access to the sale’s preliminary documents and made bids, the source said.
Both Itaú and Santander Brasil placed offers below Bradesco’s, the source added.
Itaú, Santander Brasil and Bradesco all declined to comment.
A bus passes a HSBC bank branch in the City of London in this November 12, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/Files
Meanwhile, three banks - BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), ING ING.AS and Bahrain’s Arab Banking Corp ABCB.BH - are in talks for the Turkish business, a source said.
Overall, HSBC will push through annual cost savings of up to $5 billion by 2017. It will cost up to $4.5 billion in the next three years to achieve the savings.LSU athletic director Joe Alleva apologized for fans' behavior at Tiger Stadium late in the Tigers’ 20-13 overtime loss to Alabama on Saturday.
A small group in LSU’s student section started with the chants of “F— you, Saban,” directed at Alabama coach Nick Saban. The chants, which occurred during the overtime period while LSU trainers were attending to an injured player on the field, could clearly be heard on the CBS broadcast of the game.
Saban coached LSU from 2000-04, leading them to the 2003 BCS Championship.
"I'd like to once again thank our fans for their incredible support of our team in last Saturday's game with Alabama,” Alleva said in a letter published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “The Tigers played with tremendous heart and passion, and our fans played a huge role in inspiring a performance of which we can all be very proud.”
Alleva said he was sorry that “such crude behavior occurred in Tiger Stadium, because that is the antithesis of what we represent at LSU,” and will make sure if it occurs in the future those identified who act in that manner will not allowed to attend games in the future.
No. 20 LSU (7-3, 3-3 SEC) travels to Arkansas (4-5, 0-5 SEC) on Saturday.
- Scooby AxsonWhen it comes to design, there’s a plethora of free web-based tools to help you accomplish tasks such as color palette selection, creating unique fonts, editing images, and testing typography.
In this article, you’ll find a bunch of handy online utilities for designers.
kuler is a web-based application by Adobe that helps you create and share color themes. You can peruse the user-submitted color themes or create your own color themes with the kuler Create web tool.
pixlr is a web-based image editor with a Photoshop-like user interface; pixlr has similar features like layers, filters, and even a Clone Stamp tool. For more image-editing web tools, check out this list of web-based image editors.
Wellstyled’s Color Scheme Generator is a simple web tool that helps designers produce color themes. It has an intuitive interface and the ability to bookmark generated color themes.
FontStruct is a web-based tool created by font retailer FontShop for creating, editing, and sharing fonts. The FontStructor tool is a simple and innovative font editor for designers who want to create beautiful type. You’ll need to sign up for a free user account to access the tool.
Typetester
Typetester allows you to test, tweak, and compare screen typography. It has a variety of typefaces that include web-safe fonts like Arial and Verdana – but it can also use your personal fonts.
TypeNavigator is a very clever web tool that can help designers identify typefaces. It’s great for hunting down a font you saw that you’d like to use on your own designs.
The Dummy Text Generator is a versatile and useful web application for generating dummy text. Though branded as a "Lorem ipsum generator for web designers", it will also come in handy for designers working on print layouts.
BGPatterns is a web tool for generating tiled patterns. Its intuitive (yet robust) user interface will allow you to tweak, edit, and resize a wide range of patterns.
Dabbleboard is a convenient web-based collaborative drawing tool that’s designer-friendly. Create web layouts, design user interfaces, or draw freehand with other fellow designers. For more web-based collaboration tools, check out this list.
PicMarkr is a web-based custom watermarking tool that you can use to protect and prevent design theft. It’s great for mockups or copyrighted designs that you publish online.
favicon.cc is a favicon design tool. With the favicon.cc, you can either create favicons from scratch or upload and edit images from your computer. For more favicon tools, check out this list of web-based favicon generators and resources.
templatr is a handy web application for creating web page templates. It has a very simple user interface, making itself an excellent tool for quick-and-dirty mockups of web layouts.
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There are few things as common in English football these days as an unpopular owner or chairman.
Barely a week seems to pass without some expression of righteous hatred aimed at those in the stands. From the seemingly benign (Randy Lerner, Stan Kroenke) to the more nefarious (the Glazers, Roland Duchatelet) and the downright bizarre (Massimo Cellino, Venky's), we have not lacked for pantomime villains in recent years.
But there are exceptions to the rule. And perhaps it should come as no surprise that Leicester, in this season of trend-bucking, appear to be pretty satisfied with their moneyed overlord.
(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty)
(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine)
Handing out free doughnuts and beer will tend to buy you a certain degree of favour, granted. But even before his birthday celebrations, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha – known by most simply as Khun Vichai – had already been embraced.
Since arriving at the club in 2010, as the key player in the Asian Football Investments (AFI) consortium, the Thai has led investment that has changed the club's fortunes. Transfer spending has risen, as has the wage bill. Perhaps the most significant contribution came in December 2013, when he converted £103million of debt into shares – a signal of his intention to ensure stability in the long term.
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(Image: Plumb Images)
Vichai has come a long way since entering the world of business 25 years ago. He launched duty-free retailer King Power back in 1989, initially as a single shop in the centre of Bangkok. An expansion into two major airports led to huge growth, the company benefitting from a boom in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand.
Three shopping complexes have also proven to be sound investments, helping take Vichai's personal fortune into the stratosphere. Forbes now value him at around £2billion, making him the fourth richest man in Thailand.
There are signs of ostentation that tally with that wealth: he loves polo, owns a Gulfstream G650 jet and travels to and from games by a helicopter, which often lands in the centre of the pitch at the King Power Stadium. The name Srivaddhanaprabha underlines his importance in his homeland; it is an honorary title awarded by the king of Thailand.
Read more: Player-by-player guide to the champions
(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine)
Yet Vichai is viewed as something of a people's champion. There are the free drinks, of course, but also a scheme that subsidises fans' travel to away games, capping the cost at £10 per supporter. That is a small dent in his bank balance, but makes a big difference.
Of course, all this would be fairly meaningless were Leicester struggling on the field. But Vichai's plans have come to fruition in mesmerising style. In May 2014, he said that he was willing to spend £180million to take the Foxes into the top five within three years. They've trumped that in two, spending less than half of that amount on transfers.
Much of that, of course, is down to the brilliance of the scouts, Claudio Ranieri's renaissance and the startling performances of the players.
But the man watching from high in the stands also deserves a sizable slice of the credit.Spoiler: Modlist
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YetAnotherBackupMod2 (by szernex_)Syria's military has intensified its aerial and ground bombardment of rebel-held areas around the country, particularly in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, activists say.
Government fighter jets bombed the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib early on Tuesday, forcing many residents to flee their homes.
On Monday bomb blasts had rocked areas around the Syrian capital.
Government officials said a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near a compund of the Syrian intelligence in Harasta on the outskirts of Damascus, while another blast took place in the Jobar area.
In Homs, heavy clashes were reported on Monday between government forces and opposition fighters in Homs' al-Khalidiyeh neighbourhood, as videos posted online appeared to show barrels of TNT explosives being dropped on the besieged areas.
Opposition strongholds in Homs have been under siege for at least 120 days, with humanitarian conditions continuing to deteriorate.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Monday, Raji Rahmet Rabou, an activist in Homs, said: "The siege is a huge problem for us. We are dying every day, but nobody is paying attention to us.
"The last two days have been especially intense as the shelling has not stopped."
Fighting in north and east
The northern province of Aleppo and eastern Deir Az-Zor province also witnessed clashes between President Bashar al-Assad's troops and opposition fighters on Monday, activists reported.
In the southern province of Deraa, 20 people were reported killed in Karak al-Sharqi, including at least five rebel fighters, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
The SOHR reported that some of the deaths came as troops targeted cars ferrying wounded people to field hospitals and clinics for treatment.
Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the reports of fighting due to restrictions on reporting inside Syria.
The fighting inside Syria came as Turkey's military struck back at Syrian military positions for a sixth day after a shell fired from Syrian territory landed in a Turkish border area, reports said.
Turkey retaliated in kind after the Syrian shell landed in Altinozu district, in southeastern Hatay province, at around 12:00 GMT on Monday, a Turkish official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.
"Turkish military retaliates immediately after every single Syrian shell," said the official. "We have anti-aircraft batteries pounding Syrian targets."
Earlier, Celalettin Lekesiz, Hatay's governor, said
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have done. I don’t see you on your knees yet
“You haven’t repented yet! You will weep blood for what you have done. I don’t see you on your knees yet,” the father tells his son, who was handcuffed behind his back and chained up in the unfinished basement.
“If you’re in this position, it’s because someone has had enough of you,” the father says during the interrogation in English and French. “You will pray that Jesus will take you back after all of this and that your parents will take you back.”
In one of the videos, the father threatens to distribute the video “to the people you most care for.”
The boy’s father and stepmother, both free on bail, are each charged with aggravated assault, forcible confinement, and failure to provide necessities of life. They are prohibited from communicating while on bail. They still wear their wedding rings.
The Mountie, now suspended, testified this week that when he watched the videos, it was like he was looking at someone else. Someone, anyone, other than himself, he said. He’s mounting a not criminally responsible defence, saying he suffers from PTSD and couldn’t have formed the mental capacity to form intent, let alone have known it was wrong.
The boy, who testified last year, said he’d been trying to escape for a month. He weighed only 50 pounds on the day he escaped.
The boy still expressed loyalty to his father after escaping his chains.
“My dad didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t want him to go to jail,” the boy told authorities, according to notes previously read into the court record.
The boy also felt like he was the one who did something wrong. “My dad is in the RCMP. He would know.”
The boy was assured that he did nothing wrong.It wasn’t the first time Ottawa police got a call about the child. Two years earlier, the boy had gone to a neighbour’s saying he was hungry and wanted to stay the night because he was being punished at home. Police were called and returned him to his home, court heard.
The father has said he chained and handcuffed his “out-of-control” son in the basement because he had run out of options. He also admitted that he rationed the boy’s meals down to just two peanut-butter pitas a day. The father, who told police “I hate myself for it”, also confessed that he burned his son with a BBQ lighter and once hit him so hard with the back of his hand that the boy was left with a broken tooth.
The trial, presided by Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger, continues.In the space of a week, the B.C. government has managed to undermine the most comprehensive route for settling the land question in the province – a process that took 120 years to launch.
One could not choose a more perilous time to surprise the two other key players in the treaty process – the federal government and First Nations – with an ill-defined plan to try something new: All three parties have been carefully working out where they stand in the wake of last summer's landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on aboriginal rights and title.
There was consensus that the negotiation framework conducted through the B.C. Treaty Commission was in need of reform. There was support in some quarters for the notion of phasing it out in favour of a more effective framework for negotiations. And there is little doubt that there ought to be more options to resolve uncertainty about aboriginal rights and title.
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However, Premier Christy Clark's impatience to shake things up will make it harder to get the three principals in the room to talk about what the future should look like.
The Premier has apologized publicly for poor communications, but that isn't the half of it. She has left John Rustad, B.C. Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, with the unhappy task of trying to repair relations.
To recap, the first step on the Premier's new path to reconciliation was taken alone. With no warning, the province yanked its support for George Abbott as the new head of the B.C. Treaty Commission just as he was being briefed for the transition. His appointment had been approved by all three parties at the table.
Mr. Rustad issued a statement on March 20 explaining that the decision was just to allow a little pause, some time for reflection.
"We will work with the principals to appoint a chief commissioner and ensure that the work of the BC Treaty Commission goes on."
But when the Premier took questions on the matter a week later, what she described as a "principled policy decision" did not match Mr. Rustad's explanation. Her government would not support any candidate to serve as chief commissioner, and the Premier questioned whether the treaty commission should even exist.
Mr. Rustad, in an interview, could not say how or when that principled policy was formulated. "Obviously our thinking changed, or you could say advanced." He has had trouble, not surprisingly, getting Ottawa on the phone to set a date for discussions.
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It was an open secret that B.C. has been sucking resources out of the treaty process in favour of economic deals. The province has secured 300 one-off settlements on resource sharing with individual First Nations, all of them completed without the federal government at the table, and to do that, treaty negotiators have been diverted to chase these kinds of deals.
But officials from the province assured Ottawa and First Nations that they were still committed to the treaty process. Earlier this month, the cabinet appointed Tom Happynook to the commission. Mr. Happynook was the negotiator who brought home one of B.C.'s modern-day treaties for his community – the Maa-nulth of Vancouver Island. "The biggest thing that helped me make the decision to take this is my desire to help bring about successful conclusions to treaties in B.C.," he said when he was appointed. Two weeks later, he's learned his job is to wrap up a last few treaty tables before the doors are closed.
"This has all the earmarks of a plan that is being made up as they go along," remarked outgoing chief commissioner Sophie Pierre.
The BC Treaty Commission was launched in 1993 with the expectation that there would be 30 treaties settled in the first seven years. Now, 22 years later, four treaties are complete. There are still 53 negotiating tables, but no more than ten are likely to reach a treaty in a reasonable time frame. They may be the last of their kind.
A pragmatic approach to settling aboriginal rights and title more quickly and at less cost is a laudable goal. But you cannot achieve certainty about who owns and governs the land base – the question that has hung over most of British Columbia for 150 years – through private resource deals alone.
It's clear B.C. wants to follow a new path, but the province needs to bring First Nations and the federal government along – a difficult task that requires a more careful and thoughtful approach than the Premier's office has shown here.Cars speed by Turn 19 during the 2013 U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. (Photo: Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports)
AUSTIN — Millions of dollars in bars and restaurant receipts. High-spending visitors from around the world. Three days in the international speed and glamour spotlight.
Austin and Central Texas are experiencing another weekend of Formula One racing and all the spoils that come with it. Now in its third year, the three-day race event at the Circuit of the Americas track in southeast Austin is expected to draw a quarter-million people and millions of dollars into city coffers and private registers.
This year's race, however, is not without controversy. The race on Sunday will only have 18 cars participating — the smallest F1 race field in nearly a decade — after two teams, Marussia and Caterham, were sidelined with financial issues.
And, off the track, questions surfaced recently as to whether the $250 million in state incentives promised to wealthy F1 executives to bring the global circuit to Austin – the only U.S. Formula One venue – was done within legal guidelines.
Controversy aside, Austin is readying to party – at speeds of up to 200 mph.
"It's a great vibe," said Kimber Cavendish, co-owner of the Kimber Modern, a seven-room upscale hotel that sold out six months ago with F1 enthusiasts. "The city just comes alive with a really neat vibe. It's contagious."
The numbers are contagious, too. The various concerts, events and races held by Circuit of the Americas throughout the year deliver a nearly $900 million annual economic impact to the Austin area, according to a study released this week by track officials. The F1 race generates the lion share of that impact, bringing $507 million to the area.
That total is far higher than the cash generated by the SXSW film-music-interactive festival ($315 million) and the ACL Music Festival ($182 million), two of the city's other premier gatherings.
Since announcing its opening in 2010, the track has delivered $2.8 billion in cumulative economic impact and 91,000 jobs to the Austin metro area, according to the report.
"(Circuit of the Americas) has turned out to be much more than just a racetrack," Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said in a statement included in the report. "It's a job creator, a revenue generator, and a destination for quality, year-round entertainment."
With the crowds, however, come the usual challenges of traffic snarls and downtown cramming. To alleviate some of the crush, city officials worked with track officials to implement shuttles between the track and downtown Austin and bolstered its public transportation service for that weekend, City Councilman Mike Martinez said.
"We're doing everything we can so we can have a successful major international event but still be the little old city everyone's in love with," he said.
Last month, a report in the San Antonio Express-News alleged that $250 million in promised taxpayer money from the state's Major Events Trust Fund to race executives may not have been approved through the proper channels. Critics maintain state lawmakers shouldn't subsidize the European-style races while slashing funding for schools and social services to balance the budget, according to the report. Supporters say the economic windfall from track-related events more than pay for the subsidy.
"That will always be an issue," said Martinez, pointing out that no city tax dollars went to the project. "There are always going to be questions on whether that's the best use of state taxpayer dollars."
Besides the economic benefits, the F1 race brings with it a myriad of exclusive parties and concerts around town that some locals have learned to tap into. Parties such as the Amber Lounge and Blu at the W Hotel draw in hundreds of guests and celebrities and cost anywhere between $150 to more than $1,000 to enter.
Last year, Blu's Brazilian-Carnival-themed bash hit its 600-person capacity before midnight, said Ginger Leigh, a local singer and Formula One party planner. Though many locals may find the steep prices off-putting, local musicians benefit from playing at packed clubs around town, she said.
"Formula One puts a big stamp on Austin globally," Leigh said. "The champagne doesn't stop flowing when the race is over."The highest number of patients who have succumbed to the viral fever in Maharashtra are from Nagpur.
Swine flu has claimed 83 lives in Maharashtra so far, while 40 of the 205 patients, currently being treated at various hospitals in the state are on ventilator, an official said.
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A statement from the Joint Director of Health services Satish Pawar said that out of the 83 dead, nine persons were
residents of other states while one was from Mumbai.
The highest number of patients, who have succumbed to the viral fever in Maharashtra are from Nagpur (22) while nine were from Pune.
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According to Pawar, a total of 698 swine flu patients were found in the state. Out of these, 389 patients have been
treated and discharged till now.
“Out of the 698 patients, 220 were found in Mumbai, 175 in Nagpur and 184 in Pune,” he said.
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The official added that 109 patients were diagnosed with the fever on Thursday.Getting Started With Kotlin and Anko on Android
I’m just going to say it like it is …
Android is stuck in Java 6 purgatory.
When I first started developing for Android, I was coming out of working very heavily with C# for a few years. I came over to find a lack of proper generics support (when compared to Java generics), no lambda expressions, and an awkward syntax for common things that I felt should just be in the language. 8 years later, I’m still stuck writing super-verbose Java 6. Java 8 has been out for a while now, and it would be great to use some of those features without having to resort to bytecode weaving! (That said, I am very thankful for retrolambda.) Unfortunately, who knows if or when Java 8 support will ever arrive.
Thankfully, there seems to be a new hope for Android development: Kotlin.
Kotlin is a new JVM-compatible language from JetBrains that you can use to write Android applications. If you haven’t been exposed to the language, I highly recommend that you watch Michael Pardo’s talk on Kotlin from Droidcon NYC. Furthermore, the layout view for a portion of the application will be created with Anko, a DSL (Domain-Specific Language) for Android which is written in Kotlin. You can get a basic understanding of Anko here.
Kotlin, as a language, is a breath of fresh air compared to Java 6. Once you get used to the syntax, you will notice that it is much more succinct than its Java 6 counterpart. Since Kotlin is JVM-compatible, it will compile down to JVM bytecode that is understood by Android.
Important: This article will assume that you have a basic understanding of Kotlin and Anko.
Using Kotlin in an Android project
As with anything new, you’d probably like to try out Kotlin but you don’t want to commit an entire project to it just yet. With Kotlin and Android Studio, you can have both Java and Kotlin sitting side by side in your application. I recommend taking a screen, a feature, or a simple custom widget, and writing it in Kotlin to see how it feels. Integrating Kotlin into your codebase slowly allows you to give the language a test run and allows you to keep existing application code untouched.
Thankfully it’s quite easily to integrate Kotlin into an existing Android application with the free Kotlin plugin for Android Studio. To get started, you’ll need to install the plugin. Open Android Studio and select Configure > Plugins. If the screen below is not visible, close all your projects and Welcome to Android Studio window will present itself.
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Then select Install JetBrains Plugin as shown below.
Now search for Kotlin and install the Kotlin plugin as shown below. The main Kotlin plugin includes the Android extensions.
You’re now ready to start building your first feature with Kotlin!
The Application
The application that I’m going to be working with is a simple to-do list application. The main screen has a list of to-dos that looks like this:
To add a to-do, users tap on the FAB (Floating Action Button). To edit a to-do, they tap on the to-do itself. This will load the add/edit screen. The add/edit screen is what I will write in Kotlin and Anko.
What is Anko?
Anko is a DSL (Domain-Specific Language) for Android written in Kotlin. Traditionally, Android views are expressed as XML layouts. This XML is usually duplicated in various parts of your application and is not re-used (sometimes it is, with includes). At runtime, the XML is then transformed into the Java representation of the view which wastes CPU and battery. Anko allows you to write this view in Kotlin, in an Activity or Fragment (or even as an AnkoComponent, an external Kotlin file that represents the view).
Here’s an example of a simple XML file that is transformed to Anko.
XML
<LinearLayout xmlns:android= "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_height= "match_parent" android:layout_width= "match_parent" > <EditText android:id= "@+id/todo_title" android:layout_width= "match_parent" android:layout_heigh= "wrap_content" android:hint= "@string/title_hint" /> <!-- Cannot directly add an inline click listener as onClick delegates implementation to the activity --> <Button android:layout_width= "match_parent" android:layout_height= "wrap_content" android:text= "@string/add_todo" /> </LinearLayout>
The same view expressed in Anko
verticalLayout { var title = editText { id = R. id. todo_title hintResource = R. string. title_hint } button { textResource = R. string. add_todo onClick { view -> { // do something here title. text = "Foo" } } } }
Notice the inline click listener in the layout definition above. Since this is Kotlin, you can also access other view members, such as title and use them in the click listener.
Getting Started
Using this starter app you can start with a blank slate. (Final code is available here). This app has the following:
An Activity ( MainActivity ) that acts as a simple controller of the application.
) that acts as a simple controller of the application. A RecyclerView to show the to-dos on the first screen (TodosFragment)
A Realm database to store the to-dos
A Todo.java Realm model
Realm model An adapter for the RecyclerView
You will now build the add/edit screen using Kotlin and Anko.
Set Up Your Application for Kotlin and Anko
Now that you have the Kotlin extension installed, you’ll want to configure your application using the Configure Kotlin in Project action. In Android Studio, press CMD+SHIFT+A to open the action finder window. Type in Kotlin and select Configure Kotlin in Project action as shown below:
After this runs, your build.gradle file will have been updated with kotlin-android applied at the top of the file, a Kotlin sourceSet added, and Kotlin added to your dependencies.
During this time you’ll also want to add Anko to your dependencies. Your build.gradle file should look similar to this:
apply plugin: 'com.android.application' apply plugin: 'kotlin-android' android { compileSdkVersion 23 buildToolsVersion "23.0.2" defaultConfig { applicationId "com.donnfelker.kotlinmix" minSdkVersion 16 targetSdkVersion 23 versionCode 1 versionName "1.0" } buildTypes { release { minifyEnabled false } } packagingOptions { exclude 'META-INF/services/javax.annotation.processing.Processor' } sourceSets { main. java. srcDirs +='src/main/kotlin' } } dependencies { compile fileTree ( dir: 'libs', include: [ '*.jar' ]) testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12' // Kotlin compile "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib:$kotlin_version" // Anko compile 'org.jetbrains.anko:anko-sdk15:0.8.2' // sdk19, sdk21, sdk23 are also available compile 'org.jetbrains.anko:anko-support-v4:0.8.2' // In case you need support-v4 bindings compile 'org.jetbrains.anko:anko-appcompat-v7:0.8.2' // For appcompat-v7 bindings compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.1.1' compile 'com.android.support:design:23.1.1' compile 'io.realm:realm-android:0.87.1' compile 'com.github.thorbenprimke:realm-recyclerview:0.9.12' compile 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:7.0.1' compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:23.1.1' } buildscript { ext. kotlin_version = '1.0.0' repositories { mavenCentral () } dependencies { classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlin_version" } } repositories { mavenCentral () }
You’re now ready to start creating the add/edit to-do screen.
Adding a Fragment with Kotlin
If the src/main/kotlin/com.donnfelker.kotlinmix/ directory does not exist, create it. You’ll notice that the kotlin folder turns blue indicating that this is a source folder.
Right-click on the /src/main/kotlin/com.donnfelker.kotlinmix/ folder, select New > Kotlin File/Class, and give it the name EditFragment. The new file is created and only contains a package declaration.
Copy the code below and past it into the EditFragment file.
package com. donnfelker. kotlinmix import android.os.Bundle import android.support.v4.app.Fragment import android.view.LayoutInflater import android.view.View import android.view.ViewGroup import android.widget.Button import android.widget.EditText import com.donnfelker.kotlinmix.models.Todo import io.realm.Realm import org.jetbrains.anko.* import org.jetbrains.anko.support.v4.UI import org.jetbrains.anko.support.v4.find import java.util.* class EditFragment : Fragment () { val TODO_ID_KEY: String = "todo_id_key" val realm: Realm = Realm. getDefaultInstance () var todo: Todo? = null companion object { fun newInstance ( id: String ): EditFragment { var args: Bundle = Bundle () args. putString ( "todo_id_key", id ) var editFragment: EditFragment = newInstance () editFragment. arguments = args return editFragment } fun newInstance (): EditFragment { return EditFragment () } } override fun onActivityCreated ( savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super. onActivityCreated ( savedInstanceState ) if ( arguments!= null && arguments. containsKey ( TODO_ID_KEY )) { val todoId = arguments. getString ( TODO_ID_KEY ) todo = realm. where ( Todo: : class. java ). equalTo ( "id", todoId ). findFirst () val todoTitle = find < EditText >( R. id. todo_title ) todoTitle. setText ( todo?. title ) val todoDesc = find < EditText >( R. id. todo_desc ) todoDesc. setText ( todo?. description ) val add = find < Button >( R. id. todo_add ) add. setText ( R. string. save ) } } override fun onDestroy () { super. onDestroy () realm. close () } /** * A private function to create a TODO item in the database (Realm). * * @param title the title edit text. * @param desc the description edit text. */ private fun createTodoFrom ( title: EditText, desc: EditText ) { realm. beginTransaction () // Either update the edited object or create a new one. var t = todo?: realm. createObject ( Todo: : class. java ) t. id = todo?. id?: UUID. randomUUID (). toString () t. title = title. text. toString () t. description = desc. text. toString () realm. commitTransaction () // Go back to previous activity activity. supportFragmentManager. popBackStack (); } }
The example above has a few methods: newInstance, onActivityCreated, onDestroy, and createTodoFrom. createTodoFrom accepts two EditText widgets as parameters, which are used to either create a new Todo or to update an existing one, all in a single line of code.
var t = todo?: realm. createObject ( Todo: : class. java )
This will check to see if the field-level todo value is null. If it is, then it will create a new Todo instance. If it is not null, it will use that local field instance. The field instance is instantiated in the onActivityCreated method near the top of the file.
In onActivityCreated, the arguments of the fragment are checked. If they’re not null, the id of the Todo is pulled from the intent extras and the Todo object is obtained from Realm. The todo field is now instantiated, indicating that the Todo object is being edited. The views are updated with the corresponding values at that point.
Adding the View with Anko
You’ve probably noticed that there is no view present in the Fragment. To add a view, copy and paste this code into the fragment:
override fun onCreateView ( inflater: LayoutInflater?, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? { return UI { verticalLayout { padding = dip ( 30 ) var title = editText { id = R. id. todo_title hintResource = R. string. title_hint } var desc = editText { id = R. id. todo_desc hintResource = R. string. description_hint } button { id = R. id. todo_add textResource = R. string. add_todo onClick { view -> createTodoFrom ( title, desc ) } } } }. view }
This Anko code creates a LinearLayout with a vertical orientation ( verticalLayout ). Inside of the verticalLayout block, three Android widgets are created - two editText views and one button view. The view attributes are set in line. There is something interesting happening in the widget declaration of the button. The button has a click listener set in the view declaration. The method createTodoFrom is called with the title and desc variables that are declared prior to the button. Finally, the view is returned by calling the view property on the AnkoContext ( UI class).
The id s are set with R.id.<id_name>. These id s had to be created manually in a file named ids.xml located in app/src/main/res/values/ids.xml. Create this file if it does not exist. The contents of this file are as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <resources> <item name= "todo_title" type= "id" /> <item name= "todo_desc" type= "id" /> <item name= "todo_add" type= "id" /> </resources>
This ids.xml file declares id s that can be used in an Android application for various view id s.
Java and Kotlin Commingling
At this point, the view can now be shown on the screen. The only thing left is to show the Fragment when a user taps on an item.
Open the TodosFragment and add the following code to the onTodoClick method:
EditFragment editFragment = EditFragment. Companion. newInstance ( task. getId ()); getActivity (). getSupportFragmentManager (). beginTransaction (). replace ( R. id. content_main, editFragment, editFragment. getClass (). getSimpleName ()). addToBackStack ( editFragment. getClass (). getSimpleName ()). commit ();
The EditFragment is written in pure Kotlin, yet it can be called from Android code as a regular Java object very easily.
Notice the EditFragment.Companion.newInstance call? This is necessary because Kotlin does not have static methods. Therefore, a companion object is necessary to accomplish a similar feat in Kotlin.
Finally, you’ll need to wire up the FAB to start the fragment. In the FAB’s click listener, in the MainActivity, you’ll need to add the following code:
EditFragment editFragment = EditFragment. Companion. newInstance (); getSupportFragmentManager (). beginTransaction (). replace ( R. id. content_main, editFragment, editFragment. getClass (). getSimpleName ()). addToBackStack ( editFragment. getClass (). getSimpleName ()). commit ();
Build and install the application and tap the FAB. This starts the Kotlin part of the application. Add a to-do and tap Add. Back on the list of to-dos, tap a to-do so you can edit it. The button text in the Kotlin EditFagment will change to ‘save’. Update the to-do and tap save.
Congratulations, you’ve now mixed Java and Kotlin together! 👏
You’ve built a feature with Kotlin while the rest of your application remains functional with typical Java that is used in Android. You can continue on your path of Kotlin development or only bring it in where you find it useful.
You can also continue to use Anko as your view mechanism for Kotlin. If you prefer XML, you can still use XML layouts. For example, you can replace the above onCreateView method called with the following:
override fun onCreateView ( inflater: LayoutInflater?, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle?): View? { return inflater?. inflate ( R. layout. your_layout, container, false ) }
This gives you the flexibility to work with Kotlin with or without Anko.
Best of luck on your Kotlin adventures!
Sample CodeI sit at a diner having lunch with a friend. It has been a while since I have seen her. She does most of the talking and I only let her because my pain makes it hard to speak. Nothing about our stories seems the same, but we both have scars. Suddenly every emotion she speaks I understand. We are talking about different things entirely, but it is in the same language. She talks about feeling stuck. I get it, I tell her. She talks about medical bills that overwhelm her. I get that, too. She worries about it coming back. Now, our “its” are very different. But I have the same fear.
I do my best not to compete or one-up or compare.
Because I hate it when people do that to me. Although, I must admit to occasionally doing it in my head.
So I just say, “It’s not just you” instead.
She doesn’t usually talk about this, she says while grabbing another forkful of cake. “It’s OK,” I tell her, even though I am desperate to talk about anything else. This has been happening a lot lately, which is not the norm for a girl who is usually the one telling ridiculous stories instead of listening. When the time is right, I change the topic and make sure we laugh a little before we push in our chairs.
Someone I’ve only met recently met pulls me aside at a party. She hesitates a little, like she is working up the nerve to confess a terrible secret. She tells me that most people don’t know, but that she has chronic pain issues, too. I tell her it sucks, waiting for her to elaborate. She says she has had to give up her morning workouts. I want to yell at her. Somedays I have to give up talking and chewing and kissing my husband… but I’m sorry you miss your burpees so much. But I don’t say that. I just tell her that I miss running. “That used to be how I cleared my head and felt strong. Finding a new way is a struggle,” I continue. “I’m still trying to find it. It’s not just you.”
I don’t know if she wants me to help or if she is trying to help me. She breathes deep, somehow satisfied, and slips back into the crowd.
Another friend appears most days on Facebook to be “kicking cancer’s ass.” She takes smiling photos of her bald head and each chemo and radiation treatment. I don’t know her well, but last summer she kept checking in on me after my brain surgery and I remember thinking, Why are you checking on me? You have cancer. I like her photos because that is what you do, but one day I drop something off at her house and she answers the door crying. She starts to apologize then just looks at me and says, “Well, you get it.” I don’t think I do. Day after day she posts happy photos of her doing fun things and sends me text after text of how she is really doing. Sometimes I tell her when my days are hard. “It’s not just you,” she tells me.
Yesterday a message shows up on my screen. Someone I haven’t talked to in over 20 years. Someone I graduated high school with and am not sure if I would even recognize her if I saw her today. I start to wonder if the message is even for me. “Tell me about your surgery,” she says. She talks about debilitating pain and the surgical option she is choosing. Fearfully. “I know nothing about your kind of surgery,” I respond back. “I can’t give you any insights into expectations or recovery, but I know all about pain. I know all about missing out. I know all about fear.” The conversation goes on. I am certain this is the most real conversation we have ever had with each other. Somehow now we have a language. One that neither of us wants but both speak fluently. It is one I wish I had never learned, but occasionally, I am glad to understand in someone else’s tired eyes. Glad it gives me more to offer when most days I am so much less.
All these people want to tell me about their pain. I’m not sure if I am supposed to hear them, or let them hear me. It is a dialogue I am still stumbling through, but I suspect it is both.On the brink of breaking LaMont Jordan’s freshman school rushing record, Maryland running back Lorenzo Harrison was one of three players suspended from the team indefinitely for violating the university’s student-athlete conduct code, a spokesman said Saturday.
Harrison, who entered Saturday’s game against No. 5 Ohio State 57 yards shy of breaking Jordan’s 19-year-old mark of 689 yards, was suspended along with two other freshmen -- backup linebacker Antoine Brooks and reserve wide receiver DJ Turner.
Harrison and Turner were part of the five-player mini-class from nearby DeMatha.
It marks the first long-term suspension of the season under first-year coach DJ Durkin, who was not available for comment.
Senior running back Wes Brown had entered the season on a three-game ban after being suspended indefinitely last season by then-interim coach Mike Locksley. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Davis was suspended for a game by Durkin for a late hit on Penn State kicker Joey Julius.
It is not clear what the players did to violate the student-athlete conduct code. In the past, Maryland athletes have been suspended for a variety of indiscretions, typically involving academics or off-field behavior. The spokesman wouldn’t clarify what type of violation was committed.
While the loss of Brooks and Turner depletes Maryland’s rotation of special team players, the absence of Harrison is a significant hit to the team’s offense. The 5-foot-8, 193-pound Harrison became the first player in program history to score touchdowns in each of his first four games.
In Maryland’s 28-17 win over Michigan State on Oct. 22, Harrison rushed for a career-high 105 yards on 17 carries and was named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week. He rushed for at least 58 yards in eight of the team’s first nine games and came into Saturday averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Browse pictures of the Maryland football team from the 2016 season.
Johnson’s 633 yards was two yards behind sophomore Ty Johnson, the team’s leading rusher who was knocked out of last week’s 59-3 loss at Michigan. Harrison had started two of the team’s three games before Saturday. With Harrison out of the rotation, and Johnson expected to play, Brown should get an expanded role.
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twitter.com/sportsprof56BEIRUT -- Lebanese authorities have detained a man suspected in the killing of a British woman who worked at the U.K. Embassy in Beirut and whose body was found near the city over the weekend, a police official said Monday.
The woman's murder was a "criminal act" and was not politically motivated, the official said, adding that the suspect had confessed to the killing.
The woman, later identified by British media and friends as Rebecca Dykes, was found on the side of a motorway on Saturday. Sources told CBS News partner network BBC News that it appeared Dykes had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
When she was found, there were no items pointing to her identity and she had no money or a cellular telephone. Authorities released a drawing of her in order for people who know her to come forward and identify her.
Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the death of an embassy staffer who worked for the Department for International Development.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office, the family requested that the media respect their privacy "at this very difficult time."
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened," her family said.
"The whole embassy is deeply shocked and saddened by this news," said British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter in a statement, "Our thoughts are with Becky's family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss."
On Monday, a police official said the suspect was traced through security cameras that showed his car driving from Beirut to the area where Dykes' body was found, just north of the Lebanese capital.
"He was detained at his apartment," the official said. He added that once the plate number of the vehicle was traced through security cameras, the suspect, who is a Lebanese citizen, was identified.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the suspect is a taxi driver who picked up the woman from Beirut's Gemayze neighborhood, known for its restaurants and pubs, then drove to a nearby neighborhood where she lived but did not drop her off there.
Instead, the suspect drove the car to the site where Dykes' body was later found. NNA said the man tried to sexually assault her, then strangled her with a rope. The police have not confirmed those details.
The murder has shaken Lebanon, where such crimes, particularly against foreigners, are relatively uncommon.
Earlier, a forensics official told The Associated Press that the woman was strangled with a rope and that authorities were investigating whether she was also sexually assaulted. Both the police and the forensics official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Dykes' friends said she was planning to fly home for Christmas on Saturday.Buy Photo Daniel Moreno photographs flowers at the Lilac Festival in Highland Park on Saturday. (Photo: KRIS J. MURANTE / Staff photographer)Buy Photo
The Lilac Festival is backpedaling on a policy to block professional-grade cameras from the festival site.
The festival this year had put language on its website that included digital SLR cameras among the more typical prohibited goods, such as dogs, skateboards, bikes, and outside food and beverages. That language was taken down Saturday afternoon as the festival briefly went back and forth on its policy. Eventually, officials backed off the ban and would not prohibit anyone from bringing such cameras into the festival site.
Guide: The 2014 Lilac Festival
Festival spokeswoman Randi Minetor said the ban was intended for use of higher-end cameras when taking pictures of the live concerts.
"We are concerned about people interested in taking photos of the bands and selling them," Minetor said, adding that some of the bands performing free shows at the festival have language in their contracts prohibiting unauthorized commercial photography of them.
However, Minetor said, with the proliferation of relatively decent cameras in mobile phones, "It's impossible really to enforce that."
Festival security will stop photography during the concerts if it appears to be for commercial purposes, she said.
Signs at the main entrances to the festival mention other prohibited items, such as pets and skateboards, but not cameras.
Concert venues frequently have limits on photographing or recording the performances. This year's festival concert lineup includes performances by Rusted Root on Thursday, the Original Wailers on Saturday, and Eddie Money on Sunday.
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Tree, a 100-year-old Scots pine at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes reserve, near Dunkeld, Perthshire, home to a famous osprey, Lady, for nearly a quarter of a century, came 9th with 4,193 votes.
It’s the Eurovision for trees! Which one will you root for? Read more
And Wales’s Lonely Tree, a Scots pine more than 200 years old which stood on the top of a hill watching over the town of Llanfyllin, Powys, but blew over last April, came 10th with 1,548 votes.
The Estonian oak tree received 59,836 votes, almost a third (32%) of the almost 185,000 votes cast in total for 14 trees from countries across Europe.
All the trees join the European Trail of Trees, which allows people to find out more about them.
Woodland Trust ancient tree expert Jill Butler said: “It is clear that some of our European cousins place huge cultural importance on their special trees and it’s something we need to adopt in the UK too.
“We have a higher proportion of ancient and other veteran trees than anywhere else in northern Europe and we need to do much more to recognise their value and improve their protection.”9 things to know about the Jared Sullinger signing
William Lou Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 10, 2016
Each year, after the initial madness of free agency dies down and the sobering reality of committing $64 million to Timofey Mozgov sets in, there are always a few decent players who get overlooked and end up empty-handed.
That’s where smart teams with limited cap room like the Toronto Raptors can cash in on a bargain.
Last year the Raptors grabbed Bismack Biyombo for a discount. This time around it’s Jared Sullinger, a percently decent borderline starting power forward who’s only 24 — there’s no good reason why he went untouched while iffy backups like Ian Mahinmi inked lucrative multi-year deals.
Sullinger couldn’t land a rich raise so he signed a one-year, $5.6-million contract to play for the Raptors. It’s a deal that made sense for both sides — the Raptors needed a quality third big, and Sullinger needed minutes on a good team to showcase his talents.
Editor’s note: The handsomest Raptors blogger west of Bathurst named Murphy reminded me that Sullinger’s agent David Falk made claims that Sullinger turned down $10 million per year offers. Falk said Sullinger wanted the best fit for himself, and that his client is a $20 million per year player. Is all this conjecture and posturing from an agent? Decide for yourself — Falk’s comments are linked here.
This post could pretty much end right here. That’s all anyone needs to know about this minor move. But fuck it, since it’s the offseason, here’s a needlessly exhaustive list of things to know about Sullinger.
1. Sullinger is a pretty much a better version of Scola
Courtesy: NBA Savant
Luis Scola did exactly what was expected of him last season, which is why I regret ragging on him so much. Scola was a consummate professional, he never complained about his role, he kept the offense moving, and he chipped in with some occasional bursts scoring.
But, as detailed to the point of rudeness on this site, Scola was not a productive player. He completely ran out of gas after the All-Star break and he was banished from the rotation in the playoffs (not a moment too soon.) To make things worse, Scola was inexplicably partnered with Jonas Valanciunas which formed the slowest frontcourt in the league and brought down both their games.
Regardless, this section isn’t about Scola. It’s about how Sullinger is a similar player to Scola while being more effective in almost every regard.
Like his predecessor, Sullinger doesn’t excel at any one aspect, but remains effective by doing a bit of everything on offense.
Sullinger is a capable — and certainly willing — pick-and-pop player, he can facilitate the offense from the high post, he loves crashing in for second-chance points, and when the team badly needs a basket, Sullinger can take matters into his own hands by either parking his bubble butt in the post or by driving to the hoop after a pump-fake from 18-feet out.
Just by virtue of being a decade younger, Sullinger is better at all those things than Scola was. He’s a craftier scorer, he’s a better rebounder, and he’s even a better passer. They play similar styles and even have similar weaknesses — Sullinger is just an upgraded version.
(The only aspect Scola has on Sullinger is the 3-point shooting. Two points about that. One, Sullinger should get cleaner looks playing alongside more talented creators than what Boston could provide. Two, Scola’s 3-point shooting wasn’t as impactful as most shooters would be since defenders would never respect Scola’s jumper, so his presence didn’t ever declutter the lane for Valanciunas to operate or for the Raptors’ guards to drive. Opponents won’t respect Sullinger’s shot either, but he makes up for the drop off in 3-point accuracy by being more effective in attacking closeouts.)
It’s important to be multi-faceted, because his frontcourt partners in Jonas Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson, and Jakob Poeltl/Bebe Noguiera are all somewhat limited in their functionality on offense. Scola didn’t excel in his role, but there’s no denying that he was a skilled, smart operator who kept the offense moving. Sullinger will be the same way, only better.
2. Most of Sullinger’s minutes will be played at center
Standing 6-foot-9 and limited by the cozy confines of a 8-foot-9 standing reach, Sullinger isn’t exactly an ideal center. But that’s where he’s best suited on this Raptors team.
Sullinger can play both power forward and center without a problem. His pick-and-pop game plays regardless of where he lines up in the frontcourt. But he’s a much better fit next to Patterson as compared to Valanciunas.
Patterson is a low-usage role player who struggles to rebound. Sullinger, by that token, is a trigger-happy post player who devours defensive rebounds (he grabbed 27 percent of available defensive rebounds last season — a rate higher than Zach Randolph and on-par with Karl-Anthony Towns.) Defensively, Patterson’s biggest strengths are mobility and tenacity, but he’s weak in the post and can’t defend centers. Sullinger is surprisingly nimble and can shuffle his feet, but he’s best off putting the “Chuck Haynes lean” on bulky post-up bigs. They compliment each other nicely.
Pairing Sullinger and Patterson together just makes sense.
That being said, Sullinger will probably still start next to Valanciunas. My guess is that Sullinger was promised a crack at the starting power forward spot, and the Dwane Casey seems fine with having a different closing five to his starting unit.
Having Sullinger together with Valanciunas is manageable, but their games overlap since they both thrive near the basket. It also makes for a questionable defensive pairing, and on offense, there might not be enough shots to go around if they had four shoot-first players in the starting lineup.
Assigning most of Sullinger’s minutes with the bench solves would make things a lot easier. He fills the void at backup center, while freeing up more minutes for Valanciunas to share time with a stretch four like Patterson or DeMarre Carroll.
3. Hitting the outlet
When was the last time the Raptors had a big man who could gather the rebound and fire an outlet pass like this?
Or this:
Or this:
Last season, the Raptors would often be late getting into their sets because their best rebounders were two players in Valanciunas and Biyombo who didn’t feel confident handling the ball. Those two would come down with the board, gather themselves, either climb to safety by lifting the ball over the heads, or wrap up tight with two hands tucked and elbows flared before finally delivering the ball to a guard. It would routinely shave 2–3 seconds off the shot clock.
Sullinger is a lot smoother. He’s not afraid to handle the rock and he loves to supply leakouts with crafty outlet passes. This would in theory allow the Raptors to play with a bit more pace on offense (whether they choose to is an entirely different question.)
Head coach Dwane Casey can also lean on Sullinger as a facilitator out of the high post. Sullinger has steadily improved his playmaking over his four years in the league and posted 10 games last season with five or more assists.
Here’s another snippet of Sully’s court vision.
4. Booty Brothers
Golden State has the Splash Brothers. Toronto has the Booty Brothers.
There’s no official stat for this, but Lowry and Sullinger have two of the biggest waist-to-hip ratios in the league. I’m sure of it. It’s going to be Caribana all season long in Toronto — opposing players are going to catch so many bubbles from the Booty Brothers.
We’re aware of what Lowry’s packing.
Here comes Sullinger, who credits genetics for his rebounding ability. “That’s a blessing my mom gave me; she gave me her booty, so I can give all the credit to my mama.”
Doughiness is funny, but spotty health isn’t. Sullinger carries an iffy injury history owing to his poor conditioning. Hopefully Sullinger’s right about “having a big enough ass” to absorb those bumps and bruises in the paint.
5. Weight loss might improve post-up game
It’s easy to forget, but Sullinger was once considered a huge prospect coming out of Ohio State. He was a dominant force on the low block and would have landed in the lottery had he not sustained a tricky back injury.
Like most rookies, Sullinger struggled with size and physicality when he first entered the league. He had difficulty scoring over bigger, stronger, and more disciplined defenders. Sullinger still put up buckets on account of sheer talent, but he wasn’t as effective at it.
It’s hard being a 6-foot-9 post-up player with no hops that plays exclusively below the rim. He’s forced to shoot difficult shots over bigger defenders if he wants to bang bodies down low.
That problem continues to this day. Sullinger shot 59.1 percent within three feet of the basket last season, a below-average mark for any big man, let alone someone who’s known for his interior scoring. He scored 0.82 points per post-up last season which ranked in the 47th percentile.
Shedding some pounds could come in handy. Sullinger probably won’t ever thrive as a back-to-the-basket option since he’s too short, but if he drops some weight, he can leverage his jumper and quick first step into a Paul Millsap-type of game. He’s got the talent.
6. The 25–20 game
When you drop 25–20 on prospective employer, it leaves quite an impression. A quick fact about Sullinger’s career night: He was the first Celtic to put up 25–20–4 since Larry Bird in 1987.
Amir Johnson was still talking about that game years later when he joined Sullinger in Boston.
7. Missed opportunities?
Don’t get this twisted: Grabbing Sullinger for $6 million is good value. He’s going to outproduce that price tag this season. But there’s an opportunity cost that comes with the signing.
First, could the Raptors have found someone better for cheaper? It’s hard to say. I wouldn’t have minded someone like Nene, who inked a 1-year, $3-million deal in Houston. Even cheaper still, Brandon Bass signed for the league minimum. That could have freed up enough cap room for someone like Dion Waiters at $3 million.
Second, there’s no long-term upside whatsoever with this signing. Best case scenario, Sullinger balls out, then gets a huge payday like Biyombo (that’s probably how the Raptors pitched it.) Then the Raptors are back in this position where they have no cap room and a big hole to fill in the frontcourt.
Third, by not using their cap room on a long-term deal, the Raptors missed a chance to inflate their salary. Had they signed a multi-year contract starting at $6 million, that figure can be left on the books going forward and moved for salary-matching purposes (see the Cavaliers as a lesson onthe benefits of keeping an inflated salary sheet.) That won’t be possible with a one-year deal with no options.
The Raptors got Sullinger on the cheap, anyway, so this isn’t a big deal. But it’s worthwhile to consider the alternatives.
8. A good teammate
Sullinger was a fan-favorite in Boston, not only for his talents, but also for his easy-going attitude. He could tell a joke and take one — and he’ll take plenty on account of his size.
He was always happy to support his teammates. Sullinger capped up for Avery Bradley for First Team All-Defense, he trumpeted Isaiah Thomas for an All-NBA spot, and he was good friends with everyone from Marcus Smart (they even shared a haircut), Jae Crowder, and Amir Johnson. Sully’s a good dude.
It can’t hurt to have another positive influence in the locker room. Sullinger takes over for Scola, Biyombo, and Johnson — three top-notch characters.
9. There’s a Jonathan Abrams story about Sullinger (and it’s excellent; you should read it)
Abrams often gets overlooked when it comes to the best sportswriters who cover basketball because he’s not a reporter whose name gets paraded across Twitter on a weekly basis.
But you can’t find anyone else who can write human interest piece quite like Abrams. His Grantland author page is a gold mine, and that’s where you can find his story on Sullinger’s friendship with Trey Burke.
Big Man, Little Man is a great read about two childhood friends with one dream. Abrams strolls down memory lane with both Burke and Sullinger’s parents to tell the story of how two kids from the same block made it to basketball’s biggest stage and the influences and experiences that helped get them there.
Here’s one tiny McNugget from the piece on how Sullinger frequented McDonald’s.
“I had a sixth-grader who was 6–4, 250 pounds. We would go to McDonald’s and Jared and him would get two double cheeseburgers, two chicken filets, two small fries, and a large drink. That’s what they got every time we go to McDonald’s. You go to McDonald’s two or three times a day. At the time, I wasn’t health-conscious. I was just trying to keep them happy because they were rebounding and killing inside.”
- Benji Burke (Trey’s dad)
We’ve all been there, Sully.Video: A toy boat demonstrates how waves benath the sea’s surface can invisibly slow a ship’s progress Video: A toy boat demonstrates how waves benath the sea’s surface can invisibly slow a ship’s progress
In 1893, Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his ship Fram were victims of a strange phenomenon as he sailed past the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, north of Siberia.
Nansen wrote afterwards: “Fram appeared to be held back, as if by some mysterious force, and she did not always answer the helm We made loops in our course, turned sometimes right around, tried all sorts of antics to get clear of it, but to very little purpose.”
Nansen called the effect “dead water”, reporting that it slowed Fram to a quarter of her normal speed.
Research has already shown that dead water occurs when an area of water consists of two or more layers of water with different salinity, and hence density – for example, when fresh water from a melting glacier forms a relatively thin layer on top of denser seawater. Waves that form in the hidden layer can slow the boat with no visible trace.
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Now French scientists recreating that scenario in a lab tank have revealed new detail of the phenomenon and even captured the effect on video. The work will help scientists to better understand dead water and the behaviour of stratified sea patches.
Silent stalker
Physicist Thierry Dauxois and colleagues from the University of Lyon found that a hidden wave at the interface of the layers invisibly chases and slows a boat (see video, top right).
The toy boat is pulled across the 300-centimetre tank with a constant force by a cable. The water is separated into two layers of different saltiness and hence density, labelled with dye.
Just as described by people who have experienced dead water in the real world, the water’s surface is smooth, but the boat suddenly slows as the concealed wave makes contact.
“It creates a depression below the boat that prevents it from moving,” team member Matthieu Mercier told New Scientist.
Swimming hazard?
It is the boat itself that initiates the wave – water from the layers below is dragged upwards to fill in the gulf its wake. That sets up an oscillation in the boundary between the layers, which gradually grows as the boat moves forward.
The wave gains size and speed until it, and the trough in front of it, eventually catch up with the boat and sapping its energy before the wave breaks against its side, Mercier says.
Although previous work on dead water considered two layers of water, the real ocean naturally separates into many different layers of slightly varying salinity. When the researchers added a third layer of water to their experiments, hidden waves appeared at both boundaries, slowing the boat by about the same amount.
Studying the way these “interfacial waves” build and develop across the different layers could help scientists to understand real ocean dynamics – for example, how pollutants mix and percolate down to the depths of the ocean, says Dauxois.
Leo Mass, a physical oceanographer at Utrecht University, was the first to study dead water in detail. He says the same effect may also explain how strong swimmers can experience unexpected difficulties in the ocean.
A paper on the Lyon group’s research is available on the arXiv preprint serverBlade Runner came out in June 1982. Microsoft's Paint came out in November 1985. Little could the designers of that rebranded version of ZSoft's PC Paintbrush packaged in with Windows 1.0 know that the paths of their humble graphics application and that elaborate sci-fi cinematic vision would cross just over 30 years later. Surely nobody involved in either project could have imagined the form the intersection would take: MSP Blade Runner, a fan's shot-by-shot Tumblr "remake" (and gentle parody) of the film using only Microsoft Paint, starting with the Ladd Company tree logo.
Why make such a thing? “I like the idea of having a blog but basically feel as if I have very little to say about things, at least things that are original or interesting,” creator David MacGowan told Motherboard's Rachel Pick. “I gravitated to Tumblr with some idea of just posting pictures, but still felt I needed to be posting something I'd actually made myself... [Y]ears ago I used to draw really crappy basic MS Paint pics for a favourite pop group's fan site, and they always seemed to raise a smile. The idea of doing something else with MS Paint, a kind of celebration of my not being deterred by lack of artistic talent, never really went away.”
The mixture of technological and aesthetic sensibilities inherent in using a severely outdated but ever-present digital tool to re-create the enduringly compelling analog visuals of a movie from that same era goes well with the original Blade Runner's project of updating the conventions of film noir to depict a then-newly imagined future. Even more fittingly, a work like MSP Blade Runner could only make sense in the 2010s, the very decade the movie tried to envision. Will it go all the way to the shot of Deckard and Rachel's final exit into the elevator? "I don't really think about giving up," McGowan told Pick. "The idea of actually completing something I start out to do (for once in my life) is very appealing.” Spoken like a 21st-century man indeed.
You can find every frame painted so far, and every new one to come, here.
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Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. He’s at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer, the video series The City in Cinema, the crowdfunded journalism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los Angeles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.Mir, Ubuntu's in-progress replacement for the X Window System, is being used internally at Ubuntu developer Canonical and will be available to all users in the next version of the operating system. Mir was announced in March, with Canonical saying that a new display server is needed to power the Unity interface across desktops, phones, and tablets.
"Mir has been running smoothly on my laptop for two weeks now," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth wrote on his blog yesterday. While he provided no statistics, he wrote that "Xorg and Compiz are using less memory and fewer CPU cycles under Mir than they were with X handling the hardware directly."
Shuttleworth did list one downside, however: "Chromium triggers an issue in the graphics stack which freezes the display. Pressing Alt-F1 unfreezes it (it causes Compiz to invoke something which twiddles the right bits to bring the GPU back from its daze). I’m told that will get sorted trivially in a coming update to the PPA [Personal Package Archives, Ubuntu's software repository]."
According to the Mir roadmap, Canonical hopes to completely replace X on desktops and laptops by October when Ubuntu 13.10 is released, but the OS will still feature a "legacy mode" that can "run legacy X clients against an on-demand rootless X server." Mir will also be able to "support an Ubuntu phone product" in October. By April 2014, Mir will power all Ubuntu form factors, including tablets.
Shuttleworth wrote that Canonical developers are now busy making sure that every app and desktop environment will work well under Mir.
"On Ubuntu, we’re committed that every desktop environment perform well with Mir, either under X or directly," Shuttleworth wrote. "We didn’t press the ‘GO’ button on Mir until we were satisfied that the whole Ubuntu community, and other distributions, could easily benefit from the advantages of a leaner, cleaner graphics stack." Distributions based on Ubuntu will be able to offer Mir as an option with a patch to X.
For people who want to try Mir before its official release, it will be available in beta versions of 13.0 through the Ubuntu PPA "just as soon as our QA and release teams are happy that its ready for very widespread testing," Shuttleworth wrote.Developed for DARPA, Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah robot broke a new speed record recently, and it’s capable of running at 28.3 mph, on a treadmill. That’s faster than Usain Bolt, the current fastest man on Earth.
Usain Bolt’s fastest speed over 20 meters was 27.78 mph. The Cheetah can attain 28.3 mph, in controlled conditions. It remains to be seen if this robot can attain this speed in real world conditions.
The four-legged robot looks slightly clumsy until you see that it replicates the gait of feline at higher speeds. The quadrupedal robot had attained 18 mph just 6 months ago. It’s an impressive feat that it surpassed its previous record by more than 10 mph.
The Cheetah had no wind drag to set this record, and had an off-board power supply. The team behind the Cheetah has been able to increase the amount of power that’s shunted into the robot. This allowed for faster motion and better control of the actuators. The control system has also been refined, augmenting the coordination of the legs.
At the end of the video, the robot starts to go faster, but loses control and slips. That means that there is even more room for improvement. The next step is to build an untethered version, one with an onboard engine and operator controls that work in 3D.
The outdoor version will be called WildCat, and should be ready for early testing next year. The robot is marketed as an emergency response to offer humanitarian assistance or on defense missions.
[via Wired]FCA’s outspoken CEO, Sergio Marchionne, has been known to make unpopular but frank comments about electric cars and the future of the auto industry. The man in charge of Alfa, Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep, called for its customers not to buy his electric car, the Fiat 500e, because he estimates the company is losing about $10,000 per units.
In a recent interview with Car Magazine, he reiterated his comments and elaborated on how he doesn’t understand how anyone can make money selling electric cars other than to comply with government mandates. He also made some interesting and somewhat confusing comments on Tesla’s success.
I don’t think it is a stretch to say that his comments were all over the place. In the same breath, he compared the hype around the Tesla Model 3 to the internet bubble, one of the biggest financial disappointment in tech, and then he compared the automaker’s success in popularizing the electric car to Apple’s success with the iPhone, one of the most financially successful tech product of all time.
Here’s his comment in full:
‘Although the relevance of combustion will decrease, it will still be an important driver of mobility. Electrification may be the next big thing, but I’m amazed by the impact of Tesla’s new Model 3. With 300,000 orders in hand, their stock is up – again. It reminds me of the internet bubble. But where is the business model that will work in the long term? People should realise that there is nothing another company cannot replicate…’ Except that Tesla was the first carmaker to go fully electric with upmarket products, and they made this concept stick. In fact they created an icon, just like Apple did with its iconic iPhone. Is this not an approach FCA could mimic? ‘Welcome to the world of icons!’ quips Marchionne. ‘I don’t make iPhones. I make cars. Why don’t I make the iPhone of cars? Because if it looks and smells like Tesla, I don’t know how to make that economic model work. There is nothing Tesla do that we cannot also do. We build cars, sell them and are still able to pay the bills. But I’m not even sure you can recover all of your costs – let alone generate a profit – through electrification. The answer is bound to be somewhere else, and the question is whether we are doing enough to try to explore that somewhere else.’
I have a problem with this particular comment from Marchionne. When he says that “people should realise that there is nothing another company cannot replicate”, maybe that’s true, but why aren’t they replicating it then.
Because that would play right in Tesla’s mission: to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport.
Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, yet no other automaker released a luxury all-electric sedan with specs coming even just close to Tesla’s flagship vehicle. Porsche’s upcoming Mission E looks like it could become the closest competing all-electric luxury sedan, but it is not expected to hit the market until 2019. A solid 7 years after the Model S.
I think Marchionne answered why they don’t copy Tesla’s business – because they don’t know how to make money selling electric cars:
“I don’t know how to make that economic model work. There is nothing Tesla do that we cannot also do.”
This statement only makes sense if you think Tesla is not making money selling electric cars and somehow I doubt Marchionne thinks that. Obviously, Tesla is not profitable at the moment because the company’s capital expenditure is through the roof thanks to large investments in its growth, mainly expanding its retail, service and charging networks, as well as building the Gigafactory and new production capacity for the Model 3.
But Tesla’s gross margin on the Model S has been well over 20% for several quarters in a row now and that’s apparently something Marchionne is not able to achieve with his own electric car, the Fiat 500e. Therefore, I think he should probably rethink his view on Tesla and the electric vehicle market at this point. If there’s truly nothing that Tesla can do that you can’t, then you should be able to achieve a positive gross margin on a compelling electric car.
Featured Image: Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat SpA, speaks during an interview at the Italian auto maker’s joint venture plant with Guangzhou Automobile Corp (GAC) in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan province, Thursday June 28, 2012. Fiat-Chrysler APAC announced the start of production of the Fiat Viaggio at the GAC-Fiat’s joint venture facility in China. (AP Photo) CHINA OUTZero-waste markets are coming to the U.S. While very popular in Europe, this trend in grocery shopping isn’t as well known in North America.
The Fillery, brainchild of Sarah Metz, is “a place where one fills empty containers with goods, such as grains, nuts, seeds, coffee, tea, spices, oils and the like,” according to the shop’s KickStarter page. Customers can bring their own reusable containers to the shop or purchase compostable ones to place their products in.
“We aim to improve the health of our community in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and the environment by offering alternatives to the plastic entombed, chemical-laden options which are ubiquitous in both pantries and landfills worldwide,” reads the KickStarter page.
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Metz’s motivation for The Fillery came after a self-realization, she wrote in her KickStarter bio
After lots of experimenting with recipes from my extensive library of cookbooks (thanks, mom!), I’ve acquired a cabinet full of ingredients that will likely go bad before I finish them. A few days ago, I counted 10 types of flour in my cupboard. I see at least four problems with this: 1. food waste is a huge problem. 2. packaging waste is a huge problem 3. it is expensive, and 4. it takes up too much space in my tiny Brooklyn kitchen. Combine this with my frustration in trying to find conscientiously sourced, responsibly packaged, healthy groceries nearby, and you have my motivation for The Fillery.
“It’s hard not to notice how much waste is generated here,” Metz told the Huffington Post. “You walk past piles of trash that are higher than you are.”
The Fillery won’t just sell grocery items, Metz said. It will also be a community supported agriculture (CSA) pick up spot and a learning center. Customers will be able to take classes in how to hand-make common households necessities such as toothpaste.
Metz raised $17,075 with a goal of $15,000 on KickStarter. The campaign is closed now and she is looking for a storefront, according to the Huffington Post.
In Denver, Lyndsey Manderson, co-founder of the store Zero Market, is also concerned with the amount of plastic used and wasted today, said the Huffington Post. She’s planning on installing a tracker to show her customers how much packaging they’ve kept out of landfills, and even the ocean, by shopping zero-waste.
Roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans each year. Plastics are becoming an increasingly common cause of death and injury for marine animals. A 2015 study Valuing Plastic by the Plastic Disclosure Project and Trucost estimated plastic caused $13 billion in damages to marine ecosystems every year, EcoWatch reported.
Several entrepreneurs are dabbling in ways to clean plastics out of the oceans. One company, Plastic Whale, is fishing plastics out of the water. Boyan Slat and his Ocean Cleanup Foundation are testing a clean-up boom that would help remove plastics from the oceans.
Metz hopes to open her store sometime this year.Spoiler alert: a reoccurring cast member bids farewell in the latest James Bond flick. When the production of Skyfall called for the complete decimation of a classic 1960s era Aston Martin DB5, filmmakers opted for something a little more lifelike than computer graphics. The movie studio contracted the services of Augsburg-based 3D printing company Voxeljet to make replicas of the vintage ride. Skipping over the residential-friendly MakerBot Replicator, the company used a beastly industrial VX4000 3D printer to craft three 1:3 scale models of the car with a plot to blow them to smithereens. The 18 piece miniatures were shipped off to Propshop Modelmakers in London to be assembled, painted, chromed and outfitted with fake bullet holes. The final product was used in the film during a high-octane action sequence, which resulted in the meticulously crafted prop receiving a Wile E. Coyote-like sendoff. Now, rest easy knowing that no real Aston Martins were harmed during the making of this film. Head past the break to get a look at a completed model prior to its untimely demise.NEW DELHI (AFP) - Hundreds of taxi drivers protested in New Delhi on Monday (May 2) against a ban on diesel cabs, the latest initiative aimed at improving air quality in the world's most polluted capital.
India's top court on Saturday ordered taxis run on the dirty fuel off the city's roads, refusing industry requests for more time to switch to greener compressed natural gas (CNG).
Angry taxi drivers blocked key intersections in Delhi and neighbouring satellite city of Gurgaon on Monday morning, bringing peak-hour traffic to a standstill for hours.
"You can't have knee-jerk solutions to long-standing problems," Mr Balwant Singh, who heads a taxi union of 500 members, told AFP at a noisy demonstration in central Delhi.
"Why go after commercial passenger vehicles only? Private diesel cars are running freely on the roads, why not stop them?"
Some drivers said they knew of no available technology to switch from diesel to CNG and would instead be forced to buy new taxis.
"I sold my house to buy the taxi and now I will have to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs. How will my family of five survive you tell me," said driver Tarun Kumar.
Many of Delhi's taxis already run on CNG, but the ban will affect about 30,000 traditional cabs and some working for app-based Uber and Ola services, according to taxi operators.
The Supreme Court has been pressuring the authorities to reduce dangerous levels of haze and dust that choke the city, with a string of orders last year including a ban on new, large diesel cars, affecting all road users.
A 2014 World Health Organisation survey of more than 1,600 cities ranked Delhi as the most polluted, partly because of the nearly 10 million vehicles on its roads.
The ban by the court, which was acting on a petition, came just days after the end of another two weeks of "odd-even" that kept about one million cars off Delhi's roads.
The government scheme, first tested in January, restricts cars to alternate days according to whether they carry odd or even-numbered licence plates.
But Delhi-based research institute TERI said its analysis found the measures had not significantly reduced concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 during the first week.
These fine particles measuring less than 2.5 micrometres are linked to higher rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.About Spoilers and Wasted Votes
We hear this in every election and, superficially, it seems logical: Candidate A is bad, but Candidate B is worse. Most of the people who support the third-party candidate, Candidate X, would prefer A over B, so their votes for X take votes away from A. If enough people do this, they will split the vote opposed to B, ensuring B's victory. Simple.
In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore and George W. Bush are the accepted candidates, bouncing up and down in the polls, making powerful and moving speeches in support of children and doing other typical politician things. Harry Browne is the Libertarian candidate, fairly well known on talk radio and on the Internet, while fighting an uphill battle to get noticed by the mainstream media. Conventional wisdom, when it notices Browne at all, assumes that he will take votes away from Bush, assuring Gore's victory. People who make this argument generally consider Gore to be worse than Bush, so it's clear that voters who support Browne are callous traitors who would give us four years of Al Gore when it is within their power to save us from this fate. If Gore is elected, it's all their fault and they've willfully sold the country down the river, the selfish bastards.
Let's pick apart this elaborate rationalization (for that's what it is) one point at a time:
It assumes that all of Browne's votes come from Bush.
It assumes that Bush has first claim on these votes.
It assumes the outcome of the election.
It assumes away any counterbalancing effects of votes for other candidates.
It assumes that a vote would make a difference for Bush, but not for Browne.
It assumes that Browne's supporters all vote in a block.
It assumes that a vote is valuable only if cast for a winner.
It assumes that Bush cares what you think.
It assumes that Gore voters can't change their minds and are not responsible for their actions.
It applies just as well in reverse.
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It assumes that all of Browne's votes come from Bush.
.
.
Why do we assume this? Did all of Ross Perot's votes in 1992 come from George Bush? It's commonly thought that they did. However, voter participation in 1992 went up by about ten million. It seems unlikely that all these people, who had not bothered to vote for Bush in 1988, now found him so inspiring that they decided to vote for his re-election. It seems more likely that almost all them went to Perot, meaning that about half of Perot's support came from new voters, and was not pulled from either major candidate. Perot probably did receive some votes that
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, there were several lessons that we learned along the way.
So, to help those of your lucky enough and adventurous enough to set out on a long-term trip, here are six things that I learned from six months of traveling.
1. Traveling is as Fun as the Destination
During our travels, we spent the entire six months traveling by land. From our arrival in Singapore until our flight home from Istanbul, Turkey, we took trains, buses, and boats across thousands of miles of land. Instead of the stresses of flying, we were able to relax and enjoy watching the world go by.
When you travel by land, you can really understand the land that you are crossing and how it changes. If you do it right, taking overnight buses or trains can even save you the cost of a night of lodging and give you extra time at your destination. For a better understanding of why I love traveling by train, check out the article I wrote, aptly titled “Why I Love Traveling By Train“.
2. It’s Okay to Seek the Comforts of Home
Normally, I would encourage my readers to immerse themselves in the local culture and try to live like a local as much as possible. And, while that is great advice, I must admit that there were times where I really just wanted to eat a hamburger.
When you are traveling for months, or even years, on end, you will eventually want to have some of the comforts of home, especially at mealtime. And you know what, that’s okay. Don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t.
Of course, make sure that you try the local food, drinks, etc., but don’t feel bad if you really want a hamburger, some french fries, or a salad.
3. Consider When You Are Traveling
This is a huge point for both before and during your travels. Otherwise, you might end up in the middle of the rainy season without any prior warning. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t travel to a country because there might be a lot of rain or because it’s the height of the tourist season. Sometimes, there are things that you can only do or see at certain times of the year. Just make sure that you are aware of what season you are going in.
For example, if you are traveling during low season, it is probably unnecessary to book accommodation ahead of time because you are unlikely to have much trouble finding a place to stay. On the other hand, if you are traveling to a popular destination at the height of the “tourist monsoon”, you might want to consider booking your hotel or hostel a few days or weeks before you arrive.
The same could be said for transportation.
4. Take Some Time Off
No matter who you are or how much energy you have, you can’t travel for months and months without a day off every once a while.
During our travels, my wife and I found that we liked to take a day off every week to ten days. When we took a day off, we slept in and did as little as possible. For example, we would often spend our days watching tv, sitting in a coffee shop, or catching up with our family and friends on Skype. No matter what though, our days off were lazy days of doing nothing.
Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for taking a day off. If you are traveling long-term, you’ll sometimes need to take a vacation from your travels.
5. Sometimes You Have to Splurge
I like roughing it as much as the next backpacker, but doing so for months and months on end gets tiring. So, every once in a while, splurge on a nicer hotel for a few nights. It’s amazing what a private room with a comfortable bed, a tv, and a hotel swimming pool can do for your energy levels. If possible, try to arrange a day or two of rest while staying somewhere nice.
6. You Can’t See Everything
No matter how long you have, even if it’s a lifetime, you can’t see everything.
I’ve been continually asked if I went to this place or that place on my travels, and much to people’s shock, have often had to say no. Even if you have six months of travel, it’s impossible to see everywhere you might want to see or is recommended to you. So don’t try!
Besides, you have to save something for your next trip!
Do you have any other lessons that you learned while long-term traveling? Share them in the comments section below.BEERSHEBA, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces demolished a Bedouin village in southern Israel for the 53rd time on Tuesday, as thousands protested a day earlier over plans to forcibly displace Bedouins in the Negev.
"It is the 53rd demolition since July 2010," Araqib chieftain Sheikh Sayyah Abu Mdeighim told Ma'an.
"They have brought down all the sheds we built for the summer so we can protect our land and defend ourselves against the oppressive policy of this tyrannical government."
Large numbers of Israeli police officers and officials from Israel's Land Authority accompanied the bulldozers.
Families in Araqib managed to re-build five of the sheds after the bulldozers left, Abu Mdeighim said, with Palestinian and Israeli activists due to visit to the village to help rebuild the rest of the structures.
On Monday, thousands of people demonstrated across Israel and Palestine to protest a controversial plan which would see the forced displacement of nearly 40,000 Bedouins in the Negev.
The Israeli government approved the Prawer-Begin plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.
Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.
The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.Category: Astrological News Tuesday, 11 July 2017 Written by Lynn Hayes Hits: 1278
It’s hard to believe for anyone who is old enough to have lived through the summer of 1967 which was called the Summer of Love, but this marks the 50th anniversary of that fertile and creative time when traditional values of love and community were turned on its head and some of the best music ever created was born.
Astrologers have a name for what happened in the 1960s: We call it the “Uranus Pluto conjunction.” During this time Uranus, planet of revolution and radicalism, conjoined Pluto, planet of transformation through destruction and regeneration, in the conservative sign of Virgo. This cataclysmic planetary dynamic changed forever the social order (Virgo) and laid the groundwork for the recent upheaval which occurred during the period between 2010 and 2017 when Uranus formed a square (90 degree) aspect to Pluto for the second phase of that revolutionary cycle.
While the first exact conjunction of Uranus and Pluto didn’t occur until October of 1964, the two planets began to align in 1963 and beginning in the early 1960s one could hear the whispers of revolution all over the world. In 1961 Timothy Leary took his first LSD trip and began researching the effects of psychedelics on mental health. By 1965 the revolution was in full swing, with the assassination of Malcom X, the Watts riots, the formation of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane and so many other great bands, and with them the emergence of the “hippie” archetype. After the San Francisco Examiner wrote an expose of the migration of young Americans to its city, the swarms of youth increased and by 1967 the Human Be-In in San Francisco brought about all kinds of incredible happenings the likes of which no one had ever seen before.
Much of this was fueled by the rise of psychedelics thanks to the harmonious sextile from Neptune to the revolutionary duo Uranus and Pluto. Neptune rules the expansion of consciousness, and this consciousness expansion was the theme during much of the 1960s. Consciousness raising was a buzzword that spread from the Black Panthers to the housewives rebelling against the doldrums of their daily life. While Neptune was and will be sextile Pluto between 1948 and 2032, it was in 1966 that Neptune formed that harmonious sextile to Uranus, stimulating the desire to find new ways (Uranus) to find the divine through spirituality, drugs and art (Neptune).
The Summer of Love was a powerful time for those who lived through it. But change is frightening and difficult, and the openness of that summer could not last forever. Light soon turned to darkness as human society began to struggle to come to grips with a changing world, and the world has never been the same since.People tell me that they would like to make a visualizations in D3.js. And it is too complicated. The learning curve is too steep. Even crafting C3.js or Vega simplified D3.js code seems too complicated. In this post, we will examine the road the data takes from the database or website until the drawing canvas – that is your computer screen.
In my previous post I explained how to load data with D3.js from the Quandl database aggregator directly into NVD3, an easy-to-use graphing library for D3.js. If you you want to visualize just one set of data and don’t worry too much about customization, this is a valid option. However, if you want add your own touch, combine or extend the data with additional fields, or add your own comments, usually you would have to do some additional data processing.
First we need to settle some terms, concerning data formats:
CSV – Comma Separated Values: Think of CSV as a simplified table – this is the (most compact) format usually the data exists in, after we compile it, downloading it from a database or making a direct call to it. Every bit of data today today can be converted to and from CSV.
JSON – JavaScript Object Notation: is the data format that JavaScript – your browser’s code processor – understands and can process fast.
SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics: A vector-based image format for the HTML language, for display in web browsers. CANVAS is the non-vector alternative to SVG.
Then, we need to cover some programming tools:
Python is a high-level and relatively easy to learn programming language.
pandas is a data manipulation library, available for a number of programming languages, including Python.
IPython is an easy editor for writing Python code and playing around with pandas data, using only a web browser.
If you are new to all of the above 3, try installing the Anaconda package, which contains all of them.
HTML and CSS are web standard languages, responsible for how do websites look like.
JavaScript is a dynamic programming language, responsible for what do websites do.
D3.js, a powerful JavaScript library by Mike Bostock, mostly used to create interactive data visualizations.
Knowing all these, we can define the general process I usually go through, when creating a data visualization:
Look up the data you want to visualize on the internet. Try to use established databases, credible sources or data aggregators. (Check my earlier post about visualizing data with Quandl and NVD3) Download and save the data you are interested in in CSV or JSON format. If you are an advanced user, this step is not necessary, you can just look for an API on the target website and a possibility to download the data in CSV or JSON format, then get the downlaod URL. If option 2 does not work, try see if the data displayed on the page is simply embedded in an HTML table (such as on Wikipedia). Fire up IPython, load pandas. Load data into a pandas dataframe. Examine your data and decide on the visualization type you would like to construct. Try to make your data visualization beautiful. To decide on the format, go to the the D3.js Gallery and open your chosen format. Then go to the source code and check if that particular visualization uses a load function (d3.json or d3.csv) or a locally defined javascript variable as data source. Then check and record the data input format required by your visualization. For more complex visualizations, usually this is a JSON file with a number of fields. Massage the data in pandas into the required format. Then, using Python dictionaries, save the data into a JSON file. Download your chosen D3.js example and fire up a local web server using SmipleHTTP to be able to edit the visualization locally. Due to security reasons, browsers do not allow you to use XMLHttpRequests locally. Loading a JSON file from your local disk falls into this category. Therefore you need to start up a local web server. Python has already this functionality built in. Open a terminal or command prompt, navigate to the folder where your running Ipython notebook is located and run the following: C:\Anaconda\python.exe -m SimpleHTTPServer 8898 or, if have Python 3: C:\Anaconda\python.exe -m http.server 8898 Then, instead of opening the html file that you were editing, e.g. myfile.html directly in the browser, rename it to index.html and place it inside the same folder as your local server is running and navigate your browser to http://localhost:8898 Now you can modify the D3.js example to work with your data. Add any other modifications in a text editor by editing the HTML, CSS and D3.js codes. Boast about your new visualization skills : )
UPDATE: Top comment on this post on reddit : )
Advertisementsprocurement technologies today are looking to use these technological tools to execute more value-driven sourcing settlements. These enterprises want to boost their potency, enjoy visible day-to-day transactions and make it accessible to users. Below is a look at some of the key benefits of utilizing procurement technology in a business. Organizations investing intoday are looking to use these technological tools to execute more value-driven sourcing settlements. These enterprises want to boost their potency, enjoy visible day-to-day transactions and make it accessible to users. Below is a look at some of the key benefits of utilizing procurement technology in a business.
Visible Spend
Through the centralized tracking of events, a business is ready to enjoy the many advantages of full reporting on demands, order processes, purchased items and payments made. The advantages of technology in procurement extend to ensuring compliance with established and existing contracts.
Cost Reduction
It is possible to decrease rising business costs through the leveraging of volume. This process requires the structuring of supplier relationships, connected with the use of system enhancements for decreasing outside spending while improving supplier appearance and quality. Procurement technology also allows the business to decrease incidences of error, rework and paperwork in general.
Productivity
Technology allows interior customers to get the things that they need from a catalogue of approved items, through an online system for command and placing orders. Procurement staff is thereby no longer responsible for the task of having to process orders and handle low-value transactions. Instead, they are able to concentrate on improving relationships with suppliers through strategic sourcing.
Controls
Through formal, standardised workflows and approval processes, the right level of authorization is applied to every transaction. Moreover, spending is targeted towards meeting the requirements of existing contracts. There is improved policy compliance as users are now able to find products and services fast from their preferred suppliers, which reduces incidences of maverick purchases.
Using Technology
procurement technology can only be fully realized once the processes and systems for its management have been set up. Software tools are needed to create standard procurement documentation such as electronic requests for proposal, information and quotation. These methods have been proven as being effective for sourcing products and developing framework agreements that offer the most attractive prices. The advantages ofcan only be fully realized once the processes and systems for its management have been set up. Software tools are needed to create standard procurement documentation such as electronic requests for proposal, information and quotation. These methods have been proven as being effective for sourcing products and developing framework agreements that offer the most attractive prices.
For overall success, a business will need an adequate and fully integrated technology approach.YOU automatically lose an argument if you call the other person a Nazi, states an adage coined by Mike Godwin, a writer about the internet, in 1990. With that in mind, it is wise to proceed with caution when discussing analogies between the Holocaust and anything else. Yet as Russia's draft law on criminalising challenges to the Stalinist version of history comes closer to reality, it is worth looking at the successes and failures of other attempts to make certain views of history illegal.
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Germany, Austria and more than a dozen other European countries have laws that more or less ban “denial” of the Holocaust. Sometimes these are part of general prohibitions of Nazi activity. Sometimes they are more generally framed as anti-hatred laws.
AFP
How far that is justifiable in theory is debatable. Every country curbs free speech to some extent (look at American companies' use of corporate libel laws, for example). Whether one particular set of sensitivities deserves more protection than another is a matter for public debate: if voters mind enough one way or another, the politicians will pass or repeal the laws concerned.
From that point of view, it is hard to quibble with Russia's desire to protect and sanctify the memory of its millions of soldiers who fell in the fight against Nazism. As the western wartime allies wallow in nostalgia, it is worth remembering that more than ten times as many “Soviet” (admittedly a loose term) soldiers died in combat than British and American troops combined.
But it is also worth noting that Holocaust-denial laws have done little to restrict the pernicious myths peddled by those who think the Jews were the victors, not the victims, in the second world war. In fact, a bit of legal persecution is just what those advocating fringe history most want. They can argue that the authorities are trying to suppress the “truth” because they have no other answer to it. What is in reality little more than a bunch of quibbles, anomalies, loose ends and historical puzzles becomes a grand scheme of events, and thus more potent in attracting the gullible or prejudiced.
The best antidote to Holocaust denial is truth, such as the excellent nizkor.org, which provides a painstaking refutation of the mythmongers' cases, backed up with meticulous documentation. (An enterprising group of researchers ought to provide a similar dossier to rebut the equally absurd claims of the 9/11 conspiracy theorists).
Of course, questioning the Stalinist version of history is not directly comparable to Holocaust denial. If anything, the label should be on the other side. When a Russian defence-ministry website can argue straightfacedly that it was Poland that started the second world war, it is hard to accept that the authorities in Moscow are really interested in nailing falsehoods, rather than—as they seem to be—promoting them.
But Poland has not responded by banning the import of modern Russian textbooks, or passing a law making the denial of the Katyn massacre (which Stalin ordered and then blamed on the Nazis) into a criminal offence.
Banning a particular version of history is usually a sign of a guilty conscience. In the case of continental Europe, it is to make amends for collaboration and perpetration during the darkest years of the last century. In Russia's case, what should be a source of proud sorrow—the heroism of those who fought and defeated Hitler—is being used to cover up Stalin's behaviour: both his bungling of the Soviet defences against Hitler's attack, and before that conspiring with the Nazis to carve up the Baltics, Balkans and central Europe.I’ll preface this with a disclaimer so that everyone understands where I am coming from: I am a registered Republican, though more so for reasons of convenience and pragmatism rather than any party loyalty. With that being said, I consider myself a staunch moderate and a fierce independent, I don’t need anybody on either side of the aisle telling me how I should live my life and what I should believe. The belief that either side has the correct answer for every issue all of the time goes against every single thing a person who considers themselves educated and intellectually minded should stand for.
If New York State Primary voting laws allowed me to vote in whatever primary I wanted to vote in, you can bet I’d be ditching the parties altogether and proudly penning a nice big check onto the box next to “Independent.”
Unfortunately, that’s not the case, so I had to declare myself for a party, and against all odds—and against all standards of logic I might add—that party decided to nominate an orange buffoon with zero relevant experience, competence, or human decency whatsoever.
Democracy sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?
Be sure to take a look at the section you’re reading this in right now. It says opinions. You should understand that and take everything I say as simply that: opinion. As the Opinions Editor, it is my job to write about the important issues, and I hope that you find my opinions both insightful and informative, but be prepared because this article is exactly what it seems: a rant. I wholeheartedly support and invite you to challenge anything I say in the comments below, or if you’re feeling extra gutsy and want to write a fully fleshed out opinion and response to me, email me at [email protected]. I’ll publish it. Scout’s honor.
With all that being said, on with the rant. GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Republicans in general: It’s time to stop, take a good hard look at what’s going on, and cut your losses. Your Party is dying.
It’s time to completely disavow and drop Donald J. Trump, cold turkey, and without looking back. It’s time to stop appeasing him, it’s time to stop looking the other way, it’s time to stop allowing him to stir up hate, and it’s time to stop making excuses.
You are going to lose this election, it is almost certain, look at any unbiased poll you want to look at, and you’ll see that the point of no return has been passed. Your candidate is incompetent, inexperienced, vulgar, dangerous, sexist, racist, anti-intellectual, a bully, egocentric, driven by anger, and knows absolutely nothing about what it means to lead a country.
It doesn’t matter how much you don’t like Hillary Clinton, or how much you think the system needs to change. I don’t like Clinton, and I think there are many changes that need to happen, but it doesn’t take me more than a second of thought to conclude that Trump is simply not the answer. Believing that he can fix our broken political system is like believing that the best way to fix a leaky ceiling is by throwing a grenade into the center of the room, closing the door, and hoping something good comes of it.
Accept your defeat, get ready to pick up the pieces, and prepare for next time. It’s time to take a stroll through the pasture, it’s time to review the herd, and it’s time to remove all the wolves’ in sheep’s clothing causing uproars.
It’s time to ditch the faction of your party that has been recently coined the “deplorables” and to stop giving them the legitimacy of identifying with a major political party.
They obstruct the system, spread hate and ignorance, and disregard everything this country was founded on. I’m talking about those generally considered the far-right: the Tea Partiers, the Evangelicals, the science-deniers, the anti-intellectuals, the fear mongers, the conspirators. You know exactly who I’m talking about. The Elephants in the room. The bigots, the racists, the sexists, the uber-nationalists, the “Make America Great Again-ers”, and their fearless leader who’ll say anything to get support—it’s the dictionary definition of demagoguery. They don’t belong in the party founded by Abraham Lincoln, anti-slavery activists and modernists who were truly committed to preserving the union.
The Republican Party needs to cut out the ultra-right extremists who bring nothing of value to the table, and make room for some semblance of sanity by being more inclusive to moderates and people who aren’t blind to the train wreck of a candidate that is Donald Trump.
Plenty of countries have some kind of small, far-right extremist fringe party and faction that tends to make a lot of noise, complain a lot, and spew hate. But they don’t have any sort of dictation over policy because they aren’t given the legitimacy of being allowed into a major party. One example I’m thinking of is the British National Party from the UK, who’ve been considered by some to be “neo-fascists”, who advocate for opposition to multiculturalism, opposition to same sex marriage, and oh yeah, the resettlement of immigrants and their descendants to their lands of ethnic origin. The BNP, like any party, are completely free to shout all they want, but they are far from treated seriously by the major parties.
America needs something like this. Republicans, ditch the ultra-right. Let them start their own party, let them complain amongst themselves. This goes for the ultra-left as well. Let sanity come back to politics. Leave the governing to the sane, let the insane complain on the sidelines.
Now, Speaker Paul Ryan, you’ve already dealt the first cut, and I applaud you for that. Now it’s time to follow through and rip off the Band-Aid.
On Oct. 7, this video of Donald Trump from 2005 surfaced. Please watch it, but be warned that it is quite vulgar. I feel that it needs almost no explanation.
Donald Trump has been no stranger to controversial statements, but this is being called the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the point of no return. Mr. Speaker, here is how you responded:
You have banned him from attending your campaign event. You have called him out on his vulgarity and his sexism. You have made it clear that he is not someone you want to even stand next to. So it’s time for you to bite the bullet, take a stand, and say enough is enough. It is time for you to recant your endorsement of him, and call for respectable republicans like yourself to do the same.
Donald Trump is in a downward spiral; his campaign seems to constantly be in crisis management mode. The once narrow gap between Clinton and Trump is now widening. His polling numbers are down following his horrible debate performance. He starts 3 a.m. twitter rants asking America to watch a sex tape in a clear example of not being able to control himself. His tax returns have been leaked suggesting he didn’t pay federal taxes for 18 years. Here’s one of my favorites from a while ago: Donald Trump cheating small business owners out of their work and hard earned money.
For the record, not only are most of these examples just from the last two weeks alone, but also they just reflect him as a person.
Now, shall we take a look at some of Donald’s brilliant policies? How about suggesting women who get abortions should be punished? His complete lack of understanding or respect for the power of nuclear weapons perhaps? Dare I mention the wall, and how laughably doomed the concept of it is? Or should I mention the fact that he is a compulsive liar and can’t go any stretch of time without flip flopping and denying it?
I can go on all day. I literally have too many sources. For the sake of convenience, here’s a cheat sheet of his many scandals. It’s a great read.
Here’s Mr. Trumps video response to the leaked video that just surfaced, and here’s some insight about a statement he released to reporters. You could call it an apology, if you have a very loose definition of that word. The classic, “sorry but Hillary and Bill are worse.”
Did you notice how different he sounded in that video, compared to any other video of him speaking or debating? Did you notice how rigid and composed, and dare I say rehearsed, he seemed? That’s Donald Trump reading an “apology” written to him by his campaign over a teleprompter, a rare sight indeed for the man who so loves to brag about how “smart” he is, and who knows words, the best words
Would you like to know what that means? It means his campaign realizes the absolute mess they’re in right now, and they’ve decided to put Mr. Trump on a leash. They are afraid of him making things worse. It doesn’t take a political analyst or a college professor to see the problem in this. The man literally cannot be trusted by his own campaign with his own words. This is a man who is running for president. This is not okay. It’s time to stop.
Trump supporters, it is very clear that a lot of you are angry, and it is very clear that a lot of you are frustrated at a system you feel has failed you and our country. It is a feeling that many people, including myself, can relate to and understand.
But this has to stop somewhere. Don’t let anger and frustration cloud your judgment. Don’t let hate, vulgarity, and immodesty sweep you up in a movement that is in clear opposition to the entirety of what America was founded on. This is a country that decided they will not succumb to the wills of a single figure declaring themselves the absolute. Don’t let his “business success” and his loud uncontrollable mouth fool you. He is not good for America. He will not “Make America Great Again.”
What makes America great is our ability to come together when crisis tries to bring us down. What makes America great is that we do things because they are right, not because they are easy. We trust ourselves, we don’t allow ourselves to be controlled by megalomaniacs. Don’t let this man weasel himself into the highest office in the land. Don’t let this man try to tell you he is some kind of omnipotent savior.
There is a debate tonight, October 9th 2016. Pay attention to it and do not be mistaken America, because the decision we are about to make on November 8th could very well be the most important one in decades. Do me a favor and watch this video. Maybe you’re starting to see where I’m coming from now. Do not take this decision lightly. Do not allow anger and frustration to control you. Do not allow him to set us behind.
Donald Trump, it’s time to stop.The key transmission mechanism that turned a simple correction in the housing market into a global financial crisis were those bonds. Global banks had loaded up on these supposedly safe securities, and were at risk of becoming insolvent when their true value became known. Some banks blew up; others were bailed out. Either way the global credit system froze.
But even if you were clever enough in 2005 to see all of this coming, you wouldn’t necessarily have been able to cash in as successfully as the characters in ”The Big Short.” Figuring out exactly what securities to bet against — and how and when — mattered as much as the basic insight.
The movie captures this well, as the characters face a crisis of confidence when foreclosures begin to rise and their big bets against mortgage-backed securities aren’t yet paying off. (“I may have been early, but I’m not wrong,” says one character, the hedge fund manager Michael Burry as portrayed by Christian Bale. “It’s the same thing,” a skeptical investor retorts.)
Indeed, the movie has a glancing reference to how hard it is to translate the basic insight about mortgage securities into profits. We hear of a Morgan Stanley trader who had the insight that B-rated mortgage securities were at major risk, but believed that AA-rated securities would be fine, and so offset his bet against the former with a bet for the latter. It cost the firm billions.
One simple lesson of this is kind of obvious: It is hard to make a boatload of money trading financial assets, even if you are brilliant. But there’s a broader one, which explains why most everyone, including regulators (and journalists), was caught by surprise by the ferocity of the financial crisis.
A lot of people thought a decade ago that there might be a housing bubble. Few of them understood the connections between housing prices and poor lending practices; the connection from poor lending practices to complex, highly rated securities; the connection between those securities to the balance sheets of major banks; and the peril to the economy if just a few of them faltered.
At each link in that chain, there were people aware that something was wrong, but who lacked the ability to put those pieces together and connect bad lending in Florida suburbs with the existential risk being taken by companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.If you've spent any amount of time in Houston, there's a good chance you've been to the Original Ninfa's on Navigation in the East End. Known for its fajitas, Ninfa's sits along a redone stretch of Navigation Boulevard, which, thanks to a $5 million federal grant has all the bells and whistles of walkability; benches, solar-powered pedestrian lighting and bike racks.
But walk just a block away from Ninfa's, said Veronica Chapa Gorczynski, the new head of the East End Management District, and the limits of Houston's walkability can be clearly seen. "The sidewalk ends in the middle of the block," she said at a Kinder Institute panel on walkability Wednesday evening.
A hot topic in the planning world, walkability is something the City of Houston has begun to take more seriously recently but, said Margaret Wallace Brown, deputy director for the city's planning and development department, "it's a slow process" without an easy application to a sprawling city that encompasses a wide variety of neighborhoods.
Since 2013, the city's Complete Streets executive order has required the city's planning and public works departments to prioritize "public roadways that take into account all users, including people who are driving or riding in cars, using mass transit, riding bikes, walking, using wheelchairs, driving or riding in trucks, driving or being transported by emergency vehicles, and being served at their residence or property by other users." But as most Houstonians can testify, this vision has yet to be carried out in most places.
Part of that is the legacy of an attitude in the 80s, codified by the city, that shied away from density and prioritized car traffic. "The concern was how do we make our city feel more open and more suburban," said Wallace Brown. Things like minimum parking requirements -- and no maximum limit -- as well as an ongoing conflict with CenterPoint over the placement of utility poles that disrupt sidewalk space for users, particularly for people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers, continue to hamper what Wallace Brown said was the planning department's commitment to walkability.
Then there's the sheer size of the city and the wide variation of densities and neighborhoods across it. While some areas, like Gulfton and Montrose have densities comparable to East Coast cities, the overall trend in Harris County since 1985 has been single family home construction, according to a Kinder Institute analysis. "We're looking for context-sensitive ideas," said Wallace Brown.
The city's Walkable Places Committee is specifically examining relevant city ordinances for potential changes as well as how to encourage walkability in specific places. But already, the six-month old committee, which includes members of the planning commission, has hit a snag, said Wallace Brown; "Are we identifying specific places or are we saying we should be doing this citywide?"
As the city wrestles with this question, other groups, including management districts and Metro, have taken up the challenge as well. As Metro prepares to craft its latest long-range plans through a series of public meetings, it's also analyzing first- and last-mile connectivity along some of its bus routes. "This is not a one-agency deal," said Priya Zachariah, manager for Metro's regional and long range planning.
"For Metro's perspective," said Zachariah, "it is partnership. There are things we cannot do alone; we need the city, we need the management districts, we need the developers."
Without the sort of zoning that most other major cities rely on to guide development, Houston is often at the mercy of developers. A member of the Walkable Places Committee and a Kinder Institute advisory board member, George Levan said creating walkability in some of his Midtown development projects meant getting variances from the city to lower the number of required parking spots.
But Wallace Brown said, even though the planning commission "more often than not" grants such requests, many developers "don't want to take that risk" at all.
With developers and management districts often defining walkability in Houston, conversations about equity, health and affordability can sometimes come after the economic benefits of density and pedestrian-friendly development.
That would be a mistake, said Chapa Gorczynski. When her management district did its own survey of the community whose household median income is relatively low compared to other Houston neighborhoods, it found that nearly a third of East End residents walked or took transit as their primary way to get around, underscoring the importance of safe, comfortable, well-connected spaces for communities that sometimes get over-looked in conversations about bike lanes and transit-oriented development. Research has also shown that across the country, low-income communities and communities of color have higher rates of pedestrian fatalities.
"Frankly, the equity issue applies," said Chapa Gorczynski.MAT-52: Elemetary Algebra
Fall 2016
Instructor: Mohammed K A Kaabar
Website: http://www.mohammed-kaabar.net
Office: Student Academic Services (SAS)
Office Hours: Wednesday (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM) or by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Prerequisite: MAT-64, 65, 90F or Qualifying Placement Level
Lecture Sessions: Monday 2:00 PM – 4:05 PM (Room: HM 337)
Wednesday 2:00 PM – 4:05 PM (Room: HM 337)
* Note: Course materials are posted here in PDF format. If your computer doesn't already have it, you will need to
download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
* MAT-52 Syllabus (PDF File)
Announcements:
* Welcome to MAT-52 Fall 2016!
This is the Elementary Algebra (MAT-52) webpage for Mohammed Kaabar Class (27488). In this webpage, you will find MAT-52 syllabus, lecture notes, written assignments, and exam study guides.
Lecture Notes:
* Lecture Notes 1 Week 1 Part 1 (PDF File)
* Lecture Notes 2 Week 1 Part 2
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later he was in a woodchipper accident at the mill where he worked.
11. We lost 10 hours: My friend and I were about 14 or 15. She had a Ouija board that we used quite often. (I always thought she was pushing it for the fun factor, I never took it to seriously) One night we started, and it was about 9 p.m we started getting very strange sayings,none of them i can remember 27 years later) and we got a name. although the name i have forgotten over the years, it said he was from Malaysia. He was here to protect us. (i do remember that much) The next thing we know its 7a.m! It was like we blinked and the sun was up. It was VERY freaky. we LOST 10 HOURS of our life. Neither of us remember anything about it. We were just sitting there at the table staring at each other like “WTF HAPPENED??” To bad we didn’t have a 3rd person there to tell us. She would never use it again, I did, but i never had that happen again.
12. Warning: The last experience I had with a quija board, the plachett flew across the room, smashing against the wall, of it’s own power. They ARE a doorway, and unless you know how to interigate the spirit, you have no idea what so ever who or what is communicating with you. You’ve opened a door, and called them through. oops.
13. Accurate death prediction: I was staying at a hotel with friends in northern Ontario for a chess tournament. Geeky I know. Can’t exactly remember the town. Anyway, we were looking for some thrills at night and someone busted out a board. One of those official ones you can get from toys’r’us. We asked a few questions I can’t remember but I will never forget when we asked if it knew if any of us was going to die. Yeah I know strange question to ask. Uh so it spelled out a persons name that was with us at the time. And then a date which was approximately a year later. My friend died a year later from cancer in his knee. He knew about it 6 months before he died. To this day I am still curious about the device but damned if I’ll ever touch it again.
14. Photographic Evidence:
These are the photos of what happened to me after using a homemade Ouija Board tonight. We asked a variety of questions asking the spirit if it was the one who had scratched by chest which had been done prior to using the board. It replied yes and it said that it was “here” for “me” and that it was not going to leave. I pray that it will.
15. I need: Only did it once when I was like 17. In a roomful of people and one kid said something like “this is all fake, i need pr….” before he finished the word “proof” the lights in the entire house went off. If that was a coincidence, it was the oddest one i’ve ever seen. No one else was in the house and the fuse box was buried in the back of a closet. The kid’s dad had to come home and turn it back on, said it never happened before (entire circuit tripped).
16. It knew Arabic: I always thought these things were BS. However years ago this changed when I did it once with some random people at a get together. We were talking to all sorts of different “spirits” and I wasn’t taking any of it seriously. Then I thought of a way to put this to the test. I’m Kuwaiti American and was born in Kuwait. So I know Arabic and knew of a friend of my brother that past away recently. So I asked to speak with him. Now only one person knew me at the get together and even then didn’t know that much about me. I was definitely the only one who could speak Arabic (I was in Oklahoma at the time). So I asked in Arabic how he died. The board spelled out car crash. I was a bit shocked but still didn’t buy it completely. So I asked a more detailed question. I asked in Arabic how old was he when he died. It pointed to 1 and then 3. That’s when I started really freaking out. No one would have ever known of these details let alone understood what I was asking. I asked for more details on the crash (he flew out of the sunroof) and after that I stopped. Haven’t touched a Ouija board since.
17. S-A-T-A-N: My grandma bans them from her house, because once when she was younger her and her friends messed with one. They asked who they were talking to, it spelled out satan and then her friend (who owned the board) started convulsing and from then on swore she felt a presence when she sleeps.
18. C-U-N-T About two to three years ago my friend brought her Ouija board to my house so we could play with it. The first few times it was used, I just watched while some of my other friends used it. Then I decided I would join in on it. We asked if there was a spirit present and it went to yes. We asked it it’s name, but instead of just going to the letters to spell it out, it started going to random letters, not making out any specific word. I asked for it’s name again and it spelled out “B I T C H”. I started freaking out and then it spelled “C U N T”, then went right back to random letters again. I freaked out and left the room after that. whatever it was it either was just really mean or something other than a spirit. Probably never using one again after that.
19. Strange markings My brother built a ouija board once and had some pretty weird encounters. Ill have to ask him for the details some time. Anyways he shaved down his pointer thing once and found weird markings on it that only showed up under a black light. No markings found in the wood the pointer was cut from, and markers would show up as black under the black light while this showed red. Anyone else experience this?
20. This is not a game anymore: Perfect story. 100% true. About 15 years ago, My sister had some friends over one night. They were in the basement watching some scary movie. They had an Ouija board. They started cussing at it and calling it “shit” and “fucking fake”. It stopped responding so they began watching the movie again.
All of a sudden, all the lights and electricity goes out. They start screaming. Then the tv comes on all static and is blairing noisse. They were yelling and crying. Then, the tv shuts off and comes back on to just a black screen. The words, ” This is not a game anymore” roll across the screen in all white. After, the tv shuts off and and they are in complete darkness. They run out of the house. Afterwards, they go back to the house and our dog hid and when they found it, all it did was bark and look very angry at them. Insane.
21. Figure 8s: A girl brought her authentic ouija board made out of maple straight from Salem. Ironically, she was very Catholic, but loved her board, it and was a very interesting few nights in the dorm with it. I think the second night we were playing with it, and it was going slow, not much movement, meh. I had my hand off the planchette because I still wasn’t so sure about the thing. Suddenly, it was like cold fingers grabbed into my shoulders ever so slightly, and this terrible feeling in the back of my mind just came to the surface. I looked to the board and the planchette started moving in a demonic pattern, I think figure 8s this time. I looked at the girl and said “I have a bad feeling about that” in time for her to realize what was happening. She stopped the movement and bid the spirit good bye. In that moment, the icy grip loosened and all was well.
Everyone was like “woaah” when the girl explained that the figure 8 meant that something was trying to get out of the board. (This is common lore that goes with Ouija usage.)
22. Max is always around: When I was about 14 my best friend had a sleep over birthday party. Being the silly little girls we were we decided to make a ouija board to use, not really knowing any of the rules like making it say goodbye. After an hour or so I wandered off to read some tarot cards and watch the rest of the Exorcist with the other couple of girls who didn’t want to commune with spirits. (Rereading that last sentence I sound like such a stereotype. I still use tarot cards though so I never grew out of this phase it seems.)
Here’s were it got weird. After I left the spirit talking to my friends changed. As in it switched to a different spirit altogether. His name was Max and he was looking for me. I’ve never known a Max in my life. My friends yelled out what he was saying as it moved and I was writing off as them teasing me until he started giving them information about me that no one at that party knew. Things about minor abuse I was facing and other little things.
That freaked me out right out. I begged for them to stop playing, even after Max tried to convince me that he was not trying to hurt me. My friends were awesome and stopped playing before I started crying and I thought that was the end of it.
The next time a Ouija board came out was the next year and only one girl from the original party was among the group. We were baking a cake so when the buzzer went off she and I headed up to take it out of the oven. When we got back to the group another girl turned to me and asked ‘Who’s Max?’ Apparently he’s stuck around after that first time. If my friends want to use a Ouija board they don’t invite me over unless they want to speak to Max. He’s always around.
A few times in my life I’ve heard a voice call out my name. it usually makes me stop for a minute, no more but at least twice had I not stopped I would have been in the path of a car going to fast to stop before it would have hit me. I strongly believe Max has stuck around to be helpful but had we not pulled out that Ouija board I would have never known about him.
23. June 24: My GF told me this story about an experience she had with a ouija board while in high school sometime in 1986. She had a friend named Johnny who was suffering from CF or some other debilitating illness, who had recently been hospitalized as a result. Both she and her friend Shelly visited Johnny regularly in the hopes of keeping his spirits up and for a quick recovery. One night after visiting Johnny, they were at Shelly’s when they decided to try out a ouija board. After a while, they started communicating with a spirit who seemed to know a lot about them that it really shouldn’t. After some banal questions about boys and general questions one would expect teenaged girls to ask, my GF decided to ask about Johnny and his condition. The board quickly spelled out “24 June 1987 Johnny wont have to worry anymore” and went to “goodbye”. My GF and Shelly were so convinced that board was giving them a date for recovery that they actually wrote the message down and sealed it in an envelope. The following year on 24 June, it turned out that Johnny indeed no longer needed to worry about his condition. It was the day he died.At least 21 people were killed today and three others wounded when US drones attacked a house in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency today. The strike destroyed the home, with six missiles being fired at it.
Officials were quick to label everyone slain as “suspects” and said that four of the people in the house were believed to be “foreigners.” The strike sparked panic across the area, and drones are reportedly still looming overhead. As usual none of the victims have been named.
It is the first strike since Pakistan reopened the border to occupied Afghanistan earlier this week, and the deadliest single attack in months. The border was closed in November to protest US attacks on Pakistani military bases, which killed 24 soldiers. It reopened after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally agreed to apologize for the killings.
US drone strikes against Pakistan have been hugely controversial, and the Pakistani parliament has demanded their end, calling on the cabinet to condition reopening the border on the end of the strikes. Despite this call, the border remains open.
Last 5 posts by Jason DitzMicrosoft will release Windows 8.1 Update 1 following Build 2014, ZDNet reveals, making the operating system more appealing to users who still choose the mouse and keyboard when it comes to interacting with the operating system — especially on those older Windows computers that don’t even have a touchscreen display. Developers who have MSDN subscriptions will receive Windows 8.1 Update 1 on April 2nd, once the company unveils the new features in Update 1. Everyone else will receive the update beginning April 8th.
“Microsoft will be providing Windows 8.1 users who interact primarily with a mouse and keyboard a task bar and other visual cues to make navigating Windows 8.1 easier, according to sources and those who downloaded the leaked bits,” the publication writes. While it appears the actual Start button isn’t coming back, many reports have recently revealed the kind of changes Windows 8 users are expected to find more than useful once Windows 8.1 Update 1 arrives.
The same report revealed that Microsoft will share some details about Windows 9 during its Build event, announce a touch-first version of Microsoft Office, reveal Windows Phone 8.1 features and launch plans, and detail the steps it has taken towards a “more unified dev world,” when it comes to app development for Windows and Windows Phone.An episode of Newsnight that played the wrong clip of Jeremy Corbyn responding to the budget was the most complained about programme on the BBC in the past fortnight.
The BBC has revealed it received 177 complaints about Newsnight on the evening of the budget, which showed Corbyn responding to the spring budget rather than November’s.
The BBC said the mistake was due to a “production error” and apologised. In a response to the complaints, the corporation said: “The programme team has edited the version of the programme available on BBC iPlayer to make sure it includes the correct clip.
“We apologise for this mistake, and the programme team have put actions in place to make sure this clip isn’t incorrectly used again.”
The BBC revealed the response to the Newsnight error in its new fortnightly report about complaints it has received. Under new rules set by the media regulator, Ofcom, the BBC has to reveal the number of complaints it receives every fortnight, identify the shows that received more than 100, and explain the editorial issues raised and whether the complaints were upheld.
The latest report shows the BBC received 6,730 complaints between 13 November and 26 November. This compares with 8,377 complaints in the previous two weeks, when the most complained about programme was an episode of Have I Got News for You in which the host, Jo Brand, rebuked an all-male panel for seemingly not taking allegations of sexual harassment seriously.
The BBC has also revealed that it has upheld a complaint about an episode of the Sunday Politics from April.
During the episode Andrew Neil, the host, put a claim to Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland, that one child in five in Scotland leaves school “functionally illiterate”.
However, a viewer said there was no basis for the claim and the BBC’s executive complaint unit upheld the objection.
The ruling was that the figure had originally been put forward by the Scottish Conservatives as being from the Scottish Survey for Literacy and Numeracy in 2009. However, there was no reference to “functional illiteracy” or data in the report that justified the claim.
The BBC said the Sunday Politics team “has been reminded of the need to establish the evidential basis of claims that are quoted in its question”.On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, refused to dismiss a case brought by two Houston taxpayers who believe the city shouldn’t provide employee benefits for the same-sex spouses of city employees. As New York Law School professor Arthur S. Leonard, who called it a “clear misreading” of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision on marriage equality, explained:
Instead, even while affirming the Texas Court of Appeals’ ruling that reversed a 2014 trial court preliminary injunction against paying those benefits, the Texas high court sent the case back to the trial court to consider whether Obergefell obligates Houston to provide equal benefits to it employees’ same-sex spouses.
It was particularly brazen of the Texas Supreme Court in light of the 6-3 ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier in the week overturning an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that allowed the state to prevent both individuals in a same-sex marriage to be listed as parents on the birth certificate when one gives birth to a child, though it does so for individuals in opposite-sex marriages (no matter the biological father of the child). The court’s majority, which included Chief Justice John Roberts, who dissented in Obergefell but clearly recognized precedent, affirmed:
As we explained [in Obergefell], a State may not “exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples.” Indeed, in listing those terms and conditions — the “rights, benefits, and responsibilities” to which same-sex couples, no less than opposite-sex couples, must have access — we expressly identified “birth and death certificates.” That was no accident…
But here we have a stellar example of how important a dissenting opinion on the high court can be. Last week I wrote about how Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing the dissent in the Arkansas case, has, as predicted, defined himself as a foe of LGBT equality, contrary to his gay friends’ hopes. And Harvard constitutional law professor Noah Feldman, who clerked for retired justice David Souter, explained in an opinion piece on Bloomberg View that Gorsuch’s dissent, joined by Justices Alito and Thomas, is “highly significant,” evidence of “a bid to become a hardline leader” and a “rallying cry for conservative resistance,” which will serve to embolden conservative judges to challenge Obergefell:
What this means for conservatives is that Gorsuch ― with two more votes on his side ― wants more states to refuse to apply Obergefell according to its simple logic. Instead, Gorsuch is inviting state courts, some of them elected in states where gay marriage remains unpopular, to put up barriers to marriage equality...
That was four days before the Texas Supreme Court ― the justices on which are elected in statewide partisan elections ― handed down its ruling. Lest anyone think that the Texas justices might have finalized their unanimous decision before the Supreme Court’s Arkansas ruling (and Gorsuch’s dissent), they’ve only to read the Texas ruling to see that in support of its decision the court refers to another U.S. Supreme Court action announced on the same day the Arkansas decision was handed down, even as it ignores the Arkansas ruling. As Leonard takes notes:
[T]he Texas court has now repeated the Arkansas Supreme Court’s error by insisting that the Obergefell ruling does not clearly require “the same” rights, benefits, and responsibilities. Incredibly, in support of this point, the Texas court cited the Supreme Court’s decision on June 26 to grant review of a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Human Rights Commission, which concerns a totally different question: whether a baker has a First Amendment right to discriminate against a same-sex couple by refusing an order for a wedding cake in violation of that state’s anti-discrimination law.
It’s ludicrous for the Texas Supreme Court to cite the mere decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review in the Colorado baker case as a basis for its argument ― while ignoring the Arkansas birth certificate ruling, which affirms Obergefell. If the Texas case even gets to the U.S. Supreme Court in the near future the high court would most certainly rule as it did in the Arkansas case, so Obergefell is in no imminent danger.
But the point really isn’t that Obergefell is in danger of being imminently overturned so much as that it will be under sustained assault, which can have impact as time goes on. Obergefell was a great loss for anti-LGBTQ crusaders, and they’ve turned to plan B. The goal now of religious conservative is a long-term one to weaken Obergefell, as they have done with Roe v. Wade over decades, and, as I’ve described in detail, to turn same-sex marriage into a kind of second-class marriage, allowing for religious exemptions. Feldman describes a process in which Gorsuch will lead the court’s conservatives, whose numbers may grow as vacancies arise, over time, and keep anti-LGBTQ activists energized:
Gorsuch doesn’t have the votes now to make such resistance succeed. But that he is inviting it anyway is an effective rallying cry to conservative activists. They know that they will in the future get an opinion from Gorsuch, at any rate, supporting their efforts. Crucially, this shows that at this stage of his judicial career, Gorsuch isn’t on board with Roberts’s commitment to precedent. He’s rabble-rousing. And the reason to do that is to become the conservative leader.
That should sound an alarm for LGBTQ people. Once again, it underscores how the Trump era can see a rollback on LGBT rights, and how the fight for equality is far from over.
Correction: An earlier version of this piece referred to the “late” Justice David Souter. He is retired.Offering paid upgrades to users of a free app can be implemented either as two separate apps (Free and Paid), or within a single app that is free to download with in-app upgrades for the premium features. I have found and heard from fellow developers that a single app with in-app purchases offers multiple advantages over the two-app approach, for both developers and users.
A seamless user experience when upgrading
When a user decides to buy your app, they can simply tap a button and be upgraded instantly. With two separate apps, they must uninstall the free one and then download the paid one. Whatever progress they may have made so far (saved data, trained models) will be lost.
Preferences are maintained even after upgrading
No additional work is necessary for a user’s preferences to be shared between the free app and the paid app, because it’s the same app.
With the two-app approach, users either have to start from scratch, losing all their settings, or you, the developer, have to take additional steps to ensure that preferences are correctly migrated. And even then, the experience is not seamless, since users now have to authenticate or perform import/export steps themselves.
With a single app, this is a non-issue, and offers the smoothest user experience. If you have a server-less app, this will save you the effort of having to stand up any kind of server-side support.
Launcher clutter & icon placement
Some apps require you to have both the free and the paid version installed on the device for the whole system to work correctly in paid mode. This means that both apps appear separately in the launcher, most likely next to each other. Tapping on the wrong one elicits a message to the tune of “hey, this is just the key; go open the other one instead.” This is not a good user experience.
A single app provides a single entry point, and eliminates any user confusion stemming from duplicate apps. During the upgrade, if users take the time to place your app’s icon on their home screen, they no longer have to remove and replace that icon with the paid app’s icon. Everything just works.
Maintaining two app variants is hard
Although you can configure Gradle to build multiple flavors of your app, you have to take extra engineering steps to ensure that both build and work correctly as expected. Testing efforts are duplicated (or at least 1.5x) with two separate APKs.
Bad for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) & ASO (App Store Optimization)
There are now two listings on the Play Store, splitting the SEO juice you’re getting. Reviews, reports, and inbound links to your app get divided between the two versions.
Easier to pirate a full-featured APK
If the paid version offers all the features unlocked, users may find it easier to pirate that APK elsewhere and offer it to others unlicensed. Since in-app purchases are activated within the app, and it’s possible to require license verification with your own server, those are harder to pirate than full-featured APKs.
Also, IAPs cannot be refunded on Google Play (unlike purchased apps, which can be refunded within a 15-minute window for full price). This can cut down on piracy from users who would otherwise download the paid APK (after paying for it), then copy the APK off the device, refund it, and then reinstall from the copied APK.
Multiple price points possible with IAPs
Any more than two separate apps and the multiple-app model fails to scale well. But with a single-app-with-IAPs, it’s easy to set up per-feature prices in addition to a strict dichotomy between Free and Paid. Some features might be worth a lot more, such that even most Paid users would not care about them. It’s possible to charge only those users who are likely to need that feature, while keeping the rest of the app free/cheaper for everyone else.
Offer value, not annoyance removal
Don’t charge your users simply to remove an annoyance (such as ads). Charge them to use a feature they would love using (and love to pay for using). Offer a time-limited trial of the paid version so they’ll know what to expect. The code is in there already (since it’s a single app!), so just unlock it for the first 24 or 48 or 72 hours, and let them get a taste of what the full-featured version looks like. Keep them aware that this is a time-limited trial, and offer them incentives to upgrade even before the trial period is over. And then, if the user chooses not to purchase, just lock the feature up beyond the trial period.
What’s your experience so far?
If you’ve experimented with these issues, I’d love to hear what your experience has been! What do your users say about your app? What hypotheses have your analytics confirmed / failed to confirm?Social media played a key role in his victory, says Donald Trump, and he will continue to use it in the White House. The president-elect tells Lesley Stahl his victory offers proof that his social media presence had greater leverage on the election than hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the Democrats to influence its outcome. President-elect Trump and his family will appear in their first post-election television interviews on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
An excerpt of the interview in which he discusses social media appeared today on CBSN, CBS News’ 24/7 digital streaming news service. Text of the excerpt is below.
Social Media
LESLEY STAHL: are you going to be tweeting and whatever you’re upset about just put out there when you’re president?
DONALD TRUMP: So it’s a modern form of communication, between Face-- you know, Facebook and Twitter and I guess Instagram, I have 28 million people. 28 million--
LESLEY STAHL: So you are going to keep it up?
DONALD TRUMP: It’s a great form of communication. Now do I say I’ll give it up entirely and throw out, that’s a tremendous form-- I pick up-- I’m picking up now, I think I picked up yesterday 100,000 people. I’m not saying I love it, but it does get the word out. When you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate story or when somebody other than you and another-- a network, or whatever, because of course, CBS would never do a thing like that right? I have a method of fighting back. That’s very tough--
LESLEY STAHL: But you’re going to do that as president?
DONALD TRUMP: I’m going to be very restrained, if I use it at all, I’m going to be very restrained. I find it tremendous. It’s a modern form of communication. There should be nothing we should be ashamed of. It’s-- it’s where it’s at. I do believe this, I really believe that-- the fact that I have such power in terms of numbers with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et cetera, I think it helped me win all of these races where they’re spending much more money than I spent. And I won. I think that social media has more power than the money they spent, and I think maybe to a certain extent, I proved that.ALLEGED mafia don Rocco Arico is back on the streets after being granted bail by a magistrate.
The alleged gangster had been behind bars since being charged in March with blackmail, extortion, drug, firearm and violence offences.
The charges relate to a terrifying campaign of alleged assaults, vandalism and fire bombings against a criminal known only as Witness A, who police alleged owed Arico money and was once his close friend.
Magistrate Jelena Popovic initially refused Arico bail following a hearing on March 19 amid concerns he was allegedly found with a gun and cash.
But today she cut him loose after being presented with additional information that satisfied her Arico was no longer an unacceptable risk to the community.
The court heard Arico will have a $300,000 surety hanging over his head, must report to police daily and remain at home between 9pm and 6am.
He has also surrendered his passport.
At his bail hearing in March, the court heard former bikie enforcer Toby Mitchell was involved in a dispute with Arico less than a year before he was shot.
Detective Sen-Constable Liam O’Connor told the court Arico and Witness A fell out over a 2010 drug deal rip-off in which they lost a kilogram of cocaine worth $350,000.
After the drugs were stolen, police allege Arico forced witness A to repay the $350,000 through instalments and by working as a drug courier.
He also asked Witness A to kill the drug thief, although he declined, and the man - believed to Mitchell - was eventually shot by another criminal.
But defence barrister Con Heliotis QC said Witness A borrowed the money from Arico in late 2010 to pay back Toby Mitchell, who he described as a “well known member of the community”.
Mitchell was critically wounded 11 months later when he was shot by an unknown assailant in Brunswick.
But police allege the drug rip-off caused Arico — who detests bikies — embarrassment and he wanted the money repaid.
Police allege Witness A fell $50,000 short on paying and was subjected to a terrifying campaign of assault, vandalism and firebombing of his house.
On one occasion, the house was firebombed and a pot plant thrown through a window while children were in a front room.
Witness A’s home and car were also defaced with graffiti that said “Pay Your Bills”.
Police say Witness A was eventually forced by Arico to sell his home through an associate at Raine and Horne real estate who was named in court.
Police also allege Arico forced up the price with false bids on Witness A’s home when it was sold at auction.
Arico also allegedly organised a builder to create a false debt against the house by drawing up contracts for a false renovation.
Sen-Constable O’Connor said Arico was a well-known associate of criminals including Dino Dibra and Carl Williams, both victims of Melbourne’s underworld war.
Mr Heliotis said Witness A owed money to other people who could have been behind the harassment.
“He owed a lot of people money and he lived in a world where owing people money can be a dangerous thing,” Mr Heliotis said.
Mr Heliotis said Arico had built up a property empire mortgaging assets belonging to his parents.
Much of Arico’s empire has since been frozen by authorities, the court heard.
Mr Heliotis said Arico wanted to be bailed so he could care for his sick wife and two-year-old daughter.
In releasing Arico, Ms Popovic said she was satisfied new circumstances existed that limited Arico’s risk.
The court heard doctors had confirmed Arico’s wife was gravely ill and expecting a kidney transplant.
Police have also taken a statement from a man who claimed to own a gun and drugs found in a Vespa motorcycle parked outside Arico’s apartment.
The man’s DNA was subsequently confirmed to be present on the gun.
The court heard Arico had supplied tax returns to the court supporting claims he was a legitimate businessman.
Ms Popovic said she did not accept allegations made by Sen-Constable O’Connor yesterday that $24,000 in cash found with Arico was the proceeds of extortion against Witness A.
She told the court Arico had spent much of his time behind bars under “onerous and harsh conditions” in 23-hour lock-down and that returning to jail would be a major disincentive to the alleged gangster.
Ms Popovic also took into account the lengthy delay in the matter going to trial.
“It would be unjust to keep him in custody any longer,” she said.
Arico will return to court on June 11.We are so used to the language of war. We fight cancer, talk about our battle with depression, or try to overcome anxiety when it feels overwhelming. Mainstream thinking is that anything that is causing unease must be fought and conquered. But when such strategies are aimed towards psychiatric disorders, they are futile at best, and at worst, it prolongs the duration of its associated symptoms.
How can anyone win a fight where the mere act of fighting increases your chances of losing? You might have realized this in dealing with your own anxiety. The more we put up a fight and resist those unpleasant feelings, the more intense they become. When we turn our backs and run away from it, the worse the anxiety gets. What I’m about to suggest to you in the following paragraphs might sound diametrically opposite from what your instincts tell you to do in the when experiencing anxiety. Before you let your defenses stop you from reading the rest of the article, I suggest you tell yourself that you’d get through it regardless of what your kicking and screaming mind tells you.
Give Up
That’s right, the best defense against anxiety is not an offense; it is none at all. Surrender to your anxiety. Throw in the towel, throw up your hands and yell, “I quit fighting. I give up!” Giving up the fight with anxiety is the first step towards recovering. We waste a considerable amount of energy (both mental and physical) attacking anxiety and it doesn’t have to be this way. When you give up the fighting, you also give up the suffering. This is the key realization that got me closer to breaking free from the confines of anxiety. Once you give up the struggle, there is a lot more room for you to stretch. You go where your anxiety takes you without throwing tantrums or resisting.
We are not hardwired to react this way to anxiety because we perceive it as a threat. When facing a threat, our instincts tell us to gear up for combat or run away to avoid the apparent danger. This might have helped our ancestors survive the dangerous African plains, rife with predatory animals but when the same strategy is applied to problems inside ourselves, it fails profoundly.
With anxiety, you sometimes have to do the opposite of what your fear instinct is telling you to do. Surrendering to anxious feelings is not very easy. An underlying belief that makes this possible for me is the fact that anxiety is harmless. It cannot damage me physically. I am not going to die from it or go insane, even though that is exactly what my fearful mind tells me in the midst of high anxiety.
Why It Makes Sense to Surrender
Your anxiety is a result of a high level of stress in your life. When this happens, there’s a part of your nervous system called the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) that kicks into action. Whether this stress is physical, like a grizzly bear chasing you down, or psychological, as in you’re stuck in a job that you highly dislike, then your body produces certain stress hormones; namely adrenaline (short-acting stress hormone) and cortisol (which takes a lot longer to be secreted but remains in our system for an extended period of time). The effects of these hormones are usually felt as racing heart, sweaty palms, dizziness, and other tell-tale signs of anxiety. I’m well aware that anxiety cannot be simply reduced as a result of stress chemicals in the body; it has an existential and spiritual component to it, but for the sake of this article I’m keeping it simple.
After the stressor in a situation has been removed, the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS) kicks in which has the opposite effect of the SNS. It relaxes your muscles, lowers your heart rate, and puts the body into a more restful state. When you are under a high level of psychological stress, the stress hormones released make you feel anxious. When you fight those feelings, it puts an additional stress on your system which makes you feel even more anxious. This stress-anxiety cycle can only be broken by engaging the PSNS.
By surrendering to the feelings of anxiety, you send a message to your brain telling it that there is no harm at the moment. You give full permission for the anxious feelings to come and go thereby negating any threat. When you do that, the body and the mind can relax and that can be the key to breaking that vicious cycle.
When you experience an acid burn, you have to neutralize it with a base. When we resist the feelings of anxiety, it is akin to adding more acid on top of your burn. By moving towards your anxiety instead of running away from it, you neutralize the situation.
You Are Not a Coward
In modern times, with its insistence on always being a winner, the word ‘surrender’ has become synonymous with cowardice. If you are already feeling ashamed of your anxiety, then telling you to give up and surrender to it would seem even more hurtful to your ego. But this is an act of bravery. To move towards your fears without your protective shield is a prime example of courageousness. Hollywood tells us that we are heroes only if we slay the dragon, or conquer our nemesis. If the relationship between you and anxiety is that of a warrior and a nemesis, then be prepared to fight for a long time to come. We cannot confront fear with resistance; only acceptance can extinguish that fire. Anxiety is
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is not enabled and does not respond to interaction. VoiceOver will also fall back on the control’s actual enabled state, as you’d expect. Note that this trait indicates that the control would normally be accessible and would support interaction, but that it is (currently) not enabled. If your element should never be accessible at all, do not use this trait - instead, simply mark the element as not being accessible, and it will be ignored by VoiceOver.
The following traits are also available programmatically, but not (at time of writing, in late 2010) in Interface Builder:
Starts Media Session : This trait indicates that interacting with the element starts a session during which VoiceOver should be silenced. An example would be a “record” button in a voice memo application, where you would not want assistive technologies to speak over your recording.
Adjustable: This trait indicates that the element can be adjusted continuously up or down through a range of values; an example would be a slider or a picker view. This allows VoiceOver to notify the user that they can interact with the element repeatedly to increase or decrease its value.
Chose the right combination of traits to most appropriately describe your app’s interface elements, and VoiceOver will do the rest. There are still some situations, however, in which Interface Builder isn’t sufficient. We cover these in the next section.
Adding accessibility support in code
In some cases, you won’t be able to provide the best possible accessibility support for a given control by only using Interface Builder. Three of the most common such situations are listed below.
Your control’s accessibility information needs to change depending on the state of your app. For example, you might have a button which has a different effect in different contexts. You’ve created a new type of control, and its inherited accessibility information isn’t expressive enough. For example, perhaps you’ve created your own kind of split-view, or a custom tab-view, or some other kind of container or view-hierarchy. Or, perhaps you’ve created a three-stage switch button, or some other widget. You need to ensure that a visually impaired user is informed when some part of your interface changes, even if they’re not interacting with that specific part of the app at the time. For example, you may have a radio-button type of control which changes which view is displayed elsewhere in the window.
You can handle all of these situations easily, via some simple protocols and a handful of trivial function-calls.
For accessibility purposes, your app’s views and controls can be though of as falling into one of three types: non-accessible elements, accessible elements, and containers for accessible elements. Containers are not themselves accessible or useful to the user, but they do contain sub-elements which should be accessible (indeed, they may contain sub-elements which are themselves containers, and so forth).
An example of an accessibility container would be a custom control which contains three related buttons, all drawn and managed by the same view. The view itself need not be accessible, but the three interactive elements within it should be treated as discrete accessible elements. This is what the concept of an accessibility container is intended for.
UIKit thus provides two informal protocols: UIAccessibility, and UIAccessibilityContainer. You can choose which one each of your elements should implement (or indeed neither). All standard UIKit controls are already configured appropriately, though you can of course customise their behaviour via subclassing.
The UIAccessibility protocol simply allows you to return appropriate values for each of the accessibility-related attributes listed previously, including whether the element is accessible at all. If you’re subclassing a UIKit control and implementing the accessibilityTraits method, be sure to combine your traits with the superclass’ implementation.
The UIAccessibilityContainer protocol is more interesting, though even briefer. In essence, it allows you specify the number of accessible elements within the container, then to provide each one in turn (as an instance of the UIAccessibilityElement class).
Instances of UIAccessibilityElement have properties corresponding to the accessibility label, hint, value, frame, traits etc as provided by the UIAccessibility protocol. You should set these to appropriate values on your UIAccessibilityElement objects, and VoiceOver will do the rest. It’s very, very easy, and should take little time.
Lastly, you may occasionally need to inform the user that some aspect of the app’s layout has changed, or that they’ve passed over a boundary into a new area, or even to explicitly read some text aloud as a notification. There are a number of notifications and function calls defined by UIAccessibility which allow you to inform the user of certain pre-defined situations, to post custom textual notifications, and to be informed about changes in VoiceOver’s enabled status.
Use the notifications with restraint, where they’ll add value. You can obtain a very good idea of how the notifications trigger audio cues, and when it’s appropriate to do so, by simply using your iOS device with VoiceOver enabled (particularly the Home screen).
Testing your app’s accessibility support
It’s essential to test your app’s accessibility support properly. There are two situations you’ll particularly want to look out for:
Elements which either do not provide a suitable accessibility label, or are not marked as accessible at all. Elements which are read by VoiceOver (and are thus accessible) but which would be better ignored.
You can perform very basic testing in the Simulator by showing the Accessibility Inspector, but this won’t let you hear what your accessibility information sounds like to a visually impaired user. You should always test on the device itself; you can enable VoiceOver in the Settings application (or via iTunes, when your device is connected).
Testing on the device will also give you some perspective on how visually impaired users will interact with your app, and you’ll perhaps become aware of some ways to improve the workflow. Generally, if you find a way to improve the user experience for visually impaired users, that improvement will also benefit sighted users. If you’re diligent about accessibility support, the opposite will also be true.
Conclusion
Implementing accessibility support for iOS applications is easy and fast. You can do most of it in Interface Builder, and the rest very rapidly in code - without requiring any structural changes to your project. It’s the right thing to do, and I truly hope you’ll consider spending the extra couple of hours to make your app accessible.
I didn’t write this to bring you down, or to sadden or depress anyone. There’s no need to feel sorry for anybody, least of all for me. With these devices and technologies, there’s no need for visually impaired users to be kept from using your apps. They can read, write, chat, browse the web, play games, make music, develop software and pretty much anything else that sighted users can do, when given equal access. That’s a wonderful, amazing thing. These technologies are a lifeline, and as a developer it’s your duty and privilege to make it possible.
I’ve never asked for an article to be tweeted or dugg or whatever the fashionable method of sharing is at the moment. I do believe that this topic is truly important, and not just because someday the person whose life you improve with accessibility support may be yourself (or me). If you know someone who could benefit from reading this article (or even better, who could benefit others by reading and acting on it), then I hope you’ll share it with them.
If you’d like to read more about iOS accessibility for developers, I can highly recommend Apple’s Accessibility Programming Guide for iOS.
I have a speed-dial (and SMS, email and FaceTime) iPhone app available on the app store called Favorites; it’s fully accessible via VoiceOver using the techniques described in this article.
If you enjoyed this article, you may want to follow me (@mattgemmell) on Twitter; I always announce significant new articles via a tweet. You can also subscribe to this blog in your preferred RSS reader app; there’s a link near the top-right of this page, in the header section.
Feedback is most welcome, as always. You can post a comment using the comments form below, and you can also contact me directly - you can find my contact details on my About page.
You may also be interested in TouchTalk for iPhone, an app designed to help blind or deaf-blind people to communicate, using a modified version of the deaf-blind manual alphabet.The Brewers have claimed first baseman Jesus Aguilar off waivers from the Indians, Milwaukee announced. Infielder Ehire Adrianza was designated for assignment to clear roster space.
In Aguilar, Milwaukee has acquired a 26-year-old power bat who has a track record of production in the upper minors. He has spent quite a bit of time at Triple-A, compiling a.271/.346/.472 slash across 1,647 plate appearances. That success hasn’t carried over to the majors, though Aguilar has received only 64 opportunities to bat at the game’s highest level. He’s out of options, though, after bouncing up and down over the past three seasons.
As for Adrianza, who was just claimed from the Giants and is also out of options, Brewers GM David Stearns notes that the organization hopes to keep him as a non-roster player if he clears waivers, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets. The 27-year-old, a switch-hitting utility infielder, has slashed.220/.292/.313 in his 331 MLB plate appearances across the past four years. Adrianza previously inked a deal with San Francisco that would pay him $600K in the majors or $300K in the minors for the coming season.Laura Hayes is a Texas-based educator.
By Laura Hayes
On Saturday, July 30, 2016, my husband Richard and I decided to take a little road trip to Oakdale, Louisiana for a family reunion on his side of the family. A five hour or so road trip. We were pretty excited about it and all was going well until around 7:00 pm when we drove through a small town called Glenmora, Louisiana.
At the bottom of a hill Richard noticed blue lights behind us so he pulled over to the curb.
Richard rolled down the window, we both faced forward and we waited for an officer to approach.
We were a little startled when the officer came to my side of the window as we were expecting him to come to the driver side, but OK maybe that is what they do now. Who knows? His badge read Officer Jack Wall. He was a young Anglo man.
Officer Wall asked Richard for his driver’s license and insurance. Richard complied and I passed it to the officer. Officer Wall then asked Richard if he knew why he was being stopped.
Richard, who drives 90 miles round trip to work every day and has not had a traffic violation in 6 years, responded, “No, I do not know why you stopped me.”
Officer Wall said, “You were doing 61 in 50 zone.”
Richard responded, “I just saw a sign that said 65.”
Officer Wall said, “It changed at the bottom of the hill.”
I am thinking OK that is a speed trap but I didn’t say anything. Richard replied, “Oh OK.”
Officer Wall said, “Why are you so nervous?” Richard replied, “I am not nervous.” Office Wall getting noticeably agitated demanded, “Do you have any weapons in the car?” Richard responded calmly, “No.” Officer Wall replied, “People going that fast often have drugs or large sums of money in the car. Do you have drugs or large sums of money in the car?” Richard responded, “No.”
At this point Officer Wall asked Richard to exit the vehicle and stand in behind it in front of the squad car. Richard complied, leaned back on the car, crossed his legs at the ankle and put his hands in his pocket. Officer Wall barked, “TAKE YOUR HANDS OUT OF YOUR POCKET”.
Richard complied. Wall then asked Richard a series of questions as he examined his driver’s license as if he were trying to catch him in a lie…, “Where do you live, why are you here, where are you going, do you have drugs, do you have large sums of money?” Richard answered all of his questions.
I am looking in the rearview mirror at all of this not sure what to do. Should I grab my phone and try to video record it? Should I at least place my phone on record and leave it in the cup holder to audio record all this? I just had the uneasy feeling that it was not going to go well but I was too afraid to move for fear of being shot.
This young cop was really escalating things here so I didn’t know what might happen. So I sat there really concerned for my husband’s safety because this young officer was acting so erratically. Wall then got into the police car I assumed to run the license and the plates. I began to think that it was taking an eerily long time.
About 10 minutes later another police squad car came swooping in and another young Anglo officer, Brian Flower from McNary, jumped out like they were coming in to take down the mafia. He screamed at me, “PASSENGER EXIT THE VEHICLE.”
I complied and came to stand next to my husband. They then proceeded to ask me the same questions they had already asked Richard. I responded. Then things really got bizarre. They asked if they could search the car??!!! I am thinking, search the car? For 11 miles over the speed limit? This is a minor traffic stop!!!!
My mind was whirling. We have nothing to hide. Do we let them do this illegal search? I know they need a search warrant to search your car. If we say no are they just going to take us to jail until they can get a search warrant? Will we have to wait until they call a K9 unit? We just want to get to the family reunion.
While all of these things are going through my head Richard responds, “Go ahead. We have nothing to hide.”
So I am waiting for that process to start and just when you think things can’t get any weirder Wall says, “For your own safety and our protection we need to place you in handcuffs while we search the car. You are not under arrest but we need to place you in handcuffs. We wouldn’t want anyone to get tazed or shot.”
At this point the entire scene is unbelievable to me. You don’t want anyone to get tazed or shot? Was that a warning, a threat or a declaration of what was about to happen? This is a traffic stop. You have two completely harmless middle aged grandparents that you are about to handcuff and search the car because… why???
About this time a THIRD squad car arrives and this time a Black cop steps out. Wall says to the Black cop, “Since you are here if you will watch them we will not need to handcuff them.” Watch them? Watch them! Like we are common criminals. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Officer Wall had declared himself judge and jury. I was just praying that he would not make the leap to executioner as well. He ordered the black cop to “watch them”. Watching is what I do when I baby sit my bonus grandkids. I am a quite grown, law abiding, tax paying woman. I do not need to be watched.
Everything about the situation was demeaning. Wall and Flower began to search our car and our things. They looked in the glove compartment, perhaps they enjoyed seeing the pink slip for the Volvo.
I know they think we stole it. How surprised they must have been to see that we actually own it. Made the last payment months ago and that the title matches the name and address on our driver’s license. Maybe they enjoyed going through the bags of snacks in the back seat that contained nothing more than a soda bottle and a couple of bottles of water. Looking for open liquor containers? Sorry. Nope. Not even a beer. They unzipped my CD container and guess what they found? CDs. A little Anthony Robbins and the complete Bible on CD. Bet they weren’t expecting that.
Can’t find anything in the cabin of the car, time to look in the trunk. Wall asked if there was anything in the trunk. Richard responds, “Yes, there are bags in the trunk.” They proceed to go through Richard’s bag, dropping his clothes on the ground and examining all his things. They open his pill box and ask him what is in there. He responds we will be gone overnight so his vitamins are in there.
They pass the pill box back and forth between the three of them and sniff his vitamins. They are finally satisfied that they are vitamins. They then turn their attention to my bag. They go through all my things, handle my Bible. MY BIBLE!!!! Who do you think I am the guy from Shawshank Redemption or something and I have carved out a little place in my Bible for a tiny pistol? There is nothing inside my Bible put pages. And a lot of words that you should take the time to read.
Then they start going through my clothes. They hold my little sundresses up and then cram them back in the bag. They turn my socks inside out. They hold up my underwear and finger them. I really feel like they were trying to get a reaction out of Richard so they would have an excuse to do something to him.
What man wants another man to finger his wife’s underwear? I will never wear those underwear again. I am going to burn them. How dare you put your grimy little hands on my unmentionables? I tried to make eye contact with the Black Officer but he just looked at the ground. It’s alright I know you have to do what you have been ordered you to do. “Watch Them”. I couldn’t take it anymore.
While all of this is going on my mind started to drift away. I thought about my dad. The WWII Veteran. I thought about Richard’s brother, the 20 year career Army vet who has passed away but who helped raise Richard after their mother died. We were on our way to see his widow. I thought about Nicholas’ dad. A proud Marine and all of Nicholas’ Aunts and Uncles who serve in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Shoot I thought about my own 30-year career as an educator. Is that not service too? I thought about the foundation I helped Nicholas start and all the thousands of dollars that we have given to the community. Is that not service? I worried that this could happen to Nicholas some day and wondered how he would handle it. He is out there at Google all by himself.
If stopped would a cop see an Eagle Scout, honor student and Google intern or would they jump to some wild conclusion that he was somehow a menace? There are less than 1% of the tech population in Silicon Valley that is Black. I pray every day that some cop doesn’t hurt my boy because he sees a Black man who is in an area where he is thought not to belong. But he does belong. He belongs anywhere he wants to and works hard enough to be.
We are a patriotic, proud, law abiding, God fearing American family. But to the scores of people passing by on the highway on this warm Louisiana evening we must have looked like common criminals.
After all there were three cop cars, blue lights swirling, an obvious search going on with all of our things strewn about on the ground and Richard and I standing there being watched. On this display you could not see my three degrees, 6 teacher and administrator certifications or 3 professional licenses.
On this display you could not see Richard’s wide smile, warm heart and dozens of employee of the year certificates and other accolades. No what we must have looked like were common criminals who obviously had done something wrong and were being brought to justice.
The entire display only contributed to an already negative stereotype. We looked like two more of the usual suspects. Round them up and handcuff them. Is there ever going to come a time when we can just be?
I was taken back 200 years by this episode. Massa’ Wall demanding to see our traveling papers because we were outside of our plantation (Texas). We must provide an explanation for our presence. Where are you coming from, where are you going, whom are you going to see? And the Black cop playing the role of the overseer “watching us”. His own people. Why can’t we just be? It is a public highway. Can we just be? If we were speeding fine. Issue a ticket and keep it moving but this was way too much.
I cannot sleep for worry that this will happen again or happen to Nicholas or my brother or other loved ones. I shudder to think what might have happened if Richard had been alone. In my heart I really do believe they would have found a reason to shoot him.
And if I had been alone I would never have submitted to the illegal search. They would probably have taken me to jail. But just for the record if that does ever take place and anything were to happen to me in custody please know that I want very much to see Nicholas graduate from college. I want to dance at his wedding someday. I want to hold my grandchildren someday. I want to grow old with Richard. If anything ever happens to me in custody please know that I did not commit suicide!
And for all of those of you who say if you just follow the orders of what the police say you will be fine. If you just follow the orders of what the police say things will not escalate. Well we did everything that was asked of us. Literally more than the law requires. Things did escalate and I am not fine. The thing that bothers me the most is I don’t know anything that we could have done differently.
Except not be Black.
Laura Hayes is on Facebook.
Learn more about the Six Brown Chicks here. Follow us on Twitter @SixBrownChicks
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For the first time since forming in 1999, the right’s leading tax- and budget-cutting activist group could marshal their significant supply-sider cred and donor network behind a White House hopeful — if only it can pick a candidate.
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In a sign of how the GOP has moved rightward in the post-George W. Bush era, even some of the establishment candidates line up relatively well with the Club, which became well known for bucking entrenched party interests and working to defeat incumbent Republicans.
Not every 2016 hopeful fits the group’s mold. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a perennial target, and the group could wind up opposing someone like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
But most of the potential candidates see eye to eye with the Club on key issues like eliminating the Export-Import Bank, killing ethanol subsidies and continuing the ban on earmarks. Half a dozen of them — including two the Club helped propel into office in the first place, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — traveled to The Breakers resort here this weekend to make their pitches to 200 of the group’s biggest donors.
“At this point, we’ll focus on bringing economic issues front and center,” Club for Growth president David McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman, said in an interview. “We’ll see how the race develops. To be honest, we’re ready to think about [an endorsement].”
Members of the group do not have one particular favorite at this stage. Frayda Levin, a big donor from New Jersey who sits on the Club’s board, supports Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, whom the Club backed after his primary win in 2010. McIntosh is personally close with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a fellow Hoosier who is keeping the door open to jumping into the presidential race in May. The group’s board also includes plugged-in donors like private-equity moguls Jackson Stephens Jr. and John Childs, as well as real estate investor Howie Rich.
But while the desire to play a greater role in presidential politics may be a sign of growing ambition for the Club, it’s not clear that its tactics can translate to a presidential race, where there’s plenty of other money sloshing around.
A lack of consensus may prevent the organization from coalescing behind anyone, staying focused instead on down-ballot races. But also under discussion during closed strategy sessions the past three days is the idea that the group could give its seal of support to multiple candidates. Or they could just run attack ads against the people they don’t like. They might also wait until the field has winnowed down to two or three finalists before throwing their full backing behind whoever they believe is most supportive of their free-market agenda.
“We’ve got maybe an embarrassment of riches here in that we’ve never been able to support somebody before, and now we may get overwhelmed with people we think are worthy of support,” said Chris Chocola, who just stepped down as the group’s president after five years in the job. “It will eventually get narrowed down to a few, and we’ll make a decision then. But since I’ve been around, we’ve always been searching for the one.”
A new role
The Club spent millions directly in 2014, but a big part of its value is as a bundler. They vet and validate congressional candidates for their members, who then donate to them directly. Last year, they gave the seal of approval to fewer candidates than in the past, eschewing many primary challengers who lined up with them ideologically but that they concluded could not win. Group leaders said they are still formulating spending goals for the next two years.
McIntosh said a top priority is reelecting the six incumbent senators that they backed in 2010 who are up in 2016 — a departure from election cycles past, when the group attacked incumbents instead of boosting them. The Club already plans to spend money to help Mike Lee win the GOP convention in Utah, where he toppled incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett five years ago and could now face a challenge from a more moderate Republican, as well as Pat Toomey, the former president of the Club who is seeking a second term in Pennsylvania.
“We’ve come of age,” said McIntosh.
Club officials are still seeking new pick-up opportunities. They are currently interviewing candidates in the special election to replace Mississippi Rep. Alan Nunnelee, who died last month of a brain tumor.
Researchers for the Club, who usually vet congressional candidates, are currently putting together detailed white papers on each of the presidential candidates, pulling together all the publicly available information about their record on fiscal issues. The Paul version will be rolled out soon, with a procession of others to follow.
The group ran attack ads against Huckabee when he got traction in the 2008 primaries, angry about what they saw as his fiscally liberal record in the Arkansas governor’s mansion. Club officials still love to trash Huckabee as “Tax Hike Mike” and would be happy to run more attack ads if necessary, but they dismiss his possible 2016 bid as an afterthought.
Christie’s economic record does not look good at first blush in the eyes of this crowd, but they want to examine it closer to ascertain for how much of New Jersey’s fiscal ills the governor is to blame.
When Santorum was in the Senate, rising to number three in GOP leadership, Club insiders remember him as an unapologetic earmarker. But his greatest sin was backing then-Republican Arlen Specter over Toomey in the 2004 Republican Senate primary, in which Toomey fell just short.
‘The owners’ meeting’
This weekend’s three-day Club confab coincided with the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., which drew about 11,000 grassroots activist types, many of them college students. The Club meeting was more intimate, with donors getting a chance to engage, often directly, with the candidates. In addition to the speeches, there were receptions that ran late into the night and private sit-downs in hotel suites all day long.
“CPAC was kind of the football game, with the fans coming out and cheering for their various teams,” Fox News correspondent John Roberts said during a live shot from the hotel on Saturday. “This is more like the owners’ meeting.”
Paul, who won the CPAC straw poll, spoke at last year’s Club retreat but had a scheduling conflict that prevented him from attending this time. Cruz was meeting with donors here when news broke that he finished third in the straw poll behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who addressed the group over breakfast Saturday.
In the post-Citizens United environment, the landscape is now littered with outside groups playing similar roles to the one the Club pioneered 15 years ago. The Koch brothers network, which plans to spend a billion dollars in the 2016 elections, has its own constellation of outside entities and donor conferences.
Not too long ago, the Club was seen by many as being on the far right of the party. But some younger groups now fault it for being too cautious. After endorsing some weak candidates in 2010 and 2012, they chalk this up to the wisdom that comes from experience.
Last year, the Club refused to support several primary challengers against incumbent Republicans who either did not pass their arduous vetting process or who they concluded had no realistic path to victory, including Matt Bevin (running against now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) and Milton Wolf (who took on Kansas’ Pat Roberts).
The Club went all-in for Chris McDaniel in the Mississippi GOP primary, where he was taking on the pro-earmark Sen. Thad Cochran. The ensuing runoff, which Cochran won narrowly, certainly pitted the Club against the party establishment. But the group also found itself on the same page as the National Republican Senatorial Committee in other cases during 2014, including backing two successful Senate candidates, one of whom faced a competitive primary: Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan. The Club helped propel conservative college president Ben Sasse to victory in Nebraska’s open Senate primary.
Kissing the ring
Each of six potential candidates who spoke this weekend pledged to eliminate the Export-Import Bank, a relatively small program but one that carries incredible symbolic significance for Club members. They see its loans to U.S. businesses as corporate welfare of the worst kind. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has kept Republicans from killing the program, but it is set to expire without congressional reauthorization.
“This is a room of courageous conservatives,” said Cruz. “I don’t think there’s any group in this nation making a bigger difference right now than the Club for Growth. I do know for a fact that I would not be in the United States Senate if it were not for the Club for Growth.”
Pence, who succeed Club president McIntosh in Congress in 2000, noted that he was one of a handful of candidates to receive the Club’s first round of endorsements that year, along with now Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.
“Thank you for supporting the Republican wing of the Republican Party over this decade and a half,” Pence said, using a conservative variation of the late Paul Wellstone’s old line about progressives. “Feel good about that because we’re winning.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also thanked the group for representing “the Republican wing of the Republican Party.” He blamed GOP moderates in his state legislature for killing his plan to get rid of the income tax last year.
“Instead of abandoning supply-side economics, why don’t we actually try to implement them for once?” Jindal asked in his Saturday speech to the group. “We’ve never seen them actually shrink the size of government or actually reduce spending.”
Jeb Bush, whose father famously dismissed Reagan’s tax plans — then novel, now GOP orthodoxy — as “voodoo economics” in the 1980 primaries, declared during his Thursday dinner speech that, “Supply side initiatives have been successful in the past.”
“You’re one of the reasons, by the way, we don’t have an income tax in our state,” Bush told the Club crowd.
Walker looked for common ground with the group. “I just saw my friend Arthur Laffer the other day,” he said, referring to the famous supply-sider. “I don’t think there’s enough talk about growth.”
Rubio recalled how few people thought he had any chance to win when the Club got behind his Senate primary challenge to then-sitting Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009. Crist’s approval rating was 70 percent when Rubio jumped in, and the senator joked that everyone thought he had “hypnotic-like power … the kind of guy who takes your watch off of you.”
“I’ll tell you unequivocally,” said Rubio. “There is no way I would have won that race — in fact, there’s no way I could have stayed in that race — if it hadn’t been for the Club for Growth’s support.”SPECIALIST ARMED GARDA units have been directed to beef up security in several Irish cities from this evening, TheJournal.ie has learned.
Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) have been dispatched to the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny, beginning their duties at 7pm this evening.
While the threat of a terrorist attack in Ireland is currently deemed to be possible but unlikely, the directive comes as a proactive and preventative measure in the wake of the past fortnight’s attacks on Manchester and London.
The ASU was unveiled late last year by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald as a high-profile specialist unit, equipped with firearms and other weapons and with members trained as emergency first-responders. Its initial focus was on high-visibility patrolling of areas of Dublin which have been vulnerable to a spate of gangland murders.
The new Armed Support Unit, established in December last year. Source: RollingNews.ie
A new departure
Today’s directive marks a departure for the ASU by sending members of its 55-strong force to other cities around the country. It is believed by TheJournal.ie that the ASU will be making its presence clear where intelligence has indicated potential threats to national security.
The ASU was formed from applicants from within An Garda Síochána and members were given 12 weeks of tactical, weapons and response training. They are separate to the premier tactical armed unit, the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), which intervenes in high-risk events from hostage situations to firearms incidents, but both units have undergone training together.
The threat of a terrorist attack in Ireland is deemed ‘moderate’, but it is understood that senior Gardai have been consulting with international colleagues on measures to reduce the impact of an assault on the public.
An exercise involving the Armed Support Unit (ARU) who carry high-powered weapons. Source: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Committee on national security
The new Fine Gael leader, and likely Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar has indicated that he intends to establish a cabinet level committee on national security similar to the COBRA committee in the UK within the first 50 days of Government.
The UK’s COBRA committee deals with major crises such as terrorism.
Seven people were killed in the horrific attack on pedestrians at London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday night, and 21 of the 48 injured have been described as being in a critical condition. A suicide bomber killed 22 people at the Manchester Arena just two weeks previously, injuring over 100 more, many of them young teenagers and children. In March, another attack in Westminster, London, left five people dead and injured almost 50.The past few years have been a wild ride for Hoboken’s Artie Lange, but he’s in a good place now.
He hosts “The Artie Lange Show” on DirecTv and Sirius satellite radio which airs live on weeknights from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. He’s also headlining this year’s Hoboken Comedy Festival, performing at venues around the country, and releasing his second book, “Crash and Burn,” on Oct. 29. He also recently got engaged to Adrienne, his girlfriend of four years.
The 45-year-old took time out of his busy schedule to speak about comedy, sports, Howard Stern and his ongoing battle against addiction.
SDH: Hey, Artie. How’s the radio show going?
AL: It’s a blast. I do it in a 7,000-square-foot loft. DirecTv built me that as a studio — and it’s great.
SDH: Your experience from “The Howard Stern Show” comes in handy, I’d imagine. Do you guys still talk?
AL: I’ve spoken to Howard a couple times over the last couple years and we still have a good relationship. I would love to go on the show someday. I think he cares about me... I learned so much being on Howard... I’m working my ass off. This is my own show, so obviously I can do whatever I want, but it’s sports-oriented. It’s a funny show, there’s comedy without question, but the main thing is sports. I’m a big sports fan.
SDH: You’ve been in Hoboken for 12 years. Do you like it?
AL: I love it. I love the fact that you can see New York, but you’re not in it... It’s perfect. I love Hoboken. It’s a great community with great food and great people.
SDH: What are some of your favorite spots?
AL: I love City Bistro, Uptown Pizza, Dino and Harry’s, Biggie’s Clam Bar. There’s also a hot dog place that just opened last year, (WindMill Hot Dogs), and they put a mural of local celebrities on the back wall and I made it! That was really, really cool.
SDH: It’s no secret you’ve faced a lot of demons. How are you doing now?
AL: I’m doing very well. I’m clean and sober; there are AA meetings I go to in Hoboken. (Some addicts say), ‘I’ve found the secret formula, I’m going to be clean for the rest of my life’ — I can’t have that pressure. But right now I’m productive, working and doing OK.
SDH: Do you talk about that in your book?
AL: Yes. “Crash and Burn” is about the last four or five years of my life — OD’ing on heroin, being hospitalized, going to rehab, being in a mental institution, getting back on track... some harrowing experiences. It could be funny in certain areas but it’s a cautionary tale to people about what fame, money and drugs will do to you. It was really therapeutic (to write) and I’m so glad I did it.
SDH: Are you excited about doing the Hoboken Comedy Festival?
AL: Yes. Last year I had a surprise guest spot at Maxwell’s. I’m glad I got a chance to perform there before it closed down. This year I’ll be doing some new stuff including material (that will be on an upcoming Comedy Central special). I saw some guys who were on the night I performed like Ardie Fuqua, who is a really good comic. I love the festival.
Artie Lange performs as part of the Hoboken Comedy Festival on Sunday, Oct. 6 at
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0s. But there is a characteristic that links the present crisis to the previous ones: the presence of a tendentially authoritarian state.
Although Brazil was governed by an openly socialist party only between 2003 and 2016, this does not mean that socialist characteristics were not present in the country much earlier. One of the central theses of F.A. Hayek in the Road to Serfdom is that the democratic socialist parties of Western Europe (notably the Labor Party in England) had more features in common with the Nazis and fascists than they would have liked to admit. In other words, the differences between left (even a moderate left) and extreme right were illusory: they both had the fundamental characteristic of trying to plan society centrally.
The opposition between spontaneous order and central planning was one of the central theses in Hayek’s career. In Fatal Conceit he develops this theme a lot, showing how the opposition between central planning and lack of planning is a fallacy: society will forcibly be planned. The question is by whom: for a small group of people on behalf of all the others, or for a large group of individuals, each with limited responsibilities? According to Hayek, this distinction between central planning and individual planning is one of the central separations between an authoritarian society (left or right) and a truly free society.
It is difficult to say if the PT (“worker’s party”) government between 2003 and 2016 was the most corrupt in Brazilian history. Homesick people can always claim that corruption was also present in previous governments (it was just not investigated), and possibly they would be right. Before becoming a country ruled by a socialist party, Brazil has always been a patrimonialist country. And this is a fundamental point that adherents of socialism cannot understand: Brazil has never been a capitalist country, at least not in the sense that the liberal tradition employs.
Starting from Hayek, we conclude that central planning is impossible. Planners do not have the information they need to make their plans. As Mises taught, without private property there is no price formation, and without price formation the economic calculation is impossible. This opens space for what Hayek calls a fatal conceit: the assumption that it is possible to run a country from a central body, a presupposition that not only fails to achieve its goals, but also leaves piles of corpses on the way.
The PT government was probably the most corrupt in Brazilian history because it was what most rejected capitalism. The opposite of the free market is the attempt to centrally plan the economy. To centrally plan the economy, an army of administrators is needed. To watch over these administrators, a host of supervisors is needed, and so on. Corruption is inevitable.
Socialist governments are always among the most corrupt, and the reason is simple: the more government, the more corruption. A simpler, more decentralized government is not perfect. But it’s the best we can wish for. It would certainly be a government with less control over money, and thus less likely to steal.HS2 train seats will need to be larger to accommodate obese passengers, the network's managing director has said.
Customers are "getting bigger" meaning the trains will have to be heavier and larger than usual, according to the network's managing director of railway operations.
In a presentation to rail industry executives, Chris Rayner said: "HS2 trains will need to offer space for taller people and [allow for] much higher instances of obesity among passengers."
According to the Sunday Times, he said companies' responses to the problem of passengers' growing waistlines would be part of the the bidding process for the £2.75bn contract to build 60 trains for the high-speed network.
HS2 is set to link London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. It is projected to cost £55.7 billion.
There has been some speculation that the network might be dropped by the Conservative government under pressure from backbench MPs from the south of England concerned about the cost.
But on Saturday Theresa May told The Yorkshire Post that the Government was "absolutely committed" to completing it.Rain Games are hard at work on World to the West, an action-puzzler that will invite players to continue exploring the universe first seen in the exquisite Teslagrad.
That adventure is destined for Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC so far, but, with Nintendo NX expected to arrive in six months time, artist Ole Ivar Rudi was asked as to whether there were plans to release it on the dedicated game platform.
“Hehe, gotta keep answers straight here,” Ivar Rudi admitted to Miketendo64. “As we mentioned earlier it’s very unlikely to come out on 3DS, but it will show up on additional platforms. Maybe even another Nintendo platform, but our lips are sealed though.”
In a world dominated by corrupt colonies and long-forgotten civilizations, players will be cast as four characters in Lumina the Teslamaner, Knaus the orphan, Miss Teri the mind bender, and mustachioed strongman Lord Clonington. With your merry band, players can explore untamed jungles and frozen tundras as they seek to uncover the mysteries of an ancient prophecy.
World to the West will release on Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in Q1 2017.BOOK THREE: WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT
Book Three, Part IHis Place in His Dhamma
1. *The Buddha claimed no place for Himself in His Own Dhamma* -- 2. *The Buddha did not promise to give salvation. He said He was Marga Data (Way Finder) and not Moksha Data (Giver of Salvation)* -- 3. *The Buddha did not claim any Divinity for Himself or for His Dhamma. It was discovered by man for man. It was not a Revelation*
§ 1. The Buddha claimed no place for Himself in His own Dhamma
1. Christ claimed to be the Prophet of Christianity.
2. He further claimed that he was the Son of God.
3. Christ also laid down the condition that there was no salvation for a person unless he accepted that Christ was the Son of God.
4. Thus Christ secured a place for Himself by making the salvation of the Christian depend upon his acceptance of Christ as the Prophet and Son of God.
5. Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, claimed that he was a Prophet sent by God.
6. He further claimed that no one could get salvation unless he accepted two other conditions.
7. A seeker of salvation in Islam must accept that Mohammad is the Prophet of God.
8. A seeker after salvation in Islam must further accept that he is the last prophet.
9. Salvation in Islam is thus ensured only to those who accept these two conditions.
10. Mohammad thus secured a place for Himself by making the salvation of the Muslim depend upon his acknowledgement of Mohammed as the Prophet of God.
11. No such condition was ever made by the Buddha.
12. He claimed that he was no more than the natural son of Suddhodana and Mahamaya.
13. He carved for himself no place in his religion by laying down any such conditions regarding himself for salvation as Jesus and Mahommad did.
14. That is the reason why we are left to know so little about himself even though abundant material was available.
15. As is known, the first Buddhist congregation was held soon after the death of the Buddha at Rajagraha.
16. Kassyappa presided over the congregation. Anand, Upali and many others who belonged to Kapilavatsu and who wandered with him wherever he went, and were with him till his death, were present.
17. But what did Kassyappa the President do?
18. He asked Anand to repeat the Dhamma and put the question to the congregation, "Is this right?" They answered in the affirmative. And Kassyappa then closed the question.
19. Thereafter he asked Upali to repeat the Vinaya and put the question to the congregation, " Is this right?" They answered in the affirmative. Kassyappa then closed the question.
20. Kassyappa then should have put the third question to someone present in the congregation to record some important incidents in the life of the Buddha.
21. But Kassyappa did not. These were the only two questions with which he thought the Sangh was concerned.
22. If Kassyappa had collected the record of the Buddha's life we would have had today a full-fledged biography of the Buddha.
23. Why did it not strike Kassyappa to collect the record about the Buddha's life?
24. It could not be indifference. The only answer one can give is that the Buddha had carved no niche for himself in his religion.
25. The Buddha and his religion were quite apart.
26. Another illustration of the Buddha keeping himself out of his religion is to be found in his refusal to appoint a successor.
27. Twice or thrice the Buddha was requested by his followers to appoint a successor.
28. Every time the Buddha refused.
29. His answer was, "The Dhamma must be its own successor.
30. "Principle must live by itself, and not by the authority of man.
31. "If principle needs the authority of man, it is no principle.
32. "If every time it becomes necessary to invoke the name of the founder to enforce the authority of Dhamma, then it is no Dhamma."
33. Such was the view he took of his own position regarding his Dhamma.
§ 2. The Buddha did not promise to give Salvation. He said He was Marga Data (Way Finder) and not Moksha Data (Giver of Salvation)
1. Most religions are described as revelations. But the Buddha's religion is not a revelation.
2. A revealed religion is so called because it is a message of God to His creatures to worship their maker (i.e., God) and to save their souls.
3. Often the message is sent through a chosen individual who is called a prophet, to whom the message is revealed and who reveals it to the people. It is then called Religion.
4. The obligation of the prophet is to ensure salvation to the faithful.
5. Salvation of the faithful means the saving of their souls from being sent to hell, provided they obey God's commands and recognise the prophet as his messenger.
6. The Buddha never claimed that he was a prophet or a messenger of God. He repudiated any such description.
7. A more important point than this is that his religion is a discovery. As such, it must be sharply distinguished from a religion which is called Revelation.
8. His religion is a discovery in the sense that it is the result of inquiry and investigation into the conditions of human life on earth; and understanding of the working of human instincts with which man is born; the moulding of his instincts and dispositions which man has formed as a result of history and tradition, and which are working to his detriment.
9. All prophets have promised salvation. The Buddha is the one teacher who did not make any such promise. He made a sharp distinction between a moksha data and a marga data, one who gives salvation and one who only shows the way.
10. He was only a marga data. Salvation must be sought by each for himself by his own effort.
11. He made this very clear to the Brahmin Moggallana in the following Sutta.
12. "Once the Exalted One was staying at Shravasti, in the East Park, at the [multi-]storeyed house of Migara's mother.
13. "Then the Brahmin Moggallana, the accountant, came to the Exalted One and gave him friendly greeting, and after the exchange of courtesies sat down at one side. So seated, the Brahmin Moggallana, the accountant, said this to the Exalted One:
14. "'Just as, Master Gautama, one gets a gradual view of this [multi-]storeyed house, a progress, a graduated path, and so on right up to the last step of the stairs, just so is the progressive training of us Brahmins: that is to say, in our course of study in the Vedas.'
15. "'Just as in a course of archery, Gautama, with us the Brahmins, the training, the progress, the approach is step by step; for instance, in counting.'
16. "'When we take a private pupil we make him count thus: 'One one, twice two, thrice three, four times four, and so on up to a hundred.' Now is it possible. Master Gautama, for you to point to a similar progressive training on the part of your followers in your Dhamma?'
17. "'It is so, Brahmin. Take the case, Brahmin, of a clever horse-trainer. He takes a thoroughbred in hand, gives him his first lesson with bit and bridle, and then proceeds to the further course.'
18. "'Just so, Brahmin, the Tathagata takes in hand a man who is to be trained and gives him his first lesson, thus: 'Come thou, brother! Be virtuous. Abide, constrained by the restraint of the obligation.'
19. 'Become versed in the practice of right behaviour; seeing danger in trifling faults, do you undertake the training and be a pupil in the moralities.'
20. "'As soon as he has mastered all that, the Tathagata gives him his second lesson, thus: 'Come thou brother! Seeing an object with the eye, be not charmed by its general appearance or its details.'
21. "'Persist in the restraint of that dejection that comes from craving, caused by the sense of sight uncontrolled--these ill states, which would overwhelm one like a flood. Guard the sense of sight, win control over the sense of sight.'
22. "'And so do with the other organs of sense. When you hear a sound with the ear, or smell a scent with the nose, taste a taste with the tongue, or with body touch things tangible, and when with mind you are conscious of a thing, be not charmed with its general appearance or its details.'
23. "'As soon as he has mastered all that, the Tathagata gives him a further lesson, thus: 'Come thou, brother! Be moderate in eating; earnest and heedful do you take your food, not for sport not for indulgence, not for adding personal charm or comeliness to body, but do it for body's stabilising, for its support, for protection from harm, and for keeping up the practice of the righteous life, with this thought: 'I check my former feeling. To no new feeling will I give rise, that maintenance and comfort may be mine.'
24. "'Then, Brahmin, when he has won restraint in food, the Tathagata gives him a further lesson thus: 'Come thou, brother! Abide given to watchfulness. By day, when walking or sitting, cleanse your heart from things that may hinder you. By night spend the first watch walking up and down or sitting, and do likewise. By night in the second watch, lie down on the right side in the posture of a lion, and placing one foot upon the other, mindful and self-possessed, set your thoughts on the idea of exertion. Then in the third watch of the night rise up, and walking up and down, or sitting, cleanse the heart of things that may hinder.'
25. "'Then, Brahmin, when the brother is devoted to watchfulness, the Tathagata gives him a further lesson, thus: 'Come thou, brother! Be possessed of mindfulness and self-control. In going forth or going back, have yourself under control. In looking forward or looking back, in bending or relaxing, in wearing robes or carrying robe and bowl, in eating, chewing, tasting, in easing yourself, in going, standing, sitting, lying, sleeping or waking, in speaking or keeping silence have yourself under control.'
26. "'Then Brahmin, when he is possessed of self-control, the Tathagata gives him a further lesson thus: 'Come thou, brother! Seek out a secluded lodging, a forest or root of a tree, a mountain or a cave or a mountain grotto, a charnel field, a forest retreat, the open air, a heap of straw.' And he does so. And when he has eaten his food he sits down crosslegged, and keeping his body straight up, he proceeds to practise the four ecstacies.'
27. "'Now, Brahmin, for all brothers who are pupils, who have not yet attained mastery of mind, who abide aspiring, for such is the manner of my training.'
28. "'But as to those brethren who are arhants, who have destroyed the asavas, who have lived the life, done their task, laid down the burden, won their own salvation, utterly destroyed the fetters of becoming, and are released by the perfect insight, for such as those these things are conducive to ease in the present life and to mindful self-control as well.'
29. "When this was said, the Brahmin Moggallana, the accountant, said to the Exalted One :
30. "'But tell me, Master Gautama. Do the disciples of the worthy Gautama,--do all of them win the absolute perfection which is Nibbana, or do some fail thus to attain?'
31. "Some of my disciples, Brahmin, thus advised and trained by me, do so attain. Others do not."
32. "But what is the reason, Master Gautama? What is the cause, Master Gautama? Here we have Nibbana. Here we have the Path to Nibbana. Here we have the worthy Gautama as instructor. What is the reason, I say, why some disciples thus advised and trained do attain, while others do not attain?"
33. "That, Brahmin, is a question that I will answer. But first do you answer me this, so far as you think fit. Now how say you. Brahmin--Are you well skilled in the road to Rajagraha?"
34. "I am, master, Skilled indeed am I in the road to Rajagraha!'
35. "Well, thus instructed, thus advised, he takes the wrong road, and off he goes with his face set to the west.
36. "Then a second man comes up with the same request, and you give him the same instructions. He follows your advice and comes safe to Rajagraha.
37. "'That is my business?'
38. "'What do I in the matter. Brahmin? The Tathagata is one who only shows the way.'
39. Here is a full statement that he does not promise salvation. He only shows the way.
40. Besides, what is salvation?
41. With Mohammad and Jesus, salvation means saving the soul from being sent to hell, by the intercession of the Prophet.
42. With Buddha, salvation means Nibbana, and Nibbana means control of passions.
43. What promise of salvation can there be in such a Dhamma?
§ 3. The Buddha did not Claim any Divinity for himself or for his Dhamma. It was discovered by man for man. It was not a Revelation
1. Every founder of religion has either claimed divinity for himself or for his teachings.
2. Moses, although he did not claim for himself any divine origin, did claim divine origin for his teachings. He told his followers that if they wished to reach the land of milk and honey they must accept the teachings, because they were the teachings of Jehovah the God.
3. Jesus claimed divinity for himself. He claimed that he was the Son of God. Naturally His teachings acquired a divine origin.
4. Krishna said that he was God himself, and the Gita was his own word.
5. The Buddha made no such claim, either for himself or his Sasana.
6. He claimed that he was one of the many human beings and his message to the people was the message of man to man.
7. He never claimed infallibility for his message.
8. The only claim he made was that his message was the only true way to salvation as he understood it.
9. It was based on universal human experience of life in the world.
10. He said that it was open to anyone to question it, test it, and find what truth it contained.
11. No founder has so fully thrown open his religion to such a challenge.the spying episode +
questioning over espionage charges +
tit-fit-tat naming of diplomatic staff for alleged spy work +
The move prompted Pakistan to withdraw them +
eight officials posted in India's high commission in Islamabad were agents +
ISLAMABAD: Signalling a fresh slide in ties, Pakistan and India may temporarily recall their high commissioners and scale down the size of diplomatic staff in each other's missions in the wake of the latest diplomatic spat over, a media report said on Friday.The latest spat started last week after a staff member of Pakistan's high commission in New Delhi was detained by police for, the Express Tribune reported.The fresh slide in ties may also lead to a'scaling down' of the strength of diplomatic staff by the two neighbours, the paper said.The tension intensified afterby both sides.Mahmood Akhtar, who was working as a visa officer at the Pakistani high commission, was later expelled from India."However, India, using a statement Delhi police extracted from Akhtar through coercive means, implicated other Pakistani staffers. The identities of at least six such officials were leaked to the media, jeopardising their security.from New Delhi," it said.In what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan on Thursday claimed thatof RAW and IB. The disclosure left New Delhi with no other options but to withdraw the named officials, the paper said.An official with knowledge of latest developments said that India had breached an 'understanding' by revealing the identities of certain Pakistani officials posted in New Delhi, the paper said.The official said both sides knew that certain officials worked under cover and they did so with the full official knowledge, it said."What India did was unthinkable," the official added, saying the Indian move would have serious implications for the two countries.He said the immediate fallout of this controversy could be the recalling of high commissioners by the two countries for the time being, the paper said.The official said another implication might be 'cutting down' the size of diplomatic staff posted in each other's countries till the situation normalised, it added.Security experts say that Canadian intelligence has developed a powerful spying tool to scope out and target specific phones and computers so as to better set up hacking and bugging operations.
The outlines of the technology are contained in the slides of a PowerPoint presentation made to allied security agencies in June, 2012. Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) called the tool "Olympia," showing how its analysts sifted through an immense amount of communications data and zeroed in on the phones and computer servers they determined merited attention – in the demonstration case, inside the Brazilian Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Within weeks, CSEC figured out who was talking to whom by plugging phone numbers and Internet protocol addresses into an array of intelligence databases. In this way it "developed a detailed map of the institution's communications," Paulo Pagliusi, a Brazilian security expert who examined the slides, told The Globe.
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The slides are part of a large trove of documents that have been leaked by Edward Snowden, the former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) whose disclosures have set off a debate over whether the agency has improperly intruded on the privacy of Americans. Other disclosures have raised questions about its spying on foreign governments, sometimes with the assistance of allied intelligence agencies.
The Globe and Mail has collaborated with the Brazil-based American journalist Glenn Greenwald, based on information obtained from the Snowden documents. Mr. Snowden, who went into hiding in Hong Kong before the first cache of NSA documents was leaked, has been charged by the United States with espionage and theft of government property. Russia has granted him temporary sanctuary.
Canadian officials declined to comment on the slides. Responding to an e-mail requesting comment on whether Canada co-operated with its U.S. counterpart in tapping into Brazilian communications, CSEC spokesman Andy McLaughlin said the agency "cannot comment on its foreign intelligence activities or capabilities." Prime Minister Stephen Harper said earlier this month that he is "very concerned" about reports CSEC focused on the Brazil ministry.
Any ability to sift through telecommunications data for specific leads can be valuable for electronic-eavesdropping agencies, especially the capacity to map out – without necessarily listening into – an organization's Internet or voice communications. This, in turn, can help isolate specific devices for potential hacking operations. By developing "Olympia" as a method for doing just this, Canada added to its spymasters' toolkit.
The PowerPoint presentation by CSEC was first reported by Brazil's Fantastico TV program, which earlier reported the NSA spying, in conjunction with Mr. Greenwald. Brazilian officials expressed outrage at the United States, but their criticism of Canada was more fleeting. They say they now intend to put public employees on an encrypted e-mail system.
The CSEC presentation – titled Advanced Network Tradecraft – described a technological reconnaissance mission aimed at the Brazilian energy ministry in April and May of 2012. According to the presentation, the agency knew very little about the ministry going in, apart from its Internet domain name and a few associated phone numbers. The presentation never makes clear CSEC's intentions for targeting the Brazilian ministry.
The leaked slides also suggest Canada sought to partner with the NSA, with one slide saying CSEC was "working with TAO to further examine the possibility" of a more aggressive operation to intercept Internet communications.
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"TAO" refers to "tailored access operations," said Bruce Schneier, a privacy specialist for the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at Harvard. "It's the NSA 'blackbag' people." (A "blackbag job" refers to a government-sanctioned break-and-enter operation – hacking in this case – to acquire intelligence.)
It is not clear whether CSEC or the NSA followed up with other actions involving the Brazilian ministry.ASBURY PARK — A city police officer was fired after admitting he had sex with a woman he had arrested.
Antonio Martinez, who had eight years on the force before he was suspended and then fired in 2015, was one of at least four police officers that the Police Department acknowledged were facing internal affairs inquiries that year, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Martinez appealed his firing, which was upheld by an administrative law judge and the Civil Service Commission in 2015. A two-judge appellate panel on Monday denied Martinez's appeal.
The details of the department's investigation into Martinez and the other officers were kept secret — which is standard practice among law enforcement agencies in the state. But the accusations against Martinez were made public Monday as a result of him appealing his termination in court.
Martinez was accused of having a sexual relationship with a woman he had arrested on drug charges. He initially denied it to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, but later admitted the affair during the department's investigation into him.
Martinez admitted having sex with the woman while her criminal charges were pending, and said he continued the relationship after the case was resolved.
Normally, public employees are afforded "progressive discipline," with termination being the last resort. But an administrative law judge said his firing "was warranted, despite Martinez's otherwise unblemished record."
The appellate judges agreed, pointing out that he lied to investigators and violated multiple department rules by having sex with a criminal suspect.
Martinez's attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
The appellate decision does not name the woman or explain how her case was resolved.
Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email [email protected].
Also on New Jersey 101.5:Andry Nirina Rajoelina (Malagasy: [ˈjanɖʐʲ nʲˈrinə radzoˈel]; born 30 May 1974) is a Malagasy politician, businessman and the current president of Madagascar. He started his career in the private sector, first organizing events on the Island (Live concerts), and then investing the advertising business (Injet, billboards and print) and the media (Viva, TV and radio). He was the Mayor of Antananarivo from December 2007 to February 2009, and President of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar from 21 March 2009 to 25 January 2014, up until the general elections were held in 2013.
After stepping down as President of the HAT, he remained head of the majority party, the MAPAR. After winning the 2018 presidential election, he was inaugurated on 19 January 2019.
Family and early years [ edit ]
Andry Rajoelina and his wife Mialy in 2012.
Andry Rajoelina was born on 30 May 1974 to a relatively wealthy family in Antsirabe.[2] His father, now-retired Colonel Roger Yves Rajoelina, held dual nationality and fought for the French army in the Algerian War.[3][4] Although his family could afford a college education for their son, Andry Rajoelina opted to discontinue his studies after completing his baccalauréat to launch a career as an entrepreneur.[4]
In 1994, Rajoelina met his future spouse Mialy Razakandisa, who was then completing her senior year at a high school in Antananarivo. The couple courted long-distance for six years while Mialy completed her undergraduate and masters studies in finance and accounting in Paris; they were reunited in Madagascar in 2000 and wed the same year. Their marriage produced two boys, Arena (born 2002) and Ilonstoa (born 2005), and a daughter born in 2007 that the couple named Andrialy, a contraction of their own names.[5]
Media entrepreneur [ edit ]
In 1993, at the age of 19, Rajoelina established his first enterprise: a small event production company called Show Business. In the following year, he organized an annual concert called Live that brought together foreign and Malagasy musical artists. The event gathered 50,000 participants on its tenth anniversary.[6]
In 1999, he launched Injet, the first digital printing technology company available on the island, which gained quick traction with its expansion of billboard advertising throughout the capital.[6] Following his marriage in 2000, Andry and Mialy Rajoelina acquired Domapub, a competing Antananarivo-based billboard advertising business owned by Andry's in-laws.[7] The couple worked together to manage the family businesses, with Andry responsible for Injet and his wife handling the affairs of Domapub.[5]
In May 2007, Andry Rajoelina purchased the Ravinala television and radio stations, and renamed them Viva TV and Viva FM.[6]
Mayor of Antananarivo [ edit ]
Elections [ edit ]
In 2007, Rajoelina created and led the political association Tanora malaGasy Vonona (TGV), meaning "determined Malagasy youth", and shortly afterward announced his candidacy to run for Mayor of Antananarivo. His very young age became a lever to gain a quick popularity throughout the nation (jeunification of politics).[4] Rajoelina was elected on 12 December 2007 with 63.3% of the vote on a 55% voter turnout, beating TIM party incumbent Hery Rafalimanana.[6][8]
Confrontation with Ravalomanana [ edit ]
The first conflicts between Andry Rajoelina and president Ravalomanana date back to 2003, when the government required the removal of Antananarivo's first Trivision advertising panels, which Rajoelina had installed at a major roundabout in the capital.[7][9]
Upon taking office, the city's treasury had a debt of 8.2 billion Malagasy Ariary (approximately 4.6 million U.S. dollars).[10] On 4 January 2008, due to unpaid debts to the Jirama, the city of Antananarivo was hit by a general water cutoff, and brownouts of the city's street lights. After an audit, it was found that the Jirama owned about the same amount of money to the City Hall, and the sanction on the city's population was retrieved.[11]
In November and December 2008, grumbles grew bigger against the government when two scandals made international headlines: The July 2008 deal with Daewoo Logistics to lease half the island's arable land for South Korean cultivation of corn and palm oil,[12] and the November 2008 purchase of a second presidential jet, a Boeing 737, at a cost of 60 million U.S. dollars, which led the World Bank and the IMF to suspend $35 million worth of financial support to the Island.[13]
On 13 December 2008, the Government closed Andry Rajoelina's Viva TV, stating that a Viva interview with exiled former head of state Didier Ratsiraka was "likely to disturb peace and security".[14] Within a week Rajoelina met with twenty of Madagascar's most prominent opposition leaders, referred to in the press as the "Club of 20", to develop a joint statement demanding that the Ravalomanana administration improve its adherence to democratic principles. Rajoelina also promised to dedicate a politically open public space in the capital which he would call Place de la Démocratie ("Democracy Plaza").[15]
Pro-Rajoelina protesters in Antananarivo, 2009
Beginning in January 2009, Andry Rajoelina led a series of political rallies in downtown Antananarivo. On 13 January, he launched an ultimatum to the government to restore Viva TV. A week later, the transmission failure message of Viva TV was changed by a background picture of Andry Rajoelina, which led the authorities to seize the channel's transistor manu militari.[14] On 17 January Andry Rajoelina gathered 30,000 supporters at a public park which he renamed Place de la Démocratie to defy the public executive power of Ravalomanana[16] At a rally on 31 January 2009, Rajoelina announced that he was in charge of the country's affairs, declaring: "Since the president and the government have not assumed their responsibilities, I therefore proclaim that I will run all national affairs as of today." He added that a request for President Ravalomanana to formally resign would shortly be filed with the Parliament of Madagascar.[17] This self-declaration of power discredited Rajoelina's democratic aims, and the number of attendees at subsequent rallies declined, averaging around 3,000 to 5,000 participants.[16]
Destitution [ edit ]
On 3 February, the Ministry of Domestic Affairs dismissed Rajoelina as mayor of Antananarivo and appointed a special delegation headed by Guy Randrianarisoa to manage the affairs of the capital. Andry Rajoelina contested the decision.[18]
President of the High Transitional Authority [ edit ]
Resignation of Ravalomanana [ edit ]
On 7 February, Andry Rajoelina organized a new rally during which the leaders of the orange movement declared the constitution of a High Transitional Authority and Andry Rajoelina as its president. The crowd then marched towards the Presidential palace to state its claim to power. The presidential guards opened fire, killing 31 protesters, and wounding more than 200.[19] This massacre dramatically diminished the Presidency’s popularity in the crisis[20], and led to losing its support from the Army which blamed the President for ordering the shooting.[21]
On 6 March, after the Malagasy authorities attempted to arrest him, Andry Rajoelina took refuge in the French embassy.[22][23] On 10 March, the Army released a 72-hour ultimatum, urging the political leaders to find a solution to the crisis.[24][25] On 15 March, Ravalomanana went on air to declare a referendum to solve the crisis,[26] an offer refused by Rajoelina who instead called for the President’s arrest.[27] The following day, Ravalomanana dissolved the government, resigned, and transferred the Presidential seal to a senior committee of the Army.[28] On 18 March, the Army transferred power directly to Rajoelina, making him president of the High Transitional Authority (HAT). Madagascar's constitutional court deemed the double-transfer of power (Ravalomanana-Army-Rajoelina) to be legal.[29]
Rajoelina was sworn in as President on 21 March at Mahamasina stadium before a crowd of 40,000 supporters.[30] He was 35 years of age when sworn in, making him the youngest president in the country's history and the youngest head of government in the world at that time.[31]
Resolution of the political conflict [ edit ]
Andry Rajoelina and Ban Ki-Moon in 2011.
On 19 March 2009, SADC announced it did not recognize the new government.[32] The African Union suspended Madagascar and threatened sanctions if the constitutional government had not been restored within six months.[33] The United States, Madagascar's largest bilateral donor and provider of humanitarian aid, also refused to acknowledge the Rajoelina administration, and ordered all nonessential embassy employees to leave the Island.[34][32][35][36] Madagascar was removed from the list of beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).[37] In May 2009, the IMF also froze its aid to Madagascar.[38] The UN responded to the power transfer by freezing 600 million euros in planned aid. The international community maintained that Rajoelina's legitimacy was conditional to free and fair elections.[39]
In August 2009, the historic Presidents of Madagascar (Rajoelina, Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka, Zafy) signed the Maputo Accords which provided guidelines for a period of consensual political transition.[40] In October 11 2009, Andry Rajoelina appointed Eugene Malganza as a consensus Prime minister. Further guidelines were defined during the Addis Ababa reunion to split the presidential power with 2 co-presidents. The Malagasy former presidents were authorized to return to the Island, and Rajoelina named a new Prime Minister.[38] In November 2010, a constitutional referendum resulted in the adoption of the state's fourth constitution with 73% in favor and a voter turnout
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deadlines in attempt to suppress enrollment.
Even IF they hadn’t gutted funding to reimburse insurance companies’ losses as they sought to comply with Obamacare rules, raising premiums and limiting options for Americans everywhere.
Why The Congressional Budget Office is WRONG About Everything, Especially Obamacare.
And one more thing…Ignore phony claims from the Congressional Budget Office that Obamacare is “stable” because lots of people are still “signing up” and “subsidies are sheltering most people from premium increases”. Sounds like FAKE NEWS to me.
The CBO cannot be trusted. They’re by far the most leftwing, bipartisan committee in Washington. And BELIEVE ME they have a long history of being WRONG.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask Paul Ryan.
(Visited 61 times, 1 visits today)You know John Thorn. Official historian for Major League Baseball. Mustachioed guy in the Ken Burns documentary. I went to his big house upstate last week because Thorn wanted to show me something. It was evidence of a “lively corpse,” Thorn called it, “or fabulous invalid.”
Let me explain. As you read this, someone somewhere is writing an article that claims baseball is dying. Or in decline. Or just plain irrelevant — having “fallen out of the national conversation,” as the New York Times put it last year. Baseball-is-dying articles always appear around playoff time. The writer gathers Nielsen ratings, listens to the moans of the game’s sages, and files a fresh obituary.
Craig Calcaterra took an elephant gun to such stories last month. But I’d come to see Thorn because he had a collection of old newspaper clippings that revealed something more about sportswriting than its occasional resistance to logic. It turns out the press has been announcing baseball’s death decade-by-decade, and sometimes year-by-year, for nearly the entire history of the game.
Baseball’s rogues — its gamblers, faux-founding fathers, and steroid users — are the kind of people that get John Thorn excited. For him, they don’t besmirch baseball history but write a counter-history all their own. Baseball’s obituarists are no different. So it was with excitement that Thorn described to me the words of Pete O’Brien, captain of Brooklyn’s championship Atlantic club:
Somehow or other, they don’t play ball nowadays as they used to some eight or ten years ago. I don’t mean to say they don’t play it as well. … But I mean that they don’t play with the same kind of feelings or for the same objects they used to. … It appears to me that ball matches have come to be controlled by different parties and for different purposes …
O’Brien wrote this, the first known baseball death notice, in 1868.
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Thorn sat in his second-floor study, surrounded by antique sports prints and shelves sagging with baseball books. We began our tour in the 19th century, because that is Thorn’s favorite century. It was a boom time for baseball-is-dying stories. Eighteen years after O’Brien’s lament, the poet H.C. Dodge wrote in Puck magazine:
Oh, give us the glorious matches of old, when love of true sport made them great,
And not this new-fashioned affair always sold for the boodle they take at the gate.
What did the press think was killing baseball? I asked Thorn. “It was the extreme violence of the game, which is very amazing because we see it now with football,” Thorn said. “Baseball was thought of as violent in the days before gloves and masks. I have a wonderful series from the New York Times from 1881 saying, ‘Baseball must be on the wane, because hospital admissions have declined.’”
Baseball, the Times sniffed, “was in the beginning a sport unworthy of men, and … it is now, in its full developed state, unworthy of gentle-men.”
“Then it was owners trading players — treating players like chattel,” Thorn said. “You’re only a quarter of a century removed from the Civil War.” The image of a man bought and sold carried an unseemly resonance. “You cannot put him up like a slave on auction block,” the Milwaukee Journal warned in 1890, in a story called “The Decline in Baseball Interest.”
During the Gilded Age, people feared that the U.S. economy was being controlled by monopolies like Standard Oil. It was the same with baseball: By the 1890s, the National League had driven out its competition. Fans suffered through shenanigans like the Robison brothers looting the Cleveland Spiders of good players and transferring them to the other team they owned, the St. Louis Perfectos.
“The rage for base ball appears to be dying out,” the Omaha World-Herald declared in May 1890. A month later, the Arkansas Gazette imagined “the ghost of Baseball dead and gone come back for the benevolent but solemn purpose of exhibiting itself as an awful warning to its successor.” The cover of a 1913 issue of Puck noted, “No class of labor feels the grip of grinding monopoly more than our underpaid, overworked ball-players.” An illustration showed ballplayers snared in chains made of baseballs.
Just as the NBA is said to be gaining on baseball today, baseball’s journalist-coroners charted the progress made by other sports. In 1892, the Boston Journal noted — in an article titled “The Decline of Base Ball” — that bicycling was the true sport of the age. In 1917, the Colorado Springs Gazette argued that baseball was losing ground to trap shooting. “The modern young man takes up a sport that he can actually do,” the Gazette reported. “No longer is he to be a bench warmer.”
Thorn said, “So if trap shooting is a perceived rival, and bicycling is a perceived rival, then it’s no surprise that the NBA and the NFL are eating baseball’s lunch somehow.”
Before we left the deep past, Thorn identified one more perp that was going to kill baseball: the car. “The automobile and golf are commonly held responsible for the decline of baseball,” the Aberdeen Evening News reported in 1928.
“But it wasn’t because people were motoring about,” Thorn said. “It was because they were screwing in the back seat!” Only the prudery of family newspapers spared us the headline “Base Ball Demised by Sex.”
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As you read through Thorn’s morgue files, you notice a funny development. Something that was supposed to kill baseball — say, players being treated like chattel — is mitigated. But then players start asking for more money. And this opposite force is also going to kill baseball. In 1922, when the Yankees were paying Babe Ruth $75,000, a Michigan paper argued that baseball had birthed a “salary-frankenstein.” The headline read, “Enormous Salaries May Mean Death of Base Ball Business.”
“Oppressing the player, or allowing the players to oppress the public,” said Thorn. “It’s the obverse and reverse of a coin. You just flip it and see the way it comes out and that’s the way you argue in a particular decade.”
These days, you hear baseball is vulnerable to new media — first TV, which loves the NFL more, and then the Internet, because MLB is more tight-fisted with highlight clips than the NBA. This is also an old argument. “The movies were regarded as a big challenge,” Thorn said. A scout told the Colorado Springs Gazette in 1917 that people preferred nickelodeons to stadiums.
The 1920s produced a spate of stories saying kids had given up baseball, a development that would kill the sport at the roots. “Decline of Baseball As Major College Sport Foreseen,” read a 1925 headline in the Miami News reported. A year later, the Associated Press found baseball “showing signs of dying on the sandlots.” A decade after that, a former major leaguer told a Delaware paper, “Baseball as an interscholastic sport no longer exists in many of our larger cities.”
In 1945, the conservative columnist Westbrook Pegler mused on the death of baseball. Pegler alighted on what would, in succeeding years, become the greatest serial killer in baseball history. Call it the American character. The theory goes like this: Something about America changed — its mood, maybe, or the pace of life — and baseball got left behind. “I detect a sad and desperate admission that the game, itself, is outmoded,” Pegler wrote.
As Pegler saw it, the kids of ’45 were too easily distracted for street ball. “Frankly, baseball, love it though you may, is a complex game requiring more organization and enthusiasm than boys today are willing to give it,” Pegler wrote. This is before BioShock Infinite, the iPhone, and the catalogue of demon-toys that allegedly make today’s young punks surrender their gloves.
In 1955, a Kansas paper announced, “We predict that within 25 years there’ll be no organized baseball except the major leagues, if even they’re in existence then.” As a doomsday prediction, it was topped only by that of a Virginia magazine: “In a few years the only place you will be able to find a first baseman’s mit [sic] will be in the baseball museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., and the deeds of Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial will be recounted the way we now speak of buffalo hunters.”
But let’s go back to that ’55 death notice. It’s interesting because it was published at a summit of baseball’s so-called “Golden Age”: the year Brooklyn finally beat the Yankees in the World Series; the year Mantle and Willie Mays led their leagues in homers; a period from which we modern fans feel Boomers will never let us escape.
Even Golden Agers thought baseball was fatally anachronistic. “The game is getting to be outdated by other forms of entertainment,” the paper noted, “which are more exciting, more accessible, and — in many cases — cheaper.” It suggested that baseball would be usurped by the drive-in theater, the swimming pool, and the airplane.
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The fact that baseball was your father’s game, your father’s Oldsmobile, I think we started to see this in the 1960s,” Thorn said, “as baseball on the field seemed to be in a declining stage as measured by offensive stats.”
In the ‘60s, baseball was going to die because of over-expansion. The winnowing of the minors. Outfield fences pushed back in bigger stadiums. “If baseball dies,” the columnist Jim Murray wrote, “the murder weapon will be real estate.”
In the ‘70s, it was the winnowing of the minors (again). Bigger stadiums (again). And that elusive American character — now warped by Oswald, Vietnam, and Kent State. “While baseball hasn’t passed,” a Toledo Blade writer noted in 1972, “its current decline tells a lot about the changed American character. It’s the collapse of small-town America, the rush to violence in sport, film, and other entertainment, the diminished competitive urge, and the lessened credibility of the American dream.”
Note the shift: Where once America was too easily distracted for baseball, now it was too cruel, or too heartbroken.
At times, the sportswriters got tired, as one put it, of driving “the verbal hammer of nails into the proverbial coffin.” So they picked up the dugout phone and called a higher authority. “Baseball is doomed,” media theorist Marshall McLuhan claimed in a syndicated article in 1969. “It is a dying sport.” McLuhan settled on a culprit: the American character. “Baseball,” he said, “is just too individual a sport for our new age.”
The five-tool historian Jacques Barzun became an unlikely player in the baseball death industry. Barzun had once written, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Afterward, whenever baseball had one of its periodic crises, journalists would call and ask how the crisis explained America. Barzun in 1976, amid a sluggish economy and a spring-training lockout: “Perhaps it is an expression of disillusionment, that the American dream has failed.” In 1993, amid chatter of free trade and free agency: “Atoms hang together much better than teams today.”
The last bit was an unintentional quotation of Jim Murray’s ’63 obituary: “Atomic physics is no more abstruse than the far reaches of the Baltimore roster.” After 125 years of declaring baseball dead, you’re bound to double-dip an analogy.
By the 1980s — well, I’ll be honest. Before we reached the ‘80s, Thorn and I got tired of talking about death and went out for sandwiches. I present those murder stories as a newsreel:
August 26, 1987: “Hall of Famer Sewell says baseball declining”
July 4, 1995: “An aging population adds to the decline of baseball”
May 1, 2003: “Where are the fans? Baseball’s declining attendance”
And finally we arrive in 2013, when Daniel Okrent, a fine writer and co-creator of fantasy baseball, told the New York Times, “We are a shouting culture now” and that “baseball is quiet and slow.” But you’ve already heard about the American character being out of tune with baseball. In 1972. In 1945. In 1868. …
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Why is baseball’s death such an appealing premise? Well, “Baseball Is Dead” is an editor’s idea of a good headline. Trend stories depend on rubicons being crossed, on scattered data revealing a shocking truth. Of course, after a game like Royals-A’s the other night, the same editor might ask for a headline that reads, “Baseball is back from dead.”
Declaring baseball dead allows us to imagine we’re present at a turning point in history. We’re the lucky coroners who get to toe-tag the game of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Kurt Bevacqua.
“We are not at a historic moment,” Thorn said. “The popularity of anything will be cyclical. There will be ups and downs. If you want to measure a current moment against a peak, you will perceive a decline. J.P. Morgan was asked, ‘What will the stock market do this year?’ His answer was: ‘Fluctuate.’”
Baseball’s repeated death throes, Thorn argued, are symptoms of its own innate nostalgia. Pete O’Brien thought baseball’s true glories lay in an unreachable past. We modern fans do, too. “I think it’s this Garden of Eden thing,” Thorn said. “Things are not as they used to be. It is a solace that lies behind the church, as well. The precepts of the good book are largely in decline today, but once upon a time … ”
It’s not just the spryness of the game we find lacking. It’s modern players. This is why Hank Aaron is wielded like a weapon against Barry Bonds, why an otherwise clear-headed argument against Derek Jeter’s canonization turns into a séance for Red Ruffing.
“The Garden of Eden notion that giants walked the earth in the old days — we need this to be true,” Thorn said. “Now, we don’t think it’s true in football or basketball. We don’t think it’s true in Olympic sports.” That’s because those sports’ big numbers have already fallen: Usain Bolt is faster than Jesse Owens. “Baseball statistics tend to provide this camouflage,” Thorn said. “Back in 1887, ten men hit.400. Boy, they must have been great!”
The final reason is the opposite of nostalgia, more like a kind of anti-nostalgia. If baseball really is our father’s game, then saying it’s dead is a statement of selfhood. Every man kills the thing his father loves. “You grow up by not following in your father’s footsteps,” Thorn said in his study, “but finding ways to separate and have turf you can declare your own.”
Filial angst is perfectly legal. Today, it’s often exercised by embracing the NBA — a league, by the way, that was repeatedly pronounced dead or declining.
There’s just one hitch. Our dads thought baseball was their fathers’ game. (From 1969: “Now I know why old people like baseball. It’s a sanctuary for the listless.”) And our grandfathers thought baseball was their fathers’ game. (From 1917: “The day of the proxy sport has passed for the live-wire American.”) By declaring baseball dead, we haven’t broken with our fathers at all. We’ve reconciled with them. We’re two obituarists meeting in a magic Iowa cornfield. “Hey, Dad,” we venture, voices cracking. “You want to write a think piece?”Guelph Transit launched changes to its system on Sunday that are being hailed as the most significant in the past 10 years.
Highlighted by the new 99 Mainline route that stretches from the Wal-Mart to the north to Clair Road in the south, the changes include routes, bus stops and schedules.
“Overall, the idea of this is to speed up the system, speed up the frequencies and allow people to get where they want to go quicker,” said Guelph Transit General Manager Mike Spicer. “Then we can compete against the automobile.”
Mayor Cam Guthrie was joined by councillors Cathy Downer and James Gordon, plus Guelph Transit staff, for an inaugural run of the 99 Mainline route on Sunday morning.
During the university year, Spicer said 40 busses a day were having to leave people at the bus stop because they were full.
“We just couldn’t fit everybody on the bus,” he said.
“The 99 Mainline is the first start of trying to do a new high order of transit,” said Spicer.
“What I’m hoping is that people will be able to walk out to Gordon Street or Woolwich and just know that a bus is coming. They won’t have to look at a schedule,” Spicer said.
Future plans for traffic signal priority, allowing busses to initiate green lights, will mean even more efficiency, he said.
“It will allow us to grow other routes into a higher order of transit. I’m seeing the shift into more of a grid rather than a hub and spoke,” Spicer said.
“One of the complaints I hear from people is ‘why do I have to go downtown if I don’t want to go downtown?’ or ‘why do I have to go to the University Centre if I don’t want to go to the University Centre?’”
Steven Petric, citizen chairperson of the Transit Advisory Committee, said the changes are a good start to improving transit in the city.
“This is the best first step this city could have with the money we have,” said Petric, adding that the changes are the first real improvements in “at least” a decade.
“We are cautiously optimistic at the committee, so we think there’s great potential. There’s still areas that need to be worked on, but we think there’s going to be some coming.”
Petric said the 99 Mainline is the key.
“That’s the spine that will build the system. Everything will feed into it, everything will feed out of it. That’s the way transit systems are going.”
Spicer said the changes were implemented on Sunday because that is the start of the work cycle for transit workers and allowed for a smoother transition. It also gave drivers a chance to get used to new routes before things get busy on Tuesday.
Complete details of the changes can be found here on the city web site.Beyond DeVos, What 5 Key Trump Appointees Could Mean For Schools
Enlarge this image toggle caption Getty Images/NPR Getty Images/NPR
The action in the U.S. school system is overwhelmingly local. But the federal government, and the courts, have an important hand in many issues that touch classrooms — from civil rights to international programs of study. We looked at the records of some of President Trump's key appointees to see how they might affect education in the years to come.
Jeff Sessions, attorney general (confirmed)
In his first two days in office, Attorney General Sessions appeared to reverse course on the previous administration's pursuit of transgender student protections under Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding.
According to the Washington Blade, his office withdrew a motion for a partial stay of a Texas court ruling from last summer, and moved to cancel oral arguments that were scheduled for Feb. 14. The Texas court had prohibited the Obama administration from enforcing guidance on the treatment of transgender students, such as allowing students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their preference.
When voting against the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, Sessions stated, "Today, I'm not sure women or people with different sexual orientations face that kind of discrimination. I just don't see it."
The Department of Justice is charged in certain circumstances with enforcing prohibitions on discrimination in schools and universities. For example, DOJ has historically filed "consent decrees," detailed agreements on how to desegregate school systems.
As The Atlantic reported, civil rights groups are expressing concern that this enforcement could be curtailed under Sessions' Department of Justice, and that the Department of Education's own Office for Civil Rights could be downsized or merged with DOJ.
To take an example, under the Obama administration OCR investigated more than 200 higher education institutions on sexual assault issues. If Sessions does take over the OCR, then the future of those open investigations would be uncertain.
Finally, Sessions' Senate record is of a hard-liner on immigration. This worries the many students who fall under President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy.
Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court (nominated)
Judge Gorsuch has been involved in several rulings that touch on various areas of education, including school discipline and student rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
Last year, he dissented from a circuit panel ruling in A.M. v. Holmes, a case where a New Mexico seventh-grader was handcuffed for disrupting class, as Education Week reported.
The majority ruled that the school police officer was immune from liability. "[A]ny reasonable officer" should know, Gorsuch wrote in the dissent, "that arresting a now compliant class clown for burping was going a step too far."
In another case involving school discipline, Hawker v. Sandy City Corp, where an officer twisted a 9-year-old's hand in a "control hold," pushed him against a wall and handcuffed him, Gorsuch joined the majority ruling that no excessive force was used.
Gorsuch's opinions in three different cases all tended toward limiting the responsibilities of school districts toward students with autism and other conditions — for example, if they leave school of their own accord out of frustration. IDEA's standard of a "free appropriate public education," reads Gorsuch's opinion in one of these cases, "is not an onerous one."
Rex Tillerson, secretary of state (confirmed)
The State Department might not seem that involved in education at first glance, but Tillerson could play a role in how American students are perceived abroad and vice versa.
The department funds a slew of study abroad programs, like the Fulbright Scholarship, the Critical Language Scholarship Program and multiple merit-based scholarships for high school students. It also houses the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which facilitates student exchanges and cross-cultural programs.
The department also oversees student visas for foreign students coming to the United States, like the F-1 and J-1. Some of these visa holders were among those caught up in last month's executive order banning the entry of citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries. There are currently more than a million international students enrolled in American universities.
Since Tillerson doesn't have a political track record, it's a little hard to tell where he'll fall as far as education opportunities and policies within the State Department. But, we do know that ExxonMobil, the company that Tillerson ran before taking on his new position, has regularly touted the importance of STEM education and funded multiple scholarships and cross-cultural programs worldwide through the ExxonMobil Foundation.
As for Tillerson's personal stance on education, he wrote a 2013 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, defending the Common Core and expounding on the importance of education in a global world. Here's a snippet:
"We need to raise expectations at every grade level so that, for instance, students who do well in math in lower grades are spurred to take algebra and more advanced math. But we need high standards to drive efforts to improve educational outcomes in every subject.
"With these education standards under attack in many states where they have been adopted or are being considered, the Common Core needs support now more than ever if America is going to reverse its education decline and prepare its young people to compete in today's dynamic global economy."
Tom Price, secretary of health and human services (confirmed)
At his confirmation hearing, Tom Price said his goal as secretary of health would be to make insurance accessible to everyone.
But his proposals as a congressman to cut Medicaid's federal funding could affect school districts, especially those with a higher concentration of low-income students.
According to a survey from AASA, the School Superintendents Association, about 1,000 school district leaders from 42 states were "deeply concerned" about Republican proposals to refinance Medicaid. Republicans have typically proposed turning Medicaid into a block grant program, which could eliminate schools from eligibility for reimbursement funds.
"Medicaid plays a very important role in schools because it allows school districts to receive reimbursement for students with disabilities who have services that are immensely necessary in order for them to learn," says Sasha Pudelski, author of the study. Those services include speech language pathology and occupational and physical therapy.
About two-thirds of the respondents to the superintendents survey said they use Medicaid reimbursements specifically to subsidize the salaries of professionals, such as nurses, mental health providers and specialized instructional support personnel, who provide the services for special education.
Ryan Zinke, secretary of the interior (nominated)
The Interior Department is home to the Bureau of Indian Education, which accounts for roughly 42,000 students at 164 elementary and secondary schools on 64 reservations in 23 states. Currently, Zinke is a Republican U.S. representative from Montana, a state that has one of the larger Native American populations in the country, and served as a state senator before that. A majority of the bills Zinke has sponsored have to do with public lands and natural resources — not a surprise for someone tapped to head the Department of the Interior — but Native American issues have also accounted for a notable percentage of bills he has put his name on.
As far as education, Zinke has repeatedly voiced his support for keeping education policy control at a local level. "I don't have a problem with standards," he said in 2014 campaign speech in Helena. "But states should have more say in developing standards, rather than a one-size-fits-all." His website says he opposes Common Core, is in favor of local school board control and supports families who choose homeschooling.Australia wants its cats dead. But not because it’s a nation of fanatical dog people — rather, the country’s enormous feral cat population now constitutes a major threat to its biodiversity. To save the country’s native wildlife, the cats need to go.
Due to hotter days, longer dry periods, and increasingly intense bush fires caused by climate change, Australia’s biodiversity is diminishing. Despite being one of the world’s 17 “megadiverse” countries, Australia has not done a bang-up job of protecting its wildlife. As mammalian extinction rates go, Australia’s is pretty dang high: Twenty-one percent of Australian native land mammals are threatened.
But, shockingly, climate change is actually not the No. 1 enemy of koalas and kangaroos: Feral cats are the “single biggest threat” to protecting Australia’s wildlife, according to a new piece from VICE News. There are about 20 million of these little cutthroat barbarians pawing, nuzzling, and murdering (in equal measure) their way across the continent, eating three to 20 animals each day — which adds up to a loss of 80 million native animals per week.
So, in a cruel but necessary gesture to save the country’s wildlife, the Australian government has pledged $2 million to slow their biodiversity loss by 2020 by killing as many feral cats as possible. Eliminating feral cat colonies altogether won’t be possible because they reproduce at high rates and are difficult to catch, but dammit, they’re going to keep trying. Here’s more from Vice:
For now, poisoned baits are the weapon of choice for population control. The largest programs for this method use aircraft to scatter baits across Australia’s vast outback. The aircraft can drop upwards of 60,000 baits across areas of over 1,000 square kilometers. Until a stronger solution is found, endangered animals will have to be kept alive by isolating them from the vast swathes of the country where the cats roam unabated.
An entire continent terrorized by herds of meaner, angrier house cats sounds like the plot of a David Lynch movie, but this is real life. Who knew Miss Fluffs had it in her?Needle Exchange Program Creates Black Market In Clean Syringes
Enlarge this image toggle caption ImageZoo/Corbis ImageZoo/Corbis
On Friday afternoons, several dozen people line up in the narrow hallway of Prevention Point Philadelphia. The men and women, all ages, hold paper and plastic bags full of used syringes.
"We obviously have a space challenge, but people come in, they drop off their used syringes and they ask for what they need," says Silvana Mazzella, the director of programs at the service center for injection drug users.
Most people are coming in with just a few needles, and get a small bag of several new needles and supplies in return. But participants can take as many new syringes as they want, as long as they turn in a dirty needle in for every new one they receive.
People who inject drugs risk contracting a number of different illnesses, including HIV and Hepatitis C, if they share used needles. As a prevention strategy, many cities have organizations like Prevention Point that give out clean syringes.
But because needle exchange sites are not always available where and when people inject, an unusual black market emerges — people bring in large numbers of used needles, and then resell the clean ones they receive.
One Prevention Point client who exchanges dirty needles in bulk does business on a corner about half a mile away, a block from where users can buy drugs and near some wooded train tracks where many people go to inject.
"You can exchange pretty much one old needle off the ground for a new set right there. Some people come in with 300, 400 works at a time," he says. NPR is not using his name because he's admitting to illegal activities, including selling needles.
"You can exchange pretty much one old needle off the ground for a new set right there. Some people come in with 300, 400 works at a time."
This man gets $1 apiece for the clean syringes he receives from the exchange. Though banned under Pennsylvania law, the practice of needle resale is tolerated by the city, and he says he's the not the only one who does it.
"Like, it's their hustle, that's how they survive out here and support themselves," he says. "So that's how I do it. Sell a couple of these — sell a ton of 'em, you can get a bag to get high."
This post-industrial neighborhood of North Philadelphia is dotted with empty factories and homes. It's one of the city's most active areas for buying and using cocaine and heroin at all hours.
Paul Yabor, an AIDS activist and educator at Prevention Point, says that makes it important that drug users can get clean needles right here, too.
"It's two o'clock in the morning, and a guy's saying, 'here's a syringe for a dollar.' You know, there's a lot to be said for that," Yabor says.
Yabor, who was diagnosed with AIDS and Hepatitis C years ago, says some people don't feel comfortable picking up needles from the exchange. Others are looking to drop into the neighborhood, inject and get out fast.
Needle distribution always has been controversial. Some people say it encourages people to use drugs. Yabor acknowledges that when he sold syringes in the past, he used some of the money to buy drugs.
"Did it enable me? It did. But it also... I mean, I was gonna get high anyway," he says. "And the cold, hard reality is that someone with a habit, or under the influence of cocaine is going to go to extreme measures to inject."
Most city officials I talked with agreed they would rather focus on keeping people healthy than policing people who exchange needles in bulk.
Roland Lamb, who directs Philadelphia's Office of Addiction Services, says there are people who manage shooting galleries in the neighborhood. They act as a dealer or bouncer, and will exchange needles in bulk so they can sell or even give clean needles to their clients.
"Folks who come in and who bring in syringes to exchange them... are looking to actually have a cleaner place, have a place that — where there's not a chance for someone to accidentally stick themselves with a dirty needle," he says.
Lamb thinks the impact on health is significant. Without a dedicated study, it's hard for researchers to measure the effects of black-market needles, but exchanges themselves do reduce the spread of HIV. They get part of the credit in Philadelphia for a dramatic drop in new diagnoses.
University of Pennsylvania researcher Philippe Bourgois studies how slight variations in drug use affect infection rates. He says Philadelphia's strong network of people spreading needles from the exchange plays a big role.
"You get this extraordinarily efficient distribution of needles, exactly where they need to be at the right time," he says. "And so that's what basically, I think, prevents a much worse spread of HIV."
Bourgois takes the-long term view. He points out that many of the people who hit rock bottom in this neighborhood will recover — and if access to clean needles can keep them safe until they do, they might be able to live the rest of their lives without the burden of another illness.This article recently appeared on the personal website of Greg Renouf, a somewhat infamous former participant in the #Occupy Movement in Kanada. Renouf, who claims to be neither left nor right (due to his claim to be an ethicist) spends much of his time waging an internet war against Canadian anarchists and happily carrying out the work of the state by exposing the identities Black Bloc participants, advocates and supporters. He reserves a special mission though to take down well known Canadian activists Harsha Walia and Alex Hundert (a man who I have many contradictions with).
He also from time to time targets others who he sees as a threat to the stability of White Canada including. This has included the International Socialists, No One is Illegal, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, the Native Youth Movement, the Proletarian Revolutionary Action Committee, David McNally, Kevin Annett and even yours truly (though he mislabeled my brother and I Marxists).
I normally would not repost the drivel that comes from the White nationalism addled brain of someone like Renouf, but this particular article (originally posted under the title Is No One Is Illegal Organizing A Treasonous Uprising?) is demonstrative of the fear that many Kanadians have about the possibility of a Native uprising on the scale of Oka or bigger. In this sense it is helpful in the same way as The Blaze article I posted the other day about the meeting between Louis Farrakhan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad & the New Black Panther Party in NYC.
Is No One Is Illegal Organizing A Treasonous Uprising?
I’ve been aware of No One Is Illegal (NoII) for a few years now, and I thought it was a strange concept when I first heard of them. After all, how could Canada keep-up it’s social & healthcare safety nets if there was unlimited immigration? Their concept is noble, but it doesn’t appear that they provide any solutions as to how it can be realistically achieved…
It wasn’t until I had my first run-ins with Harsha Walia, the leader of their Vancouver operation, that began to realize there is something wrong with this organization. Harsha’s viament support for violence was quite disturbing. Have a look at this video where she uses racist & sexist hate to tears apart Derrick O’Keefe for his stance on non-violent protest during the Olympics
But, still, I wasn’t about to denounce a whole organization because of the weakness of one of their misguided leaders. So I gave NoII the benefit of doubt and didn’t pass a blanket judgement on their organization. Then, on May Day. I realized this organization is a serious danger to our country.
I knew something was wrong during the planning phases for the May Day parade. A number of people from Occupy Toronto attended these meetings, that were led by NoII, and were highly upset with how they were run. Dave Vasey’s crowd showed-up with a written statement of support from Occupy Toronto, yet OT had never voted to approve this statement at the GA. Then, as Occupiers tried to complain, the rules for how the group would vote were changed three times!
As the May Day crowd marched down Queen Street West, people from many races and nationalities were yelling, singing and chanting calls for a socialist revolution. Have a look at this video- a great example of the spirit of the event:
So, here we have a group of people waving red flags, with a man singing and yelling out propaganda that we need a class war in Canada! Say what? Also notice the voice in the background was Octavian Cadabeschi, a prominent member of the International Socialists, harassing me trying to block my filming the spectacle. And, of course, at the end of the video we have PottyMouth,Taylor Flook, harassing me by trying to block the camera with her red flag. Why are these people so scared of me filming this event? Because they know the impact if the 99% see what they are up to of course!
When the day’s march had paused at Spadina & Dundas, and NoII had people speaking through the PA system in a multitude of languages, it dawned on me that what this organization is doing is taking advantage of the activist community, new immigrants, and Canadian’s fear of being viewed as politically incorrect in an effort to raise the wrong kind of revolution.
This intersection is right in the middle of China Town, which was an interesting place to be when surrounded by 1,500+ people marching with red flags and yelling out communist slogans. There were many dozens of Chinese people standing on the sidelines, watching the event. I was curious to know their opinions, so I went up to 7 different groups to find out their opinions.
What I asked was
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, fitness center, clubhouse and pet grooming room. Hardwood floors and high speed internet access. Photo credits: Odin Official Website
#5. AMLI South Lake Union: 293 rental units
Completed: 5/29/2015
Address: 1260 Republican Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Rental types: 9 studios, 236 one-bedroom apartments, 48 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 213,754 sq.ft., 7 story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Green Building – LEED – Certified Silver. Sky deck with green roof, fire pit with a view of Downtown Seattle and Lake Union. Controlled access, fitness center, a clubhouse and business center. Great location with easy access to public transportation.
Photo credits: AMLI South Lake Union Official Website
#6. Broadstone Infinity: 248 rental units
Completed: 9/01/2015
Address: 1414 10 Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
Rental types: 12 studios, 172 one-bedroom apartments, 64 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 183,531 sq.ft., Two, five and eight story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Green Building – LEED – Certified Silver. View over Downtown Seattle and Mt. Rainier. Located in the heart of Capitol Hill and surrounded by restaurants, entertainment & shopping. Rooftop entertainment deck with outdoor fireplace with a view of Downtown Seattle and Mt. Rainier. Courtyard with a fireplace. Controlled access, clubhouse, fitness center and covered parking. Pet friendly.
Photo credits: Broadstone Infinity Official Website
#7. Spruce: 216 rental units
Completed: 7/20/2015
Address: 4555 39 Avenue, Seattle, WA 98116
Rental types: 1 guest room, 12 studios, 116 one-bedroom apartments, 87 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 150,294 sq.ft., Five and six story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Big-city living while still enjoying the calm, charm and intimacy of a small neighborhood. View over Cascade Mountain and Downtown Seattle. Controlled access, fitness center, clubhouse. Select units are reserved for low income housing.
Photo credits: Spruce Official Website
Completed: 6/26/2015
Address: 315 1 Avenue, Seattle, WA 98109
Rental types: 40 studios, 141 one-bedroom apartments, 30 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 145,010 sq.ft., Six story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Unique studio, one, or two bedroom apartment homes with exclusive amenities. Rooftop terrace with a green roof, fire pit, modernized fitness center, clubhouse, and rooftop dog park. Great views of downtown, Mt. Rainier, Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. Controlled access, fitness center, clubhouse and covered parking.
Photo credits: Astro Official Website
#9. Rooster: 196 rental units
Completed: 10/21/2015
Address: 900 NE 65 Street, Seattle, WA 98115
Rental types: 1 guest room, 32 studios, 140 one-bedroom apartments, 48 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 131,373 sq.ft., Seven story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Home to Portage Bay Cafe, one of Seattle’s favorite local eateries. Controlled access, fitness center, clubhouse and covered parking. Expansive rooftop deck with fire pit, BBQ, dining areas and outdoor lounge. View over Mt. Rainier. Pet friendly community with dog wash on the roof. Includes units that are reserved for low income housing.
Photo credits: Rooster Official Website
#10. bridges@11th: 184 rental units
Completed: 8/10/2015
Address: 4557 11 Avenue, Seattle, WA 98105
Rental types: 118 one-bedroom apartments, 66 two-bedroom apartments
Property size: 151,924 sq.ft., Four, seven and eight story – first floor includes retail
Short description: Rooftop terrace with green roof. Controlled access, fitness center, clubhouse and covered parking. Energy efficient appliances. Private balcony/patio available for select units.
Photo credits: bridges@11th Official WebsiteVideo
The splintering of print and television companies in the media industry continued unabated on Tuesday when the Gannett Company announced that it would spin off its newspaper division, which includes USA Today, into a separate company next year.
It was the latest in a series of reorganizations at media companies that highlight the widening profit gap between television stations and other properties and the newspapers that drag on their performance. In a conference call to discuss the spinoff, analysts peppered Gannett’s top executives with questions about its far more lucrative television division and digital assets like CareerBuilder and the newly acquired Cars.com; the future of the company’s 81 newspapers, once a cornerstone of the business, almost seemed like an afterthought.
The planned separation comes after similar moves by News Corporation, Time Warner and Tribune Company, all of which determined that their entertainment and broadcast properties could perform better, and remain more attractive to Wall Street, without the burden of propping up the print division.
The deal left many media industry experts and analysts asking how Gannett’s print company planned to grow and generate profits. “It makes it a more risky portfolio because they don’t have a digital segment to fall back on or TV stations to fall back on,” said Craig Huber, an independent research analyst at Huber Research Partners. “They are probably going to feel more pressure as a stand-alone newspaper company.”
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Gannett’s publishing division has clearly been struggling. Ken Doctor, a media analyst, said that although the publishing division generated the most revenue for Gannett because of its large size, it had not experienced any year-over-year revenue growth since 2006. In the second quarter of this year, the publishing unit experienced a 37.5 percent decline in operating income, to $53.2 million from $85 million, compared with the same quarter a year ago. The operating income for the broadcast unit, which includes 46 television stations, like 20 acquired from Belo Corporation in 2013, jumped 74.7 percent in the quarter.
Gannett’s plan to improve circulation revenue by raising subscription prices has also faltered. Circulation revenues declined to $277 million in the second quarter, from $279 million in the same period a year earlier.
“This is about managing decline,” Mr. Doctor said. “It’s not a long-term strategy to manage decline. You’ve got to find growth.”
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But Gracia C. Martore, Gannett’s chief executive, said that the new company would start out with no debt, in contrast to other newly formed print companies like Time Inc. ($1.3 billion in debt) and Tribune ($350 million). The company’s lack of debt, coupled with its split from the broadcasting division, opens it up to acquiring new media outlets that it could not previously pursue because of regulatory restrictions.
“It has been difficult for us to look at certain acquisition opportunities,” Ms. Martore said of the existing structure. “We now have two companies that are unfettered.”
She added that those investments could include buying other media outlets in the markets where the company already owns newspapers.
“We can now do smart, accretive acquisitions of community newspapers in an unlevered company where they can create tremendous synergies,” said Ms. Martore, who will lead the broadcast and digital company.
Ms. Martore said that the publishing company, which would retain the Gannett name and also include the British news company Newsquest, would continue to manage its expenses, but Mr. Huber said that the company had already trimmed a lot of fat. It reduced its head count by 31 percent to 33,850 in 2013, from 46,100 in 2007 — and the newspaper division cut costs by about 36 percent during that same period.
“It’s going to get tougher and tougher to take costs out,” Mr. Huber said.
Some analysts also expressed disappointment that Gannett paired its lucrative digital sites, Cars.com and CareerBuilder, the huge online job website, with its new broadcasting company, rather than its publishing division. Gannett announced that as part of the spinoff, it would buy out the 73 percent of Cars.com that it does not already own, in a deal that values the auto sales website at about $2.5 billion. Those divisions have been a revenue driver for Gannett.
“They took the strongest digital advertising vehicle ever put together by America’s newspapers and they’re taking that away,” said Alan D. Mutter, a newspaper consultant who writes a blog called Reflections of a Newsosaur.
The performance of the new publishing company will depend partly on the approach taken by its new chief executive, Robert J. Dickey, a longtime Gannett employee who has been serving as president of the company’s United States community publishing division.
“They have extremely well-known brands and they have powerful presence in the communities that they serve,” Mr. Mutter said. “Brand awareness is probably higher in most communities than BuzzFeed, Upworthy, even The Huffington Post.”
The fate of Gannett’s television stations also remains uncertain. Gannett said its broadcasting and digital company, which has yet to be named, would be the biggest independent group of television stations in the top 25 markets, with 46 stations that it will own or service. The company will be the biggest affiliate group for both NBC and CBS. Gannett has moved to expand its broadcasting business in recent years, notably by buying the Belo Corporation for $1.5 billion last year to nearly double the number of stations it owns.
Analysts are still more concerned about the future of the newspaper unit.
“I’m very skeptical that in the long term you are going to have a hard copy daily newspaper in each market,” Mr. Huber said.We have all heard it… no one is shopping this year. Retailers are scared. Economy is crashing. Everyone is staying home.
I was not surprised at all that the mall was empty the Saturday before Christmas. I was not shocked there was plenty of parking on Christmas eve. But today was a surprise… I really thought everyone would be out for the after Christmas sales even in the slow economy. What to my wondering eyes did appear? Empty stores with slashed prices everywhere. San Diego posh shopping mall was empty.
I don’t think the weak economy is keeping everyone home. I think its just not cool to shop anymore. There has been so much in the news about everyone staying home that it is hip to save. The way to be trendy is to not spend money.
If this is true then our economy (based on over-reaching consumerism and impulse buying) is about to take another really big hit. Or maybe it is just a bad time for retailers in SoCal.
AdvertisementsMozilla Firefox 52 has been released and is now available to download.
Among new features in Firefox 52 is support for WebAssembly. Mozilla describes this as “an emerging standard that brings near-native performance to Web-based games, apps, and software libraries without the use of plugins.”
Among a stack of security improvements in Firefox 52 are users warnings when loading login forms on a non-secure HTTP page (like many, I was under the impression the browser already did this…).
Users of Firefox on Android devices will appreciate the ‘Enhanced Sync’ option that lets them quickly send a open tabs across their devices.
The downloads experience has been improved, and now presents download failed notifications, more prominent icons for stopping and restarting downloads, and shows your five most recent downloads rather than three.
You can read a full list of the changes shipping in this release on the Mozilla website.
Install GNOME Extensions Using Firefox 52+
‘You can’t install GNOME extensions using Firefox 52+…’
Firefox drops NPAPI support in this release (a change we’ve known about for a long time) for everything bar Adobe Flash. While this sounds trivial it does mean that GNOME users can’t install GNOME extensions from the GNOME Extensions website using Firefox as-is, as of this release.
Emphasis on the “as-is“.
You can continue to install (update, remove and manage) GNOME Shell extensions using Firefox — but you need to first install a replacement add-on to do so. We’ve written a really simply “how to” post that walks you through installing everything you need.
Download Firefox 52
Mozilla Firefox 52 is a free download available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Ubuntu users receive Mozilla Firefox updates through the Update Manager. You’ll be prompted to upgrade to Firefox 52 at some point over the next few days.
If you’re running a different Linux distribution, or simple want the latest release sooner, you’ll find runtimes available from the Firefox website.
link to Download the latest Mozilla FirefoxRobotic Explorers May Usher in Lunar 'Water Rush'
Steven Siceloff,
Kennedy Space Center
The American space program stands at the cusp of a "water rush" to the moon by several companies developing robotic prospectors for launch in the near future, according to a NASA scientist considering how to acquire and use water ice believed to be at the poles of the moon."This is like the gold rush that led to the settlement of California," said Phil Metzger, a physicist who leads the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab, part of Kennedy's Surface Systems Office. "This is the water rush."Collecting the water, or at least showing it can be collected, is where the Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology comes in. The small company signed on in April for the third phase of a Small Business Innovative Research deal that continues research work to develop technologies NASA may need to harvest space resources in the future.The company already is far along in its development of a rover that will work on its own. There is a deal in place with SpaceX to launch a lander and rover on a Falcon 9 rocket in October 2015. Astrobotic is competing against several other companies for the Google Lunar X-Prize, an award worth up to $30 million funded by the Internet search engine company."Our intent is to land on the surface of the moon in October 2015 and find water," said John Thornton, president of Astrobotic.Water already on asteroids, the moon or Martian moons represent a potential bonanza to NASA's exploration plans because the resource can be put to use in so many critical ways for astronauts venturing into deep space. Water, made of hydrogen and oxygen molecules, can be turned into everything from breathing air to rocket fuel, not to mention the chance to filter it clean and drink it."Using these resources is the key to making space travel and habitation affordable and sustainable – we are starting to learn how to live on another planetary surface," said Rob Mueller, a senior technologist in Kennedy’s Surface Systems Office."It's a really interesting resource when you start to think about how to explore beyond Earth and to use the resources that are already in our solar system," Thornton said. "This is the first step toward harnessing the resources in the solar system for exploration and sustained presence beyond Earth."Not having to launch those resources from Earth would dramatically cut the price tag for exploration, plus lower the risks involved for the crews as they venture into deep space on missions to an asteroid or Mars."There have been studies that have shown you can reduce the mass of a mission to Mars by a factor of somewhere between three and five if you get propellants from the space environment rather than launching them all from Earth," Metzger said.Thornton said the fact that a number of companies are developing plans and building machines to go to the moon shows that the potential is real."If we were doing something really big and no one else was trying to do it, then it might not be that big," Thornton said.Apollo astronauts found no signs of water ice as they walked on the surface of the moon near the equator from 1969 to 1972, nor did the soil and rock samples they brought back to Earth. However, several probes within the last 15 years found one indication after another that frozen water not only exists on the moon, but is abundant."None of these have been ground-proofed yet," Metzger said. "We really need to get vehicles on the surface of the moon prospecting to characterize those deposits, like how do they vary spatially, how do they vary with depth?"A big question now is whether water ice on the moon is a powder akin to what skiers experience on a mountainside or is it completely solid like an ice cube, or did water seep down between granules of soil and freeze to produce rocks as hard as granite. It wouldn't surprise lunar researchers to find cases of all three as robotic prospectors explore the surface."Our best guess is it's going to be the ice," Thornton said. "Probably small little pieces of ice mixed in with the regolith."Of course, there's more to exploration than knowing what questions to ask. There's also the issue of inventing technology that allows a robotic landing cheaply enough that a private company can pay for it, developing a rover heavy enough to drill or dig into the moon's surface without lifting itself off the ground in the low gravity, not to mention the matter of keeping the rover warm and powered in areas of the moon that are shadowed and surviving the lunar night.Metzger has been pleased with what he has seen from the company so far."They're doing excellent work, they're excavator is progressing well," Metzger said.Thornton said exchanging a modular digging element on the rover for a drill and instruments was not particularly difficult, and is an option for prospecting on the moon."The excavation chassis is a perfect fit for a mission to the moon in terms of scale, mass and power. We took out the excavation part and dropped in a drill and instruments," Thornton said.Astrobotic will test its rover and tools in the bin of simulated lunar soil that Kennedy uses for its annual Lunabotics Mining competition to prove the vehicle is up to the challenges of operating on the moon."You have to be able to go to the moon with some confidence that your vehicle's going to be able to get around and to dig in the soil," Thornton said.While NASA is excited about the chances to use a new resource for deep space exploration, Astrobotic wants to use the robotic prospector to start mapping where the biggest water deposits are, along with other helpful chemicals, and then use the information to develop ways to extract the materials from the moon and put it to use. There are no plans to return water or other lunar samples to the Earth, Thornton said."The beauty of sending a robot is they don't demand a return ticket," Thornton said. "Once we know where the water is and what form it is in, we can develop systems to produce it in useable quantities. Water is a critical resource because you can drink it, breathe it and use it for rocket fuel."There are a great many questions to answer before astronauts can count on the moon, an asteroid or Martian moons as fuel and air depots, but Metzger and Thornton said the answers are within reach."That's the reason to go, because we don't know the answer," Thornton said.It has been a month or two that Entity Framework CTP 4.0 bits have released.I had read through the feature list back then but could not manage time to take a detailed look until this weekend.I always felt that Entity Framework’s approach towards handling of configuration(object relational mappings) and plain.NET objects was bit restrictive and cumbersome respectively.The mappings are needed to be stored in Entity Data Model(.edmx) files which are nothing but xml files with object to relational store mapping information.There was no proper way to express this mapping through code or attributes.But with code first approach we will able to describe our model using plain.NET objects and map it to the database objects through.NET code.In this post we will discuss the very basic steps involved in doing so.
In this example we will use the following database table.
The C# class shown below will be mapped to this table.
public class Employee { public int EmployeeID {get;set;} public string FirstName { get; set; } public string LastName {get;set;} public DateTime HireDate {get;set;} public DateTime EnrollmentDate {get;set;} }
The next step will be to map this class to the Person table.To achieve this we need to use the EntityConfiguration<T> class in System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration namespace as shown below:
public class EmployeeConfiguration :EntityConfiguration<Employee> { public EmployeeConfiguration() { MapSingleType(e => new { PersonId = e.EmployeeID, e.FirstName, e.LastName, e.HireDate, e.EnrollmentDate } ).ToTable("dbo.Person"); HasKey(e=>e.EmployeeID); Property(e => e.EmployeeID).IsIdentity(); Property(e => e.FirstName).IsRequired(); Property(e => e.LastName).IsRequired(); } }
The following things needs to be noted:
EntityConfiguration class exposes a method MapSingleType to map a C# class and create an EntityMap object.The method signature is public System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration.EntityMap MapSingleType(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<TEntity,object>> propertyMap)
class exposes a method to map a C# class and create an EntityMap object.The method signature is
Here we have mapped an anoynmous class created out of the Employee class where all the property names are same as that of Employee class only EmployeeId property is transformed to PersonId.This is done because the column name is Person table is PersonId and column name of the database table and property name of the mapped type should match.
The HasKey method is used to mention which property will be used as the Primary Key.Here it is the EmployeeId property.The detailed signature is public System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration.EntityConfiguration<TEntity> HasKey<TKey>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<TEntity,TKey>> getKey)
method is used to mention which property will be used as the Primary Key.Here it is the EmployeeId property.The detailed signature is The Property method and it’s several overloads belongs to StructuralTypeConfiguration<T> class from which EntityConfiguration inherits.The Property method and it’s overload returns instances of several types of property classes like PrimitivePropertyConfiguration, StringPropertyConfiguation and so on.These XXXPropertyConfiguration classes are used to specify whether a property is mandatory( IsRequired ()), it’s maximum length( MaxLength ) etc.
Now we have to create a context class which will talk to the database and help us to manipulate the data for a data model. We have inherited from the Sytem.Data.Entity.DbContext class to create our own context class.The DbSet<T> provides a collection of entity objects which we can manipulate within this context.
public class SchoolDBContext:DbContext { public SchoolDBContext(DbModel model,string name) : base(name,model ) { } public DbSet<Employee> Employees { get; set; } }
Now we have to create the data model and attach it to the context.To do so we have to use the System.Data.Entity.ModelConfiguration.ModelBuilder class.We have instantiated the context using the data model and name of the database.If name is not specified then framework will assume this to be same as fully qualified type name of the context class i.e. EFCodeFirstDemo.SchoolDBContext in this case.
ModelBuilder builder = new ModelBuilder(); builder.Configurations.Add(new EmployeeConfiguration()); DbModel model = builder.CreateModel(); using (var context = new SchoolDBContext(model,"school")) { }
So far we have not specified any connection string to connect to a server.This can be done by using DefaultConnectionFactory in the System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.Database class as shown below:
Database.SetInitializer<SchoolDBContext>(null); Database.DefaultConnectionFactory = new SqlConnectionFactory("Server=SANKARSAN;Database=School;Trusted_Connection=True;");
The Database class exposes set of static properties which governs the AppDomain wide settings related to database.
Now we can use the following code to insert data into person table.
Database.SetInitializer<SchoolDBContext>(null); Database.DefaultConnectionFactory = new SqlConnectionFactory("Server=SANKARSAN;Database=School;Trusted_Connection=True;"); ModelBuilder builder = new ModelBuilder(); builder.Configurations.Add(new EmployeeConfiguration()); DbModel model = builder.CreateModel(); using (var context = new SchoolDBContext(model,"school")) { Employee e = new Employee { FirstName = "Sankarsan", LastName = "Bose", HireDate = DateTime.Now, EnrollmentDate=DateTime.Now}; context.Employees.Add(e); context.SaveChanges(); Console.Read(); }
This post covered the very basic steps.In the posts to come we will explore each of these steps and related APIs in greater detail.
AdvertisementsPhoto by: Paul Wood/The News-Gazette A look inside Maize's downtown Champaign location. Image
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Restaurant questions? Ask Tom Kacich here
CHMPAIGN — Hungry Maize fans lined up at the restaurant in the old train station at 11 a.m. today.
The restaurant at 116 N. Chestnut St. is a big step up from its longtime venue, co-owner Armando Sandoval said.
The cramped Green Street location is closed the next two weeks while there is road construction.
Co-owner Karina Benitez said workers were more than busy preparing the large space where City of New Orleans once served Cajun food.
“It’s a gorgeous spot,” said assistant manager Mark Sandrock.
There was a lot of salsa to be made, and that job fell to its longtime preparer, Marisol Obispo, who has two varieties, one from tomatoes, and one from tomatillos.
Cashier Krysta Beam endorsed both kinds.
There was a pop-up opening on Cinco de Mayo, Benitez said, that suggested that today would be busy indeed.And the Lord said, “Let there be free wifi.”
On May 13, a group of evangelical Protestant churches in east Germany announced plans to provide free internet in 3,000 churches and religious buildings throughout the region. “Godspot,” as the service is being called, is offered by Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Oberlausitz (EKBO), a regional wing of the country’s main Protestant church, and is already up and running in over 220 churches. Ecumenical by design, Godspot is available to all who wander in or come near its places of worship—including the country’s large population of atheists and agnostics.
The service was launched in advance of the 500th anniversary of theologian Martin Luther’s infamous protest of corrupt practices by the Catholic clergy, which ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation. The event will be commemorated across Germany next year. The wifi service is also a strategic move to draw young people back into Germany’s glorious, but mostly underutilized, churches and cathedrals.
EKBO’s IT manager Fabian Blatner says Godspot aligns with the church’s mission to foster community.
“People are no less spiritual than before,” Blatner believes, ”but the places of communication have shifted. Much takes place in digital social networks and communities. With Godspot we want to build a Protestant Church [that serves as] a safe and familiar abode in the digital world.” EKBO says Godspot’s connections will be secure and it will not be collecting any information about users or bombarding them with ads. Well, except for a landing page featuring “topics of faith and life.”
Godspots, which are indicated by purple banners and posters outside churches, are also a blessing to many tourists who find it challenging to access free wifi public hotspots in German cities. As Motherboard reports, Germans have been extra cautious about opening their networks because of a soon-to-be-abolished law called Störerhaftung, that holds businesses accountable for any data piracy or illegal activity that takes place while users are connected to their hotspots.January 2016 Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults
Date January 10, 2016 Location Broadcast
President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will be the speaker at the first worldwide devotional for young adults scheduled for 2016.
Addressing the topic of “Millennials in the Millennial Day,” President Nelson will discuss the importance of who millennials are and their unique opportunity to do good now.
The broadcast on Sunday, January 10, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. mountain standard time (MST), will originate from the campus of Brigham Young University-Hawaii and will be broadcast to many areas of the world.
All young single adults (ages 18–30) are invited to attend. Married institute and university students are also welcome to attend.
The broadcast will be transmitted over the Church broadcast system in 20 languages and will also be streamed live on LDS.org, YouTube, and other media. See the broadcast notice for specific broadcast information. See additional materials at devotionals.lds.org.
Watch the invitation from President Russell M. Nelson on Facebook.
Download or share the poster.The public will be asked what laws they want ripped up, in far-reaching reforms designed to put back “faith in politics”, the Deputy Prime Minister will say.
The reordering of power will sweep away Labour legislation and new criminal offences deemed to have eroded personal freedom.
It will involve the end of the controversial ID cards scheme, the scrapping of universal DNA databases – in which the records of thousands of innocent people have been stored – and restrictions placed on internet records. The use of CCTV cameras will also be reviewed.
Dubbed the “Great Reform Act”, the measures will close down the ContactPoint children’s database. Set up by Labour last year, it includes detailed information on all 11 million youngsters under 18.
In addition, schools will not be able to take a child’s fingerprint without parental permission.
In an attempt to protect freedom of speech, ministers will review libel laws, while limits on peaceful protest will be removed.
Mr Clegg said the Government wanted to establish “a fundamental resettlement of the relationship between state and citizen that puts you in charge”.
In a speech in London he will say: “This Government is going to transform our politics so the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state. This Government is going to break up concentrations of power and hand power back to people, because that is how we build a society that is fair.”
He will describe the plans as “the biggest shake-up of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes”.
Mr Clegg has been the most vocal of the three main party leaders arguing for political reform since The Daily Telegraph exposed the expenses scandal a year ago.
Today, he can put in train the measures which, he claims, will deliver “a power revolution”.
He will say that reform will not simply mean “a few new rules for MPs [or] the odd gesture or gimmick to make you feel a bit more involved”.
Mr Clegg will announce that he wants to hear about which laws should be scrapped to roll back the state encroachment into people’s lives.
“As we tear through the statute book, we’ll do something no government ever has: We will ask you which laws you think should go.
“Because thousands of criminal offences were created under the previous government. Taking people’s freedom away didn’t make our streets safe.
“Obsessive law-making simply makes criminals out of ordinary people. So, we’ll get rid of the unnecessary laws – and once they’re gone, they won’t come back.
“We will introduce a mechanism to block pointless new criminal offences.”
The measures to repeal so-called surveillance state laws will be included in next week’s Queen’s Speech.
Under the coalition agreement, Mr Clegg and David Cameron said they would end “the storage of internet and email regulations and email records without good reason”.
This is likely to mean the end of plans for the Government and the security services to intercept and keep emails and text messages.
The £224 million ContactPoint database can be accessed by 300,000 people working in health, education, social care and youth justice – leading to fears it could be exploited or fall into the wrong hands.
Mr Clegg will add: “It is outrageous that decent, law-abiding people are regularly treated as if they have something to hide. It has to stop.
“This will be a government that is proud when British citizens stand up against illegitimate advances of the state. That values debate, that is unafraid of dissent.”Shanghai students have widened their lead in the latest global comparison of the educational skills of 15-year-olds. Asian city-states dominate the rankings, released today, while U.S. students continue to lag behind their counterparts in the industrial world.
Every 3 years, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures how well students can apply what they’ve learned in reading, mathematics, and science to practical problems. And the 2012 results are similar to 2009 and earlier versions. Of 65 participants, which include both countries and smaller geographic units such as provinces and states, Shanghai once again leads the way in all three subjects, while Singapore and Hong Kong hold down the next two spots in math and science. (China did not participate as a country, and PISA allowed several U.S. states to compare their students to the rest of the world.) Two other traditional powerhouses, Korea and Japan, are the only large nations who made it into the top 10, and both countries made significant progress in science. ( Click here to see a summary table of results.)
The United States ranks 26th in math and 21st in science out of the 34 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which conducts the assessment. In addition to compiling head-to-head rankings, OECD collects data on educational policies and practices around the world, with topics ranging from how countries educate their poorest students to parental attitudes toward the importance of an education.
These results were embargoed, so outside groups have not had a chance to review and comment on them. But you can click on ScienceInsider’s comment box below to say what you think they mean.0 of 5
Meeting Jim Harbaugh this summer at training camp, as well as questioning him a couple of times during his weekly meetings with the media, what stands out most about him is his emphasis on team.
The team comes first. In everything. It’s not about stars and stats but about W's, and the fact that he brings practice squad members along for road games indicates that he feels everyone involved in the endeavor deserves credit.
And that right there gives insight into the thinking of a 47-year-old first-year NFL coach.
At 9-1, the 49ers have been the surprise of the 2011 NFL season. The Thanksgiving Day game against the Ravens, coached by brother John, will be historical because it is the first time brothers have been head coaches in the same game.
Here are five comments made to the media, and from that, we learn more about the vision that accounts for the Niners’ success.As long-time readers of this blog know, I am often asked why a particular hunk of bad-smelling code does not produce a compiler warning.
"Why not?" questions are inherently hard to answer because they turn causation on its head; normally we ask what caused a particular thing to happen, not what caused a particular thing to not happen. Therefore, rather than attack that question directly I like to rephrase the question into questions about the proposed feature. (A warning is of course a feature like any other.) By answering these questions we can see whether the compiler team is likely to spend its limited budget on the feature rather than prioritizing something else. Some questions I think about when considering "why did you not implement this warning?" are:
Did someone think of it?
If no one on the compiler team ever thinks of the possibility of a particular warning then obviously it won't happen. As an example of that, I was recently asked why:
using(null) statement;
does not produce a warning. That code is legal; it is equivalent to
IDisposable temp = null;
try
{
statement;
}
finally
{
if (temp!= null) temp.Dispose();
}
Of course the code is completely pointless; all it does is introduce a try-finally block that adds nothing useful to the program. Why don't we give a warning for this useless code? Well, the primary reason is that (to my knowledge) no one on the compiler team ever thought that a customer would do such a thing, and therefore, never thought to design, implement, test and document a compiler feature to deal with the situation.
Now that we have thought of it, we can see if it meets any of our other criteria, like, is it plausible that a user would type this accidentally thinking that it does something sensible? But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Is the proposed warning even possible? Is it really expensive?
Sometimes people propose warnings that would require solving the Halting Problem (which is unsolvable in general) or solving an NP-hard problem (which is in practice unsolvable in a reasonable amount of time). Proposed warnings like "warn me if there is no possible way for this overload to be chosen" or "warn me if there is an input which guarantees that this recursive method has unbounded recursion" or "warn me if this argument can ever be null in this program" require a level of analysis that is either in principle impossible, or possible but better performed by tools custom made for that purpose, like the Code Contracts engine. Warning scenarios should be cheap for the compiler to disambiguate from non-warning scenarios.
Is the code being warned about both plausible and likely to be wrong? Is the potentially "wrong" code actually sensible in some scenario?
There are an infinite number of ways to write completely crazy code; the point of warnings is not to identify all possible crazy code, but rather to identify code that is plausible but likely to be wrong. We don't want to waste time and effort implementing features warning about ridiculous scenarios that in practice never arise.
Sometimes code seems to be both plausible and wrong, but is intentional for a reason that is not immediately obvious. The best example of this is our suppression of warnings about write-only locals; a local might be read by the developer during debugging even if it is never read in the program.
Machine-generated code is also often crazy-seeming but correct and intentional. It can be hard enough to write code generators that generate legal code; writing code generators that change their output when they determine that they're generating code that could produce warnings is burdensome. (For example, consider the machine-generated code that you get when you create a new project in Visual Studio. It had better compile without warnings!) However, we are much more concerned with catching errors in code written by humans than we are about making machines happy.
Obviously we only want to warn about code that has a high likelihood of actually being wrong. If we warn about correct code then we are encouraging users to change correct code, probably by changing it into incorrect code. A warning should be a bug-preventing feature, not a bug-encouraging feature. This leads me to my next point:
Is there a clear way to rewrite correct code that gets an unwanted warning into correct code that does not get a warning?
Warnings ideally ought to be easily turn-off-able. For example:
bool x = N();
...
if (x == null ) Q();
That gives a warning that == null on a non-nullable
|
lo que muchas veces he dicho a los sacerdotes y laicos de Buenos Aires: prefiero una Iglesia accidentada, herida y manchada por salir a la calle, antes que una Iglesia enferma por el encierro y la comodidad de aferrarse a las propias seguridades. No quiero una Iglesia preocupada por ser el centro y que termine clausurada en una maraña de obsesiones y procedimientos. Si algo debe inquietarnos santamente y preocupar nuestra conciencia, es que tantos hermanos nuestros vivan sin la fuerza, la luz y el consuelo de la amistad con Jesucristo, sin una comunidad de fe que los contenga, sin un horizonte de sentido y de vida. Más que el temor a equivocarnos, espero que nos mueva el temor a encerrarnos en las estructuras que nos dan una falsa contención, en las normas que nos vuelven jueces implacables, en las costumbres donde nos sentimos tranquilos, mientras afuera hay una multitud hambrienta y Jesús nos repite sin cansarse: «¡Dadles vosotros de comer!» (Mc 6,37).
CAPÍTULO SEGUNDO
EN LA CRISIS DEL COMPROMISO COMUNITARIO
50. Antes de hablar acerca de algunas cuestiones fundamentales relacionadas con la acción evangelizadora, conviene recordar brevemente cuál es el contexto en el cual nos toca vivir y actuar. Hoy suele hablarse de un «exceso de diagnóstico» que no siempre está acompañado de propuestas superadoras y realmente aplicables. Por otra parte, tampoco nos serviría una mirada puramente sociológica, que podría tener pretensiones de abarcar toda la realidad con su metodología de una manera supuestamente neutra y aséptica. Lo que quiero ofrecer va más bien en la línea de un discernimiento evangélico. Es la mirada del discípulo misionero, que se «alimenta a la luz y con la fuerza del Espíritu Santo»[53].
51. No es función del Papa ofrecer un análisis detallado y completo sobre la realidad contemporánea, pero aliento a todas las comunidades a una «siempre vigilante capacidad de estudiar los signos de los tiempos»[54]. Se trata de una responsabilidad grave, ya que algunas realidades del presente, si no son bien resueltas, pueden desencadenar procesos de deshumanización difíciles de revertir más adelante. Es preciso esclarecer aquello que pueda ser un fruto del Reino y también aquello que atenta contra el proyecto de Dios. Esto implica no sólo reconocer e interpretar las mociones del buen espíritu y del malo, sino —y aquí radica lo decisivo— elegir las del buen espíritu y rechazar las del malo. Doy por supuestos los diversos análisis que ofrecieron otros documentos del Magisterio universal, así como los que han propuesto los episcopados regionales y nacionales. En esta Exhortación sólo pretendo detenerme brevemente, con una mirada pastoral, en algunos aspectos de la realidad que pueden detener o debilitar los dinamismos de renovación misionera de la Iglesia, sea porque afectan a la vida y a la dignidad del Pueblo de Dios, sea porque inciden también en los sujetos que participan de un modo más directo en las instituciones eclesiales y en tareas evangelizadoras.
I. Algunos desafíos del mundo actual
52. La humanidad vive en este momento un giro histórico, que podemos ver en los adelantos que se producen en diversos campos. Son de alabar los avances que contribuyen al bienestar de la gente, como, por ejemplo, en el ámbito de la salud, de la educación y de la comunicación. Sin embargo, no podemos olvidar que la mayoría de los hombres y mujeres de nuestro tiempo vive precariamente el día a día, con consecuencias funestas. Algunas patologías van en aumento. El miedo y la desesperación se apoderan del corazón de numerosas personas, incluso en los llamados países ricos. La alegría de vivir frecuentemente se apaga, la falta de respeto y la violencia crecen, la inequidad es cada vez más patente. Hay que luchar para vivir y, a menudo, para vivir con poca dignidad. Este cambio de época se ha generado por los enormes saltos cualitativos, cuantitativos, acelerados y acumulativos que se dan en el desarrollo científico, en las innovaciones tecnológicas y en sus veloces aplicaciones en distintos campos de la naturaleza y de la vida. Estamos en la era del conocimiento y la información, fuente de nuevas formas de un poder muchas veces anónimo.
No a una economía de la exclusión
53. Así como el mandamiento de «no matar» pone un límite claro para asegurar el valor de la vida humana, hoy tenemos que decir «no a una economía de la exclusión y la inequidad». Esa economía mata. No puede ser que no sea noticia que muere de frío un anciano en situación de calle y que sí lo sea una caída de dos puntos en la bolsa. Eso es exclusión. No se puede tolerar más que se tire comida cuando hay gente que pasa hambre. Eso es inequidad. Hoy todo entra dentro del juego de la competitividad y de la ley del más fuerte, donde el poderoso se come al más débil. Como consecuencia de esta situación, grandes masas de la población se ven excluidas y marginadas: sin trabajo, sin horizontes, sin salida. Se considera al ser humano en sí mismo como un bien de consumo, que se puede usar y luego tirar. Hemos dado inicio a la cultura del «descarte» que, además, se promueve. Ya no se trata simplemente del fenómeno de la explotación y de la opresión, sino de algo nuevo: con la exclusión queda afectada en su misma raíz la pertenencia a la sociedad en la que se vive, pues ya no se está en ella abajo, en la periferia, o sin poder, sino que se está fuera. Los excluidos no son «explotados» sino desechos, «sobrantes».
54. En este contexto, algunos todavía defienden las teorías del «derrame», que suponen que todo crecimiento económico, favorecido por la libertad de mercado, logra provocar por sí mismo mayor equidad e inclusión social en el mundo. Esta opinión, que jamás ha sido confirmada por los hechos, expresa una confianza burda e ingenua en la bondad de quienes detentan el poder económico y en los mecanismos sacralizados del sistema económico imperante. Mientras tanto, los excluidos siguen esperando. Para poder sostener un estilo de vida que excluye a otros, o para poder entusiasmarse con ese ideal egoísta, se ha desarrollado una globalización de la indiferencia. Casi sin advertirlo, nos volvemos incapaces de compadecernos ante los clamores de los otros, ya no lloramos ante el drama de los demás ni nos interesa cuidarlos, como si todo fuera una responsabilidad ajena que no nos incumbe. La cultura del bienestar nos anestesia y perdemos la calma si el mercado ofrece algo que todavía no hemos comprado, mientras todas esas vidas truncadas por falta de posibilidades nos parecen un mero espectáculo que de ninguna manera nos altera.
No a la nueva idolatría del dinero
55. Una de las causas de esta situación se encuentra en la relación que hemos establecido con el dinero, ya que aceptamos pacíficamente su predominio sobre nosotros y nuestras sociedades. La crisis financiera que atravesamos nos hace olvidar que en su origen hay una profunda crisis antropológica: ¡la negación de la primacía del ser humano! Hemos creado nuevos ídolos. La adoración del antiguo becerro de oro (cf. Ex 32,1-35) ha encontrado una versión nueva y despiadada en el fetichismo del dinero y en la dictadura de la economía sin un rostro y sin un objetivo verdaderamente humano. La crisis mundial, que afecta a las finanzas y a la economía, pone de manifiesto sus desequilibrios y, sobre todo, la grave carencia de su orientación antropológica que reduce al ser humano a una sola de sus necesidades: el consumo.
56. Mientras las ganancias de unos pocos crecen exponencialmente, las de la mayoría se quedan cada vez más lejos del bienestar de esa minoría feliz. Este desequilibrio proviene de ideologías que defienden la autonomía absoluta de los mercados y la especulación financiera. De ahí que nieguen el derecho de control de los Estados, encargados de velar por el bien común. Se instaura una nueva tiranía invisible, a veces virtual, que impone, de forma unilateral e implacable, sus leyes y sus reglas. Además, la deuda y sus intereses alejan a los países de las posibilidades viables de su economía y a los ciudadanos de su poder adquisitivo real. A todo ello se añade una corrupción ramificada y una evasión fiscal egoísta, que han asumido dimensiones mundiales. El afán de poder y de tener no conoce límites. En este sistema, que tiende a fagocitarlo todo en orden a acrecentar beneficios, cualquier cosa que sea frágil, como el medio ambiente, queda indefensa ante los intereses del mercado divinizado, convertidos en regla absoluta.
No a un dinero que gobierna en lugar de servir
57. Tras esta actitud se esconde el rechazo de la ética y el rechazo de Dios. La ética suele ser mirada con cierto desprecio burlón. Se considera contraproducente, demasiado humana, porque relativiza el dinero y el poder. Se la siente como una amenaza, pues condena la manipulación y la degradación de la persona. En definitiva, la ética lleva a un Dios que espera una respuesta comprometida que está fuera de las categorías del mercado. Para éstas, si son absolutizadas, Dios es incontrolable, inmanejable, incluso peligroso, por llamar al ser humano a su plena realización y a la independencia de cualquier tipo de esclavitud. La ética —una ética no ideologizada— permite crear un equilibrio y un orden social más humano. En este sentido, animo a los expertos financieros y a los gobernantes de los países a considerar las palabras de un sabio de la antigüedad: «No compartir con los pobres los propios bienes es robarles y quitarles la vida. No son nuestros los bienes que tenemos, sino suyos»[55].
58. Una reforma financiera que no ignore la ética requeriría un cambio de actitud enérgico por parte de los dirigentes políticos, a quienes exhorto a afrontar este reto con determinación y visión de futuro, sin ignorar, por supuesto, la especificidad de cada contexto. ¡El dinero debe servir y no gobernar! El Papa ama a todos, ricos y pobres, pero tiene la obligación, en nombre de Cristo, de recordar que los ricos deben ayudar a los pobres, respetarlos, promocionarlos. Os exhorto a la solidaridad desinteresada y a una vuelta de la economía y las finanzas a una ética en favor del ser humano.
No a la inequidad que genera violencia
59. Hoy en muchas partes se reclama mayor seguridad. Pero hasta que no se reviertan la exclusión y la inequidad dentro de una sociedad y entre los distintos pueblos será imposible erradicar la violencia. Se acusa de la violencia a los pobres y a los pueblos pobres pero, sin igualdad de oportunidades, las diversas formas de agresión y de guerra encontrarán un caldo de cultivo que tarde o temprano provocará su explosión. Cuando la sociedad —local, nacional o mundial— abandona en la periferia una parte de sí misma, no habrá programas políticos ni recursos policiales o de inteligencia que puedan asegurar indefinidamente la tranquilidad. Esto no sucede solamente porque la inequidad provoca la reacción violenta de los excluidos del sistema, sino porque el sistema social y económico es injusto en su raíz. Así como el bien tiende a comunicarse, el mal consentido, que es la injusticia, tiende a expandir su potencia dañina y a socavar silenciosamente las bases de cualquier sistema político y social por más sólido que parezca. Si cada acción tiene consecuencias, un mal enquistado en las estructuras de una sociedad tiene siempre un potencial de disolución y de muerte. Es el mal cristalizado en estructuras sociales injustas, a partir del cual no puede esperarse un futuro mejor. Estamos lejos del llamado «fin de la historia», ya que las condiciones de un desarrollo sostenible y en paz todavía no están adecuadamente planteadas y realizadas.
60. Los mecanismos de la economía actual promueven una exacerbación del consumo, pero resulta que el consumismo desenfrenado unido a la inequidad es doblemente dañino del tejido social. Así la inequidad genera tarde o temprano una violencia que las carreras armamentistas no resuelven ni resolverán jamás. Sólo sirven para pretender engañar a los que reclaman mayor seguridad, como si hoy no supiéramos que las armas y la represión violenta, más que aportar soluciones, crean nuevos y peores conflictos. Algunos simplemente se regodean culpando a los pobres y a los países pobres de sus propios males, con indebidas generalizaciones, y pretenden encontrar la solución en una «educación» que los tranquilice y los convierta en seres domesticados e inofensivos. Esto se vuelve todavía más irritante si los excluidos ven crecer ese cáncer social que es la corrupción profundamente arraigada en muchos países —en sus gobiernos, empresarios e instituciones— cualquiera que sea la ideología política de los gobernantes.
Algunos desafíos culturales
61. Evangelizamos también cuando tratamos de afrontar los diversos desafíos que puedan presentarse[56]. A veces éstos se manifiestan en verdaderos ataques a la libertad religiosa o en nuevas situaciones de persecución a los cristianos, las cuales en algunos países han alcanzado niveles alarmantes de odio y violencia. En muchos lugares se trata más bien de una difusa indiferencia relativista, relacionada con el desencanto y la crisis de las ideologías que se provocó como reacción contra todo lo que parezca totalitario. Esto no perjudica sólo a la Iglesia, sino a la vida social en general. Reconozcamos que una cultura, en la cual cada uno quiere ser el portador de una propia verdad subjetiva, vuelve difícil que los ciudadanos deseen integrar un proyecto común más allá de los beneficios y deseos personales.
62. En la cultura predominante, el primer lugar está ocupado por lo exterior, lo inmediato, lo visible, lo rápido, lo superficial, lo provisorio. Lo real cede el lugar a la apariencia. En muchos países, la globalización ha significado un acelerado deterioro de las raíces culturales con la invasión de tendencias pertenecientes a otras culturas, económicamente desarrolladas pero éticamente debilitadas. Así lo han manifestado en distintos Sínodos los Obispos de varios continentes. Los Obispos africanos, por ejemplo, retomando la Encíclica Sollicitudo rei socialis, señalaron años atrás que muchas veces se quiere convertir a los países de África en simples «piezas de un mecanismo y de un engranaje gigantesco. Esto sucede a menudo en el campo de los medios de comunicación social, los cuales, al estar dirigidos mayormente por centros de la parte Norte del mundo, no siempre tienen en la debida consideración las prioridades y los problemas propios de estos países, ni respetan su fisonomía cultural»[57]. Igualmente, los Obispos de Asia «subrayaron los influjos que desde el exterior se ejercen sobre las culturas asiáticas. Están apareciendo nuevas formas de conducta, que son resultado de una excesiva exposición a los medios de comunicación social […] Eso tiene como consecuencia que los aspectos negativos de las industrias de los medios de comunicación y de entretenimiento ponen en peligro los valores tradicionales»[58].
63. La fe católica de muchos pueblos se enfrenta hoy con el desafío de la proliferación de nuevos movimientos religiosos, algunos tendientes al fundamentalismo y otros que parecen proponer una espiritualidad sin Dios. Esto es, por una parte, el resultado de una reacción humana frente a la sociedad materialista, consumista e individualista y, por otra parte, un aprovechamiento de las carencias de la población que vive en las periferias y zonas empobrecidas, que sobrevive en medio de grandes dolores humanos y busca soluciones inmediatas para sus necesidades. Estos movimientos religiosos, que se caracterizan por su sutil penetración, vienen a llenar, dentro del individualismo imperante, un vacío dejado por el racionalismo secularista. Además, es necesario que reconozcamos que, si parte de nuestro pueblo bautizado no experimenta su pertenencia a la Iglesia, se debe también a la existencia de unas estructuras y a un clima poco acogedores en algunas de nuestras parroquias y comunidades, o a una actitud burocrática para dar respuesta a los problemas, simples o complejos, de la vida de nuestros pueblos. En muchas partes hay un predominio de lo administrativo sobre lo pastoral, así como una sacramentalización sin otras formas de evangelización.
64. El proceso de secularización tiende a reducir la fe y la Iglesia al ámbito de lo privado y de lo íntimo. Además, al negar toda trascendencia, ha producido una creciente deformación ética, un debilitamiento del sentido del pecado personal y social y un progresivo aumento del relativismo, que ocasionan una desorientación generalizada, especialmente en la etapa de la adolescencia y la juventud, tan vulnerable a los cambios. Como bien indican los Obispos de Estados Unidos de América, mientras la Iglesia insiste en la existencia de normas morales objetivas, válidas para todos, «hay quienes presentan esta enseñanza como injusta, esto es, como opuesta a los derechos humanos básicos. Tales alegatos suelen provenir de una forma de relativismo moral que está unida, no sin inconsistencia, a una creencia en los derechos absolutos de los individuos. En este punto de vista se percibe a la Iglesia como si promoviera un prejuicio particular y como si interfiriera con la libertad individual»[59]. Vivimos en una sociedad de la información que nos satura indiscriminadamente de datos, todos en el mismo nivel, y termina llevándonos a una tremenda superficialidad a la hora de plantear las cuestiones morales. Por consiguiente, se vuelve necesaria una educación que enseñe a pensar críticamente y que ofrezca un camino de maduración en valores.
65. A pesar de toda la corriente secularista que invade las sociedades, en muchos países —aun donde el cristianismo es minoría— la Iglesia católica es una institución creíble ante la opinión pública, confiable en lo que respecta al ámbito de la solidaridad y de la preocupación por los más carenciados. En repetidas ocasiones ha servido de mediadora en favor de la solución de problemas que afectan a la paz, la concordia, la tierra, la defensa de la vida, los derechos humanos y ciudadanos, etc. ¡Y cuánto aportan las escuelas y universidades católicas en todo el mundo! Es muy bueno que así sea. Pero nos cuesta mostrar que, cuando planteamos otras cuestiones que despiertan menor aceptación pública, lo hacemos por fidelidad a las mismas convicciones sobre la dignidad humana y el bien común.
66. La familia atraviesa una crisis cultural profunda, como todas las comunidades y vínculos sociales. En el caso de la familia, la fragilidad de los vínculos se vuelve especialmente grave porque se trata de la célula básica de la sociedad, el lugar donde se aprende a convivir en la diferencia y a pertenecer a otros, y donde los padres transmiten la fe a sus hijos. El matrimonio tiende a ser visto como una mera forma de gratificación afectiva que puede constituirse de cualquier manera y modificarse de acuerdo con la sensibilidad de cada uno. Pero el aporte indispensable del matrimonio a la sociedad supera el nivel de la emotividad y el de las necesidades circunstanciales de la pareja. Como enseñan los Obispos franceses, no procede «del sentimiento amoroso, efímero por definición, sino de la profundidad del compromiso asumido por los esposos que aceptan entrar en una unión de vida total»[60].
67. El individualismo posmoderno y globalizado favorece un estilo de vida que debilita el desarrollo y la estabilidad de los vínculos entre las personas, y que desnaturaliza los vínculos familiares. La acción pastoral debe mostrar mejor todavía que la relación con nuestro Padre exige y alienta una comunión que sane, promueva y afiance los vínculos interpersonales. Mientras en el mundo, especialmente en algunos países, reaparecen diversas formas de guerras y enfrentamientos, los cristianos insistimos en nuestra propuesta de reconocer al otro, de sanar las heridas, de construir puentes, de estrechar lazos y de ayudarnos «mutuamente a llevar las cargas» (Ga 6,2). Por otra parte, hoy surgen muchas formas de asociación para la defensa de derechos y para la consecución de nobles objetivos. Así se manifiesta una sed de participación de numerosos ciudadanos que quieren ser constructores del desarrollo social y cultural.
Desafíos de la inculturación de la fe
68. El substrato cristiano de algunos pueblos —sobre todo occidentales— es una realidad viva. Allí encontramos, especialmente en los más necesitados, una reserva moral que guarda valores de auténtico humanismo cristiano. Una mirada de fe sobre la realidad no puede dejar de reconocer lo que siembra el Espíritu Santo. Sería desconfiar de su acción libre y generosa pensar que no hay auténticos valores cristianos donde una gran parte de la población ha recibido el Bautismo y expresa su fe y su solidaridad fraterna de múltiples maneras. Allí hay que reconocer mucho más que unas «semillas del Verbo», ya que se trata de una auténtica fe católica con modos propios de expresión y de pertenencia a la Iglesia. No conviene ignorar la tremenda importancia que tiene una cultura marcada por la fe, porque esa cultura evangelizada, más allá de sus límites, tiene muchos más recursos que una mera suma de creyentes frente a los embates del secularismo actual. Una cultura popular evangelizada contiene valores de fe y de solidaridad que pueden provocar el desarrollo de una sociedad más justa y creyente, y posee una sabiduría peculiar que hay que saber reconocer con una mirada agradecida.
69. Es imperiosa la necesidad de evangelizar las culturas para inculturar el Evangelio. En los países de tradición católica se tratará de acompañar, cuidar y fortalecer la riqueza que ya existe, y en los países de otras tradiciones religiosas o profundamente secularizados se tratará de procurar nuevos procesos de evangelización de la cultura, aunque supongan proyectos a muy largo plazo. No podemos, sin embargo, desconocer que siempre hay un llamado al crecimiento. Toda cultura y todo grupo social necesitan purificación y maduración. En el caso de las culturas populares de pueblos católicos, podemos reconocer algunas debilidades que todavía deben ser sanadas por el Evangelio: el machismo, el alcoholismo, la violencia doméstica, una escasa participación en la Eucaristía, creencias fatalistas o supersticiosas que hacen recurrir a la brujería, etc. Pero es precisamente la piedad popular el mejor punto de partida para sanarlas y liberarlas.
70. También es cierto que a veces el acento, más que en el impulso de la piedad cristiana, se coloca en formas exteriores de tradiciones de ciertos grupos, o en supuestas revelaciones privadas que se absolutizan. Hay cierto cristianismo de devociones, propio de una vivencia individual y sentimental de la fe, que en realidad no responde a una auténtica «piedad popular». Algunos promueven estas expresiones sin preocuparse por la promoción social y la formación de los fieles, y en ciertos casos lo hacen para obtener beneficios económicos o algún poder sobre los demás. Tampoco podemos ignorar que en las últimas décadas se ha producido una ruptura en la transmisión generacional de la fe cristiana en el pueblo católico. Es innegable que muchos se sienten desencantados y dejan de identificarse con la tradición católica, que son más los padres que no bautizan a sus hijos y no les enseñan a rezar, y que hay un cierto éxodo hacia otras comunidades de fe. Algunas causas de esta ruptura son: la falta de espacios de diálogo familiar, la influencia de los medios de comunicación, el subjetivismo relativista, el consumismo desenfrenado que alienta el mercado, la falta de acompañamiento pastoral a los más pobres, la ausencia de una acogida cordial en nuestras instituciones, y nuestra dificultad para recrear la adhesión mística de la fe en un escenario religioso plural.
Desafíos de las culturas urbanas
71. La nueva Jerusalén, la Ciudad santa (cf. Ap 21,2-4), es el destino hacia donde peregrina toda la humanidad. Es llamativo que la revelación nos diga que la plenitud de la humanidad y de la historia se realiza en una ciudad. Necesitamos reconocer la ciudad desde una mirada contemplativa, esto es, una mirada de fe que descubra al Dios que habita en sus hogares, en sus calles, en sus plazas. La presencia de Dios acompaña las búsquedas sinceras que personas y grupos realizan para encontrar apoyo y sentido a sus vidas. Él vive entre los ciudadanos promoviendo la solidaridad, la fraternidad, el deseo de bien, de verdad, de justicia. Esa presencia no debe ser fabricada sino descubierta, develada. Dios no se oculta a aquellos que lo buscan con un corazón sincero, aunque lo hagan a tientas, de manera imprecisa y difusa.
72. En la ciudad, lo religioso está mediado por diferentes estilos de vida, por costumbres asociadas a un sentido de lo temporal, de lo territorial y de las relaciones, que difiere del estilo de los habitantes rurales. En sus vidas cotidianas los ciudadanos muchas veces luchan por sobrevivir, y en esas luchas se esconde un sentido profundo de la existencia que suele entrañar también un hondo sentido religioso. Necesitamos contemplarlo para lograr un diálogo como el que el Señor desarrolló con la samaritana, junto al pozo, donde ella buscaba saciar su sed (cf. Jn 4,7-26).
73. Nuevas culturas continúan gestándose en estas enormes geografías humanas en las que el cristiano ya no suele ser promotor o generador de sentido, sino que recibe de ellas otros lenguajes, símbolos, mensajes y paradigmas que ofrecen nuevas orientaciones de vida, frecuentemente en contraste con el Evangelio de Jesús. Una cultura inédita late y se elabora en la ciudad. El Sínodo ha constatado que hoy las transformaciones de esas grandes áreas y la cultura que expresan son un lugar privilegiado de la nueva evangelización.[61] Esto requiere imaginar espacios de oración y de comunión con características novedosas, más atractivas y significativas para los habitantes urbanos. Los ambientes rurales, por la influencia de los medios de comunicación de masas, no están ajenos a estas transformaciones culturales que también operan cambios significativos en sus modos de vida.
74. Se impone una evangelización que ilumine los nuevos modos de relación con Dios, con los otros y con el espacio, y que suscite los valores fundamentales. Es necesario llegar allí donde se gestan los nuevos relatos y paradigmas, alcanzar con la Palabra de Jesús los núcleos más profundos del alma de las ciudades. No hay que olvidar que la ciudad es un ámbito multicultural. En las grandes urbes puede observarse un entramado en el que grupos de personas comparten las mismas formas de soñar la vida y similares imaginarios y se constituyen en nuevos sectores humanos, en territorios culturales, en ciudades invisibles. Variadas formas culturales conviven de hecho, pero ejercen muchas veces prácticas de segregación y de violencia. La Iglesia está llamada a ser servidora de un difícil diálogo. Por otra parte, aunque hay ciudadanos que consiguen los medios adecuados para el desarrollo de la vida personal y familiar, son muchísimos los «no ciudadanos», los «ciudadanos a medias» o los «sobrantes urbanos». La ciudad produce una suerte de permanente ambivalencia, porque, al mismo tiempo que ofrece a sus ciudadanos infinitas posibilidades, también aparecen numerosas dificultades para el pleno desarrollo de la vida de muchos. Esta contradicción provoca sufrimientos lacerantes. En muchos lugares del mundo, las ciudades son escenarios de protestas masivas donde miles de habitantes reclaman libertad, participación, justicia y diversas reivindicaciones que, si no son adecuadamente interpretadas, no podrán acallarse por la fuerza.
75. No podemos ignorar que en las ciudades fácilmente se desarrollan el tráfico de drogas y de personas, el abuso y la explotación de menores, el abandono de ancianos y enfermos, varias formas de corrupción y de crimen. Al mismo tiempo, lo que podría ser un precioso espacio de encuentro y solidaridad, frecuentemente se convierte en el lugar de la huida y de la desconfianza mutua. Las casas y los barrios se construyen más para aislar y proteger que para conectar e integrar. La proclamación del Evangelio será una base para restaurar la dignidad de la vida humana en esos contextos, porque Jesús quiere derramar en las ciudades vida en abundancia (cf. Jn 10,10). El sentido unitario y completo de la vida humana que propone el Evangelio es el mejor remedio para los males urbanos, aunque debamos advertir que un programa y un estilo uniforme e inflexible de evangelización no son aptos para esta realidad. Pero vivir a fondo lo humano e introducirse en el corazón de los desafíos como fermento testimonial, en cualquier cultura, en cualquier ciudad, mejora al cristiano y fecunda la ciudad.
II. Tentaciones de los agentes pastorales
76. Siento una enorme gratitud por la tarea de todos los que trabajan en la Iglesia. No quiero detenerme ahora a exponer las actividades de los diversos agentes pastorales, desde los obispos hasta el más sencillo y desconocido de los servicios eclesiales. Me gustaría más bien reflexionar acerca de los desafíos que todos ellos enfrentan en medio de la actual cultura globalizada. Pero tengo que decir, en primer lugar y como deber de justicia, que el aporte de la Iglesia en el mundo actual es enorme. Nuestro dolor y nuestra vergüenza por los pecados de algunos miembros de la Iglesia, y por los propios, no deben hacer olvidar cuántos cristianos dan la vida por amor: ayudan a tanta gente a curarse o a morir en paz en precarios hospitales, o acompañan personas esclavizadas por diversas adicciones en los lugares más pobres de la tierra, o se desgastan en la educación de niños y jóvenes, o cuidan ancianos abandonados por todos, o tratan de comunicar valores en ambientes hostiles, o se entregan de muchas otras maneras que muestran ese inmenso amor a la humanidad que nos ha inspirado el Dios hecho hombre. Agradezco el hermoso ejemplo que me dan tantos cristianos que ofrecen su vida y su tiempo con alegría. Ese testimonio me hace mucho bien y me sostiene en mi propio deseo de superar el egoísmo para entregarme más.
77. No obstante, como hijos de esta época, todos nos vemos afectados de algún modo por la cultura globalizada actual que, sin dejar de mostrarnos valores y nuevas posibilidades, también puede limitarnos, condicionarnos e incluso enfermarnos. Reconozco que necesitamos crear espacios motivadores y sanadores para los agentes pastorales, «lugares donde regenerar la propia fe en Jesús crucificado y resucitado, donde compartir las propias preguntas más profundas y las preocupaciones cotidianas, donde discernir en profundidad con criterios evangélicos sobre la propia existencia y experiencia, con la finalidad de orientar al bien y a la belleza las propias elecciones individuales y sociales»[62]. Al mismo tiempo, quiero llamar la atención sobre algunas tentaciones que particularmente hoy afectan a los agentes pastorales.
Sí al desafío de una espiritualidad misionera
78. Hoy se puede advertir en muchos agentes pastorales, incluso en personas consagradas, una preocupación exacerbada por los espacios personales de autonomía y de distensión, que lleva a vivir las tareas como un mero apéndice de la vida, como si no fueran parte de la propia identidad. Al mismo tiempo, la vida espiritual se confunde con algunos momentos religiosos que brindan cierto alivio pero que no alimentan el encuentro con los demás, el compromiso en el mundo, la pasión evangelizadora. Así, pueden advertirse en muchos agentes evangelizadores, aunque oren, una acentuación del individualismo, una crisis de identidad y una caída del fervor. Son tres males que se alimentan
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than just leave it at that Shaun actually started to make a plan on how to do this.
Learning how to brew was step number one. So he got some equipment and started having some fun with making his own beer. It is here where aspiring brewers get to have the most fun. Experimenting with different styles, tweaking recipes, getting the brew process down pat, etc. It’s just like cooking or science class except you get to drink beer afterwards!
Shaun also began researching what it would take to open up a brewery. He even started working on a business plan! That was when he realized that if he was seriously going to raise some capital he would have to get some brewing education on his track record.
So it was off to Sunderland, England, for a 4 day intensive course on the ins & outs of brewing at Brewlab. The course delves into the practical side of brewing with courses on the science of making beer, sensory analysis and touring breweries to see how a working system is set up and run by professionals. It also gets into the business side of brewing which is just as important as making the beer itself. Shaun learned about the importance of marketing, filling out paperwork and operating a profitable business. It was a good overview of the complete package.
Getting into the Bizz
Back to his hotel room in the UK after a long day of studying Shaun checked Twitter and noticed that Hog’s Head Brewing Co had put out a call for volunteers. Here was his opportunity to break into the business that he wanted to be a part of.
Once he got back to Alberta he volunteered to help out at Hog’s Head with one of his friends. The volunteer work lasted for about 4-5 months where he would go in and lend a hand whenever he could. Brewmaster Bruce Sample eventually started inviting Shaun to come in on brew days. It was on one of those busy days that the owner, Brian Molloy, walked by Shaun and offered him a part-time job.
This part-time job lasted about half of a year before becoming full time. Now Shaun works as the Brewery Operations Manager at Hog’s Head. He is mainly responsible for making the brewing process more streamlined and efficient. His education and past experience working at Liquor Connect (13 years experience to be exact) help him when it comes to organizing/managing the operation.
Upon learning about Shaun’s logistic skills I asked him if it would be possible to redirect some beer my way. After a long awkward pause Shaun continued to talk about what he & Hog’s Head would like to accomplish.
Basically their goal is to become the largest craft brewery in Northern Alberta, one that is known for brewing bold “in your face” beers. With a double IPA like Hop Slayer, their Death by Pumpkin fall seasonal (which has a cult following), the creamy and hoppy Boss Hog oatmeal IPA and the big rich imperial stout Black Hog Down I think that it is safe to say that they are definitely brewing beers that make a statement.
I am happy to know that there are guys out there like Shaun who find what they want to do, work hard at reaching their goals and then get rewarded for their dedication in the end with a dream job. Hog’s Head are lucky to have a passionate beer geek like him. So cheers to breaking into the best industry around & cheers to local craft beer!
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Like this: Like Loading...POLICE have largely kept apart opposing protesters in Bendigo this afternoon but isolated clashes did occur.
Earlier today, one man was removed from a rally by police in the regional Victorian city where demonstrations both in favour of and opposing a new mosque are being held.
The man was identified by the crowd as being part of an anti-Muslim protest planned for Bendigo on Saturday.
He attempted to walk through rally goers outside Bendigo town hall with a camera and scuffles broke out after someone grabbed and ran off with it. Police dragged the man over a barrier and restored calm.
Some members of the anti-racism group clashed with a group of unidentified young men outside a hotel, during a march to the park, reported the Herald Sun.
Estimates put the number of people in each rally at roughly 300 with 400 police between them.
The far-right United Patriots Front, which is against the mosque plans, gathered in the city’s Rosalind Park.
Organiser Blair Cottrell said it would be the group’s “biggest demonstration ever”.
Anti-racism demonstrators, who were concentrated outside the town hall, also held an anti-bigotry rally in the city centre.
The No Room For Racism organiser, Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly, said Bendigo residents had enough of racists targeting their city.
“Bendigo is under siege from the racists and is being unfairly targeted for this national protest,” he said.
Earlier, police had warned that “hardcore” protesters travelling interstate to Bendigo to protest could cause clashes between anti-Islamic and anti-racism demonstrators.
The last major protest against the mosque in Bendigo, on August 29, ended in violent clashes between protesters from the far right and left.
Premier Daniel Andrews says many opponents to the mosque are travelling from interstate to stir up hate and bigotry.
“You’ve got people who wouldn’t know how to spell Bendigo coming to Bendigo, trashing Bendigo’s good name,” Mr Andrews said.
“They’re outsiders in every sense of that word.” More than 400 police officers will be on duty across the city on Saturday, stretching the region’s emergency services even thinner as firefighters battle an out-of-control bushfire at Lancefield, south of Bendigo.
Victoria Police assistant commissioner Stephen Leane told reporters in Melbourne on Friday: “There are people on the far left and the far right who will come tomorrow — I have no doubt — with no intention but to commit violent acts against each other.” Mr Leane has asked moderates to weigh up whether they want to be involved with the 300 to 400 “hardcore” protesters expected to turn up on Saturday.
Multicultural organisations in Victoria have condemned the anti-mosque rally.
“Australian society is built on pluralism and we have come too far to allow a handful of bigots to destabilise Victoria’s social harmony,” said Islamic Council of Victoria secretary Kuranda Seyit. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also warned against attending race rallies.
If people are vilifying another group, “how can that possibly be anything other than contrary to our national interest”, Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
Bendigo Mayor Peter Cox said it was disappointing there was another “anti-Islam rally”.
“While we are not used to this and it’s upsetting to see Bendigo portrayed in a negative light, events such as this do not define the city,” he said.He emotionally-cheated, he keeps buying me gifts. But it's not helping at all.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, last week, my husband bought me an iPad. For some of you gadget-geeks that are already on your second and third iPad, you already know the ins and outs of the device, but for me it took some time to figure it out.
My husband and I had a cute little bonding experience trying to figure out how slide images across the widescreen and how to play AngryBirds. Let me give you the back story, he bought me an iPad as sort of consolation gift. I had caught him in a non-sexual marital affair— you know of the Anthony Weiner variety. While he didn’t physically cheat on me per say, I was considerably hurt. While an iPad is just the beginning of his groveling, it was a good start.
He should have bought me two, and that would have been a better start.
But the iPad is good because it makes it easier to ignore him. He showed me my favorite app, which is called Zinio, which lets me get all my discount magazine subscriptions right there on my iPad. Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Marie Claire are all now at my fingertips, and I can bury myself behind my magazines when I think of him ‘sexting’ that woman. Also, reading my magazines has provided me a lot of comfort during this time. It’s nice to read about other people’s lives and realize that in time things will get better.
Magazines always provide solace when my husband and I are fighting, and we’ve been fighting a lot lately, but I’ve remained up-to-date on my readings, and having it on my iPad makes it 100 percent easier to get to my discount magazine subscriptions. Another great thing about it is that I get all my new issues before they even get to the newsstands. This is perfect for me, and others like me who love to stay cuddled up on rainy days with a good book or magazine.
Even though, I’m still angry at my husband, trying to figure out the iPad brought us a little closer together. A lot of analysts warn that technology can split couples apart and drive wedges in a relationship, but in this one instance it seemed to bring us a couple inches closer, physically and emotionally. I mean, you have to get kind of close to explain how all those apps work, and allowing him to guide me through the workings of the iPad showed me that he still cared.A lemon grower from southern Israel has successfully tested a product to prevent mold that kills lemon groves.
A farmer from southern Israel has invented a product that could be a boon to lemon farmers worldwide. The invention prevents the spread of Mal secco, a fungal disease affecting citrus trees that has been known to kill entire lemon groves.
It was created by Rafi Koren, a lemon farmer from Moshav Avigdor near Kiryat Malachi.
Koren has successfully tested his invention on lemon groves in his area.
Mal secco is a fungus that attacks trees primarily in dry cool climates such as the Mediterranean. It is contagious, and can be carried from grove to grove by wind or rain.
The fungus attacks trees’ vessels, causing the trees to dry out and ultimately, to die.
Current methods for fighting the disease include quarantine, pruning and preemptive treatment with fungicides.You can write with a fifty cent disposable pen. Or you can write with a $350 Montblanc. The words are the same, but many people will tell you there is something different about the Montblanc. Maybe that’s how [armin] feels about meat thermometers. His version uses a Raspberry Pi and has a lengthy feature list:
8 Channel data logging
Plotting
Webcam (USB or Raspicam)
Alarms via a local beeper, Web, WhatsApp, or e-mail
Temperature and fan control using a PID
LCD display
You can even use a Pi Zero for a light version. There’s plenty of information on Hackaday.io, although the full details are only in German for the moment. As you can see in the video below, this isn’t your dollar store meat thermometer.
Even though a disposable pen does the same job as a Montblanc, most of us would rather have a Montblanc (although Hackday would have to hand out some pretty steep raises before we start using the Meisterstück Solitaire Blue Hour Skeleton 149).
We might have done more with an ESP8266 and then done more work on the client, but we have to admit, this is one feature-packed thermometer. We’ve seen simpler ones that use Bluetooth before, along with some hacks of commercial units.
The Raspberry Pi Zero contest is presented by Hackaday and Adafruit. Prizes include Raspberry Pi Zeros from Adafruit and gift cards to The Hackaday Store!
See All the Entries || Enter Your Project Now!In a major development, Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) on Friday night called on beleaguered Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign.
Sutton's statement comes one day after the House ethics committee charged the 80-year-old Democrat with multiple violations.
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In a statement to The Hill, Sutton stated, "It is regrettable, but Charlie Rangel needs to resign from his seat in Congress. This isn’t about being a Democrat or Republican, this is about preserving the public trust. Our nation is facing extraordinary challenges and we must be focused on building a sustainable economy that will allow our workers and businesses to flourish."Sutton has built a reputation as a crusader for congressional ethics. In 2008, she led the fight to pass legislation creating the Office of Congressional Ethics, which now serves as an independent ethics body within the House of Representatives.In March, Sutton donated to charity the $7,000 given to her campaign by Rangel. Sutton, a GOP target this fall, was elected in 2006. Presidentattracted 57 percent of the vote in her district in 2008.Earlier this year, Sutton called on Rangel to resign as Ways and Means Committee chairman days before the New York Democrat -- under pressure from House Democratic leaders -- gave up his gavel.The first call on Rangel to resign from a sitting House Democrat could be the tipping point as an increasing number of Democrats are expressing concern over what Rangel could mean for the party's election prospects this fall.
The House ethics committee is set to release the full charges against Rangel at an open hearing next Thursday. The charges have not yet been specified.
Rangel could have avoided a trial had he admitted to violating some House rules, but the congressman declined that option, according to the Associated Press.
Rangel held a news conference in New York on Friday afternoon to once again declare his innocence.
Rangel said he was "pleased" that the full evidence against him would be aired Thursday, giving him the chance to defend himself.
"I am so pleased that they have and reported this to the ethics committee," Rangel said. "This is going to be done before my primary election, before my general election."SALT LAKE CITY -- Deseret Media Companies is launching a new initiative called "Out in the Light." It combines all of DMC's resources -- KSL Newsradio, KSL-TV, Deseret News, El Observador and Deseret Book -- to help couples affected by pornography, particularly the impact on a woman who has a spouse involved with pornography.
The pornography industry has grown to a $97 billion business worldwide; $13 billion is in the U.S.
Steven Croshaw and his wife, Rhyll, are one such couple. Rhyll says she was devastated when she first learned Steven was viewing pornography on a regular basis.
"It felt like I was hit by the side, just blindsided by a truck," Rhyll Croshaw says.
"It was a huge shock to her. She had no idea," Steven Croshaw says.
Their story is not uncommon. The National Coalition for the Protection of Families found 47 percent of families in the United States say pornography is a problem in their home.
Dr. Jill Manning, a licensed marriage and family therapist, sees the effects of pornography firsthand.
Did you know... Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography
372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the U.S. - Internet Filter Review, 2006
"Even though we have mounting research showing how harmful and destructive this material is, there are still too many who downplay and minimize what this material is and what it is doing," Manning says.
Now DMC is shining a light on the problem of pornography, with an emphasis on women who are affected by their spouse's habits.
"When you have something that is growing so rapidly, when you have something that is having such and insidious affect on families, then we think it's perfectly appropriate role for us to try to help with," says Mark Willes, DMC's president and CEO. "It's not a religious issue, it's an issue of what's going to make a difference in the lives of these people who are suffering and don't know where to go to get help."
Related:
Sunday Edition: Impact of Pornography KSL looks at the influence of pornography, its prevalence in society today and how it impacts marriages. Plus, the debut of a new initiative to empower women to battle the influence of porn on their relationships.
DMC has teamed up with a number of experts and organizations to provide specific resources and counseling, as well as connect women with others who can share and encourage.
Most of this is facilitated through a new website launched this week: outinthelight.com. There, you'll find articles, links and discussions about pornography, as well as monthly webisodes that deal with things like self-esteem and forgiveness.
"There are significant social costs to pornography use, and until we talk about it openly and brainstorm in constructive, positive ways, we're not going to be able to get a handle on it," Manning says.
One of the tools to get people, particularly families, to start talking about pornography and other forms of media is the media pledge. You can download a copy at outinthelight.com.
The pledge encourages families to talk about pornography, texting and other media forms in the home and make a game plan of how to handle it when it does appear. Then family members sign it and post it near a computer or television.
"When there's a healthy dialogue between parents and children, the problems are much easier to deal with," Willes says.
Copies of the media pledge are also available at Deseret Book stores.
On Sunday, Oct. 3 KSL will be airing a 30-minute documentary following LDS General Conference that takes an in-depth look at pornography and its effects on the family, marriages and women.
E-mail: [email protected]
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Related StoriesThe Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is all the hype right now. We have plenty of information on the new phone already, which we have compiled and shared with you on our rumor roundup, but the rumor mill is not stopping. Today’s new trio of leaked images show us a bit more of the over-sized smartphone, displaying what could be a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 prototype.
The first image gives us a glance at the front of the phone, which we seldom get to take a look at, especially with the screen turned on. One can even admire what TouchWiz will be like in the new generation Galaxy Note. The UI touts the usual colorful icons and “bubbly” experience. In addition, there are some helpful shortcuts and content on the top. Oh, and the icons in the home screen tell us this happens to be an AT&T version. This doesn’t tell us much we didn’t know, but it’s still nice to admire the gadget.
The most interesting part of this leak is the couple other photos, which showcase the stylus dock. It was previously believed the stylus would have auto-ejecting capabilities. Then rumors suggested it would be a push-to-release mechanism. These rumors were then contradicted by Korean source, which indicates the stylus release method will be similar to all previous Note handsets.
These new images do corroborate the S Pen will have to be manually removed, just as it has been in the past. There seems to be a small gap in one side of the accessory, making it possible to pull it by using a finger nail.
As it goes with all rumors and leaks, though, we would advice that you don’t hold your breath on any of this information. Details keep changing and we won’t know the definite truth until Samsung takes the stage. That should be this coming month.
Don’t forget to keep it tuned to our Samsung Galaxy Note 5 rumor roundup! We keep updating it as new details emerge, so that is really your one-stop shop to everything relating to Samsung’s new phablet.Monday, October 8, 9:00 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.
“The Rise of Democracy in the Middle East”
Goldstein Auditorium
Hosted by Syracuse University and the SU Humanities Center
The so-called “Arab Spring” has rocked the world. Centered in the Middle East, but reverberating everywhere, citizens have been rising up, demanding civil and economic rights, protesting against and overthrowing totalitarian regimes. Governments have been replaced in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Libya. There will certainly be more. The discussion will consider the lessons of this movement and the pathway forward for emerging democracies, and question what must be done to consolidate gains on a humanitarian level, while continuing to move in the direction of a more peaceful—and compassionate—existence.
Moderated by NBC News national and international correspondent Ann Curry. Welcome by Chancellor Nancy Cantor. Introduction by Founding Director of the SU Humanities Center, Gregg Lambert.
Panelists: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama; Nobel Peace Laureate and Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi; Nobel Peace Laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei; director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University’s School of Public Service Irshad Manji; energy and national security specialist and former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey; and former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young.
Join us on Twitter: We invite you to follow and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CGPDemocracy. During and after the discussions, event photos will be posted to SU’s Pinterest and Instagram accounts and to several SU Facebook pages: Syracuse University, SU Alumni and Orange CNY.
Monday, October 8, 1:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.
“Shifting the Global Consciousness”
Goldstein Auditorium
Hosted by Syracuse University and the SU Humanities Center
Our “global consciousness” is constantly changing. The ebb and flow of the issues that inform our behavior, politics, and philosophy are driven by a variety of factors, from the availability and timeliness of information to the constantly changing zeitgeists. This discussion explores the way we view ourselves in the context of this information. And if we are truly global citizens, what steps must we take to push the global consciousness towards peace and humanity?
Moderated by NBC News national and international correspondent Ann Curry. Introduction by Founding Director of the SU Humanities Center, Gregg Lambert.
Panelists: His Holiness the Dalai Lama; human rights advocate Martin Luther King III; N obel Peace Laureate and Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi; Nobel Peace Laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei; Academy Award winning composer, UN Ambassador and philanthropist A.R. Rahman; and Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
Join us on Twitter: We invite you to follow and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CGPGlobal. During and after the discussions, event photos will be posted to SU’s Pinterest and Instagram accounts and to several SU Facebook pages: Syracuse University, SU Alumni and Orange CNY.
TICKET AVAILABILITY FOR THE OCTOBER 8th PANEL DISCUSSIONS
No tickets remain for the morning and afternoon discussions, however, the symposium will be available via live webcast. For more information, please click here.
Tuesday, October 9, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
"The Past is Not the Past: The Continuing Quest for Racial Justice and Peace"
Newhouse III, Hergenhan Auditorium
(No tickets required)
Speakers
Ambassador Andrew Young
Martin Luther King, III
Professor Linda Carty, SU Dept. of African American Studies
Professor Janis McDonald, SU College of Law, Cold Case Justice Initiative
Professor Paula Johnson, SU College of Law, Cold Case Justice Initiative
This roundtable continues the discussion led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on previous panels during his visit.The panelists will discuss the critical link between justice and peace and ask the question: Can there be peace without justice?
Join the dialogue about the imperative to address these issues in the interest of peace and justice in the face of persistent racial violence and inequality in the United States from the Civil Rights Era to the present.
Join us on Twitter: We invite you to follow and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CGPJustice.
"Say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace..." — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
“Resolving Conflict in One World through Global Consciousness,” a public talk by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the One World concert with scheduled performers including Dave Matthews.
Carrier Dome
The benefit concert is expected to be the largest gathering of international artists ever to travel to the region.
TICKET AVAILABILITY FOR THE OCTOBER 9th ONE WORLD CONCERT EVENT
Seating is available and tickets may be purchased here.
*Separate tickets are required for access to each event, including each of the panel discussions (Goldstein Auditorium will be cleared between the morning and afternoon sessions on October 8). Tickets for the One World concert at the Carrier Dome on October 9 cannot be used for entry to either of the panel discussions at Goldstein Auditorium on October 8.A Halifax couple has donated $10 million to Dalhousie University to start the largest performing arts school east of Montreal.
"The laws of the universe are fundamentally based on physics, chemistry, music and theatre," joked Fred Fountain as he and his wife Elizabeth announced their donation to the school.
"To neglect the arts would be to deprive part of our soul and wellbeing."
The Fountains said they were inspired by a fundraising campaign called Bold Ambitions. They saw large investments in other Dalhousie departments, and didn’t want the arts to be left behind. They said they wanted to make a contribution that would benefit the community as a whole.
"I have always had a soft spot in my heart for musicians," said Elizabeth Fountain. "May our gift be a gift to you all."
‘Revolutionize’ the program
The donation is one of the largest gifts in Dalhousie’s history.
The Fountains said their money will be used to "spruce up" the aging Dalhousie Arts Centre.
The program is expected to officially open July 1, 2014.
"Through initiatives in teaching, research and the student experience, it will solidify Halifax’s and Dalhousie’s position as a leader in performing arts education," said Dalhousie President Tom Traves.
He said it would revolutionize the way the university teaches music and theatre.
"The talent that it attracts, trains and retains will be a source of pride and inspiration for Dalhousie and indeed for the community beyond our campus."
Fred Fountain also used the announcement as a stage for some political pressure.
"I will also make the point that our governments – particularly provincial and municipal – should support the arts more than they do."
He joked that it is possible to help the arts without raising taxes.
The Fountains are known for their philanthropic work in Halifax’s arts community. They’ve supported Symphony Nova Scotia and Neptune Theatre in the past.Bull Mountain, Alaska, is a no frills ski resort, and the staff is a bunch of partying snowboard bums. The late founder, Papa Muntz, was famed for skiing with his butt exposed, and in fact is so memorialized by a statue. But his son, Ted, plans to sell the resort to hotshot ski mogul John Majors, who starts turning it into a slick resort, which of course has no room for most of the staff. The exception is Rick, the most serious of the bunch. But there's a complication: Rick met Majors' stepdaughter Anna on vacation in Mexico, and he's never gotten over a crush he had on her, even though she's about to marry a great guy, and Rick is also fiercely loyal to his friends. Written by Jon Reeves <[email protected]>Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster Coroner, said earlier this year that she could not rule out the involvement of the security services in the death.
The ruling sparked a review of the case by Scotland Yard’s murder squad which has re-interviewed his colleagues from MI6 and taken DNA samples over the last seven months.
Detectives had believed that someone else must have locked the codebreaker in the bag and launched a search for a mysterious Mediterranean couple, who were later ruled out of inquiries. The Daily Telegraph understands detectives now believe that he probably died alone.
“They have been unable to find any trace of anyone who should not have been in the flat and every reason to believe that Gareth may have climbed into the bag himself and been unable to get out,” a source close to the inquiry said.
The keys to the red North Face holdall were found in the bottom of the bag when Mr Williams’s naked body was found in the empty bath of his apartment in Pimlico, central London in August 2010.
Two experts tried a total of 400 times to lock themselves into the bag and one claimed that even world-famous escapologist Harry Houdini "would have struggled" to squeeze himself inside.
But days after the inquest verdict a retired Army sergeant showed how it was possible to climb into a similar North Face bag and lock it from the inside.
Scotland Yard detectives have now been able to repeat the experiment with some slight differences to the way the bag is locked that fits with how Gareth Williams was found in August 2010.
Dr Wilcox, a former negligence barrister, had ruled that the lack of hand and footprints in the bathroom was "significant" but it understood that police have also been able to identify around 300 fingerprints in the flat.
The coroner also dismissed speculation that Mr Williams died as a result of some kind of "auto-erotic activity", but detectives now believe that is probably the only option left.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the investigation remained "active" and that officers were still exploring "a number of lines of enquiry."
The inquest had heard that Mr Williams, a codebreaker for GCHQ who was on secondment to MI6, had been found in his boxer shorts and tied to his bed by his landlord and landlady in Cheltenham a few years earlier.
Video footage found on a mobile phone in Mr Williams's flat showed him dressed in nothing but black leather boots as he “wiggled and gyrated" for the camera.
He kept pictures of drag queens on his computer and had £20,000-worth of designer women's clothes in his flat along with women’s shoes and wigs.
He browsed self-bondage websites and sites about claustrophilia - the love of enclosure - on his computers and phone and was looking at fetish websites days before his death.
Friends and family were upset at speculation that Mr Williams may have been gay and speculated that "some agency specialising in the dark arts" was behind his killing.
In her ruling, Dr Wilcox said there was no evidence to suggest the spy was a transvestite "or interested in any such thing".
The make-up found in his flat was more likely to reflect his interest in fashion and the wigs were "far more consistent with dress-up such as attendance at a manga conference", she said.
The suggestion that his interest in female footwear could have been of a sexual nature, was not unusual, Dr Wilcox observed.
Mr Williams’s colleagues at MI6 had failed to report him missing for a week and did not turn over nine memory sticks and a black bag that was under his desk at their Vauxhall Cross headquarters, sparking rumours of a cover-up.
The coroner said it remained a "legitimate line of inquiry" that the secret services were involved in Mr Williams's death although there was no firm evidence.Luke 5:12-16 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.NEW YORK -- Nets coach Jason Kidd has been fined $50,000 for appearing to intentionally drop a cup of soda on the court late in Wednesday night's loss to the Lakers, the league announced Thursday.
With 8.3 seconds left and his team out of timeouts, Kidd, who was holding a cup of soda, appeared to say "hit me" to point guard Tyshawn Taylor in order to stop the game so the team could draw up a last-second offensive play.
After Lakers guard Jodie Meeks made the first of a pair of free throws, giving his team a 96-94 lead, Taylor walked toward Kidd near the sideline and collided with his coach, who was holding a cup of soda at the time. The cup of soda spilled on to the court. While it was being cleaned up, the coaching staff drew up a last-second play. Taylor was subbed out of the game for forward Mirza Teletovic.
Adding to the chaos of the moment, while Nets assistant John Welch drew up the team's final play, two Lakers appeared to be in the middle of the huddle.
Meeks then made the second free throw, and on the ensuing Brooklyn possession, small forward Paul Pierce missed a 3-pointer that would've tied the game with 2.2 seconds remaining. The Nets ended up losing to the Lakers 99-94 at Barclays Center.
"Cup slipped out of my hand while I was getting Ty," Kidd said of "Cupgate." "Sweaty palms. I was never good with the ball.
"In the heat of the battle, you're trying to get guys in and out of the game, and the cup fell out of my hand."
Video replays appeared to show Kidd saying "Hit me," something Taylor flatly denied.
Said Taylor: "No [Kidd didn't say that]. I wasn't paying attention. I just kind of bumped him. I didn't even know he was holding [anything]. [But] coach was drinking a soda on the sideline. I was like, 'What's he doing?'
"It could ice a free throw shooter and be a timeout when you don't have one, but that wasn't the thought process. I was just coming out, and he was in my way. 'Coach, get out of my way, bro.' "
It isn't the first time Kidd has done something odd to create a stoppage in play.
Back when he was playing with the Dallas Mavericks, Kidd made contact with Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson as the point guard dribbled up the sideline. Kidd appeared to initiate the contact with Woodson, though he pointed at Woodson as if to show the coach impeded his progress down court.
Information from Mike Mazzeo, a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com, was used in this report.Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has discussed introducing de-escalation zones in Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during talks in Sochi on Wednesday and with US President Donald Trump in a phone call the previous day.
Consultations with Tehran and Damascus have also been held on the issue, Putin said.
Read more
"For the development of the political process [in Syria], a ceasefire must be provided... Russia, Turkey and Iran have all the time been thinking of how to secure this practice of a ceasefire. One of the methods is creating safe zones, or de-escalation zones," Putin said on Wednesday during a joint press conference with Turkish President Erdogan in Sochi.
Moscow has already conducted "preliminary consultations" with Damascus and Tehran on the matter, Putin said, adding that the issue has also been discussed with US President Trump, who appears to support the idea of safe zones.
"We all reason from [a position] that mechanisms to guarantee the end of bloodshed and provision for the beginning of a political dialogue must be created," the Russian president said, adding that Turkey also fully supports this position.
However, the different sides in the Syrian conflict should themselves make "the final decision," Putin added.
"In the end, only they are in charge of their country's fate. On our side, we – Russia, Turkey and Iran – as guarantors of a ceasefire, will make everything for such mechanisms to improve and be efficient," he told the media.
READ MORE: Putin, Trump speak by phone, discuss Syria, N. Korea – Kremlin
Moscow and Ankara both agree that "the creation of safe zones must lead to further conciliation and strengthening of the ceasefire regime" in war-torn Syria, Putin said.
The Russian president pointed out that regardless of safe zones, the fight will continue against terrorist organizations in Syria such as Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Al-Nusra Front and other groups seen as terrorist by the United Nations.
The question of ceasefire monitoring in possible de-escalation zones is "an issue for separate talks," Putin added, saying that international military officials are in contact on the subject.
"In terms of air force flights, aviation will also not be deployed in de-escalation zones, on condition of no military activity there," the Russian president told journalists in Sochi.
The Turkish leader said that while he and the Russian president had discussed the issue of safe zones in Syria during their Sochi negotiations, it is the Astana peace talks participants who will work on the question. "I hope that a de-escalation zone will be implemented," Erdogan said.
The topic of de-escalation zones is especially related to the province of Idlib, where "many people from Aleppo have found refuge," the Turkish president pointed out.
READ MORE: Some trade restrictions between Russia and Turkey to remain for now – Putin
Having reiterated calls to stop the bloodshed of innocent people in Syria, the Turkish president said that both Moscow and Ankara back punishment for those behind an alleged chemical attack in the town of Khan Shaykhun in Syria's Idlib province.
"Such a barbaric attack must not be left unpunished," Erdogan said.Artist’s Impression of the Deep Blue Planet HD 189733b
NASA, ESA, M. Kornmesser
This illustration shows HD 189733b, a huge gas giant that orbits very close to its host star HD 189733. The planet's atmosphere is scorching with a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, and it rains glass, sideways, in howling 7000 kilometer-per-hour winds. Image released July 11, 2013. [Read the Full Story]
Exotic Blue Planet HD 189733b (Artist’s Impression)
NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (AURA/STScI)
This illustration shows a "hot Jupiter" planet known as HD 189733b orbiting its star, HD 189733. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope measured the actual visible light color of the planet, which is deep blue. Image released July 11, 2013. [Read the Full Story]
Inside Hubble's Blue Exoplanet
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PCA is once again reminding people never to leave pets in a parked car, where the heat can reach deadly levels in just minutes.
Environment Canada says the heat wave is expected to break by Monday when a flow of cooler, marine air is expected to blow in.TALLAHASSEE – Under pressure from social conservative groups, the Florida House acted Wednesday to allow faith-based adoption agencies to deny adoptions to gay couples.
The House debated HB 7111 ahead of a vote Thursday, with Republicans rejecting several amendments from Democrats designed to kill the bill. The bill allows private adoption agencies to refuse adoptions to gay couples if they have a religious or moral objection. Democratic amendments nullified by Republicans would have prevented discrimination based on gender or race.
Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, said he wants to prevent religious adoption agencies from being shut down so there would be more opportunities for parents seeking to adopt. He cited the example of Catholic agencies in Massachusetts and other states that shut down rather than comply with non-discrimination laws.
“I don’t believe that the state should be allowed to discriminate against these organizations because of their religious beliefs or convictions,” Brodeur said. “So I’m trying to protect those folks that do good work in the state of Florida from having the government discriminate against their religious beliefs.”
Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, the first openly gay legislator elected to the House, led the fight against the bill, offering amendments to negate the bill that were rejected by Republicans. He noted the bill allows agencies to raise “moral objections,” not just religious beliefs to reject adoption applicants. Also, religious adoption agencies refusing gay couples could still receive state contracts and taxpayer funds.
“This bill goes far wider and deeper than just religious convictions,” Richardson said.
The House passed a different bill, HB 7013, last month eliminating the state ban on gay adoptions. The bill codifies a five years-old appeals court ruling saying the ban was unconstitutional. John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and general counsel for the Florida Family Policy Council, wrote a letter to lawmakers after the vote claiming the ruling was not binding on the rest of the state, only in the Miami district the decision came from – something other lawyers dispute.
“I think the House made a mistake and it knows that now,” Stemberger said. “There’s no reason a faith-based adoption agency should have to close down over threats of lawsuits.”
Former Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, dropped the state’s fight against the lawsuit that produced the ruling in 2010, and the Florida Department of Children and Families hasn’t enforced the gay adoption ban since it was struck down.
Meanwhile, the Senate defeated an amendment from Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, on HB 7013 to require a “statewide binding” court to find the ban on gay adoption unconstitutional for the ruling to take effect. The amendment, which would have essentially reimposed the ban, failed on a voice vote.
The rest of the bill includes incentives for adopting children with additional incentives for those adopting special needs children. The bill is a top priority of Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.
Gay rights groups are exasperated with the move in the House, seeing it as moving backwards on a fight they feel they already won in the courts. They say the House measure is akin to a recent Indiana law allowing businesses to refuse to serve gay people, generating national headlines.
“It’s outrageous, it’s discrimination in its ugliest form. It’s even worse than Indiana because this requires taxpayers to fund discrimination,” said Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida.
But Brodeur insisted his bill wasn’t meant to hurt gay couples but to protect the consciences of religious adoption agencies.
“It is not (a sword), it is a sheild to protect our religious liberties,” Brodeur said.A rendering of the outside of Pearl Street Warehouse, which opens at 33 Pearl St. SW on Oct. 12. (Pearl Street Warehouse)
Pearl Street Warehouse, a new music venue and restaurant at The Wharf from the owners of Cantina Marina, has announced its opening slate of concerts. Booker T. Jones, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who led The MGs and co-wrote “Green Onions,” will headline the venue’s opening-day show on Oct. 12 — the same day I.M.P. opens its new concert hall, the neighboring The Anthem, with a performance by Foo Fighters.
Unlike The Anthem, which can fit up to 6,000 people, Pearl Street Warehouse (33 Pearl St. SW) will be quite intimate, with a capacity of about 150 for seated shows and 300 for shows with a mix of seats and standing. Dinner service will also be available during concerts from the venue’s American diner-style menu.
In many ways, Jones represents the kind of acts the venue is aiming to attract.
“I’ve tongue-in-cheek called it American music,” says Bruce A. Gates who, with Nicholas Fontana and Henry Gandy, co-owns Pearl Street Warehouse and Cantina Marina. “It is Americana but we’re gonna have blues and rock ’n’ roll and country and more.”
Jones “is drawing from everything that Americana music is and from soul, from Memphis, and the blues, as well as collaborating with acts like Drive-By Truckers and The Roots,” says the venue’s talent buyer, Lisa White. “He is kind of the embodiment of all those styles and yet he takes all of those things and has his own style.”
White, who used to book shows at 9:30 Club and Gypsy Sally’s, says the venue will focus on local acts and rising artists. There will also be performers, like Jones, who could play bigger rooms but choose Pearl Street for a more intimate vibe. Comedy and spoken-word performances are in the pipeline, as are brunch and happy hour shows.
“The role of Pearl Street Warehouse is to develop artists,” White says. “We’ll be developing local artists, regional artists, touring national acts and helping them grow within their market.”
Highlights on the initial schedule include: Levon Helm’s daughter Amy Helm (Oct. 13); Asheville, N.C., bluegrass band Town Mountain (Oct. 14); folk singer Amythyst Kiah (Oct. 27); and a pair of rare solo shows from Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood (Dec. 2 & 3). D.C. is represented by singer-songwriter Justin Jones (Nov. 3) and the Chuck Brown Band (Nov. 22). (A full schedule is available at pearlstreetwarehouse.com. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 2 p.m. through Ticketfly. Jones’ show costs $75; most will range between $15 and $25.)
Pearl Street Warehouse can be split into a concert space and a restaurant, though most concerts will use the entire space. Flexible seating allows for options with tables and chairs and full dinner service, or mostly standing with some seating, including in the 50-seat mezzanine level that hangs above one of two bars. The restaurant will be open daily for breakfast and lunch.
The venue has high-def video and streaming capabilities, which will benefit patrons at shows and, potentially, fans at home.
“If bands want to record a live-show video, or if they want to stream it on their website, they can do that,” Gates says. “If PBS or somebody wants to do an ‘Austin City Limits’ kind of show, it’s perfect for that.”
Pearl Street Warehouse enters an increasingly crowded D.C. music scene. Union Stage, from the owners of Vienna’s Jammin Java, is supposed to open at The Wharf this fall and a City Winery — from the hybrid venue/restaurant/winery chain — is coming to Ivy City this year. Gates and White envision all of the area’s venues, including already established spaces, working together to cultivate a larger music scene in D.C., like that of Nashville or Austin, where White lives for part of the year.
“I’m not competing with The Anthem,” White says. “I’m a blip on The Anthem’s radar. They’re going to be doing stuff that’s completely different. We’re gonna develop acts that are gonna outgrow Pearl Street Warehouse and they’re gonna go to the Birchmere and the Hamilton.”
“I think there’s so much opportunity to improve the music scene in D.C.,” Gates adds. “We’re a small but powerful addition to that equation, I think, along with others that are going in. There’s an almost unlimited capacity for good music and the more our city becomes a hub for that, the more it will develop and the more the audience will develop.”Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage processing due to their board spectrum of activity, inertness, and low cost. The study population consisted of 156 men under 45 years of age who attended the infertility clinic for diagnostic purposes with normal semen concentration of 15-300 mln/ml. Participants were interviewed and provided a semen sample. The parabens concentrations: ethyl paraben (EP), butyl paraben (BP), methyl paraben (MP), and iso-butyl paraben (iBuP) were analyzed in the urine using a validated gas chromatography ion-tap mass spectrometry method. The positive association was found between urinary level of BP and XY18 disomy (p = 0.045) and PP and disomy of chromosome 13 (p = 0.007). This is the first study to examine these relationships, and replication of our findings is needed before the association between parabens concentration in urine and aneuploidy can be fully defined. These findings may be of concern due to increased parabens use.Far-left MSNBC host Joy Reid appears to be so excited about the possibility of Democrats taking control of Congress in the 2018 midterms, she's already started a segment to promote Democratic candidates almost a year and a half before the general election even takes place. On Sunday's AM Joy, Reid ended the show with the "first installment of a new segment" as she showed no subtlety in naming it "Flip This House."
When asked by Reid if she would support impeachment against President Donald Trump, New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Linda Weber credited MSNBC with making her support impeachment, and went on to question Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan's Christian faith.
Near the end of the show, Reid introduced the segment:
The 2018 midterm elections are still more than a year away, but the Democrats are already hoping to flip this house. To do that, they need to take 24 seats from the Republican majority. Midterm elections have historically not gone well for the President's party -- most recently in 2006, 2010, and 2014. But these losses can be even more big league for Presidents with low approval ratings. A Quinnipiac poll finds that more than 54 percent of voters would prefer a Democratic-controlled House while just 38 percent said that they want Republicans to remain in charge. It's the widest margin Quinnipiac has ever recorded.
She then added:
One of these seats the Dems are targeting is in New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District -- a district that Hillary Clinton won narrowly in 2016. And, joining me now for the first installment of a new segment we call "Flip This House," is Linda Weber, a banking executive and a Democrat who is looking to take the seat.
After spending the first few questions talking about the New Jersey district's voting patterns, and Republican incumbent Leonard Lance's record of not always voting with other Republicans, Reid brought up the subject of impeachment as she posed: "If you were in Congress and Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, and there was a move to impeach President Donald Trump, would you support it?"
After declaring, "Absolutely, 100 percent," Reid followed up: "Based on what?" The New Jersey Democrat then implicated MSNBC in her views:
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
Based on listening the other day on MSNBC to someone read the articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. And I said, "You know what, every one of those could apply to Donald Trump." He lies consistently. I don't go for the word "untruths," by the way. These are lies, in my opinion. And what he is doing to literally tear apart the republic. We're in a constitutional crisis. And no leader should be allowed to do what he has done and get away with it.
After the MSNBC host asked why her guest believed Speaker Ryan and other Republicans were not "standing up more" to President Trump, Weber took aim at Ryan's Christianity:
I honestly can't figure that out. Paul Ryan professes to be a Christian, yet supports the legislation that he does. I mean, I don't understand it at all. There seems to have been a movement over the last few years of really moving towards party over country, in the Republicans -- in the Republican party.
Reid then ended the segment by promising to follow her Democratic guest's campaign and see if she "can flip that House district" as the MSNBC host concluded the show:
JOY REID: Yeah, well, we will see how you do, Linda Weber. Good luck. When is the primary? LINDA WEBER: Thank you very much. The primary's next June. REID: Okay, next June. So we will be paying attention to that race, and we will see if you can flip that House district.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Sunday, May 14, AM Joy on MSNBC:Image copyright AP Image caption US and Iranian foreign ministers were key to the nuclear deal negotiations
An Iranian man has been arrested on suspicion of informing about Iran's nuclear deal with the West.
A judiciary spokesman described the unidentified man as a "spy who had infiltrated the nuclear team".
The man was held for several days, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi said, before being released on bail.
Last year's nuclear deal was widely celebrated in Iran and internationally, but some Iranian hardliners saw it as a capitulation to the US.
The deal with the US, UK, China, France, Germany and Russia resulted in the lifting of sanctions against Iran imposed over its nuclear programme.
Economic'spy'
No details have been given about the arrest and it remains unclear on whether it is the same case as the one reported on Wednesday by semi-official Iranian news agency Tabnak.
It said that Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, a dual-national in charge of banking issues during the two-year negotiations, was arrested for "selling the country's economic details to foreigners".
But Mr Dorri Esfahani later gave an interview with Tabnak in which he dismissed the reports as "ridiculous".
He was a member of a parallel team working on lifting economic sanctions, under one of the main negotiators for the deal, Iranian media reported.
Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said last week that the suspect was "active in the field of the Iranian economy, and was linked to the British espionage service".
Unconfirmed reports in Iranian media linked the detained man with US and British intelligence.BRUTAL! Tucker Carlson Destroys WaPo Hack and Paper’s Entire Credibility in One Short Interview (VIDEO)
Tucker Carlson just destroyed any remaining credibility the far left Washington Post had before 9 PM Eastern.
On Tuesday Tucker Carlson had on Erik Wemple the Washington Post media reporter and far left hack. It was the most devastating interview in recent memory.
It was sort of like this.
This was brutal.
Tucker Carlson opened the interview with this question:
Tucker Carlson: In the past couple of months I’ve seen a lot of stories including some from you accusing people of basically carrying water for the Russian government and the Russian government is in the news today so I thought I’d ask you something I’ve wondered for a long time which is the Washington Post for years, for many years, has literally carried paid propaganda from the Russian government, a section called ‘Russia behind the headlines.’ It looks like news but it’s designed to fool readers into thinking it’s real. And it’s pure propaganda paid for, distributed by the Russian government… Why have you never written about that? How can you attack others when your own paper takes money from the Russian government.
Sadly, Mr. Wemple could not provide an answer to Tucker’s opening question.
It went downhill quickly from there and went on for ten minutes.
It was like a ten minute luge ride for Mr. Wemple.
Enjoy.
Via Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Dear @WashingtonPost Please send someone over to the @TuckerCarlson show to mop up your remaining credibility from the floor. — Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) February 15, 2017Five sounder rockets will be launched within five minutes of each other early on March 15 (NASA, adapted by CWG)
UPDATE 4:10 p.m., Monday, 3/26: After yet another scrubbed attempt Friday, NASA is going to try again tonight between 2 and 5 a.m. Tuesday morning (3/27). Status updates from NASA.
UPDATE, 5:00 p.m., Thursday, 3/22: After scrubbing attempts the last two nights, NASA will try again tonight.
UPDATE, 6:15 p.m., Tuesday, 3/20: NASA has scheduled the launch tonight for between midnight and 3 a.m. (Wednesday morning), but says there is just a 10% chance of acceptable weather. In other words, it will probably get rescheduled, again.
UPDATE, 6:00 p.m. Friday, 3/16:NASA now says the launch will occur no earlier than the night of Sunday, March 18.
UPDATE, 6:15 p.m. (3/14): NASA has scrubbed the rocket launch for tonight “because of an internal radio frequency interference issue with one of the rockets”. The next launch attempt will occur no earlier than Friday night, March 16.
From earlier (3/14): Between midnight and 1:30 a.m. tonight (March 15), 5 NASA rockets will soar into the atmosphere to obtain information about rip roaring winds 60-65 miles high in the atmosphere. Assuming clear skies, NASA says the 5 rockets will be launched in just over 5 minutes from Wallops Island, Va.
Links: NASA launch webcast | Launch updates on Facebook and Twitter
These small, powerful “sounding rockets” will ascend to altitudes of 50 to 90 miles high. Night sky watchers from South Carolina to Pittsburgh to New England will be able to see a glowing trail of milky, white clouds for up to 20 minutes after the launch. These contrails, known as tracers, are being intentionally emitted so NASA can study how they move in the wind.
The mission sets out “to study these high altitude winds and their intimate connection to the complicated electrical current patterns that surround Earth” NASA says.
Link: Space.com slideshow
These super fast winds, not to be confused with the jet stream that transports weather systems much lower in the atmosphere (at altitudes around 30,000 feet), reach speeds of 200-300 miles per hour. They’re in a region of the ionosphere with high levels of electrical turbulence that can interfere with satellite and radio communications.
“This area shows winds much larger than expected,” says Miguel Larsen, principal investigator for this Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX). “We don’t yet know what we’re going to see, but there is definitely something unusual going on. ATREX will help us understand the big question about what is driving these fast winds.”
Video overview of ATREX mission from NASA
Link: NASA ATREX website
NASA hopes the experiment will help scientists better model this area, where damage to satellites and communication systems can occur from the turbulent winds.
--3. 2. 1. Activate!
In early February 1998 a new TV game show surfaced on BBC Two, one that was about as different as anything we'd ever seen. It didn't feature general knowledge questions or sprints around a super market, it was equal parts testosterone and techno-geek chic. It was, of course, Robot Wars and it would quickly become one of the most popular programmes on TV.
Before appearing on UK TV, Robot Wars was first dreamt up over the pond. The story goes that a Lucasfilm-employed toy designer by the name of Marc Thorpe came up with the idea in 1992 while failing to build a remote control vacuum cleaner. The results ended up being less about cleanliness, and more about carnage. This unexpected turn out made Thorpe realise that radio controlled robot fighting could be a big thing. The seed of Robot Wars was planted.
In 1994 Thorpe created the first incarnation of Robot Wars. Not a TV show, this was a live competition that featured a small number of robots doing battle in front of a 1,000 strong audience. It was successful, drawing in additional funding from a New York record label, Sm:)e Communications, and was followed by three even more impressive and successful wars until 1997.
During 1997, events took a turn for the worse for Marc Thorpe. The record company that helped him get Robot Wars off the ground, now called Profile Records, reportedly went behind his back, consulting with Mentorn Broadcasting to create a UK TV show based on Thorpe's ideas. The deal went through, and led to the creation of the Robot Wars we all know.
While this TV deal was being pursued by Profile Records and Mentorn Broadcasting, Thorpe was working on his fifth Robot Wars, scheduled for 1998. There was a major buzz around this, which was soon quashed when Profile Records issued a court order preventing Thorpe from holding any more Robot Wars competitions. Thorpe was effectively robbed of his own creation.
A former competitor of Thorpe's Robot Wars, Gary Cline got involved in the legal mess after Profile Records attempted to shut down a Robot Wars online discussion forum. He announced his intention to stage his own tournament fearing the cancellation of Robot Wars '98. This would be called Robotica and would take place on June 26 1998 in San Francisco.
In a move to seemingly scupper Robotica, Mentorn also announced Robot Wars for San Francisco on the very same weekend. However, the anticipation for Robotica was too high and Mentorn cancelled its tournament, but not without having the final say. With a capacity crowd and participation roster on the books, Cline's event was cancelled due to a court order filed against him by Profile Records. Both fans and competitors are understandably angry at this result, but Profile’s plans were unaffected, and the legal battles continued until March 1999 when the results of the legal case were revealed. Profile Records won the rights to Robot Wars, but Thorpe would remain involved in some capacity.
The Robot Wars legal debacle out of the way, attention eventually turn to more competitors, notably another US-based name, Battlebots. Profile Records also attempted to take this down in court, but failed. The following years saw various other legal shenanigans involving Robot Wars, Thorpe, and other events, and you can find out more about the specifics of these here. As you can see, the behind the scenes of Robot Wars was just as vicious as the action in the arena.
Low gear
The first series of Robot Wars was a typically low-key test bed for the BBC consisting of only six episodes. It was overseen by Jeremy Clarkson, who brought with him his familiar acerbic wit and characteristic disdain. He was accompanied by Philippa Forrester who served as the co-host in the pits, and on commentary was Jonathan Pearce, who would become the voice of Robot Wars, and was present for all series of the show, including the 2016 revival.
Clarkson wasn’t a great fit with the show, chiefly because of his lack of enthusiasm for robot action. His demeanour and tongue-in-cheek comments put across the sense that this was all childish guff, watched by nerds and geeks he couldn't bring himself to care about. It felt as though he'd much rather be sat behind the wheel of a big boy's toy talking to blokes he considered were on his level. In the pits, Forrester was a much better fit, and soon became a fan-favourite. She gelled with the competitors, and seemed to enjoy the whole experience.
Arguably even more important were the show's house robots, which benefitted from professional construction and no need to stick to competition weight rules. They were impressive, and clearly designed to wow kids and adults alike. Matilda, Sgt Bash, Shunt and Dead Metal were the series' team, and lurked in the arena's patrol zones for unlucky contestants, dubbed 'Roboteers'.
The format of the program was clearly a plan in flux. The heats consisted of the Gauntlet obstacle course, a trial, and one-on-one knockouts. On paper, the Gauntlet was interesting, with various routes for robots to take guarded by house robots, but the actual result was an often tepid event that had its moments, but never quite worked as well as it could have. The trials were more interesting and entertaining, consisting of different challenges each week, including sumo bouts, robot football, mazes, and British bulldog.
The real meat of the show, and the biggest draw were the actual fights, which were saved until the end of each episode. These saw the remaining robots duke it out to determine the eventual winner, who would go through to the final battle at the end of the sixth episode. This was a simple six-robot melee.
Despite the slow start and a somewhat flawed structure, Robot Wars' first series was a success, and was unlike anything the UK had seen before. Even at this early stage, the contestant robots were pretty impressive, with some clear highlights. The likes of the champion of series one, Roadblock and the insanely expensive, Oxford University-built Mortis (which was a clear favourite) painted a promising picture of what was to come, and the house robots always provided some satisfying action, even if the contestants failed to do so.
Awooga!
For the second series of Robot Wars, which started airing on the 6th of November 1998, the BBC made some changes, including an increase in the size of the show to fifteen episodes, which meant more competitors. The second series also saw the departure of Clarkson, and the arrival of the most famous host of the show, the indomitable Craig Charles.
Charles brought undeniable energy and enthusiasm to the series, a whole league ahead of Clarkson's somewhat fed-up performance. Charles was a perfect fit for the show, and like Philippa Forrester, who also returned for series two, he got on with the competitors and was a great front man. He even managed to work in a few Red Dwarf references. Charles and Forrester would become the most popular and well-known presenting team, and rightly so.
Craig Charles wasn't the only new addition to the show's roster, and alongside the existing creations, the most famous house robot of them all was also wheeled out. Sir Killalot was a mammoth robot that towered over all others. Created for sheer spectacle, he certainly achieved this, and it was always exciting to see what he'd do to competing robots.
The actual format of the show didn't change much, although the Gauntlet was redesigned with different obstacles, including a giant mechanical arm. This time there was a semi-final where remaining competitors battled for a place in the final.
The major change in terms of the competition here came with the robots themselves. Series 2 was when we saw a lot of the most famous robots and teams appear, including Panic Attack, Cassius, Chaos, Behemoth, and the return of Mortis. The build quality of the robots was getting better, and we saw the first effective flippers. Previously, weapons were mostly rams and the odd hammer. Series 2 changed that. Perhaps the most notable moment of the entire series, and a classic highlight was Cassius' first use of its flipper as a'self-righting mechanism', or 'SRIMECH', as it became known. Flipped upside down by Killalot during a trial, Rex Garrod's Cassius used its ram to perform a flip back onto its wheel. It was amazing to see.
Panic Attack emerged the winner here, making money for charity as it won each and every round, although Cassius was a worthy runner-up.
Chaos reigns
Series 3 was by far the biggest yet, spanning 19 episodes with even more teams competing. Finally, the producers acted on the wishes of fans, and the preamble of the gauntlet was ditched in favour of a structure that consisted of more actual fights in the form of knockout bouts. There was still a bit of filler in the form of mini tournaments for pinball, football, middleweight and walker robots, but these were often entertaining in their own right, and broke up the standard fights.
For me, this season was when Robot Wars really hit its stride, not only in terms of actual content, but also for participant quality. While series 2 saw a definite improvement in robots and introduced some familiar names, season 3 really packed them in, and we saw some amazing displays, not least the arrival of one of the greatest robots of all time, Chaos 2.
Flippers were the name of the game here after Cassius' success in the preceding series, and Chaos 2 undoubtedly had the best around, demonstrated perfectly by being the first ever robot to throw another out of the arena, which it did against Firestorm.
Flippers may have been where it was at, but we also saw some other big names and weapons appear, none more notable than two of the most feared robots in the entirety of Robot Wars – Razer and Hypno-Disc. The former of the two is often heralded as the best robot in all of Robot Wars, with its devastating break-shaped crusher, and Hypno-Disc was by far the most devastating, offering destruction on a large, entertaining spectacle. It's known to many as the best robot to never win the title.
Other notable entries included Cassius 2, Firestorm, Pussycat, The Big Cheese, and Killerhurtz. Mortis also returned, but again didn't perform well.
A great series, the third war was long and entertaining with far more highlights than previous wars thanks to the greatly improved robots. Chaos 2 ended up taking the prize, unsurprisingly as it was clearly one of the most well-built, but both Hypno-Disc and Firestorm were close behind.
Meow!
The fourth wars continued in much the same vein as the previous series. Philippa Forrester was absent, however, as she was pregnant. She was replaced for the series by Julia Reed. Everything else remained the same, save for a change to the opening heats, which were retooled into three-way fights. The series also featured the returning pinball warrior and sumo trials. A new house robot was introduced, although not as an antagonist. The Refbot was just that, a mechanised referee that could count out disabled 'bots and stop house robots who interfered when they shouldn't. In truth, it didn't do much, but it was a nice touch.
As for the robots, it was more of the same, with the expected updates to technology and some more inventiveness. Some competitors did little work, though, simply returning with the same machine. Chaos 2, for example, was identical to its previous incarnation save for a few tweaks, while others received more notable adjustments. Hypno-Disc now had a self-righter for example, and Pussycat had replaced its previous season's circular saw blade with a custom-designed one. The team was disqualified in the last war as their blade shattered dangerously in the arena during a bout. This kind of tempered blade was not allowed in the competition. The fourth war also saw the arrival of the team that would become quite controversial later on: team Tornado, which we’ll come to in a moment.
Once again, this war was quite the spectacle at times, and it saw Pussycat quickly become one of the crowd favourites. It was also the debut of the interesting 'cluster bot' Gemini, a robot that entered the arena as a single robot, but split into two during the fight. It was clear that innovation was growing in the pits, and there was more to the competition that the most powerful flipper.
That said, Chaos 2 and its powerful flipper successfully defended its title, becoming the first and only robot to win the title two years running. It beat Pussycat in the final.
Following the fourth wars the first of two Robot Wars Extreme series aired. This didn't follow the same format of the standard series, but instead focused on a range of special on-off titles and challenges. Each episode had a main event, usually for a challenge belt or title, and also had other battles such as vengeance grudge matches, all-star battles, and special events like special forces fights where various armed and emergency forces built their own robots.
The format was more in your face, with competitors often filming WWE-style interviews and taunts to their opponents. It was more than a little cringe-worthy most of the time, but Extreme did deliver much more action that fans wanted, and gave teams a chance to win other titles when they had failed to make it in the main tournament. Extreme also featured robots from around the world.
Controversy corner
The fifth and sixth wars continued with the same style, and there wasn't really much in the way of evolution. Losers in the initial heats were given the chance to fight for a place in the final in a three-way melee, and in the sixth wars, the first melee fights were changed to four-way bouts. Also new to the sixth war was the arrival of another couple of house robots, Mr. Psycho and his faithful mutt, Growler. They looked impressive, but didn't actually do all that much, and didn't make the same impact as the mighty Killalot.
The competition was, as always, even better, with more robots and more innovation. These two wars saw the once indomitable flipper lose its lustre, and the new wave of bots embraced the spinning disc weapon made famous in the competition by Hypno-Disc. Robots like S3, 13 Black impressed, although the eventual winner of the sixth wars would feature no elaborate weapons, but came with a lot of controversy.
The final saw the reigning champion, the deadly Razer, who won the fifth wars up against Tornado. It was the piercing beak versus what was little more than a hunk of metal on wheels (although it now had a scoop on the front). Tornado was very fast and hit hard, but Razer had the chance to easily damage it, or at least it would have if not for team Tornado's last minute addition of an 'anti-crusher web'. This was simply a large metal skirt around the robot designed to prevent Razer from getting close.
Cleared by the judges as the Tornado team had always declared their changeable weapon system, many felt the web itself was not part of the weapon, and was instead merely a cheap tactic. It prevented Razer from putting up any offence. That is, until the end of the bout when Razer managed to pierce Tornado and pick it up, before dumping it in the pit. Sadly for Razer, the web surrounding Tornado stopped them from fitting in the pit, and the bout went to perhaps the most controversial judges’ decision of the programme thus far. Tornado won, and although the Razer team were gracious in defeat, the controversy was there, and Tornado gained more than a few haters.
According to reports of some spectators at the live show, the match was blanketed with deafening boos from the audience, which were allegedly dubbed over with cheers by the TV show. Fans at the event were not happy at all. The disgruntlement carried on in forums and discussion everywhere, with some defending Tornado for using viable tactics, and others saying it was against the whole spirit of the show. Either way, it made for an interesting final, and showcased a new evolution of robots that could be altered for the match and opponent ahead.
Five alive
The seventh, and final wars of the initial run was not found on the BBC, but instead moved to Channel Five, likely due to ever-decreasing viewing figures, which dropped to around 1.2million for the sixth wars.
The move to Five brought many new changes, including the announcement of a £20,000 grand prize. The major changes, however, came with the competition rules, many of which were clear reactions to the controversy of the sixth wars. With input from previous roboteers George Francis (Chaos 2) and Kim Davies (Panic Attack) who now served as technical consultants, several new stipulations were added.
Robots above featherweight now had to sport an active (moving) weapon. This was a move to prevent 'boring rambots' like Tornado from becoming too prevalent. Interchangeable equipment also came with caveats. Teams could no longer change the robot's body panels and couldn't add more armour. This was a blatant response to Tornado's infamous win in the last series. Entrants were also prevented from using any barbed or snagging mesh, as this could greatly diminish the effectiveness of spinners. Even the PSI rating of pneumatics and hydraulics were limited. Some thought this simply neutered robots, but it was all done with a deliberate goal.
Clearly, the organisers wanted audience-pleasing bouts and spectacle, and changed the rules to ensure this would happen. Robot variety and innovation were paramount, and all breeds had to have a fair crack of the whip, something fans, and obviously event organisers thought didn't happen in the sixth wars final. These new rules, specifically the active weapon rule prevented some big names from entering, notably the veteran Stinger team.
There were a couple of other changes to the show too. Philippa Forrester didn't return, and was replaced by Jayne Middlemiss, and yet another new house robot appeared in the form of Cassius Clay. The format of the actual competition was the same, minus any semi-finals. The heats went straight to the final.
Some good robots appeared this season, but few were as clearly capable as the incredible RAF-built spinning top, Typhoon 2, and the very Tornado-like Storm II. The Tornado team obviously returned to defend their title. All three, along with X-terminator made it to the final.
Storm 2 versus Tornado, despite the new rules, was a full-on ramming match, albeit an entertaining one, which Storm II won, but the real fun started with Typhoon's first match of the final.
In the match, Typhoon was so devastating, it even destroyed part of the 'bomb-proof' arena wall, causing the bout to be stopped. The judges even stated that they thought Typhoon 2 was probably the single most dangerous robot ever seen in Robot Wars. If not for the surrounding cage protecting the audience, there could well have been spectator injuries. Needless to say, Typhoon 2 won.
The final was between Typhoon 2 and Storm II, and once again was a controversial affair. The actual match was very cat and mouse, with Storm II being by far the most aggressive, nearly
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me the most and that's when you have slow corners," Kelly said. "We don't have any slow corners. All those kids can run. Jalen can run. Josh can run. Now it's about honing their skills. They can certainly athletically do the job. Now it's a matter of how quickly they can pick up the technique and discipline, which is so important in playing that position."
Zeke Motta and Jamoris Slaughter are the projected starting safeties.
Kelly said losing Wood, who largely had played special teams last year as a sophomore, won't cause any scheme changes in preparation for the Sept. 1 opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.
"Lo didn't have a ton of experience, either, where he was playing," Kelly said. "I don't think we feel the learning curve is such that we have to make some changes relative to what they've been doing. We want to continue the consistency of teaching that we have established over the last two and a half weeks. We'll see how this plays out over the next few days."The dedicated Bixby button on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ didn’t really serve any meaningful purpose until last month when Bixby Voice was rolled out globally. Before the global release of Bixby Voice, the dedicated button could only be used for Bixby Home.
Most users didn’t feel the need for Bixby Home to have a dedicated key. Third-party apps were developed that allowed them to remap the button to launch any app of their choice. Samsung was quick to clamp down on those apps for reasons that our editor in chief explained in great detail.
I bemoaned recently that the Bixby button was driving me nuts and many of our readers agreed with me. I don’t like how it gets in the way and that you can’t avoid accidental presses of the button. However, it’s time for us to rejoice.
Samsung is finally allowing us to disable the Bixby button, to an extent. The latest Bixby updates add a new toggle which lets you decide whether or not Bixby Home should be launched when the dedicated button is pressed. This can also be configured from the Bixby settings menu.
You’ll see this toggle at the very top of Bixby Home once you install the update. You can tap on the gear icon to hide the toggle should you so desire. It’s just a matter of tapping on a toggle now and that makes me happy.
To be clear, Bixby Home isn’t going anywhere. You can still access it by swiping left from the home screen. The Bixby button will also work for summoning Bixby Voice. Just press and hold like you already do.
Are you happy that Samsung is finally giving us this option? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Update: The implementation appears to be random right now. Some of our devices have got this toggle after the update. Some haven’t. Perhaps it will take more time for this to be available on all Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 units.WASHINGTON — Comedian Stephen Colbert’s super PAC may be the only super PAC in the nation with a fan club.
Throngs gathered outside the Federal Election Commission’s office downtown under gray skies, but rain came only in a downpour of dollar bills eager supporters handed to Colbert as seed money for his so-far unofficial super PAC, known as Colbert Super PAC.
Cheering fans also chanted “USA!” and sang “Happy Birthday” to the funny man, who turned 47 years old today. After Colbert announced that shaking hands with him would cost $1, many attendees forked over cash — which Colbert happily accepted and stuffed into his mouth before exclaiming “God bless Citizens United” from his black SUV, then driving off.
Colbert had traveled to the FEC offices to file paperwork and ask the commission for an advisory opinion about whether his potential super PAC would qualify for a media exemption — which would allow him to report on the activities of his organization without having to disclose any in-kind contributions from his parent company, Viacom. (As Colbert has noted on The Colbert Report, in recent weeks, Viacom’s lawyers have encouraged him not to form a super PAC.)
“There’s some that don’t want you to have a voice!” Colbert said to the assembled crowd, according to Slate reporter Dave Weigel, who was also at the event. “There’s some who don’t want you to have Colbert Super PAC. But you know what? I am not willing to ride on the back of the bus!”
(This intrepid reporter was too far from Colbert to hear much of his speech over the relentless requests of police officers to onlookers to stay on the sidewalk.)
Colbert was joined by his attorney, Trevor Potter, the former general counsel for Republican John McCain during his 2000 and 2008 presidential bids, the founder of the Campaign Legal Center and the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
(Update 5/17: You can read the 8-page.pdf file of Colbert’s official request here.)
One of the fans who attempted to glimpse Colbert was Collin Shay, a college student from Silver Spring, Md.
Shay said he hoped Colbert would use the super PAC to “bring attention to how ridiculous the idea of super PACs are.”
“Individuals can’t compete with the amount of money corporations can generate,” Shay told OpenSecrets Blog.
Paula Ernst, a freelance writer from Gainesville, Va., likewise, looked forward to seeing what Colbert would do with his new, still-unofficial group.
“I can’t wait to see what he’ll do to parody the ludicrousness of our electoral process,” Ernst told OpenSecrets Blog.
“If we don’t laugh, we’ll all cry,” she lamented, adding we need more accountability and sunshine on political spending.
This isn’t Colbert’s first political gambit. In 2007, he flirted with a possible presidential bid and attempted to gain ballot access for the South Carolina Democratic Party primary. South Carolina officials denied that request to the Palmetto State native.
During that failed bid, Colbert also joked that snack company Doritos would be sponsoring his campaign, and then-Center for Responsive Politics Communications Director Massie Ritsch appeared on The Colbert Report to warn him of the potential illegal corporation contributions such a maneuver would bring.
Super PACs rose to prominence last year after the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision and a federal court decision in the case SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission.
Super PACs are used to make independent expenditures — advertisements that do overtly advocate for or against federal politicians — and can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations and unions. They register with the Internal Revenue Service under section 527 of the U.S. tax code, and are required to regularly disclose the identities of their donors.
Learn more about super PACs on OpenSecrets.org here and here.Tsinghua University of Beijing is partnering with the University of Washington to start a graduate institute in Bellevue’s Bel-Red Corridor that could grow to 3,000 students.
One of the most prestigious universities in China is joining forces with the University of Washington to run a graduate institute in Bellevue that will focus on technology and innovation.
The partnership with Tsinghua University of Beijing — sometimes called the MIT of China — will mark the first time that a Chinese research university has established a physical presence in the United States, UW officials say.
To jump-start the effort, Microsoft is donating $40 million, and the program will be based in the Spring District in the rezoned and redeveloping Bel-Red Corridor. No state money will be used.
Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) What it is: A graduate-level institute that will teach technology using project-based learning. Partners: University of Washington, Tsinghua University of Beijing, China. Two other university partners from other countries are expected to be announced in the next year. Funding: Microsoft is giving $40 million to start the program. Other companies and nonprofits may join the institute later. No state money is involved. What it will offer: A 15-month master’s degree, Master of Science in Technology Innovation. Opening date: Fall 2016 Location: GIX will have a temporary location in Bellevue in the first year, then move into a 100,000-square-foot, 3-story building in the Spring District of Bellevue in fall 2017.
The Global Innovation Exchange, or GIX as it will be known, will start with a few dozen students in fall 2016, next fall, both American and Chinese. It could grow to 3,000 students in a decade. At least two other international universities are expected to join up.
UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce and Tsinghua President Qiu Yong made the announcement Thursday afternoon in downtown Bellevue, accompanied by Gov. Jay Inslee and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Nadella called it an “ambitious project with incredible promise.”
And Yong, speaking in Mandarin, said that while Seattle is now known in China because of “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” it soon will be known for GIX.
In an interview last week, Cauce and Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith, who has worked on the project, said the program is unlike anything ever offered at the university.
Both Tsinghua and UW faculty will teach, in English. The students will earn a master’s degree over 15 months, and they’ll be charged with tackling great problems of this era: sustainability, health, inequality, environmental issues, transportation and clean energy, to name just a few.
“We do see technology as being a key in all of these areas,” Cauce said. “Technology isn’t just about engineering and science anymore.”
The program builds on the fields of computer science and electrical engineering but will span many other disciplines. The work will be project-based, with Chinese and American students working together in such fields as cloud computing and the “Internet of things,” the concept of connecting everyday objects to the Internet to make them smarter and capable of doing more.
Smith, who has long been involved in higher-education issues in Washington, described the partnership as a way to grow higher education in Seattle, which is “at a disadvantage” when compared with other U.S. cities that are tech-innovation centers, including Boston, New York, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
All of those cities have at least two major research universities; Boston has four. Seattle has one.
And while the UW handed out a record number of degrees — 364 — in computer science and computer engineering this spring, it turns away about two-thirds of the qualified students who want to major in those programs because there is not enough room. At the same time, local tech companies say they must import talent from other states and countries to fill vacant positions.
Smith said Microsoft saw it as “an opportunity to invest and grow … by bringing other universities here — students and faculty — in ways no region, state or country has ever done before.”
Microsoft believes GIX is something new that “can potentially put all of the good things about our economy on steroids,” he said.
The two universities will be equal partners in the venture, and Cauce says GIX will allow the UW to hire more top faculty, something that is a challenge in a competitive marketplace. It also “opens up tremendous research opportunities” and the chance for spinoff companies and products from some of the discoveries.
Microsoft will contribute money and mentors but will not have any role in governance of the institute; the curriculum will be owned by the faculty, Cauce said.
Tsinghua (pronounced TSHING-wah and sometimes abbreviated as THU), was founded in 1911. It is ranked with Peking University as the best university in China — and one of the best in Asia, according to Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, one of several influential rankings of international universities.
Its alumni include the current president of China, Xi Jinping, and past president, Hu Jintao.
The solution to mistrust is more contact, not less.” - UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce
Tom Alberg, president of the venture-capital firm Madrona Venture Group, said the partnership is “a great deal for the Seattle area.” It will help bring more tech talent here and allow the UW to educate more Washington students in technology fields, he said.
The partnership will also reinforce and elevate Seattle’s status as a major global center of innovation, Alberg said. He said its closest comparison is Cornell Tech, a partnership between Cornell University and The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, which is taking shape on New York’s Roosevelt Island.
Cauce said the UW is also excited about having a foot in the Spring District of the Bel-Red corridor, a 900-acre triangle of Bellevue that’s being rezoned and redeveloped, at a time when some areas of Seattle seem to be getting built out.
“It’s a wonderful place for us to be,” Cauce said.
Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad, said GIX will occupy a 100,000-square-foot, three-story building that he described as “a very flexible, lab-based experimental learning environment.” It will be built in the 16-block Spring District, which Wright Runstad and Shorenstein Properties are developing. The building won’t open until fall 2017, so GIX will open in a temporary location in 2016.
There’s no street address yet, just cleared land and a concrete pad, Johnson said. Nearby, 300 apartment units are under construction, and the Spring District will have a light-rail stop by 2023.
Both Cauce and Smith waved off concerns about the possibility that a partnership with a Chinese university could lead to corporate espionage or hacking. Smith said Microsoft has worked in partnership with Tsinghua University “quite possibly longer than any American technological company. We know the university well, and have the highest regard for it.”
Cauce said she believes that nothing but good can come from the two global superpowers working together and collaborating on humanity’s greatest challenges. “The solution to mistrust is more contact, not less,” she said.
There’s already a veritable pipeline of Chinese students coming to Washington for college.
At the UW this year, 2,507 undergraduates and 726 graduate students on the Seattle campus came from mainland China. Overall, the three UW campuses — in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma — had 3,528 students from China.
Statewide, about 8,500 students from China attended universities and colleges in Washington in 2014, according to the Institute for International Education. Nationwide, more than a quarter-million students from China were studying in the U.S. that year, the institute reported.The Top Ten Things I Miss About Tokyo
Let me preface this post by saying that I did not write on Tuesday because I did not have my computer. The reason has, in part, to do with what I miss about Tokyo and bits and pieces of what I miss about Tokyo that CAN be found in the U.S.
In case you didn’t know, I’m in the U.S. this week visiting with my family. It is my grandmother’s birthday (she will be 88 next week) and my grandfather is not doing well. I had a frequent flyer ticket and using it to visit just now seemed like a prudent thing to do.
When flying into Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta last week I had several adventures. First of all, my plane from Tokyo was late. And secondly, when passengers come into Atlanta from outside the U.S., they have to clear security again AFTER leaving immigration and the customs hall – and therefore check and retrieve luggage one extra time. It’s a nightmare and nearly caused me to miss my plane out of Atlanta to Florida where my family lives.
Because I was taking a different airline to Florida than I had taken to Atlanta, I had to retrieve the bag and then get a new boarding pass on another airline and re-check the bag, which they could not guarantee would make the plane, but it did in the end. Then I had to go through security again. Well, due to the time constraints, I left my computer – my new little netbook – at the C Gate security checkpoint in Atlanta. I simply leaned down to put on my shoe and tie it, and left the computer on the table where I had laid it.
However, after filing the proper form on the Internet with the department of security lost and found on Thursday evening, I got a call on Friday morning from the airport that this nice lady had found my computer and it would be waiting for me in Atlanta when I passed through there again. I retrieved it today.
People in the U.S. don’t often have faith in each other, but I have faith. My belongings were returned and everything is safe and sound. People can be inherently good.
So though the security of Tokyo is one of the things I miss about it when I’m not there, I do feel good about the security of my home country right now.
So here are the top ten things I miss about Tokyo:
10. The food (especially the fresher than fresh sushi)
9. The mild weather (though it is quite hot in the summer, winter is very mild in comparison to the northeast part of the U.S. where I have spent most of my life.)
8. The safety (my ten-year-old goes to the park on his own with no issues and no fears – and no fear from his mother, either.)
7. The quiet (no honking horns on the streets!)
6. The cleanliness (there is no trash on the streets – and conversely no trash cans either. People in Japan carry their trash until it can be disposed of properly.)
5. The food (noodle bowls – ramen and udon and soba, oh my!)
4. The posh cars I see (it’s a very slow day if I don’t spot a Ferrari or a Maserati)
3. The walking (I rarely use my car – I walk to do almost all of my errands and most of the kids’ activities are within walking distance of the house. If I don’t walk I take the train – except to the American Club – to which I take the car. It figures, right?)
2. The people (everyone, without fail, is polite and deferential – even when it is not expected.)
1. The food (French food, Indian food, Italian food, Chinese food, Singaporean food – I could go on and on and on….)
This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a taste of some of the things I love about my adopted city. Rest assured, however; when I’m in Tokyo there are many things I miss about the United States. Stay tuned for a post about that particular topic next week.
This article is a submission for the Japan Blog Matsuri hosted by Muza-chan’s Gate to Japan.Hooooooooooly crap.
So, this took a while, because it's just really silly, but it's finally done. STAR WARS PATROL.
This is an (obviously unofficial) expansion for PATROL, that really serious game about the Vietnam War I wrote which obviously needed to be made into a science fiction game? Listen, I just like Star Wars a lot, don't question it.
How much do I love Star Wars? Well, this is one hundred pages of Star Wars. Included are rules for things like making your own blaster, energy shields, droids and aliens, dozens and dozens of vehicles, characters, and NPC templates, oodles of equipment, special rules for force powers, and background information spanning all three of the canon Star Wars eras.
Using this expansion, you can play as or against clone troopers, battle droids, the Rebel Alliance, stormtroopers, a variety of criminal gangs, the New Republic, the First Order, the Resistance, the Shadow Army of Umbara, and Gungans. You can be Saw's Partisans, Naboo security, or Ewoks. You can be one of those armless box robots if you wanted to do that. Death Troopers, swoop gangs, whatever. You can be one of the droid artillery tanks with the hoop wheels. Like, that can be your character. You can recreate Rogue One or the Battle of Hoth. There's stuff from Rebels and The Clone Wars cartoon in there. There's even a cool rule that lets you do cinematic hero stuff within the context of PATROL's rules and tone.
It mostly sticks to the new canon, but I filled some details out with Legends stuff or just straight making stuff up. I designed a First Order walker based on a goddamn LEGO kit. I did a paintover of a low-res tank model from a goddamn mobile game. This is just a silly amount of work for something like this.
Good God, I'm never doing this again.
(Until I do Imperial Guard Patrol I guess...)Not every advancement in design has to be hardware-heavy, though -- smaller titles, like those we cover in Heat Signature, have a modularity about them that is empowering for the industry. Using HTML5 in combination with scripting languages, for example, results in highly-accessible web-based titles that can be played on almost every device -- mobile, desktop, tablet, you name it. It's not going to get us those seamless transitions in colossal AAA-titles, but it will get us something much more important: New avenues to re-vitalize the game/gamer relationship of an increasingly-unimpressed gaming public. Burn-out is a big problem in gamers - many of us have seen it all at this point, and more innovative, efficient titles look to be the most inviting pathway to keep things fun, which was, after all, why we all started playing games.
Very little is original in modern entertainment outlets, but there's always a new approach to design - it just needs to be discovered; the best ideas, hopefully, remain just beneath the surface, and many of our future advancements in the gaming industry will rely heavily on design/development ingenuity and technological advancements. The not-yet-included design features are everywhere, we're just waiting for the strategy and equipment to get there.
Jay Margalus of Lunar Giant - the studio working on Delve Deeper 2 - was able to lend us some of his time to talk about emerging game technologies and their high appeal to indie (and larger) developers. We took HTML5 as a sample of the newer options in game development technologies, which is compatible on nearly any web-enabled device.
"We're sort of pioneers in the space right now -- there's not a lot out there in terms of tutorials, so we had to figure out a lot of tricks on our own," Margalus explained, talking about their development obstacles of creating Mega Ran in Language Arts - an old-skool platformer based around nerdcore rapper Random. "The bigger studios tend to [brush off] HTML5 and smaller games since it's not yet proven to make lots of money [...] but we all have to respect what everyone does for the industry - it ultimately makes game making a healthier community."
When asked about the appeal of alternative development methodologies to the more cinematic game productions, Margalus noted: "I think indie games are trying to change the perception that games have to feel like big-budget movies, so we're more concerned about accessibility than that big-budget'movie feel.' We want to create a game that feels like you're in a game mechanically and interactively, and have people actually play it. I'm not sure how to explain it - Meat Boy feels more like a game than Call of Duty, to me."
It's an interesting angle. Both games (in the above examples) have their positions in the industry; cinematic games fill a void in the gaming industry that was previously empty due to the sheer amount of hardware required to drive such an experience. Movies were the only form capable of delivering high-octane graphics, and that was with large thanks to pre-rendered scenes - something many games didn't have the luxury of aside from cut-scenes. As more companies are guiding their productions to take advantage of our new-found power, indie games are left to focus heavily on mechanics, abstract concepts, and unique angles for improved play experiences. Everyone plays a respectable role in the advancement of gaming as a growing medium -- big developers push technological limits, entice the masses to play their games (sometimes for the first time), and cause controversy that ultimately builds gaming's legitimacy as an acceptable and global entertainment and art form. Teams that push the boundaries, as in any type of business, will live and die by the design risks taken -- but there's something to be learned from every venture.
"I tend to think that small studios and big studios can work together, if done properly, to create thriving gaming ecosystems," Margalus emphasized, "For a large part, we create different kinds of games, but I respect what everyone does for the industry."
So what can be done to inject a bit of vigor into the life of a long-time gamer? Games that are made entirely for their fun value -- the ones that don't necessarily emphasize graphical and scripted immersion -- can be just as magnetizing as their larger counterparts; mechanics, interaction, and accessibility play a key role in the entertainment value of games, and with the evolution of mobile computing, we see more viability than ever for the achievement of these three items within a game.
Take the possibility for persistence between multiple online devices as an instance of joint advancement between new design concepts and technological leaps. Persistence will play a large role in the future desirability of compatible games: If Dwarf Fortress, as an example, could be played on a PC, saved, and played later on a mobile device (ignoring CPU-intensive requirements), it's instantly a marketable option. It's not revamping the core mechanics, the story, graphics, or anything like that - but that one change immediately increases a game's value to the consumer. The same goes for games like Minecraft that are already inherently reliant on the continuation of a player-driven world: To place a few blocks while bored at work, head home, and pick up on the PC is something that most of us would agree is still a largely untapped possibility.
And that's just one example. The opening statement in this article lamented about originality in modern titles, but went on to say that the lack of originality isn't necessarily due to a lack of ideas; Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop roleplayers can closely relate with the limitless options in tabletop games that are simply not available or possible in video games. If I want to break into a window or shimmy down the chimney, I can; if I want to peer into that window before breaking in, looking for lights or occupants, I can roll a die to do it. Video games have clearly-defined parameters that limit such options (due to time, budget, and hardware) -- looking at a window in Skyrim will show no pop-up text that informs us of a potential interaction, and so we move on. That's not to say that it's realistic to expect that video games can react uniquely to player-initiated events -- not at all -- but it's a highlight that there are still ideas out there and the industry is still enthusiastically expanding, and now that hardware has reached an unbelievable level of power (for PC players, at least), we'll hopefully start seeing new bounds in games themselves.
It's all in the application of the technology. There are applications for our current-gen hardware that haven't even been thought of yet, and as smaller studios grasp for a foothold in the overwhelmingly-vast gaming market, we'll continue to see emerging innovations that aim only to expand a game's accessibility or mechanics.
This is more musing than anything, really, but there's hope for a less ubiquitous future in gaming yet. The game industry's "ecosystem," as Margalus put it, takes iterative steps toward a stronger community with healthy competition. We're in good shape.
-Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.+ Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Join mailing list
Oct. 2, 2008: Scientists using NASA's RHESSI spacecraft have measured the roundness of the sun with unprecedented precision, and they find that it is not a perfect sphere. During years of high solar activity the sun develops a thin "cantaloupe skin" that significantly increases its apparent oblateness. Their results appear the Oct. 2nd edition of Science Express.
"The sun is the biggest and smoothest natural object in the solar system, perfect at the 0.001% level because of its extremely strong gravity," says study co-author Hugh Hudson of UC Berkeley. "Measuring its exact shape is no easy task."
The team did it by analyzing data from the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, RHESSI for short, an x-ray/gamma-ray space telescope launched in 2002 on a mission to study solar flares. Although RHESSI was never intended to measure the roundness of the sun, it has turned out ideal for the purpose. RHESSI observes the solar disk through a narrow slit and spins at 15 rpm. The spacecraft's rapid rotation and high data sampling rate (necessary to catch fast solar flares) make it possible for investigators to trace the shape of the sun with systematic errors much less than any previous study. Their technique is particularly sensitive to small differences in polar vs. equatorial diameter or "oblateness."
Above: "Cantaloupe ridges" on the sun. The glowing white magnetic network is what gives the sun its extra oblateness during times of high solar activity. Los Angeles astronomer Gary Palmer took the picture in July 29, 2005, using a violet calcium-K solar filter. [
"We have found that the surface of the sun has rough structure: bright ridges arranged in a network pattern, as on the surface of a cantaloupe but much more subtle," describes Hudson. During active phases of the solar cycle, these ridges emerge around the sun's equator, brightening and fattening the "stellar waist." At the time of RHESSI's measurements in 2004, ridges increased the sun's apparent equatorial radius by an angle of 10.77 +- 0.44 milli-arcseconds, or about the same as the width of a human hair viewed one mile away.
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"That may sound like a very small angle, but it is in fact significant," says Alexei Pevtsov, RHESSI Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters. Tiny departures from perfect roundness can, for example, affect the sun's gravitational pull on Mercury and skew tests of Einstein's theory of relativity that depend on careful measurements of the inner planet's orbit. Small bulges are also telltale signs of hidden motions inside the sun. For instance, if the sun had a rapidly rotating core left over from early stages of star formation, and if that core were tilted with respect to its outer layers, the result would be surface bulging. "RHESSI's precision measurements place severe constraints on any such models."
The "cantaloupe ridges" are magnetic in nature. They outline giant, bubbling convection cells on the surface of the sun called "supergranules." Supergranules are like bubbles in a pot of boiling water amplified to the scale of a star; on the sun they measure some 30,000 km across (twice as wide as Earth) and are made of seething hot magnetized plasma. Magnetic fields at the center of these bubbles are swept out to the edge where they form ridges of magnetism. The ridges are most prominent during years around Solar Max when the sun's inner dynamo "revs up" to produce the strongest magnetic fields. Solar physicists have known about supergranules and the magnetic network they produce for many years, but only now has RHESSI revealed their unexpected connection to the sun's oblateness.
In this diagram, the sun's oblateness has been magnified 10,000 times for easy visibility. The blue curve traces the sun's shape averaged over a three month period. The black asterisked curve traces a shorter 10-day average. The wiggles in the 10-day curve are real, caused by strong magnetic ridges in the vicinity of sunspots. [
"When we subtract the effect of the magnetic network, we get a 'true' measure of the sun's shape resulting from gravitational forces and motions alone," says Hudson. "The corrected oblateness of the non-magnetic sun is 8.01 +- 0.14 milli-arcseconds, near the value expected from simple rotation."
"These results have far ranging implications for solar physics and theories of gravity," comments solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "They indicate that the core of the sun cannot be rotating much more rapidly than the surface, and that the sun's oblateness is too small to change the orbit of Mercury outside the bounds of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity."
Further analysis of RHESSI oblateness data could also help researchers detect a long-sought type of seismic wave echoing through the interior of the sun: gravitational oscillations or "g-modes." The ability to monitor g-modes would open a new frontier in solar physics—the study of the sun's internal core.
"All of this," marvels Hathaway, "comes from clever use of data from a satellite designed for something entirely different. Congratulations to the RHESSI team!"
The paper reporting these results, "A large excess in apparent solar oblateness due to surface magnetism," was authored by Martin Fivian, Hugh Hudson, Robert Lin and Jabran Zahid, and appears in the Oct. 2nd issue of Science Express.
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASAWith all the hub bub surrounding the Terms of Service changes for Instagram, users are flocking to various competitive services like Flickr. However, one of the safest bets in insuring that your photos remain the property of the person who took them, is to host them on your own website, particularly a WordPress powered one. If you’re looking to move your photos from Instagram to your WordPress powered website, take a look at the DsgnWrks Instagram Importer plugin.
In the spirit of WordPress and “owning your data,” this plugin will allow you to import and backup your instagram photos to your WordPress site. Includes robust options to allow you to control the imported posts formatting including built-in support for WordPress custom post-types, custom taxonomies, post-formats. You can control the content of the title and content of the imported posts using tags like **insta-image**, **insta-text**, and others. Add an unlimited number of user accounts for backup and importing.
Personally, I hate Instagram and what it does to everyone’s photos. It’s as if it easily allowed the idea for everyone to photoshop everything. Instead of seeing photos as the photographer sees them, I have to view them after some stupid filter was applied.
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''Kool Keith is a national treasure, unquestionably chiseled into the Mount Rushmore of outsider rap.'' --La WeeklyThe arguments have been submitted, so now it’s up to Supreme Court of Canada justices to decide whether they’ll hear an appeal about where a concussion-related damage lawsuit by a former Canadian Football League player will be heard.
It’s a decision that could have important ramifications for player-protection in the CFL.
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia in May upheld a lower-court ruling that a claim by former receiver Arland Bruce should be taken to arbitration, not to court.
Bruce played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes between 2001 and 2014. Later in 2014, he filed a claim for damages against former CFL commissioner Mark Cohon, the league and its member teams, the CFL Alumni Association and its president, Leo Ezerins, brain-injury specialist Dr. Charles Tator and the Krembil Neuroscience Centre of Toronto.
The lawsuit claimed the defendants knew or should have known about the long-term risk of brain injury resulting from concussive and sub-concussive blows and that Bruce was allowed to return to play in games despite continuing concussion symptoms.
The Supreme Court for British Columbia ruled against Bruce in March 2016. His lawyers dropped all defendants except the CFL and Cohon from the claim before the provincial appeal court, which also ruled against the retired athlete.
The application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was filed Aug. 11. Statistics from the court show the average time between filing of an application and a ruling on leave to appeal was approximately 3 1/2 months in 2016, which in this case would take everyone to roughly the end of November. (The Grey Cup, as it happens, is on Nov. 26, 2017 in Ottawa.)
Lawyers for the CFL and Cohon have relied on previous court decisions, including a 1995 Supreme Court of Canada ruling, that unionized employees must generally take damage claims against employers to arbitration. They also say arbitration can provide an effective remedy for players in such cases.
Lawyers for Bruce argue his case fits within the bounds for exceptions to the restrictions flowing from the previous rulings. They also told the B.C. appeal court that no arbitration decision ever awarded adequate compensation for serious brain injury.
It’s important to repeat that the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is only about the arena in which Bruce’s claim would be heard — arbitration or court — and not the merits of his claim, which has yet to be tested.
Robyn Wishart, a Vancouver lawyer representing Bruce, said if the former player was granted his appeal and won in the Supreme Court of Canada, she would immediately apply for a trial date in B.C. However, it would likely be 2019 or 2020 before such the case would be heard.
“I think there is a lot of pressure on the CFL right now to do something (about concussion-related issues), and it will be interesting to see what their response is … if we are successful,” Wishart said this week.
Wishart is also organizing a concussion-related class-action claim in Ontario for former CFL players between 1952 and 2014. It has been on hold since then because of the legal proceedings involving Bruce.
Wishart said more than 200 former players or their families had signed on to the class action and she was continuing to hear from a handful of other retired CFLers each month.
The class action was filed in May 2015 with former defensive back
|
ate George Akerlof, men “settle down when they get married; if they fail to get married they fail to settle down.”
Research findings on heterosexual marriage are surprisingly consistent with Akerlof’s insight, especially when it comes to engaging the world of work.
Our research, featured in a recent report, “For Richer, For Poorer: How Family Structures Economic Success in America,” indicates that men who are married work about 400 hours more per year than their single peers with equivalent backgrounds. They also work more strategically: one Harvard study found that married men were much less likely than their single peers to quit their current job unless they had lined up another job.
This translates into a substantial marriage premium for men. On average, young married men, aged 28-30, make $15,900 more than their single peers, and married men aged 44-46 make $18,800 more than their single peers.
That’s even after controlling for differences in education, race, ethnicity, regional unemployment, and scores on a test of general knowledge. What’s more: the marriage premium operates for black, Hispanic, and less-educated men in much the same way as it does for men in general.
For instance, men with a high-school degree or less make at least $17,000 more than their single peers.
Why is there such a substantial marriage premium? Could it simply be that the kind of men who get and stay married have certain characteristics? Perhaps the marrying kind is more charming, hard-working, or ambitious.
And yet the research suggests at least part of the marriage premium is causal: one study showed gains at work when men are married compared to when the same men were not married and another study of twins found that married twins earned 26 percent more than their identical twins who were not married.
Some worry that what we’re really saying is that it is wives’ job to make their men better. But the reality is much more complex.
Here are some of the ways marriage appears to transform men’s approach to work and the way employers treat them.
1. After marrying, men assume a new identity. Marriage is one of the last “rite[s] of passage into manhood” remaining in our society, argues sociologist Steven Nock in Marriage in Men’s Lives. He found that marriage engenders an ethic of familial responsibility among men, as well as a new-found sense of meaning and status in the world. Marriage also encourages men to take their role as providers seriously.
2. Married men are motivated to maximize their income. For many men, this responsibility ethic translates into a different orientation toward work, more hours, and more strategic work choices. Sociologist Elizabeth Gorman finds that married men are more likely to value higher-paying jobs than their single peers.
This is partly why studies find that men increase their work hours after marrying and reduce their hours after divorcing. It’s also why married men are less likely to quit a current job without finding a new job. Indeed, they are also less likely to be fired than their single peers.
3. Married men benefit from the advice and encouragement of their wives. Although there is less research on this, we suspect that men also work harder and more strategically because they are encouraged to do so by their wives, who have an obvious interest in their success. One study appears to buttress this point, finding that men with better-educated wives earn more, even after controlling for their own education.
4. Employers like married men with children. There is evidence that employers prefer and promote men who are married with children, especially compared to their childless male peers and to mothers. Married men are often seen as more responsible and dedicated workers and are rewarded with more opportunities by employers. While illegal bias and long-held stereotypes appear to play a role in this historic preference, it nonetheless helps explain why married family men get paid more.
The benefits of marriage for men no longer exact as high a price on women in the workplace, however.
Childless women also receive a marriage premium today. And though married mothers still earn significantly less than do married fathers, a new study finds that the motherhood penalty is now lower for married women than it is for never-married women, probably because married moms have more support at home in raising children. So for modern women, there’s a motherhood rather than a marriage penalty.
The tragedy is, for all the good news we keep learning about the benefits of marriage, the institution is in retreat, especially among poor and working-class Americans. In other words, in America today, there aren’t enough men who’ve had Doug Taulbee’s transformative experience.
W. Bradford Wilcox directs the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and serves as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. This story is based on research Wilcox did with Robert Lerman, Institute Fellow at Urban Institute and Professor of Economics at American University.
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Sign up for the Inspired Life Saturday newsletter hereBurning questions In wildfire-riddled Tennessee, climate change is a hot topic
Daniel Hensley moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a month ago with his girlfriend and infant son. On Monday night, they found themselves on the balcony of their motel, watching flames spread down the side of the mountain and engulf a cabin across the street. They escaped the motel “with nothing but our little boy,” he said.
Hensley and his family were among 14,000 evacuees who fled from their homes and hotels as wildfires ripped through the eastern part of the state earlier this week. He and many others took shelter at Rocky Top Sports World, an athletic facility just outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Scolding headlines note the irony of wildfires worsened by severe drought, hitting a region that largely voted for denier-in-chief Donald Trump. But although Hensley and others on the ground might not come right out and blame global warming, they acknowledge that a connection could be there — and they’re worried about it.
“It’s been real dry here for a while,” Hensley said. “It spread so fast because of how dry it was. And then you had high winds that brought it through and just made it even worse.”
Unusually dry conditions in eastern Tennessee spurred a ban on fires in the national park on Nov. 15. Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was human-caused. It spread quickly Monday night because of high winds, downed power lines, and dry, parched woods.
This fall, Gatlinburg, like much of the Southeast, suffered through months of severe drought, which has become more common in the last 30 years. In the Western United States science has shown that climate change contributes to worsening fire seasons. And as Columbia University bioclimatologist Park Williams told PBS Newshour earlier this month, eastern Tennessee looked a lot like the west this year.
“We’ve never been this dry,” said Anthony Sequoyah, 50, the public safety director for emergency management services in nearby Cherokee, North Carolina. Sequoyah arrived in Tennessee on Monday to help fight the blaze. It was the “biggest mass destruction I’ve ever witnessed,” he added. “The fire bounced from ridge top to ridge top, motels, hotels.”
Neither Sequoyah nor Hensley were willing to come right out and blame climate change as an underlying cause of the drought and contributor to the fires. But others weren’t so reluctant.
“The seasons aren’t the same,” evacuee Allysa Joyner of Gatlinburg said. “That’s where drought comes in. That could be part of it.”
Climate change is hard to believe, she added, “until you see it.” Monday night, she did.
Today Tennessee is one of four states, along with Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina, that allows teachers to “present alternatives” to the scientific understanding of climate change in the classroom. Trump won the state by a 26-point margin and carried Gatlinburg’s Sevier County with 79 percent of the vote.
Hensley said he didn’t know much about climate change. “I grew up in Florida and Mississippi,” he said, “and they didn’t teach it in school there.”
But he’d like to see more instruction about drought and its causes as part of Appalachian education. With a better understanding, he said, maybe local communities could “actually fix the problems, so this doesn’t ever happen again.”The first batch of 100 of all 489 air-conditioned NGV buses arrive at Laem Chabang airport. (Photo courtesy Bestlin Group)
The Customs Department has ruled all 489 air-conditioned NGV buses imported by Bestlin Group, the company contracted to procure a 489-unit bus fleet for the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, came from China, not Malaysia as declared.
The ruling came after a dispute over the first 100 buses which arrived at Laem Chabang port nearly two weeks ago, when the importer claimed they were made in Malaysia.
As a result, Bestlin Group will not be eligible for the 40% import duty exemption under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) and will have to pay a fine equal to two times the tax due for each 2.95-million-baht bus.
The company on Tuesday informed the Customs Department it would place a guarantee for the outstanding tax payment for the first 100 NGV buses so that it could clear them out of Laem Chabang port and install the GPS system and other equipment. The company is due to deliver the first batch of the 489 NGV buses to the BMTA on Dec 29 or face a fine of 17,000 baht per bus per day.
Customs Department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri said Bestlin Group would be required to pay 718 million baht in import duty for all 489 buses, plus a 230-million-baht fine for the 100 falsely declared buses.
The company admitted that it had misunderstood the import information provided by the Malaysian supplier. Once it paid the due tax and fine, authorities could release the buses in the next few days.
The first lot of 100 buses, which arrived at Laem Chabang port on Dec 1, were imported with a document asserting the vehicles originally came from an Asean country, or the so-called "Form D", which means the buses would be exempt from import duty.
Beslin Group chairman Kanis Srivachiraprapha earlier said when the purchase was made, a Malaysian automaker, R&A Commercial Vehicle Sdn Bhd, which supplied the buses to Bestlin, affirmed that more than 40% of the auto parts used to assemble a bus were made in Malaysia, the condition in line with the tax exemption under Afta. The form was issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
The Thai Customs Department on Tuesday established that R&A Commercial Vehicle had imported the 100 buses, all fully assembled in China, via Norinco New Energy Co before shipping them to Thailand.
The amount, price and weight and chassis number of the buses which the Malaysian supplier purchased from China matched those shipped to Thailand, the department’s statement said.
Super Zara Co, an affiliate of Beslin, which handled the import procedure, has not yet submitted an import declaration for the remaining buses, 145 of them having arrived at Laem Chabang on Dec 7, therefore an offence of making false declaration of imported goods has not taken place, the agency said.
Mr Kulit said the importer would declare the remaining 359 buses as goods manufactured in China and pay a normal 40% import duty, as well as the value-added tax for them.
The BMTA first started procuring the buses powered by natural gas for vehicle 14 years ago but the project has been mired in corruption scandals.Hey, space geeks! Brew a pot of coffee, grab the lawn chair and binoculars, and get ready for the annual early morning light show.
This year’s Perseid meteor shower is getting under way, and is due to peak late night Saturday and Sunday before dawn. Appearing to radiate from the distant Perseus constellation, the meteors are actually nearby bits of dust that burn up in Earth’s atmosphere as we pass through the wake of Comet Swift-Tuttle each year. While the early morning display could offer up to 100 shooting stars an hour, bleary-eyed sky-watchers will, at best, probably only witness around 20, depending on the clarity of their own patch of sky.
The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
Photo by STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
But, at least in the case of meteor showers, it’s quality over quantity, as each year the patient night owls are wowed by Perseid’s pyrotechnics. And in a universe so vast we will never be able to visit it all, it’s mighty nice when we can catch some glitter from our cosmic neighbor.
Video by Paca Thomas.What’s It Like Driving a Ford Dump Truck?
I write about cars and trucks for a living. I don’t get an option to play with the proper big boy toys that construction workers, landscapers and the sort get to play with. That’s why when I learned that Ford put a bright orange F-650 dump truck in to the Detroit area press fleet, I knew I had to drive it.
If you’re not familiar with the F-650, it is the smaller of the two trucks in their medium duty truck line. It’s a Class 6 truck that can be configured for a variety of needs. In the case of this truck, it is set up in a way a municipal dump truck might be. That means it has a SuperCrew cab — for hauling the whole work crew in one vehicle — and a Triton V10 gasoline engine.
The V10 adoption rate is growing, according to Ford’s Kevin Koester. For the newest models of the F-650 and F-750, Ford even started offering the V10 in the larger Class 7 F-750 offering. The gasoline makes sense for certain customers because there’s not the initial extra diesel cost up front, or the extra cost of the diesel emissions controls throughout the life of the truck. Plus, some municipalities might not have a solid diesel infrastructure in place.
Configured as a dump truck with the V10, the truck I drove carried a Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) of 26,000 pounds. For those counting, that’s literally 1 pound less than the limit for requiring a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Thankfully that means any idiot can drive it, and I was the designated idiot for the day.
First impressions are quite impressive. While you do sit higher up in the air than a traditional Super Duty, the truck itself isn’t really wider than a dual rear wheel F-450. While it is definitely wider than most passenger cars, it’s not really that intimidating to drive and feels relatively maneuverable in traffic. To bring a sports car reference into it, it feels smaller than it is.
The Ford-built 6-speed Torqshift HD automatic transmission is obviously geared for torque and hauling, so it’s not a barnstormer off the line. But the V10 also doesn’t have the turbo lag that exists in the diesel version of the truck. Throttle response is solid.
The steering wheel is larger than a Super Duty, but the rest of the interior is lifted from the 2016 Super Duty. That includes the dashboard, the radio, and other interior trim bits. The cab itself is from the last-generation Super Duty. The only major difference is the driver’s seat has air ride, making the bouncing around much more tolerable.
Without air brakes and without needing a CDL, the F-650 is easy to get into and drive for anyone. Seriously. That’s not to say it’s not a good idea for some driver training before hitting the road, the F-650 impresses in how easy it is to drive, operate, and control. A comfortable driver’s seat, Bluetooth audio and phone, and air conditioning really would make this a nice distance cruisers.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to haul a load, which would’ve improved ride quality. But the cabin is quieter than I thought it would be and the Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) was really kept in check. Seriously, if it wasn’t for the aluminum dump truck bed bouncing around, it’d feel like a normal Super Duty driving down the road.
While there will be purists who lament that the truck is too easy to drive and doesn’t require skill, the fact that the new F-650 is more capable than ever while being easier for fleets to get drivers for is definitely a win. Also, letting me pretend like I’m 8 years old again is also a win!
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or over in the forums!
Follow @chadkirchnerLast week, Firefly Online announced that it had scooped up almost all of the old Firefly cast members to voice the multiplatform online-but-not-really-an-MMO. Cue internet nerdgasm! I am impressed that the game is managing to dodge so many of the usual problems of IP-driven games; you’re playing not Mal or Zoe but a pale imitation of them as the captain of your ship, and while you’re the protagonist in your own story, you’re not necessarily a big damn hero.
On the other hand, the “online” part of the game is more or less limited to social connections and player-generated content in the form of custom missions. It’s going to be cool, but I can’t help but worry that far too many games that would have been designed as MMOs a few years ago are going this cheap and easy route now instead — that this is the sort of game that will bleed our genre rather than round it out.
Will you play Firefly Online, or are you holding out hope that the IP will get a proper MMO at some point? Do you think this style of game is the future of MMOs?Explanations for the Doctrine and Covenants Section Headings
On March 1, 2013, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a new edition of the Latter-day Saint scriptures. The 2013 edition includes adjustments to the headings of seventy-eight sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. For more information on these changes, see the materials posted with the First Presidency’s announcement. In particular, see Adjustments, an overview of the types of adjustments made in the new edition of the Latter-day Saint scriptures; and Side by Side Comparison, a comparison of the former Doctrine and Covenants section headings against the revised headings.
Explanations for most of the significant changes made to the headings are provided below. Detailed information supporting these changes through section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants are available in two volumes of The Joseph Smith Papers : Documents, Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831 and Documents, Volume 2: July 1831–January 1833. Further information supporting changes beyond section 88 will be made available in subsequent volumes.
Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants
Section 10
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation from summer 1828 to “likely around April 1829.” For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, Spring 1829 [D&C 10]
Section 13
In identifying the location where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, the revised heading in the 2013 edition deletes the mention of “along the bank of the Susquehanna River.” This change is based on recent research by the historic sites group of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery described this ordination as occurring in a “woods” some distance from the river. Nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint descriptions of this ordination consistently noted that the event occurred in the “woods.” Evidence indicates that the land near the river had been cleared of trees at the time of the ordination. In contrast, there was a grove of sugar maples on Joseph Smith’s property some distance from the river. This is where the ordination likely occurred. In the early twentieth century, some Latter-day Saint sources began erroneously introducing the notion that the ordination occurred along the banks of the Susquehanna River, evidently in large part because of an unsourced statement made in a caption of a photograph of the river. For more information, see Mark Lyman Staker, “Where Was the Aaronic Priesthood Restored? Identifying the Location of John the Baptist’s Appearance, May 15, 1829,” Mormon Historical Studies 12 (Fall 2011): 143–159.
Section 18
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, June 1829–B [D&C 18]
Section 19
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation from March 1830 to “likely in the summer of 1829.” For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, circa Summer 1829 [D&C 19]
Section 20
The revised heading in the 2013 edition explains that “portions of this revelation may have been given as early as summer 1829.” For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Articles and Covenants, circa April 1830 [D&C 20]
Section 22
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to April 16, 1830, making the date more specific. The source for this change is a manuscript copy of the revelation in the handwriting of William E. McLellin, housed in William E. McLellin, Papers, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
Section 23
The revised heading in the 2013 edition explains that this section is constituted of five separate revelations, all received in April 1830. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, pages 29–30
Section 32
The revised heading in the 2013 edition inserts the location of the revelation as Manchester, New York. The source for this change is Revelation Book 2, page 84
Section 36
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to December 9, 1830, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 48
Section 39
The heading in the 1981 edition identified the subject of this revelation as James Covill, a Baptist minister. The revised heading in the 2013 edition identifies this individual as James Covel, a Methodist minister. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 5 January 1831 [D&C 39] ; and the for Covel.
Section 40
See the information immediately above regarding section 39.
Section 41
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 4 February 1831 [D&C 41]
Section 42
Section 47
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, circa 8 March 1831–B [D&C 47]
Section 48
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to March 10, 1830, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 79
Section 49
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to May 7, 1831. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 7 May 1831 [D&C 49]
Section 50
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to May 9, 1831, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 82
Section 51
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to May 20, 1831, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 86
Section 52
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to June 6, 1831. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 87
Section 53
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to June 8, 1831, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 89
Section 54
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 10 June 1831 [D&C 54]
Section 55
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to June 14, 1831, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 91
Section 56
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 15 June 1831 [D&C 56]
Section 57
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57]
Section 59
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 7 August 1831 [D&C 59]
Section 60
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 8 August 1831 [D&C 60]
Section 63
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to August 30, 1831, making the date more specific. One source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 104
Section 65
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to October 30, 1831, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 1, page 112
Section 66
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 29 October 1831 [D&C 66]
Section 67
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, circa 2 November 1831 [D&C 67]
Section 68
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 1 November 1831–A [D&C 68]
Section 69
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 11 November 1831–A [D&C 69]
Section 70
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 12 November 1831 [D&C 70]
Section 72
The revised heading in the 2013 edition explains that this section is constituted of three separate revelations, all received December 4, 1831. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 4 December 1831–A [D&C 72:1–8]
Section 74
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Explanation of Scripture, 1830 [D&C 74]
Section 75
The revised heading in the 2013 edition explains that this section is constituted of two separate revelations, both received January 25, 1832. The sources for this change include early manuscript copies of the revelations made by Sidney Rigdon ( Revelation A Revelation B ).
Section 77
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to “about March 1832.” For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Answers to Questions, between circa 4 and circa 20 March 1832 [D&C 77]
Section 78
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 1 March 1832 [D&C 78] ; and the glossary entry for “.”
Section 79
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to March 12, 1832, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 2, page 12
Section 80
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to March 7, 1832, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 2, page 18
Section 81
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to March 15, 1832, making the date more specific. The source for this change is Revelation Book 2, page 17
Section 82
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 26 April 1832 [D&C 82] ; and the glossary entry for “.”
Section 85
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Letter to William W. Phelps, 27 November 1832
Section 87
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information, see the Historical Introduction to Revelation, 25 December 1832 [D&C 87]
Section 88
Section 89
The revised heading in the 2013 edition deletes the last sentence of the earlier heading, which stated that the first three verses of the revelation were written by Joseph Smith. The sources for this change include the versions of the revelation in Revelation Book 1, page 167, and Revelation Book 2, pages 49–50, which treat the opening statement as part of the revelation.
Section 92
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. In reference to the appointment of Frederick G. Williams, the heading changes “a counselor in the First Presidency” to a “counselor to Joseph Smith.” This change was made because the term “First Presidency” was not in use until later in the 1830s. See the glossary for more information on the historical development of the term “ ” and for more information on the.
Section 94
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation from May 6, 1833, to August 2, 1833. The sources for this change include a letter from Joseph Smith and others dated 6 August 1833; a letter from Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, and others dated 10 August 1833; and Revelation Book 2, page 64
Section 95
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the plural “houses” to the singular “house,” in reference to the temple then being built in Kirtland, Ohio. This change is based on the language of the revelation itself.
Section 98
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information on tensions and persecution in Missouri at this time, see, for example, the July 29, 1833, letter from John Whitmer and William W. Phelps to Joseph Smith and others; and the geographical descriptions for “, Missouri,” and “.”
Section 99
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to August 29, 1832, making the date more specific, and provides information about John Murdock. The source for the date change is Revelation Book 1, page 148. For more information about John Murdock, see his.
Section 101
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation to December 16 and 17, 1833, and adds the detail that some Saints had tried to establish themselves in Lafayette and Ray counties. The source for the date change is Revelation Book 1, page 183. For information on the added counties, see their geographical descriptions (, ).
Section 102
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical background. The sources for the changes include Minute Book 1, 19 February 1834, page 36
Section 104
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information on the United Firm, see the.
Section 105
The revised heading in the 2013 edition corrects and clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For more information on Zion’s Camp, see the editorial note preceding page 85 in Joseph Smith’s 1832–1834 journal; and the.
Section 107
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. For the text of the November 1831 revelation referred to in this heading, see Revelation, 11 November 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)]
Section 108
The revised heading in the 2013 edition deletes the mention that Lyman Sherman had been ordained a high priest. For more information about Lyman Sherman, see his.
Section 114
The revised heading in the 2013 edition changes the date of the revelation from April 17, 1838, to April 11, 1838. The source for this change is Joseph Smith’s March–September 1838 journal, page 32
Sections 121–123
The revised headings in the 2013 edition clarify that the material in these sections comes from a Joseph Smith letter dated March 20, 1839.
Section 132
The revised heading in the 2013 edition clarifies the revelation’s historical context. Historical evidence indicates that some of the principles regarding plural marriage were known by Joseph Smith as early as 1831.
Section 135
The revised heading in the 2013 edition removes the statement that John Taylor authored this section. Although he has been identified as its author since the early twentieth century, those later attributions were only given as tentative. When the section was first published in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, it did not include an attribution, and no one involved in its publication ever identified the author. Evidence of who wrote the declaration is inconclusive. While it is clear that both Willard Richards and John Taylor, the only two surviving Latter-day Saint eyewitnesses to the murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, shared information that is part of this document, others may have contributed to its construction as well.
Section 137Make sure we re-elect Patrick Harvie
The polls may have only just closed, and the dust yet to settle on a ground breaking Westminster election, but for Scottish Greens the campaign for 2016 starts here. We need your help to re-elect Patrick Harvie as Glasgow's Green MSP to lead the biggest ever Green group in Holyrood's history. Patrick has represented Glasgow since 2003, giving a voice in Holyrood to those who want to see an end to austerity, empowered local communities and a just & sustainable Scotland.
Why Patrick and Scottish Greens need your help
Patrick and the Scottish Greens have had a tremendous boost since the referendum. More people than ever before know what we stand for and agree with it. That's meant thousands of new members, and many more new supporters - but re-election is far from guaranteed. The other parties will have huge war-chests and big donors at their disposal. We have you, our supporters. Your donation, whether it's £5, £50 or £500 gives us the resources we need to lead a historic campaign in the run up to 2016, contacting tens of thousands of voters in Glasgow, showing them our Green vision and hearing what they want to see for the city and for Scotland.
£10 pays for 1200 postcards from Patrick, telling voters what he's been up to on their behalf
£25 will produce 5000 newspapers covering the work of Patrick and Glasgow's Green councillors
£75 will give us 3000 personal letters from Patrick to our potential voters
Please give whatever you can, and help us re-elect Patrick and guarantee more Green voices than ever before in Holyrood next year.
Every penny helps!Paul Ryan. (Photo: PBS NewsHour / Flickr)Some people in Washington want to cut Social Security and veterans’ benefits, by cutting the cost-of-living adjustment. But there’s a better way to cut government debt than cutting Social Security and veterans’ benefits: cut the bloated Pentagon budget.
Not only would that protect Social Security and veterans’ benefits, it would save 380,000 jobs. And cutting the Pentagon budget would mean less war in the future: the Pentagon wouldn’t have the money to occupy other people’s countries.
The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that the budget proposed by Mitt Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan, chair of the House Budget Committee, would destroy 4.1 million jobs by cutting $404 billion of domestic spending by 2014. But any proposal to cut domestic spending is going to destroy jobs, not just Ryan’s proposal.
Some people want to cut Social Security and veterans’ benefits by changing the way inflation is measured in calculating the cost of living adjustment. The Congressional Budget Office says the change would “save” the government $145 billion over ten years by cutting Social Security, veterans’ benefits and federal pensions.
Since cutting Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits and federal pensions would take money out of the domestic economy, it would destroy jobs. If cutting domestic spending by $404 billion would destroy 4.1 million jobs, then cutting domestic spending by $145 billion would destroy 1.5 million jobs.
A December 2011 paper by Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier showed that domestic spending creates more jobs than military spending. It showed that replacing cuts to domestic spending with cuts to military spending reduces the job losses from those cuts by at least 25.8 percent. Thus, cutting $145 billion from the Pentagon budget over ten years instead of changing the way
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yet could be right around the corner.
And if it doesn’t work out… you’ll be disappointed, sure, especially after getting your hopes up. But you’ll deal with it. You’ll buy a room at the inn, score dinner out of someone’s candy bowl, and resume your job-hunting as usual tomorrow. And if sad feelings strike and you start to feel like the only answer is to drown your sorrows in a bottle of whiskey, well…
You won’t.
SNeakyRobot wrote: > Celebrate your turn of fortunes by rocking with a wicked air lute solo.
But this is no time to worry about failure! You’ve got a Guild to join! You restore your giddiness with a wicked air-lute solo.
Gonna be a wiiiizaaaaaaaard!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Casia wrote: Katia’s common sense should be tingling. Everyone says, avoid the mage guild here. Implied, or outright stated as necromancers? Only open at night. Sigrid is appearently super likeable, and impossibly beautiful, and took over the town/guild in days. She has seen at least 1 vampire walking around town, with no care about being caught. Vampires have dominate mind as a core ability.
Come on, we’ve been over this. The Mages Guild is a reputable, empire-wide professional organization dedicated to the study and application of magic. You’re sure the Kvatch chapter is no exception. In fact, from what you’ve heard around town it sounds like they might be one of the best. There’s nothing to be worried about.
You’re sure there’s nothing shady or weird going on at the Kvatch Mages Guild!
Positive.A Russian coach says if they expel the sport from the 2020 Games, 'gays will soon run the whole world'
A Russian coach is blaming a ‘gay conspiracy’ on plans to cut wrestling from the Olympic program.
On Tuesday (12 February), the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board voted to cut wrestling from the list of 25 confirmed sports for the 2020 Games.
It will now need to reapply as part of a group of eight sports, which includes karate and roller-skating.
Speaking to R-Sport, coach Vladimir Urimagov called the decision a ‘blow to masculine origins’.
‘If they expel wrestling now, that means that gays will soon run the whole world,’ he said.
‘It turns out this committee is headed by a representative of these minorities.’
Uruimagov called on wrestling fans to petition the IOC to reinstate wrestling, suggesting the ‘future of humanity’ was at stake.
‘It is necessary for millions around the world who understand that this is a man’s sport and who understand the need to continue the human race to go out and explain their position to the Olympic Committee,’ he said.
‘We should prove and explain that in any other case there is no future.’
The board is chaired by heterosexual Jacques Rogge, saying he would speak with the head of wrestling’s governing body to discuss ways the sport could be saved.
In the run-up to London 2012, he was even criticized after the organization rejected calls to ban countries that have ‘Kill the Gays’ laws.
It was not just Uruimagov who was upset about wrestling being removed from the Olympics, which has been a part of every competition since 1904.
Sébastien Datiche, an officer for the Federation of the Gay Games, said it was a ‘blow to a great tradition and an outstanding sport.’Mumbai residents’ wait for the commissioning of a slew of infrastructure upgrade projects to the tune of Rs 66,000 crore seems to be over. A will be the first among the much-delayed projects to start service between Chembur and Wadala covering 8.8 kms in the first week of February.
The second in the pecking order will be the swanky peacock Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has indicated international operations will begin at the terminal from February 12, while domestic operations will be integrated next year. Already, Sahar connecting the Western Express Highway to the T2 has been completed and it will be opened after starts international operations at T2.
In March, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) expects the commissioning of the 12-km phase-I Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor. Thereafter, the 6.54-km SantaCruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) project, which has already missed 11 deadlines since its inception in 2003, will be opened for vehicular traffic. SCLR’s cost rose to Rs 428 crore from Rs 114.8 crore. The project includes a double-decker flyover with the top deck catering to traffic between Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway.
Besides, Axis Capital in its report said projects worth Rs 36,300 crore are expected to be ordered in the next 9-12 months. Ground work for the 34-km phase-III (Rs 23,100 crore), design finalisation, right of way for land, and funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency are in place and has already initiated tendering process. The project is likely to be completed in six to seven years. prefers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model and not build operate transfer (BOT) after learnings from past experiences.
Furthermore, contract for the 5.5-km Worli Sewri will be awarded in the next two months. The project, which will be funded by MMRDA, will be complete in three to four years. This apart, the Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on January 16 cleared the 9.9-km Bandra-Versova sea link project, which envisages a total investment of Rs 4,045 crore. The proposed sea link will be built 900 metres into the sea.
The journey for Chembur-Wadala, which is the first phase of the 20-km route, will be completed in 19 minutes but the section will initially operate between 7 am and 3 pm a day with a nine-minute frequency. Fares will be from Rs 5 to Rs 19 and there will be an automated fare collection system at all stations.
The Wadala-Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk will be completed by the end of 2014-15. The T2, which features a highly compact design by SOM, a New York-based architectural and engineering firm, will have the capacity to handle over 40 million passengers annually. The terminal, which spans 439,203 square metres, has 208 check-in counters as well as 23 domestic and 30 international security pedestals.
There are 60 emigration counters on departure and 72 for arrival. The terminal also features 52 boarding bridges, and has a seating capacity of 10,900 along with a retail footprint of 200,000 sq ft. It also features a 200,000-sq ft landscape garden.
As far as phase-I is concerned, the MMRDA will approach the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety in February for safety certifications. The project cost has increased to Rs 4,291 crore from Rs 2,356 crore, largely due to economic factors and also delays in obtaining right of way and various approvals from the Indian Railways.
The Mumbai Metro One Private Limited, the consortium for the corridor led by Reliance Infrastructure, has pressed for Rs 28-30 fare for travelling eight kms and beyond against Rs 6 for less than 3 km, Rs 8 for three-to-eight kms and Rs 10 for travelling beyond eight kms.A group of 300 young migrants have reportedly 'barricaded' themselves inside a building in southern Italy to demand better living conditions.
The migrants piled up furniture and stopped people entering the refugee welcome building in Reggio Calabria for eight hours, according to local reports.
Police in riot gear are said to have attended the scene as well as officials from the Immigration Bureau in a bid to stem rising tensions.
The young migrants reportedly made a list of demands concerning their living conditions and some asked to be moved elsewhere, including the north of Italy and Germany.
In May, the Italian Navy ship 'Vega' arrived with more than 600 migrants and refugees on in the port of Reggio Calabria, southern Italy (file photo)
The refugee welcome centre inside the former Law School of the University of Mediterranean Studies currently houses 340 young people.
Reggio Calabria is an area where many migrants arrive in Italy by boat.
However, the number of people arriving in the country has changed in recent years.
According to the International Organisation for Migration, from 2014 to 2015, a major and sudden shift in routes of irregular migration by sea to Europe occurred.
About 853,000 migrants arrived in Greece in 2015, compared to 34,400 in 2014.
Almost 154,000 arrived in Italy in 2015, compared to 170,100 in 2014.
Women rescued at sea arrive aboard the Italian Navy ship 'Vega' on May 29 in the port of Reggio Calabria (file photo)
In May, the treacherous Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya to Italy claimed the lives of at least 1,083 migrants in one week — mostly because barely seaworthy smuggling boats foundered and sank despite calm seas and sunny skies.
The staggering death toll foreshadowed more disasters as the region geared up for the traditional summer-fall spike in human trafficking as the weather improves and seas grow warmer.
Aid officials say it also suggests that Libyan smuggling gangs are using even riskier tactics to profit from the torrent of people desperate to reach the safety and economic promise of Europe.
Making matters worse, the tally is only from the capsizings or shipwrecks known to authorities, who acknowledge they don't have precise information on how many people are being jammed into unsuitable vessels and swallowed up by the vast waters of the southern Mediterranean.According to what a source told ESPNNewYork.com, don’t expect Sandy Alderson to have any more to spend this offseason than he did last offseason.
“They may have $10 million to $15 million max to spend — if Sandy is lucky,” the source said. “The Mets’ internal conversations have been no increase in payroll next year — and may be another reduction, which would be a disaster.”
Last week, the Mets general manager said that a formal budget has not been established yet for next season, but a team source told ESPN that the Mets are likely to have a payroll comparable to the slightly more than $90 million they have committed in 2012.
That is certainly not the kind of news you want to hear especially when you consider all the revenue the Mets are expected to rake in because of the 2013 All Star Game which was awarded to them by Bud Selig.
With so many different areas that need attention and gaping holes in the outfield and bullpen, it’s going to take more than $15 million to do an effective job this offseason.
The Mets have about $15 million in salary commitments coming off the books after this season in players Mike Pelfrey, Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Ronny Cedeno, Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak. Plus Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy and Andres Torres are arbitration eligible.
That sounds like a tall order to fill, and don’t forget that both David Wright and R.A. Dickey are most likely expecting to sign contract extensions this offseason. Or maybe not?You’d think that a guy like Ted Cruz has absolutely no shot at winning the presidency, but coming to that conclusion means ignoring one of the most recent disasters in American history. That disaster, of course, was George W. Bush.
George W. Bush was able to win the election in 2000 by pandering to one specific block of Republican voters, and that was the religious right. Of course, we all know that Bush did not actually win the 2000 election, but the only reason that it even came close was because Bush cast himself as the most religious choice in that election, posing as the so-called “family values candidate.”
Fast forward 15 years, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing happen with Ted Cruz. While most of the Republican field is in the middle of a competition to see who can offend the most races, Cruz is meeting with religious leaders, securing multi-million dollar donations to his Super PACs.
Just last month, Cruz received a staggering $15 million dollar donation for Super PACs supporting his candidacy from religious institutions. Speaking at conservative religious institutions like The American Family Association, Cruz is telling his uber-religious supporters that mobilizing Christian voters is the only way to secure America’s future.
Just one week ago, Cruz hosted a Rally for Religious Liberty in Iowa, hoping to mobilize the religious fringe in that state ahead of the upcoming caucus.
But there’s a very big difference between the atmosphere of Bush in the 2000 election and Cruz in the 2016 election in terms of the religious right. While its true that Christian Conservatives are attempting to mobilize greater numbers after several election cycles of staying more silent than usual, the main difference today is that atheism and agnosticism are no longer seen as social stigmas, at least not to the extent that they were just a decade ago. The rise of social media and citizens media has given non-religious people a place to air their opinions, as well as to team up with like-minded individuals, letting them know that they are not alone.
So the religious right may be trying to make a come back, but religious affiliation in the United States is falling, and religious talking points are not going to be enough to convince voters to support another Texas political dimwit. We still remember how it ended the first time…Hello, and welcome. This is the informational website for The SubGenius Recovery and Support Network, a group dedicated to the rehabilitation of former members of this dangerous mind-control cult. Many people believe the Church of the SubGenius, founded by Texan millionaire J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, is a joke. They themselves claim to be a harmless group of people who like to poke fun at Christianity, politics, and other institutions. However, as a former member of this cult, I can safely say, they are no joke.
Many people further believe that even if the cult was "serious" or "dangerous" in some way, the threat would either manifest itself, or pass, on July 5th. After all, this is the day the world was supposed to end. The occasion was marked by a weekend of drinking, sex, and feverent, bizarre rituals at a "clothing optional" camp in upstate New York.
Obviously, the world did not end. Thankfully, no catastrophe befell these brainwashed revellers. But I now know some things about the Church of the SubGenius that have made me put out this warning to all right-thinking Americans. I have spent time with certain members of the self-styled Heirarchy, and learned of some of their private goals and fantasies for their Church. I can only say that I am truly horrified at the monsters these men and women truly are.
Mark my words: by this time NEXT YEAR, The SubGenius will be spoken of in the same breath as Heaven's Gate, Jonestown, and the Manson Family.
If you are a parent, a teacher, or a community leader, you need to keep an eye on your children and your neighbors. I urge you to consider requesting my pamphlet, "Stop Bob Dobbs!" which will teach you the secret background of the Church of the SubGenius, how to spot SubGenius activity in your area and in your children, and what you can do to help stop them.
Sadly, suicide cults are largely ignored until it's too late. Help me alert the media and the people to this (self-described) "Fastest growing UFO Suicide Cult in America" before their evil plans come to fruition at X-Day, this July. Time is desperately short.Some time after I was sexually assaulted, I went to a Los Angeles gun range. I wanted to go there to reclaim a sense of security and to get my power back. Someone was gracious enough to take me there and to walk me through the process.
I had protracted and perpetual fears of another attack. These fears fueled my flawed perception that if I personally possessed a gun, I would be able to protect myself from any future violation. The rapid P.T.S.D. nightmares that would regularly wake me were unbearable.
Shooting a gun at the gun range seemed like a logical way to add to my ongoing mission of fortress building. Since I have family and friends that are responsible gun owners, the idea of personally owning a firearm was not entirely foreign to me.
However, what was disturbing at the gun range was not the target practice of responsible gun owners. It was the hyper macho gun culture that was palpable there. Sickeningly, one of the targets that shooters could use was a cutout of a headless woman's body. To use a religious allegory, it was an idolatrous environment that festered a lust for power and destruction. While I utilized the range as a space to make myself feel safe, it was simultaneously a rage den for disaffected men. A misogynist, anger filled boy could elevate his ego by shooting at a defenseless outline of a woman, for fun.
This was a stark difference from the attitudes of gun owners like my friends and family. These people live in rural communities where guns are needed to protect them from dangerous wildlife. Guns are also needed as supplemental protection if the local small town police force is unable to arrive quickly should there be a home intrusion. They are not going to use the weapons against loved ones, but rather to protect their loved ones.
Essentially, they took the Driver's Ed courses for the car and are responsible with the vehicle.
Those same things cannot be said for the perpetrators of the never ending onslaught of gun violence. Particularly, those that commit intimate partner violence and mass shootings. They are drunk from the wells of rage and misogyny that routinely go unchecked in our culture. Nearly, every school shooting has the identical energy of an angry boy or man with a distorted view of masculinity. He releases his unchecked rage by taking it all out on the innocent.
Did anyone teach these shooters how to be a man, to respect themselves, to respect women, and to respect their fellow human beings? It's doubtful.
After much consideration, I opted not to get a gun. I found that my bunker mentality only made me more paranoid and hostile. Rather than feeling safe in my home or in society, my obsession with arming myself ultimately made me feel more frightened of the world.
What would make me feel safer is a paradigm shift in the culture. What if all men took communal responsibility for the development of young men? What if our pop culture, our media, our pulpits, our homes, our sports teams and their owners were conscious of this task. Then cultural prevention can dovetail with effective legislation.
We can teach boys how to be men by refusing to conflate manhood with gun violence. We can give boys and men tools and healthy resources to deal with their rage. We can certainly advocate preventing their access to guns in order to amplify that rage.
There are rules to drive a car. There are rules to fly a plane. There need to be the same type of rules to own and operate a gun.
Every responsible gun owner, non-gun owner, and politician alike should be a fervent supporter of background checks, limiting ammunition, banning manufacturing of assault weapons, and advocate for comprehensive mental health care. However, we can go even further. By admitting that easy access to hyper-macho gun culture emboldens angry males to commit atrocities, we can hope to pave the road to prevention.When former national security adviser Michael Flynn needed someone to assure the American people that he hadn't had conversations with Russians that he did indeed have, Vice President Mike Pence showed up in spades on CBS's Face the Nation. Now, Pence has a new assignment: selling Trump's voter fraud delusions. Ben Kamisar writes:
Vice President Pence is in the process of selecting members for a White House task force investigating President Trump's unproven claims that millions of cases of voter fraud cost him the popular vote in last year's election. White House press secretary Sean Spicer mentioned the development with little fanfare during Wednesday's press conference. "He’s announcing that Vice President Mike Pence will lead a task force on this," Spicer said when asked about Trump's accusations that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in 2016. The White House so far has not offered evidence that so many people filed illegal ballots. "He named the task force, and the vice president is starting to gather names and individuals to be a part of it.”
Wow, nothing like being tapped to run down a rabbit hole as the pr*sident's errand boy on a mission that's going nowhere.
Pence is really going to have to dig deep to find something that satisfies the deluder-in-chief’s fantasies about “winning” the popular vote. And whatever Pence turns up, just remember that he also delivered a passionate defense of the now-resigned Michael Flynn.There’s a big hole in the middle of the parking lot of SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. CEO Elon Musk already announced that it would be used to test new digging techniques under development by his new ‘Boring Company’ in order to increase tunneling speed.
Musk has now elaborated a little more on his plan for the new company and on the first hole in Los Angeles, which he described as the beginning of a ‘vast underground transportation network’ for cars and the hyperloop.
Since the digging started during SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod Competition, some people speculated that Musk’s new venture in tunnels would have something to do with enabling the new mode of transportation, which Musk now says is correct.
Musk sees tunnels as a solution to traffic in urban areas and a way to bring transportation into the three-dimensional world – like buildings. He wants tens of tunnel levels underneath cities to compensate for people living and working in buildings tens of stories tall.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin, Musk said that one of those levels could be used for the high-speed mode of transportation he first envisioned in 2013 and that is now being developed by companies like Hyperloop One.
Chafkin described the hole as “at least 15 feet deep and more than 50 feet wide.” Musk plans to go down to about 50 feet before starting to dig horizontally in order not to disrupt any gas or sewage line. There they will be able to experiment with new digging technologies build on current boring machines.
When he was being interviewed earlier this month, Musk was considering buying a used boring machine made by the German company Herrenknecht:
“The machine is 26 feet in diameter, about 400 feet long, weighs 1,200 tons, and is nicknamed Nannie. It’s been used by Washington’s water utility to dig a tunnel to prevent sewage from overflowing into the Anacostia River. New machines normally cost at least $15 million, but a decade of frantic subway construction in China has created a glut, and lightly used models can be had for 90 percent off sticker.”
Musk later posted pictures of the machine:
He plans to make improvements to the speed of the machine with new designs, better materials and more power. It is currently able to dig about 300 feet per week, but Musk wants to bring that up to 1 mile per week,
Musk also confirmed that the new ‘Boring Company’ will not be a subsidiary of Tesla or SpaceX, but its own independent company, though he did put senior SpaceX engineer Steve Davis in charge of the project.
While digging up to 30 levels of tunnels underneath cities might sound like a crazy project, Musk highlights how it’s not crazier than Silicon Valley’s own go-to solution to traffic; flying cars.
The full interview appears in this week’s edition of Bloomberg Businessweek:VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - October 17, 2017) - Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CBW) ("Cannabis Wheaton"or"CBW") and Beleave Inc. ( CSE : BE) ( OTCQX : BLEVF) ("Beleave" or the "Company") are pleased to announce that, further to the news release dated October 5, 2017, CBW has provided an initial advance of $5,000,000 in non-dilutive debt financing by way of an instrument evidencing a debt obligation repayable in product equivalents (the "D.O.P.E. Note"). As previously announced, the proceeds of the D.O.P.E Note will be used by Beleave to fund the construction of an expansion facility, to be situated adjacent to Beleave's current facility outside of Hamilton, Ontario.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Chuck Rifici"
Chairman & CEO
About Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CBW)
Backed by a team of industry experts, Cannabis Wheaton is the first cannabis streaming company in the world. Our streams will include production from across Canada coming from our partners comprised of licensed producers of cannabis (LP) and LP applicants. Cannabis Wheaton's mandate is to facilitate real growth for our streaming partners by providing them with financial support and sharing our collective industry experience.
Stay Connected
For more information about Cannabis Wheaton and our management team, please visit: http://www.cannabiswheaton.com, or follow us on Twitter @CannabisWheaton. Call: 1.604.687.7130 Email: [email protected] www.skanderbegcapital.com.
About Beleave Inc. ( CSE : BE)
Beleave Inc. is a biotech company and Beleave's wholly-owned subsidiary Beleave Kannabis Corp. (formerly First Access Medical Inc.) is a licensed producer pursuant to the ACMPR. Beleave's purpose-built facility is located near Hamilton, Ontario.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to: the D.O.P.E. Note being paid back in full or at all, the ability to enforce against the D.O.P.E. Note in the event of default, the ability to generate revenue through the streaming agreements, the ability to consummate transactions which are currently in discussions, requirements to obtain additional financing, timeliness of government approvals for granting of permits and licences, including licences to cultivate and sell cannabis, completion of the facilities, where applicable, actual operating performance of the facilities, regulatory or political change, competition and other risks affecting CBW or Beleave in particular and the medical cannabis industry generally. There is no assurance that any further advances under the D.O.P.E. Note will be made, nor that the parties will proceed to funding under the interim streaming agreement. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Neither CBW nor Beleave is under any obligation, and each expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.The lumpenproletariat, this scum of the decaying elements of all classes, which establishes headquarters in all the big cities, is the worst of all popular allies. It is an absolutely venal, an absolutely brazen crew. If the French workers, in the course of the Revolution, inscribed on the houses: Mort aux voleurs! (Death to the thieves!) and even shot down many, they did it, not out of enthusiasm for property, but because they rightly considered it necessary to hold that band at arm's length. Every leader of the workers who utilises these gutter-proletarians as guards or supports, proves himself by this action alone a traitor to the movement.
Reclaimed and celebrated with hats even!
The labouring population therefore produces, along with the accumulation of capital produced by it, the means by which it itself is made relatively superfluous, is turned into a relatively surplus-population; and it does this to an always increasing extent… But if a surplus labouring population is a necessary product of accumulation or of the development of wealth on a capitalist basis, this surplus-population becomes, conversely, the lever of capitalist accumulation, nay a condition of existence of the capitalist mode of production. It forms a disposable industrial reserve army, that belongs to capital quite as absolutely as if the latter had bred it at its own cost. Independently of the limits of the actual increase of population, it creates, for the changing needs of the self-expansion of capital, a mass of human material always ready for exploitation. (Marx, Capital vol. 1, chapter xxv, section 3, emphasis added)
Marx and Engels' categorization of theas a counter-revolutionary class is well-known by those familiar with the term. In, Marx refers to the lumpenproletariat as "the refuse of all classes" and points out how they were connected to reactionary, counter-revolutionary forces in France. And then there is the famous passage by Engels, in, that is clear about the class consciousness of the lumpen:Aside from these historical assessments and the odd throwaway quote, Marx and Engels did not spend very much time trying to establish a scientific assessement ofas a class category, as they do with proletariat and bourgeoisie for example, using the concept only in their analysis of historical moments, as a classification for an underclass that consisted of swindlers, gangsters, thieves, and criminal elements in general. Their "gutter-proletariat" was not in itself a precise class positionality because, at the same time, it was also composed of "the refuse of all classes" or "the decaying elements of all classes."If the class categories that Marx and Engels spent a lot of time trying to establish scientifically (proletariat and bourgeois) have led to innumerable confusions and debates, often being reified into essential identities, then the categories they did not spend very much time theorizing, such as lumpenproletariat, are even more historically slippery. The term is often misapplied, or taken as a universal class category, just as often as it is clumsily reclaimed.I would imagine that Marx, when he was speaking of this disparate underclass, was thinking of the character "Thenardier" in Victor Hugo's: a gangster who controlled a band of impoverished thieves––a vicious counter-revolutionary. Clearly, this type of criminal does exist as a counter-revolutionary force; we only need to think of drug traffickers who have infiltrated and ruined revolutionary movements, sexual predators who lurk around movement circles, thieves who only want to get rich at the expense of other poor victims of capitalism, pimps who profit from the oppression of women.At the same time, however, we cannot claim that, if we were to defineas "criminal underclass", it would be universally counter-revolutionary. Take, for example, Frantz Fanon's discussion of this class in. Although Fanon agrees that the criminal underclass composed by the colonized in a settler-colonial societybe counter-revolutionary (and we must remember that the FLN, the group Fanon supported, went to great lengths to stamp out criminal behaviour amongst the colonized), he also argued that they possessed great revolutionary potential. If they are condemned to an underclass only because colonialism has excluded them from society, Fanon argued, then the colonized criminals possess some conscious understanding of their oppression, marginalization, exclusion––a consciousness that is possibly revolutionary. Here, we only have to think of the "Ali La Pointe", the protagonist of, who began as a street hustler, was politicized in prison when he realized that the main reason for his imprisonment was his status as colonized, and who eventually became a disciplined cadre because, once given the opportunity, he abandoned his criminal behaviour.Of course, Fanon never argued that engaging in the sort of "lumpen" activity critiqued by Marx and Engels wasuniversally revolutionary. While it might not be counter-revolutionary to rob and cheat the colonizer, it was not automatically revolutionary to do so… and it was clearly counter-revolutionary to turn this behaviour upon other colonized peoples. Unfortunately, however, there have been various attempts to argue that this sort of criminal behaviour, since the very concept of "crime" in capitalism is based on bourgeois law and because cops are pigs, that such lumpen activity is essentially revolutionary. Assuming that this sort of behaviour is revolutionary, when it is so often performed out of selfishness and at the expense of the proletarian in general, is extremely utopian: the Thenardier-style gang chooses the easiest targets, the already-existing victims of bourgeois society rather than bourgeois society itself, and thrives through its parasitism. Gangsters, the mob, pimps, street hustlers: these illegal vocations, though themselves symptoms of bourgeois law, are not revolutionary.What I find more troubling than these utopian attempts to reclaimare the hasty generalizations of this concept across entire sectors of the population that are used to dismiss those who might not easily fit into a neat definition of. For there are those who, by defining the proletariat as only the "industrial working class", will imagine that this working class' underclass must be the lumpenproletariat despised by Marx and Engels. According to this slipshod definition of lumpenproletariat, impoverished colonized people, migrant workers, contingent labour, sex workers, the entire jobless and desperate poor––basically any worker or out-of-work worker who is not a member of some Platonic industrial working class––is part of the lumpen. Thus, anyone who seeks to organize this supposed "underclass" is a lumpen organization.Such a definition of the concept, however, is little more than a mindless dogmatic adherence to one of Marx and Engels least theorized class categories––as the regular reader will be aware, I have little patience for this religious form of marxism. It also ignores, especially when it categorizes contingent workers and homeless populations as, much of what Marx said about the proletariat inthat contradicts this spurious definition of "lumpen politics". Take, for example, Marx's concept of the "reserve army of labour" that is a key component for the composition of the proletariat as an exploited class:And it is not difficult to recognize that a large portion of this reserve army will dabble in supposedly lumpen activities––petty theft to get more money and things, drug abuse because it's shitty to be jobless––just as exploited workers have engaged in similar activities due to their frustration and exploitation. Indeed, it would make no sense to claim that this disparate population that often engages in criminality is Marx and Engels'considering the current trend of labour casualization at the centres of capitalism where there is an attempt to push every worker back into contingency (a reality for workers everywhere else in the world) and thus more like the working class that Marx had in mind when he was writingand never thought of as the same as his concept of the. That "mass of human material always ready for exploitation" is not at all the same as "gutter-proletarians"; the former is essential to Marx's concept of the, the latter is a vague definition belonging to various non-rigorous statements that seems more to be about a class consciousness than a concrete class position.Moreover, we need to recognize that––along with, and not mutually exclusive to, the reserve army the reserve army of labour––there is a massive working "underclass" upon which the existence of the supposedly "proper" proletariat rests. The now trade unionized working class, the predominantly white and first world working class, depends on the more exploited labour of this working underclass. The latter outnumbers the former, both abroadat home, just as the former's wages are dependent on the labour of the latter. And if this is a fact, though it may also be a fact that contingency is becoming more widespread, then this supposed "underclass" has more of a legitimate claim to the title ofthan this traditional sector.What really seems to be the problem with this spurious and rigid definition ofis the fear, amongst some marxists, of being unrespectable. That is, it is far better to associate with the respectable members of the "proper" working class (i.e. unionized workers) then this supposed "lumpen" who are sometimes desperate, criminal, and frightening. These types of "communists" would run screaming from the working class of Marx's day, then, and probably define them as lumpen as well even though Marx and Engels did not. Terrified by some supposed lumpen politics, these marxists embrace bourgeois respectability, hiding amongst a petty-bourgeoisified class that they imagine is the proletariat.Clearly, a certain type of criminality is a problem for any revolutionary organization: stealing from other members of the proletariat, endangering the movement unnecessarily, putting comrades at risk through drug abuse––all these are issues of discipline that any properly revolutionary organization, from the days of Marx and Engels, has had to deal with. At the same time, though, there is the type of criminality, wrongly called "lumpen" by those marxists who seek respectability, that is actually the proper and militant behaviour required of a communist. The claim that criminal dissent is lumpen behaviour is becoming less and less tenable now that the sphere of criminality drawn around dissent is widening.Those who speak negatively about lumpen behaviour and lumpen organizations, then, do not realize that their anxiety about this supposed counter-revolutionary problem really only exists to mask thecounter-revolutionary problem: that they themselves, in their pursuit of petty bourgeois respectability (a problem that so many of us, including myself, face), are the ones who are actually courting counter-revolution. Thus, the danger at the centres of capitalism isthe lumpenization of a movement, or lumpen communist organizations that do not (no matter what some groups might claim) exist, but the very real and existant fact of petty-bourgeois consciousness.Added support for German Black 2 on DSi / 3DS
Fixed support for French,
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the president, too. New Orleans trombonist Glen David Andrews
When people think back to West's telethon moment, the first thing that comes to mind is his seven-word indictment of the sitting president, a stark memory of one of the world's most famous artists accusing its most powerful man of racism. Less remembered are the 200-or-so words that came before that -- words targeted not at Bush, but at the media: "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.'"
In the days following Hurricane Katrina, an image widely circulated on the Internet contrasted two photos and their captions. In one, a white man and a white woman walked through the high waters left by Katrina. The accompanying AFP/Getty caption explained, "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store..."
In the other photo distributed by The Associated Press, a black youth could be seen in a similar situation. The caption, however, read, "A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store..."
Credit: Stanford.edu
Different agencies wrote the captions. But to many Americans, the contrast between the two represented a larger truth: that the predominantly white media, try as they might to remain evenhanded, were subject to their own racial biases. (An AP spokesman said at the time that the boy fit the description of "looter" since the photographer saw him enter a store to obtain goods.)
Ask Americans now, and it's hard for them to recall West's media criticism; they tend to focus on his comments about Bush. In a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted in August, just one-third of those with memory of the incident could recall West criticizing the media's Katrina coverage. Two-thirds of them only remembered West accusing Bush of not caring about black people.
"It wasn't just a tirade against George Bush," said Scott Heath, an English professor at Georgia State University who teaches a course on Kanye West. "He was discussing the way that our larger media outlets represent black people in these moments of crisis."
Ten years on and nearly two terms removed from Bush's presidency, it's the criticism of the media that hits home for black Americans. Half of black men and women in the August poll agreed that Bush didn't care about black people, but two-thirds agreed that the media portray black and white moments of crisis differently.
"It was important for Kanye West and others to highlight that the media has the ability to tell the same story in two very different ways," said Lawrence, the onetime law student. "Being underwater for a week, I'm sure you get hungry, so hungry that you will go into a place where you know there is food and get it -- because, one, what's somebody else going to do with the food, with this food at a flooded Walgreens? And two, it's either go in there and get the food that you need to get, or die."
I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." Kanye West
Nearly 60 percent of white Americans believe that the media are racially unbiased or biased in favor of minorities, according to the HuffPost/YouGov poll. But evidence to the contrary isn't limited to anger-inducing anecdotes like the AP's "looting" photo. A study published in the aftermath of Katrina and based on multiple experiments found evidence that "crime news coverage contributes to racial stereotyping," lead researcher Travis Dixon said at the time.
Research conducted by Media Matters for America and published in March by the lobbying group ColorOfChange.org showed that local New York City TV stations were disproportionately depicting African-Americans as criminals as recently as this past December. The authors of a separate study published in the International Journal of Communication this year found that they could predict an American's level of bias against black people by the amount of local TV news he or she watched. Additional research has provided further evidence that TV can influence how viewers generally perceive African-Americans.
"The underlying sentiment that Kanye West expressed 10 years ago demonstrates the current reality of the way that the media covers people of color," said Charlton McIlwain, an associate professor of media, culture and communication at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. "There are years and mountains of evidence to suggest that over a long period of time -- extending to the present moment -- media tend to put a black face on crime, particularly violent crime."
West's comments, McIlwain said, were "by and large... accurate and on point."
There are years and mountains of evidence to suggest that... media tend to put a black face on crime, particularly violent crime. Charlton McIlwain, associate professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School
Today, it's not clear whether West himself would repeat what he said 10 years ago. After all, he is more careful now and even apologized to Bush in a 2010 interview on NBC's "Today" show, saying that he "didn't have the grounds to call him a racist."
"He has become more media savvy, very media conscious and deliberate in his appearances and in the things he chooses to express at certain points," Heath, the professor who teaches the course on West, said. "Ten years later, I wonder if even Kanye West would do the same thing, say the same thing. But I think he might."
Many of the people involved in the benefit concert now recall West's comments positively. Myers told GQ last year that he was "very proud to have been next to him." Radice called West's comments "a phenomenal moment in culture, in history." Traub, while still perturbed by West's decision to point the finger so strongly at Bush, agreed that "there was definitely a tremendous problem with the way that African-Americans were treated in that area."
Kaplan, who was so crestfallen moments after West's remarks, now looks back on his decision to stray from the script especially fondly.
"When you look at it in hindsight, boy am I glad he did that," Kaplan said. "['A Concert for Hurricane Relief'] became politically correct [as a result of West's comments]. And I don't mean political correctness. It just became accurate. It became an accurate program, not just a fundraiser."
It hasn't gotten much easier for pop stars to air controversial political views through the mainstream media, though. On Aug. 14 of this year, Janelle Monae took the stage on "Today" to sing an extended version of her hit single "Tightrope." Near the end of her song, Monae took a knee, closed her eyes and opened her mouth. (Watch above.)
"Yes, Lord, God bless America!" Monae said. "God bless all the lost lives to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced."
At that moment, NBC cut away from Monae, in what the network says was a scheduled commercial break unrelated to Monae's comments.
But with the rise of Twitter and movements like Black Lives Matter, whether it really takes a famous voice like Monae or West to launch a national debate is now an open question.
"One of the things [we've learned] through the Black Lives Matter movement and the actions that take place under that banner is it doesn't really take celebrity," said McIlwain, the NYU professor. "Many of the loudest voices in that movement are people that we had never heard, people who were a year ago in school, in college or working as college administrators."
Lawrence, the former law student, is a partner now at Lumumba & Associates, a law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, near where he grew up. He works on criminal defense and human rights cases. Currently, he's looking into the matter of Jonathan Sanders, a 39-year-old black man who was allegedly choked to death by a white police officer this July.
Last August, in the wake of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, Lawrence noticed something that perturbed him. Media outlets were using a photo of Brown in a sleeveless red jersey making a pointed hand gesture -- rather than a more sympathetic image of the soon-to-be college student, like him posing in graduation garb.
Handouts Different photos send different messages about Michael Brown.
Frustrated, Lawrence spliced together two vastly different photos of himself and tweeted them out with the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown. "I was thinking to myself, 'If I was shot down, how would my story be told?'" he said. "If they gunned me down, how would the media portray me?"
Like West's comments had in 2005, Lawrence's tweet struck a chord. The hashtag he created went viral. At one point, people used #IfTheyGunnedMeDown 100,000 times in 24 hours, according to the BBC.
In the first photo in Lawrence's tweet, taken on the day of his graduation from Tougaloo College, he's delivering a commencement speech as former President Bill Clinton laughs in the background. In the second picture -- the one he thinks the media would use if he were killed -- Lawrence is sporting sunglasses and a microphone, and holding a bottle of liquor. It was Halloween, and he'd gone as Kanye West.
Yes let's do that: Which photo does the media use if the police shot me down? #IfTheyGunnedMeDown pic.twitter.com/Ng0pUlxWhr — YoungGifted&Black✊ (@CJLawrenceEsq) August 10, 2014The Cardinals' free fall continued Sunday with an epic 58-0 loss at Seattle that left Larry Fitzgerald's father to conclude that Arizona has quit on the season.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt apologized to fans after Arizona lost its ninth consecutive game. Larry Fitzgerald Sr. took to Twitter to express his frustration with the direction of his son's team.
"Definition of team quitting? 9 losses n a row. 9th loss 58-0! Injuries handling of offense worst nNFL. Adrian Wilson & Darnell Dockett situations!" he tweeted.
Wilson, in his 12th season with the Cardinals, has seen his playing time diminish in recent weeks and on Sunday expressed doubt he'd be back with Arizona. Dockett was fined a "six-figures" amount last week for allegedly spitting at teammate Kerry Rhodes and disobeying the team's plan to let the Jets score in a loss to New York two weeks ago, a source told ESPN.
Fitzgerald's All-Pro talents are being wasted with the Cardinals' unsettled quarterback situation, and with just three games left in the season, his streak of 1,000-yard seasons is in jeopardy of ending at five. Fitzgerald, who had just one catch for 2 yards in Sunday's loss, has just 652 yards this season. Fitzgerald has 11, 31, 23 and 2 yards in his past four games and just six catches in that span.
The 29-year-old Fitzgerald, who signed an eight-year, $120 million contract in 2011, hasn't publicly criticized his quarterbacks' play.
Fitzgerald Sr. tweeted that the last time his son had to endure this big a blowout loss was in high school and he put his son in a different school as a result.For vacuum workholding systems, see vacuum table
Vacuum bed
A vacuum bed is a device sometimes used in BDSM play.
A person is placed in a latex envelope spanned by a frame and a suction pump or floor vacuum removes most of the air in the envelope. The frame can be either a simple rectangle of pierced pvc pipes, joined by pvc joints, or three dimensional frames of various sizes, with a similar pvc construction.
There are several ways that the vacuum bed can be designed to facilitate breathing. The most common is a tube running from outside of the vacuum bed into the person's mouth. A second option is a reinforced hole that is positioned so that the mouth protrudes. A third option is a reinforced gasket through which one forces the entire head. Incorporating a related fetish, some vacuum beds use a gas mask to facilitate respiration.
The vacuum bed is both a bondage and sensation device. The user is unable to move significantly (although some wiggling is possible), and is unable to speak or see, depending on the breathing hole used. The sensation of the vacuum bed itself, as well as any other play (stroking, percussion, vibrations) can be pleasurable to some users, and some find experiences much more intense than what would be experienced without the vacuum bed.
The vacuum bed must be used with the aid of another person, as the user cannot control the vacuum itself, nor escape the vacuum bed unaided.
There is also a danger of positional asphyxia, as well as the other dangers associated with bondage activities.
References [ edit ]1 Explicit 90 - All We Want Is Star Wars Cheers Tune in for discussions about upcoming films from the Game of Thrones duo, rumors for The Mandalorian, Anthony Daniel's stroking out on twitter, and more. The more is mainly that we REALLY JUST WAST STAR WARS CHEERS. Free View in iTunes
2 Explicit 89 - Kylo on a Ripstik If R5-D4 is in The Mandalorian what might that mean? Does EA know how to make video games? After we tackle these questions we get into pretty heavy Episode IX plot rumors that have us both excited. Free View in iTunes
3 Explicit 88 - A Whole Race of Snokes It's 2019 and we're still here! There's more Galaxy's Edge rumors, upcoming novels, our hopes and dreams for Episode IX, and other things I forget at this moment. All that and possibly something else in our first episode of the year! Free View in iTunes
4 Explicit 87 - Daddy Herzog Another holiday, another episode! Let's talk about cast announcements for The Mandalorian, Solo's award submission flub, and more. Free View in iTunes
5 Explicit 86 - Quick, They're Coming! Listen to this episode and save the galaxy! Quick, they're coming! Star Wars theme park rides, new books, and the impending news of Episode IX. Join us for all this and the creation of the worlds best new theme park attraction. Free View in iTunes
6 Explicit 85 - S.S. Sin All aboard the S.S. Sin, destination: debauchery. Michael finished Last Shot and is working through Thrawn: Alliances, it's a miracle! We also discuss the Galaxy's Edge news out of D23, Disney's own expo. Free View in iTunes
7 Explicit 84 - The Diary of Palpatine Disney has announced another live action Star Wars TV show, Resistance is going strong, and Palpatine doesn't need to return. All that and an unnecessary amount of other things on today's episode! Free View in iTunes
8 Explicit 83 - It's Not All For You This episode we talk about Star Wars Resistance and the Star Wars fandom in general. Sometimes things are made without your specific wants in mind and that's OK. Move on, find a thing you do like, it's fine not to like something, but you don't have to.. Free View in iTunes
9 Explicit 82 - Secret Uncle Thrawn Alliances read to completion, A Star Wars writer fired, The Mandalorian Directors, Episode IX rumors, secret uncles, and more! Free View in iTunes
10 Explicit 81 - OCBs We noticed that 50 episodes ago we were discussing how excited a pair of directors were to be making a Solo film. Whoopsiedoodles! In this eighty first episode we get into the new Resistance trailer, the Favreau show beginning filming, Kathleen... Free View in iTunes
11 Explicit 80 - Sabotage Time to talk books, sabotage, hobo trains, and Episode IX. Free View in iTunes
12 Explicit 79 - Cabin Full of Grandmas It's an episode! We got Episode IX casting news, we got Galaxy's Edge ride changes, we got a cabin full of grandmothers. What else could you want? Free View in iTunes
13 Explicit 78 - Force Correction BREAKING NEWS! Star Wars actors are shooting Star Wars scenes as Star Wars characters in a facility booked for Star Wars film production for the upcoming Star Wars film, obviously this means Keri Russell is Rey's mom. After all that BS, we get into... Free View in iTunes
14 Explicit 77 - Cosmo Jarvis The Episode IX cast has been revealed, with many surprises! On top of that Thrawn: Alliances is out, the Resistance TV series has a possible air date, and more. Free View in iTunes
15 Explicit 76 - Star Wars @ SDCC San Diego Comic-Con happened over the weekend. Join us as we recap the Star Wars announcements that tickled our brain holes. Free View in iTunes
16 Explicit 75 - If Not Mom, Then What? Join us for an unintentional discussion of Episode IX, what headspace Kylo may be in, the state of The First Order, a return to familiarity, and a whore named Syphilis. Free View in iTunes
17 Explicit 74 - Pickled In Pizza Juice An episode of rumors and wishes regarding character returns in IX, as well as the possible end of "A Star Wars Story" films. Free View in iTunes
18 Explicit 73 - Rambos and Sunshine Some of us have seen Solo multiple times while others of us have not. Hear what we missed on the first viewing and why we still love this movie. We also talk about trash people using Star Wars as a platform for their hate, more announcements for... Free View in iTunes
19 Explicit 72 - Solo Didn't Suck! We saw Solo and it didn't suck! Tune in for spoiler free talk up front, including Boba Fett film talk and more. After that stick around for full on Solo spoilers and discussion. Free View in iTunes
20 Explicit 71 - Jocasta Nu, Badass Librarian As we prepare to see Solo in a couple weeks we share our closing thoughts and expectations, followed by a conversation on what is happening in Marvel's Vader series. Free View in iTunes
21 Explicit 70 - Super Fantastic Trackless First Order Battle Escape Ride On This weeks episode we discuss Alden Ehrenreich being signed on for 3 films, a new animated Star Wars show by Dave Filoni, and more new of what's to come at Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Free View in iTunes
22 Explicit 69 - The Ewok Resurgence Ewoks are back and Michael is not enthused. Poor guy has no heart. In addition to Ewoks the guys talk new Star Wars characters and their names, the Solo premiere, the ongoing battle for Rey's origins, and more! Free View in iTunes
23 Explicit 68 - Solo Positivity On this episode we discuss the Solo film with as much positivity as we have up to this point. Also check out new information of the Millennium Falcon ride coming to Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and a new excerpt from Thrawn: Alliances. Free View in iTunes
24 Explicit 67 - The Last Jedi Final Reaction The digital release of The Last Jedi is out now with an amazing list of special features and fantastic documentary. Join as as we discuss our final thoughts on The Last Jedi and more! Free View in iTunes
25 Explicit 66 - Rebels, Why? On this episode we discuss the Deus Ex Machina that Star Wars Rebels introduced, The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition novel's Snoke additions, and the Millennium Falcon's secret attack bed. Free View in iTunes
26 Explicit 65 - L3-37 Join us for Solo character talk, more information on why the original Solo directors were let go, and discussion on even more Star Wars movies being announced. Free View in iTunes
27 Explicit 64 - Batuuuuu! Did the Solo trailer finally air? We hope so! Join us for more Solo discussion, thoughts on The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition novelization, the unwanted return if "What Dat Tweet??", and opening dates/entertainment info on Disney's "Star Wars: Galaxy's... Free View in iTunes
28 Explicit 63 - Cool Guy Han Solo Join the us as we discuss the Star Wars Disney Hotel and Galaxy's Edge park, our appreciation for Rian Johnson's outspokenness, the worries over the return of JJ Abrams, and the continued lack of excitement for the Solo film. Free View in iTunes
29 Explicit 62 - Stop All The Complainin' It's a new year and the same us! Join us as we talk about the most popular complaints surrounding The Last Jedi. Additionally, is there any way the Solo film is going to be good? Free View in iTunes
30 Explicit 61 - The Last Jedi Initial Reactions After years of waiting The Last Jedi is finally out and we have seen it! Join us for our initial thoughts after our first viewing. Spoiler-free reaction up front followed by a spoiler warning and a full in-depth discussion. Free View in iTunes
31 Explicit 60 - The Last Jedi Final Predictions This is the last episode before we see The Last Jedi! Join us as we discuss out final predictions and try to figure out what in the world is up with Snoke. Free View in iTunes
32 Explicit 59 - Crait Has Dirt Disney has announced a new trilogy and a live action TV show! Where/when will the trilogy take place? What’s going to happen in 2020 after IX is released? Will the Star Wars TV show be the same tone as current Disney shows? All this and more! Free View in iTunes
33 Explicit 58 - Junky Lard Box How much of the Solo film was re-shot? What's in store for the next 10 years of Star Wars films? Does Luke have his green lightsaber? All this and more! Free View in iTunes
34 Explicit 57 - It's Trailer Time! The Last Jedi trailer released! During an American football sport of some kind? That makes total sense. Join us for trailer talk and wild speculation! Free View in iTunes
35 Explicit 56 - Trailer Waiting We still don't have a trailer for The Last Jedi but we never run out of things to talk about. This episode we discuss if Yoda had trained Leia instead of Luke, Star Wars books, and more. Free View in iTunes
36 Explicit 55 - The Bad Guys This episode of Hokey Religion we discuss the return of J.J. Abrams, Episode IX, and (unexpectedly) our thoughts on Avatar. We then continue, and finish out, our discussion of the characters of The Last Jedi as we discuss the "bad guys" Free View in iTunes
37 Explicit 54 - Another One Bites The Dust Does Star Wars have a problem with directors, or do directors have a problem with Star Wars? We discuss the "mutual parting" of another Star Wars director followed by the continuation of our "The Last Jedi" character discussion. Free View in iTunes
38 Explicit 53 - The Good Guys This episode we start a series discussing the characters of "The Last Jedi". Starting off with "the good guys". This episode focuses on Chewie, Han, Leia, Luke, and Rey. Free View in iTunes
39 Explicit 52 - The Emperor's New Groove Internet leak season has begun as photos of The Last Jedi characters were leaked, one of them is Snoke! We go on to discuss the new writer brought on for Episode IX as well as more theories on Snoke's plan and how much The Emperor's contingency may... Free View in iTunes
40 Explicit 51 - Ewoks v. Porgs This episode we talk Porgs, Star Wars at SDCC 2017, Luke's X-Wing being parked in the ocean, Snoke's new look, and more! Free View in iTunes
41 Explicit 50 - D23 Jamboree Disney's D23 conference took place over the weekend and provided us new information about Disney's Hollywood Studios Star Wars Land along with a Behind-the-scenes sizzler form The Last Jedi! Join us at the end of the episode for a nostalgic look back... Free View in iTunes
42 Explicit 49 - The Han Solo Incident The boys recap the Han Solo director disaster, compiling the statements from anonymous sources and discussing how crazy it all is. Take everything with a grain of salt! We still have hope and you should too. Free View in iTunes
43 Explicit 48 - Lightsabers, Praetorian Guards, & D23 Join the Hokeymen as they try and figure out Rey's lightsaber situation, discuss the very cool looking Praetorian Guards, and look forward to all of the Star Wars Land information that will be coming from Disney's D23 Expo in July. Free View in iTunes
44 Explicit 47 - Spin-offs & Thrawn Join Tyler and Michael as they talk about the next Star Wars spin-off(s), a leaked "The Last Jedi" LEGO set, how great "Thrawn" is, and what they think the "greater evil/power" hinted at throughout the new canon novels could be. Free View in iTunes
45 Explicit 46 - Sandwich Man We've got talks of Luke's equipment...not like THAT...(but maybe?), sandwich men, Snoke's methods of Force use, and start a new recurring Prequel discussion. Free View in iTunes
46 Explicit 45 - What's The Deal With Phasma? This episode Tyler and Michael discuss the importance behind R2-D2 and BB-8 being switched out on Ach-To, Canto Bight's racin' space horses, What's up with Phasma, and "does Vader even poop?" Free View in iTunes
47 Explicit 44 - The Last Jedi Trailer The "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" trailer debuted at Star Wars Celebration 2017 and we're ready to talk about it. Start up the hype train and theory boxcars, we're ready to roll! We make wild assumptions that our existing theories are correct and start... Free View in iTunes
48 Explicit 43 - Star Wars Celebration: We Survived We became lines-people and survived Star Wars Celebration 2017! Listen as we recap all 4 days of lines, madness, joy, and Tai-chi. Free View in iTunes
49 Explicit 42 - Star Wars Celebration: How To Survive We are excited about Star Wars Celebration 2017! Hear how the wristband lines will work, how panels will be shown, and learn some IMPORTANT LIFE SAVING TIPS about visiting Orlando Florida. We also bring back the old segment "Ewok Eyelids", because we... Free View in iTunes
50 Explicit 41 - Empire's End In this episode of Hokey Religion we discuss the original Rogue One script written by Gary Whitta, raccoon oil donuts, and top it all off with an Empire's End: Aftermath recap/wrap-up. Free View in iTunes
51 Explicit 40 - Do Wookiees Have Nipples? This episode of Hokey Religion jumps right into insanity from Michael having finally watched The Star Wars Holiday Special. From there it only gets worse. We talk bio-hexacrypts, Rebels hate, Cheers/Parks and Rec on the Death Star, and Snoke's Chair... Free View in iTunes
52 Explicit 39 - Woody Harrelson's Stupid Face This episode of Hokey Religion starts off with a bit of Aftermath: Empire's End as well as the upcoming Inferno Squad novel, the Rogue One Bluray release date and whether film commentaries are still a thing, Michael goes off about how he doesn't like... Free View in iTunes
53 Explicit 38 - It's a Bad Episode This is a bad episode. It couldn't be helped really, it just had to be a bad one. Turn back now, it's all bad in here. This episode of Hokey Religion gets into Billy Dee's thoughts on the Han Solo film, the opening date for Star Wars land at Disney's... Free View in iTunes
54 Explicit 37 - Pizza Trophies Have you ever heard of a Pizza Trophy? In this episode you will heard everything you never wanted to know about pizza trophies, fanny packs, and so much more. Michael and Tyler (when they eventually get to Star Wars) give their thoughts on Episode... Free View in iTunes
55 Explicit 36 - Make It So This episode of Hokey Religion the boys find themselves discussing the rumored destruction of The Original Trilogy, the Rogue One shoot "Indie Hour", StarWars.com's statement on digitally recreating Carrie Fisher, Kylo Ren's new personal ship, and... Free View in iTunes
56 Explicit 35 - Accidentally Rogue One This episode is dedicated to the beloved Carrie Fisher. This episode of Hokey Religion accidentally turned into another entirely Rogue One episode. Join the boys as they have had time to let Rogue One settle and give some more in depth thoughts. Free View in iTunes
57 Explicit 34 - Rogue One It's here, it's here, it's finally here! Rogue One hit theaters and Tyler and Michael were there on opening night. Join us as we discuss the film with wild abandon. BEWARE, we discuss Rogue One from start to finish. If you have not seen Rogue One yet... Free View in iTunes
58 Explicit 33 - Tarkin's Mashed Potatoes Rogue One tickets finally went on sale! But this episode had to be recorded early! So we didn't have them yet! But we have them now! Good ones, too! This episode of Hokey Religion goes into the future of Disney's Star Wars, spin-off films, Tarkin... Free View in iTunes
59 Explicit 32 - Ready For A Beefin This episode, Michael wants to be a Beefman, or something about beef. I don't know. After taking a cold shower from all the beef-talk we discuss the continued lack of Rogue One tickets, the international Rogue One trailer, confirmation of young... Free View in iTunes
60 Explicit 31 - Mantras, Tantras, and Yantras This episode of Hokey Religion we get down to the important stuff, like an extremely weird flyer Michael found hidden behind a public bathroom mirror. We also happen to talk about the young Lando casting, Rey's parentage, new First Order troopers in... Free View in iTunes
61 Explicit 30 - Garbage (S)Mashers Join us for more of our favorite new segment "What That Tweet?!", the resolution of an argument regarding whether it's "garbage smashers" or "garbage mashers", some Rogue One and Episode VIII rumors, and Tyler's takeaways from "Aftermath: Life Debt". Free View in iTunes
62 Explicit 29 - What That Tweet?! Michael Giacchino i scoring "Rogue One" now, Tyler is very excited. Michael asks, "WHAT THAT TWEET?!" And we get into the fact that The Death Star was never supposed to take so long to build, but that a "specific part" was the cause of the delay.... Free View in iTunes
63 Explicit 28 - Jedi Are Dicks The Jedi are dicks! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'd rather you hear it from me. As a dead man once said, "It's true, all of it." Oh, the podcast episode...right! We get back into the Force/Midi-chlorian discussion along with wondering "how.. Free View in iTunes
64 Explicit 27 - The Family Hands Tyler and Michael discuss the call sign "Rogue One", the Erso family backstory, Luke Skywalker's academy, and lightsaber design choices in this week's Hokey Religion. Also, the Death Star can TOTALLY destroy a star...don't you DARE say it can't!... Free View in iTunes
65 Explicit 26 - Why Does Everyone Look Like Tony Danza? So, why DOES everyone look like Tony Danza? It's not just us, right? Please, tell us it's not just us! Oh yea...this episode we use sounds to convey opinions on Galen Erso, Episode VIII happenings, Lando casting rumors, and the much maligned Episode... Free View in iTunes
66 Explicit 25 - Talkin' Tacos In this episode we discuss the new information about the Rogue One planet Jedha, Rebels Season 3 premiere dates, Star Wars 3D release rumors, and whatever other nonsense came to mind. Free View in iTunes
67 Explicit 24 - A Hologram is a Holograph THRAWN!! We go back to Day 2 of Star Wars Celebration Europe to discuss Thrawn's glorious return! We also cover official word on some Rogue One cameos, the much debated rumor of a Han Solo trilogy, the possible future of a live-action Star Wars TV... Free View in iTunes
68 Explicit 23 - When He Dead This episode was recorded after Day 1 of Star Wars Celebration Europe, which means news and info! We talk about the very informative Rogue One panel, the Ahsoka panel, as well as a small bit of the beginning of the newly released "Aftermath - Life... Free View in iTunes
69 Clean 22 - Rogue One, A Film With Characters Entertainment Weekly took a Rogue One dump that confirms it IS a film and best of all one with characters in it, including a character we've all seen before! We also discuss an interesting Episode VIII rumor that sparks a conversation about the future.. Free View in iTunes
70 Clean 21 - Crazy Tarkin's Trooper Outlet We've got John Williams rumors! We've got Episode VIII rumors! We've got Rogue One rumors! We've even got rumours with a U! Come on down to Crazy Tarkin's Trooper Shack, where all the things are stuff and all the stuff is CRAAAAZZZZY! Free View in iTunes
71 Clean 20 - Ask Lobot This episode the boys discuss Rogue One reshoots, awesome Episode VIII battle spoilers, and introduce a new segment called "Ask Lobot". Free View in iTunes
72 Clean 19 - Bloodline Are Luke, Rey, and Kylo all on Ahch-To together? Also, the boys both actually read Bloodline to completion! And don't worry, proper spoiler warning is provided before the Bloodline talk. Free View in iTunes
73 Clean 18 - The Only Part That Matters The boys talk about the fact that Plagueis is dead and how Mads Mikkelsen got himself into trouble. There were three talking notes and they went for an hour, enjoy. Free View in iTunes
74 Clean 17 - Pure Vanilla We return with another exciting episode of Michael breaking. We discuss Rey's parent's AGAIN, costume spoilers, and some casting rumors. Aerate it. Warm it up. That's a 10! Free View in iTunes
75 Clean 16 - In Case of Phone Use Paul Join the boys as they talk about the Rebels Season 2 finale, Ahsoka's book, and the Blu-Ray release. They also complain about not getting Rogue One stuff...the day before Rogue One stuff. Free View in iTunes
76 Clean The Rogue One As always, something major happened the day after we recorded an episode. We bring you a very special bonus episode for the Rogue One teaser debut! Free View in iTunes
77 Clean 15 - Mr Cat Poop The gang talks about all the Episode VIII happenings, the Blu-ray leak, and have a new game to play! Free View in iTunes
78 Clean 14 - A DVD is a Video Tape The DVD/Blu-Ray/Video Tape/Compact Disk/Wax Cylinder was finally announced with some details, VIII continues to film, and Chewbacca will do a thing. Free View in iTunes
79 Clean 13 - Probably Not X-Men There's a good chance it isn't about X-Men this time. Not to mention, we also get to hear Michael slowly lose his mind. Free View in iTunes
80 Clean 11 - Bad Dates All the dates have changed, ALL OF THEM! Well, a film and a couple books...but that's enough cause FOR YELLING! Optional episode title: 'Millennium Fahlcon'. Free View in iTunes
81 Clean 10 - We're Back! Our non-awaited return is finally here! We talk about our Rey theories, news items, and wander down many a ramble trail. Free View in iTunes
82 Clean 09 - ALL THE SPOILS IT FINALLY HAPPENED! We saw the new Star Wars, so listen to us blab about it. This is full of spoilers, you have been warned. Free View in iTunes
83 Clean 08 - Aftermath This episode we FINALLY talk about Aftermath along with wrapping up some final thoughts in preparation for Episode VII. Free View in iTunes
84 Clean 07 - International Surprise The weekend of November 6th we were surprised with not only a brand new trailer for The Force Awakens but also a TV Spot! Follow along with our screenshots here: http://imgur.com/a/PYyQX Free View in iTunes
85 Clean 06 - Never Done With VII To think that we thought there wouldn't be any more to talk about in regards to The Force Awakens. There was, we did. Free View in iTunes
86 Explicit 05 - The Trailer Awakens We finally have a poster, tickets, and trailer for The Force Awakens. Settle in, this is going to be a long one. Follow along with our trailer screenshots at: http://imgur.com/a/CfyxV#0 Free View in iTunes
87 Explicit 04 - Character Development In this episode, we mess up the intro. Also, we discuss some very interesting new character theories. Free View in iTunes
88 Explicit 03 - The First Order Let's talk about The First Order and The Resistance. Also, help us get into the "New and Noteworthy" section by rating us on iTunes. Free View in iTunes
89 Explicit 02 - Force Friday Join us as we discuss the revelations of Force Friday and introduce a new segment. Free View in iTunesDEARBORN, Mich., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has been recognized as one of the world's most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a leading business ethics think tank.
Ford is among 100 global companies chosen for the designation from a field of thousands of companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries. Ford is the only automaker to receive the honor in 2010. The results are based on an extensive review of companies' social responsibility efforts, corporate governance and business practices.
"Ford Motor Company is honored and pleased to receive this recognition," said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. "At Ford, we're not only committed to making great products and building a strong business, we believe in contributing to a better world and doing business in an ethical way."
This is the fourth year Ethisphere has published its list of the world's most ethical companies. The firm is dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.
"Ford's promotion of a sound ethical environment shines within its industry and shows a clear understanding that operating under the highest standards for business behavior goes beyond goodwill and lip service and is intimately linked to performance
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between a handful of men and behind the smokescreen of a fictitious mass movement. As things turned out, the disorder unleashed by this power struggle created a genuinely revolutionary mass current, which developed spontaneously at the grass roots in the form of army mutinies and workers’ strikes on a vast scale. These had not been prescribed in the programme, and they were crushed pitilessly.
The bulk of the book is a diary, written from 1967 to 1969, which drew on the official Chinese press to show how the movement was throughout manipulated from the top, and how from 1968 onwards Mao was working to rein in his previous allies in order to keep the Communist Party and state from falling apart. Much more is now known about the Cultural Revolution, but plenty what we have learned since the fall of Maoism has vindicated Ryckmans’ basic thesis.
Chinese Shadows, written when he was living in Beijing as a Belgian diplomat, is probably his best book, and certainly the most accessible. Ryckmans had a deep knowledge of and sympathy for Chinese culture, but also an instinctive sympathy with ordinary people. When he laments the destruction of traditional culture, it’s because everyday life is being impoverished.
And he has a lovely satirical style. The chapter on bureaucrats alone is worth whatever you pay for a copy. He notes of the army:
External insignia have nearly completely disappeared… They have been replaced by a loose jacket with four pockets for officers, two pockets for privates. In this way, a colonel travelling first class on the railway is now merely a four-pocket military man “sleeping soft” – with a two-pocket man respectfully carrying his suitcase. In cities one can still distinguish between four-pocket men in jeeps, four-pocket men in black limousines with curtains, and four-pocket men who have black limousines with curtains and a jeep in front.
These books were followed by Broken Images and The Burning Forest, two collections of essays on various aspects of Chinese culture and politics. Many of these are now included in a new collection of essays published last year, The Hall of Uselessness – the only Simon Leys book still in print.
A fervent Catholic art-historian with a fondness for anarchism, Ryckmans didn’t fit neatly into any political category. Much of his critique of Maoism is rooted in a moral disgust about the use of radical language to excuse a new dictatorship. But he wasn’t seeking to do anything more than open people’s eyes to the grubby realities.
He was often denounced as a “reactionary”, yet there isn’t a word of sympathy for pre-1949 China in any of his writings. If he had a political hero, it was probably the iconoclastic Chinese author and journalist Lu Xun (1881-1936). One recurring theme of his writing was reclaiming Lu Xun’s rebellious spirit from Maoists “who tried to annex him posthumously to their camp by means of various falsifications”.
A couple of years ago, in a letter to the New York Review of Books about Spain 1936, Ryckmans quoted George Orwell: “The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries, but between authoritarians and libertarians.” That’s probably as close as he came to ever summing up his own political philosophy, and it served him well in cutting through the fog of bullshit that pervaded Maoism’s declining years in the 1970s.
Ryckmans wrote very little on China after Mao, but was apparently not persuaded that anything fundamental had changed – his target was the system, rather than this or that individual or any particular aspect of bureaucracy. But his work remains well worth reading, not just for his defiance of what was then the accepted wisdom, but also the hope that he clung on to against what seemed like overwhelming odds. As he wrote in Chinese Shadows:This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Turkey has downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and frozen military cooperation ahead of a long-awaited United Nations report on Israel’s deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship in 2010. According to leaked excerpts, the report accuses Israel of, quote, “excessive and unreasonable force” in its attacks on the Mavi Marmara which killed nine people. The report says Israel should issue a statement of regret and compensate the families of the dead as well as wounded passengers. But the report also criticizes passengers aboard the Marmara and the other flotilla ships for what it calls a, quote, “reckless” attempt to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. And in a major development with broader implications, the United Nations report also concludes that the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is legal under international law.
AMY GOODMAN: The U.N. investigation was overseen by Geoffrey Palmer, a former prime minister of New Zealand. Turkey says it will expel the Israeli ambassador and downgrade diplomatic ties to their lowest level until Israel drops its refusal to apologize for the raid and provides compensation.
For more, we’re going to go to Ramallah, where we’re joined by Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza flotilla movement. She’s on one of—she was on one of the six ships that were in the Gaza flotilla when the Mavi Marmara was attacked. She’s joining us by Democracy Now! audio stream. And here in New York, we’re joined by Norman Finkelstein, author of a number of books on Israel-Palestine conflict, including “This Time We Went Too Far”: Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion.
In Ramallah, Huwaida Arraf, your response to the leaked report—the New York Times posted it online—of the U.N.?
HUWAIDA ARRAF: Hi, Amy, Juan, Norman.
Sadly, it’s a completely expected whitewash of Israeli crimes. This panel’s composition—not only its composition, but its mandate—was problematic in so many ways. And it wasn’t designed to get at the truth of what happened or to achieve—to get at justice for the victims of Israel’s attack, but rather to arrive at political compromise between Israel and Turkey. And that’s what we have. It’s an attempt to whitewash the crimes, set them aside, and in addition, it came up with some outrageous claims that completely contradict the findings of numerous human rights organizations and international law authorities, including various bodies of the U.N. itself, about the legality of the Israeli blockade. So, very problematic.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And the report’s criticism or faulting of one organization, in particular, a Turkish organization, that had some members—helped organize the flotilla. Could you talk about what it said and your response to that?
HUWAIDA ARRAF: Sure. It did say—you did quote that we were “reckless,” but it also said that Israeli soldiers faced organized violence when they tried to board the Mavi Marmara, which is completely untrue. We spent a long time preparing for this flotilla. And our—everything that we prepared, the passengers and our—the foundations of our movement and what we do is based on nonviolent direct action resistance.
This is not to deny that Israeli soldiers did face some attacks when they boarded, but you can’t say that these attacks were anything more than self-defense, because of the obnoxious way in which Israeli soldiers—and very violent way in which they took over the ships, in the way that was intended to cause tremendous fear and commotion. They boarded the ships firing, even on our very small boat. The boat that I was on was traveling right next to the Mavi Marmara, and we only had about 17 people on that boat. They boarded, beating down people, using tasers, firing stun grenades and paintball pellet at people’s faces. It was completely uncalled-for violence, so that some people, a handful out of 700 volunteers, reacted in what can be called a violent way. It was self-defense, so it was in no way organized. And this is—I’m saying this, being part of the central organizing committee of the flotilla.
AMY GOODMAN: The U.N.'s report notes that, quote, “On the basis of public statements by the flotilla organizers and their own internal documentation, the Panel is satisfied that as much as their expressed purpose of providing humanitarian aid, one of the primary objectives of the flotilla organizers was to generate publicity about the situation in Gaza by attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade. The purposes of the flotilla were clearly expressed in a document prepared by IHH and signed by all flotilla participants,” unquote.
The report then cites the document’s statement of purpose, which reads, quote, “Purposes of this journey are to create an awareness amongst world public and international organizations on the inhumane and unjust embargo on Palestine and to contribute to end this embargo which clearly violates human rights and delivering humanitarian relief to the Palestinians.”
Norm Finkelstein, your response?
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, I noticed that Juan was looking perplexed at that statement. I have to say, last night, when I was reading the report, I was completely dumbfounded, and I had to keep repeating—rereading these passages over and over again. What the report stated—and all of your listeners should hear closely, because it was so shocking, so morally debased—the report said that we doubt, or we question, the true motives of the organizers of the flotilla. They said, we have evidence that their real motive was not humanitarian. And the statement that you just quoted was the evidence that their real motive was not humanitarian, that they had this really sinister, nefarious motive. Their real motive was not humanitarian; the real motive was, they said, the report said, to cast publicity on Israel’s illegal and immoral blockade of Gaza.
Now I have to say, that is—and I’m meaning this literally—it is a new low. I read all the Israeli reports, in particular the Turkel report, the one put out by the former Supreme Court justice. It’s about 300 pages. They never stooped to that level. They claimed that this handful of what they call jihadists, that they were looking for a confrontation with Israelis or the Israeli soldiers, and they brought on weapons for a confrontation. This report does not claim that they were looking for a confrontation. It holds them morally culpable for trying to cast publicity on an illegal and inhumane blockade. With the Israelis, at least we’re in the same moral universe, and it’s a question of fact. What was the intent of these commandos—excuse me, what was the intent of the activists? Was it to get a confrontation, or was it to cast humanitarian—cast light on what’s happening? But with this report, we’ve entered a new moral universe. They are actually saying that to cast light on an illegal and inhumane blockade is a morally sinister act.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask, there were four members on this committee: one from Turkey, one from Israel, then there were two supposedly independent ones, the former prime minister of New Zealand and Álvaro Uribe, the former president of Colombia, who himself presided over a period of the most—the highest level of extrajudicial killings and assassinations in his own country. It seems amazingly strange to have someone like Álvaro Uribe on this panel as an objective member of the committee.
AMY GOODMAN: The Colombian president.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, it was clear from the moment that Ban Ki-moon, the alleged secretary-general of the United Nations—it was clear from the moment he appointed Uribe on the panel that it was going to be a farce. Beyond all the crimes for which Mr. Uribe has been accused and also have been documented, he was also known as being very close to Israel and advocating closer military relations with Israel. So, from the get-go, from the moment the members were named, it was clear which way the report was going to go.
But, you know, you always wonder, what are they going to come up with? How could they possibly justify certain things? They said that the blockade of Gaza—now, we have to be clear. They said the naval blockade was legal. They separated it from the land blockade, for technical reasons, which it’s no point in going into here. But they said the naval blockade was legal. And the grounds they gave were this: that Israel clearly faces security problems from Gaza, the rocket and mortar fire. OK. And they say, to document this security problem, since 2001, some 25 Israelis have been killed by these rocket and mortar attacks. Fair enough. And then they say that many people have suffered psychologically, psychological trauma from these attacks. Fair enough.
Then there’s the other side of the equation. There is not one word, one syllable, on how many Gazans have perished as a result of Israeli attacks. It’s not 25. It’s not 250. It’s at least at an order of magnitude of 2,500. We’re not just talking about the 1,400 Palestinians who were killed in Operation Cast Lead. Israel always has operations in Gaza, has very fancy names—Operation Summer Rains, Operation Autumn Clouds, Operation Hot Winter, Operation Rainbow. All of it vanishes from this report. The only people who have suffered deaths in Gaza due to armed hostilities are Israelis.
Now, let’s say it’s true. Fair enough. They have a right to impose a naval blockade to prevent weapons from going to Gaza, for security reasons. Don’t the people of Gaza have the right to impose a military blockade on Israel, to prevent weapons from going to Israel? You can’t even raise that question. It’s beyond their comprehension. In fact, the irony is, that’s the law. The law is, as Amnesty International pointed out in its report “Fueling Conflict,” under international law and domestic American law, it’s illegal to transfer weapons to any country or—any state or non-state party which is a consistent violator of human rights. So, if that commission, the Palmer Commission, named after, you know, the former New Zealand president, if they had any integrity, they would have said, OK, Israel has the right to impose a blockade on Gaza, and the international community” — because this is what Amnesty said. Amnesty says the international community has an obligation—that’s what they said—to impose an arms embargo on Israel, as well, because it’s a consistent violator of human rights.
AMY GOODMAN: I want—I wanted to bring Huwaida Arraf back into the discussion, who’s in Ramallah, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, was part of the aid flotilla last year that the Mavi Marmara was a part of. The U.N. investigation did accuse Israel of excessive and unreasonable force. Now Turkey has announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, the suspension of military cooperation, hours before the report was published. But also, in the last attempts of the Gaza flotilla, just in the last months, they themselves stopped a ship from going forward. Can you talk about all of this, Huwaida?
HUWAIDA ARRAF: Sure. Really quickly, I’d like to just touch on a couple of important points that Norman made, the first one being about the legality of the blockade. And Norman did say that they considered it very separate from the rest of the closure, which has been declared completely illegal and a violation of Israel’s obligations, so there’s no way that this maritime blockade can be legal, no matter what way you look at it. It’s a violation of Israel’s obligations under international law as an occupying power.
Also, in regards to Uribe and the problems that Norman mentioned, the other thing is that he is known to have a complete disdain for human rights defenders. And you can look at complaints from human rights organizations within Colombia. Also, an organization called Human Rights First called this out, that him referring to human rights defenders as “terrorist sympathizers” endangers human rights defenders. So, from the start, he had a disdain for people like us who like to call attention to and take action, nonviolent action, against these human rights abuses.
And the last really important thing before I get to your question is this report and the attention that it’s supposed to get, when we already had an independent U.N. fact-finding mission that released a report almost one year ago, comprehensive, interviewed over a hundred victims and participants, and that was put together by scholars in international law and known judges on international tribunals. This should be the authority on what actually happened, not this farce of a report.
But in terms of what you said about Turkey stopping—about being part of stopping the last flotilla, known as Freedom Flotilla 2, which was supposed to launch last summer, or this past summer, not exactly. It was Israel placed a lot of pressure on a lot of countries, the European countries, to stop their citizens from participating. Not many—you know, some leaders of these countries made statements that the flotilla is not helpful and that they warn their citizens not to take part. But the country that was—that really cooperated with Israel—and it was a shock and quite sad—was Greece. And it did—we did learn that it came under a lot of political and economic pressure also because of the economic situation that they’re in. But they did impose restrictions and did not let our boats leave. So it really became complicit in Israel’s blockade. And we are challenging that on different levels.
Turkey itself didn’t really. It did communicate to us and to our Turkish partners that it might not be helpful at this time, but what happened—but the Turkish organization IHH remained fully a part of the flotilla. The Mavi Marmara was not able to go, because it was not physically, mechanically ready to go. In fact, up until the date that we were supposed to launch, they still had people working to meet all of the guidelines for being certified to go into international waters on the kind of mission that we wanted it to. So we knew—at a point, we realized it wasn’t going to be ready, and we took that boat out of the equation. But the Turks remained fully a part of the organizing. And in fact, we were going to launch one boat from Turkey. One of the boats—it was the Irish ship—was located in Turkey, but it was sabotaged by, we believe, Israeli agents and was not able to launch. So, they didn’t really place any barriers, certainly not like Greece did.
AMY GOODMAN: But the fact that this report did find that Israel’s use of force was excessive and unreasonable, and the significance of Turkey expelling the Israeli ambassador?
HUWAIDA ARRAF: Definitely. Well, it’s kind of funny that Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador today after the release of this report, because the whole point of this report was to reach a political compromise and to repair the relation between Israel and Turkey. And we’re glad that Turkey has taken the position that it has taken. And in fact, Turkey’s foreign minister has said that it’s time that Israel paid a price. And it’s true, because Israel does not pay a price for any of its human rights violations. It continues to act with impunity. And even the fact that this report did say Israel acted using excessive force, it doesn’t—it doesn’t go enough to—money or paying compensation is not—is no kind of justice for the families or for the people that—for the victims of Israel’s actions. And that’s what we want to see. We want to see some kind of accountability. And that’s different from the U.N. report that was issued last September by the independent fact-finding mission, which recommended that human rights abusers be held accountable. And that’s what we’re waiting to see. So, this report, the Uribe-Palmer report, pays some lip service to the victims, but its main—again, its main goal, to repair relations, and we’re glad to see that Turkey is not falling for that.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: I’d like to say—
JUAN GONZALEZ: Norman, if we can, we just have a little bit of time.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Sure.
JUAN GONZALEZ: If you could just briefly talk about the implications of this report coming out now and the continuing schism between Turkey and Israel, as we head into the United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood.
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, actually, many Israelis worried that this would be Pyrrhic victory for the Israeli government, because being so stubborn about refusing to make an apology—there are two of consecutive words that just don’t translate into Hebrew. The two words, consecutive words, are “excuse me.” They can’t comprehend that. And the Israeli—many Israeli officials were saying, “Make the apology, because we need Turkey. Turkey is our—has historically been our strongest ally in the Muslim world. Things are now turbulent with our other main ally in the Arab world, Egypt. Make the apology, and move on.” But there were members of the Netanyahu government—in particular, Mr. Lieberman, the foreign minister, and his party—who refused, because they said if they made the apology, Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, would run with it and would embarrass the Israelis, and Israelis would be humiliated. But they didn’t think it was a wise move. And actually, I don’t think it is, either. Losing the military relationship with Turkey, suspension of diplomatic relations, and now you know Turkey, when the state issue—statehood issue comes up in September, they are going to be in the forefront now, because Erdogan has been humiliated by this report. It was a complete spit in the face of the Turks, what this report said.
So I think, from a moral point of view, it was a disgrace. But from a political point of view, it will probably end up helping the Palestinians. You have to remember the whole point of the report. It described the killing of the nine members of the—on the—passengers on the Mavi Marmara. You know the phrase they used? It was a “major irritant” to diplomatic relations. Killing nine people is an “irritant.” And they said, “We have to get over this irritant, so that Israel and Turkey can restore diplomatic relations.” That’s their moral level.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to leave it there. Norman Finkelstein, we thank you for being with us, author of, among other books, “This Time We Went Too Far”: Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion, and Huwaida Arraf, chair of the Free Gaza Movement, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, was on one of the six ships that were in the Gaza flotilla when the Mavi Marmara was attacked. She was joining us from Ramallah, on the West Bank.Black Lives Matter protesters are spending the night outside the Oakland police union headquarters, some are chained to the building.Protesters chained themselves to the doors of the Oakland Police Officers' Association Wednesday night. Some secured U-locks around their necks. One demonstrator said this symbolizes how the black community feels."We are physically changed as well as metaphorically when we are trying to find jobs. And the continual racism and discrimination we face by just being black, as well as trying to find housing," said protester Frangy Poto.The group took over the police union headquarters and credit union, posting signs that say, "Black Lives Matter."They want the city to stop funding the police department, and instead use that money to invest in black futures."The Oakland budget is drastically weighted toward funding the police department," said protester Karrisa Lewis."We want 50 percent of the of police department funds to go the black community. Specifically, to mental health services, as well as housing, because what's happening is a lot of black people have been displaced," Potos said.Police were there monitoring the crowd. Protesters say they plan to stay though the night.Amid concerns about a shortage of school bus drivers, the Toronto District School Board said Wednesday that all routes will be staffed next week.
“The latest update from bus operators is that all school bus routes will have a driver for the first day,” TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird told Global News in a statement Wednesday.
“As we explained earlier, a very small number of routes may not have a permanent driver in place, but they will have a driver.”
LISTEN: Kevin Hodgkinson, general manager of Toronto Student Transportation Group, joins AM640
The TDSB statement comes after the Toronto Student Transportation Group, which provides school bus service to the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said in a letter to parents on Monday that 21 of the 1750 bus routes may potentially be impacted by the bus driver shortage.
“Nearly all (99%) bus routes have a driver assigned, however, at this time, Sharp Bus Lines and Stock Transportation have indicated that they have insufficient drivers to cover all of their routes,” the statement said.
Last year 60 routes were compromised due to a shortage of bus drivers.
READ MORE: Ontario ombudsman criticizes Toronto school boards for 2016 school bus delays
Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé said in a report earlier this month that Toronto two largest school boards “mishandled” a bus driver shortage that affected more than 1,000 students and dozens of bus routes.
Dubé launched the investigation in September 2016 following outcry from parents across the Greater Toronto Area after children were left waiting for buses that were either delayed or never arrived.
With files from Nick Westoll and Adam MillerWe have been making good on our pledge to give you all the Mutant Academy music we can. From premieres with Fly Anankin & Koncept Jack$on, Ewonee, and foisey., to an upcoming interview with Tuamie, MASS APPEAL is your source for that Mutant content. So, when FXCK RXP asked if we wanted to premiere six bonus tracks that will be included on the CD release of Big Kahuna OG & Graymatter’s Scooby Snax, we didn’t even have to think about it.
Even if you’re unacquainted with Big Kahuna OG, the name itself should give you a clue as to what dude is about. When you choose a strain of weed as your alias, it’s pretty clear you’re ’bout that smoke. While all those Mutant Academy boys get Buddha blessed, OG seems to be the Devin of the crew.
While OG and eclectic producer Graymatter were some of the last members added to the mix, they have pumped out a ton of material since joining up. In April they dropped the nine-song soundtrack to blowing that good good, Scooby Snax. It is definitely one of the doper albums you didn’t hear in 2017. Lucky for you, we just gave you a link and below we are sharing 6 more cuts that continue the patent flavor of that project. Now, while Kahuna can’t go 16 bars without mention ‘erb, he’s not just some weed rapper. He does his damn thang on the mic. You’ll cruise through these six tracks without even noticing 20 minutes has gone by, but if you’re super pressed for time and can only listen to a couple joints, make sure to check “What Could It Be” and “Mutant Helicopter.”
The Scooby Snax CD is available for pre-order now from FXCK RXP. The physical release features a seventh bonus song that features Fly Anakin and can only be heard on the CD.previous entry | main | next entry
Who are the real criminals? My apologies for titling this post with a 1960s slogan, but the stuff I have been reading about makes me so angry that I thought a little vintage rhetoric was justified. Anyway, Glenn Reynolds is not kidding when he speaks of "THE CRIMINALIZATION OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING": With the proliferation of criminal law, everyone is a criminal of some sort, whether they know it or not. Perhaps because too many people have taken notice, in Washington, they're finally Perhaps because too many people have taken notice, in Washington, they're finally holding hearings on the subject. And the stuff that is coming out is truly disgusting: Chairman Robert C. Scott, Virginia Democrat, and ranking member Louie Gohmert, Texas Republican, conducted a truly bipartisan hearing (a D.C. rarity this year). These two leaders have begun giving voice to the increasing number of experts who worry about "overcriminalization." Astronomical numbers of federal criminal laws lack specifics, can apply to almost anyone and fail to protect innocents by requiring substantial proof that an accused person acted with actual criminal intent. Mr. Norris ended up spending almost two years in prison because he didn't have the proper paperwork for some of the many orchids he imported. The orchids were all legal - but Mr. Norris and the overseas shippers who had packaged the flowers had failed to properly navigate the many, often irrational, paperwork requirements the U.S. imposed when it implemented an arcane international treaty's new restrictions on trade in flowers and other flora. The judge who sentenced Mr. Norris had some advice for him and his wife: "Life sometimes presents us with lemons." Their job was, yes, to "turn lemons into lemonade." The judge apparently failed to appreciate how difficult it is to run a successful lemonade stand when you're an elderly diabetic with coronary complications, arthritis and Parkinson's disease serving time in a federal penitentiary. If only Mr. Norris had been a Libyan terrorist, maybe some European official at least would have weighed in on his behalf to secure a health-based mercy release. Krister Evertson, another victim of overcriminalization, told Congress, "What I have experienced in these past years is something that should scare you and all Americans." He's right. Evertson, a small-time entrepreneur and inventor, faced two separate federal prosecutions stemming from his work trying to develop clean-energy fuel cells. The feds prosecuted Mr. Evertson the first time for failing to put a federally mandated sticker on an otherwise lawful UPS package in which he shipped some of his supplies. A jury acquitted him, so the feds brought new charges. This time they claimed he technically had "abandoned" his fuel-cell materials - something he had no intention of doing - while defending himself against the first charges. Mr. Evertson, too, spent almost two years in federal prison. It's the old principle of "if they want you, they've got you!" The number of things that are illegal are mind boggling. It's the old principle of "if they want you, they've got you!" The number of things that are illegal are mind boggling. The Heritage Foundation cited a 2004 estimate that there were at least 4000 federal crimes, but said there could be many more. Those of us who are online tend to hear about federal laws criminalizing things like annoying someone on the Internet, or using a false name in violation of TOS, but in reality, almost anything can be a federal crime.
Reason has a long piece on the subject, and noted that public welfare offenses are systematically becoming crimes based on congressional whims. So people like Edward Hanousek are going to prison for "crimes" of which they were never even aware were being committed: In 1996 Edward Hanousek Jr., a road master for a railroad company running between Alaska and Canada, was convicted of negligently discharging a harmful quantity of oil into the Skagway River, a U.S. waterway, in violation of the Clean Water Act. An independent contractor had accidentally ruptured a pipeline while attempting to clear rocks off the tracks. Hanousek was off duty and at home that day, nowhere near the accident site, and he had no knowledge of the pipeline rupture until after the fact. The government nevertheless prosecuted Hanousek, a federal jury convicted him, and he received a sentence of six months in prison, six months in a halfway house, six months of post-release supervision, and a $5,000 fine. These are just three of the many cases that illustrate how federal criminal law has overstepped its proper bounds, prescribing draconian punishments for offenses that should be handled at the state level or that should not be considered crimes at all. During the last century, especially in the last three decades and in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Congress has made federal crimes out of an astonishing array of behavior, much of which is already prohibited by state law, could be better addressed with civil penalties, or is considered wrongful not because it violates anyone's rights but only because Congress says so. Any attempt to even count the number of crimes is doomed to failure, and even the Congressional Research Service said (remember this was over five years ago) that it was impossible: In an October 2003 column published on Townhall.com, Rebecca Hagelin, vice president of the Heritage Foundation, noted: "America started out with three federal laws -- treason, counterfeiting and piracy. In 1998, the American Bar Association counted more than 3,300 separate federal criminal offenses on the books -- more than 40 percent of which had been enacted in just the past 30 years. These new laws cover more than 50 titles of the U.S. Code and encompass more than 27,000 pages. Today, the Congressional Research Service says it no longer can even say how many federal crimes exist." She continued: "Are we that much more evil than we were 200 years ago that we need this many laws to keep us off of each other? Or has the nanny state veered completely out of control -- creating crimes where no evil existed, pinning blame where no harm was intended?" One reason it's impossible is that many offenses are "derivative" in nature: One reason it's impossible to get a definitive count of federal offenses is that many are derivative, defined by other criminal acts. Laws against money laundering, for example, make otherwise innocent transactions criminal if the government believes they were intended to disguise the source of drug money or other ill-gotten gains. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, federal investigators can criminalize many normal financial transactions by alleging even the most tenuous connection to the funding of terrorism or other illegal activity. Federal prosecutors recently used the PATRIOT Act's money laundering provision against Las Vegas officials accused of taking bribes from a strip club owner. And as illustrated by the indictment of University of Alabama booster Logan Young, derivative crime laws can be used to transform a single offense into several, allowing prosecutors to pile on charges in a way that encourages a guilty plea. I know it's tedious to read example after example, but I think that if these people had to endure prison in our name (which is, BTW, the nature of a federal prosecution), the least we can do is read about their fate. Any attempt to even count the number of crimes is doomed to failure, and even the Congressional Research Service said (remember this was over five years ago) that it was impossible:One reason it's impossible is that many offenses are "derivative" in nature:I know it's tedious to read example after example, but I think that if these people had to endure prison in our name (which is, BTW, the nature of a federal prosecution), the least we can do is read about their fate. The Hansens (who made the mistake of going into the plastics business) went to federal prison for years because an employee slipped in contaminated water. He wasn't injured, but that didn't matter: Consider the case of Christian Hansen and his son Randall, owners and operators of the Georgia-based LCP Chemicals and Plastics. In 2001 the Hansens were convicted of more than 30 environmental violations, including offenses under the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Recovery and Compensation Liability Act. The elder Hansen was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while his son was sentenced to four years. Even though only one employee testified to slipping in contaminated wastewater (but reported no resulting injury), the Hansens were convicted of endangering the health and safety of employees, among many other charges. Perhaps the most disturbing feature of prosecutions like this one is that federal regulatory statutes such as the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act impose criminal liability on the basis of negligence and do not require any culpable intent by the accused. The Supreme Court has determined that certain "public welfare" offenses can trigger criminal sanctions without a showing of criminal intent, recklessness, or even knowledge of the violation. Thus, Congress can impose harsh criminal penalties on business owners and supervisors who have no knowledge of or control over regulatory violations that may occur at their firms. Environmental regulations, antitrust laws, securities regulations, and a host of other federal laws aimed at nonviolent, nonpredatory behavior the government wants to discourage illustrate how far we have moved from the traditional view of crime as deliberate wrongdoing. Only intentional crimes against people or their property should be subject to criminal penalties. If the Hansens' environmental violations merited sanctions, they should have been civil, not criminal. And if Edward Hanousek, the railroad supervisor mentioned at the beginning of this article, was negligent in overseeing the independent contractor who accidentally spilled oil into a river, whatever harm resulted should have been addressed in a civil proceeding, requiring payment for cleanup or restoration of the waterway. Back to...the most important decision is the decision whether to prosecute. But while we've larded criminal procedure with due process, the decision to prosecute -- or not -- is almost entirely discretionary on the part of prosecutors. We either need to cut back on the criminalization (my first choice) or start cabining prosecutorial discretion. I agree. The problem with relying on discretion is that it lends itself to completely arbitrary rule, and with everything being illegal, it's just a question of whether the government feels like prosecuting you. And as Courts consistently have rejected constitutional challenges by defendants complaining of selective prosecution. The federal prosecutor did not have to explain why he chose to prosecute Palmer but not Roberts for essentially the same conduct. Prosecutors enjoy a legal presumption that they exercise their discretion soundly, making their decisions almost entirely unreviewable. Even if the federal prosecutor had chosen to prosecute Palmer but not Roberts because he personally disliked Palmer, there would be no remedy for that abuse of discretion. I won't mince words here. The whole federal system has become monstrous and tyrannical. Back to Glenn, who thinks we should cut back on criminalization itself:I agree. The problem with relying on discretion is that it lends itself to completely arbitrary rule, and with everything being illegal, it's just a question of whether the government feels like prosecuting you. And as Reason points out, there's no practical remedy for abuse of prosecutorial discretion, because prosecutors enjoy a legal presumption that they acted fairly:I won't mince words here. The whole federal system has become monstrous and tyrannical. Especially in the wrong hands. posted by Eric on 10.06.09 at 07:00 PM
CommentsSolving the Energy Commons with Micro-S
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like to be among the hundred best in the world at something. At anything. I have tried to imagine; it's hard.
Stade Jarry's Center Court, known as the Stadium Court, can hold slightly more than ten thousand souls. Right now, for Michael Joyce's qualifying match, there are ninety-three people in the crowd, ninety-one of whom appear to be friends and relatives of Dan Brakus's. Michael Joyce doesn't seem to notice whether there's a crowd or not. He has a way of staring intently at the air in front of his face between points. During points, he looks only at the ball.
The acoustics in the near-empty stadium are amazing–you can hear every breath, every sneaker's squeak, the authoritative pang of the ball against very tight strings.
Professional tennis tournaments, like professional sports teams, have distinctive traditional colors. Wimbledon's is green, the Volvo International's is light blue. The Canadian Open's is–emphatically–red. The tournament's "title sponsor," du Maurier cigarettes, has ads and logos all over the place in red and black. The Stadium Court is surrounded by a red tarp festooned with corporate names in black capital letters, and the tarp composes the base of a grandstand that is itself decked out in red-and-black bunting, so that from any kind of distance, the place looks like either a Kremlin funeral or a really elaborate brothel. The match's umpire and linesmen and ball boys all wear black shorts and red shirts emblazoned with the name of a Quebec clothier [4].
You can hear every breath, every sneaker's squeak, the authoritative pang of the ball against very tight strings.
Stade Jarry's Stadium Court is adjoined on the north by Court One, or the Grandstand Court, a slightly smaller venue with seats on only one side and a capacity of forty-eight hundred. A five-story scoreboard lies just west of the Grandstand, and by late afternoon both courts are rectangularly shadowed. There are also eight nonstadium courts in canvas-fenced enclosures scattered across the grounds. There are very few paying customers on the grounds on Saturday, but there are close to a hundred world-class players: big spidery French guys with gelled hair, American kids with peeling noses and Pac-10 sweats, lugubrious Germans, bored-looking Italians. There are blank-eyed Swedes and pockmarked Colombians and cyberpunkish Brits. Malevolent Slavs with scary haircuts. Mexican players who spend their spare time playing two-on-two soccer in the gravel outside the players' tent. With few exceptions, all the players have similar builds–big muscular legs, shallow chests, skinny necks, and one normal-size arm and one monstrously huge and hypertrophic arm. Many of these players in the qualies, or qualifying rounds, have girlfriends in tow, sloppily beautiful European girls with sandals and patched jeans and leather backpacks, girlfriends who set up cloth lawn courts [5]. At the Radisson des Gouverneurs, the players tend to congregate in the lobby, where there's a drawsheet for the qualifying tournament up on a cork bulletin board and a multilingual tournament official behind a long desk, and the players stand around in the air-conditioning in wet hair and sandals and employ about forty languages and wait for results of matches to go up on the board and for their own next matches' schedules to get posted. Some of them listen to headphones; none seem to read. They all have the unhappy and self-enclosed look of people who spend huge amounts of time on planes and in hotel lobbies, waiting around–the look of people who must create an envelope of privacy around themselves with just their expressions. A lot of players seem extremely young–new guys trying to break into the tour–or conspicuously older–like over thirty–with tans that look permanent and faces lined from years in the trenches of tennis's minor leagues.
The Canadian open, one of the ATP tour's "Super 9" tournaments, which weigh most heavily in the calculations of world ranking, officially starts on Monday, July 24. What's going on for the two days right before it is the qualies. This is essentially a competition to determine who will occupy the seven slots in the Canadian Open's main draw designated or "qualifiers." A qualifying tourney precedes just about every big-money ATP event, and money and prestige and lucrative careers are often at stake in qualie matches, and often they feature the best matches of the whole tournament, and it's a good bet you've never heard of qualies.
The realities of the men's professional-tennis tour bear about as much resemblance to the lush finals you see on TV as a slaughterhouse does to a well-presented cut of restaurant sirloin. For every Sampras-Agassi final we watch, there's been a weeklong tournament, a pyramidical single-elimination battle between 32, 64, or 128 players, of whom the finalists are the last men standing. But a player has to be eligible to enter that tournament in the first place. Eligibility is determined by ATP computer ranking. Each tournament has a cutoff, a minimum ranking required to be entered automatically in the main draw. Players below that ranking who want to get in have to compete in a kind of pretournament tournament. That's the easiest way to describe qualies. I'll try to describe the logistics of the Canadian Open's qualies in just enough detail to communicate the complexity without boring you mindless.
The du Maurier Omnium Ltée has a draw of sixty-four. The sixteen entrants with the highest ATP rankings get "seeded," which means their names are strategically dispersed in the draw so that, barring upsets, they won't have to meet one another until the latter rounds. Of the seeds, the top eight–here, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Michael Change, the Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic, South Africa's Wayne Ferreira, Germany's Michael Stich, and Switzerland's Marc Rosset, respectively–get "byes," or automatic passes, into the tournament's second round. This means that there is actually room for fifty-six players in the main draw. The cutoff for the 1995 Canadian Open isn't fifty-six, however, because not all of the top fifty-six players in the world are here [6]. Here, the cutoff is eighty-five. You'd think that this would mean that anybody with an ATP ranking of eighty-six or lower would have to play the qualies, but here, too, there are exceptions. The du Maurier Omnium Ltée, like most other big tournaments, has five "wild card" entries into the main draw. These are special places given either to high-ranked players who entered after the six-week deadline but are desirable to have in the tournament because they're big stars (like Ivanisevic, number six in the world but a notorious flakeroo who supposedly "forgot to enter till a week ago") or to players who ranked lower than eighty-fifth whom the tournament wants because they are judged "uniquely deserving."
By the way, if you're interested, the ATP tour updates and publishes its world ranking weekly, and the rankings constitute a nomological orgy that makes for truly first-rate bathroom reading. As of this writing, Mahesh Bhudapathi is 284th, Luis Lobo 411th. There's Martin Sinner and Guy Forget. There's Adolf Musil and Jonathan Venison and Javier Frana and Leander Paes. There's–no kidding–Cyril Suk. Rodolfo Ramos-Paganini is 337th, Alex Lopez-Moron is 174th. Gilad Bloom is 228th and Zoltan Nagy is 414th. Names out of some postmodern Dickens: Udo Riglewski and Louis Gloria and Francisco Roig and Alexander Mronz. The twenty-ninth-best player in the world is named Slava Dosedel. There's Claude N'Goran and Han-Cheol Shin (276th but falling fast) and Horacio de la Peña and Marcus Barbosa and Amos Mansdorf and Mariano Hood. Andres Zingman is currently ranked two places above Sander Groen. Horst Skoff and Kris Goossens and Thomas Hogstedt are all ranked higher than Martin Zumpft. One reason the industry sort of hates upsets is that the ATP press liaisons have to go around teaching journalists how to spell and pronounce new names.
The Canadian qualies themselves have a draw of fifty-six world-class players; the cutoff for qualifying for the qualies is an ATP ranking of 350th [7]. The qualies won't go all the way through to the finals, only to the quarterfinals: The seven quarterfinalists of the qualies will receive first-round slots in the Canadian Open [8]. This means that a player in the qualies will need to win three rounds–round of fifty-six, round of twenty-eight, round of fourteen–in two days to get into the first round of the main draw [9].
The eight seeds in the qualies are the eight players whom the Canadian Open officials consider most likely to make the quarters and thus get into the main draw. The top seed this weekend is Richard Krajicek [10] a six-foot-five-inch Dutchman who wears a tiny white billed hat in the sun and rushes the net like it owes him money and in general plays like a rabid crane. Both his knees are bandaged. He's in the top twenty and hasn't had to play qualies for years, but for this tournament he missed the entry deadline, found all the wild cards already given to uniquely deserving Canadians, and with phlegmatic Low Country cheer decided to go ahead and play the weekend qualies for the match practice. The qualies' eight seed is Jamie Morgan, an Australian journeyman, around one hundredth in the world, whom Michael Joyce beat in straight sets last week in the second round of the main draw at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. Michael Joyce is seeded third.
If you're wondering why Joyce, who's ranked above the number-eighty-five cutoff, is having to play the Canadian Open qualies, gird yourself for one more smidgen of complication. The fact is that six weeks before, Joyce's ranking was not above the cutoff, and that's when the Canadian entry deadline was, and that's the ranking the tournament used when it made up the main draw. Joyce's ranking jumped from 119th to 89th after Wimbledon 1995, where he beat Marc Rosset (ranked 11th in the world) and reached the round of sixteen.
The qualie circuit is to professional tennis sort of what AAA baseball is to the major leagues: Somebody playing the qualies in Montreal is an undeniably world-class tennis player, but he's not quite at the level where the serious TV and money are. In the main draw of the du Maurier Omnium Ltée, a first-round loser will earn $5,400, and a second-round loser $10,300. In the Montreal qualies, a player will receive $560 for losing in the second round and an even $0.00 for losing in the first. This might not be so bad if a lot of the entrants for the qualies hadn't flown thousands of miles to get here. Plus, there's the matter of supporting themselves in Montreal. The tournament pays the hotel and meal expenses of players in the main draw but not of those in the qualies. The seven survivors of the qualies, however, will get their hotel expenses retroactively picked up by the tournament. So there's rather a lot at stake–some of the players in the qualies are literally playing for their supper or for the money to make airfare home or to the site of the next qualie.
You could think of Michael Joyce's career as now kind of on the cusp between the majors and AAA ball. He still has to qualify for some tournaments, but more and more often he gets straight into the main draw. The move from qualifier to main-draw player is a huge boost, both financially and psychically, but it's still a couple of plateaus away from true fame and fortune. The main draw's 64 or 128 players are still mostly the supporting cast for the stars we see in televised finals. But they are also the pool from which superstars are drawn. McEnroe, Sampras, and even Agassi had to play qualies at the start of their careers, and Sampras spent a couple of years losing in the early rounds of main draws before he suddenly erupted in the early nineties and started beating everybody.
Still, even most main-draw players are obscure and unknown. An example is Jakob Hlasek [11] a Czech who is working out with Marc Rosset on one of the practice courts this morning when I first arrive at Stade Jarry. I notice them and go over to watch only because Hlasek and Rosset are so beautiful to see–at this point, I have no idea who they are. They are practicing ground strokes down the line–Rosset's forehand and Hlasek's backhand–each ball plumb-line straight and within centimeters of the corner, the players moving with compact nonchalance I've since come to recognize in pros when they're working out: The suggestion is of a very powerful engine in low gear. Jakob Hlasek is six foot two and built like a halfback, his blond hair in a short square Eastern European cut, with icy eyes and cheekbones out to here: He looks like either a Nazi male model or a lifeguard in hell and seems in general just way too scary ever to try to talk to. His backhand is a one-hander, rather like Ivan Lendl's, and watching him practice it is like watching a great artist casually sketch something. I keep having to remember to blink. There are a million little ways you can tell that somebody's a great player–details in his posture, in the way he bounces the ball with his racket head to pick it up, in the way he twirls the racket casually while waiting for the ball. Hlasek wears a plain gray T-shirt and some kind of very white European shoes. It's midmorning and already at least 90 degrees, and he isn't sweating. Hlasek turned pro in 1983, six years later had one year in the top ten, and for the last few years has been ranked in the sixties and seventies, getting straight into the main draw of all the tournaments and usually losing in the first couple of rounds. Watching Hlasek practice is probably the first time it really strikes me how good these professionals are, because even just fucking around Hlasek is the most impressive tennis player I've ever seen [12]. I'd be surprised if anybody reading this article has ever heard of Jakob Hlasek. By the distorted standards of TV's obsession with Grand Slam finals and the world's top five, Hlasek is merely an also-ran. But last year, he made $300,000 on the tour (that's just in prize money, not counting exhibitions and endorsement contracts), and his career winnings are more than $4 million, and it turns out his home base was for a time Monte Carlo, where lots of European players with tax issues end up living.
Michael Joyce, twenty-two, is listed in the ATP Tour Player Guide as five eleven and 165 pounds, but in person he's more like five nine. On the Stadium Court, he looks compact and stocky. The quickest way to describe him would be to say that he looks like a young and slightly buff David Caruso. He is fair-skinned and has reddish hair and the kind of patchy, vaguely pubic goatee of somebody isn't quite old enough yet to grow real facial hair. When he plays in the heat, he wears a hat ]13]. He wears Fila clothes and uses Yonex rackets and is paid to do so. His face is childishly full, and though it isn't freckled, it somehow looks like it ought to be freckled. A lot of professional tennis players look like lifeguards–with that kind of extreme tan that looks like it's penetrated to the subdermal layer and will be retained to the grave–but Joyce's fair skin doesn't tan or even burn, though he does get red in the face when he plays, from effort [14]. His on-court expression is grim without being unpleasant; it communicates the sense that Joyce's attentions on-court have become very narrow and focused and intense–it's the same pleasantly grim expression you see on, say, working surgeons or jewelers. On the Stadium Court, Joyce seems boyish and extremely adult at the same time. And in contrast to his Canadian opponent, who has the varnished good looks and Pepsodent smile of the stereotypical tennis player, Joyce looks terribly real out there playing: He sweats through his shirt [15] gets flushed, whoops for breath after a long point. He wears little elastic braces on both ankles, but it turns out they're mostly prophylactic.
It's 1:30 p.m. Joyce has broken Brakus's serve once and is up 3-1 in the first set and is receiving. Brakus is in the multi-brand clothes of somebody without an endorsement contract. He's well over six feet tall, and, as with many large male college stars, his game is built around his serve [16]. With the score at 0-15, his first serve is flat and 118 miles per hour and way out of Joyce's backhand, which is a two-hander and hard to lunge effectively with, but Joyce lunges plenty effectively and sends the ball back down the line to the Canadian's forehand, deep in the court and with such flat pace that Brakus has to stutter-step a little and backpedal to get set up–clearly, he's used to playing guys for whom 118 mumps out wide would be an outright ace or at least produce such a weak return that he could move up easily and put the ball away–and Brakus now sends the ball back up the line, high over the net, loopy with topspin–not all that bad a shot, considering the fierceness of the return, and a topspin shot that'd back most of the tennis players up and put them on the defensive, but Michael Joyce, whose level of tennis is such that he moves in on balls hit with topspin and hits them on the rise [17] moves in and takes the ball on the rise and hits a backhand cross so tightly angled that nobody alive could get to it. This is kind of a typical Joyce-Brakus point. The match is carnage of a particularly high-level sort: It's like watching an extremely large and powerful predator get torn to pieces by an even larger and more powerful predator. Brakus looks pissed off after Joyce's winner and makes some berating-himself-type noises, but the anger seems kind of pro forma–it's not like there's anything Brakus could have done much better, not given what he and the seventy-ninth-best player in the world have in their respective arsenals.
Michael Joyce will later say that Brakus "had a big serve, but the guy didn't belong on a pro court." Joyce didn't mean this in an unkind way. Nor did he mean it in a kind way. It turns out what Michael Joyce says rarely has any kind of spin or slant on it; he mostly just reports what he sees, rather like a camera. You couldn't even call him sincere, because it's not like it seems ever to occur to him to try to be sincere or nonsincere. For a while, I thought that Joyce's rather bland candor was a function of his not being very bright. This judgment was partly informed by the fact that Joyce didn't go to college and was only marginally involved in his high school academics (stuff I know because he told me right away) [18]. What I discovered as the tournament wore on was that I can be kind of a snob and an asshole and that Michael Joyce's affectless openness is not a sign of stupidity but of something else.
Advances in racket technology and conditioning methods over the last decade have dramatically altered men's professional tennis. For much of the twentieth century, there were two basic styles of top-level tennis. The "offensive" [19] style is based on the serve and the net game and is ideally suited to slick, or "fast," surfaces like grass and cement. The "defensive," or "baseline," style is built around foot speed, consistency, and ground strokes accurate enough to hit effective passing shots against a serve-and-volleyer; this style is most effective on "slow" surfaces like clay and Har-True composite. John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg are probably the modern era's greatest exponents of the offensive and defensive styles, respectively.
There is now a third way to play, and it tends to be called the "power baseline" style. As far as I can determine, Jimmy Connors [20] more or less invented the power-baseline game back in the seventies, and in the eighties Ivan Lendl raised it to a kind of brutal art. In the nineties, the majority of players on the ATP Tour have a power-baseline-type game. This game's cornerstone is ground strokes, but ground strokes hit with incredible pace, such that winners from the baseline are not unusual [21]. A power-baseliner's net game tends to be solid but uninspired -- a PBer is more apt to hit a winner on the approach shot and not need to volley at all. His serve is usually competent and reasonably forceful, but the really inspired part of a PBer's game is usually his return of the serve [22]. He often has incredible reflexes and can hit the power and aggression of an offensive style and the speed and calculated patience of a defensive style. It is adjustable both to slick grass and to slow clay, but its most congenial surface is DecoTurf II [23] the type of abrasive hard-court surface now used at the U.S. Open and at all the broiling North American tune-ups for it, including the Canadian Open.
There is now a third way to play, and it tends to be called the "power baseline" style.
Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg are contemporary examples of the classic offensive style. Serve-and-volleyers are often tall [24] and tall Americans like Pete Sampras and Todd Martin and David Wheaton are also offensive players. Michael Chang is a pure exponent of the defensive tour's Western Europeans and South Americans, many of whom grew up exclusively on clay and now stick primarily to the overseas clay-court circuits. Americans Jimmy Arias, Aaron Krickstein, and Jim Courier all play a power-baseline game. So does just about every new young male player on the tour. But its most famous and effective post Lendl avatar is Andre Agassi, who on 1995's hard-court circuit was simply kicking everyone's ass [25].
Michael Joyce's style is power baseline in the Agassi mold: Joyce is short and right-handed and has a two-handed backhand, a serve that's just good enough to set up a baseline attack, and a great return of serve that is the linchpin of his game. Like Agassi, Joyce takes the ball early, on the rise, so he always looks like he's moving forward in the court even though he rarely comes to the net. Joyce's first serve usually comes in around ninety-five miles per hour [26] and his second serve is in the low eighties but has so much spin on it that the ball turns topological shapes in the air and bounces high and wide to the first-round Canadian's backhand. Brakus has to stretch to float a slice return, the sort of weak return that a serve-and-volleyer would be rushing up to the net to put away on the fly. Joyce does move up, but only halfway, right around his own service line, where he lets the floater land and bounce up all ripe, and he winds up his forehand and hits a winner crosscourt into the deuce corner, very flat and hard, so that the ball makes an emphatic sound as it hits the scarlet tarp behind Brakus's side of the court. Ball boys move for the ball and reconfigure complexly as Joyce walks back to serve another point. The applause of a tiny crowd is so small and sad and tattered-sounding that it'd almost be better if people didn't clap at all.
Like those of Lendl and Agassi and Courier and many PBers, Joyce's strongest shot is his forehand, a weapon of near-Wagnerian aggression and power. Joyce's forehand is particularly lovely to watch. It's sparer and more textbook than Lendl's whip-crack forehand or Borg's great swooping loop; by way of decoration, there's only a small loop of flourish [27] on the backswing. The stroke itself is completely well out in front of him. As with all great players, Joyce's side is so emphatically to the net as the ball approaches that his posture is a classic contrapposto.
As Joyce on the forehand makes contact with the tennis ball, his left hand behind him opens up, as if he were releasing something, a decorative gesture that has nothing to do with the mechanics of the stroke. Michael Joyce doesn't know that his left hand opens up at impact on forehands: It is unconscious, some aesthetic tic that stated when he was a child and is now inextricably hardwired into a stroke that is itself, now, unconscious for Joyce, after years of his hitting more forehands over and over and over than anyone could ever count [28].
Agassi, who is twenty-five, is kind of Michael Joyce's hero. Just the week before this match, at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, in wet-mitten heat that had players vomiting on-court and defaulting all over the place, Agassi beat Joyce in the third round of the main draw, 6-2, 6-2. Every once in a while now, Joyce will look over at his coach next to me in the player-guest section of the Grandstand and grin and say something like, "Agassi'd have killed me on that shot." Joyce's coach will adjust the set of his sunglasses and not say anything–coaches are forbidden to say anything to their players during a match. Joyce's coach, Sam Aparicio [29] a protégé of Pancho Gonzalez's, is based in Las Vegas, which is also Agassi's hometown, and Joyce has several times been flown to Las Vegas at Agassi's request to practice with him and is apparently regarded by Agassi as a friend and peer–these are facts Michael Joyce will mention with as much pride as he evinces in speaking of victories and world ranking.
There are differences between Agassi's and Joyce's games, however. Though Joyce and Agassi both use the western forehand grip and two-handed backhand that are very distinctive of topspinners, Joyce's ground strokes are very flat–i.e., spinless, passing low over the net, driven rather than brushed–because the actual motion of his strokes is so levelly horizontal. Joyce's balls actually look more like Jimmy Connors's balls than like Agassi's [30]. Some of Joyce's ground strokes look like knuckleballs going over the net, and you can actually see the ball's seams just hanging there, not spinning. Joyce also has a slight hitch in his backhand that makes it look stiff and slightly awkward, though his pace and placement are lethal; Agassi's own backhand is flowing and hitchless [31]. And while Joyce is far from slow, he lacks Agassi's otherwordly foot speed. Agassi is every bit as fast as Michael Chang [32]. Watch him on TV sometime as he's walking between points: He takes the tiny, violently pigeon-toed steps of a man whose feet weigh basically nothing.
Michael Joyce also–in his own coach's opinion–doesn't "see" the ball in the same magical way that Andre Agassi does, and so Joyce can't take the ball quite so early or generate quite the same amount of pace off his ground strokes. The business of "seeing" is important enough to explain. Except for the serve, power in tennis is not a matter of strength but of timing. This is one reason why so few top tennis players look muscular [33]. Any normal adult male can hit a tennis ball with a pro pace; the trick is being able to hit the ball both hard and accurately. If you can get your body in just the right position and time your stroke so you hit the ball in just the right spot–waist-level, just slightly out in front of you, with your own weight moving from your back leg to your front leg as you make contact–you can both cream the ball and direct it. Since "… just the right …" is a matter of millimeters and microseconds, a certain kind of vision is crucial [34]. Agassi's vision is literally one in a billion, and it allows him to hit his ground strokes as hard as he can just about every time. Joyce, whose hand-eye coordination is superlative, in the top 1 percent of all athletes everywhere (he's been exhaustively tested), still has to take some incremental bit of steam off most of his ground strokes if he wants to direct them.
I submit that tennis is the most beautiful sport there is [35] and also the most demanding. It requires body control, hand-eye coordination, quickness, flat-out speed, endurance, and that weird mix of caution and abandon we call courage. It also requires smarts. Just one single shot in one exchange in one point of a high-level match is a nightmare of mechanical variables. Given a net that's three feet high (at the center) and two players in (unrealistically) fixed positions, the efficacy of one single shot is determined by its angle, depth, pace, and spin. And each of these determinants is itself determined by still other variables–i.e., a shot's depth is determined by the height at which the ball passes over the net combined with some integrated function of pace and spin, with the ball's height over the net itself determined by the player's body position, grip on the racket, height of backswing and angle of racket face, as well as the 3-D coordinates through which the racket face moves during that interval in which the ball is actually on the strings. The tree of variables and determinants branches out and out, on and on, and then on much further when the opponent's own position and predilections and the ballistic features of the ball he's sent you to hit are factored in [36]. No silicon-based RAM yet existent could compute the expansion of variables for even a single exchange; smoke would come out of the mainframe. The sort of thinking involved is the sort that can be done only by a living and highly conscious entity, and then it can really be done only unconsciously, i.e., by fusing talent with repetition to such an extent that the variables are combined and controlled without conscious thought. In other words, serious tennis is a kind of art.
I submit that tennis is the most beautiful sport there is and also the most demanding.
If you've played tennis at least a little, you probably have some idea how hard a game is to play really well. I submit to you that you really have no idea at all. I know I didn't. And television doesn't really allow you to appreciate what real top-level players can do–how hard they're actually hitting the ball, and with what control and tactical imagination and artistry. I got to watch Michael Joyce practice several times right up close, like six feet and a chain-link fence away. This is a man who, at full run, can hit a fast-moving tennis ball into a one-foot square area seventy-eight feet away over a net, hard. He can do this something like more than 90 percent of the time. And this is the world's seventy-ninth-best player, one who has to play the Montreal qualies.
It's not just the athletic artistry that compels interest in tennis at the professional level. It's also what this level requires–what it's taken for the one-hundredth-ranked player in the world to get there, what it takes to stay, what it would take to rise even higher against other men who've paid the same price number one hundred has paid.
Americans revere athletic excellence, competitive success, and it's more than lip service we pay; we vote with our wallets. We'll pay large sums to watch a truly great athlete; we'll reward him with celebrity and adulation and will even go so far as to buy products and services he endorses.
But it's better for us not to know the kinds of sacrifices the professional-grade athlete has made to get so very good at one particular thing. Oh, we'll invoke lush clichés about the lonely heroism of Olympic athletes, the pain and analgesia of football, the early rising and hours of practice and restricted diets, the preflight celibacy, et cetera. But the actual facts of the sacrifices repel us when we see them: basketball geniuses who cannot read, sprinters who dope themselves, defensive tackles who shoot up with bovine hormones until they collapse or explode. We prefer not to consider closely the shockingly vapid and primitive comments uttered by athletes in postcontest interviews or to consider what impoverishments in one's mental life would allow people actually to think the way great athletes seem to think. Note the way "up close and personal" profiles of professional athletes strain so hard to find evidence of a rounded human life–outside interests and activities, values beyond the sport. We ignore what's obvious, that most of this straining is farce. It's farce because the realities of top-level athletics today require an early and total commitment to one area of excellence. An ascetic focus [37]. A subsumption of almost all other features of human life to one chosen talent and pursuit. A consent to live in a world that, like a child's world, is very small.
We prefer not to consider closely the shockingly vapid and primitive comments uttered by athletes
Playing two professional singles matches on the same day is almost unheard of, except in qualies. Michael Joyce's second qualifying round is at 7:30 on Saturday night. He's playing an Austrian named Julian Knowle, a tall and cadaverous guy with pointy Kafkan ears. Knowle uses two hands off both sides, [38] and throws his racket when he's mad. The match takes place on Stade Jarry's Grandstand Court. The smaller Grandstand is more intimate: The box seats start just a few yards from the courts surface, and you're close enough to see a wen on Joyce's cheek or the abacus of sweat on Herr Knowle's forehead. The Grandstand could hold maybe forty-eight hundred people, and tonight there are exactly four human beings in the audience as Michael Joyce basically beats the ever-living shit out of Julian Knowle, who will be at the Montreal airport tonight at 1:30 to board a red-eye for a minor-league clay tournament in Poznan, Poland.
During this afternoon's match, Joyce wore a white Fila shirt with different-colored sleeves. Onto his sleeve is sewn a patch that says POWERBAR; Joyce is paid $1,000 each time he appears in the media wearing his patch. For tonight's match, Joyce wears a pinstripe Jim Courier-model Fila shirt with one red sleeve and one blue sleeve. He has a red bandanna around his head, and as he begins to perspire in the humidity, his face turns the same color as the bandanna. It is hard not to find this endearing. Julian Knowle has on an abstract pastel shirt whose brand is unrecognizable. He has very tall hair, Knowle does, that towers over his head at near-Beavis altitude and doesn't diminish or lose its gelled integrity as he perspires [39]. Knowle's shirt, too, has sleeves of different colors. This seems to be the fashion constant this year among the qualifiers: sleeve-color asymmetry.
The Joyce-Knowle match takes only slightly more than an hour. This is including delays caused when Knowle throws his racket and has to go retrieve it or when Knowle walks around in aimless circles, muttering blackly to himself in some High German dialect. Knowle's tantrums seem a little contrived and insincere to me, though, because he rarely loses a point as a result of doing anything particularly wrong. Here's a typical point in this match: It's 1-4 and 15-30 in the sixth game. Knowle hits a respectable 110-mile-an-hour slice serve to Joyce's forehand. Joyce returns a very flat, penetrating drive crosscourt so that Knowle has to stretch and hit his forehand on the run, something that's not particularly easy to do with a two-handed forehand. Knowle gets to the forehand and hits a thoroughly respectable shot, heavy with topspin and landing maybe only a little bit short, a few feet behind the service line, whereupon he reverses direction and starts scrambling back to get in the middle of the baseline to get ready for his next shot. Joyce, as is SOP, has moved in on the slightly short ball and takes it on the rise just after it's bounced, driving a backhand even flatter and harder in the exact same place he hit his last shot, the spot Knowle is scrambling away from. Knowle is now forced to reverse direction and get back to where he was. This he does, and he gets his racket on the ball, but only barely, sending back a weak little USDA Prime loblet that Joyce, now in the vicinity of the net, has little trouble blocking into the open court for a winner. The four people clap, Knowle's racket goes spinning into the blood-colored tarp, and Joyce walks expressionlessly back to the deuce court to receive again whenever Knowle gets around to serving. Knowle has slightly more firepower than the first round's Brakus: His ground strokes are formidable, probably even lethal if he has sufficient time to get to the ball and get set up. Joyce simply denies him that time. Joyce will later admit that he wasn't working all that hard in this match, and he doesn't need to. He hits few spectacular winners, but he also makes very few unforced errors, and his shots are designed to make the somewhat clumsy Knowle move a lot and to deny him the time and the peace ever to set up his game. This strategy is one that Knowle cannot solve or interdict: he has the firepower but not the speed to do so. This may be one reason why Joyce is unaffronted by having to play the qualies for Montreal. Barring some kind of major injury or neurological seizure, he's not going to lose to somebody like Austria's Julian Knowle–Joyce is
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-box technology forces the wine out of the tap while only allowing in a minimal amount of oxygen. Hence, it keeps longer — even up to a few weeks.
Oenophiles should be happy to know that Vernissage is pumping French wine from Vin de Pays d'Oc into its airtight bags. There's a Chardonnay Viognier (in a white bag), a Cabernet Shiraz (black), and a Rose (pink, of course). A 1.5-liter purse will run customers about $20. The 3-liter bag will cost about $40.
As for how well the purse will do stateside, only time will tell, but success on other continents bodes a promising future. People do accept change — eventually.
"One generation ago no one was buying wine with a screw cap," Stern says, "and look now."
Good point, Mr. Stern.
Only thing we're wondering is if there's a man bag version of this in the works.In February 2017, dust storms enveloped the countries bordering the Persian Gulf. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured these natural-color images of a storm on February 18 and 19.
The first image (above) was captured at 12:55 p.m. Iran Standard Time (09:25 Universal Time) on February 19, when dust had spread across the length of the Gulf. The day before, winds carried dust across Iraq and Iran toward the southeast. The storm progression is visible in the animation below, made with images acquired in the morning and afternoon on February 18.
Dust storms are common in the region in the summer, and they are often provoked by the shamal—strong winds that blow from the northwest and over the Persian Gulf. But the shamal also occurs sporadically between November and early March.
Drought has increased the likelihood that shamal winds will produce a large dust storm, according to Farhad Vishkaee, a scientist at NTS Optel who studied the winter shamal. The airborne sand and dust can reduce visibility to tens of meters during a storm.
Diana Francis, a scientist at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus has also studied the shamal and agrees that drought is a “critical factor” for the amount of material that makes it into the air. She specifies that drought has less to do with dust storm frequency, which is influenced more by regional climate conditions. “Drought makes more erodible material available at the surface, so there are more spectacular dust storms once the winds are strong enough.”
The February dust storms were reported to be responsible for damaging electrical infrastructure and knocking out power to cities in Iran’s Khuzestan province. The dust, pollution, and power failures were among the reasons people gathered in Ahvaz to protest, according to The New York Times. The scenario is similar to storms that hit in February 2015, which also reportedly spurred environmental protests in Ahvaz.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Kathryn Hansen.One of the Toronto Zoo’s giant pandas is pregnant — with twins. Zoo staff and breeding experts observed two separate, fetal heartbeats in ultrasounds taken in the last week of Er Shun, a female giant panda on loan from China.
On May 14, 2015, Er Shun, the Toronto Zoo's female giant panda on loan from China as part of a conservation breeding program, underwent two non-surgical artificial insemination (AI) procedures. Zoo staff and a giant panda breeding expert from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, used sperm collected from Da Mao for the first procedure and frozen sperm collected from two giant pandas in China that were imported to Toronto Zoo in 2014, for the second AI.
The next three to four weeks are critical, the zoo said in a statement, and “staff are cautiously hopeful for healthy births within this time frame. Toronto spokesperson Jennifer Tracey said the support from people in Toronto and colleagues from other zoos around the world has been overwhelming. “It’s an incredible accomplishment,” she said. “It’s great news for our reproductive program and for the endangered panda species.”
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Er Shun was artificially inseminated last May. Giant pandas have a gestation period that can last anywhere from 87 to 186 days from the date of insemination, the zoo explained. The first heartbeat was observed in an ultrasound on Sept. 25 and a second panda fetus was seen on Sept. 29. Tracey said people don’t comprehend the complexities involved in this type of pregnancy. “There are so few facilities that house pandas in the first place, and even fewer with reproductive programs,” she said. Veterinarian Dr. Cathy Gartley from the Ontario Veterinary College and the University of Guelph has been driving in from Guelph to perform regular ultrasounds on Er Shun.
Toronto Zoo staff observed two separate fetal heartbeats during ultrasounds of the zoo's female giant panda, Er Shun. ( Toronto Zoo )
“This is the earliest pregnancy evidence recorded,” she said. “These ultrasound pictures are pretty precious.” Gartley explained that pandas have delayed implantation, where the embryo “just sort of hangs out” for one to 10 months. This makes detecting pregnancy difficult.
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She said the hardest part is finding a willing patient, and that Er Shun’s co-operation and good behaviour helped in capturing the images. She said she bribes Er Shun with apples and does her work while she’s munching away. “You go through a lot of apples and a lot of time,” she laughed. “Last Friday, we ran out of apples and I didn’t see that she was having twins.” Gartley said she guesses the cubs will be born mid-October, but that hormone levels and behavioural changes are still being tracked to determine an exact window. With three possible fathers, the paternity will not be known until the twins are born. The other giant panda at the Toronto Zoo, Da Mao, is one possible dad-the others are pandas from China. “My money’s on Da Mao,” Gartley said. “He had just hit puberty when we took his sample. He’s got the goods.” If the twins survive they will be nursed by their mother for 18 to 24 months before they are weaned. Tracey said the cubs will remain in Canada. Er Shun and Da Mao arrived from China in 2013 and are slated to move to the Calgary Zoo in 2018. Gartley said everyone at the zoo has their fingers crossed for two healthy births. “I’m looking forward to pictures of babies-not just fetuses.”The Hand and the Eye: The Tyrannical Tendency of the Visual and Luminescence
The eyes are the windows on the soul. -Unknown.
There are methods of sensing the world, at least five of which are available to humans.
It is the first of these that concerns us here, that of vision. Vision requires light to enter the eye, and as such is generally perceived to be the primary method by which the world is apprehended.
Analysis of one's linguistic patterns will often reveal that there is one sense which rises above the others in terms of communication. In terms of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, the prevalence of visual metaphors in communication is obvious. 'Look','see', 'appear' and other such words are dotted within our everyday speech. Indeed, the primary forms of entertainment, with the obvious exception of music films, books, television, computers, and vicarious enjoyment of sporting events through watching, all seem predicated towards the visual.
It should be noted that spectacle, spectator, and scope owe their lineage to the Latin root specere, meaning to look at which itself owes its origins to the PIE base *spek - meaning to observe. Relations include the Sanskrit spasati sees, Avestan spasyeiti spies, Greek skopein behold, look, consider, skeptesthai to look at, and O. H. G. spehhon meaning to spy.
Meanwhile, the verb to show comes from the O.E. Word sceawian meaning to look at, see from W. Gmc *skauwojanan which owes its roots to the P. Gmc. *skau- or behold, look at which itself comes from a variant of the PIE base *skeue- which means to pay attention, perceive.
Both of these, and the etymology of see itself, imply a distinct focus of attention that is, interaction of consciousness via visual methods. Arguably, there is linkage with the roots of the word follow also.
It should come as no surprise that the primary form of sensing becomes inextricably linked with conciousness. The boundaries to vision, be they induced by architecture or landscape, tied in inextricably with movement. Without vision, one is safer without moving, and when the senses reach their limit, the only option to increase knowledge/information is to move.
We define ourselves visually, albeit not solely so, but it is the recognition of an image of self as self in a mirror that has long been used as a test of self-awareness in young children.
Philosophically, sight is an active component of consciousness without sight we are unable to draw boundaries, to differentiate. A simple optical illusion of a vase that resolves itself into two faces is indicative of the confusion we feel when we are unsure what we are looking at.
Often, the next step to test the validity, or boundaries of an object, its to touch it. Not solely for the purposes of solidity, we engage a process of engulfing, placing the object within our sensorial sphere of influence.
Even our notion of reality in the English-speaking world at least is bound up with the primacy of the eye, and its second in command, the hand.
Mirror, Mirage, Phantasm, Phantom, Illusion.
All these speak of the falsity of sight without substance the image of a thing is not the thing. The image is not the reality. Yet the primacy of the image is such that despite such common sense, oftentimes Seeing is Believing.
We create eidolons from images. The fact that the hand and the eye are so intertwined, if the image is before us, it becomes real. Eidos means form, after all.
Such visualizations are well known in Tibet, as tulpas or thoughtforms in the West. The explorer Alexandra David-Neel became enamoured of tulpa creation and created her own, until eventually it achieved a form of external existence - people began to ask about the stranger on the edge of the camp.
Dismissal of the tulpa became difficult it appears the entity did not wish to be destroyed and its dissolution took several weeks, leaving its creator exhausted.
Within the context of thoughtform creation, it is the visualization that is often the starting point, later adding greater sensory details until the entity begins to act independently.
But what has this to do with the current petro-political and ideological climate?
Quite simply, it may be discussed in terms of a conflict of vision. All we have to do is compare the ideological associations of light and darkness.
Unsurprisingly, darkness and loss of sight are indications of loss of control. Therefore, the one with more light is better off one can see better. Consider the Fog of War and DUST and other such phenomena.
All of these obscure sight.
Without the visual component, the boundaries become fluid lines of thought and differentiation cease to exist. This is why Sun Tzu's dictate to be Formless is so effective.
For those still used to definition by boundary, the Formless is terrifying. The Crawling Chaos of Nyarlathotep is monstrous for its essential plasticity, its ability to essentially permeate all boundaries by remaining unfixed.
The mind that sees, that contours and engulfs rebels against that for which the boundaries are no boundary. The sorcerer and monster of mythology is not bounded by the same laws as the populace its ability to exist within the unheimlich terrifies, and its monstrous nature is an attempt to give form to the Formless.
Similarly, the techniques of nomadology and Autonomous Zoning as practiced by those under the Assassins go against the boundaries of the society.
Or to put it another way, why is a ghost terrifying? It's not so much that it's the spirit of a dead person, but rather that it is a spirit an order of being which is not bound by the same rules of movement.
Hence, faceless, nameless horrors things that do not possess or need human signifiers of identity. That have essentially become Inhuman.
Such monsters always dwell in the dark those places where the hand and the eye are not one hundred per cent effective.
It is a fact that light is created via combustion or chemical reaction oil itself drives the machines that the Enlightenment made possible. The struggle is one beyond theology or politics.
In a very real sense, it is a struggle of epistemology where the last words of Goethe are echoed as an expression of a universal human cry:
More Light!
Indeed, the phenomenon of the weltfeuer which lurks inside Germanic thought might best be described as the metabolizing of resources which all humans must perform in order to exist the consumption required to maintain status quo.
In Norse myth, it is the Sons of Muspell who burn Yggdrasil, the World-Tree to ash and a new world rises phoenix-like from the ashes. But, as a noted occult author once said to me:
Why does nobody ever look at the ashes the phoenix leaves behind?
Posted by Craig at October 5, 2006 12:50 AMA blimp-like aircraft emblazoned with an "America Needs Romney" message made an emergency landing near a Davie park this evening, much to the joy of many voters in Broward County, one of the most-liberal places in Florida.
There were no injuries, Davie police said. Except, perhaps, for Republican pride.
As the blimp went down, Twitter lit up.
"Just saw a blimp falling out of the sky. It says America needs Romney... Yeah right! You can't even keep your blimp in the sky," @swadedarling tweeted an hour ago.
"A blimp with a pic of Mitty that says 'America needs Romney' just went down in Davie, Fl. Could that be a predicament of what's to come?" resident Carime Hernandez tweeted.
It's unclear if the blimp was chartered by the Romney campaign or one of the groups that support him. Davie police confirmed the aircraft, which is technically not a true blimp, was advertising on Romney's behalf and did make an emergency landing.
Earlier, WPLG Channel 10 News (which displayed the picture above) reported about how the blimp was "turning heads" in Miami-Dade and Broward. "Flying high in the polls," the story said, "Mitt Romney was also flying high over the streets of South Florida Friday morning."
By Sunday, it was grounded.
-- with Diana MoskovitzPolice commandos from an anti-kidnapping unit conduct a drill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 13, 2012. Military police killed one of Brazil's most wanted men after his gang spectacularly blasted its way into a gem-cutting plant Sunday, traded fire with police and made off with nine hostages
Military police killed the leader of a gang that had spectacularly blasted its way into a gem-cutting plant in Brazil, before trading fire with police and making off with nine hostages who were later safely freed.
Three of the assailants died in the shoot-out in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, a military police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The dead included Elisandro Falcao, 31, one of the state's most-wanted men. He led a gang that specializes in robberies using explosives to target banks and automated teller machines, reports said.
The surviving attackers fled with their hostages -- one of whom was a 12-year-old girl -- into a wooded area of the town of Cotipora, with police pursuing in cars and helicopters, the official said.
At least 100 military police, backed by helicopters, worked into the night in the search for five assailants and their captives.
After an hours-long operation, police freed all nine hostages safely, but also exchanged more fire with the assailants, killing three more of them, while two police were injured, officials said.
The area where the strike was carried out is in the heart of the gem-cutting industry in Brazil, which is a world leader in exporting many semiprecious stones such as topaz, aquamarine and amethyst.
The robbers detonated dynamite to storm into the plant, then ran into police on their way out, the military police official said.
"There was an intense firefight. Three assailants died and two police were injured," Rio Grande do Sul state military chief Sergio Abreu told reporters.
Police have recovered part of the loot, but gave no figure for its value.
As they made their escape, the attackers split into two groups. One took two people who were in a bar hostage, and the other broke into a home and abducted seven people, apparently all members of the same family.
The forest where the gang fled is thick and hard to navigate, but police surrounded it, said state deputy military commander Altair de Freitas.
Helicopters and special operations teams with sniffer dogs took part in the search, he added. News reports said the remaining gang was made up of nine men armed with rifles.
Governor Tarso Genro stressed that the hostages' lives were the top priority.The "termination shock" sounds like the stuff science fiction movies are made of. In reality, it marks the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space. The invisible "shock" forms as our sun's solar winds begin to encounter the gases and magnetic fields of outer space, which slows the winds down abruptly.
On October 19, NASA will launch the first spacecraft designed to image and map the interactions that take place in this boundary zone. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, will be propelled from the Kwajalein Atoll into a high-altitude orbit that will eventually take it about 200,000 miles from Earth, where it will capture images of processes taking place in the termination shock and beyond.
"The interstellar boundary regions are critical because they shield us from the vast majority of dangerous galactic cosmic rays, which otherwise would penetrate into Earth's orbit and make human spaceflight much more dangerous," said David J. McComas, principal investigator of the IBEX mission and senior executive director the Space Science and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute.
In December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft first crossed the termination shock, and earlier this year Voyager 2 reached the same landmark, but at a point substantially closer to the sun than Voyager 1 had been. According to McComas, Voyager observations of points beyond the termination shock have shown results that challenge many notions about this region. Images from IBEX will, for the first time, help scientists understand the processes that take place in the region where our solar system reaches interstellar space.
The IBEX spacecraft will be launched on a Pegasus rocket dropped from an L-1011 aircraft as it flies over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus vehicle will then carry IBEX into an orbit approximately 130 miles above the Earth. According to Willis Jenkins, IBEX program executive at NASA headquarters in Washington, the IBEX mission is logistically unique as well because it has an extra "kick" during launch. "An extra solid-state motor pushes the spacecraft farther out of low-Earth orbit where the Pegasus launch vehicle leaves it," he said.
IBEX is part of NASA's Small Explorer project, a series of relatively low-cost, highly focused space science missions.
[Via NASA]3 years ago
This past week has been a blur for us, what with the Blightfall teaser, Blightfall release, and now the Blightfall post-launch patch! But, that hasn't stopped us from working on the very next pack to come out! We hope you're ready because it's going to be out in the next few weeks!
Blightfall 2.1.1
Blightfall 2.1.1 is out, and it fixes a ton of questing bugs, typos, and adds some really great improvements to the game! The Spice of Life diminishing returns formula has been made more forgiving, the Spice of Life food buffer has been reduced from 250 haunches to 200, you get hungry slower than before, and we've changed the food requisition quest to give you a new type of food that is immune to diminishing returns! We've also added a new POI to the map that you will receive even on existing maps! Lastly, we've added a pair of cheats you can activate if you're uninterested in either the food game or Thaumcraft research. You can find these cheats on the top floor of The Jaded, but you'll need Op (or need to know an Op) and you will have to break some glass to get to it.
This is probably going to be our last update for a few weeks unless something goes wrong. We really hope you enjoy this post-launch pack update and if you haven't tried Blightfall yet, we hope you'll give it a shot. It's absolutely our favorite pack that we've made. You can check out the changelog here.
Some Launcher Hotfixes
Shortly after the Blightfall release, we updated the launcher to v4.313. Here are the changes:
The launcher will no longer fail to relaunch on Macs due to the PATH being unavailable.
Fixed various crashes and issues with Twitch auth.
We also need to drive home the point that the Minecraft Twitch auth will not actually be fixed for you unless you uncheck "remember me" at the Technic login screen, and log in using your username and password once again.
Well, that's all that we're up to this week! Keep an eye out for upcoming news about Tekkit coming out very, very soon! Drop by and see us on IRC, the forums, or Reddit. Let us know if you're playing Blightfall!A GRIEVING family has made a "heartbreaking decision" to release CCTV footage of a grandfather moments after he died in the back of a police van.
Relatives of Lenny McCourt said they have taken the difficult decision to release the footage, which shows the inaction of officers who waited nine minutes before attempting to revive him.
The family say they are aggrieved that an officer involved in his arrest was allowed to keep his job following a disciplinary hearing by Durham Police - and another did not face action after leaving the force.
Mr McCourt’s sister-in-law Tracey McCourt said: "I don't understand he could be allowed him to keep his job. We feel really let down.
“After long consideration we have made the heartbreaking decision to release CCTV footage so members of the public to make their own judgement.”
An inquest jury ruled last November that the 44-year-old had died during the short journey from his home in Ash Crescent, Seaham, to Peterlee Police Station. He had been pepper sprayed during his arrest.
The jury found he had died of a heart disease precipitated by the stress of the events of the day and excess alcohol and ruled his death was by misadventure.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission detailed a catalogue of failures by police, including officers waiting about nine minutes before trying to resuscitate Mr McCourt.
PC Richard Clark, of Durham Police, was given a final written warning after a disciplinary panel found his actions on the day Mr McCourt died constituted gross misconduct.
Mrs McCourt said: “The CCTV shows it took over five minutes before they took the cuffs off and more than nine minutes after his arrival before they lie him on his back and start doing any form of CPR.”
She added: “Special Constable Jeanette Horlock, who should have faced the same charge resigned.
“Durham Constabulary needs to put policies in place to prevent officers from resigning in cases like this.”
Mrs McCourt added: “It was our request that proceedings did not go ahead against the custody sergeant Jack Clark, because of his honesty and candour at the inquest.”
A police spokesman said the inquest found no officer had acted unlawfully.
The force’s head of professional standards, Superintendent Darren Ellis said: “Since this tragic event we have reviewed our policies and procedures regarding the safe transportation of people taken into custody.
“We have also looked at our policies and procedures for ensuring all relevant officers and staff continue to receive appropriate first aid and refresher training.”Director: Shane Meadows.
Screenplay: Shane Meadows.
Starring: Paddy Considine, Dean Palinczuk, Olivia Colman, Shane Meadows, Richard Graham, Seamus O’Neill, Alex Hunter, Matt Helders, Nick O’Malley, Jamie Cook, Nigel Reeks.
Director Shane Meadows is no stranger to low-budget filmmaking. In fact, most of his films to date have been made with relativity tight constraints. This time around, he goes that one step further and makes an all-out, fly on the wall mockumentary, which also happens to be his third collaboration with actor Paddy Considine.
Documentary maker Shane Meadows (playing himself) follow the life of music manager Le Donk (Paddy Considine), who reckons he’s unearthed a new talent in rapper Scor-Zay-Zee (Dean Palinczuk). As a slot with band The Arctic Monkeys opens up, the would-be manager and his protege hit the road to try and make a name for themselves.
If the brilliant “A Room For Romeo Brass” and “Dead Man’s Shoes” were anything to go by, you’d be forgiven for getting very excited about the prospect of Meadows and Considine working together again. I know I certainly was. Unfortunately, this film isn’t quite up to their previous high standards. In fairness, they’ve adopted a different approach but for a film with a running time of just over an hour you’d expect it to move briskly and get down to telling it’s story. In the early stages it does this, with some hilarious observational humour and “kitchen sink” drama that’s reminiscent of Ricky Gervais’ “The Office” but the delivery soon becomes a bit stale. The idea is good, the performances are good but for a film to enter into this mould it needs to provide more laughs than it does. I’m sure it probably will appeal to many people but for me, as a big fan of Meadows, I had set my sites too high. It loses it momentum and relies too heavily on the presence of Considine and his perfect balance of ambition and desperation. He’s most definitely the highlight here. However, there’s only so much one man can carry. The humour and awkward situations are well captured but it essentially there isn’t much of a story and becomes not much more than a showcase for real-life rap artist and freestyler Scor-Zay-Zee, who’s not that appealing to begin with.
An interesting, if unsuccessful, project from Meadows. He’s not made many bad movies and I wouldn’t say this is bad either. It’s just not as eventful as it could have been.
Mark Walker
AdvertisementsRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump canceled a rally in a Chicago arena Friday night after thousands of protesters converged on the venue and clashed with Trump supporters.
Ahead of Trump's expected speech, scores of protesters entered the arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the scene grew rowdy as crowds shouted pro- and anti-Trump slogans that included obscenities.
Trump released a statement announcing the rally would be postponed. He urged everyone to "go in peace" and said he does not want to see anyone hurt.
As scuffles broke out among those gathered, police and security guards took up positions to keep the groups separated. Television footage showed isolated clashes among small groups of rally-goers, with some exchanging shoves and punches. Police later dispersed the crowd.
Police say no arrests were made and no injuries reported.
Some Trump supporters say the demonstrators came to the Chicago rally determined to shut it down and cause trouble. But violence aimed at Trump opponents has erupted at other campaign events. The candidate himself has been accused of creating a permissive environment for anti-protester violence by criticizing protesters when interruptions have occurred at his events.
Earlier Friday, protesters clashed with Trump supporters at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri. Demonstrators interrupted Trump's speech eight times while people from both sides scuffled outside the hall.
Meanwhile, a journalist filed a police report Friday alleging battery when Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski allegedly grabbed her by the arm and forcefully threw her out of a Trump campaign event at a Trump-owned golf club in Florida.
Trump is known for his tough talk and insults, whose targets have included Mexicans, Muslims and immigrants.
His comments have energized his backers, while infuriating his opponents who allege racism.
WATCH: Protesters and supporters clash at Trump eventI brought my pitch fork and torch out of storage and cleaned PauLa’s blood off from last year. It’s almost that time of year again! There are some heads under the axe in the month of August. Who will die in the bye week?! Read on and speculate along with me in the comments!
First a little bit of finger pointing about the game, then some more finger pointing at those running the show, and finally, some (radical?) ideas and the people attached to them who are bound to start coming up in the discussion about the team’s future.
Although it was a week ago already, last game was a disaster and still fresh in the minds of the die hard fans. We all watched it and some of you even paid full price for a ticket. If you did you ought to be writing Garth Buchko demanding a refund, or at the very least calling him at two in the morning to explain how you feel about the state of the franchise and the beer prices at IGF.
The Good
Jade Etienne
We’re finally seeing some return on this pick from years ago. Although he only had 3 catches for 18 yards, two of them were touchdowns.
Chad Simpson
It’s a good thing we’re not giving Chad the ball more or we might start winning games. He actually had a higher average than Cornish. He looks like the only one on the team giving 100%.
A Different Look at QB
Goltz wasn’t great but he was certainly better than Buck. For the most part his passes were crisp and it was the play calling that seemed to hamper the offence. It seems Bomber management is finally in agreement. Buck has been demoted to third sting and might get released if he doesn’t take a pay cut. It also may not be long before we see Max Hall on the field.
The Bad
Defence
Stunk worse than a tree hugging hippie tied to a tree.
Special Teams
Almost gave up six on a kick if it weren’t for Palardy and still no answer as to who is gonna be our return man.
Play Calling
Gary was at it again calling his trade marked unimaginative plays. When your running back is averaging 5+ yards a carry you just give him the ball! It’s not brain surgery. Instead they predictably abandoned the run as the deficit grew wider because of bad passing.
The Ugly
Tackling
It was pathetic watching the Bombers miss tackle after tackle. Some players were complaining about Calgary being a bigger team, which is probably true, but if that’s the case then stop arm tackling and go for the legs.
Defensive Line
Did nothing to stop Cornish who had his way with them.
Lack of Sacks
At least we know what the defence is now (not great). Clearly the stats racked up against Montreal and Hamilton were a result of weak opposition. One sack isn’t enough to force your opposition to change strategy.
Absolute Vodka Ass of the Week: Gary Crowton
We’ll get to Gary in a minute.
Honourable Mention: Alex Suber. Got beat more than a red headed step child.
Heineken Hero of the Week: Jade Etienne
Honourable mention: Chad Simpson. Why doesn’t he get the ball every play? If he’s not running it then it should probably be thrown to him. RIDE THE HORSE NAMED CHAD TO VICTORY!
Just Putting it Out There…
Now that I’ve handed out the awards for the week it’s time to start thinking about how to fix this mess. It is, undeniably, a complete mess and it’s not going to get any better with the current crew in charge. Who’s gotta go? Joe and Gary, or the Ambiguously Gay Duo as I’m going to refer to them from now on. None of you can argue against me on that, although you are free to try in the comments.
General Manager
Joe Mack
What has this jerk done to improve this team? Pretty much nothing. He’s batting.350 over three+ seasons, which is actually quite astounding. What he has done is lie to us saying he would fix the QB situation. Clearly he has not. Where was he when Ricky Ray was for sale? Barker got him for a song while Mack was scratching his balls somewhere in the Carolina’s all winter. I’ll concede that he’s found a couple of decent Americans to bring up North (Carr, Matthews, Simpson) but his number one draft picks haven’t been great. The exception to that statement is Henoc Muamba who is obviously an all-star calibre Canadian. Tyson Pencer hasn’t played a game and may never with a shoulder that’s been operated on three times plus Kito Poblah has been on the bench more than the field (where he’s been mostly ineffective). He might as well be throwing darts at names with a success rate like that.
He’s also loath to open the team wallet for free agents. Letting Brendon LaBatte go to Saskatchewan the way he did was amateur. What’s the hardest thing to find in the CFL besides a quality QB? An all-star Canadian offensive lineman. Look at the Bombers’ offensive line compared to Saskatchewan’s and it’s easy to see why they are 5-0 and we are 1-4.
He should have been kicked out last season and I have to think they only reason he’s still around is because the Bombers already have too many ex-coaches and management types still on the payroll. Firing him then meant adding the (stupid) extension given to him after the Grey Cup loss two seasons ago to the severance pile.
Without a doubt he’s fired at season’s end if not sooner, he’s doomed and nothing can change that now, unless a miracle happens and the Cup comes home in November. That being the case I think he should be tossed out today. There is no point in waiting any longer. No other GM wants to deal with him and players don’t want to negotiate with him. Mack hasn’t been able to fix anything so the Bombers might as well have an accountant run things as would happen in the real world. So who’s available right now who step in?
Eric Tillman
Yeah, I know, he’s an ass grabber, is that worse than hitting your wife/girlfriend?
Eric’s currently consulting for the Tiger-Cats and I’m pretty sure that makes him available. He has loads of CFL experience and can step in tomorrow. A true wheeler and dealer as well. What do you think?
Duane Forde
He was interviewed during the AGM search this past off season but the Bombers walked because of his asking price (no surprise there). He doesn’t have any direct experience running the front office but he’s certainly plugged into the league. His knowledge of the CIS is what the Bombers really wanted when they began courting him and one has to believe he was to be groomed to succeed Mack. It’s tragic he wasn’t hired because Garth could fire Joe today and have Duane moved into his office in a matter of hours. Plus, with Forde it’s easy to see the draft picks getting get a lot better.
Offensive Coordinator
Gary Crowton
Crowton’s been an unmitigated disaster. He rode into town with no CFL experience and it couldn’t show any more. You know who else had no CFL experience? Dan Hawkins. He was fired yesterday after only five games. Gary’s had 23 to show us he doesn’t know what’s going on. Get him outta here already! He’s gone by season’s end for sure so why delay? Who’s out there?
Paul Lapolice
I still don’t like him but he is better than Gary and you know what else? He’s already on the payroll. Just putting it out there… What do you think dear reader?
Buck Pierce
This may not be the best of ideas, but he’s done playing, that’s for sure. He’s also already on the payroll. Saves a couple bucks (haha, did you see that? I made a pun.). It could work couldn’t it?
Head Coach
No one is calling for Burke’s head, yet, but by the end of the season, some may feel differently. This situation isn’t all his fault since he inherited a huge mess and I do believe he is a great defensive coach. The new GM is going to want to pick his own men including the HC. I don’t think it’s a stretch to keep Burke around if a change is made. What if he’s demoted to defensive coordinator (already on the payroll!) and then hire:
Dave Dickenson
He’s widely recognized as a head coach in waiting. Publicly he’s content to stay in Calgary (why not, they’re winning?) but you know the man is looking to run his own show. If we are going to make a head coaching change in the offseason this should be our man.
Tom Higgins
A man with tons of Canadian coaching experience who got fired by Calgary for making the playoffs three years in a row. Could he be pried from his comfy job as Director of Officiating? Who knows but money talks.
Matt Dunnigan
A Blue Bomber legend even though his time in Winnipeg was short. Has experience and is a true expert in the Canadian game. Could he be lured off the panel? The chance to compete again may be enough but is he mentally up to it? Even he admits, in his book, that past concussions affected his early coaching career. Has time away cleared the cobwebs?
Dave Ritchie
I have to throw him in here. Oh how I long for those days. Fired with a winning record, he was the last true coach this team had. His words were like poems written by a drunk on LSD which made every post game interview that much more entertaining. Dave was an old schooler who dished out discipline like a residential school teacher. Loved and feared by
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a direction. Each time the senior crew flew down to Blizzard to present a new build, the team joked about what game it would be given as inspiration next. Huebner also became frustrated over discussions regarding small details that, while not as important to Nihilistic, were crucial to Blizzard. "I remember we had a lot of fights about the design of a Marine's boot," Huebner says. According to Huebner, one of the first signs that fatal cracks were starting to appear in the development process came when Blizzard hired an external producer, James Goddard. "He's not on my Christmas card list," says Huebner. Goddard had just finished working on another project and was setting up a consultancy. He had mentioned this to Blizzard chief creative officer Rob Pardo and offered his expertise in character combat design. Pardo brought Goddard on board as a consultant, and his participation grew into more of a production role over the course of the project. Given Goddard's background, Huebner felt he was pushing the action aesthetic too much. "Blizzard started to use me for more messaging... there might have been some moments causing tension," says Goddard. "There was probably some tension." Goddard's view on Ghost is not that he wanted to change the game's genre, but rather that the game needed action elements in order to keep the player moving. "This was the identity problem," says Goddard. "I pushed the idea at the end of the day that it was a stealth game, but it's not a hardcore stealth game. I think people really struggled with that." That conflict between action and stealth would continue throughout the game's development, says Goddard. Goddard's appointment, among other decisions, contributed to the cumulative feeling at Nihilistic that no one at Blizzard took the project under their wing. Among team members, there was a collective feeling that Rob Pardo provided much-needed guidance and specific feedback before Goddard came on board, but that didn't last long. As time went on, many at Nihilistic and Blizzard felt communication began to break down between the two companies. "When Rob Pardo worked on the project, he really helped, but once he left, the project was in big trouble," says one Nihilistic senior team member who requested to remain anonymous to avoid burning bridges. As development continued, Huebner says Blizzard pushed to add more features that he believed were inconsequential or unrealistic to include with so few resources at Nihilistic. "After the Tokyo Game Show, where we had some good levels and we felt the game was on the right track, we brought in a multiplayer mode," says Huebner. "The art style changed. We were chasing team co-op multiplayer that was not even part of the original design." Whether it was due to too many decision-makers involved, or there weren't enough resources on either side, the game just wasn't moving forward and in a place where Blizzard felt it could be shippable. One senior developer, who also requested anonymity for fear of harming future business relationships, says the story also suffered from a number of rewrites, and that exacerbated the development process. Chris Millar says the sheer amount of work meant there was "no way to get consistent consensus from the Strike Team." In late 2003 and 2004, the tension was coming to a head. The game's development had continued for so long, and no progress was being made. Huebner even signed another job for Nihilistic in anticipation that the contract between it and Blizzard would fall apart. "We had booked work to start with EA, in anticipation of Ghost either finishing, or us leaving it," says Huebner. "The writing was on the wall." "We thought that if we can't buckle down and finish by a certain date, then [development would cease]... I don't know if we ever said that explicitly, but I think both sides knew that," says Huebner. "It was not a shippable, super polished game at the Blizzard standard, but there were glimmers that were fun," says Huebner. "There were... levels that were playable. A really good stealth level, a Zerg level, a stealth-heavy Protoss level in a Protoss ship. They all played like different games. "The writing was on the wall."
I'm not reading you clearly There weren't many people at the meeting. Just Huebner, a few people from Nihilistic and some Blizzard representatives. Huebner says he could feel the project was coming to a head. It was 2004, more than three years after development had started. Eager players were trying out Ghost on the E3 show floor mere feet away. But in a nearby conference room, Huebner and Blizzard met to discuss how the game was coming along. "It was mostly about where the game was relative to shipping — how many aspects of the game we considered 'at alpha' and how much was still left to do to complete the game," says Huebner. It didn't go well, Huebner says. While neither party explicitly stated development was about to end, Huebner says it was clear from the things being said that both sides of the project felt production needed to wrap up. "That's when we were thinking, 'We should line up our next thing,'" says Huebner.
After Ghost had spent years in development and many on both sides of the fence had become frustrated with the situation, Blizzard met with Nihilistic and indicated that its contract might be winding down.
Goddard remembers the meeting taking place, but says he wasn't there. "It made sense. But it was heartbreaking," says Goddard. Huebner says the team was fatigued by the development. It had worked for more than three years without seeing a shipped game. "I don't [think Blizzard] ever quite knew what they wanted," says Huebner. For David Ryan Paul, it was a normal day until Huebner gathered the staff members and told them they would no longer be working on the game. "It sunk in, but it didn't have the weight [for me] it did for people who had been working on it for three-plus years. It was shocking and disappointing," says Ryan Paul. "It was heartbreaking, particularly for artists. They've got a ton of work they can't show," says Huebner. "That was definitely a short day." Huebner says that he was glad no one was laid off or missed a paycheck, but that many people took it hard. "I remember one guy cried and went home," he says. "It was traumatic for some people." "You try not to think about it and move on. I still have a StarCraft Ghost shirt from E3" The game's composer, Kevin Manthei, says he had no idea it was about to happen. "The feedback I was getting was really good," he says. "Everyone is happy. Then I got a phone call thanking me for everything, and I thought the project was dead. "You try not to think about it and move on. I still have a StarCraft Ghost shirt from E3," says Manthei. Nihilistic had the ability to move on by using the Ghost tech it had developed on a new game. But Huebner says the resources didn't make up for an unshipped game with three years of work. "I would have liked to have seen the original Metal Gear-, Splinter Cell-type game. That felt true to the Ghost aesthetic. That's the part I enjoyed the most," says Huebner. Heubner thought he wouldn't see Ghost again. He was wrong.
Wanna turn up the heat? Swingin' Ape Studios had been on Blizzard's radar for a while. Its 2003 debut, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, was a third-person action adventure game that received favorable reviews — much like Nihilistic's Vampire did years earlier. So when Nihilistic stopped work on Ghost, Goddard says the feeling internally at Blizzard was that Ghost was in good enough shape for Blizzard to give it to another studio. "Swingin' Ape seemed like a good fit," he says. "We talked about it, and [Blizzard] wanted to reboot it." Blizzard hired Swingin' Ape to work on Ghost in July of 2004, immediately after Nihilistic stopped working on the game. The news broke shortly afterward. Nihilistic had started working on its next title, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, with Electronic Arts. And Huebner was surprised work was continuing. After Blizzard handed Ghost to Swingin' Ape, the new team moved quickly to make the game its own, repairing much of what it saw as broken in Nihilistic's version of the game. "That was weird," he says. "I don't remember how we found out, exactly. It was a short window between us and Blizzard getting [Swingin' Ape]," says Huebner. "I don't have a lot of insight into that or how they found them," he says. "It seemed opportunistic, like maybe this developer was next door and they were able to buy them cheaply? Something like that, maybe." Sources say a shift started as soon as Swingin' Ape began work. Development became less stressful. Feedback became more streamlined and consistent. After several months of Swingin' Ape working on the game, Blizzard purchased the studio in May of 2005. Multiple sources point to multiplayer being the primary reason reason Blizzard gave Swingin' Ape the responsibility of shepherding the title. While Nihilistic introduced some multiplayer elements, according to Huebner and Goddard, there was pushback because Nihilistic team members felt the game was moving too far away from the original vision. By bringing the game and the Swingin' Ape team internal, Goddard says, Blizzard could develop a multiplayer system properly and with more attention. "Swingin' Ape did a really good job, and the game was really going somewhere and really impressive," Goddard says. "The gameplay was good. The shooting was good." "When they got [multiplayer] working and you're playing multi-console and jumping on speeders... that was just, holy shit," says Goddard. Matthew Bell joined Swingin' Ape before work on Ghost began. "I have fond memories of working there and seeing the banks of CPUs that were designed to be the farm for World of Warcraft," he says. At the beginning, Swingin' Ape worked apart from the main Blizzard crew in its own facilities, but Bell says the company made them feel welcome. And unlike with the Nihilistic team, Bell says he felt as though Blizzard then made Ghost a priority. "It was a very positive time," he says. "I would say they definitely made us feel as though we were part of their family."
As Swingin' Ape's version of the game progressed, many at Blizzard were happy with how smoothly the game played.
"They were so invested, they brought us to headquarters so the feedback could be hands on. They didn't just pay us to develop it. They bought the team so they could make it into a Blizzard title and gave us all the support we needed," says Bell. Much like Nihilistic had its high point at the 2002 Tokyo Game Show, Bell says BlizzCon 2005 was the high-water mark for the Swingin' Ape team. "That's when I was the most positive about the game," he says. Blizzard showed a cinematic at BlizzCon 2005 to confirm that work on Ghost was still underway. It had been four years since development started on the game, and there was still no ship date. But at that moment, Bell says the team was more positive than ever. "It went over really well with the hardcore fans, and everyone on the show floor was having an awesome time with the multiplayer. It was just a lot of fun," he says. Some Nihilistic developers had a different reaction. After working on a stealth game for so long, seeing an action-oriented game with heavy multiplayer capabilities confused them. "I remember seeing a playable character of a Firebat and then seeing a multiplayer deathmatch... I didn't understand it," says Chris McGee. "It was frustrating. But this whole industry is full of frustration," McGee says. Chris Millar left Blizzard well before the game moved to Swingin' Ape — but once he saw the footage, he says, it was more than a surprise. "I was shocked by how different it was," he says.
Nuclear launch detected Positive sentiment grew during 2005 among Swingin' Ape team members, especially after that year's BlizzCon. But those same developers say that pooling Swingin' Ape talent with the rest of Blizzard staff meant they couldn't expect to have their own project cordoned off from the rest of the company's pressures. And in 2005, Blizzard was under a lot of pressure. With World of Warcraft released in 2004, all hands were on deck fixing problems, working on the game, making sure it was running smoothly. Sustaining the momentum required a significant amount of attention. By early 2005, less than a year after its launch, WoW had 1 million subscribers, and that number was continuing to grow. With so much attention on WoW, other projects and games naturally lost some attention, team members say. Including Ghost. "It was good by most people's standards, but the technology was aging out" "To say that WoW was an all-encompassing distraction is an understatement," says Roper. "We had to make WoW as big as possible... and so there was certainly an amount of letting Ghost go in that course of development." And there was another problem. "The industry was turning a corner," says Matthew Bell. Ghost had taken nearly an entire console generation to develop. A game designed for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, it was now scheduled to be released in 2005 — right when the Xbox 360 was hitting shelves. Blizzard faced a problem. The company could push Ghost into a new phase of development, which would mean adding more resources to the game to make it ready for a new console generation. Or it could simply shelve the game and possibly come back to it at a later date. James Goddard says the choice was obvious. "The trajectory was a problem," says Goddard, who left six months before Blizzard made the final call. "It was good by most people's standards, but the technology was aging out. Following many ups and downs over the years, eventually Blizzard called it quits on Ghost and moved on to other projects. "If you look at it that way, the decision makes a lot of sense. It's heartbreaking, but it makes a lot of sense." Bell says he wasn't at any particular meeting that ended development on Ghost. But the whirlwind of World of Warcraft and other projects took hold, and slowly, from his perspective, Ghost began to lose influence due to having both feet in the previous console generation. Additionally, with Blizzard seeing such success on PC, getting into the console market seemed like less of an essential proposition, from Bell's perspective. One anonymous source familiar with senior decisions on the project describes a meeting in which a major retailer told Blizzard that Ghost would not receive premium floor space as long as it remained in the previous console generation. Blizzard did not respond to questions about this meeting, or to any other questions for this story, and Goddard also says he never heard about it, but he agrees that Ghost was in "the wrong place at the wrong time" and that Blizzard viewed the turn of the console generation as a critical problem for the game. "I think WoW changed the culture of Blizzard, and all the focus was on that for a while," he says. Bell believes that if the Ghost developers had made a choice to put Ghost on the Xbox 360, Blizzard's executives would have supported the team. He describes Blizzard decision-makers giving that choice: "The generosity of the executive team was that they said, 'You guys should do what you think is best.'" But Bell says that with so many resources in the company competing for talent, including work on StarCraft 2 and a new iteration of Diablo, the Ghost team would have struggled to get things done. "We just weren't competing for talent. So they dissolved the team," says Bell. Developers moved on to new projects inside the company. After more than five years of work, Blizzard put StarCraft: Ghost aside.The New IRA terrorist group allegedly tried to bomb a Derry hotel because it hosted a police recruitment fair a week ago, it has emerged.
Dissident republicans attacked the Everglades hotel on Thursday night because it was planning to host another jobs fair organised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland next week, security and republican sources have confirmed.
The latest attack in Derry city took place just hours after the PSNI appointed the former Royal Ulster Constabulary officer George Hamilton as its next chief constable. The New IRA and other groups opposed to the peace process have attempted to dissuade Catholic recruits from joining the PSNI because they argue it is still a British police force. They have killed two PSNI officers, including Catholic constable Ronan Kerr three years ago in Omagh, County Tyrone.
Customers and staff at the hotel had a narrow escape after a masked man threw a holdall containing an explosive device into the reception area. It later exploded as army technical officers were trying to deal with it. No one was injured in the blast, but the bomb caused severe fire damage to the front of the hotel.
A police spokesperson said the quick action of hotel staff and police officers in evacuating people from the premises had "undoubtedly helped to prevent a tragedy".
Guests staying at the Everglades were later transported to other hotels across the city. Among those who had to be evacuated were members of a family who had attended a burial earlier in the day.
The police spokesperson said the bomber escaped in a red Volkswagen Golf, with the registration number YIB 8658, which was driven by another man. The car was later found burnt out in the Glendara estate area of the city.
Denouncing those behind the bomb, Mark Durkan, the MP for Foyle, said: "So many people are working hard to move the city forward, but those behind this device are trying to drag us all back to worse times. Such methods demonstrate only a negative, violent capacity, not a viable strategy or credible rationale.
"The nature of the device, and the manner of this reckless attack, show that they are a threat to anyone and everyone. That is why we must be united and strong in rejecting their ways, and affirming peace and progress as our chosen determined collective right."
The attack underlined the challenges Hamilton faces in trying to counter the ongoing dissident republican terror campaign aimed at destabilising the power-sharing settlement in Northern Ireland. Derry is one of the few strongholds of dissident republican groups in the country, namely the New IRA.
Last week a supporter of the New IRA's armed campaign, ex-republican prisoner Gary Donnelly, topped the poll in local elections in the ward of the city which is home to Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin's deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.
McGuinness condemned those responsible for the attack, saying: "Derry is a place looking to the future and will not be held back by those living in the past."
The north-west city has been the focal point of repeated bombings and shootings by the New IRA over the last year.
In his first public statement since being selected chief constable, Hamilton said the explosion indicated some of the challenges that face the entire community.
"These are people who are opposed to peace, they are people who are trying to use violence, who are damaging the economic wellbeing of the country, who are taking jobs off people and they don't actually care about this place or about the citizens of it – I do, deeply," he said.
"We will be doing everything in our power possible to prevent occurrences like that and when they do occur we will be doing everything possible to bring those responsible to justice."Artist's rendering of Cassini, off to do a dive between Saturn and its rings. Image: NASA/JPL-Calte
Cassini's first dive through the gap between Saturn and its rings didn't just send back some great views of the planet's upper cloud deck, rings, and storms. It also transmitted some mysterious data that has left mission scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory puzzled.
Scientists expected the spacecraft, which is exploring Saturn and its rings, would encounter dust in the 2000-kilometer-wide gap between the planet and its rings. But it encountered no particles bigger than what you'd find in smoke. They measured the dust density by the creative use of an instrument intended to detect radio and plasma wave signals.
"The region between the rings and Saturn is 'the big empty,' apparently," said Cassini program manager Earl Maize in a statement. "Cassini will stay the course, while the scientists work on the mystery of why the dust level is much lower than expected."
Cassini has been exploring Saturn and its gorgeous planetary rings for the last 13 years. The venerable probe has already captured incredible scenes of the large gas giant, and taken up-close pictures of the shrouded moon of Titan (which was explored by the Huygens lander), as well as the towering geysers of Enceladus. Now it's performing a Grand Finale, 22 orbits that bring it closer than ever to Saturn's surface, ending in a fiery death-dive into the planet.
Cassini's mission was intended to study the unseen aspects of the solar system's most striking planet, including its magnetic field and the radio signals it emits. Using the spacecraft's instruments, they surmised the space between Saturn and its rings were squeaky clean.
For a little refresher, while Saturn's rings look like a smooth dinner plate or vinyl LP, they're actually made up of particles of ice and dust in a range of sizes. Some are as big as mountains, while others can be tiny flecks of ice. Although the gap close to the planet obviously has fewer particles, JPL scientists weren't taking any chances that these particles could take out Cassini, travelling at 124,000 kilometers per hour over the clouds of Saturn.
Read More: We Have Strong Evidence Saturn's Moon Enceladus Can Support Microbial Alien Life
They had good reason to be cautious: previous close interactions with the ring plane had dust show up as audible cracks and pops in the data, as tracked by a device called the Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument, also used this time around.
To safeguard the spacecraft, they rotated it so that Cassini's main 4-meter-wide communications dish could be used as a protective shield during the crossing of the gap. Luckily, they could still check the particle density, as the RPWS instrument peeks out from behind the dish. Any impact from dust would make some noise.
Here's what they heard last time they pulled a similar maneuver:
And this is what they got this time:
"I was a bit disoriented," said Bill Kurth, lead investigator for Cassini's radio and plasma wave science instrument. "In most of our data, the ring plane stands out as a marker or signpost. It wasn't there for this pass. Hence, we spent a very long night analyzing the data, looking at the data with various tools, and then discussing what we had seen."
Kurth said in a statement he could count on one hand the times the data registered a dust particle hit the RPWS instrument. The team focused on a 20-minute span of when the spacecraft cleared the ring plane, out of an observation period of roughly 10 hours.
The Cassini team might have room for different maneuvers during the Grand Finale, as they don't need to account for a rain of pebbles every time they'll be passing through the ring-plane of the gap.
Even in its final days, the Cassini probe keeps surprising us.
Subscribe to Science Solved It, Motherboard's new show about the greatest mysteries that were solved by science.SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For the first time in 17 months, hedge funds in July made more bets on oil prices falling than rising, according to the latest government data.
Short positions from noncommercial investors, hedge funds and other large investors that don't actually take delivery of oil, surpassed long positions in July for the first month since February 2007, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. Short positions are bets on falling prices while long positions bet on rising prices.
"We are seeing a significant retrenchment of bullish appetite among funds," said Edward Meir, an analyst at futures brokerage MF Global. "The price bias still favors the downside."
'We are seeing a significant retrenchment of bullish appetite among funds. The price bias still favors the downside.' Edward Meir, MF Global
Short positions surpassed long positions by 660 contracts in the week ended July 29, the CFTC reported late Friday. For the previous week, net short positions were 3,640 contracts. One contract equals 1,000 barrels of crude oil.
At the end of July 2007, when investors were betting that rising demand and limited supplies would push up oil prices, long positions had surpassed short positions by as much as 127,000 contracts. Crude jumped nearly 90% since then to a record high of $147.27 a barrel earlier this month.
Recent gloomy bets from noncommercial investors, however, helped send crude lower. Overall in July, oil fell $16 -- the biggest monthly loss on dollar terms since crude futures started trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1984.
On Monday, crude futures for September delivery slumped more than $4 to below $120 a barrel for the first time in three months. See Futures Movers.
Investors increasingly are concerned that slow economic growth will cut into oil demand. The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that over the past four weeks, U.S. motor-gasoline demand has averaged 9.4 million barrels per day, down by 2.4% from the same period last year.Windows 8.1 and Office 365
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Four Ways to Use Your Tablet
Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows’ innovative design places a battery cylinder and kickstand on the side of the device, shifting the center of gravity and opening up multiple ways to use it: Hold, Tilt, Stand, and Hang. That means there are four different ways to get things done or enjoy media.
Epic Battery Life
Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows keeps going over the long haul with its off-the-charts battery life. Its battery lasts up to 15* hours so you can go all day – and into the night – without recharging. The secret: Yoga Tablet’s unique, cylinder-shaped side chamber allows more room for battery storage – and more time between charges. *Battery life is an estimated maximum. Actual battery life may vary based on many factors.
Immersive Audio
Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows’ integrated 8W sound system gives you a rich, immersive audio experience. Just check out these features: premium JBL® large-chamber stereo speakers with subwoofer, Wolfson® Master HiFi™ audio processing and Dolby® surround sound.
Ultra High-Def Display with a Wide Viewing Angle
Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows’ dazzling 13.3” QHD (2560 x 1440) display delivers stunning high definition visuals – and you and your colleagues and friends can enjoy them from a wide, 178 degree viewing angle thanks to the display’s in-plane switching (IPS) technology.
Great WiFi ExperienceCLOSE RGJ sports writers Chris Murray, Jim Krajewski and Duke Ritenhouse address Wolf Pack football, Wolf Pack basketball, high school football and Reno 1868 FC. Chris Murray/RGJ
Wolf Pack quarterback David Cornwell drops back for a pass during a game against Washington State on Saturday. Cornwell made his Wolf Pack debut. (Photo: James Snook/USA TODAY Sports)
Three days after making his Wolf Pack debut, quarterback David Cornwell left the Nevada football program.
Cornwell, the much ballyhooed Alabama transfer who was the first player to commit to first-year coach Jay Norvell last December, was not at Tuesday's practice. Nevada said late Tuesday night he left the team and requested his release from the program.
After Wednesday's practice, Norvell said he was disappointed Cornwell had left the team after the Wolf Pack had invested time trying to develop him.
“The only thing I can say about that is since we’ve been here we’ve been trying to build a culture on competition, on unselfishness and on commitment and we want guys who are committed to that culture," Norvell said. "I think we were awfully good to him and helping him develop as a player. He got a chance to play last weekend. We invested a lot of practice and reps in helping him be a better player. I’m disappointed because I think, as a team, we invested a lot in him. But we’re excited and focused on the weekend and we had a great practice yesterday and we had a really good practice today. We’re excited for our conference opener.”
Norvell said he did not know if Cornwell would remain enrolled at Nevada and said any questions about why he opted to leave the school needed to be directed to the quarterback. The RGJ has been unable to reach Cornwell, who declined a media request following Monday's practice and did not immediately respond to a social media message.
After a strong end to spring camp, which saw him complete 22-of-33 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns in one half in the spring game, Cornwell was the team's starting quarterback entering fall camp. But he was unable to retain that position for the season opener, with Ty Gangi starting the Wolf Pack's first two games.
True freshman Kaymen Cureton also passed Cornwell on the depth chart and started Nevada's two most recent games. Cornwell replaced Cureton after the first four series Saturday at Washington State and completed 13-of-25 passes for 97 yards and three interceptions.
“It was great. It was fun," Cornwell said after Saturday's game. "It was a really fun time to see what it’s like to be on the field and seeing your guys playing ball. It was a really great opportunity to come play a great Pac-12 team, No. 18 in the country, a solid team. Give all the credit to them. They did a great job. We didn’t play up to our ability. Sometimes we showed flashes and then sputtered out and that’s on the quarterback position, that’s one me.
“A few mistakes and it’s my first game knocking the rust off. It’s hard until you watch the film. I’m sure there’s good things, there’s bad things. I live by the code that it’s never as good as it seems and never as bad as it seems. You look at three picks, one in the red zone, obviously not a good performance on my part. Quarterback play is where we have to improve in my opinion. That’s on me, that’s on us quarterbacks as a room."
After the game, Cornwell said he was confident the team's offense, which has struggled this season, was close to turning the corner.
“One of these days it’s going to click," Cornwell said. "I remember in the spring, it was practice 10 and we clicked and looked a lot better. One of these days, we’re going to click as an offense and it’s going to be explosive.”
On Monday, Gangi was named the starter for this Saturday's MW opener at Fresno State, with Cureton backing him up, which left Cornwell third on the depth chart.
It was a quick exit for Cornwell, a four-star recruit and All-American out of high school who had Nevada fans salivating at his potential. The 6-foot-5, strong-armed quarterback initially signed with Alabama, enrolling at the school early, but he was never able to win the starting job. Cornwell appeared in two games but never attempted a pass for the Crimson Tide. He fell to fourth on the depth chart last season and was one of three quarterbacks to transfer out of Alabama in 2016.
Cornwell was expected to win Nevada's starting job as soon as he committed to the Wolf Pack shortly after Norvell was hired and opted to install the pass-first Air Raid system.
"He sold me on a dream," Cornwell said during Wolf Pack media day of the pitch from Norvell. "I knew I was coming here even before I took my trip."
Entering fall camp, Cornwell was promoted on the Wolf Pack's media guide, poster schedule, on signage at Mackay Stadium and in Facebook ads. But he was unable to hold off Gangi or Cureton, both of whom have had their share of struggles this season, which left many Wolf Pack fans pining for Cornwell.
Norvell said earlier this month Cornwell wasn't playing because the team had evaluated its quarterbacks and the coaches were playing the guys who should be on the field.
“He’s working,” Norvell said two weeks ago. “He’s frustrated, but he’s working. He’s doing what he’s supposed to do for the most part every day and trying to get better, and we’re trying to help him get better. That’s one of the reasons he came here. We want to help him be the best player he can be. That’s what we’re working toward.”
The Wolf Pack (0-4) ranks 112th in the nation at 19.8 points per game and has yet to score more than 28 points in a game this season. Nevada ranks 115th in passing efficiency out of 129 FBS teams.
Cornwell, a junior, was able to play immediately this season because he was a graduate transfer after earning an undergraduate degree from Alabama. He could transfer to an FCS school and play immediately but would have to sit out a season under NCAA transfer rules if he moved on to another FBS program.
In addition to Gangi and Cureton, the Wolf Pack has two more quarterbacks on its roster: Griffin Dahn, a sophomore junior-college transfer who has played one snap this season, and sophomore Cristian Solano, who is in his third year in the program and has yet to appear in a game.The United States and Japan held a joint press conference on Saturday night following reports that North Korea fired a ballistic missile in what would be its first such test of the year.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned North Korea's latest missile launch calling it, "absolutely intolerable."
President Donald Trump assured Japan that the U.S. stands behind the country completely.
“The United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent,” Trump said during the conference at Trump’s south Florida estate.
Abe read a brief statement in which he called on North Korea “to fully comply with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.” He said Trump has assured him of U.S. support and that Trump's presence showed the president's determination and commitment.
North Korea reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump's new administration.
More on this... North Korea reportedly test fires missile, challenging US
A spokesman for U.S. Strategic Command said in an emailed statement to Fox News that the, "U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch.”
The missile splashed down into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to the U.S. Strategic Command. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the missile did not hit Japanese territorial seas.
The appropriate officials “remain vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and are fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies to maintain security,” the spokesman said in the statement, adding that the launch was from “a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile.”
The missile launch reports come as Trump was hosting the Japanese leader and just days before North Korea is to mark the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un's late father, Kim Jong Il.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.The NYPD will be rolling out additional security around Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as the holidays approach.
The department has trained local officers in the Midtown South and 78th precincts and have armed them with semi-automatic Colt M4 Commando rifles, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported.
The officers are familiar with the venues and the neighborhoods, and are designed to quickly respond to combat a terror threat in the venues.
The officers have already had two weeks of training and would augment the specially earmarked Strategic Response Group that roam the city.
Similar patrols are expected next year at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field and other summer or outdoor venues.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill ordered increased security measures after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at Manchester Arena in England in May, the New York Post reported.
The news comes weeks after eight people were killed and a dozen others injured in a terrorist attack along a bike path in Lower Manhattan. Sayfullo Saipov is accused of driving a rented pickup truck down the West Side bike path, plowing into bicyclists and pedestrians for an entire mile before crashing into a school bus. He is facing terror charges.Facing fierce resistance from congressional Republicans, industry and some local officials, President Obama abruptly pulled back proposed smog standards Friday that would have compelled states and communities nationwide to reduce local air pollution or face federal penalties.
Key GOP lawmakers including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had identified the Environmental Protection Agency’s restrictions for ground-level ozone, along with other air pollution regulations they described as “job-destroying,” as targets for a regulatory rollback this fall. Members of the business community had launched an all-out public relations blitz against the rules, saying that they should be delayed in light of the economic downturn.
Obama’s decision was announced shortly after disheartening employment numbers were released Friday morning. It drew harsh reaction from environmentalists and their allies — including a statement from MoveOn.org questioning why its members should work for the president’s reelection — highlighting the dangers the White House faces as it seeks middle ground among competing interests.
In a statement, Obama praised EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s effort to improve the nation’s air quality but said he had asked her to withdraw the draft standards because they were scheduled to be reconsidered two years from now anyway.
“I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover,” Obama said. “Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.”
Ground-level ozone is formed when emissions from power plants, other industrial facilities, vehicles and landfills react in sunlight. Smog can cause or aggravate such health problems as asthma and heart disease, and it has been linked to premature death.
The federal government normally
|
iener, and Dr. Serguei Popov, a team of entrepreneurs, mathematicians and developers
The skinny: lota’s big draw is that it doesn’t have any trading fees, miners or blocks. For every transaction you make, your processing power is used to validate two other transactions, making every Iota owner also an Iota “miner.”
Essentially, Iota focuses on becoming the backbone for secure machine-to-machine payments in the Internet of Things economy and is unique in that it is hailed as the first crypto created without the use of a blockchain. Instead, it is based on a distributed ledger architecture called “The Tangle,” an innovation that is credited for allowing Iota to achieve three major crypto milestones: zero-cost transactions, offline transactions, and infinite scalability.
Word of its latest partnership with Microsoft just gave it a big boost and propelled it into the top tier of the most valuable cryptos.
The maximum supply of MIOTA is just under 2.8 billion, and the entire maximum supply is currently in circulation.
Bitcoin Cash
Market cap: $45.61 billion
Performance in 2017 (since start of trading in July): +623%
Who created it? Bitcoin Cash was created by a team of people who forked the bitcoin blockchain ledger. It is now controlled by multiple independent teams of developers.
The skinny: Bitcoin Cash is among the newest of the cryptocurrencies, developed in August of 2017 as a hard fork of bitcoin. What’s that? Essentially a new version of bitcoin that’s incompatible with bitcoin.
Bitcoin Cash was created as some users were frustrated by high fees and slow processing times. Because Bitcoin Cash has a greater block size limit, its creators say the cryptocurrency has more capacity to handle transactions with lower fees and faster confirmations. On the other side of that reasoning, though, are the bitcoin loyalists who believe that increasing block sizes endangers the cryptocurrency’s decentralized nature. The philosophical divide between bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash was aptly described by Forbes as “Cypherpunk Vs. Silicon Valley.”
The biggest challenge facing Bitcoin Cash right now is adoption: For it to be valuable, it needs to convince businesses to accept both bitcoin AND the rival payment network. It also needs to convince miners to participate in the transaction-clearing process.
In mid-November, Bitcoin Cash briefly topped Ethereum’s market cap to become the second-most valuable crypto. Since then it’s fallen back into third place. Its circulating supply is currently at 16.8 million, out of a maximum supply of 21 million.
Want news about Asia delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Asia Daily newsletter. Sign up here.Jamie Vardy is the Premier League top scorer: Can he keep it up?
Jamie Vardy has scored nine goals in nine Premier League games
Leicester City's Jamie Vardy is the Premier League's top scorer with nine goals, but can he keep up his remarkable goalscoring form? Adam Bate takes an in-depth look...
The list of top scorers in Europe's major leagues brings up some familiar names. There's the Bayern Munich duo of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller. Barcelona forward Neymar is up there. But it's the presence of Jamie Vardy that really stands out.
The Leicester and England forward has nine goals already this season, three clear of last year's Premier League top scorer Sergio Aguero who is among a group of players with six to his name. That achievement has earned the praise of Sky Sports pundit and England assistant Gary Neville.
"It's a massive return that, scoring nine goals at this stage of the season," Neville told Monday Night Football. "If he can maintain that, he's got all the qualities you'd want in respect of a centre-forward."
Vardy can join Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy by becoming only the eighth Premier League player to net in seven consecutive games if he scores against Crystal Palace this weekend. But can Vardy keep this up?
Encouragingly, much of the underlying data is positive. Vardy's success appears to be no freak sequence but instead a by-product of the qualities that he brings. Here we examine some of the reasons for optimism…
Goals in Europe’s major leagues in 2015/16 Player Club Goals Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 12 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund 10 Jamie Vardy Leicester City 9 Thomas Muller Bayern Munich 9 Neymar Barcelona 8
TEAM APPROACH
Leicester have been a revelation in the Premier League so far this season, not only with their impressive results that have taken them into the top six, but also the manner of their performances. They have even recovered from two goals down on three separate occasions.
"You talk about the Premier League being fast-paced, high tempo, yet over the last two or three years you've seen a slowing down of that tempo," added Neville. "But when you watch Leicester every game it feels like what you would call old-style Premier League."
Leicester City have shown an impressive team ethic this season
In a team game, any player is reliant on those around him. As a result, Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri deserves considerable credit for facilitating Vardy's fine form. Specifically, he has actively encouraged Leicester to play this attacking game.
"I'm an Italian but I'm a strange Italian," said Ranieri. "I would never take 0-0 beforehand. Since I've been here, only once, in a friendly match, have we maintained a clean sheet. This is our weakness, but it's also important to score one more goal than the other team."
Unusually for a player at a team outside the accepted elite, Vardy is at a club committed to open, risk-taking football. If Ranieri sticks with that approach, it should ensure that the chances continue to come Vardy's way.
Premier League 2015/16 - Goals Player Club Goals Jamie Vardy Leicester City 9 Sergio Aguero Manchester City 6 Alexis Sanchez Arsenal 6 Georginio Wijnaldum Newcastle United 6
CONVERSION RATE
When the chances come, can Vardy be relied upon to finish them? "Where you would have talked about Jamie Vardy last season would have been 'will he score a high percentage ratio of his shots when he gets them"," said Neville. "He's doing that now.
"What he's added this year is a higher level of technical ability, the confidence and belief is there and with that comes the goals." That theory is supported by Vardy's healthy conversion rate of 30 per cent of his shots this season.
Jamie Vardy scored twice against Southampton in Leicester's last outing
But crucially, for those questioning whether he can continue to score so freely, while we might expect that number to come down, it is not a ludicrously unrepeatable rate.
By way of comparison, prior to his unfortunate injury, Callum Wilson had scored with 63 per cent of his shots, while Anthony Martial struck with three of his first four Premier League shots. It is clear that both players would need to up their scoring opportunities in order to continue finding the net so regularly.
In contrast, even if Vardy's conversion rate was 17.7 per cent - the current average among Premier League strikers - he would still have scored five goals this season. To put it another way, even if Vardy's finishing had been average, only three men would have scored more.
Premier League 2015/16 - Shots on target Player Club Shots on target Jamie Vardy Leicester City 17 Alexis Sanchez Arsenal 15 Sergio Aguero Manchester City 14
SHOTS BRING GOALS
The reason for this is that Vardy has had more shots on target than any other player in the Premier League this season -- and the link between shooting and scoring is an obvious one. Aguero had the most shots on target as well as the most goals in 2014/15.
Jamie Vardy has had more shots on target than anyone else in the Premier League
One of Vardy's great strengths in this regard is that he's a difficult man to restrict to one foot and boasts impressive willingness to compete aerially too. "He's scored all types of goals this season," said Neville. "He's very good in the air, aggressive and brave."
There are only three Premier League strikers to have scored with both feet and their head so far this season -- Vardy, Aguero and Romelu Lukaku. But Vardy is the only man in the country to have scored at least twice with his left foot, right foot and head. It's tough to stop.
Premier League 2015/16 - Clear-cut chances missed Player Club Clear-cut chances missed Sergio Aguero Manchester City 6 Olivier Giroud Arsenal 6 Theo Walcott Arsenal 6 Jamie Vardy Leicester City 5 Alexis Sanchez Arsenal 5
QUALITY AND QUANTITY
It's Vardy's exceptional movement that helps him. That great pace - recent evidence suggests he's the fastest man in the Premier League - makes it difficult to prevent him finding freedom on the pitch.
"Jamie attacks and breaks the line all the time and it's very good for us," said Ranieri. Vardy has had more touches of the ball in the opposition penalty box than any other striker so it shouldn't be hugely surprising that he ranks top for shots on target and goals too.
Curiously, what might encourage him further is that he could have scored even more goals. Prior to firing home his late equaliser against Southampton at the weekend, Vardy had actually already had a wonderful opportunity to level things up but hit the ball just over the bar.
According to Opta, Vardy is one of only five players to miss five or more clear-cut chances in the Premier League this season. Once again, he's in good company alongside Aguero. Evidently, he is getting into the right positions to receive high-quality chances and, therefore, score goals on a consistent basis.
Premier League 2015/16 - Chances created by strikers Player Club Chances created Jamie Vardy Leicester City 15 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur 13 Troy Deeney Watford 12
AND EVEN IF THE GOALS STOP…
All of the above would suggest that Vardy is capable of continuing to score goals at Premier League level. But it's worth noting that the 28-year-old broke into the England squad after scoring only five times last season. There is far more to Vardy than just goals.
The statistics support this view. Vardy ranks among the top strikers in the country when it comes to creating chances for others. In fact, according to Opta, he is the only out-and-out striker in the Premier League to have fashioned three clear-cut openings for a team-mate.
Jamie Vardy's form has been recognised by England manager Roy Hodgson
Moreover, he has a defensive role too -- making more tackles than any other Premier League centre-forward. With Leicester playing a 4-4-2 formation, this pressing is vital and, as Neville points out, helps to set the tone for the whole team when they don't have the ball.
"He's a centre-forward I think 95 per cent of teams would love to have within their pool of strikers," said Neville, "because of the fact that he sets the tempo and the tone for the rest of the team and gives no other player behind him any excuse for not working hard.
He's non-stop, never stops running. He's got massive energy. Gary Neville on Jamie Vardy
"He's always involved, he gets in where it hurts. He's non-stop [in training], never stops running. He's got massive energy and he's now starting to get the goals that he did at the lower levels of English football."
They are comments that echo those of his manager. "Jamie is positive," added Ranieri. "He is a warrior. Every ball could be the best ball. He never gives up and I love this kind of player. Anything can happen."
Anything can happen, indeed. Vardy's start to the season may have been extraordinary but the evidence is overwhelming -- it has not been a fluke. Don't be too shocked if the goals continue to go in.Syria’s opposition has condemned the signing last week of Syria’s first-ever offshore oil exploration deal, with Russia, claiming oil blocks are being swapped for weapons to attack rebel forces.
Syria signed the agreement last week with Russian oil and gas company SoyuzNefteGaz for joint oil exploration off the Mediterranean coast, in Syria’s part of the prolific Levant Basin, according to Syrian, Russian and Iranian state news agencies.
“The Coalition condemns the signing of this deal, which aims to swap the riches of our homeland for Russian weapons destined to kill the Syrian people,” the Syrian National Council said in a statement.
SoyuzNefteGaz—created in 2000 with an eye on joint ventures in the Middle East and Africa—will reportedly finance the $90 million project in Syria. If test drilling confirms commercial scale reserves of oil and gas, SoyuzNefteGaz will build the necessary infrastructure for development and extraction.
The contract is for oil exploration and production in Block 2 of Syria's territorial water, which stretches from the shore of the coastal city of Tartous to the city of Banyas and covers 2,190 square kilometers.
The contract will enter into effect immediately despite US and European sanctions against Syria.
The opposition remains suspicious of the deal, which will be fully funded by Russia, and which they claim is the Assad regimes illegal signing of a contract to drill for oil and gas in Syrian waters.
“Such a dishonorable deal is intended to give away Syria’s natural resources in exchange for Russian weapons to be used to kill Syrians,” Khalid Saleh, Syrian Coalition Media Office President, said in a press release.
Saleh said the coalition viewed the deal as “completely illegal as the Assad regime does not represent the Syrian people. Only the Syrian people can give legitimacy to a decision regarding Syria’s resources and future.”
A combination of conflict and international sanctions has reduced Syria’s oil production by 90%, while gas production has dropped from 30 million cubic meters per day to 16.7 million cubic meters per day. Much of the country’s pipeline infrastructure has also been damaged.
SoyuzNefteGaz is headed by former Russian Energy Minister Yury Shafranik, and Russia now holds the keys to power brokerage in Syria since the US opted out of air strikes and signed on to a Russian plan for a resolution of the conflict.
Syria is one of Russia’s last Middle East strongholds and serves as a base for the Russian Navy.
Israel has already made significant discoveries in the Levant Basin, while Lebanon is preparing for exploration and its first offshore auction but political crisis is holding up key legislation that would make this possible.
By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.comBlack woman tries to enter a Donald Trump campaign event in Boca Raton, Florida (YouTube)
In video released this week, a police officer is seen telling a group of black people that Donald Trump’s campaign has banned them from a rally in Boca Raton — while a white man, who admits he is a protester, is allowed to enter.
On Monday, Sun Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo reported that he was threatened with incarceration when he tried to film attendees leaving Trump’s Sunday Boca Raton rally early.
A video posted to YouTube on Monday by Bob Smith revealed that Mayo was not the only one who had a run-in with authorities who said they were doing the bidding of the Trump campaign.
In the video, an officer explains to a group of black attendees — including a woman wearing a head covering — that they are not welcome to enter the event, but he says they can voice their opinions in “an area on the other side of the street.”
“We have tickets to the event,” the woman explains.
“That does not matter,” the officer replies.
“But you don’t even know that we’re here to protest,” the woman notes.
“Does not matter,” the officer insists.
“So, she’s black and she’s wearing something on her head and she has tickets and you’re not letting her in?” Smith interrupts.
“Where did you hear me say that?” the officer asks. “The campaign has told us they don’t want them on the property.”
“What if I have tickets?” Smith presses. “I’m here to protest. And I have tickets.”
“Okay,” the officer shrugs.
“So he gets to go in?” the woman says as Smith walks past the officer into the Trump event.
Smith added this observation on his YouTube page: “If you are young and not white you have a good chance of being turned away from a Trump rally.”
Watch the video below.President Trump’s approval numbers have fallen to an all-time low throughout his roughly six months in office, according to a recently released survey.
Only 38 percent of likely voters approve of the president’s job performance while 62 percent disapprove, a Rasmussen Reports survey published Wednesday shows.
The latest figures for Trump include 25% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 50% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -25. (Rasmussen Reports)
This makes him more unpopular than President Obama ever was. Trump’s approval ratings this week are worse than any of Obama’s during his eight years in office.
The numbers come after a rough few weeks at the White House, with several staffing shakeups and drama aplenty.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned in protest of then-Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci being hired. But Scaramucci was only in the position 11 days before he was given the boot over his profanity-laced tirade against then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza. Priebus was also replaced by former Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. And Sarah Huckabee Sanders took over as White House Press Secretary.
The poll will likely be unsettling for Trump, who has lauded Rasmussen Reports in the past as being “one of the most accurate in the 2016 Election.”
The right-leaning poll has tended to return higher approval rating numbers for the president compared to those taken by other polling firms, The Hill notes.
This week’s poll sampled 1,500 likely voters and has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.The exchange of Israeli air strikes and Palestinian rocket fire has continued to escalate into a third day, as health officials in Gaza reported that the deadliest pre-dawn bombardment yet has killed five children from the same family.
Pictures from the embattled district of Khan Younis showed Palestinian police picking through the rubble of two adjacent houses which had been the home to an extended family – eight of whom are now dead, the health ministry said.
The Palestinian death toll has now risen to at least 75, according to a count from Associated Press reporters. There have been no casualties on the Israeli side.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
There are fears that the Israeli offensive could be scaled up to a full ground invasion in the coming days. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers have been seen massing close to the Gaza border.
Israel’s military says it is acting to stamp out the persistent barrage of rockets fired on its southern territories by Gaza militants. It said at least 320 had been fired since the campaign began on Tuesday, and defence spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner tweeted this morning using the hashtag “IsraelUnderFire”.
Video: Palestinians condemn Gaza attacks
He said the missile defence system Iron Dome had intercepted rockets launched at the cities of Beersheba and Ashkelon overnight, adding: “We are putting the pressure up every day. Is it leading a to a ground force incursion? I still can't confirm that will actually happen. I can confirm that we are making all necessary preparations in order to be ready for that.”
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, will today address the Security Council to update them on the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence since an eight-day war was fought in 2012.
He said he spent yesterday speaking to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – as well as other regional leaders – to try and push for a ceasefire.
“This is one of the most critical tests the region has faced in recent years,” Mr Ban said.
“Gaza is on a knife-edge. The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get beyond anyone's control.”
Israel has said it will continue its offensive until rockets stop coming from Gaza. It said it hit more than 300 targets including Hamas positions, rocket-launchers and weapon storage sites – but Reuters reported that at least 50 of those killed on the Palestinian side have been civilians.
“Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing toward Israeli citizens,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The operation will expand and continue until the fire toward our towns stops and quiet returns.”
Yuval Steinitz, Israel's intelligence minister, said he believed a “significant operation” involving ground troops was imminent, even though there would inevitably be heavy casualties on both sides.
He said: “Despite the fact it will be hard, complicated and costly, we will have to take over Gaza temporarily, for a few weeks, to cut off the strengthening of this terror army.”
Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Israel launches further air strikes on Gaza Show all 105 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Israel launches further air strikes on Gaza 1/105 Israeli border with Gaza Israeli soldiers rest next to artillery shells from an artillery unit near the Israeli border with Gaza 2/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinian mourners pray in a mosque during the funeral for those killed in a three-storey house belonging to the Abu Jamaa family the day before, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip 3/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinian mourners pray over five bodies, all from the Halaq family, during their funeral in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images 4/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border The aunt of Palestinian boy Mohammed Ayad, who medics said was killed during heavy Israeli shelling, mourns as she looks at his body during his funeral in Gaza City 5/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Two Palestinian men flee their homes during a temporary ceasefire in the heavily-hit Shuja’iya neighbourhood in Gaza City EPA 6/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinian women react next to the rubble of their relatives' house, which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 7/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinians gather as a bulldozer searches for victims amongst the rubble of a house, which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 8/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinians paramedics lift the body of a man from the Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during a brief period of ceasefire requested by local rescue forces to retrieve dead and wounded from the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood in east Gaza City 9/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border An Israeli soldier gestures on a Merkava tank, as part of the Israeli army deployment near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip 10/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Palestinian Beisan Dhahir (7) sleeps at Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Beisan's home was shelled and collapsed by Israel's military operation in Shijaiyah in the Gaza Strip. She survived the ordeal with her aunt and uncle. Beisan's mother, father, brother, sister and baby sister all died in the attack 11/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border A picture taken from Israel at the southern border with the Gaza strip shows smoke billowing from behind a hill following an Israeli air strike on Gaza City 12/105 Palestinians clashes with Israeli Palestinians clashes with Israeli troops following the protest against the Israeli operations in Gaza at the al-Jalazone Camp in Ramallah, West Bank 13/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border An Israeli soldier sleeps on a tank near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Saturday 19 July, taking the death toll from a 12-day bombardment to 324 Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images 14/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli Gaza Border Sderot, Israel: Soldiers are seen advancing towards the Israeli-Gaza border during an operation near Sderot, Israel. As operation 'Protective Edge' enters its 12th day, over 300 Gazans have been killed along with three Israeli soldiers Andrew Burton/Getty Images 15/105 Tensions Remain High At Israeli-Gaza Border Palestinians walk past a building that was destroyed nearby their house following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip killed 11 people early on 19 July, medics said, on day 12 of a major operation against the Palestinian territory AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS/Getty Images 16/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian men help a local journalist who got injured during an Israeli airstrike on an office building hosting several media outlets in Gaza City 17/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians help an injured colleague to leave a building hit by an Israeli air strike on Gaza City 18/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians leave their neighborhood to a safer location after Israel's army stared its ground offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip 19/105 Israeli Gaza border Israeli soldiers seen along the border with Gaza before the attack Getty Images 20/105 Southern Gaza Strip An Israeli missile strikes in Gaza City Getty Images 21/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians run for shelter as they hear bombing in the distance while they flee their homes in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City, after Israel had airdropped leaflets warning people to leave the area 22/105 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives of 4 Palestinian children killed in Israeli airstrike while they were playing on the beach, mourn in Gaza City 23/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man cries as he holds the dead body of his young brother shortly after he got killed by an Israeli naval bombardment in the port of Gaza City in the morgue of the Shifa hospital in Gaza 24/105 Southern Gaza Strip Young relatives of four boys, all from the Bakr family, killed during Israeli shelling, cry during their funeral in Gaza City AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABEDMOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images 25/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian employees of Gaza City's al-Deira hotel carry a wounded boy following an Israeli military strike nearby on the beach THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images 26/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man reads a leaflet dropped by Israeli Defense Forces over the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood in east Gaza. The paper says residents of the area are supposed to leave the area immediately and seek shelter in the center of Gaza City before the Israeli airforce will commence airstrikes. According to Israeli sources 100,000 people were notified to flee, only a few did 27/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian children run to collect leaflets dropped by Israeli Defense Forces over the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood in east Gaza City 28/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians salvage what they can of their belongings from the rubble of their destroyed house following an early morning Israeli missile strike in Gaza City 29/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man looks at a house destroyed by Israeli Defense Forces during an overnight air strike in Gaza City 30/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man stands amidst the debris of the house of senior Hamas official Mahmud al-Zahar which was destroyed by Israeli Defense Forces in an air strike in Gaza City 31/105 Israeli Gaza border Palestinians search a destroyed house following an Israeli missile strike in Rafah 32/105 Israeli Gaza border A man walks near the Israeli Gaza border 33/105 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises from a Palestinian house during an attack by Israeli missiles in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel bombed 40 more targets in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militants launched at least 20 rockets across the border, despite a call by UN Secretary-General for a truce. The death toll rose to over 170 on the seventh day of the Israeli offensive, with more than 1,200 wounded, a Gaza Health Ministry spokesman said 34/105 Israeli Gaza border A photo taken from the southern Israeli Gaza border shows Israeli army flares falling into the Palestinian enclave. Israel's security cabinet was to meet early on July 15 to discuss Egyptian proposals for a truce in Gaza, a senior official said, as an aerial campaign against Hamas entered its eighth day 35/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian elderly walks past a destroyed house in the north of Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip 36/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian baby Abdullah Abu Halib, wounded during an Israeli airstrike, is treated at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis 37/105 Southern Gaza Strip The funeral ceremony of three members of El-Muammer family, killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, is held in Khan Yunis 38/105 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives carry the body of 3-year-old Palestinian boy Moayad al-Araj, who hospital officials said were killed in an Israeli air strike, during his funeral in Khan Younis 39/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian relatives mourn during the funeral of four members of the Moamer family, including a 26-year-old militant of the Hamas movement, during their funeral in southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah 40/105 Southern Gaza Strip A young Palestinian boy walks over debris from a house that was destroyed in an airstrike in Deir Al Balah 41/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian boys inspect the damage in a mosque that was destroyed overnight by an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al Balah 42/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out after an Israeli air strike hit a car in Gaza City 43/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians gather around a firing car following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 44/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man walks next to a destroyed house following Israeli missile strike in Gaza City 45/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians gather around the remains of a house, which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Rafah 46/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians carry the body of three-year-old Mohammed Mnassrah who was killed along with his parents and brother in an airstrike, during his funeral in Al Maghazi refugee camp in the eastern Gaza Strip 47/105 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives and friends of al-Hajj family mourn as they gather in a mosque to pray over the bodies of the eight family members during their funeral in Khan Yunis 48/105 Israel A smoke and fire billowing from an Israeli gas station after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Palestinian Gaza Strip 49/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian firefighter hoses a boat hit in an missile strike at the port in Gaza City 50/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian firefighter hoses a boat damaged by an missile strike at the port in Gaza City 51/105 Southern Gaza Strip The destroyed house of the Palestinian Abu Lealla family following an Israeli airstrike north of Gaza City 52/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of a house after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City 53/105 Israel Israeli fire-fighters extinguish a fire that broke out after a rocket hit a petrol station in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod 54/105 Israel Israeli fire fighters extinguish vehicles destroyed by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip that hit a gas station in the city of Ashdod 55/105 Israel Israeli fire fighters extinguish vehicles destroyed by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in the city of Ashdod 56/105 Israel Israeli firefighters try to extinguish the fire from several cars that were damaged by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip that hit a gas station in the southern city of Ashdod 57/105 Israel Firefighters try to douse a fire from a rocket that hit a Petrol station in Ashdod 58/105 Southern Gaza Strip A ball of fire is seen following an air strike on Rafah in the southern of Gaza strip 59/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire from a building following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 60/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man walks on the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 61/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians carry bodies of seven people killed in a strike during their funeral in Khan Younis refugee camp 62/105 Southern Gaza Strip Israel launched the military operation 'Protective Edge', which came in response to a renewed wave of rockets out of the Gaza Strip, for some of which Palestinian group Hamas has claimed responsibility. There have been more than 120 Israeli airstrikes in the coastal enclave, according to Palestinian sources, while hundreds of rockets and mortar shells have landed in southern Israel. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the offensive, named Protective Edge, could grow into a 'ground mission if required' 63/105 Southern Gaza Strip Flames engulf a building hit by an Israeli air strike 64/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect damages following an Israeli air strike 65/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian rescuers check a car hit by an Israeli air strike killing the driver in Gaza City 66/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman runs carrying a girl following what police said was an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza city 67/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians sitting on a street react after a deadly Israeli air strike that targeted their house in the town of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip 68/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian relatives mourn during the funeral of members of Hamad family in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip 69/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man carries his wounded daughter into the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli air strike 70/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians stand on the edge of a crater as others look for people under the rubble of a house that was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 71/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian removes rubble near a damaged building belonging to a senior Hamas official following an Israeli missile strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip 72/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians collect their belongings from the rubble of their house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Rafah 73/105 Southern Gaza Strip Beit Hanoun, a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip, hit by Israeli airstrike, West Bank 74/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man removes blooded cushions from an outdoors sitting area following an Israeli air strike in Beit Hanun 75/105 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives and friends of the al-Kaware family carry one of the 7 members of the family to the mosque during their funeral in Khan Yunis 76/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian boy who was injured in an Israeli airstrike, sits next to his mother after receiving treatment at a hospital in Khan Younis 77/105 Southern Gaza Strip A picture taken from the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing after an Israeli air strike in the Palestinian coastal enclave 78/105 Southern Gaza Strip Wounded Palestinians are taken to hospitals after Israel airstrikes targeted different points of Gaza city 79/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian boy cries as he receives treatment at a hospital after he was injured in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis 80/105 Southern Gaza Strip Two Palestinian girls inspect the ruble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah refugee camp 81/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman makes her way through debris as people inspect the remains of a house belonging to a member of the Islamist Hamas movement following an Israeli air strike in the Gaza strip town of Khan Yunis 82/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man searches for belongings under the rubble of a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 83/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian men carry a pumpkin and watermelon as they walk across the rubble 84/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians stand atop the rubble of a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike 85/105 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises after an attack of Israeli aircraft in the South of Gaza City 86/105 Southern Gaza Strip The father of killed Hamas militant Rashad Yassin (28) arrives at the morgue of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza strip 87/105 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke and flames are seen following what police said was an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip 88/105 Southern Gaza Strip Fire fighters extinguish a vehicle targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City 89/105 Southern Gaza Strip Wounded people are taken to the hospital in Gaza city 90/105 Southern Gaza Strip A smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the Palestinian coastal enclave 91/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian girls in the rubble of the destroyed home of the Al Abadlla family following an Israeli airstrike in Khanyounis, southern Gaza Strip 92/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of a house after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip 93/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect destroyed area as smoke rises from the ruins in Khan Yunis after the Israeli airstrikes aiming Gaza 94/105 Israel The Iron Dome air-defense system fires to intercept a rocket over the city of Ashdod. Due to recent escalation in the region, the Israeli army started new deployments at the border with the Gaza Strip 95/105 Israel An Israeli soldier performs a morning prayer in an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip 96/105 Southern Gaza Strip A woman stands inside her destroyed house in Khan Yunis 97/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect destroyed area in Khan Yunis after the Israeli airstrikes aiming Gaza 98/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian men carry an injured person into Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital following an Israeli air strike 99/105 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises following what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 100/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians collect their belongings from damaged houses after an Israeli missile strike hit Gaza City 101/105 Southern Gaza Strip The Israeli air force launched dozens of raids on the Gaza Strip after massive rocket fire from the enclave pounded southern Israel, leaving many people injured 102/105 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian girl stands in a destroyed building following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City 103/105 Southern Gaza Strip A destroyed building in seen following an Israeli military strike in in Khan Yunis, in the soutehrn Gaza Strip 104/105 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians march during funeral of Palestinian Marwan Sleem in the central Gaza Strip 105/105 Southern Gaza Strip Israeli soldiers ride atop a tank outside the southern Gaza Strip. Israel launched a series of air strikes on Gaza to quell Hamas rocket fire, and the Islamist group's armed wing said seven of its gunmen were killed, making it the deadliest day for Hamas since a 2012 cross-border war with the Jewish state 1/105 Israeli border with Gaza Israeli soldiers rest next to artillery shells from an artillery unit near the
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drivers “without the driver.” But he knew too well the outlaw life.
His troubles began in 1944, when a joy riding trip to Kansas City turned into a crime spree involving armed robberies and car theft. Berry served three years of a 10-year sentence at a reformatory.
In the early 1960s, his career was nearly destroyed when he was indicted for violating the Mann Act, which barred transportation of a minor across state lines for “immoral purposes.” There were two trials: the first so racist that a guilty verdict was vacated, and the second leading to prison time, 1 1/2 years of a three-year term. Berry continued to record after getting out, and his legacy was duly honored by the Beatles and the Stones, but his hit-making days were essentially over.
“Down from stardom/then I fell/to this lowly prison cell,” Berry wrote in his journal as his jail time began.
Tax charges came in 1979, based on Berry’s insistence he receive concert fees in cash, and another three-year prison sentence, all but 120 days of which was suspended. Some former female employees sued him for allegedly videotaping them in the bathroom of his restaurant. The cases were settled in 1994, after Berry paid $1.3 million.
Openly money-minded, Berry was an entrepreneur with a St. Louis nightclub and, west of the city, property he dubbed Berry Park, which included a home, guitar-shaped swimming pool, restaurant, cottages and concert venue. He declined to have a regular band and instead used local musicians, willing to work cheap, wherever he performed. Springsteen was among those who had an early gig backing Berry.
Berry and his duck walk were seen in several teen exploitation flicks of the ’50s. In the 1980s, Richards organized the well-received documentary “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll,” featuring highlights from concerts at St. Louis’ Fox Theatre to celebrate Berry’s 60th birthday that included Eric Clapton, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, who recalled being told by his own mother that Berry, not he, was the true king of rock ‘n’ roll.
Burned by an industry that demanded a share of his songwriting credits, Berry was deeply suspicious of even his admirers, as anybody could tell from watching him give Richards the business in “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.” For the movie’s concerts, he confounded Richards by playing songs in different keys and tempos than they had been in rehearsal. Richards would recall turning to his fellow musicians and shrugging, “Wing it, boys.”
Berry also was the subject of countless essays and histories of rock music, but he was his own best biographer. In “Go, Go, Go,” one of many songs to feature Johnny B. Goode, he celebrates his magic on stage, an act irresistible to young and old, boy and girl, dog and cat.
Duckwalkin’ on his knees, peckin’ like a hen
Lookin’ like a locomotive, here he comes again
Meow said the kitty, puppy bow, wow, wow
Go and pick your guitar, Johnny don’t stop now,
oh baby
___Xiaomi's previous generation Redmi Note series had received a tremendous response in India as it came with top notch features, and there was hardly any competition to match it in the budget segment. Now, Xiaomi, in a bid to further get a grip on the budget phone segment, has introduced the well-crafted Redmi Note 3, which not only focuses on performance and battery life, but also on design language, photography and security.
We have been using Redmi Note 3 for more than three weeks and it has impressed in almost all aforementioned aspects.
Here's our take on Redmi Note 3:
Design and build quality (4.5/5):
Most of previous Xiaomi devices used to boast top-end internal hardware but were visually not so appealing. However, in 2016, Xiaomi has done a great job with the new phablet. The Redmi Note 3, in our opinion, is the best looking mid-range device out there in the Indian market.
The new phablet features metal-based unibody design and is curvier compared to its predecessor. On the back, its smooth metal cover is of top-notch quality and thanks to sand-blasted matte finish, its gives a good grip for the hand to hold on the phone and it also repels smudges caused by sweaty fingers.
Though there are two hard plastic strips -- one each on top and the bottom (to allow antennas receive uninterrupted signal), it's very hard to see the difference when looked from a distance. The company has put brushed-metal coating on them so that they in blend with metal-cover in the middle as the make them look real.
When the Redmi Note 3 is held in hand, it's really light to hold despite use of metal for the outer shell. It weighs just 164g.
The Redmi Note 3 features fingerprint sensor on the back. It is placed below the camera module with dual LED flash for ease of access. Further down, a four-grille load speaker is placed.
On the right side, volume rockers and power buttons are placed one above the other, whereas the dual-SIM slot has been incorporated on the left side.
At the top, we find a mic, a 3.5mm audio jack and an IR sensor (to control TVs) and at the bottom, we find micro USB to left side with another mic beside it.
Display (4.5/5):
As far as display is concerned, its a treat to use Redmi Note 3 in both bright day light conditions and in dark environment as well, thanks to Sunlight display technology and Night Display mode.
For those unaware, using the Sunlight Display technology, the device intuitively adjusts brightness when it is being moved from well-lit closed environment to outdoors.
When Night Display mode is activated, the device controls Blue light emissions to prevent eye strain, while reading messages or browsing internet on the phone during the night.
Performance (4.5/5):
Xiaomi's new phablet houses Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 (ARM Cortex A72 dual-core + ARM Cortex A53 quad-core) series hexa-core SoC (System-on-Chip) with Adreno 510 graphics engine, making it the most powerful device in its class. The lower-end Redmi Note 3 (with 2GB RAM) scores an impressive 1499 and 3490 points in single-core and multi-core tests on Geekbench 3.
On 3D Mark benchmarking app, it again fared well with top-notch score of 825 points.
In AnTuTu, it scores a whopping 46,724 points, whereas the 3GB RAM model score goes north of 77,000 points range, comfortably beating the Snapdragon 810-powered OnePlus 2, Google Nexus 6P and few other flagship phones.
The phone is really quick while switching between multiple applications and there is hardly any lag when playing power-intensive games such as Asphalt 8 and others. We did feel the phone getting heated during extended gaming session, but this is not a big deal considering most phones do get hot when played for long.
Interface (4/5):
The Redmi Note 3 comes with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop based MIUI v7.0 series interface. Though it is one generation old OS, people won't miss Marshmallow features like Doze, as the phone has its own power saving features and resource optimising software conserves RAM usage and distribute power based on priority among apps (depends on type of permission).
Just a few days back, our review unit received 240MB plus update. It brought new feature, wherein user can take photo by tapping fingerprint sensor. It also brought lots of bug fixes, which were reported by users on the company's "Report Bug" application, which comes pre-loaded with every Xiaomi device.
Report Bug is one of the hallmark initiatives of Xiaomi, which make their devices so desirable.
Camera (4.5/5):
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 boasts a 16MP camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) function, dual-tone LED flash, HDR, face/smile detection, dual-ISP (Image Signal Processor).
During our tests, it performed well under bright light conditions. The phone's camera produced really good quality pictures during the day, but the device could not repeat the same feat in a closed environment.
As far as front 5MP camera is concerned, it produced fine quality selfies. You can see the Redmi Note 3's pictures below.
Battery (4.5/5):
One of the key attributes of the Redmi Note 3 is its battery. It houses a high-capacity 4050mAh battery.
During our testing, fully charged Redmi Note 3 lasted one and half days under mixed usage, which involved taking calls, occasional browsing of internet, few minutes of video playback and watching videos on YouTube for about half an hour.
If left idle, the phone was able to stay awake for more than a week.
It also boasts 5V 2A "Quick Charge" technology, where in the device gets charged to 50 percent within 30 minutes.
Honorable mention:
Besides a high-capacity battery and great design, fingerprint sensor is most notable feature of the Redmi Note 3. It takes a fraction of a second to take to fingerprint input and unlock the screen. Even the False Rejection Rate (FRR) is very low compared to other devices in the sub-Rs.12,000 price-range. Except when the finger is sweaty, biometric sensor was accurate all the time during our testing.
Verdict (4.4/5):
We used Redmi Note 3 for more than three weeks and tried to conduct every possible test to simulate normal day-to-day use and also went a step further to push the device to extreme use by playing high intense games, binge watching high resolution videos on YouTube, camera testing both in day light and night conditions. We are mighty impressed with the Xiaomi phablet. It fared well in almost all departments.
Pros:
Beautiful design language
Excellent battery life
Fingerprint sensor is of top-notch quality
Timely update for bugs
Cons:
Camera performance in dark light conditions could have been better
Key specifications of Redmi Note 3:‘Shielding Swarms’ & SETI Observables
If you’re on the Moon and learn that there has been a major solar eruption, your best course of action is to get inside an appropriate shelter somewhere below ground, where you can be shielded from its effects. By analogy, wouldn’t a future civilization on Earth be able to shield itself from the effects of a supernova or gamma ray burst by burrowing into the planet?
In their paper on stellar explosions and risk mitigation, Milan Ćirković and Branislav Vukotić argue against the idea, which runs into problems on multiple levels. For one thing, while the duration of gamma ray emissions is generally short — on the order of a hundred seconds or less — the pulse of accelerated cosmic rays from a supernova or GRB blast is likely to last much longer, perhaps a matter of months or even years.
Digging to avoid the worst of the effects would take you deep into the ground indeed. The authors cite work showing that you would need to burrow up to 3 kilometers below the surface before the incoming flux would drop to 1% of its initial value. And finally, Earth’s atmosphere could not itself be shielded this way, opening the door to ecological catastrophe.
A system-wide infrastructure involving asteroid mining and perhaps planetary colonies is likewise at risk. For all these reasons, Ćirković and Vukotić think a future or extraterrestrial civilization would choose space-based shielding in its own planetary system as a response to the threat of any nearby stellar explosion. Here the most natural building material is ice, found in great abundance in the outer Solar System. What emerges is the concept of a ‘shielding swarm’ far from the Sun whose bulk density can be adjusted as necessary.
Here the notion of ‘smart dust’ inevitably occurs, which gives us a way of describing the swarm:
…we envision a swarm of particles confined by electromagnetic forces interspersed by smart dust particles controlling the swarm and enabling more precise manipulation, in addition to controlling ionization necessary for the ice particles to be moved around. They could provide essential telemetric information and the data on conditions within the swarm necessary for self-regulation actions. Since various forms of carbon, including fullerenes, is currently thought to be the best material for building smart dust, as well as other nanotechnological applications [89], and the Kuiper Belt objects are carbon-rich, it seems natural to assume that fragmentation of the very same icy body or bodies creating the bulk of the shielding swarm might provide material for construction of smart dust particles as well.
Image: Artist’s impression of a supernova blast. Credit: NASA.
So let’s drop back to the core idea. Assuming a threatening source can be identified and its likely explosion predicted, an advanced civilization could choose the appropriate icy objects and change their orbit to reach the staging area, where construction of the swarm can begin. Such a swarm could itself reduce cosmic ray flux by several factors, while additional active shielding could be provided by the same system of electromagnetic confinement that would be used to manipulate the particles in the swarm during its formation.
Searching for Extraterrestrial Technology
When contemplating what an extraterrestrial civilization might do (or indeed, what we might ourselves do when we reach a sufficient technological level), it’s useful to consider the thought processes involved. Freeman Dyson is relevant here — we are saying that anything we can hypothesize about our own future course should apply to at least some extraterrestrial species. This is how, without understanding the intricacies of a future technology, we can make broad predictions about possible astroengineering and how we might detect it.
Searching for Dyson swarms or spheres is an example of this, the search being motivated by our belief that such a swarm would be an intelligent way of maximizing energy resources for a society around a particular star. The fact that we can imagine it — although we are a long way from being able to do it — means that more advanced cultures have probably run across the same idea, given that it contradicts no physical laws. Thus it is at least worth the attempt to figure out what a Dyson swarm would look like if we stumbled across one in our data.
In a similar way, Ćirković and Vukotić believe, it would be rational for any society to attempt to reduce large-scale risk, in this case in the event of the explosion of a close supernova. Shielding swarms of the kind the duo discuss in their paper are an extrapolation of what we, as a Kardashev 0.7 culture, might do if we had the energy and resources. Nudging forward into Kardashev 1 and beyond, we might look for signs of the presence of such swarms as a potential SETI signature around other stars. The paper suggests these possible observables:
Planetary size structures with unusually small mass and non-Keplerian motion. In other words, find something the size of a terrestrial planet but with a mass as little as 10 -8 Earth mass and suspicion should mount that it is an artifact.
Earth mass and suspicion should mount that it is an artifact. A swarming shield made predominately of ice may show unusual optical properties like polarization and non-equilibrium temperatures, as well as strong absorption in the far infrared. And this is interesting — a shield that is transiting its star would produce a small optical transit depth but a much larger infrared transit depth.
Continuing fragmentation of small bodies in a planetary system without accompanying physical causes (collisions), along with anomalous loss of kinetic energy and momentum.
Unusual observables in a planetary system occurring simultaneously with the last phases of evolution of a nearby supernova progenitor.
Image: The above two photographs are of the same part of the sky. The photo on the left was taken in 1987 during the supernova explosion of SN 1987A, while the right hand photo was taken beforehand. Supernovae are one of the most energetic explosions in nature, equivalent to the power in a 1028 megaton bomb (i.e., a few octillion nuclear warheads). Credit: NASA.
A shielding swarm of ice particles with infused ‘smart dust’ is attractive on a number of levels, not the least being that we can think of no physical laws such a swarm would violate, in sharp contrast to issues like faster than light travel or even the problems attendant on building a solid Dyson sphere (as opposed to a shell). The materials involved in a shielding swarm are those that would be available to any growing technology, and the construction and maintenance of such a swarm would be inexpensive to an advanced spacefaring culture.
…we conclude that successful mitigation of cosmic explosions risk is viable for sufficiently advanced technological societies, both future terrestrial and extraterrestrial. We suggest that building and maintaining shielding swarms of small particles/components is (relatively!) cheap and efficient way of achieving that goal and creating a durable planetary and interplanetary civilization. The technology required partially overlaps with that required for mitigation of asteroid/cometary impact risk, which could provide some clues for future technological desiderata and even convergence. Finally, this new type of macro- or astroengineering could not only enrich the spectrum of astroengineering possibilities, but also provide another opportunity for bold and innovative SETI programs to detect advanced technological civilizations elsewhere in the Galaxy.
Thus we have a possible new astroengineering signature to look for, and on that score, I think back to something Freeman Dyson said in a 1966 essay called “The Search for Extraterrestrial Technology.” Here he explains his view that if there are millions of places in the universe where light might develop, then we should not be thinking about average technological societies but those that are the most conspicuous. It is these we have the best chance to detect, and they will be the ones doing the biggest possible artificial activities.
Can we really rely on our extrapolations from our own technology to study this question? Here’s how Dyson stated the answer:
I assume that all engineering projects are carried out with technology which the human species of the year 1965 A.D. can understand. This assumption is totally unrealistic. I make it because I cannot sensibly discuss any technology which the human species does not yet understand. Obviously a technology which has existed for a million years will be likely to operate in ways which are quite different from our present ideas. However, I think this rule of allowing only technology which we already understand does not really weaken my argument. I am presenting an evidence proof for certain technological possibilities. I describe crude and clumsy methods which would be adequate for doing various things. If there are other more elegant methods for doing the same things, my conclusions will still be generally valid.
The paper is Ćirković and Vukotić, “Long-term prospects: Mitigation of supernova and gamma-ray burst threat to intelligent beings,” accepted at Acta Astronautica. No preprint yet available but I’ll insert it when it appears. The Dyson paper I quote above is F.J. Dyson, “The search for extraterrestrial technology,” in: R.E. Marshak (Ed.) Perspectives in Modern Physics, Interscience Publishers, New York, 1966, pp. 641–655.Animal Farm is the street name given to an infamous underground pornographic film containing scenes of explicit bestiality that was smuggled into Great Britain in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Most of the films starred the Danish performer Bodil Joensen.
History [ edit ]
In the early 1980s, during the British home video boom, a videocassette of indeterminate origin began to circulate in underground circles that became known simply as Animal Farm. It contained a plotless series of extremely graphic scenes of zoophilia, including acts of intercourse and fellatio performed with pigs, horses and even chickens ("avisodomy"), as well as a scene in which a woman inserts live eels into her vagina. To this day, Animal Farm remains one of the most notorious and controversial videotapes ever to find its way to British shores.[1]
The material that constitutes the Animal Farm bootleg was apparently smuggled through British Customs in the Spring of 1981 by a tourist. It found its way under the counters of various Soho stockists and was eventually prosecuted following a series of police raids — but not before countless bootlegs had gone into circulation. It was discovered that the video actually comprised several short X-rated films from the Danish company Color Climax Corporation, which had been producing a steady stream of extreme pornography since the Danish government made all pornography legal in 1969. To keep up with the growing demand for video titles, Color Climax had taken to transferring their stocks of 8 mm and 16 mm animal films onto cassette, and it was these films — mostly starring Bodil Joensen — that composed the Animal Farm video, hence its generic title (which at no point appears on the screen) and shadowy origins. It is possible that some of the material was taken from Alex de Renzy's 1971 cash-in feature Animal Lover, which actually managed a brief cinema run in the liberal atmosphere of San Francisco, and whose entire second half consists of the "distinctively amateurish, shaky, clumsily-shot lurid colour footage" familiar to anyone who has seen Animal Farm.
TV documentary [ edit ]
In April 2006, the UK station Channel 4 screened a 50-minute documentary, The Real Animal Farm, as part of their Dark Side of Porn season. Several interviewees, including David Kerekes (co-author of Killing For Culture and See No Evil), author Phil Tonge, feminist writer Germaine Greer and British pornographer Ben Dover, all confessed to having seen bootlegs of Animal Farm in the 1980s, but were apparently unaware that there was no such film – the entity referred to as such was merely a number of existing zoophilia shorts tacked together. Tonge described the owner of the copy he saw as an "evil, evil scumbag" and recalled how several "hard lads" either "left the room" or "vomited", Dover remarked that owning the bootleg was a useful aid to games of one-upmanship, since nothing could top the on-screen depravity of Joensen and her co-stars, and the normally easy-going Kerekes was moved to remark that "there's only so much filth you can wallow in...and I think Animal Farm is pretty much at the bottom of the pit." Its impact on viewers was compared to that of hearing for the first time about the Kennedy assassination.[1]
The documentary also told the story of Bodil Joensen, a psychologically traumatised young woman whose brief notoriety as the 'Queen of Bestiality' was followed by a downward spiral of alcohol abuse and prostitution before her death of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 40, and featured an interview with the Danish pornographer Ole Ege. The 1970 documentary A Summerday apparently formed at least some of the content of the Animal Farm bootleg, having been shown at the "Wet Dreams" pornography film festival beforehand.[1]I call my grandmother every evening, as I leave the office and head to the subway. At 102, Belle Littenberg is the revered matriarch of our small family: She’s generous, indomitable, beloved.
Grandma Belle was born in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1914, a few months shy of the outbreak of World War I. Six years before the 19th Amendment extended the right to vote to women. In 1936, she joined the thousands of white women who could truly exercise that right, when she cast her first vote in 1936, to reelect Franklin Roosevelt as president.
She met her husband as a camp counselor in upstate New York, and spent much of the Second World War living on an Army base with him in Jim Crow Mississippi, where he worked as a dentist. They returned to Brooklyn, where my mother and aunt were born in quick succession during the baby boom of the early 1950s.
And then, just a few years later, her husband died. Belle found herself a widow and a single mother of two, her livelihood – keeping the books at my grandfather’s practice – suddenly gone. She became a public school teacher, for the schedule, the pension and because of limited options that a married woman faced (even one with a Bachelor’s degree). She also wanted to be of service and spent years teaching and working as a guidance counselor. Belle fell in love with a math teacher and married him, adding two stepchildren to her brood.
Chloe Angyal Grandma Belle and her eldest daughter, the author's mother, circa 1966.
As her daughters grew up and prepared to leave their home in Long Island, New York City, a new feminist movement was brewing, hinting at the monumental shifts that would soon arrive. A cascade of legal and cultural changes that would begin reshaping the nation, opening up opportunities for a new generation that were barely imaginable when Belle was a girl. Soon women would take to the streets, raging against their restraints, demanding their fair share. Belle watched as her daughters reaped the benefits of this brave new world, sat in the audience as my mother became one of the first few hundred women to graduate from Yale. She watched, she worked, she was widowed yet again.
Belle retired from teaching and began volunteering, playing more bridge and taking more trips, but still determined to serve. One of the things she likes least about old age is that she can no longer volunteer. “I feel as though I still have something I can contribute,” she told me, shortly after turning in 102 May.
In the 1980s, grandchildren arrived, all five of them girls, all five of them born into a world of post-Second Wave feminism. We grew up taking for granted rights and opportunities our mothers had marched for, imagining giant lives for ourselves in a way that Belle wasn’t permitted. My sister and I were raised on the other side of the world, and my family made annual trips to Belle’s house off Rockaway Turnpike, where my sister and I put on dance performances on the pea-green shag carpet and got to know our mom’s mother.
When I moved from Australia to America’s East Coast over a decade ago, I relished my new proximity to Belle – what a luxury to be able to visit her whenever I want, and without spending 20 hours on a plane. There are no dance performances now. Instead, I cook her dinner, and we play Scrabble. She is fiercely competitive, and keeps a list of obscure two- and three-letter words tucked inside her official Scrabble dictionary. My grandmother is unafraid of playing filthy words, and once beat my father at the 11th hour by scooping up a triple word score for one with an F (four points), a C (three points), and a K (5 points).
Chloe Angyal Grandma Belle samples a meal cooked for her by the author.
In April last year, I sat with Grandma Belle and watched her witnessing Hillary Clinton announce on television that she was launching a campaign to become the first woman to be president of the United States.
I hadn’t planned the visit to coincide with the campaign launch but, sitting on my grandmother’s bed as the crowd on Roosevelt Island cheered and waved, I was grateful for the fortuitous timing.
As the primaries wore on, I asked her who she’d be voting for. And she said she was backing the woman who was once her senator. “Because she’s very well-qualified,” Belle said. “She’s been in government and knows what goes on in politics. And she’s a woman.”
Chloe Angyal
It has been unexpectedly moving for me to watch Clinton run, but in hindsight, it makes sense that her candidacy struck the emotional chord it did. She’s a woman of my mother’s vintage, who, like my mom, has spent her life navigating a sexist culture, changing herself in the ways she must in order to make the change she wishes to see.
When Clinton keeps her cool answering a condescending question, I’m reminded that my mother has spent decades honing the same skill. When Clinton smiles through an insult from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, I recognize her expression, that pleasant and well-practiced mask concealing what I can only assume is righteous, rightful fury. I see my mother. Belle sees her daughter. “She’s like your mother,” she told me a few days after the final presidential debate. “She’s tough. She’s not taking anything from him.”
Clinton’s performances in the debates have particularly impressed Belle and Trump’s attempts to belittle, while dominate his way through the three head-to-heads has unnerved her. The evening after the second debate, we talked about how Trump had prowled the stage, crowded into Clinton’s space and into every camera shot he could. Belle was in awe that the former New York senator could continue articulating policy positions despite such sinister distractions.
As Nov. 8 draws near, and Clinton’s chances of winning rise to near-certain levels, my daily calls with Belle have become increasingly tinged with excitement and exhilaration. And with pride. “I’m so proud that after all this time, we’re going to do this,” she told me last week. “I have waited for this for so long.” A few weeks ago, she proudly voted for Clinton and mailed in her ballot. “She’s not perfect,” she told me. “But I know she’ll do a good job.”
On election night, I’ll make the journey out to her place yet again ― this time, the timing is deliberate ― and we’ll raise a glass to the end of a bitter campaign, and, hopefully, the beginning of a new American era.
Belle didn’t think she’d live to see a woman elected to the White House, and she’s had to live an exceptionally long life in order to witness it. She has watched as the world has changed around her – as wars remade maps and movements swept the nation, as we celebrated one milestone of progress after another. She remembers the progressive activist Frances Perkins, who became FDR’s Secretary of Labor. She remembers Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice. She remembers the pioneering gay rights activist Harvey Milk. She witnessed Sandra Day O’Connor be appointed to the Supreme Court, Madeleine Albright become secretary of state and President Barack Obama elected as the nation’s first African-American commander-in-chief.Hi! I'm Nicolas and I'm interested in information visualization, JavaScript and web standards. I currently work as a Data Visualization Scientist at Twitter. I wrote PhiloGL, the JavaScript InfoVis Toolkit and V8-GL
Our entry for Google's Data Visualization Challenge
Posted in: javascript infovis toolkit, visualization
Launch the Visualization by clicking here! (browsers supported are the latest of Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari -not IE).
Luz Caballero and I have been working together for a couple of weeks to create an interesting visualization for Google’s Data Visualization Challenge.
Every year, Americans fill out income tax forms and make a payment to the IRS. Where does it all go? Using data provided by WhatWePayFor.com, we created a data visualization that will make it easier to understand how the government spends our tax money.
The Visualization
We want to help people grasp what these millions and billions mean… 43.03M on Federal aid to highways… is that too much or too little? The Federal Budget is traditionally divided in 20 “functions” that, under names like “National Defense” or “Energy,” show the purposes to which money is allocated. Our goal is to show not only how much money is spent for each function on a given year, but also
How does that compare to other functions? What are our priorities? Would cutting this give us money enough to fund that?
What are our priorities? Would cutting this give us money enough to fund that? How has the amount spent on each function changed over the years? Hopefully this should give us all an idea on what has traditionally been considered normal highway spending ;)
Hopefully this should give us all an idea on what has traditionally been considered normal highway spending ;) Where does the money allocated to each function finally go? (Because we would never have guessed that we would find a USD 150M bailout under “Other advancement of commerce”!)
This visualization is made of two components. First, a tree layout shows, for each given year, how the budget (blue) is divided on each function (green), subfunction (yellow), and “account” (the most granular subdivision accounted for in the budget, which gives an idea of the use to which the money is put) (red):
The hegiht of each node/section in the tree is proportional to the amount of the budget spent on that function, subfunction or “account”. You can click on the nodes to navigate and filter functions and subfunctions. To go back you can right-click or click in the back arrow on the left of the visualization.
The second component of the application is a timeline that puts the amounts you are visualizing in the tree in a temporal context, showing the evolution of that particular spending category through time. Click on the bars representing the different years to navigate through time.
We wanted to allow our users to compare today’s spending to the 80s’ without artifacts caused by inflation, and changes in population and GDP. This is why our visualization shows inflation-adjusted USD, gives you the the option to see spending in USD, in USD per capita, or as a percentage of the time’s GDP. Plus, we wanted to give our users a good shot at pinpointing if/when spending changes are a consequence of government policy or of the economic climate. This is why you can overlay indicators like debt, GDP, inflation and yr/yr population change, to give you an idea of how they affect and are influenced by spending trends.
Interaction
What makes this application most interesting is the interaction between the components, which are tightly coupled.
When a function is selected, the timeline will adapt to show the budget spending trend for that particular function over the years.
When clicking on a timeline element, the tree will animate to show how the budget is spent on each function, subfunction and account, for the selected year.
If you are interested in comparing how the budget changed between two different moments in time, there is an option to transition between years using colors, red and green, to highlight a decrease or increase of total budget spending for each item.
Demo Video
We created a video that shows how to navigate and filter data and some interesting finds we made using our visualization. Click here to see the video in HD.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the people who gave us feedback on this visualization and helped us to improve it. Thanks for your help!
Click here to access the visualization!
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DisqusIn this week’s Clojure Cookbook preview recipe, we’ll be taking a look at tools.cli, a nifty core library for parsing command-line arguments.
This recipe was really fun to write because of how simple tools.cli is. Since parsing string arguments is decomplected from the actual act of running a program at the command-line, it is completely possible to build and test a tools.cli parser at the REPL.
I highly encourage you to follow along with this one.
Parsing Command-Line Arguments
by Ryan Neufeld; originally submitted by Nicolas Bessi
Problem
You want to write command-line tools in Clojure that can parse input arguments.
Solution
Use the tools.cli library.
Before starting, add [org.clojure/tools.cli "0.2.4"] to your project’s dependencies, or start a REPL using lein-try :
$ lein try org.clojure/tools.cli
Use the clojure.tools.cli/cli function in your project’s -main function entry point to parse command-line arguments. Since tools.cli is so cool, this example can run entirely at the REPL.
( require'[ clojure.tools.cli :refer [ cli ]]) ( defn -main [ & args ] ( let [[ opts args banner ] ( cli args [ "-h" "--help" "Print this help" :default false :flag true ])] ( when ( :help opts ) ( println banner )))) ;; Simulate entry into -main at the command line ( -main "-h" ) ;; *out* ;; Usage: ;; ;; Switches Default Desc ;; `````` ```--- ``` ;; -h, --no-help, --help false Print this help
Discussion
Clojure’s tools.cli is a simple library, with only one function, cli, and a slim data-oriented API for specifying how arguments should be parsed. Handily enough, there isn’t much special about this function: an arguments vector and specifications go in, and a map of parsed options, variadic arguments, and a help banner come out. It’s really the epitome of good, composable functional programming.
To configure how options are parsed, pass any number of spec vectors after the args list. To specify a :port parameter, for example, you would provide the spec ["-p" "--port"]. The "-p" isn’t strictly necessary, but it is customary to provide a single-letter shortcut for command-line options (especially long ones). In the returned opts map, the text of the last option name will be interned to a keyword (less the -- ). For example, "--port" would become :port, and "--super-long-option" would become :super-long-option.
If you’re a polite command-line application developer, you’ll also include a description for each of your options. Specify this as an optional string following the final argument name:
[ "-p" "--port" "The incoming port the application will listen on." ]
Everything after the argument name and description will be interpreted as options in key/value pairs. tools.cli provides the following options:
:default : The default value returned in the absence of user input. Without specifying, the default of :default is nil.
:flag : If truthy (not false or nil ), indicates an argument behaves like a flag or switch. This argument will not take any value as its input.
:parse-fn : The function used to parse an argument’s value. This can be used to turn string values into integers, floats, or other data types.
:assoc-fn : The function used to combine multiple values for a single argument.
Here’s a complete example:
( def app-specs [[ "-n" "--count" :default 5 :parse-fn # ( Integer. % ) :assoc-fn max ] [ "-v" "--verbose" :flag true :default true ]]) ( first ( apply cli [ "-n" "2" "-n" "50" ] app-specs )) ;; -> {:count 50, :verbose true} ( first ( apply cli [ "--no-verbose" ] app-specs )) ;; -> {:count 5, :verbose false}
When writing flag options, a useful shortcut is to omit the :flag option and add a “ [no-] ” prefix to the argument’s name. cli will interpret this argument spec as including :flag true without you having to specify
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-reported. Self-reported measures of height have been shown to be very reliable (r >.90) [31], [32]. Nonetheless, these studies also indicate that both men and women are likely to overestimate their height; men about 1.2 cm and women about 0.60 cm [31]–[33]. These biases are unlikely to affect our conclusions. First, the bias is less pronounced below the age of fifty [31]–[33], as are the men and women in our sample [29]. Second, adding a constant value to the heights of men will not affect the correlational measures nor the results from the simulations presented. It may, however, be the case that the observed number of pairs in which the male is taller than the female (N = 11,566) is a slight overestimation of the actual number of pairs in which this is the case. For the analyses presented here, we included all heterosexual parents for which both heights were available (12,502 cases). Women were on average 163.75±6.97 (mean ± standard deviation) and men 177.86±7.42 centimetres tall. The average Parental Height Difference was 14.11±9.25 centimetres. Because height is related to ethnicity, and there is strong assortative mating for ethnicity we re-analyzed our data restricting our sample to Caucasian parents (N = 10,664). This led to very similar results (results not reported). Analysis We investigated whether and how the observed distribution of Parental Height Differences (PHD; male height minus female height in cm) differed from the distribution expected under random mating over height. To obtain an estimate of PHD under random mating, we generated 10,000 samples in R [34], each sample being a complete randomization of the 12,502 couples (and thus their heights). We compared the distribution of PHD resulting from these random samples to the PHD distribution in the original population, to examine the differences between the observed heights and the heights in random mating. In order to do so, we divided the range of PHD in the original population and the 10,000 random samples in 5 centimetre bins, and counted the occurrences of these bins in both the original population and the random samples (bins with fewer than 75 cases were collapsed resulting in a lower bound cut-off bin of <-15 cm and a higher bound cut-off bin of >35 cm). For instance, the bin 15 to 20 cm, indicating that the male partner was 15 to 20 cm taller than the female, occurred exactly 2,586 times in the original population. The median value (50th percentile) of occurrences of this bin in the 10,000 random samples was 2,464. This indicates that the most likely number of occurrences (median of 10,000 samples) of the bin 15–20 cm is 2,465 when mating with respect to height is random, which suggests that this bin occurred more often in the original population than expected under random mating. Ninety-five per cent of the occurrences of this bin in the 10,000 samples fell between 2,382 (the 2.5th percentile) and 2,549 (the 97.5th percentile). The actual value (2,586) falls outside this range, indicating that this specific bin occurred significantly more often in the original population compared to what would happen when mating was random with respect to height. A specific p-value for the difference between the original and the random samples was determined by what proportion of the 10,000 samples the occurrence of the bins were higher, equal or lower than the actual occurrences of these bins. For instance, the bin 15 to 20 cm was found to be equally or less frequent than 2,586 (the number of occurrences of this bin in the original sample) in only 21 of the 10,000 samples. Thus, the occurrence of this bin is significantly different from random mating with a p-value of 21/10,000 is 0.0021. This p-value concerns the directional hypothesis that the height bin is either over- or underrepresented compared to the original sample, not the hypothesis that the height bin has a different frequency in the random samples compared to the original sample, and as such is one tailed. For every PHD bin, we also calculated the ‘relative likelihood of pairing’, the frequency of observing a particular PHD bin in the original population relative to random mating, by dividing the number of occurrences in the actual population of that PHD bin by the median number of occurrences of that PHD bin in the random samples. For example, the frequency of the PHD bin 15 to 20 cm was 2,586 in the actual original population, which we divided by 2,464 (median occurrence in 10,000 samples of random mating), yielding and 1.05 implying this PHD bin is 5% more frequent than expected by chance. A relative likelihood of pairing greater (lower) than one means that the PHD bin is more (less) likely to occur in the actual population than expected by random mating.
Discussion Preferences with respect to specific characteristics are an important ingredient of pair-formation, but multiple constraints (see Introduction) may prevent the realisation of such preferences when forming a pair. In this study, using simulations in which we randomized pairings, we examined whether previously documented preference rules for partner height were realised in actual couples. Firstly, we replicated the well-known finding that there is assortative mating with respect to height (Figure 1). We also replicated the finding of a male-taller norm (Figure 2), as men were more frequently taller than their partner than expected by chance. We extended this finding by showing that couples in which the man is much shorter than the woman are relatively less likely to occur than couples in which the man is only slightly shorter than the woman. Thus, when the male-taller norm is violated, it is mostly violated only slightly. A male-not-too-tall norm has previously been documented as a preference [11], [24]–[26], and we show, to our best knowledge for the first time, that this norm is translated in actual pairing (Figure 2B). Couples in which the male was more than 25 cm taller than the female partner, were rarer than expected by chance. Furthermore, similar to the male-taller norm, when the male-not-too-tall norm was violated, it was most likely violated only slightly (e.g. a partner height difference of 30 cm was relatively more likely to occur than a partner height difference of 35 cm, but both were less likely to occur than expected by chance). Lastly, in line with preferences for partner height differences, we found that shorter women and taller men were more likely to have greater partner height differences, whereas shorter men and taller women were more likely to have smaller partner height differences. Although all known preference rules for height were qualitatively realised in actual couples, these effects were generally modest when compared to random mating. There may be several reasons for why an individual’s preferred partner characteristics differs from actual partner characteristics (see Introduction). Men and women, for instance, do not agree on their preferred partner height, as women prefer larger partner height differences than men [11]. Mutual mate choice is thus likely to produce couples in which partner height preferences for either the male, or the female, or both are not optimally satisfied. Furthermore, height is but one of many characteristics valued in a mate [35], and the strength of the preference for height in comparison to other preferred traits determines final pairing with respect to height [36]. One of the few studies examining the interplay between preferences and pairing [36], found that preferences for height, weight, and BMI were about equally strongly related to actual partner characteristics in both men and women, suggesting that these different traits are given roughly equal weight when considering a partner. The observed non-random pairing with respect to height need not be a consequence of mating preferences with respect to height [11], [36]. It could also arise when assortment took place on a different characteristic but related to height (e.g. ethnicity and education). For instance, when there are differences in height between sub-populations, and individuals are more likely to pair within sub-populations than between sub-populations, than assortative mating for height could arise on the population level without playing a role in the pairing within sub-populations. Educational levels, for instance, may be considered as sub-populations. Height is positively related to education [37], and assortative mating for education is widely observed [21]. Thus, the correlation between partner heights might therefore at least in part be a consequence of the correlation between the educational attainments of the partners. It seems unlikely however, that these associations can fully explain the observed patterns. Firstly, the variation in height differences is much larger within a sub-population than between sub-populations (e.g. between 1–3 cm; [38]). Therefore, that height differences above 25 cm occur less often than expected by chance (i.e. the male-not-too-tall norm), is unlikely to be due to sub-population effects, because height differences between sub-populations are much smaller [38]. Secondly, assortative pairing for other characteristics than height is unlikely to result in a male-taller norm. For these two reasons we believe it is unlikely that the non-random pairing with respect to height is a consequence of assortative mating for other characteristics. Due to the nature of our sample (i.e. parents) we excluded childless pairs, which may limit the generality of our conclusions because the proportion of childlessness is known to be related to height [39], [40]. We do, however, believe that the inclusion of childless individuals would not change our results qualitatively for two reasons. Firstly, relationships between height and measures of reproductive success are weak, typically explaining less than 1% of the variance [39]–[41]. Thus, the effect of being childless on the height distributions in our sample will be very small. In conclusion, we have shown that all previously documented preference patterns for partner height are at least qualitatively realised in actual pairings. We note, however, that compared to random mating the magnitude of these effects was generally low, suggesting that mating preferences were only partially realised. These results are in line with a recent study that showed that traits considered strongly related to attractiveness, such as height, are not necessarily strongly related to actual pairing [36].
Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: GS APB TVP DN SV. Analyzed the data: GS DN SV. Wrote the paper: GS APB TVP DN SV.To start off this article I guess I should start with a “Thank You”. Thank you to the people who took a chance, and ventured onto a different path in their training, and believed in the Cube. The Cube is always evolving, but the core principles are the same, and that is the rotation of the varying intensities (Heavy, Repetition, and Explosive). The latest variation, and the cycle I used for my preparation for CAPO, and again for the contests that are coming up is called “CUBE KINGPIN”.
The reason for the name is a long story. Basically I visited Dan Green at his gym (Boss Barbell), and while I was in California I ran some ideas by Dan, and he ran some by me that he believed would benefit my training. As I was going through my cycle people began asking about what I was doing I decided to pay respect to Dan, and his gym and called it “Cube Boss”. Since then there came about some confusion of people thinking Dan was training the Cube, which is not the case so to avoid any further confusion I changed the name to Kingpin, and here is why Kingpin will work for you!
The basis for the Cube Method came from my transition from geared lifter, to training, and competing raw. I wanted to identify issues within my training, and narrow down the pieces of the puzzle that I believed would benefit me the most in this path:
Piece one of the puzzle was muscle hypertrophy as a goal Piece two was rep work. My time in Ohio was spent chasing the ever important 1 Rep Max, and I seldom ever did reps over a triple. I had gotten damn strong doing sets of 6, 8, 10, and 15’s before, so I needed to get back to that. Piece three was heavy training. I had to come up with a systematic approach to training heavy without going backwards, and also find a way to lift the heaviest weight possible on meet day. The final piece was explosive power. I noticed that when I had trained with just a barbell I was damn strong, and very damn fast. I had used bands a lot, and chains even more, and I had slowed down. That’s not to say those tools don’t work, I had just never utilized them properly, so I wanted to start over with just a bar, then add in the extra tools as I saw fit.
The Cube Method is somewhat of a throwback and I appreciate it every time I hear it referred to as “old school”. The reason the Cube will work is because it is very basic but can be applied to all levels. The “secret” is the rotation of the lifts and the waves involved.
On this method you will notice a variety of rep ranges, exercises, and an intense focus on realizing that a training cycle is supposed to build you up and prepare you for one day: Meet Day. On this method Meet Day will become something sacred to you. It should, that is the only place the lifts count. In a day and age of immediate social media networking anyone can become what I like to call a “YouTube Superhero”. These are guys that PR every workout and somehow never produce at meets. On my method you may be the guy that showcases solid training in your videos or logs, but nothing over the top, and then BOOM a meet full of PR’s. You decide where your biggest lifts matter, and if it isn’t on the platform, and you need an ego boost every time you walk in the gym, then I apologize… This method is not for you. This type of training will kick your ass, and humble you. But like an unpolished stone along the way you will see the reps and sets are getting easier and easier until you walk under the bar for your opening squat and destroy it… MEET DAY IS KING!!
Cube Method Philosophy
Every single powerlifter has one common goal in mind. That is to become the best that they can be. Some will strive to be the best in their gym, the best at a meet, state, country, or World, but all that means is we have a desire to improve. If you don’t want to get better then I don’t understand why you chose powerlifting, as it is incredibly difficult, and I’m not sure why you are reading this article. I believe that each powerlifter has a deeper connection with themselves than the average person on the street. I believe that we have a driving force inside of us that will not let us be “normal”. I believe if times were different we would be the ones waging wars on the battlefield, we would be the warriors that rise up, and fight. Why do I say this? Because this sport has cost me dearly, but I can’t turn it off. It is a refusal to be complacent, or average. If I didn’t have this sport I can almost guarantee you I would be in prison for beating the shit out of someone daily. Nothing fulfills me like heavy weight. The fire within me is not something I learned, or can teach you. The fire is either there or it’s not.
On the platform we have to perform the three classic lifts: the Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. On the Cube we will attack them intelligently, but we will also bring back into the fold a much over looked lift, the Military Press. Ideas I like to adhere to:
The only PR’s that matter are those on the platform, and for those of you that don’t compete the PR’s at the end of the cycle is what we train for. You may not hit a PR for 9 weeks, but when you test them on week 10 you should blow your old PR’s away. Now, for those of you freaking out right now you will have chances to PR before then, but you need to buy into the fact that a 5 lbs. PR today is ok, but I want a 20 lbs. PR later, so don’t let your short term training diminish your long term results. Stop one set early. We all know the feeling of defeat when you are in the gym, you hit a good lift, then the next jump is iffy, we take it anyway and miss. We WILL NO LONGER MISS WEIGHTS. Make a plan, stick to it, hurt feelings. I haven’t missed a weight because of strength in over 15 months. I might miss on a technical failure, but if that is the case I can reset and immediately do the weight. Check your ego at the door. Your rep and explosive day are just as important as your Max day because they are what lead to successful PR’s, take them seriously, attack the weights each time you are in the gym.
Cube Programming
On the Cube Method you will train three or four days per week, I prefer four. It is a 10 week cycle. Upon completion of the cycle you should either do a meet, or a “mock meet” in your gym to establish new PR’s. Base your next 10 week cycle off of your new PR’s. Why a mock meet? Sometimes this sport can take a toll financially, so to avoid the hassle, and expense of a meet pick a Saturday at the end of your cycle and go into the gym just like it is a meet. Perform your best, and build from there. Believe me, psychological conditioning is every bit as important as the physical side of training. My waves are 3 weeks for squat bench and deadlift and they are modeled like this.
Week 1-Heavy Work Day, Explosive Work Day, Rep Work Day, Body Day
Week 2-Explosive Work Day, Rep Work Day, Heavy Work Day, Body Day
Week 3-Rep Work Day, Heavy Work Day, Explosive Work Day, Body Day
Week 4-Recycle the Wave
I called it “Cube Training” as when it’s mapped out it looks like a “Cube”. I never lift heavy on two lifts within a week. If I deadlift heavy training, my bench is explosive training, and my squat is for repetitions, and as the weeks rotate the “Work Days” are rotated also. Keep in mind that if we are constantly “testing” a lift, we cannot appropriately “build” a lift. At some point the body will reject the training and injury, or burnout will occur. On my method you are constantly stopping early, or training sub-maximally which creates the “dog on a leash” effect that I like to refer to. Think about holding back for 10 weeks, and holding back, and holding back, and then on meet day you are let off the chain. That is when you attack the platform with renewed ferocity, and I swear the PR’s will come.
Here’s the setup:
WEEK- 1 2 31 4 5 62 7 8 93 10x
Deads- 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 x
Bench- 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 x
Squat- 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 x
Key- 1=End of Wave 1, 2=End of Wave 2, 3=End of Wave 3,, x=Meet Week
Sundays are always a bodybuilding day. Every Sunday I have three exercises that are never rotated. They are Military Press, Bicep Curls, and Calf Raises. From there I pick three weak bodyparts, and I choose one exercise for each. I vary my sets and reps depending on feel. If I am feeling beat up from the week I will do more sets (no more than 5 per bodypart, never less than 3 sets) with more reps (never more than 20, never less than 6 reps), if I feel fresh I do less sets with heavier weight for fewer reps.
A typical Sunday:
Military Press- 3 x 10 Bicep Curls w/EZ Curl Bar- 4 x 15 Calf Raises- 4 x 15
Weak Point Training
Leg Curls for Hamstrings- 5 x 20 Lat Pulldowns- 4 x 12 Pec Flyes w/Dumbbells- 3 x 12 Abs (Abs are done every training day)
The bodybuilding is a great day because it allows for a whole different style of training, as well as focusing only on hypertrophy, and forgetting about heavy weight. Take this day seriously, but be mindful to enjoy it. Understand that you are building your body to look like a lifter instead of a fat piece of shit which long ago became acceptable in our sport.
Now that you have somewhat of an idea about what the Cube Method originated from let me introduce you to the newest phase of the Cube, and the cycle that I believe has made me stronger than ever before. I do recommend that you run a cycle or two of the Cube Method before you jump right into the Kingpin cycle, but if you want a challenge then jump right in!! Just make sure to focus on your recovery…
CUBE KINGPIN
What I want to be clear with you about the CUBE is I am not trying to sell you on an easy path. I’m not a scientist, I don’t use big words, I don’t give two shits about making people feel special. I don’t promise you miracle gains overnight, and I sure as hell don’t promise results without effort. What I do promise is a system that has proven to be effective over, and over again so long as the stimulus is increased for the lifter, and when we hit PR’s, we increase the stimulus, so the issue of success takes care of itself. So long as you work for it. The way I look at the body, and the longevity of a lifter is strictly dependent upon the base he builds. Imagine building your body like climbing Mt. Everest, in an attempt to make it to the top sometimes you have to stop for a few hours, maybe ever track back down the mountain a bit to find the path to best move forward, and give your body the ability to acclimate to the thinning air. A straight up ascent would lead to lung failure, and potentially death. Now, apply that to a powerlifter. I see guys make monumental strides for a year or two, and then they are gone. Where did they go? Why did their numbers stall?
My belief is that they rose too quickly. To be the best your body has to be working in unison. Tendons, ligaments, muscles, neuro activity. All of this has to build gradually. So how do we achieve this steady progression, that is not only realistic, but in a way that allows our body to work together?
Steady progression. I have a map that I lay out for lifters that looks like this. We run five, ten week CUBE KINGPIN cycles in a year with a goal of a minimum of 5 lbs. progression each lift.
Squat- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs.
Bench- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs
Deads- x 5 cycles x 5 lbs Progression x 1 year = 25 lbs
That gives us a yield of 75 lbs. progress per year in theory. Now, some of you may laugh at this and say you can add that to each lift in a cycle. Maybe you can, but I am talking about raw strength. Not getting a tighter suit, or bench shirt, but real measurable strength. Now my geared lifters don’t get in an uproar! I am just saying that a shirt, or suit can be great today, lose a pound and it’s rendered ineffective tomorrow. I am talking about raw progression as it is consistent.
So, in theory 75 lbs. per year x 4 years = 300 lbs. (In theory)
Take a 220 lifter (raw), with a 1500 lbs. total. Have him stick to this plan, and lets say in year one he doubles his expectations and hits 10 lbs. per cycle, then for the next 3 years stays on point. He is now an 1875 lbs. lifter, and if he can maintain another year or two like that then you are talking about a lifter that is now on the Top 20 List All-Time!!!
I am not here to promise you bullshit. You will not make it to the top quickly. People look at Dave Hoff, or Eric Lilliebridge both doing massive numbers by 24 years old… Guess what? Dave joined Westside at 15 years old!! Eric began training with his dad at 13 years old, so they have over 10 years invested, many of those years in the quiet shadows as an unknown working their ass off. I added in the Strongman Movements, and Chin Ups (almost every Euro Lifter I look up to does chins on the regular… YouTube Konstantin Konstantinovs for example) to make you mentally tougher, as well as physically harder. That will make you better overall. But it will still take time. My question to you, rather my challenge is can you pull the reigns back and progress more methodically, and purposefully? Can you set your goal at 3 years of constant progress instead of 2 years of zig zagged effort? If you can understand that champions are not built overnight, but rather over a career then here is a plan for you.
Formula
(Here is a 3 Week Wave of the Kingpin Cycle)
Week 1
Heavy Deadlifts
Competition Stance from Floor 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Block Pulls 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
2” Deficit Pulls 75% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets
Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Rep Bench
Competition Bench 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Close Grip 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1” Off Chest 65% x 10-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Explosive Squats
Competition Stance Squats 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Week 2
Explosive Deadlifts
*My personal deadlift days on the explosive day are different than what is listed. I choose to do a wave of 65% for 12 reps in under 20 seconds, 70% for 8 reps in under 15 seconds, 75% for 6 reps in under 10 seconds. This is just my preference, my clients usually stick to the program as listed. Competition Stance from Floor 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets Block Pulls 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets 2” Deficit Pulls 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Heavy Bench
Competition Bench 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Close Grip 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1” Off Chest 70% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Rep Squats
Competition Stance Squats 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 65% x 10-12 x 2-3
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Week 3
Rep Deadlifts
Competition Stance from Floor 70% x 8-12 reps x 2-3 sets
Block Pulls 75% x 6-8 reps x 2 sets
2” Deficit Pulls 65% x 10-12 x 2-3
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Shrugs 10 reps x 3 sets
Heavy Dumbell/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Explosive Bench
Competition Bench 65% x 3 reps x 8 sets
Close Grip 70% x 5 reps x 2 sets
Bench w/Pause 1” Off Chest 60% x 8 reps x 2-3 sets
Lat Pulldowns 15 reps x 4 sets
Side/Front Raises 10 reps x 3 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
Heavy Squats
Competition Stance Squats 80% x 2 reps x 5 sets
Olympic Squats or Front Squats 85% x 1-3 reps x 2 sets
Pause Squats (Pause in the hole) 70% x 4-6 reps x 2 sets
Heavy DB/Barbell Walks 30 secs x 3 trips
Leg Curl/GHR 15 reps x 3 sets
Back Raises 12 reps x 4 sets
Pull Ups x Failure x 3 sets
As you can see the formula is the first movement is always the competition lift, and it holds to the Cube rotation of Heavy, Rep, or Explosive but the added benefit is that you really work all three each day! This is done by adding 5% to the second movement, and then on the 3rd movement dropping 10% from the second lift percentage. So each lift will be worked from three intensities, and in three different forms. What I have found this does it allows the lifter rapid development in each lift, as well as building a solid base to build upon cycle to cycle, and hits the lifts from various angles so you become virtually unstoppable once competition begins. At the end of each three week wave you just revert back, and up the percentage so that you consistently climb in a linear progression, but you always slack back just a little after the heavy week, this allows for maximum recovery, as well as the heightened excitement to go that much harder in the gym when the heavy days do roll around. I have found in myself that when the heavy comes for each of the lifts I am not bogged down, and dreading the work, rather I am anxious and excited about the fact that I get to handle maximum work capacity. This is the kind of lifting that builds confidence over time. Consistently handling weights in excess of 90% at all times may work for a while, and especially for a geared lifter, but for the majority it will lead to burnout, and frustration from the impossible task of hitting PR’s every week. The only PR’s that matter to me are on the platform, or in your arena of athletics… Last I checked official records aren’t kept on what you do in practice.
(To date six men have competed, and totaled over 2,000 lbs. raw using the Cube Method. Hundreds have hit their Elite totals, and numerous Best Lifter trophies. I want to personally thank all of you, as well as the people who doubted our abilities. If it weren’t for people doubting me I’d never have started competing in the first place. Thank you!)
Related Articles:Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro
Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, left, and second baseman Starlin Castro. (File photos)
It won't take much for Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro to form a strong double-play combo in 2015.
"Good chemistry," Gregorius told the YES Network's Jack Curry Monday night. "That's all we need."
The Yankees hope Gregorius is right. They haven't had a longterm middle-infield pair since 2013 -- Robinson Cano's last year in the Bronx with Derek Jeter.
In 2014, while a retiring Jeter often struggled at the plate and in the field, the Yankees couldn't find him a stable second baseman. The Brian Roberts experiment was ditched after the first half of the year and Stephen Drew, while a better defender, didn't hit a lick.
In 2015, Gregorius excelled as a first-time full-time player, even finishing as a Gold Glove finalist. But often he'd look at second base and see a new face -- Drew, Brendan Ryan, Jose Pirela, Rob Refsnyder or Dustin Ackley.
12 key Yankees ties on the baseball Hall of Fame ballot
But the Yankees have big plans for Castro, a three-time All-Star and converted shortstop who, like Gregorius, will turn 26 this season.
They took on the remaining four years and $37 million on his contract and sent a solid swingman -- the right-handed Adam Warren -- to the Cubs during the Winter Meetings.
"I know Spanish, so we're good," Gregorius said. "We can talk. Just trying to get to know each other even better in spring training. It's going to be a real exciting year for both of us. So I look forward to that."
Gregorius said he remembers seeing Castro early in his career.
"It's awesome," Gregorius said. "I've seen him play when I was in the minors and seeing him debut in Cincinnati. I was over there in the Reds' organization. It was just awesome to see him playing and now we're together. It's the same thing. We've got to keep going. Make the team stronger and keep doing our best."
Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.The star of "Detour" and producer of "Full Frontal" discusses his shift to scripted television and how he and his wife have adapted to a new set of challenges.
“The Daily Show” may have entered a new era with host Trevor Noah, but it’s not like the old cast went into retirement. Husband-and-wife contributors Jason Jones and Samantha Bee are among the most productive former members of the Jon Stewart “Daily Show” years — which is particularly notable once you discover they came close to taking over the program themselves.
Instead, the pair found a welcome home at TBS, where Bee hosts the weekly satiric news program “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (which will air the special “Not the White House Correspondents Dinner” this weekend) and Jones serves as an executive producer. Meanwhile, the couple is also behind the TBS comedy “The Detour,” a subversive family comedy that they co-wrote and in which Jones stars.
Now wrapping its second season, “The Detour” began as an over-the-top road trip comedy with Jones as a corporate whistleblower moving his family across the country. Its scope continued to evolve in the second season, when the family settled back in New York. This week, “The Detour” was officially picked up for a third season, and Jones is ready to go back to work. He paid a visit to the IndieWire office to discuss his current productivity and why he and Bee have no regrets about passing up on that “Daily Show” offer.
How did “The Daily Show” prepare you for writing a scripted show?
Every field piece I did on “The Daily Show” was a story that lasted five to six minutes. We had a protagonist, we had an antagonist, and often put them at odds. We knew the story we wanted to tell before we went in and often it was about plugging whatever character you have — in this case, a real person – into said part.
It was like making a lot of short films, but it was much harder because we were working with real people, and often they would not say what they previously said. I’d be like, “No! I have a really good joke based on that thing you said in that article! Can you say that thing again?” That was tough, because you can’t make people say things. With actors, you can be like, “Hey, say those fucking words I wrote.”
Considering how competitive it is now, how did you assess the opportunities coming your way after Jon announced he was leaving “The Daily Show”?
You know, there was a world where Sam and I were floated to replace Jon. The two of us were talking about it, but then…I didn’t really have too much interest in that, and then they greenlit “Detour” like four days after Jon announced he was leaving. I started talking to a guy I know at TBS, and we were like, “Hey, what if Sam comes over and does a show as well?” She was in the kitchen cooking, and I went, “Hey, would you want a once-a- week, half-hour show where you just talk about shit?” She was like, “I would love that.” I went, “OK, make her an offer.”
Myles Aronowitz
Do the two of you ever think back on that “Daily Show” offer and think about what might have been?
I don’t think I’d have a life if that was the case. I mean, I’d have to rush back to the studio. I couldn’t be here right now. You’d be at “The Daily Show,” and I’d be talking to you for a minute and a half, and then I
|
following code if you don’t believe it:
Class < Foo. Bar > clazz = Foo. Bar. class ; Constructor <?>[] constructors = clazz. getDeclaredConstructors (); System. out. println ( constructors. length ); Arrays. stream ( constructors ). forEach ( constructor -> { System. out. println ( "Constructor: " + constructor ); });
The output is the following:
Constructor: private Foo$Bar() Constructor: Foo$Bar(Foo$1)
The reason is pretty well documented. The bytecode knows about access modifiers, but not about nested classes. In order for the Foo class to be able to create new Bar instances, the Java compiler generates an additional constructor with a default package visibility.
This can be confirmed with the javap tool.
javap -v out/production/synthetic/Foo \$ Bar.class
This outputs the following:
[...] { Foo$Bar(Foo$1); descriptor: (LFoo$1;)V flags: ACC_SYNTHETIC Code: stack=1, locals=2, args_size=2 0: aload_0 1: invokespecial #1 // Method "<init>":()V 4: return LineNumberTable: line 2: 0 LocalVariableTable: Start Length Slot Name Signature 0 5 0 this LFoo$Bar; 0 5 1 x0 LFoo$1; } [...]
Notice the ACC_SYNTHETIC flag. Going to the JVM specifications yields the following information:
The ACC_SYNTHETIC flag indicates that this method was generated by a compiler and does not appear in source code, unless it is one of the methods named in §4.7.8. — The class File Format
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se8/html/jvms-4.html#jvms-4.6
Theoretically, it should be possible to call this generated constructor - notwithstanding the fact that it’s not possible to provide an instance of Foo$1, but let’s put it aside. But the IDE doesn’t seem to be able to discover this second non-argumentless constructor. I didn’t find any reference in the Java Language Specification, but synthetic classes and members cannot be accessed directly but only through reflection.
At this point, one could wonder why all the fuss about the synthetic flag. It was introduced in Java to resolve the issue of nested classes access. But other JVM languages use it to implement their specification. For example, Kotlin uses synthetic to access the companion object:
class Baz () { companion object { val BAZ = "baz" } }
Executing javap on the.class file returns the following output (abridged for readability purpose) :
{ public static final Baz$Companion Companion; descriptor: LBaz$Companion; flags: ACC_PUBLIC, ACC_STATIC, ACC_FINAL public Baz(); [...] public static final java.lang.String access$getBAZ$cp(); descriptor: ()Ljava/lang/String; flags: ACC_PUBLIC, ACC_STATIC, ACC_FINAL, ACC_SYNTHETIC Code: stack=1, locals=0, args_size=0 0: getstatic #22 // Field BAZ:Ljava/lang/String; 3: areturn LineNumberTable: line 1: 0 RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations: 0: #15() } [...]
Notice the access$getBAZ$cp() static method? That’s the name of the method that should be called from Java:
public class FromJava { public static void main(String... args) { Baz.Companion.getBAZ(); } }Buy Photo Mark Miles, CEO, Hulman & Company answers question during the IndyCar Series media day Tuesday, February 17, 2015, morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo: Matt Kryger / The Star)Buy Photo
IndyCar chairman Mark Miles partook of some grouse and woodcock hunting in northern Wisconsin this weekend before re-embarking on a busy offseason for the open wheel series. There will be much to address when he returns from the brush, although Miles expressed confidence things are on target following one of the most successful, yet painful seasons in recent IndyCar history. Interest, as gauged by the convergent metrics of television ratings, attendance and internet impressions were proportionately better. But the death of driver Justin Wilson as a result of a head injury sustained at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 23, and a life-threatening injury to James Hinchcliffe in Indianapolis 500 practice were brutal reminders that open wheel racing is a dangerous endeavor.
Miles said an investigation into the Wilson crash revealed no need for immediate change and no conclusions not initially assumed after the 37-year-old was struck on the head by a high-flying piece of debris while running under caution.
“I think what the report provides is a lot of technical data about the energy involved and the forces and exactly what happened and all of that,” Miles told USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t think there were any revelations. I think for everybody, with or without the report, all of us hope to be able to make progress in finding ways to make the cockpit safer and to reduce the risks.
“So for example, there may be some short-term measures like tethering some parts that weren’t this year, but could be. That’s a work in progress. But I don’t want to give the sense that was because of anything revealed in the accident investigation. What you think happened, happened there.”
USA TODAY Sports spoke with Miles about offseason work.
Q: What will the job look like for the replacement for president of operations and competition Derrick Walker?
A: It will be a slightly revised job description. The position will be responsible for three areas which we currently call ‘technical,’ so that’s all the engineering, whether that’s aero or engine or all the rest, including car safety, as opposed to track safety. There are three people who report to this position, Will Phillips, who is the chief engineer and has all the engineering stuff under him; Brian Barnhart, who’s got competition — so that’s race control and track safety — and the third part is Vince Kremer, who’s got everything operations, getting the trucks there and all that. So that is the scope of it. It’s operations and competition, which is slightly narrowed. As I’ve gotten more involved, there are people that will report directly to me. There’s a legal function that has reported to Derrick that will report to me. The way I think most people perceive the job will remain unchanged. Our competition and our operations, our racing and our car, our technical rule-making will fall to this person.
Q: Have Honda and Chevrolet renewed their agreements yet to return as engine-providers?
NEWSLETTERS Get the IndyStar Motor Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong The latest news in IndyCar and the world of motor sports. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-357-7827. Delivery: Sun - Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for IndyStar Motor Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
A: No, but I think, in fact this week, we’re scheduling the time to go back to Detroit or them to come down here to see if we can get that one done. I just don’t think there’s any roadblock to getting those done.
Q: Is there daily impact for teams in not having them signed?
A: No. They’re all operating at speed, doing everything they would normally do to prepare for next season.
Q: The Justin Wilson accident report presented no pressing issues for safety improvement?
A: It reinforces the risks, I think, of the open cockpit and further energizes efforts in motor sport to try to reduce those risks.
Q: What’s the state of that energy currently?
A: I was in an hour-and-a-half conversation with outside people who are involved in aerospace and NASA, people who do things like provide cockpit cover for jet fighters. First of all, it should be known that Formula 1, for a very long time has been working on this and it’s fair to say they’ve had the lead. But (IndyCar safety consultant and Global Institute for Motorsports Safety member) Dr. Terry Trammell has really had all the information flowing from that work for a long time, so I think we’ve been totally plugged into it. So the call was very helpful in discussing with outside expert perspective all kinds of the hurdles. What are the things that you have to solve for? And that’s everything from what they call egress to heat. Obviously, the foundational point is whether there’s a solution which protects the driver and there may be no solution which provides complete protection if you get into a situation like in Las Vegas (where driver Dan Wheldon died as a result of head injuries when he stuck a catch fence support). But it’s how much more safe can you make it while proving for not having unintended consequences.
By the way, this is not necessarily about a completely closed cockpit. It could be more of an apron... if something hits that, they do these deflection studies in these industries, and it’s possible (the object) could be propelled higher and further and an unintended consequence could be the risk of something going into the crowd. It doesn’t necessarily knock it down and put it on the track if something was coming at a car like that, especially something like a tire that has energy in it. What is clear to me is we’ve got an outside perspective as do our safety people, on the long list of things you have to address, if there’s a solution from things like I just mentioned, to how would we put it on the car, how would you affix something? I was very encouraged for that. These are really bright people who’ve addressed these problems and challenges for other applications and other industries and hopefully something meaningful can happen.
You’re not going to see a change to the car for next year in this regard just because I don’t think it’s possible.
Q: What’s IndyCar’s pace of progress on this?
A: I think IndyCar is very focused on engaging with outside expertise on doing what can be done. These are technical challenges and it’s hard to imagine that anything transformative will happen this year. At this point, I wouldn’t rule out 2017, but the research has to be done, the development has to be done to answer the questions as to what can be done by when.
Q: How disconcerting that two supposedly one-in-a-million crash scenarios befell drivers in the series within just a few months?
A: We are trying to be an organization that just doesn’t simply react to events on the track but is deliberate and focused and constantly looking to improve safety and I think we’ve got a track record of that, including some things that have been done to further improve the safety around the tub and other things. Racing just deals with the kind of accidents we’ve had and we’re doing that but it just keeps top of mind how important the efforts to increase safety are. And I think we are properly focused.Last night, the Los Angeles Rams ended a 21 year drought of football with a sobering 28-0 defeat up north vs. the 49ers.
Not the greatest way to jump start a new era in the City of Angels, but the Rams have a lot to look forward to: Season tickets sold out in six hours, a 2.6 billion futuristic state of the art stadium is under construction in Inglewood, and public interest is soaring.
With the NFL moving back to Los Angeles, some have speculated that the Rams could spell trouble for the Galaxy, with the powerfully wealthy football league creating more competition in an already crowded sports landscape.
But are the Rams a real threat? Probably not.
Culturally, LA is an endless buffet of adventure. In a region with over 10 million people in Los Angeles County alone, where entertaining yourself isn’t a matter of what to do but what to choose from, one more sports team, even one as powerful as a NFL franchise isn’t going to rock the boat. I’ll spare you the god-awful cliche of how Angelinos could just as easily be surfing at the beach, but suffice to say, Galaxy fans shouldn’t be too worried.
And for the most part, the sports aren’t in direct competition with each other, as the NFL begins during the tail end of the MLS season. Furthermore, since the Galaxy own and operate the StubHub Center, they have the luxury of planning their schedule again of time to avoid potential conflicts.
That being said, this is concerning.
LA Galaxy vs Orlando MLS (Landon Donovan's return) averaged 97K on FS1 and 53K on Fox Deportes (yes, I know NFL was on that night) — Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) September 13, 2016
As long as LA doesn’t play too many Sunday games next year, everything should be fine.
However, a real threat does exist to the LA Galaxy: Los Angeles Football Club.
Oh, in the short-term, the Galaxy will be fine. Despite their success this year, New York City FC has shown that no amount of glitz and fancy player signings can buy instant success, and if the Jersey team named after an energy drink known as the Red Bulls can manage to hold onto their fanbase, a club with as much success and history as the Galaxy should continue to ride that gravy train.
But not all good things last forever. Sooner or later Bruce Arena is going to depart the Galaxy organization, and despite laying down one heck of a foundation for the future, Arena is the bedrock of the club. Success after the most successful coach in league history takes off is anything but guaranteed.
And then there’s the stadium. Not so much the building itself, though Banc of California Stadium will certainly be a draw when it opens in 2018, but the location. From the moment LAFC officially kicks off, the club is drawing a physical line in the sand with a shiny object: A world-class, easily accessible arena that will incite soccer fans who already aren’t loyal to the Galaxy. And we already know LAFC is planning on spending the big bucks to acquire top talents.
Similar to the lure of the Staples Center, a downtown stadium has the potential to attract and connect with Angelinos in a way that no advertising campaign can compete with. And you can bet if the Galaxy reels and has a couple of sub-par seasons, that drive to Carson is going to seem a lot further away for some fans.
Hardcore Galaxy faithful may find solace in puffing up their chests and deriding LAFC and their fans as phonies, and as The Dude would say, that’s their opinion.
But let’s not kid ourselves: LAFC is no Chivas USA, and they are going to provide real competition for the Galaxy in the years to come.What's new:
- Config utilities - custom made config utilities to set your media player, weather code, dotabuff stats, RSS feedback URL, slideshow image path, launcher and dock icons, aspect ratio.
- Suited for every resolutions - the skin auto-scales the topbar, top dock and the Main window; config tool allows you to further scale the size of main window (percentual); made an extra small version off the RSS window to fit low screen height screens too. Change the top launcher / dock aspect ratio with the config utility; the right side skins' aspect ratio can be set with the expand / collapse icons on them.
- Reworked weather, time and media player skins: they are now part of the main window, not a seperate config which made dragging the window pretty frustrating (also they scale with the main window).
Added slideshow / wallpaper changer instead of world clock, as most feedback deem it pretty useless.
- You can now seek tracks played and adjust volume of media player in the now playing tab of the main window. Misc visual upgrade there too.
- Added top dock: arrow icons switches between the skin launcher (old) and the dock. The dock's category names can be set as well as the icons - path, name and icon, with 10 icons for each category. Greyscaling is optional, I personally like it due to the matching icons I'm using.
- Skin launcher shut down: closes all open skins but the bar itself.
- Dock shut down: system shut down context menu.
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Visual Style (an update is coming for that too, though since for a while I neglected it, it will eventually take some time to pick it up from where I was the last time). Visual Style used is my Dota 2 Desktop for Windows
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Contact me with any questions, feedback, suggestion:
mailbox e-mail: yorgash
Steam: yorgaSh
Skype: yorgash or yorgash55 - though I'm rarely online there.
Or you can send a note / leave a comment here, on DeviantArt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The essential checklist for writing call to actions that convert
What do you want your readers to do once they’ve finished reading your piece of content? Download your free ebook? Sign up for your next event? Or book a free consultation with you?
It’s all very well and good you wanting them to do that, but do they know that?
What I mean is, have you spelt it out to them? In today’s increasingly busy world, people’s attention spans are shorter than ever, which means two things:
You’re lucky if they have the time or make the effort to read your piece of content in full. According to HubSpot They need a bit of guidance. Your readers aren’t mind readers; they need to be told (subtly) what you would like them to do next.
That’s where your call to actions (CTAs) come in, if you’re using them to their full advantage, that is. Here are some pointers on making sure your CTAs a) grab people’s attention and b) make them take action.
Length
Space is limited when it comes to CTAs, so don’t waffle. Keep them short and to the point. Always.
Verbs
You want people to take the next step in the buyer journey, right? Starting your CTAs with a strong command verb is proven to boost click-through rates. For instance, if you’re writing content for an e-commerce site then use verbs such as ‘buy’, ‘order’ or ‘shop.’ However, if you’d like people to sign up to your blog or newsletter, then choose ‘subscribe’ or ‘sign up.
Language
Keep it concise and make it really easy for people to understand what they need to do in an instant. As with all forms of content, steer clear of lengthy words and jargon. However, it’s important to note: don’t be too to the point, as you may come across as being blunt.
Logic
Does what you’re asking people to do next feel natural? Where does it fit according to where they are in their buyer journey? Is it the logical next step? For example, you wouldn’t expect readers to feel ready enough to book a consultation with you after just reading a top of the funnel blog however, they might be ready to read another blog or perhaps download a relevant piece of content.
Reason
What’s the advantage of people clicking your CTA? How will they benefit? Will they save time or perhaps they’ll save money? If so, then say it! Linking your CTAs to your value proposition is a really effective way of creating compelling CTAs, you just need to make sure you really nail that key benefit.
Creating highly effective CTAs can be challenging, but as with all forms of content-writing, it’s possible if you take the time to understand your target audience and focus on communicating the right message, at the right time.
The points listed above are an overview of some of the tactics you can use to write more compelling CTAs (there are plenty more out there!) If you’d like more advice on writing strong CTAs or would like to discuss your content requirements, you can reach me at [email protected] or by completing the contact form.As the Israeli government prepares to welcome Pope Francis on his first visit as Pope later this month, vandals have scrawled hate-filled graffiti at some Christian sites. “Jesus is garbage,” “Death to Christians” and “We will crucify you” are among the messages that have been spray-painted on the walls of Christian churches and monasteries in Israel in recent weeks.
Although no arrests have been made, Israeli officials say they suspect Jewish extremists of being behind the vandalism. Israeli officials link the surge to the Pope’s visit, which appears to have ignited resentment toward Christianity by some Israeli Jews. A small minority of Israeli Jews blames Christians for past violence by Christians against Jews and for what they perceive as ongoing attempts to convert Jews to Christianity.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said most of the perpetrators act individually: “It’s not like dealing with a terror organization.”
Pope Francis’ three-day visit starts in Jordan on May 24. He then travels to Bethlehem in the West Bank, and Jerusalem, where he will visit Yad Vashem, the museum commemorating victims of the Holocaust. The trip was scheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of rapprochement between Pope Paul VI and the leader of the Orthodox Christian church. Publicity over the church attacks – not seen before previous papal visits – has some Israelis asking why it’s happening now. “The question to ask is what kind of Israeli state do we want here? Our educational challenge is to promote respect to the other,” says Amnon Ramon, a specialist on Christianity at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, an independent think tank.
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Amos Oz, perhaps Israel’s most celebrated author, called the extremists “Hebrew neo-Nazis” at a public event, adding that perpetrators “enjoy the backing of numerous nationalist lawmakers — maybe even racist — and also rabbis who give them a foundation that is, in my opinion, pseudo-religious.” Oz’s remarks stirred up a fresh wave of debate and name-calling, an unwelcome drum-roll for a papal visit intended to celebrate the overcoming of historical enmities.
Contact us at [email protected] most Americans talk about good-tasting water, they’re talking about water that tastes like their own spit.
“When you taste something, you're comparing the taste of that water to the saliva in your mouth,” says Gary Burlingame, who supervises water quality for the Philadelphia Water Department. “The saliva in your mouth is salty.”
Salty saliva bathes your tongue, drenching every one of your thousands of taste buds. It protects you from nasty bacteria, moistens your food, helps you pronounce the word “stalactite” and even lets you know when you might be drinking something bad for you. Like water.
Pure water, that is.
Stripping water down to an ultrapure state makes it unfit for human consumption.
In the world of electronics, manufacturers remove all of the minerals, dissolved gas and dirt particles from water. The result is called ultrapure water, and they use it to clean tiny, sensitive equipment like semiconductors, which are found in computer microchips.
Water molecules have a slight negative charge, which means they’re good at dissolving or pulling other molecules apart. When water is in an ultrapure state, it’s a “super cleaner,” sucking out the tiniest specks of dirt and leaving your computer’s brain squeaky clean.
But if you were to drink ultra-pure water, it would literally drink you back. The moment it came through your lips, it would start leaching valuable minerals from your saliva.
“Your mouth wants potassium, magnesium and other minerals,” says Arthur von Wiesenberger, a professional water taster who’s been running water-tasting competitions for more than 20 years. “It can tell when it’s being stripped.”
Fortunately, pure water is rarely found in nature. Water is constantly moving and passing through rock and soil, picking up minerals and chemicals your body needs as it goes.
It’s Not Taste; It’s Flavor
Your tongue can taste sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, sourness and umami, or meaty. That’s it.
Your tongue can feel hot and cold—that’s temperature. Your tongue can also feel spiciness, which is actually your nerve endings responding to pain.
But you can’t have a full appreciation for flavor unless you account for one other sense.
You think that’s chlorine you taste in your tap water? It’s actually chlorine you smell.
“When you drink and taste, you’re smelling at the same time,” Burlingame says.
When water passes through your mouth, it activates the taste buds on your tongue, but some of it turns into a gas and floats up the back of your throat to your nose.
The biggest complaints Americans have about their tap water are from smell: a chlorine smell from the treatment plant, a sulfurous odor from iron, a metallic smell from rust or an earthy odor from algae.
“Drinking water isn't supposed to have a smell,” Burlingame says. “It may have a taste, but it shouldn’t have any feeling factors. It shouldn’t be crispy, and it certainly shouldn’t have a burning sensation.”
Water should taste and feel like…nothing.
You want water that’s pure…well not pure, pure, but you know what we mean.Microsoft's focus on Windows 10 in regards to security puts users who run devices with older but still supported versions of Windows at risk according to Google Project Zero researcher Mateusz Jurczyk.
The researcher noticed that previous versions of Windows -- Windows 7 and 8.1 to be precise -- were affected by the vulnerability described as Windows Kernel pool memory disclosure in win32k!NtGdiGetGlyphOutline whereas Windows 10 was not.
Microsoft fixed the issue on Windows 10, while it did not patch it on older versions of Windows. Microsoft added a memset to Windows 10 which prevented the information disclosure on the operating system.
This suggests, according to Jurczyk, that Microsoft identified the issue internally and fixed it on Windows 10, but not on Windows 7 or 8.1.
The vulnerability came to light in 2017 when it was revealed publicly. Microsoft fixed the issue on the September 2017 Patch Day for affected operating systems.
The question that came to Jurczyk mind after discovering that the issue affected only previous versions of Windows was how widespread the issue was.
He used binary diffing, a method to reveal differences between different versions of a single product for that, and analyzed the Windows files ntkrnlpa.exe, win32k.sys, ntoskrnl.exe, tm.sys, win32kbase.sys and win32kfull.sys.
He discovered a large number of differences between Windows 7 and 10, and Windows 8.1 and 10. Windows 7 being the older operating system (compared to Windows 8.1), had more differences when compared to Windows 10 as Windows 8.1.
Quite intuitively, the Windows 7/10 comparison yielded more differences than the Windows 8.1/10 one, as the system progressively evolved from one version to the next. It's also interesting to see that the graphical subsystem had fewer changes detected in general, but more than the core kernel specifically in the syscall handlers.
Google started to investigate these differences and found two new vulnerabilities in the process (the two vulnerabilities that were addressed in the September 2017 Patch Day).
Jurczyk concludes that the focus on patching only the most recent version of a product, in Microsoft's case Windows 10, may be used by malicious actors to find vulnerabilities in older versions of a product.
Not only does it leave some customers exposed to attacks, but it also visibly reveals what the attack vectors are, which works directly against user security. This is especially true for bug classes with obvious fixes, such as kernel memory disclosure and the added memset calls.
Closing Words
Microsoft's focus on Windows 10 is quite problematic from a security point of view, considering that all three versions of Windows are still supported by Microsoft, and that Windows 8.1 is still in mainstream support.
This is something that Windows users and administrators unfortunately cannot do much about (other than upgrade to Windows 10). (via Born and Bleeping Computer)
Summary Article Name Google: Microsoft's focus on Windows 10 puts Windows 7 and 8 users at risk Description Microsoft's focus on Windows 10 in regards to security puts users who run devices with older but still supported versions of Windows at risk according to Google Project Zero researcher Mateusz Jurczyk. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo
AdvertisementVenom, one of the antagonists par excellence in cómic of Spider-Man, will have its own film, that will be directed by Gary Ross, informed the specialized magazine Variety today.
Ross, producer of titles like “ Pleasantville ” (1998), or “Seabiscuit” (2003), at the moment write the final version of the script for the quarter of “Spider-Man” for the studies “Columbia Pictures”, that will count again on Sam Raimi like director. “Marvel Entertainment”, Avi Arad, and the own Ross, will be the producers of the tape.
The personage of Venom, interpreted by Topher Grace in “Spider-Man 3”, will transform itself into a antihero who will become firmly defending of the innocents. The intention of the producers is that the main paper interprets in the new film a different actor to begin of zero.
Venom is the creature whom the personage of Eddie Brock becomes, a rival in the newspaper where Peter works Parker Tobey Maguire ), after to be infected by a foreign organism who adheres to their skin, which provides powers to him superiors to which it owns Spider-Man.
Although Marvel Entertainment was acquired recently by Disney by 4,000 million dollars, “Columbia Pictures” can give green light to this tape because it owns the perpetual rights on all the personages of the universe “Spider-Man”. In fact Jamie Vanderbilt works already in the scripts for the fifth and sixth part. Ross also is involved, like scriptwriter and director, in the cinematographic project on the life of the American cyclist Lance Armstrong.1997 remix album by Michael Jackson
Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix is a remix album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on May 20, 1997, by Epic Records, and is the second album released by Jackson's own record label, MJJ Productions. The album is made up of eight remixes from Jackson's previous studio album HIStory and five new songs. Jackson was heavily involved with the production of the new material while the remixes were produced by other artists. The new material concerns themes such as drug addiction, sex, relationships and paranoia. The album, like HIStory, features Jackson playing several instruments.
The album received minimal promotion by Jackson's standards, particularly in the United States. Still, a film, two singles ("Blood on the Dance Floor" and "HIStory/Ghosts"), a promotional single and a music video were issued as promotion. Although initial sales in the United States were seen as disappointing for Jackson, the album peaked at number one in France, Belgium, Spain and New Zealand.[3][4] Reviews at the time of release were largely mixed, with some critics feeling that Jackson had already explored these musical themes and others criticising what they perceived as weak vocals. Other critics were more favorable, likening the album to the music of Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor.
Since its debut, the album has sold over six million copies worldwide, making it the best selling remix album ever released.[5] It was certified Platinum in May 2000, for shipments of at least a million units in the US.[6] It was certified Gold in Canada for a minimum of 50,000 shipments.[7] In Europe the record has been certified for shipments of at least two million copies.[8]
Production and music [ edit ]
"Morphine" Excerpt of the track "Morphine". Problems playing this file? See media help.
The album was produced while Jackson traveled the globe on his HIStory World Tour. Thus, the songs were produced in a variety of countries that included Sweden, Switzerland and Germany.[9][10] The album is made up of eight remixes of songs from HIStory—"Scream", "Money", "2 Bad", "Stranger in Moscow", "This Time Around", "Earth Song", "You Are Not Alone" and "HIStory"—and five new songs—"Blood on the Dance Floor", "Morphine", "Superfly Sister", "Ghosts" and "Is It Scary".
Jackson was heavily involved in the writing, composition and production of the five new songs, and sang all of the lead vocals.[11] jerryTerry remixed "Stranger in Moscow", Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis remixed "Scream", and The Fugees worked on the new track "Blood on the Dance Floor" and the remix of "2 Bad". Wyclef Jean, a member of The Fugees, told MTV of his involvement in the production, "We did a first remix for Michael, and he wanted us to do another one". The group spoke of their excitement at receiving a phone call from Jackson.[12] "Morphine" contains an audio clip from The Elephant Man, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.[13] On this song, Jackson was the sole arranger, doing such to the classical, vocal and orchestral aspects. Jackson also played solo percussion and drums and received joint guitar credit alongside longtime collaborator Slash. Andrae Crouch's choir is also featured on the piece.[13]
"Morphine"'s central themes is the drug usage of Demerol. In the track, he sings, "Trust in me/Just in me/Put all your trust in me/You're doin' morphine...Go on babe/Relax/This won't hurt you/Before I put it in/Close your eyes and count to ten/Don't cry/I won't convert you/There's no need to dismay/Close your eyes and drift away".[14] "Scream Louder" contains elements from "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", performed by Sly & the Family Stone.[11] "2 Bad" contains a recreation of a melody line of Jackson's 1983 hit "Beat It" as well as a rap by John Forté and guitar solo by Wyclef Jean.[15]
Packaging, release and promotion [ edit ]
The 23 page album booklet contains the lyrics to "Blood on the Dance Floor", "Stranger in Moscow" and "HIStory". The eight remixes from HIStory are given additional titles such as "Flyte Tyme Remix" and "Tee's In-House Club Mix". The booklet contains many images from the HIStory World Tour and Ghosts film. Towards the end of the booklet, Jackson pays respect to friends such as Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John, his family, employees and fans.[16]
The album was released by Epic Records on May 20, 1997. HIStory on Film, Volume II was released on the same day—a video collection of Jackson's music videos and television performances from the HIStory era of 1995–1997.[17] By Jackson's prior standards, it was not widely promoted upon release.[9][10][12] The New York Times described the US promotional effort as "subdued", creating "hardly a sound" and "perplexing to many people in the industry". Jackson's label Epic Records, refuted allegations they were not promoting the album sufficiently in the United States, saying, "We are completely behind the album...Michael is certainly one of our superstars and is treated as such...We just went into this one with our global hats on". The New York Times acknowledged that promotion was stronger internationally, where Jackson had more commercial force and popularity. Jackson effectively no longer needed the US market to have a hit record. By June 1997, only ten percent of sales from Jackson's prior studio album came from within the United States.[3]
The singer released a film entitled Ghosts, which he unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival, as part of the album promotion. It was released theatrically in the United States in October 1996; as for the United Kingdom, it debuted at the Odeon Leicester Square in May 1997. The UK event attracted fans, media and business organizations. It was released on cassette in most parts of the world.[9][10][18] The film was written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston. The story was based loosely on the events and isolation Jackson felt after he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. In the plot, the Maestro—played by Jackson—is nearly chased out of his town by the residents and the mayor—who deliberately looks very similar to Tom Sneddon—because they believe him to be a "freak". The film had similar imagery and themes to that of Thriller. It features many special effects and dance moves choreographed to original music, which Jackson himself authored. The film includes several songs and music videos from the albums HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. Ghosts is over thirty-eight minutes long and holds the Guinness World Record as the world's longest music video. It won the Bob Fosse Award for Best Choreography in a Music Video.[10][18][19][20][21]
The album was also promoted with the singles "Blood on the Dance Floor" and "HIStory/Ghosts" as well as three corresponding music videos. The video for "Blood on the Dance Floor" premiered on Top of the Pops.[22] It centered on Susie seducing Jackson in a courtship dance, before opening a switchblade. The lead single peaked at number one in several countries, including the United Kingdom.[18][23] The double A-side "HIStory/Ghosts" was promoted with a video for each song. "HIStory" was set in a nightclub, in a futuristic era, and recalled Jackson's filmography. "Ghosts" was a five-minute clip taken from the much longer film Ghosts. The double A-side would become a top five hit in the United Kingdom, but did not chart as highly elsewhere.[18][24]
Commercial reception [ edit ]
Initial sales in the United States were seen as disappointing for Jackson. It peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard 200 chart and after four weeks the record had sold 92,000 copies. Despite this, long term sales were stronger, it was certified platinum in May 2000, for shipments of at least a million units.[6] It was certified Gold in Canada for a minimum of 50,000 shipments.[7]
In Europe the record has been certified for shipments of at least two million copies.[8] Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix debuted atop the UK album chart, by July 1997 it had sold 250,000 units in the United Kingdom and 445,000 units in Germany.[10][3] The album also peaked at number one in France, Belgium, Spain and New Zealand.[3][4] Since its debut, the album has sold an estimated six million copies worldwide, making it the best selling remix album ever released
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arrangers. We were just starting to say on sessions, "No arrangers." I would arrange the string parts if I was going to do it. I wouldn't let anyone else do the arrangements and I would not touch the rhythm section until we got to the studio and just fooled around and there would be nothing except the chord charts around. Nothing other than that. I think the Troggs' record was a right funky record. You couldn't beat that. It was like the demo, except they played it with an electric guitar. The feeling was exactly the way it should have been. To me, that was the start of punk.
S'POP: And the Troggs have the ocarina
CHIP TAYLOR: Well, the ocarina was something Reg Presley thought was on my demo, because my engineer did this thing with his hands. When the demo was being played back, Ron Johnson was going whistling. I said, "Hey Ron, can you play something like this?" I hummed. He did something close, we over-dubbed on it, and that became the thing that everybody who heard the demo thought was an ocarina.
S'POP: Have you still got your demo?
CHIP TAYLOR: Oh yeah.
S'POP: Still got all your old demos?
CHIP TAYLOR: I got a lot of them. I've saved 'Wild Thing' on to a tape, so that will never be lost. Reg Presley carries an ocarina with him all the time, in his back pocket, when he comes to one of my shows, in case I call him up on stage, he has one.
S'POP: I think "Wild Thing" sounds better with a fiddle! [as played at the previous evening's gig]
KENDEL CARSON: I'm just trying to step up for John!
S'POP: How did you and Chip meet?
KENDEL CARSON: Chip and Carrie [Rodriguez] were playing at the Canmore Folk Festival, near Calgary, Alberta. I was playing there with a band called the Paperboys. Carrie and I were doing a fiddle workshop stage together. There were about six fiddlers on stage. We said "Hi" to Chip after that one. I didn't know who he was at that time. I remember very clearly walking back to the guys in the Paperboys. They said, "You know who you're just talking to? That's the dude that wrote 'Wild Thing'" I said, "That's really cool!" I kept running into Chip and Carrie there, and our bands were playing at the Edmonton Folk Fest, which is a really fun festival, it's big. And so we just got to hang out for a while and really got along. By the end of the festival Chip and I exchanged our addresses. He asked me if I made records and could I send him something to see what he thought. He's easy to talk to and easy going. I thought it couldn't hurt and who knows? So we went back and forth a bit and he ended up saying, "Why don't you come up to New York and try to do some writing?" I was over the moon about that, so I came out. The plan was to hang out and write for 10 days and hopefully cut some demos at the end after two days in the studio. And it was insane. It ended up Chip wrote a bunch of stuff even before I got there. I showed up and he already had six songs written. We went back and forth on a couple of songs, a couple of co-writes. And we went into the studio and just recorded thirteen tracks in two or three days. We've kept in touch since then.
CHIP TAYLOR: It's an amazing thing. One of the things was, aside from whatever you say of her talent, she had a certain energy that I really liked. There's a spirit about her. When she came up to New York it wasn't just about saying, "OK, you're perfectly talented, let's just get a couple of songs together and record them." It wasn't that. It was trying to find a thing that would be her, a new energy for her. That was part of what we worked on. That new energy came so fast that week, it was just magic. So she came with, totally as a writer, and what she left with was like a milestone of work and energy. So to me it was like one of those magic things when somebody just blossoms into something. The girl that walked up to the studio and met me in New York - the first day she met me she could never have walked into that studio and sang thirteen songs with a band and made it feel anything. The girl that did it made it feel everything.
KENDEL CARSON: It's amazing.
S'POP: Your brother is a player as well. Is he older or younger?
KENDEL CARSON: He's about two years older
S'POP: Do you play with him?
KENDEL CARSON: We haven't been doing so much recently, but we grew up playing all the time together. He's a fiddle player as well, so we do the natural twin fiddle stuff.
S'POP: Chip, do you have your own studio?
CHIP TAYLOR: I do have my own studio. I don't do much work in America. The guy who plays bass with John and me - Tony, a great bass player and friend of John's - he's in the studio more than I am, getting old things together. Normally, what I'll do is I'll record stuff in New York with John and Tony and then, if we need to work on it, sometimes up in my studio we'll do that. Times are shifting now; there's not so much of a need for studios as there was.
S'POP: I've got a bit of a thing about the recording studios in New York in the 1960s. I think some of them had their own sound. Does that still apply?
CHIP TAYLOR: It sure did back then. I'm not sure about now.
S'POP: Because of the studios or because of the engineers?
JOHN PLATANIA: The engineers, the equipment. They had the need to come up with this equipment to capture the sound being created.
CHIP TAYLOR: Also the rooms. I think back in those days they had more significance
JOHN PLATANIA: Absolutely! The RCA studios, Stax studios, Sun studios, Gold Star.
CHIP TAYLOR: than they do now. Now, if you're going into these digital things, the room and the sound becomes less and less of a thing. Unless you capture a certain kind of engineer who's attuned to that. Listen back to 'Gasoline' [CT solo album from 1972]. We did that at Bella John's and the sound of that is so analogue and live.
S'POP: Currently, there is a bit of a move, there are some bands that are trying to do that. Little places in London, analogue studios, using vintage equipment, with people queuing up to record. The White Stripes, for example. And one that's making a bit of a noise is James Hunter. He sounds like early-'60s King Records, the way he sings and plays.
JOHN PLATANIA: Howlin' Wilf?
S'POP: That's the guy
JOHN PLATANIA: He's a very specific R&B style. Very good. It's consciously capturing a specific R&B thing.
S'POP: I did a little interview with Brooks Arthur last year. Do you know him?
JOHN PLATANIA: No. I know who he is.
CHIP TAYLOR: I know him. Brooks is one of these guys that was like, he didn't know more than other engineers. He might have known less. But, what he would make up for from being on the same page with you, with energy, was unbelievable. He'd be one of these engineers, I'd say, "This is a crescendo," and he'd be on the board. He'd stand up like playing an instrument. So it was nice to feel like that the guy was on the same page. Probably standing up and doing all this vibration didn't mean much. I didn't know what he was doing. He was moving at the same time and wanted something very important to happen. A great guy!
S'POP: What about your work as producer in the early days?
CHIP TAYLOR: I was an organic kind of producer. I was always fighting for emotion. That's what I was best at. I wasn't a technical producer. I knew what I wanted things to sound like, but I wasn't an engineer, so I didn't know how to get them. But I knew what I didn't like and fought hard to get what I liked.
S'POP: Did you have a studio of choice, a favourite one?
JOHN PLATANIA: Bell Sound was quite a big studio.
CHIP TAYLOR: I liked Bell. I did 'You Can't Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree' at Associated and I liked that folk recording. I liked Dick Charles for all the little demo things I did. It wasn't really a thing where I just loved a studio. I liked a lot of studios. If we got the right engineer we always felt comfortable. It was mostly the engineer.
S'POP: I went to New York a couple of years ago and I went 'round all the addresses where the old studios used to be. Some of them are still there. Different names, but still there. Some of them are a demolished, some of them are car parks. I think the one that used to be Dick Charles is still there and is still a recording studio. It does TV jingles.
CHIP TAYLOR: [Looking at his 'Last Chance' album] I reissued it, but I didn't do the right job with it
JOHN PLATANIA: You didn't master it from the same tapes?
CHIP TAYLOR: I mastered it from a two-track I had, not a half-inch. They didn't want to go through the whole Warner Brothers thing of buying it out. Someone was trying to do me a favour real quick. I didn't like what we did with it. Next time we master it we're going to master it from the vinyl, scratches and all.
KENDEL CARSON: [Reading the LP liner notes] Guitar and fiddle?! I never knew Chip ever played the fiddle.
JOHN PLATANIA: He resurrected the fiddle in spite of his brother's contradictions.
S'POP: I wanted to ask you about your work as a solo performer. You did the work with Al, Just Us, but when did you decide to start out as a solo performer? What brought that about?
CHIP TAYLOR: Well, I always wanted to do it. I'd been comfortable behind the scenes writing songs for a while. The taste I had from working with Al, having a hit record and having Al say, "I don't want to go on the road," Then I was thinking, if I do it myself, I'm scared of the road, I'm scared to perform. I was less scared when I was in high school. By then, I was scared, but I wanted to try it.
S'POP: But in high school, it was with a band.
CHIP TAYLOR: I was the lead singer. I was less afraid then, for some reason. I came back with 'Gasoline'. I was as nervous as hell to get on stage. I was scared.
S'POP: So it was just yourself?
CHIP TAYLOR: And whoever. I had some people playing with me. It was nerve-wracking for me, but I wanted to do it.
S'POP: When you were working in New York, in the writing, did you still perform?
CHIP TAYLOR: No. Played on my own.
S'POP: Sat in your kitchen?
CHIP TAYLOR: Wherever. Worked on my racing form. Wrote a little bit. I didn't hang out in the city.
S'POP: John, how's your album ['Blues, Waltzes & Badland Borders'] doing? It's got some good reviews.
JOHN PLATANIA: Review-wise, it's doing fantastic. It's really pleasantly surprising.
S'POP: This is your first solo?
JOHN PLATANIA: Second. The first was less than a year before. This record, on Train Wreck, has taken a while to do. Only because we'd stop, record it, shelve it for a few months, then start in again. It's taken quite a while.
S'POP: I like the tracks I've heard. It works well with the different vocalists you use.
JOHN PLATANIA: It's almost an instrumental album.
S'POP: Do you call it an instrumental soundscape?
JOHN PLATANIA: Soundscape's great. I immediately saw the cinematic elements of the whole thing.
CHIP TAYLOR: I've heard that Jonathan Demme - he was in the audience - heard John and Kendel perform at the South by South West Festival in Austin. He licensed three songs from John and Kendel for his movie, a documentary about President Carter. He's licensed them and then he has to put it together, so we don't know what the final thing will be. But he loves them and there's a good chance that John will be a part of that.
S'POP: Who have you got singing on the album?
JOHN PLATANIA: Lucinda Williams is singing. Then there are various narratives. Chip's brother Jon (Voight). There's a children's chorus. Alejandro Escovado. Ruben Ramos, who was lead vocalist for Los Super Seven.
S'POP: How is Alejandro?
JOHN PLATANIA: He's doing OK.
CHIP TAYLOR: He's never found a good releasing structure for his records over here. With a bigger company, they don't much care. It's not like going on Train Wreck, where everybody cares. Alejandro, and even Lucinda Williams, when they're on a major label, they're competing with the monsters. If they're not going to be up there selling 300,000 or 400,000 records, they're going to get some lip service, but not the real passion of the label.
S'POP: How long are you in the UK for?
CHIP TAYLOR: Until tomorrow morning.
S'POP: Have you done much radio here?
KENDEL CARSON: No. We did some things in Sweden and Europe.
CHIP TAYLOR: Kendel's record ['I Like Trucks'] is getting so much radio support here. Her record is breaking.
KENDEL CARSON: Danny Baker (BBC Radio London) is playing it, every day for ten days. Johnnie Walker (BBC Radio 2). Somebody told me that Danny Baker said, on his show, "I'm going to say this one time: Kendel Carson." He played the song, then he played it the next couple of days, and he never said a word before or after it. Johnnie Walker said that he heard it on Danny Baker's show, that's why he started playing it.
CHIP TAYLOR: He's doing a little trick with it. A mystery thing. That's the nice thing about Kendel's record. It's not your typical country power pop record, yet people here in this town and DJs will hear it and love it. It doesn't have to be power for them, it's got the song. It's just a cool little record, and I don't think it would get the same treatment in the States.
S'POP: We were saying after last night's gig, you were right to play it twice.
KENDEL CARSON: It was funny! Doing it twice, hilarious!
S'POP: We don't use the word "truck" in England, it's "lorries". It gives it that snappy little title - it's foreign, exotic.
KENDEL CARSON: I never thought of that! "Lorries" doesn't have the same kind of
S'POP: Kendel, do you listen to much English fiddle music? There's a young woman fiddler and singer, Eliza Carthy.
KENDEL CARSON: One of my buddies is her boyfriend right now. She's good. Canadian fiddle music is influenced a lot by English folk music, and Scottish. The Cape Breton music is almost Scottish sounding, and the West Coast is more Irish, and possibly more English as well.
S'POP: I once saw Ashley McIsaac. He was wearing a kilt and a Mohican haircut.
KENDEL CARSON: He's an East Coast fiddler, a punk fiddler.
CHIP TAYLOR: Just to give you a little advance about the new thing. It will be coming up in the next year and you guys are the first ones to know about it. There's going to be a concept album with the entire band. It's going to be a pretty big adventure. Not just recordings. It's going to be John, Kendel and I doing vocals that inter-weave with each other, different kinds of songs. Sometimes it'll be John and I, sometimes Kendel and I, sometimes the three of us. Drifting back into the spirit of why we are in the business in the first place. It's going to carry a lot of weight for us, and the band is going to be very much part of it. So it's going to be a band concept. We're doing demos for it today. It's all stuff that's been written in the last week or so. So I'm really excited about the project. We're going to work on it together.
S'POP: It sounds exciting. Last night, what came across was that you were working as a band. It was the Train Wreck Revue, but you were playing together, playing things from your own albums and careers.
JOHN PLATANIA: We wanted to minimise the "revue" concept.
CHIP TAYLOR: We have a bigger thing coming, next year, that will make more sense.
S'POP: You'll take that show on the road?
CHIP TAYLOR: For sure. It's going to be an important thing, on many areas, not just recordings.
S'POP: Are you writing together?
CHIP TAYLOR: I've written a bunch of things to get started and we're going to collaborate.
S'POP: And you're carrying on with your solo careers as well?
CHIP TAYLOR: Yes. One of the things that makes the project exciting is that John's record is out there now - it's a record for all time. We don't want to be filling it up with another album right away. The same with Kendel's album. We don't want to put this one out and then come with another within six months. Their albums are way too important. But this other thing, this group thing, won't interfere with that. And then we can slowly get ready for what they're doing next, without being too pressured to be back in the system. And some of the things that we're going to be doing are going to be featuring John and Kendel.
S'POP: How do you fit in with the country music establishment?
CHIP TAYLOR: We don't fit in with them. We have nothing to do with them, except for the fact that maybe they're coming more toward our way, but it's nothing I want to play, any of those kind of things. They're still playing pretty powerful pop, selling soap box kind of stuff.
S'POP: Do you think that's always been the case with yourself? In your career as a writer, maybe too soul for the country field, and too country for the pop field?
CHIP TAYLOR: That was more when I was a singer. When I was a writer, I had no problems with the kind of music that was being done back then. There was the Brown Family and Eddy Arnold and Waylon and Willie. There was some politics going on, but still wonderful records being made. So, having been part of that scene, it was great. I just got further away in the '70s, and then in the '80s and '90s it was nothing to do with us.
S'POP: Country music stations today don't play people like Eddy Arnold anymore, unless it's an oldies station.
CHIP TAYLOR: If you listen back to those recordings, they're just nice recordings. In the '50s and '60s there were a wealth of things that were brilliant and very soulful, but they just got more plastic as the day went on. We're back doing soulful things. If people like it, they like it. Now they like trucks!!
S'POP: They like lorries!
CHIP TAYLOR: People say, "You've gotta another 'Wild Thing', Chip!"
S'POP: The hook is the "1-2-3-4!"
KENDEL CARSON: It's a huge part of it.
CHIP TAYLOR: The simplest things.A new LGBT bill was introduced into the House on Thursday drawing the support of heavy hitters like Apple, the Dow Chemical Company, and Levi Strauss.
This new bill seeks to end widespread discrimination against the LGBT community. BuzzFeed writes that this bill will be “enacting broad legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination — including in housing, workplaces, schools, and public accommodations.”
The bill currently has 165 cosponsors, with a reported 37 from California, 17 from New York, and at least 35 other states.
Not only has it drawn attention from the political sphere, but it has also drawn the public support of major companies.
Apple, with openly gay CEO Tim Cook at the helm, has released a statement hosted by The Human Right’s Campaign supporting the bill: “At Apple we believe in equal treatment for everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. We fully support the expansion of legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity.”
Dow echoed those sentiments, stating: “ The full inclusion of our LGBT colleagues and citizens is quite simply the right thing to do – for business and for society.” And Levi Strauss citing explicit support for the Equality Act as well, writes, “we have a long history of supporting LGBT equality, and the time has come in this country for full, federal equality for the LGBT community.”
Last week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that businesses could not fire employees on the basis of sexual orientation, a rule likely to be challenged in the courts. If LGBT protection legislation was passed in Congress those challenges would have significantly less weight.Across the globe, an estimated 300 million children have no shoes. Almost a billion of the world’s citizens are starving. Let that sink in for just a moment.
With those facts in mind, please forgive me for being cynical when Cindy Jacobs, a wealthy Christian, claims that the fact that she has plenty of food, or that her shoes lasted a long time, is proof of God’s miracles.
“I have seen God multiply food more than one time when I was cooking. When my kids were little, they were always bringing their friends into the house, and I remember spooning out spaghetti or whatever and just prayed and the spirit over that just made more and more and more.
I’ve seen bottles of oil multiply as I was praying for the sick. Bottles of oil just fill up about a cup at a time of oil.”
Then she talked about tires and shoes that lasted a long time.
“And then I had a pair of shoes that I wore and wore and wore for years…these shoes did not wear out and I wore them years and years and years.”
Here’s the video from Right Wing Watch:
Jacobs isn’t the first Christian to find proof of God in every day things. Who can forget former child star Kirk Cameron’s famous ‘Proof of God is in a banana’ video? Here it is:
Of course, I could also say that a banana, which has changed over time, is also proof of evolution.
The fact is, if we look, we could see miracles all around us, but if we look for God in material possessions, we are barking up the wrong tree. Atheists are as likely to be wealthy and have shoes they can wear for “years and years and years.” On the other hand, many of the world’s poor are Christian.
If a Christian has to work that hard to justify their God, perhaps it is their own belief which is at risk. If God is granting miracles to the people who least need it, while letting people go without basic needs, perhaps we should be asking questions not forcing answers.
Wendy Gittleson is a seasoned writer, a dog lover and an avid political junkie. She is the Senior Editor for Addicting Info. In her rare down times, you’ll find her somewhere in the mountains or near the beach. Follow her on her Facebook page or on Twitter, @wendygittleson21 March 2016, 15:02
iOS 9.3 is now officially available and you can update your iPhone or iPad by opening the Settings app, then tapping the General heading, and tapping Software Update. Alternatively, attach your device to your computer via USB and sync using iTunes. You’ll be prompted to install the update.
There’s numerous new features in iOS 9.3 and below we tell you how to get started with them.
Night Shift
Open the Settings app, then tap the Display & Brightness heading. Then tap the Night Shift entry and tap either Scheduled, to set start and end times for Night Shift, or the switch alongside Manually Enable Until Tomorrow.
When setting a schedule you can tap to choose exact times, or tap Sunset to Sunrise to have Night Shift follow the sun in your locality, thanks to GPS and knowledge of sunset/sunrise times. (Don’t see Sunset/Sunrise options? See this article.)
The manual enable switch is useful for initially adjusting the Color Temperature slider, which you’ll see below the other controls. This lets you get the degree of warmth coloration to your tastes (ensure you’re looking straight on at the screen while doing this, because the color can shift subtly if viewing from non-straight angles.) I prefer a slightly cooler image, for example, rather than a screen swamped by yellow.
Night Shift can also be toggled on and off from the Control Center that slides up from the bottom of the screen.
Can’t see a Night Shift option? This might be because it’s only for the iPhone 5s or later, iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, iPad mini 2 or later, and iPod touch (6th generation).
Notes security and sorting
Open the Settings app, then tap the Notes heading in the list. Then tap the Password heading.
You’ll be immediately prompted to set a password, and you should make this different from your login passphrase/passcode. If your device has TouchID you can choose to use this instead of the password, by toggling the switch beneath the password field, but you’ll still have to enter a password – it’s needed if you try to open the note on a Mac, or those occasions when TouchID on the iPhone/iPad just won’t work properly.
Protection isn’t automatic or universal. From now on you must manually lock any notes you want to protect – open the note, then tap the Share button, and tap the Lock Note icon. You’ll need to enter your password or use TouchID to apply the lock option to the note. Once the lock option has been applied, you must tap the lock icon at the top of the note to actually lock it.
To alter how the notes are sorted in the list, open the Settings app, tap the Notes heading, and then tap the Sort Notes By entry and choose from the list: Date Edited, Date Created, or Title.
News app
No mystery here – just open the News app, then tap the For You icon at the bottom to see a better laid-out, faster and more personalized summary of the top stories you’re likely to be interested in.
Don’t forget to try out the new News app landscape mode by turning your device on its side (and turning off orientation lock, if necessary!)
Health app suggestions
Again, this feature isn’t complicated – just open the Health app, tap the Dashboard icon at the bottom, tap one of the Dashboard entries, and the list of apps will appear under the usual Dashboard info for that section. Tapping any will switch you out to the App Store for installation.
Obviously, not all Dashboard categories have apps. Nobody has yet created an app to aid climbing flights of stairs, for example. Try each of the Dashboard headings in turn to see what’s suggested.
MacStories has an interesting write-up on CareKit, which was announced during the March 21st event.
Switching users on iPad
Alas, this feature is only available when the iPad is managed in an education environment, with the Shared iPad feature employed via the new Classroom app. For more information, see Apple’s guide. (If we find an easy way of hacking this for general use we’ll be sure to let you know here at Mac Kung Fu!)
Multiple Watch pairing
If you’re lucky enough to have more than one Apple Watch, and want to pair them to the same iPhone, open the Watch app on the phone and select your currently paired Watch from the list at the top. Then select Pair a New Apple Watch from the list. In future you can switch between Watch settings/configurations within the Watch app by simply opening the Watch app on the iPhone, then waking the Watch by lifting it to view the time.
Note that before being able to add a new Watch you’ll need to ensure the current Watch paired with the Phone is updated to Watch OS 2.2. This can be done by opening the Watch app on the iPhone, then selecting General > Software Update. The Watch will need to be charging for the update to be applied, and have a charge of at least 50%.
New Force Touch options
If you have an iPhone 6S or a 6S Plus, be sure to Force Touch each home-screen icon for the built-in apps to see the new menu options. For example, Force Touching the Settings app now provides a shortcut to go straight to choosing a Wi-Fi network.06 October 2016
Salem, NH – Drivers representing Formula Race Promotions’ (FRP) F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Championship Series have stamped their tickets to the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout.
Ryan Norman (Atlantic), John McCusker (F2000) and Peter Portante (F1600) earned tickets through Formula Race Promotions, while Neil Verhagen won the F1600 Championship but had previously earned his entry through his dominating win at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
The winner of the Shootout will receive a $200,000 scholarship from Mazda to join the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017.
The entry tickets were handed out at an awards ceremony following the FRP season finale this past weekend at VIR.
“When I got called up and given my ticket to the Shootout all I could was sit back down, hold it and stare at it,” said Portante, who finished runner-up in the F1600 Championship for K-Hill Motorsports, while teammate Verhagen took the title.
“It has been culmination of so much hard work, sweat and tears. And I know that is cliché but this the break every driver looks for and I couldn’t be here at all without the F1600 Series, K-Hill and Intercity Lines,” Portante added.
For Dotworks Racing driver John McCusker, a late-season surge elevated him to second in the points, the first eligible driver behind Series Champion and Masters Class driver Steve Bamford.
“I’m very excited to get out to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in December,” said McCusker. “I was caught off guard and a bit shocked to get this. I’m thankful for everything the F2000 Series has done; I’ve developed as a driver considerably racing in it.”
Clinching the title with one weekend to spare with a strong performance at New Jersey Motorsports Park in August, Ryan Norman won the Atlantic Championship for K-Hill Motorsports, and doubled down, also being crowned the Atlantic SCCA Runoffs Champion.
"The plan from the beginning was to make a run for the championship. I knew we had the team and car to do it and I just had to give it everything I had," said Norman, who also graduated high school between races earlier in the year.
The inaugural Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout will be held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, December 6-7, bringing together champions from around the world.Surprise wild otter birth gives Monterey Bay Aquarium an adorable, temporary attraction
A wild female sea otter gave birth to a baby sea otter at the Great Tide Pool of the Monterey Aquarium on Sunday. A wild female sea otter gave birth to a baby sea otter at the Great Tide Pool of the Monterey Aquarium on Sunday. Photo: Tyson V. Rininger, Monterey Bay Aquarium Photo: Tyson V. Rininger, Monterey Bay Aquarium Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Surprise wild otter birth gives Monterey Bay Aquarium an adorable, temporary attraction 1 / 29 Back to Gallery
As usual, the most popular attraction at the Monterey Bay Aquarium this weekend was an otter, but this one wasn't a scheduled display. A wild newborn pup's arrival was a surprise treat for visitors, staff and anyone lucky enough to look at the adorable pictures in the slideshow above.
Aquarium officials say they noticed a wild female lounging in the aquarium's protected lagoon - which is visible from many of the facilities outdoor spaces - late last week.
"It's rare for a healthy sea otter to visit the pool so frequently—we started to wonder if she was doing all right," aquarium staff wrote in an online blog. "Mystery solved! Around 8:30 a.m. (Sunday), Aquarium staff witnessed a BRAND NEW pup resting on her belly, being furiously groomed by a proud momma."
Throughout the day Sunday, staff and visitors checked in to see the new pup perk up and get "fluffier in front of their eyes."
Related Story: Funniest wildlife photos of 2015 award winners
Biologists say the birth is evidence of a conservation success story.
"Not that long ago, sea otters were hunted to near extinction. Maybe 50 were left in all of California by the early 1800's. But now...the otter population has rebounded to steady levels in the Monterey Bay, and with 3,000 total in central California," staff wrote on the aquarium Tumbler page.
Aquarium officials promise to provide online updates as long as the mom and pup stick around.CLOSE Here is a look at the places recent presidents moved to after they left office. USA TODAY
President Obama and his family have decided to lease this nine-bedroom mansion in Kalorama, one of Washington's poshest neighborhoods, when he leaves office in January 2017. (Photo11: Andrew Harnik, AP)
WASHINGTON — President Obama and Michelle Obama will rent a house in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington after he leaves office next year, according to media reports.
The Obamas have said they plan to stay in Washington to allow their younger daughter, Sasha, to finish her final two years at Sidwell Friends School. Older first daughter Malia Obama will graduate from the private Quaker school this year and plans to attend Harvard University in 2017 after taking a gap year.
The 8,200-square-foot mansion, which was built in 1928, sits off Massachusetts Avenue NW by Embassy Row and Rock Creek Park.
According to Politico, the first family will lease the home owned by Joe Lockhart and Giovanna Gray after they leave the White House in January. Lockhart was the White House press secretary during the Clinton administration and has moved to New York to become executive vice president for communications for the National Football League.
Zillow states the home has nine bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms. It last sold in 2014 for $5,295,000. The home features a castle-like brick exterior and sits on a quarter-acre lot just down the road from the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, the Associated Press reported.
A gated courtyard leading to garages may have enough room to accommodate the Secret Service detail that will protect the president and his family after his term ends.
The posh area is already pretty secure. Neighbors who talked to WUSA-TV Wednesday said they are used to additional security in the neighborhood because it’s so close to Embassy Row. Many of them jog along the street that runs right in front of the home.
There are houses along one side of the street, but none directly across the street from where the Obamas will live.
With a sprawling terrace and a castle-like exterior, the home the Obamas reportedly will rent sits on a quarter-acre lot just down the road from the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, in the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood of Washington near Embassy Row. (Photo11: Andrew Harnik, AP)
”There will be a few more people driving down the street to see where he’s moved into,” said Corey Gramling, who’s been walking in the Kalorama neighborhood for five years. “So I could see there being a little more traffic initially, but after the initial rush I think it should slow down a bit for everyone.”
President Obama is the first president since Woodrow Wilson in 1921 to stay in Washington after leaving office. Wilson also lived in the Kalorama neighborhood. Former president Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton also own a home in the area.
Follow WUSA-TV on Twitter: @wusa9
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Made in IBM Labs: Collaboration Aims to Harness the Energy of 2,000 Suns
- High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal system able to convert 80 percent of the collected solar energy
- System can deliver electricity, fresh water and cool air in remote locations
- Design based on a low-cost, large dish-like concentrator and microchannel cooled high performance photovoltaic chips suitable for mass-production
ZURICH, 22 April 2013: Today on Earth Day, scientists have announced a collaboration to develop an affordable photovoltaic system capable of concentrating, on average, the power of 2,000 suns, with an efficiency that can collect 80 percent of the incoming radiation and convert it to useful energy. The proposed system can be built anywhere sustainable energy, drinkable water and cool air are in short supply at a cost of three times lower than comparable systems.
A three-year, $2.
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It was, he wrote, “a short note which you will receive only if anything has happened to me during the next few days”. On 1 July Boswell died in the first hour of the Battle of the Somme, aged just 22.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Percy Boswell’s last letter home. Photograph: Imperial War Museum
The 141 days of the battle across the flat farmland of northern France would eventually claim more than a million Allied and German dead and injured. Boswell was among 57,000 British casualties that first day. More than half of the soldiers in the second wave of the attack were cut down as they crossed the 320 metres of no man’s land. All 25 officers in his battalion, including Boswell, were either killed or wounded.
Somme trench recreated in Welsh castle to salute battle's centenary Read more
His letter is among hundreds written on the eve of battle preserved in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, and revealed to mark the centenary. Many are creased and tattered from being read over and over again by the desolate families.
On Friday, scores of events across Britain and in France will be held to mark the centenary of the battle, which began on 1 July 1916.
The main international ceremony will be at the Thiepval Memorial in France, attended by politicians, descendants of those who fought and hundreds of schoolchildren. The memorial bears the names of 72,000 people whose burial place is unknown.
There will be vigil services on Thursday at Westminster Abbey, and in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland, and a national service of commemoration at Manchester Cathedral on Friday. The service will be relayed to screens, and there will also be parades, exhibitions and free concerts in the city’s Heaton Park, which once served as an assembly point and training ground for troops heading for the front.
The Imperial War Museum in London is opening until midnight on Thursday, the eve of the battle, with special film, music and theatrical events and exhibitions. Admission is free.
Many of the final letters were given to the museum by descendants, along with treasured photographs, and kindly phrased and frequently untrue assurances from officers or chaplains that their loved ones died instantly without suffering. Some came with scraps of personal possessions including John Shaw’s homemade identity tag – he had worked in London as an embosser – with his name and number punched into the metal, made into a bracelet with a cheap watch chain.
Anthony Richards, head of documents and sound at the museum, said although the soldiers were issued with cloth or paper ID tags, some made their own for fear of ending up – as so many did – an unidentifiable corpse in a mass grave.
Shaw’s letter is one of the most extraordinary. He wrote to his mother on 12 October, when he was actually lying on the battlefield mortally wounded. “We went over the top on Sunday 8th and I got wounded. I managed to crawl back to our lines and worse luck here I am. Been here 4 days today and dying for a drink.
“Someone run into us the other day and promised to get us out of it. But we are still here never even brought us any water. I have been shot through the hip and cannot use my right leg. Properly knock up. Pity when one gets a blighty one [a minor wound that would get you sent home] too, after so long.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pte John Shaw. Photograph: Imperial War Museum
Shaw was eventually rescued and brought to hospital in Rouen, but died there on 18 October.
Many were not formal last letters. Thomas Farlam wrote cheerfully in September to ask his wife for a notebook. Annie’s letter, stained with the Somme mud, was found among his possessions after his death on 16 September.
Royston Jones wrote on 10 September to his parents, Amelia and Charles, at home in Hackney, east London, assuring them that he was “quite in the pink” and had got their parcel. He ended: “PS I want some safety razor blades as soon as poss as I have run out of them also.” Five days later he was dead, aged 20.
Neither man’s body was ever identified, and their names are among the 72,000 carved into the Thiepval Memorial.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Shaw’s homemade identity tag. Photograph: Andrew Tunnard/Imperial War Museum
After witnessing months of the battle, Albert Baker wrote with foreboding in September: “I am writing this whilst in billets, some three miles behind the Line, not because I feel downhearted at all but because there have been so many killed or mortally wounded near me, and who knows but that it might be my turn next and I could not bear parting without my heartfelt thanks for your innumerable kindnesses.” He asked for his stamp collection to be saved for his youngest brother “as he may take an interest in them when he is older”.
Albert Baker. Photograph: Imperial War Museum
“Once more before I close this not very cheerful epistle, I must thank you again for the way you have brought me up and looked after me, asking you to remember me to all my old friends, particularly Art and Rodney.” He added a postscript: “Who knows but that we may meet again in another sphere, when I shall be able to thank you personally for everything?”
He died on 14 September, shot in the lung, aged 20.
• The centenary of the eve and first day of the Battle of the Somme will be marked by scores of events across Britain and in France, including vigils in many churches on Thursday, and on Friday a two-minute silence, a national service of commemoration in Manchester, and a major international ceremony at the Thiepval Memorial in France attended by politicians, descendants and hundreds of schoolchildren.Richard Wade here.
My friends at Filipino Freethinkers have been nominated at the Global Tatt Awards in two categories:
The first category is called “The Advocate.” Since they first formed in early 2009, they have fought tirelessly both in public events and online against the Catholic Church’s domination of Philippine politics and public policy, advocating for freethought, secularism, reproductive health rights, LGBT and women’s rights, and free speech.
The second category is called “The One.” This is for shaping society through advocacy with the best overall website and online presence.
Winning either of these will help them to bring more public awareness to the important causes they support, and will also give them a much needed $2400 cash prize. From their beginning they have funded most of their advocacy efforts out of their own pockets, while of course the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, (CBCP) has virtually unlimited resources.
I’ve been impressed with the Filipino Freethinkers’ energy and courage since I first encountered them two years ago, and since then they have shown enormous support for two of my letter writers. They really deserve some recognition and help.
To vote for them, you must have a Facebook account. Use this link to go to the official Globe Tatt Awards site.
Click on “The One” at the top of the category list at the left, and click your vote under the blue and red ff logo for Filipino Freethinkers.
Then click on “The Advocate” at the bottom of the category list and click your vote for them in that category.
To clarify, you can vote once in both categories.
Thanks!George R.R. Martin took to his Not a Blog to announce some great news: Wild Cards has a new website! The new online home includes sample stories, character biographies, author Q&As, games, and a blog. Martin says “There’s tons of content there, and we hope to be adding more regularly. Head on over and explore, and mark it down as a place to visit regularly. And of course we’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think of the place, and what would you like to see us add in the future?”
For those new to the game, Wild Cards is a series of shared universe anthologies featuring science fiction superheroes. The series is primarily set in an alternate history version of the United States, in which some humans have contracted the alien “Wild Card virus,” which causes mutations ranging from utter incapacitating physical conditions (Jokers) to superpowers (Aces).
The series began when Martin acted as gamemaster for a long-running campaign of an RPG called Superworld. He and some of his fellow players enjoyed he world of the game so much they decided to develop it into a series of short stories, and the first book, Wild Cards, was released in January 1987. Twenty-three books have been published in the series as of August, 2016, and a future triad of books is being written for release through Tor Books.
Head on over to Wild Cards World to check out the new content!
[via Not a Blog]Story highlights Amitai Etzioni: Todd Akin's comment about "legitimate rape" is not uncommon
Etzioni: The extent to which young people do not get what rape means has changed little
He says role playing can be an effective tool in teaching people that rape is a violent assault
Etzioni: We should use the Akin uproar to educate people about what rape really is
Last week, Republicans and Democrats alike chastised U.S. Rep. Todd Akin for coming up with a highly troubling reference to "legitimate rape," implying that not all rapes were unjustified, like say when a married man forces his wife to have sex. Akin has since corrected himself and said he opposes only "forcible rape." Critics point out that there is only one kind of rape -- a violent one. Rape is, by definition, a form of aggravated assault.
What all the very justifiable media hoopla ignores is that Akin's view of rape is far from unique. It follows that the educational agenda we all face is much greater and more challenging than setting straight one congressman who claims that he is suffering from a mild case of foot-in- the-mouth disease.
The extent to which young people do not get what rape means has changed little over the years.
According to statistics in the 1988 book, "I Never Called It Rape," by Robin Warshaw, 84% of college men who committed rape claimed that what they had done was not, in fact, rape. One in 15 male students reported that they raped someone or attempted to do so in the preceding year. And "nearly one third of college men said they were likely to have sex with an unwilling partner if they thought they could get away with it."
Amitai Etzioni
A more recent study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology in 1998 asked students to what extent it was acceptable for a man to verbally pressure or force a date to have sexual intercourse. The responses show that 17% of men considered that using force was an acceptable strategy to get their way.
We need to use the recent uproar over Akin's remark as a learning opportunity.
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A good place to start is with young people in high schools and colleges. Assemblies will do as a starter, especially if one can find rape victims who are willing to come forward and tell what it is like to be forced and the psychological scars that remain for years to come. Open discussions among men and women best follow, in smaller groups.
Moreover, I highly recommend role playing. I used to scoff at role playing, which I considered a gimmicky approach to education. I changed my mind after seeing it enacted.
I saw a husband playing a wife, and the wife acting as if she was the man of the house. She asked her husband: "What did you do the whole day?" and "Why is the baby still fussing and the laundry not done?"
The husband later related that for the first time in his life, he truly felt what it is like to stay home the whole day, doing household work and dealing with children, and then to be treated as if one did not work.
Asking men -- who after all are 99% of the rapists -- to role play as if they have been raped by a woman is very unlikely to work. However, my colleagues in the psychology department tell me that men, especially young men and those who are not particularly athletic, are very sensitive to the notion that they may be raped by another man.
Role playing in which a man is cornered by someone who pretends to be, say, a football coach is likely to evoke in them what women feel when they are cornered.
I am not arguing that this, or for that matter any, educational device or program will convince one and all that rape is a shameful violent act (and, of course, a violation of the law).
But at least we should use the Akin incident to engender a discussion of what are and what are not acceptable ways for people to proposition each other. Any use of force to gain sex deeply wounds those who are raped and reveals the predator is not much of a man.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinionMore than 30 people were injured in the Baghdad bomb blast
At least six people have been killed and about 40 injured in a series of bomb attacks in Iraq, officials say.
At least four policemen were killed by a roadside bomb in a village near the town of Falluja, west of Baghdad.
A car bomb killed at least two people at a bus terminal in a Shia district in the south of the capital.
The attacks come less than a week before US soldiers pull out of Iraqi cities, and a day after a bomb blast killed nearly 70 people in Baghdad.
More than 130 people were injured in the blast in a market place in Sadr City, a predominantly Shia area of the Iraqi capital.
Under an agreement with the Iraqi authorities, most of the 133,000 US troops in Iraq are due to leave the country's cities and towns and withdraw to military bases by 30 June.
Combat operations across Iraq are due to end by September 2010 and all US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.
Surge in violence
In the Falluja attack, the policemen were killed when an improvised explosive device destroyed their patrol vehicle, officials said.
Falluja, in Anbar province, was once a major bastion of the insurgency, but the security situation has improved there in recent years.
The Baghdad car bomb, which killed two people, exploded in a bus station in the Baya district. About 31 people were injured.
Nine US soldiers were also injured on Thursday when two roadside bombs hit their patrol in eastern Baghdad, the US military said.
Despite a recent surge in violence, the US military has said American troops would leave Iraqi cities as planned next Tuesday.On July 16, 1969, a rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida launched three humans into space, destination moon. They were hurtled away from Earth with the help of NASA's Saturn V rocket -- and with the help of, at the rocket's base, five Rocketdyne F-1 engines. This was a lot of help. According to a 1965 press release [pdf], "The F-1 is the most powerful rocket engine to be ordered into production in the United States. It is a single chamber, liquid propellant engine of conventional, proven design developing 1,500,000 pounds of thrust." And despite all the advances we've made since then in the broad field of rocket science, the F-1 remains the most powerful single-chamber liquid-fueled rocket engine ever developed.
And yet. The engines, like so many of the instruments we devise to send ourselves into space, were useful only briefly: The F-1s had a practical shelf life of about 165 seconds. After the Saturn V and its passengers had gotten the boost they needed, the engines were jettisoned: five scarred, metal cones sent hurtling into the waters of the Atlantic.
The engines were relegated to the sea floor -- until now. Two of the Saturn V engines have now been recovered from their watery, and only temporary, graves. And they've been surfaced by Jeff Bezos. (Yes, that Jeff Bezos.) The Amazon CEO's other company, the space technology firm Blue Origin, has recovered a pair of first-stage engines so they can be studied, restored, and, later, displayed to the public. ("The objects themselves," Bezos says, "are gorgeous.")Looking for news you can trust?
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A judge in Kansas has blocked the state’s strict new regulations on abortion providers from taking effect, a move that will allow all three clinics in the state to continue offering services, the Kansas City Star reports.
On Friday afternoon, U.S District Judge Carlos Murguia granted a request from two clinics—Aid for Women in Kansas City and the Center for Women’s Health in Overland Park—to grant temporary relief from the new rules, which took effect July 1. The clinics were denied a license to continue operating after the state issued new rules on June 17 that would have required both clinics to make major changes to their facilities. A third clinic, owned by Planned Parenthood, was granted a license to continue operating on Thursday.
The injunction will remain in place until the court hears the formal challenge to the state’s regulations.
“This is a tremendous victory for women in Kansas and against the underhanded efforts of anti-choice politicians to shut down abortion providers in the state,” said Center for Reproductive Rights president Nancy Northup, which joined with the clinics in filing the legal challenge to the law, in a statement Friday evening. “The facts were clear—this licensing process had absolutely nothing to do with patient health or safety and everything to do with political shenanigans.”
The Kansas legislature passed a new law in April creating a new designation for abortion providers under the state’s licensing system, and directed the Department of Health and Environment to issue new rules. The department issued 36-pages of rules on June 17 (though the clinics did not receive copies until June 20), mandating things like the size of waiting and recovery rooms, the number of bathrooms, and the required temperatures for each room in the facility. Clinic owners argued that it was impossible to meet the new standards, given that they were released just two weeks before the clinics were required to comply. Moreover, they argued, the rules had little to do with protecting patients and were designed to shut down the clinics.
This type of law, often called “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” or “TRAP” laws, isn’t exactly new or unique, but Kansas’ would have gone farther than others in actually shutting down abortion providers.American Civil Liberties Union says black families in study had been subjected to ‘redlining’ – denying or charging more for necessary services – before 2008 crash
Black Americans were unequally issued loans on unfavorable terms during the sub-prime loan bonanza that prefigured the housing crisis and are still suffering in its aftermath, a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union has found.
The resulting economic downturn has adversely affected them to a much greater degree than white homeowners, said the ACLU’s Rachel Goodman, who said the findings suggest banks knowingly preyed on black mortgage-seekers when it came to issuing sub-prime mortgages.
“Race must have been a factor somewhere in the decision-making, because it otherwise doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Goodman said. Goodman pointed out that the report differs significantly from other studies of wealth by race, in that it compares people who are all homeowners and thus presumably fit some definition of “middle class”.
Goodman said the black families in the study, which surveyed 3,000 households (741 of them black), had been subjected to “redlining” – denying or charging more for necessary services – loans to people in historically black neighborhoods, which made the residents of those neighborhoods particularly susceptible to predation by fly-by-night mortgage outfits pushing sub-prime loans so they could turn them around on the then-booming secondary market.
“Traditional banks are less likely to be set up and pushing better credit options to those families,” Goodman said. “It’s just taking advantage of a kind of vacuum.”
The report’s executive summary cited the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the topic, observing that the disparity between mortgage holders varied dramatically by race and had seemingly nothing to do with wealth.
“Borrowers in upper-income black neighborhoods were twice as likely as homeowners in low-income white neighborhoods to refinance with a sub-prime loan,” the HUD report said.
The ACLU doesn’t have specific policy recommendations out of the report, but Goodman did say that some loan market regulation currently being pushed back against by the banks had the potential to help black borrowers. The Qualified Mortgage (QM) standard, a part of the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (a section of the Dodd-Frank Act) sets a high bar for a mortgage that can be turned around and made into part of a security the way sub-prime loans were before the crisis.
Bankers have said specifically that this will keep them from lending to black and Hispanic loan-seekers, since those people have been disproportionately affected by the housing crisis and now have lower incomes.
Goodman isn’t convinced. “We think that’s a really false argument,” she said. It’s only onerous to issue loans to poor people if you insist on terms those borrowers can never meet. “It’s not that it’s impossible to issue safe loans, it’s that if you are invested in taking shortcuts, maybe this is a little difficult.”WASHINGTON—Explaining that the measure is intended to protect politicians’ right to free expression against undue scrutiny from the general population, a new ruling implemented this week by the Federal Election Commission allows candidates running for public office to remain completely anonymous throughout the campaign process. “Candidates should be able to make themselves heard without having their identities, personal associations, and records on the issues exposed in the public eye,” said agency spokesperson Wayne Branson, adding that the new policy means congressional hopefuls can avoid being personally challenged on their agendas by opting to withhold their names and likenesses from all campaign material, television commercials, FEC filings, and public appearances. “The fact that political candidates are no longer under any obligation to disclose who they are will ensure a freer, more open electoral process. It is our belief that elections should be about ideas and plans for the country, not about who is saying them, what that person looks like, what their background might be, if they’re qualified, or what motives they might have.” Branson confirmed that elected candidates would then have the option to remain anonymous for the duration of their term.
AdvertisementShe sounds like the stuff of a middle-aged man’s nightmares; a stalker who simply wouldn’t leave Stuart Kerner alone. She had targeted him, the judge said sternly, at an “emotionally vulnerable” time; it was almost as if she was grooming him.
Reading the court reports, you have to pinch yourself to remember who is the victim here. Yet for the record, the defendant wasn’t the troubled 16-year-old girl thus portrayed but her 44-year-old teacher, who by sleeping with her had broken the law. (For teacher and pupil – or any other relationship involving an adult who is in a position of trust – the legal age of consent effectively isn’t 16 but 18.)
Oh, and if you’re wondering why the judge deemed him “vulnerable”, it’s because his wife had had a difficult pregnancy; the week she miscarried, he slept with his student. Which does raise the question of who, exactly, was vulnerable to whom.
This is the sort of story that makes one weary, deep down in the bones: oh Lord, not this again. So much for training judges to discard the victim-blaming myths with which they may have grown up; so much, arguably, for trying to diversify the judiciary when this verdict was handed down by a female judge, Joanna Greenberg QC. The only bright spot is the flurry of complaints it has attracted, although it emerged yesterday that the attorney general is powerless to refer the sentence for review despite complaints that it was too lenient (Kerner was convicted on two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, but received a suspended sentence).
But there will still be plenty of people, not all of them lecherous old gymslip fantasists, who won’t get what the fuss is about; who think it’s inevitable that the odd teacher, surrounded by surging adolescent hormones, will give in to temptation.
It’s true that you’ll never stop teenagers having crushes on their teachers, and nor will you ever stop some teachers secretly fancying their sixth-formers right back. But that’s not the point. It is acting on desire, rather than merely feeling it, which is criminal – and any teacher prepared to break the law for a fumble behind the bike sheds should be nowhere near a classroom. This whiny, couldn’t-help-myself nonsense needs to stop.
It’s not hard to see why the myth of the predatory minx, in whose hands all are helpless, might appeal to men: it is, sometimes quite literally, a get-out-of jail-free card. But it’s surprising how many intelligent women buy into it too.
Shirley Williams said this week of her adored but unfaithful first husband Bernard, who left her for another woman, that he was “always a bit …vulnerable”. Because he was clever and good-looking he had been, she explained, “pinioned by quite a number of – I have to say – hopeful ladies”. Poor helpless Bernard: what chance did a mere moral philosopher have against those odds, eh?
Williams was talking, of course, about a relationship between two grown adults. But there was something sad and disconcerting about hearing her make such excuses for him. It’s all too easy for discarded wives to blame the other woman, rather than the man who so painfully betrayed them. But to do so is to accept the dubious idea that men are mere helpless slaves to their urges, while women are the ones who really ought to know better (and therefore to take responsibility when it all goes wrong). And where all this gets very, very toxic is when the “other woman” is little more than a child.
Those who mutter that a 16-year-old schoolgirl is surely old enough to know what she’s doing, whatever the law says, simply give succour to creeps with a dubious interest in ratcheting down the age at which seduction becomes socially acceptable. What if Kerner’s pupil had been just 15? Or 14, but sophisticated for her age? How young would she have to be before she could be seen as the child she is; before a come-on might be seen not as temptation but a reason for concern?
This girl, according to the judge, was “vulnerable and needy and had a troubled home life”; she had a history of attention-seeking behaviour, including pretending to have been in an accident. She sounds, in other words, not a million miles from some of the girls we now know to have been singled out for abuse by gangs of older men in Rotherham, Rochdale and elsewhere. You can’t condemn the authorities in those cases for failing to see through the confusion of a mixed-up, exploited kid who describes her abuser as her boyfriend, and then just shrug when a deputy head fails to see something unhealthy in a troubled 16-year-old’s adoration.
Perhaps she was, as the judge said, manipulative. But kids are manipulative; if they weren’t, this whole parenting thing would be a breeze. And if we don’t tolerate teachers giving in to their feelings when facing provocative behaviour that isn’t sexual – say, by walloping a thoroughly annoying child – then there is no reason to make lame excuses for someone who can’t suppress their desire long enough to teach double geography.
Any teacher who can’t put a child’s welfare above their own sexual gratification is in the wrong job – and those who still don’t see why need, quite frankly, to grow up.ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: President Donald Trump has put North Korea "clearly on notice" that he will not tolerate certain actions but would not telegraph U.S. moves in advance, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. Spokesman Sean Spicer was responding to a question about a Trump Twitter post earlier in the day that read: "North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A." "The president is not one to go out there and telegraph his response...," Spicer told a news briefing. "He has made it clear with respect to North Korea that... their actions with respect to missile launches is not tolerable. The last thing we want to see is a nuclear North Korea that threatens the coast of the United States or for that matter... any other country."On 14 January 2015, police agent Newton Ishii was waiting in Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão airport to meet the midnight flight from London. His mission was simple. A former executive of Brazil’s national oil company, Petrobras, was on the plane. Ishii was to arrest him as soon as he set foot in Brazil and take him for questioning by detectives.
No big deal, the veteran cop thought as he ticked off the hours in the shabby Terminal One lounge. This was just one of many anti-bribery operations he had worked on. Usually they made a few headlines, then faded away, leaving the perpetrators to carry on as if nothing had happened. There was a popular expression for this: acabou em pizza (to end up with pizza), which suggested that there was no political row that could not be settled over a meal and a few beers.
Operation Car Wash: Is this the biggest corruption scandal in history? – podcast Read more
When the plane finally landed, Ishii’s target was easy to identify among the passengers in the arrivals hall. Nestor Cerveró has a strikingly asymmetrical face, with his left eye set lower than the right. “He couldn’t believe it. He said I had made a mistake,” Ishii recalled later. “I told him I was just doing my job and that he could take up his complaints with the judge.”
Cerveró called his brother and a lawyer. He expected to be free before morning. Ishii, too, had few illusions that his suspect would be locked up for long. Decades on the force had taught him how quickly the rich and powerful could wriggle off the hook. There was little reason to think this case would be any different.
As it turned out, both men were wrong.
The investigation that led to Cerveró’s arrest – codenamed Lava Jato (Car Wash) – was about to uncover an unprecedented web of corruption. At first, the press described it as the biggest corruption scandal in the history of Brazil; then, as other countries and foreign firms were dragged in, the world. The case would go on to discover illegal payments of more than $5bn to company executives and political parties, put billionaires in jail, drag a president into court and cause irreparable damage to the finances and reputations of some of the world’s biggest companies. It would also expose a culture of systemic graft in Brazilian politics, and provoke a backlash from the establishment fierce enough to bring down one government and leave another on the brink of collapse.
Launched in March 2014, the operation had initially focused on agents known as doleiros (black market money dealers), who used small businesses, such as petrol stations and car washes, to launder the profits of crime. But police soon realised they were on to something bigger when they discovered that the doleiros were working on behalf of an executive at Petrobras, Paulo Roberto Costa, the director of refining and supply. This link led prosecutors to uncover a vast and extraordinarily intricate web of corruption. Under questioning, Costa described how he, Cerveró and other Petrobras directors had been deliberately overpaying on contracts with various companies for office construction, drilling rigs, refineries and exploration vessels. The contractors they were paying had formed an agreement to ensure they were guaranteed business on excessively lucrative terms if they agreed to channel a share of between 1% and 5% of every deal into secret slush funds.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Oil executive Nestor Cerveró, whose arrest marked a turning point in the Car Wash corruption investigation. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty
After diverting millions of dollars into those funds, Petrobras directors then used them to funnel money to the politicians who had appointed them in the first place, and to the political parties they represented. The main objective of the racket – which fleeced taxpayers and shareholders out of billions of dollars – was to fund election campaigns to keep the governing coalition in power. But it wasn’t just politicians who benefited. Everyone connected to the deals received a bribe, in cash, or sometimes in the form of luxury cars, expensive art works, Rolex watches, $3,000 bottles of wine, yachts and helicopters. Huge sums were deposited in Swiss bank accounts, or laundered via overseas property deals or smaller companies. The means of transfer were deliberately complicated, in order to hide the money’s origins, or low-tech, to keep it off the books. Prosecutors discovered that elderly mules were flying from city to city with shrink-wrapped bricks of cash strapped to their bodies.
Petrobras was no ordinary company. As well as having the highest market valuation (and the largest debts) of any corporation in Latin America, it was a flagship for an emerging economy that was trying to tap the biggest oil discovery of the 21st century – huge new oil fields in deep waters off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras accounted for more than an eighth of all investments in Brazil, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs in construction firms, shipyards and refineries, and forming business ties with international suppliers including Rolls-Royce and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Petrobras was also at the centre of Brazil’s politics. During the 2003-2010 presidency of the Workers’ Party leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as Lula), executive posts in Petrobras were offered to Lula’s political allies, to help build support in Congress. Petrobras’s commercial and strategic importance was such that the US National Security Agency made it a target for surveillance. As the Car Wash investigation was to prove, if you could unravel the secrets of this company, you would unravel the secrets of the state.
First, though, investigators had to get executives to talk. Until very recently, that would have been unthinkable. A culture of impunity had long reigned in Brazil. But times were changing, as Petrobras executive Nestor Cerverò was about to find out. When he saw the state of the mattress in the airport detention centre, he threw a tantrum. “How am I going to lie on this?” he said.
“It’s either that or sleep standing up,” Ishii replied. Within an hour, Cerverò had dozed off, only to be shaken out of his slumber at 6am.
“Where’s my breakfast?” he demanded.
“You’re not getting one,” Ishii answered. “I’m taking you to Curitiba.”
Curitiba, the heart of the Car Wash investigation, is the capital of the southern state of Paraná. By Brazilian standards, at 845km it is not far from Rio, but culturally, they are worlds apart. Curitiba is known as the “London of Brazil” because its people are considered more inclined to be sticklers for the rules than residents of the bigger cities in the north. In recent years, it has won international praise for its pioneering public transport system, environmental policies and hipster scene. Thanks to Operation Car Wash, however, it is now best known for its judges, prosecutors and police.
Without one simple reform, however, the investigation might never have taken off. Dilma Rousseff took over from Lula as leader of the Workers’ Party and became president of a coalition government after the 2010 election. In the wake of nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations in 2013, Rousseff had tried to placate an angry public by fast-tracking laws aimed at rooting out systemic fraud. New measures included, for the first time in Brazil, plea bargaining: prosecutors could now make deals with suspects, reducing their sentences in return for information that could lead to the arrest of more important figures.
Overseeing the case in Curitiba was Sérgio Moro, an ambitious young judge who helped prosecutors put pressure on suspects by approving lengthy “preventive detentions”. In the overwhelming majority of cases, Brazilian prisoners remanded in custody before trial are poor. Moro took the unusual step of also denying bail to the rich. Ostensibly, he did so to stop them using economic or political influence to escape any charges against them. However, the pressure was on them: make a deal or stay in jail.
Cerveró was not the first to face this choice. He joined a parade of VIP Car Wash suspects – corporate executives, wealthy entrepreneurs and, later, even one or two powerful politicians – who spent months inside the Curitiba detention centre. They had to be kept separate from other inmates for their own safety, which meant their side of the jail quickly became overcrowded. Having lived in luxury, these super-rich prisoners were squeezed three to a one-man cell. Their new circumstances came as a shock. “One guy did not know how to shave because he had always had it done for him,” said a guard, who asked to remain anonymous. Cerveró apparently had serious problems adapting. His cellmates complained that he urinated on them in the night and washed his backside in the sink.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Brazilian police officer Newton Ishii, who became a hero to many for his role in the Car Wash investigation. Photograph: Hedeson Alves/EPA
If inmates refused to cooperate with the prosecution, privileges such as TV and exercise were withdrawn. “Many suspects made deals after a visit from their loved ones,” said the guard. “I think it was because they smelled the perfume and soap of the lives they had left behind.” Some resisted for months, others just days. But almost all of them broke in the end.
Defence lawyers complained, with some justification, that these tactics were legally dubious and unethical, because defendants would say or do anything to get out of jail. But polls indicated the public was delighted that the age-old problem of corruption was finally being exposed in a major nationwide operation. Almost every day, details of a dawn raid by police or another shocking allegation were splashed across the front pages: more than $2bn siphoned off Petrobras in bribes and secret payments for contract work, $3.3bn paid in bribes by the construction firm Odebrecht, more than 1,000 politicians on the take from the meat-packing firm JBS, 16 companies implicated, at least 50 congressmen accused, four former presidents under investigation.
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. His anti-intellectualism is severing the ties between the GOP and reality. If Republicans choose to inhabit the Trump-Palin world, they will offer little of value to our own.
(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers GroupGoogle’s Cultural Institute, the company’s initiative to preserve the world’s culture and history by bringing it online, has this morning unveiled a new project aimed at allowing web users the ability to view art up close – down to the very brushstrokes. Google had invented a new camera it’s dubbing the “Art Camera,” which is a custom-built, robotic camera capable of capturing gigapixel images quickly.
This camera is steered by a robotic system across the painting in question, taking hundreds or even thousands of high-resolution close-ups. To focus precisely, it uses both a laser and sonar system. The latter uses high-frequency sound to measure the distance of the artwork to better position itself. Yes, the camera hears like a bat does, Google points out.
Of course, capturing these images is only one feat – they then have to be assembled coherently. Google’s software is capable of stitching the images together to create a single image, it says.
These images are being shared online, so people can get as close to experiencing the art as possible, apart from viewing it in real life.
Many of the details found in paintings, after all, are those that you only see when you view the art in person by walking up to the canvas. There, you can see things like the way Impressionists combine dabs and dashes of paint to form an image that becomes clearer as you step back, or uncover hidden items like a hidden signature.
Google has already shared around 200 gigapixel images online during the Google Cultural Institute’s first five years, but the process before was slower, and involved highly specialized and expensive equipment, as well as highly trained individuals capable of doing the job. Now it has a smart robotic camera that can do the job instead, and much more quickly. Instead of a day, it could take just 30 minutes to scan a painting.
That means Google will be able to greatly increase the number of these images made available to web surfers. In fact, it has already scanned another 1,000 images over the past few months with its new cameras. A small fleet of the cameras are also being loaned out to art museums for free. Not only will it help to bring more art online in detail, it can also help museums share those works that are fragile, sensitive to light and humidity, and can’t always be on display.
Today, the company is sharing the first thousand images it captured with the new cameras on the Google Cultural Institute’s website, where you’ll find art from Pissarro, Signac, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet and others from museums across Australia, India, the Netherlands, Brazil and elsewhere.
The camera is also being used to bring collections of related art together in an interesting way. For example, if you wanted to view Van Gogh’s six famous portraits of the Roulin family up close, Google explains you would have to travel to museums in the Netherlands, L.A. and New York. But with the Art Camera, Google captured the Portrait of Armand Roulin, which it has then placed alongside the rest of the family all on one web page.
Below, the art camera in action:We recently conducted usability testing to see how users respond to Ubuntu on their first encounter.
Overall, first impressions are good. Typical remarks include:
“It is bold and different.”
“Ubuntu is fresh and accessible ….”
“This is good. People are getting tired of Windows.”
What we were looking for during these sessions, however, were things that could pose strong challenges to unfamiliar users — that could, in fact, be ‘show stoppers’ in the sense that they had the potential to keep such users from coming back.
Here is some of what we found.
1. File compatibility
Almost all our participants habitually used Microsoft Office. As they explored OpenOffice, one of their main concerns was the degree of its compatibility with other software. One participant asked: “How compatible is ODF?”, while another wondered: “When someone else receives my document will it look the same [as when I sent it]?”
Saving in the current format or in ODF was also confusing to participants. They didn’t know how the format would impact their document or in what format their document was in the first place.
2. Lack of feedback on system behaviour
Our participants needed to be reassured that their actions had an impact on the system. Constant feedback on how (or whether) the system was responding was crucial to their sense of being in control. As one participant noted, “[the system] needs to say what it’s doing. My feeling is that it’s crashed [and I don’t know what to do].”
3. Use of jargon
During their exploration of Ubuntu, participants encountered words they didn’t know, or didn’t expect, or terms that they had no use for: examples included ‘Gwibber’,’broadcast’,’terminal’ and ‘server’. “You lose me with ‘terminal’ and ‘server’.” one person said.
The use of such specialised language significantly influenced how users perceived the brand and the intended audience for Ubuntu. Some of the participants wondered whether Ubuntu was meant really for expert users rather than for them.
4. Getting flash
Most users of Ubuntu will need at one point or another to get flash in order to view a website. When attempting to download a flash player, participants had to choose between, YUM,.tar,.gy,.rpm,.deb or APT. Most didn’t know what to do at that point. No-one succeeded in downloading the flash player.
5. Software centre
All our participants found the software centre right away and responded very positively to it. The centre is simple and promises access to a large amount of software.
However, when they looked at the software available to them, participants did not always understand the descriptions, and they tended not to be able to distinguish major applications from minor utilities. The names and descriptions were not always clear to them. Indeed, the descriptions of apps are typically feature- and technology- centric, and do not describe the use and benefits for users. Additionally, the descriptions tend to assume a level of sophistication that most new users don’t have. “Software centre descriptions are geeky,” remarked one participant.
Many participants didn’t know where to find apps once they had been downloaded and as a result were unable to run them. One person, expecting to find the new app on the desktop, asked: “Where did my app go? Is it installed somewhere?” Another wondered: “Is it downloading or is it within the thing?”
When asked, many participants could not recall the name of apps they had downloaded from the software centre and had no way to find them again.
6. Adding a printer
Many participants didn’t understand the dialogue boxes – ranging from “Enter device URI”, “Host” “Queue”, “LPD network”, “Samba”, “SMB” – which were presented to them when they wanted to install a new printer. One person commented: “Not terribly helpful. Assumes you know what you are doing.” Another asked: “What is Samba? [I have] No idea.” Many did not succeed in adding a printer.
These six issues – the extent of file compatibility, the lack of feedback on system behaviours, the use of jargon, challenges to the ability to use flash, access to applications in the software centre, and installing a printer – are central to whether Ubuntu will be taken up by ‘ordinary’ users. For many, if they’re unclear about these things, they’ll simply be unable to use Ubuntu to accomplish their basic goals: to communicate and exchange documents, to feel in control, to use the internet fully and to access new software. In that sense, these issues can really be show stoppers.
Yet, it would be relatively easy to prevent users’ frustrations by taking thoughtful steps: to clarify issues around file compatibility and reassure our users; to promote system transparency through ongoing feedback and put users in control; to simplify the language we use and make this language serve the concerns and goals of our users; to make our processes effortless.Callahan “Outraged” By Allegations That He Threw Super Bowl XXXVII by Eric He
Giants: Power Ranking Each Month Of Their 2013 Schedule by Jake Dal Porto
The Stanford Cardinal were ranked as the third best team in the nation in our partner site SI’s annual Way-Too-Early Top 25 college football teams ranking.
The Cardinal ranked behind defending national champion Alabama and Texas A&M.
Coming off of a 12-2 record in 2012, highlights of their season included winning the Rose Bowl over Wisconsin and upsetting unbeaten Oregon on the road.
Here is SI’s Andy Staples explaining why Stanford comes in at No. 3:
Tailback Stepfan Taylor and tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo are gone, but the Cardinal return four starting offensive linemen and 10 starters from the defense that went to Eugene and shut down Oregon. Also, quarterback Kevin Hogan — who helped reinvent Stanford’s offense after his midseason promotion — will have a full offseason as the starter. While announcing his return via Twitter earlier this month, Cardinal defensive end Ben Gardner wrote about “another big #partyinthebackfield.” If this defense can get even better, that will be quite a celebration.
The Cardinal also signed head coach David Shaw to a long-term contract shortly after the season ended.Defensive end Greg Hardy, who remains unsigned in free agency, denied Monday during a one-on-one interview with ESPN's Adam Schefter that he has ever hit a woman.
Hardy was discussing the 2014 incident involving former girlfriend Nicole Holder in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers, and denied he had ever hit her.
"I've never put my hand on any woman," Hardy said.
"In my whole entire life, no sir," he said, adding that he was raised never to hit a woman and that violence against his siblings -- brother or sister -- wasn't tolerated.
After his comments were aired on ESPN, Hardy was called out by former Panthers teammate Steve Smith Sr. on Twitter. The receiver, now with the Baltimore Ravens, tweeted an excerpt of Hardy's interview and said he is an advocate against domestic violence. In 2014, he talked about the abusive relationships his mother was in when he was a child.
So I guess she Tripped on the carpet or something... my mom is a Survivor #DV and I am... https://t.co/7bG7Nf0maV pic.twitter.com/YMgXEJuAfi — Steve Smith Sr (@89SteveSmith) April 4, 2016
Hardy, 27, was accused by Holder of throwing her against a bathroom wall, throwing her on a bed covered with assault rifles, choking her and threatening her life during an altercation at his apartment.
Schefter pointed out to Hardy that pictures of Holder following the incident showed her with multiple bruises all over her body.
Greg Hardy, right, said in a one-on-one interview with ESPN's Adam Schefter that he has never hit a woman. ESPN
"Pictures are pictures, and they can be made to look like whatever they want to," he said. "I didn't say I didn't do anything wrong. That situation occurred and that situation was handled, but as a man you can't avoid situations that aren't your fault or are your fault," he said.
On Tuesday, Holder issued a statement.
"I have worked very hard to distance myself from the media. I have relocated twice, changed my phone number more times than I can remember -- I've even considered legally changing my name," she said. "In four weeks I will be graduating from college with a Bachelor's Degree in Operations Management. My focus is on finding a job, which has had its own unique challenges because of the news coverage related to my name. I am trying to move forward with my life and am asking the media to respect my privacy and wishes."
Hardy was convicted on charges of domestic violence in 2014 in a bench trial by judge. He appealed, seeking a jury trial, but the case was thrown out in February 2015 when Holder stopped cooperating with authorities. Hardy filed a petition last year in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, to have his domestic violence charges expunged from his record.
On Monday, Hardy called his conviction in the bench trial a "flimsy situation" and "a product of miscommunication."
"Saying I did nothing wrong is a stretch, but saying I'm innocent is correct, sir."
"Saying I did nothing wrong is a stretch, but saying I'm innocent is correct, sir," he said.
Hardy acknowledged that the "backlash" over the incident with Holder has contributed to his remaining unsigned this offseason.
Last year, the league issued Hardy a 10-game suspension for multiple violations of the personal conduct policy in connection with the incident with Holder, but that suspension was reduced to four games on appeal.
He played for the Dallas Cowboys last season on a one-year deal after five seasons with the Panthers. He has 40 career sacks, six coming last season for the Cowboys.The wags and the naysayers are in rare agreement on this one: I jinxed Mike Truschel.
Mike is a guy who can fly. No doubt about it. Thousands of miles in the air. A pedigree with The Flying Circus.
On the other hand, there are times when I soar and there are times when I crash.
It's all documented: Mike's prowess as a pilot. My history of violent encounters with asphalt.
On Tuesday, I became a part of Mike's nightmare. He took me for a spin in his utterly pristine, World War II vintage biplane, and we crashed.
Not just anywhere, mind you, but in the middle of the runway at Reagan National Airport as a dozen airline pilots or so looked on from the flight line, as video cameras were rolling and before an audience of airplane aficionados who gathered to celebrate the debut of a new movie: "Legends of Flight."
It was all sort of graceful, from the perspective of my seat just in front of Mike. The wheels touched down, a puff of white from the right wheel and then we flipped tail over head, to be left hanging upside down in our harness seat belts.
My very first thought: "That was interesting."
Mike will not look back on the moment as either graceful or interesting. He quickly dropped out of his cockpit and crawled up to check on me. I was fine. He seemed to be, too.
The 1943 Stearman aircraft, restored so beautifully that a fellow pilot put its value over $150,000, was crushed in the way that flipping over will mangle a thing of avian-like beauty. Its tail was crumpled and the aluminum prop Mike had pointed to with pride an hour earlier was curled up like a handlebar mustache.
Should I have told him about my crash history, I wonder?
There was the Studebaker (breaking leg, shoulder, head) that was my first smack down to the pavement, the Buick that tossed me onto its hood one morning (breaking ribs), the squirrelly rider who took down a bunch of us in a bike race (breaking hip) and the Miata cross-check that sent me and my bike cartwheeling down the asphalt (breaking ribs, shoulder, hand, wrist, neck).
Had Mike known that I was collection of screws, plates and gadgets, might he have asked for a less accident-prone passenger?
Mike's misery was shared by Dan McCue, a Southern California publicist with a knack for big-splash events to garner attention for his clients.
The first time Dan called me years ago I ended up on a 64-foot sailboat racing through the Atlantic as part of the Volvo Ocean Race, an around-the-world sailboat race. (Several of my crew members mutinied off Cape Hatteras, N.C., an uprising that Dan quelled with a tool unavailable to Captain Bligh: the cellphone.)
Dan's big idea to showcase "Legends of Flight" was to have eight of the classic Stearmans -- used to train generations of military pilots -- fly into National and wheel up before a select audience eating a catered brunch behind the classic glass facade of the airport. Then the whole group would go watch the movie, a 3-D IMAX production that will play at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and theaters nationwide.
Except for the flip, it went perfectly.
The flight down from a municipal airport in Manassas was spectacular. Eight little planes buzzing down the Potomac in two formations, banking above the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and then heading for landing. National radioed that the pilots could land on the runway of their choice. We headed for Runway 33, second in the row of Stearmans, then picked up some crosswinds and opted for another runway.
We somersaulted onto it.
As we crawled clear, sirens roared and in no time we were encircled with fire engines and emergency vehicles. Dan McCue emerged from one, a hint of paleness flashing beneath his SoCal tan.
Big airliners abandoned their aspirations of takeoff and trundled back to the gate for a while. Dan looked glum, Mike looked glummer.
A buddy of Mike's who piloted one of the other Stearmans worried that Mike might have a hard time climbing back in the cockpit. I hope he's wrong. I'd be happy to fly with Mike again tomorrow if he'd have me.
So, maybe I'm not a lucky charm. I survived. I just hope his plane does.Opportunity Index: Week 11
Recapping Results from Week 10
After each week this season I will dive into my Opportunity Index data and use it to analyze which committee running back you want to own, which wide receiver is due for positive (or negative) regression, which tight ends are in the best positions to succeed, etc. But first, if you don’t know what Opportunity Index you can read more about it here. Get familiar with it because I think it’s one of the most comprehensive, and useful, stats in the industry.
Last week was my first rough week that I can remember this season where almost every pick didn’t pan out as I expected. Well, the only thing you can do is get back up and keep on keepin’ on so let’s dive into the data for Week 11 matchups.
Running Backs
Isaiah Crowell a sneaky start vs. PIT
The weather is looking windy this weekend in Cleveland and with the Steelers generally worse on the road, I think Cleveland keeps it closer than expected. Given that, I love this spot for Isaiah Crowell against a Steelers defense that ranks last in adjusted OI allowed (17.4%) and 21st in adjusted +/- (+0.07) vs. the run. Over the last four weeks, Crowell’s 26.1 percent Team OI Share ranks 17th and he’s been very productive in the passing game with a +/- of +0.14.
Matt Forte getting loads of opportunity
Over the last four weeks, Forte has been back to his workhorse ways and it’s likely due to the instability at the quarterback position. Forte’s 40.3 percent Team OI Share ranks third behind just Melvin Gordon (43.3%) and Le’Veon Bell (42.7%) and his 169.8 percent OI Rating ranks second among running backs with at least 20 snaps per game. The Jets are on a bye week, but it looks as if the quarterback situation hasn’t affected Forte’s fantasy output so send out a couple trade feelers while he’s off for a week.
All the LeGarrette Blount everywhere
Daily Fantasy, season long, prop bets, whatever. If you’re betting on Blount doing well you’re making the right bet. We know the bread and butter of the Patriots offense is running through Tom Brady, but when they can get away with a win by leaning on the big, bruising running back they will do it. As 14-points road favorites, don’t be surprised for another multiple TD game from Blount. Over the last four weeks, he ranks second in OI Rating (159.3%), seventh in Team OI Share (35.3%), third in fantasy points per game (20.4), third in rushing +/- (+0.24), and first in Goal Line OI Share (68.7%).
Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers
Michael Crabtree in a bounce back spot
Crabtree has been underperforming as of late, but his opportunity is significantly higher than Amari Cooper’s. Over the last four weeks, Crabtree has put up a 147.7 percent OI Rating (Cooper 95.3%), 16.6 percent Team OI Share (Cooper 13.9%), 25.7 percent Red Zone OI Share (Cooper 12.8%), and 6.0 percent Goal Line OI Share (Cooper 6.0%). Where Cooper has been winning is in total snaps (75.0 per game vs. 57.7 per game) and +/- (+0.19 vs. -0.20).
Robert Woods a streaming option
Make sure to watch Woods’ health going into the game, but if he’s suiting up you want a piece of him this Sunday. Woods has easily been the Bills’ top receiver with a 12.8 percent Team OI Share and is getting a lot of usage in the red zone (51.4% Red Zone OI Share). I expect this game to go over its current total of 47.5 so Woods could see a nice target floor.
Start Randall Cobb, Davante Adams over Jordy Nelson
This trio of wide receivers has been on fire as of late and none of them have a clear advantage over the field in terms of opportunity. That said, Nelson (19% Team OI Share) is looking to be matched up against Josh Norman this week so it’s very probable that Aaron Rodgers peppers both Adams (20.2% Team OI Share) and Cobb (13.0% Team OI Share) with targets. One note, Cobb’s 13 percent Team OI Share is lower because he only saw action in three games, but his 18.7% opportunities per snap is the most on the team.
Tight Ends
Pivot from Martellus Bennett to Zach Miller or Jack Doyle
With Rob Gronkowski potentially out this week, Bennett is receiving a lot of buzz. It’s for good reason because over the last four weeks Gronkowski has an 11.9 percent team OI share and a 13.0 percent team OI share. That’s a lot of opportunity to open up, but there’s more competition for those targets than people are making it out to be. I can see James White, Chris Hogan, and maybe even Dion Lewis cut into that a bit.
Around Bennett’s price on DraftKings you could get Miller, who ranks first overall the last four weeks with a 17 percent team OI share, or Doyle, who ranks fourth with a 15 percent team OI share. Even with Dwayne Allen back in the picture, Doyle out targeted him 9-to-2 in Week 9.
Julius Thomas will score a touchdown this week
The Lions have been terrible all season against tight ends and have allowed a touchdown to the position in every single game. With that information alone you should be on him, but when you also consider that Thomas has seen a 24.0 percent goal line OI share over the last four weeks so Blake Bortles is clearly targeting him near the end zone.
Sit Kyle Rudolph vs. Arizona
Over the last four weeks, Rudolph’s opportunity has really plummeted and it should be no surprise that he’s been a borderline TE1 over that stretch. Here’s his breakdown:
Weeks 1-6: 16% OI share | 25% goal line OI share
16% OI share | 25% goal line OI share Weeks 7-10: 12% OI share | 4% goal line OI share
You can comfortably bench Rudolph this week as he’s not only trending terribly, but also has a tough matchup against a Cardinals defense that is fourth-toughest in adjusted OI (-38.3%) and second-toughest in adjusted +/- (-2.43) over the last six weeks.Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel
The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (Japanese: 首都圏外郭放水路, translit. shutoken gaikaku hōsuiro), is an underground water infrastructure project in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan. It is the world's largest underground flood water diversion facility, built to mitigate overflowing of the city's major waterways and rivers during rain and typhoon seasons.[1] It is located between Showa in Tokyo and Kasukabe in Saitama prefecture, on the outskirts of the city of Tokyo in the Greater Tokyo Area, Japan.
Work on the project started in 1992 and was completed by early 2006.[2][3] It consists of five concrete containment silos with heights of 65 m and diameters of 32 m, connected by 6.4 km of tunnels, 50 m beneath the surface, as well as a large water tank with a height of 25.4 m, with a length of 177m, with a width of 78m, and with 59 massive pillars connected to 78 10 MW (13,000 hp) pumps that can pump up to 200 tons of water (the approximate equivalent of a standard 25 meter pool) into the Edo River per second.[4]
Central control room
"Ryukyukan" for Underground Exploration Museum of The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel is also a tourist attraction and can be visited for free; however, as the tours are conducted in Japanese, a Japanese speaker must be present in the group to act as a translator for non-Japanese speakers.[5]
Media coverage [ edit ]
The main water tank resembles a temple and has been used in some movies and TV programs to create mystic scenes. In 2006, a Land Rover television commercial and print campaign was produced using Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel as a location.
The Dutch TV program Wie is de Mol? had an assignment taking place in the water tank.
The video game Mirror's Edge featured a version of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in several of its level designs.
In 2014, Australia's ABC TV science show Catalyst broadcast a short documentary (12'40") titled "Tokyo Flood Prevention" about this and associated flood mitigation structures. [6]
The 2015 movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 also used the facility during the underground approach to the Capitol scenes.
In the manga, Attack on Titan No Regrets, based off the anime Shingeki No Kyojin. Levi and friends are from the Underground, a place inspired by illustrator Hikaru Suruga’s visit here directly impacted what the images look like.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Coordinates:I will suggest to you that there is much at stake in all of this, in rendering the Nakba an event of the past, a fact on the ground that one cannot but accept, admit, and finally transcend; indeed that in order to move forward, one must leave the Nakba behind.
Some have even suggested that if Israel acknowledges and apologizes for the Nakba, the Palestinians would forgive and forget, and the effects of the Nakba would be relegated to historical commemorations, not unlike the one we are having this year.
In my view, the Nakba is none of these things, and the attempt to make this year the 60th anniversary of the Nakba’s life and death is a grave error. The Nakba is in fact much older than 60 years and it is still with us, pulsating with life and coursing through history by piling up more calamities upon the Palestinian people. I hold that the Nakba is a historical epoch that is 127 years old and is ongoing.
The year 1881 is the date when Jewish colonization of Palestine started and, as everyone knows, it has never ended. Much as the world would like to present Palestinians as living in a post-Nakba period, I insist that we live thoroughly in Nakba times. What we are doing this year is not an act of commemorating but an act of witnessing the ongoing Nakba that continues to destroy Palestine and the Palestinians. I submit, therefore, that this year is not the 60th anniversary of the Nakba at all, but rather one more year of enduring its brutality; that the history of the Nakba has never been a history of the past but decidedly a history of the present.
The meaning of the Nakba
While the Nakba has been translated into English as “catastrophe,” “disaster,” or “calamity,” these translations do not fully grasp the active ramifications of its Arabic meanings. The Nakba as an act committed by Zionism and its adherents against Palestine and the Palestinians has rendered the Palestinians mankubin. English does not help much in translating mankubin, unless we can stretch the language a bit and call Palestinians a catastrophe-d or disaster-ed people.
Unlike the Greek catastrophe, which means overturning, or the Latin disaster, which means a calamitous event occurring when the stars are not in the right alignment, the Nakba is an act of deliberate destruction, of visiting calamities upon a people, of a well-planned ruining of a country and its inhabitants. The word was coined by the eminent Arab intellectual Constantine Zureik in his August 1948 short book on the meaning of the Nakba that was ongoing as he wrote it, just like it is as I write these lines.
Since the beginning, the Palestinian people have resisted the racist and colonial logic of the Nakba, through fighting off the colonists in the 1880s and 1890s, in the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and on to the present. If Palestinian resistance failed to prevent the massive expulsion of half the Palestinian people and of the outright theft of their entire country, it has succeeded in overthrowing Zionist official memory. Indeed, memory has always been a key component of Palestinian resistance.
When Palestinians insist on naming their country, their cities, and their villages with their original names, they are not only resisting the vulgar names that Zionism has bestowed on the land, they are also insisting on a geographic memory that Israel has all but succeeded to erase physically. Zionist cruelty has been such that Israel insisted for 50 years after its creation in denying that the Palestinians even exist as a people, or as a name; that the very name “Palestinians” should not even be uttered. For Zionists, the very name “Palestinian” functions as some magical incantation that could obliterate them at the existential level. They are not necessarily wrong in their impression, for the name Palestinian is itself the strongest form of resistance against their official memory. The name “Palestinian” has also been generative of continuities in Palestinian culture and life, in Palestinian identity and nationality, things that Israel had hoped it obliterated completely and whose survival will always threaten its mnemonic operation of inventing a fictional memory of non-Palestine, of non-Palestinians.
Palestinian counter-memory is in direct confrontation with the Nakba’s achievement of obliterating Palestine as a geographic designation and an affront to the Nakba’s ongoing efforts to obliterate the Palestinians as a national group with a pre-Nakba history. The survival of the Palestinians after the Nakba started, and despite its assiduous efforts to efface them, has made the Nakba a less than successful Zionist victory. It is in this context that Israel’s insistence on calling Palestinian citizens in Israel “Israeli Arabs” is designed to silence their Palestinian-ness. Zionism’s insistence that Palestinian refugees be settled and given the nationality of their host countries is aimed also to erase their name.
Israel’s final admission a decade ago that there was a Palestinian people would come at the price of reducing the Palestinian people to one-third of their total number. In signing Oslo, Israel compromised with a collaborationist Palestinian leadership, wherein the price the Palestinian Authority would pay for Israel’s agreeing to name West Bank and Gaza Palestinians with their proper names was the de-Palestinization of the rest of the Palestinian people. In return, the Palestinian collaborating leadership, under the guise of the Geneva Accords, has agreed to multiply Israel’s Jewish population by a factor of three, wherein Israel would be recognized as the state of all Jews worldwide and not of the Jews who live inside it, let alone the Palestinian citizens over whom it rules.
But this arrangement has failed. Hard as it tried to legitimize itself, the Palestinian Authority could not but be seen for what it is: the creation of the Israeli occupation, an authority which in its structure and logic is not unlike all colonial puppet regimes in Asia and Africa serving their masters, not excluding the Judenraete (Jewish councils) that the Nazis set up in occupied Poland’s ghettos to run Jewish life, collect taxes, and run the post offices, inter alia; or the Bantustans that apartheid South Africa set up as alternative homelands.
The Palestinian Authority’s attempt to acquire the power of naming the Palestinian and Jewish peoples failed as much as Israel’s attempts before it. Palestinians continue to insist on their name and on their inclusion in a Palestinian nation, while non-Israeli Jews insist on not joining Israeli nationality, no matter how much they may support Israel. The politics of naming is the politics of power and resistance. The power to name creates fictional histories against material realities. While Israel has succeeded in imposing physical and geographic realties, its attempt to obliterate historical memory has failed. Palestinians are always standing in the way of its falsification of their history and its own.
The Nakba is now
Ever since the Nakba came to describe the tumultuous actions of 1948, an ongoing struggle has raged to define it as a past and finished event rather than an unfinished present action. This is not an epistemological struggle but a lively political one. To identify the Nakba as a past and finished event is to declare its success and insist on the irreversibility of its achievements. It is to insist that there is no longer a struggle to define it, nor a successful resistance that stands in its way. It is to grant it historical and political legitimacy as a fact of life, but also to endow all its subsequent effects as its natural outcome.
Thus the struggle of Palestinian citizens of Israel today, according to the Zionist narrative, is not a normal anti-colonial struggle or one that demands national or ethnic or civil rights, but rather an “abnormal” struggle to reverse the Nakba.
That Israel has upwards of 20 laws on the books that institutionalize Jewish religious and racial privilege in rights and duties over non-Jewish citizens is presented as a normal consecration of the Nakba, which Palestinians continue to refuse. Indeed, some Israeli leaders, most recently Tzipi Livni, have suggested that Palestinian citizens of Israel should leave to countries that would grant them national rights instead of remaining in Israel where they will always be denied equal rights as part of their ongoing Nakba.
Palestinians are often reminded that “much greater” peoples than they have opted for self-displacement from countries that denied them rights to a country that granted them rights, namely European Jews themselves who came to visit the Nakba upon the Palestinians. If Palestinians in Israel want to remain in Israel, they must accept the normalcy of the Nakba and must acquiesce in their new status as mankubin who cannot and will never have equal rights with Jews. Their refusal of the effects of the Nakba is what makes Palestinian citizens of Israel want to reverse its effects by calling on Israel to repeal its racist laws and become an Israeli, rather than a Jewish, state. Israel and now President Bush insist that the effects of the Nakba must be accepted by all Palestinians.
That the Nakba transformed Palestine into “the Jewish State,” Palestinians are told, is not reversible and no amount of civil rights activism or national struggle will undo this major achievement. Palestinian citizens of Israel however seem unconvinced and continue to resist this irreversibility. Their plight, according to Israel, however, is not caused by the Nakba but by their insistence on resisting it.
It is also said that the Palestinian refugees languishing in camps for 60 years are like all other refugee populations, with which the world of the 20th and 21st centuries is filled, borne out of war. Their problem does not lie with the Zionist actions of 1947-1948 that expelled them from their homeland but rather, Israel insists, with the post-1948 refusal of Palestinians and Arab countries to accept the Nakba as irreversible and settle these poor refugees in their host countries. The refugees, Zionism insists, suffer not because of the Nakba but because they refuse to accept the Nakba and to accept themselves as mankubin.
As for those Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, their problems are certainly not a result of the Nakba but, as Israel insists, of the Arab refusal to accept it. Their problems are born of an international war in 1967 that resulted from the Arab refusal of the Nakba as a permanent fact. If Palestinians and their allies would just accept the Nakba as a past and finished event, the calamities that they still claim befall them would cease immediately.
To insist that the Nakba is a present continuous act of destruction that remains unfinished is to resist acknowledging that its work has been completed. Palestinian resistance is what accounts for the unfinished work of the Nakba and for its ongoing brutality. Israel and its international supporters insist that had the Palestinians accepted defeat and recognized the Nakba, had they accepted their expulsion, their third-class citizenship within Israel, and the conquest of 1967, their calamities would have ended. The reason for the hardship that Palestinians experience, Israel tells us, is that Palestinians have never stopped fighting it.
Palestinians resisted the Nakba in the 1880s, when European Jewish colonists kicked them off land they purchased from absentee landlords and denied them labor on land they had tilled for centuries.
Palestinian resistance took the form of a major three-year revolt in the 1930s against British support for Zionists to bring about the Nakba. Palestinians also resisted after the actions of 1947/1948 when most of their land was conquered and confiscated by the racist laws of the Jewish state. Their ongoing resistance to the Nakba in the West Bank and in Gaza, we are still told by Israel and The New York Times, is in fact what invites more Nakbas.
If Palestinians would allow Israel to lay siege to them in the largest open air prison in the world called Gaza without resisting it, Israel would not be forced to bomb them and kill their children and destroy their homes, it would only starve them and keep them inside the apartheid wall. If Palestinians would simply accept their status as mankubin, the Nakba, as an
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atrophy apart. And that takes making our marriage #1, not #5 after our kids. It means adjusting and balancing our schedules so we have daily shared time together. It means hiring a babysitter so we can have a leisurely dinner, or leaving the kids with my sister for the weekend so we can get away, just the two of us.
3. My Kids Need It
Making my husband and marriage #1 isn’t simply the best thing I can do for Ted and me, but also for each of my girls. My kids need me to put their dad first, not them.
I’ve read countless articles citing research that shows a strong, happy marriage benefits children. It gives them security, it models healthy relationships for them, it teaches them that the world doesn’t revolve around them and their needs. Conversely, if a marriage isn’t getting the attention it needs, kids feel this too. It negatively affects their emotional state, their sense of security, and their perception of marriage.
When the day comes that these arrows of ours are ready to fly, it’s my hope that our girls will have parents who love each other more deeply. That my girls won’t find themselves adult children of parents who are strangers because they never put “us” first. Who, sadly, don’t even remember who “us” was.
If the day ever comes that I don’t have time for Ted and the growing of our marriage, that’s the day things need to change. That’s the day something other than my marriage needs to take a backseat.
And that’s just the way it has to be.
Ashleigh Slater is the author of the book, Team Us: Marriage Together (Moody Publishers). As the founder and editor of Ungrind Webzine and a regular contributor at several popular blogs and websites, she loves to combine the power of a good story with biblical truth and practical application. Ashleigh lives in Atlanta with her husband Ted and four daughters. To learn more, visit AshleighSlater.com. You can also find her on Facebook here or follow her on Twitter at @ashslater.Today’s article is a guest article by my friend Michael Lee, or as many of you might know him, Curby on MtG:Salvation or kirbysdl on The Source. The content is his, but I’ve done a little editing here and there for clarity. The math that follows is based on primarily on hypergeometric distribution.
The 60-Card Max Rule
It’s said that beginners don’t know the rules, skilled practitioners follow the rules, and true masters know when to break the rules. Let’s look at the “60-Card Max” rule we all follow:
Always build 60-card decks. –Everyone
Now consider not the rule itself, but the purpose behind it. Magic limits the effectiveness of powerful cards through the one-two combo of capping cards at 4 maximum copies and requiring at least 60 total cards. The purpose of “60-Max” is to maximize the chances of getting your most powerful cards. It’s a noble goal but not the only goal. If we consider all aspects of deck-building, we get something less quotable but much more useful:
Build decks to balance the chances of drawing the cards in the deck. Prioritize the chances of drawing your staple playsets, but don’t neglect the chances of drawing powerful 3-ofs and pairs. The goal is not to achieve any one number, but rather to build in a nuanced manner to achieve a cohesive whole. –No One Ever
So people cite “60-Max” because adding cards beyond 60 decreases the chances of seeing your playsets. Sure, but by how much? Don’t worry, I brought some math to this fight.
Adding a Creature
Let’s say a given Death and Taxes deck has room for a single Thalia, Heretic Cathar (THC). Based on metagaming considerations, the pilot would like to add a second THC. The right answer is often to replace a less relevant card with the new choice, but what if the player simply adds a THC to their 60-card deck?
60 cards
Chance to open on at least 1 of 4 Aether Vials: 39.9%
Chance to draw at least 1 of 3 Flickerwisps by turn three: 39.1%
Chance to draw at least 1 of 2 Serra Avengers by turn three: 28.0%
Chance to draw the single THC by turn three: 15.0%
61 cards
Chance to open on at least 1 of 4 Vials: 39.4%
Chance to draw at least 1 of 3 ‘wisps by turn three: 38.6%
Chance to draw at least 1 of 2 Avengers by turn three: 27.5%
Chance to draw at least 1 of 2 THCs by turn three: 27.5%
Having added that second THC, the pilot should expect to miss seeing Vial from just one more opening hand among hundreds of games. In other words, two players could take these similar decks through every round in several 2-day Legacy GPs and easily never see any difference in Vials. Similarly, the chances of drawing any triples and pairs does go down, but the difference is again merely a rounding error (≈0.5%). However, the goal of drawing THC more often is fully met: the chance of naturally drawing it by turn three nearly doubles.
Adding a Land
Recent printings of powerful 3-drops such as THC, Sanctum Prelate, and Recruiter of the Guard have increased the average mana costs of many D&T builds, requiring pilots to hit their first few land drops more consistently. Some of us have proposed adding an extra land to relieve the pressure. Let’s suppose our 60-card deck starts with a standard 23 land manabase including 10 Plains and 3 Karakas. If we add another Plains, the probabilities for spells follow the example above but what happens to the manabase?
The original deck had a 83.7% chance to open on one or more Plains or Karakas; the modified deck enjoys 85.6%. This is important to allow a first-turn Swords to Plowshares, for example. Another worry is being stuck with 3-drops and no way to cast them. The chances of opening on three or more uncastable 3-drops goes from 10.3% to 9.7% when we add a land (for details, see my chance-to-draw spreadsheet).
What about downsides? The original deck has a 24.6% chance of flooding with four or more land in the opener, but the modified deck sees 26.6%. It’s clear that modifying the manabase is a complex issue, and the effects are wide-ranging. However not everything changes: the relative chances of seeing our different spells remain the same. Adding a land allows us to get more mana without changing the ratios of our spells.
Other Examples
This analysis is not limited to Death and Taxes. Imagine a deck of any archetype where you’ve locked 57 maindeck cards, and are debating between two cards for the last slots. You could awkwardly fit a “2-1” combination, but what if they’re important in different, equally-common matchups? In this situation, I’d consider adding two of each. Doing so roughly doubles your chance of drawing the card you would otherwise only have one of, and only slightly reduces your chances of seeing your more numerous cards.
Alternately, imagine a deck with a small tutor component to find silver bullets against particular matchups. You’ve tightened the maindeck down, but you’re heading into a metagame with a common matchup where an additional tutor target would help. Instead of removing an existing staple and heavily reducing the chance of seeing it, it may make sense to add the new target as a 61st card. Doing so gives you game-1 access to the new card while only slightly affecting the card you might have otherwise cut.
Trade-offs
I feel so strongly about considering trade-offs that I put it right in my forum signature. You aren’t really forced to judge the relative power of cards until you start considering what to cut. However, cutting a card is not the only possible outcome. Instead of cutting one card and reducing the chance of seeing it by a lot, you can reduce the chances of seeing every other card by a tiny bit. It amazes me that one of those trade-offs is so commonly accepted, and the other so thoroughly vilified.
The Road to Mastery
The goal here isn’t to advocate 61+ cards in every deck, but rather to honestly consider when it might be an appropriate solution. If there’s a combo deck that completely centers around getting two different cards, any reduction in finding those cards is a prohibitive cost compared to cutting a less important utility card.
However, other decks are more well-rounded. Aggro decks field redundant threats. Control decks have a variety of overlapping control elements. While some cards in those decks are still more important than others, the deck can probably function perfectly well without drawing them in a given game. In those decks, slightly reducing the chances of seeing all cards may be a viable alternative to heavily reducing the chance of seeing one card.
Where Does it End?
A common counter-argument to someone considering a 61st card is, “Why stop at 61? Why not add a 62nd card? Why not add ten cards?” Well, it’s actually not a counter-argument but rather something to consider. Could 62 or more cards ever be ideal?
The more cards you add, the more you dilute the most powerful cards in the deck. We saw above that a 61st card drops the “Vial in opener” chance by ≈0.5%. The next several additional cards each reduce it further by ≈0.5%, so the cumulative effects will be increasingly obvious as you add cards. Furthermore the number of potential cuts goes up too, so additional candidates have to be exceptionally powerful to all justify inclusion. Eventually, you simply run out of cards whose power levels equally justify destabilizing the rest of the deck.
Having done that analysis, the answer to, “Why not 62?” is either that you can make the case for a given 62nd card, or that you can find a card to cut rather than further weakening the deck. In short, the answer depends on the situation.
Mastering “60-Max”
You can sometimes actually increase the consistency and effectiveness of a deck by adding a 61st card. You may not agree with all of my examples above, but the overall point still stands: “60-Max” is a useful guideline, not an unbreakable requirement.
A zero-tolerance viewpoint is usually the lazy way out: it is so much easier to simply decree that every 61-card deck is fundamentally broken than to examine whether or not that is actually true. Indeed, the nuances of any complex issue cannot be fully understood without considering when the rules should be broken.
Given that we’re here at Thraben University, I’ll end with a professor’s words:Saunas have been around for hundreds of years as a relaxing and therapeutic practice. (1) The Finnish enjoy sauna baths weekly or more often—a custom that we might want to adopt. Read on to learn about the many health benefits of regular sauna use, both in healthy people and in patients with a variety of health conditions.
Saunas are common in spas and are popping up in fitness centers across the United States. Most people find a sauna relaxing after a spa treatment or a workout. Saunas might not only feel good but could also be advantageous for your health. In the past two decades, dozens of studies have reported health benefits from regular sauna use.
Saunas: dry, steam, or infrared
Saunas come in three varieties: dry, steam, and infrared. A dry sauna is based on the traditional Finnish sauna, with low humidity and a high temperature, from 80 to 100° C (176 to 212° F). (2) A steam sauna has higher humidity and therefore cannot be as hot as a dry sauna. Steam saunas are more uncomfortable and stressful than dry saunas. (3)
Infrared saunas, like in Japanese Waon therapy, use infrared radiation lamps that emit both visible and infrared light. Far-infrared saunas emit longer wavelengths of infrared light that penetrate tissue to 0.1 mm deep. Near-infrared saunas emit shorter wavelengths that can penetrate the body up to 5 mm. (1) Because of the deep tissue penetration, infrared saunas operate at cooler temperatures than dry saunas while still heating up the body.
What happens to your body in a sauna
Saunas are hot—so hot, in fact, that the body’s usual means of cooling down through sweating cannot compensate for the extreme heat. As a result, oral temperature rises 1 to 3° C (1.8 to 5.4° F), and rectal temperature increases up to 0.9° C (1.6° F), depending on humidity, temperature, and duration. (4, 5, 6) Heart rate increases by up to 130 percent. (4) This is accompanied by increased cardiac output and reduced blood pressure.
The endocrine system responds to the heat by increasing several circulating hormones. (1) Growth hormone increases, which also happens after a deep sleep or fasting. Beta-endorphins, which are responsible for the “pleasure” and “analgesic” effects of a sauna, also increase. Norepinephrine increases, causing the increased heart rate. (7)
Are saunas healthy? Here’s what the research says.
A single sauna session stimulates the immune system. White blood cell, lymphocyte, neutrophil, and basophil counts are all increased, which may translate to fewer illnesses. (8) In a six-month study, participants who engaged in regular sauna baths had significantly fewer colds than the control group over the same time period. (9)
Saunas might also reduce oxidative stress, which is linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and degenerative diseases. After a 30-minute aerobic workout, men who recovered in the sauna had significantly lower markers of oxidative stress than those who followed their workout in room temperature. (10)
Health benefits of saunas
The physiological effects experienced during sauna baths translate to a variety of health benefits, including positive outcomes for cardiovascular health, fitness, and detoxification.
Cardiovascular
Heart disease was once contraindicated for saunas, but more and more research is proving the opposite—that saunas can be safe and actually beneficial for people with cardiovascular disease. A 2015 prospective study followed 2,315 middle-aged Finnish men for 20 years. Those who frequented saunas the most (four to seven times per week) had a lower risk of sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease, and fatal cardiovascular disease compared to those who visited saunas two to three times per week or one time per week. (2) Incredibly, increased sauna use was also associated with lower all-cause mortality.
A large number of studies highlight many cardiovascular benefits of regular sauna use, especially Waon (infrared) therapy, including the following:
increased left ventricular ejection fraction (11, 12)
improved exercise tolerance (12, 13, 14)
increased cardiac output (15)
better prognosis for patients with chronic heart failure (16)
lowered markers of oxidative stress (17, 18)
Blood pressure
Nitric oxide, a vasodilator, increases during a sauna bath, which may be one mechanism by which sauna therapy has been shown to lower blood pressure. (17) Frequenting the sauna twice weekly for three months decreased blood pressure in hypertensive men from 166/101 mmHg to 143/92 mmHg, a result similar to taking one blood pressure-lowering medicine. (1, 19)
Exercise is often advised for hypertensive patients, but combining sauna use with exercise for eight weeks lowered diastolic blood pressure 1.8 times greater and systolic blood pressure 3.3 times greater than just exercise alone. (1) The patients who engaged in both activities also lost more weight and body fat.
Lipid profiles
Regular sauna therapy can also improve lipid profiles. In healthy young men, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased after three weeks of sauna treatment, and blood plasma volume increased. (20) In healthy young women, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased, while HDL cholesterol increased after two weeks of sauna therapy. (21)
Fitness
Probably at least partially due to its cardiovascular benefits, sauna use can improve athletic performance. In a cross-over study, runners had better endurance and higher plasma red-cell volume after regular sauna therapy. (22) Cyclists also benefited from sauna therapy, shown by increased plasma volume and better heart rate recovery after a cycling test. (23)
Detoxification
We are exposed to thousands of environmental toxins, and we don’t yet understand the long-term health effects of the vast majority of them. Sweating as a means of detoxification is a controversial topic, but there’s no denying that our sweat contains toxins like BPA, phthalates, and heavy metals. (24, 25, 26) In people who have higher toxic body burdens, the concentration of toxins in sweat can exceed that of the plasma or urine, indicating that increased sweating could help rid the body of harmful substances. (27)
In several small studies, detoxification therapies have incorporated sauna baths. Police officers were treated successfully for methamphetamine exposure using a combination of exercise, nutritional support, and sauna therapy. (28) Women with occupational exposure to solvents improved after therapy that included sauna use. (29) In a case report, a patient recovering from mercury poisoning used sauna sweats to help recover after chelation therapy. (30) Using saunas to aid in detoxification is a promising option, but further exploration into understanding the mechanisms is needed.
Additional benefits
Numerous other positive health outcomes have been linked to sauna use:
reduced pain in patients with fibromyalgia (31)
(31) reduced fatigue, anxiety, and depression in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome (32)
(32) lower risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia with increased sauna use (33)
and dementia with increased sauna use (33) improved relaxation and mental complaints in patients with depression (34)
(34) improved insulin sensitivity (35)
(35) improved respiratory symptoms, including vital capacity, minute ventilation, and forced expiratory volume of lungs (36, 37)
A lot of what the body experiences in a sauna is similar to what happens during exercise—increased heart rate, nitric oxide, acute metabolic rate, and oxygen consumption, to name a few. (38, 39, 40) Many of the benefits of saunas discussed above are also benefits of regular exercise, probably not coincidentally. I’m not suggesting that you replace your weight lifting and yoga with daily sauna baths, but incorporating saunas into your wellness routine could be a healthy addition.
Who should avoid the sauna?
Recommendations on who should avoid saunas have changed over the years. Although pregnancy and saunas are often contraindicated, several studies have concluded that saunas are not teratogenic (i.e., they don’t disturb the development of the fetus) in healthy women. (41, 42, 43, 44) However, one study reported that sauna use near conception for the mother or father and in early pregnancy for the mother were linked to increased brain tumors in the children. (45)
The basis for recommending against sauna use for pregnant women probably stems from the fact that fevers during early pregnancy are correlated with neural tube defects. (46) In pregnant animal models, teratogenic effects don’t occur until the mother’s core temperature is raised 1.5° C (2.7° F). (1) Under regular conditions, a sauna visit is short, unlike a fever that can last days, and body temperature shouldn’t increase 1.5° C (2.7° F). If you are adamant about wanting to continue the sauna during pregnancy, play it safe and consider decreasing the duration and temperature, or avoiding it during the first trimester altogether.
Sauna use may, at least temporarily, impact male fertility. Decreases in sperm count, motility, and average path velocity following a few weeks of regular sauna use have been reported in the literature. (47, 48, 49) Prospectively, sauna habits had no effect on overall fertility, according to people’s reported habits. (50) If you are having trouble conceiving or anticipate that you might, temporarily dropping the sauna habit is worth a shot.
Most sauna accidents and death involve alcohol consumption. (51, 52) Don’t mix the two.
People who already have heat sensitivities, such as those with multiple sclerosis, probably want to avoid the sauna. (53)
Saunas can feel relaxing and luxurious, but don’t forget that they are also stressful for the body. Be smart about it. Go into the sauna well hydrated, don’t stay beyond your comfort level, and don’t exceed the recommended 20 to 30 minutes, even if you are not yet feeling uncomfortable.
Now I’d like to hear from you. Do you enjoy the sauna? Do you prefer dry, humid, or infrared? What do you think about the health benefits shared in this post? Let us know in the comments!Philadelphia Union beat Columbus Crew SC 1-1 (5-3) on Wednesday night to win the group and advance to the IMG Suncoast Pro Classic championship game on Saturday. The two teams played through heavy fog and rain for much of the night, and quite fittingly the final group table wasn’t clear after 90 minutes, either.
But unlike the fog, it was clear after penalties. All five Union penalty takers scored and Rais Mbolhi stopped Justin Meram in the third round to give the Union the win.
“We set the goal for the third phase of preseason to win this competition and we’re on track to do that,” head coach Jim Curtin said. “It’s something that we’re happy about and we’ll see how Saturday goes.”
Getting to that point was tricky. A nagging mist fell for most of the night, but it was sustainable 20 miles per hour winds and a dense fog that made it tough for both teams.
“It’s tough [to play in conditions like that],” Curtin said. “The rain is no problem, but the wind ruins our game and you saw an example of that today. There wasn’t a lot of passing because of 25-30 miles per hour wind and also the fog. But give the guys credit, they battled through it and got the win.”
Fernando Aristeguieta opened the scoring for the Union in the 27th minute after Sheanon Williams perfectly crossed a ball to an unmarked Aristeguieta. Williams started the counterattack, then played a combination with C.J. Sapong before finally crossing into Aristeguieta.
“Sheanon Williams made a good play – a good defensive play that led to a good counterattack,” Curtin said. “It’s something we’ve talked about and practiced a lot in training. Fernando did a good job to get on the end of the cross and head it in.”
For Aristeguieta, it’s his third goal in less than 90 minutes of play since joining the Union. But he’s not nearly satisfied yet. He credits the good chemistry in the team locker room for an easy start.
“It’s good to get confidence in me and with my teammates,” Aristeguieta said. “But we’re still working for March 7.
“All of [my teammates] have made it very easy for me,” Aristeguieta said. “When you arrive to a new team to break the ice, it can be very difficult. But the guys have been very good to me and I feel very good to be with them.”
The Union made mass subs again to start the second half. Mbolhi and Ethan White were the only two to stay on the field after 45. Fabinho, Richie Marquez, Raymond Lee, Michael Lahoud, Erik Ayuk, Fred, Danny Cruz, Dzenan Catic and Conor Casey came on to start the second half. Jimmy McLaughlin and Brian Carroll also came on in the second half.
Crew SC equalized in the 68th minute after Michael Lahoud slipped attempting to get to a pass. Meram calmly took control of it and chipped one past Mbolhi for the tie.
That’s how it ended after 90 minutes. With both teams outscoring their first two opponents 9-0, the game required penalties to determine the group winner. In order, Fabinho, Fred, Carroll, Casey and Lahoud scored for the Union.
Andrew Wenger (neck) and Vincent Nogueira (groin) did not play. Wenger was a game-time decision that was ultimately left out. Both have been full participants in training.
BOX SCORE
Philadelphia Union 1 (5), Columbus Crew 1 (3)
IMG Academy
Bradenton, Fla.
SCORING SUMMARY
PHI – Aristguieta (Williams) 27’
CLB – Meram 68’
PENALTY SUMMARY
PHI – Fabinho (goal)
CLB – Wahl (goal)
PHI – Fred (goal)
CLB – Schoenfeld (goal)
PHI – Carroll (goal)
CLB – Meram (save)
PHI – Casey (goal)
CLB – Speas (goal)
PHI – Lahoud (goal)
UNION STARTING XI
Mbolhi; Gaddis, Vitoria, White, Williams; Edu (C); Pfeffer, Fred, Le Toux; Sapong, Aristeguieta.
CREW SC STARTING XI
Clark; Jimenez, Parkhurst (C), Pogatetz, Francis; Trapp, Tchani; Finlay, Higuain, Steindorsson; Kamara.As we reported earlier today, Barry Silbert may soon find himself in regulatory hot water. The influential New York-based Bitcoin financier, whose Digital Currency Group acquired leading cryptocurrency outlet CoinDesk, is accused by some members of the community of influencing markets with his clout - and profiting from such influence.
For all intents and purposes, Ethereum Classic is a worthless scam. The major cryptocurrency exchange BTC-E agrees, and recently stated Classic is just that: a "scam."
Last weekend in Palo Alto I had a chance to wade deep with some of cryptocurrency's best, and I didn't hear much in favor of Classic's legitimacy.
Ultimately, however, it is regulators that will decide. Is the shameless promotion of "Classic" a violation of the spirit of U.S. securities laws?
Certainly, some believe the tone and coverage of CoinDesk's reporting has shifted since Mr. Silbert's DCG acquired it. Here are some examples from late July:
Is this wrong? It's not for me to say. If penny stock pumpers bought their own media outlets, however, it would make it much easier for authorities to prosecute them.A quick-thinking Good Samaritan is being credited with helping police spot an AMBER Alert suspect's car. A 7-year-old Antioch girl was found inside the car that was parked at the Antioch Marina late Friday night.
Police say a possible sexual assault of the child is now part of their investigation. Because of that, AB7 News has opted not to release the name or show the victim of this crime.
Leshay Burks started honking her car horn to alert police the moment she realized she may be parked next to the suspect's car at the marina.
"The only thing I could think about doing was honking the horn, so I started honking my horn," she said. "Being nosy is what led us to this little girl. It's okay to be nosy, I'm nosy, and it paid off last night."
Information was broadcast in an AMBER Alert kidnapping of a 7-year-old Antioch girl.
"That could be your child, that could be your sister, that could be your niece, you know?" she said. "It could be someone close to you."
Officers located the suspect's gold Toyota Camry only two blocks from the police station.
"I'm happy we found it anywhere and the girl was returned safely to her family," Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantado said.
Police arrested the driver 43-year-old David Douglas of Antioch. Authorities say he has no connection to the family and is not a registered sex offender.
The search for the girl began Friday night about 6:45 after police say Douglas followed the family home from a shopping trip at Walmart. As the child's mother was unloading groceries in the driveway, the suspect approached, grabbed the girl at gunpoint, and drove off.
An AMBER Alert was activated and the search for her lasted almost four hours.
Police believe Douglas tried to kidnap another child from their mother from the Antioch Wal-Mart on Thursday. Surveillance video helped identify him.
"And noted he worked for social services and asked the daughter to come with him," Chief Cantado explained. "The mother quickly realized he was not with social services and he left."
Many neighbors are stunned. They say their neighborhood is quiet and safe.
"It's very scary," neighbor Melissa Zachratos said. "I mean, nowadays you have to be on alert. And, you know, it's a sad thing that things like this have to happen."
The girl's family is requesting privacy, but says she is happy to be home with her family.
The police investigation continues.July 3, 2013
From a transcontinental speech by Glenn Greenwald to the discussions at dozens of workshops, the Socialism 2013 conference inspired and educated, reports Alan Maass.
THE ANNUAL Socialism conference brought more than 1,300 people to Chicago on June 27-30 for a long weekend of education, discussion and debate about radical politics and the struggle for social change.
All told, there were close to 150 sessions between Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon, on subjects ranging from the history of the struggle against racism, to the roots of the democracy protests in Turkey, to Marxist theories of economic crisis, to working-class literature in the U.S. in the 1930s. Attendance figures were several dozen shy of last year's conference, but the energy of those who attended Socialism 2013--sponsored by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change (CERSC) and cosponsored by the International Socialist Organization (ISO)--was no less intense.
One highlight was a late-evening plenary session featuring left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald. He was scheduled to speak in person at Socialism, but has been busy over the last month panicking the American political establishment with exposés revealing the extent of National Security Agency (NSA) spying.
Leaders of struggles for education justice nationwide spoke out at Socialism 2013
Unable to come back to the U.S. for the conference--in part for fear of a vindictive prosecution by the Obama administration--Greenwald asked to speak via a live Internet hookup for his first public address since the NSA revelations broke. His words were heard by a cheering crowd of more than 1,000--and the video of his speech, posted at WeAreMany.org, has since been watched by more than 100,000 people.
Greenwald was introduced by author and filmmaker Jeremy Scahill, whose new movie Dirty Wars casts a spotlight on the crimes committed by the U.S. in the name of the "war on terror." "What Glenn Greenwald has done with his reporting over these last weeks," Scahill said, "is to shake the foundations of power in Washington and in the national security state."
Greenwald paid tribute to the whistle-blower who was the source for his articles on the NSA's mass surveillance programs: Edward Snowden, the former NSA contract employee. Greenwald described Snowden's reasons for taking an action that could land him in prison for the rest of his life, or worse:
What he ultimately said is that he simply didn't want to live in a world where the U.S. government was permitted to engage in these extraordinary invasions--to build a system that had as its goal the destruction of all individual privacy. He said that he didn't want to live in a world like that, and he could not in conscience stand by and allow that to happen, knowing that he had the power to help stop it.
Snowden's "contagious" courage, Greenwald said, holds a lesson for all of us:
If you take a courageous step as an individual, you will literally change the world, because you will affect all sorts of people in your immediate vicinity, who will then affect others, who will then affect others. You should never doubt your ability to change the world.
ANOTHER PLENARY session the following night brought together teachers, students and parents involved in struggles across the country against the assault on public education.
Educators from New York City to Chicago to Seattle described how the offensive by corporate school deformers is affecting them, from the standardized testing frenzy that has twisted school curriculums to the escalating pressure for layoffs and concessions. Two parents from Chicago who helped lead the fight against Mayor Rahm Emanuel's drive to close more than 50 elementary schools gave an emotional account of the impact on their communities.
Several Chicago Public Schools students were among the speakers, too--including 9-year-old Asean Johnson, now famous for his fiery rally speech in May against school closings. At Socialism, Asean pointed out the unfairness of Rahm Emanuel's kids attending a high-quality private school while public schools close for lack of funding. "That is not fair to us and to the people of the city of Chicago and all over the country," he said.
The panel discussion also gave a sense of the growing resistance to the attack on our schools, with Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vice President Jesse Sharkey and teacher activist Jen Johnson drawing lessons from the CTU strike last September for the struggles ahead.
And those were just the big meetings. There dozens and dozens of other sessions, and whether there were 20 people or 200 in the crowd, they were inspiring and stimulating. Dave Courtenay-Quirk of Atlanta attended his first Socialism conference 19 years ago, but was all the more impressed this time by:
the level of intellectual intensity--how willing people are to revisit old certainties and investigate new things and open ourselves up to the experiences of different movements. It really shows that the ISO and Haymarket are really at the core of new radical awakening. It's clear that we have a long way to go, but it's also clear that we're a part of that.
Hani Shukrallah, one of Egypt's most respected radical journalists and a featured speaker at several sessions at Socialism, had a similar reaction: "There's a freshness and energy that's really inspiring. It's been rather a lonely world for revolutionary Marxists for most of our lives, and to feel that you're part of something much bigger is really very inspiring."
SOCIALISM ORGANIZERS put a special emphasis this year on a series of meetings about the oppression of women, gender and sexuality, and the struggle for liberation. Presenters and audience members alike discussed how Marxists and other theorists have confronted these questions, theoretically and practically.
Jesse Muldoon, a teacher from Oakland, Calif., who led a discussion on "Engels, the family and social reproduction," said the discussions were:
able to balance theory and history with strategies for struggle. Every discussion brought up debates and new ideas, with tremendous enthusiasm and insight. Discussions around women's oppression need to address the day-to-day experiences of oppression that women face, as well as grapple with complex theories about the role of women's oppression and sexism in our society.
To continue their education and engagement after Socialism, many attendees walked away with books--lots and lots of them. Haymarket Books, a project of conference sponsor CERSC, had a room half the size of a football field to lay out literally thousands of books from Haymarket and other publishers.
"It's hard to find such a concentrated collection of radical titles," said Rory Fanning, who works for Haymarket. "If you go to the bookstore, you might see one or two, but we bring them all together. People think the Haymarket book room is a highlight of the Socialism conference. Some sign up for the conference just to browse the book room.
But as important as education and discussion is, Socialism attendees were also thinking about how to put the ideas they talked about over the weekend to use. It was a point Glenn Greenwald brought up in his speech:In an effort to promote the state's beautiful scenery and rich history, the state is adding three new byways and improving a few others.
Governor Terry Branstad announced the addition of three new scenic state byways and additions to three more on Monday, October 31, 2016. (Courtesy: KCCI)
Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds were joined by Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino Monday in Des Moines for the announcement.
The Byways include the Bridges Byway in Madison County, the Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway and the White Pole Road Byway.
The Madison County Byway is an 82 mile route featuring the iconic covered bridges as well as the birthplace of John Wayne.
The Jefferson Byway stretches between Northwood and Lamoni along the historic north-south U.S. border to border route originally envisioned in 1916.
The White Pole Road Byway will go between Adair and Dexter on a 26 mile route.
The state plans to extend three current Byways, including one in northeast Iowa.
The Driftless Area Scenic Byway takes you along bluffs and shows you the beauty of northeast Iowa in Allamakee County. It currently takes you from Postville, through the Yellow River State Forest, then through Waukon and Lansing. The state will now add a 44 mile loop into Winneshiek County to Decorah. The extension will add cold water trout streams, topographical features unique to that area and crews will pave a graveled area of the road.
"We think there's a lot of people that want to learn about their history and heritage, want to see interesting historic sites and this gives them information about that," said Governor Branstad.
Iowa Department of Transportation crews will add signs and improve roads so that it's ready to go by the 2018 tourism season.
For a list of all of the byways, click here.We live in the Information Age yet our data is easily compromised and falsified. Factom with their Factoid (FCT) token is changing this as they have developed a scalable data layer for cryptocurrency that will secure the world’s data and make it immutable and easily auditable. In my opinion, this alone will create tremendous value. As of this writing, the market cap of Factom is 261 million while the market caps of Bitcoin and Ethereum are 42 and 35 billion respectively. I am making the call that, the “Flippening” will not be Ethereum replacing Bitcoin as the number one coin, it will be Factom. Before I explain why I feel this way, let me first say this is merely a theory of mine I thought would be fun to write down. I think very
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markets. You start by simmering the birds to make stock, which then becomes the base of the stew, and then you use the meat from the hens.
This is a bit labor-intensive for most, so I normally use pre-cut chicken parts: legs, wings and especially thighs. This stew is just made for chicken thighs.
What is a little unusual about how you make the stew is that you first brown the chicken and then stew it on the bone. You can certainly eat it off the bone in the stew, but this is messy, so I prefer to fish out the meat and shred it. Why bother with the bones and skin at all? They add a ton of flavor to the stew.
Sweet potatoes or yams are a must in the African version, but if you hate them, use regular potatoes or turnips.
The stew is supposed to be pretty spicy, so I normally use a lot of hot sauce thrown in at the end of the cooking. I only call for 1 teaspoon of cayenne here, because no matter how chile-adverse you are, it ought to have at least a faint bite of heat. If you truly can’t take chiles, skip the cayenne. But someone in Ghana will cry.(CNN) — We've all wondered what it's like to die. Now there's a game that claims it can fulfill our curiosity, without actually killing us.
"Samadhi -- 4D Experience of Death," is a morbid "escape room" game that uses dramatic special effects to bring players close to what its creators imagine is an experience of death.
When it opens in Shanghai in September 2014, it will invite participants to compete in a series of challenges to avoid "dying."
Losers get cremated -- or are at least made to lie on a conveyor belt that transports them through a fake funeral home incinerator to simulate death rites.
The faux cremator will use hot air and light projections to create what the organizers call "an authentic experience of burning."
After "cremation," participants are transferred to a soft, round, womb-like capsule, signifying their "rebirth."
And the winner?
"He'll also have to die of course," says the game's fatalistic co-founder Ding Rui.
As in life, he explains, "everyone will die eventually, no matter what they've survived."
Life and death
Ding and his partner Huang Wei-ping went to great lengths researching their game, investigating the cremation process that typically awaits 50% of Chinese people after death.
The pair visited a real crematorium and asked to be sent through the furnace with the flames turned off.
"Ding went in the crematory first and it was stressful for me to observe from the outside," says Huang.
"The controller of the crematory was also very nervous; he usually just focuses on sending bodies in, but not on bringing them back out."
When it came to Huang's turn, he found it unbearable.
"It was getting really hot. I couldn't breathe and I thought my life was over," he said.
The pair say realism is essential to provoke participants into thinking about life and death.
They'll operate the game while also running Hand in Hand, an organization that specializes in providing hospice support to dying patients in an oncology hospital.
Soul searching
Huang says his interest in death emerged during a period of soul searching after a lucrative but spiritually unrewarding career as a trader.
"China made me rich, but it didn't teach me how to live a rich life. I was lost," he says.
He went on to study psychology and volunteered to help in the aftermath of a 2008 earthquake in China's western Sichuan province, launching Hand in Hand shortly after.
"It opened a new door for me -- I went there to help but I was also saved."
Ding, meanwhile, had undertaken his own search for a meaning to life by organizing seminars with experts on the subject.
"I invited 'life masters' from different religions and other fields to come and talk about what life is," he says.
"I did that for two years before realizing that, instead of sitting here and listening passively, I could also do something."
That was when the two hooked up to create the "4D Experience of Death."
Morbid curiosity
The pair were initially unsure of the appetite for their morbid concept, even though similar ventures have already opened in South Korea and Taiwan
Voluntary work in a hospice showed them that few people wanted to confront the idea of death, even when it was at hand.
"The saddest part of the job wasn't seeing the patients passing away but how the families refused to face death -- the final days with their loved ones consisted of kind but shallow lies," says Ding.
"We lack understanding of death and the fear can become so overwhelming."
To sound out the idea, Huang and Ding first started a fundraising campaign on jue.so, the Chinese version of Kickstarter.
"We received more than RMB 410,000 ($67,000) in three months, surpassing our target," says Huang. "It turns out many people in China are curious about death."
Ding says they hope the experience will promote "life education" -- prompting people to ask questions about what they are doing with their lives and guiding them to face death in a personal way.
"There aren't any model answers in life and death education, unlike those courses that teach you to be rich and successful," says Huang. "It is more important for people to experience it personally."
"I was in a car crash once and the only thought in my mind then was 'why didn't I buy insurance?'" says Huang. "It wasn't what I had imagined for the final moments of my life. That romantic idea of having a flashback of one's entire life in the last moments before death -- that did not happen."The World Trade Organization ruled Thursday that Boeing Co. has received at least $5.3 billion in illegal U.S. subsidies and must either withdraw them or make up for the harm caused.
The World Trade Organization ruled Thursday that Boeing received more than $5.0 billion US in illegal U.S. subsidies. ((Associated Press))
The EU had alleged that Boeing received almost $24 billion in illegal subsidies, such as research grants and free use of technology, from NASA, the Department of Defence, and the states of Illinois, Kansas and Washington.
The ruling is the latest development in a six-year contest and will likely next go to a WTO appeals panel.
In its ruling, the WTO said the EU has demonstrated the U.S. gave Boeing "export subsidies that are prohibited" and recommends the U.S. either withdraw them or "take steps to remove the adverse affects."
The report details findings, which were first issued in private to the EU and U.S. in January.
The ruling by a panel of trade judges said that "some of the measures... constituted specific subsidies" but rejected other claims including some involving Washington state's taxes.
The judges said some of the tax incentives offered by Washington state were not in fact "prohibited export subsidies" as the Europeans claimed, but allowable support Boeing's large civil aircraft division.
Competing aircraft maker Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., estimates it has lost $45 billion US in aircraft sales because of the subsidies.
A separate WTO trade panel, ruling on U.S. complaints, also has faulted European governments for illegally supporting Airbus.
Airbus welcomed the ruling saying that WTO had "publicly condemned the United States for giving Boeing massive illegal subsidies that caused Airbus to lose $45 billion in sales."
Boeing, meanwhile, said the WTO had "shattered the longstanding European myth that illegal Airbus subsidies are necessary to fend off alleged U.S. subsidies to Boeing."
Boeing acknowledged it got $2.6 billion of illegal U.S. funding, but said that pales in comparison with $20 billion of "illegal Airbus subsidies."
That interpretation was echoed by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which said the subsidies the Europeans give to Airbus "dwarf anything that the U.S. government does for Boeing."The NBA salary cap is a soft cap. A soft cap means that there is a cap maximum, but there are a lot of ways that teams can go over the cap. However, if teams go over the cap too much, they have to pay a luxury tax for having spent too much money on players. I’m not going to get into the specific details of the luxury tax, but essentially the more your are over the luxury tax, the bigger tax you have to pay, so most owners try to avoid it. However, here are some of the ways teams can go over the cap:
Bird Rights: If a player has been with a team for 3 consecutive years or more, the team has his bird rights, meaning they can re-sign the player and go over the cap. Say the cap is 60 million and John Smith is a free agent. He has played for the Knicks for 3 straight seasons, and the Knicks cap is at 59 million. He can sign a 20 million dollar a year deal and put the Knicks cap at 79 million and everything would be fine with that. Basically, Bird Rights were created so teams would have an easier time keeping their own players.
Early Bird Rights: Same idea as Bird rights, but it’s for a player who has been with a team for 2 years. The team can re-sign the player to 175 % of his old salary or the average salary in the NBA, whichever is higher.
Non Bird Rights: If a player doesn’t qualify for bird or early bird rights, they can re-sign with the team for 120% of his previous salary or 120% of the league minimum salary. Again, whichever is higher.
Mid Level Exception: Teams can use the mid level exception to sign a player without that players salary contributing to the luxury tax. The MLE is a same amount of money for every team if they are under the cap “apron,” which basically means as long as they are under the luxury tax, they can use the full, 5.4 million dollar MLE. MLE can be for a four year contract and can be used every single year by a team. So if the cap is 60 million, the luxury tax is 65 million and the Wizards player salaries are 64 million, they can use the 5 million dollar MLE to sign Phillip Johnson. Or, they can split up the MLE, and sign Bo Francis to a 2 million dollar deal and Jerry Sims to a 3 million dollar deal. If a team is above the luxury tax, the MLE is smaller but still useable. Right now it’s 3.3376 million.
Bi-Annual Exception: Same idea as MLE, but it can only be used every two years. It is also much less money (it’s at 1.6 million dollars right now). Can also be split up between multiple players.
Trade Exception: This one, in my opinion, is the most complicated way. Say the Cavaliers traded Bill Dingleberry’s 10 million dollar contract to the Sixers for a euro stash player. The Sixers would be taking on a 10 million dollars contract, and the Cavs would be taking in none because they wouldn’t sign the euro player. In turn, the Cavs would get a 10 million dollar trade exception, which they could use to sign or trade for someone who’s contract is up to 10 million dollars. They can do this within one year of the trade. They would use the trade exception to probably trade for a player near the trade deadline to help them contend in the playoffs, or sign someone in free agency next year. Usually used by good teams who are over the salary cap who want to get over the hump. A question you might have is why would the Sixers do this? Well, the Cavs would most likely give up other assets besides Bill Dingleberry to convince the Sixers to take on his contract. So, the trade would most likely look like this:
Cavs Receive: 2020 second round pick or some random euro stash player who will never play in the NBA, 10 million dollar trade exception they can use within the next year.
Sixers Trade: Bill Dingleberry, future first round pick.
Minimum Salary Exception: Teams can sign a player for the minimum salary no matter how much they are over the cap. So, if the cap is 60 million, the Cavs’ player salaries are 300 million, they can still sign players to the minimum salary for up to two years.
Disabled Player Exception: IF a player for a team is injured early on in the year and is out for the season, that team can apply for a disabled player exception. If the commissioner grants it, that team can spend the MLE or 50 % of the injured players contract to sign a player, whichever is lower.
Rookie Exception: A team can sign their first round pick even if his salary makes the team’s payroll go over the salary cap.
If you really wanna know these cap rules, read over this post a few times because it takes a while to learn. Also, this is a very small portion of the salary cap, and I’ll be posting other articles in the future about it. Until then, peace.
AdvertisementsHow Ignorance And Mental Health Stigma Ruined My Sunday Brunch
Wow. I just received the most offensive message on Facebook. The message asked me... "Funny how you are able to go out for brunch or to a festival when you're supposed to be so "depressed" you're having a hard time even working."
THIS is exactly why people who are suffering do not come forward. And they suffer alone. And avoid treatment. Until it turns into the worst possible outcome. And then all you hear is "if we only knew" or "why didn't they ask for help."
When I made the decision to come so forward publicly on social media about my ongoing battle with depression, anxiety, PTSD and ADHD, I was really self-conscious about it. But, I did it anyhow, in hopes of helping anyone else who is silently struggling. For the most part I’ve seen encouragement and support. Up until today, the worst response I’ve had was “why don’t you just meditate instead of all this expensive therapy…”
HOWEVER, just because I am struggling so much with my mental health, doesn't mean that I can't leave my bed and I sleep and am sad all day. Do I have days like that? Yes, definitely. At least twice a week. I have days I can hardly walk. I can't make a phone call. I can't even sit at my computer and edit photos. And on the days where I feel well enough to get out and run errands I’ve been neglecting, I’m met with anxiety that makes me have to sit in the post office parking lot and work up the "courage" to get out of my car and just buy stamps. It’s a lot of fun.
On the days that I'm feeling well and it's beautiful outside and I have friends that I feel guilty for never seeing, I'm going to get out and enjoy a "normal" day. And I shouldn't have to feel guilty for having a normal day any more than I should for having a bad day.
In addition, with all of this going on, I take care of my 4-year-old and 2-year-old on my own every other week. I'm beyond grateful for family and friends who help out anytime. All moms need "me" time and time with friends. Single moms with mental health issues who are having a kid-free good day need it just as much.
Let's pretend I'm a cancer patient going though chemo. It's draining. It's almost as debilitating as the cancer itself. If I'm having a good day and I want to get out in the sunshine with friends, would I get messages making me feel guilty? Questioning the severity of my cancer? Or if I even HAVE cancer? Likely not. I'm willing to bet I'd be getting messages of encouragement and messages saying how nice it is that I feel well and to enjoy my day.
THIS IS NO DIFFERENT. THIS IS THE STIGMA THAT NEEDS TO END.
My bad days involve not knowing if I can function, wanting to take my kids to the park and not being able to, side effects from starting and stopping medications while we try to find the magic combination, not being able to do photo sessions, feeling angry and feeling like "why me," and stressing about how to pay my rent and bills. Having to set up a GoFundMe to ask people for help is one of the worst things I've had to do. But I don't know how else to survive most days.
Here’s what I get to look forward to this week: I get to go in for a week of medical testing to see if I have an underlying auto-immune disease or some other chronic illness that's contributing to my mental health struggles, while waiting for my spot to open up in the partial hospitalization program I'm admitting myself to. Just hoping every single day that I can find an answer or a treatment method that helps me feel better and function again. Honestly, I’d rather be going to work like most people.
What does your week look like?
Either way, I think I deserve to be able to spend this sunny summer Sunday at brunch with my friends, with encouragement and without judgement. Don't you?Northern Ireland will travel to Central America next year to play Panama in Panama City on Tuesday 29 May before taking on Costa Rica on Sunday 3 June in San Jose.
It will be the first time that Northern Ireland has faced either country, who have both qualified for the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Panama, who are ranked 55th in the world, will be World Cup debutants next summer and have been drawn in a group with England, Belgium and Tunisia.
Costa Rica, who are 26th in the world rankings, face Serbia, Brazil and Switzerland who Northern Ireland lost narrowly to in November’s FIFA World Cup play-off.
Northern Ireland’s match against Panama will be played in the Stadio Rommel Fernandez, while the game against Costa Rica will take place in Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. Kick-off times will be confirmed in the new year.
Northern Ireland Manager, Michael O’Neill, said: ‘These are exciting games and are fixtures that we are looking forward to. In 2014 we travelled to South America to play Uruguay and Chile and those matches were hugely beneficial to us ahead of the EURO 2016 qualifying campaign. Playing in Central America will be a new experience for everyone involved and while we will enjoy that aspect of the tour, most importantly we will be using the matches to give us solid preparation for the UEFA Nations League and UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying.’
ENDSJulian Assange still has not found the courage to face the women who accuse him of sexual abuse. Rather than try to clear his name, he has sat in the basement of the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge for four years – a confinement long enough to drive most of us out of our minds.
If Assange has lost his wits, however, there is a method to his madness, as there was long before he received what paltry hospitality the Ecuadorian diplomatic corps could offer him. Nothing he leaks has ever hurt Russia. He will denounce and expose human rights abusers, as we all should. But he will never allow his followers to learn of the suppression of democracy and human rights by Putin’s forces within and without Russia’s borders. Human rights in Assange’s mind are shape shifters. Essential in the West, but dispensable in the East. When the time comes to condemn their abusers, Assange becomes the political equivalent of an estate agent. Location is all that matters to him.
Wikileaks’ double standards and blind spots, its collaborations and self-censorship, go to the root of the crisis on the left. Or rather, because there are many lefts, the crisis on the version of the left that dominates the Labour party and most of the West’s allegedly radical culture. To put it bluntly, what’s its problem with standing up to the Kremlin? What gives? And, more to the point, who is on the take?
Leftists call themselves ‘anti-imperialists’. They mean they oppose the neo-imperialism of the United States – often for good reasons, as you should never forget. But when they are confronted with actual imperialism, when they see Russia send its armies to annex territory, their angry voices fall silent. It is not as if they can sustain the beliefs of their ancestors and comfort themselves with the thought that Russia is a socialist state. Russia is an unashamed plutocracy. Its political and military leaders plunder the nation’s resources, and risk losing their loot only if they lose Putin’s favour. Political parties can escape persecution only if they play the roles the state has assigned them. Gays are hounded. Investigative journalists and opposition politicians murdered. Putin exalts most obscurantist and nationalistic elements of the Orthodox Church, who treat him as the new Tsar of all the Russias in return. Russia ought to be seen by today’s left as the liberals and socialists of the 19th century saw it: a great reactionary and oppressive power. Instead, it is indulged.
As always, the scandal is that there is no scandal. No scandal when Jeremy Corbyn appoints as his chief adviser Seumas Milne, a horribly subservient admirer of Putin. No scandal about Corbyn’s appearances on Russian propaganda networks, excuses for Russia’s imperial ambitions, and hints he would give Putin the freedom to move into the Baltic states if he could.
It has become commonplace to say that the radical left is so intellectually bankrupt and morally null that it is reduced to saying that any enemy of the West is better than none. Surely, we can now go further and say it has sunk lower than that? By endorsing and condoning Putin, Western leftists are not just making the West’s enemy their friend. Western leftists are allying with the West’s own far right. In foreign policy, Seumas Milne, Jeremy Corbyn, and all those who so contemptibly go along with them, stand with Marine le Pen and Donald Trump. A hatred of the West is not enough to explain the role swapping anymore. Better to think the similarities between the far left and far right so outweigh the differences today even they do not care about them.
It is enough that a 9/11 crackpot, a Rothschild crank, an alternative therapy nut, or, in this case, one of the greatest thieves of our times is ‘anti-establishment’ for endorsement to follow. Tyranny and conspiracy theory have become ends in themselves. What causes the conspiracy theories are meant to advance and the dictatorship is meant to enforce no longer matter. No one cares if they are left-wing, right-wing, socialist, fascist, national or internationalist. Prejudice, stupidity and oppression have become self-justifying and self-sustaining.
Assange led the way. The New York Times has analysed his leaks and reported that, although Vladimir Putin hardly lived up to WikiLeaks’ ideal of transparency, ‘whether by conviction, convenience or coincidence, WikiLeaks’ document releases, along with many of Mr. Assange’s statements, have often benefited Russia, at the expense of the West’. Indeed they have. So much so that it is now reasonable to suppose that Wikileaks is working for the election of Donald Trump, the Kremlin’s preferred candidate, by publishing Clinton and Democrat emails, which Russian intelligence almost certainly hacked.
The Times did not notice that a preference for tyranny was there at the start. It is hard to believe today, but many good and idealistic journalists worked with Wikileaks when Assange launched it in 2010. They were exposing the crimes of the US military in the Middle East, and corruption and abuse everywhere. Creating an open and accountable world seemed a noble cause. Most resigned in disgust when they learned Assange was working with an anti-Semite who was reportedly handing sensitive US cables that could identify dissidents to the dictator of Belarus.
In six years, Assange has moved from aiding a grim post-Soviet dictatorship on Russia’s western borders to Moscow itself. Naturally, everyone assumes money has changed hands. Russia is the great corrupter of western politics, after all. It funds the French National Front and far right nationalist movements in Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria. But sometimes the cry of ‘follow the money’ is the worst of slogans. Julian Assange, Jeremy Corbyn and Seumas Milne would sympathise with Putin whether he paid them or not. Humboldt Woolf’s lines about the press apply as well to them.
You cannot hope to bribe or twist
(thank God!) the British journalist.
But, seeing what the man will do
unbribed, there’s no occasion to.
Corruption is an ordinary human vice. It is deplorable but understandable. The first sin we suspect. But Putin is not the rapist Assange’s accusers allege him to be. He has not forced Western leftists into his bed. And in the case of the left, Putin is almost certainly not a punter who has paid for its favours either.
In all likelihood, the radical left is in bed with a reactionary Russia of its own free will. Its corruption is moral and political rather than financial. The left has voluntarily given itself away for nothing, and proved in the process that it has nothing left to give.An elderly couple from Buda, Texas have filed a federal civil lawsuit against a police officer over a 2014 arrest in which a then-73-year-old man was allegedly pushed to the ground, sustaining several broken ribs.
Juan Martinez and his wife Guadalupe Martinez were 73 and 69, respectively, when they were both arrested at their local Wal-Mart on October 3, 2014, in an incident which escalated to a physical altercation with a local officer.
The incident was filmed on the cop’s bodycam.
The couple, who both use mobility scooters, were shopping at the Old San Antonio Road store when they became separated, and the woman exited the store with unpurchased items still in her scooter’s basket. Wal-Mart security then detained her on suspicion of shoplifting, leading her into an office for questioning.
The newly released bodycam footage shows Buda police officer Demerriel Young ask Juan to leave the office while his wife is being questioned. However, he refused, saying: "No sir, I'm not going to do that."
“I've done nothing wrong,” he added.
“Okay either you're gonna step outside or I'm going to place you outside or I'm going to place you under arrest for interfering," Young warned, to which Juan replied: “Go ahead.”
The video shows Young proceed to place his hands on the older man, who falls to the ground and lies there, apparently screaming in pain.
Young then stops Guadalupe from helping her prone husband and she accuses the officer of pushing him. "Have a seat, ma'am. I did not do anything," says Young.
"You pushed him," she responds.
Guadalupe was subsequently charged with theft while Juan was charged with interfering with the duties of a public servant. They are both reportedly due in court on October 17.
READ MORE: ‘I can’t breathe’: Prison guards pepper-spray & pile on inmate with alleged heart disease (VIDEO)
The couple has now filed a lawsuit accusing the Buda officer of excessive force.
“Officer Young unnecessarily escalated the situation and used force excessive to the need,” according to the lawsuit document. “Specifically, Officer Young tackled the elderly and disabled Martinez, failing to control the descent of Mr. Martinez and slammed him hard onto the floor.”
Martinez lay on the floor for over five minutes before EMS arrived on the scene, according to the couple’s lawyer Robert Ranco, and suffered several broken ribs as well as other injuries.
READ MORE: Charlotte police release bodycam footage of Keith Scott shooting (VIDEO)
The complaint names Officer Young, the city of Buda and Wal-Mart for excessive force, violating their rights, negligence and false imprisonment. As of Thursday, Buda Police, the city, and Wal-Mart said they had yet to be served with a complaint, reports KVUE.The kids are all right. New numbers from an independent data-science company show that Netflix’s Stranger Things is U.S. TV’s No. 1 most in-demand program. The 1980s-set horror-drama series has seen a Season 2 surge that gave it a medium-leading 69.9 million average “demand expressions” for the week ending November 4, per Parrot Analytics research. That’s a 60% jump over the previous week, as the new season went live October 29.
Netflix
Parrot’s global TV measurement metric charts not actual viewership but the total audience demand being expressed for a title within a market using more than 1 billion daily data points. It reflects the desire, engagement and viewership, weighted by importance. Stranger Things‘ closest rivals aren’t all that close as runner-up HBO’s Game of Thrones drew 54 million demand expressions, followed by AMC’s The Walking Dead (53.5 million) and CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery (52.4 million).
The news comes days after Nielsen announced its first ratings for Stranger Things. Within the first three days, Episode 1 of Season 2 of the series from the Duffer brothers averaged an eye-popping 15.8 million U.S. viewers and nearly 11 million in the demo viewing on the TV. Nielsen also said all of the nine new episodes averaged 4 million viewers and 3 million in the demo.Last week, news broke that the character of Marv has been written to appear in the upcoming Sin City sequel, tentatively planning to shoot in early 2012. Today, Superhero Hype caught up with actor Mickey Rourke at the junket for his latest project, Immortals, and asked whether he had any plans to return to the role.
“It depends,” he smiled, “It depends on how bad they want me. You feel me?”
Some time ago, Rourke had noted his reluctance to re-approach a part with such heavy make-up.
“I did [like the character],” he reiterated today, “but I’m claustrophobic, so the the hours of makeup — You have to keep it on for about 13 or 14 hours a day. It’s latex and glue and that stuff that gets my eyes all red…”
Rourke, who is famous for his candid interview comments, also recalled an anecdote from the first film’s production that reminds him of another reason to resist prosthetics.
“I remember I picked up some chick at a bar in Texas one night and invited her to the set to have lunch at the lunch break,” he grinned. “I couldn’t take the s–t off. F–k it, I never saw her again!”
Still, Rourke hints that the three-dimensionality of a character like Marv goes a long way. He spoke openly about another, recent comic book project that didn’t turn out the way he wanted.
“I try to find the moments where [the villain is] not that cliched, evil bad guy and it’s a big fight,” he explained. “I had it on ‘Iron Man’ and they won. It was going to work for Marvel and them breaking [Jon] Favreau’s balls and wanting just a one-dimensional villain. The performance and all the things that I tried to bring to it end up on the f—ing floor. That can cause you not to care as much. To not to want to put that effort in to try and make it an intelligent bad guy or a bad guy who is justified in what his reasons are.”
You can catch Rourke in theaters in Immortals on November 11th. Check back soon for full interviews with the cast and crew.John Lloyd and Phill Jupitus are joined by Pointless co-presenter and TV executive Richard Osman; psychopath expert Prof Kevin Dutton; and Solanaceae expert Dr Sandra Knapp.
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Phill Jupitus welcome the hugely knowledgeable co-star of Pointless, Richard Osman, the author of Flipnosis: The Art of Split-Second Persuasion and The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Lessons In Life From Saints, Spies and Serial Killers, Professor Kevin Dutton and the Natural History Museum's curator of Solanaceae (the order of plants that includes potatoes, tomatoes and deadly nightshade) Dr Sandra Knapp.
This week, the Museum's Steering Committee discusses why psychopaths don't seem to blink; why cushions on beds are the most pointless things in existence; how an 18th century Swedish botanist knew everything; the evolutionary advantages of smiling; the confectionary milestone that was Cadbury's Dairy Milk; and the culinary revolution of freeze-dried potatoes that taste of Styrofoam.
The show was researched by James Harkin and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber.Missouri Loves Company Team List
Check out the field set for Missouri Loves Company 2014. Ultiworld will be in attendance reporting at the tournament, set for November 8-9.
MEN’S
Colorado
Carleton College – CUT
Texas TUFF
Texas A&M University
Missouri
Minnesota
Luther College
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis University
University of Northern Iowa
Truman State University
UW-Stevens Point
Iowa State
Northwestern University
Grinnell College
Purdue University
UW-La Crosse
Indiana University
University of Illinois
Notre Dame
University of Arkansas
Carleton College – GOP
Kansas State University
University of Minnesota Duluth
Loyola University Chicago
Iowa
University of Southern Indiana
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Colorado State University
University of Oklahoma
Colorado College
Air Force Academy
Harding University
University of North Texas
University of Central Arkansas
Missouri State
Missouri S&T
Vanderbilt
Kenyon College
Kansas
Women’s
Kansas
University of Missouri
Notre Dame
Truman State University
Iowa State
Purdue University
Saint Louis University
Indiana University
University of Iowa
Kansas State University
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Grinnell College
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Harding University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Colorado
UW-Eau Claire
Michigan State UniversityThere has been a lot of buzz around the internet about the Cr-48 and one of its major weaknesses, the inability to browse the file structure on your SSD. The problem is that the “file:///” method in your search bar that you would use in the browser version of Chrome is only allowed access to your ‘Downloads’ directory in Chrome OS. The content Browser is similarly restricted. This means that the only way to navigate your disk is by using the shell. But even then, there is no way to open and view files such as images and audio files (at least I haven’t found a command line image viewer that is installed). This also means that the only way to browse USB media and your SD card is through the terminal.
Until now, the only solution I’ve seen is to navigate to a site like Aviary which uses the SWFUpload file browser. SWFUpload manages to get access to the entire file structure and let you browse your whole device. This is a step in the right direction, but it is still limited because you can’t really do anything with your files using their browser (like open them to view without uploading).
By enabling the “Advance File System” option in Chrome://flags, and SD card will show up in your content browser but cannot be opened or browsed. Even pointing “Chrome://slideshow” to the media directory only results in files that are incapable of supplying a preview.
Today I spent some time trying to figure out how I could deal with this problem. After spending some time trying to point the “Chrome://slideshow” and the “File:///” utilities to different locations with no success, I had an idea. The only directory that anything in Chrome OS can see is “Downloads”. If only I could somehow move EVERYTHING into the Downloads folder. Clearly that isn’t really possible, or preferable. BUT, a symbolic link might achieve the same result.
So I opened up the terminal and created a symbolic link from my “~/Downloads” directory to my “~/” and called it home. The command looked something like this “ln -s ~/ HOME”. Switching back to the browser view and pressing ctrl + o I was greated with a link to HOME in the content browser. Clicking it resulted in this:
Excited from my success, I went ahead and added symbolic links to the “/media” directory as well as the “/” directory, naming them “media” and “root” respectively.
Navigating through the media link that I now had in my Downloads folder I was able to access my SD card. Clicking on the image file name I was greeted with this:
Success!!!
It is also worth noting that the content browser isn’t necessary for all of this either. Using the File:/// utility, the symbolic links show up as navigable folders. So you can browse your content, and clicking on images opens them in the browser window for preview.
So there you have it, a way to navigate and view files from your storage, both local and usb/sd.
So far, I haven’t managed to get anything to download directly onto the SD card (or any folder other than Downloads). The symbolic links do not seem to have solved that problem. I plan to spend some time later this evening and tomorrow seeing if I can figure out why. And hopefully solve it.
*EDIT:
Thanks to PabloBasico I now know that my symbolic link hack above opens up a really great function, drag and drop onto your flash media! As he pointed out in a comment below, when you have two content browsers open, it is possible to drag and drop files between them. Navigate one to SD card via the symbolic link and you can quickly drag files from your downloads folder onto your SD card or vice versa. This is a really great feature allowing me to download files onto my Cr-48 and then move them to my SD card without ever opening up the terminal!
*EDIT:
So a lot of people in the comments have been having small issues getting this to work. I’m not really sure why, but sometimes the links are showing up as files and not folders in the content browser and other problems. Today I had to redo the setup on my Cr-48 because I recently booted from recovery to fix a messed up partition table. I figured I’d take that opportunity to take a screen cap of my terminal inputs for clarification.
So, to revamp:
You MUST be in developer mode for this to work. Directions for transitioning into dev mode can be found here.
Then enable advanced file system. Type about:flags into the address bar and then click enable on the AFS option
ctrl+alt+t gets you to a terminal
‘shell’ takes you to a bash terminal
‘cd ~/Downloads’ navigates you to the Downloads folder
‘sudo ln -s /media MEDIA’ creates the symbolic link in your downloads folder to your mounted media
Hope this helps you guys out, I’m probably going to re-write the whole
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you got that subtle reference you're a true DOTA fan I'm pumped about the opportunity to help joinDOTA return to its former glory. It's a shame but quite a common phenomenon in eSports that editors become absorbed in improving the story, instead of the writers, a lesson I've learned through personal experience. As a result many eSports websites are held together by only one or two editorial staff and those staff become drained and demoralised. My aim will not be to carry this website single-handedly but instead help the editorial staff of jD to grow, to excel and to go beyond even their own expectations.The first step will be to increase the quality and accuracy of our news and then we will focus on introducing regular features and interviews. I'm looking forward to working with the jD crew as well as the 14 new volunteers that were chosen from over 500 applicants! jD is a giant about to wake from its slumber and I hope I can breathe life into these old stones - if you got that subtle reference you're a true DOTA fan
A new... Project Manager
A new... wave of volunteers
After over two years ofToby '' Dawson carrying our broadcasting services almost by himself, we're proud to presentto joinDOTA.Austin '' Walsh will move to Berlin and expand our streaming opportunities. Austin will be acting as an independent caster splitting the luxury of round the clock coverage with Tobi, allowing us to cover more tournaments and even more matches in the near future. But the pair will also team up to unleash their fury in dual commentaries for high-stake matches and competitions. TheCapitalist will kick-off his joinDOTA career in the upcoming G-League group stages. Meanwhile we're still looking to sign a steady co-caster, since his role will be different from just that.- Austin 'TheCapitalist' Walsh- Toby 'TobiWanKenobi' DawsonOkay, this person is not completely new to our project.Salome '' Gschwind-Penski has been a part of Freaks 4U Gaming for years. After working with a lot of different games and projects, our busy bee will nowas her main assignment. Therefore you're going to see her more frequently in the future. Soe will bring more in-depth knowledge, profiling and analysis to the stream. With her as an addition to the team there will be a lot more community interaction on the show together with her well-known creativity and humorous outbursts.- Salome 'Soe' Gschwind-PenskiNot only our streaming services deserve improvements, but also our website. We realise our news items have not been up to scratch recently in terms of quality, quantity, and punctuality. Therefore, starting in December,Lawrence "" Phillips will be assuming the role of Editor-in-Chief and managing our news team. Lawrence has filled the same role at SK Gaming years ago during the glory days of Warcraft3, and more recently worked for Razer behind-the-scenes as their eSports Editor. This makes him an. His main task is to not only create great articles himself, but especially build up and manage a more solid news crew in the future.- Lawrence 'Malystryx' PhillipsIn August,Moritz '' Zimmermann, the founder of joinDOTA, has decided to leave us. Since thenJan-Hendrik '' Heuschkel, the head of project managment at the company, has taken extra care of its biggest project, joinDOTA. Nevertheless, while Jan is still an essential part of the management, we wantedonly. We have found the right person for the job, and while his name shall remain a mystery, he has already taken his first steps to becoming an integral part of all of our plans with Dota2 and joinDOTA.Despite the current expansion of the core team, projects like joinDOTA wouldn't be able to exist without the help of the community. A few weeks ago we started our second large recruitment. Like Malystryx already mentioned, over 500 people applied to be part of the staff., even though we were only able to accept a small portion. We were glad to see how big the support for joinDOTA still is!Having volunteer workers providing help in various ways is a normal and fundamental practice in eSport, and even sport in general. A few individuals have complained about this system in our recruitment article. We'd like to point out this is also a great experience for everyone involved and we don't ask for much from those people. Furthermore it is an opportunity for each person to prove himself for a serious job later on, be it outside of the scene or maybe even right within it. Most recentlyBenjamin '' Ebert, a long time forum moderator and tournament admin, has been hired to work full time for Freaks 4U Gaming.With all these substantital additions, we hope to bring joinDOTA back to former glory in 2014. A big thanks to everyone who's still as passionate about this project and Dota 2 as we are and we hope to share a great future with all of you!The Denver Broncos will be giving coach Gary Kubiak the week off as he deals with a complex migraine condition, general manager John Elway announced Monday.
Kubiak will not coach the Broncos during Thursday's game against the San Diego Chargers and won't return to the team until Oct. 17, Elway said.
Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has been elevated to interim head coach. Elway said that promoting the special teams coordinator was the most seamless way to reorganize the staff with offensive coordinator Rick Dennison taking on full-time play calling duties and Wade Phillips calling the defense. While DeCamillis still has extensive responsibilities during the week with special teams, he can shift a focus on game day to game management and allow the other two coordinators to have a relatively normal Sunday.
DeCamillis, 51, has been a special teams coach or coordinator in the league since 1988 and arrived in Denver back in 2015. Elway said that the Broncos did not even broach the subject of Kubiak working this week with the ailing coach still recovering in the hospital.
"We're excited about Gary's future and I think what we heard last night is good, but I'm going to let Gary handle (speaking about his medical issue) when he comes back," Elway said.
In a statement released by the team Monday night, Kubiak said he's made a lot of changes to his health in recent years and will continue to listen to doctors moving forward.
"I'm feeling much better and am thankful for everyone's thoughts and well-wishes," Kubiak stated. "It's tough not being there with our team this week, but I've got great confidence in Joe D, our coordinators and coaching staff, and all of our players.
"I'll be at home this week resting and getting healthy, and I look forward to rejoining our team on Monday."
Elway noted that Kubiak clearly did not feel well before Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but declined to say if this condition was at all related to a 2013 incident where Kubiak was carted off the field as head coach of the Houston Texans due to a transient ischemic attack.
When asked if Kubiak's mounting on-field health issues were a concern to Elway, he said that he's trusting his coach, friend and former teammate.
"We'll find that out this week, but like I said, the information we received last night of the different things that have happened -- we felt good about the fact that he was going to continue to be able to do what he does. That's the best thing. I think that when you go through these things, sometimes they're bad but really good things come out of it -- and I think this is one of those things. The timing is a short week and it's almost better that it's a short week. That was not us yesterday (in a loss to the Falcons). We get turned around and Gary can take this week and work on himself then get back to normal on Monday."More say obesity is "extremely serious" now than in the past
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Most Americans say obesity is an "extremely" or "very serious" problem to society, the 81% who do so is up significantly from 69% in 2005, the last time Gallup asked this question. Americans now see obesity as a more serious societal issue than cigarettes -- a change from the past.
Gallup has asked Americans how serious a problem obesity, cigarettes, and alcohol are to society three times since 2003. The combined percentage rating obesity as extremely or very serious has increased with each survey. While Americans became more concerned about all three issues in 2005, their concerns about cigarettes has since stayed the same and those about alcohol declined slightly.
Nearly four in 10 Americans now say obesity is an extremely serious problem to society, more than the 30% who say the same about cigarettes and 18% about alcohol. The percentage who say obesity is an extremely serious problem is also up from 27% in 2005.
Majorities See Important Role for Government
Americans are equally likely to say it is extremely or very important to have federal government programs that address the health risks associated with obesity (57%) and smoking (55%), despite their higher level of concern about obesity. Slightly fewer say programs addressing excessive alcohol consumption are extremely or very important (48%).
Still, fewer Americans place high importance on government obesity programs than say the issue is an extremely or very serious societal problem -- likely reflecting the high priority Americans place on jobs and the economy currently, and their differing views on the role of the government.
Obesity Concerns Cross Party Lines, But GOP Less Likely to Want Gov't Programs
Republicans, independents, and Democrats agree that obesity is an extremely or very serious problem to society, with about eight in 10 in each party saying so. However, while the vast majority of Democrats think it is extremely or very important to have federal government programs to address obesity, fewer than three in 10 Republicans say the same.
These differences reflect the more general Republican-Democratic divide on the role of the government. Republicans tend to want the government's role to be smaller, while Democrats lean more toward the government playing a larger role.
Implications
Americans are much more concerned about obesity now than they have been in the past -- with most saying it is an extremely or very serious societal problem. They also think it is more serious than smoking or alcohol.
The drastic increase in obesity over the past 20 years and Americans' awareness of it are likely contributing to their growing concerns about the problems it is causing society. First lady Michelle Obama's high-profile nationwide anti-childhood obesity campaign, launched in 2010, may have also affected Americans' perceptions of the severity of the issue.
To what degree Americans would support the government itself taking action to address obesity is less clear. While a large majority says it is extremely or very important to have federal government programs targeted toward obesity, they feel the same way about smoking. And, Republicans and Democrats disagree on that point -- most Democrats see it as an important issue for the government to address, while most Republicans do not.Each week on the FACT Singles Club, a selection of our writers work their way through the new music of the week gone by. With the way individual tracks are now consumed, the idea of what constitutes a single has shifted dramatically in the last half a decade, and its for this reason that the songs reviewed across the next pages are a combination of 12″ vinyl releases, mixtape cuts, SoundCloud uploads and more. Up this week: Justin Bieber, Danny L Harle, Adele and more.
Loading Video… Justin Bieber – ‘Sorry’ Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: I’m already wishing summer wasn’t a distant memory at this point so we could have one of those unbearable Songs of the Summer conversations about this. A piece of lovingly crafted pop-house that redresses the problems of ‘What Do You Mean?’ by injecting just enough of Bieber’s R&B-hued sexuality into a gentle radio-ready thump. (7) Son Raw: If you want an example of how musical memes trickle down from the street to pop radio, look no further than the humble dembow riddim which took a two decade trip from Shabba to Daddy Yankee to Dave Nada to Biebs. By now, it’s been chewed up and spit out so many times that it’s utterly harmless and perfect for Bieber’s slimy, over-processed crooning. (3) April Clare Welsh: This is a (fairly) catchy burst of something fruity but mostly I like how Bieber has taken a step back and let someone else enjoy the spotlight for once. These dancers are amazing, way punchier than the song itself (although I do like those little fanfare bits) but Skrillex always seems to be sniffing around Selena and it’s pretty creepy (or maybe I just need to stop hating on him). (7) Tayyab Amin: It’s always bless to see America’s Best Dance Crew alumni doing things (in this case ReQuest), even if no-one watched season six. This tops off the triumvirate of singles heralding Bieber’s 2015 glo-up (he also had one in 2013 with Journals), and there’s something marvellous about ‘Sorry’ after he spent some years renowned for being quite horrible. It could be cold and calculated, but that won’t keep me from the dancefloor. (8) Claire Lobenfeld: Is it moombahton? Disneyland dem bow? Bubblegum-reggaeton? It’s all of these things, but I don’t care, I love it. Bieber’s trajectory seemed so clear: Baby pop penned by The-Dream, climbing the mountain to NSync pantomime with ‘Boyfriend’ and then ethering Timberlake’s own schtick with the truly fantastic Journals. This left turn facilitated by Jack Ü’s ‘Where Are Ü Now’ and the Biebz’s litany of transgressions leading him straight into Diplo’s arms has led to the most interesting, enjoyable music of Bieber’s career, to date. And aligning himself with Skrillex is the smartest thing Justin has ever done. The work Sonny and Blood fka Diamonds have done here is not just going to make Top 40 radio more interesting, it could lead kids to explore real Latin dance music. Plus, this track just fucking jams. If you don’t like it, try to soften your heart just a little bit. Having fun isn’t so bad, I promise you. (9) Chris Kelly: After ‘Where Are Ü Now’, ‘What Do You Mean?’ and now ‘Sorry’, it’s becoming clear that the all-grown R&B crooner of Journals is not coming back. Still, it’s tough to be mad when Bieber is churning out hits like this, no matter how lightweight. Let that dembow soothe anyone still hating Skrillex (or Bieber, for that matter) in 2015. (7) 6.8
Loading Video… Adele – ‘Hello’ Chris Kelly: Four years away have let other pop stars grab the spotlight, but Adele is back with a Lana Del Rey chord progression and some help from hit-maker Greg Kurstin. ‘Hello’ is supposed to be her triumphant return, but in all its epic overproduction, the Adele of 19 and even 21 is absent. She’s now a vessel for millions of fans, and this one is particularly hollow. (4) April Clare Welsh: Can a song even be a bona fide pop hit anymore without an accompanying torrent of memes and gifs? If we were to judge this track on its internet humour-generating ability then it would rank pretty high; at the time of writing, 300,000,000 Lionel Richie memes have surfaced online, including one from the legend himself. On top of that, sales of ‘retro’ flip-phones have gone up by 400% so that all over the world, telecommunications execs are laughing – or crying – into their broken iPhone screens. In fact, the impact of this song is so profound that the music itself has almost become a footnote to its extra-curricular activities, which is good because I don’t really have anything to say about it. (4) Son Raw: Xavier Dolan and Adele, huh – my mum’s gonna go nuts. Still, this ain’t ‘Rolling in the Deep’ is it? You can belt out that vocal all you want, but there’s not much of a song here. (4) Claire Lobenfeld: 2015: The year that Justin Bieber and Adele both release breakup apologia — within hours of each other! — and Bieber’s is more measured and mature. But people really love them some heartache porn, huh? Enough, it seems, to brush under the rug that ‘Hello’ is truly about being an asshole. If you’ve hurt someone, it’s your damn job to leave them the hell alone if that’s what he or she wants. I don’t care if you’re miles apart and years from the offending incident, just straight up fuck off. “At least I can say I tried / To tell you I’m sorry / For breaking your heart / But it don’t matter / It clearly doesn’t tear you apart”? So, this song is about relentlessly calling someone to try and rectify whatever hurtful garbage you have rotting inside of you — with someone who will not corroborate either way, mind you — and you upset they’re over it? Maybe you should get over it, too! Since this wasn’t about being wounded, I posed concern on Twitter for people’s hunger for Adele as cry-feed and the resounding response I got was that she gives people a safe space to mourn… …Ya’ll had to wait four years to find that? Really??? Fuck this adult-contempo emotions facsimile and go out there and say how you feel and what you mean. Otherwise, you are just a walking trashcan fire of your unheard emotions. I’m not telling you to get over it, I’m telling you to go actually do some work. Blech. (2, but only cos Adele can sing better than literally almost anyone.) Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Everyone that’s watched the video to ‘Hello’ better go and watch all the Xavier Dolan movies – especially Les Amours imaginaires, a luscious paean to young love and lust that is gained acquired and severely lost. Dolan should be able to direct a fascinating video for ‘Hello’ in his sleep, yet he seeps the color and romance out of his filmmaking, aiming for dull sepia-toned respectability instead. This is a metaphor, people. (4) Tayyab Amin: There’s not much in here that I’m into. Its dramatic flair and loudness are all unremarkable, they soar straight to a plateau up top with no room for subtlety. I do appreciate how her hushed verses directly launch into fully belting out the chorus though, 0-100 real quick. Adele’s music has never really been my thing and this song’s not trying to win anyone over – she’s reconnecting with her fanbase here and it sounds effective enough. (4) 3.7
Loading Video… Danny L Harle – ‘Forever’ Tayyab Amin: ‘Forever’ starts off sounding like ‘Better Off Alone’, heads towards GLaDOS-at-the-end-of-Portal territory before finishing with some Tetris theme tune. Unlike all three, it’s totally bland. (2) Son Raw: I can’t imagine someone creating this and thinking they’re making the world a better place in the process – what’s the end game when your tune will annoy the vast majority of the people who hear it, and the rest dress like assholes on acid? (2) April Clare Welsh: I’m not sure if this is the “new, highly advanced pop weapon” PC Music promised us but it’s sweet enough to give me a toothache. Actually, I can feel my teeth rotting already. (7) Chris Kelly: This hits all the same notes that PC Music was hitting at the beginning of their buzz-hype-backlash cycle. Harle is responsible for their most memorable singles, and this is the best thing they’ve released all year. (8) Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Full discretion: I’m listening to this while watching Brock Lesnar and Undertaker headline Hell in a Cell and the juxtaposition with Harle’s glitch-sensed optimism is only sort of hilarious. Surely it feels like these two 90s behemoths are going to fake punch bleed bleed profusely over one another until the end of time, doesn’t it? We’re going to do this forever, aren’t we? (I hope not, but can we soundtrack some PC Music over WWE footage?) (6) Claire Lobenfeld: Not the most obnoxious thing from PC Music last week—that award goes to Charli XCX and SOPHIE for ‘Vroom Vroom’—but still cloying as hell. For how long can they do the Alice Deejay (Chipmunk Edit) thing before people start to revolt? (1) 4.3
Rome Fortune – ‘Dance’ April Claire Welsh: I had to hit pause as soon as I heard the word “Uber”, sorry. (4) Son Raw: Those chords! Rome Fortune and Kaytranada’s omnivorous approaches to music pay off here – this is just different enough to keep you on your toes but it also takes about 15 years of black pop and puts it in a blender. RIYL cruising down the block in your astral Cadillac with your chakras set to lit. (8) Tayyab Amin: So you’re saying that isn’t will.i.am on the hook? I’m not mad at this for not trying to do too much, even if it is a little forgettable. Rome Fortune’s explanatory flow is fantastic, QVC raps selling the song itself in some meta way. (7) Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: We’re a far way away from the tinted sexual griminess that made 2013’s Beautiful Pimp something you couldn’t turn away from. What kept you engaged among the hints of queasiness that poked through was Rome’s sense of humour, something evident alongside the charming disco-ball sounds of ‘Dance’. At the same time, we’re far away from Childish Major, DunDeal, C4 – the vanguard of Atlanta hip-hop producers. Kaytranada’s instrumental is nice enough, but a downgrade for Fortune’s adventurous ear. (6) Claire Lobenfeld: ‘Friends Maybe’ was the last song Rome Fortune released that I enjoyed and it was straight up because Makonnen is so delightful on it. This stinks of “lost the thread.” Something fellow FACT contributor Walker Chambliss said to me in conversation about this track was this is like “if Wale doing a JUSTICE remix was a genre” and I almost think that’s generous. Does Rome really sing, “Do you wanna French kiss?” on the pre-chorus? Ugh. (1) Chris Kelly: “Rome Fortune on Fool’s Gold” is the kind of fantasy booking that never happens because it almost makes too much sense. On his first track for the label, Rome embraces Kaytranada-sculpted dance music, and — unlike some of his previous genre-smashing collaborations — both artists are on the same page. With all that said, I’d rather hear him rap, but Rome: do you. (6) 5.3
Loading Video… Gwen Stefani – ‘Used to Love You’ Chris Kelly: After the Rihanna-lite ‘Baby Don’t Lie’, Gwen is ready for her breakup album. This doesn’t really play to her strengths though: only the buoyant “I used to love you” in the post-chorus sound especially Stefanish. The video is heartbreaking, though. (5) Claire Lobenfeld: First things, first: There is nowhere to go but up after ‘Start the Fire’. But good god, we know, we know Gwen has a mastery of the breakup song and this ain’t it. Still, purge, girl. Purge! Do what all of these chumps who have to lean on Adele every album release seemingly refuse to. But, man, this is not great. (3) Son Raw: Full disclosure: I told the editors that they barely gave me anything to hate on last week, so I think this lineup is payback. I can’t tell this beat apart from Bieber’s and that goes for their faces and haircuts too, now that you mention it. Is pop radio really this bad now? (3) Tayyab Amin: This video is exceptional and totally helps the song thrive – Stefani’s showing a full range from exaggerated exasperation to striking moments of genuine rumination, all in one shot. Next time life gets a little too much there’s no doubt I’ll be looking at myself in the mirror channelling my inner Gwen. The song itself is nice, I’m really into those pre-chorus synths especially. (7) Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Pop’s Dorian Grey (seriously, how has she not aged since Tragic Kingdom?!) comes back with a ballad-of-sorts that will surely allow tabloid interest into the end of her marriage. It’s understandable: everyone needs a hook, something this song doesn’t have. (4) April Clare Welsh: If I was a brilliant singer – which I can assure you I’m not – I imagine that there is no better tonic to heartbreak and no better ‘fuck you’ to a lying, cheating scumbag ex (whose band only ever really had two good songs anyway) than releasing a pop tune that is so hooky, it doesn’t even need a proper video. This has a slick, gut-wrenching kind of kick to it and the moments of sonic reflection give it realness without being schmaltzy. But please sort your hair out Gwen. (8) 5
Junior Boys – ‘Big Black Coat’ Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: It’s all relative: this doesn’t work for me as I sit at my laptop, busy working and reviewing, but will undoubtedly hit peak performance in a club at 4AM. Until then: (4) Son Raw: You can count the millennial electro pop acts that ended the last decade intact on one hand, but if anyone deserves a second look – it’s Junior Boys. For one, they never reveled in the gauche irony and retromania of their peers, genuinely attempting to go beyond 80s pastiches into new territory, and never cutting corners on the song writing. There’s not too many contemporary pop songs that’ll work on the dance floor sans-edit today, but this is one of them. (8) April Clare Welsh: I’m glad they’ve swapped the multi-coloured joyous vibes for something a lot darker/starker. And the Big Black Coat is enjoying a sartorial renaissance right now, especially amongst the art students of Camberwell and the surrounding areas, so the boys have certainly got their finger on the pulse here. All style and stutter-pop here. (7) Tayyab Amin: Each listen this starts out as a slog I sort of sleep along to, until it ups the ante around the midpoint. That crunchy half-clap half-snare is a real wake up call, though I’m the type to sleep through my alarm clocks and I’m definitely still groggy. It’s such a stretched out, sprawling track with no payoff nor wormhole to pull you into, feeling more like a workout remix of another song. Lush textures, poor form. (5) Claire Lobenfeld: The darker plinky synths toward the beginning are kind of cool, but this is mostly pretty forgettable. Welcome back! (5) 5.8Legal weed sales are booming. And in certain states, prices are plummeting.
This wasn't entirely unexpected. While Forbes called 2016's 30% spike in marijuana sales (a whoppin $6.7 billion) a bigger, faster industry explosion than we saw in the dot-com era, weed policy experts, retailers and growers have long known that legalization also cuts costs.
"We anticipated that the price of marijuana would drop substantially once the adult-use vertical-integration requirements were removed in Colorado in late 2014," said Sally Vander Veer in an email. Vander Veer is president of Medicine Man, a major marijuana cultivation dispensary in the state. "We saw hundreds of cultivators move into the cannabis space, and once their crops were ready, [we] saw a steady and rapid decline in the wholesale price per pound of marijuana."
Farmworkers transport newly harvested marijuana plants at Los Suenos Farms, America's largest legal open-air marijuana farm, in Avondale, southern Colorado. Brennan Linsley/AP
After all, cannabis is just a plant, and the circumstances that made it worth up to $5,000 per pound under prohibition — namely, the risk of arrest, covert business operations, lack of standard regulations, etc. — simply don't exist in a legal weed economy, whether it's being grown for recreational purposes or medicinal needs.
Factor in the potential savings of growing the stuff on a mass scale instead of in your basement and the price drops even further. According to the Washington Post, "wholesale prices in Colorado tumbled 24.5% over the past year to $1,471 per pound" as the pot industry took off in the state.
Here's what that means for you.
What do those marijuana prices look like for consumers?
Potheads shouldn't necessarily expect to pay less and less for their drug of choice over the coming months. Weed itself may indeed drop in value, leading to more pressures and competition among producers. But well-branded retailers can keep their markups more or less the same, relying on customers who are willing to spend a bit more on high-quality product.
What might the price range look like in states where it's legal vs. ones where it's illegal? First we'll look at black market prices across the country according to the site Price of Weed, which crowdsources user input to create a broad index. In this map, a green dollar sign means you'll pay up to $300 for an ounce of high quality weed on the street, a yellow dollar sign means $300 to $400 for the same amount and a red dollar sign means more than $400. If you're buying in eighths, that translates to under $40 per eighth, closer to $50, and up to $60, respectively. If you're just buying grams, that would be about $10, $15 and up to $20 or more, depending on the dealer's markup.
Index of average street weed prices nationally Price of Weed
As you can see, street weed is generally cheaper in and around states on the West Coast, where it's largely already legal and widely grown, as well as in Florida, Michigan and Maine. The first two have continued to open up the market for medicinal marijuana, while Maine fully legalized weed through a November 2016 ballot measure, making things more competitive for illegal dealers. Meanwhile, the Midwest and mid-Atlantic (especially Washington, D.C., where legalized weed runs up against strict federal influence) are paying significantly more for their black market weed.
Then there are the dispensary prices to consider. For these numbers we'll turn to MJCharts, whose "indexes are derived firsthand from legal sales only, sourced from current public advertisements." The following graph shows the average advertised price for a gram across more than a dozen major legal weed hubs, including Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle, Phoenix and Portland, Oregon. (Note that Michigan and Arizona only permit the sale of medicinal marijuana. The same goes for California, where weed will not be sold for recreational use until 2018.)
Average price of a gram in index of legal weed cities MJCharts
MJCharts only captures trends over the past 30 days, so what looks like a precipitous drop in price mid-month is more like a gentle fluctuation: The overall gram price fell just $1 in January, from $12.20 to about $11.20, which puts it on par with the black-market price in those same regions of the U.S.
Over that same period, though, the gram price rose in some of the areas indexed. Salem, Oregon, for example, saw a mild bump from $9.80 to $10.20 — still a dollar below the average, but indicative of how each state and city are susceptible to their own microeconomic conditions.
For at least the past year, however, legal marijuana has held to one constant: It's barely (if at all) more expensive than the street weed sold in the same place. And even if it does climb back above that going rate, what's an extra buck or two for quality control and the assurance that you won't be arrested for buying your pot?
Besides, dispensaries offer a much wider range of prices, depending on special promotions and overstock: MJCharts also lists a number of grams that were advertised for as little as $4 a pop. On the other side of the spectrum, the premium bud can go for $25 per gram, and to a true connoisseur, it may be worth every penny. Stores have even been known to throw in a free gram or two if you've already spent over a certain amount on your haul. In the long run, then, legal weed can be a lot cheaper — or at least more bang for your buck.
Why weed prices drop
Prices "will go down as efficiencies in production increase," Ron Throgmartin said in an email. Throgmartin is CEO of Diego Pellicer, a brand with premium marijuana boutiques in both Seattle and Denver. "[W]hen I first entered the industry, everyone was flocking towards the 'production' model, for its short-profit appeal," meaning they saw that supply had yet to catch up with demand, creating the opportunity to grow tons of pot and thereby snatch up customers.
But marijuana "is just another commodity," Throgmartin said, and "there will always be pressure to produce it faster and cheaper, usually at the cost of quality." Instead, he's focused on the boutique retail experience, which he believes is a better long-term bet. "Anyone can grow marijuana; building brand and retail recognition is a little more challenging." he said. "However, as many brand/retailers have proven over the years, once you build customer confidence/loyalty, you've secured consistent present/future revenue stream."
Meanwhile, the growers who scale up drastically to attain "the financial capability to reinvest into their infrastructure," Throgmartin said, will create new efficiencies but deliver "average" weed, since their focus will be on cultivating as much marijuana as possible. They do this rather than the sometimes costly and time-consuming process of developing and experimenting with new strains or growing conditions, which tends to drive quality upward.
Why weed prices keep changing — and why the range is so large
Basically, the laws that apply to marijuana are different everywhere, and legislators keep rewriting them. Enforcement of these laws is just as fluid. In this volatile climate, you'll never have a true baseline for prices, let alone a stable infrastructure for shipping, packaging and retailing. Unforeseen shifts in the political or economic landscape can therefore have a magnified effect, drastically altering the costs associated with pot sales overnight.
In general, however, prices are expected to dip over time as states continue to standardize their rules and best practices concerning weed.
Customers buy products at the Harvest Medical Marijuana Dispensary in San Francisco. Haven Daley/AP
"The drop in wholesale pricing has naturally had implications on the retail market as well," Vander Veer said, noting that her customers in Colorado "are the real winners and can commonly purchase an eighth of marijuana for around $20, compared to $35 this time last year and $54 on Jan. 1, 2014." Yet in Oregon, which legalized recreational weed in 2015, experts predicted — and then observed — a few spikes in marijuana prices.
The initial bump, according to the paper "After the Gold Rush: California, Cannabis and the Election," published by the data firm Cannabis Benchmarks, came "as dispensaries accelerated buying to meet increased demand from recreational consumers." Nearly a year later, there was another price hike due to "a significant new compliance regime requiring each 10-pound lot [of marijuana] to be tested for potency, microbial contamination and pesticide residues by a licensed, accredited laboratory." Likewise, new packaging and labeling requirements increased costs for cultivators.
California may be in for those same regulatory price fluctuations as the state prepares to welcome recreational weed in 2018. As Jonathan Rubin, CEO of Cannabis Benchmarks, told LA Weekly, there's additional bureaucratic compliance, licensing and testing to consider there. And given 80% of U.S. weed comes straight from the Golden State, any changes there could send ripples through the national market.
Still, Rubin saw the potential for a "boom-bust cycle," since the weed market could soon be oversaturated with entrepreneurs looking to profit off the weed rush, which means more competition between growers and retailers and falling prices for consumers.
Marijuana prices: What the future might hold
The overall upshot here is that you're going to pay different prices for weed depending on where you are, where in the legalization process the state government finds itself and what kind of quality you're looking for. Like all intoxicating substances, marijuana is subject to a host of taxes and regulations, but its illegality at the federal level means there are striking inconsistencies in how they are applied, as well as a steady churn of new standards to implement. If prices are ever going to flatten or stabilize nationally, it won't be anytime soon.I don't have many memories of being four, but I do recall my surprise at starting school and finding that my older classmates weren't all fluent readers like me. I think it came as a surprise to my parents, too - since I was their first child, they'd assumed there was nothing unusual in the speed at which I'd learned to read aloud.
Mum and Dad never "pushed" me. They enjoyed my inquisitive nature and answered questions, but I wasn't forced to recite my times tables every morning or switch off the television. I simply enjoyed learning, and when no one else was teaching me, I'd teach myself.
I was a natural mathematician, and later became a gifted oboe player and pianist, too. At 10, I was encouraged to audition for a place at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. A friend I considered a better musician failed to win a place, so I was surprised and delighted when I got in. I now realise the examiners were judging potential rather than ability, and in those days potential wasn't something I lacked.
During my first year, I was a subject of an educational psychologist doing a study of gifted children. She measured my IQ and found it to be 169 - I've since been told that made me literally one in a million.
Perhaps Chetham's gave me unrealistic expectations. When I finished my maths O-level early, I asked if I could learn astronomy to fill the time. As with everything else, I
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or encourage the use of Proxy Registrations or Privacy Services, as it appears in paragraphs 3.4.1 and 3.12.4. This goes directly against the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) ICANN signed with the United States Department of Commerce on September 25, 2006 which specifically states “ICANN shall continue to enforce existing (Whois) policy”, i.e., totally open and public WHOIS, and the September 30, 2009, Affirmation of Commitments, paragraph 9.3.1 which states “ICANN implement measures to maintain timely, unrestricted and public access to accurate and complete WHOIS information, including registrant, technical, billing, and administrative contact information.” Lastly, proxy and privacy registrations contravene the 2007 GAC Principles on WHOIS. If there are proxy and/or privacy domain name registrations, the following is recommended concerning their use:
a. Registrars are to accept proxy/privacy registrations only from ICANN accredited Proxy Registration Services;
b. Registrants using privacy/proxy registration services will have authentic WHOIS information immediately published by the Registrar when registrant is found to be violating terms of service, including but not limited to the use of false data, fraudulent use, spamming and/or criminal activity.
2) To RAA paragraph 5.3.2.1, language should be added to the effect “or knowingly and/or through gross negligence permit criminal activity in the registration of domain names or provision of domain name WHOIS information…”
…
9) Registrars and all associated third-party beneficiaries to Registrars are required to collect and securely maintain the following data:
(i) Source IP address
(ii) HTTP Request Headers
(a) From
(b) Accept
(c) Accept‐Encoding
(d) Accept‐Language
(e) User‐Agent
(f) Referrer
(g) Authorization
(h) Charge‐To
(i) If‐Modified‐Since
(iii) Collect and store the following data from registrants:
(a) First Name:
(b) Last Name:
(c) E‐mail Address:
(d) Alternate E‐mail address
(e) Company Name:
(f) Position:
(g) Address 1:
(h) Address 2:
(i) City:
(j) Country:
(k) State:
(l) Enter State:
(m) Zip:
(n) Phone Number:
(o) Additional Phone:
(p) Fax:
(q) Alternative Contact First Name:
(r) Alternative Contact Last Name:
(s) Alternative Contact E‐mail:
(t) Alternative Contact Phone:
(iv) Collect data on all additional add‐on services purchased during the registration process.
(v) All financial transactions, including, but not limited to credit card, payment information.A woman whose story of survival captivated the nation just two years ago says she’s preparing to have a baby — and to those who know her tale, that’s nothing short of a miracle of modern science.
Jennifer Schuett was just 8-years-old in 1990, when Dennis Earl Bradford, 40, kidnapped and raped her then slashed her throat and left her to die.
She survived, just barely, and slowly recovered. Nearly 20 years later, police were finally able to use DNA evidence to identify the man. Confronted by detectives, he confessed to the crime and was locked away before finally committing suicide in jail, just one week before she was hoping to confront him.
In yet another sad turn of events, the savage assault left Schuett with pelvic inflammatory disease, likely triggered by chlamydia or gonorrhea, rendering her infertile. It’s an unfortunate and little discussed fact that rapists often have sexually-transmitted diseases, including human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is an extremely common STI and a known cause of cervical cancer. A vaccine, manufactured by Merck and marketed under the name Gardasil, can safely prevent HPV in young people, though many have played up alleged side effects of the vaccine and falsely say it encourages promiscuous behavior.
Hearing her story, Houston-based fertility doctor Craig Witz reached out and offered her free treatment, including an in-vitro fertilization. The treatment worked.
Speaking with NBC’s “Today” on Monday morning, she was beaming, crediting Dr. Witz with making her dream of having a family finally come true in spite of it all.
“I hope that from my whole experience she can see that, you know, I kept going,” she said. “And I hope that she learns from that and always stands up for herself and what she believes in.”
This video was broadcast by NBC on Monday, October 8, 2012.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economyOnline community scorns use of taxpayers’ money to bankroll ‘brainwashing’ theme park in Wuhan marking foundation of People’s Republic of China
A Communist party theme park built to celebrate the anniversary of the Red Army’s takeover of China has sparked scorn and ridicule among Chinese internet users.
The 300,000 sq m attraction opened on Monday in the city of Wuhan before Thursday’s national day holiday marking the foundation of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949.
China Xinhua News (@XHNews) Tens of thousands of people watch national flag-raising on China's National Day at the #TiananmenSquare pic.twitter.com/tKwqiu8xH6
“Using lively, populist art, the park shows the roles models and history of the party, exerting a subtle influence on the public and providing them with a ‘red benefit’,” promises an article on a local government website.
However, China’s sharp-tongued online community has reacted with contempt to the idea of using taxpayers’ money to bankroll what many described as a propaganda park.
“What a waste of good land,” one critic wrote on Weibo, the Twitter-like social media site.
“They don’t believe in it themselves and yet they want the public to believe it,” complained another.
“It should be called the brainwashing theme park,” wrote a third.
China punishes 249 officials for laziness during corruption crackdown Read more
Theme parks are a booming business in China. Chinese developers reportedly have spent $24bn on such attractions in 2013 compared with $9bn in 2011.
Universal Studios is planning a $3.3bn theme park in Beijing with Steven Spielberg involved in the design.
A $5.5bn Disneyland resort, reputedly featuring the largest castle on Earth, is set to open in Shanghai next year.
Wuhan’s Communist party theme park seems to have rather less to offer.
Instead of Tarzan, Mickey Mouse and Captain Jack Sparrow, newspaper reports suggest visitors will be greeted by statues of 35 “model communists” including Red Army veteran Liu Huaqing, an early party leader called Cai Hesen, and Li Siguang, a geologist and senior party member who studied at the University of Birmingham.
Visitors to other theme parks might hope to encounter flesh-eating zombies, lost temples or swashbuckling pirates.
Photographs of the Communist theme park published by the Wuhan Evening News show tourists heading there will have to make do with bushes carved into the shape of the Communist party’s “socialist core values” which the president, Xi Jinping, has promoted since coming to power in 2012.
So-called “red tourism” has made a comeback under Xi with towns and cities across China seeking to cash in on their role in the Communist party’s history.
Wuhan authorities are planning to build five theme parks in tribute to Xi’s 85 million-member party, the local government website says.
Online critics have vowed to vote with their feet.
“These kind of brainwashing projects are a complete waste of taxpayers’ money,” vented one angry Weibo user.
“I won’t be visiting,” wrote another.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
Uwe Becker, the deputy mayor of Frankfurt, expressed outrage on Thursday over the German government's decision not to recognize the Dead Sea Scrolls as Israeli property, prompting the cancellation of a slated 2019 exhibit at the Bible Museum in Frankfurt.
"If Germany is unwilling to clearly express the legal status of the fragments of Qumran as Israeli world cultural heritage goods, it would dramatically change the coordinates in our German-Israeli relations. And it would mean the construction of a wall toward the places of the birth of Christianity in the holy country, because it would be the same for Bethlehem, Jericho, east Jerusalem and many other places of Jesus' work," Becker told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Becker said,"I am criticizing both ministries for damaging German-Israeli relations. I have written letters to both ministers, expressing my deep irritation and ask both to change their new position and to support the work of the exhibition."Becker sent his letter to Monika Grütters, minister of culture and media, and German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, who is currently in Washington promoting the preservation of the controversial Iran nuclear deal.Becker added, "Because of the unwillingness of both ministries to give the necessary declaration, as Qumran lies in today's West Bank, the Israel Antiques Authority is not letting the material out of the country and the Bible Museum had to cancel its plans."Archeologists vs robbers in race to find Dead Sea scrolls in June 2016, preventing archeology and antiquities theft(credit: REUTERS)The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in twelve caves around the site known as Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea in the disputed West Bank territory between 1946 and 1956.Dr. Jürgen Schefzyk, the director of the Bible House Museum in Frankfurt, wrote the Post by email on Friday: "Following a 2015 memorandum of understanding with the Israel Antiquities Authority concerning cooperation with the Bible Museum Frankfurt we started to work on an exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The precondition for such an exhibition is an 'Immunity from Seizure' document issued by the German authorities. For reasons that are not in our hand we are at present unable to provide such a document despite all efforts including contacts to all governmental institutions in Germany."He added, "Although fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls would be available from secure museum collections elsewhere in Germany, we agree with the expertise of our Israeli and German colleagues that an exhibition without samples from the collection in Jerusalem would not be appropriate.In order to demonstrate our loyalty with Israel and our most important partner, the IAA, we decided yesterday not to continue with this project and to postpone the exhibit until DSS fragments from Jerusalem would be available. This decision was not easy for us since a lot of funds have been already invested and we are convinced that it is about time to show the German public these important objects of cultural heritage.""The Qumran scandal is not acceptable," said Becker about Germany's refusal to protect the Dead Sea Scrolls in Frankfurt.Becker said that European states in the past have, in comparable cases, issued 'Immunity from Seizure' protections to Israel for exhibits from the Jewish state that appear in the EU. He cited Austria and the Netherlands as examples. Becker, widely considered one of Israel's strongest supporters in the federal republic, led a legislative effort to ban BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) activity against Israel in Frankfurt.Becker said that the German government's decision to not guarantee a return of the Dead Sea Scrolls also damages Germany's relations to Christianity in the Middle East. He noted that in consideration of "Palestinian sensitivities the special relationship to Israel weighs more significantly."The Dead Sea Scrolls carry great significance to Judaism and biblical history. The scrolls are a large cache of mostly Hebrew writings from the Second Temple period and its immediate aftermath. They include many biblical texts and are believed to have been penned by members of a Jewish sect known as the Essenes.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>Kevin Kiermaier may not be a household name, but then few Tampa Bay Rays are. Nonetheless, he's someone who casual fans might be familiar with given his penchant for spectacular defense, which has made him a staple of highlight collections on TV and online as well as earned him not only a pair of Gold Glove Awards but also the 2015 AL Platinum Glove and the 2016 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year. Earlier this week, the 26-year-old centerfielder reached an agreement with the Rays on a six-year, $53.5 million extension. It may very well turn out to be a bargain, because despite his modest offensive skills, he's been one of the most valuable players in the majors over the past three seasons—so good that he heads up our preseason All-Underrated Team.
Thanks to his 82 Defensive Runs Saved from 2014 to '16, including 25 last year (the MLB high among centerfielders) and a single-season record 42 in '15, Kiermaier has been worth 16.4 WAR since the start of the '14 season. That's the highest total in that span for any player who has never made an All-Star team, a reasonable proxy for underratedness even given his defensive hardware.
With that in mind, I went looking for similarly unheralded players, ones who have been particularly valuable over multiple seasons—generally three, but sometimes the situation was clarified by using two years—without being chosen for an All-Star team or winning MVP, Rookie of the Year or Cy Young honors. In the end, I chose one at each position to make up this squad.
• Over/Under: How will each team fare against its 2017 expectations?According to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, "Passwords are a common form of authentication and are often the only barrier between a user and your personal information. There are several programs attackers can use to help guess or 'crack' passwords, but by choosing good passwords and keeping them confidential, you can make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your information."
Today there are dozens of usernames, IDs, and passwords to be managed by the average person. And if you are a system administrator, you might manage hundreds of accounts with hundreds of passwords. How do you remember them all, not to mention remember to change them periodically?
I started with a password-protected spreadsheet, then decided I needed to find a secure, yet human-friendly, piece of software that does it all for me. When I found KeePassX, my life changed. It's powerful, well supported, and very stable. Best of all, it's free software. I've been using the Linux and Windows versions for years, and there are mobile versions too. One of the reasons I chose and recommend KeePassX is because it uses the KeePass 2 (.kdbx) password database format as the native format. It can also import (and convert) the older KeePass 1 (.kdb) databases.
The original project is KeePass. KeePassX started as a Linux port of KeePass, which was at that time an open source but Windows-only password manager. Both are now cross platform: KeePassX uses Qt libraries and recent versions of KeePass use.NET / Mono.
Most users state that KeePass (non-X) integrates with Microsoft Windows best. It also has a nice synchronization feature and lots of plugins to add more capabilities. And KeePassX works better on Linux and Mac. While some Linux distributions do make the official KeePass easier to install, it also appears to run slower than KeePassX. Installing them both should not be a problem so long as you don't open the same database for them at the same time. I personally use KeePassX, and the examples displayed here are based on it.
KeePassX enables you to organize your passwords into categories. Once you're logged in, you have access to all of your email, website, and bank passwords.
Each entry stores the following information:
Title
Username
URL
Password
Comments
Date and time of password expiration (if configured)
Attachments
Password generator
KeePassX can also generate random, secure, and strong passwords. You can designate whether passwords need to be uppercase, lowercase, or both. You can also specify whether they need numbers, white spaces, or special characters and set a desired length. You can even customize your random password by selecting the characters you want to include.
The database
All of the information is stored in a database on a single file with a.kdb extension. Of course, it can be encrypted and (this is strongly recommended) protected by a single master password or a key file. You can share your database and use it under all the supported platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. And, you can create and use more than one database.
Autotype
This feature deserves a paragraph on its own, although it's not available for all the versions (only mono-based in v2.x for Windows and all versions for Linux). It enables you to enter both username and password in a webpage, by simply entering a predefined key combination (typically Ctrl+V) while positioning over an entry. In the versions not supported, the values can be copied from within the tool with Ctrl+B (username) and Ctrl+C (password). Or you can simply "drag-and-drop" from the KeePass window into the browser. Not bad!
Import/export
You can import and/or export all your information stored in the following formats: PwManager (.pwm) and KWallet (.xml) files- export as textfile (.txt)
Language support
KeePassX is supported in almost 20 languages, including English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.
Plugins and add-ons
The latest versions (2.x) support a long list of plugins and extensions, such as database backups, keecloud, web autotype, Truecrypt auto dismounter, and many more.From 1973 until 2012, a total of 66 black American women earned physics doctorates—mostly PhD’s—in US colleges. During that same amount of time, 22,172 white men earned their doctorates.
These totals only include US citizens or permanent residents who earned their doctorates in the US, not Americans who received a PhD from another country or international students in the US. The vast majority—97.9%—earned PhD’s, though a small number earned other kinds of doctorates, like education.
The double minority problem
There are a lot of reasons why the numbers are so low for women of color, particularly for black, Hispanic, and Native American women.
Girls are often pushed away from math and science at a young age, and people of color, especially black and Hispanic students, have fewer resources than white students to get into college in the first place, let alone excel in the sciences. Once they reach the college or doctorate level, these biases continue.
LaNell Williams graduated with a bachelors in physics from Wesleyan University in 2015, and will start a masters/PhD bridge program in the fall. As a physics student from a middle class Memphis background, Williams told Quartz it’s hard for her to fully relate to many of her peers. While upper class white women can’t understand her experience as a middle class black student, men of color can’t understand the sexism she faces.
“It was hard, especially as a woman of color, to sit in my classes and not have anyone look like me.”
“It was hard … to find study groups, it was hard for me to keep up with my work with the lack of preparation and also it was hard for me to find a community.”
Put even more simply: “It was hard, especially as a woman of color, to sit in my classes and not have anyone look like me.”
Power in numbers
That’s a sentiment Jami Valentine can relate to. Valentine remembers what it felt like studying for her PhD at Johns Hopkins University in the early 2000s. “Physics grad school is very daunting,” she tells Quartz. “I just didn’t want to feel so isolated.”
Valentine started looking up female African American physicists, and seeking them out at conventions. Eventually, she and another physicist started keeping an informal count through their website, African American Women in Physics. The website is designed to be a resource for women who are in grad school or getting their bachelors, a way to show that there are other black women in the US who have succeeded in physics, and that they can too.
By their count, updated on June 19, there are at least 83 African American women in the US with physics PhD’s. This includes at least one woman who earned her degree from Canada but works in an American university now (she wouldn’t be included in the an official government count) and 14 who received their doctorates after 2012. Each time a story runs mentioning the website, more women come forward, Valentine says.
There are many benefits to being part of a community who expects you to succeed. Luz Martinez-Miranda is the president of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists, another underrepresented group in STEM. Martinez-Miranda, who grew up in Puerto Rico but earned her doctorate from MIT, says she actually felt more supported than some of her Hispanic Americans peers who grew up as minorities in their communities. “There was more support for my decision to do physics back home than in the United States,” she tells Quartz.
That’s because in Puerto Rico, the majority of people are Hispanic, and there are Hispanics visible in every profession, she noted. This means she did not have to deal with the all of preconceived notions and stereotypes prevalent in the US. Now she encourages Hispanic women to work with her during the summer, both so they can learn and become comfortable with physics, and so they can see that success is possible.
The good news is that while the number of black women with physics doctorates has remained largely stagnant over the last two decades, it has increased marginally since the 1990s—it is no longer common to see a year with 0 black women earning physics doctorates, for example.
Plus, there are now highly successful African American physicists to look up to, something that is already creating positive ripple effects for young women of color, Valentine says. As an example, Valentine points to Jedidah Isler, an astrophysicist whose recent Ted Talk has already been viewed more than 36,000 on YouTube.A thousand years ago, when Iceland probably had a lot in common with Westeros, a Viking named Orm Storolfson picked up a log weighing 1,433 pounds and dragged it three steps. On the third step, his back broke. Ouch. Nevertheless, Storolfson made it into Icelandic lore as a legendary strongman.
Obviously, it takes another legendary strongman to best a feat like this. Luckily, as Game of Thrones fans around the world already know, a strong contender has been waiting in the wings for years.
Weightlifter-turned-actor Hafthór Júlíus “Thor” Björnsson plays Ser Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. The Mountain, on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Björnsson, who took over the role from two previous actors, recently picked up another title: World’s Strongest Viking.
Björnsson successfully completed the challenge in Norway over the weekend by lifting his own 1,400-pound log and carrying it a whopping five steps. According to weightlifting site Iron Mind, Björnsson had no problem pulling off the feat. Afterward, he wrote on his Instagram:
Well today my friends I made history!! As well as winning the title of The World’s Strongest Viking for the second time in a row I carried this MONSTER LOG 5 steps! My back held up fine!! As I’m on my way to my ultimate goal to win The World’s Strongest Man! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!! NOTHING CAN BREAK ME!!
Here’s the whole jaw-dropping feat.
Not only did Björnsson walk two steps further than his Viking predecessor, but according to the Icelandic legend, the original warrior needed a team of 50 men to get the log on his back.
This is yet more proof that (season 4 spoiler alert!) Oberyn never stood a chance.
Screengrab via photographingtime./YouTubeHome Sector Environment Maersk hits out at shipping’s lack of ambition to tackle climate change November 15th, 2017 Sam Chambers Environment, Europe, Operations
As world leaders talk climate change solutions at COP23 in Bonn, A.P. Moller – Maersk has lashed out its shipping line peers as well as the International Maritime Organization over the slow progress being made to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
Writing on Maersk.com earlier this week John Kornerup Bang, chief advisor on climate change at A.P. Moller – Maersk, stated shipping must step up its efforts to pollute less.
Not for the first time, Maersk has made a call for the urgent introduction of regulation to ensure laggards are brought up to speed emissions-wise.
“As a company, we are reaching a point where it will be more and more challenging to drive significant reductions on our own,” Bang wrote, adding: “Efficiency measures are drying out and it’s an industry challenge to drive the needed innovation in new propulsion technologies. More than ever, we need global regulation to ensure a level playing field and a transition with the biggest possible environmental impact.”
The global agreement from COP21 in Paris entered into force in 2016, and Bang said Maersk was disappointed shipping was not included in this deal.
“ Shipping must decarbonise at the same pace as the rest of the economy and contribute with its ‘fair share’ of CO2 reductions to achieve the global goal of staying below 2°C temperature rise. Global regulation remains a key driver in realising this ambition,” Bang wrote.
The Maersk official then went on to hit out at others he and his company believe are slowing down progress to hammer out an ambitious set of emissions cutting regulations for shipping to adopt.
“[W]e would have preferred to see more progress during an intense week of negotiations at the latest IMO GHG intersessional meeting in October this year, particularly on the level of ambition,” Bang wrote.Ponycon is thrilled to announce some exciting news from one of our featured vendors, and a super flash sale to promote!
Press release from Packbreakers
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Flash Sale! The next 100 purchasers of a Ponycon NYC 3-day pass will receive the brand new Pinkie/Maud collector's lunchbox tin from Packbreakers!
1/31/2015. Pick up your tin at This gorgeous new tin ($17.95msrp) will make its debut at Ponycon NYC and you can get one as a GIFT with purchase of a $75 3-Day pass. The tin comes stuffed with goodies and goodness - 2 exclusive foil cards - one for MLP: CCG and one for the new MLP Series 3 trading cards. A poster, and plenty of card packs. Offer limited to 4 per purchase (1 per ticket) and expires on. Pick up your tin at Ponycon NYC.
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Additional news
Packbreakers will pre-release MLP Series 3 - Episodes at Ponycon NYC. Enterplay has created a brand new set, with a card for each of the 91 episodes in Seasons 1-4. EVERY pack comes with a FOIL CARD (oh, unless you are lucky enough to get a lenticular 1:24 packs) plus stickers, standees, song/sweepstakes cards, and new characters to add to your collection. Get them first at Ponycon NYC!
MLP: CCG gaming will be in full swing at Ponycon NYC. Don't know how to play yet? No problem. Step on up for a demo and get a FREE pack just for trying it out! There will be plenty of fun for players of all levels. Watch for full schedule of events at Don't know how to play yet? No problem. Step on up for a demo and get a FREE pack just for trying it out! There will be plenty of fun for players of all levels. Watch for full schedule of events at ponyconnyc.com
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About Ponycon NYC
Ponycon NYC is the Northeast's My Little Pony Fans Convention - Celebrating our third year! Meet Andrea Libman, Daniel Ingram, Ingrid Nilson, and Vincent Tong this February 14th-15th -16th at SFC College in Brooklyn NY for three amazing days of artwork, panels, music, workshops, gaming, vendors, cosplay, food, fashion and FUN!
PonyCon is about a month away so they are going to sweeten the deal for the next 100 3-day ticket purchasers! What's at stake? This beautiful Pinkie Pie and Maud lunchbox that is going to premiere at PonyCon this February!Not only that but if you're a fan of MLP Trading Card series, you can be one of the first to own series 3 as they make their debut at PonyCon!Got your interest piqued? Well check on after the break for the full details! The fun just keeps getting bigger and better down in the Big Apple!Android users who use a lot of apps might be familiar with the large amount of data frequently used by updates. Since the Play Store supports APK sizes up to 100 MB, the data consumption can be a lot in case of some apps. To reduce this data usage, Google has rolled out a new delta algorithm called Bsdiff, for the Play Store.
For app updates, the Bsdiff analyzes the difference between the installed components and the updated components available in the new APK, eventually delivering only this differential to the user. Google says that the algorithm reduces the size of the updates by up to 50% by just providing the patch, as compared to its previous delta algorithm.
Google has recommended developers to leave native libraries uncompressed in their apps, since the the bsdiff performance is hampered by compression. The new algorithm also works with expansion APKs, which can be up to 2 GBs.
To better inform users about the size of the updates, Google has now included the "Update size" data in Play Store listings of applications. This information will be shown in case the app is already installed, while new downloaders will see the actual "Download size" in the listing.
Since the algorithm has already been rolled out, you might have already noticed faster app updates recently.
Source: Android Developers Blog | Image via GoogleFIRED! PR exec who sparked outrage with racist tweet sent before 12-hour flight is sacked after landing and hearing the news... but company defend her as 'decent at core'
Justine Sacco has been sacked following the furor her racist and insensitive Tweet caused after it went viral
She caused a Twitter revolt on Friday after posting: 'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just Kidding. I'm White!'
She has not yet issued an apology or explanation
Sacco was the head PR representative of IAC, owned by Barry Diller and responsible for websites like Vimeo, OkCupid, and Tinder to name a few
IAC slammed their employee's behavior as 'outrageous' and said they would take 'appropriate action' and have confirmed they 'parted ways with the employee in question'
In February 2012 Sacco Tweeted: 'I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night.'
A PR executive for major media company IAC who tweeted a racist 'joke' on Friday that sparked a social media revolt has been fired from her position following the incident.
Justine Sacco - the now-former Communications Director for IAC, a company owned by Barry Diller - was about to board a 12-hour flight from London to Cape Town when she Tweeted: 'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just Kidding. I'm White!'
The post had been retweeted over 3,000 times and was picked up by media outlets around the world, however Sacco remained completely unaware of it all because she was in the air.
The blonde publicist was pictured arriving in Cape Town looking shocked and talking on her phone.
Moments later the offending Tweet and Sacco's Twitter account disappeared.
A spokeswoman for the company has now confirmed Sacco has indeed been sacked.
Flying into the storm: This photo, snapped by Twitter user Zac_R, was taken as Justine Sacco got off a 12 hour flight at Cape Town airport after arriving from London. The PR representative would have just been discovering the furor her racist Tweet had created while she was in the air
Justine Sacco has no idea her offensive tweet made the news because she is on a flight to Africa
Career suicide: IAC says that they will take 'appropriate action' against the tweet sent by Justine Sacco (pictured above in shots from her Facebook account) with the high powered executive likely to lose her job
'There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally,' a rep told The Daily Beast.
'The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC.
'We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question.'
Sacco was blasted for being 'outrageous' and 'inappropriate', with titles like 'Worst Tweet of the Year' stacking up against her.
Despite deleting the Tweet, the damage had been done in those 12 hours she was flying.
Before confirming they had fired her, IAC released an earlier statement condemning Sacco's behavior as 'outrageous and offensive'.
'This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC. Unfortunately, the employee in question is unreachable on an international flight, but this is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action,' a representative from IAC told the International Business Times.
Sacco landed in Africa on British Airways Flight 43 about 11.30pm Friday and one can only imagine the number of angry responses she would have recieved once turning her cell phone on.
One man, Zac R, Tweeted that he went to the airport specifically to see her and took photos of her arrival.
The Cape Town local also claimed to have spoken to Sacco's father, who is South African.
The hashtag '#hasjustinelandedyet' was trending on Twitter around the world at the time as thousands awaited Sacco's response.
The Twittersphere was fascinated with the fact that as all the drama she caused unfolded, Sacco was blissfully unaware of any it up in the air.
In February 2012 Sacco had Tweeted: 'I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night.'
Then about 12 hours before the racist Tweet, she wrote: 'Weird German Dude: You're in first class. It's 2014. Get some deodorant' -Inner monologue as I inhale BO. Thank god for pharmaceuticals.'
However it was 'joke' about Africa and AIDS that caused the commotion.
Twitter user Stephanie Be wrote in response: 'WOW! Reinforce the ignorant American stereotype much?'
John M. Becker tweeted: 'Are you even real?!? This is utterly ghastly on so many levels.'
Josephine Baker wrote: 'listen, homegirl is about to be FIRED.'
Huffington Post stated that there is a possibility that the young PR executive's account may have been hacked. However that is unlikely as her twitter profile has a number of other tweets that may also be deemed offensive.
Sacco wrote wrote: 'I can't be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?'
Sacco also wrote: 'I like animals, but when it's this cold out I'll skin one myself for the fur' and tweeted the comment directly at PETA, a famous animal rights organization.
The Tulane alum also tweeted: 'Last day of hurricane season. Can't wait for evacuations next year.'
Ironically enough, Tulane is located in New Orleans, a city in which more than half of the population is black, according to infoplease.com.
New Orleans also suffered tremendously after Hurricane Katrina decimated homes, took several lives, and wrecked the local economy.
One Twitter user took it so far as to create a fake profile for Sacco named LOL Justine Sacco. Her Byline reads, 'PR Disaster. Racist idiot. All-around awful.'
One of the mock tweets reads, 'I think the lady across the aisle is clicking at me. I'm sorry...I don't speak Kwanzaa LOL #whitesanta #longestflightever #haveilandedyet '
Another mock tweet reads, '@Paperboy415 Been downing #WhiteRussians all flight in support of #Sochi2014! Seat 5A sent me a Johnnie Walker Black, but I sent it back!'
Joke's on her: Sacco's tweet inspired twitter users like this one to make a mock page dedicated to her racist comments
You most certainly can: This tweet Sacco wrote in January may have been a self fulfilling prophecy
What a mess: Sacco will have some explaining to do for her sloppy behavior on twitter
The Mail Online tried contacting IAC's media relations department, and since the contact listed on their website was Sacco herself, no one was available for comment.
Upon looking at the IAC website again, her name has been removed and has been replaced with 'corporate communications.' The voice mail which previously gave out her personal cell phone number for media inquiries with a strict deadline, has also been changed.
The reason Sacco is traveling to Africa is still unknown, but chances are that Sacco won't get the warmest Christmas welcome.
According to dosomething.org out of the 34 million people in the world who have HIV, 69 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are around 23.8 million people in Africa with AIDS.
AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is caused by the Virus HIV ( Human immunodeficiency syndrome). It can be transmitted via sexual intercourse, blood to blood contact, or childbirth.You’re out playing a gig with your combo at a packed jazz club, and during the bass solo you notice someone eagerly waiting to ask you something at the edge of the stage.
After the song has finished, the person comes up to you and politely asks “it’s my friend’s birthday tonight, can you play happy birthday for us?”
You pause for a second and confront the rest of the band to ask if they know it only to awkwardly reply to the person who requested the song “Sorry, none of us know it, but we can play Giant Steps in 7!”
While musicians can’t be expected to play every request they get asked on gigs, one tune every musician should know is how to play is happy birthday. This short melody is worth learning so you’re prepared at gigs for requests, or if you just like to play for your friends and family.
As a gigging musician, I’ve had some nice tips over
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tone deaf and intrusive. At worst, it could have had serious real-world consequences.
Cryptocurrency values keep skyrocketing, but the thefts haven’t slowed down either. The latest victim: Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar. Its operators say that an “external attacker” stole over $30 million worth earlier this week. The company says it was taking steps to freeze the funds. More details are scare—and Tether ended up deleting its initial blog post on the matter—but let it serve as yet another in a long series of warning about locking down your cryptocurrency, or maybe even, just a thought, sticking with traditional money until the security situation calms down.
While major outbreaks like WannaCry and NotPetya grab the headlines, ransomware is a daily disturbance, taking in more than $2 billion in 2017 alone, according to security firm Bitdefender. That doubles last year’s payout of a billion dollars, thanks in part to a major spike in the average demand, which hit $1,000—over 250 percent higher than in 2016. As if that’s not bad enough, it also doesn’t take into account the ancillary costs, like the hundreds of millions of dollars that Maersk lost dealing with NotPetya. There are some ways you can protect yourself, but most of the standard malware advice applies: Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust, and make sure you keep a backup of all of your stuff just in case.
Cyberthreats will only escalate from here on out, so the Air Force Research Lab will hand over nearly $50 million to Ball Aerospace & Technologies to investigate ways to keep analog weapons safe from digital intrusion.A US official accused Israel of treating some Arab-Americans unequally after the Jewish state detained and denied entry into its borders five pro-Palestinian American activists.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Tuesday reiterated the United States’ “concern” about “unequal treatment” following reports of the July 17 incident at Ben Gurion Airport.
Upon their arrival on July 17, a US staffer for the organization US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and four other members of the group — all carrying US passports — were “interrogated by Israeli border police about their backgrounds and political involvement,” according to a statement issued by the organization Tuesday.
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Four of the five were “people of color and Muslim” and the fifth had a long beard, the group added. Americans do not need visas to enter Israel. The group is a supporter and promoter of the campaign to boycott Israel and all Israeli products.
American officials were aware of reports on the incident but could not get into details because of “privacy considerations,” Toner told journalists Tuesday, according to NBC News.
“The US government remains concerned about unequal treatment that some Arab-Americans receive at Israel’s borders and checkpoints,” he added. “And we regularly raise with Israeli authorities our concerns about the issue of equal treatment for all US citizens in ports of entry.”
A spokesman for Israel’s Interior Ministry told NBC that three of the five campaigners were denied entry for “security reasons” but did not elaborate on what those reasons were. End the Israeli Occupation did not provide the names of two of the activists so Israeli officials could not provide information on their attempts to enter.
The delegates, who included Bina Ahmad, a New York City public defender, were denied entry into Israel and then detained for hours before they were sent back to the United States.
Calls to the US Consulate “resulted in no assistance for the delegates,” according to the organization.
At a press briefing in March of 2014, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that “the Department of Homeland Security and State remain concerned with the unequal treatment that Palestinian Americans and other American of Middle Eastern origin experience at Israel’s border and checkpoints, and reciprocity is the base basic condition of the Visa Waiver.”
Israel has a visa waiver arrangement with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and dozens of other countries. However, Israelis need to apply for a visa to enter the United States.Egyptian authorities seized Sunday two retail outlets owned by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has faced a relentless crackdown since the ouster of Islamist President Mohammad Mursi last year.
The businesses targeted were the Seoudi supermarket chain and Zad department store, respectively owned by Abdel Rahman Seoudi and Khairat al-Shater - both leaders of the blacklisted Brotherhood.
“Security forces are implementing the law,” Cairo’s police chief, Brigadier General Ali al-Demerdash, said in relation to the moves.
“A committee formed in accordance with a court ruling decided to seize Zad, which is owned by Khairat al-Shater, and Seoudi, which is owned by Abdel Rahman Seoudi, because the two leaders are financing the Muslim Brotherhood,” he told reporters.
A court in September banned the Muslim Brotherhood from operating and ordered its assets seized. It also prohibited any institution branching out from or belonging to the Islamist movement.
Shater, the Brotherhood’s number two who headed its financial affairs, is behind bars and on trial for a range of charges, some of them punishable by death.
He was arrested along with Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie following the ouster of Morsi in July 2013.
Seoudi is a wealthy businessman but little is known about his role in the Muslim Brotherhood.
The movement, which swept all elections since the fall of strongman Hosni Mubarak up to the election of Mursi in June 2012, was blacklisted in December as a “terrorist group” by the military-installed authorities.
Since Mursi’s ouster it has faced a brutal police crackdown, with more than 1,400 of its supporters killed in street clashes, and its top leaders including Mursi have been put on trail.
Brotherhood closings
Mursi was ousted by then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass protests against his one year rule. Last month Sisi was elected as president in a landslide victory.
Soon after his ouster, the authorities closed several television stations and a Brotherhood-run newspaper.
The two medium-sized supermarket chains had operations in Cairo, selling food and beverages.
Dozens of masked policemen were seen stopping customers from entering a Seoudi outlet in central Cairo on Sunday.
“They came and ordered us (employees) all out... yes, the chain is owned by a Muslim Brotherhood member, but we sell food and beverages, not politics,” said a manager of the store.
Demerdash said the two retail outlets would be handed over to the government once all legal formalities were completed.
Last Update: Sunday, 15 June 2014 KSA 18:39 - GMT 15:39Tesla Solar Panels Power an Entire Island
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock rose three percent on Tuesday off of a couple of big wins, including the powering of an entire island with solar energy and the official acquisition of SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY).
After completing the $2.6-billion acquisition of SolarCity this week, CEO Elon Musk decided to go ahead and announce that Tesla solar panels would be powering an entire island in American Samoa. Specifically, the island of Ta‘ū.
Tesla has begun replacing the old-school tech on Ta‘ū, which previously ran on diesel generators, with a microgrid of batteries and solar panels. The Tesla solar panels are said to meet the power needs of the entire island, which has roughly 600 residents. (Source: “Tesla powers a whole island with solar to show off its energy chops,” The Verge, November 22, 2016.)
Here’s some more information on the project from The Verge: “The project seems intended to show off the potential benefits of the SolarCity acquisition, with Ta’u’s microgrid comprised of 5,328 solar panels from SolarCity and Tesla, along with 60 Tesla Powerpacks batteries for storage.”
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The article further says: “It was funded by American Samoan and US authorities (including the Department of Interior), and Tesla says it will offset the island’s use of more than 109,500 gallons of diesel per year, as well as the expense of shipping that fuel in.” (Source: Ibid.)
With these new Tesla solar panels installed, the island can now remain fully powered for three days without sunlight, and it will be able to fully recharge within seven hours.
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This project is being heralded as a primer for what we can expect from the Tesla-SolarCity combination. With two green tech powerhouses under one roof, so to speak, it’ll be interesting to see what Tesla has for us next.
Today’s news comes after a rough week for other solar panel producers and general concern in the industry at large, due to the incoming U.S. presidential administration of Donald Trump. Musk also announced that Tesla solar panels would in fact be cheaper than normal roofing material, even before calculating the cost-reduction in energy.
Talk about a pretty good week for the tech dynamo.Fog is a hazard to ships, but it might also be a problem for the food web.
Today at the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting, researchers discussed new evidence that the amount of coastal fog is not only increasing, but in some areas of California at least, it contains a surprising amount of a form of mercury called monomethylmercury. Although monomethylmercury can be hazardous to human health, there's not enough of it in the fog to be dangerous.
Marine fog typically arrives in the summer months in areas where ocean surface temperatures are cold, but the air above is warmer. Clive Dorman of San Diego State University said that by analyzing the records of ships in the coastal areas in northern California and Oregon, he was able to show that between 1960 and 2007 the number of days with fog on the coast went up by 7.4 percent, a finding that mirrors other high-fog areas around the world, like the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, which also have a considerable amount of fog that has likewise been increasing.
The increase matters, not only to ships, but to ecosystems on land. Kenneth Coale of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Peter Weiss-Penzias from UC Santa Cruz found that levels of a kind of mercury called monometylmercury were 19 times higher in fog than in rain, even in the same area.
Mercury gets into the oceans from smokestack emissions and other industrial sources. It is a public health concern because it tends to build up in the food chain, as animals with low levels of mercury in their bodies are eaten by carnivores. The carnivores, which may eat many mercury-contaminated prey, end up with a lot of mercury in their bodies. The most worrying form of mercury is monomethylmercury, a kind of mercury linked to severe health effects in humans, including kidney failure, birth defects, and neurological impairment.
Previous research by the team had found that the fog had just five times the levels of monomethylmercury as rain. Now, in addition to noticing even higher concentrations, they think they may have figured out where the monomethylmercury is coming from.
The answer is another form of mercury--dimethylmercury, a gas that is also present in ocean water, and which comes from smokestacks and mining.
It turns out that most fog is slightly acidic, and the acid is enough to convert the gaseous dimethylmercury that emerges from the oceans into the more solid monomethylmercury. The fog then carries it inland where it is deposited on various surfaces and eventually enters the food chain.
So what does that mean for us? Nothing much right now. The levels of mercury in the fog, though higher than that of the rain, don't reach a level where they are an immediate public health risk. But the results are worrying in a larger sense. Mercury has been measured in terrestrial plants and animals, and might have an impact on land-based food webs.
"I would definitely not eat any spiders from foggy areas," Coale joked at a press conference. Spiders in the area have been measured as having mercury levels above the FDA's accepted limit.
Humans generally don't eat spiders, but birds and other animals do. Coale and Weiss-Penzias plan to continue their work looking into how mercury from fog affects the food web on land, and hope to eventually be able to use drones to monitor the fog as it comes in.A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation provides a horrifying look into E6 Cattle Co. in Hart, Texas. E6 Cattle rears calves for use on dairy farms, confining approximately 10,000 calves and subjecting them to lives of prolonged neglect and misery. For over two weeks in March of 2011, an MFA undercover investigator documented the operation's deplorable conditions and brutal mistreatment of animals. MFA's hidden camera reveals: Workers bludgeoning calves in their skulls with pickaxes and hammers – often involving 5 to 6 blows, sometimes more – before rendering the animals unconscious
Beaten calves, still alive and conscious, thrown onto dead piles
Workers kicking downed calves in the head, and standing on their necks and ribs
Calves confined to squalid hutches, thick with manure and urine buildup, and barely large enough for the calves to turn around or fully extend their legs
Gruesome injuries and afflictions, including open sores, swollen joints and severed hooves
Ill, injured and dying calves denied medical care
The budding horns of calves burned out their skulls without painkillers Upon reviewing the undercover footage, Temple Grandin, PhD, animal welfare advisor to USDA, declared: "It is obvious that both the management and the employees have no regard for animal welfare." Colorado State University Professor of Animal Sciences Dr. Bernard Rollin also condemned the operation: "I urge everyone in a position of authority to serve notice to the world that this sort of behavior has no place in a society wishing to consider itself civilized. These people must be corrected with the full force of the legal system." Dr. Armaiti May, a practicing veterinarian experienced in the care of farmed animals, echoed Dr. Rollin's sentiment, recommending that "charges of animal cruelty be brought against the workers involved and that the farm be shut down for cruel treatment of animals and lack of proper oversight of its workers." The owner of E6 Cattle required his employees to bash in the calves' heads with a claw hammer, forcing them to condemn calves to a prolonged and horrific death. As Debra Teachout, DVM, asserts, "They feel every blow until they become unconscious." The American Veterinary Medical Association condemns the use of blows to the head as a means of killing young calves. Following the undercover investigation, MFA alerted law enforcement authorities to violations of Texas anti-cruelty law at E6 Cattle, and presented a detailed legal complaint and meticulously compiled evidence of such violations to the Castro County District Attorney and sheriff. The evidence demonstrated an ongoing pattern of torture, unjustifiable infliction of pain and suffering on animals, and a failure to provide necessary medical care. As MFA continues to expose the unconscionable cruelties of animal agriculture, and to diligently pursue justice by aiding prosecutions of animal abusers, consumers still hold the greatest power of all to end the needless suffering and death of calves – and all farmed animals – by adopting a compassionate, vegan diet.Trump will also visit Jerusalem and the Vatican on his Abrahamic religions world tour, but we certainly do not imagine him addressing all Jews or all Christians from those cities. We understand Israel to be a modern, Zionist nation-state, not the representative of all Jews worldwide. Similarly, we understand the Vatican as the institutional center of a global Catholic network, not the heart of Christendom.
The same should apply to the theocratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Kingdom does not and cannot speak for all Muslims around the world just because sites Muslims consider sacred are contained within its borders. In fact, when Muslim pilgrims arrive in Mecca, they are often dismayed to find that the Saudi government has allowed hotels, fast-food chains, and malls to encroach right up to the very edges of Muslims’ holiest sites. It’s hard to imagine the U.S. government allowing a Starbucks to be built next to the Grand Canyon; the Saudi government’s urban planning aesthetic, driven by profit, is not sensitive to the sensibilities of most Muslims. And the Saudi government’s bombing campaigns in Yemen, and blocking of humanitarian aid, have sparked moral condemnation among ordinary Muslims and human rights activists worldwide.
Muslims around the world are expressing a wide variety of reactions to Trump’s address, just as they expressed a wide variety of reactions to President Obama’s address in Cairo in 2009. Obama’s “Muslim World Address” was framed as a renewed bid for the Muslim hearts and minds that had been the “other” front in President Bush’s War on Terror, in order to signal that Americans were not “at war with Islam.” Every word of Obama’s speech had been carefully weighed by both the president himself and by his Muslim American speechwriter, Rashad Hussain, and every word was thoroughly scrutinized afterwards. Was Obama’s tone too conciliatory or too critical of Muslim societies? Was it a mark of integrity or of weakness for him to admit American complicity in upholding the Iranian shah’s brutal regime? And what about Obama’s decision to cite American Muslims like Muhammad Ali as proof of American exceptionalism and as evidence of the success and tolerance enjoyed by Muslim minorities in the U.S.?
Nevertheless, Obama’s speech did inspire hope that the U.S. would begin to properly promote democracy, freedom, and stability in the postcolonial world. On the eve of Ramadan, date sellers in Cairo named the most expensive, juiciest holiday fruit after Obama and the cheaper, dried up ones after Bush, reflecting the political mood.
Trump, too, has given a pre-Ramadan speech that is sure to be widely dissected—but his actions speak louder than his words. He is not only countenancing Saudi Arabia’s strikes against civilians in Yemen, which the United Nations reported could constitute crimes against humanity, but appears to be actually rewarding the Saudis: He just inked a weapons sale to them worth $110 billion. Obama had also sold billions in weapons to the Saudis, but he did freeze weapons sales after a strike on a funeral home reflected a pattern of attacks on civilians. Trump’s deal is a sinister reversal of Obama’s policy and belies anything he said in his Islam speech about peace or refugees. The war in Yemen, after all, could produce the world’s next refugee crisis.But conventional wisdom may be wrong. It may be Clinton, not Trump, who stands to gain from wavering voters looking for 11th-hour reassurance. All the flexibility in pre-debate polling was linked to Clinton, coalescing around her during her highest moments and nudging toward a third-party candidate or the uncommitted category during her lows. That might suggest that a winner’s share of persuadable voters—undecided voters—have already decided they can’t vote for Trump. They also may be leery about helping Trump by voting third party or not voting at all.
This is a small, disaffected group of Americans. According to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, here’s the favorability rating among undecided voters in a two-way race: Clinton 13 percent positive, 64 percent negative; Trump 5 percent positive, 81 percent negative.
These voters may be looking for a reason or an excuse to vote, albeit reluctantly, for Clinton.
If undecided voters are looking for cultural permission to vote for Clinton, Trump gave it to them.
He looked uncomfortable on stage, perhaps suffering from a cold that had him sniffing audibly—a tick that recalled the 2000 debate in which Democratic nominee Al Gore’s sighs dominated almost everything said by him or his rival, George W. Bush.
He gulped from a water glass like Florida Senator Marco Rubio, “Little Marco,” the GOP presidential candidate Trump mocked for his famously unquenchable thirst.
He exaggerated, dissembled, and lied. Trump repeated the absolutely false claim that he opposed the war in Iraq before the fighting. He disowned a series of sexist comments without apologizing for them.
He frequently interrupted Clinton, leaning over his lectern and gripping it like a toddler on a toboggan, careening between impatient and outrageous outbursts.
He exposed Clinton’s mendacity on trade and ridiculed her vacuous answer on the email scandal, but Trump did little else to pull undecided voters into his column.
When Clinton accurately noted that Trump started his business with millions of dollars from his father, Trump blurted, “Small loan.” Trump said he alone created “the greatest assets in the world” and, in a condescending show of deference, addressed Clinton showily. “In all fairness to Secretary Clinton,” he said, pausing to ask, “Is that OK?”
She nodded.
“I want you to be very happy,” Trump said with a forced grin, “it’s very important to me.”
When the Democratic nominee cited Trump as an example of someone who wanted the markets to fail, claiming that in 2006 he cheered a real estate crisis so that he could buy property more cheaply, Trump interrupted, “That’s called business, by the way.”
Undecided voters might not appreciate that view. Many lost their homes in what he blithely calls business.
Clinton encouraged Americans to go to her website to read her campaign’s efforts to correct Trump’s misstatements. Trump said, yes, people should go to her website to see how she had made her plan to fight ISIS public, which he somehow believes is a national-security threat.Most changes for this release will go into effect after the morning server reboots on June 15th. Adding seasonal content for July.
Making preparations for the public testing release of the Obsidian ocean in the coming weeks as part of our ongoing Dark Seas development.
Certain items that are normally created by shops (various swords, bludgeons, mugs, clothing, furniture) will no longer drop from Sea Monster Hunts. These items should instead be ordered via shops and constructed using labor.
The Pirate badge will no longer be required.
Increasing the maximum number of Hearties that can be stored.
Adding a command that will allow the Ocean Masters to fix pirates who are stuck with a "pirate preparation error" during login.
Updating copyright info in the "About" tab.
Scene Editor: Fixing the "Display commodity object counts" action in the Scene Editor. Increasing memory allotment to allow saving map images for large island scenes. Large assortment of new tiles (props, plants, etc.) for scene creation.Lana Keeton is accustomed to taking her licks standing up. She has worked as a steel broker and boxing promoter who rubbed elbows with Don King in the rough-and-tumble fighting world. She is also a kickboxer who doesn’t like to lose. But in 2001 a routine surgical procedure knocked her off her feet and led to the loss of her health, her business, and her dream home, a three-bedroom condominium in Miami Beach.
Keeton was in her thirties when she began suffering from intermittent bleeding and pain caused by fibroids, benign tumors in her uterus. She had the tumors surgically removed in 1983 and a second time in 1991, after they recurred. When her symptoms flared yet again in early 2001, her surgeon recommended a hysterectomy to get rid of the problem once and for all. During a discussion with her doctor about the upcoming surgery, Keeton mentioned that she occasionally leaked a little bit of urine when she coughed or sneezed. Nothing serious; she was still kickboxing without any problem. The surgeon told her that as long as he was “in there” doing a hysterectomy, he could fix her urinary problem by using some synthetic mesh as a sling to support her bladder. “He told me it was new and that I’d like it,” Keeton says. “I didn’t question it. I trusted him.”
The mesh was indeed new, but it was also relatively untested, as Keeton would eventually learn. Just 48 hours after her discharge following surgery, she was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors diagnosed a life-threatening infection called necrotizing fasciitis and told her she required emergency surgery to remove dead tissue. After a rocky 16 days in the hospital, Keeton was sent home, where she was bedridden for the next three months. A nurse came twice a day to dress the gaping wound in her belly, which had to be left open to control the infection as she healed. Unable to work, Keeton couldn’t keep up with her condo payments.
During the 16 subsequent surgeries and procedures Keeton would undergo, doctors discovered that the mesh had sliced its way through her bladder like a grater through cheese. Infections were forming on the mesh itself. Doctors worked to extract that mesh bit by bit, but it was so embedded in her internal tissues, they are still trying to remove every last piece today.
To understand why this was happening to her, Keeton went online. What she encountered left her dumbfounded: hundreds of patients talking about their problems with surgical mesh implants. Many told stories like hers, of recurrent pain, infections, and bleeding. Men whose hernias had been repaired with mesh were left incontinent and forced to wear adult diapers. Keeton was enraged. Here she was reading about serious, even life-threatening complications, yet her doctor either hadn’t known or hadn’t told her of any of the risks—risks she says “I would never have taken for such a minor inconvenience as urinary incontinence.”
MEDICINE’S DARK SIDE
In a recent poll conducted by the Campaign for Effective Patient Care, a nonprofit advocacy group based in California, 65 percent of the 800 California voters surveyed said they thought that most or nearly all of the health care they receive is based on scientific evidence. The reality would probably shock them. A panel of experts convened in 2007 by the prestigious Institute of Medicine estimated that “well below half” of the procedures doctors perform and the decisions they make about surgeries, drugs, and tests have been adequately investigated and shown to be effective. The rest are based on a combination of guesswork, theory, and tradition, with a strong dose of marketing by drug and device companies.
Doctors are often as much in the dark as their patients when they implant new devices (like the surgical mesh used on Keeton), perform surgery, or write prescriptions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates drugs, devices, and many tests, but it does not control how doctors use them and has no control at all over surgeries. Lack of strong oversight means doctors often have limited information about side effects, even from products and procedures used for years. One surgeon who complained says, “Device makers could sell us a piece of curtain and call it surgical mesh and we wouldn’t know the difference.”
Of course, some treatments don’t have to be studied. Penicillin, for example, is an accepted drug for pneumonia. But a surprising number of treatments are later found to be useless or harmful when they are finally put to the test. Many widely adopted surgeries, devices, tests, and drugs also rest on surprisingly thin data. For instance, many doctors routinely prescribe a powerful blood thinner called warfarin to prevent a pulmonary embolism, a potentially deadly blood clot that blocks an artery in the lungs. Warfarin has been in use for decades. Yet when the Cochrane Collaboration, a highly regarded international consortium of medical experts, examined the evidence (pdf), they could find only two small (albeit randomized and controlled) studies supporting the use of warfarin for patients at risk of developing clots. Neither study proved that the risky blood thinner was superior to simply giving the patient ibuprofen.
Another widespread practice for more than 40 years is spinal fusion, a surgery for back pain that often involves implanting expensive devices known as pedicle screws. It can take weeks to recover from the surgery, and costs can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Yet it is anybody’s guess whether any given patient will have less pain after surgery because nobody has conducted crucial studies to determine who needs spinal fusion and who would do better with less invasive treatment. Even the imaging tests that doctors use to make the case for back surgery, including MRI, X-rays, and CT scans, are not very good at pinpointing the cause of pain, comments Jerome Groopman, chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and author of How Doctors Think.A fully cinematic adventure game that lets you play both Gabriel Knight and Grace Nakimura
Discover the truth about the death of King Ludwig II and uncover the mystery of Wagner’s lost opera
Explore actual locations in Germany captured in 1000 beautiful, high-res images
The Beast Within is the second installment of the trilogy presenting the dark adventures of Gabriel “Schattenjäger” Knight. This time the protagonist is on the trail of a strange wolf, murderer of a little girl. Gabriel was asked to take care of this evil and suspects that this case is paranormal in nature. Together with his assistant, Grace Nakimura, he discovers the dark truth behind the history of Bavaria.The game employs full motion video technology to its fullest. The actors move through photo-realistic sceneries and every action leads to an FMV sequence. The game is a classic point-and-click adventure where you lead two characters through masterfully designed riddles, tons of life-like detective work and perfectly scripted dialogue. The friendly user interface is a finishing touch making this title a masterpiece you don't want to miss.
© 1995 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision and Gabriel Knight are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.Then there's another side of religion, which deals with the fact that we are all going to die and people we love are going to die. That realization causes an enormous crisis for most of us. Since we have evolved, human beings have always tried to address this crisis. Either we say, "don't worry something better is waiting for you (after death)," or there's a saying of "don't get too attached to this life - it's transient."
There are many different strands to these spiritual traditions, but I think those traditions are valuable, not as dogma that "my religion is right and yours is wrong," but as many different attempts to help people understand, explore, experience, transcend this crisis of being mortal, of being a human being.
I think organized religion is not the only way to address these things. People address this through art, by how they live their daily lives, through music, by taking care of their children or their parents; by falling in love. That collective project is interesting to me and I think it's vital.
When you think about Pakistan and religion, my concern is this attempt by the state or various private actors to push the first type of religion - the differentiating "us versus them" program of "I'm right and you're wrong, you're my group and he's not!" - which has many negative aspects that are often talked about, such as terrorism, violence, and extremism.
It has another negative aspect in that it pushes religion down a path that damages the second side of religion - the spiritual side. I do feel that is happening in Pakistan. This headlong rush in Pakistan has negative effects in that spirituality and decency have leached out of the culture due to the distortion of religion.
I want to avoid saying that religion just has a political component. And for Pakistan, that it should be founded as a nation with a separate religion from India, religion plays a deep, deep role.
But now it's possible to imagine a Pakistan, 60 years after independence, that is not so hung up on the political dimension of religion. A Pakistan that allows religion to be at the mercy of its own people, and I don't know if it's happening, but I would like that to happen. There are some signs.
There seems to be a stark contrast in the depiction and perceptions between India and Pakistan. India, despite its own challenges, has bhangra, Bollywood, biryani, outsourcing and tech support. Pakistan is colored by bleak and depressing descriptions and cannot seem to escape a conversation without words like failed state, chaos, explosive or Taliban. You and a handful of writers have crossed the mainstream. Have you felt the burden of representation and do you feel you have a role and responsibility to present a more nuanced side of Pakistan and 180 million Pakistanis?
It's something I try not to feel but probably do feel. I don't think anyone as a person can be representative of (a people.) I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and I believe it personally. As you said, there are so many misconceptions about Pakistan that it's easy to slip into the feeling that "I want to correct some of these misunderstandings," but also not be a propagandist that says that "Pakistan is fantastic and it's great!" There are very real troubling crises in Pakistan. But there's also a vibrant and functioning society that is evolving and developing and changing in many ways.Exchange Benefit Designs Increasingly Place All Medications for Some Conditions on Specialty Drug Tier
By Caroline F. Pearson
Avalere, February 11, 2015
New analysis from Avalere Health finds that some exchange plans place all drugs used to treat complex diseases – such as HIV, cancer, and multiple sclerosis – on the highest drug formulary cost-sharing tier.
“Plans continue to innovate on benefit design in the exchange markets,” said Dan Mendelson, CEO of Avalere. “These designs are calibrated to optimize enrollment by delivering low and stable premiums – the primary metric that consumers use to select a plan.”
Specifically, in five of the 20 classes of drugs analyzed, plans placed all drugs in a class on the specialty tier. Specifically, in the Protease Inhibitor and Multiple Sclerosis Agents classes, 29 and 51 percent of plans respectively place all drugs, including available generics, on the highest tier.
Moreover, a subset of plans in each of 10 drug classes1 placed all single-source branded drugs in a class on a specialty tier. Specifically, in 8 of the 10 classes, 2015 exchange plans were more likely than 2014 plans to assign all single-source branded drugs to the highest cost sharing tier. A single-source branded medication is a brand name drug without a generic equivalent. The practice was most common for some cancer drugs and drugs used to treat multiple sclerosis. Roughly 30 percent of plans also place all single-source drugs for HIV/AIDS on the specialty tier.
“Enrolling in a plan that places all medications for a particular disease on the specialty tier can mean significant out-of-pocket costs for consumers, particularly if they do not qualify for cost sharing reductions,” said Caroline Pearson, Vice President at Avalere.
http://avalere.com/expertise/life-sciences/insights/avalere-analysis-exchange-benefit-designs-increasingly-place-all-medication
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Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
Some plans in the insurance exchanges are placing all drugs used to treat complex diseases, such as HIV, cancer, and multiple sclerosis, on the highest drug formulary cost-sharing tier. We have covered this terribly abusive process before, but this update shows that they are “increasingly” placing all medications for expensive conditions into specialty drug tiers. In spite of the pushback, it’s getting worse, not better.
The reasons are obvious. Higher patient cost sharing reduces the insurer’s portion of the payment for the drugs. Higher cost sharing increases the probability that patients will not fill their prescriptions due to the cost, saving the insurer even more money. Most importantly, placing all drugs for an expensive chronic disorder in the highest tier greatly increases the probability that the insurer will not have to cover these high cost patients as they much more likely will obtain their insurance from a competitor.
What then will the competitor do? It’s obvious. They will also move these drugs to the highest tier. That is the nature of business competition. When we rely on private insurance plans to cover health care, we should expect that those plans will always follow an optimal business model.
This devious policy is great for insurers’ businesses, but it is terrible for patients. Health care reform should have been all about the patient. We can still make it so by firing the private insurers and placing our own public insurer in charge through an improved Medicare that covers everyone.If you’ve seen the back and forth between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton the last few days, you’d know that by far the worst thing you can say about a political opponent is that they’re unqualified.
After Sanders ripped off a list of reasons Hillary is not qualified to be president, Camp Clinton responded in apparent shock and horror that the socialist senator from Vermont would stoop so low.
Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, called the assertion that his boss is not qualified a “new low” and demanded he take back his words.
Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri said the statements were sexist, claiming “calling Hillary Clinton not qualified is like fingernails on a black board to many women across this country.”
The candidate herself told the Today Show that Sanders is “silly” for repeatedly asserting she is not qualified to serve as president.
That said, calling one’s political opponent is neither new, sexist, nor silly. In fact, it’s very Clintonesque.
More from The Political Insider
Here are four times the Clinton’s referred to our current President, Barack Obama, as unqualified to run for the highest office in the land.
In 2008, Hillary Clinton told reporters that both she and John McCain have the experience to run for President, but Barack Obama does not: “He (McCain) will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002.”
Hillary repeated the claim almost verbatim a few weeks later, proving it was a calculated attack to call Obama unqualified: “I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.”
In a speech questioning Obama’s judgment, Bill Clinton called his wife’s opponent’s campaign a fairy tale: “Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.”
Perhaps the most egregious example of the Clinton’s trying to portray Obama as unqualified came when Bill scoffed at the future President saying he should have been getting them coffee: “[A]s Hillary bungled Caroline, Bill’s handling of Ted was even worse. The day after Iowa, he phoned Kennedy and pressed for an endorsement, making the case for his wife. But Bill then went on, belittling Obama in a manner that deeply offended Kennedy. Recounting the conversation later to a friend, Teddy fumed that Clinton had said, A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.”
If you need video clarification of the Clintons attacking Obama as unqualified, feel free to check out the video below …
So the next time you hear Hillary or her sur
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are sought after and respected by congressional committees. They have money, and cash-starved school districts will do whatever it takes to get some of it. Their press conferences are well-attended. Most newspaper editorial boards share their perspective, so their op-eds get published. The Common Core State Standards Initiative they strongly supported -- if not helped engineer -- has already been adopted by more than half the states. Leading Democrats and Republicans are on board. Those who question their top-down approach to reform have been neutralized by labeling them “obstacles to progress,” “reactionaries,” “union shills.”
A recent press release provides an example of the New Progressives’ long reach: “NBC Universal presents ‘Education Nation,’ an unprecedented week-long event examining and redefining education in America.” The event will be held in Rockefeller Center in September, 2010. The two leaders with top billing: Bloomberg and Duncan.
The New Progressives and their fans have something else in common besides running the education reform show. They share a big idea – a theory about how humans learn.
Let’s call it “Theory T.” “T” stands for “Transfer.”
Theory T didn’t emerge from successful teaching experience, and it’s not backed by research, but it has something even more useful going for it: The Conventional Wisdom. It’s easily the New Progressives’ most powerful asset, for much of the general public (and a disturbing percentage of teachers) already subscribe to it. Because its validity is taken for granted, Theory T doesn’t even have to be explained, much less promoted.
Theory T says kids come to school with heads mostly empty. As textbooks are read, information transfers from pages to empty heads. As teachers talk, information transfers from teachers’ heads to kids’ heads. When homework and term papers are assigned, kids go to the library or the Internet, find information, and transfer it from reference works or Wikipedia. Bit by bit and byte by byte, the information in their heads piles up.
At an August conference in Lake Tahoe, California, Bill Gates clinched his Theory T credentials. “Five years from now,” he said, “on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world.”
Let the transfer process begin!
Measuring the success of Theory T learning is easy and precise – just a matter of waiting a few days or weeks after the transfer process has been attempted and asking the kid, “How much do you remember?”
No research says how much of what’s recalled at test time remains permanently in memory, nor to what practical use, if any, that information is later put, but that’s of no concern to Theory T proponents. Their interest in performance ends when the scores are posted.
There’s another, less familiar theory about how humans learn. Those who subscribe to it – mostly teachers who’ve spent many years working directly with learners – aren’t backed by big money, don’t get mainstream media attention, aren’t asked to testify before congressional committees, and can’t organize week-long affairs in Rockefeller Plaza, all of which help explain the second theory’s unfamiliarity.
Those who accept the alternative to Theory T don’t think kids come to school with empty heads, believe instead that the young, on their own, develop ideas, opinions, explanations, beliefs and values about things that matter to them. As is true of adults, kids’ ideas and beliefs become part of who they are, so attempts to change them may come across as attacks on their identity and be resisted.
Teaching, many long-time teachers know, isn’t a simple matter of transferring information into a kid’s head, but a far more complex, multi-step process. The teacher has to (a) “get inside” that head to figure out what’s thought to be true, right, or important, (b) understand the kid’s value system well enough to offer ideas sufficiently appealing to warrant taking them seriously and paying attention, (c) choose language or tasks that question old ideas and clarify new ones, (d) get feedback as necessary to decide how to proceed, (e) load the whole process up with enough emotion to carry it past short-term memory, and (f) do this for a roomful of kids, no two of whom are identical.
If that sounds really difficult, it’s because it is. If it were easy, all kids would love school because learning is its own reward. If it were easy, young teachers would be successful and stay in the profession. If it were easy, adults wouldn’t forget most of what they once supposedly learned. If it were easy, the world would be a much better place.
Most of what we know, remember, and use, we didn’t learn by way of Theory T. We learned it on our own as we discovered real-world patterns and relationships – new knowledge that caused us to constantly rethink, reorganize, reconstruct, and replace earlier knowledge.
Let’s call this relating process “Theory R.”
Theory R is why little kids learn so much so rapidly, before traditional schooling overwhelms them with Theory T. Theory R is why Socrates was famous, why project learning, internships and apprenticeships work so well, why the Progressives of a hundred years ago were so adamant about “hands on” work and “learning by doing,” why real dialogue in school is essential, why knowledge of a subject doesn’t necessarily make a teacher effective, why asking good questions is far more important than knowing right answers, why tying national standards to a 19th Century curriculum is stupid, why standardized tests are a cruel, anti-learning, Theory T joke.
The educationally naïve New Progressives have engineered an education train wreck that, if allowed to continue, will haunt America for generations. The young, beaten with the “rigor” stick, are being trained to remember old information when our very survival as a nation hinges on their ability to create new information.
Theory T and Theory R have implications for every major issue in education – building design, budgets, classroom furniture arrangements, textbooks, schedules, class size, the role of corporations, the kinds of people attracted to teaching, how kids feel about themselves – everything. Add to that list the newest Big Thing for the New Progressives – “value-added assessment.” Theory R tests look nothing like today’s machine-scored Theory T tests.
Theory R people, appalled by the current thrust of reform, have been trying for at least six presidential administrations to get Theory T people in Washington to discuss how humans really learn. No luck. So sure are the New Progressives that those who disagree with them are self-serving defenders of the educational status quo, they’re unable to see themselves as the true reactionaries.
Sooner or later it will become obvious even to Theory T true believers that their theory only works in a world in which tomorrows are exactly like yesterdays. Unfortunately, when that realization comes, it’s unlikely that any teachers who understand Theory R will still be around.
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Follow my blog all day, every day by bookmarking washingtonpost.com/answersheet. And for admissions advice, college news and links to campus papers, please check out our Higher Education page at washingtonpost.com/higher-ed Bookmark it!Upon returning to his Las Vegas office on Monday morning after a hugely successful UFC 124 event, company president Dana White has several items that will require fairly immediate attention. Among the most pressing is selecting coaches for the upcoming season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter The series is scheduled to begin taping in just a few weeks, and White admits he's late in picking the men who will lead two teams in competition and later battle it out themselves.Though he says the decision is far from made, he shared with MMA Fighting some possibilities for the job.Among the pairs he named as possibilities were a duo rumored to be up for the job, MMA legend Wanderlei Silva and recently suspended middleweight Chael Sonnen On Dec. 2, Sonnen's suspension for using testosterone was reduced from one year to six months, making him eligible to fight in March. The show is scheduled to begin taping in January and the season-ending pay-per-view featuring the coaches is usually sometime in June, giving Sonnen a clear window to participate.However, coming off the suspension, the UFC might not opt to immediately give him such a high-profile role.Anther possibility? UFC bantamweights Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber Torres has a fight scheduled in February, a bout that would seem to preclude him from the taping schedule, but he could be pulled if the UFC sees more upside in having him on TUF alongside Faber in a fight MMA fans have been interested in for years. Admittedly, White has been so busy in recent weeks he might have forgoten about Torres' scheduled fight.A surprising duo White mentioned was UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar. The pair has already fought twice, splitting the series 1-1. There was talk of a rubber match recently before White backed off the bout. However, with the added push of TUF highlighting the intense rivalry between the pair, the fight would likely do a monster number on pay-per-view, a serious consideration in deliberations.During fight week, White mentioned that he would be speaking with Lesnar's management on Monday regarding his future, though it seems possible the camera-averse former champion might have little interest in a job that requires six weeks in front of a camera. Mir, on the other hand, has already coached TUF, leading a team during season eight of the show.After rattling off the possibilities, White admitted he was no closer to finalizing a pairing than he ever has been, saying it was one of his highest priorities on Monday."I really don't know what we're going to end up doing," he told MMA Fighting. "I've got a board with a list of things that need doing, and this is one of the big ones, but it depends on a lot of things. Here's the one thing I know: I have to make a decision really soon."CHICAGO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - When 17-year-old Brian Dardon told his mother he wanted to pursue a career in manufacturing, she was full of apprehension.
To Diane Dardon, a Protestant chaplain at a Chicago university, manufacturing meant performing rote, unskilled tasks with little job security.
“It all seemed so much less than exciting as a career prospect for him,” she said.
But then Brian took an internship at local manufacturer Engis Corporation, where he was asked to brainstorm to fill customer orders. His mother now sees that an industrial job can offer a “creative outlet for his talents.”
Brian has just started his senior year at Wheeling High School in the Chicago suburbs, and his school district offers a manufacturing program with companies in the “Golden Corridor,” a long strip rich in manufacturers that runs through the northwestern suburbs. Brian now plans to go to college to pursue qualifications that will prepare him for a career in manufacturing.
The future of manufacturing in the U.S. will largely be shaped by the strength of the U.S. dollar, energy costs and the outcome of trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But companies face a human challenge too - how to recruit young Americans to replace millions of Baby Boom-generation employees retiring over the next decade.
Nationwide, the number of apprentices fell more than 40 percent from 2007 to 2013 to under 300,000, according to government data. But then they rose around 10 percent in 2014 when, in a rare act of bipartisanship, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which provides $3 billion a year for training programs. Several presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, propose expanding apprenticeships.
There’s an economic imperative behind the politics. U.S. manufacturers can’t find enough candidates: from January to June of this year, the manufacturing sector averaged 68,000 unfilled jobs per month, according to government data.
Industry executives are discovering it’s not enough to convince students. They have to overcome the doubts of parents, who have watched manufacturers lay off U.S. workers and ship their jobs overseas for decades.
“Convincing parents that manufacturing is not just a dirty dying business and is a viable alternative to an expensive college degree with no guarantee of work at the end of it is a major challenge we face,” said Dick Gilchrist, chairman of the U.S. division of Felsomat, a German company that makes assembly line machinery for automakers such as General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
Inspired by similar programs in Germany where industrial apprenticeships are more common, Gilchrist recruits at area high schools and hosts open houses for kids and parents, where he extols training programs paid by employers and job guarantees. It beats spending tens of thousands of dollars on a four-year college degree, he says, only to see their child work as a barista.
“When we get parents in here, their eyes get real big, real quick when they see how modern and clean our facility is,” he said.
Overall, the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. is still 15 percent below pre-recession 2005 levels. But advocates of manufacturing training say there is an impressive growth opportunity for skilled workers, such as “computer numerically controlled machine tool programmers.”
The number of such positions, which require the ability to write instructions for factory floor robots, is up 40 percent from 2005. The mean annual wage for machine tool programmers last year was around $50,000.
The money is an issue for parents and for good reason: Average manufacturing wages in the U.S. have grown by 20 percent over the past decade, slower than the 30 percent increase in overall U.S. wage growth - which in turn has lagged inflation.
OUT OF THE BASEMENT
Christian Reyes, an 18-year-old with a budding interest in electronics, said neither he nor his Mexican-born parents ever imagined he would veer towards manufacturing.
“We always figured you to go college to study to become a doctor or a nurse,” said Reyes. “But no one in our family had any idea you could study manufacturing.”
On the recommendation of a high school teacher, Reyes took an internship at Felsomat in 2014 during his senior year.
Felsomat hired Reyes after graduation and he is now working toward a three-year degree in manufacturing at Harper College, a community college that resuscitated a dormant manufacturing course in 2012 at the urging of local companies.
Career Academy, a public charter school located in South Bend, Indiana, works with manufacturers like auto supplier Federal-Mogul, to offer manufacturing and engineering courses.
For Ethan Wierenga, 15, Career Academy tailored a curriculum to his skills and recommended he also learn welding, an in-demand skill he could fall back on if he were ever to be unemployed. Now, his mother, Anne Wierenga, says she’s confident her son will “not be living in the basement when he’s 40.”
Wage prospects for these new industrial workers might improve too. Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Financial Group, said employers will have to raise pay more to find the workers they want. The average pay for machine tool programmers has only risen 8 percent since 2008, just before the Great Recession took hold.
“There may be some areas where there are labor shortages,” Porter said. “But I am confident the market will adjust to meet demand.”A funny thing happened at the recently concluded 2016 edition of GDC. BioWare, the studio that gave us Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Old Republic, and many others, revealed the new thing it's working on. And nobody noticed.
“Revealed” may be putting it a bit strongly, as no official announcements were made. But Alistair McNally, BioWare's senior director of creative development, said on Twitter that the secret was there for all to see.
And that’s #GDC2016 in the books. One the things I love most about the industry is that you have friends all over the planet.March 18, 2016
Also it was fun to walk around GDC2016 in a t-shirt with our new IP on it and no one batted an eyelid.March 18, 2016
The obvious irony is that those tweets were actually posted three days ago, and nobody noticed them either.
As you'd expect, the internet is now digging madly for a photo of McNally at GDC. As of this moment, it doesn't appear that anyone has struck gold, but if you'd like to take part in the hunt, or just stay on top of what's happening, the “Secret IP Twitter and Info Thread” on the BioWare forums (which actually kicked off in August of last year) is a good place to go.
Thanks, IGN.This post is dedicated to Troy Telford. He requested me through Fast Line to help him in writing down a full Tengwar Keyboard, but not only that; he also wanted some important keys like Ctrl, Alt, Shift and so on to be translated into Quenya. I found his idea pretty cool and as he’s set to make the elvish keyboard a reality, why not participating in this interesting project?
Additionally, I think this will interest a lot Elizabeth from New Zealand who recently asked me about math operations (the basic ones) and their adaptation into Quenya.
That’s exactly what Quenya101 is all about! We’re set to help YOU with everything you may need concerning Quenya lore! I hope Troy, Elizabeth and many fans out there enjoy a lot this humble post and use it anyway they feel like (just don’t forget the credits please, it’s not much I ask)
Firstly, you’ll find a table with the ideas behind the project. Have in mind that many things came out from Troy himself. I just corrected one thing or two and establish a standard when adapting words and concepts. Here it goes:
Obviously, here in Quenya101, we followed Dan Smith’s mapping because it flows natural when you type them. It’s not like a Roman alphabet mind would expect it to be (like qwerty positioning) but when it comes to Tengwar itself, it makes a whole lotta sense. All the translations shown above are presented delightfully in the image below. Click to make it big:
This is the closest one can get when imagining how a keyboard would be in Middle-Earth or Valinor. It’s got all keys translated into Quenya, tengwar are positioned on their proper places (red ones are reached by SHIFT) and even math operations (+ – * /) appear in the num pad. Those are adapted using Sarati, an ancient elvish alphabet, which would correlate with Greek and its symbols so widely used in maths.
Troy, if you ever get this keyboard done, if it ever comes to existence, if you got on your hands on something like this, PLEASE show me! Please please please show me and tell me how you got it. I’d love to type things using that baby!
ByWhile Alien: Covenant is set to hit the theaters in 2017, little has been recently heard about another film in the Alien franchise that may, or may not, be ongoing. That second film is the one to be directed by the South African District 9 and Chappie filmmaker, Neill Blomkamp.
This year heralds the 30th anniversary of James Cameron’s the sequel to the first film in the franchise, Alien, released back in 1979, and the cast and creative team from that film are doing the media rounds to honor the 1986 sequel to that movie.
In the process, Aliens star Sigourney Weaver spoke about Blomkamp’s supposed upcoming film, saying that while she would be surprised if it ever took off, the film would create a new timeline for the series.
Aliens 5 will be a … mid-quel? So says Sigourney Weaver: Lost in all of the hoopla of 30th anniversary celebr… https://t.co/PikW8zLfS5 — Throwbax.com™ (@throwbax) July 7, 2016
As reported in Digital Trends, “It’s just as if, you know, the path forks and one direction goes off to three and four and another direction goes off to Neill’s movie,” said Sigourney.
“I always wanted to complete this story and it wasn’t really until Neill and I started talking that I said, ‘This is why we waited however many years it’s been.'”
In related news on the Inquisitr:
Weaver continued by confirming that the still-untitled movie will ignore the events of the 1992 Alien 3 and the 1997 Alien: Resurrection, and instead will forge a new timeline set immediately after Cameron’s film Aliens.
However, despite all the excitement and interest surrounding Blomkamp’s sequel to Aliens, the project is pending at present while Ridley Scott finalizes his Alien prequel (and sequel to Prometheus), Alien: Covenant. Currently that film is in production and is scheduled to be released in theaters in 2017.
Sigourney Weaver confirms Alien 5 will ignore the third and fourth sequels | Consequence of Sound https://t.co/O4BFJBUCCD — J.R (@Jaye_Mancer) July 8, 2016
It is unknown whether the Aliens franchise will then hop to the timeline of Blomkamp’s movie or stay in the past for yet more Prometheus sequels.
Blomkamp does, however, intend to bring back both Weaver and Aliens actor Michael Biehn for his new project.
According to Biehn, who played the role of Corporal Dwayne Hicks in the Aliens film, the Blomkamp version would pick up where the story left off with his character, Ellen Ripley (Weaver) and the child they rescued from the Xenomorph-infested planet, Newt (played by Carrie Henn).
Sigourney Weaver confirms Neill Blomkamp’s #Alien movie will be a direct sequel to James Cameron’s #Aliens https://t.co/pwJzbuoXtK — IndieWire (@IndieWire) July 8, 2016
“They’re planning on bringing me and Newt back, and at this point Newt will be around 27 years old,” Biehn told Icons of Fright. “I know that every actress in Hollywood is going to want to play this one, it’s really a passing of the torch between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt.”
In the meantime, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, the whole gang will be getting back together at San Diego’s Comic-Con to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Aliens classic film on Saturday, July 23. Both James Cameron and Sigourney will be participating in a Q&A in Hall H, together with producer Gale Anne Hurd, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Henn.
While there is currently no timeline for Neill Blomkamp‘s film, Alien: Covenant will hit theaters August 4, 2017.
[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]Strap in and get ready for a mind trip straight from Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. The group is teaming with Loudwire to bring you the exclusive video premiere for 'Runaway Girls.'
The song is part of a forthcoming 7-inch release and as you might expect, the video for the track features a few damsels in distress along the way.
The video opens with an old '80s videotape vibe as brief snippets of news reports of grizzly murders populate the screen. Once the song kicks in with its heavy and trippy vibe, the rest of the clip centers of film and video footage of women from an era gone past indulging in excess, group love and other dangerous activities that may be a little more R-rated if you're watching in the work place.
The clip itself ends with a warning as a close-up is shown of a board with the motto, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
'Runaway Girls' is set to be released as a single on Aug. 25 via Rise Above and it precedes the band making their first major run through North America after wowing audience members at the Maryland Deathfest. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats kick off the tour Sept. 24 in Philadelphia. To see all of their dates, click the button below.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Only a few Braves position players weren’t in camp by Wednesday, and manager Fredi Gonzalez noted that two were Central Floridians not assured of roster spots, outfielder Jordan Schafer and infielder Tyler Pastornicky.
Pastornicky is from Bradenton and Schafer from Haines City, a 20-minute drive from Braves camp. A year ago, Pastornicky was a rookie who was the Braves’ projected starting shortstop and one of the last to arrive in camp, after spending the previous week training with veteran infielder Jack Wilson at Wilson’s home in California.
Pastornicky lost the shortstop job after struggling through late May and was replaced by Andrelton Simmons. This year, Pastornicky will compete for a utility job. He doesn’t appear to have much chance of making the team out of spring training, since the Braves signed free agent Ramiro Pena to serve as backup shortstop and utility infielder at least until Paul Janish returns from shoulder surgery.
“We’re waiting for [Pastornicky] again this year,” Gonzalez said sarcastically, in a good-natured tone that nonetheless sent a message. “Schafer probably has a tough time getting travel arrangements. He’s another one I’m going to grab. He only lives two exits up the road here; I haven’t seen him yet."
Then he joked: “I didn’t know he signed a deal with (general manager) Frank (Wren) – he’s got a five-year deal, guarantee to play one of the three outfield spots.”
Ouch.
Schafer, a former Braves prospect shipped to Houston in the July 2011 trade for Michael Bourn, is back with the Braves after being claimed off waivers Nov. 1. The Braves picked him up for depth and as insurance in case other moves didn’t pan out this winter, but he would likely have to beat out Jose Constanza and others for a possible backup outfield spot.
Braves positions players aren’t required to report until Thursday. But all of the Braves’ projected lineup regulars and most bench candidates were in camp by Wednesday morning, and several reported nearly a week ago.
"When I talk to them in the winter time,” Gonzalez said, “I tell them, you guys aren’t supposed to be there until this date, but we’ll be down there early and we’ll have coaches come down early and be available. So you don’t get that jet lag or you get off the plane and the next thing you’re working out.”
Veteran outfielder Reed Johnson, after driving with his family from Nevada, reported Wednesday and took batting practice with the starting outfield of Jason Heyward and the Upton brothers, Justin and B.J. Heyward has been in camp since late last week and the Uptons reported earlier this week.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
During a Cincinnati rally in which Donald Trump spewed the normal venom from his podium, it was someone in the audience – one of his supporters – that grabbed everybody’s attention because of a shirt she was wearing.
Picture via ‘Hollywood Reporter’ writer Ryan Parker:
Woman in crowd, standing behind Donald Trump as he speaks at Cincinnati rally, is wearing a shirt stating: “Hey Trump, Talk Dirty to Me.” pic.twitter.com/S9EozC5ssR — Ryan Parker (@TheRyanParker) October 14, 2016
Of course, the shirt – which said, “Hey Trump, Talk Dirty To Me!!!” – may not have gotten anybody’s attention if not for the recent release of a videotape in which Trump is heard not just talking dirty, but openly bragging about how he’s entitled to do whatever he wants to women.
This Trump supporter – and millions across the country – seem to be suggesting that their candidate is only guilty of, to paraphrase the shirt, talking dirty. But the more news that comes out, the more we realize that these are not just words.
Trump has a history of acting despicably when he’s around women. He believes his very existence entitles him to kiss or grope whoever he wants.
Some of his most ardent supporters don’t seem to have a problem with this, though, as yet another Trump supporter proved with her handmade shirt:
This is a shirt pic.twitter.com/SjFNHpZlMi — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) October 14, 2016
In any case, the recent Trump controversy is about more than what the man says. It’s about who he is and how he has behaved throughout his 70 years of life.
Some of his most loyal apologists may be okay with it and even try to make light of it, but most Americans think there is nothing funny about it.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:I recently had a fantastic interview with David McMillan on the Strategies for Living radio show, which was subsequently featured in an article written in the Shreveport Times this week. I thought you might enjoy it so I included them both!
Listen to the Interview:
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Read the Shreveport Times Article:
Why are we always in such a hurry?
Why is it such a challenge to maintain inner peace?
Why doesn’t hard work always equate with results or fulfillment?
How can we find true fulfillment and lasting happiness?
I don’t know about you, but I think about those things. These are just some of the questions many of us ponder and that Seth David Chernoff tackles in his new book, “Manual for Living: Reality-A User’s Guide to the Meaning of Life” (2010, Spirit Scope Publishing). This gentleman says he’s learned to experience the fullness of life by facing death, twice; he’s a two-time cancer survivor. I recently talked with Seth on my radio program and he now sounds very healthy. I invite you to listen to this interview … and consider this book. Seth’s unique experience of facing death has the potentialtoinform us on how to really and truly live.
The “Manual for Living” is probably unlike books you have seen or experienced, given its format and its content. Most often, when we start a book, we feel an obligation to finish it, but this unique book is never really finished, and Seth says he actually designed it not to be read cover to cover. This is one of those exceptional books that can be picked up intermittently for guidance along the path, and one you can open randomly and quite often find exactly the guidance you’re seeking. There is also very little within the book that you have not already heard, but the context in which it’s presented provides a tremendous opportunity for growth and understanding.
Of course, we all face tremendous obstacles, challenges and trauma in our lives; that is inevitable. It’s who we choose to be and how we respond to those opportunities however that determines the real quality of our lives.
The “Manual for Living” is written to be a user’s guide to the meaning of life; it’s a guidebook to create balance and connection, intimacy and relationship, peace and love, evolution and fulfillment. Seth states that what we desire cannot be “obtained,” for he says it can only be experienced,andthe result of a life of commitment and service. Can we achieve lasting happiness? Can we find fulfillment or obtain true love? What exactly is a spiritual life, an inspirational life, a fulfilled life? What really is possible in life? Can we have it all? I think his manual can help us find clarity and assist with connecting to our inner guidance, thus opening the gateway to an intentional life; a chosen life that is joyful and fulfilled. Few people on Earth possess the answers to life’s simplest questions because, in truth, the answers are granted only to those who go within themselves to understand their own special language.
In truth Seth states that we’re all one in the same, regardless of intellect, age, race, creed, or dialect. No matter how much we contest this truth, there is little difference between us except how we have chosen to experience this lifetime. Life somehow seems easier when we live as turtles, hiding in the shadows and emerging to seek nourishment, prosperity and fulfillment, only to retreat into the protection of our shell when we realize that what we seek cannot be found outside of ourselves. Seldom are rewards granted to those who hide from the world and its associated challenges and opportunities.
Idon’tknow about you, but the longer I’m around, the more I realize how much I’ve done just that in my life, and I don’t want to keep doing it. I find books like this can be a tremendous help. Here are just a few of the highlights that you’ll find to ponder on:
We cannot avoid death, but somehow we have we have discovered how to avoid life.
The only path to happiness is a life of purpose and meaning.
There is never enough money for all that we desire, but there are ample funds for all that we require.
In every moment, we are either living or dying; there is nothing in between.
Money has the potential to destroy lives, incite war and distract us from what is most important in life.
In the end, it is the quality of our life and not the quantity.
(Marriage and family therapist David McMillian can be heard on “Strategies for Living” any time at www.strategiesforliving.com and from 9:05 to 10 a.m. Sundays on Newsradio 710 KEEL.)
If you haven’t bought this life-changing, award-winning book yet, I highly recommend you give it a try. It’s available at your favorite local bookstore, at Amazon.com, in the Apple iBookstore, for the Kindle – and you can get an autographed copy – all Right Here!I’m a huge Twitch fan. Even though I can’t say I spend a lot of time watching people play video games online, as I can’t maintain a healthy relationship AND a gaming console at the same time, I decided that the occasional Twitching is a great way to blow off some gaming steam.
Twitch is being used by almost 50% of the Millennials worldwide and take almost 1% of the bandwidth in the world. Their monetization techniques are equally impressive.
Let’s get down to business and uncover Twitch’s revenues and business model.
What is Twitch, who’s using it, how it became a hit and why Amazon snatched it for $970M?
In August 2014 Amazon shocked the gaming and video streaming world by announcing it will be acquiring Twitch after bidding war with Google, for $970 million in cash, only 3 years from launching the product.
For those of you who remember Justin.tv, a website / app responsible for introducing the world to social live streaming 8 years before Meerkat ot Periscope, congrats – you’re as old as me. However, there is some relevance to this anecdote. In 2011 Twitch was launched as a subsidiary of Justin.tv and was focused on video game content. Not long after launching the Twitch channel, Justin.tv announced they are going to focus solely on Twitch and shut down any further operations.
Users were able to create channels where they update their details and upload videos of themselves play video games or stream their gameplay in real time (kinda).
(That’s how a usual stream looks like)
And people really like it apparently. According to Qwilt who develop and measure video streaming infrastructure, Twitch is accounted for more than 40% of the live streaming traffic in the U.S. Traffic in general was 1.8% of the entire internet traffic, second only to Google, Netflix and Apple services.
As of 2015, an average viewer of Twitch is watching a stream together with over half a Million people at any point and spend over 420 minutes in the site every month (in comparison to YouTube’s average 291 minutes). Twitch has its own iOS and Android apps and has been integrated with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. PC gamers can also upload footage to Twitch. Their app is available on the web, all mobile OS, Playstation, Xbox and Amazon Fire TV.
There are numerous speculations regarding why Amazon bought Twitch. The official answer is “user community and the live streaming experience it provides”.
So what are Twitch’s monetization channels and how do they work?
Advertising
Twitch offers standard IAB display & video media as well as native and custom opportunities. They have about 3 Video ad units, 4 standard IAB adunits and 6 native ad units. Twitch charge CPM between $2-$10. As CPM prices are very seasonal, prices change frequently.
And in real life it looks like this:
Subscriptions
In order to get rid of the ads that can get pretty annoying, users are welcome to sign up to Twitch Turbo and for $8.99 a month they get the adblock experience – No pre-rolls, no mid-rolls, no companions, no display ads. However, front-page takeovers are still being shown. Probably because it’s not perceived as invasive.
Partner Program
Partners (13,476 partners as of 2015) – Twitch Partners is an exclusive plan for gamers who wish to broadcast regularly on the platform and have regular and average concurrent viewership of 500+ and broadcast at least 3 times a week.
The game doesn’t really matter. If you’re moving to the platform from a different broadcasting platform such as YouTube you can still partner with Twitch, however it is harder to get accepted as you need an average “views per video” of 15,000 views or at least 100,000 subscribers. Hats off to Twitch for keeping such high standards, but this is what makes their platform so good. Twitch Partners get to monetize content in many ways such
Twitch Partners get to monetize content in many ways such as:
Advertisements that are displayed on their page – Streamers get a cut from the CPM and make about $0.9-$2 per 1000 views. As ads are being displayed everywhere in the website, they are also being showed on the streamers pages as well, and if these streamers are also “partners”, they are getting a cut and that take us to the 2nd main monetization tool which is subscriptions. If you were wondering, using Twitch Turbo that makes the ads go away is actually not affecting the partners as they are getting paid as if the users actually saw the ads.
Merchandise – Partners can integrate merchandise sales via Twitch strategic partnership with Teespring. Some Twitch partners claim this is not necessarily worthwhile due to the high cuts of Teespring (Cost + 4$) and Twitch ($2.5+) per shirt.
Paid channel monthly subscription – The standard subscriber rate of $4.99/month starts off on a 50/50 split between Twitch and the streamer and can be negotiated as the channel gets bigger and bigger. Users are not
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-term prevention strategies.
I was encouraged by the massive turnout at the recent People's Climate March in New York. Everyone I encountered there was convinced that humankind needed to change business as usual – our lifestyles, how business is done, and how governments work.
We need all stakeholders from all sectors to think about the impact climate change is already having on our lives and how we can prevent or mitigate further negative consequences
However, the same urgency about the need to act NOW has not resonated in Asia despite being the region most vulnerable to climate change. The changing weather patterns threaten agricultural productivity and food security in the region. Extreme weather events such as typhoons and floods affect coastal communities and water resources. Diseases in the region such as cholera and malaria have also been exacerbated by climate change. Another cause of Asia's vulnerability are the megacities with populations over 10 million but with inadequate infrastructure.
Chasing Ice
The goal for the week-long Chasing Ice Global Screening initiative is to localize and personalize a critical global issue that is no longer (or perhaps has never been) sexy or interesting to the public – in Asia and most parts of the world. The visual and emotive medium of the Emmy award-winning documentary can spark a global grassroots conversation about the causes, risks, and consequences of climate change and galvanize concrete action toward solutions.
For me, the power of Chasing Ice stems from the shock of seeing massive and ancient glaciers vanish in a blink of an eye. Watching the stunning imagery of the magnificent and essential regulators and indicators of our global climate system disappear into the ocean left me with a sense of foreboding and sense of urgency to do something about it.
The event revolves around the International Day of Climate Action on October 24 because it speaks to our ultimate goal – for individuals, communities, businesses and governments to take immediate action before it's too late to reverse the catastrophic trajectory we are currently on.
Changing planet
As just one individual, I knew there wasn’t much I could do to have a direct impact on the large-scale causes of climate change, but I do believe in the power of collective action of informed and passionate people from all over the world to make a difference. After all, we all have a stake in what happens to our planet.
We need all stakeholders from all sectors to think about the impact climate change is already having on our lives and how we can prevent or mitigate further negative consequences. We need to think about climate change’s impact on society, business, economy, human health, and marine and wildlife ecosystems.
We need people to realize that this seemingly distant issue will affect each and every one of us. I hope everyday citizens will reach out to their local environmental organizations – whether nonprofits, government agencies or businesses – to learn more about their community’s specific risk to climate change and find out what they can do to be a part of the solution. If we don’t, we’re screwed. – Rappler.com
Abbie Jung is a co-founder of Synergy Social Ventures, a non-profit organization that believes philanthropy and social entrepreneurship are necessary tools for sustainable development. Synergy runs a Help Desk and Advisory program for early stage social entrepreneurs and Giving Circles for new philanthropists called Future Funders.
Rappler will feature a special livestream of Chasing Ice on October 24 at 9:30 pm.Sept. 11 Legacy: One Endless War Against Many Radical Enemies
Enlarge this image toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In the quarter-century from the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s until Sept. 11, 2001, the United States rarely went to war, and when it did, the conflicts were so brief they were measured in days. The Gulf War in 1991 lasted 43 days. Airstrikes in the former Yugoslavia in 1995 went on for 22 days, followed by another round in 1999, that time for 78 days.
But since the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has been fighting every single day for 15 straight years, the longest unbroken period in American history. The U.S. has carried out airstrikes, sent in ground forces, or both, in seven countries stretching from Pakistan in the east to Libya in the west. None of these conflicts has been resolved, and all signs point to years of strife ahead.
Sept. 11 has reshaped the U.S. in countless ways, but perhaps the most profound has been the transformation from a country where peacetime was the norm into one seemingly locked into a permanent state of war. Yet strangely, the country doesn't feel much like it's at war.
"Like the war on drugs or the war on poverty, the war for the greater Middle East has become a permanent fixture in American life and is accepted as such," writes Andrew Bacevich, a retired Army colonel and professor at Boston University.
America's overwhelming military strength has made victory look deceptively easy. Yet time and again, swift battlefield victories have been followed by frustrating setbacks. The U.S. greatly weakened al-Qaida in several countries, only to see the Islamic State emerge in others. The Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan, but regrouped as insurgents. Saddam Hussein was ousted in Iraq and Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, yet their dictatorial reigns were replaced by nasty civil wars in both countries.
Nearly 7,000 U.S. military personnel have been killed and more than 50,000 wounded in these assorted conflicts. The financial tab is in the trillions. Many college-age Americans can barely recall a time when the country wasn't at war.
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Moore/Getty Images John Moore/Getty Images
Despite the disappointing results, there's still a broad consensus among U.S. political and military leaders, including the two leading presidential candidates, that the battle against radical Islamist groups must continue — even if they can't say how and when these wars might end.
But critics argue the U.S. has precious little to show for sustained involvement in a region that's going through a period of historic upheaval and, by most every measure, is worse off today than 15 years ago.
And the longer the wars last, the less clear U.S. goals become, Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University law professor who previously worked at the Pentagon, says in her new book, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything.
"It has grown steadily more difficult to define our enemies," writes Brooks. "When you wage war against a nameless, stateless, formless enemy — an enemy with goals as uncertain as its methods — it's hard to see how that war can ever end."
The U.S. has tried multiple approaches that, in general terms, have been large, medium and small.
President George W. Bush went large, launching two major ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that proved far more costly and complicated than advertised.
Enlarge this image toggle caption David Furst/AFP/Getty Images David Furst/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama went small, pledging to wrap up American involvement in those two wars. He declared an end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq at the end of 2011, and in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
But with the rise of the Islamic State, U.S. forces are back to Iraq as part of a bombing campaign. Obama's original timetable for a full departure from Afghanistan has been delayed repeatedly. And after seeking to avoid direct involvement in Syria, the president announced a bombing campaign that's now 2 years old.
As Obama's days in office wind down, the approach can now be described as the medium track. The U.S. is waging three wars, though on a much smaller scale than the two he inherited.
"It's hard to argue that Obama's policies have been successful if you just look at where we are on the ground," Joby Warrick, a Washington Post reporter and the author of Black Flags: The Rise Of ISIS, told NPR's Morning Edition. "A lot of things that could have gone wrong have gone wrong in the Middle East under his watch."
On a typical day, U.S. war planes strike in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, while relying on a relatively small number of U.S. forces to work with local forces on the ground. The U.S. now has fewer than 10,000 forces in Afghanistan, a bit more than 5,000 in Iraq and a few hundred in Syria.
This has been politically palatable. Compared to ground wars, the costs and casualties are low. Republicans and some Democrats complain about the specifics, but there's no strong opposition. And Obama and his supporters can point to some progress.
In Afghanistan, the country's army does the fighting on the ground and has kept the Taliban at bay, even if the radical Islamist group remains a potent and deadly force in many parts of the country.
In Iraq, the Islamic State has been driven out of several cities and is increasingly vulnerable in the shrinking number of places it still controls, such as Mosul.
In Syria, ISIS is also on the defensive, though it still holds large swaths of territory in a multi-sided war.
Yet no one is forecasting a near-term resolution to any of these conflicts. This has saddled the U.S. with the burdens of war, yet offers little prospect of a clear success, argues Bacevich, the Boston University professor.
"The United States chose neither to contain nor to crush, instead charting a course midway in between. In effect, it chose aggravation," Bacevich writes in his recent book, America's War For The Greater Middle East.
The instrument of that aggravation: drones. In a word, this is why the U.S. has gravitated toward this type of limited warfare. The advance of drone technology and Obama's desire for a smaller U.S. footprint have merged into a policy designed to deliver powerful blows at minimal cost in dollars and lives. It's clear why this is an attractive option.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
But when NPR recently asked Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, if Air Force capacity was keeping up with the demands it faced, he said: "Actually, it isn't, in many ways. You know, we have, you know, far more mission than we have Air Force today, which is something that we're dealing with."
The Air Force now has 1,200 pilots flying unmanned aircraft — its largest single category of pilots — and yet the demands keep growing, Goldfein said.
"We have struggled over the last several years to stabilize this [pilot] community because the demand signal has been so great," he said. "In many ways, it's become the oxygen the joint force breathes, right? If you have it, you don't think about it. But if you don't have it, it's all you think about and you want more of it."
While drones are a potent weapon in striking key targets, they have not been decisive in resolving wars.
"The U.S. government persists in thinking it can solve complicated political problems through air power, and especially through 'targeted assassinations' in distant lands," Harvard professor Stephen Walt writes in Foreign Policy.
He argues drones can be useful in some limited instances, like pushing back the Islamic State in parts of Libya, though not as a comprehensive approach in places like Afghanistan or Syria.
"But because both the Pentagon and the CIA are committed to these tools, and because they give presidents a cheap way to 'do something' without putting a lot of boots on the ground, this reflexive response to messy problems in faraway places is becoming another bad habit," Walt argues.
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have indicated they would continue the current wars, possibly with greater force.
"I think we know that Hillary Clinton will probably be a continuation of the strategy we have now, perhaps more muscular," says Warrick, the Washington Post reporter. "She's known as a bit more hawkish on foreign policy. She wants a no-fly zone in Syria to protect Syrians and protect refugees and also Syrians who are fighting on our side. She's wanting to do things quicker, pick up the tempo."
Trump hasn't offered detailed plans and his foreign policy pronouncements have ranged widely. He's critical of the U.S. interventions in Iraq and Libya, but also promises tough action against the Islamic State.
Congress, meanwhile, gave President Bush the right to use military force against those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. President Obama is still relying on that 15-year-old measure for the current wars, though much of the focus is now on the Islamic State, a group that didn't exist in 2001.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sion Touhig/Getty Images Sion Touhig/Getty Images
As the wars have dragged on, Congress has grown increasingly reluctant to formally take a position. The most glaring example is Syria, which the U.S. has been bombing for two years without Congress weighing in.
And that 2001 measure, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, was invoked by the administration just last month to justify airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya.
Congress didn't object, even though its brief resolution was written 15 years ago and directed at different groups operating on a different continent.
"Americans increasingly treat the military as an all-purpose tool for fixing anything that happens to be broken," writes Brooks. "Terrorists and insurgents in Syria are beheading journalists and aid workers? Afghanistan's economy is a mess? The Egyptian army needs to be encouraged to respect democracy? An earthquake in Japan has endangered nuclear power plants? Call the military."Governor Deval Patrick spent Thursday morning in full politicking mode, attacking Mitt Romney’s tenure as Massachusetts governor and defending Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren from critics who say she misrepresented herself as a minority to advance her academic career.
On his monthly radio show on WTKK-FM, Patrick, who endorsed Warren on Wednesday, called the controversy over Warren’s professed Native American heritage a distraction from what should be a more substantive debate between Warren and her Republican opponent, Senator Scott Brown.
“Frankly, if I were Scott Brown, I’d want this distraction, too — a distraction from his record,’’ said Patrick, a Democrat. “I don’t care about it. I think she’s answered every question she’s been asked, and we haven’t had enough conversation in this campaign about the things I think people do really worry about.’’
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Pressed on the controversy, Patrick likened it to the discredited theory that President Obama was born in Kenya and is not a United States citizen.
“You going to ask for a long-form birth certificate, too?’’ he told Margery Eagan, a Boston Herald columnist, who co-hosts the radio show with Patrick.
“I don’t know how many times I can say it: I don’t care about it,’’ Patrick said. “I want us to focus on who is going to be the best partner for the people of the Commonwealth in the United States Senate.’’
Patrick also took to the morning cable television circuit as part of a new Obama campaign effort to criticize Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts.
In appearances on “Morning Joe’’ on MSNBC and “Starting Point’’ on CNN, Patrick hewed closely to the Obama campaign’s talking points, saying Massachusetts was ranked 47th of out 50 states in job creation when Romney was governor, and imposed millions of dollars in higher fees, despite Romney’s pledge not to raise taxes.
“He sold us, when he was running for governor, the very same lines he is offering now in his campaign for president, but it just didn’t happen,’’ Patrick said.
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Both presidential campaigns are focused on Massachusetts this week.
The Romney campaign is planning a Thursday morning press conference on the State House steps to defend Romney’s record.
Ninety minutes later, David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political adviser, will hold his own press conference with Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray and other Democrats who will blast the Romney record.Arzaylea Rodriguez is now contradicting Manny Pacquiao's claims that she was the one who started their online conversation.
It was already a little awkward when he puzzlingly chatted up a 22-year-old girl online.
But things just got a tad more complicated for senator and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao after the same girl called him out Thursday for saying that she was the one who started their conversation.
The boxer-politician defended his controversial presence in the young woman's Instagram live video chat by denying any malice in the comments he left. He also claimed that it was not him that asked the first question.
Replying through Twitter, however, the girl, Arzaylea Rodriguez, an Instagram star who has nearly half a million followers, denied this and said: "I definitely didn’t engage in conversation with him first."
Rodriguez added that she found it surprising that Pacquiao would join one of her live video chats.
WATCH: Sen. Pacquiao admits commenting on live video of IG star Arzaylea Rodriguez; says Rodriguez was first to engage conversation with him pic.twitter.com/pKYmP5zQfM — ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) September 27, 2017
It was just this week when Instagram users noticed that Pacquiao, 38, made comments on a video of Rodriguez, with screen captures showing him asking the pretty brunette, "Where are you from?"
Rodriguez is an Instagram style star of sorts, never shy in sharing to her thousands of fans her outfits. She rose in popularity when she dated 5 Seconds of Summer frontman Luke Hemmings.
Photo from @arzaylea on Instagram Photo from @arzaylea on Instagram Photo from @arzaylea on Instagram Photo from @arzaylea on Instagram
She appears to be a feisty type, who is unafraid in making headlines. Just last month, she risked being bashed by fans of Hemmings' band when she claimed that it was the singer who cheated on her and caused their breakup last May.
But Rodriguez isn't the only one that piqued Pacquiao's curiosity.
He was also seen striking an online conversation with Maria Ciuffo, an American who co-hosts the Instagram vlog "Chicks in the Office."
Pacquiao explained that the reason why he told Ciuffo that she can "call him anytime" was because she was asking if she could score an interview with him.
"Chicks in the Office" was cooked up by Barstool Sports, a U.S.-based sports and men's lifestyle website.
A post shared by @mariaaciuffo on Sep 24, 2017 at 9:23am PDT
Rodriguez reacted to the whole brouhaha over him and Pacquiao by sharing articles on the topic on her Twitter and saying that she's "gone international."With Zach Parise off to the Minnesota Wild, the Detroit Red Wings have officially moved on to their backup plan for adding another top-six forward to the team. What exactly is the backup plan is unclear at this point. Among the possibilities are a trade for Rick Nash, a trade for Bobby Ryan and simply signing Alexander Semin.
There is also the idea of signing Shane Doan. The Free Press' Helene St. James reports that Detroit will "take a run" at him, but the caveat is it's not known if he will be open to the idea of leaving the Phoenix Coyotes. We will know more next week, but one interesting thing we know right now is that his agent is already seeking an offer from Detroit in case Doan does opt to leave the Coyotes, according to MLive's Ansar Khan.
The power forward's agent has called the Red Wings several times the past couple of days, seeking an offer, and with Parise off the market, Detroit will make a pitch for Doan. However, Doan has stated he won't decide until Monday if he will leave Phoenix, where he has played since 1996. His main concern is whether the team will relocate in 2013-14 due to the unstable ownership situation. Ultimately, many expect he will stay in Phoenix.
If Doan does decide to depart from the Coyotes franchise, the Red Wings seem like an ideal landing spot for him. He would be joining a franchise that is no stranger to taking on veteran guys late in their career, and the Red Wings would be getting a guy who can still play and would upgrade their forward depth.
To me, I would much rather the Red Wings pursue Doan or Semin before considering a trade for Nash. Nash is a talented player, but the chances of the Red Wings actually being able to pull off a trade without having their roster ransacked aren't high. A deal for Nash just seems like a lost cause at this point.
For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.Jared Kushner, reportedly the new power behind the throne in the Trump administration, has tried to borrow luster from another presidential éminence grise, Henry Kissinger. Kushner introduced himself to Kissinger after a foreign policy lecture in 2015, and since then has kept in touch with the former secretary of state. We know this because Kissinger wrote an exceptionally lukewarm tribute to Kushner for Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People issue, which he concluded by comparing Kushner to the mythical Icarus, a nepotism hire who crashed and burned after flying too close to the sun.
Whatever Kissinger’s private reservations about Kushner, there are some parallels to be drawn between the Nixon and Trump administrations, especially in their bureaucratic intrigue and the cultivation of an image of unpredictability (what Nixon called the “madman theory”). But Trump isn’t so much a modern Nixon as a clown Nixon, repeating the tragedy of the 37th president’s flawed policies without having the Nixonian intelligence or competence to know what he’s doing.
Nixon and Kissinger came to Washington intending to start a foreign policy revolution, one that would rescue America from its increasing isolation with a dual program of detente with the Soviet Union and opening up to China. But to carry out this revolution, they had to work around the permanent government housed in the State Department and the Pentagon. As University of Kentucky historian George Herring noted in his 2008 book From Colony to Superpower, Nixon and Kissinger were “reluctant to share power and certain that a hidebound bureaucracy could be an obstacle to the bold moves they hoped to implement,” so they put foreign policy in the hands of Kissinger as head of the National Security Council, shutting out diplomats and military men. The Byzantine intrigue got so intense that Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and Thomas Moorer, chair man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began spying on the president and Kissinger. As Herring recounts, the JCS “employed a navy yeoman to purloin documents to keep them informed about what was going on in the White House.” (Nixon, meanwhile, wiretapped Laird’s chief aide.)
A similar dynamic is at work in the Trump administration with the so-called axis of adults—Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Secretary John Kelly, often working with NSC adviser H.R. McMaster—which is pushing for a more traditional hawkish foreign policy, against Trump’s desire for a unilateralist America First revolution. But Trump and his immediate coterie are much less adept at bureaucratic infighting than Nixon and Kissinger were. Trump himself is singularly lazy, unfocused, and ignorant of how the government functions. As a result, while Nixon and Kissinger carried out a foreign policy revolution, Trump’s foreign policy has been characterized by incoherence.About This Game
Cards and Deckbuilding
Tailored sessions with Flexiscope
Unique Mechanics
Hack & Slash in the world of Paperverse
Comfort of Gameplay
Challenging Endgame
Dungeons & Streamers
is a Hack & Slash Deck-building hybrid in whichdecide the length of quests. Wield magic cards instead of weapons and slay the armies of darkness in the dungeons below the Old Cathedral. Save the terror-strickenfrom the clutches of the Archdemon himself!Procedurally Generated DungeonsRoguelike Mode for fans of extreme challenge70+ different types of monsters, with different traits and custom mechanicsXbox and Steam controller support Dungeons & Streamers - Twitch and Mixer integrationMonthly and all-time Leaderboards, 200+ Achievementsis the first installment of- a series of original mid-core titles, inspired by the early golden days of PC gaming.It’s not a card game, but items, spells, and skills are all expressed as cards. The strategy lies in adapting your hand to each situation. Cards can be upgraded with runes and you can find many variants with diverse bonuses. Legendaries are the most epic but hard to acquire.respects your time. It features theengine which allows you to divide the game into sessions of any size. It even learns your pace of gaming and predicts the time to complete the next session.Simplified movement and fight mechanics is wherediffers the most from other hack & slash games. There is often not enough time to click-remove all of the obstacles such as, or, so timing, card selection and order of execution are critical.takes place in, a world that exists entirely inside a pop-up book.It’s a tale of good and evil about saving the world from the ultimate devilry. Sounds familiar? Inspired by the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the first Diablo game,is part tribute part parody of hack & slash classics.Manyfeatures were designed with gameplay comfort in mind. Points of interest are marked at the top of the screen and get revealed once you get closer. Your character leaves footprints, which can be used to track your way back or notice paths already visited without opening the map.On average it takes about 10 hours to complete the campaign with a single class, but maxing out a character and mastering all of the higher Freeplay difficulty levels and Quests takes much longer. The Roguelike mode offers another level of challenge with permadeath, restricted healing and even more obstacles to overcome.Copyright by KXAN - All rights reserved Austin Police Officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq (Austin Police Department)
Copyright by KXAN - All rights reserved Austin Police Officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq (Austin Police Department)
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin police officer hurt in a motorcycle crash died as a result of his injuries Sunday.
Officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq, 46, was struck by a car while escorting a funeral procession on North Burnet Road Thursday. Initial information indicates the officer was going northbound on Burnet Road (with his police lights on) when the driver, who was in the center turn lane, turned left in front of the officer. Acevedo says during the procession, there was a gap and the driver thought she could make it.
A 17-year veteran with APD, Abdul-Khaliq was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge hospital where his situation changed dramatically over the past few days. On Friday, Acevedo held a news conference stating the officer was in very serious condition and in need of blood. Later Friday evening, another tweet said he was showing positive signs.
Sunday morning, Acevedo's latest tweet, indicated that Abdul-Khaliq "had a set back" but was hanging tough. The chief continued to stress the need for continued prayer and blood donations.
A press release was issued by the department at 6:30 p.m. stating, "Despite his valiant fight, it is with deep and heavy hearts that early this evening Senior Police Officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq succumbed to his injuries."
The driver who ran into the officer, 51-year-old Ana Prado, was cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, which is a Class C misdemeanor. On Friday, Acevedo said if the officer dies, he will push for additional charges against Prado.
The department also praised the hospital staff at University Medical Center Brackenridge for their work ever since the officer arrived. "The department appreciates all the tireless efforts that the staff from University Medical Center at Brackenridge Hospital provided and their heroic efforts," continued the press release.
Shortly after, Acevedo tweeted a statement on the officer's death that included a 'thank you' to the community. "We wish to thank our community for the tremendous outpouring of prayers, support and love. Please keep Amir, his family, and Amir's extended APD family in your thoughts and prayers," said Acevedo.
The department said Abdul-Khaliq is survived by his five children and wife. He was in the Marines before he joined law enforcement. He was a long-time member of the motor unit for the department.
On Monday at 7:30 a.m., the officer's body will be moved from the Medical Examiner's Office to the Islamic Center of Greater Austin: Austin Mosque at 5110 Manor Rd., where a private service will be held before sunset.
The department is still working on the schedule for the traditional police memorial service, which they hope to have by the end of the week.
We've Losf a Hero with Heart of a Lion
Read: https://t.co/2OGjvk5QHQ — Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) September 4, 2016
34 Photos Copyright by KXAN - All rights reserved Amir Abdul-Khaliq also played in the APD football team. (Courtesy: Central Texas Wolf Pack Public Safety Football Team)My Arbitrary Day Secret Santa really did their homework!
As they had not put a message in the box they sent, my SS had sent a message warning me that a Think Geek box would be showing up at my house soon! Talk about excited!
A smile hit my face as soon as I saw that naughty (at least I always feel he is naughty) little monkey on a box near my garage door. I couldn't wait to open it!
I tear open the box and there it is...a shiny new Tenth Doctor Sonic Screwdriver!!! I LOVE David Tennant, and have always wanted a Sonic Screwdriver. Can't wait to open this and have some fun!
But wait a minute....what is this white box here? There are no markings...odd....
Opening this a darn near DROPPED it due to the awesomeness. It is a Princess Bride pint glass! Not only is it a Princess Bride pint glass...it has a reference to the iocane powder scene. One of my favorites due to the dubiousness of Wesley's plan!
I must say my SS hit this one out of the park! They hit on my love of Doctor Who, my favorite Doctor, one of my all time favorite movies, AND my love of beer! (A real beer drinker can never have enough pint glasses...
Thank you so much msfayzer! I hope your SS treated you as well as you treated me!
Pat (aka bigpj79)In the Galichesky district of the Kostroma region of Russia there is an unusual structure – the TV tower 350 meters high. It’s unique not because of its height but also because it does not function at all. This tower is the highest abandoned object on the territory of Russia. It’s even higher than the Eiffel Tower. The TV tower has been abandoned for more than ten years but next year everything should change.
The structure was built in the 90s. It has six guylines, a boiler, a substation, a room for personnel. Unfortunately it was broken too fast, a couple of years ago even the cable and signalling lights were disassembled and stolen. Let’s climb the tower right now!
Now they plan to restore the TV tower. And the guard station is already here to protect the TV tower. Someone has already tried to take some parts for scrap.
The TV tower is a favorite place of base jumpers, however it’s not for everyone – the structure is too high and compicated. The parachute canopy may cling to a guyline…
For comparison – the height of the Moscow State University is 236 meters, of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior – 103 meters.Paramount Pictures said today it has yanked the sequel known as Terminator 2 from its release schedule. It had been slated for May 19, 2017, but that spot now has been taken by Baywatch. This is not exactly a huge surprise, because even though Paramount stakes out the release dates, there was no movement on the second film, after last summer’s Terminator: Genisys, with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to his iconic role, grossed $440.6M worldwide but topped out at less than $90M domestically. Back in 2014 — when Genisys was still 10 months from release — Paramount carved out dates for Terminator 2 and Terminator 3, the latter having been set for June 2018.
The studio had no further comment on the move. It looks like the grand plans to conclude the story line hatched by James Cameron won’t likely happen before certain rights revert back to Cameron. The director swore off involvement in completing the story arc himself after his old pals Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar bought the rights out of the Carolco bankruptcy, after Cameron told intimates he was interested in them. He moved on to Avatar, which became the biggest grossing film of all time, with three sequels set to shoot back to back to back. The relaunch of Terminator happened in a splashy deal when Megan Ellison paid over $20 million for them. She eventually relinquished control to her brother, Skydance’s David Ellison.
Meanwhile, this is the first release date for Baywatch, the TV reboot that stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Kelly Rohrbach with Priyanka Chopra in talks. It’s the only wide release scheduled for that weekend at this point.Sir Christopher Lee died aged 93
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor, singer, and author. With a career spanning nearly seventy years, Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), and Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (2002 and 2005). Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013. Lee considered his best performance to be that of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998), and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man (1973). Always noted as an actor for his deep strong voice, Lee was also known for his singing ability, recording various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 after having worked with several metal bands since 2005. The heavy metal follow-up titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death was released on 27 May 2013. He was honoured with the “Spirit of Metal” award in the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden God awards ceremony.
More on Wikipedia.
Gallery:
Christopher lee as Saruman
He was a metal Singer
Anothe pic as Saruman
My favorite pic of him
Returns to London after the war but cannot face returning to his old office job at Beechams, so he decides to become an actor
After an “apprenticeship” of ten years, mostly playing supporting and background characters, Lee appears in Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein alongside Peter Cushing. The pair will go on to become good friends and appear in more than 20 films together
He continues his working relationship with Hammer with the release of The Mummy
Lee in arguably his most famous role. Appears in Dracula Has Rissen from the Grave
Stars in British horror film The Wicker Man
Appears as Francisco Scaramanga in James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun
Plays the role of Saruman in the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. Goes on to reprise the role in the second and third instalments in 2002 and 2003
Reprises the role of Saruman to appear in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Goes on to appear in the second and third instalment of the trilogy
Appears in the second film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy as Count Dooku. He goes on to play the same character in the trilogy’s final 2005 instalment
Knighted for services to drama and charity
Stars in Jinnah as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of modern Pakistan. He later declares this role as his best performance
Lee moves to America, keen to branch out into other roles and concerned at being typecast in horror films. His first American film is the disaster movie Airport ’77
Dracula is movie poster
Farewell Christopher Lee
Videos:
AdvertisementsA union representing hundreds of workers at Port Hawkesbury Paper says that for the first time there will be a temporarily layoff at the paper mill.
It will last one week.
"Any time you lay people off it sends a whole bunch of shivers through everybody and, in a small community, people say 'Oh God, the mill is going down, right?'" said Archie MacLachlan, first vice-president of Unifor Local 972.
"The news could be a lot worse."
MacLachlan said the facility in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., temporarily stopped production of supercalendered paper — the smoother, thinner paper often used in magazines.
"The primary reason for shutting down this time is to make sure we're not producing paper that we don't have sales for right now," he said.
Slow sales and tariffs
MacLachlan said he didn't know how many of the approximately 250 mill employees with the union would be affected by the temporary layoffs except to say it was "significant."
"Sales have been slow throughout the industry," said MacLachlan. "Certainly one of the contributing factors is probably the tariffs that have been placed on numerous supercalendered producers."
MacLachlan said employees had warning. "We're not being blindsided that this is coming. [We've] discussed it in the past and so certainly the workers that are going home are disappointed but understand why it's happening."
Marc Dube, the development manager at Port Hawkesbury Paper, could not be reached on Saturday.
MacLachlan expects the affected employees to be back at work by June 27.
"We've been through a lot of hard times in the paper industry and at our particular mill, and I would say this employer is being smart in curtailing operations to make sure we don't oversupply the market with paper," said MacLachlan.What is Pure FreshML?
Pure FreshML is a prototype implementation of the programming language described in the paper
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, even when the views expressed make people uncomfortable. Get over it. Respond with a better argument. Make your own sign. Hold your own meeting. Great universities are built on free speech, free inquiry and spirited debate. So are great countries.
Charles Lipson is a political science professor at the University of Chicago.There will be no Super Bowl hangover in Carolina, according to odds posted in Las Vegas.
CG Technology has opened betting on all 32 NFL teams making the 2016-17 playoffs, and the numbers say the Panthers have the best chance of any team to get to the postseason. Carolina opens at -500 (bet $500 to win $100) to make the playoffs, and +400 (bet $100 to win $400) to be left out.
MORE: Offseason to-do list for each team | Super Bowl odds
Two more NFC teams are given the next best odds to make the playoffs, with the Green Bay Packers listed at -420 yes/+335 no, and the Seattle Seahawks at -400 yes/+320 no.
In the AFC, meanwhile, the four-game suspension Tom Brady is facing is impacting the New England Patriots’ odds. The Pats have pretty much been a lock to make the playoffs every year — they’ve won the AFC East 12 of the past 13 seasons, and Brady suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 the only season they failed to do so. New England is still a heavy -260 favorite to get to the playoffs, but that price would surely be steeper with Brady penciled in to play all 16 games.
Here are some other playoff odds that caught our eye (you can see a full list in the scrollable document below):
— The Arizona Cardinals are fairly-priced at -135 to make the playoffs. For a team that has won double-digit games in each of the past three seasons, laying $135 to win $100 seems like a worthwhile risk.
MORE: Early NFL lines
— The Dallas Cowboys are priced at -135 to make the playoffs, +115 to miss it. Sure, Tony Romo is coming back, but the NFC East is wide open. More importantly, the Cowboys are what the gambling community calls a ‘public team,’ meaning bookmakers will skew their odds because they know people are going to bet on them. Taking the ‘no’ side of this prop as the underdog feels like a decent bet.
— At -150, are the Broncos over-priced to get back to the playoffs? Their all-time great defense is back, but with either Mark Sanchez or rookie Paxton Lynch at quarterback, we see a lot of interceptions in their immediate future. You can get +130 odds on Denver missing the playoffs.February 22, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KESSLER ENDORSES BERNIE SANDERS FOR P RESIDENT
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sayin -e s-ares +enator +an&ers (ocus on /uttin orkin (a#ilies be(ore cor/orate interests.
can relate to -at its like to take on t-e billionaires an& #illionaires -ile (i-tin (or t-e
/eo/le, sai& )essler. !e s/ent #y years o( electe& /ublic ser!ice (i-tin (or t-e loer an&
#i&&le class, (i-tin t-e in(luence o( &ark #one y in t-e ca#/ain /rocess, an& -a!e #a&e (ull
(un&in (or e&ucation an& (ree or assiste& co##unity collee a /riority o( #y ca#/ain.
Let #e be clear. salute t-e oo& ork +ecretary Clinton -as &one (or &eca&es but # #ore
attune& it- +enator +an&ers as ere bot- takin on t-e establis-#ent, t-e insi&ers, an& t-ose
-o #ost bene(it (ro# controllin t-e -eels o( o!ern#ent. + enator +an&ers belie!es t-at t-e
syste# is rie& in (a!or o( #illionaires an& billionaires, an& # (i-tin t-e sa#e battle in #y
race (or %o!ernor. belie!e bot- +enator +an&ers an& ill in it- t-e -el/ o( oo&,
-ar&orkin est irinians.
)essler says t-e &i!isi!eness t-at -as /laue& us on a national le!el -as beco#e /re!alent -ere in
est irinia, an& its ti#e to brin our country an& state toet-er.
-e (irst 30 &ays o( t-e leislati!e session -a!e been (ille& it- ra&ical, reckless an&
contentious issues bein &ri!en by out o( state interests t-at are controllin t-e aen&a. -e
attacks -a!e been le!ie& aainst orani7e& labor in an e((ort to &ri!e &on aes o( estAbout
Quick 60 second message from the creator of the CUB Cold Brew System
The CUB Cold Brew System was created out of necessity, for on demand cold brew coffee. This is the only cold brew system that has been proven to make highly caffeinated, less acidic, and smooth tasting cold brew coffee - in 15 minutes.
Included with CUB Cold Brew System:
Vacuum Pump
Vacuum Chamber
Stainless Steel Filter Basket (100-200 micron mesh)
Silicone O-ring
32 oz Wide Mouth Mason Jar & Lid
Custom Shipping Box
Back this project now on Kickstarter (25% savings or more)
What is Cold Brew Coffee?
It is coffee that is brewed using water that is room temperature (or cooler), which is unlike any other coffee beverage (iced coffee, hot brewed coffee or espresso brew at 200 degrees Fahrenheit). The lower brewing temperature allows for flavor and caffeine to be extracted but leaves behind most of the bitter oils and fatty acids. With cold brew coffee you can expect to get a highly caffeinated, smoother (less bitter), less acidic (~60% less) cup of coffee.
Another great advantage is that it is brewed strong. This means you can, pour it over ice, add cream, even serve it with hot water (for a hot cup), and you won't end up with a weak or tasteless drink. You can truly personalize your drinking experience by controlling both the strength and flavor.
Vacuum cold brew technology is what sets the CUB Cold Brew System apart from any other cold brew maker on the market. We tried many different methods for extracting the best flavors and caffeine. And, after many attempts and rigorous testing, the results were clear - NOTHING WORKS BETTER THAN VACUUM. (Check out our Design Process to see what didn't work and for more details further below)
How does vacuum pressure speed up brewing?
As your coffee brews, using vacuum pressure, you can see the air bubbles expand and the water level rise. The reduced pressure opens up the coffee and allows water to enter into it more freely (saturation). After fifteen minutes of brewing in these conditions, the water is infused with the coffees flavor and caffeine (delicious cold brew). And, our favorite part is when you crack the seal and look inside you can see a full coffee bloom (like a cake out of the oven). It is in this bloom where we think the best of the flavor extraction (and caffeine) are infused into your cold brew.
We are confident in our process because we tested and measured the most important factors when it comes making good cold brew coffee. We tested: extraction (using a TDS% coffee refractometer, 2.20+/-.05% AVG.-regular strength), caffeine content (29.75mg/oz-regular strength), and graded each brew based on taste (smooth and delicious).
The final result was that we successfully made cold brew that is just as good, if not better, than what you can expect using a 12-24 hour method.
But, don't just take our word for it. Check out "BKON - Reverse Atmospheric Infusion", a company planning to make vacuum brewers, or read the article from "Perfect Daily Grind", called "How to Make Cold Brew Coffee in 60 Seconds (No Nitrous Involved)" (link in our Design Process).
How does the CUB vacuum technology work?
The CUB uses a one-way valve system to create a vacuum within the brewing container. When you pull up on the vacuum pump - air is pulled from the brewing container, not allowing it to re-enter (one-way). And, when you push down - that air is forced outside of the system. The result is a vacuum, with less air (including oxygen) in the brewing container.
What does "vacuum" mean?
Good question. By definition, a vacuum is a space entirely devoid of matter. And, in a simplified sense, it really means a space that has less (atmospheric) pressure. So, when we say vacuum, we are referring to "reduced pressure" within the system. This is because we need matter to brew coffee (coffee, water and air).
To ensure that we were making the highest quality cold brew possible, we had a sample of our cold brew concentrate independently lab tested for caffeine content.
As you can see... cold brew coffee is highly caffeinated, so if you have a sensitivity to caffeine, please be careful with how much you consume. Not recommended for anyone under 18.
These caffeine results were from using the vacuum method for 15 minutes and a concentrate brew ratio of 2oz coffee:8oz water. Concentrates are for making a stronger brew that should be diluted using equal parts water or cream. As mentioned in the graph above, this is just one test, and caffeine content varies based on coffee used and from sample to sample. For our sample, we used freshly roasted Mothership FTO Peru beans with a medium grind.
Watch our brewing guide video
Included with CUB Cold Brew System (BPA-FREE):
Vacuum Pump
Vacuum Chamber
Stainless Steel Filter Basket
Silicone O-ring
32 oz Wide Mouth Mason Jar
What you will need:
24 oz filtered water
3 oz fresh ground coffee (medium grind)
Recipe for Regular Strength Cold Brew (1oz coffee:8oz water)
What to expect when you brew with CUB
Cold brew is great for brewing large batches and drinking it throughout the week. For the best results, when storing (and for greater clarity), we recommend that you filter the cold brew by running it through a paper filter on a drip coffee maker or similar (Chemex). Seal it in an airtight container (mason jar included) and store it in the refrigerator. By following these simple guidelines we have found that the cold brew coffee keeps its flavor and freshness for up to 2 weeks.
Here is what we went through to get to where we are today.
Attempt #1: Immersion (15 Min)
The most obvious place to start was to simply make cold brew in a french press and pour a glass after just a few minutes have passed. We tried this by immersing the coffee in a french press for 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes. Ultimately, none of these times worked. Without any additional forces, the immersion method for just minutes resulted in a weak, watery and sour brew. Definitely not what you want when it comes to your morning cup of joe.
Then began the more adventurous methods.
Attempt #2: Ultrasonic
This seemed to be the most promising but we were was never able to get it to work. Using an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner (seen below) we quickly realized that there was a heating element inside, which was a problem. It made a so-so brew when run for 45 minutes, but the coffee was heated up to above 100 degrees. And this is not a cold brew in our opinion.
So, we ended up taking it apart and buying our own ultrasonic transducer to test it without the heating element. Two things went wrong: 1) Someone got electrocuted (nothing serious, but OUCH!), and 2) nothing seemed to be happening. Note that this was all with the ultrasonic transducer attached to the outside of the container (an internal rod may have had different results).
Attempt #3: Mixing
Again, this was very promising. After just 10 minutes of mixing the brew was muddy and had a good mouth feel (dense). However, the taste was still weak, and after more consideration we felt that the muddy brew was not great for storage or what you would expect with a traditional cold brew. Overall, we felt that this was not going to work (at least with our attempts).
Attempt #4: Vacuum
At the verge of quitting we decided we would give up in two weeks if there were no more ideas on how to make cold brew coffee in minutes. Thankfully, we came across an article on "Perfect Daily Grind" called "How to Make Cold Brew Coffee in 60 Seconds (No Nitrous Involved)". And, this changed everything.
Link to article: https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2015/07/how-to-make-cold-brew-in-60-seconds-no-nitrous-involved/
We tried the vacuum with a space saver bag idea and it worked. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. The coffee tasted good and the extraction levels were enough to get us excited. So we looked for a vacuum cold brew maker to buy. Surprisingly, no one had been able to bring a vacuum cold brew maker to market and there were none we could buy for home brewing. So we set out to be the first. We tried different methods for making cold brew using a vacuum and we felt like the one you see here is by far the best. The CUB Cold Brew System is simple, requires no electricity, is easy to clean and makes great cold brew - every time.
Every aspect of the vacuum chamber / lid and pump was analyzed and scrutinized for your benefit. Thanks to many long nights, and more designs and re-designs than we could count, our experienced CAD illustrator has made this dream a reality. Here are just a few of our 3D printed prototypes.
From the beginning we treated this as a business (not just an idea). And, throughout the process we developed great relationships with all of our manufacturers and suppliers. Now, we are ready begin production and get your Cold Brew System delivered on time.
For this campaign we are not shipping to any P.O. Box addresses. Backers are responsible for accurately providing a current postal address.
We do charge shipping because of the time and care that goes into fulfillment of each order. The shipping price for the USA is $9 per cold brew system ($18 for two). Shipping to all other countries is $25.
For shipping to any countries outside of the USA we will not be marking any items as "Gift" and the backer will be responsible for any taxes, tariffs or any other fees associated with the shipment.
Shipping Updates
Production schedules are set and we are ready. As soon as we meet our goal we will begin to assemble, pack and fulfill each order to ensure a timely delivery. Check reward details for estimated delivery date.
Kickstarter is all or nothing and our goal is $50K.
Royalty Free Music: "Instinct", "Dubstep" & "Energy" from www.bensound.comWhenever there is widespread disaffection with American politics, a recurrent idea pops up–why don’t we have a third party, one that isn’t like the two we presently have? Why is there no third party for the large majority of Americans who are to some degree hostile toward both the democrats and the republicans? This solution is not all that different from “throw the bums out”. It relies on the premise that our problem is the parties and the individuals that make them up. Today I set out to argue against this. It’s not that our parties are bad, it’s that our system is. The American political system is flush with perverse incentives that guarantee that any major party significant enough to have a chance of winning elections must inevitably become like the two we already have.
There are generally two different varieties of third party for which people advocate:
Radical Third Parties–parties that are intended to prioritize different issues or different solutions to existing issues than the current major parties. Centrist Third Parties–parties that are intended to split the difference between the two political parties, which are perceived as being too partisan.
These third party proposals are defective for two primary reasons:
They are electorally infeasible–they will not succeed at reaching a comparable level of dominance to the two major parties. They will be assimilated into the borg—even if the conditions necessary for #1 are met, meeting them entails turning the third party into a party similar to the two major parties in all relevant ways.
Each variety of potential third party is flawed along these lines. Let’s have a look at how.
Radical Third Parties:
In order to see why a radical third party is not viable, we need to examine how it came to pass that the republican and democratic parties have come to hold the positions they presently hold. To do this, I ask the reader to join with me in making a necessary simplifying assumption–the two parties’ primary objective is to win elections. Strategies and platforms that make winning elections more difficult or impossible will eventually be discarded, if the parties are acting in a collectively rational way. We can see several examples of this kind of rational adjustment in the recent history of the democratic party. McGovern’s campaign in 1972 was too hippy to be nationally successful, and so he was thoroughly trounced by Nixon. In 1976, the democrats ran Carter, who was much more centrist and mainline. Yet even Carter proved too left wing to be successful against Reagan in 1980, as did Mondale in 1984 and Dukakis in 1988 (against the first Bush). While it took the democrats quite a while to see that their strategy of offering a relatively radical alternative to the policies of Reagan/Bush was not going to succeed, they eventually made a dramatic move to the center with Bill Clinton in 1992, a proponent of the third way who supported welfare reform, a policy which would have been unthinkable to previous democratic candidates.
In order to win elections, parties must maximize the portion of the population willing to vote for them. If we take American politics to be a roughly left/right contest with the democrats and republicans representing the respective sides (a gross but necessary simplification), we can imagine voters to exist on a bell curve, with most holding a consensus, centrist view while smaller minorities hold distinctly left or right positions:
Parties that pursue the most efficient means toward continuous control of government will attempt to be “king of the hill”, taking and holding the center while pushing the enemy party down one of the slopes of the hill. In this way, they can secure the largest portion of votes for themselves and the smallest portion for their foe. For the purpose of visualization, here’s what I imagine the current political situation to be, with the Republican Party increasingly dominated by Tea Party elements and consequently too far to the right to win national elections without the aid of Gerrymandered districts (hence it controls the house, where the state legislatures have Gerrymandered, but not the senate or the presidency):
The dividing line shows where voters split, assuming those who are in between the positions of the two parties divide evenly between them. This gives us a small but stable national advantage for the democrats. So what happens if we introduce a radical third party? Say for example we want a really progressive third party. What does that do? Well, this:
Here the radicals split off some democratic voters causing the republicans to have a clear and stable national advantage. The introduction of a radical third party serves only to guarantee that a view that is worse (from the perspective of a radical voter) prevails. In order to avoid one’s side being divided and conquered, the long-term goal of the radical third party would have to be to kill off and assimilate the vanquished party. So what happens if the radicals were to succeed in doing that and the Democratic Party dissolved? Well, this:
The demise of the democrats gives the radicals more votes, but it leaves many more centrists voting republican than before, so that the republicans still maintain a small, stable national majority. We should also keep in mind that this is under the assumption that the Republican Party remains dominated by the Tea Party and consequently quite a ways down the hill. We can expect the republicans to eventually attempt to once again become kings of the hill so as to perpetuate their rule and make it more difficult for others to rise and challenge them. A radical party is by definition committed to not taking the hill, and as a result it will by definition fail electorally. It would also increase the size of the gap between the two parties and result in further polarization. In order for it to succeed, it would have to move up the hill, at which point it would become exactly like the democrats are already. Indeed, pressure on the party to achieve something for donors and voters would inevitably cause it move to the center, just as Clinton did in 1992 when the Democratic Party was, for all intents and purposes, this hypothetical radical party about which we have been theorizing.
Centrist Third Parties:
The idea of a centrist third party has arisen lately via the notion that the republicans should jettison the Tea Party and move to the middle. It has been with us for some time, however, as a means of splitting the difference. Let’s model the recent suggestion first. What happens if the republicans dump the Tea Party? This:
Here we have what is essentially a mirror situation of what happens if leftists create a radical party, except it’s even worse for republicans than it was for democrats because the Democratic Party is presently further up the hill than the Republican Party is right now. Either the Republicans would die and the Tea Party would become the minority radical party until it eventually opted to move up the hill, or the Tea Party would die and we would be left with a stalemate, albeit a much less polarized one than we currently have. Ditching the Tea Party is, in the long run, a smart move for republicans, but only if they plan to kill the Tea Party rather than coexist with it. However, by bringing the two parties so close together, it destroys any real semblance of choice–at this point, we would have more or less one very large party whose sides went under different names, and our political system would roughly resemble that of the Soviet Union.
What if we were to immaculately conceive a third party that sat at the very center, holding whatever views were most common? Well, then we’d get this:
There are two big problems here for any party of centrists:
At present, a centrist party would be more or less unable to differentiate itself from the democrats. The centrists would not only lose, but they would change the game and make it advantageous for the other parties to become more extreme.
How do I figure #2? Well, with a centrist party, there is no longer any hope of taking the hill, because a centrist party is, by definition, king of the hill. This means that neither party has anything to gain by attempting to take the hill or to take ground on the other side of the hill–in so doing, it would only make itself impossible to differentiate from the centrists. So in the above example, the democrats really don’t lose anything by moving slightly down their own side of the hill. As long as they are further up their side of the hill than the republicans are on their own side, the democrats would still win the election. As a result, the introduction of a centrist party actually polarizes politics further and guarantees that Americans in the center have diminished influence. Whereas the two parties presently fight over control of the middle, the creation of a centrist party makes middle voters irrelevant and causes each party to play to its respective base.
As we can see from all of this, the third party solution is no solution at all. If we want different politics and different policies, either voters must themselves come to hold new and different positions so that the current bell curve becomes outmoded, the vote must be in some way restricted such that portions of the bell curve are excluded, or the system of voting would have to entirely abolished. The first is highly unlikely to happen in any short span of time, and the latter two are at present politically unfeasible. Creating new parties cannot fix our mess, either we must change our own views or we must change the system that determines which of our views prevail.Whether shoppers will pay is unclear. “Consumers are not exactly in the frame of mind or economic circumstances to say ‘Oh, pay whatever they ask,’ ” said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR Inc. “There’s going to be pushback.”
Economists say the increases may eventually show up as inflation, though they are not yet projecting rates that would set off alarms. Despite some fears, inflation has been extremely low, at a rate of just 1.4 percent annually in December. Data for January will be released Thursday, but economists expect inflation will run about 2.5 percent this year.
Some do see the creeping signs of higher inflation, and warn that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates or at least stop pumping more money into the economy. Others argue that such moves would choke off economic growth sorely needed to get companies hiring again.
For consumers, higher prices in stores means there will be a little less extra cash to spend. For companies, profits may be squeezed, making them a little less likely to invest in equipment or to hire aggressively.
“One has to think about these higher prices not as a reason for economic activity to get derailed,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics, “but as a reason why the recovery is slower than might otherwise be the case.”
Given that the price of a gallon of gas is now well over $3 on average, Americans may feel that they are already dealing with higher prices.
Adding to the cost of food won’t greatly distort most household budgets. Food, gas, clothing, personal care products and cleaning and laundry supplies make up less than a quarter of household spending in the United States, according to government data.
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People at the bottom of the income scale struggle more as these prices rise, of course, because a larger share of their spending is on such essentials.
To some, the prospect of modestly higher prices is no reason to worry. In fact, rising prices can indicate improving economic conditions. Greater demand from fast-growing countries like China has helped push up the costs of many raw materials — though officials there are worried about inflationary pressures, as are some officials in Europe.
In the United States, the willingness of companies to raise prices shows they are feeling better about the domestic recovery.
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The sharp rise in commodity prices since last year has not translated into all new records. Food commodity prices are about 8 percent below the high in the summer of 2008, while energy prices are less than half their zenith. Prices of a basket of other commodities are about 4 percent below the heights of mid-2008.
The cost of raw materials accounts for a small portion of the cost of most consumer goods, as labor, processing and packaging tend to make up a larger share of the price at the cash register. Foods like coffee, meat and milk, which are closer to raw materials, will probably show some of the biggest price jumps.
Companies that try to pass on all their costs could meet resistance. Although consumer spending has risen, unemployment remains at 9 percent, and average hourly earnings are up less than 2 percent over the last year.
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“These companies are constantly walking a tightrope on how far do I go,” said Jack Russo, a consumer goods analyst at Edward Jones. “Do I offset with price or other cost cuts, or do I just take it and have it eat into my profit margins?”
Already, rising raw material costs have cut into corporate profits. Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, said fiber- and oil-based products had contributed to a small dip last quarter. Procter & Gamble said earnings fell slightly in the division that makes Crest toothpaste, as well as in its household brands unit, which makes Tide and Cascade.
Plenty of companies are indicating they will push up retail prices. Kraft, the largest United States food manufacturer with brands like Oscar Mayer, Velveeta and Ritz crackers, said it would raise prices on many products this year without saying which ones or how much.
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Soaring prices for coffee have pushed up costs at the coffee shop. Starbucks said last fall that it would raise some prices. Sara Lee, which sells Hillshire Farms meat and Senseo coffee, said that it would, too, on many items.
Restaurants, which resisted raising prices to keep customers coming through the doors last year, are also fretting. They may take other steps too, like lowering thermostats, shrinking packaging or reducing portion sizes to minimize the sticker shock.
Meat prices have surged because of the cost of feed, a decision by farmers to raise fewer cattle and pigs, and strong demand worldwide as living standards rise. An epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease that devastated South Korean hog farms has led to a recent surge in orders for American pork.
This year, “you’re going to have to raise prices to stay in business,” said Len M. Steiner, owner of the Steiner Consulting Group, which works with restaurant companies on ingredient purchasing.
Whirlpool says consumers can expect to pay 8 to 10 percent more for its products starting April 1. Apparel companies like Polo Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers said they would raise prices this year. Hanes Brands, which has already done so, said prices on cotton-heavy products would rise again at the end of summer. If cotton costs stay high, Hanes products could have a cumulative 30 percent increase.
Some companies don’t think they can get away with charging more. PepsiCo, which makes soft drinks and snacks, like Fritos, said it would be cautious.
Victoria’s Secret is nudging prices ever so slightly, with panties rising from five for $25 to five for $25.50.
John D. Morris, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets, said retailers would probably try to manage costs in myriad ways.
Prices rose significantly in the apparel sector from 1972 to 1974, driven by labor costs and commodity prices, he said.
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“The retailers went on to have a pretty good year in ’73,” Mr. Morris said. “Sales were up, gross margins were flat, and profit margins were up a little bit. Retailers found a way.”by DarkLordOlli Over three years ago, a certain article about elephants caused a huge uproar in the community because of its cold, hard hitting message: "The competition thus far has been a farce." Not only did it claim that SC2's beloved champions would be replaced in time, it even declared them lazy, spoiled and unmotivated. When KeSPA and its teams would switch to SC2, they would inevitably dominate the scene sooner or later. Legends like Flash, Jaedong and Bisu would ride their talent to more championships even in a different game; KeSPA's assembly line would not be stopped. Fast forward to 2014 and you will realize that the elephant-prophecy hasn't been entirely wrong. Even though Brood War's greatest players haven't reached the same heights in StarCraft II, the Korean scene is now under KeSPA's control. 29 of the 32 professionals in Code S were members of a KeSPA team when Season 3 began. Teams that formerly refused to submit to KeSPA's rule have now been integrated into their institution. The eSports Federation (eSF) has disbanded and its dispersed members all follow new morals. All is perfect in the world of KeSPA.
"I’ve played a lot of matches recently so my style’s been exposed a lot.... But still, I went with the thought that “even if you do anticipate my moves, I’m still going to go for it.”"
"For human beings, the desires never end. My role model is my teammate and friend, Flash. I want to grab at least somewhere around six championships just like him."
It has long since been known that KeSPA's rigorous practice environment—one that almost resembles a military training camp from an outsider's perspective—bears fruit frequently. Brood War was packed with incredibly talented professional gamers. If a Brood War player made the jump to any other game, nobody would be surprised if they were to dominate sooner or later. Names that have become legends, like Flash, Jaedong, Bisu and countless others, were a result of KeSPA teams' relentless practice regime. Day in, day out. A team would provide them with everything needed to be the best they could be, as long as they worked hard for it. Harder than anyone else.The aftermath of KeSPA's switch can be felt in every corner of the SC2 scene. A hugely defining and iconic moment in recent years was its conflict with eSF. It was a clash between the old guard and the new. The traditionally pure, relentless, almost fanatic pursuit of perfection and sovereignty against the wild, free and independent quest for a balanced and joyful pro-gaming life. eSF is no more; the old ways proved to be the potent and efficient. They rested on their laurels and failed to adjust their methods to sustain their dwindling lead, a concept that is unknown to KeSPA. Nothing short of perfection is good enough and it can only be achieved with structured diligence.The existence of players as dominant as sAviOr and Flash is something that Brood War's younger sibling has lacked so far. There is an ongoing debate about whether Mvp should be regarded as its first and only bonjwa, but he is the only example that springs to mind of a player that was dominant enough in his prime to be considered. The game has never been more figured out than it is now and the metagame's evolution has slowed since Mvp's era. The best players of today have a good chance of sustaining their dominance by sharpening their skills without fear of being shaken by a shift in the metagame. There's a number of great players that could establish reigns that may last longer than we've seen before in StarCraft II. KT_Zest sits at the very of top of the world at that list.He stands out as a symbol of KeSPA's triumph more so than anyone else. After living a rather quiet life in Brood War as Wooki, one of Flash's Proleague sidekicks, Zest has taken the opportunities given to him and transcended his former self. He is now a man whose playstyle is defined by an array of metronomic builds and strategies, all thoroughly tested and equipped with mapped out responses to almost anything. In that way, he is similar to Flash in Brood War. The Ultimate Weapon was known for all around bulletproof play, and Zest has taken a page out of his book in SC2. His plans seem to unfold before his eyes automatically; every little thing he does is meaningful and intelligent. Outside the game he appears as a calm, handsome and confident person. Where others may possess the odd one of these qualities, nobody combines them with such genuineness as Zest. If the ideal for every player is to be surgically precise and untouchable while making it look entirely effortless and natural, then Zest is now the one closest to fulfilling it. His trust in KeSPA and their methods is what has taken him to these heights.Ever since he first made his name in StarCraft II, protoss from all over the world have looked to him to learn how to improve. It makes perfect sense, Zest is a great example to follow. He is stable, confident, intelligent and anyone can tune into his games and learn something new almost every single time. How to respond in certain situations, how to perfectly execute a build, how to manage a game. Zest rarely strays from the norm, but why would he? He has shaped the norm; he is its flag bearer. What he doesthe norm. What he deems the best choice of strategy for a certain map, a certain opponent, a certain matchup, ultimately ends up being accepted as the standard not long after. Don't be surprised if Zest showcases only a very limited amount of builds, as he did at IEM Toronto. His play has stronger, deeper rooted foundations than anyone else's and he is very well aware of it. Zest takes what is given to him, polishes it and showcases its final form. He is more than confident to trust his most basic skills and most practiced strategies to beat anyone in the world.A lot of other players have shown promise or the potential to become the sort of player Zest is now. But all had their own hurdles to overcome, hurdles that Zest does not seem to know. Some players struggle
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/ usage fee: TBD" (Thanks Jonnyram) One player can create three characters. i.e. You have three character slots if you want to switch between different race/class builds.Dragon Quest 10 Liveblog archive: http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/09/05/dq_press_conference/If this is your first time visiting National Terror Alert you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. The National terror Alert feed features breaking news, alerts and bulletins on demand and it's free of charge..
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Chinese cyber spies have penetrated so deep into the US system — ranging from its secure defense network, banking system, electricity grid to putting spy chips into its defense planes — that it can cause serious damage to the US any time, a top US official on counter-intelligence has said.
“Chinese penetrations of unclassified DoD networks have also been widely reported. Those are more sophisticated, though hardly state of the art,” said National Counterintelligence Executive, Joel Brenner, at the Austin University Texas last week, according to a transcript made available on Wednesday.
Listing out some of the examples of Chinese cyber spy penetration, he said: “We’re also seeing counterfeit routers and chips, and some of those chips have made their way into US military fighter aircraft.. You don’t sneak counterfeit chips into another nation’s aircraft to steal data. When it’s done intentionally, it’s done to degrade systems, or to have the ability to do so at a time of one’s choosing.”
Referring to the Chinese networks penetrating the cyber grids, he said: “Do I worry about those grids, and about air traffic control systems, water supply systems, and so on? You bet I do. America’s networks are being mapped. There has also been experience of both Chinese and criminal network operations in the networks of some of the banks”.
SourceWASHINGTON: China is building a modern and regionally powerful navy with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations beyond the country's shores, a congressional report said.Chinese navy ships in recent years have begun to conduct operations away from China's home waters, including the broader waters of the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the waters surrounding Europe, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea.Consistent with these goals, observers believe China wants its military to be capable of acting as a force that can deter US intervention in a conflict in China's near-seas region over Taiwan or some other issue, or failing that, delay the arrival or reduce the effectiveness of intervening US forces, Congressional Research Service said in a recent report.China is building a modern and regionally powerful navy with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations beyond China's shores, the report said.The CRS as the name indicates is an independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress, whose experts prepares reports and research materials for US lawmakers on issues of their interest for them to take informed decision.Prepared by experts, these are not considered as an official policy of the US Congress.In its report, dated August 18, the CRS said additional missions for China's navy include conducting maritime security (including anti-piracy) operations, evacuating Chinese nationals from foreign countries when necessary, and conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations."The issue for Congress is how the US Navy should respond to China's military modernisation efforts, particularly its naval modernisation effort. Decisions that Congress reaches on this issue could affect US Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the US defense industrial base," it said.Although many of China's long-distance naval deployments have been for making diplomatic port calls, some of them have been for other purposes, including conducting training exercises and carrying out antipiracy operations in waters off Somalia, it said, adding that China is now looking at military bases overseas.Its first such military base has been established in Djibouti."In March 2017, it was reported that China might deploy a contingent of Chinese marines to the commercial port at Gwadar, Pakistan, to help maintain security at that port," CRS said.The report said some observers are concerned that a combination of growing Chinese naval capabilities and budget- driven reductions in the size and capability of the US.Navy could encourage Chinese military overconfidence and demoralise US allies and partners in the Pacific, and thereby destabilise or make it harder for the US to defend its interests in the region.The Wire is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons.
Set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season, while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons. The five subjects are, in chronological order: the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and the print news medium. The large cast consists mainly of actors who are little known for their other roles, as well as numerous real-life Baltimore and Maryland figures in guest and recurring roles. Simon has said that despite its framing as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed."[4]
The Wire is lauded for its literary themes, its uncommonly accurate exploration of society and politics, and its realistic portrayal of urban life. Although during its original run the series received only average ratings and never won any major television awards, it is now regarded by many critics as one of the greatest television shows of all time.[5]
Production [ edit ]
Conception [ edit ]
Simon has stated that he originally set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective and public school teacher who had worked with Simon on projects including The Corner (2000). Burns, when working on protracted investigations of violent drug dealers using surveillance technology, had often been frustrated by the bureaucracy of the Baltimore Police Department; Simon saw similarities with his own ordeals as a police reporter for The Baltimore Sun.
Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his familiarity with the city. During his time as a writer and producer for the NBC program Homicide: Life on the Street, based on his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets (1991), also set in Baltimore, Simon had come into conflict with NBC network executives who were displeased by the show's pessimism. Simon wanted to avoid a repeat of these conflicts and chose to take The Wire to HBO, because of their working relationship from the miniseries The Corner. HBO was initially doubtful about including a police drama in its lineup but agreed to produce the pilot episode.[6][7] Simon approached the mayor of Baltimore, telling him that he wanted to give a bleak portrayal of certain aspects of the city; Simon was welcomed to work there again. He hoped the show would change the opinions of some viewers but said that it was unlikely to affect the issues it portrays.[6]
Casting [ edit ]
The casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and using character actors who appear natural in their roles.[8] The looks of the cast as a whole have been described as defying TV expectations by presenting a true range of humanity on screen.[9] Most of the cast is African-American, consistent with the demographics of Baltimore.
Wendell Pierce, who plays Detective Bunk Moreland, was the first actor to be cast. Dominic West, who won the ostensible lead role of Detective Jimmy McNulty, sent in a tape he recorded the night before the audition's deadline of him playing out a scene by himself.[10] Lance Reddick received the role of Cedric Daniels after auditioning for the roles of Bunk and heroin addict, Bubbles.[11] Michael K. Williams got the part of Omar Little after only a single audition.[12] Williams himself recommended Felicia Pearson for the role of Snoop after meeting her at a local Baltimore bar, shortly after she had served prison time for an attempted murder conviction.[13]
Several prominent real-life Baltimore figures, including former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.; Rev. Frank M. Reid III; former police chief, convicted felon, and radio personality Ed Norris; Virginia Delegate Rob Bell; Baltimore Sun reporter and editor David Ettlin; Howard County Executive Ken Ulman; and former mayor Kurt Schmoke have appeared in minor roles despite not being professional actors.[14][15] "Little Melvin" Williams, a Baltimore drug lord arrested in the 1980s by an investigation that Burns had been part of, had a recurring role as a deacon beginning in the third season. Jay Landsman, a longtime police officer who inspired the character of the same name,[16] played Lieutenant Dennis Mello.[17] Baltimore police commander Gary D'Addario served as the series technical advisor for the first two seasons[18][19] and has a recurring role as prosecutor Gary DiPasquale.[20] Simon shadowed D'Addario's shift when researching his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and both D'Addario and Landsman are subjects of the book.[21]
More than a dozen cast members previously appeared on HBO's first hour-long drama Oz. J. D. Williams, Seth Gilliam, Lance Reddick, and Reg E. Cathey were featured in very prominent roles in Oz, while a number of other notable stars of The Wire, including Wood Harris, Frankie Faison, John Doman, Clarke Peters, Domenick Lombardozzi, Michael Hyatt, Michael Potts, and Method Man appeared in at least one episode of Oz.[22] Cast members Erik Dellums, Peter Gerety, Clark Johnson, Clayton LeBouef, Toni Lewis and Callie Thorne also appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street, the earlier and award-winning network television series also based on Simon's book; Lewis appeared on Oz as well.[23][24][25][26][27] A number of cast members, as well as crew members, also appeared in the preceding HBO miniseries The Corner including Clarke Peters, Reg E. Cathey, Lance Reddick, Corey Parker Robinson, Robert F. Chew, Delaney Williams, and Benay Berger.
Crew [ edit ]
Alongside Simon, the show's creator, head writer, showrunner, and executive producer, much of the creative team behind The Wire were alumni of Homicide and Primetime Emmy Award-winning miniseries The Corner. The Corner veteran, Robert F. Colesberry, was executive producer for the first two seasons and directed the season 2 finale before dying from complications from heart surgery in 2004. He is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role for a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel.[4] He also had a small recurring role as Detective Ray Cole.[28] Colesberry's wife Karen L. Thorson joined him on the production staff.[18] A third producer on The Corner, Nina Kostroff Noble also stayed with the production staff for The Wire rounding out the initial four-person team.[18] Following Colesberry's death, she became the show's second executive producer alongside Simon.[29]
Stories for the show were often co-written by Burns, who also became a producer in the show's fourth season.[30] Other writers include three acclaimed crime fiction writers from outside of Baltimore: George Pelecanos from Washington, Richard Price from the Bronx and Dennis Lehane from Boston.[31] Reviewers drew comparisons between Price's works (particularly Clockers) and The Wire even before he joined.[32] In addition to writing, Pelecanos served as a producer for the third season.[33] Pelecanos has commented that he was attracted to the project because of the opportunity to work with Simon.[33] Staff writer Rafael Alvarez penned several episodes' scripts, as well as the series guidebook The Wire: Truth Be Told. Alvarez is a colleague of Simon's from The Baltimore Sun and a Baltimore native with working experience in the port area.[34] Another city native and independent filmmaker, Joy Lusco, also wrote for the show in each of its first three seasons.[35] Baltimore Sun writer and political journalist William F. Zorzi joined the writing staff in the third season and brought a wealth of experience to the show's examination of Baltimore politics.[34]
Playwright and television writer/producer Eric Overmyer joined the crew of The Wire in the show's fourth season as a consulting producer and writer.[30] He had also previously worked on Homicide. Overmyer was brought into the full-time production staff to replace Pelecanos who scaled back his involvement to concentrate on his next book and worked on the fourth season solely as a writer.[36] Primetime Emmy Award winner, Homicide and The Corner, writer and college friend of Simon, David Mills also joined the writing staff in the fourth season.[30]
Directors include Homicide alumnus Clark Johnson,[37] who directed several acclaimed episodes of The Shield,[38] and Tim Van Patten, a Primetime Emmy Award winner who has worked on every season of The Sopranos. The directing has been praised for its uncomplicated and subtle style.[8] Following the death of Colesberry, director Joe Chappelle joined the production staff as a co-executive producer and continued to regularly direct episodes.[39]
Episode structure [ edit ]
Each episode begins with a cold open that seldom contains a dramatic juncture. The screen then fades or cuts to black while the intro music fades in. The show's opening title sequence then plays; a series of shots, mainly close-ups, concerning the show's subject matter that changes from season to season, separated by fast cutting (a technique rarely used in the show itself). The opening credits are superimposed on the sequence, and consist only of actors' names without identifying which actors play which roles. In addition, actors' faces are rarely seen in the title sequence. At the end of the sequence, a quotation is shown on-screen that is spoken by a character during the episode. The three exceptions were the first season finale which uses the phrase "All in the game", attributed to "Traditional West Baltimore", a phrase used frequently throughout all five seasons including that episode; the fourth season finale which uses the words "If animal trapped call 410-844-6286" written on boarded up vacant homes attributed to "Baltimore, traditional" and the series finale, which started with a quote from H. L. Mencken that is shown on a wall at The Baltimore Sun in one scene, neither quote being spoken by a character. Progressive story arcs often unfold in different locations at the same time. Episodes rarely end with a cliffhanger, and close with a fade or cut to black with the closing music fading in.
When broadcast on HBO and on some international networks, the episodes are preceded by a recap of events that have a bearing upon the upcoming narrative, using clips from previous episodes.
Music [ edit ]
Rather than overlaying songs on the soundtrack, or employing a score, The Wire primarily uses pieces of music that emanate from a source within the scene, such as a jukebox or car radio. This kind of music is known as diegetic or source cue. This practice is rarely breached, notably for the end-of-season montages and occasionally with a brief overlap of the closing theme and the final shot.[40]
The opening theme is "Way Down in the Hole," a gospel-and-blues-inspired song, written by Tom Waits for his 1987 album Franks Wild Years. Each season uses a different recording and a different opening sequence, with the theme being performed by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Waits, The Neville Brothers, DoMaJe and Steve Earle. The season four version of "Way Down in the Hole" was arranged and recorded for the show and is performed by five Baltimore teenagers: Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse.[41] Earle, who performed the fifth season version, is also a member of the cast, playing the recovering drug addict Walon.[42] The closing theme is "The Fall," composed by Blake Leyh, who is also the music supervisor of the show.
During season finales, a song is played before the closing scene in a montage showing the lives of the protagonists in the aftermath of the narrative. The first season montage is played over "Step by Step" by Jesse Winchester, the second "I Feel Alright" by Steve Earle, the third "Fast Train" written by Van Morrison and performed by Solomon Burke, the fourth "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" written by Dr. John and performed by Paul Weller and the fifth uses an extended version of "Way Down In The Hole" by the Blind Boys of Alabama, the same version of the song used as the opening theme for the first season. While the songs reflect the mood of the sequence, their lyrics are usually only loosely tied to the visual shots. In the commentary track to episode 37, "Mission Accomplished", executive producer David Simon said: "I hate it when somebody purposely tries to have the lyrics match the visual. It brutalizes the visual in a way to have the lyrics dead on point.... Yet at the same time it can't be totally off point. It has to glance at what you're trying to say."[32]
Two soundtrack albums, called The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter—Five Years of Music from The Wire and Beyond Hamsterdam, were released on January 8, 2008 on Nonesuch Records.[43] The former features music from all five seasons of the series and the latter includes local Baltimore artists exclusively.[43]
Style [ edit ]
Realism [ edit ]
The writers strove to create a realistic vision of an American city based on their own experiences. Simon, originally a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, spent a year researching a Homicide Police Department for his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, where he met Burns. Burns served in the Baltimore Police Department for 20 years and later became a teacher in an inner-city school. The two of them spent a year researching the drug culture and poverty in Baltimore for their book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. Their combined experiences were used in many storylines of The Wire.
Central to the show's aim for realism was the creation of truthful characters. Simon has stated that most of them are composites of real-life Baltimore figures.[44] For instance, Donnie Andrews served as the main inspiration of Omar Little.[45] Martin O'Malley served as "one of the inspirations" for Tommy Carcetti.[46] The show often cast non-professional actors in minor roles, distinguishing itself from other television series by showing the "faces and voices of the real city" it depicts.[3] The writing also uses contemporary slang to enhance the immersive viewing experience.[3]
In distinguishing the police characters from other television detectives, Simon makes the point that even the best police of The Wire are motivated not by a desire to protect and serve, but by the intellectual vanity of believing they are smarter than the criminals they are chasing. However, while many of the police do exhibit altruistic qualities, many officers portrayed on the show are incompetent, brutal, self-aggrandizing, or hamstrung by bureaucracy and politics. The criminals are not always motivated by profit or a desire to harm others; many are trapped in their existence and all have human qualities. Even so, The Wire does not minimize or gloss over the horrific effects of their actions.[4]
The show is realistic in depicting the processes of both police work and criminal activity. There have even been reports of real-life criminals watching the show to learn how to counter police investigation techniques.[47][48] The fifth season portrayed a working newsroom at The Baltimore Sun and was described by Brian Lowry of Variety magazine in 2007 as the most realistic portrayal of the media in film and television.[49]
In a December 2006 Washington Post article, local African-American students said that the show had "hit a nerve" with the black community and that they themselves knew real-life counterparts of many of the characters. The article expressed great sadness at the toll drugs and violence are taking on the black community.[50]
Visual novel [ edit ]
Many important events occur off-camera and there is no artificial exposition in the form of voice-over or flashbacks, with the exceptions of two flashbacks – one at the end of the pilot episode that replays a moment from earlier in the same episode and one at the end of the fourth season finale that shows a short clip of a character tutoring his younger brother earlier in the season. Thus, the viewer needs to follow every conversation closely to understand the ongoing story arc and the relevance of each character to it. Salon.com has described the show as novelistic in structure, with a greater depth of writing and plotting than other crime shows.[31] Each season of The Wire consists of between ten and thirteen episodes which form several multi-layered narratives. Simon chose this structure with an eye towards long story arcs that draw a viewer in, which then results in a more satisfying payoff. He uses the metaphor of a visual novel in several interviews,[6][51] describing each episode as a chapter, and has also commented that this allows a fuller exploration of the show's themes in time not spent on plot development.[4]
"Murderland Alley" is both realistically and bleakly portrayed.
Simon described the second season as "a meditation on the death of work and the betrayal of the American working class... it is a deliberate argument that unencumbered capitalism is not a substitute for social policy; that on its own, without a social compact, raw capitalism is destined to serve the few at the expense of the many."[44] He added that season 3 "reflects on the nature of reform and reformers, and whether there is any possibility that political processes, long calcified, can mitigate against the forces currently arrayed against individuals." The third season is also an allegory that draws explicit parallels between the Iraq War and drug prohibition,[44] which in Simon's view has failed in its aims[48] and has become a war against America's underclass.[52] This is portrayed by Major Colvin, imparting to Carver his view that policing has been allowed to become a war and thus will never succeed in its aims.
Writer Ed Burns, who worked as a public school teacher after retiring from the Baltimore police force shortly before going to work with Simon, has called education the theme of the fourth season. Rather than focusing solely on the school system, the fourth season looks at schools as a porous part of the community that are affected by problems outside of their boundaries. Burns states that education comes from many sources other than schools and that children can be educated by other means, including contact with the drug dealers they work for.[53] Burns and Simon see the theme as an opportunity to explore how individuals end up like the show's criminal characters, and to dramatize the notion that hard work is not always justly rewarded.[54]
Themes [ edit ]
Institutional dysfunction [ edit ]
The Wire, including the breakdown of effective policing in the War on Drugs Barack Obama and David Simon discuss Simon's inspiration for, including the breakdown of effective policing in the War on Drugs
Simon has identified the organizations featured in the show—the Baltimore Police Department, City Hall, the Baltimore public school system, the Barksdale drug trafficking operation, The Baltimore Sun, and the stevedores' union—as comparable institutions. All are dysfunctional in some way, and the characters are typically betrayed by the institutions that they accept in their lives.[4] There is also a sentiment echoed by a detective in Narcotics—"Shit rolls downhill"—which describes how superiors, especially in the higher tiers of the Police Department in the series, will attempt to use subordinates as scapegoats for any major scandals. Simon described the show as "cynical about institutions"[48] while taking a humanistic approach toward its characters.[48] A central theme developed throughout the show is the struggle between individual desires and subordination to the group's goals.
Surveillance [ edit ]
Central to the structure and plot of the show is the use of electronic surveillance and wiretap technologies by the police—hence the title The Wire. Salon.com described the title as a metaphor for the viewer's experience: the wiretaps provide the police with access to a secret world, just as the show does for the viewer.[31] Simon has discussed the use of camera shots of surveillance equipment, or shots that appear to be taken from the equipment itself, to emphasize the volume of surveillance in modern life and the characters' need to sift through this information.[4]
Cast and characters [ edit ]
The Wire employs a broad ensemble cast, supplemented by many recurring guest stars who populate the institutions featured in the show. The majority of the cast is black, which accurately reflects the demographics of Baltimore.
The show's creators are also willing to kill off major characters, so that viewers cannot assume that a given character will survive simply because of a starring role or popularity among fans. In response to a question on why a certain character had to die, David Simon said,
We are not selling hope, or audience gratification, or cheap victories with this show. The Wire is making an argument about what institutions—bureaucracies, criminal enterprises, the cultures of addiction, raw capitalism even—do to individuals. It is not designed purely as an entertainment. It is, I'm afraid, a somewhat angry show.[55]
Main cast [ edit ]
Dominic West (pictured here in 2014) starred throughout the series as Jimmy McNulty
The major characters of the first season were divided between those on the side of the law and those involved in drug-related crime. The investigating detail was launched by the actions of Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), whose insubordinate tendencies and personal problems played counterpoint to his ability as a criminal investigator. The detail was led by Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) who faced challenges balancing his career aspirations with his desire to produce a good case. Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) was a capable lead detective who faced jealousy from colleagues and worry about the dangers of her job from her domestic partner. Her investigative work was greatly helped by her confidential informant, a drug addict known as Bubbles (Andre Royo).
Like Greggs, partners Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) were reassigned to the detail from the narcotics unit. The duo's initially violent nature was eventually subdued as they proved useful in grunt work, and sometimes served as comic relief for the viewer.[31] Rounding out the temporary unit were detectives Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost). Though not initially important players in the operation, Freamon proved a quietly capable and methodical investigator with a knack for noticing tiny but important details, and Prez turned out to be a natural at following paper trails and his persistence when dealing with seemingly unbreakable codes paid off eventually.
These investigators were overseen by two commanding officers more concerned with politics and their own careers than the case, Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison) and Major William Rawls (John Doman). Assistant state's attorney Rhonda Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) acted as the legal liaison between the detail and the courthouse and also had a sexual relationship with McNulty. In the homicide division, Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) was a gifted, dry-witted, hard-drinking detective partnered with McNulty under Sergeant Jay Landsman (Delaney Williams), the sarcastic, sharp-tongued squad supervisor. Peter Gerety had a recurring role as Judge Phelan, the official who started the case moving.[31]
On the other side of the investigation was Avon Barksdale's drug empire. The driven, ruthless Barksdale (Wood Harris) was aided by business-minded Stringer Bell (Idris Elba). Avon's nephew D'Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.) ran some of his uncle's territory, but also possessed a guilty conscience, while loyal Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson) was responsible for multiple homicides carried out on Avon's orders. Working under D'Angelo were Poot (Tray Chaney), Bodie (J. D. Williams), and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan), all street-level drug dealers.[31] Wallace was an intelligent but naive youth trapped in the drug trade,[31] and Poot a randy young man happy to follow rather than lead. Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), a renowned Baltimore stick-up man robbing drug dealers for a living, was a frequent thorn in the side of the Barksdale clan.
The second season introduced a new group of characters working in the Baltimore port area, including Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos (Paul Ben-Victor), Beadie Russell (Amy Ryan), and Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer). Vondas was the underboss of a global smuggling operation, Russell an inexperienced port authority officer and single mother thrown in at the deep end of a multiple homicide investigation, and Frank Sobotka a union leader who turned to crime to raise funds to save his union. Also joining the show in season 2 were Nick Sobotka (Pablo Schreiber), Frank's nephew; Ziggy Sobotka (James Ransone), Frank's troubled son; and "The Greek" (Bill Raymond), Vondas's mysterious boss. As the second season ended, the focus shifted away from the ports, leaving the new characters behind.
The third season saw several previously recurring characters assuming larger starring roles, including Detective Leander Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson), Bodie (J.D. Williams), Omar (Michael K. Williams), Proposition Joe (Robert F. Chew), and Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Robert Wisdom). Colvin commanded the Western district where the Barksdale organization operated, and nearing retirement, he came up with a radical new method of dealing with the drug problem. Proposition Joe, the East Side's cautious drug kingpin, became more cooperative with the Barksdale Organization. Sydnor, a rising young star in the Police Department in season 1, returned to the cast as part of the major crimes unit. Bodie had been seen gradually rising in the Barksdale organization since the first episode; he was born to their trade and showed a fierce aptitude for it. Omar had a vendetta against the Barksdale organization and gave them all of his lethal attention.
New additions in the third season included Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), an ambitious city councilman; Mayor Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman), the incumbent whom Carcetti planned to unseat; Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector), leader of an upstart gang seeking to challenge Avon's dominance; and Dennis "Cutty" Wise (Chad Coleman), a newly released convict uncertain of his future.
In the fourth season, four young actors joined the cast: Jermaine Crawford as Duquan "Dukie" Weems; Maestro Harrell as Randy Wagstaff; Julito McCullum as Namond Brice; and Tristan Wilds as Michael Lee. The characters are friends from a West Baltimore middle school. Another newcomer was Norman Wilson (Reg E. Cathey), Carcetti's deputy campaign manager.
The fifth season saw several actors join the starring cast. Gbenga Akinnagbe returns as the previously recurring Chris Partlow, chief enforcer of the now dominant Stanfield Organization. Neal Huff reprises his role as Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf having previously appeared as a guest star at the end of the fourth season. Two other actors also join the starring cast having previously portrayed their corrupt characters as guest stars—Michael Kostroff as defense attorney Maurice Levy and Isiah Whitlock Jr. as senator Clay Davis. Crew member Clark Johnson appeared in front of the camera for the first time in the series to play Augustus Haynes, the principled editor of the city desk of The Baltimore Sun. He is joined in the newsroom by two other new stars; Michelle Paress and Tom McCarthy play young reporters Alma Gutierrez and Scott Templeton.
Episodes [ edit ]
Season Episodes Originally aired First aired Last aired 1 13 June 2, 2002 ( ) September 8, 2002 ( 2002-09-08 ) 2 12 June 1, 2003 ( ) August 24, 2003 ( 2003-08-24 ) 3 12 September 19, 2004 ( ) December 19, 2004 ( 2004-12-19 ) 4 13 September 10, 2006 ( ) December 10, 2006 ( 2006-12-10 ) 5 10 January 6, 2008 ( ) March 9, 2008 ( 2008-03-09 )
Season 1 [ edit ]
The first season introduces two major groups of characters: the Baltimore Police Department and a drug dealing organization run by the Barksdale family. The season follows the police investigation of the latter over its 13 episodes.
The investigation is triggered when, following the acquittal of D'Angelo Barksdale for murder after a key witness changes her story, Detective Jimmy McNulty meets privately with Judge Daniel Phelan. McNulty tells Phelan that the witness has probably been intimidated by members of a drug trafficking empire run by D'Angelo's uncle, Avon Barksdale, having recognized several faces at the trial, most notably Avon's second-in-command, Stringer Bell. He also tells Phelan that no one is investigating Barksdale's criminal activity, which includes a significant portion of the city's drug trade and several unsolved homicides.
Phelan reacts to McNulty's report by complaining to senior Police Department figures, embarrassing them into creating a detail dedicated to investigating Barksdale. However, owing to the department's dysfunction, the investigation is intended as a façade to appease the judge. An intradepartmental struggle between the more motivated officers on the detail and their superiors spans the whole season, with interference by the higher-ups often threatening to ruin the investigation. The detail's commander, Cedric Daniels, acts as mediator between the two opposing groups of police.
Meanwhile, the organized and cautious Barksdale gang is explored through characters at various levels within it. The organization is continually antagonized by a stick-up crew led by Omar Little, and the feud leads to several deaths. Throughout, D'Angelo struggles with his conscience over his life of crime and the people it affects.
The police have little success with street-level arrests or with securing informants beyond Bubbles, a well known West Side drug addict. Eventually the investigation takes the direction of electronic surveillance, with wiretaps and pager clones to infiltrate the security measures taken by the Barksdale organization. This leads the investigation to areas the commanding officers had hoped to avoid, including political contributions. When an associate of Avon Barksdale is arrested by State Police and offers to cooperate, the commanding officers order the detail to undertake a sting operation to wrap up the case. Detective Kima Greggs is seriously hurt in the operation, triggering an overzealous response from the rest of the department. This causes the detail's targets to suspect that they are under investigation.
Wallace is murdered by his childhood friends Bodie and Poot, on orders from Stringer Bell, after leaving his "secure" placement with relatives and returning to Baltimore. D'Angelo Barksdale is eventually arrested transporting a kilo of uncut heroin, and learning of Wallace's murder, is ready to turn in his uncle and Stringer. However, D'Angelo's mother convinces him to rescind the deal and take the charges for his family. The detail manages to arrest Avon on a minor charge and gets one of his soldiers, Wee-Bey, to confess to most of the murders, some of which he did not commit. Stringer escapes prosecution and is left running the Barksdale empire. For the officers, the consequences of antagonizing their superiors are severe, with Daniels passed over for promotion and McNulty assigned out of homicide and into the marine unit.
Season 2 [ edit ]
The second season, along with its ongoing examination of the drug problem and its effect on the urban poor, examines the plight of the blue-collar urban working class as exemplified by stevedores in the city port, as some of them get caught up in smuggling drugs and other contraband inside the shipping containers that pass through their port.[44] In a season-long subplot, the Barksdale organization continues its drug trafficking despite Avon's imprisonment, with Stringer Bell assuming greater power.
McNulty harbors a grudge against his former commanders for reassigning him to the marine unit. When thirteen unidentified young women are found dead in a container at the docks, McNulty successfully makes a spiteful effort to place the murders within the jurisdiction of his former commander. Meanwhile, police Major Stan Valchek gets into a feud with Polish-American Frank Sobotka, a leader of the International Brotherhood of Stevedores, a fictional dockers' union, over competing donations to their old neighborhood church. Valchek demands a detail to investigate Sobotka. Cedric Daniels is interviewed, having been praised by Prez, Major Valchek's son-in-law, and also because of his work on the Barksdale case. He is eventually selected to lead the detail assigned just to investigate Sobotka; when the investigation is concluded Daniels is assured he will move up to head a special case unit with personnel of his choosing.
Life for the blue-collar men of the port is increasingly hard and work is scarce. As union leader, Sobotka has taken it on himself to reinvigorate the port by lobbying politicians to support much-needed infrastructure improvement initiatives. Lacking the funds needed for this kind of influence, Sobotka has become involved with a smuggling ring. Around him, his son and nephew also turn to crime, as they have few other opportunities to earn money. It becomes clear to the Sobotka detail that the dead girls are related to their investigation, as they were in a container that was supposed to be smuggled through the port. They again use wiretaps to infiltrate the crime ring and slowly work their way up the chain towards The Greek, the mysterious man in charge. But Valchek, upset that their focus has moved beyond Sobotka, gets the FBI involved. The Greek has a mole inside the FBI and starts severing his ties to Baltimore when he learns about the investigation.
After a dispute over stolen goods turns violent, Sobotka's wayward son Ziggy is charged with the murder of one of the Greek's underlings. Sobotka himself is arrested for
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. I'm busy making sure my own players keep improving, people like [Saphir] Taider and [Mateo] Kovacic," he continued.
"Mateo is very young. He has to learn to more pragmatic and that will come with time - he's a smart lad. Ricky [Alvarez] wasn't at his best today but he and [Fredy] Guarin were still getting into spaces.
"They're very talented lads and they still have a big margin for improvement."
Mazzarri was brought in to revive the San Siro outfit after a ninth-place finish last term, and has sparked a turnaround in their fortunes this season.
source: goal.comWritten by Rani Shah
April 19th, 2017
CHICAGO, IL – Fervor surrounding Drake’s latest album release, More Life, continues among music fans. The Indian Fuckboi Association (IFA) in particular has been affected deeply by this album release – many members learning that passion fruit is not a only euphemism but also a literal fruit.
Past the counter tops cluttered with bags of creatine powder and Indian snacks from their moms, IFA’s fridge has suddenly been stocked with passion fruit flavored Chobani Greek yogurt.
IFA Communications Officer, Harish Kumar, was shocked at the new development, “I was at HQ looking for a snack and when I opened the fridge I was like whattttt this shit is a real flavor?!”
Members of the IFA will often enjoy this sweet treat while polishing their diamond earring studs, some have even bought the fruit itself. Unable to use knives properly, many passion fruits lay around IFA HQ until someone’s girlfriend visits and cuts it herself.
More Life has also prompted multiple IFA members to plan a roadtrip to Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, according to the National Tourism Bureau.
[Read: Indian Fuckboi Association Endorsed By President Donald Trump]People with high blood pressure are familiar with ACE inhibitors, drugs that widen blood vessels by limiting activity of ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme, a naturally occurring protein found in tissues throughout the body.
But high activity of ACE may sometimes be a good thing. A study conducted by Cedars-Sinai scientists found that genetically targeting certain immune blood cells to overproduce the enzyme broke down defective proteins in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease and prevented cognitive decline in laboratory mice bred to model the disease.
The study demonstrates for the first time that ACE, which is largely known for its effects outside the central nervous system, can, in fact, induce a protective immune response in the brain and affect cognition. Moreover, it identifies a novel role for ACE in the clearance of beta-amyloid in brain blood vessels.
Kenneth Bernstein, MD, professor of biomedical sciences and professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, is a lead author of the article with Yosef Koronyo, MSc, research associate in the Department of Neurosurgery. Bernstein, director of experimental pathology and a research scientist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, engineered study mice to overexpress ACE in macrophages, microglia and similar cells of the immune system. Other researchers in these departments contributed to the article.
"Our study shows the value of a combination strategy that delivers an enzyme to attack and destroy beta-amyloid protein in the brain and enhances the immune system's ability to clear beta-amyloid and resist other brain-damaging processes like uncontrolled inflammation," said Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Biomedical Sciences. A research scientist at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, Koronyo-Hamaoui is the article's senior and corresponding author.
Accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brain is strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease. Protein levels and plaque deposits build up slowly, damaging and destroying brain cells and setting up an inflammatory process that generally is believed to add to the gradual but unrelenting decline of mental function. Scientists have not determined if the deposits result from an overproduction of beta-amyloid protein or from an inability of mechanisms, such as the immune system, to adequately clear it. In either case, a common view is that any strategy that reduces the amount of beta-amyloid protein in the brain early in disease development is highly likely to help prevent disease progression.
In this study, mice genetically engineered to have Alzheimer's-like plaques and symptoms were bred with mice engineered to overexpress ACE in immune cells in the blood. The offspring of the two strains had greatly reduced beta-amyloid protein levels and inflammation and their performance on learning and memory tests was similar to that of normal mice.
The study spotlights ACE as a naturally occurring enzyme that can have either detrimental or beneficial effects, depending on how and where it is active. It contributes to production of angiotensin II, a hormone that often causes blood vessels to narrow and blood pressure to rise; inhibiting the enzyme relaxes vessels and reduces pressure. But in the brain, high levels of ACE quickly and efficiently led an immune system response against beta-amyloid protein.
"We were absolutely astonished by the lack of Alzheimer's-associated pathology in the crossed mice at the age of 7 months and again at a 13-month follow-up. At first, we thought we had a genotyping error in identifying these mice as carriers of the aggressive familial Alzheimer's mutations. But we verified their genotypes and ran the experiments again and again and confirmed the same findings. Even more importantly, this strategy resulted in a near-complete prevention of the cognitive decline in this mouse model of Alzheimer's disease," Koronyo-Hamaoui said. "Later, by using ACE inhibitors, we were able to confirm that the interruption of disease progression was dependent on ACE function and the chemical reactions it brought about, which provided us with great insights into the mechanism by which these benefits were obtained in the mouse models."
Microglia are immune cells in the brain responsible for protecting the organ from foreign bodies and clearing away dying cells, but they become inefficient in controlling the toxic beta-amyloid proteins in Alzheimer's disease. Similar immune cells in the blood have proved more capable. Earlier studies found that when bloodborne immune cells called monocytes were "recruited" into the brain, the cells readily homed to plaques and assisted in clearing them. Koronyo-Hamaoui has studied the role of immune system cells in Alzheimer's disease for the last decade.
Previous studies showed that ACE overexpression could elevate immune responses against tumors and bacterial infections. This study extends the findings to Alzheimer's.
The authors said in the article that "while it is possible to envision a strategy for delivering ACE-overexpressing monocytes to patients, perhaps the most informative finding of our studies is the effectiveness of combining an approach to enhance the immune response with that of delivering inflammatory cells to enzymatically destroy beta-amyloid."Figure 1: Cars are represented by the black dots and travel clockwise around the track. The ith vehicle follows the (i+1)th vehicle and the nth car follows the 1st.
Traffic jams often occur for seemingly no reason, especially when you are going somewhere in a hurry. It is a common occurrence on busy roads to be brought to a stand-still when there is no ostensible cause for the delay. Mathematicians from the Universities of Exeter, Bristol and Budapest have developed a model of traffic behaviour that explains how an unexpected event as simple as a car changing lanes, or a van braking suddenly, can bring traffic to a grinding halt kilometres behind the incident. They have recently published their work in Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Their model suggests that when reacting to an unexpected event, drivers may slow down to below a critical speed, which then forces the car behind it to slow down further still. Eventually, cars further back in the queue must stop. This produces a wave travelling backwards from the point of disturbance.
The modelling is based on bifurcation theory, which studies how and when mathematical problems change from having only one possible solution to having many. Parameter values at which this change occurs are known as bifurcation points. In the traffic example, the important parameter is the average headway between cars on the road: if this value is large, then small incidents do not cause the system to change significantly. However, if it is too small, the cars do not have enough time to react to an incident and a stop-and-go wave can develop throughout the traffic.
The model uses a circular road of length L, around which n cars travel. The group suggests that this could be interpreted as traffic on a circular road around a large city such as the M25 around London. The cars and drivers are assumed to be identical, the ith vehicle follows the (i+1)th vehicle and the nth car follows the 1st. This can be seen in Figure 1. The model uses a differential equation that relates the motion of the cars to the headway:
whereis the position of caris the length of the track,andare the time derivatives of— velocity and acceleration — andis a known sensitivity factor.is the knownand depends on the headway between carand the one in front:. As the cars are travelling in a circle,
The team considered solutions for car position and velocity with regard to the headway parameter, and identified parameter values at which bifurcations occurred. Some variation in traffic speed can be absorbed by the system to maintain smooth traffic flow, however if the average headway is too small, the system no longer has the single steady flow solution in which the velocity of the cars remains smooth and above zero, but two solutions: a steady flow solution and one in which the traffic is stop-start and vehicle velocities periodically drop to zero. This second solution produces a stop-and-go wave. Such a backward travelling wave can die out by itself, or get worse, ending up as a persistent stop-and-go wave that travels around the whole circle.
The group predicts this behaviour on busy highways with more than 15 cars per kilometre. Heavy traffic does not automatically lead to congestion, but the model suggests, as every driving instructor teaches, that drivers should give themselves enough headway to react to an unforeseen event so that they do not have to slow down too suddenly. The authors suggest that overhead gantries on freeways could display temporary and variable speed limits that, if followed by the traffic, would overcome jams and return the traffic to uniform flow. The MIDAS system installed on the M25 motorway around London is currently able to provide this information to drivers. The team now plans to expand on the model and incorporate cars fitted with new electronic devices that increase reaction time and so cut down on over-braking.A silent epidemic marches on unchallenged, claiming lives by way of misery or death.
Experts estimate that 50% to 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium – a vital mineral involved in more than 300 enzymatic processes at the cellular level. And that’s because 68% of American adults consume less magnesium than the recommended daily allowance (RDA), according to a 2005 nationally representative survey.
This isn’t just about Americans (though we have it bad) – a great number of people from all over the world are magnesium deficient. And it’s killing us.
We Need More Magnesium To Live
The number of problems that can arise from insufficient magnesium are exhausting to recite because magnesium is found and used everywhere in your body – bones, muscles, every single organ, hair, nails, and blood. So let’s skip the many ailments caused by low magnesium levels and look at death.
Killer Diseases Of The World
• Cancers killed 7.6 million people in 2008 (all types combined)
• Ischaemic heart disease killed 7 million people in 2011
• Stroke killed 6.2 million people in 2011
• Diabetes killed 1.4 million people in 2011
(Data from World Health Organization and American Diabetes Association)
Here we have four of the top killers in the world – cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Not only do these diseases kill, but they often reduce quality of life, sometimes dramatically. They’re enemies of the human race.
With that in mind, take a look at this…
Diabetes: In a meta analysis of 13 cohort studies, 536,318 participants, and 24,516 cases of diabetes, increased magnesium intake was found to be “significantly” inversely correlated with type 2 diabetes. (source)
Stroke: In a meta analysis of 7 studies, 241,378 participants, and 6,477 cases of stroke, increased magnesium intake was found to have a “modest, but statistically significant” inverse correlation with stroke risk. (source)
Ischaemic Heart Disease: In a meta analysis of 16 studies and 313,041 individuals, there were 11,995 Cardiovascular Disease cases and 7,534 of those were Ischaemic Heart Disease (2,686 of which were fatal IHD events). They concluded that “circulating and dietary magnesium are inversely associated with CVD risk.” (source)
Low magnesium levels are also the best predictor of heart disease.
Cancer: In a meta analysis of 8 studies, 338,979 participants, and 8,000 Colorectal Cancer cases, increased magnesium intake was associated with “a modest reduction in the risk of CRC, in particular, colon cancer.” (source)
Other research suggests that magnesium deficiency increases cancer risk significantly.
All four of these major non-communicable diseases are tied to low magnesium levels or their risk is significantly reduced by increased magnesium intake. I don’t see why anyone would be surprised – magnesium is required for your body to function correctly and most of us are too low in it.
A Note On Cancer And Magnesium
I did find one interesting review which suggested that magnesium has “a complex relationship with cancer.” Since this was the only negative magnesium information I found from a reliable source, I wanted to address it. Here is the key excerpt:
“In magnesium-deficient mice, low magnesium both limits and fosters tumorigenesis, since inhibition of tumor growth at its primary site is observed in the face of increased metastatic colonization. Epidemiological studies identify magnesium deficiency as a risk factor for some types of human cancers.” (source)
It says that the tumors of magnesium-deficient mice didn’t grow as fast, but that the cancer metastasized more. And that’s especially interesting, because cancer stages I-IV are defined by the level that the cancer has metastasized (spread). I don’t see this as complex at all. Metastasizing cancer is far deadlier and more difficult to treat than a single tumor growing, which is why the worst stage of cancer – stage IV – is marked by significant metastasizing of the cancer.
To me, it appears that higher magnesium levels helped to protect the healthy areas of the mouse from cancer. And even with higher tumor growth, doesn’t this support the idea that higher magnesium levels contain the cancer by confining growth to the affected area?
In light of magnesium’s proven importance for health and proper body functioning, and far more evidence of its deficiency being carcinogenic and its higher consumption being anti-cancerous (in human and mice studies alike), I wouldn’t worry about this.
The Best Ways To Increase Your Magnesium Levels
If you can get adequate magnesium from food, that’s ideal, but most of us don’t, and would benefit from supplementing another source of magnesium (consult your doctor, especially if you take medication).
After food, my top recommendation is magnesium oil:
1. Eat magnesium-rich foods
2. Apply magnesium oil to your skin
3. Soak in epsom salt baths
4. Take magnesium citrate orally
About Magnesium Oil
“Magnesium Oil” isn’t technically an oil – it’s magnesium chloride brine (i.e. a water-based solution). The directions are to spray and rub it into skin for absorption – a process called transdermal magnesium therapy.
What it helps with: low magnesium levels, stress, muscles (soreness, spasms, injuries, tension), tendonitis, inflammation (especially near the skin’s surface), headaches, heart health, general health, and disease prevention
How it works: Magnesium relaxes muscles, while calcium contracts them, and the two minerals balance each other out. But most diets today are heavy in calcium and too low in magnesium, and this can create a severely lopsided calcium-to-magnesium ratio (bad news). This is why restoring low magnesium levels makes people feel noticeably more relaxed.
While we know that magnesium improves skin health when applied, some may wonder whether rubbing magnesium chloride onto your skin is effective for restoring magnesium levels internally. Epsom salt baths – historically used for sore, tired, and tense muscles – have already been shown to increase magnesium levels internally and are a good option. But some evidence suggests that magnesium oil might work even better.
Evidence That Magnesium Oil Really Works
I got two comprehensive blood tests in 2012, taken five months apart. The following screenshot shows my magnesium RBC levels for each test – February and July. The Magnesium RBC test measures the amount of magnesium present at the cellular level in red blood cells (this is said to be the most accurate test for total magnesium levels).
After the initial test showed me on the lower end of magnesium levels, but still within the acceptable range, and because I had tension/anxiety, I decided to try transdermal magnesium therapy before my next test. Here’s what happened…
For approximately three of these five months, I applied magnesium oil to my body once or twice a day. It resulted in a 10.4% increase in my magnesium RBC levels on my next test.
This data explains why I was more relaxed, slept better, and had fewer muscle twitches (exactly what magnesium is known to help with). I did and still do apply magnesium oil directly to twitching muscles, and sometimes it stops them in seconds; I also use it to recover from workouts faster and with less soreness.
One month ago, I jammed my left middle finger playing basketball, and the second knuckle from the fingertip turned blue over the few next hours. The deep bruised color (and the pain) faded less than three minutes after applying magnesium oil around the affected area. It was incredible to see it work so quickly.
Anecdotal claims like this are not always reliable, which is why I emphasize that my blood tests align with my experience.
There aren’t many studies on transdermal magnesium therapy. You can see above that it has worked really well for me, but because it’s new and, like many natural remedies, few people have the incentive to spend the money to research it, there are no big studies. Personal experiences, reviews, and a couple of small studies are very promising though.
One pilot study involved a regimen of 20 sprays of magnesium oil and a 20 minute magnesium foot bath per day over a period of 12 weeks. The study had just nine people, but eight of the nine increased their magnesium levels, and the average change for all nine people was a 59.7% increase. That’s huge! (source)
Early evidence suggests that magnesium oil is an effective way to increase magnesium levels, perhaps more so than epsom salt baths, but either or both methods can be used to supplement magnesium and support general and muscle health.
Oral magnesium supplements, while convenient and easy, can cause loose stools and appear to be less effective than transdermal therapy or epsom salts, but they are still meaningful towards restoring magnesium. If you decide to take an oral supplement, go with magnesium citrate, not magnesium oxide supplements, which have a very poor absorption rate of 4%.
Other Interesting Magnesium Studies
1. Magnesium sulfate via IV injection is an effective migraine remedy – “Both the response rate (100% for magnesium sulfate and 7% for placebo) and the pain-free rate (87% for magnesium sulfate and 0% for placebo) showed that magnesium sulfate was superior to placebo.” (source)
2. A magnesium sulfate shot appears to be an effective heart attack treatment (if you have a heart attack, ask for it).
3. In a study of ADHD children, magnesium deficiency was found in 95% of the 116 children tested. (source)
I hope this article has convinced you of the importance of magnesium, and that magnesium oil works. If you want more researched, helpful articles like this, try subscribing to Deep Existence. You’ll get my stress-relieving ebook and 40 focus-inducing wallpapers as gifts. Every Tuesday, I’ll send you an email with great information on how to stay focused, which is the “magnesium of personal development” if you know what I mean. 🙂
Cheers,
Stephen
Written on 8/8/2013 by Stephen Guise. Besides writing for his own blogs Stephen is a featured writer here at Dumb Little Man. Be sure to stop by Stephen’s ‘featured writer page‘ right here on Dumb Little Man to find links to more of his articles.
Photo Credit: gwireWhen conspiracy theories go mainstream, democracy is in big trouble.
I guess it was only a matter of time before we got to this: Donald Trump has accused Hillary Clinton of leading a global conspiracy of international financiers who are out to destroy U.S. sovereignty. Does something about that language sound familiar?
“Whether intentionally or not, Donald Trump is evoking classic anti-Semitic themes,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. This is a new low in a campaign that lacks any depth controls.
But Trump’s language can hardly be accidental. After all, his campaign CEO is Steve Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, a web haven for white nationalists who hate blacks and “jooz.”
When such conspiracy theories elicit cheers from crowds of faithful followers, it means our democracy is in deep trouble, even if a majority votes Trump down.
I’ll get to the broader threat to democracy in a moment. But first let’s look at the conspiracy theory that Trump is promoting to divert attention from his sex scandal.
Referencing “WikiLeaks documents,” the Donald declared last week that “Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers, her special-interest friends, and her donors.” In his typical wink-wink fashion, the Donald avoided using the word Jews, but his inference was clear.
“Mr. Trump focused on the very issues and themes that obsess conspiratorial anti-Semites,” Greenblatt said in his statement. “They believe there is an elite group of Jews who control the media, the government, and banking, and who are trying to destroy white America. They also believe that most of Hillary Clinton’s donors are Jewish.”
Of course, not all Trump supporters buy into this trope. But, egged on by Bannon, Trump is legitimizing an “alt-right” core who have crawled out from under the rocks and have now entered the mainstream. These are the kind of people who write me email using the epithet “you jooz”; they have deluged several well-known Jewish journalists from national media with a blitz of anti-Semitic hate mail.
They are the kind of folks who left a sign bearing a swastika on a table reserved for press who were covering Trump’s conspiracy speech last week.
Of course, conspiracy theories are not new to America, nor to Trump. He built his campaign on a stream of racist and xenophobic conspiracy theories and outrageous claims, an outflow so endless that much of the country (mistakenly) began to shrug them off. For example: the racist birther lie that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, which Trump peddled for five years, and the claim that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in JFK’s assassination. This from a man who seeks to enter the White House.
Now Trump has pumped his conspiracy theories up to an even more dangerous level. We have a presidential candidate who tells his followers that a global cabal, led by Clinton, is out to destroy America. He warns that Hillary (helped by, wink-wink, minorities) is about to steal the election from them.
Of course, Trump is helped in promoting his theories by social media. He damns the “mainstream media” as corrupt but, as the conservative columnist Max Boot points out, heaps praise on alternative media so extreme and conspiratorial they make Fox News look liberal. Among them Breitbart, the Drudge Report, and Infowars, run by Alex Jones, a conspiracy monger and radio host who claimed that 9/11 and Sandy Hook were carried out by the U.S. government.
Living in this alternate media universe, it’s no wonder that many Trump admirers are ready to accept his conspiracy theories about how the world works.
And no doubt this latest conspiracy theory aims to lay the groundwork for claiming the election has been stolen if he loses. Stolen by the Clinton cabal of minorities, bankers and you know who.
When conspiracy theories go mainstream, democracy is in big trouble.
I’ve spent a lot of time in countries where governments use state-controlled media to promote conspiracy theories that obscure their bad behavior and place the blame elsewhere. Lacking any other information sources, much of the public believes what they hear.
Take Pakistan. When the Pakistani government failed to help victims of massive floods, the media claimed CIA technology had caused the flooding. When the Pakistani government is attacked by terrorists whom its own intelligence agencies covertly support, it blames the CIA.
Throughout the Mideast, media have long claimed the CIA and Israel engineered 9/11. In Russia, media promote the theory that Obama founded the Islamic State. Turkey’s leader claims America was behind the recent coup attempt.
Now a large segment of Americans are fed outrageous conspiracy theories on the web, theories that are amplified and promoted by the GOP presidential candidate. Meantime, Trump overtly threatens to go after media critics should he win, in ways that smack of Russia or Pakistan or Turkey.
Trump’s latest warnings about a global cabal should convince any voters still on the fence that this man is truly dangerous. His threat takes aim at the underpinnings of our democracy, not just at the “jooz.”With the recent publication of a chapbook of sonnets, Brazilian Is Not a Race, poet Wendy Trevino excavates a history of racial violence at the borders of the U.S. and beyond. The chapbook also describes a childhood spent in the Rio Grande Valley where the narrator is pressured to internalize the social hierarchies that organize daily life in Harlingen, Texas.
Blurring boundaries of polemic and historical description, the poems trace the roots of these social divisions through the legacy of murderous state and settler border violence. But Trevino balances this account with a less familiar counter-history of militant Tejano resistance, embodied in figures like anarcho-syndicalist Ricardo Flores Magón. By presenting both histories, the work shows how border-making congeals racist “commonsense” assumptions over time, and also interrogates fundamentally anti-black and anti-indigenous Latin American state programs to cultivate cultural unity through “race mixing.” Attentive to the emergence of racial hierarchies out of a history of enslavement and the Spanish and English colonization of the Americas, Trevino’s writing returns to an unsettled past where unity is not a precondition for political action, but a product of it.
CHRIS CHEN. I thought it might be helpful for readers coming to your work for the first time to ask a little about the place where you grew up: Harlingen, Texas. Your recent chapbook, “Brazilian Is Not a Race,” starts off by recounting some childhood experiences of coming up against everyday social hierarchies in a part of Texas that might appear culturally homogeneous to outsiders. One of the first things that struck me about this chapbook was how it refused to “make love and hate/less complicated” by downplaying those divisions.
WENDY TREVINO. First it’s important to understand that the Rio Grande Valley, where I grew up, used to be part of Mexico, and to this day, the area’s population of 1.3 million is something like 90 percent Latinx. People talk about it like it’s this place where Mexicans, or Mexican-Americans, depending on who you talk to, can avoid racialization and assimilation into white culture, because there are so many who share those identities there. But those identities shouldn’t be mistaken for coherent categories of people in relation to race, class, politics, religion.
The myth of racial or Brown unity crumbles when put under basic scrutiny. For example, Mexican nationals spend about $4.5 billion a year shopping along the Texas border. In McAllen and Brownsville, cross-border shopping accounts for 30-40 percent of total retail sales, and the shoppers are often members of wealthier classes in Mexico (at least, pre-Trump). Yet, the poverty rate in both Hidalgo County and Cameron County (of which McAllen and Brownsville are respectively a part) is above 33 percent. The child poverty rate is above 45 percent. Just across the borders of McAllen and Brownsville, in Reynosa and Matamoros, there are 247 maquiladoras–low-wage factories along the border run by foreign companies–with 174,000 employees who make on average a little more than $2 dollars an hour. And every year, hundreds of thousands from Mexico and Central America risk their lives to “illegally” cross those borders.
Part of what I’m trying to show in my work is these kinds of class divisions among a supposedly homogenous population. The wealthy Mexicans call the Mexican-Americans “pochos,” which is a derogatory term that emphasizes the lack of fluency in Spanish of Mexican-Americans. On the other hand, the Mexican-Americans supposedly refer to the Mexican nationals as “fresas,” which basically means “preppies,” a term which I think speaks to some class antagonism.
Growing up in the Valley, I always had a sense of this hierarchy within Mexicans, a colloquial category that included Mexicans from Mexico as well as Mexican-Americans. As much as the local Anglos wanted to make all Mexicans into one thing, we were clearly not. I don’t want to make it seem like at the top of the hierarchy of Mexicans, there were wealthy Mexican nationals and below them everyone else. There were also wealthy Mexicans, who were really Mexican-Americans.
I should say that I don’t think this oversimplification of who comprises the category Mexican in race relations discourse in South Texas happens just because Anglos want Mexicans to be one thing. The way this flattening obscures racial and class divisions works to the advantage of anyone wanting to maintain unequal economic relations. I hope my work makes clear that Anglos aren’t the only ones who have something to gain by maintaining social stratification in South Texas. There are Mexicans and Mexican-Americans collaborators who have something to gain, too.
CHRIS CHEN. The poems seem intent on questioning how state-sanctioned anti-racist discourse can end up reinforcing colonial racial hierarchies through a language of hybridity. It seems especially timely considering that there seems to be a move to re-biologize race and to conceive of culture as carried in the “blood.” I’m thinking of the popularity of sites like Ancestry.com, whose advertising tagline is “Discover what makes you uniquely you.” Your chapbook turns toward addressing the politics of “mestizaje” in Latin America, a racial discourse with roots in the language of botany and eugenics. The poems seem quite critical of the legacy of José Vasconcelos, for example.
WENDY TREVINO. The lack of uniformity in the way the word “Hispanic” is generally used might explain why the scholar Vera M. Kutzinsky, in Sugar’s Secrets: Race and the Erotics of Cuban Nationalism, wrote, “[Mestizaje] is perhaps best described as a peculiar form of multiculturalism–one that has circulated in the Caribbean and in Hispanic America, most notoriously in Brazil.” Although it is being used differently by Kutzinsky, Hispanic is a very popular way for people of Mexican descent in Texas to refer to themselves. It’s a way of downplaying their non-European roots, whether consciously or not.
CHRIS CHEN. I know Vasconcelos and Gloria Anzaldua have different understandings of the political implications of miscegenation. I’m reminded here of critic Jared Sexton’s account of how Vasconcelos’s version of mestizaje preserves an anti-black and anti-indigenous racial order as a “dream of unequivocally hierarchical global integration” whose “eugenicist impulses and implications are unavoidable, casting long shadows over whatever limited threats it presents to the ‘ethnic absolutism’ of Anglo-Saxon white supremacy.”
WENDY TREVINO. During “nation building” in both Mexico and Brazil, elites promoted strong mestizaje ideologies that imagined the prototypical citizens of each country to be mixed-race, although the imagined mix was different in each country. To say a country or place is racially homogenous because everyone’s a “mix” of the same peoples is to acknowledge existing racial divisions without acknowledging the racial hierarchies from which they stem, and as long as there are prisons, plantations, maquiladoras, favelas, etc., one can only ignore these hierarchies and their relation to the racialization of peoples. This conception of mestizaje can also erase whole groups of people, which became clear to me when I returned to Gloria Anzaldua’s Borderlands and the story of Malinche.
Malinche was a Nahua woman who served as an interpreter for the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés. According to legend, she was also mother to the first mestizo child (Cortes’s son), a person of mixed European and indigenous American ancestry, and in that way she was the mother of the Mexican people. The way her name was invoked in the Valley was when a person was accused of being a traitor; either jokingly or not, they might be called “Malinche.” Anzaldua sees her not as a traitor but as a survivor, not as the reason for the fall of the Aztec Empire but as the reason for the survival of its culture into the present. I’d already thought it was strange that Anzaldua never used the word “rape” in telling the story, but after reading Eduardo Galeano, watching some of Black in Latin America, and then coming back to Anzaldua, I was also baffled by her inattention to the legend’s erasure of African people, who have been in Mexico since Cortés. Anzaldua does say in a sentence somewhere in Borderlands that Mexicans tend not to deal with their African ancestry, which makes her inattention to the issue all the worse, or at the very least, all the stranger.
Looking to explain this erasure, I ended up at Vasconcelos’s La Raza Cosmica, a text alluded to by Anzaldua in Borderlands for its “inclusiveness,” only to discover he supported “racial mixing” but with one of the goals being to literally erase black Mexicans. He even uses the phrase “aesthetic eugenics” when talking about how he believed Black Mexico would disappear in a few decades.
CHRIS CHEN. I think these concepts–race, ethnicity, nation, and culture–are often conflated in popular discourse in ways that can be quite confusing and contested. There’s often no effort made to distinguish between imposed and asserted identities, or to differentiate between the various political projects these identities are defined in relation to. The way in which you describe the discordant relationship between race and culture is to me one of the most striking passages in the chapbook: “We are who we are/To them, even when we don’t know who we/Are to each other and culture is a/Record of us figuring that out.”
WENDY TREVINO. I think it’s important to understand that racial identity is an imposition first and foremost, a “we” defined not by us–who might have less in common than not–in order to make “us” legible to colonizers, slavers, capitalists, the state–who “we” are racialized in relation to. I think about how the transatlantic slave trade abducted people of different ethnicities, people who spoke different languages, people with different religions and traditions, and imposed on them–those who survived–a single identity.
Of course, this isn’t the end of the story. This “we” is also negotiated by us, too. In thinking this way, it’s very hard for me not to feel uncomfortable about Vasconcelos and Anzaldua’s embrace of a “we” based on a shared multiracial identity as emancipatory for those of Mexican heritage–as if racialization, enculturation and (to be real in the case of Anzaldua) acculturation are all the same thing. And yeah, the subsequent obfuscation of those negotiations I’m talking about is a huge problem, if our aim is the eradication of racism.
CHRIS CHEN. Whether the poems are excavating the retaliatory vision of the 1915 “Plan of San Diego,” the revolutionary plot by radicals in South Texas to seize the Southwest from the capitalist United States, or attending to the political radicalism of figures like Ricardo Flores Magón, the chapbook seems to turn toward a relatively less well-known history of Mexican and Mexican-American groups in the U.S. South and Southwest, including the Magonistas and participants in the 1910 Mexican Revolution, who coordinated a militant response to the lynchings and massacres carried out by vigilantes, federal troops, and the Texas Rangers.
The first time I read about the “Plan of San Diego” was in a 1976 speech by the August Twenty-Ninth Movement, a Chicano political group based in Los Angeles that was trying to look back to this early-20th century political moment in the U.S. Southwest for examples of a combative, and simultaneously anti-racist and anti-capitalist politics. Why were you interested in this history?
WENDY TREVINO. I see the radical tradition, in which Ricardo Flores Magón and the “Plan of San Diego” play such significant parts, as a much more promising blueprint for struggle than the celebrations of hybridity offered by Vasconcelos and Anzaldua. As I’ve already said, the only negotiations I believe are possible between the managers of race and those who are racialized require that those who are racialized return the violence inflicted upon them. The radical tradition I turn to goes even further. It is not interested in “negotiating,” but seeks to abolish existing relations of power completely. This tradition demands that we fight back to literally change who the “we” is by changing the conditions under which “we” are reproduced. The Plan of San Diego, acknowledged racial hierarchies, even as it allowed room for the genesis of another identity based on shared struggle, an identity not based on some myth of racial homogeneity but on solidarity in struggle. (It should be noted that the frank praise of violent revolution in the Plan de San Diego caused Flores Magón to doubt its authenticity and intent, because he knew the Texas rebels were unprepared for such an uprising.)
CHRIS CHEN. Anzaldua’s reinterpretation of Vasconcelos seems like a good bridge to a question I wanted to ask you
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being industrious under adequate human supervision. There should be a hundred-mile-square clearing, planted with food-plants for later human arrivals. There should be a landing-grid at least half-finished. Obviously there should be a space-beacon to guide ships to a landing. There isn't. There's no clearing visible from space. That Crete Line ship has been in orbit for three days, trying to find a place to drop me. Her skipper was fuming. Your beacon is the only one on the planet, and we found it by accident. What happened?"
Huyghens served the food. He said dryly:
"There could be a hundred colonies on this planet without any one knowing of any other. I can only guess about your robots, but I suspect they ran into sphexes."
Bordman paused, with his fork in his hand.
"I read up on this planet, since I was to report on its colony. A sphex is part of the inimical animal life here. Cold-blooded belligerent carnivore, not a lizard but a genus all its own. Hunts in packs. Seven to eight hundred pounds, when adult. Lethally dangerous and simply too numerous to fight. They're why no license was ever granted to human colonists. Only robots could work here, because they're machines. What animal attacks machines?"
Huyghens said:
"What machine attacks animals? The sphexes wouldn't bother robots, of course, but would robots bother the sphexes?" Bordman chewed and swallowed.
"Hold it! I'll agree that you can't make a hunting-robot. A machine can discriminate, but it can't decide. That's why there's no danger of a robot revolt. They can't decide to do something for which they have no instructions. But this colony was planned with full knowledge of what robots can and can't do. As ground was cleared, it was enclosed in an electrified fence which no sphex could touch without frying."
Huyghens thoughtfully cut his food. After a moment:
"The landing was in the winter time," he observed. "It must have been, because the colony survived a while. And at a guess, the last ship-landing was before thaw. The years are eighteen months long here, you know."
"It was in winter that the landing was made," Bordman admitted. "And the last ship-landing was before spring. The idea was to get mines in operation for material, and to have ground cleared and enclosed—in sphex-proof fence before the sphexes came back from the tropics. They winter there, I understand."
"Did you ever see a sphex?" asked Huyghens. Then he said, "No, of course not. But if you took a spitting cobra and crossed it with a wild-cat, painted it tan-and-blue and then gave it hydrophobia and homicidal mania at once, you might have one sphex. But not the race of sphexes. They can climb trees, by the way. A fence wouldn't stop them."
"An electrified fence," said Bordman. "Nothing could climb that!"
"Not one animal," Huyghens told him. "But sphexes are a race. The smell of one dead sphex brings others running with blood in their eyes. Leave a dead sphex alone for six hours and you've got them around by dozens. Two days and there are hundreds. Longer, and you've got thousands of them! They gather to caterwaul over their dead pal and hunt for whoever or whatever killed him."
He returned to his meal. A moment later he said:
"No need to wonder what happened to your colony. During the winter the robots burned out a clearing and put up an electrified fence according to the book. Come spring, the sphexes come back. They're curious, among their other madnesses. A sphex would try to climb the fence just to see what was behind it. He'd be electrocuted. His carcass would bring others, raging because a sphex was dead. Some of them would try to climb the fence, and die. And their corpses would bring others. Presently the fence would break down from the bodies hanging on it, or a bridge of dead beasts' carcasses would be built across it—and from as far downwind as the scent carried there'd be loping, raging, scent-crazed sphexes racing to the spot. They'd pour into the clearing through or over the fence, squalling and screeching for something to kill. I think they'd find it."
Bordman ceased to eat. He looked sick.
"There were pictures of sphexes in the data I read. I suppose that would account for—everything."
He tried to lift his fork. He put it down again. "I can't eat," he said abruptly.
Huyghens made no comment. He finished his own meal, scowling. He rose and put the plates into the top of the cleaner. "Let me see those reports, eh?" he asked dourly. "I'd like to see what sort of a set-up they had, those robots."
Bordman hesitated and then opened his traveling bag. There was a microviewer and records. One entire record was labeled "Specifications for Construction, Colonial Survey," which would contain detailed plans and all requirements of material and workmanship for everything from desks, office, administrative personnel, for use of, to landing-grids, heavy-gravity planets, lift-capacity 100,000 earth-tons. But Huyghens found another. He inserted it and spun the control swiftly here and there, pausing only briefly at index-frames until he came to the section he wanted. He began to study the information with growing impatience.
"Robots, robots, robots!" he snapped. "Why don't they leave them where they belong—in cities to do the dirty work, and on airless planets where nothing unexpected ever happens? Robots don't belong in new colonies. Your colonists depended on them for defense. Dammit, let a man work with robots long enough and he thinks all nature is as limited as they are. This is a plan to set up a controlled environment—on Loren II! Controlled environment—" He swore. "Complacent, idiotic, desk-bound half-wits!"
"Robots are all right," said Bordman. "We couldn't run civilization without them."
"But you can't tame a wilderness with 'em," snapped Huyghens. "You had a dozen men landed, with fifty assembled robots to start with. There were parts for fifteen hundred more, and I'll bet anything I've got the ship-contacts landed more still."
"They did," admitted Bordman.
"I despise 'em," growled Huyghens. "I feel about 'em the way the old Greeks felt about slaves. They're for menial work—the sort of work a man will perform for himself, but that he won't do for another man for pay. Degrading work!"
"Quite aristocratic," said Bordman with a touch of irony. "I take it that robots clean out the bear-quarters downstairs."
"No!" snapped Huyghens. "I do. They're my friends. They fight for me. No robot would do the job right."
He growled, again. The noises of the night went on outside. Organ-tones and hiccoughings and the sound of tack-hammers and slamming doors. Somewhere there was a singularly exact replica of the discordant squeakings of a rusty pump.
"I'm looking," said Huyghens at the microviewer, "for the record of their mining operations. An open-pit operation would not mean a thing. But if they had driven a tunnel, and somebody was there supervising the robots when the colony was wiped out, there's an off-chance he survived a while."
Bordman regarded him with suddenly intent eyes.
"And—"
"Dammit," snapped Bordman, "if so I'll go see! He'd—they'd have no chance at all, otherwise. Not that the chance is good in any case."
Bordman raised his eyebrows.
"I've told you I'll send you to prison if I can," he said. "You've risked the lives of millions of people, maintaining non-quarantined communication with an unlicensed planet. If you did rescue somebody from the ruins of the robot colony—does it occur to you that they'd be witnesses to your unauthorized presence here?"
Huyghens spun the viewer again. He stopped, switched back and forth, and found what he wanted. He muttered in satisfaction: "They did run a tunnel." Aloud he said, "I'll worry about witnesses when I have to."
He pushed aside another cupboard door. Inside it were the odds and ends a man makes use of to repair the things about his house that he never notices until they go wrong. There was an assortment of wires, transistors, bolts, and similar stray items.
"What now?" asked Bordman mildly.
"I'm going to try to find out if there's anybody left alive over there. I'd have checked before if I'd known the colony existed. I can't prove they're all dead, but I may prove that somebody's still alive. It's barely two weeks' journey away from here. Odd that two colonies picked spots so near!"
He picked over the oddments he'd selected:
"Confound it!" Bordman said. "How can you check if somebody's alive some hundreds of miles away?"
Huyghens threw a switch and took down a wall-panel, exposing electronic apparatus and circuits behind. He busied himself with it.
"Ever think about hunting for a castaway?" he asked over his shoulder. "Here's a planet with some tens of millions of square miles on it. You know there's a ship down. You've no idea where. You assume the survivors have power—no civilized man will be without power very long, so long as he can smelt metals—but making a space-beacon calls for high-precision measurements and workmanship. It's not to be improvised. So what will your shipwrecked civilized man do, to guide a rescue-ship to the one or two square miles he occupies among some tens of millions on the planet?"
"What?"
"He's had to go primitive, to begin with," Huyghens explained. "He cooks his meat over a fire, and so on. He has to make a strictly primitive signal. It's all he can do without gauges and micrometers and special tools. But he can fill all the planet's atmosphere with a signal that searchers for him can't miss. You see?"
Bordman thought irritably. He shook his head.
"He'll make," said Huyghens, "a spark transmitter. He'll fix its output at the shortest frequency he can contrive, somewhere in the five-to-fifty-meter wave-band, but it will tune very broad—and it will be a plainly human signal. He'll start it broadcasting. Some of those frequencies will go all around the planet under the ionosphere. Any ship that comes in under the radio roof will pick up his signal, get a fix on it, move and get another fix, and then go straight to where the castaway is waiting placidly in a hand-braided hammock, sipping whatever sort of drink he's improvised out of the local vegetation."
Bordman said grudgingly:
"Now that you mention it, of course..."
"My space-phone picks up microwaves," said Huyghens. "I'm shifting a few elements to make it listen for longer stuff. It won't be efficient, but it will catch a distress-signal if one's in the air. I don't expect it, though."
He worked. Bordman sat still a long time, watching him.
Down below, a rhythmic sort of sound arose. It was Sourdough Charley, snoring.
Sitka Pete grunted in his sleep. He was dreaming. In the general room of the station Semper blinked his eyes rapidly and then tucked his head under a gigantic wing and went to sleep. The noises of the Loren II jungle came through the steel-shuttered windows. The nearer moon—which had passed overhead not long before the ringing of the arrival-bell—again came soaring over the eastern horizon. It sped across the sky.
Inside the station, Bordman said angrily:
"See here, Huyghens! You've reason to kill me. Apparently you don't intend to. You've excellent reason to leave that robot colony strictly alone. But you're preparing to help, if there's anybody alive to need it. And yet you're a criminal, and I mean a criminal! There've been some ghastly bacteria exported from planets like Loren II. There've been plenty of lives lost in consequence, and you're risking more. Why the hell do you do it? Why do you do something that could produce monstrous results—to other human beings?"
Huyghens grunted.
"You're assuming there are no sanitary and quarantine precautions taken by my partners. As a matter of fact, there are. They're taken, all right! As for the rest, you wouldn't understand."
"I don't understand," snapped Bordman, "but that's no proof I can't!—Why are you a criminal?"
Huyghens painstakingly used a screwdriver inside the wall-panel. He lifted out a small electronic assembly, and began to fit in a spaghettied new assembly with larger units.
"I'm cutting my amplification here to hell-and-gone," he observed, "but I think it'll do.... I'm doing what I'm doing," he added calmly, "because it seems to me it fits what I think I am. Everybody acts according to his own real notion of himself. You're a conscientious citizen, a loyal official, a well-adjusted personality. You act that way. You consider yourself an intelligent rational animal. But you don't act that way! You're reminding me of my need to shoot you or something similar, which a merely rational animal would try to make me forget. You happen, Bordman, to be a man. So am I. But I'm aware of it. Therefore I deliberately do things a merely rational animal wouldn't, because they're my notion of what a man who's more than a rational animal should do."
He tightened one small screw after another.
Bordman said:
"Oh. Religion."
"Self-respect," corrected Huyghens. "I don't like robots. They're too much like rational animals. A robot will do whatever it can that its supervisor requires it to do. A merely rational animal will do whatever circumstances require it to do. I wouldn't like a robot unless it had some idea of what was fitting and would spit in my eye if I tried to make it do something else. The bears downstairs, now... They're no robots! They are loyal and honorable beasts, but they'd turn and tear me to bits if I tried to make them do something against their nature. Faro Nell would fight me and all creation together, if we tried to harm Nugget. It would be unintelligent and unreasonable and irrational. She'd lose out and get killed. But I like her that way! And I'll fight you and all creation when you make me try to do something against my nature. I'll be stupid and unreasonable and irrational about it." Then he grinned over his shoulder. "So will you. Only you don't realize it."
He turned back to his task. After a moment he fitted a manual-control knob over a shaft in his haywire assembly. "What did somebody try to make you do?" asked Bordman shrewdly. "What was demanded of you that turned you into a criminal? What are you in revolt against?"
Huyghens threw a switch. He began to turn the knob which controlled his makeshift receiver.
"Why," he said, "when I was young the people around me tried to make me into a conscientious citizen and a loyal employee and a well-adjusted personality. They tried to make me into a highly intelligent rational animal and nothing more. The difference between us, Bordman, is that I found it out. Naturally, I rev—"
He stopped short. Faint, crackling, frying sounds came from the speaker of the space-phone now modified to receive what once were called short waves.
Huyghens listened. He cocked his head intently. He turned the knob very, very slowly. Bordman made an arrested gesture, to call attention to something in the sibilant sound. Huyghens nodded. He turned the knob again, with infinitesimal increments.
Out of the background noise came a patterned mutter. As Huyghens shifted the tuning, it grew louder. It reached a volume where it was unmistakable. It was a sequence of sounds like a discordant buzzing. There were three half-second buzzings with half-second pauses between. A two-second pause. Three full-second buzzings with half-second pauses between. Another two-second pause and three half-second buzzings, again. Then silence for five seconds. Then the pattern repeated.
"The devil!" said Huyghens. "That's a human signal! Mechanically made, too. In fact, it used to be a standard distress call. It was termed an SOS, though I've no idea what that meant. Anyhow, somebody must have read old-fashioned novels some time, to know about it. And so someone is still alive over at your licensed but now smashed-up robot colony. And they're asking for help. I'd say they're likely to need it."
He looked at Bordman.
"The intelligent thing to do is sit back and wait for a ship, either my friends' or yours. A ship can help survivors or castaways much better than we can. It could even find them more easily. But maybe time is important to the poor devils. So I'm going to take the bears and see if I can reach him. You can wait here, if you like. What say?"
Bordman snapped angrily:
"Don't be a fool! Of course I'm coming! What do you take me for? And two of us should have four times the chance of one!"
Huyghens grinned.
"Not quite. You forget Sitka Pete and Sourdough Charley and Faro Nell. There'll be five of us if you come, instead of four. And, of course, Nugget has to come—and he'll be no help—but Semper may make up for him. You won't quadruple our chances, Bordman, but I'll be glad to have you if you want to be stupid and unreasonable and not at all rational, and come with me."
There was a jagged spur of stone looming precipitously over a river-valley. A thousand feet below, a broad stream ran westward to the sea. Twenty miles to the east, a wall of mountains rose sheer against the sky, its peaks seeming to blend to a remarkable evenness of height. Rolling, tumbled ground lay between for as far as the eye could see.
A speck in the sky came swiftly downward. Great pinions spread and flapped, and icy eyes surveyed the rocky space. With more great flappings, Semper the eagle came to ground. He folded his huge wings and turned his head jerkily, his eyes unblinking. A tiny harness held a miniature camera against his chest. He strutted over the bare stone to the highest point and stood there, a lonely and arrogant figure in the vastness.
Crashings and rustlings, and snuffling sounds, and Sitka Pete came lumbering out into the clear space. He wore a harness too, and a pack. The harness was complex, because it had to hold a pack not only in normal travel, but when he stood on his hind legs, and it must not hamper the use of his forepaws in combat.
He went cagily all over the open area. He peered over the edge of the spur's farthest tip, and prowled to the other side and looked down. Once he moved close to Semper and the eagle opened his great curved beak and uttered an indignant noise. Sitka paid no attention.
He relaxed, satisfied. He sat down untidily, his hind legs sprawling. He wore an air approaching benevolence as he surveyed the landscape about and below him.
More snufflings and crashings. Sourdough Charley came into view with Huyghens and Bordman behind him. Sourdough carried a pack, too. Then there was a squealing and Nugget scurried up from the rear, impelled by a whack from his mother. Faro Nell appeared, with the carcass of a stag-like animal lashed to her harness.
"I picked this place from a space-photo," said Huyghens, "to make a directional fix from you. I'll get set up."
He swung his pack from his shoulders to the ground, and extracted an obviously self-constructed device which he set on the ground. It had a whip aerial, which he extended. Then he plugged in a considerable length of flexible wire and unfolded a tiny, improvised directional aerial with an even tinier booster at its base. Bordman slipped his pack from his shoulders and watched. Huyghens put a pair of head-phones over his ears. He looked up and said sharply:
"Watch the bears, Bordman. The wind's blowing up the way we came. Anything that trails us will send its scent on before. The bears will tell us."
He busied himself with the instruments he'd brought. He heard the hissing, frying, background noise which could be anything at all except a human signal. He reached out and swung the small aerial around. Rasping, buzzing tones came in, faintly and then loudly. This receiver, though, had been made for this particular wave-band. It was much more efficient than the modified space-phone had been. It picked up three short buzzes, three long ones, and three short ones again. Three dots, three dashes, and three dots. Over and over again. SOS. SOS. SOS.
Huyghens took a reading and moved the directional aerial a carefully measured distance. He took another reading, shifted it yet again and again, carefully marking and measuring each spot and taking notes of the instrument readings. When he finished, he had checked the direction of the signal not only by loudness but by phase, and had as accurate a fix as could possibly be made with portable apparatus.
Sourdough growled softly. Sitka Pete whiffed the air and arose from his sitting position. Faro Nell whacked Nugget, sending him whimpering to the farthest corner of the flat place. She stood bristling, facing down-hill the way they'd come.
"Damn!" said Huyghens.
He got up and waved his arm at Semper, who had turned his head at the stirrings. Semper squawked and dived off the spur, and was immediately fighting the down-draught beyond it. As Huyghens readied his weapon, the eagle came back overhead. He went magnificently past, a hundred feet high, careening and flapping in the tricky currents. He screamed, abruptly, and screamed again. Huyghens swung a tiny vision-plate from its strap to where he could look into it. He saw, of course, what the tiny camera on Semper's chest could see—reeling, swaying terrain as Semper saw it, though of course without his breadth of field. There were moving objects to be seen through the shifting trees. Their coloring was unmistakable.
"Sphexes," said Huyghens dourly. "Eight of them. Don't look for them to follow our track, Bordman. They run parallel to a trail on either side. That way they attack in breadth and all at once when they catch up. And listen! The bears can handle anything they tangle with—it's our job to pick off the loose ones. And aim for the body! The bullets explode."
He threw off the safety of his weapon. Faro Nell, uttering thunderous growls, went padding to a place between Sitka Pete and Sourdough. Sitka glanced at her and made a whuffing noise, as if derisive of her bloodcurdling sounds. Sourdough grunted. He and Sitka moved farther away from Nell to either side. They would cover a wider front.
There was no other sign of life than the shrillings of the incredibly tiny creatures which on this planet were birds, and Faro Nell's deep-bass, raging growls, and then the click of Bordman's safety going off as he got ready to use the weapon Huyghens had given him.
Semper screamed again, flapping low above the tree-tops, following parti-colored, monstrous shapes beneath.
Eight blue-and-tan fiends came racing out of the underbrush. They had spiny fringes, and horns, and glaring eyes, and they looked as if they had come straight out of hell. On the instant of their appearance they leaped, emitting squalling, spitting squeals that were like the cries of fighting tom-cats ten thousand times magnified. Huyghens' rifle cracked, and its sound was wiped out in the louder detonation of its bullet in sphexian flesh. A tan-and-blue monster tumbled over, shrieking. Faro Nell charged, the very impersonation of white-hot fury. Bordman fired, and his bullet exploded against a tree. Sitka Pete brought his massive forepaws in a clapping, monstrous ear-boxing motion. A sphex died.
Then Bordman fired again. Sourdough Charley whuffed. He fell forward upon a spitting bi-colored fiend, rolled him over, and raked with his hind-claws. The belly-hide of the sphex was tenderer than the rest. The creature rolled away, snapping at its own wounds. Another sphex found itself shaken loose from the tumult about Sitka Pete. It whirled to leap on him from behind, and Huyghens fired. Two plunged upon Faro Nell, and Bordman blasted one and Faro Nell disposed of the other in awesome fury. Then Sitka Pete heaved himself erect—seeming to drip sphexes—and Sourdough waddled over and pulled one off and killed it and went back for 4another.... Then both rifles cracked together and there was suddenly nothing left to fight.
The bears prowled from one to another of the corpses. Sitka Pete rumbled and lifted up a limp head. Crash! Then another. He went over the lot, whether or not they showed signs of life. When he had finished, they were wholly still.
Semper came flapping down out of the sky. He had screamed and fluttered overhead as the fight went on. Now he landed with a rush. Huyghens went soothingly from one bear to another, calming them with his voice. It took longest to calm Faro Nell, licking Nugget with impassioned solicitude and growling horribly as she licked.
"Come along, now," said Huyghens, when Sitka showed signs of intending to sit down again. "Heave these carcasses over a cliff. Come along! Sitka! Sourdough! Hup!"
He guided them as the two big males somewhat fastidiously lifted up the nightmarish creatures and carried them to the edge of the spur of stone. They let the beasts go bouncing and sliding down into the valley.
"That," said Huyghens, "is so their little pals will gather round them and caterwaul their woe where there's no trail of ours to give them ideas. If we'd been near a river I'd have dumped them in to float down-stream and gather mourners wherever they stranded. Around the station I incinerate them. If I had to leave them, I'd make tracks away. About fifty miles upwind would be a good idea."
He opened the pack Sourdough carried and extracted giant-sized swabs and some gallons of antiseptic. He tended the three Kodiaks in turn, swabbing not only the cuts and scratches they'd received, but deeply soaking their fur where there could be suspicion of spilled sphex-blood.
"This antiseptic deodorizes, too," he told Bordman. "Or we'd be trailed by any sphex who passed to leeward of us. When we start off, I'll swab the bears' paws for the same reason."
Bordman was very quiet. He'd missed his first shot, but, the last few seconds of the fight he'd fired very deliberately and every bullet hit. Now he said bitterly:
"If you're instructing me so I can carry on should you be killed, I doubt that it's worth while!"
Huyghens felt in his pack and unfolded the enlargements he'd made of the space-photos of this part of the planet. He carefully oriented the map with distant landmarks, and drew a line across the photo.
"The SOS signal comes from somewhere close to the robot colony," he reported. "I think a little to the south of it. Probably from a mine they'd opened up, on the far side of the Sere Plateau. See how I've marked this map? Two fixes, one from the station and one from here. I came away off-course to get a fix here so we'd have two position-lines to the transmitter. The signal could have come from the other side of the planet. But it doesn't."
"The odds would be astronomical against other castaways," protested Bordman.
"No," said Huyghens. "Ships have been coming here. To the robot-colony. One could have crashed. And I have friends, too." He repacked his apparatus and gestured to the bears. He led them beyond the scene of combat and carefully swabbed off their paws, so they could not possibly leave a train of sphex-blood scent behind them. He waved Semper, the eagle, aloft.
"Let's go," he told the Kodiaks. "Yonder! Hup!"
The party headed downhill and into the jungle again. Now it was Sourdough's turn to take the lead, and Sitka Pete prowled more widely behind him. Faro Nell trailed the men, with Nugget. She kept a sharp eye upon the cub. He was a baby, still; he only weighed six hundred pounds. And of course she watched against danger from the rear.
Overhead, Semper fluttered and flew in giant circles and spirals, never going very far away. Huyghens referred constantly to the screen which showed what the air-borne camera saw. The image tilted and circled and banked and swayed. It was by no means the best air-reconnaissance that could be imagined, but it was the best that would work. Presently Huyghens said:
"We swing to the right, here. The going's bad straight ahead, and it looks like a pack of sphexes has killed and is feeding."
Bordman said:
"It's against reason for carnivores to be as thick as you say! There has to be a certain amount of other animal life for every meat-eating beast. Too many of them would eat all the game and starve."
"They're gone all winter," explained Huyghens, "which around here isn't as severe as you might think. And a good many animals seem to breed just after the sphexes go south. Also, the sphexes aren't around all the warm weather. There's a sort of peak, and then for a matter of weeks you won't see one of them, and suddenly the jungle swarms with them again. Then, presently, they head south. Apparently they're migratory in some fashion, but nobody knows." He said dryly: "There haven't been many naturalists around on this planet. The animal life's inimical."
Bordman fretted. He was accustomed to arrival at a partly or completely finished colonial set-up, and to pass upon the completion or non-completion of the installation as designed. Now he was in an intolerably hostile environment, depending upon an illegal colonist for his life, engaged upon a demoralizingly indefinite enterprise—because the mechanical spark-signal could be working long after its constructors were dead—and his ideas about a number of matters were shaken. He was alive, for example, because of three giant Kodiak bears and a bald eagle. He and Huyghens could have been surrounded by ten thousand robots, and they'd have been killed. Sphexes and robots would have ignored each other, and sphexes would have made straight for the men, who'd have had less than four seconds in which to discover for themselves that they were attacked, prepare to defend themselves, and kill the eight sphexes.
He found Nugget, the cub, ambling uneasily in his wake. The cub flattened his ears miserably when Bordman glanced at him. It occurred to the man that Nugget was receiving a lot of disciplinary thumpings from Faro Nell. He was knocked about psychologically. His lack of information and unfitness for independent survival in this environment was being hammered into him.
"Hi, Nugget," said Bordman ruefully. "I feel just about the way you do!"
Nugget brightened visibly. He frisked. He tended to gambol. He looked hopefully up into Bordman's face.
The man reached out and patted Nugget's head. It was the first time in all his life that he'd ever petted an animal.
He heard a snuffling sound behind him. Skin crawled at the back of his neck. He whirled.
Faro Nell regarded him—eighteen hundred pounds of she-bear only ten feet away and looking into his eyes. For one panicky instant Bordman went cold all over. Then he realized that Faro Nell's eyes were not burning. She was not snarling, nor did she emit those blood-curdling sounds which the bare prospect of danger to Nugget had produced up on the rocky spur. She looked at him blandly. In fact, after a moment she swung off on some independent investigation of a matter that had aroused her curiosity.
The traveling-party went on, Nugget frisking beside Bordman and tending to bump into him out of pure cub-clumsiness. Now and again he looked adoringly at Bordman, in the instant and overwhelming affection of the very young.
Bordman trudged on. Presently he glanced behind again. Faro Nell was now ranging more widely. She was well satisfied to have Nugget in the immediate care of a man. From time to time he got on her nerves.
A little while later, Bordman called ahead.
"Huyghens! Look here! I've been appointed nursemaid to Nugget!"
Huyghens looked back.
"Oh, slap him a few times and he'll go back to his mother."
"The devil I will!" said Bordman querulously. "I like it!"
The traveling-party went on.
When night fell, they camped. There could be no fire, of course, because all the minute night-things about would come to dance in the glow. But there could not be darkness, equally, because night-walkers hunted in the dark. So Huyghens set out barrier-lamps which made a wall of twilight about their halting-place, and the stag-like creature Faro Nell had carried became their evening meal. Then they slept—at least the men did—and the bears dozed and snorted and waked and dozed again. Semper sat immobile with his head under his wing on a tree-limb. Presently there was a glorious cool hush and all the world glowed in morning-light diffused through the jungle by a newly risen sun. Then they arose and pushed on.
This day they stopped stock-still for two hours while sphexes puzzled over the trail the bears had left. Huyghens discoursed on the need of an anti-scent, to be used on the boots of men and the paws of bears, which would make the following of their trails unpopular with sphexes. Bordman seized upon the idea and suggested that a sphex-repellant odor might be worked out, which would make a human revolting to a sphex. If that were done, humans could go freely about, unmolested.
"Like stink-bugs," said Huyghens, sardonically. "A very intelligent idea! Very rational! You can feel proud!"
And suddenly Bordman was not proud of the idea at all. They camped again. On the third night they were at the base of that remarkable formation, the Sere Plateau, which from a distance looked like a mountain range but was actually a desert table-land. It was not reasonable for a desert to be raised high, while lowlands had rain, but on the fourth morning they found out why. They saw, far, far away, a truly monstrous mountain-mass at the end of the long expanse of the plateau. It was like the prow of a ship. It lay, so Huyghens observed, directly in line with the prevailing winds, and divided them as a ship's prow divides the waters. The moisture-bearing air-currents flowed beside the plateau, not over it, and its interior was desert in the unscreened sunshine of the high altitudes.
It took them a full day to get half-way up the slope. And here, twice, as they climbed, Semper flew screaming over aggregations of sphexes to one side of them or the other. These were much larger groups than Huyghens had ever seen before, fifty to a hundred monstrosities together, where a dozen was a large hunting-pack elsewhere. He looked in the screen which showed him what Semper saw, four to five miles away. The sphexes padded uphill toward the Sere Plateau in a long line. Fifty—sixty—seventy tan-and-azure beasts out of hell.
"I'd hate to have that bunch jump us," he said candidly to Bordman. "I don't think we'd stand a chance."
"Here's where a robot tank would be useful," Bordman observed.
"Anything armored," conceded Huyghens. "One man in an armored station like mine would be safe. But if he killed a sphex he'd be besieged. He'd have to stay holed up, breathing the smell of dead sphex, until the odor'd gone away. And he mustn't kill any others or he'd be besieged until winter came."
Bordman did not suggest the advantages of robots in other directions. At that moment, for example, they were working their way up a slope which averaged fifty degrees. The bears climbed without effort despite their burdens. For the men it was infinite toil. Semper, the eagle, manifested impatience with bears and men alike, who crawled so
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-sectional; USA 581 HIV-positive adults, 161 IDUs 16 Incarceration (jails, prisons, detention) Those with history of incarceration vs those without Prevalence of sustained undetectable viral load among IDUs Negative: incarceration negatively associated with having an undetectable viral load
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Kerr T HIV seroprevalence among participants at a supervised injection facility in Vancouver, Canada: implications for prevention, care and treatment. Cohort; Canada 1035 adult IDUs 17 Incarceration (jails, prisons, detention) Those with history of incarceration vs those without HIV prevalence among IDUs (diagnosed and undiagnosed) Negative: incarceration positively associated with HIV infection
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et al. High prevalence of HIV infection associated with incarceration among community-based injecting drug users in Tehran, Iran. Cross-sectional; Iran 207 male, adult IDUs 16 Incarceration (jails, prisons, detention) Those with history of incarceration vs those without HIV prevalence among IDUs (diagnosed and undiagnosed) Negative: incarceration positively associated with HIV infection
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Wood E Factors associated with early adolescent initiation into injection drug use: implications for intervention programs. Cohort; Canada 542 young-adult IDUs 15 Incarceration (jails, prisons, detention) Age of injection initiation: 16 years or younger vs older than 16 years Drug injecting Negative: incarceration associated with initiating drug injecting at a younger age
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et al. Drug injecting and syringe use in the HIV risk environment of Russian penitentiary institutions: qualitative study. Qualitative; Russia 209 young-adult IDUs NA Incarceration (jails, prisons, detention) No comparison group Syringe sharing Negative: incarceration positively associated with syringe sharing because of scarcity of sterile syringesU.S. President Obama, set to land in Saudi Arabia this week in a historic visit, will face harsh critics, veteran American diplomat Dennis Ross warned.
Ross argued that Saudi is wary of the commitment from the United States to take meaningful steps to help in the current crises with Iran, Syria and Egypt.
“Fundamentally, the Saudis believe that America's friends and interests are under threat, and the U.S. response has ranged from indifference to accommodation,” Ross wrote in the Los Angeles Times Monday, adding that, “rarely have the Saudis been more skeptical about the United States.”
The veteran diplomat wrote that Saudis view Iran’s enrichment ambitions as a step for it to gain hegemony in the region. While the United States is eager to engage the Islamic republic over its nuclear program, Saudi leaders feel it is at the expense of allowing other “troublemaking” behavior, Ross explained.
“[Saudi leaders] see the Iranians using the nuclear program negotiations to buy time, and fear that the U.S. is so anxious to do a deal and avoid conflict with Iran that it refuses to compete with the Iranians in the region or to back U.S. friends as they do so,” Ross wrote.
Saudi Arabia’s concerns over U.S. foreign policy also extend to its handling of the crisis in Egypt and dealing with the military-backed government in fighting the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization which the kingdom and the UAE have labeled a terrorist group.
Ross specifically pointed to the withholding of helicopters from the Egyptian military as a point of contention.
Calling the move “inexplicable to Saudis,” the diplomat wrote the immobility “leads them to question whether the U.S. defines its interests in the region in a way that is compatible with Saudi Arabia’s.”
Saudi Arabia already voiced its opposition to the U.S. inaction in the Syrian crisis when it turned down in October a seat on the U.N. Security Council in display of anger at the failure to end the war in Syria.
Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief at the time said the kingdom was looking at making a “major shift” in relations with the United States.
In November, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulazizi met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and discussed concerns about the unwillingness of the United State to intervene in Syria despite Obama’s “red line.”
Ross, however, argued that despite the recent contentious relationship, Saudi Arabia will not turn its back from the United States, knowing full well that it is an integral part of protecting the kingdom from external threats.
Despite its loyalty, Saudi Arabia can still find alternative ways to get its point across.
“Nonetheless, the Saudis' disquiet can lead them to pursue policies that are destructive to U.S. interests — and theirs.”
The White House announced in a statement last month that President Obama will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah “as part of regulation consultations between our two countries.” Obama is expected to arrive in Riyadh on Thursday.
“The president looks forward to discussing with King Abdullah the enduring and strategic ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia as well as ongoing cooperation to advance a range of common,” the White House said.
Last Update: Tuesday, 25 March 2014 KSA 21:21 - GMT 18:21The official website for the Durarara anime confirmed on Sunday that production on a second original video anime (OVA) for Durarara!! ×2 has been green-lit. 10 theaters throughout Japan will screen the new OVA, Durarara!!×2 Ten Gaiden!? (Durarara!! ×2 The Second Arc Side Story), starting on November 14.
"Episode 13.5" is set between episodes 13 and 14, and depicts the shocking incident that occurs during Celty and Shinra's romantic trip together. It adapts a popular story segment from the seventh volume of Ryohgo Narita's original novel series.
The cast includes:
Miyuki Sawashiro as Celty Sturluson
Jun Fukuyama as Shinra Kishitani
Hiroshi Kamiya as Izaya Orihara
Daisuke Ono as Shizuo Heiwajima
Daisuke Kishio as Kasuka Heiwajima
Sanae Kobayashi as Namie Yagiri
Junichi Suwabe as Traugott Geissendorfer
Toshiyuki Toyonaga is contributing his song "91cm" as the ending theme of Episode #13.5. The song is already on sale on a CD with the opening theme, "Day you laugh."
The screenings will be about 45 minutes long — 25 minutes for the episode itself with 20 more minutes of extras for the screenings. The limited advance tickets for the screenings include an "Izaya and Shizuo's Ikebukuro Ghost Story CD," and those bought via Aniplex+ will also include a B2-size poster of the image above. The regular advance tickets will go on sale on September 12 with a postcard of Isaya and Shizuo in kimonos.by
When Abraham Foxman, director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Trump rallies reminded him of those crowds that adored Hitler, I figured that he probably knew what he was talking about. Other representatives of the organization echoed Foxman’s concerns, and so did the Poverty Law Center, but they weren’t as exciting and eyeball friendly for media owners as much as David Duke, the has-been Klan leader. Another reason that the ADL was largely left out of the Trump coverage was that they were bad for media marketing. To make money, the media and its hirelings had to normalize and field the lie that Trump represents the “forgotten men.” Forgotten? Trump’s White base, which includes men and women belonging to all classes according to election results, are among the most privileged groups in world history. Another memo that went down to their Stepford news readers was that Trump spoke for those left behind. Does that include the construction workers who cheered Trump as he left his hotel, while other passersby booed? Left behind? They belong to unions that have excluded blacks for decades. His FBI, NYPD, Secret Service fans, and thousands of police whose unions endorsed Trump–left behind?
Even though the media broadcast live the ugly racist and anti-Semitic and hateful taunts at Muslims, their line was that these White working class members–lumping together men and women of different political stripes–have been neglected by the elite and by Washington from which they receive a disproportionate share of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Neglected? Really? The net worth of the White family is many times that of Hispanic and Black families, but you don’t hear them moaning and bitching and exposing themselves to the world as pampered, privileged and indulged.
On the day after Trump won, CNN’s Jake Tapper, the kind of vapid Alpha male that dominates the opinion industry, said that the White working class had sent somebody to Washington who cares about their needs. Trump must care about Wall Street’s needs as well, because, during Hillary Clinton’s concession speech, the floor became boisterous as traders were yelling, “Lock her up.”
Donald Trump made it no secret that his appeals were to White supremacists and when White supremacists run things a lot of people get killed. In the 19th century, they took their argument on behalf of White supremacy to the battlefield in the United States. 600,000 deaths. In the 20th century a stumpy looking creature named Adolph Hitler claimed that he was descended from blond beast Ubermensch who came to Germany from India. 60 million deaths. Where will Steve Bannon, a candidate for Trump’s White House chief-of-staff, and other Nazis advising Trump lead us? Oh, I forgot that MSNBC’s Katy Cur assured Tamron Hall on November 10th that Alt Right leader (1) Steve Bannon “is not ideological,” which reminds us that White women of all classes gave their votes to Trump (53%) over the first woman candidate for president. These women are alright with their Brown sisters being separated from their children; with women sent to back alley abortions and millions of women sent to homelessness and poverty as a result of Trump delivering rewards and gifts to members of his class. Trump also won the votes of College educated White men, who don’t seem to be “left behind,”or “forgotten men “to me.
Though White nationalism has millions of followers, it is essentially a death cult and Trump’s most prominent constituency has the highest suicide rate among all ethnic groups. Maybe that’s why they voted for a man who promises to fling H-bombs about and is a global warming denier even though some scientists say that we are approaching the point of no return for doing something about climate change.. For the rest of us, White, Black, Yellow, Brown and Native American, living under a White supremacist government is like being tethered to a suicide bomber.
What the passive media calls “right-wing populists” believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction. Millions of people in the world would be pleased to have this wrong direction. People in Haiti have to drink from the same water that animals and people shit in. Millions work in overseas sweatshops for little pay. Sweat shops like the ones owned by President Trump. Hundreds have died in leaky boats that capsized en route to Europe and to the United States from Haiti.
The votes of this White working class, who, for pundits like Chris Matthews, are the salt of the earth, were supplemented by millions of privileged Whites, men, and women who have not been “left behind.” Who have not been “disenfranchised,” a word the media applied to Whites who, unlike thousands of blacks, students, and senior citizens, have no problem in casting their votes.
Matthews disputed the claims made by Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell that racism was a factor in “the White working class” voting for Trump. This was the Trump who won Wisconsin by raising fears about the Somali-American citizens who’ve lived there, peacefully, since the 1990s. Matthews views himself as one of the fellows, discussing baseball teams in an Irish bar instead of a highly paid newsman who uses a limousine to get to work. Another racism denier is J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. He’s on a virtual haters’ pacification television tour as he disputes the claims of Hispanics and Black guests that racism has something to do with Trump’s victory. One of the guests was Jelani Cobb, who, unlike Vance lives as a Black man every day. Nicholas Kristof, of the Times, in his Nov.10 column, warns against stereotyping that which slithered from beneath the rocks when Trump began his campaign. People who shout “Jew-S-A,” and speak Nazi German at rallies and beat-up and taunt demonstrators who show up at their rallies. Glenn Greenwald whose family members won’t be deported under Trump–he lives in Brazil–says that we shouldn’t dismiss Trump’s followers as racists and misogynists. How would he like it if somebody grabbed him by the dick without permission? Not once did he mention the intrusion of the FBI into an American election.Other progressives love Trump’s “economic populism.”
This is why fascists run over liberals and progressives, who are always giving haters the benefit of doubt. There is Zadie Smith in The New York Review of Books. She pleads: We should have tried to understand these Brexit haters.
Matthews’ network at least has Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell. CNN earned a billion in profits by tailing the Trump circus like a stray dog, yet Jeff Zucker, CNN’s president, calls Donna Brazile “disgusting.” You could understand why Trump met with members of the Ton Ton NYPD the day after his victory. These are the guys who obtained their revenge on Clinton for criticizing their action in the murder of Amadou Diallo. They cooperated with the FBI Agents, “Trump Land,” according to some. They fed false information to the media that Hillary Clinton would be indicted.
Kellyanne Conway, her husband and David Bosco, who’ve been stalking the Clintons since the 1990s, got their revenge. The millions of Whites who are uncomfortable with an uppity Black president will delight in seeing him welcome a Birther to the White House. A hater, who couldn’t understand how a Black man could get through Harvard. They will enjoy this second humiliation of a president who had to show his birth certificate to people who have less class than his dog, Bo. Trump’s a Birther whose wife’s immigration history is questionable. These two, an embarrassment to our country, internationally, are president and first Lady, because of millions of Whites, miserable with themselves, and eyeing an accelerating Hispanic and Asian American birthrate, dumped one of their periodic backlashes on the country.They elected a man who makes George Bush look like Lincoln.
On the morning after the election, I got a call from Al Young, former Poet Laureate of California. He said that the election of Trump had made him sick, physically. I called David Murray, the great saxophonist, in connection with an article I was completing. He said he couldn’t talk because he had to call his son, who had voted for the first time and was upset. My daughter Tennessee announced that she is going to learn French and move to France. I told David to tell him and I would tell her that Blacks have survived presidents who owned slaves and slave traffickers like Alexander Hamilton. They survived the massacres of those who tried to exercise their constitutional rights during Reconstruction. Blacks survived Reagan and Nixon and Woodrow Wilson and will survive this. Islamophobia? Muslims slaves practiced their faith under horrible conditions and participated in hundreds of revolts on slave ships. What Steven Spielberg left out of “Amistad” is that the Senegalese on the ship Amistad were Muslims who could read and write. Muslims ain’t going nowhere. Trump, who retweets information from Neo-Nazi websites and Holocaust deniers and gave a thumbs-up to a lie that had Blacks committing 80% of crimes against White people doesn’t know this history. He said that if it were up to him, he would have kept up an Anti-Semitic poster that featured the Star of David, and ended his campaign with an anti-Semitic ad.(2) President Elect Trump doesn’t know that all that’s left of some anti-Semitic civilizations are some pieces of pottery that archeologists find from time to time. Jewish Americans survived Grant and Bush 1.They will survive. No matter how high the wall, Mexicans will continue to reclaim their lost territories, the Southwest that was robbed from them by slaveholder James Polk. They will continue to arrive.
This is a temporary setback as our country moves toward a more inclusive society. The cheer shouted by his followers is in reality the last groan of White nationalism. Like that of a dying horse on the way to the glue factory.umps-new-campaign-chairman-steve-bannon-ben-shapiro white ethno-nationalist.
Notes.
1 http://www.dailywire.com/news/8441/i-know-trumps-new-campaign-chairman-steve-bannon-ben-shapiro white ethno-nationalist
2 Media Matters Trump’s White Nationalist Supporters Love His “Nazi” Closing Ad Because It “Blasts” The “Evil Jews” Blog ››› November 7, 2016 3:43 PM EST ››› ERIC HANANOKIAre people really going to fall for this?
Rand Paul, the extreme right wing libertarian who has said more than once that he wouldn’t have voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act and doesn’t believe the government should try to prevent discrimination, is now trying to dress himself up as that most rare of species, a “moderate Republican.”
He’s reaching out. Being more inclusive.
Sure he is.
But unfortunately, it’s beginning to look like our mainstream media are going to help him sell this snake oil. Today at an RNC event in Memphis, the libertarian Senator quoted Captain Kirk (because we all know the kids love Star Trek), and Politico churned out one of their usual context-free puff pieces:
“Sort of like what Captain Kirk used to say, we need to boldly go where no Republicans have gone before. So we need to go to Harlem, East L.A., Berkeley, maybe even Hollywood, though that may be dangerous.” […] He added that the GOP cannot target the same constituencies as it did in 2008 and 2012, when the party lost presidential elections to President Barack Obama. But he said that if Republicans can reach out to a more diverse group of people, “we’re going to be the dominant party again.”
“And then, all these liberals better watch out!” Sen. Paul didn’t add.
He explicitly mentioned the need to target the African-American community, a group that has overwhelmingly favored Democrats in recent years. Paul said that, when it comes to helping black Americans, “we’ve tried 50 years of the Democrats passing out money and it hasn’t worked.”
And here’s Sen. Paul, hard at work:
Spoke to African American pastors from all over Tennessee. GOP needs to be bigger, better & bolder to grow our party! pic.twitter.com/huG6cMLbJK — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 9, 2014
Apparently, at his meeting with black pastors, the Senator actually told them Republicans need to stop trying to pass voter ID laws. That’s never going to happen, of course, but Paul will say anything.
Just sat down w @SenRandPaul after his meeting with black pastors. He says GOP needs to lay off voter ID. “It’s offending people.” — Jeremy W. Peters (@jwpetersNYT) May 9, 2014
RelatedJak & Daxter Trilogy and Epic Mickey 2 on PS Vita Listed By Amazon France, Given June Release Dates
The Jak & Daxter Trilogy on PlayStation Vita was rated by the ESRB a few weeks ago, with a couple retailer listings popping up after that, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on PS Vita was confirmed by Sony in mid-March, with a couple retailers listing that one as well.
Now, Amazon France has posted their own product pages for each title, giving the Jak & Daxter Trilogy a release date of June 19th and Epic Mickey 2 a June 3rd date. If these turn out to be real, we’d wager a guess that North America will see Jak & Daxter on June 18th, with Epic Mickey arriving on either May 28th or June 4th.
Also, both of the games have regular prices of EUR 30,00, meaning that a cost of $29.99 in North America has a good chance of happening.
With June just two months away, expect to hear more about these games from us soon.
Would you buy the Jak & Daxter Trilogy or Epic Mickey 2 on Vita for $30? Let us know in the comments below.Screen Shot 2016-02-14 at 10.13.32 AM.png
An Uber driver, an employee at Stein Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, and a group of men walking just outside the French Quarter were all victims of armed robberies during a violent 12-hour stretch from Saturday (Feb. 13) afternoon to early Sunday (Feb. 14) morning, according to police.
The first of five armed robberies took place shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. The victims, two women and a man, were walking in the 7000 block of Crowder Blvd. in eastern New Orleans when an armed man approached and demanded their belongings, according to police. The suspect stole one of the women's purses and fled the scene. Police later recovered the suspect's gun and baseball cap.
An hour later, a man walked into the Stein Mart department store in the 5300 block of Tchoupitoulas St. and stole several items. When a security guard tried to stop him, the suspect pointed a semi-automatic gun at him and then fled, according to the NOPD.
The third armed robbery occurred just before 2 a.m. Sunday morning. An Uber driver was approaching the intersection of North Tonti and Louisa streets near the Desire Housing Development when a Chevy Equinox blocked the road, police said. The driver of the Chevy, wearing a black scarf over his face, exited his vehicle, armed with a semi-automatic gun, and demanded the woman get out of her car. A second suspect then took the woman's phone. The first suspect in the black scarf fled the scene in the Uber driver's car followed by the other man in the Equinox.
Thirty minutes later, four men walking in the 1200 block of N. Rampart Street were approached by three armed suspects wearing hoodies, possibly teenagers. The suspects took the victims' money and phones then fled down Barracks Street into the French Quarter, police said.
The last armed robbery happened around 3:40 a.m. in the 6200 block of Elysian Fields Ave. After taking cash out of an ATM machine at a Walgreens, a 38-year-old man walked into the parking lot. Three men wearing ski masks, two of them armed, took his money and fled in a black Jeep with tinted windows.History Edit
Similar products Edit
There are a number of similar yeast products available in other countries; these products are not directly connected to the original Marmite recipe and brand. The Australian product Vegemite is distributed in many countries, and AussieMite is sold in Australia. Other products include OzeMite, which is made by Dick Smith Foods; Cenovis, a Swiss spread; and Vegex, an autolyzed yeast product available in the United States since 1913.[11]
Usage Edit
Marmite is traditionally eaten as a savoury spread on bread, toast, savoury biscuits or crackers, and other similar baked products. Owing to its concentrated taste it is often spread thinly with butter or margarine.[12] Marmite can also be made into a savoury hot drink by adding one teaspoon to a mug of hot water much like Oxo and Bovril. Marmite is paired with cheese, such as in a cheese sandwich, and has been used as an additional flavouring in Mini Cheddars, a cheese-flavoured biscuit snack. Similarly, it is one of Walkers Crisps flavours; is sold as a flavouring on rice cakes; and Marmite Biscuits. Starbucks in the UK has a cheese and Marmite panini on its menu.[13] Marmite has been used as an ingredient in cocktails, including the Marmite Cocktail and the Marmite Gold Rush.[14][15][16]
Manufacture Edit
While the process is secret, the general method for making yeast extract on a commercial scale is to add salt to a suspension of yeast, making the solution hypertonic, which results in the cells shrivelling; this triggers autolysis, during which the yeast self-destructs. The dying yeast cells are then heated to complete their breakdown, and since yeast cells have thick cell walls which would detract from the smoothness of the end product, the husks are sieved out. As with other yeast extracts, Marmite contains free glutamic acids, which are analogous to monosodium glutamate. Presently, the main ingredients of Marmite are glutamic acid-rich yeast extract, with lesser quantities of sodium chloride, vegetable extract, spice extracts and celery extracts, although the precise composition is a trade secret.[17] Vitamin B 12 is not naturally found in yeast extract, but is added to Marmite during manufacture.[18]
Nutritional information Edit
Marketing and packaging Edit
The squeeze version of UK Marmite. Marmite's publicity campaigns initially emphasised the spread's healthy nature, extolling it as "The growing up spread you never grow out of". The first major Marmite advertising campaign began during the 1930s, with characters whose faces incorporated the word "good". Soon afterwards, the increasing awareness of vitamins was used in Marmite advertising, with slogans proclaiming that "A small quantity added to the daily diet will ensure you and your family are taking sufficient vitamin B to keep nerves, brain, and digestion in proper working order". During the 1980s, the spread was advertised with the slogan "My mate, Marmite", chanted in television commercials by an army platoon. The spread had been a standard vitamin supplement for British-based German POWs during the Second World War. By the 1990s Marmite's distinctive and powerful flavour had earned it as many detractors as it had fans, and it was known for producing a polarised "love/hate" reaction amongst consumers. For many years television advertisements for Marmite featured the song Low Rider by the band War with the lyrics changed to the phrase "My Mate, Marmite". Marmite began a "Love it or Hate it" campaign during October 1996, and this resulted in the inventing of the phrase "Marmite effect" or "Marmite reaction" for anything which provoked controversy.[26] On 22 April 2010, Unilever threatened legal action against the British National Party for using a jar of Marmite and the "love it or hate it" slogan for their television advertisements.[27]
Availability worldwide Edit
Our Mate – UK made Marmite branded for sale in Australia and New Zealand. – UK made Marmite branded for sale in Australia and New Zealand. Because of the local product named Marmite, British Marmite is sold by the name "Our Mate" in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand Marmite uses the name "NZ-Mite" elsewhere. In Denmark, food safety legislation dictates that foodstuffs that contain added vitamins can only be sold by retailers which have been licensed by the Veterinary and Food Administration.[28] During May 2011, the company that imports the product to Denmark revealed that it wasn't licensed and had therefore stopped selling the product: this resulted in widespread but inaccurate reports by the British media that Marmite had been banned by the Danish authorities.[29][30][31] Canada Edit On 24 January 2014, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was noted, in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation story, as preparing to stop the sale of Marmite, as well as Vegemite and Ovaltine, in Canada because they were enriched with vitamins and minerals which were not listed by Canadian food regulations. The agency said the products were not a health hazard.[32] The CFIA later specified that these specific items had been seized because they were not the versions that are formulated for sale in Canada and which satisfied all Canadian food regulations. Canadian versions of Marmite and the other products would still be permitted to be sold in Canada.[33] South Africa Edit Marmite is manufactured by licence in South Africa by Pioneer Foods in traditional and cheese flavour.
Special editions Edit
See also EditThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intends to go ahead with a vote on Dec. 14 to repeal the net neutrality rules despite calls from Democrats and advocacy groups to delay the proceeding.
The FCC said in a statement Monday that “the vote will proceed as scheduled on December 14.”
In a separate statement provided to Ars Technica, the FCC hit back at those seeking a delay.
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“This is just evidence that supporters of heavy-handed Internet regulations are becoming more desperate by the day as their effort to defeat Chairman [Ajit] Pai's plan to restore Internet freedom has stalled.”
The decision comes after 28 Democratic senators pressed the agency on Monday to postpone the vote, citing fake comments that were filed during the open comment period on the repeal proposal.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) also made a similar case, as did the City of New York and advocacy groups. His office said last month that "tens of thousands" of New Yorkers may have had fake comments filed in their names.
Under Pai's repeal proposal, the agency would scrap the Obama-era internet rules and cede authority over broadband providers to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
That scenario has some net neutrality supporters worried. The city of New York and advocacy groups said that if a court decides the FTC doesn't have authority, that could create a "'regulatory gap' that would leave consumers utterly unprotected," their letter to Pai reads.
In such a situation, Congress would have to step in and legislate on what agency has regulatory authority over providers. But Republican and Democratic lawmakers so far have made little progress towards a legislative compromise on net neutrality rules.
Pai has said he doesn't find critics' arguments convincing. He says repealing the rules will promote broadband investment.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories
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crash in Sinai, Egypt
One important provision is that the authorities should continue to have access, over a limited period (set at 12 months), to the metadata – the 'what' and 'when', but not the content, of communications.
Already this is used in courts to establish where murderers, drug dealers, terrorists and other serious criminals were at key times. To undermine this capability would be not less than a disaster for the prevention and detection of crime. The Crown Prosecution Service view is that a high majority of serious contested trials rely to some part on this type of data.
This is clearly no'snoopers charter'. Parliament should support the Home Secretary, and conclude that it is no more than a necessary modernisation of traditional forms of detection.
The fact is that we are in a new world. Forty years ago, interception of criminals' communications was much simpler. It was largely restricted to a cruder, nationalised telephone system and the Royal Mail.
Today life is terrifyingly more complicated. We are trying to spot and track lone wolves in the secure bubbles of their bedrooms. Armed with multiple and impenetrably encrypted fake identities, they can disrupt huge entities and utilities, even basic necessities like electricity.
For example, last year James Arbuthnot MP, then Defence Select Committee chairman, told a London conference: 'Our National Grid is coming under cyber-attack not just day-by-day but minute-by-minute' after his committee had scrutinised the country's security policy.
The threat of jihadi groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda continue to mean UK intelligence services need greater power to extract information
Without UK intelligence warns how more planes might have blown up over Egypt, argues Lord Carlile
As Mrs May says, such challenges mean we must allow the security services the proportionate tools they need to protect us from the ever more complex, technically sophisticated and secret actions of dangerous enemies like IS as well as the criminals and cranks who use the internet to damage and even endanger our lives.
There is another uncomfortable truth: voluntarily we have given away a huge percentage of our privacy to the private sector. The so-called 'privacy policies' of major internet based companies, including the social networks, are no such thing.
They allow the keeping and largely uncontrolled sharing of information. In a few days' time online shops will remind us what we enjoyed in our Christmas orders last year. iTunes knows exactly what new Christmas music will meet our tastes.
By merely giving my date of birth to an online retailer, I give permission to them to sell my details and produce an avalanche of offers tailored to me and other people of pensionable age. Against this voluntary surrender, the use by the State of limited information about suspect individuals, to protect the public as a whole, is a small and reasonable concession.
One serious question is this: does this Bill allow the browser history of any random member of the public to be accessed by the authorities?
Parliament should be urged to consider Mrs May's Bill bearing this evidence in mind – and not on the basis of prejudiced argument
There is another uncomfortable truth: voluntarily we have given away a huge percentage of our privacy to the private sector. The so-called 'privacy policies' of major internet based companies, including the social networks, are no such thing
The clear answer is No. Your browser history or mine will only be accessed if there is a specific reason requiring it.
But there is a second aspect of the Bill about which I am more worried – for judges to be involved in verifying warrants for the interception of content.
This has been accepted by Mrs May. Is she right? Up to a point.
When a Minister approves an interception warrant, she is accountable to Parliament. If there is a serious error, she will be forced to resign, possibly even her seat.
Judges, brilliant as many are, cannot be held accountable in anything like the same way.
Most have no deep knowledge of national security. Nor can they be allowed to make policy – all they can do is check what has happened for legality. So Parliament will have to consider whether the proposals forget proper role of the courts.
As the destruction of the Egyptian airliner makes clear, our security services are crucial.
Yet – much to Mrs May's disadvantage – any recognition of the extraordinary contribution to public safety by the police and security services is almost impermissible in some minds.
I would have far more respect if such campaigners offered a cogent alternative to the Bill. If Theresa May is so wrong, where are the proposals with which the critics would replace hers? Criticising without exercising responsibility is no better than the troll who, busy attacking one traveller, leaves the road wide open to whatever passes.
I urge Parliament to consider Mrs May's Bill bearing this evidence in mind – and not on the basis of prejudiced argument.
The Bill will go to a Scrutiny Committee of Commons and Lords, where visceral party political hostility must be set aside to ensure that we hold the precious balance between security and liberty.
Whatever solution is reached, we must have regard for wider opinions than those of raucous interest groups. Mrs May knows most citizens wish to be protected from bombs, attacks on the electricity system and misuse of their bank accounts. Most see the reason in giving the unsung heroes of the security services the tools they need.
The public recognise the absurdity of the notion of a wicked MI5 agent who is so bored he has the time or curiosity to examine the telephone traffic of those not under suspicion of serious crime.You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a camera just for features like motion sensing, time lapse, RAW images, and control over exposure and shutter speeds. If you have a simple Canon point-and-shoot, you can customize it with these features and a whole lot more using the CHDK enhancement.
CHDK stands for the Canon Hacker's Development Kit, and it's a firmware enhancement that adds a ton of new features—particularly those available on more expensive, professional DSLRs—to Canon point-and-shoot cameras. It's incredibly simple to install and doesn't modify anything on your camera, so you have very little to lose by trying it out. Plus, it supports a ton of different cameras, and only takes a few minutes to set up. Here's how it works.
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What You'll Get with CHDK
Point-and-shoot cameras have more than enough features for the average user, but if you've learned the basics of photography and are looking to do some cooler stuff with your photos, CHDK will give you a ton of enhancements to experiment with. CHDK includes things like:
Basics of Photography: The Complete Guide We spent the last week learning all about the basics of photography, from the way your camera works … Read more Read
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More On-Screen Information : CHDK adds a wealth of new information to your on-screen display, including current battery life, remaining space on your SD card, a color histogram, depth of focus, and more. You can completely customize the display so you only fill it with the things you need.
: CHDK adds a wealth of new information to your on-screen display, including current battery life, remaining space on your SD card, a color histogram, depth of focus, and more. You can completely customize the display so you only fill it with the things you need. RAW Image Formats : When you take a picture, your camera usually does a bit of automatic post-processing like contrast and other level adjustments. Shooting in RAW disables this, so you can make these decisions yourself when you edit the photo. It's better for professional-level, high-quality shooting, but most point-and-shoots don't support it. CHDK gives you the option.
: When you take a picture, your camera usually does a bit of automatic post-processing like contrast and other level adjustments. Shooting in RAW disables this, so you can make these decisions yourself when you edit the photo. It's better for professional-level, high-quality shooting, but most point-and-shoots don't support it. CHDK gives you the option. Manual Controls: Many situations—like taking low-light concert photos or super-fast action shots—require you to make manual adjustments to your camera's aperture, shutter speed, exposure time, and other settings. CHDK gives you a ton more room to play with these settings that you have by default, letting you get better photos at concerts, sporting events, and other things that may have been more difficult before.
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Time Lapse, Motion Sensing, and More: CHDK can run small scripts, many of which come bundled with the software, that emulate features of more expensive cameras. For example, you can take time lapse photos (see the video to the right), snap a picture when your camera detects motion (which is cool for things like lightning strikes), support for gorgeous high dynamic range (HDR) photos, and more. You can check out some examples of these below, or see the full list of available scripts at the CHDK Wiki.
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Better Video: If you occasionally need to shoot video but don't want to shell out for another video-centric camera, CHDK can beef up your point-and-shoot's video features. You can avoid file size limits with a "continuous video mode" (via a script), and enable optical zoom to magnify far-off subjects without the quality loss that comes with digital zoom.
The bottom line: if you're looking for DSLR features at a point-and-shoot price, CHDK will help you make it happen.
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Installing CHDK on Your Camera
Getting CHDK up and running is dead simple, and only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Check out the video above to see the process in action, or follow the simple steps below.
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Make sure you have a camera that's compatible with CHDK. If you already have a camera, you can just search for its model number on the CHDK wiki, e.g. the "Canon PowerShot SD890 IS". It will let you know if CHDK works with your camera and on what firmware versions (see step 2). If you don't have a camera, check out the CHDK Wiki home page for a list of supported devices before you go out and buy one.
Now that you've found a compatible camera, you'll need to make sure its firmware is also compatible. To do this, just put your SD card into your computer and create two files, named ver.req and vers.req, in the root directory. In Windows, this is as simple as right-clicking in the folder, choosing "New > New Text Document", and renaming it to ver.req. (Make sure you've enabled the showing of file extensions, otherwise it'll be named ver.req.txt which won't work.)
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Eject your SD card and put it into your camera. Start it up in play mode by pressing the Play button (not by pressing the On/Off button). Once it's on, press and hold the FUNC. SET button, then press the DISP button. Your camera should show you a bunch of information, including the firmware version which looks like this:
Firmware Ver GM1.00C
The "1.00C" is what you want. Make sure that firmware is compatible with CHDK (as shown on the wiki page for your camera's model), and continue. If it isn't, check Canon's web site for an update to make it compatible..
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If your camera and firmware are compatible, it's time to download CHDK. You can grab the CHDK build for your camera on CHDK's Download page—just choose the stable version, then press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on a Mac) and search for your camera's model number. Be sure to grab the right build for your firmware. Plug your SD card back into your computer, and unzip the contents of the CHDK download to the root directory of your SD card. Eject your SD card and put it back in your camera.
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Start up your camera, again using the Play button and not the On/Off button, and press your camera's Menu button. Search through the menu for an option called "Firm Update." Choose this and confirm that you want to update the firmware (don't worry, it isn't actually updating the firmware—CHDK is just tricking it into thinking its a permanent firmware update, when it's really a temporary modification).
If all goes well, you should see the CHDK boot log for a second. From there, you can press the shutter button to go into camera mode and you should see a few new UI elements—like a battery life indicator, an icon that tells you how much space is on your SD card, and more. Congratulations! You have CHDK up and running on your camera. Check out the section below to see some examples of what you can do with it.
Note: This is the easiest installation method for CHDK, but it requires you to "launch" it using the Firm Update button every time you turn on your camera. If you'd like CHDK to run automatically every time you boot up, you can use the more complicated "Bootable SD Card" method described here after you've given it a good test run.
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How to Use CHDK
Once you have CHDK up and running, using your camera isn't that different from before: the shutter takes pictures, the menu button takes you to your camera's regular menu, and so on. The only button that's different is your Print button, which takes you into CHDK's "ALT" mode (in some cases, this is replaced with the SHORTCUT button). ALT mode gives you access to all of CHDK's features by changing what the other buttons do on your device. For example, on most cameras:
Open Main Menu : MENU while in ALT mode
: MENU while in ALT mode Go to the Previous Menu : DISP while in a menu in ALT mode
: DISP while in a menu in ALT mode Open Script Menu : FUNC.SET while in ALT mode
: FUNC.SET while in ALT mode Toggle Histogram : Half-press shutter + Up while in ALT mode
: Half-press shutter + Up while in ALT mode Toggle CHDK On-Screen Display : Half-press shutter + Right while in ALT mode
: Half-press shutter + Right while in ALT mode Execute the Current Script: Full press shutter while in ALT mode. By default, this will just take a picture, but if you've selected another script—as described below—then it will run that script instead.
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Note that some cameras assign these functions to different buttons. For a full list of shortcuts on your specific camera, check out the CHDK Wiki entry on the subject. Take some time now to explore the CHDK menu (ALT, then MENU) and see what options are available to you. There, you'll find all your manual tweaks, display customizations, and other options. Here are some of the things you can do with CHDK.
Simple Options that Help You Shoot Better
Now it's time to take some pictures! Here are a few options you'll definitely want to check out in CHDK's menus.
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Manual ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture Adjustments: To tweak these settings like you would on a DSLR, go into ALT mode, press MENU, and head to Extra Photo Operations. Fro here, you can override all your camera's default settings, from the shutter speed to the aperture, subject distance, ISO value, and image quality. If you want to disable your overrides and go back to your camera's default state, just check the "Disable Overrides" box at the top of this menu. We aren't going to go into what each of these features do, suffice to say they can be very useful when you're shooting. Check out our Basics of Photography lesson on manual settings for more info on each feature.
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Video Customizations: To tweak your video options, go into ALT mode, press MENU, and head to Video Parameters. From here you can tweak the Bitrate and Quality values to get the best looking video possible, as well as enable optical zoom in your videos. This will give you better quality video when zoomed in, since by default Canon only lets you use the quality-degrading digital zoom in video mode. If you want continuous video that overrides the 4GB file limit, you'll need to grab a script like one of these and apply it as described in the next section.
RAW images: To save images in RAW instead of JPEG, go to ALT mode, press MENU, and choose RAW Parameters. Check the Save RAW box, and tweak any other settings you want. Remember that RAW isn't always better, but it can be handy in certain situations—so only shoot in RAW when you know you want to do the extra work editing later.
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Histogram and Zebra: If you want a bit more on-screen information about the color and exposure of your photo, you'll want to enable the histogram and/or zebra mode. You can find both of these in the ALT menu under Histogram Parameters and Zebra Parameters. Both features will help you make sure your photo isn't over- or under-exposed. You can learn a bit more about how to use them here, and learn more about the menu options in CHDK here.
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Grid: A grid can help you compose your photos perfectly, and CHDK has a few different grid overlays built in. To use them, go to the ALT menu and scroll down to OSD Parameters. Here, you can adjust many different aspects of the on-screen display, but heading down to Grid will let you choose what overlay you want to use. Just check Show Grid Lines and load your desired grid from the SD card.
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USB Remote: CHDK also lets you control your camera with a USB remote. You can access options for this by pressing ALT, going to the scripts menu as described below, and choosing Remote Parameters. Note, of course, that you'll need a USB remote for this to work. Check out the CHDK Wiki to see what remotes are compatible, or how to build one yourself.
For more info on all of these features and more, check out the CHDK User Manual over at the wiki.
Useful Scripts
CHDK's most powerful feature is the ability to run scripts and automate complex actions. It sounds scary, but it isn't—in fact, you don't need to know any code to make use of the scripts feature. A lot of scripts come built-in to CHDK, and you can download a ton more on the CHDK wiki.
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To use scripts, just press FUNC. SET while in ALT mode. You can then load a script from your SD card, tweak any parameters you want to tweak, then exit the menu and press the shutter, while still in ALT mode. Pressing the shutter again interrupts the script, while exiting ALT mode pauses it. In general, you have two types of scripts: Lua and UBASIC, designated by the LUA and BAS file extensions. Just know that Lua scripts will use more memory, but run faster. If you have problems with a certain script, try the other version and see if it works instead (where applicable). Here are a few examples of scripts that come with CHDK.
Time Lapse: The time lapse script, titled INTERVAL.BAS or INTERVAL.LUA, takes pictures on a certain interval. So, you can take a picture every 15 seconds by choosing this script and setting the Intervalometer to 15. It's simple, but can produce some pretty cool time lapse videos.
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Motion Detection: The MOTION.BAS and MOTION.LUA scripts each take a picture whenever motion is detected in front of your camera. These are great for catching lightning strikes, fireworks, or other quick events. You can read more about the motion detection functions on this CHDK Wiki page.
HDR: High Dynamic Range, or HDR, is a feature that takes multiple images with different parameters, so you can put them together and get fantastic looking photos. The HDR script in CHDK takes three photos: a normal one, a light one, and a dark one. You can then use Photoshop or other software to combine the three images into a high dynamic range shot.
These are just a few examples, but you can grab a ton of others here and put them in the scripts folder on your SD card to add them to your collection. You can also, of course, write your own scripts in Lua, which is a great programming language to learn since it's applicable on so many other platforms (like the iPhone and Android). With scripts, there's no limit to what CHDK can do, so we definitely recommend exploring what the community has to offer and experimenting with different automations.
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CHDK has more features than we could possibly go into in just one article—heck, you can even play games with it—but this should help get you started. Again, be sure to browse the CHDK Wiki and the User Manual to learn more about what CHDK can do, and you'll be on your way to taking better photos in no time.For Stef Sanjati, looking in the mirror has always been difficult.
This is not because she intrinsically dislikes herself or thinks she is ugly. It is because the person staring back at her does not, to Ms Sanjati, reflect who she is.
The 20-year-old transgender woman from Toronto recently underwent Facial Feminisation Surgery - sharing a graphic video on her popular YouTube page the day of and after she had the procedure done.
'For myself, waking up and looking in the mirror is like pressing reset on your favourite game every day. Losing all progress, going backwards, never reaching your potential,' Ms Sanjati said.
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Stef Sanjati (pictured before her Facial Feminisation Surgery) has never felt she identified with how she looked in the mirror - and spends hours applying make-up and editing photos
The 20-year-old transgender woman from Toronto recently underwent Facial Feminisation Surgery (pictured) - sharing a graphic video on her popular YouTube page about the procedure
'For myself, waking up and looking in the mirror is like pressing reset on your favourite game every day,' Ms Sanjati said prior to surgery (pictured as an adult before starting her transition)
'It's incredibly frustrating, not seeing what you see in your head in the mirror,' she continued, writing on a GoFundMe page set up to help with the cost of her various surgical procedures.
I don't think I have uploaded an untouched photograph since before I started my transition - I nip and tuck at my face, reducing my jaw here, enlarging my cheek there
'I don't think I have uploaded an untouched photograph since before I started my transition - I nip and tuck at my face, reducing my jaw here, enlarging my cheek there... all with the goal of looking more like what we perceive as feminine.'
Alongside Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS), which costs Ms Sanjati more than CAD $45,000 (US $33,000; AUD $45,000; GBP £26,500), Ms Sanjati also will have Sexual Realignment Surgery (SRS).
Costs can vary for these surgeries depending on the person.
In February, Ms Sanjati (pictured before her FFS) set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of various surgical procedures - FFS, for instance, costs USD $33,000
'It's incredibly frustrating, not seeing what you see in your head in the mirror,' Ms Sanjati has said in the past of her desire to have the surgery (pictured: Stef Sanjati just after surgery)
The 20-year-old (pictured as a young boy) said she felt that after many years, 'it is time for me to undertake my gender confirming surgeries'
In the candid video (pictured), posted on YouTube on December 17 after surgery, Ms Sanjati said she was 'happy' with how the surgery had gone - and was feeling 'grateful'
The 20-year-old (pictured before FFS) said she wanted the various surgical procedures to 'vastly improve my mental health'
'I would love to share the experience with you, so that people can learn about the surgeries and what they mean to transgender people,' Ms Sanjati said (pictured before FFS)
However, the 20-year-old said that she felt 'it is time for me to undertake my gender confirming surgeries'.
She said that in the past, it took her as long as five hours doing her make-up to feel comfortable with her face, adding that she always used photo-editing applications to ensure that photographs reflected how she wanted to appear.
In the candid video, posted on YouTube on December 17 after surgery, Ms Sanjati said she was 'happy' with how the surgery had gone - and feeling 'grateful'.
'I can't really express myself, but I'm in minimal pain right now,' she said.
Meanwhile, the young Canadian woman has had more than a thousand people donate to her cause on GoFundMe, raising $32,000 of her goal.
'They are not as simple as feeling better about the curve of our nose, it is much larger than that,' she said (pictured after the surgery)
Stef Sanjati has so far raised $32,000 of her goal, and more than a thousand people have donated to the cause (pictured before the surgery)
WHAT IS FACIAL FEMINISATION SURGERY? * Facial Feminisation Surgery is a set of reconstructive surgical procedures that alter typically male facial features to bring them closer in shape and size to typical female facial features. * FFS can include various bone and soft tissue procedures such as a brow lift, rhinoplasty, cheek implantation and lip augmentation. * Faces contain secondary sex characteristics that make male and female faces readily distinguishable.
'Undergoing FFS and SRS would vastly improve my mental health,' Ms Sanjati wrote.
'I would love to share the experience with all of you, so that people can learn about gender confirmation surgeries and what they mean to transgender people.
'They are not as simple as feeling better about the curve of our nose, it is much larger than that.
'These surgeries are about feeling like you, every day, when you wake up in the morning - before cinching, pulling, and covering every inch of your body with body shapers, tape, and cosmetics.
'They're about recognising yourself in the mirror and feeling like living going outside, is possible, and not something to dread.'At the IBM Center for Applied Insights, we could probably create data visualizations, infographics, and datagrams in our sleep. Cloud Pacesetters? Marketing Scientists? Chief Information Security Officers? No problem. But this week, we faced an exciting new challenge. Along with our broader Market Insights team, we participated in “Hack Week”, a competition to create the best infographic for a great cause, the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH).
A bit about the cause – West Side Campaign Against Hunger’s mission is to alleviate hunger and create a culture that promotes self-reliance and works for change. The WSCAH food pantry, located in New York City’s Upper West Side, is unique – it is a customer-choice, supermarket style pantry. Clients choose the food they need for themselves and their families and also volunteer at the pantry, creating a cooperative system. In 2013, WSCAH served 1 million meals to 115,000 people.
So how can IBM’s Market Insights function help this incredible organization? By using our expertise in two ways: to help the leaders sift through their data to identify key insights and to spread awareness among potential donors. At the Center for Applied Insights, we create infographics for all of our projects – people love to share them! But sharing information about an organization working to fight hunger is slightly different from illustrating the best practices of Chief Information Security Officers! A recent Center for Applied Insights blog post provided us with some great resources.
To create the winning infographic for WSCAH, we took the following steps:
Identify the goal. Our original prompt was to simply provide information on WSCAH through an infographic. But this wasn’t specific enough; we needed a tangible goal. Speaking with members of the the organization, we learned their greatest pain point – receiving donations (only 15% of their income is from the government). With this, our goal was clear – to create an infographic to encourage donations. Tell a story. A bulleted list of stats? Not memorable. The story of three WSCAH clients, and how the organization has assisted them? That’s something you’ll remember. For the story thread, we followed an orange shopping cart (the organization’s logo) to describe the clients using the cart throughout the day. Extract key insights. The WSCAH team sent over a number of data files to us at IBM – with information on things like the client profile, number of households served, pounds of food, counseling provided, and yearly donations. With our team of data wizards, analysis was no problem. The key was sifting through the data to identify the data points that were the most compelling and supported our story. Play to emotions. With a topic like hunger, this isn’t difficult. (For something like cloud computing, a bit more difficult). We used terms like “neighbor”, “family”, and “contributing” to elicit emotions from whoever is viewing the infographic. Accurately represent the brand. Before embarking on the project, we worked to learn as much as we could about WSCAH. We watched this incredible video and others that featured WSCAH clients. We read their annual report, and combed through their data. Specifically through the videos, we were able to better understand their clients, and accurately represent them through our story. Visually, we incorporated the company logo and colors. Have a clear call to action. After finishing reading an infographic, there must be a clear “so what”? I’ve shared this powerful information, now what should you do? We make it clear what we want the reader to do – donate to this extraordinary organization.
Did this infographic inspire you to donate to West Side Campaign Against Hunger? You can donate here.With an electorate totally disenchanted with the two major parties’ offerings, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson has a unique chance to make a splash this year — and he’s determined to do things differently than in his 2012 campaign.
Gone are the low-yield interviews with “internet radio” shows, and Mr. Johnson also says he’ll probably skip out on trolling the Democratic and Republican conventions.
More significantly, he said he’ll probably reverse his 2012 decision and reject public financing this year, instead trying to raise his own campaign cash.
“The target is tens of millions of dollars, and we need to show that or we’re not credible,” Mr. Johnson told The Washington Times. “That’s just the reality.”
He sat down with The Washington Times a week after he won the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination for a second election in a row, and insisted this year is different, both because he’s better prepared and because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have chased voters out of their own parties.
One major difference this time is that Mr. Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico, has former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld as his running mate.
Not only do they each have more executive elected experience than either Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump, but Mr. Weld’s presence has already helped the ticket line up meetings with potential financiers.
And the Libertarians are getting outside help from political action committees that know how to play the game.
Ed Crane, the founder and president emeritus of the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank, said recently that he’s switching his Purple PAC group, which had backed Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 GOP presidential campaign, to be a pro-Johnson outfit.
“I think there’s going to be significant money outside of the campaign,” said Mr. Crane. “The purpose of all the PACs, as far as I am concerned at this juncture, is to raise Gary’s profile to the point where he gets 15 percent in the polls or more and, therefore, is in the debates.”
Matt Kibbe, who left the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks last year to work on the pro-Paul Concerned American Voters group, also recently started an outside group called AlternativePAC in an effort to boost Mr. Johnson’s candidacy.
Both Mr. Crane and Mr. Kibbe said in addition to swaying middle-of-the-road voters, Mr. Johnson can also win over disaffected supporters of Sen. Bernard Sanders who are fed up with politics as usual.
“This ticket has appeal potentially across the political spectrum,” Mr. Kibbe said, saying one goal is to target millennials who have been turned off by Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton.
He said he hopes to raise $1 million in the next few weeks and $4 million to $5 million for the cycle.
“Once he’s in the debates, the money’s just going to pour in,” Mr. Crane said. “Because if you have Gary Johnson — smart, knowledgeable, honest — up against Hillary and Trump on the same platform, the best candidate will be so obvious to the average American that it should be a unique point in American political history.”
The Real Clear Politics average of polls puts Mr. Johnson at 8.5 percent support nationally — when he’s included in the polling. In state polling he runs as high as 16 percent in Utah, but is in the low- or mid-single digits in key Electoral College battlegrounds such as Florida and Georgia.
Mr. Johnson acknowledged he can’t make a credible run if he doesn’t get into the presidential debates — and that means he must poll at least 15 percent. He says with the unpopularity of Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, it should be possible to break that threshold this year.
“We’d be at a level where we’d be in the debates, and if that happens, anything is possible, meaning getting elected is possible,” he said.
Mr. Johnson makes the case that he and Mr. Weld occupy a space between the more unpalatable aspects of the two major parties. That’s a shift from the place small-government libertarians have historically occupied somewhere firmly on the conservative end of the political spectrum.
“Bill Weld and I you could label as kind of moderate Libertarians — kind of puts us smack in the middle, trying or believing that, really, we’re the voice of the majority of Americans,” Mr. Johnson said.
But on free trade, one of the Libertarian Party’s chief issues, primary voters have been hesitant to fully embrace recent agreements, and both Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders have made opposition to free trade pacts key planks in their respective campaigns.
Mr. Johnson said free trade should be pursued, but that what politicians label “free trade” is often dressed-up crony capitalism and ends up giving an advantage to people who have money.
“Regulation that might actually get passed that would level the playing field — yeah, you bet,” he said. “That is something that government can do. So not making promises that more jobs are going to get created, but making promises that in office you can level the playing field, and that ultimately that will lead to many, many jobs.”
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed Mr. Johnson as a “fringe” candidate. That’s a label Mr. Johnson embraced — albeit perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
“Really, a completely accurate portrayal,” he said. “He was talking about both Bill Weld and myself — two Republican governors serving in heavily blue states, being fiscally conservative yeah, we’re totally fringe. Totally.”
Mr. Johnson called Mr. Trump’s campaign rhetoric “incendiary” and said even when he says something somewhat agreeable to libertarians, like advocating a noninterventionist foreign policy, he’s liable to just contradict himself later.
“Killing the families of Muslim terrorists. Bringing back waterboarding or worse, calling a judge in California Mexican — this is incendiary stuff,” Mr. Johnson said.
Taking a page from Mr. Sanders, Mr. Johnson also says he’s not calling out Mrs. Clinton for the private email server she used as secretary of state, and which is currently the subject of an FBI investigation.
But he said people could expect to see the government grow and pay more taxes if she’s elected, and that she has been the architect of a lackluster U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Johnson also gave Mr. Sanders some praise for coming around on the issue of marijuana legalization, which Mr. Johnson has advocated for some time. While campaigning in California recently, Mr. Sanders said he’d support a ballot item on legalizing the drug.
“There’s not one politician outside of Bernie Sanders at the congressional, senatorial or gubernatorial level that has advocated legalization of marijuana other than myself and that’s a recent phenomenon for Bernie,” Mr. Johnson said.
“To me, that’s just a disconnect in a big, big, big way,” he said.
Mr. Johnson said that, beyond marijuana, he’d support decriminalizing drug use in general.
“I’m not advocating the legalization of any drug other than marijuana, but I think this country is going to take a quantum leap in understanding drugs and drug abuse, and I think the next logical step, which I completely support, is decriminalizing drug use,” he said. “And I would support that — I would always support that.”
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.The glasses reportedly integrate augmented reality technology into a new Robocop-style vision of the future, overlaying the screen of the glasses with additional contextual information.
Augmented reality traditionally uses increasingly commonplace technologies to add information to images on the screens of mobile phones and tablets. A digital camera and internet connectivity is combined with location data – so if you point your phone at Big Ben, because the device knows where you are it’s comparatively simple to add information to the image on screen. And while the obvious uses are for, say, historical information, there’s space for advertisers and social services to tell you where to, say, meet up with friends for a drink.
Although Google itself resolutely refused to give any oxygen to rumours of the project, the New York Times reports that the glasses will use the same operating system as Google’s mobile phone, and cost about the same as a top smartphone too.
The search giant is reportedly considering how people might be informed that they are being 'processed' by the glasses, but Google's existing augmented reality software, Google Goggle, focuses on objects rather than individuals.
Scrolling will be with slight inclinations of the head and neck. Perhaps the least plausible part of the story is that, once learnt, such movements are apparently “almost indistinguishable to outside users”.ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) – Governor Larry Hogan on Wednesday declared a State of Emergency in response to Maryland's rising number of deaths attributed to heroin and opioids.
He also announced $50 million in new funding to support heroin prevention, treatment and enforcement efforts. The funding will be distributed evenly over the next five years.
“Here in Maryland, heroin and opioid related deaths have doubled in the last year in our state,” Governor Hogan said.
According to the Governor, the threat has escalated rapidly with fentanyl, which he called "100 times more powerful" and "far more deadly."
“We need to treat this crisis the exact same way that we would treat any other state emergency,” he said.
The former executive director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), Clay Stamp, will lead the accelerated state and local effort. The Governor will also delegate emergency powers to state and local emergency management officials to enable them to fast-track coordination among state and local agencies and community organizations, including working with the private sector and non
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summer, please try to remember: Today is June 10th, and to borrow a quote from Allen Iverson, we’re talking about practice. Get back to me on September 9th. Or even better, get back to me next January when the Jets are making a run through the playoffs.
RelatedIf you were a child in 90s, hell if you were ever a child at all, you were fucking obsessed with Disney princesses. They’re beautiful. They’re rich. They’re in love. Some of them are kinda smart. Everything young betches dream of growing up to be. But that was like, 20 years ago. What tf are all these princesses doing now? If I had to guess, they’re probs drunk fighting at a charity auction or dinner party, a lot like the Real Housewives. I feel like Snow White would be a total lush these days.
Instead of you spending hours trying to decipher which princess grew up to be which wife, we’ve done it for you. They even have their own taglines. You’re welcome.
Cinderella aka Nene Leakes
Why: While Cinderella was at her stepmom’s house doing a shit ton of chores, Nene was on the pole, stripping for a dollar. Sure, it started out a little rough but look at them now. Nene’s starred in a handful of TV and Broadway shows, and Cinderella is hands down the most famous of all the princesses. Started from the bottom, now we’re here.
Tagline: Whoever said diamonds were a girl’s best friend never owned a pair of glass Louboutins.
Snow White aka Erika Jayne
Why: A lot like Erika Jayne, Snow White doesn’t go anywhere without her squad. The dwarves may spend their days mining and tidying the house, but by night, they’re a full-on glam team that helps keep Snow looking fierce. If Erika Jayne will fly her posse of stylists and makeup artists to Dubai for a girls trip, you can bet Snow, an heiress to the thrown for Christ’s sake, would do the same.
Tagline: I’ll eat apples, but I prefer Champagne.
Belle aka Heather Dubrow
Why: Heather’s castmates constantly make fun of her for being “fancy pants,” which in OC terms means you have class. Belle goes through the same thing in her hometown, where all the locals think she’s a fucking weirdo because she likes books and wants to build The Belle Center For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too. Both Belle and Heather are also fans of diamonds in the rough when it comes to men. Belle’s bf was a hairy beast when they first met, but after a few weeks with Belle, he turned into a really hot prince. Terry Dubrow, on the other hand, was probs a total nerd, but now he’s like, the world’s richest plastic surgeon. And Belle and Heather look exactly alike. This one was easy af.
Tagline: They say behind every good man there’s a great woman. Behind a great man there’s me.
Jasmine aka Lisa Vanderpump
Why: Out of all the princesses Jasmine seems the richest. Probs because she’s a Middle Eastern princess and that oil money is no fucking joke. Why does this make her like Lisa Vanderpump? Because LVP has more money than God and Donald Trump combined, that’s why. Jasmine also has a pet tiger, and with all of Lisa’s swans and miniature horses and shit, it’s only a matter of time before a deadly, endangered cat is added to the mix.
Tagline: Pet tigers and magic carpet rides might seem extravagant, but that’s just me living my truth.
Ariel aka Tamra Judge
Why: In the past couple seasons, Tamra has gotten annoying AF about health and exercise. She opened a gym, won’t shut up about working out and even competes in fitness contests. Lol, k. While Ariel hasn’t hit the competition circuit quite yet, she does insist on wearing a bathing suit all fucking day to show off her perfect bod. She’s the princess you don’t wanna eat pizza around.
Tagline: If you think my life is easy, try swimming a mile in my shell bikini.
Pocahontas aka Bethenny Frankel
Why: Both Pocahontas and Bethenny are boss-ass bitches who know how to get what they want. If Bethenny thinks you’re being a hoe and wants to let you know about it in the Berkshires, she’ll do it. If Pocahontas wants to hook up with a English dude even though his friends are trying to kill her family and her dad said not to, she’ll do it. Plus, they both have huge boobs for how skinny they are. Lucky betches.
Tagline: Paint me in whatever light you want. I’ll just keep painting with all the colors of the wind.
Aurora aka Melissa Gorga
Why: This season, Melissa decided she wanted to open a clothing boutique despite the fact that she has no design and/or business experience whatsoever. #HousewivesProbs. Aurora tried to do the same thing once but ended up pricking her finger on a spindle because she didn’t know how to use it. She was so embarrassed, she blamed the whole thing on Maleficent and played the damsel card so her fuckboy would finally commit. Speaking of fuckboys. Sounds a lot like Melissa’s husband, Joe.
Tagline: I used to sleep through life. Now I’m living the dream.
Mulan aka Teresa Giudice
Why: Back in the day, it was illegal for women in China to fight for their country. Seems archaic and stupid, but it was the law. A law Mulan broke and got caught for. Same shit happened to Teresa. The big difference is Mulan ended up getting pardoned because she saved the entire country from Shan Yu and the Huns, while Teresa ended up doing hard time. Either way, they both brought dishonor to the family.
Tagline: If an avalanche can’t take me down, what makes you think you can?
Rapunzel aka Kyle Richards
Why: The hair. There is no other reason because no other reason is needed.
Tagline: If you’re jealous of my castle, just wait till you see my hair.
Tiana aka Kandi Burruss
Why: In a world of housewives who think they have vocal talent, Kandi is actually a really amazing singer and songwriter. All the princesses are pretty good. It’s part of the job. But Tiana wipes the floor with all of them when it comes to carrying a tune. Sorry, Cinderella. Kandi and Tiana also seem to be in semi-healthy relationships. Unlike some of her fellow princesses, Tiana took the time to get to know and fall in love with Naveen before, ya know, committing her whole fucking life to him. Kandi and her bae, Todd, seem pretty normal by Bravo standards.
Tagline: I was a girl then I was a frog and now I’m a princess. What I’ll be next is anybody’s guess.
Elsa aka Carole Radziwill
Why: We call them all Disney princesses, but that’s not 100% true because Elsa isn’t a princess. She’s a fucking snow queen. Carole can relate because she’s not just rich and successful like her fellow wives. Her late husband was a Polish prince and nephew to JFK and Jackie, so like, kind of a BFD. Carole is the closest thing to monarchy New York has (sorry, Anna Wintour. You’re not royalty) and Manhattan is cold af.
Tagline: Some people will tell you I’m a cold-hearted bitch. You should listen.Story highlights The workers were abducted Sunday evening, the Italian foreign minister says
Italy closed its embassy in Libya this year
(CNN) Four Italian employees working for a construction firm on the western coast of Libya have been kidnapped, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
"We are busy trying to find the people that were kidnapped and trying to solve this problem," Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. The workers were abducted Sunday evening, and their families were told about it overnight.
"It's very difficult after just a few hours to understand the nature of this kidnapping, who is responsible for it," Gentiloni said.
A crisis team has been activated to assist and coordinate efforts to free the employees of the Bonatti construction company, who were working for Melitha Oil and Gas, the ministry said.
Bonatti is based in Parma, Italy, and specializes in jobs in hazardous areas, according to the company's website
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I don’t tend to worry too much about hydration, except when I exercise. I’ve been running regularly for over 15 years, and since I started I’ve usually carried water, or for longer runs, I drink old-school Gatorade. The formulation is basic: sugar, salt, and potassium. There are hundreds of electrolyte products marketed for athletics, but I’ve been faithful to the original: It’s cheap, I don’t mind the taste (even when it’s warm), you can buy it nearly anywhere, and it’s the usual liquid (besides water) offered at races. After exercise, I rehydrate with plain water, preferring to get my electrolytes and carbohydrates from food, rather than a specialty beverage, some of which are “designed” to support rehydration after exercise. The science of sports and hydration is constantly evolving, and so is the marketing. I’m apparently an outlier by still running with Gatorade. New hydration products criticize Gatorade for being artificial and inferior, arguing that natural sources of hydration are better. There’s been an explosion of rehydration beverages, marketed both for everyday hydration and sport purposes. Coconut water was the first natural product to find fairly wide popularity as a sports-oriented beverage. Now you can find maple water, cactus water, watermelon juice and even artichoke water. Is “natural” hydration better that substitutes, including plain old water?
The science of hydration
The science of hydration, particularly during exercise, has come a long way since I started running in the nineties. When I took my first “how to run” clinic, there were a few mantras that reflected the prevailing wisdom: Dehydration is the enemy. Dehydration impairs performance. Dehydration can occur without you even noticing, so don’t trust thirst. Start hydrating before you become thirsty. Drink at every water station during a race.
These seem to still be generally accepted as truths, judging by the ubiquity of water bottles that we now lug everywhere. Hydration is an obsession, and not just when we exercise. We’re advised to drink a specific number of glasses of water per day, to counter hidden dehydration and flush out the toxins. Our hydration options have expanded too. Today you can buy water with added vitamins (and sugar) and popsicles “with added electrolytes”.
The most current science seems to suggest, perhaps unsurprisingly, that we may be taking our obsession with hydration a bit too far. Alex Hutchinson is my go-to source of knowledge on sport science (buy his book; I did) and he writes regularly on hydration and exercise. My own understanding on the current science of hydration in sports has changed, informed in part by scientists like Alex. Like many other fields, the evidence keeps emerging, but the current science-based approach seems to be as follows:
“Drink according to your thirst” seems to be the most practical approach to hydration. You don’t need to hydrate if you’re not thirsty. This advice is relevant to both day-to-day activities as well as athletics. There is no need to drink a specific amount of water per day, nor is there a requirement to drink constantly while you exercise.
Mild dehydration doesn’t appear to impair performance in endurance athletes.
Overhydration in sports, particularly in slower long-distance runners that may ignore the above, is a real risk. Overhydration combined with exercise can lead to hyponatremia (low sodium), which can be a serious medical issue.
In general, sugary beverages provide calories but not satiety, so they should be consumed in moderation. In most cases, water is probably the perfect beverage for hydration, exercise or otherwise.
For long-duration endurance sports, some carbohydrate (like sugar) may be helpful. While some electrolytes may be helpful, you don’t need your hydration beverage to contain vitamins. You generally don’t need to worry about carbohydrates and electrolytes during a soccer game or similar short sporting events.
When it comes to athletics, there’s a lot of interesting science that continues to challenge what we think we know about hydration. Researchers continue to explore the differences between thirst sensations, dehydration, and performance. Expectations about hydration, and thirst, may influence performance more than ones hydration status itself.
Is there such thing as magic water?
Given the current evidence, is there anything to suggest that any liquid has an advantage over another when used strictly for hydration? One way this has been examined is in treatment of dehydration, particularly diarrhea. In most cases, mild diarrhea is a bother. Severe, sustained diarrhea, however, particularly in children, can become life threatening without treatment. Diarrhea kills millions in the third world each year, mainly children under the age of 5. The treatment is simple, but not always available. The World Health Organization’s Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), which is 6 level teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 level teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 litre of water, is considered the optimal ratio of sugar and salt to support rehydration. Why sugar and salt in the water? It’s because plain water is not absorbed as well as a solution of salt and sugar. The concentration of sugar and sodium will impact on how effectively a beverage will hydrate. But does this matter in an athletic context?
From the grocery store to the yoga studio to the running club, coconut water is everywhere. There’s even a new beer (Sleeman Lift) that is brewed with coconut water and is labeled for the “performance focused”. Coconut water is positioned as a superior product for rehydration. The marketing and packaging rely heavily on the appeal to nature (like the photo above):
Coconut water naturally contains sugars and electrolytes. Natural is better than unnatural. Therefore coconut water is a better beverage choice.
Or is it?
Don’t confuse coconut water with coconut milk, which contains a lot of coconut “meat”, the white solid we might refer to simply as coconut. Coconut water is the 2-4 cups of fluid inside a young coconut, which declines as the “meat” grows. Depending on when the water is withdrawn, the electrolyte levels may vary, but have been reported in the following ranges [PDF]:
sodium 0.7-0.9 mEq/L
potassium 35-82 mEq/L
glucose 1.2-2.8 grams/L
calcium 5-17 mEq/L
magnesium 5-25 mEq/L
There are also small amounts of amino acids, vitamins and minerals present. Compared to a typical sports beverage like Gatorade, there’s more potassium, and less sodium and sugar. It also has no artificial colours or flavours. And unlike Gatorade, coconut water has even been directly injected into veins. Coconut water appears to be inferior for dehydration caused by diarrhea compared to solutions like the ORS. For exercise-induced dehydration, I found three relevant studies:
Coconut water was compared to a carbohydrate/electrolyte beverage, and plain water, in subjects who exercised in the heat. After exercise subjects drank 120% of their fluid loss. There was no significant difference in the amount of hydration achieved, electrolyte levels, or fluid balance.
Another study compared plain water, sports drink, coconut water, and sodium-enriched coconut water. Again, subjects exercised in the heat and then rehydrated with 120% of their fluid losses. Here, sports drink and both coconut waters rehydrated to a similar extent and all were slightly superior to water. The sodium-enriched coconut water was reported as better tolerated than other beverages.
In another study, coconut water was compared with sports drink and plain water, following exercise-induced dehydration. No significant differences were noted between groups.
So what’s best?
In most cases, you don’t need to over-think your hydration. Drink if you’re thirsty. Water is best in most circumstances. There’s no convincing evidence to suggest that coconut water is a superior beverage for hydration. Coconut water has no magical properties which will make you ski faster. Having said that, many love the taste of coconut water. As a low calorie option, it may be preferred by some over carbohydrate-containing sports drinks. Or you can stick with zero-calorie water, and rely on your food for carbohydrates and to replenish electrolytes.
Photo from flickr user Mike Mozart used under a CC licence.The J.C.C. Manhattan on the Upper West Side will be renamed the Marlene Meyerson J.C.C. in honor of a $20 million gift from the Meyerson Family Foundation, which is believed to be one of the largest donations ever made to a Jewish Community Center in the United States.
The foundation — which made the donation in the name of Marlene Meyerson, a philanthropist who died earlier this year — has also commissioned a site-specific artwork for the J.C.C. by Jenny Holzer.
Image The artist Jenny Holzer in her exhibition space, Building 6 at MASS MoCA. She will create a site-specific artwork for the J.C.C. Credit Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
To create the installation, the J.C.C. will ask its members over the next several months to share their own words or quotes by others that address the question: “What does community mean?” Ms. Holzer will choose a handful of these to chisel onto marble benches and stone plaques throughout the building on Amsterdam Avenue at 76th Street.
Ms. Holzer will also incorporate hundreds of other such word contributions into a virtual piece of art that will map the building’s interior and exterior, as well as an augmented-reality smartphone app that will allow users to “see” the words as if they, too, were actually engraved. The artwork will be unveiled at a naming ceremony in the spring. The naming rights will revert to the J.C.C. in 30 years.Major League Soccer announced on Monday that Sporting Kansas City has protected the following 11 players ahead of Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft:
DEF: Matt Besler, Igor Juliao, Chance Myers, Ike Opara, Seth Sinovic
MF: Bernardo Añor, Benny Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda, Paulo Nagamura, Graham Zusi
FWD: Dom Dwyer
Additionally, goalkeeper Jon Kempin (Homegrown), defender Kevin Ellis (Homegrown), defender Erik Palmer-Brown (Homegrown) and midfielder Mikey Lopez (Generation adidas) are automatically protected per the MLS Expansion Draft rules, which also required Sporting Kansas City to protect a minimum of three International Players (Añor, Juliao and Medranda).
The following players from Sporting KC’s 2014 roster will be eligible for selection:
GK: Andy Gruenebaum, Eric Kronberg
MF: Jorge Claros, Christian Duke, Michael Kafari, Victor Munoz, Lawrence Olum, Martin Steuble
FWD: Claudio Bieler, Antonio Dovale, Jacob Peterson, Soony Saad, Sal Zizzo
Of those players, two are under contract with the club for the 2015 season (Bieler and Claros). Sporting KC has extended offers to Peterson and Saad.
Eastern Conference expansion teams Orlando City SC and New York City FC will alternate selections in the 10-round Expansion Draft at 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Click here for a list of all draft-eligible players, released by Major League Soccer on Monday.
If a non-protected Sporting Kansas City player is claimed in the Expansion Draft, then Sporting KC is permitted to move a player from its non-protected roster to its protected roster. No more than two players may be selected from any one MLS team during the Expansion Draft and teams whose players are selected during the Expansion Draft will be compensated with allocation money.
Sporting Kansas City has had seven players taken all-time in MLS expansion drafts:French Montana's 2013 debut, Excuse My French, was executive produced by Diddy, Rick Ross and Harve Pierre, but according to the artist, it was almost executive produced by J. Cole.
During an interview with MONTREALITY, the South Bronx native revealed that, after spending time together as opening acts on Drake's 2012 Club Paradise Tour, he and Cole discussed the possibility of working together on the project, but they couldn't make the timing work.
"J. Cole almost executive produced my first album after I played him the music," Montana told MONTREALITY. "I think Cole's one of the, you know, dopest artists that's came out. I remember when we was on the Club Paradise Tour with Drake, and I was working on my first album and we had 'Pop That' and I was playing him my album. He called me one day and he was like, 'French, I would love to help you with the album and executive produce it.' I felt like, he's a producer, one of the best out of our generation, so the time just wasn't right. He was moving, I was moving. Things like that need time."
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While French is right in that it's important for an artist and a producer to build a relationship over time and not rush into a creative marriage, working as an executive producer and actually producing an album are two totally different roles. In music, an executive producer is responsible for overseeing a project and providing guidance, which means Cole could have easily filled that role for Montana without ever giving him a single beat to rhyme over.
Unfortunately, for Montana, while French was finishing up his debut, Cole was busy finalizing his sophomore album, Born Sinner.
Though it's hard to see the pair ever working together again in the same capacity—Cole's role as an exec-producer has exclusively been to his Dreamville label signees—it's certainly fun to think back on the days when J. Cole and French Montana were basically the same people. Seriously.Impact players can change the course of a game in one play. Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is such a player. And when he impacts a game, the opposition feels it. That's because Berry has a knack for laying the wood in the open field. The source of those bone-jarring hits? Berry's exceptional short-range explosiveness and closing burst on the ball.
Berry's playmaking prowess starts with his tailor-made Two-Step Break technique. He says, "I was very confused in college coming out of my breaks." So he scrapped the textbook T-Plant and Bicycle Breaks in favor of his own Two-Step Break. "I turned it into two steps, so when I get ready to break, it's 'one, two and go,'" he says.
In contrast to the T-Plant, the Two-Step allows Berry to keep his hips turned in the direction of the play at all times. And opposed to the Bicycle technique, the sudden burst required of the Two-Step involves no wasted motion as Berry comes out of his break.Staff members of Al Jazeera have informed me that as soon as Al Jazeera America (AJAM) launches on August 20, American viewers will be unable to access the online livestream of Al Jazeera English (AJE). Because of restrictions imposed by cable providers, AJAM and AJE will both be unavailable to online viewers in the United States.
When Al Jazeera announced its purchase of Current TV in January, the network said it would broadcast sixty percent of its content from the US, and forty percent from its international AJE affiliate. All that changed in May, when the network decided that all of AJAM’s content would originate from the United States.
As a result of the move, the thousands of American news consumers who have turned to AJE for an alternative to the mind-numbing, sensationalistic content familiar to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC will soon have to obtain a VPN proxy to watch its broadcasts anywhere outside the extremely limited area where it is currently available on cable, like in Washington DC and Los Angeles.
To make matters worse, because Time Warner dropped Current-TV upon Al Jazeera’s purchase of the network, the nearly 12 million homes that rely on the company for cable will be unable to access AJAM or AJE.
Al Jazeera sources have told me that the impending end of AJE’s free online broadcast in the United States has added to the wave of internal dissent provoked by the launch of AJAM. Among hardcore American news consumers hungry for adversarial reporting from around the globe, this development is not very likely to inspire much confidence either.Photo via the Seattle Seahawks website
Retired Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has been known to do things differently his entire life.
Whether it was Beast Mode choosing not to talk to media during the latest Seahawks’ Super Bowl run, or holding out in 2014 to squeeze out a bit more money, Lynch is going to make sure he gets his.
As such, it came as little surprise when Lynch’s agent Doug Hendrickson still has difficulty gauging his client’s intents while on KNBR radio in San Francisco Tuesday.
“He does miss football, no question,” Hendrickson said. “He loves the game of football. He’s 30. But until I meet with him this week, you know, I don’t know what his mindset is. He’s the kind of guy that can shift by the hour.”
Lynch’s agent seemed to be attempting to calm the recent whirlwind of rumors involving the Raiders and his client, at least until he can speak to him one-on-one.
“He’s one of the most unique guys I’ve ever been with in my life,” Hendrickson explained. “Marshawn, it wouldn’t shock me in three days if he says, ‘Hey, I want to play.’ It wouldn’t shock me if he says, ‘Nah, I don’t know where this came from. I don’t want to play.’”
Hendrickson also stated that Lynch was currently in Canada, and that is why he had yet to speak with his client regarding his intent to play again in 2017.
What is clear, is that Lynch would want to play for Oakland should the Seahawks let him out of his current commitments with the team. From there, it will be up to Hendrickson and Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie to strike a deal for the soon to be 31-year-old back.
Ryan is currently a student at the University of North Carolina. He grew up in the Bay Area and has had Raiders season tickets his entire life fostering his love for the NFL. He has founded his own sports website, thejrreport.com and works at the Sports Desk for the Daily Tar Heel. You can follow Ryan on twitter @rytime98 if you want to discuss anything sports. http://thejrreport.com
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Like this: Like Loading...Today, the House Local Government Committee approved House Bill 4795, as substituted, with a recommendation that it do pass. HB 4795 will now receive consideration by the full House of Representatives.
HB 4795, sponsored by Chairman Lee Chatfield (R-District 107), is important legislation aimed at protecting law-abiding gun owners from unlawful constraints on their Right to Keep and Bear Arms imposed by insubordinate local units of government. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the committee hearing today in support of this critical bill. Your NRA-ILA would also like to thank Chairman Chatfield and state Representatives Price, Heise, Runestead, Sheppard, and Theis for their efforts in support of this legislation.
Please click the “Take Action” button below to begin contacting your state Representative in support of HB 4795!
In 1990, the Michigan Legislature passed Public Act 319, a bill that prohibits a local unit of government from enacting or enforcing any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulating in any other manner, the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols or other firearms. The purpose of the legislation was two-fold: (1) create consistency in firearm regulation throughout the state to ensure that otherwise law-abiding gun owners were not subject to prosecution for unknowingly violating firearm laws that could vary widely between cities, townships, and counties; and (2) to ensure that firearm regulations were fully contemplated and vetted prior to enactment (e.g. not subject to the often whimsical and capricious nature of local reforms).
While Public Act 319 of 1990 was largely successful in accomplishing the intended goal, certain obstinate local units of government and local politicians in Michigan continue to egregiously violate Michigan law through the enactment of unlawful regulations and ordinances intended to target, intimidate, and sometimes unlawfully detain law-abiding gun owners. This conduct, which only impacts responsible gun owners while doing nothing to address violent crime, cannot continue.
If the government can seek recourse when its citizens break the law (i.e. tickets, fines and imprisonment), then it is only right that the citizens be allowed to seek recourse when a local unit of government breaks the law. House Bill 4795 is simply intended to deter insubordinate local units of government and local politicians from knowingly breaking the law. Your fundamental and constitutional rights deserve such protection.
Over the last few months, Bloomberg-funded gun-control groups have spent money and expended resources in Lansing spreading misinformation and outright lies about HB 4795. It is time for law-abiding gun owners to make their collective voices heard.
Once again, please click the “Take Action” button above to contact your state Representative and urge them to support HB 4795!WASHINGTON (AP) --Experts believe new voting restrictions enacted in 14 states had some effect on turnout, especially in some of the battleground states won by Republican Donald Trump.
Voter IDs restrictions, reduced early voting and polling place consolidation were among the concerns heading into this presidential election, particularly in minority communities.
In some of the states, the margins between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton were simply too great for those restrictions to have been a deciding factor. But in Wisconsin, one poll monitor said the roughly 27,000-vote difference was concerning given the turmoil surrounding the state's voter ID law.
As many as 300,000 Wisconsin voters did not have the required photo ID. With lower than expected turnout, Trump was the first Republican to win the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Copyright 2016: Associated PressThe dream of every treasure-hunter came true for Florian Bautsch last October when he found 217 Nazi-era gold coins in Lüneburg, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported on Tuesday.
Bausch – a certified metal detectorist – was exploring old burial mounds in the town south of Hamburg when he stumbled across the first gold piece.
After a further search under the foliage uncovered nine more coins, Bautsch did a survey of the area and got in touch with local archaeologists.
A two-week long excavation followed, unearthing a further 207 gold coins – with a material worth estimated at around €45,000.
Archaeologists also found remnants of pasteboard with two seals bearing the swastika, imperial eagle and the stamp: "Reichsbank Berlin 244".
The find was exhibited in Lüneburg Museum on Tuesday – and caused considerable excitement among experts, according to Lüneburg archaeologist Edgar Ring.
Despite the value of the coins coming to €45,000, Bautsch is only set to receive the relatively small sum of €2,500 as his finder's reward – but explained his honesty by saying that the most important thing for him was furthering scientific knowledge.
'A stroke of luck'
Although similar finds have been made in the past, almost all have lacked archaeological context, with illegal metal detectorists often destroying crucial clues as to the coins' origin.
The fact this find was made by someone so well-informed was a stroke of luck, Lower Saxony state archaeologist Henning Haßmann told the SZ.
It means the trove can be dated back to the time period immediately after the Second World War.
The coins had originally been placed in two separate pouches, of which only the seals now remain.
They were buried under about a metre of earth, around the foot of a tree – but were scattered around the area when the tree was later uprooted.
Of the coins, 128 bore Belgian stamps, while 74 originated in France and 12 from Italy. The final three bore Austro-Hungarian stamps.
All have a diameter of 21mm and weigh 6.45 grams, with an overall weight of 1.4kg, and most were minted between 1850 and 1910 – with the oldest dating back to 1831.
Chemical analysis of the pasteboard remains and seals showed that the coins were likely packaged up sometime between 1940 and 1950.
Ring said that he was certain the gold had belonged to the Nazi-era Reichsbank (central bank) and was a collection of stolen coins.
According to Haßmann, the coins would have been produced as limited editions, to be used as investment pieces for banks and private investors.Hey there… there are a lot of complains about the lack of a viable builds for engineers. Here’s my build. A friend uses on his PVE Engineer very succesfully. It’s made around the stacking of might and doing damage with the stacks for might while also having a good toughness build for survivability.
The traits:
Now for runes. The main idea is to increase the might duration… so the best combo for this is 2/6 Superior Rune of Strenght (20% might duration) + 2/6 Superior Rune of Hoelbrak (20% might duration) + 2/6 Superior Rune of Fire (20% might duration). Might duration stacks. And it stacks with the 30% increased boon duration from Alchemy adding up to 90% increased might duration.
With these i get 9-10 stacks of might (35 power and 35 condition damage / stack = 350 power & condition damage) just by using the flamethrower and doing nothing.
As you can see above… the 15 sec might from Juggernaught trait turned into a 28.5 sec might.
As for skills i suggest using Elixir H, Elixir B and Elixir R. They can be helpfull for your team… for yourself … and add stacks of might because of the last trait in Alchemy.
Last but not least. Gear stats. This is the great thing about this build… as you can use whatever you want for stats. But i suggest going for a high Toughness stat build because it provides both survivability and power through the Energized Armor trait.
In my opinion best stats for this is the Knight set. Toughness as the main stat. Power precision as second stats. Power adds up to total damage output. Precision adds up to the firearms traits. The first two i chose: 5% chance to add bleeding on crit and V – 50% chance to cause vulnerability on crit.
Feedback welcomed. Thank you. Enjoy.
Update: sharkminusbear pointed out the Superior Rune of Fire. I changed the build from 4/6 Hoelbrak to 2/6 Hoelbrak + 2/6 Fire for more might duration. Thanks.
AdvertisementsNewswise — In a an analysis of the size, shape and asymmetry of the cranium of Homo floresiensis, Karen Baab, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Anatomical Scienes at Stony Brook University, and colleagues conclude that the fossil, found in Indonesia in 2003 and known as the "Hobbit," is not human. They used 3-D shape analysis to study the LB1 skull of the hobbit and found the shape of the skull to be consistent with a scaled down human ancestor but not modern humans. Their findings, reported in the current online edition of the Journal of Human Evolution, add to the evidence that the hobbit is a new species.
The question as to whether the hobbit was human or another species remains controversial. Some scientists claim the hobbit was a diminutive human that suffered from some type of disease that causes microcephaly, which results in abnormal growth of the brain and causes the cranium to be much smaller than the normal human cranium. But Dr. Baab and co-author Kieran McNulty, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, believe their findings counter the microcephaly theory.
"A skull can provide researchers with a lot of important information about a fossil species, particularly regarding their evolutionary relationships to other fossil species," explains Dr. Baab. "The overall shape of the LB1 skull, particularly the part that surrounds the brain (neurocranium) looks similar to fossils more than 1.5 million years older from Africa and Eurasia, rather than modern humans, even though Homo floresiensis is documented from 17,000 to 95,000 years ago."
To carry out the study, Dr. Baab and colleagues collected 3D landmark data on the LB1 skull and a large sample of fossils representing other extinct hominin species, as well as a comparative sample of modern humans and apes. They performed several analyses of different regions of the skulls. Taken together, these analyses indicated that the LB1 skull shape is that of a scaled down Homo fossil not a scaled down modern human.
The results of the analysis of the asymmetry of the skulls, which refers to differences between the right and left sides of the skull, refutes the suggestion that the LB1 skull was that of a modern human with a diagnosis of microcephaly. In modern humans, a high degree of asymmetry may indicate that the individual was diseased. At least one scientific study on the asymmetry of LB1 supported the argument that this individual had microcephaly. Conversely, Dr. Baab and colleagues found the degree of asymmetry of the LB1 skull was not unexpectedly high and therefore not supportive of the diagnosis of microcephaly.
"The degree of asymmetry in LB1 was within the range of apes and was very similar to that seen in other fossil skulls," says Dr. Baab. "We suggest that the degree of asymmetry is within expectations for this population of hominins, particular given that the conditions of the cave in Indonesia in which the skull was preserved may have contributed to asymmetry."
Dr. Baab recognizes that the controversy as to the evolutionary origins of Homo floresiensis will continue, perhaps without an answer. However, all the evidence that she and colleagues illustrate in their article "Size, shape, and asymmetry in fossil hominins: The status of the LB1cranium based on 3D morphometric analyses," suggest that Homo floresiensis was most likely the diminutive descendant of a species of archaic Homo.
The results of this study are also in line with what other researchers in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University have found regarding the rest of the hobbit skeleton. Drs. William Jungers and Susan Larson have documented
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ermany North American Premiere David Cronenberg forges both a wicked social satire and a very human ghost story from today’s celebrity-obsessed culture. Starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, John Cusack and Robert Pattinson. The New Girlfriend (Une Nouvelle Amie), Francois Ozon, France World Premiere When her best friend Lea dies, Claire falls into a deep depression. However, after making a surprising discovery about her late friend’s husband, she’s given a new lease on life. Starring Romain Duris, Anais Demoustier and RaphaÎl Personnaz. Pawn Sacrifice, Ed Zwick, USA World Premiere In this remarkable true story set in the height of the Cold War, chess legend Bobby Fischer is locked in a gripping championship clash with the Soviets as he struggles against his own psychological demons while the whole world anxiously awaits the outcome. Starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber. The Riot Club, Lone Scherfig, United Kingdom World Premiere A privileged young man is inducted into the exclusive, debaucherous company of Oxford’s elite “Riot Club,” in this scathing dissection of the British class system. Based on the hit play Posh, the film stars Natalie Dormer, Max Irons, Sam Clafin, Jessica Brown Findlay and Douglas Booth. Samba, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, France World Premiere Samba migrated to France 10 years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burnout. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives – Samba’s willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track – until fate draws them together. Balancing light-hearted moments with heavier emotion, Samba is a story about two strangers on a new path to happiness. Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Omar Sy and Tamar Rahim. This is Where I Leave You, Shawn Levy, USA World Premiere Shawn Levy’s dramatic comedy follows four adult siblings who return home after their father’s death to spend a week with their over- sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and frayed relationships among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways. Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll and Kathryn Hahn. Wild, Jean-Marc Vallée, USA International Premiere After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own. Wild powerfully reveals Cheryl’s terrors and pleasures as she forges ahead on a journey that maddens, strengthens and ultimately heals her. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman, Gaby Hoffmann and Kevin Rankin.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
99 Homes, Ramin Bahrani, USA Canadian Premiere, Ramin Bahrani, USACanadian Premiere
After his family is evicted from their home, proud and desperate construction worker Dennis Nash tries to win his home back by striking a deal with the devil and working for Rick Carver, the corrupt real estate broker who evicted him. Starring Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern and Michael Shannon. American Heist, Sarik Andreasyan, USA World Premiere
Two brothers with troubled pasts become embroiled in a high-stakes bank robbery, in this indie action thriller. Starring Adrien Brody, Hayden Christensen, Jordana Brewster and Akon.
Before We Go, Chris Evans, USA World Premiere
Set in Manhattan, the story follows two strangers after their serendipitous meeting in Grand Central. Over the course of one night, they form an unlikely bond and the conflicts in their own lives become the basis for exploration into each other and themselves. Starring Chris Evans and Alice Eve. Breakup Buddies, Ning Hao, China World Premiere
Recently cuckolded and reeling from a messy divorce, a hapless former singer hits the road – and the bar – with his all-too-helpful best bud, in this hilarious romantic comedy.
Cake, Daniel Barnz, USA World Premiere
Cake tells the story of the acerbic Claire Bennett who has managed to alienate everyone from her life, with the exception of her loyal housekeeper. When Claire becomes fascinated with the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group, she develops a poignant relationship with the woman’s grieving husband and comes to terms with her own personal tragedy, catapulting her forward into life. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Sam Worthington. Coming Home, Zhang Yimou, China North American Premiere
Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labour camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits for her husband’s return – until Lu determines to resurrect their past together and reawaken his wife’s memory. Starring Chen Daoming and Gong Li. The Dead Lands (Hautoa), Toa Fraser, New Zealand/United Kingdom World Premiere
Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wirepa, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden “Dead Lands” and forge an uneasy alliance with a mysterious warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years. Starring Xavier Horan, Raukura Turei, Rena Owen, James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare and Te Kohe Tuhaka. Dearest, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, China/Hong Kong North American Premiere
Drawing on remarkable true stories, Peter Chan delivers a moving drama about child abduction in China. Huang Bo stars as a father whose young son disappears in the streets of a big city. He sets out on a search across China, stopping at nothing to find him. In this star-studded cast, Zhao Wei plays the role of a mother from a poor rural area.
The Drop, Michael R. Roskam, USA World Premiere
Eden, Mia Hansen-Love, France World Premiere The Drop follows lonely bartender Bob Saginowski through a covert scheme of funneling cash to local gangsters in the underworld of Brooklyn bars. Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv, Bob finds himself at the centre of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood’s past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living – no matter the cost. Starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts and John Ortiz., Mia Hansen-Love, FranceWorld Premiere
In the ’90s, French electronic music is developing at a fast pace. Entering this exciting Parisian nightlife, Paul and his best friend form a DJ duo called Cheers. But just as they rapidly find their audience, they are caught up in a euphoric and short-lived rise to fame. Eden retraces the steps of the “French touch” generation from 1992 to today – a generation that still enjoys outstanding international success thanks to DJs like Daft Punk, Dimitri from Paris and Cassius. Starring FÈlix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne, Greta Gerwig, Golshifteh Farahani, Laura Smet and Vincent Lacoste.
Far From Men (Loin des Hommes), David Oelhoffen, France North American Premiere
Algeria, 1954. While the rebellion rumbles in the valley, two very different men thrown together by a world in turmoil are forced to flee across the Atlas mountains. In the midst of an icy winter, Daru, a reclusive teacher, has to escort Mohamed, a villager accused of murder. Pursued by horsemen seeking summary justice and vengeful settlers, the two men decide to confront the unknown. Together, they fight to gain their freedom. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Reda Kateb.
Force Majeure, Ruben Östlund, Sweden/Norway/Denmark/France North American Premiere
A Swedish family’s ski trip in the French Alps is cut short by news of an oncoming avalanche, during which an impulsive decision by the father Tomas drives a wedge between him and his wife, Ebba – he has run for his life, while she has stayed to protect her children. When the anticipated disaster fails to occur, reality and embarrassed relief returns to the mountainside resort, but the family’s world has been shaken to its core. Force Majeure is an observational comedy about the role of the male in modern family life. Starring Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju and Fanni Metelius.
The Gate, Règis Wargnier, France World Premiere
Two decades after forging an unlikely alliance in Pol Pot’s Cambodia, a French ethnologist and a former Khmer Rouge official meet again after the latter is arrested for crimes against humanity, in this drama from top French director Règis Wargnier.
Good Kill, Andrew Niccol, USA North American Premiere
A Las Vegas-based fighter pilot turned drone pilot fights the Taliban by remote control for 12 hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other 12. But the pilot is starting to question the mission. Is he creating more terrorists than he’s killing? Is he fighting a war without end? This story follows one soldier’s tale with epic implications. Starring Ethan Hawke and January Jones.
The Good Lie, Philippe Falardeau, USA World Premiere
Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon and an ensemble of young Sudanese actors – all of whom have direct personal ties to the war in their country – bring the inspiring and uplifting story of The Lost Boys of the Sudan to the screen in a film about heartbreak and hope, survival and triumph. Also starring Corey Stoll, Arnold Oceng, Kuoth Wiel, Ger Duany, Emmauel Jal and Femi Oguns.
Hector and the Search for Happiness, Peter Chelsom, Germany/Canada North American Premiere
Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. Deciding to break out of his deluded routine, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive formula for true happiness? and so begins his larger-than-life adventure with riotously funny results. Starring Rosamund Pike, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Simon Pegg, Stellan Skarsgârd and Jean Reno.
The Humbling, Barry Levinson, USA North American Premiere
The Humbling tells the story of a legendary stage actor who has an affair with a lesbian woman half his age at a secluded country house in Connecticut. Based on Philip Roth’s final novel, it is a tragic comedy about a man who has lived inside his own imagination for too long. Starring Al Pacino, Mandy Patinkin, Dianne Wiest and Greta Gerwig.
Hungry Hearts, Saverio Costanzo, Italy International Premiere
Mina and Jude meet while stuck together in the restroom of a restaurant, marking the beginning of a true love story. They move in together. They get married. And anticipate the arrival of their baby – until a spiritual guide tells Mina she is bearing an “indigo” child. Starring Adam Driver, Alba Rohrwacher and Roberta Maxwell.
The Imitation Game, Morten Tyldum, United Kingdom/USA Canadian Premiere
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Canada/France/Lebanon/Qatar/USA World Premiere
Roger Allers, GaÎtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Joan C. Gratz,Mohammed Saeed Harib, Tomm Moore, Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Joann Sfar and Michal Socha. Inspired by the beloved classic, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is a richly-animated story and celebration of Gibran’s book, created by artists, animators and musicians from around the world. Starring Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Krasinski, Frank Langella, Alfred Molina, John Rhys-Davies and Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Keeping Room, Daniel Barber, USA World Premiere
Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women – two sisters and one African-American slave – must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army. Starring Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Muna Otaru and Kyle Soller.
The Last Five Years, Richard LaGravenese, USA World Premiere
In this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, The Last Five Years is a musical deconstruction of a love affair and a marriage taking place over a five year period. Jamie, a young, talented up-and-coming Jewish novelist falls in love with Cathy, a Shiksa Goddess and struggling actress. The film, told almost entirely through song and a beautiful pop music score, portrays an honest, heartbreaking, often funny, exploration of love and its consequences on individual identity. Starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.
Learning to Drive, Isabel Coixet, USA World Premiere
As her marriage dissolves, a Manhattan writer takes driving lessons from a Sikh instructor with marriage troubles of his own. In each other’s company, they find the courage to get back on the road and the strength to take the wheel. Starring Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley.
Love & Mercy, Bill Pohlad, USA World Premiere
Focusing on Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys, Love & Mercy paints an unconventional portrait of the artist by interweaving seminal moments in his life, from his artistic genius to his profound struggles, and the love that keeps him alive. Starring Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, John Cusack and Paul Giamatti.
Manglehorn, David Gordon Green, USA North American Premiere
Angelo Manglehorn is a small town locksmith who never got over the love of his life. Clara was a beautiful, idealized woman who left him heartbroken 40 years ago. He still writes her letters obsessively as he tries to find her and get back the woman of his dreams. Manglehorn is the journey of this magical man, his son, his cat and a beautiful new woman trying to help him put the pieces of his heart back together. Starring Al Pacino, Holly Hunter and Chris Messina.
Mary Kom, Omung Kumar, India World Premiere
Glamorous Indian star Priyanka Chopra completely transforms herself to play Mary Kom, world champion in women’s boxing. From traditional village life in remote Manipur state to high-stakes bouts in India and around the world, this is a remarkable story of triumph.
Men, Women and Children, Jason Reitman, USA World Premiere
Men, Women and Children follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many
ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. Starring Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler and Judy Greer.
Miss Julie, Liv Ullmann, Norway/United Kingdom/Ireland World Premiere
A country estate in Ireland in the 1880s. Over the course of one midsummer night, Miss Julie explores the brutal, charged power struggle between a young aristocratic woman and her father’s valet. Starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton.
Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh, United Kingdom Canadian Premiere
This biopic explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Profoundly affected by the death of his father, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, until his death. Throughout his life, the popular – if anarchic – member of the Royal Academy of Arts travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Starring Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage, Joshua McGuire, Ruth Sheen, David Horovitch and Karl Johnson.
My Old Lady, Israel Horovitz, USA World Premiere
A down-and-out New Yorker inherits an apartment in Paris from his estranged father and is stunned to find a refined old lady living there with her protective daughter. Starring Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Ned Rifle, Hal Hartley, USA World Premiere
Ned Rifle is the third and final chapter of Hal Hartley’s tragicomic epic begun with Henry Fool (1997) and continued with Fay Grim (2007). At once a saga concerning the Grim family of Queens and how their lives are turned upside down by the arrival of the self- proclaimed genius Henry Fool, the trilogy is also an illustration of America’s grappling with ideas, art, politics, and religion over the course of 20 years. In this swiftly paced and expansive conclusion, Henry and Fay’s son Ned sets out to find and kill his father for destroying his mother’s life. But his aims are frustrated by the troublesome, sexy and hilarious Susan, whose connection to Henry predates even his arrival in the lives of the Grim family.
Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy, USA World Premiere
Lou Bloom, a driven young man, discovers the nocturnal world of L.A. crime journalism. Joining a group of freelance camera crews who film marketable mayhem, Lou makes his own place at the table, aided by Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news. Blurring the line between observer and perpetrator, Lou finds his calling in a murderous world reduced to transactions. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton.
Pasolini, Abel Ferrara, France/Italy/Belgium North American Premiere
Rome: on the night of November 2, 1975, the great Italian poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini is murdered. Pasolini is the symbol of an art that’s fighting against the power. His writings are scandalous, and his films are persecuted by the censors; many people love him and many hate him. The day of his death, Pasolini spends his last hours with his beloved mother and later with his dearest friends, until he finally goes out into the night in his Alfa Romeo in search of adventure in the eternal city. At dawn Pasolini is found dead on a beach in Ostia on the outskirts of the city. In a film dreamlike and visionary, blending reality and imagination, it reconstructs the last day in the life of this great poet. Starring Willem Dafoe.
Phoenix, Christian Petzold, Germany World Premiere
Nelly Lenz is a concentration camp survivor who has been left with a disfigured face. Following facial reconstruction surgery, Nelly begins the search for her husband Johnny. When she finally does find him, he does not recognise her. Nevertheless he approaches her with a proposal: since she resembles his wife, whom he believes to be dead, he asks her to help him claim his wife’s considerable inheritance. Nelly agrees, and becomes her own doppelganger – she needs to know if Johnny ever loved her, or if he betrayed her. Starring Nina Hoss.
The Reach, Jean-Baptiste Leonetti, USA World Premiere
Ben, a young man who works as a hunting guide, gets a job of a lifetime when he is hired by Madec, a wealthy businessman from Los Angeles, to hunt a bighorn sheep. Their excursion in the Southwestern desert quickly goes from bad to worse when overly-eager Madec gets trigger happy, accidentally killing an old prospector. He attempts to bribe Ben for his secrecy, but Ben staunchly refuses. Outraged, Madec turns on Ben, determined to eliminate the only witness to his crime. Trapped in a sadistic cat-and-mouse game, Ben has to rely on his basic survival skills to make it out alive. Starring Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Mangan, Lawrence and Ronny Cox.
Red Amnesia (Chuangru Zhe), Wang Xiaoshuai, China North American Premiere
A retired widow has her daily routine derailed when she starts receiving mysterious, anonymous phone calls, in this scintillating thriller from Chinese “Sixth Generation” master Wang Xiaoshuai. Starring L¸ Zhong, Shi Liu, Feng Yuanzheng, Qin Hao and Amanda Qin.
Return to Ithaca, Laurent Cantet, France North American Premiere
A terrace overlooking Havana. Five friends gather to celebrate the return of Amadeo after 16 years of exile. From dusk to dawn, they reminisce about their youth, the group they used to form, the faith they had in the future – also their disillusionment.
Rosewater, Jon Stewart, USA Canadian Premiere
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut with the true story of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari (played by Gael GarcÌa Bernal), whose appearance on Stewart’s show in 2009 precipitated his five-month imprisonment by the Iranian government.
A Second Chance (En chance til), Susanne Bier, Denmark World Premiere
How far are decent human beings willing to go, when tragedy blurs the line between just and unjust? Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen have crafted a startling yet moving drama, about how easily we lose our grasp on justice when confronted with the unthinkable, and life as we know it hangs by a thread. Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ulrich Thomsen, Maria Bonnevie, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Lykke May Andersen.
Still Alice, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, USA World Premiere
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested. Alice’s struggle to stay connected to who she once was is frightening, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Starring Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Julianne Moore.
The Theory of Everything, James Marsh, United Kingdom/USA World Premiere
The extraordinary true story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Hawking receives an earth-shattering diagnosis at age 21. Together, Stephen and Jane defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis and Emily Watson.
Time Out of Mind, Oren Moverman, USA World Premiere
George, a man on the decline, enters the New York City homeless shelter system when he runs out of options. George struggles to navigate his way through this new world with the help of Dixon, a shelter veteran while trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Maggie. Starring Richard Gere, Ben Vereen, Jena Malone, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeremy Strong, Yul Vasquez, Coleman Domingo, Geraldine Hughes, Michael Kenneth Williams and Steve Buscemi.
Top Five, Chris Rock, USA World Premiere
Written, directed by, and starring Chris Rock, Top Five tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen, whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind. Starring Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Jay Pharoah, Anders Holm and Michael Che. And featuring music by Questlove.
While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach, USA World Premiere
Noah Baumbach’s exploration of aging, ambition and success, stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged couple whose career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives. Also starring Amanda Seyfried, Adam Driver, Charles Grodin, Maria Dizzia and Adam Horovitz.
Whiplash, Damien Chazelle, USA Canadian Premiere
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite East Coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability – and his sanity. Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Max Kasch and Damon Gupton.
Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes), Damian Szifron, Argentina/Spain Canadian Premiere
More than living up to its title, director Damian Szifron’s compendium of outrageous, hilarious and truly bizarre anecdotes offers a subversive, blackly comic portrait of contemporary Argentina. Starring Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Erica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg and Dario Grandinetti.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.'This is the first big test of the confidence and supply agreement.': Andrew Weaver
'Yeah, not going to happen,': Andrew Weaver after he was asked if he believes there will be a snap election anytime soon
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The BC Green Party leader says the budget was a major hurdle for the alliance between his party and the NDP.
This is stark contrast to the beginning of summer when many were wondering if this government would even last to the fall.
“Yeah, not going to happen,” says Green Leader Andrew Weaver after he was asked if he believes there will be a snap election anytime soon.
“This is the first big test of the confidence and supply agreement. It was a test that was easily met. We are going to be delighted to support this budget.”
He says his party will be supporting the budget, partly because the Greens helped craft it.
“Our goal is to make this government work because we believe that the role of the opposition is not just to hurl abuse. If you don’t like something, offer solutions and alternatives to what you don’t like. What I find quite refreshing here is that the BC NDP are listening.”
He says there will be disagreements between the parties going forward, but he hopes the relationship will continue to work.Rick Osentoski / AP
Of the three major American sports, football seems to be the toughest in which to predict the arc of a career. Injuries are ubiquitous, and the game is highly complex; even the most important players are working with 10 teammates at once. A guy who comes out of the gate fast might get hurt and never play again, or he might just not turn out to be as good as we thought he was, his weaknesses having been hidden by teammates or the strategic moves of a coach.
That being said, if Robert Griffin III doesn't become a LeBron James-sized figure in American culture, I'll be surprised.
Merely on the field, RGIII has exploded as a rookie, almost from day one becoming one of the NFL's most thrilling and innovative players. Quarterbacks as smart as he is aren't supposed to move that way; quarterbacks who move that way aren't supposed to have that accuracy and power. Off the field, he has done the miraculous, turning one of the league's most reviled and pathetic franchises, a team constantly hamstrung by a petty and dickish owner, into a vehicle of fun, appealing football. Washington, D.C. adores him with the love that only comes out of a resurrection. And he's doing this as a black quarterback, one of the most racially and culturally under-the-microscope positions in sports.
Want a concrete measure of his icon status? Griffin's jersey sold more this year than any other player's jersey has ever sold in a single season. He's 22.Board of Water Supply crews restored water service this afternoon to customers who were affected by a water main break on Makaloa Street.
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Board of Water Supply crews restored water service this afternoon to customers who were affected by a water main break on Makaloa Street.
The broken 8-inch main was reported at about 6:30 a.m. and occurred beneath Makaloa Street between Kaheka and Poni streets, the Board of Water Supply said. Service was restored at 3:30 p.m. Crews restored the roadway at 7 p.m.
Three properties lost water because of the break — the Pan Am Building, Kapiolani Manor, and the Pawaa fire station, the utility said. One of the properties, Kapiolani Manor, is a residential high-rise with 516 units.
The Board of Water Supply said it provided a water wagon in the parking lot next to Kapiolani Manor for affected customers and attached a water spigot to a hydrant on Kaheka Street next to the fire station.There's hope to convert cigarette smokers to vapers.
By Rob Cockerham | August 20, 2015
Four years ago, I would have told you that electronic cigarettes were the solution to the cigarette plague. Compact, high-powered batteries had made it possible to make a tiny, glowing, smoking cylinder which puffed like a cigarette and administered a measured dose of nicotine. They look like a cigarette!
Unfortunately, they look too much like a cigarette. This perfect substitute looks so much like a real cigarette that they inherited all of the negative health associations of the real thing!
I am a huge fan. The carbon monoxide is gone, there is no burning material to inhale and no fire hazard. But it seems like a lot of people believe the new cigarettes are just as bad as the old cigarettes.
I'll admit, it would be a shame if electronic cigarettes helped recruit a new, young batch of smokers into the habit. I think the optimum path would be for non-smokers to continue to not smoke, and for all current smokers to convert to the safer e-cigarettes. But could that happen? Is vaping apparatus too technical and gadget-y to be adopted by established smokers?
After meeting Chris, I have new hope.
I met Chris while I was in Old Sacramento Historical Park, taking photos for the Smoker's Age Chart. She quit smoking and uses e-cigarettes. She loves it!
She smoked her whole life, from age 14 to 63, and only quit while she was pregnant. After seeing what looked like a band of musicians smoking drugs on the streets of Sacramento, she approached one and asked what he was doing. He told her about vaping. A few days later, she bought a vaporizer for $66... and never bought another pack of cigarettes.
It's been two years since she switched to vaping, and she loves it. She was spending $200 a month on cigarettes, and now spends $13-$16 per week on nicotine "juice". She tried fluids with a few different concentrations of nicotine and settled on an 18% mix.
She also helped her son switch from smoking to vaping. She admits the $66 investment in vaping equipment is probably a hurdle for some smokers, but the long-term savings are undeniable, and the health benefits need no explanation. It worked. She has quit smoking forever.Douglas Murray, The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, 343 pp., $23.40.
This is an important book. Something remarkable has happened when a prominent British author and associate editor of The Spectator begins a volume with these words: “Europe is committing suicide.” On the first page, Douglas Murray explains that this is suicide by immigration and that “by the end of the lifespans of most people currently alive, Europe will not be Europe and the peoples of Europe will have lost the only place in the world we had to call home.” Few authors express so passionate a love Europe or such a keen sense of what could be lost. Perhaps none has so ably described the lies, cowardice, self-loathing, and lassitude that have set calamity in motion.
At the same time, this is a deeply dissatisfying book. Mr. Murray sees what is at stake; migration is as ruthless as war. And yet he cannot bring himself to recommend decisive action. He makes a few flaccid suggestions, but seems to think that oblivion is better than anything that could be called “extremism.” Once or twice, he hints that survival might require distasteful means, but he would never stoop to anything illiberal.
Most of this book describes how Europe’s “leaders” have, decade after decade, betrayed their people. Polls have always shown that ordinary people don’t want mass immigration. When the public gets angry enough, politicians promise to stop it. In 1993, for example, the French minister in charge of immigration, Charles Pasqua, vowed to make France a country of “zero immigration.” Mr. Murray suspects that Mr. Pasqua knew all along his promise was worthless.
During 2010, Angela Merkel of Germany, David Cameron of Britain, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, and former prime ministers John Howard of Australia and Jose Maria Asnar of Spain all declared that multiculturalism had failed. Mr. Murray thinks they were just lulling the voters, and had no intention of cutting immigration.
Whenever Europe’s rulers actually try to justify immigration, they shift from one argument to another: They say new blood fuels the economy—even though anyone can see that swarms of foreigners are living on the dole and that the ones who work are depressing wages for natives. When economic arguments fail, bureaucrats shift to moral or cultural ones.
The moral argument is that because of the Crusades, empire, and the slave trade, “Britain [and all of Europe] must be uniquely punished for the deeds of history.” This thinking leads to bands of white Britons flying to West Africa, where they troop through the streets in chains, get on their knees, break into tears, and ask forgiveness for slavery from bemused Africans—whose ancestors were the original slave traders.
Whites love to apologize. All Europeans are assumed to have inherited ancient guilt, but they would scold anyone who said all Chinese are guilty for what Genghis Khan did or that all Africans are responsible for Idi Amin. Turks, for example, never apologize for anything the Ottoman Empire ever did, and attack anyone who says they were unkind to the Armenians.
Another justification for mass immigration is to claim it has always been happening. It is now common for the British to claim idiotically that “we are a nation of immigrants” and that “we have always been a melting pot.” The British should look forward to replacement, urged on by what Mr. Murray calls the implicit message of mass immigration: “Get over it. It’s nothing new. You were terrible. Now you are nothing.”
And then there is the excitement of cultural enrichment. When in 2011 it was announced that white Britons had become a minority in 23 of London’s 33 boroughs, it was declared a victory for diversity. Mr. Murray notes that “a sense of excitement and optimism... seemed the only tone appropriate to strike.”
The official view is that replacement will be glorious. Mr. Murray writes that the British authorities kept it quiet when Mohammed first became one of the most common names for boys, but now this is proclaimed as progress because “Britain will remain British even when most of the men are called Mohammed....” In fact, in 2015, more British Muslims were fighting for the Islamic State than were in the British military.
Mr. Murray reminds us of an event from nearly 30 years ago that should have been a warning. In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (Islamic death warrant) against the British author Salmon Rushdie for his “blasphemous” portrayal of Mohammed in his novel The Satanic Verses. British Muslims roared into the streets demanding Mr. Rushdie’s head and calling for laws to protect The Prophet. Muslims firebombed stores that sold the book—including several in the United States. There were killings and attempted killings. Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh blew up several stories of a British hotel with a bomb intended for Mr. Rushdie.
Mr. Murray points out that there were fewer than one million Muslims in Britain in 1989. Now there are close to three million, but this is nothing to worry about since everyone in Britain is an immigrant. When, in 2060, white Britons become a minority it will simply be the march of history.
The British love to excuse Islamic terror. After a thwarted attack in London in 2007, the Labour Home Scretary, Jacqui Smith, said it was wrong to call such acts Islamic terror because the perpetrators were acting contrary ro Islam. She said the right term was “anti-Islamic activity.”
In 2013, when Lee Rigby was slaughtered in broad daylight in London, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was “a betrayal of Islam—and of the Muslim communities that give so much to our country.” He also said of other Muslim murderers: “They claim to do this in the name of Islam. That is nonsense. Islam is a religion of peace. They are not Muslims; they are monsters.”
At a more personal level, the British Medical Association estimates that 74,000 women have had their genitals mutilated in the UK—but there has not been
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, has been targeted and there could be a loan offer submitted for the young the midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Conte intends to hold talks to the technical director, Michael Emenalo, and the player before determining whether he should seek to gain first-team experience away from Stamford Bridge over the second half of the season.More details have emerged about Glenn Greenwald's new journalism venture, with Reuters reporting that Greenwald has partnered with billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar for a new independently funded site. The venture will also include Laura Poitras, the documentarian who played a crucial role in the recent Snowden leaks, but not Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman, who has collaborated with Greenwald and Poitras for a number of recent NSA stories.
Omidyar declined to comment to Reuters on the nature of the project, but it's in keeping with his history of socially motivated investing through the Omidyar Network, which has seen investments in non-profits like the Sunlight Foundation and citizen media site Global Voices, as well as investigative journalism projects like Sahara Reporters. In an earlier statement, Greenwald said the new project would cover a broad range of topics, include sports and entertainment, but retain his usual focus on political news.
Update: Speaking to NYU's Jay Rosen, Pierre Omidyar has elaborated on the unnamed new project. He says the site will be based on a personal franchise model of journalism, attracting "individual journalists who have their own reputations, deep subject matter expertise, clear points of view, an independent and outsider spirit, a dedicated online following, and their own way of working." The site will be funded by Omidyar personally, not through the Omidyar Network, but is intended as a for-profit venture rather than a non-profit charity. Omidyar says the project grew out of his failed bid to purchase The Washington Post, which was subsequently purchased by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and the same $250 million that would have gone to buying the Post will now be poured into this new venture.
Update 2: Pierre Omidyar has made a statement on the Omidyar Group site, saying, "I want to find ways to convert mainstream readers into engaged citizens. I think there’s more that can be done in this space, and I’m eager to explore the possibilities."The trial against the ISIS members who were arrested for preparing an attack in Dusseldorf's central square in Germany, started yesterday. Saleh A. who confessed before to be an agent of the Turkish secret service MİT, testified in front of court that he was sent to Syria for espionage.
In June, 2016 two suicide bombers of ISIS were planning to attack Dusseldorf's central Heinrich-Heine Boulevard, one to explode himself at the boulevard, and the second to kill the civilians around with arms and explosives.
However, the German police conducted an operation on the mentioned ISIS cell and detained both Syrian citizens. The third person by the name of Salah A. who turned himself in, was taken into custody in France, as part of the same investigation, and handed over to Germany.
The trial of the three members of ISIS started yesterday at the Dusseldorf State Supreme Court. Saleh A. had testified before that he worked for the Turkish intelligence MİT, and told the court yesterday only that he had gone to Syria for espionage.
Saleh A. did not answer the judge's question about which secret service he was involved in and what his mission was.
The 30 years old ISIS member stated that he joined at first the Free Syrian Army, switched then to Al-Nusra and became a member of ISIS in the end. Saleh A. stated in the court hearing that, "I am not a terrorist, because I went to Syria as an agent."
HE WAS THREATEND IN PRISON
According to the German press, Saleh A. claimed that he changed his statement because he was threatened in the prison of Wuppertal where he is held in custody, by some persons saying to him "If you leak out too much, you will never see your daughter again".
Saleh A. told the judge that he had killed a sniper of Assad's regime and defended himself with the words "He would have killed me if I hadn't killed him". Some video footage presented at court showed the presence of Saleh A. in clashes.
According to the indictment prepared by the prosecutor's office, Saleh A. was assigned with the task of carrying out a terror attack in Dusseldorf city center.
“THE INTELS I SUBMITTED ENABLED THE TURKISH POLICE TO OPERATE”
German magazine 'Der Spiegel' published in an article last month parts of Saleh A.'s first testimony, in which he said that he and his detained accomplice Hamza C. crossed from Syria into Turkey in 2014. He testified the following information to the German police as well:
"After I crossed into Turkey I started to work secretly for the Turkish Intelligence MİT. The intels which I submitted to the Turkish police enabled them to conduct operations and to detain nearly 50 ISIS members. I enabled the prevention of many planned attacks of which some were meant to target US Consulate.”
Accordingly, Salah A. later travelled to Greece with a boat as a refugee, from where he moved on to Germany and sought asylum. The investigation file on Salah A. says that he readied the cell to carry out the terror attack in Dusseldorf after his arrival in Germany. On Facebook, he wrote “Everything is ready for the action, the rest is left to Allah.”
The trial against the three ISIS members is expected to continue until the end of this year.Every time I want to play Mini Metro with a friend, we have to wait for our daily to refresh. When the daily is refreshed we both stream our Mini Metro to each other and play the daily. After the daily is done we can’t play the same seed anymore.
What would be a solution is a custom seed system, which is bad in my eyes. Especially with achievements in this game. Would be somehow a shame that people could get ‘good seeds’ to get achievements fast etc.
What I would suggest is a 2 player lobby, to invite each other into, maybe even hosted local or something and if you start the game, with 2 players, it will give each other the same seed and let you see each other’s score.
I saw other people their 2 player mode’s topics, but with affecting the gameplay.
This doesn’t seem to be game changing or breaking, just an addition to the game.
Any suggestions/thoughts on this one?17 February 2015, 12:15
Twelvetrees and Nowell to train with England this week
Tuilagi and Launchbury continue rehab at Pennyhill Park
England will retain 17 players for the remainder of the training week at Pennyhill Park.
The starting XV from the game against Italy will train on Wednesday and Thursday before re-assembling on Monday, 23 February.
In addition, Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby) and Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) will also remain in camp.
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) and Joe Launchbury (Wasps) will continue their rehabilitation with England this week.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “We have reviewed the Italy match this morning and, while we were pleased to score six tries and win by 30 points, we all know there is plenty to work on.
“We will release some players back to their clubs this evening as it will be a good opportunity for them to play for their clubs on a big Aviva Premiership weekend before we get together ahead of the Ireland match.
“Mike Brown is in in the early days of the graduated return to play protocol and will not be training this week.”
Players retained for Wednesday and Thursday
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Retained for rehabilitation
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Players returning to Aviva Premiership clubs
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons)
Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks)
Nick Easter (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)A man descended from a Hasidic “dynasty” is transitioning into a woman — enraging members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community she left behind.
Srully Stein — who now goes by Abby — recently came out as a woman and said she’s finally living as her true self — something she said was impossible to do growing up in her restrictive household in Brooklyn.
“In the community that I was raised in, Trans did not exist, neither was it ever discussed,” the 24-year-old writes in her blog.
“I was therefore convinced that I have to be crazy, and that I have to get this ‘stupidity’ of feeling like a girl, out of my head.”
Stein — who some say has “royal blood” coursing through her veins because of her grandfather, the prominent Rabbi Mordechai Stein — began hormone replacement therapy Sept. 4.
The results have been “amazing,” she kvelled.
“The road is long, but with the support of some amazing friends and professionals, for the first time in my life I feel like I am getting to be my real self,” she wrote in a recent post, which received more than 20,000 hits in just a couple days.
Stein’s roots trace back to Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, also referred to as Baal Shem Tov, considered the founder of Hasidic Judaism.
Her grandfather, Mordechai, was born in Fălticeni, Romania, and her father was born in Israel.
Her ancestors are part of several Hasidic sects — and her great-grandmother was a member of the Twersky family, a “very famous” old dynasty from the Ukraine, she said.
Stein recently broke the news to her father — and hasn’t heard from him since.
“I think right now it’s shock more than anything,” Stein told The Post. “He doesn’t know what to do.”
Others took to social media to spew hate-filled messages about her transition.
“And family is nothing?” one member of the Lee Avenue WhatsApp group wrote. “The lowest scum of earth live with deficiencies with lifelong pain not to hurt their family. I saw your father today in synagogue, he is going to die of the shame you have caused him.”
The person continues: “No human in the world puts his pleasure in front of the pain of his loved ones. What kind of animal are you?”
Another added, “It’s all the devil, the evil inclination that says there is such a thing a man can be born in the wrong body.”
But Stein said she’s prepared for the backlash.
“My main goal is to get people to talk about it,” she said. “I don’t care how hateful the reaction might be within the Orthodox community.”
Stein added that many of the Orthodox people she’s heard from are in “denial” about transgender people.
“For most of them, they don’t even know what this is, they have no context for it,” she said.
Stein said she hopes that will change and that her story will reach other transgender Orthodox teens who’ve been battling similar conflicts.
“Since I’ve gone public, 17 people have reached out to me who still live within the community and struggle with similar things,” she said. “Most of them didn’t know there’s help.”
Stein said that while she felt like a woman for many years, she couldn’t even consider taking action until she left her Orthodox community.
Initially, she followed the traditional path of most in Hasidic Williamsburg. By 18, Stein was married, and soon had a son.
“I was raised in an extremely sheltered community,” she said. “No Internet, no TV and no movies — not even Jewish ones.”
“My family and community was so sheltered that up to around 14 I thought that most of the world is Jewish and most of the Jews are ultra-Orthodox,” she added.
With an intense desire to pursue a college education, Stein divorced, and ultimately left the Orthodox community about four years ago.
Being part of a famous Hasidic family made that split even more difficult, Stein said.
“My family had more restrictions than most families even in Williamsburg,” she explained. “Like men were expected to work only in Jewish scholarly jobs, not drive, and I was constantly told that we ought to be role models.”
Now Stein is a second year student at Columbia University’s School of General Studies, where she’s taking courses in political science and gender studies.
Adjusting to a secular scholar’s life wasn’t easy, but she said she’s found comfort in the campus’ strong Jewish community and trans support group.
“Culturally it took me quite a while to blend in, and until [now] there were so many basic references to popular culture that everyone ‘just knows’ and I had no idea what they are talking about,” she said.
Stein is interested in someday working in the nonprofit world, advocating for other transgender people from similar backgrounds and shaping public policy.
She’s currently raising money for her own transition on her blog.
“But my main goal is to raise awareness for trans people within the ultra-Orthodox community,” Stein said.
She added: “It’s been totally ignored until now.”The First Empire of Haiti (French: Empire d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Anpi an Ayiti) was an elective monarchy in North America. Haiti was controlled by France before declaring independence on January 1, 1804. The Governor-General of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, created the empire on September 22, 1804. Proclaiming himself Emperor Jacques I, he held his coronation ceremony on October 6. The constitution of May 20, 1805 set out the way the empire was to be governed, with the country split into six military divisions. The general of each division corresponded directly with the emperor, or the general in chief appointed by the emperor. The constitution also set out the succession to the throne, with the crown being elective and the reigning emperor having the power to appoint his successor. The constitution also banned white people, with the exception of naturalised Germans and Poles, from owning property inside the empire.[1]
Emperor Jacques I was assassinated on October 17, 1806. Two members of his administration, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe, then assumed power, which led to a split in the country with Pétion leading the southern Republic of Haiti and Christophe leading the northern State of Haiti. Some 43 years later, on August 26, 1849, President Faustin Soulouque re-established an Empire in Haiti that lasted until January 15, 1859.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]As previously reported in Basic Income News, Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, submitted a report on basic income experiments to the Finnish Government on March 30. Previously released to the public only in Finnish, the report is now available in English.
Kela’s report describes and analyzes several basic income models, including a “full” basic income of at least 1000 EUR per month, which would replace all existing social insurance programs, a “partial” basic income of under 800 EUR per month, and a negative income tax. It additionally examines conditional programs such as a participation income.
In the conclusion of its report, Kela advises the Finnish government to adopt a partial basic income model for its experiment.
In August, Finland’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Health drafted a bill authorizing the basic income experiment. This bill revealed that the government plans to test of a partial basic income of 560 EUR per month, distributed to a random sample of 2,000 individuals who are between the ages of 25 and 58 and currently receive unemployment assistance. The Ministry’s proposed legislation also made clear that experiment will be designed specifically to test whether a partial basic income incentivizes employment.
The English version of Kela’s 62-page report is now available as a free download from its website (see link below). This version also includes a postscript concerning the bill drafted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, including a summary of criticisms of the bill and an explanation of the government’s decision to adopt the chosen experimental design.
Kansaneläkelaitos Kela; Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela (2016) “From idea to experiment. Report on universal basic income experiment in Finland”
Link: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/167728
Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0 AaronigmaBelow is a handy pocket guide to the key elections taking place on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. For background information on these races and more, check out these roundups by Daily Kos Elections editor Steve Singiser and diarist sapelcovits.
Note: "Party" denotes the party which currently controls the office or legislative body. ALL POLL CLOSING TIMES ARE LISTED IN EASTERN TIME.
Statewide ballot measures (complete list):
Kentucky statewide elected officials:
Office Party Democrat Republican Polls Close
(EASTERN) KY-Gov (D) Steve Beshear (inc) David Williams 6pm/7pm KY-Atty Gen. (D) Jack Conway (inc) Todd P'Pool 6pm/7pm KY-Sec. of State (D) Allison Lundergan Grimes Bill Johnson 6pm/7pm KY-Treasurer (D) Todd Hollenbach (inc) K.C. Crosbie 6pm/7pm KY-Auditor (D) Adam Edelen John Kemper 6pm/7pm KY-Ag Commish (R) Bob Farmer James Comer 6pm/7pm
Mississippi statewide elected officials:
Office Party Democrat Republican Polls Close
(EASTERN) MS-Gov (R) Johnny DuPree Phil Bryant 8pm MS-Lt. Gov. (R) Tate Reeves 8pm MS-Atty Gen. (D) Jim Hood (inc) Steve Simpson 8pm MS-Sec. of State (R) Delbert Hosemann (inc) 8pm MS-Treasurer (R) Connie Moran Lynn Fitch 8pm MS-Auditor (R) Stacey Pickering (inc) 8pm MS-Ag Commish (R) Joel Gill Cindy Hyde-Smith 8pm MS-Ins Commish (R) Louis Fondren Mike Chaney (inc) 8pm
Many more races below the fold.The following post is releasing experimental bits for feedback purposes.
If you’re like me, a clean development environment is crucial to being effective. I used to carry around a portable hard drive with my golden image (starting point VM) and a number of other environments I’ve had already configured for the projects I was currently working on. This could be for a number of different reasons, Development, Testing (to address side-by-side browser issues), etc.
One of the sites that helped make my environments simple was Modern.ie as they provided a series of Virtual Machine images with multiple versions of Windows with different versions of Internet Explorer installed. These images are available for users on a Mac, Linux or Windows machine by taking advantage of different virtualization technologies including Hyper-V, Parallels, Virtual Box and VMware Player/Fusion.
I’m pleased to be announcing a new way to leverage the Modern.ie VMs for your testing purposes — Vagrant. If you aren’t familiar with Vagrant, Vagrant is a handy tool for your tool belt which is used to create and configure lightweight, reproducible and portable development environments.
A special Thank You to the Modern.ie team for their hard work working on these VMs to make them available to Vagrant users. Read the License Terms which are offered in the link below which is outlined on the Modern.ie site.
The Microsoft Software License Terms for the IE VMs are included in the release notes and supersede any conflicting Windows license terms included in the VMs. By downloading and using this software, you agree to these license terms.
Known Issues Currently only the Virtual Box Provider is supported
is supported OpenSSH is not installed at this time which disables Provisioning
We would like to hear your feedback, reach out to @IEDevChat on twitter.Then Ms. Lysette, the actress who played Shea, told The Hollywood Reporter that Mr. Tambor had once thrust his pelvis against her hip while on set, kissed her on the lips several times and repeatedly made sexually suggestive remarks to her.
Two of Ms. Lysette’s friends — Rain Valdez, an actress who worked as a producer on “Transparent,” and Mindy Jones, a singer — said in interviews that Ms. Lysette had confided in them about Mr. Tambor’s actions at the time. Another actress, Alexandra Billings, said in a statement to The Times that she had overheard Mr. Tambor tell Ms. Lysette, “My God, Trace. I want to attack you sexually.”
In an interview with The Times, Ms. Lysette said she hoped the show would evolve to focus on transgender experiences beyond those of Mr. Tambor’s character. “Like, come on,” said Ms. Lysette, who is transgender. “We have a lot to share, and the world wants to see it, and I just think that it sucks that so much rides on these leading men.”
A third woman, a makeup artist named Tamara Delbridge, told the website Refinery29 last month that Mr. Tambor had forcibly kissed her in 2001 on the set of the film “Never Again.”
Mr. Tambor, who dedicated his best actor prize at the 2015 Golden Globes — among the first ever given for a transgender role — to the transgender community, said in his statement that he regretted “if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive,” but has denied the accusations.
Mr. Tambor, too, produced a supporting account. In a statement provided by the actor’s publicist, Allan Mayer, a hairstylist on the show, Terry Baliel, said that he had never witnessed the actor doing anything of an “inappropriate sexual” nature.Sex discrimination commissioner says lack of women in Parliament impacts on major issues facing women
Updated
Sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick says the lack of women in Parliament has a direct impact on major issues affecting women.
Speaking on International Women's Day, Ms Broderick says she supports any measure that would boost the number of women in Parliament.
"We absolutely need power to be shared in the Parliament between men and women," she told ABC local radio.
"There is an assumption well-educated Australian women will just trickle into positions of power. We know it's not true.
"What we do still need is some active intervention."
Her comments come after Liberal Party backbencher Sharman Stone said the party should introduce mandatory quotas to boost the number of women in Parliament.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been criticised for only having one woman in his Cabinet, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
The Labor Party has long had a quota system in place but is yet to achieve its target of women in 40 per cent of seats.
Dr Stone has suggested the Liberals look to Labor for ideas about how to get women into politics.
"We've got to be, I think, much more structured about making sure women come through," Dr Stone said.
"I don't care about that 'tokenism' label; bring it on if you must."
Women should have greater role in Parliament: Broderick
According to Ms Broderick, women make up just one third of Australian parliamentarians.
"I think it's important that women's voices are heard at the highest level," she said.
She says the lack of women in Parliament has a direct impact on issues such as domestic violence, working conditions for women, their leadership roles and pay equality.
Ms Broderick is calling on men to use their power to help achieve gender equality in Australia.
She says that while progress was achieved last year in a number of areas, more men need to advocate for women's rights.
"Power in a country like Australia, in fact any country in the world, largely sits in the hands of men," she said.
"And if we want to create change, we need good, decent men taking the message of gender equality to other men.
"That's what's going to create change in countries."
Men stepping up support but more advocacy needed
The sex discrimination commissioner says men have stepped up their support in recent times but more advocacy is needed.
"I think the real shift we saw in the last year was we had more men getting on board, stepping up and being prepared to do some strong advocacy around gender equality and that's got to be a real positive," she said.
Currently, 93 per cent of chief executive officer positions in Australian corporations are held by men.
Ms Broderick says International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde, who visited Australia last week, is an impressive woman in a senior leadership role.
"Because we don't see women at senior leadership levels and in public life a lot, then we can minimise their contribution," she said.
"If we don't intentionally include women, what we do is we unintentionally exclude them - that's a really important message."
Topics: women, discrimination, australia
First postedVarsha Sahu's "Revolver Rani" in UP's Bundelkhand stops wedding, kidnaps groom at gunpoint.
A young woman who kidnapped a groom at gunpoint from his wedding on Tuesday night - announcing, Bollywood-style, that she would not allow her man to marry someone else - has been arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand. She claims the groom, Ashok Yadav, went with her willingly.Varsha Sahu's "Revolver Rani" act has made waves and even impressed some in the police force, but she has disowned the most dramatic part of her wedding stunner."I did not go there with a pistol... it is all a lie," said the 25-year-old, sitting in the police station in a grey kurta-salwar.On Tuesday night, by all witness accounts, she pulled up in an SUV to the wedding venue and walked in with two men. Then she held a revolver to the groom's head and said: "This man loves me, he is betraying me by marrying someone else. I will not allow this to happen."The three led away the groom from the mandap or altar and drove off with their hostage, leaving a weeping bride and stunned guests in their wake. The bride's family later went to the police to report the kidnapping.Ashok Yadav is still missing, say the police.Varsha and Ashok reportedly met a few years ago at work and fell in love. Some allege they are secretly married. But he was allegedly being forced by his family to marry someone else.Varsha, who lives with her mother and sister, has told the police that the groom "knocked on her car and came willingly" that night."He was not happy with the marriage. He was not ready to marry that girl. The girl's family knew he was in love with someone else but said she would handle the situation," she said.The police confirmed a part of the story. "She has said they were lovers and knew each other for eight years. The boy was not happy with the marriage he was getting into," said RK Mishra, a police officer in Banda, where the incident took place.West End motorists: brace yourselves for four years of traffic hell.
A main access route to the airport, the West Island and the Mercier Bridge will be closed starting Saturday at 11 p.m. and replaced by a temporary road that will have just one lane in each direction until 2019.
The entrance and exit off Highway 20 and the entrance to Route 138 leading to the Mercier Bridge, at the base of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Blvd., will be closed permanently. For the next four years, traffic will be diverted to a temporary Angrignon Blvd. overpass over Highway 20. Once the work on the Montreal West Interchange is completed, motorists in the area heading to and from Highway 20 and Route 138 will have to drive along the new Angrignon Blvd. overpass.
Motorists in Montreal West, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Lachine and LaSalle are the most affected by the closures. It’s added pain for Lachine residents since an entrance to Highway 20 East at St-Pierre Ave. was closed last month as part of the project.
The closures are needed so crews can rebuild the Angrignon Blvd. overpass and move the train tracks that run underneath it, relocating them nearby.
Once the project is completed, there will be a more direct route between Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Blvd. and Angrignon Blvd. There will also be a bicycle and walking path along the Falaise St-Jacques, to run east to the superhospital, and a cycle path to access the Lachine Canal. However, traffic planners and elected officials are expecting lots of traffic chaos until then.
“There are a lot more cars that are going to be coming down St-Jacques St. (in Montreal West), and these roads were not meant to take that volume of traffic easily,” said Montreal West Mayor Beny Masella.
Masella worries the new traffic configuration will affect his residents, as motorists travel through Montreal West and Ville St-Pierre to access westbound Highway 20. Traffic on some side streets in Montreal West has been rerouted, and traffic lights were installed at the intersection of Westminster Ave. and Avon Rd., which is the continuation of St-Jacques St.
Transport Quebec said it will also have police directing traffic in the area to improve traffic flow.
“Transport Quebec explained that their simulation showed the traffic lights will be more effective at emptying out Westminster,” Masella said. “I hope they’re right.”
However, Masella said he’s concerned the increased traffic will create backlogs at the intersection of Westminster Ave. and Sherbrooke St. W., where there is a level crossing for commuter trains on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, St-Jérôme and Candiac Lines.
While Montreal West is relatively well served by public transit with a train station and buses, Masella said he wished there were more public transit alternatives put in place before the Turcot project began.
Peter McQueen, a local councillor for N.D.G., said he’s worried that the traffic backlog will not only clog up streets around the affected area, but throughout N.D.G.
Motorists will likely look for alternatives, like taking the Décarie Expressway, or the Girouard Ave. access to Highway 20. McQueen said the streets around those areas are already clogged during rush hour.
“We can’t handle any more traffic on Sherbrooke, and we don’t want the buses on Sherbrooke slowed down in any way,” McQueen said. “We’ll have to see how this pans out next week.”
McQueen said the province should have had some new public transit project in place by the time Turcot was launched. He said residents have long demanded a train be built on dedicated tracks out to the West Island. Since that was not put in place before the Turcot project began, he’d like to see the No. 90 bus extended through the industrial park in Lachine, and toward the airport. He’d also like to see more buses along Sherbrooke St. and Monkland Ave. because those buses are already at capacity.
Lachine residents will find some solace as a new train station on the Candiac Line — called la Gare du Canal — situated at Victoria St. and St-Joseph Blvd., is due to open sometime next year in eastern Lachine.
[email protected]
Twitter.com/JasonMagderAs we mentionned in August 2015, Chinese media claim the YJ-18 system is designed for the destruction of various surface ships from an enemy’s landing squadrons, convoys, carrier strike groups, as well as single vessels and land-based radiocontrast targets in conditions of intensive fire and electronic countermeasures.
In its surface launched variant, the vertical launch the missile’s turbojet engine is reportedly capable of flying at a cruise speed of Mach 0.8 for about 180 kilometers after that point the warhead section separates and a solid rocket engine ignites allowing a top speed of Mach 2.5-3 for about 40 kilometers. Because of these flight characteristics, some Western analysts believe the YJ-18 is based on the Russian Kalibr/Klub 3M-54E.
According to Chinese sources, the missile can maneuver at 10G acceleration to avoid enemy interception by air-to-air or surface-air missiles.About
Meet Evarii, a completely customizable watch, at an affordable price. Interchange four key components of the watch to make it your own.
Evarii Watches are both automatic (winds off the movement of your wrist) and quartz (battery-powered) options. We have plans for numerous other watch internals, including high end movements. Evarii Watches come with a 2 year hassle-free warranty.
Choose your Watch Components for Create Your Own or Create Your Own Basic Pledges below! You have until the End of the Kickstarter Campaign to decide on your choice of Components on your Create Your Own pledges, We will survey all Create Your Own backers immediately after the Kickstarter for your final choices!
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- Mechanical movements are PTS skeleton movements
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- Case & metal bracelet material is 316L stainless steel1. Jameis Winson took this photo at his NFL Draft party. You might have seen it online.
Jameis celebrated being No. 1 pick with his No. 1 snack. http://t.co/5jV9MZnQgC pic.twitter.com/C0BTDDfNQI — SB Nation (@SBNation) May 1, 2015
2. A lot of people noticed, and many offered bad sports opinions about it.
What was point of Jameis Winston serving crablegs at his draft party? Thumbing his nose at laws against shoplifting? Grow up, dude. — Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzAJC) May 1, 2015
Say what you want about Manziel, but he just loves life. This guy here, why do I think he's a straight-up bad guy? pic.twitter.com/Lwow1tCLPH — Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) May 1, 2015
3. Surprise! The photo disappeared from his Instagram account.
4. But there's some context missing here. This is the backstory:
If people only knew how STUPID they sound killing this kid over that picture smdh — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
I was seated at the table right next to jameis at the mike alstott charity auction, when captain keith asked jameis to help him auction off — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
This huge king crab he had flown in for the event. Captain keith is from the deadliest catch show. I wasnt sure how jameis was gonna — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
Handle the request, but it didnt faze the young man at all he simply said ok sure, we r here to help the alstott foundation right. — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
That same captain keith in a gesture of thanks sent jameis and his family 25lbs of king crabs legs for his draft event last night. — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
Thats the backstory behind last nights picture for those of you who need to seriously have some self evaluation done — shaun king (@realshaunking) May 1, 2015
5. Of course, context doesn't matter. You know how the story ends.
The pic of Winston Thurs wasn't taken to make light of the crab legs incident at Publix that resulted in a civil citation. However... — Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) May 1, 2015
Once #Bucs became aware of the Instagram pic of Winston, they encouraged having it removed from his account. — Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) May 1, 2015
Maybe just relax about the crab legs.
SB Nation presents: What kind of impact will Winston have in Tampa Bay?The brother of famed actress and comedienne Mindy Kaling isn’t a fan of affirmative action and said he hopes President Donald Trump will finally put an end to the “racist” practice.
Speaking with CNN’s Michael Smerconish on Saturday, Aug. 5, Vijay Chokal-Ingam shared his pro-Trump sentiments regarding affirmative action policies at colleges and universities. Ironically, Chokal-Ingam also detailed how he faked being Black in order to get accepted to medical school.
“I shaved my head, I trimmed my eyelashes and I decided to join the organization of Black students so I could apply to medical school as a Black man,” he explained. “I also used my middle name ‘JoJo’ [and] subsequently interviewed at medical schools across the country.”
Chokal-Ingam said pretending to be Black managed to get him wait-listed at Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania, and accepted into the St. Louis University School of Medicine, despite his “pitiful 3.1 GPA.” He discussed his experience in his 2015 book “Almost Black.”
He went on to argue that universities like Harvard that boast increased minority student statistics are biased because of a so-called “Pocahontas effect” and referenced the 2016 Supreme Court case Fisher v. the University of Texas, where a white woman alleged she wasn’t accepted into the University of Texas because of her race. The justices ultimately ruled to uphold the college’s affirmative action policy, and determined that the woman’s below-average grades were the reason for her rejection — not affirmative action
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Tran, longtime Northern Virginia lawyer and resident, has been named the first Asian-American judge in Virginia history. (DiMuroGinsberg)
McLean resident John M. Tran, a former federal and Alexandria city prosecutor, was elected early Thursday to the Fairfax County Circuit Court by the Virginia General Assembly. Tran, remarkably, will become the first Asian-American ever to serve as a judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Tran, 53, was born in Vietnam and immigrated to this area with his family in 1970. It is believed that he is the first Vietnamese-American judge in the Washington area.
“This has always been true of Virginia,” Tran said. “The opportunities are there regardless of where you come from. It is a privilege to have been given this opportunity by the General Assembly.”
U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee tried cases against Tran in private practice in Alexandria, then supervised his cases as a judge. “It’s a great day for the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Lee, who was a Fairfax circuit judge for six years before immigrating to the fed bench in 1998. “John’s an excellent lawyer who’s given much of his time to our community, in the bar association and in pro bono work. Today is a huge step forward for our judiciary and for fairness.”
Tran, the son of a South Vietnamese diplomat, had spent time between the United States and South Vietnam in the early 1970s, and was stranded here when Saigon fell in 1975. He lived in Arlington and graduated from Yorktown High School in 1977. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from George Washington University.
After law school, Tran went into private practice for several years, then joined the Alexandria commonwealth’s attorney’s office in 1988. While there, he also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the federal courts in Alexandria.
Tran returned to pivate practice in 1993, started a small firm in Alexandria, and later joined the firm headed by veteran Alexandria attorneys Ben DiMuro and Nina Ginsberg. He defended federal criminal white-collar cases and handled complex civil business litigation and employment law cases, so he brings a wide range of experience to the Fairfax bench.
“I’m very very pleased,” said Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, noting that “our largest minority population in this county is Asian.” Fairfax’s population is about 18 percent of Asian descent.
In 2008, he was the first Asian-American substitute judge ever appointed in Fairfax County, to hear general district and juvenile court cases. The only other Asian sub judges in Virginia, Michael HuYoung of Richmond and Su Young Min of Arlington, joined Tran at the legislative hearing where he was interviewed prior to his election by the entire General Assembly.
It’s almost unbelievable that the first full-time Asian-American judge is only now being seated, in 2013, and then a bit sad. About six percent of Virginia residents are of Asian descent, and about five percent nationwide, according to census figures. But Tran is a past president of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Virginia, Lee is also a member, and several other knowledgable Virginia legal mavens all agreed that Tran appears to be the first.
Lee said that Tran, by applying for a judgeship, “decided to seek to make a difference. It was not easy,” because the legislature bypassed him twice. “I understand the journey, it took me three tries before I was elected to Circuit Court, so I understand the perserverance it takes to pursue these opportunities....I am confident that he will be a very capable judge who will make a difference inside and outside the courtroom.”
Tran said he “will do my very best to continue to advance the concept of justice and ensure equal access to the law for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class.” And then, in a diplomatic nod to all his NoVa roots, he added, “I have never forgotten that I benefited from the dedicated teachers of the Arlington County public school system, the enlightened work environment of the city of Alexandria and the inspirational community leaders that have visited my home in Fairfax County.”
He is married, with one daughter. He will start July 1.13 SHARES SHARE THIS STORY -
The Baltimore Ravens were seriously considering signing Colin Kaepernick to backup starter Joe Flacco.
Their coach knows Colin from his days in San Francisco because his brother Jim Harbaugh coached him.
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Rumors started flying and as soon as they hit the airwaves the people of Baltimore jumped into action to stop the madness.
According to Mike Silver of NFL Media, the Ravens executives were stunned at the hostile fan reaction to the news they were considering signing Colin Kaepernick.
They got thousands of messages from fans saying don’t you dare sign that clown or something to that effect.
Most echoed one smart fan who gave Kaepernick the a 5 word brutal ending to his career: “We don’t want Kaepernick here!”
The Ravens have heard from numerous fans regarding Kaepernick in the last couple of days, many staunchly opposed to his signing… — Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) July 28, 2017
This is not the first time.A few months ago, Giants co-owner John Mara floated the idea of signing Colin and was met with a massive backlash and he quickly backed down.
“All my years being in the league, I never received more emotional mail from people than I did about that issue. If any of your players ever do that, we are never coming to another giants game. It wasn’t one or two letters. It was a lot. It’s an emotional, emotional issue for a lot of people, more so than any other issue I’ve run into,” said Mara.
This comes on the heels for bad news for the league as a whole after Colin’s cheap publicity stunt.
After practically a double-digit ratings freefall last year, the NFL is now having to deal with a lighter than expected demand for advertising purchases for the upcoming season.
“A number of factors have conspired to cast a bit of a pall over this year’s NFL market, which some insiders say is the softest since the Great Recession of 2008,” Ad Age points out, many agencies have cut their pro football ad budgets. Of course, there is lower ratings which have led to this decision.
A source for Ad Age is anticipating a two percent to four percent build in the price of commercials.
Declines in demand for advertising from automobiles, movies, and male sexual enhancement products have occurred because sales haven’t met originally anticipated figures.
The piece believes that the ridiculously full schedule of NFL games, which include Thursday night contests, several Sunday morning battles in England, and Saturday doubleheaders in Week 16 and Week 17, reduce demand. Of course, streaming is catching up with broadcast TV, which is reducing demand even further.
The publication makes no mention of Colin Kaepernick, and several other players, who childishly protested the national anthem of the nation that made the rich. Likely because it has had some bearing on the numbers but it doesn’t fit their liberal narrative.
Fans repeatedly cited Kaepernick’s protest as the top cause of their disinterest in football in 2016. In a Seton Hall poll, for instance, fans cited the anti-anthem protests as the top reason for tuning out NFL broadcasts.
NFL ratings declined by nine percent in 2016.
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13 SHARES SHARE THIS STORY -As more details emerge about the eight-man squad that perpetrated Friday’s deadly Paris attacks in which 129 people were killed, a series of videos have surfaced purporting to show the suspected mastermind behind the operation hailing the spilling of “infidel” blood and dragging mutilated bodies behind his truck while fighting in Syria.
In one of the clips, Belgian-raised Abdelhamid Abaaoud, whose nom de guerre is Abu Omar al-Belgiki, can be seen giving an impromptu monologue on waging jihad on non-Muslims, praising the act of killing enemies and seeing their blood spilled.
A child of Moroccan immigrants who grew up in the Belgian capital’s scruffy and multiethnic Molenbeek-Saint-Jean neighborhood, Abaaoud, who is in his late 20s, was identified by French authorities on Monday as the presumed mastermind of the attacks.
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“There is no joy in spilling blood, but it’s nice to see from time to time,” he says in a March 2014 video made public by the Middle East Media Research Institute. In the clip, Abaaoud is seen holding a rifle under one arm, claiming he is in a trench trying to evade a sniper. Gunfire can be heard in the background.
Reported Belgian Mastermind of Paris Attacks in 2014 Video: It's Nice to See Infidel Blood from Time to Time Posted by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Monday, 16 November 2015
In the video, Abaaoud also calls on followers to wage “sweet jihad” and leave their families and comforts behind to “elevate the word of Allah.”
He is said to be a key Islamic State recruiter of jihadists to Syria.
In another, more harrowing clip, Abaaoud can be seen pointing and laughing while bodies are tied to the back of his truck on their way to be taken to a mass grave.
“Before we towed jet skis, motorcycles, quad bikes, big trailers filled with gifts for vacation in Morocco. Now, thank God, following God’s path, we’re towing apostates, infidels who are fighting us,” he says.
https://youtu.be/W3xQpYOkb1Q
According to AP, Abaaoud was once a happy-go-lucky student at one of Brussels’s most prestigious high schools, Saint-Pierre d’Uccle, but in time morphed into Belgium’s most notorious jihadi, a zealot so devoted to the cause of holy war that he recruited his 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria.
What’s more, one French official told The Associated Press, Abaaoud is believed to have links to earlier terror attacks that were thwarted: one against a Paris-bound high-speed train that was foiled by three young Americans in August, and the other against a church in the French capital’s suburbs.
“All my life, I have seen the blood of Muslims flow,” Abaaoud said in a video made public in 2014. “I pray that Allah will break the backs of those who oppose him, his soldiers and his admirers, and that he will exterminate them.”
Belgian authorities suspect him of also helping to organize and finance a terror cell in the eastern city of Verviers that was broken up in an armed police raid on Jan. 15, in which two of his presumed accomplices were killed.
The following month, Abaaoud was quoted by the Islamic State group’s English-language magazine, Dabiq, as saying that he had secretly returned to Belgium to lead the terror cell and then escaped to Syria in the aftermath of the raid despite having his picture broadcast across the news.
“I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance!” Abaaoud boasted.President-elect Donald Trump has a disturbing habit of declining his daily intelligence briefings, and that's causing politicians to be concerned.
"We find it particularly troubling that President-elect Trump has mostly declined to take the daily intelligence briefing," wrote Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Dianne Feinstein of California, both Democrats, in an editorial for USA Today on Thursday. "Presidents and presidents-elect going back decades have begun their day this way — understanding national security threats and opportunities, asking probing questions, and making tough decisions."
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The senators continue, "The information and analysis that our intelligence community provides to decision-makers is invaluable for developing a full and nuanced picture of the world."
Cardin's and Feinstein's concern is also shared by former CIA Director Leon Panetta, who discussed them on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
“Frankly, one of the concerns I have right now is that this president is not getting his intelligence briefings,” Panetta said. “He’s taken a few of them, but he’s not getting them every day."
Panetta continued, "If you’re president of the United States, you better be in touch on a daily basis with your intelligence briefers,” Panetta went on, “so that you have an understanding as to what’s — what’s happening in the world, what are the crises you have to pay attention to, and what steps do you have to take in order to deal with those crises?"
Although initial reports that Trump wasn't accepting all of his daily intelligence briefings first appeared in The Washington Post in November, the story is not entirely surprising. When Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote Trump's bestselling book "The Art of the Deal," was interviewed by The New Yorker in July, he predicted that Trump's mental limitations may lead to precisely this type of problem.
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“Trump has been written about a thousand ways from Sunday, but this fundamental aspect of who he is doesn’t seem to be fully understood,” Schwartz said. “It’s implicit in a lot of what people write, but it’s never explicit — or, at least, I haven’t seen it. And that is that it’s impossible to keep him focused on any topic, other than his own self-aggrandizement, for more than a few minutes, and even then... ”
After trailing off, Schwartz continued that "if he had to be briefed on a crisis in the Situation Room, it’s impossible to imagine him paying attention over a long period of time,” he said.Huma Abedin Emails Show Clinton Foundation Donor Demands on State Department
(Washington DC) – Judicial Watch today released 296 pages of State Department records, of which 44 email exchanges were not previously turned over to the State Department, bringing the known total to date to 171 of new Clinton emails (not part of the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton turned over to the State Department). These records further appear to contradict statements by Clinton that, “as far as she knew,” all of her government emails were turned over to the State Department
The new documents reveal that in April 2009 controversial Clinton Foundation official Doug Band pushed for a job for an associate. In the email Band tells Hillary Clinton’s former aides at the State Department Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin that it is “important to take care of [Redacted]. Band is reassured by Abedin that “Personnel has been sending him options.” Band was co-founder of Teneo Strategy with Bill Clinton and a top official of the Clinton Foundation, including its Clinton Global Initiative.
Included in the new document production is a 2009 email in which Band, directs Abedin and Mills to put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor Gilbert Chagoury in touch with the State Department’s “substance person” on Lebanon. Band notes that Chagoury is “key guy there [Lebanon] and to us,” and insists that Abedin call Amb. Jeffrey Feltman to connect him to Chagoury.
Chagoury is a close friend of former President Bill Clinton and a top donor to the Clinton Foundation. He has appeared near the top of the Foundation’s donor list as a $1 million to $5 million contributor, according to foundation documents. He also pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative. According to a 2010 investigation by PBS Frontline, Chagoury was convicted in 2000 in Switzerland for laundering money from Nigeria, but agreed to a plea deal and repaid $66 million to the Nigerian government.
Clinton’s top aides’ favors for and interactions with the Clinton Foundation seem in violation of the ethics agreements that Hillary Clinton agreed to in order to be appointed and confirmed as Secretary of State. For example, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton on January 5, 2009, in a letter to State Department Designated Agency Ethics Official James H. Thessin:
“For the duration of my appointment as Secretary if I am confirmed, I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specific parties in which The William J. Clinton Foundation (or the Clinton Global Initiative) is a party or represents a party….”
As preparation for Hillary’s upcoming visit to Asia, Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, on Feb. 11, 2009, sends Hillary a copy of his upcoming testimony before Congress in which he would condemn any U.S. efforts to criticize Chinese monetary policy or enact trade barriers. Several days later, Hillary asked Abedin about Roach possibly “connecting” with her while she was in Beijing: “I forwarded you my email to him about connecting in Beijing. Can he come to the embassy or other event?” Morgan Stanley is a long-time financial supporter of the Clintons.
The emails also reveal that Abedin left then-Secretary Clinton’s daily schedule, a presumably sensitive document, on a bed in an unlocked hotel room. An email on April 18, 2009, during a conference in Trinidad and Tobago, from aide Melissa J. Lan to Huma Abedin asks for the Secretary’s “day book binders.” Abedin replies: “Yes. It’s on the bed in my room. U can take it. My door is open. I’m in the lobby.Thx.” Moreover, the emails show the annoyance of another Clinton aide that the schedule was sent to an authorized State Department email address and not to an unsecured non-state.gov account.
The emails reveal that Clinton campaign adviser and pollster Mark Penn advised Clinton on NATO and piracy. Another major Clinton fundraiser, Lana Moresky, also pushed Clinton to hire someone for a position at State. Clinton directed Abedin to follow up and “help” the applicant and told Abedin to “let me know” about the job issue.
The emails show that Hillary Clinton relied on someone named “Justin” (presumably Justin Cooper, a Bill Clinton and Clinton Foundation employee), to set up her cell phone voicemail, rather than having State Department personnel handle it. This was in a February 11, 2009, email from Clinton aide Lauren Jiloty to Clinton, using Clinton’s [email protected] address.
This is the ninth set of records produced for Judicial Watch by the State Department from the non-state.gov email accounts of Huma Abedin.
The documents were produced under a court order in a May 5, 2015, Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00684)) requiring the agency to produce “all emails of official State Department business received or sent by former Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin from January 1, 2009 through February 1, 2013, using a ‘non-state’.gov email address.”
“No wonder Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin hid emails from the American people, the courts and Congress,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “They show the Clinton Foundation, Clinton donors, and operatives worked with Hillary Clinton in potential violation of the law.”
In June, Judicial Watch uncovered two batches (here and here) of new Clinton email records through court-ordered discovery.
Twice in May, Judicial Watch uncovered new Clinton emails, including emails that show Clinton knew about the security risk of her BlackBerry (see here and here).
Recently, Judicial Watch released other State Department emails (one batch of 103 pages, the second of 138 pages), with newly discovered Clinton emails also going back as far as January 2009.
In March, Judicial Watch released Clinton State Department emails dating from February 2009 that also call into question her statements about her emails. Those emails contained more evidence of the battle between security officials in the State Department, National Security Administration, Clinton and her staff over attempts to obtain secure BlackBerrys.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly stated that she believes that the 55,000 pages of documents she turned over to the State Department in December 2014 included all of her work-related emails. In response to a court order in other Judicial Watch litigation, she declared under penalty of perjury that she had “directed that all my emails on clintonemail.com in my custody that were or are potentially federal records be provided to the Department of State, and on information and belief, this has been done.” This new email find is also at odds with her official campaign statement suggesting all “work or potentially work-related emails” were provided to the State Department.
###Earlier today it was reported that Chicago Bears wide out Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) would not play this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, but the official word from the team is that Jeffery is questionable (50% chance he plays). Other Bears listed as questionable are quarterback Jay Cutler (hamstring), defensive linemen Jeremiah Ratliff (ankle), Ego Ferguson (knee) and Will Sutton (biceps, elbow), cornerback Alan Ball (groin), and punter Pat O'Donnell (knee).
All 7 of the questionable Bears practiced on a limited basis today.
If Cutler can't go it will be Jimmy Clausen making his second consecutive start. If O'Donnell can't punt, the Bears will need to make a roster move by Saturday.
The Bears have already ruled starting left tackle Jermon Bushrod (concussion/shoulder) out for Sunday's game. The Bears will start Charles Leno Jr. in his place. For those hoping Kyle Long would be the fill in on the left side, head coach John Fox nixed that idea for this week at least. Fox didn't rule out a move to left tackle in the future however.
For the Oakland Raiders, defensive end Benson Mayowa (knee), corner Keith McGill (foot) and defensive tackle C.J. Wilson (calf) are all ruled out.
Linebacker Ben Heeney (hamstring), running back Taiwan Jones (foot) and safety Charles Woodson (shoulder) are all listed as questionable, and all three were limited at Friday's practice.
Oakland lists four players as probable (75% chance they play), defensive tackle Justin Ellis (ankle), running back Jamize Olawale (ankle), defensive end Khalil Mack (hip) and defensive end Justin Tuck (knee).
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#Bears have signed punter Spencer Lanning, per a source. Looks as if Pat O'Donnell (knee) will miss Sunday' sgame. — Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) October 2, 2015
There's still a chance this is just a precautionary move, but if O'Donnell has even the slightest bit of pain in his knee, there's no point to play him.Installation view of A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk. (PHOTO: THE MUSEUM AT FIT, NEW YORK.)
If you happen to enter The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City between now and January 4, 2014, you'll see a first-of-its-kind exhibit dedicated to a subject that most assume to be true yet few talk about: the substantial influence gay, bisexual, and transgender men and women have had on the history of how we dress. A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk, which opened in September, features around 100 ensembles, dating from the 18th century up to the recent designs of Jean Paul Gaultier and Gianni Versace.
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Earlier this month, the institute hosted a symposium on the topic that included segments with director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT, Valerie Steele; ambassador-at-large of Barneys New York, Simon Doonan; senior vice president and creative director of MAC Cosmetics, James Gager; author Fran Lebowitz; and other writers, academics, and people involved in the industry. Afterward, we chatted with Steele, who co-curated A Queer History of Fashion with Fred Dennis, to learn more about how individuals who identify as LGBTQ have shaped the modern concept of clothing.
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Your exhibit begins in the early 18th century. Could you have gone back further in history?
I don't think so, because though there has been same-sex love throughout world history, students of sexuality believe there was a significant change in the early 18th century in Northern Europe that marked the beginning of what we would think of modern heterosexuality and homosexuality. Prior to that, it was a very different sexual regime.
Although there were sodomite subcultures during the Renaissance in Florence, for example, there were no separate gay communities. So a person who slept with other males, like Leonardo da Vinci, would have worn exactly the same clothes as any other man of his age and class. In 18th-century London, however, you start to find gays using clothing as a way of identifying themselves.
"Since the gay community was at the heart of this culture that respected and understood the nuance of fashion, when many of them died a more coarse and less-sophisticated awareness of fashion nuances inevitably came into being."
What was happening in London that brought about this shift?
Well, it was part of a bigger sex and gender revolution, where prior to that, elite men could have sex with both younger men and women and it didn't make any difference. Afterward, a split began to occur where for most people you were either homosexual or heterosexual. And so, what you see in the 18th century is some gay men who were interested in cross-dressing. Some developed a fashion for themselves, which was like an exaggeration of aristocratic male dress. Some gay men become the precursor of gay fashion designers who make clothes for women.
During your lecture at the symposium, you mentioned that a red tie was a signifier of homosexuality between the 1920s and 1950s. Do you have other examples of this?
Sure, there are lots. In the 18th century in Paris, it was said that homosexuals wore shoelaces instead of shoe buckles.
Why does it seem that gay people are drawn to fashion? Why not, say, physics or biology?
Well, there are gay surgeons and gay athletes, but I think probably the most important reason why there are so many gay people in fashion is because gay people in general have been interested in using fashion and style as a way of both fitting in and communicating with other LGBTQ people. So, in a way, it's because of the oppression and enforced secrecy in homophobic societies that gays and lesbians have had to learn how to read clothing details more carefully.
I also think the idea was that if you're different maybe you're artistic. So, again, it's not just fashion and design. People used to say, "Oh, he's musical, or he's artistic" as code words for "gay."
Is there a sense that some people channeled this oppression and anger into creation?
Yes, and I think specifically into creating an alternative world—someplace where you're not the person being bullied in school, but you're the creator of a beautiful world.
Is there a gay aesthetic when it comes to fashion?
People have different ideas about that. My co-curator, Fred Dennis, is much more comfortable saying, “Yes, there is a gay sensibility,” but I myself think there are multiple gay aesthetics, which are appreciated by a large section of the LGBTQ community. Creators have very different aesthetics—some are very transgressive, while others are highly idealizing.
During the symposium, Fran Lebowitz suggested that most male fashion designers were gay. If true, doesn't that mean that queer fashion history is fashion history?
One of the main reasons we called the show A Queer History of Fashion is precisely because it's an alternative history that calls attention to the tremendous long-term impact that gays and lesbians and bisexuals and transgender people have had on fashion. Although there's no way to quantify it because we don't know who had what sexual identity for most of the periods, there have been gay people in fashion for a very long time, and some have been very important leading figures. It's not just Marc Jacobs.
How did gay fashion change after Stonewall?
Prior to Stonewall, most people tried to conceal their sexual identity to avoid being fired or arrested or blackmailed. Afterward, many people were much more willing to be openly identifiable as gay or lesbian. In terms of specific clothes, the dominant pre-Stonewall look for gay men and lesbians was a style that had an upper-class male look. After Stonewall, an important, powerful style was a working-class male look. So it kind of went from tuxedos to blue jeans and wife beaters.
Why?
It was part of a much wider ideological greening of America and egalitarian youth culture. Everyone was wearing blue jeans: it was young, it was unisex, it was everything all at once. Plus, it was a piece of clothing traditionally worn by working class men that showed off the body, so it was a valorization of what previous generations would have referred to as "trade." It would also say, "I have this great body and I'm really strong and muscular and masculine. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm not masculine."
At another point during the symposium, Lebowitz suggested, as she has elsewhere, that the AIDS epidemic took the lives of not only great artists and designers, but also key members of a critical audience. Can you explain how this loss affected the fashion world?
Yes, I thought that was a very astute comment, because in order to have a flourishing art world or fashion world, you need to have knowledgeable connoisseurs and observers and performers, not just creators. So reasons why cities like Paris and New York have been fashion centers is because they contained lots of people who were knowledgeable about fashion. Since the gay community was at the heart of this culture that respected and understood the nuance of fashion, when many of them died a more coarse and less-sophisticated awareness of fashion nuances inevitably came into being.
In America, homosexuality seems to be gaining more legitimacy every day. How will this growing acceptance affect the future of fashion?
People have been talking about this for quite a while, but the acceptance is still short-lived and was violently retracted during the AIDS crisis when there was a huge outburst of homophobia and fear and rage. Very young people with no sense of history might think, "Oh, I'm accepted because I was in New York and it's perfectly OK," but I think even if you don't look at Russia, Uganda, Egypt, Iran, and other places where gay people are persecuted, you can still see gay people being shot and beaten up when they come out of the bar right here. There are people who are in comas and murdered because of homophobes in New York City. It's no joke when you see kids who have been totally rejected by their families and thrown out because they were gay. Even if it's a tolerated difference, it can't be comfortable to be a little kid and realize that you seem to be different from other people.
Is there anything that didn't make it into the exhibit that you think people should know about?
Well, we just intended ours to be the first show. I will be super happy to see a lot more shows with different angles, such as the diversity of contemporary gay styles. Having to fit in 300 years meant there wasn't much space to give to now, so an obvious next show would be for someone to look at the world of queer fashion today, and look more widely and cross-culturally at what younger kids are wearing.RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - For years, Rio de Janeiro’s bohemian neighbourhood of Lapa has been a hotspot for people seeking samba shows and late night partying. But recently, the area has also started hosting a different kind of crowd.
Rio de Janeiro's Arcos da Lapa square is pictured after lights were turned off for Earth Hour March 26, 2011. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Once every two months, Lapa becomes home to “Geeks on Beer,” a happy hour networking event for tech entrepreneurs and investors. The meet-up includes a session of speed-networking, a round robin of meetings during which 15 startups have five minutes to woo investors into setting up another encounter.
“The romance with my investors started at Geeks on Beer,” said Brunno Galvão, co-founder of O Holandês, a group-buying website with headquarters in Rio.
Events like Geeks on Beer are becoming frequent in Rio, a sign that its Internet startup scene is on the rise. Investors and entrepreneurs are trying to capitalize on Brazil’s Internet boom and make Rio its next startup capital, or at least offer serious competition for São Paulo in Web innovation.
To reach that goal, they face many obstacles, such as the rising cost of real estate and a dearth of experienced talent.
But city officials are behind the effort and see it as another chapter of Rio’s economic revival. In August, Rio Negocios, the city’s investment promotion agency, held a conference in London to promote opportunities in Rio’s tech industries, claiming the title of “Silicon Beach.”
“Rio has a mix of characteristics which we think could make it the main hub for digital entrepreneurship in Brazil,” said Antonio Carlos Dias, commercial director at Rio Negocios.
There are reasons to believe the push will be a success. Rio already boasts sophisticated technological infrastructure for Brazil’s oil and gas industry, is home to top-notch engineering schools, and offers an appealing, laid-back lifestyle for young entrepreneurs.
The city has already produced some noteworthy success stories, such as Hotel Urbano, Brazil’s No. 1 site for travel and accommodation booking, and Peixe Urbano, a Groupon-style deals site. Peixe Urbano was founded in 2010 and received financing from Benchmark Capital and General Atlantic. It now has 20 million registered users in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.
“We opened some doors for other startups that now come to us for advice,” said Leticia Leite, a Peixe Urbano executive.
Brazil’s 85 million Internet users and 255 million mobile phones are a promising market for digital ventures. The information technology sector grew a hefty 11.3 percent last year to $100 billion, defying a broad economic slowdown that punished other industries.
That growth is expected to continue as Brazil’s bulging middle class keeps expanding and a government-led push to extend Internet access bears fruit.
“We have an enormous internal market that is just getting started,” said Marcelo Sales, a partner at 21212, a new digital accelerator with offices in Rio and New York that provides seed money, mentoring and infrastructure for startups.
21212’s portfolio includes companies like PagPop, a Square-like online platform that allows self-employed professionals to accept credit card payments through their phones, and BidCorp, a digital marketplace that sells surplus building materials and machinery from completed construction sites.
International venture capital and private equity firms are starting to set their sights on Brazil’s bustling startup scene.
In July, Redpoint e.ventures, the Brazilian venture capital firm created by Redpoint Ventures and e.ventures, raised $130 million for its inaugural early stage fund.
“It’s a fantastic moment for Brazil, it is really at an intersection point,” said Yann de Vries, founding partner at Redpoint e.ventures.
ATTRACTING FOREIGN EXPERTISE
In addition to its encouraging market conditions, Rio graduates many of Brazil’s top engineers. It hosts 22 business incubators and accelerators and has increasingly become the Brazilian destination of choice for private equity firms.
Brazil’s second-largest city has a population of 6.5 million and is also home to state development bank BNDES and the oil and gas industry, including national oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA). It hosts research and development centres for General Electric (GE.N), Halliburton (HAL.N), Baker Hughes BHI.N and Schlumberger (SLB.N). And Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) plans to open an innovation centre in Rio.
“Rio definitely has the ability to be a tech hub,” said Robert Chefitz, managing partner at Egis Capital Partners, a private equity firm in New York. “The technical infrastructure that supports Petrobras, or BNDES, provides the backbone for emerging businesses.”
Rio has shown that it is no longer just a tourist destination and that it can profit from the qualities that make it Brazil’s “Cidade Maravilhosa,” the marvellous city. Stunning views and beautiful beaches are an advantage when recruiting the foreign expertise needed to build a healthy startup environment.
The city’s popularity is gaining momentum as Rio prepares to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Other than adding allure, the events will attract further investments and should lead to infrastructure improvements. By 2016, Rio Negocios says, the city will have the fastest fibre network in Brazil.
Rio has already started attracting young graduates from top universities in the United States, where the tech market is more saturated and competition is higher.
“I was seeing that there weren’t a lot of people here with my background and that I would have an advantage,” said Ilya Brotzky, a Cornell University graduate from Canada and co-founder of Zona Universitaria, a social platform for students.
HURDLES REMAIN
Rio’s startup scene still faces many challenges, and may need more support from the local and national governments. Backing could range from tax incentives for companies to bold reforms aimed at lowering labour costs and streamlining bureaucracy.
“With the right kind of support, hubs can start anywhere,” said William F. Miller, co-director of Stanford University’s Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “But you need to have a good seed and also a good soil.”
City incentives could include developing affordable co-working spaces. The average price for office space in Rio’s central business district is $92 per square foot, around $12 more than in São Paulo, according to real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
Rio may also not be the best location to launch an ecommerce business. Its consumer market is much smaller than that of São Paulo, which is one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas and has better infrastructure to support distribution of goods.
On top of local challenges, companies must also grapple with the notoriously high cost of doing business in Brazil. High taxes, intricate bureaucracy, and generous labour rights make it hard to live by the popular “lean startup” mantra.
The tech scene could also be held back by high technology costs and Brazil’s expensive but slow broadband.
GETTING PAST EARLY STAGE FUNDING
A shortage of local funds with the deep pockets and expertise needed to invest in growing tech startups has made it hard for Brazilian companies to raise capital to expand.
The outlook seems to have improved in the past 18 months, with increased activity by international investors. In August JP Morgan said it would invest $45 million in Dafiti, a leading Brazilian online retailer. But very large deals are still rare.
Like elsewhere in Latin America, many of the larger investments have gone to “
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by the ravenous undead. This commitment to offing people stems from Robert Kirkman’s source material, but the template for killing characters off one at a time could just as easily have come from Harper’s Island.
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Unlike most television efforts at horror, which employ supernatural elements, Harper’s Island played it straight: Set firmly within the real world, the show attempted to make a season-long TV series out of what’s basically a slasher movie. Closer in spirit to Masterpiece Mystery! than The X-Files, the show did its level best to scare viewers with a weekly murder, rather than a supernatural creature. Most fascinating of all, Harper’s Island was brought down not by the slipshod nature of its scares, but rather by the weakness of just about everything but the horror.
Harper’s Island premiered on CBS in the spring of 2009 to a resounding collective yawn. The epitome of serialized TV—a bunch of friends and family arrive on an island, and are slowly picked off one by one—its ratings were soft, all but guaranteeing cancellation. It numbers fell off with each successive episode (especially after being banished to Saturday nights)—there wasn’t a huge audience, it seemed, for a cross between I Know What You Did Last Summer and And Then There Were None. Also unclear was to what extent the show simply befuddled those expecting a murder mystery, who instead got a bizarre soap opera that morphed into a slasher film spread out across 13 episodes.
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The series hewed close to slasher conventions, at least when it wasn’t being derailed by its sudsier elements. The pilot, filmed with workmanlike competence by director-for-hire Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Phenomenon, even Cool Runnings), sets up all the pins, then starts the ball rolling down the lane. Protagonist Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy) has returned to her hometown, Harper’s Island, for the marriage of her best friend from childhood, Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham). Ten years earlier, the community was terrorized by serial killer John Wakefield (Callum Keith Rennie), who killed Abby’s mother and was eventually brought down by Abby’s father, Sheriff Charlie Mills (Jim Beaver). Harper’s Island is populated by service workers and their families, who make their livings catering to wealthy vacationers. Henry is marrying rich girl Trish Wellington (Katie Cassidy), much to the consternation of her upper-crust family—or at least Trish’s father. Having few family members outside of a ne’er-do-well brother and uncle, Henry brings a crew of rowdy groomsmen to accompany him.
But once they arrive on the island, someone begins dispatching wedding guests, with the murders resembling those of the long-dead Wakefield. Naturally, everyone has a secret, almost nobody is completely forthcoming, and as the bodies begin to drop, the audience goes on a journey—with Abby as its stand-in—to find out who’s behind the killings, and why they’ve begun again.
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Marketing can do much to hinder or help a new TV show, and in the case of Harper’s Island, CBS probably thought it had a doozy of a hook for pulling in viewers. Playing up the “trapped on an island with a murderer” scenario, promotional materials advertised a “Pick The Victim” game (on the official Harper’s Island website, now sadly defunct), where viewers could compete for a cash prize. The contest played on the then-still-potent cultural fascination with shows like Survivor, where the drama came less from appealing personalities and more from the mechanics of the gameplay. But Harper’s Island wasn’t a reality competition, and by emphasizing this side of the show, the actual drama was made to feel rote and perfunctory. Audiences got excited about guessing who shot J.R. or who killed Laura Palmer because they were invested in those characters and the people around them, not because they were playing the stab-victim equivalent of the lottery.
The pilot partakes in the proud TV show tradition of claiming the biggest name on the call sheet as the first victim—in this case, Harry Hamlin, one of the only cast members who knew when his character would die. (His single-episode contract was probably a major hint.) From there on out, almost no one knew how long their character would be around, or how they would be disposed of. It likely made for a very unstable work environment—though that was a much more unusual arrangement six years ago, before The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones ushered in the current era of “anyone can die at any point” TV dramas.
In some ways, the plan to kill off at least one person an episode was needed, given the over 25 characters the audience was expected to know and at least briefly feel were human, before they got killed. (The show would often off more than one person per episode, eventually getting all the way up to five people at once in one of the final installments.) The main problem was the same one that plagues the horror movies from which the show is derived: too many characters coming across as too bland and unlikable to really connect. By the second episode, the crew of dude-bros led by dude-iest bro Sully (Matt Barr, sporting spiky blond hair, as is the rule) reads as overwhelmingly smug and self-satisfied—not a good look.
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The bridal party, by comparison, is at least slightly more likable, if also more interchangeable, personality-wise. The grown-ups are the most distinct, even if they all give off the “I have a sinister secret” vibe. The show wants everyone to be a suspect, which is a commendable goal if you’re trying to hew to the conventions of an Agatha Christie-style whodunit. But it also hampers characterization in a big way, because when you insist on every character playing their cards close to the vest, there’s not much left to identify with. Abby Mills becomes the audience surrogate by default—she’s the only person on Harper’s Island who’s allowed to open up. Thank God the show didn’t try to make her a suspect as well.
This problem is best exemplified by another of Harper’s Island’s marketing choices, in which promotional materials identified each of the characters as a stock type. Abby was “The Good Girl,” bridesmaid Chloe (Cameron Richardson) was “The Flirt,” and so on. But not everyone was so easy to pin down: Other cast members received barely-there differentiations like “Danny, The College Buddy” and “Richard, The Brother-In-Law.” It’s understandable why CBS would do this: With such a large group, it helps to have a quick and easy cheat sheet for the audience, something that allows the assignation of a dominant trait that identifies and sets apart each person. Showrunner Jeffrey Bell has said the writers “started with some archetypes” and then tried to fill in the shadings as the show progressed. In practice, it resulted in an unappealing roster, where everyone felt one-note; by the time we started getting stronger characterizations, people were dying left and right, and it was too late.
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Ironically, once the show abandoned its initial tumblings and got down to the business of being a non-stop “Who’s the killer?” parade of death, it got a lot better. Characters who previously came across as loathsome (paging Sully, blonde captain of the S.S. Dude-bro) were redeemed through solid acting and a newfound commitment to being respectable humans. Slasher films often backfire once the killing begins, turning seemingly normal people into insane assholes making inexplicable decisions. Harper’s Island did the opposite: People who behaved like insufferable louts were transformed into appealing and empathetic souls the moment they witnessed a death. A brutal murder in episode five finally triggers this, and everyone immediately bands together, pooling resources and helping one another in the face of tragedy. It’s a wonderfully realistic response, one that instantly humanized even the most obnoxious characters.
From this point on, the show had focus. Unfortunately, it was too late: Most of the audience had checked out, perhaps put off by feeling like the whole thing was a a 13-episode-long gimmick rather than a serious drama. That first misstep cost the show dearly. Bell said that he thought audiences would be surprised by how the show changed as it progressed, but it seems he and the network misunderstood what viewers would find interesting. All of the by-the-numbers soap-opera plot points felt stale and uninteresting because they came across like treading water—listless character beats intended to string people along until the show became a locked-room horror chase. By trying to lure the audience in with cheesy, uninspired human drama hooks, the show shot itself in the foot, chasing away all but the most dedicated fans. Those who could see past the hackneyed time-wasting of the early episodes discovered the fun and murderous whodunit that Harper’s Island should’ve been all along.
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Wonder, weirdo, or wannabe: Weirdo, for confusing its worst qualities with its best.
Next time: Matt Crowley investigates the swift demise of the ideal Andy Richter vehicle, Andy Barker, P.I.|
The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal all agree: the decision to draw drinking water for Flint, Michigan, from its river was an epic failure of government. Where they placed the blame varied widely: Flint’s mayor and the city council; the governor’s office and Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law; the Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Human Services; the federal Environmental Protection Agency regional headquarters in Chicago; or the EPA itself.
As Evan Osnos wrote in The New Yorker,
The headwaters of Flint’s crisis are not located in the realm of technical errors; rather, there are harder questions about governance and accountability in some of America’s most vulnerable places. Who controls policy and why? How does the public check those who govern in its name?
Somewhere near those headwaters are the offices of The Flint Journal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc., which also owns Condé Nast Publications, which publishes The New Yorker and twenty other magazines, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, W, and Wired.
The Journal’s transformation into a four-day-a-week adjunct to a regional website, as part of Advance’s retreat from the newspaper business, is an important part of the story.
Advance got its name when Samuel I. Newhouse bought the Staten Island Advance in 1922. Newhouse went on acquiring newspapers whenever he could, assembling a chain that included such well-respected dailies as the Newark Star-Ledger, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and the Portland Oregonian. He bought the Condé Nast magazine group in 1959, by legend on the advice of his wife, and, in 1976, added eight prosperous Michigan dailies when Advance bought the Booth chain, headquartered in Grand Rapids.
Newhouse died in 1979; and his sons, Samuel I. “SI” Jr. (b. 1927) and Donald (b. 1930), took over. The magazines lost money for a time in the 1980s and ’90s, but the newspapers’ earnings more than made up for it. The brothers bought Random House from RCA Corp. in 1980 and sold the firm in 1998 to the German publisher Berttelsmann SE & Co. Meanwhile, Donald was gradually moving Advance into cable television. If Charter Communications’ $67 billion bid for Time Warner and Bright House Networks is permitted, Advance, which started Bright House, stands to become one of the largest shareholders in the nation’s second-largest cable company, after Comcast. Forbes in 2014 ranked Advance forty-fourth largest among privately-owned companies in the US.
Much changed with the advent of search advertising in 2002, as the traditional semi-monopoly of newspapers on mind-share and many sorts of advertising was shattered. Even before that, Steven Newhouse, A third-generation family leader had turned enthusiastic about the prospects for digital news. After that, Advance began cutting back on the frequency of print editions of its newspapers and consolidated many of their operations in centralized digital hubs – first in New Orleans, then New Jersey, Michigan, and Oregon. In 2009, Advance closed the Ann Arbor, Michigan, News and replaced it with a website, AnnArbor.com, only to resume printing two days a week, in 2013, while folding the Arbor website into a a large site, MLive,com, covering most major cities in southern Michigan, including Flint. Alan Mutter, an influential columnist as “Newsosauer,” described the Advance strategy as “milking” their newspapers, as opposed to Warren Buffett’s custom of “farming” and Rupert Murdoch’s practice of “feeding” them.
How did the Flint paper do on the story? One metric (from Advance-affiliated Reddit) notes that veteran reporter Ron Fonger contributed 250 stories on the water crisis; MLive lists 500 stories written by Journal reporters since the crisis began, and offers a timeline of how the story emerged. I couldn’t find a story explaining why all the surrounding townships in Genesee County had elected to continue to buy their water from Detroit until a new pipeline from Lake Huron could be completed, and only the Flint emergency manager decided to go it alone, without the backing of the city council. Only when Genesee County officials finally blew the whistle in October last year, warning citizen of the city not to drink the water, did the local crisis turn into a state-wide scandal, and then a national one. Certainly the MLive effort was nothing like the all-out coverage of Hurricane Katrina for which the Times-Picayune won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006. But that was before Advance applied the “digital first” treatment to the New Orleans paper. Since then, key staffers have defected and the Baton Rouge Advocate has moved ahead of its rival in circulation to become Louisiana’s largest newspaper. (The cities are 80 miles apart along the Mississippi River.)
After James Warren, of the Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school, published How the Media Blew Flint; John Hiner, vice president of content at Michigan’s MLive Media Group, who previously was executive editor of the Flint Journal, sent a rejoinder (Local Media Didn’t Whiff on Flint Coverage. Warren quoted David Poulson of Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, who gave good marks to the Journal’s Fonger,
I daresay a well-placed FOIA (Freedom of Information Act request) several months ago regarding the Flint situation may have earned some mainstream news publication a Pulitzer nomination. Or perhaps aggressive coverage of local government under the state-appointed financial manager would have caught the issue earlier, or even prevented it from happening. And a well-trained reporter covering local health or the environment and deeply versed in those issues may have really watch-dogged the transition from one water source to another and asked questions about required testing. Or an aggressive news organization may have even invested in independent water testing once questions arose and brought attention, testing and treatment much earlier than when it happened. That didn’t happen because, well, they don’t exist.
What’s the alternative to Newhouse’s “milking” model? The company could indicate a willingness to sell local newspapers wherever there are willing buyers. A citizens group in New Orleans tried that, but as Warrant Buffett dryly noted at the time, “They do not have a history of selling anything.” Of course it makes a world of difference how it is done. A couple of years ago the New York Times Co. sold The Boston Globe for a pittance to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, its former business partner. Henry made headlines recently by firing the newspaper’s home delivery contractor without having a capable alternative vendor in place. You probably won’t read the backstory to that one, either, in the Times.
I have a feeling this watchdog function of the press will regenerate itself, over another twenty years or so, with non-profits, free-lancers, bloggers, and broadcast journalists taking up the slack. In the Flint case, it was water-quality engineer Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor and MacArthur Foundation fellow, who produced the critical tests for lead as a consultant to community activists; Jake Blumgart, a Philadelphia free-lancer, contributed an especially constructive piece for Slate. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow played a big part in bringing the story to national attention. And last week the Michigan Press Association gave its Journalist of the Year Award to Curt Guyette, long-time reporter for Detroit’s Metro Times. an alternative weekly, who covered the Flint story online for the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. It would be instructive to compare Guyette’s enterprising coverage with the admirable Fonger’s 250 stories from the hamster wheel.
Meanwhile, pay a little closer attention to the behavior of the press lords. It was not just government that failed Flint.Bloomberg News has an article Thursday about how America's college rape crisis is impacting student social life at prestigious universities around the country. Titled "Hook-Up Culture at Harvard, Stanford Wanes Amid Assault Alarm," reporters John Lauerman and Jennifer Surane note that some male students are beginning to think seriously about how their advances on female classmates are perceived:
As former social chair of the Sigma Chi fraternity at Harvard University, Malik Gill wants to appear especially welcoming to girls who come to the house for parties. Yet, Gill, who starts his junior year in a few weeks, says he won’t be offering a female classmate a beer. "I don’t want to look like a predator," the 20-year-old economics major said. “It’s a little bit of a blurred line."
Good for you, Gill, as a little introspection never hurt anyone. Unfortunately, this thoughtfulness wears off by the time we get to this woefully ignorant quote from Stanford University senior Chris Herries (emphasis ours):
While everyone condemns sexual assault, there seems to be an assumption among female students that they shouldn't have to protect themselves by avoiding drunkenness and other risky behaviors, he said.
"Do I deserve to have my bike stolen if I leave it unlocked on the quad?" Herries, 22, said. "We have to encourage people not to take on undue risk."
Let's break this immensely problematic statement down, shall we?
1) No, you don't deserve to have your bike stolen just because you left it unlocked in the quad.
2) A woman's vagina is not an object to be owned or possessed by anyone, like a bicycle.
3) A sexual assault free campus is not one in which women must carry mace, make sure to keep their skirts long, and only consume two drinks in an evening. A safe campus is one where no one rapes anyone.
Herries, this is called victim blaming, and it's one of the fundamental components of rape culture in America. A victim is never responsible for their rape, period. Was the 14-year-old Missouri girl allegedly raped by a Maryville High School football player after passing out drunk responsible because she, to use your unwieldy not to mention wildly insensitive metaphor, "left her bike unlocked in the quad?" How about that 16-year-old West Virginia girl raped by two Steubenville High School football players? Was she responsible because she wasn't being careful enough about her alcohol intake? Nope. Never. Not even by a long shot.
It's thinking like this that perpetuates sexual assault on college campuses. I feel bad for you, Herries, seeing as the process of constantly being forced to not rape your fellow classmates is so exhausting.
Of course, as the Guardian's Jessica Valenti points out, this quote is going to haunt you for the the rest of your life when prospective employers search your name in Google. Good luck in the fall, old sport.By The Metric Maven
GAO Report Edition
Fasteners are ubiquitous. In physical design, they are everywhere. The image to the left is the current Battlebots Trophy, a giant nut. As of 2016, this nut celebrates US obsolescence with its archaic 5 inch diameter hole and four threads per inch. The 1978 GAO report has an interesting chapter on fasteners, what happened, and what didn’t. The first sentence of the fastener chapter reads:
The U.S. fastener industry which was originally opposed to metrication, began conversion efforts in 1970 in order to maintain its markets.
The industry found that in the 1960s their major customers were moving toward the metric system. One would think the US fastener manufacturers would have been in favor of metric by 1978, but the story is more complicated than expected and perhaps too American. The Report has a nice description of a fastener:
A fastener is anything which holds two things together. Nuts, bolts, screws, rivets, cotter pins, and nails are a few examples. (See following page.) Of these, the United States produces approximately two million different types. Fasteners can hold together a vast number of items. For example, a telephone is held together with about 70 fasteners. Jumbo jets contain millions; and for one model, fasteners costs represent about 10 percent of the plane’s total cost. In short, much of the nearly $2 trillions U.S. economy is held together by the $2 billion fastener industry.
The report notes that a considerable increase in the use of metric fasteners is taking place in the US. The domestic fastener industry was also under pressure from imported Olde English fasteners. At the end of the 1960s, no US engineering standard for metric fasteners existed, but an international standard did. US industry representatives claimed that the international standard had too many sizes and thread types. The values of these sizes did not follow a logical pattern it was alleged. If the US fastener industry was going to become metric, it was argued that the US should create a new fastener system that was:
….as perfect as possible. Also, the industry did not want to give a competitive advantage to foreign producers of metric fasteners. It was felt that the foreign producers would gain an advantage if the U.S. industry merely accepted the existing international standard for metric fasteners in its entirety.
Yes, we in the US were going to produce a “more perfect fastener” or perhaps even a perfect fastener, and in January of 1971 the report “A Study To Develop An Optimum Metric Fastener System” was released by the Industrial Fasteners Institute. The study was presented to the ten largest corporations in the US as well as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), and technical bodies in Canada. The selected group was unanimous in its view that a detailed study should be undertaken. The GAO Report states:
The Committee’s ultimate objective was to design a metric fastener system which would be so attractive technically and economically that it would become the single internationally accepted system of threaded fasteners. (7-5)
An unshakable US faith in technical Darwinism, coupled with the belief the US would create the fittest fastener meme propelled this new study. The Special Committee published its results in 1973. It recommended a fastener system with 25 sizes and a single thread type. The first metric fastener standard based on these recommendations was released in 1974. Before the standard was completed, the new system was encountering international resistance. Britain and German standards representatives released a paper called “Why Should the International Standards Organization System for Metric Fastener Threads be Changed?” It argued that the costs and confusion were unwarranted, “the technical advantages were minimal, and the system could hardly be called “optimum.” There were complaints of protectionism and everyone having to start all over again. (7-6).
The discussions continued from 1973 to 1977 as the ISO negotiated with its US members. The US representatives finally backed off from the proposed changes to the international standard. The US standard became essentially the same as the preferred series of the ISO standard.
There was controversy about the strength grade of fasteners in the 6 to 18 millimeter range. Europeans used an international strength grade of 8.8. It has a strength capacity of 116 000 pounds per square inch. The comparable US SAE was grade 5, which has a strength of 120 000 pounds per square inch. This is about a three percent difference. It was recommended the next higher grade 9.8 be used. This fastener has a strength of about 130 500 PSI.
The Europeans went along with the proposed change, but only the US automotive industry adopted the higher grade. US farm equipment, Canadian and European manufacturers decided to use 8.8 for their threaded fasteners. The unavailability of fasteners that met the US requirement caused concern that an 8.8 fastener could be interchanged for a 9.8 version during a repair. If 9.8 was not available, it would be necessary to use 10.9, which requires an alloy steel.
The report next focused on the head sizes for the fasteners:
A major problem arose during the attempt to reach agreement on the hexagon head size for three fasteners. This was probably the most hotly debated and difficult issue considered during the 1977 ISO meetings. The schedule below shows the head sizes wanted by the United States, those used in Europe, and those agreed to at the meetings.
The Optimum Metric Fastener System study had shown that the head size for a number of fasteners was unnecessarily large. International standard sizes were widely used in Europe, but the European representatives had in 1975 agreed to reduce the head size 1 millimeter on each of the three sizes. The U.S. representatives agreed to the compromise sizes in the earlier meetings, but in 1977 returned to the demand for a smaller head for the 10-millimeter fastener size.
The Europeans would not approve an inclusion of a 15 mm head and the US would not compromise. The official standard became 10, 12 and 14 millimeter diameter fasteners with 16, 18 and 21 millimeter heads respectively. The US would use these and the 15 mm head. It became possible that several head sizes might be used for these three fastener sizes. The Report noted:
Head sizes (like strength grades) are an example of an international standard which is formally agreed to on paper but not uniformly adhered to in practice. (7-8)
The European view was that the benefits of the changes to the new system did not justify the expenses involved. The fastener standard is voluntary, and the US could do whatever it wanted. This impasse could leave US fastener manufacturers holding the bag. The GAO report states:
An official of one company told me he had stuck his neck out and stocked six metric sizes in 24 lengths. The stock included the 6.3-millimeter fastener which was one of the U.S.-proposed sizes that did not gain international acceptance. This size was being used by a major automobile manufacturer in its 1977 and 1978 models. However, the automobile manufacturer has dropped it for future models.
It was noted that maintaining Ye Olde English and metric fasteners in the US could cause considerable difficulty:
It is virtually impossible to visually identify some sizes of customary-threaded fasteners from similar-size metric fasteners. It is possible to mismatch 36 combinations of customary- and metric-threaded fasteners. The result could be either stripping during assembly or full assembly with 25- to 60-percent loss in load capacity. Thus, the accidental mismatch of fasteners could result in fastener failures.
This is a very good argument for a quick metric switch-over, with an M-day, and no “transition period,” rather than waiting for the magic of the Metric Philosophers technical Darwinism to accomplish this task over an undefined period.
On April 25, 2014 (2014-04-25), Joe Greenslade of the Industrial Fasteners Institute gave a presentation titled “Metric Fastener Standards Transition” His view is that one metric fastener system should be used throughout the world. Mr. Greenslade calls the US attempt to create an “Optimum Metric Fastener System” a “misguided move!” He claims that from 1975 to 2013 there has been a slow but gradually accelerating adoption of metric designs.
Greenslade identifies three different fastener systems, ISO (International), DIN (German) and ANSI/ASME/ASME/SAE (US). He sees the US Optimum Metric Fastener System (OMFS) as a misguided philosophy of “since we must change we will do it better than you Europeans do.” The OMFS attempted to eliminate fine threads, this “simplification” was rejected. The US introduction the M6.3 X 1 fastener simply because we wanted a metric version of a 1/4-20 Ye Olde English fastener, rather than using a standard M6 x 1.0 was rejected. The introduction of a new thread gauge was not accepted. The US wanted to replace the hex head with a new spline head, but that was also rebuffed. The changing of hex sizes (head sizes) by 1 millimeter on M10, M12, M14, and M22 is still causing confusion to this day. The US has finally withdrawn its proposed “optimum” metric standard.
The two metric standards that remain are ISO and DIN. DIN is very, very close to the ISO standard. They are 99.99% interchangeable, and 90% identical. The German DIN standard is to be replaced with the ISO standard. When US customers now ask for ISO they are often told “we do not stock any ISO — only DIN.” Greenslade indicates that a search for dual DIN/ISO designations on existing drawings and parts lists should be undertaken, and in these instances they should be edited so that only the ISO number is used. He also suggests that all new product design drawing designations be only ISO. Greenslade offers numerous examples of this existing redundancy “out in the wild.” The long term objective for the USA should be to use ISO and forget the past.
The US introduction of an “optimum” standard in the 1970s has the fingerprints of American hubris all over it. Rather than finally bring some order to the chaos that is side by side Ye Olde English fasteners and metric, by eliminating the “custom”-ary versions, and using ISO metric exclusively, we instead opted to show everyone “how to do it better.” History has not judged us favorably, and the exercise in imposing a US metric “standard” on the world continues to cause discord and confusion to this day. As has been said many times “the great thing about US standards is there are so many to choose from.”
If you liked this essay and wish to support the work of The Metric Maven, please visit his Patreon Page
Related essays:
Without Metric Threads We’re Screwed
A Hole in The Screw Head
The Metric Maven has published a book titled The Dimensions of The Cosmos. It examines the basic quantities of the world from yocto to Yotta with a mixture of scientific anecdotes and may be purchased here.Some cable companies go out of their way to make sure you don’t know about an incredibly easy way to shave $100 or more off of your Internet bill each year. If you’re using a modem provided by your ISP, that company is charging you a monthly fee of between $8 and $10 to rent it. What you might not be aware of is that you can buy your own cable modem, return the one you’ve rented, and eliminate that fee entirely. Check out the D-Link DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem, which is on sale right now on Amazon for just $29.99. That’s right — all you need to do in order to save $100+ a year is buy a $30 box.
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BGR Deals content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and BGR may receive a commission on purchases made through our posts.Some Edmonton produce sellers are angry with what they’re saying is an increase in regular corn being passed off as being grown in Taber.
"It ruins a lot of things," says Marion Walker, who has sold Taber corn on from her trailer on 109th Street and 61st Avenue for the past six years.
"It ruins the people who are selling the real stuff, its not very good for the farmer that grows it and it's certainly not good for the people that buy it."
Fans of real Taber corn say the vegetable is sweeter and better-tasting, owing to the amount of sunshine the small southern Alberta town gets.
Walker says some produce sellers, however, buy lower quality corn from other places and pass it off as being Taber-grown.
For corn consumers, it can be difficult to pick out which trucks are selling the real thing.
"I don't know for sure. I'm presuming," Judi Kendall said while buying a few ears of corn Friday night.
The Corn Growers Association in Alberta gives out certificates to trucks that sell genuine Taber corn and encourage shoppers to ask to see the certificate.
Selling fake corn can net high penalties.
Service Alberta says under the Fair Trading Act, counterfeit corn sellers could see fines up to $100,000 and even jail time. However, it’s a hard law to enforce.
"Many of these vendors are mobile so they might be here one day but not the next," said Paul Oss, public affairs officer with Service Alberta.
"Secondly, what constitutes fake corn and how would you prove that?"All products were obtained via the Internet in September and October 2014 in Germany; two as research chemicals ( 2 and 3 ), one as tablets ( 4 ), and one as capsules ( 1 ).
Formic acid (Rotipuran ® ≥98 %, p.a.) and 2-propanol (Rotisolv ® ≥99.95 %, LC–MS grade) were purchased from Carl Roth (Karlsruhe, Germany); methanol (HPLC grade) from JT Baker (Deventer, The Netherlands); acetonitrile (ACN) (LC–MS grade), ammonium formate (99.995 %), ethanol (analytical grade), and ethyl acetate (analytical grade) from Sigma-Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany). Deionized water was prepared using a cartridge deionizer from Memtech (Moorenweis, Germany). Pooled human liver microsomes (pHLMs) were obtained from BD Biosiences (Woburn, MA, USA). Deuterated chloroform (CDCl 3 ) was purchased from Euriso-top (Saint–Aubin, France).
Compounds 1 and 4, obtained as capsules and tablets, respectively, were homogenized, weighed, and dissolved in methanol according to the stated amount of active ingredient to yield a final concentration of 1 mg/ml each. One milligram of the compounds that were obtained as research chemicals ( 2 and 3 ) was weighed and dissolved in 1 ml of methanol.
Identification of compounds
For identification and characterization of compounds 1–4, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography–electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC–EI-MS), liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS), and liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC–QTOF-MS) were applied. Infrared (IR) spectra were also recorded.
One-dimensional 1H NMR (400 MHz) and 13C NMR (100 MHz) spectra, and selective two-dimensional 1H–13C heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), 1H–1H correlation spectroscopy (COSY), 1H–13C heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMBC) were recorded in CDCl 3 at room temperature using a DRX 400 NMR spectrometer (Bruker BioSpin, Rheinstetten, Germany). The chemical shifts are reported in ppm relative to CHCl 3 (1H: δ = 7.28) and CDCl 3 (13C: δ = 77.0).
GC–MS spectra were recorded in EI mode as described elsewhere [7, 8, 9]. The recorded mass spectra were compared with those from an in-house library, the Cayman Spectral Library [18], and the Maurer Pfleger Weber 2011 Mass Spectral and GC Library [19].
For LC–QTOF-MS analysis, we used a maXis impact II QTOF instrument (Bruker Daltonik, Bremen, Germany) equipped with an Apollo II electrospray ionization source coupled to an UltiMate 3000 RSLC high-performance liquid chromatography system, consisting of an SRD-3600 solvent rack degasser, an HPG-3400RS binary pump with solvent selection valve, a WPS-3000TRS thermostatted autosampler, and a TCC-300RS thermostatted column compartment (Thermo Scientific, Dreieich, Germany). Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Kinetex® C18 column (2.6 µm, 100 Å, 100 × 2.1 mm i.d.; Phenomenex, Aschaffenburg, Germany) with a matching guard column and gradient elution. The elution used water with 1 % ACN, 0.1 % formic acid, and 2 mM ammonium formate (A), and ACN with 0.1 % formic acid and 2 mM ammonium formate (B) at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min as follows: held at 1 % B for 1 min, linearly increased to 95 % B within 7.0 min and held for 1.0 min; initial conditions were restored within 0.1 min and the column was re-equilibrated for 1.9 min. The autosampler and column oven temperature were set at 6 and 40 °C, respectively. Two microliters were injected into the LC–QTOF-MS system. HyStar ver. 3.2 and DataAnalysis ver. 4.2 [including the software tool SmartFormula] software (Bruker Daltonik, Bremen, Germany) were used for data acquisition and evaluation,
|
was to be planted.[20] It would be possible to enter the hotel more easily at that time as well.[15]
It would have been impossible to have planted the bomb in the Régence any later than 14:00 because it was always full of customers after that time.[14] The timing was also determined by the original intention that the attack should coincide with another, carried out by the Lehi, on government offices at the David Brothers Building. However, that attack, codenamed "Operation Your Slave and Redeemer", was canceled at the last moment. The Irgun said details of the plan were aimed at minimizing civilian casualties. Irgun reports allegedly included explicit precautions so that the whole area would be evacuated.[22] This led to recriminations between the Haganah and Irgun later. The Haganah said that they had specified that the attack should take place later in the day, when the offices would have been emptier of people.[15]
Warnings
Rear of the hotel, 1931
Since the bombing, much controversy has ensued over the issues of when warnings were sent and how the British authorities responded. Irgun representatives have always stated that the warning was given well in advance of the explosion, so that adequate time was available to evacuate the hotel. Menachem Begin, for example, wrote that the telephone message was delivered 25–27 minutes before the explosion.[23] It is often stated that the British authorities have always denied that a warning was sent. However, what the British Government said, five months after the bombing, once the subsequent inquest and all the inquiries had been completed, was not that no warning had been sent, but that no such warning had been received by anyone at the Secretariat "in an official position with any power to take action."[24]
American author Thurston Clarke's analysis of the bombing gave timings for calls and for the explosion, which he said took place at 12:37. He stated that as part of the Irgun plan, a sixteen-year-old recruit, Adina Hay (alias Tehia), was to make three warning calls before the attack. At 12:22 the first call was made, in both Hebrew and English, to a telephone operator on the hotel's switchboard (the Secretariat and the military each had their own, separate, telephone exchanges). It was ignored.[14] At 12:27, the second warning call was made to the French Consulate adjacent to the hotel to the north-east. This second call was taken seriously, and staff went through the building opening windows and closing curtains to lessen the impact of the blast. At 12:31 a third and final warning call to the Palestine Post newspaper was made. The telephone operator called the Palestine Police CID to report the message. She then called the hotel switchboard. The hotel operator reported the threat to one of the hotel managers. This warning resulted in the discovery of the milk cans in the basement, but by then it was too late.[14]
Begin claimed in his memoirs that the British had deliberately not evacuated so that they could vilify the Jewish militant groups.[citation needed]
Leaks and rumours
Shortly after noon Palestine time, the London UPI bureau received a short message stating that 'Jewish terrorists have just blown up the King David Hotel!'. The UPI stringer who had sent it, an Irgun member, had wanted to scoop his colleagues. Not knowing that the operation had been postponed by an hour, he sent the message before the operation had been completed. The bureau chief decided against running the story until more details and further confirmation had been obtained. There were other leaks.[14]
Execution
The perpetrators met at 7 am at the Beit Aharon Talmud Torah. This was the first time they were informed of the target.[citation needed] The attack used approximately 350 kg (770 lb) of explosives spread over six charges. According to Begin, due to "consultations" about the cancellation of the attack on the David Brothers Building, the operation was delayed and started at about 12:00, an hour later than planned.[23]
After placing the bombs in the La Regence Cafe,[25] the Irgun men quickly slipped out and detonated a small explosive in the street outside the hotel, reportedly to keep passers-by away from the area.[23] The police report written in the aftermath of the bombing says that this explosion resulted in a higher death toll because it caused spectators from the hotel to gather in its south-west corner, directly over the bomb planted in its basement. The first explosion also caused the presence in the hotel of injured Arabs who were brought into the Secretariat after their bus, which had been passing, was rolled onto its side.[15] The Arab workers in the kitchen fled after being told to do so.[22]
During the attack, two Irgun casualties occurred, Avraham Abramovitz and Itzhak Tsadok. In one Irgun account of the bombing, by Katz, the two were shot during the initial approach on the hotel, when a minor gunfight ensued with two British soldiers who had become suspicious.[22] The Irgun did not explain how the group would have been able to move 350 kg of home-made explosives into the hotel with the guards already alerted.[original research?] In Yehuda Lapidot's account, the men were shot as they were withdrawing after the attack.[26] The latter agrees with the version of events presented by Bethell and Thurston Clarke and is more credible. According to Bethell, Abramovitz managed to get to the taxi getaway car along with six other men. Tsadok escaped with the other men on foot. Both were found by the police in the Jewish Old Quarter of Jerusalem the next day, with Abramovitz already dead from his wounds.[14][15]
Explosion and aftermath
The explosion of a second bomb at the King David Hotel
The explosion occurred at 12:37. It caused the collapse of the western half of the southern wing of the hotel. Soon after the explosion, rescuers from the Royal Engineers arrived with heavy lifting equipment. Later that night, the sappers were formed into three groups, with each working an eight-hour shift. The rescue operation lasted for the next three days and 2,000 lorry loads of rubble were removed. From the wreckage and rubble the rescuers managed to extract six survivors. The last to be found alive was Assistant Secretary Downing C. Thompson, 31 hours after the explosion, but he died just over a week later.[27]
Ninety-one people were killed, most of them being staff of the hotel or Secretariat: 21 were first-rank government officials; 49 were second-rank clerks, typists and messengers, junior members of the Secretariat, employees of the hotel and canteen workers; 13 were soldiers; 3 policemen; and 5 were members of the public. By nationality, there were 41 Arabs, 28 British citizens, 17 Palestinian Jews, 2 Armenians, 1 Russian, 1 Greek and 1 Egyptian. 46 people were injured.[14][15] Some of the deaths and injuries occurred in the road outside the hotel and in adjacent buildings. No identifiable traces were found of thirteen of those killed.[14] Among the dead were Yulius Jacobs, an Irgun sympathizer,[22] and Edward Sperling, a Zionist writer and government official. Immediately after the bombing the Mandate government began planning Operation Shark.
Reactions
British reactions
The bombing inflamed public opinion in Britain. After the bombing, editorials in British newspapers argued that the bombing deflated statements by the government that it had been winning against the Jewish paramilitaries. The Manchester Guardian argued that "British firmness" inside Palestine had brought about more terrorism and worsened the situation in the country, the opposite effect that the government had intended.[21]
Speaker after speaker in the House of Commons expressed outrage. Ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a prominent and enthusiastic supporter of Zionism, criticized the attack. He also related the bombing to the problems within the Mandate system, and he advocated allowing further Jewish immigration into Palestine.[28] Chief Secretary for the Government of Palestine, Sir John Shaw, noted that the majority of the dead had been members of his own personal staff. He said, "British, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians; senior officers, police, my orderly, my chauffeur, messengers, guards, men and women—young and old—they were my friends."[citation needed]
British Prime Minister Clement Attlee commented in the House of Commons:
"Hon. Members will have learned with horror of the brutal and murderous crime committed yesterday in Jerusalem. Of all the outrages which have occurred in Palestine, and they have been many and horrible in the last few months, this is the worst. By this insane act of terrorism 93 innocent people have been killed or are missing in the ruins. The latest figures of casualties are 41 dead, 52 missing and 53 injured. I have no further information at present beyond what is contained in the following official report received from Jerusalem:"
"It appears that after exploding a small bomb in the street, presumably as a diversionary measure—this did virtually no damage—a lorry drove up to the tradesmen's entrance of the King David Hotel and the occupants, after holding up the staff at pistol point, entered the kitchen premises carrying a number of milk cans. At some stage of the proceedings, they shot and seriously wounded a British soldier who attempted to interfere with them. All available information so far is to the effect that they were Jews. Somewhere in the basement of the hotel they planted bombs which went off shortly afterwards. They appear to have made good their escape."
"Every effort is being made to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this outrage. The work of rescue in the debris, which was immediately organised, still continues. The next-of-kin of casualties are being notified by telegram as soon as accurate information is available. The House will wish to express their profound sympathy with the relatives of the killed and with those injured in this dastardly outrage."[29]
In a visit made sometime before the attack, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, had told Lieutenant General Sir Evelyn Barker, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan, to emphasise to the British servicemen that they were "facing a cruel, fanatical and cunning enemy, and there was no way of knowing who was friend and who foe."[30] Since there were female terrorists as well, according to Montgomery, all fraternising with the local population would have to cease.[30] Within a few minutes of the bombing, Barker translated this instruction into an order that "all Jewish places of entertainment, cafes, restaurants, shops and private dwellings" be out of bounds to all ranks. He concluded, "I appreciate that these measures will inflict some hardship on the troops, but I am certain that if my reasons are fully explained to them, they will understand their propriety and they will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them." His wording was interpreted as antisemitic and caused much outrage. The order was rescinded two weeks later.[citation needed]
The attack did not change Britain's stance toward an Anglo-American agreement on Palestine, which was then in its concluding phase. In a letter dated July 25, 1946, Prime Minister Attlee wrote to American President Harry S. Truman: "I am sure you will agree that the inhuman crime committed in Jerusalem on 22 July calls for the strongest action against terrorism but having regard to the sufferings of the innocent Jewish victims of Nazism this should not deter us from introducing a policy designed to bring peace to Palestine with the least possible delay."[31]
Israeli and Zionist reactions
The Jewish political leadership publicly condemned the attack. The Jewish Agency expressed "their feelings of horror at the base and unparalleled act perpetrated today by a gang of criminals", despite the fact that the Irgun was acting in response to the Jewish Resistance Movement, an organisation governed by the Jewish Agency.[citation needed] The Jewish National Council denounced the bombing.[17] According to The Jerusalem Post, "although the Hagana had sanctioned the King David bombing, world-wide condemnation caused the organization to distance itself from the attack."[16][dead link] David Ben-Gurion deemed the Irgun "the enemy of the Jewish people" after the attack.[32] Hatsofeh, a Jewish newspaper in Palestine, labelled the Irgun perpetrators "fascists".[33]
The Irgun issued an initial statement accepting responsibility for the attack, mourning their Jewish victims, and calling into fault the British for what they saw as a failure to respond to the warnings.[citation needed] A year later, on July 22, 1947, they issued a new statement saying that they were acting on instructions from "a letter from the headquarters of the United Resistance, demanding that we carry out an attack on the center of government at the King David Hotel as soon as possible." The Irgun's radio network announced that it would mourn for the Jewish victims, but not the British ones. This was explained by claiming that Britain had not mourned for the millions of Jews who died in the Nazi Holocaust.[citation needed] No remorse was expressed for the largest group of victims, the Arab dead.[18]
Richard Crossman, a British Labour Party MP, whose experience on the Anglo-American Committee had made him sympathetic to Zionism, visited Chaim Weizmann shortly after the attack. Weizmann's ambivalence towards Zionist violence was apparent in the conversation. While condemning it, he also stated that he sympathised with its causes. When the King David Hotel bombing was mentioned, Weizmann started crying heavily. He said, "I can't help feeling proud of our boys. If only it had been a German headquarters, they would have gotten the Victoria Cross."[14]
Sir John Shaw controversy
At the time of the explosion, Chief Secretary, Sir John Shaw was in his office, which was in the eastern half of the south wing, rather than the destroyed western half.[15][34] Jewish militant organisations sought to shift the blame to Shaw for the deaths.
Begin said that Shaw had been responsible for the failure to evacuate the hotel: "A police officer called Shaw and told him, 'The Jews say that they have placed bombs in the King David.' And the reply was, 'I am here to give orders to the Jews, not to take orders from them.'"[15] The 1947 Irgun pamphlet Black Paper said that Shaw had forbidden anyone to leave the hotel: "For reasons best known to himself Shaw, the Chief Secretary of the Occupation administration, disregarded the warning. That is, he forbade any of the other officials to leave the building, with the result that some of his collaborators were killed, while he himself slunk away until after the explosion. … Shaw thus sent nearly 100 people to their deaths—including Hebrews, including friends of our struggle."[15] Begin said that he had heard the information about Shaw from Israel Galili, Chief of Staff of Haganah, when they met on July 23, the day after the bombing.[15] In an interview with Bethell,[14] Galili said that his source for the Shaw story had been Boris Guriel, the future head of Israel's intelligence service, who had heard it in turn from the American Associated Press bureau chief Carter Davidson. Thurston Clarke interviewed both Galili and Guriel, the former in 1977. Guriel denied that he had been the source of the story. Galili was unable to produce any evidence that Shaw had received a warning.[14] Carter Davidson died in 1958[14][15] and so could not be asked to confirm or deny what Galili had said. Clarke's assessment was that the story about Shaw was, in fact, "a baseless rumour promoted by the Haganah in order to mollify the Irgun and fix responsibility for the carnage on Shaw."[14] Shmuel Katz, who had been a member of the Irgun's high command, later also wrote that "the story can be dismissed."[22]
In 1948, a libel action was taken out by Shaw against a Jewish London newspaper which repeated the allegations made by Begin and the Irgun pamphlet.[15] The newspaper did not mount a defence and made an unreserved apology to Shaw.[15] About the allegation that he had said that he did not take orders from Jews, Shaw said: "I would never have made a statement like that and I don't think that anyone who knows me would regard it as in character. I would never have referred to the Jews in that way".[15]
Also in 1948, William Ziff, an American author, released a revised edition of his 1938 book The Rape of Palestine which contained an embellished version of Galili's story, similar to the one given in the Black Paper pamphlet.[14] It said that Shaw had escaped from the hotel minutes before the main explosion, abandoning its other occupants to their fate.[14] Shaw took out another libel action against Ziff and his British publisher. After lawyers in Israel failed to find evidence supporting Ziff's version of events, the book's publishers withdrew it from circulation and apologised to Shaw.[14]
The Revolt, Menachem Begin's book on the Irgun, which was published in Britain in 1951, made references to a "high official" having received a warning but refusing to evacuate the hotel in time. Shaw, believing this to be a reference to himself, seriously considered suing Begin and his British publisher for libel, and consulted with his personal attorney, but was advised against it, on grounds that a reference to a "high official" was insufficient to justify a claim of personal defamation. He did, however, write a letter to the publisher denying the book's version of events.[35]
Bethell says that all of the British witnesses who were in the vicinity of the hotel at the time of the explosion confirmed what Shaw said. None of them had any knowledge of a warning having been sent in time to make evacuation of the hotel possible. They said that, like themselves, Shaw had not known about the bomb beforehand and that he bore no responsibility for putting colleagues' lives at risk immediately before the explosion. The only criticism made was that Shaw should have closed the Régence restaurant and put guards on the service entrance weeks before. Shaw agreed that not having done this was a mistake. The decision not to do it had been made because "everyone was under orders to preserve the semblance of normality in Palestine", "social life had to be allowed to continue" and because nobody had believed that the Irgun would put the whole of the Secretariat, which had many Jewish employees, in danger.[15]
Two months after the bombing, Shaw was appointed High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago. The Irgun immediately sent a letter bomb to him there, but it was intercepted and successfully disarmed.[14]
Legacy and later reports
Irgun emblem with Hebrew symbols used during its armed campaign
In Israeli history
The attack ramped up the conflict between Jewish militants and the Mandate government to a much higher level.[20] Early on July 30, 1946, in order to capture wanted underground members, 'Operation Shark' was mounted in Tel Aviv. Four army brigades, about twenty thousand soldiers and police, established a cordon round the city. A historian later described the situation as looking for a few needles of militants in a haystack 170,000 people deep. Nearly eight hundred people were detained and then sent to Rafah detention camp.[15]
The attack led the British government to enact widely unpopular restrictions on the civil liberties of Jews in Palestine, which included a renewed use of random personal searches, random searches of homes, military curfews, road blocks, and mass arrests. The measures shifted British public opinion further against the Mandate system.[36] They also alienated the Jewish populace from their government, which had been Begin's intention from the beginning.[21]
The Irgun and Lehi stepped up their campaign after the bombing, committing a series of attacks.[20] According to The Jerusalem Post, the bombing represented the end of the united front that had existed between the Irgun and other Zionist groups such as the Haganah. From then on, the groups maintained a more adversarial relationship.[16] Irgun ex-members and sympathizers have argued that modern historical accounts in Israel are biased against them and in favor of more established groups such as the Haganah.[37]
After the bombing, the hotel complex remained in use by the British until May 4, 1948. It served as an Israeli headquarters from the end of the Israeli War of Independence to the Six-Day War. Then, the Israelis reopened the hotel for commercial business. Recently, it has hosted visiting dignitaries and celebrities.[38]
Terrorism
The bombing has been discussed in literature about the practice and history of terrorism. It has been called one of the most lethal terrorist attacks of the 20th century.[39]
Security analyst Bruce Hoffman wrote of the bombing in his book Inside Terrorism that: "Unlike many terrorist groups today, the Irgun's strategy was not deliberately to target or wantonly harm civilians. At the same time, though, the claim of Begin and other apologists that warnings were issued cannot absolve either the group or its commander for the ninety-one people killed and forty-five others injured... Indeed, whatever nonlethal intentions the Irgun might or might not have had, the fact remains that a tragedy of almost unparalleled magnitude was inflicted... so that to this day the bombing remains one of the world's single most lethal terrorist incidents of the twentieth century."[21]
Enders Walter and Todd Sandler theorized in a 2006 book on the political economy of terrorism that it provided a model for the terrorist bombings of the 1980s.[40] In another 2006 book, Gus Martin wrote that the attack is one of the best historical examples of successful terrorism, it having yielded, according to him, everything that the Irgun had wanted. He went on to compare the aftermath of the bombing to that of Carlos Marighella's campaign with the Brazilian Communist Party.[36] Max Abrahms contests the view that the civilian deaths in the King David Hotel expedited British withdrawal from Palestine, stating that the widespread public backlash—including from Jews—combined with a British crackdown "nearly destroyed the Irgun" and "is thus hardly a strong example of terrorism paying".[41]
The Irgun's activities were classed as terrorism by MI5.[42] The Irgun has been viewed as a terrorist organization or organization which carried out terrorist acts.[43][44] In particular the Irgun was branded a terrorist organisation by Britain,[45] the 1946 Zionist Congress[46] and the Jewish Agency.[47] Begin argued that terrorists and freedom fighters are differentiated in that terrorists deliberately try to target civilians, and that the Irgun was not guilty of terrorism since it supposedly tried to avoid civilian casualties.[48] At the events to mark the 60th anniversary of the attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, then chairman of Likud and Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset, opined that the bombing was a legitimate act with a military target, distinguishing it from an act of terror intended to harm civilians. He said, "Imagine that Hamas or Hizbullah would call the military headquarters in Tel Aviv and say, 'We have placed a bomb and we are asking you to evacuate the area.' They don't do that. That is the difference."[37]
Army and police reports
Various British government papers relating to the bombing were released under the thirty year rule in 1978, including the results of the military and police investigations.[note 2] The reports contain statements and conclusions which are contradicted by other evidence, including that submitted to the inquest held after the bombing. Affidavits which reflected badly on the security of the hotel were removed from the army report before it was submitted to the High Commissioner and then the Cabinet in London.[14] The police report makes the claim that the warning sent to the French Consulate was received five minutes after the main explosion. This is contradicted by multiple eyewitnesses who reported seeing staff opening the Consulate windows five minutes before it. The report also claims that the warning received by the Palestine Post was not received until after the explosion. That claim is supported in the report by the testimony of two members of the Palestine Post staff, one of whom said that she was put under pressure by the Palestine Police to withdraw statements she had made in her account.[14]
60th anniversary controversy
The hotel in 2008
The plaque of the King David Hotel. The Hebrew version has an additional line saying that among the 92 people killed was an Irgun member shot dead.
In July 2006, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center organized a conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing. The conference was attended by past and future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former members of Irgun.[49] A plaque commemorating the bombing was unveiled, stating "For reasons known only to the British, the hotel was not evacuated." The British Ambassador in Tel Aviv and the Consul-General in Jerusalem protested, saying "We do not think that it is right for an act of terrorism, which led to the loss of many lives, to be commemorated", and wrote to the Mayor of Jerusalem that such an act of terror could not be honoured, even if it was preceded by a warning. The British government also demanded the removal of the plaque, pointing out that the statement accusing the British of failing to evacuate the hotel was untrue and "did not absolve those who planted the bomb."[49][50]
To prevent a diplomatic incident, and over the objections of Knesset member Reuven Rivlin (Likud), who raised the matter in the Knesset, changes were made in the plaque's text, though to a greater degree in the English than the Hebrew version. The final English version says, "Warning phone calls has [sic] been made to the hotel, The Palestine Post and the French Consulate, urging the hotel's occupants to leave immediately. The hotel was not evacuated and after 25 minutes the bombs exploded. To the Irgun's regret, 92 persons were killed." The death toll given includes Avraham Abramovitz, the Irgun member who was shot during the attack and died later from his wounds, but only the Hebrew version of the sign makes that clear.[37] The Hebrew version has the words meaning "including an Irgun man who was killed in a shootout which happened there" (Hebrew: כולל איש האצ"ל שנהרג בחילופי יריות שהתנהלו במקום) at the end, which are not found in the English version.
See also
Further reading
Thurston Clarke, By Blood and Fire, G. P. Puttnam's Sons, New York, 1981
, G. P. Puttnam's Sons, New York, 1981 Menachem Begin, The Revolt, W. H. Allen, London, First edition 1951, Revised edition 1979. Nash, Los Angeles, 1972. Dell, New York, 1978.
, W. H. Allen, London, First edition 1951, Revised edition 1979. Nash, Los Angeles, 1972. Dell, New York, 1978. J. Bowyer Bell, Terror Out of Zion: The Fight for Israeli Independence, Transaction Publishers, 1996
, Transaction Publishers, 1996 Nicholas Bethell, The Palestine Triangle, Andre Deutsch, London, 1979. G. P. Puttnam's Sons, New York, 1979.
, Andre Deutsch, London, 1979. G. P. Puttnam's Sons, New York, 1979. The Palestine Post, Jerusalem: the newspaper reported on the inquest into the bombing throughout September 1946.
The final findings of the inquest into the bombing: a copy is held by the State of Israel Archives, Jerusalem.
Michael Quentin Morton, In the Heart of the Desert, Green Mountain Press, 2006, pp. 32–4 (photograph p. 44), for an eye-witness account of the immediate aftermath of the bombing by a geologist working for the Iraq Petroleum Company.
In media
Exodus (1960), Hollywood film with Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger
(1960), Hollywood film with Paul Newman, directed by Otto Preminger The Promise (2001), a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky
(2001), a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky In the Name of Liberation: Freedom by Any Means, one of the documentaries from the series The Age of Terror: A Survey of modern terrorism (2002) produced by Films Media Group
The Age of Terror: A Survey of modern terrorism Early Israeli Terrorism (2009), a BBC documentary
(2009), a BBC documentary Footage of the bombed hotel collapsing opens episode 2 of Foyle's War series eight (January 11, 2015)
series eight (January 11, 2015) "Last Night We Attacked: A Photographic Record of Fighting Resistance in Palestine" (1947), 35 mm film prepared by the American League for a Free Palestine, edited by Elizabeth Wheeler, written by Larry Ravitz, narrated by Quentin Reynolds & Bill Parker, copyright 2010 NCJF.
Endnotes
^ The original letter can be found in the Jabotinsky Institute Archives (k-4 1/11/5). ^ A copy of the police report (identifying code 'CO 537 2290') is held at the Public Record Office, London.
References
Attack on the King David Hotel (Site: 1, 2) - an account of the bombing, written by Professor Yehuda Lapidot, an ex-Irgun member. The first copy of the account is on a website dedicated to recounting the history of the Irgun. The second is on a site carrying a translation of Lapidot's book, Besieged - Jerusalem 1948 - Memories of an Irgun fighter.
(Site: 1, 2) - an account of the bombing, written by Professor Yehuda Lapidot, an ex-Irgun member. The first copy of the account is on a website dedicated to recounting the history of the Irgun. The second is on a site carrying a translation of Lapidot's book,. The Outrage - an account of the bombing on a website set up by ex-British servicemen, whose purpose was to detail largely forgotten campaigns fought by the British since the end of the Second World War.
International Terrorism Since 1945 - The King David Hotel bombing features in the first episode of a 2008 BBC series which investigates the motives, morals and methods of some of what the BBC describes as the most infamous terrorist attacks of recent times.
UK national archives, Mi5 files of Jewish Interest. Includes intelligence about the activities of the Irgun.
Coordinates:Google has taken the stage in Hong Kong to make the next version of Android OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, a thing of reality. Better known as Android 4.0, the update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and adds a plethora of new features. Some of the highlights include an NFC-enabled feature called Android Beam, offline search in Gmail, new lock screen features and a fancy unlocking method called " Face Unlock," which uses facial recognition to ensure strangers can't use your phone without permission. Ice Cream Sandwich also includes enhancements in almost every native app within Android itself. The SDK is already available for Android 4.0, and the update itself will make its first public appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also unveiled tonight. After the break, we'll cover all of the nitty gritty details, along with some excellent screenshots below. So come along, why won't you?With Illinois facing a Friday night deadline by which it has to come up with its first fiscal budget in three years or face a downgrade to junk resulting in what a policymaker called a "death spiral", another mini drama is taking place in Connecticut, which is also facing big budget problems as wealthy residents, hedge funds and major corporations flee the state's high taxes and its fiscal future gets murkier by the day.
Just today, we reported that Aetna, the insurance giant founded in Hartford where it has been for the past 164 years, announced it would move its headquarters to New York City despite intensive lobbying efforts by Connecticut officials. The move, which followed a departure by GE of its Fairfield HQ of 40 years, is a blow to the company’s hometown, which is facing severe financial problems. Hartford's problems are a representation of the troubles facing the entire state: while Illinois' story is familiar, Connecticut has the distinction of the third-worst ratings in the country, only behind Illinois and New Jersey after S&P, Moody's and Fitch all downgraded the state last month in what officials described as a "call to action" for state leaders.
“We’ve been downgraded by everybody in the last six months, and in the last year two or three times,” Senate Republican President Len Fasano said cited by Fox news. “If we don’t pass a budget, I think we will see a further downward spiral.”
And, just like Illinois (and 14 other states), Connecticut faces a Friday day of reckoning: the state has yet to pass a fiscal 2018 budget by the June 30 deadline.
“We must immediately take the necessary steps to mitigate the current year deficit and then balance the... budget with recurring measures to reduce spending and structural solutions to our long-term problems,” a spokesperson for the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management said in response to Moody’s downgrade.
It's not just the rating, however.
Connecticut’s deficit has reached $5 billion, and according to an analysis by Pew, the state only has $240 million in its 'rainy day fund'; just five states have a smaller cushion. Much of the financial troubles are tied to the state’s pension system, which two-term Democratic Gov. Daniel Malloy’s office is seeking to address with a new plan to save the state $24 billion in “coming years.” One solution offered by Malloy is to require new state employees to be covered under a new hybrid pension system. The agreement, which Malloy’s office made with the state union, is tentative and awaiting legislative approval.
“Connecticut can and will adopt a responsible, balanced budget for the coming biennium—the question is how best to handle our finances until that happens,” Malloy said. He offered a short-term “mini-budget” to allow “more time to negotiate a full budget, without making our current problems any worse and without further jeopardizing the state’s bond rating.”
But, like in Illinois, Republican Fasano told Fox News the governor’s budget is not seeing support on “either side of the aisle.” “His proposal decimates municipalities, social services and has no support, so we did our own budget,” Fasano said. “He has really shown the propensity of turning this state in a very negative direction.”
What makes things even more complicated is the even split in the State Senate:
Fasano serves as the State Senate’s Republican president in conjunction with the Democratic president. This is a special situation, as for the first time in decades, the State Senate is split evenly in the historically blue state. “We are tied, 18-18, and that’s making it more difficult because the Democrats can no longer plow across the finish line a progressive agenda, fiscally speaking—so they can’t figure out what to do,” Fasano said. “Senate Republicans are the only ones with a line-by-line, detailed and balanced budget.”
Fasano claimed the budget put forth by Senate Republicans changes taxes and includes structural provisions that would help keep businesses in the state, although if Aetna is any indication, it's not nearly enough.
“We are doing things to try to attract people to stay here as best we can, given the fact that we have a $5 billion deficit,” Fasano said. “If we do not pass a budget by June 30, we have sent a message, I think to everyone, that we have no idea what we’re doing, and that is not going to give [comfort] to people to buy or stay here.”
Those who have already left the state, mostly affluent hedge fund managers who have migrated to Florida, already got the message.
And while Aetna's depature was a hit to the state, the state capital Hartford has been struggling with a financial quagmire of its own, even as we reported in early May, meeting last month to discuss the option of filing bankruptcy. “We know that now more than ever, we are in competition across all industries –not just with Massachusetts or New York state, but more specifically with Boston and New York City,” Malloy said last month.
Another problem is the fundamental deterioration in the state's economy.
Connecticut’s unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in April, up from 4.5 percent in January. “Keeping those employees in Connecticut is far more important than where Aetna plants its corporate flag,” Malloy said. Malloy is looking to boost jobs with the approval this week to begin construction on the state’s third casino.
The Democratic governor remains optimistic, however, and his office told Fox News that companies like Xerox, Sikorsky, and Vineyard Vines, among others, have committed to the state over the last two years. But Fasano said he spoke with GE executives before they left and they cited state financial issues.
“They said Connecticut continues to tax at rates that make it unaffordable for businesses, people to stay here and didn’t see what Connecticut looked like seven or eight years from now,” he said. “... That’s the same analysis I’ve heard from a number of businesses as to why they’re leaving. The progressive agenda this governor put forth is now coming home to roost.”
* * *
So will CT pass a state budget? There was some 11th hour hope on Thursday, when AP reported that Connecticut House Democrats said they've come up with a two-year budget proposal that could be ready for a vote on July 18. The last minute $40 billion two-year plan would increase the state's 6.35% sales tax to 6.99% to help maintain funding to cities and towns. It would also provide municipalities with additional ways to generate local revenue and restore the local property tax credit against the personal income tax.
The proposal was being offered up Thursday as lawmakers grappled over whether to pass Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's three-month, stop-gap budget before the fiscal year ends on Friday. Malloy says it will be less draconian than having him run state government using his limited executive authority.
And, of course, there's disagreement, about whether to vote on the mini budget. If the
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seems to be increasingly risk-averse. It is known that deaths from the coal industry in one month far exceed the total deaths in the history of nuclear power. The public would benefit from understanding the proven statistics of risk.
Compare the risk of death from the following activities:
Commercial airplane crashes — 1 in 11 million
Radiation exposure — 1 in 10 million
Falling out of bed — 1 in 2 million
Taking a bath — 1 in 685,000
Car crashes — 1 in 5,000
The public fears anything related to nuclear power, yet the statistics show it to be very low-risk. In spite of the risks, the public continues to drive, fly, take baths and sleep in beds. The same should be true of using nuclear power generation.
Please share your thoughts in the space below.ONE way of trying to draw a line under a disastrous period of trading is to announce all the bad news in one go. It is called kitchen-sinking. This is what Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, did on April 22nd when it announced results for the year ending February 28th.
By any measure the figures were eye-popping, worse even than most analysts had expected of the struggling company. Tesco made the largest pre-tax loss, of £6.4 billion ($9.6 billion), in British retail history, eight times as much as the previous record, set by Morrisons last year. This was also the sixth-largest loss in the country’s corporate history. Most of it (about £4.7 billion) was due to a fall in the property value of Tesco’s British stores. This was not merely an accounting matter, but a sign of how its out-of-town hypermarkets have fallen out of favour with consumers who shop online or use smaller convenience stores. Underlying profits were 68% down on the previous year, at £961m, and overall sales were down by 1.8%. The stock that Tesco keeps in its warehouses is worth £570m less than previously thought, and the pension scheme is £3.89 billion in deficit. And so on.
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Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive, hopes that the company has now reached rock bottom. Investors, whose shares lost half their value last year, certainly hope so. They are still smarting from the misreporting of Tesco’s profits last year by £263m, an event that is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office.
There were a few points of light. Tesco Bank is still doing well. And profits in Tesco’s Asian operations fell by only 15% year-on-year, compared with a whopping 79% for its British stores. This suggests that Tesco was right to diversify geographically. The company also emphasises that the property write-down was a one-off.
The performance of the 3,000 or so British stores remains his biggest headache. This is where Mr Lewis will win, or lose, his battle to turn the group round. Since early 2011 they have been losing market share, mainly to the much cheaper German-owned discount stores, Lidl and Aldi. Customers began to switch to them in big numbers during the recession, and the habit appears to have stuck. The two now account for nearly 9% of Britain’s grocery market, up from just 5% or so in 2010, mainly at Tesco’s expense. Aldi in particular is expanding remorselessly, promising to open stores at a much faster rate than Tesco is closing them.
To fight back, Tesco is trying to become more like Aldi, not least by investing heavily in cutting prices. Although this has eaten into its profitability, there are signs that a few customers are returning. Tesco is slashing the number of products in its shops; typically an Aldi store will sell about 2,000 items, a Tesco store 45,000. Mr Lewis has also been cutting back on Tesco’s bloated corporate culture. He has closed one of its headquarters, with the loss of thousands of jobs, and has got rid of four of its five corporate jets—symbols of the extravagance of an earlier era.
These measures will take some time to work, however, if they do at all. Mr Lewis has begged for patience. Will investors, and shoppers, spare him any?• My Love •
So Sweet Is He
Who Makes Me Smile
Each Day With Him
I Deem Worthwhile
With Kisses Soft
That Bless My Skin
His Heart Is Gold
And Shines Within
So Right Is He
Who Handles Me
His Love Is Strong
I Must Agree
Who Holds Me Close
And Keeps Me Tight
Embraces Me
Throughout The Night
So Kind Is He
Who Makes Me Laugh
My One and Only
Other Half
Who’s Gentle Touch
I Beg For More
His Heart Is Pure
Whom I Adore
So Good Is He
Who Keeps Me Warm
He Fends My Fears
And Shields The Storm
Who Cares For Me
That of No Other
He Gives His Love
One After Another
So Nice Is He
Who Cares For Me
Who’s Love Goes Deep
His Guarantee
Who Treats Me Well
And Loves Me Right
Who’s ‘Roughened Up’
Yet Still Polite
So Sweet Is He
Who Calls My Name
I Give My Heart
For Him To Claim
Who’s Debt I’m In
He’s Worthy Of
The Best of Life
My Man – My Love
© CC License
Breanne Katherine
Date Written: 05/30/10
Be a Poetry In Psyche FaceBook Fan: Click Here ♥It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. — Aristotle.
J.G. Vibes
Activist Post
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed that the freedom movement is quickly becoming just as polarized and divided as the mainstream political circles that are presented in the media. While it is absolutely important that we stay true to our individual principles, that doesn’t mean that it is productive for us to immediately disregard anyone who doesn’t see the world exactly as we see it. Likewise, this especially does not give us the right to belittle or ridicule those who have different ideas than we do.
The truth is that we all have blind spots in our thinking, and we all have things to learn from other people. It is possible to have a friendly conversation with someone who sees the world completely different from you, without sacrificing your beliefs and without expecting them to sacrifice theirs.
That’s not to say that there are no right or wrong answers, because in many cases there are things which can be verified and proven, but standing on opposing ends of an issue and shoving ideas down one another’s throats as fast as possible is how the republicrats communicate, it is not how we should be communicating in the freedom movement.
For those of us standing outside of the left/right political paradigm we can see the stagnation and inefficiency that is caused by this sort of divisive approach at communication and problem solving. Debates in political circles are always centered more around scoring points and showing off, instead of being focused on actually solving the problems at hand, which is one of the many reasons why there are never any real “political” solutions to any of the world’s problems.
With that being said there is a growing number of people throughout the world who are really becoming disgusted with the violence and subjugation that has become commonplace in all of our societies. These people all come from very different backgrounds, they have led different lives, had different experiences and each have taken in a wide variety of contrasting information about the world that we live in. Due to that fact all of these people have entered the freedom movement, or the resistance, or the revolution, or whatever you want to call it... all of these people have entered this movement with different preconceived notions about why we are in the mess we are in and how to get out.
This may seem like a dangerous and volatile situation because we are so used to seeing people who think differently tear each other apart, but in reality this is a beautiful gift that we should all embrace and attempt to learn from as much as we possibly can.
If we think of the global situation as a giant puzzle, we can describe all of these different people with different viewpoints as each being a unique piece in that puzzle that is essential for its completion.
Some us may be voluntarists or libertarians, some of us may be constitutionalists and Ron Paul supporters, some of us may be socialists or futurists, and we may all disagree on a whole lot of things, but the bottom line is that we all have a great deal to learn from one another and there is no way we are going to fight the mercantilist monster that stands before us if we don’t respect one another’s opinions and we refuse to entertain the possibility that someone with a different opinion has the potential to teach us something.
As free thinkers we should celebrate the moment that we learn new information, even if that information may cause us to change our minds and feel differently about certain things. In fact, I would say that the ability to overcome one’s own ego and change their minds when presented with new information is one of the fundamental characteristics of a “free thinker”. Now, again, I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean that you have to go around agreeing with what everyone says, or that you can’t be firm in your convictions, but it is just important to remember that we are in this fight to solve problems and reduce the level of violence that we see around us; we are not here to score debate points and form cliques.
Avoiding The Eye - Ships Free Today! Today, almost every economy in the world is totally dictated by the ideas of two long-dead aristocrats. Karl Marx on one end representing communism, and Adam Smith on the other end representing capitalism. Our whole way of doing business on this planet has changed very little since the time that these two characters were alive, and that right there is the root of our problem. Imagine if a few people in every city across the world wrote their own economic manifestos and got together to respectfully discuss their ideas. We refuse to accept yesterday’s television shows, iPods and PlayStations, but without thinking we have accepted ways of living that are centuries old. It’s time for us to work together to create strategies where everyone can meet their needs without violating the rights of others. This article originally appeared at Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance J.G. Vibes is an author, and artist — with an established record label. In addition to featuring a wide variety of activist information, his company Good Vibes Promotions hosts politically charged electronic dance music events. You can keep up with him and his new book Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance, at his website www.aotmr.com. var linkwithin_site_id = 557381; linkwithin_text=’Related Articles:’?It can be hard to remember nowadays, what with all the death and violence and Identity Crises and Ultimate comics, but comic books used to be… well, cheerful. The superheroes in them, too. Sure, they fought bad guys and got beat up a lot, but they liked what they did, were happy to help, and generally went around with a smile on their faces. Even Spider-Man, whose life sucked constantly as Peter Parker and Spidey, was generally pretty upbeat.
Then of course came Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and the ’90s, and suddenly every time a superhero tried to eke out a little personal happiness, he or she was met with instant personal disaster instead. Nowadays, seemingly every hero is tortured in some way, and their lives are filled with constant tragedy that ceaselessly tests their moral resolve.
You can blame modern comics for this trend, but the reality is this kind of thing happened to even the cheeriest of heroes well before 1990. But it happened a lot less, and that always made those stories of superheroes faced with loss, abuse and trauma special — and heartbreaking — and sometimes even disturbing. Here are six of those stories.
6) Spider-Man, “The Death of Jean DeWolff”
Spider-Man’s always been a character who’s had to endure hardships — his Uncle Ben’s murder is right there in his origin story, after all, and the death of Gwen Stacy remains one of the most memorable Spider-Man stories of all time — but this four-issue story from 1985
(writer Peter David’s first published work for Marvel) is the first in which Spider-Man himself turns dark and gritty. It starts when a serial killer named Sin-Eater kills Police Capt. Jean DeWolff, one of Spider-Man’s only friends in the NYPD (as well as a judge, a priest, and almost Betty Brant).
When Spider-Man catches up to the killer, himself an NYPD detective who had befriended Peter, Spidey’s in such a rage that he nearly beats the guy to death. Only Daredevil’s intervention stops him, and the Sin-Eater ends up crippled. Earlier, Spidey comes pretty close to killing a drug pusher during an interrogation, too. And here’s the crazy thing: He’s wearing his black costume in the story, but it’s not the symbiote that would become Venom. It’s just a cloth version of the suit. Mr. Fantastic removed the symbiote almost a year prior. So, unlike the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, where Spider-Man nearly killing The Shocker is directly the result of the symbiote, this was straight-up him.
A couple years later, Spider-Man would be buried alive in what might be the darkest Spidey story ever, “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Oh, and he also made a deal with the devil to scrap his marriage to save Aunt May’s life, but that’s less “dark” and more “stupid.”
5) Superman, “For the Man Who Has Everything”
?Allow me to point out there that, though we tend to think of “dark” superhero stories as a trumped-up way to make fun comics “adult” and therefore a drag (or at least I do), lots of stories that go to dark places are really good, like this Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons pre-Watchmen team-up, which became an awesome episode of Justice League Unlimited.
Most of the single-issue story takes place in a simulated reality, as the supervillain Mongul has attached a hallucinogenic plant to Superman’s chest that puts him in a vegetative state and makes him think he’s living on Krypton again, married with kids. The hallucination turns out to be anything but Superman’s paradise, though. His father, Jor-el has been discredited because his predictions that the planet would be destroyed turned out to be false, and has taken over a political extremist group. His mother’s dead. His family’s in a shambles, and eventually, Superman realizes none of it is real, telling his son so as Batman pulls the plant off him.
But none of that’s really the dark part. That’s what comes next. Superman asks Mongul, “Do you realize what you did to me?” Mongul attacks, saying he most assuredly did. Superman replies with one word, “Burn,” and savagely attacks Mongul with his heat vision. And there’s the darkness. For once, Superman doesn’t see the good in someone. He just wants him to burn for what he did.
4) Fantastic Four, “A Small Loss”
?In 1984, Susan Richards had a miscarriage. And it was the result of the radioactivity that created the Fantastic Four to begin with. That’s some heavy stuff. In the issue where it happens, Reed Richards and Doctor Octopus (who’s brought in as an expert on radioactivity) rush to help her, but they’re too late, in no small part because Doc Ock remembers he’s a supervillain for a second and causes a ruckus.
The loss of the baby (who would eventually return as Valeria von Doom in the oh-so-convoluted Fantastic Four comics of the late ’90s) had far-reaching effects. Sue spirals into depression and anger leaving her open to an attack from Pscyho-Man, eventually turning her into Malice, the Mistress of Hate. That’s right. Malice, the Mistress of Hate. Eventually, Reed snaps her out of it by just plain slapping her in the face.
3) Avengers, “The Child Is Father To…?”
?When people think about the Avengers’ darkest moments, they tend to jump to Avengers #213, you know, the one where Yellowjacket hits the Wasp because he has lost his goddamn mind. And that’s certainly one of them. But a year earlier, in issue 200, an Avengers story went just as dark, if not more so. And the crazy thing was, it didn’t even seem intentional.
Carol Strickland goes into way more detail about it that I can here, but here’s the rundown: Ms. Marvel discovers she’s suddenly pregnant. After three days, she gives birth to Marcus, Immortus’ son. She didn’t know anything about this, and is pretty upset about it. But Marcus (very quickly an adult) explains how he used his dad’s machines to woo Ms. Marvel and impregnate her with himself. Then she leaves with him, willingly. He raped her, and she (and all the other Avengers) are cool with it.
However, a year later, in the 1981 Avengers annual, Ms. Marvel returns to point out that she was not, in fact, cool with it, and tears into the other Avengers for leaving her with Marcus. And they realize what they did was pretty rough. Marvel acknowledged that it published some pretty messed-up shit.
2) Daredevil, “Last Hand”
?Up until Mark Waid took over the title last year, Daredevil was basically a never-ending catalog of all the dark, terrible stuff that happened to Matt Murdock. For like, 30 years. Before that, the character was a fairly happy-go-lucky swashbuckler. Frank Miller changed that, nearly for good, and it all coalesced in this story, the one where Bullseye kills Elektra and Daredevil counters by dropping the crazy assassin off a power line, saying, “You’ll never kill anyone again.” It’s a great story, and an uncompromisingly dark one.
1) Green Lantern/Green Arrow, “Snowbirds Don’t Fly”
?Dark stories didn’t just happen in the 1980s. In 1971, Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams crafted this story, in which the Robin-Hood-like Green Arrow and devil-may-care fighter pilot Green Lantern took on a group of drug dealers only to find that Green Arrow’s own sidekick, Speedy, was addicted to heroin. Speedy manages to quit (temporarily) but another addict character dies of an overdose.
The story ends with the two superheroes at the junkie’s funeral, where Speedy confronts Green Arrow about trying to bully him out of his addiction: “It maims, it pains, it dims you! It drives you to the edge of insanity and over…and one day ends your trip on a slab in the morgue, with a tag around your toe!” Heavy.Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida
Terrelle Pryor said last week he would cut off his finger to win a game for the Browns. On Sunday, all he needed to do was kick a field goal. He did just about everything else.
To ease the burden on rookie quarterback Cody Kessler, who was making his first NFL start, Pryor was used as a Wildcat quarterback and the spark he gave to the offense was almost too much for the Miami Dolphins to handle.
Pryor ran for 21 yards and a touchdown, threw for 35 yards and had eight receptions for 144 yards. He also played deep safety one play to defend a Hail Mary pass that never came.
“That was one of the single-handed, most impressive performances from a player that I’ve seen in a while,” said left tackle Joe Thomas. “Pretty amazing for a guy that wasn’t in the league last year.”
But all of it wasn’t enough.
The Browns lost to the Dolphins in overtime, 30-24, largely because emergency kicker Cody Parkey missed three field goal tries, the last from 46 yards on the final play of regulation.
Parkey joined the team on Friday night after regular kicker Patrick Murray suffered a knee injury. Word after the game was that Browns coaches preferred to sign long-time Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould to fill the spot, but they were overruled by the front office.
Parkey, who kicked in 2014 with the Philadelphia Eagles and was out of the NFL last season, left his home Friday evening in Jupiter, Florida, to have a physical in Cleveland, and then hopped on the team plane Saturday afternoon to make his Browns debut. He never kicked with the Browns’ placement team until pregame warmups.
Nobody could have envisioned the workload Parkey would have and the role he would play in extending the Browns’ winless streak to three games under new coach Hue Jackson.
“I know everybody will say it came down to field goals, but I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on Cody,” Jackson said. “Cody just got off a plane with us and I don’t know him as well as I know this chair right here. It was tough.”
Parkey made field goals from 46, 48 and 38 yards. All of his misses were pulled left, from 41, 42 -- which doinked the upright -- and the game-winning attempt from 46.
“If you play in this league long enough, you’re going to miss some kicks,” Parkey said. “Unfortunately, I missed some big ones today. I can’t have them back, can’t do anything about them now. I just have to move on.”
The misses eradicated a supreme effort by the Browns’ coaches to overcome a week of injuries that left holes on the field and scars on the team’s psyche.
They also erased clutch performances by obscure players such as cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun, who had a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown in his first NFL game; and reserve linebacker Corey Lemonier, whose strip-sack of Ryan Tannehill and recovery of the ball at the Miami 27 with 20 seconds in regulation set up Parkey’s biggest miss.
Pryor was exhausted after the game and admitted he lost his focus on one of the plays he did not make -- a pass from Kessler near mid-field that was defended by cornerback Byron Maxwell near the end of regulation.
“I’m very dissatisfied with myself, but I’m very proud of my teammates,” Pryor said.
Everybody was pleased with Kessler, who overcame a shaky first series that included a delay-of-game penalty on the first play, a lost snap on the third play and a lost fumble on his fourth play.
Kessler said the first hit on the sack by Cameron Wake “knocked the nerves out of me.”
Thereafter, Kessler displayed poise, pocket maneuverability, pretty good decision-making and accuracy on his passes. He also overcame a difficult outing by right tackle Austin Pasztor -- who had three holding penalties, two false starts and several hurries by Wake -- to make up a 24-13 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Kessler (21 of 33 for 244 yards, 85.9 rating) did not throw an interception and managed to connect with Pryor (for 25 yards) and rookie Ricardo Louis (28) on a TD drive to draw close, and with Pryor (40) on the game-tying field goal drive. He also lofted a nice touch pass to Gary Barnidge for a two-point conversion to cut the Miami lead to three points in the fourth quarter.
In the pivotal fourth quarter, Kessler outplayed Tannehill (25 of 39 for 319 yards, three TDs and two interceptions). Tannehill got the win on his second possession of overtime when a Browns blitz failed and he found Jarvis Landry wide open for a 32-yard gain. On the next play, running back Jay Ajayi scampered around left end 11 yards for the touchdown.
Kessler was sacked three times and hit unofficially another six times. After one, he lay on the ground long enough for officials to have him checked out for a concussion. Kessler said that hit was actually to his arm and he was fine.
“He was gritty,” Thomas said. “He played really, really well. Amazingly unflappable for a rookie third-string quarterback playing his first game in a surprisingly loud environment.”
All in all, Kessler’s performance had to leave the Browns encouraged about the coming games while Josh McCown heals a broken left collarbone.
But Jackson wanted nothing to do with moral victories.
“I think we’re getting better,” he said. “But the better part for me and for them is to lead to wins. That’s what we all want. There are no feel-good stories and ‘all you guys fought a good fight.’ I’m not into that. I’m into winning and losing, and right now we’re losing.”
The prospects of Pryor enlarging his Wildcat role, Kessler’s development and the future return of Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman suddenly have turned this Browns’ season a lot more interesting.
“This thing can get ugly [for defenses],” Pryor said.LAS VEGAS, NEVADA—If Google Glass tickled your fancy but $1,500 is a little steep and 2014 is a little too far in the future, one company is stepping forward with a less expensive alternate reality interface. Vuzix’s smart glasses debuted at CES Sunday evening, and while we won’t get a chance to play with the prototypes until the show floor opens, we got a look at the device from the perspective of what may soon be your jealous peers (that is, we got to watch someone wear a dummy pair).
Vuzix’s M100 smart glasses run a version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, according to a company representative. The downside of Vuzix’s glasses relative to Google Glass is that they currently rely on a smartphone to interface with the device (via Bluetooth or WiFi) and provide additional functionality, which is a blow to their flexibility. Still, rare will be the instance when someone interested in using smart glasses won’t also be carrying a smartphone, so this may not be a huge problem. A Vuzix rep told Ars that the company eventually intends the glasses to have enough internal hardware to sustain themselves; soon, the smartphone tethering won’t be necessary.
The display inside the glasses is the visual equivalent of a 4-inch smartphone screen held 14 inches from the eye and has a WQVGA resolution (likely 240x432 at a 16:9 aspect ratio). A TI OMAP 4 processor and 4GB of memory will be packed inside the device along with GPS, a 1080p camera, and a microUSB port.
The smart glasses get only two hours of battery life when fully on or 8 hours for a “typical usage profile,” which is a bit troubling; it would take some effort to make them last a full day.
As for wearing the device, Vuzix says smart glasses will affix to noggins either by headband, ear clip, or around the back of your neck. Android phones will be supported first, followed by iOS, and software development kits were recently made available for both platforms. The price is not official yet, but Vuzis says the glasses will retail for around $500 and are set to appear sometime in 2013.
Listing image by Casey Johnston(CBS) The Cubs have taken control of the National League Championship Series and now sit one win away from their first World Series berth since 1945.
Behind strong work from left-hander Jon Lester and sparked by a go-ahead two-run homer from the rejuvenated Addison Russell in the sixth inning, Chicago earned an 8-4 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, grabbing a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. That means two chances are looming at Wrigley Field this weekend for the Cubs to advance to the World Series for the first time in 71 years.
The night’s biggest hit came from Russell, who struggled so mightily through the first seven games of the postseason that some outsiders wondered if manager Joe Maddon would bench him for a night. He’s responded, most significantly Thursday by drilling a hanging slider from Dodgers reliever Joe Blanton into the left-center field seats for a two-run shot that broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth after Chicago had squandered several scoring opportunities earlier.
Lester went seven innings to earn the win, allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out six. The only run he allowed came in the fourth inning, when the Dodgers tied the game at 1-1 when they exploited his disinclination for holding runners on. Howie Kendrick doubled, stole third base and scored on an Adrian Gonzalez RBI groundout.
With Lester done after seven innings with a 3-1 lead, the Cubs broke the game open with a five-run eighth inning. Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant each had infield hits that drove in runs, and Javier Baez put the dagger in the Dodgers with a three-run double.
Baez was 3-of-5 with three RBIs and a run. Russell, Fowler, Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits. Rizzo’s RBI double gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Game 6 is set for Saturday at 7:08 p.m. in Chicago. Cubs right-hander and MLB ERA champion Kyle Hendricks will oppose Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw.Pin 2 Shares
From Malaga, I flew into London to fly home, but I made sure I timed it so that I would be able to go see at least one day of Wimbledon. I went on the first day of the 2-week tournament and even then it was crazy! How it works is that after they have the general lottery for tickets, they have a certain number of tickets available to buy the day of. I think there was somewhere around 6,000 grounds passes available, which give you access to courts 3 through 18 or however many courts there are. Then there’s about 200 each for Center Court, Court 1, & Court 2. So I got up really early (probably the earliest of my whole trip) and caught the tube down to Wimbledon! The trains were packed as expected, and I got talking to an old man who had been to every Wimbledon for the past 60 years and used to be a chair umpire for the tournament.
They even had the tube stop decorated like a tennis court!
Just to show how crazy it was there, I arrived a little after 8am and this is what it looked like already…
To get tickets for the 3 main courts, you pretty much have to camp out overnight. It’s a good thing is was the end of June and it was nice out. I did meet some cool people in line, though. I finally got in around 1:00 in the afternoon right around when they were kicking off for the day.
How it works with the grounds pass is that you can just walk up to any court (minus the 3 main ones) and wait for a seat to open up or just stand and watch. I saw a lot of good tennis on the first day even though I really didn’t get to see any of the top players, but I did get some good action shots of the players I did watch. I can’t remember who these players were, though.
More from the same match…
The most famous players I saw were Tommy Haas playing Alexander Peya and Tommy Robredo playing Luka Gregorc. This was a hell of a match, and Robredo ended up winning it. Here’s a couple pics from this match.
After getting my fill of tennis for about 7 hours, I headed back to my hostel and went out with my friends on my last night in Europe. Then I flew home the next afternoon, connecting in Chicago, and finally landing home in Detroit.
A GREAT END TO AN AMAZING TRIP!!!Skype say they are abiding by Chinese laws over internet use China has been monitoring and censoring messages sent through the internet service Skype, researchers say. Citizen Lab, a Canadian research group, says it found a database containing thousands of politically sensitive words which had been blocked by China. The publically available database also displayed personal data on subscribers. Skype said it had always been open about the filtering of data by Chinese partners, but that it was concerned by breaches in the security of the site. Citizen Lab researchers, based at the University of Toronto, said they discovered a huge surveillance system which had picked up and stored messages sent through the online telephone and text messaging service. The database held more than 150,000 messages which included words such as "democracy" and "Tibet" and phrases relating to the banned spiritual movement, Falun Gong. "These text messages, along with millions of records containing personal information, are stored on insecure publicly accessible web servers," said Citizen Lab's report, entitled "Breaching Trust". They said that by using one username, it was possible to identify all the people who had sent messages to or received them from the original user. 'Meeting laws' Skype is operated in China as Tom-Skype, a joint venture involving the American auction site, eBay and Chinese company TOM-Online. Citizen Lab said it was "clear" that Tom was "engaging in extensive surveillance with seemingly little regard for the security and privacy of Skype users". They asked to what extent Tom Online and Skype were co-operating with the Chinese government in monitoring communications. But Skype president Josh Silverman said China's monitoring was "common knowledge" and that Tom Online, had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations". "These regulations include the requirement to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities," he said. Mr Silverman said that it had been Tom Online's policy to block certain messages and then delete them and he would be investigating why the policy had changed to allow the company to upload and store those messages. Although internet use is high in China, the authorities have long prevented citizens from accessing websites which are considered politically sensitive. Western internet companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have been criticised by human-rights groups for adhering to China's strict regulations.
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StumbleUpon What are these?Germany’s Angela Merkel has opened the door to having a Eurozone finance minister. She made the comment during a joint press conference on Thursday with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris after a joint Franco-German cabinet meeting.
“I have nothing against a Eurozone budget,” said Merkel. “A European finance minister – we can talk about that.” The idea of having such a minister and a Eurozone budget are part of Macron’s proposals for reforming the European Union which have met with some resistance in Berlin.
The German leader said she wanted to breathe new life into Franco-German relations, promising closer cooperation between the two European Union heavyweights with the aim of reforming the bloc. Merkel added that Europe must take its fate into its own hands.
“I believe that we have shown shortly after the new government here was installed that we are ready to activate Franco-German relations with a new impetus,” Merkel said.
A Franco-German warplane
The two leaders announced plans to build a joint fighter jet, with a roadmap planned for mid-2018, as part of a drive to cement their countries’ cooperation and strengthen the European Union.
“The aim of this fighter jet for a new generation is first to launch a common research and development programme to be able to plan it together, and then for our two armies to be able to use it together. I confirm to you, it’s a profound revolution, but we are not afraid of revolutions,” Macron said.
Singling out cyber-security the two leaders vowed to deepen European integration on defence, counter-terrorism and immigration.
FM sigmargabriel on Franco-German Ministerial Council: want to modernize partnership w/ France. Together we need to do more in+for Europe — GermanForeignOffice (GermanyDiplo) July 13, 2017
Eurozone integration
The German Chancellor was questioned about Macron’s ideas for greater integration in the eurozone that have brought suspicion in Berlin. On his proposal for a single finance minister, parliament and budget, Merkel said she agreed in principle.
“Personally I was always in favour, it’s about how (to create a European finance minister). In general I’m not against a euro budget. In 2012 I proposed a small eurozone budget but I failed big time back then but I’m very glad this idea is now back on the table,” she said.
Klaus Regling, who heads up the EU’s rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, appeared to back Macron’s reforms in an interview with the German business daily Handelsblatt. He said the Eurozone should have a “limited joint fiscal capability” to support individual states in case of a sudden crisis.
Earlier, in a newspaper interview President Macron called on Germany to take action to help put right a “dysfunctional” eurozone, by accepting more public and private investment in Europe. Macron said he had nothing against German competitiveness: “But a part of German competitiveness is due to the dysfunctionalities of the eurozone, and the weakness of other economies,” he added.
Re-starting the Franco-German ‘engine’
The French and German leaders also visited a youth centre in northern Paris which provides German language lessons, and held a meeting with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. Together with EU representatives they pledged support for a G5 Sahel alliance – a joint military force (from Mauritania, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) to fight Islamist extremists.
Both leaders showed they were keen to revive the traditional German “engine” within the EU. They talked about working closely in many areas, however it will be difficult for both countries to act on key projects until after the German elections in September.
Merkel’s visit to Paris coincided with that of Donald Trump but there were no plans for the German leader to meet the US president.
Referring to criticism of France’s invitation, Macron said he was surprised it had aroused so much debate and protest. “It’s the 100th anniversary of the intervention alongside us of US forces in the First World War. We must never forget that our history is bigger than us,” he said.Each year, we like to run a series of posts called "90-in-90." The idea is that we'll take a look at every player on the roster, from the very bottom to the top and break them down a few ways. This roster will certainly change, and some days we'll have more than one so it's not exactly 90 players in 90 days. At this point
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read it together. It was also the last scene we filmed on the very last day of filming, so emotions were running high on both fictional and nonfictional tracks. All the writers, cast, network and studio execs — everyone who worked on the show in any capacity was there watching. There was a big delay while we waited for them to get the rain right, so everyone had a chance to really take in the moment.
I always found working with Cristin to be such a joy, so when it came time to shoot it, I just tried to will myself into the character’s shoes and connect with Cristin and not think of it as this huge, iconic moment. I mean, Ted may be nervous approaching her but he doesn’t know it’s, like, the biggest moment of his life. So we did the scene a bunch of times and it felt good and real and effortless and then people made a few speeches and we all went to MacLaren’s for a final drink.
How long did you know how it would end?
They had mentioned to me the twist about the mother in the first season, and I kind of put it out of my head. I didn’t know if they would actually want to come back to it and do that, especially after Cristin, because she was so wonderful and the fans seemed to really take to her. So I asked them “Are you guys still doing that?” And they said yeah.
Were you aware that people had essentially called exactly what happened?
Yeah, but I think that was intentional. It’s not that people cracked some code. They were laying that in, so that it would be discussed and slightly less jarring for people.
It wasn’t this big surprise ending. They wanted it to feel justified.
Yeah, I think so. It was going to be shocking no matter what and they wanted to soften it a little bit or at least get people talking about it. There were a couple of hints along the way: Ted’s big speech to the mother in “The Time Travelers.” That was the first time I heard people talking about that possibility.
Do you think the kids were right at the end? Did Ted tell this entire story so that they would be fine with him dating Robin?
It was interesting that they filmed that in the first season. It really cut together beautifully. But, yeah, it’s really interesting. There’s a jarring disconnect between fans who had five minutes to process that information and kids who had six years. The kids were in a completely different emotional space than a lot of fans of the show. But yeah, that seems plausible. The story wound around in so many different directions that I don’t know that you could reduce Ted’s storytelling to one overarching theme, like “This is all about how much he loved Robin.” That certainly took up a lot of real estate in the story, but it’s also about all of the other lessons he was imparting.
You’ve lived in this character for so many years, do you think he thought about Robin when he was with “The Mother”?
They cut a scene that Cobie [Smulders] and I shot between Ted and Robin. I thought it was a really important scene and I talked to Carter and Craig [Bays and Thomas, HIMYM’s co-creators and co-showrunners] about it. I understand why they cut it, but I thought it laid in that Robin had been thinking about Ted all these years more than Ted had been thinking about Robin. But who knows?
It’s weird to speculate on something that isn’t actually real. [Laughs.] It’s an imagined story, but you also have to wonder what happened in the six years after she died and what was that like for Ted. Obviously, he’s been mulling over his past and sifting through things. And there was that comment about Robin always coming over for dinner, so they’ve clearly reestablished a contact and a deep friendship.
Can you tell me a little bit more about what happened in the cut scene?
It was a scene after they ran into each other on the street. They had lunch the next day. I don’t want to go too much into it because they obviously cut it for a reason, but I thought it was a really sweet and sad and funny scene. It also talked about Robin having a run-in with a bull in Spain. They’re so densely packed, these episodes, and they’re always long. We shot more than could be in the episode, which we always do, so some stuff has to go.
I wanted to ask you about the criticism that some had with the finale. People have been saying that we’ve spent nine seasons being told this is a show about the mother and a show about Ted being ready to meet the mother, but then that was sold out, with it being about Robin. Especially after we spent seasons being told to really believe in Barney and her.
Well, I don’t know. I haven’t had a lot of time to prep a defense if that’s what you’re asking for. [Laughs.] I thought the title of the show was always a bit of a fake-out. It was more of a hook to hang the thing on. Really it was more about these are the crazy adventures and these are the lessons I had to learn before I met your mother.
But, also, part of the DNA of the show is they lead you one way and then they pull you back. You think you’re watching one thing in an episode and then it turns out you’re watching something completely different. I think that the twists in the finale were in keeping with that.
There are so many opinions floating around. There have always been people that thought that Barney and Robin were perfect together, there have always been people that thought it didn’t make sense. There are people that wanted Ted and Robin to be together. There are people that thought they didn’t work together. So I just feel that part of the divisiveness and part of the anger and also part of the enthusiasm all speaks to something really great. I think if you’re going do something new and bold and daring, you’re going to upset some people and you’re gonna thrill others. I think it’s better to do that than try to have some homogenized, safe ending that was never really what the show was. The show was always bold and daring and questioning assumptions and leading you where you thought you didn’t want to go, but realized at the end that that was where you belonged.
I’m a fan of the finale and obviously I’m a fan of the show. I think people are having to deal with grief on a number of levels. There’s grief in the episode, but then there’s grief at letting the show go. People are in various Kubler-Ross stages of grieving and when they contextualize it and step back and maybe even watch the finale again or revisit the show, I think when the dust settles people will feel pretty complete.
The pilot sets up Ted as this very romantic and idealist guy who believes in “the one.” Do you think the ending and the show as a whole validated Ted’s worldview?
There are different ways to be romantic. A 27-year-old romantic is different than a 52-year-old romantic. He never seems to lose his sense of optimism or that things will work out in the way they’re supposed to. But who knows? There’s that six-year gap after the mom’s gone. Who knows what’s going on with him? But I think he’s one of television’s great optimists. It’s in keeping with the character that he doesn’t seem to be someone who’s resigned and has kind of just turned inward. He’s clearly a good dad. He’s clearly trying to impart some great lessons to his kids. Then his kids give him a little kick and try to take care of him. Ultimately, it’s a really loving cycle they established.
So I listened to your episode of “WTF With Marc Maron” yesterday and you talked about when the show started, you felt very close to Ted and saw him as an extension of you, but as the show went, on you diverged. At this point, how does it feel to say good-bye to that part of you?
Well, I’m also in the process of letting it go. Although, when I’m not around the show, it doesn’t feel all that alive in me. But at the same time, nine years is a big chunk of life, so certainly, there are parts of me that are tied up in him.
He frustrated me. Some of the frustrations that people might have felt with him, I felt all those, too, except when you share a face with someone you get blamed for it. When he was being heroic or something, I was really behind him, but when he was being kind of silly, I had to play him just as sincerely.
Something I actually found really appealing about Ted is he’s a totally self-deprecating narrator. All Barney’s stories are, “This is how awesome I was” and “This is how awesome the night was,” and Ted is like, “This is what a fool I made of myself,” and “This is how I made these mistakes, really big mistakes in my life.” He’s a humble person and in some ways he has taught me humility. He was never a character that you felt like he’d just walk into a room and heads turn, “There’s Ted!” No, he’s like bumping into furniture all the time. But he’s great, and he wins in the end; he gets both girls.
You got to keep the Blue French Horn. Why was that the item that you picked, and where is it right now?
I’m staring at it. It’s just lying up against the wall in my living room. I really haven’t found a place for it yet. We started to get asked that question as the ninth season rolled around, like, “What are you going to take from the set?” I didn’t realize that’s a thing. I asked for it pretty late. Carter was going to take it, but they had a little discussion and said, “I think you should have it.” To me, it’s the most iconic prop for Ted and it’s a symbol of both his romanticism and also his slight insanity. It is a stolen item, but it represents the lengths to which he’ll go to win someone. And, I don’t know, there was no other thing I would rather turn and see hanging on my wall.
That’s all the questions I have. Thanks again.
Thanks so much, man. Did we cover everything? I’m a little morning fogged-over. Is there anything else you want to talk about? I just feel like I’m just getting started and it’s hard to make sense of that finale and nine years of a show.They say music moves in 20-year cycles, and the surfeit of ’90s-influenced bands on the scene at the moment seems to suggest that maybe they’re right (whoever “they” are.) It also seems that there are plenty of original ’90s bands playing at the moment, both renascent (Garbage, Pulp) those who never went away (Pearl Jam, for instance), or those who have no right to actually exist either way and are yet somehow touring together. Anyway, with all this in mind — and, specifically, because the new Garbage album is out this week — we thought it was high time for another of our stereotyping posts. Obligatory disclaimer: this is all in fun, so don’t take offense — and also, as ever, our stereotype is in there with the rest. See if you can guess which one it is!
Oasis
Aging Anglophiles who still read the NME religiously.
Pulp
People who had no problem paying $70 to see Jarvis et al at Radio City last month, and yet insist on shopping exclusively at Beacon’s Closet.
The Lemonheads
Slackers who watch The Big Lebowski at least once a week.
Placebo
Sexually fluid types confronting the fact that androgyny doesn’t work so well with a receding hairline.
The Offspring
Veteran skaters who never could understand how people could refer to Talking Heads as “punk,” anyway.
Blind Melon
The Bee Girl.
Live
People still too afraid to admit after all these years that they totally thought Ed Kowalczyk was actually Michael Stipe.
Rage Against the Machine
Conspiracy theorists who think Republicans are out to get them, and may be correct.
Ben Folds Five
Conspiracy theorists who think women are out to get them, and may be correct.
L7
Angry women who really do keep shitlists.
Built to Spill
Dudes who were into buying stuff on vinyl long before it was cool again.
Belly
Really lovely matronly types who hug for slightly too long.
Pearl Jam
People who consider “alternative” to be a viable genre.
Matchbox Twenty
People who consider “alternative” to be a viable genre, but secretly never actually liked it that much.
The Prodigy
Slightly pungent bug-eyed types who still take ecstasy regularly.
Garbage
Girls who are generally awesome but still somehow seem to have really terrible relationships.
Manic Street Preachers
Thirtysomethings who eschew leopard print these days, but are still messes of eyeliner and spray paint at heart.
My Bloody Valentine
Sound engineers.
Primus
Bass players.
Presidents of the United States of America
Determinedly oddball types who are not as funny as they think they are.
The Bloodhound Gang
Bros who own all the Farrelly brothers’ films on DVD.
Republica
Sports fans.
Blink-182
People born between January 1, 1987 and December 31, 1988.
Portishead
Well-off couples who enjoy hosting dinner parties.
Hootie and the Blowfish
Grown men who insist on using the word “buddy.”
Phish
Grown men who insist on wearing shorts.
The Spin Doctors
Grown men who insist on using the word “buddy” and wearing shorts.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Dudes who can’t really understand how anyone could possibly dislike LA.
Bikini Kill
Cool girls who wear Doc boots with long shorts.
Smashing Pumpkins
Carbuncular adolescents who can play the guitar very, very, very, very well.
Blur
Lads who wear polo shirts with the collars turned up and secretly wish that Damon would stop all this larking about with Gorillaz and African music.
Hole
Despairing überans who will agree in private conversation that Courtney does need to “sort herself out.”
Babes in Toyland
People who’ve always known that Courtney needs to sort herself out.
Counting Crows
Cashed-up lefties who now live in the West Village.
Catatonia
Girls who have had their stomach pumped at least once.
Jeff Buckley
Guys who fancy themselves as romantics and would be happy to invite you in for coffee. If you want. Of course. It’s up to you. Just saying.
The Dave Matthews Band
Next-door neighbors who brew their own beer and reminisce an awful lot about how great their college years were.
Bis
Girls who secretly want to be Japanese manga characters.
Pavement
Earnest music nerds who will, in casual conversation, use the word “angular” to describe guitar riffs.
Neutral Milk Hotel
People who’ve been out of college at least five years but still describe themselves as philosophy majors and take breakups really hard.
Green Day
Guys who you used to dislike at high school and who now claim that they actually always liked the Clash better than Blink-182.
Mazzy Star
Sad-eyed girls who read a lot on the subway.
Bush
That one person you know who always laughs even though you know deep down they don’t quite get the joke.
The Black Crowes
Large men with long sweaty hair and personal hydroponic operations in their garage.
Belle & Sebastian
Bookish types who will pay very good money on eBay for a copy of the original C86 tape.
The Cranberries
Earnest women who sign online petitions about global “issues.”
Superchunk
Record store employees.
Suede
Impossibly slender men who own at least one blouse.
Teenage Fanclub
Scots.
Nirvana
A whole new generation of angry, disaffected teenagers. Hold on, kids. It does get better eventually.WASHINGTON — It was 1st Lt. Clint Lorance's first patrol as a platoon leader in Afghanistan, and he set out on foot for a village in a remote section of Kandahar province one morning last July with about 20 soldiers, mostly infantryman.
By the time that patrol returned to its base, two Afghans had been shot off a motorcycle that had approached the patrol and two others were in custody.
The Oklahoma-born Lorance, who had joined the Army the day he turned 18, had given the order to shoot the men on the motorcycle — a decision he would tell his mother later that he would make again if he were in the same situation.
Pending an investigation of the shootings, Lorance was stripped of his leadership, and his weapon was taken away in a combat zone.
He is now at Fort Bragg, N.C., waiting to see whether he will face a court-martial on murder charges. An Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury proceeding or preliminary hearing, was conducted at the base in late January.
His mother, Anna Lorance, who lives in the northeastern Texas town of Celeste, said in an interview, “None of this makes sense. I know there's a reason for everything. I don't see the reason for this at all.”
To Anna Lorance, her son was only trying to protect his platoon.
“I feel like if he hadn't made the choice he made that day that him and his soldiers would be brought home in body bags,'' she said in an interview.
The Army doesn't see it that way.
A public affairs officer at Fort Bragg said Lorance has been charged with two counts of murder “arising from his order that two soldiers illegally shoot two Afghan villagers who were riding a motorcycle but showing no indication of hostile act or hostile intent.
“He was also charged with attempted murder for ordering the same soldiers to engage a third individual from the same motorcycle who successfully fled the area without being shot.
“Lorance is also charged with making false official statements, ordering illegal harassing fire into a nearby village, obstructing justice, and for making threats against Afghan villagers through an interpreter.”
According to the spokeswoman, the charges could be modified when the chain of command renders a final decision based on the Article 32 findings.
Lorance's attorney, Guy Womack, of Houston, called the charges “preposterous” and said, “If there's a trial, it will be a fight.”
Womack, a retired Marine officer and former military judge who has worked on hundreds of cases in the military justice system, said all of the circumstances from the scene of that July morning “point to this being some kind of enemy action.”
“Everything these soldiers did was absolutely within the rules of engagement.”
The soldiers who shot at the Afghans saw them approaching the patrol, suspected them of being Taliban fighters because they were on a motorcycle and asked Lorance by radio if they could shoot, Womack said.
“If they hadn't gotten the lieutenant on the radio, they would have opened fire on their own,” Womack said.
The soldiers who shot at the Afghans have not been charged, Womack said.
The Houston attorney said he believes the commanding general reviewing the case is doing so deliberately. The case is one, Womack said, in which people “must not second-guess our soldiers in the field making life-or-death decisions in the heat of battle.”
It's not always easy to identify enemy combatants in Afghanistan, Anna Lorance said, adding that “it's not the blue coats and the red coats.”
Anna Lorance said her son told her, “I did what I had to do. I did my job.”
Donald G. Rehkopf, a former Air Force attorney with the Judge Advocate Generals Department and an expert in military law, said the rules of engagement will govern Lorance's case. Though there are broad rules for Afghanistan, there are narrower ones for the various regions, he said, and one factor will be whether Lorance took the necessary steps before ordering fire.
In some circumstances, he said, anybody could be considered a threat to U.S. force.
Rehkopf, of New York, who is part of the legal team seeking Supreme Court review of 1st Lt. Michael Behenna's conviction of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone, said the Army must prove Lorance “intended to kill an innocent civilian. I don't think they'd be able in a million years to do that.”
Rehkopf said the political uproar in Washington now regarding the case of an Air Force officer's sexual assault conviction being overturned by a general could lead the commanding general reviewing Lorance's case to take heat off himself and refer it to a court-martial to have the facts sorted out.
Lorance, 28, was born in Hobart and lived in Jackson County — the home of his mother's family — for a few years as a child but went to high school in the northeastern Texas town of Merit.
Anna Lorance said her son wanted to join the military when he was 17 and was in the recruiting office on his 18th birthday.
“He said, ‘I just have to serve my country.' He's the most patriotic man I've ever met in my life.”
She said he spent two years in Korea and 15 months in Iraq before going to the University of North Texas and becoming the first member of his family to earn a college degree.
He was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in 2012 and deployed to Afghanistan in the Infantry.
Lorance said her son is not incarcerated at Fort Bragg and does his job every day as he awaits a decision on his case.
“He is not a murderer,” she said. “To see him broke down like this is just devastating.”DEFIANT EARTH
CLIVE HAMILTON
THE FATE OF HUMANS IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW. NATURE IS NO LONGER NATURE. WE HAVE ENTERED A NEW EPOCH.
D E F I A N T E A R T H C L I V E H A M I L T O N
‘A dark, disturbing, provocative and entirely original work, which should be read by everyone genuinely interested in the future of humankind.’
ROBERT MANNE
FASSA, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University
Humans have become so powerful that we have disrupted the functioning of the Earth, bringing on a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. The stable environmental conditions that allowed civilisation to flourish are disappearing.
What does it mean to have arrived at this point, where human history and Earth history collide? Clive Hamilton argues we need to rethink everything. The modern belief that we are free beings making our own future by taking control of our environment is now indefensible. We have rendered the Earth more unpredictable and less controllable, a disobedient planet. And it’s too late to turn back the geological clock. We must face the fact that humans are at the centre of the world, even if we must give up the idea that we can control the planet. These truths call for a new kind of anthropocentrism, a philosophy by which we might use our power responsibly and find a way to live on a defiant Earth.
Clive Hamilton
is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. One of Australia’s leading thinkers, he is author of the bestselling
Requiem for a Species
,
The Freedom Paradox
and
Growth Fetish
.
Cover design: Philip Campbell Design Cover image: StocksyAlready beset with a reputation for manipulating media and “fearing” coverage, the White House had a match tossed into its communications department Thursday when a local TV reporter aired an apparent claim that reporters routinely submit their questions in advance of the daily presidential press briefing.
By the time talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh picked up the story, Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney and some reporters in the White House press pool were denying the claim by Catherine Anaya of KPHO-TV in Phoenix, the local CBS affiliate.
Limbaugh declared “this is the kind of thing that upsets the soap opera narrative inside the Beltway.”
After airing clips of her broadcast and weighing her story against the denials, Limbaugh noted that Anaya seemed “star struck” by her visit and “didn’t sound capable of making something up, or inventing it.”
He characterized the reporter as “just ignorant enough to be trusted.”
“She either misunderstood what she saw or misunderstood what she was told,” Limbaugh said. “But, even when she was telling the story, ‘Oh, yeah, and sometimes the press secretary gets the questions in advance” – as if there’s nothing wrong with that, by the way – she didn’t sound like she thought anything wrong about that. She’s just fascinated at how it all works.”
The talk host predicted Anaya would soon be pressured to retract her story.
“I predict it’ll be by 1 p.m. Eastern Time, 22 minutes, and she will have been pressured enough into saying she misunderstood,” he said. “I mean, they’re gonna hold her career in the balance here, ’cause they can’t allow this to stand, that they submit their questions in advance and that Carney then picks the one he wants, and that they get their answers in advance. They can’t let this stand, even if it isn’t true.”
Sure enough, when Anaya arrived back in Phoenix Thursday, she walked parts of her story back in an email to the London Daily Mail.
Nevertheless, she insisted, the London paper said, that she herself was asked to submit a question in advance for Carney on Wednesday afternoon.
Whatever the case, her story has gained traction at a time when it’s hard to imagine there are many reporters left who still believe that Obama has a good chance to fulfill his prediction that he would have the most transparent administration in history.
In November, for example, news organizations filed a formal complaint with the White House charging the administration was “bypassing them to release ‘official’ photos of presidential meetings and events.” The “visual press releases,” the complaint said, have displaced independent coverage.
This week, reporters are forbidden from traveling with first lady Michelle Obama, her two daughters and mother on their six-day trip to China at taxpayer expense. Instead, visitors to WhiteHouse.gov are encouraged to sign up for the first lady’s blog posts, videos and photos of the trip.
In 2009, the White House gave a reporter with the left-leaning Huffington Post a heads-up the night before a press conference with President Obama that he might be called on. The next day, he got the second question, after the Associated Press.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof called the decision to bar reporters on the first lady’s China trip this week “a mistake,” saying it “signals weakness or fear of coverage.”
‘One of the things that I found most interesting’
Anaya, who was at the White House Wednesday for a special media day for local reporters, said in a live KPHO report summarizing her experience that the day began shortly after 8 a.m. with an informal, off-the-record session in the West Wing with Carney.
“He talked basically about how he gets his day started, all of the information that he needs to be aware of in case he’s asked from reporters or correspondents about certain things in the daily press briefing,” Anaya told her Phoenix audience.
Then came the part that thrust her into the national spotlight.
“But one of the things that I found most interesting is that the reporters and correspondents, unless it’s breaking news, they provide the questions to him in advance, and so he is already preparing for the answer,” she said.
In some cases, Anaya added, “he actually prepares that answer for them, so he can have that to work on their reports later on.”
Listen to Limbaugh’s take on the story:
The initial walk-back came in a statement attributed to Anaya that was issued by KPHO-TV on its website. But the statement was quickly withdrawn, the Daily Mail reported.
The statement said:
It seems much had been inferred about my observations following my White House visit yesterday. First, I did not take notes during our coffee with Jay Carney because it was off the record. But when I referenced the meeting in my live reports I did say that it was a great opportunity to talk about the challenges of his day and how he has to be so well-versed on many topics each day. In my live report I also wanted to share my impression of my experience in getting a question answered during the briefing. I was indeed asked to provide my question in advance. Because my question was largely of local interest, I chose to save it for my interview with the President instead. My mistake was to lump that experience with my coffee meeting reference, inadvertently giving Mr. Carney credit for that when in fact it did not come from him. I regret giving anyone the impression that it was from conversation I had with Mr. Carney. I do not attend those briefings regularly and cannot speak directly to the process for non-visiting journalists. None of my observations stemmed from my off-the-record meeting with Jay Carney.
KPHO Assignment Editor Scott Davis explained to the Daily Mail that it “apparently … was not the correct statement.”
Anaya told the London paper that as “a local journalist I had no issue providing my proposed question in advance, because I wanted to make sure it was an appropriate question for a national briefing and I wanted to make sure it was appropriate for Mr. Carney.”
‘[B]ut in discussing it with a staff member the night before, we decided I would save it for the president. I was attempting to not waste national time on a local question, but in my attempt at explaining that I unintentionally made it sound like that experience applied to everyone,” she said.
“That is my mistake, and I own up to it.”
Now, KPHO has posted a new statement from Anaya in which she contends “the White House never asked me for questions in advance.”
She concludes: “I did not attribute or report factually last night and for that I deeply apologize. I pride myself on truth and objectivity. I sincerely regret any harm I’ve caused and I hope that you will continue to place your trust in the hardworking journalists who make up CBS 5 News.”
Inside the sausage factory
On his show Thursday afternoon, Limbaugh also noted Anaya reported that she was given a strict four minutes to conduct her interview with the president.
Anaya, Limbaugh said, had “an Obama aide lurking nearby, but off camera, attempting to intimidate the reporter to stay on schedule.”
“And in order to prevent anybody getting comfortable, the anchor must stand up. The reporter must stand up during the interview, and it’s four minutes. Get in, get it, and get out. “Wham, bam, thank you, Mr. President,” and then on to the next one. Four minutes.”
Limbaugh described Anaya’s report as an opportunity to “go inside the media sausage factory.”
He concluded the segment noting Anaya told her audience that the session with Carney was off-the-record, yet “she revealed everything that was said.”
“She’s just star-struck, I think,” he said. “She was just totally overcome with where she was and how big a career opportunity that it was.”No. 5 Penn State battled past No. 4 Wisconsin in a four set (22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-19) victory on Saturday night to advance to the NCAA national semifinals in Oklahoma City.
The win marks the Nittany Lions’ third consecutive appearance in the national semifinals, playing in them seven out of their last eight seasons.
Penn State struggled early in the match, losing a set for the first time since Oct. 17, in which they broke a streak of 16 straight matches without conceding a set. But Rose’s quick decision to substitute freshman Simone Lee in for classmate Ali Frantti changed the Lions’ momentum.
Lee completed the match with 12 kills on a.161 hitting percentage, adding in three digs. Although an infrequent starter for the Lions, she finished Penn State’s last outing against Wisconsin in late September with the same number of kills.
The second set went point for point until Lee ignited a spark among the team, extending the Lions’ lead to 13-10. Washington jumped in with a massive kill shortly after to keep Penn State ahead four points, 16-12.
Washington registered 10 kills on a.368 hitting percentage on Saturday night.
Lee and redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney controlled the latter half of the second frame.
Overall, Whitney tallied 16 kills on a.231 hitting clip and by the completion of set two, Lee totaled six kills on a.750 hitting clip on eight errorless swings.
A crucial frame three went point-for-point as leads switched from Lions to Badgers for the majority of the game. An outside kill from Washington put the Lions up 18-15 — their first mini-lead of the frame.
But the Badgers came back fighting and tied it up at 20-20 following a few Penn State attack errors. Hancock got the Lions to set point on a clutch service ace, and a block from senior Nia Grant and Lee captured the set.
Hancock hit her classic service ace stride toward the end of the third set on a team-best.538 hitting clip.
The final set jumped to a quick pace as points were traded back and forth amongst both teams. But a 3-0 Penn State run beginning on blocks from Whitney and Grant and ending on a kill that was strategically set from Hancock put the Lions up 22-18.
After a Wisconsin timeout later, Penn State went ahead and took the set 25-19 and match to advance into the next round of postseason action.
The Lions will take on the winner of the Ames, Iowa regional against either No. 1 Stanford or No. 8 Florida on Thursday, Dec. 18 in Oklahoma City in their 12th trip to the NCAA national semifinals in program history.
Update in NCAA women's volleyball: No. 1 Stanford advances to national semifinal and will play No. 5 Penn State on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. — Patrick Kowalski (@PaddicusMaximus) December 14, 2014The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) says it was never asked by the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) to probe a sudden spike in trading in Siteserv shares that occurred while the company was being sold between November 2011 and February 2012.
It also said it is “considering” a recent request from Independent TD Catherine Murphy asking the ODCE investigate the trading. Ms Murphy has suggested under Dáil privilege that insider trading may have occurred in Siteserv shares during the period concerned.
Shareholders in what was then effectively an insolvent company later benefitted from a €5 million payout from the proceeds of its sale, which was overseen by IBRC, to a company controlled by Denis O’Brien.
Taxpayers lost out to the tune of €105 million due to a write-off of its loans to the State-owned bank.
The ODCE told the Irish Times on Thursday evening that it “did not receive any requests from any other regulatory authority asking us to commence an investigation” into Siteserv share trading around this time.
It said that following the political and media furore that blew up around Siteserv in recent weeks, it made contact with “a number of other regulatory authorities with a view to seeking to establish as to whether any issues arise that might come within remit”.
The ODCE did not say what response, if any, it had received from regulators to those recent requests. It also confirmed it had received a request for an investigation from Ms Murphy.
“At this time these matters remain under consideration,” it said.
The ISE, which is owned by the country’s major stockbroking firms, is primarily responsible for monitoring any suspicious trading on the junior market on which Siteserv traded.
For an investigation to have occurred, the ISE would have had to preliminarily investigate the matter itself, before passing a file to the ODCE, which investigates alleged breaches of company law.
O’Brien’s Millington
The ISE said last night it had “no comment on investigative matters generally”. It added: “Where we believe a matter warrants investigation, we will conduct one and may forward a file to the ODCE.”
Separately, Kieran Wallace, the KPMG liquidator of the Siteserv company shell left over after the business was sold to Mr O’Brien’s Millington, only finished tying up the final details of the liquidation this month.
A source said the delay was caused by “legal issues around the pension scheme transfer and issues around a third party provider of services”. These matters were only wrapped up in April. Mr Wallace was appointed as liquidator in 2012.
Mr Wallace, who was responsible for distributing the €5 million to shareholders, filed a large number of Siteserv documents with the Companies Registration Office in recent days. They reveal KPMG was paid about €60,000 to conduct the liquidation and distribute the cash to shareholders.
The liquidation accounts also reveal that Arthur Cox, the law firm that advised the buyer and the seller in the Siteserv deal, also received fees of about €12,500 from the liquidation monies.
The appointment by the Government of Mr Wallace, one of the country’s most respected accountants, to conduct a review of the Siteserv deal and other large IBRC transactions has been a source of major political controversy, as KPMG was also an adviser on the sale of Siteserv.It started on a Sunday, two weeks and half a lifetime ago. Adam Peaty in the pool. Two dry days, then came Joe Clarke in his canoe, Jack Laugher and Chris Mears together in the springboard diving. Flowing on, the men’s team sprint. And then the flood. Three one day, the women’s coxless pair, the men’s coxless four, and the men’s team pursuit. Three more the next, the men’s eight and the women’s team pursuit and Mo Farah’s first. A full five on the middle Sunday, success coming in such a giddy rush now it was a struggle to keep up. Max Whitlock and Andy Murray, Jason Kenny and Justin Rose. On Monday, more. Charlotte Dujardin, Giles Scott then Laura Trott. Kenny again. And on. Alistair Brownlee. Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills. Jade Jones, Nick Skelton, the women’s hockey team. Liam Heath. Nicola Adams. One last of all, one more for Mo.
Twenty-seven golds, all told, and 23 silvers and 17 bronzes. Sixty-seven medals altogether, the most Great Britain have won at an Olympics since the 1908 Games, surpassing even London 2012
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if occasionally tense, feedback loop between small-scale and corporate enterprise” that “has animated hip-hop aesthetics ever since.”[7]
Most Black scholars view the hip-hop phenomenon as much more than a commercial success story. It represents as well a victory for a vibrant and creative youth culture. Marshall warns that “to ignore or suppress rather than support hip-hop’s uncontainable dynamism, its openness to shape-shifting and syncretism…represents more than a missed opportunity;” it “is tantamount to giving up on connecting with young people at all.”[8] It goes without saying that the young people” whose culture Marshall is celebrating are Black.
Academic sociologist, media commentator, and ordained Baptist pastor, Michael Eric Dyson is much more explicit. He openly acknowledges that hip-hop is plays a vital role in the ethno-political rivalry between Blacks and Whites in America. Simply put, hip-hop has been good for the Blacks. In fact, he proclaims, “the hip-hop community has become a dominant African-American institution.” Young Black Americans, Dyson writes, no longer “turn primarily to the church” or “to the civil rights leaders that the church produced…to articulate their hopes, frustrations.” Hip-hop has become a folk religion among Black youth. African-American kids, Dyson tells us, now look to rappers, not the local preacher, to “best vocalize the struggle of growing up Black and poor in this country.”[9]
Professor Tricia Rose at prestigious Brown University is another well-known expert on the hip-hop community. In fact, she grew up in Harlem and the Bronx in the 70s, the child of a Black bus driver and a White legal secretary. Naturally enough, she identifies strongly with Black youth.[10] Not only was Rose immersed in the embryonic hip-hop community during her Bronx childhood but she was steeped as well in the extra dose of racial tension engendered by the refusal of her White mother’s parents to enter the same room as her Black father.[11]
It may be that her mixed-race background allows her to adopt a more sceptical and nuanced stance toward the religion of hip-hop than we find in Pastor Dyson’s work. Perhaps, too, her White grandparents’ visceral opposition to race-mixing drove her into hip-hop as “a rich alternative space for multicultural, male and female, culturally relevant, anti-racist community building.” Certainly, she is extraordinarily sensitive to the evils of “White racism.” To defend Black people against the evils of In The Hip Hop Wars, Rose roundly condemns the “commercial juggernaut” which has nearly depleted “what was once a vibrant, diverse, and complex popular genre, wringing it dry by pandering to America’s racist and sexist lowest common denominator.”[12] While Dyson remains upbeat, Rose worries that commercial hip-hop might actually be bad for Black people. Neither scholar, however, makes any effort to conceal their exclusive focus on the interests and welfare of Black people. Both writers appear to assume that if hip-hop is good for White people, then structural racism and corporate greed must be to blame.
Why then, one wonders, are White Christians engaged in youth ministry such as Andrew Root professionally and personally interested in hip-hop? Because they believe it is good for White people? Perhaps because it is good and/or bad for Black people? Like millions of other White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, Root routinely signals his compassion for the marginalized and the powerless. Certainly, hip-hop evokes in Root empathy for the suffering, cruelty, and poverty produced by the socially and culturally toxic environment of ghetto culture. Nor is Root alone in his apparent indifference to the weaponization of hip-hop in the cultural wars waged on WASPs by other racial, religious, and ethnic groups.
Rappers, their young Black fans, and Black activist scholars such as Dyson and Rose all see hip-hop as bound up with the righteous struggle of Black people against racism and White supremacy. In this openly-declared psychological war on White people, the hip-hop community is allied, not always happily, with corporate elites who share their hostility to middle-American White Christians.
Unfortunately, the middle-American White Protestant religious establishment has refused to come out in explicit spiritual defence of their own kinfolk; not even when they are called upon by Black rappers, Black scholars, and Black preachers to repent for America’s original sin of “Whiteness.”[13] Michael Eric Dyson writes, lectures, and preaches the gospel of White guilt to what he calls “that ocean of White folk I encounter who are deeply empathetic to the struggles of minorities.” He warns guilt-ridden White folks not to wait for the government to compensate Black people for the sins of slavery and segregation. Rather every individual White person should establish right now an
“Individual Reparation Account” as penance for their White privilege.[14]
In such a toxic, anti-White, ethno-political environment, realistic Christian youth workers and responsible parents must face up to the reality of racial conflict. They must decide: Is corporate-sponsored Black youth culture good or bad for White children and young people? Unfortunately, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants typically refuse to take their own side in a fight. We are hopelessly addicted to the ethno-masochistic cult of the Other.
Is Hip-Hop Good for White People?
Among WASPs, Christian humanism and the cult of the Other are more or less synonymous. In place of a political theology capable of distinguishing between friend and enemy, Christian humanism advocates unilateral moral disarmament. Classical political theory once inspired European Christians to act together in the public realm in pursuit of the “common good.”[15] Political action demands prudential distinctions between the interests of our community and their community—our friends and allies versus our enemies. But, for Root, “the cross is not about our actions.” The gospel is not a “call to ambitious and radical personal action.” Salvation rests “not in human action but in God’s action.” Youth ministry, therefore, ought not to be directed at “the ambitious and the successful.” “The cross,” according to Root, “is not for the whole but for the broken.”[16]
In other words, Jesus Christ died as the representative of suffering humanity at large.[17] Only after the Son of God descended into the dark pit of death “from which there is no return (or so it is believed) [did] the good news of the gospel” break “open.” Root teaches youth workers that the cross is “a way of experiencing God in the depths of their very existence, alongside their deepest pains and yearnings.” One day, we will “experience God in the fullness of glory and power, but today God is found in the backward and opposite.”[18] Experience of the cross is personal not political, existential not historical, universal and not particular.[19]
For Root, this “is good news, because everyone who struggles with nothingness—all who find themselves alone or journeying through great experiences of hell—can be assured that they are swept up in the presence of God.” The “very state of God’s being” has been “revealed in the cross of weakness and suffering.” If God is absent from our prosperous and peaceful White suburbs perhaps we should look for him instead in the suffering souls of Black folk trapped in violent and decaying urban ghettoes. Perhaps young Black people are “already at the cross” when rapping about their “own experiences of pain and abandonment.”
Black scholar-activists work energetically to promote such out-group altruism among White Americans. For all its flaws, they say, for better or for worse, the hip-hop community is an authentic expression of Black youth culture.[20] At the same time, rappers make a “growing investment in fashioning their personas (as much as, say, their lyrics).” The move to corporate recording studios encouraged rappers “to collapse their recording selves and their actual selves—all the better for imbuing performances with authenticity, that slippery coin of the realm.”[21] Performers boast about “keeping it real.”[22] They rap about gangstas and hustlers, pimps and hoes, guns and violence, they say, only because crime, violence, and prison loom so large in the life of disadvantaged Black youth.
Hip-hop, we are told, is about the generations of young Black men “warehoused” in prisons. Neither Dyson nor Rose pauses to consider whether Black men are more likely to be imprisoned because they commit more crime.[23] In his audio-visual presentation, Andrew Root was similarly reluctant to go there. Instead, progressive scholars typically point out that Blacks convicted of the same offence as Whites are more likely to receive a stiffer sentence. Citing such racial disparities, they indict the criminal justice system of what they see as structural racism, if not outright White supremacy.
During a break in Root’s audio-visual presentation, I suggested to a few students that Blacks might receive higher sentences on average than Whites because they are more likely to have prior convictions. A lecturer in mission and apologetics attending the presentation overheard and objected to my interpretation, telling me to check my White privilege. Speaking to virtue-signalling Whites such as that lecturer, Dyson assures them that “politically conscious rappers” offer young Black people “a means to escape suffering.” They help young Black people to expose the “horrible intrusion” of violence, poverty, and disease “into one’s group or neighbourhood, or to grapple with a White supremacist society that refuses to recognize our fundamentally humanity.”[24]
Tricia Rose also demands sympathy and contrition from White Americans, calling upon them to face “the ways our nation has orchestrated a war on poor Black people.” She rejects the “claim that Black people have a sexually excessive and violent culture and that they lack proper values.” She insists that “the real sources of self-destructive behaviours” in Black communities can be traced to “centuries of compounded structural discrimination and institutional racism.”[25] White people may not intend to harm Black people, Rose concedes, but the oppressive structural dynamic of American society is driving young Blacks into a dark pit of despair and nothingness.
“White racism,” it appears, is in legal terms a “strict liability offence.” Even if someone neither intends nor acts to bring about harm to another, that person, indeed the entire White race, may be convicted of wrongdoing. White Americans are no longer permitted to plead not guilty to crimes alleged against them or their ancestors. Theirs, in the words of Black’s Law Dictionary, is “liability without fault.” Their “case is one of ‘strict liability’ when neither care nor negligence, neither good nor bad faith, neither knowledge nor ignorance will save defendant.”
Is Racial Realism Good for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants?
Laying such a guilt trip upon White Anglo-Saxon Protestants already fiercely committed to the egalitarian cult of the Other has not been a difficult sell. As if by rote, Christian humanists routinely recite the platitudinous proposition that “there is no race but the human race.” Incurably naïve optimists, they reject as “racist” any suggestion that there are real, measurable, and intractable differences in average intelligence or cognitive capacity, behavior, and temperament between the major racial divisions (e.g., White Europeans, East Asians, and Africans) or their subdivisions.
But what if such differences exist? What if African Americans score on average one standard deviation lower on IQ tests than American Whites? What if intelligence is a reliable predictor of success and well-being? What if the sort of hyper-masculine behavior exhibited by Black males and celebrated in hip-hop is a function of their high testosterone counts as compared to White and, especially, Asian men? What if Blacks generally have a more impulsive temperament than Whites or Asians? Is it possible that racial disparities in such measures of social and personal well-being are a function, not of racism and White supremacy, but of evolved, hence deeply-entrenched, biocultural differences between racial groups? None of the Black scholars that I consulted for this essay gave the slightest serious attention to that hypothesis.
There is, however, a vast and growing literature (well-known to the growing numbers of young White men attracted to identitarian movements like the American and Australian Alt-Right) which provides ample support for the proposition that the disaster that is contemporary Black America is one largely of its own making.[26] If so, what we see in the hip-hop community may not be the suffering Black avatar of Jesus Christ but rather a glimpse into the godless heart of darkness. The persistent refusal by church elders and youth workers to combat those who propagate amoral cultural artefacts is not good for White people, young or old.
It is important to note, however, that the evils associated with commercial hip-hop are not the exclusive product of Black youth culture. Young Black rappers have had more than a little help from their putative friends in the Jewish community. Curiously, neither Root nor Black scholars such as Dyson or Rose discuss the contributions made by Jews to the development of the hip-hop community. Other sources, including many rappers, are more forthcoming.[27] The story of hip-hop as a cultural artefact will not be complete, therefore, until we consider whether hip-hop is good for the Jews.
Is Hip-Hop Good for Jews?
It is unfortunate, to say the least, that Black hip-hop scholarship never mentions the elephant in the room: Jewish control of the music industry. If hip-hop is, indeed, ethno-politics set to music, if hip-hop has taken the place of the civil rights movement in the hearts and minds of Black youth, it is impossible to ignore the historic Black-Jewish alliance against WASPs. For much of the twentieth century, that alliance was a constituent element in what Black nationalist Harold Cruse called the “fateful triangular tension among national groups…coming to the fore” in the 60s.[28] It is a truism of American political history that, from the Leo Frank trial and the founding of the NAACP in the early twentieth century down to the Black Lives Matter movement, Jewish intellectual-activists have worked tirelessly to imbue disaffected American Negroes with their own revolutionary spirit.[29]
Cruse was himself a Negro member of the American Communist Party. By that time, Jews had displaced Anglo-Saxons as the vanguard of American Communism. Unlike WASP Communists, the Jews shaped radical politics in accordance with “their own national group social ambitions or individual self-elevation.” Negroes were relegated to the status of a national minority in the party while Jews were free to pick up or drop their Jewish identity as it suited them.[30] This arrangement enabled Jews to become experts on “the Negro problem.” Not surprisingly, Jewish artists, musicians, and radicals then became highly visible players in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. “As a result,” Cruse observes, “the great brainwashing of Negro radical intellectuals was not achieved by capitalism, or the capitalistic bourgeoisie, but by Jewish intellectuals in the American Communist Party.”[31]
In the contemporary hip-hop community, Jewish leadership has been hidden behind the corporate veil. Tricia Rose vehemently denounces the corrupting influence of corporate control on the hip-hop community but her treatment of the subject obscures the identity of the corporate high command.[32] The music industry is absorbed into a vast impersonal system of “White power,” a matrix whose denizens all routinely swallow the blue pill. The closest we come to identifying those in charge is when Dyson criticizes the “White corporate interests” exploiting Black talent.[33]
Jews are never mentioned in Dyson’s work on hip-hop. Not surprisingly, Dyson has unimpeachable philo-Semitic credentials. Blacks and Jews, he believes, are united in common struggles against oppression in White America. Far be it from him ever to cast Jews as an enemy of Black folk. On his account, Blacks love Jews and Jews love Blacks.[34] Professor Rose also tip-toes around the issue of Jewish influence in the hip-hop community; The Hip Hop Wars has no index entry for Jews. Only in passing does Rose name names. But, when she does identify a few of the corporate heavyweights involved in the hip-hop community, the elephant moves onto center stage.
In a chapter on hip-hop’s responsibility for sexist and misogynist lyrics and imagery, Rose mentions a rare public appearance by leading figures in the corporate record industry. In their statements “corporate executives such as Universal chairman Doug Morris, Warner chairman and chief executive Edgar Bronfman, Sony chairman Andrew Lack, and Viacom president and CEO Phillipe P. Dauman have defended their role as distributors of intensely sexist content by subsuming sexism under artists’ rights to express themselves freely.” Interestingly, in the same paragraph, Rose urges us to “pull back the veil on the corporate media’s manipulation of Black male and female artists and the impact this has on fans and the direction of Black cultural expression.”[35] Why does she not see fit to mention that the four corporate kingpins she names are all Jews? The ethno-political fact is that Rose leaves the corporate veil intact by ascribing blame for the corruption of the hip-hop community to an abstraction called corporate greed. Rose heads the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University.[36] How can she not be aware of the stunning success Jews have had in mixing business with ethno-politics?
After all, a simple Google search on “Jews run hip hop” turns up a wealth of investigative leads for a researcher eager to see how the “triangular tension” between Jews, Negroes, and Anglo-Saxons” has accommodated itself to the new players in American ethno-politics. Black scholars typically ignore the criticisms of Jewish control commonly made by rappers and fans.[37] Traditional Catholics such as E. Michael Jones are also critical of rap music as “one more manifestation of the behavior which goes along with the Jewish revolutionary spirit that took over the Black mind during the course of the 20th century.”[38] The Jewish revolutionary spirit has pioneered the techniques of using sex as an instrument of political control.[39] The hip-hop brand of sexuality is no exception.
Bearing that in mind, it comes as no surprise to learn that hip-hop is deeply involved “with the multibillion dollar pornographic industry. The strip club has long been an integral part of both the music video and business end, but since the start of the new century, there has been a complete cross-over into pornography.” Orlando Patterson describes scenes from these productions as “the most degrading and abusive depictions of women imaginable.”[40] Small wonder, then, that a Google search for “Jews run pornography” yields another treasure trove of investigative leads sure to be left unexplored (for fear of the Jews?) by both Black and White scholars.
Conclusion
Perhaps White Anglo-Saxon Protestant youth workers should swallow the red pill. The salvation of their faith, family, and folk is at risk. Youth workers and young White Christians, generally, must pick up the torch of truth as it slips from the failing or faithless hands of their elders in churches, schools, and colleges. We must believe that the God of our fathers is absent from stable, prosperous, and successful WASP communities only so long as we allow our children and young people to fall under the sinister sway of the synagogue of Satan. That evil influence has destroyed countless Black American families and their communities. We must not follow in their path.
[1] Andrew Fraser is a retired law teacher who has just completed a theology degree at Charles Sturt University in Australia. He is the author of The WASP Question (London:Arktos, 2011) and Dissident Dispatches from Divinity School (London: Arktos, 2017).
[2] Tricia Rose, The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop—and Why It Matters (New York: Basic Books,2008), 7.
[3] Wayne Marshall, “Hip-Hop’s Irrepressible Refashionability: Phases in the Cultural Production of Black Youth,” in Orlando Patterson with Ethan Fosse, ed., The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015): 167–197, 168.
[4] Orlando Patterson, “The Social and Cultural Matrix of Black Youth,” in Orlando Patterson with Ethan Fosse, ed., The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015: 45–135, 108–109,100.
[5] Marshall, “Irrepressible Refashionability,” 173.
[6] Ibid., 192.
[7] Ibid., 173.
[8] Ibid., 197.
[9] Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop (New York: Basic Books, 2007), xx.
[10] Felicia R. Lee, “Class with the ‘PhD Diva,’” New York Times (October 18, 2003).
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/18/books/class-with-the-phd-diva.html
[11] Beth Schwartapfel, “It’s All About Love,” Brown Alumni Magazine (July/August, 2009).
http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2310/40/
[12] Rose, Hip Hop Wars, x, 2.
[13] Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2017), 3, 43–44.
[14] Ibid., 197–198; see also, Chris Roberts, “Michael Eric Dyson’s Sermon to White America,” American Renaissance (January 29, 2017).
https://www.amren.com/commentary/2017/01/michael-eric-dyson-a-sermon-to-White-america-reparations-White-guilt/
[15] Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958).
[16] Andrew Root, Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 62–65.
[17] Ibid., 102.
[18] Ibid., 78–79, 73, 68.
[19] Ibid., 109.
[20] Dyson, Know What I Mean, 13.
[21] Marshall, “Irrepressible Refashionability,” 181.
[22] Rose, Hip Hop Wars, 133-148.
[23] See, Edward S. Rubenstein, The Colour of Crime 2016 (Oakton, VA: New Century Foundation, 2016),
https://2kpcwh2r7phz1nq4jj237m22-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Color-Of-Crime-2016.pdf
[24] Dyson, Know What I Mean, 76.
[25] Rose, Hip Hop Wars, 71, 65.
[26] See, e.g., Michael Levin, Why Race Matters: Race Differences and What They Mean (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1997); J. Phillipe Rushton, Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective Third Edition (Port Huron, MI: Charles Darwin Research Institute, 2000); Vincent Sarich and Frank Miele, Race: The Reality of Human Differences (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004). See also Paul Kersey, The Truth About Selma: What Happened When the Cameras Left and the Marching Stopped (North Chaleston, SC: Create Space, 2017). Kersey has written several more books on the collapse of other Black communities into crime, corruption, and decay following the “success” of the civil rights movement: e.g., Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, and Chicago.
[27] See, e.g., “ Even Young Black Hip-Hop Fans Agree with Dr. Duke on Zio Music Control and Degeneracy! DavidDuke.com (January 5, 2015).
http://davidduke.com/even-young-Black-hiphop-fans-agree-dr-duke-zio-music-control-degeneracy/
See also the comments following this article from a leading hip-hop website:
“Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke Takes Aim at Nicki Minaj,” HipHopDx (January 1, 2015).
http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.31951/title.former-ku-klux-klan-leader-david-duke-takes-aim-at-nicki-minaj#
See also, the You Tube video “Hip Hop Artists state Jews control Black Music,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Lm_-DbycI
[28] Harold Cruse, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual: From Its Origins to the Present (New York: William Morrow, 1967), 483.
[29] Kevin MacDonald, “Jews, Blacks, and Race,” in Samuel Francis, ed., Race and the American Prospect: Essays on the Racial Realities of Our Nation and Our Time (Mt. Airy, MD: Occidental Press, 2006), 330–356, 221–252.
[30] Cruse, Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, 57.
[31] Ibid., 158.
[32] Rose, Hip Hop Wars, 85.
[33] Dyson, Know What I Mean, 56.
[34] See, especially, Michael Eric Dyson and Elliot A. Ratzman, “I Say Yo, You Say Oy: Blacks, Jews, and Love,” in Michael Eric Dyson, Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson (New York: Basic Books, 2007), 155–174.
[35] Rose, Hip Hop Wars, 154-155.
[36] https://www.brown.edu/academics/race-ethnicity/about/staff
[37] See, e.g., supra note 25.
[38] E. Michael Jones, “Who’s Behind Ferguson? The Violent Legacy of the Black/Jewish Alliance,” (2015) 35(1) Culture Wars 14.
[39] E. Michael Jones, Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation and Political Control (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine’s Press, 2000).
[40] Patterson, “Social and Cultural Matrix,” 101.If Utah's Division of Air Quality is "Safeguarding Human Health...by Protecting and Enhancing the Environment," as it claims, why did a group of doctors have to take legal action to stop Rio Tinto/Kennecot's (RTK's) violations of the Clean Air Act in the Bingham Canyon mine?
RTK's Bingham Canyon mine puts Salt Lake City among the most polluted in the country, says Truthout. Furthermore, the mine "...has created the largest mining-related water pollution problem in the world," with surrounding ponds a constant source of heavy metal contamination.
According to Truthout, air pollution is responsible for a broad array of diseases and up to 2,000 premature deaths every year in Utah. But despite RTK's public health threat and its huge profits - $15 billion last year - Utah's Division of Air Quality is allowing RTK to expand its operations by 32 percent!
Tell Utah's Division of Air Quality to make RTK clean up its mine!
We, the undersigned, are appalled that you would allow the expansion of a source of pollution already responsible for making Salt Lake City's air among the worst in the nation.We are further appalled that it would be left up to a group of doctors and environmentalists to have to do the job your agency is paid by taxpayers to do - the job you claim you are doing.It should be your agency that ensures that RTK's Bingham Canyon Mine complies with the Clean Air Act, rather than your complacency making it necessary for private citizens to do your work for you.Your recent permit to allow RTK to expand its operations has just added the most egregious insult to already beyond acceptable injury.If RTK's profits last year were anywhere near $15 billiion, then it can afford to clean up. But they are not going to as long as CEO Tom Albanese sees resource nationalism as a "curse," and Utah's Divison of Air Quality won't make them see the light.As Truthout says, RTK "...is hurting all the residents of Salt Lake City and adding to the premature death total.... For environmental and public health advocates, RTK pursuing and receiving an approval to expand was the last straw."We request that your agency do its job and require RTK to clean up its mine and that you rescind any permits for expansion until it does so and then expands, if at all, only under strict pollution controls.I have consolidated all my earlier blog posts on ‘Building new product – My experiences’ into a document (both.PDF and.PPT) and got them uploaded to slideshare.
Please check them below:
Link to slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/merragun/new-product-development-my-experiences
The copy can be downloaded from www.productguy.in/resources/
.PDF version
.PPT version
For ease of reference, i also provided the links to my earlier blog posts related to building new products
Ideation phase
Business review phase
Drafting product requirements
Importance of a monitoring plan
Product development planning
Product development
Essential traits of Product Manager for success of new product development
In the next series, i will focus on articles related to product roadmap preparation. I will try to focus on the following
Purpose of product roadmap
Product roadmap serves different purpose to different stakeholders, but product roadmap is required by all the stakeholders(product managers, customers, development team, sales, business development etc)
Contents of product roadmap
‘Listen to your customers’ is age old adage that is followed by every business and I am not advocating doing anything differently. I am just trying to emphasis that we both listen and understand our customers, but we do not let them decide our product roadmap. On the same lines, I want to quote the words of Henry Ford “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Ford while listening to his customers understood their innate needs of travelling quickly from A –> B. So does listening and understanding our customers alone would suffice? Can the roadmap be filled with customer requirements alone?
Ratio of customer vs market focus features in product roadmap
Product roadmap should focus both on market and customer, the biggest dilemma now is to determine what % of the product roadmap would be occupied by both market and customer requirements?
Where product requirements originate
Product Manager alone could not be a single source of origin for product requirements, product requirements could be generated by pretty much all the stake holders (including BDMs, sales, development teams, customers etc). Now the larger question, how could Product Manager ensure that there is a free flow of product requirements from all the stake holders to the Product Manager?
How to prioritize product requirements
There will be umpteen requirements gathered from all the stakeholders and what parameters does Product Manager use to ensure that right set of requirements are prioritized in each release and how does Product Manager measure the efficacy of prioritizing the product requirements?
How to stick to product roadmap without letting your customers hijack it
PMs diligently prepare the product roadmap to reflect the product growth strategy. Nevertheless nothing works as per the plan. First roadblock that every PM face is some unexpected product requirement requests from their customers and that product requirement will be total deviation from the items planned in the roadmap. How Product Managers could stop their customers from hijacking the product roadmap?
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The demo is out! Try it out!
Link for people in America: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/649509
http://gamejolt.com/games/strategy-sim/cube-and-me-kickstarter-demo/40696/
Link for people near Europe:http://www.cubeandme.com/play/
日本語に翻訳されたページはこちらで確認してください http://www.cubeandme.com/jp/
Cube and Me is a unique pet simulator with a mixture of RPG, RTS, and "roguelite" elements. You play as Lyle Dyson, an ordinary 18-year-old man who barely scrapes by working as a professional envelope folder. That is, until by chance he encounters the mysterious alien life forms known simply as "Cubes."
As Lyle, you will be tasked with raising your new friends the Cubes, maintaining your job, and investigating the mysteries surrounding the appearance of the Cubes. Gameplay primarily consists of a combination of raising your Cubes and visiting procedurally generated dungeons spread around the world. These dungeons are filled with treasures and surprises, but penetrating their depths means risking the lives of your precious Cubes! It's your mission to lead the cubes to prosperity with strategic cunning and careful planning... or exploit them for your own gain!
Cube and Me is divided into three gameplay sections.
At home, you support your pet Cubes as they interact, grow, and evolve. How you raise your pets will affect their evolution. Wash, feed, praise, and play with your pets to better their mood and increase their power.
As the Cubes evolve, so does your home; You can purchase furniture and decorations to improve everyone's quality of life!
It's in the dungeons that your cubes will be put to the test. The dungeon is procedurally generated, giving a unique experience every time.
In the dungeon, you will find a variety of items and treasures. The materials you collect can be transformed into equipment for your pets.
While fighting through these dungeons you will encounter many surprises, including treasures, traps, gambling rooms, and NPC’s.
Throughout the game you will fight tons of dangerous enemies with up to four Cubes in your team: two main Cubes paired with two assist Cubes. Each type of Cube will have its own set of three attacks: basic, hyper, and assist.
Your job during combat is to lead your cubes to victory! This is accomplished by manually maneuvering them to avoid damage, activating their hyper modes, and giving them the items they need in a pinch.
Holding cubes during combat will place them in “Hyper Mode”, altering their attacks. Some of them may be more challenging to use at first, though overall their attacks will be a lot stronger.
It is up to you, to figure out the best possible combination and strategy that works with your playstyle.
The year is 201X. You play the role of Lyle Dyson, a frustrated 18 year old who supports himself with the only job he can get: work-from-home envelope folder. He lives his days dreading the judging eyes of others as he secludes himself in his house and sinks deeper into depression...In 1998, Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Wyoming, the apparent victim of gay-hate. But a new book suggests fresh answers may lie in the crystal meth subculture of his home town
For 15 years, Matthew Shepard’s unspeakably brutal murder on a lonely prairie in Wyoming has been a byword for the very worst of American anti-gay bigotry and a rallying cry for a more tolerant, more inclusive society.
The 21-year-old University of Wyoming student was found trussed to a fence post, bleeding and half-frozen to death, in a rocky field on the outskirts of Laramie. He had been pistol-whipped so severely that his brain stem was crushed. His killers even removed his shoes, on the off-chance he broke free of his bonds and tried to run to safety.
Shepard’s death inspired the play The Laramie Project – later turned into a television movie – countless songs, a foundation devoted to his memory and a political lobbying effort that pressed for, and eventually obtained, a new federal hate crimes statute named after him.
All this creative energy has been based on an important central premise: that Shepard was targeted solely because of his sexual orientation. According to conventional wisdom, he met his killers by chance in a bar, told them he was gay and left with them when they appeared to respond to his advances. They started attacking him almost as soon as he climbed into their pickup.
It now appears, however, that the conventional wisdom may be wrong. A new book by investigative journalist Stephen Jimenez has challenged many of the central assumptions about Shepard’s murder and argues that anti-gay hatred was not the primary motivation for his killing, if it was a factor at all.
Instead, Jimenez makes a persuasive case – based on interviews with the murderers, their former girlfriends, friends of Shepard’s, and police investigators – that Shepard was already acquainted with his killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. That acquaintance hardly casts Shepard in the best light.
All three of them, Jimenez argues, were involved in Laramie’s crystal meth subculture, as users and dealers. McKinney and Shepard may also have had a casual sexual relationship.
“Shepard’s sexual preference … certainly wasn’t the motive in the homicide,” Jimenez quotes police investigator Ben Fritzen as saying. “What it came down to really is drugs and money.” A number of other sources close to the story and the protagonists confirmed much the same thing.
As Jimenez reconstructs it, McKinney was coming down from a week-long meth binge and desperate to cover his mounting debts. He believed, rightly or wrongly, that Shepard could lead him to a delivery of about $10,000 worth of meth coming in from Denver, which he intended to steal. McKinney’s plan was to beat the information out of Shepard, but the beating, fueled by severe drug-induced paranoia, ran quickly out of control.
Jimenez’s findings have sparked outrage from gay rights groups who see his book as an act of betrayal (Jimenez is himself gay). The Matthew Shepard Foundation has accused him of succumbing to “factual errors, rumors and innuendo” to build a sensationalist conspiracy theory and drag Shepard’s name through the mud.
Their outrage has been mirrored on the other side of the political spectrum by some social conservatives crowing that the “gay grievance industry” has taken a knocking.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, right, 22, in court in Laramie in 1998. Photograph: Ed Andrieski/AP
The picture Jimenez paints of Shepard is certainly far from angelic. He traces a history of depression, of heavy drinking, of crystal meth and heroin use and a lurid series of sexual misadventures including episodes of rape and molestation.
But Jimenez is also careful to point out that his goal is understand Shepard as a complex human being and make the fullest possible sense of his murder, not to suggest in any way that he deserved his horrific fate. “We have enshrined Matthew’s tragedy as passion play and folktale,” he writes, “but hardly ever for the truth of what it was, or who he was – much to our own diminishment.”
Jimenez’s problem is that he has trodden on hallowed ground. America, as John Ford cannily observed in his western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is a country that likes to build up its heroes and villains and rarely appreciates having the record corrected to restore
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scheme.
Gatling, 50, pleaded guilty in September to two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, one count of which had been reduced from a forgery charge as part of a plea agreement.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office said a Scottsdale police investigation found Gatling owned and operated a telemarketing business that targeted vulnerable seniors and sold them fictitious websites with promises of making thousands of dollars.
Gatling collected over $155,000 from 12 people between October 2014 and February 2015, according to the Attorney General's Office.
"It disgusts me that this guy, who lived a lavish lifestyle, ripped people off and continued to buy clothes for himself and go to restaurants and strip clubs," Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said.
It wasn't the first time the former NBA player ran afoul of the law in Arizona. Gatling was arrested in 2013 after police said he squatted in a Paradise Valley home for a year and listed it for rent online. He was sentenced to four years of probation in December 2013.
In the most recent case, officials said Gatling met with a Scottsdale fitness-studio owner on a dating website in early 2015. He told her he operated internet businesses that created websites and fixed credit.
Police said Gatling persuaded her to charge credit-card numbers for him through her business. But once the charges were deemed unauthorized, police said, the woman lost $90,000 and was forced to close her fitness studio.
NEWSLETTERS Get the AZ Memo newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get the pulse of Arizona -- Local news, in-depth state coverage and what it all means for you Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for AZ Memo Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Detectives said their investigation led them to find that Gatling ran multiple online businesses that gathered credit-card numbers and ran them through other businesses that the cardholders never authorized.
In addition to the 2.5-year prison sentence, the judge ordered Gatling to pay $167,000 in restitution to the victims. As of the sentencing Tuesday, he had already paid $142,000.
"We asked for a prison sentence to send a message that, 'If you're a fraud or a crook, as the attorney general, I will go after you, NBA player or not,' " Brnovich said.
He said investment opportunities that seem too good to be true almost always are.
"Do your due diligence," he said. "Do your homework."
Gatling played 11 seasons in the NBA and was a one-time All-Star during his season with the Dallas Mavericks. He made approximately $30 million in his career, according to basketball-reference.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Celebrities arrested in metro Phoenix
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2nVr3SaMike Segar/Reuters The National Education Association is planning an ad campaign in battleground states to go after GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Back when she was teaching sixth grade in Utah, Lily Eskelsen García liked to use the presidential election as a civics lesson every four years. She would assign her students to watch the debates and interview their parents about the candidates.
But today, she says she wouldn’t urge them to tune in for the hate-fueled debacle that is 2016.
“I’m not so sure I’d really want my kids to watch this debate,” said Eskelsen García, now president of the National Education Association, on a call with reporters Monday. “It’s really kind of disturbing what they’re hearing out there.”
The NEA is the largest labor union in the country and represents 3 million educators, roughly three-quarters of them women. It has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, and now it’s leading a campaign that portrays her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, as a schoolyard bully who’s filling children with hate.
The union, which has steered at least $1 million to a Clinton-affiliated super PAC, plans to run online ads and send mailers to voters’ homes hammering that message in battleground states.
“There is bullying going on, and [there are] children who feel that they are given permission to repeat some of the things they’re hearing out of Donald Trump’s mouth,” Eskelsen García said.
The Clinton campaign and its allies have referred to the GOP nominee’s alleged influence as the “Trump Effect.” Its existence hasn’t been scientifically proven, but anecdotes from schools are out there. Eskelsen García referenced one of them: White students at a high school basketball game in Indiana holding up a picture of Trump and shouting “Build a wall” to their opponents from a largely Latino school.
Trump has lashed out against Mexican and Muslim immigrants, vowing to return all undocumented immigrants to their countries of origin and to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
There is bullying going on, and [there are] children who feel that they are given permission to repeat some of the things they’re hearing out of Donald Trump’s mouth. Lily Eskelsen García, National Education Association
The term “Trump Effect” was coined by the authors of a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which alleged there was an uptick in school bullying stemming from the presidential campaign. Students singled out their immigrant classmates for taunts, according to an online survey that teachers filled out.
Among the SPLC’s findings: “Teachers report that students have been ‘emboldened’ to use slurs, engage in name-calling and make inflammatory statements toward each other.” Also, “Kids use the names of candidates as pejoratives to taunt each other.” (PolitiFact evaluated Clinton’s references to the “Trump Effect” while on the trail, rating her claims “mostly true.” The site noted that the SPLC survey was “unscientific,” though its data shows “recurring themes.”)
Joy Lyn Bock, an NEA member living near Columbus, Ohio, said this year’s political discourse has obviously affected her eighth-grade social studies class. One of her students ― the 14-year-old daughter of Peruvian immigrants ― made a “startling statement,” she said. The girl is a U.S. citizen, but she told her class that she would be “sent back to Peru” in the event of a Trump victory. The child had gotten that impression from her parents’ talk about the election, Bock said.
“My student told her class that her parents said it will not be safe to continue to live in the United States if Donald Trump becomes president,” Bock said. The episode, she added, “broke my heart.”
Bock said she has voted Republican in the past but will be voting for Clinton next month.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- January was one of the worst months for layoffs ever, with nearly a quarter-million job-cut announcements grabbing headlines.
But the real problem in the U.S. labor market today isn't layoffs. It's a hiring freeze that is gripping most work places - and has not gotten nearly as much attention as the job cuts.
"The hiring rate has caved. That's why the job market is as bad as it is," said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Economy.com. "Given this low hiring rate, unemployment would still rise even if layoffs were falling."
The government's key employment report, released Friday morning, doesn't detail hiring and job openings. It instead gives overall change in the number of workers on U.S. payrolls.
It was another terrible report, with employers shaving 598,000 jobs off of U.S. payrolls, the biggest drop in 34 years. The unemployment rate climbed to 7.6%, which was a 16-year high. Both results were worse than economists' forecasts.
But since 2000, the Labor Department has also tracked hiring, job openings and layoffs. And the most recent readings on those statistics show that the level of hiring and job openings has actually tumbled more than layoffs have soared.
Through November, the number of layoffs was up 17% from year-earlier levels. But the amount of workers who were hired during November was down 26%, and the number of job openings tumbled 30%.
While layoffs are likely up from the November levels, the hit to hiring has also gotten much more severe, according to experts. And that means that once people do lose their job, it's going to be even tougher to find a new one.
The Conference Board's tracking of online job listings shows a decline of more than 1 million listings in the last two months alone. That's a 23% decline in postings since November. The weakness in job postings is widespread, with only two states, North Dakota and Wyoming, having fewer unemployed people than advertised job openings.
During the last recession in 2001, there was not nearly as sharp a drop in hiring and job openings. In fact, the hiring and job opening rates, which compare new hires and openings to the overall number of workers, are both at their lowest level on record.
And economists say that even if the number of layoffs peaks soon, the pace of hiring and job openings may remain soft for months to come.
"The issue of hiring is often overlooked," said Gad Levanon, senior economist for The Conference Board. "But it's the key to the labor market. In the last recession, layoffs reached their peak in late 2001. But hiring didn't reach its lowest level until 2003, and that's when the job losses finally ended."
Andrew Reina, practice director for job placement firm Ajilon Finance Solutions, said hiring freezes are now the rule at most companies.
"A lot of our clients are looking at hiring freezes, certainly in the short term, and most likely through the first half of this year," he said.
Economist Robert Brusca of FAO Economics added that hiring freezes are an easier way for many companies to reduce work forces than layoffs, since even in bad times people will leave companies on their own.
And he said the hiring freezes won't end until companies have some confidence that the economy and demand for their products are ready to turn around.
"It's pretty clear that fear is running the show right now," he said.
Talkback: Is the economy giving you wedding jitters? Are you cutting back on your big-day plans or are you still going all out? Email [email protected] and you could be included in an upcoming article.A new poll indicates that 74 percent of Denmark’s citizens believe circumcision should be fully or partially banned.
The survey was released Tuesday, the day before a parliamentary hearing believed to be a potential first step in implementing a circumcision ban. Two Danish parties favor a ban, while others are divided on the issue. Only 10 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed believed the decision should be left to parents.
“As I see it, [circumcision] goes against the [United Nations] Convention on the Rights of the Child to circumcise children. I’m leaning toward a ban until the person is of legal age,” Hans Christian Schmidt, a former health minister and now a Venstre member of parliament, told Metroxpress, the newspaper that conducted the poll, according to Denmark’s The Local.
In 2013, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority determined that there was not enough evidence to merit either banning or encouraging the practice. The authority made its determination following a study on the health risks and benefits of circumcision.
According to Danish health officials, between 1,000 and 2,000 circumcisions are performed in Denmark annually, primarily on Jewish and Muslim boys. Both faiths require the circumcision of boys.
Sweden and Norway also are discussing circumcision bans. Earlier this year, Norway’s association of nurses urged the government to outlaw the procedure.
This story "Majority of Denmark Citizens Want Circumcision Banned, Poll Says" was written by JTA.If you can read this sentence, you are alive, which is one thing Anne Hathaway almost was not on Wednesday. The actress had to be rescued by a surfer after nearly drowning off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
Radar reports that Hathaway, who was vacationing with her husband Adam Shulman, began "screaming" for help after becoming caught in a rip current while swimming. A nearby surfer, who will forever leave all the TVs in his home tuned to ABC Family on the off chance a Saturday afternoon airing of "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" provides him with the chance to smile sheepishly and announce, "Y'know, I saved her life…" pulled her to safety. Back on the sand, Hathaway's husband inspected an injury on her foot (WITH HIS MOUTH). Though the experience of nearly drowning was surely terrifying, Hathaway eventually seemed fine, and will probably use the incident as fuel for her craft at a later date.
The most dramatic rendering of the events was, of course, presented by the griots at the Daily Mail, in the form of photo captions ("The panic on Anne's face is palpable, and this time she's not acting.") The dependent clauses (and enthusiastic kicker!) read like the track listing of a concept album describing the violent near-death of Shakespeare's wife:
Going under
Screaming for help
Drama at sea
Caught unawares
That sinking feeling
Minutes before
Risky business
Playing footsy
Inspection
Tending to the wounded
Cleaning the wound
Much better now
Ever so grateful
It's all okay!
Imagine if the photographs showed Anne Hathaway actually dying.(As performed by The Muppets)
# 10 – Travis Moen – Unlikely goal-scorer and career season – occasional anger-management issues – 3rd round pick.
# 9 Peter Budaj – It’s not easy being a back-up. Western Conference team could come a knockin’ for a 5th rounder.
# 8 Mathieu Darche – Energy player still has some grit left for 4th line and PK action – McGill yearbook photo pictured – 7th round pick.
# 7 Scott Gomez – Too much bacon for other teams to handle. – Swap for another overpaid vet.
# 6 Hall Gill – Valuable PK killer, leadership skills, and occasional gaffes – 3rd rounder or mid level prospect?
# 5 Brian Gionta – Captain with goal-scoring prowess, quiet as a mouse on most nights however – Young forward prospect with upside?
# 4 Mike Cammalleri – Dynamic sniper and amateur stand-up comedian – Top D prospect and 4th rounder.
# 3 PK Subban – “Ain’t No Sunshine When it Rains” – Potential all-star puck-moving D-man/poster bad boy – Budding power forward.
# 2 Carey Price – Franchise goalie, but can he win in the playoffs? Cooks a mean Stroganoff – #1 Scoring centre man over 6 foot 3.
# 1 Gainey and Gauthier – Two grumpy old GMs laughing at us schmucks.
Straight up for Brisebois and Savard (Julien and Andre, that is).
AdvertisementsWomen's March organizers form local chapters
Women march in London on Jan. 21, 2017. (Photo11: Tim Ireland, AP)
Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington are forming local chapters to organize the millions of women and men who protested the day after President Trump’s inauguration.
On Thursday, they announced a series of local community gatherings, or Huddles, across the country between Feb. 2 to 12, from Key West, Fla., to Tucson, Ariz., and Idaho and Ohio. There will also be global chapters, including in Barcelona and Amsterdam.
“To harness this energy, it’s not enough to send out action alerts or simply ask people to show up for protests,” said Sister March spokeswoman Yordanos Eyoel.
“To keep going, marchers need to feel like they have a team to work with and the personal agency to make impact. We must put the power of organizing in the hands of people at the grassroots level, give them opportunities to expand their leadership capacities, and provide flexible tools and actions for them to take in the coming weeks, months and years,” Eyoel said in a statement.
The march organizers plan to use these local chapter meetings to coordinate different actions across the nation as well as to set goals for actions at the local level.
As of Thursday morning, there 378 huddles registered, spokeswoman Kaylin Trychon said.
The announcement is an initial step in building into a broader movement an event that started as a Facebook post by a Hawaii grandmother after the November election and grew into a global day of protest that drew an estimated 5 million marchers in 84 different countries.
The march’s biggest asset — that it was completely organic and grass-roots — is now its challenge going forward as the march organizers and participants seek to channel that energy into concrete actions.
Read more:
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2k4qTnL2250
Humanity is a Type 1 civilisation on the Kardashev scale
By this date, virtually all of the Earth's natural energy is being captured and harnessed in some way.* Vast swathes of land, sea and atmosphere have been transformed into a series of enormous power grids using wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal technologies. These are supplemented by fusion and antimatter, along with wholly new forms of energy production that were unknown to scientists in previous centuries.
In Earth orbit, a comprehensive network of stations is now in place. This cluster is organised in such a way that it harvests every ounce of incoming solar radiation being reflected back into space. In terms of raw electrical power, the total converted energy is equivalent to 52 petawatts (PW).* Each vessel acts as a node within a gigantic web, completely encircling the planet. The nodes produce attractive forces between each other, forming an invisible "shield" absorbing solar radiation from literally the entire globe.
© Solarseven | Dreamstime.com
This technology has the added benefit of stabilising the Earth's climate, since the network can be adjusted at certain points to control the amount of heat getting through. These variations allow rain to fall whenever and wherever necessary, while hurricanes and other such phenomena are easily controlled.
The vast amount of energy now available to humanity is creating enormous wealth and prosperity. Earth's physical infrastructure is revolutionised - with teleporters available for civilian use, gargantuan skyscrapers reaching miles into the sky, and material needs practically eliminated.
However, even greater breakthroughs have been occurring in cyberspace, which has supplanted physical reality completely, for many people. Virtual worlds are now of such grandeur and ingenuity that they far surpass anything in the real world. These digital environments run at speeds considerably greater than real time - further accelerating the pace of innovation.
From this point onwards, the only way for civilisation to gain more energy is to expand outward into space.* Massive colonisation efforts are now underway. Asteroid mining dominates the economy of the inner Solar System, while hydrogen and helium are being siphoned from the gas giants. Meanwhile, terraforming of Mars has passed a critical stage, with bacteria and lichen beginning to appear on the surface.
Interstellar travel increases greatly during this time. The settlements on Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star and Wolf 359 are inhabited by thousands of humans and machines by now, while the most distant exploratory craft have reached over 50 light years from Earth. Faster-than-light travel is proving to be more difficult to achieve than previously thought, however, with maximum velocity still limited to 0.99c.
2257
Eris reaches perihelion
Eris is the second largest dwarf planet in the Solar System. Discovered in 2005 by the Palomar Observatory in California, it was found to be 2,326 km (1,445 mi) in diameter, making it only slightly smaller than Pluto. Although Pluto is larger by volume, Eris has a greater mass, the ninth greatest in the Solar System. Subsequent observations revealed that Eris had a small moon, later named Dysnomia.
The albedo of Eris was measured at 0.96, making it brighter than any other solid body in the Solar System except Enceladus. It was speculated that its high albedo was due to surface ices being replenished by temperature fluctuations as Eris's orbit took it closer and farther from the Sun.
As a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), and a member of the scattered disk, the orbit of Eris is highly eccentric – ranging from 97.56 astronomical units (AU) at its furthest point, to 37.77 AU during its closest approach to the Sun. It last reached perihelion in 1699 and aphelion in 1977. With the exception of some comets, Eris and Dysnomia were the most distant known natural objects in the Solar System during the early 21st century, at roughly three times the distance to Pluto.
Eris has an orbital period of 558 years. It returns to perihelion in 2257.* Models of internal heating via radioactive decay suggested that Eris could have an internal ocean of liquid water at the mantle–core boundary. This was confirmed by robotic exploration missions during the mid-21st century.* With its relatively closer distance to the Sun, Eris gains importance in the 23rd century – as both a source of water extraction, and a staging post to more remote destinations like the Oort Cloud, Alpha Centauri and beyond.
Credits: Orionist [CC BY-SA 3.0] and ESO/L. Calçada and Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org) [CC BY 4.0]
2260
Accelerated development of the Solar System
With humanity shifting its focus beyond Earth, a veritable gold rush is taking place throughout the Solar System. Countless technological and engineering marvels are now possible in space, aided by the vast growth of AI which is dominating planetary and interplanetary government.
On Mercury, colonies roll around the equator on giant train tracks – keeping pace with the planet's rotation so that they are always kept in the "terminator" zone. This ensures that the Sun never rises fully above the horizon, maintaining the optimum temperature and brightness.*
On Venus, a massive terraforming effort is underway. Automated craft are being sent to water-rich comets, redirecting them into the planet's upper atmosphere, while genetically-engineered extremophile bacteria are being seeded on the ground. Due to the much denser and more hostile atmosphere, this process is slower than the efforts on Mars. However, with many people achieving practical immortality, human endeavors are becoming increasingly focussed on the long term. Already, there are citizens buying up land and real estate on the surface in preparation for the centuries and millenia ahead.
Earth's own moon is the most heavily populated of all the space colonies. It now has millions of permanent inhabitants. Entire cities have grown up around the original Apollo landing sites. Huge numbers of citizens are involved in the expansion of infrastructure and technological research.
In the previous century, Mars had declared its independence from Earth. Its surface is now dotted with large tent cities and criss-crossed with a hyperfast, automated rail network. The terraforming operation is proceeding on schedule, with a number of giant orbital mirrors now in place.
Thousands of asteroids are now being mined – both in the main-belt and the Trojan region. Advances in nanotechnology and related fields enable these rocky bodies to be stripped literally atom-by-atom, so that nothing goes to waste. Precious metals are harvested for use in hi-tech industries, while volatiles such as water can be supplied wherever needed. Some of these minor planets are being hollowed out, their interiors converted into enormous power plants, scientific stations, or utopian habitats.
Meanwhile, Jupiter is gaining a steady influx of prospectors – led by cyborgs and non-biologicals. These individuals are better adapted to the radiation belts and harsh environmental conditions on Ganymede, Io, Europa et al.* Whilst the moons are being exploited for their metals, minerals and water ice, Jupiter itself is being mined for its rich gas resources. A number of floating cities and gigantic refineries are beginning to appear in the upper atmosphere.
A similar situation is occurring in the Saturnian system. Its largest moon Titan is now home to entire cities, while Enceladus is showing great potential as a water source for the outer Solar System.* The rings of Saturn now have luxurious hotels orbiting around them, offering spectacular views of the planet. Guests can venture outside and drift among the slowly moving ice fragments.
Even the distant planets of Uranus and Neptune have gas miners now. Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, too, are being exploited and developed after being fully probed and catalogued in detail. The number of citizens making the journey to neighbouring star systems is growing exponentially during this time.
© Luca Oleastri | Dreamstime.com
2280
Microbial life is confirmed on an exoplanet
Antimatter propulsion has allowed much of the local stellar neighbourhood to be explored. By the end of the 23rd century, the first direct confirmation of alien life is obtained.
After surveying thousands of worlds, automated probes uncover a unicellular organism within 100 light years of our Solar System. This lifeform reproduces via binary fission. It has an internal chemical structure that is remarkably similar to DNA, suggesting that this form of replication may be quite common throughout the Universe. It exists on a warm, wet planet with a G-type star as its parent.** This system includes gas giants in the outer regions, offering some protection from comets and other incoming bodies.
The impact of this discovery is less profound than it might have been in previous centuries. Religion has already vanished from many societies, for example. Science and technology in general have advanced so far – and in so many new ways – that previous "wonders" of the Universe are beginning to diminish in significance: even the possibility of alien life. Though still hailed as a landmark discovery, the emotional aspect of this and other breakthroughs has waned considerably, as human thought and endeavour become ever more computerised, logical and machine-like. Transhumans and robots now make up the bulk of the mainstream population.
Efforts are now underway to uncover more advanced and complex life. The potential for contact with intelligent alien races is now being given considerable attention.
© Arbi Babakhanaians | Dreamstime.comIt’s a popular misconception that a medieval knight, once knocked off his mount, could barely move and was thus vulnerable to more fleet-footed light...
It’s a popular misconception that a medieval knight, once knocked off his mount, could barely move and was thus vulnerable to more fleet-footed light infantry.
An October 2016 exhibition at the Swiss Military Museum at the Castle of Morges helped to disprove this myth. The museum organized a race between three men — one each outfitted as an armored knight, a modern infantryman and a present-day firefighter.
The racers met at an assault course at the Place d’Armes de Biere, a Swiss army training center. The men’s loads were of similar weight — but the differences ended there. How each racer distributed his weight varied widely.
The knight wore 64 pounds of armor. The infantryman’s load — a modern Swiss military field uniform with standard field kit — was slightly heavier than that. The fireman’s flame-resistant equipment weighed slightly less than the knight’s armor did.
The fireman finished the course fastest thanks to the most even distribution of his added weight. The knight came in second. The infantryman, carrying most of his load high and on his back, came in last.
It would have been interesting to see how the knight would have coped while carrying a weapon such as a sword or pole axe, and also a shield. After all, the infantryman carried his sidearm and rifle — and the firefighter had some of his hand-gear on him.
All the same, the contest went a long way toward dispelling the myth that the medieval knight was an inflexible, immobile warrior who, once unhorsed, was defenseless. In fact, a knight could move on his feet roughly as nimbly as a modern infantryman can do.
This story originally appeared at Historical Firearms.Capt. James Kirk (right), commanding officer of the USS Zumwalt walks past the ship to a news conference in Baltimore on Thursday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Associated Press
BALTIMORE — What’s a ride like in the Navy’s largest and most sophisticated new destroyer? Capt. James Kirk compares it to “a really souped-up sport utility vehicle.”
“It’s not like a Ferrari, but it’s like a very big SUV that is made to go very fast,” said Kirk, commanding officer of the futuristic USS Zumwalt that’s being commissioned Saturday in Baltimore.
With a price tag of at least $4.4 billion, the guided missile destroyer is perhaps more like a stealthy Rolls-Royce. The company manufactured the ship’s propellers and generator sets. The Zumwalt also features an unconventional wave-piercing hull.
“Very smooth,” is how Lt. Cmdr. Nate Chase described the ride. “You had no fear of having an open cup of coffee and getting jerked around, like some of these other ships.”
Here are some other details about the Zumwalt:
Stealth
The 610-foot-long warship is sleek, with an angular shape to minimize its radar signature. It looks like a much smaller vessel on radar. Quieter than other ships, the Zumwalt is hard to detect, track and attack. A composite deckhouse hides radar and other sensors. Its powerful new gun system can unload 600 rocket-powered projectiles on targets more than 70 miles away.
Power
Weighing nearly 15,000 tons, the ship’s advanced technology and capabilities allow it a range of defensive and offensive missions to project power, wherever it is needed. Kirk said it generates 78 megawatts of power, “enough power to power a medium- to small-sized city.” With a motto of Pax Proctor Vim (Peace Through Power), it’s unique capability to generate power could be used in ways perhaps not even envisioned yet, such as in the testing and use of laser and directed-energy weapon systems.
Missiles
The Zumwalt will be able to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, standard surface-to-air missiles and anti-submarine rockets from 80 missile tubes.
Crew
With 147 officers and sailors, the Zumwalt’s crew is the smallest of any destroyer built since the 1930s, thanks to extensive automation. All sailors are cross-trained, and there’s more sharing of tasks on the Zumwalt. Sailors have staterooms, instead of bunk rooms with dozens of people in them. “So, when they wake up, they wake up to only one or two alarm clocks, not four, not 50,” Kirk said.
Reformer
The ship is named after the late Adm. Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt, who earned the Bronze Star in World War II and commanded small boats that patrolled the Mekong Delta in the Vietnam War. He became the youngest chief of naval operations and earned a reputation as a reformer, who fought racism and sexism. “He changed our Navy in massive ways, some to make the fleet a more potent fighting force but most importantly he reformed the institution of the Navy to be more just and fair to all its sailors, making sure that all sailors regardless of race, creed, color, faith, had an opportunity to serve in whatever capacity that their heart and their passion desired to,” Kirk said.
The bridge
On the bridge, there are 180-degree windows and chairs for the ship’s captain and executive officer to command the vessel and plenty of video monitors.
Star Trek?
Kirk rolls with questions about his sharing the first and last name of the fictional captain of the Starship Enterprise, telling reporters to “live long and prosper.” But he said his parents named him after his grandfather, not Capt. James T. Kirk of “Star Trek.”
“I have interrogated them about this a great deal — more over the last couple of years than before — and they tell me, no, it was all about my grandfather,” Kirk says.The U.S. National Security Agency is now suggesting government departments and businesses buy smartphones secured using virtualization, a technology it currently requires only on tablets and laptops
The change comes about with the arrival of the first virtualization-based smartphone security system on the U.S. Commercial Solutions for Classified list.
CSFC is a program developed by the NSA to help U.S. government agencies and the businesses that serve them to quickly build layered secure systems from approved components.
An HTC A9 smartphone security-hardened by Cog Systems using its D4 virtualization platform is now on that list, alongside devices without virtualization from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and BlackBerry.
In the modified A9, communications functions are secured by running them in separate virtual machines on the D4 virtualization platform.
It's the first smartphone on the CSFC list to use virtualization, which the NSA has only required on more powerful devices such as tablets and laptops until now.
"If virtualization technology was commonly available in the smartphone, we could leverage it for some solutions. To date, the devices that have been considered did not offer that technology," the NSA's technical guidance reads.
Cog Systems' position on the list isn't definitive yet: It's still seeking certification for the D4/A9 combination against the National Information Assurance Partnership's mobile platform and IPSec VPN Client protection profiles. Vendors typically have six months to obtain the certification in order to remain on the list. For now, D4's validation is ongoing at Gossamer Security Solutions' Common Criteria Testing Laboratory.
Vendors don't seek certification lightly, according to Carl Nerup, chief marketing officer at Cog Systems. "It's a very expensive process," he said, between US$500,000 and $700,000 for each new model.
Somehow, though, Cog Systems is eating the additional cost of certification: The price for its security-hardened A9 is the same as HTC's list price for an unmodified phone, said Nerup. "We have multiple groups within the U.S. Department of Defense that have procured the device," he added.
A commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphone like the modified A9 isn't only of interest to government customers, though, Cog Systems CEO Dan Potts pointed out. "In the oil and gas industry, they want to buy COTS. They want it to be at a competitive price, but with a greater concern for security."
Once certification for the modified A9 is in the bag, Potts is looking forward to seeking certification for D4 virtualization on other smartphones. The first time around takes time because there is a lot of preparatory work to do, but much of that work will also apply to other smartphones. Potts expects certification of D4 on other hardware to go more quickly.
Eric Klein, director for mobile software and enterprise mobility at analyst firm VDC Research, has had his eye on Cog Systems since meeting the company at Mobile World Congress.
He sees the broadest opportunity for Cog Systems in the enterprise market -- and expects that its approach to endpoint security could even take some business away from enterprise mobility management vendors.Ralph Steadman, the genius illustrator that brought some of Hunter S. Thompson's most deranged creations to life, has turned his pen to Breaking Bad.
Steadman teamed up with show creator Vince Gilligan to create a series of Blu-ray steelbooks, each featuring a different cover. Walter, Jesse, Gus, Mike, Hank and Saul have all been given the ink-splattered treatment.
The Blu-ray illustrations are being put on display in London, as part of an exhibition called "Breaking Bad Character Portraits by Ralph Steadman," which will open Friday at the 71a gallery in East London. The exhibit will also feature a selection of original Breaking Bad-inspired artwork created by UK rising talent and chosen by Steadman.
Gilligan said he thought the idea of enlisting Steadman was a "pipe dream."
"I can barely describe the combination of disbelief and giddy joy I felt when I heard he was on board to do it," he said. "Ralph is the Walter White of artists: He’s a dark genius whose output is disturbing, yet habit-forming."
Steadman said he watched the entire Breaking Bad series in two weeks.
"At first, I thought this series is going to be all about death and desecration,'" he said, "but instead it became a more complex landscape of human relationships.
"I hope I put something of these feelings into the portraits that I made of the characters, which were landscapes in themselves. An irony in the subject of crystal meth is how beautifully it resembles the desert sky."
Take a look at his portraits, below:
Seasons 1 and 2 of the Blu-ray steelbook editions are available now. Seasons 3 and 4 will be released on March 2, while the fifth and final season will be available on April 6.Stephan Jukic – May 29, 2015
Everyone knows that buying a product isn’t just about price. This applies particularly to complex high performance electronics and with many of them, penny pinching in the short run only costs you more in the long run as your purchase fails on you and has to be replaced. Even if there’s a warranty in effect, you’ll at the very least lose a lot of time on nonsense.
Thus, when it comes to 4K TVs, some of the highest performing consumer home electronics devices on sale today, thinking only of price is not something you’d want to do. There are numerous brands out there whose retail numbers seem attractive but disguise an extremely disappointing lack of connectivity or some serious flaws in what should be a beautiful, one of a kind ultra HD resolution experience.
However, not all is lost and no, you don’t absolutely have to shatter your discretionary budget in order to get a genuinely great 4K UHD TV.
In fact, as the following four models from different brands show, it’s possible to buy a UHD television that’s fully decked out with all the most important essentials while still spending well under $1500.
Every one of these four TVs offers a full package of connectivity options, superb visual specs and even a few unique technologies that go beyond the conventional.
Vizio’s M-Series of 4K TVs are the company’s second advance in bringing 4K TVs with premium features to users at a rock bottom price, and Vizio has succeeded again with this television, in whichever of its several sizes you choose.
Also including the same full connectivity options as the P-Series, the M-Series happens to offer more HDMI 2.0 ports. It also sports the same revolutionary full-array LED backlighting-at-a-budget-price and offers you the same quality of HD upscaling processor and overall 4K image rendering as it’s ever so slightly pricier P-Series cousin.
The 55” model of the M-Series sells for an extraordinarily affordable $1000 but if you fork over just a couple hundred bucks more, you can get your
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HTC / LG / Nexus / Motorola / Sony devices (phone / tablet) with a 3.5mm combined microphone / headphone socket.
Operating system: Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or above.
Meet the Team
Awards
From left to right:
First prize at Laval Virtual 2012, 14th International conference on Virtual Reality and Converging Technology in the “Interfaces and materials” category.
Nominee for the ICT Spring Europe Innovation of the Year 2012
Prize “Jeune chercheur” (young researcher) 2012 in Science and Music, conferred by IRISA (Institut de Recherche en Informatique et Systèmes Aléatoires) at the “Day of Science and Music 2012″ on October 13, 2012.
Production timeline
Design & Prototypes
Above: The current CAD design for the body of the sensor.
The final version won't have a battery. Through re-engineering we have made the device powered from the 3.5mm headphone socket and shrunk the whole device by 30%.
Mogees: making noise around the world since 2012
Mogees : It really is this simple to use...
Credits
The Mogees software app has been developed in collaboration with the researcher and composer Carmine Emanuele Cella, and it is still a work in progress. All began at, and has been inspired by, the Ircam Real-Time Musical Interactions (IMTR) in Paris and the Goldsmiths Embodied AudioVisual Interaction (EAVI) in London.
Acknowledgements
Bruno wishes to thank his PhD supervisors Frederic Bevilacqua, Marco Gillies and Mark d'Inverno for their constant support; Plaid for their enthusiasm in the project and patience with my software bugs; Norbert Schnell and Lorenzo Pagliei for their inspirations; Adam Lieber and Simone Bressello for the videos and brilliant ideas, and Camila Jurado for all the rest.General Description: 3” gas operated, semi-automatic shotgun that allows you to shoot light target loads to heavy pheasant loads. Shim kits standard. Removable choke system that uses Beretta®/Benelli® Mobil threads, includes four extended choke tubes (SK, IC, M, F), choke box and choke wrench. “TriStar Select” Turkish Walnut stock and forearm with cut checkering and semi-gloss finish. Adjustable comb, raised target rib, middle bead, fiber optic front sight and shim kits standard. Rubber recoil pad, backed with a five-year mechanical warranty.
Features:
• Manual E-Z Load Magazine Cut-Off
• Raised Target Rib w/ Matted Sight Plane
• Middle Bead and Fiber Optic Sight
• 5 Round Magazine – Shot Plug Included
• Quick Shot Plug Removal
• Chrome-lined Chamber and Barrel
• Adjustable Comb
• “TriStar Select” Turkish Walnut w/ adjustable comb (Select Wood is hand-picked!!)
• 4 Extended Beretta®/Benelli® Mobil Style Choke Tubes (SK, IC, M, F)
• Shim kits standard
Action: Gas operated semi-automatic. Bolt remains open after last round is fired. If magazine and chamber are both loaded, opening action will result in ejecting shell from chamber and cycling new shell from magazine into the chamber. If operator desires to unload the chamber only, slightly push lifter up and open action. This cuts the magazine off from cycling a new shell while unloading the chamber. Chamber will remain closed though.
Safety: The primary safety is located on the backside of the trigger guard. When engaged, the safety is designed to block the trigger, hammer lever and the hammer which makes the firing mechanism immobile.
Magazine: Tubular magazine; bottom loading. Shot plug is included and comes installed. Shot plug is easily removable by unscrewing the magazine cap. Simply pull plug out and replace magazine cap.Correction: A previous version of this story, published on May, 18, 2017, included incorrect information about the crime for which Louisiana inmate Clyde Giddens is serving a life sentence. Giddens pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 1964 for killing and dismembering a woman. Giddens, who is seeking early release from prison because of health problems, told a reporter that he received the life sentence for fighting with a man and stabbing him to death. Giddens's name and the incorrect information were removed from this story on March 14, 2018.
Alton Batiste, 72, rests in the nursing unit of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Saint Francisville, La on April 26, 2017. Batiste has served 50 years in prison. (Annie Flanagan/for The Washington Post)
In a deal announced on Tuesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) agreed to drop the proposal to offer early parole to geriatric prisoners in exchange for state district attorneys’ support for easing penalties for nonviolent offenders — changes that aim to reduce Louisiana’s prison population by 10 percent in a decade.
It’s a landmark agreement for Louisiana, which locks up residents at a rate twice the national average, making it the country’s biggest jailer per capita. An unusual coalition of business and political leaders, religious groups and liberal activists has been working to end the state’s ignominious distinction with a package of bills that would shorten some prison sentences, prevent certain nonviolent offenders from going to prison and expand eligibility for parole.
The changes would come as U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions moves federal sentencing in the opposite direction, toward stricter penalties. Last week, he directed federal prosecutors to impose charges that carry the most severe sentences, a reversal of the Obama administration’s practice.
“We are returning to the enforcement of the laws as passed by Congress, plain and simple,” Sessions said in a speech last Friday. “If you are a drug trafficker, we will not look the other way, we will not be willfully blind to your misconduct.”
Alton Batiste, 72, in the nursing unit of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has served 40 years in the prison commonly known as Angola. (Annie Flanagan/For The Washington Post)
In Louisiana, district attorneys and sheriffs — typically the most powerful elected officials in their parishes — opposed early release for old convicted murderers and rapists.
“They’re going to risk public safety and we would go back on the promises to victims that were raped and the families of those who were killed,” said Bo Duhé, a district attorney in the state, before the deal with Edwards was reached.
Edwards argued that the sentencing changes would make Louisiana safer by saving money that the legislation shifts to programs that help prepare inmates to re-enter society and stay out of trouble. Other proponents point to studies showing that former inmates become less likely to commit crimes as they age, a phenomenon they call “criminal menopause.”
George Gilliam, 39, who is serving life at Angola, is known as a trusty and has more freedom than other inmates. His job is to oversee inmates teaching one of the rehabilitation programs at Angola. (Annie Flanagan/For The Washington Post)
But Tuesday’s deal means Louisiana will remain one of two states that keep felons convicted of second-degree murder behind bars for life. It is likely that the state legislature will approve the bills related to nonviolent offenders before its regular session ends on June 8.
The state Senate Tuesday easily approved major components of the deal reached with law enforcement officials.
“This compromise package contains smart, aggressive reforms that will certainly improve public safety,” Edwards told reporters Tuesday.
The effort is part of a national campaign to reduce state prison populations, which soared after decades of “tough on crime” tactics. More than 30 states have adopted some form of “smart on crime” policies aimed at reducing the number of people behind bars, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The nationwide effort began when conservatives and liberals united in Texas a decade ago to make many of the changes now under consideration in Louisiana. Since then, Texas has closed three prisons, the recidivism rate has dropped from 28 percent to 21 percent and parole revocations have fallen by 50 percent, said Jerry Madden, a Republican who chaired the Texas House committee that helped push through the changes.
In Louisiana, proponents are armed with the findings of a blue-ribbon task force that reported that the state sends nonviolent offenders to prison at higher rates than other states and gives felons fewer opportunities for release.
Spearheading the effort to pass the changes is Jimmy LeBlanc, the state corrections secretary under the previous Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, and now Edwards. For years, he adhered to the lock-’em-up school.
“What we’re doing is not working,” LeBlanc said. “The stats are there.”
The state imprisoned 816 people per 100,000 in 2014 compared with 700 per 100,000 in Oklahoma and 633 per 100,000 in Alabama, the states with the second- and third-highest incarceration rate, according to the latest available figures in the Louisiana task force report.
Propelling the high rates in Louisiana is the propensity to imprison people convicted of nonviolent offenses, principally drugs and theft. Louisiana sent nonviolent offenders to prison at twice the rate of South Carolina and three times the rate of Florida, even though the crime rates in the three states were nearly identical.
Half of those sent to prison in Louisiana have run afoul of probation rules, so one of the proposed reforms would expand the alternatives to revoking probation — for example, requiring probation violators to perform community service or face more drug tests.
During Alton Batiste’s 40 years at Angola, his vision has deteriorated significantly. (Annie Flanagan/For The Washington Post)
The main motivation for conservatives is to save money in a budget-strapped state that has lost 25,000 jobs over the past two years because of the drop in oil prices.
As a whole, the changes would save an estimated $262 million over the next decade. The plan calls for investing 70 percent of the savings in programs that aim to reduce recidivism, like job skills training and drug abuse counseling. Currently, 1 in 3 people released from prison return within three years. Only about 1 in 10 inmates participate in the types of rehabilitation programs contemplated in the task force report.
“We cut higher education, we cut health care and we impose new fees,” said state Sen. Danny Martiny, a Republican from suburban New Orleans who is the prime sponsor of the legislation. “I’m sick and tired of coming up here [to Baton Rouge] and facing a budget deficit and not looking at one of the biggest problems we have — the cost of incarcerating prisoners.”
Koch Industries, among the nation’s top conservative donors, and other business executives and lobbies in Louisiana have provided support for those pushing the changes, which makes it an easier political sell.
Offering parole to older inmates convicted of violent offenses — and other changes dropped from the final plan — would have lowered the projected imprisonment rate below Oklahoma’s and saved an additional $38 million over a decade.
About 4,300 of Louisiana’s 4,850 incarcerated lifers are housed at Angola. The site of the 1995 movie, “Dead Man Walking,” Angola is an 18,000-acre prison farm bounded on three sides by the Mississippi River. Inmates watched by gun-toting guards on horseback work the fields of cotton, hay and corn, earning up to 20 cents per hour.
In the hospital’s nursing units, cans of Ensure, oxygen tanks and pitchers of water sit on nightstands next to beds in a dormitory setting.
Angola has a hospice and two cemeteries. One has about 250 white crosses featuring the inmates’ names, dates of death and their Department of Corrections numbers. Two or three inmates die each month of natural causes and illnesses, said Gary Young, an assistant warden.
An exhibit at the museum next to the Louisiana State Penitentiary showcases a casket made by inmates and a painting of the prison cemetery. (Annie Flanagan/For The Washington Post)
Advocating for the early release of old violent offenders, Louisianans for Prison Alternatives held a rally on the steps of the state capitol recently before the deal was reached. Among those attending was Clarence Batiste, whose brother Alton has spent 40 years at Angola for aggravated rape. Two days after the rally, Alton Batiste shuffled into a waiting room at Camp F at Angola, guided to his seat by an inmate nicknamed “Shorty” who is serving time for second-degree murder. Alton Batiste, 72, is blind and frail.
“What I did was wrong,” Batiste said of his crime. “I can admit that. But I don’t represent a threat to society anymore.”
Asked what he would do if he were released, Batiste said, “I’d like to go to church and do Bible study. It’s what I do here every day.”PlayStation 4 introduced some important new social features when it launched back in 2013, and PlayStation VR is going to take full advantage of them.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has today posted an ‘Ultimate FAQ‘ for its upcoming VR headset. It’s mostly filled with information that anyone that’s been following the device will already know, but there are a few interesting nuggets of news. One is that all of the PS4’s social features, including screenshot and gameplay capture and even livestreaming will be available in VR.
According to three of the FAQ’s questions, any gameplay captured when using PS VR will simply appear as it does on your TV. That is as a single image that mirrors where you look with your headset and not as two split images that are being displayed inside of it. This image will also likely be at lower resolution than what you’re seeing inside the HMD. Some games like The Playroom VR will offer a different image on the TV screen than in the headset, but most will simply mirror your lenses. It sounds like it’s that image that will be captured. For clarity, you can see each question and answer below
Q: Does the SHARE button work when playing PS VR games?
Yes, you can capture photos and videos using the SHARE button. The resulting capture will be similar to the image presented on the Social Screen. Q: Can I broadcast / live stream PS VR gameplay?
Yes, you can broadcast your PS VR experiences via Twitch, YouTube, or other streaming video services using the SHARE button located on Dualshock 4 wireless controller. The resulting video feed will be similar to what users experience on the Social Screen. Q: Can I capture or live stream my PS VR gameplay session?
Yes, in the same way you can stream or capture your standard PS4 gameplay, the PS VR streaming works the same way. The stream view will be the same view as the Social Screen mentioned above.
That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but it’s definitely nice to know that you won’t be losing any of the standard PS4 features when jumping into PS VR. You’ll also have access to trophies, though we don’t yet know exactly how they’ll materialize in-game.
PlayStation VR is launching on October 13th. If you’re getting excited, you should really be reading our 50 Days Of PS VR countdown and check out our unboxing photos. Reviews for the headset and its games coming soon.
Tagged with: PlayStation VRTwo weeks after a civil jury found that Chicago police Officer Patrick Kelly shot and severely injured one of his best friends in the officer’s home, the troubled patrolman faces a new lawsuit from the family of a man who was fatally shot after Kelly responded to a domestic disturbance on the Southwest Side.
Hector Hernandez’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court Friday, alleging that Kelly and another officer shot him without provocation in April 2014. The man, who had a young son and a daughter on the way, was shot 13 times, including eight bullets in the back and buttocks, the suit states.
Kelly was the first officer to open fire at the scene, firing 11 rounds at Hernandez until his gun jammed, according to records from an internal investigation. Officer Antonio Corral — who had been waiting for someone to bring a Taser to subdue Hernandez — followed suit and fired 10 rounds.
The Independent Police Review Authority, the now-defunct agency that previously investigated all officer-involved shootings, ruled the shooting justified, saying Kelly and his fellow officers could have reasonably been in fear for their lives. In interviews with IPRA investigators summarized in the report, officers on the scene contended that Hernandez was moving toward them with a kitchen knife when he was shot.
The Hernandez family’s lawsuit also names the city of Chicago as a defendant, saying Kelly benefited from the so-called code of silence in the department, an unwritten but widely acknowledged understanding that officers protect each other even to the point of ignoring each other’s wrongdoing.
Kelly, 36, has been found mentally unfit for duty twice, arrested two times, accused of beating a girlfriend and treated for alcohol addiction. He has been sued seven times during his 14-year career and has been the subject of more than two dozen investigations into his on- and off-duty conduct, including one in which he was found to have assaulted a female sergeant.
Last month, a federal civil jury found that Kelly shot his childhood friend Michael LaPorta after a night of heavy drinking. Jurors ordered the city to pay LaPorta — who suffered a severe head injury and can no longer walk — $44.7 million, finding that the Police Department enabled Kelly’s behavior by failing to properly discipline him or investigate allegations of wrongdoing against him.
“The City of Chicago participated in this Code of Silence when they failed to take any action in response to a demonstrated pattern of violent and abusive behavior by Defendant Officer Kelly, enabling him to hide for years behind the Blue Shield,” the lawsuit states.
At a news conference Friday morning, Hernandez’s girlfriend Esperanza Davila said her family has been forever changed by his death, and all they can do now is fight against the system they believe is responsible for taking him from them. Davila said her grief has been made worse in light of what she now knows about Kelly’s history.
“It’s unbelievable, and for him to still have been on the streets, it makes no sense at all,” she said, then describing the difficulties her son has had since losing his father. “For three years now it’s been really hard because my son was there. He was 2 years old at the time, and to this day, he’s crying for his dad.”
Most of Kelly’s alleged wrongdoing took place before April. 7, 2014, when Kelly responded as a backup officer to a domestic dispute in the Gage Park neighborhood. Police had been called to the home of Hernandez’s pregnant girlfriend, who claimed the 21-year-old man violated a protective order by showing up at her house.
Officers told investigators that when they arrived on the scene, Hernandez — who had a history of domestic battery cases in his background and was on parole at the time of the shooting — was holding their 2-year-old son, Hector Jr., and threatening to kill himself rather than go back to prison. After a relative took the child away from him, Hernandez ran into the house, grabbed a knife and held it to his own throat, according to investigative records that cite police accounts.
Kelly arrived at the home shortly after Hernandez ran inside, records show. Kelly told investigators that after entering the house he saw two officers in the kitchen with their guns drawn and Hernandez standing nearby with a knife to his neck. In a sworn statement, Kelly said he and the other officers ordered Hernandez to drop the knife but he refused and told the officers they would have to shoot him.
According to Kelly’s account, Hernandez slit his arm with the knife and then grabbed a larger one, which he used to make a small puncture wound on his throat. Kelly said he heard his partner radio for a Taser as the situation escalated and Hernandez threatened to go toward the back of the house, where his family was hiding.
Hernandez then lunged toward the officers with the knife, according to the version of events officers gave investigators. Kelly — who said he was in fear of his life — fired first. A second officer joined in the gunfire, while another deployed his Taser, records show.
“At no time during this encounter did Defendant Officer Kelly or Corral attempt to deescalate the encounter,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, without provocation and while Hector Hernandez posed no threat of harm to the officers or any other occupant of the home, Defendant Officers Kelly and Corral proceeded to violently and intentionally discharge every bullet in their service weapons into Hector Hernandez.”
Lawyers for Hernandez’s family at the press conference said no one in the house at the time who was not a police officer saw the actual shooting itself, since family members had gone into a nearby room, meaning it is just the word of police officers that Hernandez came toward them with a knife.
There were 21 bullets fired at Hernandez, 11 of them from Kelly’s gun, according to police records. Hernandez was hit 13 times in the chest, back, pelvis, arm, leg and buttocks.
In a June 2016 deposition for a different lawsuit, Kelly said he was given three mandatory days off after the shooting and had been in therapy since the incident. He said he could not recall many details about that evening, including the name of the man he shot.
“I remember I responded to an assist. There were other officers. Some type of domestic incident,” he said. “They asked for help over the radio, so I responded with my partner.”
Asked about the impending filing of the suit Thursday, a spokesman for the city’s Law Department declined to comment. Chicago police officials also had no immediate comment.AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 07: Mississippi Rebels quarterback Shea Patterson (20) tries to avoid the pressure from Auburn Tigers linebacker Jeff Holland (4) during a football game between the Auburn Tigers and the Ole Miss Rebels, Saturday, October 7, 2017 on October 6, 2017, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Photo by Scott Donaldson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By: Will Burchfield
Michigan landed transfer quarterback Shea Patterson from Ole Miss on Monday, but one big question remains: Will Patterson be eligible for the 2018 season?
The NCAA typically requires transfers to sit out their first season. Patterson, however, is confident the NCAA will grant his waiver given the severity of Ole Miss’ sanctions.
“From what I’m hearing, I’m pretty sure that I will win that and be able to play next year,” Patterson told the Toledo Blade. “If I don’t, I’ll work as hard as I can learning the offense and I’ll be playing the year after.”
Should Patterson receive immediate eligibility, another question will surface: Will he start? Michigan returns two young, highly-regarded quarterbacks in Brandon Peters and Dylan McCaffrey and four-star commit Joe Milton will enroll this spring.
Patterson, who threw for 3,000-plus yards and 23 touchdowns over 10 career games at Ole Miss, would seem to have the inside lane, but only time will tell. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Toledo native said he was drawn to Michigan first and foremost for the opportunity to win a national championship.
“I’m really big on setting goals and achieving them,” Patterson said. “I did that throughout high school. One of the main goals was to win a national championship. At Ole Miss, I didn’t have an opportunity to do that. Things didn’t shake out the way I planned — coach [Hugh Freeze] got fired, the two-year bowl ban.
“I couldn’t look back on it after college and say I never got an opportunity to play for something like that.”
On top of that, Patterson was attracted to the trio of Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Tim Drevno and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton, all of whom have coached on the NFL. Patterson is considered a top NFL prospect.
“I knew if I went to Michigan, I’m going to be put in the best position to succeed, and I’ll grow not only as a player but as a person as well,” he said. “They have a really, really good team coming back next year. Anyway I could help or contribute to that, I felt we’d have a really good shot at going far.”
Patterson missed the final six games of this season after tearing the PCL in his right knee, but he told The Blade he’s already back to full health. His final hurdle is securing eligibility for 2018.Footage of a young woman in a miniskirt and crop top, wandering in a village in conservative rural Saudi Arabia, has sparked heated debate on social media. Some are calling for the model to be punished, while others are demanding new rules for women’s dress.
The video, initially posted on Snapchat, shows a woman posing at a deserted historic fort in the village of Ushaiger, 200km northwest of the capital, Riyadh, Saudi media reported on Monday.
The village is located in the region of Najd, which is known for its traditional mores.
Saudi officials immediately called for measures against the woman, saying that she violated the Muslim country's dress code, Okaz newspaper reported.
The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) is looking into the issue.
فتاة بلباس فاضح تتجول في القرية الشعبية ب #اشيقر والمغردون في تويتر ينشئون هاشتاق #مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلودpic.twitter.com/F7LEezVRvH — مقاطع متداولة (@Topvideeo) July 16, 2017
Social media has been set abuzz by the video, with some calling for more progressive dressing rules for women.
#مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلود
Showing skin isn't wrong
Sexuality isn't wrong
Free expression isn't wrong.
It's the 21st century you idiots. — ༄ (@SecundaMO) 17 июля 2017 г.
The Saudi dress code for women is controlled by Sharia law. Women have to wear long and loose-fitting cloaks (abayas) that cover all the body. The majority wear abaya with a veil that covers the head and hair. Some women wear full-face niqabs.
#مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلود
She might've broke the law but demanding trial for merely showing her legs is absurd.
The law is wrong anyways. — ༄ (@SecundaMO) 17 июля 2017 г.
#مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلود
Saudies insane double standards: men can do whatever they want. But women are not allowed to show their legs. LEGS — ⴽⴰⴷⵉ 🇶🇦 (@amazighgal) 17 июля 2017 г.
All those wars and tragedies happening around the world and Saudis are raging over a girl wearing a mini skirt! Lol #مطلوب_محاكمة_مودل_خلود — Sara Al Abdali (@saralabdali) 17 июля 2017 г.
Others, however, did not appear ready for such changes to Saudi society.
“Just like we call on people to respect the laws of countries they travel to, people must also respect the laws of this country,”said Ibrahim al-Munayif, a Saudi writer, as cited by AP.
Other people ‘covered’ the woman’s bare legs via Photoshop.
المودل خلود تتجول بلباس فاضح في القرية الشعبية ب أشيقر
شاهد الفيديو بالتعليق الاول#مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلودِ#احبك_يمه_قدِpic.twitter.com/kaRdR0R04z — Faisal (@ffaisal35F) 17 июля 2017 г.
من أصدق الكلمات التي قيلت، وأصابت الحقوقيات والنسويات في كبد
"الجاهلة اذا قرأت عن الحرية خلعت ملابسها"#مطلوب_محاكمه_مودل_خلودpic.twitter.com/i6648yqMv9 — أ. دمنان الليبرالي (@DomnanLiberaly) 16 июля 2017 г.
One person superimposed the face of Ivanka Trump on the model.
The US president's daughter, along with Donald Trump's wife Melania, did not wear traditional attire during their recent visit to the country. They did not only escape punishment, but were feted, and social media users drew attention to what they saw as double standards, with stricter criteria applied to Saudi women.The Libertarian Party of Michigan is fielding of full congressional slate in 2008; 15 candidates for the House of Representatives and Scotty Boman for U.S. Senate. Today, all 16 issued a joint media release condemning the federal bailout of the financial system.
“These problems were caused by the Republican and Democratic politicians in DC and the Federal Reserve!” says Scotty Boman. “They created the government monopolies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They required them to insure no-money-down loans at artificially low rates to people without the ability to pay them back. They inflated the money supply, driving down interest rates, and artificially inflating home and asset values. Giving the same incompetent government regulators even more control over the market would be insane.”
Leonard Schwartz, US House candidate for Michigan’s 5th District expresses similar outrage. “These firms made loans, which is naturally a risky business. They made a lot of money on most of those loans. Now they want us to pay for the ones that went bad. This situation is the same as if a casino wanted to keep all the wagers they won, but wanted taxpayers to cover all their payouts.”
Daniel Grow, who’s running for Congress in Michigan’s vast 1st District (which includes the entire upper peninsula and a good 1/3 of the sparsley populated northern lower peninsula), says the banking industry is already over-regulated, with the SEC, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc. He fingers the Fed and efforts to expand home-ownership as the impetus for this crisis: “Loose monetary policy and efforts to expand home ownership caused this crisis, and further regulation will not fix anything,” Grow says. “Pumping in more money will at best only temporarily delay necessary adjustments, ultimately bringing a worse crisis, and is a thinly veiled effort to seek short-term political gain.”
“It’s us hard-working Americans who work, save to buy a home, and pay our bills who are being asked to mortgage not only our future, but our children’s and grandchildren’s future to pay for this,” adds CD-2 candidate, Dan Johnson. “We need to stop this now, and we need to elect a Libertarian Congress in November. Otherwise, we risk further federal manipulation of our economy, which will ultimately fail and drive us into a deeper and longer depression than will occur naturally without further manipulation. Should this bailout go through, we will have handed the inmates the keys to the asylum.”
As for an alternative, Scotty Boman offers the following: “The fastest way out of this mess is to free those hard-working Americans who have demonstrated they are responsible with their finances to continue to work hard, invest in our economy, and create jobs. Â We must not tax, regulate and penalize them to bail out those on Wall Street and Main Street who have demonstrated they are not responsible, and will likely do the same thing again, and expect yet another bail out.”In an op-ed in the Washington Post Wednesday, George Will made the argument that President Obama’s “grandiose claims” for his “presidential power are inversely proportional to his shriveling presidency.”
With a complicit media enabling him by failing to ask tough questions, Will observes that Obama’s presidency is marked by a “pantry of excuses for failure,” a “nonexistent domestic agenda,” a “foreign policy of empty rhetorical deadlines and red lines,” and, most recently on display, an offering of “inconvenience as a justification for illegality.”
Will was referring to Obama’s news conference last week, in which he explained his decision to unilaterally amend a law – his signature health reform law – with the statement, “I didn’t simply choose to” delay the employer mandate “on my own,” but in “consultation with businesses around the country… concerned about the operational details of changing their HR operations.”
According to Obama, as Will observes, there were some “better ways” to “tweak” the law, but due to a situation that the president described as “not in a normal atmosphere around here when it comes to ObamaCare,” it was apparently okay to say, “We did have the executive authority to do so, and we did so.”
Will notes, of course, that not one journalist asked, “Where does the Constitution confer upon presidents the ‘executive authority’ to ignore the separation of powers by revising laws?” The correct answer is “Nowhere.”
In addition, the Constitution does not provide for joint changes to federal laws by the executive branch and “businesses.” One might think a Constitutional law professor-turned president might know that.
But Obama has amended his signature legislation more than several times now. As Avik Roy has noted in Forbes:
First, there was the delay of Obamacare’s Medicare cuts until after the election. Then there was the delay of the law’s employer mandate. Then there was the announcement, buried in the Federal Register, that the administration would delay enforcement of a number of key eligibility requirements for the law’s health insurance subsidies, relying on the “honor system” instead. Now comes word that another costly provision of the health law–its caps on out-of-pocket insurance costs–will be delayed for one more year.
Not to mention the waivers to unions and other businesses, the fact that the administration has missed as many as one-third of the deadlines that are specified by the law itself, and the recent announcement that members of Congress and their staffs will have a special “fix” to the law so that their premiums won’t soar like they will for Americans who are less than elite.
As Politico described the White House’s urgency to make the “fix” for members of Congress:
There was a certain sense of urgency, too, since enrollment in the exchanges was set to begin Oct. 1. There were discussions of a legislative fix — attaching language to a must-pass bill to fix the problem. But that would’ve been too difficult in today’s paralyzed Washington. White House officials acknowledged that a fix was needed. But they knew that once they dealt with it through a regulation, some Republicans would use it against them – even though most of their party was privately obsessing over it.
Charles Krauthammer, like Will, is not convinced that Obama is merely acting as a pragmatic handy man as he “fixes” laws here and “tweaks” them there. In the Washington Post, he asks, “Can Obama Write His Own Laws?” Krauthammer writes:
Such gross executive usurpation disdains the Constitution. It mocks the separation of powers. And most consequentially, it introduces a fatal instability into law itself. If the law is not what is plainly written, but is whatever the president and his agents decide, what’s left of the law? The problem is not just uncertain enforcement but the undermining of the very creation of new law. What’s the point of the whole legislative process — of crafting various provisions through give-and-take negotiation — if you cannot rely on the fixity of the final product, on the assurance that the provisions bargained for by both sides will be carried out?
But what is the perception of Americans? Obama’s handling of dismissing the Constitution and making his own laws is to distance himself from the illegality of his actions. In his appeal to the uninformed masses – the very target of leftist populists – Obama says, “So where I can act on my own, I’m going to. I’m not going to wait for Congress.”
Of course, as many Americans have discovered, just about “everywhere” is where Obama believes he can act on his own.
What Obama has done is made lawlessness popular. He has made illegality “cool,” and he has made contempt for the Constitution an example of what is practical and what is simply a no-nonsense means to get around government “red tape.” His message is undoubtedly to “fundamentally transform” Americans’ perception of the Constitution: Our founding document is nothing more than government “red tape.”
And who among Americans does not hate government “red tape?” Despite the fact that liberal policies create much of the “red tape,” the left complains about it just as much as those on the right, when they have to deal with it. But Obama has turned his lawlessness into a pragmatic necessity that is “okay” because Congress is dysfunctional due to the conservative House Republicans. His manipulation of ill-informed Americans has been a classic example of Alinsky principles.
If we ask the question, “When is a law not a law?” The answer, apparently, is, “When Barack Obama is president.”Certainty, Complex Systems, and Unintended Consequences (February 14, 2014)
When it comes to complex systems and unintended consequences, the key phrase is "be careful what you wish for." A lot of people are remarkably certain that their understanding of how systems will respond in the future is correct. Alan Greenspan was certain there was no housing bubble in 2007, for example (or he did a great job acting certain). There is no shortage of people who are certain the U.S. dollar is doomed to collapse, but only after losing the reserve currency status. Other people are certain China can launch a gold-backed currency that will replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Some are certain the U.S. stock market is going to crash this year, while others are equally certain that stocks will continue lofting higher on central bank tailwinds. Being wrong about the way systems responded in the past doesn't seem to deter people from being certain about the future. Those who were certain there was no bubble in 2007-8 were wrong, and those (myself included) who saw the can being kicked down the road were wrong in not anticipating that global stocks would not just recover their pre-crash heights but go on to new nominal highs, based on the excellence of the can-kicking skills of central states and banks. Complex systems don't act in the linear way our minds tend to work. Humans are built to distill a chaotic array of sensory data into a narrative that simplifies decision-making and risk assessment (for example, "us good, them bad"). We prefer our chains of causality to have a few big links we can follow without difficulty. We find systems with multitudes of ambiguous inputs tiresome and so we invent ideologies ("us good, them bad") and very occasionally, elegant mathematical statements that reduce the chaos of data to predictable causal chains. We are built to cling very stubbornly to certainty once we reach a conclusion, because ambiguity and having to constantly change our assessments of inputs and causality are big drains on our energy and mental capabilities. It's "cheaper
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Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the dominions of the ancient Greeks.
The Greek quest began with the acquisition of Thessaly through the Convention of Constantinople in 1881, a failed war against Turkey in 1897 and the Balkan Wars (Macedonia, Epirus, some Aegean Islands). After World War I, Greece acquired Western Thrace from Bulgaria as per the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, but also Ionia/Smyrna and Eastern Thrace (excluding Constantinople) from the Ottoman Empire as ordained in the Treaty of Sèvres. Subsequently, Greece launched an unsuccessful campaign to further their gains in Asia Minor, but were halted by the Turkish revolution. The events culminated into the Great Fire of Smyrna, Population exchange between Greece and Turkey and Treaty of Lausanne (1923) which returned Eastern Thrace and Ionia to the newfound Turkish Republic. The events are known as the "Asia Minor Catastrophe" to Greeks. The Ionian Islands were ceded by Britain in 1864, and the Dodecanese by Italy in 1947.
Another concern of the Greeks is the incorporation of Cyprus which was ceded by the Ottomans to the British. As a result of the Cyprus Emergency the island gained independence as the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. The failed incorporation by Greece through coup d'état and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 led to the formation of the mostly unrecognized Northern Cyprus and has culminated into the present-day Cyprus issue.
The Aegean islands of Imbros and Tenedos which were not ceded to Greece over the course of the 20th century and where the dominant Greek community has faced persecution are also of concern.
Hungary [ edit ]
The restoration of the borders of Hungary to their state prior to World War I, in order to unite all ethnic Hungarians within the same country once again.
Ireland [ edit ]
Political map of Ireland, showing the state of Ireland and Northern Ireland
The Irish Free State achieved partial independence with a dominion status under the British Empire in 1922. This state did not include Northern Ireland, which comprised six counties in the north-east of the island of Ireland which remained in the United Kingdom. When the Constitution of Ireland was adopted in 1937 it provided that the name of the state is Ireland and this is considered the time that the Republic of Ireland became a fully fledged independent nation. In the constitution Articles 2 and 3 provided that "[t]he national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland", while stipulating that "[p]ending the re-integration of the national territory", the powers of the state were restricted to legislate only for the area which had formed part of the Irish Free State. Arising from the Northern Ireland peace process, the matter was mutually resolved as part of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Ireland's constitution was altered by referendum and its territorial claim to Northern Ireland was removed.
The amended constitution asserts that while it is the entitlement of "every person born in the island of Ireland … to be part of the Irish Nation" and to hold Irish citizenship, "a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island". A North/South Ministerial Council was created between the two jurisdictions and given executive authority. The advisory and consultative role of the government of Ireland in the government of Northern Ireland granted by the United Kingdom, that had begun with the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, was maintained, although that Agreement itself was ended. The two states also settled the long-running dispute concerning their respective names: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with both governments agreeing to use those names.
Under the Irish republican theory of legitimism, the Irish Republic declared in 1916 was in existence from then on, denying the legitimacy of either the state of Ireland or the position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. Through much of its history, this was the position of Sinn Féin; however, it effectively abandoned this stance after accepting the Good Friday Agreement. Small groups which split from Sinn Féin continue to adopt this stance, including Republican Sinn Féin, linked with the Continuity IRA, and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, linked with the Real IRA.
Italy [ edit ]
Italian territory claims by Italian irredentism activists in the 1930s.
Italy's territorial claims were on the basis of re-establishing a Romanesque Empire, a fourth shore according to the concept of Mare Nostrum (Latin for 'Our Sea') and traditional ethnic borders. Evident in Italy's rapid takeover of surrounding territories under Fascist leader Benito Mussolini and claims following the collapsed 1915 Treaty of London and 1919 Treaty of Versailles which established feelings of betrayal. Mussolini and Hitler's similarities including a joint hatred towards the French and wanting to expand their territories brought the two leaders together, solidified in the Pact of Steel and later WW2. By 1942 Italy had conquered Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia), Libya, much of Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya and Somalia. And – on the European continent – Istria, Dalmatia, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, the Spanish island of Majorca and France's Corsica; Malta was also bombed. Underlying tensions remained with France, over its territories of Corsica, Nice and Savoy.
Macedonia [ edit ]
Some Macedonian nationalists promoted the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia (Macedonian: Обединета Македонија, translit. Obedineta Makedonija) among ethnic Macedonian nationalists, which involves territorial claims on the northern province of Macedonia in Greece, but also in Blagoevgrad Province ("Pirin Macedonia") in Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia. The United Macedonia concept aims to unify the transnational region of Macedonia in the Balkans (which they claim as their homeland and which they assert was wrongfully divided under the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913), into a single state under Macedonian domination, with the Greek city of Thessaloniki (Solun in the Slavic languages) as its capital.[34][35]
Norway [ edit ]
The Kingdom of Norway maintains some claim to territories lost at the dissolution of the Denmark–Norway union.[citation needed] The Old Kingdom of Norway, which was the Norwegian territories at its maximum extent, included Iceland, the settleable areas of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Northern Isles (today part of Scotland). Under Danish sovereignty since they established a hegemonic position in the Kalmar Union, the territories were considered as Norwegian colonies. When in the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Norway's territories were transferred from Denmark to Sweden, the territories of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands were maintained by Denmark.
In 1919, Norway declared sovereignty over an area in Eastern Greenland in the Ihlen Declaration, which led to a dispute with Denmark that was not settled until 1933, by the Permanent Court of International Justice. Norway formerly included the provinces Jämtland, Härjedalen, Idre-Särna (lost since the Second Treaty of Brömsebro), and Bohuslän (lost since the Treaty of Roskilde), which were ceded to Sweden after Danish defeats in wars such as the Thirty Years' War and Second Northern War.
Poland [ edit ]
Kresy ("Borderlands") are the eastern lands that formerly belonged to Poland. In 1921, Polish troops crossed the Curzon Line, the border between ethnic Polish and ethnic Ukrainian and Belorussian territories, and seized large Ukrainian and Belorussian territories, and also seized 7 percent of Lithuania's territory in 1920. These territories were re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939 under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and include major cities, like Lviv (Ukraine), Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania), and Hrodna (Belarus). Even though Kresy, or the Eastern Borderlands, are no longer Polish territories, the area is still inhabited by a significant Polish minority, and the memory of the Polish Kresy is still cultivated. The attachment to the "myth of Kresy", the vision of the region as a peaceful, idyllic, rural land, has been criticized in Polish discourse.[36]
In January, February and March 2012, the Centre for Public Opinion Research conducted a survey, asking Poles about their ties to the Kresy. It turned out that almost 15% of the population of Poland (4.3–4.6 million people) declared that they had either been born in the Kresy, or had a parent or a grandparent who came from that region. Numerous treasures of Polish culture remain and there are numerous Kresy-oriented organizations. There are Polish sports clubs (Pogoń Lwów, FK Polonia Vilnius), newspapers (Gazeta Lwowska, Kurier Wileński), radio stations (in Lviv and Vilnius), numerous theatres, schools, choirs and folk ensembles. Poles living in Kresy are helped by Fundacja Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie, a Polish government-sponsored organization, as well as other organizations, such as The Association of Help of Poles in the East Kresy (see also Karta Polaka). Money is frequently collected to help those Poles who live in the Kresy, and there are several annual events, such as a Christmas Package for a Polish Veteran in Kresy, and Summer with Poland, sponsored by the Association "Polish Community", in which Polish children from Kresy are invited to visit Poland.[37] Polish language handbooks and films, as well as medicines and clothes are collected and sent to Kresy. Books are most often sent to Polish schools which exist there—for example, in December 2010, The University of Wrocław organized an event called Become a Polish Santa Claus and Give a Book to a Polish Child in Kresy.[38] Polish churches and cemeteries (such as Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów) are renovated with money from Poland.
Portugal [ edit ]
Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza, ceded to Spain during the Napoleonic Wars.[39] Since the Rexurdimento of the mid-nineteenth century, there has been an intellectual movement pleading for the reintegration between Portugal and the region of Galicia. Although this movement has become increasingly popular on both sides of the border, there is no consensus in regard to the nature of such reintegration: whether political, socio-cultural or merely linguistic.
Romania [ edit ]
Romania lays claims to Greater Romania, which include Bessarabia and Bucovina as Moldova, since they were parts of Romania between 1918 and 1940, and are still inhabited for the most by Romanians. Moldovans are ethnically Romanians, and the Moldovan language is the Soviet name for the Romanian language. There is some (but not universal) support by Moldovans for a peaceful and voluntary reunion with Romania, not least because (having joined the European Union), the economy has burgeoned and Romanian citizens have gained freedom of movement in Europe. Also Russian irredentism in Transnistria has caused alarm and resentment.
Russia [ edit ]
Crimea, which is under Russian control, is shown in pink. Pink in the Donbass area represents areas held by pro-Russian separatists in September 2014
The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 was based on a claim of protecting ethnic Russians residing there. Crimea was part of the Russian Empire from 1783 to 1917, after which it enjoyed a few years of autonomy until it was made part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (which was a part of the Soviet Union) from 1921 to 1954 and then transferred to Soviet Ukraine (which also was a part of the Soviet Union) in 1954. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Crimea still remained part of Ukraine until February 2014. Russia declared Crimea to be part of the Russian Federation in March 2014, and effective administration commenced. The Russian regional status is not currently recognised by the UN General Assembly and by many countries.
Russian irredentism also includes southeastern and coastal Ukraine, known as Novorossiya, a term from the Russian Empire.
Serbia [ edit ]
The distribution of Serbs and Montenegrins in Yugoslavia (except Macedonia and Slovenia) in 1981.
Serbian irredentism is manifested in "Greater Serbia". Used in the context of the Yugoslav wars, however, the Serbian struggle for Serbs to remain united in one country does not quite fit the term "irredentism".[40] In the 19th century, Pan-Serbism sought to unite all of the Serb people across the Balkans, under Ottoman and Habsburg rule. Some intellectuals sought to unite all South Slavs (regardless of religion) into a Serbian state. Serbia had gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by the Austrians in 1908, was viewed of as a part of the Serbian homeland. Serbia directed its territorial aspirations to the south, as the north and west was held by Austria. Macedonia was divided between Serbia and Greece after the Balkan Wars.
In 1914, aspirations were directed towards Austria-Hungary. A government policy sought to incorporate all Serb-inhabited areas, and other South Slavic areas, thereby laying the foundation of Yugoslavia.[41] With the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), the Serbs now lived united in one country.[40] During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Serb political leadership in break-away Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declared their territories to be part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
The project of unification of Serb-inhabited areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars (see United Serb Republic) ultimately failed. The Croatian Operation Storm ended large-scale combat and captured most of the Republic of Serbian Krajina forcing almost complete Serbian population to leave their centuries-old homeland, while the Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War. Bosnia and Herzegovina was established as a federal republic, made up by two separate entities, one being Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska. There has since been calls by Bosnian Serb politicians for the secession of Republika Srpska, and possible unification with Serbia.
After the Kosovo War (1998–99), Kosovo became a UN protectorate, still de jure part of Serbia. The Albanian-majority Kosovo assembly unilaterally declared the independence of Kosovo in 2008, and its status is since disputed.
Spain [ edit ]
Spain maintains a claim on Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, which has been British since the 18th Century.
Gibraltar was captured in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). The Kingdom of Spain formally ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown in 1713, under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain's territorial claim was formally reasserted by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in the 1960s and has been continued by successive Spanish governments. In 2002 an agreement in principle on joint sovereignty over Gibraltar between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain was decisively rejected in a referendum. The British Government now refuses to discuss sovereignty without the consent of the Gibraltarians.[42]
Western Asia [ edit ]
Caucasus [ edit ]
Irredentism is acute in the Caucasus region. The Nagorno-Karabakh movement's original slogan of miatsum ('union') was explicitly oriented towards re-unification with Armenia as to the pre-Soviet status, feeding an Azerbaijani understanding of the conflict as a bilateral one between itself and an irredentist Armenia.[43][44][45][46][47] According to Prof. Thomas Ambrosio, "Armenia's successful irredentist project in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan" and "From 1992 to the cease-fire in 1994, Armenia encountered a highly permissive or tolerant international environment that allowed its annexation of some 15 percent of Azerbaijani territory".[48]
In the view of Nadia Milanova, Nagorno-Karabakh represents a combination of separatism and irredentism.[49] However, the area has historically been Armenian, known as the Kingdom of Artsakh or Khachen. When the Caucuses came under the rule of the Soviet Union, the land was given to Azerbaijan abruptly and arbitrarily due to pressure by Joseph Stalin, along with the ancient Armenian lands of Nakhichevan, to appease Turkey during 1919-1921. Azerbaijan's irredentism, on the other hand, is quite explicit in official statements of the Azerbaijani officials by claiming the UN member-state Republic of Armenia as Azerbaijani territory despite the absence of historical evidence of Azerbaijan existing as a separate state up until 1918. On his official meeting in Gyanja on 21 January 2014, President Ilham Aliyev said, "The present-day Armenia is actually located on historical lands of Azerbaijan. Therefore, we will return to all our historical lands in the future. This should be known to young people and children. We must live, we live and we will continue to live with this idea."[50]
Assyria [ edit ]
The Assyrian homeland is a geographic and cultural region situated in Northern Mesopotamia that has been traditionally inhabited by Assyrian people. The area with the greatest concentration of Assyrians on earth is located in the Assyrian homeland, or the Assyrian Triangle, a region which comprises the Nineveh plains, southern Hakkari and the Barwari regions.[51] This is where some Assyrian groups seek to create an independent nation state.[52] The land roughly mirrors the boundaries of ancient Assyria proper, and the later Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid provinces of Assyria (Athura/Assuristan) that was extant between the 25th century BC and 7th century AD.[53]
Azerbaijan [ edit ]
Whole Azerbaijan is a concept of the political and historical union of territories currently and historically inhabited by Azerbaijanis or historically controlled by them.[54] Western Azerbaijan is an irredentist political concept that is used in Azerbaijan mostly to refer to Armenia. Azerbaijani statements claim that the territory of the modern Armenian republic were lands that once belonged to Azerbaijanis.[55]
Iran [ edit ]
Pan-Iranism is an ideology that advocates solidarity and reunification of Iranian peoples living in the Iranian plateau and other regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence, including the Persians, Azerbaijanis, Ossetians, Kurds, Zazas, Tajiks of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the Pashtuns and the Baloch of Pakistan. The first theoretician was Dr Mahmoud Afshar Yazdi.[56][57][58][59][60][61]
The ideology of pan-Iranism is most often used in conjunction with the idea of forming a Greater Iran, which refers to the regions of the Caucasus, West Asia, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia that have significant Iranian cultural influence due to having been either long historically ruled by the various Iranian (Persian) empires (such as those of the Medes, Achaemenids, Parthians, Sassanians, Samanids, Timurids, Safavids, and Afsharids and the Qajar Empire),[62][63][64] having considerable aspects of Persian culture in their own culture due to extensive contact with the various Empires based in Persia (e.g., those regions and peoples in the North Caucasus that were not under direct Iranian rule), or are simply nowadays still inhabited by a significant amount of Iranic-speaking people who patronize their respective cultures (as it goes for the western parts of South Asia, Bahrain and China). It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains.[65][66] It is also referred to as Greater Persia,[67][68][69] while the Encyclopædia Iranica uses the term Iranian Cultural Continent.[70]
Iraq [ edit ]
Saddam Hussein's Iraq aimed to annex Khuzestan Province of Iran during the Iran–Iraq War due to the Arab population living there.
Lebanon [ edit ]
The Lebanese nationalism incorporates irredentist views seeking to unify all the lands of ancient Phoenicia around present day Lebanon.[71] This comes from the fact that present day Lebanon, the Mediterranean coast of Syria, and northern Israel is the area that roughly corresponds to ancient Phoenicia and as a result the majority of the Lebanese people identify with the ancient Phoenician population of that region.[72] The proposed Greater Lebanese country includes Lebanon, Mediterranean coast of Syria, and northern Israel.
Syria [ edit ]
The French Mandate of Syria handed over the Sanjak of Alexandretta to Turkey which turned it into Hatay Province. Syria disputes this and still regards the region as belonging to Syria.
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which operates in Lebanon and Syria, works for the unification of most modern states of the Levant and beyond in a single state referred to as Greater Syria.[73] The proposed Syrian country includes Israel, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Turkey, and has at times been expanded to include Iraq, Cyprus, and the Sinai peninsula.
Turkey [ edit ]
Misak-ı Millî is the set of six important decisions made by the last term of the Ottoman Parliament. Parliament met on 28 January 1920 and published their decisions on 12 February 1920. These decisions worried the occupying Allies, resulting in the Occupation of Constantinople by the British, French and Italian troops on 16 March 1920 and the establishment of a new Turkish nationalist parliament, the Grand National Assembly, in Ankara.
The Ottoman Minister of Internal Affairs, Damat Ferid Pasha, made the opening speech of parliament due to Mehmed VI's illness. A group of parliamentarians called Felâh-ı Vatan was established by Mustafa Kemal's friends to acknowledge the decisions taken at the Erzurum Congress and the Sivas Congress. Mustafa Kemal said "It is the nation's iron fist that writes the Nation's Oath which is the main principle of our independence to the annals of history." Decisions taken by this parliament were used as the basis for the new Turkish Republic's claims in the Treaty of Lausanne.[citation needed]
United Arab Emirates [ edit ]
The Greater and Lesser Tunbs are disputed by the United Arab Emirates against Iran.
Yemen [ edit ]
Greater Yemen is a theory giving Yemen claim to former territories that were held by various predecessor states that existed between the Himyarite period and 18th century. The areas claimed include parts of modern Saudi Arabia and Oman.
East Asia [ edit ]
China [ edit ]
When Hong Kong and Macau were British and Portuguese territories, respectively, China considered these two territories to be Chinese territories under British and Portuguese administration. Therefore, Hong Kong people and Macau people descended from Chinese immigrants were entitled to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport or Macao Special Administrative Region passport after the two territories became the special administrative regions.
Japan [ edit ]
Japan claims the two southernmost islands of the Russian-administered Kuril Islands, the island chain north of Hokkaido, annexed by the Soviet Union following World War II. Japan also claims the South Korean-administered Liancourt Rocks, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and have been claimed since the end of the Second World War.
Korea [ edit ]
The 1909 Gando Convention addressed a territory dispute between China and Joseon Korea in China's favour. Both Korean states now accept the convention border as an administrative boundary. However, because the convention was made by the occupying Empire of Japan, South Korea has disputed its legality and some Koreans claim that Korea extends into de facto PRC territory, viz. Dandong and Liaoning. The most ambitious claims include all parts of Manchuria that the Goguryeo kingdom controlled.
Mongolia [ edit ]
The irredentist idea that advocates cultural and political solidarity of Mongols. The proposed territory usually includes the independent state of Mongolia, the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia (Southern Mongolia) and Dzungaria (in Xinjiang), and the Russian subjects of Buryatia. Sometimes Tuva and the Altai Republic are included as well.
South Asia [ edit ]
South Asia too is another region in which armed irredentist movements have been active for almost a century, in North-East India, Burma and Bangladesh.[dubious – discuss][clarification needed] Most prominent amongst them are the Naga fight for Greater Nagaland, the Chin struggle for a unified Chinland, the Sri Lankan Tamil struggle for a return of their state under Tamil Eelam and other self-determinist movements by the ethnic indigenous peoples of the erstwhile Assam both under the British and post-British Assam under India.[citation needed] Other such movements include Beḻagāva border dispute on Maharashtra and Karnataka border with intentions to unite all Marathi speaking people under one state since the formation of the Karnataka state and dissolution of the bilingual Bombay state.
Bangladesh [ edit ]
Greater Bangladesh is an assumption of several Indian intellectuals that the neighbouring country of Bangladesh has an aspiration to unite all Bengali dominated regions under their flag. These include the states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam as well as the Andaman Islands which are currently part of India and the Burmese State of Rakhine. The theory is principally based on a widespread belief amongst Indian masses that a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants reside in Indian territory. It is alleged that illegal immigration is actively encouraged by some political groups in Bangladesh as well as the state of Bangladesh to convert large parts of India's northeastern states and West Bengal into Muslim-majority areas that would subsequently seek to separate from India and join Muslim-majority Bangladesh.[citation needed]
Scholars have reflected that under the guise of anti-Bangladeshi immigrant movement it is actually an anti-Muslim agenda pointed towards Bangladeshi Muslims by false propaganda and widely exaggerated claims on immigrant population. In 1998, Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, then the Governor of Assam, claimed that massive illegal immigration from Bangladesh was directly linked with "the long-cherished design of Greater Bangladesh".[citation needed]
India [ edit ]
The call for creation of Akhanda Bharata or Akhand Hindustan has on occasion been raised by some Indian right wing Hindutvadi cultural and political organisations, such as the Hindu Mahasabha, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[21][22][23][74] The name of one organisation sharing this goal, the Akhand Hindustan Morcha, bears the term in its name.[75] Other major Indian non-sectarian political parties, such as the Indian National Congress, maintain a position against the partition of India on religious grounds and do not subscribe to a call for Akhand Bharat.
Nepal [ edit ]
Greater Nepal involves the incorporation of the territories won by the Kingdom of Nepal at it greatest extent back to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
Pakistan [ edit ]
Pakistani irredentism involves the incorporations of Muslim majority lands of British India under Pakistan. This is most notable in the conflict in the Jammu and Kashmir state, a Muslim majority state in India.
Africa [ edit ]
Irredentism is commonplace in Africa due to the political boundaries of former European colonial nation-states passing through ethnic boundaries, and recent declarations of independence after civil war. For example, some Ethiopian nationalist circles still claim the former Ethiopian province of Eritrea (internationally recognized as the independent State of Eritrea in 1993 after a 30-year civil war).
North Africa [ edit ]
In North Africa, the prime examples of irredentism are the concepts of Greater Morocco and Greater Mauritania.[76] While Mauritania has since relinquished any claims to territories outside its internationally recognized borders, Morocco continues to occupy much of Western Sahara, which it refers to as its "Southern Provinces".
Somalia [ edit ]
Estimated ethnic Somali territory in relation to neighbouring countries.The area is roughly coextensive with Greater Somalia
Greater Somalia refers to the region in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis are and have historically represented the predominant population. The territory encompasses The Republic of Somalia, the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya and southern and eastern Djibouti. Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia has seen military and civic movements seeking to make it part of Somalia. This culminated in the 1977–78 Ogaden War between the two neighbours where the Somali military offensive between July 1977 and March 1978 over the disputed Ethiopian region Ogaden ended when the Somali Armed Forces retreated back across the border and a truce was declared. The Kenyan Northern Frontier District also saw conflict during the Shifta War (1963–1967) when a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Lamu, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties (all except Lamu formed part of the former North Eastern Province, abolished in 2013), attempted to join with their fellow Somalis in a "Greater Somalia". There has been no similar conflicts in Djibouti, which was previously known as the "French Somaliland" during colonisation. Here the apparent struggles for unification manifested itself in political strife that ended when in a referendum to join France as opposed to the Somali Republic succeeded among rumours of widespread vote rigging.[77] and the subsequent death of Somali nationalist Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council, who was killed in a plane crash two years later under suspicious circumstances.[78] Some sources say that Somalia has also laid a claim to the Socotra archipelago, which is currently governed by Yemen.
North America [ edit ]
Mexico [ edit ]
In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) following the Mexican–American War (1845–48), Mexico ceded claims to what is now the Western and Southwestern United States to the United States (see Mexican Cession). The Cortina and Pizaña uprisings of 1859 and 1915 were influenced by irredentist ideas and the "proximity of the international boundary".[79] The unsuccessful Pizaña uprising "was the last major armed protest on the part of Texas-Americans" (Tejanos).[80] This 1915 uprising and the Plan of San Diego that preceded it marked the high point in Mexican irredentist sentiments.[81][82]
In the early years of the Chicano Movement (El Movimiento) in the 1960s and 1970s, some movement figures "were political nationalists who advocated the secession of the Southwest from the Anglo republic of the United States of America, if not fully, at least locally with regard to Chicano self-determination in local governance, education and means of production".[83] For example, in the 1970s, Reies Tijerina and his group La Alianza, espoused various separatist, secessionist, or irredentist beliefs.[84] The Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, written during the First Chicano National Youth Conference in 1969, also stated "the fundamental Chicano nationalist goal of reclaiming Aztlán"—a reference to ancient Mexican myth—as "the rightful homeland of the Chicanos".[83] However, "Most Chicano nationalists... did not express the extreme desire for secession from the United States, and the nationalism they expressed weighed more heavily toward the broadly cultural than the explicitly political."[83]
Today, there is virtually no Mexican-American support for "separatist policies of self-determination".[85] "Ethnonational irredentism by Mexicans in territories seized by the United States" following the Mexican–American War "declined after the failure of several attempted revolts at the end of the nineteenth century, in favor of internal... struggles for immigrant and racial civil rights" in the United States.[86] Neither the Mexican government nor any significant Mexican-American group "makes irredentist claims upon the United States".[87] In the modern era, there "has been no evidence of irredentist sentiments among Mexican-Americans, even in such formerly Mexican territories as Southern California,... nor of disloyalty to the United States, nor of active interest in the politics of Mexico".[88]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]According to the latest report on the implementation of the RH law, the education department has not yet developed the minimum standards of comprehensive sexuality education that schools should comply with
Published 9:50 AM, July 09, 2016
MANILA, Philippines – Comprehensive sexual education (CSE), a "critical piece" of the reproductive health (RH) law, still "leaves something to be desired," according to the country representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to the Philippines.
"I think the emphasis from the highest level of government to really implement comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a critical piece because that means that it drives how everyone who works within the bureaucracy is able to act, and that was missing in the past," Klaus Beck told Rappler after a press conference on Thursday, July 7.
While the RH bill was finally enacted under the Aquino administration, its implementation was delayed by legal questions raised by its critics before the Supreme Court.
It took the High Court two years to declare the law constitutional. The health department started fully implementing it months after. (READ: Meeting RH-related SDG targets: 'Work must start from Day 1')
Status
But the latest report on the implementation of the RH law revealed the Department of Education (DepEd) has not yet developed the minimum standards of comprehensive sexuality education that schools and other learning facilities should comply with.
"DepEd has already included CSE in its K to 12 curriculum although it has not yet adopted the CSE standards developed by a panel of experts in consultation with teachers, parents, RH providers, and the adolescents themselves. Teachers have yet to be trained on how best to deliver age-specific CSE within the K to 12 curriculum," the report read.
Citing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report said a scientifically-accurate, culturally and age-appropriate, gender sensitive and life skills-based CSE reduces risky behavior among young people who are sexually active.
The report cited the 5-year module on sexuality education developed by the Cavite provincial health office and the Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines, which was based on K to 12 health competency requirements.
Private midwives demonstrated the use of the module during the Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health subject in 5 public high schools.
"Panel survey results that the intervention significantly increased adolescents' willingness to talk about sex-related matters with responsible adults," the report said, adding that a number of local government units (LGUs) have already started using the module.
'Nothing irreligous' about sex ed
Beck on Thursday debunked again the misconception that young people have more sex when they learn about sexual education in schools.
"Studies clearly show that's not the case….It does not promote sex, but helps delay sex. They can do it much more responsibly – that's the key difference there."
National Economic and Development Authority chief Ernesto Pernia said the Duterte administration will go "full speed ahead" in implementing sexuality education in the country as it is "one sure way" to reduce teenage pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies. (READ: To avoid RH law delays, economic planning chief proposes Duterte EO)
"The problem with sexuality, it's a turn off for a religious country like the Philippines, but there's really nothing irreligious...ungodly about it," Pernia explained.
"In fact, it's very godly, because I think God does not want couples to have more children than they can afford because...improving their lives, achieving dignified and self-fulfilling lives, is going to be impossible for many of these children who are not properly planned by the parents."
Beck said LGUs should also provide a "supportive environment" that will make teaching easier for schools.
He said the government should now look at sexuality education in the curriculum and determine whether it is delivering the intended effects.
The government, he said, should also check whether there is enough funding for teacher training, since "teaching sexuality is not easy for anyone, including parents."
"Is it really happening? I don't think we have a very good sense of that, but our assumption would be that given we're seeing increase in teenage pregnancy, there is something that is not working well, because if it was working well, we would probably see the result. That's why we need to look more carefully at this particular piece," Beck told Rappler. – Rappler.comSometimes the old ways work best. That assumption, or at least the assumption that the most centuries-tested techniques can still produce interesting results, underpins many of the Art Institute of Chicago's Launchpad videos. The series, designed to give visitors context for the artifacts they see there, reveals the process behind the product, and some new products may come out of some very old processes indeed. In the case of the video at the top, we see the creation of an ancient Greek vase — or, rather, a new vase, created as the ancient Greeks did — from the clay purification to the kneading to the shaping to the illustration to the firing.
Just above, you can watch the ancient "free-blown technique" of glassmaking in action. Invented around 40 B.C., glass-blowing gave the glassmakers of the day a faster, cheaper, more controllable way to work, which enabled them to produce for a larger market than ever before. If you'd like to learn more about the method it displaced, the Art Institute also has a video demonstrating the older "core-formed" glassmaking technique. Pottery and glassware have an appealing practicality, and first-rate artisans of those forms could no doubt make a good deal of money, but how did the money itself come into being? The Launchpad video on coin production in Ancient Greece, below, sheds light on minting in antiquity. Serious artistically inclined numismatists will, of course, want to follow it up with its companion piece on coin production in the Roman world.
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Colin Marshall hosts and produces Notebook on Cities and Culture and writes essays on literature, film, cities, Asia, and aesthetics. He’s at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles
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about Smith possibly missing open targets. "Sometimes people see something and that might not be the primary receiver and so it might not even be in that part of the progression and read. There's a lot of things that go into it. The thing I can do is stand before you and tell you that this isn't an Alex Smith thing, it's all of us. I know our players understand that and coaches. So we're all going to do better and raise our game up."
With the Chiefs remaining in first place in the AFC West, Reid won't make the panicked switch to rookie Patrick Mahomes. The hand-wringing in K.C., however, underscores the reasons the first-round rookie was drafted in the first place.Two initiatives will provide information for journalists as elections bring strong sceptic presence to new Congress
Hundreds of scientists have signed up to two new campaigns that seek to regain control of the message about climate science.
The two separate efforts come barely a week after midterm elections produced a new Congress that tilts strongly towards climate sceptics.
The American Geophysical Union (AGU), the leading climate science organisation, is due to launch a new web service offering journalists accurate scientific information about climate change. The AGU is also working on an iPhone app.
In a separate effort, scientists have recruited 40 colleagues for a "rapid response unit" whose members will give interviews or go on air to relay the science on climate change.
Those involved in both initiatives deny a political agenda, and say their projects were in the works before the Republicans took the house of representatives.
"AGU's climate science Q&A service addresses scientific questions only. It does not involve any commentary on policy," Peter Weiss a spokesman for the AGU said. "There is no campaign by AGU against climate sceptics or congressional conservatives."
But with the new conservative majority in Congress threatening to investigate climate scientists and to block the Obama administration from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, the effort will inevitably touch on politics, said John Abraham of St Thomas University in Minnesota.
"Our goal is not to become partisan. But if we are going to respond to denialists' claims which are unfounded in science then perhaps we are going to be viewed as going toe-to-toe with critics," he said.
The AGU initiative is a re-run of the service offered last year in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate change summit. This year, the project, which will be staffed by about 700 volunteers, is intended to run for two to three months.
The effort is a reflection of the enormous complexity of climate science and the difficulties of communicating with the public, said Katharine Hayhoe, a professor at Texas Tech University who is on the committee steering the AGU effort.
"You can't be an expert in one area and be able to understand all of climate science. It is such a complicated topic nowadays," she said. "What the AGU is trying to do, because it is the premier scientific organisation in this field, is to translate the very latest science into terms people can understand."
It is also an effort to overcome scientists' traditional reluctance to operate in the public arena.
Abraham set up the rapid response unit with Scott Mandia of Suffolk County Community College in New York, and Ray Weymann of Carnegie University. The three say they will serve as a conduit for media seeking contact with climate experts.
"The scientists I talk to are really scared. We are scared because we see a window for opportunity closing and it may be too late. I am not going to say the window is closing because of the election though. It's a physics problem," Abraham said. He has previously countered inaccuracies in lectures and congressional testimony from the Ukip deputy leader, Viscount Monckton.
News of the initiatives, first reported in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday, brought strong reaction from climate sceptic websites. "Bring it on!" said Climate Depot.
Democrats, especially those from coal states or the midwest, who voted for climate change bill in the house lost heavily in the elections. A majority of the Republican newcomers deny the existence of man-made climate change or oppose regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, according to an analysis by Think Progress.
The new make-up of Congress has alarmed climate scientists such as Michael Mann, who have been targeted by sceptics. "There are legitimate uncertainties," Mann told a meeting of science writers at the weekend, "but unfortunately the public discourse right now is so far from scientific discourse."The General AI Challenge is made up of multiple rounds, each designed to tackle a crucial research problem in human-level AI development. GoodAI will give out $5mil in prize money over the following years.
WHY GENERAL AI?
The working AI solutions available today constitute the so-called narrow AI landscape, meaning that they have been designed, trained, and optimized by human engineers to achieve a single, specific task. Although such algorithms sometimes outperform humans in their established skillset, they are not able to extend their capabilities to new domains. This limits their reusability, increases the amount of data required to train them, and leaves them lacking generality and unable to develop common sense.
In contrast, general AI will be capable of overcoming these limitations. Thanks to a human-level skillset, general AI will be able to learn and come up with creative solutions for a range of multi-domain tasks.
We see general AI as the ultimate leverage in solving humanity’s direst problems and becoming better humans.The Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was built gradually – building on top of building – over time. Without a single architect, the ungoverned and most densely populated district became a haven for drugs, crime and prostitution until it was demolished in 1993. Photo documentation of the site exists but for a real taste of what the grimy city was like, head to Japan.
Just minutes from Kawasaki Station there is a large building – an amusement park of sorts – that was modelled after the infamous location. “Admittedly, on entering the building it doesn’t quite feel like one has been transported back to an ungovernable settlement that’s home to more than 30,000 people,” says Tokyo-based photographer Lee Chapman, who recently paid a visit to the Warehouse Kawasaki. “Yet at the same time, it does feel like a world away from a regular game centre.”
The attention to detail in recreating the dirt and grime, which is in fact perfectly clean, puts even Disney Land to shame.
In Japan, theme parks and arcades modeled after retro environments are big business. There’s the Ikebukuro Namja Town, J-World Tokyo and Ramen Museum, just to name a few. But by far one of the most impressive is this Kawasaki location of Warehouse, a major operator of theme parks across Japan.The big picture
For Kris, the research conducted by the six chairs he’s funded at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and IISc, CBR, the Kolar project, and the Genome India initiative are all part of a bigger game plan. Each of them will form building blocks for understanding ageing-related disorders in India and over the next few decades, hopefully, help develop solutions to manage them better, delay the onset of dementia.
While CBR and the Genome India project will ensure there’s India specific big data available for advanced research, the six chairs – three each at IISc and IIT Madras – will run deep research projects, participate in shaping global understanding, and come up with potential solutions and products. Most importantly, the chairs will help develop a specialised pool of local talent in the areas of brain research in India.
“In my lifetime if we create a large, world class research facility, that’s a first step. Nobody has found a cure for Alzheimer’s for the past 100 years, right? I don’t want to say that we are going to find it in the next five years, but I don’t know…,” he says. “This is a long shot.”
Is there a personal reason that drives Kris so much into brain research that he’s signed out some Rs 300 crore (this includes the Rs 10-crore each research chairs)? For instance, Google co-founder Sergery Brin had donated $50 million in 2009 to find a cure for Parkinson’s after discovering that he carried a genetic mutation that sharply increased his risk of developing the neurological disease.
There’s nothing personal in this for Kris, say people who have spent time with him. His passion is brain science and possibilities research around it throws up.
Biocon’s Mazumdar-Shaw says her home city Bengaluru’s “fusion approach to Bio-IT will make this study path-breaking”. Bio-IT, as in biology-information technology. She adds: “Moreover, knowing Kris’s attention to detail, he will drive digital discipline in this study to make it as significant as the Framingham Heart Study. The fact that this study is being designed very thoughtfully to leverage digital devices at an individual level makes it that more comprehensive and more sophisticated.”
Mazumdar-Shaw has been an independent director on the Infosys board since January 2014. Kris stepped down as executive vice-chairman of the company that October.
B N Gangadhar, the director of NIMHANS, India’s premier neurosciences education, research and medical institute, has realistic expectations with regard to outcomes and the time it will take. He believes while the first decade will deliver only optimal results, the real definitive answers will take much longer to come by.
“The richness of data will keep getting better,” says Dr Gangadhar, whose doctorate is in yoga and mental health.
PHFI’s Dr Reddy says the biggest challenge before the Srinivasapura project is to ensure that those recruited as part of the cohort stay and stay till they die. "It will affect the ongoing study otherwise. Repeat visits, year after year is going to be crucial," he says.
At Dalasanur, for now, Seethamma and others are oblivious to the project’s grand, world changing ambitions. What’s attracting them now is a host of benefits, including the cash reward. “Free health checkup and money sounds good,” she says through a translator.
(A version of this story ran in the print edition of Mint newspaper on November 27.)Vaping emerged as one the biggest trends in 2015 and it has taken the world by storm. Vaping is the process of inhaling vapours of an e liquid through a vaporizer. E liquid produces an aerosol when heated over 100 degrees Celsius, and this aerosol is inhaled by the user and produces a feeling similar to that produced by tobacco minus its adverse effect. A lot of vapeshops have mushroomed all across the globe as a result of vaping being one of the biggest trends of 2015.
E cigarettes were invented by a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Li in 2003. Hon Li was looking for a rather safer way to inhale nicotine as opposed to commonly practiced way of smoking cigarettes. He came up with a technique of using high frequency ultrasound emitting element to vaporize a stream of liquid consisting of nicotine. This stream when inhaled by user would produce the same effect that a regular cigarette would. But the modern e cigars that we see at vapeshops today employ a battery powered heating element to vaporize the liquid instead of a complicated high frequency ultrasound producing mechanism.
If you are one of those people who want to quit smoking but have not been able to do so, you can try vaping as a substitute. In UK, smoking is quite rampant but thanks to vaping there has been a significant cutback in the number of tobacco smokers. A lot of vape shops in UK have come up, that sell different kinds of e cigarettes and different flavours of e liquids. There was a time when hookah smoking was gaining popularity but it was highly criticized by everyone including the government as there was hardly any way to regulate that practice. But vape shops in UK are licensed to sell the products and this practice has been closely observed by experts. As a safe practice it is highly recommended to buy e cigars from a vapeshop that licenced to do so. Make sure to do ample research before you take up this habit as user discretion is highly advised.It’s May Day, and a rambunctious crowd of well-dressed people, many carrying blue and yellow parasols, has pushed into a Ford dealership just north of Chongqing, China. Mist from a car wash catches the sun, and I watch a man in a striped shirt poke at the gleaming engine of a midsize Mondeo while his wife sits in the driver’s seat and turns the wheel. Overhead, a giant banner of a Mustang painted Communist Party red ripples in the spring breeze.
At the showroom door, I am greeted by three saleswomen who smile and stare, clearly shocked to see a Westerner. Finally, a manager leads me over to a young man, the resident expert in English. Other than the Ford logo and the corporate mantra of the moment, go further, the front of his card is entirely in Mandarin. He carefully pronounces his name for me: Yi Xuanbo. Then he leads me past a potted rubber plant to a small aluminum table and hands me a paper cup of tea.
Yi places a luxurious brochure on the table and flips to a picture of a silver Mondeo hovering over the Manhattan skyline. He then turns to a page extolling the interior and the sound system — in English, the accompanying text describes the car as “a sensory palace.” Yi tells me how much a basic Mondeo costs before taxes: 179,800 yuan, or about $28,000. I ask him whether he owns a Ford and he shakes his head, but with a smile. “I think maybe next year, I can buy one, too.”
For Ford executives, this scene might offer a welcome testimonial to their decision, in 2012, to dramatically increase investment in China. And Chongqing, a municipality of almost 30 million people in the center of the country, is key to their vision. The cars on display at the dealership I visited are manufactured only a few miles away, at Ford’s main Chinese factory complex. If you take the subway eleven stops from the dealership to the Changfulu station, you can stand on the elevated platform and stare out over a shimmering desert of industrial roofing, which covers several million square feet of assembly lines.
Ford has pledged to do for China in the coming century what it did for America in the previous one, which is to produce vast quantities of high-quality cars that the masses can afford — even the company’s own salesmen. The bet is paying off. In 2014, only two years after committing big money, Ford sold more than a million cars in China, almost as many as it sold in the United States.
For any American who has followed domestic debates over international trade, Ford’s success in China — as well as that of General Motors and Chrysler — must be especially gratifying. Ever since the Japanese mounted the first major postwar challenge to American industrial preeminence, in the 1980s, the ability to sell U.S.-branded cars abroad has served as the prime test of the fairness of any given trading relationship. Japan itself has failed this test for the past three decades, keeping its automotive market mostly closed to foreign brands. In China, however, Fords, Chevrolets, Cadillacs, and Jeeps have been roaring off dealers’ lots — largely at the expense of Japanese automakers.
This success might also appear to validate something more important than corporate canniness. Two decades ago, in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, a group of libertarian intellectuals in America put forth a radical vision: Lift all controls on the industrial and financial companies of the West, set them free to manage the world’s trade without any strangulating regulations, and they would entice the People’s Republic of China to join the international system. This would produce, in the words of Bill Clinton, who ardently embraced such thinking, a “more open and free China.” It would also lead to wider prosperity for all.
But outside the Ford showroom, as I watch two children run laughing among the sparkling new vehicles, I wonder whether this great experiment in what we have been taught to call globalization really did work as promised. As our biggest manufacturers and traders and investors succeed in China, they also come to depend on China for future profits — which brings them increasingly under the sway of a Chinese state that holds the power to cut those profits off. What if the master capitalists and corporate bosses who have so cowed us here at home are themselves being cowed in Beijing? What if the extreme economic interdependence between the United States and China is not actually carrying our values into a backward and benighted realm, but accomplishing precisely the opposite — granting the Chinese Politburo ever-increasing leverage over America’s economic and political life?
This may seem an odd moment to sound the alarm about China. In the past few months, we have seen the near collapse of the country’s stock market, the devaluation of its currency, and the sputtering of its mighty industrial sector. But long term, the picture has hardly changed. China will soon pass the United States to become the world’s largest economy; by some measures, it has done so already. Wages and consumption remain strong, the service and online-retail sectors are hot, and vast portions of the population have yet to buy their first car or iPhone. All of which is to say that China, however challenged, remains as attractive a market as ever for many corporations.
This also means that basic patterns of behavior are unlikely to change anytime soon, and many of China’s recent actions are disturbing in the extreme. Consider its growing bellicosity in Asia. Over the past couple of years, Beijing has unilaterally declared an “air-defense identification zone” over most of the East China Sea, parked a drilling rig off Vietnam, encouraged fleets of fishing boats to anchor around islets long claimed by Japan, and built entirely new islands on reefs claimed by the Philippines. The expansionist itch has been so reckless, so assertive, that Japan’s prime minister recently compared China to Germany circa 1914.
What we have largely missed, though, is the emergence of a similar bellicosity within China, directed not at other nations but at foreign corporations operating inside its borders. When American corporations succeed in China, the result is not a mutual sense of comfort and familiarity, such as Toyota now enjoys in the United States. Instead we see a tightening of control, and increasing efforts to bend these powerful commercial institutions to the will of the men who run the Chinese state.
Rio Tinto, the world’s number-two supplier of iron, was among the first targets of this approach. In 2010, global prices for metals were spiking, and China’s state-owned steel mills pressed the corporation for a discount rate on iron ore. Rio Tinto refused — and meanwhile began selling ore to a few privately owned mills in the country. In response, Beijing simply charged four executives in the company’s Shanghai office, including an Australian citizen, with capital crimes. The tactic seems to have worked. While the four sat petrified in a Shanghai courthouse that March, Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese was in Beijing to, as one journalist put it, pay “homage to China’s leaders.” A couple of weeks later, a deal was struck on the pricing of iron ore.
Another early target was Walmart. In October 2011, authorities in Chongqing charged the corporation, which at that time controlled some 10 percent of China’s hypermarket sales, with mislabeling pork products. Let’s recall that Walmart was (and is) the world’s largest company in terms of revenue. This didn’t discourage the Chinese from jailing two of Walmart’s employees, putting seven more under house arrest, and closing all of its outlets in Chongqing for two weeks.
What made the intervention especially telling was where it took place, and when. Chongqing is one of four cities in China directly controlled by the central government, which means the decision to target the U.S. company likely carried the imprimatur of the Politburo. The action also coincided with the publication of a long article in The Atlantic that purported to show how Walmart was cleaning up China’s food supply chain by fighting “pollution, adulterated foods, [and] corruption.” how walmart conquered china, read the headline on the magazine’s cover. In one stroke, Chinese officials made clear exactly whose practices needed cleaning up, and who had conquered whom.
Some observers believe that Chinese authorities target foreign corporations merely for mercenary ends. Their goal, this thinking holds, is to grab patents for Chinese companies, or to shake a little cash into national or personal coffers. These quiet aggressions often do result in measurable commercial advances. Beijing held up Glencore’s takeover of Xstrata, an Anglo-Swiss mining operation, until executives agreed to transfer control of a lucrative Peruvian copper mine to a Chinese company. A lawsuit against InterDigital, which manages a vast portfolio of wireless patents, led that corporation to grant special treatment to Chinese enterprises. Litigation against the chipmaker Qualcomm had a similar effect, and in that instance Beijing tacked on a $975 million fine.
But the Chinese increasingly appear to aim at more direct forms of control over foreign companies. In China, there is no independent judiciary, no rule of law, no real property rights, and certainly no corporate “free speech” rights. Hence one way for Chinese functionaries to control a foreign enterprise is simply to habituate its executives to the lash of arbitrary power masquerading as law.
Just about any law can serve the purpose. Last year, Beijing used anticorruption statutes to fine the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline nearly $500 million. The year before, the tool of choice was a new antimonopoly law, which Beijing wielded during a sort of mass shaming of foreign executives. Functionaries from the National Development and Reform Commission reportedly summoned in-house lawyers from some thirty companies, including GE, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Siemens, and Samsung. Once everyone was in the room, officials announced that half the companies present were already under investigation for monopoly crimes — but didn’t say which. According to the Reuters journalist who broke the story, the officials instructed the managers to write down public “self-criticisms,” a Maoist practice designed to coerce individuals into confessing wrongdoing in advance of any trial. A Chinese regulator made the consequences clear: if any company resisted, he might double or triple its fine.
This predilection for mass shaming is not confined to the boardroom. In recent years, China’s state-run television station, CCTV, has produced what is known as the 315 Gala — an annual “consumer-rights program” in which the hosts finger foreign companies for their bad behavior. Hewlett-Packard, Starbucks, and McDonald’s have all taken turns in the dock. In 2013, one of the main targets was Apple. At first, the world’s most valuable corporation refused to flinch. But after the People’s Daily and other state-owned media orchestrated another frenzy of criticism, Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered a formal apology to Chinese consumers, promising them a “profound reflection” on the company’s repair and warranty policies.
Before we rush to excoriate the Chinese for interfering with private business, we should remember that for most of our own history, we in America have done much the same thing. Here, too, country has long trumped company.
A relatively recent myth argues otherwise. It holds that Americans have always allowed actors in the economy to do exactly as they pleased, without any form of regulation, and that the result of this laissez-faire policy was a nation glorious and grand. There is no truth to this myth. From the first, the founding generation recognized that the only way to achieve real liberty for the individual was to use the power of the state to prevent the infringement of that liberty, be it at the hands of the private monopolist at home or the mercantilist abroad.
Henry Adams captured this paradox in his History of the United States During the First Administration of Thomas Jefferson. No American has ever decried government power more eloquently than Jefferson. But on taking office, on the cusp of the Napoleonic Wars, Jefferson confronted a world in which most trade was micromanaged by London or Paris. His response? He threatened to divert vital goods from one European power to another, as a way of guaranteeing the independence of American traders — and, more important, of the nation itself. The United States at the time was a small country, so this initial effort had limited effect. But looking ahead, Jefferson imagined a day when the president’s power to regulate foreign commerce would serve, in Adams’s words, as “the machinery for doing away with navies, armies, and wars.” The goal was idealistic; the means, coercive. In place of military power, America would use trade power.
So it continued for the next century and a half. The industrial tariffs of the Republicans, the reciprocal-trade concepts of Progressive Era Democrats, the federal government’s structuring of companies such as RCA after the First World War — all were intended to ensure that the U.S. business community did what Washington considered necessary for the nation’s security. Perhaps the most dramatic example was the trading regime that the United States imposed on Europe and Japan after 1945. The goal, again, was utopian: an international economic system organized, in the words of a leading historian of the Marshall Plan, to make war “materially impossible” by making nations industrially interdependent. But the means were entirely realist. The U.S. government, along with its allies in Europe and Japan, determined which corporations did business where, how, and with whom. By doing so, it also kept real limits on how much the United States depended on any other nation.
Throughout most of the postwar era, no one pretended that the international economy was anything other than a system of political power. The turning point came with the triumph of modern libertarianism, with its sophisticated, Orwellian method of hiding corporate power behind the rhetoric of individual liberty. The key thinker, as with so many libertarian schemes, was Milton Friedman. In Free to Choose (1980), Friedman likened regulation of trade to “masochism and sadism.” He described the world economy not as a system deliberately constructed to promote stability and peace while distributing prosperity, but as a “world market” regulated by the infallible law of supply and demand.
Even today, Friedman’s writings give off a slight hippie vibe, with free trade sounding suspiciously like free love. Yet hidden behind the author’s beatific smile was a specific and very pragmatic goal: to get Washington out of the business of governing international commerce so that the managers of private corporations could take over instead.
Ronald Reagan is widely viewed as the chief votary of the libertarians, and in matters of domestic corporate policy, he certainly heeded Friedman’s views. But when it came to trade, Reagan stuck to traditional Jeffersonian principles. The state must retain ultimate control. Dependence on foreign nations must be avoided. Never did Reagan prove this more robustly than when he used trade and monetary policy to quash Japanese efforts to dominate such industries as cars and semiconductors.
It was not until 1993 that Friedman found a true acolyte in the White House. When Bill Clinton took office, he moved with remarkable swiftness to shore up the power of private corporations — especially when it came to trade. By 1994, he had negotiated and signed an agreement that shifted the regulation of America’s commerce from the people’s government in Washington to the corporate-dominated World Trade Organization. By 2000, he had succeeded in winning permanent most-favored-nation trading status for China. In tandem, the two acts effectively gave a few corporations free rein to manage our trade with the autocratic regime in China.
No matter how Clinton and his advisers may have chosen to depict their actions, these were not naïve men. The Clinton White House fully accepted that America would need to exert real and punishing power abroad. To that end, they upheld the military strategy concocted by Paul Wolfowitz and Dick Cheney in 1992, whose primary mandate was that “no rival” must ever again emerge to challenge American arms. Together, the decisions to surrender America’s trade power while buttressing America’s military power added up to a radical overthrow of this country’s republican traditions. Worse, they left our nation unable to defend itself or its allies against the trade power of predatory foreign nations.
It’s hard to feel sorry for the executive of a multinational corporation. Sure, she must swap the amusements of Cincinnati and Dallas for the discomforts of Singapore and Geneva — but expat salaries, chauffeured cars, live-in maids, and private schools help ease the pain. And if she must sometimes jet from Shanghai to Berlin to São Paulo, she will at least find a gauntlet of obsequious servers proffering hot towels, cold drinks, and aromatic spa treatments to ease the way. Yet sit down with Jeremie Waterman, who directs China policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington, and you may find yourself feeling a bit weepy about the travails of today’s corporate leaders — at least those who work in China.
When I first ask Waterman about Beijing’s treatment of American companies, he stares at me, as if unsure how to respond. Then he shakes his head. When a U.S. corporation does business in China, he says, its executives are “going up against the whole system — the courts, the companies, the regulators, the government.” For a growing number of firms, even giants like Boeing, day-to-day business increasingly means striving “to please the Chinese government and the Communist Party.”
Waterman and I don’t bother to discuss why executives at American corporations would so readily expose themselves to the power of the Chinese state. To anyone in the business community, the answers are self-evident. First is the fact that so many U.S. companies now depend on China for the products they sell. For Walmart, it’s barbecue grills and shoes. For Apple, it’s assembly work. For Pfizer, it’s chemicals. And while foreign companies have talked a lot about reducing their reliance on China, they nevertheless keep upping the ante, year after year. Just last April, General Motors announced plans to pour another $16 billion into China. In September, Dell pledged a whopping $125 billion over the next five years, with an ominous promise to “closely integrate Dell China strategies with [Chinese] national policies.”
A second reason corporations are so willing to accede to Chinese diktats is the allure of Chinese markets. For General Motors, China already accounts for roughly a third of the cars it sells. For Qualcomm, China accounts for roughly half its business. For Rio Tinto, China accounts for considerably more than half its output of iron ore. Chinese sales of Apple’s iPhones topped U.S. sales in 2015 — and when global markets were tanking in late August, Tim Cook helped arrest a rout in the company’s stock by publicly assuring investors that the Cupertino giant had “continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August.”
A handful of U.S. companies have avoided exposing themselves to Chinese control, sometimes at great cost. In March 2010, in response to growing censorship and a surprisingly sophisticated hack, Google redirected Chinese- and English-language searches from the mainland to servers in Hong Kong. Beijing responded by temporarily cutting off access to Google’s search engine and, more recently, to Gmail. The cost to Google? Access to the world’s largest market of Web users, 649 million strong and growing.
The story is much the same with the New York Times. In October 2012, the paper published an article detailing how the family of former premier Wen Jiabao had accumulated more than $2 billion in assets by taking advantage of the “intersection of government and business.” Chinese authorities responded by blocking domestic access to the paper’s Chinese-language website and refused to provide visas to its reporters. Despite being cut off from millions of potential readers and seeing a key bureau hobbled, the Times has not budged.
But absent any coherent and countervailing pressure from the U.S. government, most companies have continued with business as usual, no matter what Beijing demands. The overall result, in almost every sector of the U.S. economy, is a deeper and deeper dependence on China for both labor and cash.
Hollywood, too, has learned to bow and scrape. There’s a delicious irony here: for decades, Americans assumed that one of the surest ways to export liberal values was on 35-mm film. But that was before China got on a path to become the movie industry’s largest market by 2018. And that was before a Chinese billionaire used Chinese state money to assemble the biggest chain of cinemas in the world, including AMC Theatres in the United States. And that was before Chinese moguls became top investors in American-made films. One result is that we now get to watch history being rewritten before our eyes. It was, for example, the Chinese army that in 2007 fired a missile into an old weather satellite, triggering a debris storm that threatened other satellites. By 2013, when the story made it to the big screen in Gravity, the oafish deed had been pinned on today’s stock villains, the Russians.
That the Chinese company Shuanghui, which in 2013 purchased America’s biggest pig processor, Smithfield, is now apparently using Smithfield’s lobbying power to rewrite state laws in Nebraska is not surprising. What we must now get our heads around is that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, though based in New York, are not all that different a case. These bankers have for years profited by serving as procurers for Chinese investors who long to get their hands on American technologies and other assets. Their real interest nowadays? To subject their companies even more directly to Chinese influence by, as Morgan Stanley bluntly put it, hiring the “sons and daughters” of China’s sitting rulers.
Democracies tend to approach empire differently than autocracies. People in democracies typically want other people to embrace their ways, not merely to yield to them at gunpoint. And so the empire Americans built after the Second World War was in fundamental respects unlike those of other modern powers. To be sure, we regularly used military muscle to shape the world — and often made a hash of it. Yet when we reverted to Jeffersonian principles and used our trade power, as we did with the Marshall Plan in Europe and the Kennedy Round of trade liberalization, the frequent result was peace, prosperity, and liberty.
Geir Lundestad, the former head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee and one of Europe’s most celebrated historians of U.S. power, notes that imperial America has been “much more comfortable with spontaneity and self-organization than earlier great powers.” Indeed, for much of the past half-century, Washington’s approach to the world was not unlike the president’s approach to Congress: alternately pleading, horse trading, and whipping. Americans cajoled allies and built coalitions, developed clubs and fostered interests, then used our global trade power to orchestrate the whole enterprise.
What never occurred to us was that another state might rise to inhabit the global trade system we built. Or that the leaders of this other state might learn how to manipulate the same corporate and financial levers that our own leaders have long manipulated. Now, suddenly, Washington is rife with suspicion that China is playing a very different game from the one our leaders imagined when they dreamed their libertarian dreams twenty years ago. This suspicion undergirds Obama’s vaunted Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which, at least in theory, aims to peel some commerce away from China. It explains the Pentagon’s shift of troops and ships to Asia to buttress allies such as Japan and the Philippines, who suddenly find themselves the target of Chinese aggression. And it lies at the heart of a recent Council on Foreign Relations paper warning of China’s threat to “U.S. primacy in Asia.”
In the run-up to last summer’s vote on fast-track negotiating authority for the TPP, President Obama warned that what is now at stake is who gets to “write the rules for trade in the twenty-first century.” What America’s political class and security establishment have yet to realize is that in a world in which nations are intertwined by global corporations, there is something else at stake: who gets to write the rules for liberty here in America. The difference between traditional American hegemony and Chinese hegemony cannot be overstated. When the United States wielded power over corporations in the postwar era, our overarching goal was — with some notable exceptions — stability, peace, and prosperity. When China wields its power over foreign corporations, the ultimate goal is — always — command and control.
In late April, I wait on a bench in the ground-floor offices of a Manhattan startup. Soon a wry-eyed man in his mid-forties walks up, shakes my hand, and leads me through a high-ceilinged room crammed with blond desks, cheap sofas, and trim young men and women hunched over Apple monitors. Outside, a stiff breeze off the Hudson bends the daffodils double. But the stuffy room where we sit down to talk is windowless, its walls adorned with memos and jottings from previous meetings.
The informal setting is deceptive. My host knows as much as anyone about the role of business in the relationship between the United States and China, having spent years establishing the Chinese operations of one of America’s largest corporations, then working a stint for the government in Washington. He is now involved in a variety of high-tech enterprises, which accounts for his insistence on anonymity.
He regards me warily at first, and answers my questions with brief, noncommittal sentences. But after a few minutes, he suddenly leans forward, as if someone has flicked a switch, and the words spill out. It’s almost as if he is confessing, his face alternately expressing anger and shame and relief.
His story follows what I have come to realize is a standard trajectory of disillusionment for midlevel American executives in China. In this case, it started in 2004, when he was dispatched to Shanghai and Beijing to investigate whether and how his firm should invest in China. Like most American executives during those days, he assumed it was an opportunity to earn good money while doing good work, in the form of liberalizing China’s autocratic system — or, as he put it, to “create greater room for speech and innovation.”
Those expectations were dashed the moment he began to interact with the government. “I would like to say that we negotiated with the Chinese,” he tells me. “But that implies give-and-take.”
More disturbing, he said, was the realization that his company could not trust its new Chinese employees. In any business venture, there is always competition among members of the team. The difference in China, he says, is that employees were angling less to serve their own interests than those of hidden masters. “We realized that the loyalties of many of our employees were entirely split. Even if they had the best of intentions, even if they really wanted to drag China into a more open and democratic era, they were still under immense personal pressure to serve the state.”
After a couple of years on the ground, my host concluded that succeeding in China would dictate various forms of personal compromise. “The more entangled you are with China economically, the more subject you are to their power, to their ways of getting you to do things.” Most demoralizing, he says, was the sense of becoming complicit in such an abusive
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in the UK, Bahunga explains. While the same notion exists in many religions, its role in African culture may manifest in a UK context as a response to issues such as immigration difficulties or unemployment.
"Desperate people will often seek advice from church leaders and some rogue pastors will blame children. They are seen as the easiest target," Bahunga says, giving the example of a current case Afruca is advising on involving a child branded as a witch and accused of causing their stepmother's infertility.
"The pastor will say: 'No matter what your problems, I can solve them by protecting you against the evil forces of witchcraft'. Because of their status, the word of the pastor is interpreted as God's will. They may be paid for their advice, or to carry out exorcisms. They exploit the vulnerability of the families."
Children with disabilities, orphans and those seen as having challenging behaviour are particularly vulnerable to being branded as witches, he says. Also at risk are those who may have left their parents to live with relatives or other guardians.
Afruca is campaigning for a change in law to make it illegal to brand someone as a witch. But meanwhile there is a concern that the number of incidents will rise because of the economic downturn. Bahunga says: "We fear that there is potential for real increase due to the harsh social economic situation that can trigger accusations of possession – and this is likely to be worse within newly arrived communities."
Evidence is emerging that witchcraft belief is an increasingly common tool in controlling children who have been trafficked. Research by Ecpat UK, which campaigns against the exploitation and trafficking of children, has found that traffickers may force children to go through witchcraft rituals in their countries of origin to prevent them from seeking help.
Ecpat UK director Christine Beddoe says: "No matter how far away they are from the trafficker, these children are still living in fear of what will happen to them if they speak out. As our understanding of this issue has grown, we are seeing more cases where the children's behaviour suggests they are living with this fear and control in their lives."
In July last year, Anthony Harrison of Stratford, east London, became the first person in the UK to be convicted of using witchcraft rituals to control victims of trafficking. He was jailed for 20 years for imprisoning two Nigerian girls, aged 14 and 16, whom he was attempting to take out of the UK to force into prostitution.
While Beddoe praises the work of the Metropolitan police special investigations unit in the Harrison case, she is concerned that agencies are not sharing case-based information from child protection services that could indicate abuse. This may be through ignorance of witchcraft practices, but she also believes there is a reticence among child protection workers in tackling what may be perceived as a cultural issue.
"One of the biggest challenges is where professionals have turned a blind eye to perceived cultural practices, even when they are considered harmful to children," Beddoe says. "They have got to start challenging concerns around cultural sensitivity where there is child abuse. This needs to be documented and agencies need to find a way of synthesising the data."
The last major official study of child abuse linked to accusations of witchcraft was carried out in 2006. It identified 74 cases of abuse in the UK since 2000 where a clear link could be established. Three quarters of known cases were in London and the children were mostly of African ethnicity, with some cases from south-east Asia and one from a white English background. Around half involved children born in the UK.
Safeguarding children
Supplementary guidance on safeguarding children was issued in 2007. But child protection organisations working in communities with beliefs in possession are concerned that such abuse often remains under the radar until a child dies.
Simon Bass, chief executive of the Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS), which trains churches in safeguarding issues, urges practitioners to use his service as a resource. "Social work practitioners need to understand the communities by working with organisations like ourselves," he says.
Ishola, who chairs the LSCB's child-trafficking group and is a service manager in children's services at Harrow council, north London, thinks social workers are becoming more aware of the problem. "Three to four years ago, these issues may not have registered as a real concern because of a western interpretation of witchcraft," he says. "But we have learned about belief in spirit possession from people coming into the UK. These cases come from a different perspective and now awareness is better."
The education department's forthcoming action plan stems from a roundtable meeting last year involving children's minister Tim Loughton and child protection organisations including Afruca and CCPAS. A department spokesman says: "It was agreed that stronger co-ordination of activity was needed, both nationally and locally, to raise awareness of this issue, develop the skills of practitioners and to support communities to resist abuse."
Bass says the action plan will bring together best practice. "I hope it will enable practitioners to know where to go for help in understanding the issues so they are more readily able to respond. I believe it will go a long way to addressing this abuse."Trent Reznor and David Fincher have collaborated on a lot of films, but oddly Fight Club wasn't one of them.
Gone Girl is now the third David Fincher film in a row that is both based on a book and scored by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Fincher and Reznor first made contact in 1997, when the filmmaker decided to create an elaborate opening credit sequence to his thriller Se7en set to a remix of Reznor's mid-90s hit "Closer." From that moment it seemed clear that Fincher and Reznor had some common ground in their unique expressions of art -- and since they've also collaborated on movies The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and this week's Gone Girl.
In the dynamic that exists between them now, Reznor's role is to create music to accompany and support Fincher's vision. But what if things were the other way around -- with Fincher directing a film based on one of Reznor's albums?
As it turns out, this has already happened... in a way. In 1999, Fincher released Fight Club, based on the Chuck Palahnuik novel of the same name -- which was inspired directly by the NIN album "The Downward Spiral." Palahnuik says that Fight Club was "...written to a soundtrack of The Downward Spiral and Pablo Honey" and while many bits and pieces of the book were taken from the author's life, the framework of the story and the characters of Jack, Tyler, and Marla are lifted directly from the template of The Downward Spiral.
For those of you unfamiliar with either Fight Club or The Downward Spiral, I'd recommend seeing the movie and at least reading through the lyrics before proceeding. In case you haven't noticed, we are about to explore new depths of fan theorization, and will reveal spoilers within spoilers until Yo Dawg levels are reached. On top of spoilers, it should come to no surprise to fans of either Fight Club or Nine Inch Nails that many of the videos and lyrics linked here are a long way from safe for work, so be warned.
Still, if we keep our wits about us and proceed carefully one track at a time, there's a good chance that we'll make it through in one piece.
Track 1: Mr. Self-Destruct
The film opens with a credit sequence that starts inside the brain of Jack (Edward Norton), and slowly pans out to reveal a gun in Jack's mouth held by Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who is Jack's alter ego. Jack quickly rehashes a scene of violence and terrorism about to unfold, which was the work of Durden, and then flashes back (twice) to the proper beginning of the story. The name of the song: "Mr. Self-Destruct" is a title that aptly fits the true nature of Jack and Tyler's relationship -- as well as the core of Tyler's philosophy.
The album opens with the sound of someone being beaten (sampled from the George Lucas film THX-1138) followed by the words, "I am the voice inside your head (and I control you)" -- which is to say both Fight Club and the song start inside the head of the main character. The verse continues with "I am the lover in your bed (and I control you). I am the sex that you deny, (and I control you). I am the hate you try to hide, (and I control you)." The chorus of the song is "I take you where you want to go. I give you all you need to know. I drag you down, I use you up: Mr. Self-Destruct."
Compare these lines to the scene where Jack realizes that Tyler Durden is a voice inside his head, and Tyler explains his purpose by saying "All the ways you wish you could be, that's me: I look like you want to look, I fuck like you want to fuck, I am smart, capable, and most importantly I am free in all the ways that you are not." Neither the song nor the opening sequence of the film properly start the story, but rather jump in to the middle of the chaos, causing the audience to brace for what is to unfold. The story of The Downward Spiral really begins on track 2.Claiming the No. 1 spot as golf's top earner lends itself certain perks. Such as the means to pull the trig on a new $7 million home.
RELATED: Golf's Top Earners
Jordan Spieth, who raked in $53 million in winnings and sponsorship deals in 2015, recently bought Hunter Mahan's old Dallas digs. Candy Evans, a real estate writer, reports that the mansion was originally on the market for $8.5 million, proving that, even off the links, Spieth is able to best his fellow pros.
The house boasts a 12-car underground garage (which, if you look to the right, has an Augusta National mural), indoor basketball court, pool, golf-simulator room, grill room and wine cellar.
Check out the photos below:
Wine cellar
Basketball court
Underground garage
Augusta National mural to the right
Pool
Golf simulator
Workout room
Living room
Kitchen
Bathroom
WATCH: GOLF DIGEST VIDEOSWomen’s and men’s washrooms: we encounter them nearly every time we venture into public space. To many people the separation of the two, and the signs used to distinguish them, may seem innocuous and necessary. Trans people know that this is not the case, and that public battles have been waged over who is allowed to use which washroom. The segregation of public washrooms is one of the most basic ways that the male-female binary is upheld and reinforced.
As such, washroom signs are very telling of the way societies construct gender. They identify the male as the universal and the female as the variation. They express expectations of gender performance. And they conflate gender with sex.
I present here for your perusal, a typology and analysis of various washroom signs.
[Editor: After the jump because there are dozens of them… which is why Marissa’s post is so awesome…]
The Universal Male
One of the ideas that supports patriarchy is the notion that a man can be representative of all humanity, or “mankind”, while a woman could only be representative of other women. For example, in politics we see “women’s issues” segregated from everybody issues.
Washroom signs illustrate this idea by depicting the male figure simply, and the female as some kind of elaboration on the male figure. This sign expresses in words what many do with images:
The most common type of washroom sign, pictured at the top of this post, is another example. Typically, these signs depict men as people, and women as people in skirts:
In Iran, men are depicted as people, and women are people in skirts and hijabs:
Occasionally, we see that men are people, and women are people with waists:
Which highlights the absurdity of the construction of gendered bodies because, well, men have waists too.
In this sign, we see that men have torsos, and women have floating, disembodied boobs:
Women also sprout tentacles from their heads
Finally, we have a sign that, while patronizingly insulting, is interesting in that it takes the assumption of the universal male to its logical conclusion. That is, if “men” is interchangeable with “people”, and women aren’t men, then women can’t really be considered people at all, can they?
That is, if “men” is interchangeable with “people,” and women aren’t men, then women can’t really be considered people at all. But who wants to be a person when you can be a beautiful, delicate flower instead?
Opposite Sexes
There is another kind of washroom sign that, although based on the men-are-people/women-are-people-in-dresses trope, doesn’t quite fit. These signs depict men and women as triangles. One is not an elaboration of the other. They are both simply triangles. These signs remain problematic, though, because they construct men and women as fundamentally opposite to one another. It also assumes that the viewer understands that the triangle side signifies either shoulders or a skirt, and that is not a given. Which becomes apparent when you consider this sign: Unlike the previous signs, here the downwards pointing triangle identifies the women’s washroom, and the upwards pointing triangle signifies the men’s washroom. I assume that the angles are supposed to represent torpedo boobs and a pitched tent. Gender, Sex, and Sexuality In controversies over who is allowed to use which washroom, a recurring theme is the conflation of gender, sex and sexuality, as cis women insist on treating male-bodied women as some kind of threatening sexual predators. This conflation is illustrated by washroom signs themselves, which sometimes designate washrooms by gender, and sometimes by sex, sometimes accompanied by assumptions about sexuality. Gender Performance Many washroom signs do not depict the male as a universal stick figure. Instead, the distinction is made by playing up differences between how masculinity and femininity are performed. In doing so, the signs communicate essentializing notions about what makes a man or a woman. Most often, it is style of dress.
This pair of signs is interesting, because it might not immediately be apparent to the modern viewer that the individual pictured on the sign for the men’s washroom is, in fact, male. It shows that the styles we associate with masculinity are not universal across time and space. Then we have these signs which universalize gender performance to apply it to the insect world: Butterflies are naturally feminine because they’re pretty, and beetles are naturally masculine because they’re not pretty. Even more suggestive of the notion that “clothing makes the man” and woman, are the signs which do not show people at all, but just gendered apparel.
Some signs incorporate gendered posture: the woman is canting, or has her eyes demurely cast downward, while the man has his feet firmly planted on the ground, displaying his physical strength.
These are also suggestive of the behaviour we expect from men and women – women should be coy and submissive; men brash and dominating. Sex After stick-figures, signs showing different styles of dress for men and women seem to be the most common way to designate men’s and women’s washrooms. However, like transphobic people, some signs focus on what’s under the clothes. A couple of the following photos might be mildly NSFW. These signs are of several kinds. All are essentializing and erase trans people and people with atypical sex organs. The first is men-have-penises/women-have-breasts. I believe that these are indicative of the degree to which breasts have been sexualized in our society as, like the sign below, they seem to be oblivious to the fact that women have genitalia, and hence construct breasts as the female equivalent of the penis.
The second group is men-have-penises/women-have-vaginas.
It seems that vaginas are shown attached to women to a far lesser extent than breasts are.
Somewhat related to the last category are the signs that pose the question: do you stand or sit when you pee?
(A note from an anonymous commenter: …the photo of the pointers/setters is from a restaurant in Philadelphia called the White Dog Cafe, where I worked for many years. There are four single bathrooms, all named after types of dogs (punny, I know) – and all explicitly non-gendered. Those bathrooms were designed in part with the West Philadelphia queer community in mind; when I worked there I had many LGBTQ coworkers, including someone who was transitioning, and it was an incredibly supportive environment. Duly noted.)
Other signs use the secondary sex characteristics of animals:
This illustrates the way we assume the universality of the gender binary, when it is not universal. For example, hens have been known to behave like roosters, and then develop male secondary sex characteristics, making the news in Sweden and China.
There was also a rooster in Italy who started to lay eggs after a fox killed all the hens.
This sign is even more essentializing, specifying the chromosome pairs you need to use the washroom:
It also universalizes the gender binary to alien races (whose legs conveniently seem to abstractly represent human sex organs) and robots.
Conflating Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
Signs can vary between designating washrooms by sex and by gender because most people assume that they are the same thing.
Her thought bubble: “shopping”; His thought bubble: “football”
This sign covers all the bases. Male as universal/female as variation: He’s a simple egg-shape, she’s wearing a dress and lipstick. Biological sex: He has a minimalist penis, she has minimalist vagina. Gender performance: He’s thinking about football, she’s thinking about shopping. It’s almost funny that the graphic designer felt that so many different elements were necessary. It’s also interesting because it illustrates how total the conflation is and the rigidity of the resulting dichotomy. Women must meet standards of femininity. Men can’t wear lipstick or enjoy shopping. And they certainly can’t have vaginas.
There’s an element of absurdity to it. We don’t segregate washrooms because people have different interests. Nor is it because of people’s wardrobe choices since, obviously, women wear pants. And, as this sign from Utilikilts points out, it’s not unheard of for men to wear skirts.
We segregate washrooms because of sex. Because of the presumed sexual interest of the opposite sex. That is, because of sexuality.
Specifically, because of male heterosexuality, which is assumed to be predatory. Heck, it’s expected and accepted as predatory, to the extent that it’s joked about.
This is unfair to a lot of men. And it becomes an excuse for those men who are predatory.
The segregation of washrooms is based on an assumption of heterosexuality, predatory in men and passive and vulnerable in women; the association of sexuality with sex, and the conflation of sex and gender. In other words, it is nonsensical. One thing we don’t segregate washrooms by is sexuality.
Uh…?
Finally, here are some signs that I just found confusing. In Germany, women are represented by fire, and men are represented by water.
Whereas in Brazil, fire represents men. Women are
represented by flowers…
This one is from Sangunburi Crater, on Jeju Island in South Korea. I’m assuming there’s an explanation for why the woman has a scuba mask on her head, and why the man is golem, but I don’t know what it is.
UPDATE: Several people responded with explanations on threads where this post has been linked. Here is one of them: The woman diver is a haenyeo, or pearl diver – there is an independent haenyo subculture that is actually pretty kick-ass and unique to Jejudo. Only the women dive.... The golem male represents a traditional totem of men wishing the pearl-divers good luck and safety on their journeys.
From an Applebee’s in Sao Paulo. The red sign is for the women’s washroom. Obviously.
Photo Sources:
Toilet Signs
because you value your soul
Dark Roasted Blend 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Blogoncherry
Akshay Gandhi’s Blog
Funny Photo Collection
Ahh.. Chewww!
1 Design Per Day
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Marissa has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Toronto, with minors in sociology and history. She is currently finishing law school, and hopes to practice family law. She has been blogging at This Is Hysteria! for two months, where she writes about social justice issues, politics, culture and working in call centres.
Thanks to Lucy for pointing us to her fantastic post.
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If you’re planning on bringing your child to snap a picture with Santa Claus in front of a wonderfully festive Christmas tree this year, don’t take them to Southpark Mall in Charlotte, NC. Sure, you’ll find Santa in all of his jolly glory, but he’ll be sitting under a glacier.
Yes. The mall actually replaced a Christmas tree with a glacier FOR REAL.
They say they did this to keep things “fresh and exciting.” And nothing says “fresh and exciting” like a glacier, am I right?
SouthPark is among the first wave of Simon malls to get one of the glaciers. The giant white mound will feature interactive elements, including a sound and light show every 30 minutes, the mall said in a statement Friday. SouthPark is the only Simon center in Charlotte with the new “Santa experience,” the spokeswoman said. Other Charlotte Simon properties in Charlotte include Charlotte Premium Outlets and Concord Mills.
So totally neutral, non-festive glaciers. They call it “modernization.” I call it idiotically messing with tradition for the sake of inclusivity.
The mall will still have a Christmas tree at Symphony Park, but they’re ditching the traditional tree lighting ceremony.
While the mall has made no indication that this move is political, I suspect that has something to do with it. Glaciers are less offensive. Not so “cheery,” if you will. And ultimately, they’re polar bear friendly! Because global warming, you know. And we wouldn’t want to offend the environmentalists with the tree lighting ceremony. That’s such a waste of electricity. It’s selfish!
“The reinvented and modernized experience will bring the Charlotte community together in a way that hasn’t been done before,” the mall said.
They’re right about that. The glacier really is bringing everyone together, but not how they probably predicted.
The mutual disdain for the glacier has really united people. Someone even launched a Change.org petition, which has amassed over 10,000 signatures.
Southpark Mall and Simons Malls have decided to abandon a long standing tradition of having a Christmas tree and Christmas tree lighting ceremony. We, the community of Charlotte, feel this is in poor taste and needs to be corrected. As the Christmas shopping season begins, we feel Simons mall surely doesn’t want to lose customers over changing a long standing tradition. We urge Southpark and Simons mall to bring back our tradition. #BringBacktheTree @SouthParkMallNC @Simonmalls
The glacier is ridiculous. Patrons value the tradition, not the untraditional. #BringBackTheTree https://t.co/36j4dyXv8E — Meghan Miles (@meghanmusgrave) November 7, 2015
There’s even a song about this “Holly Jolly Glacier.”
So Christmas glaciers. That’s a thing now.Views of detailed 3D lunar terrain in Orbiter 2016, with add-on Orion spacecraft in orbit near Crater Aristarchus. Orbiter 2016 and other space flight simulators
More than ten years ago, The Space Review published my enthusiastic review of a freeware space flight simulator called Orbiter (see “Review: Orbiter space flight simulator”, The Space Review, November 14, 2005). In the intervening years, Orbiter development has continued, and the 2016 version was recently released. Many things have changed since 2005: for example, smartphones and tablets now exist, and I’ve become a grandfather. But I remain a space and flight simulator enthusiast, happy that Dr. Martin Schweiger is still working on Orbiter. The Orbiter community also remains strong, creating add-ons, tutorials, and videos, and supporting one another through the Orbiter Forum and other sites. I’m also pleased that there are more options for space sim fans, and I will briefly discuss two of them I have tried, Kerbal Space Program (KSP), and a tablet-based app called Space Simulator by Brixton Dynamics. Although it is fun and challenging in many ways, Orbiter 2016 truly is a space flight simulation, or what some might now call a “sandbox game.” Most of what I wrote about Orbiter in 2005 remains true in the latest version: it’s free, runs on Windows PCs, accurately models the physics of space and atmospheric flight, uses clever time acceleration to allow even long journeys in a realistically scaled solar system, supports a wide array of add-on spacecraft, and much more. So I won’t repeat all of those details here. Instead I will focus on discussing where Orbiter fits in a world where there are so many more gaming, simulation, and educational “solutions” and platforms than we had in 2005, as well as on the cumulative improvements from three major updates in 2006, 2010, and 2016. Although it is fun and challenging in many ways, Orbiter 2016 truly is a space flight simulation, or what some might now call a “sandbox game.” In its level of detail and learning curve, it is something like Microsoft Flight Simulator or X-Plane, where the “game” is mainly the challenge of learning to fly, or of mastering advanced skills such as instrument approaches. Orbiter too supports atmospheric flight, but with the major addition of space flight with accurate orbital mechanics. There is plenty to learn and do, but there are no requirements, characters, weapons, or scores, only the unforgiving rules of Newtonian physics, a wide range of tools and techniques to master, and the full solar system to explore. Learning to launch a spacecraft to orbit, dock with the ISS, land on the Moon, or navigate to Mars: all of this, and more, is possible in Orbiter. You can choose from a variety of built-in spacecraft and scenarios, download and fly add-on spacecraft and scenarios, or even design and fly your own spacecraft, although doing so requires some external tools. There is no “rocket builder” mode as there is in KSP. Atlantis turning final in a pre-recorded tutorial included in Orbiter. Note the many on-screen controls. Improvements One broad area of improvement since 2005 is in the user interface. Although the PC keyboard remains nearly indispensable for controlling engines and thrusters in Orbiter (joysticks are also supported), you can now do much more with mouse-based on-screen controls, making it easier to learn, and easier to work with add-on spacecraft, many of which lack dedicated cockpit graphics and controls. Orbiter has always had beautiful graphics, but the biggest visible change in Orbiter 2016 is its support for detailed 3D surface terrain for the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and several other solar system bodies. The flight recorder is a great learning feature that was added in 2006 and improved in later releases. It’s not a video recorder, but an event recorder, such that when you record and play back a flight within Orbiter, all the control inputs, flight paths, and forces are recreated, allowing you to interrupt the playback and take over control of the flight at any time. This is useful for recording and studying your own progress, but it is especially great for recorded tutorial flights which feature detailed on-screen annotations to explain what is happening. Several of these “live” tutorials are included with Orbiter. Add-ons Orbiter includes a number of default spacecraft, including the late, great shuttle Atlantis and the powerful but still physically limited “Delta Glider,” a futuristic spaceplane. It also includes all the instruments you need to control and navigate your spacecraft through configurable multi-function displays (MFDs). But much of the fun of Orbiter comes in the form of optional (and always free) “add-ons” created by volunteer developers in the Orbiter community. Add-on spacecraft range from historic to contemporary to futuristic and even include fictional spacecraft from popular space movies. One notable example is called AMSO: it recreates the Apollo Program in astounding detail. Non-spacecraft add-ons provide MFDs for many tasks, including interplanetary flight planning. And while space may be silent, rocket boosters and cockpits generally are not. Orbiter Sound is an essential add-on to complete the Orbiter experience. Note that when there is a major update to Orbiter, some add-ons may not work completely (or at all) until their authors update them for the new version. Of course there is no obligation for any volunteer developer to do this, although many do. Many users keep previous Orbiter versions installed to access add-ons that may not yet be available for the latest version. While there are some differences, it’s not hard to switch between the 2010 and 2016 versions, depending on what you wish to do. Full 3D terrain Orbiter has always had beautiful graphics, but the biggest visible change in Orbiter 2016 is its support for detailed 3D surface terrain for the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and several other solar system bodies. In previous versions, all planets and moons are perfectly smooth, with surface features “painted on.” This is hardly noticeable from a 300-kilometer orbit, but when you are flying or orbiting down low, it’s great to have realistic mountains and valleys to fly around and through. While the Earth terrain is nice, I especially enjoy zooming low over the accurate terrain of the Moon and Mars. It makes me feel like an Apollo astronaut. It’s also the best Moon or Mars globe you will ever own, because you can fly around and virtually explore the terrain (with labels if you like), not just look at it. The only cost for all this added beauty is the time it takes to download gigabytes of terrain data. I should also point out that to experience the best looking graphics and the best frame rates, you should use the so-called “no graphics” version of Orbiter that links to a separate “graphics client” that maintains the display. Climbing the learning curve With its many playful touches and multiple play modes, KSP is as much a game as a simulation, and as such, it certainly appeals to people of many backgrounds and ages. It’s not easy to master, but it’s lots of fun. There is a lot to learn before you can plan a flight to the space station, the Moon, or Europa. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources to help you. Orbiter comes with a manual and with several pre-recorded and annotated training flights that represent a good starting point. My own free tutorial ebook Go Play In Space is written for the 2006 version, but much of it remains relevant for all versions (a Wiki version is here). There are also many excellent tutorial videos available through YouTube, notably those of David Courtney and TexFilms. These videos can help you get started and some will walk you through advanced interplanetary flights complete with gravitational slingshots. The Orbiter Forum is the best place to find out about tutorials and everything else about Orbiter. A screen shot from Orbiting 101, a tutorial included with Kerbal Space Program (demo version). Kerbal Space Program In the last few years, Kerbal Space Program (KSP) has emerged as a popular way to “play in space.” How does it compare with Orbiter? KSP is simpler than Orbiter in some respects, and more comprehensive in others. It operates in a reduced-scale alternative solar system where real Newtonian physics still rules but where “Kerbin” is much smaller than Earth and the “Mun” is much closer than the Earth’s Moon. It has cartoon-like graphics and characters (“Kerbals”) to pilot the spacecraft you build. That is one of the biggest differences: in KSP, you have a great drag-and-drop 3D rocket-building workshop. There, you can construct simple or fantastically complex spacecraft and have your Kerbals risk their lives on your test flights while you learn to fly to orbit, reach the Mun, and achieve other goals. In KSP, rockets can explode or crash and Kerbals can die (while some add-on spacecraft for Orbiter feature damage modeling, simulated crews, and life-support issues, most Orbiter spacecraft just bounce when they crash). There are many tutorials and videos for KSP and a lot of enthusiastic players. With its many playful touches and multiple play modes, KSP is as much a game as a simulation, and as such, it certainly appeals to people of many backgrounds and ages. It’s not easy to master, but it’s lots of fun. KSP is also flexible and expandable, so while it might serve as a valuable and fun “Orbiter training camp” for some space enthusiasts, many others will continue to find plenty of fun and challenges in KSP. An iPad screen shot of Space Simulator showing some future NASA SLS components in LEO. Space Simulator (iOS) I’m always on the lookout for space-related apps and games for the iPad, although with the exception of FSim Space Shuttle (landing simulation), most have fallen short for me. Space Simulator by Brixton Dynamics is an exception. It is a true solar system space flight simulation, similar in many respects to Orbiter. It features a variety of built in spacecraft, some of them historic (Apollo, X-15, Space Shuttle) and some futuristic (NASA’s Space Launch System and fictional craft from 2001: A Space Odyssey). The graphics are beautiful and the physics models seem to be quite heavy duty, but I have found the touch-screen interface to be awkward to use at times. Like Orbiter, it has cockpit and external views and uses configurable MFDs to display orbital information and to plan maneuvers. But with no keyboard or joystick, the screen can feel cluttered and the “workflow” seems unclear. But the program is improving quickly and I’m sure these user interface issues will be solved. It’s already the most powerful space flight simulation I have seen for the iPad, and it is definitely cool to tap VERB 37 NOUN 11 ENTER (launch autopilot) on a virtual DSKY and see and hear the majestic Saturn V send Apollo 11 into Earth orbit en route to the Moon, while I am en route to Beijing (headphones recommended.) Conclusions Space flight simulation is not exactly a mainstream area for computer gaming, but fortunately there are a few options for space enthusiasts who wish to move beyond books, movies, and websites. Orbiter 2016 is an educational experience with beautiful graphics, practically a dynamic coffee-table space book—with rocket engines. Kerbal Space Program has a playful vibe and a somewhat gentler learning curve but can still teach you a lot about physics while you have fun building and flying your own rockets. Space Simulator is pretty close to “Orbiter for iPad,” and while it is not free, it’s an app, so it’s pretty close to free. HomeDescription Edit
They range in size from 7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) and in weight from 8 to 30 g (0.28 to 1.06 oz). The genus Tyranneutes comprise the smallest manakins, the genus Antilophia are believed to be the largest (since the genus Schiffornis are no longer considered manakins). They are compact stubby birds with short tails, broad and rounded wings, and big heads. The bill is short and has a wide gap. Females and first-year males have dull green plumage; most species are sexually dichromatic in their plumage,[2] the males being mostly black with striking colours in patches,[3] and in some species having long, decorative tail or crown feathers or erectile throat feathers. In some species, males from two to four years old have a distinctive subadult plumage.[2] The syrinx or "voicebox" is distinctive in manakins, setting them apart from the related families Cotingidae and Tyrannidae. Furthermore, it is so acutely variable within the group that genera and even species may be identified by the syrinx alone, unlike birds of most oscine families. The sounds made are whistles, trills, and buzzes.[2]
Distribution and habitat Edit
Manakins occur from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, and on Trinidad and Tobago as well. They are highly arboreal and are almost exclusively forest and woodland birds. Most species live in humid tropical lowlands, with a few in dry forests, river forests,[2] and the subtropical Andes.[4] Some highland species have altitudinal migrations.
Behaviour and ecology Edit
Feeding Edit Manakins feed in the understorey on small fruit (but often remarkably large for the size of the bird[4]) including berries, and to a lesser degree, insects. Since they take fruit in flight as other species "hawk" for insects, they are believed to have evolved from insect-eating birds. Females have big territories from which they do not necessarily exclude other birds of their species, instead feeding somewhat socially. Males spend much of their time together at courtship sites. Manakins sometimes join mixed feeding flocks.[2] Reproduction Edit Many manakin species have spectacular lekking courtship rituals, which are especially elaborate in the genera Pipra and Chiroxiphia. The members of the genera Machaeropterus and Manacus have heavily modified wing feathers, which they use to make buzzing and snapping sounds. Building of the nest (an open cup, generally low in vegetation), incubation for 18 to 21 days, and care of the young for 13 to 15 days are undertaken by the female alone, since most manakins do not form stable pairs. (The helmeted manakin does form pairs, but the male's contribution is limited to defending the territory.) The normal clutch is two eggs, which are buff or dull white, marked with brown.[2] Lekking polygyny seems to have been a characteristic of the family's original ancestor, and the associated sexual selection led to an adaptive radiation in which relationships may be traced by similarities in displays. An evolutionary explanation connecting lekking to fruit-eating has been proposed.[2]
Species list Edit
References Edit
Further reading EditStory highlights Gandee was one of three people found dead inside a Ford Bronco
The vehicle was partially submerged; its muffler
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following the opening of the controversial Bowfort Towers in the northwest, said earlier this month that the selection process for public art is the main issue.
All public art is chosen by a panel of seven members, with six of those being civilian volunteers.
The mayor says that that isn’t enough of a conversation with Calgarians.
As for funding for arts organizations, a number of the candidates have already made their views known on previous occasions.
Nenshi has fought to keep funding consistent for the arts community despite what happens in the local economy while Chabot, known to be a fiscally conservative politician, has opposed overspending.
Monday’s debate begins at 6:00 p.m. and organizers say at about 450 tickets were offered for free and they were all snapped up quickly.
It will feature all of the candidates who have declared so far; Shawn Baldwin, Andre Chabot, Dr. Emile Gabriel, Paul Hughes, David Lapp, Naheed Nenshi, Bill Smith and David Tremblay.
For those who weren’t able to get tickets to the debate, organizers say it will be livestreamed on Theatre Junction’s Facebook page.Computers feasting on their own exhaust heat. Super-efficient solar panels snaring lost thermal energy and recycling it into electricity. Personal electronics powered by stray microwaves or vibration-capturing clothing. Cellphones charged with a user’s footsteps. These and more innovations may be possible with free, green energy that is now going to waste.
The Bacteriophage Power Generator is made of biopolymer layers that produce electricity when squeezed. LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY
Ubiquitous sources like radio waves, vibration and pressure created by moving objects, heat radiating from machines and even our bodies — all have the potential to produce usable electric power. Until recently, ambient energy was largely squandered because of a lack of ways to efficiently exploit it. Now, advances in materials and engineering are providing tools to harvest this abundant resource and transform it into cheap, clean electricity.
“This power is simply available and it’s not doing anything right now, so it’s truly being wasted,” said Steven Cummer, a Duke University electrical and computer engineering professor working on harvesting ambient electromagnetic radiation to power electronic devices. “And as people think of useful things to do with it, then you’re doing those things with available power instead of requiring new power.”
This up-and-coming technology, some experts say, can save energy, liberate portable electronics from the grid, and all but do away with disposable batteries. Although it won’t begin to replace solar and wind for generating utility-scale electricity, energy harvesting can serve as a multiplier for these and other sustainable resources, boosting productivity by feeding escaped power back into the system, expanding the range of sunlight that can be harnessed, and powering controls that keep equipment functioning at its peak. If obstacles of size and efficiency are overcome, repurposed ambient power can be an important contribution to the renewable energy supply.
This up-and-coming technology could all but do away with disposable batteries.
The concept isn’t new — in a sense all energy drawn from the environment is “harvested.” Nor is there a standard definition for the emerging technology known as energy harvesting or energy scavenging, but it primarily involves collecting low-power electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical, or light energy and converting it to electric current.
Exploiting free, ambient energy is “an interesting idea and you’re going to see more applications of it,” said Jonathan Koomey, research fellow at Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance. But the technology has a long way to go, he said. Constraints on space and the amount of energy that can be gleaned in many settings now limit its use to small, fairly low-power devices. “It’s not this magic bullet,” Koomey said.
Still, in today’s power-hungry world, energy scavenging can help ensure that no watt goes to waste.
“Your computer, hot asphalt, there’s a million things that are fairly hot but not really viable for standard thermoelectrics,” said Harry Radousky, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California and co-developer of a nanoscale harvester for low-temperature heat, such as exhaust from appliances. In contrast to high-temperature, waste-heat capture systems — in which sources like flue gas provide a steep heat gradient for thermoelectric generators — the small heat differences between low-temperature sources and their surroundings are much harder to convert into electricity. But new low-temperature thermal harvesting technology could turn these overlooked resources into working power.
For instance, Radousky said, “we park our cars in hot parking lots all over the U.S. in the summer, so in principle we could charge batteries in electronic devices, [and] run coolers to keep food cold” with heat from the pavement. Other prospects for reaping low-temperature thermal power include light bulbs, hot ovens, and plastic seats inside cars baking in the sun. “My rule of thumb is that if it is too hot to touch, it’s a candidate source,” he said. “So we were looking for things that could harvest that low quality of heat … where a small amount of energy can get you a long way.”
“Our motto is ‘No wires, no batteries, no limits,’” says one expert.
As energy harvesters become increasingly efficient and cost-effective, a growing number of products such as light switches, thermostats, gas detectors, and avalanche alarms are going off-grid and battery-free.
“Our motto is ‘No wires, no batteries, no limits,’” said Graham Martin, chairman of EnOcean Alliance, a California-based consortium of companies promoting a wireless standard for automated building controls that run on scavenged power.
Regulating building heat, cooling, and lights with devices like room occupancy sensors can cut energy use by as much as 40 percent, Martin said. EnOcean Alliance reports that more than 250,000 buildings worldwide contain its energy-scavenging devices, like wireless, battery-free controls with tiny, integrated photovoltaic cells that harvest energy from room lights, or vibrations that agitate a pressure-sensitive material, releasing electrons. Martin estimates that EnOcean devices have saved 50 million batteries, and predicts that 3 billion switches, sensors, thermostats, transmitters, and other low-powered, self-contained gadgets will be in use within five years.
While the market for energy-harvesting devices is currently “not massive,” it is growing steadily, said Harry Zervos, senior technology analyst with the consulting firm IDTechEx. Some of the biggest uses at present include vibration-driven equipment monitors on oil rigs and other remote settings, and car tire pressure sensors running on mechanical energy from the wheels. The technology is now at a tipping point with advances in efficiency, reliability, and affordability, according to Zervos, who expects revenues to hit roughly $4 billion in a decade or so.
The greatest benefits may lie in cutting waste and boosting output from existing electricity sources.
Future applications could range from powering a car’s electrical systems with heat captured from the tailpipe, which University of Houston physicist Zhifeng Ren estimates would increase mileage by 5 percent, to a film that can be attached to human skin, converting a person’s movements into energy for portable devices.
Energy harvesting’s greatest benefits, however, may lie in cutting waste and amping up output from existing sustainable electricity resources.
Self-powered wind turbine monitors, for instance, could warn of problems in time to keep turbines from going off-line. And capturing lost heat would significantly boost solar production. Mahmoud Hussein, an assistant professor of aerospace engineering sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, has come up with a process that could convert heat to electricity much more efficiently: topping thermoelectric material with nano-sized pillars to slow escaping heat vibrations called phonons. The pillars stem heat loss by interacting with, rather than impeding, the phonons, leaving the electric current undiminished, a significant gain over existing thermoelectric materials.
Improved thermoelectric technology can help recoup energy lost by photovoltaic cells that utilize only part of the light spectrum while the rest escapes as heat, Hussein explains. Harnessing waste heat “adds to the field of harvesting energy from the sun,” Hussein said.
Engineers and entrepreneurs are also coming up with a host of other ingenious ways to put ambient energy to work.
At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on the University of California, Berkeley campus, bioengineer Seung-Wuk Lee is harvesting energy produced by a virus. Genetically engineered to contain a protein that generates electricity when squeezed, the virus infects bacteria and makes them create “zillions of copies,” Lee said. The result is layers of piezoelectric biopolymer with strong positive charges on the inside and negative charges on the outside that transform pressure into power.
One possible application is biomedical devices powered by motions from the body’s organs.
“Piezo means press,” Lee explained, “so when we mechanically press, we break the symmetry and induce their electric potential.” He demonstrates, tapping a super-thin, fingertip-sized biopolymer sandwich. A few inches away, a small display lights up, spelling out “Virus.”
This so-called Bacteriophage Power Generator can produce enough electric current to power LEDs, but the output would need to be increased a thousand-fold to illuminate a light bulb. Lee and colleagues are now working on boosting that performance.
Shoe inserts from Sole Power store enough energy from walking to power a cell phone. SOLE POWER
Another possible application is biomedical devices powered by motions from the body’s organs — especially useful for implants like pacemakers now driven by batteries that must be surgically changed. “We can convert small energy from our heartbeat,” Lee said. “The potential is endless.”
At the University of California, Los Angeles’ Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, Professor Kang Wang and colleagues are developing a way to power appliances and electronics with their own excess heat. The process channels heat given off by a working computer, for example, into spin waves able to power and speed up the machine at the same time.
Reprocessing waste heat can save electricity used not just in powering up computers, but also in cooling them down. Such savings would be especially significant at large server farms, where Wang says the dissipation of power is “an enormous drain on energy.”
Lawrence Livermore’s Radousky and partner Morris Wang, meanwhile, combined two technologies to wrest energy from low-temperature sources. Their hybrid harvester contains a phase-change material that deforms when heated and stresses a piezoelectric surface, producing current. Although the output is less than a volt, it could be deployed in arrays of miniscule sensors and processors known as MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), currently used as autonomous controls in cars, airplanes, imaging systems, and numerous other applications, Radousky said.
“The basic idea is to create energy which is used locally, rather than needing to be transmitted,” he said.
But don’t plan on getting rid of that tangle of chargers and power cords just yet. Satiating sophisticated portable electronics like cell phones with ambient radio waves sounds great, but unless you’re standing next to a transmitter, pulling in enough signal requires an antenna larger than the phone, according to Koomey. And even that can only power a very basic model, he said. “Your iPhone is not going to get charged.” Alternatives are in the works: Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed cell phone-powering shoe inserts, and a company called Sole Power plans to market footwear late this year that charges your phone while you walk. Both, however, need “many steps” — on the order of a 10-mile hike — to get the job done.
To Koomey, the greatest value of energy-harvesting is information: enabling small, self-contained sensors to provide data that can optimize power use and trim waste. “The way we operate the economy now, there’s all this inefficiency because we just don’t know, we’ve never been able to measure the inefficiency before,” Koomey said. “There’s huge efficiencies that can be wrung out of the system.”
As Zervos put it, “By using just microwatts, you can save kilowatts of energy that would have gone to waste.”Dark Times Befall 'Painter Of Light' Thomas Kinkade
Enlarge this image toggle caption Thomas Kinkade Thomas Kinkade
There's a good chance you own something by Thomas Kinkade. The artist's warm, cozy paintings have been widely reprinted on calendars, coffee mugs and more -- and it's estimated that his work appears in 1 in every 20 U.S. homes.
Yet Kinkade's company is struggling. Dogged by fraud allegations, his company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, and it plans to be back in court soon to file a plan of reorganization.
But financial challenges aside, Kinkade's artwork continues to sell. He is, after all, the "Painter of Light" -- he came up with the nickname himself.
Enlarge this image toggle caption PRNewsFoto/The Thomas Kinkade Co./AP PRNewsFoto/The Thomas Kinkade Co./AP
God's Light?
A Thomas Kinkade can make you feel like you're strolling down a cobblestone path to a cozy cottage with smoke puffing out the chimney.
"When I look at a Thomas Kinkade painting, I get a warm, soft, cozy feeling," says window shopper Anna Kayne. "Like I want to go into where that is and be part of it."
Kayne, who was browsing an art gallery in Irvine, Calif., says she particularly likes Kinkade's winter vistas -- the perfect blankets of snow over peaceful gardens, the snow-covered cottages lit from within.
"I think it harkens back to some imagined past," she says, "before cities, before crowds, before traffic, before the stresses of everyday life."
Ami Davis, who teaches art at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote her master's thesis on Kinkade. "I've heard [about] almost quasi-religious experiences with some of these paintings," Davis says.
Kinkade has said the light that streams through his paintings is the light of Jesus. But some of his gallery owners have accused the artist of using shared Christian values to defraud them. They say he persuaded them to open galleries in areas that couldn't support them -- and then competitively undervalued his own paintings.
"It's very disappointing when an individual expresses a worldview that's about peace, love, joy, family, and then ends up taking a position that is contradictory," says Terry Sheppard, a longtime colleague of Kinkade's. Sheppard testified in lawsuits that several of Kinkade's gallery owners brought against the artist.
The gallery owners won a nearly $3 million judgment and are attempting to collect after the company declared bankruptcy. To add to the artist's troubles, Kinkade was arrested for a DUI in June; his mug shot has made its way around the Internet.
'An Incredible Footprint'
But never mind the legal and financial troubles, the criticism and the controversies -- Kinkade's work continues to sell.
"I've been carrying Thomas Kinkade for over 22 years," says Marty Brown, co-owner of the Village Gallery in Irvine. "And the fact that he's been selling with such regularity for such a long time is unprecedented."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Thomas Kinkade Thomas Kinkade
The Kinkade Co. sees the success as part of a calculated business mode -- it methodically sells Kinkade's products in as many formats as possible, from calendars to lithographs to armchairs.
"What's compelling about this brand is, over the course of time, about 25 million people have purchased a Kinkade product," says company COO Frank Turrell. "That's an incredible footprint."
Turrell adds that the company is also changing strategies, and the galleries at the heart of the fraud allegations are no longer the main key to expansion. New plans include building partnerships with companies like Disney and Warner Bros., and strengthening avenues that cater directly to consumers, like home shopping corporation QVC.
"If you can restructure the fundamentals of the business and get the cost structure down," Turrell says, "there's an enormous demand out there for Tom's products."
Not that any of these corporate strategies matter to Kinkade's longtime fans such as Kayne. "This is the first time I heard of his bankruptcy," she says from the gallery in Irvine. "And I don't look at his paintings any differently. I won't."A Dune Remake?
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I absolutely love Dune.
The book was absolutely fantastic. Layer upon layer of intrigue, action, adventure and fantastic ideas.
The movie was good too. It provided a fantastic visual spectacle and laid out a more than memorable world, but couldn’t nearly hope to convey all the idea’s and concepts laid out by the book.
Now, a remake of that movie is being discussed.
Dune Remake?
At the moment, the conversation is that of desire rather than cold, hard facts.
Director Denis Villeneuve (of Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario and the upcoming Bladerunner 2 movie) recently sat down with Variety and discussed his upcoming Bladerunner sequel and all things Sci-Fi.
Dune came up.
I had been wanting to do sci-fi for a very long time. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a movie that really impressed me as a teenager. And also Blade Runner. And Close Encounters of the Third Kind is also one of my favorites. I’m always looking for scifi material, and it’s difficult to find original and strong material that’s not just about weaponry. A longstanding dream of mine is to adapt “Dune,” but it’s a long process to get the rights, and I don’t think I will succeed. Also I would love to write something myself. I have two [scifi] projects right now that are in very [early] stages. It’s too early to talk about them.
Okay, so as you can gather from that quote the whole thing is in thee early stages at the moment. Let’s face it, no matter how much geeks like me want it to happen, it’s probably not going to.
But what if it does? What if the stars align and this thing actually gets made?
I mean, it is the age of the remakes right? Hollywood no longer has an original thought left, so a remake of Dune isn’t exactly out of the realms of possibility right?
But should the movie be remade?
Dune Remake: should they?
I want to see a Dune movie as much as the next sci-fi geek, but I have my reservations.
I don’t want the movie to fall into the same pitfalls as the David Lynch version did: too much content. As I’ve mentioned above, the Dune novel has too much information, ideals and concepts to cram into one movie.
I think the better option would be a TV series.
Okay, I know there was a Dune miniseries in 2000 (which is rated higher than the movie on IMDB BTW) and another Children of Dune miniseries in 2003 (which is also rated higher than the movie) but I’m talking about a full series in today’s modern age of TV.
I think it could be done and even better than beefore. I mean, the Sci-Fi is producing some really decent Tv shows at the moment based on some really good novels. The Expanse is the primary example of this.
I think if they were granted an opportunity to take this on AND convert it into full length TV series rather than a miniseries, it’d be the optimal solution.
Another movie, even under the guidance of a director I really respect, is not the best way to go about a Dune reboot for me.
What does everyone else think? Are you behind a Dune remake?
What do you think?
Let me know via Twitter or Facebook
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Every month So Geekin' Awesome give away 2 free geek t-shirts to our awesome subscribers. Sign up using the form below to get your name of the list.This article is about flammable liquids used for flame-type weaponry. For other uses, see Napalm (disambiguation)
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The title is a portmanteau of the names of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: co-precipitated aluminium salts of naphthenic and palmitic acids.[1] Napalm B is the more modern version of napalm (utilizing styrene derivatives) and, although distinctly different in its chemical composition, is often referred to simply as "napalm".[2]
Napalm was originally developed in 1942 in a secret laboratory at Harvard University, by a team led by chemist Louis Fieser under the United States Chemical Warfare Service.[3] Of immediate first interest was its viability as an incendiary device to be used in fire bombing campaigns during World War II, but its ability to be coherently projected into a solid stream that would carry for distance (instead of the bloomy fireball of pure gasoline) resulted in widespread adoption in infantry/combat engineer flamethrowers as well.
Napalm burns at the same temperature as gasoline, and for a greater duration, as well as being more easily dispersed and sticking tenaciously to its targets; these traits make it extremely effective (and controversial) in the anti-structure and antipersonnel role. It has been widely used in both the air and ground role, with the largest used to date being via air-dropped bombs in World War II (most notably in the gruesomely effective incendiary attacks on Japanese cities in 1945), and later close air support roles in Korea and Vietnam. Napalm also has fueled most of the flamethrowers (tank, ship and infantry-based) used since World War II, giving them much greater range, and was used in this role as a common (and feared) weapon of urban combat by both the Axis and Allies in World War II. Multiple nations (including the United States, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea) maintain large stockpiles of napalm-based weapons of various types.
Forms [ edit ]
Napalm was used in flamethrowers, bombs and tanks in World War II. It is believed to have been formulated to burn at a specific rate and to adhere to surfaces to increase its stopping power. During combustion, napalm rapidly deoxygenates the available air and generates large amounts of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.[2]
Alternative compositions exist for different uses, e.g. triethylaluminium, a pyrophoric compound that aids ignition.
Development [ edit ]
Use of fire in warfare has a long history. Greek fire, also described as "sticky fire" (πῦρ κολλητικόν, pýr kolletikón), is believed to have had a petroleum base. The development of napalm was precipitated by the use of jellied gasoline mixtures by the Allied forces during World War II.[2] Latex, used in these early forms of incendiary devices, became scarce, since natural rubber was almost impossible to obtain after the Japanese army captured the rubber plantations in Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
This shortage of natural rubber prompted chemists at US companies such as DuPont and Standard Oil, and researchers at Harvard University, to develop factory-made alternatives—artificial rubber for all uses, including vehicle tires, tank tracks, gaskets, hoses, medical supplies and rain clothing. A team of chemists led by Louis Fieser at Harvard University was the first to develop synthetic napalm, during 1942.[4] "The production of napalm was first entrusted to Nuodex Products, and by the middle of April 1942 they had developed a brown, dry powder that was not sticky by itself, but when mixed with gasoline turned into an extremely sticky and inflammable substance." One of Fieser's colleagues suggested adding phosphorus to the mix which increased the "ability to penetrate deeply...into the musculature, where it would continue to burn day after day."[5]
On 4 July 1942, the first test occurred on the football field near the Harvard Business School.[5] Tests under operational conditions were carried out at Jefferson Proving Ground on condemned farm buildings, and subsequently at Dugway Proving Ground on buildings designed and constructed to represent those to be found in German and Japanese towns.[6][7] This new mixture of chemicals was widely used in the Second World War in incendiary bombs and in flamethrowers.
From 1965 to 1969, the Dow Chemical Company manufactured napalm B for the American armed forces.[8] After news reports of napalm B's deadly and disfiguring effects were published, Dow Chemical experienced boycotts of its products, and its recruiters for new chemists, chemical engineers, etc., graduating from college were subject to campus boycotts and protests[9][10]. The management of the company decided that its "first obligation was the government." Meanwhile, napalm B became a symbol for the Vietnam War.[11]
Military use [ edit ]
Napalm was first employed in incendiary bombs and went on to be used as fuel for flamethrowers.[12]
The first recorded strategic use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the US Army Air Force on Berlin on 6 March 1944, using American AN-M76 incendiary bombs with PT-1 (Pyrogel) filler.[13][14] The first known tactical use by the USAAF was by the 368th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force Northeast of Compeigne, France 27 May 1944 (368th Fighter Group AFRHA History Documents) and the British De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk.VIs of No. 140 Wing RAF, Second Tactical Air Force on 14 July 1944, which also employed the AN-M76 incendiary in a reprisal attack on the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division „Götz von Berlichingen“ in Bonneuil-Matours. Soldiers of this Waffen SS unit had captured and then killed a British SAS prisoner-of-war, Lt. Tomos Stephens, taking part in Operation Bulbasket, and seven local Resistance fighters. Although it was not known at the time of the air strike, 31 other POWs from the same SAS unit, and an American airman who had joined up with the SAS unit, had also been executed.[15]
Further use of napalm by American forces occurred in the Pacific theater of operations, where in 1944 and 1945, napalm was used as a tactical weapon against Japanese bunkers, pillboxes, tunnels, and other fortifications, especially on Saipan, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa, where deeply dug-in Japanese troops refused to surrender. Napalm bombs were dropped by aviators of the U.S. Navy, the United States Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Marine Corps in support of ground troops.[citation needed]
Then, when the U.S. Army Air Forces on the Marianas Islands ran out of conventional thermite incendiary bombs for their B-29 Superfortresses to drop on Japanese cities, its top commanders, such as General Curtis LeMay, used napalm bombs to continue fire raids on the large Japanese cities.[16]
In the European Theater of Operations napalm was used by American forces[17] in the siege of La Rochelle in April 1945 against German soldiers (and inadvertently French civilians in Royan) – about two weeks before the end of the war.[18]
Riverboat of the U.S. Brown-water navy deploying an ignited napalm mixture from a riverboat-mounted flamethrower in Vietnam.
Napalm was also widely used by the United States during the Korean War.[2] These ground forces in North Korea were outnumbered at points of defense by Chinese and North Koreans, but U.S. Air Force and Navy aviators had control of the air over nearly all of the Korean Peninsula. Hence, close air support of the ground troops along the border between North Korea and South Korea was vital, and the American and other U.N. aviators used napalm B for attacks in North Korea. Napalm was used most notably during the battle "Outpost Harry" in South Korea during the night of June 10–11, 1953.[citation needed] Eighth Army chemical officer Donald Bode reported that on an "average good day" UN pilots used 70,000 gallons of napalm, with approximately 60,000 gallons of this thrown by US forces.[19] In John Ford's 1951 documentary, This is Korea, footage of napalm deployment is accompanied by a voice-over by John Wayne saying, "Burn 'em out, cook 'em, fry 'em"; the New York Herald Tribune hailed "Napalm, the No. 1 Weapon in Korea".[20] Winston Churchill, among others, criticized American use of napalm in Korea, calling it "very cruel", as the US/UN forces, he said, were "splashing it all over the civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". The American official who took this statement declined to publicize it.[21]
Napalm became an intrinsic element of U.S. military action during the Vietnam War as forces made increasing use of it for its tactical and psychological effects.[citation needed] Reportedly about 388,000 tons of U.S. napalm bombs were dropped in the region between 1963 and 1973, compared to 32,357 tons used over three years in the Korean War, and 16,500 tons dropped on Japan in 1945.[3] The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy used napalm with great effect against all kinds of targets, such as troops, tanks, buildings, jungles, and even railroad tunnels. The effect was not always purely physical as napalm had psychological effects on the enemy as well.[22]
A variant of napalm was produced in Rhodesia for a type of ordnance known as Frantan between 1968 and 1978 and was deployed extensively by the Rhodesian Air Force during that country's bush war.[23] In May 1978, Herbert Ushewokunze, minister of health for the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) produced photographic evidence of purported civilian victims of Rhodesian napalm strikes, which he circulated during a tour of the US.[23] The government of Mozambique and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) also issued claims at around the same time that napalm strikes against guerrilla targets had become a common feature in Rhodesian military operations both at home and abroad.[23]
The South African Air Force frequently deployed napalm from Atlas Impala strike aircraft during raids on guerrilla bases in Angola during the South African Border War.[24]
Other instances of napalm's use include by France during the First Indochina War (1946–1954), the Algerian War (1954–1962),[25] the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974), the Six-Day War by Israel (1967), in Nigeria (1969), India and Pakistan (1965 and 1971), Egypt (1973), by Morocco during the Western Sahara War (1975–1991), by Argentina (1982), by Iran (1980–88), by Iraq (1980–88, 1991), by Angola during the Angolan Civil War, and Yugoslavia (1991–1996).[2][26] Recently, Turkey has been accused of using Napalm in its war against Kurdish militias over Afrin[27][28]. Turkey’s General Staff, however, denies this.[29]
Antipersonnel effects [ edit ]
When used as a part of an incendiary weapon, napalm can cause severe burns (ranging from superficial to subdermal), asphyxiation, unconsciousness, and death. In this implementation, napalm fires can create an atmosphere of greater than 20% carbon monoxide[2] and firestorms with self-perpetuating winds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
Napalm is effective against dug-in enemy personnel. The burning incendiary composition flows into foxholes, trenches and bunkers, and drainage and irrigation ditches and other improvised troop shelters. Even people in undamaged shelters can be killed by hyperthermia, radiant heat, dehydration, asphyxiation, smoke exposure, or carbon monoxide poisoning.[30]
One firebomb released from a low-flying plane can damage an area of 2,500 square yards (2,100 m2).[30]
International law [ edit ]
International law does not specifically prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets,[31] but use against civilian populations was banned by the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1980.[32] Protocol III of the CCW restricts the use of all incendiary weapons, but a number of countries have not acceded to all of the protocols of the CCW. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), countries are considered a party to the convention, which entered into force as international law in December 1983, as long as they ratify at least two of the five protocols. Approximately 25 years after the General Assembly adopted it, the United States signed it on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama's first full day in office.[33][34] Its ratification, however, is subject to a reservation that says that the treaty can be ignored if it would save civilian lives.[34]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]A former Pennsylvania pastor is charged with serially molesting a boy for ten years, beginning when the victim was 9 years old.
The Scranton Times-Tribune reported that Norman T. Faux, 54, former pastor of Lake Ariel and Centenary United Methodist churches is in custody after a woman found a lewd text message from Faux to her boyfriend on the boyfriend’s phone.
The woman told her mother about the message, who in turn urged the now 19-year-old victim to report the long-term sexual abuse, which began in 2004 and continued until a few weeks ago.
On Friday, the victim gave testimony to officials at Wayne County Children and Youth Services, saying that when he was 11 years old, Faux would play him pornographic videos while the minister performed oral sex on him. These encounters happened more frequently than he could count, said the young man.
Faux is currently being held at the Wayne County Correctional Center and was unable to make the $150,000 bail. On Wednesday, he asked for a formal preliminary hearing and appeared in Wayne County Central Court.
The Times-Tribune said that Faux was charged with “involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with someone less than 16 years old and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, three counts of aggravated indecent assault and one count of indecent assault.”
In court on Wednesday, Faux asked for a bail reduction, but Magisterial District Judge Ted Mikulak declined the request.
Faux was tried in a Methodist Church trial in 2011 on accusations of sexual contact with a minor parishioner. He went before the Scranton District of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church and voluntarily surrendered his church credentials.
It is unclear, said the Times-Tribune, whether the 2011 accusations were related to the current case.
[man in clerical robes wearing handcuffs via Shutterstock.com]Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is the most commonly prescribed psychoactive drug for juveniles and adolescents. Used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and for cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals, it has been regarded as a relatively safe medication for the past several decades. However, a thorough review of the literature reveals that the age-dependent activities of the drug, as well as potential developmental effects, are largely ignored. In addition, the diagnosis of ADHD is subjective, leaving open the possibility of misdiagnosis and excessive prescription of the drug. Recent studies have suggested that early life exposure of healthy rodent models to methylphenidate resulted in altered sleep/wake cycle, heightened stress reactivity, and, in fact, a dosage previously thought of as therapeutic depressed neuronal function in juvenile rats. Furthermore, juvenile rats exposed to low-dose methylphenidate displayed alterations in neural markers of plasticity, indicating that the drug might alter the basic properties of prefrontal cortical circuits. In this review of the current literature, we propose that juvenile exposure to methylphenidate may cause abnormal prefrontal function and impaired plasticity in the healthy brain, strengthening the case for developing a more thorough understanding of methylphenidate's actions on the developing, juvenile brain, as well as better diagnostic measures for ADHD.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.(CNN) -- A Reno, Nevada, man is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of four northern California women dating back more than three decades, authorities said Tuesday.
Joseph Naso, 77, was arrested Monday by Marin County, California, detectives following his release from the El Dorado County jail, also in California, where he had been in custody over the past year on unrelated charges, Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian told reporters.
Naso is charged in the 1977 murder of Roxene Roggash in Marin County; Pamela Parsons and Tracy Tofoya of Yuba County, California, whose bodies were found in 1993 and 1994, respectively; and the death of Carmen Colon in Contra Costa County, California, whose body was found in 1978, Berberian said. He is eligible for the death penalty.
Nancy Grace's Cold Cases
Roggash's murder was considered unsolved until Naso was arrested in April 2010 by Nevada parole and probation authorities, Berberian said. During that arrest, police found items that implicated Naso "in multiple murders of young women," he said.
CNN affiliate KGO said Naso, who had been convicted of grand theft at a grocery store, had a probation officer visit him at his home near Reno and found weapons. Naso spent a year in the El Dorado County Jail for the violation and was arrested upon his departure Monday, KGO said. A search of his home turned up photographs and writings tying him to the deaths, according to the station.
Berberian was tightlipped about details Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation. He said Marin County has agreed to prosecute Naso for all four murders.
Naso's arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Berberian said, and he will be presented with a criminal complaint at the hearing. He was being held without bail in the Marin County Jail on Tuesday, Berberian said.
Although authorities have yet to link Naso to any slayings in Nevada, Chris Perry, acting director of the Nevada Department of
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they need a dozen weapons? I don’t need a gun. The police have guns.”
The anchor: “Doctors at Yale University have made a discovery that could lead to new treatments in the battle against autism…”
Viewer: “That would be good. More research. Laboratory. The brain.”
If, at the end of the newscast, the viewer bothered to review the stories and his own reactions to them, he would realize he’d learned nothing. But reflection is not the game.
In fact, the flow of the news stories has washed over him and created very little except a sense of (false) continuity.
It would never occur to him to wonder: are the squabbling political legislators really two branches of the same Party? Does government have the Constitutional right to incur this much debt? Where is all that money coming from? Taxes? Other sources? Who invents money?
Is the flu dangerous for most people? If not, why not? Do governments overstate case numbers? How do they actually test patients for the flu? Are the tests accurate? Are they just trying to convince us to get vaccines?
What happens when the government has overwhelming force and citizens have no guns?
When researchers keep saying “may” and “could,” does that mean they’ve actually discovered something useful about autism, or are they just hyping their own work and trying to get funding for their next project?
These are only a few of the many questions the typical viewer never considers.
Therefore, every story on the news broadcast achieves the goal of keeping the context thin—night after night, year after year. The overall effect of this staging is: small viewer, small viewer’s mind, small viewer’s understanding.
The average viewer, having been entrained through years of watching the news, is going to come to tonight’s Presidential debate ready for thin context and no depth.
That’s the subconscious expectation.
Can this expectation be reversed in 90 minutes, regardless of what either candidate says?
And if either candidate suddenly punches a hole in that expectation, will the average viewer welcome it, or will he feel shocked and disturbed by the intrusion? Will he resent it?
Or to put it another way, which candidate more closely resembles a network news anchor—the familiar words, the familiar generalities, the thin context.
The networks that will broadcast the debate consider it a media/news event.
They will try to keep it within that space.
They think they own that space, which includes the viewer’s mind.
Source: www.activistpost.com
Image Credit: Anthony Freda Art
Help Us Be The Change We Wish To See In The World.Method and Madness Evolution of Yosemite Face-Climbing Standards
Bruce Morris
While NOT AS strenuous as some cracks, Yosemite granite face-climbing is an equally demanding technical and intellectual discipline. John Gill is said to have switched from granite to sandstone bouldering because microflakes damaged the tips of his fingers too much. Light weight, large bones, and early youth seem prerequisites to counteract the inevitable advance of arthritis and tendonitis. Like Olympic gymnasts, face climbers flower at seventeen. A crack is a natural feature of the rock that can yield to a strictly purist approach, but face-climbing, by its very nature, is based on innovation. Extraordinary means serve to achieve extraordinary ends. Most new cracks can be ascended by a competent party equipped with a standard hardware selection. However, like any other aesthetic artifact, a virgin face line exists more in the mind of its first ascensionist, a projection of the living human imagination on the possibilities dormant in the features and weaknesses of the stone. The number and varieties of potentially great cracks are eternally fixed, the number and kinds of face-climbs infinite. There is only one Tales of Power, although there exists an almost unlimited potential for one-pitch face-climbs along the base of Glacier Point Apron and Middle Cathedral Rock.
Yet in order to avoid the spectacle of sandwiching hundreds of trivial lines between one another—as has already occurred at Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks in Southern California—it becomes necessary to adopt some criteria for new route selection. Fortunately, the process of historical development within Yosemite itself defines how significant new face-climbs will be created in the future. Choice of number, location, and method of bolt placement may determine varying degrees of commitment, difficulty, and style, but the importance of such choices is relative to how they deepen and extend a fixed number of older traditions.
The two most prevalent of these traditions involve a commitment to either maximum technical difficulty or maximum terror. The first emerged in the relatively exotic atmosphere of Tuolumne Meadows, the second is something of a native Valley product. However, for several reasons, it is very difficult to combine both successfully at once. 5.12 or 5.13 may be very difficult, but never extremely bold. At the top of the standard, boldness very quickly becomes lethal and, therefore, considering the amount of training needed to achieve that level of ability, extremely self-limiting, not to mention self-destructive. Ironically, though, boldness can sometimes result from force of contrast. Whenever you descend from well-protected 5.12 to ordinary 5.11, longer runouts seem far easier than previously. For example, Brass Knuckles on Lower Cathedral Rock, at a modest 5.11d, has never been repeated simply because Chris Cantwell put it up as a tension release immediately after completing the most difficult crux pitches on the Hall of Mirrors. On the other hand, if good drill stances are passed up simply to make a route more committing, the crux moves, no matter how frightening, are never as hard as they might be if better protected. Ideally, and on the better routes produced according to this mode, the necessity for a long run-out and the availability of drill stances should coincide. This second tradition at its best is epitomized by the one-man, one-pitch, no-turning- back ethic of Kauk, Worrell, and Meyers that has resulted in the very economical bolt placements of such routes as Space Babble, Quicksilver, and Orange Peel on Middle Cathedral Rock. However, where possible syntheses exist between these apparently contradictory historical systems, Yosemite face-climbing is destined to make its most important future advances.
In Tuolumne Meadows, the jeweled lotus of the Sierra granite world, face-climbing was free to evolve outside the paranoid Valley mainstream and so developed methods of ascent that would finally push the standards of microflake edging higher than if some self-appointed “ethics committee” were watching. Here, at the present moment, and for many years past, aesthetic considerations have displaced most questions of style. With a few noteworthy exceptions, including Grey Ghost, Uh-Huh, and Guardians of the Galaxy, the goal has remained the construction of a line of technical difficulty at almost any price. “How can a route be worthwhile unless ‘questionable methods’ were employed on its first ascent?”, asks notorious local Claud Fiddler. After all, can temporal ethics ever be successfully reconciled with a mandate to extend contemporary standards beyond the limits of the merely human? Like Pantanjali’s Yogasutra, the moves on a difficult face-climb should outline the mystical steps toward achieving a deathless super-consciousness.
First of many “atrocities” to grace the Tuolumne scene, as well as one of the first 5.11a’s, was the late Tim Harrison’s Handjive on Lembert Dome. Put up with bolts already preplaced on rappel, the route was chopped a few years later by an indignant Tim Higgins, then just as self-righteously replaced by Dale Bard, Bob Locke, and others in the style of the original 1972 ascent, that is, entirely on rappel. It was felt that the popular and self-reliant Harrison, who once hitchhiked alone from Los Angeles up U.S. 395 with a teardrop trailer, deserved a fitting memorial. Of course, the real point is not how or why the route was put up, but rather the impact of Handjive on the pace of free-climbing activity. After memorizing its well-protected crux moves, the next generation of apprentice leaders were now mentally prepared to begin to conceive of lines of equal or higher standards of difficulty.
Certainly the most prolific of this next generation was Vern Clevenger. Three of his best routes, Golden Bars, Pièce de Résistance, and Dreams, all completed during the middle 70s, were precedent setting. With persistence and grim determination, Vern battled his way up Golden Bars in a cold and windy June of 1975. No one will ever know for sure whether he drilled all the bolts strictly on the lead; however, most of his stances were of such high caliber, they provided examples of what could and would be done later on even more demanding routes. But Clevenger could not ignore his own lessons, which he had already employed in an even more rarefied context on Pièce de Résistance. About six hundred feet above the deck on Fairview Dome is a hard, but short, section of steep, polished granite. Here, where Higgins and Kamps had met defeat, Clevenger and Bob Harrington eventually prevailed. Over the course of one long day in 1974, the pair drilled, bolted, and fell their way up the Pièce pitch, sticking miraculously to some of the hardest drill stances then yet achieved. Only one bolt—but they would never say which one—was supposedly drilled on aid. Then, in 1976, came Dreams (Screams). For the first time in Yosemite, a free face route had begun to approach 5.12, even if that move itself was almost protected from overhead, thanks to Harrington’s six-foot-five-inch frame.
Clevenger’s achievement had an almost immediate impact. Within a surprisingly brief space of time, certain tendencies had appeared that would eventually make possible longer, grade-six free climbs. Clevenger had, first of all, demonstrated a willingness to cheat selectively in order to produce a route that would form an artistically satisfying whole. Yo- yoing was proper; a bolt or two on aid was all right; bending the rules in certain situations was acceptable as long as it extended the upper range of the free-climbing spectrum. Also, as his routes approached well-protected 5.12 difficulty, the borders of the leading imagination were appreciably stretched. In addition, it now became necessary to reckon drill stances into a climb’s overall rating. Once one realizes it can take over twenty minutes of calf-searing torture to stand and drill a good bolt, Golden Bars appears a much more serious undertaking than formerly.
The methods promulgated by Clevenger were now transplanted to the Valley and employed with renewed success, particularly on Glacier Point Apron. Since most Apron climbers were schooled in Tuolumne, the transition was not all that difficult. But the challenge was on a much larger scale. Routes like Tightrope or Mother’s Lament may be regarded as approaches, tentative false starts toward engaging the great headwall that separates the upper from the lower Apron around the nine-hundred- foot level. Here the angle of the polished slabs increases markedly, as does the difficulty of the climbing. It was the avowed intention on the Hall of Mirrors to confront this problem directly and ascend it by strictly free-climbing means, never resorting to bolt ladders or hooks.
The history of the Hall of Mirrors is now fairly well known. Between 1976 and September 1980, the route grew by a process of accretion, countless attempts by different teams involving various and often enough conflicting personalities. However, for the sake of convenience, the growth of the route may be divided into three distinct stages, dominated, in succession, by the skills and philosophies of three different prime motivators, Mark Wilford, Dave Austin, and Chris Cantwell. Every advance up the wall was likewise preceded by some major change in equipment, technique, or strategy. These include siege climbing from portaledges, the provisional use of aid chains, and the appearance of the Galibier “Contact” shoe, with its softer, more malleable, and adhesive rubber.
During the drought of 1976-77, Mark Wilford of Colorado Springs established the route’s first two pitches, titling his effort The Opening of Misty Beethoven, after a highly overrated, though somewhat programmatic, pornographic film. After such an ambitious beginning, it is not clear why he stopped so soon. But the route is highly tempermental at best, and its conditions were undoubtedly at their greasiest after a scorching, bone- dry summer. By self-admission, Wilford had never friction climbed before either. He had no way of knowing in advance that using chalk would increase the rating of the second pitch several additional grades. So, the hypothetical third pitch must have appeared impossible, although it was to be rated finally only 5.10a.
It was at this point that Dave Austin decided to administer a salutory dose of technical hygiene. Backed by experience he had gained on A Mother’s Lament, Austin realized the use of chalk was anathema to advanced foonting* because the particles that fell down from his hands destroyed adhesion between shoe rubber and the smooth rock surface. After recruiting Chris Cantwell and me from the Lodge parking lot, Austin now added pitches three through eight to a route renamed the Hall of Mirrors. Even with the aid of fixed ropes and siege tactics, however, we were unable to complete the Unfinished Ninth, a pitch that was eventually to be rated 5.12b.
Accompanied at one time or another by either Scott Cole or Scott Burk, Cantwell took over the lead. In the fall of 1979 he had obtained a prototype pair of “Contacts,” a new softer rubber shoe by Galibier that permitted better friction on higher-angle stone. He finished the Ninth and, over the next year, undaunted by storms and earthquakes, pushed the route up to the base of the 13th pitch. Here he decided, after drilling a few miraculous bolts up a nearly vertical prow, that a bolt ladder was finally necessary.
However, when Austin accompanied Cantwell up the fixed lines to this new high point, there was disagreement. Austin believed that following a ramp a few feet to the right would have eliminated the need for a ladder. Drilling could have been accomplished from all-natural stances, Austin argued. But in order to make the line harder for the sake of difficulty as an end in itself, Cantwell had refused to compromise with the natural rock environment and, instead, had deliberately chosen to construct a pre-placed “free ladder” up what he referred to as the “line of strength.” Feeling such tactics were unconscionable, Austin elected to drop out. Still, Cantwell persevered. After freeing the 13th, at a tentative 5.13 standard, he went on to add two more hard pitches before intercepting the Coonyard to Rim route. On this final push, in September 1980, Scott Burk was his partner.
Before they were freed, Half Dome and the west face of El Capitan had been conventional aid routes for over twenty years. The rationale behind freeing the northwest face of Half Dome was based on the fact that it was America’s first grade six. But Hall of Mirrors was the first time a Yosemite grade six had been conceived of as a free climb from its inception. However, it is especially significant that the Cantwell- Austin break underscores the conflicting face-climbing traditions that were introduced at the start of this article. Cantwell wished to maximize difficulty by constructing a well-protected free line, while Austin wished to preserve boldness by following the natural line of greatest weakness.
At first glance, any functional bridge between conflicting viewpoints seems illusory. This is the case unless it is recalled that its goals have become ambiguous the more distant, the more abstracted rock climbing grows from the older summit-oriented sport of mountaineering. Means have replaced ends to such a degree that Ray Jardine feels justified sculpting holds and preplacing protection across the King Swing on the El Capitan Nose route, simply in order to make that particular section go free. Furthermore, the scene as a defining subject area has become so dominant that personal self-worth has begun to be measured exclusively in terms of the free-climbing standard at which an individual performs. This social morality of the letter grade is, I am afraid, more than most are willing to admit, one of the major forces driving the standard upward.
But despite the egotism and paranoia, it does seem quite possible to utilize more sophisticated means of protection placement while preserving an open-ended, summit-directed leading experience. The Bachar/ Yerian route on Medlicott Dome in Tuolumne Meadows provides an example of such a productive crossover. What few protection bolts there are were placed by means of a hook, which is standard practice in Dresden where Bachar encountered it on a European visit. Such an arrangement allows the leader to move up confronting virgin territory while making independent decisions about length of run-out. This is a more adventurous tactic than beginning a route at the top and placing protection in advance on rappel. (Still, it should be kept in mind that preplacement, as long as the original number of bolts is never increased, does have the advantage of avoiding yo-yoing, sieging, and the drilling of bolt ladders.) Nevertheless, the bolt placements on the Bachar/ Yerian, besides being very exciting in their own right, remove any doubt about the route being only an ambitious boulder problem. Bachar did exercise a fine critical judgment when placing protection, and the route now exists as an independent entity to be repeated by subsequent parties according to a pattern established by its first ascensionists.
There definitely are other alternatives to bolt ladders, as well, such as mixed-media events where the methods of advanced aid and free- climbing are combined. A leader nails an A5 seam until it blanks out on a face. While hanging off his last placement, say a copperhead, he drills a short hole for a 1/2-inch machine bolt using a filed-down drill in the interest of speed. Next, he places a 3/8-inch compression-type shield and frees the face above at 5.12 or 5.13, though still carrying along an extremely light aid rack—a few copperheads, rurps, and hooks. Whenever freeing becomes impractical,, he simply places a piece and continues on at A5, backed up by the 3/8-inch and machine head clipped in tandem.
Such futuristic projects are indeed possible when the intrinsic character of the climb and the experience of climbing upward are more important than establishing an identity within the social scene. One can make a personal choice to employ sophisticated tactics, not to denigrate the King Swing to a letter grade, but rather in order to experience a higher level of adventure on the sharp end of the rope. For the separation of the technical means from the summit-directed goal does possess one great positive virtue—absolute existential freedom. Short of actually damaging the rock medium, the individual is finally free to determine what kind of climbing experience he wants to have. It is to be hoped that such radical flexibility, coupled with a strong sense of personal integrity and respect for the rock, will provide innovative, but still valid, solutions to such last great face-climbing problems as The Rat Wall or the East Slabs of Mount Watkins.
* Foonting is a technical Yosemite term used in friction climbing. It involves “smearing” on high-angle slabs while rapidly “padding” upward; moving up, in essence, faster than moving back down.According to Michael Palin, "I remember one day when we'd been doing a lot of crouching with the castle in the background and Terry Gilliam asked us to crouch once more because there was a lovely shaft of sunlight coming and catching John's helmet. John went absolutely berserk, saying 'You know, I'm not waiting for a shaft of light to strike my fucking helmet. We've been here for four hours, we've crouched and it's cold. What are you waiting for? The moon and the stars to arrange themselves around my head'" Gilliam recalled, "When we did the scene where they are at the battlements and the cow is thrown over it was a matte shot and the only way to do it was to dig a hole in the ground and have them all on their knees. John was going apeshit because he was uncomfortable. I finally said, 'Fuck it. It's your sketch, you wrote it. I'm just trying to make it work. And this is a tricky shot here'. So I said, 'Fuck you', and went off in a snit and laid down in the grass, saying I'm not going to direct this".The number of Albertans collecting employment insurance has skyrocketed by 91 per cent since the start of 2015, Statistics Canada says.
The federal agency says 63,800 Albertans were receiving EI cheques in January — a two per cent increase from December's figures and up 91 per cent from the 33,400 receiving benefits a year earlier.Alberta's current jobless rate of 7.4 per cent is at its highest level in 21 years as the province lost tens of thousands of jobs in the beleaguered resource sector as oil prices plunged.
The figures reflect that laid-off oilpatch workers are seeing their severance packages run out and the downturn's effect is beginning to hit other job sectors, says Janice Plumstead, senior economist at the Canada West Foundation.
"And so what we're seeing is a slowdown, a general slowdown in the whole Alberta economy and it's starting to affect other parts of it," she said.
EI ran out
Calgary saw a month-to-month increase of 1.7 per cent in the number of EI recipients, while the numbers in Edmonton rose by 2.4 per cent.
Accountant Karen Muma, who lost her job in the oil and gas sector, says her EI ran out last week, and it has been difficult to find out if she will qualify for an extension.
"I've called a few times, but the recording on the EI phone say either they are not taking calls or the volume is high," she said.
While the national EI totals remained relatively unchanged overall from the previous month — totalling 543,100 — seven provinces did report increases in the numbers of EI beneficiaries.
New Brunswick saw a 4.2 per cent increase, Newfoundland and Labrador's figure was up 3.2 per cent, Saskatchewan recorded a 2.4 per cent increase and Alberta's totals went up 2 per cent.
On a year-over-year basis, the huge increase in the number of Albertans receiving EI assistance skewed the national picture.
Service companies
"In the 12 months to January, the total number of EI beneficiaries increased by 35,900 or 7.1 per cent, largely as a result of increases in Alberta," Statistics Canada said in a release.
In view of these figures, the federal government might be forced to revisit its decision to exclude Edmonton from the changes to eligibility for EI benefits that were announced in Tuesday's budget, according to Plumstead.
"There's a lot of oil and gas supply service companies... in that region, so they may not have been affected in the first round of effects from the decline in oil prices, but certainly their businesses have been affected and so that has to affect the number of people who they're able to employ, and we could see that number, that unemployment number rise in Edmonton over the next 12 months," she said.
In January, Quebec saw a two per cent month-to-month decline in the number of EI beneficiaries, down to 143,600.
British Columbia's EI figures in January were down 1.2 per cent from December, and in Ontario there was little change except in a few areas of the province. The numbers of EI recipients dropped 7.7 per cent in Thunder Bay and 7.6 per cent in Windsor. However, there was a 3.6 per cent increase in EI recipients in Oshawa and a 2.3 per cent jump in Sudbury.4 Steps Towards Creating Email Signatures for Actors
I think everyone wants a sexy email signature (my favorite adjective for good design), but they’re not sure they have the technical skills to make it happen.
News flash: It’s easier than ever!
I’m going to require you to create an email signature this week (if you don’t already have one).
Why? Digital marketing is your 24/7 virtual representation. You’ve spent tons of time, money, and energy cultivating a website and social footprint, so keep inviting audiences! “Sent from my iPhone” is a lost opportunity to connect further.
Step 1: Decide what should be included.
Your name and website are the bare minimum. I’ll let you choose if you’d like to include a title, phone number, social platforms, etc. I’m a minimalist, so seeing someone include their email address in their email signature seems redundant.
When it comes to both design and marketing, less can be more (as in more clicks to your website, Facebook or Twitter versus no clicks at all).
Decide what’s important to you (phone calls, website visitors, social followers, etc.) and strategize your signature’s components.
Step 2: Decide how you want to build it.
The simplest way is to link text (which we’ll get to more in Step 4). For example, there’s no reason why you can’t just spell out Facebook | Twitter | Instagram, instead of trying to embed mobile-friendly graphic icons.
The next easiest way is through Gmail’s settings (which we’ll get to in the video). If you want an easy way to include social icons, this is it! Our company’s email signatures were built in Gmail!
Otherwise, my favorite resources include:
Step 3: Caress the design.
Once you’ve decided what’s included, it’s time to get creative!
It’s easy to make something sleek and sexy by simply formatting the text (as we’ve done by bolding the steps in this tutorial!). For example, how are you going to format your name over the chosen contact information? TITLE CASE, Sentence Case, or lower case? Bold? Colored? Underlined? Sized?
If you want to add some art, I applaud you! I like email signatures with a photo, monogram/logo, signed first name, and/or social icons. These are suggested design elements. Please do not use all of them!
If you need help formatting graphics (and you don’t own Photoshop or can’t afford a designer), use PicMonkey.com. We’ve found social icons that are about 30 pixels x 30 pixels worked best across various devices.
When looking over your final design, make sure it balances authenticity and strategy. Remember that less is more!
Step 4: Link and sync.
Once you've made your content and design choices, it is (usually) very easy to make a hyperlink! In most email platforms (not yet in iOS), you simply highlight the word you want to link and find the function to add a hyperlink!
If you’re in Gmail, click on the chains in the signature menu bar to make a link. (You can do this for images, too!)
If you’re in Mac Mail, hold down control + click with the mouse, choose hyperlink, and paste the address!
Heads up: This might be where you get technologically overwhelmed and give up. Hang tight. You can do this! It may take some time to sit down and figure it out, but remember that all of the resources listed have helpful Q&As—if not full customer support teams.
Once you’ve got your signature linked, send an email to yourself and test everything! Do all of the links work? If so, reply to yourself with “You Rock!”
The final step is to sync it up! Copy and paste your new email signature(s) into all of your accounts/devices. For an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Mail > Signatures.
Note that I say signature(s), as most of us do so many things (not to mention balancing several email accounts). Do not be afraid of creating a few email signature variations. You can then customize the signature per account or audience! For example, on some emails, I am "Founder, Creative Social Media." On others, I am "Actor + Collaborator."
In closing, remember that you should include your website and social links wherever possible. Connect with your audience through your email signatures, printed bios, social media bios, business cards, and more!
Like this advice? Check out more from our Backstage Experts!At a time when consumers can easily track their orders on Amazon online or keep watch of their home remotely, the digital information flowing through the local seaports about billions of dollars worth of goods is outdated and too slow, experts say.
Shipping companies have different ways they report arrival of cargo. And trying to track a shipment can be confusing even for those who have done it for years.
“We need to continue to up our game,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, who on Friday at USC signed an agreement with the school’s Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management to help find a fix. “We are not at the kind of world-class level that we need to be at.”
As competition grows around the world, she said, the United States has to make itself an attractive location for export production and importing.
To that end, the partnership with USC will explore ways the ports can adopt a standardized information system that could allow various players from retailers to truckers to big shipping companies to share data.
The first tangible outcome is a conference and contest for technology developers planned for next month.
The idea is to be able to track a shirt imported from China across the supply chain from nearly the time it’s ordered and be able to tell what kind of transit problems it might be encountering. That could go a long way toward making delivery of products speedier and cheaper, as consumers have come to expect.
“Never have we had a port community system with digitized technology,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “This is really ground-breaking.”
Nearly 40 percent of imported goods to the United States come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but information about how quickly products like jeans and plasma TVs will arrive and be distributed is complicated by a web of different software systems that don’t talk to each other.
Easier access to data could help ease congestion by alerting everyone when equipment is down or in short supply. Seroka said he would like to be able to know weeks instead of days before a container ship arrives at port, so planning for its arrival is smoother, which would help train operators, truckers and brokers.
Additionally, Pritzker said, the Commerce Department will hold quarterly meetings with ports around the country, and those that do business with them to develop better ways to handle issues such as cargo congestion, equipment shortages or information sharing. And next month, an advisory board to the department will release its recommendations for maritime standards on cargo status, with the goal of improving the supply chain.
A singular data set could help when there is a problem, such as not having enough trailers at a terminal, officials said.
“There is no standardization,” said Jon Monroe, spokesman for Dewell Container Shipping Corp., a freight shipping company with offices in Bell and Shanghai.
He said customers often ask him where maritime shipments are, but each of the vessel companies have different measurements for arrival, making it tough to provide consistent answers.
“That information is critical to plan your labor,” he said. “You have to know when things are going to arrive.”
Cliff Katab, president of El Segundo-based Performance Team Freight Systems Inc, which provides transportation and distribution of products for major retailers and manufactures, including Nike Inc. and TOMS Shoes, shares his frustration.
“The biggest problem is everyone speaks a different language,” he said. “In order to do business, we have to spend a certain amount of money and time to make sure that we speak the same language.”
That means creating new inventory and tracking systems every time the company contracts with a new company. What he would like to see is something akin to a bar code or other data set that can be used across every business.
But for years, competitors have held on tight to this because it offered them a competitive advantage.
Now it poses headaches at the ports where nearly every terminal operator works off of a different data system. In Long Beach and Los Angeles, there are 14 terminals and 11 different operating systems, complicating matters for truckers and others who need to access information about their cargo.
“The idea is to digitize the transmission (of information) so supply chain partners can plan and make decisions in a more reliable, safe manner,” said Noel Hacegaba, chief operation officer at the Port of Long Beach.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly identified Gene Seroka as the CEO of the Port of Los Angeles. He is the executive director.Umami, known as the fifth taste, is what makes certain foods savory and deeply flavorful.
When you taste something with complex layers of flavor that fill the mouth and satisfy the soul, it’s likely you’re tasting umami. Umami is famously present in many animal products including cheeses, aged meats like salami, salted fish like anchovies, and fresh meats and seafood that have been caramelized at high temperatures. Luckily for vegetarians and vegans, umami exists in any food that contains the amino acid L-glutamate, including many plant-based foods.
Great vegan and vegetarian cooks know how to use umami-containing or umami-friendly ingredients to their best advantage to unlock the flavor in their dishes. Read on to learn their secrets.
Soy Sauce or Tamari—Fermentation is one way to develop umami in food. Soy sauce and tamari, both made from fermented soy beans, are rich in umami and salt. A tiny dash in salad dressings, drizzled into soups or veggie stews, or onto plain steamed vegetables can intensify the flavors of the other ingredients.
Bragg’s—Bragg’s Amino Acids is another fermented soybean product. Popular in raw food preparation, Bragg’s contains 16 of the 20 amino acids needed for balanced health. Use it as you would soy sauce or tamari.
Ume Plum Vinegar—A Japanese condiment that is derived from traditional Japanese pickled plums, this vinegar is salty, and a little bit sweet, with lovely floral characteristics. When you taste a dish and think that it just “needs something,” this might be the something it needs. Much more complex than Bragg’s or soy sauce, it can be used in the same ways suggested above. Don’t be afraid to tweak a Western vegetable soup with this Eastern condiment. It works.
Nutritional Yeast—Available in health food stores -and hip, independent theaters that sell popcorn- nutritional yeast is beloved by vegans for its nutty, cheesy flavor. Sprinkle it on popcorn, add to mashed or baked potatoes, or stir it into vegan casseroles.
Toasted Nuts and Seeds—Toasting seeds and nuts really brings out their flavor, and truly makes a difference in the umami quotient of your cooking. Grain salads, pilafs, and green salads can all benefit from the savory addition of toasted pumpkin or sesame seeds, or nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, and peanuts.
Dried Mushrooms—Mushrooms are treasure troves of naturally occurring umami. Drying them simply concentrates what’s already there. Reconstitute some dried shiitakes and add them to a winter squash stew or a brothy Asian noodle soup. Dried porcinis make swoony risotto and will help your barley soup sing.
Miso—Adding a spoonful of this fermented soybean product is a great way to add depth to vegetarian soups. Simply stir it in at the end of cooking, when you’re adjusting the seasoning. When combined with lemon juice, garlic, and herbs and spices, it makes a great marinade for grilled or roasted vegetables. These same ingredients can also double as a salad dressing.
Nori—why is sushi so crave-worthy? Partially because of the toasty, unique flavor of the nori that it’s wrapped in. You can buy nori in sheets and use scissors to snip it over vegetarian soups, stews and salads, or purchase it in flake form in the versatile Japanese condiment furikake, which is used to season plain rice. When buying furikake, read the ingredients, as some versions contain bonito or other fish.
Tomato Paste or Dried Tomatoes—Like mushrooms, ripe tomatoes contain a naturally occurring form of umami. When dried or concentrated into a paste, the umami characteristics are amplified. Add dried tomatoes or tomato paste to beans, marinades, or vegetable stews for a more complex flavor.
Caraway Seeds—Though spices don’t technically contain umami, they can bring out the umami in certain foods. Caraway seeds add a light smokiness and have a particular affinity for cabbage and potatoes. Add them to potato salads, coleslaws, and breads or rolls.
Cumin—Toasted cumin seeds can make almost any bean or lentil dish better. They have an intense savoriness of their own that adds a meaty character to foods into which they are incorporated.
Smoked Paprika—Adding smoked paprika to a bean dish or split pea soup is a great way to make as if you’ve used bacon. Need I say more? Even if you’re not into pretend meat, you might like to stir a little smoky paprika into potato salad, your favorite vinaigrette, hummus, baba ganoush, or a marinade for grilled vegetables.
Images: Rooey, Creative Tools, thepinkpeppercorn, jmurawski, fboyd, arminflikr, jackson3, miansari66Game of Thrones will come to an end on HBO after its eighth season, but Thrones fans needn't start getting withdrawal symptoms just yet as the cable network is already making plans for a possible prequel series.
"It’s such a big property we would be foolish not to explore it, but it’s a pretty high bar,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Entertainment Weekly. "We’ll take some shots at it."
However, Bloys says HBO won't churn out a new prequel series just because it can.
"I’m not going to do it just to do it. It has to feel very special," he explained. "I would rather have no sequel and leave it as-is then have something we rushed out.”
Bloys said that the history of Westeros gives writers plenty to work with and flesh into a new series, but adds he doesn't "feel any pressure that we have to have something.”
Game of Thrones season 7 is set to premier in the summer for a seven episode run, with the final eighth season to follow, likely in 2018.
Source: Entertainment Weekly“If I had arrived 15 minutes later at the hospital, I would have died. I underwent 12 blood transfusions in order to survive.” Sitting in the living room of her wooden stilt house, 39-year-old Buan Kham slowly lifted her skirt to expose what remains of her right leg, amputated at the knee. “If
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users
Highlights of the non-TV games were available on nwslsoccer.com almost immediately
But full archived replays are supposed to be delayed 48 hours on nwslsoccer.com. It took a bit longer than that, but they are available without signin, free.
I saw varying reviews of using a VPN such as TunnelBear or Opera to convince nwslsoccer.com that you’re in Canada and therefore are allowed to watch the match live on your computer.
It worked well for several folks
For others the feed ranged from choppy to unwatchable
A person who actually lives in Canada reported the feed was slow and poorer quality than last year’s YouTube broadcasts
We can only hope the situation smoothes out before next weekend’s non-TV game. If you’re headed to a bar, you may want to check on their preparedness.
The 2017 league season was expanded back to 24 games after two years of 20-game seasons. It’s still not enough football but at least we’ll have more than last year.
Perhaps the biggest news in the offseason was the settling of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between US Soccer and the players. Both sides profess to be very pleased. As part of the CBA, the league minimum salary was raised more than 100% to $15,000. This is a living, if non-spectacular, wage for a half-year’s work. Players who go to Australia in the offseason could do fairly well for themselves on a 12-month basis.
The league does not have a commissioner. Jeff Plush left a few weeks ago. His lieutenant, Amanda Duffy, was referred to as “NWSL Representative” – not “Acting Commissioner” – when giving Christine the NWSL Shield.
Speaking of which, Christine Sinclair collected the NWSL Shield in the pregame ceremony. She briefly showed it to the Riveters as the permanent banner was unveiled in the north end rafters. It will now take up its home in the trophy case on the south wall inside the gate 4 entrance.
Hammered Rivets
The Riveters unveiled a number of new “toys” for 2017 including a new song (based on Pitbull’s Bon, Bon, Bon), two new scarves, a cool “fifth” themed shirt honoring the 5th season, a joint Riveters/Timbers Army matchday drive for charity, and a splendid tifo.
The tifo was probably the most complex display ever done in the north end, with 154 unique elements, and was also the first net lift for the Riveters. The theme was shields, in honor of the team’s 2016 achievement and 2017 ambition.
In addition to the large banners, the crowd held up 150 hand-drawn shields created by several dozen folks over the past two weeks. Some shields were messages of support for “whom we wish to protect” such as PBS, refugees, the disabled, math and science, bicycling, forests, and more. Other depict elements native to the players’ countries like the Danish flag, le coq gaulois of the French Football Federation, a maple leaf, even the fearsome Australian drop bear. There were lots of pop culture icons such as “Beaker” from the Muppets, a dual-shield portal, “Hello Kitty”, and “Where’s Waldo”. And also some beautiful abstract designs drawn from Norse and Northwest Native cultures, and even a Jackson Pollock knock-off.
Many Riveters contributed ideas and time to the shields. A particularly intriguing group was a family of three visiting from New York City. They took a few hours out of their vacation to come to our dingy warehouse and paint five shields. And they weren’t even here for the match, although they apparently did see one of their shields on TV. Soccer truly is a global family!
Your author is hosting a free prediction game for all Thorns matches this year. You are welcome to play and it’s all just for fun. Find Reading the PTFC Leaves in Stumptown Footy’s Fanpost section and add a comment to enter. http://www.stumptownfooty.com/fanposts
There’s nothing like winning, especially on a brilliantly lovely day, to make a supporter feel good. The vibe in the stands was mellow and upbeat from the moment the gates opened. Everyone seemed in a fine mood that only got better as the game progressed. With a fresh start is the renewed belief that anything can happen. As excellent as the 2016 season was, it’s yet possible that 2017 will be better still.
By Richard Hamje
Video and Photo Editing by Jeanette “Bitmangler” Hamje
Featured photo credit: the great Ray TerrillMicrosoft has announced the completion of the Marea subsea cable, a joint project with Facebook and global telecommunications infrastructure company Telxius.
In a statement, Suresh Kumar, Microsoft's corporate vice-president for cloud infrastructure and operations, said the subsea cable was the most technologically advanced to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
The cable runs for more than 6600 kms and weighs about 4.65 million kgs – or about the weight of 34 blue whales.
It can transmit up to 160 terabits of data per second, making it 16 million times faster than the average US home Internet connection.
At that speed, it can stream 71 million high-definition videos simultaneously.
The installation of the Marea subsea cable began last year.
It was also the first to connect the US state of Virginia with Spain, with the landing being in Virginia Beach and Bilbao.
Kumar said the cable's new "open" design would allow it to evolve with technology, as the number of Internet users increased globally.
"And make no mistake, the demand is growing. Just think of the many high-bandwidth applications and content you use today such as Skype and Facebook Live, and the volume of streaming videos, movies and music consumed daily," he said.
"This ability to interoperate with many different kinds of networking equipment brings significant benefits including lower costs and easier equipment upgrades, leading to faster growth in bandwidth rates."
The Marea cable coiled onboard a ship.
The name of the cable, Marea, means "tide" in Spanish.
Microsoft's Deborah Bach said: "Situating the cable many miles south of the current connection points on both continents helps to safeguard against natural disasters or other major events disrupting connectivity across the Atlantic."
Bach said that the project required charting a course with average depths of almost 11,000 feet (3352 metres) and hazards ranging from active volcanoes and earthquake zones to coral reefs.
"The cable, which is about 1.5 times the diameter of a garden hose, contains eight pairs of fibre optic cables encircled by copper, a hard-plastic protective layer and a waterproof coating. Some portions closer to shore are buried to protect the cable from fishing and ship traffic, but for most of its route, the cable lays on the ocean floor," she added.
Graphic and photos: courtesy MicrosoftTo an outside observer, serving a population of 150,000 map creators and millions of map viewers might seem like a simple matter, but to us it’s a big complex deal, and we’re always looking for ways to make the CartoDB platform faster!
Because we serve so many users, and thus so many apps, finding even small efficiencies can generate big savings on the amount of infrastructure we need to deploy, which is good for the environment and good for the business.
We work with spatial data to draw maps, and one thing that disguishes spatial data from regular data is size – it’s really, really large. Just one country polygon can take up as much storage as several pages of text.
If we can reduce spatial data in size, we win twice. A big polygon takes up a lot of memory on a map rendering server, and a lot of network bandwidth as it is moved from the database server to the rendering server. And if we do the job right, any changes in the maps will be visually undetectable.
The input data for this map were 24kb:
The input data for this map were 554kb:
See the difference? Me neither.
There are two ways to make spatial objects smaller:
Reduce the number of vertices used in their representation, and
Reduce the amount of space used by the representation itself.
To improve CartoDB efficiency this summer, we worked on both approaches, changing the SQL Mapnik generated during rendering requests to lower the size of the generated spatial data.
Reducing vertex count
As a loose rule, since the map output will be displayed on a screen with some kind of resolution, any vertex density that exceeds the output resolution is wasted information. (That isn’t quite true, since most modern map renderers use “sub-pixel” shading to convey higher density information, but past a certain point, like 1/10 of a pixel, extra vertices aren’t helping much).
We started with a simple approach, just using the ST_Simplify() function to reduce the number of vertices in our geometry. This worked great, creating compact geometries that still captured the intent of the original, but it had two problems:
It was a bit too slow for large objects.
It was too hard on small geometries – not only did it simplify them, but if they fell below the simplification tolerance, it dropped them altogether. This could result in surprising gaps in maps that were zoomed out.
Pre-filtering to make things faster
Our initial filtering used the long-standing ST_SnapToGrid() function, since snapping coordinates to a tolerance and removing duplicates is a very fast operation.
Unfortunately, snapping at high tolerances can lead to an output that doesn’t follow the original line particularly closely, and can contain some odd effects.
For PostGIS 2.2, ST_RemoveRepeatedPoints() includes an optional parameter, to consider any point within a tolerance to be “repeated”. The cost is only the distance calculation, so it’s no more expensive than snapping, and the results are much closer to the original line.
Retaining small geometries
We had to enhance the ST_Simplify() function to optionally retain geometries that were simplified out of existence. For example, look at this map of building footprints (in red), simplified to a 30 meter tolerance (in green).
Many of the buildings are smaller than 30 meters, and simply disappear from the green map. To create an attractive rendering, we want to keep the tiny buildings around, in their simplest form, so they fill out the picture. For PostGIS 2.2, we added a second parameter to ST_Simplify() to “preserve collapsed” geometries rather than throwing them out.
Reducing representation size
If you don’t work with strongly-typed programming languages you probably don’t put a lot of thought into how much space a representation takes, but different representations can take drastically different amounts of size to store the same value.
The number “5” can be stored as a:
a 1-byte character,
or a 2-byte short integer,
or a 4-byte integer,
or an 8-byte double,
or an 8-byte long integer.
So, for this example, there’s an eight-times storage size win available, just for choosing a good representation.
The default implementation of the PostGIS plug-in for Mapnik uses the OGC “well-known binary” (WKB) format to represent geometries when requesting them from PostGIS. The WKB format in turn specifies 8-byte doubles for representing vertices. That can take a lot of space, space that maybe we don’t need to use.
Accurately storing the distance from the origin to a vertex takes pretty big numbers, sometimes in the millions or 10s of millions. That might legitimately take 3 or 4 bytes, or more if you need sub-meter precision.
But storing the distance between one vertex and the next vertex in a shape usually only takes 1 or 2 bytes, because the points aren’t very far apart.
So, there is a big space savings available in using “delta” coordinates rather than “absolute” coordinates.
Also, the image resolution we are going to be rendering to implies an upper limit to how much precision we will need to represent in each delta. Anything more precise than 1/10 of a pixel or so is wasted energy.
To make all this a reality, we made use of the work Niklas Aven has been doing on “Tiny well-known binary”, a representation that retains the logical structure of WKB (simple feature geometry types) but packs them into the minimum possible size using delta encoding and variable length integers.
All this calculating of deltas and minimum sized integers takes a fair amount of CPU time, but in our application the trade-off is worth it. Our databases very happily serve thousands of users without putting pressure on the CPUs – all the pressure is on the network and renderer memory.
We have made sure that tiny well-known binary is ready for release with PostGIS 2.2 as well.
Putting it all together
When we put it all together and tested it out, we were very happy, particularly for rendering large complex features.
This set of Amtrak routes, drawn in purple, is rendered without filtering, and using WKB as the representation format. So the image is as “correct” as possible. Because the routes have some small back-and-forth patterns in them below the pixel scale you can see the renderer has furred the lines in places.
In terms of size, the original data are:
147,000 total vertices, and
total vertices, and 2.3Mb when encoded in WKB.
That’s a lot of data to throw over the wire, just to draw some purple lines.
Here’s the same data, rendered after being filtered (using repeated point removal), simplified (but not dropping features below tolerance) and encoded in TWKB. Our size is now:
14,000 total vertices, and
total vertices, and 29Kb when encoded in TWKB.
That’s right, we are now only transporting 1% of the data size, to create basically the same image. In some ways this image is even nicer, lacking the furry parts created by the overly-precise WKB data.
Final answer
And when we rolled it out to the real world, did it perform as we hoped? Yes, it did indeed, visibly reducing our network overhead and memory usage when it rolled out: the red graph is network usage, and you can see when the deployment took place.
We’re running a patched version of PostGIS 2.1 right now, updated with all the changes we require. These changes are all part of the PostGIS 2.2 release, which will come out very soon. We hope others will find these updates as useful as we have.
Yet, there are still many things to optimize, would you like to help? Join us!
Happy data mapping!
Don’t forget to share this post on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin!Fact: Zombies aren’t real. But HTC’s virtual reality headset might convince you otherwise…
HTC has announced a spine-tingling zombie horror VR experience to promote the UK launch of the HTC Vive.
It’s called Virtually Dead, and it’s an immersive half-VR, half-theatre fright-fest that sees event-goers trying to stave off a zombie apocalypse.
Virtually Dead takes place in a “secret east London location”, and features 22 live actors, plus a bunch of designated “VR zones”.
Tickets are now on sale at £30 a-piece, and are available for single-purchase, or as a group of up to 10.
“Virtually Dead is a pioneering immersive experience that uses virtual reality technology from HTC Vive to help members of the public join the fight against a sinister zombie virus,” says a spokesperson for the project.
The whole hour-long production, which runs every hour – every day between March 19 and April 3 – takes place over half a kilometre.
It’s also an opportunity for the public to demo the HTC Vive headset before its official consumer release.
“By combining our VR with immersive theatre, we aim to introduce new audiences to HTC Vive before our April launch,” says Jon Goddard, HTC’s Head of European VR Marketing.
Goddard continues: “We have produced something that showcases VR in a whole new light and will attract people outside of the usual circles that would typically be interested in a VR event.”
Related: Oculus Rift vs HTC Vive
Head over to the Virtually Dead website to pick up a ticket – but beware, there’s a limited supply…oh, and flesh-eating zombies.
Does this horror event tempt you? Let us know in the comments.Image caption Wendy Watson founded a helpline for people seeking advice on breast cancer and its treatment
A national breast cancer charity is being investigated after its founder paid herself £31,000, in breach of charity law.
Wendy Watson, who launched the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline in 1996, has resigned as a trustee.
Financial irregularities were uncovered by the Charity Commission, which has issued an official warning for "significant breaches of trust".
Lawyers for Mrs Watson and the charity described the payments as "an error".
Mrs Watson, of Derbyshire, founded the charity four years after she became the first woman in the UK to have a pre-emptive mastectomy. Five years ago she was appointed MBE for services to people with breast cancer.
The pre-emptive mastectomy procedure was made famous in 2013 when American actress Angelina Jolie had the surgery.
Image copyright Google Image caption The organisation runs a network of charity shops around the country
The charity was set up to raise awareness and fund a phoneline where people can speak to Mrs Watson for support and advice.
By 2012, it was raising almost £1m a year from charity shops in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Humberside and London.
Mrs Watson paid herself the sum over the 2014-15 financial year.
Trustees cannot be paid without permission from the Charity Commission, which regulates registered charities in England and Wales.
After looking at the accounts the Charity Commission found that the charity was in "financial distress".
The accounts for the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline for 2013, 2014 and 2015 showed it spent 6%, 3.4% and 2.8% respectively of annual donations on "charitable activities", such as running the helpline.
The average spend for a charity is currently 83%, the Charity Commission said.
'Absolutely scandalous'
The rest of the money was spent running the shops and paying staff.
The Charity Commission noticed the financial irregularities and decided to investigate and discovered Mrs Watson had paid herself.
Michelle Russell, director of investigations at the Charity Commission said it is "quite normal" for a charity's profits to fluctuate from year to year, and this affects the amount of money which will go to the charitable work.
"If you think of small charities that are getting off the ground, sometimes they won't make a profit until year three, year four, year five, so it's quite hard to put a thick-and-fast rule on how much money should go to the end cause every year," she said.
Gina Miller, founder of the True and Fair Foundation, wants to set a minimum threshold so charities have to spend at least 65% of income on charitable activities.
She described the matter as "absolutely scandalous".
Mrs Miller, who is also known for challenging the government's Brexit plans, said: "When most people give over their money they believe the majority of it should go towards the end charitable work.
"This charity's spending should have been picked up by the Charity Commission a long time ago."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Gina Miller wants charities to have to spend at least 65% of income on charitable activities
It is the first time the commission has issued an official warning under new powers handed down by the government.
It also raised concerns about the organisation's record keeping and "improperly delegating" management of the charity.
The official warning was issued after points raised in a previous inspection last year were not addressed.
The charity's shops are described as "support centres", but when a BBC reporter visited five of the outlets, the only support offered appeared to be adverts for the helpline number.
Ms Russell said it was a "serious" case.
"As a trustee, as it says on the tin, you are trusted with other people's money as a volunteer to look after it," she said.
"When we found out there were some unauthorised payments to a trustee, we made it clear that it wasn't allowed to continue.
"But when we went back for the second inspection we found they'd continued to make payments in breach of charity law."
'Voluntary basis'
A statement from Mrs Watson's lawyers said she had been paid in "error" for "a period while she was a trustee".
It added: "Wendy Watson has worked full-time for the charity from August 2012 until now.
"She was paid for her work for one year (September 2014-15) [and] during that period, she was also a trustee.
"Neither Ms Watson nor the charity were aware that this was inappropriate until they were informed by the Charity Commission, at which point Ms Watson immediately resigned as a trustee and continued to work without payment.
"Ms Watson was also paid for three months' work at the end of 2016.
"Other than these periods, she has worked full-time on a voluntary basis."Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Members of the AfD, Germany's first Eurosceptic party in decades, protest against Angela Merkel
Euroscepticism is taking hold even in the country at the heart of the European project. And one of the continent's chief Eurosceptics, British politician Nigel Farage, has become an idol to some young Germans - to the consternation of many others.
For rebels, they appear extremely polite, are impeccably dressed and display a distinct lack of piercings or tattoos.
Germany's Junge Alternative (JA), or Young Alternative, may be dissidents - a Eurosceptic youth movement determined to overturn Germany's long-standing pro-European orthodoxy - but they are very conservative ones, advocating a crackdown on immigration and crime.
One of the main reasons for people joining the JA is that we try to speak and think without political correctness Sven Tritschler, JA chairman, North Rhine-Westphalia
In fact their stance has earned them a particularly bad rap from the national press. In the short year since the group's launch last June, the JA have repeatedly been accused of being "too far right", politically regressive and anti-feminist.
The organisation is linked to the country's first Eurosceptic party in decades, the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), or Alternative for Germany, which wants the euro broken up.
But it remains an independent movement and even the groundbreaking AfD regards it as something of an unruly offspring.
"The media sometimes portray the AfD as far-right and, because we are more direct and more right-leaning than the AfD, we're seen as extreme-right - but that's not the image I have of us," says Sven Tritschler, the JA chairman for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
The state's biggest city, Cologne, was the starting point for the AfD's European election campaign on 27 April. A fifth of all party members are based in surrounding North Rhine-Westphalia, and the AfD is hoping to further increase its support here.
Image copyright Junge Alternative Image caption "Equality instead of uniformity": German media failed to see the cheeky humour of the JA's European election poster, calling it sexist and in bad taste
Image copyright Junge Alternative Image caption In response, the JA used four half-naked men in its new anti-crime campaign demanding an end to "soft justice"
Wary of journalists
The negative press has certainly made the party wary of journalists, which might explain why Mr Tritschler turns up with no fewer than six other JA members to meet the BBC in Cologne.
"They were curious about what you want to know," he says. "We might regret it later."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sven Tritschler: "The European Parliament is the most powerless parliament in the world"
Aged between 17 and 32, the small gathering is typical of the JA: male, degree-educated and part of a growing number of young people "concerned about Germany's future within the European Union".
Statistics show that some 20% of under-30s voted for fringe parties, including the AfD, in last year's general election, compared with only 7% in 2005.
The AfD seems to be providing an attractive alternative for those unhappy with Germany's political consensus. And research shows the AfD/JA is doing especially well among the young.
We are all sitting on a train called the EU and we are constantly accepting new passengers without knowing where it's actually heading Philipp Ritz, JA leader
As German journalist Tilo Jung points out, "for ages there was no option to cast a vote to the right of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, unless you voted for the far-right. The AfD provides that now."
The German Eurosceptics are highly critical of the EU's bailout policies, demanding the dissolution of the euro, a halt to EU expansion, and national immigration quotas.
But they strongly reject accusations of extremism. The JA's national leader Philipp Ritz says the JA also has "more liberal" attitudes, like supporting giving asylum seekers the right to work.
"Don't bother joining if you're looking for racism or homophobia," adds Mr Tritschler.
Unlikely hero
Instead, the JA is looking to British Eurosceptic leader Nigel Farage for inspiration.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage's received rapturous applause during his speech in Cologne
His anti-euro United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) is also expected to score a good result in the May ballot, potentially beating mainstream parties.
The youth organisation invited Mr Farage to speak at a conference in Cologne in late March.
Mr Farage's appearance sparked a deluge of negative headlines and soured relations with AfD chief Bern Lucke who called the move a "sign of poor political tact".
"There are significant differences between the AfD and UKIP," he said.
Mr Lucke has repeatedly sought to distance himself from right-wing populism ahead of the European elections, where his party is expected to reap around 7% percent of the vote.
If successful, the AfD will need to join a pan-European faction in order to make its voice count.
The official party line is that they will opt for the group of conservative reformists, which includes Britain's governing Conservative Party.
Germany's AfD party Image copyright AFP Founded in February 2013 as a protest movement against Germany's decision to bail out Greece
Led by economist Bernd Lucke
Some 17,800, mostly male, members
Called the "professors' party" due to the high number of academics
Includes many ex-supporters of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union
Projected to get 7% in the European elections Policies Break-up of eurozone; possible reformation in smaller currency areas
Limits on EU power; concentration on common market
Tighter immigration controls - though qualified immigrants and some asylum seekers allowed
Tougher policies against crime
Oppose phase-out of nuclear power
As a result, Mr Lucke does not want to spoil his chances by "tainting his reputation" with uncomfortably close UKIP ties, says political expert Kai Arzheimer.
"However, the question remains whether they'll eventually give in to the temptation of playing the right-wing populist card, which would hold a brighter electoral future for them, because immigration is going to be an issue for Europe in the long term," he notes.
'Interesting character'
Mr Tritschler is unapologetic about courting Mr Farage.
"One of the main reasons for people joining the JA is that we try to speak and think without political correctness," Mr Tritschler says.
"Somebody who's been exercising that for quite a few years in the European Parliament is Nigel Farage and that's why we invited him. He is a Youtube star for a lot of people and he's an interesting character."
Although the JA does not support Mr Farage's push to leave the EU altogether ("We are in the midst of Europe while he is on an island in the North Atlantic so we can't have the same solutions"), it does find resonance in his criticism of the EU apparatus and his anti-immigration views.
"We are all sitting on a train called the EU and we are constantly accepting new passengers without knowing where it's actually heading," says Mr Ritz.
The group also believes the EU should have its political powers curbed, and become once again an economic community.
While all eyes are on the EU elections, the JA says the real prize will be getting into the German parliament, the Bundestag.
"That's where all the main decisions are made, especially concerning Europe," emphasises Mr Tritschler, adding: "The European parliament is the most powerless parliament in the world."Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The LG G Watch R has found yet another home, this time at T-Mobile US.
As the first Android Wear device to feature a fully circular plastic OLED display (the Motorola Moto 360 has an LCD screen), the G Watch R comes with a slightly higher price. At $300, it's $50 more than its main round competitor, the Moto 360.
The LG G Watch R is a water- and dust-resistant device that pairs with any Android smartphone that uses version 4.3 software or above. Slightly more stylish than other Android Wear models, it features a steel and aluminum housing and removable straps that you can replace with any 22mm bands.
Internally, we find 4GB of storage, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU and 512MB RAM. In addition to the standard suite of sensors, the G Watch includes a heart rate monitor and a barometer.
T-Mobile will sell the LG G Watch R in stores starting November 19. It arrives online later in the month.
Read CNET's full LG G Watch R review for all the details.Image copyright Other Image caption Zdeno Mirga, 18, (left), and Hassan Abdulla, 33, (right) were found guilty along with three teenage boys of a series of rapes and sexual assaults on girls
A gang that raped and sexually assaulted five vulnerable girls in Peterborough have been jailed at the Old Bailey.
Hassan Abdulla, 33, was jailed for 20 years while Zdeno Mirga, 18, described as the "boss" by one victim, was jailed for 16 and a half years.
Both were convicted of multiple rapes and child prostitution.
Jan Kandrac, 17, and Renato Balog, 18, were jailed for five and a half and 12 years respectively.
A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was given a non-custodial six-month youth rehabilitation order after being convicted of sexual activity with a child.
The men and youths were of Czech and Slovak Roma and Kurdish backgrounds.
'Worst case'
Ringleader Mirga and Balog will begin their sentences in a young offender institution.
Mirga was convicted of eight counts of rape and one count of inciting child prostitution. The court heard one of his victims became pregnant.
Drug dealer Abdulla was convicted of four rapes and three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Image copyright Cambs Police Image caption Jan Kandrac, 17, and Renato Balog, 18, were jailed for five and a half and 12 years respectively.
Balog, who helped Abdulla sell drugs, was jailed for five rapes and three sexual assaults.
Kandrac will serve his sentence in a young offender institution for one count of rape and two of indecent assault on a child.
The court was told the case came to light when a girl, then aged 12 or 13, was taken into care and began to tell her social worker what had been happening to her.
After the trial the Crown Prosecution Service said it was one of the "worst cases" of child sex abuse it had seen.
The gang preyed on girls who visited a fried chicken takeaway in Peterborough.
They used "sophisticated" grooming tactics to lure them to attacks carried out at parks and other locations, including a children's playground, police said.
Peterborough City Council has begun a serious case review into the care the children received.
Discredited 'hard working Roma'
Ringleader Mirga offered the girls out to other men to get money for vodka and drugs, the court was told.
Judge John Bevan singled out the gang's treatment of one victim, who had severe learning difficulties and a very low IQ.
She was repeatedly raped, with men and boys sometimes lining up to abuse her as a "sexual commodity", he said.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Det Supt Gary Ridgway, from Cambridgeshire Police, praised the bravery of the victims
"To you she was easy meat, a sexual plaything who no one cared about, no one cared for and who nobody would believe.
"Unfortunately for you, the jury did.
"The combination of the crimes you have committed and your attitude to these crimes both in this country and this court bring discredit on all of you in the dock.
"It also does a disservice to your fellow Roma who want to work hard in this country, improve themselves and make a positive contribution."
The judge branded Abdulla a "dangerous predatory paedophile" who fled Iraq in 2002 and has since been convicted of offences including drug possession.
He is likely to be deported once he has served his sentence, along with Balog and Kandrac.
The 14-year-old defendant was allowed to walk free from court after the judge was told he had already spent seven-and-a-half months on remand.
The investigation was a joint inquiry between Cambridgeshire Police and Peterborough City Council's children's services.
Gillian Beasley, chief executive of Peterborough City Council, said it would be "a long road to recovery for these girls".Teacher, 29, 'had sex with a 16-year-old female student she had been mentoring'
Teacher creeper: Former Houston high school teacher Kelly Ann Garcia is being charged with indecency with a child and sexual assault of a child, after allegedly sleeping with a female student
A 29-year-old teacher has been arrested after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old female student she had been mentoring.
Kelly Ann Garcia is alleged to have begun the affair after telling the teen she had an erotic dream about her.
Court documents show that the English teacher and the teen had sex at her home, including one occasion when they bought a sex toy.
On another occasion the teen's father caught the two at a local park, but Garcia sped off in her car before she could be confronted.
The victim's mother accused Garcia of taking advantage of her daughter.
'She just barely turned 16. At that age, you don’t know what you’re doing, what you’re getting yourself into,' she told Houston TV station KHOU.
The victim was a 16-year-old student at Hastings High School in Houston, Texas, when she met Garcia through a mutual friend.
The student told investigators Garcia would stay with her after school numerous times while she was working on a classroom project, even though she was not her teacher.
Court document show that Garcia picked up the teen on March 21 and the two went to Starbucks to have coffee.
It was there that Garcia allegedly told the teen that she had a romantic dream about her.
A week later, Garcia texted the teen saying she had just broken up with her boyfriend and they expressed their feelings for one another.
The following day Garcia and the teen met and spent the evening "kissing passionately."
The next day Garcia allegedly picked up the teen and took her back to her place after stopping off at the Katz Boutique and Sex Shop where she purchased a sex toy with her credit card.
Inappropriate affair: Prosecutor Markay Stroud says Garcia purchased a sex toy with the student before returning to her apartment to engage in sex
'The allegation is that they did in fact drive to a store and purchase a sex toy and drive back to the defendant’s apartment where they engaged in sex,' said prosecutor Markay Stroud.
Over the next several days, Garcia and the teen allegedly had more sexual encounters.
The relationship came to light after the teen bragged about her sexual encounters with other students.
One of them reported what they heard to an administrator.
Garcia is alleged to have continued to see the teen while she was under investigation.
The teen’s father caught the two at the park together on May 21, but Garcia sped off when he tried to confront her.
'I know it’s very hard on the complainant’s family. It’s very hard on my client’s family,' said Sam Dick, Garcia’s attorney. 'This is something nobody expected.'
Investigators recovered the receipt from Katz Boutique, confirming the purchase of the sex toy.
They also obtained phone and text records showing communication between the teacher and teen. They also found a photo of the two kissing.
Jail bait: Garcia posted bail late Thursday after she was arrested for allegedly having sex with an underage female student
On the run: When approached by KHOU TV reporters after posting bail Thursday, Garcia ran from cameras, literally dodging their questions
Cornered: 'Please leave me alone' was all Garcia told reporters after being confronted about her allegedly on-going relationship with a teen student
Alief ISD, the Houston school district which includes Hastings High School, said Garcia was terminated in March when the investigation began.
Garcia is charged with indecency with a child and sexual assault of a child. She has been ordered to stay away from her victim.Danica Roem combats her opponent’s transphobic attacks in a new ad supporting her bid to become Virginia’s first openly transgender state legislator.
“I’m running for office because my identity shouldn’t be a big deal. Because this shouldn’t be newsworthy or political. This is just who I am.”
Roam (D), has been the subject of transphobic slurs and attacks by her Republican opponent, Incumbent Robert Marshall, who is refusing to respect her gender identity and address her as a woman. Marshall has also refused to debate Roem and recently referred to her as “he” while asking a reporter, “Why do you call Danica a female? Did Danica’s DNA change?” Marshall then repeated his transphobic attacks while speaking with the Washington Post, “You can change appearances, but your DNA fixes your bodily structures for your entire life. Danica will never get cervical cancer. Danica can’t get ovarian cancer because those body parts are not part of a male structure.”
The new 30-second spot, titled “Inspire” features Roam standing in front of her mirror as she takes her hormones while proceeding to apply her makeup as she gets ready for her day. Her voiceover states, “I’m running for office because my identity shouldn’t be a big deal. Because this shouldn’t be newsworthy or political. This is just who I am.”
Virginia political pundits are calling Roem’s challenge to Marshall’s seat “the race of the year.” She is currently out-fundraising her opponent by a ratio of 5-1, bringing in close to $400,000 for her campaign. If she wins
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14. And while she appeared to have kept one or two of her children, some had been placed for adoption. In private adoptions, prospective parents may agree to pay the mother’s nonrefundable medical costs. But sometimes an illegal transfer of money also occurs, usually when the mother relinquishes the infant. Many people, I learned, refer to this illegal exchange as the “final shakedown.” Although the woman was well along in her pregnancy, she had no prenatal records that might have revealed drug abuse. The lack of a paper trail can be a red flag for adopters. My partner paid for some basic medical tests. When the results came in, my partner texted me, “No HIV, no hep, no drugs”—at least at the time of the test. “Smokes, but main side effect of smoking is low birth weight and baby is normal.”
The texts hit me like shots from an automatic weapon. I rolled into a fetal position on the bed. My partner knew well what I had discovered about nicotine and pregnancy. She knew everything that I (and science) knew about prenatal drug abuse. But she scoffed when I reminded her. She also knew what Hugh Laurie’s character had said in nearly every episode of House: “Everybody lies.” And addicts lie the most. Some people are energized by risk. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be. But in a relationship, the risk tolerance of partners should match. To draw upon the wisdom of Aesop, ants should not marry grasshoppers. I am an unglamorous ant-deferring gratification, socking away money religiously and investing it prudently. My partner was a grasshopper seeking what she wants when she wants it, unconcerned by the threat of a rainy day.
I suspect that when she flew from Los Angeles to meet the pregnant woman, she was fueled as much by risk as by her urge to be a mother. Back home in my loft, I felt unheard and abandoned—because I was. I did not even log on to read email. At dusk, I curled up on my bed, watching the light and color drain from my loft.
In the morning, when the sun came up, the color did not return.
One monochromatic week became two. I had kept the jade rosary my mother grasped at the hour of her death. Sometimes I held it when I sat cross-legged to meditate. It was now dark gray. Strangely, I did not break up with my partner. I threw myself into work, spending most days with students or colleagues at the university where I teach. I told no one about the loss of color. But I couldn’t keep the migraines entirely to myself—I had to explain why I sometimes missed a meeting. Blessedly, I never had to miss a class.
One night, after an evening class, I opened up to a colleague about what I was going through. We were sitting in a gastropub near campus. “I can’t do it,” I told him. “Not knowing what I now know from reading those books I never wanted to read.” The anxiety—the risk—was causing migraines. With the first prospective child, at least I’d had the comfort of the birth mother’s regular drug tests. That fetus, I knew, was not awash in bourbon and crystal meth. But this birth mother had no comprehensive medical records. The baby had no known father. The birth mother was herself the child of a woman who had died of a drug overdose. “I want to believe that nurture trumps nature,” I said with desperation.
Instead of reassuring me, he told me a story—his story that may not have been easy to tell. He is a brilliant gay man and an accomplished screenwriter who grew up in North Carolina. His childhood home was filled with books and music and art—all of which he devoured from at a very young age. He has two older adopted siblings, however, who, he said, ignored these cultural resources. Nor were they good at or interested in school. As adults, they have both become members of a homophobic Christian cult. And they have since severed all emotional ties to my colleague—their brother—because he is gay.
This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. In real life, nature could be as powerful—and as harsh—as it appeared to be in scientific literature. I recognize now that every adoption story is different, that this was his family’s experience. And I don’t know more details than what he was generous enough to share with me. But it was, in a way, the confirmation of what I long suspected, and what I needed to hear then: that I could no longer continue to be in a relationship with someone who aggressively disregarded my informed opinion. I broke up with Helen. The headaches stopped. Again I saw in Technicolor.
As it happened, my now ex-partner did not get the infant whose problematic provenance had caused our split. The mother decided to keep the baby, or perhaps ditched one prospective parent for another. Eventually, Helen adopted a baby from a different faraway state. I hope this child is healthy and happy. But my former relationship was beyond resurrection. I had escaped.
God, as my mother might have observed, had spared me yet again.
Sometimes clichés are true. It does, for example, take a village to raise a child, and my role is to be a mentor. My students tell me that I’m good at this. Nor do I just teach graduate students at a private university. Last summer, I volunteered as a writing coach with high-achieving financially disadvantaged high-school students. If they can do well against all odds—in homes where no one went to college and where English may not be spoken—they deserve my help. I also think our planet needs responsible stewardship, or there will be no planet for the kids growing up today. So I donate time and money to a marine mammal rescue center. Neither tutoring nor rescuing is a huge thing, but they make me feel less powerless against economic injustice and environmental destruction.
After I broke up with my partner, a friend told me something that was inadvertently cruel. “You would have been a great parent,” she said, “if all those tragedies in your childhood hadn’t happened.” But they did. They made me who I am—not a hypothetical perfect person but a flawed mess, who is trying, however inadequately, to leave behind a better world than the one through which I have had to make my way.
“You’d Be Such a Good Mother. If Only You Weren’t You” is adapted from the essay of the same name which appears in the anthology Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids, edited by Meghan Daum, published 2015; reprinted with permission of Picador Books.UPDATED 10/25/10 8:09 p.m.
‘Great Lakes Cyclone’ To Strike Chicago Tuesday
CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS) – A combination of strong thunderstorms, followed by violent and destructive winds, will make for one of the Midwest’s most dangerous storms in 70 years.
The temperature Monday hit the 70s under partly sunny skies. But when Tuesday morning comes around, the Chicago area will be slammed with furious thunderstorms as a cold front passes over the area.
Damaging winds will likely be a component of the thunderstorms, and there is a risk of tornadoes, CBS 2’s Mary Kleist reports.
The severe storms are expected to sweep into the area between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday, coming in the form of a squall line, which often means strong straight-line winds. The storms will be at their heaviest during the Tuesday morning rush.
The rain and severe storms will pass out of the area by midday, but at that point, high and dangerous winds will roar into the area.
The winds will maintain a sustained speed of 35 to 40 mph, and may gust to 55 mph or more. They will be most severe north of Interstate 88, particularly along the Wisconsin border, Kleist said.
Over Lake Michigan, hurricane-force winds are possible.
After sundown Tuesday, the winds will die down a little bit, only to pick up again after sunrise Wednesday morning.
The National Weather Service advises unsecured objects may become airborne. Falling tree limbs and sporadic power outages can be expected. Travel may become difficult with high profile vehicles becoming difficult to control.
Tree limbs and power lines will also be at risk.
The severe weather system is coming in the form of a cyclone, a low-pressure system of closed, spiraling motion. The system is, in fact, being dubbed the “Great Lakes Cyclone.”
The low barometric pressure in the system is contributing significantly to the severity of the storm. CBS 2’s Megan Glaros says the minimum pressure in the system could drop to an extraordinarily low reading of 960 millibars.
As the storm passes, the temperatures will drop quickly. The forecast high for Thursday is a mere 49 degrees.
Storm To Rank Among The Worst
The National Weather Service reports that based on its records, this will probably be one of the most powerful storm in 70 years, Kleist said.
The Weather Service has made a list of the worst storms in the Great Lakes region, ranked by how low the barometric pressure dropped.
Still ranking at No. 1, ahead of the storm coming Tuesday, is the Great Ohio Blizzard of Jan. 25-27, 1978. That storm produced winds that gusted up to more than 100 mph, wind chills of -60, and left snow drifts 20 feet high in some areas, according to published reports.
Ohio was the hardest hit in that storm, but the entire Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley were affected. The storm was blamed for more than 70 deaths.
Coming in second is the storm expected to arrive Tuesday.
Ranking third is the Armistice Day Storm of Nov. 11, 1940, which brought a blizzard to much of the Midwest, and a drop from 60-degree temperatures to single-digits in just one day. Up to 26 inches of snow fell in some areas, and the storm was blamed for 144 deaths – many of them duck hunters on the Mississippi River.
Tying for third was the Anniversary Storm of Nov. 10, 1998, which involved winds exceeding 70 mph.
Coming in fourth was the Cyclone of 1913, or the White Hurricane, on Nov. 7-9, 1913. A total of 24 inches of snow fell in some areas, and the blizzard led to the death of more than 250 people and sank 19 ships.
Fifth on the list is the storm on Nov, 10, 1975, which sank the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald freighter ship in Lake Superior. All 29 crewmembers were killed in the wreck, which inspired a pop song by Gordon Lightfoot.
CBS 2’s Mary Kay Kleist and Megan Glaros contributed to this report.“FLUSH the bill!” chanted protesters gathered outside Texas’s state capitol building, in Austin, on July 21st. They had gathered, bearing placards decorated with pictures of toilets, seat up, to urge lawmakers to ditch legislation that would prevent transgender people from using the lavatory of their choice.
Undeterred, the Senate voted in favour of two bills on July 25th that would reserve certain toilets, showers and changing rooms, in schools and public places, for the use of “persons of the same sex as stated on a person's birth certificate." But whether the bill will ever become law is another matter.
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This is the second time this year that conservatives in Texas have tried to regulate the toilet habits of transgender people. In March, a similar bill succeeded in the state Senate but fell in the House of Representatives, thanks to opposition from pro-business Republicans. They were concerned such a law would deter investors from outside the state, as happened in North Carolina last year after its Congress passed a bathroom bill. That bill, on which Texas’s is modelled, sparked a boycott of the state by sports teams and businesses that is estimated to have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars before the bill was partially repealed earlier this year. Concerns that Texas could suffer similarly have probably increased since then—following a decision by California’s government in June to ban publicly-funded travel to Texas on account of another illiberal measure passed by its legislature, a religious liberty law that could prevent gay couples adopting or fostering children.
Convention officials in Texas—which has three of America’s most populous cities, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio—claim the new bathroom bill has already cost them $66m in lost business. If it passes the House, they reckoned Texas could lose out on events worth $1.4bn. Other businesses, meanwhile, fret about their ability to attract and retain the sorts of footloose and discerning employees who typically do not want to live in illiberal places. IBM, one of the state’s biggest employers, has taken out full-page ads in Texan newspapers bearing the message: “No one should face discrimination for being who they are.” Corporate giants including American Airlines and AT&T have written to Gregg Abbott, the governor, warning that the bill “would seriously hurt the state’s ability to attract new businesses, investment and jobs.”
Mr Abbott seems to have been unsure what to do about all of this. At first, he was hesitant about supporting the bill; in the spring he backed a watered down version that was proposed by the House and rejected by the Senate. His prevarication is unsurprising. North Carolina’s bill did not only batter the state economically, it also sparked big political changes there. Last November, the then governor, Pat McCrory, who had signed the bill into law, lost his bid to be reelected as governor to Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Texas’s big cities, like North Carolina’s, have populations of young, cosmopolitan voters who recoil from prejudice against minorities. But Mr Abbott is now supporting the latest version of the bill and called the special session largely to discuss it.
What is behind Mr Abbott’s change of heart? Pressure from far-right Christian conservatives, is the answer. Led by Dan Patrick, the state’s lieutenant-general and a Tea Party favourite, this group has made bathroom usage a key issue ahead of primaries in 2018. Indeed, the Conservative Republicans of Texas has said it will undermine any Republican lawmaker that opposes the bill by supporting a primary challenger to them.
The fight now moves to the House, where opposition to the bill is likely to be led by Joe Straus, the Speaker, who has compared the bill (and other measures debated in the special session including anti-abortion measures) to a pile of manure. If Mr Patrick represents one side of the divide that the bathroom bill has opened up between socially conservative Republicans and moderate, business-friendly ones, Mr Straus represents the other. He was reelected to a fifth term as Speaker in January, but the Republican Party's executive committee in his home county recently endorsed a resolution calling for his removal as Speaker.
Mr Straus has cited both economic and humanitarian concerns to explain his opposition to the bill: “in order to protect our economy from billions of dollars in losses and more importantly to protect the safety of some very vulnerable young Texans”. But Mr Patrick and his backers are coming from a rather different vantage point. They believe that God is on their side in the battle against the move to recognise LGBTQ Americans and their rights.
They tend not to put it quite like that, however. Mr Patrick has argued instead that the issue is one of security; that allowing transgender people to use the bathrooms of the gender with which they identify will open the floodgates to hordes of sexual predators pretending to be transgender women so they can use the girls’ loo. He has used well-worn Republican rhetoric to explain why Texas must protect women from men dressed as women who were born men following “somebody’s wife, or somebody’s daughter” into the bathroom.
Police chiefs have been forthright in their dismissal of that argument. Standing on the steps of the capitol on July 25th before the Senate vote, Williams McManus, the police chief of San Antonio said it was important, when proposing a criminal justice concern, “to determine if you actually have a problem. This bill is a solution looking for a problem."
And even if there was a problem, such a law would be largely impossible to enforce anyway. This was illustrated by Ashley Smith (pictured), a transgender woman from Texas, who argues that a greater risk lies in making transgender women use men’s toilets. She showed the pointlessness of trying to make this law recently when she posed for a photo with a beaming Mr Abbott, who clearly had no idea that her birth certificate carried the word “male.”Advertisement
Dramatic photos show asylum seekers flooding into Canada across unmanned borders every day from the United States amid fears of a Donald Trump presidency.
The number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks as many believe Trump will start expelling illegal immigrants.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under increasing pressure on Thursday to deal with asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada from the US.
Dramatic photos show asylum seekers flooding into Canada across unmanned borders every day from the United States amid fears of a Donald Trump presidency. An extended family of eight people from Colombia were detained by the Canadian Mounted Police officers near Hemmingford, Quebec, on Saturday
The number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent as many believe Trump will start expelling illegal immigrants. The desperate family crossed the border illegally, according to authorities
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under increasing pressure on Thursday to deal with asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada from the US. A woman is pictured carrying a young boy
Trudeau, who stresses that Canada welcomes refugees, has so far avoided political fallout with Trump. The two talked on the phone about the border and other issues on Thursday but neither government gave many details of the conversation. Officers spoke with the family on Saturday
Allies and opponents alike say they want a strategy to cope with the dozens of people - mainly from Burundi, Eritrea, Syria, Ghana and Sudan - walking across the border every day
Trudeau, who stresses that Canada welcomes refugees, has so far avoided political fallout with Trump. The two talked on the phone about the border and other issues on Thursday but neither government gave many details of the conversation.
Allies and opponents alike say they want a strategy to cope with the dozens of people - mainly from Burundi, Eritrea, Syria, Ghana and Sudan - walking across the border every day.
The premier of the western province of Manitoba, where many of the refugees end up, on Thursday asked Ottawa for more resources to deal with the new arrivals, some of whom have lost fingers to frostbite in the dangerous crossing.
While Brian Pallister said his province will welcome those in need with 'open arms and open hearts,' his call for a national strategy to deal with the arrivals adds to opposition criticism that Trudeau has put national security at risk by embracing asylum seekers.
As of February 13, some 3,800 people had made an asylum claim in 2017, up from the same period last year and on track to approach the 2008 peak of 36,867, said Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
Allies and opponents alike say they want a strategy to cope with the dozens of people - mainly from Burundi, Eritrea, Syria, Ghana and Sudan - walking across the border every day. A man carrying bulky suitcases also crossed into Canada on Saturday
On Thursday, some asylum claimants were arrested by Canadian authorities after they crossed into Canada from the US. The man (left) claimed to be from Turkey, authorities said
A woman, who also claimed to be a claimant from Turkey, was handcuffed near the US-Canada border on Thursday
The number of migrants claiming refugee status at the Canadian-US border rose to over 7,000 last year, up from 4,316 in the previous year
Bardsley said comparable data for the January 1 to February 13 period in 2016 was not available.
The asylum seekers are breaking the law because Canada's policy under a Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings. Trudeau and Trump discussed border cooperation in their phone call on Thursday.
The White House said Trump emphasized the importance of working closely with Canada on cross-border issues, 'including implementation of his administration's actions to protect America from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals and others'.
Officials say Trump will soon issue a new executive order to replace the administration's directive suspending travel to the US by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries.
Warmer weather could spur more arrivals of asylum-seekers in Canada.
'They know they are in a pickle. If people are coming over in February, what's it going to be like in June and July?' said University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman.
Polls show Canadians are split over whether Canada should be accepting more or fewer refugees. But even Liberal legislators are starting to hear from constituents concerned about the arrivals.
'One or two people have raised the issue with me... and I expect I'll have a few more' conversations with constituents about the arrivals, said Kevin Lamoureux, member of parliament for Winnipeg North, where many asylum seekers settle awaiting their refugee hearing.
Other dramatic photos that were taken last week, captured the moment eight asylum seekers, including four children, barely made it across the Canadian border as a US border patrol officer tried to stop them.
The photos, which included smiling Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) greeting men, women, teens and children went viral last week.
A US Customs and Border Patrol officer seized their passports and questioned a man in the front passenger seat of a taxi that had pulled up to the border in Champlain, New York.
As the man was being questioned, four adults and four young children fled the cab and ran to RCMP on the other side.
The asylum seekers (pictured on Monday) are breaking the law because Canada's policy under a Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings
Experts have said that warmer weather could spur more arrivals of asylum-seekers in Canada. 'They know they are in a pickle. If people are coming over in February, what's it going to be like in June and July?' said University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman
Polls show Canadians are split over whether Canada should be accepting more or fewer refugees. But even Liberal legislators are starting to hear from constituents concerned about the arrivals. A family talks with police on Monday near Hemmingford, Quebec
A refugee claimant from Mauritania crossed the border into Canada from the US on near Hemmingford, Quebec
One by one they scrambled across the snowy gully separating the two countries.
Family members dragged luggage and pushed their toddler in a stroller through the snow before Canadian officers detained them, per standard procedure for refugee claimants.
RCMP officers watching from the other side helped them up, lifting the younger children and asking a woman, who leaned on her fellow passenger as she walked, if she needed medical care.
The children looked back from where they had come as the US officer held the first man, saying his papers needed to be verified.
The man turned to a pile of belongings and heaved pieces of luggage two at a time into the gully - enormous wheeled suitcases, plastic shopping bags, a black backpack.
'Nobody cares about us,' he said. He said they were all from Sudan and had been living and working in Delaware for two years.
A photo showed that at least one of their passports was Sudanese. Some media reports list the family as being from Somalia.
The man then appeared to grab their passports from the US officer before making a run for the border.
The officer yelled and gave chase but stopped at the border marker. Canadian police took hold of the man's arm as he crossed.
The border patrol officer told his counterpart that the man was in the US illegally and that he would have detained him.
Other dramatic photos that were taken last week, captured the moment eight asylum seekers, including four children (pictured), barely made it across the Canadian border as a US border patrol officer tried to stop them
A US Customs and Border Patrol officer seized their passports and questioned a man in the front passenger seat of a taxi that had pulled up to the border in Champlain, New York. As the man was being questioned, four adults and four young children fled the cab and ran to RCMP on the other side
One by one they scrambled across the snowy gully separating the two countries. Family members dragged luggage and pushed their toddler in a stroller through the snow before Canadian officers detained them, per standard procedure for refugee claimants. One officer flashed a smile as he helped a little girl over a gully
Officers on both sides momentarily eyed the luggage strewn in the snow before the US officer took it, and a walker left on the road, to the border line.
Canadian police carried the articles to their vehicles, and the people piled in to be driven to a nearby border office to be interviewed by police and to make a refugee claim.
'The RCMP aren't there to treat them like bandits. They're here to apply the law', retired Sûreté du Québec police officer and Hemmingford resident François Doré told CBCNews.
The small town of Hemmingford has seen a surge of asylum seekers since Trump took office and instated a ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Sudan and Somalia.
Though key parts of the ban have been blocked by a federal judge, there is still confusion.
Asylum seekers from around the world have shown up in Canada cold and hungry from difficult border crossings in the dead of winter.
Asylum seekers from around the world have shown up in Canada cold and hungry from difficult border crossings in the dead of winter
A family is escorted to police vehicles after crossing into Canada last week
Asylum-seekers sneak across because even if they are caught, they can make a claim in Canada; if they make a claim at a border crossing, they are turned away. Trudeau has admitted that he is'very concerned' with the amount of asylum seekers crossing into rural areas
The majority of these crossings have been happening on the New York-Quebec border, which authorities attribute to its closeness to the major East Coast cities
'Sometimes when you're left with no options and you're looking for a better life for yourself, people do take risks', Mohamud Noor, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota told Global News.
'It will increase rather than decrease … This is not going to reduce'.
The Canadian government does not have statistics on the number of people seeking refugee status who enter the country illegally.
But Sergeant Harold Pfleiderer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told The New York Times that 'there has been an increase in illegal migration in Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, with the largest increase being seen in Quebec'.
The reason they are crossing into Canada is because the country is part of an agreement that bars refugees that have already arrived in another'safe' country from trying to trade up to another country.
Asylum-seekers sneak across because even if they are caught, they can make a claim in Canada; if they make a claim at a border crossing, they are turned away.
Trudeau has admitted that he is'very concerned' with the amount of asylum seekers crossing into rural areas.
But Trudeau did not say whether he would seek to suspend Canada's agreement with the US and allow these people to apply for refugee status at official borders.
The majority of these crossings have been happening on the New York-Quebec border, which authorities attribute to its closeness to the major East Coast cities.Brace yourselves, it's about to get geeky. We don't typically dig on celebrity crushes, but we've made a special exception for the lovely Katee Sackhoff. As one of the stars of " Battlestar Galactica," the actress quickly established herself as our favorite toaster-frakking Viper pilot, and her charm outside that tomboy role only made her more endearing. Now she's gone and given us another reason to be smitten. Sackhoff recently contracted the custom motorcycle gurus at Classified Moto to build her a machine. Unlike most builds, the crew had almost completely free reign to do as they pleased. The only stipulation Sackhoff gave the builders was that she didn't want the pegs positioned behind her.The Richmond, Virginia-based shop whipped up what it's calling the KT600. The bike started life as a Honda XL600R Enduro before getting a full work over. The factory front forks were ditched in favor of a set from a Kawasaki ZX6-R, and the craftsmen at Classified used Sackhoff's bike as an excuse to play around with the rear suspension geometry as well. After much sweating, the old Honda was rolling on a single-sided swing arm from a Triumph Sprint. Blisteringly cool.Throw in some tuning by Progressive Suspension and a coiled stainless steel exhaust system by Chase Metal and the KT600 looks as if it would be at home on the streets of Caprica. (Hey, we warned you about the geekiness.) A film crew from Cafe Racer TV followed Classified Moto throughout the build, which means we'll get a glimpse at the full construction when the episode airs early next year. Until then, check out BikeExif and Classified Moto for more details.Next Friday! I’m having the grand opening of my print studio on Frankford Ave in Fishtown. Everyone is welcome to come check out the place, chat about printmaking, watch me print some posters, have a few drinks by the fire out back, and hopefully just generally enjoy the good weather (fingers crossed). 6-9pm 1761 Frankford Ave. I’ve been working real hard getting orders out and getting ready for this at the same time. I’d love to see some friendly faces and turn some angry faces into this 👉😑. Stop by one of the local Frankford Ave stores to pick up a postcard for a free poster. I will also have some prints for sale, but let’s be honest, everyone would prefer something for free. Hope to see you there! #frankfordave#fishtown#philly#philadelphia#firstfriday#grandopening#printmaking#printstudio#screenprinting#letterpress#process#merch#bands#cds (at Sire Press Headquarters Worldwide )Putting an anti-theft club on a steering wheel caused havoc for one Winnipeg family, when someone mistook the device for a shotgun and called police.
Andrew Lyons was in the city from Calgary, visiting his parents for the holidays, when he pulled up to the house on Harrow Street in the city's Fort Rouge neighbourhood on Dec. 17.
Andrew Lyons was putting a Club anti-theft device on his steering wheel when a passerby mistook it for a gun. (CBC)
Not long after he went into the house, it was surrounded by flashing lights and members of the police tactical unit. Lyons and his parents were then ordered to exit the home.
"Being the eldest son to a father with terminal cancer, I was the first to exit and noted the numerous officers with weapons drawn as they instructed me to walk backwards towards them with my hands up," Lyons said.
"I was then handcuffed and detained in a cruiser while the rest of my family was called out."
The police told Lyons that a report had been filed stating he was seen waving a gun in his truck. His parents' house was then searched.
Only after the search and repeated explanation by Lyons, did police realize the mistake made by the 911 caller.
An upset Lyons said police were too heavy-handed.
"I find these actions to be in direct violation of our privacy rights and cannot believe that a single phone call from a passerby can inflict such damage on a respectable, law-abiding family," he said.
"It should be terrifying to all residents of this city to know that your home can be entered at any time by these 'law enforcement officers' and the psychological trauma which I have suffered may be inflicted upon any person in this city with no reasonable grounds."
A spokesperson for the police service said officers have to act seriously on information they get from the public.
"I'm traumatized right now, I really am," said Lyons.
"I do lose a lot of sleep at night. I've laid awake in bed … thinking about what could have been done differently."Serious accidents turn attention to state helmet law
Greenwich police investigate the scene of an accident in which a moped was incinerated at the corner of Valley Drive and West Putnam Avenue in Western Greenwich, Friday, July 5, 2013. Greenwich police investigate the scene of an accident in which a moped was incinerated at the corner of Valley Drive and West Putnam Avenue in Western Greenwich, Friday, July 5, 2013. Photo: Bob Luckey Buy photo Photo: Bob Luckey Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Serious accidents turn attention to state helmet law 1 / 18 Back to Gallery
The freshly burnt shell of a motor scooter cut a dramatic figure at West Putnam Avenue and Valley Drive in Greenwich last Friday. Just as vivid was what lay beside it -- a helmet, scorched and unused. The bike burst into flames shortly after it collided with oncoming traffic, and its rider was thrown nearly 10 feet into the street.
Greenwich Emergency Medical Services rushed the bleeding man, who has not been identified by police, to the Trauma Center at Stamford Hospital for treatment of a severe head injury.
While the rider is expected to make a full recovery, police reported Tuesday, others have not been so lucky. It's been a particularly deadly summer for motorcycle riders in southwestern Connecticut: Since the beginning of June, motorcycles have been responsible for three deaths in the region -- two in New Milford and one in Danbury -- as well as several injuries. The recent fatalities have thrown long-standing debates over Connecticut's partial motorcycle helmet laws into a new light, prompting questions as to the efficacy of helmets and the future of statewide regulations requiring their use.
Helmets can drastically reduce the force of impact on the brain and skull, said Dr. Eric Kung, a neurologist at Stamford Hospital specializing in head injuries.
"Motorcycle accidents are some of the most common causes of traumatic brain injury," he said. "Blunt trauma from an impact of the head with concrete can also cause severe cranial fractures, but with a helmet, the impact a head absorbs is milder."
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research shows riders who wear helmets are three times less likely to suffer brain trauma than those without them.
Connecticut is one of 31 states that allow adults to choose whether or not to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, provided certain safety conditions are met, though the state requires residents ages 17 and younger to wear them. Initial iterations of the 1966 Highway Safety Act required states to enact universal helmet laws in order to receive federal highway funding. A 1976 amendment dropped this qualification, and the General Assembly overturned the universal helmet requirement later that year. The state passed its partial helmet law in 1989.
According to a 2012 study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motorcyclists accounted for 12 percent of motor vehicle fatalities in 2010, despite making up less than 1 percent of vehicle miles traveled.
Helmets can only do so much -- a motorcyclist was killed in highway accident in New Milford Sunday, despite wearing helmet, when he crashed through a car window.
"Motorcycle riders are the people at the highest risk on the road," Dr. Kung said. "On a bike, you don't have the relative protection of a steel frame around that you would in a car. It's just more dangerous."
But despite the inherent dangers of revving up a bike, helmets may play a large role in reducing the number of accidents that turn deadly. A 2011 Yale School of Medicine report analyzing state crash data between 2001 and 2007 found that two-thirds of the 358 riders killed in motorcycle accidents had not been wearing helmets.
The higher risk of serious injury or death that comes with optional helmets may also translate into economic losses. NHTSA data suggests that projected reductions in fatalities stemming from universal helmet laws could translate into savings in service costs and household productivity of up to $1,200,000 per avoided fatality.
But for some, the issue isn't about the numbers. Instead, some lawmakers and groups opposed to the ban, such as the Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association, see the debate over helmets on more philosophical terms -- the increased dangers of riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a choice bikers must make for themselves, like the decision to ride a bike in the first place. To them the debate is one of civil liberties.
"Our position is that if you're 18 or 21 years or over, if you're an adult, and you fulfill certain safety requirements, then, like any other issue, wearing a helmet should be your choice," said Richard Paulkner, a Greenwich-based legislative representative of the CMRA. "We're pushing to make motorcycling as safe as possible, but this isn't a choice that can be made for bikers."
Universal helmet laws, in this sense, are part of a broader narrative of the conflict between government regulation and individual rights. Paulkner acknowledged the social costs of helmetless riding, but said requiring riders to wear helmets would constitute a serious double standard.
"You can make the (social cost) case with so many other issues," said Paulkner, himself an avid motorcycle rider. "Overweight people are a social burden. People who smoke cigarettes are a social burden. People who drink too much are a social burden. But we don't pass laws mandating exercise or limiting the amount of alcohol you can buy."
Despite persistent and numerous motorcycle fatalities, the CMRA's stance may be winning out. Since forgoing adult helmet requirements, the issue has appeared before the state Legislature in bills or amendments 11 times, but has failed every time. Since the last push to advance more stringent helmet laws in 2005, the issue has seen little attention in Hartford.
"I've served in the Connecticut House for five years," said state Rep. Fred Camillo, R-Greenwich, "and even though I've proposed and done a lot of work on public safety bills, on this particularly issue, I can't add anything. It just hasn't come up."
Paulkner, who regularly testified before the General Assembly during deliberations over changing the law, believes Connecticut is coming to understand the issue for what it is.
"This issue isn't as black and white as we thought it was," he said. "The state of Connecticut is an enlightened and progressive one on social issues, and I think people are siding with the individual."
But calls for reinstating more stringent helmet laws have not disappeared. Many lawmakers, like much of the medical community, see helmets as a pragmatic safety issue far removed from ideological considerations or party lines.
"I'm generally opposed to further government regulation, but as far as helmets go, like seat belts, there's a higher survivability rate than without," said state Rep. Tom O'Dea, R-New Canaan. "In this scenario,
|
).
* Doing a basic Newlib port that supports console output over an (emulated)
mini-UART, startup code, and a few necessary stub functions.
* Tweaking Mathias Gottschlag's "resim" VC4 emulator to use with the GCC
testsuite.
Possible next steps for anyone with the motivation are probably:
* Getting code running on the real hardware! It'd be nice to get a real Pi
substituting for resim in GCC tests (downloading each test successively
over serial, and automatically rebooting on crashes). That means enabling
SDRAM and "pivoting" to a small monitor of some sort from there, I think.
(This is about where I've run out of steam.)
* Incrementally adding more instructions to GCC and (lesserly) binutils.
* Not sure, getting some kind of RTOS running on the VC4, and enabling the
ARM?
The code's on my GitHub account at:
https://github.com/puppeh/vc4-toolchain
Cheers,
Julian
Other related posts:The Kansas City Chiefs kept Travis Kelce out of the game after halftime, and Andy Reid explained why to the media on Sunday night.
Travis Kelce was a man on fire early in the Kansas City Chiefs win on Sunday evening over the Houston Texans. The All-Pro tight end caught 8 first half passes on 11 targets to help the Chiefs put the Texans away early in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score makes things seem. Unfortunately, Kelce hit his head on a play that ended up taking him out briefly in the first half and then for the rest of the game after halftime.
It turns out that Kelce had a concussion, despite the fact that he was able to come back into the game on Sunday at first. When the Chiefs disappeared for halftime, they came back out and kept Kelce off the field, making it clear that something further had developed when the training staff took more time to look at Kelce.
“He came in at halftime, and he couldn’t quite remember [anything],” Reid said. “He was remembering on the field, but he couldn’t quite remember things, and so we just held him out from there.”
Kelce finished the game with those same 8 catches for 98 yards, an impressive total for a full game but insane for only one half. It shows just how valuable he can be to the offense since the Texans did a nice job shutting down Kareem Hunt in the first half of the game.
Kelce has 29 catches for 353 receiving yards on the year so far. His status for Week 6 against the Pittsburgh Steelers is currently unknown.These are the current totals in Maricopa county Sheriff's race:
REP - ARPAIO, JOE* 306950 489952 52.54
DEM - PENZONE, PAUL 240249 401574 43.06
IND - STAUFFER, MIKE 24007 40993 4.4
Just over 80,000 votes separate them, and there are more than 400,000 votes uncounted.
And, consider this:
"This year, at least 111,975 Latinos in AZ have already voted early," a statement from the group released Monday reads. "That is already a 28 percent increase in the number of Latinos who voted early this year compared to 4 years ago. This proves that Latinos are turning out to vote in unprecedented numbers across Arizona this year."
Read more at http://www.latinospost.com/...
These uncounted early voting ballots have the potential to change the close races in the state, including the senate race between Carmona and Flake, where Flake is also ahead by around 80,000 votes.
Manyamile also has a diary about this here: http://www.dailykos.com/...
Biscobosco has a diary about it here: http://www.dailykos.com/...
From the comments below, David makes a good point about provisional ballots and concessions:
Another problem with the concessions... is that some of the provisional-ballot voters may need to take additional action by next Tuesday for their votes to be counted. And they're less likely to do that if they think there's no way it will make a difference in any race. As explained in the FAQ on provisional ballots from the Pima County Recorder's Office, if someone is issued a provisional ballot because they had no ID with them when they came to the polls, as opposed to inadequate ID, then they must bring proper ID to the county recorder's office by 5 business days after the election to have their vote counted:
I was required to vote a provisional ballot because I did not have ANY identification at the polls. What do I do now? The identification requirement was introduced into Arizona law by a voter approved ballot initiative. If you had no form of acceptable identification, you must bring identification to the Recorder’s Office within the time limits of the statute. As a convenience to voters, the Recorder’s Office designates several locations within an election area as receiving locations for that identification. The poll workers should have provided you with a list of the required identification and of the receiving locations at the time you finished your provisional ballot. For most elections, the deadline for presenting that identification is 5:00 p.m. on the Friday following election day. For the November election cycles in even numbered years, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the 5th business day after election day. That may be either the Tuesday or the Wednesday of the week after election day depending on when the Veteran’s Day holiday falls. If you do not present the proper identification by that deadline, the law requires that your ballot be rejected. It is CRITICAL that those voters understand that they could potentially make a difference by presenting their ID in time. It seems to me that at the very least, Carmona and Penzone need to be persuaded to retract their concessions and publicly urge any supporters who were told to come to the recorder's office with ID to actually do so.
I just ran some numbers in a spreadsheet. The results suggest that Carmona probably still won't win, but he could come very close. There are also close house races where we could win in the end.
Here are the current totals of all counted ballots for Carmona/Flake:
Choice PP Early Ballots Provisional Ballots Maricopa Total Percent CARMONA 134,007 212,282 261 408,203 754,753 45.38% FLAKE 144,472 207,477 184 482,487 834,620 50.18% VICTOR 13,474 17,395 24 41,363 72,256 4.34%
There were 162,373 provisional ballots, and Carmona is winning them 56-39. Only 469 provisional ballots have been counted, so far. Not all provisional ballots will be counted. On average, about 20 - 30% of provisional ballots don't get counted.
I put all the information into a spreadsheet and ran the numbers with the following assumptions: 70% of provisional ballots will be counted, 10% of the early ballots reported as not counted last night have already been counted (just a guess) and the margins will remain the same.
Carmona.......1010286...47%
Flake............1067140...49%
Victor............93828.....4%
So, Flake still wins, but only by 2 points. That bodes will for some of the close house races, specially Barber/McSally where Barber is leading in early ballots by 4 points and only 8500 votes separate them with McSally leading.
I also want to mention that the SoS has said it could take up to ten days for these to get counted."There's just no money in it anymore" Gunmetal Arcadia and Super Win the Game developer J. Kyle Pittman explains why he's likely done with pixel-art platformers
Brendan Sinclair North American Editor Thursday 27th July 2017 Share this article Share
There's a symmetry to Minor Key Games. Founded in 2013 by twin brothers David Pittman and J. Kyle Pittman, the studio has made a name for itself making two different types of games. David has made a trio of 3D first-person games in Eldritch, Neon Struct, and Slayer Shock. Kyle has made a trio of 2D retro platformers in Super Win the Game, Gunmetal Arcadia, and the stand-alone prequel Gunmetal Arcadia Zero.
But as Kyle told GamesIndustry.biz recently, that symmetry was by accident as much as design, and is unlikely to continue in the future.
"There was never a line in the sand where I was going to do these kinds of games and David was going to do those kinds of games," Kyle said. "Basically, we just ended up pursuing the games that seemed the most interesting to us at the time. He ended up doing a series of stealth-action roguelike games. I ended up doing a series of 2D pixel art platformers. It's funny it's turned into a very clear delineation of what his games look like and what my games look like, but I don't think that's going to continue into the future. I'm probably done with pixel art platformers at this point."
When asked why, Kyle was straight forward with his line of thinking.
"Mostly there's just no money in it anymore, if there ever was," he said. "It's easy to talk about the successes there, games like Braid and Fez, but I've shipped three commercial games in the last three years and they sell a few copies each, but none have been big successes. And it's getting harder and harder to survive in the indie space without a big success. As much as I love those sorts of games and love to keep making those for years, I'm reaching a point where I know I'd be throwing money away if I continued to do that. I do have other interests, so there are lots of other things I can do."
Kyle said he's talked to other developers about pixel art platformer and heard a number of suggestions to take his work to consoles, where there appears to be a bigger market for games of this sort.
"We haven't yet shipped anything on console," Kyle said. "It's something we would like to do at some point, but the limiting factor there is we write all of our own technology, so there's not an easy solution, like Unity having tools to port games to any other platform. It would require rewriting core engine technology, and it's something I've looked into. For retro pixel art platformers, I suspect they do sell better on console than on PC, but I don't know if they sell well enough to offset the cost of development. I haven't yet felt comfortable taking that risk."
"It was a strange decision. Because I felt like I was pressed for time, I decided to make two games instead of one."
The idea of comfort with risk came up one other time in our discussion, when talking about his most recent release, Gunmetal Arcadia, a 2D action game that reworks the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link formula with roguelike elements. The risks taken with that project centered around its unanticipated ballooning into two projects, the full-fledged game and its stand-alone prequel, Gunmetal Arcadia Zero, which was released several months earlier.
"What happened was about a year and a half into the project, I started to feel like I was spending so much time developing tools and not making content that the finish line just seemed further and further away every single day," Kyle said. "And I had the realization that if I focused on developing some content, new enemies, weapons, bosses, all that stuff, I could make a prequel game. It would be something a little bit linear and smaller in scope that I could release sooner and hopefully recoup some costs on the way to making this larger scoped roguelike game... It was a strange decision. Because I felt like I was pressed for time, I decided to make two games instead of one. But I think it turned out well in the end."
One benefit of knowing Gunmetal Arcadia Zero would be followed closely by the proper release of Gunmetal Arcadia was that Kyle didn't have all his eggs in one basket.
"Being able to have this smaller, cheaper product leading into a larger product coming a few months later allowed me to feel a little bit more comfortable in taking that sort of a risk, where normally I'd want to be super protective of my new thing and not put it in any bundles ever," Kyle said. "It takes some of the pressure off to be able to try new things and see what works and what doesn't."
Gunmetal Arcadia Zero launched exclusively for subscribers of the Humble Monthly Bundle in May of 2016, and was released for all on Steam in November. It also appeared in the Yogscast Jingle Jam 2016 holiday bundle. Kyle's not sure how much the prequel and its bundles helped market Gunmetal Arcadia's proper release, but he's confident it at least didn't undercut it, either.
"In the past, it was less about visibility among a number of games on the storefront so much as visibility among a number of games that were vying to be on the storefront. So there was still that competition..."
Even if pixel art platformers go out of style (again), Kyle may not abandon the retro world entirely. He has considered working on a project with deliberately PSone-style 3D visuals, right down to texture warping and other common quirks from Sony's first foray into consoles.
"I don't know if there's an underserved market, but it does feel like there's not a lot of competition in that space," Kyle said. "So if there is a market, it would probably be underserved."
Explicitly retro 3D games are no doubt dwarfed by their 2D counterparts at the moment, but games like Minecraft and Minor Key's own Eldritch have shown that audiences aren't necessarily averse to a low-poly 3D aesthetic.
To date, Eldritch has been Minor Key's biggest success by far, Kyle said. Part of that he chalks up to the game's inclusion on Steam before the Steam Greenlight floodgates opened up in a major way. And while the storefront is more competitive now, he's not sure that's necessarily a bad thing, nor is it really all that different from the way things were before.
"It's an interesting problem because there are lots of games and there will continue to be lots of games," Kyle said. "So the problem becomes one of visibility, which isn't a new problem, but it's becoming a more obvious problem. In the past, it was less about visibility among a number of games on the storefront so much as visibility among a number of games that were vying to be on the storefront. So there was still that competition in the past, but it was less visible to consumers, maybe, and probably less visible to developers as well. Overall, I would say Steam is in a better place than it has been in the past."Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Twin car bombs exploded near three Iraqi government buildings Sunday in central Baghdad, killing at least 132 people. It was the deadliest attack in the country in more than two years.
More than 500 people were wounded.
The blasts had ripple effects throughout the country, triggering questions about the state of Iraqi security and about national elections planned for January.
No one immediately claimed responsibility.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to punish "the enemies of the Iraqi people who want to spread chaos in the country and derail the political process and prevent the parliamentary elections from taking place as planned."
Surveying the carnage shortly after the explosions, al-Maliki said holding the elections as scheduled would send the strongest response and message to the "enemies of the political process who are supported from the outside."
"The cowardly attack that took place today should not affect the determination of the Iraqi people from continuing their battle against the deposed regime and the gangs of criminal Baath party and the terrorist al Qaeda organization, who have committed the most heinous crimes against the civilians,' " al-Maliki said in a statement.
Iraqi and U.S. officials had warned of a possible increase in violence ahead of the balloting.
President Obama condemned the "outrageous attacks against the Iraqi people." In a statement, Obama called the bombings an attempt to "derail Iraq's progress" and pledged that the United States would be a "close friend and partner" as Iraq prepares for elections.
According to the statement, Obama spoke Sunday with al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to express his condolences and reiterate U.S. support.
The area struck Sunday is close to the heavily guarded Green Zone that also houses the U.S. Embassy.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Christopher Hill, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, condemned the bombings, which came a day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, visited the country for the first time.
"We will assist the Iraqi government in any way we can to ensure that those individuals or groups responsible for such horrific acts be pursued and brought to justice," they said in a joint statement.
The European Union condemned "this terrorist attack" and sent its condolences to the families of the victims, the Swedish presidency said in a statement.
The bombs detonated in quick succession about 10:30 a.m., as the Iraqi work week began, an Interior Ministry official said.
Among more than 500 people wounded were three American security contractors, the U.S. Embassy told CNN. The embassy would not give any more details.
One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad's governorate building. The other was outside the Justice Ministry, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away. The nearby Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works also sustained severe damage.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the sites of the attacks as victims fled, some with blood streaming down their faces. The streets were strewn with debris, including charred cars and chunks of concrete from damaged buildings. Some government buildings and others in the area were heavily damaged.
It was the deadliest attack on Iraqi civilians since August 2007, when three truck bombings targeted Iraqi Kurds, killing hundreds in Qahtaniya, in northern Iraq.
In August, more than 100 people were killed in a series of bombings in Baghdad in what Iraqis have dubbed "Bloody Wednesday."
Those attacks shook confidence in the abilities of Iraqi security forces who took over securing urban areas from U.S. troops over the summer. Security was tightened around Baghdad in the wake of the August bombings. Blast walls were erected around the city and more checkpoints were set up.
Susan Rice, the ambassador, completed her two-day visit to Iraq on Saturday that included a condolence stop at the Foreign Ministry, one of the sites attacked in August.
Iraqi journalists grilled officials on TV on Sunday, demanding to know how the most recent attacks could have taken place given the new security measures.
An Iraqi official said the government was working to bolster security, but regional cooperation was needed to help fight suicide bombers.
"We are calling on international and U.N. envoys to come and find out why Iraq is being targeted this way," said Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman.
He said Iraq's setbacks are mainly caused by a fledgling intelligence that has "not been completed."
The Iraqi government has blamed Syria for harboring former Baath party members who it said planned the August attacks, and asked for their handover.
Relations between the two neighbors were strained after the bombings. Each withdrew its ambassador from the other's country.
Sunday's bombings came on the day Iraqi officials were due to try to break a logjam holding up a new election law. Iraqis are supposed to go to the polls January 16, but Parliament still has not passed the legislation, putting the balloting in limbo. The original deadline for parliament to pass the law was October 15, because Iraq's electoral commission says it needs 90 days to organize the process.
Iraq's parliament failed Wednesday to reach agreement on a new electoral law, so the issue was supposed go to the Political Council for National Security on Sunday.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Mohammed Jamjoom, and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.I never knew why there weren’t Gravity Falls DVDs in my country before the finale. Here, in Peru, where you can go anywhere and find any movie or TV program, sometimes even before it’s officially out.
Well, a couple of months ago, these vendors must have thought Gravity Falls might be profitable. Now it’s everywhere.
However, what you’ll see in this video goes one step forward. This here is a mixture between copyright violation and one of my country’s most beloved kids hobbies: sticker albums.
As you can see in the back cover of the album, you can win some little prizes. In case you think you’re dreaming, you’re not. It’s probable these guys made a deal with Bill, because somehow you can win ALL 3 Journals. There are also coupons for winning posters, postcards, and the respective trucker hats of Dipper, Mabel, and Bill Cipher. You know, like the ones that APPEAR on the show.
To win the Journals you must take a picture of ten open sticker packs, and send them with your personal info to the Facebook page of this Toon Card company which has made the album. You will enter a raffle and the winner(s) will be announced on July 14th. That’s one day after Soos’ birthday, right? Dude is gonna love this.
I don’t need to investigate further more to know these guys didn’t ask for permission to do this. There isn’t a single mention of Disney or Hirsch and Co. The personal info of the characters inside has errors. And some of the stickers are actually fanart.
I will send this to Alex Hirsch because the Grunkle Stan inside him would be so thrilled about this amazing idea for making money.
Having said all that, do watch the whole video because the album is actually nice and colorful, and it’s probable it will be the only thing that there will ever be of its kind in terms of Gravity Falls official merchandise.
Also, here’s another guy who has this one and more videos where he opens his packs and pastes the stickers. He’s so funny because he comments on the characters, and how he hasn’t watched all the episodes yet. If you want me to traduce anything he says, you can ask me.
Okay, so this was my post to celebrate the June 15 day, fifth anniversary of Gravity Falls first ever airing. I hope you find all this interesting. And remember, the album is less than one dollar, and it is available globally
in my country.
Thanks a lot, Peru!!!Trump is a 'friend' of India, but is he a friend of Indian H1B workers? Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, has said in the past that India-US ties will have a "phenomenal future" with his government, but he’s also said that H1B visas were "decimating" US workers.
Disney +
WASHINGTON: A bill backing key changes in the H-1B programme that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US has been re-introduced in the US Congress by two lawmakers who claim that it will help crack down on the work visa abuse.The 'Protect and Grow American Jobs Act' makes important changes to the eligibility requirements for H-1B Visa exemptions was re-introduced yesterday by Republican Darrell Issa and Scott Peters - both from California.The bill among other things increase the minimum salary of H-1B visa to $100,000 per annum and eliminate the Masters Degree exemption.The legislation, they argued, will help crack down on abuse and ensure that these jobs remain available for the best and brightest talent from around the world.The bill comes after a number of companies —, SoCal Edison and others — have come under fire for abusing the H1B Visa programme to replace American workers with foreign workers."In order for America to lead again, we need to ensure we can retain the world's best and brightest talent. At the same time, we also need to make sure programs are not abused to allow companies to outsource and hire cheap foreign labor from abroad to replace American workers," Issa said."The legislation we're introducing today does both. It will ensure that our valuable high-skilled immigration spots are used by companies when the positions cannot be filled by the existing workforce," Issa said.By raising the salary to a level more in-line with the average American salary for these positions, it would help cut down on abuse by removing the profit incentive and ensuring these positions remain available for companies who truly need them, a media release said."Curbing abuse of the H-1B system will protect American jobs and help ensure that visas are available for innovators who need them to maintain a competitive workforce," Peters said."This bipartisan bill makes one of the much-needed updates to our high-skilled visa system to level the playing field and help prevent companies from taking advantage of the system to offshore jobs," the Congressman said.The two lawmakers claimed that the legislation would cut down on abuse by eliminating the masters degree exemption, which has become abused as foreign workers seeking H1B Visas have increasingly sought and obtained low-quality certificates to meet the requirements for an exemption just to qualify for H1B, instead of keeping the positions open for truly high- skilled positions that companies cannot fill domestically.The bill had faced opposition last year in Congress.Reshaping immigration is a central tenet of President- elect Donald Trump's push for companies to invest and hire more in the US.Trump has listed immigration reform among five executive actions he plans to take on his first day in office. They include asking the Department of Labor to investigate "all abuses of the visa programmes that undercut the American worker."What do you get when you take a city that has 58 public schools, add 37 charter schools, divide the whole system by race and class, and then multiply all this by millions of dollars from an ice cream mogul's fortune and Silicon Valley billionaires? You've got the complicated politics of the Oakland Unified School District.
OUSD has been plagued with problems for decades, but few would argue things haven't improved in recent years. In 2003, the state took over the district because it was so poorly managed. Six years later, Sacramento handed power back to the local board. Since, the district's budget has stabilized and some of the more dysfunctional aspects of OUSD's administration have faded into memory. Half of the current board members are running for re-election on this record of incremental improvement.
"I get frustrated with this constant drumbeat of 'everything is lousy.' It's not true," said Jody London, the District One school-board director who's running for re-election in November.
OUSD regained a credit rating of AAA in July, she noted, an achievement that will save taxpayers millions and allow the district to reinvest more in its facilities.
"We're at a level of organization and structural togetherness I've never seen in the district before," she said of Oakland's finances and educational programs.
James Harris, who represents district seven on the board and who is also running for re-election, is similarly optimistic. According to Harris, the district's administrators, teachers, and parents have begun to adopt a "culture of college and career readiness" for students. He hopes it will be reflected in higher graduation rates.
Another previous limiting factor to OUSD's success was money. But now more of that is starting to flow, too.
In 2014, Harris helped convince voters to pass Measure N, a $120-per-parcel tax passed that raised millions for education programs. He has also been cheering the delivery of philanthropic money, such as the recent $2.5 million gift from Salesforce to Oakland schools. A new charter school is being proposed in his district as well, providing what Harris says are more choices for students and families.
But he says this is just the first steps of recovery. "We've got to figure out a way to get more money into the system," Harris said.
Ultimately, though, the main goal now should be ensuring equity for all students. And not everyone thinks Oakland's schools are on the right path.
Some worry the term "equity" has been co-opted to support continued privatization under charter schools, and that a few wealthy philanthropists are steering district policies, often in controversial directions with little say from the community.
"We got involved because there hasn't been input from parents and teachers and other groups in a lot of big decisions," said Kim Davis, a steering-committee member of the group Parents United for Public Schools.
According to Davis, several controversial plans have been hatched recently by administrators and outside groups linked to the charter-school industry. The blessing of the school board has been sought as an afterthought, and the community was taken by surprise.
One example was common enrollment, a controversial proposal to create a single application for students to simultaneously apply to all OUSD public schools and charters in the district. Currently, OUSD allows families to apply at all its public schools at once, ranking their top choices. But if a family wants to send their kid to a competing charter school, they have to fill out a separate application.
Implementing common enrollment would cost $1.4 million extra, and it would likely increase the number of students leaving district public schools while boosting enrollments at the charters.
It was developed quietly by Educate 78, a spinoff of the New Schools Venture Fund that helps establish and grow charter schools.
"It felt like a process where they were just checking off boxes, you know, 'community engagement — done,'" Davis said about how the proposal was unveiled to parents.
In response to the mounting influence of the charter-school industry, Davis' group wants to unseat most of the current board members who are up for re-election.
And there are other community groups, many newly formed, getting more involved in the district's politics.
Mona Treviño, a mother and organizer who lives in East Oakland, said there are small networks sprouting up around different campuses and neighborhoods across the city, and they could become a force in district elections. Many of these groups are upset with the charter-school industry's sway with OUSD's administrators and the current board.
Chris Jackson, one of the insurgent candidates endorsed by Davis' group who is running for the district seven seat, criticized Harris for supporting charter schools and his role in eliminating committees of the school board.
"We're in danger of creating a two-tiered system where resources are sucked away from district schools," Jackson said. "Charters aren't serving our African-American students, and they don't serve special-needs students, while they suspend students at two-and-a-half times more than district schools."
Jackson says Harris has been unwilling to slow the expansion of charters despite criticism, such as the recent Alameda County Grand Jury report showing that charters are poorly regulated. He also pointed to a recent report by the ACLU of Southern California showing that many of Oakland's charters have exclusionary and illegal enrollment policies.14 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Trump Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters today that eliminating food for senior citizens via the Meals On Wheels program was the compassionate thing to do because if a program can’t demonstrate results, it should get cut.
Video:
When Mulvaney was asked about the elimination of funding for Meals On Wheels, he answered, “I think you know that Meals On Wheels is not a federal program. It’s part of that Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) that we give to the states, and then many states make the decision to use that money on Meals On Wheels. What I can tell you about CDBGs is that’s what we fund. Right? So we spend $150 billion on those programs since the 1970s. The CDBGs have been identified as programs since I think the second Bush administration as ones that we just not showing any results. We can’t do that anymore. We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good. Meals On Wheels sounds great. Again, that’s a state decision to fund that particular portion, but to take the federal money and to give that to the states, and say look we want to give you federal money for programs that don’t work. I can’t defend that anymore.”
Later Mulvaney was asked if this is a hard-hearted budget. He answered, “I don’t think so. In fact, I think it is one of the most compassionate things we can do to. You’re only focusing on half of the equation. Right? You’re focusing on recipients of the money. We’re trying to focus on both the recipients and the folks who give us the money in the first place, and I think it’s fairly compassionate to go to them and say look, we’re not going to ask you for your hard earned money anymore.”
In other words, screw the starving elderly and the kids who are going to go without afterschool programs, people like Donald Trump aren’t giving you their “hard earned” money anymore.
Meals on Wheels helps 2.4 million seniors have access to food while being able to stay in their own homes. The results for the program can be seen in both nutritional terms and increased independence for millions of Americans. Meals on Wheels saves taxpayers $34 billion a year in healthcare costs.
This is a vital program for America’s communities, and anyone who claims otherwise is not telling the truth. The selfish argument about taxpayers isn’t going to fly in this case.
The Trump administration has gone from being out of touch with America to trying to starve Americans.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:Washington (CNN) House Speaker Paul Ryan and top House GOP leaders are urging rank-and-file members to increase security after several unruly town hall meetings dominated by Obamacare protests, including one that involved a member needing a police escort.
Members were cautioned at a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday to be aware of organized efforts to disrupt events at home and told them take steps to ensure their own safety and that of their aides.
Protests over the plans to repeal Obamacare are expected to continue during a recess later this month, according to multiple Republicans who attended the session, so the message from the entire leadership team was to get prepared now.
"There a growing ugliness out there," California Rep. Tom McClintock, whose meeting over the weekend in northern California drew large crowds and more police were called to the scene. "We were warned by both the Capitol police and the local police that there was local agitation."
After hundreds of protestors screamed at McClintock and criticized President Donald Trump's policies, several officers helped McClintock leave the event and avoid contact with the boisterous protestors.
After that episode and reports of other disturbances in other districts, House GOP conference chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, asked her colleague, Rep. Dave Reichert -- a former sheriff -- to give members some advice for handling potential protests both at events and at their district offices.
"As members' offices are experiencing an influx of phone calls and foot traffic highly organized by the left, Sheriff Reichert shared some best practices about how offices can still be safe and effective in this current environment," one Republican who attended the meeting told CNN.
Politico first reported on the security discussion at the GOP meeting.
Last month's retreat in Philadelphia with House and Senate Republicans drew hundreds of protesters, mostly there to voice opposition to Trump, who was invited to address the members.
Several members told CNN that after a series of protests in cities across the country following the inauguration they were being advised to brief staff on how to deal with groups that may show up at their offices.
Virginia GOP Rep. Dave Brat blamed professional advocates from outside his district for interfering with his office's work.
JUST WATCHED Obamacare benefits some, a burden to others Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Obamacare benefits some, a burden to others 02:47
"My constituents are trying to get in on Social Security and all kinds of other issues and they can't get in because when you get 30,000 hits by paid activists, from (George) Soros and indivisible and resistance, etc. I can sort it out. So it's a real issue," he said.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Walker suggested that the tone set by the new administration may also be fueling the intensity of the protests.
"Trump presents a certain demeanor that when he pushes something through, it's not whether really whether you like it or not, this is how it is," Walker said.
Ryan told reporters after the meeting that he respected free speech, but urged advocates to be orderly.
"We cherish the First Amendment and people who are concerned and anxious, we want them to know that we want to listen to their concerns and that -- that peaceful protests are something we honor in this country. I just hope people keep it peaceful, respect private property, have no violence," Ryan said.
The majority of House Republicans were not serving in the chamber in during the heated and intense debate over Obamacare in 2009 and 2010, a time when opponents of the Democratic proposal led rallies and flooded town hall meetings in districts across the country, often booing and heckling members of Congress.
"With so many members who were not here for the initial Obamacare battle, it's important to just make sure members and their staff are mindful of the fact that outside groups may attempt to disrupt offices or events," one House Republican told CNN.
Walker told CNN that 90% of those attending recent events in his district opposed policies being advanced by the GOP Congress, but he plans to continue scheduling meetings, but with additional security plans in place.
"Obviously you get to a place where it gets a little hostile, so there are certain security measures we are going to add to that we haven't had in the past," Walker said.
Members are identifying alternative exits for themselves and staffers to leave meetings in the event they get out of control. McClintock told CNN he planned to hold future town halls if he got clearance from law enforcement but said he would move them to larger venues.
Multiple House Republicans recognized that with the big focus on overhauling the health care system there are heightened concerns about people potentially losing coverage,
"They should have the right to say, 'Hey, whatever you guys are doing, make sure that you're not pulling the rug out from people,' " Walker said.
This story has been updated."Dear Doctor" proved to be lucky #13 for Star Trek: Enterprise. The episode, which aired on January 23, 2002 and was the 13th show of the series, also happened to be amongst season one's best and most ambitious hours and served to develop Doctor Phlox -- lending the character breadth and depth -- perhaps better than any other episode of Enterprise's four-year run. It also, thanks to the first contact with the Valakians, set the stage for what Trek fans commonly know as the Prime Directive.
Oddly enough, however, it was also quite problematic for all involved. The initial idea for the episode's denouement was for Phlox to disobey Archer's orders, but UPN brass objected, and the ending was changed so that
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