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The North Korean leader's 27-year-old son is next in line, but the military might not support him
Kim Jong Il, far right, and son Kim Jong Un, second from left, salute a military parade in September / Reuters
Kim Jong Il probably knew he didn't have much time left when, 15 months ago, he held the first "Worker's Party Conference" -- a gathering of North Korea's political and military leaders -- in 30 years. There, he established his successor: Kim Jong Un, his heavy-set, Swiss-educated, and reportedly not very bright son, then 26 years old. Sure enough, North Korean state media, almost immediately after it announced Kim Jong Il's death, declared Kim Jong Un as the new leader.
Since September 2010's big conference, the state machinery has been turning constantly, and often noisily, in preparation for this day. There have been changes in official state history, cabinets have been reshuffled, an unprovoked shelling of a South Korean town likely meant to rally soldiers and civilians around the flag, and an endless output of Stalinist-style propaganda. Today, that machinery seems to have functioned well, as it often did under Kim Jong Il. But the question now is who will really run it and to what purpose.
The greatest threat Kim Jong Il poses in death, just as in life, is not that his state will commit an act of unprovoked aggression, but that it will collapse. Though he likely spent much of his final year preparing for his son's smooth take-over, it may not have been enough time. What little we know of North Korea's leadership suggests that a regime under young Kim Jong Un could invite challenges from the military or even from his own political circle. We don't know for sure if Kim Jong Un has as much power as his father, but either way there is reason to worry about the state's stability under his rule. If he really is in complete control, the reports on his intelligence suggest he will stumble, at which points military leaders worried about the country's stability may be tempted to intervene. If, however, his power is less total, then that will invite jockeying between political and military leaders for influence, something that North Korea's tightly regimented political system was never made to account for. |
But as pretty much any Democrat will tell you (if mostly sotto voce), the party is nowhere near ready to take on Trump. And even some of this week’s more prominent protests illuminate the challenge that lies ahead.
Take the Women’s March on Washington, by far the buzziest of the gatherings. Set for Donald Trump’s first full day in office, the Saturday event is expected to draw upwards of 160,000 participants from across the country. An outgrowth of post-election Facebook venting by disappointed Hillary supporters, the march has garnered scads of attention. People are charmed by its organic, grassroots origins, and, following complaints that its initial organizers were all white chicks, the event has assumed an aggressively inclusive flavor. It is, in fact, not a rally for traditional women’s rights (reproductive freedom, equal pay, protection against sexual harassment, and so on) but rather a show of support for the rights of all potentially oppressed groups: racial minorities, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, the LGBTQ community, indigenous peoples, the disabled, and, yes, women. The march’s home page trumpets:
We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up.
The overarching goal: to “send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights.”
Does this soaring, all-encompassing mission give the march broad appeal? Absolutely. But in standing for everything—and thus nothing in particular—the gathering also lacks political focus. It isn’t a push for change so much as a cri de coeur by anti-Trumpers who want everyone to know that they reject the thuggish, bigoted demagoguery of their new president. Even people who cheer the event acknowledge that it’s basically a chance for those appalled by Trumpism to meet up for a big group hug.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. With a little luck and some targeted follow-up, the march could ultimately spur more women to get involved in the political process and even run for office. (This is clearly what EMILY’s List hopes. The women-focused PAC has joined with a handful of other progressive groups to conduct candidate-training sessions for 500 gals that weekend.) But as for the gathering itself, noted a long-time Democratic strategist who plans to attend: “If anyone thinks they're going to change or scare Trump and his people, they're dumb as a sack of jacks.”
If the women’s march is an exercise in group catharsis, the January 15th Day of Action, which was run out of Bernie Sanders’ office, had a sharper, more targeted aim: to cause Republicans political pain as they work to repeal Obamacare and tinker with Medicare and Medicaid. (This should not be confused with the Day of Action held by immigrant-rights group on January 14.) |
Prime Minister Tony Abbott issues the warning on Wednesday morning. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Abbott said on Wednesday the issue should be put to the public through a plebiscite following the next election, warning people not to "underestimate the magnitude" of legalising same-sex marriage. Queensland Liberal National Party backbencher Warren Entsch has said he still plans to introduce a private member's bill to legalise same-sex marriage next week. Mr Abbott said on Wednesday that it is "the standard position of our party that if a frontbencher cannot support the party's policy, that person has to leave the frontbench".
"That has always been our position," he told ABC radio. Prime Minister Tony Abbott during his late night press conference on Tuesday. Credit:Andrew Meares "As I said, if it does come before the Parliament, obviously our backbenchers are entitled to vote in the end, wherever way they want. "I would be disappointed if they went against the party position but nevertheless we have always accepted that in the end all votes in our party room for backbenchers at least are conscience votes." Illustration: Ron Tandberg
Mr Abbott acknowledged he had rejected the idea of a popular vote less than three months ago by saying "questions of marriage are the preserve of the Commonwealth Parliament". Mr Abbott said this was his instinct at the time but he had now changed his mind. "Given the nature of this issue and the strength of feeling on the issue in the party room and the community, the disposition of the party room was to go into the next election with a commitment to put this issue to the people in the next term of Parliament," he told reporters. Mr Abbott said a popular vote on the issue was justified because it was such a "personal" and "contentious" issue that has only recently gained widespread support. "Please, let's not underestimate the magnitude of this as a cultural shift," he said.
"Never before in this country or anywhere until very recently has this been regarded as an appropriate cultural norm." Speaking after the Irish referendum supporting same-sex marriage in May, Mr Abbott said: "Referendums are held in this country where there's a proposal to change the constitution. "I don't think anyone is suggesting the constitution needs to be changed in this respect." Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that a national plebiscite or referendum would waste millions of dollars and accused Mr Abbott of being out of touch. "I think that millions of Australians will have woken up this morning, bitterly disappointed with Mr Abbott," he told Channel Seven.
"I don't understand for the life of me what Mr Abbott has against marriage equality. We shouldn't have to wait for a referendum which by the way will cost tens of millions of dollars. "I think Mr Abbott just needs to move with the times." Follow us on Twitter |
The NFL reached Peak No Fun League this season, the result of another attempt to crack down on the kind of insidious, soul-draining behavior that threatens to undermine the fabric of the game. In other words, spontaneous joy is out. So are most forms of celebration and darn near every ounce of shade players toss at one another. Taunting penalties have spiked, at one point up more than 200 percent compared with last season. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties have risen, and ejections have nearly tripled last season's total.
How to make sense of a world scared straight? For your convenience, ESPN offers this handy tool. Flag or no flag? You make the call. We'll tell you if you're, uh, right.
Josh Norman, Washington Redskins | Bow and Arrow
Norman pretends to shoot a bow and arrow. He's holding neither a bow nor an arrow, but you get the point. Think of him as a modern day Robin Hood. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This is a penalty because it is close enough to a "machine-gun salute" that is explicitly banned in the NFL rulebook. Penalty? Yes!
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers | End Zone Twerking
Everybody's doing the twerk, including Brown. But that's a big no-no. Nobody twerks in the NFL. Nobody. In the view of league officials, it's a sexually suggestive dance that involves gyrations, both of which are explicitly banned in the NFL rulebook. That's a penalty every time. Penalty? Yes!
A cartwheel is dramatic and draws attention to the individual who is, well, cartwheeling. But surprise! It's not illegal according to NFL rules. (Wait until next year. Ha!) Sanders didn't violate any of the known restrictions. It wasn't prolonged or excessive. It wasn't sexually suggestive. It had no gyrations, and the only parts of his body that touched the ground were his hands and feet. Good job, good effort! Penalty? No!
The Lions added a cheerleading squad this season, and all Golden Tate wanted to do was support it. So after a touchdown earlier this season, he jumped into the mix, borrowed a pair of poms and joined in the dance. No penalty! He was on the sideline, after all, and outside of the field of play. He was free to do darn near anything that didn't spur an all-around brawl. Penalty? No!
Andrew. Hawkins. Decided. He. Wanted. To. Be. A. Troll. (Good. Natured. Of. Course.) So. He. Acted. Like. A. Robot. After. Scoring. A. Touchdown. The. Browns. Receiver. Placed. The. Ball. On. The. Ground. Like. A. Mechanical. Robot. Then. He. Walked. To. The. Sideline. It. Was. Funny. And. Completely. Legal. Because. No. Other. Teammates. Jumped. In. Well. Done. And. Point. Well. Taken. Penalty? No.
Vernon Davis, Washington Redskins | The Jump Shot
Davis is 6-foot-5 and has played a little basketball in his time. Back in the day, he celebrated touchdowns by dunking over the crossbar. When the NFL outlawed that, he pulled back to shooting a little fadeaway jump shot. But as he found out this season, the fade is a foul too. It uses the ball and the crossbar as props -- the football standing in as a basketball, the crossbar as a hoop -- and that's a penalty. Penalty? Yes!
Terrelle Pryor, Cleveland Browns | The LeBron
Pryor paid homage to Cleveland legend LeBron James earlier this season, emulating James' chalk toss after scoring a touchdown. Mistake. The first segment, pictured above, was fine. What happened next -- visible on this NFL.com video -- was not. By "sprinkling" a handful of "chalk" on the ball, Pryor was using it as a prop in the celebration. The play was not penalized, but Pryor said he was fined -- an indication officials should have thrown a flag as well. Penalty? No!
Diggs likes to go "Gravedigger" when he scores. You know, because his name is "Diggs" and that's part of the word "Gravedigger." Lo and behold, it's perfectly legal and will remain so as long as he doesn't use the ball as a shovel, and no other players join in on the fun. Penalty? No! |
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is refusing to send campaign event notifications to the News & Observer of Raleigh. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Donald Trump's media blacklist doesn't look so tough now, does it?
For much of the presidential campaign, Trump banned certain media outlets — including The Washington Post, Politico and BuzzFeed — from receiving press credentials at his events. That meant reporters from those news agencies could not watch rallies from designated press areas, which usually include work stations, or take advantage of shorter security lines. They had to sit and wait with everyone else.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is taking the blacklist to a new level. He is not merely withholding press passes from the News & Observer of Raleigh; he is refusing to even give the newspaper a schedule of events for his reelection campaign.
The move, according to News & Observer reporter Colin Campbell, is "effectively limiting the newspaper from reporting on Burr’s public appearances." It's tough to cover events you don't know about. While some are well-advertised, "there have been several events we only learned of via Twitter after they had ended," Campbell told The Fix in an email.
"The Burr campaign had been sending near-daily news releases in early October outlining where Burr would be campaigning, but The N&O stopped receiving those releases in recent weeks," Campbell reported Monday. He said the paper received an email in which Burr's campaign explained that it had "put an embargo on sending you scheduling details until you demonstrate the ability to cover this race from a balanced point of view."
Burr is in a virtual dead heat with Democrat Deborah Ross, a former state lawmaker.
[Meet the new Senate battleground states]
The real test of Burr's toughness will be whether he ultimately relents. Trump in September began issuing credentials to outlets he had previously blacklisted. Another Republican, Maine Gov. Paul LePage vowed in August that he "will no longer speak to the press ever again after today" but proved unable to keep his word.
Just a few weeks ago, LePage held a news conference to which he brought some unusual props — Russian nesting dolls painted with the faces of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers.
If Trump and LePage are any indication, Burr's stiff-arming of political reporters may not last long. |
Discussion: Thunder and Tejas
The Indian Air Force (IAF) finally inducted its first batch of Tejas multi-role fighters last week. Produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Tejas was under development for about 30 years, and it is the second homegrown fighter in the IAF’s history, the first being the HF-21 Marut. The Tejas is envisaged to replace the IAF’s legacy MiG-21bis fighters.
There is not much to add except the fact that the Tejas is a potent and fully capable lightweight fighter. In fact, it even got a bit of intriguing fanfare from Dawn News (a leading Pakistani newspaper), which stated that the HAL Tejas was “considered superior to counterparts like the JF-17.”
Sadly, Dawn did not add much to qualify the statement, which has fed into a lot of noise and one-sided chiding from South Asian enthusiasts. The following is not a conventional comparison, nor is there a conclusion of which one is better. Rather, Quwa’s position that is that the two platforms are broadly comparable, but excel over one another in context, i.e. specific areas.
The Tejas is already equipped with a helmet mounted display and sight (HMD/S) system in the form of the Elbit DASH. In fact, a fair assessment would also recognize that the Tejas’ radar, the Elbit EL/M-2032, is a credible and widely appreciated system. India also spent more time on airframe development, hence the reason why the Tejas entered service at a time when the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is fielding three full JF-17 squadrons. In exchange for its development time, the Tejas enters the field with a fully digital fly-by-wire (FBW) flight system, a heavy use of composite materials, and a credible turbofan engine (i.e. GE404).
Today, the Tejas is the better equipped fighter. However, this does not mean that is the decisively superior platform. To suggest as much would be to claim that the PAF has capped all development of the JF-17, and as such, has no plans to configure the JF-17 with subsystems that are comparable to those on current and future Tejas variants. Moreover, the better unit does not mean its rival is not comparable, which is a far more important metric considering nothing remains static over the course of time.
The JF-17’s development was driven by necessity, but it was also encumbered by Pakistan’s problems. In terms of the former, the JF-17 was designed from the onset as a platform that would mainstream beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air capability across the backbone of the PAF fighter fleet. It has achieved that objective thanks to the SD-10/A active radar-guided BVRAAM. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s problems – i.e. the economic mess thrown up by corruption and neglect – meant the JF-17 could not enter service with the ideal set of subsystems. For example, the JF-17 does not have a HMD/S system (but it will in the future).
Astute readers (especially those familiar with the JF-17) will notice that while the Tejas – inducted in 2016 – is fully equipped, the JF-17 – inducted in 2011 – is being improved via relatively frequent iterative cycles. In other words, the PAF is gradually adding modern subsystems – such as HMD/S – whilst also enabling the fighter to accrue real-world usage and experience (which will also feed back into the iterative cycle). It is also enabling an increasing number of PAF pilots and personnel operate within a modern air warfare environment, i.e. one built upon multi-role fighters, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, tactical data-link, etc. Lessons in these areas will feed into further development as well.
The advantages found in Tejas today – e.g. composite materials, HMD/S and others – will make it to the JF-17 Block-III, which will also incorporate systems found on planned Tejas versions, e.g. an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Infrared search and track (IRST) and improved turbofan engines (e.g. RD-33MK) are also being considered. As long as it remains in production, there will always be more advanced JF-17 blocks, each incorporating the current system of its day.
Of course, it is not all promise with the JF-17. The Thunder does possess a few advantages as well, and these – ironically perhaps – are borne from the very problems that encumbered its development. Difficulties in finding funds and overseas vendors shaped the JF-17 into an affordable and accessible modern day fighter. If Pakistan can acquire the modern platform alongside its weapons and subsystems, then chances are, so can almost any other air force using fighter aircraft. Should Pakistan succeed in making HMD/S, 5th-gen within visual range air-to-air missiles (WVRAAM), modern EW/ECM suites, and AESA radars accessible for itself, then it will have made them accessible for many other air forces as well.
The implication of this for some countries, such as Nigeria and potentially others, could be immense. Just consider Nigeria, which is one of Sub Saharan Africa’s top economies. That country does not have many foreign vendors willing to sell it sensitive equipment, and its funding constraints limit its ability to readily pursue the few existing avenues. However, with the JF-17 – which it is poised to begin inducting soon – the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will possess a platform that is equipped with the same kind of air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry found on any other current generation platform.
Furthermore, the NAF can ride upon the JF-17’s developmental work for the PAF, which would mean incorporating additional subsystems – such as HMD/S and a 5th-gen WVRAAM – without being beset with separate integration and expensive long-term support costs. With the exception of South Africa, Botswana and possibly other JF-17 users, no other country in Sub Saharan Africa would have a platform that has a development roadmap that is uniquely suited for countries with political and economic constraints.
Despite this, one might take a jab at the notion that the JF-17 would do best in certain environments, such as Sub Saharan Africa. Fair enough, but it does not change the reality that the JF-17 platform is meant to compete with the Tejas (and others), yet it has been developed without the luxury of free-flowing technology access or strong funding mechanisms. Yes, India is to be commended for having such capacities, but unlike a fighter plane, those traits are not easily transferrable to others. If the JF-17 is broadly comparable, but decisively more affordable and accessible, then it is a success. Whereas the Tejas would fare better in comparison to the JF-17 in the eyes of Bahrain or Jordan, the Tejas would have to compete against the likes of Saab and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) for those markets. The JF-17 on the other hand could present a compelling case for Nigeria, Namibia, Zambia, Azerbaijan, etc.
A lesson in the above is that it is easy to move goalposts as a means to determine ‘success’ or ‘superiority.’ In some respects, such as viability for countries clearly aligned with the U.S. or new/prospective NATO powers, the Tejas is the better option. Others, such as those looking for a modern multi-role system with minimal risk of third party regulatory hurdles (over avionics or engine), or a tighter budget, will prefer the JF-17. Simplistic comparisons do little to advance discussion and generate valuable knowledge, but nuanced case studies on specific areas could be helpful to determine the viability of one platform over another, albeit within specific cases. |
12 May 2015
It happens to everyone. You get to the point where you have collected so much stuff in your “no longer use/need” pile that you decide it’s time to high tail it all outta there. You start to go through your items to decide what you may want to sell, what is just plain trash and what to donate. But there is another category that is often overlooked and that is “what is recyclable.” Below are 5 things in your junk pile that are recyclable instead of dump worthy.
5 Things in Your Junk Pile that are Recyclable
1. Glass
Glass may seem like an obvious one, but many times people don’t pay attention how many items made out of the glass they actually have and then if it’s something that is old or cracked/chipped/broken they know it can’t be sold or donated so they decide to simply toss it. But instead, remember items such as vases, glass from picture frames, saved wine bottles or drink ware should be recycled instead!
2. Electronics
There are centers that will recycle any kind of electronics or appliances – even curling irons! Here at Fire Dawgs we have relationships with centers like these and will happily take your items to be recycled by them. Computers and even your old, half broken holiday lights will be taken and recycled!
3. Mattresses
Mattresses are practically impossible to resell for obvious hygienic reasons and so many people are left wondering what to do with after their lifespan is done. While it may seem that a mattress contains too many different materials to be recycled, there are centers that have special saws to dismember your mattress and separate the wood, metal, foam and cloth to be recycled.
4. Trophies
But why would you ever get rid of your 3rd place trophy for 5th grade basketball? While trophies and medals are cool as a kid, most people don’t showcase them around the house once they are older and so instead they end up in a box somewhere for decade after decade. So instead of taking up storage space – or landfill space – be happy to know that they instead can be recycled! Centers break them down by melting them and or reusing them for new trophies.
5. Carpet & Rugs
Stains, rips, pet hair – doesn’t matter! Recycling centers will happily take your old carpet and rugs off your hands to be recycled. Since items like this can be cumbersome to move and transport give Fire Dawgs a call and we are happy to do the heavy labor for you!
Hopefully these 5 things in your junk pile that are recyclable offered new insight into what can be recycled. The great news is when hiring a junk hauling company, like Fire Dawgs, is you don’t even need to know what can be recycled or not because we’ll happily do the sorting for you. We will dump what needs to be dump, donate what can be donated and recycle what can be recycled.
If you have any further questions please give us a call at 317-291-DAWG or visit our contact page here. If you prefer a more DIY approach you may be interested in our brother company, Dumpster Dawgs, who will also sort and recycle your items. |
This story is about Published Feb. 2016
Bob Sturm's NFL draft profile series: Jalen Ramsey could come in and be the best player in the Cowboys secondary Share This Story On... Twitter
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AP file photo/Bob Leverone In this Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013, file photo, Duke's Braxton Deaver (89) is hit by Florida State's Jalen Ramsey (13) in the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship NCAA football game in Charlotte, N.C.
By Bob Sturm , Special contributor Contact Bob Sturm on Twitter: @SportsSturm
I have never been a scout or a NFL General Manager, but I am willing to watch a ton of football. By watching about 200 snaps of each prospect, we can really get a feel for a player and then know what we are talking about a bit better. It is no exact science, but the NFL hasn't quite figured out drafting either, so we are going to do the best we can.To read more about the 2016 NFL Draft Project, click here. Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, Florida State - 6'1, 202 - Junior - #8 Anyone who analyzes the draft has certain things that they look for and credit or debit accordingly based on characteristics we seek. I confess that my personal biases for defensive backs often revolve around how much they appear to enjoy or avoid tackling. I realize that I might not have realized how great Deion Sanders was because he seemed allergic to contact at times, but overall this has served me well. Guys do fall through the cracks, however - like last year, Marcus Peters was that guy who had no use for run support. And then he won defensive rookie of the year. I guess you don't need to tackle running backs to be a heck of a player. This shows us that if there are 10-12 components of a player's make-up that we value, we should not overvalue the effect of one. We should look at the full composite of the player and project accordingly. But, what if we stumble upon a player that appears to have no component of concern? What if Jalen Ramsey from Florida State appears to be the most complete defensive back that the last decade can offer? Because from where I sit today, I am not sure who I would value higher. He seems to be able to play free safety, strong safety, outside corner, or slot. He seems to be proficient at zone defense or man coverage. He seems to be great at pass defense and run support. In other words, this guy is dripping with off-the-charts grades across the board. Ramsey was a 5-star recruit originally headed for USC, but changed to Florida State where he played 3 seasons. In 2013, he played a lot of reserve time at corner. In 2014, he started and dominated at safety. And in 2015, he switched back to corner and was very good. To top it off, he was magnificent at special teams, too. There is no such thing as "bust proof", but I am tempted here to declare it.
What I liked: He is a very big corner who also possesses track star speed, a disposition to hit and hurt, and a compete level that grows as the game gets later and you can see that his 4th quarter/close game motor even burns hotter. He has very fluid athleticism and yet has the characteristics as a tackler that you look for in a football player. He is the classic hybrid defender that likely can play anywhere you want on the defense as he played a lot like a linebacker in 2014 and then showed he could haul off and take the boundary side as a lock-down corner in 2015 and transition just as well. As a blitzer, he might be the most natural in the bunch as every time he is sent off the corner, the play is getting disrupted. He has blinding speed off the edge and in one game last season had consecutive plays where he blitzed off the edge and broke up a pass and then chased speedster Philip Dorsett (4.33 40 time) down the seam and picked off the game-clinching interception. He is a playmaker and can do that in so many ways.
What I did not like: Not much. He will guess on plays a bit and watch the QB, and that caused him to lose his man a time or two. I don't like this, but it is some of the collateral damage of an instinctive DB who is looking to make plays. You want disciplined technique, but also to allow a playmaker to try to make plays. It is a slippery slope. But, when he does make a mistake and gets beat, his responses are legendary where he then bounces back and takes the game over. He competes so hard and I think he is motivated by the occasional mistake. He also drops interceptions 3-4 times in the 8 games I watched over 2 seasons.
Summary and Potential Fit For the Cowboys: For me, this is likely the best player in the draft. Position versatility, ability to come in and be the best player in the Cowboys secondary (regardless of which position it might be), and a 21-year old who looks like stardom in the NFL is not far away. Jalen Ramsey sure checks all of the boxes I would look for when you discuss things you are looking for in a Top 5 pick. I am skeptical about whether he would be available for the Cowboys and whether the Cowboys would want to spend another 1st round pick on a defensive back, but it sure seems like if he is around at their pick that this player is the type you can feel great about. I am asked frequently where would he play if he were with the Cowboys, which is a question we still ask about Byron Jones. I think the Cowboys want Jones to be their full-time deep safety from here on out, which might put Ramsey as a box safety or as a corner. I am not that hung up on this question at the moment because I don't know the future of the personnel situation with Brandon Carr or even Mo Claiborne. But, I do know this: Zone or man, corner or safety, Jalen Ramsey is going to be the best defensive back on his team for a long, long time. And if that happens to be Dallas, then let's hope the coaches understand how to use his skill set properly and to maximize his ability. I think he is a star. You can view plenty of his tape here at Draftbreakdown.com.
This Topic is Missing Your Voice. |
BOSTON — Perhaps you've heard of Heejun Han, the 22-year-old Korean American from Flushing, Queens, who also happens to be a semi-finalist on American Idol Season 11.
To many, he may seem an unlikely star. He's known for his likable personality, but also for shaking his arms before each performance to get the nerves out. Idol judge and Aerosmith leading man Steven Tyler said Han's song selection on Tuesday night — Robbie Williams' "Angel" — was a miss.
But when he opens his mouth to sing — that’s when US pop star Jennifer Lopez gets a little teary. His voice on Tuesday was "smooth as silk," J Lo said. His initial performance “really impressed and shocked” another judge, music producer Randy Jackson. Even Tyler said previously he thought Han “could be the next American Idol.”
Han isn’t the first Asian American to be on American Idol, but the overwhelming love and attention he’s getting on camera and off makes it seem that way.
Most talented Asian-American singers have struggled to break into the US music scene. But even as Asian Americans have trouble getting the attention of US music producers — a problem many artists blame on racial barriers — imported K-pop, or Korean pop music, is growing in popularity in the US.
K-pop groups have landed on stages like Madison Square Garden and the Letterman show, while most Asian-American artists are self-supported, reaching their audience primarily through YouTube.
And many more Asian Americans are making the reverse journey to Asia in search of opportunities to perform.
K-pop’s American secret
Consider Korea's infatuation with singer Ailee and the more veteran Jay Park, who rank No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, on the “K-pop Hot 100” Billboard music chart. What do these two singers have in common? Both are from the US; Ailee is a New Jersey native, and Jay Park is from Seattle.
The trend is nothing new, according to Oliver Wang, a music journalist and assistant professor, who teaches pop culture at California State University Long Beach.
“When I was in college in the early ‘90s, people would talk about the LA Boyz who found far greater fame and success in Taiwan than they did here,” Wang, 39, said.
LA Boyz, a Taiwanese-American boy band formed in 1992, brought American hip-hop from Los Angeles to Taiwan. Solid, a Korean-American trio, did the same but with R&B in Korea, becoming the country’s first R&B group.
“I do think that for many Asian Americans, frustrated by the lack of opportunities locally, they see Asia as a potential avenue where racial differences won't matter as much. It's certainly no guarantee — Asian countries generate so much local talent it's not like they need our ex-pats to go over there — but it's been a 20-year trend thus far,” Wang said.
Producer Jae Chong, an original member of Solid, later went to Taiwan to write and produce for the LA Boyz, as well as Asian-American artist Coco Lee and more recently Aziatix, an Asian-American R&B/hip-hop group that won Best New Artist at Mnet Asian Music Awards 2011.
Indeed, Asian countries welcome artists with Asian roots and American culture; they are seen as an alluring blend.
“Asian-American artists are both American and Asian so it’s strange and exotic [to them],” said Tatsu Aoki, Japanese American founder of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival.
Entertainment companies in Asia, especially Korea, frequently hold worldwide auditions in search for the next K-pop star. Often the top contestants include Asian Americans who may or may not speak fluent Korean.
“There’s like 10 of them [audition shows] in Korea,” Heejun Han said. “When I see those shows with people who sing so well and have perfect English, I’m curious why they don’t try in the US.”
Paul Kim and John Park did try. Both made it to the top 24 of American Idol, like Han — Kim was part of American Idol’s sixth season (2007); Park, the ninth (2010).
But where are they now?
Asian-American artists flounder in US
Park’s American Idol fame propelled him overseas. A native of Northbrook, Ill., Park was cast in a Korean cable show SuperStar K. He flew to Korea for the show, improved his Korean performing K-ballads and nailed his version of “Man in the Mirror” to score the runner-up position in the whole competition.
Park, 23, just released his first album on Feb. 22 in Korea.
Kim, a California native, also released his debut Korean single earlier this month. But in the US, the response was much cooler.
“Before and after being on the show [American Idol], I had meetings with major labels, and people loved my music. But it was too big of a risk for them to invest that much money in an Asian,” Kim, 30, said in a recent telephone interview. “They told me to keep in touch but they’d have to wait and see how Asians do in the market.”
America’s mainstream prefers mainstream music from Asia, said music festival founder Aoki.
More from GlobalPost: K-pop born in Korea, headed for the USA
“America still welcomes foreign good[s]. K-pop is a foreign good. America mainstream music is not interested in Asian Americans but Asia," Aoki said. "We need more producers who are willing to work with, to produce Asian-American singers in America."
“I struggled for years… I spent so much time chasing a record deal,” Kim said.
Although he’s been hurt by a US recording industry hesitant to sign Asian-American talent, Kim says he's optimistic the climate for Asian-American artists in the US will change.
“Soon all major labels will pick their one Asian act, like all major labels had to find their own Britney," he said. "They [Asian-American artists] are going to be dollar signs in their [major labels’] eyes.”
And there have been some encouraging signs.
Could self-producing be the answer?
Asian-American singer-songwriters Clara Chung and David Choi have been gaining a presence on YouTube.
“If I didn’t have YouTube, I wouldn’t be here. I would still be doing music but no support, no tour, nothing I’m doing now,” said Choi, who ended his Southeast Asia and Australia tour in July and performed in both Korea and Japan in December.
Chung and Choi aren’t mainstream artists, but they have succeeded in creating their own brand without a major label or budget, and big companies are starting to take note.
Last January 2011 TC Helicon of TC Group Americas, a company that makes vocal harmony processing products, sponsored Far East Movement, the first Asian-American group to land No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and iTunes with their hit single “Like a G6.”
Recently, TC Helicon added Chung to their list of sponsors. “We just saw a young, fresh artist,” Laura Davidson, 32, marketing manager of TC Group Americas, said of Chung.
Chung’s upcoming April tour will be fully funded by TC Helicon and Guitar Center, making every show free for her fans.
A singer-songwriter herself, Davidson said she’s picky when it comes to which artists she likes, but “it was a no brainer to work with her.”
“When I see a black artist or white or Asian I just see if they’re good. I’m not color blind, but I never think, ‘My, we’re lacking Asian-American artists in this industry!’ But are they good. Are they making good music?” she said.
Aziatix agrees that only the music matters.
“I wish they had a label for 'Good Music' and hopefully we would be in that category,” said Nicky Lee, vocalist of Aziatix, which launched its 2012 US Tour on Feb. 24 and will perform in Boston on Feb. 29.
David Choi is also preparing for the second half of his US tour. He said it's harder to make it in the US than Asia.
“In Korea it’s possible to become an overnight celebrity," he said. "Here [in the US], it can happen but it’s a lot harder.”
One YouTube user, pisthobranch, commented on a video of American Idol hopeful Heejun Han: “Heejun should move to Korea and become a mega world pop star!”
Another user, chonmaya1, said: “If Heejun doesn’t make it on American Idol SM Entertainment or JYP are most likely to make him a K-pop star.”
But even if he is eliminated on Thursday, Han says he has no plans to pursue music in Korea. He wants to stay and try his luck in the US.
“I don’t know how far I’m going to go [on the show] but I want to pursue singing here. There has been no Asian-American singer really out there in America. I don’t want to be a lawyer or a doctor. I want to break those stereotypes,” Han said.
“I just want to be an ordinary nerdy Asian guy that pursues his dream in the US,” he said.
More from GlobalPost: Iranians hooked on Korean TV drama |
On Tuesday voice and data services on our mobile network were disrupted for several hours.
We know you rely on us and we let you down on this occasion.
To show how sorry we are for the inconvenience this caused, we are providing our mobile customers free data usage within Australia this Sunday 14 February.
Free data is available from midnight to midnight (in your local Australian time zone) Sunday 14 February 2016.
It’s available to both our personal and business customers on post-paid and pre-paid phone, tablet and mobile broadband plans.
You don’t need to do anything to receive the free data, we will make it available to you automatically across all Australian states and territories.
So please post, browse, share and stream on us this Sunday.
We hope it helps make up for any inconvenience you experienced. |
Photo by: Heather Coit/The News-Gazette Illinois students come out in force to vote at polling locations, like McKinley Presbyterian Church & Foundation, seen here, across UI campus in Champaign on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.
We've known all along that college-age voters love Bernie Sanders, and last Tuesday's voting in Champaign-Urbana confirmed it.
But it wasn't as well known that they — or at least the students at the University of Illinois — don't seem to think much of Donald Trump.
In last week's voting in the nine student-dominated precincts in Champaign-Urbana, Sanders got 4,065 votes to 463 for Hillary Clinton.
Clinton's numbers were pretty good compared with those going to the four Republicans who were still campaigning at the time of Tuesday's voting (Marco Rubio dropped out of the race that evening): 294 for John Kasich, 250 for Rubio, 233 for Ted Cruz and 194 for Trump.
Other nuggets from primary election voting in Champaign-Urbana:
— More Democratic ballots were drawn in every one of Urbana's 23 precincts and in all but two of Champaign's 39 precincts. City of Champaign 32 (which votes at the Free Methodist Church on South Mattis Avenue) had one more GOP than Democratic ballot, and City of Champaign 33 (which votes at the Meadowbrook Community Church on Duncan Road) had 23 more Republican ballots. Ted Cruz won both precincts.
— Sanders won 22 of 23 precincts in Urbana and 34 of 39 precincts in Champaign.
Among Republicans in Urbana, Kasich and Cruz each won nine precincts, Rubio took two, Trump won one, and Trump and Cruz tied in two. Among Republicans in Champaign, Cruz won 18 precincts, Kasich took 13, Trump won four, Rubio won one, and Trump and Cruz tied in three.
— Sanders was a huge winner overall, not just in the student precincts. He got 15,831 votes (9,412 in Champaign and 6,419 in Urbana) to 6,064 for Clinton (3,702 in Champaign and 2,362 in Urbana).
Cruz was the top vote-getter among Republicans with 3,223 (2,407 in Champaign and 816 in Urbana), followed by Kasich (1,839 Champaign and 612 Urbana), then Trump (1,794 Champaign and 602 Urbana) and Rubio (1,046 Champaign and 382 Urbana).
— The biggest voter turnout was in Cunningham 10 (which votes at the Urbana Free Library and is generally the Carle Park neighborhood) with a spectacular 72.21 percent turnout. There Democrats outnumbered Republicans more than 9-to-1. Four years ago its turnout was only 41 percent.
— The best turnout in Champaign was in City of Champaign 7 (voting at Skelton Place) with 68.95 percent. Democrats there outnumbered Republicans 4-to-1. Four years ago its turnout was just 4 percent.
— Voting in student precincts was remarkable this year, with turnouts averaging 54.95 percent, with a high of 70.45 percent in Cunningham 2. Four years ago none of the precincts got out of single digits.
— The overall turnout in Champaign County — 48.22 percent — may have been the best in Illinois. It was the best of all the area counties, although Douglas was close with 46.87 percent. Even Sangamon County (home of state government) had only a 43.21 percent turnout.
The 57,598 people who voted in Tuesday's primary are more than twice the 26,212 who voted in the 2012 presidential primary or the 26,192 who voted in 2004.
— Both parties set local records for turnout on Tuesday: 31,313 Democratic ballots pulled and 26,226 Republican ballots.
Finally, all of these numbers are unofficial and they're likely to change with a retabulation and/or the counting of late absentee ballots. But the record will survive. Congratulations, voters, especially the hundreds of students we encountered on campus at 7 p.m. Tuesday who said they were determined to stay in line until they got to vote, even though they faced a wait of 45 to 60 minutes.
Not only that, they weren't complaining.
Tom Kacich is a News-Gazette reporter and columnist. His column appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. He can be reached at 351-5221 or at [email protected]. |
About This Game
A train's whistle sounds in the dead of night. Snow falls on deserted tracks. Somewhere, in the city, a woman prepares to leave on a journey that will change her life. Somewhere, in the country, a man drives to his final destination.Witness The Charnel House Trilogy, the chronicle of one fateful night aboard a train bound for Augur Peak. Three thrilling, horrifying adventure games in one, from the depths of the Sepulchre, starring Madeleine Roux, Peter Willington, Jonathan Grier, Jim Sterling, and Ben Chandler as Grub. With art by Ivan Ulyanov and Ben Chandler, and music by Jack de Quidt, nervous_testpilot and Bryan Henderson.A young woman prepares to depart on a journey that will take her into the very heart of darkness. But before she can leave her apartment, there are just a few loose ends she has to tie up...Join Doctor Harold Lang on that fateful train journey that started it all. Who is the man in 2-C? What is the conductor hiding? And just what is the secret behind all the huge bags?Alex Davenport wakes up on the train. Her travelling companion, Harold Lang, is nowhere to be found. Don, the conductor, isn't exactly being forthcoming as to what's going on. Why are Alex's friends here? Who's the ballerina? Is this a nightmare, or is Alex's hope of waking up simply a pipe dream?From the studio that brought you Richard & Alice comes a new journey into terror. |
William McGinley's hiring is the latest addition to Trump’s team of more experienced political hands. | Getty Donald Trump hires top GOP lawyer for delegate fight
Donald Trump has made another new significant hire as he prepares for the possibility of a contested convention, bringing William McGinley, a prominent Republican political attorney and a veteran of past delegate battles, into his campaign.
McGinley is expected to advise the Trump campaign on delegate selection battles in the upcoming states and on possible challenges to the credentials of delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, according to people familiar with the hiring.
Story Continued Below
In 2012, McGinley served as counsel to the convention’s rules committee and he is currently a partner at Jones Day, the same law firm as Don McGahn, Trump’s top political attorney. McGinley is expected to travel to Florida this week, POLITICO has learned, where Republican National Committee members are gathering for their spring meeting amid an ongoing fight over the rules that will govern the convention.
McGinley knows the legal inner workings of the Republican Party’s rules as well as almost anyone. At the 2012 GOP convention, he pushed the credentials committee, which determines which delegates are seated, to swap out 10 Ron Paul delegates from Maine for 10 aligned with Mitt Romney.
He has previously served as deputy counsel to the RNC, and as counsel to the RNC’s Standing Committee on Rules. He has also worked as general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and more recently represented numerous members of Congress who have found themselves in ethical hot water.
McGinley's hiring is the latest addition to Trump’s team of more experienced political hands, as the businessman outsider tries to shift his campaign from simply gathering the support of voters to accumulating the actual delegates who will cast ballots at the convention. Trump has previously hired Paul Manafort as his convention manager, and last week tapped Rick Wiley, Scott Walker’s former campaign manager, as his national political director. |
Porto or Oporto is known as the second city of Portugal, after Lisbon. It has a much different culture and pace than the capital. Lisbon is probably the most relaxed capital of Europe I've been to, but Porto sort of has a more business type atmosphere. Indeed people joke often that in Portugal, Porto works, Braga, a religious centre, prays, Coimbra, home of the University of Coimbra studies, and Lisbon takes all the money! Porto is still in Portugal however, so people are still as friendly and relaxed as can be, just with a tiny bit more bruskness than Lisbon.
The port area of Porto along the Douro river is magnificent. Beyond magnificent even-- transcendent, awesome, awe-inspiring, all of these. I was really blown away by how wonderful it was just to walk around the historic part of town.
My wife says the one she took with her iPhone is better... What do you think?
One of the great things you can see in Porto, is the Cathedral, a Romanesque building built in the 1100s, with a later, beautiful Gothic cloister added. Check it out on my post, live on April 21st 2015!
Around the port area is the older neighborhoods, which are great to walk through!
Porto is right on the mouth of the Douro river, and is an important shipping hub.
Near the river is the St. Francis Monument church and the Bolsa Palace.
Also, you could fall into the water and suffer an acute form of wet-lung.
You can travel back up Porto's steep hill on the Funicular dos Guindais and see a quite beautiful view of the Ponte Dom Luis:
It get's a little dizzying after so much Port though!
We were in Porto over Christmas, when the Porto-guese like to do marathons.
They seem quite health conscious in Porto.
The city centre is extremely beautiful looking down from by the Clerigo's tower.
The Sao Bento train station in Porto is famous for having the fewest number of Azulejos, or Portuguese tiles, of all the train stations in Portugal.
This tile depicts Queen Angela Merkel coming to Portugal to demand more austerity measures.
Still there are some anti-Merkel austerity politics going on:
There are some beautiful city parks in Porto, this one near the town hall:
Here is the Jardin do Palacio de Cristal- I'm not sure what they are for... The only reason we were there was because my sister, Noodle Magnusdottir had too much Douro wine, saw the sign for Crystals, screamed, "I LOVE SVAROVSKI!" and scaled the wall. It took four of us to take her down and drag her out of the gardens.
There are a lot of buildings in Porto they are renovating.
We were there in Christmas so they had some winter attractions in the city centre.
Here you can see the Canadian guy drinking directly from the bottle...
Well, I hope you consider visiting Porto! It's a place of love!
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Facebook to keep up with my weekly posts!
Sauce
The old town has some beautiful old buildings that are quickly being renovated and purchased.There are also nice hills since it's built in the Douro river valley.I always dreamt of having a European balcony...There are clean, quaint neighborhoods that lead down to the Duoro.The San Francisco church has a famous family tree of Jesse (Jesse was the father of King David in the bible).The neighborhood around there is quite quaint, though the church is not special to see.It is right near the Douro river, and is a nice spot for lunch or dinner.Afterwards you can walk to the other side of the town to have some Port in one of the Porto's fortified wine distilleries!Port is a fortified wine, which means that alcohol is added to make it stronger.For port they add the extra alcohol during the fermentation process, which kills the yeast, leaving a lot of sugar and keeping the wine very sweet.Port is a protected designation of origin in the EU, so is only made in the Douro river valley. In the US they will permit imitations to label themselves as Port however.Walmart-brand Port is the most common Port in the US, made in China, sweetened with lead acetate.It's easy to get a little lost after too much Port, so be careful!The British especially love sweet wines -- in 1799, the British imported an average of 5 bottles of Port per man, woman and child!They even had Gentleman's clubs in which the membership trial consisted of drinking three bottles of Port in one sitting!I don't recommend trying this, due to the high risk of diabetes.So try a relaxed Port-tasting, and buy a couple bottles to bring back home to your Grandma-ma!I recommend checking out road race times before you go-- there were two while we were there!You can read about the Clerigo's tower on my post to be published April 14th, 2015! The marathon had created some crazy traffic...But it made it quite beautiful!I kind of like the out of focus one!This is St. Anthony's church:Like everything in Portugal, it has to have some tiles!The tiles depict various scenes of Portuguese history:This is the Sao Bento train station in Portugal, named after the saint who brought Japanese cuisine to Oporto. The Portuguese leader, dressed as a Moor for Carnival, relents to Empress Merkel:There are some other tiles celebrating the EU agricultural subsidies that Empress Merkel brought:Many of the old buildings are being re-furbished, for hardcore British ex-pat Port enthusiasts.Here is one of the refurbished buildings, with a modern facade added.It's fun to watch people who've never skated before learn.They also had some wild rides.Here's a Canadian!And some real-life winter sledding!Here is the great, "Pene do Porto." |
This article is over 7 years old
Survey in wake of phone-hacking scandal finds only 14% of respondents trust red-tops 'to do what is right'
Almost 70% of the British public distrust red-top tabloids in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, according to a new survey.
In a study of 2,100 UK adults in January, 68% of respondents said they did not trust red-tops – including the Daily Star, the Daily Mirror and the Sun – "to do what is right".
However, faith in the UK media overall actually rose 15% last year among a separate group of 5,600 adults who described themselves as university-educated people who regularly follow the news.
The Edelman Trust Barometer, published on Tuesday, is an annual survey that measures Britons' trust in the government, business, media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). US firm Edelman is one of the biggest global PR and communications groups.
This is the first time that Edelman has asked a representative sample of UK adults about how much they trust the media, so year-on-year comparisons are unavailable.
Ed Williams, chief executive of Edelman UK, said the survey shows "a separation between TV and radio, serious news including broadsheet newspapers, and social media and tabloid papers at the other end of the scale".
He added: "Those who said their trust in media had decreased cited 'phone-[hacking] stories', 'scandal' and 'politics' – those were the trends."
Just 14% of the group of 2,100 adults trust red-top newspapers "to do what is right", according to the survey, as trust in quality titles and TV news also suffered a decline.
The huge fall leaves red-tops trailing behind social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, as information sources that the public trust in this way.
Edelman's study suggests that broadcasters including the BBC and Sky News are among the most trusted media organisations, ahead of quality titles such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.
Trust in media organisations (click for bigger image). Photograph: Edelman
Almost 58% of those surveyed said they trust the broadcasters, compared with 47% for quality titles and 39% for "online news sources", such as the Huffington Post.
Only 26% of respondents said they trust mid-market newspapers, including the Daily Mail and Daily Express, while 45% said they distrust them.
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• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. |
It’s been a while we haven’t covered any machine learning algorithm. Last time we discussed the Markov Decision Process (or MDP).
Today we’re going to build our knowledge on top of the MDP and see how we can generalise our MDP to solve more complex problems.
Reinforcement learning really hit the news back in 2013 when a computer learned how to play a bunch of old Atari games (like Breakout) just by observing the pixels on the screen. Let’s find out how this is possible!
In Breakout the goal is to destroy all the bricks at the top of the screen by bouncing a ball over a paddle that you can move horizontally at the bottom of the screen. Every time the ball hits a brick your score increases.
The idea
If we want to teach a computer how to play that game, one solution might be to use a classifier such as a neural network where the input would be the screen images and the output the action to perform. It makes sense as for each screen we want to know if the paddle should move left or right (or stay still). The problem is that we need lots of training examples. But this is not how we learn! We don’t want someone to tell us a million time what we should do!
Instead we learn by observing the reward we get as a consequence of our actions. This is the essence of reinforcement learning. An agent (the player) performs some actions which change the state of the environment (the pixels on the screen) and gets a reward for his actions (increase of score).
Reinforcement learning lies somewhere between supervised and unsupervised learning. In supervised learning we have a label for every training example and in unsupervised learning there is no label at all. In reinforcement learning we have rewards which are sparse and time-delayed labels. Using only on those rewards the agent has to learn to behave in the environment.
It may seem simple but there are some challenges along the way. When the ball hits a brick it has nothing to do with the action you just take. In fact it was the action performed when the ball bounced on the paddle that sent the ball against the brick. The problem of identifying which action is at the origin of the reward is known as the credit assignment problem.
Markov Decision Process
Doesn’t it sound familiar? Indeed, it looks quite similar to our tiny robot example we use to illustrate the MDP.
The robot (the agent) moves (take actions) and gets a reward as it moves closer to its destination.
In fact our problem can be modelled as an MDP as well because one game can be modelled as a finite sequences of states, actions and rewards:
\(s_0,a_0,r_1,s_1,a_1,r_2,s_2,a_2,r_3,s_3,….,a_{n-1},r_n,s_n\)
Moreover the next state \(s_i\) depends only on the current state \(s_i\) and the current action \(a_i\) and not on any previous states.
We are still interesting in maximising the long term reward
\(R = r_1+r_2+r_3+…+r_{n-1}+r_n\)
or considering the long term reward from time t:
Discounted rewards
\(R_t = r_t+r_{t+1}+…+r_{n-1}+r_n\)
As our process is stochastic there is no guarantee that the same action will give the same reward (e.g. when we start the game the ball starts in a random direction). It means that the most distant rewards are also the most uncertain.
For this reason we want to “discard” rewards far away in the future using a discount factor \(\gamma\):
\(\begin{align}R_t & = r_t + \gamma r_{t+1} + \gamma^2 r_{t+2} + … + \gamma^{n-t} r_n \\R_t & = r_t + \gamma (r_{t+1} + \gamma r_{t+2} + … + \gamma^{n-t-1} r_n) \\R_t & = r_t + \gamma R_{t+1}\end{align}\)
We used the same technique when we covered the MDP with our tiny robot example.
Q learning
The strategy we used to choose an action was the one that maximises the discounted reward. It can be expressed by defining a function \(Q\) that represents the discounted long-term reward when we performed an action \(a\) in state \(s\) and perform optimally afterwards.
\(Q(s_t, a_t) = \max_\pi R_{t+1}\)
In this case \(Q\) represents the best possible score at the end of the game if we perform action \(a\) in state \(s\).
\(\pi\) is the policy to follow to choose an action in a given state. If we assume that we know \(Q\) then choosing the action becomes simple: Just pick the action that gives the maximum score at the end of the game
\(\pi(s) = \operatorname{argmax}_a Q(s,a)\)
But there is one problem! How can we know the function \(Q\)? How can we know the score at the end of the game when we only know the current state and action. Well, we just can’t but we can assume that such a function exists from a theoretical point of view.
Bellman equation
If we break it down to a single step in the game or a single transition from state \(s\) to state \(s’\) we get
\(Q(s,a) = r + \gamma \max_{a’}Q(s’, a’)\)
It means that by taking action \(a\) in state \(s\) we get the corresponding reward \(r\) plus the maximum discounted reward we can get from here by choosing the best action in the next state.
The recursive nature of the Bellman equation helps to solve the credit assignment problem. It should also sound familiar as it’s the same Bellman equation that we’ve seen when solving MDPs. Except last time we used another value function \(U\).
In fact \(U\) can be expressed in terms of the \(Q\) function:
\(U(s) = \max_a Q(s,a)\)
With \(Q\) we specify the action to perform, we somehow force \(Q\) to learn \(a\) whereas \(U\) takes only the current state \(s\) and figures out what the best action is for that state.
Solving the Bellman equation is the key to solve the MDP and there are several techniques to do it. Last time we’ve seen how we can use linear algebra or the value iteration algorithm.
The idea was to start with a random utility function and refine it over time until we got something that stabilises:
Start with an arbitrary utility function Update the utility for a state based on all the states it can reach Repeat 2. until convergence
which can be summarised by the following equation:
\(\begin{align}\hat{U}_{\pi^*}(s) = r_s + \gamma \max_a \sum_{s’} T(s,a,s’) \hat{U}_{\pi^*}(s’)\end{align}\)
which can be written in terms of the \(Q\) function
\(\begin{align}\hat{Q}_{\pi^*}(s, a) & = r_s + \gamma \sum_{s’} T(s,a,s’) \max_{a’} \hat{Q}_{\pi^*}(s’, a’) \\\end{align}\)
Similarly we start with a random \(Q\) function and we refine it as we visit more state over time.
Jolly good, but how does that fit with learning how to play Breakout ? Well, there is one more problem here. Remember that \(T(s,a,s’)\) is the transition model, i.e. the probabilities for reaching state \(s’\) given that we are in state \(s\) and perform action \(a\). And in the Breakout game we don’t have access to the transition model.
Are we doomed? No, we can actually learn the \(Q\) function from the data, i.e. by observing what happens when we perform an action \(a\) in state \(s\). The idea is that if we visit state \(s\) and perform action \(a\) many times we will finally learn the real value \(Q(s,a)\).
To make things simple imagine that we that we store the \(Q\) values in a table where the rows are the possible state and the columns the possible actions.
This gives us the following pseudo code:
initialise Q[num_states, num_action] randomly start from initial state s while not terminated do select and perform action a observe reward r and next state s' update Q[s, a] = (1 - α)Q[s, a] + α (r + γ max_a' Q[s', a']) s = s' done
The key point is to understand how we update the estimated \(\hat{Q}(s,a)\) every time we take action \(a\) in state \(s\)
\(\begin{align}\hat{Q}(s, a) = (1 – \alpha) \hat{Q}(s, a) + \alpha (r + \gamma \max_{a’} \hat{Q}(s’, a’)\end{align}\)
Here the update is simple because we always know \(\hat{Q}\) because we initialised all the values randomly. It may not be correct but there is a value we can use for our computation.
There is also a new parameter \(\alpha\). \(\alpha\) is the learning rate and has a value between 0 and 1.
If \(\alpha = 0\) then we are not learning anything because we’re not update \(\hat{Q}\).
If \(\alpha = 1\) then we forget everything we’ve learned so far and only consider the new value.
The idea is that \(\alpha\) is decreasing over time because we want to learn a lot at the beginning and then take smaller steps as we accumulate knowledge and converge to the true value.
Exploration / Exploitation dilemma
There is some point we need to clarify:
How do we choose the action to perform?
How do we initialise \(\hat{Q}\)?
If we always choose the same action \(a\) we won’t learn anything. On the other hand if we always choose \(a\) randomly we will explore all the possibilities and converge to “real” \(Q\) but we’re not going to use that knowledge.
We need somehow to use the knowledge accumulated in \(\hat{Q}\). We can simply use \(\hat{\pi}(s) = \operatorname{argmax}_a \hat{Q}(s,a)\). Sounds good but \(\hat{Q}
eq Q\) especially at the beginning where \(\hat{Q}\) is initialised randomly.
It means that at the beginning we pick the actions randomly but as soon as we find something that “seems” to work we’re stick with that. E.g. we can find out that always moving the paddle to the left is a valuable strategy however it surely isn’t the optimal strategy. And that’s the problem with this algorithm, as soon as it fines something that looks better than the alternatives it always picks this action and stop trying anything else. It’s like being stuck in a local minima. For this reason we say that the algorithm is greedy.
To solve this problem we can slightly modify our policy \(\hat{\pi}\) to choose the action given by \(\operatorname{argmax}_a \hat{Q}(s,a)\) with probability \((1-\epsilon)\) and choose a random action with property \(\epsilon\).
It means that we do what seems to be right most of the time (by following \(\hat{Q}\)) but once in a while we pick a random action to get a chance to explore the whole space of possibilities.
We can have \(\epsilon\) decreasing over time so that we take more random actions at the beginning to favour the exploration of the space and we as gain more knowledge we use it more and more often to pick the right action.
This is the exploration / exploitation dilemma.
We can also initialise \(\hat{Q}\) with high values (bigger than any values the \(Q\) function can get) so that any unexplored value looks better than anything which have been tried. This is a known as optimism in face of uncertainty.
Deep Q Network
The state of the environment is represented by the pixels on the screen. However for Breakout we need several consecutive images to capture the direction and speed of the ball.
This is what the DeepMind team behind the paper “Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning” did. They use 4 consecutive screenshots – reduced to 86×86 images with 256 grey levels – to describe the state of the system.
If we were to use our Q table to store all the possible state we’d be left with \(256^{86*86*4}\) game states. This number is so big that there is no way to build such table. It’s true that the images have some structures (bricks at the top, paddle at the bottom, …) so in practice there is much less possible state.
Still using a sparse table to store only the visited states would take too long to compute the \(Q\) function as many states will be visited very rarely.
This is where deep learning comes in! The idea is to use a neural network to compute the \(Q\) function. Neural network are very efficient to find good features for highly-structured data.
This is exactly what the DeepMind team did. They used a convolutional layer with 3 layers followed by 2 fully connected layers.
Layer Input Filter stride activation output conv1 84x84x4 8×8 4 ReLU 20x20x32 conv2 20x20x32 4×4 2 ReLU 9x9x64 conv3 9x9x64 3×3 1 ReLU 7x7x64 fc4 7x7x64 ReLU 512 fc5 512 Linear 18
The output is the Q-values for the 18 possible actions on the Atari.
As Q-values are scalar values it’s possible to use a simple squared loss error function to do the back-propagation:
\(\begin{align}L=\frac{1}{2}[\underbrace{r + \gamma max_{a’}Q(s’,a’)}_{\text{target}} – \underbrace{Q(s,a)}_{\text{prediction}}]^2\end{align}\)
Using this neural network our update rule for the Q-function becomes:
Perform a feed-forward pass for the current state \(s\) Perform a feed-forward pass for the next state \(s’\) and calculate \(\max+{a’}Q(s’,a’)\) Set the Q-value target for action \(a\) to \(r+\gamma\max_{a’}Q(s’,a’)\) (i.e. the max calculated in step 2). For all other actions, set the Q-value target to the same value as returned from step 1 (it makes the error 0 for the other actions) Perform a back propagation pass to update the weights of the Q function
We now have a good idea how to use a neural network to approximate the \(Q\) function. However it turns out that approximation of Q-values using non-linear function is not very stable. You actually need lots of tricks to make it converge.
The most important trick is experience replay. During the game all the transitions \( \) are stored in memory. When training the network, random samples from the replay memory are used instead of the most recent transition. This avoids being stuck in local minima.
Taking all this into consideration we can update our Q-learning algorithm as follow
initialise weights for function Q randomly observe initial state s while not terminated do select an action a: with probability ε choose a random action otherwise chose action a = argmax_a' Q(s,a') perform action a observe reward r and next state s' store transition <s,a,r,s'> into replay memory sample random transitions <ss, aa, rr, ss'> from replay memory calculate target for each mini batch transition: if ss' is terminal state then target = rr otherwise target = rr + γ max_a’ Q(ss’, aa) train the neural network using (target - Q(ss,aa))^2 as loss s = s' done
Of course there are more tricks involved like error clipping, reward clipping, … but it’s quite awesome that MDP can be solved just by observing data as we interact with the system. |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Some 100 Jewish families left rebel-held Donetsk in September after a prominent businessman was murdered
Leaders of Ukraine's Jewish community have come out strongly in support of the Kiev government in its conflict with Russia, rejecting Moscow's accusations that their country is now a hotbed of anti-Semitism.
But some are uneasy about the far-right extremists fighting with Ukrainian volunteer battalions in the east, as well as incidents of "everyday anti-Semitism" in Ukraine.
Russian media and officials have been portraying Ukraine as a hotbed of far-right extremism, including anti-Semitism, ever since former President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power at the end of February.
In his first public reaction to Mr Yanukovych's downfall, President Vladimir Putin told journalists on 4 March: "We see the rampage of reactionary forces, nationalist and anti-Semitic forces going on in certain parts of Ukraine, including Kiev."
He used similar language in his speech declaring the annexation of Crimea two weeks later, when he said that the "coup" against Mr Yanukovych was the work of "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites".
The Association of Jewish Organisations and Communities (VAAD) of Ukraine responded with an open letter saying that President Putin's assertions about the rise of anti-Semitism in their country "did not match reality".
Mr Putin's advisers "might have confused Ukraine with Russia where Jewish organisations registered a rise of anti-Semitism last year", it added.
Fascists on both sides
Shmuel Kaminetsky, a rabbi in Dnipropetrovsk, home to one of the country's largest Jewish communities, also rejects the idea that Ukraine is anti-Semitic.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Russian media warn of the threat of Dmitry Yarosh's Right Sector, but the party's electoral support is not high
Life is "easier and safer" for Jews in Ukraine than in Western countries such as Belgium and France, where radical Islam is on the rise, he said in a recent film about efforts to defend Dnipropetrovsk against the Russian-backed insurgency.
Ever since Mr Yanukovych's downfall, Russian media have played up the threat from Ukrainian far-right organisations, such as Right Sector and the Freedom party.
But neither of these parties has widespread support. In the presidential election in May their leaders obtained a combined vote of less than 2%. They also failed to breach the 5% threshold in the recent parliamentary election.
Still, concerns remain about the presence of far-right extremists in some parts of Ukrainian society, especially the new volunteer battalions, which have played a key role in the current conflict.
VAAD Ukraine director Yosyp Zisels told a news conference in October that the volunteers were fighting "bravely" for Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". But he conceded some of them held views that are "Nazi, ultranationalist and racist".
Far-right extremists and fascists were fighting on both sides of the conflict, Zisels said.
Key figure
A key figure in organising and financing the Ukrainian volunteer battalions is Dnipropetrovsk regional governor and businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, an important member of the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish community and himself a frequent target of attacks in the Russian media.
Mr Kolomoisky is actively involved with the Fund for the Defence of the Country, which collects money to provide Ukrainian troops with medicines, food and equipment. It also helps to look after people displaced by the conflict.
Image copyright Channel One Image caption A Russian TV screen grab of Ihor Kolomoisky, the target of frequent attacks in Russian media
Some local synagogues have also joined the war effort.
"We are providing comprehensive assistance to servicemen fighting against terrorists and protecting the unity and integrity of Ukraine. We are calling on Dnipropetrovsk's Jews to actively help them," the city's Golden Rose synagogue said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jewish leaders are increasingly concerned about the fate of fellow Jews in areas controlled by the insurgents, especially after the murder of Jewish businessman Heorhiy Zilberbrod in Donetsk in August.
In September, at least 100 Jewish families fled Donetsk to the government-controlled city of Mariupol, according to Donetsk rabbi Pinkhas Vyshedsky.
Rabbi Vyshedsky himself recently moved his office to Kiev "to help Jews from his city who found refuge in the capital and other parts of the country", Jewish website Chabad.org said.
"Jews are running away from the Russian world to hide under the wing of the fascist Kiev junta? What more can one say?" news website Argument UA commented.
Everyday anti-Semitism
Nevertheless, some Jews are also concerned about their safety in Kiev.
In September, swastikas were painted on the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial in Kiev, where 34,000 Jews were murdered in the course of a week in September 1941.
Commenting on the incident, World Jewish Congress vice-president Boris Fuchsman said: "We often say that there is no anti-Semitism at the state level today, but no-one has rooted out everyday anti-Semitism."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Menorah monument at the Babi Yar memorial
Tzvi Arieli, a former member of the Israeli army, has set up a Jewish self-defence group in Kiev to protect the community against possible anti-Semitic attacks.
"Jews are often among the first to fall victim in conflicts even if they are not directly involved, therefore we need to be able to protect our community in co-ordination with the authorities, of course," he told Jewish newspaper Hadashot.
His group hones its combat skills together with interior ministry units, and is licensed to carry arms.
But Mr Arieli rejects the Russian media's portrayal of Ukraine as a country that is hostile to Jews.
"There can be opposing views, but don't say black is white, which is what the propaganda of the neighbouring state often does when it advances the thesis of buoyant neo-fascism in Ukraine," he said.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. |
In 2015, Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda (real name Ackquille Jean Pollard) was caught trying to smuggle a “sharp metal object” into Rikers Island. Pollard reportedly took a plea deal back in February and accepted guilty charges for promoting prison contraband, which could add 1.3-4 years to his current sentence. Now, TMZ reports that Pollard has been sentenced to four years in prison on the contraband charges. However, he will not serve additional time; the four-year sentence will run concurrently to his current prison term.
Bobby Shmurda was arrested on gang conspiracy and gun and drug charges in 2014. This past September, he took a plea deal, accepting a seven-year sentence. Shmurda initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but claimed in court that his lawyer forced him to take the deal. In an interview, he explained that he was also inspired to take the deal because it lessened the sentence of his co-defendant Chad “Rowdy Rebel” Marshall. |
As construction continues on the Crenshaw/LAX Line and a long-sought rail connection to LAX gets closer to reality, Metro is already considering ways to speed up the trip from the airport to Downtown Los Angeles.
During a panel discussion at Urban Land Institute’s Future Build conference, Metro CEO Phil Washington revealed the transit agency might explore adding an express train that would shuttle passengers between LAX and Union Station.
Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero tells Curbed that studies of the project could be funded through Measure M, which sets aside $20 million in seed money for research into “visionary projects.”
Measure M seed money will allow @metrolosangeles to explore express train from LAX to Union Station says CEO Phil Washington #FutureBuild — ULI Los Angeles (@ulilosangeles) January 31, 2017
It’s not clear yet what route the express train might take to get to the airport—or how it would be funded. Since this project was not among those included in the Measure M expenditure plan, it would not be eligible to receive construction funding from the voter-approved sales tax initiative until most of those projects have been completed (the plan includes projects projected to open as far out as 2067, so that could take a while).
As a result, Sotero says the agency could look into alternative funding possibilities, such as grants or a public-private partnership. In his previous job heading Denver’s transit authority, Washington oversaw development of the nation’s first commuter rail line built through a public-private partnership, and Metro is currently looking into partnering with private companies to speed up several major projects.
If the express train concept moves forward, it would give travelers an alternative to the airport-operated Flyaway bus that picks up LAX-bound passengers at Union Station, as well as Van Nuys, Hollywood, Westwood, and Long Beach.
Right now, travelers looking to take Metro to the airport are stuck taking a combination of the Green Line and a shuttle bus that leaves from the Aviation Boulevard stop. By 2023, both the Crenshaw/LAX Lines and a new people-mover at the airport should be complete, giving riders a more user-friendly way to get to and from their terminals. |
It’s been just shy of two months since we kicked off the Summer of Rift Sale, and the momentum of game launches, announcements, and esports events continues. By popular demand, what started out as a six-week seasonal promotion was extended by two weeks. Today, we’re excited to share that VR newcomers have all Labor Day Weekend to take the plunge before the sale officially ends at 11:59 pm PT on September 4.
End of Summer Flash Sale
We’ve said from the beginning that Summer of Rift is all about celebrating the VR community. That’s why we’re also kicking off a huge flash sale on the Oculus Store, with 45 titles across Rift and Gear VR available for up to 50% off—now through 11:59 pm PT on September 4.
We gave a sneak preview of the Oculus Store sale on August 30, temporarily lowering the price of Star Trek: Bridge Crew to $24.99. Whether you want to step aboard the original Enterprise or enter the world of the J.J. Abrams reboot, you can form a crew of up to four players to explore, strategize, and coordinate your efforts to successfully complete your mission.
Rift Highlights
The Rift sale includes a wide range of apps and experiences, from the productivity and convenience of Virtual Desktop and the moving educational experience of Chernobyl VR Project to the exploratory cyberpunk adventure of TECHNOLUST and beyond, there’s something for everyone.
Gear VR Gems
The flash sale continues on the mobile side, with a similarly dynamic selection of discounted titles on Gear VR. Go on an aquatic safari with Ocean Rift, or battle the zombie horde in fan-favorite Drop Dead. Whether you want to dive into a narrative puzzle-based adventure like Esper 2, have some couch co-op fun with Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, or explore the world of virtual tabletop gaming with RTS Tactera, there’s a lot of great content to round out your library.
Bundled Buys
Also through 11:59 pm PT on September 4, we’ve got two amazing bundles with significant savings.
The Summer Hits Pack nets you four of the season’s most popular titles for $89.99—saving you 35% off the regular US purchase price. Check out what’s included:
Priced at $59.99, the Essentials Pack delivers four action-packed experiences with an impressive 52% discount off US pricing. This is a great way to supplement the six titles included for free with Touch activation. Here’s what you get:
Stay Tuned
Even as the Summer of Rift Sale begins to wrap up, we’ve got some exciting content news to share before the season officially ends. Keep an eye on the blog over the next couple weeks for updates you won’t want to miss!
— The Oculus Team |
Yuhei Takashima had meticulously catalogued nearly 150,000 photographs of his exploits over a 27-year period in around 400 separate albums
Published 5:32 PM, April 08, 2015
TOKYO, Japan – A former school principal who allegedly paid for sex with 12,000 women while in the Philippines has been arrested in Japan, over claims at least one of them was as young as 13, media reported Wednesday, April 8.
Yuhei Takashima had meticulously catalogued nearly 150,000 photographs of his exploits over a 27-year period in around 400 separate albums because he wanted "to keep the memories", Jiji Press and other media said.
Takashima, aged 64, told police he started paying for sex when he was dispatched to a Japanese school in Manila in 1988, Jiji said.
Thereafter, the former middle-school principal had been on 3 sex tours a year to the country, for a total of 65 visits, reports said.
During this time, he had sex with more than 12,000 women, who broadcaster NTV reported were aged between 14 and 70.
No report gave a breakdown of how long the tours were or how many women he slept with on each one, however it averages out at more than one a day every day of his life since his first visit.
Takashima told police that about 10% of the women were under 18 years old, Jiji said, citing unnamed police sources.
He was arrested for having sex with a girl in Manila last year believed to be 13 or 14, under powers police have to prosecute certain crimes committed abroad, Jiji said. – Rappler.com |
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Posted on September 4, 2013, Ross Lincoln Xbox Live Gold Not Needed for Xbox One TV Features (UPDATED)
Which next-gen console will be better? Game Front gives the definitive opinion with our massive Xbox One vs. Playstation 4 Ultimate Buyer’s Guide.
UPDATE: September 4, 2013: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded this morning to our request for clarification of Penello’s comments.
Xbox One will have a TV experience for everyone, including non-Gold members. We’ll have more to share and show in the coming weeks.
Original Article:
After speaking with a Microsoft representative at PAX Prime 2013, it seems at least some Xbox One functionality previously thought to require an Xbox Live Gold membership actually won’t.
Most recently, Microsoft confirmed that in addition to the built-in game DVR, the OneGuide system requires an Xbox Live Gold membership subscription. Previously, Microsoft explained that users would be able to connect an HDMI line from their cable box to the Xbox One’s HDMI-in port, allowing the game console to handle controlling the user’s TV service, and it seemed that functionality would fall under the purview of OneGuide.
As described on the official Xbox One web site, OneGuide allows users to “Connect your cable or satellite box to Xbox One and watch all your favorite television shows right through the console.” On its Xbox Live features page, Microsoft explains OneGuide’s features with the following: “Xbox Live Gold members with Xbox One can experience a customized view of what’s on TV, and see what’s trending within the Xbox Live community.”
The assumption made by many, including Game Front, is that all cross-functionality between your cable TV and Kinect (AKA saying, “Xbox: TV.”) would require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. As it turns out, that isn’t the case, at least according to Microsoft’s Lead Planner for the Xbox group, Albert Penello.
We spoke to Penello earlier this afternoon at PAX. “You can do the HDMI pass through,” he said, when I asked about assumption that TV functionality required Xbox Live Gold. He added that Xbox One owners can also “do the TV guide stuff without Gold.”
That’s good news for those purchasers looking forward to using a feature Microsoft made the cornerstone of its reveal event in May without hassle. But it also makes things a little more unclear. Penello seemed to be referring to OneGuide, which renders Microsoft’s previous announcement moot. We are reaching out to Microsoft for clarification, and will update this article as soon as we have it. For now, however, it looks like Microsoft may have quietly reversed course, or at least clarified its policies, once again.
Don’t miss the rest of our PAX Prime 2013 coverage all weekend and next week! |
Image copyright Henry Ford Hospital Image caption Dr Nagarwala mutilated girls aged between six and eight, prosecutors say
A doctor in the US city of Detroit has been charged with carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) on young girls in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.
Prosecutors said Jumana Nagarwala had been performing the practice on girls aged between six and eight for 12 years.
She was investigated after the authorities received a tip-off.
If found guilty, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
FGM was made illegal in the US in 1996.
In a voluntary interview with investigators earlier this week Dr Nagarwala denied being involved in any such procedure, local media reported.
But prosecutors said she had performed "horrifying acts of brutality on the most vulnerable victims".
Some travelled to her practice from outside the state of Michigan and were told not to talk about the procedure, they added.
Dr Nagarwala appeared in a federal court in Detroit and was remanded in custody.
"Female genital mutilation constitutes a particularly brutal form of violence against women and girls. It is also a serious federal felony in the United States," acting US attorney Daniel Lemisch said.
"The practice has no place in modern society and those who perform FGM on minors will be held accountable under federal law."
The first recorded case of FGM in the US was in 2006, when an Ethiopian immigrant was jailed for 10 years for aggravated battery and cruelty to children for mutilating his two-year-old daughter five years earlier with a pair of scissors.
In 2012 the US authorities said more than 500,000 women and girls in the country had either been subjected to FGM or were at risk of it.
About 200 million girls and women around the world have suffered some form of FGM, the UN says, with half living in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia. |
2D fighting games are a very video game kinda thing, but where there’s a will, there’s a Way of the Fighter, an upcoming board game that tries to replicate the digital genre on a tabletop.
It looks like a pretty decent attempt at an adaptation. There’s a stage that players move back and forwards across, you can equip moves and skillsets onto characters, there’s initiative and even the art is suitably fighting gamey.
Oh, and there are a lot of dice.
The game is currently up on Kickstarter, but if you really want to see how it all works (beyond the video below), you can download a prototype version of the game here, print it out and try it yourself.
UPDATE: If you’d like to take a look at some games like this that already exist, you can try BattleCON (or this fan-made Smash Bros. mod for it). |
Pete Donohue AND Joe Kemp, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
A hungry rat chomped on a straphanger's foot as she waited for a train in a downtown subway station, transit sources said.
The woman was sitting on a bench on a J train platform inside the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station about 9:30 a.m. Monday when the rodent skittered up to her and bit down on her flesh, the sources said.
Bleeding from the wound, the woman ran to a nearby service booth and asked for help - completely freaking out.
"She was pretty frantic and upset," a transit worker said. "You could actually see the bite."
The woman, who is in her 20s, was taken to New York Downtown Hospital, where she was treated and released, authorities said.
The subway rat attack was unusual, the sources said, particularly because the J train platform at the station has a low rodent population. The platforms in the station for the 4, 5, 6 trains, however, are a complete "rat fest," one source said.
"I've heard of rats running over people's feet," the transit worker said, referring to the 4, 5, 6 platforms. "But I've never heard of anyone actually bit."
Transport Workers Union Local 100 officials and workers said more rats are surfacing because garbage collection is not as frequent as it should be and trash storage rooms aren't adequately sealed.
MTA officials had no comment.
[email protected]
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/09/2011-09-09_what_the_shriek_straphanger_bloodied_by_biting_rat.html#ixzz1XThgrD75 |
By DeciBio • April 11, 2014
Los Angeles, CA April 11th 2014 – Several exciting themes were presented at this year’s American Association of Cancer Researchers (AACR) meeting. Large pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Merck presented some exciting data on their oncology pipeline (CDK 4/6 inhibitior, palbociclib and PD-1 agents).
The dominant undercurrents focused on cancer heterogeneity, identifying and treating sub-clonal populations of cancer cells which lead to therapy resistance, and immunotherapy / immuno-oncology. Major technological advancement in these areas is expected in the next few years as these approaches make their way into patient care.
Noteworthy emerging technologies in this space are high throughput massively parallel cell characterization approaches. Garry Nolan presented very interesting work using antibodies labeled with heavy metals followed by mass spectroscopy (mass cytometry) to study the expression of several hundred proteins simultaneously across thousands of cancer cells. This technology identified subclonal populations and internal signaling networks within the subclones that may have treatment ramifications. This technology is being commercialized and is currently in use in several pharmaceutical companies.
With that said, NGS remains front and center. Researchers have appreciated for many decades that tumors contain subpopulations of genetically distinct clones, some of which are resistant to treatment. Only recently with the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have researchers been able to study these populations in great depth. It was clear at the conference that the push towards NGS continues for oncology researchers. This is demonstrated by the large number of grants offered by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PCAN) and AACR this week, as part of a ~$5M “funding round”.
There remains a divide in the platform world between the whole exome / genome camp (dominated by Illumina) and the targeted panel camp (apparently much more competitive, with Ion giving Illumina a run for its money). Several researchers commented in talks that their targeted panels were so small and they were doing only one patient at a time so “Ion just makes sense for us”. Illumina seems to be reinforcing this notion. Illumina representatives consistently emphasize the need for more whole genomes. Purchasers of the X10 systems will find themselves contractually obligated to use them only for whole genome analysis. Illumina reps believe that whole genomes is the direction the market needs to go. When asked about targeted panels Illumina acknowledged that they face stiff competition in this space. For example, MATCH, a trial by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will use Ion Torrent’s PGM to match patients to appropriate arms of clinical trials based on their genetic profile.
As we previously commented, the continued interest in panels has generated a number of opportunities for players not offering a sequencer. For example, on Monday at the conference, Raindance announced the availability of its Thunderbolt cancer panel. These kits enable the analysis of a subset of 50 genes for <$100 per sample and can run on a $50,000 Raindrop platform.
Conversations with Roche highlighted their desire to get back into the sequencing game. While 454 is going to be discontinued in 2016, Roche representatives discussed partnering with PacBio for clinical sequencing applications and that a new Roche sequencer is in the works. They wouldn’t give more information about it aside from saying that the new technology will not be through an acquisition but rather internal development. We look forward to more releases.
Several speakers also discussed the role of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) in shaping the way researchers and the community interacts with large scale NGS data. David Haussler discussed the need for developing API’s to access data and bringing the algorithms to the data. GA4GH is partnering with major players in the cloud computing space to help realize these goals.
As mentioned, Immunotherapy was a major focus of the meeting. Researchers are beginning to target the immune system directly, instead of the tumor, in the hopes of generating lasting remission and tumor eradication. This is achieved by preventing the tumor cells from inducing cell death in cytotoxic T-cells. While PD-1 inhibitors have shown limited clinical benefit, some complete and sustained remissions are observed. The limited efficacy is expected because of the many inhibitory molecules present on T-cells aside from PD-1 receptor. Now researchers are planning combination therapy simultaneously targeting multiple inhibitory pathways and simultaneously activating tumor cell lysis. This combined approach is expected to activate a sustained immune response. “Three T-cell agents, a cytolytic agent, and perhaps a chimeric antigen receptor might just do the trick,” said a biotech company founder. The benefits of combination therapies are not limited to immune targeting as several studies demonstrated that combination therapies targeting both the bulk tumor and dominant resistance mechanisms was able to overcome drug resistance caused by tumor heterogeneity and evolution.
Adverse events from these protocols tended to be immune related, which could be managed, ironically, by dampening the immune system.
Technologies which will benefit from these new approaches include antibody manufacturing, cytometric and immune cell monitoring technologies, and perhaps chimeric antigen receptor or viral manufacturing technologies.
—
Authors: Kyle Covington (NGS consultant) & Stephane Budel, Partner at DeciBio, LLC
Connect with Stephane Budel on Google+
https://plus.google.com/+StephaneBudel |
Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Thursday that will establish stricter requirements for welfare eligibility, set shorter time limits for how long a person can receive benefits and place new restrictions on where a beneficiary can spend money.
Brownback touted the bill as a way to promote self reliance and lift people out of poverty by pushing them back into the workforce at a signing ceremony held at the Department for Children and Families’ service center in Topeka.
The governor and DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore pushed back against national criticism that has been levied against HB 2258 in recent weeks. Gilmore called the bill the most comprehensive welfare reform passed by any state in the country.
“We encourage other states to look to Kansas on how to help end government dependency,” Gilmore said. She said the policies are aimed at helping low-income people achieve self-sufficiency and called government dependency a “disservice to the individual, a disservice to our culture and certainly a disservice to the taxpayer.”
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The bill enshrines in law several policies adopted during Brownback’s first term, including a requirement that able-bodied adults work a minimum of 20 hours a week or go through a job training program in order to qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. DCF credits this policy with putting more than 6,000 people back into the workforce last year.
By signing the law, Brownback ensures that the policies will continue after he leaves office.
But the features of the bill that have gained national attention are the policies that were tacked on by the Legislature – to the noticeable frustration of Brownback and Gilmore – including a prohibition against spending TANF money at a wide variety of businesses including movie theaters, massage parlors, cruise ships and swimming pools.
“The primary focus of the bill is to get people back to work,” Brownback said. “Because that’s where the real benefit is getting people off public assistance and back into the marketplace with the dignity and far more income there than the pittance that government gives them.
“And I hope we don’t lose track of the primary focus of what we’re after here.”
Brownback said that employment is one of the main factors in lifting a person gets out of poverty. He added that family structure was the most important factor.
However, some elements of bill have drawn criticism for being anti-family. If a person is found to be committing benefits fraud, both that person and other adults living in the same home would receive a lifetime ban from receiving public assistance dollars. Critics say this provision would penalize people for being married if one spouse abuses the system without the other’s knowledge.
Brownback said this provision of the bill would have to be watched closely and if it created problems could be changed in the future. Another restriction in the bill would place a lifetime ban on receiving food assistance if a person is convicted of two drug felonies.
Brownback said that he is open to revisiting provisions of the bill if practical problems arise after the bill goes into effect on July 1.
“I’m open to revisiting all of it, if it’s not working,” he said. “If it’s working to get people back into the marketplace and back on their feet, I want to see us to continue to be strong.”
Democrats have been critical of the legislation, which they say is mean-spirited.
“Child poverty and homelessness in Kansas are at record levels … And, now, the governor has signed a punitive and highly judgmental piece of legislation that imposes illogical reforms that make it harder for Kansans in need to break the cycle and climb out of poverty,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, in an e-mail. “This is just one more example of how Sam Brownback is out of touch with the real world and has our state on the wrong path."
House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, D-Kansas City, said the bill “does nothing to address the root causes of poverty in our state.”
“Rather than passing mean-spirited bills that demean the poor in their time of greatest need, we should focus on providing quality education and creating economic opportunity to ensure that all Kansans have a fair chance to succeed,” Burroughs said.
Gilmore did not give a specific answer on what penalty beneficiaries would face if they tried to spend their money at a restricted business such as a tattoo parlor. She said this would constitute a policy violation but not benefits fraud.
Another provision in the bill limits the amount of TANF money a person can withdraw from ATM to $25 a day. Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, said that these two provisions were meant to ensure that the money is spent on necessities.
When asked whether he thought that poor people couldn’t be trusted to spend their benefits money responsibly, Couture-Lovelady responded, “Most can. Absolutely most can.
"Just because most people don’t commit murder doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep it legal,” he said. “The key point is that it hurts the folks who are using the program in the correct manner when the money is spent in these incorrect manners.”
Shannon Cotsoradis, president of the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, said that the bill does more than just restrict where welfare recipients can spend their money. She highlighted that the legislation would require a woman to return to work shortly after having a baby in order to keep her assistance and that the bill makes it more difficult to qualify for childcare assistance.
"By signing this bill into law, Gov. Brownback has added to the burden that the poorest Kansans already carry. … It’s always been hard to be poor in Kansas. Now, it’s going to be a lot harder,” Cotsoradis said in an e-mail.
Valerie Cahill, a former TANF beneficiary, spoke in support of the law at the governor’s signing ceremony. Cahill, a Wyandotte County resident, was Brownback’s guest at the State of the State address and testified on behalf of the legislation during its hearings in the House and Senate.
Cahill said she was on TANF for 11 months and has been working since 2014 after going through the state’s job training program. She shared an anecdote of how with money from her paycheck she was able to buy her son, a musician, his first cello and added that she never could have done that while on TANF.
After the ceremony, Cahill declined to say what her new job is, but she did say it was “state-related.” |
There were some significant changes to Tesla’s Autopilot leadership today.
Earlier this year, Tesla’s head of computer vision, David Nistér, left to make high-definition maps at Nvidia after Tesla hired the creator of the Swift programming language, Chris Lattner, from Apple to lead the Autopilot software team.
Just 6 months later, Lattner is no longer with Tesla and his responsibilities have been divided between Jim Keller, who was already the head of the Autopilot’s hardware team, and a new hire.
The new hire is Andrej Karpathy, the new head of AI and Autopilot Vision – first reported by Techcrunch. The scientist, who most recently was a research scientist at Elon Musk’s OpenAI, is being described as “one of the world’s leading experts in computer vision and deep learning.
It’s not new for Musk to move high-level employees between his companies and it even happened with the Autopilot team before, like when Robert Rose, a former software director at SpaceX, ended up briefly leading the Autopilot team before the launch of version 7.0.
Tesla sent us the following statement about Karpathy:
“Andrej Karpathy, one of the world’s leading experts in computer vision and deep learning, is joining Tesla as Director of AI and Autopilot Vision, reporting directly to Elon Musk. Andrej has worked to give computers vision through his work on ImageNet, as well as imagination through the development of generative models, and the ability to navigate the internet with reinforcement learning. He was most recently a Research Scientist at OpenAI. Andrej completed his computer vision PhD at Stanford University, where he demonstrated the ability to derive complex descriptions of images using a deep neural net. For example, identifying not simply that there is a cat in a given picture, but that it is an orange, spotted cat, riding on a skateboard with red wheels on brown hardwood flooring (http://cs.stanford.edu/people/karpathy/main.pdf). He also created and taught “Convolutional Neural Networks for Visual Recognition,” the first and still leading deep learning course at Stanford.”
You know it’s a good hire when even the competition agrees:
And hires like this are why the other car companies don't have a chance. https://t.co/4UqEWs8ISK — comma ai (@comma_ai) June 21, 2017
The company also commented on Lattner’s departure. A spokesperson sent us the following statement:
“Chris just wasn’t the right fit for Tesla, and we’ve decided to make a change. We wish him the best.”
We have reached out to Lattner for a comment and we will update if we get one. Update: Lattner tweeted:
Turns out that Tesla isn't a good fit for me after all. I'm interested to hear about interesting roles for a seasoned engineering leader! — Chris Lattner (@clattner_llvm) June 21, 2017
While Karpathy is reporting directly to Musk on ‘AI and Autopilot Vision’, Lattner’s role as ‘VP of Autopilot Software’ was broader and now Jim Keller will oversee both Autopilot hardware and software.
Tesla confirmed:
“Andrej will work closely with Jim Keller, who now has overall responsibility for Autopilot hardware and software.”
As we previously reported, Tesla quietly hired legendary chip architect Jim Keller from AMD as new “Vice-President of Autopilot Hardware Engineering” last year and several more chip architects have since joined the company – leading us to believe that Tesla is looking to more closely develop hardware and software when it comes to its Autopilot program.
It’s now interesting to see Keller’s role expand within the Autopilot program. |
Analysis
This past Saturday afternoon, two New York City police officers were gunned down in cold blood while they sat in their squad car outside a Brooklyn housing project. Within hours, the head of the city’s largest police union declared whom was to blame for the terrible tragedy: Mayor Bill de Blasio. Standing outside the hospital where the slain officers were taken, Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, declared that there was “blood on many hands tonight” but that it “starts on the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor.”
Those jarring comments followed the extraordinary decision by Lynch and many officers to literally turn their backs on the mayor as he entered the hospital. Taken in tandem, those actions cemented the perception that de Blasio’s support for those protesting the chokehold death of Eric Garner had created a rift between the mayor and his city’s police force, one that Saturday’s slayings of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos had potentially made insurmountable.
But that’s an oversimplification of a story that’s been unfolding since long before Garner’s killing. The reality is that de Blasio and the union have been at odds since he campaigned for mayor last year on the promise to upend the city’s law enforcement status quo, including overhauling Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk program — a vow that de Blasio largely kept once in office. The police union, meanwhile, has a long history of taking public stands against New York City mayors, including law-and-order types Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani. The relationship between de Blasio and the cops wasn’t soured solely due to the mayor’s response to Garner’s death and the subsequent protests. The mayor and the NYPD were never going to get along, no matter what.
Devoid of that context, Lynch’s remarks this weekend sounded like a rare, raw moment of candor unleashed in the heat of the moment. In reality, this was simply the latest, loudest attempt to discredit de Blasio. Lynch’s ongoing efforts to undermine the mayor were caught on tape eight days earlier at a closed-door union meeting. “If they’re not going to support us when we need ’em,” Lynch said, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by Capital New York, “we’ll embarrass them when we can.” Given the chance Saturday, Lynch did just that.
The tension between City Hall and the police union predates de Blasio by at least two decades. As former New York Times reporter David Firestone has noted, Lynch and the PBA attacked de Blasio’s three predecessors almost as vociferously. It may have seemed extraordinary when, earlier this month, the union began asking officers to sign a letter requesting that de Blasio not attend their funerals in the event they are killed in the line of duty. The union, though, tried a similar move in 1997, during Giuliani’s tenure.
The biggest difference between now and then isn’t what the police union—and Lynch specifically, who’s been president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for 15 years—is saying. It’s that the killing of Garner and the murder of two police officers have put the strained relationship between the mayor and the NYPD in the national spotlight.
While the union’s anger with de Blasio began with his opposition to stop-and-frisk, it has grown to include a whole lot more—everything from his support for police retraining and body cameras, to the fact that his wife’s chief of staff is in a relationship with a convicted felon who once mocked police as “pigs” on social media. The mayor’s decision, in the wake of the Garner grand jury verdict, to describe how he instructed his biracial son to “take special care” when interacting with cops was the culmination of months of tension, but hardly the spark that started the current fight.
It’s not fair to say that this is all just rhetoric. There is obviously a real divide between this specific mayor and his police force. Many of the NYPD’s rank-and-file clearly feel betrayed by the mayor’s decision to have a public conversation about police reforms that the officers think should happen in private, if it happens at all. It is also clear, though, that the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association is a group that is constantly aggrieved, taking offence at slights both real and imagined. In 1992, when David Dinkins was in office, the PBA staged a rally of thousands of officers, who blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the mayor’s plan to create a civilian group to look into police misconduct. “He never supports us on anything,” an officer told the New York Times. “A cop shoots someone with a gun who’s a drug dealer, and he goes and visits the family.” Sound familiar?
Underlying the tension this time around are ongoing, heated contract negotiations between the union and City Hall. That’s not to suggest that this current fight is all—or even mostly—about money. But like any employee, an officer who’s unhappy with the size of his paycheck will see it as an indication that he’s unappreciated. Toss in overblown union rhetoric about being “thrown under the bus” by the mayor, and that unease will fester.
It’s hard to tell how many NYPD officers agree with Lynch’s inflammatory rhetoric, but the perception that de Blasio hates cops has now become reality in many quarters. The last thing New York City needs right now, with citizens still angry about Garner’s death and two cops having been murdered in cold blood, is a police force that is at odds with the municipal government. But given the history of New York’s police union, it’s naive to expect we’re going to see anything else. |
Can we have morals without religion, or have morals developed solely through religion, or been given directly by God? What would we expect the world to look like, regarding morals, if there was no god – or if there was one? Are atheists less moral people?
There are many reasons why believers fear atheism and atheists. Some are merely threatened by differing world views, some have been indoctrinated to such a degree as to believe that atheists are pawns of Satan, and some are somehow worried about being tempted “down a sinful path” or to waver in their faith. All of these fears are self-centered and are not concerned with the greater good of the human species. One fear, that many believers share is, however, concerned with all of us and our common future. If morals stem from God and can only exist with God as the enforcer, what will our society become if God is removed from the picture? If we assume there is no divine judgement in the end and act accordingly?
There are several aspects to this discussion, and I must admit (as I probably will in many posts) that I cannot treat the subject in full depth, nor can I hope to include all views and arguments on the matter. I can only try and make the subject engaging for anyone who has not thought about it before or maybe bring some new arguments forth.
There are 4 questions to consider in this discussion:
1) Did morals come from God? Or the belief in God?
2) Could morals appear without the belief in God?
3) Are our modern moral values based on the religion with which we grew up?
4) Can we, as individuals, have morals without God or the belief in God?
In the following I will try to touch upon each of these issues, but I will not be able to thoroughly discuss them. I aim only to give food for thought, and where necessary some references to more material.
1) There can be no doubt that in most societies, morals and dictated social behavior are closely linked to religion. The Abrahamic religions have the ten commandments in the Old Testament of the Bible as a very clear example, and the Quran has many passages explicitly describing laws. Examples can also be found in non-Abrahamic religions, such as the concepts of dharma and kharma in Hinduism. Some, more ancient, societies did not interweave morals and religion. The Greeks went to the underworld no matter what, and the Nordic tribes kept their moral values as a part of the social agreement, not related to their religion. What is striking is the general agreement in moral values across almost all cultures and religions, whether based on honor, avoidance of sin and divine punishment, social punishment or bad kharma, most agree on what is “good” and “evil”. Most agree that you should not steal or lie or kill (though the latter is subject to the circumstances in most cases). The so-called pagan religions were (are) often based more on a greater harmony (which in many regards are quite analogous to the atheistic view on morals) than on fear of a divine spanking. To me this suggests first of all that the existence of God is not needed for moral values to appear in a society (Some may argue that the similarity is because God ‘gave us all an innate sense of morality’, but I will return to this in the next section). After all hinduists do not fear the biblical hell, but are in stead worried about bad kharma and being reborn as a dung beetle or another such ‘charming’ existence. Thus, it may just require a belief in a god or supernatural system. A belief that there will be some sort of unavoidable judgement in the end. But looking at the pagan religions, where the punishment for not adhering to the social norms is first of all instantaneous, and more importantly, earthly or non-divine and thus fallable. If you believe that God sees all, you know that you will be caught when you steal your neighbor’s apple pie, but if the moral enforcer is only human, you might get away with it. But this did not prevent the Nordic (or other pagan) tribes to develop norms and morals, that are not too far from those taught in the Bible.
I realize that this is a rather superficial treatment of the first question, but I do not feel this is the most important of the four questions posed in the beginning. I would (as with all I write) be open to other views or just more input in this field, but for now this treatment will have to do.
2) Many people argue that since nature is completely neutral and selfish, there can be no morals in nature and no morals if man is just an animal. If man has evolved through evolution and natural selection as posed by neo darwinists, the selection is based on selfish genes, to use Richard Dawkin’s expression. Therefore there should be no reason to care about others. But Dawkin’s himself treats this subject in his book “The Selfish Gene” and shows how altruism may very well have evolved to perpetuate the selfish gene. A simple argument for altruism towards family is that you are likely to share genes with your family. Thus, if a gene codes for altruistic behavior towards family members, this gene will become more numerous in nature because of this obvious advantage. This can be extended to small groups of animals, such as lion prides or groups of monkeys, where there is a large possibility of individuals to share genes. Even though all individuals may not be blood relatives, there are still good odds for it and thus it is beneficiary for the selfish gene to code for altruism within the group. According to Michael Shermer, several characteristics are shared by humans and the great apes, such as:
attachment and bonding, cooperation and mutual aid, sympathy and empathy, direct and indirect reciprocity, altruism and reciprocal altruism, conflict resolution and peacemaking, deception and deception detection, community concern and caring about what others think about you, and awareness of and response to the social rules of the group.
(Michael Shermer (2004) “The Science of Good and Evil”, New York: Times Books. p.16. ISBN 0-8050-7520-8)
Albeit not strictly morals, this evolutionary basis for altruism can be a pointer that even if we are nothing but evolved apes (and how can you doubt this if you’ve ever seen a fraternity party or a company Christmas party?) concepts of “good” and “evil” based on the well-being of others may evolve without the need for a heavenly father to say: “keep thy paws off thy neighbor’s property, you damn dirty ape!” Ants and bees are other great examples of how societies may develop that aim to help the well-being of the whole, without divine intervention. Had it not been for God (or the belief in such), the exact moral code that we abide by today may indeed not have developed. But I’m fairly sure we would be very close. And who knows – we might even have been more moral, at peace with each other and in agreement on what good morals entail.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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Princeton, NJ -- A lifeless green anole lizard that was recently discovered in a package of tatsoi greens is now thriving in a classroom at Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, nj.com reports.
Sally Mabon bought the tatsoi from Whole Earth Center, a store that sells 100 percent organic food, according to the report. Her child, a kindergartener at the school, discovered the lizard.
Whole Earth Center Produce Manager Mike Atkinson told the website he didn't think the lizard would've survived in a non-organic box. He believes the lizard was tucked away in a leaf while the produce was washed and stocked, although this is the first time in his 17 years in produce that he's heard of a lizard making it to the customer.
Science teacher Mark Eastburn said he has been teaching his class about DNA, so this is a perfect mascot for the class, according to the report.
Read more at nj.com.
The attached image was posted on anoleannals.org. |
Gov. Bill Haslam took part in a panel discussion with Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, HCA chief financial officer Bill Rutherford and two other health care executives on Saturday. (Photo11: John Partipilo, The Tennessean)
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will get a chance to reopen talks with the federal government over expanding the state's Medicaid program when he sits down Sunday with the Department of Health and Human Services' new leader.
The Republican governor and Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell are scheduled to meet for the first time since Burwell replaced Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last month. The closed-door meeting will take place on the final day of the National Governors Association's summer conference in Nashville.
The meeting comes as Haslam faces mounting criticism for not agreeing to offer TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, to more adults as called for under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Haslam and Burwell also will sit down a day before a deadline for the state to respond to a stinging letter from federal Medicaid director Cindy Mann that said Tennessee is failing to meet the law's requirements.
"I wouldn't call it a totally new start," he said. "But I think when you have a new, key player it matters to sit down."
On Saturday, Haslam presided over a panel at the NGA conference that touched on Medicaid expansion and state innovation.
Andrew Dreyfus, president and chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, said his state had all but eliminated the uninsured since it put its version of the ACA into effect in 2007. He also said the state had begun to make headway on costs, mainly by shifting doctors into programs that pay them for how well their patients do, rather than for each service they provide.
Dreyfus said the federal government should give states latitude to design their own programs.
"We're actually going to end up with five or six flavors, or variations, of how the ACA is going to play out," he said. "I think that state experimentation with varieties is going to take us very far."
Bill Rutherford, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Nashville-based Hospital Corporation of America, said during his remarks that its costs to provide care to the uninsured had dropped 30 percent in the five states that the company operates in that had expanded their Medicaid programs.
Haslam said he believes providers and insurers in Tennessee would be more willing to give up pay-for-service arrangements if the state expands TennCare.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1muleCw |
It’s a glaring misuse of our legal system against Dr. Marion “Mollie” Fry and her husband, civil attorney Dale Schafer. After more than half a decade of litigation and three years of appeals, the couple have been given until May 2 to turn themselves in to authorities to serve five years in a federal prison.
It started when the police raided their Sacramento home in 2001, finding 34 plants. Well below the 90-plant limit established by the local city ordinance for cardholders such as themselves, the couple thought they were on safe legal ground.
Dr. Fry, having gone through a radical mastectomy, decided to grow her own cannabis to offset the many complications she was experiencing from chemotherapy. Schafer suffers from hemophilia and a wrenched back, and is under constant care. He has also chosen to treat himself with medical marijuana.
Fry and Schafer also grew for patients of Dr. Fry’s, who also sought the relief provided by cannabis. The couple never grew more than 44 plants at one time. Trying to be transparent and forthright during this time, they tried to enlist the aid of local officials, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and the Eldorado Sheriff’s Department, to show the local law enforcement community the positive aspects of their endeavors and of medical marijuana.
This was all well and good, but in the process, their staff was charging TEN WHOLE AMERICAN DOLLARS for the delivery fee. The couple was raided again.
“We fired anyone who wasn’t following the code of the law,” Schafer said.
“We weren’t selling the medical cannabis to my patients,” Dr. Fry said. “We had staff and were charging $10 for delivery only, and that’s a common practice today.”
Then the absurdity of their trial kicked in.
“The judge wouldn’t allow any medical evidence. They wouldn’t let us tell the jury I was sick, or that I was a doctor,” Fry said. “They wouldn’t allow that I was helping sick patients.
“Ironically, two years before the raid, local authorities asked me to tell them who of my patients were ‘really’ sick, and who wasn’t. I told them it wasn’t my job to police my patients, and when I was in the thick of helping people, I knew it was the right thing to do,” she said. “Cannabis helped me immensely when I was going through cancer.”
Dr. Fry is a product of seven generations of doctors in her family tree. Her grandfather, Dr. Francis Marion Pottenger, played a part in curing tuberculosis in the early 1900s and her grandmother studied under Carl Jung in the 1950s. Her mother was also a physician.
“Cannabis is proven medicine,” Fry said. “Why would the state of California create laws based on what the people want, and then allow the federal government to override them? I had cancer; we were growing medicine. I was helping people.”
On Thursday in California, Governor Jerry Brown, in an effort to stop the state from financially bleeding to death, slashed somewhere between seven and TEN BILLION dollars. He still needs to find another $14 billion so California doesn’t have to send their kids to Arizona for an education.
Last year, around 6,500 prisoners were released due to overcrowding and not having the bucks for our rising correctional costs. Not to get too sensationalized in print, that creep, Phillip Garrido, who had kidnapped a young lady and was discovered in 2009 that he kept her hidden in his backyard for 18 years? That guy was let go under a similar release program. But police didn’t follow his activities or scrutinize his movements, because he apparently wasn’t a dangerous lawbreaker like Dr. Fry and Mr. Schafer.
The United States has the highest documented rate of incarceration in the world.
A governor doesn’t need the permission of the state’s governing boards to let out prisoners. He already has that power; it’s called a pardon. Like in the old time movies where the tension built as the warden waited for a call from the governor to commute Humphrey Bogart’s sentence.
Jerry Brown could pardon this couple tomorrow if he wished. Our governor has made it clear that he is not jumping on the cannabis movement in any form or shape. That wouldn’t be prudent. Howard Zinn says, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”
This isn’t an issue of medical marijuana or state budgets; it is a matter of common sense. Dr. Fry and Mr. Schafer are not criminals, but are now defined as such by the State of California. We have spent millions prosecuting a couple, that if they lived 50 miles to their west, might not have the complications they are experiencing in the state’s capitol city.
No one’s ever going to hand you your freedoms; sometimes, you just have to take it.
Call the governor, your state person, the people in Sacramento, wherever your voice or dollars can make a change.
Dr. Fry’s license to practice has been revoked for some time now, as has her husband’s license to practice law. The couple’s grown children with grandkids have moved back home to help with finances and save the family home. A PayPal account has been set up for donations.
Cool Madness, a book written about the trial by author Vanessa Williams, is available online through , a book written about the trial by author Vanessa Williams, is available online through Amazon.com or other online booksellers.
Donations and correspondence of support can also be sent to the family at PO Box 634, Cool, CA 95614.
California Governor Jerry Brown can be reached at (916) 445-2841.
This article is based on the writings and research of Sharon Letts. |
In an amazing breakthrough, a multinational team of scientists led by Nobel laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal announced that the brain is composed of a ridiculously complicated network of tiny cells connected to each other by infinitesimal threads and branches.
The multinational team—which also includes the famous technician Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and possibly Imhotep, promoted to the Egyptian god of medicine—issued this statement:
"The present discovery culminates years of research indicating that the convoluted squishy thing inside our skulls is even more complicated than it looks. Thanks to Cajal's application of a new staining technique invented by Camillo Golgi, we have learned that this structure is not a continuous network like the blood vessels of the body, but is actually composed of many tiny cells, or "neurons", connected to one another by even more tiny filaments.
"Other extensive evidence, beginning from Greek medical researcher Alcmaeon and continuing through Paul Broca's research on speech deficits, indicates that the brain is the seat of reason.
"Nemesius, the Bishop of Emesia, has previously argued that brain tissue is too earthy to act as an intermediary between the body and soul, and so the mental faculties are located in the ventricles of the brain. However, if this is correct, there is no reason why this organ should turn out to have an immensely complicated internal composition.
"Charles Babbage has independently suggested that many small mechanical devices could be collected into an 'Analytical Engine', capable of performing activities, such as arithmetic, which are widely believed to require thought. The work of Luigi Galvani and Hermann von Helmholtz suggests that the activities of neurons are electrochemical in nature, rather than mechanical pressures as previously believed. Nonetheless, we think an analogy with Babbage's 'Analytical Engine' suggests that a vastly complicated network of neurons could similarly exhibit thoughtful properties.
"We have found an enormously complicated material system located where the mind should be. The implications are shocking, and must be squarely faced. We believe that the present research offers strong experimental evidence that Benedictus Spinoza was correct, and René Descartes wrong: Mind and body are of one substance.
"In combination with the work of Charles Darwin showing how such a complicated organ could, in principle, have arisen as the result of processes not themselves intelligent, the bulk of scientific evidence now seems to indicate that intelligence is ontologically non-fundamental and has an extended origin in time. This strongly weighs against theories which assign mental entities an ontologically fundamental or causally primal status, including all religions ever invented.
"Much work remains to be done on discovering the specific identities between electrochemical interactions between neurons, and thoughts. Nonetheless, we believe our discovery offers the promise, though not yet the realization, of a full scientific account of thought. The problem may now be declared, if not solved, then solvable."
We regret that Cajal and most of the other researchers involved on the Project are no longer available for comment. |
If you use Netflix primarily to watch TV shows, you may want to binge as much of it as you can right now.
Netflix released the list of titles coming to and leaving the service next month, and while Polygon will compile those lists as we do every month, we thought it was especially important to point this out.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Arrested Development, Firefly, Ally McBeal, The X-Files, Roswell and House are the bigger, more notable shows being tossed aside in April. Every single season from each show will no longer be available to stream, with the exception of Arrested Development’s fourth season, which will remain due to it being a Netflix exclusive.
Netflix hasn’t said why its getting rid of the shows, which mostly belong to Fox, but Polygon has reached out for comment. Netflix’s chief of content, Ted Sarandos, has previously said the company’s goal is to have at least 50 percent of the content on the service be exclusive to Netflix. The company has invested more than $6 billion into developing new series and licensing adored properties — like Arrested Development — but it appears other shows may disappear as a result.
Each of the aforementioned series will no longer be available to stream as of April 1. A full list of what’s coming to and leaving Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and HBO Now will be compiled and published on Polygon as well. |
Lou Dobbs appears on Fox's "Out Numbered"
A Fox News panel on Wednesday agreed that women needed to take “personal responsibility” for avoiding rape by not drinking too much.
During an interview with WAMU’s Diane Rehm Show last week, former George Washington University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg argued that women should be “trained not to drink in excess” so they could “be in a position to punch the guys in the nose if they misbehave.”
Trachtenberg later insisted that he was not “trying to shift blame” to the victim.
On Thursday’s edition of Outnumbered, Fox News host Jedediah Bila asked guest host Lou Dobbs if there was anything controversial about what Trachtenberg had said.
“I don’t think so,” Dobbs said. “As a father of two sons, two daughters, I will tell you, the last thing you want is any child — a boy, a girl, it doesn’t matter — to be defenseless. And if you don’t teach your kids and pray that they learn to never, ever take on additional vulnerability to everyday life in this society, why should there be anything controversial about it?”
“Losing control of oneself, exposing oneself and creating tremendous vulnerability is, to me, a disastrous choice for anyone to make,” he added.
Co-host Harris Faulkner agreed that “personal responsibility” was “very important in all of this.”
“No one is blaming the woman,” she explained. “It’s not like back in the day when they would blame us for what we had on. I don’t really see it that way. But I think if you’re going to watch out for a predator, you want to be able to do it in a sober eyes-wide-open manner. And you can’t do that if you’ve been drinking.”
“To put yourself in a vulnerable position, and to be drinking on top of that, it’s the opposite of good sense.”
At that point, co-host Liz Claman reminded the panel that the discussion had left out the man’s role in preventing rape.
“This professor left out two words: also guys,” she noted. “Guys shouldn’t be drinking so much that they lose control or their ability to focus… You don’t manage your message through gender, that’s the stupidest thing in the world. Guys lose control too.”
Co-host Andrea Tantaros recalled that her college “put all the guys in some kind of box, already guilty.”
“You see a lot of girls getting assaulted and raped when they’re drunk,” she continued. “But [Trachtenberg] could have also added a number of pointers, which is, don’t walk home by yourself. And that goes for guys as well.”
Watch the video below from Fox News’ Outnumbered, broadcast Sept. 3, 2014.
(h/t: Media Matters) |
PoliZette DNC Leak Exposes Contempt for Heartland WikiLeaks emails show bias toward Clinton over Sanders -- and patronize ordinary Americans
The leaked Clinton emails show that Democratic National Committee staffers think voters from Kentucky and West Virginia are “southern Baptist peeps” who “would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist” when it comes time to cast their ballots.
The patronizing nicknames and language contained in the nearly 20,000 emails from January 2015 through May 2016 that were released through WikiLeaks last week implicated several DNC staffers in showing disdain for heartland voters. This bias severely discredited the DNC, which is supposed to remain neutral concerning Democratic candidates during the presidential primaries. But as the emails show, several officials heavily favored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders while showing contempt for constituents.
“This could make several points difference with my peeps. My southern baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.”
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“It might may [sic] no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief,” Brad Marshall, chief financial officer of the DNC, wrote in an email dated May 5, 2016, that was titled “no sh*t.” The email apparently refers to Sanders, who is Jewish. “Does he believe in God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My southern baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.”
Clinton did not performed well in America’s heartland during the Democratic primaries, mainly because her agenda is much more liberal than voters there. She has insulted southerners throughout her campaign, and once promised “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” which prompted protests in West Virginia when she campaigned there.
In a twist, rather than denying the he wrote it and blaming others — as Clinton always does — Marshall said he regretted his words. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “I deeply regret that my insensitive, emotional emails would cause embarrassment to the DNC, the Chairwoman, and all of the staffers who worked hard to make the primary a fair and open process. The comments expressed do not reflect my beliefs nor do they reflect the beliefs of the DNC and its employees. I apologize to those I offended.”
Sanders on Sunday was appalled by the revelations, and his campaign called for “someone to be held accountable.”
“I am not an atheist,” Sanders to CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” “But aside from all of that, it is an outrage and sad that you would have people in important positions in the DNC trying to undermine my campaign. It goes without saying, the function of the DNC is to represent all of the candidates – to be fair and even-minded.”
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In response, Sanders condemned the sentiments revealed in the emails and called for DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign. Wasserman Schultz has been removed from her duties at the DNC in Philadelphia this week, and by mid-afternoon Sunday, she announced that she would step down from her position after the convention.
“I don’t think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC not only for these awful emails, which revealed the prejudice of the DNC, but also because we need a party that reaches out to working people and young people, and I don’t think her leadership style is doing that,” Sanders told Tapper.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also expressed his outrage and frustration with the DNC over the leaks.
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“Leaked e-mails of DNC show plans to destroy Bernie Sanders. Mock his heritage and much more. On-line from Wikileakes, really vicious. RIGGED,” Trump tweeted on Saturday.
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Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, responded to the emails leak by attempting to shift the blame to Russian hackers, who he claimed are in cahoots with Trump. Mook claimed that the leak corresponds with the GOP’s inclusion of “changes to the Republican platform to make it more pro-Russian.”
“I don’t think it’s coincidental that these emails were released on the eve of our convention here, and I think that’s disturbing,” Mook said on “State of the Union.” “I think when you put all this together, it’s a disturbing picture, and voters need to reflect on that.”
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Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., responded to Mook’s accusations and called him out for unsubstantiated accusations.
“It just goes to show you their exact moral compass. I mean, they’ll say anything to be able to win this. This is time and time again, lie after lie,” Trump Jr. said on “State of the Union. “It’s disgusting. It’s so phony. I watched him bumble through the interview.”
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Trump Jr. also added that, “These lies and the perpetuating of nonsense to try to gain some political capital is outrageous and he should be ashamed of himself. If a Republican did that, they’d be calling for people to bring out the electric chair.”
But the DNC staffers’ apparent bias for Clinton over Sanders during the primary season and its derogatory comments about their state’s constituents reveal a troubling disdain for ordinary Americans and the momentum that swept across the country from Sanders and Trump supporters alike. |
President Barack Obama pledged Tuesday that the United States would not rest until it brought to justice the killer of American journalist James Foley at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).
“Rooting out a cancer like [ISIS] won’t be easy and it won’t be quick,” Obama told an audience of veterans and their families at the American Legion National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. a week after the extremist group released a video showing the graphic execution of Foley by an ISIS fighter. These were Obama’s first public comments on the conflict since returning from vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.
“Our message to anyone who harms our people is simple. America does not forget, our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done,” Obama said, referencing Foley’s killing. “We have proved time and time again we will do what’s necessary to capture those who harm Americans to go after those who harm Americans. And we’ll continue to take direct action where needed to protect our people and to defend our homeland.”
As he weighs expanding the fight against ISIS into Syria, Obama warned that “history teaches us of the dangers of overreaching and spreading ourselves too thin and trying to go it alone without international support, or rushing into military adventures without thinking through the consequences.” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that Obama has yet to decide whether to authorize the expansion of the weeks-long American air campaign in Iraq against the group.
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Obama said that the strikes against ISIS have been limited to protecting U.S. forces and diplomats in Iraq, reaffirming that U.S. troops would not be sent back on the ground beyond an advisory capacity.
“Let me say it again: American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq,” he said. “We’ll not allow the United States to be dragged back into another ground war in Iraq because, ultimately, it is up to the Iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves.”
Contact us at [email protected]. |
The story of Beijing’s most famous expat will be hitting the silver screen next month in China and, as its trailers clearly show, the film’s subject is so popular that it’s also the film’s lead actor.
My Other Home (or known by its Chinese name, I Am Marbury) is a biographical film that stars Stephon Marbury as himself as he finds redemption in the wake of a failed exit from the NBA by leading the Beijing Ducks to the first of three championship seasons.
The film has cast well-known character actor Frankie Faison (The Wire) to help round out its dramatic roles but has also enlisted the services of other real-life basketball stars Baron Davis as well as Allen Iverson in a cameo.
And to appeal to a broader demographic, the cast of My Other Home also include Jessica Jung, the former member of K-pop idol group Girls’ Generation, starring as Marbury’s agent.
The first trailer for the film focused on a lot of man-on-man conflict, but a second trailer suggests that My Other Home will highlight the growing pains that accompanied Marbury’s first year in China with multiple characters expressing doubt towards the failed NBA star.
One team member is seen openly discrediting the man who would become Beijing’s model citizen during practice while another tells him directly in a close-up, “Championship title? It’s impossible to make your teammates believe in that.” Furthermore, a coach is heard saying, “I don’t approve of his ways.”
But, the doubts and suspicions eventually give way to inspirational quotes that accompany the cool courtside camera shots of b-ball action.
Recommended Reading By Jonathan Papish Dangal: China’s Leggiest Film Ever By Jonathan Papish
Marbury is heard telling his teammates, “We’re going to join them, and we’re going to fight them,” while a coach is heard exhorting his team: “‘Champion’ is not just a slogan, it’s a belief!” Meanwhile, Marbury’s father is heard encouraging his son in a flashback, “You got to believe in yourself, you go to believe in here,” thumping at the heart lodged in his chest.
Since there’s no surprise as to whether Marbury succeeds or loses, the real appeal of My Other Home (formerly known as A New Yorker in Beijing) is to give audiences a chance to witness Stephon Marbury reacting to own his life for the second time, something that Marbury is acutely aware of.
“When people look at me acting, they don’t see someone playing a part,” Marbury told the New York Times. “They don’t understand that playing this role, it was complicated. I wasn’t playing myself. I was playing a role.”
If Marbury (the man) is just playing a role in Marbury (the movie), does that mean that Marbury’s story is part of a larger story?
We’ll have to watch the film to find out, but we find it telling that one of the producers of My Other Home was also the producer for the seminal films on Chinese pride, Founding of a Party as well as Founding of a Republic.
Recommended Reading By Fergus Ryan Xi Jinping Tells Modi He Loves ‘Dangal,’ Wants More Such Movies in China By Fergus Ryan
Marbury’s may be a big star in China, but the film shows us that he knows who the important people really are.
Marbury has signed a deal with Village Roadshow to make four more movies, perhaps giving hope we’ll see a return of the Monstars.
“They’re doing a sequel,” he said. “I’m down for it.”
My Other Home begins screening in China on August 11.
— This article originally appeared on the Beijinger. |
Mattel Hover Board prepped for 2012 holiday release
Before you have a heart attack over the undeniable excellence that would be a real live hovering Hover Board from Back to the Future: Part II, note that this one doesn’t QUITE float yet. Instead we get an assurance that this Hover Board does not work on water and that the price for this 1:1 replica will indeed be produced by Mattel and will be released in a “minimum orders required” fashion. This means that because the creation of this item is so costly to Mattel, they’re requiring that a minimum number of pre-orders be placed before they go into production.
This Hover Board, for those of you unaware, first appeared in the science fiction comedy action movie Back to the Future: Part II with Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. In that movie it was a push-scooter-like toy which, once the character Marty McFly popped the bar off, became the greatest hovering skateboard in this history of future visions. This release will “glide” over most surfaces, and will be “movie accurate” but will not float over the ground like the film quite yet — Mattel has noted that it’s not quite 2015 yet, of course. Mattel’s press release reads like this:
Back to the Future Hover Board: Finally! This totally awesome 1:1 replica of the hover board from the BTTF 2 and BTTF 3 films includes multiple whooshing sounds and will glide over most surfaces (does not actually “hover” – check back in 2015 for that feature). We’ll be taking orders for it March 1 – March 20, 2012, and the final product will be shipped around November/December 2012. Because this is such a high-cost item, there will be a minimum number of orders required to go into production. If we don’t receive the minimum orders, won’t go into production and customers will not be charged. The price will be announced later this month. (Note: Hover board does not work on water.)
There are a couple of images released for this beast already, both showing off the spot where the front handle was ripped out by Marty in the movie – so we’re looking at quat might be the closest thing to the real deal thus far. You can see a poster from Toy Fair 2012 photographed by ToyArk in the gallery below with a small image of the bottom of the board as well as several slightly larger images of the board from MattyCollector who seem to be the only group on earth with a close-up view of the board thus far. Here’s hoping for more action soon! |
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world. Craig Charles and David Emanuel, plus the inheritance tracks of geneticist Steve Jones.
Craig Charles and David Emanuel join Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
For a while Craig Charles was best known for playing Dave Lister in sci fi comedy Red Dwarf, but he has probably usurped that with his love for Funk and Soul, dj-ing on BBC 6 music and gigging around the country. With acting, poetry, performance, dj-ing and writing under his belt, now he's championing BBC Get Playing.
Fashion Designer and Royal Couturier David Emanuel has dressed Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna, Joan Collins and Princess Diana, done the Jungle and now he's on Saturday Live!
Claire Garabedian contacted Saturday Live about her unusual job - working in the therapeutic arts as a professional cellist. She joins Richard and Aasmah.
Earlier this year Lizzie Carr became the first person to paddle board the length of England via its connected waterways, using entirely human powered means. She'll tell us about her adventure, and why she did it.
We'll have a thank you from one of our listeners.
And we'll have the Inheritance Tracks of geneticist Steve Jones who chooses Rachie by Caradog Roberts and Richard Wagner: Twilight Of The Gods: Siegfried's Funeral March.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Editor: Beverley Purcell. |
Man convicted of molesting a dead deer and shooting horse to have sex with it 'assaulted female cop after shoplifting from Walmart'
Bryan James Hathaway, 25, was charged with assaulting off-duty policewoman
Officer Kody Vedder was shopping with her daughter at the time of the incident
Vedder spotted Hathaway looking shifty in the backseat of a car and tried to detain him
Police seized three brand-new cell phones and other equipment from the car where Hathaway was sitting
Man was convicted in 2006 of molesting the carcass of a deer he found in a ditch while biking
in 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to shooting an Arabian horse to have sex with it
A man from Superior, Wisconsin, who gained international notoriety after being convicted in 2006 of molesting the carcass of a dead deer was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting a female police officer.
Bryan James Hathaway, 25, was arraigned Wednesday on four charges stemming from an incident that took place at the Hermantown Walmart on Monday night.
Hathaway is accused of assaulting Officer Kody Vedder, obstructing legal process, fleeing on foot and receiving stolen property. He is being held in the St. Louis County Jail on $20,000 bail.
Confrontation: Bryan James Hathaway, right, has been charged with assaulting off-duty police officer Kody Vedder, left, when she tried to detain him after spotting the 25-year-old acting suspiciously
According to the criminal complaint, Vedder was off duty and shopping at Walmart with her 11-year-old daughter after getting off work Monday evening, Duluth News Tribune reported.
The officer was wearing a black T-shirt with the word POLICE emblazoned across the front and back of the shirt in bold white letters.
With her shopping done, Vedder was walking back to her car when she spotted Hathaway in the backseat of a Lincoln Town Car parked next to her.
The complaint states that the officer thought that the man appeared suspicious by the way he was repeatedly ducking down and watching out for passersby.
Vedder got out of her car, knocked on the window of the vehicle where Hathaway was sitting and pointed to the lettering on her shirt. She then told the 25-year-old that she is a cop and instructed him not to move.
Crime scene: The incident happened in the parking lot of the Hermantown Walmart in Wisconsin
The officer called 911 and asked for police response, but before the reinforcement had a chance to arrive, Hathaway tried to make a run for it, according to the complaint.
Vedder grabbed the suspect by the back of his shirt and attempted to drag him down to the ground, but the complaint states that Hathaway wrenched himself out of her grasp and pushed her to the pavement.
Vedder suffered scratches and bruises to her tail bone in the confrontation that required an X-ray.
By that point, officers from three nearby police departments arrived on the scene and apprehended Hathaway near a Volkswagen dealership.
When police searched the car where Vedder first spotted Hathaway, they recovered a backpack containing two Android cell phones in boxes, one of which still had the security device from Walmart around it.
Bizarre case: In 2006, Hathaway, then 18, was convicted of having sex with the carcass of a deer he found in a ditch while biking
Officers also seized a Virgin Mobile LG cell phone and a new power cord in a plastic bag from the same store.
This incident comes less than six years after Hathaway was arrested for having sex with a dead deer.
On October 11, 2006, then-18-year-old Hathaway stumbled upon the animal’s carcass while biking along Stinson Avenue, Chicago Sun-Time reported.
Repeat offender: In 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to shooting an Arabian horse for the purpose of having sex with the animal
Hathaway told detectives that he was aroused by the sight of the deer in the ditch. He admitted moving the carcass into the woods and assaulting it.
‘When I was done, I was upset with myself,’ Hathaway said in a statement to police at the time. ‘I know having sex with animals is wrong. But I can't help myself and I need help.’
He pleaded no contest to a charge of sexual gratification with an animal and was ordered to undergo psychological treatment after receiving a probationary sentence.
In April of 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to a felony animal mistreatment charge in connection with the shooting of an Arabian horse in Douglas County.
According to the criminal complaint in that case, Hathaway told investigators that he gunned down the animal, a 26-year-old gelding named Bambrick, for the purpose of having sex with it.
However, Hathaway never got a chance to carry out his plan because he was scared off by a neighbor who heard the gunshot and walked in that direction.
‘I've never run across a personality like this,’ said Detective Sgt. Ed Anderson of the Douglas County, who investigated the crime. ‘I've never seen this type of behavior before.’ |
Eleven people were injured when a fire broke out in a building in the Bronx near Van Cortlandt Park. (Credit: CBS2)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Eleven people were injured Friday evening, two critically, when a fire broke out in a Bronx apartment building.
The FDNY was called around 5 p.m. to the six-story building at 3971 Gouverneur Ave. near Van Cortlandt Park.
Two people were reported in critical condition in the fire, three of more in serious, but non-life-threatening condition, and six with minor injuries, the FDNY told 1010 WINS.
It took 106 firefighters about 90 minutes to get the two-alarm blaze under control.
Firefighters said the blaze was on the fifth and sixth floors. City building records show the building dates to 1944.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) |
‘Dragon Ball Super’ episode 77 preview trailer, spoilers: The universe’s greatest martial arts tournament begins (Photo : Twitter/Kanzenshuu)
Exciting times ahead as the New Type summaries, air dates and titles for "Dragon Ball Super" episodes 74 through 77 have been released.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from the upcoming "Dragon Ball Super" episodes. Read to know more.
The new scans have been released and Herms98 have translated the summaries and airdates for the upcoming episodes of the anime series.
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"Dragon Ball Super" Episode 74 Synopsis, Title and Air date
This episode is titled "For the Sake of Those He Loves! The Indomitable Great Saiyaman" and it is scheduled to air on Sunday, Jan. 15 on Fuji TV at 9 a.m. Japan time.
"Gohan's superhero identity "Great Saiyaman" is being made into a movie. Gohan is hired as the stunt double for Barry Karn, the mean-spirited star playing Great Saiyaman. While Gohan struggles with the film, the parasitic alien Watagash is up to no good on Earth. Watagash is lured by the darkness in people's hearts and infects them; the eviler they are, the more he increases their power," reads the synopsis.
"Dragon Ball Super" Episode 75 Spoilers and Air date
The title of this episode has not been revealed in the recently released spoilers. However, "Dragon Ball Super" episode 75 is expected to air on Jan. 22.
"Goku is bored without a training partner, so Chi Chi calls Gohan, who turns into Great Saiyaman and takes Goku on but..." reads the synopsis.
"Dragon Ball Super" Episode 76 Spoilers and Air date
Episode 76 is scheduled to hit the airwaves on Sunday, Jan. 29, and the title is yet to be released.
"Kuririn is picked next as the bored Goku's training partner. He suggests they train together under the Turtle Hermit like the old times. As a part of their training, the Turtle Hermit orders them to go get the "Paradise Grass" herb from a forest. In the forest, they find Freeza, Majin Boo, Cell, and other old foes Goku and co. have fought," reads the translated synopsis.
"Dragon Ball Super" Episode 77 Spoilers and Air date
The title for episode 77 of "Dragon Ball Super" is not yet out, but we know that the episode will air on Feb. 5.
"When Goku goes to Bulma's house to train with Whis, he finds her belly has gotten big, and he learns she is pregnant with her second child. What's more, she'll be giving birth soon, and Vegeta is so nervous he can't calm down," reads the synopsis.
Stay tuned for more "Dragon Ball Super" spoilers and updates. |
This was my first redditgifts exchange and I couldn't be more pleased! I'd heard stories both good and bad about gifting experiences, but nothing was enough to keep me from the allure of adding to my small but growing pint glass collection!
I told my future gifter about my burgeoning craft beer geekery, and specifically asked for something local so that I could get an idea of the beer scene in another part of the US. Hence my excitement when, a few days later, a large box was on its way from pretty much the other side of the country - and my gifter told me that he'd specifically tried to adhere to my wishes. Woot!
I was expecting the box on Friday, and literally kept peeking out the door of my apartment to see if something was waiting for me in the lobby. Finally at 6pm I had to leave my house for the weekend, so of course the tracking info now tells me it was delivered at 6:20. Ohh, UPS.
But never fear! I returned home on Sunday to find an expertly packaged box, which originally looked to be comprised exclusively of packing peanuts, but was actually full of awesome instead!
I opened everything too quickly to get unpacking pictures, but attached to the box was a note from my gifter telling me to enjoy some of his favorite local beers. Wait, there's beer in here?! Must. Open. Box. Faster.
First out was a sweet pint glass from Stone Brewing - a personal fave that I've yet to visit, but I will be sure to enjoy some Stone out of this new glass! It was promptly added to my pint shelf (see photos) for maximum show-offage.
Then - holy crap - a six pack! 2 cans each of three different local IPAs from my gifter's home of NM. Included were (from left in the pic) La Cumbre Elevated IPA, Santa Fe Brewing Happy Camper IPA, and Marble Brewery's Marble IPA. Marble is the only one of these I'd even heard of before, but being on the East Coast means I have three new beers to try! I'm already planning a lovely evening with the SO where we will smoke cigars and enjoy some IPAs. Also now I know that NM has some serious brewing going on!
Thank you so much to my amazing gifter (with a very cool name haha) for making my first exchange such a success! |
Polltakers for the General Social Survey, done by NORC at the University of Chicago have asked a representative national sample this question since 1977: “When a person has a disease that cannot be cured, do you think doctors should be allowed by law to end the patient’s life by some painless means if the patient and his family request it?”
The proportion of Americans responding affirmatively, always a substantial majority, has bounced between 66 and 69 percent for 15 years. But support was not evenly distributed: Such laws initially were enacted in states with predominantly white populations like Oregon, and to date the vast majority of patients who have used them are white.
“I hear people talk all the time about this being a rich white person’s issue,” said Donna Smith, legislative manager for the District of Columbia at the group Compassion and Choices, who is African-American. “Now, we have proof on the ground that that is not true.”
Indeed, aid in dying has expanded to more diverse locales. Non-Hispanic whites represent a minority of Californians. Colorado is more than 21 percent Latino. In the District of Columbia, nearly half of whose residents are African-American, five of six black council members voted in favor of the legislation.
State medical societies, once active foes of aid-in-dying initiatives, also have begun shifting their positions, citing deep divisions among their members. The California Medical Association, the Colorado Medical Society and the Medical Society of the District of Columbia all took officially neutral stances as legislators and voters debated, depriving opponents of influential allies. So has the state medical society in Maryland, where legislators plan to reintroduce a bill (the third attempt) this month.
The American Medical Association, an opponent since 1993, has asked its Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs to look at the aid-in-dying issue and submit a report in June, though without recommending any policy.
But even as the idea gains acceptance, passage of a bill or ballot measure does not always make aid in dying broadly available to those who want it. In addition to the safeguards the law requires, its practice can be balky — at least in the early stages. |
“If Hilton had advertised two men playing tennis, cards or having lunch, that would have been reasonable."
With a reaction that likely surprises no one, the leaders of the anti-LGBT American Family Association are losing their minds over seeing an ad for Hilton hotels that features two men in bed together.
Hilton
The AFA found the ad in a copy of Travel + Leisure magazine, and quickly put out a statement on their website to reprimand the company.
“Hilton Worldwide shocked readers by placing a full-page ad that featured two men in bed together,” the post reads. “If Hilton had advertised two men playing tennis, cards or having lunch, that would have been reasonable.”
“Travel and Leisure isn’t a gay-specific magazine sent directly to homosexual’s [sic] homes,” the AFA added. “It’s a widely distributed mainstream publication that can be found in many public places such as doctors’ or auto repair waiting rooms.”
A Hilton spokesperson responded to the complaints by defending the advertisement.
“Hilton Worldwide is a global company of diverse cultures serving diverse guests,” the spokesperson said. “We are proud to depict and reflect our guest diversity in our advertising.”
The AFA has demanded to have a meeting with Hilton representatives to insist that ads are more “family-friendly” from now on.
h/t: LGBTQ Nation |
Senate committee calls on banks to support customers struggling to meet credit card repayments
Posted
A Parliamentary report into the use of credit cards has called on banks to take better care of customers who struggle to meet repayments.
A Senate committee has made 11 recommendations, including forcing banks to advertise more information about the ongoing costs of credit cards, as well as establishing a Productivity Commission inquiry.
The Labor-led report has also called on banks to make it easier for consumers to switch credit card providers, and to make reasonable attempts to contact a cardholder if they are struggling to meet minimum repayments.
The committee has heard evidence that increasing consumer awareness about credit cards could help improve competition and put pressure on interest rates and fees.
It has recommended an expansion of financial literacy programs and that the Government considers a minimum repayment requirement for all credit cards.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari said the report was a "wake-up call" for the big banks and for the Federal Government.
"This industry has been a rort," Senator Dastyari said.
"Australians have been gouged and continue to be gouged by exorbitant rates, and exorbitant fees and half-hearted measures from the government are not going to be solving.
"It's time to take decisive action. We have to stop pussyfooting around this issue."
In a statement, Government senators in the committee said they had already commenced addressing some of the 11 recommendations, including legislating a ban on surcharges that exceed the "reasonable costs" faced by merchants in accepting cards.
The Coalition has expressed an interest in one specific recommendation, which would allow consumers to keep their credit card account numbers when switching banks, saying it bears "further investigation".
But the Coalition has cast doubt on one proposed change, which involves developing "a system that informs consumers about their own credit card usage and associated costs", claiming it could be unduly prescriptive.
Topics: federal-government, federal-parliament, banking, australia |
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Unmade [ edit ]
It is a dark day when something comes into shape, without the gods willing it to happen. An unmade is a creature that is created when a god spills blood, usually in combat, and the blood is then filled to the brim with dark energies. Unmade are beings that are condemned by the gods themselves, and are all across the world, looking for a purpose when they were created without one.
Physical Description [ edit ]
A being of no exact shape, with a cloak of shadow surrounding them at all times. All unmade are vaguely humanoid, and can take on human forms if they so wish. However all have defining traits that distinguish them from other unmade, such as having their two legs merge into a snake's tail, or having their bodies covered with thousands of white, glowing, eyes. They are gender less, but can develop to be either.
History [ edit ]
The unmade appear in the earliest recorded history, in the 60th year. Few in number, they did not cause many problems for the civilized races, and thus faded into the annals of history, even though their kind did not go extinct.
Society [ edit ]
Due to the fact that gods rarely spill blood, and even rarer that it is corrupted completely enough that unmade are able to form, there are too little of them to have made a society. Unmade are generally jealous of those in any given society, and prefer the company of those who aren't in one, if at all. Because of this, unmade either view governmental authority with disdain, or simply respect their demands in front of them, but completely ignore it afterwards.
Unmade Names [ edit ]
They are generally unnamed, but they may decide to name themselves. Thus it could be literally anything. The trend among unmade is to name themselves after either jobs or tasks they find pleasurable, or people whom they have built an admiration towards.
Unmade Traits [ edit ]
A drop of a god's blood, flooded with darkness ,you may use the Godbound (5e Class) class.(with your DM's permission)
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by 1 and your Dexterity increases by 1.
Age. Unmade were not created by gods; rather, they were formed from their viscera, and, as such, they live until they are killed, either by poison or blade.
Alignment. They tend to be closer to the chaotic and evil personalities, as they do not understand that they are doing anything wrong.
Size. Your base size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet and a fly speed of 30 feet. Your max height you can fly is 10 feet.
Unseen. You are considered proficient in the Stealth skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check instead of your normal proficiency bonus for 5 minutes, twice per short rest.
Intangible. You may gain a resistance to non-magical weapons for 30 seconds(5 rounds). Once per 24 hours(Increasing to twice per 24 hours at level 4).
Fiend. Part of the energy that went into your creation bubbled up from the Abyss. Your type is Fiend. You have advantage on saving throws to being charmed or grappled, and magic cannot put you to sleep. You also have Dark vision of 30 ft.
Armor of the Dark. You cannot wear armor as your physical form isn't solid enough for that; however, your Unarmored AC equals 10 + your dexterity modifier + your constitution modifier.
Necessary Form. You may enlarge or reduce your size. If you choose to enlarge yourself, you become a large creature. You gain the traits of being a large creature,if you choose to shrink yourself, you get the traits of becoming a small creature, you can only become small or large not less nor higher, after 1 minute you come back to your original size, this can be used a number of times equal to your constitution modifier.
Dark Tendril. You are capable of solidifying a part of your shadowy body into a tendril as an attack action, allowing you to grab anyone or anything within 10 ft. If you decide to grab a creature, you must make a grapple check.
Ki-less. You cannot play the monk class due to the Unmade’s lack of Ki.
Languages. Common, Abyssal and Primordial.
Flesh Bonded [ edit ]
This is a subrace, it may only be chosen however when you have another player to bond with.
Ability Score Increase. Charisma +1
Bonded. When you create your unmade character, choose one other player character to be bonded with. Work with that player and your DM to decide how the bond occurred, using your respective backgrounds as a guide. The other player character is known as your host. You can communicate telepathically with your host if they are within 1 mile of you.
Mimic Sleep. When your host is sleeping or in a trance, you can enter their body if you can move to its space. While you are in your host's body, you cannot be the target of an attack. If they are sleeping, you, also, are sleeping; if they are in a trance, then you are also in a trance. When the host wakes, you appear in an empty space within 5 feet of them. If you were in the host's body for the full duration of their sleep or trance, you also benefit from a full sleep.
Broken Life. If you die while you are within 1 mile your host, your spirit form immediately retreats into your host's body. Whenever your host finishes a short or long rest, they can spend one Hit Die to help reconstitute you. When a number of Hit Dice equal to your own Hit Dice has been spent in this way, you return to life in an empty space within 5 feet of your host as though you were the target of a raise dead spell.
Material Bonded [ edit ]
This subrace is what you are if you don't have another player to bond with.
Ability Score Increase. Intelligence +1
Object Home. Unlike the flesh bonded, you make your home in an object. This object can be of any kind (Even enchanted), but would usually be linked with you through your past. While you enter the object you enter a meditative state, much like that of elves for at least four hours. There are various effects that follow due to your presence in this object: If the object is a blade it would deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage. If the object is a piece of armor or jewelry it would grant the wearer a resistance to necrotic damage. Note that this means you cannot wield/wear your bonded item.
Twisted words. You are capable of driving another being mad as a bonus action. If an intelligent creature holds your bonded object, they must make a Wisdom check with your Charisma as it's DC. If they fail they are inflicted by short term madness.
Undying curse. You feel purposeless in your existence, yet have been cursed with a state close enough to immortality to remove you from freedom. If you die, you will be reincarnated after 8 hours within your chosen object so long as it is within 1 mile of you. This item acts as a phylactery, however if it is destroyed you may find another after a week. If your item is destroyed while you are being reincarnated, you will permanently die.
Random Height and Weight [ edit ]
Table: Unmade Random Height and Weight Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier 6′ 5″ +1d4 100 lb. × (1d10) lb.
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A black couple in Mississippi say they were forbidden to wed at the predominantly white church they attend. WLBT's David Kenney reports.
A black Mississippi couple say a predominantly white Baptist church where they were to wed turned them away because of race.
Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson told NBC station WLBT of Jackson that they got the news from the pastor, Dr. Stan Weatherford of the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs, the day before their long-planned nuptials.
"The church congregation had decided no black could be married at that church, and that if he went on to marry her, then they would vote him out the church," said Charles Wilson.
See the original story at WLBT of Jackson, Miss.
The Wilsons regularly attend First Baptist but are not members there.
Weatherford performed the wedding at a nearby church.
Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com
Weatherford said he was taken by surprise by what he called a small minority against the black marriage at the church.
"This had never been done before here, so it was setting a new precedent, and there are those who reacted to that because of that," Weatherford said.
"I didn't want to have a controversy within the church, and I didn't want a controversy to affect the wedding of Charles and Te' Andrea. I wanted to make sure their wedding day was a special day," he said.
Charles Wilson said he doesn’t understand the ban.
“I blame those members who knew and call themselves Christians and didn't stand up," Wilson said.
Church officials say they welcome any race into their congregation and will decide on how to move forward should a similar situation occur again.
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Crystal Spring is a city of 5,000 about 25 miles southwest of Mississippi’s capital, Jackson.
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The Barack Obama campaign has jumped on the opening created by Hillary Clinton’s absurd Bosnia exaggeration to add a few of their own choices to Clinton’s list. The Obama camp questions what Clinton herself called, “her successful effort to create the SCHIP Children’s Health Insurance program.” The Boston Globe investigated Clinton’s claim and found that, “But the Clinton White House, while supportive of the idea of expanding children’s health, fought the first SCHIP effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah…”
Clinton’s website also claims that she helped “to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to enable new parents to take time off without losing their jobs…” The problem, as the Obama camp points out, is that the bill was passed by the previous Congress and signed into law only 16 days after Bill Clinton took office.
It is a popular delusion among conservatives that the Clintons are liberals. In reality, they are conservative Democrats. It is not a surprise that Hillary Clinton never touts the wildly unpopular and proven unsuccessful, welfare reform to Democratic audiences. She also never mentions the administration’s record of champion for deregulation, and how the Clinton reforms enabled scandals like Enron.
Hillary Clinton has authored or passed no major legislation during her time in the Senate. She was content to be a seat filler and kill time until her run for the White House. I do think that she could be a great senator someday, but her current accomplishments, not her husbands, suggest that she has never provided the leadership or vision that the nation needs.
Hillary Clinton’s experience is a myth that was constructed on faulty logic that political experience is a shared asset of marriage. Every politician exaggerates their resume, but Hillary Clinton took the additional step of fabricating a whole new one for her. For too long the Obama campaign let her experience claims go unchallenged. With the nomination in reach, now is time for them to put an end to Hillary’s fantasy resume.
Obama campaign memo:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBhcB |
Kotaku East East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
You’ve seen this, no? It’s the new Kojima Productions logo (above), which was first shown last December and which shows a skull and some sort of helmet. But that’s not all, according to Hideo Kojima.
“I can’t really say yet,” Kojima recently told Famitsu, “but this logo has a secret. It has a full body, a really cool full body. We’re planning on putting out a figure version of it.”
After again stressing that the logo’s body looks “very cool,” Kojima joked, “Couldn’t someone make like an anime or something with this character?”
For the time being, fan art will have to suffice. |
SPRINGFIELD - It is the issue that has long frustrated many homeowners and city officials - the hundreds of applications for new sidewalks in Springfield that have languished on a waiting list for years.
"There are more applications every day," Public Works Director Christopher Cignoli said this week. "It's extremely disheartening when we tell residents that it could be five years (or longer)."
Some sidewalk requests from homeowners date back more than a decade, and funding for the work has been very limited over the years, Cignoli said. The current backlog of requests is about 600 sidewalk locations reflecting just applications from homeowners, he said.
"We know there is probably five times more," Cignoli said.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council approved approximately $600,000 for sidewalk construction this year, as part of a city-funded bond for road and sidewalk construction that will help, Cignoli said. That may allow the city to complete about 100 sidewalk locations, he said.
"I wish I had more, I really do," Cignoli said. "I am glad the backlog is getting smaller. We are chipping away, but still have a ton of area."
Sarno said he shares the residents' concerns about the sidewalk work needed, and is making a "good faith effort" to address the backlog. The new concrete sidewalks are one component that helps to address and improve quality of life issues in neighborhoods, he said.
"Quite simply put, the sidewalk program has always been a challenge for so many, many years before my time (as mayor)," Sarno said.
The city budget has not allocated funds for sidewalk repairs for many years, outside of this year's bond order. However, the city does receive some federal grant funds for sidewalks, primarily approximately $300,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds.
The total waiting list could be worth $3 million to $4 million, Cignoli said.
Sidewalks in business districts are treated as priorities, to promote economic development, and the city generally seeks to then address the longest-delayed residential applications, Cignoli said. The city targets sidewalks citywide, but the federal grant program is confined to approximately 65 percent of the city, generally low and moderate income areas, under program guidelines.
At-large Councilor Kateri B. Walsh said many residents are upset by the long waits for new sidewalks and there is also anger when temporary repairs sometimes occur with black asphalt, while waiting for the new concrete sidewalks. The temporary repairs can take away from property values, she said.
Cignoli asked this year if city budget funds could be allotted to hire a city employee sidewalk crew. The budget request was cut during the mayoral review, prior to the budget being submitted to the council.
The city legally owns the sidewalks, with the homeowners being responsible for keeping them clear, Cignoli said.
The city has paid the full cost of new sidewalks at least in recent years, but homeowners making formal requests for sidewalks sign a statement that they could be held responsible for a portion of the cost, Cignoli said.
"My goal over time is to get rid of the backlog and start replacing as much of the sidewalks as we can, and make it safer for everyone," Cignoli said.
Kathleen Brown, president of the East Springfield Neighborhood Council, said new concrete sidewalks are a community asset, both for safety and aesthetics.
The city needs "walkable sidewalks" for people of all ages and abilities including those who are disabled, she said.
"It is concerning that there is such a backlog, so we are excited if the city can find a way to speed up the process," Brown said. |
Rare white koala born at Australia Zoo seeks perfect name from Facebook fans
Updated
A rare white koala joey has been born at a Queensland zoo, and the search is now on for the right name.
Australia Zoo, north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast, welcomed its first white koala joey this breeding season.
The female is not albino — its extremely pale colouration is caused by a recessive gene and thought to be inherited from mother Tia, which has had other pale coloured joeys in the past.
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital director Dr Rosie Booth said it was more unusual to see a koala with fur this light — and with eyes and skin remaining the usual brown black — than it was to see a koala with albinism.
"In veterinary science it's often referred to as the 'silvering gene', where animals are born with white or very pale fur and, just like baby teeth, they eventually shed their baby fur and the regular adult colouration comes through," Dr Rosie said.
Dr Booth said koalas were known to vary in colour depending on their environment, with southern koalas being much darker and larger than those found in Queensland and New South Wales.
"In the wild animal kingdom, it's actually quite unfortunate to have unusually light colouration as it makes animals stand out from their camouflage, risking being spotted by potential predators," she said.
Australia Zoo and Tourism Australia have put the call out on their Facebook page for names.
Thousands have already thrown their suggestions out there, including:
"Name her Daenerys because ... well, Game of Thrones is a trend now and the little koala resembles the Dragon Queen with white hair."
"Snowflake would be an appropriate name as she also appears to be a winter baby."
"Allira — aboriginal name for daughter, Alkina — Aboriginal name for the moon."
"Stevie... after Steve Irwin who, was also a blond and everyone loved."
"Nysnö — fresh snow, crisp and white."
"Binji, meaning mate or buddy."
Topics: animals, human-interest, beerwah-4519, qld
First posted |
Introduction
The Internet can be a scary place with its billions of users, but modern smartphones have a way to let you leave your mark - the selfie camera. That's exactly what the Sony Xperia XA Ultra is all about.
It's one of only two phones to feature optical image stabilization on the front-facing camera. And what a camera it is - a dedicated LED flash and a large 1/2.6" sensor of 16MP resolution. That's the same sensor size and resolution as the main camera on the Galaxy S6!
The rest of the Xperia XA Ultra is quite similar to the smaller XA, which (it is no secret) is our favorite looking phone of the new Xperia X line. Aside from the screen, of course, Ultra is Sony speak for a 6" screen.
It has a higher resolution, 1080p, which makes it sharper to boot. And slender it is too - the narrowest 6" phone in our database, despite its metal sides.
Sony Xperia XA Ultra key features
Monster of selfie camera: 16MP 1/2.6" sensor, optical image stabilization, LED flash
Narrowest phone with 6-inch screen
6" 1,080 x 1,920px LCD with 367ppi, Mobile Bravia Engine 2; 2.5D scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating
Android v6.0 Marshmallow with Xperia launcher
MediaTek MT6755 Helio P10 chipset, octa-core 2GHz Cortex-A53 CPU; Mali-T860MP2 GPU; 3GB RAM
21.5 MP camera with 1/2.4" sensor; 1080p@30fps video recording and hybrid autofocus
16GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot
Single and dual-SIM variants
LTE Cat.4 (150Mbps); Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; A-GPS/GLONASS receiver, Bluetooth v4.1, FM radio with RDS
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
2,700mAh non-removable battery (Pump Express 2.0 charging supported)
Main cons
Tiny battery for the size, and not particularly efficient 28nm chipset
No fingerprint reader
OIS on selfie camera, but not on the main camera. Go figure
No increased water protection
The front-facing camera on the XA Ultra is impressive, more impressive than the main camera on the small XA. So the back camera had to be upgraded too, it got a 21.5MP sensor (1/2.4" Exmor RS IMX230, if you're keeping score). We don't want an Oppo F1 Plus situation where the selfie cam is better than the one on the back, do we?
The Ultra model also gets an extra gig of RAM and a bigger battery too, but that's where the differences end. It's the same chipset, same software, even the battery isn't that big - actually, at 2700mAh it's downright tiny for a 6" phone. Especially one that's 8.4mm thick.
Sony Xperia XA official images
Well, we did love the XA and we are fans of big screens, so we're diving into the Sony Xperia XA Ultra a positive attitude (and a few worries). |
New York Comic Con is less than a week away, baby! As a professional at surviving the incredible alternate universe that is comic con, I will be your guide to make the most of this years’ experience. I will help you get the cheapest merchandise, the most free goodies and have Galactus-sized fun!
9 Things You Need To Know for NY COMIC CON
Buy Sunday
Dealers will sell their comics and comics merchandise much cheaper on Sunday to get rid of their stock. When the comic con is winding down, they do not want to carry boxes and boxes of merchandise back home. They want to make as much money as they can at the last second (much of their merchandise is back stock anyway, especially the graphic novels). The first few days they charge top dollar, the last day it is “Everything must go!”
Walk around the convention floor during the last hour and you’ll find goods that are 75 to “90% off!” Only buy your must-have books the first few days, otherwise, wait ‘til Sunday. I have missed out on books in the past because they sold the days prior, but normally I leave with five hundred dollars’ worth of books for a hundred or less.
Negotiate Prices
The entire convention you can try to haggle prices with the dealers (not the major comic company’s exclusives, just dealers). Unless you have your eye on key issues, which they probably want to either sell for top dollar or bring home with them, then you can try to get a better price. I recommend bringing cash because the second dealers see a bunch of 20 dollar bills or higher they are less likely to refuse lower offers.
Make Sure You Meet Stan Lee
Sure, meeting Stan Lee costs a crap load of money (around $100 – $200), but the dude is 90 years old and will not be around forever. Stan Lee has historically been an insane workaholic who appears at most major cons, but he has been cutting down his convention appearances, lately. Purchase a photo op with Lee, it is so worth it. In the minute you are with him, he will say some life changing statement to you that you will remember for the rest of your life.
My awesomely amazing story: Two years ago, Stan Lee asked me how I was doing. I said wonderful. He then replied “so you are Mr. Wonderful!” And Boom! My entire universe exploded in an inferno of flames. The phoenix force took over and I was reborn a confident, strong and incredible hero!
He is available for pictures and autographs Saturday and Sunday.
If You See Something, Say Something
RESPECT EACH OTHER! Cosplay is an artform in which fanboys and fangirls spend their time and money to recreate amazing renditions of their favorite characters. The disrespect that often occurs towards woman cosplayers is disgusting. I am talking about the guys who go to shows and decide it is ok to make derogatory comments, take inappropriate candid pictures and touch the coplayers. Then, if cosplayers get upset, the perps call them sluts and others tell them they should not dress so provocatively. I am also referring to misogynistic YouTube reporters and other “news” sites that use sexist, degrading methods in order to increase hits. Woman cosplayer’s emotions are also negated when they are told they are not real nerds anyway.
Screw that. The nerd and geek culture is much more diverse than some individuals make it out to be. (40% of fans who attended San Diego Comic Con 2012 were women!) Conventions are where the geek community is supposed to celebrate our culture and feel safe- not get abused. When I first started collecting comics as a young lad, I connected to comic characters like the X-Men because I was a minority that was picked on and abused by my peers. It sickens me to see my fellow fanboys using the same discriminatory and bullying tactics.
If you see something, say something! We all need to stand together on this. Report harassers to the convention staff members. Call them out- tell the slimeballs it is NOT OK. If you do nothing, you are part of the problem. Sexism and misogyny are major illnesses at cons- the remedy is YOU speaking up!
Do Not Depend On Your Cell Phone on Saturday
Last year, there was hardly any reception in the Javits Center because so many fanboys and fangirls were hoggin’ up the bandwidth. It totally sucked. It was difficult to find the people you came with even if they were four feet away. Press was also screwed because they couldn’t post their news. If you come with a group of geeks, have a meetup plan and stick to it. I expect there to be better reception this year, but do not count on it. The other days are much better simply because there are less people. Saturday is an absolute warzone.
Drink Plenty of Soda
Many advice columns will tell you to drink plenty of water due to all the walking and crap… but, screw it, I like soda. So drink lotsa soda, baby!
Eat Outside at Vendors
Do not eat in the Javits center. It is expensive and you will wait in line for half the day. Simply exit the arena and go grab some street meat from the vendors outside. I always bring snacks from home also. You could bring a lunch from home, but I am too lazy and street meat is cheap. Mmmmmmmm, I love street meat.
Go to Small Panels- Not Marvel or DC
You will wait in line for hours to get into many of the mainstream panels (if you get in at all). The big panels will be recapped on every major website anyway, so skip them and read what happened later. Go to the smaller panels, instead. There are exciting panels about “minorities in fandom”, small press books, women in comics, hip hop and comics, and LGBTQ character representations in comics. Also, the smaller panels are more likely to have promo giveaways and other freebies. It is worth hitting up a mainstream panel if you are a mega fan of some creator that you need to say you were in the same room as … if not, save your time and hit up some great smaller panels.
Hit Up the Archie Panels but Do Not Steal My Spot!
Each year Archie comics gives the panel audience incredible goodie bags. This year, “ARCHIE ACTION HOUR: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, MEGA MAN AND RED CIRCLE COMICS” (Thursday from 7:30- 8:30 pm in room 1A01) is promising some sweet goodie bags. “Archie Comics: Zombies, Heroes, Cartoons, Movies and more!” (Saturday from 3:00 to 4:00 in room 1A15) will include goodie bags that are worth over $100 for everyone in attendance! Go a little early to ensure a spot. It is awesome!
If you fanboys and fangirls have advice to share please leave it in comment section below. Hope everyone has a blast at NY Comic Con!
Cosplay Picture Credit: CONsent
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Robert Webb risked being typecast by the popularity of TV’s Peep Show, but as he tells Nick Ahad, the stage has given him a chance to shine.
As the feckless half of one of the most popular double acts on British television in the last decade, Robert Webb could have easily become a victim of his own success.
Robert Webb and David Mitchell turned Peep Show into a hugely popular cult hit.
Alongside David Mitchell, his co-star in Channel Four’s Peep Show, Webb has been so taken into the hearts of fans as Jeremy, that many imagine the line between actor and character must have become a little blurred.
In Peep Show, Jeremy and Mark are men in their thirties, who share a London flat. They are the classic odd couple – Mark, buttoned up and career minded, Jeremy convinced that the world is just waiting to discover his musical genius – this despite his lack of ability to play any instrument.
For a while it seemed like Webb might always be in Jeremy’s shadow when it came to acting roles, but he has discovered a way to break out of the Peep Show straitjacket through turning to the stage.
The Cambridge graduate, who toured with the famous university Footlights group, has spent the last six months proving to London audiences that he is much more than the overgrown teen Jeremy. He has also ably demonstrated he is more than the less intellectual half of the Mitchell and Webb double act.
He did this by firstly taking on the role of Bertie Wooster in the stage adaptation of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense in the West End. Then once he had turned heads with an impressive performance in that show he went on to appear in a new West End production of the brilliant Tim Firth-written Neville’s Island, which premiered at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre over a decade ago. The notices were kind about Webb’s performances, so much so for his portrayal of Wooster that the show is now heading out on a national tour, and Webb is coming with it.
Taking on the stage roles was fraught with possible pitfalls. Would those who know Webb only for his television work take him seriously when he trod the boards? He also faced the question of the shoes he was going to fill in taking on the role of Bertie Wooster.
“I didn’t really panic about it, I grew up watching Hugh (Laurie) and Stephen (Fry) playing the roles and read a couple of the books as a teenager, but when the script came along it was of its own world,” says Webb. “I went to see the original production and it’s such a massive and theatrical piece of work, it bears very little relation to the Fry and Laurie version. The concept here is that Bertie has been told down the club that he should be telling his stories on the stage. So he goes on the stage, Jeeves has built all the scenery and Bertie saunters through. It’s a very theatrical piece with huge energy and feels very different to any of the other versions of the stories.”
Taking the characters invented by PG Wodehouse, the stage show was always on to a winner. Wodehouse’s Wooster, an idle aristocrat and his well-read and talented personal valet Jeeves are a perfect combination. The 1990 television series, starring Fry and Laurie, was enormously popular and still well-regarded.
Webb, it is probably little surprise to report, is enormously likeable. He needs to be: in Peep Show Jeremy sells his flatmate’s furniture, has the sexual morals of an alleycat and even ate the pet dog of a girl he was trying to get into bed (it was a convoluted, brilliant episode) yet still the audience somehow finds itself on the side of this useless human being. He is also, however, more serious and focussed that you might imagine – there’s the Jeremy curse again. He is clearly a driven artist. As well as appearing in television and stage shows, he appears to be one of those annoyingly talented people whose work-rate matches his gifts.
“I don’t always feel like I know exactly what I’m doing with my career. For a couple of months I might say I have an idea for a book, or there’s a comedy drama I want to do – there’s always stuff that I could be writing. At the minute I seem to be drawn to working in the theatre. I don’t really have a plan for my career – if something I like the look of comes along, I do it,” says Webb.
“Neville’s Island was something that had been knocking around for a while and I couldn’t do it, so I was really delighted when it came up again. With my career it really is the right job at the right time.”
Webb will be bringing his Wooster to Yorkshire next month, visiting the Sheffield Lyceum then Harrogate Theatre. Webb, who is married to comedian Abigail Burdess with whom he has two daughters, is happy to be touring, saying that he visited Harrogate when he was with the Cambridge Footlights and enjoyed the experience. If he feels a little ubiquitous – he has appeared in a number of television adverts, including most recently for the Post Office Christmas ad campaign – Webb says he could be very much more so.
“You have to be very careful about what you choose to do. The Post Office one is the third TV ad I have ever done,” he says. “It might feel like they are speeding up in frequency because I’ve done a couple in the last few years. The thing people don’t know about is the volume of stuff that I am turning down. It’s a job, though. It feels like the television shows I do are like credit in the bank with the audiences.”
Later this year, he will also film what has been announced will be the final series of Peep Show. When it was revealed that the tales of Jeremy and Mark would be no more, there were howls of anguish. Howls, Webb says, he could not have predicted when the show was first aired.
“Peep Show has been the backbone of our career,” says Webb of the partnership he shares with Mitchell.
“Early on, though, nobody watched it. And the write ups were lousy. When we started getting award nominations though, that was when it felt like it was confirmation that we were right to be doing something we really believed in.
“We would never have imagined that 11 years later we would still be doing it. Having said that, I think we have started to accept that it has to come to an end.”
It’s true, it does have to come to an end and it’s always better to go out on a high, but even Webb can’t help but betray a sadness when he talks about the show coming to an end.
“The great thing is that you know the scripts (written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain) are going to be funny,” he says.
One the big selling points of Peep Show, quite aside from the darkly brilliant, comic writing, is that the action is seen from the point of view of the two protagonists. Watching behind the scenes footage of the show being filmed is interesting – Webb and Mitchell wear helmet contraptions fitted out with cameras to capture their point of view.
“It’s actually quite hard to film it, quite difficult work, but in those moments you remember when you read the scripts you were laughing out loud at them. You just have to trust in that.
“Jesse and Sam work so hard on the scripts – they’re actually writing the final show right now. What they work particularly hard on is the storylines, that’s one of the strengths of the show. They make sure that the stories hang together and make sense and then the dialogue comes.
“The lines we get are just so good and playing the characters now is so familiar to us that it feels like breathing in and out for us by now.
“By this time I know exactly what Jeremy is thinking and what he’ll say at any given moment.
“The weirdest thing about the show is that because of the way we film it, for a double act, we’re not actually in it together a lot of the time.”
So to the double act. Meeting and working together for the first time when they were Cambridge undergraduates, there was that special rare alchemy between Mitchell and Webb.
These days it’s easy to wonder if they are sick of the sight of each other – Mitchell appears on panel shows, writes in the Observer and appears to be – if not more highly regarded – taken a little more seriously than Webb. He’s definitely considered the more intellectual of the duo.
Fortunately Webb agrees with this assessment, to a degree. Does it make Webb despise his comedy partner? “That’s not the reason I hate him,” he deadpans. “We have had our moments. We’ve been working together an awful lot for a long time. In 2005 I think we saw each other every single day.
“These days I almost miss him.”
• Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, Sheffield Lyceum, February 16 to 21, 0114 249 6000, www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk; Harrogate Theatre, February 23 to 28, 01423 502116, www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk |
We analyzed data on 14,530 US adults from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. General self-rated health (GSRH)—“In general, would you say your health is Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor?”—and a single question to physician examiners following a medical examination rating participants' health, both on a 5-point scale of Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor were assessed for the period 1988-1994. All-cause mortality was assessed through December 31, 2006 (n = 3,460 deaths).
GSRH has not been widely used for predicting patient outcomes because practitioners have assumed that it adds little value over what an informed physician assessment and other relevant objective data can provide. Although one might believe that GSRH and physician assessment of health would be highly correlated, few studies have addressed this association. We hypothesized that GSRH may add value to physician assessments of health because many of the other important influences on health and outcome of which the patient is inherently conscious (socioeconomic status, emotional health, etc) are not routinely captured by either the health system or the physician. Therefore, we assessed the concordance between patient GSRH and physician assessment of health after adjustment for an array of objective data, as well as the risk for mortality associated with GSRH independent of physician-rated health in a nationally representative sample of US adults.
Community-based cohorts and clinic-based studies show a strong association between participants' responses to a single question about general self-rated health (GSRH) and subsequent need for health expenditures and health services. 1 - 3 Patient responses are also strongly associated with subsequent mortality even when adjusted for an array of covariates. 4 , 5 GSRH has also been demonstrated to improve the predictive power of claims-based and clinical models. 3
For the analysis of all-cause mortality, follow-up for each study participant was calculated as the time between their NHANES III examination and the date of death or December 31, 2006, for those still alive at the end of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate the hazard ratios for mortality associated with Good and Fair/Poor versus Excellent/Very Good participant GSRH. An initial model included adjustment for age, race/ethnicity, and sex. The next model included additional adjustment for education, income, physical activity, cigarette smoking, BMI, systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medications, total and HDL cholesterol, diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate, microalbuminuria, and elevated CRP. A final model included additional adjustment for physician-assessed health. Subgroup analyses assessed the multivariable-adjusted (including physician-assessed health) association between participant GSRH and mortality for participants <65 and ≥65 years of age and by race/ethnicity and sex. Next, for each level of physician-assessed health, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for mortality associated with participant-reported GSRH was calculated. Lastly, hazard ratios for mortality were calculated for participants whose GSRH was better than (eg, the participant reported excellent/very good health and the physician assessed the participant to be in good health) and worse than (eg, the participant reported fair/poor health and the physician assessed the participant to be in good health) the physician-assessed health. Data were analyzed using SUDAAN (version 9.0; Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC) to account for the complex NHANES sampling design, including unequal probabilities of selection, oversampling, and nonresponse.
The distribution of participants by cross-classification of GSRH and physician-assessed health was determined. Overall agreement and a weighted kappa statistic were calculated. Participant characteristics were calculated by self-reported GSRH for each level of physician-assessed health. Trends across GSRH category were assessed using least squares for continuous variables and maximum likelihood for categorical variables.
After assessing the distribution of the GSRH and physician-assessed health of participants, we collapsed responses of Excellent and Very Good into 1 category and responses of Fair and Poor into 1 category, creating a 3-category GSRH variable for both participant- and physician-assessed health status. This provided an adequate number of outcomes in each GSRH and physician-assessed health strata to achieve stable point estimates for all analyses.
Mortality for the current analysis was assessed through December 31, 2006. The method of probabilistic matching was used to link NHANES III participants with the National Death Index to ascertain vital status and cause of death. Matching was based on 12 identifiers for each participant (eg, Social Security number, sex, date of birth). Identical matching methodology applied to the NHANES I Epidemiological Follow-up Study for validation purposes found that 96.1% of deceased participants and 99.4% of living participants were correctly classified. 9 Further information on the matching methodology used to identify deaths is provided on the NHANES III web site: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/datalinkage/matching_methodology_nhanes3_final.pdf .
The main exposure of interest was the cross-classification of physician assessment of health and participant GSRH. During the in-home visit, participants were asked to respond to a single-item GSRH question: “In general, would you say your health is…” with five category response options of Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor. Also, following in-clinic examinations, study physicians estimated the overall health status of participants. The following guidance was provided to the physician: “Make an estimate of the overall health status of the examinee based on your findings from the physician's examination, regardless of the completeness of the examination. Select one of the following: ‘1. excellent,’ ‘2. very good,’ ‘3. good,’ ‘4. fair,’ or ‘5. poor.’ Only one number should be selected.” Physicians were not blinded to participants' GSRH assessed during the in-home interview.
Blood samples were stored at −20° C. Total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was measured with the Hitachi 704 Analyzer (Roche, Basel, Switzerland). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) was quantified using latex-enhanced nephelometry, a low sensitivity assay. CRP levels ≥3 mg/dL were considered elevated. Plasma glucose was measured using an enzymatic reaction. Diabetes mellitus was defined as a fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL, a nonfasting plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL, and/or a self-reported history of diabetes with concurrent use of antidiabetes medication. Serum creatinine was measured by the Jaffe modified kinetic method. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated using the Modification of Diet and Renal Disease equation after aligning the serum creatinine concentrations with the assay employed in the development of the equation. 7 , 8 Urinary albumin was measured using a solid-phase fluorescence immunoassay; urinary creatinine was measured using modified kinetic method of Jaffe (Synchron AS/Astra Analyzer, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA). Albuminuria was defined as a urinary albumin to urinary creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g.
NHANES III baseline data were collected during an in-home interview and a subsequent visit to a mobile examination center where a study physician conducted a medical evaluation. The medical evaluation included a physical examination, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and blood and spot-urine collection. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. During the in-home interview, researchers used a standardized questionnaire to collect sociodemographic, behavioral, and health-related information such as prior diagnoses and medications being taken. Blood pressure was measured 3 times during the in-home interview and 3 additional times during the visit to the mobile examination center. All blood pressure measurements for each participant were averaged for analysis.
The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) is a stratified, multistage probability survey designed to select a representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized US population. Overall, 17,030 adults 20 years of age and older completed the NHANES III interview and examination from 1988 through 1994. We excluded 9 participants who were missing GSRH data, 989 participants missing data for physician assessments of their health, and 20 participants who did not have follow-up information. Additionally, 1,482 participants with missing covariate data were excluded. After these exclusions, we used a total of 14,530 NHANES III participants in the current analyses. The protocol for NHANES III was approved by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Institutional Review Board. All participants gave informed consent. Details on the NHANES III can be found elsewhere. 6
Following multivariable adjustment for age, race, sex, education, income, current and former cigarette smoking, BMI, systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medications, total and HDL cholesterol, diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate, microalbuminuria, and elevated CRP, participants who reported better GSRH than the physician assessment of their health experienced lower mortality (hazard ratio = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.66-0.87). Also, participants reporting worse health than the physician assessment of their health experienced higher mortality (hazard ratio = 1.45, 95% CI 1.24-1.70).
Over a median of 13 years of follow-up (maximum follow-up: 18 years), 3,460 deaths occurred. The most common cause of death was cardiovascular disease (n = 1,512; 44%). Worse GSRH was associated with higher mortality rates before and after adjustment for an array of health conditions and physician-assessed health ( ). After multivariable adjustment, those with Good and Fair/Poor GSRH and physician-assessed health had 1.35 (95% CI: 1.18-1.55) and 1.74 (95% CI: 1.47-2.03) higher risk for mortality, respectively, compared to their peers whose GSRH was Excellent/Very Good. Patterns of increased hazard ratios for mortality associated with worse GSRH were present across subgroups defined by age, race/ethnicity, and sex as shown in . Within each physician-assessed health category, worse participant GSRH was associated with a significantly higher multivariable adjusted hazard ratio for mortality ( ). Results were consistent for the outcome of cardiovascular mortality ( ).
Within each physician-assessed health grouping, participants with worse GSRH were older, more likely to be non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans, have less than a high school education, earn an annual household income <$20,000, and be physically inactive ( ). Worse GSRH was also associated with higher systolic blood pressure and diabetes.
Among participants for whom their physician-assessed health was Excellent/Very Good, 59.4% reported Excellent/Very Good GSRH, while 30.7% and 10.0% reported Good and Fair/Poor GSRH ( ). For participants whose physician-assessed health was Good, 39.4%, 39.0%, and 21.6% reported Excellent/Very Good, Good, and Fair/Poor GSRH, respectively. The distribution of participant GSRH was 19.8%, 36.7%, and 43.5% (Excellent/Very Good, Good, and Fair/Poor, respectively) among those whose health was assessed as being Fair/Poor by their physicians.
Overall, 52.2% of participants reported Excellent/Very Good GSRH, and 32.9% and 14.9% of participants reported Good and Fair/Poor GSRH, respectively ( ). Health was assessed by the physicians as being Excellent/Very Good, Good, and Fair/Poor for 70.9%, 22.2%, and 6.9% of participants, respectively. Overall participant GSRH and physician-assessed health were concordant for 53.8% of participants (42.1% Excellent/Very Good, 8.7% Good, and 3.0% Fair/Poor). The weighted kappa statistic for agreement between participant GSRH and physician-assessed health was 0.20.
DISCUSSION
In this analysis of a nationally representative sample of US adults, participant GSRH and physician perceptions of general health were not highly correlated. Participants with worse self-rated health had a significantly higher risk for mortality even after adjusting for physician perception of their health and an array of objective health data. This relationship was present in the overall population and was markedly consistent across age, race/ethnicity, and sex subgroups. Also, participants with self-assessed health worse than that rated by the study physicians experienced significantly higher mortality. These data suggest that GSRH provides important patient-centered information in addition to that readily available to clinicians.
The low level of concordance between GSRH and physician assessments of health observed in the current study is consistent with prior literature. Furthermore, physician-assessed health and GSRH may not always be concordant, especially if physicians do not consider nonclinical psychosocial information such as quality of life, income, and education.10,11 In a group of older patients, Finnish investigators reported significant discordance between individuals' self reports of health and their physicians' assessment.10 Also, in a study of 456 patients attending a primary care clinic, discordance between physician assessment of an individual's health and self-rated health was present in 32% of the patients.11 In a separate study of participants recruited in a primary care setting, overall agreement between patients' reports of their health and objective measures was only 54%.12 The current results are consistent with these previous findings; overall agreement and the agreement beyond that expected by chance (ie, kappa statistic) were low.
Reasons for the discordance between self-rated and physician-assessed health are not entirely clear. Patients with depression, advancing age, and lower socioeconomic status are more likely to have discordance with their physician assessments.10,13 Because patients capture a broad array of dimensions when assessing their own health that may not be incorporated into physician-assessed health, the rates of discordance are not surprising.14,15 Patients inherently know their past medical history, current symptoms (such as masked depression), social circumstances, and family longevity. All can contribute to mortality and can be easily missed by a physician assessment. Even when stratified by physician-assessed health, characteristics of participants in the current study varied widely by GSRH.
Prior studies have reported worse GSRH to be associated with increased mortality even after controlling for objective measurements of health, such as claims-based measures of chronic diseases.3,16-18 In one study, participants who rated their health as being better than expected based on the presence of chronic diseases had improved health outcomes. In contrast, those who reported worse health than expected based on the presence of chronic diseases (termed realists or pessimists) had higher rates of adverse outcomes.12 Although studies have documented that GSRH provides additional information above and beyond objective health information, few data are available on the additional information provided through self-rated versus physician-assessed health.
The added value of GSRH to physician assessments plus clinical data is expected given the broad array of dimensions captured in patients' general health assessments that are potentially not known to the clinician and not routinely part of what is collected in administrative and clinical databases. GSRH is a summative measure accounting for a variety of personal and relevant social characteristics. When considering their own health, individuals are known to consider their overall physical, mental, and social situation.19,20 GSRH is also highly correlated with a number of biomarkers that are associated with morbidity and mortality.21,22
Creating a more patient-centered health system will require systematizing patient perspectives on their health and healthcare. A single question assessing a patient's GSRH performs well in predicting future health states and needs. Because GSRH information takes only seconds to collect, it may be valuable to add to the routine data collected from patients to aid in predictive modeling. Collecting the answer to a single GSRH question could easily be added to routine intake information at primary care appointments for use by administrators. The information could be easily merged with patient age, sex, and race/ethnicity and could be useful for predictive modeling by payers and health system managers. GSRH responses add important information to administrative data for the prediction of future healthcare expenditures.3 Also, adding GSRH to the Framingham Risk Score improves prediction of future coronary heart disease incidence.23 In addition to the administrative value of adding GSRH to prediction models, the information captured through the collection of GSRH answers may prove valuable in guiding the patient into care management programs at the point of care. If GSRH information is collected in an automated fashion in an electronic health record, patients with poor or declining GSRH can be further evaluated for care management, even in the absence of physician referral. Given the discordance seen between patient and physician assessments of health and the significant impact patient GSRH has on outcomes when patients report worse health than their physicians assess, the use of GSRH could dramatically improve the identification of high-risk patients and earlier entry into beneficial care programs.
The findings from the present study should be considered in the context of potential limitations. GSRH is a subjective measure that can vary in response to significant life events whether physical or mental. However, it is a generally reliable measure and at the population level, sufficiently stable.24,25 Although the physician assessments were performed in a rigorous manner consistent with the NHANES protocol, the study physicians were handicapped by a lack of continuity relationship with participants. This limits the inclusion of a longitudinal perspective on participants' health when providing an assessment. Despite these limitations, the current study has many strengths. Most notably, NHANES III data were collected using a rigorous study protocol with extensive quality control procedures. The extensive data collection in NHANES III allowed adjustment for many objective measures of health (eg, the presence of hypertension, diabetes, albuminuria, inflammation, etc). The strong association between GSRH and all-cause mortality after controlling for these factors is noteworthy. Also, the results are representative of the US noninstitutionalized civilian population. |
So, here it is — several years (necessitated by several twists and turns in the development stages) after it was initially announced, Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette‘s Wonder Woman: Earth One hardcover graphic novel is finally in our hands (or mine, at any rate — and maybe yours, too, but frankly I have no idea about that), and I guess the question on everyone’s minds is a pretty simple one : was it worth the wait?
Having just read the book yesterday you’d think I’d be able to provide a definitive answer to that, but the truth is I can’t (hey! What sort of a critic am I, anyway?) simply because, well — I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it yet, apart from harboring a vague sense that it marks something of a wasted opportunity .
Uncertainty isn’t an entirely atypical reaction for any Morrison-scripted work, to be sure, but usually for reasons other than those I’m about to offer here. With previous projects like The Invisibles, The Filth, The Multiversity and Animal Man (to name just a handful), it often took several reads to get a solid “handle” on the full breadth and scope of everything our favorite shaven-headed Scotsman was throwing at us from the admittedly deep well of his imagination, but what’s perhaps most disarming about this particular book is how absolutely straightforward it all is.
Really. Everything’s right there on the surface. Which isn’t to say that many well-nigh-legendary Morrison works such as All-Star Superman, WE3, or his runs on Batman and Action Comics haven’t essentially been fairly easy to get a full grasp on the first time you read them, either, but they all at least betrayed some level of ambition in terms of either telling a very traditional type of story in a new way, or getting us to look at familiar characters from a hitherto-unconsidered point of view. By contrast, Wonder Woman : Earth One seems perfectly pleased to simply tell an adequate story that tinkers with the Princess of the Amazons’ formative years around the margins a bit, and to leave it at that.
Of course, the entire enterprise may have seemed considerably more ambitious back when Morrison’s proposal was first accepted (at the expense of an earlier one from Greg Rucka that had been “green-lit” by DC editorial, helping to precipitate Rucka’s departure from the company — except now he’s back, and writing Diana again, so I guess it’s all good), but honestly — Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang already did the whole “she’s not really made of clay!” thing that serves as this graphic novel’s purportedly “major” departure from what has gone before, and they also pretty much hinted that the warrior-women of Paradise Island were all — well, exactly what you’d expect them to be in a society without men, the only difference here being that Morrison comes right out (no pun intended) and says it.
Oh, and the Steve Trevor of Earth One is black, if that counts as a “change” for you.
Other than that, shit — I’m not sure what to tell you. Morrison and Paquette don’t give Diana the same father that Azzarello and Chiang did (although, hey, it’s close enough), and certainly there are a few laughs to be had here as the script openly pokes fun at the S&M fetishism inherent not just in Wonder Woman’s costume but her entire backstory and gives her a plus-sized sorority sister as a “comic relief” sidekick, but on the whole it’s a fairly breezy and insubstantial read and doesn’t seem any more ambitious than the previous books in the Earth One series, which all seem quite content to give their characters’ origins a few cosmetic changes and call it a day. Maybe that’s all their editorial remit really allows for, anyway, but when the promotional blurbs for this one come complete with a quote from the author himself saying that working on it “changed everything I’m thinking about the future,” well — I can be forgiven for expecting something a bit more Earth (One)-shaking, can’t I?
Certainly Paquette’s art here is gorgeous throughout and his lush, organic style — coupled with the vibrant tones of colorist Nathan Fairbairn — gives the book a sleek, elegant, and graceful look that goes well with the quasi-lyrical, almost free-flowing nature of the script. And I enjoyed the classically-tinged dialogue that Morrison employs throughout. But I can’t help feeling that, on a purely conceptual level, a lot was left “on the table” here, as the saying goes. Wonder Woman is a character rife with deliciously intriguing contradictions (a feminist icon consistently portrayed from a “male gaze” perspective is bound to be, I suppose) and rich in philosophical and thematic possibilities — yet most of that is barely even hinted at here, much less actually explored. I suppose the inevitable sequels will do some of that, but at $22.99 (okay, I only paid about half that, but still) per volume, the next one’s going to have to get busy doing just that real quick.
Story: Grant Morrison Artist: Yanick Paquette Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Story: 4 Art: 8 Overall: 6 Recommendation: Read
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Saturday, June 1
9:00 am – 2:30 pm
Rain or Shine | Come early for best selection
A complete list of species available will be posted on approximately May 15.
UMass Waltham Field Station
240 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA 02452
Buy Native ~ We offer over 120 native species, and more than 2,000 plants for sale.
Our sale is now in its fifth year! Native plants are the foundation of our local food webs. Help support birds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects by adding more natives to your landscape!
Perennials for sun, shade, part-shade, and all types of soil conditions.
A large selection of ferns, both evergreen and deciduous.
Grasses and sedges, for cool season and warm season interest.
Trees and shrubs, at small sizes you can take home in your car. Remember that native trees and shrubs do the most to increase biodiversity and to enhance the wildlife value of your landscapes.
Remember that native trees and shrubs do the most to increase biodiversity and to enhance the wildlife value of your landscapes. This year we will have three previously unavailable species—sweet goldenrod, bluestem goldenrod, and spotted beebalm—custom grown just for our sale.
All of our plants are native to the eastern United States, and the majority are indigenous to New England.
Our friendly native plant and landscaping Experts will be available all day to answer your questions and give advice on plant selection.
All sale proceeds support our programs. Thank you!
Grow Native Members: Get the quantities you want— order your plants in advance!
Members at the Advocate/Family level and above may pre-order plants prior to the sale, selecting the exact quantity of plants desired and having them reserved in advance. We expect to offer 70-80 species through pre-order.
The Pre-Sale catalog and order form will be e-mailed to all members in late April, and orders will be due by May 15 . The minimum order is $150 .
in late April, and orders will be . The minimum order is . Pre-Sale orders will be available for pick up on either May 31 or June 1.
If you want to pre-order plants, please support our work by becoming a member at the Advocate/Family level or above, or by renewing your membership. Your annual contribution helps to make this sale possible. We appreciate your generous support.
Sale Day Tips
We accept cash, check, and credit cards.
Because our sale is exceptionally busy in its first few hours, purchasing with cash or checks to help us by move the check-out lines more quickly, and might get you home faster.
But the sale is a lot of fun and full of good spirits. So there is no need to rush. We look forward to seeing you!
THANK YOU to Past Sale Supporters and Donors
Bigelow Nurseries
Hort-Sense / Weston Nurseries
Landscape Forms
New England Wetland Plants
New England Wild Flower Society
Patagonia Boston
Pierson Nurseries
Russell's Garden Center
Sudbury Nurseries West
Sylvan Nursery
Van Berkum Nursery
Wilkinson Ecological Design |
It's budget-cutting time for the U.S. Navy. And while the admirals seem fine with this, Congress is getting nervous.
As reported on DefenseNews.com last week, there's a furious debate brewing between Congress and the Pentagon over the future of the Navy's cruiser fleet. In a nutshell, it goes like this: Currently, we have 22 Ticonderoga-class cruisers in the Navy. While sometimes dispatched on solo missions, or to lead a surface combatant task force, these cruisers' primary purpose is heading up the air defense squadrons protecting America's 11 aircraft carriers.
Problem is, America's cruisers are starting to look a little long in the tooth. Built in the 1980s and '90s by contractors General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) and Huntington Ingalls (NYSE:HII), most of the Ticonderoga-class cruisers are nearing the end of their lifespans. By 2028, all 22 are expected to have lived out their useful service lives, worn out and ready for retirement.
And right now, we've got nothing to replace them.
A planned replacement class of warships, dubbed CG(X), was canceled in 2010 over worries the ships were becoming too expensive. What remains of that effort, and a sister program called DD(X), is what we now call the DDG-1000 program. It consists of a grand total of three planned "stealth" warships, built by General Dynamics at a cost of $3.5 billion apiece -- and they're not even full-sized cruisers, but just upsized destroyers.
The Navy thinks it has a solution to the problem. It has proposed taking 11 "CGs" out of service starting in 2019, and upgrading them to extend their service lives at a cost of $8.8 billion. The 11 cruisers still in service would still quietly expire by 2028. But the 11 upgraded ships should be good for another 15 years each and, after returning to the fleet, would keep us "in cruisers" through about 2045.
You can have half, or you can have nothing
The upshot? The Navy's giving Congress two choices: Either operate on half today's cruiser fleet for the next 30 years, or face the prospect of going 100% "cruiser-less" after 2028.
This half-or-nothing proposal has ruffled the feathers of defense hawks in Congress. Complicating matters further, some Congressmen worry that the Navy's real intention is to retire the first 11 cruisers, not upgrade them at all, and spend its money on other pet projects instead.
Crazy as it sounds -- worrying that the Navy has a secret agenda to shrink its own fleet -- it's not entirely without basis. After all, the withdraw-upgrade-reintroduce plan would see new-old cruisers returning to the fleet beginning around 2030. "Upgraded" or not, the newest of these ships would be 36 years old when it returns to service.
So what's the alternative?
There's no denying the U.S. Navy is looking rather sparse these days. The DDG-1000 program is stuck at just three ships, down from a planned 32-ship fleet. The last of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates are on their way out the door. Now, we find that the Ticonderoga-class cruisers, too, are also on their last legs.
That leaves us with -- what? A few dozen attack submarines, and about 18 nuclear "boomers?" A handful of Littoral Combat Ships (also under attack)? And of the aircraft carriers -- of which we're supposed to have 11 -- only 10 are now afloat. The only ship that's being produced in real numbers these days is the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyer -- of which a total of 77 are planned.
At best, we're looking at a Navy heavily reliant upon just four major ship classes today -- and if we're being brutally honest, a Navy that's looking awfully one-dimensional, and overly reliant upon the DDG-51. Even if every problem in the world is a nail, I'm not sure the best solution is to hit them all with the hammer that is the $1.5 billion Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
A modest suggestion
What the Navy really needs is to broaden its base. On the small ship side of things, the proposed Small Surface Combatant class of warships is one solution. But on the larger side of things, just slapping a new coat of paint on won't do the trick. The Navy really must get the CG(X) ball rolling again, and develop a viable large warship to replace its aging Ticonderogas.
How much would that cost? It won't be cheap, that's for sure. Figure a DDG-1000-like price tag of $3.5 billion per cruiser, and it could cost $77 billion to replace the Ticonderoga fleet -- a huge windfall for shipbuilders General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls, and nearly nine times what they'd likely get for just "upgrading" 11 existing ships.
But considering that the primary mission of each of these cruisers will be defending taxpayers' investment in $13 billion Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear aircraft carriers, a new fleet of cruisers just might be worth the expense. |
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The Pipe is a finalist in the 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative, a competition to combine clean energy production with public art.
Is it public art, or is it a power station? This shimmering design for “The Pipe”, a finalist in the 2016 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), is intended to blur the lines between the two. Imagined here as a floating installation off the coast of Santa Monica, California, the Pipe is an electromagnetic desalination device, powered by the sun. It also looks great on the horizon.
In that regard, it perfectly reflects the premise of the LAGI design competition, which this year invited participants to come up with aesthetically pleasing concepts for electricity and clean water generation that could potentially be placed in the waters near Santa Monica Pier as examples that our increasing demands for power need not blight the landscape (or seascape).
As was first reported by Inhabitat, The Pipe was designed by the Canadian engineering firm Abdolaziz Khalili and Associates, which specialises in processing plants for the food, drink and packaging industries. The glittering silver tube could, the firm says, generate 10,000 MWh of electricity annually, powering an electromagnetic filtration system capable of pumping out 1.5 billion gallons of clean drinking water for the city over the same period.
“What results are two products – pure drinkable water that is directed into the city’s primary water piping grid, and clear water with 12 per cent salinity,” the design brief explains.
“The drinking water is piped to shore, while the salt water is redirected back to the ocean through a smart release system, mitigating most of the usual problems associated with returning brine water to the sea.”
Artist Elizabeth Monoian and her architect husband Rob Ferry founded LAGI in 2008, to encourage the design of public art installations that also produce clean energy.
“Now, more than ever, energy and water are intertwined. As California faces severe water shortages in the coming years, the amount of energy required for water production and transmission is sure to increase,” the couple write on the competition website.
“As the infrastructures that will cleanly power our future productivity become more prevalent in our commercial and residential centres, the issue of their aesthetic integration becomes more important,” the founders argue.
“Power plants, once unseen and forgotten, will become an integral part of our daily lives.”
The other entries in this year’s contest include a balloon sightseeing ride that generates solar power, a 40-metre high orb that appears to float on the Pacific, and giant swan sculptures that convert wave power into clean energy. The winner will be announced on 6 October. |
Dozens of people scrambled at Mercy Corps headquarters in Old Town today, organizing the agency's emergency response effort for Haiti.
"Our office has been nuts," said Caitlin Carlson, a spokeswoman for the group. "Everyone has been on the phone, on Skype and on email constantly. All of our staff is really experienced in dealing with an inundation of information so it's a little bit of controlled chaos."
The group will send a four-person team to Haiti from three separate cities. Two people — program manager Gene Kunze and multimedia specialist Cassandra Nelson — will leave from Portland. Richard Jacquot, who speaks French and is specialized in emergency response, will leave from Medford. Jenny Vaughn, who provides technical support, will leave from Boston.
They will all convene in the Dominican Republic where they will rent a car, stock up on supplies and drive overland to Haiti.
Once in the capital, Port-au-Prince, they will assess the needs of the impoverished country which lacks supplies even in good times.
"We'll get boots on the ground and things into people hands," Carlson said. "Food, and clean water — that's a huge thing. Shelter is going to be huge too because the earthquake damaged a lot of homes."
The agency has confronted similar situations in the past.
"We have a lot of experience with earthquakes," Carlson said. "We've responded to five or six in the past five or six years."
She said the damage in Haiti, which was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, is similar to the devastation caused by the May 2008 earthquake in southwest China. The 7.9 magnitude quake tumbled buildings and killed more than 80,000 people.
The group has set up a Haiti earthquake fund. To contribute call 888-256-1900 or visit the group's Web site.
-- Lynne Terry |
Something fishy may be happening in the e-book world.
Apple, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group Inc., Simon & Schuster Inc., Macmillan Publishers, and HarperCollins Publishers have just been slapped with a class action anti-trust lawsuit.
The Hagens Berman law firm of northern California is bringing the suit and the plaintiffs – according to the Hagens Berman website – are Anthony Petru of California and Marcus Mathis of Mississippi.
Hagens Berman claims that Apple and the five publishers colluded to drive up e-book prices and eliminate Amazon's lead in the e-book market. Amazon previously sold e-books at $9.99, for less money than the physical books cost and often at a loss in order to drive up demand for e-books and thus, the Amazon Kindle.
The plaintiffs believe that Apple, about to release the iPad that it hoped with compete with the Kindle as an e-reader, and publishers, annoyed at Amazon's low prices, worked together to force Amazon to drive up prices. They did this by forcing Amazon to stop using discount pricing and start using the agency model.
The agency model allows publishers to set prices for their e-books, with the online store taking a portion of the price. Previously Amazon had bought e-books from publishers and set its own low prices. In the agency model, according to Ars Technica, Amazon would not be allowed to sell e-books at prices lower than those set by the publishers. Since the publishers in question supposedly control 85% of the popular books on Amazon, it was inevitable that Amazon would have to raise e-book prices – and it since has.
If the Hagens Berman claims are true, then Apple and five publishers are guilty of collusion and violating anti-trust laws by preventing free trade and driving up prices.
It sounds like a good argument, but where's the proof?
Unfortunately for Apple, there might be some. A conversation between Apple founder, Steve Jobs, and Walt Mossberg from The Wall Street Journal at the unveiling of the iPad was documented in The New Yorker, and shows evidence that Apple knew about Amazon's price hike before it happened, reports Ars Technica. Mossberg apparently asked Jobs why anyone would pay more for an e-book from Apple when they could pay less and get it from Amazon. Jobs said that the price difference would soon be eliminated because publishers were unhappy with Amazon's low pricing.
If the case is approved, Hagens Berman says the lawsuit would cover anyone who has purchased an e-book from Amazon after the price hike and seeks to stop the agency pricing model as well as claim as damages all the illegal profits made by the six defendants.
That could means tens of millions of dollars being paid out by Apple and the five publishers.
However, there are a few odd things about this lawsuit. One is that the plaintiffs are two seemingly unconnected people from different parts of the US. If this really is an anti-trust issue, why aren't Amazon or the FTC bringing it to court?
Another is that Apple allows iPad owners to download Kindle apps onto their iPads, basically allowing Amazon to sell its e-books on the iPad. Doesn't sound much like competition. Furthermore, many of Amazon's e-books are still priced at $9.99 or well below.
In the eyes of some observers, this looks more like an attempt by Hagens Berman to pull in some billable hours than a serious lawsuit based on irrefutable proof. But only time (and the courts) will tell if there is an actual case to be had here.
Megan Wasson is a Monitor contributor.
Join the Monitor's book discussion on Facebook and Twitter. |
Tropical peat swamp forests, which once occupied large swaths of Southeast Asia and other areas, provided a significant “sink” that helped remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But such forests have been disappearing fast due to clear-cutting and drainage projects making way for plantations. Now, research shows peatlands face another threat, as climate change alters rainfall patterns, potentially destroying even forested peatlands that remain undrained.
The net result is that these former carbon sinks, which have taken greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, are now net carbon sources, instead accelerating the planet’s warming.
The findings are described this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a paper by MIT Professor Charles Harvey, research scientist Alexander Cobb, and seven others at MIT and other institutions.
“There is a tremendous amount of peatland in Southeast Asia, but almost all of it has been deforested,” says Harvey, who is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and has been doing research on that region for several years. Once deforested and drained, the peatland dries out, and the organic (carbon-containing) soil oxidizes and returns to the atmosphere. Sometimes the exposed peat can actually catch fire and burn for extended periods, causing massive clouds of air pollution.
Tropical peatlands may contain as much carbon as the amount consumed in nearly a decade of global fossil fuel use, and raging peat fires in Indonesia alone have been estimated in some years to contribute 10 to 40 percent as much greenhouse gas to the atmosphere as all the world’s fossil fuel burning. Tropical peatlands, unlike those in temperate zones that are dominated by sphagnum moss, are forested with trees that can tower to 150 feet, and peat fires can sometimes ignite forest fires that consume these as well. (Peat that gets buried and compressed underground is the material that ultimately turns to coal).
Harvey and his team have found one of the last undisturbed tropical peat forests, in the nation of Brunei on the island of Borneo. “We found this site that still has peat growing,” he says, partly because that petroleum-rich nation has been able to resist the economic draw of the palm-oil market. “It is remarkable how much the peat forests are just gone everywhere else.”
By studying this undisturbed tract, he says, the researchers were able to see how peatlands function under normal conditions, to provide a baseline for better understanding as the lands change. “The long-term motivator for this work,” he says, is that “if we could understand how these peat forests actually accumulate peat, maybe we could preserve some of them or regenerate peat forest on damaged land.”
In order to get accurate ongoing measurements of conditions in the peatland, from the water table on up to the forest canopy, the team built an observation tower by taking sections of old, kilometer-long oil pipeline and pounding them vertically deep into the soft ground. Getting into the site from the coast to collect data and maintain the facility required a long boat trip along a crocodile-inhabited river followed by an hours-long trek through the forest.
When peatland forests are cut down and drained, the water table in the area drops. But most of these peatlands, Harvey says, “are pretty close to sea level. By midcentury, that land may be lost” due to sea-level rise. Encroachment of saltwater into peatland that had formerly been saturated with freshwater could kill off trees and other vegetation. In addition, changes in rainfall patterns that may occur as a result of climate change — with rainfall more concentrated in rainy and dry seasons rather than evenly distributed — could kill off many of the trees that dominate these lands.
The study revealed significant aspects of the way peatlands form and grow that could be important for evaluating future effects of climate change or land-use changes. For example, they found that the peat forms domes whose growth is greatest at the center and tapers off toward the edges. That means that if measurements of peat accumulation were taken near the center and used to extrapolate an overall accumulation rate, that could result in a severe overestimate of that area’s ability to sequester greenhouse gases.
The team obtained these results by constructing a quantitative model for the balance of carbon uptake (due to photosynthesis) and carbon loss (due to microbial respiration of the peat soil). When these fluxes are balanced, the peatland is at equilibrium, neither growing nor subsiding. Photosynthetic productivity of peat swamp forests is relatively constant, but the net loss of carbon from the underlying peat depends strongly on the depth of the water table, which rises and falls with rainfall and discharge from the peatland into rivers. The new study describes how peatlands evolve toward a specific dome-shaped topography that sheds water to rivers at a rate such that the carbon loss matches the carbon uptake, and the peatland reaches a stable shape.
This particular peat forest, Harvey says, has an upper canopy made up almost entirely of one species of 150-foot trees, known as Shorea albida, with other species about half that height making up a second, lower canopy. Those trees bore seeds two years ago, he says, but nobody knows how often they do so, and some species can go multiple decades between seed-producing years, so there’s no way to know how long it may take for these peatlands to expand or regenerate.
“This is a very important paper,” says Nigel Roulet, a professor of biogeoscience and chair of the Department of Geography at McGill University in Montreal, who was not involved in this work. “It’s a paper that will help with the development of management strategies for one of the last great carbon deposits in the world that we want to keep out of the atmosphere.”
Roulet points out that “one-third of all the carbon that has gone into the atmosphere since the 1700s is from land-use change,” at locations including these tropical peat lands, which contain “so much carbon that it’s globally significant.” Figuring out how to restore such tropical peatlands, which requires understanding how they form and grow, is key to trying to reverse some of these changes, he says.
The research team included graduate student Alison Hoyt at MIT, Laure Gandois at the University of Toulouse, Jangarun Erl of the Forestry Department in Brunei, Rene Dommain of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Kamariah Abu Salim of the University of Brunei Darussalam, Fuu Ming Kai of the Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (where lead-author Cobb is now based), and Hur Sallah Haji Su’ut of the Brunei Darussalam Heart of Borneo Center. The work was supported the National Research Foundation Singapore through the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, the Environmental Solutions Initiative at MIT, and the National Science Foundation. |
Oh, you mean government did build that? Oops.
Well, the Romney campaign did it again. Another day, another set of local business owners cited by the Mitt camp as having gotten where they are without the help of government exposed as hugely dependent on government.
And this one, via the Tampa Bay Times, isn't even subtle:
The point of the 11 a.m. news conference was to stress that small business owners succeed because of their own grit and determination and don't need government to do it. [...] In Tampa, the campaign spotlighted Rebecca Smith, owner of the construction company A.D. Morgan Corp., and Lou Ramos, owner of Value Enterprise Solutions, an information technology company.
The A.D. Morgan Corporation employs 50 people and has annual revenues of about $80 million, according to its website. The company lists more than 130 projects and developments. Impressive, no doubt. But the list is nearly all government projects. [...] "We're not going to have an opportunity in the private sector, they have a tendency to use lump sum, low bid," Smith said, explaining how government bids work. "So by virtue of what it is that we do, we go to the client base that purchases construction services that way."
As for Ramos, his company's Facebook page describes Value Enterprise Solutions as "providing value added service/education to businesses, local government, federal government, Department of Defense, and industry contract organizations." [...] In the Air Force for 24 years, Ramos dismissed the role it played in providing him the training and expertise to run his business today. "It wasn't handed to me," Ramos said. "I worked my butt off. My military experience taught me integrity. But that didn't come from the government."
Well, that sounds fine, then. John Galt would be proud. Wait—but what's this?So the company can't compete in the private sector, and deals almost exclusively in government-backed projects, but the owner is outraged that Obama would imply that government helps businesses. And here's the other one:Oh, gawd. Keep in mind, this is after an entire week of ads events that similarly featured businesses that had received very direct help from the government . It appears that the Mitt Romney campaign is supported almost entirely by people whose businesses have received taxpayer money but are so arrogant that they're not willing to admit it. He's gone on a nationwide hunt to find Republican business owners who will feign outrage at Obama's suggestion that businesses are helped by government, and he apparently can find few to no actual businessmen in his camp who don't collect money directly from the freaking government?
So far, the only thing we have learned about businesspeople who support Romney is that they appear to uniformly be gigantic, self-aggrandizing, self-entitled assholes. Wow, what are the odds. |
All observations in astronomy are based on light (electromagnetic radiation) emitted from stars and galaxies and, according to the general theory of relativity, the light will be affected by gravity. At the same time all interpretations in astronomy are based on the correctness of the theory of relatively, but it has been difficult to accurately test Einstein's theory of gravity on scales larger than the solar system. Now astrophysicists at the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute have managed to measure how the light is affected by gravity on its way out of galaxy clusters. The observations confirm the theoretical predictions.
The results have been published in the scientific journal, Nature.
Observations of large distances in the universe are based on measurements of the redshift, which is a phenomenon where the wavelength of the light from distant galaxies is shifted more and more towards the red with greater distance. The redshift indicates how much the universe has expanded from when the light left until it was measured on Earth. Furthermore, according to Einstein's general theory of relativity, the light and thus the redshift is also affected by the gravity from large masses like galaxy clusters and causes a gravitational redshift of the light. But the gravitational influence on light has never before been measured on a cosmological scale.
"It is really wonderful. We live in an era with the technological ability to actually measure such phenomena as cosmological gravitational redshift," says astrophysicist Radek Wojtak, Dark Cosmology Centre under the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.
Galaxy clusters in the searchlight
Radek Wojtak, together with colleagues Steen Hansen and Jens Hjorth, has analysed measurements of light from galaxies in approximately 8,000 galaxy clusters. Galaxy clusters are accumulations of thousands of galaxies, held together by their own gravity. This gravity affects the light being sent out into space from the galaxies.
The researchers have studied the galaxies lying in the middle of the galaxy clusters and those lying on the periphery and measured the wavelengths of the light.
"We could measure small differences in the redshift of the galaxies and see that the light from galaxies in the middle of a cluster had to 'crawl' out through the gravitational field, while it was easier for the light from the outlying galaxies to emerge," explains Radek Wojtak.
Then he measured the entire galaxy cluster's total mass and with that got the gravitational potential. By using the general theory of relativity he could now calculate the gravitational redshift for the different locations of the galaxies.
"It turned out that the theoretical calculations of the gravitational redshift based on the general theory of relativity was in complete agreement with the astronomical observations. Our analysis of observations of galaxy clusters show that the redshift of the light is proportionally offset in relation to the gravitational influence from the galaxy cluster's gravity. In that way our observations confirm the theory of relativity," explains Radek Wojtak.
New light on the dark universe
The discovery has significance for the phenomena in the universe that researchers are working to unravel. It is the mysterious dark universe -- dark matter and dark energy.
In addition to the visible celestial bodies like stars, planets and galaxies, the universe consists of a large amount of matter, which researchers can work out that it must be there, but which cannot be observed as it neither emits nor reflects light. It is invisible and is therefore called dark matter. No one knows what dark matter is, but they know what the mass and thus the gravity must be. The new results for gravitational redshift do not change the researchers' modelling for the presence of dark matter.
Another of the main components of the universe is dark energy, which according to the theoretical models acts like a kind of vacuum that causes the expansion of the universe to accelerate. According to the calculations, which are based on Einstein's theory of relativity, dark energy constitutes 72 percent of the structure of the universe. Many alternative theories try to explain the accelerating expansion without the presence of dark energy.
Theory tested on a large scale
"Now the general theory of relativity has been tested on a cosmological scale and this confirms that the general theory of relativity works and that means that there is a strong indication for the presence of dark energy," explains Radek Wojtak.
The new gravitation results thus contribute a new piece of insight to the understanding of the hidden, dark universe and provide a greater understanding of the nature of the visible universe. |
Were you also looking for H-295 Forward Observer Module?
Target Locator Production information Manufacturer Misriah Armory Model H-165 FOM Type Laser designator Cost N/A Technical specifications Size Single-handed Damage Per Hit Extremely High Magazine Size 1 (7 missiles per magazine) Maximum Ammunition 3 (Campaign and Firefight)
3 (Unearthed) Ammunition Type Orbital missiles Operation 7 missile salvo Rate of Fire Very low Usage Era(s) Human-Covenant war Affiliation United Nations Space Command [Source] • [Talk]
The H-165 Forward Observer Module, also known as the Target Locator[1] or Target Designator,[2] is a United Nations Space Command artillery fire designator. The Target Locator is a compact, handheld laser emitter designed for acquiring and designating targets for small-scale precision rocket artillery support. Although small, it is a very powerful weapons[3][4] While similar in function to the UNSC Laser Designator, the Target Locator is much smaller and can be held with one hand. The Target Locator has both 2x and 4x magnification.
The Target Locator appears as a weapon in Halo: Reach. When the trigger is held down for several seconds, a green laser beam marks the targets, and a red circle is projected on the ground around the target area. Once the target has been locked, 7 missiles strike the designated area from above, doing a large amount of area damage.[5]
The Target Locator can also lock onto an individual target, with the projected red circle following the target until the strike is about to commence.
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Trivia Edit
Destroying two vehicles with a single fire mission from the Target Locator in the mission ONI: Sword Base unlocks the Achievement Two Corpses in One Grave. This is similar to the Halo 3 Achievement Two for One, which is unlocked by earning a Double Kill with the Spartan Laser, another anti-vehicular specific weapon.
Achievement Two for One, which is unlocked by earning a Double Kill with the Spartan Laser, another anti-vehicular specific weapon. On Campaign, it rarely can regenerate its ammo.
The Target Locator is available only in Firefight and the Campaign mission ONI: Sword Base. It does not appear in Matchmaking or Forge for balancing reasons.
The Target Locator available on the Firefight map Unearthed carries three shots instead of two.
If infinite ammunition is enabled, the Target Locator will still deplete but, if it has zero shots remaining and the reticle has become a cross, one can continue to fire the Target Locator and HUD rings will appear on the ground as if a target had been designated. However, no rounds will impact the ground. Also, If bottomless clip is enabled, the Target Locator can still create HUD rings on the ground while it is reloading without any cooldown, though no rounds will impact the ground if another location is already designated.
Even when the Target Locator's fire missions are depleted, a player can still pick them up. This may be because the gun is so rare that it was never programmed to not be equipable. After every round in Firefight, if the player still holds the Target Locator, 2 shots will be added. This may also explain why it can be picked up after being emptied.
The fire mission is composed of seven missiles, another reference to Bungie's frequent usage of their favorite number, seven.
Upon acquiring a target lock with the locator, a radio message will often be received by the player from the artillery crew such as "target acquired" or "fire for effect." The phrase "Firing FPF One" can also be heard, and is likely an altered replay of the conversation in Exodus .
. After a certain period of time (usually several minutes), an additional shot will be added to the locator. This is only available in the level, ONI: Sword Base [ citation needed ] . During Firefight, additional shots will be added only after the completion of a round.
. A common exploit among players on ONI: Sword Base is to wait for a checkpoint and target a swarm of enemies. After having all enemies killed, granting a large kill streak and a sum of credits, the player would restart the checkpoint and repeat the same action. This would grant players infinite credits if continued, though this exploit has been patched and the weapon can no longer grant credit bonuses during campaign levels to prevent cheating. This is called "Credit Farming."
For some reason, the player's character will grunt or make a sound of pain when the target locator is fully charged and locked, most likely because the recharge time uses similar game mechanics as an overheating weapon, such as a Spartan Laser.
Targeting a Phantom is nearly useless, as one strike will not destroy it, and there is rarely time to target it again.
There is a rare chance a player can target a large projectile
The H-165 Forward Observer Module is used primarily for close air support and air interdiction.
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This offseason, Shutdown Corner will travel down memory lane with a series of stories presenting some interesting and sometimes forgotten stories from the NFL’s past. Join us as we relive some of the greatest and craziest moments in the sport’s history.
On its own, it’s a pretty remarkable sight in the clip above: A kicker retrieving his own blocked field-goal attempt, scooping up the loose ball and running it in for a walk-off touchdown.
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That doesn’t happen every day in the NFL, after all. But it’s the back story that makes Chester Marcol’s 1980 touchdown against the rival Chicago Bears one of the most WTF moments in modern league history.
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Marcol entered the league in 1972, a Polish-born kicker whose family left their home country after his father committed suicide. He arrived at high school in Imlay City, Michigan (30 miles east of Flint) not knowing a lick of English, but a gym teacher discovered that Marcol could kick the heck out of a soccer ball.
Once Marcol was introduced to football and taught how to kick that oblique spheroid, a great talent was transformed. He went down the road to kick for then-NAIA Hillsdale College, where he went on to set several school kicking marks and become a four-time All-American. He made a 62-yarder in 1969 (a year before Tom Dempsey made a 63-yarder in the NFL) and attempted an unheard-of 77-yard try against St. Norbert (which just happened to be where the Packers held training camp at the time) that reportedly came up a few yards short.
Story continues
Packers head coach Dan Devine thought enough of Marcol to spend a second-round pick (34th overall) on him, and Marcol rewarded him by making Pro Bowls in two of his first three seasons and being named 1972 NFC Rookie of the Year after making 33 field goals in 14 games and leading the NFL in scoring that season.
Green Bay Packers kicker Chester Marcol was the NFL’s leading scorer as a rookie in 1972 (Photo by Nate Fine/Getty Images)
His efforts that season against the Chicago Bears endeared him to the locals. He beat them with late field goals in both games and frustrated Bears coach Abe Gibron so much that he handpicked special-teams ace Gary Kosins as a mercenary to go after Marcol on kickoffs to try to knock him off his block.
“What do they think he is, a Polish prince?” Gibron scoffed?
With that a nickname — and a legend — was born.
Marcol became a folk hero in Wisconsin, and its Polish community embraced him even tighter. His rise to stardom was meteoric, and on the outside he loved the newfound attention. But on the inside there were demons.
“I could go home after kicking three or four field goals and missing one, and it would take me til 4 or 5 o’clock [in the morning] to fall asleep,” Marcol told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in 2002. “I would sit at the kitchen table and rethink the whole game over and over.”
His effectiveness and usage dropped off a bit as the decade wore on, especially after Bart Starr took over as head coach, but Marcol was thrust into a key situation on Opening Day in 1980. It was knotted at 6-6 in sudden-death overtime against those rival Bears up at Lambeau Field, and the 31-year-old Marcol had made two field-goal attempts — from 41 and 46 yards — to that point.
Marcol lined up for a 34-yard try to win the game for the Packers. The snap and hold appear good. Marcol thumped the ball — and then there was a second thump. That was the sound of the Bears’ Alan Page, who had burst through the line, blocking the kick. But in an instant, the ball ended up back in the oversized hands of Marcol — hands that might have made him a goalie had he stayed in Poland — as he streaked freely toward an area kickers rarely ventured.
It was sheer chaos. The Bears were stunned. So was nearly everyone else in the stadium that moment.
Likely none more than Marcol himself. He raced to the end zone, escorted by a convoy of blockers, and the Polish Prince had once more beaten the Bears — but this time in stunning fashion: by scoring what would be marked down in the box score as a game-ending 25-yard blocked field-goal return. The bespectacled Marcol had scored all the Packers’ points in a 12-6 overtime stunner.
This might have been the football equivalent of Casimir Pulaski saving the life of George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine to any proud, Polish-blooded Packers fan.
Professionally speaking, it was Marcol’s finest hour. He clutched his game-winning ball as he was mobbed on the field by teammates. Lambeau went bananas. (“It’s bedlam!” said CBS play-by-play announcer Lindsey Nelson.) Tears streamed down Marcol’s face. Starr handed him the game ball in the locker room. His heart raced underneath his perspiration-soaked uniform as he led the team in prayer. But part of that — and what also made it his darkest moment — might also have been because of the cocaine Marcol had snorted at halftime.
No one yet knew it, but Marcol was becoming addicted to the drug he had tried for the first time just a few weeks prior. So much so that he felt the need to use it during a game.
In his 2011 autobiography, “Alive and Kicking,” Marcol detailed the downward spiral of his life when he first tried coke. He described in this book excerpt what happened before his magical run that hadn’t been known until the book came out:
“I had gone into the bathroom at halftime and while the coaches and players were preparing for the second half, I snorted coke. I don’t know if it would be accurate to say I was high when I scored that touchdown two hours later, but I definitely was under the influence. “It’s not something I’m proud to admit. But it happened, and to tell the story of my touchdown without including the part about the cocaine would not be an honest account.”
Later in that season, despite Marcol’s heroics, Starr cut him — under the auspice of his kickoff distances being too short. But the Packers had been tipped off to his cocaine usage, and they already knew he was a big drinker. Marcol would freely admit later he was by that point an alcoholic.
In a strange twist of coincidence, Marcol was still in Green Bay the week he was cut when the Houston Oilers came to town and they realized late in the week that their kicker was too hurt to play. They signed Marcol, who made a field goal in the 22-3 Oilers victory, but he missed two of his three extra-point attempts and was cut after the game. It would be his final game in the NFL.
By 1986, Marcol was a complete mess. He attempted suicide by ingesting a cocktail of battery acid, rat poison, and vodka, and though he lived Marcol’s esophagus was so badly damaged that it must be stretched three times a year by a painful procedure that involves pushing progressively larger tubes down his throat.
Although Marcol struggled with his sobriety for years, he currently works as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor at Phoenix House in the Upper Peninsula in the town of Calumat, Michigan. Still, years of abuse have taken their toll — Marcol, 66, suffers from hepatitis C and heart problems.
But he’s a member of the Packers Hall of Fame and, most importantly, a survivor. The Polish Prince also will never not be known for his incredible touchdown run — one veiled by his then-hidden addiction — but it’s a story with an ending that he can be proud of. Even if it’s one that’s one of the more bizarre we’ve ever heard.
Previous Shutdown Corner NFL throwback stories: Joe Montana’s underrated toughness | Barry Sanders’ long-forgotten final game | Jake Delhomme’s playoff nightmare | Barry Switzer, outspoken as ever | Was Sebastian Janikowski worth a first-round pick? | How Jim Harbaugh punching Jim Kelly helped Colts land Peyton Manning | Jay Cutler makes the greatest throw ever | “Has anyone ever kissed your Super Bowl rings?” | How the Patriots once faced a fourth-and-63 | The Packers survived a miserable two-decade run | “NFL PrimeTime” changed how we watch football | One of pro football’s greatest games happened in the crazy USFL | The time Warren Moon should have had 650 yards in an NFL game | In 1979, Lyle Alzado boxed against Muhammad Ali. Seriously | Meet the NFL team that lost its only game before folding | In 1969 the NFL demanded Joe Namath sell his bar, so he retired | Let’s Ram It! An oral history of 1985 Los Angeles Rams’ rap song | The historic AFL-NFL merger 50 years ago | Was O.J. Simpson’s 1973 the best season in NFL history? | Hertz made advertising history with O.J. Simpson’s airport runs | Before they were coaches, Bill Cowher once broke Jeff Fisher’s leg | The man who turned down the NFL because of his religious beliefs | The short list of players drafted by the NFL and NBA | The crazy story behind Steve Young’s crazy 43-year USFL contract | When NFL players fought Andre the Giant and others at WrestleMania | Joe Delaney’s legacy still strong, 33 years after he died trying to save others
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! |
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Jets' already depleted secondary could take another turn depending on the condition of cornerback Antonio Allen. The Jets starter, who was converted from safety this season because the position was already so depleted, had to be taken out of the locker room on a cart with an apparent leg injury.
Allen played the entire game, but appeared to struggle afterward. The Jets didn’t provide an update to the cornerback’s condition.
Jets rookie safety Calvin Pryor left the 24-17 loss to the Lions with a quad injury, and wide receiver David Nelson soon followed with an injured ankle.
Pryor was at his locker after the game and said his status would be day to day, and that he sustained the injury by taking a helmet to his leg on a hit. Nelson said he would be evaluated Monday and walked out of the locker room on his own.
Nose tackle Damon Harrison left the game briefly with an ankle injury, but returned.
Despite an injured hamstring, wide receiver Eric Decker played the entire game. Decker noted his drops and speculated that reduced practice time during the week because of the injury could have been a factor. Decker said he felt “all right” during the game.
The Jets have had issue keeping a full group at cornerback and wide receiver so far this year, and it looks like the health of those same position groups could be the focus of the upcoming week. |
My friend Scott Johnson of Power Line has a column today in the Christian Science Monitor on the history of redistributionism and its links to the income tax. Barack Obama’s accidentally revealing answer to Joe the Plumber this week did not occur in a historical vacuum. In fact, the history of the income tax shows it to be just the kind of instrument Obama describes, with much the same intent:
Until the Civil War, the idea of a tax on individual incomes would have seemed preposterous to most Americans. Only as an emergency wartime measure did Congress adopt an income tax in the 1860s, and the measure was allowed to lapse with little fanfare in 1872. The modern income tax begins with the Progressive era in American politics. In an influential 1889 article titled “The Owners of the United States,” crusading attorney Thomas Shearman argued that the lion’s share of the country’s wealth was in a limited number of hands. If an income tax were not adopted, he warned, within 30 years “the United States of America will be substantially owned” by fewer than 50,000 people. … Progressives condemned the Constitution as an instrument crafted by the rich to protect their selfish interests (J. Allen Smith), and a document rendered obsolete by intellectual progress in the century since its drafting (Woodrow Wilson). Frenzied attacks on “the rich” and “the wealthy” culminated in the ratification of the 16th Amendment in 1913, authorizing federal taxation of income from all sources without limit. The same year, historian Charles Beard published “An Economic Interpretation of the United States Constitution.” This book – later debunked – suggested that the Constitution was the handiwork of a propertied elite serving its own interests. Such sentiment has poisoned American political thought ever since.
Wilson is an interesting analogue to this campaign. Like Barack Obama, Wilson had little experience in electoral politics, having spent most of his career as an academic. Like Sarah Palin, he had two years of experience as a governor before running on a national ticket (the top half in Wilson’s case, obviously). Like John McCain, Wilson tried to push reform and limited government in opposition to his own party, and like Palin, had to fight a substantial state “machine” to get it, although Wilson was somewhat less successful than Palin.
In any event, the income tax passed almost a century ago was supposed to limit the influence of the rich by forcibly redistributing their wealth. One has to proclaim the redistribution, at least, as a success. As Scott writes, 40% of all income taxes get paid by the top 1% of filers, and those paid in total the same amount as the bottom 95% of all filers. We’ve grown so accustomed to the “progressive” tax system (which has two distinct and accurate meanings) that we no longer question whether this is actually good policy — at least not until a Joe the Plumber speaks up.
Obama is very fond of the number 95, especially in terms of percentages. We’ve had the progressive income tax for 95 years, and progressives still want to soak the rich even more than they do now. Has this succeeded in terms of efficient use of capital, or has it created a flabby, bureaucrat-ridden monster of a federal government to redistribute capital in about as costly a manner as can be imagined? The top 5% of American earners now provides half of the funds for the federal government; has that made them less influential, or more influential?
In a way, we hear the same excuse for the system’s failures as we heard from Communists after the fall of the Soviet Union. They claimed that true Communism had never been tried, and the redistributionists now claim that we have never done redistribution on a scale large enough for it to succeed. Both experiments show that both concepts are failures in and of themselves. What’s more, redistributionism opposes the American foundational concept of private property and assumes that all property essentially belongs to the government, which then allows citizens to keep a share — a share determined by bureaucrats in Washington.
It’s time to end this experiment, and send the redistributionists packing. |
Leaning back in his office chair Thursday morning with one foot against his desk, Rex Ryan gave a thumbs-up to the Buffalo Bills' aggressive moves during the first week of free agency and was unafraid to add his unfiltered take on Buffalo's division rival, the New England Patriots.
“I feel pretty good about what we’ve added," Ryan told Toronto's SportsNet 590. "So we'll see. ... I think the conference really got stronger. If anything, it currently doesn’t look – if you can say winners and losers in free agency – obviously New England had to cut quite a few players.
"So obviously they don’t look as strong as they did. I certainly hope they’re not. They just got through winning the Super Bowl. But I believe the rest of the division really has got stronger. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I truly believe that we got stronger.”
The Bills have been one of the NFL's most active teams this offseason, trading for running back LeSean McCoy and Matt Cassel while signing wide receiver Percy Harvin, fullback Jerome Felton and quarterback Tyrod Taylor. They also brought back defensive end Jerry Hughes and special-teams ace Marcus Easley on long-term deals.
Yet the Bills' aggression has been matched by their opponents in the AFC East: The Miami Dolphins splurged on defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and the New York Jets made cornerback Darrelle Revis the centerpiece of an overhauled secondary.
Revis, of course, is the Patriots' most significant departure this offseason, but he hasn't been alone: New England did not pick up 2015 options on defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and cornerback Brandon Browner, making them both free agents. They did, however, re-sign top safety Devin McCourty. |
For years, Andreas struggled to let go of the childhood physical and emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. For him, the verbal abuse was the worst.
“I would have taken a beating any day than to be told that, ‘You’re a piece of s—t,’” said Andreas, who asked we not use his last name. “A punch heals; words don’t. Words stick with you for a long time.”
Years of conventional talk therapy did little to help. And as time passed, the traumatic memories became more and more intrusive.
“I found myself in self-destructive patterns – drug abuse, just not taking care of myself,” he said. “I had violent outbursts that would happen a lot, too.”
Then, one of the therapists he was seeing made a surprising suggestion: Andreas would perhaps get more out of therapy if he was under the influence of drugs, specifically psychedelics. He gave Andreas a number to call.
“[I] set up an interview, sat down, talked, and decided that this is something I wanted to pursue,” he said.
Andreas had stumbled into an underground world of therapists and self-described healers who are treating traumatic memories with the help of drugs, like MDMA, LSD and psilocybin. After just a few sessions of treatment with MDMA, Andreas says the anger and resentment he’d felt towards his father for decades just melted away.
“You realize that you're not that scared kid anymore. All those defense mechanisms that you built up when you were a child, you don't need that anymore,” he said. “You're not under threat from your father anymore. You haven't even seen your father in 40 years, what are you scared about?”
Andreas says the therapy changed his life, and that he is no longer trapped in the past.
“No matter what can get thrown at you, you realize that it's really not that big of a deal,” he said. “As long as you're breathing, it's OK.” |
A/N: Two posts this week! Because if I ever want to finish this generation before college starts up next fall, I have to start posting more. But hey, at least I’m out of school now! Hopefully that means I can keep the posts coming. Enjoy 🙂
I just wanted to go home.
And in the heat of the moment, that was the first place my mind turned to. But it wasn’t a bad place to go. Dad and Mackenzie were here, and so were the unicorns. They could heal us.
With a flash of light, Vox and I appeared in the corner of the living room. He appeared to have lost consciousness again during the teleport. Either that or he was…
“Dad! Come here!” I whipped my head around and found Mackenzie standing in the doorway.
“Mac!” I squealed. Carefully setting Vox aside, I jumped up and ran to hug her. “I missed you.”
“Is this real life right now?” she laughed. “I can’t believe you’re actually back – wait, who’s he?”
We broke apart as she stared at Vox. Her expression wasn’t exactly approving.
“There’s a lot to explain,” I said truthfully. More than you could ever imagine…
“What is it, honey?” A tired voice spoke from the door.
Dad. Stubble covered his face now and black rings surrounded his eyes. His clothes, though dressy, were wrinkled and a small red stain sat on his left sleeve. His gaze skimmed over the room and finally rested on Vox.
He silently thought-spoke to the unicorns, then said to Mackenzie, “Get him in a bed so the unicorns can take a look.”
And then he noticed me.
“Karissa?” he gasped hoarsely. “Where have you been? I-”
He glanced back at Vox, looking thoroughly perplexed.
“Long story, dad.” As I spoke, the click of heels against the wood floor alerted me to Lily’s presence. I heard her stop short and gasp, then smiled as she yanked me and dad into a group hug.
“I told you not to give up hope,” she chided. “I knew Karissa would come back to us safe and sound.”
“Hmph,” dad grunted. He rested his head on top of mine, and I had the sneaking suspicion he was grinning.
After promising at least a million times that I would explain everything after dinner and a quick change of clothes, I headed upstairs to check on Vox. As I passed by one of the guest bedrooms, the door slammed open and a head of blonde hair came storming out.
I froze and instinctively shuddered. What was he doing here?
Duncan frowned, his eyes looking slightly unhinged and blazing anger, but he said nothing as he passed by me.
I let out the breath I had been holding and scurried down the hall.
“Why the hell is Duncan here?” I snapped to a room full of unicorns. One looked up, and I swear if she could roll her eyes, she would have.
The Prince has been looking after him ever since The Count returned to Earth, she thought to me.
“Seriously?” I groaned. I didn’t escape from Treznor just to be dumped in Duncan’s hands.
We can heal most of your friend’s injuries, but he will have to recover from the concussion on his own.
“Concussion?” I reached out and stroked Vox’s forehead, then realized I probably shouldn’t do that. “Is he still unconscious?”
“Nope.” Vox himself answered my question as his eyes flickered open and he squinted in the bright light.
“In that case, I’ll let you guys get to work,” I said to the unicorns. I wasn’t ready to face Vox yet.
“Wait! Don’t leave.” He reached out and caught the tip of my hand. His grip was so pathetically weak I couldn’t bring myself to push him aside.
“I can’t stay much longer. The unicorns have to heal you.”
“I… wanted to say that everything I said to you – all of it – was true.” He was looking at me so intently. I shuffled my feet a bit and looked away.
“Okay? What’s your point?”
His eyes lifted to the ceiling. “Remember that night… with the stars? I meant everything I did that night too.”
My heart surged. I felt a lump rise in my throat and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to cry or slap him. Snatching my hand away, I fled out the door.
***
“Hey Elubarin. Sorry about never teleporting back to your cabin. I, um… really wanted to go home.”
“Understandable.” There was a long pause on the other end of the line and I was starting to wonder if Elubarin understood the point of phones when he quietly added, “You went back for him, didn’t you?”
“I had to. But I don’t know if that was a good idea. Vox has a huge concussion and all he does is bring up stuff from the past.”
“Kinda like his mother,” Elubarin muttered. “Speaking of whom, there’s a section of the hospital that cares for mentally ill patients, so I took her there.”
“Good. Maybe once they’re both better Vox and her can work things out and go live together?”
He snorted. “I highly doubt that will-” There was a burst of static, then some muttering as the line went dead. Guess I shouldn’t trust a wizard with a cell phone…
A few days later
I was absent-mindedly throwing flakes of food in the fishbowl when dad approached. “Our visitor upstairs would like to see you – preferably today.”
“Why? Vox is confined to that bed until Dr. Unicorn says otherwise. I can’t do anything to help him.” Or maybe I was just avoiding him until I figured out if I could forgive him.
Dad smiled. “I don’t think that’s what he wants to talk about. He’s just lonely. Give him five minutes of your time.”
“We’re even now, what more do you want?” I said bitterly as I walked in. “We both saved each other so now we can go our separate ways.”
“Do you hate me?”
“What?” I took a step back.
“Do you? ‘Cause if you do, I can go find another bed to lie on so I’ll be out of your way. Forever.”
I sank on to the foot of the bed and sighed. As horrible as it sounds, it was tempting to say yes. I wouldn’t be in this mess anymore. No more vampires. But Vox looked so alone and lost. If I kicked him out, he would literally have no one else to turn to.
“Hate is a strong word…” I eventually said. “Confused is more accurate. I just need you to explain everything.”
“I don’t remember.” He spoke so quietly I could barely hear him. “I have no idea what Treznor did to me. I didn’t even remember beating you until this afternoon when the memory just randomly popped in my head.”
“Wow… Concussion’s that bad, huh?”
“Guess so. I can’t even remember what… Treznor did to…” He leaned forward woozily and rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t remember…”
“Alright, I think I’ve stayed long enough for today,” I said, jumping off the bed. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
I left the room wondering if things could ever go back to normal.
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Roy Hodgson’s men became the first England team to win all of their European qualifiers. Does this mean they are nailed on to go far in France 2016? We look at the five other teams who have done this in the past and see how they performed during the finals.
Spain Euro 2012 – Winners
Spain are the only team in the history of the tournament to win the tournament after winning all qualification games. They won their group but could only manage a draw on their opening fixture of the group stages. They then went on to beat France 2-0 in the quarter finals, Portugal on Penalties before thumping Italy 4-0 in the final to lift the trophy.
Germany Euro 2012 – Semi Finals
Germany were also unbeaten heading into the Euro 2012 finals. They also managed to win all three group games against Portugal, Denmark and Holland. A convincing 4-2 victory over Greece in the quarter finals set up a semi final with Italy. However they lost the game 2-1 thanks to a Mario Balotelli brace.
France Euro 2004 – Quarter Finals
France won all eight qualifying games in 2004 and only conceded two goals. The defending champions were poor throughout the group stages winning just one game. However they stumbled through to a quarter final against Spain. It was no suprise that they lost the game 2-0 given their poor group stage form which was a massive disappointment when you have the likes of Zidane and Henry in your team.
Somewhat good news so for England fans as it looks like they’ve guaranteed a quarter final or semi final spot based on the above teams. However, two teams with 100% records actually went on to exit at the group stages of the finals!
Czech Republic Euro 2000 – Group Stage
Czech Republic were the only team to win all qualifying games but were drawn in a tough group with Holland and France. This ultimately led to them being knocked out at the group stages within two games. Their group consisted of some poor teams which should send warning signals out to England fans – Lithuania, Estonia, Bosnia, Faroe Islands and Scotland.
France Euro 1992 – Group Stage
After failing to qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy the French side were pleased to go unbeaten in qualifying for Euro 1992. However, Michel Platini’s men joined England in the finals and were knocked out in the group stages where Denmark and Sweden advanced.
How far do you think England will get in Euro 2016?
Don’t forget we’ll have free Euro 2016 tips for all playoff qualifiers and finals from France.
Add the England invincibles graphic to your website by copying and pasting the following embed code: |
By Song Zhibiao, Qiao Mu, and Mo Zhixu, published: January 6, 2016
As the year 2015 was drawing to its end, a new expression was born on China’s social media: “the Zhaos” (“赵家人”). New phrases pop up regularly online in China, but “the Zhaos” has been hailed as revolutionary. Never has an expression captured the essence of China’s politics and economy with such pithiness and precision—that a class of people thinks China belongs to them, acts like its owner, and is indeed the owner. Compared to the phrase “your country,” (an inversion of the official reference to China as “our country”) which has been in vogue for a while, “the Zhaos” brings into focus a critical divide that has never been encapsulated. It is, many believe, destined to permanently enter the Chinese lexicon. This article presents a compilation of explanations and uses of the expression, and its social and political interpretations. — The Editors
Who are “the Zhaos”?
The now-popular term came from Lu Xun’s “The True Story of Ah Q.” Young Master Zhao passed the local civil service examination, and when Ah Q, who thought himself a Zhao, sung his joy and happiness along with the others, Old Master Zhao slapped him hard in the face and said: “Do you think you’re worthy of the name Zhao?”
From here came the “the Zhao family,” or simply “the Zhaos,” which specifically refers to China’s powerful and rich families.
—Qiao Mu
In its original usage, “Do you think you’re worthy of the name Zhao?” expresses disdain at the lowly Ah Q attempting to associate himself with the rich and powerful. It was initially used on the Internet to ridicule “volunteer 50-centers” [a group of netizens who defend the Party online—and not even for payment]. As time went on, new terms and expressions evolved. For example, a new word for volunteer 50-center is “spiritual Zhaos” (“精赵”) meaning that they are Zhaos in spirit; whereas “real Zhao” (“真赵”) refers to a real Zhao family member; “the country of Zhao” (“赵国”) refers to China. As to who can be considered a real Zhao, generally speaking, the real Zhaos are the direct descendants of the generation of Chinese Communist Party leaders who established the communist system.
— Mo Zhixu
In addition to being used as a general term for rich and powerful families, the expression “the Zhaos” also has variations for subclasses of this group. First there is the term “Old Master Zhao,” which refers to the old generation of proletarian revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping who, despite having passed away, still command influence; next are the terms “Master Zhao” and “Young Master Zhao,” which include political big shots from the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao era, and their children, but mostly the princelings (红二代) and the emerging third generation (红三代). These people are in high positions in the military, Party, or government, or command key sectors of the economy by either monopolizing pillar industries such as energy, finance and telecom, or controlling capital and foreign trade. Directly or indirectly, many of China’s rich work for the Zhaos.
—Qiao Mu
Zhao’s ‘family members’
In addition to the Zhaos, there is the term Zhao “family members,” referring to the Zhao’s helpers, servants, and slaves. The Chinese military, although said to be the people’s military, is under the absolute leadership of the Party. So in addition to providing national defense and disaster relief, it will also shoot at the people in certain cases, such as the June 4 democracy movement, just to protect the power of the Zhaos (not former Party leader Zhao Ziyang, but “Old Master Zhao”). The public security apparatus, the procuratorial organs and the court system, on the other hand, are again officially recognized as the “knife handle,” a Cultural Revolution-era term that has been put to use over the last three years. Whenever disputes arise between officialdom and the citizenry, or between business interests and citizens relating to forced demolitions and relocations, or victims petitioning to higher levels of government, these agencies always side with the Zhaos and big business, and suppress the people.
The Zhao “family members” also include the media. Even though the media sector itself has been under suppression and operating without freedom of press, it takes orders from the official mouthpieces and thinks itself a Zhao family member, forever manufacturing dreams of harmony and “positive energy.” The Zhao family members also include many writers who are hangers-on to the Zhao family, always promoting and defending the Zhaos. These helpers and hangers-ons, whatever job they’re doing, all take their orders from the Zhaos and make their living from them.
Additionally, there are also the hired farm laborers and farmers who work their own land. How can there be hired farm hands in an industrial society? Take a look at the ways power is created and passed on in the Zhao family: the personality cult, the monopoly of land, the division between rich and poor, as well as the indifference to the rights and welfare of citizens, and you’ll see that China is still stuck in the agrarian stage of the Zhao State of the Warring States—or at best, a pre-industrial society.
The term “hired farmhands” refers to government functionaries, as well as the workers, staff, and small-time intellectuals working in state-run enterprises controlled by the Zhao family. They serve the Zhaos with their own labor, but are always lectured to and reminded that their rice bowls are bestowed upon them by the Zhao family, so they shouldn’t “break the pot that cooks their rice.”
“Farmers working on their own land” refer to employees of foreign or Chinese private companies, small entrepreneurs, and freelancers. They earn their living through their skills and abilities and don’t have to flatter the Zhaos—but they also don’t dare offend them. Not only are they excluded politically, they’re also subject to unfair economic competition. Neither are they free people: their taxes, household registrations, passports, and personal information are all in the hands of the Zhaos, used to punish them should they fail to obey.
Thus, the four types of people that make up the contemporary Zhao state are: The Zhaos, the Zhao helpers, the Zhao farmhands, and the small farmers who don’t dare offend the Zhao or its family.
— Qiao Mu
The deeper root of the expression ‘the Zhaos’
Even though the viral popularity of the term “the Zhaos” started with the Baoneng-Wanke fight (宝能万科之争), its deeper root lies elsewhere. In my view, its wide appeal comes mainly from the following:
During the last 20 years, the system has intensified its nationalist and ideological propaganda and education in order to fill the vacuum created by the collapse of communist ideology. These efforts have indeed succeeded in producing one group after another of hardcore, angry youth. The discourse about patriotism has been conducted through emotional images like “the motherland,” “the descendents of Emperors Yan and Huang,” “blood is thicker than water,” and “the descendants of the dragon,” etc., in order to promote an “imaginary community.” However, the current system of dictatorship is, first and foremost, built upon the deprivation of rights, particularly the deprivation of citizens’ political and civil rights. While the actual operations of market-based neo-totalitarianism have been established upon the rampant plundering of profit, and as this system of interest solidifies itself, division and opposition between those in the system and outside of the system grow increasingly deep. Under such circumstances, the notion of a “community” becomes increasingly hypocritical and suspicious. That netizens freely utter the ironic joke “Do you think you’re worthy of the name Zhao?” demonstrates their resistance to this hypocritical patriotic propaganda, as well as their dissatisfaction with the status quo.
On the other hand, “the Zhaos” control the Party, the government, and military. “The Zhaos” are everywhere. They are at all levels of the Chinese government bureaucracy, from the center to localities; they are inside the education system, the sciences, and the arts, as well as central and local state-owned enterprises. ‘The Zhaos” are also in control of the entire authoritarian regime, or the Party-state. This new version of dictatorship, upgraded through the adoption of the market economy, maintains total political, economic, social and cultural control and manifests itself through widespread deprivation of rights and the plundering of wealth. Based on this analysis, it’s obvious that the term “the Zhaos” reflects a collective psychological reaction to the current system, and grew out of the division and opposition between those in the system and those outside of it.
—Mo Zhixu
‘Them’ and ‘us’ – the confrontation emerges
Some things, for instance what’s been called the new “State Security Law,” seem a little confusing when you first hear of them. You think: “What the heck is this?” But when you rename it: “The Zhaos’ Security Law” — then it clears it up right away. There are many cases like that, for example: “The Zhaos’ sovereignty,” “the Zhaos’ Constitution,” “inciting subversion of the Zhaos,” and “imperialism hasn’t given up the wild ambition to overthrow the Zhaos.…”
— Jiao Xiao He
From a certain perspective, this term is a great victory against [the government’s] ideology campaign.
The theory of social collapse is the most important theoretical contribution of professor Sun Liping (孙立平), and the most original part of it is to establish the dichotomy of “them” and “us” (“他们”与“我们”). Many of us have probably heard or read Sun Liping’s lectures, but we didn’t quite get it at the time. Now that “the Zhaos” phrase has come out, suddenly everything makes sense.
The phrase “the Zhaos” makes the separation as clear as a cliff. It is itself an ideology and a challenge. As a term that suddenly emerges and enlightens, “the Zhaos” does more than what liberal intellectuals have been striving for for decades in China, by bringing into focus of the most imperceptible, the most perplexing, and the most carefully hidden subjects in Chinese political life.
For example, the state apparatus says “rule of law” all the time, but whose rule of law? “The Zhaos” has the answer. Also, whose “socialism?” Whose “socialist core values?” So on and so forth. “The Zhaos” answers them all.
Moreover, “The Zhaos” gives an effective answer to the question of whether or not there is a consensus in this country.
The one obvious fact is that the reality in China is a black-and-white binary reality. But some people are just so determined to find some so-called consensus. For instance, in terms of the drive for reform, they believe there can be a “consensus” that bridges “us” and “them.” In terms of ideology, they believe there can be a “consensus” that transcends the left and the right. With this so-called middle way, all manner of false hopes were born. But this term, “the Zhaos,” doesn’t see it that way. It is not interested in “consensus,” true or false; instead, it demarcates the boundary and shows that it is a chasm of bottomless depth.
— Song Zhibiao
Song Zhibiao is a former columnist with the Southern Metropolis Daily in Guangzhou. Qiao Mu is an associate professor of communications at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Mo Zhixu is a well-known dissident intellectual. All three live in China.
Sources:
宋志标：“赵家人”的前世今生 (The original post on WeChat has been censored.)
乔木： “赵国”四种人：赵家人、赵家的家人、赵家的雇农、自耕农
莫之许：党国天下赵家人
Related:
Leveling Criticism at China’s Elite, Some Borrow Words From the Past , The New York Times, January 5, 2015
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FXOpen Korean KOTH
Sunday, May 15 8:00am GMT (GMT+00:00)
Presenting the latest line of FXOpen e-Sports events, the FXOpen KOTH . This competition will see some of the best players across all three servers compete in a king of the hill style format where ladder points and $300 cash is up for grabs for players who accrue the most wins.This event is set to take place each weekend alternating between theandeach time and featuring several players, including those which miss out onparticipation due to other commitments. The ladder points also contribute towards eventual offline events with much larger prizepools to be announced later in the year, and strong performances in the KOTH lead to more invites to anseparate from the previously announced LAN.Keep track of the standings by total wins and ladder points on the FXOpen e-Sports Forums This is the Korean-based event with players selected from Korea and people residing in Korea. Remember, if you don't see your favourite player here many of the names will be recycled each month, while prizewinners from the previous month will be given first chance at a repeat invite!All invited players will play in order against the winner of the previous match. After all players have played, the player standing undefeated at the end will recieve, and the player with the longest win-streak of the night will recieve. Ladder points for the event will also be awarded as below:The last-man-standing and longest streak from the previous month will be invited back to play in Game 1 the following episode, up to a maximum of two events in a row.Last man standing:Highest win streak:In addition to cash prizes, players who participate in our invitational series will accruedirectly towards invites for future LAN events with much bigger prizepools.Maps will be selected by the challenger from the following:Terminus RETal'Darim AltarMetalopolisScrap StationShakuras PlateauThe Shattered TempleXel'Naga CavernsCrevasseFXOpen is a forex trading company seeking to get more involved in the game they are passionate about - StarCraft 2. FXOpen currently sponsors MMA, drift car series and various other sporting events. |
One of La Sportiva’s newest shoe designs, The Skwama is targeted mainly at boulderers and a lot of attention has been paid to both the toe-box and heel construction. A rubber insert over the toes will help to protect the foot on overhangs while the heel features a patented S-heel design which holds the heel steady on torsion-heavy moves. The stability of the shoe is further enhanced by the sole being constructed in two parts, providing greater flexibility along the length of the shoe and preventing the heel from being pulled out of place on tenuous heel hooks. An extremely sensitive and very flexible shoe, the Skwama fits into La Sportiva’s range as a slightly less aggressive cousin to the Solution that will suit intermediate to advanced boulderers. The La Sportiva Skwama Climbing Shoe - 2015 Review | Outdoor 2015 |
Andrew Cohen, PhD (right) and Eric Wait (left), are giving microbiologists an interactive look at the cells they're studying.
For hundreds of years biologists have studied cells through the lens of a microscope. With a little help from a team of engineers at Drexel University, these scientists could soon be donning 3-D glasses in a home-theater-like lab to take their own fantastic voyage into the petri dish.
Dr. Andrew Cohen, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, is leading a group of researchers who are developing software and hardware that will enable biologists to better track and study the movement and multiplication of cells. Their goal is to enhance the current visual data that these scientists are working with so that it’s easier to identify changes in cells over time –information that is key to studying the abnormal cell proliferation that causes cancer and also to using stem cells in regenerative medicine.
“This type of imaging is so important because it allows us to see and measure relationships between cells and their environment,” Cohen said.
Cohen, whose background includes developing operating systems support for computer games, has developed a program called LEVER –short for Lineage Editing and Validation program- that can identify, tag and track live cells, capturing patterns of motion and cell division, using sequences of microscopic time-lapse images. His work was recently published in the journal BMC Bioinformatics.
Typically the process of tracking cell lineage over time requires biologists to watch the time-lapse images and note by hand when the cells multiply –creating a graphic representation of cell division over time called a “lineage tree.” It can take a researcher several tedious hours to create a tree. The LEVER software lets the researcher work with the computer to delineate cells, color code them and denote the exact moment of their division. LEVER is easier and more accurate than processing the data manually and also provides more data than what can be obtained by hand.
“It’s like Photoshop for cell biologists,” Cohen said. “The software outlines cells and blood vessels, keeping track of them as they’re dividing and moving around one another. This provides a wealth of information on the patterns of cell shape, motion and division. Visualization of the 3-D microscopy data together with the analysis results is a key step to measure and ultimately understand what drives these cells.”
With an enhanced version of the program called LEVER 3-D, which compiles data from multi-layered microscopic images, Cohen’s team can produce a three-dimensional rendering of the cells and animate it through time to show their multiplication and movement. The enhanced imaging gives researchers a unique view of the interaction of stem cells with their surroundings.
By running the software on a computer with a graphics card optimized for gaming and donning a set of 3-D gaming glasses, the program can take scientists inside the microscopic cross section. In a portion of Cohen’s lab modified to be a viewing theater, a special stereo-vision projector brings the three-dimensional image data to life. Users can rotate and zoom in and out of the projected image in true 3-D, giving scientists vantage points that are not possible when looking through a microscope.
“LEVER 3-D is amazing, it opens new vistas for understanding the stem cell niche,” said Dr. Sally Temple, a cell biologist at the Neural Stem Cell Institute in Rensselaer, N.Y. who has been using Cohen’s software, through the course of its development, as part of her stem cell research since 2005. Cohen’s goal is to make the software open-source and readily available to any scientists who can use it for their research.
The project, which is funded by the National Institute on Aging, was recently presented by Eric Wait, a doctoral researcher in Cohen’s lab, at the Symposium on Biological Data Visualization in Boston. The team plans to enhance the interactive capabilities of the system in order to increase its utility as a tool for research.
E. Wait, M. Winter, C. Bjornsson, E. Kokovay, Y. Wang, S. Goderie, S. Temple and A. R. Cohen, Visualization and Correction of Automated Segmentation, Tracking and Lineaging from 5-D Stem Cell Image Sequences. BMC Bioinformatics, 15:328. doi:10.1186/1471-2105-15-328. October 3, 2014. |
Earthquake
Japan is an earthquake-prone country. Be prepared and don't panic when it happens!
Check your emergency survival kit regularly to see if the food is outdated or any items are missing so that the kit is usable when it's needed.
Getting ready for an earthquake
Emergency items to be stocked at home
Gather together whatever you may need to use during an evacuation, and place it all in emergency bags such as rucksacks, etc. Having done so, make sure that all family members know where the emergency bags are kept. The contents of such bags should be limited to those necessary items that you and your family can personally carry to an evacuation center. Please prepare your emergency bags in accordance with the needs of your family and yourself.
An example of what might be placed in emergency bags
Flashlight
Spare batteries
Flashlight Spare batteries
Radio
Spare batteries
Radio Spare batteries
Mobile phone
rechargers
Mobile phone rechargers
Lighter
Lighter
Drinking
water
Drinking water
Ready-to-eat
food
Helmets
Helmets
Thick cotton
gloves
Thick cotton gloves
Underwear,
socks
Underwear, socks
Towel
Towel
Wet tissues
Wet tissues
Plastic bags
Disposable pocket warmers ( kairo )
Disposable pocket warmers ( )
Pens and
notepad
Pens and notepad
Emergency
items
Emergency items
Copy of Passport &
residence card Keep the following items in a place where you can easily locate them to take with you
Cash
Cash
Bankbooks,
Personal seals
Bankbooks, Personal seals
Medicines,
Medicine notebooks
You also need to keep drinking water, approximately 2 to 3 liters per person per day.
Daily Stockpiles
In the event of an epicentral earthquake occurring in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, citizens whose homes are still intact are to take refuge in their homes. However, it is anticipated that electricity, gas, and water will be unavailable, and the supply of goods will be halted due to rubble covering the roads. Daily stockpiles of food and daily necessities will become important in order to survive until lifelines and the distribution of goods can be recovered. It might be difficult for householders to think in terms of preparing a special stockpile of items that are to be used during times of disaster. However, such concerns can be easily alleviated by simply taking steps to buy a little bit more of those foodstuffs and daily necessities that your family normally uses.
Points to consider when stockpiling are as follows: Purchase extra food and daily necessities.
Use older products first in daily life.
Replace food and items that have been eaten or used, and maintain a constant surplus. By repeating this cycle, you may be able to survive at home in the event of a disaster.
Pay attention to safety measures for your home.
Do not leave objects near doors, hallways, and/or staircases. Do not leave objects near doors, hallways, and/or staircases.
Do not put anything heavy or breakable on the top of furniture. Do not put anything heavy or breakable on the top of furniture.
Secure furniture to prevent it from falling. It is also recommendable to secure TVs, personal computers and stereo units. Secure furniture to prevent it from falling. It is also recommendable to secure TVs, personal computers and stereo units.
If you put something on the top of furniture, make sure it stands securely. In addition, place some non-slip material under it to prevent it from falling off the furniture. If you put something on the top of furniture, make sure it stands securely. In addition, place some non-slip material under it to prevent it from falling off the furniture.
Take steps to prevent fires.
Unplug electrical appliances after use. Unplug electrical appliances after use.
Use kerosene/gas stoves and heaters with an auto-shutdown function that reacts to earthquakes and falls. Use kerosene/gas stoves and heaters with an auto-shutdown function that reacts to earthquakes and falls.
Never use anything other than kerosene for kerosene stoves/heaters. Never use anything other than kerosene for kerosene stoves/heaters.
Always keep enough space between a fire source, such as a cooking stove, and furniture. Always keep enough space between a fire source, such as a cooking stove, and furniture.
Check the safety of your house.
Check the roof of your house to see if any tiles are loose or if the antennas are unstable.
If your house uses propane gas, secure the gas tank with chains.
Make sure flowerpots or any other objects on a balcony/veranda can't fall down.
Be informed about local evacuation area
Use kerosene/gas stoves and heaters with an auto-shutdown function that reacts to earthquakes and falls.
What to do to alleviate commuter distress
When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, more than five million commuters had difficulty in returning home due to shutdown of many railways in the areas around Tokyo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) enacted the "Metropolitan Tokyo Ordinance on Measures for Stranded Persons", which went into effect in April 2013, with the aim of observing the principle of "not to start moving too early"after the occurrence of earthquake.
The points of the ordinance are summarized as follows. (Main Activities by Tokyo Residents) Do not move unnecessarily or too early and try to remain at your workplace or current location after confirming safety.
Talk with your families ahead of time and establish several means to contact each other. (Main Activities of Businesses) Have employees and others stay in the workplace after making sure the facilities are safe.
Store enough water, food, and other supplies for 3 days.
Railroad companies and administrators of facilities where customers gather will strive to protect users by having them stay in the station or facility or by guiding them to a safe location.
When a disaster occurs, school administrators and others will strive to keep the children, students, and others safe by having them stay in the facility, etc.
What to do in case of earthquake
If you are at home:
Do not move until the main quake ceases.
Protect yourself by sheltering under a table. If there is no place to hide, protect your head with a pillow or a cushion. Turn off all heat sources immediately.
After the main shock calms down, immediately turn off the gas appliances as well as heating appliances. Anything that could cause a fire should be turned off. Secure a way to evacuate the premises.
Open the doors to rooms and the entrance of the house. Always wear shoes even when inside a house to avoid injury as there could be pieces of broken glass or other dangerous objects on the floor. Do not become panicked by aftershocks.
It is possible that small shakes may occur following the main quake. Remember to stay calm even when you feel the aftershocks. Get ready to evacuate.
Before you leave the house, make sure you shut off the gas supply valve as well as the circuit breaker, in order to prevent fires. If you are in a building, always use the stairs to evacuate. You should not use elevators. Evacuate on foot. You should always walk when you evacuate. Never use cars, motorcycles or bicycles. Do not try to take more than you need for emergency survival.
The Earthquake Early Warning or Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho is issued by The Japan Meteorological Agency, immediately after it detects the occurrence of earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 5 lower and over. Ensure your safety as soon as you see or hear the warning on TV or radio.
If you are away from home:
In a residential area
Stay away from gates and concrete block walls if you are in a residential area at the time of an earthquake. In the city center:
Protect your head with your bag or a similar object from possible falling objects such as broken windows or signboards. Find an open area or a park to which you should evacuate. Do not approach vending machines, utility poles or downed power lines.
You should stay away from vending machines, utility poles and downed power lines. Do not go near cliffs or riverbanks.
You should stay away from cliffs and riverbanks since they could collapse at any moment. In a high-rise building:
Evacuate from the building by using the stairs. You should never use elevators. In an underground mall:
Protect your head with your bags or clothes. After the main shock ceases, head toward an exit on the ground level. Since many people may rush to and crowd the exit, you should be careful to avoid falling and being trampled by others. On an elevator:
If the elevator is equipped with an earthquake sensor, it will stop automatically at the nearest floor when the quake occurs. You should get off the elevator immediately and use the stairs to evacuate. If the elevator is not equipped with this sensor, it won't stop by itself; you should push every floor button and get off at any floor it first stops at and then use a staircase to evacuate. If the door doesn't open, use the emergency feature available in the elevator such as a phone, button or bell to inform someone outside that you are trapped. Do not try to force the door to open from inside until the rescue service arrives. On a train If you are standing on a train, grab a strap or bar to prevent yourself from falling. After the train stops, you should stay calm and wait for instructions from the conductor; without instructions, do not attempt to get out of the train by unlocking the emergency door lock or by jumping out from the window.
If you are driving a car
Slow down, stop the car and turn off the engine.
Holding the steering wheel firmly, slow down and stop the car on the left side of the road and turn off the engine. Wait in the car and listen to the radio until the quake ceases.
You should stay in the car and listen to the radio for earthquake information until the quake ceases. Follow the directions given by the police.
If you see the traffic being controlled by the police, follow their directions. Leave the key in the car and the doors unlocked When you leave the car to evacuate on foot, leave the key in the car and the doors unlocked.
What to do after earthquake
Collect accurate information. Try to collect accurate information by yourself until the confusion calms down. Listen to the news on TV and radio to stay correctly informed. After a major earthquake, it is possible to be misinformed owing to rumors and hearsay.
It is important to evacuate to a designated shelter.
It is known that people who use their car as a shelter after a disaster may suffer from a condition known as economy-class syndrome (deep-vein thrombosis). It is important to evacuate to a designated shelter according to the local authority's directions. Use an aid station to return home. If a major earthquake happens while you are away from home, you may have to walk to return home, as public transport such as trains or buses may not be available. To assist those who need to walk home during such time, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated 16 major roads and convenience stores, family restaurants, existing public high schools or gas stations to provide water, restrooms and necessary information as "aid routes" and "aid stations," respectively. |
Here at Seer, we’re big proponents of scaling and automating as many tasks as possible so that we can spend the bulk of our time strategizing for our clients. So, we’re huge fans of IFTTT.
If you’re not familiar with IFTTT, it’s simple. IFTTT is a free tool that you can use to connect different digital applications to make life easier. For example, you can automatically save your Instagram photos to Dropbox, or have the forecast texted to you each morning, or automatically tweet your blog posts, or about a zillion other cool things.
While IFTTT is a great tool for social media automation and lots of everyday life stuff, here at Seer, we believed it was capable of much, much more. So we had a handful of hackathons and a whole lot of testing to come up with some brand-spanking new IFTTT recipes (now called “applets“) that will help you gather marketing intelligence and make strategic decisions for your brand.
And now we’re ready to share them with you! If you’ve never used IFTTT, then you’ll find some instructions at the very bottom of this post. If you have, then let’s get to it!
Most of the applets that we’ve prepared here require a bit of pre-IFTTT prep. Here are two valuable tools that you’ll see used over and over again in these applets.
Visual Ping: This tool will notify you when there is a visual change on a website, web page, or even just a area of a web page.
Page2RSS: This tool will convert any web page – even if the page doesn’t publish a feed of its own – to an RSS feed, so that you can easily subscribe.
Almost all of the THAT steps in our applets below are means of notification. When writing these applets, we selected what we thought were the most applicable forms of notification, but you should select whichever works best for you. It basically comes down to how quickly you’d like to be notified.
For example, if your site has been hacked, you’ll want to know ASAP, so you’ll probably want your alert to be a text message/SMS .
. For something that you want to keep track of every day, an email might be the best notification for you.
might be the best notification for you. If it’s something that you’ll want to check on maybe once a week or once a month, have the results archived in Evernote or a Google Doc.
In general, tailor these applets to what works best for you!
And with that…
Check out all of the marketing opportunities below, and if you have any suggestions, whether they’ve been tested or untested, share them in the comments below – we’d be happy to add them to our list and give you credit!
Keep Track of the Competition:
Keep Track of the Competition
Easily Archive Your Competitors’ Emails
WHAT IT MEANS: Archive and organize emails from your competition for future analysis, without clogging up your inbox.
HOW TO DO IT:
Subscribe to emails from all of your competitors to a Gmail address. Create filters in your email to automatically archive the emails and mark them as read.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail New email from – the competition THAT Service : Evernote Create a Note – in whichever notebook you specify.
Repeat for each competitor
Now, all competitor emails will be archived in Evernote for your future perusal and analysis.
WHAT IT MEANS: Monitor Newsle for mentions of competitors’ employees and other important industry influencers
HOW TO DO IT:
Sign up for an account on Newsle.com (you need a LinkedIn account to do so). Sign up for Newsle emails, so that you get regular reports on when your LinkedIn contacts are mentioned in the news.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Gmail New email from – Newsle THAT Service : Google Drive Create a new spreadsheet to archive these Newsle mentions
Now, you’ll have Newsle mentions saved in a Google doc for reference.
Track Your Competitors’ Website Changes
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep track of the changes that your competitors make to their websites.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use VisualPing.io to monitor a competitors’ web page. Set the timing and type of change to whatever you like, and add your email address for notification.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email Email from Visual Ping THAT Service : SMS
Now, you’ll get a text message every time your competitor updates their page
Monitor your Competitors’ Blog Posts
WHAT IT MEANS: Stay on top of what your competitors are blogging about, and archive the posts.
HOW TO DO IT:
Subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Enter the blog post feed THAT Service: Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time there is a new blog post on the competition’s blog.
Stalk your competitors’ stocks
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep a keen eye on your competition by monitoring their stock performance
HOW TO DO IT:
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service: Stocks Choose whichever metric you’d like – price at close, price rises above, price drops below,etc. Add the ticker symbol and price THAT Service : Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time the stock price moves.
Monitor your competitors’ executives
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep a close eye on the C-level employees at your competition.
HOW TO DO IT:
Set Google Alerts for executives’ names along with negative keywords (e.g. “stole” or “fired”) and subscribe to RSS alerts.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service: Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time one of these executives is mentioned online.
Watch out for your competitors’ YouTube videos
WHAT IT MEANS: Get notified every time one of your competitors creates and shares a new YouTube video.
HOW TO DO IT:
Find your competitor’s YouTube channel (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/seerinteractive) Subscribe to the RSS feed
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Google Drive Create a new spreadsheet to archive these YouTube videos
Now, you’ll have YouTube videos saved in a Google doc for reference.
Spy on your Competitors’ Website Tools
WHAT IT MEANS: Get a text message any time your competition is using a new software tool on their website.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use BuiltWith.com to view what software a site is using (e.g. http://builtwith.com/seerinteractive.com) Enter the URL on VisualPing.io and set alerts and emails
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email (from VisualPing) THAT Service : SMS
You will now get a text message every time your competitor adds new software to their website.
Monitor Industry Acquisitions
WHAT IT MEANS: Find out if a competitor acquires or merges with another company
HOW TO DO IT:
Subscribe to Yahoo Finance RSS feeds
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Select “new item matches” and enter a competitor name plus “acquisition” or “merger” THAT Service : Email
You will now get an email alert every time a competing brand has a merger or acquisition
Find out when a new site links to your competitor
WHAT IT MEANS: Get an alert when a new website links to your competitor without having to manually check
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your competitors’ website(s) on Moz’s Open Site Explorer. When the results come up, click on the “Just Discovered” tab Copy the URL of the “Just Discovered” tab Go to Page2RSS.com and paste your URL. This will create an RSS feed of just discovered sites.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service: Feed (use the feed you just created) THAT Service : Email
You will now get an email alert every time a new site links to your competitors’.
Monitor your competitors’ best online assets
WHAT IT MEANS: Find out if your competitors are updating or improving their best online assets
HOW TO DO IT:
Find your competitor’s online asset (e.g. http://rcs.seerinteractive.com/money/) Enter the URL on VisualPing.io and set alerts and emails
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email (from VisualPing) THAT Service : SMS
You will now get a text message every time your competitor updates their online asset.
Tracking Competitor’s New Project Launches
WHAT IT MEANS: This applet will help to monitor your competitor’s “New Arrivals” page and issue you an email alert if a change on this page had occurred.
HOW TO DO IT:
Set up a Visual Ping alert for the page you want to monitor (e.g. https://www.seerinteractive.com/meet-the-team )
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email from VisualPing THAT Service : SMS Text alert
Now you will be able to see any changes that have been made your competitor’s page.
Track Competitors’ XML Sitemap Changes
WHAT IT MEANS: Create an RSS feed for competitors’ XML sitemaps and monitor any changes they make.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Page2RSS to create a feed of your competitor’s XML sitemap. (e.g. http://techcrunch.com/sitemap.xml)
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Insert the copied Page2RSS generated link into Feed and ‘New feed item’ THAT Service: Email or Gmail
Now you will receive an email notification for any changes in your competitor’s XML sitemap.
Wikipedia Monitoring
WHAT IT MEANS: Monitor brand of competitor Wiki pages for updates or changes.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Page2RSS to create Wiki profile feeds (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEER_Interactive ).
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed then ‘New Feed Item’ THAT Service : Google Docs and “Add Row to Spreadsheet”
Now, all Wikipedia changes will be archived in Google Docs
Proactive Social Prospecting
WHAT IT MEANS: Monitor Twitter for negative comments about competitors and proactively reach out and offer help.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Twitter Advanced Search and search for queries like, “worst” OR “terrible” OR “awful” AND “[competitor]”. Then use Page2RSS to create a feed from this Twitter link.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed then ‘New Feed Item From’ Page2RSS Link. THAT Service : Gmail or Email and Send An Email Repeat for as many competitors as needed and set up filters in your inbox to organize these messages.
Now you will receive email notification when there is a complaint about your competitor posted
Keep Track of Google News
WHAT IT MEANS: Get RSS from Google News using Advanced News to track releases and news from competitors.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use the Advanced News feature for Google News to target the competitor or target you want to monitor. For example: [ allintext:”Staples” OR “Staples Inc.” ]. Then create an RSS feed for this link using Page2Rss.com
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed and ‘New Feed Item’. THAT Service : Gmail or Email to email address of choice. Repeat and modify these searches for competitors and topics.
You will now get email updates every time a competitor or topic of interest breaks news.
Know When Your Competitors Launch an Android App
WHAT IT MEANS: Receive alerts when a competitor launches a new Android App.
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your competitor’s brand name in Adrolib.com and convert the link to your RSS feed using Page2Rss.com.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed and “New Feed Item” THAT Service : Email or Gmail Repeat for multiple competitors.
Now you can stay up to date on new Android Apps that your competitors release.
Spy on Your Competitors’ Web Properties
WHAT IT MEANS: Know when your competitors’ IPs or DNS servers change, or when they build a new site on the same server.
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your competitors’ domain on SpyOnWeb.com. Turn the results URL (e.g. http://spyonweb.com/seerinteractive.com) into an RSS feed using Page2RSS.com.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Email Repeat for multiple competitors.
Now you will be notified when your competitors make a change to their website or server.
Stay on Top of Trends and Get Content and Linking Ideas
Monitor Reddit for Content
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep track of relevant Reddit subreddits to get content ideas, or to answer questions as an industry authority
HOW TO DO IT:
Go to a relevant subreddit (i.e. http://www.reddit.com/r/seo) Find the subreddit’s RSS feed by adding .rss to the end of the url (i.e. http://www.reddit.com/r/seo.rss)
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS New feed item matches – select a keyword or simple phrase relevant to your brand or industry Enter in the subreddit RSS URL THAT Service : Email Repeat for any relevant keywords or phrases.
Now, you’ll get an email any time someone posts in that subreddit about something relevant to your brand or industry.
Gather PR Opportunities
WHAT IT MEANS: Get an alert when there is a relevant PR opportunity for your brand without having to read through several long daily emails.
HOW TO DO IT:
Sign up for email alerts from HARO and ProfNet. Have them sent to a Gmail address.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Gmail – New Email from Search Search For: any relevant industry or brand term you choose THAT Service : Email Repeat for each relevant term.
You will now get an email alert for every new relevant PR query about your industry or brand.
Monitor Google Trends
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep an eye on Google Trends to help with content inspiration
HOW TO DO IT:
Visit Google Trends Go to Page2RSS.com and paste the URL. This will create an RSS feed of Google Trends
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed (use the feed you just created) Select “new item matches” and enter an industry keyword) THAT Service : Email
You will now get an email alert every time a Google trend matches your industry keyword.
Keep Track of Twitter Hashtags
WHAT IT MEANS: This applet will create a Google spreadsheet to keep track of a specific hashtag from Twitter.
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your hashtag in Twitter (e.g. “#SEO) then copy the link into Page2Rss to convert the link into RSS format.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed and new feed item matches THAT Service : Google Docs and Add Row to Spreadsheet
Now you will have a Google spreadsheet that will keep record of all the times that this hashtag appears on Twitter.
Track New Video Launches
WHAT IT MEANS: This will notify you when a video with certain keywords is launched and search in all YouTube channels.
HOW TO DO IT:
Set up a Google Alert for the keywords you want to track and then filter the results for ‘Video’. (e.g. Query: “SEO” OR “Seer Interactive”)
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail and ‘New email from search’: (e.g. “Google Alert” AND “SEO”) THAT Service : Google Drive and ‘add row to spreadsheet’ Repeat for various queries and Google Alerts.
Now you will be able to monitor and record new video launches in your Google Drive.
Monitor Journalists on Twitter
WHAT IT MEANS: Get notifications when a particular twitter handle asks a question or would use a phrase like “for a story” or “let me know”. This can be a good way to leverage journalistic opportunities.
HOW TO DO IT:
Create an account on Twilert, add your keywords and select “publish feeds.”
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : FEED to ‘New Feed Item’ THAT Service : Email or Gmail.
Now you will get an email every time there is journalist asking for help on a story.
Monitor Journalists on Quora
WHAT IT MEANS: Find opportunities with journalists by monitoring questions they ask on Quora.
HOW TO DO IT:
Find the Quora profile of the reporter that you want to monitor for inquiries and set up an RSS feed on their page using Page2RSS. (e.g. Rip Empson from TechCrunch: http://page2rss.com/rss/2f13cff4aa2a31533cda9766c63a8d0c )
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed and ‘New Feed Item’ THAT Service : Gmail or Email
Now you can find opportunities instantly with email notifications when a reporter of interest updates their Quora profile.
Learn More About Your Own Website, Customers, or Industry
Keep Track of Open Site Explorer’s Just Discovered Links
WHAT IT MEANS: Get an alert when a new website links to yours without having to manually check on a regular basis.
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your website or page on Moz’s Open Site Explorer. When the results come up, click on the “Just Discovered” tab Copy the URL of the “Just Discovered” tab Go to Page2RSS.com and paste your URL. This will create an RSS feed of just discovered sites.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed (use the feed you just created) THAT Service : Email
You will now get an email alert every time a new site links to yours.
Track Weather for Seasonal Brands
WHAT IT MEANS: Archive weather reports on a daily basis. If your brand is affected by the weather or seasons, you can check old reports to determine if and how the weather affected performance on any given day.
HOW TO DO IT:
Track weather using IFTTT’s weather feature.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Weather Today’s weather report – select time of day THAT Service : Google Drive Add row to spreadsheet Name the spreadsheet and create the Google Drive folder path
Now, you’ll be able to check your Google spreadsheet to find out what the weather was on any given day.
Find Instagram Photos tagged at your location
WHAT IT MEANS: Find Instagram photos tagged at your business location to identify potential influencer partnerships.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Gramfeed.com’s search by places functionality and search for your business (e.g. here are all photos tagged at Seer Interactive) Use Page2RSS to turn that page into an RSS feed
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Enter in your feed THAT Service : Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time a new Instagram photo is tagged at your location.
Find out who is pinning from a certain website
WHAT IT MEANS: Find important Pinterest influencers by seeing which users are pinning from your website – or from your competition.
HOW TO DO IT:
To view who is pinning from site, enter in this URL: http://www.pinterest.com/source/YOURURL.com/ (e.g. http://www.pinterest.com/source/seerinteractive.com/) Use Page2RSS to turn that page into an RSS feed
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Enter the feed you created THAT Service : Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time there is a new pin from your site.
Monitor your sites’ robots.txt files
WHAT IT MEANS: Get an alert as soon as your client changes their robots.txt so ensure that no dangerous changes are being made.
HOW TO DO IT:
Visit the site’s robots.txt file, usually found at http://www.CLIENTURL.com/robots.txt Use Page2RSS to turn that file into an RSS feed
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Enter the feed URL THAT Service : Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time there is a change to your sites’ robots.txt
Monitor your TripAdvisor reviews – or your competitors’
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep an eye on TripAdvisor to see who is talking about you and your competitors, and what they are saying.
HOW TO DO IT:
Find the location’s TripAdvisor profile online Use Page2RSS to turn that URL into an RSS feed
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Enter the feed URL THAT Service : Email
Now, you’ll get an email every time there is a new review on the TripAdvisor profile.
Monitor Flickr Tags
WHAT IT MEANS: Get notified every time someone tags a photo with your brand or industry keywords
HOW TO DO IT:
Do a search on Flickr for a keyword and sort by recent. Copy the URL (e.g. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=seo&s=rec) Go to Page2RSS.com and paste your URL. This will create an RSS feed of Flickr photos.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed (use the feed you just created) THAT Service : Email
You will now get an email alert every time a new Flickr photo is tagged with your brand or industry.
Keep track of your site images elsewhere on the web
WHAT IT MEANS: See which other sites are hosting your images so that you can contact them for a link.
HOW TO DO IT:
Sign up for Image Raider and add your photo(s) Grab the RSS feed for the photo in Image Raider
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : email
You will now get an email every time your image shows up on another website.
Check Your SERP Position
WHAT IT MEANS: Use VisualPing.io to monitor google SERP changes for a specfic query and keep a record of these changes in a Google spreadsheet.
HOW TO DO IT:
Sign up for Visual Ping and take a screenshot of the SERP results you want to track. Then sign up for the email alert from VisualPing.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email and from ‘[email protected]’ THAT Service : Google Docs and ‘Add row to spreadsheet’. Repeat for all relevant searches.
You will be able to monitor SERPs and keep a record in your Google Docs
Get Twitter Alerts
WHAT IT MEANS: Don’t miss a tweet when you use Twilert or Warble to track specific tweets, inquiries or topics and filter them from your email into a spreadsheet using IFTTT.
HOW TO DO IT:
Using Twilert.com or Warble.co, use advanced operators to search Twitter. (e.g. “algorithm update” AND “@MattCutts”).
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email and ‘New email from’ Warble or Twilert THAT Service : Google Docs and ‘Add Row to Spreadsheet’. Repeat for as many topics you’re interested in receiving alerts on.
Now you will be receive and be able to keep track of the tweets you want to monitor.
Get Notified of Hacking As Soon As It Happens
WHAT IT MEANS: Get a text message when your site has been hacked by setting up an alert for common spam keywords.
HOW TO DO IT:
Set up a Google alert site search for keywords like ‘viagara’, ‘credit cards’ or ‘auto insurance. (Ex: viagara site:seerinteractive.com)
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail and ‘New Email From: [email protected] THAT Service : SMS message to your phone
Now you will receive a text message alert when your site has been hacked.
Monitor Keep.com
WHAT IT MEANS: Have a GoogleDoc spreadsheet to keep track of Keep.com product search results.
HOW TO DO IT:
Search for your wanted topic in Keep.com’s onsite search bar. (e.g. black heels) Copy the link of your search results and use Page2Rss to create an RSS feed.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed and ‘New Feed Item’ and insert the Page2RSS converted link. THAT Service : Google Drive and ‘Add Row to Spreadsheet’
Now you will be able to track new items in Keep.com searches as they happen.
Monitor SERPs for Snippets
WHAT IT MEANS: Monitor to see when your pages gain rich snippets in SERPs.
HOW TO DO IT:
Setup a Visualping.io notifiation or the SERP page where your listing exists.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail then ‘New Email From’ [email protected] THAT Service : Google Doc then ‘Add Row to Spreadsheet’.
Repeat for multiple SERPS and modify the Drive folder path for to organize for multiple SERPs.
Monitor Yelp Reviews
WHAT IT MEANS: Create an RSS feed for competitor’s Yelp pages and monitor their reviews.
HOW TO DO IT:
Sign up for Visualping.io and enter in the url for your competitor’s Yelp page. (e.g. http://www.yelp.com/biz/standard-tap-philadelphia ) Then highlight the reviews section of the page and adjust notification settings.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail and ‘New Email From’: [email protected] THAT Service : Google Docs then Add Row to Spreadsheet Repeat and modify the Drive Folder path for different competitors.
Now you will be able to monitor you competitor’s Yelp reviews and keep a record of them in a spreadsheet.
Monitor Tumblr
WHAT IT MEANS: Keep an eye on Tumblr to see how is posting about your brand or industry.
HOW TO DO IT:
Do a search on Tumblr for a topic and grab the URL (e.g. http://www.tumblr.com/search/seo). Turn that URL into an RSS feed using Page2RSS.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Google Docs then Add Row to Spreadsheet Repeat and modify the Drive Folder path for different competitors.
Now you will be able to monitor and archive all mentions of your brand or industry on Tumblr.
Monitor Your Brand Mentions with IceRocket
WHAT IT MEANS: IceRocket can monitor mentions of your brand on blogs and social media.
HOW TO DO IT:
Enter YOURBRAND.icerocket.com into your browser (e.g. http://seer-interactive.icerocket.com/) Turn that URL into an RSS feed using Page2RSS.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Google Docs then Add Row to Spreadsheet Repeat and modify the Drive Folder path for different competitors.
Now you will be able to monitor and archive each appearance of your brand in IceRocket
Keep Up with the Search Industry
Twitter Chat Text Message Reminders
WHAT IT MEANS: If you participate in weekly industry Twitter chats (i.e. #ppcchat or #seochat), get a reminder when it’s time to join up.
HOW TO DO IT:
Find out what time these chats start every week.
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Date & Time Every Day of the Week at (and specify days and times of chats) THAT Service : SMS
Now, you’ll get a text message whenever it’s time to participate in one of your regular Twitter chats.
Search Craigslist Resumes
WHAT IT MEANS: Find relevant hires by monitoring resumes posted on Craigslist
HOW TO DO IT:
Go to your local Craigslist (i.e. http://philadelphia.craigslist.org) Go to the resumes section (i.e. http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/res/) Do a search for a relevant keyword (i.e. SEO) and copy the results page URL (i.e. http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/search/res?zoomToPosting=&catAbb=res&query=seo&excats=
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Craigslist New post from search – enter the copied search result URL THAT Service : Email or Gmail, depending upon what you use
Now, you’ll get an email any time a new resume containing your keyword is posted to your local Craigslist resume section.
Monitor Google’s Content Guidelines
WHAT IT MEANS: Stay on top of any changes that Google makes to their content guidelines.
HOW TO DO IT:
For each page in Google’s Content Guidelines, use Page2RSS to turn them into RSS feeds
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Feed Copy the feed into IFTTT THAT Service: Email Create a new applet for each page in the guidelines
Now, you’ll get an email every time Google updates one of the pages in their content guidelines.
Stalk Industry Insiders
WHAT IT MEANS: Stay up to date on opportunities by setting up alerts for a CMO/CEO/etc..
HOW TO DO IT:
Set up Google Alerts for that individual using advanced operators. (e.g. intext:”Wil Reynolds” AND “SEO” OR “Seer Interactive” )
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : Email or Gmail, then ‘New Email From’ [email protected] THAT Service : Google Drive then ‘Add Row to Spreadsheet’
Now you will be able to keep track of all Google Alert Updates from your person or company of interest.
Keep Track of Industry Meetups
WHAT IT MEANS: Get a notification of when an industry meetup is occurring.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Page2RSS to create a feed of local Meetup.com search results in your industry
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Email
Now you’ll get an email every time a new industry meetup is added.
Keep Track of Industry Webinars
WHAT IT MEANS: Get a notification of when an industry webinar is occurring.
HOW TO DO IT:
Use Page2RSS to create a feed of Webex’s Webinar listings
CREATE AN APPLET ON IFTTT:
THIS Service : RSS THAT Service : Email
Now you’ll get an email every time a new industry webinar is added.
And now, if you’re not familiar with IFTTT:
It’s pretty simple. IFTTT uses what it calls “applets” to automate tasks. Each applet has a THIS channel and a THAT channel. When the THIS channel is activated, it triggers the THAT channel to take action. If THIS, then THAT = IFTTT.
IFTTT is a very intuitive site, but let’s walk through setting up one simple applet – having Google Alerts sent to your email.
Let’s say you want to collect Google Alerts for Seer Interactive. Enter it into Google alerts and update your settings to however you like. But at the bottom be sure to select “Deliver to Feed.”
After hitting “Create Alert,” you’ll see this screen. Right-click on the “Feed” link and copy the URL of the feed.
Click on “My Applets” at the top of the page. then click “New Applet.”
For this applet, we’ll select “Feed.”
Do you want to be notified every time there’s a new item in the feed, or just when an item matches a certain keyword or phrase? Select whatever will best fit your needs, although choosing “New Feed Item” will bring you more results.
This can be whichever notification medium that you’d like to use. If you want up to the minute notifications, you could select SMS. If you want to archive the notifications to review them at a later time, select Evernote or Google Drive. In this instance, we’re going to choose our email – specifically, Gmail.
(Note: If you’re new to IFTTT, you’ll need to sync any accounts – like Gmail, Twitter, WordPress, etc.- with it to allow these triggers to work. If and when it’s necessary, IFTTT will let you know and will walk you through the steps. It takes just a few seconds, is very easy to do, and is safe.)
Decide what you’d like to do with these emails. In this case, I’ll send the alerts to myself and to some others.
In this instance, I’m having it sent to one email address. You can also customize your email title and body, and add attachments if you like. When complete, click “Create Action.”
Your applet should now trigger and send you an email whenever a new Google Alert from Seer Interactive shows up.
Still need some clarification? Read all about how IFTTT works in their own words.
// |
With the 2016 elections behind(?) us, we can get back to what auto enthusiasts and consumers do best: bashing automotive retailers. And while dealers doing good work using ‘best practices’ may come as a shock, they do exist – and a few are occasionally identified. One of the best is the Dallas area’s Park Place Lexus, recently recognized by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. And no, this isn’t based on owner Ken Schnitzer’s 0-60 times or track day capability; rather, it’s based on the combined assets of Park Place’s management and staff working to ensure client satisfaction. Crazy concept, that…
The release provided by Park Place Lexus is below. And if you can’t have your own Jay Leno-like garage and staff, use Ken Schnitzer’s. His are among the best…
PARK PLACE LEXUS RECOGNIZED FOR BEST PRACTICES IN CUSTOMER FOCUS BY BALDRIGE PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE PROGRAM
DALLAS (Nov. 18, 2016) – Texas-based Park Place Lexus has been recognized for a best practice in customer focus by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, part of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program. Park Place Lexus is one of six companies in the United States to be recognized.
“The path we started more than a decade ago to pursue the Baldrige Program has led to improved strategies and best management practices we have implemented to better serve our clients,” said Ken Schnitzer, chairman and founder of Park Place Dealerships. “We are honored to be recognized for our commitment to consistently deliver a positive customer experience.”
Park Place has two Lexus dealerships in North Texas that jointly received the recognition. Park Place Lexus Grapevine, located near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Park Place Lexus Plano, just north of Dallas, employ more than 570 people. In 2005, the two dealerships received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for sustainable excellence through visionary leadership, organizational alignment, systemic improvement and innovation.
“Based on our continued improvement through a systematic approach to goal-setting, measures and reviews, we offer our clients the best automotive purchase and ownership experience,” remarked Jordan Case, President of Park Place Lexus. ”We continue to improve our processes of learning what we could do better and pushing ourselves to be the best in our industry.”
During a recent visit from Baldrige examiners, a site visit evaluation team spent several days interviewing 400 of Park Place’s nearly 600 Lexus members. Park Place Lexus was one of six organizations in the country to receive a best practices honor. The complete list includes:
City of Fort Collins , Fort Collins, Colorado—leadership
, Fort Collins, Colorado—leadership Kaiser Permanente San Diego , San Diego, California—leadership
, San Diego, California—leadership Maury Regional Medical Center , Columbia, Tennessee—leadership
, Columbia, Tennessee—leadership Duke University Hospital , Durham, North Carolina—leadership and strategy
, Durham, North Carolina—leadership and strategy Park Place Lexus of Texas , Plano, Texas—customers
, Plano, Texas—customers Southern Management Corporation, Vienna, Virginia—workforce
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessment tools and criteria; and educates leaders in all type of organizations about the practices of national role models. Since the first Baldrige Award recipients were recognized in 1988, 109 awards have been presented to 102 organizations (including seven two-time award recipients). The Baldrige Award recognizes the nation’s top-level performers in six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care, education and nonprofit.
Ken Schnitzer founded Park Place Dealerships in 1987 with a single Mercedes-Benz dealership on Oak Lawn. Today, Park Place Dealerships employs more than 2,000 people and operates 17 full-service dealerships representing luxury brands including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, McLaren, Maserati, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Infiniti, Volvo, smart, Jaguar, and Lotus. For more information about Park Place Dealerships, visit parkplace.com. |
We are excited to announce that here at Audioguys HQ we are now accepting the new digital currency Bitcoin!
Over the last year we’ve been getting more and more involved in the rise and development of Crytpocurrencies. A cryptocurrency is a new form of currency which uses the principles of cryptography to implement a de-centralised, secure, peer-to-peer payment system. Bitcoin was the first crytpocurrency to begin trading, back in 2009 and since then it has grown in popularity. Cryptocurrencies will have a limited possible supply in order to simulate the scarcity of real resources. For more information on any of this please check out the links at the bottom of the page. So, consequently, we’re now in the position where we are very happy to start accepting Bitcoin in payment for our services. |
The more I read about the corruption in the Veterans Affairs system the more I am convinced that the whole thing should be scrapped. I mean how many scandals are we supposed to endure? Every 3 months there’s another example of blatant mismanagement and crony capitalism. How does one “lose” 30 cars?
Now, most of the problem lay with the massive bureaucracy of the system but the attached story reminds me of a joke I just heard. And before I repeat it I will say that the joke probably isn’t fair. I am sure there are many committed and very hard working nurses within the VA. In fact I’m positive of it. But you’ll get the point.
Q. What’s the difference between a VA nurse and bullet?
A. A bullet can draw blood. A bullet only kills one person. A bullet can be fired.
(From The Daily Caller) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) bosses fired an employee for reporting a hospital lost 30 of its 88 vehicles and official credit cards intended for the fleet had been misused. Robert Benkeser, manager at the Greater Los Angeles VA, fired whistle-blower Anthony Salazar after Salazar tried to bring the theft to light. The department convened an “administrative investigation board” (AIB) that resulted in “a letter of counseling” to Benkeser for mismanaging the motor pool. Benkeser then fired Salazar several months later.
Click here for the article. |
To Scalia, this is all stuff and nonsense. He believes the government should be able to prefer religion. Government neutrality on religious matters, he says, "is not an accurate representation of what Americans believe."
Scalia goes on to assert that in the 1960s and `70s, when the high court was much more separationist than it is now, it was in fact "hostile" to religion.
"I am not sure how Orthodox Jews feel about the Establishment Clause, but I assume they do not like driving God out of public life," he observes.
Admittedly, I don't move in Scalia's rarefied circles, but I see little evidence of God being driven out of public life. It's true that government is not supposed to promote religion, but people still can - and they do.
Scalia denies that his personal religious views have influenced the way he votes, but then he cuts loose with this gem: "There is a quote attributed to various people from Bismarck down to Charles de Gaulle. I prefer to attribute it to Charles de Gaulle because it sounds like him. `God protects,' he said, `little children, drunkards and the United States of America.' I think it may be true. And the reason may be because we honor Him as a nation. We invoke Him in our country, our Presidents invoke Him, my court open its sessions with `God save the United States.' Those things are not insignificant."
Unfortunately, the entire interview is not online. I shudder to think what else it might contain.
Scalia has been a complete and utter disaster as far as church-state separation is concerned. He was one of two justices to vote in favor of allowing public schools to teach "creation science." He has voted to allow government to meddle in school prayer at every turn. He believes taxing people to support religious institutions is just fine. As far as he is concerned, government can festoon itself with the Ten Commandments and other sectarian symbols.
His view on the free exercise of religion is similarly crabbed. In 1990, Scalia wrote a majority opinion blithely dismissing the importance of the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause and giving government sweeping new powers to restrict religious behavior. Even many conservatives were appalled.
Scalia also wants to limit the right of Americans to challenge church-state violations in federal court. He was in the majority in the infamous Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation in 2007.
Back in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan nominated Scalia to the Supreme Court, Americans United was one of the few national organizations to oppose his confirmation. Our attorneys read his lower court opinions and were alarmed.
Unfortunately, AU's efforts to focus attention on Scalia's extreme views did not meet with success, and he sailed right on to the court. Now he's making a big mess of things - often joined by his sidekick Clarence Thomas.
I hate to say we told you so, but well, we told you so. |
Make the Safe Choice - Be Aware of Your Surroundings
SEPTA Expands Distracted Commuting Program with Bus Turn Alert Pilot Program
View the transcript
A new pilot program launched by SEPTA on Monday, March 16, 2015 will audibly warn pedestrians in the vicinity of a bus when the vehicle is making a turn. The "Safe Turn Alert System" pilot is an extension of the Authority's distracted commuter awareness program and designed to warn pedestrians - specifically those engrossed in their phone calls, text messages and music -that the bus is turning.
"We are seeing more cases of people unaware of their surroundings," said Scott Sauer, SEPTA's Chief Officer of System Safety. "The Safe Turn Alert system uses an audio warning and a strobe light to make pedestrians aware that the bus is making a right- or left- hand turn. This is an added layer to our already extensive "Make The Safe Choice" campaign, not only geared toward our customers, but to the millions of area residents and visitors that interact with SEPTA on a daily basis."
Protran's Safe Turn Alert Systems have been installed in 12 SEPTA buses for the pilot program. The device is connected to the bus' steering column and the "Caution Bus Turning" alert is triggered when the operator makes a turn. In addition to the external warnings, an announcement is made to the operator inside the bus.
SEPTA's pilot program will run through October 2015. The Safe Turn Alert-equipped buses will be used on specific routes at each of SEPTA's eight bus districts, operating throughout SEPTA's five county service area. One route per week will use the buses in regular service. "To get an accurate snapshot of the system's functionality, we chose routes where buses make many turns," said Sauer. SEPTA's Callowhill District will test the devices first, beginning with the Route 31 during the week of March 16-22.
"Our Operations, Training, System Safety and Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance Departments will evaluate the system throughout the pilot program," said Sauer. "We will examine the volume of the alerts during turns, reactions of passengers and pedestrians to the audio and visual warnings, additional technical issues and the general upkeep of the system."
SEPTA System Safety, Operations and Training staff will ride the buses at various times and days of the week to review the system in action and gauge public response. Operators will also complete questionnaires about the system after each run. "The public is invited to provide feedback, too, by contacting SEPTA Customer Service at 215-580-7800 or via www.septa.org," said Sauer.
Protran's Safe Turn Alert Systems are currently used by L.A. Metro, Greater Cleveland RTA, PACE Bus (Chicago) and Maryland Transit Administration. "There has been an industry trend to equip vehicles with enhanced safety systems," said Sauer. "If we receive positive evaluations and feedback from the pilot program, SEPTA could add a turn alert system to its bus fleet in the near future," Sauer said.
Safe Turn Alert Bus Route Evaluation Schedule:
Callowhill District
Week of March 16: Route 31
Week of March 23: Route 38
Week of March 30: Route 40
Week of April 6: Route 43
Midvale District
Week of April 13: Route 18
Week of April 20: Route 26
Week of April 27: Route 32
Week of May 4: Route HXH
Victory Division
Week of May 11: Route 103
Week of May 18: Route 108
Week of May 25: Route 111
Week of June 1: Route 119
Comly District
Week of June 8: Route 18
Week of June 15: Route 20
Week of June 22: Route 67
Week of June 29: Route 84
Southern District
Week of July 6: Route 7
Week of July 13: Route 64
Week of July 20: Route 68
Week of July 27: Route G
Allegheny District
Week of August 3: Route 9
Week of August 10: Route 27
Week of August 17: Route 65
Frankford District
Week of August 24: Route 3
Week of August 31: Route 25
Week of September 7: Route 88
Week of September 14: Route R
Frontier District
Week of October 5: Route 96
Week of October 9: Route 127
Week of October 12: Route 98
Week of October 26: Route 139
Additional Resources
Safety tips when riding, information about Operation Lifesaver and the "Make the Safe Choice" campaign, including a video and interactive game for kids, are all available on the Safety and Security section (www.septa.org/safety/) of the SEPTA website. |
Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: [email protected]. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Abortion Surveillance --- United States, 2007
Please note: An erratum has been published for this article. To view the erratum, please click here.
Karen Pazol, PhD
Suzanne B. Zane, DVM
Wilda Y. Parker
Laura R. Hall, MPH
Sonya B. Gamble, MS
Saeed Hamdan, MD, PhD
Cynthia Berg, MD
Douglas A. Cook, MBIS
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC
Corresponding address: CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 1600 Clifton Rd., NE, MS K-21, Atlanta, GA 30333. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
Problem/Condition: Since 1969, CDC has conducted abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States.
Reporting Period Covered: 2007.
Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies of 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City). This information is provided voluntarily. For 2007, data were received from 49 reporting areas. For the purpose of trend analysis, data were evaluated from the 45 areas that reported data every year during the preceding decade (1998--2007). Abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births) were calculated using census and natality data, respectively.
Results: A total of 827,609 abortions were reported to CDC for 2007. Among the 45 reporting areas that provided data every year during 1998--2007, a total of 810,582 abortions (97.9% of the total) were reported for 2007; the abortion rate was 16.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years, and the abortion ratio was 231 abortions per 1,000 live births. Compared with 2006, the total number and rate of reported abortions decreased 2%, and the abortion ratio decreased 3%. Reported abortion numbers, rates, and ratios were 6%, 7%, and 14% lower, respectively, in 2007 than in 1998.
Women aged 20--29 years accounted for 56.9% of all abortions in 2007 and for the majority of abortions during the entire period of analysis (1998--2007). In 2007, women aged 20--29 years also had the highest abortion rates (29.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20--24 years and 21.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 25--29 years). Adolescents aged 15--19 years accounted for 16.5% of all abortions in 2007 and had an abortion rate of 14.5 abortions per 1,000 adolescents aged 15--19 years; women aged ≥35 years accounted for a smaller percentage (12.0%) of abortions and had lower abortion rates (7.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 35--39 years and 2.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged ≥40 years). During 1998--2007, the abortion rate increased among women aged ≥35 years but decreased among adolescents aged ≤19 years and among women aged 20--29 years.
In contrast to the percentage distribution of abortions and abortion rates, abortion ratios were highest at the extremes of reproductive age, both in 2007 and throughout the entire period of analysis. During 1998--2007 abortion ratios decreased among women in all age groups except for those aged <15 years.
In 2007, most (62.3%) abortions were performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation, and 91.5% were performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation. Few abortions (7.2%) were performed at 14--20 weeks' gestation, and 1.3% were performed at ≥21 weeks' gestation. During 1998--2007, the percentage of abortions performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation remained stable; however, abortions performed at ≥16 weeks' gestation decreased by 13%--14%, and among the abortions performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation, the percentage performed at ≤6 weeks' gestation increased 65%.
In 2007, 78.1% of abortions were performed by curettage at ≤13 weeks' gestation, and 13.1% were performed by early medical abortion (a nonsurgical abortion at ≤8 weeks' gestation); 7.9% of abortions were performed by curettage at >13 weeks' gestation. Among the 62.3% of abortions that were performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation, and thus were eligible for early medical abortion, 20.3% were completed by this method.
Deaths of women associated with complications from abortions for 2007 are being investigated under CDC's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System. In 2006, the most recent year for which data were available, six women were reported to have died as a result of complications from known legal induced abortions. No reported deaths were associated with known illegal induced abortions.
Interpretation: Among the 45 areas that reported data every year during 1998--2007, the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions decreased during 2006--2007. This decrease reversed the increase in reported abortion numbers and rates that occurred during 2005--2006; however, reported abortion numbers and rates for 2007 still were higher than they had been previously in 2005. In 2006, as in previous years, reported deaths related to abortion were rare.
Public Health Action: Abortion surveillance in the United States continues to provide the data needed to examine trends in the number and characteristics of women obtaining abortions. Policymakers and program planners can use these data to guide and evaluate efforts to prevent unintended pregnancies.
Introduction
This report is based on abortion data for 2007 that were provided voluntarily to CDC by the central health agencies of 49 reporting areas (the District of Columbia; New York City; and 47 states, excluding California, Maryland, and New Hampshire). Since 1969, CDC has conducted abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States (1). Following nationwide legalization of abortion in 1973, the total number, rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years), and ratio (the number of abortions per 1,000 live births) of reported abortions increased rapidly, reaching their highest levels in the 1980s before decreasing at a slow yet steady pace (2--6). However, the incidence of abortion has varied considerably across demographic subpopulations (7--10), and recent reports have suggested that the sustained pattern of decline might have leveled off (11,12). Continued surveillance is needed to monitor long-term changes in the overall incidence of abortion procedures and to guide and evaluate programs for preventing unintended pregnancy in the United States.
Methods
Description of the Surveillance System
Each year, CDC requests tabulated data from the central health agencies of 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City) to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining abortions in the United States. For the purpose of surveillance, a legal induced abortion is defined as a procedure performed by a licensed physician, or an appropriately licensed advanced practice clinician acting under the supervision of a licensed physician, that is intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and produce a nonviable fetus at any gestational age (13).*
In most states, collection of abortion data is facilitated by the legal requirement for hospitals, facilities, and physicians to report abortions to a central health agency (14). These central health agencies voluntarily provide CDC the aggregate numbers for the abortion data they have collected (15).
Most reporting areas do report aggregate abortion numbers in response to the CDC annual request: during 1998--2007, a total of 45 reporting areas provided CDC a continuous annual record of abortion numbers,† and in 2007, CDC obtained aggregate abortion numbers from 49 reporting areas.§ However, the level of detail that CDC receives on the characteristics of women obtaining abortions varies considerably from year to year and among reporting areas. To encourage more uniform collection of these details, CDC has developed a standard reporting form (16). However, because no federal mandate requires the collection of abortion data, reporting areas can develop their own forms and might not collect all the information requested by CDC.
Variables and Categorization of Data
Each year, CDC sends suggested templates to the central health agencies for them to compile their abortion data in aggregate. Aggregate abortion numbers, rather than individual-level records, are requested for the following variables:
Age in years of the woman (<15, 15--19 by individual year, 20--24, 25--29, 30--34, 35--39, ≥40);
Gestational age in weeks at the time of abortion (≤6, 7--20 by individual week, ≥21);
Race (black, white, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native);
Ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic);
Method used (curettage, ¶ intrauterine instillation, medical [nonsurgical] abortion, or other**);
intrauterine instillation, medical [nonsurgical] abortion, or other**); Marital status (married, including currently married or separated; unmarried, including never married, widowed, or divorced);
Number of previous live births (0, 1, 2, 3, or ≥4);
Number of previous abortions (0, 1, 2, or ≥3); and
Location of residence (the state, territory, reporting area, or foreign country in which the woman obtaining the abortion lived, or if additional details are unavailable, in reporting area vs. out of reporting area).
In addition to sending templates for compiling information on race and ethnicity as separate variables, CDC has provided alternative templates since 2001 for the tabulation of aggregate cross-classified race/ethnicity data. Because few reporting areas returned these alternative templates in the past, 2007 is the first year for which CDC has had sufficient data to report results by these cross-classified race/ethnicity categories (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic other, and Hispanic).
Finally, both the original and alternative templates that CDC provides request that aggregate numbers for certain individual variables be cross-tabulated by a second variable. These cross-tabulations include gestational age (for age; method type; and race, ethnicity, and race/ethnicity) and age and marital status (for race, ethnicity, and race/ethnicity).
In this report, medical abortions and abortions performed by curettage are further categorized by gestational age (17). For medical abortion, early medical abortion is defined as the administration of medication or medications (typically mifepristone followed by misoprostol) to induce an abortion at ≤8 weeks' gestation,†† and medical abortion at >8 weeks' gestation is defined as the administration of medication or medications (typically vaginal prostaglandins) to induce an abortion at >8 weeks' gestation. For curettage, abortions are categorized as having been performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation or at >13 weeks' gestation because of differences in technique (17). Finally, because intrauterine instillations cannot be performed early in gestation, abortions reported to have been performed by intrauterine installation at ≤12 weeks' gestation are excluded from calculation of the percentage of abortions by known method type.§§
Measures of Abortion
Four measures of abortion are presented in this report: 1) the total number of abortions in a given population, 2) the percentage of abortions obtained within a given subpopulation, 3) the abortion rate (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years or other specific age group within a given population), and 4) the abortion ratio (number of abortions per 1,000 live births within a given population). Although total numbers and percentages are useful measures for determining how many women have obtained an abortion, abortion rates adjust for differences in subpopulation size and reflect how likely abortion is among women in particular groups. Abortion ratios reflect the relative number of pregnancies in a population that end in abortion compared with live birth; abortion ratios change both according to the proportion of pregnancies in a population that are unintended and the proportion of unintended pregnancies that are continued. Abortion ratios also are influenced by the proportion of intended pregnancies that are terminated; however, intended pregnancies are estimated to account for only 4% of all abortions (21).
For the calculation of abortion ratios, data were obtained from CDC natality files (22). U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the resident female population of the United States, compiled by CDC (23--31), were used to calculate abortion rates. Overall abortion rates were calculated from the population of women aged 15--44 years. However, because 94.0% of abortions among adolescents aged <15 years occurred among adolescents aged 13--14 years (as measured in 1988, the last year that CDC enumerated abortions for this age group by individual year) (32), the population of adolescents aged 13--14 years was used as the denominator for this youngest group. Similarly, for women aged ≥40 years, abortion rates were based on the number of women aged 40--44 years.
Data Presentation and Analysis
This report provides state-specific and overall abortion numbers, rates, and ratios for the 49 areas that reported to CDC for 2007 (excludes California, Maryland, and New Hampshire). In addition, this report describes the characteristics of women who obtained abortions in 2007. However, because the completeness of reporting on the characteristics of women varies by year and by variable, this report only describes the characteristics of women from areas that met reporting standards (i.e., with data categorized in accordance with surveillance variables and with <15% unknown values for a given characteristic). For state-specific results, cell values from 1 to 4 have been suppressed to maintain confidentiality. In addition, abortion rates and ratios were not calculated for groups with <20 abortions because results are considered unreliable.
Most of the data in this report are presented by the reporting area in which the abortions were performed. In addition, 48 reporting areas¶¶ provided the number of abortions by the reporting area in which women lived. However, three of these states (Delaware, Illinois, and Wisconsin) reported characteristics for in-state residents but not for out-of-state residents. Six other states (Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) provided only the total number of abortions for out-of-state residents without specifying individual states or areas of residence. As a result, abortion statistics presented in this report by reporting area of residence are minimum estimates. These estimates might be disproportionately low for reporting areas from which many women travel to another state to receive abortion services if they go to states with incomplete residence reporting.
For the purpose of evaluating trends in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, annual statistics are reported for 1998--2007, and in each case the percentage change from 1998 to 2007 and from 2006 to 2007 has been calculated. Only the 45 reporting areas that provided data every year during the entire period were included. Similarly, annual statistics are presented for 1998--2007 for certain variables (abortions by maternal age, gestational age, race, and ethnicity), with reporting areas included only if they provided data that met reporting standards every year. For other variables (marital status, number of previous abortions, and number of previous births), data are reported only for 1998, 2006, and 2007, and reporting areas are included if they reported all 3 years. To evaluate trends in the use of different abortion procedures, reporting areas were included only if they provided complete data and specifically included medical abortion as a method on their reporting form. Approval of mifepristone for medical abortion was granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2000 (33); 2001 was the first complete year during which early medical abortion was available in the United States. Therefore, comparisons have been made between 2001 and 2007 and between 2006 and 2007.
Because certain areas that reported in 2007 were not included in some or all of the trend analyses, summary measures for comparisons over time might differ slightly from the point estimates presented for all areas that reported in 2007.
Abortion Mortality
CDC has reported data on abortion-related deaths periodically since information on abortion mortality first was included in the 1972 abortion surveillance report (12,34). An abortion-related death is defined as a death resulting from a direct complication of an abortion (legal or illegal), an indirect complication caused by a chain of events initiated by an abortion, or aggravation of a preexisting condition by the physiologic or psychologic effects of abortion (35). An abortion is defined as "legal" if it is performed by a licensed physician or an appropriately licensed advanced practice clinician acting under the supervision of a licensed physician; an abortion is defined as "illegal" if it is performed by any other person. All deaths determined to be related causally to induced abortion have been classified as abortion related regardless of the time between the abortion and death.
Since 1987, CDC has monitored abortion-related deaths through its Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) (36). Additional sources of data for abortion-related deaths include state vital records, public health agencies, maternal mortality review committees, health-care providers, private citizens and citizen groups, and media reports, including computerized searches of full-text newspaper and other print media databases. For each death that possibly is related to abortion, CDC requests clinical records and autopsy reports. Two clinical epidemiologists review these reports to determine the cause of death and whether the death was abortion related. Each abortion-related death then is categorized by abortion type as legal induced, illegal induced, spontaneous, or unknown type. This report provides data on abortion-related deaths that occurred during 1972--2006; data for 2006 have not been published previously and are the most recent data available. Possible abortion-related deaths that occurred during 2007--2010 are under investigation. Although national case-fatality rates (the number of abortion-related deaths per 100,000 reported legal induced abortions) have been published for 1972--1997, this measure could not be calculated for 1998--2006 with CDC data because a substantial number of abortions have been documented in states that did not report to CDC (3,37), and thus the total number of abortions was not available as the rate denominator.
Results
U.S. Totals
Among the 49 reporting areas that provided data for 2007,*** a total of 827,609 abortions were reported. For the 45 reporting areas that provided data every year during 1998--2007,††† a total of 810,582 abortions (97.9% of the total) were reported for 2007; among these 45 consistently reporting areas, the abortion rate was 16.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years, and the abortion ratio was 231 abortions per 1,000 live births (Table 1). Compared with 2006, the total number and rate of reported abortions in 2007 was 2% lower and the abortion ratio was 3% lower. However, given the increase in the number and rate of abortions that occurred during 2005--2006, these measures still were higher in 2007 than they had been in 2005. Nonetheless, compared with 1998, the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions in 2007 were 6%, 7%, and 14% lower, respectively (Figure 1).
Occurrence and Residence
Total abortion numbers, rates, and ratios have been calculated by individual reporting area of occurrence and the residence status of the women who obtained the procedures (Table 2). By reporting area of occurrence, a considerable range existed in the total number of reported abortions, ranging from nine (Wyoming) to 91,954 (Florida); in the abortion rate, ranging from 4.6 (South Dakota) to 48.3 (New York City) abortions per 1,000 women§§§; and in the abortion ratio, ranging from 58 (Idaho and South Dakota) to 737 (New York City) abortions per 1,000 live births.¶¶¶ Similarly, a considerable range existed by residence status**** in the total number of reported abortions, ranging from 833 (South Dakota) to 83,326 (New York City); in the abortion rate, ranging from 5.4 (South Dakota) to 44.3 (New York City) abortions per 1,000 women; and in the abortion ratio, ranging from 67 (Utah) to 676 (New York City) abortions per 1,000 live births. Given the substantial variation that also occurred among reporting areas in the percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, ranging from none (Alaska) to 53.5% (District of Columbia), abortion rates and ratios calculated by residence status might provide a more accurate reflection of population trends. However, these measures must be viewed with caution because of the variation across reporting areas in methods used to record residence status and the resulting 12.6% of abortions reported without a state, territory, reporting area, or country of residence.
Age
Among the 48 areas that reported by age for 2007, women aged 20--29 years accounted for the majority (56.9%) of abortions and had the highest abortion rates (29.4 and 21.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20--24 and 25--29 years, respectively) (Figure 2; Table 3). Women in the youngest and oldest age groups (<15 or ≥40 years) accounted for the smallest percentage of abortions (0.5% and 3.2%, respectively) and had the lowest abortion rates (1.2 and 2.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged <15 and ≥40 years, respectively). Among the 44 reporting areas that provided data every year during 1998--2007, this pattern across age groups was stable, with the majority of abortions and the highest abortion rates occurring among women in their 20s and the lowest percentage of abortions and abortion rates occurring among women in the youngest and oldest age groups (Table 4). However, during 1998--2007, the abortion rate and percentage of abortions accounted for by women in the youngest age groups decreased, and the abortion rate and percentage of abortions accounted for by older women increased. From 2006 to 2007, abortion rates decreased among women aged 15--39 years; however, given the increase that occurred during 2005--2006, abortion rates still were higher in 2007 than they had been in 2005 for all women in this age range, except for adolescents aged 15--19 years, among whom a 1% decrease occurred.
In contrast to the percentage distribution of abortion numbers and abortion rates, abortion ratios for 2007 were highest at the extremes of reproductive age (Figure 2; Table 3). During 2006--2007, abortion ratios decreased among all women aged >15 years. Moreover, because abortion ratios had decreased or had increased only slightly during 2005--2006 for all women in this age range, abortion ratios were lower in 2007 than they had been in 2005. During 1998--2007, abortion ratios decreased 13%--19% for all women aged >15 years (Table 4).
Adolescents
Among the 46 areas that reported age by individual year among adolescents for 2007, adolescents aged ≤19 years accounted for 115,209 abortions (Table 5). The adolescent abortion rate was 10.7 abortions per 1,000 adolescents aged ≤19 years, and the adolescent abortion ratio was 337 abortions per 1,000 live births. Adolescents aged 18--19 years accounted for the majority (62.3%) of adolescent abortions and had the highest adolescent abortion rates (21.2 and 25.8 abortions per 1,000 adolescents aged 18 and 19 years, respectively). Adolescents aged <15 years accounted for the smallest percentage of adolescent abortions (3.1%) and had the lowest adolescent abortion rate (1.2 abortions per 1,000 adolescents). Among the 41 reporting areas that provided data every year during 1998--2007, this pattern across age groups was stable, with older adolescents accounting for a larger percentage of adolescent abortions and having higher abortion rates (Table 6); nonetheless, differences across adolescent age groups were larger in 2007 than in 1998. For abortion rates, a decrease occurred among all adolescents aged >15 years during 2006--2007. However, although 2007 abortion rates decreased below 2005 rates for adolescents aged 15--17 years, because of the increase among adolescents aged 18--19 years that had occurred during 2005--2006, the 2007 abortion rates among these older adolescents were essentially unchanged from 2005.
Adolescent abortion ratios for 2007 generally decreased with age and were lowest among adolescents aged 19 years (Table 5). Among the 41 reporting areas that provided data for every year during the preceding decade, the difference in abortion ratios between younger and older adolescents increased during 1998--2007, with a comparatively large decrease among adolescents aged 18--19 years (Table 6). During 2006--2007 abortion ratios decreased for all adolescents aged ≥15 years, and because they also had decreased during 2005--2006, abortion ratios for adolescents in this age range were 4%--7% lower in 2007 than they had been previously in 2005.
Gestational Age
Among women from the 42 areas that reported gestational age at the time of abortion for 2007 (Table 7), the majority (62.3%) of abortions were obtained at ≤8 weeks' gestation, and 91.5% were obtained at ≤13 weeks' gestation. A total of 7.2% of abortions were obtained at 14--20 weeks' gestation, and 1.3% were obtained at ≥21 weeks' gestation. Among the 34 reporting areas that provided data on gestational age every year during 1998--2007 (Table 8), the percentage of abortions obtained at ≤13 weeks' gestation was stable but shifted toward earlier gestational ages: abortions performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation increased 14.0%, whereas abortions performed at 9--13 weeks' gestation decreased 19.5%. Throughout 1998--2007, the percentage of abortions performed at >13 weeks' gestation was low (<10%), and abortions performed at ≥16 weeks' gestation decreased by 13%--14%.
In the 42 reporting areas that provided the exact week of gestational age in 2007 for abortions at ≤13 weeks' gestation, 33.0% were performed at ≤6 weeks' gestation, and 35.1% were performed at 7--8 weeks' gestation, for a total of 68.1% at ≤8 weeks' gestation (Table 9). Among the remaining abortions at ≤13 weeks' gestation, the percentage contribution was progressively lower for each additional week of gestation: 10.8% of abortions at ≤13 weeks were reported at 9 weeks' gestation, whereas 3.2% were reported at 13 weeks' gestation. Among the 34 areas that reported by the exact week of gestational age for every year during 1998--2007, the percentage of procedures shifted toward earlier gestational ages: procedures performed at ≤6 weeks' gestation increased 65%, whereas the percentage performed at 8--13 weeks' gestation decreased (Table 10).
Procedure Type
Among the 38 areas that reported by procedure type and included medical abortion on the reporting form distributed to medical providers for 2007, 78.1% of abortions were performed by curettage at ≤13 weeks' gestation, and 13.1% were performed by early medical (nonsurgical) abortion; 7.9% were performed by curettage at >13 weeks' gestation, and all other procedures were uncommon (Table 11). Among the 28 reporting areas that included medical abortion on their reporting form and provided this data for all 3 years of comparison (2001, the first full year following FDA approval of mifepristone for use in early medical abortion, as well as 2006 and 2007),†††† the use of early medical abortion increased 12% from 2006 and 243% from 2001 (from 3.5% of abortions in 2001 to 10.7% in 2006 and 12.0% in 2007). In contrast, the use of curettage at ≤13 weeks' gestation decreased 1% from 2006 and 9% from 2001 (from 87.2% of abortions in 2001 to 80.2% in 2006 and 79.0% in 2007). The use of curettage at >13 weeks' gestation remained essentially unchanged (accounting for 8.5% of abortions in 2001 and 8.3% in 2006 and 2007). All other methods accounted for a consistently small percentage of abortions (0.1%--0.7%).
Race
Among women from the 37 areas that reported race for 2007, white women (including Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women) accounted for the largest percentage (55.9%) of abortions; black women accounted for 36.5% and women of other racial groups for 7.6% of abortions (Table 12). Black women had higher abortion rates and ratios than white women and women of other races (Table 12). Among the 27 reporting areas that provided data every year during 1998--2007, the percentage distribution of abortions by race changed little; although abortions among women in the other racial category increased, the percentage remained low (Table 13). Abortion rates decreased during 2006--2007 among women from all racial groups, continuing the long-term decrease during 1998--2007 that had been interrupted by a 1-year increase during 2005--2006. However, because the increase in abortion rates during 2005--2006 had been much greater for white women (4%) than for black women (1%), the abortion rate was 2% higher for white women in 2007 than it had been in 2005 but 1% lower than it had been for black women. Abortion ratios also decreased during 2006--2007 among women from all racial groups, with a larger cumulative decrease during 2005--2007 among black women (7%) compared with white women (2%) (Table 13).
Race/Ethnicity
Among women from the 25 areas that reported cross-classified race/ethnicity data for 2007 (Table 14), non-Hispanic white women accounted for the largest percentage of abortions (37.1%), followed by non-Hispanic black women (34.4%), Hispanic women (22.1%), and non-Hispanic women of other races (6.4%). Non-Hispanic white women had the lowest abortion rates (8.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years) and ratios (144 abortions per 1,000 live births); in contrast, non-Hispanic black women had the highest abortion rates (32.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years) and ratios (480 abortions per 1,000 live births). Hispanic women had intermediate abortion rates and ratios; however, although Hispanic women had abortion rates that were 125% higher than non-Hispanic white women, their abortion ratios were only 34% higher. Because 2007 is the first year for which cross-classified race/ethnicity data have been compiled, trends over time could not be evaluated.
Ethnicity
Among the 33 areas that reported ethnicity for 2007, Hispanic women accounted for 19.8% of all abortions and had an abortion rate of 20.5 abortions per 1,000 Hispanic women; they had an abortion ratio of 193 abortions per 1,000 live births to Hispanic women (Table 15). These results are similar to those for Hispanic women who obtained abortions in the 25 reporting areas that provided cross-classified race/ethnicity data (Table 14). Among the 18 reporting areas that provided ethnicity data every year during 1998--2007, the percentage of abortions accounted for by Hispanic women increased 18% (Table 16). In contrast, during 2006--2007, abortion rates and ratios among Hispanic women decreased, continuing the pattern observed during 1998--2007, when the decrease in abortion rates and ratios was greater for Hispanic women than for non-Hispanic women of white, black, and other racial groups combined (Table 16).
Marital Status
Among the 41 areas that reported marital status for 2007, 83.7% of all women obtaining abortions were unmarried, and 16.3% were married (Table 17). For the 35 reporting areas that provided these data for 1998, 2006, and 2007, §§§§ unmarried women accounted for a slightly higher percentage of abortions in 2007 (83.8%) than in 1998 (81.1%); the percentage was unchanged from 2006.
Previous Live Births and Abortions
Among the 41 areas that reported the number of previous live births for 2007, 41.4%, 26.3%, and 32.3% of all women who obtained abortions had previously had zero, one, or two or more live births, respectively (Table 18). Among the 36 reporting areas that provided these data for 1998, 2006, and 2007, ¶¶¶¶ the change in the distribution of women obtaining abortions by the number of previous live births was minimal (zero previous births: 40.9% in 1998 vs. 41.4% in 2007; one previous birth: 27.9% in 1998 vs. 26.4% in 2007; two or more previous births: 31.2% in 1998 vs. 32.2% in 2007).
Among the 41 areas that reported the number of previous abortions for 2007, the majority of women (55.9%) who obtained abortions had not previously had an abortion; 25.1% and 19.0%, respectively, had previously had either one abortion or two or more abortions (Table 19). Among the 33 reporting areas that provided data in 1998, 2006, and 2007, ***** the percentage of women who had obtained no previous abortions increased 4% (from 53.8% in 1998 to 55.9% in 2007), whereas the percentage of women who had obtained one previous abortion decreased 8% (from 26.9% in 1998 to 24.9% in 2007); the percentage of women who had obtained two or more previous abortions was stable (19.3% in 1998 vs. 19.2% in 2007).
Age and Marital Status by Race and Race/Ethnicity
In some reporting areas, women of each racial and racial/ethnic group were classified further by age and marital status (Tables 20 and 21). By age, a consistent pattern existed across all racial and racial/ethnic groups: the smallest percentage of abortions occurred among adolescents aged <15 years (0.2%--0.7%), and the largest percentage occurred among women aged 20--24 years (26.3%--33.8%). By marital status, a consistent pattern also existed across all racial and racial/ethnic groups, with a higher percentage of abortions occurring among women who were unmarried (64.5%--89.5%) compared with those who were married (10.5%--35.5%).
Weeks of Gestation by Age, Race, Race/Ethnicity, and Type of Procedure
In some reporting areas, women who obtained abortions at different gestational ages were categorized further by age, race, and race/ethnicity (Tables 22 and 23). In every subgroup for these three variables, the largest percentage of abortions was obtained at ≤8 weeks' gestation. However, whereas 44.4% of adolescents aged <15 years and 52.5% adolescents aged 15--19 years obtained an abortion by ≤8 weeks' gestation, 60.7%--70.9% of adult women aged ≥20 years obtained an abortion by this point in gestation (Figure 3; Table 22). Conversely, 19.6% of adolescents aged <15 years and 12.1% of adolescents 15--19 years obtained an abortion after 13 weeks' gestation, whereas this percentage ranged from 6.7%--8.6% for adult women. By race/ethnicity, 58.9% of non-Hispanic black women obtained an abortion by ≤8 weeks' gestation, whereas 65.7%--69.8% of women from other racial/ethnic groups obtained an abortion by this point in gestation. Non-Hispanic black women also obtained the highest percentage of abortions after 13 weeks' gestation; however, differences across racial/ethnic groups were less apparent than differences across age groups (Table 22).
Among women obtaining abortions in reporting areas that further categorized the method used by gestational age, curettage accounted for the largest percentage of abortions within every gestational age category (Table 24). At ≤8 weeks' gestation, curettage accounted for 79.4% of all procedures because of the comparatively high percentage of early medical abortions (20.3%). However, from 9--20 weeks' gestation, curettage accounted for 94.2%--98.6% of all abortions and then decreased to 89.0% of abortions at ≥21 weeks' gestation. Medical abortion at >8 weeks' gestation was uncommon at any time before 18 weeks' gestation, when its use increased to 2.7% at 18--20 weeks and 9.0% at ≥21 weeks' gestation. Throughout gestation, intrauterine instillations and other procedures accounted for a very low percentage of abortions (0%--2.4%).
Abortion Mortality
Using national PMSS data (36), CDC identified nine deaths for 2006 that were potentially related to abortion. These deaths were identified either by some indication of abortion on the death certificate or by reports from a health-care provider or public health agency. Investigation of these cases indicated that six of the nine deaths were related to legal abortion and none to illegal abortion (Table 25). One of the six deaths related to a legal induced abortion occurred after a medical (nonsurgical) abortion procedure; this case has been described previously (38). Of the three deaths that were determined not to be related to a legal induced abortion, one was determined to be unrelated to the pregnancy or the abortion procedure, whereas two were attributed to pregnancy outcomes other than induced abortion (one spontaneous abortion and one live birth). Possible abortion-related deaths that occurred during 2007--2010 are under investigation.
Discussion
For 2007, a total of 827,609 abortions were reported in the United States. Among the 45 reporting areas that provided data for every year during 1998--2007, a total of 810,582 abortions were reported for 2007. These same 45 areas reported an abortion rate of 16.0 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years and an abortion ratio of 231 abortions per 1,000 live births. Compared with 2006, this represents a 2% decrease in the total number and rate of reported abortions and a 3% decrease in the abortion ratio. Thus, the decrease that occurred during 2006--2007 is consistent with the general decrease that occurred during 1998--2007. However, the changes that occurred during 2006--2007 contrast with the pattern observed during 2005--2006, when a 3% increase in the total number and rate of reported abortions paralleled a 3% increase in both the total number of live births and the fertility rate (live births per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years) for the United States (12,39). Because birth data for 2008 and preliminary numbers for 2009 show a decrease in the total number of births and the fertility rate for the United States (40,41), subsequent years of abortion data, when available, will be important for evaluating trends in pregnancy outcomes.
In addition to overall population changes, this report highlights important age differences in abortion trends. During 1998--2007, women in their 20s obtained the majority of abortions (>55%) and therefore accounted for most of the overall changes in abortion rates. Conversely, women aged ≥35 years consistently accounted for a small percentage of abortions, although their abortion rates increased slowly during this entire period. This slow but persistent increase suggests that unintended pregnancy is a problem that women continue to face throughout their reproductive years and that women in older age groups might need additional assistance with avoiding unintended pregnancies.
The adolescent abortion trends described in this report are important for the evaluation of recent changes in adolescent pregnancy and birth rates. During 1990--2005, pregnancy rates among adolescents aged 15--19 years decreased 40%, reflecting decreases in both adolescent abortions and live births (5). However, this long-term trend was interrupted during 2005--2007, when the birth rate for adolescents increased 5% (39). By comparison, during 2005--2007, the abortion rate among adolescents aged 15--19 years decreased 1%. Because adolescent abortion rates decreased during this period, albeit slightly, with a corresponding decrease in adolescent abortion ratios, a portion of the increase in adolescent births might be accounted for by an increasing tendency for adolescents to continue their pregnancies. However, the much larger increase in adolescent births, compared with the small decrease in adolescent abortions, suggests that part of the increase in adolescent births during 2005--2007 can be attributed to an increase in adolescent pregnancies. Because 2008 birth data and preliminary numbers for 2009 once again show a decrease in births and the birth rate for adolescents (40,41), fully evaluating these trends when the abortion data for 2008 and 2009 are available will be important.
The findings in this report on race and ethnicity reflect differences in patterns of obtaining abortions that have been well-documented and observed for many years (2--10,12). Comparatively high abortion rates and ratios among black women have been attributed to higher unintended pregnancy rates and a higher percentage of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion (21). Data from this and one other report (10) suggest that the differences between black women and women of other races might have narrowed slightly in recent years. Accumulation of data over time is needed to determine whether this is a sustained trend. High abortion rates among Hispanic women compared with non-Hispanic white women have been attributed to high pregnancy rates among Hispanic women. However, abortion ratios in these two groups have been more comparable. Compared with non-Hispanic white women, Hispanic women have a slightly higher percentage of pregnancies that are unintended but are no more likely than non-Hispanic white women to terminate unintended pregnancies (21). Relative changes over time in abortion rates and ratios for Hispanic women are difficult to interpret from this report because records before 2007 for non-Hispanic women combined women from white, black, and other racial populations.
The findings presented in this report indicate that more women are obtaining abortions earlier in gestation, when the risks for complications are lowest (42). Among the areas that reported data every year during 1998--2007, the percentage of abortions performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation increased 14%. Moreover, among the areas that reported abortions at ≤13 weeks' gestation by individual week, a clear shift in the distribution toward earlier weeks of gestation was observed: the percentage performed at ≤6 weeks' gestation increased 65%, whereas the percentage performed at ≥8 weeks' gestation decreased. Nonetheless, the overall percentage of abortions performed at ≤13 weeks' gestation changed little, and the reduction in the small proportion of abortions obtained after this point in gestation was slight. Because the risks for abortion complications are the very lowest early in gestation, it is important to understand the factors that cause women to delay their requests for pregnancy termination (43--46).
Several factors have been suggested to explain the reason a greater proportion of black women and adolescents obtained an abortion after the initial weeks of pregnancy. Because women with low incomes frequently need additional time to raise the necessary funds and make arrangements for an abortion (44,47), some of the delays among black women might be related to their higher poverty rates (48). Delays among adolescents might reflect the fact that they often take longer to suspect and then confirm they are pregnant (44,46) and might take longer to arrange an abortion because of parental involvement laws (49). In addition, certain pregnant adolescents approaching age 18 years wait until they are old enough to obtain an abortion without parental involvement (50,51), thereby delaying their procedure.
The shift in abortion to earlier stages of gestation, although not observed equally among all women, has been facilitated by changes in the types of procedures being used. Curettage has remained the most common method for performing abortions. Although for many years this type of abortion had been performed only after the initial weeks of gestation, the development of highly sensitive pregnancy tests and transvaginal ultrasonography increasingly have allowed clinicians to diagnose pregnancy and confirm its termination at ≤6 weeks' gestation (52--57). In addition, the increasing use of medical abortion has contributed to the increasing percentage of abortions performed early in gestation. In September 2000, FDA approved mifepristone for use in early medical abortion (33), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has endorsed an evidence-based protocol that can be used up to 63 days of gestation (18). In 2007, 63.3% of abortions were performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation and thus were eligible for early medical abortion; 20.3% of these eligible abortions and 13.1% of all abortions were reported as early medical abortions. The use of early medical abortion also has increased substantially since FDA approved the use of mifepristone: during 2001--2007 the percentage of all reported abortions accounted for by this method increased 243%. Moreover, whereas the rate of increase leveled off after the initial years of approval (58), the proportional use of this method continues to increase, with the percentage of all abortions reported as early medical abortion increasing 12% during 2006--2007.
The annual number of deaths associated with known legal induced abortions during 1997--2006 was 57% lower, on average, than during 1972--1981. In 2006, six women died from causes known to be associated with legal abortion, and none died as a result of known illegal abortions. CDC data cannot be used to calculate national case-fatality rates for 1998--2006 because certain states (four during 1998--1999, three during 2000--2005 and 2007, and two during 2006), including California, did not report abortion surveillance data. Because a substantial number of abortions have been documented in California (3,37), CDC data cannot be used to approximate the total number of abortions as the denominator.
Limitations
The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, because reporting requirements are established by the individual reporting areas (15), the collection of data varies, and CDC is unable to obtain the total number of abortions performed in the United States. During 1998--2007, the total annual number of abortions recorded by CDC was only 65%--69% of the number recorded by the Guttmacher Institute (37), which uses numerous active follow-up techniques to increase the completeness of the data obtained through its periodic national survey of abortion providers (11). Although most reporting areas collect and send abortion data to CDC, this information is given to CDC voluntarily; consequently, during 1998--2007, 45 of the 52 reporting areas provided CDC data on a consistent annual basis, and CDC did not obtain any information from California, Maryland, or New Hampshire for 2007.††††† In addition, whereas most of the reporting areas that send abortion data to CDC have laws requiring medical providers to submit a report for every abortion they perform to a central health agency, in New Jersey and the District of Columbia, medical providers submit this information voluntarily (14). As a result, the abortion numbers these areas report to CDC tend to be relatively incomplete.§§§§§ Moreover, even in states that legally require medical providers to submit a report for all the abortions they perform, enforcement of this requirement varies (59), and thus several other reporting areas provide CDC with comparatively incomplete numbers.¶¶¶¶¶
Second, because reporting requirements are established by the individual reporting areas, CDC's model reporting form (16) is not consistently used to request information from abortion providers. Consequently, many reporting areas do not collect all the information CDC requests on the characteristics of women obtaining abortions (e.g., age, race, and ethnicity) (59); similarly, some reporting areas do not specifically include medical abortion as one of the potential methods for terminating a pregnancy (14). Although missing demographic information might reduce the extent to which the statistics in this report represent all women in the United States, three nationally representative surveys of women obtaining abortions in 1987, 1994--1995, and 2001--2002 have produced distributions of characteristics similar to the distributions reported by CDC for the relevant years (7--9). However, compared with estimates for demographic variables, CDC's early estimates for the use of medical abortion might not as accurately represent the proportional contribution of this method because these estimates were based on comparatively incomplete data. In 2001, the first full year following FDA approval of mifepristone for early medical abortion, only 28 reporting areas specifically requested information on the use of this method from abortion providers. As more states add medical abortion to their reporting forms, CDC estimates of the proportional contribution of this method should improve; however, trend analyses will continue to be affected by early data.
Third, abortion data are compiled and reported to CDC by the central health agency of the reporting area in which the abortion was performed rather than the reporting area in which the woman lived. This inflates abortion statistics for reporting areas in which a high percentage of abortions are obtained by out-of-state residents and undercounts procedures for states with limited abortion services, more stringent legal requirements for obtaining an abortion, or geographic proximity to services in another state. To correct for these biases, CDC attempts to categorize abortions by residence in addition to occurrence but was unable to identify the state, territory, reporting area, or country of residence for 12.6% of reported abortions.
Finally, adjustments for socioeconomic status cannot be made without data on education or income, and joint analysis of many variables of interest (e.g., age, race, and ethnicity) is precluded because reporting areas provide CDC with aggregate numbers rather than individual-level records.
Public Health Implications
Ongoing abortion surveillance is important for several reasons. First, ongoing abortion surveillance is needed to guide and evaluate programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies. Although pregnancy intentions are complex and difficult to assess (60--66), abortion provides a proxy measure for the number of pregnancies that are unwanted. Second, routine abortion surveillance is needed to assess changes in clinical practice patterns over time (e.g., types of procedures being used and the gestational age at which procedures are performed). Finally, statistics on the number of pregnancies ending in abortion can be used in conjunction with data on births and fetal deaths to more accurately estimate the number of pregnancies in the United States and determine rates for a variety of outcomes (e.g., adolescent pregnancy rates) (67).
According to the most recent national estimates, nearly one fifth of all pregnancies in the United States end in abortion (5). Multiple factors can influence the incidence of abortion, including the availability of abortion providers (11,68--70); the adoption of state regulations, such as mandatory waiting periods and parental involvement laws (49,71); increasing acceptance of nonmarital childbearing (72,73); shifts in the racial/ethnic composition of the U.S. population (74,75); and changes in the economy and the resulting impact on fertility preferences and access to health-cares services, including contraception (76,77). However, even with these influences, most abortions are preceded by an unintended pregnancy, with intended pregnancies estimated to account for 4% of all abortions (21), including those which presumably are performed for maternal medical indications and fetal abnormalities. Providing women with the knowledge and resources necessary to make decisions about their sexual behavior and use of contraception can help them avoid unintended pregnancies and thus reduce the number of women seeking abortion. However, efforts to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the United States have been challenging. Findings from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), the primary national source of data on unintended pregnancy in the United States, suggest that unintended pregnancy rates decreased during 1982--1995 in conjunction with an increase in the proportion of women at risk for unintended pregnancy****** who were using contraception (79--81). However, by 2002, contraceptive use among women at risk for unintended pregnancy had decreased (80), and decreases in unintended pregnancy had plateaued (21). Data from the 2006--2008 NSFG indicate that contraceptive use among women at risk for unintended pregnancy has not increased subsequently, and only small increases have occurred in the use of the most effective forms of reversible contraception (78). Previous research has shown that the total number of unintended pregnancies and abortions is similar for the comparatively small group of women at risk for unintended pregnancy who are not using any form of contraception and for the much larger group of women who are not using contraception effectively (21,82,83). Therefore, improvements in use of family planning for both of these groups are needed to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, and thus the number of abortions that are performed, in the United States.
Acknowledgments
This report is based, in part, on contributions by Jessica Reno, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; and Kristi Seed, Science Applications International Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia.
References
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TABLE 1. Number, rate,* and ratio† of reported abortions --- selected states, United States, 2007 Year All reporting areas§ Continuously reporting areas¶ Number Number (%)** Rate Ratio 1998 884,273 859,726 97.2 17.1 270 1999 861,789 836,119 97.0 16.6 261 2000 857,475 824,023 96.1 16.4 251 2001 853,485 819,681 96.0 16.2 251 2002 854,122 821,527 96.2 16.2 252 2003 848,163 817,586 96.4 16.2 247 2004 839,226 809,257 96.4 16.0 243 2005 820,151 799,084 97.4 15.8 238 2006†† 852,385 825,604 96.9 16.2 238 2007 827,609 810,582 97.9 16.0 231
TABLE 2. Number, rate,* and ratio† of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residence§ --- United States, 2007 State/Area Residence Occurrence % obtained by out-of-state residents No. Rate Ratio No. Rate Ratio Alabama 10,136 10.8 156 11,267 12.0 174 17.0 Alaska 1,939 13.5 175 1,701 11.9 154 0.0 Arizona¶ 10,814 8.5 105 10,721 8.4 104 2.5 Arkansas 5,037 8.9 122 4,845 8.6 117 14.7 California** 375 --- --- --- --- --- --- Colorado 10,556 10.4 149 11,363 11.2 160 7.7 Connecticut 14,701 21.0 353 14,534 20.8 349 3.0 Delaware 3,738 21.0 307 4,949 27.8 407 28.6 District of Columbia†† 1,347 9.1 152 2,369 16.0 267 53.5 Florida§§ 478 --- --- 91,954 26.3 384 --- Georgia 27,510 13.3 182 31,038 15.1 205 12.9 Hawaii 3,751 14.9 196 3,756 14.9 196 0.5 Idaho 2,238 7.5 89 1,442 4.8 58 3.6 Illinois 40,156 15.0 222 45,298 16.9 250 9.3 Indiana 11,613 9.0 129 10,887 8.4 121 4.3 Iowa¶ 5,524 9.5 135 6,637 11.4 162 20.6 Kansas 5,757 10.4 137 10,806 19.4 257 47.8 Kentucky¶ 5,765 6.7 97 4,389 5.1 74 16.2 Louisiana¶ 6,560 7.3 99 6,833 7.6 103 1.2 Maine 2,634 10.4 187 2,689 10.6 190 2.9 Maryland** 2,027 --- --- --- --- --- --- Massachusetts¶ 23,360 17.2 300 24,128 17.8 309 4.3 Michigan 24,383 12.0 195 24,683 12.1 197 2.7 Minnesota 13,266 12.5 180 13,843 13.1 188 7.8 Mississippi 6,616 10.9 142 2,932 4.8 63 2.1 Missouri 14,372 12.1 175 7,324 6.1 89 7.3 Montana 2,012 11.1 162 2,238 12.3 180 11.7 Nebraska 2,311 6.5 86 2,481 7.0 92 11.2 Nevada 9,880 19.1 240 10,646 20.6 259 5.7 New Hampshire** 143 --- --- --- --- --- --- New Jersey¶¶ 28,000 15.9 241 26,668 15.2 230 5.7 New Mexico 6,448 16.1 211 6,036 15.1 197 5.2 New York 121,160 29.7 478 128,036 31.4 505 --- New York City 83,326 44.3 676 90,870 48.3 737 9.1 New York State 37,834 17.2 291 37,166 16.9 286 6.1 North Carolina 28,935 15.4 221 33,233 17.7 254 15.3 North Dakota 900 7.1 102 1,235 9.8 140 35.6 Ohio 29,618 12.8 196 30,859 13.4 205 6.3
TABLE 2. (Continued) Number, rate,* and ratio† of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residence§ --- United States, 2007 State/Area (Continued) Residence Occurrence % obtained by out-of-state residents No. Rate Ratio No. Rate Ratio Oklahoma 7,086 9.8 129 6,640 9.2 121 4.2 Oregon 10,976 14.7 222 11,883 15.9 241 10.1 Pennsylvania 38,559 15.8 256 36,663 15.1 243 3.9 Rhode Island¶ 3,819 17.2 309 4,820 21.7 389 23.8 South Carolina 13,025 14.5 207 7,544 8.4 120 4.5 South Dakota 833 5.4 68 707 4.6 58 13.9 Tennessee 15,097 12.0 174 18,171 14.4 210 22.0 Texas 78,034 15.3 191 80,886 15.9 198 3.9 Utah 3,679 6.3 67 3,933 6.7 71 10.6 Vermont 1,448 11.8 222 1,582 12.9 243 10.3 Virginia 28,179 17.3 259 27,981 17.2 257 5.5 Washington 24,773 18.6 278 24,850 18.7 279 4.9 West Virginia 2,215 6.4 101 1,853 5.3 84 10.2 Wisconsin 9,622 8.6 132 8,267 7.4 114 2.0 Wyoming 839 8.3 106 9 ---*** ---*** 12.5 Canada 161 --- --- --- --- --- --- Mexico 1,124 --- --- --- --- --- --- Total 723,529 --- --- --- --- --- 8.54 Percentage reported by known residence 87.4 --- --- --- --- --- --- Total unknown residence 104,080 --- --- --- --- --- --- Out-of-state, residence not stated 5,654 --- --- --- --- --- --- No information provided on residence 98,426 --- --- --- --- --- --- Percentage reported by unknown residence 12.6 --- --- --- --- --- --- Total 827,609 --- --- --- --- --- ---
TABLE 3. Reported abortions, by known age group and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,* United States, 2007 State/Area Total abortions reported by known age Age group (yrs) No. % of all reported abortions§ <15 15--19 20--24 25--29 30--34 35--39 ≥40 No. (%)† No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) Alabama 104 (0.9) 1,914 (17.0) 3,988 (35.4) 2,781 (24.7) 1,455 (12.9) 798 (7.1) 223 (2.0) 11,263 (100.0) Alaska 8 (0.5) 316 (18.7) 552 (32.6) 391 (23.1) 218 (12.9) 150 (8.9) 58 (3.4) 1,693 (99.5) Arizona 146 (1.4) 1,856 (17.5) 3,524 (33.1) 2,452 (23.1) 1,379 (13.0) 846 (8.0) 429 (4.0) 10,632 (99.2) Arkansas 39 (0.8) 831 (17.2) 1,569 (32.4) 1,128 (23.3) 669 (13.8) 456 (9.4) 151 (3.1) 4,843 (100.0) Colorado 44 (0.4) 2,070 (18.2) 3,830 (33.8) 2,597 (22.9) 1,465 (12.9) 948 (8.4) 391 (3.4) 11,345 (99.8) Connecticut 87 (0.6) 2,683 (18.9) 4,727 (33.4) 3,267 (23.1) 1,804 (12.7) 1,192 (8.4) 401 (2.8) 14,161 (97.4) Delaware¶ 20 (0.6) 656 (18.6) 1,229 (34.8) 819 (23.2) 459 (13.0) 258 (7.3) 91 (2.6) 3,532 (100.0) District of Columbia** 12 (0.5) 367 (15.5) 700 (29.5) 589 (24.9) 392 (16.5) 236 (10.0) 73 (3.1) 2,369 (100.0) Georgia 230 (0.7) 4,692 (15.1) 9,730 (31.3) 7,951 (25.6) 4,733 (15.2) 2,789 (9.0) 913 (2.9) 31,038 (100.0) Hawaii 29 (0.8) 738 (19.7) 1,226 (32.7) 844 (22.5) 480 (12.8) 302 (8.0) 134 (3.6) 3,753 (99.9) Idaho 5 (0.3) 290 (20.1) 475 (32.9) 318 (22.1) 178 (12.3) 122 (8.5) 54 (3.7) 1,442 (100.0) Illinois¶ 257 (0.7) 6,881 (17.6) 11,799 (30.2) 9,481 (24.3) 5,874 (15.0) 3,593 (9.2) 1,154 (3.0) 39,039 (99.4) Indiana 52 (0.5) 1,787 (16.6) 3,593 (33.3) 2,574 (23.9) 1,557 (14.4) 926 (8.6) 295 (2.7) 10,784 (99.1) Iowa 25 (0.4) 1,164 (17.5) 2,265 (34.1) 1,551 (23.4) 868 (13.1) 557 (8.4) 207 (3.1) 6,637 (100.0) Kansas 55 (0.5) 1,739 (16.1) 3,715 (34.4) 2,580 (23.9) 1,488 (13.8) 893 (8.3) 336 (3.1) 10,806 (100.0) Kentucky 51 (1.2) 752 (17.2) 1,388 (31.8) 1,006 (23.0) 631 (14.4) 390 (8.9) 151 (3.5) 4,369 (99.5) Louisiana 67 (1.0) 1,106 (16.4) 2,525 (37.3) 1,613 (23.9) 824 (12.2) 470 (7.0) 156 (2.3) 6,761 (98.9) Maine 10 (0.4) 483 (18.1) 937 (35.1) 608 (22.8) 335 (12.6) 212 (7.9) 84 (3.1) 2,669 (99.3) Massachusetts 83 (0.3) 4,065 (16.9) 7,698 (32.0) 5,548 (23.0) 3,352 (13.9) 2,375 (9.9) 971 (4.0) 24,092 (99.9) Michigan 124 (0.5) 4,407 (17.9) 8,037 (32.6) 5,694 (23.1) 3,478 (14.1) 2,214 (9.0) 720 (2.9) 24,674 (100.0) Minnesota 55 (0.4) 2,082 (15.0) 4,697 (33.9) 3,424 (24.7) 1,915 (13.8) 1,240 (9.0) 430 (3.1) 13,843 (100.0) Mississippi 23 (0.8) 439 (15.0) 1,113 (38.0) 764 (26.1) 370 (12.6) 164 (5.6) 53 (1.8) 2,926 (99.8) Missouri 40 (0.5) 1,220 (16.7) 2,575 (35.2) 1,765 (24.1) 912 (12.5) 597 (8.2) 214 (2.9) 7,323 (100.0) Montana 8 (0.4) 418 (18.7) 818 (36.6) 479 (21.4) 261 (11.7) 182 (8.1) 72 (3.2) 2,238 (100.0) Nebraska 15 (0.6) 388 (15.6) 858 (34.6) 578 (23.3) 351 (14.1) 229 (9.2) 62 (2.5) 2,481 (100.0) Nevada 47 (0.5) 1,660 (16.3) 3,052 (29.9) 2,550 (25.0) 1,540 (15.1) 1,044 (10.2) 322 (3.2) 10,215 (96.0) New Jersey†† 104 (0.4) 3,995 (15.0) 8,326 (31.2) 6,685 (25.1) 4,022 (15.1) 2,530 (9.5) 1,005 (3.8) 26,667 (100.0) New Mexico 39 (0.7) 1,151 (19.5) 2,107 (35.7) 1,305 (22.1) 689 (11.7) 443 (7.5) 161 (2.7) 5,895 (97.7) New York 690 (0.5) 22,481 (17.6) 39,040 (30.6) 30,488 (23.9) 18,628 (14.6) 11,733 (9.2) 4,397 (3.4) 127,457 (99.5) New York City 470 (0.5) 14,844 (16.4) 26,529 (29.3) 22,389 (24.8) 14,171 (15.7) 8,802 (9.7) 3,242 (3.6) 90,447 (99.5) New York State 220 (0.6) 7,637 (20.6) 12,511 (33.8) 8,099 (21.9) 4,457 (12.0) 2,931 (7.9) 1,155 (3.1) 37,010 (99.6) North Carolina 182 (0.6) 5,147 (16.0) 10,883 (33.9) 7,648 (23.8) 4,614 (14.4) 2,742 (8.5) 880 (2.7) 32,096 (96.6) North Dakota 5 (0.4) 218 (17.7) 472 (38.2) 278 (22.5) 142 (11.5) 87 (7.0) 33 (2.7) 1,235 (100.0) Ohio 207 (0.7) 5,376 (17.6) 10,182 (33.3) 7,355 (24.1) 4,081 (13.4) 2,535 (8.3) 808 (2.6) 30,544 (99.0) Oklahoma 37 (0.6) 1,084 (16.4) 2,339 (35.4) 1,541 (23.3) 876 (13.2) 546 (8.3) 190 (2.9) 6,613 (99.6) Oregon 49 (0.4) 2,006 (17.0) 3,720 (31.6) 2,889 (24.5) 1,630 (13.8) 1,072 (9.1) 403 (3.4) 11,769 (99.0) Pennsylvania 211 (0.6) 6,346 (17.3) 12,365 (33.7) 8,477 (23.1) 4,913 (13.4) 3,226 (8.8) 1,111 (3.0) 36,649 (100.0) Rhode Island 22 (0.5) 829 (17.2) 1,602 (33.2) 1,108 (23.0) 691 (14.3) 412 (8.5) 156 (3.2) 4,820 (100.0) South Carolina 51 (0.7) 1,355 (18.0) 2,400 (31.9) 1,859 (24.7) 999 (13.3) 653 (8.7) 212 (2.8) 7,529 (99.8) South Dakota 0 (0.0) 135 (19.1) 244 (34.5) 149 (21.1) 104 (14.7) 53 (7.5) 22 (3.1) 707 (100.0) Tennessee 120 (0.7) 2,832 (15.7) 6,033 (33.4) 4,655 (25.7) 2,595 (14.4) 1,426 (7.9) 419 (2.3) 18,080 (99.5) Texas 197 (0.2) 10,370 (12.8) 27,297 (33.8) 20,815 (25.8) 12,022 (14.9) 7,371 (9.1) 2,662 (3.3) 80,734 (99.8) Utah 17 (0.4) 646 (16.7) 1,267 (32.7) 935 (24.1) 549 (14.2) 328 (8.5) 131 (3.4) 3,873 (98.5) Vermont 6 (0.4) 277 (17.5) 587 (37.1) 325 (20.6) 196 (12.4) 133 (8.4) 57 (3.6) 1,581 (99.9) Virginia 120 (0.4) 3,872 (13.9) 9,293 (33.4) 7,105 (25.5) 4,000 (14.4) 2,500 (9.0) 922 (3.3) 27,812 (99.4) Washington 109 (0.4) 4,570 (18.4) 8,282 (33.4) 5,733 (23.1) 3,187 (12.8) 2,134 (8.6) 814 (3.3) 24,829 (99.9) West Virginia 12 (0.7) 301 (16.3) 627 (34.0) 456 (24.7) 266 (14.4) 146 (7.9) 37 (2.0) 1,845 (99.6) Wisconsin¶ 45 (0.6) 1,344 (16.6) 2,780 (34.3) 1,905 (23.5) 1,036 (12.8) 728 (9.0) 261 (3.2) 8,099 (100.0) Wyoming 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) ---§§ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 0 (0.0) 9 (100.0) Total 3,859 (0.5) 119,339 (16.5) 236,466¶¶ (32.7) 175,063¶¶ (24.2) 102,228¶¶ (14.1) 63,981¶¶ (8.8) 22,826 (3.2) 723,771 (99.4) Abortion rate*** 1.2 14.5 29.4 21.4 13.5 7.7 2.6 14.7 Abortion ratio††† 768 335 273 182 137 169 277 213
TABLE 4. Reported abortions, by known age group and year --- selected states,* United States, 1998--2007 Age group (yrs) Year % change 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2006 to 2007 1998 to 2007 % of abortions <15 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.0 --28.6 15--19 19.0 18.5 18.1 17.5 16.9 16.7 16.6 16.5 16.5 16.5 0.0 --13.2 20--24 31.7 32.1 32.7 33.3 33.3 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.7 32.6 --0.3 2.8 25--29 23.5 23.3 22.9 22.5 22.6 22.7 23.1 23.5 24.1 24.2 0.4 3.0 30--34 14.0 14.0 14.3 14.7 14.9 14.9 14.8 14.6 14.2 14.2 0.0 1.4 35--39 8.3 8.5 8.4 8.5 8.5 8.4 8.5 8.8 8.9 8.9 0.0 7.2 ≥40 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 0.0 18.5 Abortion rate† <15 1.9 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 0.0 --36.8 15--19 19.8 18.4 17.5 16.9 16.3 16.0 15.5 14.9 15.1 14.8 --2.0 --25.3 20--24 35.6 34.2 33.4 32.7 32.0 31.4 30.3 29.5 30.4 30.0 --1.3 --15.7 25--29 24.2 23.4 22.8 23.0 23.3 23.0 22.5 21.9 22.6 22.0 --2.7 --9.1 30--34 13.6 13.5 13.4 13.6 13.8 13.9 13.7 13.5 13.9 13.7 --1.4 0.7 35--39 7.3 7.3 7.1 7.2 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.0 7.9 --1.3 8.2 ≥40 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.7 0.0 8.0 Abortion ratio§ <15 766 717 724 759 779 852 797 786 772 790 2.3 3.1 15--19 399 381 370 374 379 385 376 367 361 347 --3.9 --13.0 20--24 334 320 306 310 311 308 300 290 287 282 --1.7 --15.6 25--29 219 210 201 202 203 198 195 190 193 186 --3.6 --15.1 30--34 159 154 147 149 150 146 145 142 143 139 --2.8 --12.6 35--39 204 196 183 184 183 177 173 172 174 171 --1.7 --16.2 ≥40 345 336 307 310 317 299 292 286 284 280 --1.4 --18.8 Total (no.) 762,421 739,676 722,682 722,178 721,251 720,239 708,380 696,324 716,067 706,859
TABLE 5. Reported abortions among adolescents, by known age and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,* United States, 2007 State/Area Age (yrs) Total <15 15 16 17 18 19 No. (%)† No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) Alabama 104 (5.2) 144 (7.1) 223 (11.1) 324 (16.1) 557 (27.6) 666 (33.0) 2,018 Alaska 8 (2.5) 9 (2.8) 40 (12.3) 78 (24.1) 103 (31.8) 86 (26.5) 324 Arizona 146 (7.3) 97 (4.8) 189 (9.4) 295 (14.7) 575 (28.7) 700 (35.0) 2,002 Arkansas 39 (4.5) 52 (6.0) 104 (12.0) 147 (16.9) 254 (29.2) 274 (31.5) 870 Colorado 44 (2.1) 120 (5.7) 249 (11.8) 361 (17.1) 608 (28.8) 732 (34.6) 2,114 Connecticut 87 (3.1) 170 (6.1) 311 (11.2) 600 (21.7) 744 (26.9) 858 (31.0) 2,770 Delaware§ 20 (3.0) 46 (6.8) 93 (13.8) 113 (16.7) 194 (28.7) 210 (31.1) 676 District of Columbia¶ 12 (3.2) 29 (7.7) 50 (13.2) 99 (26.1) 85 (22.4) 104 (27.4) 379 Georgia 230 (4.7) 310 (6.3) 570 (11.6) 789 (16.0) 1,397 (28.4) 1,626 (33.0) 4,922 Hawaii 29 (3.8) 62 (8.1) 110 (14.3) 153 (19.9) 195 (25.4) 218 (28.4) 767 Idaho 5 (1.7) 14 (4.7) 33 (11.2) 52 (17.6) 96 (32.5) 95 (32.2) 295 Indiana 52 (2.8) 98 (5.3) 195 (10.6) 275 (15.0) 555 (30.2) 664 (36.1) 1,839 Iowa 25 (2.1) 79 (6.6) 156 (13.1) 197 (16.6) 328 (27.6) 404 (34.0) 1,189 Kansas 55 (3.1) 121 (6.7) 205 (11.4) 287 (16.0) 504 (28.1) 622 (34.7) 1,794 Kentucky 51 (6.4) 62 (7.7) 100 (12.5) 130 (16.2) 221 (27.5) 239 (29.8) 803 Louisiana 67 (5.7) 79 (6.7) 121 (10.3) 171 (14.6) 315 (26.9) 420 (35.8) 1,173 Maine 10 (2.0) 26 (5.3) 57 (11.6) 96 (19.5) 135 (27.4) 169 (34.3) 493 Massachusetts 83 (2.0) 223 (5.4) 362 (8.7) 663 (16.0) 1,204 (29.0) 1,613 (38.9) 4,148 Michigan 124 (2.7) 282 (6.2) 536 (11.8) 739 (16.3) 1,301 (28.7) 1,549 (34.2) 4,531 Minnesota 55 (2.6) 97 (4.5) 241 (11.3) 331 (15.5) 634 (29.7) 779 (36.5) 2,137 Mississippi 23 (5.0) 38 (8.2) 59 (12.8) 57 (12.3) 132 (28.6) 153 (33.1) 462 Missouri 40 (3.2) 87 (6.9) 125 (9.9) 185 (14.7) 364 (28.9) 459 (36.4) 1,260 Montana 8 (1.9) 26 (6.1) 52 (12.2) 71 (16.7) 111 (26.1) 158 (37.1) 426 Nebraska 15 (3.7) 33 (8.2) 43 (10.7) 62 (15.4) 104 (25.8) 146 (36.2) 403 Nevada 47 (2.8) 84 (4.9) 186 (10.9) 326 (19.1) 489 (28.6) 575 (33.7) 1,707 New Jersey** 104 (2.5) 222 (5.4) 480 (11.7) 809 (19.7) 1,151 (28.1) 1,333 (32.5) 4,099 New Mexico 39 (3.3) 69 (5.8) 162 (13.6) 219 (18.4) 328 (27.6) 373 (31.3) 1,190 New York 690 (3.0) 1,388 (6.0) 2,887 (12.5) 4,612 (19.9) 6,391 (27.6) 7,203 (31.1) 23,171 New York City 470 (3.1) 954 (6.2) 1,959 (12.8) 3,031 (19.8) 4,196 (27.4) 4,704 (30.7) 15,314 New York State 220 (2.8) 434 (5.5) 928 (11.8) 1,581 (20.1) 2,195 (27.9) 2,499 (31.8) 7,857 North Carolina 182 (3.4) 317 (5.9) 540 (10.1) 786 (14.7) 1,574 (29.5) 1,930 (36.2) 5,329 North Dakota 5 (2.2) 12 (5.4) 36 (16.1) 34 (15.2) 72 (32.3) 64 (28.7) 223 Ohio 207 (3.7) 399 (7.1) 715 (12.8) 945 (16.9) 1,513 (27.1) 1,804 (32.3) 5,583 Oklahoma 37 (3.3) 63 (5.6) 141 (12.6) 186 (16.6) 294 (26.2) 400 (35.7) 1,121 Oregon 49 (2.4) 122 (5.9) 215 (10.5) 397 (19.3) 567 (27.6) 705 (34.3) 2,055 Pennsylvania 211 (3.2) 401 (6.1) 707 (10.8) 977 (14.9) 1,981 (30.2) 2,280 (34.8) 6,557 South Carolina 51 (3.6) 91 (6.5) 150 (10.7) 354 (25.2) 365 (26.0) 395 (28.1) 1,406 South Dakota 0 (0.0) 11 (8.1) 11 (8.1) 24 (17.8) 34 (25.2) 55 (40.7) 135 Tennessee 120 (4.1) 206 (7.0) 319 (10.8) 436 (14.8) 831 (28.2) 1,040 (35.2) 2,952 Texas 197 (1.9) 546 (5.2) 1,030 (9.7) 1,697 (16.1) 2,825 (26.7) 4,272 (40.4) 10,567 Utah 17 (2.6) 33 (5.0) 54 (8.1) 87 (13.1) 220 (33.2) 252 (38.0) 663 Vermont 6 (2.1) 15 (5.3) 28 (9.9) 53 (18.7) 73 (25.8) 108 (38.2) 283 Virginia 120 (3.0) 207 (5.2) 373 (9.3) 559 (14.0) 1,200 (30.1) 1,533 (38.4) 3,992 Washington 109 (2.3) 248 (5.3) 557 (11.9) 937 (20.0) 1,286 (27.5) 1,542 (33.0) 4,679 West Virginia 12 (3.8) 28 (8.9) 28 (8.9) 54 (17.3) 98 (31.3) 93 (29.7) 313 Wisconsin§ 45 (3.2) 85 (6.1) 173 (12.5) 248 (17.9) 379 (27.3) 459 (33.0) 1,389 Wyoming 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 Total 3,580 (3.1) 6,851 (5.9) 13,016 (11.3) 20,015 (17.4) 32,387 (28.1) 39,360 (34.2) 115,209 Abortion rate†† 1.2 4.4 8.3 12.5 21.2 25.8 10.7 Abortion ratio§§ 753 495 404 337 337 291 337
TABLE 6. Reported abortions among adolescents, by known age and year --- selected states,* United States, 1998--2007 Age (yrs) Year % change 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2006 to 2007 1998 to 2007 % of abortions <15 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.0 3.1 3.3 --12.4 15 6.6 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.1 6.4 6.1 5.9 --3.3 --10.3 16 12.1 11.7 11.4 11.3 11.6 11.7 11.5 11.4 11.7 11.3 --3.4 --6.9 17 18.1 17.7 17.2 17.1 17.3 17.3 17.0 17.2 17.3 17.4 0.6 --4.1 18 28.1 28.0 28.2 27.9 27.6 28.0 28.1 27.7 27.9 28.1 0.7 --0.1 19 31.5 33.0 33.6 34.1 33.8 33.2 33.9 33.9 34.0 34.2 0.6 8.7 Abortion rate† <15 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 0.0 --36.8 15 6.8 6.1 5.8 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.6 --2.1 --32.4 16 12.5 11.3 10.6 9.9 9.8 9.7 9.3 8.9 8.9 8.6 --3.4 --31.2 17 19.0 17.1 15.8 15.2 14.7 14.5 13.8 13.5 13.7 13.0 --5.1 --31.6 18 28.7 27.0 25.5 24.7 23.6 23.5 22.7 21.9 22.5 21.9 --2.7 --23.7 19 32.4 30.5 29.6 29.7 28.8 28.0 27.3 26.7 27.3 26.7 --2.2 --17.6 Abortion ratio§ <15 768 722 729 757 782 852 791 796 762 780 2.4 1.6 15 546 518 524 534 566 571 543 557 545 516 --5.3 --5.5 16 452 435 427 435 453 473 449 447 446 422 --5.4 --6.6 17 396 377 359 375 377 385 373 370 367 355 --3.3 --10.4 18 413 397 384 386 392 399 392 378 370 356 --3.8 --13.8 19 365 351 339 342 340 341 336 327 321 309 --3.7 --15.3 Total (no.) 139,103 131,500 125,460 121,127 116,765 116,159 112,951 110,713 113,249 111,475
TABLE 7. Reported abortions, by known weeks of gestation* and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,† United States, 2007 State/Area Weeks of gestation Total abortions reported by gestational age ≤8 9--13 14--15 16--17 18--20 ≥21 No. (%)§ No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. % of all reported abortions¶ Alabama 6,645 (59.1) 3,621 (32.2) 487 (4.3) 270 (2.4) 214 (1.9) 11 (0.1) 11,248 (99.8) Alaska 938 (55.2) 748 (44.0) ---** --- --- --- 0 (0.0) 10 (0.6) 1,700 (99.9) Arizona 7,083 (66.2) 2,907 (27.2) 256 (2.4) 171 (1.6) 185 (1.7) 103 (1.0) 10,705 (99.9) Arkansas 2,832 (58.5) 1,434 (29.6) 202 (4.2) --- --- 203 (4.2) --- --- 4,844 (100.0) Colorado 7,726 (68.1) 2,855 (25.2) 338 (3.0) 224 (2.0) 90 (0.8) 104 (0.9) 11,337 (99.8) Delaware†† 2,241 (63.9) 1,026 (29.3) 99 (2.8) 65 (1.9) 42 (1.2) 33 (0.9) 3,506 (99.3) District of Columbia§§ 1,615 (68.7) 354 (15.1) 231 (9.8) 0 (0.0) 152 (6.5) 0 (0.0) 2,352 (99.3) Georgia 17,133 (55.2) 10,235 (33.0) 1,125 (3.6) 736 (2.4) 825 (2.7) 984 (3.2) 31,038 (100.0) Hawaii 2,011 (54.1) 1,321 (35.6) 96 (2.6) 105 (2.8) 151 (4.1) 31 (0.8) 3,715 (98.9) Idaho 926 (64.4) 489 (34.0) 7 (0.5) --- --- 10 (0.7) --- --- 1,438 (99.7) Indiana 6,566 (62.9) 3,664 (35.1) 96 (0.9) 79 (0.8) 27 (0.3) 0 (0.0) 10,432 (95.8) Iowa 4,734 (71.5) 1,519 (22.9) 186 (2.8) 119 (1.8) 57 (0.9) 6 (0.1) 6,621 (99.8) Kansas 6,823 (63.1) 2,699 (25.0) 412 (3.8) 276 (2.6) 253 (2.3) 343 (3.2) 10,806 (100.0) Kentucky 2,662 (61.5) 1,121 (25.9) 187 (4.3) 140 (3.2) 147 (3.4) 70 (1.6) 4,327 (98.6) Louisiana 3,376 (50.0) 2,516 (37.3) 366 (5.4) 196 (2.9) 160 (2.4) 134 (2.0) 6,748 (98.8) Maine 1,789 (66.6) 868 (32.3) 11 (0.4) 5 (0.2) 8 (0.3) 7 (0.3) 2,688 (100.0) Michigan 15,814 (64.2) 7,148 (29.0) 965 (3.9) 357 (1.4) 260 (1.1) 100 (0.4) 24,644 (99.8) Minnesota 8,827 (63.8) 3,787 (27.4) 408 (2.9) 320 (2.3) 434 (3.1) 67 (0.5) 13,843 (100.0) Mississippi 1,610 (64.3) 841 (33.6) 39 (1.6) 12 (0.5) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 2,502 (85.3) Missouri 4,114 (56.5) 2,640 (36.2) 212 (2.9) 150 (2.1) 132 (1.8) 37 (0.5) 7,285 (99.5) Montana 1,389 (62.3) 669 (30.0) 61 (2.7) --- --- 59 (2.6) --- --- 2,231 (99.7) Nevada 5,520 (58.4) 3,199 (33.8) 335 (3.5) 183 (1.9) 151 (1.6) 63 (0.7) 9,451 (88.8) New Jersey¶¶ 15,253 (57.2) 6,863 (25.7) 1,492 (5.6) 1,119 (4.2) 1,091 (4.1) 850 (3.2) 26,668 (100.0) New Mexico 3,807 (63.7) 1,582 (26.5) 239 (4.0) 163 (2.7) 135 (2.3) 48 (0.8) 5,974 (99.0) New York 72,798 (59.1) 37,032 (30.1) 4,336 (3.5) 2,916 (2.4) 3,270 (2.7) 2,850 (2.3) 123,202 (96.2) New York City 57,903 (64.7) 21,638 (24.2) 2,925 (3.3) 2,226 (2.5) 2,613 (2.9) 2,258 (2.5) 89,563 (98.6) New York State 14,895 (44.3) 15,394 (45.8) 1,411 (4.2) 690 (2.1) 657 (2.0) 592 (1.8) 33,639 (90.5) North Carolina 19,305 (64.0) 8,383 (27.8) 1,374 (4.6) 720 (2.4) --- --- --- --- 30,185 (90.8) North Dakota 645 (52.2) 539 (43.6) 49 (4.0) --- --- 0 (0.0) --- --- 1,235 (100.0) Ohio 17,023 (56.0) 9,996 (32.9) 1,364 (4.5) 819 (2.7) 675 (2.2) 502 (1.7) 30,379 (98.4) Oklahoma 4,118 (62.0) 1,958 (29.5) 295 (4.4) 185 (2.8) 69 (1.0) 15 (0.2) 6,640 (100.0) Oregon 7,256 (62.0) 3,323 (28.4) 321 (2.7) 267 (2.3) 300 (2.6) 227 (1.9) 11,694 (98.4) Pennsylvania 21,201 (57.8) 12,352 (33.7) 1,394 (3.8) 777 (2.1) 672 (1.8) 267 (0.7) 36,663 (100.0) South Carolina 5,588 (74.2) 1,932 (25.6) --- --- --- --- 5 (0.1) 7 (0.1) 7,535 (99.9) South Dakota 399 (56.4) 300 (42.4) 0 (0.0) --- --- --- --- --- --- 707 (100.0) Tennessee 11,708 (65.3) 5,755 (32.1) 351 (2.0) 67 (0.4) 15 (0.1) 26 (0.1) 17,922 (98.6) Texas 57,699 (71.3) 18,702 (23.1) 2,922 (3.6) 358 (0.4) 729 (0.9) 468 (0.6) 80,878 (100.0) Utah 2,522 (65.0) 1,042 (26.9) 124 (3.2) 87 (2.2) 99 (2.6) 6 (0.2) 3,880 (98.7) Vermont 1,077 (68.2) 443 (28.0) 40 (2.5) 6 (0.4) 7 (0.4) 7 (0.4) 1,580 (99.9) Virginia 19,287 (69.3) 8,131 (29.2) 201 (0.7) 57 (0.2) 136 (0.5) 27 (0.1) 27,839 (99.5) Washington 15,137 (61.1) 7,278 (29.4) 707 (2.9) 582 (2.3) 639 (2.6) 429 (1.7) 24,772 (99.7) West Virginia 914 (50.8) 751 (41.7) 60 (3.3) 47 (2.6) 20 (1.1) 7 (0.4) 1,799 (97.1) Wyoming 5 (55.6) --- --- --- --- 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 9 (100.0) Total 388,116 (62.3) 182,023*** (29.2) 21,388*** (3.4) 11,805 (1.9) 11,826 (1.9) 7,855 (1.3) 623,022 (98.2)
TABLE 8. Reported abortions, by known weeks of gestation and year --- selected states,* United States, 1998--2007 Weeks of gestation Year % change 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2006 to 2007 1998 to 2007 ≤13 weeks' gestation (%) 90.6 90.6 90.7 91.0 91.1 91.0 91.5 91.5 91.6 91.6 0.0 1.1 ≤8 55.8 57.0 57.9 59.5 61.1 61.6 63.0 63.2 63.4 63.6 0.3 14.0 9--13 34.8 33.6 32.8 31.5 30.0 29.4 28.5 28.2 28.2 28.0 --0.7 --19.5 >13 weeks' gestation (%) 9.4 9.4 9.3 9.0 8.9 9.0 8.5 8.5 8.4 8.4 0.0 --10.6 14--15 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.3 0.0 --2.9 16--17 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 0.0 --14.3 18--20 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.0 5.3 --13.0 ≥21 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 --7.1 --13.3 Total (no.) 579,788 562,948 547,028 543,390 544,023 545,505 531,575 523,400 536,006 530,358
TABLE 9. Reported abortions obtained at ≤13 weeks' gestation, by known weeks of gestation* and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,† United States, 2007 State/Area Weeks of gestation Total no. of abortions ≤6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 No. (%)§ No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) Alabama 2,849 (27.8) 2,263 (22.0) 1,533 (14.9) 1,063 (10.4) 841 (8.2) 646 (6.3) 624 (6.1) 447 (4.4) 10,266 Alaska 374 (22.2) 265 (15.7) 299 (17.7) 223 (13.2) 195 (11.6) 128 (7.6) 97 (5.8) 105 (6.2) 1,686 Arizona 3,106 (31.1) 2,325 (23.3) 1,652 (16.5) 1,042 (10.4) 719 (7.2) 514 (5.1) 355 (3.6) 277 (2.8) 9,990 Arkansas 1,508 (35.3) 672 (15.8) 652 (15.3) 485 (11.4) 346 (8.1) 284 (6.7) 177 (4.1) 142 (3.3) 4,266 Colorado 4,312 (40.8) 1,973 (18.6) 1,441 (13.6) 1,005 (9.5) 679 (6.4) 523 (4.9) 319 (3.0) 329 (3.1) 10,581 Delaware¶ 1,199 (36.7) 572 (17.5) 470 (14.4) 340 (10.4) 263 (8.1) 148 (4.5) 165 (5.1) 110 (3.4) 3,267 District of Columbia** 968 (49.2) 428 (21.7) 219 (11.1) 0 (0.0) 228 (11.6) 0 (0.0) 126 (6.4) 0 (0.0) 1,969 Georgia 7,119 (26.0) 5,568 (20.3) 4,446 (16.2) 3,574 (13.1) 2,528 (9.2) 1,895 (6.9) 1,318 (4.8) 920 (3.4) 27,368 Hawaii 761 (22.8) 668 (20.0) 582 (17.5) 388 (11.6) 361 (10.8) 231 (6.9) 222 (6.7) 119 (3.6) 3,332 Idaho 394 (27.8) 265 (18.7) 267 (18.9) 121 (8.6) 135 (9.5) 113 (8.0) 74 (5.2) 46 (3.3) 1,415 Indiana 2,653 (25.9) 2,095 (20.5) 1,818 (17.8) 1,217 (11.9) 982 (9.6) 749 (7.3) 511 (5.0) 205 (2.0) 10,230 Iowa 3,001 (48.0) 1,127 (18.0) 606 (9.7) 454 (7.3) 409 (6.5) 328 (5.2) 214 (3.4) 114 (1.8) 6,253 Kansas 3,626 (38.1) 1,901 (20.0) 1,296 (13.6) 881 (9.3) 616 (6.5) 549 (5.8) 371 (3.9) 282 (3.0) 9,522 Kentucky 1,049 (27.7) 932 (24.6) 681 (18.0) 306 (8.1) 289 (7.6) 273 (7.2) 166 (4.4) 87 (2.3) 3,783 Louisiana 1,578 (26.8) 934 (15.9) 864 (14.7) 868 (14.7) 652 (11.1) 412 (7.0) 293 (5.0) 291 (4.9) 5,892 Maine 874 (32.9) 558 (21.0) 357 (13.4) 314 (11.8) 189 (7.1) 145 (5.5) 134 (5.0) 86 (3.2) 2,657 Michigan 7,580 (33.0) 4,891 (21.3) 3,343 (14.6) 2,474 (10.8) 1,691 (7.4) 1,273 (5.5) 924 (4.0) 786 (3.4) 22,962 Minnesota 3,924 (31.1) 2,979 (23.6) 1,924 (15.3) 1,302 (10.3) 903 (7.2) 645 (5.1) 516 (4.1) 421 (3.3) 12,614 Mississippi 705 (28.8) 486 (19.8) 419 (17.1) 338 (13.8) 235 (9.6) 162 (6.6) 67 (2.7) 39 (1.6) 2,451 Missouri 1,637 (24.2) 1,441 (21.3) 1,036 (15.3) 822 (12.2) 664 (9.8) 593 (8.8) 354 (5.2) 207 (3.1) 6,754 Montana 754 (36.6) 376 (18.3) 259 (12.6) 205 (10.0) 153 (7.4) 139 (6.8) 102 (5.0) 70 (3.4) 2,058 Nevada 2,681 (30.7) 1,393 (16.0) 1,446 (16.6) 1,221 (14.0) 666 (7.6) 569 (6.5) 476 (5.5) 267 (3.1) 8,719 New Jersey†† 7,384 (33.4) 4,350 (19.7) 3,519 (15.9) 2,209 (10.0) 1,701 (7.7) 797 (3.6) 829 (3.7) 1327 (6.0) 22,116 New Mexico 2,123 (39.4) 942 (17.5) 742 (13.8) 472 (8.8) 403 (7.5) 287 (5.3) 247 (4.6) 173 (3.2) 5,389 New York 33,777 (48.9) 21,638 (39.1) 17,383 (34.0) 12,963 (26.5) 8,885 (18.9) 6,739 (14.7) 5,186 (11.0) 3,259 (6.9) 109,830 New York City 30,639 (38.5) 15,811 (19.9) 11,453 (14.4) 8,002 (10.1) 5,103 (6.4) 3,714 (4.7) 2,961 (3.7) 1858 (2.3) 79,541 New York State 3,138 (10.4) 5,827 (19.2) 5,930 (19.6) 4,961 (16.4) 3,782 (12.5) 3,025 (10.0) 2,225 (7.3) 1401 (4.6) 30,289 North Carolina 8,552 (30.9) 6,383 (23.1) 4,370 (15.8) 2,981 (10.8) 1,802 (6.5) 1,488 (5.4) 1,180 (4.3) 932 (3.4) 27,688 North Dakota 155 (13.1) 257 (21.7) 233 (19.7) 173 (14.6) 124 (10.5) 112 (9.5) 79 (6.7) 51 (4.3) 1,184 Ohio 7,616 (28.2) 5,358 (19.8) 4,049 (15.0) 3,349 (12.4) 2,249 (8.3) 1,799 (6.7) 1,458 (5.4) 1141 (4.2) 27,019 Oklahoma 2,260 (37.2) 951 (15.7) 907 (14.9) 667 (11.0) 546 (9.0) 410 (6.7) 156 (2.6) 179 (2.9) 6,076 Oregon 3,682 (34.8) 2,087 (19.7) 1,487 (14.1) 1,027 (9.7) 832 (7.9) 595 (5.6) 522 (4.9) 347 (3.3) 10,579 Pennsylvania 8,416 (25.1) 6,814 (20.3) 5,971 (17.8) 4,253 (12.7) 3,060 (9.1) 2,262 (6.7) 1,379 (4.1) 1398 (4.2) 33,553 South Carolina 3,243 (43.1) 1,401 (18.6) 944 (12.6) 638 (8.5) 491 (6.5) 410 (5.5) 290 (3.9) 103 (1.4) 7,520 South Dakota 152 (21.7) 125 (17.9) 122 (17.5) 70 (10.0) 83 (11.9) 73 (10.4) 46 (6.6) 28 (4.0) 699 Tennessee 5,550 (31.8) 3,918 (22.4) 2,240 (12.8) 1,670 (9.6) 1,411 (8.1) 904 (5.2) 1,358 (7.8) 412 (2.4) 17,463 Texas 34,926 (45.7) 12,985 (17.0) 9,788 (12.8) 6,373 (8.3) 4,655 (6.1) 3,257 (4.3) 2,352 (3.1) 2065 (2.7) 76,401 Utah 1,075 (30.2) 891 (25.0) 556 (15.6) 383 (10.7) 249 (7.0) 152 (4.3) 123 (3.5) 135 (3.8) 3,564 Vermont 472 (31.1) 342 (22.5) 263 (17.3) 177 (11.6) 101 (6.6) 82 (5.4) 42 (2.8) 41 (2.7) 1,520 Virginia 8,963 (32.7) 5,973 (21.8) 4,351 (15.9) 2,781 (10.1) 1,995 (7.3) 1,457 (5.3) 1,266 (4.6) 632 (2.3) 27,418 Washington 6,926 (30.9) 4,694 (20.9) 3,517 (15.7) 2,319 (10.3) 1,730 (7.7) 1,464 (6.5) 1,062 (4.7) 703 (3.1) 22,415 West Virginia 345 (20.7) 288 (17.3) 281 (16.9) 234 (14.1) 195 (11.7) 158 (9.5) 105 (6.3) 59 (3.5) 1,665 Wyoming ---§§ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 0 (0.0) --- --- 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 9 Total 188,269¶¶ (33.0) 113,509¶¶ (19.9) 86,333¶¶ (15.1) 61,382¶¶ (10.8) 44,256 (7.8) 32,765¶¶ (5.7) 25,285 (4.4) 18,335 (3.2) 570,143
TABLE 9. (Continued) Reported abortions obtained at ≤13 weeks' gestation, by known weeks of gestation* and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,† United States, 2007
TABLE 10. Reported abortions obtained at ≤13 weeks' gestation, by known weeks of gestation and year --- selected states,* United States, 1998--2007 Weeks of gestation Year % change 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2006 to 2007 1998 to 2007 % of reported abortions ≤6 21.1 22.8 24.8 27.6 29.9 30.8 32.6 33.8 33.8 34.7 2.7 64.5 7 19.5 19.7 19.9 19.8 19.9 19.9 19.8 19.7 20.0 20.0 0.0 2.6 8 20.9 20.4 19.1 18.0 17.3 16.9 16.4 15.7 15.4 14.8 --3.9 --29.2 9 13.2 12.7 12.4 11.9 11.3 11.0 10.6 10.5 10.5 10.3 --1.9 --22.0 10 10.2 9.9 9.5 8.9 8.4 8.1 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.5 0.0 --26.5 11 6.6 6.3 6.3 6.1 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 0.0 --18.2 12 5.1 4.9 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 0.0 --15.7 13 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.1 --3.1 --6.1 Total (no. ) 525,351 509,778 496,372 494,293 495,531 496,514 486,407 478,864 491,075 485,677
TABLE 11. Reported abortions, by known type of procedure and reporting area of occurrence --- selected states,* United States, 2007 State/Area Curettage† Medical Total abortions reported by known procedure ≤13 weeks' gestation >13 weeks' gestation Unknown gestational age ≤8 weeks' gestation >8 weeks' gestation Unknown gestational age Intrauterine instillation§ Other¶ No. % of all reported abortions†† No. (%)** No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) No. (%) Alabama§§ 9,395 (83.5) 939 (8.3) 16 (0.1) NA¶¶ NA NA NA NA NA ---*** --- --- --- 11,251 (99.9) Alaska 1,323 (77.8) 9 (0.5) 0 0.0 345 (20.3) 10 (0.6) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 14 (0.8) 1,687 (99.2) Arizona 6,210 (58.0) 689 (6.4) 13 (0.1) 3,658 (34.1) 141 (1.3) --- --- 0 (0.0) --- --- 10,715 (99.9) Arkansas 4,125 (85.1) 573 (11.8) --- --- 132 (2.7) 11 (0.2) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) --- --- 4,845 (100.0) Colorado 7,775 (68.4) 700 (6.2) 13 (0.1) 2,721 (23.9) 50 (0.4) --- --- --- --- 88 (0.8) 11,362 (100.0) Connecticut††† NA NA NA NA 11,658 (80.2) NA NA NA NA 2,872 (19.8) --- --- --- --- 14,534 (100.0) Delaware§§§ 2,607 (74.3) 231 (6.6) 17 (0.5) 624 (17.8) 19 (0.5) 8 (0.2) --- --- --- --- 3,511 (99.4) District of Columbia†††,¶¶¶ NA NA NA NA 2,041 (86.2) NA NA NA NA 311 (13.1) 0 (0.0) 17 (0.7) 2,369 (100.0) Georgia**** 24,227 (79.8) 922 (3.0) 0 0.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA 0 (0.0) 5,227 (17.2) 30,376 (97.9) Hawaii§§ 3,31 |
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Magistrate Lameck Mwale to rule on whether director of public prosecution Mutembo Nchito is legally allowed to declare himself a free man
Zambian court to decide whether prosecutor can drop case against himself
A Zambian magistrate will decide the future of a case in which the country’s top prosecutor said he would not be pursuing a case against himself and declared himself a free man.
“I am the director of public prosecution of the republic of Zambia and I have decided to enter a nolle prosequi against all the charges,” Mutembo Nchito told the magistrate from the dock last week, using the Latin term for refusing to pursue a case.
The magistrate, Lameck Mwale, will rule on whether Nchito can prosecute himself or not.
Nchito was briefly arrested last week on nine charges, including abusing his authority, contempt of court and fraudulent contracting of debt. The offences were allegedly committed between 2008 and 2013.
A high court then cancelled the warrant for his arrest, a ruling that ended proceedings against Nchito.
But former finance minister Newton Ng’uni, who brought the complaint against Nchito, vowed to pursue an appeal.
Fresh summonses were issued against Nchito, who is also prosecuting high-profile corruption cases, including those involving former president Rupiah Banda. |
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If web pages are places dotted on a map, then links are the roads that join them together. Important websites, just like big cities, have a huge number of links, or roads, linking them to other places, and this is how search engines know which websites are more important than others.
Link building is one of the most difficult and time consuming processes of any Search Engine Optimisation campaign. If you’ve just hired an SEO Agency, or if you’re embarking on your own SEO adventure, then you’ll want to get to grips with link building early in the game. This will not only help you to understand what is required, but also what you can expect.
There are many ways you can build links to your site, starting with:
Natural Links – these happen when you create content which other website owners and bloggers want to link to. These can happen without any effort, other than the effort required to create share-worthy content. Some argue that these are the best and most valuable types of links, as they demonstrate that you produce trust-worthy content. Examples:
Start a company blog which provides valuable industry information.
Make your content, images for example, available under the creative commons licence, requesting a link-back when used.
Manual Links -Your SEO agency may spend time submitting your website and content to other websites in an effort to get your content linked. This is when SEO starts to get time consuming. How can you make this easier?
Make it mutual; offer to link to another site in exchange for them linking to yours.
Offer partnership links between your regular business customers, or offer your customers a ‘valued customer’ style logo for their blog. If your customers are willing to show their support for you by liking you on Facebook, they may well be happy to include you on their website or blog.
Post on industry forums and leave your link behind. Be warned, not all bloggers like this method and may delete your comments.
Submitted Links – Your website ranking may also benefit from being listed on directories alongside similar websites. These will have to be submitted manually.
And how will you know if it’s working?
Like all SEO, the effects will not be visible over night, it requires a little patience. One of the easiest ways to see if your efforts are paying off is to search for a keyword from one of your pages and see where you rank in various search engines. Obviously, this isn’t a concrete measure, but it can tell you if you’re on the right track. For numerical reassurance:
Bing Webmaster Tools (formerly Yahoo Site Explorer) This will tell you which sites are linking to you and the anchor text they use.
Google PageRank Checker – This will give you a score out of 10, and you can even grab a button to throw on your site.
SEOMoz offer MozRank, a service which will allow you to see your link popularity score. It’s free for 30 days, and then $99 per month after that.
If you host your site on WordPress then you’ll have access to link back information, this will show you who linked to you, from where, and the anchor text they used. |
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The sedan is the more attractive option to my eyes.
Mazda says the interior was benchmarked against the latest BMW 3 Series
There isn't another front-wheel-drive automobile with such an aggressive caster angle.
While the two engines are both part of the Skyactiv-G family, they share practically no major components.
The 2.0L, six-speed automatic sedan is rated at 30 mpg city, 41 highway and 34 combined.
The hatch is a bit less aerodynamic ... and it's also a wee bit noisier while driving.
We're not going to beat around the bush: for the kind of person who willfully chooses to take longer, windier and more scenic routes to get to Point B, the 2014 Mazda3 is the new compact car measuring stick by which others will be judged. That doesn't, of course, make it the right choice for every buyer.We'll spend the next thousand words or so explaining the whys and hows that make our opening statement a fact, but for now, suffice it to say that Mazda has engineered its latest crop of vehicles – namely the CX-5 Mazda6 and its smaller sibling and subject of this test, the Mazda3 – from the ground up. Absolutely everything about the Mazda3 is refined for 2014, from its chassis to its engines and everything in between, and it was done in a completely new and holistic way. Every component, subcomponent and stamping required to bolt and weld together an automobile was rethought to ensure the Mazda3 has what it takes to compete with such established benchmarks as the Honda Civic and Ford Focus We spent a day in and around sunny San Diego clutching the keys to Mazda3 variants in both sedan and hatch forms, powered by both 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines, to see how the car stacks up in its hotly contested segment. Since we've already driven the hatchback version of the car, albeit in pre-production form, we focused our attention on the Mazda3 sedan, and we spent seat time in each of its competitors throughout the process to ensure our posteriors were accurately calibrated. Read on to see what we found.The 2014 Mazda3 looks awfully pretty in pictures, but its shapes are even better when viewed up close and personal. As the latest car to benefit from Mazda's Kodo design language, the 3 draws plenty of inspiration from the CX-5 and Mazda6 , both of which we think are rather attractive vehicles. While it's never a good thing to say that one car looks like a copy of another, the good news is that the styling cues that make up the automaker's latest philosophy – such as the chrome-underlined five-point fascia and muscular fenders and haunches – arguably work better on the 3 than on any of its forebears. Proportions, on the other hand, don't quite work in the hatchback's profile, with what appears to be a very long distance between the base of the windshield and the front fascia. While the Autoblog team is split, the sedan is the more attractive option to my eyes by a very slight margin.Mazda has increased the wheelbase of its latest 3 by 2.4 inches while shortening its overall length by about 2 inches. That ought to do good things to the vehicle's ride comfort, and the extra 1.6 inches in width and half-inch reduction in height both make the car look sportier and act sportier on twisty roads. What the additional inches in the wheelbase don't do, however, is add more rear-seat legroom or trunk space – the 2014 Mazda3's 35.8 inches in the back seat equals the Honda Civic but is well shy of some vehicles in its class, namely the VW Jetta and Toyota Corolla , while its 12.5 cubic feet of truck space again about matches that of the Civic and Corolla but falls short of the Chevy Cruze and Jetta Stepping inside the new Mazda3 reveals that the Japanese automaker has been hard at work in an attempt to draw ahead of its peers on both the design and technology fronts. In fact, Mazda says the interior was benchmarked against the latest BMW 3 Series . They're quick to say that they don't expect the Mazda3 to compete with the 3 Series, but that it was seen as a goal of sorts worth reaching for. The most noticeable new element is the seven-inch display perched prominently atop the dash, right above the center stack. The other new and noteworthy bit is the fighter-pilot-like Active Driving Display.According to Mazda, after benchmarking the infotainment systems in many of its rival automakers, they didn't find a single one that they thought was very good. Some of them, in fact, were described as "terrifying" by Mazda's engineers. And so Mazda set about inventing its own infotainment system, with the most important guideline being that no technology should distract the driver visually, cognitively or by requiring difficult manual operation.The resulting tech package takes a commonsense approach wherever possible – everything to the left of the center stack is used solely to control the components necessary to drive, while anything further right, or away from the driver, is left for everything else. The main LCD screen can be operated by touch or by using a Commander joystick that sits between the two front seats. Mazda engineers say they used mathematics as a basis for the new infotainment tech, using three buttons above its controller because that's the number an average human can operate without looking, and settling on a seven-inch screen with seven total items on screen at any given time because that's the maximum most people can scan at a glance. Things like the font size, too, were optimized for use while driving.We didn't have any trouble using Mazda's new technology package, and we think it offers enough gee-whiz features to satisfy all but the most tech-happy owners, with the aforementioned Active Driving Display being the gee-whizziest of them all. When activated, a small, clear plastic screen flips up from atop the dash, onto which things like speed and navigation directions are projected. It works pretty much the same as other automakers' head-up displays, with the added benefit that Mazda could fine-tune the location of the projection while minimizing glare and optical distortions. We think it's pretty cool.We like the way the 2014 Mazda3 drives, too. As we alluded to at the outset, the 3 is the best driver's car in the compact car segment. Steering is a delight, aided by a rack-mounted electronic power steering unit and front-end geometry that is exactly the same as that of the well-regarded RX-8 and the current MX-5 Miata – Mazda is quick to highlight that there isn't another front-wheel-drive automobile with such an aggressive caster angle. Perhaps it's telling that Dave Coleman, the engineer responsible for the Mazda3's steering setup, is a frequent racer at LeMons events, and that his target for the new 3 was to emulate the feel of a race car that doesn't use power steering at all. It was also interesting to note that a hydraulic steering setup wasn't even considered as the automaker simply "cannot afford to waste fuel" by eschewing an electronic steering system.Wheels check in at 16 inches in diameter in base trim, and enlarge to 18 inches when moving up to higher-end models. The larger tires are a better choice for absolute handling performance, and they look better in the wheel arches, too. There's no change in suspension tuning between the varying drivetrains besides a slightly stiffer set of front springs on 2.5 models, which means all Mazda3 drivers will enjoy the same crisp handling and athletic responsiveness.Mazda's new compact features a pair of engine options derived from its far-reaching Skyactiv stable of technologies, the base engine displacing 2.0 liters and offering 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque through either an automatic or manual transmission with six forward ratios. Considering its status as the entry-level powerplant, the 2.0L mill is a fine option with more than enough power and a solid dose of refinement. Enthusiasts are welcome to step up to the larger 2.5-liter engine and its 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque.While the two engines are both part of the Skyactiv-G family, they share practically no major components. Mazda cites this as an example of its holistic approach to car development – things like bore and stroke ratios are chosen for each specific engine instead of a single measurement that carries from one unit to another as a cost- and development-saving compromise. What this means in engineering terms is that each engine size requires a unique block and a unique crankshaft, which in turn requires a rethinking of production techniques. The engines are now CNC machined on highly advanced robotic pieces of equipment, with each machine capable of assembling any engine. Total machining processes are reduced from 45 to just four. What's more, Mazda can adjust output of any particular powerplant at will, which will allow the automaker to react to shifts in the marketplace with ease.This new series of engines are optimized for power and efficiency, and their fitment required some changes to Mazda's previously used production techniques. Check out the video below for an example of what we mean.We like the optional 2.5 engine quite a bit. It's just as smooth and refined as its smaller brother, and its power spread is impressively even across its operating range. In other words, there aren't any dips or valleys in its power or torque curves, improving driveability and ultimate performance. It's also impressively efficient. The 2.0-liter, six-speed automatic sedan is rated by the EPA at 30 miles per gallon in the city, 41 on the highway and 34 combined. The more powerful 2.5 engine gets 28 city, 39 highway and 32 combined. Those figures sway up and down by an mpg here and there with options, the choice of transmission and whether the car is a hatchback or sedan. In any case, they are impressive, especially since the engines make such good power.Mazda also offers its clumsily named i-Eloop energy saving system on certain Mazda3 models with the 2.5-liter engine. This device recaptures energy in the form of electricity stored in a capacitor (as opposed to a battery, which would be heavier and less reliable) when the driver lets off the gas, saving it for later use. This allows the alternator to decouple from the engine for extended periods of time, reducing drag and therefore saving fuel.The EPA estimates don't change to reflect a mileage improvement with i-Eloop, which is because the EPA's tests are run with almost no electrical load from the car's ancillary systems, but real-world mileage is expected to jump by about five percent. Mazda tells us that the i-Eloop's capacitor is made from coconuts and aluminum foil, that it all weighs about 20 pounds and that it's durable and reliable enough to last the entire life of the car. And we're not making any of that up.Though the i-Eloop does recapture energy when the driver lets off the gas, it's completely unobtrusive and doesn't result in any odd sensations from the brake pedal like in a typical hybrid . Indeed, braking performance is good, with a pedal that's easy to modulate. Wind noise may not be best-in-class, but it's not bad, aided by a laudable .255 coefficient of drag on sedans equipped with active grille shutters. The hatch is a bit less aerodynamic with a .275 Cd, and it's also a wee bit noisier while driving. Neither engine makes much racket, but there's some audible tire noise at speed to go along with the faint rush of wind.A base Mazda3 i SV with the 2.0 engine and manual transmission will cost $16,495 (plus $795 for destination) and a fully loaded Mazda3 s Grand Touring (heated leather seats (power for the driver), dual-zone climate control, the Mazda Connect infotainment system, a moonroof, keyless entry and all the audio sources you'd expect) will carry a sticker price of $25,595 with the hatchback going for a bit more across the board. The high-end Grand Touring models also get an optional suite of safety technologies called i-Activsense that includes smart cruise control, smart brake support, forward obstacle warning, lane departure warning, automatic high-beams and adaptive lighting that helps see around corners. Smart City Brake Support, also included, reduces the risk of front-end crashes by automatically applying the brakes when a collision is deemed imminent at speeds between two and 19 miles per hour.The 2014 Mazda3 is not the cheapest car in the compact segment, nor does it ride the smoothest or offer the most interior room. If those are your priorities, several of Mazda's competitors offer nice alternatives, including the Ford Focus Kia Forte , Honda Civic and Volkswagen Jetta . For drivers that don't want to think about their cars but still need reliable transportation, there's the Toyota Corolla . And there isn't anything wrong with anyone who chooses those cars for any of those reasons. But for the rest of us, and we may be a comparatively small group, the 2014 Mazda3 is more fun to drive than any of its peers. It's also attractive, reasonably priced and can be loaded up with cool technology and safety equipment.Put as plainly as possible, the new 2014 Mazda3 is our favorite car in the compact class. |
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 15 -- Organizers of the international climate conference here presented an open-ended compromise proposal to delegates from 190 nations early Saturday in hopes of bridging disagreements over how to begin negotiating a new treaty to combat global warming.
The compromise was unveiled after nearly all-night negotiations over the stubborn differences between the United States and much of the world and between industrialized and developing nations.
In an effort to break the deadlock, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged delegates to come to a resolution quickly. "Frankly, I am disappointed with the lack of progress, Ban told the delegates. "Seize the moment, this moment, for the good of all humanity."
Both men received a standing ovation.
In a bid to address U.S. objections to setting specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the treaty talks, the compromise proposal referred only in a footnote to the short-term emissions cuts European leaders had demanded.
In addition, the compromise framework would call on developing countries to take verifiable steps in their own countries to reduce global warming pollution, but would not compel them to join a mandatory international agreement that would take effect in 2012, as some industrialized countries had wanted.
David Doniger, climate policy director for the advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council, said that if the delegates approved the deal Saturday as expected, it would be "the start of the world's last chance to pull off a treaty to stave off the worst effects of global warming."
For the past week, the United States and the European Union had faced off over whether industrialized countries should pledge to cut their emissions 25 to 40 percent by 2020, with European leaders threatening to boycott the parallel climate negotiations that President Bush launched in Washington unless the United States acquiesced.
In order to break the impasse, the document referred to that goal, which is outlined in this year's reports by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, only in a footnote that speaks to the "urgency" of addressing climate change.
"It's a weakened document, you cannot deny that," said Hans Verolme, who directs the climate change program for the World Wildlife Fund, a conservation group. "I don't know how you can footnote the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC. We were stunned by that," he added, referring to the U.N. panel that, along with former vice president Al Gore, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this week.
In essence, the document leaves most difficult decisions to those who participate in the process that will follow. The president who succeeds Bush will play a major role in determining how deeply industrialized countries cut their emissions between 2012 and 2016, after commitments made under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol expire. The United States never accepted that pact.
"There's a seat at the table for the next U.S. president, but clearly the Bush administration has shown it's not serious about using the best available science to craft a deal that reflects the urgency of the threat of dangerous climate change," Verolme said. "The serious countries will do their best to strike a serious deal in 2009." |
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PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Kevin Garnett has officially signed on as a consultant this week with the LA Clippers. Garnett will occasionally help out at practices but will not be on the bench at games or travel with the Clippers, a team representative said.
Garnett was with the team in Irvine during training camp, working out with the Clippers' big men before the season.
"He's stayed in touch," Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson said. "He's had some communication, I'm sure, with some of the players throughout the course of the season since camp.
"He's hired in here as a consultant. So I'm sure he'll be in and out when it presents itself for him to work with our guys. And I think when he's here, it's important for our bigs to take advantage of him being out here on the floor. Because he brings so much to the table, has so much to offer for the game of basketball, it's not even funny."
Garnett reconnected with then-Boston teammates Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass before working with DeAndre Jordan prior to Clippers practice Tuesday.
"Amazing. Amazing. Amazing," Jordan said about Garnett's new role with the Clippers. "Besides him cussing me out, we played against each other. He's a great spirit and a great basketball mind, a Hall of Fame guy. Someone I looked up to coming up and even playing against. So any pointers he can give me, or tips, it's great. I just want to be a student when he's here.
"He's one of the main reasons why I talk so much, talk so loud when I'm out there. Because when I'm watching film of him or playing against him, the presence that he has -- on both ends of the floor -- is something that's contagious. And you want take things from that from people like that, especially if that's already in their personality."
Garnett was a 15-time All-Star and league MVP in 2004 before retiring this past offseason. He won the 2007-08 championship with the Celtics along with Pierce under current Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
"I mean, you gotta take experience in terms of what KG's done," Woodson said. "I'm happy he's a part of our family now. He's always been a part of Doc's family. And I just think as we move forward, he's going to help DJ a lot. I mean, all of our players. I mean, KG is going to be a Hall of Famer one day. And I think all the experience he's put out on the basketball floor, if these guys are willing to listen and learn, they will benefit in the long run." |
If I started a business and it was clearly failing, I would shut it down. The war on drugs has failed -- why isn't it being shut down?
As acclaimed filmmaker Eugene Jarecki's latest video shows, the war on drugs has failed in every way possible. Trying to wage the war on drugs has costs the U.S. $1 trillion, with another $51 billion adding to the tally each year. This has resulted in 45 million drug related arrests, with the U.S. now jailing 2.3 million prisoners -- more people than anyone else on the planet. What has all this accomplished? "Rates of addiction remain unchanged, overdose deaths are at an all-time high and drugs cost less than ever before."
While attitudes and opinions on drug reform are dramatically shifting in the U.S. and across the world, more needs to be done. I echo Eugene's call for U.S. citizens to urge Congress to advance the Smarter Sentencing Act. This could help put an end to racial profiling, mass incarceration, shattered communities and failed policy. The Smarter Sentencing Act will save the U.S. billions of dollars, which could be spent on helping people overcome drug dependencies. It will also ease dangerous overcrowding in prisons by reducing sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
Every day, more people agree the war on drugs has failed and must change. As the Global Commission on Drug Policy has highlighted, and campaigns like Breaking The Taboo have illustrated, it's time for the rest of the world to learn from the likes of Portugal and Uruguay, and the brave steps they have taken to treat drugs as a health problem.
Politicians must listen to the people who, as Global Commission on Drug Policy research has shown, want them to find a new way. When we visited Ironwood State Prison in California recently, it was clear that everyone from the prisoners to the guards, the families to the legislators, believe the way drug problems are treated has to change.
It's time to speak out. It's time to adopt and experiment with new approaches. It's time to ask governments around the world to study the evidence and look at the harm being done by outdated drug laws. Most importantly, it's time to start thinking about and treating drug problems as a health issue, not a criminal issue. |
While Falcom are a more niche team then most other JRPG developers, they still manage to make some all-round amazing games that are enjoyable. Recently their titles, both new ones and older ones, are slowly coming out in english more and more. After a two years wait, Tokyo Xanadu, a recent title they developed, was released on the PS Vita in English. The PS4 version is to be released later in the year.
This review will focus on the Vita version, but once the PS4 version releases and I have finished all the new content, I will add an extra section down the bottom that will give my opinions and thoughts on the changes, additions and overall package of the PS4 edition. I am very much looking forward to it!
This game might share some similarities with Persona but also tries to be its own thing and does it very well.
Tokyo Xanadu starts off interesting straight of the bat, as within the first five minutes of the game the protagonist finishes his work for the day and gets caught up in some trouble immediately after, which leads to the start of his double life of having to pretend to be a normal high schooler while secretly defending his city from monsters called Greeds.
Kou, the protagonist, is not alone and has several other members that soon get caught up in the hijinks and mischief happening to the town and just like in Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2, you can hang out with them in-between story segments to learn more about their backstory and lifestyle.
The story had me hooked and learning about the events that had occured before the game, as well as what is happening in the present was interesting and overall the plot to me was really well done with some really impactful scenes and emotional parts at specific points. The PS4 version expands on this with extra story elements, which will also be covered later.
The game has an interesting story with twists and turns you don't see coming.
I highly enjoyed the gameplay as it felt overall fun to go through dungeons defeating Greeds while finding hidden treasure and other little secrets. Gameplay wise, this game is action rpg with many dungeons and there are various ways to fight enemies with different skills and abilities and special moves you can use. The mechanics for upgrading and improving your party's stats and abilities are great as you can buy and change equipment, add buffs and passives and upgrade unique character skills.
As per usual Falcom have various talented bands and musicians on hand, and as usual they make some really great music for Tokyo Xanadu. There is an Idol style music group within the city the game is set in and the opening song itself is actually made by the idol group. Presentation wise Falcom did save a bit of money and time by using a lot of assets and such from Trails of Cold Steel, but at the same time Tokyo Xanadu was also bit of a test at making something a bit different to their two other main franchises.
Falcom love having various minigames and of course references to other titles that they have also developed.
Overall I highly enjoyed this game. It felt just long enough for great value without overstaying its welcome or being boring. It takes around 20-40 hours to finish depending on how many side quests and miscellaneous content you do, and around 50-70 hours for the platinum trophy which I obtained.
Bring on the PS4 version as I am definitely looking forward to experiencing some more hijinks in Moriyama city while also learning about the characters and other lore.
If you enjoyed other Falcom titles and action rpgs in general then you will surely enjoy this! |
Bayesian econometrics is a branch of econometrics which applies Bayesian principles to economic modelling. Bayesianism is based on a degree-of-belief interpretation of probability, as opposed to a relative-frequency interpretation.
The Bayesian principle relies on Bayes' theorem which states that the probability of B conditional on A is the ratio of joint probability of A and B divided by probability of B. Bayesian econometricians assume that coefficients in the model have prior distributions.
This approach was first propagated by Arnold Zellner.[1]
Basics [ edit ]
Subjective probabilities have to satisfy the standard axioms of probability theory if one wishes to avoid losing a bet regardless of the outcome.[2] Before the data is observed, the parameter θ {\displaystyle \theta } is regarded as an unknown quantity and thus random variable, which is assigned a prior distribution π ( θ ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta )} with 0 ≤ θ ≤ 1 {\displaystyle 0\leq \theta \leq 1} . Bayesian analysis concentrates on the inference of the posterior distribution π ( θ | y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)} , i.e. the distribution of the random variable θ {\displaystyle \theta } conditional on the observation of the discrete data y {\displaystyle y} . The posterior density function π ( θ | y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)} can be computed based on Bayes' Theorem:
π ( θ | y ) = p ( y | θ ) π ( θ ) p ( y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)={\frac {p(y|\theta )\pi (\theta )}{p(y)}}}
where p ( y ) = ∫ p ( y | θ ) π ( θ ) d θ {\displaystyle p(y)=\int p(y|\theta )\pi (\theta )d\theta } , yielding a normalized probability function. For continuous data y {\displaystyle y} , this corresponds to:
π ( θ | y ) = f ( y | θ ) π ( θ ) f ( y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)={\frac {f(y|\theta )\pi (\theta )}{f(y)}}}
where f ( y ) = ∫ f ( y | θ ) π ( θ ) d θ {\displaystyle f(y)=\int f(y|\theta )\pi (\theta )d\theta } and which is the centerpiece of Bayesian statistics and econometrics. It has the following components:
π ( θ | y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)} θ | y {\displaystyle \theta |y}
f ( y | θ ) {\displaystyle f(y|\theta )} likelihood function, i.e. the density function for the observed data y {\displaystyle y} θ {\displaystyle \theta }
likelihood function, i.e. the density function for the observed data π ( θ ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta )} prior distribution of θ {\displaystyle \theta }
prior distribution of f ( y ) {\displaystyle f(y)} y {\displaystyle y}
The posterior function is given by π ( θ | y ) ∝ f ( y | θ ) π ( θ ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)\propto f(y|\theta )\pi (\theta )} , i.e., the posterior function is proportional to the product of the likelihood function and the prior distribution, and can be understood as a method of updating information, with the difference between π ( θ ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta )} and π ( θ | y ) {\displaystyle \pi (\theta |y)} being the information gain concerning θ {\displaystyle \theta } after observing new data. The choice of the prior distribution is used to impose restrictions on θ {\displaystyle \theta } , e.g. 0 ≤ θ ≤ 1 {\displaystyle 0\leq \theta \leq 1} , with the beta distribution as a common choice due to (i) being defined between 0 and 1, (ii) being able to produce a variety of shapes, and (iii) yielding a posterior distribution of the standard form if combined with the likelihood function θ Σ y i ( 1 − θ ) n − Σ y i {\displaystyle \theta ^{\Sigma y_{i}}(1-\theta )^{n-\Sigma y_{i}}} . Based on the properties of the beta distribution, an ever-larger sample size implies that the mean of the posterior distribution approximates the maximum likelihood estimator y ¯ . {\displaystyle {\bar {y}}.} The assumed form of the likelihood function is part of the prior information and has to be justified. Different distributional assumptions can be compared using posterior odds ratios if a priori grounds fail to provide a clear choice. Commonly assumed forms include the beta distribution, the gamma distribution, and the uniform distribution, among others. If the model contains multiple parameters, the parameter can be redefined as a vector. Applying probability theory to that vector of parameters yields the marginal and conditional distributions of individual parameters or parameter groups. If data generation is sequential, Bayesian principles imply that the posterior distribution for the parameter based on new evidence will be proportional to the product of the likelihood for the new data, given previous data and the parameter, and the posterior distribution for the parameter, given the old data, which provides an intuitive way of allowing new information to influence beliefs about a parameter through Bayesian updating. If the sample size is large, (i) the prior distribution plays a relatively small role in determining the posterior distribution, (ii) the posterior distribution converges to a degenerate distribution at the true value of the parameter, and (iii) the posterior distribution is approximately normally distributed with mean θ ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {\theta }}} .
History [ edit ]
The ideas underlying Bayesian statistics were developed by Rev. Thomas Bayes during the 18th century and later expanded by Pierre-Simon Laplace. As early as 1950, the potential of the Bayesian inference in econometrics was recognized by Jacob Marschak.[3] The Bayesian approach was first applied to econometrics in the early 1960s by W. D. Fisher, Jacques Drèze, Clifford Hildreth, Thomas J. Rothenberg, George Tiao, and Arnold Zellner. The central motivation behind these early endeavors in Bayesian econometrics was the combination of the parameter estimators with available uncertain information on the model parameters that was not included in a given model formulation.[4] From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the reformulation of econometric techniques along Bayesian principles under the traditional structural approach dominated the research agenda, with Zellner's An Introduction to Bayesian Inference in Econometrics in 1971 as one of its highlights, and thus closely followed the work of frequentist econometrics. Therein, the main technical issues were the difficulty of specifying prior densities without losing either economic interpretation or mathematical tractability and the difficulty of integral calculation in the context of density functions. The result of the Bayesian reformulation program was to highlight the fragility of structural models to uncertain specification. This fragility came to motivate the work of Edward Leamer, who emphatically criticized modelers' tendency to indulge in "post-data model construction" and consequently developed a method of economic modelling based on the selection of regression models according to the types of prior density specification in order to identify the prior structures underlying modelers' working rules in model selection explicitly.[5] Bayesian econometrics also became attractive to Christopher Sims' attempt to move from structural modeling to VAR modeling due to its explicit probability specification of parameter restrictions. Driven by the rapid growth of computing capacities from the mid-1980s on, the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation to statistical and econometric models, first performed in the early 1990s, enabled Bayesian analysis to drastically increase its influence in economics and econometrics.[6]
Current research topics [ edit ]
Since the beginning of the 21st century, research in Bayesian econometrics has concentrated on:[7]
sampling methods suitable for parallelization and GPU calculations;
complex economic models accounting for nonlinear effects and complete predictive densities;
analysis of implied model features and decision analysis;
incorporation of model incompleteness in econometric analysis. |
Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Beware of strange websites with candy?
The most viral (and, depending on your point of view, perhaps vile) site of today has to be Take This Lollipop. But wait, don’t click on it yet! Let me tell you about it first, so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
When you open up the site and click on an image of a blue lollipop, you’re prompted to allow Take This Lollipop to access your Facebook profile. This is standard stuff; for instance, if you want to use your Facebook profile to comment on a website—say, Slate—you agree to such access. But Take This Lollipop demonstrates exactly what you agree to when you hit “OK.”
In a stunning display of interactivity, the site shows a creepy video, a couple of minutes long, showing a dirty, creepy man, his fingerstips caked with grime as he points his way to Facebook. There, he accesses … your profile. The site takes the information from your Facebook page and seamlessly weaves it into the video. You watch as the stalker looks at your photographs, your recent status updates, your list of friends. Then he pulls up Google Maps and finds directions to your home (geographic data contained in your profile). He hops into a car, your profile photograph taped to the dashboard. The scene ends as he gets out of the car, presumably to track down his target—you. As horror movies go, the plot’s pretty thin. But it’s still jolting to see yourself cast as the victim.
It is unsettling to watch, particularly because the technology is so good. Here’s an example of the site in action.
So what’s going on here? Is it a public service announcement? A viral campaign for an upcoming horror movie? As several observers have noted, it’s nearly Halloween. Jason Zada, a digital marketer who has worked on such projects as OfficeMax’s Elf Yourself, has taken credit for Take This Lollipop. The idea isn’t totally novel: Intel’s Museum of Me also mines your Facebook account, and a German site similarly puts you into a video with an eerie end. But Take This Lollipop is nevertheless creating a stir online. Fast Company’s Jacob Berkowitz sees past the creepy and is excited by the business opportunities:
[T]he format itself is a great showcase for the potential of socially-enabled, seamlessly interactive video as genre entertainment. Here it’s horror, but the device would work in another context and genre. Of course if this is meant to be a public service message about privacy, it may be a little counterproductive–the video does nothing so much as demonstrate the entertaining upside of making your life an open book.
But the technology still needs a little tweaking. Ad Week’s Tim Nudd notes, “[T]he guy somehow got my location wrong, so apologies to anyone who gets attacked down in Tribeca today.” The program also ran into problems with my info. Recently, a friend traveling overseas found a bottle of tequila for sale that had my last name—Bosch—on the bottle. She tagged the photo of the booze with my name. At one point in my customized Take This Lollipop video, the stalker caressed the tequila bottle.
Take This Lollipop has been experiencing some outages, presumably because of high traffic. But if you really want to watch yourself get stalked, keep trying. You know what you’re doing now.
Read more on the New York Times Bits blog and Fast Company. |
For two years, it was the sculpture nobody would take: a life-sized Jesus sleeping on a park bench with his bare feet, wounded from his crucifixion, poking out from under a blanket. But now Jesus the Homeless and its Canadian sculptor have a new fan in the Vatican: Pope Francis.
Pope Francis praying at a model of the Jesus the Homeless sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz in St. Peter's Square on Nov. 20. ( Vatican photo ) Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz meets Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on Nov. 20. ( Vatican photo )
Timothy Schmalz brought the original wooden model of his sculpture to St. Peter’s Square last Wednesday to present to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. After his weekly general audience, the Pope prayed over the statue and blessed it, Schmalz said. “It is very, very amazing for a sculptor to have that,” he said. “After, the Vatican officials introduced me to Pope Francis and he said he thought Jesus the Homeless was a beautiful sculpture. So needless to say, I’m very excited about that.” The model is going to stay in one of the Vatican houses, he said, and he is working to find an outdoor location near St. Peter’s for the full-sized bronze version.
Article Continued Below
Schmalz, 44, is a sculptor of Christian-themed works who lives in St. Jacobs, near Waterloo. For about two years after he created his 2 1/2-metre-long sculpture, he couldn’t find a location to display it, he said. It was turned down by both St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Jesus the Homeless eventually found its way to Regis College, the Jesuit school of theology at the University of Toronto. Since it was installed in April, two of its admirers in the Catholic Church recommended Schmalz’s work to the Vatican, he said. A few weeks ago, he got the invitation to last Wednesday’s papal audience. Schmalz says his vision of Jesus as a homeless person was inspired by a passage in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells his followers that whenever they help a person in need — “the least of my brothers and sisters” — they do it to him. “If you go to Rome and go to all the beautiful cathedrals, you will not see a representation (of Jesus) that shows him so close to the marginalized people,” he said. “I’d say it’s one of the most important messages of the Gospels.” It’s also a message Pope Francis has embraced since his election in March. He has become known for reaching out to people on the margins of society — from visiting slums in Brazil, to washing the feet of criminal offenders, to embracing a severely disfigured man in St. Peter’s Square.
In a document released Tuesday that set out the vision for his papacy, Francis put particular emphasis on fighting inequality and social exclusion.
Article Continued Below
“He would like to see all people who are followers of Christ, and other people of goodwill, too, reaching out to people who are, as he says, on the margins,” said Fr. Michael Czerny, a Canadian Jesuit priest who works at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in the Vatican, and who helped set up Schmalz’s visit. The message is that “these people who feel like they’re the last and the least and the most forgotten in fact are the centre of our concern,” Czerny said. “Tim Schmalz’s sculpture says that in a tangible way, in a beautiful way.” Schmalz said he is working with lawyers and experts at the Vatican to have another Jesus the Homeless sculpture installed near St. Peter’s Square so pilgrims from all over the world can see it. As it would be on land owned by the City of Rome, they need approval from the city first. Schmalz has sent one Jesus the Homeless sculpture to Chicago, where it is awaiting a permanent home. Another copy is on its way to Perth, Australia, he said. |
by
1. Clancy Lives!
Take heart, you fans of slam-bang super-spy adventure stories! Tom Clancy is not dead; he lives on in the pages of the Washington Post, channeled through the airport-thriller prose of Barton Gellman — one of the small coterie of media custodians doling out dollops from the huge archive of secret NSA documents obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Drawing on that archive of what should be shocking, empire-undermining revelations, Gellman and his co-authors last week penned a story that is, in almost every respect, a glorification of state-ordered murder: a rousing tale of secret ops in exotic lands, awesome high-tech spy gear, flying missiles, deadly explosions, and dogged agents doing the grim but noble work of keeping us safe. No doubt Hollywood is already on the horn: it’s boffo box office!
The story describes how the NSA’s determined leg-work helped Barack Obama shred the sovereignty of a US ally in order to kill a man — in the usual cowardly fashion, by long-distance, remote-control missile — without the slightest pretense of judicial process. It’s really cool! Just watch our boys in action:
“In the search for targets, the NSA has draped a surveillance blanket over dozens of square miles of northwest Pakistan. In Ghul’s case, the agency deployed an arsenal of cyber-espionage tools, secretly seizing control of laptops, siphoning audio files and other messages, and tracking radio transmissions to determine where Ghul might “bed down.” … “NSA threw the kitchen sink at the FATA,” said a former U.S. intelligence official with experience in Afghanistan and Pakistan, referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the region in northwest Pakistan where al-Qaeda’s leadership is based. … Surveillance operations that required placing a device or sensor near an al-Qaeda compound were handled by the CIA’s Information Operations Center, which specializes in high-tech devices and “close-in” surveillance work. “But if you wanted huge coverage of the FATA, NSA had 10 times the manpower, 20 times the budget and 100 times the brainpower,” the former intelligence official said.”
I mean, get a load of these guys: 100 times the brainpower of ordinary mortals! Didn’t I say they were super-spies?
The target was Hassan Ghul, an al-Qaeda operative who was once in American custody but was released after giving his captors the tip that eventually led them to Osama bin Laden. (He was also tortured after giving the information — because, hey, why not? Even super-powerful brains need to let off steam once in a while, right?) Returned to his native Pakistan, Ghul evidently became a bad Injun again in eyes of the imperium, so, after snooping on his wife, they found out where he was and ordered some joystick jockey with his butt parked in a comfy chair somewhere to push a button and kill him.
There is not a single word in the entire story to suggest, even remotely, that there is anything wrong with the government of the United States running high-tech death squads and blanketing the globe with a level of invasive surveillance far beyond the dreams of Stalin or the Stasi. There is not even a single comment from some token ‘serious’ person objecting to the policy on realpolitik grounds: i.e., that such actions create more terrorists (as the Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai told Obama to his face last week), or engender hatred for the US, destabilize volatile regions, etc. etc. There is not a shred of even this very tepid, ‘loyal opposition’ type of tidbit that usually crops up in the 15th or 25th paragraph of such stories. But there was, of course, plenty of room for quotes like this:
“Ours is a noble cause,” NSA Director Keith B. Alexander said during a public event last month. “Our job is to defend this nation and to protect our civil liberties and privacy.”
Makes you want to puddle up with patriotic pride, don’t it? These noble, noble guardians of ours: peeping through our digital windows, rifling through our inboxes, listening to our personal conversations, reading our private thoughts, tracking our purchases (underwear, fishing gear, sex toys, books, movies, tampons, anything, everything), recording our dreams, our interests, our belief, our desires, skulking in the shadows, pushing buttons to kill people … yes, noble is certainly the first word that comes to mind.
2. Habituation Blues
It was once thought that the Snowden trove — which details the astonishingly pervasive and penetrative reach of America’s security apparatchiks into every nook and cranny of our private lives — might prove to be a stinging blow to our imperial overlords, rousing an angry populace to begin taking back some of the liberties that have been systematically stripped from them by the bipartisan elite. But instead of a powerful tsunami of truth — a relentless flood of revelations, coming at the overlords from every direction, keeping them off-balance — we have seen only a slow drip-feed of polite, lawyer-scrubbed pieces from a small portion of the trove, carefully filtered by a tiny circle of responsible journalists at a handful of respectable institutions to ensure, as the custodians constantly assure us, that the revelations will “do no harm” to the security apparat’s vital mission.
The perverse result of this process has been to slowly habituate the public to the idea of ubiquitous surveillance. The drawn-out spacing of the stories — and the small circle of well-known venues from which they come — has given the apparatchiks and their leaders plenty of time to prepare and launch counter-attacks, to confuse and diffuse the issues with barrages of carefully-wrought bullshit, and to mobilize their own allies in the compliant media to attack the high-profile producers of the stories — such as the angry assaults in recent days by Britain’s right-wing papers, accusing the Guardian of treason, etc., and, once again, diverting attention from the dark and heavy substance of the revelations to the juicier froth of a media cat-fight.
And so, as we have seen time and again over the years, an outbreak of “dissident” revelations are slowly being turned into a means of habituating people to the horrors they expose — such as the widespread use of torture, which became a widely accepted practice during the last decade. Remember the first Abu Ghraib stories, when even U.S. senators were shell-shocked as they came out of briefings on the horrors, and there was serious talk of criminal prosecutions shaking — perhaps breaking — the Bush administration? Outraged editorials rang across the land: “This is not what we are!” But most of the Abu Ghraib material was kept from the public, both by the government and by our respectable, carefully-filtering media outlets. We were told, my our masters and our media, that the facts and images were “too disturbing” for public viewing; their exposure would threaten our soldiers and agents with retaliation by outraged Muslims, etc., etc.
Within months, many of those same outraged papers were endorsing Bush for re-election. And even in “liberal” bastions, like the New York Times, torture had become a matter not for outright, automatic condemnation and rejection – as it would be in any civilized society — but instead was presented as an issue requiring “serious” debate. (Debate! About torture!). And so we had a series of serious players weighing in on the pros and cons of “strenuous interrogation” — with the emphasis largely on whether it was effective or not. This was the respectable, savvy “liberal” perspective on the question: not that torture was an unspeakable, untouchable evil, but that, hey, it doesn’t really work, you get too much garbage data, so it’s not really a useful tool for our noble security forces. Again, this was the standard “liberal” position.
And we all know what happened in the end: the initially shocked and outraged bipartisan elite agreed that no one should ever be prosecuted for these brazen war crimes (aside from a few bits of low-ranking trailer trash, of course), and that those who approved and perpetrated these acts should be protected, honored, and enriched by our society. By the time the smoke cleared, large percentages of the public voiced their support for the torture of imperial captives and the stripping of rights (constitutional rights, human rights) from anyone arbitrarily designated as a “terrorist” by our leaders.
The same thing happened — in a much quicker, more telescoped form — when the New York Times revealed the details of Barack Obama’s formal, official death squad program, run directly out of the White House in weekly meetings. Indeed, this entire “revelation” was stage-managed by the White House itself, which “leaked” the details and provided “top administrative figures” to paint the scene of thoughtful, even prayerful leaders doing the grim but noble work of keeping us safe. Of course, snippets about the White House murder program had been made public before, going back to 2001. (I wrote my first column on the subject in November 2001, based on laudatory stories about Bush’s self-proclaimed license to kill in the Washington Post.) And of course, Bush himself openly boasted of the assassination program on national television in his State-of-the-Union address in 2003. So the NYT story was more of a culmination of the habituation process.
Still, many people — perhaps most people — had never stitched together the horrendous reality behind these scattered snippets over the years; but the NYT story made it crystal clear, front and center. This time there was not even the brief spasm of outrage that followed the Abu Ghraib revelations. A nation that had already accustomed itself to systematic torture, to “indefinite detention” of captives in concentration camps, indeed to what was described at the Nuremberg Trials as the “supreme international crime” — aggressive war — was no longer a nation that would be troubled by news of a White House death squad. It was just part of the “new normal.”
Yet the Snowden revelations had the potential, at least, to cut through the murk of moral deadness that now envelops America. This is because — unlike distant wars and “black ops” and brutality against swarthy, meaningless foreigners with funny names — the NSA’s surveillance programs are also aimed at them, at real people, Americans! For once, they could see a direct impact of overweening empire on their own sweet lives. (Aside from the innumerable indirect impacts which have degraded national life for decades.) There was a chance — a chance — that this might have galvanized a critical mass across the ideological spectrum to some kind of substantial pushback, And the series of confused, panicky, self-contradictory lies that government officials and their sycophants told when the Snowden story first hit gave some indication that, for a moment at least, our noble (and Nobelled) overlords were on the back foot.
But then — well, not much happened. Stories based on the NSA documents appeared at intervals — sometimes rather lengthy intervals — and always from the same sources, in the same dry, dense, Establishment style, interspersed with relentless counterblasts from the power structure — and, always, mixed in with the million other bright, shiny things that pop and flash and draw the eye on the hyperactive screen that ‘mediate’ reality for us. And what if you were one of the billions of people on earth who — perish the thought! — didn’t read the Guardian, the Times and the Post? So the Snowden-based stories rumbled away on the sidelines, the momentum was lost, the power structure got its bootheels back firmly on the ground.
3. Debate, Reform and Rainy Weather
“Fine word, legitimate.” Edmund, King Lear
But what a minute, you say! Hold on just a rootin’ tootin’ minute there, Mister Cynic! What about the debate? What about the fierce debate — in the press, on TV, even in the halls of legislatures around the world — that the finely filtered NSA stories have already brought about? After all, provoking debate was the point, wasn’t it? Over and over, the custodians of NSA trove have told us that this has been the raison d’etre behind publishing the stories. Not to “harm” the security apparatus in any way, but to spark a debate over surveillance policies. For according to the serious and the savvy, debate is an inherent good in itself.
Snowden himself underscored this point in his recent interview with the New York Times. In fact, in one extraordinary passage, he says point-blank that he believes the lack of debate is more egregious than the actual liberty-stripping, KGB wet-dream activities of the security apparat:
“[Snowden] added that he had been more concerned that Americans had not been told about the N.S.A.’s reach than he was about any specific surveillance operation. “So long as there’s broad support amongst a people, it can be argued there’s a level of legitimacy even to the most invasive and morally wrong program, as it was an informed and willing decision,” he said. “However, programs that are implemented in secret, out of public oversight, lack that legitimacy, and that’s a problem. It also represents a dangerous normalization of ‘governing in the dark,’ where decisions with enormous public impact occur without any public input.”
Even “the most morally wrong program” can have a “level of legitimacy” if it has “broad support amongst a people.” Well, if I may quote Mel Brooks quoting Joe Schrank, I can hardly believe my hearing aid. Snowden apparently put his life and liberty at risk just to see if the American people supported blanket surveillance of themselves and the world. And if they do – well, that gives the whole sinister shebang “a level of legitimacy.” So if the polls show that most people are down with the invasive-pervasive spy program – because, after all, “if you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide” – then it’s all A-OK. Because there would have been a debate, you see, and that’s the main thing. That’s what gives even morally wrong programs their legitimacy. As long as, say, invasive surveillance, torture, aggressive war and hit squads have been given a sufficient modicum of ‘public input,’ of ‘transparency,’ then that’s all that matters. It would be too radical, too harmful, if one were to condemn such practices out of hand as sickening acts of depravity and state terror.
My word, we don’t want that kind of thing, do we? What we want – as our custodians have repeatedly declared – is to have our carefully vetted revelations provoke a debate that will lead to reform.
But “reform” of what? Reform of the very system that has produced these egregious abuses and capital crimes in the first place. ‘Reform’ which accepts the premises of imperial power, but simply wishes for a more tasteful, “transparent” application of them, with more “oversight” from the power structure. Such “reform” — which, as Arthur Silber notes, buys into the basic premises of authoritarianism — can never be anything other than cosmetic. The result will be what we have already seen with murder, torture and mass surveillance: a “legitimization” of state crimes, and their retrospective justification and entrenchment. For example, witness Candidate Obama’s vote to “legitimize” the Bush Regime’s unlawful surveillance programs (and to indemnify the powerful corporations suborned in these unconstitutional crimes) in 2008. And his zealous post-election assurances to the security apparat that they will never, ever face justice for their brutality, their murders and their abominable constitutional abuses.
Without making false equivalences, let us momentarily indulge in an assay of alternative history to put these remarkable assertions in some context. Entertain for conjecture this passage from some fictional Berlin newspaper in, say, 1943:
“A spokesman for the Berlin Herald said the paper is publishing the revelations of government whistleblower Dietrich Schmidt because it wants to ‘spark a debate’ about the Hitler administration’s systematic murder of Jews in the occupied territories. The spokesman said that the Herald is carefully screening the documents they’ve seen detailing the mass killings. ‘We would never simply dump the entire trove of documents on the general public,’ said the spokesman. ‘That could do a lot of harm to people in the national security apparatus. No, what we are doing is simply what journalists always do: select and edit material that we think the public has a right to know, without doing undue harm to the nation and those who serve it. There has been almost no debate on the policy of killing the Jews of Europe, and we think such a debate would be healthy. If the government believes it’s a good idea, then let them make their case to the public, let’s all weigh the pros and cons and have a serious discussion of these policies. Perhaps then we can get some real reform and more oversight of the mass murder program. That would give the operations a level of legitimacy they now lack and reduce the administration’s unfortunate propensity for ‘governing in the dark.’”
Of course Snowden and the custodians of his archive would vehemently reject any compromise, any “debate” or “reform” concerning Nazi-style genocide. The example is meant to set a moral question in the starkest relief. But let us be clear: we are talking about moral compromise here. What is at issue is not the levels of “legitimacy” that might or might not be produced by a broader “debate” or “reform” of the system. What is at issue is the actual moral content of actual policies being perpetrated by the government: the killing of human beings on the arbitrary order of the state, outside even the slightest pretense of judicial process; invasive surveillance, overturning even the slightest pretense of the integrity, autonomy and individual liberty of citizens; and all that falls between these two poles – such indefinite detention, black ops, and torture. (Obama’s early PR moves to ban some forms of torture by some government agencies have hardly ended government brutality in this regard, as – to take just one known example from this vast, secret world — the truly horrendous force-feeding of captives in the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp has recently shown.)
Yet we are to believe that an imperial, militaristic system which produces such crimes and abuses as naturally and inevitably as storm-clouds make rain can be “reformed” by a “debate” within the power structure itself.
But again, let’s not be cynical. For surely, the carefully controlled and filtered NSA revelations will doubtless produce a modicum of reform – perhaps along the lines of the Church Committee reforms of the 1970s, when truly horrendous abuses of invasive government surveillance produced … the secret FISA court which for decades has secretly approved secret government surveillance with a reliable diligence that would shame a rubber stamp. I’ll bet the “debate” provoked by the Snowden documents might possibly, eventually, expand the number of corporate-bought senators and representatives who sit on the committees overseeing, in secret, the government’s all-pervasive spy programs. Why, we might even get a new secret court to preside over the existing secret court that secretly approves the apparat’s operations. And maybe even a few more Hollywood movies out of it, like Zero Dark Thirty and The Fifth Estate. Now won’t that be something?
Meanwhile, we can divert ourselves with death-squad porn like the piece Gellman and the Post have wrought from the Snowden archive, complete with leaks from insiders and “former top intelligence officials” eager to turn Snowden’s dissident gold into self-serving imperial dross.
Chris Floyd is a columnist for the print edition of CounterPunch. His blog, Empire Burlesque, can be found at www.chris-floyd.com. |
An atheist group is weighing a lawsuit after the state of Indiana defied the organization’s objections by accepting a sculpture honoring military veterans that depicts a white Latin cross.
The 8-foot sculpture fashioned by a chainsaw at Whitewater Memorial State Park includes at its base a 14-inch cross. The Christian symbol “has no place in a state park,” according to the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Foundation attorney Rebecca Markert said Tuesday that the group has not yet decided whether to take legal action on the sculpture, which was formally accepted Sept. 2 by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
“We’ve actually heard from a lot of people in Indiana who would like to take part in the lawsuit if one gets filed,” said Ms. Markert.
She added that the foundation “is disappointed that the state of Indiana has decided to accept this monument, which has religious imagery, in a state park.”
Her comments came after the Liberty Institute sent a letter Tuesday challenging the foundation’s legal analysis in its Aug. 20 letter of complaint. The Texas-based institute represents the sculptor, Dayle K. Lewis.
“By all accounts the small cross on the new memorial depicts a historically accurate grave marker symbolizing the burial site of a fallen soldier,” said the letter from Roger Byron, Liberty Institute senior counsel. “Considering the new memorial’s history, purpose and context, the memorial and its permanent display in the park are well within the bounds of the Establishment Clause.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence drew headlines earlier this month when he defended the department’s decision to accept and display the memorial.
“The freedom of religion does not require freedom from religion,” the Republican governor said in a Sept. 2 statement. “The constitutions of our state and nation more than allow the placement of this Hoosier artist’s sculpture on public land.”
The sculpture is dominated by a giant bald eagle atop a perch with the inscription, “All Gave Some, Some Gave All.” The cross sits at the bottom of the sculpture to mark the grave of a soldier.
Whitewater Memorial State Park was dedicated in 1949 to honor veterans of World War II.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
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