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President Obama has made so-called “green energy” policies a key part of his economic agenda, but as a new book argues, they actually disproportionately hurt the poor by boosting the cost of energy.
Last week, Examiner columnist and Manhattan Institute fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth, author of the new book “ Regulating to Disaster: How Green Jobs Policies Are Damaging America’s Economy,” explained that:
Most people think green is good but pay little attention to associated increases in costs. In 2015, it will cost between $49 and $79 to generate one megawatt hour of electricity from natural gas. A megawatt hour from onshore wind will cost between $75 and $138, and from solar photovoltaic will cost between $242 and $455.
As her book demonstrates in this chart, rising costs of energy hit lower income Americans the hardest, because they spend a higher proportion of their incomes on energy:
Energy Costs as a Percentage of Income by Quintile, 2011 |
Humanae vitae (Latin: Of Human Life) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July.[1] Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirmed the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the rejection of artificial contraception. In formulating his teaching he explained why he did not accept the conclusions of the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control established by his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, a commission he himself had expanded.[2]
Mainly because of its prohibition of artificial contraception (some licit therapeutic procedures with the sole intent to cure bodily diseases are excepted)[3], the encyclical was politically controversial. It affirmed traditional Church moral teaching on the sanctity of life and the procreative and unitive nature of conjugal relations.
It was the last of Paul's seven encyclicals.[4]
Summary [ edit ]
Affirmation of traditional teaching [ edit ]
In this encyclical Paul VI reaffirmed the Catholic Church's orthodox view of marriage and marital relations and a continued condemnation of "artificial" birth control. There were two Papal committees and numerous independent experts looking into the latest advancement of science and math on the question of artificial birth control,[5] which were noted by the Pope in his encyclical.[6] The expressed views of Paul VI reflected the teachings of his predecessors, especially Pius XI,[7] Pius XII[8] and John XXIII,[9] all of whom had insisted on the divine obligations of the marital partners in light of their partnership with God the creator.
Doctrinal basis [ edit ]
Paul VI himself, even as commission members issued their personal views over the years, always reaffirmed the teachings of the Church, repeating them more than once in the first years of his Pontificate.[10]
To Pope Paul VI, as with of all his predecessors, marital relations are much more than a union of two people. In his view, they constitute a union of the loving couple with a loving God, in which the two persons generate the matter for the body, while God creates the unique soul of a person. For this reason, Paul VI teaches in the first sentence of Humanae Vitae, that the "transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator."[11] This is divine partnership, so Paul VI does not allow for arbitrary human decisions, which may limit divine providence. According to Paul VI, marital relations are a source of great joy, but also of difficulties and hardships.[11] The question of human procreation with God, exceeds in the view of Paul VI specific disciplines such as biology, psychology, demography or sociology.[12] According to Paul VI, married love takes its origin from God, who is love, and from this basic dignity, he defines his position:
Love is total — that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.[13]
The encyclical opens with an assertion of the competency of the magisterium of the Catholic Church to decide questions of morality. It then goes on to observe that circumstances often dictate that married couples should limit the number of children, and that the sexual act between husband and wife is still worthy even if it can be foreseen not to result in procreation. Nevertheless, it is held that the sexual act must retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life.
Every action specifically intended to prevent procreation is forbidden, except in medically necessary circumstances. Therapeutic means necessary to cure diseases are exempted, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result, but only if infertility is not directly intended.[14] This is held to directly contradict the moral order which was established by God. Abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, is absolutely forbidden, as is sterilization, even if temporary. Therapeutic means which induce infertility are allowed (e.g., hysterectomy), if they are not specifically intended to cause infertility (e.g., the uterus is cancerous, so the preservation of life is intended). If there are well grounded reasons (arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances), Natural family planning methods (abstaining from intercourse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle) are allowed, since they take advantage of a faculty provided by nature.[14]
The acceptance of artificial methods of birth control is then claimed to result in several negative consequences, among them a general lowering of moral standards resulting from sex without consequences, and the danger that men may reduce women to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of [their] own desires; finally, abuse of power by public authorities, and a false sense of autonomy.[15]
Appeal to natural law and conclusion [ edit ]
Public authorities should oppose laws which undermine natural law;[16] scientists should further study effective methods of natural birth control; doctors should further familiarize themselves with this teaching, in order to be able to give advice to their patients,[17] priests must spell out clearly and completely the Church's teaching on marriage.[18] The encyclical acknowledges that "perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching", but that "...it comes as no surprise to the church that she, no less than her Divine founder is destined to be a sign of contradiction." [15] Noted is the duty of proclaiming the entire moral law, "both natural and evangelical."[15] The encyclical also points out that the Roman Catholic Church cannot "declare lawful what is in fact unlawful", because she is concerned with "safeguarding the holiness of marriage, in order to guide married life to its full human and Christian perfection."[19] This is to be the priority for his fellow bishops and priests and lay people. The Pope predicts that future progress in social cultural and economic spheres will make marital and family life more joyful, provided God's design for the world is faithfully followed.[19] The encyclical closes with an appeal to observe the natural laws of the Most High God. "These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed."[20]
History [ edit ]
Origins [ edit ]
There had been a long-standing general Christian prohibition on contraception and abortion, with such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria and Saint Augustine condemning the practices. It was not until the 1930 Lambeth Conference that the Anglican Communion allowed for contraception in limited circumstances. Mainline Protestant denominations have since removed prohibitions against artificial contraception.[21] In a partial reaction, Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical Casti connubii (On Christian Marriage) in 1930, reaffirming the Catholic Church's belief in various traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality, including the prohibition of artificial birth control even within marriage. Casti connubii is against contraception and regarding natural family planning allowed married couples to use their nuptial rights "in the proper manner" when because of either time or defects, new life could not be brought forth.[14]
The commission of John XXIII [ edit ]
With the appearance of the first oral contraceptives in 1960, dissenters in the Church argued for a reconsideration of the Church positions. In 1963 Pope John XXIII established a commission of six European non-theologians to study questions of birth control and population.[22][23] It met once in 1963 and twice in 1964. As Vatican Council II was concluding, Pope Paul VI enlarged it to fifty-eight members, including married couples, laywomen, theologians and bishops. The last document issued by the council (Gaudium et spes) contained a section titled "Fostering the Nobility of Marriage" (1965, nos. 47-52), which discussed marriage from the personalist point of view. The "duty of responsible parenthood" was affirmed, but the determination of licit and illicit forms of regulating birth was reserved to Pope Paul VI. In the spring of 1966, following the close of the council, the commission held its fifth and final meeting, having been enlarged again to include sixteen bishops as an executive committee. The commission was only consultative but it submitted a report approved by a majority of 64 members to Paul VI. It proposed he approve at least some form of contraception for married couples. A minority of four members opposed this report and issued a parallel report to the Pope.[24] After two more years of study and consultation, the pope issued Humanae vitae, which removed any doubt that the Church views hormonal anti-ovulants as contraceptive. He explained why he did not accept the opinion of the majority report of the commission (1968, #6).[25]
Arguments were raised in the decades that followed that his decision has never passed the condition of "reception" to become church doctrine.[26][27]
Drafting of the Encyclical [ edit ]
In his role as Theologian of the Pontifical Household Mario Luigi Ciappi advised Pope Paul VI during the drafting of Humanae vitae. Ciappi, a doctoral graduate of the Pontificium Athenaeum Internationale Angelicum, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, served as professor of dogmatic theology there and was Dean of the Angelicum's Faculty of Theology from 1935 to 1955.[28]
According to George Weigel, Paul VI named Archbishop Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II) to the commission, but Polish government authorities would not permit him to travel to Rome. Wojtyła had earlier defended the church's position from a philosophical standpoint in his 1960 book Love and Responsibility. Wojtyła's position was strongly considered and it was reflected in the final draft of the encyclical, although much of his language and arguments were not incorporated. Weigel attributes much of the poor reception of the encyclical to the omission of many of Wojtyła's arguments.[29]
In 2017, anticipating the 50th anniversary of the encyclical, four theologians led by Mgr. Gilfredo Marengo, a professor of theological anthropology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, launched a research project he called "a work of historical-critical investigation without any aim other than reconstructing as well as possible the whole process of composing the encyclical". Using the resources of the Vatican Secret Archives and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, they hope to detail the writing process and the interaction between the commission, publicity surrounding the commission's work, and Paul's own authorship.[30][31]
Highlights [ edit ]
Faithfulness to God's design [ edit ]
13. Men rightly observe that a conjugal act imposed on one's partner without regard to his or her condition or personal and reasonable wishes in the matter, is no true act of love, and therefore offends the moral order in its particular application to the intimate relationship of husband and wife. If they further reflect, they must also recognize that an act of mutual love which impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates His design which constitutes the norm of marriage, and contradicts the will of the Author of life. Hence to use this divine gift while depriving it, even if only partially, of its meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of God and His holy will. But to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, and with more particular reason, he has no such dominion over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned by their very nature with the generation of life, of which God is the source. "Human life is sacred—all men must recognize that fact," Our predecessor Pope John XXIII recalled. "From its very inception it reveals the creating hand of God."[32]
Lawful therapeutic means [ edit ]
15. ...the Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result therefrom — provided such impediment is not directly intended.
Recourse to infertile periods [ edit ]
16. ...If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained.
Concern of the Church [ edit ]
18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that it, no less than its divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction."[33]) The Church does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on it of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical. Since the Church did not make either of these laws, it cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for the Church to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man. In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that it is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. The Church urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way it defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in its regard for men whom it strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men".
Developing countries [ edit ]
23. We are fully aware of the difficulties confronting the public authorities in this matter, especially in the developing countries. In fact, We had in mind the justifiable anxieties which weigh upon them when We published Our encyclical letter Populorum Progressio. But now We join Our voice to that of Our predecessor John XXIII of venerable memory, and We make Our own his words: "No statement of the problem and no solution to it is acceptable which does violence to man's essential dignity; those who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic conception of man himself and his life. The only possible solution to this question is one which envisages the social and economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society, and which respects and promotes true human values."[34] No one can, without being grossly unfair, make divine Providence responsible for what clearly seems to be the result of misguided governmental policies, of an insufficient sense of social justice, of a selfish accumulation of material goods, and finally of a culpable failure to undertake those initiatives and responsibilities which would raise the standard of living of peoples and their children.[35]
Response and criticism [ edit ]
Galileo affair comparison [ edit ]
Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens, a moderator of the ecumenical council, questioned, "whether moral theology took sufficient account of scientific progress, which can help determine, what is according to nature. I beg you my brothers let us avoid another Galileo affair. One is enough for the Church."[36] In an interview in Informations Catholiques Internationales on 15 May 1969, he criticized the Pope’s decision again as frustrating the collegiality defined by the Council,[37] calling it a non-collegial or even an anti-collegial act.[38] He was supported by Vatican II theologians such as Karl Rahner, Hans Küng, several Episcopal conferences, e.g. the Episcopal Conference of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland,[39] as well as several bishops, including Christopher Butler, who called it one of the most important contributions to contemporary discussion in the Church.[40]
Open dissent [ edit ]
The publication of the encyclical marks the first time in the twentieth century that open dissent from the laity about teachings of the Church was voiced widely and publicly. The teaching has been criticized by development organizations and others who claim that it limits the methods available to fight worldwide population growth and struggle against HIV/AIDS. Within two days of the encyclical's release, a group of dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles Curran, then of The Catholic University of America, issued a statement stating, "spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible and indeed necessary to preserve and foster the value and sacredness of marriage.[41]
Canadian bishops [ edit ]
Two months later, the controversial "Winnipeg Statement" issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that those who cannot accept the teaching should not be considered shut off from the Catholic Church, and that individuals can in good conscience use contraception as long as they have first made an honest attempt to accept the difficult directives of the encyclical.
Dutch Catechism [ edit ]
The Dutch Catechism of 1966, based on the Dutch bishops' interpretation of the just completed Vatican Council, and the first post-Council comprehensive Catholic catechism, noted the lack of mention of artificial contraception in the Council. "As everyone can ascertain nowadays, there are several methods of regulating births. The Second Vatican Council did not speak of any of these concrete methods… This is a different standpoint than that taken under Pius XI some thirty years which was also maintained by his successor ... we can sense here a clear development in the Church, a development, which is also going on outside the Church."[42]
Soviet Union [ edit ]
In the Soviet Union, Literaturnaja Gazeta, a publication of Soviet intellectuals, included an editorial and statement by Russian physicians against the encyclical.[43]
Ecumenical reactions [ edit ]
Ecumenical reactions were mixed. Liberal and Moderate Lutherans and the World Council of Churches were disappointed. Eugene Carson Blake criticised the concepts of nature and natural law, which, in his view, still dominated Catholic theology, as outdated. This concern dominated several articles in Catholic and non-Catholic journals at the time.[44][45][46] Patriarch Athenagoras I stated his full agreement with Pope Paul VI: “He could not have spoken in any other way.”[47]
Latin America [ edit ]
In Latin America, much support developed for the Pope and his encyclical. As World Bank President Robert McNamara declared at the 1968 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group that countries permitting birth control practices will get preferential access to resources, doctors in La Paz, Bolivia, called it insulting that money should be exchanged for the conscience of a Catholic nation. In Colombia, Cardinal Anibal Muñoz Duque declared, if American conditionality undermines Papal teachings, we prefer not to receive one cent.[48] The Senate of Bolivia passed a resolution, stating that Humanae vitae can be discussed in its implications on individual consciences, but, it is of greatest significance, because the papal document defends the rights of developing nations to determine their own population policies.[48] The Jesuit Journal Sic dedicated one edition to the encyclical with supportive contributions.[49] However, against eighteen insubordinate priests, professors of theology at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and the ensuing conspiracy of silence practiced by the Chilean Episcopate, which had to be censured by the Nuncio in Santiago at the behest of Cardinal Gabriel-Marie Garrone, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, triggering eventually a media conflict with El Diario Ilustrado [es], Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira expressed his affliction with the lamentations of Jeremiah: "O ye all that pass through the way…" (Lamentations 1:12).[50]
Cardinal Martini [ edit ]
In the book "Nighttime conversations in Jerusalem. On the risk of faith." well-known liberal Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini accused Paul VI of deliberately concealing the truth, leaving it to theologians and pastors to fix things by adapting precepts to practice: "I knew Paul VI well. With the encyclical, he wanted to express consideration for human life. He explained his intention to some of his friends by using a comparison: although one must not lie, sometimes it is not possible to do otherwise; it may be necessary to conceal the truth, or it may be unavoidable to tell a lie. It is up to the moralists to explain where sin begins, especially in the cases in which there is a higher duty than the transmission of life." [51]
Response of Pope Paul VI [ edit ]
Pope Paul VI was troubled by the encyclical's reception in the West. Acknowledging the controversy, Paul VI in a letter to the Congress of German Catholics (30 August 1968), stated: "May the lively debate aroused by our encyclical lead to a better knowledge of God’s will."[52] In March 1969, he had a meeting with one of the main critics of Humanae vitae, Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens. Paul heard him out and said merely, "Yes, pray for me; because of my weaknesses, the Church is badly governed."[53] And to jog the memory of his critics, he put in their minds the experience of no less a figure than Pope Saint Peter: "[n]ow I understand St Peter: he came to Rome twice, the second time to be crucified",[4] — herewith directing their attention to his rejoicing in glorifying the Lord.[54] Increasingly convinced, that "the smoke of Satan entered the temple of God from some fissure",[55] Paul VI reaffirmed, on 23 June 1978, weeks before his death, in an address to the College of Cardinals, his Humanae vitae: "following the confirmations of serious science", and which sought to affirm the principle of respect for the laws of nature and of "a conscious and ethically responsible paternity".[56]
Legacy [ edit ]
Although polls show that many[quantify] Catholics dissent from church teaching on contraception,[57] there has nevertheless been a resurgence of support for it among most practising Catholics, from Roman Catholic theologians such as, Germain Grisez, Janet E. Smith, Mary Shivanandan, Scott and his wife Kimberly Hahn. They along with numerous Catholic authors and speakers such as such as Christopher West, Matt Fradd, Jason Evert, and Leah Darrow are currently advancing a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Church's teaching regarding sex and marriage. At the official level, Catholicism’s commitment to Humanae Vitae is more stable than ever. According to John L. Allen, Jr., "In addition, three decades of bishops’ appointments by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, both unambiguously committed to Humanae Vitae, mean that senior leaders in Catholicism these days are far less inclined than they were in 1968 to distance themselves from the ban on birth control, or to soft-pedal it. Some Catholic bishops have brought out documents of their own defending Humanae Vitae.[58] Also, developments in fertility awareness since the 1960s [59] have given rise to natural family planning organizations such as the Billings Ovulation Method, Couple to Couple League and the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, which actively provide formal instruction on the use and reliability of natural methods of birth control.
Pope John Paul I [ edit ]
Albino Luciani's views on Humanae vitae have been debated.[60] Journalist John L. Allen, Jr. claims that "it's virtually certain that John Paul I would not have reversed Paul VI’s teaching, particularly since he was no doctrinal radical. Moreover, as Patriarch in Venice some had seen a hardening of his stance on social issues as the years went by." According to Allen "...it is reasonable to assume that John Paul I would not have insisted upon the negative judgment in Humanae Vitae as aggressively and publicly as John Paul II did, and probably would not have treated it as a quasi-infallible teaching. It would have remained a more 'open' question".[61][62] Other sources take a different view and note that during his time as Patriarch of Venice that "Luciani was intransigent with his upholding of the teaching of the Church and severe with those, through intellectual pride and disobedience paid no attention to the Church's prohibition of contraception", though while not condoning the sin, he was tolerant of those who sincerely tried and failed to live up to the Church's teaching. The book states that "...if some people think that his compassion and gentleness in this respect implies he was against Humane Vitae one can only infer it was wishful thinking on their part and an attempt to find an ally in favor of artificial contraception."[63]
Pope John Paul II [ edit ]
After he became pope in 1978, John Paul II continued on the Catholic Theology of the Body of his predecessors with a series of lectures, entitled Theology of the Body, in which he talked about an original unity between man and women,[64] purity of heart (on the Sermon on the Mount), marriage and celibacy and reflections on Humanae vitae, focusing largely on responsible parenthood and marital chastity.[65]
In 1981, the Pope's Apostolic exhortation, Familiaris consortio restated the Church's opposition to artificial birth control stated previously in Humanae vitae.
John Paul II readdressed some of the same issues in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor. He reaffirmed much of Humanae vitae, and specifically described the practice of artificial contraception as an act not permitted by Catholic teaching in any circumstances. The same encyclical also clarifies the use of conscience in arriving at moral decisions, including in the use of contraception. However, John Paul also said, “It is not right then to regard the moral conscience of the individual and the magisterium of the Church as two contenders, as two realities in conflict. The authority which the magisterium enjoys by the will of Christ exists so that the moral conscience can attain the truth with security and remain in it.” John Paul quoted Humanae vitae as a compassionate encyclical, "Christ has come not to judge the world but to save it, and while he was uncompromisingly stern towards sin, he was patient and rich in mercy towards sinners".[66]
Pope John Paul's 1995 encyclical, Evangelium vitae ("The Gospel of Life"), affirmed the Church's position on contraception and multiple topics related to the culture of life.
Pope Benedict XVI [ edit ]
On 12 May 2008, Benedict XVI accepted an invitation to talk to participants in the International Congress organized by the Pontifical Lateran University on the 40th anniversary of Humanae vitae. He put the encyclical in the broader view of love in a global context, a topic he called "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future." Humanae vitae became "a sign of contradiction but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today."[67] The Church continues to reflect "in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation." The key message of Humanae vitae is love. Benedict states, that the fullness of a person is achieved by a unity of soul and body, but neither spirit nor body alone can love, only the two together. If this unity is broken, if only the body is satisfied, love becomes a commodity.[68]
Pope Francis [ edit ]
On 16 January 2015, Pope Francis said to a meeting with families in Manila, insisting on the need to protect the family: "The family is ...threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life. I think of Blessed Paul VI. At a time when the problem of population growth was being raised, he had the courage to defend openness to life in families. He knew the difficulties that are there in every family, and so in his Encyclical he was very merciful towards particular cases, and he asked confessors to be very merciful and understanding in dealing with particular cases. But he also had a broader vision: he looked at the peoples of the earth and he saw this threat of the destruction of the family through the privation of children [original Spanish: destrucción de la familia por la privación de los hijos]. Paul VI was courageous; he was a good pastor and he warned his flock of the wolves who were coming."[69][70]
A year before, on 1 May 2014, Pope Francis, in an interview given to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, expressed his opinion and praise for Humanae Vitae: "Everything depends on how Humanae Vitae is interpreted. Paul VI himself, in the end, urged confessors to be very merciful and pay attention to concrete situations. But his genius was prophetic, he had the courage to take a stand against the majority, to defend moral discipline, to exercise a cultural restraint, to oppose present and future neo-Malthusianism. The question is not of changing doctrine, but of digging deep and making sure that pastoral care takes into account situations and what it is possible for persons to do."[71]
References [ edit ] |
Colorado College rising junior defenseman Teemu Kivihalme has officially withdrawn from school, giving up his final year of collegiate eligibility to become an NHL free agent this summer, according to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News:
Teemu Kivihalme is leaving Colorado College. NSH draft pick gave 30-day letter of notice, so he's a UFA as of July 1. Skilled D-man. — Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) June 15, 2017
Kivihalme was a fifth round selection of the Nashville Predators in the 2013 NHL Draft, as a junior in high school. He then spent his senior year of high school playing for the Fargo Force in the USHL, followed by three seasons at Colorado College. Because he is now four years removed from being drafted in the NHL, Kivihalme is eligible to become an NHL free agent if he withdraws from school.
It was tough to judge Kivihalme at Colorado College due to a lack of supporting cast. The Tigers finished in last place in conference play in all three seasons he was in Colorado Springs. Kivihalme was frequently good in a situation that demanded he be exceptional. In 107 career games played, he finished with a scoring line of 10-26-36 and an atrocious-looking +/- earned by playing lots of minutes against top competition.
Listed at 6-0 170 lbs., Kivihalme is a smaller defenseman that relies on his excellent skating and agility to be an offensive-minded puck-moving defenseman.
Kivihalme joins Jimmy Vesey in not signing with the Predators in order to become a free agent, though this one likely stings way less for Nashville fans. Kivihalme will likely at least start his career as a depth add for whichever organization he joins and will have to work his way through the minor leagues before he is ready to play at the NHL level. |
Drew Angerer/Getty Images Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to hold hearings on a new Supreme Court justice, despite broad support to do so from the American public.
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) came out with a report on Monday detailing what she calls the "extreme" obstruction of President Barack Obama's nominees -- and a new HuffPost/YouGov poll suggests Americans agree with her, at least on the president's Supreme Court pick.
Almost immediately after Justice Antonin Scalia's death in February, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared that the Senate would hold no hearings on a replacement, signaling his intention to leave a spot on the nation's highest court vacant for at least a year.
Surveys that came out soon thereafter found that most Americans disagreed with that stance.
In her new report, "Going to Extremes," Warren argues that the Supreme Court blockade is only the most obvious example of GOP obstruction of Obama's nominees. It's been bad throughout Obama's presidency, and worse whenever Republicans in the Senate had more power.
"The idea that Senate Republicans are willing to leave our highest court short-handed for nearly a year seems shocking. But the fact is that, for more than seven years, they have waged an unrelenting campaign to keep key positions throughout government empty," Warren said in a statement.
"This report documents the long history of Republican obstruction of Obama administration nominees—a story that started at the very beginning of Obama’s presidency," she added. "Instead of preventing government from functioning properly, Republicans should do the job the American people sent us here to do by giving the president’s nominees fair consideration."
Senate Republicans 'have waged an unrelenting campaign to keep key positions throughout government empty.' Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Warren notes that when President Ronald Reagan was working with a Democratic-led Senate, about 80 percent of his noncontroversial judicial appointees were confirmed within 100 days of being nominated, including Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who won confirmation in the election year of 1988.
In contrast, almost none of Obama's court nominees were confirmed in less than 100 days, with most -- about 60 percent of confirmations -- taking more than 200 days.
Republicans were in the minority during Obama's first term in office, but they used the filibuster to slow the process to the point that the Senate confirmed just 173 judges, compared to the 205 who were approved in President George W. Bush's first term.
In the first two years of Obama's second term, Warren notes that the GOP even tried to eliminate three seats on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, rather than let Obama fill the vacancies.
Democrats ultimately exercised the so-called nuclear option to end filibusters of lower court appointments, allowing the Senate to advance 89 judges.
When the GOP took control of the Senate in 2014, the pace of appointments slowed dramatically again. Court vacancies have jumped from 43 to 89, but McConnell and Republicans have acted to advance just 18 nominations. By comparison, the Senate confirmed 68 judges in George W. Bush's final two years as president.
But it's the blockade of the nation's highest court that has captured Americans' attention, and they think the Senate ought to be holding hearings on federal Judge Merrick Garland, the nominee to replace Scalia.
In a recent HuffPost/YouGov poll, respondents said by a 2-1 margin -- 50 percent to 25 percent -- that the Senate should hold hearings on Garland. That includes 39 percent of Republican voters polled.
On top of that, the question of which party's presidential candidate should pick the next Supreme Court justice now ranks as the fourth most important election-year issue for voters polled, with 17 percent saying it's a top issue. In February, just 6 percent of respondents named Supreme Court nominations a top concern. Twenty-three percent of Republican respondents now do so.
Voters also largely favor Obama's pick for Scalia's vacant seat, with 41 percent approving of the decision to nominate Garland and 28 percent disapproving. Thirty-one percent of respondents say they're unsure, which likely stems from the fact that the Senate has refused to hold hearings on him. |
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his nomination of six-term Republican Congress member Tom Price of Georgia to be the secretary of health and human services.
Like many of his Republican colleagues, Price has been a vocal and long-standing critic of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. But Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, stands apart. While other Republicans have expressed their desire take a hatchet to the landmark healthcare law, he has taken up a scalpel and carved out the most detailed plan yet to repeal and replace the ACA.
“Repeal and replace” was a mantra of Trump’s campaign, yet the president-elect provided no specifics on how to do it or what might replace the ACA. Price’s plan could fill that void. But uncertainty still prevails over any prognosis for the country’s healthcare system. Up for speculation is everything from the political maneuvers necessary to repeal the ACA to the Republican establishment’s acceptance of Price’s replacement plan, some aspects of which are at odds with other Republican plans.
Still, one thing seems certain following the nomination: Trump is dead set on his plan to kill the ACA—despite previous inklings of softening. In a statement released Tuesday, Trump said of Price: “He is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible healthcare to every American."
And with the ACA effectively on death row, healthcare experts are worried.
The man
While political pundits and journalists can only speculate on Price’s strategy come January 20, his long tenure in Congress offers a clear look at his positions and values.
Price, a US representative of the northern suburbs of Atlanta since 2005, holds staunch conservative values and identifies as a member of the Tea Party caucus. As chairman of the House Budget Committee and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, including the Subcommittee on Health, he has worked to promote those conservative values.
Moreover, Price has voted against federal funding for abortions and Planned Parenthood, which provides critical medical services to women, particularly those of low income. He voted against paid parental leave for federal employees. He didn’t support a measure that would prevent LGBTQ discrimination or another that would expand protections for victims of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse, a major public health issue. Price has supported legislation that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases. He voted against a current law that allows the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco, even though cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the US. He also voted against expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program and a measure that required negotiating prescription medication prices for Medicare Part D.
Like many of his fellow Republicans, Price repeatedly voted against Obamacare. In 2010, shortly after President Obama signed the ACA into law, Price said: “Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration blatantly ignored the voices of the American people and rammed through a hyper-partisan piece of legislation that will have a disastrous effect on our nation’s health care system.” (An equal number of Americans support the ACA as oppose it.)
In 2013, Price said in a statement: “Under Obamacare, the American people are paying more for health care and getting less—less access, less quality, and fewer choices.” (However, the Department for Health and Human Services, which Price is set to head, reported that 20 million Americans gained access to health insurance because of the ACA. And the law made health plans more comprehensive.)
Regardless of the ACA’s strengths and weaknesses, Price has introduced a plan—the Empowering Patients First Act—that would scrap the ACA in its entirety and set up a new system, which Price says will get the federal government out of doctors’ offices.
“The Empowering Patients First Act puts patients, families and doctors in charge by focusing on the principles of affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, choices, and responsiveness,” he said in a statement last year.
The plan
The main features of Price’s plan (PDF) include:
incentives for people to contribute to health savings accounts
age-based tax credits for health insurance coverage
federal grants to help states subsidize insurance for “high risk” populations
a provision to allow insurance providers to sell plans across state lines easily
reforms that make bringing lawsuits against doctors harder, which is intended to “reduce the costly practice of defensive medicine.”
Critics of the plan have pointed out and Vox explained that many features will benefit the rich and healthy at the expense of the poor and sick.
For instance, the age-based tax credits get bigger as a person ages—and likely sees increases in their income. Under the plan, Americans would get incentives of:
$900 when they’re under age 18
$1,200 between 18 to 35 years of age
$2,100 between 35 and 50 years of age
$3,000 at 50 years and older
If you’re middle-aged, middle-class, and in good health, you might be fine under the Empowering Patients First Act and able to afford health insurance regardless. But if you’re, say, a college graduate who’s just starting a career and has a serious medical condition, insurance may not be affordable.
Under the ACA, tax credits are based on income, not age, allowing those with low incomes to get more help.
Price’s plan also eliminates the ACA’s mandates for large, comprehensive coverage plans. Erin Trish, a researcher at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, told Ars that Republicans have long grumbled about this feature of the ACA. “One of the criticisms is that the premiums are high because policies are required to cover a lot,” she explained. But, she added, “it’s a trade-off.”
Insurance companies may be able to offer lower prices for more meager plans. And that could attract more young and/or low-income healthy people to sign up for coverage. But offering cheap, bare-bones plans to young, healthy people would likely drive up the prices of large, comprehensive plans that sick and older people need. This is because the affordability of those comprehensive plans is buoyed by healthy people buying into them and not needing all of their coverage.
The Empowering Patients First Act, like other Republican plans, also muddies one of the ACA’s more popular features: preventing insurance companies from denying coverage or discriminating based on a pre-existing condition. Price’s plan would uphold this feature only for people who have continuous coverage. If, however, someone with a pre-existing condition went for a period without health coverage—like if they lost their job and couldn’t pay for insurance during their employment gap—insurance companies could deny them coverage or dramatically raise their prices.
Unlike other Republicans’ plans, Price’s says nothing about the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which could leave the more than 15 million Americans who gained coverage this way scrambling to find affordable coverage. |
I feel like this is more of a companion-book to the Diary of the Displaced books, which were completely brilliant, than it's own, stand-alone thing. I read this after reading Diary of the Displaced 1-3, and was kind of let down. It's an interesting story, fun to see what happens, and the world the author has created is still fascinating, but nothing as mind-bending as the three main books. The most interesting part, to me, was seeing where this book intersected the plot lines of the Diary of the Displaced books, with both characters and particular settings. It did explain a few things I'd been wondering about.
I would actually recommend reading this, and the other book in set in this same world, Chasing Spirits, before reading the Diary of the Displaced books. Then you'd be coming across little scenes and people from this book and saying "Hey, I know what that is!" or "Oh, that's this guy!"
Worth reading, but really only to either set you up, or help you come down from, the Diary of the Displaced books. |
Feminist Ryan Gosling, evidently, is not just a meme, but real life Ryan Gosling, who not only appreciates women, but correctly believes they are better than men.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Gosling explained how he is aware of the male gaze and the way women are often objectified.
“It’s our time as men to be on the receiving end of the stick,” Gosling, 35, said. “I grew up with women so I’ve always been aware of it. When my mother and I walked to the grocery store, men would circle the block in cars. It was very scary, especially as a young boy. Very predatory; a hunt.”
The Canadian actor has plenty of women in his life to be inspired by, with long-time girlfriend Eva Mendes and their two daughters, 18-month old Esmeralda and newborn Amada.
Of all questions, when asked what per cent women he is, Gosling thoughtfully responded, “I’d say 49 per cent, sometimes 47 per cent, it depends on what day you catch me.”
“I think women are better than men,” he continued. “They are stronger. More evolved. You can tell especially when you have daughters and you see their early stages, they are just leaps and bounds beyond boys immediately. … I’ve always liked women more. I was brought up by my mother and older sister. I found my way into dance class. My home life now is mostly women. They are better than us. They make me better.”
Gosling is also crossing his fingers for a female president and, one might assume, prime minister: “I think it needs a woman’s touch.”
‘Cause hey girl, Ryan Gosling not only knows you’re better than him but is always here for you. |
Minneapolis, MN – National liberation movements around the world are morning the Oct. 4 passing of General Vo Nguyen Giap who, along with Ho Chi Minh, was one of the main leaders of Vietnam’s fight to free itself from Japanese, French and finally U.S. domination.
Describing General Giap as a “warrior of the twentieth century, architect of the future,” the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) stated, “Japan, France and the United States, three of the strongest powers in human history, fell successively, humiliated before his military and political genius.”
A statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said “Giap was the first military commander to defeat a Western colonial power in Asia, and his legacy is renowned not only by the Vietnamese people but by all peoples around the world and all movements for liberation from colonialism and imperialism.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines, summed up some of the lessons of Giap’s efforts, stating, “Comrade Giap led the Vietnamese People’s Army in the historic Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the center of French military power in Indochina. Here, the Vietnamese people demonstrated how they could defeat a more modern army through the use of guerrilla tactics. They marched in their thousands to build hidden trails, dug hundreds of kilometers of trenches, dismantled their cannons and artillery and manually pulled them up to high mountain ridges in order to quietly encircle the overly confident French troops. They launched a blitzkrieg attack against the French military base and after 55 days of fighting, forced the complete surrender of the French colonialists on May 7, 1954.”
The Communist Party of the Philippines also stated, “The lessons of the Vietnamese people’s war of resistance continue to illumine people’s wars around the world, including that being waged by the Filipino people through the New People’s Army. The military writings of Comrade Giap, especially in waging guerrilla warfare, have been translated into Pilipino and other local languages, enabling Filipino revolutionaries to study the lessons of the people’s war in Vietnam.” |
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On Saturday, more than a dozen 600-hp modified production cars will line up for the start of the 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross season. If rallycross hasn’t entered your radar until just now, don’t feel bad about it -- this discipline of motorsport has been more popular on the European side of the pond throughout much of its history, and GRC got its official start just six years ago.
Since the series officially began in 2011, it’s become an established version of the sport in the United States. It’s brought in competitors like “Top Gear USA” host Tanner Foust and former NASCAR and Formula One competitor Scott Speed, as well as DC Shoes founder and Gymkhana star Ken Block over the years. GRC officially added a development series, GRC Lites, in 2013. Honda joined GRC over the offseason, as well, meaning that Civics will join the starting grid this weekend in the top Supercar class.
The first event of the GRC season is a doubleheader just outside Phoenix at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, a new venue on the schedule. The courses vary from track to track, and the Phoenix circuit will be a 0.929-mile track with 12 turns and an approximate makeup of 80 percent pavement and 20 percent dirt.
If you haven’t gotten the chance to add rallycross to your personal motorsports encyclopedia just yet, we’re here break this particular series down for you.
Scott Speed Photo by RED BULL
Updates from the offseason
Ken Block heads to the FIA World Rally Championship: Despite coming close on more than one occasion, GRC veteran Ken Block never managed to win a series championship during five seasons. He won’t pursue one this year, either, as his Hoonigan Racing Division team took its efforts to the FIA World Rally Championship for the 2016 season. Block competes alongside teammate Andreas Bakkerud in a new Ford Focus RS RX rallycross car, and they sit 15th and eighth in the championship standings, respectively, three races into the season.
Jeff Ward goes full time in GRC: After making a handful of starts last season, Motorcycle Hall of Fame member Jeff Ward will join the series full time in 2016 with SH Rallycross. Ward has experience in off-road racing, motocross and IndyCar, and he’ll be in a Ford Fiesta ST for the season.
IndyCar driver Sebastian Saavedra to make GRC debut in Phoenix: After competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series periodically between 2011 and 2015, Sebastian Saavedra will head to the season-opening GRC event to make his series debut in the No. 77 Ford Fiesta. The GRC release on Monday did not specify what team he will compete with, and no announcement has been made on whether Saavedra will run more GRC races this season.
Tanner Whitten Photo by RED BULL
Race formats and the championship
Rallycross essentially developed from enclosing rally racing, and GRC visits purpose-built racetracks -- occasionally constructed within existing racetracks like Daytona International Speedway -- throughout its 12-race season.
The cars run heats and semifinals in order to set the field for the 10-car main event, which makes for a fast-paced race day. Each track shares a few basic characteristics with the rest: racing circuits comprising both dirt and pavement, a 70-foot jump and a "joker lap."
The joker lap has to be taken by each driver once per race, and all joker counts reset should a race stoppage occur. It’s essentially a strategy tool, which can either be beneficial or detrimental depending on when a driver takes it and where he or she is in the field at that time.
Red Bull Global Rallycross looks to build momentum in 2016. Photo by RED BULL
Tanner Foust: Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver and series champion in 2011 and 2012. Both Foust and Scott Speed drive a relatively new car to the series -- the Volkswagen Beetle, which replaced the Polo's run in prior years.
Scott Speed: Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver and 2015 series champion. Won his debut in GRC at X Games in 2013 and has been a strong force in the series since.
Patrik Sandell: Bryan Herta Rallysport driver who finished eighth in the 2015 series standings. Defending champion Speed “expected (Sandell) to be the biggest competitor” for the title at the end of last season, and perhaps that bodes well for him this year.
Joni Wiman: While Wiman's 2015 season wasn't nearly as strong as the one prior, the 2014 series champion will pilot a car brand new to the series this year -- the Honda Civic rallycross car. The Andretti team learned in 2014 that new cars come with their own set of challenges, but it will be interesting to watch how Wiman and the Honda Red Bull OMSE team perform this year. |
MEXICO CITY, Mexico — A Spaniard and a Mexican are drinking and chatting at a bar.
The Mexican, economist Rodrigo Alcazar, has recently returned here from graduate studies in Spain and is pondering the economic divergence between the two countries.
“How can I put this nicely?” he asks — then pauses dramatically, and smiles. “Spain’s economy is totally ‘chingada!’” he says, using a stinging Mexican expletive to drive the dire point home.
A waiter sets down a large glass of Indio beer.
The Spaniard, Javier Rodriguez, a marketer for Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica, knows his country’s fouled up situation — interminable recession and one of Europe’s highest unemployment rates — quite well.
Several years ago, Rodriguez left Spain to try his luck in the Americas. After working a string of jobs in Central America, he settled in Mexico last year. He might have returned home if he could, but failed to secure full-time work that would have enabled him to do so.
It turns out Rodriguez is not the only Spaniard fleeing hard times.
Spain’s economy had surged for much of the past few decades, luring Latin Americans in droves to brave migration overseas for a better life in what many of them consider “la Madre Patria.”
But now, with Spain in the doldrums, the Latin American influx there is waning, and many Spaniards are doing what Javier Rodriguez did: coming to the Americas, where economic indicators point admirably upward, not down.
“I know people from Spain who are going to come here to try to open a business because it is so hard to get financing [in Spain]. There’s a liquidity shortage,” Rodriguez says.
All this pondering and pilsner sipping is taking place at a popular, upscale cantina called La Cerveceria Nacional, which overlooks Mexico City’s Plaza de la Madrid, a park with a statue Spain’s government gave to Mexico in 1980. At that time, Spain’s nascent democracy was emerging from total isolation after a decades-long dictatorship, and the country sought to build commercial relations with its former colony.
Today, Spain wants even closer ties.
“We need more Ibero-America,” Spanish King Juan Carlos said in November at a summit in the Andalusian town of Cadiz, using the term describing the centuries-old links between the Iberian Peninsula and huge swath of lands in the Americas once called New Spain.
Many Spanish emigres and corporations from telecoms to energy, real estate and hospitality firms appear to have obliged him — they're seeking new opportunities in Latin America.
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, in remarks at a January conference of European and Latin American leaders, summed up why: “The European Union is going through a very difficult time in terms of its economic crisis, stagnation, unemployment and fiscal deficits [while] Latin America is going through a very positive period, both compared to the rest of the world and to its own history.”
Indeed, more than two decades removed from its own debt crisis, Latin America now looks like an enticing option.
Its growth trajectory could still see hurdles placed by weaknesses in the euro zone and China. Still, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund forecast Latin America's gross domestic product to expand 3.5 percent this year, up from 2.5 percent in 2012, and some of the region’s national economies could perform far better than that. The IMF said its growth estimate is "supported by a pickup in external demand, favorable financing conditions, and the impact of earlier policy easing in some countries."
By contrast, the Spanish government expects its economy to contract 1.3 percent this year, about the same rate it shrank last year.
Spanish multinationals expanding here is hardly novel, but some have been reaping new rewards.
More from GlobalPost: Euro crisis prompts Portuguese to return to former colony
In the 1990s, Spanish banks such as Santander and BBVA launched an unprecedented expansion effort in Latin America. Two decades later, some of the investment is paying off.
In 2011, both banks earned more in Latin America than they did in Spain. The same pattern unfolded in 2012. Despite writing off more than $7.7 billion in bad Spanish property loans, Santander, the euro zone’s largest bank according to market capitalization, posted profits of $2.6 billion that year, helped by strong returns on its operations on this side of the Atlantic.
In 2012, Santander raked in $19.1 billion in Latin America — almost double the $9.8 billion the company earned in its home market of continental Europe.
On March 21, BBVA’s executive chairman, Francisco Gonzalez, traveled to Mexico City to announce a plan to invest $3.5 billion in Mexico by 2016.
Mexico “has a solid and robust financial system that contrasts, without a doubt, with those [systems] in other parts of the world,” Gonzalez said at a press conference, speaking alongside Mexico's president.
Latin America also generates substantial revenues for Spain’s other early investors, such as energy firms Iberdrola and Endesa. In 2012, Endesa generated more hydroelectric power in Latin America than in Spain and Portugal put together. In 2009, Spanish energy giant Acciona built Latin America’s largest wind farm in Mexico. By the end of 2012 Acciona had more than doubled its wind output in Mexico.
Spanish hoteliers are already well established across the continent, and some are planning further expansion.
“We think there will be a very positive evolution in the Caribbean and in Latin America,” Gabriel Escarrer, the billionaire CEO of Mallorca-based Melia Hotels International, said at a January 2012 travel industry conference in Madrid.
As a result of all the movement and reversed economic trends, traditional migration patterns are reversing.
Overall, 310,000 fewer migrants went to Spain from Latin America during 2008-2010 in comparison with the previous three years. In 2011, the number of Latin Americans granted residency in Spain fell to half of the figure reported in 2007.
“Spain had a lot of people from Peru and Ecuador, but now with the crisis the Latinos who came to Spain for jobs are going back [home] ... they don’t have work,” Rodriguez says.
Meanwhile, countries like Brazil, Chile, Mexico and others have become top destinations for job-hungry Spanish young professionals.
During the last three months of 2012, Mexico's immigration office issued work permits for 7,630 Spaniards.
A number of economic factors could be at play.
Although the 2008 global recession translated into an immediate contraction in Mexico, experts say the economic reforms the country had adopted over the previous two decades helped Mexico avoid a more serious collapse and also recover relatively quickly.
More GlobalPost analysis: Latin American equality — free markets or a left-wing success story?
Whereas corporate Mexico’s exposure to the 2008-09 global financial crisis was limited to isolated instances of debt problems, such as at cement maker Cemex and supermarket retailer Comercial Mexicana, Spain’s entire construction, banking and infrastructure industries have plunged into an ongoing state of calamity.
Now, as Spain’s economy delves deeper into double-dip recession, Mexico’s Finance Ministry predicts the country’s economy could grow by 4 percent in 2013, although the UN sees the figure slightly lower.
Mexico reports an unemployment rate of only 4.9 percent. In Spain, the jobless rate is 27 percent — its worst since the Franco dictatorship.
To be sure, the numbers tell a fraction of the story. Mexico still struggles with entrenched inequality. Pockets of Mexico’s south and low-income areas of the industrial north remain far more underdeveloped and impoverished than any part of Spain.
Many low-income residents in Mexico struggle with limited access to public services and formal sector jobs, analysts say. About a third of Mexico’s workforce ekes out a living in the “informal sector” — a designation that includes window washers, unregistered taco venders, shoe shiners, migrant workers, and domestic helpers.
Those services are in demand for white-collar Mexicans and foreigners like the Spaniards who come to work here — like the kind that come to La Cerverceria Nacional.
“In la Roma and Condesa, [the two upscale neighborhoods that surround La Cerveceria,] there are a ton of Spaniards,” says Rodriguez, the Telefonica employee, looking down at his massive mug of Indio beer.
He adds, “Mexico has more poverty and inequality, but it’s continuing to grow.”
More GlobalPost analysis: ¿Como se dice R&D? South America’s still learning how |
A large-scale uprising from people living under the totalitarian regime of Islamic State (Isis) is the most likely trigger that will lead to the undoing of the self-declared caliphate, according to an authoritative report into the jihadi group by the former head of counter-terrorism at MI6.
A detailed appraisal of the organisation, obtained by the Observer, says that, although Isis has performed strategically well so far, its biggest challenge will be controlling dissent and coping with the difficulties of administration in the vast territory it governs.
The report by Richard Barrett, who headed the UN’s al-Qaida and Taliban monitoring team and helped establish the UN’s working group on terrorism, is one of the most comprehensive portraits yet of the group and examines its genesis, revenue streams and cohort of foreign fighters along with its ambitions.
The social media platforms that Isis has exploited successfully to disseminate propaganda will also play a key role in its demise by rapidly spreading discord among the six million people under its rule, the report states.
It adds: “The thirst for change that Islamic State has managed to exploit will not be slaked by its totalitarian approach towards its subjects. In today’s world, no state, however remote, can hope to control its population by limiting its access to information or suppressing its ability to think. It will be no more able to harness the social, economic, and political forces around it than were the states that, through their failure, allowed the space for Islamic State to grow.”
Barrett said that international agencies had recently noted a “slowdown” in the volume of foreign fighters joining Isis, partly because some that had returned home had talked negatively about their experiences. “The fact that many people have gone home and are starting to talk about how bad things are means there’s a counter-narrative going on which has helped slow numbers,” said Barrett, whose report for security analysts the Soufan Group will be used by governments as an intelligence briefing about Isis.
A report by the UN security council, revealed on Friday that 15,000 foreign jihadis have travelled to Syria and Iraq from more than 80 countries to fight alongside Isis and other groups.
Barrett’s report also quotes the 15,000 figure, adding “over half come from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and Turkey”. However, it adds that, if Isis begins to lose its foreign cohort, it will be weakened to the point it might be overrun. “If these [foreign] fighters desert it, Islamic State will probably be unable to maintain momentum and so be an easier target for its enemies.”
Around 500 Britons are thought to have travelled to Syria and Iraq, although they are not listed among its ranks of suicide bombers in the report which during 2014 has included “Danes, Egyptians, French, Iranians, Jordanians, Libyans, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Russians (Chechens), Saudi Arabians, Syrians, Tajiks, Tunisians, Turks and Uzbeks”.
The UN report on Friday identified the use of social media by Isis as “unhindered by organisational structures”. It is this approach that Barrett believes will contribute to the break- up of Isis by quickly spreading internal criticism. Isis has been adept at using social media such as Twitter along with newer, smaller platforms – Ask.fm and Kik, Quitter and Diaspora – to broadcast its message. Barrett notes the group is “intolerant of any opposition or divergence from its worldview, and has set up networks of informers and a heavy security apparatus, managed from the centre, to ensure that no challenge to its authority can grow”.
This system has meant that those living under Isis have “begun to see it as merely a new form of oppression”, with residents recently revealing that conditions inside Mosul, the largest city under Isis control, have deteriorated. Barrett also says that the “hostility of Islamic State to individuality has also driven away many members of the professional classes, leaving hospitals without staff or medicines and schools without teachers”.
It is this, the administration of territory, that will play a key role in the longevity of Isis, emphasising the importance of agencies such as Isis’s Islamic administration of public services including electricity, sanitation and water.
However, the complexity of the challenge facing Isis is encapsulated by the fact that, while the seizure of grain stores has lowered prices, and keep bakeries running, many farmers have fled, meaning the crop for next year remains unplanted. The report adds that the amount of money required to run the caliphate “may equate to those of the Iraqi government before Islamic State took control”.
ISIS FACTS
■ Around six million people are currently living under its rule.
■ Employs between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters, according to US intelligence estimates, and another army of administrators to keep Isis functioning.
■ Controls land in Iraq that accounts for 40% of national wheat production.
■ Its latest annual report, which covers the 12 months to November 2013, demonstrates an increase in capability, with more than 9,000 military operations recorded, many indicating a high level of tactical flexibility.
■ Reportedly pays fighters between $200 and $600 a month.
■ Administration employees paid around $300 rising to $2,000 for senior managers.
■ More than four million mentions of the English acronym Isis between 17 September and 17 October 2014 on Twitter; the Arabic acronym mentioned 1.9m times over the same period. |
MICHAEL C HALL: 'I don't aspire to write the show, but I feel that I am the guardian of my sense of Dexter's truth as much as it exists.'
Television's favourite serial killer came close to having a different face.
Having just finished five seasons on Six Feet Under, the last thing Michael C Hall wanted to do was to jump into another open-ended commitment.
But the more he read the script and Jeff Lindsay's novel, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the more he thought about the possibilities for the character – a Miami police department blood-spatter analyst who has a compulsion to kill.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Sunday News MICHAEL C HALL: The actor believes Dexter's affection for Harrison actually makes the show more disturbing.
"I took a couple of weeks to make a decision, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to pull off what the show aspired to do, which was somewhat subversive, inspiring an audience to identify with and even root for a serial killer," Hall says while visiting Auckland to promote the show and "have a holiday" this month.
Born in North Carolina, Hall says his first acting experience was a church production at the age of six. "I remember the sense of invigoration I had just walking around my house learning my lines, highlighting my lines, and the feeling of exhilaration when I finished the show.
"Looking back, perhaps the die was cast (that I would be an actor) right there, but I didn't admit that was what I dreamed of until I was in college and had exhausted other liberal arts education possibilities and took an acting class. It was then that it became undeniable to me that this was the thing I had the most enthusiasm and aptitude for."
To prepare for the Dexter role, Hall sat down with Miami-Dade Police Department's blood-spatter analyst expert to get a sense of what his job was and watched a documentary about the lead analyst in the OJ Simpson trial.
"It gave me a sense of the nuts and bolts of what the job entailed, as well as a sense of the politics within a police department."
One of the unique aspects of the show Hall had to get used to was the extensive use of voice-over.
"It's a big part of the performance. Without it, I don't think audiences would have the same relationship with the character because you're hearing secrets that no-one else in his world is privy to and you're almost his silent accomplice.
"I initially attempted to record it while shooting, but found I wasn't comfortable recording it blind – there's so much nuance that you can find if you record it to picture. So now I have a recording device in my trailer and, while shooting an episode, I'll lay down a scratch track that we re-record when we do the final sound mix. It really brings it to life and makes it feel organic, integrated and fundamental."
An executive producer on the show, Hall sees that role as more than just a vanity credit because of the subjective nature of the series. "Dexter isn't privy to everything on the show, but we do hear his thoughts and see and consider what happens at least to an extent through the prism of his subjective experience.
"I don't aspire to write the show, but I do feel that I am the guardian of my sense of Dexter's truth as much as it exists."
He says his contribution varies from season to season and episode to episode. "I think my contribution is not about what happens, but how it happens."
Hall's professionalism and commitment to the role are best illustrated by what happened towards the end of filming for season four, when he discovered that he had Hodgkins' lymphoma.
Carrying out the initial staging tests while completing production, he started treatment the day after they wrapped and completed it in time for season five. Unaware of his health problems, his fellow actors were shocked to discover what he had been battling.
"I simply had a wig made for the fifth season and didn't miss a beat production-wise. I was very lucky."
Since then he has been more than happy to lend his time or face to the Lymphoma Society's cause. "If that helps them generate money for research, then I'm all for it."
Hall says a typical shoot involves 12 to 16 hours a day, five days a week for 4 1/2 months.
"When you're in the midst of the season, it's hard to decompress, even if you get a weekend or an evening off. And it is the same to an extent with the hiatuses between seasons. It is still looming, still there waiting."
That means it is nice to do something else during that downtime, he says.
"Even if it's an inconsequential film that no-one might see, such as 2009's much-derided Gamer, sinking my teeth into something different goes a long way to recharging my batteries. But I probably won't be able to appreciate the decompression or how much character stayed with me until all is said and done and it's over."
Dexter: Tuesdays, 8.30pm, SoHo. |
Trump seems especially mad at Mike Bloomberg, and any New Yorker could tell you why
Reuters
Democrats spent four days trashing GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump at their convention, but it seems that Trump has taken special issue with one speaker in particular: billionaire entrepreneur and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
After Bloomberg questioned Trump's business acumen and called him a con man during his speech on Wednesday, Trump started referring to Bloomberg as "Little" Michael Bloomberg, reusing a moniker once reserved for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Trump also made a clear reference to Bloomberg at a rally in Iowa on Thursday: "I was going to hit one guy, in particular a very little guy. I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin. He wouldn't know what the hell happened."
Bloomberg is not a Democrat. Nor is he running for office. But he gets the threat of physical violence and a fun nickname because someone like Bloomberg offending Trump is especially offensive to Trump.
Any New Yorker can tell you why. It's because Trump has spent decades ignoring one of the cardinal rules of being publicly rich in this town: If you must flaunt your money, then you must also give it away in large sums.
If you don't, then you'll spend your life feeling like an outsider, building resentment against those who should be your set. And that's exactly what Trump has done.
America's Trump, New York City's Trump
While America has spent decades seeing Trump as a billionaire entrepreneur with a lux lifestyle, New York's elite have spent the same amount of time seeing him very differently — as a tacky sideshow with no regard for social norms.
No, this isn't Edith Wharton's New York City, but there are still rules. For one, if you want to attend everyone's fancy charity parties, then you've got to make a donation. If you don't make the donation, then prepare for everyone to stare daggers at you, to worry about your financial situation, to judge you.
If you don't give, then eventually people will invite you to fewer events. They'll consider you especially rude for going to the ones that you have been invited to out of politeness. That is when you are truly rejected by people who, ideally, since you're a "billionaire, too," should be your peers.
And that's when the gauche things you do as a rich person are suddenly inexcusable. People may see you at parties, but they do not really see you. They see a clown, a joke, a fraud.
This isn't something that started just this year, when Trump claimed to have donated $1 million to a veterans organization and was found to have done nothing of the sort. He eventually did.
Trump has a well-documented history of pledging to make donations and then reneging in this town, and in quiet whispers anyone on Wall Street will tell you that.
The media has looked into Trump's charity history, too. From The Washington Post (emphasis added):
"The Post contacted 167 charities searching for evidence of personal gifts from Trump in the period between 2008 and this May. The Post sought out charities that had some link to Trump, either because he had given them his foundation's money, appeared at their charity galas or praised them publicly.
"The search turned up just one donation in that period — a 2009 gift of between $5,000 and $9,999 to the Police Athletic League of New York City.
"In all, when the $1 million gift to veterans is added to his giving through the Donald J. Trump Foundation, Trump has given at least $3.8 million to charity since 2001. That is a significant sum, although not among billionaires. For example, hedge fund titan Stanley Druckenmiller, just behind Trump on Forbes's rankings of net worth, gave $120 million to his foundation in 2013 alone."
Reuters
So enter Bloomberg, a man whose name is uttered with the utmost respect among New York City's elite. He was the city's mayor, and he's dedicated his vast fortune to Bloomberg Philanthropies, among other charitable causes.
Whether or not everyone agrees with his politics, his generosity is unquestionable. This is a man who writes $100 million checks for Bill and Melinda Gates' charitable work while doing his own. This is a man who has given away billions of his $37 billion fortune to those less fortunate.
This is in sharp contrast to Trump, who, according to The Washington Post, has given no money to his own foundation since 2008.
Hands
Over the years, Trump has yearned for Bloomberg's acceptance as he has been for the acceptance of others in Bloomberg's cohort. Again, he considers himself, as a fellow billionaire, part of their world. Back when Bloomberg was considering a run for president himself, Trump told CNN, "We used to be friends. I guess we're not friends anymore."
Oh, you thought you guys were friends?
Trump was never to be friends with the likes of Michael Bloomberg. That fact was stunningly clear to New Yorkers as early as 1990, when Spy Magazine — a now defunct publication started by a captain of New York society, Graydon Carter, now Vanity Fair editor — played a nasty trick on a bunch of New York City's wealthiest.
To find out how many of the city's rich actually acted quite poorly, Spy sent a bunch of checks in very small amounts — $1.11, $2, $0.16 — to dozens of people from Cher to author Kurt Vonnegut, from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to private-equity billionaire Henry Kravis.
Carter and his partner, Kurt Andersen, likely howled as they watched the checks being cashed. Only two people cashed the smallest, $0.13 check, though.
From Spy, which is still, and likely always will be, worth the read:
Reuters
Spy also famously called Trump a "short-fingered vulgarian," which he's never gotten over. Yes, this is why he talks about his hands all the time. It's because the people of New York City giggled about them about 30 years ago.
And New York City's elite have been quietly chortling about them ever since.
This understanding of Trump's relationship with those in his social class should also provide some clarity as to why Wall Street has given relatively no money to Trump's campaign. You see, it's like this: He never gave to their charity cases.
So they're not giving to his.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: INSTANT POLL: Americans viewed Clinton's convention speech more favorably than Trump's
See Also:
SEE ALSO: Tell us how you really feel about the RNC and Trump, China |
Main features in system software update version 3.70
PlayStation®Vita system software version 3.70 was released on January 15, 2019. Version 3.70 adds or updates the following features.
New for 3.70
This system software update improves system performance.
Notices
Do not download or install the update using data other than the official update data provided online or on a PS Vita card by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Do not download or install updates by methods other than those described in the system documentation or on this website. If you download or install update data from a different source, by a different method, or on a PS Vita system that has been altered or modified in any way, the PS Vita system might not operate properly and might not be able to install the official update data. Any of these actions can void the PS Vita system warranty and affect your ability to obtain warranty services and repair services from Sony Interactive Entertainment.
This update is for PS Vita systems purchased in North America. DO NOT update your PS Vita system using this website if you purchased your system outside of North America. There is no guarantee of proper operation with models sold outside North America. For details about PS Vita systems purchased outside of North America, please visit the website for your region.
Do not turn off the power or remove the memory card for the PS Vita system during the update process. Interrupting the update can cause a system malfunction.
It might not be possible to start the update if the battery charge level is low.
The power button and the PS button do not function during the system update process.
You might not be able to use some applications or content without first updating the system software.
System Software
The PS Vita system and PS TV System software and system software updates installed on your system are subject to a limited license from Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Visit -https://www.scei.co.jp/psvita-eula/ for details.
Update Methods
PS Vita system
PS TV system
If you cannot update using any of these methods, click here.
After the update is completed, go to the home screen and select (Settings) > [Start] > [System] > [System Information]. If the version number of the system update file you used for updating the system is displayed in the [System Software] field, this means that the update was completed successfully.
You can update the PS Vita system software by any of the methods described below.
Update using Wi-Fi
Use the Wi-Fi feature of your PS Vita system to update the system via the Internet.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS Vita system
Internet connection (wireless)
You must configure your PS Vita system's network settings. For details, refer to your PS Vita system's user's guide.
To perform an update using Wi-Fi, select (Settings) > [Start] > [System Update] > [Update Using Wi-Fi] in a location that has an access point you can use. Your PS Vita system automatically checks over the Internet whether you have the latest version of the system software. If there is an update file for a later version, it is downloaded to the system. Follow the screens to complete the update.
You cannot perform an update using data transfer over a mobile network (3G).
Update by connecting to a PS3™ system
Use the network feature of a PS3™ system to update the system via the Internet.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS Vita system
PlayStation®3 The system software must be version 4.00 or later. Prepare a connection to the Internet.
You must configure the PS3™ system's network settings. For details, refer to the PS3™ system's user's guide.
Connect your PS Vita system to the PS3™ system using a USB cable.
All open applications must be closed, and (User) must be selected.
(User) must be selected. On your PS Vita system, select (Settings) > [Start] > [System Update] > [Update by Connecting to a PS3™ System].
Your PS Vita system automatically checks over the Internet whether you have the latest version of the system software. If there is an update file for a later version, it is downloaded to the system. Follow the screens to complete the update.
Update by connecting to a PC
Use the computer's network feature (Windows® / Mac) to update the system via the Internet.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS Vita system
Computer (Windows® / Mac) Connect to the Internet. Download and install Content Manager Assistant for PlayStation® on the computer.
You can download it from the following website:
-http://cma.dl.playstation.net/cma/
Check that Content Manager Assistant is running on the computer.
Windows®:
Look for the Content Manager Assistant icon in the notification area of the taskbar:
Mac:
Look for the Content Manager Assistant icon in the menu bar:
Windows®: Look for the Content Manager Assistant icon in the notification area of the taskbar: Mac: Look for the Content Manager Assistant icon in the menu bar:
Connect your PS Vita system and the computer using a USB cable.
On the PS Vita system, select (Settings) > [Start] > [System Update] > [Update by Connecting to a PC].
Your PS Vita system automatically checks over the Internet whether you have the latest version of the system software. If there is an update file for a later version, it is downloaded to the system. Follow the screens to complete the update.
Update using a PS Vita card
Use an update file contained on a PS Vita card to update the system.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS Vita system / PS TV system
A PS Vita card that contains an update file
When you start a game that contains an update file for a later version, a screen will be displayed to guide you through the update process. Follow the screens to perform the update.
Update by connecting to the Internet
Use the network feature of a PS TV system to update the system via the Internet.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS TV system
Internet connection (wired or wireless)
You must configure your PS TV system's network settings. For details, refer to your PS TV system's user's guide
When you select (Settings) > [Start] > [System Update], the PS TV system automatically checks over the Internet whether you have the latest version of the system software. If there is an update file for a later version, it is downloaded to the system. Follow the screens to complete the update.
Update using a USB flash drive
Download the update file to your computer, and then save it on the USB flash drive. Copy the saved file to your PS TV system to update the system.
The following things are needed to perform the update:
PS TV system
Computer (Windows®/Mac)
The computer must connect to the Internet.
The computer must connect to the Internet. USB flash drive.
There must be 150 MB of free space. On the USB flash drive, create folders for saving the update file.
Using a computer, create a folder named "PSVITA" on the USB flash drive. Inside that folder, create another folder named "UPDATE". Download the update file, and save it in the "UPDATE" folder you created in step 1. Save the file with the file name "PSVUPDAT.PUP".
There must be 150 MB of free space.
Access to and use of the PS Vita and PS TV system software update are subject to your acceptance of the System Software License Agreement located here . Before downloading the system software update, you should carefully read and understand the terms of the System Software License Agreement.
BY DOWNLOADING THE PS VITA AND PS TV SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE, YOU ARE INDICATING THAT YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT LOCATED HERE
Click to start the download.
Click to start the download. Turn off the power of your PS TV system completely.
Press and hold the Power button on your PS TV system for at least 7 seconds to turn on the power. The system starts in safe mode.
Connect a controller using a USB cable, and then press then PS button.
Select [Update System Software] > [Update from USB Storage Device].
Connect the USB flash drive that the update file is saved on to your PS TV system. Follow the screens to complete the update.
If your PS TV system does not recognize the update file, check that the folder names and file name are correct. Enter the folder names and file name in single-byte characters using uppercase letters. |
UFC 221: Rockhold vs Romero Live Stream (Pay-per-view) TV. On Saturday morning Perth, Australia time—Friday night in the U.S.—the UFC 221 main event and the middleweight division fell into even more chaos when No. 1 contender Yoel Romero failed to make weight for a hastily thrown together interim title match. This was after Romero took the fight on short notice following the withdrawal of middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who was only promoted to lineal champ after Georges St-Pierre won the belt and handed it back like a hot potato.
== MATCH INFO ==
Event : UFC 221
Player : Rockhold vs Romero
Date : February 10, 2018
Time : 10:00 PM ET
Live/Repeat:Live
Yes, we have ourselves a mess going on, which may be compounded further depending on the result of the fight between Romero and No. 2 contender Luke Rockhold. If Rockhold wins, he unequivocally becomes the next in line to fight Whittaker, but if Romero wins, then what? After missing weight, he is ineligible for the interim belt, but hell, it’s a “belt” in name only. “Interim” means whatever the UFC wants it to.
Are you excited to pay your $65 yet?!
Drama aside, Romero vs. Rockhold is still an excellent stylistic bout between two dynamic fighters who wield danger from opening horn to closing bell. By virtue of his No. 1 ranking, let’s start with Romero (12-2), who was installed as a slight favorite in the bout, only to see the odds tilt recently toward his opponent. The two-time Cuban wrestling Olympian is nearing his 41st birthday, and though he still looks like an updated version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, time is a key factor in everything about his career going forward. It is a factor in his championship desires, in the months between bouts, in the length of main events, and apparently, in the time necessary to cut down to 185 pounds. Even in the way he fights, Romero seems to express feelings of timing and tempo. He is patient, and is intent on keeping his own laborious pace, punctuated by sudden, explosive bursts designed to maim and mangle. This extreme stop-and-start style is often hypnotic for opponents who must account for the danger waiting around some unforeseen corner.
Whittaker, who was Romero’s last opponent in July 2017, was one of the first to actively and consistently attempt to mitigate that risk by continually leading, particularly with a front kick that had Romero backpedaling and served as an effective deterrent against Romero’s favored jump knee.
Romero’s boxing game isn’t particularly amazing but he has powerful hands and his left hand has gotten straighter and sharper with time and practice. Really, it’s his legs and knees that bring the danger. Even though he lost to Whittaker, Romero essentially battered him into a one-legged fighter with low kicks early. His flying knee is the stuff of nightmares, as both Chris Weidman and Clifford Starks can attest to.
His one-shot knockout power is one of the factors that often holds back aggression from opponents; the other is his wrestling ability.
Statistically, Romero is actually a below-average MMA takedown artist. During his UFC career, he’s completed a staggeringly low 32 percent of his takedown attempts, per FightMetric. Against Whittaker, for example, he was successful on just four of his 18 tries, and that was against an opponent compromised by injury.
The stat is somewhat misleading however; Romero is so experienced that he seems to feel out the moment and know when to explode into the takedown and when to pull back and reroute his energy into a fence-grind. That’s partly because Romero doesn’t always need a takedown to make his effort worthwhile. Remember, his style is to fights in bursts. So he’s not opposed to trying a takedown, and if he fails, alternating to plan B: pushing his opponent against the fence, putting his weight on him, helping along the onset of fatigue. Alternately, when he feels low resistance, he also can overwhelm opponents in the clinch.
While Romero has five third-round finishes, proving he’s dangerous all the way through a fight, it is his propensity to find rest spots during the action that makes him susceptible against more active opponents.
Rockhold (16-3) fits that profile. Historically, he lands 4.34 strikes per minute compared to 2.99 for Romero. The Californian centers nearly all of his offense off of two techniques: the left wheel kick and the right hook.
The rangy, 6-foot-4 southpaw is adept at using his reach advantage. He likes to walk opponents down, leading with kicks, then back-step into a counter hook when his opponent attempts to step into a strike. This is his best technique but also among his riskiest. Rockhold often overcommits to the check hook and if he misses, ends out of position and in line for a counter. That’s exactly the sequence that preceded his first knockdown at the hands of Michael Bisping in his shocking title loss. David Branch also took advantage of the issue in Rockhold’s most recent fight. In some ways, the southpaw vs. southpaw matchup against Romero helps safeguard Rockhold from that situation because if he overcommits to the hook and misses, he falls off to Romero’s weaker right-hand side. Still, against an improvisational striker, it’s a danger spot.
Rockhold’s takedown defense will no doubt be tested. For his career, he’s successfully stopped 68 percent of attempts against him. That’s a solid number, and it will have to hold up to give him his best chance. When he is taken down though, he is adept at well-walking to his feet. Training with smother wrestlers like Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez has certainly played dividends there.
It also wouldn’t be shocking to see Rockhold attempt to put Romero on his back. Rockhold may have the best top-game in the division, with slicing passes and an anchor-like mount that leads to striking and submission opportunities. His abilities there are rivaled only by Brazilian jiu jitsu phenom Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
His hellacious kicks to the body are one of his main weapons but he may be forced to adopt a different tactic here as again, the matchup of southpaws takes away one of his favored targets. Against an orthodox fighter, Rockhold would have an open line to the body, but against Romero his left leg will have a beeline to his back and shoulders. In addressing that change, Rockhold may resort to switching stances as he occasionally does, or he may spend more time attacking Romero’s legs with his own.
In assessing the bout, the current moneyline seems right. Romero fights in bursts, and while it often results in brilliant individual moments—some of which end in knockouts—it also by nature minimizes his chances of winning a long slog. He has survived this in the past with late finishes, but those don’t always come against truly elite competition. Any doubt in his late-fight energy stores is only exacerbated by yesterday’s failure to make weight. He is almost certainly more physically depleted than normal. Against Whittaker, he lost all of the last three rounds. Now he’s nearing 41 and drained, and that does not sound like a winning combination.
Rockhold is younger and more active, and has the length and firepower to frustrate Romero’s bursts. As Romero slows down, Rockhold catches him and finishes him with a fourth-round submission. |
The Atlas system introduced in Atlas of Worlds has been a huge success. Players in both permanent and challenge leagues have enjoyed exploring, unlocking and crafting the Atlas.
When any big system is released, it is hard to get everything right in the first pass. This manifesto post outlines changes we want to make to the Atlas in the near future.
Most of these features will be released in a numbered patch like 2.4.1 or 2.4.2. These changes will need to go out regardless of where other features (like the new channelling skills) are at, so they may be released before the skills if they are finished earlier.
Firstly, Cartographer's Sextant mods have not been rewarding enough for players. We want them to be seen as worth rolling, so we will rework the sextant mods a little. We are also looking at the rarity of the Sextants. We will be adding a vendor cubing recipe to the Sextants themselves, and may increase the drop rates of the Apprentice Sextants along with it. In general we'd like to focus on the reward rather than making them more common. There is little point making something more common if it's not valued.
The next three things we will discuss are all related, as they are side content that either currently bypasses the need to unlock the Atlas, or doesn't and perhaps should.
The Hallowed Ground Unique Map drops maps based on Atlas progression you have. It has no restrictions on what tier of map can drop, so that means that a player with a mostly-unlocked Atlas can easily get very high level maps from this low-tier unique one. The combined high experience and map drops make this map far too rewarding. It is important that unique maps are rewarding, but we have over-pitched the rewards for this map. We will examine the rewards available on this map and make some reductions. The likely solution is locking the maximum tier of maps that can drop.
Atziri and the Uber Atziri areas obey your Atlas progression when dropping maps. This makes them less valuable than they used to be for players and guilds focused on this content. If you do Atziri-based play, you will fall behind on map progression, and will no longer have the value of dropping high tier maps that was a part of the value of being an Atziri runner.
Allowing map drops here to generally ignore your progression would short-circuit Atlas progression too much, and also allow massive economic advantage for those running Atziri early in leagues. As you can run Atziri without any interaction with the map and Atlas system, this is too dangerous a change to make.
We do need some way to make up for not running maps normally when you choose to run Atziri. We have added an additional drop to Atziri, where she will drop a map in a way that ignores your Atlas progression. This allows Atziri runners to get some map progress by default, or trade value if they prefer, but does not allow too much in the way of map drops ignoring progression.
The Endgame Labyrinth allows for some bypassing of Atlas progression with special chests that ignore what you've unlocked. Currently we are pretty happy with where this sits as a reward. It requires several key runs to be a reliable payoff, and the Endgame Labyrinth requires active participation in the map and Atlas system to get started running it.
The Atlas UI will also get some improvements soon. Firstly, the bonus completion signifier on the Atlas currently shows when you have unlocked the map, rather than when you have completed the bonus objective. The subtle spikes/triangles around the maps were intended to show when only the bonus objective had been completed. We will also improve the graphic to be more distinct.
As well, we will be adding some features for finding maps on the Atlas UI. Hovering over a map in your inventory will highlight it on the Atlas, and right clicking a map in your inventory with the Atlas open will center your view on that map.
The update of Sextant mods, the Sextant cubing recipe, adjustments to the Hallowed Ground unique map, the additional map drop from Atziri and the UI improvements will come out in the same patch. We'll announce more information on the exact timing as it is ready.
Last bumped on Oct 18, 2016, 1:19:23 PM |
Rollercoasterwater’s new single “Avey Tare Said” takes you on an ethereal journey
into the musical subconscious. Inspired by a chance encounter with Avey Tare of
Animal Collective.
Following up the premiere of “Avey Tare Said” is the new EP Umami Sounding Fireball, due for release April 15th. The band moves in a new direction new direction on the album, combining a mix of electronic and live instrumentation.
Rollercoasterwater is a psychedelic pop duo that gets their influences from video
game scores, tribal indigenous music and infinite loop duplication. Emerging from
the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, the duo united in college with a vision of glitchy
patterns and hypnotic synths. Rollercoasterwater is two parts: one celestial and lush
melodies crafted by Chuckie Behring, and the other intricate rhythms manipulated
by percussive entity Robin Levy. The pair recently recorded Umami Sounding
Fireball as a progression into a more organic synesthesia sound with Glitch-Rock
hooks and colorful live drums.
Story Behind “Avey Tare Said” as Told by Chuckie Behring
“On Thursday, August 29, 2013 a friend of mine and I opened for Avey Tare (Dave
Portner) as Rollercoasterwater at the Echo in LA. It was my first show at a venue
and I was extremely nervous and excited to have such an awesomely random fluke
of an opportunity. We arrived for our sound check just as Dave’s band, Slasher
Flicks, was finishing theirs. After finishing, he immediately walked up to us and
introduced himself. He was super nice, and after we finished our sound check, we
had a few hours to hang out in the green room with him. While we were chilling in
the green room, Dave introduced us to his wife Angel Deradoorian (formerly of
Dirty Projectors) and we sparked up conversation about everything ranging from
their recent marriage to psychedelics. Dave started giving us all of this really
intensely profound advice about life and what being a successful psychedelic
musician in the current music industry is like. Him and Angel told me a lot of
personal stuff I won’t share, but he also told me that I really shouldn’t perform high,
and to play as many shows as possible and go on tour in a van or something as much
as I can. I don’t know if he realized how much of an impact he made on my 19-year-
old mind, but that night is still one of the most awesome nights of my life so far. Our
performance went super well and the audience was kind of like ‘Who the hell are
these guys,’ but I think they liked it.”
“‘Avey Said’ was written right after that night and it took me several years to perfect
it. I took what he said to heart and the next few years of my life after that night up
until now have been a crazy whirlwind of psychedelic artists and involvement in
underground movements around LA like Church of Fun and AndFam or performing
to goat ravers around a fire pit with contortionists at Zorthian Ranch and at
Salvation mountain near Salton Sea and many other crazy stories. For me, I think it
all spurred from this encounter with Dave and the advice he gave me. Hope you like
the song!” |
Home Daily News A person who locks himself in another's car…
Criminal Justice
A person who locks himself in another's car can be guilty of vehicle theft, state's top court rules
A person in Minnesota can be guilty of motor vehicle theft even if he doesn’t move the vehicle, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.
The court ruled against Somsalao Thonesavanh, who was accused of entering a running car that was parked in a driveway, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The author of the Sept. 6 opinion (PDF) is Justice David Stras, who has been nominated to the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Thonesavanh was charged under a Minnesota law that says anyone who “takes or drives a motor vehicle” without consent is guilty of motor vehicle theft. A person does not need to move a vehicle to “take” it, the state supreme court concluded.
According to prosecutors, Thonesavanh had knocked on the front door of the owner of the car, which was idling in the driveway as it warmed up on a winter morning. The owner called 911. When an officer arrived, Thonesavanh was sitting in the car with the doors locked. He was eventually persuaded to leave the car and was placed under arrest.
The word “take” is ambiguous, the court said. It has 80 different meanings in the American Heritage Dictionary, including 61 in its usage as a transitive verb. Some definitions require movement, and some do not. Those that don’t include “to seize with authority or legal right” and “to get possession of.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary has more than 90 definitions, including some that do and don’t require movement.
The court concluded the state’s definition of “takes”—one that doesn’t require movement—was the better construction. The opinion noted that the word “takes” in the state’s simple robbery statute requires only temporary control over property. Nor does the word require movement in the common law definition of larceny, the court said.
The opinion also said that if the word “takes” in the statute required movement, the word “would become entirely interchangeable” with the word “drives,” rendering the word “takes” mere surplusage.
Hat tip to How Appealing. |
Scientists in Belgrade have found evidence that manipulative and deceitful personality traits allow psychopaths to achieve reproductive success in unpleasant environments.
“Our research team is generally interested in adaptive outcomes of behavior in biological (evolutionary) sense. This means that we conduct our research in the intersection of two scientific fields: behavioral ecology and evolutionary psychology,” explained study author, Janko Međedović of the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research.
“Psychopathy is an interesting phenomenon in general, because it has detrimental consequences for society and especially for individuals who end up as victims of psychopathic manipulation,” he told PsyPost. “Psychopathy is often considered as a personality disorder, or some kind of mental/behavioral dysfunction. In evolutionary sense, that would mean that natural selection acts against the gene alleles which contribute to psychopathy.”
“However, the existing literature suggest that psychopathy may have adaptive consequences as well, especially in certain environments,” Međedović said. “We tested these contrasted hypotheses. Our criterion measure was the number of children, as a major evolutionary fitness component (the number of offspring you have is directly proportional to the frequency of your genes in the next generation, which makes it the main carrier of evolution).”
The study, which was published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science, examined 181 male convicts from two penal institutions in Serbia. The researchers found that inmates who scored higher on a test of psychopathy tended to have more children.
“The obtained findings showed that manipulative and grandiose psychopathy traits were positively related to reproductive success, while affective callousness and coldness was positively related to evolutionary fitness only in individuals who lived in a harsh environment,” Međedović explained. “This means that natural selection may propagate the genes which contribute to these two psychopathy traits.”
The findings suggest that psychopathy could be favored by natural selection in some circumstances.
“We learned something about the evolution of psychopathy,” Međedović told PsyPost. “It may describe adaptive variance in behavior, probably it is an alternative behavioral strategy that may enhance evolutionary fitness, at least under certain conditions (I say ‘alternative’ because the majority of individuals in the population are trustful, cooperative and show reciprocal altruism).”
“Note that when we say adaptive we mean that it could be adaptive for psychopathic individuals – it is still deeply immoral behavior with detrimental consequences for other individuals. But we believe (and this is my subjective belief) that we should not treat psychopathy as a mental illness – something which positively contributes to evolutionary fitness should not be viewed as a psychological dysfunction.”
The study has some limitations.
“The criterion measure is not a lifetime reproduction success, so we must be careful in the interpretation of the results,” Međedović acknowledged. “Furthermore, the research sample was not representative for a population, which limits generalizability of the findings.”
“Still, it is an interesting information which should facilitate further research in the evolutionary explanations of psychopathy. Probably the most important question is: what processes contribute to the maintenance of genetic and phenotypic variance in psychopathy – or simply put, why individuals differ in psychopathy traits in the first place, why some are more, while others are less psychopathic?”
“Our hypothesis is that psychopathy shows evolutionary trade-offs: it may elevate some evolutionary fitness components (e.g. reproductive success) but decrease some other evolutionary fitness components (e.g. longevity or parental investment). If both low and high psychopathy may have adaptive consequences, this may maintain the variance in psychopathy traits,” Međedović added.
The study, “Interpersonal and Affective Psychopathy Traits Can Enhance Human Fitness“, was co-authored by Boban Petrović Jelena Želeskov-Đorić and Maja Savić. |
Euro notes seem to be popular with cocaine users
Analysis of notes from a selection of Spain's major cities showed that each one carried an average of 25.18 micrograms of cocaine.
Spain has one of the highest rates of cocaine use in the world, with about 475,000 regular users, El Mundo newspaper reports.
Euro banknotes have only been in circulation since January 2002.
Scientists could not carry out tests on old peseta banknotes before 2002 for fear that they would not withstand the chemicals used in the analysis.
Now, though, armed with resilient modern euro notes, experts collected 20 notes for analysis from each of five cities - Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia and Seville.
From each city they gathered five 10 euro notes, 10 of 20 euros and five of 50 euros.
Only three of the notes gathered from each of Madrid and Barcelona were found to carry no trace of cocaine.
Wider issue
Users of the drug usually snort it by rolling up a banknote into the shape of a tube.
But experts said it was difficult to tell which notes had been used for snorting cocaine and which had become contaminated with the drug in other ways, such as in counting machines.
According to El Mundo Spain has just over one billion banknotes in circulation, with estimates suggesting that 142 million have been used directly to snort the drug.
Other countries have been found to have drug problems in the past: a BBC survey in 1999 found that 99% of £5 notes tested in London contained traces of cocaine.
Euro banknotes in Germany appear especially vulnerable: a 2003 survey gave similar results to the Spanish analysis about cocaine traces.
And this month officials in Germany suggested that methamphetamine, or crystal meth, could be causing euros to "corrode" when users snort it through a rolled-up note. |
Ayurveda Dosha Test — find out your type.
Knowing your personal mind-body-constitution is crucial to make Ayurveda work for you since its effectiveness is based on treating people individually. You see, every person is influenced by all three Doshas, but they manifest differently in everyone of us.
This Ayurveda Test will give you a hint about your “Prakriti” (also called Prakruti in many places) — your birth constitution that doesn’t change throughout your life. It is made up from your parents’ disposition and determines your main physical characteristics and emotional behaviour. So knowing your ayurvedic type will help you figuring out a diet and lifestyle that are perfect for you personally and how to find the remedies that work for you.
It will also help you understanding yourself better; why you are the way you are and act the way you act. However online tests can never give you perfectly accurate results, so once you know your Doshas keep observing yourself to deepen your knowledge about your Prakriti.
HINT: You can select/deselect more than one answer |
DUGWAY PROVING GROUND — It's unique in the world, the largest chamber constructed for this purpose and represents a step up in the nation's defense against deadly biological agents such as anthrax, plague or ricin.
With an official ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, the intricate, expensive system housed at Dugway Proving Ground is a $39 million investment for the U.S. Department of Defense and the culmination of a 2002 directive that ordered more biological warfare readiness for the country.
Shiny, complicated and strictly controlled for humidity, temperature, airspeed and for the "dissemination air" that is pushed into it, the Whole System Live Agent Test had its coming out party at the West Desert facility, offering people a rare — and one time chance — to step inside its walls before it ultimately plays host to all manner of biological weapons.
"We have never had a chamber large enough to do whole system testing," said Douglas Andersen, chief of the life sciences division at Dugway's West Desert System.
The chamber tests how well other biological agent detectors do the job they were designed to do.
Previously, biological agent detection systems had to be tested component by component to determine how efficiently they functioned. Typical biological agent detection systems used by the military are about the size of refrigerator and this new chamber is big enough to accommodate two at the same time — so they can be compared side by side, as well as their ability to perform independently.
"We can do those tests and safely challenge or expose a real system to agent in the air and see if it will respond," Andersen said.
It is a huge deal. We have not had the ability to evaluate these systems in a live environment before. This allows us to have a high degree of confidence in our systems. –Col. Ronald Fizer, Dugway's commander
The system operates in a building that is strictly engineered at "negative" air pressure so no agent escapes. Air drives aersolized particles into the main chamber of Whole System Live Agent Test under an array of conditions the military can simulate. The Army can design a test to determine how a biological warfare detection device operates in smoke, for example, or how proficient it is under high humidity.
Its features have fancy names, such as Aerodynamic Particle Sizer or Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer, which Dugway's Wing Tsang said makes the system uniquely valuable from a detection standpoint — operators can actually manipulate the size of the particles of biological agents that enter the chamber.
"A few years back, no one could control aerosol size and we have gone from no control to sudden precision," he said.
Trials of live agent introduced into the new chamber can be conducted under circumstances in which the aersolized particles are taken down to minute quantities — thus measuring a system's ability to react under extreme circumstances in which deadly agents are widely dispersed.
Dugway's commander, Col. Ronald Fizer, said it is impossible to overestimate the value of the chamber, which is slated to go live some time in the next several weeks.
"It is a huge deal," he said. "We have not had the ability to evaluate these systems in a live environment before. This allows us to have a high degree of confidence in our systems."
Both Fizer and Carmen J. Spencer, joint program executive officer for Chemical and Biological Defense, said it is paramount that biological agent detection systems operate at the highest efficiency given the evolving nature of global threats.
"The world is a far different place than it was 20 years ago," Spencer said. "There's an ever-increasing awareness of the potential of a biological threat against nation states by non-nation states."
Fizer said Al-Qaida has made no secret of its desire to get its hands on biological agents and biological labs are high value targets for multiple terrorist cells.
"Before we didn't have a chamber that could test these systems. This gives us that readiness," he said.
Contributing: Jed Boal
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The parents of the 7-year-old Bronx boy who was handcuffed by the NYPD for hours after a fight are suing the Department of Education for a cool $250 million. Wilson Reyes's parents have already filed a lawsuit against the NYPD over the incident, and for good measure they're also slapping the DOE with a lawsuit, alleging that Principal Olivia Francis-Webber erred when she let police handcuff and interrogate Wilson at PS 114 without even notifying his mother.
Wilson was in custody for ten hours in January after he was accused of bullying another boy and stealing $5 from him. (He was later cleared of wrongdoing after another boy admitted to being the culprit.) When Wilson Reyes's mother Frances Mendez arrived at the 44th Precinct, she was shocked to see her son handcuffed to the wall. She recalls, "My son was crying, ‘Mommy, it wasn’t me! Mommy, it wasn’t me!' "
Family attorney Jack Yankowitz tells the Post, "The school was grossly negligent, reckless and complicit in the false imprisonment and arrest and abuse that 7-year-old Wilson Reyes suffered. It’s outrageous, it’s unconscionable." |
U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, trying to quell a backlash over his “extreme vetting” order, said the United States would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies are put in place over the next 90 days.
Under an order he signed on Friday, immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from entering the United States. The decision has drawn large protests at many U.S. airports, where some travelers from those countries have been stranded.
“To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting,” Trump said. “This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.
“We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days,” he said. |
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How to Install and Configure SSL Certificate
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (https) website is encrypted site. Encrypted site means that website is secured. HTTPS site is secured by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL certificates are issued by the Certificate Authority (CA). We can check that particular website is HTTPS or not by checking a ‘green colour lock‘ and https: in the address bar before the website name. For example, all banking websites are working on https. Some of the examples of secure websites are “https://www.google.com“, “https://www.facebook.com” and many more. In this article, we’ll learn the steps to install and configure SSL certificate server and CA.
Install and configure SSL certificate would encrypt (secure) our website so that no one can easily decode the information or data transferred by web servers to the clients. Sharing confidential information over internet is not safe that is why https is used to encrypt our data for safe transfer.
Steps to install and configure SSL Certificate on Windows Server 2012 R2.
1. To install and configure SSL certificate server, we need to install the “Active Directory Certificate Services” role. Open “Server Manager” and click on “Add roles and features“.
2. Please ensure that password is set for local Administrator and valid static IP address is assigned to the Server. Click next to continue.
3. Select an option “Role-based or feature-based Installation” and click on next.
4. Select the server from the pool on which we need to install and configure SSL Certificate.
5. Select the role “Active Directory Certificate Services” and click on next to continue.
6. Certain features are required to install and configure SSL Certificate Services role, click on “Add Features” to install all the dependent features.
7. Click on next to continue.
8. From features window, you can select additional features if required, however in this practical it is not required, therefore click on next to continue.
9. The name and domain settings of the computer cannot be changed after a CA has been installed on the Server. Therefore make the changes before installing the role.
10. From the “Role Services”, select “Certificate Authority” and “Certificate Authority Web Enrollment”. Certificate authority web enrollment allows users to request new, renew, revoke certificates, etc using Web console.
11. Web Server (IIS) role is required for end users to request, renew, revoke certificates.
12. Click on next to continue.
13. Add roles and features wizard, would explain about the importance of “Web Server Role”.
14. All the components of “Web Server” role are selected by default. You can add additional features by selecting them.
15. Select an option “Restart the destination server automatically if required”, this would restart the server if role requires the same.
16. Once the installation is succeeded successfully, click on “Configure Active Directory Certificate Services on the destination server” to begin the configuration wizard.
17. You need to be “Enterprise Admin” to configure Certificate services. Type the credentials of “Enterprise Admin” and click next.
18. Select the roles that we need to configure. We installed two roles i.e. “CA” and “CAWE” and click next to continue.
19. For the organizations normally we select “Enterprise CA”, ensure that this computer must be the member of domain otherwise this role would not be enabled.
20. Select “Root CA” and click on next.
21. Select an option “Create a new private key”.
22. In “Specify the cryptographics options” window, we’ll go for the default options and click on next. Make sure that “Key length” is 2048.
23. Specify the name of CA, we’ll select default options.
24. Validity period defines the validity of certificates, by default duration is 5 years but we can change it as per your Organization’s policy.
25. Information of certificate database and database log location is “C:\Windows\system32\CertLog”. You can change it if required.
26. Click on “Configure” to begin the configuration process. Click on previous if you want any modification to be done.
27. Green check confirms that configuration is successful for all the roles that we installed. Click on close to close the window.
Hope, you are clear with the steps to install and configure SSL certificate. In the future article, we’ll learn the steps to create HTTPS website. |
According to HeatStreet, two female Black Lives Matter activists are raking in the dough after starting a business that offers a subscription service “to guilt-ridden white ‘allies’ who pay a monthly fee to be sent instruction on how to support their movement.”
Their names are Leslie Mac and Marissa Jenae Johnson, and they rose to prominence after storming the mic at a Bernie Sanders Rally in Seattle last year. With just a little bit of recognition, the pair has managed to sucker 300 customers, they claim, to send them money every month.
Here’s how the program works. For a $25 subscription, customers receive instructions to their e-mail inbox with tasks related to “white people striving to be allies in the fight for Black Liberation.” For $100 per month, customers receive a physical box to their postal address “containing a number of tasks for the month to challenge white supremacy and help them ‘do tangible ally work and support black women in both power and deed.’”
HeatStreet whipped out a calculator and determined the following:
Assuming that 90% choose the $25 option, and 10% the $100 option, they will receive $9,750 per month in fees, or $117,000 per year. Since each new subscriber requires barely any extra effort, their potential for profit will increase exponentially should more people sign up.
And people are actually signing up and bragging about it on Twitter saying, “Ready to get to work” and “Join me.”
Click here to see an example of the tasks subscribers are asked to accomplish, which includes “buying Black,” “over-tip[ping] Black service workers,” and “keep a power mapping journal” that documents the flow of power and how that affects “marginalized” people.
The activists also sell a “Revenge Box” which costs $50 a pop and is sent “to a Trump supporter, bigot, or white supremacist of our choice” and contains a note telling the recipient a donation to BLM-related organizations has been made in their name.
The women insist the profits are shared with other black women activists. But as HeatStreet noted, “they kept the identities of the women private.”
Perhaps they go by the names Leslie Mac and Marissa Jenae Johnson, but that’s just a guess. |
Despite years of development, E Ink's displays haven't yet replaced traditional paper everywhere. Sony's trying to change that with this 13.3-inch Digital Paper device intended for legal, educational and business environments and after we got a brief demo last year it's finally ready to go on sale in May. The only downside? Its pricetag, currently set at a cool $1,100. To answer the question of who could possibly afford or want such an expensive piece of paper that displays PDFs and accepts handwriting input, Sony is introducing Digital Paper at the American Bar Association Tech Show (which is apparently a thing) in Chicago.
The draw for Digital Paper is that it's very light at 12.6 oz and has a high resolution (1,200 x 1,600) / 16-level grayscale display with touch controls, stylus input and no backlight. That helps out easy reading in the daytime and no need to scroll or zoom around documents like on smaller tablets. Sony also claims a three week battery life with recharging via AC or USB, while documents can be loaded over WiFi and stored on its 4GB of internal memory or an SD card. It's still way out of our price range for note taking, but if Mark Zuckerberg comes knocking with a billion dollar deal in hand, it might be good to have around. |
Six people, including children, were killed and 10 were injured when bus 402 from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak collided with a truck on Highway 1 on Sunday evening.
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A spokesman for the Egged bus company said the bus, which left Jerusalem for Bnei Brak at 5:40pm, apparently hit a truck that was standing on the road margins.
Destruction caused to the bus (Photo: Yariv Katz)
"The bus collided with a truck transporting marble plates, which was parked on the side of the road. A part of the bus got ripped in two. People were thrown into the air while the bus was moving," said ZAKA spokesman Motti Burkchin.
The commander of the Beit Shemesh fire station, Reuven Yitzhak, who commanded the rescue operation, told Ynet: "We arrived at the scene and saw a truck on the side of the road. We were told the bus came at it from the left. The entire right side of the bus was peeled off, ripped out to the seats. We went on the bus and found fatalities lying between the seats."
The truck that was on the side of the road (Photo: Uri Davis, United Hatzalah)
Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the injured to the Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. Among them is one in critical condition, one in serious condition, three in moderate condition and three lightly injured. In addition, three lightly injured people were evacuated to the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.
Scene of the accident
Both the truck driver, a resident of East Jerusalem, and the bus driver told traffic police what had happened.
The truck driver Rizq Zarina, who lives on the border of the neighborhoods Gilo and Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem, told his brother, Wisam, that he had to stop the truck because of a gear malfunction.
"My brother has been working as a truck driver for 15 years. The truck was stuck because its gear stopped working," Wisam said. "He was stopped on the side of the road and waited for a tow-truck inside the cabin. He called me asking me to call a mechanic, who said the truck needed to be towed away. The accident happened when the bus collided with the truck and pushed it forward."
"This is a truck transporting stone. It doesn't belong to my brother, he's just an employee of an Israeli company that he's been working for over the past four years," Wisam added.
The truck driver.
A testimony from one of the passengers raised the suspicion that the bus driver was distracted, which led to the accident.
"The truck driver was standing on the side of the road with the emergency lights blinking. We came at the truck at an absurd speed, the bus driver drove like a maniac in my opinion," Yinon Yazdi told a radio station.
The Egged bus driver was involved in a similar accident three years ago on the way to Jerusalem. In that accident, he also hit a truck, and some of the passengers were lightly injured.
Scene of the attack
Among the fatalities were: Yaakov Heshin, 27, Israel Weinberg, 26, Hanna Peasa Frenkel, 23, all from Jerusalem, and Levy Yitzhak Amdadi, 17, from Yavne'el.
Israel Weinberg
Yaakov Heshin
Hanna Peasa Frenkel's husband, who was lightly injured in the accident, is still hospitalized at the Kaplan Medical Center. The couple is considered prominent in the ultra-Orthodox society. Hanna is the daughter of the Rebbe of the Biala Hasidic dynasty, while her husband is the son of the Rebbe of the Bucecea Botosani Hasidic dynasty.
Levy Yitzhak Amdadi is the son of Rabbi Hillel Amadadi of the Breslev community in Yavne'el. The family is among the prominent families in the community.
At the Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, doctors are fighting for the life of Sara Shpringer, 20, from Jerusalem, who was seriously injured. She is engaged to be married and her wedding is supposed to be in three and a half months. Her sister was lightly injured in the accident, and is expected to be discharged from the hospital shortly.
Bus 402 is a "Mehadrin line" used by ultra-Orthodox Jews to travel between Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.
The accident caused heavy traffic in the area, with the westbound lane being closed between the Latrun Interchange and the Anava Interchange, and around the Sha'ar HaGai Interchange. |
Xherdan Shaqiri: ‘Juve is a good option, just like Liverpool or Monaco. It wouldn’t be a step backwards’
Xherdan Shaqiri has made eyes with Juventus, Liverpool and Monaco on Wednesday shipping fresh quotes to Tuttosport.
After failing to cement a first team place at Bayern Munich, Swiss star Shaqiri has been repeatedly linked with moves away from the Allainz Arena throughout the summer.
Juventus are widely tipped to be interested in signing the 22-year-old attacking midfielder, while Liverpool have also been linked to the left-footed star.
Now Italian daily Tuttosport have reportedly managed to get the thoughts on Shaqiri’s future from the player himself, making public the following statement:
I’m on holiday and I don’t yet know what will happen, my future is for my brother [also Shaqiri’s agent] The only thing that is certain is I have a contract with Bayern Munich until 2016.
Juventus? I do not know if there is contact with the Bianconeri and I’ve not been informed of Liverpool and Monaco [contacts] either.
Juve could definitely be a good option and the same goes for Liverpool and Monaco.
Juventus are a great club, who wouldn’t like to play for them? I am at Bayern, but I would not see Juventus as a backwards step for my career.
With Arjen Robben’s injury fears now no longer expected to be a big deal, Shaqiri may once again be looking at a season mainly on the subs bench at Bayern if he is to stay in Germany. With that being the case, it’s becoming more likely that one of the teams circling the star will land him, provided they stump up enough cash. |
An industrial-scale experiment in a Staffordshire forest will help fill gaps in knowledge about climate change.
The project has created an outdoor laboratory by encircling trees with 25m masts gushing high levels of carbon dioxide.
The site is surrounded by a 3m anti-climb fence, and silvery tubes snake along the forest floor in what looks like a sci-fi alien invasion.
The scientists behind the experiment want to find how forests will respond to the levels of carbon dioxide expected in the atmosphere by the middle of the 21st Century.
That means full lab conditions: no food and drink in the woods, and no relieving yourself behind a tree.
Carbon locked up
The role of plants in taking up CO2 is one of the known unknowns in climatology. CO2 is a plant fertiliser and researchers think that as levels increase the trees will fix more of it into their trunks, roots and organic matter in the earth.
But they believe the fertilizing effect will be limited over time by other factors such as lack of nutrients, lack of water and rising temperatures.
Humans and forests currently participate in a mutually beneficial exchange in which trees are fed by increasing CO2, and the trees in turn lock up carbon that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere, heating the planet.
Trees are estimated to be storing between a quarter and a third of the carbon produced by burning fossil fuels, and the earth is becoming greener as a result.
One of the great imponderables in climate science is how long forests will continue to buffer climate change as CO2 levels continue to spiral.
The lead scientist in the woodland, Professor Rob Mackenzie, from Birmingham University, agreed that scientists had previously under-estimated the amount of carbon trees would fix.
But he told BBC News: "We are confident that trees will continue to take in more CO2, though we are quite sure that there will be other things that will start to limit that. Rising temperatures will (also) change the ability of plants (to absorb CO2) - they are adapted to current temperatures."
Some scientists argue that the tree fertilization effect offers a reason to be less pessimistic about the effects of increasing CO2.
But Professor Mackenzie disagreed: "Not at all, not at all. The land is providing us with a fantastic free service by taking up carbon, and there are uncertainties about how much carbon is going into the land… but there is no chance that will offset hazardous climate change."
Hunting ground
The experiment he is leading will be one of four in different countries measuring the effect of CO2 on trees in the forest environment.
It is the first of its kind in Europe.
The woodland, named Mill Haft, is part of the former hunting ground of the Earl of Lichfield.
It covers 25 hectares and is thought to have been under continuous tree cover for more than than 300 years. The dominant species is the English oak, Quercus Robur, of around 160-180 years.
Experiments in the woods will also examine the effects of CO2 at 550ppm levels on the whole ecosystem including leaves, soil, insects and diseases.
Professor Mackenzie said: "The impact of changing CO2 should show up in the leaf chemistry of exposed trees within days, and in the soil within weeks.
"Within three years stem growth, canopy structure, and a host of other structural forest elements should be different in the patches exposed to elevated CO2.
"Continuing out to 2026, the 'push' provided by the elevated CO2 will pass through all the checks and balances of a mature forest ecosystem, allowing, as each year passes, increasingly better estimates to be made of the extent and capacity of the land carbon sink in 2050 and beyond."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch how the vast outdoor laboratory has been installed
Stuff of dreams
He said his experiment might reveal other intriguing effects. So trees in a mature forest, in which intake and release of CO2 are in balance, might adapt to high CO2 levels by reducing their pores, which in turn would make them more tolerant to drought.
Professor Mackenzie describes the extraordinary site as "a scientist's dream… all my Christmases come at once."
Scientists say it is vital to obtain more certainty about how much CO2 rises will be buffered by the sea and land.
Optimists hope that the ability of the natural world to soak up carbon can buy time for humans to wean themselves off fossil fuels.
A recent study estimated that the growing season had been extended on 25%-50% of vegetated land, largely as a result of more available CO2.
Carbon gesture
One of the co-authors, Professor Ranga Myneni from Boston University told BBC News: "Experiments do indicate a fertilization effect (from CO2) and higher water use efficiency. The same experiments also indicate diminishing effects over time.
"We do not know how much of what we observe in experiments translates into the real world. Much of this has to do with how nutrient limitations would play out when CO2 becomes abundant.
"Personally, I would not buy the fertilization benefit for the price of global warming and all the impacts that this warming implies, including global warming, loss of sea-ice, rise in sea level, severe storms and loss of biodiversity."
The experiment site in Staffordshire has been funded by a Birmingham alumnus and philanthropist, Professor Joe Bradwell, who made money selling diagnostic medical kits developed at the university - mainly in the US.
Professor Mackenzie said Professor Bradwell calculated that to offset his carbon footprint he needed to plant 300,000 trees - and the research project was part of his commitment.
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin |
Even though it was our anniversary and it was her left-field idea, I was fuming when my girlfriend forced me to attend the USA versus Canada ice hockey match on Saturday night in Sydney.
Despite this, once I got the word that the coveted Douglas Webber Cup was on the line, the respective Swans and Waratahs blockbusters that I knew I would be missing were rendered immediately irrelevant.
Yep, I was happy to drop everything to make the three-change train/bus/hitch trip to Allphones Arena for a game that would ultimately settle the long-running north-American beef that had absolutely no effect on my life whatsoever.
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Coming in to the match, the ‘Webbo’ was dangling precariously at 2-2 after a silent five-game cross-country series.
When combining this mouthwatering proposition with years of stinky inter-continental rivalry, I was partially content – in fact, the $8 schooners even almost seemed cheap.
Being a good drunk sport, I took the plunge and decided to barrack for the likeable Canadians based on their lower crime rate and Swans-style strip.
Entering the fray, I knew it was on.
Approaching puck-drop, things were seriously lifting in the AllPhones outer. The low-hanging telly was brainwashing the crowd with cheesy Americana and there was enough pre-slap fireworks to force a bowel movement.
Next point of business was the schmaltz of the anthems.
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As expected, the US number was sung by some washed-up Garth Brooks type, and this was followed by a Canadian anthem drowned out by bellowed references to bacon and mounties.
With the festivities finally fulfilled, it was time for the slippery showdown.
A crowd of people in search of biff after a barren State of Origin series were not made to wait long with the first scuffle coming in the opening moments. The catalyst? The start of the match.
With after-fight proceedings resembling a live pinball machine, Canada eventually took control with two early goals. However, it wasn’t long before an Aussie flavour flushed through the match with a glaring stuff-up from an official.
In a tribute to Shayne Hayne, one of the Americans was unfairly penalised for foul play. Naturally, the crowd wasn’t shocked – it wasn’t the first time there was a stick-bashing over ice in western Sydney.
After things settled, we eventually went to a break filled with the finest 1990s synth dance tunes of all time. After rehydration all round, it was back to business – and the Yanks were keen to flex their muscle.
The world leaders stamped their authority with an immediate riposte to reduce the deficit to one goal. It could’ve been from a Flying-V, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure – I was too busy ordering Hahn while listening to the Waratahs game.
What proceeded afterwards was the creamiest ice hockey you’ll ever witness. It was back-and-forth and rough-and-tumble and most importantly, it was chockers with fights. Seven to be exact.
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Come full time, it was locked at 4-4. Finally, I had struck inner peace after missing major ball-tearing fixtures elsewhere – here I was, front-and-centre watching two powerhouses about to crack knuckles in sudden-death for a manufactured trophy. I had finally made it.
True to form, America won with a late strike to take home the choccies and thus spark the growth of an ice hockey revolution in Australia.
With victorious Springsteen ringing in my ears as I waited 350-deep at the cab rank to get home from the far reaches of Homebush, I began to ponder.
Roarers – is ice hockey on your radar? Or is it just the glorified chasing of a solidified urinal cake that’s to be enjoyed for shits and giggles?
Rip off your gloves and let me know. |
We live in a busy world, which means there’s rarely enough time to eat proper meals. The consumption of junk foods and fast food will eventually disturb the natural balance of the digestive tract. Many of the beneficial bacteria living there will potentially die.
Probiotic supplements are perfect for restoring the gastric flora. These products usually contain live bacterial cultures that improve digestion and could potentially even strengthen the immune response. Probiotic America is one such product.
Of all the probiotic supplements out there, why should you choose Probiotic America? Keep on reading to find out more about the product and its qualities.
Click To Visit Official Website Now
How Does Probiotic America Work?
Probiotic America’s Perfect Biotics is a nutritional supplement that contains live bacterial cultures. It may come as a surprise to you but there are various kinds of bacteria living in the gut.
These improve the digestion, regulate the bowel movements and even help for the absorption of beneficial nutrients.
The gut flora can be disturbed in numerous ways. Antibiotic treatments and poor diet choices are the two most common causes of a disturbance. In such instances, a probiotic product will be the perfect solution.
Its live bacterial cultures will replace the bacteria in the gut and restore the balance.
Probiotic America’s Perfect Biotics contains 15 individual probiotic (beneficial bacteria) strains. The exact quantity is 30 billion colony forming units (CFU). CFU is a measurement of concentration.
When looking at probiotics, you should make sure that they contain at least 10 million CFU.
Main Ingredients
Now that we’ve addressed the way in which the Probiotic America supplement works, it’s time to take a deeper look at the main ingredients.
Lactobacillus acidophilus
this bacterium improves cholesterol levels and helps for the maintenance of a healthy blood pressure.
this bacterium improves cholesterol levels and helps for the maintenance of a healthy blood pressure. Bifidobacterium lactis
important for proper digestion.
important for proper digestion. Lactobacillus plantarum
important for overall health and faster healing.
important for overall health and faster healing. Lactobacillus rhamnosus
it improves digestive comfort and reduces the growth of harmful bacteria in the GI tract.
it improves digestive comfort and reduces the growth of harmful bacteria in the GI tract. Lactobacillus casei
reduces the inflammatory response.
reduces the inflammatory response. Lactobacillus salivarius
an important bacterium that supposedly helps for maintaining good oral health.
an important bacterium that supposedly helps for maintaining good oral health. Lactobacillus bulgaricus
this bacteria is found in large quantities in yogurt and it has detoxifying properties.
this bacteria is found in large quantities in yogurt and it has detoxifying properties. Bifidobacterium breve
reduces digestive irritation and the risk of experiencing flatulence.
reduces digestive irritation and the risk of experiencing flatulence. Lactobacillus paracasei
atopic dermatitis sufferers report that taking probiotics containing this bacteria has reduced the severity of their symptoms.
atopic dermatitis sufferers report that taking probiotics containing this bacteria has reduced the severity of their symptoms. Lactococcus lactis
improves digestion and overall digestive comfort.
improves digestion and overall digestive comfort. Streptococcus thermophilus
this is another beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and it plays a role in the prevention of respiratory infections.
this is another beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and it plays a role in the prevention of respiratory infections. Lactobacillus brevis
maintains kidney health.
maintains kidney health. Bifidobacterium bifidum
reduces the likelihood of candida infections.
reduces the likelihood of candida infections. Bifidobacterium longum
some studies suggest that it may have anti-carcinogenic properties in humans and animals.
some studies suggest that it may have anti-carcinogenic properties in humans and animals. Bifidobacterium infantis
it helps prevent leaky gut syndrome and it has anti-inflammatory properties.
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Pros
Probiotic supplements are perfectly safe and they can improve health in a number of ways. Probiotic America’s products are high quality supplementation options and their main advantages include the following:
All of the strains included in the composition are acid and bile resistant.
All of the strains included in the composition are acid and bile resistant. The CFU count is large enough for the supplement to be effective.
The CFU count is large enough for the supplement to be effective. The supplement doesn’t need refrigeration for proper storage.
The supplement doesn’t need refrigeration for proper storage. It delivers digestive and immune support at the same time.
It delivers digestive and immune support at the same time. Discounts are available for bulk purchases.
Discounts are available for bulk purchases. The Probiotic America products are provided with a lengthy money-back guarantee.
The Probiotic America products are provided with a lengthy money-back guarantee. Suitable for all people, especially individuals suffering from GI distress.
Suitable for all people, especially individuals suffering from GI distress. Convenient capsule form, all that you have to do is take one per day.
Cons
This is a high quality, safe and natural supplement. The shortcomings linked to it are just a few:
A bit expensive.
A bit expensive. Only available for purchase online.
Click To Visit Official Website Now
Conclusion
Probiotic America supplements are safe and effective. Whether you have digestive issues or your immune response has been compromised, the product will help you get much better.
Many physicians recommend probiotic supplements because of their well-known benefits. Probiotic America is a reputable brand and you should definitely give its products a try.
My rating for this specific brand is five out of five stars! |
Friday, 15 November, 2013 - 06:20
Rob Cope, author of the recently released book, ‘Men Wanted For Hazardous Journey’, Hailed by Mike King as "the best exploration of Kiwi manhood I have ever read" is currently two weeks and 1500 km into his own hazardous journey hitchhiking around NZ with a full sized fridge/freezer filled with his books and a message to all Kiwi men. "Anger, depression, anxiety, broken marriages and strained relationships with fathers we barely know… We were never taught how to be men, or what a real man even looks like. It’s time to start talking about this stuff because the way we are currently doing this manhood thing just isn’t working" says Rob.
So why the fridge? "It’s a bit of comic relief really. The book is pretty hard hitting and the fridge adds a bit of a balance, besides it’s a good talking point. It could also be seen as a statement of mental health, as in, if you’re just sitting on the couch at home and you’re not hitchhiking around the country with a fridge then you may very well have serious mental health issues" laughs Rob.
"I want my sons growing up with a better model of manhood than I was handed."
Rob may not have all the answers but believes that his book, a compelling and challenging look into Kiwi "man" culture, is asking the right questions.
You can follow Rob’s progress around the country via his daily updates on the Project Wildman Facebook page www.facebook.com/projectwildman. His book is available to buy on www.projectwildman.co.nz.
Rob, having already hitched down the west coast then across to Bluff is currently in Dunedin and will be heading up the east coast of the South Island until 20th November, and then the North Island for 4 weeks, so if you see him standing on the side of the road hitching a ride with his fridge stop and say hello or even better give him a lift. |
Google has just revealed that Gmail users in the UK will soon be able to choose to switch back to an @gmail.com email address rather than @googlemail.com.
Though Gmail became the standard address with the launch of Gmail in beta in April 2004, UK users who signed up after 19 October 2005 were saddled with the longer address after a legal spat between Google and a UK-based firm. Independent International Investment Research had been using the name 'Gmail' for its own webmail application two years before Google.
At the time, Google said IIIR had asked for an "exhorbitant" $50m for the Gmail trademark and after 15 months of negotiations, it pulled out and reverted to the Googlemail.com address for UK users. Google said at the time that IIIR's claims to the trademark were tenuous, and that "they have not provided sufficient evidence to establish common law rights based on use in the large number of countries it claimed use".
There's no hint today whether Google had continued these negotiations and/or paid up, the official Gmail blog announcement focusing on the efficiency of the new address.
"Since 'gmail' is 50% fewer characters than 'googlemail,' we estimate this name change will save approximately 60 million keystrokes a day. At about 217 microjoules per keystroke, that's about the energy of 20 bonbons saved every day!"
Photo by hellolapomme on Flickr. Some rights reserved
New sign-ups will get a gmail.com address, while users with an @googlemail.com address can choose to switch. Addresses are interchangeable, so your email will arrive whichever domain the sender uses.
Google has had similar trademark battles in Germany, Russia and Poland, and, interestingly, the original gmail.com domain was used by Garfield's creators.
Google doesn't break out figures for Gmail, but indicated with the launch of Buzz in February this year that around 170 million people are using Gmail.
• Update: Google sent us this statement: "After engaging in legal proceedings at the trademark office, we were able to reach a settlement with the party with whom we had the conflict. We are happy to have resolved this issue, and look forward to offering @gmail.com addresses to users in the UK. We are unable to disclose the settlement agreement details." |
Several walls have been cordoned off at Edinburgh schools following inspections in the wake of he tragic death of Keane Wallis-Bennett at Liberton High.
Inspections at all city schools were completed on Thursday, with nine similar walls to the one which collapsed at Liberton identified in changing rooms and toilets at Catlebrae High and Leith Academy.
The pupil killed by a collapsing wall at Liberton High School has been named locally as Keane Grace Wallis-Bennett, 12.
There were also a number of smaller free standing walls identified at primary schools. No structural defects have been found although some areas have been cordoned off as a precaution until the end of term.
• Council may face £1m damage claim if found negligent
• Free-standing walls face axe in Edinburgh schools
• 1 in 6 Edinburgh pupils taught in crumbling school
Keane Grace Wallis-Bennett , Liberton High School death. Public domain.
• Liberton High death: Latest updates
• Keane Wallis-Bennett: Your messages
• Full survey of modesty walls to be carried out across city
• Shock and sadness in community
Liberton High School this morning. Picture: David McCann
• ‘Deep rumbling’ heard and then innocent Keane’s life was taken
• Liberton High building ‘faced difficulties’ says Kenny MacAskill
• David Cameron says ‘lessons must be learned’
Keane Wallis-Bennett ‘wanted to be Prime Minister’
Liberton High School. Picture: Ian Rutherford
Council Chief Executive, Sue Bruce, said: “This has been a dreadful incident and my deepest sympathies, and those of my colleagues, are with the family and friends of Keane.
“The Council has taken immediate action and we are determined to provide reassurance to parents, pupils and the people of Edinburgh that we will do everything in our power to prevent anything like this happening again.”
Twelve-year-old Keane died when a modesty wall in the school’s PE block collapsed on Tuesday morning.
Her family paid tribute to her, describing her as “our princess who dreamed of being prime minister”.
Headteacher Stephen Kelly said she was “a bright and bubbly personality” who got on well with others.
The school will not reopen this week and a full council survey of Liberton High will be completed before pupils return from the Easter holidays in three weeks.
Parents at the school were informed of the tragedy by a text message sent out by the Head Teacher Stephen Kelly.
Other councils across the country are also being encouraged to carry out checks.
Scotland’s Education Secretary Mike Russell said: “I’m sure every council is making every effort now to make sure that every building it has is suitable and fit for purpose.”
Dozens of bright flowers, cuddly toys, cards and hand-written letters have been placed under the entrance sign to Liberton High School by fellow pupils, family and friends.
In a statement released through Police Scotland, Keane’s family said: “She was our princess who dreamed of being prime minister. But failing that, a beautician.
“She loved her girlfriends and her days out shopping with lunches and all things girly. She recently attended her first under-18 disco and loved every second of it and was excited to be going to see One Direction in concert.”
During a survey of all Edinburgh schools last year, no concerns were identified with the wall that collapsed, the council has said.
Paul Godzik, the council’s education convener, said everything possible is being done to help those affected by the death.
He said: “Our immediate priority as a council is to support Keane’s family and the whole school community.
“It is important we find out exactly what happened here and as a Council we are working closely with the Police and Health and Safety Executive as investigations continue.
“The council is carrying out inspections in all schools which may have similar walls and, if required, immediate action will be taken.”
The death is the second tragedy to hit the school in recent months.
Jamie Skinner, 13, a pupil at Liberton High School, died after collapsing on a football pitch while playing for Tynecastle FC at the end of last year. |
The initial reaction by some politicians and commentators in Poland and the Czech Republic is no less odd. They seem to enjoy the role of a spoiler in relations between other countries and Russia. Voices of realism and caution are routinely rejected, and the opinion of their own citizens, who by and large have no use for radars and missiles, is brushed aside.
Photo
In Russia, President Obama’s decision has been well received. It also met with support in Europe, with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France lauding it. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, called it “a chance to strengthen European security.” Indeed, if the president’s decision is followed by further serious steps, it will provide an opportunity for us to strengthen global security as well as reach a new level of cooperation in ridding the world of nuclear danger.
At their meeting in Moscow in early July, Presidents Obama and Medvedev reaffirmed the relationship between strategic offensive weapons and missile defense. The two nations continue arms reduction talks and, judging by cautious diplomatic statements, they seem to be on course to complete them by Dec. 5, when the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — which I signed with President George H. W. Bush in 1991 — is due to expire.
This week’s United Nations meeting marks the next stage of progress. It is vital that other nations come away from the meeting believing that America and Russia are moving toward verifiable nuclear arms reductions, and that by the time the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference is held at the United Nations next May, they will have made progress toward the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.
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Unless they show the world they are serious, the two major nuclear powers will be accused, again and again, of not keeping their word and told that if it is acceptable for 5 or 10 countries to have nuclear weapons as their “ultimate security guarantee,” why should it not be the case for 20 or 30 others?
It is vital that the two presidents themselves monitor the negotiations closely, sometimes plunging into minute details. I know from experience how difficult it is to deal with such technical details on top of constant political pressures, but it is necessary to avoid misunderstandings that could undermine trust.
Some questions that will need to be clarified are evident now. The American secretary of defense, Robert Gates, has said that the SM-3 missiles that are to be used under the new missile-defense plan could later be perfected to intercept long-range intercontinental missiles. Yet he has also raised the possibility of cooperating with Russia on missile defense. To me, these two ideas seem incompatible. The sooner such issues are cleared up the better.
As I see it, there is only one way to move forward: Washington should agree to the Russian proposal for a joint assessment of missile threats. Let the experts from both countries have a frank discussion that would reveal which threats are real and must be dealt with, and which are imaginary. This would help to avoid misguided projects like the Polish-Czech missile shield, and could help move us from a state of mutual deterrence to a goal of minimum nuclear sufficiency for self-defense.
This is a big agenda. Realistically, it would take two or three years of intense negotiation. But Russia and the United States must set big tasks for themselves. What is needed is nothing less than a change in the strategic relationship between the two major nuclear powers — in their own interests and in the cause of world peace. |
I am having a tremendously good time playing No Man’s Sky [official site], but I’m really getting annoyed by No Man’s Sky. Such is the dichotomy that’s central to this most peculiarly hyped of indie projects, that it is at once magnificent and mundane, breathtaking and benign. It is very much what everyone feared: a massive concept with no ideas to go in it. And yet it seems, from my first couple of days with the PS4 build, to be enough. I had to tear myself away to write this, what with a few quintillion stars I’ve still yet to explore.
If you’re still amongst the very many who aren’t sure what the game actually is, it’s this: an open universe, 1.8×1019 solar systems, each with explorable planets of varying flora and fauna, biome-types and technology, and you. You begin on a planet with a crashed ship, and need to nip about blasting rocks and planets with your multi-tool’s mining beam, gathering elements necessary for building components to fix your vehicle. So is it a survival game in that sense? No, not really. Once the ship’s working, you can zoom about on the planet, and eventually up into the sky. Fix some more bits and bobs and you’ll eventually get the ability to travel between stars, at which point you can opt between three paths: searching for the centre of the galaxy, searching for some weird deity thing, or just arsing about to your heart’s content.
Each of the two scripted paths (scripted in the loosest sense – the planets you’ll explore on the way are procedurally generated by your arrival, unique to you unless someone else stumbles upon them after you’ve been there and named everything) are so woolily explained as to offer me little interest in pursuing them. They are, in the loosest, most fragmented sense, an effort to create a notion of direction for the player in a might-as-well-be-infinite playing space. But so far the result is so slapdash and half-arsed as to be genuinely annoying. If you’re going to tell me to go somewhere, at least have a reason beyond telling me to go somewhere else.
But the process of going somewhere, the experience of approaching a new planet filled with new bonkers animals, is what grips. As you fly around a planet’s surface you’ll spot geologically interesting places, perhaps a glowing cave entrance, maybe the ruin of an ancient religious relic, or some hastily constructed metal buildings housing one of three alien races. You land nearby, get distracted by some lootable crates, curse your limited inventory space both in person and on your ship, then juggle elements and items about to try to make some room, once again promising yourself you’ll finally spend the hundreds of thousands of units (the in-game currency) you’ve earned on a decent new ship, rather than madly saving up for an ever better one. Oh yes, the base – you go toward the door, find it’s locked, so blast it open with the boltcaster on your multitool, the one you’ve specced up with new tech found elsewhere, created with the ever-growing variety of elements and equipment that’s overflowing your inventories, and attract the attention of the godforsaken sentinels. It’s a gun battle now, switching your fire onto them, trying to take them out before they call reinforcements, or perhaps focusing on the door while getting blasted in the back so you can get inside and hide from them.
Get in, get safe, and solve a really dumb puzzle to discover the location of a forgotten ruin on the planet with secrets to divulge, then suck all the carbon out of the plantpots, sell your loot via a device on the wall that connects to an off-world market, and head outside again to… well, you’ve no idea yet, you’ve not stumbled on it.
All that is what makes No Man’s Sky amazing. And all that is also what makes No Man’s Sky so vacuous and annoying. Let’s go through all those things I genuinely enjoy (apart from the sentinels), and point out their enormous flaw:
“Bonkers animals”: You know those kids games where you can randomly put together a giraffe’s head on an ostrich’s body on a frog’s legs? That’s all it is. Randomly cobbled creatures from a pool of Spore-like elements, resulting in mostly very stupid-looking animals that have things like horns for heads. Not horns on their heads. Instead of heads. It is impressive that they “evolved to match the planet’s ecosystem” as we were told eighty-million times during the last three years of hype. I’d have thought the not-able-to-eat HORNHEAD (as I named him, in caps) might not have made it as a species.
“Geologically interesting places”: Are caves. Each planet has a distinct look, again thanks to randomisation + procedural generation, so maybe the sky’s blue, or it’s pink, or it’s green – trouble is, I’ve played far too many video games to be overwhelmed by an odd coloured sky. In the end you either find caves, or you land on ground. And the PS4’s draw distance is absolutely atrocious, meaning that most of the time anything interesting to land near hasn’t finished loading until it’s too late and you’ve flown past. I’m desperately hoping this is better on PC.
“Ancient religious relics”: Are very inefficient one-word dictionaries. One of the nice elements of the game is constantly gathering word-for-word translations of three different alien languages, such that when you talk to them (to trade, ask for help, or occasional plot moments) you can understand incrementally more of what they’re saying. Lovely. But for some reason, the scrappily thrown together tale of some ancient god thing means that these relics offer some ambiguous nothing line of rubbish, and then a new word. You’ll likely have found more words on the walk up to it.
“Metal buildings”: Okay, here’s my biggest complaint with this game I’m desperate to get back to. Every single planet in the entire universe, all 18 quintillion of them, has been visited before you. Not by another player – your great-grandchildren will still be finding new planets – but by one of these three alien races. They’re already there, willing to offer you some units, or some health, or a translated word, sat seemingly waiting for you on the offest of off chances that you might pop by. Further, every single planet in the entire expanse of space is policed by these sodding sentinel things, who appear to have some ethical problem with my mining for iron, because do too much of it when they’re hovering around and they’ll shoot at you. God knows why they thought this was a good idea, but they’re a permanent irritant in a place that’s meant to be your own. You’re not discovering anything. You’re just turning up afterward and deciding what everything’s called – from solar system to rock name – like some lunatic 15th century explorer. “This plant? It’s called Simon! And the planet, it’s called Wobblybottom 7b! Sorry, you weren’t using it, were you?”
“Limited inventory”: I think they got a little too carried away here, what with just how much stuff you actually need to be carrying to get on, let alone the extra valuables you’ll want if you’re to make any decent money to get anywhere. I think they could have been more generous, a few more slots, but I can’t deny it’s fuelling my desperation to find the ideal slightly bigger ship.
“Specced up with new tech”: This is perhaps the most egregiously dreadful aspect of NMS. Rather than getting better ship components, or better guns, or better life-preserving equipment, you get the ability to augment what you’ve already got. The only actual way anything gets better is by its number of slots, either ship or multitool, thus allowing you to add more of these augmentations. But to build a new one you need a spare inventory slot, and then work out what’s better than what you’ve already got via it’s tiresomely obfuscated text descriptions, rather than just holding up both and the game putting a number in green or red. God how I wish the game would put numbers in green or red (well, it does, but that’s for relative worth of items sold in different markets). It’s ludicrously fiddly, although I expect this to drastically improve when I’m not trying to do it all via the boxing-gloved hands of a PS4 controller.
“Godforsaken sentinels”: I mean, what happened? They thought, “This game is far too fun. Let’s add a ubiquitous interfering flying nuisance that can kill the player for the crime of chopping up a rock.”
There are many, many other niggles, not least these incessant appearance of “Milestone achievements”, where rather than politely popping up an achievement like “Met 15 aliens” in the bottom right of the screen, it instead screams this banal information at you across the middle of the screen, pulling in widescreen bars above and below, and in doing so takes away your ability to play properly. Er, yes, thanks for letting me know that I’ve translated 30 words, but I’m kind of busy? It’s the sort of thing that rather bellows of not having had enough real human hands on it before release.
And yet, it’s got me. It’s got me not because of the massive scale of the thing (although anyone who pretends to be anything other than blown away when swooping the game’s camera through the 0.0000000001% of stars you’ll ever see (I made that number up) is a dangerous monster), but because of the minutiae, wanting to improve my equipment, get that ideal better ship and then immediately begin saving up for the 1.5m unit beauties I’ve seen docking in spaceports, learn more vocabulary so I can have an idea what these very explory aliens are saying, get better defences so sentinels are more of a waspy nuisance than a sharky threat. I have found myself embracing these tiny incremental steps in a game world so big that all the players in the world will never explore even a significant fraction of what it offers. And I know, somewhere in the back of my mind, that there’s equipment to be gained that will let me make vast swooping journeys far faster than I currently can, and that feels like something to dream about as I go.
It’s a shame that after so long, after so many delays, what I come away feeling is that No Man’s Sky needed another year to really work out what it was for. That existential crisis is ever-present in all you do, all the space imaginable, and no really clear idea of what to use it for. If anything, I feel like it should be the universe into which a thousand other game narratives are released. And yet it’s a space in which I’m enthralled, simply by the simplicity of it. I’ve no idea how this will pan out, what I’ll find after more than two days in there. And certainly no clue how different the experience will be when I restart it all on PC tomorrow.
That’s crucial for us, and I’ve deliberately not talked about the very problematic crashiness of the PS4 version here since that’s someone else’s problem. My motivation here has been to get a grip on what’s actually here, what it really offers. After the weekend I’ll return with a proper review of the PC version, and hopefully some larger conclusions after a lot more play.
No Man’s Sky is out on PC on the 12th August, for $60/£40.
Disclosure: Our Alec did some last minute writing for No Man’s Sky. He won’t write about the game for us anymore, and we won’t speak to him about it or at all. |
In 2011, the Purple One came to Los Angeles, where he had sporadically lived over the years, to perform. What could have been a simple one-night stand was instead a masterful 21-night residency at multiple venues. And in true, inscrutable Prince style, he only announced the shows, which were part of the Welcome 2 America tour, a week beforehand by calling in to the George Lopez show.
The magic began on April 14 at the Forum. Prince opened by declaring, "Inglewood is mine!" and closed out the three-hour show with five encores, reports Rolling Stone. The set included smoke, showmanship, a hydraulic lift, guest appearances from Eva Longoria and Javier Bardem, and plenty of music, including an epic 15-minute version of "Purple Rain." Tickets for the show were as low as $25, making it a bargain for fans.
Prince played 12 shows at the Forum. The sets featured medleys, reworked versions of his most recognizable hits, deep cuts and covers of everyone from Sylvester to Bob Dylan. The stint also featured a raft of special guests such as jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, piano virtuoso Alicia Keys, rap star Missy Elliot, pop artist Gwen Stefani and Stevie Wonder. Prince's longtime drummer, Sheila E., was also a frequent guest.
muppets video
On May 11, Prince played two surprise shows in a single night at the Troubadour during the middle of his 21 Night Stand. The intimate shows at the tiny West Hollywood club were a thrill for fans who were able to score tickets, according to the Hollywood Reporter:
"The little hall was treated to album cuts, instrumentals and covers — a free-form amalgam of musical genres mixed into an often-thrilling 140 minutes of anti-arena Prince. There was no trapdoor entrance, backing throng or even dancing (OK, a little near the end). And a late-set take on 'Pop Life' was his only hit single he played."
On May 25, Prince announced he would be playing three shows — that night at the same venue. He performed at the House of Blues, Sunset Strip, first in the main concert hall, then in the Jazz Café at the Porch Restaurant and finally a private charity event at the Foundation Room.
To complete the 21 Night Stand, Prince returned to the Forum for four more concerts, closing out the residency on May 29, 2011.
For fans, it was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see the pop star in a setting that combined all the glitter and showmanship of a large venue and the playfulness of a bar residency. And it only scratches the surface of his influence and fandom here in Southern California.
Were you there? Share your memories of Prince — during the 21 Night Stand or any other era — here in the comments. |
Mattis freezes Trump's ban on transgender
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced Tuesday that he is freezing President Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military, saying that he will first establish a panel of experts to provide advice and recommendations on how to carry out Trump's direction.
The Pentagon confirmed the move in a statement attributed to Mattis, saying that the Pentagon will develop a study and implementation plan "as directed." Soon-to-be arriving political appointees at the Defense Department "will play an important role in this effort." The plan will address both the potential for transgender people looking to serve in the military for the first time, and transgender troops who already are serving.
"Our focus must always be on what is best for the military's combat effectiveness leading to victory on the battlefield," Mattis said. "To that end, I will establish a panel of experts serving within the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to provide advice and recommendations on the implementation of the president's direction."
Mattis added that panel members "will bring mature experience, most notably in combat and deployed operations, and seasoned judgment to this task." The panel will "assemble and thoroughly analyze all pertinent data, quantifiable and non-quantifiable."
The Pentagon chief said that once the panel makes its recommendations and he consults with the secretary of homeland security, he will provide his advice to Trump. In the meantime, current policy regarding transgender service members will remain in place, Mattis said, meaning that those already serving can continue to do so.
The issue has been especially sensitive since Trump announced on Twitter on July 26 that "after consultation with my Generals and military experts," he would not allow transgender to serve in the the U.S. military "in any capacity." White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified later that day that no change would be made until an implementation policy was developed.
The Obama administration repealed its ban on transgender service member serving in July 2016. A Rand Corp. study commissioned by the Pentagon found there were between 2,500 and 7,000 transgender people among the 1.3 million on active duty, but Mattis has questioned the study's accuracy. |
PANDI, BULACAN—Barricades, manned by at least 8,000 people, are being put up to foil government attempts to evict members and sympathizers of an urban poor group who had occupied vacant units in government housing projects in the province.
The group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) said it would stop National Housing Authority (NHA) officials from serving eviction notices to settlers who took over vacant houses in several government projects.
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Gloria Arellano, Kadamay chair, said she asked her followers to defy orders to vacate the houses and shun attempts by the NHA to list down their names.
“Once you give your names, they will give you eviction notices,” said Arellano addressing some 600 supporters from other militant groups like Bayan, Gabriela, Bayan Muna and Akbayan.
“Just give them my name. I don’t care if I am the one they take to court,” she said.
The NHA did not answer phone calls or text queries on its next move against families who occupied low-cost housing units in the town of Pandi. Some of the units have no water and electricity.
Invasion day
On March 8, thousands of people occupied more than 5,000 houses at the Padre Pio settlement, a housing project for jail and penology employees and firemen in Barangay Cacarong Matanda in Pandi.
They also seized units at the Villa Louise site in Barangay Siling Matanda, Pandi Heights 2 and 3 housing projects in Barangay Mapulang Lupa and Villa Elise housing project in Barangay Masuso, all in Pandi.
Police said at least 4,500 units had been occupied by the group.
Kadamay said the government’s housing agencies had been ignoring the families’ applications for free housing.
At least 400 people tried to occupy another housing project meant for soldiers and policemen in Barangay Batia in Bocaue town on Friday. But residents, barangay peace volunteers and policemen stopped them at the gate, said Supt. Jowen dela Cruz, Bocaue police chief.
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Legal battle
“The residents spoke to them and told them that the idle units had beneficiaries,” Dela Cruz said. The group left and proceeded to the Pandi Heights 2 housing project.
Lawyer Ephraim Cortez, of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, said his group would petition the court for a restraining order should the NHA serve eviction notices today.
A solidarity caravan in support of Kadamay included Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago and Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, who said the occupation of government houses belied the claim of President Duterte that “change has come to the Philippines.”
“Where is change? The poor and the oppressed continue to sink in misery,” Tinio said.
Elago said the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives had filed a resolution seeking an update on the government’s housing projects, including the reasons the houses had not been distributed to beneficiaries. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE
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Chris Herhalt and Courtney Greenberg, CP24.com
The 35-year-old man who was shot several times as he led a fitness class in Christie Pits Park on Saturday morning was a former gang leader, police say.
Jose Alejandro Vivar was shot three times in the abdomen while teaching his “Prison Pump” fitness class just before 9 a.m on Saturday.
He was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery. He is expected to survive.
One of the bullets that passed through Vivar also struck another 20-year-old man in the foot. He is also expected to recover.
Police say witnesses told them the shooter participated in the fitness class for as many as 30 minutes before drawing a gun and firing at Vivar.
Police are now saying that they believe Vivar was targeted, with the victim having past drug and gang ties.
Vivar was arrested in a drug trafficking investigation in 2007 and later convicted — but since he was released from prison in March, he worked hard to turn his life around, according to his lawyer John Struthers.
He started volunteering at a homeless shelter, became a personal trainer and ran a free community fitness class called “Prison Pump,” inspired by a workout routine he taught in prison.
In a cellphone video Vivar took of one of the workouts at Christie Pits Park, he said, “Prison Pump started with one man, and from one man there were 10 guys jogging in the pen, then there was 30, then there was 40. They called me down to administration and thought I was starting a prison gang. I told them, ‘No, it was a workout gang!’”
“He wasn’t hiding, he was in a public place in a public way and as a result it’s a very dangerous and difficult situation for someone who has ever been in a gang to get out,” Struthers told CTV Toronto on Saturday. “It's clear to me in any event that it's some sort of revenge or retaliation for events that took place many years ago.”
Struthers met Vivar when he successfully defended him against a first-degree murder charge in a 2003 shooting outside a Bloor Street café.
“When you’ve been in prison for so long, it’s hard to come out and adapt,” Vivar said in the cellphone video.
The suspect is described as a black male aged 25 to 30. He had a thin build and stood between five-foot-eight and five-foot-nine inches tall. He had short cornrows hanging out of a baseball cap on his head.
He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a black hoodie with a white logo in the centre, black sweat pants with a light-colour logo in the left front hip area, and light-coloured running shoes.
He wore dark-coloured sunglasses with gold trim on the arms.
He is still on the loose and investigators are still appealing for witnesses to come forward. |
Prime minister defends scheme and says there is no evidence of a problem as house prices are still way below their 2007 peak
Help to Buy is not fuelling housing bubble, says David Cameron
David Cameron dismissed concerns from Labour and coalition ministers that the government's Help to Buy scheme may be feeding a housing bubble as he promoted its next phase.
The prime minister branded sceptics of the mortgage guarantees – such as the Liberal Democrat business secretary, Vince Cable, "London-centric" and claimed that in many parts of the country prices were "barely moving at all".
His defence of the government scheme came as he promoted new figures which claim to show that more than 6,000 people have put offers in on homes and applied for mortgages using Help to Buy since it was launched about three months ago.
Nearly 750 homeowners have completed their purchases and hundreds were able to spend Christmas in their new homes, according to official figures.
Cameron said the initiative meant people without wealthy parents and a big deposit could "realise their dream" of owning a home, and he rejected concerns that high demand was already overheating the market.
"Where we are today, house prices are still way below the peak they reached in 2007," he said.
"Forecasters do not think they will get back to the level before the crash even in 2019. So there is no evidence of a problem.
"This is about helping people to achieve the security and stability they want of owning a flat or a home of their own," he said.
The Help to Buy scheme provides equity loans of up to 20% for buyers of new-build homes in England and part-guarantees mortgages for buyers across the UK.
Last July Cable warned that the scheme, which is meant to revive the housing market, could inflate it. "I am worried of the danger of getting into another housing bubble," the business secretary told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
But Cameron on Thursday said that housing prices in many parts of the country were barely moving at all.
"Nationally, excluding London and the south-east, house prices are up just 3% over the last year.
"I think there are some people who are rather London-centric about this," he said.
In November ministers published figures showing that in the first month after being launched more than 2,000 people had put in offers on homes and applied for a Help to Buy mortgage. That number has now trebled.
The mortgages, once approved, would represent nearly £1bn of new lending to aspiring homeowners who may have previously found the property market out of reach because of the size of deposit required.
Barclays and Santander will introduce their own Help to Buy products on to the market this month, joining Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, HSBC, Virgin Money and Aldermore, who have all launched products over the last three months.
The expansion will mean two-thirds of the entire UK mortgage market will offer products under the Help to Buy scheme, bringing home ownership to a growing number of people.
Other figures claim that an additional 20,000 households have also been supported by the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, a separate scheme where the government provides an interest-free loan to support the purchase of the newly-built home.
On average applicants are looking to buy homes worth £160,000, which remains below the UK average house price of £247,000. They will face average monthly repayments of around £900 and have an annual household income of around £45,000. This means a Help to Buy mortgage represents 23% of borrowers' gross income.
Labour has called for an increase in housebuilding, which it claims is at its lowest level since the 1920s. Shadow ministers have previously expressed concerns that the scheme is stoking demand but doing nothing for supply, which could result in a future steep rise in prices.
Shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said : "Any help for first-time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder is to be welcomed. But rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply if this scheme is to bring the cost of housing within the reach of low- and middle-income earners.
"You can't deal with the cost-of-living crisis without building more homes. That's why Labour has committed to building 200,000 homes a year by 2020," she said. |
Create a WiFi HotSpot with a press of a finger! Wherever you are - you can connect your laptop or other mobile device to your iPhone/iPad easily. MyWi has been rebuilt from scratch to improve performance! Will work with all jailbroken iPhones (including 2G/3G/3GS/4/5/5S) and iPad on 3.1.2 or later.- iOS 9 and iPhone 6/+ Compatibility- Note: WiFi must be turned on.- Removed: MyWi OnDemand- Removed: No Status Bar Icon/Tethering Bar- iOS 8 and iPhone 6/+ Compatibility- Known Issue: No Status Bar Icon (awaiting libstatus update for iOS8)- 5Ghz support for iPhone 5/5S and iPad 3/4/iPad with Retina- iOS 7 Compatibility.- New iOS 7 UI.- iOS 6 Compatibility.- MyWi OnDemand Rewrite - Improved connection reliability and performance.- Complete new rewrite - fixes bugs and much greater improved performance.- WiFi Sharing: Share your WiFi signal via your own WiFi Hotspot or via USB. This allows your iPhone 4, 4S, or 5 to be connected to a WiFi hotspot, and share that connection to other devices via it's own WiFi Hotspot. (also works with iPad 3, 4, and Mini- MyWi OnDemand now uses Bluetooth communication to activate a WiFi hotspot. Allows 5x+ greater throughput over OnDemand.- iOS 5.0 Support!- Faster performance- Lower battery consumption- Choose the In Use Indicator that you want:- - Status bar icon- - Blue pulsing bar- Adjust the WiFi transmit power (Between 30% and 100%)- Battery consumption meter- USB Bridge mode. (Connect your laptop over USB to the phones 3G or WiFi connection!), Finally make use of all that free WiFi your iPhone/iPad gets!- Bluetooth Tethering Option now available- Infrastructure Mode with 80211.N (up to 10x faster speeds) (iPhone4/4S with iOS 4.2.6+ only)- WPA2 Security- Added Support for MyWi OnDemand - Auto Shutoff Timer- All new UI to make using MyWi even easier!- Active Users now shows device namesOriginal Features:- Create WiFi Hotspot to connect multiple laptops or mobile devices to share your iPhone's internet connection- 40 bit and 104 bit WEP Security to prevent others from accessing your WiFi HotSpot- Ability to enable USB Tethering on your iPhone- Broadcasts the Network Name (SSID) - no need to fuss with creating an adhoc network on your laptop- Shows up and down bandwidth usagePlease Note: MyWi tethering uses your data plan.MyWi 9.0 is free for MyWi 6/7/8 Users!3-Day Free Trial!
- 9.01.04 (10/24/15)
=============
- Fix for uninstall
- Fix for 5Ghz channels
- 9.01.03 (10/24/15)
=============
- Support for iOS 9
- Note: No OnDemand support. No tethering bar/status bar
- 8.03.02 (6/30/15)
=============
- Support for iOS 8.3
- Known Issues:
- Status Bar Icon support requires manual install of libstatusbar
- 8.00.09 (12/05/14)
=============
- FlipSwitch for MyWi
- Known Issues:
- No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.07 (12/04/14)
=============
- Improved WiFi Tethering reliability for 8.1
- Fix for 5Ghz over channel 46 for iOS8 (experimental option requires reboot under Advanced WiFi settings)
- Known Issues:
- No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.06 (11/10/14)
=============
- Change ordering of dependencies for install so that libstatusbar is not installed (APT bug)
- Known Issues:
- No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.04 (11/05/14)
=============
- Tethering Bar Fix for iOS8 64bit devices
- Support for OnDemand iOS8
- Known Issues:
- No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.03 (11/04/14)
=============
- Support for Bluetooth Tethering (iOS8)
- Known Issues:
- MyWi OnDemand, No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.02 (11/03/14)
=============
- Fix for armv7 (i4s, iPad3rd)
- Fix for Licensing Connection
- Known Issues:
- Bluetooth Tethering, MyWi OnDemand, No Status Bar Icon support
- 8.00.01 (11/02/14)
=============
- iOS8 Support (including 6/6+)
- Known Issues:
- Bluetooth Tethering, MyWi OnDemand, No Status Bar Icon support
- 7.06.01 (2/03/14)
=============
- Fix for devices without Infrastructure capability (ie, iPad2)
- 7.05.01 (1/14/14)
=============
- Fix for sporadic 5Ghz issues
- 7.04.01 (1/9/14)
=============
- 64Bit OnDemand Fix
- UI Fixes
- 7.03.01 (1/7/14)
=============
- Fixed WiFi TX Power Bug
- 7.02.01 (1/1/14)
=============
- iPhone 5S support
- UI Fixes
- 7.01.04 (12/30/13)
=============
- Fix for 5Ghz support on iPhone 5S
- 7.01.01-03 (12/30/13)
=============
- 5Ghz support for iPhone 5/5S and iPad 3/4/iPad with Retina
- UI improvements including current channel broadcast.
- 7.00.01 (12/21/13)
=============
- Support for iOS 7.
- UI Update.
- 6.00.13 (3/16/13)
=============
- Additional fix for Keychain errors for users with corrupt keychains.
- 6.00.12 (3/11/13)
=============
- Improved Error Messages
6.00.10 (2/20/13)
- Fix for Keychain errors for users with corrupt keychains.
- OnDemand will now prefer attaching to non-OnDemand wi-fi networks if possible.
6.00.07 (2/15/2013)
=============
- Fix for OnDemand "Failure connecting to (Null)"
6.00.02 Updates (2/2/2013)
=============
- Support for iOS 6.x
- MyWi OnDemand Rewritten - Improved reliability
5.51.1 Updates (5/29/2012)
=============
- Support for iOS 5.1.1
5.50.11 Updates (5/3/2012)
=============
- Fix auto-shutoff of WiFi hotspot while clients are still connected.
5.50.10 Updates (4/17/2012)
=============
- Fixed WiFi on/off after turning off WiFi tethering
- Improved WEP compatibility
5.50.7 Updates (4/8/2012)
=============
- Improved Power Management
- Remove WPA option from incompatible devices
5.50.6 Updates (4/6/2012)
=============
- Prevent other MobileSubstrate libraries from causing issues with Bluetooth
- Prevent other MobileSubstrate libraries from causing lag with MyWi
5.50.5 Updates (4/5/2012)
=============
- Fix for Bluetooth Pairing
- Fix for sending syslog to support
5.50.3 Updates (4/4/2012)
=============
- Performance Improvement
5.50.2 Updates (4/4/2012)
=============
- MyWi 5.5 release - all new from scratch (for iOS 5.x users only)!
- Faster initialization/broadcast of hotspot
- Faster connection speeds
- WEP and No encryption resupported for iOS 5.x
- Greater reliability
- Many bug fixes
- New WiFi Sharing!
- MyWi OnDemand now uses bluetooth tethering to activate WiFi Hotspot
5.05.4 Updates (1/20/2012)
=============
- Added support for iPhone 4S.
5.04.5 Updates (11/03/2011)
=============
- Bug fix to resupport iOS 3.1
5.04.1-3 Updates (10/31/2011)
=============
- Now uses LibStatusBar for status bar icon
- Fixed Autoshutoff
- Support for Semi-tether
- Licensing Updates
5.03.2 Updates (10/8/2011)
=============
- Fixed detection of Active users causing MyWi to timeout (when App open)
- Added �Classic View� (default)
- Fixed Autoshutoff for iOS 5
- Fixed MyWi requiring manual restart when disconnecting from WiFi bridged networks (iOS 4.3+)
- Fixed MyWi prompting for reboot when not initialized (prompts for respring if needed)
- Performance Improvements
5.02.3 Updates (9/24/2011)
=============
- Fix for WiFi Tethering start failing sporadically
- Fix possible crash on opening MyWi App
- Fix for Verizon 4.2.10
- Fix for collision on DHCP request
5.01.14 Updates (9/16/2011)
=============
- Fixed: Some devices/iOS version combinations required reboot after install before data worked.
- Updated: Faster boot times
5.01.7 Updates (9/12/2011)
=============
- NEW: iOS 5 Support (wep support deprecated for iOS5), and also added support for 4.2.9, 4.2.10
- NEW: New architecture for improved performance
- NEW: No more reboots on install(yeah!)
- Fixed: Update for connection count (didn't count devices behind firewalls)
- Fixed: In certain use cases, devices may not receive an IP address due to conflicting port usage by iOS
4.61.1 Updates
=============
- Support for Verizon 4.2.7/8
- Added option for Adhoc vs Infrastructure for iOS 4.2.6+
- Fixed Active User Count for iOS 4.2.6+
- Fixed data usage not correct when using status bar icon
- Fixed Not Initialized Needs Respring Error (occurs after sometime)
4.60.14 Updates
=============
- Fixed Bluetooth Tethering and MyWi OnDemand sporadic resets
- Fixed Safe Mode when trial expired on 4.2.6+
4.60.9 Updates
=============
- Improved Data Connection on 4.2.6+
- Fixed issue where wifi can't obtain IP address while using MyWi
- Fixed SBSettings conflict (4.2.6+)
- Fixed issue with MyWi turning off right away (4.2.6+)
- Added disconnect sound (works in many cases but not all)
4.60.6 Updates
=============
- Fix for MyWi OnDemand (Server) after reboot
- Fix for WiFi Tethering 4.2.6+ - Auto disable not monitoring activity
4.60.5 Updates
=============
- Fix for when WiFi is powered off and starting WiFi Hotspot
- Fix for permissions issue on MyWi settings w/ MyWi OnDemand
4.60.4 Updates
=============
- Fix for sporadic WiFi Tethering issue on iOS <= 4.2.1
4.60.3 Updates
=============
- WiFi Extender (Bridge WiFi to WiFi) (i4 w/ iOS 4.2.6+)
- WPA2 Security (iPhone4 w/ iOS 4.2.6+)
- Infrastructure/80211.N WiFi Tethering (i4 w/ iOS 4.2.6+)
- SBSettings toggle (iPhone4 w/ iOS 4.2.6+)
- Auto Bridge mode (USB all versions & WiFi on i4 w/ iOS 4.2.6+)
- Improved performance and reduced memory
- Crash fixes for MyWi App
- Fix for Bluetooth Tethering without OnDemand license
- Fix for USB enable/disable
- Fix for OnDemand occasional reboots
4.53.1 Updates
=============
- Fix for OnDemand detection of WiFi connectivity
4.52.2 Updates
=============
- Fix for OnDemand Negotiating issue for 3.2,4.0
- Fix for WEP Key entry on iOS 3.1-3.1.3
- Fix for Bluetooth Tethering on 4.2.1/Greenpois0n jailbreak license issue
- Fix for MyWi Not working when filesystem error |
iStock
There’s this persistent myth in America that about half of all marriages end in divorce.
In fact, the figures are significantly lower, as new graphics by Nathan Yau of Flowing Data demonstrate.
As Claire Cain Miller wrote at the Upshot, the divorce rate peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s and has been declining since then. In fact, if current marriage and divorce rate continues, only about one-third of American marriages will end in divorce, the Upshot’s Justin Wolfers has calculated.
But the rates are much higher for some groups than others, as Yau’s graphs show.
Here’s what the graph looks like for American men and women who have a high school education or less.
The graph shows the age of men and women along the horizontal axis and the percentage who have been divorced or married more than once on the vertical axis. These graphs are cumulative, so as you go from left to right they add in the people who have ever divorced or remarried at any age group, to reach the total percentage on the right hand side of the graph. As you can see, about 39 percent of men with a high school education or less divorce or remarry in their lifetimes, compared to 37 percent of women with a similar education.
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
And here’s what the graphic looks like for those with a bachelor’s degree. Perhaps predictably, the divorce and remarriage rates are lower, with roughly 29 percent of women and 28 percent of men with a bachelor's degree getting divorced or remarried.
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
Yau also broke the divorce rates down by race. Here are the rates for whites:
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
The rates are slightly higher for blacks:
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
They are much lower Hispanics:
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
And lowest of all for Asians, with less than one-fifth of Asian-Americans getting divorced and remarried:
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
The highest rates of the bunch belong to Native Americans:
Nathan Yau, Flowing Data
You can see more graphics, including a breakdown of divorce rates for employed and unemployed Americans, on Yau’s site, here.
Note: A previous version of this post incorrectly said that the statistic that half of all marriages end in divorce comes from erroneously dividing the divorce rate in a given year by the marriage rate in that same year. In fact, the 50% statistic has been included in historical life tables published by the Census bureau. The post has been corrected.
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Certainly it's done some of this, but there's also been plenty of unique innovation along the way, some of which is now being copied by the likes of WhatsApp, owned by Facebook.
This goes against the old narrative of China as the "copycat nation", while signalling mainland technology companies are increasingly making their mark globally and have become brands in their own right.
Inevitably, this will result in WeChat coming up against its US rivals, though the nature of this competition will be different from traditional battles to secure market shares and users.
"WeChat is not going to take over the world," says Peter Cook, the chief executive of ASX-listed payments company Novatti. "But it will be used by those wanting to interact with Chinese people and sell things to Chinese consumers."
Replicating shopping experiences
In Australia, this is already the case.
Cook, whose company allows Australian businesses to accept Chinese offline and online payments, estimates around 1500 Australian retailers have already installed WeChat Pay at the point of sale.
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For businesses focused on Chinese students and tourists, the installation of WeChat Pay or its main rival Alipay, is about replicating shopping experiences on the mainland here in Australia.
In China, where cash is no longer king, purchases are increasingly made via mobile phones. When buying from a small shop, the consumer usually scans the merchant's QR code, enters the amount owed, puts in a password and then the money is transferred.
WeChat a combination of Facebook, Amazon, WhatsApp and ApplePay with a bit of Uber and Airbnb thrown into the mix. AP
At larger shops or chain stores it's the other way round, with the merchant scanning the consumer's QR code, which is slightly quicker and does not require a password.
The phenomenon of QR codes for payment is largely unique to China as consumers believe it's more secure than other forms of mobile payment (although there have been some scams recently).
And while Alipay, an affiliate of Alibaba, is the incumbent and leader in China's mobile payment market, WeChat Pay is fast catching up.
It already boasts more daily transactions, an astronomical 600 million, although by value Alipay is well ahead given the dominance of its Taobao marketplace and virtual shopping centre T-Mall.
Basically anything you want to do online can be done from WeChat apart from paying for food there's a messaging system, making video calls or posting photos and comments to its social media platform. Angus Grigg
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"If you only offer Visa or MasterCard, then many Chinese consumers will not be able to pay," says Cook.
That's potentially a large market to forgo given more than a million Chinese tourists came to Australia last year and around 200,000 Chinese students are in the country at any one time.
The other way WeChat is finding its way onto smartphones in the English speaking word, is via those doing business with China.
This is increasingly done via WeChat's messaging service or call function rather than email or a traditional phone line.
A stall owner in Shanghai behind a sign showing customers can pay using AliPay or WeChat Pay by scanning a QR code on their smart phone Angus Grigg. Angus Grigg
Sydney-based private bank, Atlas Advisors told this newspaper it uses WeChat to send out investment memorandums for its early stage venture capital fund, as its Chinese clients don't use email.
It's the same for lawyers arguing over the finer points of a contract or personal shoppers marketing vitamins or cosmetics to clients in China.
"WeChat has developed its own ecosystem; it's like an alternative internet or a super app," says Cook.
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Cater to all
This is the real innovation of WeChat.
Rather than opening separate apps for different functions, it allows users to book a taxi, order food, buy an airline ticket, reserve a hotel room, extend a library book loan or check for speeding fines all within the WeChat app.
You can even report a polluting company, apply for a travel pass to Hong Kong, check if tax invoices are genuine and pay court fees.
Basically anything you want to do online can be done from WeChat along with using its messaging system, making video calls or posting photos and comments to its social media platform.
This makes WeChat a combination of Facebook, Amazon, WhatsApp and ApplePay with a bit of Uber and Airbnb thrown into the mix.
But unlike its big global peers, not all of WeChat's functions are available outside China.
The main roadblock is China's closed capital account and the inability to link a foreign credit card to WeChat wallet. Instead, a local bank account is required, which is an insurmountable hurdle for most foreigners not resident in China.
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This may change as China has stated a desire to gradually open its capital account, although progress in this area has stalled in recent years.
Such limitations have allowed WeChat's global peers to toy with the idea of copying its payments function.
In what could be seen as the ultimate compliment, WhatsApp is now likely to launch its own peer-to-peer payments service in India, something WeChat has had up and running for years in China.
Tesla investment
On a visit to India in February, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said the company was in the "early stages" of seeing how it might include payments functions in its app.
WeChat has little ability to respond to this and for now has to be content with its not insubstantial home market, although it has made some investments offshore.
Last month, it paid $US1.78 billion for a 5 per cent stake in US electric car maker Tesla, while at home it has taken stakes in JD.com, China's largest retailer and riding hailing app Didi, which prevailed against Uber's challenge.
The investments in Didi and Telsa appear to be bets on electric cars and shared cars eventually becoming self driving cars, a revolution Tencent clearly wants to be a part of, which may help it remain as one of the world's 10 most valuable companies, long after mobile payments and WeChat's much heralded ecosystem have been commoditised. |
Do satellites still need rocket propulsion when they are in orbit?
The GOCE satellite in its orbit around the Earth
When a satellite has entered into its orbit around the Earth, it moves so fast that the centrifugal force caused by its motion is equal to the Earth's gravitational pull. (See also the Astronomy Question for week 6: How fast does a rocket have to travel to reach space?) In the absence of disturbing influences the satellite would continue along its trajectory forever.
However, there are small perturbing forces that slow the satellite down and change its orbit. The satellite's trajectory can for instance be influenced by the radiation pressure of sunlight. If a satellite that has a large surface area is struck by a correspondingly large number of photons - the 'light particles' of solar radiation - enough energy is transferred to change the satellite's motion.
Traces of the Earth's atmosphere, which extend for hundreds of kilometres beyond the surface of the Earth, can have particularly strong perturbing effects. Friction with gas molecules of this residual atmosphere slows down every object that orbits the Earth, gradually bringing it down into a lower orbit. The GOCE satellite, scheduled to be launched this year, will be particularly affected by this problem. It will orbit at a relatively small distance of 260 kilometres from the surface of the Earth. For this reason, GOCE has a sleek aerodynamic design and comes equipped with special ion thrusters. These thrusters can accelerate the satellite and bring it back into a higher orbit or keep it in its designated orbit - this is called orbit control.
Satellites use rocket propulsion for attitude and orbit control
In addition to this, satellites also need rocket propulsion systems so that they can be oriented in a certain direction - so for attitude control. This is necessary to ensure that the on-board camera is pointing towards the Earth, or that the solar arrays always face the Sun. For this reason, a satellite is equipped with a large number of small thrusters on its outer surface. These thrusters are fired briefly when required, so that the satellite starts to rotate slowly. As soon as the satellite has reached the desired position, thrusters are activated that fire in the opposite direction in order to stop the rotation. |
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) remains eligible for a sizable federal pension despite his resignation from Congress, according to a tax watchdog group.
Weiner could receive almost $1.3 million in taxpayer funds over his lifetime, depending on his contributions to the voluntary program and when he chooses to draw down his pension benefits, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) reported.
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“Anthony Weiner’s resignation from Congress may have put an end to the ‘distractions’ and ‘embarrassments’ that prevented him from getting back to work, but for American taxpayers, the scandal may have only just begun,” NTU Executive Vice President Pete Sepp said Friday in a statement.Reeling from a virtual-sex scandal and pressured by fellow Democrats to resign, Weiner announced Thursday that he'll do just that. The New York Democrat is in his seventh term representing Brooklyn and Queens, but also worked as a staffer to then-Rep.(D-N.Y.) between 1985 and 1991.Under federal pension rules, Weiner could begin drawing down reduced benefits 10 years from now, when he turns 56. Under that scenario, he could collect up to $32,357 annually, totaling $1.12 million over his lifetime, NTU estimates.If he opts to take the full pension — which kicks in at age 62 — he could receive $46,224 each year, totaling $1.28 million over his lifetime, NTU found.Weiner will not qualify for lifetime healthcare benefits through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan, NTU reported, because lawmakers must currently be receiving a pension to do so.Weiner may continue to receive health benefits through the federal program at his own expense for up to 18 months. |
As Motorsport.com revealed, the F1 Commission unanimously approved changes to the sport's Sporting Regulations that will result in a tweak to the qualifying format from the season opening race in Australia.
It came despite concerns that Ferrari could opt to block the change, amid its scepticism about the benefits of moving away from the previous qualifying format that had proved popular.
With the changes approved, the new rules have now been declared official in changes to Article 33 of F1's Sporting Regulations.
The new rules are:
a) From 14.00 to 14.16 (Q1) all cars will be permitted on the track. Seven minutes after the start of the session the driver last in the classification will be eliminated and will no longer be timed, he must then return to the pit lane and may take no further part in the qualifying practice session.
The same procedure will then apply after 8m30s, 10m0s, 11m30s, 13m0s and 14m30s leaving sixteen cars eligible to continue.
At the end of the session all drivers on the track may complete the lap they are on and, once these final laps have been completed, the driver last in the classification may take no further part in the qualifying practice session. Lap times achieved by the fifteen remaining cars will then be deleted.
b) From 14.24 to 14.39 (Q2) the fifteen remaining cars will be permitted on the track.
Six minutes after the start of the session the driver last in the classification will be eliminated and will no longer be timed, he must then return to the pit lane and may take no further part in the qualifying practice session.
The same procedure will then apply after 7m30s, 9m0s, 10m30s, 12m0s and 13m30s leaving nine cars eligible to continue.
At the end of the session all drivers on the track may complete the lap they are on and, once these final laps have been completed, the driver last in the classification may take no further part in the qualifying practice session. Lap times achieved by the eight remaining cars will then be deleted.
c) From 14.46 to 15.00 (Q3) the eight remaining cars will be permitted on the track. Five minutes after the start of the session the driver last in the classification will be eliminated and will no longer be timed, he must then return to the pit lane and may take no further part in the qualifying practice session.
The same procedure will then apply after 6m30s, 8m0s, 9m30s, 11m0s and 12m30s leaving two cars eligible to continue. At the end of the session any driver on the track may complete the lap he is on and, once any final lap has been completed, the overall classification will be established.
The above procedure is based upon 22 cars being officially eligible to take part in the Event. If 24 cars are eligible eight will be excluded after Q1 and Q2, if 26 cars are eligible nine cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2, and so on if fewer cars are eligible.
If necessary, the intervals between the sessions and eliminations will be adjusted to ensure Q3 remains unchanged. |
Since the Smithsonian American Art Museum acquired the Nam June Paik archive in 2009, the museum's researchers have delighted in cataloging the whimsical and diverse materials accumulated by the playful father of video art: reams of papers plus a cornucopia of objects: TV sets, birdcages, toys and robots.
Two of the more amazing finds—a silent new opera written in computer code from 1967 and a previously unknown Paik TV Clock—will make their first public appearance in "Watch This! Revelations in Media Art," an exhibition that opens on April 24.
Michael Mansfield, curator of film and media arts at the museum, says that former-Smithsonian post-doctoral fellow Gregory Zinman (currently a professor at Georgia Tech), found the truly history-making original computer opera that was created in 1967 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, then the research unit for AT&T’s Bell System in Murray Hill, New Jersey. “Bells went off when Greg saw a sheet of Fortran code and realized it was done at Bell Labs,” Mansfield says. “There were a very limited number of artworks that came out of Bell Labs.”
Titled Etude 1, the unfinished work includes a piece of fax paper with an image on it and an accordion-folded, pencil-annotated printout of Fortran code dated Oct. 24, 1967.
Nam June Paik (1932-2006), the Korean-born composer, performance artist, painter, pianist and writer is the acknowledged grandfather of video art. A seminal figure in the avant-garde in Europe and America in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Paik transformed video into a medium for art—manipulating it, experimenting with it, playing with it—thereby inspiring generations of future video artists. Paik has already been the subject of museum retrospectives at the Whitney (1982), the Guggenheim (2000) and the Smithsonian (2013), but the discovery of his computer opera charts new territory in the intersection of art and technology.
Paik’s intent was clear.
“It is my ambition to compose the first computer-opera in music history,” Paik wrote to the director of arts programming at Rockefeller University, seeking a grant, in the mid-1960s. He even mentions a GE-600, a “mammoth” room-size, new computer, at Bell Labs.
But how did Paik get to Bell Labs, the most top-secret, innovative scientific organization in the world at that time? Bell Labs are not known for art, but for innovations in transistors, lasers, solar cells, digital computers, fiber optics, cellular telephony and countless other fields (its scientists have won seven Nobel Prizes). That is a tale it has taken some time to unravel.
In the 1960s Bell’s senior management briefly opened the labs to a few artists, inviting them to use the computer facilities. Jon Gertner touches on this in his excellent book, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation (Penguin Books, 2012), but he doesn’t focus on the artists, including the 1960s animator Stan VanDerBeek, Jean Tinguely, the musician Leopold Stokowski—and Paik.
“The engineers turned to artists to see if the artists would understand the technology in new ways that the engineers could learn from,” Zinman explains. “To me, that moment, that confluence of art and engineering, was the genesis of the contemporary media-scape.”
Etude 1 is the needle in the haystack of the Smithsonian’s Paik archive, a 2009 donation of seven truck loads of material donated by Ken Hakuta, Paik’s nephew and executor. It includes 55 linear feet of papers, videotapes, television sets, toys, robots, birdcages, musical instruments, sculptures, robots and one opera.
Etude 1 is one of three works that Paik created at Bell Labs and that are held in the museum's collections, Mansfield explains. Digital Experiment at Bell Labs is a short silent film that records what was happening on the screen of the cathode ray tube for four minutes as Paik ran his program through the computer. It is a series of rotating numbers and flashing white dots.
Confused Rain is a tiny snippet of film negative. Looking a bit like concrete poetry, the image is of seemingly random appearances of individual black letters of the word “confuse” falling like drops of rain against a plain white background.
Etude 1 is a piece of Thermo fax paper with an image that looks like a four-leaf clover, with four overlapping circles. Each circle has concentric inner circles composed of individual letters of the alphabet. The circle to the left is formed from the letters of the word “God.” The circle to the right, from the word “Dog.” The circle on top, from “Love,” the circle on the bottom, from “Hate.”
What does all this mean?
“It is completely open to interpretation,” Mansfield says. “I’m fascinated that Paik was using letters from the English alphabet to compose a visual work of art. He was aiming to put some human-ness into the machine. He was focused on the human use of technology. I think it corresponded to his need for a poetic alternative to the language of programming.”
Why “God, Dog, Love, Hate”?
“These are basic words with big concepts,” Mansfield says.
“I think it has to do with opposites, Paik’s play on words,” Zinman adds. “My guess is that he found that amusing. It also could be that short terms could be plotted more easily.”
The same words appear on the printout of Fortran code dated Oct. 24, 1967. An accompanying Bell Labs punch card, which allowed the computer to run the program, carries the name of a Bell Labs programmer, A. Michael Noll, the pioneer in algorithmic art and computer-animated film who monitored Paik’s visits.
As Noll, now professor emeritus of Communications at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, recalls, “I was surprised when printouts with Paik’s name along with mine were discovered in the Smithsonian archive, though Paik’s visit to Bell Labs was the result of my visit, along with Max Mathews of Bell Labs, to Paik’s studio on Canal Street in New York.”
Mathews, who rose to become the head of the Bell Labs acoustic and behavioral research unit, was working on computer-generated music at the time and so knew of Paik, who had moved to New York from Germany in 1964 and was already an emerging performance artist.
“Mathews invited Paik to visit the lab and assigned him to me, but now, almost 50 years later, I do not recall much about what he might have done,” Noll says. “I gave him a short introduction to the Fortran programming language. He most likely then went off on his own, writing some programs to control the microfilm plotter to create images. The challenge back then was that programming required thinking in terms of algorithms and structure. Paik was more used to handwork.” He never saw what Paik did.
Still, Paik must have been excited about the new technology. Although it is not yet known how he physically got from the city to the labs in the New Jersey countryside, he visited every three or four days in the fall of 1967. Then, he started going less frequently.
“He was frustrated because it was just too slow and not intuitive enough,” Zinman says. “Paik moved very fast. He once said his fingers worked faster than any computer. He thought the computer would revolutionize media—and he was right—but he didn’t like it.”
Then he stopped going entirely.
“It put a real financial strain on him,” Mansfield says. “Paik was a working artist, selling works of art to live, and he was also purchasing his own technology. He was becoming distracted by his electronic artworks.”
Nonetheless, Paik’s work at Bell Labs was important.
“His idea was to take things apart,” Zinman says. “He was playful, interested in disrupting patterns. He wanted to rethink how media worked, just as he wanted TV to be a two-way communicative device, going back and forth. He was modeling a way for people to take control of the media, instead of being passive.”
Adds Noll: “Bell Telephone Laboratories was a tremendous place to allow such artists access. I am working on documentation of the battle between Bell Labs management and one individual at AT&T who objected to work in computer art and other areas that this one person deemed ‘ancillary.’ In the end, the most senior management—William O. Baker—decided to ignore AT&T and follow the challenge of A.G. Bell to ‘Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods.’”
Paik has never been more popular. There was recently a show of his work at the James Cohan gallery in New York; he was the subject of an entire booth at the recent Art Fair in New York and also appeared in a stand at the European Fine Art Fair this year in Maastricht, the Netherlands. His works are selling—and for hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece. It seems another generation is rediscovering the father of video art—and embracing him wholeheartedly.
Etude 1 along with the recently recovered TV Clock will debut in the exhibition Watch This! Revelations in Media Art, which opens at the Smithsonian American Art Museum April 24 and runs through September 7, 2015. The show includes works by Cory Arcangel, Hans Breder, Takeshi Murata, Bruce Nauman and Bill Viola, among dozens of others, and will include 16 mm films, computer-driven cinema, closed-circuit installations, digital animation and video games. Learn more about the museum's discovery of the art work on Eye Level, in the article "Computers and Art" by curator Michael Mansfield. |
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Defying threats of violence, tens of thousands of ordinary Syrians went to the polls to cast a vote that was more about Syrian dignity and self-determination than any of the candidates on the ballot. After three years of unimaginable atrocities fomented by a demented and dying U.S. empire, with the assistance of the royalist monarchies of the Middle East and the gangster states of NATO, the Syrian people demonstrated, by their participation, that they had not surrendered their national sovereignty to the geo-strategic interests of the U.S. and its colonial allies in Europe and Israel.
The dominant narrative on Syria, carefully cultivated by Western state propagandists and dutifully disseminated by their auxiliaries in the corporate media, is that the conflict in Syria is a courageous fight on the part of the majority of the Syrian people against the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. As the story goes, the al-Assad “regime,” (it is never referred to as a government), can only maintain its power through the use of force. By attacking “its own citizens,” the regime, representing the minority Alawite community, can only maintain its dominance over the rest of the country through sheer terror.
However, events in Syria, with the election being a dramatic example, continue to reveal fissures in that story.
First, it became clear that substantial numbers of non-Alawite people and communities support the government. And even those elements of Syrian society that were not enthusiastic supporters of the government grew to understand that the legitimate indigenous opposition had been displaced by powerful non-Syrian forces from the U.S. and the Gulf States who provided material, political and diplomatic support to an opposition that not only had tenuous ties to the country but seemed only committed to waging war. This convinced many that the only politically consistent option was to support the government, as an expression of support for Syria’s sovereignty and its’ national project.
As a result, not only did popular support for the government hold over the last three years of carnage, it expanded to include those in the opposition who were against the destruction of the country and the slimy Syrian ex-pats who traveled from one European capital to another begging for the U.S. and NATO to do what it did in Libya – destroy the infrastructure of the country through the use of NATO air power and flood the country with weapons.
But the most graphic undermining of the dominant Western narrative has been the participation of tens of thousands of ordinary Syrians who have braved threats and violence to participate in the election process.
Western corporate news outlets, especially in the U.S., were unable to explain the huge turnout of Syrian refugees voting in Lebanon preceding the election on Tuesday, so they just decided not to cover it. Images of Syrians displaced by war yet backing al Assad for president did not support the carefully crafted story that the only people fleeting war were those who had been terrorized to do so by the government.
Instead, the U.S. press raised the question of the “legitimacy” of elections taking place in a country involved in a “civil war,” a position consistent with their narrative of the war being one between the Syrian people and the government as opposed to what it has turned out to be – a war largely being fought by foreign forces, with the indigenous opposition forces allied with the feckless Syrian National Coalition; isolated, out-gunned and militarily irrelevant.
And while the U.S. press uncritically propagated the position of the U.S. state, which wrote off the election as illegitimate and a farce, the media seemed not to notice the contradictory position of the U.S. writing off the election in Syria because of conflict but giving enthusiastic support to the election in Ukraine in the midst of a conflict and contested legitimacy. The Western media could explore a few obvious questions if it was really independent, such as: what makes the election in Ukraine legitimate when half of the country boycotts the vote and the national army violently attacks its own citizens in Eastern Ukraine who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the coup-makers in Kiev?
Other questions might be: if they deem it appropriate to support an election in Ukraine, why would the Obama Administration violently oppose elections in Syria, especially if, as it claims, the majority of the people oppose the current government? Wouldn’t the illegitimacy of the government in Syria be confirmed by the low turnout, even in areas where there was a modicum of security? If Syrian authorities organized opportunities for displaced Syrians in various countries around the world to vote and very few participated, wouldn’t that verify the Administration’s position that the al Assad government lacks popular support?
Yet in various European capitals and other countries like Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt, efforts were made to block the opportunity for displaced Syrians to vote in their election – why? Were the authorities afraid that the narrative of non-support for al Assad might be challenged if there was a proliferation of images like the ones that came out of Lebanon showing thousands of Syrians marching to the polls holding signs of Bashar al Assad?
It will be interesting to see how the authorities and their spokespeople in the corporate media spin the voting process in Syria.
The U.S. position is a position of continued war in Syria
Secretary of State John Kerry declared that Syria’s presidential election was a “farce,” and that the U.S. and its partners are prepared to quickly redouble efforts to support opposition forces in the county. The meaning of this position is that it does not matter what kind of public display of support is given to al Assad or anyone who might emerge as the head of state in Syria, the U.S. objective is more death, more war and more chaos.
This is the essence of the “new” global strategy unveiled by President Obama during his foreign policy speech at West Point last week. The U.S. declaration that it will “change the dynamics on the ground in Syria” came out of a meeting of the so-called “Friends of Syria,” a motley collection of 11 Western colonial nations and their Arab creations. The Obama Administration intends to work though these kinds of regional formations and alliances to advance its strategic objectives with as minimal a cost to the U.S. as possible. Of course, the interests and desires of the states or peoples involved are of secondary concern. The desire on the part of the majority of the people to end the conflict in Syria is not even considered. As part of the effort to secure public support in the U.S. for destabilizing and then attacking Syria it was posited that by deposing the al Assad government a real democracy can be introduced. That is why policymakers pretended to back so-called moderate elements that support democracy. But over the last year or so, even that proposal has been eliminated. Democracy in Syria is as much a threat to U.S. imperialist interests as it is in Ukraine – and increasingly even in the U.S.
Policymakers in Washington and London have already made the shift to supporting what are being called “moderate” Islamists forces grouped around the Islamic Front (IF) with al Nusrah, al Qaeda’s official Syrian affiliate, operating in the background. The problem for the Syrian people is that these moderates the west is supporting are Salafi-Wahhabi fundamentalists who reject representative democracy and support the imposition of sharia law in Syria. So while the U.S. and their allies characterize the election in Syria a farce, their solution is to back forces who would eliminate even the pretext of democratic participation. This is the progress that is being imposed on the secular, pluralist society of Syria by the Western “liberators.”
It is not about al Assad, it is about the people of Syria and imperialism:
Questions of democratic legitimacy have never determined U.S. relationships with any state where the U.S. had strategic and economic interests. If a commitment to democracy and democratic governance was the determining factor for U.S. support, the Obama Administration would not be in alliance with the dictatorship of the royalists in the Gulf states, it would have condemned the coups in Honduras and Egypt, not given diplomatic or economic support to the coup in Ukraine, and would not be supporting right-wing elements in Venezuela attempting to destabilize the democratically-elected government in that country.
There was a time when this position would have been clear to the peace and anti-war, anti-imperialist progressive and left movements in the U.S. and the West. But over the last two decades, with the ideological infiltration of the left by liberalism, social democracy and the rightist tendencies of “anti-authoritarian” anarchism, the resulting political confusion has seen a consistent alignment of the left with the imperial project of the U.S. – from the attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through to attacks on nationalist projects throughout the global South, from Libya to Syria. Since the last gasp of anti-imperialism solidarity represented by the massive marches in opposition to the illegal attack on Iraq in 2003, the peace, anti-war and anti-imperialist movements have been in relative disarray.
This disarray and ineffectiveness is taking place right at the historical moment when in order to maintain its global hegemony, the colonial/capitalist West has decided to revert to what it does best – spread death and destruction. For those of us who understand our responsibility situated, as we are, at the center of this monstrosity called the U.S., we have to strip away the veneer of humanitarianism that hides the ugly inner logic of domination and we have to “struggle” – a term now passé for the hip post-modern nihilist left.
When a people, like the people of Syria, demonstrate their commitment to the integrity of their own national experience in opposition to the efforts of the imperialist states that we reside in, the only principled position we can take is to stand in solidarity with those people, no matter how we see the internal contradictions of that nation/state. The people of Syria have said no to foreign intervention. Those of us in the imperialist West, can we do anything less?
Ajamu Baraka is a human rights activist, organizer and geo-political analyst. Baraka is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, D.C. His latest publications include contributions to two recently published books “Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA” and “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral.” He can be reached at [email protected] and www.AjamuBaraka.com |
The past couple weeks I’ve been studying one of the most explosive fencers in men’s epee history. Ruben Limardo from Venezuela. Ruben Limardo is currently ranked #1 in the World. He is a Junior World Champion, a Senior World Championships silver medalist and the 2012 London Olympic Gold Medalist.
The video above is a technical analysis and breakdown of Limardo’s favourite attack. The video explains how it works, why it’s successful, and how to defend against it.
If you have any comments, questions, or requests, please feel free to let me know. I will take any criticism as nobody has ever done a video like this.
There is only 20 more days until I compete in two World Cups, one in Heidenheim, Germany and the other in Tallinn, Estonia! I’m training hard and I can’t wait to perform.
/leland
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THE price tag for the upcoming East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) is set to balloon significantly as the current estimate of RM55 billion has yet to factor in some requisite expenses, sources say.
Among others, the additional costs will be for the double-tracking of the 688km line from Port Klang in Selangor to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan, near the border with Thailand. The current figure does not include land acquisition costs for the railway line, people familiar with the matter say.
The revised figure could fall anywhere between RM60 billion and RM70 billion, it is learnt. More details are expected to be released to the public by year-end.
According to the Executive Summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the ECRL project, the line is described as “an electrified single track railway line built on a double track formation”.
The description implies that plans at the moment only account for a single-track railway line despite a railway base that will be designed for a double-track line.
The summary also says that the rail alignment will require the acquisition of 6,301.99ha of land, of which 46% (3,390ha) are privately owned and spread across 8,699 lots.
The acquisitions will be handled by the respective Department Of Director General Of Lands And Mines in each state.
The EIA report’s executive summary is available on the website of Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), a special-purpose vehicle of the Minister of Finance Inc created to manage the ECRL project.
Touted as a game changer for Malaysia, particularly for the east coast of the peninsula, the ECRL is expected to reduce travel time from the Integrated Transport Terminal in Gombak, Selangor to Wakaf Baru, Kelantan to under four hours, compared with between 8 and 12 hours at present.
The alignment will connect Selangor across the Titiwangsa Mountains all the way to Kuantan Port City in Pahang, before going northward along the eastern coast up to the Thai border, crossing Terengganu and Kelantan.
Under the first phase connecting Gombak to Wakaf Bharu, there will be a total of 23 stations, according to MRL. A second phase will connect Gombak to Port Klang and Wakaf Bharu to Pengkalan Kubor.
During the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kota SAS station in August, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak set a deadline of July 2024 for the entire railway line to be operational.
He said that 30% of the project will see the involvement of Malaysian contractors, although rail players The Edge spoke to are cautious about the scope of the local contractors’ involvement as details remain scarce.
It is unclear whether the July 2024 deadline has already factored in the double-tracking of the entire line.
“The viability of the ECRL is undisputed as it is estimated that 5.4 million passengers and 53 million tonnes of cargo will use the service annually by year 2030 as the primary transport between the east coast and west coast.
“The revenue from the operation of the ECRL is projected to be obtained through a transport ratio of 30% passengers and 70% freight,” the prime minister reportedly said.
About 16.5% of the entire line will be elevated and involve a total of 80 bridges, some of which will be over 300m long.
There will also be 19 tunnels totalling 48.5km, the longest being a 17.8km tunnel through the Titiwangsa Mountains. Other tunnels will range from 0.65km to 4.96km in length.
According to MRL’s promotional material, each passenger train will be able to carry up to 600 people across eight coaches, while each freight train will comprise 45 wagons and a locomotive that will be able to transport 3,500 tonnes at a time.
It also said the alignment, which features a wider track of 1.435m in width, is geometrically able to take a train speed of up to 200kph.
It is noteworthy that the promotional video posted online in March features an illustration of a double-track line, although MRL has stated that the visuals are artists’ impressions only and subject to change.
The state-owned China Communications Construction Co Ltd is undertaking the construction of what will be Malaysia’s longest railway line yet.
Some 85% of the current estimated cost of RM55 billion will be funded by Chinese entities, including a soft loan from the Export-Import Bank of China at an interest rate of 3.25% and with a seven-year moratorium on payment.
The remaining 15% will be funded via a sukuk programme managed by local banks, including Malayan Banking Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and CIMB Bank Bhd. At the time of writing, it is unclear how additional funding, after the cost estimates are revised, will be arranged.
While others, such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd, had operated with a single-track railway before, it carries safety and operational risks as trains going in both directions share the same track.
In addition, a single track requires trains to give way and allow another train going in the opposite direction to pass, which could cause delays if unexpected incidents arise. In other words, it is critical to manage operations closely to prevent accidents.
In contrast, double-track lines are costlier but more efficient as there is a dedicated track for each direction.
A stark incident that illustrates the risk surrounding single-track operations is the head-on collision of two high-speed trains in Wenzhou, China in July 2011.
Some 40 lives were lost and another 192 people injured as each train caused the derailment of the other due to design flaws and poor management, according to the Chinese government. |
Becoming a Foster
If you are interested in opening your home and providing socialization and love to a shelter animal, fostering might be for you! Time commitments range from just a weekend, to a few weeks and possibly even several months, depending on your availability and interests. To view upcoming foster orientation dates, visit the Austin Animal Center calendar of programs and events.
Apply
Complete the Foster Application. These take about a week to process and you will receive confirmation once you are approved.
Types of Animals Needing Foster
Adult dogs and cats needing a break from the shelter. This can be anywhere from a couple of days to several months, depending on the type of pet and its particular needs.
Dogs and cats with special behavioral needs. Some of our animals lack socialization and training, and time spent in a foster home (one week to one month, or longer) working on obedience and basic skills can be lifesaving!
Neonatal kittens! They need bottle feeding every two to six hours, depending on their age.
Animals who are recovering from an illness, injury or surgery. If you don’t have any other pets, or, have a large, quiet area of your home, separate from other pets, we need you most of all for these types of animals! Having a quiet place to rest and recover makes a huge difference.
Requirements
Follow all policies and procedures as outlined in the Foster Care Manual.
Access e-mail regularly and provide transportation to and from AAC.
Provide some food and supplies for foster pets.
Have up-to-date rabies vaccinations for all animals living in your home.
Foster Manual
If you are an existing foster parent or want to learn more about the foster program, you can view and print the complete Foster Care Manual. |
Conservative radio host and NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch has announced that threats against her and her family’s personal safety have gotten so bad that they’re being forced to move to a new house. Loesch took to Twitter to describe the horrific threats of rape and murder she has received simply for being a proud supporter of the Second Amendment:
#MeToo.
Spent my weekend preparing to move due to repeated threats from gun control advocates. 1 pic.twitter.com/cQoZzOYXPt — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
2 One guy hunted down my private cell phone number, called when police were here, threatened to shoot me in my front yard. #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
3 Another guy created a string of social media accounts, posted photos of my house, threatened to rape me to death. #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
4 Another gun control advocate, after threatening to hunt me down and assault me, dragged my kids into it. #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
5 I’m grateful that my kids’ school worked with law enforcement and private security to ensure campus safety, and work with me. #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
She goes on to note the hypocrisy of the Left’s mistreatment of conservative women while espousing feminist values for progressive ladies:
6 I’ve only ever discussed these issues kinda vaguely. More I can’t discuss. I and other 2A women are sexually threatened regularly #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
7 I’m not sad, just determined. Maybe someday ppl will drop the ideological boundaries and not cherry-pick concern. Maybe someday. #MeToo — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
8 When you think of it, it’s amazing/sad to see the treatment of women on social media who do not identify as progressive. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
9 I see conservative women regularly abused on social media by some of the same people slamming Weinstein. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
10 The culture is only non-conservative women deserve respect. It’s idiotic, demonstrated daily, and deserving of more than 140 chars. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
11 If “inequality” was truly a concern for modern feminists, they’d defend, not shame, women for making choices antithetical 2 progressivism — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
12 But they sold out by tying their cause to party & don’t defend conserv women as strategy. Some sexism is ok if it silences conservatives — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
13 Feminism should’ve defended women, regardless of party. Let ideas battle it out in the public sphere, but everyone speaks. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
14 Anyway, this is why I get heated about this. Have experienced first hand and witnessed other women endure the same. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
And like clockwork, Loesch’s point was proven by the same people that lecture us all on victim-shaming:
Guns are NEVER the right answer — pamela d (@pampaml) October 16, 2017
Tell us where that community is and all sane people will avoid it — diane raucher (@dianeraucher) October 16, 2017
Yet you promote violence. — BialyAndBloom (@lisarpepper) October 16, 2017
Loesch tagged each of her messages with "Me Too," which is the latest feminist catchphrase that is solely limited to women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted and progressives don't like it being appropriated for guns:
Thanks for proving my point that conservative women’s stories don’t matter. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
You are purposely dividing women who for this moment should be together in solidarity. I am a lady who owns guns, believes in gun control, also believes it has no place in this conversation. Stop stealing such an important and vulnerable issue to pursue your own agenda. — Jax(@Diamond_Jax) October 16, 2017
Others felt it strange that Loesch is posting about her personal life on a public forum if she feels in danger and think, perhaps, she’s making the whole thing up:
I don’t believe that Dana Loesch story for one second. If you have threats against you you’re taking to the police you don’t post about it — Creppy Li'l(@karengeier) October 16, 2017
Dana don't post pictures of your family like this if you're concerned for their safety https://t.co/lyXRhT73Ia — K. Thor Jensen (@kthorjensen) October 16, 2017
Since the mainstream media never reports threats against conservatives, you can understand why Loesch is unbelieved. But as TruthRevolt reported last week, writer Warner Todd Huston’s house has been egged, his military flag desecrated, and his car torched in a series of targeted attacks. Loesch responded to him on Twitter:
Oh my gosh, Warner. This is awful and makes me sick. Praying for your safety. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017
At least there were some on Twitter who found the threats reprehensible even if they disagree politically, including Alyssa Milano:
Thank you for pointing out that sexual assault survivors come from all walks of life. — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 16, 2017
This should happen to no one, and our differences do not matter when this kind of violence becomes a reality. — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 16, 2017
Appreciate that. I want it for no one. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) October 16, 2017 |
For brand new startup founders and small business owners the whole terminology around different types of designers may get confusing. UI, UX, product, interface, interaction, motion, graphic, print, front-end designers, and we could keep listing the different types.
As someone who never went to a design college (I’m self-taught) it has been almost hard to find my place within the different definitions of design. I did my share of research about it and got even more confused. In this post, I’ll present 5 different types of designers which in my opinion cover all you’ll typically encounter in a startup or a small business.
One more thing: Many of the designers jobs overlap depending on each person’s interests and training. Don’t discard someone simply because their title on the CV doesn’t say specifically what you want.
Here we go.
User Experience (UX) Designer
UX designer makes sure your product actually solves a problem and that it’s easy to use. The work of UX designers is more strategic compared to UI designers who are more hands-on in their approach.
A UX designer doesn’t necessary posses the skills to make your interface pretty. Their job is not to apply nice drop shadows or find a good colour scale.
UX designer’s tasks include usability testing, creating user flows, validating business ideas, creating prototypes, and so on. Here’s a handy guide to what UX designers do.
The term is sometimes used interchangeable with information architect, experience architect, usability expert, UX researcher, usability analyst, product designer, or product manager.
In tiny businesses, the founders often take charge of this important job. If you’re one of them, read this guide on user testing.
User Interface (UI) Designer
User interface: the means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software.
UI designers these days almost exclusively design graphical user interfaces (GUIs). If you need to design a non-graphical interface (for example voice-controlled), then UI designer isn’t the right call.
UI designers’ job is to create pretty and usable interface. They work closely with the UX designers and build on top of their deliverables. They’ll dive deeper on how an interface behaves on a micro-level; they’ll pay attention to how the interface is laid out, create feedback animations (e.g. loading screens), making things look “clickable”, and keeping the styles consistent.
Here’s a post on crucial guidelines for designing great UIs with real-life examples.
Other terms: product designer, interaction designer, creative architecht, web designer (website is a UI), mobile designer. The jobs of UX and UI designers overlap a lot and are sometimes combined in the same person.
Front-End Designer
Front-end designer is a variation of UI designer who can also code. In some regards, front-end designers can produce better and more streamlined deliverables because they understand the process better.
For cash-strapped startups, hiring a single designer to cover both UI design and front-end development is a very good idea. Finding such a unicorn designer however is another topic completely.
Front-end designers typically produce the static UI mockups and then transform them into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. They need to then work with back-end developers to implement their ideas.
This title differs from front-end developers who will take the finished designs and write the code.
Other terms: web designer
Graphic Designer
If the previous jobs were about user experience, graphic designer isn’t concerned so much with that. Their job is to create consistent branding, making everything look perfect, and obsessing over fonts. They pay close attention to the smallest, pixel-level details that most people tend to overlook.
Their deliverables include branding guidelines, logos, brochures, blog graphics, sometimes even custom typefaces. In my experience, graphic designers are more familiar with print and its specifics and not so much focused on designing for screens.
Other terms: visual designer, brand designer, print designer, typographer (when focused on fonts), art director (typically in agencies).
Industrial Designer
If you are developing a physical product, you’ll need someone who specialises in the area of industry design. Even more so that in the more virtual types of design, you’ll want to hire someone with a lot of experience. Once that product mould is signed off, there are no more tweaks and A/B testing to be done: this is it. So be careful with picking the right industrial designer.
Industrial designer’s job description will include sketching, 3D modeling, prototyping, work with 3D printer, and communication with manufacturer.
Once again this job is so closely connected with the product development the founders need to follow the process closely.
Other terms: 3D product designer, CAD sculptor, CAD designer, physical product designer, furniture / automotive / … designer
Here are the types of designers your startup will need at some point. In the initial stages, the task of developing a product should be covered by the founders or the person behind an idea — don’t expect an employee to do the work for you. |
Planned Parenthood supporters dressed as characters from Handmaid’s Tale on Capitol Hill in June. (Reuters photo: Joshua Roberts)
Opposition to a 20-week abortion ban is rooted in the denial of recent medical advances.
For years, liberals have tarred those who question climate-change research as “deniers” of scientific facts. The label was meant to equate disagreeing with computer models that predict a rise in temperatures with denying the Holocaust. It’s a clever tactic but also a double-edged sword, since the Left’s faith in science is highly selective. When it comes to late-term abortions, liberals are the real science deniers.
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The Left’s hypocrisy is on display again this week, as the House has voted once again to pass a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of gestation. Liberals are asserting that the bill is unconstitutional because the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions guaranteed the right to abortion until the fetus became viable on its own — a development that Roe placed at 24–28 weeks and its successor said could occur as early as 23 weeks owing to “advances in neonatal care.” Liberals also assert that a prenatal infant of that age cannot survive or feel pain, and further claim that late-term-abortion bans are not attempts to save lives, but rather thinly disguised efforts to interfere with the right of mothers to choose the procedure and the thin edge of the wedge toward total abortion bans.
That’s the position championed by Planned Parenthood, which continues to throw money at Democratic candidates at a rate that makes the National Rifle Association’s contributions to Republicans look like chump change. The problem is that the position is rooted in a refusal to acknowledge medical advances that have occurred since Roe and its follow-up.
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A fetus was an abstract concept in 1973, when Roe was decided. There were no sonograms portraying babies in utero at various stages of development. Nor had medicine advanced to the point where extremely premature babies had a chance of survival. But as with virtually every other aspect of medicine, technology and decades of research have changed our understanding of the subject.
More than two years ago, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that studies had proven that infants at 22 and 23 weeks of gestation have a decent chance of survival outside the womb if given adequate treatment. This was reported on the front page of the New York Times, and subsequent research will likely further lower the age of viability. But opponents of late-term abortion bans have stubbornly ignored these developments.
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Given the incontrovertible fact that babies who are still being legally aborted could live outside of the womb, the moral rationale for opposing late-term-abortion bans has disappeared. Nor is it reasonable to assert, as opponents of the ban continue to do, that a viable infant at that age would be incapable of feeling pain.
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In order to justify opposition to the 20-week ban, Democrats must not merely ignore the moral and religious arguments that motivate pro-life advocates. They must now also pretend that the revolution in neonatal care that has occurred since Roe never happened. More to the point, Democrats who have treated opposition to any limits on abortion as a litmus test of support for the rights of women must come to terms with the fact that their extremism on the issue has led them to defend not so much a right to “choose” as a procedure indistinguishable from infanticide.
Opponents of the ban are right about one point: Many in the pro-life movement hope prohibitions such as this one will be the first steps toward reversing Roe and ending legal abortion. In this sense, Planned Parenthood’s position on late-term abortions is similar to the NRA’s opposition to even the most anodyne and meaningless gun-control measures. Just as the NRA sees any limits on gun rights as a move toward repealing the Second Amendment, Planned Parenthood worries that common-sense limits on abortion supported by most Americans will lead to reversal of Roe.
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But one doesn’t have to oppose abortion in the early stages of pregnancy, as pro-lifers do, to understand that the discussion on late-term procedures must be informed by science. The moral and political landscape of the abortion debate has been altered by the medical advances of the last half-century. To deny that this is so requires a determination to ignore science that far exceeds even the positions of the most extreme global-warming skeptics.
Moreover, given that the current bill includes the usual exceptions for protecting the life of the mother as well as victims of rape or incest, the notion that the measure is an instrument of oppression of women is absurd.
When it comes to late-term abortions, science has forever altered the debate.
It is likely that pro-lifers are being wildly optimistic if they think the House’s 20-week ban — which, like previous attempts, will probably fall victim to a Democratic filibuster in the Senate — will ever lead to a general ban on all abortion, since polls continue to show that support for early-term abortions is still strong. A total ban on abortion is no more likely than the repeal of the Second Amendment.
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Yet when it comes to late-term abortions, science has forever altered the debate. So long as Planned Parenthood has the political muscle to force Democrats to back its position, the organization will continue to have to pretend that medicine hasn’t made any progress since 1973. That may please liberal donors. But it also means that on abortion, the deniers of science are on the left, not the right.
READ MORE:
An Advance on Abortion
Hillary Clinton Should Name the Hypothetical Abortion Restrictions She Supports
A New Era for Abortion Law |
Living in the USA is killing people, quite early. Prodigious wealth and scientific achievement isn’t keeping Americans around very long. Quite the opposite. Longevity rankings tabulated by the United Nations show the North American behemoth wheezing behind in 36th place, with a croak-time of 78.3 years, dying nearly four years earlier than the durable Japanese (82.6). Cubans live as long as Americans; Chileans and Costa Ricans live longer; so do workaholic South Koreans (2,357 person-hours) and hard-drinking Finland, where alcoholism is the #1 cause of death.
Why can’t Americans live longer? Or, are statistics misleading? Are people in specific states expiring far earlier or later? Yes. Hawaiians - basking in a lovely clime set at a comfortable room temperature - live 81.48 years; worldwide that would give them 6th place, behind Japan, Hong Kong, the high-altitude Swiss, the resilient Israelis, and the thermal-heated Icelanders.
Mississippians, though, live only 74.1 years, a digit that would tie them with Syria, in 69th place.
Mississippi does earn a gargantuan #1 rating in one category, though. The delta region is packed with pudgy people - a May 2011 NPR report observes that 68.8% of its adults and 44% of its children are either obese or overweight. For six consecutive years Mississippi has been ranked the fattest state; this implies it’s the fattest place in the world, because corpulent America reigns as the Heavyweight Champion of the world, with 30% of its citizenry obese. Tamale-lard Mexico is a distant #2 with 24.2% gordos; #3 is Beefeater United Kingdom.
Skinniest people? Or, more precisely, the least obese of the thirty-three OECD nations? Japan. Again. Only 3.2% of the population is obese, sumo wrestlers included. South Korea ties Japan, with the hike-crazy Swiss yodeling in 3rd place with 7.7% obesity. Strong correlation here, huh? Fat=Death? Not quite that simple…
The two Columbia researchers (see above) claim that the “prime culprit” in the USA’s low longevity ranking is not obesity; its the “deteriorating health care system… marred by ever-increasing costs.” (over $9,000 per person annually) Additional factors to blame, they suggest, are obesity, smoking, homicides, and traffic fatalities.
Huh? Two of the death-dealers surprise me. We all know America is fatter and more murderous than other developed nations, but I didn’t know it was also a leader in car crashes and cigarettes…
A World Health Organization (WHO) report (updated 2007) notes that smoking every cigarette eliminates five minutes off the smoker’s life, due to the 4,000 toxic or carcinogenic chemicals. Smoking kills more than 20% of Americans, this is double the international average…
Car crashes? Fasten your seat belts. The USA slams in with more than 6 million car accidents per year, accounting for 33,808 fatalities in 2009. The American ratio of deadly auto accidents is 12.3 per 100,000 people, this more than quadruples Sweden (2.9) and triples the UK (3.59) and The Netherlands (4.1).
The United States rates 19th in longevity among OECD nations, but if you remove accidents as a category it leaps up to 1st place! Driving safety is not a USA strength; the chances of being road-killed here are the same as in Jamaica, but far less than the world leader: Eritrea, 48.4 fatal accidents per 100,000.
Any happy news for USA residents? Yes. A Forbes article (11/23/11) entitled “The Myth of America’s Poor Life Expectancy”, points out that hospitalized USA citizens often have superior odds. For example, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer in the USA is 83.9%; in #3-ranked Switzerland, it’s merely 76%. Prostate survival rate in the USA is 91.9%; in Japan it’s only a sputtering 50.4%.
Techno-progressives are also, of course, highly unsatisfied with USA medical care, especially the slow pace of permissible innovation. A recent IEET article entitled, “Researchers, Ahoy! Should Futurist Science Move Offshore?’” (by Nikki Olson) forecasts the building of “floating hospitals” in international waters, where research and development won’t be strangled by government red-tape, regulations, and the tortoise-pace of FDA approval.
A new USA organization impatient with medical progress is The Cure Is Now, a non-profit with the ambitious, techno-progressive goal of “eliminating acquired, congenital, and developmental diseases… (using) a convergence of emerging technologies… The objective is to eradicate disease as a major health problem by managing programs designed to further scientific achievement.”
I email-interviewed AnnMarie Santiago, the founder and Executive Director of The Cure Is Now - our dialogue is below:
Hank Pellissier: What motivated you to start The Cure Is Now?
AnnMarie Santiago: The Cure is Now began several years ago… When close friends and family members of mine passed away, I vowed that I would do something to help others facing the death of loved ones. During these trying times, I would ask myself, ‘why is it that technology develops and evolves faster and faster, yet the medicine and medical treatments my friends and family received was relatively antiquated?’ I began talking to friends about my observations and I noticed that people were inspired by the promise of science and technology and the chance to keep friends and loved ones alive and healthy longer. I enrolled friends who also lost loved ones to disease or accidents to join the board of directors, I invested my own money and recruited lawyers, accountants and many helpful volunteers. We received 501©3 status, the ability to fundraise in nearly every state and now things are really beginning to snowball. We have doctors, researchers and inventors from Harvard University, MIT, Columbia University and other institutions on our five advisory boards.
HP: How will The Cure Is Now remedy problems with USA medical care?
AMS: We would like to help lay the groundwork for “Healthcare 2.0” and the evolution of personalized medicine. The Cure is Now will focus on research on the cutting edge that has gone undetected, is underfunded and has a good chance of leading to direct medical application. By fostering an environment of well-funded, well-managed and well-executed research - projects that develop combinations of never-before-seen medical breakthroughs can become the new standard in medicine. We will also work with people interested in making it easier for scientists to invent medical breakthroughs and we will work with a variety of advisors on how to accelerate laws and policies here in the United States that support medical breakthroughs.
Every conceivable new technology that could in some way advance the edge of medicine is being considered and ways to create synergies between these emerging/advanced technologies are being sought.
HP: What are you goals in the next 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?
AMS: In one year, we will begin funding individual research groups. In two to five years we will construct and staff small, efficient research labs in New York City, Cambridge MA, Silicon Valley as well as international research cells… New York is a cultural and financial hub and will soon be a biotech hub. The Boston/Cambridge area is a cradle of scientific innovation and we have identified key leaders in that area who will be a great resource for us. We believe that advances in computer technology will emerge in or close to Silicon Valley. We are additionally focused on international locations because of the research opportunities available there.
In five to ten years, we will fund, construct and staff a world-class research facility that forges collaboration and synergy between emerging science and advanced technology research groups.
HP: Can you provide me with some innovative ideas about what your organization is intending to do?
AMS: The Cure is Now IS innovation. In fact, our three core values are innovation, synergy and discovery. My team and I have determined that scientific innovation can be broken down into four categories: Curiosity driven research, applied research that leads to direct medical discoveries, synergistic research and not-yet-known types of research. The Cure is Now will fund these four types of innovative research.
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To conclude, it seems to me the best way to live lengthily in the USA is to:
1. Maintain a Pedestrian Lifestyle…
2. In Hawaii…
3. Where the Health Care System covers 92% of inhabitants…
4. Utilize cutting-edge cures via The Cure is Now and Buoyant Clinics Offshore…
5. and… Keep Your Weight Down…
Don’t be gluttonous with the poi, coconut, and spam or you’ll end up buried early, like that roasted pig in the pit. |
ExWHUEmployee: Exclusive Transfer, Youth and Events Updates Author: ExWHUEmployee . Published: 12 December 2016 at 9:42pm
That’s more like it! A much better performance at Anfield and whilst we were under pressure for parts of the game we showed spirt, grit and determination. This is something that we have lacked in many games this season and it appears Bilic’s training ground disclosure about certain players not applying themselves worked with there being a number of notable absences from the bench for Liverpool. These players were not injured they were deliberately not selected.
I thought Payet showed fight, something that some have accused him of not doing and once again Reid was superb. Mark Noble continues to come under some stick and he is now needing to raise his game with many players looking to come back into the starting eleven. I really like Noble and wouldn’t drop him yet but in certain games you may need more intensity to your midfield.
We have drawn up a list of target players of which nearly all come from the domestic leagues. This is something that I have covered in many of my columns and radio shows. We are targeting the big clubs especially Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United and we want proven domestic players which is reassuring compared to our summer signings. The main targets I have all mentioned in previous columns so the names will not surprise anyone. We will focus our attentions on a forward possibly two and a right back. We will also look to cover some of the players who are going to the African nations. These are likely to be Ayew, Sakho, Feghouli and Kouyate.
The Zaza deal is taking time to negotiate and we have a couple of plans. One is to try to renegotiate the deal to take out the permanent signing clause, to organise for a buyer to take over the loan (with some interested from Spain and Italy) or to just not play him and take the loss of the loan fee but of course this is the least preferred option. A number of players could leave the club. Tore was expected to leave but his current complex injury problems mean this is now tricky. Arbeloa has proven to be a disappointment since his arrival and despite Bilic and him attempting to have a closer working relationship it wouldn’t surprise me if he left. Feghouli could also be allowed to leave on loan too. Calleri is currently injured and back in South America it is also unlikely that he will stay in January which will bring an end to quite a disappointing gamble. We only spent £1m on loan fees for him though so not too much is lost.
It was great to see a number of youngsters make the bench including Alex Pike who I was lucky enough to interview a few years back and is someone who I also played for the same youth side as (although he is much younger than me) so it wasn’t together. We have many talented youngsters coming through. Reece Oxford is the highest profile and I know I have said many times he should sign his contract soon. He turns 18 this Friday and an announcement cannot be far off. He has now returned to training following his injury. Martinez is another who has returned from injury and scored another goal for the development squad today. He surely cannot be overlooked for much longer and Quina, another talented player, got a goal too. The future is very bright.
I was devastated to hear the news that Peter Brabrook had sadley passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was a much loved person around the club and is credited with the development of many of our top youngsters such as Frank Lampard Jnr, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Bertie Brayley from the same youth team as Carrick and Cole and he often told me how close he and Peter still were and what he meant to him and I know this is the case with many other West Ham associated people. He was also meant to be a brilliant winger in his playing days and played alongside Bobby Moore. He continued to work for the club until the discovery of his condition and should be remembered as a key part of our history.
Our West Ham Way Pre Match event was a huge success before the Arsenal game. We had over 300 people in attendance and have received nothing but positive praise. Myself, Dave from SD&CC and Mark Ward have been delighted with the response but all being perfectionists we are determined to make each event better and better. For the price of £25 you get free unlimited beer (Carlsberg and Carling) and bitter (Toby and Tetley), we show West Ham DVDs, play West Ham related music, we have great raffles with prizes such as books, posters, club shop gifts available, the hammerettes in attendance and free coach travel to the London Stadium. The coaches drop you as close as possible to the ground and it is a short walking distance. Even if you do not have tickets for the game you can still watch it in the East London Working Man’s club with fellow fans. Of course the most important part of the event is the Q and A session that is hosted by ex “Boys of 86” player Mark Ward. Mark is very charismatic and brings scouse cheek to the event and this Hull City match event will see Stuart Slater as the guest. Stuart Slater was my first ever favourite player and was electric when he broke through into the side before moving onto Celtic. We look forward to seeing many of you there! You can purchase tickets here: bit.ly/TWHWTICKET2 |
Let’s say you’re a talk-show host and you get the one guy who precisely predicted the financial collapse a year before it happened. You want to talk to him about the health-care reform debate and the financial implications of the current legislation. Note also that the guest has been openly considering a run against an incumbent Senator. As an interviewer, what strategy would you choose?A. Ask him to detail in depth how he predicted the financial collapse and to provide parallels to what he sees in the health-care debateB. Acknowledge his success in predicted the 2008 collapse, but focus instead on the financial implications of health-care reform as a separate topicC. Research the topic thoroughly and debate him point-for-point on substantive matters within the billD. Talk over him, don’t allow him to answer anything completely, offer juvenile demands to force the guest to give complicated answers in “30 seconds”, and berate him when he attempts to explain why that’s the entire problem with the health-care debateMost interviewers will choose either A, B, or C, and all three are legitimate ways to interview an expert guest. If you want D, you usually have to tune in to MS-NBC, where Lawrence O’Donnell filled in for Ed Schultz on The Ed Show and channeled his inner Wally George. O’Donnell interviewed Peter Schiff, the man who tried to warn everyone that the housing bubble would burst and create a catastrophe, only in the sense that Schiff was allowed to remain on camera during an almost-uninterrupted diatribe by O’Donnell.Why did O’Donnell act like a middle-school bully instead of a news interviewer? Apart from the fact that O’Donnell is a middle-school bully on air, Schiff wants to run against Chris Dodd for his Senate seat, and Schiff opposes ObamaCare. Instead of allowing Schiff to actually explain why, O’Donnell simply shouts over him and issues ridiculous time demands, and does just about everything short of sticking his fingers in his ears and yelling “NA-NA-NA-I-CAN’T-HEAR-YOU” when Schiff tries to explain his positions.You know, if MS-NBC was an actual news organization, someone there would be embarrassed. |
It’s that time of the year again! With Halloween behind us, the countdown for Christmas has begun. Christmas brings with it many familiar traditions of the season and we cannot comprehend Christmas without some of them, such as the quintessential Christmas Trees. Revered as God’s tree, the Christmas Tree is considered as Christ’s blessing to mankind.
For most people, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree kept alive as long as possible; is the centerpiece of the Christmas holidays, and it isn’t Christmas without it. While some haul in the box from the basement containing artificial Christmas trees; for others, it means following the century-old tradition of finding the perfect Pine, Fir, Spruce, Cedar, Juniper or other Christmas trees.
But who said a Christmas tree has to be Pine? Why not unusual Christmas trees made of Gold or Diamonds or bulbs or books or something else? This is the new verdict of people from around the world. It is all about celebration – and going unique is the key to coming up with new Christmas tree ideas.
We’ve come across hundreds of innovative Christmas trees from around the world. While some are strikingly beautiful, others are plain weird; but many are highly creative and unique. These trees are sure to get you into the Christmas spirit. Have fun!
The Christian Dior Tree – Paris, France
Famous designers like Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier among others reworked the traditional Christmas tree for a charity auction. We found the Dior Christmas tree to be one of the most creative and unusual with its silver hued metallic ruffles and gold light to accentuate them. This is one Christmas tree that is fit for the ramp. What do you think?
Floating Christmas Tree – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There is no way one can miss this spectacular Christmas tree on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. Listed as the world’s largest floating Christmas tree by Guinness Book of Records, this cone-shaped fir is 85-meters high (as tall as a 29-storey building), weighs 542 tons and lit with 3.3 million miniature light bulbs, 2,100 flashing lights and 105 kilometers of glowing tubes with 12 phases of lights and colors produced.
This innovative and unusual Christmas tree has been one of the major attractions of Brazil since 1996. This year, more than a million visitors are expected to visit. Wonder how it manages to stay afloat with all that weight.
Glass Christmas Tree – Venice, Italy
Murano Island in Venice is known as a glassmaker’s paradise and the glassware produced here is considered to be a great contribution to the art world. In keeping with this, displays a record holding glass tree year after year. This 28 feet tall tree is said to be the tallest in the world and is sculpted most beautifully by Simone Cenedese, who is a master glass blower. With 1,000 Murano glass tubes and weighing 3 tons, it attracts appreciation from around the world and is a sight to behold.
Light Bulbs Christmas Tree – Dublin, Ireland
Dublin’s tradition of switching on Christmas lights is a little unusual but magical. This year’s Christmas tree consists of different sized bulbs – 100,000 of them. It was set up on the O’Connell Street in 2008. This tree that weighs 5 tons and lights Dublin’s skyline, is designed by Blachere, a French firm that has the prestigious Eiffel Tower light installations to its credit. Tourists from far come over to the city to take part in the lighting ceremony which brings with it plenty of other festivities.
Greetings Christmas Tree – Beirut, Lebanon
Beirut’s Christmas celebrations began with the lighting of this unique Christmas tree decorated with Christmas greetings in different languages. This tree is placed in Beirut Souks and is attracting people in the hundreds. This can easily be done on a small scale, if you’re looking for great Christmas tree ideas.
Recycled Plastic Bottles Christmas Tree – Kaunas, Lithuania
This year, a spectacular green Christmas tree greets people in the city of Kaunas in Lithuania. This eco-friendly tree is created from 40,000 recycled plastic bottles. The ingenuity of artist Jolanta Smitdtiene comes to fore in this creation placed near the city hall. Green bottles are used with the nozzles facing out and they are fixed with zip ties.
Recycled material was chosen due to the low budget, but the resulting spectacle that stands 42 feet high is not just mesmerizing but also went on to win the Guinness world record for being the largest Christmas tree made of plastic bottles. People have access to the inside of this tree where there is a real Xmas tree.
Christmas Tree or Trees? – Dortmund, Germany
This gigantic and awe-inspiring unusual Christmas tree shining under the brilliance of 40,000 lights, takes the pride of place right in the middle of Dortmund, Germany. It stands 45 meters high and weighs 30 tons. But what is unique about this tree is that it is made up of 1700 other Christmas trees. Germany is now said to be staking its claim for the largest Christmas tree on the planet, but this is being refuted on various grounds. Whether it is the largest or not, it certainly is one of the most unusual Christmas trees!
iPad Controlled Electric Christmas Tree – Gubbio, Italy
Said to be the largest in the world, this may not exactly be a Christmas tree in the traditional sense, but we felt it deserves a mention here for the uniqueness associated with it. This is a Christmas tree shaped display of lights on Monte Ingino in Gubbio, Italy. While this in itself is a unique idea, what makes it more special is that the Christmas lights on this tree were brought to life by Pope Benedict XVI, who used a Sony tablet to remotely switch on the lights from his apartment in the Vatican.
Lego Bricks Christmas Tree – London, UK
Making Christmas more epic this year, a most unusual Christmas tree has been unveiled in London: a 12-meter high tree that is made completely out of Lego bricks.
On display at St Pancras International rail station in London, this Lego Christmas tree took two months to create. This tree with 172 branches, needed 600,000 bricks and 1200 baubles. The baubles made of Lego too, are said to have been made by local school kids and Scouts. The person behind this magnificent creation is Duncan Titmarsh, the only Lego professional in the UK.
Two Million Dollar Golden Christmas Tree – Tokyo, Japan
Now, that’s what I call a Christmas tree! It’s not just you and me, even Santa is investing in Gold. Crafted out of pure gold, it may not be tall and gigantic like the others displayed here, but it surely has to be the costliest. The brainchild of Ginza Tanaka, a Japanese jeweler in Tokyo, this 8.2 feet gold Christmas tree is displayed at her Tokyo store.
It required 15 craftsmen working on it for four and a half months to implement this great Christmas tree idea. This sparkly tree is made from 12 kilograms of the precious metal. The orchids, hearts and ribbons are also made of gold. It’s not her first golden Christmas tree though; her previous one was worth abut $85,000.
For those of you rich enough to want to buy this 2 million dollar pure gold ecstasy, the owner is not selling.
Having seen the above unusual Christmas trees, it’s easy to feel renewed enthusiasm to do something different this season. But remember what Charles Barnard said – “The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!”
While we appreciate the weird and whacky or the mesmerizing and beautiful Christmas trees, a simple traditional fir should do the trick of bringing in the Christmas cheer. The Christmas season is nothing but love in action!
Tags: Christmas, Christmas trees, Christmas trees of 2011, top Christmas trees, unusual Christmas trees |
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"American Gods," an award-winning book by famed English author Neil Gaiman, will soon hit TV screens thanks to Starz. The TV adaptation of the novel will premiere at South by Southwest's (SXSW) annual film festival.
CBR has revealed that the first episode of "American Gods" will screen at SXSW 2017. While the dates and times for the screening are still unknown, more details will soon be available in the coming days.
The premiere episode of "American Gods" was directed by David Slade, who also helmed the film "30 Days of Night." Slade also directed several episodes of TV shows such as "Breaking Bad," "Hannibal," and "Powers."
Screen Rant reports that like the novel it is based on, the TV adaptation of "American Gods" will focus on Shadow Moon, who will be portrayed by Ricky Whittle ("The 100"). Shadow has been imprisoned for assault but he is released early following the sudden death of his wife Laura, portrayed by Emily Browning ("A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Sucker Punch"), due to a car accident.
On his way to the funeral, Shadow meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, portrayed by Ian McShane ("Game of Thrones," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"). Unbeknownst to Shadow, Mr. Wednesday is, in fact, the god Odin, and he wants Shadow's help in recruiting Old Gods as they prepare for a final showdown against the more powerful New Gods scattered all over America.
According to Screen Rant, Gaiman will also be "heavily involved" in the TV adaptation of his novel. This is surely reassuring for fans who are worried that this latest adaptation of the writer's work will deviate from the "American Gods" novel.
It was also revealed that Gaiman has also created a new character exclusively for the show- Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus), the Roman god of fire and metalworking. Vulcan will be portrayed by actor Corbin Bernsen ("L.A. Law," "Psych"). The show's version of Vulcan will now be "the god of guns."
There are no official announcements yet about "Anansi Boys," the sequel to Gaiman's "American Gods," being included in the plot for Starz' upcoming show. However, it is possible that the sequel to the novel could be incorporated in the second season of "American Gods."
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FARMINGTON — A Navajo lawmaker is proposing to alter the qualifications for service on the Navajo Nation Supreme Court by requiring justices to hold a juris doctor degree.
Among the existing requirements in Navajo law for service on the high court are being a member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association, being an enrolled member of the tribe, not having any felony convictions or any misdemeanor convictions within five years prior to service and having a bachelor’s degree. But the law says an applicant who has earned a juris doctor, which is a law degree, or a master of laws shall be preferred.
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Delegate Dwight Witherspoon, who represents Forest Lake, Hardrock, Kíts’íílí, Piñon and Whippoorwill chapters in Arizona, is sponsoring the legislation, which was posted on the council’s website on Jan. 29, starting its five-day public comment period.
It was assigned to the Law and Order and Naa’bik’íyáti’ committees and the council, where final authority rests. If the council passed the bill, it would need the president’s approval to become law.
Attached to the bill are supporting resolutions from the Chinle Agency Council, Whippoorwill Chapter and Forest Lake Chapter.
The resolution from the Chinle Agency Council takes the qualifications a step further by including that justices have a Certificate of Indian Blood, be fluent in the Navajo language and be elected.
The Chinle Agency Council’s resolution also suggests these qualifications be applied to hearing officers under the tribe’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.
The resolutions from Whippoorwill Chapter and Forest Lake Chapter recommend the justices be state-licensed attorneys in good standing as well as holding law degrees.
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Witherspoon could not be reached for comment about the bill, which indicates, if signed into law, that it would apply to current members of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Herb Yazzie was confirmed to the high court in April 2005 and received his law degree in 1975 from the Arizona State University College of Law.
He has been a member of the Utah State Bar since 1976.
Associate Justice Eleanor Shirley was confirmed as a permanent associate justice in October 2011 and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fort Lewis College.
Both are members of the Navajo Nation Bar Association.
A third seat on the Supreme Court is vacant.
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Witherspoon’s bill is similar to 2011 legislation that was sponsored by former council Delegate Russell Begaye.
The 2011 version also proposed amending the qualifications for justices by having them hold a law degree and a license to practice law from a state bar association.
At the time Begaye was sponsoring the bill, the Judicial Branch viewed it as undermining tribal sovereignty.
In a 2011 press release, the Judicial Branch stated that Navajo Nation law requires tribal judges and justices “be well-versed in Diné laws, traditions and customs, which are the basis of Diné Fundamental Law and common law.”
Another concern was that the proposed amendments would mean candidates for the high court would have diminished expertise in Navajo sovereign laws, which are applied first followed by federal then state laws.
Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 and [email protected]. Follow her @nsmithdt on Twitter.
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Drew Inge had his fingers broken and four teeth knocked out by an assailant now in police custody.
A gay Virginia man was viciously attacked on Christmas night, leaving his hands and fingers broken and four teeth knocked out.
Drew Inge of Yorktown was kicked in the head multiple times by an attacker in his home, who also verbally assaulted him and threatened his life.
“I was thrown into my bathtub, and stomped in the face and jaw over and over while being called a ’faggot,'” recounted Inge on Facebook.
At one point, the man stabbed Inge in the eye with a broken shower rod.
Fleeing to his bedroom, Inge says his attacker “tackled me from behind into my door and slammed my fingers on my right hand into the door, breaking them and ripping them open.”
Eventually breaking free, he called 911 and says the man, who remains unnamed, was arrested on various charges.
According to a YouCaring fundraising campaign, Inge is self-employed as a hairstylist, and his injuries may compromise his livelihood.
The goal of the campaign is to pay for medical bills, and cover rent and living expenses while he convalesces.
“I don’t know you personally, but my daughter talks about what an incredible person you are. I am praying for healing, both physically and mentally and for justice,” wrote one donor.
“It is horrible that we live in a society that thinks it is okay to do this to another human being.” |
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
After repeated denials, Paul Ryan has admitted he requested stimulus cash even after sharply criticizing the program.
Ryan had denied doing so as recently as Wednesday, when he spoke to ABC's Cincinnati affiliate, WCPO, in Ohio.
"I never asked for stimulus," Mitt Romney's new running mate said. "I don't recall… so I really can't comment on it. I opposed the stimulus because it doesn't work, it didn't work."
Two years ago, during an interview on WBZ's NewsRadio he was asked by a caller if he "accepted any money" into his district. Ryan said he did not.
"I'm not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," the congressman answered.
But as we've now learned, Ryan did write letters. He did request stimulus funds.
"The Olympics may be over but Paul Ryan could have gotten a gold medal in hypocrisy," a senior administration official told ABC's Jake Tapper. "As someone who spends all day every day railing against government spending, but then secretly seeks millions in funds for pet projects, he is as Washington as it gets."
In 2009, Ryan wrote to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis asking for stimulus money to cover costs on two energy conservation projects in his home state of Wisconsin. In the letter, Ryan said the funds would help create jobs and reduce "energy consumption" in the state. At least one of the companies received the requested cash.
The letters were first obtained by The Wall Street Journal through the Freedom of Information Act back in early 2010. The Boston Globe turned them up for the first time during this campaign season Wednesday. At that point, a Ryan aide referred ABC News back to what a Ryan spokesman said when the letters first went public.
"If Congressman Ryan is asked to help a Wisconsin entity applying for existing Federal grant funds, he does not believe flawed policy should get in the way of doing his job and providing a legitimate constituent service to his employers," the spokesman told the Milwaukee (Wisc.) Journal Sentinel.
Thursday, Ryan responded to the questions himself.
"After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them, and they were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled," he said in a statement. "This is why I didn't recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that.
"Regardless, it's clear that the Obama stimulus did nothing to stimulate the economy, and now the President is asking to do it all over again." |
(Natural News) It may be the world’s largest technology giant and retailer, but many of Amazon’s workers appear to be living like they were deployed in a war zone: In tent cities.
As reported by the UK’s Courier newspaper (why hasn’t an American media outlet reported on this—like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post, which he owns?), which reported exclusively, Amazon workers at one of the company’s England-based fulfillment centers are actually sleeping in tents.
Reporters for the paper recently discovered at least three tents in a wooded area beside the online retail behemoth’s base near Dunfermline, Scotland, which has sparked new concerns that some employees have to sink to depths unheard of for workers of other companies just to survive.
Last month the company came under heavy scrutiny and criticism from local activists who said that some employees at the fulfillment center are working as many as 60 hours per week, and for little more than the going minimum wage. They also said workers were harshly treated in some cases.
Some are forced to live in tents as the dead of winter approaches
As you might expect, Amazon officials have denied those charges, saying they value every employee and try to maintain a “culture of direct dialogue” with workers. But the news that some staff have been forced to live very simply and without modern conveniences as the bitterly cold winter arrives has led to new questions about the health and welfare of Amazon workers at the facility.
In fact, one employee who asked not to be identified in the story was initially reluctant to speak to the paper, but did describe the company as a “poor employer” while criticizing working practices at the site.
In addition, the worker added that he chose to stay in a tent because it was cheaper and easier than commuting back and forth between the facility and his home in Perth, though his tent and camping gear disappeared shortly before the report was published.
But another tent that had been set up appeared to be abandoned, with trash, discarded sleeping bags and cans of drink among the items that were thrown about.
Willie Rennie, MSP, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party leader, has repeatedly called on Amazon to improve its working conditions and its tax record. He once again criticized the company after being told that some of the fulfillment center’s workers had been forced to live in nearby woods.
“Amazon should be ashamed that they pay their workers so little that they have to camp out in the dead of winter to make ends meet,” he told the paper. He added the company needed to “take a long, hard look” at its business practices.
Company concerned about ‘safety and wellbeing’ of employees?
He also said that the company only pays a small portion of its earnings in taxes, while receiving “millions of the pounds” from the government in the form of subsidies, “so the least they should do is pay the proper living wage.’
Earlier this year, Rennie demanded that Amazon receive no more public funding until executives could guarantee that they would pay their workers higher wages amid reports that some staff were being paid far less than the current living wage.
Amazon employs some 1,500 workers on a permanent basis at the Dunfermline center, but also added another 4,000 seasonal jobs to assist the company with the holiday shopping season.
The company, in a statement, said that it places its employees’ “safety and wellbeing” above everything else, as it creates several thousand new permanent jobs at the facility. And the company also said that it was paying “competitive wages” including overtime pay.
The fulfillment facility in Dunfermline is Amazon’s largest.
Sources:
TheCourier.co.uk
NaturalNews.com |
"My journey begins on an old and dusty attic. A little boy unveiled a passage to another world and prepared his backpack. The moment is there - the moment of gathering courage and doing the first step.
I wanted to paint a picture about the nature of journeys. I wanted to show, that you always have to leave something behind if you want to reach for a distant goal. The boy's belongings are on the left side, as well as his cat and the place he calls home, which shines a warm light from below the attic trapdoor. On the right side I arranged things that symbolize the journey. There you find the globe, the telescope, the ship, the bust of the great Homer and the skeleton which stands for the last journey. My goal was to create a tension between the two worlds, so the perspective lines are arranged to build a subtle drag into the glowing painting.
I also wanted to paint a picture about us artists. We constantly struggle to open doors to other worlds with our artwork and by creating foreign landscapes and fantastic creatures we fuel the imaginations of our spectators. Our paintings literally become portals into the realm of fantasy and that's why in my painting the zig zag path formed by the road in the painting and the carpets on the attic floor ultimately leads to the viewer - to invite him to venture on a journey of his very own." |
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast early on Wednesday morning in a new provocation by Pyongyang ahead of talks between US president Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart.
The missile was launched at 6:42am local time near the city of Sinpo and flew around 40 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced.
The initial US and South Korean assessments indicated it was a KN-15 medium-range missile, whose first publicly known test in February was described by many foreign experts as a worrying development. It uses solid fuel already loaded inside the missile, which would shorten launch preparation times, boost the weapon's mobility and make it harder for outsiders to detect the signs of its liftoff.
South Korea's foreign ministry called the North's latest missile launch a "reckless provocation" that posed a threat to international peace, while Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said the country lodged a strong protest over the launch.
A terse announcement from the US department of state stated: "North Korea launched yet another intermediate range ballistic missile. The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment". |
Tellado and the second or maternal family name is López. This name uses Spanish naming customs : the first or paternal family name isand the second or maternal family name is
María del Socorro Tellado López (April 25, 1927 in El Franco, Asturias, Spain – April 11, 2009), known as Corín Tellado, was a prolific Spanish writer of romantic novels and photonovels that were best-sellers in several Spanish-language countries. She published more than 5,000 titles and sold more than 400 million books which have been translated into several languages. She was listed in the 1994 Guinness World Records as having sold the most books written in Spanish, and earlier in 1962 UNESCO declared her the most read Spanish writer after Miguel de Cervantes.
Her novels were different from other contemporary Western European romantic writers' works because she usually set them in the present and didn't use eroticism, due to the Spanish regime's strict censorship.[1] Her style was direct and her characters were simply presented. These novels have inspired several telenovelas.[2]
Biography [ edit ]
María del Socorro Tellado López was the only girl of five siblings. Her mother was a housewife and her father was a naval mechanic in the Merchant Navy.
In 1939, after the Spanish Civil War, her father was promoted to First Officer and the whole family moved to Cádiz. She studied in a school run by nuns and read a lot.
Her father died in 1945 and the family started to have economic problems; she sold her first novel, Atrevida apuesta, to the publishing house Editorial Bruguera in 1946 for 3,000 pesetas, but they rejected her second novel. She continued to write for and to be published by Editorial Cies and Editorial Bruguera; she also started to study psychology, but did not finish her studies because Editorial Bruguera contracted her to write one short novel every week. In 1948 she went back to Asturias with her mother, where she started publishing a different short novella every two weeks in Latin American magazine Vanidades. She claimed that she was able to write a short novel in two days.
She married Domingo Egusquizaga Sangroniz in 1959 in Covadonga and one year later she gave birth to her first child, her daughter Begoña Egusquizaga Tellado; in 1961 she gave birth to her second child, her son Domingo Egusquizaga Tellado. In 1962, the couple separated, but never divorced.
In 1962 UNESCO declared her the most read Spanish writer after Miguel de Cervantes, and Editorial Bruguera offered her an exclusive contract to write. She would later have problems with Editorial Bruguera, because they republished some of her novels under a different title without her permission. She started to write for Editorial Rollán, but in 1973 Editorial Bruguera filed a lawsuit against her and won, and she had to pay them compensation, in addition to returning to work for them. Her last works for Editorial Buguera were erotic novels under the pen name of Ada Leswy or Ada Miller Leswy.
She also published some children's books in collaboration with Jesús Zantón Santiago, and her favorite novel was Lucha Oculta (1991), her first long work.
Corín Tellado was listed in the 1994 Guinness World Records as having sold the most books written in Spanish.
She died on April 11, 2009, in her home as a result of a stroke. She left three unpublished novels. Her novels continue to be reedited in digital format.
Selected bibliography [ edit ]
Not included magazines' short-stories
As Corín Tellado [ edit ] Single novels [ edit ] Atrevida apuesta (1946)
Boda clandestina (1947)
Era el amor (1949)
Incomprensión (1949)
La hija de mi jefe = Diablillo (1949)
La isla dorada (1949)
Nos venció el amor (1949)
Semilla de odio (1949)
¡Guerra al amor! (1950)
¡Porque no eres como todos! (1950)
¡Si yo coqueteara! (1950)
Alma (1950)
Cupido se burló de Mari-Dena (1950)
Entre dos luces (1950)
Irene tienta al misántropo (1950)
Lo hice por tu amor (1950)
Sucedió callando (1950)
Timidez y pasión (1950)
Tristeza de amar (1950)
¡Bendita seas! (1951)
¿Quién tuvo la culpa? (1951)
Corazón indómito (1951)
Desdeño ese amor (1951)
Después de aquella noche… (1951)
Destinos de amor (1951)
Él era así (1951)
Matrimonio por seis meses (1951)
Mi novio, el afilador (1951)
Renuncio a tu perdón (1951)
Si no fueras tú… (1951)
Tú eres el culpable (1951)
Tuyo es mi corazón (1951)
Volverás a mí (1951)
¡Aquella muchacha! (1952)
¡Tú no eres nadie! (1952)
Alix Efimovich (1952)
De distinto color (1952)
El destino manda (1952)
Ella entre los dos (1952)
Eres mi esposa (1952)
Éste es mi quinto (1952)
Isabel (1952)
Más allá de la senda (1952)
No pensé en mí (1952)
Otra mujer en su vida (1952)
Una mujer fea (1952)
¿Cuál de los cuatro? (1953)
Dos almas recias (1953)
El destino tiene la palabra (1953)
La noche trajo un amor (1953)
Me casaré contigo (1953)
Una chica decidida (1953)
Una mujer ambiciosa (1953)
Compraré un marido (1954)
Dos rostros y una mujer (1954)
El desengaño de Nancy (1954)
El pasado no es nuestro (1954)
Frívola (1954)
La mujer de mi amigo (1954)
Leonor (1954)
Loco corazón (1954)
No soy lo que piensas (1954)
Su gran delito (1954)
Tengo otro amor (1954)
Un soltero peligroso (1954)
Una novia para dos (1954)
¡Malditos besos! (1955)
Almas gemelas (1955)
Deliciosa locura (1955)
Había renunciado (1955)
La boda de Ivonne (1955)
La colegiala (1955)
La maestra (1955)
Quiero tu amor (1955)
Raíces de pecado (1955)
Un hombre y una mujer (1955)
¿Quieres ser mi mujer? (1956)
De otra raza (1956)
El pasado de Mauri (1956)
Ella era así (1956)
La molinera (1956)
Matrimonio obligado (1956)
Te quiero de esta manera (1956)
Timidez y amor (1956)
Una chica loca (1956)
Yira (1956)
Casémonos (1957)
El marido de Laura (1957)
El primer beso = Su primer suspiro (1957)
El recuerdo de aquel día (1957)
Estamos casados (1957)
Historia de dos mujeres (1957)
La mentira de Sofía (1957)
La novia de mi hermano (1957)
La rebelde Cris (1957)
Mi secretaria (1957)
Parecía imposible (1957)
Su Majestad la Reina (1957)
Aquel matrimonio… (1958)
Casada por poderes (1958)
El complejo de Mary-Chon (1958)
Flor María (1958)
He vuelto para ti (1958)
Helen se divierte (1958)
Inesperadamente (1958)
La imagen de una mujer (1958)
La máscara de una mujer (1958)
La modelo (1958)
Llegó la colegiala (1958)
Lucha oculta (1958)
Matrimonio singular (1958)
No puedo creer en ti (1958)
Pasaje de una vida (1958)
Realidad de una vida (1958)
Tras el olvido (1958)
Tuviste que ser mía (1958)
Aquel minuto (1959)
Caprichos de millonario (1959)
Deseo un millonario (1959)
El caso de la maestra (1959)
El castillo de Wiertel (1959)
El destino esperaba allí (1959)
El orgullo de Milady (1959)
El problema de Sara (1959)
En pos de la fortuna (1959)
La encontré en mi camino (1959)
La historia de una mujer (1959)
La inquieta Ana (1959)
La invitada (1959)
La mujer de hielo (1959)
La sombra de otro amor (1959)
Las inquietudes de Patricia (1959)
Me casé con un celoso (1959)
Mi marido y yo (1959)
Mi querida rebelde (1959)
Nereyda (1959)
No te separes de mí (1959)
Orgullo de raza (1959)
Perdidos en la niebla (1959)
Su Alteza ha llegado (1959)
Un doble para Patricia (1959)
Un solo hombre (1959)
Una llamada a la puerta (1959)
Una mamá para Ana (1959)
Yo soy aquella chica (1959)
Adorable esclavitud (1960)
Andrés y ellas (1960)
Desengaño y amor (1960)
El matrimonio de Myriam (1960)
El padrino de mi hermano (1960)
El papá de Sallie (1960)
El pasado vuelve aquí (1960)
El profesor de felicidad (1960)
El secreto de Mildred (1960)
Ella y sus recuerdos (1960)
Has de ser tú (1960)
La doncella de mamá (1960)
La historia de mi vida (1960)
Los ambiciosos (1960)
Milady y los hombres (1960)
Realidades (1960)
Te vi al amanecer (1960)
Tú eres para mí (1960)
Un consuelo para ti (1960)
Un marido por apuesta (1960)
Una chica valiente (1960)
Aquel descubrimiento (1961)
Carla (1961)
En aquel momento (1961)
La cautiva (1961)
Las dudas de Celia (1961)
Mag se ha enamorado (1961)
Me casé ayer (1961)
Me casé con él (1961)
Mis pretendientes (1961)
Prometida a la fuerza (1961)
Raquel, no esperes (1961)
Se busca esposa (1961)
Ten cuidado, Irene (1961)
Un marido para Berta (1961)
¿Es éste mi marido? (1962)
Aquel hombre y yo (1962)
Aquella extraña boda (1962)
Arturo y mi hermana (1962)
Beatriz (1962)
El amigo de mi marido (1962)
El amor llegó más tarde (1962)
El señor feudal (1962)
Él y el otro (1962)
Ella volverá (1962)
Elvira no reflexiona (1962)
Fuego en la nieve (1962)
Futuro incierto (1962)
Lo supe aquel día (1962)
María Eugenia (1962)
Marta y ellos (1962)
No era espejismo (1962)
No estás sola (1962)
Susana piensa (1962)
Te presento a mi marido (1962)
Un secreto entre los dos (1962)
¿Qué quieres de mí? (1963)
Adorada mía (1963)
Aléjate de mí (1963)
Algún día volveré (1963)
Amor fugaz (1963)
Ana y el chófer (1963)
Berta (1963)
Cambio feliz (1963)
Casado por ambición (1963)
Cree en mí (1963)
Cumplí mi condena (1963)
Cumplimiento de palabra (1963)
Déjame adorarte, Isabel (1963)
Déjame decírtelo (1963)
El destino la esperaba (1963)
El destino no perdona (1963)
El drama de Maylen (1963)
El maestro (1963)
El matrimonio de Grey (1963)
El secreto de Ana (1963)
Ella y su jefe (1963)
En aquel valle (1963)
Entre marido y mujer (1963)
Eres el mismo (1963)
Espero un marido rico (1963)
La boda de Anita (1963)
La destino la esperaba (1963)
La prometida de Clint (1963)
Las dos familias (1963)
Las noches de Audrey (1963)
Lo encontré así (1963)
Lo sabía (1963)
Los gemelos (1963)
Maricé tiene novio (1963)
Misterio inexistente (1963)
No creo en tu cariño (1963)
No debo quererte (1963)
No puedo odiarte (1963)
Obligada esclavitud (1963)
Odio a mi cuñado (1963)
Odio en la aldea (1963)
Ojos bonitos (1963)
Olvídalo (1963)
Orgullo sin venganza (1963)
Perdóname (1963)
Siempre fue así (1963)
Sin compromiso (1963)
Sólo supe quererte (1963)
Susana (1963)
Te amo (1963)
Te casarás conmigo (1963)
Te haré feliz (1963)
Una oscura promesa (1963)
Volveremos a encontrarnos (1963)
Yo no tengo la culpa (1963)
«In articulo mortis» (1964)
…Y llegó ella (1964)
Adiós, Susana (1964)
Ahora no te quiero (1964)
Aquella calumnia (1964)
Aventura inesperada (1964)
Como me lo contaron (1964)
Deja que te ame (1964)
Dudas (1964)
El destino de una huída (1964)
Empezó sin querer (1964)
Empieza ahora (1964)
Encontré a mi mujer (1964)
Felicidad (1964)
Inquietudes (1964)
La encontré por ser celoso (1964)
Luz roja para el amor (1964)
Mi adorada pueblerina (1964)
Mi boda contigo (1964)
Mi esposo me abandona (1964)
Mi frívola esposa (1964)
Mi mala intención (1964)
Mi marido me olvidó (1964)
No eres tú (1964)
No permitas que te ofenda (1964)
No quiero volver a verte (1964)
No quisiera amarte (1964)
No seas orgulloso (1964)
No soy aquella mujer (1964)
No te enamores, muchacha (1964)
No te juzgo (1964)
No te vi (1964)
Nos casaremos (1964)
Olvídame, Paula (1964)
Orgullo y soberbia (1964)
Otra vez contigo (1964)
Papá y su novia (1964)
Por compasión, no (1964)
Querida Edith (1964)
Recuerdo perdurable (1964)
Sin piedad (1964)
Su Alteza Real (1964)
Surgió el amor (1964)
Te defiendo sin amor (1964)
Te encontré para esto (1964)
Un contrato original (1964)
Volveré aquí (1964)
La esposa de mi hermano (1964)
Ardiente sacrificio (1965)
Ayúdame a olvidar (1965)
Destruyeme después (1965)
El destino viajaba en tren (1965)
El doloroso ayer (1965)
El novio de mi vecina (1965)
El peso de tu personalidad (1965)
Eres una aventurera (1965)
Me dejaste injustamente (1965)
Me inquietó tu boda (1965)
Mi marido y sus hijos (1965)
Mónica en apuros (1965)
No me compadezcas (1965)
No me odies (1965)
Nos conocimos así (1965)
Odiosa esclavitud (1965)
Orgullo y ternura (1965)
Problema familiar (1965)
Secreto matrimonial (1965)
Soy un soltero feliz (1965)
Te amo, Edgar (1965)
Tú me diste la felicidad (1965)
Un hombre ante mi puerta (1965)
Vengo a pagar mi deuda (1965)
Altiva muchacha (1966)
Amor en las cumbres (1966)
Ayúdame tú (1966)
Barreras para el amor (1966)
El fantasma de sí mismo (1966)
El padre de mis sobrinos (1966)
El pecado de Sofía (1966)
Elige tu camino (1966)
Me llamaste aquel día (1966)
Me ofenden tus celos (1966)
Me olvidaste al otro día (1966)
Mi felicidad eres tú (1966)
Mi marido me espera (1966)
No eres buena (1966)
No puedo ser para ti (1966)
Nos casamos por amor (1966)
Por eso me casé contigo (1966)
Por quererla tanto soy así (1966)
Pudo más que el orgullo (1966)
Quiéreme a mí (1966)
Su noviazgo fue así (1966)
Te prefiero a ti (1966)
Tú la querrás más (1966)
Vamos a casarnos los dos (1966)
Y eligió la felicidad (1966)
Ahora no te voy a olvidar (1967)
Conmigo olvidarás tu pasado (1967)
Dime si eres ella (1967)
El compromiso de Ana (1967)
El pasado de Tab North (1967)
Esta mujer es mía (1967)
He venido engañada (1967)
He vuelto para verte (1967)
Inquietante intimidad (1967)
La sombra de un recuerdo (1967)
Las tinieblas de mi vida (1967)
Le destrozaste la vida (1967)
Me callé por no dañarte (1967)
Mi querido fanfarrón (1967)
No me humilles así (1967)
No mereces mi perdón (1967)
No olvidaré tu traición (1967)
No podía casarme con él (1967)
No puedo ser tu marido (1967)
Olvida mi venganza (1967)
Olvídate de aquel día (1967)
Por eso fui a buscarte (1967)
Quiéreme y olvídala (1967)
Quiero casarme con ella (1967)
Siempre estuve así (1967)
Te ayudaré siempre (1967)
Te eligió mi corazón (1967)
Te equivocaste conmigo (1967)
Te odio por ser de otro (1967)
Tu pecado me condena (1967)
Una noche en el balcón (1967)
Vengas en mí tu dolor (1967)
Ya me llamarás (1967)
Almas inquietas (1968)
Aquella ilusión desvanecida (1968)
Aventurera (1968)
Bendita equivocación (1968)
Descúbreme ese misterio (1968)
Detén mi caída (1968)
El problema de Luima (1968)
Esperaba por ti (1968)
Las inquietudes de Cristina (1968)
Lastimas con tu tortura (1968)
Me estas abandonando (1968)
Me estoy acostumbrando (1968)
Me obligaron a casarme (1968)
Me sentía sola (1968)
Me siento decepcionada (1968)
Negocio matrimonial (1968)
No me basta tu ternura (1968)
No me obligues a decirlo (1968)
No te cases por piedad (1968)
No te engañes a ti misma (1968)
No te quería (1968)
No traté de engañarte (1968)
Soy poco para ti (1968)
Tu marido está aquí (1968)
Tu noche de boda (1968)
Ya sé cómo eres (1968)
Yo no soy como ella (1968)
Yo sé que te pasa (1968)
¡Cuanto se puede querer! (1969)
¿Qué hiciste conmigo? (1969)
A tu lado no es vivir (1969)
Contigo encontré la paz (1969)
Disculpa mi timidez (1969)
Ella no tenía la culpa (1969)
Eres demasiado joven (1969)
Estás casada conmigo (1969)
Has jugado con fuego (1969)
La novia viuda (1969)
Me siento culpable (1969)
Me tienes en tinieblas (1969)
Me vence tu sensibilidad (1969)
No me burlo de ti (1969)
No me pidas que te ame (1969)
No puedo llenar tu soledad (1969)
No quise tu orgullo (1969)
No sabes querer (1969)
No sé por qué te casaste (1969)
Nunca te tomé en broma (1969)
Prefiero tu vida (1969)
Se busca profesor (1969)
Si no me comprendes (1969)
Te domina la soledad (1969)
Tu sacrificio no es vano (1969)
¿Por qué te casaste conmigo? (1970)
¿Qué hacemos tú y yo casados? (1970)
Al fin te encontré (1970)
Aprendí contigo (1970)
Aunque sea sin amor (1970)
Cuidado con el amor (1970)
Defenderé esta causa (1970)
Déjame consolarte (1970)
Dejaste de quererme (1970)
Lección de amor (1970)
Me has confundido (1970)
Me juzgaste a la ligera (1970)
No me pesa quererte (1970)
No sé qué me pasa (1970)
Nunca es tarde para mí (1970)
Nunca me comprendiste (1970)
Odio tus aventuras (1970)
Quédate con nosotros (1970)
Sé mi esposa (1970)
Siempre te busqué (1970)
Silencio de tu cariño (1970)
Sólo quedas tú (1970)
Solos… sin querer (1970)
Su destino en doce días (1970)
Tarde vuelves (1970)
Te busqué siempre (1970)
Tengo la culpa yo (1970)
Tiene la culpa tu miedo (1970)
Tú no llegaste tarde (1970)
Yo me ocupo de ti (1970)
¿Qué hacemos tú y yo casados? (1971)
Aquel desconocido (1971)
Confundí tu cobardía (1971)
Confusa turbación (1971)
Debes conquistar a tu marido (1971)
Desconozco a mi marido (1971)
El ídolo (1971)
El papá de Baby (1971)
Eres mi mujer y me dejaste (1971)
Juegas con los sentimientos (1971)
Me callo por tu bien (1971)
Me emociona tu delicadeza (1971)
Mi mujer eres tú (1971)
Mi senda eres tú (1971)
No engañes a las dos (1971)
No quiero seguir a tu lado (1971)
No sé si creer en ti (1971)
No sé si estoy casada (1971)
No sé si se casará conmigo (1971)
No sirvo para la aventura (1971)
No soy tu mujer (1971)
No tengo derecho a nada (1971)
Nunca te tuve miedo (1971)
O vives como yo… (1971)
Quédate conmigo (1971)
Siempre estuve a tu lado (1971)
Solo intenté ayudarte (1971)
Soy la mujer de Chuck (1971)
Te engañaste al juzgarme (1971)
Te vi pasar (1971)
Tengo que retenerte (1971)
Tres meses de prueba (1971)
Tú me llevaste a él (1971)
Yo me caso contigo (1971)
Yo si me caso (1971)
¡Cuidado con el paleto! (1972)
A ti te quiero más (1972)
Aprendí después (1972)
Aquel bello amanecer (1972)
Aquel día nació Mae (1972)
El destino entre la nieve (1972)
Elegí el mejor (1972)
Eres demasiado duro (1972)
Fui a encontrarte allí (1972)
Intima inquietud (1972)
La condenada (1972)
María Dorel (1972)
Me dejaron con él (1972)
Me voy a casar contigo (1972)
No esperes por él (1972)
No se lo digas a ella (1972)
No seré tu esclava (1972)
Nos vimos otra vez (1972)
Nunca seré así (1972)
Nunca te buscaría (1972)
Si me quieres a mí (1972)
Te miento por aquello (1972)
Ya puedes ser mi mujer (1972)
No me caso contigo (1972)
No por eso te quiero menos (1972)
Aquel pasado (1973)
Aquella linda muchacha (1973)
Déjame vivir (1973)
Digámonos adiós (1973)
El día me di cuenta (1973)
Llama a tu marido (1973)
Lo sabia (1973)
Me caso con mi marido (1973)
Me gustaría estar contigo (1973)
Mi mujer es una ingenua (1973)
Mónica en peligro (1973)
No importa la edad (1973)
Te admiré antes (1973)
Yo le conozco mejor (1973)
Ahora si lo entiendo (1973)
Matrimonio en apuros (1973)
No sabia que eras tú (1973)
Nuestro vecino (1973)
Te he conocido antes (1973)
Cásate con él, Zulaica (1973)
Dime que no llegué tarde (1973)
No comprendo a mi mujer (1973)
No he venido a buscarte (1973)
Peligrosa rivalidad (1973)
Solo lo compadecí (1973)
Yo te conozco mejor (1973)
A bordo viaja el destino (1973)
Aquellos besos (1973)
El padre de Desi (1973)
Él te engaña (1973)
La dignidad de tu amor (1973)
No importa lo que seas (1973)
Prefiero mi independencia (1973)
Respeta mi libertad (1973)
Sueño imposible (1973)
Todo vuelve con él (1973)
Ya estoy casada (1973)
El destino soy yo (1973)
El hijo de mi marido (1973)
Me calle por no dañarte (1973)
Te admire antes... (1973)
Vuelvo a casa (1973)
Apasionadamente frívolo (1973)
Aquí esta mi esposa (1973)
La tía de Katy (1973)
No vuelve el recuerdo (1973)
Te pido que me comprendas (1973)
Antes eras mejor (1973)
Aquella estatua (1973)
Estabas solo (1973)
Intenta convencerme (1973)
La segunda esperanza (1973)
Mi prima Ann (1973)
Raíz amarga (1973)
Si no crees en mi verdad (1973)
Son rosas para Nancy (1973)
Tú entiendes la felicidad (1973)
Vengo a buscarle a él (1973)
Detrás de la puerta (1973)
Junto a ti es fácil olvidar (1973)
Las chicas de la estación (1973)
Me casé con mi empleado (1973)
Me casé con un desconocido (1973)
Mi falso novio (1973)
No me persigas así (1973)
No me venderé nunca (1973)
No necesitas decirme nada (1973)
Regresa, Eric (1973)
Tu orgullo nos separa (1973)
Vuelve conmigo (1973)
Agencia matrimonial (1973)
El destino llegó aquel día (1973)
Necesito casarme (1973)
No es posible que te cases con él (1973)
No te niego mi amor (1973)
Tú me enseñaste a vivir (1973)
No sé quien soy (1973)
Siempre estuve aquí (1973)
El tutor de Mauren (1973)
Sólo seré novia formal (1973)
Estás casado con otra (1973)
Mi marido lo sabia (1973)
Tengo que abandonarte (1973)
Tu vida es una mentira (1973)
Aquella noche en el río (1974)
Busco marido (1974)
Estuve con mi marido (1974)
Me obligaron a casarme contigo (1974)
Pienso enamorarte (1974)
Tu carita de niña (1974)
¿Siempre lo supiste? (1974)
Me da miedo tu amor (1974)
Me gustaría conocerte (1974)
Nunca te engañé (1974)
Prudente pasión (1974)
Quédate a mi lado (1974)
Teresa tiene razón (1974)
Tú no eres mi marido (1974)
Mi compromiso con Burt (1974)
Turbadora realidad (1974)
Nunca te olvidé (1974)
Soy poco para ti (1974)
No sufras por mi dolor (1974)
Rosas para Nélida (1974)
Yo estaba aquí (1974)
Consuélate conmigo (1974)
El falso novio (1974)
No iré a buscarte (1974)
¿Qué tienes contra mí? (1974)
Debéis casaros (1974)
Tendré que casarme (1974)
Huyes de ti misma (1974)
Me estabas conquistando (1974)
Volvamos a empezar (1974)
Lo supe después (1974)
Cásate conmigo y verás (1975)
Déjame contártelo (1975)
Díselo antes (1975)
El amigo de mi hija (1975)
La humildad de Chiara (1975)
Necesitaba ser así (1975)
No intento redimirte (1975)
No me importa lo que digan (1975)
No te buscaba (1975)
Se mujer para tu marido (1975)
Sólo contigo (1975)
Ayúdame en mi desconcierto (1976)
Debo dejarte (1976)
El novio de mi hija (1976)
El padre de Nicole (1976)
El peor castigo (1976)
Ingratitud (1976)
Júzgame como quieras (1976)
La enfermera de mamá (1976)
Nadie te conoce (1976)
No me interesa esto (1976)
No me mires así (1976)
No se creer en ti (1976)
No te hago de menos (1976)
Olvídate de aquello (1976)
Sé por qué te sigo (1976)
Soy aquella mujer (1976)
Te debes a tu nombre (1976)
Tu deseo me ofende (1976)
Voy casada (1976)
Debate matrimonial (1977)
Elige entre los dos (1977)
Inquieta Tití (1977)
La tía de Kitty (1977)
Me dejas así (1977)
No me convences (1977)
No olvidé lo ocurrido (1977)
No quiero que vuelva (1977)
Te ayudo yo (1977)
Te espero los domingos (1977)
Te he sido infiel (1977)
Tendrás que recordarme (1977)
Cuéntame que pasa (1978)
Divórciate de mí (1978)
Es rica y joven (1978)
Eso no es suficiente (1978)
Este encuentro (1978)
No es posible continuar (1978)
No le hagas caso a tu hija (1978)
Quiero conocerte mejor (1978)
La conciencia de Lucía (1978)
Acéptame como soy (1979)
Déjame ayudarte en tus dudas (1979)
El pasota (1979)
Empecé sin querer (1979)
Es mejor que me sigas (1979)
Esta es una realidad (1979)
Hay algo más que deseo (1979)
Llena mi soledad (1979)
Me atrajo su realidad (1979)
Mira para ti (1979)
No sé si la quiero (1979)
No te comprometas (1979)
No tolero que me engañe (1979)
Se lo cuento a mi amigo (1979)
Sombras de pesadilla (1979)
Trata de blancas (1979)
Ya llegará tu hora (1979)
Yo soy él (1979)
Un amor y cinco hombres (1979)
Aquellos tres meses (1979)
Acepta el swing (1980)
Así no me compras (1980)
Buscaré una solución (1980)
Crisis amorosa (1980)
Egoísmo imperdonable (1980)
El amigo de mamá (1980)
El profesor de mi hijo (1980)
Ella será mi mujer (1980)
En ti está mi futuro (1980)
En ti me refugio (1980)
Es nuestra vida (1980)
Esposa fiel (1980)
La encontré en el periódico (1980)
La encontré en un alto (1980)
Me has destrozado (1980)
Me siento humillada (1980)
Mi sobrina Susi (1980)
No aspires a mí (1980)
No conoce mi pecado (1980)
No es verdad (1980)
No tienes escrúpulos (1980)
No volví a ser lo que era (1980)
Pienso que es tarde (1980)
Que no te marque el fracaso (1980)
Se siente sola (1980)
Sigo aquí (1980)
Tengo que despreciarlo (1980)
Tengo que volver aquí (1980)
Tienes que saber la verdad (1980)
Tu madre o yo (1980)
Tuvo la culpa mi esterilidad (1980)
Vuelve aquí (1980)
Vuelve tu marido (1980)
Vuelvo a tu casa (1980)
Amor audaz (1981)
Anhelos y pasiones (1981)
Creo ser un buen hombre (1981)
Deseo prohibido (1981)
Es que no lo deseas (1981)
Estamos tan solos… (1981)
La inquietud de mi hijo (1981)
Me liberó la vida (1981)
Mi novia era una ingenua (1981)
No creo en tu fidelidad (1981)
No está loca (1981)
No me ocultes tus penas (1981)
No me ofendas pagándome (1981)
No te quiere (1981)
Nos separan los celos (1981)
Nunca renunciaré (1981)
Obseso sexual (1981)
Pat está en peligro (1981)
Piensa que estoy a tu lado (1981)
Posesión (1981)
Respeta mi vida (1981)
Sabía que me dejarías (1981)
Seguimos casados (1981)
Sensibilízame tú (1981)
Si esperas por mí (1981)
Tengo que prostituirme (1981)
Tu hijo es mío (1981)
Tú no puedes darme la felicidad (1981)
Tus pecados me apasionan (1981)
Un hombre inquietante (1981)
Ven a mi lado (1981)
Amor y odio (1982)
Así no le retengo (1982)
Atadura y pasión (1982)
Deja paso al cariño (1982)
Deliciosa mentira (1982)
El concepto de la vida (1982)
El viudo tímido (1982)
Enamora a mi mujer (1982)
Ignoraba que fuese casado (1982)
Insólita solución (1982)
La ley del sentimiento (1982)
La otra cara de la verdad (1982)
La revelación de Sue (1982)
Marcada para siempre (1982)
Marcada para siempre (1982)
Me gusta tu doncella (1982)
Mi encrucijada (1982)
No perturbes a mi hermana (1982)
No podía serle infiel (1982)
No quiero ser desleal (1982)
No tengo polilla (1982)
Sé que es casado (1982)
Sigo mi camino (1982)
Sublime ayuda (1982)
Supremo deseo (1982)
Te está mintiendo (1982)
Ambición y destino (1983)
Andy y sus hijos (1983)
Angustiosa esclavitud (1983)
Descubrimiento matrimonial (1983)
Diario de una cantante (1983)
Disculpo tus pecados (1983)
Disculpo, pero no perdono (1983)
El año decisivo (1983)
El destino no detiene (1983)
El final de una huída (1983)
El silencio de los dos (1983)
El testamento (1983)
El viaje de mi destino (1983)
Es mejor amante que marido (1983)
Esa pequeña bola del mundo (1983)
Intento consolarte (1983)
La pureza de Matilde (1983)
La travesía (1983)
Los amigos de Kima (1983)
Los prejuicios de Lucía (1983)
Los problemas de Edurne (1983)
Me gusta tu hogar (1983)
Mi querido ligón (1983)
No esperaba encontrarte (1983)
No me caso por poderes (1983)
No me robes su cariño (1983)
No quería casarme (1983)
No quiero ser falso (1983)
No sé qué espera (1983)
Quiero triunfar (1983)
Sácame de mis tinieblas (1983)
Si te casaras tú conmigo… (1983)
Su fama engañosa (1983)
Te odio por distinta (1983)
Tengo miedo a encadenarme (1983)
Tía Benny (1983)
Todo por él (1983)
Tus mentiras me maduran (1983)
Vengo a cobrar mi deuda (1983)
Volveré (1983)
Él cambió mi vida (1983)
El amor y la ley (1984)
El engaño de mi marido (1984)
El secreto de María (1984)
El testamento de la abuela (1984)
Eres una embustera (1984)
Intento sobrevivir (1984)
La amante de mi amigo (1984)
La noche de los dos (1984)
Mis vivencias con él (1984)
Necesito dejarte (1984)
No me agrada el ambiente (1984)
No me gusta ser oportunista (1984)
No quiero abortar (1984)
No quiero este negocio (1984)
Nunca olvide ese pasado (1984)
Quiero un hijo (1984)
Las gemelas (1984)
Buenos días, amor (1985)
El fracaso compensado (1985)
Me casan con él (1985)
No vuelvo a ser tu mujer (1985)
Te dejo sin amor (1985)
Tu misterio me intimida (1985)
Semblanzas íntimas (1986)
Cuando llega pizca (1986)
Perico y Nanay (1986)
La rebeldía de Boris (1986)
La herencia de Lole (1986)
El circo del corazón (1986)
Perdidos en el mar (1986)
El pensionado (1986)
El padre soy yo (1986)
El secreto del caserón (1986)
La segunda oportunidad (1986)
Los sentimientos de Koldo (1986)
La historia de bolita (1986)
Lo cuento como ocurrió (1986)
No me gusta divagar (1986)
La hija de mi mujer (1987)
Que futuro nos espera (1987)
Valeri tiene un amante (1987)
Convenio sentimental (1987)
Momentos de silencio (1987)
No sé si volveré a verte (1987)
Semblanzas íntimas (1987)
Aquel día nací (1987)
Brenda busca empleos (1987)
La debilidad Chusa (1987)
Mayka y su pasado (1987)
Necesito profesora (1987)
Volvamos al ayer (1987)
Fin de semana (1987)
María llega de América (1987)
Me intriga tu inquietud (1987)
Cartas a papá (1987)
El misterio de Molly (1987)
El primer amor (1987)
Verano revelador (1987)
Busquemos las razones (1987)
El diario de María (1987)
En aquella playa (1987)
Silencio matrimonial (1987)
Las nubes de Merry (1987)
Papá quiere casarse (1987)
Tregua amorosa (1987)
Así lo supe (1987)
El despacho de Betina (1987)
La segunda existencia (1987)
Mi caso original (1987)
Origen de un recuerdo (1987)
Cuando vuelvas (1987)
El desengaño de Raisa (1987)
El diario de la abuela (1987)
No puedo ser fiel (1987)
Vaivenes humanos (1987)
El marido de mi tía (1987)
Ingrato recuerdo (1987)
Las gemelas de Barbany (1987)
Me lo dijo Fran (1987)
No vivo con tu aventura (1987)
Prefiero que seas celosa (1987)
Aquella segunda vez (1987)
Boda singular (1987)
El laberinto del miedo (1987)
Mis experiencias (1987)
Prejuicios raciales (1987)
Sublime situación (1987)
Vacaciones amistosas (1987)
El marido de Pitusa (1987)
El retazo de mi vida (1987)
Mi amigo el capitán (1987)
Mi Nita querida (1987)
Rey sin testigos (1987)
Te acepto como eres (1987)
Corazón de chocolate (1988)
El regreso de Guy (1988)
Esta será mi esposa (1988)
Estamos solos (1988)
La debilidad de Chuso (1988)
Recuerdos de aquella noche (1988)
Tu diferencia (1988)
Un caballero y dos mujeres (1988)
Cásate con mi hermana (1988)
La alegría de la pandilla (1988)
Jana es madre (1988)
La humillación de Yago (1988)
Las aventuras de Eric (1988)
No sirve tu caridad (1988)
El secreto de Pipo (1988)
La señorita de Nike (1988)
Rebeldía justificada (1988)
El matrimonio de Vic (1988)
Marido de ocasión (1988)
Orgullo de una raza (1988)
Confidencias (1988)
El caza-fortunas (1988)
El hijo de Patricia (1988)
Felicidad aplazada (1988)
Intimo secreto (1988)
Las cicatrices de Kony (1988)
Roger y su tío (1988)
Volviendo al pasado (1988)
Esta es tu pupila (1988)
Su Alteza decide (1988)
Temores, dudas y amor (1988)
Un hombre tímido (1988)
Ama y olvida (1988)
Confusión y orgullo (1988)
Denise (1988)
El hombre de oro (1988)
Experiencia negativa (1988)
La fría prudencia (1988)
La vivencias de Betty (1988)
Las locuras de Nat (1988)
Me dejaste silenciosa (1988)
Me he casado con él (1988)
Nos hemos divorciado (1988)
Padre de ocasión (1988)
Se casa el marido de mamá (1988)
Amor oculto (1988)
La mujer de Bruce (1988)
Piadosa ocultación (1988)
Tío Marcel (1988)
Un abuelo en apuros (1988)
Cadena afectiva (1989)
El embustero (1989)
Obligada abstinencia (1989)
Quiero a tu mujer (1989)
El triunfo de la constancia (1989)
La viuda de Bertino (1989)
Una chica especial (1989)
Una mujer de sus padres (1989)
La tía Saskya (1989)
No quiero enamorarme (1989)
Curioso convenio (1989)
Dos mujeres en su vida (1989)
El enigma de Tania (1989)
No compro mujer (1989)
Nos separa el odio (1989)
Desconcertante revelación (1989)
Divorcio (1989)
Dudosa relación (1989)
Mi amigo Dany (1989)
Miss Nataly (1989)
Ocultación sentimental (1989)
Orientación femenina (1989)
La solución de Andrea (1989)
El deseo de un amor (1989)
La gran sorpresa (1989)
Comprendí aquel día (1989)
Favor peligroso (1989)
Ayer era diferente (1989)
Boda inesperada (1989)
Demasiadas mentiras (1989)
Ha llegado una frívola (1989)
Mentira amorosa (1989)
Sombra de duda (1989)
Una chica peligrosa (1989)
Verano en el mar (1989)
Vidas cruzadas (1989)
El ayer no vuelve (1990)
El caso de Sandra (1990)
El lazo invisible (1990)
No fue casualidad (1990)
Difícil convivencia (1990)
El matrimonio de papá (1990)
Las cartas de María (1990)
Decide el destino (1990)
Mapy y su realidad (1990)
Ocho años después (1990)
Reflexión silenciosa (1990)
Astucia de enamorada (1990)
El encuentro (1990)
Un marido confuso (1990)
Doloroso engaño (1990)
Inútil sacrificio (1990)
La frontera del olvido (1990)
Quieren casarme (1990)
Ella entre dos hombres (1990)
Maggy y sus argucias (1990)
Mi cuñado y yo (1990)
Tita busca un camino (1990)
Drama íntimo (1990)
El problema de mi hermano (1990)
Jugadas del destino (1990)
La boda de Betty (1990)
La marca del pasado (1990)
Los hermanos (1990)
Soy tu mujer (1990)
Un novio original (1990)
El dilema de Mattia (1990)
Encuentro inesperado (1990)
La herencia de Moni (1990)
Nunca fui padre (1990)
El día que te vi (1990)
El ligue de papá (1990)
La equivocación de Bryan (1990)
Si volviera el ayer (1990)
El médico de mi mujer (1990)
Nadie me lo preguntó (1990)
Una chica en apuros (1990)
La influencia del pasado (1990)
La vida de Chani (1990)
Las dos amigas (1990)
Trampa de amor (1990)
Aquellos matrimonios (1991)
El hijo de mi prima (1991)
La temeridad de Ginés (1991)
Las semanas de Alexia (1991)
Las veleidades de Tristán (1991)
Loca relación (1991)
Mi marido es un extraño (1991)
Mis calamidades (1991)
Una fácil elección (1991)
Cansancio justificado (1991)
Goyo busca niñera (1991)
La incógnita de una vida (1991)
La mujer de papá (1991)
La novia de Grey (1991)
La señorita de Omar (1991)
Miedo al pasado (1991)
Pasiones y dudas (1991)
Doble destino (1991)
El hijo de Natalia (1991)
Hay que casarlo (1991)
Independencia amorosa (1991)
La novia de Javi (1991)
Lío familiar (1991)
Encuentro deseado (1991)
Esas grises sombras (1991)
Drama interno (1991)
Forzoso engaño (1991)
La madre de Mateo (1991)
Mi encuentro con el amor (1991)
No hagas eso (1991)
Destino inesperado (1991)
Esposa de alquiler (1991)
Esposa para Oscar (1991)
Situación insólita (1991)
Aquella pesadilla (1991)
Aquellos días de Riana (1991)
Cartas a mi amiga (1991)
Deliciosa equivocación (1991)
Desgaste es la razón (1991)
Destino casual (1991)
El triunfo de Diana (1991)
Mis recuerdos (1991)
Originales memorias (1991)
Cásate con mi hija (1992)
Destino incierto (1992)
El destino de las sombras (1992)
Entre nebulosas (1992)
No supe defenderme (1992)
Ojalá te odiara (1992)
Relaciones comprometidas (1992)
Un hombre en apuros (1992)
Una llamada oportuna (1992)
La amante de Fran (1992)
La pesadilla de Olivia (1992)
Las dudas de Eric (1992)
No me encuentro (1992)
Se casa conmigo (1992)
Tío Fabio (1992)
Boda oportuna (1992)
Debilidad humana (1992)
Déjame volver (1992)
El enigma de Omar (1992)
Llegó ahora (1992)
Lo culpo a él (1992)
Mi boda con Patricia (1992)
Mi cuento (1992)
Tentando a Gus (1992)
Tengo que recuperarlo (1992)
Cásate conmigo otra vez (1992)
Mi endiablado orgullo (1992)
La culpa de Andrea (1992)
Las pruebas de José (1992)
Sorpresas (1992)
Amante de mi marido (1992)
Aquel tópico femenino (1992)
La soledad de Oscar (1992)
Sombras del pasado (1992)
Una chica suficiente (1992)
Una duda confusa (1992)
La sombra de otro querer (1992)
Convenio amistoso (1992)
El dilema de la tía (1992)
Ana busca marido (1992)
Aquel mes especial (1992)
Divorcio convenido (1992)
La vi aquella vez (1992)
Lucha oculta (1992)
Tentación calculada (1992)
Una mujer en apuros (1992)
El secreto de Núria (1992)
Espero verte después (1992)
Esta segunda vez (1992)
Me case con un mentiroso (1992)
Presión inesperada (1992)
Te estoy conociendo (1992)
Un marido de embriaguez (1992)
Vacilaciones (1992)
Entre dudas (1993)
Ese mundo de tinieblas (1993)
Matrimonio de transición (1993)
Mi amigo Mauro (1993)
Mi cuento de hadas (1993)
Piénsalo dos veces (1993)
Prefiero callarlo (1993)
Situación difícil (1993)
Es que te quiero (1993)
No sé lo que hará (1993)
El regreso (1993)
Los celos de Fran (1993)
Mamá piensa casarse (1993)
No esperaba eso de él (1993)
Aquel extraño caso (1993)
El primo Iván (1993)
La esposa de Pepino (1993)
Soy casado (1993)
El desengaño de Mel (1993)
Mi amiga Tati (1993)
Piensa en ti misma (1993)
Seamos sólo amigos (1993)
Sometida (1993)
Un orgullo exagerado (1993)
Acoso sexual (1993)
Nosotros no tenemos la culpa (1993)
Ocurrió así (1993)
Una historia confusa (1993)
Me gano la felicidad (1993)
Desayuno con amor (1993)
La vida y sus sorpresas (1993)
Defenderé tu causa (1994)
Tu pasado me condena (1996)
No sufras por tu dolor (1999)
Milagro en el camino (2000)
Dany amoroso (2001)
Redumida (2001)
Amargos sentimientos (2003)
Doce en solitario (2006) Los diarios de Isabel Guzmán Series [ edit ] Diario de una enfermera (1958) Diario de una madre (1958) Querer no es poder Series [ edit ] Los jueves de Leila (1961) La indecisión de Leila (1961) Cartas robadas Series [ edit ] Sólo lo compadecí (1967) No me culpes a mí (1967) Los fantasmas del pasado Series [ edit ] Me apasiona tu obsesión (1967) Peligra nuestro amor (1967) Ana, mujer de mundo Series [ edit ] Pagarás tu mentira (1968) Venganza frustrada (1968) La historia de Dolca Ortiz Series [ edit ] Así me metí allí (1968) La boda de boda de Dolca Ortiz (1968) Me caso por obligación Series [ edit ] Angustiosa inquietud (1968) ¡Si yo pudiera cambiar! (1968) Ahora o Nunca Series [ edit ] Nunca me recordaste (1973) Ahora no te puedo olvidar (1973) In collaboration with Jesús Zantón Santiago [ edit ] Los tres aventureros Series [ edit ] Los amigos (1986) Alarma (1986) La barca (1986) Llega Nika (1986) As Ada Miller Leswy [ edit ] (Erotic novels published by Editorial Brugera) Fruto prohibido , 1978/01
, 1978/01 Retazos de p lacer, 1978/01
lacer, 1978/01 Tengo que ser infiel , 1978/02
, 1978/02 Audacia am orosa, 1978/03
orosa, 1978/03 Busco mi vi da, 1978/03
da, 1978/03 Apasionadamente mía , 1978/03
, 1978/03 Locuras , 1978/05
, 1978/05 Empezó en la carretera , 1978/07
, 1978/07 Erótica atracción , 1978/08
, 1978/08 Inquietante Lauren, 1978/08 As Ada Miller [ edit ] (Erotic novels published by Editorial Brugera) Amor en penumbra , 1978/04
, 1978/04 Ansiedad , 1978/04
, 1978/04 Placeres y pasiones , 1978/09
, 1978/09 Un amor cada día , 1978/09
, 1978/09 Trauma sexual , 1979/02
, 1979/02 Fuego erótico , 1979/03
, 1979/03 Quiero ser como soy , 1979/03
, 1979/03 Te enseñó a amar , 1979/04
, 1979/04 Apasionada Betty , 1979/05
, 1979/05 La deseó a ella , 1979/05
, 1979/05 Vendemos sexo , 1979/05
, 1979/05 Prefiero el sexo , 1979/06
, 1979/06 Voy a vivir , 1979/06
, 1979/06 Solo quiero vivir , 1979/07
, 1979/07 Verás cómo te gusto , 1979/07
, 1979/07 Pasión de vivir, 1979/08 |
Home arcade cabinet maker Dream Arcades is addressing the primary shortcoming of most home arcades: the lack of integration with beer kegs. With the company's latest product, the Dreamcade Kegerator Pro 60, no longer will home arcade enthusiasts suffer the excruciating walk to the nearest refrigerator for a cold brew.
In addition to featuring a 60 inch HD screen and more than 140 pre-loaded classic arcade games, the Kegerator Pro 60 comes equipped with a built-in fridge and three taps, making a refill on the frosty beverage of your choice within easy reach. The cabinet also features a pair of drink holders on each side of the cabinet, should players need a spot to store their pint glass.
The level of thirst-quenching and classic gaming convenience doesn't come cheap, however. The asking price for the Kegerator Pro 60 is $4,999. Dream Arcades also offers a less expensive option with a 29 inch screen, if price is a factor.
Dream Arcades' MAME-based cabinets come pre-loaded with classic arcade games like Pac-Man, Street Fighter 2, Galaga, Centipede, Dragon's Lair and many more. |
A visitor tours an exhibit depicting the main gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. A 91-year-old woman was charged with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder for her role as a radio operator in the camp. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
KIEL , Germany, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- German prosecutors charged a 91-year-old woman with 260,000 counts of accessory to murder for her alleged World War II role at a Nazi death camp.
Prosecutors accused the unidentified woman of being a member of the SS, the armed wing of the Nazi Party, and a radio operator for several months in 1944 for the camp commandant of the Auschwitz, Poland, concentration camp. They argue she can be charged because she facilitated in the deaths of inmates at the camp. Her trial, in the city of Kiel, is likely to begin next year.
State prosecutor Heinz Dollel said she will likely be prosecuted in a juvenile court because she was a minor when she was assigned to the Auschwitz-Birkenau facility in 1944. He said he presumed she is fit to stand trial, and that the court would consider documents from Germany's central archive of Nazi crimes in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, before deciding if a trial is required.
In July 2015, Oskar Groning, 94, a former SS bookkeeper, received a four-year prison sentence under similar circumstances, convicted as an accessory to murder. He claimed his Auschwitz assignment did not include the deaths of any inmates.
RELATED Former Auschwitz Nazi guard on trial in Germany over Holocaust murders
A written judgement by the court in Lunenberg, released Monday, said "all the defendant's activity in Auschwitz was characterized by the fact that it supported multiple murders, without providing support to specific individual acts."
The ruling departed from a decades-long practice in German courts of requiring proof that SS members committed at least one direct crime before they could be convicted. |
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian buoyed hopes in the country’s solar power industry on Monday just days after announcing a dramatic cut in subsidies.
A worker takes a rest under solar panels at a soon-to-be completed solar park at Sanlucar La Mayor, near Seville, February 13, 2008. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo
Madrid last week announced plans to cut by almost 90 percent its subsidies for solar photovoltaic (PV) power after a stampede for support left Madrid with a multi-billion euro liability.
But the cuts will not apply to solar thermal, a technology that concentrates the sun’s light to produce heat and steam which in turn drives turbines, rather than producing electricity directly in silicon PV panels.
“It is Spanish companies which are exporting technology to generate this (solar thermal) energy, including to the United States,” said Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian.
Sebastian was speaking as work started on Monday on a new 50 megawatt plant in the southern town of Ciudad Real, slated to come on line in 2010 and which could power around 30,000 homes.
The Cobra unit of Spanish construction company ACS will build the plant.
“This makes us the standard for clean technology with a great future,” he said, suggesting the government was committed to this form of solar power.
Sebastian’s comments buoyed hopes among investors, some of whom expect Madrid to cut support for solar thermal from 2010. Shares in Solaria, a Spanish company which makes both solar thermal panels and PV panels, rose more than 25 percent directly as a result of Sebastian’s comments, traders said.
Solar thermal, also known as concentrated solar power (CSP), has been slower to take off than other, smaller scale alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar PV, because it requires more up-front investment.
But it may be the next big thing as coal and oil prices rise and because of new subsidy support in hot, sunny countries like Spain, where it works best.
Germany’s Solar Millennium helped develop Spain’s Andasol 1 solar thermal project, Europe’s first such plant, which is due to start power production in October.
U.S. MARKET
“The feed-in tariff (subsidy) in Spain gives a lot of confidence to banks,” Henner Gladen, Solar Millennium chief technology officer, told Reuters.
“The next big market will be the United States, once we see the investment tax credit in law, which we expect either end this year or next year,” he added, expecting 200 MW or 400 MW units there which would rival the capacity of conventional gas and coal plants.
Other expected markets where subsidies are planned or in operation include Australia, Italy and Greece.
Spain’s planned solar PV cut, announced last week, will grant subsidies annually to 100 MW large installations, compared with expected installations this year of at least 1,000 MW. The cap will also allow for 200 MW of smaller, roof-mounted units. |
On the 10th of March 2016, starting from 08:00 AM CET (EU server) and 00:00 AM PST (NA server), the Open Beta servers will not be available for five hours (until approximately 13:00 CET - 05:00 AM PST) due to the application of server-side Matchmaker Hotfix, bringing corrections to some of the matchmaking issues in Armored Warfare.
List of Matchmaker Hotfix Changes
Significantly improved the situation where the Matchmaker 2.0 created incorrect (unfair) team setups, especially during low server population hours
Applied a number of corrections to shorten the waiting times for all players
Fixed the issue where Matchmaker 2.0 was creating battles full of Premium vehicles
Fixed the issue that created extremely long waiting times for some players
Please note that the maintenance can be extended beyond the abovementioned timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience. |
Racing driver Paul Di Resta today told the High Court that he might not drive for the Sahara Force India Formula 1 team next season.
Di Resta said he was talking to team bosses but it looked likely that he would lose his seat.
He said he that thought Force India was having discussions with rival driver Sergio Perez.
Di Resta said his manager had chatted to the Sauber Formula 1 team about a possible move and he said he was discussing driving for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM touring car series.
"(Force India) are speaking to me every two or three days," said Di Resta. "They may be interested. They may not. I believe they are in talks with Sergio Perez."
He added: "It's looking likely that I will not be driving."
Di Resta said the other Formula 1 possibility was Sauber.
"The only team that really has any possibility is Sauber," he said. "There has been nothing other than a chat with my manager."
Di Resta added: "I am speaking to Mercedes-Benz for DTM."
He was giving evidence at a High Court trial in London after being sued by former manager Anthony Hamilton - the father of Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton - for wrongful termination of a contract.
He told the court of the "strange" behind-the-scenes situation after Lewis Hamilton severed managerial ties with his father.
Di Resta said sometimes Anthony Hamilton was friendly with his son and sometimes he would avoid him at "all costs".
Anthony Hamilton had earlier told the trial how he stopped being his son's manager in 2010.
Di Resta was asked about the situation in 2011.
"It was a strange situation," he said. "Mr Hamilton was in the paddock sometimes with us.
"Sometimes he would be very friendly with Lewis. Sometimes he and his wife Linda would be avoiding Lewis at all costs."
The hearing continues. |
Kalitta Motorsports has announced the expansion to a third Top Fuel dragster team to be driven by Troy Coughlin, Jr., beginning in the 2017 season. This announcement aligns two of the legendary names in the sport, Kalitta and Coughlin, for the first time.
“I am very excited to be competing in the Top Fuel class with Kalitta Motorsports,” said Coughlin Jr. “Kalitta Motorsports has a lot of history and legacy in NHRA similar to my family. The first time I came to Team Kalitta I noticed the family-type atmosphere and the extreme desire to win and I knew this was the team I wanted to be involved with. I am studying hard and plan to hit the ground running and have a strong start to the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.”
Coughlin, Jr. is the current points leader in Division 3’s Super Comp division. He previously won the 2013 Super Gas title in Division 3 and is a two-time NHRA U.S. Nationals winner. Last season, he drove in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod series and was named Rookie of the Year. In his career, the 26-year-old driver has driven Jr. Dragsters, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Dragster, and Pro Mod machines. Earlier this year, he earned his Top Fuel license.
Next season, Coughlin, Jr. is currently scheduled to compete in a limited schedule that may be expanded with additional funding.
Coughlin, Jr. comes from a family with a long line of NHRA success. He will be the first Coughlin to compete in the Top Fuel ranks since his grandfather, Jeg Coughlin Sr., won races in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. His father, Troy Coughlin Sr., is the reigning NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod champion, while his uncles, John Coughlin, Mike Coughlin and Jeg Coughlin, Jr., are all multi-time champions. John and Mike earned multiple Division 3 titles, while Jeg is a five-time Pro Stock champion and current Countdown for the Championship qualifier. All totaled the Coughlin family owns 111 NHRA national event wins.
Troy Jr. is expected to be a strong contender for the 2017 AAA Road to the Future rookie of the year trophy, which is something that his uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr., claimed in 1998, and three of his new teammates -- Del Worsham (1991), Doug Kalitta (1998) and J.R. Todd (2006) -- have also earned.
“Kalitta Motorsports is thrilled to have Troy Jr. join our team,” said Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Operations, Kalitta Motorsports. “He has a ton of talent and a passion for racing. The Coughlin and Kalitta names have a long track record of success in NHRA drag racing and we know Troy, Jr. is just going to help continue that tradition of success for both families for years to come.”
Founded in 1959, Kalitta Motorsports will expand to a sixth entry for the first time in its history. As the only multi-car nitro team to qualify every team in the Countdown for the Championship for the past three seasons, Team Kalitta has a long history of success. Coughlin Jr. will have an incredible set of teammates to lean on as he goes through his rookie season. Current Team Kalitta drivers Kalitta, Todd, Worsham, Alexis DeJoria and Paul Lee have nearly 100 combined victories and more than 1,000 round wins.
Coughlin Jr.’s 2017 schedule, sponsorship, and crew chief will be announced at a later date. |
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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. – A Virginia firefighter has been reassigned after she was arrested for rioting in Washington D.C. on Inauguration Day.
Court documents state Rosa Roncales was a part of an anarchist group that disrupted inauguration events by smashing windows and setting things on fire.
Roncales was charged with felony rioting in connection to the incidents that caused damage in excess of $100,000, according to court documents.
The documents said officers with the Metropolitan Police Department were monitoring a planned assembly of individuals that were known to be associated with an anarchist group.
They said they had prior knowledge of the group’s intent to disrupt Inauguration-related activities, in part because of social media postings.
Many members of the group, estimated to be in excess of 300 people, were carrying anarchist flags, wearing black clothing, and black bandanas and masks, police said. Members of the group were also carrying weapons, like a hammer and a baseball bat, according to court documents.
The incident in question happened around 10 a.m. Inauguration morning near the intersection of 13th and O Street.
Officers observed members of the group tear trash cans and newspaper boxes off of the street, drag them onto the road, and set them on fire, according to court documents.
Those documents stated the group then proceeded to smash out the windows of a D.C. Fire and EMS vehicle outside of a firehouse.
Then, after following the group for approximately 28 minutes, officers said members of the group smashed out large plate glass windows from Starbucks Coffee, Sun-Trust Bank and Wells Fargo Bank and lit a limousine on fire.
Police said the group incited a riot by organizing, promoting, encouraging and participating in acts of violence.
CBS 6 reached out to Henrico County Fire for comment.
Someone in human resources said Roncales was still employed, but has been reassigned to an administrative position. They also say Roncales would remain in that role until a decision was made in the case, but she likely would not be able to remain a firefighter if she was convicted of a felony.
She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 9, 2017. |
We describe a machine learning technique for reconstructing image sequences rendered using Monte Carlo methods. Our primary focus is on reconstruction of global illumination with extremely low sampling budgets at interactive rates. Motivated by recent advances in image restoration with deep convolutional networks, we propose a variant of these networks better suited to the class of noise present in Monte Carlo rendering. We allow for much larger pixel neighborhoods to be taken into account, while also improving execution speed by an order of magnitude. Our primary contribution is the addition of recurrent connections to the network in order to drastically improve temporal stability for sequences of sparsely sampled input images. Our method also has the desirable property of automatically modeling relationships based on auxiliary per-pixel input channels, such as depth and normals. We show significantly higher quality results compared to existing methods that run at comparable speeds, and furthermore argue a clear path for making our method run at realtime rates in the near future |
A bill to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from regulating Internet prices passed a House committee on Tuesday, despite bitter criticism from Democrats who said it would diminish the FCC‘s ability to preserve an open Internet.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s vote on the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act was 29 to 19, with Democrats voting en masse not to send the bill to the full House.
The bill’s single sentence reads, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Communications Commission may not regulate the rates charged for broadband Internet access service.”
Republicans say the bill prevents the FCC from chilling marketplace competition by setting artificial caps on what Internet service providers can charge their customers. At the House markup, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) called it “a one-sentence bill that a fourth-grader can understand.”
But Democrats responded that, without a definition of rate regulation, the bill could provide the legal basis for industry lawsuits delaying FCC regulatory practices.
The rate-regulation bill arose after the FCC reclassified broadband Internet so that it could apply net-neutrality protections to it under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.
The reclassification gave the FCC the power to prevent ISPs from blocking, slowing down, or charging extra for certain content or services. But it also imported from the phone ecosystem the power to regulate rates, and while FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler promised not to use that power, congressional Republicans want to permanently remove that authority.
“The Obama FCC has bent over backwards to try to figure out a way to try to get regulation of the Internet,” Barton told his colleagues.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee, argued that the bill was an insurance policy against future commissions with more activist urges than Wheeler’s. He warned that Wheeler’s promise not to regulate rates did not cover punishing a company for its prices after it had introduced a service.
“Maybe this FCC won’t go down that path,” he said, “but there’s no guarantee the next one won’t.”
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who sponsored an amendment codifying Wheeler’s promise as an alternative to the bill’s broader language, voiced the frustrations of many committee Democrats.
“I wish it were simpler,” Eshoo told Barton. “I tried to make it simple.”
The committee defeated Eshoo’s amendment 20 to 27.
Correction: The final vote total on sending the bill to the House was 29-19.
Photo via David Davies/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) |
When expat Luxembourger Hugo Gernsback arrived in the United States in 1904, even he could not have predicted the impact his lush imagination and storytelling drive would have on the global literary landscape.
Related Content Predictions From The Father of Science Fiction
Young, haughty and dressed to the nines, Gernsback, who had received a technical education in Europe, soon established himself not only as a New York electronics salesman and tinkerer, but also as a prolific, forward-thinking publisher with a knack for blending science and style.
Modern Electrics, his first magazine, provided readers with richly illustrated analyses of technologies both current and speculative. Always sure to include a prominent byline for himself, Gernsback delved into the intricacies of subjects like radio wave communication, fixating without fail on untapped potential and unrealized possibilities.
Owing to their historical import, many of Gernsback's publications are now preserved at the Smithsonian Libraries on microfiche and in print, 50 years after his death on August 19, 1967. Enduring legacy was not on the young man's mind in his early days, though—his Modern Electrics efforts were quick and dirty, hurriedly written and mass-printed on flimsy, dirt-cheap paper.
With a hungry readership whose size he did not hesitate to boast of, Gernsback found himself constantly under the gun. Running low on Modern Electrics content one 1911 April evening, the 26-year-old science junkie made a fateful decision: he decided to whip up a piece of narrative fiction.
Centered on the exploits of a swashbuckling astronaut called Ralph 124C (“one to foresee”), the pulpy tale intermixed over-the-top action—complete with a damsel in distress—with frequent, elaborate explanations of latter-day inventions.
To Gernsback’s surprise, his several-page filler story—which ended on a moment of high suspense—was a smash hit among readers. His audience wanted more, and Gernsback was all too happy to oblige.
In the next 11 issues of Modern Electrics, he parceled out the adventure in serial fashion, ultimately creating enough content for a novel, which he published in 1925.
Nothing gave Hugo Gernsback more joy than sharing his visions of the future with others, and with the success of his flamboyant “Romance of the Year 2660,” he realized that he had a genuine audience.
Eager to deliver exciting and prophetic content to his followers, Gernsback founded Amazing Stories in 1926, conceptualizing it as the perfect outré complement to the more rigorous material of Modern Electrics and the similarly themed Electrical Experimenter (first published in 1913). The purview of the new publication was to be “scientifiction”—wild tales rife with speculative science.
In an early issue of Amazing Stories, Gernsback laid out his foundational mission statement. "Having made scientifiction a hobby since I was 8 years old, I probably know as much about it as any one," he wrote, "and in the long run experience will teach just what type of stories is acclaimed by the vast majority." Within the text of the editorial note, Gernsback exhorted himself to "Give the readers the very best type of stories that you can get hold of," while recognizing fully that this would be a "pioneer job."
Gernsback wasn't the first to pen a science fiction story, granted—the inaugural issue of Amazing Stories featured reprints of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, and indeed there are far older works that could plausibly fit the description. What he did do was put a name to it, and collect under one roof the output of disparate authors in search of unifying legitimacy.
In the eyes of prominent present-day sci-fi critic Gary Westfahl, this was a heroic achievement unto itself. "I came to recognize that Gernsback had effectively created the genre of science fiction," Westfahl recalls in his book Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction. Gernsback, he wrote, "had an impact on all works of science fiction published since 1926, regardless of whether he played any direct role in their publication."
Though Gernsback’s writing is at times stilted and dry, despite his best intentions, his laser focus on imagining and describing the technologies of tomorrow—sometimes with uncanny accuracy—paved the way for all manner of A-list sci-fi successors.
Isaac Asimov has termed Gernsback the “father of science fiction,” without whose work he says his own career could never have taken off. Ray Bradbury has stated that “Gernsback made us fall in love with the future.”
Hugo Gernsback was by no means a man without enemies—his ceaseless mismanagement of contributors’ money made sure of that. Nor is he wholly free from controversy—a column of his detailing a theoretical skin-whitening device is especially likely to raise eyebrows.
But while acknowledging such character flaws is, of course, necessary, it is equally so to highlight the passion, vitality, and vision of an individual committed to disseminating to his readers the wonder of scientific advancement.
It was for these traits that Gernsback was chosen as the eponym of science-fiction’s Hugo award, and it is for these traits that he is worth remembering today, 50 years after his passing. Between television, Skype and wireless phone chargers, the great prognosticator would find our modern world pleasingly familiar. |
Yesterday while most of us were checking out various April Fools hoaxes, Google updated its News and Weather apps to v2.3, adding a few small changes including improvements to the interface for configuring the weather card, notifications for important stories, and a new “suggested for you” section.
The latter two changes are certainly the stars of this update. In News and Weather 2.3, Google will allow the app to post system notifications every time major news breaks. From the sounds of it, these notifications will be tailored to your reading habits, interests and so forth. Of course, you can always disable notifications if you’d rather not deal with them. As for the “Suggested for you” section, you’ll find various stories the app has recommended, based on your own search history. As you can see in the screenshots above, my “Suggested for you” was filled to the brim with tech-related news and announcements, though you’re mileage may vary.
To grab the latest update, you’ll want to head on over to Google Play. |
The image was thought to be a social media hoax but the Royal Air Force have now confirmed it is genuine.
The Royal Air Force have now confirmed to the UK Defence Journal and other news outlets that the image, created in response to the Manchester attack, is authentic:
“The RAF can confirm the photo was genuine.”
The picture appeared on Twitter earlier with the caption “RAF Armourer on a Reaper UAV squadron wrote this on a Hellfire missile before taking off on a Syria mission” however it is now understood that the image shows a message on a Paveway IV bomb loaded on a British jet carrying out air strikes from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
In addition, The Sun quote a Royal Air Force spokesperson as saying:
“The sentiment of the message is understandable under the circumstances. There’s a history of messages being written on missiles in the RAF. It’s unlikely the individual responsible for it will be disciplined.”
The RAF website describes the bomb in detail:
“Paveway IV significantly increases the RAF’s capability to deliver precision effects matched to the target set. The weapon is cockpit-programmable and allows the aircrew to select weapon impact angle, attack direction and fusing mode to detonate in airburst, impact or post-impact delay modes.
The fuze minimises collateral damage through the ability to detonate the weapon when buried or partially buried, and is fitted with a ‘Late-Arm’ safety functionality that will not allow an off-course munition to arm. The warhead is also designed to meet the latest requirements of NATO Insensitive Munition safety policy.”
What is the current status of the air campaign?
In December 2016, it was reported that the Royal Air Force is operating at its most intense for 25 years in a single theatre of operation which far outstripped the UK involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan – RAF jets have dropped 11 times more bombs (1,276 strikes) on Syria and Iraq in the preceding 12 months than they had in the busiest year of action in Afghanistan a decade previously.
The cost of the operations against Islamic State and other details of the campaign were revealed in a briefing paper. In March 2015 the MoD confirmed that the net additional costs of the military air operation would be met from the Treasury Special Reserve; while the costs of training and equipping the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, and the provision of key enablers, would be met from the MoD’s Deployed Military Activity Pool.
In answer to a parliamentary question in September 2016 the MoD set the costs of the operation, between August 2014 and the 31st of March 2016, at £265 million (£45 million in the 2014-15 financial year, and £220 million in the 2015-16 financial year). |
There is a “war on cash” going on from the central banks, trying to reduce the usage (and personal storage) of cash. This is something that makes sense as a power move against the common people in a time of forced negative interest rates, but it is a shocking reduction of liberty and privacy (of finance), not to mention that the official justifications don’t hold a shred of water. What’s really behind this trend?
Would you like your government to have more insight into your personal finances than you have yourself? That’s where we’re heading with the ongoing “war on cash” – into a world where every transaction is not just loggable by the government (or a government-coerced agent), but where you can also be held responsible for anything and everything you buy and sell.
There’s both a carrot and a stick in this scheme of making everything traceable and trackable. The stick consists of outright bans on cash transactions – several European countries have banned cash transactions exceeding 1,000 euros. Uruguay has banned cash transactions over $5,000. Even Switzerland has proposed banning cash transactions over 100,000 Swiss francs (admittedly a high number, but once a government declares a right to ban cash transactions, the number is a matter of degree and not principle).
The carrots and incentives for not using cash, meanwhile, mostly take the form of making it easier to pay using cards. The latest example of Amazon Go, a brick-and-mortar store where there’s no checkout at all but you just grab what you want and leave, is one example of such a carrot. It is undeniably more convenient than standing in an annoying checkout line. Combine this with various fees for withdrawing cash from your own account in the bank, and the incentives become clearer.
But why pursue this direction? There are many conceivable reasons for wanting to eliminate cash from circulation altogether. ZeroHedge has homed in on the elimination of cash being an absolute necessity to maintain a zero-interest (or even negative-interest) policy, which in turn remains necessary to prevent a financial bloodbath. Others have talked about the costs inherent in transporting cash in armored cars, or the risk of robbery being eliminated.
From a national policymaking perspective, though, the general excuse seems to be to “make it difficult for organized crime”. This was the excuse behind the elimination of the 500-euro note, for example.
But from a national perspective, this excuse makes absolutely no sense at all. At the national level, the game is to dominate other countries. Petty organized crime is not really relevant at that level, unless it is useful in the context of dominating other countries. And that’s where we find that this excuse – this “we need to be tough on organized crime” – is a complete Maskirovka, a complete façade, an utter lie. It doesn’t make sense at all.
The notion of a currency being used as a default currency in global organized crime is a concept that has geopolitical strategists positively salivating.
Organized crime – which in many cases is just free and consensual non-aggressive trade which is still governmentally banned – is a significant part of the global economy, an estimated ten per cent. A very significant part, one that uses large amounts of currency in cash format. If you’re responsible for dominating other countries, one of the best and safest ways to do this is to pull strings that increase the value of your currency. We know from supply-and-demand lessons that this can take the form of causing the demand for the currency to increase.
If your currency is the default trade currency for organized crime, this brings an enormous benefit to your economy as a whole – it has been estimated that it means as much as 25% higher standard of living, for everybody. Given this number, there are two immediate and obvious observations:
1) A crackdown on cash transactions with the excuse of “combating organized crime” is utter bollocks of the highest order. When you’re working on the national policy level, you’re doing your utmost to have organized crime use your currency and nobody else’s. It’s the equivalent of printing lots of free money – roughly the equivalent of 10% of the world’s GDP.
2) More concerningly, given the enormous benefit of having organized crime use your own currency, what concern is more pressing than this – 10% global GDP essentially for free – that is the actual cause for these actions to fight cash?
Liberty and privacy, including financial privacy, remain your own responsibility. |
Napalmer, on 01 June 2016 - 09:34 PM, said: Let's hope it's better for its tier than the AC1... In its current state, the AC1 is a disgrace to Australia.
Hello's.
Well, it depends on your perspective.. One could say its the most endowed tank in the game ......
But seriously .. when it came to "The wot AC1 in game tank" , I requested it remain appropriate / and realistic to the real life sentinel we bought and "shipped back home to Australia" to renew / protect, and put on display for Australian's to enjoy.
The gun certainly is a bit under-powered being a 2 pounder.. as for the tank's balancing as a whole .. it has a fairly high win rate % (over 52%).. so it can't be too badly balanced..
As for the AC4, it packs a punch with the 17 pounder gun.
Both the AC4, and the AC1 go into the premium shop semi-perma on the 3rd of June. IE perma until I decide to remove them...
AND . there is a "Ultimate" AC4 package which is highly discounted, which is on promo for about 1.5 weeks starting 3rd June also.
Regards
Tan |
Next weekend is the Vintage Computer Festival West, held at the Computer History Museum. Hackaday is once again proud to sponsor this event that brings together the people and hardware that drove the information revolution. [Bil Herd] and [Joshua Vasquez] will be on hand representing the Hackaday Crew.
This year’s talks show an impressive lineup of people. [Bil Herd] will be on stage with a collection of other engineers who secured Commodore’s place in history. The Computer History Museum has a very active restoration program for original computer hardware. Friend of Hackaday, [Ken Shirriff], has been working on a restoration of the Xerox Alto and is on the panel giving a talk about the process. And just to cherry-pick one more highlight, there’s a talk on system debugging before you even turn the thing on — a topic that can save you from having a very bad day with very ancient hardware.
A great part of VCF is that the exhibits are often either hands-on or demonstrations so you can actually play around with hardware which most people have never even seen in person. Add to that the collection at the Computer History Museum plus some extra exhibits they have planned for the event and you’re likely to run out of time before you make your way through everything.
Since we’ve mentioned the Computer History Museum, we also have some upcoming news. A bit later this month, Hackaday Contributor-at-Large [Voja Antonic] has been invited to visit the museum, record his oral history, and deliver to their collection an original Galaksija computer — wildly successful first as a kit and then as a manufactured computer which he built in Yugoslavia 1983. Congratualtions [Voja]! |
Twelve international banks and financial institutions are set to file submissions to the Court of Appeal, after a British lesbian’s legal bid to obtain a dependent visa from the Hong Kong Immigration Department was denied last year.
Last March, the High Court rejected a judicial review application from the woman known as QT, who entered into a civil partnership with another woman, SS, in Britain. When SS moved to Hong Kong to work at a technology firm in 2011, QT was denied a dependent visa, and has had to repeatedly enter the city as a tourist.
The same dependent visa is routinely granted to heterosexual couples. QT has since appealed the High Court’s rejection of her legal challenge.
Intervenors
HKFP has learnt that at least 12 global financial institutions have applied to the Court of Appeal to be able to file submissions as intervenors in the case. They plan to speak about how the results of the case could affect Hong Kong’s competitiveness and ability to hire global talent.
The institutions include: ABN AMRO Bank, AIG Insurance Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, the Bank of New York Mellon, Blackrock Management North Asia, Credit Suisse (Hong Kong), Goldman Sachs Services (Hong Kong), Morgan Stanley Asia, Nomura International Hong Kong, the Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale and State Street Bank & Trust.
The Court of Appeal is still considering the applications. The hearing is scheduled to begin later this month.
“By applying to intervene, they seek to assist the court by giving a more rounded picture of the issues than it would otherwise obtain, by providing an employer’s perspective to the court’s considerations,” read a statement from law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, representing the banks.
QT’s lawyer Michael Vidler also confirmed there had been an application to intervene by some banks, but did not give further details.
Lawmaker Ray Chan – Hong Kong’s only openly gay legislator – said on Twitter that protecting workers’ rights is the “right thing to do for business.”
As a financial center, #HongKong must stay competitive internationally: equal rights for #LGBT talents, dependent visa for same-sex couple. — Ray Chan (@slowbeat_chan) June 7, 2017
A spokesperson for rights NGO Community Business told HKFP it supports the application by the banks, saying that inclusive businesses can lead wider society to change its attitudes towards the LGBT community.
“This issue not only affects overseas talent,” she said, “but also local home-grown talent who may be in a same-sex partnership which has been legally registered and recognised overseas.”
“The proposed change to Hong Kong’s immigration policy, besides being good for business, would not undermine stringent immigration controls.”
In an unrelated case, the High Court ruled in April that the Hong Kong government should grant civil servant welfare benefits to the spouses of civil servants married to same-sex partners overseas.
See also: Hong Kong gov’t appeals High Court ruling on marriage benefits for gay couple
But the government appealed the decision the following month after backlash from conservative groups, including a petition from 27,000 and five legislators.
HKFP has contacted several of the institutions for comment. |
The latest charity figures reveal the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK rose by 11 per cent in the first six months of this year with London reporting three-quarters of all recorded attacks.
The Community Security Trust (CST) said 577 incidents targeting Jews were reported to the charity from January to June. This was up from 473 in the same period last year, a trend the charity’s chief executive, David Delew, said was “worrying”.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd responded by condemning the “deplorable rise” of incidents, which included 41 violent assaults.
The CST, which has compiled data on anti-Semitic hate incidents in the UK since 1984, said there was no “obvious single cause” for the high number.
The total of 557 incidents is the second-highest CST has ever recorded in the January-June period of any year. The highest total for the first half of any year came in 2009, when 629 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded due to anti-Semitic reactions to the conflict in Israel and Gaza in January 2009.
A further 364 reports were received by CST between January and June 2016, but were not deemed to be anti-Semitic and are not included in this total.
Mr. Delew said: “This rise in reported anti-Semitism comes at a time when division, intolerance and prejudice appear to be deepening within our society. Reversing this worrying trend requires real leadership from all political parties, and for the social media companies to take their share of the responsibility.”
The statistics were released on the same day Breitbart Jerusalem revealed that anti-Semitic sentiments did occur within Oxford Union Labour Club (OULC) after a special report was leaked three months after the Labour Party took measures to suppress its publication.
The report, by Baroness Royall, investigated allegations made earlier this year that students within the OULC were engaging in anti-Semitic behaviour often times, but not exclusively, dressed up as anti-Zionism.
“There have been some incidents of anti-Semitic behaviour,” Baroness Royall confirmed in the report.
“Some Jewish members do not feel comfortable attending the [OULC] meetings, let alone participating,” she added.
Last month Breitbart Jerusalem reported that the UK Home Affairs Committee was carrying out a short inquiry into anti-Semitism, looking at whether prejudice against the Jewish community has increased and the particular dangers facing Jewish people arising from terrorism.
Evidence was given by Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth; Sir Mick Davis, Chairman, Jewish Leadership Council; and Mark Gardner, Director of Communications, Community Security Trust.
The video above gives an insight into some of the evidence taken as those called to appear spoke to MPs about hatred towards Jews in the UK. |
In honor of International Women’s Day, Uber is working alongside Dress for Success Dallas to offer riders in DFW the opportunity to help disadvantaged women prepare for upcoming job interviews. Riders can help local women by donating gently used professional attire, all at the tap of a button.
Enter promotion code: ‘DRESS4DFW’ to donate on Tuesday, March 8
HOW IT WORKS:
Make sure you’re in the request zone here
Enter promo code DRESS4DFW into your Uber app
into your Uber app Bag up gently-used professional attire, unopened makeup, accessories and new/unopened toiletries (i.e. jackets, suits, blouses, black and brown handbags, shoes (size 9 or above), jewelry, and toiletries like toothbrushes/toothpaste, full-size shampoo and conditioners, mascara, lipstick, deodorant, etc.)
Open the Uber app between 11AM – 1PM on Tuesday, March 8
Request GIVE near the bottom of your screen
near the bottom of your screen If you’re connected, an SUV will arrive to pick up your items and will drop off your donation to Dress for Success Dallas – for FREE!
Pro Tip: Bring donation items to work and gather one big donation pickup from your workplace on Tuesday. Share the donation drive with co-workers that may not yet use Uber and encourage the entire office to participate!
DFW is stronger when women thrive and are able to reach their full potential. Together, we can advance this goal by helping to equip and empower women to achieve economic independence. |
Perhaps we’re just being over-sensitive, readers, but we think the Daily Record might be a little bit upset with us.
That’s the editor of the semi-popular Scottish Labour fanzine, Murray Foote, pictured above this afternoon apparently issuing his own very special honours list, but it’s not the crankiest thing the Record’s published in the last 24 hours.
That’s the FOURTH article in the paper bitterly attacking Wings Over Scotland and its readers in the past week, coincidentally since we were responsible for the Independent Press Standards Organisation forcing the Record to publish a correction after telling its readers a £20 billion lie about the Smith Commission.
(We’re especially struck by the visceral language employed, all “sewage” and “buckets of bile”. We haven’t been insulted in quite such a, well, splashy way in a long time.)
The previous three can be read here:
“Wings Over Scotland website fuels hatred and paranoia”
“Disgraceful: Hard-working nurse Suzanne is branded a liar and an actress by cybernats after she speaks up for NHS”
“Ranting cybernat who posted hate messages about young NHS nurse is slapped down by First Minister”
The ostensible reason for the hysterically-worded series of monsterings was that we suggested in passing that a nurse who broke NHS rules by appearing on a Labour election leaflet in an NHS uniform might have been an actress, while making a much wider point about the law concerning political claims. The nurse later turned out to be an actress, something the Record appears to have forgotten to mention.
But the paper gave the game away somewhat by referencing the Smith correction in the first of its extraordinary swivel-eyed, spittle-flecked editorials. The Record got caught red-handed in a lie, and while the weasel-worded correction IPSO let it away with printing was microscopic (and the lie is, astonishingly, still present on the website), it’s clearly not in a mood to forgive the humiliation.
Nevertheless, we can’t let such a tissue of falsehoods pass unchallenged.
1. Nobody was “vilified”. The worst insult the Record could find was someone making a pun on a traditional American banjo song to suggest that the nurse’s NHS claims were perhaps less than entirely true.
2. “SNP supporters” is a baseless assumption/political smear. This site’s comment threads do not identify readers’ party allegiances, if they have any.
3. Absolutely nobody objected to the expression of opinions. They pointed out, quite correctly, that public-sector employees are not supposed to appear in uniform on political literature, because it implies that the organisation supports a particular party. Forth Valley Royal Hospital confirmed the rule in an official statement.
4. There’s nothing “shameful” about being either an actress or a nurse, and therefore nothing wrong in suggesting that a person is either. The Record’s various fumings get inordinately worked up about the fact that two pictures of women used in our original article look quite dissimilar, to which we might offer Exhibit A below:
Both pictures are of the same woman, just months apart. We could easily find even more striking examples – particularly in the field of acting, where it’s somewhat the point – but the Uma Thurman one above is conveniently topical. (We might also point at this weekend’s worldwide controversy about whether a dress is gold-and-white or black-and-blue by way of comment on misleading visual impressions.)
5. We weren’t wrong. Suzanne Hunter (nee Duncan) is both a nurse and an actress.
6. We didn’t “accept” that it was untrue, “grudgingly” or otherwise, because it IS true.
7. We’re not responsible for our readers’ views, so long as they don’t break any laws. If you judged any newspaper’s website by its commenters you’d paint a picture of a world inhabited solely by lunatics.
But we repeatedly urged our readers NOT to seek disciplinary action against Suzanne Hunter – because she was wronged by Scottish Labour, who failed to remove the NHS logo from her pictures and then INSISTED on loudly drawing attention to the fact that she really was a nurse.
We hold Scottish Labour (especially Dr Richard Simpson) and the Record solely responsible for any disciplinary misfortune which befalls Suzanne Hunter. We wish to see none – she’s perfectly entitled to campaign for a political party, so long as she does so within the rules of her employment, and she clearly had a fair and reasonable expectation that Scottish Labour would protect her in that respect by removing her NHS insignia, as had been done in previous leaflets.
8. That’s an extraordinary playing of the “misogyny” card. But make your mind up – if these people are “anonymous” how can you tell what sex they are?
9. Nobody was subjected to “buckets of bile” (well, other than this site and its readers by the Record), and nobody was criticised simply for expressing a point of view. The Record has yet to identify a single abusive post, and the complaint was specifically about the prohibited use of an NHS uniform weaponising the health service.
Suzanne Hunter’s several previous appearances on leaflets – WITHOUT the NHS logo – passed without criticism, so it’s clearly not her opinion that’s being objected to, but the political use of the uniform. Those rules exist for a reason, and pointing them out is a perfectly legitimate comment.
10. A group of people expressing perfectly valid opinions on a website in no way inhibits others from doing so. You can only “dominate online activity” if the other side chooses to let you.
11. Nobody called for Suzanne Hunter (or Scottish Labour) to be silenced. The only people attempting to “discourage the flow of contrary ideas” are the hacks of the Daily Record, by reacting to perfectly calm and reasoned articles and comments with shrieking, foaming tabloid hysteria, hurling around words like “outrageous”, “vile”, “shameful”, “disgraceful”, “hatred”, “sewage”, “bullying”, “vicious”, “nasty” and more.
We invite readers to find any such intemperate language or tone in any of our posts about the leaflet. Only one party to this argument is shouting.
12. The First Minister merely reiterated a position she and the SNP have expressed many times, which is that all abuse is wrong. We agree entirely with that position. She took no “side”. The Daily Record is part of a massive national publishing corporation with revenue in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Wings Over Scotland is a small website run by one man. Which is capable of “bullying” the other?
13. See (8).
14. We still await evidence of a single abusive comment from this site or its readers to Suzanne Hunter. But support for the SNP has surged enormously in recent months, while the Daily Record’s sales figures are on a long, steep slide, much like the poll ratings for the party it has slavishly supported for decades.
We invite readers to read our articles, read the Record’s, look at the figures and ponder whose cause is being damaged by “ranters”. |
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Lululemon's NorthPark boutique in Dallas is in some hot water of the foot-in-mouth variety after posting a sign on its store window that stated, "We do partners yoga. Not partners card." The missive was a response to an annual charity initiative run by The Family Place, a non-profit that works to protect and shelter victims of domestic violence. Locals can buy its "Partners Card," which offers discounts at participating local retailers, for $70—money that goes to fund the charity. A long list of stores like Anthropologie, Bottega Veneta, Calypso St. Barth, Diane von Furstenberg, Gap, Intermix and Kate Spade are offering the card at their Dallas locations.
Unsurprisingly, their clever turn of a phrase landed like a lead balloon in the community. After shoppers responded with anger, the Lulu staff claimed that it had an existing relationship with the charity and that instead of funds, would be bringing yoga to battered women's shelters. On Facebook, they posted, "We are working in collaboration with Family Place to offer the gift of yoga, and what we can create together."
Which sounds nice, but apparently wasn't true. The retailer reached out to the charity after the fact, reports CultureMap Dallas, and no agreement is in place. Said The Family Place's executive director, "Yoga is so much of apart of their lives that they think everyone would love yoga, but yoga for a woman who was beaten is not the first thing on anybody's mind at The Family Place."
Here is the full message that Lululemon posted on their Facebook wall about the controversy:
We are truly sorry for the window display over the weekend. Even though it was not our intention to offend anyone, that is in fact what happened. We have the utmost respect for the important work that The Family Place does in domestic violence prevention and never intended to suggest otherwise. Supporting you and our community is our most important job, and we are partnering with The Family Place to create a wellness program for their staff. We've learned a great deal from this and thank you all so much for your honest feedback about such an important cause.
· Lululemon at NorthPark tries to make amends after lying about existing Family Place partnership [CultureMap Dallas]
· Lululemon Window Display Draws Criticism [NBC]
· Lululemon Taking Its Spandex to Hong Kong and London [Racked] |
Image caption Mr Mundie is one of the longest serving executives at Microsoft
Microsoft's research boss Craig Mundie is stepping down ahead of his retirement in 2014.
A 20-year veteran of the company Mr Mundie has overseen the work of Microsoft's security programme and R&D.
He was picked for the role by Bill Gates in 2008 when the Microsoft co-founder ended his day-to-day involvement with the firm.
Prior to retirement Mr Mundie will act as a senior adviser to Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.
Team talk
Since 2008 Mr Mundie ran Microsoft Research, its Trustworthy Computing programme and its technology policy group. These roles let him decide where Microsoft spent its sizeable research budget and how it improved software security.
Responsibility for these roles has now passed to Eric Rudder, formerly Microsoft's chief technical strategy officer.
As an advisor to Mr Ballmer, Mr Mundie will work on "key strategic projects" within Microsoft and liaise with government and businesses "on technology policy, regulation and standards" according to his updated biography on the Microsoft website.
The Seattle Times reported that the move was part of efforts by Mr Ballmer to install a team that could help Microsoft cope with an increasingly mobile and web-centred industry.
Mr Mundie is the second senior executive to step down at the firm in less than a month.
In November Steven Sinofsky, then head of Microsoft's Windows division, left unexpectedly. His departure came only weeks after he choreographed the launch of Windows 8, the most recent version of its flagship operating system.
As the public face of Windows 8, Mr Sinofsky was expected to stay and oversee the continued development of the software and future versions of Windows. |
This week, the 4 remaining ABDC crews joined forces with one other crew to go head to head with the other squad! Gotta love the collabs.
Check out all of the ABDC performance videos from Week 4 below! Spoiler on who was the next to go at the end.
Illiance (Kinjaz X Super Cr3w) (Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On)
IaMQuest (IaMmE X Quest Crew) (Andy Mineo Ft. KB & Trip Lee – The Saints)
Kinjaz (KRNFX The Dance Box)
Super Cr3w (Kendrick Lamar – I)
IaMmE (Wolfgang Gartner – Fire Power)
Quest Crew (Jack U – Take You There)
Despite all these dope performances, someone had to be cut. This week it was IaMmE’s time to go. It’s only getting harder from here.
Good luck to the rest of the crews! Looking forward to next week!
In case you missed the past episodes, here are the videos!
ABDC Season 8 Week 1 Performances
ABDC Season 8 Week 2 Performances
ABDC Season 8 Week 3 Performances
Which performance was your favorite for Week 4? Leave a comment in the section below!
It’s fun to watch them dance, but it’s even more fun to get involved and learn from other dancers. Take your skills to the next level online at STEEZY Studio! We’ve got some awesome choreographers who can help you become a better dancer. Don’t let that inspiration go to waste! |
Posted on: October 26, 2016 2:12 PM
[ACNS, by Gavin Drake] An Australian bishop has spoken out after it was announced that the Australian Football League (AFL) will next year stage its first match to be played on Good Friday. The Etihad Stadium in the docklands area of Melbourne is the pre-eminent football stadium in Australia, and the home of the AFL. The full fixtures for the 2017 season will be published tomorrow (Thursday) but the AFL have already confirmed that North Melbourne will take on the Western Bulldogs at the stadium on 14 April.
The AFL approved playing matches on Good Friday in 2014; but this is the first match to be scheduled for the holy day. The match will have a 4.20pm start to avoid clashes with any Good Friday services taking place that afternoon.
“We accept that some football fans remain opposed to scheduling a match on Good Friday”, the AFL’s general manager of clubs and operations, Travis Auld, said. “The decision to now schedule a match was made on the basis that our society has changed in recent decades and the majority of football fans, who are our ultimate decision-makers, share the view of our clubs who have expressed their wish to play on this day
But Bishop Philip Huggins, from the Diocese of Melbourne, has criticised the move, saying it was “another win for market, not for people.”
“We have always been ‘kicking against the wind’ but the AFL has been one entity that has exercised restraint – not least because many people of faith who also enjoy football have conveyed the depth of their feeling about Good Friday,” Bishop Huggins said. “But now, in 2017AD, this is to change.
“The trouble with this approach to life is that the heart dies a little each time the relentless and commodifying logic of the market overwhelms all other considerations. Even the most sacred days, for which our forebears had the wisdom to make holy days – holidays – are then invaded.
“We are then left with a society full of products but short of meaning. That is what is happening and no amount of marketing spin fills the void.”
North Melbourne FC is known by its nickname the Kangaroos, or just Roos, for short. Their managing director, Carl Dilena, told the club’s website that they were “absolutely thrilled by the announcement.”
“It’s a tribute to this club’s track record of innovation and a credit to all the great North people . . . who initially proposed this game in the late 80s and early 90s,” he said.
The AFL, the two clubs and official broadcaster Channel 7 will use the match to support an appeal by the Royal Children’s Hospital. “There are a lot of great things we can do together to achieve some great outcomes and we will sit down in due course to discuss those with all the key stakeholders,” Dilena said.
Explaining the importance of Good Friday, Bishop Huggins said that it was called Good because “it spoke to people about the profound love of God, so visible in Jesus.”
He continued: “The meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection is so profound that our forebears knew they needed separate days – holy days – to take this in and live by the truth it revealed. They knew, for their own sakes, that they must keep these days free of distraction.
“Hence, we in the Anglican Church have taken a lead in reminding our community of this wisdom amidst the endless marketing of more products to distract and trivialise the gift of life, even on holy days.
“The fact that faithful fans will be hurt and further alienated is swept aside as a consideration. Behind the rationales lies mere greed – greed and a refusal to think there is any wisdom in traditions that have fed the souls of millions for countless centuries, across all kinds of cultures.”
Bishop Huggins – himself a “passionate supporter” of Victoria side Geelong – said that the AFL’s restraint until now in not scheduling matches on Good Friday when other codes had done so was appreciated and he urged the League to reconsider its decision to change this practice, even at this stage.
The AFL is the senior league in Australian Rules Football – a competition played with oval balls on oval pitches. Australian Rules Football is not the same as association football, or soccer. |
[UPDATE below.]
I don’t lie:
The Senate agreed Thursday to add $600 million to the effort to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the U.S. Mexican border. The money would be used for such purposes as adding 1,500 new enforcement agents and deploying unmanned aerial drones to improve border surveillance.
Incidentally, I heard Senator Schumer use the term “task strike force” on the radio; that’s what prompted me to Google the news story for you here. There was also talk of “boots on the ground.”
You know, the same language that we previously used when talking about countries that we had just invaded.
Let me just state the obvious: The country will not turn from a moderately free place, into a military dictatorship, overnight. Before we can have predator drones patrolling New York City, hunting down the people who dare to blog against the regime in DC, we first have to deploy those drones in far-off places filled with brown people with funny names. And then when the American public gets used to that, we can deploy the drones in far-off places (to most Americans) with the ostensible purpose of keeping out brown people.
It doesn’t really matter whether “illegals” are good or bad for the economy. The question is, do we really want Chuck Schumer and his pals telling Americans that they are deploying unmanned drones in the US–to thunderous applause from “conservatives”?
UPDATE: When I first typed this up, I wrote “task force” which doesn’t sound so bad. But that’s because I goofed and plugged in a much more innocuous term. What Schumer actually said was that they were going to send a strike force to the border, to keep us all safe. For example, check out this news article to see the terminology:
The money will pay for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents to form a special strike force to be deployed where needed; 250 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and intelligence analysts; 250 new Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry; new communications equipment; and unmanned aerial drones to patrol the U.S. side of the border.
And this makes me feel warm and fuzzy too:
A legislative framework unveiled last spring by Schumer, Reid, and other Democratic leaders called for increased border security, an overhaul of the visa system, a biometric database that would allow employees to ensure they hire legal workers…
One last thing: Technically the Senate has just approved this; it’s not yet a done deal. But I believe Obama supports this. So if the Democrats are behind it, I will be pleasantly shocked if the Republicans oppose it. |
Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation
toggle caption Bad Boy Entertainment
He recorded as The Notorious B.I.G. People knew him as Biggie Smalls, or Biggie. He was murdered when he was only 24 years old. Yet he's one of the most revered, emulated and biggest-selling rappers in the game.
Biggie's voice doesn't sound like anybody else's. It's plummy, wheezy, humid. It sounds like it comes from deeper in his chest than other people's voices.
He learned diction and phrasing from jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison, when Biggie was just a teenager in Brooklyn and still went by the name Chris Wallace.
YouTube
"The first time I spoke with Chris, the Notorious B.I.G., he was on the stoop," Harrison says. "I was passing by and he just said 'Hello.' We started talking and it grew into a friendship. He was a lot younger, but he wanted to learn about music. And that was magic words to my ears."
Harrison wanted to make his neighbor a jazz musician. He gave him homework, made him learn how to scat a Cannonball Adderley solo and listen to Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald. "We worked on various tonguing and speed and agility," Harrison says. "You have to slow things down really slow and take the time to phrase each note."
Biggie started rapping with his friends Sam Hubert and Mike Bynum when they were 10 or 11 years old. Hubert met Biggie in day care, and he became Big's DJ.
"We tried to go to the studio at the age, I believe, of 13. My man Mike's dad dropped us off. It was crazy. People don't know that he really did take it serious at a young age," Hubert says. "Things kind of seemed to come easy to him, but that was from a lot of really being focused on getting as good as you could. So all of these things were part of Chris' early development, when he was MC CWest, and it was like he was on a quest to become the greatest of all time."
Hubert says even after all that hard work and despite his obvious talent, Big lost focus for a while.
"He was on course to just be a brilliant student, college grad, possible doctor, lawyer," he says. "But the pull of the streets — it grabbed him, and he went that route. By 16 he was already gone. Neck deep in it. So him and his mom had a big fallout because he basically stepped off the path." Hubert says there wasn't much Big's mom, a teacher, could do about his choice. "What are you gonna do? Go out to the corner every day and bring him in the house by his ear? It's not gonna happen."
YouTube
Big dropped out of high school after his freshman year. He reportedly began selling drugs, but he kept practicing. At least one person shot video of him free-styling on the street in Brooklyn when he was 17.
A local DJ named 50 Grand made a mixtape for Big that ended up in the Source magazine's Unsigned Hype column. Puff Daddy heard it and eventually signed Big to a deal. By 1993, he had a song in the movie Who's The Man? called "Party and Bulls--t."
With the wit and presence evident on that song, Biggie put other rappers on notice. But what he had more than anything else was flow. That's how rappers pace the voicing of their lyrics. They choose a rhythmic pattern to match each beat. Rapper AZ met Biggie when Big was rapping on street corners. He describes flow this way: "Flow is like water. It's like current. It's the fluidity of your words — and how you can slow it up, pick it up, chop it up. You can take a slow beat and flow fast on it because it's the structure of the words. Or you could take a fast beat and really screw it up and make it slow. Flow is a beautiful thing."
AZ says you can hear that on Biggie's song "Warning."
"I don't care where, what part of the Earth you're from, when you listen to it, the dialogue is slow enough for you to digest it," he says. "When you actually tell a story and be descriptive, that takes talent."
YouTube
Biggie so impressed his peers in the mid-1990s that almost every New York rapper has recorded a song that includes a shout-out to him. "Big influenced a generation. This whole generation took pieces and bits," AZ says. "Everybody took a piece out of Big that's on the charts right now. Everybody."
And he only released two albums. On some of his songs, Big tells true stories. But on some of them he spins the kind of Homeric tales of street lore that can be heard in a lot of rap. There's violence in them, and guns and drugs.
"The Chris I knew was a good guy," Harrison says. "He wasn't the guy who did all these things. He was really looking for love and acceptance at the end of the day. That's what he was looking for. And he paid a price for looking for love."
Biggie was shot to death March 9, 1997, only 6 months after Tupac Shakur was murdered. The two rappers had been friends, and there's a lot of speculation that their killings were connected.
Big's friends still have a hard time talking about the music that he made. After all, in a way, their friend lost his life because of rap. "I can't wear a Biggie T-shirt, you know that, right?" Hubert says. "The pain is deeper than just, than what you could imagine. It's not on the surface."
Hubert says if Big had lived, the rap game would be very different today. He was so young — just starting to push the boundaries of his genre and tell stories about people whose voices don't get heard.
As AZ says, at the end of the day, rapping is about bringing people into your world. That's what Big used his voice for. |
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Obama at the Lincoln Memorial. On the discussion agenda are a variety of economic, security and global issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and climate change. (Pete Marovich / Pool/EPA)
Seventy years after the end of World War II, President Obama will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House on Tuesday for a state visit to highlight new partnerships on defense and economics with the United States’ most durable ally in Asia.
But the success of the visit for the Obama administration could turn on how Abe handles another, more incendiary, geopolitical issue — his country’s imperial wartime past.
Abe’s ambivalent signals about Japan’s wartime behavior, along with his push to reassert the nation’s role in the security of the region after more than half a century of pacifism, have alarmed its neighbors, including China, but especially South Korea, another crucial U.S. ally.
Since Abe reassumed power in 2012, relations between Tokyo and Seoul have been mired in distrust and bitter recriminations, forcing Obama into the uncomfortable role of mediator. Last year, on the sidelines of an international security summit at the Hague, Obama took time to broker an unusual trilateral meeting with Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye in a bid to warm their ice-cold relationship.
The implications are broad as the Obama administration seeks to refocus and intensify its foreign policy efforts in Asia, a strategy aimed at deepening regional alliances to confront China’s growing military and economic clout.
President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the Lincoln Memorial on Monday. Abe is scheduled to address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Beijing, recognizing the discord, has sought to exploit the mistrust and sow doubts about U.S. standing, foreign policy analysts said.
Obama’s personal engagement helped open minimal lines of communication between Japan and South Korea, but tensions are high as Washington rolls out the red carpet for Abe, who will become the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
Ahead of the visit, South Korean diplomats have lobbied administration officials, Congress and the news media, making clear their expectations that Abe apologize for Japan’s wartime operation of “comfort stations” that forced up to 200,000 women into sexual slavery. Many conservatives in Japan contend that the women were prostitutes, and some say other countries, including Korea and the United States, did similar things during the war.
During remarks to students Monday at Harvard University, Abe said: “My heart aches when I think about the people who were victimized by human trafficking and who were subject to immeasurable pain and suffering, beyond description. On this score, my feeling is no different from my predecessor prime ministers.”
Abe emphasized that he has repeatedly affirmed a 1993 statement by former Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono that the military had forced women into brothels during the war, contradicting previous statements from the government.
But that is unlikely to satisfy the South Koreans, who have doubted Abe’s sincerity. Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, served as prime minister more than half a century ago on a nationalistic platform aimed at restoring Japan’s military, which had been downgraded by the United States and the war.
Japanese school textbooks have misrepresented some of the atrocities, and Abe in 2013 visited the Yasukuni shrine, which honors the nation’s war dead, angering Seoul and Beijing. (He passed up chances to visit the shrine last year, paving the way for two meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.)
Citing Abe’s “historical revisionism,” a senior South Korean diplomat told The Washington Post last week: “We expect to hear Prime Minister Abe say something that would go in the direction of outlining this concern.”
“Our bar is not high,” the diplomat added, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. He said Seoul expects Abe to endorse previous statements of contrition from Kono and two former Japanese prime ministers “in a clear and unambiguous way.”
White House aides are wary of the potential for the issue to overshadow the concrete accomplishments of the trip, which include the formal release in New York on Monday of revised bilateral defense guidelines that would give the Japanese Self-Defense Forces power to act when U.S. forces are threatened by a third country.
The administration also hopes to make progress with Japan on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation free-trade and regulatory pact that Obama has called one of his top priorities.
Obama aides declined to say whether they had specifically asked Abe to apologize during his visit. Abe and Obama visited the Lincoln Memorial on Monday afternoon, but they did not address reporters.
“We always stress that it’s important to address history questions in an honest, constructive and forthright manner that promotes healing, but also in a way that reaches a final resolution,” said Evan Medeiros, Asia director at the National Security Council. “So we’re very supportive of diplomatic efforts between Japan and [South Korea] to improve their relationship.”
Korean American organizations have pressured lawmakers on Capitol Hill to demand that Abe apologize. Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-Calif.) sent a bipartisan letter signed by 25 House members to Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae calling on Abe to “lay the foundation for healing and humble reconciliation by addressing the historical issues.” An activist group brought Yong Soo Lee, 86, who was a teenager forced to work in the comfort stations, to Washington last week to tell her story.
Abe aides said the prime minister, who has been practicing his congressional speech in English, will deliver an upbeat message to Congress, lauding 70 years of liberal democracy and economic transformation, and close cooperation with the United States.
On the nation’s wartime history, the speech is expected to be modeled on an address he gave to the Australian Parliament last year, in which Abe expressed remorse for Japan’s aggression — singling out two chapters that were particularly deadly for Australian troops — but did not apologize.
Abe is likely to follow that template in Washington, possibly mentioning the American prisoners of war who died in the Bataan Death March.
“It will be a deep reflection of the wartime past and an appreciation for the help and support that the United States extended to Japan, and a pledge for the future,” said an Abe adviser, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “This is a golden opportunity for Abe to show how balanced he is, that he’s not an extremist and not challenging the world order but is here to safeguard the existing order.”
Obama administration officials said privately that they expect Abe to address the thornier issues of the Korean “comfort women” at a joint news conference at the White House after his bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday.
But whether he will go far enough to satisfy Seoul remains unclear. The two countries have had several rounds of discussions aimed at resurrecting a fund to provide reparations to the comfort women and their families; a previous plan was rejected by Seoul after Tokyo refused to accept full responsibility and use public money.
Park is scheduled to visit the White House in June, and Xi will arrive in September on his first state visit to Washington.
“Some people get emotional,” Sasae, the Japanese ambassador, said at a briefing last week at the National Press Building. “But I don’t think this is a security question, to be honest . . . I don’t see all those issues about so-called history will be major issues to address or even stumbling blocks moving ahead.”
He added: “To be honest, this is not something we need to focus on as part of the major agenda between Washington and Tokyo.”
Steven Mufson contributed to this report. Fifield reported from Tokyo. |
Cadavers help police solve crimes? Absolutely. At the University of Tennessee's Forensic Anthropology Center, a.k.a. the Body Farm, cadavers are left to rot under various environmental conditions so scientists can learn just how bodies decompose - and how long it takes them to decompose. Forensic scientists use the data to better locate and recover human remains - and solve crimes. istockphoto
(CBS/WCBS/AP) NEW YORK - New York City 5-year-old Jamar Johnson was playing with his Nintendo Wii video game system when he accidentally broke the television.
Prosecutors say that's when his mother, 21-year-old Kim Crawford, flew into a rage and struck Jamar on his back and stomach very hard, reports CBS station WCBS.
The Daily News reports Crawford told police she hit Jamar "harder than I've ever hit him."
Jamar vomited and complained of serious pain for days, but Crawford reportedly didn't take him to the hospital. She was reportedly afraid of being arrested.
Friday, Jamar Johnson died of an infection brought on by a lacerated pancreas and intestine.
Kim Crawford was charged yesterday in Bronx Criminal Court with murder and manslaughter. She was ordered held without bond.
Defense attorney Camille Abate told the Daily News that Crawford shouldn't have been charged with murder. The facts do not establish that she tried to kill her child, Abate said.
"Whether or not she did it on purpose doesn't matter, because my beautiful grandson is gone and he's not coming back," Jamar's grandmother, Betsy Johnson, told the New York Daily News. "It's a tragedy. It's inexcusable."
The Administration for Children's Services has reportedly taken Crawford's other child in its care.
Crawford has previous arrests for assault and drug possession. |
Sociopathic parents exist and can cause great harm to their children through both emotional and physical abuse, even to the point of producing sociopathic children. In addition, co-parenting with a sociopath can be very troubling.
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A sociopath is a man or a woman who cares only about him/herself (What Is A Sociopathic Person Like?). All the world is his stage, and all the people merely his puppets on a string. He is a social predator in all aspects of his life, including parenthood; he's a sociopathic parent.
Traits of Sociopathic Parents
At the most basic level, sociopathic parents aren't warm and fuzzy. Cold, distant, and unwelcoming, he provides neither comfort nor affection. James Fallon, a neurobiologist who studies the brains of sociopaths and happens to be one himself, is one of the rare sociopaths who has sustained a marriage over time and helped raise children. He describes his feelings toward his children as indifferent, "[d]ominated less by warmth than by entertainment and intellectual interest."
By sociopathic standards, Fallon is "loving parent of the year". Other sociopath parents aren't so kind and generous. The only true feeling sociopath parents have is anger, and they typically express it loudly and physically (Do Sociopaths Cry or Even Have Feelings?). Because the expressed anger is out of proportion to whatever induced it, children are left hurt, confused, and with a sense that the world is unpredictable, illogical, and unsafe. Antisocial parents teach their children that the world is chaotic and inconsistent.
Sociopathic parents have other hallmark parenting traits that amount to psychological abuse:
Lack of attachment, bonding, love
Dismissiveness (because kids are boring)
Disregard for the child's welfare
Harsh expectations and demands
Neglect, often extreme
Purposeful attempts to corrupt a child (exposure to pornography, encouraging delinquent behavior)
As if the sociopathic parent wasn't bad enough, this parent is often a spouse or a partner. Co-parenting with a sociopath can be a daily challenge. In all parenting partnerships, there exists an ongoing need to negotiate and compromise; unfortunately, the sociopath neither negotiates nor compromises. Ever. Co-parenting with a sociopath creates a strained relationship that adds yet another layer of difficulty to family life (Co-Parenting With An Abuser: How to Help Your Kids, Yourself).
A Sociopath Mother!
The sociopath mother is no June Cleaver. She is much more like Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister. Granted, she's excellent at emulating June Cleaver. Typical of a sociopath, this mom can morph into any persona that suits her in a given moment. When others are watching, she launches into Supermom. She dotes, she encourages, she loves, she attends. She provides the snacks at the end of the soccer game. Everyone loves SuperJune.
Then, when the game is over and the family is back home, Cersei returns. She doesn't need SuperJune because no one is around to entrap as future tools of manipulation.
Far from being a nurturing, loving attachment figure, the sociopath mother is a cold, abusive, frightening figure representing chaos and emotional distance. She ignores and she neglects. She controls and manipulates; to the sociopathic mother, her child isn't a person in his own right but a possession that exists to serve her. She uses insincere, shallow affection to manipulate. She hardly praises or encourages, but she lavishes the child with verbal abuse and punishment.
Society's norms mirror our biological wiring: mothers are designed to nurture and protect, so when they don't, the results are devastating to the child.
The Sociopathic Parent's Effect on Their Kids
Children are adversely affected by a sociopathic parent. The exact nature and impact of the ramifications of abuse vary from child to child and are dependent upon the severity of the sociopathy and the level of functioning of the parent, the nature of the child and her level of resiliency, and the degree and presence of other support systems. Still in one way or another, every child is impacted by having a sociopath parent. Much of the harm done to a child by a sociopathic parent is seen in behavior. The child might
shrink in isolation or express problems through bullying and aggression
become easily distracted
be either overly emotional or flat
have poor school performance.
The child's mental health is often affected as well. Approximately twenty-five percent of kids develop a mental illness such as childhood anxiety and depression (Woods, 2011). Sociopathic parents instill fear, shame, and a sense of worthlessness and self-blame in their children.
A sociopath parent is what a child fears: the monster under his bed and everywhere, and he can't turn to this parent for comfort.
next: Can Sociopaths Love or Even Fall in Love?
~ all articles on Personality Disorders
~ all Sociopath Articles |
Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
Addressing the country in a nationally televised speech Monday night, President Donald Trump described his commitment to continuing the 16-year-long war in Afghanistan, but did not say how many more troops might be heading to the region. The address, delivered to troops at Fort Myer in Virginia, laid out the Trump administration's revised strategy for the war in Afghanistan. During his campaign, Trump frequently criticized US involvement overseas, including in Afghanistan. In 2013, he tweeted in favor of a "speedy withdrawal."
Why are we continuing to train these Afghanis who then shoot our soldiers in the back? Afghanistan is a complete waste. Time to come home!
Acknowledging his history of criticizing the US military presence there, Trump said Monday that he had changed his mind after discussions with defense advisers.
"My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts," Trump said. "But all my life I have heard decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office, in other words, when you are president of the United States." A hasty departure of American troops from Afghanistan would create a power vacuum that would foster the spread of terrorist groups in the region, Trump said. He hinted that the US would increase its presence in the war-torn country, and urge NATO allies to do the same. But he did not give specifics about how many additional troops the US plans to send under his new policy. "We will not talk about numbers of troops or plans for other military activities," he said. Right-wing supporters did not appear to be on board. Breitbart News called it a flip-flop, and other pro-Trump media figures bemoaned the president's departure from the nationalist message he promoted during his presidential campaign.
In the meantime, Republican defense hawks including Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham praised the president's speech.
Between Afghanistan and Syria @realDonaldTrump is showing the WILL to stand up to Radical Islam... ....unlike President Obama. |
The Reality of Peak Oil Sinks In Oil Revival or Harvard Hype?
Too much optimism can be a dangerous thing.
Sure, it's easy to sit back and say everything is fine and dandy for the U.S. oil industry right now. After all, success stories from our oil patch are saturating media headlines (I've read a few dozen in the past few days alone).
The latest report out of Harvard is adding fuel to the fire.
It predicts U.S. oil production will climb to nearly 16 million barrels per day within the next four and a half years!
Now, understand I'm not trying to be pessimistic or rain on anyone's parade...
But seeing the glass as half full in this case can lead to delusion. And delusion allows people to blindly accept whatever story the media or politicians are spewing on any given day — that U.S. oil production is booming! — instead of educate themselves with the details behind the U.S. shale boom.
Had they been informed, these people would understand that some of the jaw-dropping shale plays that have become household names in the last few years have misled them...
What the media isn't shouting from the rooftops is that several states have been unable to reverse their decades-long production declines.
The truth is many states are locked in a bitter struggle against Peak Oil.
We've covered some of the more famous cases in the past.
Alaska is still a shining example as to what happens when you aren't a part of the shale bonanza.
During the last five years, the state's oil production plummeted nearly 200,000 barrels per day, or roughly 26%.
To put that into perspective, the oil production we lost from Alaska practically negated the increase we saw in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado during the same period. Of course, that doesn't include the nearly 100,000 bbls/d of lost oil production from both California and Montana.
And keep in mind this boom isn't taking place evenly across the board.
You can break down the numbers easily with a quick look at the EIA's data.
I'll warn you, things can be deceptive at first glance...
Take a careful look at those figures, and you'll find that between 2007 and 2012, 18 states were able to increase their oil production by a total of approximately 1.7 million barrels per day.
Sounds like a boom to me.
But remember the devil is in the details...
Look again and you'll see that North Dakota and Texas accounted for 83% of that increase! What's more, output in 12 of those states grew less than 20,000 barrels per day.
So yes, the U.S. is still enjoying a boom — but only in a select few regions.
16 Million Barrels a Day or Bust
The Harvard report out last month is perfectly clear on where we will get our future oil.
According to the report, Texas' crude production is expected to double from current levels. Contrary to popular belief, however, it won't be the same story going forward.
Dig deeper and you'll find the rosy outlook for U.S. oil production will come with a hefty price tag...
The report explains the fact that producing oil from shale formations requires an intensive amount of drilling. And over 4,000 shale wells were brought online last year.
That's certainly true in North Dakota. But let's not forget what it took for them to get to this point...
As of last April, the state had more than 8,500 producing wells, practically all of which were targeting the Bakken/Three Forks Formations.
That means roughly 5,000 wells started producing oil during the last five years.
But there's another important tidbit to remember, and that's that companies are getting much more efficient at drilling into the Bakken.
To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, in April 2007, the average North Dakota well produced 1,021 barrels of oil. By 2012, that amount nearly tripled!
The Harvard report noted that a few years ago, a typical Bakken well would take up to two months to drill...
Today these companies are taking advantage of a highly specialized drilling technique that drastically cuts the time and cost to finish a single well.
So it's not necessarily about finding companies that are sitting on oil, but rather the companies with the technical savvy to efficiently extract that crude. And some are simply better at extracting the light, sweet crude oil out of the Bakken Formation than others...
Distinguishing between the two means all the difference in today's volatile market.
I want to give you a leg up on the investment herd...
My readers and I have our eyes set on the next round of these shale profits. I'll tell you all about these opportunities on Thursday.
In the meantime, if you're interested in reading the Harvard report in full, you can find it here.
Until next time,
Keith Kohl
@KeithKohl1 on Twitter
A true insider in the energy markets, Keith is one of few financial reporters to have visited the Alberta oil sands. His research has helped thousands of investors capitalize from the rapidly changing face of energy. Keith connects with hundreds of thousands of readers as the Managing Editor of Energy & Capital as well as Investment Director of Angel Publishing's Energy Investor. For years, Keith has been providing in-depth coverage of the Bakken, the Haynesville Shale, and the Marcellus natural gas formations — all ahead of the mainstream media. For more on Keith, go to his editor's page. |
Premier Christy Clark has recused herself from all involvement regarding an oil refinery proposal for northern B.C., due to a conflict of interest involving her ex-husband.
Clark's former husband, Mark Marissen, has ties to Pacific Future Energy which is pitching a $10-billion dollar facility for the region.
"I certainly don't have any business ties or financial ties with my ex-husband, although we do have a child together and share that responsibility," Clark said at a press conference Tuesday.
"As premier of the province though, I have another responsibility, and that is to every single British Columbian."
The premier has expressed support in the past for a similar proposal being pitched by newspaper publisher, David Black, which also looks to refine oil in B.C., rather than ship raw Alberta bitumen to Asia.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has recused herself from decisions regarding an oil refinery proposal for the province over a potential conflict of interest involving her ex-husband Mark Marissen. (CBC)
Clark said she sought out the opinion of the province's Conflict of Interest Commissioner in, what she called, "an abundance of caution".
"I sought the Conflict Commissioner's guidance and I will continue to seek his guidance," Clark said.
"It is my understanding that this proposal doesn't depend on, or is not linked to, any pipeline proposal. And I don't know if Mr. Black's [proposal] would have had the same distinction."
Clark said she will hand over any and all contacts and decisions on the Pacific Future Energy proposal as well as any other oil refinery proposal in B.C. to Finance Minister, Mike de Jong. |
Eight films are vying for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards. But have past winners actually been the “best” films of their respective years, or just the most popular?
Quartz has taken a stab at answering this question by looking at data from Rotten Tomatoes, a site that aggregates film ratings from both critics and everyday viewers. The graphic below shows how scores from these two groups have differed for every best-picture nomination since 1990. Tap or hover to see a specific score.
Averaged across all best picture winners, the scores are almost identical—88.3% audience versus 88.5% among critics. Still, not all winners do well on both counts.
Forrest Gump, for example, is liked by only 71% of critics. Titanic has an audience score of just 69%. Critics’ scores were higher for 13 of the 24 winners above. Audiences scores were for nine, and the scores were the same for two others.
Which film will win this year? We’ll leave that to Hollywood astrologers. |
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