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Once upon a time, the world of talking dinosaurs was restricted to largely forgotten sitcom โDinosaursโ and irritating purple pal to preschoolers Barney. CogniToys, a new line of toys developed by Elemental Path, is changing that with its first release โ a dino whose brain is powered by IBMโs Watson technology.
The company is launching the dinosaur on Kickstarter with pre-orders starting at $99.99 and says the toyโs best suited for children aged four to seven. As ever, itโs worth applying some caution when it comes to crowdfunding but Elemental Path does have fairly polished prototypes and videos to show off. Itโs set a target of $50,000 and has 29 days to hit it.
Instead of using Watsonโs cognitive computing power to play Jeopardy or analyze Twitter data, CogniToysโ dinosaur taps into the cloud to power speech recognition and have what its makers claim will be engaging and age-appropriate conversations.
The toy is also able to remember individual details about a child such as their favorite color and favorite toy, tell knock-knock jokes and offer answers to a range of โwhoโ, โwhyโ, โwhereโ and โwhenโ questions.
Parents will be able to monitor their childโs progress with their CogniToy through a cloud-dashboard which will give them real-time data on learning and interests as well as allowing them to moderate the content that comes out of the dinoโs mouth.
Perhaps conscious of the recent high-profile hacking of another internet-connected talking doll, Cayla, the CogniToys team make a big point of emphasising that data transferred to and from the doll is anonymized. Youโd also hope that having partnered with IBM, Elemental Path will invest plenty of time in securing the dinosaur from more devious developers.
โค CogniToys: Internet-connected Smart Toys that Learn and Grow [Kickstarter]
Read next: Tech Things Iโm Excited about in 2015 Because 2014 Was so Boring |
Image copyright Ubisoft Image caption A copy of the hacker-themed game was sent to Ninemsn to mark the title's launch
Watch Dogs' publisher has apologised after a publicity stunt for the video game backfired, causing an office evacuation and the deployment of an Australian bomb squad.
Ubisoft had sent a copy of the game inside a safe that beeped when staff at news site Ninemsn tried to open it.
The Sydney-based journalists became concerned when they called other newsrooms and found none had received a similar delivery.
The site does not cover video games.
After the firm called the authorities, a police rescue unit and four police cars were sent to the office on Australia Square, in the city centre.
Staff working on the floor to which the safe had been delivered were sent home early, while officers first scanned the metal box and then took it to the building's basement to force it open.
Ninemsn - which is part-owned by Microsoft - condemned the idea, calling it "misconceived".
"There was a bunch of reasons this ended up looking weird," said its publisher Hal Crawford.
"The PR company no doubt got carried away with their creativity and ended up sending us something the bomb squad had to open up."
France-based Ubisoft later said it had taken precautions to avoid a similar situation in the future.
"As part of a themed promotion for Watch Dogs, our team in Australia sent voicemail messages to some local media alerting them that they'd receive a special package related to the game," it said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, the delivery to Ninemsn didn't go as planned, and we unreservedly apologise to Ninemsn's staff for the mistake and for any problems caused as a result." |
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com.
Democrats this cycle have made a big deal of saying the system is rigged. Itโs insane and damaging, which is typical for progressives. But itโs also the core of the collectivist mindset.
To be fair, the system is rigged โฆ just not in the way Democrats say it is.
President Barack Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., both from relatively modest means, now have fortunes not through creating businesses or jobs but by driving home this โriggedโ idea. They claim people were able to take risks and build businesses solely because someone else paved the roads.
These self-righteous multi-millionaires discount the fact that those roads are paid for by everyone who uses them. They wonโt acknowledge some use them to better the lives of themselves and fellow citizens, but others use them to go to the bar โ and this is a reflection of choices they made, not some societal flaw.
But thatโs not the rigging Iโm talking about. Democratsโ โbig lieโ is to talk about how earnings inequality is somehow existential and has nothing to do with personal choices and risk taking. They know the system is not rigged; itโs more of an excuse progressives use to absolve those who fail of their own accord. It justifies everything. I didnโt get the job? Itโs not that I blew the interview or someone was more qualified โฆ itโs because the system is rigged.
Itโs insidious, and evil, to do that to people. But it works, and individuals are disposable to progressives, so they do it.
Still, not โrigging.โ
Whatโs being rigged now is the election.
Iโve been unambiguous in my criticism of Donald Trump, but he is absolutely correct the electoral system is rigged. He narrows it to being against him, but it would be rigged against any Republican who ran this year. Itโs that rigged.
Iโm not talking about voter fraud, though weโll likely see plenty of that. Iโm talking about the media.
If thereโs one thing this election cycle has exposed itโs just how symbiotic the relationship between the Democratic Party and the media is. Newspapers might as well run Democratic press releases with reportersโ bylines at this point. Television journalists should just attach a GoPro camera to the hand of whichever DNC official happens to be operating their mouth at any given time. Might as well get a colonoscopy while theyโre up there.
And โup thereโ is where journalistic standards are, along with many of their heads.
Journalism has been a joke for a long time, but 2016 made it the punch line as well.
As reporters fall over each other to report the latest allegation against or gaffe by Trump, they actively ignore everything negative about Clinton.
Wikileaks has exposed the inner workings of the Clinton campaign โ the bigotry, the knowing lies, the attempted cover-ups, the horse-trading, the corrupt in-breeding with journalists โ but youโd never know it watching network news. Theyโve barely mentioned it.
Itโs not surprising. Journalists and contributors from just about every major media outlet have been exposed by Wikileaks of doing one or more of the following:
--Run stories past Clinton campaign officials for their approval.
--Offer help in framing stories to aid Clinton.
--Give Clinton advice and even a town hall question ahead of time.
--Actively root for Hillary.
--Attend dinner parties for campaign insiders and even throw them.
And thatโs just the tip of the iceberg in the cozy, even incestuous relationships Wikileaks exposed.
Add to that the FBI report of a โquid pro quoโ offer to change classified material to unclassified by a State Department official on behalf of the Clinton campaign as well as the unrivaled corruption of liberal groups coordinating with the Clinton campaign to incite violence and commit voter fraud exposed by Project Veritas and, wellโฆnothing.
These revelations have come to light only because people outside the media sought them out. Aside from casual mentions and quick dismissals, the mainstream media has mostly ignored them.
In the case of Wikileaks, the journalistic malpractice is self-preservation. Journalists are hesitant to report on the behind-the-scenes partisanship of fellow journalists because theyโre friends, and itโs possible whoever reported it will have a similar email from them released next.
On the FBI, the media simply doesnโt care. The perfect illustration of how this was covered is in this exchange between Howard Dean and Thomas Roberts of MSNBC. Neither has even a basic understanding of the issue at hand, or even a clue. Yet there they were, on national television, declaring something they obviously had no knowledge of to be irrelevant. Itโd be laughable were it not so sad.
As for the Project Veritas findings, even after one fraudster was fired and another resigned, the media ignored it. There is video of two Democratic operatives discussing how to commit voter fraud and confessing to paying people to incite violence at Trump rallies โ staged events the media covered ad nauseam โ and they donโt rate a mention let alone a correction. A search of the Washington Post and New York Times websites Tuesday night return zero results on the topic. (The Post wrote a story Wednesday as this was being submitted.)
Yes, the system is rigged. Not by the rich against the poor, but by those with press passes against those who expect them to provide honest information.
Media bias isnโt just how they cover what they cover; itโs what they choose to ignore. The profession that congratulates itself with more awards and honors than any other and prides itself for โspeaking truth to powerโ has been fully exposed as the shield and the sword for the powerful. That is a rigged system. |
This post is what you do when you are a program manager and not everyone knows what โagileโ is, when you create a new product, when you are introducing that much cultural change? (In the program management book, I will talk more specifically about change and what to do. This post is the highlights.)
Project management and program management are all about managing risks. How do we bring the management of change and management of risk together in an agile project or a program?
Let's review the principles again:
Separate the business decision for product release from the software being releaseable all the time. That means you want the software releaseable all the time, but you don't have to release it. I talked about this in Design Your Agile Project, Part 1. Keep the feature size small for each team, so you can see your throughput. Use the engineering practices, so you don't incur technical debt as you proceed. Understand your potential for release frequency.
Are you doing these things now? Are they part of how you work every day? If not, you need to change. I'm going to address what the program needs to do to succeed.
Your Program Represents the Teams
In a sense, the program will represent the state of agile for the teams. Think of it as Conway's Law exposed. (Conway says the system design reflects the communication structure of the designers.)
You might think you need to standardize your approach to agile or lean. You might think you need to be rigid about how you move to agile.
You would be wrong about the process. You would be more correct about the engineering practices.
You need to create the most resilience for the organization. Here's what I mean.
If you have autonomous, collaborative teams, you will have uncoupled, collaborative code. If you look at the Cynefin framework, you get that on the right side, without too much trouble. (I'm not saying this is easy. Just that it's more possible.)
But, what if you have geographically distributed teams, or your teams are new to agile/lean, or you are still responding to requests from all of the program because the rest of the organization doesn't quite understand agile? What happens then?
You are on the Complex or Chaotic side of the Cynefin framework. Maybe you don't use the Good Practice that we already know for program management, right? Maybe you don't use what we already know about for the projects, because they won't scale for the program.
That's why each team needs to review Part 2 and Part 3, especially if they are part of a program.
That's why program management needs to be servant leadership at the core team level. See Which Program Team Are You Managing? Some program managers think they are managing technical teams. They might be. But, they might need to manage a core team in addition to a technical team.
What Does this Mean for a Program?
If you are trying to change everything, you have many unknowns. You are not in the right side of the Cynefin framework. You are somewhere on the left side of the framework. Agile โout of the boxโ is not going to work. Teams need to practice being agile as a team, before they are part of a program. They can come together in service of a program. And, because each team designs its agile project, no manager can change people on a team, unless the team requests that change. No โI can move people like chess piecesโ business. Managers serve the teams. Beware of hierarchies. They will slow your program. What is a hierarchy? Scrum of scrums. Hardening sprints, especially where other release teams integrate for the feature teams, can create hierarchies. Why? Because it's too easy to say, โMy part is done.โ
If you are designing your agile project to be part of a program, you want to consider, โHow will we make sure we deliver on a consistent basis to the rest of the program?โ
This is not about maximizing throughput. This is about meeting deliverables, and making sure that the teams know about their interdependcies long enough before they have to meet them. Then, the teams can meet them.
In a program, you always have interdependencies. Always.
Design Each Team's Project to Optimize at the Program Level
If you are part of a program, it's not enough to design your project for your team. You have to consider the needs of the program, too.
Each team needs to ask itself, โHow do we deliver what the rest of the program needs, as the program needs it?โ
You might want to watch Phil Evans Ted talk, How Data Will Transform Business. In a hierarchy, we have too-high transaction costs. (In geographically distributed teams, we have too-high transaction costs, too, but that's a different problem.) Note how he says โSmall is Beautiful.โ Hehehehe. Gotta love it.
Hierarchies are slow to respond. They impose barriers where you don't need any. The problem with programs is that they are big. You want to decrease the problems of bigness where you can. One way to do that is to decrease the effects of hierarchy. How? By not involving hierarchy whenever you can. That means using small world networks to solve problems between and among teams. That way you solve problems where the problems exist.
If I ran all the programs in the world, what would I do?
Have feature teams everywhere, not geographically dispersed project teams. I prefer collocated teams, but I realize in very large programs that is not always possible. (Sigh.) Have a core program team (cross-functional business team) that runs itself using kanban. If you need a cadence, use a one- or two-week iteration for the team's problem-solving. For the technical program team, run itself using kanban. Same idea with problem-solving cadence. Have the project teams use their own approaches to agile and lean, recognizing that their job is to reduce batch size, get to releaseable all the time, and not incur any technical debt as they proceed. The more the project teams are autonomous in their approaches to agile, the more they will collaborate with each other. The more they will feel free to explore what they can do. Have the program architect (who represents the business value to the core team) look for examples of bad implementations of Conway's Law all the time in the product. That will help create architectural business value. Yes, there is more that the architects do. Encourage Communities of Practice for the functional areas. Encourage cross-pollination between the communities. The โplainโ developers need to know what the architects are thinking, as do the testers. The developers need to know what problems the testers are solving, and so on. Organizing and facilitating CoP might be a management job. It might be a program management job. It's a servant leadership role. It's definitely not a command-and-control role. (โIt's Tuesday at 4pm. It's time to learn.โ Ugh. No.) The word here is โencourage,โ not mandate. As a program manager, you need to be aware when people need more training in understanding deliverables or what those deliverables are. Do they understand flow? Do they understand agile? Do they understand feedback? Do the teams need coaches? Do the teams need help in project management (yes, the teams are doing project management)? Do the teams need help in agile or lean? Do the teams need help in the interpersonal skills? Do the teams need help in the engineering practices that will help them deliver a clean feature every day or so into the code base?
Those are just your deliverables to the program. That's nothing about what you deliver to your management team.
Keep these three words in your pocket for your teams: autonomy, collaboration, and exploration. The teams need to be autonomous. It's their deliverables that you care about. Not the teams being in lock-step.
You care about the teams collaborating. How do you encourage that? With small features and product owners who have well-defined feature backlogs and roadmaps. The more often the teams check completed features in, the fewer collisions, and the more manageable the collisions are. You get momentum that way. I talked about momentum in Organizing an Agile Program, Part 3, Large Programs Demand Servant Leadership.
The exploration occurs when the teams (which include architects) spike or explore what the team(s) think the options are. Or, when teams talk among themselves to solve problems. Teams can first solve problems themselves. They do need a small world network and to know that you want them to solve their problems. They don't need a hierarchy to solve problems. These people are smart. Isn't that why you hired them?
Okay, all the previous posts in this series are:
Design Your Agile Project, Part 1
Design Your Agile Project, Part 2
Design Your Agile Project, Part 3
Design Your Agile Project, Part 4
Sorry this series took me so long. Travel and our new house interfered. Being a product owner is all-consuming.
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Pillars getting in the way of ceiling cables, water pipes clashing with electrical wires - Mr Yip Shaw Chong has seen many such mistakes on construction sites.
Such errors might require cables to be rerouted or walls to be hacked, wasting resources and time and jeopardising the schedules which Mr Yip oversees as senior project manager at Shimizu Corporation's Singapore office.
"Traditionally, we had drawings for each trade," he explains, one set of technical drawings showing electrical works, another showing water pipes, another the walls, and so on.
"Of course, an experienced guy would be able to layer them together and visualise that they will clash. But, inevitably, somebody misses something, there's a clash on site and somebody has to go and fix it."
Today, however, spotting such errors can easily be done by a beginner, or even a computer program. This is thanks to the rise of Building Information Modelling (BIM), a data-heavy virtual 3D-modelling technology that the industry has been increasingly pushed to adopt since the start of the decade.
Related Story Smart cities, smoother lives through digital connectivity
Since last July, all building plans for new projects with a gross floor area of 5,000 sq m and more have had to be submitted in BIM format for regulatory approval.
The great advantage of BIM software is that it can combine all plans - architectural, engineering, and mechanical and electrical (M&E) - into one integrated model.
"Before, you looked at the 2D drawings, this floor and this floor, and then you tried to visualise whatever intersections there were," says Mr Yip. "Whereas now, you have a model, so it's easier to see clashes."
Recent versions of software are even able to automatically spot and highlight these conflicts.
NEW WAYS OF SEEING
Admittedly, a lot of work must be done upstream to save time on site.
Fast Forward series
With Singapore firmly focused on the Future Economy, The Straits Times' series, Fast Forward: Disruption and the Singapore Economy, helps you make sense of the big shifts that will shake up entire sectors, reshape jobs and change lives. Every Saturday for 12 weeks, the paper's journalists will examine a disruptive force, its likely impact on the economy and how soon that will be felt. From robotics, 3D printing and smart buildings to dire demographic trends, the global skills revolution and the Asean growth story. Next week, find out more about green technology and survival as a small state.
In the past, Mr Gan Chee Meng dealt simply with lines and angles in 2D drafting software. Now, as a BIM manager at Shimizu, he grapples with more dimensions.
BIM models are not just 3D drawings. Instead, they are created element by element: a specific size of prefab wall here, a door from a particular manufacturer there. A draughtsman must now incorporate all sorts of data into their model, from warranty details to the contact number of a manufacturer.
Further up the timeline, architects have had to become more precise as well, says RSP Architects Planners and Engineers director Vivien Heng: "We've had to now do very clear designs upfront and go much deeper into our designs."
Previously, an architect could draw a facade lattice, say, without worrying too much about structure. But BIM requires them to think about how the struts fit together, creating a model that structural engineers can use to calculate the forces and stresses involved.
"It's a lot of extra work," Ms Heng sums up.
Yet a data-heavy approach can also make the architect's job easier.
"Traditionally, in the design process, you might just look at a few options," says Associate Professor Patrick Janssen from the National University of Singapore's department of architecture. But the right computer code can generate thousands of possible options, and each one can be simulated and analysed.
Take The Interlace condominium in Depot Road, which consists of 31 horizontal blocks stacked at various angles.
In one of Dr Janssen's research projects, various configurations were generated, and simulations ran to see how well each one performed in terms of daylight, heat from the sun, and so on. This research was for a completed project, but a similar process could be used to plan new projects, he says.
At RSP, the digital exploration of options is already being done on a smaller scale, says Ms Heng. "We use it to explain a specific decision to the client."
For instance, in a project involving two side-by-side auditoriums, a crowd simulation was used to show a client why human traffic would flow better if the auditoriums' exits were on opposite sides.
"Something like this couldn't have been done previously," says Ms Heng. "If you just show the 2D plans and talk, the client can't visualise it, and he's just relying on you to explain it. But now, this can be a truly joint decision, a collaboration."
DO OR DIE
Digital tools are not just a "nice-to-have option", says Building and Construction Authority (BCA) chief executive John Keung.
The lean, waste-reducing approach that BIM and other digital technologies make possible is what Singapore's construction industry needs to survive, he argues.
Studies in the United States and Britain show that 10 to 30 per cent of the time and manpower used in a typical construction project is actually wasted, he points out.
Labour costs there are much higher, providing a huge incentive to cut waste. But costs will not stay low in Singapore either - and manpower supply here will also shrink.
"So, sooner or later, our key decision makers in the industry, CEOs and so on, will understand that if you don't go through this lean process, then you're asking for trouble, you're going to pay a lot more."
In many industries, one fear is that technology will put workers out of jobs. In Singapore's construction sector, getting by with fewer workers is precisely the point. As source countries such as China develop, fewer foreign workers - on which the construction industry depends - will come here.
The sector must thus lessen its reliance on foreign workers while becoming more attractive to local job-seekers, and Dr Keung thinks that digital technologies will help.
After all, the younger generation has grown up with the Internet, computers and 3D games, he notes. "So, for them, it's probably much easier to make the adjustment to 3D BIM.
"I'm actually quite hopeful that this will get quite a bit of traction with the youngsters. And these are very high-value jobs."
That is not to say that older workers will lose their jobs. Of over 8,000 workers that the BCA has trained in BIM so far, many are mid-career professionals.
Experienced draughtsmen are valuable, even as they must retrain from 2D to 3D, adds Mr Gan. "Experience matters, not just in drawing or modelling, but because they need to understand how the models they create are used on site."
CLEANER WAYS TO BUILD
But data-driven tools are just one way in which technology is changing the industry. Just as important is the push for the construction sector to become more like manufacturing, says Dr Keung.
Known as Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA), this approach involves much more prefabrication, not just of single components like walls and columns, but hybrid parts combining steel and concrete, or even entire rooms. Less work is required on-site, saving man-hours and time, and reducing disruptive noise and dust.
Countries such as Britain also found it easier to get locals to enter the industry, working in factories instead of on sites, and Dr Keung hopes this could happen here too.
With the high degree of automation in factories, workers would be working with machines rather than their hands, he points out. "Manpower is going to be tight, so we must resdesign our jobs to give high-value jobs to whoever is in the industry, especially locals," he concludes. "If we don't do that, we are really going to face a big problem in the next five, 10, 15 years." |
ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 was launched in 2008. It was considered lost till NASA scientists found it.
Highlights ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe on October 22, 2008 Communication with the lunar probe was lost on August 29, 2009 NASA found the Chandrayaan-1 orbiting 200 km above the lunar surface.
India's first unmanned mission to the moon- Chandrayaan 1- which was believed lost, is still orbiting the moon, say NASA scientists.The Chandrayaan-1, which cost $79 million, was launched in 2008 to map the moon's surface and look for precious resources. It was assigned a two-year mission. Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with Chandrayaan-1.Now, scientists at NASA have successfully located the spacecraft still circling some 200 kilometres above the lunar surface.Finding the spacecraft required some "detective work because the last contact with the spacecraft was on August 29, 2009," said Marina Brozovic, a radar scientist in Californiai.The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft is very small, a cube about 1.5 meters on each side - about the size of a Maruti 800.It was found using inter-planetary radar which helps observe small asteroids several million miles from Earth.Finding a derelict spacecraft that has not been tracked for years and is as far as the moon is tricky because the moon is riddled with mascons (regions with higher-than-average gravitational pull) that can dramatically affect a spacecraft's orbit over time, and even cause it to have crashed into the Moon.Chandrayan-1 reported first evidence of the presence of water molecules on the moon's surface in 2009. ISRO had suggested that the spacecraft's orbit would slowly decay and it would ultimately crash onto the lunar surface. A scientist there told NDTV, "It is very heartening that India's first inter-planetary probe has survived the vagaries of space for nine long years."Experts suggest the Chandrayaan-1 is now a derelict souvenir, which, though in orbit, cannot receive or send data to earth, which means it's space junk.In 2014, India triumphed with its unmanned spacecraft reaching Mars at a cost of $74 million, a fraction of the $671 million spent by NASA on similar missions - and far cheaper than the budget of the Hollywood space blockbuster "Gravity".India plans to send its second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, early next year. |
After a relative was arrested for allegedly shoplifting at a grocery store, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst personally called the Allen Police Department to ask how to get her out of jail, referring to himself as the "No. 1 pick of all the law enforcement agencies within Texas."
In an Aug. 3 recording originally released by police to the Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate, NBC-DFW, Dewhurst identifies himself as the lieutenant governor and requests to speak to the police station's "most senior police officer you have there right now." He tells a police sergeant that his step-sister's daughter-in-law, Ellen Bevers, is a schoolteacher and "the sweetest woman in the world," and says he's sure she has been incarcerated on a "mistaken charge."
"If you would explain to me sergeant what I need to do to arrange for getting her out of jail this evening so that you can proceed with whatever you think โฆ that is proper," Dewhurst says. "Iโve known this lady for 30 years of my life."
After Dewhurst says that he is going to have Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw call to confirm his identity, he goes on to explain that he is a supporter of law enforcement in the state.
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"Sergeant, you donโt know me," he says. "I am every year the No. 1 pick of all of the law enforcement agencies within Texas, the No. 1 pick. Iโm a supporter of you, and everyone in law enforcement. I want you to do whatever is the proper thing."
He asks who he needs to call to post bond for Bevers, and says while he appreciates law enforcement, this is a "situation I just hate to see."
Travis Considine, a spokesman for Dewhurst, said the lieutenant governor behaved appropriately in the call. Dewhurst, who is running for re-election with multiple GOP primary opponents in 2014, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the incident.
"David acted as a concerned family member in an attempt to acquire information on how to post bail for his niece while reiterating multiple times in the full conversation that law enforcement follow their normal protocols and procedures," he said.
Shortly after reports of the call emerged, Dewhurst's political rivals in both parties began attacking his actions.
State Sen. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican who is among Dewhurst's primary challengers, issued a statement saying he was "saddened and disappointed" to hear that the lieutenant governor "attempted to use his power and influence to get a family member out of jail."
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"The fact that David Dewhurst believes he and his family are above the law is the height of arrogance and recklessness," he said. "This blatant abuse of power would be stunning coming from any elected official. However, it is particularly disturbing coming from the lieutenant governor of Texas.โ
Another lieutenant governor hopeful, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, took to social media for his criticism. Referencing a Will Ferrell parody, he said in a tweet that "Dew's call to Allen PD sounds like Anchorman Ron Burgundy: 'I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal. People know me.'" He also praised the Allen PD sergeant who "didn't bow to political pressure."
Leading the charge from the left was Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, who said in a statement the call was a "clear attempt to use his political position for influence, intimidation and preferential treatment."
"Our political leaders are not above the rest of Texans, nor should they expect to be treated so," he said. "Dewhurst has further disrespected the office of the lieutenant governor, and highlights the failure of leadership by those presently in power.โ
Listen to the full recording below, courtesy of The Dallas Morning News' Robert Wilonsky.
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The BBC has announced plans for the UKโs first televised National Final since 2010, and still the fans arenโt happy. Guy Freeman and his team are on a multi-year plan to build โBrand Eurovisionโ and 2016 is just one more step forwards. Thereโs a lot of progress on showโฆ but there are still many dangers.
Letโs start with a quick question. How many tickets do you think would be sold if the BBC hired six different arenas around the UK on six consecutive weekends to hold a multi-date selection show to find โA Song For Europeโ?
Not only would the tickets not sell out, I doubt you would find enough competent artists ready to sing in an arena, with enough backing from the industry, that would be willing to give it a go. The idea that all the BBC needs to do to find Eurovision success is to copy SVTโs Melodifestivalen is a popular refrain by many, but itโs demonstrably false, at least from the current state of affairs.
There needs to be a long, slow, burn on the Song Contestโs Candle before something along the lines of Melodifestivalen or even YLEโs UMK, could be considered by Head of Delegation Guy Freeman and the BBC. Which makes the recent announcement of a National Final by the UK Eurovision broadcaster all the more interesting.
Free As A Bird
Guy Freemanโs approach to the Eurovision Song Contest started with a similar budget to previous years, a relatively blank sheet of paper, and a desire to go back to the basics (Heโs spoken in-depth to ESC Insight on these issues) and for his first two years went with an internal selection process where the BBC chose the act and the performers. Thatโs caused a lot complaint from fans, the mainstream media, and the public.
It would be easy to โgo negativeโ on the plans that have been announced, and many online fans have done so (it feels like nothing less than a โBritish Melody Festivalโ will satisfy them). If you look closely at the plans from the BBC, everything has processed from previous years. Steps have been taken in a direction that Freeman and the BBC believe is the correct way.
Things Are Getting Better All The Time
The National Final is not going out on either of the mainstream channels, itโs going out on BBC 4. Given that the last two years have seen the launch on the Red Button interactive service, this is a step forward in the right direction. BBC 4โs remit is to โreflect a range of UK and international arts, music and cultureโฆ that is intellectually and culturally enriching, taking an expert and in-depth approach to a wide range of subjects.โ Which is exactly the approach that many have urged the BBC to take.
Itโs also worth highlighting that the Friday night show goes out in BBC 4โs โFriday Musicโ spot so itโs less about hiding the National Final on a smaller channel, but more about taking Eurovision into one of the points in the schedule where music is a key factor.
And while the logo might be spookily similar to โEurovisionโs Greatest Hitsโ, the inclusion of โBBC Musicโ branding on the graphics is a subtle but important sign.
The songs selected have come from three main areas; the UK branch of the OGAE fan club working through the open submissions, from a songwriting contest organised by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), and Hugh Goldsmith acting as a liaison between the BBC and the music industry. If someone wanted to submit an entry, then there was a clear route to the starting line. Over 600 acts did so, with more submissions to the UK than received for the 2016 Contest in Albania, Belarus, Estonia, France, or Latvia.
Interest from the creative community is on the rise, and while there might not be an Adele (or even a Nina Nesbitt) in the mix, the foundations are there and growing. The secret is to nuture these early roots to foster respect and appreciation on all sides. Thereโs no artistic harm in coming last in a Melodifestivalen heat (in fact most Swedish arts would likely take that deal for the career boost) and in time that should be the BBCโs goal.
But Itโs Not All Coming Up Roses
Flag waving aside, there are a number of short-term issues that could drag down the public perception of this National Final. Mel Giedroyc is not known for incisive commentary or musical knowledge (her comment of loving โThe Eurovishโ in the press release is painful). Thereโs an almost pathological desire to remind everyone that the public will decide the song and not a darkened committee room in the BBC (the show is called โYou Decideโ, the clue is there in the title).
Focusing on the past with โspecial musical guestsโ does nothing to promote the Song Contest as one of the biggest musical events of the year, and I think we can all safely place bets that the โmemorable Eurovision Winnersโ section will recycle all the usual humorous clips of Bucks Fizz, Abba, and Johnny Logan to show what was needed to win in the early eighties when there was no public voting (Thankfully Nicole and Hugo werenโt winners, but you never can tell what VT will get slipped in).
And why is there no mention of the most valuable resource of a National Final, the performers? If musical credibility is to be built up, then every opportunity should be taken to push the performers and the songs.
We Canโt Turn Any Faster
You canโt turn around a ship as large as โThe UK at Eurovisionโ in a single night. Itโs going to take years. Thankfully, it looks like Guy Freeman is happy to take time view and slowly build up all the elements required for long-term. |
Taylor Swift (Jason Merritt/Getty Images) and Chanel on "Scream Queens" (Hilary Gayle/FOX)
Ryan Murphy, you sly genius. Donโt you know Taylor Swift holds a grudge?
Weโre not sure how the pop superstar is going to feel about Tuesday nightโs opening of Murphyโs โScream Queens,โ which kicked off with a devastating โ and frankly, pretty hilarious โ parody of Swiftโs gift-giving habit. Specifically, her famous โSwiftmasโ video, which showed her personally selecting, wrapping and in some cases delivering presents to her fans.
On โScream Queens,โ Murphy and the writers mocked the video beat for beat (see them both below) using evil main character Chanel and her obsession with Halloween โ known as โChanel-o-ween.โ Seriously, they really committed to the bit. For example, Swiftโs video started like this:
(Screengrab from YouTube)
"Swiftmas" (Screengrab from YouTube)
...and then on โScream Queensโ:
"Chanel-o-ween" (Screengrab from YouTube)
Then, it segued to Chanel wrapping personalized gifts for her fans. While Swift went with blankets, clothes and coffee mugs, Chanel went shopping with her comatose grandmotherโs credit card and bought appropriately scary severed arms, heads and razor apples.
[So, whoโs the first person to die on โScream Queensโ?]
Cue home videos of Chanelโs fans screaming and crying with delight as they open the presents and hand-written notes, just like Swiftโs. There are few key differences.
Fan reading a letter from Swift: โI wanted to tell you how much you impress me with your giving spirit!โ
Fan reading a letter from Chanel: โI wanted you to know how much you impress me with your frumpy spirit!โ
Fan reading a letter from Swift: โIโll see you soon in person but Iโll see you on Tumblr, like, tonight.โ
Fan reading the letter from Chanel: โI canโt wait to see you in person, but before that, Iโd like to see you post this all over social media to exploit it for my own gain!โ
Zing! Even the final scenes are the same, as Swift drives to a fanโs house in Connecticut.
โThereโs this wonderful girl named Steph who Iโve met before, but she has a tiny young son named Leighton who she posts videos of all the time and Iโve never gotten to meet him before. So I guess weโre just going to go and drive to Connecticut and bring Leighton some Christmas presents,โ Swift gushes.
โThereโs this girl named Susan whoโs always posting sad videos of herself online and she lives some place horrible. SoI guess weโre just going to have to drive to Susanโs house and deliver some Chanel-o-ween presents in person,โ Chanel sighs.
Read more:
Taylor Swift shames Apple Music into changing their policy. Hereโs why they need her more than Spotify.
How Taylor Swift really, truly said goodbye to country music at the ACM Awards
What a single tweet from Taylor Swift can do for your music sales |
Graham Hancock is one of the most amazing modern explorers of both the planetโs material mysteries in terms of ruins and monoliths and the internal aspects of consciousness. I learned of his participation in the Contact in the Desert Conference at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center just prior to going to Illuminate, so I decided to drive through the Arizona and California desert for a rare chance to see and meet him.
By the time I got to Joshua Tree, Graham had already presented his main ideas formally, making this a real treat โ an informal interactive session with the man who has unearthed so many of historyโs treasures and put them into a meaningful and cosmic context.
Graham gave an account of his journey, beginning with his family roots in England and his horrific experiences being conditioned in a private school, then moving on to becoming a journalist with the ability to travel the world. He had been an atheist until he was cracked open to a new concept of manโs history by encountering stories about the Ark of Covenant in war-torn Ethiopia.
This experience began his interest in โout of place technology.โ Noting the connection between the Ethiopian stories of the Ark with his growing interest in the Ancient Egyptian texts, he dropped his atheism and became interested in spirituality โ in โlevels beyond levelsโ of reality that pointed to so much beyond the veil of what we take as truth.
Graham credits Robert Bauval with the โfundament breakthrough Orion correlation connection to Egypt,โ which is the key breakthrough in tying Egypt to its past by discovering the connection to the stars of the constellation of Orion.
When he began writing about ancient mysteries Graham encountered what he described as the perils of academia; dedicated to making his case, he found that he needed to be beyond perfect with annotations and still he was criticized and vilified by conventional archeologists and historians.
One intriguing aspect of Grahamโs insight is that he claims that you โdonโt need ancient astronautsโ; rather, the veils of consciousness can be lifted by using the resources of the earth itself, and specifically the chemical properties of plants like Ayahuasca to โopen the doors of perception.โ
Still, the monuments are key sources of inspiration and Graham believes that there is much to learn from the stars, citing how in terms of the ancient skies the constellation of Leo was aligned with the gates of the Sphinx.
Besides conventional academics, political skirmishes also inhibit many new discoveries, but Graham urges that it will take a cooperative and new scientific method, embracing openness, to bring many hidden aspects of reality to light.
A key discovery will be how, after โsix million years of boredomโ with different primates and versions of humans, there was a sudden leap in consciousness and intelligence signified by the cave drawings of the ancients such as at Lascaux, France.
While some attribute this to extraterrestrial intervention, Graham makes the point that a distinct type of psilocybin mushroom thought to only be in the Americas actually existed in Europe as well, and he posits that its effect either contributed to or caused this enormous leap in the creative abilities of humans, and the birth of shamanic wisdom.
Graham became interested in the neuropsychology theory of cave art presented by David Lewis Williams of South Africa into deeply altered states of consciousness which suggested that it was psychotropic plants and the shamanic traditions that unfolded from their discovery that was responsible in the dramatic and sudden increase in intelligence among some human groups.
Graham agrees with Williams that the chemical agents in these sacred plants allowed humans to detach from materialism and evolve spiritually and intellectually very rapidly.โ
Graham debunks conventional theories of Lascaux as merely paintings of animals our ancestors wanted to hunt for food; at Lascaux, for example, the main food item was reindeer but there is only a single painting of a reindeer in the cave, and it is portrayed with the feet of a duck.
At the same time, modern DNA tests have proved the existence of mushrooms in Europe.
This inquiry led Graham to conclude that he must experience the reality facilitated by shamans in altered consciousness, and so he went to the Amazon.
Here he became convinced that it is our โplant alliesโ that offer the opening to experience a suddenly expanded universe and discover truths about ourselves.
He was open about the experience in terms of having โMother Ayahuascaโ reveal to him his own hubris and arrogance in the 90s and his own toxic emotional tendencies. This changed him forever.
โMother Ayahuascaโ was the most powerful example of a disembodied intelligence or entity he found through the plant in his experiences, and She told him to write a book and to stop his dependence on cannabis, both of which he described in detail and which he followed thereafter, resulting in the novel Entangled.
In the novel he deals with one truth conveyed by the plant, that the Neanderthal peoples we currently see as primitive and crude were actually immensely telepathic, compassionate, and peace loving, and helped the humans until we surpassed them, and presumably wiped them out.
To his critics about using โchemicalโ or unnatural means of awakening he responds, โWhat could be more natural than a mushroom?โ He said that he feels the need to personally experience everything he studies because otherwise it has the credibility of โcelibate monks arguing about sex.โ
Graham is passionate about the need for individuals to resist the efforts of the state to โcontrol our consciousnessโ and believes this is an inalienable right of each human. He admits that this is โall British shitโ and lauds the American people for reversing the trend electorally in states like Colorado and Oregon.
He summarized that โMother Ayahuasca kicked my assโ in the state of pure consciousness and he was exposed to the multi-dimensional nature of reality. Graham acknowledges the risks involved but compares them to mountain climbing or sky-diving.
He believes that Ayahuasca brings contact with disembodied intelligences and that plants are like antennae on the earth, receiving and transmitting a multitude of frequencies and energy.
Ayahuasca neutralizes inhibitors in the gut to open what Huxley called โThe Doors of Perceptionโ and open the user to the โintelligence in vine.โ
Scientists believe that the force is
in the leaves of the Chacruna plant (p. viridis, containing the DMT element of the brew); but Graham believes the intelligence is in the vine and its connection to the soil and the earth, and that the vine harvests the leaves to affect the intelligence of beings, now humans, helping them to evolve.
He compares Mother Ayahuasca to the Goddess Isis in Egypt and described an experience where he was made to โweigh his soulโ in the fashion of the Judgment Hall of Osiris in Egyptian lore. It was here that he confronted his own toxicity as a human and worked on his arrogance.
Graham cautions that in this state, nonphysical entities can take advantage and enter humans, which is why it is imperative to take the substance under the direction of an experienced guide or shaman. One can come under attack and be the victim of โpsychic vampirismโ by Trickster entities but the benefits are to forever broaden our concept of reality.
Finally Graham described his current fascination with the fact that 30 leading scientists attribute the end of the Ice Age 12,800 years ago to a cataclysmic comet impact, and his theory is that newly found ruins of advanced civilizations represent the efforts to preserve the knowledge and wisdom of a super civilization that perished at that time.
Graham says that the key lesson of the plant and many of his experiences is to silence the mind and โchoose love, not fear.โ
I felt privileged to be able to witness this remarkable individual for even this short period of time on a personal level, and I was struck by his humility and grasp of the widely disparate subject areas he presented and his unique ability to connect the dots. I also felt a kinship in terms of his many struggles to be accepted, his sense of being an outsider from a young age, his being an only child (as am I), and his discovery of his gift for the written word and exploration.
I almost blew off the event because of the ten hours of driving that it entailed but this was probably the most powerful lesson of all, that when life affords you a singular opportunity it is incumbent to accept โ because our precious and privileged existence on this planet is truly a means of teaching and growth. |
Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration raided about 10 medical marijuana operations in Montana, including four dispensaries run by Montana Cannabis and the greenhouse that supplies them. According to Reuters, "The raids marked the first such crackdown in Montana by the federal government since a state ballot measure legalizing cultivation and possession of marijuana for medical purposes was overwhelmingly approved by voters there in 2004." The crackdown came on the same day that a bill aimed at repealing that initiative was blocked by a state Senate committee.
Wait. Didn't Barack Obama repeatedly promise to call off the DEA's medical marijuana raids when he was running for president, and didn't his attorney general instruct federal prosecutors to leave patients and providers alone as long as they are complying with state law? Sort of. Under a policy change announced by the Justice Department in October 2009, U.S. attorneys were told that, "as a general matter," they "should not focus federal resources" on "individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." In practice, this policy means the feds reserve the right to interpret state law and decide whether patients and providers are following it, as illustrated by continued raids in California, Colorado, and Michigan.
Montana, like California and Michigan, allows "caregivers" as well as patients to grow marijuana. Montana's Medical Marijuana Act (PDF) defines a caregiver as an individual "who has agreed to undertake responsibility for managing the well-being of a person with respect to the medical use of marijuana." A patient with a doctor's recommendation may grow up to six plants and possess up to one ounce of usable marijuana for his own consumption, or he can designate a caregiver, who may grow up to six plants on his behalf. Are patients or caregivers allowed to form "cooperatives," as they do in California, and grow marijuana together? According to the state Department of Public Health & Human Services, which keeps track of registered patients and their caregivers, "the law is silent on this issue." And although the law specifies that "a qualifying patient may have only one caregiver at any one time," it does not seem to address the question of whether a caregiver may grow marijuana for more than one patient.
The upshot is that the DEA can always argue that any individual or group of people with more than six plants (or more than one ounce of usable marijuana) in one place is not "in clear and unambiguous compliance" with Montana law. That would be the case even if state courts explicitly approved grow operations and dispensaries operated by patients or caregivers. Federal raids have continued in California even though the state attorney general (now the governor) said dispensaries are permitted.
Now that the attempt to repeal Montana's Medical Marijuana Act has been stymied, people who believe the current system is too loose are expected to propose regulations that will clarify exactly what is and is not permitted. If such rules are established, the DEA will no longer have an excuse for breaking Obama's promise.
More on the wiggle room left by Obama's supposedly tolerant attitude toward medical marijuana here.
[Thanks to Robert Johnson, Dave Budge, and Richard Cowan for the tip.] |
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) โ Do you want to save a fortune on your taxes? Invest in some llamas!
Chilliwackโs mayor says thereโs a bizarre tax loophole involving the animals in her city and she wants to see it closed.
โThere is a property that is completely graveled and is industrial land in an industrial park, and the owner has found a trick,โ Sharon Gaetz tells News1130.
โThe owner put llamas on the property for a month. He did it when BC Assessment came to assess his property.โ
Gaetz claims the business owner paid roughly $170,000 in taxes on the property when it was classified as industrial land in 2011. She says that number fell to less than $3,000 in 2012 because of the โllama loophole.โ
โThatโs 1.5 per cent of what he paid the year before,โ points out Gaetz.
โItโs still industrial land, but he found a loophole. So what weโre asking the government to do is close that loophole and give BC Assessment the ability to actually respect local government zoning.โ
She will be raising the issue at the Union of BC Municipalities convention later this month. |
The country's most vulnerable people are struggling to pay for vital medicines and that is taking a toll on their health, a new study has found.
Photo: 123RF
Otago University researchers discovered people were reducing their doses, not filling prescriptions and skipping meals due to the cost of medicines.
People are eligible for subsidy cards once they have paid for 20 prescriptions in a year, which means there is no charge for subsidised medicines for the rest of that year.
But an Otago University study, using a Statistics New Zealand longitudinal survey and based on interviews with people in the Dunedin area, found 65 percent were not aware of the subsidy card.
Almost none were aware the card applied to families as well as individuals.
A second study on people with high health needs found many were not filling all their prescriptions due to cost.
One of the researchers, Professor Pauline Norris, told Nine to Noon those people made up about 6 percent of the population, and they were more likely to be single, sole parents, Maori or Pasifika.
Professor Norris said although prescription items were only $5, that cost could quickly build up.
"If you're a person on a reasonable income and you don't have many health problems, you do think 'oh, it's just five dollars, what are these people talking about?
"But the thing is if you're on a really low income and you have maybe ten or maybe 15 prescription items to pick up at once, then that's $50 or $75 on top of having to pay to go to the GP as well."
Because of the cost people would go without relatively cheap medicine and were ending up in the emergency department or having expensive hospital stays.
She said people tended to treat their prescriptions as a "shopping list or a wish list".
"Rather than getting everything on the list, they would pick the things they thought they really needed. That was their judgement rather than a health professional's judgement."
As a result, some would get their children's medicine but not their own, would sacrifice nutritious food, or prioritise their mental health over their physical health.
That posed "significant" clinical risks, according to Kate Baddock, chair of the Medical Association's GP's Council.
"The possibility exists that people will choose the medicines which are, from a longevity perspective, the worst ones to stop. They might take a short course of something which they perceive to be more important but with little understanding that it may not be the case."
Dr Baddock said most GPs were aware of the families who were likely to be struggling and would often reduce their own charges to help them meet the costs of prescriptions.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the proportion of people who were not collecting a prescription due to cost had not changed significantly in recent years.
It would continue to support the uptake of the Prescription Subsidy Card scheme, which has been operating since 1993, and has been working on improvements to the way it works .
It had started a system where pharmacies could cross reference a patient's prescriptions with other pharmacies, as well as check eligibility with online searches using the person's National Health Index number. It says most pharmacies have taken this up.
It said: "Data contained in the 2015 National Health Survey, released on December 10, shows of those surveyed 7 percent of adults reported not collecting a prescription due to cost. This percentage has not changed significantly over the last four years."
Pharmacy Guild chief executive Lee Hohaia said in a statement the guild was aware that some patients struggled to afford their medicines.
"The guild has also worked with some of our members to try and secure extra funding for families facing financial hardship by talking to [Work and Income] and the Ministry of Social Development.
"We would like to see the funding for these families' first 20 prescriptions come directly from [Work and Income] so they can collect their medicines without having to make sacrifices in other areas.
"We have also helped pharmacies put together business cases for extra funding from their DHBs to help subsidise patients who cannot afford their medicine."
Professor Norris said there was a strong case for some people to get their medicines free of charge.
"It's quite likely that it's actually cheaper to provide free medicines for those people, rather than have them go without, get sicker, and end up in hospital which costs everybody a lot of money," she said.
The cost of prescriptions went from $3 to $5 on 1 January 2013. |
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) confirmed Senate Republicans will delay a vote on their proposed health care legislation on June 27 at the Capitol. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
THE MORNING PLUM:
The Senate health-care bill has been put on hold, but, zombie-like, it is not dead. Politico reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has privately informed GOP senators that he will try to put together a new compromise version of it by Friday or Saturday, with the goal of having the Congressional Budget Office analyze it, in preparation for a vote on it soon after the July 4 recess.
McConnell will be employing at least two tactics. First, he will use several hundred billion dollars that CBO says the bill would save to try to buy off moderate opponents with side deals, such as increased funding for Medicaid or opioid treatment.
Second, McConnell will press the argument that if this bill does not pass, Republicans will have no choice but to negotiate over the future of the Affordable Care Act with Democrats. Multiple reports have said that McConnell has privately warned Republicans that failure would mean they must enter into talks with Democrats on ways to shore up the individual markets, which would effectively mean that a chance to pass a partisan repeal bill is gone.
But, in making this latter argument โ which will likely gain more scrutiny in the days ahead โ McConnell is effectively destroying one of President Trumpโs most cherished false narratives. And this could have all kinds of implications for where this whole debate could head next.
[The Senate GOPโs health-care bill is a liberalโs caricature of conservatism]
Trump has spent months making several intertwined claims. He has relentlessly asserted that Obamacare is collapsing on its own. He has offered a variation on this by threatening to cut off the cost-sharing reductions to insurers that subsidize out-of-pocket costs for lower-income people, which would drive insurers out of the markets; Trump has said this threat will force Democrats to the table to โdealโ with him. And Trump has also blasted Democrats for refusing to participate in his designs (even though there are no circumstances under which Democrats would join in an effort that would leave 22 million more uninsured). Trump tweeted his fury at Democrats for not helping him destroy the ACA just yesterday.
President Trump called Democrats in Congress "obstructionists" for resisting his health care reform during a cabinet meeting on June 12. (The Washington Post)
All of these claims are absurd in their own way, but they add up to a big bundle of unified nonsense. Yet McConnell is now laying waste to this entire story-line. McConnellโs argument to fellow Republicans โ that failure means talks with Democrats over the ACAโs future โ concedes a number of points. It concedes that, despite Trumpโs claim of a desire for talks with Democrats, Republicans cannot work with Democrats, as long as Republicans remain wedded to their own priorities โ that there is simply no bipartisan consensus possible, as long as Republicans are hellbent on cutting health spending on poor people by hundreds of billions of dollars to finance an enormous tax cut for the rich. After all, McConnell is arguing that passing a bill that does this, on a purely partisan basis, is the only way to avert any need to dilute the GOPโs devotion to those priorities.
McConnellโs argument to Republicans also concedes that the ACA exchanges do not have to continue struggling; lawmakers can act to prevent this. And it concedes that Republicans will not want that to happen and will feel pressure to do something about it (presumably because, as a recent Kaiser poll suggested, they risk taking the blame for it). McConnell is basically conceding that Republicans canโt just let the ACA implode, as Trump seems to believe.
This could have real consequences for the coming debate, should the GOP bill fail. The Trump administration is likely to continue trying to sabotage the exchanges if this happens, by employing, among others, tactics such as continually refusing to clarify whether it will renew cost-sharing reductions and generally sowing uncertainty over the ACAโs future. This is already having a real impact on the health of the exchanges. And so, we could soon see a battle over who is to blame for the ACAโs continued problems, and a jockeying for political advantage if bipartisan talks do start. In that context, Democrats can spotlight McConnellโs admissions in a helpful way.
[Why โrepeal and replaceโ will become โtweak and move onโ]
As Brian Beutler writes, there actually is space for bipartisan agreement over various reforms to the ACA that are more modest than the massive overhaul Republicans are pursuing. One pleasant surprise this debate has produced is that a number of moderate Republican senators are deeply reluctant to support a huge rollback of assistance for the poor and lower-middle-class โ one that would leave millions far more vulnerable to health-care and economic catastrophe โ to facilitate an enormous tax cut for the wealthy. If that holds โ and there is no certainty that it will, of course โ then there may be an incentive for some Republicans to enter into more constructive talks over the future of the health-care system, ones that could result in some concessions to Republicans that are not as destructive to the ACA as the deeply regressive priorities that they remain ideologically devoted to with such zeal. If those priorities are put on ice for the time being, such talks are at least possible. McConnell has now helpfully conceded this himself.
* ANOTHER POLL FINDS TRUMPโS APPROVAL IN THE TOILET: A new PBS/NPR/Marist poll finds Trumpโs approval rating at 37-51. And hereโs another striking finding:
Who do you think is a more effective leader? President Donald Trump: 34 Former president Barack Obama: 58
Looks like a large majority of Americans are already tired of all the winning.
* ANOTHER POLL FINDS GOP HEALTH BILLโS NUMBERS IN THE TOILET: A new Politico-Morning Consult poll finds that only 38 percent of Americans approve of the GOP health bill, while 45 percent disapprove. And:
The intensity gap is on the side of the billโs opponents: Thirty-one percent of voters overall โstronglyโ disapprove of the bill, roughly double the 16 percent who โstronglyโ approve.
Meanwhile, even one-fourth of Republicans disapprove of the bill. By the way, the new Marist poll mentioned above has the health bill at 17-55.
* DEMS HOLD LARGE GENERIC BALLOT EDGE: Another key nugget from the new Marist poll: Democrats lead Republicans in the generic House ballot match-up by 48-38. Thatโs a bit wider than the average of polls, which puts Dems up by nearly 7 points. Also keep in mind that Dems will need to prevail by a large margin to have any chance at winning the House.
* REPUBLICANS KEEP TRYING TO GAME THE CBO: Politico reports that this happened at a meeting between GOP senators and the head of the CBO:
CBO Director Keith Hall was also present for the meeting, and GOP senators quickly laid into the man whoโs been haunting them with projections of 22 million fewer insured and short-term premium increases, according to people in attendance. It seemed to be a genuine effort by Republicans to discredit the nonpartisan referee so that the GOPโs final health care bill isnโt derailed by the CBO. โCBO could stand for โConfusing But Obtuse,โโ said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) afterward.
Keep in mind that the CBO may have to score another version of the Senate bill. In this context, this seems like rank ref-gaming.
* COLLINS: IT WILL BE โDIFFICULTโ TO CHANGE MY VOTE: This quote from Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who has come out against the Senate health bill, is worth keeping in mind:
โItโs difficult for me to see how any tinkering is going to satisfy my fundamental and deep concerns about the impact of the bill.โ
Weโll see where Collins draws the line between โtinkeringโ and addressing her โdeep concerns,โ but if the billโs broad strokes remain, itโs hard to see her backing it without rendering this a lie.
* GOP SENATOR SURPRISED AT TRUMPโS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE: The New York Times reports an intriguing nugget on the meeting yesterday between GOP senators and Trump about the future of the health bill:
A senator who supports the bill left the meeting at the White House with a sense that the president did not have a grasp of some basic elements of the Senate plan โ and seemed especially confused when a moderate Republican complained that opponents of the bill would cast it as a massive tax break for the wealthy, according to an aide who received a detailed readout of the exchange.
Once again, Trump has zero clue what is in the bill heโs championing, even though it would impact one-sixth of the U.S. economy and could harm tens of millions of people.
* BUT TRUMP INSISTS HE KNOWS HEALTH CARE WELL: Good morning, Mr. President:
Some of the Fake News Media likes to say that I am not totally engaged in healthcare. Wrong, I know the subject well & want victory for U.S. โ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2017
The next person who is fortunate enough to interview Trump might consider asking him to explain in detail whatโs in the health-care bill. |
Is there room for functional managers, such as development and test managers, in agile organizations? Maybe. It depends on whether they take the role of an agile manager.
If you have organized as a feature teams-based organization, the functional managers (development, test, analysis, whatever) can take these responsibilities:
Develop trusting relationships with the people on the project team, and in their function.
Provide coaching and mentoring opportunities for people.
Provide communities of practice for the people.
Remove obstacles for the people and team.
Start and nurture the hiring effort whenever you need to hire new people.
Help people with career development.
Provide feedback to people, and help people learn how to provide feedback (meta-feedback).
Provide coaching and meta-coaching when people want it.
Help the organization understand its capacity and make decisions about the project portfolio.
Help influence the rest of the organization with the agile culture.
Functional managers are champions for the team, and shepherds for the process. They are servant leaders.
Here's what functional managers do not do:
Have status conversations. If the team is agile, the team understands its status. If you need help seeing their board, that's a problem the team needs to solve. If they need help seeing their status, they need to change their board or their process for updating each other.
Move people on or off teams, once you or the team establishes itself.
Ask people to do something the team has not committed to, or that the product owner has not added to the kanban board. That's right. โYourโ team doesn't work for you; the team works for the product owner.
Micromanage any part of the project work. Or, manage any part of the project work.
What does this mean? It means that the team members are leaders. Agile pushes responsibility into the teams, and away from traditional management. Agile requires leadership at all levels.
Agile challenges managers to recreate their jobs. An agile transformation requires managers work in an agile way, and work differently than before.
If you want to learn more about the role of leaders and managers in agile, join Gil Broza and me at The Influential Agile Leader, either in San Francisco or London this year. We still have an early bird price until mid-February. Don't miss this opportunity to help your agile transition and your career.
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Premature babies offered donated breastmilk in Tasmanian first
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In a Tasmanian first, premature babies at the Royal Hobart Hospital are now being offered donated human breastmilk, flown in from Queensland.
Dubbed "liquid gold" the milk is screened and pasteurised in Brisbane, before being frozen and flown to Tasmania packed in dry ice.
It is being offered to babies in the neo-natal intensive care unit, born before 34 weeks and under a particular weight.
Lactation consultant Christina Galloway spearheaded the plan and said it was very exciting.
"We have now received our sixth delivery of donor human milk and it's coming from Brisbane and it's so exciting because for years we've been waiting for this," she said.
So far 17 babies have benefited from the donor milk, including a set of twins, and Ms Galloway said no parents had refused it.
Lucius Blake is one of those babies.
He was born at 29 weeks, weighing just over a kilo, but six weeks on he is thriving thanks to the generosity of a stranger from Queensland.
His mum, Emily Blake, said it took the pressure off mothers waiting for their milk supply to build up, during what was already an anxious and stressful time.
"I was a little bit cautious about it but (the hospital) goes into detail about how it's all done behind the scenes so I was pretty happy, me and my partner were pretty happy to give him that option to help him get bigger and better," she said.
Until now formula was the only option when breastmilk was unavailable, but evidence suggests donor milk is better tolerated than formula in premature babies and can reduce their risks of developing certain illnesses.
Christina Galloway said it was the next best food to the mother's own milk.
"It's still got some of the immune factors in it so it so it can coat the gut and protect it which formula does none of those things," she said.
Ms Galloway said the milk was perfectly safe.
"Because the milk is screened similarly to how a donors for a blood bank are screened then we can be pretty certain that it's a very safe product and we have very strict guidelines for making sure that it comes in a cold chain manner, so the temperature is controlled right from Queensland to here," she said.
Mums using social media to source milk
Milk sharing is not a new concept, many Tasmanian mums have already been sourcing and donating excess breastmilk via social media.
Mother of two, Christabel Porter, said she had donated in the past and was about to do it again.
"I asked the lactation consultants at the Royal if they could take it and they said no, I asked the other mums I knew but most of them were pretty established at that point and then I looked at the Human Milk for Human Babies Facebook page and then through the Hobart Mum's Network I found someone that needed milk so I got in contact and gave her six litres," she said.
"I really like that my hours of hours of pumping isn't going down the drain but also it's going to someone who wants it and needs it."
Mrs Porter said she was happy to answer any health questions the recipients may have.
"I'm very happy to give them copies of blood tests or anything like that if they need it, none of them have actually asked me for that but a lot of them ask questions about alcohol, caffeine, smoking, my general health," she said.
Lactation consultant Christina Galloway understands milk sharing is common, but has warned mothers of the risks.
"There's no control over if someone's donating and they have got a disease or an infection. While women are free to make those decisions I think they need to realise there should be some level of screening," she said.
Tasmanian breastmilk being poured down the drain
Many Tasmanian mums were frustrated there was still not a regulated milk-sharing system in place.
Ellen Breganti, who was fortunate to have an oversupply of breastmilk, recently threw out 25 litres.
She said it was heartbreaking.
"It's your blood, sweat and tears in my situation to produce that milk it was such an effort to manage fatigue and everything that you go through in those first few months of being a new mum to then have to throw it out or not have anywhere to donate it," she said.
"It is frustrating, it seems a bit silly that milk's being flown from the mainland when there's a pool of mothers in Tasmania that would more than happily donate."
Milk banks are operating New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, but Ms Galloway said currently a milk bank was considered unviable in Tasmania.
"The Royal Brisbane has a milk bank and that's the newest one and that cost $250,000 to set up and $200,000 a year to run and based on those figures we thought that here with only about 10 babies a year who would need it, it wasn't viable," she said.
But she agreed it would be nice for Tasmanian mothers to donate their excess milk.
"It would be really nice to somehow send our milk back to Queensland because I do have a lot of mothers who don't struggle with milk supply and who end up with a lot more milk than they need and it would be lovely if we could send it up, but we actually haven't got an avenue to do that yet, because it is quite costly," she said.
Those willing to donate were urged to contact milk banks in other states.
Topics: babies---newborns, infant-health, tas |
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Teaching pupils about creationism in science lessons is โindoctrinationโ, according to Professor Alice Roberts.
The TV presenter and new president of the Association for Science Education, who studied medicine at Cardiff University, called for new laws banning all schools, including those in the private sector, from teaching the topic alongside evolution.
The new national curriculum for primary schools, due to be introduced this September, contains a clear requirement for pupils to be taught about evolution.
But the curriculum only applies to state schools, not private schools. Academies and free schools can also choose not to follow it.
In an interview with the Times Educational Supplement (TES), Prof Roberts, who has presented a number of BBC programmes including The Incredible Human Journey and Origins of Us, said: โThere should be regulation that prevents all schools, not just state schools, from teaching creationism because it is indoctrination, it is planting ideas into childrenโs heads.
โWe should be teaching children to be much more open-minded. People who believe in creationism say that by teaching evolution you are indoctrinating them with science, but I just donโt agree with that. Science is about questioning things. Itโs about teaching people to say, โI donโt believe it until we have very strong evidenceโ.โ
Graham Coyle from the Christian Schoolsโ Trust, which represents a group of 40 independent schools, told the TES: โThere are people who would outlaw the discussion of creationism but that is a very dangerous position to adopt. Indoctrination is a misused word. |
(Reuters) - American Roads LLC, the privately owned operator of the international border crossing tunnel that links Detroit to Windsor, Ontario in Canada filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, citing reduced traffic.
Police vehicles are pictured at empty customs lanes entering the U.S. at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in Detroit, Michigan on July 12, 2012. REUTERS/Jeff Kowalsky
The bankruptcy was not the result of last weekโs petition for bankruptcy by Detroit, although the cityโs problems contributed to the companyโs difficulties, Neal Belitsky, American Roadsโ chief executive, said in court documents.
American Roads is seeking to restructure $830 million in debt. Traffic volumes fell short of projections made in 2006 when it took on its debt, according to court documents.
The company, owned by infrastructure investor Alinda Capital Partners LLC, also indirectly owns four toll roads in Alabama.
American Roads said in court papers that its plan of reorganization was already approved by creditors and that it proposed August 28 as a date for the bankruptcy court in Manhattan to approve its plan.
Under the plan, Syncora Guarantee Inc will become the owner of the company upon its exit from bankruptcy. Syncora insured the companyโs bond and swap obligations.
American Roads said in court papers it anticipated that most of its low-priority general unsecured creditors will be paid in full.
The company blamed a decline in the population of the Detroit area for the drop in traffic through the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.
Detroitโs population has fallen from a peak of 1.8 million in the middle of last century to under 700,000 today.
Detroit sought Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection last week to restructure $18 billion in retiree and bond obligations. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit will consider the cityโs eligibility for bankruptcy next month.
Belitsky, American Roadsโ CEO, did not immediately return a call for comment.
The case is In Re American Roads LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-12412. |
CHILDREN are being turned away from ethics classes in public schools because there are not enough volunteers or funding to meet demand.
Schools such as Gosford Public School on the central coast can offer classes only to those attending non-scripture classes. The school has no space to allow children learning scripture to opt out and study ethics.
Tanya Burrows โฆ ''I thought it was a terrific thing for kids to do rather than nothing, which they do in non-scripture.'' Credit:Marco Del Grande
Others have placed students on waiting lists until vacancies arise or new volunteers are appointed. The provider, Primary Ethics, said more than 4000 volunteers were needed to meet demand - seven times the existing number.
The organisation has had the most success recruiting volunteers in more affluent areas, such as the eastern suburbs and the lower north shore. However, ethics teachers were scarce in the western and south-western suburbs. The service is also limited by a lack of funding - it relies solely on private donations. |
When spring inches its way forward, there is one recipe that I invariably prepare: asparagus soup. Itโs creamy, but light, and rich with the grassy green herbaceous flavor of asparagus and leeks.
Spring comes earlier to the region around us than it comes to the mountain itself. After a long and grey-white winter, when March arrives, we long for a little warmth and usually find ourselves on the road for a day visit to the hot springs. If thereโs been a good start to spring, weโll see a woman pulled over along the high, the tailgate of her rusted blue truck open, selling freshly picked asparagus out of an icy cooler. Sometimes, if youโre lucky, sheโll sell you honey too.
We pull over and Iโll buy far more than my family of three could possibly eat (itโs only $1 / pound!). We eat it raw by the handful for freshly picked asparagus lacks the astringent quality of its long-traveled, store-bought cousin. I roast it, and I make this asparagus soup โ my favorite โ three or four times. Weโll have our fill, until next spring.
How and Why Asparagus Soup Nourishes
asparagus
Asparagus is highly anti-inflammatory and rich in several antioxidants including beta carotene, glutathione, quercetin and rutin. Further, asparagus is also rich in the vitamins K1 and folate as well as the minerals selenium and manganese.
Asparagus is also rich in the prebiotic inulin which is also found in Jerusalem artichokes and chicory root. Inulin, like other prebiotics, provides food for beneficial bacteria โ thus nourishing the bacteria in your intestinal tract. If your intestinal tract is healthy and teeming with beneficial bacteria, this is good; however, if your intestinal tract is compromised by potentially opportunistic bacteria or you suffer from gut dysbiosis, inulin may exacerbate the issue which is why GAPS patients are typically told to avoid inulin-rich foods. You can learn more about prebiotics and probiotics here.
bone broth
Broth made from bones, in this case chicken bone broth, is potently rich in easy-to-assimiliate minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. It is also rich in amino acids, particularly proline which promotes skin and heart health as well as glycine which promotes good digestion, skin health and improved wound healing.
Bone broths are also rich in naturally occurring gelatin which promotes digestive health as well as good skin. I typically keep a slowcooker full of broth simmering continuously on my kitchen counter โ find out more about my method for perpetual soup here.
cream and butter
My favorite asparagus soup, like many of my favorite foods, uses cream and butter with abandon. These foods, like asparagus, are at their best in the spring when cows can graze on the fast-growing and lush grasses of spring. Springtime butter and cream from grass-fed cows are extraordinarily rich in nourishing fats: conjugated linoleic acid which shows promise in reducing the risk of cancers and metabolic syndrome, as well as trans-palmitoleic acid which shows promise in mitigating the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Butter and cream from grass-fed cows are also rich sources of fat-soluble vitamins particularly vitamins A, E and K2. These fat-soluble vitamins support cognitive function, heart health, bone health, immunity and the reproductive system. Further, healthy fats and fat-soluble vitamins help you to better absorb the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables (which is another reason to butter you vegetables). |
Interview with Eric Flannum
GuildMag: In Guild Wars: Eye of the North, music changes when entering combat. Will music dynamically change according to the situation in Guild Wars 2?
Eric: Yes, we have specific music that plays when you enter combat. In addition to that we have the ability to change the music for other situations such as time of day, for particular dynamic events, boss battles, etcโฆ
GuildMag: In the original Guild Wars - where you have a pack of charr - each monster has a skill set which can be identified by its name. What can you share with us about monster skills in Guild Wars 2? Can we expect diversity in skills, even when encountering a pack of identical ogres, for example?
Eric: In Guild Wars 2 each type of monster can have a unique palette of skills. For example, you might encounter a group of dredge, some of whom are riflemen that engage you from a distance. The melee fighters in the meantime will attempt to close and use sonic AoE attacks by banging their swords against their shields. Each โfamilyโ of monsters has a different amount of variety depending on how often we expect a player to see them and how large a group they are expected to encounter. The more often players see a creature or the more of those creatures we expect players to fight at any given time, then the more diversity we need.
GuildMag: The Elder Dragons are said to be hugeโrather, enormousโwill they be part of large dynamic events, or will we fight against them inside instanced areas?
Eric: The only Elder Dragon that players encounter in Guild Wars 2 is Zhaitan, and he is fought as part of a dungeon. So itโs safe to say that at least for the initial release of the game, youโll only see Elder Dragons in instances.
GuildMag: We've seen the cinematic animations in the past few demos. Are there any plans to make changes in that area?
Eric: We are working right now on improving the quality of the cinematics where two (or more) characters talk to each other from opposite sides of the screen. This involves looking at animations as well as new technology and how we record and process voice overs.
GuildMag: Could you tell us about how we can expect to come across dungeons? Will we stumble upon them through exploration, or are they linked to social hubs? Will all the dungeons be introduced to us by our personal storyline? Can we also find hidden dungeons through exploration?
Eric: There are NPCโs in the world who can point you towards the different dungeons. You are introduced to these NPCโs through your personal story. For various reasons these NPCโs are all following the saga of Destinyโs Edge. Since the dungeons (in story mode) are the story of Destinyโs Edge, they will have information on where the various members are and what they are doing, which will in turn lead you to the dungeons. In addition to being the story of Destinyโs Edge, dungeons offer a different sort of play style that we want all players to have access to. Because of this, we have chosen not to have any hidden or hard to find dungeons in the initial release of the game.
GuildMag: Is there anything which you can tell us about the guild system or underwater exploration at this moment?
Eric: Nothing new Iโm afraid (except for the next question).
GuildMag: What are aquatic weapons and how do they work?
Eric: So you noticed those aquatic weapon slots? Aquatic weapons are a separate weapon set that you switch to when you go underwater. They are a unique set of weapons designed and animated to look good while being used underwater. Other than that they work very much like our โnormalโ weapons.
GuildMag: How do you initiate a project? Do you have a predefined working process?
Eric: Every project starts out very differently. For example, I think weโve shared our unusual story about how we started Guild Wars 2. I can safely say that Iโve never been involved in a project where we felt the need to announce we were doing it almost as soon as we started working on it! As unusual as that decision was, it felt like the right decision for us to make at the time, and Iโm glad we did so.
Once you get past the decision to start a project, I think you have to begin with all of the big picture ideas about what youโre trying to accomplish. What is your target audience? What is the setting? What are the core mechanics? Why would somebody play the game instead of another game? What makes the game fun? What business model will make the game a success for the company? It seems like an obvious thing but Iโve definitely seen and been in some situations where the team couldnโt answer those types of questions and it has tended to end rather poorly as a result. You always have to keep the big picture in mind and that is especially true right at the start.
GuildMag: You now work at one of the industry's top companies. What path did your career take to get there?
Eric: I started out as an aspiring comic book artist who also loved games and worked at a game shop. There were several game studios near where I worked, and people who worked at those studios would come in all the time. I wasnโt having much luck getting the comic book career going, and would talk to various people who came into the store about how I could get a job as an artist. To my dismay, most of them told me that 3D art was the next big thing, and that I needed to know how to use an expensive 3D modeling package. The one exception to this were the guys from a small company called Blizzard who told me I just needed to โlove games and be able to drawโ.
So I applied at Blizzard and was lucky enough to get hired as an artist. One of the first things I did there was work on Warcraft 2. At the time they didnโt have anyone doing map layout, so they sat me down with the editor and told me to โmake mapsโ. This was my introduction to working as a game designer, and I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit. From there, I worked as an artist and designer on Diablo and Starcraft. Having done a little of both jobs, I knew that I was better suited to being a designer than an artist, and was looking to make the switch to being a full time designer. I had a friend who I worked with at Blizzard who got me a job as a game designer for a game called Sacrifice at Shiny Entertainment.
After that, I bounced around to a couple of different companies for a few years until I found myself at inXile Entertainment. Around that time my wife and I decided to move to Washington. I contacted my friend James Phinney who was working at ArenaNet and he (along with help from Jeff, Mo, and Pat) sold me on coming to work on Guild Wars. That was over six years ago, and I have to say that ArenaNet has been the best company Iโve ever worked for. I count myself as being incredibly fortunate in getting to work on a cool project like Guild Wars 2 and with so many talented and fun people.
GuildMag: Did you have any mentors?
Eric: I think we all learn a little something from everyone we work with and Iโve never had a formal mentor. That being said, I think the time Iโve spent working with James Phinney on various projects has benefitted me greatly. Heโs a fantastic game designer and one of the smartest people I know. Then of course thereโs Colin Johansonโhow can you work with him and not learn something new every day?
GuildMag: We've asked this question to Colin before, and he gave interesting answer. We're curious about your answer as well. Do your family and friends fully understand what your job entails? How do you explain to people what you do for a living?
Eric: Well most of my closest friends all work in the game industry, so I hope they understand what I do ( As for family, I donโt think they really have an idea, and I find it very hard to explain to people I meet exactly what I do. I usually try to explain to them that Iโm responsible for the moment to moment game play and overall experience that the player has while playing the game, and when they get that blank look on their face I switch to โIโm responsible for the storyโ (which isnโt true but they can at least comprehend what that might mean).
We would like to thank Eric Flannum for giving us a bit of his time! |
The prom dress is waiting in the closet. Everything is ready for the big day. Student Sofie Ruther at Valhall college is looking forward to a magical prom with hockey star Mathias Tjรคrnqvist, former team member of Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes.
Sofie Ruther had decided to go to the prom on her own. All her classmates had already found a date.
Then, her dad Joakim Ruther took matters into his own hands.
He called an old friend.
โ I explained the situation to Mathias. His first question was what color Sofie would wear. He wanted to be sure to match her outfit.
Joakim Ruther is deeply touched by how Mathias Tjรคrnqvist โ who spent the last season leading Malmรถ Redhawks back to the Swedish premier hockey league for the first time in many years โ immediately decided to be Sofie Rutherโs date at the prom in Helsingborg on May 28.
โ He is just an incredible guy. One time, when we were discussing my daughterโs future, Mathias told me that he always would be around for help and support, no matter what. Sophie was thrilled when I told her that he wants to be her prom date, says Joakim Ruther.
Sofie Ruther has Downโs syndrome. When she was a little girl, she was often looked after by Mathias Tjรคrnqvistโs mother. One day, the mother was unable to help out โ and Mathias, a very young adult at the time, stepped in.
Today, Mathias Tjรคrnqvist is 36 years old and looking forward to putting the tuxedo back on to relive that special high school magic once again.
โ To experience a prom one more time will be a lot of fun. There was no doubt in my mind when I was asked to come, says Mathias Tjรคrnqvist.
Through the years since Sofie Ruther was in kindergarten, the hockey star has been there for her. During his years in the United States, she would often receive postcards with salutes from Mathias and his teammates in the NHL.
Despite the far distance, Mathias has kept in close touch with the family over the past 15 years.
โ He is nice, kind and sweet. I have longed for this day. It will be fun and exciting to go to the prom, says Sofie Ruther, adding that the party will turn out just the way she had dreamed.
โ When Sofieโs older brother had his prom two years ago, he went there in a convertible. That sparked a thought in Sofie as well. She wanted that same experience, says Joakim Ruther.
Now she will. The car is booked; everything is prepared for the big day. Joakim Ruther trusts that the sun will shine on his little girl and her date.
Translation: Andreas Ekstrรถm.
In Swedish: |
All Blacks winger Nehe Milner-Skudder plans to take part in the Hurricanes' pre- season campaign, including an appearance at the Brisbane Global Tens tournament.
Photo: AFP
Milner-Skudder has spent the past nine months recovering from shoulder surgery which ruled him out of the Hurricanes' run to the Super Rugby title and the entire All Blacks season.
The 2015 World Cup star hopes to test his fitness during the Hurricanes' pre- season opener against the Blues in Auckland on February 4 before the inaugural Tens tournament a week later.
"My rehab went well and I've been really enjoying being back training with the squad during the pre-season over the past few weeks," he said.
The 25-year-old says the Tens tournament will be a good test of his speed and fitness given the amount of space expected to be on offer for players.
"To be able to test myself in a tournament like the Tens will be perfect timing just a few weeks out from the start of our Super season."
Photo: Photosport
Milner-Skudder said the Global Tens was an exciting concept.
"To have international teams like Toulon and Samoa alongside some of Super Rugby's best teams will be quite unique and no doubt it will be a real test for everyone.
"Tens isn't something most of us get to play too often, so we are all looking forward to giving it a go. Having less numbers means there'll be a bit more space so that'll make for plenty of ball movement and guys backing themselves. "
The Hurricanes will play Australia's Western Force and New Zealand's Highlanders on day one of the tournament before playing French club Toulon on day two.
Teams will be allowed squads of 18 players per match at the Brisbane Global Tens, but will carry up to 26 players into the tournament.
Milner-Skudder joins a growing list of high profiles players who have confirmed their plans to play in Brisbane including his Hurricanes teammate Loni Uhila.
-AAP and RNZ |
Facts donโt matter in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Trayvon Martinโs shooting planted the seeds for the movement. Contrary to popular myth, Trayvon was not unlawfully shot and killed by George Zimmerman. The trial evidence was overwhelming that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman with a punch to the nose and when shot was on top of Zimmerman beating him Mixed Martial Arts style, having smashed his head into concrete. Moreover, the racial narrative was false, a perception caused by a deceptive NBC audio edit and false interpretation of audio in which Zimmerman supposedly uttered a racial slur, and amplified by activists and family lawyers.
Michael Brownโs death directly launched the movement and took it national. Brown, however, wasnโt shot โhands up, donโt shootโ but because he sucker punched a cop sitting in his vehicle and tried to steal the copโs gun.
[Ferguson PO Darren Wilson injuries caused when Michael Brown sucker punched him while trying to grab gun]
These seminal events of the Black Lives Matter narrative were lies.
The overall portrait of blacks being subject to a white police genocide (the word used by a Cornell professor recently) also is false. See and listen to Heather MacDonaldโs explanation of the statistics.
Add another set of facts, as analyzed in a just released Harvard study [full embed at bottom of post], reported in The NY Times:
A new study confirms that black men and women are treated differently in the hands of law enforcement. They are more likely to be touched, handcuffed, pushed to the ground or pepper-sprayed by a police officer, even after accounting for how, where and when they encounter the police. But when it comes to the most lethal form of force โ police shootings โ the study finds no racial bias. โIt is the most surprising result of my career,โ said Roland G. Fryer Jr., the author of the study and a professor of economics at Harvard. The study examined more than 1,000 shootings in 10 major police departments, in Texas, Florida and California. The result contradicts the mental image of police shootings that many Americans hold in the wake of the killings (some captured on video) of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.; Laquan McDonald in Chicago; Tamir Rice in Cleveland; Walter Scott in South Carolina; Samuel DuBose in Cincinnati; Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La.; and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
The study did show a racial disparity in non-lethal use of force, such as searches and handcuffing. But those are not the events that drive Black Lives Matters riots and protests. If Michael Brown had been patted down and handcuffed, rather than shot dead, the Black Lives Matter movement would not have launched as it did.
Black Lives Matter is a social movement launched by the left, which uses allegedly racist police killings as the excuse and justification for a pre-existing anti-capitalist narrative. If those justifications donโt actually exist, it will not change the narrative, because facts never mattered.
โโโ
Harvard Study on Police Shootings of Blacks and Whites by Legal Insurrection on Scribd |
Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. (Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News)
Dearborn โ Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.2 billion in three Michigan factories to prepare for production of the all-new Ford Ranger and Bronco, and to support the companyโs expansion into mobility.
The investments represent two strategies going forward: a traditional game plan that looks to create new models of high-demand trucks and SUVs; and a more forward-looking investment in the self-driving and connected vehicles that Ford and other companies are betting will drive the future.
The Dearborn-based automaker will invest $850 million to retool its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne for truck and SUV production; $150 million in its Romeo Engine Plant to expand capacity for several vehicles; and $200 million to build a data center at the companyโs Flat Rock Assembly Plant that will handle information generated by the robotic cars of the future. Ford announced in January that the Flat Rock facility also would get a $700 million investment.
The total investment announced Tuesday represents an additional $350 million above the investments negotiated as part of the 2015 United Auto Workers contract: Plans for the $200-million data center at Flat Rock are new; the company added $150 million to its budget for Michigan Assembly upgrades. The $150 million for Romeo plant upgrades were previously outlined in the UAW contract. According to the contract, the automaker will invest at least $9 billion in U.S. facilities through 2019.
Ford said the investments are expected to add or retain 130 jobs at the Romeo Engine plant; the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said in a memo that 100 new jobs would be created there. Ford did not offer employment estimates for Michigan Assembly, but the MEDC said 3,600 jobs would be secured at the plant. Ford said in January that the $700 million investment at Flat Rock would create 700 new jobs to support production of electrified and autonomous vehicles; the number of jobs to be created by the new data center was not released Tuesday.
Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, said the investments show Ford is committed to boosting its truck and SUV lineup and investing in the industryโs future. โWeโre making sure weโre well-positioned,โ he said. โWeโre investing a lot of money to grow... the portfolio will grow.โ
The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved $12 million in grants for the Flat Rock and Michigan Assembly plants, and $18.95 million in property tax exemptions for the three sites. The fund is a semi-public state board thatโs part of the MEDC.
Tuesdayโs announcement came as President Donald Trump has pushed U.S. and foreign automakers to build factories and add jobs in the U.S.
When asked in a Tuesday press briefing if the White House or Trump could take credit for Fordโs announcement, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the investments are a โcontinued signโ of โregulatory effort and some commitments on the regulatory efforts going forward in the future that I think may have played a roleโ in Fordโs and other companyโs decision to invest in U.S. facilities.
The president tweeted early Tuesday before the news was announced: โBig announcement by Ford today. Major investment to be made in three Michigan plants. Car companies coming back to U.S. JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!โ
The company has been planning some of the investments for โquite some time,โ Hinrichs said. โItโs a mixed bag here for whatโs new.โ
The investments are big, Steve Arwood, CEO of the MEDC, told The Detroit News. โThat probably nets out to be the biggest day ever in Michigan,โ he said. โThatโs all good news. Thereโs not a discouraging word.โ
The retooling and expansions in Wayne and Romeo will start next year for 2019 and 2020 model-year vehicles.
Construction on the Flat Rock data center will begin later this year, Hinrichs said. It will be the companyโs second data center; the first is under construction near the Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn.
Ford predicts its data storage requirements will expand by more than 15 times the companyโs current capacity by 2021 due in part to growth in connected and autonomous vehicles.
Tuesdayโs announcement drew praise from the UAW.
โThanks to collective bargaining, the hard-working men and women at each of these locations will now reap the full fruits of their labor,โ UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles in a statement. โWe look forward to celebrating more product investment and job growth at each of our UAW represented facilities in the months and years to come.โ
Ford stock closed up 1.66 percent at $11.65 Tuesday.
Honda North America announced plans late Monday to invest $85 million at its Honda Manufacturing of Alabama plant in Lincoln. The plant builds the Honda Odyssey, Pilot SUV and Ridgeline pickup and the Acura MDX and employs more than 4,500 people.
[email protected]
Twitter: @Ian_Thibodeau
Detroit News staff writer Melissa Burden contributed
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2nG5546 |
By Jonathan Fildes
Technology reporter, BBC News
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement "We wanted it to be a bit more Star Wars or Star Trek but the physics gets in the way," says John Connolly, chief architect of Nasa's new Altair Moon Lander. The spacecraft, part of the US space agency's Constellation programme, is the vehicle that Nasa hopes will carry man to the surface of the Moon by 2020. Despite Mr Connolly's fantasies about its design, prototypes of the craft bear a striking resemblance to the Eagle lander which carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface 40 years ago. "That was an ugly, spidery spacecraft," he says. "But the Apollo engineers got a lot of things right." Like the Eagle, Altair will be delivered into orbit by a heavy-lift rocket (the Ares V, currently under development) and then ferried on towards the Moon by a command module. And like its predecessor it is a two-stage vehicle: a descent and an ascent stage. The large descent module - including the fragile looking legs - consists largely of an engine and propellant tanks. The smaller ascent module - on top of the vehicle - contains the life support systems and the engine required to get the astronauts back to an orbiting module; another throwback to the Apollo days. But if it looks like Eagle, that is no surprise. The Altair team have been poring over the old design blueprints and have even drafted in some of the old Apollo engineers. "We ask them a lot of questions," said Mr Connolly. Even the lander's name has echoes of the Eagle. Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila, Latin for Eagle. Compare the two landers But there are also key differences. For starters, the new craft is much larger and is a multi-role vehicle, able to deliver astronauts or cargo to the Moon's surface. In a standard mission, it will be able to deliver four astronauts to the lunar surface, compared with the Eagle's two. Altair has been designed as a multi-use vehicle The module acts as living quarters for the crew and features an airlock, meaning that the whole cabin does not need to be depressurised every time an astronaut exits the vehicle. It also has an additional advantage. "We talked to the Apollo astronauts and they had a real problem with dust in the cabin," said Mr Connolly. "The airlock allows us control the dust - dusty space suits can be kept out of the cabin - and it also allows us to split the crew's operations." In the new lander, for example, two astronauts could remain inside whilst two others explore outside. The airlock - because of its weight - is left behind on the Moon's surface with the descent stage when the astronauts are ready to leave. Other configurations of the new lander allow it to act as a lunar outpost, sustaining a crew for more than six months, or as a cargo truck, shipping more than 14 tonnes of material to the surface. These option are critical for Nasa's plans to set up a base on the moon as a staging post for exploration on Mars. The design margins for Eagle were very thin
John Connolly All the vehicles use a common descent stage, with different configurations of craft on top depending on the mission. However, one of the main differences to Eagle is the craft's ability to land almost anywhere on the lunar surface. "Apollo was restricted to mid latitudes and broad daylight," explained Justin Vican, part of a team at the Draper Laboratory in Boston, US, which is developing a new landing system for Altair. "They could only land under optimal conditions." Looking down The Autonomous precision Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology (Alhat) project at Draper Labs - the place where the first Apollo Guidance Computers were designed - aims to overcome these limitations. "One of the hardest spots to land is somewhere like the South Pole," said Mr Vican. "Odds are you are going to be landing in total darkness." Alhat will basically allow the astronauts to see in the dark. The physics of spaceflight determines the shape of the lunar landers It will use a suite of sensors and technologies such as a flash Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) "It's like a sonar but with light," explained Mr Vican. The system gives the astronauts very high resolution topographical images of the surface. "From space you can see the big obstacles. The real danger is if you land on a rock three feet high." The team behind Alhat aim to have a system that can detect objects "about the size of a basketball" along with steep or cratered terrain. When the system picks up a hazard, it warns the pilot and allows them to choose a new and precise landing spot on the fly. It is an example of how technology is reducing the risk of space flight. "The design margins for Eagle were very thin," said Mr Connolly. "Altair should be safer." The spacecraft is currently on its third design, but Mr Connolly says there will be likely be a "dozen more" before it is set in stone and the blueprints turned over to an industrial partner to construct. However, there is still a question whether it will get that far. Currently, the Obama administration is undertaking a review of Nasa's manned space activities. The Augustine review, as it is known, is due to report back in August. "Nasa is playing its part [in the review]," he says. "We feel good. If there is an option of going to the Moon, we will need a lander." And if it does get the go-ahead, does he think a new era of manned lunar exploration will capture people's imaginations in the same way as Apollo? "I think it will do in a different way," he says. "With communications technology, it will be a very personal experience. But still very exciting." LUNAR LANDERS - EAGLE v ALTAIR Apollo 'Eagle' lunar lander
Crew size: 2
Surface duration: 3 days
Landing site capability:
Near side, equatorial
Stages: 2
Overall height: 7.04m (23.1ft)
Width at tanks: 4.22m (13.8ft)
Width at footpads: 9.45m (31ft)
Ascent stage mass: 4,805kg (10,571lbs)
Descent stage mass: 11,666kg (25,665lbs)
Descent engine thrust: 44.1Kn (9,900lbf)
Altair lunar lander
Crew size: 4
Surface duration: 7-210 days
Landing site capability:
Global
Stages: 2
Overall height: 9.9m (32.5ft)
Width at tanks: 8.8m (28.9ft)
Width at footpads: 14.9m (49ft)
Ascent stage mass: 6,141kg (13,510lbs)
Descent stage mass: 37,045kg (81,500lbs)
Descent engine thrust: 83.0Kn (18,650lbf)
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ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 26: Luke Brown of the Crows is tackled by Steve Johnson of the Giants during the 2017 AFL round 01 match between the Adelaide Crows and the GWS Giants at Adelaide Oval on March 26, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Media)
Milestone man Luke Brown has added to his big week by signing a three-year contract extension.
Brown, who is set to play his 100th game, will remain at Adelaide until at least the end of 2020.
Recruited from Norwood, Brown became a Crow in the 2011 exchange period after being on-traded by Greater Western Sydney.
Brown negates the best small forwards in the AFL on a weekly basis, and leads the Club for disposal efficiency (84.6 per cent) in 2017.
The consistent Crow said it was an easy decision to sign on.
โI am excited to be able to continue my career at the Crows,โ Brown said.
โItโs a great environment to be around at the Club and we have a determined playing group that I feel is not far off success.โ
Crows General Manager List Management and Strategy Justin Reid described Brown as an integral member of the Clubโs defence.
โWe are thrilled to have Luke re-sign with us,โ Reid said.
โHe is a key part of our back six and works in really well with our defensive group.
โHe is a developing leader amongst the playing group and we love his competitive nature and team-first approach.โ
As durable as he is reliable, Brown has played 96 of Adelaideโs last 99 games.
He received a Rising Star nomination in 2013 and was also recognised internally with the M.A Bickley Award for Emerging Talent.
Brown said he didn't consider testing his value on the open market.
"It was a great opportunity to stay at this Club, we're in a great spot right now and I'm really happy with how the team is going," Brown said.
"Ever since I got to the club, I'm an Adelaide boy, so it's good to show the faith and stay here for another three years.
"I didn't look outside of the club, I wanted to talk to the club and they rate me really highly.
"They value the role I play and that's really important to me."
After having won their first six games of the season, the Crows have thudded back to earth with back-to-back losses to North Melbourne and Melbourne.
"The last two weeks the pressure has been intense; we just need to handle that better," Brown said.
"It starts on the contested-ball side of things.
"It's more a mental thing more than anything.
"If you look at our midfield, they are all tough guys, they win the ball in and under, so we just have to get back to what we do best." |
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Texans are targeting top-tier receiver free agents like Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin, and Torrey Smith.
Adam Caplan suggested earlier in the day that the Texans were a team to keep an eye on for Smith.
McClain mentions that Houston is looking to replace veteran WR Andre Johnson, who is expected to be traded or released in the coming days.
The Texans are reportedly be aggressive out of the gate as theyโve already locked up RT Derek Newton to a five-year contract and are believed to be talking to their other free agents.
Cobb, 24, caught 91 passes for 1,287 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns. He also contributed as the teamโs punt returner this year. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 9 wide receiver out of 110 qualifying players.
Smith, 25, caught 49 passes for 767 yards and a career best 11 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has Smith rated as the No. 37 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.
Maclin, 26, caught 85 passes for 1,318 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns over the course of 16 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 14 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.
We have all three players listed in our Top 100 Free Agents list. |
Long before five different goal scorers prompted the C of Red to rise in celebration as part of the Calgary Flamesโ seventh-straight win, a brave 11-year-old girl elicited a similar reaction.
Standing on the red carpet alongside George Canyon for his singing of the national anthems before a rare Sunday afternoon game, Olivia Lettich was introduced to the crowd.
The response was as heart-warming as her story.
Diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer at four months of age, Olivia battled through nine rounds of chemotherapy and 50 radiation treatments in an effort to save her eyes.
At age two she lost her right eye, leaving her legally blind with a left eye that provides her with only peripheral vision due to the scar tissue from her cancer battle.
A lifelong Flames fan who has long had to sit a few feet away from the TV just to see shapes of her favourite players, the polite Grade 5 student from Captain John Palliser School was given two life-altering opportunities on the weekend.
The first was a new pair of specialized electronic glasses from a company called eSight that uses real-time video technology to enable the legally blind to see and independently carry out all activities of daily living.
The second was a chance to use them to actually see her favourite team for the very first time.
With the assistance of a Calgary Flames Foundation that raises $4 million annually to support several causes, including health and wellness, she celebrated her second day with lighter, more advanced glasses in style.
โThat was so cool,โ she beamed when asked about the stirring response 18,000 people gave her.
โI was a little nervous, but then when I got out there I was excited and happy. It was probably even better than I expected. I sang along to the Canadian anthem but I did not know the American. I only know, โOh, say! Can you see?โโ
Well, she can now.
โI was able to see the shots and the playersโ numbers and it was fast,โ said Olivia, so thankful for the gift of sight so many take for granted.
โItโs super important because everyone else tells me what they see and sometimes I wish I could see it. These help a lot.โ
It was an emotional day for her family too.
โShe has been to a game before but she couldnโt see it โ she was just there for the cheering and the malts,โ smiled her mother, Meredith.
โIโd say, โThe wave is coming,โ and sheโd stand up. And sheโd hear the boards if there was a big hit and sheโd cheer, but she couldnโt see anything.โ
Given lower bowl seats by the club for her family of six, Olivia and the gang got a chance to meet Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Mark Giordano in the dressing room following the teamโs 5-2 win over the New York Islanders.
โIt smells like sweat,โ she chuckled, as the players so graciously fawned over her and her siblings.
โThis is the opportunity of a lifetime โ we canโt thank the Flames enough,โ added mom.
โSheโll never forget this day, ever. Sheโs had goose bumps all day and so have I. Itโs so exciting. The standing ovation from the crowd โฆ Amazing.โ
Almost as stirring as the day Olivia got her first pair of eSight glasses a few summers earlier.
โShe went into the backyard and looked around and she got teary and said, โEverything is so beautiful,โโ recalled mom.
โI could see every little detail in the leaves, and I could read signs โ it was so cool,โ jumped in Olivia, sporting a Gaudreau jersey and gold boots.
โI cried in my bed I was so happy. I was just so happy. It changed my life.โ
Admitting it was โtough and scary,โ to wage the cancer battle she fought to keep what she has left of her eyesight, Olivia now only looks forward to a life with eyewear that resembles a scaled down version of virtual reality glasses.
As leaders in the community on so many levels, the Flames have always been brilliant at recognizing their ability to make a difference in so many ways. They do it daily.
A class organization from top to bottom, what they did for Olivia is a tiny example of their generosity.
They let her sit on the bench for warm-up, where she fist-bumped every player.
Coach Glen Gulutzan stopped by after the game to tell her how happy he was to see her watching from the stands.
Not nearly as happy as she was to have that ability.
[email protected]
@EricFrancis |
A prequel series to the Jim Henson film โThe Dark Crystalโ has been greenlit at Netflix, the streaming service announced Thursday.
โThe Dark Crystal: Age of Resistanceโ returns to the world of Thra with an all new adventure. When three Gelfling discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksisโ power, they set out on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world. It has been ordered for 10 episodes.
โNow You See Meโ director Louis Leterrier will executive produce the series and direct. The Jim Henson Company will produce, with Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford also executive producing. Longtime Henson collaborator Rita Peruggi will serve as producer and Hensonโs Blanca Lista will serve as a co-executive producer. Leading the writing are co-executive producers Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, and Javier Grillo-Marxuach.
โLouis Leterrier is passionate about the world of โThe Dark Crystalโ and has an incredible creative vision for the series,โ said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. โHe brings this passion to every facet of the production as he leads the talented team of artists and writers that are bringing this entire universe to life. Netflix has a deep respect for my fatherโs original work and the many people it inspired. They are the perfect partners to create this next epic chapter in โThe Dark Crystalโ story for new fans and the loyal fans who have waited so long for more adventures from this world.โ
The original 1982 film, which Henson co-directed with Frank Oz, grossed over $40 million on a $16 million budget. It was one of only three feature films Henson directed in his career, along with โThe Great Muppet Caperโ and โLabyrinth.โ |
TAMPA โ Andy Pettitte has ended his retirement to sign a 1-year, minor league contract with the Yankees that will pay him $2.5 million. Less than three weeks after Pettitte visited spring training as a guest instructor here, the 39-year old will soon rejoin the team as an experienced left-handed starter.
The Yankees needed starters last season and had hoped Pettitte would pitch for them, but he retired after going 11-3 with a 3.28 earned run average in 2010 and stayed retired. But the Yankees have always communicated to Pettitte that they would be interested in re-signing him if he ever wanted to rekindle his career. That is exactly what Pettitte wants to do.
When Pettitte visited here in late February, I asked him if being around some of his former teammates gave him an itch to try a comeback. Pettitte, who looked as lean as he did when he played, acknowledged that he did have some of those feelings.
โIโm sure I could,โ Pettitte said, about returning. โYou start training, working out and get yourself into shape. I would imagine I could.โ
But then Pettitte dismissed the possibility of coming back.
โI retired after one of my better years,โ said Pettitte, who is 240-138 in his career. โI felt like I was at the point where I just kind of knew what I was doing mechanically out there on the mound and stuff like that. But I retired to go home and be with my family, and thatโs why I retired.โ
Now Pettitte is coming out of retirement to be with the Yankees, his second family. By signing a minor league deal, Pettitte can take his time in getting prepared to pitch in the Major Leagues again. The Yankees view Pettitte as an excellent addition to a deep rotation, a familiar face and, more importantly, a familiar arm to have for the 2012 season.
More Andy Pettitte: Top 9 Moments | Trivia | Video | Stats |
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) โ A substitute teacher claims she was taken off the job because she reported video of a rat in a Sacramento high school.
Veronica Luther says the Sacramento City Unified School District told them not to return to the school after bringing health concerns to the attention of administrators.
โI heard this scratching noise, and I looked over my shoulder and there was a rat running down the wall,โ she said.
This happened as she was setting up for her math class at John F. Kennedy High School. She decided to grab her cellphone and hit record.
โI did have the forethought to video the rat climbing on student desks, the floor, the walls, the teacher desk, the workbooks, the shelves,โ she said.
A custodian was brought in to set a trap, but Luther claims the school didnโt offer an alternative room to teach in, something she says potentially exposed students to germs and diseases.
โWhen I came back, the rat was back in there again. And I stepped in and the rat ran right at me,โ she said. โI went back to the administration and told them that I couldnโt teach any more classes in there that day because it seemed unsafe for the students to be around a rat.โ
But district spokeswoman Maria Lopez takes issue with that account.
โWe donโt see a rat infestation in our school,โ she said, adding the district took swift action to address the problem. โThe district sanitized the room twice. It did it Monday night and again, and by that, sanitized the floors, the carpeting, the furniture, took care of door knobs and the desks were cleaned, and hopefully, that will take care of the problem.โ
While Luther admits sheโs skeptical whether the thorough cleaning was done, she believes she did the right thing. She says for that, she was told not to come back for the second day of her teaching assignment.
โThey did say it would be because they would not be sanitizing that classroom in time for the next dayโs classes. And that seemed inappropriate to me,โ she said.
The district did not address Lutherโs claims over her teaching assignment. |
A Pennsylvania man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriendโs four-year-old son, while the suspectโs mother is accused of helping him evade police.
Keith Jordan Lambing, 20, of Butler, was charged with homicide and rape in connection with four-year-old Bentley Millerโs death, the Daily Mail reported.
Lambingโs mother, Kristen Herold, 43, was charged with child endangerment and hindering apprehension for allegedly hiding her son in the attic of an abandoned home to help him avoid police.
Both are being held in Butler County Prison.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the boy died of severe blood loss from sodomy, suffered a serious burn to his left hand, and sustained bruises to the head, trunk, and extremities.
Police responding to a report of an unconscious child in a car at 9:30 a.m. on March 21 discovered the child with Herold in the vehicle.
Herold told police she picked the boy up from a Super 8 motel where Lambing, who is not the childโs biological father, stayed with his girlfriend and the child.
Police say she was about to drop off the four-year-old at his biological fatherโs house, though he was bleeding.
Herold pulled over and called police once Miller became unconscious.
Police say Lambing was alone with the child at the time of the alleged assault.
The boy was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital and did not regain consciousness. Doctors pronounced him dead an hour later.
The boyโs mother and Lambingโs girlfriend, Mackenzie Peters, were charged with child endangerment Thursday in connection with the burn injury the boy suffered before his death, WTAE reported.
Police searched for Lambing and found him in an attic of an abandoned building the next day, where police say his mother hid him.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said he will decide after the preliminary hearing whether to seek the death penalty for Lambing.
โI have never seen anything like it in 22 years as an attorney,โ he told WTAE. โItโs horrific. Itโs unimaginable that somebody could actually do this to any human being let alone a 4-year-old.โ
When a reporter asked Lambing before his court appearance Monday if he killed Miller, he appeared to cry and replied, โNo sir.โ
Millerโs aunt has set up a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses. |
The summer in the United States is almost over as most colleges and high schools are back in session, and the weather is rapidly dropping across the country. As the summer ends, we didn't want to you to forget anything from this summer as they usually fly by but are still filled with memories.
We decided here over at EDMsauce.com to give out our โBest Of The Summerโ awards to some artists, songs, festivals, & more. We picked 10 major categories and asked people on social media, reddit, PR teams, as well as looked at stats from the streaming services to try and get the best feel for what happened this summer. While this wont bring back the warm weather and vacation time, it will surely highlight all the good from the past 4 months and hopefully get you through the 1st few weeks back at school or through those depressing end of summer blues! Check out all our winners and runner's up below!
(Disclaimer: June 1st-Sept 17th we used as our โsummerโ)
Artist Of The Summer
Winner โ Illenium
Runner Up โ Don Diablo
Breakout Artist Of The Summer
Winner โ Rezz
Runner Up โ BROHUG
Song Of The Summer
Winner โ Avicii โ Without You
Runner Up โ BROHUG โ If I'm Wrong
Remix Of The Summer
Winner โ Nitti Gritti โ Lights (Nitti Gritti Remix)
Runner Up โ Illenium โ Fractures (Trivecta Remix)
Collab Of The Summer
Winner โ Tiesto & KSHMR โ Harder
Runner Up โ Lucas & Steve, Mike Williams, Curbi โ Let's Go
Hardest Song Of The Summer
Winner โ Snails, Space Laces โ Break It Down (feat. Sam King)
Runner Up โ Dillon Francis, G-Eazy โ Say Less (Eptic Remix)
EP Of The Summer
Winner โ Seven Lions โ Where I Won't Be Found EP
Runner Up โ Tchami โ Revelations EP
Album Of The Summer
Winner โ ODESZA โ A Moment Apart
Runner Up โ Moon Boots โ First Landing
Festival Of The Summer
Winner โ Electric Forest
Runner Up โ Tomorrowland
Festival Set Of The Summer
Winner โ Audien b2b 3LAU โ EDC Las Vegas
Runner Up โ Armin van Buuren โ Untold Festival
Festival Anthem Of The Summer
Winner โ JOYRYDE โ Hot Drum
Runner Up โ Boombox Cartel โ Jefe |
UPD: As of July, 13, ordinary service has been restored everywhere, except for mainland China.
Just in case you're not following us on Twitter, Telegram's Asia Pacific server cluster has been under a DDoS attack since morning on July, 10.
This means that if you live in South East Asia, Oceania, Australia or certain parts of India, you may have been experiencing slower connection speeds or no connection at all for several hours that weekend.
What is this DDasdf thing?
DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service and means that a lot of computers start making requests to a server, so that the server is slowed down or stops responding. To put this into familiar terms, imagine a thousand people jamming themselves into a bus at 6 PM on a weekday. They get in, you donโt and thatโs all a DDoS attack is.
Unlike on the bus though, the people who are getting in your way donโt even know theyโre doing this. DDoS attacks are carried out by botnets โ thousands of computers and servers that were turned into remotely controlled zombies by malware and viruses.
What exactly hit Telegram?
We've been hit with 200 Gbps of junk traffic, which feels roughly like having 200 billion very random people squeeze into your bus every second. For the most part, it was a relatively new type of DDoS known as Tsunami SYN flood, but the attackers have shown some flexibility in their methods and adapted to changes pretty quickly.
The garbage traffic came from about a hundred thousand infected servers, most noticeably, in LeaseWeb B.V., Hetzner Online AG, PlusServer AG, NFOrce Entertainment BV, Amazon and Comcast networks. That said, the attack was distributed evenly across thousands of hosts and none contributed more than 5% of the total volume.
Fighting back wouldโve been a little easier, if the abuse departments in most of the mentioned companies didnโt process requests 9-5, Mon-Fri only. (Hours more befitting a scuba-diving shop in Vatican.)
Who's behind this?
Orchestrating a DDoS attack is a criminal offence in most countries and wouldn't bring good publicity to a company, so attackers usually hide their traces as best they can. It could be an angry government or an unhappy competitor.
By now we know that the attack was being coordinated from East Asia.
Attacks on the scale of the one we were facing have become possible only recently and itโs the first time weโve met anything like this. But some of us have over 10 years of operating major web-services in Europe under our belts, so don't you worry!
We've managed to stay online for 95% of our users worldwide. And as for defending the affected 5%, weโve got quite a few surprises up our sleeve. But weโd rather not talk about them here, since the attackers are certainly reading this as well. (hi there! ;)
So while we can't really tell you any details, we have good reasons to hope that connection will be flawless as usual for 100% of our users again. Take heart and tell your friends. Our sysadmin cyborgs are working on this 24 hours a day.
July 13, 2015
The Telegram Team |
I was in Greece from June 23 through July 5, and, while I had no meetings with government officials that might give me insider information on how events there are likely to unfold, nevertheless the experience was both enlightening and disturbing, and is worth relating.
Travel to Greece came at the invitation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which had organized a conference on philanthropy and sustainability (hereโs the text of my talk). The Foundation constitutes the largest philanthropic organization in the country and from what I can tell it is doing remarkable work in helping the people of Greece deal with their ongoing economic crisis. Stavros Niarchos has spent $100 million so far on jobs-creating projects in technology innovation and cultural preservation, and has promised another $200 million for the years to come.
Since Stavros Niarchos generously offered to pay for a plane ticket for my wife Janet too, we decided to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary by seeing some sightsโwhich in Greece inevitably includes ruinsโand spending some much-needed tourist dollars.
Over its long history, Greece has certainly seen spectacular ups and downs, with its better moments providing the cultural underpinnings of western civilization. Sitting and strolling among the fallen pillars of the Acropolis and the Agoraโwhere Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle hung out with their respective flocks of disciples, drinking the ancient equivalent of espresso while discussing truth, beauty, and good governanceโcouldnโt help but put me in a philosophical mood. These ancient people built in stone and inscribed their ideas on tablets. Yet how fragile their achievements proved to be in the face of economic decline and the onslaughts of invaders. In comparison, our vastly greater modern material achievements (thanks to the power of fossil fuels) have been expressed in buildings with an average 50-year life expectancy, and with writings preserved on media that reliably self-destruct in practically no time at all. What will we leave behind?
But I didnโt travel 6800 miles just to bemoan the fate of industrial society in general terms; I can do that perfectly well from the comfort of my home office. I wanted to see first-hand whatโs going on with the Greek economic crisis. Janet and I arrived in the country just as the banks closed, and left the day of the national referendum. The situation there is complicated (for an excellent overview, read Brian Daveyโs essay ) and evolving so quickly that what Iโm writing now might seem dated as soon as itโs published. Nevertheless, readers may find a few first-hand impressions helpful.
For tourists, Greece holds few hardships. Throughout our visit, ATMs were still dispensing wads of 50-euro notesโwhich we needed as restaurants and hotels gradually stopped accepting credit card payments. But for Greeks themselves, these are increasingly hard times. They face not just the practical inconvenience of being limited to withdrawing a maximum of 60 euros per day from their accounts (if they can find an ATM that still has cash), but also the business nightmare of maintaining credits and payments with banks shuttered, as well as the psychological burden of knowing that things are likely to get much worse, and soon. Greeceโs economy has shrunk by 25 percent in recent years as a result of the global economic slowdown and the austerity measures insisted upon by its creditors; I would guess that it has contracted by at least another ten or fifteen percent in just the past two weeks.
Naturally, I was interested in gleaning opinions from cab drivers, hoteliers, and waiters wherever we stopped. Business owners tended to favor a โyesโ vote in the referendum (basically a vote of no confidence in the bargaining position of the socialist Syriza governing party, and a plea to remain within the eurozone regardless of the cost). But most ordinary Greeks we spoke to in Athens planned to vote โnoโ (โoxiโ in Greek) as a show of support for Syriza and a thumb of the nose to the Germans, who are insisting on further austerity. As it turned out on Sunday, the โnoโ votes predominated, with more than a 60 percent majority.
That has infuriated the Germans and the central bankers, but the vote actually resolves nothing. The ancient Greeks spun the myth of Scylla and Charybdis, illustrating a requirement to choose between two unacceptable options; modern Greeks are living that myth. If they accept further austerity, it will just mean more unemployment and another crisis in a few months. If the debt is โrestructuredโ by giving the Greeks longer to pay, a little more time can be purchasedโbut another crisis remains inevitable. Even if Syriza prevails in negotiations and much of the nationโs debt is cancelled (everyone knows the Greeks canโt pay it), that guarantees no happy ending. The nationโs pension system is too generous to be sustainable and Greece will simply run up more deficitsโand the government needs an infusion of cash now if catastrophe is to be averted; that means more debt. Exiting the euro and bringing back the drachma would entail the loss of a substantial portion of the value of savings. Wealthy Greeks, who already keep most of their money in offshore accounts, might leave altogether.
Any way you look at it, the people of Greece are headed toward misery. And you can see it on their faces. Early in our trip, we would occasionally be approached by old women in peasant garb (possibly immigrants) seeking to sell us little pocket-sized packages of tissue for a euro apiece. By the end of our journey, some of the tissue-sellers were young and well dressed. We spent a couple of days on the gorgeous island of Hydra, where there are no cars (luggage is transported by donkey). Even there the good-natured Greeks we encountered were long-faced. We tried to express our commonality by saying, โHowever it goes, we wish you the best; after all, it could be our country next.โ
In the end, this is an end-of-growth dilemma. If Greeceโs economy were still expanding at its 1990s rate, there is at least a chance that the government could repay its debt. But that kind of growth is now unachievable. And as the whole global economy sputters, it is nations like Greece, which live largely from tourism and import all their oil, that will likely confront growth limits first.
Lurking in the background is the immigration question. Refugees from political chaos in the Middle East, and from worsening African poverty, have fed rapid population growth in Athens (and Istanbul as well). Immigration has boosted GDP in some ways (wealthy Syrians relocating to Istanbul have driven up property values), but it has also led to the requirement for more investment in schools, roads, and other infrastructure, and hence more borrowing to finance such projects. This is a problem for Europe as a whole, but itโs the entry points (Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain) that bear the brunt. No doubt European nations situated further north would like a firewall against this tide of immigrants, which can only expand as the century wears on. One articulate Italian gentleman living in Greece, whom we spoke with at length over a delicious dinner at an Athenian taverna, speculated that an unspoken subtext of the debt crisis might be that Germany is willing to see Greeceโand maybe eventually another country or twoโexit the euro, and perhaps the European Union as well, so as to create a failed-state buffer region to either absorb or discourage the immigrant influx.
What should the Greeks do? Thatโs hard to say, and itโs up to them in any case. If, as it now seems, the design of the eurozone was fatally flawed from the outset, then Greece might as well make its exit now. Thereโs speculation that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may be playing his hand in such a way as to force Germany to push Greece out of the euro; this would play well to his domestic constituency, which has come to see the Germans as villains of the scenario. Meanwhile many people in Germany continue to view the Greeks as lazy and Tsipras as incompetentโcharacterizations that are more than a little simplistic. My guess is that a Grexit will indeed occur soon, and that will mean many more weeks of chaos and uncertainty for the Greeks and for the rest of Europe as well.
Greece offers an opportunity to study the challenges and opportunities of the end of economic growth for those in the โdevelopedโ world. But itโs more than a historic test case; Greece is a nation of 11 million people who face real hardship. Wish them well; you might be next. |
Seized ivory cut in pieces for incineration in Hong Kong (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Theresa May has dropped her partyโs pledge to ban the trade of ivory in its General Election manifesto.
In the Toriesโ previous manifesto, launched before the 2015 election, David Cameron had promised to enact an outright ban on the buying and selling of ivory in the UK.
Police rake in ยฃ1,700,000 after selling seized items on eBay
However, any explicit mention of ivory is conspicuously absent from the new manifesto.
In its place Mayโs manifesto includes a general pledge to help international organisations protect the marine environment and endangered species around the world.
Many took to Twitter to vent their frustrations at the prime minister, saying that sheโs โbasically added dead elephantsโ to their pledges.
Theresa's Conservative manifesto scraps the ban on the ivory trade. Basically add dead elephants to the list of Tory pledges. โ Jonathan Pryor (@Jonathan_Pryor) May 20, 2017
#Torymanifesto: Legalizing ivory trade, fox hunting and #dementiatax
โฆand Tories wonder why we call them the nasty party. โ Amy (@thisisamy_) May 21, 2017
Only just read about Ivory Ban business in Tory manifesto. Surely it's not true? Is it? No one would actually do this. Would they? โ Dan Mallaghan (@DMallaghan) May 21, 2017
Fox Hunting and lifting the ban on Ivory Trade?
The Tories are really spoiling themselves#torymanifesto pic.twitter.com/knUHmpgHyF โ Mr Malky (@MrMalky) May 19, 2017
But the dropping of a blanket ivory ban will no doubt be a relief for those in the antiques and fine art industries.
Coward, 25, left son and girlfriend in overturned car after crashing in police chase
Many precious artefacts and items of historical importance that are sold in the UK are made of ivory.
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Although the objects were made many centuries ago โ with the majority having been made between the 11th and 15th centuries โ an outright ban would have meant no one could buy or sell them. This could also have potentially affected museum acquisitions.
A pair of 12th century Scandinavian ivory checker pieces (Picture: Getty Images)
Similar to the Tories, the Lib Dems also promised to provide โgreater resources for international environmental cooperationโฆ on actions to tackle illegal and unsustainable trade in timber, wildlife, ivory and fishโ.
But for the first time the Labour Party has pledged to institute a โtotal ban on ivory tradingโ. |
As 2015 draws to a close, Iโm looking ahead to a new year at Disney Parks. In this edition of Disney Parks Blog Unboxed, Iโm revealing 16 new products that will make 2016 an Unforgettable year at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. Check out the video below to see what Rob, the Disney Delivery Guy, delivered to me early one morning at the newly expanded World of Disney in Disney Springs Marketplace.
The items shown in the video will be released throughout 2016 (I donโt have exact dates at this time).
Once released at Disney Parks, you may find select items using the Shop Disney Parks mobile app. This free app gives you access to thousands of products we carry at Disney Parks which you can have shipped directly to your home. To download, please visit DisneyWorld.com/Shop.
Iโd love to hear which item is your favorite. Please share in the comments below. |
Congress this week plans to help President Trump uphold his top campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border when it votes on allocating $1.6 billion for the project.
But Democrats are vowing to keep it from becoming law.
The funding will be included in a group of fiscal 2018 spending bills, combined into one measure, that House lawmakers will vote on before leaving for the August recess.
The money would fund "physical barrier construction along the southern border, including bollards and levee improvements," according to the House Appropriations Committee. The funding level would match Trump's fiscal 2018 request.
"The president campaigned across America about making sure our borders are secure," Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said when he announced the pending vote. "The American public has requested it."
While the funding is expected to win approval in the GOP-led House, Senate Republicans are more wary of tacking it on to must-pass spending bills that keep the government operating.
"That is going to be a thorny issue on the Senate side," Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told the Washington Examiner.
Senate Democrats have vowed to oppose any spending bill with border wall funding, calling the provision a "poison pill" that will prompt them to block a final fiscal 2018 spending deal.
"To my Republican friends in the Senate, I'd say persuade your colleagues in the House to abandon this dangerous, irresponsible path they've put us on which can only lead to a government shutdown," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
A top Senate GOP appropriator, however, says he plans to try to advance border wall funding.
Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., told the Washington Examiner he will include the money in the fiscal 2018 Homeland Security spending bill.
"It's a huge priority for the president," Boozman said. "We are going to work really hard to get it done. Everybody on our side is interested in trying to get it done."
The funding may not make it much further than the Senate committee, however.
Republicans abandoned plans to include border wall funding in the fiscal 2017 spending measure because of Democratic opposition. Despite their minority status, Democrats have considerable leverage because their votes are needed to clear a final spending agreement in both chambers.
Neither House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are eager to engage in a politically dangerous spending showdown with Democrats. That diminishes the chance of border wall funding making it into a major combined spending deal most lawmakers expect will be needed to fund the government in fiscal 2018.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the appropriations route "problematic," because "it gives a convenient target to Democrats" who want to block all border security funding.
But Republicans are carving out a path for the border wall outside of the spending process. McCaul is working with Cornyn on an authorizing bill that would create a new border security plan that incorporates wall funding.
McCaul told the Washington Examiner the border security proposal will be ready for consideration in the House Homeland Security Committee in September.
"It will include physical infrastructure technology and personnel," McCaul said. "We've been working very closely with the Homeland Security secretary on this and we are finalizing language on the bill."
Trump looms over the process. He was angry when Republicans excluded border wall funding at the behest of Democrats in the fiscal 2017 bill, suggesting in a May 2 tweet that "Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!"
Republicans are now trying to placate Trump, but avoid a government shutdown by angering either Democrats or the president, who also wields a veto pen and could threaten not to sign a spending bill without border wall funds.
"He wants it done," McCaul said. |
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has sent a congratulatory message to King Mohammed VI of Morocco on the occasion of his birthday and the anniversary of his enthronement. In the message, Bouteflika expressed his keenness to strengthen ties between the Algerian and Moroccan peoples.
In the telegraphic message published by the stateโs Algรฉria Presse Service on Thursday, Bouteflika said: โWhile the Moroccan people are celebrating your happy birthday and the anniversary of the glorious Revolution of the King and the people, I am delighted to express to Your Majesty on behalf of Algeriaโs people and government, and on my own behalf, our warmest and most sincere congratulations. We call on God Almighty to return this glorious memorial while you and the noble royal family are in good health and happiness and the Moroccan people are in progress, prosperity, and peace and stability.โ
President Bouteflika added: โThis timeless occasion is considered a milestone in the history of your brotherly country, and a critical step in the path of its liberation and independence. It evokes the notions of struggle and steadfastness that the Moroccan people have been long characterised with. It also reminds us of our two peoplesโ struggle to restore national sovereignty and dignity.โ
โAs I reiterate my congratulations, I ask Almighty God to preserve Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and all your honoured family, and I express my keenness to work with Your Majesty to strengthen the relations and solidarity that exists between our two countries in order to achieve further progress and prosperity for both of them.โ
The Moroccan occasion of the Revolution of the King and the People commemorates the anniversary of the deportation of the late Moroccan King Mohammed V to the French island of Corsica on 20 August, 1953 by French colonisers after his refusal to relinquish the throne of Morocco.
Algerian-Moroccan diplomatic relations have been tense over the past 50 years following the Sand War, which broke out between the two countries in 1963 over a border dispute and ended after mediation by the Arab League and the Organisation of African Unity. |
Margaret Cho in 2014. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)
In a career thatโs spanned three decades, comedian Margaret Cho has not been one to hold back. Sheโs openly โ and hilariously โ discussed her drug abuse, her sex life and her colonic irrigation, among many other topics probably not considered safe-for-work.
But, in a recent interview with Danielle Bacher of Billboard magazine, Cho, 46, dropped a bombshell: She told the magazine that she was sexually molested by a family friend from age five to 12.
โI had a very long-term relationship with this abuser, which is a horrible thing to say,โ she told Bacher. โI didnโt even understand it was abuse, because I was too young to know,โ she says. โI endured it so many times, especially because I was alone a lot.โ
At 14, Cho said, she was raped by an acquaintance.
โI was raped continuously through my teenage years, and I didnโt know how to stop it,โ she said. โIt was also an era where young girls were being sexualized. For me, I think I had been sexually abused so much in my life that it was hard for me to let go of anger, forgive or understand what happened.โ
Though Cho did not identify the rapists in the interview, she said her family knows who abused her. Bacher wrote Cho described molestation as โan excusable offense in her traditional Korean familyโs eyes, which [Cho] thinks is insane.โ
โThey donโt really want to talk about it, because that would make it real somehow,โ Cho said. โI think Asian culture often is in denial about such things. Like, if they donโt talk about it, it doesnโt exist.โ
This is not the first time that Cho has discussed her troubled past. As part of a Twitter campaign last year after revelations that Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi had allegedly assaulted three women, Cho discussed her story.
โI am a rape victim and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse,โ Cho wrote at the time. โI come forward in solidarity with all women who have suffered.โ
[The not-so-voluntary sex confessions of fired Canadian radio star Jian Ghomeshi]
Cho also addresses her history of sexual assault in a track on a new record. The title of the song makes its theme pretty clear: โI Want To Kill My Rapist.โ
โI thought I forgave you, but Iโd mistake you,โ Cho sings on the track, as Billboard recounted. โโฆ I see clearly and sincerely, youโll pay dearly.โ
โIโm still trying to figure out how to be a musician, but I really enjoy it,โ Cho told Bacher. โBut really, we want to kill the rapists.โ
Correction: A previous version of this article said Cho alleged she was raped by a โfamily member.โ She alleges she was raped by a family friend.
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The signs are everywhere. People are starting to quietly wonder, and to ask, even to demand information about where the food on their plate comes from. The truth too often is as unsettling as it is eye-opening, considering the rampant rise of factory farming. The question remains, though: are there other options available to us? Other less harmful systems we can support? Or, well, are we as a nation headed for Burger Armageddon?
In my quest to speak with experts directly involved with these matters, I thought to go to the source: ranchers. By ordering that steak, or hitting the drive-thru for that bag of burgers, who and what are we actually supporting? Following on from there, what advice could help those of us who live several steps removed from the food system?
I went to my friend, Ralph Loglisci, former Communications Director for the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and now Project Director for the Johns Hopkins Healthy Monday Project. The timing was right as he'd spoken just recently with Nicolette Hahn Niman for the Livable Future Blog and Civil Eats. She and her husband Bill run the BN Ranch in Northern California near the seaside, raising beef cattle on pasture as well as heritage turkeys. Bill founded the famous Niman Ranch Inc. known for its sustainable and humanely raised meats. Nicolette is a Renaissance woman of sorts -- new mom, writer, rancher and environmental lawyer.
Ralph Loglisci: You wrote an interesting piece in The Atlantic recently entitled "Can Meat Eaters Also Be Environmentalists?" Well, can they?
Nicolette Hahn Niman: Yes, definitely. The idea that it's a contradiction to be a meat eater and an environmentalist is a misunderstanding of the most ecologically sound food production systems - which, in my view, definitely involve animals. There's been a lot of media attention concerning the idea that meat production is environmentally damaging. That's because of bad practices that are rampant, such as total confinement systems with liquefied manure, use of hormones and feeding of antibiotics. Most of the meat being consumed in the United States today is being produced in environmentally damaging ways. The evidence is now irrefutable: these practices endanger the environment and public health.
I've been doing a lot of research into the role that animals play in rebuilding soils. And how grazing pastures are far better than any other agricultural land use in terms of erosion and in carbon sequestration. One thing I've become convinced of is that the best farming mimics nature. Natural ecosystems are all built on the relationships of sunshine, water, plants and animals. So, I would say that, actually, the most environmentally sound diet includes some meat, dairy and eggs.
RL: If that's so, are there ways to avoid industrially produced foods?
NHN: I wrote a thorough article in the Huffington Post on this topic back in November, which I'll try to summarize in a few words. The most important thing is to get closer to the source of your food. Try to learn how and where your food was produced. The easiest ways to do this are to try to buy directly from farmers through farmers markets, community supported agriculture programs [CSAs], farm stands and any place where you can get food directly from a farmer. Even so, I still encourage people to talk with the farmer about how the food is being produced, don't assume it's being raised in the way you want it to be.
I also think that growing some of your own food is a great way to get out of the industrial system. You can start a vegetable garden, even if you just have a terrace or a fire escape with a flowerpot with some tomatoes and some herbs. And if you have a yard, why not grow a garden, maybe with a flock of egg-laying hens? I think it makes a big difference to just start taking baby-steps away from the industrial food system.
Eating is something most of us tend to do without much thought. But the more you start paying attention to it, the more you realize it's something worth investing time in. Building delicious, healthy meals ends up being something that's incredibly rewarding and not a chore.
RL: What's your advice for people who'd rather not eat industrially produced foods, but are limited either by higher costs or easy access?
NN: Well, that's challenging because the whole industrial model has been successful at creating food that's cheap in terms of its cost at the grocery checkout. But our food is also cheap in the other sense of the word. It's lacking in quality -- these days it's less nutritious, less safe and less healthful than ever before.
Generally you pay more for food raised on traditional and/or organic farms. Here again, raising some of your own food to the extent possible is one way to eat good food affordably. Also, doing more of your own cooking and baking as opposed to buying prepared foods. Whole ingredients tend to be cheaper than prepared foods. Also, eating fruits and vegetables when they're in season. You really notice this when buying directly from farmers, because in the season of plenty they usually have more than they can handle and the prices are lower.
When you're talking about meat, learning how to use some of the less popular cuts (which are no less flavorful or nutritious), is a great way to save money. My husband Bill, who really knows meat, always talks about this. He says some of the tastiest, most nutritious cuts of meat are some of the most underappreciated. They're often a lot cheaper.
RL: Continuing with positive options, the Meatless Monday campaign of moderation, cutting back just one day a week, has erroneously come under attack for promoting the demise of all meat production. As a rancher yourself, what would you say to people -- to farmers even -- threatened by the campaign?
NHN: Bill and I are very supportive of the Meatless Monday campaign. Here's why: we think that to really improve the way food is being produced, and the way people are eating in this country, people should eat less meat and also better meat. All food from animals -- meat, dairy, fish, eggs -- should be treated as something special. Anyone raising food animals in the traditional healthy way without relying on industrial methods, drugs and chemicals, is someone who will benefit from people embracing this approach.
We think Meatless Monday is part of a shift in attitude about meat. Towards something that is precious, not something consumed without thought, or in enormous quantities.
RL: And finally, you've gained a great deal of praise for your book, "Righteous Porkchop, Finding A Life And Good Food Beyond Factory Farms." Michael Pollan is quoted as saying your book is, 'A searing, and utterly convincing, indictment of modern meat production. But the book brims with hope, too, and charts a practical (and even beautiful) path out of the jungle.' Instead of focusing on the indictment part, could you tell me more about the hope he mentioned?
NHN: Yes, I like focusing on the hope, too. A lot of my book is about farmers doing things the right way from the standpoint of the environment, animal welfare and human health. I firmly believe that it's a myth that this country cannot feed itself with traditional, non-industrialized farming. A lot of my book is dedicated to disproving that myth, and proving that traditional, sustainable farms are economically viable.
But I think it's really important to keep in mind that our country is heavily subsidizing with public dollars the current form of industrial agriculture. If we really want a sustainable healthful food system, we need to take the dollars we're putting into agriculture and shift it towards good methods. I support the use of public funds for agriculture - but I don't understand why we're not putting it towards a food system that is environmentally benign and producing healthy food. |
Instagram has slowly been transitioning towards a model where users can interact with its content on the web, and today it has introduced a full newsfeed for desktop browsers. Now, when you go to Instagram.com, users can see all of the photos posted from the users they follow, like photos by clicking them, and take advantage of inline commenting. For the times when you're not on-the-go and want to catch up on your friends' photos, this should be a much easier way to do so. While Instagram has long maintained focus on providing an excellent mobile experience, it has been building out its web presence ever since being purchased by Facebook. Now, users should be able to get the full Instagram experience on their laptop or desktop โ though images can still only be uploaded from your mobile. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom wrote that while he believes that photos should be shared while on-the-go, Instagram's web presence will help users have a fast and simple brwosing experience. Instagram says the new feed is live now, though some users are experiencing trouble pulling it up as of this writing. |
Rick Ross was on Power 105's Breakfast Club show recently, where he talked about his upcoming album, Black Market, which drops tomorrow. Aside from the talk about the album, Rozay discussed his new song, "Color Money," and the few lines on the track where it sounded like he was taking shots at Drake and Birdman. Ross didn't deny the shots on the record, and said at the end of the day he's going to stick up for MMG and that it is what it is. During his last appearance on the show, Ross said that the issues between Meek Mill and Drake wasn't a real beef and he could see them doing a song together eventually again.
While Ross danced around a few of the questions, he did straight up say that he currently doesn't have a relationship with Birdman, and that he's sticking with Lil Wayne through his turbulent label situation with Cash Money. "For me to see the way things have transpired, I can't respect that, and I don't respect that," Ross said. Though he admitted he thought about it, Ross also said that he never openly talked with Wayne about trying to get him onto his MMG label. Weezy is currently suing Birdman and Cash Money over money owed to him.
POST CONTINUES BELOW
Though Rozay has yet to drop his song "Ghostwriter" from the album, he did talk about it during the interview, as well as the topic of ghostwriting in rap. "I think making dope music is what's fine, chasing line for line that ain't cool at all," Ross said. Rozay, who said he's ghostwritten for artists in the past, did say that if an artist has a whole body of work put together by someone else it becomes an issue.
Ross' Black Market album is currently available to pre-order on iTunes here. |
DESERT CENTER (CBSLA.com) โ A 10-year-old boy was killed and five others were hurt when a minivan crashed on the 10 Freeway in the Coachella Valley community of Desert Center overnight Tuesday.
A 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan carrying eight people was traveling east on Interstate 10 at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday when the wreck occurred, just west of Summit Road, according to California Highway Patrol.
The minivan, being driven by 67-year-old Collie Washington of Tarzana, drifted into the center divider and overturned, CHP reports. Four of the eight occupants were ejected.
A 10-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said. His name was not immediately disclosed.
A 44-year-old woman and two boys, ages 9 and 16, were taken to three separate hospitals with major injuries. Two more passengers suffered minor injuries, CHP said, while two others were not hurt.
The four people who were ejected were not wearing seat belts, CHP confirmed.
Investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash. The cause is under investigation. |
The lawyer for Blake Ferguson has launched a scathing attack on the NRL for their lack of ''mercy'' towards the troubled NSW Origin star and questioned what would become of him if he wasn't allowed to resume playing after receiving a two-year good behaviour bond for indecent assault.
Adam Houda, who has lodged an all grounds appeal against the conviction and penalty, admitted Ferguson had a problem with alcohol but said he needed support - not banishment - from the game that had provided a ''lifeline'' for him after a ''harrowing'' upbringing by his drug-addicted mother.
On bond: Blake Ferguson leaves the Sutherland Local Court on Monday. Credit:AAP
With Sydney Roosters, South Sydney, Cronulla and Canterbury believed to be interested in Ferguson, Houda said the 23-year-old would be best served by playing as he would have to train up to seven days a week and be focused on helping his team in games.
''That is his best rehabilitation because that is what Blake does best but right now he is unemployed, he is earning no money and what are you going to do - just leave him to hang out with undesirables,'' Houda said. |
ESPN NFL Insider Mark Dominik breaks down why TE Jordan Reed's value to Washington lies in his hands as opposed to his ability as a blocker. (2:16)
The Washington Redskins have signed tight end Jordan Reed to a multiyear extension, the team announced Thursday.
A source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that the extension is for five years and is worth $50 million, including $22 million guaranteed.
Editor's Picks Redskins make wise investment in Jordan Reed, albeit with some risk There are some injury concerns with Jordan Reed, but he's a valuable part of the Redskins' passing game.
"Honestly, I don't want to be anywhere else than here," Reed said Thursday. "I love it here. I love playing for the Redskins. I love all my coaches and all my teammates. I love this area, man. They gave me that deal, and I took it. It was a solid deal, and I'm just happy to be a Redskin."
Durability has always been an issue with Reed. He missed a combined 12 games his first two seasons, but he appeared in 14 last year after undergoing a more rigorous offseason training regimen that he said has continued this year.
"It means a lot that the Redskins invested that kind of money into me and think that highly of me as a player and as a person," Reed said. "That means a lot to me. I'm going to show them that they made a good investment, and I'm going to prove them right in making me one of the highest-paid [tight ends]."
The new deal keeps Reed with the Redskins through the 2021 season.
Jordan Reed set a franchise record for a tight end last season with 952 yards receiving. Rob Carr/Getty Images
He caught 87 passes for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. The third-round pick in the 2013 draft has 182 career receptions for 1,916 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Redskins.
"It changes a lot," Reed said. "... It's a life-changing thing, and I'm just real blessed."
The Redskins added depth at the position in the offseason by signing Maryland product Vernon Davis from the Denver Broncos. They also re-signed Logan Paulsen and expect Niles Paul to return from a gruesome ankle injury that cost him the entire season.
ESPN's John Keim and The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
The reveal of 2016โs The Black List today doesnโt just give screenwriters Hollywood street cred โ it does the same for agencies and management companies. On this yearโs leaderboard, WME led the way among agencies with 18 clients on the list, followed by CAA with 15 and UTA with 14.
For WME, that includes the top-ranked script of 2016, Elyse Hollanderโs Blond Ambition, a biopic of sorts about Madonnaโs struggle to get her frst album released while navigating fame, romance, and a music industry in 1980s New York that views women as disposal.
On the management side, Madhouse Entertainment leads todayโs haul with 10 scripts in the field, the highest rank among them Zach Deanโs Voyagers, the love story of Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan that is set up at Warner Bros. Grandview and Kaplan/Perrone share second on the overall list with eight mentions.
The most donโt always get all the boasts, though: Management 360 has three scripts on the list, but two of those are tied for No. 2 overall: Dan Fogelmanโs Life Itself and Tony Tostโs The Olympian (both WME clients, in fact).
Check out the charts below, then have the agents and managers on it buy your drinks tonight:
NOMINATIONS BY AGENCY
WME โ 18
CAA โ 15
UTA โ 14
Verve โ 4
APA โ 3
ICM Partners โ 3
Gersh โ 2
Paradigm โ 2
United Agents (UK) โ 1
No agency โ 12
NOMINATIONS BY MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Madhouse Entertainment โ 10
Grandview โ 8
Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment โ 7
Bellevue Productions โ 6
Echo Lake Entertainment โ 5
Circle of Confusion โ 4
3 Arts Entertainment โ 3
Good Fear Film + Management โ 3
Heroes and Villains Entertainment โ 3
Lee Stobby Entertainment โ 3
Management 360 โ 3
Think Tank Management โ 2
The Gotham Group โ 2
Epicenter โ 1
Hopscotch Pictures โ 1
Kipperman Management โ 1
LBI Entertainment โ 1
Mosaic โ 1
Principato-Young Entertainment โ 1
Zero Gravity Management โ 1
No manager โ 7 |
The Huskies were 9-19 in his first season, but that would be his only losing season at UConn. The Huskies surged to the NIT title in 1988, and two years later reached the NCAA Elite Eight on Tate George's miracle shot against Clemson. That 1989-90 season is still known as the Dream Season, but under Calhoun much bigger dreams were to be realized. UConn knocked on the door to the Final Four several more times, and finally made it in 1999, beating Duke for the national title. The Huskies went on to win two more, in 2004 and 2011, with Walker leading a miracle run of 11 wins in a row in the Big East and NCAA tournaments. By then, UConn men's basketball had come to dominate the sports conversation in Connecticut year-round, and drew coverage from national media outlets on a nearly day-to-day basis. |
Itโs been a while since our last blog post, but itโs only because weโve been hard at work, we swear! We havenโt even thought about rushing off to the Bahamas with your hard-earned money!
This time Iโm going to shed a little light on a little something that makes it possible to render massive and densely populated worlds in real time: impostors.
To put it simply, an impostor is a flat polygon that looks like a more complex piece of geometry. They are often used as the last step in a set of levels of detail for an object. To make them look as convincing as possible, the textures applied to impostor polygons are usually rendered by the 3D engine rather than being created by artists. Reset has a deferred renderer so this is particularly simple: we just render a mesh into a tiny G-buffer and then use a special shader to splat copies of it onto the main G-buffer.
Sometimes impostor textures are updated dynamically based on the exact point of view. This is a fairly complicated system for a small team to develop, so we just render a fixed number of viewing angles for each mesh as a preprocessing step. At runtime all the data is available statically which makes rendering the impostors into the scene extremely simple and efficient. Transitions between meshes and impostors (as well as between meshes of different levels of detail) are handled with dithered cross-fading so there is no popping.
The island has about 100000 trees in total. In this particular view you can see a bunch of high detail tree meshes in the foreground as well as about 38000 tree impostors in the distance.
As development progresses the island will get populated by an increasing number of other objects and we will be able to use this system for them as well. |
The chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi lashed out at President Barack Obamaโs willful failure to respond to document requests from the panel, whose work the chairman wanted completed by December.
โThis committeeโs thorough, fact-centered investigation has been repeatedly stonewalled by the Obama administration, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings , and Committee Democrats ,โ said Rep. Trey Gowdy (R.-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor and also a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The select committee was impaneled to investigate the events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on American personnel and facilities in Benghazi, Libya.
Gowdy said the White House has accumulated 10,000 days of delayโtotaling more than 27 years.
In the last nine months, requests from the committee have received documents delayed nearly 6,000 days, with the shortest delay of 136 days and the longest delay taking 534 days, he said.
One of the most vocal members of the committee, Rep. James Jordan (R.-Ohio), said he backed up his chairman and shared his frustration.
โInstead of addressing its failures to protect Americans abroad, has consistently stonewalled congressional efforts to uncover the truth,โ Jordan said. He continued:
When former Secretary Clinton came before the Benghazi committee, she obfuscated instead of addressing the fact that she hid the truth from the American people and more importantly the families of those who died, while acknowledging to her family and to the prime minister of Libya and the president of Egypt that it was indeed a terrorist attack and had nothing to do with a video. This is what frustrates folks around the country. They understand that sometimes good men and women give their lives serving our country. But what they canโt accept is when their leaders arenโt straight with them and wonโt own up to their mistakes.
Critical to the panelโs work is that members and staff must review documents before calling and questioning witnesses, so to further compound and confound the committeeโs inquest, the administration then delays the appearance of witnesses.
Gowdy said Congress specifically reprogrammed $6.5 million in the State Department budget to elevate the administrationโs practice of stalling documents and witnesses.
โNot only have they failed to identify a single administration witness worth talking to or a single document worth accessing in the past two years, they have affirmatively delayed the identification of witnesses and the production of unquestionably relevant documents,โ he said.
The chairman said he was particularly upset by how Democrats on the committee have worked to thwart his efforts. โCommittee Democrats have not lifted a finger to help the Select Committee speed up its investigation and release a report.โ
Jordan said although Obama and the Democrats have hindered the investigation, the investigation continues to press forward.
โWe would have wrapped up our investigation by now if we werenโt still waiting for documents from the State Department,โ he said. โThis administration has continually dragged its feet instead of helping us do our job and get to the truth about what happened when four Americans lost their lives in Benghazi. Despite this administrationโs efforts, we are making headway and nearing the completion of our report.โ
No other scandal intertwines the legacies of Obama with his former secretary of state Hillary Clinton as tightly or as exquisitely. Each one knows what the other did and did not do that long night in Benghazi. Each one needs to hold the uneasy truce in place until Election Day .
Maybe then, Gowdy and the rest of us will finally find out what really happened. |
Have you heard or seen fighter jets flying overhead lately?
F-16 fighter jets from the Ohio Air National Guard spent time training over the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island.
Pilots with the 180th Fighter Wing, based in Swanton, Ohio, performed multiple training sorties over Lake Huron and Northern Michigan from June 21 through June 24, according to the wing's Facebook page.
Photos provided by the 180th Fighter Wing show the jets flying near the Mackinac Bridge and Lake Huron.
The wing also conducted a test of the Aerospace Control Alert system on Tuesday, July 7, and were seen flying in Michigan.
In April, the 180th Fighter Wing trained over Southeast Michigan.
Lindsay Knake is the K-12 education reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or [email protected]. |
Aloha, Mr. Draper: 'Mad Men' Season 6 premiere filming in Hawaii
โMad Menโ joins a long line of television shows to go on location in the Aloha State, including โThe Brady Bunchโ and โSaved by the Bell.โ
It certainly wonโt be the first time Don Draper has left the hustle and bustle of 1960s Madison Avenue for sunnier climes. Don makes frequent jaunts to California, which has been the setting for some of the showโs most memorable episodes, including the shocking Season 4 finale in which he proposed to Megan, then his secretary.
According to a report published in Deadline and confirmed by AMC, lead actors Jon Hamm and Jessica Parรฉ, who play the photogenic couple in the drama, will travel to the 50th state this Sunday with a small crew to film scenes for the upcoming Season 6 premiere. Creator Matthew Weiner and producer Scott Hornbacher reportedly scouted locations for the episode back in September. Hamm and Parรฉ will reportedly be there for two days, suggesting that plenty of the premiere will take place back in New York.
Let the breathless speculation begin: Don Draper and his wife Megan will travel to Hawaii in the Season 6 premiere of โMad Men.โ
Nevertheless, the news of the Drapersโ Hawaiian adventure is especially enticing โ and not just because of the possibility of seeing Don in a Hawaiian shirt and lei drunkenly singing along to โTiny Bubbles.โ
PHOTOS: Hollywood back lot moments
No, itโs because it gives โMad Menโ fans license to speculate wildly about whatโs in store in the season ahead, which is at least 50% of whatโs so enjoyable about the show in the first place.
So just what will Don and Megan get up to in Hawaii? Here are just a few possibilities:
-- When last we saw Don, he was approached by a beautiful young woman in a dimly lighted bar while Megan was off filming a commercial sheโd all but forced Don to cast her in. Maybe, in a moment of weakness, he flies off to Hawaii with said beauty and Megan follows him there in an attempt to win him back.
-- Meganโs acting career takes off and she is cast in the pilot for โHawaii Five-O,โ which begain airing on CBS in September of 1968. ("Mad Menโs" most recent season ended in 1967.) While Megan is hard at work, Don slips off to a Don Ho concert where, drunk off of too many mai tais, he rushes the stage and is arrested. Mortified, Megan talks to Don about his drinking and decides that, for the health of their marriage, she will quit acting.
PHOTOS: On the set of 'Mad Men'
-- Megan and Don decide to repair their troubled marriage with a trip to Hawaii. Too bad they decided to do so in the middle of the eruption of Mt. Kilauea, which was highly active during 1967 and 1968. Nothing much happens but the bubbling lava provides the perfect visual metaphor for the volcanic rage just beneath the surface of their relationship.
-- In a major coup for the agency, Don lands Spam as a client after pitching them a series of commercials set in Hawaii, where the canned meat product is unusually popular. He and Megan fly to the island to film the ads, in which she appears wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra. Megan, who has been attending consciousness-raising meetings back in New York, rankles at being objectified and she and Don get in their 7 millionth fight, only to make up later with a frisky roll in the sand.
Have your own predictions? Please feel free to weigh in.
ALSO:
'Mad Men' recap: Out with a whimper
Christina Hendricks is at ease with Emmy and 'Mad Men'
Colbert rips Romney for blaming gun violence on single parents
twitter.com/MeredithBlake
Timeline: Emmy winners through the years
Celebrity meltdowns
VIDEO: Watch the latest fall TV trailers here |
Whatโs up with Estonia? The tiny Baltic nation affords its citizens the greatest measure of digital freedom as measured by Freedom House , a Washington advocacy group.
Freedom Houseโs rankings are based on things like access to the Internet and online free expression laws. Estonia has a national digital identification system, allows its citizens to vote online and has announced plans to teach computer coding to public school students as early as first grade, according to the technology blog UbuntuLife.
Estonia is a standout at a time when, according to Freedom House, online censorship has grown, from widespread blocking and filtering in some countries to laws that regulate what can be said online to physical attacks on bloggers and other online critics.
The groupโs report, which measured the restrictions in 47 countries from January 2011 to May 2012, found that โrestrictions on Internet freedom in many countries have continued to grow, though the methods of control are slowly evolving and becoming less visible.โ
The report comes on the heels of a global debate about free expression after a crude video that ridicules Islam was posted on YouTube. It was blamed for setting off violence in several countries worldwide. It led a handful of countries to block YouTube altogether.
In 19 of the 47 countries mentioned in the report, Freedom House said, citizens who posted content online, whether in a blog or on social media, were โtortured, disappeared, beaten or brutally assaulted.โ The report was packed with examples. In Bahrain, for instance, the moderator of an online forum died in police custody in April 2011; in Jordan, a blogger was stabbed in the stomach; and in Sri Lanka and Uzbeskistan, those who criticized the government online have โdisappeared under mysterious circumstances.โ
Physical attacks were not limited to critics of the government. Freedom House cited the example of Mexico, where bloggers who had written about organized crime were murdered, with notes that referred explicitly to the victimsโ postings online. |
Is good nutrition developing a bad reputation based on outrageous costs?
A growing trend of studies touts the immense cost of eating fresh, nutritious food. Conventional wisdom seems to claim that the cost can keep you from being able to eat as healthfully as you might like and worries many who would otherwise prefer to consistently buy & prepare un-processed, highly natural foods.
But is eating healthy really as expensive as everyone claims?
No. No, itโs not.
Study Claims A Healthy Diet Costs 10x More โ But Is It Misleading?
Much of the recent rabble surrounding the price of food stems from a 2007 study by University of Washington researchers about the price of snack foods compared to fresh fruits and vegetables. In particular, the study claims that eating a healthy diet can cost up to 10 times as much as a diet based on junk food. Well, no wonder people donโt eat healthy! With numbers like that, who could afford to?
As it turns out, though, the study uses price per calorie as itโs only metric for determining the cost of food. This means that when comparing junk foods loaded with fat and sugar to nutrient-dense foods like spinach, broccoli or apples, the junk food is going to dominate calorie count every time!
If we discount the fact that the calories in junk food are, by-and-large, nutritionally worthless, a more appropriate metric would be price per serving. Fruits and veggies, by nature, have a much lower calorie count per serving (hint: thatโs partly why theyโre better for you).
Letโs look at an example:
Food Price Servings Total
Calories Price/calorie Price/serving Nacho Cheese Doritos (11 oz bag) $2.99 11 1540 $0.0019 $0.27 Twinkies (6 ct box) $1.99 6 900 $0.0022 $0.33 Baby spinach (6 oz bag, 8 cups) $1.99 8 50 $0.04 $0.25 Broccoli crowns (about 4 cups) $0.99 4 120 $0.01 $0.25 Gala apple (6oz) $0.24 1 80 $0.003 $0.24
Itโs pretty clear that the junk food items (that would be the Doritos and Twinkies, in case youโre wondering) are the champions of price per calorie, both coming in at fractions of a cent. But when we look at the price-per-serving numbers, all of a sudden the playing field levels, making the fresh fruit and veggies actually come out a bit cheaper!
How Much Does It Really Cost To Eat Healthy?
According to a New York Times article about the study, the average American spends $7 a day on food โ nearly $50 a week โ so I decided to put together a healthy meal plan for a day to see how it compared to the national average. While I do live in Klamath Falls, Oregon, which is less expensive than a metropolitan area, this daily plan is for a 6-foot-3, 200-pound man, so Iโm not exactly skimping on calories here. Check it out:
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with cheese
Oatmeal with raisins and honey
Lunch:
Turkey sandwich with whole-grain bread, cheese, avocado, tomato and lettuce
Dinner:
Grilled chicken breast
Steamed broccoli
Baked sweet potato
Snacks:
Apple
Almonds
Shopping list in hand, I set out for my local supermarket, ready for the massive grocery bill I was about to face. You can imagine my relief when I found that my little shopping trip was not nearly as costly as the doom-speakers would have me believe. Fresh fruit and vegetables are actually not that expensive and even the meat and dairy is quite reasonable, if you know what to look for. Hereโs the breakdown of what I bought:
Shopping List Price Price per serving Brown eggs (30 ct) $3.58 $0.12 per egg Frozen chicken breasts (4 lbs) $10.72 $1.34 per 6-oz breast Deli style turkey breast (1 lb) $4.99 $0.31 per 1-oz slice Mozzarella cheese (2 lb) $4.98 $0.16 per 1-oz slice 100% whole wheat bread (18 slices) $1.69 $0.09 per slice Oatmeal (42 oz) $2.18 $0.21 per ยฝ cup serving Sweet potato (1 medium) $0.37 $0.37 per potato Gala apple (1 medium) $0.24 $0.24 per apple Avocado (1 medium) $0.88 $0.88 per avocado Broccoli (1 head, about ยฝ lb) $0.49 $0.25 per cup serving Roma tomatoes (5 ct, about 1 lb) $1.19 $0.24 per tomato Romaine lettuce (1 head) $1.99 $0.20 per cup serving Almonds (ยฝ lb) $3.40 $0.42 per 1-oz serving Honey (local, 12 oz) $3.59 $0.15 per Tbsp serving Raisins (ยฝ lb) $1.50 $0.19 per 1-oz serving
The meat and cheese were the most expensive part of the whole trip, but even so, they were not unreasonable. Now hereโs how those prices apply to the meal plan for the day:
Item Price 3 eggs $0.36 1 slice mozzarella cheese $0.16 1 cup oatmeal $0.42 1 oz raisins $0.19 1 Tbsp honey $0.15 Breakfast total $1.28 2 slices whole wheat bread $0.18 3 slices turkey breast $0.93 1 slice mozzarella cheese $0.16 ยฝ avocado $0.44 ยฝ Roma tomato $0.12 ยฝ cup Romaine lettuce $0.10 Lunch total $1.93 1 chicken breast $1.34 1 sweet potato $0.37 1 cup broccoli $0.25 Dinner total $1.96 1 Gala apple $0.24 1 oz almonds $0.42 Snacks total $0.66 Grand total $5.83
Wowโฆso there you have it: a whopping $5.83 for me to make healthy meals throughout the entire day. Thatโs 17% below the national average!
As you can see, these studies that count calorie-value, and the articles promoting them, are misleading at bestโฆ and dangerously disingenuous at worst. Itโs this kind of self-perpetuating nonsense that makes people give up on the notion of a healthy diet. If you have hugely-popular mainstream media like the New York Times spreading the idea that most people will never be able to afford nutritious food, what kind of chance do they have?
Healthy Meals Do Require Planningโฆ
That said, there are some challenges to eating fresh, healthy foods that you donโt face with the prepackaged, highly-processed stuff. Often itโs these issues, not cost, that are the biggest barriers for people to make the switch.
Fresh food goes bad quickly โ This means that you have to go shopping more often and use the food you buy before it spoils. Requires preparation โ Itโs much easier to dump milk and cereal in a bowl or pop a TV dinner in the microwave than prepare a fresh, healthy, well-rounded meal. Requires planning โ Because of the first two challenges, itโs almost a necessity to plan your meals ahead of time so you have everything you need on hand.
5 Tips For Eating Healthy on a Budget
Often eating healthy is not as convenient as buying boxed dinners or going for a quick fast food lunch, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier and more cost-effective: |
The NH Pink Pistols, an LGBT-themed firearms group, practiced shooting targets at Granite State Indoor Range in Hudson yesterday. 8 people came to shoot. Last month there were 5 of us, and the previous month only 4. The range was clean, the staff was friendly, and the range was easy to use. Apparently the facility is less than 2 years old. We each shot individual targets for practice, but we also played a game of Battleship using a creatively designed target. Afterwards, some attended a Liberty Meetup in Nashua, but I had to run โ I had a date at Street โ a Portsmouth restaurant that now accepts bitcoin!
New, unexpected people came to this event โ they must have heard about it from Facebook. The NH chapter of Pink Pistols is โofficially closedโ because we donโt have board members and bureaucracy to the satisfaction of the national group. I will wait for a few more successful meetups before I re-establish the group as โofficialโ. I had a fun time, we tried out each otherโs firearms, we got some practice with our own, and some even learned techniques to improve their shooting. If youโre LGBTQ and live in the Shire, please join the NH Pink Pistols Facebook Page for updates on our group and the location of our next shoot.
Here is video from yesterdayโs event |
Settlement in Zambezi Region, Namibia
Luhonono, until 2013 Schuckmannsburg, is a settlement in the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia with a population of about 800. It belongs to the Kabbe electoral constituency of the Zambezi Region. During the time of German colonialisation, it was the capital of the Caprivi Strip.[2]
Location [ edit ]
Luhonono lies at the far eastern end of the Caprivi Strip, about 1 km south of the river Zambezi and about 65 kilometres (40 mi) east of Katima Mulilo, which is today the region's administrative seat, a role once performed by Schuckmannsburg when Namibia was a German colony.
Owing to the way that Africa was carved up by the European powers in the 19th century in their so-called "Scramble for Africa", Luhonono lies right near several other countries, Zambia just to the north, Botswana about 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the south and Zimbabwe about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the east. Angola is also only about 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the west.
History [ edit ]
The original name of the settlement was Luhonono, after the Luhonono tree (Terminalia sericea) endemic in that area.[3] The settlement was founded under the name Schuckmannsburg on 7 February 1909 by Captain Kurt Streitwolf as "Imperial Residence in the Caprivi Strip". Its namesake was the then Governor of German Southwest Africa, Bruno von Schuckmann. The purpose of founding this place in such a remote area was to visibly take ownership, on the colonial administration's behalf, of the Caprivi Strip, which had formally been part of German Southwest Africa since 1890. The exact location was chosen because it was directly opposite Mwandi, a North Rhodesian settlement under British rule, and infrastructure such as a post office and a hospital, was readily available there.[3] The Imperial Resident Streitwolf, who had at his command three German junior officers as well as a few Askaris as assistant policemen, put up buildings, mapped the area, and consolidated the administration.
In 1911, Victor von Frankenberg und Proschlitz took over the Resident's post, thereafter known, however, as District Chief. In late September 1914, he surrendered Schuckmannsburg without a fight to an advancing detachment of the British South Africa Police from Southern Rhodesia which was cooperating with a detachment of the Northern Rhodesia Police (NRP). Captain Eason then became the new administrator. Lieutenant O'Sullevan of the NRP said that the Caprivi had
the largest, most vindictive, and venomous mosquitoes I have seen ... in the wet season it is a swamp and unhealthy; in the dry weather the heat is terrific, whilst the sand is deep and uncomfortable to walk in
German rule ended in Southwest Africa (Namibia) as Germany was stripped of its colonies after the First World War by the Treaty of Versailles. The South Africans took over the administrative centre at Schuckmannsburg but decided to abandon the place because of the annual heavy flooding of the area. Thus Schuckmannsburg lost its political importance when on 28 January 1935 Katima Mulilo took its administrative functions. Because of a shortage of building material in Katima Mulilo โ no shops and no buildings were present there at that time โ many buildings were taken apart so that the bricks could be reused in the new regional seat.[3]
Luhonono today [ edit ]
The village nowadays consists of wooden cabins and a few less sturdy buildings. The only intact relic of German colonial time is a little brick house with a floor area of about 12 mยฒ built in 1909, the only brick building not dismantled for building material when the regional offices were moved to Katima Mulilo.[3] On 9 August 2013, the Namibian government renamed Schuckmannsburg Lohonono.[4][5]
Literature [ edit ]
Rainer D.K. Bruchmann: Schuckmannsburg , Kuiseb-Verlag, Windhuk 1997, ISBN 99916-703-7-8
, Kuiseb-Verlag, Windhuk 1997, ISBN 99916-703-7-8 Edward Paice: Tip and Run: the untold tragedy of the Great War in Africa, 2007, ISBN 0-297-84709-0, page 33 |
President Trump criticized former president Barack Obama for golfing too often. Now the White House is defending his own frequent outings. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)
The alert from Fox News went out at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
โPRESIDENT TRUMP SPENDING WEEKEND WORKING AT THE WHITE HOUSE,โ the chyron announced, under an image of the White House presumably captured just minutes before.
The timing of the tweet alert was curious: After all, the weekend was nearly over.
โ[T]his is like when you start to do your homework when you hear the garage door opening,โ one Twitter user noted.
And, as it turned out, the announcement wasn't entirely true.
News Alert: @POTUS spending weekend working at the White House. pic.twitter.com/kAtZVQE2Mr โ Fox News (@FoxNews) March 26, 2017
According to pool reports, the president spent Saturday visiting the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va., just outside Washington.
Trump arrived at the golf club at 11:01 a.m. Saturday, wearing a suit, a white shirt with no tie and a red hat with โUSAโ emblazoned on the front, a pool reporter noted. Though the traveling press pool asked multiple times about the president's activities, Trump's team did not provide answers, the report stated.
The press pool was told that Trump had โmeetingsโ at the golf club. The presidential motorcade returned to the White House shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday, the pool report said.
By then, pictures had emerged on social media of Trump riding a golf cart and dressed in golf attire, still wearing a red hat, at Trump National Golf Club.
The Instagram user who had posted three of those pictures later appeared to make his account private.
According to pool reports, about 9 p.m. Saturday, Trump visited the Trump International Hotel in Washington to have dinner, though once again reporters were not told with whom he would be dining. Photographs of Trump with son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump at a hotel restaurant later emerged.
On Sunday morning, Trump once again returned to the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, arriving at 11:04 a.m. A half-hour later, reporters were informed that the president was โwrapping up last of three meetings shortly,โ a pool report stated. The motorcade arrived back at the White House at 12:36 p.m. Sunday.
An Instagram post from another user showed Trump appearing to watch the Golf Channel with two unidentified people on Sunday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSH82DgguIr/?taken-by=fwesdock_56
Trump's official schedule as released by the White House before the weekend simply said the president had โno public events scheduledโ Saturday and listed โin-town travel pool call timeโ for both Saturday and Sunday. As yet, there have been no official announcements about who was included in the three meetings mentioned Sunday.
Neither the White House nor a Fox News spokeswoman responded to requests for comment Monday morning.
On social media, responses to Fox's urgent-sounding news alert were relentless. The tweet was roundly mocked online for its timing โ and for the fact it wasn't true.
News Alert: President Does His Job, Maybe https://t.co/uJg06zytF1 โ eve peyser (@evepeyser) March 26, 2017
"don't applaud a fish for swimming" https://t.co/NhGhZBHM0C โ Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 26, 2017
BREAKING NEWS. President does his job at his taxpayer provided place of work. https://t.co/IgJy3pltdb โ Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen) March 26, 2017
when "President of the United States Does His Job" is an impossible scoop https://t.co/3fq18ITjnM โ Sulome Anderson (@SulomeAnderson) March 27, 2017
Trump repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama for hitting the links and boasted on the campaign trail that he would work nearly nonstop if elected.
โI would rarely leave the White House because thereโs so much work to be done,โ Trump told the Hill in June 2015. โI would not be a president who took vacations. I would not be a president that takes time off.โ
It was a promise he made over and over again โ until Election Day.
โHey, look, itโs good. Golf is fine,โ Trump said in November. โBut always play with leaders of countries and people that can help us! Donโt play with your friends all the time.โ
This weekend marked Trump's 13th and 14th visits to a golf course since becoming president, according to The Washington Post's Philip Bump. In addition, Bump broke down Trump's schedule since the inauguration, showing that for nearly 1 out of every 3 days Trump has been president, he has visited a Trump-branded property.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer has defended Trump's visits to his golf courses, saying that the president does not necessarily play golf every time.
โJust because you go somewhere doesnโt necessarily mean you did it,โ Spicer told reporters last week. โSo, on a couple of occasions, heโs actually conducted meetings there, heโs actually had phone calls. So, just because he heads there, it doesnโt mean that thatโs whatโs happening.โ
Read more:
Donald Trumpโs golfing is a political problem thanks to Donald Trump
Trump familyโs elaborate lifestyle is a โlogistical nightmareโ โ at taxpayer expense
Sean Spicer wants you to know that Trumpโs golfing is strategic and/or not happening |
I decided I wanted to make something a little more elegant for Halloween this year (and for future parties / Burning Man). Itโs a little hard to capture on video, but itโs really quite mesmerizing:
This is a tuxedo jacket that I bought at a thrift shop on Valencia St. ($17 for a Dior jacket that fit perfectly!) I ran WS2811 strips along the seams so as to take advantage of the natural lines of the jacket. They are wired together on the inside. The first strip terminates right at the bottom of the jacket and has three wires running up the inside to the front pocket.
In the pocket is the battery pack (4 Lithium AAs) and an Arduino Pro Micro. The Arduino controls the lights with the Adafruit Neopixel library. I put a toggle switch between the batteries and the Arduino so I could plug it into a USB port for programming while still running the light strips off the batteries.
This is the first program I wrote for it, and Iโm pretty happy. Iโm really excited that I can easily program dozens of patterns and also add sensors to it (motion, sound, light/color, etc.) Expect to see more videos of the jacket in the future. |
SCP-190
Item #: SCP-190
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-190 is kept in Security Locker 23 at Site 41. Children under the age of 10 are not allowed within 50 meters of SCP-190 except under testing conditions. All personnel working at Site 41 are to be made aware of SCP-190's secondary effect, and its innocuous nature. Personnel transfer requests made due to SCP-190's secondary effect are to be expedited, unless doing so would violate the special containment procedures for another Item.
All individuals who have directly interacted with SCP-190 are to be monitored indefinitely for long-term side effects.
Description: SCP-190 is a carved wooden box banded with iron, measuring 50 cm x 70 cm x 35 cm. The lid is carved with a representation of a large circus tent with an central open panel, within which stands a figure dressed as a stereotypical ringmaster. The carvings on the sides consist of assorted animals typically associated with circuses, including lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and horses. These carvings move at a maximum observed rate of approximately 5 mm per day and time-lapse monitoring indicates that the depicted creatures appear to be acting in a non-violent play behavior with each other.
When an individual age 10 or older opens the hinged lid, SCP-190 contains 17 marbles of assorted size and color, 2 sticks of lightly used green sidewalk chalk, and 1 deck of Bicycle brand playing cards. These objects can be manipulated within the confines of SCP-190, but cannot be removed from it. Attempts to remove these objects encounter an otherwise undetectable, impenetrable barrier stretching across the opening to the box. Individuals age 10 or older who interact with SCP-190 or its contents typically report feelings of unease or discomfort until they cease interacting with them.
When an individual under the age of 10 opens SCP-190, it will contain 1-5 toys or games intended for use by children. Observed objects include stuffed animals, rubber balls, yo-yos, dolls, blocks, and simple board games. These objects can be freely removed from SCP-190 by any prepubescent individual, although attempts by pubescent or post-pubescent encounter the same barrier described above. The objects typically possess a circus theme, depicting classic circus animals, venues, performers, and design schemes containing red, gold, white, stars, and/or the initials "HF".
Children in the appropriate age range express great pleasure and excitement when playing with SCP-190 or the objects it produces, regardless of prior attitudes regarding toys or games of that type. Children exhibit more energetic play behaviors than they normally do, as well as more physical activities such as somersaults, cartwheels, climbing nearby objects, and simple 1- and 2-object juggling. Most play behaviors include incidental elements of causing harm to other people, especially those older than themselves. All objects produced by SCP-190 are capable of causing extreme damage, regardless of their composition. Representative samples below. Objects produced by SCP-190 vanish if placed back within it and the lid is closed.
Toy/Game Usage by Child Result Red and white striped rubber ball with a gold star on one end 8-year-old male bounced against a wall 37 times prior to throwing it at a supervising junior researcher. The wall had noticeable shallow dents where it had been struck. The junior researcher suffered 2 cracked ribs and significant soft tissue bruising where she had been struck. Child expressed disappointment that junior researcher didn't throw the ball back. Stuffed elephant made of felt, measuring 35 cm in height, wearing a red and gold saddle with the initials "HF" embroidered on the sides 4-year-old female moved toy as if it were walking, child making trumpeting noises before making it step on the foot of supervisory D-class. D-class's foot suffered multiple complex bone fractures and hemorrhaging consistent with a crush injury. Child chided D-class for getting in the way of the toy. "See The Big Top!", a board game of similar design to the 2004 edition of "Candyland" 6-year-old male begged supervisory D-class to play game until D-class was ordered to do so by researchers. Child lost game and threw cards at D-class in anger. D-class suffered deep paper cuts to the face, hands, and forearms, requiring multiple bandages. Child hugged D-class after completion of game and asked if she would receive Batman adhesive bandages to "make the boo-boos better." Tin container labeled "Junior Clown Kit!" containing 30 g (1 oz.) of clown white greasepaint, 2 red jumbo makeup pencils, 2 yellow/gold makeup pencils, small hand-mirror 7-year-old female decorated own face and that of supervisory D-class D-class suffered mild chemical burns where makeup had made contact with skin and developed persistent allergy to lanolin. Child was unharmed. Lacquer-finished red wooden rod resembling a miniature version of SCP-2024 9-year-old female touched various furnishings around the room, including the supervising D-class's arm. D-class's arm tied into a knot. Child commented on D-class's improved physical appearance.
After initial testing ceased following the determination of baseline properties, an additional property became apparent. If SCP-190 and its contents have not been used by a child under the age of 10 for 29.5 consecutive days, faint calliope music will be audible to all individuals within 50 meters of SCP-190. This music appears to act as a mild cognitohazard, wherein children under the age of 10 will seek out SCP-190 if they are aware of its existence.
Long-term monitoring of individuals who interacted with SCP-190 as children reveal that they are approximately 4 times more likely than age-peers to become performers once they are adults, either professionally or as a primary hobby. Typical examples include acrobatics, magic/sleight-of-hand, animal training, and improvisational oratory and acting. Subjects do not otherwise display statistically significant behavioral abnormalities. |
Hungarian designer Bernรกt Barbara came up with these banknote series for her MA degree project. Hungarian euro banknote series. The common side of each note features european animals, the other side shows related species of plants. The banknotes are original etching prints.
For more from Bernรกt Barbara visit behance.net/Bidka and barbesz.tumblr.com
I designed and prepared five denomations of ten etchings, all etched in separate copperplates. This subtle and refined form of reproduction enabled me to imitate the original technique used during the production of banknotes, intaglio printing. My goal was to create a complete series with clear design, that transcends the tradition of banknote making.
Design Process
I only wanted to keep the essential visual elements of a banknote. The most important parts beside the graphics are the denomination, the serial number, the issuing authority and the authorized signatories. I left the the unnecessary security graphic elements behind, to get a clear visual impact.
I wanted to emphasize the animals and plants, the typography and the security marks are secondary on my notes. I started with thumbnails, they evolved to more detailed sketches, which lead to my final layout.
Serial Design
Printing Process
I made 1,5 scale graphite drawings of each species, which were the outlines for the final the etchings. The etchings are directly printed on digital print basis. All of them are inked and hand-pulled by me.
Details |
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The NFL is a lot of fun to watch, but unfortunately there are a few days that we as fans go without the game. In this absence, one of the best alternatives is grabbing the nearest controller and playing out great pro matchups in video game form.
Football video games serve as an easy way to introduce the non-interested parties into football, and they can be used as an early reference to educate future fans of strategy in the game (and no I'm not talking about you, online player who goes for it on fourth down every time).
With that in mind, a question remains: What is the best representation of the NFL game through a video game? The list has been whittled down to 10 entries.
Three quick notes before we begin:
1) To avoid getting bogged down in year-to-year minutiae, games in a series (like Madden) will be judged as a package deal, with more weight placed on their more recent entries. I'll take arguments on why Madden '08 is garbage compared to Madden '05 in the comment section below.
2) All games in the list must be NFL-licensed. Unfortunately, this takes away several great options, including Backbreaker, Mutant Football League, 10-Yard Fight, Two Minute 3D football (one of my personal favorites) and, most notably, the original Tecmo Bowl.
3) Since eight-year-old me didn't have access to unlimited video game funds, I have not played every game on this list. Games I haven't played will be noted.
With that out of the way, here's the list of the top NFL video games. |
It began with a casually devestating pool shot. Then, the women of Chester turned out in their dozens. He even started to ironically use outdated slang. Heโs got his own fandom. Is the unthinkable happening? Is Ed Miliband becoming cool?
If you still need some persuasion, ladies and gentlemen, look no further than cooledmiliband.tumblr.com, a haven of Mili-mania.
"Politics shouldn't be about who's cool and who isn't," its description reads. "But just in case it is for you, here's some pictures of Ed Miliband looking cool."
Feast your eyes upon Ed Dean:
"You're tearing me apart, David! You say one thing, Clegg says another, and everybody changes back again!!"
Scream your heart out for Eddy Styles:
"The NHS lights up my world like nothing else."
Form an orderly queue for Ed Draper:
"I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because under the Tories, there isn't one."
Study the fine stubble on Ediana Jones:
Ediana Jones and the Cost of Living Crisis
Aaaand feel approproately aroused and confused by Ed Gandy:
All photos via cooledmiliband.tumblr.com |
"We probably managed this better than any large economy on Earth in modern history," President Barack Obama says. | AP Photo Obama blames communication skills for electoral losses
Democrats might have held onto one or both houses of Congress if only Americans better understood the strength of the economic recovery, President Barack Obama said in an interview published Thursday.
โI mean, the truth of the matter is that if we had been able to more effectively communicate all the steps we had taken to the swing voter,โ Obama remarked in a New York Times Magazine interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, โthen we might have maintained a majority in the House or the Senate.โ
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The U.S. economy is in a better state after the recession than the American people realize, Obama suggested.
โI actually compare our economic performance to how, historically, countries that have wrenching financial crises perform,โ he said. โBy that measure, we probably managed this better than any large economy on Earth in modern history.โ
The president also expressed regret that, in three successive years, his administration was not able to kick-start โa massive infrastructure project,โ adding that 2012, 2013 and 2014 โwas the perfect time to do it; low interest rates, construction industry is still on its heels, massive need โ the fact that we failed to do that, for example, cost us time.
โIt meant that there were folks who we could have helped and put back to work and entire communities that could have prospered that ended up taking a lot longer to recover,โ Obama said.
Obama also said he is "[kept] up at night some timesโ by the fact that he could have done more to hasten the economic recovery.
โI can probably tick off three or four common-sense things we could have done where weโd be growing a percentage or two faster each year,โ he said. โWe could have brought down the unemployment rate lower, faster. We could have been lifting wages even faster than we did.โ
Obama also weighed in on the dispute between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over how best to break up overly large banks and seemed to take a shot at Sanders.
โIt is true that we have not dismantled the financial system, and in that sense, Bernie Sandersโ critique is correct,โ he told Sorkin, with thinly veiled sarcasm. โBut one of the things that Iโve consistently tried to remind myself during the course of my presidency is that the economy is not an abstraction. Itโs not something that you can just redesign and break up and put back together again without consequences.โ
The president offered a harsher critique of the economic platforms coming from the other side of the aisle.
โIf you look at the platforms, the economic platforms of the current Republican candidates for president, they donโt simply defy logic and any known economic theories, they are fantasy,โ Obama said. โSlashing taxes particularly for those at the very top, dismantling regulatory regimes that protect our air and our environment and then projecting that this is going to lead to 5 percent or 7 percent growth, and claiming that theyโll do all this while balancing the budget. Nobody would even, with the most rudimentary knowledge of economics, think that any of those things are plausible.โ |
The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and CNN all reported he had been found dead.
Swartz was due to go on trial within weeks over accusations he stole the scientific journal articles, in a bid to make them available for free.
Swartz faced "decades in prison and a fortune in fines", the Los Angeles Times said, over the downloads from JSTOR.
The journal website, which the Los Angeles Times said did not press charges once it reclaimed the articles from Swartz, posted on its website that it had been "deeply saddened to hear the news about Aaron Swartz. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Aaron's family, friends, and everyone who loved, knew, and admired him".
The subscription journal service was used by MIT, and offered digitized copies of academic articles from journals. The prosecutor in the case, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, had accused Swartz of intending to distribute the articles widely on file-sharing sites. |
Writers Cited in Breivik Manifesto Have Spoken at U.S. Military Colleges as Anti-Terrorism Experts Chris Rodda print page Wed Jul 27, 2011 at 12:44:40 PM EST In February 2009, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) received some very good news. A woman named Brigitte Gabriel had been disinvited from speaking at the United States Air Force Academy, due to MRFF's year-long battle to stop the U.S. military from allowing Islamophobic fear-mongers to speak at our military's colleges and service academies under the guise of anti-terrorism training. Just about a year earlier, in February 2008, the Air Force Academy had invited a group called the "3 ex-Terrorists" to speak at its 50th Annual Academy Assembly on the topic "Dismantling Terrorism: Developing Actionable Solutions for Today's Plague of Violence." One member of this trio of self-proclaimed ex-terrorists turned evangelical Christians was Walid Shoebat. After repeated demands for equal time to counter the anti-Muslim preaching of these so-called terrorism experts, the Air Force Academy eventually allowed MRFF founder and president, and Academy graduate, Mikey Weinstein, MRFF Advisory Board member and Islam scholar Reza Aslan, and MRFF Board member and former Ambassador Joe Wilson to speak to the cadets. If the name Walid Shoebat sounds familiar, it's because CNN just did an exposรฉ on him a few weeks ago (article, video: part 1, part 2). As CNN reported, Shoebat is still being hired to speak to Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies, despite the fact that he has repeatedly been exposed as a fraud by both journalists and academics. Shoebat's mission is clear -- to spread a fear of Muslims and rail against all that liberal political correctness that's causing so many Americans to treat Muslims just like everyone else. The message of Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT! for America and author of Because They Hate is the same as Shoebat's. In June 2007, Gabriel, who has also been brought in as a terrorism expert by several government agencies, delivered a lecture at the U.S. military's Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC) as part of the JFSC's Islam elective for American military and national security personnel. During the Q & A part of this lecture, a JFSC student asked Gabriel, "Should we resist Muslims who want to seek political office in this nation?" This was Gabriel's answer: "Absolutely. If a Muslim who has -- who is -- a practicing Muslim who believes the word of the Koran to be the word of Allah, who abides by Islam, who goes to mosque and prays every Friday, who prays five times a day -- this practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America." Gabriel then proceeded to give the following reason for a Muslim's oath of office being meaningless: "A Muslim is allowed to lie under any situation to make Islam, or for the benefit of Islam in the long run. A Muslim sworn to office can lay his hand on the Koran and say 'I swear that I'm telling the truth and nothing but the truth,' fully knowing that he is lying because the same Koran that he is swearing on justifies his lying in order to advance the cause of Islam. What is worrisome about that is when we are faced with war and a Muslim political official in office has to make a decision either in the interest of the United States, which is considered infidel according to the teachings of Islam, and our Constitution is uncompatible [sic] with Islam -- not compatible -- that Muslim in office will always have his loyalty to Islam." Gabriel also expressed her views on immigration: "Those Al Qaeda members and Hezbollah members who are coming into the United States, they are immediately going from the Mexican border into the major cities where there is large Islamic concentration in the United States, such as 'Dearbornistan' Michigan..."
So, what does all this have to do with Norwegian Christian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik? Well, Walid Shoebat and Brigitte Gabriel are two of the anti-Muslim activists who show up in his manifesto. Shoebat is quoted about fifteen times throughout the manifesto, and a link to a 45-minute Brigitte Gabriel video is provided for further information on one of the sections. But the most frequently cited author in the manifesto is Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam. Spencer is quoted by Breivik over three dozen times, in several places at great length, and Breivik wrote, "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer." Breivik even used a take-off on Spencer's book title for a section of his manifesto, which he titled "A politically incorrect guide to the lynching of multiculturalist traitors." MRFF is quite familiar with Robert Spencer's book, having received numerous complaints over the past few years from service members who want it removed from the military's PXs and BXs, where it is usually displayed right next to the military Bibles. Three other authors quoted or recommended by Breivik -- Serge Trifkovic, Bat Ye'or, and Abdullah Al Araby -- all appeared in the same Islamophbic pseudo-documentary with Shoebat and Spencer, "Islam: What the West Needs to Know." In 2008, when the politically useful anti-Muslim film Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West was being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers, MRFF discovered that this same film, which featured both Shoebat and Gabriel, was being used by the U.S. military. MRFF was able to stop some of the screenings of this film, but many others did take place. The packaging of the "campaign" version even carried the endorsement of a professor from the Naval War College, lending the credibility of the U.S. military to this piece of Islamophobic propaganda. In short, all of the popular anti-Muslim writers and speakers cited in Breivik's manifesto have essentially the same message -- Muslims are taking over the "Christian" world and must be stopped. And these same writers and speakers all have multiple connections to each other. They appear in the same films, link to each other's websites, promote each other's books and videos, are listed by the same speakers bureaus, serve in various capacities in each other's organizations, etc. Because I work for MRFF, my focus needs to be on stopping the tide of Islamophobia within the military, but, after reading Breivik's manifesto, it would be impossible for me not to be thinking about the other dangers posed by these Islamophobic fear-mongers, who are feeding countless Americans -- some of whom might be unstable enough to carry out a "mission" like that of Breivik -- a steady diet of justification for their twisted religious or political ideologies. While it is clear from Breivik's manifesto that he began to formulate his ideas several years before the post 9-11 "popularization" of Islamophobia, I think it's completely legitimate to ask the question: Just how much did the constant validation of these ideas by the likes of Gabriel, Shoebat, and Spencer play a role in Breivik's ultimate decision to actually carry out his terrorist attacks?
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Study finds that simple 2-question survey can better identify hungry children
Asking parents just two simple screening questions could help health care providers and social workers to easily and quickly identify families whose young children are suffering from hunger, enabling early interventions that could prevent serious health consequences, according to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. The study, published July 1 in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed data gathered from more than 30,000 families nationwide, about a quarter of whom suffered from hunger. The researchers examined whether the time-consuming, 18-question Household Food Security Survey provided by the federal government could be shortened and still be effective in identifying hungry families. They found that just the first two statements, with which families were asked to agree or disagree, were key: "Within the past 12 months we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more;" and "Within the past 12 months the food we bought just didn't last and we didn't have money to get more."
The researchers found that 92.5 percent of the hungry families answered "yes" to the first question, and 81.9 percent of the families answered yes to the second, meaning that positive answers to those questions alone could accurately identify most families affected by hunger.
Such an efficient screening test can save time and get help to more hungry families faster, according to lead author Erin Hager, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "This paper is the evidence that it works," Dr. Hager says. "Now, this can immediately be used by any social service agency or any clinic to more quickly get hungry children connected with the assistance they need to stay nourished, healthy and developmentally on track."
Hunger can be invisible in American children because they do not physically appear skinny or emaciated, according to senior author Maureen Black, Ph.D., the John A. Scholl, M.D., and Mary Louise Scholl, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Unlike hungry children in Third World countries who may go without food, American parents have access to cheap, nutrient-deprived foods they can use to fill their children's bellies and maintain their weight. However, without critical nutrients such as iron, babies and toddlers can suffer from serious health consequences."
Health care professionals rarely ask parents if they have enough nutritious food to feed their families. "People who are hungry and who can't feed their kids are often anxious and depressed," says Dr. Black. "They don't feel good about this โ food is a basic need you're supposed to provide for your children."
Identifying hungry children and intervening early is so important because of the serious health effects kids can suffer without proper nutrition. Children younger than three who live in food-insecure households are 90 percent more likely to be in fair or poor health (versus good or excellent health) than children in food-secure homes. Hungry babies and toddlers are 31 percent more likely to have been hospitalized since birth, and 76 percent more likely to be at increased developmental risk than children in food-secure homes.
A quick, easy way of identifying hungry families can help them get assistance before the hunger seriously impacts the children's health. "Food stamps, welfare and programs like WIC can provide these families with nutrient-rich food to avoid the negative consequences of hunger," says Dr. Black.The researchers hope social workers, health professionals and other outreach workers who come in contact with needy families will begin using the quiz right away, and will immediately seek help for those who need it. Health care professionals in Baltimore can use a Web site set up by the City Health Department (www.hungryinbaltimore.org) to identify nutritional resources for families who are at risk for food insecurity.
The study was conducted as part of Children's HealthWatch (www.childrenshealthwatch.org), a nationwide consortium of urban medical centers devoted to monitoring how national policies and environmental conditions affect the health, growth and development of children under three years of age. Working in emergency departments and pediatric primary care clinics, Children's HealthWatch interviewers asked 30,098 families all 18 questions on the U.S. Household Food Security Scale. The scale is a survey developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to track food insecurity in America. About 23 percent of the families who participated were food insecure.
Dr. Black and colleagues analyzed the families' responses to all 18 questions see if fewer queries could be just as definitive as the full survey. The responses to the first two questions accurately identified the vast majority of hungry families. The researchers evaluated statistical factors and found a sensitivity of 97 percent, meaning that only three percent of families who experience food insecurity were likely to be misclassified as food-secure using the two-question survey. The results are encouraging, and the new test can be implemented right away, says Dr. Black.
"We're hoping our findings will immediately enable clinics and other outreach centers screen families for food insecurity," she says. "We want children and their parents to get help as soon as they can to prevent long-term health and developmental consequences."
"This study is an example of how taking an innovative approach to evaluating existing methods can help us find a better way and improve human health," says E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs, University of Maryland, and John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We are confident these findings will have an immediate impact on the health of America's babies and toddlers. We're proud of Dr. Black's work toward a better life for children who are at risk." |
Whoever said that financial institutions and Bitcoin cannot co-exist is in for a huge shocker. The biggest news from the Barclays Accelerator event is that Safello has entered into a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) partnership with the financial giant Barclays. CEO and Co-founder of the Bitcoin startup Frank Schuil said,
โSafello and Barclays will be working together on creating a new payment platform that will support bitcoins. The collaboration begins with a PoC trial to allow for donations to be sent to charities using Bitcoins.โ
Founded in 2013, Safello got selected for Barclays Accelerator in March this year. Since launching its Bitcoin exchange, the firm has processed over $6 million in transactions and serves more than 20,000 happy users.
Barclaysโ 13-week financial technology accelerator program has been a huge success. Of the 10 firms that were initially chosen, 7 are contemplating extending their relationship with the bank as the event ended with a demo this week.
According to Finextra, Post Quantum has signed a contract which will see an implementation of the cyber security firmโs technology at the bank. Virtual stock trading game platform Stockfuse is in advanced talks to become an integral part of the bankโs graduate recruitment drive with a Global Market Insight Game to be launched later this year.
Derek White, chief design and digital officer, Barclays, says: โAt Barclays, weโre embracing the digital revolution, exploring innovations early on so that we can help to shape their development and co-create the future of financial services with these startups.โ
Inspired by the huge success of the fintech event, Barclays announced its intentions of running more Accelerator programs to bring the best fintech startups to the forefront. The financial institution will kick off another Barclays Accelerator event in July, backed by enormous support from its partner Techstars. |
On November 24, 2016, Tokyo received its first November snowfall in more than half a century. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAโs Terra satellite captured this natural-color image the same day. The snow fell in and around the Japanese capital, coating the metropolitan area and accumulating along some sidewalks.
The second, false-color image from Terra shows a stark contrast between snow (blue) and clouds (white). The snow traces the contours of surrounding mountains and is distinguishable from clouds offshore. Central Tokyo is gray-brown in color, suggesting less accumulation or faster melting. Urban centers tend to shed snow faster than surrounding countryside because they are often hotter, a result of the urban heat island effect.
The November dusting was caused by a cold air mass moving down from the Arctic, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Meteorologists connected the storm to the Arctic oscillation, a climate pattern that affects the northern hemisphere. Usually, high air pressure in the mid-latitudes prevents colder, low-pressure air seeping down from the Arctic. However, weaker pressure systems occasionally disrupt this barrier, and colder air can penetrate further south, as in this case.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Pola Lem. |
WASHINGTON โ Sen. Mark Udall on Monday accused the National Security Agency of providing false information in a fact sheet about its spying programs, and in a letter to NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander, Udall said the agency is portraying stronger privacy protections for Americans than actually exist.
Udall and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden contend the NSAโs fact sheet on the so-called 702 program, which gives the government authority to collect foreignersโ phone and Internet communications, has โsignificantโ inaccuracies, according to the letter obtained by The Denver Post.
The fact sheet details the governmentโs interpretation of Section 702 of the Patriot Act, was distributed to all members of Congress and is up on NSAโs website.
The NSAโs publication maintains the government may not target any Americans anywhere in the world under this law, that there must be a โvalid, documentedโ foreign intelligence purpose for the government to use this authority and that the government must minimize the acquisition of information that isnโt relevant to intelligence investigations.
Udall said he could not elaborate on what part of the two-page fact sheet is inaccurate because it would divulge classified information.
โIn our judgment, this inaccuracy is significant, as it portrays protections for Americansโ privacy as being significantly stronger than they actually are,โ the two senators wrote. โWe urge you to correct this statement as soon as possible.โ
The NSA did not immediately respond to The Denver Post for comment on the letter to Alexander.
โWhen the NSA makes inaccurate statements about government surveillance and fails to correct the public record, it can decrease public confidence in the NSAโs openness,โ Udall and Wyden wrote in the letter. โRebuilding this confidence will require a willingness to correct misstatements and a willingness to make reforms where appropriate.โ
In the same letter, Udall and Wyden said the fact sheet seems to contradict earlier statements Alexander made under oath that he had no ability to determine how many American communications had been mistakenly collected by the NSA using this authority.
The fact sheet says โany inadvertently acquired communicationโ concerning an American must be destroyed if it isnโt relevant to any terrorism investigation.
The senators said they believe that line is โsomewhat misleading in that it implies the NSA has the ability to determine how many American communications it has collected.โ
Udall has been pushing Alexander to be more forthcoming on the surveillance program. In a speech last year he called it โdisconcertingโ that the NSA director could not give any estimate on how many Americansโ phone records and e-mails were inadvertently collected.
โItโs hard for us to believe that the director of national intelligence โฆ cannot come up with at least a ballpark estimate,โ Udall said last year
Udall introduced a law a couple of weeks ago that intends to greatly reduce the federal governmentโs ability to collect data on Americansโ phone calls without a demonstrated link to terrorism.
That proposal was tucked into a bigger overhaul to the Patriot Act introduced Monday.
Udall said in the letter to Alexander on Monday that he believed the U.S. government should have broad authorities to investigate terrorism and should aggressively pursue terrorists โ but it should do it without compromising ordinary Americansโ constitutional rights.
โAchieving this goal depends not just on secret courts and secret congressional hearings but on informed public debate, as well,โ the letter said.
Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907, [email protected] or twitter.com/allisonsherry |
Megaupload Sues Universal Over Questionable Video Takedown, As Will.i.am Says He Sent Takedown Too
from the this-could-get-interesting dept
But we've also learned that Ken Hertz, attorney for Will.I.Am, also filed a takedown request last week with YouTube. What's going on here?
Hertz says that like many of the artists who appear in the video, his client had never consented to the "Megaupload Mega Song."
UMG echoes that sentiment. ๏ฟฝThis is an on-going dispute that surfaced several weeks ago with respect to the unauthorized use of a performance from one of our artists," a UMG spokesperson tells us. "We heard from a number of our other artists and their representatives who told us they๏ฟฝve never consented to being portrayed in this video."
Following Megaupload's marketing campaign that involved getting a ton of big name stars (many signed to major record labels) to speak out in support of Megaupload (and then putting those quotes into a song), Universal Music Group started issuing questionable takedowns for the video. We've heard numerous theories as to why UMG might think it can do so, but none seem to hold up to much scrutiny. The music in question is not UMG's.TorrentFreak reported that MegaUpload is preparing to sue Universal Music for the bogus takedowns , while THResq has the details . You can also see the actual lawsuit here (pdf or embedded below).Universal is claiming that one of its artists, Gin Wigmore, had unauthorized work appear in the song, though it's unclear where or how. Megaupload continues to insist that it owns all of the music. Where it gets more bizarre is that apparently will.i.am, who appears in the video saying that he uses Megaupload to "send files across the globe"Now this is where things get interesting. If this is true, it certainly appears that Hertz is admitting to a bogus takedown. Even assuming that what he states is true -- that will.i.am did not give permission -- that's. It would be a contractual issue. Furthermore, it seems like a pretty strange claim. It's pretty clear that will.i.am did, in fact, state that he uses Megaupload to send files across the globe. Megaupload insists it has clear contracts with all the artists in question, and I'm sure the details will come out as things move forward, but it still seems like Universal (and, now, will.i.am) have a lot of explaining to do.And, of course, it seems really bizarre that UMG would think this was a prudent course of action, when the only thing it's really done is driven a hell of a lot more attention to Megaupload. Congrats, UMG, you just spent your efforts increasing the power of Megaupload's marketing campaign.
Filed Under: copyright, dmca, gin wigmore, takedowns, will.i.am
Companies: megaupload, riaa, universal music |
Iยดm going to try and make this as short as I can. After all these years of touring in unsafe vans, and doing stupid things, I guess I was over due for thisโฆ We had a serious van accident in route from our show in Graz, Austria to Dresden, Germany, somewhere along the highway in the Czech.
I was asleep in the back of the van, so Iโm unsure of what exactly happened. All I know is I felt the van skidding out and we started to slide and roll over. Not sure exactly how many times the van flipped but it was more than enough. I started screaming for everyone to tell me they were OK. Gertjan check, Ben check, Sara check, and I didnt hear Jeff.
Ben pulled me out through the windshield and I took off running, screaming for help with blood pouring down my face. I honestly though Jeff was dead. A car stopped and a slew of women started screaming at me and I was screaming at them. We were in the middle of no where and as I was running two things came to mind, I think Jeff is dead, and I hope I donยดt get shot like Artimus Pyle. A woman pulled me into her house and her husband and son ran to the van crash site. I found Gertjan, and he said everyone is OK. The family started talking to me via Google Translation telling me everyone is safe and that an amublance is on the way.
The ambulance comes takes us to a hospital, we get taken care ofโฆsort of. The police arrive on the scene and inform us that we arenยดt leaving until the medical bills are paid in full. The were so kind enough to escort Sara and myself to an ATM machine to pay the entire lump of the bills in full on the spot. Even after we signed some strange papers saying we have 30 day with proof of citizenship, etc. What the fuck ever right? We asked where Gertjan was, and their respone wasโฆprison. 300 phone calls and around โฌ3,000 later we are out of the damned Czech and safe in Germany.
Long short, we are all somewhat OK. Jeff broke his collarbone, Ben got his hand jacked up, I am pretty alright, Gertjan is OK, as well as Sara. The van is destroyed. Booking these tours ourself really made me realize that we are 100% on our own. We had no one to call, no one to โrescueโ us. I made 3 phone calles and the entire German punk scene came to our rescue. God damn thank you. Our new friends from Dresden Germany came to get us at the drop of a hat, no questions asked. Thank you.
So here it is, we are 3 grown adult males in our 30ยดs who play in a punk band. We are all stage hands at R5 Productions in Philly. Thatยดs what we do to enable us to be here in Europe doing this. Never in our lives have we needed help like we do now. If you want to help us, please go to www.godsandqueens.bandcamp.com and purchas a record for $1.99. If you ever laughed at one of my awful jokes, or spend hours talking with us after a show, and you would like to help, please do. I always though our band would have too much pride to ask for help, but I am pretty sure we all agree that this time we need it. If you would like to help in any form please do jamiegetz(at)gmail.com is the paypal address if you are inclined to do so. We will also accept first class upgrades on US Air, Delta or Virgin.
Thanks.
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JavaScript is a language with many capabilities. There is no single concrete way to solve a problem and you have the freedom to approach it however you want. There are many ways to make async calls and handle responses, many ways to handle events and many ways to handle array operations. In this article weโll focus exactly on arrays and how the built in methods on its prototype can make our life much easier.
One of the most common things we do is iterating over arrays. Maybe we are looking for a certain person in a list of people or we are calculating the total of all orders. Something I often have to do is pulling only certain properties from a list of objects. Most developers would reach for the loop when they need a tool for solving such a task.
Here we have the mundane and totally realistic operation of multiplying all the numbers in an array by two and storing them in a new array. Notice how unpleasant this looks. If we need to apply conditional checks to the numbers it gets even worse:
Thankfully, we can use the built in map, filter and reduce higher order functions to simplify this code and write those operations on a single line, thus improving our overall code quality. Before we dive in โ higher order functions are a term that you will often see in JavaScript. These a functions that take as input or return another function. You have already used those in event callbacks or requests, but itโs good to know the term. Map, filter and reduce are all HOC because they take a function as a parameter as you will see.
Map
Map is a function on the Array objectโs prototype which takes a single input โ a callback function. What map does is that it will go through every element on the array it is called on and it will execute that function. The callback is passed the element we are currently mapping over so we can make any transformations or calculations that we need. After we go through each element, map will return a new array containing the result of the mapping.
Map can be a bit misleading at first, but once you get used to it you will always prefer it to loops. This is the same example that we had earlier in the article but written with a single line of code. Weโre taking advantage of ES6 arrow functions to simplify our code as much as possible. We omit parentheses around the input x, because itโs a single input and we can also omit the return statement. In the older syntax this function would look like this:
Still, quite clean and better than the loop, but my personal preference is to go with the arrow functions whenever I can.
Filter
Filter is another function on the Array objectโs prototype and takes a callback function as a single input. Filter will go through all of the values of our array, it will execute the callback function and return a new array containing only the values that we have decided to pass.
How do we define a rule for the filtering? The function that we pass to filter will have access to the variable it is currently iterating over and must return true or false. If the returned value is true it will add it to the result array, if itโs false it will skip it.
Do you see how simpler this is than the example with the loop that we had earlier? The expression inside the callback will return true or false which is enough for our function, we donโt even need an if statement.
Reduce
Reduce is the most powerful function of all three and the hardest one to understand. There are many things that you can do with reduce, you can even use it as a replacement for map and filter. It is again called on an array and it will reduce it to a single variable. The easiest example to understand reduce is by calculating the total of an array of numbers.
Another difference between reduce and the other two is that here you have to work with two variables inside the callback. One of them is the current value that weโre iterating through, the other is the persisted one. In this particular example the accumulator variable will hold the total. I used the longer example for clarity but it can also be done with an arrow function on a single line:
The main concept about reduce is that it will return a single value after it has finished โ the one it has accumulated throughout the iterations. Unlike map and filter, reduce takes a second parameter besides the callback function. It also accepts an initial accumulator value which means that we can use it for other things than just mathematical operations. We can even use an array or object as initial value. An interesting example to get your creativity going is counting the number of times a certain element appears in a list.
Chaining
These functions are really powerful on their own, but by using them together we can take full advantage of them. As mentioned each one of those functions returns a new array instead of modifying the existing one. Therefore we can use them one after the other and the next one will always return the result from the previous operation. Letโs have a look at a more advanced example in which we are chaining the methods and are using named functions:
Summary
Understanding map, filter and reduce will drastically improve the quality of code youโre writing. The examples are over simplified for the sake of the article, of course you can use collections of any type. Remember that using those functions will not mutate the array youโre calling them on, they will return an entirely new value and if you donโt store it or do something with it it will be lost. Also keep in mind the function input order in reduce. If you mix it up you will get unexpected and interesting results.
Thank you for the read! |
The Canadian summer has hit itโs halfway point and that means a few things: about four more weeks before school starts, the Senior Women and Men are hitting the courts in the FIBA Americas Tournaments for an Olympic bid AND itโs time for the NCAA exhibition tours to hit north of the border.
Every summer there is always a set of NCAA teams that take exhibition tours to get some early training in for their coming season as well to tweak their current teams game plans (NCAA teams are allowed to do so every four years from their last summer exhibition tour). This year is no different. There will be a few programs, Division 1 and 2, from both menโs and womenโs sides heading into Canada to tune up for their respective basketball seasons. The American teams will be playing CIS, CCAA and few all star teams also.
The news so far has been that there will be a heavy contingent of NCAA schools coming through both Ontario and Quebec with teams Baylor, Texas Tech and Xavier among the names confirmed. The concentration of institutions in small areas in both provinces may largely have something to do with the way these the NCAA schools book their exhibition tours since cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal will have at least two CIS teams and are relatively close to any other schools also.
At any rate, the NCAA/CIS exhibition season begins tomorrow with Murray St in the nationโs capital to play the Ottawa Gee-Gees and will continue through August. We have provided a schedule below with the confirmed teams coming up so far. This will be subject to change as some schools will look confirm tour dates as the month carries on. Will be looking to update those schools here as we get word and of course in our daily editions of The Slate.
MEN
Murray St
Sun Aug 2: Murray State at Ottawa
Mon Aug 3: Murray State at Carleton
Wed Aug 5: Murray State at Concordia
Valparaiso
Sun Aug 9: Valparaiso vs Montreal All-Stars at Vanier College
Sun Aug 9: Valparaiso vs Brookwood Elite at Brebeuf College
Tue Aug 11: Valparaiso at McGill
Thu Aug 13: Valparaiso at Carleton
Fri Aug 14: Valparaiso at Ottawa
Saginaw Valley St
Mon Aug 10: Saginaw Valley State at Humber College
Tue Aug 11: Saginaw Valley State at Sheridan College
Thu Aug 13: Saginaw Valley State at York
Fri Aug 14: Saginaw Valley State at Brock
Baylor
Thu Aug 13: Baylor at Ottawa
Fri Aug 14: Baylor at Carleton
Maryville
Fri Aug 14: Maryville at Waterloo
Tue Aug 18: Maryville at Western
Indianapolis
Tue Aug 18: Indianapolis at Windsor
Wed Aug 19: Indianapolis at Western
Thu Aug 20: Indianapolis at Windsor
Texas Tech
Sun Aug 16: Texas Tech at McGill
Mon Aug 17: Texas Tech at Laval
Wed Aug 19: Texas Tech at Carleton
Thu Aug 20: Texas Tech vs TBD
Eureka College
Sat Sep 5: Eureka College at George Brown College
Sun Sep 6: Eureka College at York
Seton Hill
Tue Aug 18: Seton Hill at York
Wed Aug 19: Seton Hill at Humber College
Thu Aug 20: Seton Hill at Guelph
Manhattan
Sat Sep 5: Manhattan at Bishopโs
Kean
Sun Sep 6: Kean at Bishopโs
WOMEN
Wright St
Tue Aug 4: Wright State vs CEGEP All-Stars in Montreal
Thu Aug 6: Wright State at Ottawa
Sun Aug 9: Wright State at McGill
Xavier
Sat Aug 8: Xavier vs CEGEP All-Stars in Montreal
Sun Aug 9: Xavier vs Carleton in Montreal
Tue Aug 11: Xavier at McGill
Thu Aug 13: Xavier vs A-Game All-Stars in Toronto
Maryville St
Mon Aug 10: Maryville vs Bishopโs in Montreal
Tue Aug 11: Maryville vs Laval in Montreal
Wed Aug 12: Maryville at McGill
Ohio University
Mon Aug 17: Ohio at McGill
Tue Aug 18: Ohio at Laval
Thu Aug 20: Ohio vs Bishopโs in Montreal
Thu Aug 20: Ohio vs CEGEP All-Stars in Montreal
Central Michigan
Sun Aug 9: Central Michigan at Humber College
Mon Aug 10: Central Michigan at Ryerson |
This image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows a simulation of asteroid 2012 DA14 approaching from the south as it passes through the Earth-moon system on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. The 150-foot object passed within 17,000 miles of the Earth. AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech
Newly released diplomatic cables from the 1970s reveal that the State Department once believed that old automobile parts were actually fragments that fell from space
Officials excitedly relayed the discovery of space debris found in New Zealand to the Secretary of State, NASA and the Department of Defense, according to the cables, which were acquired by transparency group MuckRock in a Freedom of Information Request shared with Whispers.
"Two apparent space fragments have been located in New Zealand... both are spherical, perhaps pressure vessels, bear no identifying marks, and caused no physical or personal damage upon impact," an unnamed official from the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand wrote in a cable marked "secret" and "immediate," and addressed to the Secretary of State. The official also reported that the "space balls" had been initially picked up by local farmers.
In another cable, addressed from the Secretary of State's office, it was noted that NASA would review the objects, as the fragments could have been related to the recent launch of an Intelsat spacecraft. But the same cable noted rather drily that NASA had "only marginal interest" in the objects.
All of the cables were marked with the subject line "Moondust," because they were part of a classified government project called "Project Moondust," intended to handle the recovery of space fragments launched by another countries.
In a third cable, this time sent from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, it was noted that a specialist had identified the space objects as likely "old, melted down automobile transmission parts" but noted that if he turned out to be wrong, the embassy would be notified. No documents were released to MuckRock to suggest the objects were in fact intergalactic.
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It's not a huge secret that pinball is alive and well in Pittsburgh โ the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association, after all, keeps its headquarters in Scott Township. But Lawrenceville's Kickback Pinball Cafe, which opened in May, is unique in that it combines a passion for pinball with a passion for java.
Twelve years ago, owner Mara Kline moved from Maryland to Pittsburgh for college, and ended up staying. Last year, she pursued a plan that allowed her to realize her dream of opening a coffee shop โ and to get some of her husband's pinball machines out of the garage.
"My husband, Joe, has always been really into pinball, and he had started collecting machines," Kline explains. "One day it dawned on us: Why don't we open a coffee shop that has pinball too?"
Kline's husband, Joe Veltri, runs The Gallery 4, in Shadyside, and Kickback exhibits a commitment to aesthetics, too; the floor is painted like a huge pinball machine. A mezzanine level will soon be open, with additional machines to play.
Kickback offers light lunch fare โ Kline says the smoked-salmon sandwich is particularly popular. And working with the roasters at Kiva Han, Kickback developed its own signature house blend. You can come for the brew, but don't be surprised if you end up sticking around for the play.
"Sometimes people come in just for coffee, and ended up being really interested in the pinball," Kline says with a smile. |
Receiving equal value in a trade for LaMarcus Aldridge could prove to be difficult for the Trail Blazers. (Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) Receiving equal value in a trade for LaMarcus Aldridge could prove to be difficult for the Trail Blazers. (Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
Representatives of All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge met with Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey on Sunday to seek several trade scenarios, according to a report from Chris Haynes of Comcast SportsNet.
The meeting that reportedly took place in Las Vegas was amicable, with Aldridge seeking a move to a team better suited to contend. But even if the Trail Blazers were inclined to trade their best player, getting equal value might be unlikely this offseason.
The report infers that the Bulls, Timberwolves, Clippers, Hawks and Pelicans have so far declined trading key players in a deal including Aldridge and the Blazers.
From SportsNet:
According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation, described the meeting as being productive with both sides focused on doing what's best for both parties. Aldridge, 27, has two years and roughly $30 million remaining on his current contract and I'm told Olshey is in no rush to facilitate a deal at the urging of a player's camp, especially if the organization isn't getting equal value in return. Trading Aldridge for a collection of draft picks will not be an option. Prospective teams holding the rights to Joakim Noah, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Al Horford and Anthony Davis, as of now, have declined to involve their franchise players in any potential deals for Aldridge, a league source told CSNNW.com.
GOLLIVER: Thomas Robinson eyes career revival in Portland |
TeiThePony asked me to do a song cover for him featuring Bon Bon and Lyra. This morning I made a promise to myself; tonight I will finish this drawing, and so I did! I hope you like it!____________________________Before I started drawing this I was lacking inspiration, I didn't really know what Bon Bon and Lyra would do to entertain themselves when they were fillies. But then I remembered something that I really enjoyed when I was little: folding paper airplanes and throw them as far as possible! (I actually still do that...)Once I got my idea down it opened a whole new door of opportunities; for instance Lyra sitting down and using her hooves as hands to try and fold the planes. Apparently Bon Bon didn't have that problem because she's allready happily throwing them around, so figure that one out yourself...I'm not 100% satisfied about this work. I actually threw the whole first version away because they were looking like G3 ponies (THE HORROR!!). The background was also a new challenge. I had only done some small backgrounds in comic, but this one's way more important. So, I'm still learning in that area.Anyway, I hope you enjoy my work!Special offer: every HNNG and D'aaaaw commenter gets a free Apple Bloom to cure the heartattack(note to self: keep the description shorter next time) |
By Jeff Jenkins in News | October 06, 2015 at 12:52PM
CHARLESTON, W.Va. โ A one percent cut in the state School Aid Formula will result in a total of more than $16 million in funding reductions in county school systems.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed an executive order Monday ordering budget cuts because of a significant decrease in state revenues mainly caused by decreased coal production and the record low prices for natural gas.
Tomblinโs order requires a four percent cut in the current state budget for most state agencies along with the one percent cut in school aid. Public education can no longer be spared in the current budget climate, Tomblinโs Chief of Staff Charlie Lorensen said.
MORE see county by county school funding cuts here
โHolding that (public education) harmless continually without adjusting that and continuing to pound the (same) state agencies with across-the-board reductions seemed like an area we needed to address,โ Lorensen said Tuesday on MetroNews Talkline.
The amount of money county school systems receive from the state Aid Formula varies per county. Information from the state Department of Education shows the cuts range from $1.56 million in Kanawha County to $62,600 in Gilmer County.
Lorensen would not rule out additional cuts for all agencies during the current budget year as long as severance tax revenues from coal and natural gas continue to plummet.
โA significant general revenue source has been impaired and we are concerned it may be a long-term impairment,โ he said.
Higher education will be required to shoulder the four percent cut. Itโs been hit with various cuts in recent years.
Breakdown of state School Aid Formula budget cut:
School Aid Formula
FY16 Appropriations: $1,752,212,115
Excluded from cuts: $148,946,738 (Local Share, Retirement, PEIA, SBA)
Total subject to cuts: $1,603,265,377
1 percent of that is: $16,032,654 |
This long history has erased any possible nuance Saturdayโs protests might have brought to our understanding of what happened to Liang. Which is tragic, because there is much ugly, essential nuance to be examined. There are many within the Asian-American community, for example, who believe that Liang deserved to be convicted of manslaughter, but who also wonder why it was the Asian cop, among many other equally deserving officers, who took the fall. Others point to the deaths of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, two police officers โ one Hispanic, the other Asian โ who were murdered as they sat in their car in December 2014, at the height of protests against police violence in New York. In the days that followed, as policemen from around the country flew to the city to attend the funerals, I recall talking to Asian friends about the anxiety we felt over Liuโs funeral, and whether the outpouring of support and grief would measure up to what it might have been if he were white. These are selfish, neurotic thoughts, but they are the burden of feeling oneโs citizenship may be conditional, and the price of decades of collective silence. When thousands of mourners showed up to Liuโs funeral and gave their condolences to his widow, our fears were put to rest, at least for a little while.
All these anxieties, born out of these small but crucial referendums on our place in America, have been reignited by Liangโs conviction. Even if you believe, as I do, that Liang should be in jail, the inevitable follow-up question โ why only Liang? โ suggests that the unjust protections routinely afforded to white officers should be extended either to everyone or to nobody at all. To ignore this suggestion is intellectually dishonest.
But to engage with it is to ignore the overwhelming context of the case: yet another unarmed black man killed by yet another police officer. The cleanest response โ one Iโve seen throughout social media, where clean, vaguely lobotomized responses often reign supreme โ is to simply say that some justice is better than none. But how can any sincere confrontation of racial inequity in policing and the criminal-justice system ignore the inconvenient singularity of Liangโs conviction?
Each of these thoughts represents an uneasy, probing investigation into the complicated, often-complicit relationship between Asian-Americans and the nationโs racial hierarchies. I do not claim to know the right answer to any of these questions. I do not know how to explain why I knew Liang would be found guilty well before the verdict was announced. I cannot adequately describe the conflict in feeling like a race traitor for applauding Liangโs conviction while also feeling like a race traitor for questioning it. I know the lifeblood of my conditional whiteness as an educated, upwardly mobile Asian-American lies somewhere in those conflicts. And because itโs historically been in the best interests of people like me to never discuss these things, even in private, I lack the vocabulary to discuss it.
This cultural aphasia comes from decades of political silence. Asian-Americans, for the most part, have been absent from modern social-justice movements, partly by their own choosing. Last year, while reporting an article for the magazine on the anti-police-violence activism of DeRay Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie, I attended Black Lives Matter protests across the country. In each city, I grew angrier and angrier at the lack of Asian faces among the marchers. I had long lost faith in storybook solidarity, but I had never expected to see the divide between blacks and Asian-Americans laid out so starkly. |
The FINANCIAL -- Ryanair on July 7 announced its first Israeli flights, with 3 new routes at Eilat Ovda Airport to Budapest, Kaunas and Krakow commencing in November, which will deliver 40,000 customers p.a.
Ryanairโs Israeli operations will deliver:
3 new routes to Budapest (2 x weekly), Kaunas (2 x weekly) & Krakow (2 x weekly)
6 weekly return flights to/from Eilat Ovda Airport
40,000 customers p.a.
Ryanair will continue to negotiate with the Israeli authorities over future routes and looks forward to growing Israeli tourism, traffic and jobs.
Ryanair customers can enjoy allocated seating, a free second carry-on bag, reduced fees, an improved website and app with mobile boarding passes, and Ryanairโs Family Extra and Business Plus services, making Ryanair the ideal choice for families, business and leisure travellers, according to Ryanair.
Ryanairโs 3 new Eilat Ovda routes go on sale on the Ryanair.com website tomorrow at fares from โฌ29.99 for travel in November and December, and are available for booking from Wednesday 8 July until midnight Friday (10 July).
Ryanairโs Chief Commercial Officer, David OโBrien said:
โRyanair is pleased to announce our entry into the Israeli market from November 2015, our 31st country, with three new Eilat Ovda routes to Budapest, Kaunas and Krakow, which will deliver 40,000 customers annually.
We are continuing to negotiate with the Israeli authorities and we look forward to growing our Israeli route network in the future.
To celebrate our 3 new Eilat Ovda routes we are releasing seats on sale from just โฌ29.99for travel in November and December which are available for booking from tomorrow, Wednesday 8 July until midnight Friday (10 July)." |
CLOSE The State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert during the biggest travel season of the year due to "increased terrorist threats." Video provided by Newsy Newslook
A Transportation Security Administration agent waits to screen passengers at Miami International Airport on October 4, 2011. (Photo11: Getty Images)
The U.S. State Department issued a rare worldwide travel alert on Monday, warning American travelers about the widespread threats posed by members of the Islamic State or copycat bombers.
The alert said that there were increased terror threats from al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIL, the term used by the federal government for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has claimed responsibility for the Paris terrorist attacks. The alert also said people unaffiliated with the groups may be inspired by recent terrorist attacks in France, Nigeria, Denmark, Turkey and Mali.
The alert comes as millions of Americans prepare to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, and organizers of major events like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade bolster their security preparations.
"U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation," the alert said. "Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events."
The alerts from State are usually focused on travel to specific countries for specific reasons, such as terrorism threats in Afghanistan, crime threats in Honduras, Ebola outbreaks in Sierra Leone or earthquake aftershocks in Nepal. But Monday's warning was global, meaning American passengers were asked to be on alert for possible terrorist attacks wherever they are traveling.
The last time the State Department issued a similar worldwide alert was December 2014.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Hj76bO |
A husband and wife who were suspects in a 2012 double homicide that took place on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore have been charged with second-degree murder and related firearms offences.
Elmer Percy Higgins, 65, and Karen Marie Higgins, 49, were arrested in December 2012 shortly after fire officials found the bodies of two men โ 22-year-old Matthew Allan Hebb and 59-year-old Earle Clayton Stewart, both from Spryfield โ in a burned cabin off Highway 374 in Sheet Harbour.
They were released after the arrests and charges were not pursued.
The couple was arrested a second time in March, and again released without charges.
Pair arrested 3 times
Police announced Thursday the pair have been arrested a third time and are now facing charges in the men's deaths.
The homicides were added in 2016 to a program that offers up to $150,000 to anyone who can provide tips that lead to an arrest in a major crime, and police said information from that program "greatly assisted" in laying the charges.
The bodies of Matthew Hebb and Earle Stewart were found December 2012 in a burned cabin in Sheet Harbour. (Submitted by Kirtley Beaver/Facebook)
"Today's charges represent over four years of tireless investigative work," RCMP Insp. Trudy Bangloy said in a statement.
"Our investigators persevered and in the end, it is our hope that we find answers for the Hebb and Stewart families."
Preliminary inquiry in January
The accused briefly appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Thursday afternoon. Members of both the Hebb and Stewart families were also there, clutching tissues and staring intently at the two accused. Two members of the Higgins family were also in attendance.
The case will return to court in January for a five-day preliminary inquiry.
Don Murray, the lawyer for Karen Higgins, indicated his client will likely be applying for bail in the meantime. Because it is a murder charge, any bail hearing would be conducted in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Elmer Percy Higgins is getting a lawyer through legal aid.
Both accused were stooped and shuffling as they were led in and out of court for their brief appearance.
The families of Earl Stewart and Matthew Hebb have put up crosses in their memories. (Submitted by Kirtley Beaver)
The bodies of Hebb and Stewart were found when police and firefighters responded to a 911 call of a burning building on Highway 374. The building was described as a cottage or hunting camp.
The bodies were discovered in the rubble.
Victims were getting Christmas trees
Their deaths were confirmed as homicides days later. At the time, RCMP said they believed the two men were in Sheet Harbour getting Christmas trees.
Following the discovery, investigators searched a residence on Herring Cove Road in Halifax and a property off Highway 374 near Sheet Harbour. According to online records, both properties were owned by Elmer Perry Vincent Higgins and Karen Marie Higgins. |
The DPWโs Flaming Trebuchet at Burning Man 2015 was a Resto art piece which showed off our cleanup abilities. 6:37 was the time โ thatโs six minutes and thirty-seven seconds to clean up a flaming piano thatโs been launched from a two-story slingshot and tossed splashing onto the ground like a fiery dirt clod.
The crew launched the trebuchet twice; both times, flaming piano cleanup took under seven minutes, leaving no trace.
Weโve all sort of grown up into semi-adults here together in Black Rock City. Many of us are decade-plus veterans of this sideshow. The DPW, much like Burning Man itself, usually takes its fresh managers from the herd.
Sure, especially now that the Org has become a non-profit, a few outside specialists have come on board, but as for the majority, a bunch of outsiders made this Burning Man thing and weโre going to keep running it until we individually graduate or collectively pass into the next level of the video game of life.
Hereโs our family album from this year. Some crewmembers werenโt present during picture day but we love them the same as the pictured ones. Most photos in this post are by D.A. the Dark Angel, who has been the boss of Resto for seventeen years.
SPECIAL FORCES
Special Forces. Death to all cones. Kill all cones! Cone-killing death-dealers. Etc. Such violent talk for basically playing with rakes in a giant Zen garden and feeling satisfied at clearing microtrash Bobtuse, the dune buster all hands line up on a hot spot Jeffrey, Cowboy Carl, and Howler from Fence Crew โ once the fence is down, theyโre Special too. Duck Hunt with her familiar Dilwyn. Special Forces in this world and illustrator / wildife-and-farm-keeper in the other. Bustin Dustin, art-site-scoper for Resto, plumbing crew in Black Rock City, and solar specialist in the default. Phoenix Firestarter, leader of Special Forces in this world; leader of a successful landscaping company in the other.
As Burning Man expands its infrastructure to where things function, uh, functionally most of the time, many new roles and positions have been created โ both within the Org and within DPW and Resto specifically. It seems to us if the corporate worldโs power structures take on a pyramid shape, the Burning Man Org structure would be more of hatbox.
โThere are opportunities for advancement,โ DPW bosses are frequently heard to say, โso watch the roles you want to be in.โ
When it becomes time to lead, who else is going to lead but you, a hometown hero of Black Rock City, who has been watching and learning and showing up to crew all these years? Thatโs whatโs happening with the DPW now. Everyoneโs pushing up to make a bigger tree with bigger branches and bigger roots.
[LINE BOSSES]
Line Boss Jedi works as a Sign Shop all-start during setup and the show Line Boss John Bastard works for the Power crew during setup and the show Starchild, a.k.a. Ride That Pony, a.k.a. DJ Open Meezy, etc etc runs the First Camp infrastructure build crew during setup and the show Line Bossinโ Line Boss Beer Girl manages the Commissary arm of the T$A (trash, recycling, & waste management) during setup and the show Lingerie Day, what. (More lingerie in tomorrowโs Day Nine post)
The DPW lost three much-beloved line sweep bosses in one year โ Boo Yaa, Weldboy, and Stabby, who graduated to real-world obligations and adventures. The challenge for D.A. was picking three new All-Stars and one returning line boss to be 2016โs leaders: Jedi, Bastard, Toad, and Starchild.
Jedi works Sign Shop install for Burning Man. She was a Resto scribe and now sheโs a line boss. John Bastard from DPW Power crew moved from Special Forces to bossing lines during Resto. Toad, T$A Commissary manager during the show, also became a line boss this year. Starchild, the only returning line boss, leads the crew who builds First Camp and surrounding infrastructure. System-wide, DPW space monkeys are stepping up to fly.
Our Scribes: Muppet is from Burning Manโs Placement crew, and itโs only her second year doing Resto โ and she literally did the Burning Man map this year. As in, sheโs the one who designed it, so thatโs a nice liaison between the DPW and Placement departments. The other three scribes are Your Sister from DPW Purchasing and Receiving, Art Art Art! whoโs moved up to DPW Shade Manager this year, and Kimba who moved up to DPW Man Base Manager. They all worked as a data-collection unit during Resto.
[SCRIBES]
Scribe Kimba, top right, was promoted to Man Base Manager this year. Itโs her first year at Resto โ many moving-up staff members stayed out this year to brave the elements and participate in our cleanup. Scribe Art Art Art! manages the DPW Shade department during setup and the show. Scribe Your Sister works in receiving for the DPW, fielding package requests and getting errbody their work items they ordered. Your Sister colors in your first-draft moop scores. Scribe Muppet does Placement during setup and Burning Man. Sheโs a cartographer; sheโs the one who made the placement map. The daily Moop Map coloring party at the Black Rock Saloon Cyber Cafe (computer room) after work.
Then there are our Oscillators: Stinger (DAโs field assistant and formerly Center Camp Cafe rigger for six years), Fโn Andy (Spires crew), Le Wrench (Arctica construction), and Flip (Housing), all multi-year DPW hardheads who can kill a coned hot spot like riding a bike.
โRestoโs the only time we can all be on the same page, instead of doing different jobs,โ Stinger says. โWe work with the most wonderful people. Thatโs the real appeal about this gig.โ
[OSCILLATORS]
Oscillator Flip drives the water truck for DPWโs Housing crew during setup and the show. Oscillator Voted Best Dave works on Shade crew during setup and the show. He also plays in the Vampirates, Renoโs and the DPWโs resident punk band. Vampirates have played on the giant Shade truck during the DPW parade for years and years โ our very own Doof Warrior(s). Oscillator Le Wrench works as the Arctica construction manager during setup and the show. Stinger works with D.A. on Leave No Trace and Restoration during setup. She worked as a rigger for Cafe until this year, and in the default is a shipโs captain, for real. Oscillator Fโn Andy works on the Spires crew during setup and the show.
Resto crew would also like to give a special shout-out to the DPW Rangers and Emergency Services medics, who watch over us all day and night. Weโve been here a while (since end of July, some of us earlier) and we can get to feeling crusty or exhausted โ but thereโs support there, always, because of the Rangers and ESD. Part of the reason the new DPW is so much kinder and gentler is because when we need an Adult, we now have access to the safety nets of quiet tailgunning, conflict resolution, and medical attention at all times. Cheers to them.
[FLUFFERS]
DAY SEVEN AND EIGHT
โLooks like the end time is cominโ,โ Starchild said during shoreline morning meeting, โso get ready for re-entry. Start thinking about your stuff. Get at your trash, recycling, packing.โ Winter is upon us, and itโs exit strategy time.
On Day Seven, your Line Sweeps went from 5:30 to 4:00 between C and G, as well as mobilizing for a second trip back over center camp, a rave zone, and some spots where dunes had blown around. Knowing the city grid was always the most dense, Resto was excited to have time to be able to line sweep over problem areas again.
As far as the MOOP map goes, all yโall panicking because you got a non-green score, please know that even part of the DPW Ghetto (our home quarters) is red. Which is annoying to all of us, especially since we know what weโre doing and how to make a green spot on the map better than anyone else.
What happened? Weโre not sure yet. All that dust blew off and uncovered old MOOP, probably. See, even veterans of the MOOP wars can fail.
[BUS DRIVERS]
AustinTatious Safety Sally Bernie Be-Rad!
Whatโs the lesson, over and over again? Weather happens fast, so we all have got to learn to clean everything as we go, immediately, all the time. Better yet, never let it hit the ground. Thatโs the ultimate goal here, for every citizen of BRC.
Day Eight, Resto split into four groups and hit the final block between G and H. Thereโs no reason we saved that block for last, FYI โ our line sweep formations are four blocks long, thatโs all, so they first swept the city in four-block swaths. (The area between Esplanade and A is the size of two blocks.)
Line sweeps then hit the inner ring between Esplanade and the Man, and also the Esplanade itself. What a sight that was: One huge line of over 100 black-clad dustbags MOOPing around the inner ring like a clock โ everyone Resto could muster. Delineators were set at the radial streets (10, 9:30 etc) so the buses and fluffers knew how to guide the line sweeps forward with their vehicles.
[AUTO SHOP]
In their adventures, Special Forces found a lot of tough pulls โ including much rebar, some of it two feet long. There were also a couple special items: a five-foot grounding rod stuck below the earth, and a nine-foot copper pipe in the ground, three feet above and six feet below. Those were difficult to get out.
Bruka literally did a back somersault on Day Eight while pulling out a piece of rebar from the ground. He says he stuck the landing perfectly, but Duck Hunt says he got a 7.8. He even cut his hand on it. Bleeding for you, Burners.
[LINE SWEEPS โ Portraits from the MOOP fields]
And now, the MOOP maps youโve been waiting for:
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The Obama administration plans to step up its attacks against the Taliban in Pakistan whether Pakistan likes it or not:
In what amounts to an ultimatum, administration officials have indicated that the United States will act unilaterally if Pakistan does not comply. White House officials and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta are said to be adamant in their determination to change the approach, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity about internal administration deliberations. Although he declined to provide details, Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that โwe are going to take whatever steps are necessary to protect our forcesโ in Afghanistan from attacks by the Haqqani network, which has had a long relationship with Pakistanโs intelligence service.
In related news, the Obama administration is stepping up its drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia:
One of the installations is being established in Ethiยญoยญpia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the Somali militant group that controls much of that country. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where a small fleet of โhunter-killerโ drones resumed operations this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned aircraft could effectively patrol Somalia from there. The U.S. military also has flown drones over Somalia and Yemen from bases in Djibouti, a tiny African nation at the junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In addition, the CIA is building a secret airstrip in the Arabian Peninsula so it can deploy armed drones over Yemen.
I guess this must be part of Obamaโs policy of appeasement in Africa and the Middle East that Iโve heard so much about recently. |
FurEh! 2017 Dance Competition video
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FurEh fursuit dance dancing competition convention video footage
NOTE! Dropbox has, in their infinite wisdom, temporarily disabled the old link due to excess traffic. I immediately upgraded to a business account with 10 times the traffic limit (200 GB as opposed to 20 GB) as a personal account, but the link is still disabled. I contacted tech support and they could not help me, instead escalating the issue, via e-mail, to a higher tier. That was 11 hours ago. Fuck Dropbox, I'll use Google Drive instead.
In an unofficial capacity, I shot the dance competition at FurEh! this year and probably have the best footage there. I was basically sitting at the judge's table! :D
https://drive.google.com/drive/fold.....FZ3TGY2dHRzb1E
PLEASE NOTE! Viewing the videos on the Google Drive website may result in much lower quality than the source files! I recommend downloading them before watching to get the full HD resolution and bitrate! I shot them in single-dancer segments to make the files easier to digest. ;)
IF you are one of the suiters (and ONLY if), you may upload your own dance anywhere you wish (please do not link to my Google Drive on other sites) but you are REQUIRED to give credit. "Footage courtesy Orcinus @ FA" is sufficient, but if you want to include a link back to my FA page that's good too. :)
P.S. I apologize if I misspelled anyone's name! :( :( :( |
When Ari Emanuel, the 53-year-old co-C.E.O. of the powerhouse talent agency William Morris Endeavor (known as WME), wants something, he doesn't quit until he gets it. Generally seen as the inspiration for Ari Gold, the crass, overbearing talent agent played by Jeremy Piven on the HBO series Entourage, Emanuel is known for in-your-face tactics that are extreme even by Hollywood standards. CBS president and C.E.O. Les Moonves, who describes himself as โdefinitely a fanโ of Emanuel's, says, โHe is relentless to the point of โAri, stop calling me. I'll make my decision when I make my decision.โ โ Moonves tells of a recent negotiation over the television show Extant: โWe just recently picked it up for a second year, and Ari called me once a day for, like, three weeks. And it was like โAri, I'll tell you when it's ready. I will tell you when I'm ready,โ you know. โWell, how are we doing? Are we close? Are we lukewarm? What's the situation?โ โ For many years Emanuel's most enduring obsession was to combine his talent agency, whose clients include movie and television stars such as Ben Affleck, James Franco, and Oprah Winfrey, with IMG, the sports-entertainment-and-marketing giant that has worked with such elite athletes as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras, and Martina Navratilova. Emanuel's quest to own IMG began in earnest in the summer of 2004, when he and others had dinner with private-equity mogul Teddy Forstmann at the fashionable (now defunct) Midtown Manhattan restaurant Davidburke & Donatella, according to a former Forstmann partner. The two men discussed how Forstmann's firm, Forstmann Little & Company, might make an investment in Emanuel's agency, Endeavor, as it was called before it merged with William Morris. A term sheet was drawn up, but the deal went nowhere. Forstmannโhimself a larger-than-life character, just as passionate and mercurial as Emanuelโalso nursed an obsession to own IMG, which was then still controlled by its founder, Mark McCormack. An amateur golf player, McCormack had begun the firm to help his friend Arnold Palmer and other professional athletes earn extra money by endorsing products and adding their star power to corporate marketing campaigns. Forstmann thought IMG was amateurishly run but full of potential. โThey had a hell of a franchise that they weren't really taking advantage of,โ he told me in a December 2010 interview in his posh office in Manhattan's G.M. Building. โThis company had never used the word โprofit.โ Mark liked to end the year at zero. He wanted to take the last $20 or $25 million. None of these people knew what the other guy did. It was โฆ I'll use colorful language โฆ It was the most fucked-up company I've ever seen in my whole life by a long shot.โ
McCormack had no desire to sell, however. โHow I got the deal was he died,โ recalled Forstmann bluntly. During Forstmann's negotiations with McCormack's estate, Forstmann and Emanuel kept talking, and before Forstmann closed the deal, for $750 million in cash, in November 2004, the two men considered the possibility of IMG's also acquiring Endeavor, with Emanuel running the combined company. When that did not come to pass either, an incredulous Emanuel is said by a Forstmann insider to have proclaimed that the merger would be happening and that he was, in fact, going to be the C.E.O. of the combined company. Such exuberance left Forstmann nonplussed and a bit miffed. Over the next decade Forstmann transformed IMG into an international production-and-packaging powerhouse. The expanding business cut profitable deals with more than 200 American college and university sports teams, as well as with Indian Premier League cricket, Wimbledon, the Australian and U.S. Open tennis tournaments, tennis tournaments in Spain and Malaysia, and Barclays Premier League soccer. It ran Fashion Week in New York, Milan, and London, and in China it formed an exclusive joint venture with the national television network to create sports programmingโall this in addition to representing such sports stars as Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, and Venus Williams. It also signed up an array of fashion designers and models, including Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Gisele Bรผndchen, and Kate Moss.
Forstmann's high-profile deals made Emanuel want IMG more than ever. According to a June 2009 article in The New York Times, he had been โspending timeโ with Forstmann in Los Angeles โon the golf course and off,โ and speculation heated up again that somehow IMG and WME would be combined. But Emanuel still could not crack Forstmann. Explains Irving Azoff, a longtime media executive and former IMG board member, โWhen Ari started befriending Teddy, Teddy said, โMaybe I should hire Ari and [his business partner] Patrick [Whitesell]. I could give them each $500,000 and a few points of stock.โ I don't think he ever saw Ari as the grand wizard.โ In addition, Forstmann had little taste for Emanuel's specialtyโrepresenting talentโwhere fees are generated for negotiating television, movie, music, and book deals on behalf of clients. Forstmann supposedly told Emanuel, โYou are in the barbershop business. The only way you grow your revenues is you get another barber to work for you, and he cuts 10 haircuts today.โ One longtime associate of Forstmann's claims he would never have sold IMG to Emanuel: โHe once told me the only good thing that Ari ever gave him was advice about his love life.โ โYOU ARE IN THE BARBERSHOP BUSINESS,โ FORSTMANN TOLD EMANUEL. โTHE ONLY WAY YOU GROW ... IS YOU GET ANOTHER BARBER.โ Ironically, just as had been the case with McCormack, a sudden deterioration in Forstmann's health changed the calculus. In early 2011, not feeling well, he went to the Mayo Clinic, where he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the same virulent form of brain cancer that killed Teddy Kennedy. Soon sharks were circling, figuring correctly that when Forstmann died the company would again be for sale. Terry Semel, the longtime head of Warner Bros., had earlier tried to buy it. โI couldn't get him to leave the goddamned building,โ Forstmann told me. Then, as I wrote in the January 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, onetime Creative Artists Agency (CAA) head Michael Ovitzโa friend Forstmann had tried to help out during a difficult career period by putting him on the IMG boardโallegedly tried to organize a coup. But when Forstmann found out about it Ovitz and three of his supporters were tossed off the board. Emanuel came calling again, too. โHe would have paid anything for it,โ says someone aware of Emanuel's final discussion with Forstmann. But Forstmann again declined to sell. Not until May 2014, more than two years after Forstmann had died, did Emanuel prevail at last in his quest to own IMG, with an all-cash $2.4 billion bid that overwhelmed every other serious suitor. But as Truman Capote liked to say, quoting St. Teresa of Avila, โMore tears are shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.โ Entourage Emanuel
Emanuel comes by his ferocious tenacity honestly. As a child he was the black sheep in an illustrious family of over-achievers. His brother Rahm would become President Obama's first chief of staff and is now the mayor of Chicago. His other brother, Zeke, is a Harvard-educated oncologist, author, bioethicist, and former White House health-policy adviser. As a child Ari was dyslexic and suffered from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. He fought frequently with classmates who teased him. When he was in high school, his parents put him in therapy for a year and sent him to a special reading teacher for an hour and a half each day after school. Sitting at her dining-room table, he would cry as he tried to read, but ultimately he concluded from the experience that โnothing is too daunting.โ One of Emanuel's first jobs was to work for the New York talent agent Robbie Lantz, who had an astonishing stable of important clients, from Bette Davis to James Baldwin to William Rehnquist. My literary agent, Joy Harris, who then worked for Lantz and now runs her own literary agency, recalls Emanuel as โcocky, ambitious, and arrogant. Oh my God, this kid, you wanted to pinch him on one cheek and slap him on the other.โ He was there for less than a year. โHe learned what he had to learn and got out,โ Harris says. โIt was a quick step.โ
Like many other aspiring agents in Hollywood, he first worked in the mailroom, at CAA and then at International Creative Management (ICM), where by 1995 he was a senior agent. That same year, after being hit by a car and ending up facedown on Wilshire Boulevard with broken ribs and a torn A.C.L., Emanuel had an epiphany: โTake advantage of each day that's given to you, and do something to move the needle on your business, even if it's just an inch. You've heard it before, but life is not a dress rehearsal. Don't waste your time (or mine).โ โI HEAR THERE'S A LOT OF UNHAPPINESS,โ SAYS AN OBSERVER. โARI IS HAVING TO DO A GOOD JOB OF CONVINCING KEY PEOPLE TO [STAY].โ Soon thereafter, Emanuel abruptly left ICM with a group of other agents and started Endeavor. By 1997, he could boast to The New York Times that he was making between $1 million and $2 million a year.
In 2009, Emanuel decided to take another big risk. โNobody fucks up like I do,โ he once wrote, โbut you'll never succeed unless you take big risks. Big ones.โ Emanuel and Patrick Whitesellโan affable, even-tempered midwesterner, whom everyone in Hollywood describes as Emanuel's polar oppositeโagreed to buy the venerable William Morris agency. Founded in 1898 as a Tin Pan Alley firm to represent songwriters and vaudeville performers, it now had a vast array of show-business clients such as Eddie Murphy, Richard Gere, and Bill O'Reilly. William Morris Endeavor quickly became the No. 1 or No. 2 agency across all talent and media categories, rivaling both ICM and CAA. โIt's clear that Ari wanted to be as well respected as his other two brothers,โ says entertainment-industry journalist Nikki Finke. โAnd he found a way to do it. And I think he's quite pleased with himselfโฆ. I think that buying Morris was a huge thing for him. Remember, Endeavor was started in the middle of the night with no money, virtually no clients.โ Under Emanuel and Whitesell, WME has become a remarkably dominant force, especially in television. โThere's nobody more important when it comes to television packaging than Ari and Rick Rosen [WME's television chief],โ says entertainment mogul David Geffen. โThere's nobody who does it better. For instance, Steven Spielberg was at CAA for decades, and they did nothing for him in television, and he goes with Ari, and he has had seven or eight shows on the air. That's about accomplishment, not about bullshit.โ
In 2012, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen introduced Emanuel to Egon Durban, managing partner of Silver Lake Partners, one of the world's most successful tech-oriented buyout firms, currently with a $10 billion equity fund and a lot of dry powder for deals. Soon enough Silver Lake made an undisclosed investment in WME, said to be $250 million, which bought it a 31 percent stake, valuing WME at around $800 million. There seemed to be little question that the WME merger worked financially, in part, according to an internal WME document, because Emanuel and Whitesell cut $50 million in costs from the combined business, turning a barely profitable firm into one with an enviable 21 percent profit margin. In 2012, WME generated a cash flow (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $88 million, close to double that of the previous year. In 2013, the company generated $97 million in cash flow, of which more than three-quarters, or $76 million, was derived from the agency business. The balance came from WME's controlling investments in eight new-media and other hip companies, including Red Interactive, a digital-advertising agency; Jingle Punks, a music business; and Rock Stream Studios. WME also had smaller investments in 50 or so other companies, including Uber, the hugely successful taxi alternative. It also is a founding investor in the Raine Group, a media-focused boutique investment bank and investment company started in 2009 by former Wall Street M&A bankers Jeff Sine and Joe Ravitch. Added up, the WME businesses made Emanuel one of Hollywood's leading power brokers. Acquiring IMG would make him even richer and more powerful, or such was the logic. In 2010, Forstmann had appointed Mike Dolan IMG's chief financial officer and C.E.O.-designate. Forstmann and Dolan could not have been more different. Impulsive and passionate, Forstmann, an heir to a once proud textile fortune, flew around the world on a Gulfstream V and serially dated beautiful women, including Princess Diana, Elizabeth Hurley, and Padma Lakshmi. He never married but adopted two boys, Siya and Everest, from South Africa. For almost his entire career he worked at the eponymous firm he had started as a young man. Dolan, on the other hand, has been married to the same woman for 42 years and walked to work. He still does not own a car. He got a Ph.D. in medieval European literature at Cornell and taught at CUNY for a couple of years before getting an M.B.A. at Columbia. His subsequent rรฉsumรฉ includes executive jobs at the consulting firm Booz Allen, Continental Can, Pepsi, the Young & Rubicam advertising agency, and Viacom. Dolan's mandate from Forstmann had been to turn around IMG's financial performanceโdespite all the bravado and glamour and expansion the firm was still struggling with high expenses. Within weeks of coming to IMG, Dolan told Forstmann that the projected 2010 cash flow of $140 million was not achievable; a more realistic number was $110 million. โI thought he was going to levitate out of the chair,โ Dolan recalls. Forstmann, who had a notorious temper, was enraged. โHe said, โI'm fucking fed up with these guys, and I want you to fix it,โ โ Dolan recalls. โI said, โWe'll fix it.โ โ Dolan cut $20 million of operating costs and another $5 million of real-estate costs. He cleaned up the company's accounting and wrote off $16 million of long-overdue receivables. He banned first-class airfare and froze salaries. The tough medicine worked. By 2011, IMG's cash flow was $150 million.
After Forstmann's death, Dolan officially became C.E.O. but quickly discovered he was not the man in charge, despite having led the company's impressive financial turnaround. Over time, much to Dolan's chagrin, that important role fell to Mark MacDougall, a litigation partner at the powerful Washington law firm Akin Gump. Before his death, Forstmann had given MacDougall power of attorney over the remaining two assets in the Forstmann Little portfolio, IMG and 24 Hour Fitness, a nationwide health-club chain. MacDougall controlled the voteโand the fateโof the 85 percent of IMG owned by a Forstmann Little limited partnership. โThe general partner of Forstmann Little had all the votes on everything, and the controlling general partner was Teddy,โ says someone familiar with the firm's legal structure. โIt would follow that whoever stepped into his shoes would have total control.โ Forstmann had stipulated in his will that IMG be liquidated and its assets sold upon his death. The choice of MacDougall to lead that effort struck many as odd. For starters, he was a litigator, not a corporate lawyer. He had replaced Forstmann's longtime lawyer, Steve Fraiden, after Forstmann and Fraiden had a falling-out ostensibly about how to handle a lawsuit brought against Forstmann by James Agate, a former golf buddy from Los Angeles. Agate claimed Forstmann had promised to help him with his financial problems, and when he declined to do so, Agate filed an embarrassing lawsuit, revealing that Forstmann had bet as much as $7 million of his own money on IMG clients and other sporting events. At Fraiden's suggestion, according to Forstmann, Forstmann paid Agate $575,000 to disappear. But when Agate asked for more money, Forstmann decided Fraiden had given him poor advice. According to one person, Forstmann then called his old friend Bob Strauss, the Washington power broker and Akin Gump chairman, who recommended MacDougall to clean up the Agate mess. However MacDougall got involved, one thing was certain: he was one tough lawyer who kept his own counsel. The American Lawyer once compared him to โThe Cleaner,โ an obvious reference to the George Clooney character in the 2007 film Michael Clayton, about a lawyer who sweeps up corporate messes. Others describe him as โa tough fuckโ and a guy who โif I got arrested in Turkey for smoking dope he would be my first call.โ But, according to Irving Azoff, Strauss, who has since passed away, told him, โ[MacDougall] is a tough son of a bitch, and that's what Teddy needed for [the James Agate] gig, and I gave it to himโฆ. You need to put somebody in jail, he's your guyโฆ. I sure as fuck didn't tell Teddy to put him in charge of Forstmann Little or IMG.โ (Mark MacDougall declined to comment on this characterization.) Board Games
From the outset, MacDougall and Dolan clashed. MacDougall allegedly did not like IMG's international sports joint ventures in India, China, and Brazil, which had long been championed by Forstmann as the future of the company. Azoff says MacDougall told him, โMike runs the joint ventures, and they're a piece of shit, so he's incompetent.โ According to an insider, after Dolan traveled to Abu Dhabi, along with Jeff Sine, the Raine Group investment banker, to meet with the Mubadala Development Company, a sovereign-wealth fund, MacDougall concluded that Dolan was running around the world trying to arrange financing to buy IMG for himself. Dolan says he met with Mubadala only to raise equity to retire a portion of IMG's $700 million of debt. MacDougall shunned not only Dolan, say insiders, but also other IMG executives who were close to him. Into this category fell the IMG controller, whom Dolan had recruited; the head of financial planning and analysis, a veteran IMG employee who knew the firm's numbers like the back of his hand; the newly hired treasurer; and the head of international taxes. Dolan says MacDougall also undermined his authority by telling him he could no longer hire or fire employees. โIT'S CLEAR ARI WANTED TO BE AS WELL RESPECTED AS HIS TWO BROTHERS,โ SAYS NIKKI FINKE. MacDougall also alienated some on the IMG board. At this point, in addition to Azoff, the board included Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt; Johan Eliasch, the chairman of the Head Group, a sports-equipment-and-clothing manufacturer; Evelyn de Rothschild (of the famous banking family); Jerry Perenchio, the billionaire Hollywood mogul; Andy Lack, the longtime media executive; and Mellody Hobson, the president of Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based private-equity firm with close ties to President Obama. Forstmann had viewed the members of the board (which was mostly advisory, because IMG was not a public company) as his friends and collaborators, but he did not want pushback from them. Neither did MacDougall. At no time was this more evident than during the summer of 2012, after MacDougall started the process of selling IMG, some eight months after Forstmann's death. At that meeting, the board unanimously approved the appointment of a four-member subcommittee of the board to work with management on the sales process. At the next board meeting, in the fall of 2012, Rothschild and Eliasch asked MacDougall what role he intended the full board of directors to play in the sale process. According to a board member present, MacDougall made it clear the full board was not going to be consulted about the sale.
Both Rothschild and Eliasch believed this was a usurpation of the board's fiduciary duties to the non-Forstmann shareholders, but by March 2013 they were off the board, at MacDougall's behest. Board members were โappalled at MacDougall's behavior,โ according to Azoff and others. Azoff thinks MacDougall was out of control. โHe got flush with power,โ he says. Through the fall of 2013, a large group of preliminary bidders was narrowed to three: WME, working with Silver Lake; CVC, the European buyout firm, working with Peter Chernin, the former News Corporation executive, who had founded his own investment firm; and the Carlyle Group, the powerful Washington private-equity firm, working with ICM. Insiders say Dolan was not allowed to speak with any of the bidders, lest he risk losing his job. Emanuel called him a number of times, wanting to meet for coffee or tea, but Dolan declined. MacDougall and his bankers told bidders that Forstmann Little wanted as much as $2.5 billion for IMG, or 12.5 times the estimated cash flow for 2013 of nearly $200 million. Final bids were due December 13. But serious questions were raised about the reliability of the company's 2013 cash-flow forecast, especially with regard to the accounting treatment of certain costs related to IMG's college-sports business. That business had been projected to generate $90 million in 2013โor nearly half of the total IMG cash flowโbut it became clear to some at IMG through the course of the year, and deep into the sale process, that the actual figure was going to be closer to half that, a big miss in what was the company's most important business. That sent IMG executives scrambling to see what could be done. According to a source familiar with the sale process, frantic calls went out to Craig Donnan, the Deloitte auditor in charge of the IMG account. According to the source, IMG wanted Deloitte to sign off on a $40 million upward adjustment in the 2013 cash flow by pushing out to future years costs and payments associated with long-term contracts between IMG and various colleges and universities. But Donnan wouldn't go for that large an adjustment and threatened not to sign off; without Deloitte's blessing, IMG likely could not have been sold. In the end, Deloitte agreed to a $21 million positive adjustment. โThere were a lot of conversations [with Deloitte],โ says the source. โIt wasn't one day.โ A near crisis had been averted. (Donnan did not respond to several requests for comment.) On December 13, the Carlyle-ICM group and the CVC-Chernin group each bid around $2 billion. But the full amount of the CVC-Chernin bid was contingent upon IMG achieving certain financial thresholds, and the bankers quickly calculated it was worth only $1.8 billion. That left Silver Lake and WME the clear winner at $2.4 billion. โYou've got to be fucking kidding me,โ one of the people involved in the sale thought to himself when he saw WME's bid come in higher than he had dared hope. (Emanuel and Whitesell declined to comment for this piece.) โHIS COMPETITORS WILL SAY HE OVERPAID [FOR IMG],โ SAYS DAVID GEFFEN. โI DON'T THINK THAT MEANS ANYTHING.โ Azoff also could hardly believe the good fortune of IMG's shareholders. Still, he thinks the high price Emanuel paid was due just to dumb luck rather than a skillfully conducted auction process. โIf you get to the finish line and you had one and a half offers out of 30 [that's a mistake],โ he says. โThey ran so many fucking people off with their process.โ It all worked out, he adds, because โAri was a man on a mission.โ For his part, MacDougall, who selectively addressed issues raised by Vanity Fair, says, โThe results speak for themselves. Two and a half years after we lost Ted we were able to sell IMG for $2.4 billion, to a group of enthusiastic new owners, yielding a very favorable return on the original $750 million investment. We engaged the best investment advisers we could findโEvercore and Morgan Stanleyโand then let them do their job. We also received superb support from many members of the board of directors and senior management of IMG. Along the way, a very few directors and officers seemed to have different and more personal objectives for the company. If those individuals now harbor some resentment or hurt feelings because they didn't get their way, there's really not much that I can say or do about that. Ted told me that this would be a hard job and that, if I did what he was asking, I would not make any friends. I actually did make a few friends at IMG, but as was true throughout his lifeโTed had it pretty much right.โ The Gold Standard
On December 18, the deal was announced. To pay for IMG, Emanuel wanted to borrow $2.45 billion of bank debt. Silver Lake and Mubadala agreed to invest $461 million of new equity, making Silver Lake the controlling shareholder of the combined company, with a 50 percent stake. Emanuel, Whitesell, and their existing WME partners would own 47 percent of the new company, and Mubadala would own the remaining 3 percent. Emanuel could not contain his excitement at finally having his dream come true. Within days, he was making his presence felt at IMG, despite being advised to keep his distance until the deal closed. As part of his routine of making 300 or so short phone calls a day, he started calling golf executives at IMG, encouraging them to figure out ways to get his celebrity clients involved in IMG's golf events. He did a similar thing with IMG's fashion-show business. On several occasions Dolan told him to stop. โHe said, โMike, you're absolutely right, you're so right,โ โ Dolan recalls. โThe next day, he'd do the same thing.โ In December, Egon Durban, the Silver Lake partner, hired Peter Klein, who had just ended a four-year stint as the chief financial officer at Microsoft, to be the new C.F.O. of the combined company. His first job was to arrange for the bank financing. Thanks to a robust financing market and the slick documents that trumpeted the virtues of the combined WME/IMGโprepared by JPMorgan Chase and Barclays, the lead banks arranging for the financingโEmanuel and his team easily raised the debt needed to finance the deal. According to Dolan, when he ran into Klein and asked him how the bank presentations were going, Klein told him, โThey are throwing money at us.โ But the โconfidential information memorandumโ used to raise the bank financing had some extraordinary assumptions in it that should have received close scrutiny by the banks but apparently did not. Says one former IMG finance executive, โBanks' due diligence, let's be perfectly honest, isn't the most deep, deep thing in the world. Just remember, every mortgage was AAA-rated at one point, and they all crashed, right?โ One big question concerned the cash flow the banks were told the combined company would generate. That number was a whopping $448 millionโsome 88 percent more than the $238 million sum the two companies had reported for 2013. The projection contained a number of onetime adjustments and add-backs of expenses that had occurred in previous years. The $448 million was also based on Emanuel and Whitesell's finding $156 million in cost savings at the combined company, $151 million of which was to come from IMG. Not that they were consulted, but top IMG management thought this figure fanciful at best, given the costs that Dolan and others had already taken out of the company in previous years. The former IMG finance executive put at $60 million the realistic cost savings that could come from the WME/IMG merger. In a business where the primary assets are people and their relationships with other peopleโit's not as if IMG manufactured anythingโthe promise of cost cuts sent shivers through the rank and file. According to Azoff, Emanuel called about 30 top IMG executives and told them not to worry about the proposed cuts. โDon't anybody be afraid,โ Azoff says Emanuel told them. (A WME spokesman denies that Emanuel had these conversations.)
In March 2014, Peter Klein reached out to top IMG management for help. โBy now, the penny has dropped, and he's begun to figure things outโฆ. I think it became clear to Peter that the numbers were a joke,โ one former executive recalls. He believes Klein had come to the dual realizations that it was unlikely the $151 million of cost reductions could be found at IMG and that IMG's college-sports business was in free fall because the colleges and universities wanted more money for the rights that allowed IMG to sell local advertising and branded merchandise. (Klein disputes this account. He says he believed the numbers would be achieved.) WME closed the IMG deal in early May. The $2.45 billion bank deal was a blowout, many times oversubscribed. โWe're ready to get started on what will surely be an epic collaboration,โ Emanuel and Whitesell wrote to the more than 3,000 employees worldwide. Emanuel called Dolan, and the two men congratulated each other. Dolan had no intention of staying at the new companyโhe had seen the writing on the wallโand was sticking around to collect what turned out to be a $40 million payday from his ownership of IMG stock. He and Emanuel exchanged pleasantries and agreed to get together for a drink later in the week, when Emanuel planned to be in New York. โAnything you ever want, Mike, anything you ever want, just call me and Patrick,โ Emanuel told him. โYou've got it.โ Dolan says now, โIt was all Hollywood bullshit.โ YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, ONE PERSON INVOLVED IN THE SALE THOUGHT WHEN HE SAW EMANUEL'S BID. A few days later, Dolan flew to Bermuda to attend a board meeting for Bacardi Ltd., the family-owned spirits company. (Dolan is now the C.E.O. of Bacardi.) After he arrived, his assistant told him a confidential package had arrived for him from WME/IMG human resources. Emanuel had fired him. โI was just sitting there waiting to collect a check from the sale of the company,โ he says. โAnd he still didn't have the balls to say, โYou know what, Mike? It's not going to work out, and we wish you well.โ โ A day later, Dolan's assistant was fired, and then, seriatim, those IMG executives who were close to Dolan. That was only the beginning of the bloodletting. In July, Peter Klein quit for personal reasons, as he wrote in an e-mail to VANITY FAIR. But, a former IMG executive theorizes, โPeter knew that he was set up to take the fallโฆ. He realized the college numbers were bullshit. The $155 [million of cost savings] was bullshit.โ A few weeks later, David Abrutyn, IMG's global head of consulting, announced he would be leaving, followed by Constance Williams, the former head of human resources, and, more important, George Pyne, the head of IMG's college business, who left to form his own company. One former IMG executive told the entertainment blog the Wrap, โIt's like watching a slow-motion car crash.โ
Around the same time, problems with IMG's college-sports business began to seep into public view. According to someone at a presentation to the banks, Pyne had predicted that it would generate $100 million in cash flow in 2014. โIf we do $100 million in 2014, it would be the lowest year we've ever had in college,โ Pyne is said to have proclaimed to the banks. But in June, the new company lost a premier multi-million-dollar licensing-and-local-media contract with the University of Kentucky to a rival agency. Then it almost lost its deal with Syracuse University. Only through Whitesell's direct intervention was the contract salvaged. But, according to a former IMG executive, where once IMG had paid Syracuse $3.9 million a year and made around $2.5 million in profit, the new contract called for paying Syracuse $6 million a year and was unprofitable. Then IMG lost its contract with Arizona State and a portion of its contract with the University of Georgia. The wheels were coming off IMG's college business. (A WME/IMG spokesman says it's โonly fair to state the wins [for the company] in the last five to six monthsโ: Nebraska, Baylor, and Western Kentucky.) The promised cost-cutting was also running into trouble, in part because Emanuel found himself having to make expensive new hires to compensate for the wave of departing IMG executives. To replace Klein, WME/IMG hired Chris Liddell, a onetime IMG board member whom Forstmann had removed as part of the failed alleged Ovitz coup. As a former chief financial officer of both General Motors and Microsoft, Liddell had the credentials for the job, but many wondered why he had taken it unless his ultimate goalโand that of Silver Lakeโwas to replace Emanuel and Whitesell as the C.E.O. โLiddell has said a dozen times, โI'm done with the C.F.O. stuff. I'll never do it again,โ โ says one former IMG insider. โHe's not there to be C.F.O. He's there for a year from now, when Ari and Patrick can't come anywhere close to their numbers.โ (A WME spokesman says this allegation is untrue. The company did not make Liddell available for comment.) Some former IMG executives think it is just a matter of time before the banks learn of the magnitude of the missed projections of the college-sports business as well as the presumed failure to achieve the $150-million-plus in cost savings. The full-year 2014 WME/IMG financial performance will likely be shared with the bank group sometime in March 2015, if not before. Answered Prayers
Leon Black's Apollo Global Management, a notoriously successful distressed investor, is said to be circling the WME/IMG bank debt to see if it can buy into the company on the cheap. Moody's, the giant debt-rating agency, assigned the WME/IMG debt a โspeculativeโ rating, implying that owning the debt was a risky proposition. In a report, Moody's analyst Scott Van den Bosch argued that the company's leverage was โvery highโ and that there were serious risks involved with integrating the two companies and achieving the projected cost savings. โFailure to achieve substantial cost savings or revenue growth that lead to leverage levels remaining above 7x by the end of 2015 would likely lead to a downgrade,โ he wrote. (To try to make good on the promised cost savings, in December, IMG cut 100 low-level jobs.) But Wall Street bankers say the value of the WME/IMG bank debt seems to be holding up relatively well in secondary-market trading, indicating that worries about the company's financial performance may be overblown. โHE IS RELENTLESS TO THE POINT OF โARI, STOP CALLING ME. I'LL MAKE MY DECISION WHEN I MAKE MY DECISION,โ โ SAYS LES MOONVES. For his part, Emanuel is undeterred. In 2014, according to a competitor, he asked many WME agents to take more equity in the new company in lieu of a portion of their bonuses. His promise to them is that when WME/IMG goes public they will be rich. But with the equity markets again looking shaky after a long upward run, that promise could be a hollow one, or the money a long way off, especially if the promised financial performance is not achieved. โI hear there's a lot of unhappiness,โ says a veteran Hollywood observer. โAri is having to do a good job of convincing their key people to hang in there for another couple of years, and all they keep saying is โI.P.O., I.P.O., I.P.O., and look at all the stock you have, and you'll make eight figures when we go public, and you're never going to make that money as an agent anywhere else in a onetime liquidity event, so hang in there until we get to go public.โ โ (Aside from press speculation, there is no indication the company is planning a public stock offering anytime soon.) Flush with cash from the Skype and Alibaba deals, Silver Lake could always invest more equity in the company until the business and the markets improve, although this might mean a dilution of Emanuel's and Whitesell's ownership stakes. Durban, the Silver Lake partner, could not disagree more emphatically with the critics who say WME/IMG is not meeting its projections. He says the company's financial performance will exceed what was forecast. Although the numbers aren't publicly available, Silver Lake shared with VANITY FAIR that the WME/IMG cash flow for the first nine months of 2014 was around $200 million, some 16 percent above the same time period for 2103. (Durban declined to comment.) In November, Durban told the Financial Times that WME/IMG would be one of Silver Lake's โhighest returning investmentsโ and that the new company was โone of the fastest growing media companies in the world at scale.โ He said that WME/IMG had no material debt maturities until 2021 and that the combined company's $315 million in cash flow in the 12 months ending in June would easily cover its $95 million in annual interest payments to the banks. He explained that the combined size of WME/IMG gives it power in the marketplace. โIt reminds me of when I graduated from college and worked at Morgan Stanley,โ he told the Financial Times. โThen there was consolidation: banks had to become full service and got larger and largerโฆ. Instead of having to pitch clients, clients would call them and give them businessโฆ. Through the course of the year we've had a significant acceleration of talent representation flow our way because of our scale.โ He remains, he says, deeply committed to Emanuel and Whitesell and the company they have built. โThis is a business that has been around for 100 years,โ he said. โWe're not in a rush.โ
It's a good thing Durban is favorably disposed toward these two executives, since Emanuel and Whitesell have a 10-year employment agreement with the company and, as both Azoff and Geffen contend, have the right to sell their stock to Silver Lake, at an agreed-upon price, whether or not WME/IMG becomes a public company. โOne way or the other they get bought out,โ Geffen says of Emanuel and Whitesell. (A WME/IMG spokesman says Emanuel and Whitesell do not have a pre-arranged agreement to sell their stock to Silver Lake.) James B. โJimmyโ Lee, Silver Lake's longtime banker at JPMorgan Chase, is equally bullish about the future prospects of WME/IMG. He says that no company Silver Lake owns has ever defaulted on a covenant and that, furthermore, it over-capitalizes the companies it invests in to make sure there are no financial problems at the start or down the road. Speaking hypothetically about deals where two companies are merged and where integration and cost rationalization happen over time, Lee says, โWhen you do deals like this and you've got a lot of work to do on the business, it's not like they bought something that was running like a watch. You make a series of big assumptions and then what happens, over, call it 24 months or so, is some assumptions are dead right, some assumptions are dead wrong. But in the aggregate you end up with exactly what you had planned on, more or less.โ Emanuel's Hollywood friends and associates are also optimistic and supportive. HBO chairman and C.E.O. Richard Plepler, who admits he doesn't know much about the WME/IMG deal, says, โAri is the personification of positive energy. If he told me that the sun was going to rise in the west, you know, I might not believe him, but I'd set my alarm. And I'd set my alarm because his enthusiasm is such, his faith in the promise of something is such, that you want to go with him. I wouldn't bet against him.โ Nikki Finke is similarly enthusiastic: โAri wants to grow his business, and I think that is what motivates him. He wants to grow it so that it is a fixture in Hollywood and out of Hollywood, so that it is impermeable. He saw when he was small how vulnerable these agencies are to the ebb and flow of the business. And he wants to create a company that is way beyond thatโฆ. He wants a fortress. He wants moats, and wallsโeverything. And it's really smart, and he's expanding in lots of different ways. And he'll get there. I have no doubt that he will get there.โ |
Phoenix Down: Square Enixโs Naoki Yoshida on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
It's been just under three years since the Final Fantasy XIV development team was restructured, which is an eternity for MMOs. Now badged as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the game has been overhauled from the ground up, from its world design to gameplay functionality.
Spearheading the game's new vision is Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida. His job has not been an easy one as the MMO market is always evolving and extremely unforgiving. As the hired hero, it was up to him to restore faith in fans and make the game a success.
With Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn finally here, Naoki Yoshida has kindly taken time out of his schedule to answer questions about the game he has been working tirelessly on.
CraveOnline: Thereโs less than a month to go until the release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. How does it feel knowing that within weeks the game will finally be in the hands of gamers?
Naoki Yoshida: The master discs for both the PlayStation 3 and Windows PC version are now complete. However, I am still working on adjusting the difficulty levels of some of the high-level endgame content which will be available to players at launch. Iโm sure that Iโll be making these types of adjustments up until the very last minute, since patches can be made all the way up until release. (laughs)
At the same time, Iโm working on patch 2.1 which will be the first major update for FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. So to be honest, I donโt really feel like the workload is slowing down at all! (laughs)
However, Iโm extremely excited to play with players around the world!
One factor that has made many MMO fans interested in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is the ability to play as every job and class on one character. How has the process been for balancing each job and class so that none of them are unpopular?
By clearly defining the unique characteristics of each class and job and keeping combat formulas as simple as possibleโ we work to balance them in ways that avoids conflicts between each other as much as possible.
While giving monsters elemental weaknesses such as โFire, Water, Earth, and Windโ makes it easy for us to create unique characteristics for each enemy, it causes certain classes and jobs to be unnecessary in specific battles. Removing these elements and creating pure combat features, as well as exciting mechanics, allows us to balance each class and job from the bottom up.
In terms of combat, have the successes and failures of other MMOs aided in designing Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Rebornโs new combat style?
In the current MMORPG market, being able to attack freely without the need to specifically target an enemy and performing evasive maneuvers (which evolved from the โhack and slashโ genre), has become the mainstream for gaming. However, when I took over the FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn project, the very first thing I decided was that we do not need these elements. To a certain extent, using evasive maneuvers and being able to freely target enemies allows experienced MMORPG players to have some excitement even from the early stages of a game.
On the other hand, I know from personal experience that these types of elements can cause major discrepancies to appear between players of varying skill levels. Also, itโs difficult to maintain balance when quickly introducing a large amount of battle content.
Besides, since this is a FINAL FANTASY title, there will be players that have never played an MMORPG before. We specifically decided to include minimal amounts of action elements in order to build a more stable combat system in the long run.
With this in mind, I feel that we were able to create a solid game where players can enjoy combat through their strategically-developed characters, including leveling up specific classes and jobs, while diversifying their skills.
Of course, the successes of World of Warcraft and the challenges that Guild Wars 2 faced have been largely helpful for us in designing the game.
A lot of Final Fantasy fan service has already been shown for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, such as the Lightning costume and quest (FF13), Warrior of Light armor (FF1), and the video of Magitek armor (FF6). Is this something that you will continue to pursue in future patches?
Yes, weโll be introducing various content in such a way that it aligns with the lore of FINAL FANTASY XIV. If we were to look at FINAL FANTASY XIV as a big tree, it would be like us continuing to add various FINAL FANTASY elements on the branches and leaves of the tree.
Weโre really hoping that everyone is looking forward to what type of FINAL FANTASY elements weโll introduce in future patches!
<< On the next page Yoshida talks about the game's accessibility, its future, and more >> |
On her radio show, CNN contributor and Big Journalism editor Dana Loesch cheered on an Internet video reportedly showing U.S. Marines urinating on what appear to be dead Afghans, saying she would "drop trou and do it too." The video has been widely condemned by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, U.S. military commanders, foreign policy experts and others as depicting conduct that "does not reflect our values" and may endanger Afghanistan peace talks.
CNN's Loesch Defends Video Of Marines Reportedly Urinating On Dead Taliban
Secretaries Of Defense And State, Military Commanders Condemn Tape As "Inconsistent With Our Values"
Conduct Will Be Investigated For Possible Violations Of U.S. And International Law
CNN National Security Experts Have Condemned Tape
Bush, Administration Officials Apologized For Abu Ghraib Prisoner Abuse: "A Stain On Our Country's Honor"
CNN's Loesch Joined By Pamela Geller In Defending Marines
CNN's Loesch Defends Video Of Marines Apparently Urinating On Dead Taliban
Video Posted Online Shows Marines Urinating On Bodies Of What Appears To Be Dead Afghans. From a January 12 CNN.com article:
The video shows four men dressed in Marine combat gear urinating on what appeared to be the dead bodies of three men on the ground in front of them. One of the men says, "Have a great day, buddy." A voice asks, "You got it on the video?" to which another voice responds, "Yeah." Another jokes, "Golden, like a shower." It was not clear who shot or posted the 39-second video or where, though a U.S. official said it was a "reasonable conclusion" it was filmed in Afghanistan. [CNN.com, 1/12/12]
Loesch: "I'd Drop Trou And Do It Too." From the January 12 edition of St. Louis-based KFTK's The Dana Show:
(h/t St. Louis Activist Hub and Twitter user @NicoleGenette)
LOESCH: All right, we got some cool points to get into, and then we are going to get some of your calls in as well. It's 'cause I've had a lot of caffeine. It's snowing here, folks. Cool points, we play audio and we award out points based upon its level of heinousness or awesomeness. All right, play audio sound bite two. And we're, I'm sure, going to be talking about this in the second hour as well. Marines were -- there's a -- now, we have a bunch of progressives that are talking smack about our military because there were Marines caught urinating on corpses -- Taliban corpses. Listen: UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER [audio clip]: The U.S. Military is investigating a video showing what appears to be troops urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The footage of what seems to be U.S. Marines has been uploaded to several sites including video sharing site YouTube. The film could be another blow for America after previous scandals like the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib -- LOESCH: OK, stop this right here. Stop this right here. Can someone explain to me if there's supposed to be a scandal that someone pees on the corpse of a Taliban fighter? Someone who was -- as part of an organization murdered over 3,000Americans? I'd drop trou and do it, too. That's me, though. I want a million cool points for these guys. Is that harsh to say? Come on, people. This is a war. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool points. LOESCH: What do you think this is? What do people think this is? I am totally not politically correct, I told you this. What -- do you think that we're going to sit down and have tea? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's nothing compared to what happened in the prison in Iraq. That's different, completely different from when this -- LOESCH: Completely different story. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Completely different. LOESCH: Yeah. Completely different story. So they urinated on the corpse of a dead Taliban member, a dead terrorist. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And why did they film it? LOESCH: They urinated on a -- I don't know why. I don't get that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? LOESCH: I don't get that. But, sorry, that -- I don't -- do I have a problem with that as a citizen of the United States? No, I don't. Sorry, I don't. So, moving on. There's the end of that controversy right there. [The Dana Show, 1/12/12]
Loesch: "They're Dead Terrorists. I Could Care Less." From the January 12 edition of St. Louis-based KFTK's The Dana Show:
LOESCH: My whole entire point is that these individuals -- like they're using this example as an issue to wage against our military and our war -- or, no our military and our soldiers, period -- to make our military look like a bunch of murderers and a bunch of bad people. Look what -- no, no, no, no, no. That's not going to be used as an example to make our military look bad. I mean, this is -- that's what it is. They're saying, Oh, look, this is our military. We've told you before how they're uneducated, and stupid, and everything else, you've heard callers call into this show that say, oh, the reason they go in the military is because they can't get a job anywhere else. It's infuriating. It's insulting. And I'm not going to let that be used as an excuse. I mean, that's just -- and we can agree to disagree on it. They're dead terrorists. I could care less. They are dead terrorists. These are people who have -- are part of a group who murdered over 3,000 Americans, some of them children, some of them expectant mothers. I will not show courtesy. So, you know, throw them over the cliff into the ocean. I don't care. But I don't think that these soldiers, these Marines, who are on video doing this, the military can handle it how the military wants to handle it. But I'm not going to join into the chorus of going after these individuals and using them as -- to paint the military as bad and all that. These Taliban have done more to the United States than this video, and people are trying to act as though somehow what terrorism has done to this country is equal to any offense that could be caused from the video. That is stupid. I'm not even going to bother giving you more in-depth analysis other than to say it's stupid. [The Dana Show, 1/12/12]
Loesch Responds To Criticism: I Was "Defending" Marines From "Overly-Dramatic Hysteria," "Using Absurdity To Highlight Absurdity." From a January 13 BigJournalism.com blog post:
Yesterday on my radio show I discussed the topic of the Marines videotaping themselves urinating on dead Taliban fighters. The usual mob of progressive haters started campaigning on Twitter and complaining to CNN. [...] There is a difference in advocating for the Marines to break the law, which I didn't do, and defending them from overly-dramatic hysteria. I was using absurdity to highlight absurdity. It's absurd to desecrate corpses but it's not wrong to hate terrorists who are trying to kill our troops-and us. And I'm not in uniform-so I am free to express what a lot of Americans feel about the controversy, even if it makes some pony-tailed academics feel uncomfortable. The progressive left chose to include CNN in their attack because they don't like that the network-any network-features conservative voices and have been throwing everything at the wall to get me removed since the very beginning. My entire point of the past two days was to highlight the absurd reaction from militant troop-bashers to these Marines. In my Twitter timeline yesterday progressives called our military "killers, kids, barbaric trash, murderers ..." The only time soldiers are celebrated by the left is when they engage in protests like OWS. The rest of the time they're demonized. They get the red carpet rolled out for them, too. [BigJournalism.com, 1/13/12]
Secretaries Of Defense And State, Military Commanders Condemn Tape As "Inconsistent With Our Values"
Secretary Of Defense Panetta: Conduct "Inappropriate," "I Condemn It In The Strongest Possible Terms." From a January 12 CNN.com article:
"I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement. "I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." Panetta said he has ordered the Marine Corps and International Security Assistance Force Commander Gen. John Allen "to immediately and fully investigate the incident." "This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards of values our armed forces are sworn to uphold," Panetta's statement said. "Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent." [CNN.com, 1/12/12] Sec. Panetta: Video Could Endanger Peace Talks With Taliban. In a January 13 article, the Associated Press reported: Asked about possible implications for peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. remained strongly committed to supporting Afghan efforts. Panetta, however, said the incident could endanger the talks. "The danger is that this kind of video can be misused in many ways to undermine what we are trying to do in Afghanistan and the possibility of reconciliation," Panetta said at Fort Bliss, Texas, adding it's important for the U.S. to move quickly to "send a clear signal to the world that the U.S. will not tolerate this kind of behavior and that is not what the U.S. is all about." [Associated Press, 1/13/12] Secretary Of State Clinton: Behavior "Absolutely Inconsistent With American Values."Asked about the video during a January 12 press conference, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: Well, Jill, first I want to express my total dismay at the story concerning our Marines, who I have the highest respect and admiration for. But I share completely the views expressed by Secretary Panetta earlier today. I join him in condemning the deplorable behavior that is reflected in this video. It is absolutely inconsistent with American values, with the standards of behavior that we expect from our military personnel and the vast, vast military personnel, particularly our Marines, hold themselves to. So I know Secretary Panetta has ordered a complete investigation of this incident. Anyone - anyone - found to have participated or known about it, having engaged in such conduct, must be held fully accountable. [Remarks with Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, 1/12/12, via state.gov]
Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Dempsey: "Actions Like Those ... Serve To Erode The Reputation Of Our Joint Force." In a January 13 article, the Associated Press reported:
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said he was deeply disturbed by the video and worried that its effects would spread beyond just the Marine Corps. "Actions like those are not only illegal but are contrary to the values of a professional military and serve to erode the reputation of our joint force," Dempsey said. [Associated Press, 1/13/12]
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Amos: Conduct "Wholly Inconsistent With" Marine Corp's "High Standards Of Conduct." CNN.com reported: "Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said in a statement the behavior is 'wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos that we have demonstrated throughout our history.'" [CNN.com, 1/12/12]
International Security Assistance Force Spokesman Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson: Actions "Grossly Against All The Moral Values That The Coalition Forces Are Standing For." As reported by CNN.com: |
The Supreme Court this morning, in Cooper v. Harris, struck down North Carolinaโs Congressional map on the grounds that two districts (District 1 and District 12) were unconstitutionally based on race. The 5-3 opinion was written by Justice Kagan; Justice Thomas joined with the courtโs liberals in the majority, while Justices Alito, Roberts, and Kennedy dissented in part. (Justice Gorsuch did not participate, as the case had already been argued, and one more vote would not change the outcome). Naturally, the media spin on this decision is knee-jerk characterizations of Republicans as racist, but the actual issues here are about the collision between two irreconcilable visions of district-drawing: (1) the prohibition on considering race in drawing district lines, and (2) the liberal view that the Voting Rights Act requires race to be considered in order to draw โmajority-minorityโ districts. The decision illustrates the โheads I win, tails you loseโ nature of the liberal attack on Republican โ but only Republican โ gerrymandering, as the Court had previously upheld similar actions taken by North Carolina Democrats.
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Now, letโs be blunt: in gerrymandering cases, nearly nobody cares about anything but advancing their partyโs odds of winning elections. Justice Thomas has been virtually alone in taking the principled line, regardless of whose partisan ox is being gored or what the Court has done previously, that racial gerrymandering is virtually always unconstitutional. Specifically, Thomasโ longstanding view is that the Fourteenth Amendmentโs Equal Protection Clause imposes โstrict scrutinyโ (a standard that is nearly impossible to satisfy) when districts are drawn with race primarily in mind, and that this includes districts drawn to create โmajority-minorityโ districts (Thomas believes that the VRA does not require any such thing). The Courtโs opinion doesnโt go that far, but it does advance the judicial grounds for throwing out racial gerrymanders, and it effectively overturns a 2001 decision, known as Cromartie II, that had upheld nearly the same District 12. Because Thomas thought Cromartie II was wrong at the time, and because the result in Cooper would be the same as the dissent in Cromartie II (i.e., deferring to what the trial court decided), he had no qualms joining the majority and staying consistent.
But the Courtโs approach telegraphs its intention to preserve racial gerrymandering when Democrats do it, just not Republicans. The Court has been hearing challenges to North Carolinaโs district borders every decade since the 1980s, so some history is in order. In Cromartie I, in 1999, the Court first faced a challenge to District 12, which had been created by the Democrat-controlled state legislature and was defended in court by Democratic Governor Jim Hunt. The Democrats defended District 12 on the grounds that they had been motivated by partisanship, not race; the Court, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, concluded that the Democratsโ evidence that black North Carolinians tended to vote Democrat was enough to require a trial on the factual question of whether race was the predominant motive, rather than partisanship:
Our prior decisions have made clear that a jurisdiction may engage in constitutional political gerrymandering, even if it so happens that the most loyal Democrats happen to be black Democrats and even if the State were conscious of that factโฆEvidence that blacks constitute even a supermajority in one congressional district while amounting to less than a plurality in a neighboring district will not, by itself, suffice to prove that a jurisdiction was motivated by race in drawing its district lines when the evidence also shows a high correlation between race and party preference.
Justice Stevens, joined by Justices Breyer and Ginsburg (both of whom joined todayโs opinion) and Souter, wrote separately in Cromartie I, but agreed at the time that
The record supports the conclusion that the most loyal Democrats living near the borders of District 12 โhappen to be black Democrats,โโฆand I have no doubt that the legislature was conscious of that fact when it enacted this apportionment plan. But everyone agrees that that fact is not sufficient to invalidate the district.
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The trial court ruled against the Democrats, finding that District 12โs boundaries were motivated by race, noting a few additional items of evidence, the last two of which centered on the focus on race by Roy Cooper, now the Democratic Governor of North Carolina:
(1) that โthe legislators excluded many heavily-Democratic precincts from District 12, even when those precincts immediately border the Twelfth and would have established a far more compact district,โโฆโmore heavily Democratic precincts โฆ were bypassed โฆ in favor of precincts with a higher African-American populationโ; (2) that โ[a]dditionally, Plaintiffsโ expert, Dr. Weber, showed time and again how race trumped party affiliation in the construction of the 12th District and how political explanations utterly failed to explain the composition of the district,โ; (3) that [the Democratsโ expertโs] testimony was โ `unreliableโ and not relevant,โ; (4) that a legislative redistricting leader, Senator Roy Cooper, had alluded at the time of redistricting โto a need for `racial and partisanโ balance,โ; and (5) that the Senateโs redistricting coordinator, Gerry Cohen, had sent Senator Cooper an e-mail reporting that Cooper had โmoved Greensboro Black community into the 12th, and now need[ed] to take [about] 60,000 out of the 12th.โ
The case came back to the Court in 2001 in Cromartie II. The Clinton Administration filed a brief defending the gerrymander, arguing that it was entirely reasonable for Democrats to gerrymander on racial lines so long as they were motivated by partisanship:
The crucial and uncontroverted fact is that in North Carolina African-Americans reliably vote overwhelmingly-90% or more-for Democratic candidates. Accordingly, any district that, like District 12, is drawn to concentrate reliable Democratic voters will tend as well to concentrate African-American voters. The evidence on which the district court relied that District 12 is unusually shaped in a way that tends to correspond with race thus tends only to frame the question-whether the district was drawn with race or political motives as predominant-but not to answer it. The district court also relied on evidence showing that District 12 fails to include some precincts with high Democratic registration figures. But in a State like North Carolina, in which registered Democrats frequently vote Republican, that evidence is entirely consistent with the legislatureโs professed desire to create a district that would be solidly Democratic on election day, and it provides no basis for doubting the Stateโs professed political motive.
In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Breyer and joined by Justices Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter and OโConnor, the Court in Cromartie II effectively threw out the verdict, defending to the hilt the Democratsโ right to gerrymander for partisan advantage by means of race:
The critical District Court determinationโฆconsists of the finding that race rather than politics predominantly explains District 12โs 1997 boundaries. That determination rests upon three findings (the districtโs shape, its splitting of towns and counties, and its high African-American voting population)โฆGiven the undisputed evidence that racial identification is highly correlated with political affiliation in North Carolina, these facts in and of themselves cannot, as a matter of law, support the District Courtโs judgmentโฆ.We concede the record contains a modicum of evidence offering support for the District Courtโs conclusion. That evidence includes the Cohen e-mail, Senator Cooperโs reference to โracial balance,โ and to a minor degree, some aspects of Dr. Weberโs testimony. The evidence taken together, however, does not show that racial considerations predominated in the drawing of District 12โs boundaries. That is because race in this case correlates closely with political behavior. The basic question is whether the legislature drew District 12โs boundaries because of race rather than because of political behavior (coupled with traditional, nonracial districting considerations). It is not, as the dissent contendsโฆwhether a legislature may defend its districting decisions based on a โstereotypeโ about African-American voting behavior. And given the fact that the party attacking the legislatureโs decision bears the burden of proving that racial considerations are โdominant and controlling,โ ..given the โdemandingโ nature of that burden of proofโฆand given the sensitivity, the โextraordinary caution,โ that district courts must show to avoid treading upon legislative prerogativesโฆthe attacking party has not successfully shown that race, rather than politics, predominantly accounts for the resultโฆ
The Courtโs conservatives dissented, mainly on the grounds that the question of motive was properly up to the trial court to decide, not an appeals court that didnโt hear the witnesses live. The Cromartie II Court also faulted the plaintiffs for not offering an alternative that would solve the racial issue while helping Democrats just as much:
We can put the matter more generally as follows: In a case such as this one where majority-minority districts (or the approximate equivalent) are at issue and where racial identification correlates highly with political affiliation, the party attacking the legislatively drawn boundaries must show at the least that the legislature could have achieved its legitimate political objectives in alternative ways that are comparably consistent with traditional districting principles. That party must also show that those districting alternatives would have brought about significantly greater racial balance. [The plaintiffs challenging the district] failed to make any such showing here.
At the time, the Courtโs liberal wing was very solicitous of protecting the Democratsโ right to pack District 12 with black voters for partisan purposes; today, it announces what in practice is a very different standard, jettisoning the requirement that the challenging party โmust showโ an alternative path to the same partisan ends in order to overturn a map on grounds that the partisan motive was really mainly about race:
[I]t does not matter in this case, where the plaintiffsโ introduction of mostly direct and some circumstantial evidenceโdocuments issued in the redistricting process, testimony of government officials, expert analysis of demographic patternsโgave the District Court a sufficient basis, sans any map, to resolve the race-or-politics question. A plaintiff โs task, in other words, is simply to persuade the trial courtโwithout any special evidentiary prerequisiteโthat race (not politics) was the โpredominant consideration in deciding to place a significant number of voters within or without a particular district.โโฆ[A] plaintiff will sometimes need an alternative map, as a practical matter, to make his case. But in no area of our equal protection law have we forced plaintiffs to submit one particular form of proof to prevail.
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Justice Alitoโs dissent on this point called this โa stunning about-faceโ and fumed, โ[a] precedent of this Court should not be treated like a disposable household itemโsay, a paper plate or napkinโ to be used once and then tossed in the trash. But that is what the Court does todayโฆโ
The 2010 redistricting had beefed up the black portion of Districts 1 and 12, which turned both into โmajority-minorityโ districts, a factor the Cromartie II Court had considered important. That move was, of course, to the advantage of Republicans (as the expert who drew the map testified), just as the maps in Cromartie II had been to the advantage of Democrats, in each case looking at the extraordinarily well-known and undisputed propensity of black voters in North Carolina to vote Democrat. The North Carolina Republicans argued that creating majority-minority districts was demanded by the VRA, and as Justice Alito noted, this statement was perhaps not entirely sincere, being intended to rebut public charges of partisanship, yet the Justices who took Republican statements about complying with the VRA to be damning were the same ones who brushed off Roy Cooperโs statements about considering race in Cromartie II. As liberal election lawyer Rick Hasen notes, the Court adopts a decidedly different standard now (with Republicans running most Southern statehouses) than it did when Democrats like Cooper and Clinton were arguing that race was a legitimate proxy for partisan gerrymanders:
Despite Justice Kaganโs attempt to explain this as a ho-hum deference to a judicial finding of fact, there are two bombshells in footnotes in the case. Recall that with District 12 the question is race or party, as though these are two separate categories. And in the body of the decision Justice Kagan says it will defer to the trial courtโs decision that it is race and not partyโฆBut in Footnotes 1 and 7, the Court explains that in places where race and party overlap so much they can be treated as proxies for one anotherโฆHereโs part of Footnote 1: โA plaintiff succeeds at this stage even if the evidence reveals that a legislature elevated race to the predominant criterion in order to advance other goals, including political ones.โ And here is Footnote 7: โAs earlier noted, that inquiry is satisfied when legislators haveโplace[d] a significant number of voters within or withoutโ a district predominantly because of their race, regardless of their ultimate objective in taking that stepโฆSo, for example, if legislators use race as their predominant districting criterion with the end goal of advancing their partisan interestsโperhaps thinking that a proposed district is more โsellableโ as a race-based VRA compliance measure than as a political gerrymander and will accomplish much the same thingโtheir action still triggers strict scrutinyโฆIn other words, the sorting of voters on the grounds of their race remains suspect even if race is meant to function as a proxy for other (including political) characteristicsโฆ Holy cow this is a big deal. It means that race and party are not really discrete categories and that discriminating on the basis of party in places of conjoined polarization is equivalent, at least sometimes, to making race the predominant factor in redistricting. This will lead to many more successful racial gerrymandering cases in the American South and elsewhere, and allow these cases to substitute for (so far unsuccessful) partisan gerrymandering claims involving some of these districtsโฆ.This race and party as proxies for one anotherโฆwas also the theory used by the 4th Circuit in holding that North Carolina passed its strict voting law with racially discriminatory intent.
The Republicansโ VRA-compliance argument was set against the backdrop of efforts to please longstanding Justice Department demands for more majority-minority districts:
The Stateโs preclearance submission to the Justice Department indicated a similar determination to concentrate black voters in District 12. โOne of the concerns of the Redistricting Chairs,โ North Carolina there noted, had to do with the Justice Departmentโs years-old objection to โa failure by the State to create a second majority minority districtโ (that is, in addition to District 1)โฆThe submission then went on to explain that after considering alternatives, the redistricters had designed a version of District 12 that would raise its BVAP to 50.7%. Thus, concluded the State, the new District 12 โincreases[] the African-American communityโs ability to elect their candidate of choice.โ..In the District Courtโs view, that passage once again indicated that making District 12 majority-minority was no โmere coincidence,โ but a deliberate attempt to avoid perceived obstacles to preclearance.
Damned if you donโt (do what the Justice Department demands in order to preclear the district), but damned if you do, too. The Court noted that โwe have long assumed that complying with the VRA is a compelling interest,โ but then laid down its main argument: that the districts in question werenโt needed under the VRA because the district lacked a history of white โbloc votingโ:
For most of the twenty years prior to the new planโs adoption, African-Americans had made up less than a majority of District 1โs voters; the districtโs BVAP usually hovered between 46% and 48%โฆYet throughout those two decadesโฆDistrict 1 was โan extraordinarily safe district for African-American preferred candidates.โโฆa meaningful number of white voters joined a politically cohesive black community to elect that groupโs favored candidate.
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In the context of a state where black voters are reliable Democrats and white voters lean Republican (but moreso in some parts of the state than others), this standard translates as โitโs OK when Democrats do it.โ After all, if white voters are voting with a bloc of Democrats for Democratic officeholders, Democrats can consider the race of black voters to tilt the map in the Democratsโ favor, and Republicans canโt consider the exact same factors about the exact same voters. In other words: majority-minority districts are allowed as a solution only if the problem is white voters voting Republican. Heads they win; tails you lose. |
Drinking in moderation isnโt necessarily a bad thing; some research, especially in the area of heart disease, suggests that alcohol may even provide some benefits.
But most studies on alcohol and health outcomesโlike death from heart disease or cancerโ have looked at drinking in isolation from other lifestyle factors. Thatโs a pretty artificial scenario, since a personโs drinking habits often go along with other lifestyle behaviors, such as diet, exercise and whether they smoke. Few studies have looked at how alcohol works in more real-world situations: how drinking affects people who exercise compared to those who arenโt as physically active, for example.
In their report published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Emmanuel Stamatakis, an associate professor at University of Sydney in Australia, and his colleagues looked specifically at the interaction between alcohol consumption and exercise to see how the behaviors affected each other when it came to mortality. They studied more than 36,000 middle-aged men and women for an average of nearly 10 years and tracked their death rates and causes of death.
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Not surprisingly, they found that drinking itself is linked to higher rates of early death from any cause, as well as death from cancer. And the more alcohol is consumed, the higher the risk of early death. But when Stamatakis layered in the amount of exercise people reported, he found that only those who werenโt physically activeโmeaning they did not meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-intense exercise a weekโshowed similar patterns of higher mortality. Among those who reported getting the recommended amounts of activity, their death rates were slightly lower as long as they drank with recommended guidelines (one to two drinks per day). People who drank beyond these amounts, at levels considered dangerous for their health, showed higher rates of death from any cause or cancer regardless of how much they exercised. The study found only a weak benefit in lowering deaths from heart-related issues among those who exercised.
โAmong the physically active, there was no increase in cancer and all-cause mortality up to hazardous levels of alcohol consumption,โ says Stamatakis. Whatโs more, there didnโt seem to be a difference in mortality rates among the physically active whether they exercise at the minimum recommended amount or whether they exercised more. โIt looks like there is a kind of ceiling on the protective effect of physical activity,โ he says.
But that doesnโt mean that you can drink with abandon and expect a few hours at the gym or a walking the dog to negate your indulging. Stamatakis notes that while his study found a potential protective effect on deaths from cancer if alcohol is considered together with exercise, drinking comes with a range of other health issues, some of which can impact mortality in other ways, including liver problems, domestic violence and depression. As tempting as it might be to think you can exercise away your night of drinking, itโs still best, says Stamatakis, to โstay within recommended limits and avoid binge drinking.โ
Contact us at [email protected]. |
Amon sings Be Prepared! (Lion KIng) Cause he wants to be the new ruler in Republic City and he shows us how little Korra deals with being the Avatar. Hope u enjoy. I'm making the Avatar cast work extra
I M P O R T A N T:
I DO NOT OWN any of the images in this work.
ALL CREDIT BELONGS TO Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and all the animators who made this series come to life.
All I did was create this short story using Legend of Korra screenshots !!
.
E D I T :
Wow Thank you for . I'm glad to see many people liked it ^^!
OTHER WORKS:Once Upon a Time...?!Private Lessons means whut!!!!The Sexy Hair Battle (Little YuGiOh/ Tahno Crossover)Korrahontas: Savages:Korrasami....?! |
The prospect staff here at Fake Teams will be taking an in-depth look at each major league organization, including our top 10 fantasy prospects, an overview of the organization's minor league system as a whole and potential opportunities for playing time in 2014. Our goal is to provide you with more information as you prepare for minor league drafts for dynasty and keeper leagues, as well as look at players that could potentially be worth watching during the spring, as they could be in line to potentially help your fantasy team. We will be reviewing two teams per week until we are through all 30 teams, and you can see the schedule of when your favorite team will be reviewed below.
System Schedule
AL East AL Central AL West NL East NL Central NL West Baltimore Chicago
(10/31) Houston
(11/18) Atlanta
(12/5) Chicago
(12/23) Arizona
(1/9) Boston Cleveland
(11/4) Los Angeles
(11/21) Miami
(12/9) Cincinnati
(12/26) Colorado
(1/13) New York Detroit
(11/7) Oakland
(11/25) New York
(12/12) Milwaukee
(12/30) Los Angeles
(1/16) Tampa Bay Kansas City
(11/11) Seattle
(11/28) Philadelphia
(12/16) Pittsburgh
(1/2) San Diego
(1/20) Toronto
(10/28) Minnesota
(11/14) Texas
(12/2) Washington
(12/19) St. Louis
(1/6) San Francisco
(1/23)
Organizational Overview
By Jason Hunt (@jasonsbaseball)
The Blue Jays ended the 2012 season with what was viewed by many as the deepest farm system in the minor leagues. The organization used that depth to make the two biggest trades of the 2012-2013 offseason, pushing their chips to the center of the table to make a run at the playoffs and possibly more. So the team packaged prospects Jake Marisnick, Justin Nicolino, and Anthony DeSciafini along with 3 major leaguers to the Marlins and received Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and three other major leaguers. GM Alex Anthopolous wasn't done then though either, as he acquired the reigning Cy Young award winner, R.A. Dickey, from the Mets later on. That came at a very stiff price, as the Jays sent their top two prospects (Travis d'Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard) back to the Mets in return.
Unfortunately, the season did not go as originally hoped, as injuries and ineffectiveness derailed the Blue Jays' goal of a division title, and eventually led the team to a last place finish. While the strategy of using all those assets in the minors to improve the major league team was a good one, it did not work out in the way they had wished, and left the system that much weaker in the process. The top prospect on last year's list still in the system (Aaron Sanchez) struggled somewhat this season, and perhaps a bit unfairly, gets knocked for not pitching as well as quickly as former teammate Noah Syndergaard has for the Mets.
The draft was expected to help the team to restock the system at least partially, as the struggles of the 2012 season led the team to a top 10 draft pick. The team drafted Phil Bickford with that pick, who opted to go Cal State Fullerton rather than sign with the team. As a result, the Jays were the only team to fail to sign their first rounder this year. Despite losing the nearly $3 million in draft pool money with that pick, they were still able to get two players that were widely viewed as tough signs in Rowdy Tellez and Jake Brentz to sign on the dotted line.
Overall, the system is in a state of flux right now. As we had our discussions regarding the prospects in the system, the general consensus we seemed to arrive at was that there were so many question marks surrounding these prospects. Can Marcus Stroman stay in the rotation long-term despite the concerns about his size? Can Aaron Sanchez reach the ceiling he has shown to be possible, or will he end up closer to the back end of a rotation? Even as you move down our list, we made mention as a group of nearly 15 prospects for the back end of our top 10.
This system could look absolutely amazing next year if some of these prospects take the steps forward that are believed possible, and having two of the top 11 picks in next year's draft is also going to provide even more talent. However, if we see another year of mediocre seasons from some of the top prospects in the organization, the farm may not be able to assist the Jays in their quest to compete in the AL East.
2013 Graduates
The following players have surpassed their rookie maximums of 130 AB, 50 IP, or 45 days of service time prior to September 1st of this year.
Munenori Kawasaki (SS - At Bats), Todd Redmond (P - Innings Pitched), Aaron Loup (P - Innings Pitched), Juan Perez (P - Service Time), Chad Jenkins (P - Service Time), Neil Wagner (P - Service Time), Jeremy Jeffress (P - Innings Pitched)
Major League Opportunities in 2014
By Jason Hunt(@jasonsbaseball)
The Blue Jays have a large portion of their current roster under contract for the 2014 season, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't positions where they could look to upgrade on their current options. Within the lineup, both catcher and second base could have potential upgrades, as J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis both struggled at the plate this year. The in-house options aren't exactly great, as Josh Thole and Ryan Goins are the most ready options at those positions. It would not surprise me if instead they went to try and sign players at those positions, or failing that, make a trade. Super-sub outfielder Rajai Davis is a free agent this year, and seems like he could be in line for a starting job somewhere else. Davis leaving seems the most likely way for Anthony Gose to get somewhat regular playing time, but it's hard to see him unseating one of the current outfielders for a starting job without an injury.
The starting rotation provides more opportunities, as Josh Johnson is eligible for free agency. With R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow under contract through 2015, there remain two rotation spots which could potentially be open for competition. However, with J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Ricky Romero, Sean Nolin (and even possibly Marcus Stroman) all potentially vying for those spots, it's not clear yet who could have the most value for fantasy owners. This doesn't even take into account the possibility that the team goes out in the free agent market, which is a definite possibility as well. Lurking still at this point is the main piece in return from the Roy Halladay trade, pitcher Kyle Drabek, and he could potentially be in the mix for one of those spots as well.
In the bullpen, Darren Oliver is eligible for free agency, and after last year's attempt to force a trade to Texas I would imagine he will not be returning to Toronto. Casey Janssen could be a free agent if the Jays don't pick up his club option at $4 million, which seems like a no-brainer for the team. In general, the roster for 2014 is pretty well set at most positions, and unless they make a trade involving one of these players, it's not likely we see a lot of turnover in the Majors.
Top 10 Fantasy Prospects
By Andrew Ball(@andrewball)
Our top 10 fantasy prospect rankings are based upon standard 5x5 fantasy baseball leagues, with a balancing of ceiling and present value. While we are having discussions regarding these lists as a collective group, the top 10 fantasy prospect rankings are finalized by the writer listed above. Players are no longer considered prospects once they exceed either 130 at bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 days of service time in the Majors prior to September 1st.
#1 Marcus Stroman (RHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 9 0 3.30 1.13 129 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 111.67 1.05 1.15 5.9% 28.1% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 22 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2015 Season) AA
Following an impressive junior year at Duke, the Blue Jays' drafted Stroman 22nd overall in the 2012 draft, making him the first Blue Devil ever selected in the first round. Signed quickly, Stroman reached Double-A in his debut before testing positive for a stimulant and earning a 50-game suspension to finish his season. In 2013, he headed back to New Hampshire where he shoved for five months, closing the campaign with a 3.30 ERA and fanning 129 in 111.2 innings.
The success doesn't really come as a surprise - the righty is extremely athletic (he was a prospect as a shortstop in high school) with unbelievable arm speed. His repertoire compares favorably to other top arms in the minors. The fastball seems to explode out of his hand, consistently in the mid-90's and touching 98 in shorter spurts with riding life. And his secondary pitches are just as good, if not better. He throws both a slider and a cutter; the slider has quality two-plane break at 83-86 mph, and the cutter is harder, 88-90 with late, biting action. Both are bat missers and legitimate weapons against hitters from both sides. Lagging behind is a low 80's changup, but even that may turn into an average fourth pitch with good separation and some sink.
Stroman has just one discernible concern in his profile - he's 5-foot-9. If he stood 6-foot-2 instead, we would be talking about one of the premiere pitching prospects in the game, but instead the debate rages on regarding his ultimate big league role. Those that side reliever think that he lacks the necessary plane to avoid homers, especially when facing a lineup multiple times. To their point, Stroman allowed 13 home runs in the Eastern League this year, a relatively high total for his limited innings.
It should be known that among our group, there was a general sense of uneasiness projecting Stroman in the rotation long term, and the consensus did not rank him in the top spot. It doesn't feel great ranking a 5-foot-9 pitcher this highly, but I do think he stays in the rotation, and the stuff, the moxie, and the athleticism makes him at least a solid number three with an upside for more.
If nothing else persuades you, check out Stroman's twitter feed once in a while and you will see that he is nothing but motivated to prove that he can start at the big league level. That's the confidence it takes to succeed against hitters at the highest level, and it may just help him overcome his physical limitations. If not, he will be a dynamite reliever so the floor is exponentially higher than most pitching prospects. Look for the Jays to send him to Triple-A Buffalo to begin 2014 with a promotion to Toronto in his near future.
#2 Aaron Sanchez (RHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 4 0 3.34 1.20 75 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 86.1 0.42 2.33 11.1% 20.8% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 21 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2014 Season) A-
If you're a bit of a dreamer, Aaron Sanchez is a prospect after your heart. He has a prototypical starter's build with excellent projection, and some of the best stuff in all of the minor leagues. Almost regardless of the day, Sanchez features an electric fastball, working in the plus range and touching the upper 90's at times. His arm speed is phenomenal and scouts note that the velocity is effortless, as if he's just playing catch at 96 mph. Sanchez also throws two offspeed pitches, a curveball and a changeup, that both profile as future plus pitches. The hook is better at present, a real downer thrown in the upper 70's with tight rotation and late bite, but the change is coming along nicely as well, showing late fade and average deception.
The knock on Sanchez is his command, or more aptly, his lack of command. The right-hander has walked nearly 12% of the batters he has faced in pro ball, and while supporters are quick to point out he cut his walks by nearly 3% in 2013, it came at the expense of his strikeouts. Reports from the Arizona Fall League ($) point out that his delivery has regressed in the past few years, with a much shorter stride and a more upright finish. That's led to too many fastballs up in the zone and shaky command of all three pitches -- while simultaneously putting him at more risk for arm injuries. Toronto will look to correct those flaws heading into next season, something that shouldn't be terribly difficult for an athletic pitcher like Sanchez, but it's definitely not what you want to hear about a top arm.
As Jason pointed out above, almost unfairly Sanchez is compared to former rotation-mate Noah Syndergaard, which hurt him this past year if only because Syndergaard solidified himself as one of the top pitching prospects in the game in 2013. For Sanchez, 2013 should also be viewed as an encouraging year. Toronto aggressively sent him to Hi-A as a 20-year-old and he more than held his head above water against older competition with a 3.34 ERA. Sure, his strikeouts dropped, but the stuff remained there, and as he improves his command and matures there's little doubt that he will miss bats in bunches.
If his command becomes even average, Sanchez will be a force, a championship-caliber number two with low ratios and gaudy strikeout totals. If it doesn't, he still has the chance to be a frustrating back-end starter a la Edwin Jackson or a dominant bullpen arm. It's yet to be seen if Toronto will continue the aggressive path and push him Double-A as a 21-year-old, but if they do he may be in line for a promotion after the All-Star break.
#3 Franklin Barreto (SS) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) AVG R HR RBI SB 0.276 34 4 26 10 SECONDARY STATISTICS PA OBP% SLG% BB% K% 252 0.343 0.482 6.0% 22.2% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 18 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2016) Rk
Barreto put himself on scout's radars with an impressive international career as a Venezuelan amateur that included MVP awards in the Pan American tournaments in 2008 and 2010, capping it all off by blasting two home runs against Team USA in the 2011 16U World Championships. When the 2012 July 2 international signing period opened, Barreto was considered the top talent on the market, eventually agreeing to terms with Toronto for $1.45 million. In 2013, the Jays sent him to the Gulf Coast League where he hit .299 with a league-best .522 slugging percentage as one of the youngest players in the league.
Like Stroman, Barreto stands just 5-foot-9, but he has surprising strength thanks to his lightning fast hands and powerful forearms. He'll never be a 30 homer threat, but he could very well hit 15-20 a year in his prime. Despite a low walk total in his debut, he earns praise for his recognition skills and his hit tool regularly is graded as a future 60 or 65. Best of all, Barreto is a well-above average runner, clocking times in the 3.7-3.8 range down to first base on digs, outstanding numbers for a right-handed hitter. Although he will need to improve his jumps and timing to improve on the 62.5% success rate he had on the bases, 40+ steals a season is a distinct possibility.
Unfortunately, it's going to take a lot of work for him to stick at shortstop. His athleticism and speed are unquestioned, but his arm strength is just average and he's pretty rough at the position. In the GCL, he struggled with his footwork and actions, committing 19 errors in just 42 games. If short doesn't work out, Barreto will still stay up the middle either at second base or in centerfield. At this point Barreto is almost all ceiling, so it's easy to fall in love with the dream that he becomes another Rafael Furcal or Shane Victorino, and forget how much can still go wrong. Regardless, even if Toronto pushes him it will likely be at least four years before he's ready to make any sort of impact in the big leagues.
#4 Roberto Osuna (RHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 3 0 5.56 1.19 51 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 42.1 1.28 1.08 6.3% 29.0% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 18 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2015 Season) A
After pitching in the Mexican League as a 16-year-old, Toronto signed Osuna for $1.5 million to bring him stateside. Despite making just nine starts in his affiliated debut, the righty turned some heads with a 2.27 ERA and a 27.2% strikeout rate against much older competition. His 2013 season was cut short due to a tear in his UCL, making his already up-and-down results even tougher to gauge. Prior to the injury, the Jays assigned him to Lo-A Lansing where he finished with 39 hits allowed, 11 walks, and 51 strikeouts allowed in 42.1 innings. As good as those numbers seem, he also posted a 5.53 ERA, though as Jason Hunt pointed out earlier in the year, most of the damage came in his last three starts after the injury, where he allowed 17 earned runs and 6 walks in just 9 frames.
Assuming he returns healthy, Osuna is an exciting yet difficult prospect to project. He's been really young for his levels thus far, but physically he doesn't appear to have any maturing left to do. He's already 230 pounds, and some worry that weight may be an issue for him down the road. That said, his physically maturity shouldn't take away from his approach or his arsenal. Osuna attacks hitters with three potential plus offerings, a mid-90's fastball, a curveball with excellent depth, and a split-changeup that gets swings and misses with sharp vertical drop. Just how good he can be is still being determined because, when healthy, he's yet to face hitters that challenge him. Once he returns from his injury we'll gain a better understanding of his ceiling, but along with Stroman and Sanchez, Osuna gives the Jays a trio of quality pitching prospects.
#5 (Ryan) Rowdy Tellez (1B) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) AVG R HR RBI SB 0.234 10 2 20 1 SECONDARY STATISTICS PA OBP% SLG% BB% K% 141 0.319 0.371 10.6% 18.4% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 18 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2017) Rk
Typically, 30th round picks from the previous year's draft don't show up on top-10 lists, but Rowdy Tellez isn't the typical 30th rounder. Ranked 59th on the Baseball America pre-draft rankings, Tellez fell due to signability concerns and a strong commitment to USC. It appeared unlikely that the Jays would sign him, but when negotiations with first-round pick Phil Bickford ultimately fell apart, Toronto gave $850,000 to Tellez to add the power-hitting lefty to their system.
Already filled out, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 220 pounds, Tellez has worked hard to keep himself in good shape and moves quite well for his size. In his debut, he played first base exclusively, but he did play some outfield as an amateur and he could potentially play left field should the need be desperate enough.
What sets him apart, though, is his power and feel for hitting. As an amateur, Tellez won the Perfect Game National Showcase home run derby, defeating Indians' first round pick Clint Frazier. His raw power is easily a plus tool, and while he does most of his damage to the pull side, he drives the ball with authority to all fields. He also has an advanced approach, showing a patient, but not passive, demeanor at the plate. His numbers in the GCL leave a lot to be desired, but encouragingly he kept his strikeout rate below 20%, walked more than 10% of the time, and he got better as the season went along.
His season already fits into the small sample size category, but removing his first nine games, Tellez hit a much more respectable .271/.330/.438. He also found his way onto the final BA hot-sheet of the year after going 10 for 24 with five extra-base hits. In a system lacking high-end position players, Tellez may be the best bet to be an impact bat when he gets to the show. He should make his full season debut as a 19-year-old in 2014.
Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports #6 Sean Nolin (LHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 9 0 3.22 1.30 116 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 111.66 0.64 1 7.9% 25.5% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 24 L/L On 40 Man Roster (3 Options Remaining) AA, AAA, MLB
Sean Nolin has made pitching in the minor leagues look relatively easy over the past three seasons, pitching himself all the way from the Midwest League to Toronto. He may not have the upside of the pitchers above him on the list, but there is a lot to like about the lefty. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, he has a big, sturdy frame that will hold up to the rigors of taking the ball every fifth day. He also has sound, repeatable mechanics and a high IQ on the mound. T
he problem is that Nolin is more crafty than dominating, drawing comparisons to a left-handed Jason Jennings. He pitches off his fastball, an average to above-average pitch that ranges from 88-94, sitting 90-91 in most outings, which works thanks to natural arm-side run and plus command of the heater. His best secondary pitch is a circle-changeup thrown with nearly identical arm speed and he also blends in a slider and a curveball. All three look to be average offerings, but none is a true out pitch. Still, the results to this point have been rather impressive. For his minor league career, Nolin has a 2.78 ERA and he's struck out 25.8% of batters while walking just 7.1%, and his numbers showed no discernible decline in the upper levels.
With polish, pitchability, and a deep arsenal, Nolin is almost the exact opposite of Aaron Sanchez, and he may have the highest floor among players on this list. He has the upside of a Mark Buehrle-type workhorse, though his command will need to be elite to reach that. More realistically, Nolin should develop into a number-four starter for the Jays, and he'll enter spring training with a chance to win a rotation spot in 2014.
#7 Alberto Tirado (RHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 3 0 1.68 1.27 44 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 48.1 0.19 1.33 9.7% 21.3% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 19 R/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2015 Season) Rk
Tirado was one of 12 international free agents that inked six-figure deals with the Blue Jays in 2011, signing for $300,000. Since coming stateside, he's pitched extremely well, with a 2.27 ERA, 80 strikeouts, and just 37 walks in 91.1 innings in short-season ball over the past two years. When he was signed, his fastball topped out at 91-92 mph, but now he sits 91-94 and touches 96-97. The velocity looks effortless, stemming from a fast and loose right arm. For a teenager, he controls and commands his fastball well, especially down in the zone. His slider is still a work in progress, though some have called it a potential 70-grade offering. Tirado also throws a changeup, but both secondary pitches are immature right now. As they improve and become more consistent weapons, his strikeouts should increase.
There is some concern with Tirado regarding his size and durability. He's generously listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds and he's hasn't even topped the 50-inning mark or pitched in a full season league yet. For that reason, it's tough to rank him higher on this list, but it's easy to understand the buzz. He should make his full season debut in 2014, and with continued development of his secondary stuff, the Jays could have a top-of-the rotation starter on their hands.
#8 Daniel Norris (LHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 2 0 3.97 1.44 100 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 90.67 0.60 1.32 11.5% 25.0% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 20 L/L Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2015 Season) A, A+
Considered the top high school southpaw available in the 2011 draft, Norris was snatched up by the Jays in the second round and signed for $2 million. After signing late, Norris didn't pitch professionally in 2011, but the reputation he gained as an amateur snuck him into the back half of some top-100 lists heading into the season.
Norris spent the majority of 2012 in the Appalachian League, also making two starts in the Northwest League, with dreadful results. He finished the year with an ugly 8.44 ERA across the two levels, and opposing hitters batted .320 off of him. Toronto said all the right things, crediting the down year to changes in his delivery and arm slot and an emphasis on developing his secondary pitches, but his prospect star dimmed significantly during that year.
Last season, Norris looked much closer to the pitcher Toronto thought they had drafted. He spent almost the entire season in Low-A Lansing, ending the year with a much more respectable 4.20 ERA. Moreover, his FIP of 3.45 and 26.1% strikeout rate suggest that he pitched even better than that. At his best, Norris deploys a low-90's fastball that touches 96 mph, a curveball that flashes plus, and a changeup.
His demeanor, size, and stuff all look like that of a frontline starter, but he will need to be much more consistent and improve both his control and command to ever come close to that ceiling. One point in his favor is his athleticism, which was a big part of his improvement in 2013 with cleaner mechanics and a truer arm slot from start to start. After 2012, Norris still has a long road to rebuilding his status as a prospect, but last year was a step in the right direction.
#9 Chase DeJong (RHP) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) W SV ERA WHIP K 2 0 3.05 1.21 66 SECONDARY STATISTICS IP HR/9 GO/AO BB% K% 56 0.32 0.62 4.3% 28.1% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 20 L/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2016 Season) Rk
Like Norris, DeJong was a second round pick in the 2012 draft, though his results have been much, much better to this point. Over the past two seasons, DeJong has a 2.78 ERA with an 81/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 68.0 innings pitched. Those numbers scream "ace" in flashing neon lights, but that's not quite the case for the righty. DeJong does have an excellent build, 6-foot-4 with room to fill out, but he gets better marks for his feel for pitching than his pure stuff. He has an average fastball, 89-93, which he spots well to both sides of the plate, an overhand curveball that could turn into a plus pitch, and a changeup with similar upside, though neither is particularly close in the present.
As he moves up he may have a problem with his arm action -- DeJong has a bit of a one-piece arm and it allows hitters to get a good, long look at the ball out of his hand. -- but it hasn't hurt him yet. Reports say that he did a better job repeating his delivery and landing soft on his front side this year, encouraging signs for his future command. DeJong doesn't match the excitement of some of the other arms in this system, but don't sleep on him because he has a chance to be a quality big leaguer. He'll join Tirado in Lansing's rotation next year.
#10 D.J. Davis (OF) FANTASY STATISTICS (ALL LEVELS) AVG R HR RBI SB 0.240 35 6 25 13 SECONDARY STATISTICS PA OBP% SLG% BB% K% 258 0.323 0.418 10.1% 29.5% OTHER INFORMATION AGE ON 1/1/2014 B/T ROSTER STATUS LEVELS 19 L/R Not On 40-Man Roster (Protect After 2016) Rk
Loaded with picks in the 2012 draft, the Blue Jays used their first choice to select high school outfielder D.J. Davis 17th overall. He signed quickly for $1.75 million, allowing him to play 55 games between Bluefield and Vancouver. Between them he hit .250/.355/.386 with 5 home runs and 25 steals, a solid debut for the outfielder. In 2013 he went back to Bluefield and posted an identical .741 OPS, but he struck out in nearly 30% of his at bats and his steals cut in half.
Davis has an extremely loud tool set and the physical abilities to be a star, but it's going to take some work. On the physical side, he's a premium athlete, an 80 runner with strength and elite bat speed. Davis is so fast that some claim he'd beat Billy Hamilton in a foot race, and if he can get on base enough he'll create havoc on the bases. Of course that's a big if. He doesn't recognize spin out of the hand, and he swings through far too many pitches.
Honestly, it's unlikely that the bat is ever good enough for him to truly be an impact player, but skill sets like his are rare enough that you wait a long time before moving on. If history is any indication, we should worry about Davis considering that only two high school players from Mississippi have ever reached the big leagues, and neither played more than 100 games in their careers. He's got a lot of work to do to ever approach his ceiling, and he'll begin that quest in Lansing in 2014.
Other Interesting Prospects
By Andrew Ball (@andrew_ball)
Matt Smoral, LHP - A broken foot kept Smoral from going in the first round of the 2012 draft, but Toronto kept him away from a North Carolina commitment with a $2 million bonus. A very large human at 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds, Smoral is still learning to control his body and his delivery, leading to atrocious numbers in the Gulf Coast League. Still, the size and the potential for a plus fastball/slider combo make him an intriguing prospect to follow.
Richard Urena, SS - A left-handed hitting shortstop from the Dominican, Urena hit .296/.381/.403 and swiped 9 bags in the Dominican summer league. He probably won't even play in a full season league until 2015, but he may bolt up this list in future years.
For more on the Blue Jays, be sure to check out SBNation's Bluebird Banter . For more on the minor leagues and prospects in general, check out SBNation's Minor League Ball.
About the Authors
Jason Hunt is a contributing writer for Fake Teams, specializing in the minor leagues and prospects.
Follow him on Twitter @jasonsbaseball
Andrew Ball is a contributing writer for Beyond the Box Score and Fake Teams, specializing in fantasy baseball and the minor leagues.
Follow him on Twitter @Andrew_Ball
Brian Creagh is a contributing writer for Fake Teams, specializing in fantasy baseball and the minor leagues.
Follow him on Twitter @BrianCreagh
Matt Mattingly is a contributing writer for Fake Teams, specializing in fantasy baseball and the minor leagues.
Follow him on Twitter @MattMattingly81
Sources
Baseball America
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Reference
Fangraphs
Bluebird Banter
Vimeo
Youtube |
MANILA - A new Social Weather Stations survey shows that 1 out of every 4 Filipinos are at risk of disenfranchisement for the 2016 elections.
Based on interviews with 1,200 people around the country, SWS reported 76 percent of the respondents are registered voters with validation. This represents the percentage of voters who will be allowed to vote in the 2016 elections. Another 16 percent of the respondents are registered but without validation while 8 percent are not registered at all.
The Commission on Elections, however, said that this is far from their current figures, where the number of registered voters who are not validated is now down to 3.2 million.
As of July 2015, there are already 52.3 million registered voters for the 2016 elections.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that of these 3.2 million, a significant number are not expected to go to Comelec for validation.
"Sa 3.2 million na yun kasama na dun yung mga namatay na, yung mga lumipat na ng tirahan and hindi na nagparehistro ulit o lumipat na ng bansa, some of them may even be in jail," Jimenez told reporters.
The Comelec spokesman also questioned why the number of unregistered and unvalidated voters was a matter for an SWS survey, as anyone could just easily check their records.
"Whether or not a person can vote is determined by whether or not he is actually registered in the Comelec. It is not a matter of opinion," Jimenez said.
Since the start of the year, more voters have been encouraged to go to the Comelec offices for validation at the risk of being disenfranchised in the 2016 elections. The poll body noted a sharp decline of those without biometrics, decreasing from as high as 9 million voters last year to just 3.2 million by the end of the third quarter of 2015. |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Swans have been in the top half of the Premier League all season
Swansea City have become the first Welsh club to make it into the top 30 highest-earning teams in the world.
The Premier League side is ranked 29th on the list compiled by Deloitte with revenue of ยฃ98.7m in 2013/14.
The list looks at how much money clubs make from match day sales, broadcasting deals and sponsorship.
Cardiff City made the top 40, along with every other club playing in the Premier League during the 2013/14 season.
Deliotte said the Swans' qualification for the UEFA Europa League last season, following their Football League Cup win in 2013, had delivered significant revenue growth.
That, combined with income from Premier League broadcast deals, saw the club's ranking rise 12 years after it was sold for just ยฃ1. |
Under the proposal, courts would be able to compensate victims, but the ALRC said it would not propose penalties for offenders.
Wearable technology v privacy
The recommendations comes amid an ongoing debate over the potential implications of wearable technologies like Google Glass, which could be used to surreptitiously record others without their knowing.
โA mobile phone could be used as a surveillance device as well to record a private conversation or record a private activity without consent; it could be set up in a way thatโs recording, so we already have the concept that wearable items that are in ubiquitous use do have the potential to carry out what would be unauthorised surveillance," commissioner and a professor of law at the University of Sydney, Barbara McDonald , told The Australian Financial Review.
She said the proposal was an attempt at โunderpinning the right to feel you can speak freely without someone keeping a record of it without your knowledge".
Though still theoretically in prototype, Google Glass has already come under fire from privacy commissioners since its announcement over the potential to invade someoneโs privacy.
A US woman was found not guilty of negligence while wearing a Glass prototype while driving in January, but a stream of stories over the discomfort some have with Glass wearers in public have haunted the deviceโs prospects of commercial success.
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Google Glassโs marketing director Ed Sanders told Financial Review Sunday that social acceptance of the device would come with time.
โWhenever we have a disruptive technology it will promote and provoke debate in the same way thereโs a social fabric around how you should use your mobile phone," he said.
โWe donโt want to force a consumer product on people without understanding what theyโre worried about and whether we could look at ways to ยญmitigate that from a userโs perspective."
Federal privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim told the Financial Review last year that he had requested a briefing from Google on the technology.
โGoogle Glass are going to be wonderful devices with many uses," Ms McDonald said. โA very high percentage of those uses might be perfectly legitimate and things we might get used to but that doesnโt mean to say that they donโt sometimes cross the line.
โIt might well be that we have to move away from the concept of devices, because quite clearly people can track other people not just by devices but by software . . . or data mining networks.
โThere are different ways of keeping people under surveillance."
New proposals
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The proposal for consistent surveillance laws, if adopted as is, would stretch to law enforcement and national security agencies in cases where surveillance is conducted without a warrant.
It would also ensure workplaces are prevented from monitoring staff without their knowledge, except in cases of a fraud or criminal investigation.
The discussion paper also proposed introducing a defence for online giants like Facebook and Google, protecting them for lawsuits in instances where their websites have been used to contravene someoneโs privacy.
Companies such as Google have been the subject of defamation cases globally as people look to take down content associated with their names on the search engine that is harmful to their reputation.
But Ms McDonald said the proposed safe harbour regime would not immunise the companies from defamation cases, and would only apply if a court deemed the company had done enough to protect a personโs privacy.
โThe difficulty of even suing an internet service provider would be proving that they had done something intentionally to invade someoneโs privacy and itโs hard to think of an example where theyโve done that," she said.
โI have to say we thought long and hard ourselves as to whether it would perform a role โ it may well be that itโs not necessary because of the way that a cause of action has been formulated."
The ALRC was asked by the former Labor government to look at โinnovative ways in which law may reduce serious invasions of privacy in the digital era" while balancing other rights.
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According to Ms McDonald, the advent of the internet and new methods of communicating had caused complications for expectations of privacy, such as the prospect of whether drones would impinge on oneโs personal privacy.
โI think the expectations of privacy have changed but I donโt think theyโve gone" she said.
โObviously there are much greater risks now because everybody also wants to engage in the activities that open the risk โ they want to be online on Facebook, sending emails and using apps.
โThe risk of someone keeping you under surveillance is not generally a risk people expect.
โA lot will rest on the definition in the act on what is a private activity . . . you canโt legislate for every possible situation so youโve got to put in a test which courts can use to determine whether conduct falls inside or outside."
The commission is due to provide final recommendations to the federal government in June. |
jjw Profile Joined July 2011 Korea (South) 6 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 23:19:06 #1 Mod Note: This is an opinion article on the NASL situation by Thisisgame. However, the writer of this article is a member on the advisory board of s2con.
Update: Added more complete translation to OP
NASL.tv's reply:
+ Show Spoiler + Would like to respond to some of these points. While not this is not an official statement of SC2Con, it does bring up serious points of contention.
They told that they will pay back it but still players who join the tournament didn't get it. NASL also require more deposit($500) in the next season
1) Our contract states that all prizes//stipend//deposit will be paid and refunded within 60 days of the tournament finish. This contract was signed by every Korean team manager and player that played in Season 1. Further, we have already paid back all the security deposits of Korean teams for Season 1, in addition to the deposits of players who were slated not to return for Season 2.
If anyone doubts this claim -- feel free to contact Artosis, Grubby, Liquid (who paid for the oGs Season 1 deposit), HuK (who paid for Boxer's deposit), Rainbow (who paid his own deposit), and WeMadeFox.
As of yesterday, all these payments were completed, which is still 1 month within our target deadline to send all payments.
Second there were no care about Korean players who join the NASL. Korean top player like Boxer, moon, mc, Nada but they should overcome the parallax and they had terrible condiction to play game and schedule was changed and it made things worse.
2) The Korean players were made very well aware of our schedule before Season 1. Players were expected to wake up once per week to play a match at 4-8am. The schedule for Season 2 was even slightly adjusted to make it more bearable for Korean players, with games starting at 2am KST (which we gathered from talking to some Korean players, was a more reasonable time).
The Grand Finall was even worse. Players had to pay all of the bill for transportation, lodging, and meal. NASL gave $500 to each player who join the Grand Final but it just half of tickets and lodging. Some players can slove it to deduction in their prize. Then they can get the ticket and lodging
3) This is completely false. The Korean teams expressed difficulty in attending the Grand Finals, so we offered to buy their tickets for them, and reserve their hotels for them, and arrange shuttle service for them. We spent $1,192 for each of the tickets we bought for Korean players (MC, Zenio, Squirtle, PuMa). Each hotel room cost $350, and the shuttle service to and from LAX airport averaged out to approximately $80 per players. We wrote, and had the letter translated into Korean, that we would be happy to do this for them to solve the problem of attending, and then deduct this from their travel stipends and prize. The four players who we bought tickets for expressly agreed to this. Moon, Boxer, July, and aLive made separate travel arrangements.
Even they get huge benifits to their online bordcasting but they didn't treated well who play in the NASL.
4) Benefit is always two ways. Hosting a league such as this is a mutually beneficial relationship. The league benefits by having the players play, and the players benefit by the amount of exposure playing gives them. Leagues such as the NASL, GSL, and MLG are the avenues in which players can compete and make their names known to the world.
We absolutely love interacting with the Korean players and having them play in our league. We put serious strains on our budget, not only in Season 1, but moving forward in Season 2, to try to accommodate the Koreans so that they can play in our league. We hate to see them withdrawing and this is the last thing we want.
So Korean teams and player require to NASL to remove the deposit and solve the problem about airplane tickets and lodging but they didn't accecpted it
5) We have offered $2,000 per player to attend the finals. We've offered a deal already where we would pay for flights, hotel, and travel (with those fees deducted from earning).
On August 13 2011 01:48 BaekHo wrote:
This is NOT an OFFICIAL statement.
๊ตฌ์ฒด์ ์ธ ๋ด์ฉ์ ํตํด ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด NASL์ ๋ถ์ฐธํ๊ฒ ๋ ์ด์ ๋ฅผ ์ค๋ช
ํ๋ค. ๋จผ์ NASL์ ๋ํ ์ถ์ ์ ์ํ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ ์ง๊ธ์ ์๊ตฌํ๋ค. NASL์ ์ง๋ 4์ ์ค์๋ถํฐ 6์ ์ค์๊น์ง 2๊ฐ์ ๋์ ์จ๋ผ์ธ์ผ๋ก ์กฐ๋ณ ํ๋ฆฌ๊ทธ๋ฅผ ์งํํ๋ฉด์ ์ถ์ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ 1์ธ๋น 250๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 27๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๋ฐ์๋ค.
They (GOM and SC2Con) explained why Koreans do NOT participate in NASL. First of all, NASL asked security Deposit. Starting mid April to mid May, (about 2 month) during online premid leagues, they gathered about 250$ per each players.
๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ๋ํ๊ฐ ์งํ๋ ์ดํ ๋๋ ค์ค ๊ฒ์ด๋ผ๊ณ ํ์ง๋ง ๋ํ์ ์ถ์ ํ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ง๊น์ง๋ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ๋๋ ค๋ฐ์ง ๋ชปํ๊ณ ์๋ ์ํ๋ค. NASL์ ์ฌ๊ธฐ์์ ๊ทธ์น์ง ์๊ณ ์์ฆ2๋ถํฐ๋ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ 1์ธ๋น 500๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 54๋ง)๋ก 2๋ฐฐ๋ ์ฌ๋ ธ๋ค.
Although NASL.tv said that they will pay security deposit money back, players didn't get their money back. Also, NASL.tv raised security deposit money twice of last season to 500$, compare to last season (250$)
์ด์ฐฝ๊ธฐ ๊ฐ ์ถ์๋์ ๋ PC๋ฐฉ์์ ์งํํ๋ ์ด๋ฒคํธ ๋ํ๋ ์ถ์ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ๋์ ๋ฐ์ง๋ ์์๋ค. ํ๋ฌผ๋ฉฐ ํ๋ก ์ ์๊ฐ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ๋ํ๊ฐ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์๊ตฌํ๋ค๋ ๊ฒ ์์ฒด๊ฐ ์์์ ์ผ๋ก ์ดํด๊ฐ ๋์ง ์๋ ํํ๋ค.
When Starcraft first came out (not sure if hes referring to SC1 or SCll), even small LAN events done in internet cafe, they didnt have entry fee (I believe its SCl), yet huge league where all progamers attending asking for security deposit is abusive.
๋ ๋ฒ์งธ NASL ์ถ์ ์ ์์ ๋ํ ๋ฐฐ๋ ค๋ค. ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ NASL ์์ฆ1์ ์์ํ(์ฌ๋ ์ด์ด์ค), ์ฅ์ฌํธ(ํญ์ค), ์ฅ๋ฏผ์ฒ , ์ด์ค์ด(์ด์ oGs) ๋ฑ ์ ์๊ธ ์ ์๊ฐ 10๋ช
์ด๋ ์ถ์ ํ๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ด๋ค์ด ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ฐฉ์ก์ ์งํํ๋ ํ์ง ์๊ฐ์ ๋ง์ถฐ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์น๋ฅด๋๋ผ ์๋ฒฝ๊ฐ์ด ์ผ์ด๋ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ์ ์ํ๋ค. ์ด๋ก ์ธํด ์ ์๋ค์ ์ต์
์ ์ปจ๋์
์์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์น๋ฌ์ผ ํ๊ณ , ์ด๋ง์ ๋ ์ ํด์ง ์ผ์ ์ด ๋ณ๊ฒฝ๋๋ฉด์ ์ ๋๋ก ์น๋ฌ์ง์ง ์๋ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ๊น์ง ๋ฐ์ํ๋ค.
Secondly, players having hard time playing in NASL. In the first NASL Season, top Korean players like Boxer, moon, nada played in NASL. However, because of live cast, players had to wake about 4am every time there was tournament match - which caused players to be in low concentration and tiredness. Also, there were some case where schedule changed, and they did not play.
NASL์ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ ๋น์ทํ ์๊ธฐ์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์งํํ TSL3๊ณผ ๋น๊ตํด NASL์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ ์งํ ๋ฐฉ์์ ๋ํด ๋ถ๋ง์ ํํ๊ธฐ๋ ํ๋ค. ๊ฒ๋ค๊ฐ ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ํ ์งํ์ธ ๊ด๊ณ๋ก ๋งค ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ ๋ (์ง์ฐ ํ์)๋ ์ฌํ๋ค.
Players who played in NASL thought that way that TSL3 scheduled matches were supportive than NASL did. Since it was Online tournament, every games had delays. (high latency)
๋ฏธ๊ตญ ํ์ง์์ ์งํ๋ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋์ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ๋ ๋์ฑ ์๋ง์ด์๋ค. ์ ์๋ค์ ๋ฏธ๊ตญ์ผ๋ก ์ด๋ํ๋ ๋นํ๊ธฐ์ ์๋ฐ, ์์ฌ ๋ฑ ๋ชจ๋ ๋น์ฉ์ ๋ณธ์ธ์ด ์ง์ ํด๊ฒฐํด์ผ ํ๋ค. NASL ์ธก์ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋์ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ํด 1์ธ๋น 500๋ฌ๋ฌ์ฉ ์ ๊ณตํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ์ด์ผ๊ธฐํ์ง๋ง ์ถ์ ์ ํ์ํ ๊ฒฝ๋น์ ์ ๋ฐ์๋ ๋ฏธ์น์ง ๋ชปํ๋ค. ์ด์ ์ผ๋ถ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ ์ ๋ํ ์๊ธ์์ ๊ณต์ ํ๊ธฐ๋ก ์ฝ์ํ๊ณ ๋์์ผ ๋นํ๊ธฐํ์ ์์๋ฅผ ํด๊ฒฐํ ์ ์์๋ค.
Grandfinal in US was even more disturbing. Players had to play from their own expenses in order to go States (Flight ticket, Hotel, Food). NASL.tv said that for each player, who is going to States, they will support with 500$ US, but it was not even half amount of travel expenses. So some players promised to pay their expenses from money that they will win after the tournament, get money from NASL; then, had barely enough money for flight ticket and hotel.
๋ํ, NASL์ LA๊ณตํญ์ ๋์ฐฉํ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด ๋ํ๊ฐ ์ด๋ฆฌ๋ ํ์ฅ์ผ๋ก ์ด๋ํ๋ ๊ณผ์ ์์ 80๋ฌ๋ฌ์ ํฝ์
๋น์ฉ์ ๋ฐ์ ๊ฒ์ผ๋ก ํ์ธ๋๋ค.
Also we checked NASL get $80 for pickup fees to drive LA airport through the convention center.
๊ทธ ๋ค์ NASL ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ฐฉ์ก์ ์ ๋ฃ(์ ํ์ง์ ๋ฌด๋ฃ)๋ก ์๋น์คํ๋ฉด์ ๋ง๋ํ ์ด์ต์ ์ป์์์๋ ์์ ๋ค์ ์์ต์ ์ํด ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ฝํ
์ธ ๋ฅผ ์ ๊ณตํ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ๋ํ ์
์ด๋ค.
Even though NASL made a lot of profits throughout HQ (LQ was free), for their own profits, they were neglected about players.
์ด ์ ํ๊ตญ์ ๊ฒ์๋จ๊ณผ ์ ์๋ค์ NASL ์ธก์ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์์จ ๊ฒ๊ณผ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋ ์ฐธ๊ฐ๋ฅผ ์ํ ํญ๊ณต, ์๋ฐ, ์ฒด์ ๋น์ฉ์ ์ ๊ณต์ ์๊ตฌํ์ง๋ง ๊ฑฐ์ ๋นํ๋ค.
Thus, Korean pro gaming teams and players asked NASL to reduce or delete security deposit money and support travel expenses, but got refused.
NASL์ ๊ณต์ง๋ฅผ ํตํด 1์ธ๋น ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋ ์ถ์ ๋น์ฉ์ผ๋ก ์ด์ ์ 2๋ฐฐ์ธ 1์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 108๋ง์)๋ฅผ ์ง๊ธํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ํ์ผ๋ ์ด๋ ๋ฏธ๊ตญํ ๋นํ๊ธฐํ๋ฅผ ๊ตฌ์
ํ๊ธฐ๋ ๋ถ์กฑํ ๊ธ์ก์ด๋ค. ๋ํ, ์ฌํ ๋น์ฉ 1์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ๋ฅผ ํฌํจํด 2์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 216๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๋ถ๋ฐฐํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ์ต์ข
์ ์ผ๋ก ์ ์ํ์ง๋ง ํ์ธ ๊ฒฐ๊ณผ ์ด๋ ๋ํ์ ์ฐ์น ์๊ธ์ ์ญ๊ฐํ๊ณ ์ง๊ธํ๊ธฐ๋ก ํ ๊ฒ์ผ๋ก, ๊ฒฐ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ์ง๊ธํด์ผ ํ ๊ธ์ก์ ์กฐ์ ํด์ ์๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ๋ฉดํ๊ธฐ ์ํ โ์กฐ์ผ๋ชจ์ฌโ์ ๋ถ๊ณผํ๋ค.
NASL.tv said (throughout bulletin) for each players who will be playing in GrandFinal, they will going to support with 1000$ US, compare to Season 1 of 500$, but 1000$ is not even enough for flight ticket to United States. Also, they said, including 1000$ travel expenses, they will pay extra 2000$, but apparently NASL.tv decide to reduce price pool in order to give extra travel expenses. (Eventually providing players about same amount of money)
์ต๊ทผ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด ์๋ฐ๋ผ ํด์ธ ํ์ผ๋ก ์ด์ ํ๊ณ ์๊ณ ๋ค์์ ํด์ธ ๋ํ์ ์ถ์ ํ๊ณ ์๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ด์ ๋ํ ๋ณด๋ค ์ ์คํ ์ ๊ทผ์ด ํ์ํ๋ค. NASL์ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ์ ๋ง์ฐฌ๊ฐ์ง๋ก ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ต์์ ์ฝํ
์ธ ๋ฅผ ๊ณต๊ธํ ์ ์๋ ์ข์ ๋๋ฒ์ด ์๋จ์ด๋ค. ๊ทธ๋ฌ๋ ๊ทธ๋ค์ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ ๋ค์ ๋๋ฒ์ด์ ์ด์ฉํ๋ฉด์ ์ ๋นํ ๋๊ฐ๋ฅผ ์ง๋ถํ์ง๋ ์๋๋ค.
Nowadays, many Korean players decide to step outside of Korea and join foreign team, and play in foreign tournament. However, we need to be careful about this. Tournament like NASL show the case that Korean players can show high level of game play, attracting lots of people; However, they only use Korean players in order to make money for their own and not being supportive for players.
๊ณฐ TV๋ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ํด์ธ ์ง์ถ๊ณผ ํด์ธ ์ฐ์ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ๊ตญ ํ๋์ ์ํด ๋ค์ํ ์ฐ๊ณ ํ๋ก๊ทธ๋จ์ ์ค์ํ๊ณ ์๋ค. MLG ์ฝ๋ผ๋ฒ์ค, MLG ์ ๋ํ์์ ์ด์ด MLG ๋กค๋ฆฌ๋ฅผ ์งํํ๋ MLG๊ฐ ๋ํ์ ์ด๋ฉฐ 8์ ์ค์์๋ IEM๋ ์ด๋ฆด ์์ ์ด๋ค.
GomTV is proposing many new ideas in order to keep foreign team, players active in Korea and help Korean players to play outside of Korea. MLG columbus, MLG anaheim, MLG event is one of the example of GomTV stepping outside of Korea, and there will be IEM tournament at mid-august.
์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ํด์ธ ๋ํ ์ถ์ ์ ๋ณด๋ค ๋์ ์ธ์์ ๊ฒฝํํ๊ณ ํด์ธ์ ์ฐ์ํ ์ ์๋ค๊ณผ ์น๋ถ๋ฅผ ๊ฒจ๋ฃฐ ์ ์๋ ์ข์ ๊ธฐํ์์ ํ๋ฆผ์๋ค. ๊ทธ๋ ์ง๋ง ๋ณธ์ธ์ด ํ๋ก๋ผ๋ ์ฌ์ค์ ์์ง ๋ง๊ณ ์๋ง์ถ์ด ๊ฐ์ ๋ํ๋ ๊ณผ๊ฐํ๊ฒ ์ถ์ ์ ํฌ๊ธฐํ๋ ๊ฒฐ๋จ์ด ํ์ํ๋ค.
Of course, its very good opportunities for players to play in foreign tournament which will give them chances to play against good foreign players and experience foreign community, but it is important to not forget that they are 'pro' gamers and not participate in amateur tournament. (NOTE: Although this sound offensive, i believe he meant amateur tournament as NOT skill wise, he doesn't seem to think foreign players are scrubs, he thinks that amateur tournament are those who doesn't provide player's environment very well)
NASL ์ ์ฌ ์ด ์์ฆ1 10๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 1์ต 800๋ง์), ์์ฆ2 10๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ, ์์ฆ3 20๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 2์ต 1์ฒ 600๋ง์) ๋ฑ ์ด ์๊ธ 40๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 4์ต 3์ฒ 200๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๊ฑธ๊ณ ์ธ๊ณ ์ต์์ ํด๋์ค์ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ด์ฒญํด ๋ํ๋ฅผ ๋ง๋ค๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ๋ฐํ๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ง๊ธ๊น์ง ๋ณด์ฌ์ค ๊ทธ๋ค์ ํํ๋ ์ธ๊ณ ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ์ฉํด โ์ฌ์ฃผ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ด ๋ถ๋ฆฌ๊ณ ๋์ NASL์ด ๋ฒ๊ฒ ๋คโ๋ ์๊พ์ ์ง๋์ง ์๋ค.
NASL said in beginning of the year that first season will 100,000$, second season 100,000$, and third season for 200,000$, total of 400,000$ and have all top class players to play in Tournament. However, from what they have shown, all their desire is 'players play game, and NASL make more money'.
๋ง์ง๋ง์ผ๋ก NASL์ ์ง๊ธ์ด๋ผ๋ ๋ํ ์ด์์ ํฌ๊ธฐํ๋์ง, ์ธ๊ณ ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ ์๋ค์ด ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์์์ ๊ฑธ๋ง์ ๋ชจ์ต๊ณผ ๋ํ ์ด์์ ๋ณด์ฌ์ฃผ๊ธธ ๋ฐ๋๋ค.
Finally I hope (reporter) NASL stop Tournaments, or supports players better, and be better in tournament operating.
ํํธ, NASL ์์ฆ1์ ์ถ์ ํ ์ ์๋ค์ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์์ง๊น์ง ์ง๊ธ๋์ง ์์๊ณ , ์๊ธ ์ญ์ ์ง๊ธ๋์ง ์์๋ค. ๋ํ, ํ๊ตญ ๊ฒ์๋จ์ ์ต๊ทผ FXOpen๊ณผ ๋ณํฉํ FXOKorea๋ฅผ ์ ์ธํ๊ณ ๋ชจ๋ ํ๊ณผ ์ ์๋ค์ด NASL ์์ฆ2์ ์ถ์ ํ์ง ์๊ธฐ๋ก ๊ฒฐ์ ํ๋ค.
On the other hand, players who played in NASL Season 1 didnt get their security deposit and pay check (from winning tournament). Also, SC2Con decide that except FXOKorea who emerged with FXOpen, all teams and players decide not to participate in Season ll of NASL . (This paragraph is Fact, not opinion, I believe.)
+ Show Spoiler [OP\'s translation] + ๊ตฌ์ฒด์ ์ธ ๋ด์ฉ์ ํตํด ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด NASL์ ๋ถ์ฐธํ๊ฒ ๋ ์ด์ ๋ฅผ ์ค๋ช
ํ๋ค. ๋จผ์ NASL์ ๋ํ ์ถ์ ์ ์ํ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ ์ง๊ธ์ ์๊ตฌํ๋ค. NASL์ ์ง๋ 4์ ์ค์๋ถํฐ 6์ ์ค์๊น์ง 2๊ฐ์ ๋์ ์จ๋ผ์ธ์ผ๋ก ์กฐ๋ณ ํ๋ฆฌ๊ทธ๋ฅผ ์งํํ๋ฉด์ ์ถ์ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ 1์ธ๋น 250๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 27๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๋ฐ์๋ค.
Here is the reason why Korean players will not join the NASL. First NASL require deposit(250bucks) to join the tournament.
๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ๋ํ๊ฐ ์งํ๋ ์ดํ ๋๋ ค์ค ๊ฒ์ด๋ผ๊ณ ํ์ง๋ง ๋ํ์ ์ถ์ ํ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ง๊น์ง๋ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ๋๋ ค๋ฐ์ง ๋ชปํ๊ณ ์๋ ์ํ๋ค. NASL์ ์ฌ๊ธฐ์์ ๊ทธ์น์ง ์๊ณ ์์ฆ2๋ถํฐ๋ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ 1์ธ๋น 500๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 54๋ง)๋ก 2๋ฐฐ๋ ์ฌ๋ ธ๋ค.
They told that they will pay back it but still players who join the tournament didn't get it. NASL also require more deposit($500) in the next season
์ด์ฐฝ๊ธฐ ๊ฐ ์ถ์๋์ ๋ PC๋ฐฉ์์ ์งํํ๋ ์ด๋ฒคํธ ๋ํ๋ ์ถ์ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ๋์ ๋ฐ์ง๋ ์์๋ค. ํ๋ฌผ๋ฉฐ ํ๋ก ์ ์๊ฐ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ๋ํ๊ฐ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์๊ตฌํ๋ค๋ ๊ฒ ์์ฒด๊ฐ ์์์ ์ผ๋ก ์ดํด๊ฐ ๋์ง ์๋ ํํ๋ค.
There were some amateur tournament in Korea before the e-sport grew big. But they didn't require any deposit. However NASL is contest that pro players joining but they can't understand how they could do that
๋ ๋ฒ์งธ NASL ์ถ์ ์ ์์ ๋ํ ๋ฐฐ๋ ค๋ค. ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ NASL ์์ฆ1์ ์์ํ(์ฌ๋ ์ด์ด์ค), ์ฅ์ฌํธ(ํญ์ค), ์ฅ๋ฏผ์ฒ , ์ด์ค์ด(์ด์ oGs) ๋ฑ ์ ์๊ธ ์ ์๊ฐ 10๋ช
์ด๋ ์ถ์ ํ๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ด๋ค์ด ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ฐฉ์ก์ ์งํํ๋ ํ์ง ์๊ฐ์ ๋ง์ถฐ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์น๋ฅด๋๋ผ ์๋ฒฝ๊ฐ์ด ์ผ์ด๋ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ์ ์ํ๋ค. ์ด๋ก ์ธํด ์ ์๋ค์ ์ต์
์ ์ปจ๋์
์์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์น๋ฌ์ผ ํ๊ณ , ์ด๋ง์ ๋ ์ ํด์ง ์ผ์ ์ด ๋ณ๊ฒฝ๋๋ฉด์ ์ ๋๋ก ์น๋ฌ์ง์ง ์๋ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ๊น์ง ๋ฐ์ํ๋ค.
Second there were no care about Korean players who join the NASL. Korean top player like Boxer, moon, mc, Nada but they should overcome the parallax and they had terrible condiction to play game and schedule was changed and it made things worse.
NASL์ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ ๋น์ทํ ์๊ธฐ์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ์งํํ TSL3๊ณผ ๋น๊ตํด NASL์ ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ ์งํ ๋ฐฉ์์ ๋ํด ๋ถ๋ง์ ํํ๊ธฐ๋ ํ๋ค. ๊ฒ๋ค๊ฐ ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ํ ์งํ์ธ ๊ด๊ณ๋ก ๋งค ๊ฒฝ๊ธฐ ๋ (์ง์ฐ ํ์)๋ ์ฌํ๋ค.
Also player disapointed NASL compare the TSL3 and their some lacks that made hard to play on the online
๋ฏธ๊ตญ ํ์ง์์ ์งํ๋ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋์ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ๋ ๋์ฑ ์๋ง์ด์๋ค. ์ ์๋ค์ ๋ฏธ๊ตญ์ผ๋ก ์ด๋ํ๋ ๋นํ๊ธฐ์ ์๋ฐ, ์์ฌ ๋ฑ ๋ชจ๋ ๋น์ฉ์ ๋ณธ์ธ์ด ์ง์ ํด๊ฒฐํด์ผ ํ๋ค. NASL ์ธก์ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋์ ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ํด 1์ธ๋น 500๋ฌ๋ฌ์ฉ ์ ๊ณตํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ์ด์ผ๊ธฐํ์ง๋ง ์ถ์ ์ ํ์ํ ๊ฒฝ๋น์ ์ ๋ฐ์๋ ๋ฏธ์น์ง ๋ชปํ๋ค. ์ด์ ์ผ๋ถ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ ์ ๋ํ ์๊ธ์์ ๊ณต์ ํ๊ธฐ๋ก ์ฝ์ํ๊ณ ๋์์ผ ๋นํ๊ธฐํ์ ์์๋ฅผ ํด๊ฒฐํ ์ ์์๋ค.
The Grand Finall was even worse. Players had to pay all of the bill for transportation, lodging, and meal. NASL gave $500 to each player who join the Grand Final but it just half of tickets and lodging. Some players can slove it to deduction in their prize. Then they can get the ticket and lodging
๋ํ, NASL์ LA๊ณตํญ์ ๋์ฐฉํ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด ๋ํ๊ฐ ์ด๋ฆฌ๋ ํ์ฅ์ผ๋ก ์ด๋ํ๋ ๊ณผ์ ์์ 80๋ฌ๋ฌ์ ํฝ์
๋น์ฉ์ ๋ฐ์ ๊ฒ์ผ๋ก ํ์ธ๋๋ค.
Also we checked NASL get $80 for pickup fees to drive LA airport through the convention center.
๊ทธ๋ค์ NASL ์จ๋ผ์ธ ๋ฐฉ์ก์ ์ ๋ฃ(์ ํ์ง์ ๋ฌด๋ฃ)๋ก ์๋น์คํ๋ฉด์ ๋ง๋ํ ์ด์ต์ ์ป์์์๋ ์์ ๋ค์ ์์ต์ ์ํด ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ฝํ
์ธ ๋ฅผ ์ ๊ณตํ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ๋ํ ์
์ด๋ค.
Even they get huge benifits to their online bordcasting but they didn't treated well who play in the NASL.
์ด์ ํ๊ตญ์ ๊ฒ์๋จ๊ณผ ์ ์๋ค์ NASL ์ธก์ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์์จ ๊ฒ๊ณผ ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋ ์ฐธ๊ฐ๋ฅผ ์ํ ํญ๊ณต, ์๋ฐ, ์ฒด์ ๋น์ฉ์ ์ ๊ณต์ ์๊ตฌํ์ง๋ง ๊ฑฐ์ ๋นํ๋ค.
So Korean teams and player require to NASL to remove the deposit and solve the problem about airplane tickets and lodging but they didn't accecpted it
NASL์ ๊ณต์ง๋ฅผ ํตํด 1์ธ๋น ๊ทธ๋๋ํ์ด๋ ์ถ์ ๋น์ฉ์ผ๋ก ์ด์ ์ 2๋ฐฐ์ธ 1์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 108๋ง์)๋ฅผ ์ง๊ธํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ํ์ผ๋ ์ด๋ ๋ฏธ๊ตญํ ๋นํ๊ธฐํ๋ฅผ ๊ตฌ์
ํ๊ธฐ๋ ๋ถ์กฑํ ๊ธ์ก์ด๋ค. ๋ํ, ์ฌํ ๋น์ฉ 1์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ๋ฅผ ํฌํจํด 2์ฒ ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 216๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๋ถ๋ฐฐํ๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ์ต์ข
์ ์ผ๋ก ์ ์ํ์ง๋ง ํ์ธ ๊ฒฐ๊ณผ ์ด๋ ๋ํ์ ์ฐ์น ์๊ธ์ ์ญ๊ฐํ๊ณ ์ง๊ธํ๊ธฐ๋ก ํ ๊ฒ์ผ๋ก, ๊ฒฐ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ์ง๊ธํด์ผ ํ ๊ธ์ก์ ์กฐ์ ํด์ ์๊ธฐ๋ฅผ ๋ฉดํ๊ธฐ ์ํ โ์กฐ์ผ๋ชจ์ฌโ์ ๋ถ๊ณผํ๋ค.
They told us they will give $1000 who join the Grand Final but it's not enough to get ticket and they finally said they will give $2000 but they also they remove $1000 into the prize.
It's too~~~~ hard...... I'm sorry for my poor english but I think other article is not that important and it's about MLG and GSL's relationship so it's not bad things but if you still wonder then you can use google translater.
Here is opinion of Korean teams and Korean players about this situation. I'm not usually online in TL so I can't translate anymore.
I'm so said that you guys can't hear some news about Korean e sport (ex:Did you remember the complaint of Slayers Jessica I want to talk about it but I have no time to talk about and pls don't blieve everything that people said.)
์ต๊ทผ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ด ์๋ฐ๋ผ ํด์ธ ํ์ผ๋ก ์ด์ ํ๊ณ ์๊ณ ๋ค์์ ํด์ธ ๋ํ์ ์ถ์ ํ๊ณ ์๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ด์ ๋ํ ๋ณด๋ค ์ ์คํ ์ ๊ทผ์ด ํ์ํ๋ค. NASL์ ๊ฒฝ์ฐ์ ๋ง์ฐฌ๊ฐ์ง๋ก ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ต์์ ์ฝํ
์ธ ๋ฅผ ๊ณต๊ธํ ์ ์๋ ์ข์ ๋๋ฒ์ด ์๋จ์ด๋ค. ๊ทธ๋ฌ๋ ๊ทธ๋ค์ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ์์ ๋ค์ ๋๋ฒ์ด์ ์ด์ฉํ๋ฉด์ ์ ๋นํ ๋๊ฐ๋ฅผ ์ง๋ถํ์ง๋ ์๋๋ค.
๊ณฐTV๋ ํ๊ตญ ์ ์๋ค์ ํด์ธ ์ง์ถ๊ณผ ํด์ธ ์ฐ์ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ๊ตญ ํ๋์ ์ํด ๋ค์ํ ์ฐ๊ณ ํ๋ก๊ทธ๋จ์ ์ค์ํ๊ณ ์๋ค. MLG ์ฝ๋ผ๋ฒ์ค, MLG ์ ๋ํ์์ ์ด์ด MLG ๋กค๋ฆฌ๋ฅผ ์งํํ๋ MLG๊ฐ ๋ํ์ ์ด๋ฉฐ 8์ ์ค์์๋ IEM๋ ์ด๋ฆด ์์ ์ด๋ค.
์ ์๋ค์๊ฒ ํด์ธ ๋ํ ์ถ์ ์ ๋ณด๋ค ๋์ ์ธ์์ ๊ฒฝํํ๊ณ ํด์ธ์ ์ฐ์ํ ์ ์๋ค๊ณผ ์น๋ถ๋ฅผ ๊ฒจ๋ฃฐ ์ ์๋ ์ข์ ๊ธฐํ์์ ํ๋ฆผ์๋ค. ๊ทธ๋ ์ง๋ง ๋ณธ์ธ์ด ํ๋ก๋ผ๋ ์ฌ์ค์ ์์ง ๋ง๊ณ ์๋ง์ถ์ด ๊ฐ์ ๋ํ๋ ๊ณผ๊ฐํ๊ฒ ์ถ์ ์ ํฌ๊ธฐํ๋ ๊ฒฐ๋จ์ด ํ์ํ๋ค.
NASL์ ์ฌ ์ด ์์ฆ1 10๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 1์ต 800๋ง์), ์์ฆ2 10๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ, ์์ฆ3 20๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 2์ต 1์ฒ 600๋ง์) ๋ฑ ์ด ์๊ธ 40๋ง ๋ฌ๋ฌ(ํํ ์ฝ 4์ต 3์ฒ 200๋ง์)๋ฅผ ๊ฑธ๊ณ ์ธ๊ณ ์ต์์ ํด๋์ค์ ์ ์๋ค์ ์ด์ฒญํด ๋ํ๋ฅผ ๋ง๋ค๊ฒ ๋ค๊ณ ๋ฐํ๋ค. ํ์ง๋ง ์ง๊ธ๊น์ง ๋ณด์ฌ์ค ๊ทธ๋ค์ ํํ๋ ์ธ๊ณ ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ ์๋ค์ ํ์ฉํด โ์ฌ์ฃผ๋ ์ ์๋ค์ด ๋ถ๋ฆฌ๊ณ ๋์ NASL์ด ๋ฒ๊ฒ ๋คโ๋ ์๊พ์ ์ง๋์ง ์๋ค.
๋ง์ง๋ง์ผ๋ก NASL์ ์ง๊ธ์ด๋ผ๋ ๋ํ ์ด์์ ํฌ๊ธฐํ๋์ง, ์ธ๊ณ ์ต๊ณ ์ ์ ์๋ค์ด ์ถ์ ํ๋ ์์์ ๊ฑธ๋ง์ ๋ชจ์ต๊ณผ ๋ํ ์ด์์ ๋ณด์ฌ์ฃผ๊ธธ ๋ฐ๋๋ค.
ํํธ, NASL ์์ฆ1์ ์ถ์ ํ ์ ์๋ค์ ๋ณด์ฆ๊ธ์ ์์ง๊น์ง ์ง๊ธ๋์ง ์์๊ณ , ์๊ธ ์ญ์ ์ง๊ธ๋์ง ์์๋ค. ๋ํ, ํ๊ตญ ๊ฒ์๋จ์ ์ต๊ทผ FXOpen๊ณผ ๋ณํฉํ FXOKorea๋ฅผ ์ ์ธํ๊ณ ๋ชจ๋ ํ๊ณผ ์ ์๋ค์ด NASL ์์ฆ2์ ์ถ์ ํ์ง ์๊ธฐ๋ก ๊ฒฐ์ ํ๋ค.
I'm sorry about my title to SC2Korean team. It actually SC2Team organazation's opinion. So It may not contain all team's opinion(ex Slayers, FXO) but actually it's close to opinion of SC2Teams
Primadog Profile Blog Joined April 2010 United States 4405 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:07:23 #2 Seems like the Korean side collaborates with what the NASL release said (abate with a different attitude). It's unfortunate that the scene has not become sufficiently big that travel cease to be an issue.
Shows how fragile StarCraft 2 remains and how much more it has to grow in order to become a proper competitive sport. Thank God and gunrun.
SenorChang Profile Blog Joined October 2010 Australia 4438 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:13:01 #3 On August 12 2011 16:07 Primadog wrote:
Seems like the Korean side collaborates with what the NASL release said (abate with a different attitude). It's unfortunate that the scene has not become sufficiently big that travel cease to be an issue.
Shows how fragile StarCraft 2 remains and how much more it has to grow in order to become a proper competitive sport.
Need an airline to sponsor Sc2!
yee!
Thanks for translating
I can fully understand where the koreans come from withdrawing for NASL. The conditions for them are so poor, with having to get up at 4am to play their games, over the course of 3 months - then fly across the globe to lose 1 set and be out of it (felt bad for Ret too :< - first seed and out so fast with no chance at redemption) - and with the stipend deal they will essentially have earned nothing for it.
Really wish NASL would re-do their tournament structure.
Need an airline to sponsor Sc2!yee!Thanks for translatingI can fully understand where the koreans come from withdrawing for NASL. The conditions for them are so poor, with having to get up at 4am to play their games, over the course of 3 months - then fly across the globe to lose 1 set and be out of it (felt bad for Ret too :< - first seed and out so fast with no chance at redemption) - and with the stipend deal they will essentially have earned nothing for it.Really wish NASL would re-do their tournament structure. แ(โนโกโนแ)
HeeroFX Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 2619 Posts #4 Seems like they justified pulling out very well in this statement. It makes sense imo.
JoeSchmoe Profile Joined May 2010 Canada 2026 Posts #5 On August 12 2011 16:07 Primadog wrote:
Seems like the Korean side collaborates with what the NASL release said (abate with a different attitude). It's unfortunate that the scene has not become sufficiently big that travel cease to be an issue.
Shows how fragile StarCraft 2 remains and how much more it has to grow in order to become a proper competitive sport.
there is some inconsistency. the koreans say that NASL hasn't paid the prize/security deposit. NASL said it's in their 60 day policy. if the koreans knew this, it seems unreasonable to bring this up in the argument. I wonder if there was some miscommunication? Were the koreans aware of the NASL policies from the beginning? there is some inconsistency. the koreans say that NASL hasn't paid the prize/security deposit. NASL said it's in their 60 day policy. if the koreans knew this, it seems unreasonable to bring this up in the argument. I wonder if there was some miscommunication? Were the koreans aware of the NASL policies from the beginning?
oniman999 Profile Joined May 2011 United States 161 Posts #6 If they don't want to come steal 50 grand, it's their fault :/ I see their side of it though, sponsors in Korea are hard to come by, and that makes traveling hard. I think this really hurts NASL, it hurts Koreans, and it hurts the viewers. I think this goes to show how hard it is to start and maintain a league, and maybe we'll see the NA scene become more like Korea and have one major tournament rather than several smaller ones. If I had to take my guess, MLG would be that league! I don't mean to be a doomsayer though, and I do hope NASL does well and I will continue to watch because the games last season were awesome!
Carush Profile Joined June 2011 United States 352 Posts #7 meh i don't see why this is nasl's fault
international flights are absurdly expensive and it just kinda sucks that way :/
Primadog Profile Blog Joined April 2010 United States 4405 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:23:48 #8 The damage it'll cause to the viewers and the world SC2 scene are my biggest concern of this whole mess, oniman999. It'll be costly for NASL to replace the Koreans - since NASL.TV revealed that season 2 has begun production, not only will they need to find new players, they'll have to replace art assets, graphics, promotionals, scheduling. It's simply a huge mess on their hands.
What is worse though, is if SC2Con maintain this stance for all international tournaments - that it's up to the tournaments, not the teams, to foot the entire traveling expense for all korean invitees - what it'll do to the entire SC2 scene.
That's simply not how the economy of StarCraft works, even back in BW. It's a strange and unfortunate stance to take. I hope I am just extrapolatiing, but that'll definitely re-fracture the korean and foreigner scene after the years the community spent meshing them together. Thank God and gunrun.
HeeroFX Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 2619 Posts #9 On August 12 2011 16:13 oniman999 wrote:
If they don't want to come steal 50 grand, it's their fault :/ I see their side of it though, sponsors in Korea are hard to come by, and that makes traveling hard. I think this really hurts NASL, it hurts Koreans, and it hurts the viewers. I think this goes to show how hard it is to start and maintain a league, and maybe we'll see the NA scene become more like Korea and have one major tournament rather than several smaller ones. If I had to take my guess, MLG would be that league! I don't mean to be a doomsayer though, and I do hope NASL does well and I will continue to watch because the games last season were awesome!
Idk if it hurts the koreans, because right now GSL Code A and Code S are the exclusive place to be in SC 2. But with that being said, I don't think this hurts the NASL. I think if they have a good balance of European and NA, LA players it will be fine. I mean the NASL needs to gain respect and pestige for Koreans to really want to be playing in the NASL. And most of all the NASL needs good games. If there are good games in the NASL we will watch it. Idk if it hurts the koreans, because right now GSL Code A and Code S are the exclusive place to be in SC 2. But with that being said, I don't think this hurts the NASL. I think if they have a good balance of European and NA, LA players it will be fine. I mean the NASL needs to gain respect and pestige for Koreans to really want to be playing in the NASL. And most of all the NASL needs good games. If there are good games in the NASL we will watch it.
.Aar Profile Joined September 2010 Korea (South) 2116 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:24:23 #10 On August 12 2011 16:18 Carush wrote:
meh i don't see why this is nasl's fault
international flights are absurdly expensive and it just kinda sucks that way :/
For all the enmity I bear towards NASL, I simply don't see how it's their fault at all.
Want to go to a tournament and pick up some free money? Then go. Don't expect the tournament administrators to pay for your trip and give you a ride to the venue on their backs. For all the enmity I bear towards NASL, I simply don't see how it's their fault at all.Want to go to a tournament and pick up some free money? Then go. Don't expect the tournament administrators to pay for your trip and give you a ride to the venue on their backs. now run into the setting sun, and suffer, but don't mess up your hair. | Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/aaronplays
1biza Profile Joined May 2011 United States 28 Posts #11 Did they seriously charge them $80 for the airport shuttle? It was completely free for my buddy and I, and we stayed at the same hotel.
vertical101 Profile Joined April 2011 Hong Kong 310 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:56:35 #12 koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korean,korean. SC2con is so harsh, NASL is still new they expect too much. if travel stipend is the only issue they shouldnt bring other stuff like condition,schedule,Puma not getting his money yet (GSL champion have to wait for months before they get their prize money)
and i think the reason for some players not receiving the deposit is because they gonna use S1 players deposit to Season 2?
and if Mr.Chae is realy part of sc2con he should have stop this from happening. he know what its feels like that some organization KILL your tournaments (kespa vs GOM in BW)
Emporio Profile Blog Joined December 2010 United States 2808 Posts #13 I'm just wondering, who is this statement by? How does it feel knowing you wasted another 3 seconds of your life reading this again?
Diglett Profile Blog Joined February 2011 600 Posts #14 so why did they play in the qualifiers in the first place? if you don't want to join, just don't join.
EchoZ Profile Blog Joined October 2010 Singapore 4008 Posts #15 On August 12 2011 16:23 vertical101 wrote:
koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korea,korean
Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't? Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't? Dear Sixsmith...
fraktoasters Profile Joined January 2011 United States 617 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:31:38 #16 On August 12 2011 16:23 vertical101 wrote:
koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korean,korean. SC2con is so harsh, NASL is still new they expect too much.
this is a pretty ridiculous statement when you remember all the things Gom provides to foreigners in the gom foreigner house.
this is a pretty ridiculous statement when you remember all the things Gom provides to foreigners in the gom foreigner house. On August 12 2011 16:13 oniman999 wrote:
If they don't want to come steal 50 grand, it's their fault :/ I see their side of it though, sponsors in Korea are hard to come by, and that makes traveling hard. I think this really hurts NASL, it hurts Koreans, and it hurts the viewers. I think this goes to show how hard it is to start and maintain a league, and maybe we'll see the NA scene become more like Korea and have one major tournament rather than several smaller ones. If I had to take my guess, MLG would be that league! I don't mean to be a doomsayer though, and I do hope NASL does well and I will continue to watch because the games last season were awesome!
The person that "stole" 50 grand was the one that didn't have to play in the middle of the night for 3 months. A lot of pain and effort over 3 months -> paying for your own trip to CA -> losing in the first round -> losing money for all the effort you had to put into nasl, all while someone from the open bracket gets 1st. The person that "stole" 50 grand was the one that didn't have to play in the middle of the night for 3 months. A lot of pain and effort over 3 months -> paying for your own trip to CA -> losing in the first round -> losing money for all the effort you had to put into nasl, all while someone from the open bracket gets 1st.
chaopow Profile Joined March 2011 United States 556 Posts #17 This really is not NASL's fault, and its sad to see a little dip in the level of play in the NASL now, being that there are barely going to be koreans now. I think the koreans are being a little too selfish in the fact that they must benefit from this tournament or atleast break even in terms of money. Players from all over the U.S./World travel to go to MLG, and hell I doubt they even come close to placing, as most of the prize money goes to korean anyways. They probably end up losing money in the end either for themselves or for their team, as they would come up empty handed and still have to pay for hotels/plane tickets. Soowoo AD.
Nighthawks28 Profile Joined June 2011 United States 231 Posts #18 On August 12 2011 16:25 EchoZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 12 2011 16:23 vertical101 wrote:
koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korea,korean
Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't? Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't?
It's also expensive for players from Europe to travel to the US. But koreans demand everything to be paid for them and have all the arrangements done for them (remember when the korean players were mad about the previous dreamhack arrangements?). I understand that it's expensive but they are still demanding too much. Plenty of foreigners from Europe have to pay lots of money or find sponsers to go to play in MLG, which is a very tiny prize pool.
MLG and GSL have an arrangement where they pay for eachother (MLG pays for koreans, GSL pays for foreigners). It's also expensive for players from Europe to travel to the US. But koreans demand everything to be paid for them and have all the arrangements done for them (remember when the korean players were mad about the previous dreamhack arrangements?). I understand that it's expensive but they are still demanding too much. Plenty of foreigners from Europe have to pay lots of money or find sponsers to go to play in MLG, which is a very tiny prize pool.MLG and GSL have an arrangement where they pay for eachother (MLG pays for koreans, GSL pays for foreigners).
Adebisi Profile Blog Joined June 2010 Canada 1620 Posts #19 On August 12 2011 16:25 EchoZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 12 2011 16:23 vertical101 wrote:
koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korea,korean
Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't? Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't?
GOM was expecting Foreigners to come over and play in a $1500 qualification tournament that spanned a month.
NASL is having Koreans come for a shot at $50,000 over 3 days. (after playing in 10 weeks of online play)
Do you see how these two things are different?
NASL is obviously also a start up, I think what NASL offered while probably not ideal for some of the smaller Korean teams, I don't think its right that SC2Con comes in and declares them all out :/. Feels like the equivalent of eSports protectionism lol.
Either way TYVM for the translations, very interesting. GOM was expecting Foreigners to come over and play in a $1500 qualification tournament that spanned a month.NASL is having Koreans come for a shot at $50,000 over 3 days. (after playing in 10 weeks of online play)Do you see how these two things are different?NASL is obviously also a start up, I think what NASL offered while probably not ideal for some of the smaller Korean teams, I don't think its right that SC2Con comes in and declares them all out :/. Feels like the equivalent of eSports protectionism lol.Either way TYVM for the translations, very interesting.
hitpoint Profile Joined October 2010 United States 1511 Posts Last Edited: 2011-08-12 07:31:27 #20 On August 12 2011 16:25 EchoZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 12 2011 16:23 vertical101 wrote:
koreans demand is too much. how about those foreign teams who pay for themselves to attend other tournaments. always korean,korea,korean
Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't? Not all Korean teams can afford to fork out such amounts. Besides, GOM and MLG have previously sponsored players back and forth, with GOM taking the extra step with the teamhouse, so I fail to see why NASL can't?
MLG and GOM's situations can't be compared with NASL.
MLG only pays for 4 people.
Also the foreigners that go to GSL stand to win very little money, if any. The Koreans that would be coming over to NASL's top 16 can pretty easily make much more money than what they spent. MLG and GOM's situations can't be compared with NASL.MLG only pays for 4 people.Also the foreigners that go to GSL stand to win very little money, if any. The Koreans that would be coming over to NASL's top 16 can pretty easily make much more money than what they spent. It's spelled LOSE not LOOSE.
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Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Southern Maryland lawmaker and No. 2 Democrat in the House, said Wednesday he supports former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez to lead the Democratic National Committee.
"The most important role of our next chair will be to rebuild our state and local parties so Democrats can compete up and down the ballot," Hoyer said in a statement when asked for his position on the DNC race by The Baltimore Sun. "I believe Tom is best equipped to deliver on that challenge.
Hoyer nodded to another leading contender in the race, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, calling him "a good friend of mine and a very effective legislator who has worked hard to protect our middle class."
Hoyer is the second member of Maryland's mostly Democratic congressional delegation to back Perez, joining Sen. Ben Cardin. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore is supporting Ellison. The rest have not taken a position in the race.
Perez, Ellison and eight other candidates will appear in Baltimore on Saturday for a forum to discuss their vision for the party. Party insiders will choose their next DNC chairman -- and other party officials -- later this month.
A Takoma Park man, Perez briefly ran for Maryland attorney general in 2006, but was knocked off the ballot by the state's Court of Appeals, which held that he lacked the 10 years of legal experience in Maryland required by the state Constitution. He led the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the Labor Department under President Barack Obama.
Hoyer has also endorsed Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio to be the DNC's vice chairman. |
Mass IT layoffs are often small and unnoticed. They are not on the scale of the Carrier air conditioning plant layoff; its Indianapolis facility, which currently employs 2,000 people, is moving to Mexico.
Hertz IT employees share two things with the Carrier workers: They were also angry, and they got the news on the same day, Feb. 10.
The Carrier layoffs arrived guillotine-like; the plant is closing, period. But IT layoffs are rarely like that. There are ambiguities and uncertainties and lifeboats for some, and so it was at Hertz.
In an early morning conference call, Hertz's IT employees were told by the CIO the firm was expanding its outsourcing work with IBM. It wasn't known then how many would lose their jobs or ultimately be hired by IBM.
But one month later, this much is clear: About 300 Hertz IT employees, most located in Oklahoma City, were impacted by this decision. IBM is hiring about 75 and those workers are expecting to receive offers today. The layoffs will begin this month and be completed by May 31, said Hertz. It's not yet clear if all the 225 or so employees who are not receiving job offers from IBM will be laid off.
After the conference call, employees were stunned. The reaction was, "We're screwed," said an IT employee, one of two interviewed, who requested his name not be used.
There was "anger, resentment," especially by employees who "sacrificed that work/life balance to keep things going here," said the employee.
Hertz took precautions. On the day that IT employees learned that their work was shifting to IBM, employees noticed Oklahoma sheriff patrol vehicles in the building's parking lot. They believed plainclothes officers were inside the building.
Hertz explained the security decision. "We consider the safety and security of our people whenever there are circumstances or events that could increase the risk of a disturbance or some form of workplace violence," said Bill Masterson, a Hertz spokesman.
"Knowing that this was a difficult announcement, we had additional security on hand," said Masterson. This security was in place from Wednesday Feb. 10 through Friday, Feb. 12.
There were two opinions about the security, said the employees. Some saw it as prudent, while others thought it a sign of distrust. There were no reported problems.
Once the initial shock passed, Hertz IT employees had to make difficult choices.
Employees' severance packages range from four weeks to a year, said Hertz. For the long-term employees expecting a large severance, a job with IBM may not be worth it.
"I don't think anybody thinks that being rebadged to IBM is anything other than a one year-stay of execution," said another IT worker.
Prior experience feeds the concern that IBM jobs may be relatively short-term. IBM has been working with Hertz for some 20 years, and employees have seen what happens to rebadged employees in previous outsourcing expansions. Many employees were cut after a year.
All laid-off employees can apply for IBM jobs. For those who get them, the process works like this: First IBM will ask them if they want an offer. If employees say "no" before receiving a final written offer, they can keep their severance. But if an employee accepts the IBM offer and then later rejects it, the severance may be lost.
IBM runs large offshore operations and its Hertz IT employees have been told that they will be involved in "shadowing," a term used to describe training replacements. Shadowing can be done in person, over the Web or as a combination of both.
IBM India Private Limited, a IBM subsidiary, has filed paperwork for H-1B visa workers for Hertz Technology offices.
For Hertz IT employees seeking new jobs outside IBM, problems await.
One potential employer, the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma City, only represents about 5% of overall non-farm employment. But it is tremendously influential because it generates a lot of money that spills over to other sectors, said Russell Evans, an economics professor at Oklahoma City University and executive director of the Steven C. Agee Economic Research & Policy Institute.
The oil and gas industry has been growing as an IT employer. But thanks to falling oil prices, IT employment in the oil and gas industry declined last year, according to research by industry group CompTIA.
"There are a lot of technology jobs, database management, database analytics, data science -- a lot of IT technology jobs that are being lost from our oil and gas companies right now as they engage in big personnel cuts," said Evans.
But manufacturing, which is increasing its reliance on technology, grew in Oklahoma City last year. The city is also home to a major U.S. Air Force base, Tinker, and a large Federal Aviation Administration facility that acts as a central registration agency for planes. These operations have produced a significant private aerospace presence.
Oklahoma City is also the state capitol. About one out of every five non-farm jobs are in the public sector, said Evans.
For at least the first half of the year, Evans sees a far-from-robust job market, particularly in high-end, high-skilled jobs, but with pockets of opportunity. How the local economy fares beyond the first half of the year will depend on national and global economic trends, he said.
With oil prices crashing, the Hertz IT employees are concerned about jobs. "Replacing the salary is not going to happen," a worker said.
Hertz's Masterson says, however, that the work with IBM "is expected to improve the delivery and reduce the cost of Hertz's existing IT services, many of which are on proprietary, legacy systems.
"Going forward, Hertz IT resources will be focused on development of future products and services for customers," he said. The majority of services will become cloud-based.
"This was a difficult, but necessary decision taken by the company," added Masterson. "Hertz is working to lower its operating costs company wide, and this includes a modernization program across several functions," he said.
Along with severance pay, benefits also include three months of outplacement assistance. IT employees can receive up to $4,000 toward retraining or skill certification, said Masterson.
One employee said he didn't see outsourcing expansion as having much impact. They tried this twice before, the worker said, "and Hertz is no better off than they were before," he said.
"I don't think this is good for Hertz or Oklahoma," the employee said. |
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The Supreme Court will soon be ruling on the question of whether union contracts can legally include provisions where employees waive the right to join in class-action lawsuits. While unions and the NLRB argue that this provision violates an employeeโs inherent right to โcollective action,โ management argues that all disputes should be settled individually, by way of binding arbitration, a method that has proven quicker and less expensive.
This reached the Supreme Court as a result of the lower courts being split on the issue. And with the Supreme Court being composed of five, pro-business, anti-labor conservatives (Justices Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch and Kennedy), two pro-labor lefties (Kagan and Sotomayor), and two middle-of-the road liberals (Ginsburg and Breyer), the smart money is on the Court ruling against the NLRB. One more nail in laborโs coffin.
Consider an actual case I was familiar with, one that occurred in the early 1990s, at an industrial plant in Northern California. The union contract required all workers to receive a 30-minute meal period by the end of the fifth hour of work. So, for example, if you start work at 7:30 AM, you needed to be relieved by noon, in order to squeeze in your 30-minute lunch by 12:30 PM (which marked the end of the fifth hour).
Generally speaking, no one was going to complain if they didnโt get sent out exactly on time, or if they were asked to take only 20 minutes. That was partly because there were occasions when the operation was running so poorly, โall hands on deckโ were required, and partly because there were always those โheroicโ workers on the factory floor who, for whatever reason, made a showy display of โnot needingโ a break.
In any event, the company began allowing the โexception to the ruleโ to become a fixed rule. Which is to say, they began regularly cutting into peopleโs lunch breaksโsometimes reducing it to 20 minutes, sometimes โaccidentallyโ forgetting about it altogether. Granted, had the hourly workers (or their union) raised hell from the outset, this practice would have been nipped in the bud. But no one wanted to be seen as a whiner. So it persisted.
Finally, following a big change in management personnel and an even bigger change in disciplinary policy, the hourly workers rebelled. Not only did they insist on getting exactly what they were entitled to under the contract, they wanted to be reimbursed for all the break-time they were cheated out it.
After being threatened with a class-action lawsuit, the company agreed to compensate those employees affected. As I recall there were roughly 20 employees involved, and the entire compensation package was less than $40,000.
But if the Supreme Court rules against the NLRB, and workers are not permitted to file class-action lawsuits, it is going to place what amounts to an unrealistically heavy burden on the arbitration process. For one thing, an arbitrator is not required to treat all 20 employees as one โclass.โ An arbitrator (at the urging of the company) may decide to treat each case individually, which, with 20 people, will take the union years and years to arbitrate, not to mention the thousands of dollars in costs to conduct a single hearing.
Now imagine an arbitration dispute involving not only 20 people, but an entire factory population of 200 people, which would be well within reason for any grievance involving an issue like factory-wide health insurance.
Once again, what we are seeing is Corporate America continuing to chip away at workersโ rights. And with organized labor at low ebb, and congressional Democrats as gutless and hypocritical as they are, we shouldnโt expect the assault to end anytime soon. |
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