text
stringlengths 465
100k
|
|---|
Camillus, N.Y. — Costco opens the doors of its store at Township 5 today.
Here's what you need to know:
The store opens at 8 a.m., but staff will be on site signing up new members starting at 7 a.m. If there's a big crowd, general manager Skip Leonhard said he'll open early.
New members can sign up in the store's vestibule area. You won't need to go inside.
There are two annual membership levels for individuals. The first is gold star for $55. That's the basic level.
An executive membership is $110 and comes with an annual 2 percent reward up to $750 on qualified Costco purchases.
If you sign up today, you get a $10 Costco cash card with a gold star membership and a $20 card with an executive membership.
Leonhard said anyone is welcome to come in and take a look around the store, but if you want to buy something, you'll need a membership. There are no day passes.
But the memberships are fully refundable. If you decide you want a refund on day 364, Costco will give it to you, Leonhard said.
Regular store hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Township 5 development is between Bennett and Hinsdale roads.
Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112
Follow Store Front: Twitter | Facebook | Weekly newsletter sign-up. |
In his Histories, the Greek writer Herodotus records a curious custom of the Persian government. When faced with a crucial decision, the leaders would discuss the matter twice: once when sober, and again when drunk (or vice versa). This way they could be sure to consider multiple options and find the best solution to their problem.
Whether or not that story is true, the idea behind it brims with possibility. Over the past decade of their careers, the Coen brothers seem to have been attempting the cinematic equivalent of this decision making process. It has become commonplace to note that, in the years since 2007’s No Country For Old Men, the brothers have reliably alternated between serious fare and lighter comedies, often explained as a chance for the duo to catch their breath between dramas. But what if this new rhythm suggests a more fruitful interpretation?
Advertisement
It makes sense to view the six films they have made in this span not as a series of movies connected only by the stylistic quirks of their directors, but as a series of diptychs, each dealing with a discrete subject viewed from multiple vantage points. Each comedy acts as a complement to the drama that has preceded it, shedding new light on the central preoccupations of its predecessor. No Country shares an important DNA strand with Burn After Reading; A Serious Man has more than a glancing relationship to True Grit; and Inside Llewyn Davis finds its counterpart in the newest Coen film, Hail, Caesar!
On the surface this schema might seem ridiculous, given the extreme disparities in structure, plot, and tone between any of the listed pairs. The Coen brothers, though, have always been first and foremost filmmakers of ideas, building the worlds of their films around core concepts that radiate out from the center. This is why detractors have often described their films as cold, clinical, or unfair to characters, because everything else takes a back seat to the tortuous working out of a main idea.
These three pairs of films, appropriately, each tackle a big problem of the sort the Coens love. No Country and Burn both attempt to answer the question of what motivates people to commit evil. A Serious Man and True Grit have somewhat similar concerns, but both films shift the question slightly to ponder the existence of God, and what sort of justice an existing deity might enact. Finally, Llewyn Davis and Hail, Caesar! turn to a less violent, though equally serious, problem: What value does art have in the world, and what place might the artist occupy in it?
Advertisement
In each case, the brothers make two crucial changes to their approach to the question between the film pairs. The most obvious is, of course, the shift from drama to comedy, a change that alters not only tone but the philosophical possibilities of each film. Less noticeably, they also move from telling stories focused on individuals to films where communities take center stage, a move that not only enhances the comedy but radically changes the ground for exploring the question under consideration.
No Country For Old Men begins with a voiceover monologue from Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who ponders the legacy of lawmen in West Texas, but also recoils from what he sees as a recent change in the reasons for criminality. Bell relates the story of a teenager sentenced to death on his own testimony, who tells him just before death that he had always planned to kill someone, and would do it again without hesitation. “I don’t know what to make of that,” says Bell, in a line that becomes key for interpreting the moral universe of the film.
Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), the relentless killer who stalks through the film like an angel of death, embodies this “new” (though doubtless very old, in reality) type of criminal, one who murders without regret and seemingly without cause. Though characters insist he abides by a code, that code seems at best inscrutable, at worst inhuman. He kills to excess, murdering not only those who stand in his way, but anyone in the near vicinity. Encounters like the gas station scene, where the attendant must unknowingly wager for his life with a coin toss, underline the fundamentally irrational nature of Chigurh’s evil.
At one point bounty hunter Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) gets asked how dangerous Chigurh is. He replies: “Compared to what? The bubonic plague?” Chigurh acts as a force of nature in the film, not merely with regard to his overwhelming power, but precisely because he seems to have transcended human boundaries and achieved a state of natural indifference.
Advertisement
The Coen brothers narrow in on this elemental evil by keeping a strong focus on the three main characters—Bell, Chigurh, and Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who gets caught out of his depth in dealing with the pitiless Chigurh. The characters typically work in fundamental isolation from one another, except in their rare but violent confrontations. This is a hard world, and people must go it alone, with no expectation of mercy; indeed, Moss’ initial act of mercy, returning to a crime site to give a dying man water, allows Chigurh to set out on his trail in the first place. Life has no explanation, and neither does human evil, a situation so desperate that it compels Bell to retire in despair at the end of the film.
Burn After Reading may have an equally cynical take on why humans do bad things, but it shifts away from the elegiac mourning of No Country and into the mode of satire. Following Aristotle, who famously argues that comedies should focus on characters of lower status and moral fiber than the audience, the Coens fill Burn with an array of the lowest, most petty people imaginable. Though set around the edges of the intelligence community in D.C., the film has little of the tense cat-and-mouse game you would expect from a world of spies. Instead, events occur because of sheer chance or incompetence, and one thing just sort of follows another.
Each character comes saddled with a defining flaw, from Harry’s (George Clooney) lust to Katie’s (Tilda Swinton) ruthlessness. Here, though, the characters are mired not in Chigurh’s unfathomable cruelty, but in the mud of human existence, their grandiose plans constantly backfiring because of their own limitations. The film itself turns on possession of a piece of intelligence that turns out to be a worthless, poorly written memoir, and likewise every gesture toward a broader conspiracy dissolves into a more grounded, humorous explanation. The car that follows Harry around does not carry agents sent to kill him, only an investigator recording his marital infidelities. By the end of the film, the CIA managers monitoring the plot from above conclude that nothing significant has happened, and shut down the investigation.
Advertisement
Yet to the characters, their actions feel significant, and in fact do come weighted with consequence. Linda (Frances McDormand), the gym employee who envies the hard bodies around her, pushes those in her orbit to join in her foolish quest for blackmail money. Blinded to everything but her own vanity, she unwittingly pulls disaster down on those around her. Unlike No Country, with its isolated figures, Burn After Reading takes full stock of the chaos wrought by human misdeeds, a fact underscored visually by the film’s opening and closing shots of satellite images of the earth. It may be a comedy, but the characters pay a high price for getting caught up in the whirlwind.
If these two films provide very different answers to the problem of evil—evil as irrational and overwhelming versus evil as petty and all too familiar—then the next pair spins out a similar tension on a grander scale. Like many Coen films, neither A Serious Man nor True Grit fit easily into strict categories. But in the end, A Serious Man makes the most sense as a very funny tragedy, while True Grit works best as a melancholic comic Western. This distinction holds especially true when considering the answer each film provides to its central problem: the existence and justice of God.
The world of A Serious Man is one of tragic isolation. Protagonist Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) struggles to discern the existence of God in a universe where chance reigns supreme. He cannot reconcile his Jewish faith with the terrible things that befall him, and this results in an existential despair that layers itself on top of his physical and psychological torments. By contrast, Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), the heroine of True Grit, approaches her own terrible situation with firm confidence that God and justice remain on her side. Despite undergoing a battery of trials in the wilderness, she ignores the temptation to despair, instead trusting in the right ordering of the universe.
Advertisement
Larry’s obsession with explaining the unexplainable gradually alienates him from the tight knit community in which he lives. He experiences physical exile to The Jolly Roger Inn after the breakup of his marriage, but he also undergoes a crippling emotional isolation. He cannot help his son prepare for his bar mitzvah, or even begin to understand his moody daughter; worst of all, he cannot reach beyond himself to aid the most vulnerable character in the film, his brilliant but troubled brother. The Coen brothers deploy a series of dream sequences, undercutting the hoariness of the trope by homing in on Larry’s inability to escape dread, even while asleep.
Mattie, meanwhile, starts the film cut off from her support network, as she leaves Arkansas for the Oklahoma territory to find the man who killed her father. Despite being young and underprepared, she plows through adversities thanks to her unwavering belief that things will work out. Though religion comes muted in True Grit, the film clearly aligns Mattie’s thirst for justice with her belief in God, something underscored by Mattie’s quoting of scripture but also by Carter Burwell’s music, which borrows heavily from the traditional American hymn “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms.” With a sort of firm Calvinist take on divine justice, Mattie pushes ever forward, but in the process she also forms a new community around her, providing purpose and redemption for the two lawmen who accompany her on her quest. Unlike Larry, whose chaotic world causes him to get caught up in his own head, Mattie’s ordered universe allows her to live for others.
Advertisement
The titular hero of Inside Llewyn Davis lives very much in the mold of Larry Gopnik. Llewyn (Oscar Isaac) exists in a state of isolation, though here the terrible things that happen to him and those around him come from internal, not external, sources. Questions of evil and divine justice get shunted aside, mostly, in Llewyn’s story, in favor of an examination of the consolations of art. A failing folk singer, Llewyn struggles to recover from the death of his music partner, inflicting his own misery on those who try to help him. Caught in an endless cycle (something reflected in the structure of the film), he exists in atomic isolation, finding release only in the music which has failed him in the real world.
Eddie Mannix (Brolin), protagonist of Hail, Caesar!, faces similar questions about the value of his work. Up before dawn, away from his family all day, Mannix does the dirty work of making sure Capitol Pictures, a ’50s era Hollywood studio, keeps running smoothly despite the many outlandish escapades of its stars. Mannix feels run down by his work, and considers a plush job offer from Lockheed, whose representative cajoles him to join the real world of the military-industrial complex. The film doesn’t exactly make his job seem worth the effort: The films Capitol produces run the gamut of disposable dreck, from empty melodramas to insipid musicals.
Both characters face the agony of justifying their own work, but with wildly different results. Llewyn, trapped in a tragedy, can find no escape from music. He tries, near the end of the film, to quit music, but circumstances push him back in, as hopeless as ever. Yet if music chains him to his circumstances, it also provides relief. Like Sisyphus, Llewyn takes a certain pride and comfort in his own boulder, no matter how many times it crushes him. Music also presents Llewyn his only chance to connect in a meaningful way with others. Though music has driven a wedge between him and others, like his faithful friends the Gorfeins, by the end Llewyn has at least once reached out to another person through his songs, when he plays for his dying father.
Eddie of course does not actually make the movies that Capitol releases; he merely does everything else that makes those films possible. Thus Hail, Caesar! opens up the world of artistic creation, suggesting that it is not an individual venture, but the work of many hands. The comedy of the absurd situations in the film elicits laughter, but it also binds Eddie to his job with affection: He needs the crazy stars he herds like cats, because they give him a window beyond himself. Despite the apparent superfluity of the films Capitol makes, the film also suggests that glimpses of the sublime can still emerge, as in the quiet moment when the Catholic Eddie stands at the foot of the cross, which is really just a prop from the film within a film, an overblown Biblical epic. Art, the film suggests, breaks through when we least expect it. If in Inside Llewyn Davis art presents the one comfort in a cold, harsh world, then in Hail, Caesar! it descends as a gift from above to bless the silly lives of humans.
Advertisement
What benefit exists from viewing this particular phase of the Coen filmography in this way, through paired opposites? Who knows, of course, whether the brothers planned alternating films on the same theme, and they have certainly worked through these same central questions in other films. Perhaps the best explanation is still the simplest: that it’s emotionally exhausting to make serious films, so they sprinkle in comedies to provide themselves relief.
But something dialectic (to use a favorite term of the absurd Marxist screenwriters in Hail, Caesar!) occurs when you read the films in each pair against each other. Many have treated the nihilism of No Country For Old Men as a high point of profundity for the Coen brothers, but the film, taken by itself, feels lacking in its vision of the world. It is still profound, but it carries the blinkered profundity of a work tenaciously committed to one viewpoint; its grim world provides a lot to chew on, but no one can live there all the time. Viewing Burn After Reading as the cheeky retort to No Country’s solemnity, far from diminishing the earlier film, puts its virtues in clearer perspective. Likewise, Burn After Reading’s glibness feels coarse without the tragic counterweight provided by No Country. In the same way, the chaotic tragedy of A Serious Man finds its answer in the ordered comedy of True Grit, and Hail, Caesar! responds to the anxious aestheticism of Inside Llewyn Davis with a warmer vision of what art can do.
Maybe, then, the Coens have intuited what Xerxes and his court understood, that humans need both perspectives to make sense of life. Tragedy gives us the clarity to view the genuine harshness of life, to see the flaws that pull humankind relentlessly down. Yet the madness, the drunken excess of comedy, allows us to agree with Verdi’s Falstaff that “All the world’s a joke—all men are born fools.” To weep and to laugh are the most basic human reactions to the world around us, and the line distinguishing them frequently blurs into nothingness. By giving audiences these diptychs that enrich each other, the Coen brothers have offered a double vision of the world that one look alone cannot match. |
Performing cats at Zippos
PROTESTERS who picketed a circus which featured performing cats have claimed victory after learning it will not return to Hampstead Heath this year.
The Heath Constabulary reported “periods of sustained hostility and abuse” from activists demonstrating at Zippos circus last October. A circus which does not use animals has been booked for this autumn instead.
The City of London, which runs the Heath, has hired Moscow State Circus for its annual spectacular on the East Heath fairground site, its first break from using Zippos in 30 years.
Ed Winters, who organised the protest last year, told the New Journal: “It’s fantastic to hear that Zippos Circus is no longer welcome at Hampstead Heath and illustrates perfectly how societal attitudes towards the exploitation of animals are continuing to change. We hope that other areas in London and across the UK that still allow Zippos Circus to perform take notice and begin only allowing animal-free circuses to operate. It’s time for Zippos Circus and other companies that still exploit animals to understand that animals are here with us, not for us.”
The wife of Martin “Mr Zippo” Burton, Julia Knight, has defended its acts, saying the company “robustly denies” any cruelty to animals, adding that “with the right animal husbandry there is a place for domestic animals in the circus”.
Police tackled protesters with placards who met audiences leaving Zippos show – which included “flying cats” – last year.
Demonstrators left chalk messages on the ground outside the circus, with staff trying to wash them away with brooms and a bucket of water before Hampstead Heath Constabulary and Camden police intervened. More than 8,500 people signed an online petition calling for the animals to be removed from the show.
The RSPCA this week called for an “outright ban” on animals in circuses. Zippos, currently running a circus in Hove, declined to comment this week.
Moscow State Circus director John Haze said: “We don’t use animals at all, in any of our shows. We choose not to because at the end of the day you have to go to the best sites, and people’s perception of animals in circuses is that it’s cruel. “It’s a commercial decision. We decided not ever to use animals because we wouldn’t get the right sites.”
But he added: “I look at animals at London Zoo. There is a massive park next to it. Why not let giraffes wander around the park? Why on earth is it ok to have them in the concrete like that? Because it’s a zoo, because it’s not a circus – it’s ok. It’s the hypocrisy I don’t like.”
The Constabulary’s report to City of London said repeated visits from animal rights activists had seen “periods of sustained hostility, provocation and abuse” towards officers. “It is to the credit of the team that no serious incidents took place,” it added.
A spokesman for the City of London Corporation said: “Zippos Circus has decided to move on to a new venue. As a result, the Moscow State Circus will appear on the Heath in its place towards the end of September.” |
“Then, suddenly, my consciousness was lighted up from within and I saw in a vivid way how the whole universe was made up of particles of material which, no matter how dull and lifeless they might seem, were nevertheless filled with this intense and vital beauty.” — Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley was one of the most iconic and prophetic thinkers of the 20st century.
Huxley is best-known for his novel Brave New World, in which he predicted the appearance of dictatorships which used soft forms of coercion such as drugs and entertainment to pacify the populace.
Later in life, Huxley became interested in psychedelic/entheogenic substances and mystical experiences, famously writing The Doors of Perception about his experiences with mescaline.
Beyond becoming one of the preeminent intellectuals of his time, Huxley also had a prodigious talent for writing.
His words contain a seemingly effortless eloquence. He’s one of those writers whose presence you can really feel in the sentences. You can almost picture Huxley, cross-legged and sipping a cup of tea, regaling you with his profound ideas over a lovely luncheon.
Keep that image in mind while you savor these quotes—these dusty treasures plucked from the consciousness of one of the most renowned geniuses ever to exist on this planet.
18 Rare Aldous Huxley Quotes
On the purpose of suffering and of art:
“Perhaps it’s good for one to suffer. Can an artist do anything if he’s happy? Would he ever want to do anything? What is art, after all, but a protest against the horrible inclemency of life?” ― Aldous Huxley, Antic Hay
On the causes of human misery:
“At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice, and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity: idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.” — Aldous Huxley
On ordinary waking consciousness vs. mystical consciousness:
“The ordinary waking consciousness is a very useful and, on most occasions, an indispensable state of mind; but it is by no means the only form of consciousness, nor in all circumstances the best. Insofar as he transcends his ordinary self and his ordinary mode of awareness, the mystic is able to enlarge his vision, to look more deeply into the unfathomable miracle of existence. The mystical experience is doubly valuable; it is valuable because it gives the experiencer a better understanding of himself and the world and because it may help him to lead a less self-centered and more creative life.” — Aldous Huxley, Moksha: Aldous Huxley’s Classic Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience
On the mental illness of “abnormal normalcy”:
“The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does. They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness. These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted.” ― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
On the potential for mass media to be used as an instrument of power:
“… [T]he passion for power is one of the most moving passions that exists in man. And, after all, all democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous, and that it’s extremely important not to let any one man or any one small group to have too much power for too long a time. After all, what are the British and American constitutions, except devices for limiting power? And all of these new devices [television, radio, etc.] are extremely efficient instruments for the imposition of power by small groups over larger masses.” — Aldous Huxley, 1958 Interview
On why humans live largely in the realm of concepts, rather than direct experience:
“When we see a rose, we immediately say, rose. We do not say, I see a roundish mass of delicately shaded reds and pinks. We immediately pass from the actual experience to the concept. […] We cannot help living to a very large extent in terms of concepts. We have to do so, because immediate experience is so chaotic and so immensely rich that in mere self-preservation we have to use the machinery of language to sort out what is of utility for us, what in any given context is of importance, and at the same time to try to understand — because it is only in terms of language that we can understand what is happening. We make generalizations and we go into higher and higher degrees of abstraction, which permit us to comprehend what we are up to, which we certainly would not if we did not have language. And in this way language is an immense boon, which we could not possibly do without. But language has its limitations and its traps.”
— Aldous Huxley, The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment On the man who returns from a mystical experience: “The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less sure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend.” ― Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception On the way in which language prevents many people from experiencing the world directly:
“In general, we think that the pointing finger — the word — is the thing we point at… In reality, words are simply the signs of things. But many people treat things as though they were the signs and illustrations of words. When they see a thing, they immediately think of it as just being an illustration of a verbal category, which is absolutely fatal because this is not the case. And yet we cannot do without words. The whole of life is, after all, a process of walking on a tightrope. If you do not fall one way you fall the other, and each is equally bad. We cannot do without language, and yet if we take language too seriously we are in an extremely bad way. We somehow have to keep going on this knife-edge (every action of life is a knife-edge), being aware of the dangers and doing our best to keep out of them.” — Aldous Huxley, The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment
On the indispensability of science in modern civilizations:
“Ours is an industrial civilization, in which no society can prosper unless it possesses an elite of highly trained scientists and a considerable army of engineers and technicians. The possession and wide dissemination of a great deal of correct, specialized knowledge has become a prime condition of national survival. In the United States, during the last twenty or thirty years, this fact seems to have been forgotten. Professional educationists have taken John Dewey’s theories of ‘learning through doing’ and of ‘education as life adjustment,’ and have applied them in such a way that, in many American schools, there is now doing without learning, along with courses in adjustment to everything except the basic twentieth-century fact that we live in a world where ignorance of science and its methods is the surest, shortest road to national disaster. During the past half century every other nation has made great efforts to impart more knowledge to more young people. In the United States professional educationists have chosen the opposite course.” — Aldous Huxley, Collected Essays
Read this: Plato, Nietzsche, and 11 Other Philosophers Who Used Mind-Altering Drugs
On the individual urge to self-transcendence:
“We love ourselves to the point of idolatry; but we also intensely dislike ourselves — we find ourselves unutterably boring. Correlated with this distaste for the idolatrously worshipped self, there is in all of us a desire, sometimes latent, sometimes conscious and passionately expressed, to escape from the prison of our individuality, an urge to self-transcendence. It is to this urge that we owe mystical theology, spiritual exercises and yoga — to this, too, that we owe alcoholism and drug addiction.” — Aldous Huxley, Moksha: Aldous Huxley’s Classic Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience
On the unfathomable, ever-present beauty of the cosmos:
“I was sitting on the seashore, half listening to a friend arguing violently about something which merely bored me. Unconsciously to myself, I looked at a film, of sand I had picked up on my hand, when I suddenly saw the exquisite beauty of every little grain of it; instead of being dull, I saw that each particle was made up on a perfect geometrical pattern, with sharp angles, from each of which a brilliant shaft of light was reflected, while each tiny crystal shone like a rainbow. . . . The rays crossed and recrossed, making exquisite patterns of such beauty that they left me breathless. … Then, suddenly, my consciousness was lighted up from within and I saw in a vivid way how the whole universe was made up of particles of material which, no matter how dull and lifeless they might seem, were nevertheless filled with this intense and vital beauty. For a second or two the whole world appeared as a blaze of glory. When it died down, it left me with something I have never forgotten and which constantly reminds me of the beauty locked up in every minute speck of material around us.” — Aldous Huxley, Heaven and Hell
On the historical use of drugs for religious/entheogenic purposes:
“Modern pharmacology has given us a host of new synthetics, but in the field of the naturally occurring mind changers it has made no radical discoveries. All the botanical sedatives, stimulants, vision revealers, happiness promoters and cosmic-consciousness arousers were found out thousands of years ago, before the dawn of history. In many societies at many levels of civilization attempts have been made to fuse drug intoxication with God-intoxication. In ancient Greece, for example, ethyl alcohol had its place in the established religion. Dionysus, or Bacchus, as he was often called, was a true divinity. His worshipers addressed him as Lusios, “Liberator,” or as Theoinos, “Godwinc.” The latter name telescopes fermented grape juice and the supernatural into a single pentecostal experience. . . . Unfortunately they also receive harm. The blissful experience of self -transcendence which alcohol makes possible has to be paid for, and the price is exorbitantly high.” — Aldous Huxley, Moksha: Aldous Huxley’s Classic Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience
On the nature of the self:
“I wish to raise my hand. Well, I raise it. But who raises it? Who is the “I” who raises my hand? Certainly it is not exclusively the “I” who is standing here talking, the “I” who signs the checks and has a history behind him, because I do not have the faintest idea how my hand was raised. All I know is that I expressed a wish for my hand to be raised, whereupon something within myself set to work, pulled the switches of a most elaborate nervous system, and made thirty or forty muscles — some of which contract and some of which relax at the same instant — function in perfect harmony so as to produce this extremely simple gesture. And of course, when we ask ourselves, how does my heart beat? how do we breathe? how do I digest my food? — we do not have the faintest idea. […] We as personalities — as what we like to think of ourselves as being — are in fact only a very small part of an immense manifestation of activity, physical and mental, of which we are simply not aware. We have some control over this inasmuch as some actions being voluntary we can say, I want this to happen, and somebody else does the work for us. But meanwhile, many actions go on without our having the slightest consciousness of them, and … these vegetative actions can be grossly interfered with by our undesirable thoughts, our fears, our greeds, our angers, and so on… The question then arises, How are we related to this? Why is it that we think of ourselves as only this minute part of a totality far larger than we are — a totality which according to many philosophers may actually be coextensive with the total activity of the universe?” — Aldous Huxley, The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment
On the limited nature of everyday consciousness and the importance of experiencing the “cosmic consciousness”:
“Obviously, if we have to get out of the way of the traffic on Hollywood Boulevard, it is no good being aware of everything that is going on in the universe; we have to be aware of the approaching bus. And this is what the brain does for us: It narrows the field down so that we can go through life without getting into serious trouble. But … we can and ought to open ourselves up and become what in fact we have always been from the beginning, that is to say … much more widely knowing than we normally think we are. We should realize our identity with what James called the cosmic consciousness and what in the East is called the Atman-Brahman. The end of life in all great religious traditions is the realization that the finite manifests the Infinite in its totality. This is, of course, a complete paradox when it is stated in words; nevertheless, it is one of the facts of experience.” — Aldous Huxley, The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment
On the possibility of dictatorships controlling people via chemically induced happiness:
“The dictatorships of tomorrow will deprive men of their freedom, but will give them in exchange a happiness none the less real, as a subjective experience, for being chemically induced. The pursuit of happiness is one of the traditional rights of man; unfortunately, the achievement of happiness may turn out to be incompatible with another of man’s rights — namely, liberty.” — Aldous Huxley, Moksha: Aldous Huxley’s Classic Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience
On the irrevocably solitary nature of human existence:
“We live together, we act on, and react to, one another; but always and in all circumstances we are by ourselves. The martyrs go hand in hand into the arena; they are crucified alone. Embraced, the lovers desperately try to fuse their insulated ecstasies into a single self-transcendence; in vain. By its very nature every embodied spirit is doomed to suffer and enjoy in solitude. Sensations, feelings, insights, fancies—all these are private and, except through symbols and at second hand, incommunicable. We can pool information about experiences, but never the experiences themselves. From family to nation, every human group is a society of island universes.” — Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception
Read this: 18 Rare Friedrich Nietzsche Quotes to Make You Question Everything
On the “law of reversed effort”—”the harder we try, the worse we do the thing”:
“Take the piano teacher, for example. He always says, Relax, relax. But how can you relax while your fingers are rushing over the keys? Yet they have to relax. The singing teacher and the golf pro say exactly the same thing. And in the realm of spiritual exercises we find that the person who teaches mental prayer does too. We have somehow to combine relaxation with activity… The personal conscious self being a kind of small island in the midst of an enormous area of consciousness — what has to be relaxed is the personal self, the self that tries too hard, that thinks it knows what is what, that uses language. This has to be relaxed in order that the multiple powers at work within the deeper and wider self may come through and function as they should. In all psychophysical skills we have this curious fact of the law of reversed effort: the harder we try, the worse we do the thing.” — Aldous Huxley,The Divine Within: Selected Writings on Enlightenment
On the inestimable value of the mystical experience:
To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and inner world, not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions, but as they are apprehended, directly and unconditionally, by Mind at Large — this is an experience of inestimable value to everyone and especially to the intellectual. — Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception
I sincerely hope you appreciated this collection. Please pass it on to someone you think will appreciate it. As Deltron Zero once rapped, “Upgrade your grey matter, ‘cuz one day it may matter.”
If you want to upgrade your grey matter and learn to access mystical states of awareness, our new course was designed for you. |
In an April 26 email to The Beach Mirror, Amanda PL said she’s been “flooded with harassment's (sic) and emails from the Aboriginal community in the last few days to protest against my art work, closing down the opening of my first solo art exhibition scheduled for May 12.”
“Although influenced (by Morrisseau), my art is original and the intention of the style was to express Canada’s true roots, and capture its naturally beautiful landscapes.”
Amanda PL went on to say that she lived for a time in Thunder Bay and took Native studies “in hopes of working within the reserves and teaching and working with the native community.” Health issues prevented her from doing so but Amanda PL said she has still “dedicated the last 5 years learning about aboriginal history, stories and teachings to promote integration and reconciliation among different Canadian cultures by bringing them together in celebration of peace and unity.”
“I felt art was the perfect tool to help communicate to the white dominant culture and raise awareness to the histories of Canada's true beginnings. It’s unfortunate that none of this is taught in our school systems,” she wrote.
“There is nothing in history class in Toronto schools that teach children about Canada's real history. The not so fair history. The ugly truth.”
She did, however, concede that her “choice of art style may impact artists living in aboriginal communities across the country.
”I am aware of the social issues that communities, nations, and tribes face in Canada today. We all live on this land together, and we cannot choose what race, culture, tribe, or nationality we are born into,” she wrote.
“It’s truly surprising and hurtful of the outlash the community has shown over the last few days, without even knowing who I am, what my background is, and rushing to judgements about me before I even had a chance to respond to any of the negative comments and false accusations.”
Amanda PL went on to say that art has “always been a topic of debate. Its purpose is to create discussion and to be noticed” and with “Canada celebrating its 150 years, young Canadians are trying to reach out and support the nation’s cultures and embrace Toronto's diversity by having the freedom to express intercultural influences through their own unique insight.”
Upper Beach resident Nancy King, an Anishinaabe artist who is also known by her spirit name Chief Lady Bird, was one of the people who spoke out against the exhibit.
King, who grew up in Rama First Nation, first learned about Amanda PL a couple of months ago from posts on Instagram. She also said she watched a YouTube video with the artist explaining her work.
“It was a kind of infuriating interview,” said King, who right away noticed that the artist didn’t list her Nation on her work, which she said is a common practice for Indigenous artists.
King also alleges Amanda PL’s pieces “looked suspiciously” like Morrisseau’s work.
Initially, she didn’t approach the artist with her concerns until fellow artist Chippewar informed her that Amanda PL was going to be exhibiting her pieces in Leslieville.
“When I saw that, I thought, ‘I don’t think so.’ I lost it. I felt compelled to speak out. I have a following of people who can stop this,” said King, who also shared her thoughts on social media.
“The response was amazing. People started calling the gallery.”
King said she had also planned on showing up at Visions Gallery on opening night to speak with the artist and livestream the learning experience on Instagram.
“She needed to be confronted in that way by the actual Native art community,” King said.
That won’t be necessary as Visions Gallery cancelled the exhibit less than 24 hours after concerns were raised.
“I’m happy with the response and now they know for the future,” said King, adding one of the most important aspects of her practice is education.
“It was really heartwarming to see the whole community come together, especially allies.”
Regardless, King said she would still like to speak with the artist face to face and help her better understand why culturally appropriating Indigenous art is wrong and hurtful.
“It trivializes our art, our experience, and our culture,” she said, pointing to Canadian art collector and collector Robert McMichael who said Morrisseau painted Anishinaabe stories that were passed down to him from elders around Lake Superior. |
WASHINGTON (WJZ) — A nine-month-old girl was in the right place at the right time, thanks to the quick action of a Montgomery County officer. The family stopped on the side of the road when the baby stopped breathing.
Officer James Herman was stopped along I-270 in Gaithersburg when a family pulled up behind him shouting for help.
“I could hear a guy yelling, `Help me’ and I turn around and see panic on his face,” Herman said.
Their nine-month-old baby had stopped breathing; they couldn’t find a pulse.
“The first thing that came in my head: the arms were down. She was unresponsive and he’s screaming, `She’s not breathing!'” he said.
Herman is a dad himself. His wife is expecting their second child any day. He admits he panicked for a second but his CPR training kicked in.
“You want to grab the baby, keep her upright, support her head. She sort of fits in your arm. You press gently on the chest,” Herman said.
Herman says he’s seen a lot of awful things in 11 years on the force but if that little girl had died in his arms, it would have hit him hard—so when she started crying, it was like a miracle.
“It was relief, then it was joy when we saw her come back,” he said.
The family says the baby recently had heart surgery and likely stopped breathing due to a seizure caused by a fever post-surgery.
The baby is recovering at a Washington-area hospital in good condition. |
Image caption New Order was due to headline the gig
A major music festival planned for next month in Belfast has been cancelled because of poor ticket sales, the BBC has learned.
The Happy Mondays and New Order were due to headline the Titanic Lockdown festival on 1 and 2 June.
It was supposed to be held in a former shipyard hangar opposite the old headquarters of Harland and Wolff in the Titanic Quarter.
However, despite a major promotional campaign across NI it has been pulled.
The festival had secured funding from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
It had been described by promoters Hydroponic as a "boutique festival for Belfast's music lovers".
The event had been planned for three years and was also due to feature a stage dedicated to local artists and an international food market.
'Disappointment'
It was to have been the first time New Order had played in Belfast for 26 years.
In a statement on its website, Titanic Lockdown said it was "with great regret and disappointment" that the event had been cancelled.
"Despite a huge wave of goodwill, ticket sales have been significantly slower than forecast for an event featuring such high profile acts. As a result, it will not be possible to deliver the event.
"We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all who have supported, endorsed and believed in the project.
"No one is more disappointed than us that the event will not now be taking place, but unfortunately the circumstances are simply beyond our control."
All tickets will be fully refunded. |
CLOSE It’s an all too familiar story in Japan, where employees at nearly one in four companies are at risk of dying from working too many hours, according to a government report issued last month. USA TODAY
Yukimi Takahashi, right, mother of Matsuri Takahashi, and her attorney attend a press conference at the health ministry on Oct. 7, 2016, after a labor standards inspection office in Tokyo recognized the suicide of Matsuri Takahashi as work-related. (Photo11: Kyodo News via AP)
TOKYO — Matsuri Takahashi was just 24 years old and a graduate of prestigious Tokyo University when she leaped to her death from her company dormitory on Christmas Day last year.
Tokyo Labor Bureau investigators ruled her suicide karoshi — death by overwork.
The Labor Bureau announced on Oct. 7 that Takahashi had been required to work 100 hours or more of overtime per month for months on end at the prominent Dentsu advertising agency. She often got as little as two hours of sleep a night, rarely had a day off and was ordered by supervisors to report fewer hours than she actually worked.
It’s an all too familiar story in Japan, where employees at nearly one in four companies are at risk of dying from working too many hours, according to a government report issued last month.
But Takahashi’s case has struck a nerve in Japan, and could help hasten reforms that experts say are long overdue.
Last Friday, Labor Ministry inspectors swooped down on Dentsu’s gleaming headquarters in central Tokyo and other sites around Japan, searching for evidence of systemic overtime abuse or other labor violations.
This was not the first such case at Dentsu. The 1991 suicide of a 24-year-old worker at company headquarters in Tokyo was among the first to focus national attention on the problem of karoshi.
“There is definitely going to be an impact from this case,” said Naohiro Yashiro, an economist and professor of global business at Showa Women’s University in Tokyo. “Dentsu is a very big company and if these practices can continue to happen there, it means that it’s necessary to put (stronger) regulations in place.”
The Labor Ministry reports about 100 suicides per year due to karoshi — a number that Yashiro says represents “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Office workers walk to the train after the days work on March 27, 2015, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo11: Chris McGrath, Getty Images)
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed an outside panel in September to recommend changes to Japan’s workplace environment, which includes excessive overtime.
A Cabinet Office report issued last month found that employees at 23% of Japanese companies worked 80 hours or more of overtime per month last year. That’s the threshold at which the risk of death from physical or psychological causes is significant, according to the report.
Japan’s Labor Standards Law currently mandates a 40-hour workweek and a maximum of 15 hours of weekly overtime. But the law effectively allows unlimited overtime if there is a written agreement between a company and its labor union (unions in Japan generally are organized at individual companies, rather than across industries or trades).
According to a 2013 Labor Ministry report, companies with 300 or more employees on average allow up to 96.1 hours of overtime per month. That works out to roughly four and a half hours of overtime per day, every day.
According to the Labor Ministry, Dentsu negotiated a maximum of 55 hours of overtime per month with its in-house labor union.
But investigators found that Takahashi, who worked in the company’s digital advertising division, had worked more than 100 hours of monthly overtime in the months preceding her death. Moreover, she had been instructed by supervisors to record no more than 70 hours of overtime per month, regardless of how much time she had actually worked.
Attorneys for Takahashi’s parents said she worked as many as 130 hours of overtime in a single month.
“My daughter was telling her friends and colleagues she would get only 10 hours of sleep in a single week, and the only thing she felt was just a desire to sleep. … Why did she have to die?” Takashi’s mother said in a television interview.
Dentsu released a statement saying the company could not comment directly on the Takahashi case, but it is “taking the suicide of an employee seriously.”
A woman is seen leaving an office building on March 27, 2015. in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo11: Chris McGrath, Getty Images)
Dentsu, Japan’s largest advertising and public relations company, could be subject to criminal charges if investigators find evidence of systemic labor abuses, according to local news media.
Takahashi joined Dentsu in 2015 after graduating from Tokyo University, considered one of Japan’s top universities.
In the weeks leading up to her death, she had posted messages on social media accounts complaining of her crushing workload and indicating that she was considering suicide.
“Death,” she said in one message, “would be bliss.”
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2elQz9U |
In order to take on Bill Maher and Milo Yiannopoulos’s set of points, let me say: I am a leftist. One of the things I am passionately for is examining the politics of class. This stuff is important to me, as it is for many. But I don’t think that’s something that should ever cost marginalized people. For me, “class v. identity” is a stupid battle. We shouldn’t ever move away from the issues affecting trans people and Muslims for class issues. We should simply add class politics to the American Left’s collective concerns.
“PC culture” is not something I care for or about. It means nothing to me. I advocate having a basic level of respect for people. Don’t just shit on folks automatically — like, say,for who they are. If you want me to say “the left has gotten a little too restrictive and finger pointy,” I’ll happily agree, but with a caveat: we have to be talking about the mainstream left.
The mainstream left is essentially a few media and political figures (generally white) who depend on various aspects of white supremacy and capitalism to maintain their societal positions. I would suggest that some of the most visible people in the media are not there because of their pedigree, but rather their effectiveness at developing a perpetually correct position that effectively engages in lifestyle marketing that’s represented as social justice advocacy.
Everyone from Bill Maher to the most fervent Anti-Feminist Internet Man hate these folks — but they don’t bother to look in to the things these people are talking about. If you do, it’s pretty easy to figure out they are not engaging in “identity politics,” and that the term itself is not the right one for the performance-oriented white feminists and white liberals of the world.
Politically-oriented cultivated identity, however, explains exactly what they are doing pretty well — it’s obsessive fandom. That is to say, it’s hyperconsumptive lifestyle marketing for people who like politics instead of Steven Universe. It’s not identity politics.
Reading up on the philosophical ideas these aggressive white feminists/white liberals (the ones who make no effort to back up their assertions, but represent themselves as experts) assert makes it obvious that they aren’t interested in the ideas themselves. They’re interested in representing themselves as associated with these ideas.
The problem with calling this very-hated thing “identity politics” is that the Civil Rights Movement is identity politics and has been since it started mid-1900s. That’s what identity politics is: people’s political concerns relative to their identity. People who are marginalized systematically should not require some kind of authorization to be taken seriously.
What these jackasses on their premium cable TV shows they get paid MILLIONS to do is pontificate about lifestyle marketing without understanding that the term they use to refer to it actually means “civil rights.”
These bigoted fools like Milo and Bill Maher think “identity politics” is “political cultivated identity.” Of course they hate it — it’s annoying as hell. Many out there just think feminism, for instance, is just a “Kill All Men Fandom” and that’s how they treat it. That’s the level of maturity on display. Not to say there are not many that do treat feminism as a fandom, but the main effect of that is just giving “The Rationals” people to point and scream at. This is a problem, not the problem.
Things people become love knife-level fans of: feminism, anti-feminism, liberalism, conservatism, veganism, meat eating, whatever, and everything. It’s not the real argument — but even if it were, the argument about which category of political concern is best is an unintelligent and unproductive one.
Then there’s the fact that the aspect of the left Bill Maher is angry about is the aspect of the left he is a part of. like it or not, Maher is part of the mainstream left. When he talks about something, he helps to mainstream it.
Still, Bill Maher goes out of his way to attack ideas he might call “identity politics” — again, like many in the supposedly “rational” wing of the mainstream left improperly calling political lifestyle marketing “identity politics.” But when Yiannopoulos brought up Lena Dunham to take cheap shots at (I’m no fan of Ms. Dunham’s but am unwilling to criticize her for anything other than her often-harmful views), Maher went out of his way to defend her because she’s on HBO (as in, he actually said that).
So I guess your ideology is flexible, then, Billy Boy? |
Alt-folk singer Michelle Shocked is making headlines after reports she went on an anti-gay tirade during the second half of her show at San Francisco club Yoshi, Meow Online reports:
Michelle Shocked, known for living up to her surname, cleared out San Francisco club Yoshi’s last night, and shut down the venue, after she went on an anti-gay tirade, which she summed up by saying, ”You can go on Twitter and say ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.’”
…
Matt Penfield, onstage live-tweeting the performance for Shocked was, well, shocked.
“Eerie foreshadowing at Michelle Shocked show,” Penfield said. “before the show she talked about how ‘people seem like your friends then they turn on you.’”
Her first set was “all cool. 2nd set, she got up went full hate speech,” he tweeted.
Shocked's Facebook page describes her as "your average anarchist skateboard punk rock born again Christian."
Last night she tweeted: "Truth is leading to painful confrontation #shortsharpshocked".
Video of the incident has yet to appear online. |
Aksa and Marve beaches were teeming with couples who checked into shacks and cottages yesterday
During yesterday's bandh, it was business as usual for owners of lodges at Aksa and Madh beaches.
Love by the sea: Couples who did not get accomodation cosied up on the beach. File pic
What cops say "I have no idea about business at shacks at Aksa or Marve," said an official of Malvani police station. "We're busy with bandobast duty." Room tariff
While cottages cost between Rs 400 and Rs 1,500, shacks are available anywhere from Rs 200 to Rs 500.
Young couples flocked to shacks dotting the coastal stretch looking for a few moments of privacy.On learning about this, MiD DAY visited the beaches yesterday and found a row of motorcycles and a few cars parked outside cottages that are let out by the hour. Room rates were hiked due to the heavy demand.The crowd, more than on usual weekends, spilled onto the beach and several wait-listed couples awaited their turn to avail of rooms. Couples were also seen puckering up on the beach."It was a bandh elsewhere, but we earned much more than we do even on weekends," a shack owner told MiD DAY.Couples who lacked patience checked into makeshift tents that locals had set erected to cash in on the windfall.Posing as a client, MiD DAY team visited some of the cottages.A cottage owner, when asked about the bandh, said, "All that is restricted to the city, out here sab thanda hai. The police are on bandobast duty and there's no fear of raids."Another cottage owner said couples usually do not depend on pubic transport. "They come on bikes or by car.Most of them came here on Sunday night or early yesterday to avoid disappointment."The sudden influx, he said, gave liquor business a boost. |
Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media
Section 4: Scientists, Politics and Religion
Politics and science have become entangled on numerous occasions over the past several years. Conservatives have grown increasingly skeptical of the scientific evidence for human-induced climate change, even as climate scientists argue that this evidence is incontrovertible. Battles over the teaching of evolution in the public schools have continued to generate controversy. And most scientists say they believe claims that the Bush administration suppressed some research findings by government scientists.
This issue resonates strongly with scientists, but not with the general public. An overwhelming majority of scientists say they have heard a lot (55%) or a little (30%) about claims that the Bush administration did not allow government scientists to report findings that contradicted administration policy. By contrast, just 10% of the public heard a lot about the claims and 34% heard a little; most say they have heard nothing at all about it.
About three-quarters of scientists (77%) believe the claims about the Bush administration are true, while just 6% say they are false. And virtually all of the scientists who say these claims are true – 71% of scientists overall – believe that these practices occurred more often during the Bush administration than during previous administrations.
Among the public, most of those who heard about the claims about the Bush administration and science say they are true, but this constitutes a relatively small proportion of the public overall (28%). And just 17% of the public says that, compared with previous administrations, the Bush administration more often prevented government scientists from reporting research findings that conflicted with the administration’s point of view.
Scientists and Politics
A large majority of the public (76%) and nearly all scientists (97%) say that it is appropriate for scientists to become actively involved in political debates on controversial issues such as stem cell research and nuclear power.
Among the public, substantial majorities of Democrats (80%), independents (76%) and Republicans (75%) say it is appropriate for scientists to take an active political role on such issues. While older Americans (those older than 50) and less educated people are somewhat more likely to see scientists’ political involvement as inappropriate, majorities in all major demographic and political groups find this appropriate.
Most Americans do not see scientists as a group as particularly liberal or conservative. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) say they think of scientists as “neither in particular”; 20% see them as politically liberal and 9% say they are politically conservative.
In contrast, most scientists (56%) perceive the scientific community as politically liberal; just 2% think scientists are politically conservative. About four-in-ten scientists (42%) concur with the majority public view that scientists, as a group, are neither in particular.
The scientists’ belief that the scientific community is politically liberal is largely accurate. Slightly more than half of scientists (52%) describe their own political views as liberal, including 14% who describe themselves as very liberal. Among the general public, 20% describe themselves as liberal, with just 5% calling themselves very liberal.
Most scientists identify as Democrats (55%), while 32% identify as independents and just 6% say they are Republicans. When the leanings of independents are considered, fully 81% identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, compared with 12% who either identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP. Among the public, there are far fewer self-described Democrats (35%) and far more Republicans (23%). Overall, 52% of the public identifies as Democratic or leans Democratic, while 35% identifies as Republican or leans Republican.
Majorities of scientists working in academia (60%), for non-profits (55%) and in government (52%) call themselves Democrats, as do nearly half of those working in private industry (47%).
Gaps in Political Values
The gap between the scientists’ political views and the public’s is seen across a broad spectrum of topics and issues. A far smaller share of scientists (40%) than the public (57%) agrees with the statement “when something is run by the government, it is usually inefficient and wasteful.”
Scientists also are less likely than the public to say that business strikes a fair balance between profits and the public interest: Just 20% of scientists express this view, compared with 37% of the public. And while 78% of scientists say that the government has a responsibility to care for those unable to care for themselves, a smaller majority of the general public (63%) agrees.
Just 14% of scientists agree that “we have gone too far in pushing equal rights in this country.” That compares with 41% of the public. Just a third of scientists – but a majority of the public (53%) – agrees that “the best way to ensure peace is through military strength.” (For more on the public’s political values and belief, see “Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era,” May 21, 2009.)
Religious Belief and Affiliation
The United States is a highly religious nation, especially by comparison with most Western industrialized democracies. Most Americans profess a belief in God (83%), and 82% are affiliated with a religious tradition. Scientists are different. Just a third (33%) say they believe in God, while 18% say they believe in a universal spirit or higher power and 41% say they don’t believe in either. Just less than half of the scientists interviewed (48%) say they have a religious affiliation, while as many (48%) say they are not affiliated with a religious tradition.
A narrow majority of the U.S. public (51%) identifies as Protestant, including those who just call themselves “Christian.” About a quarter (24%) is Roman Catholic. The ratio of Protestant to Catholic identification is similar among scientists, though far fewer scientists are affiliated with either (20% Protestant, 10% Catholic). Nearly one-in-ten scientists (8%) are Jewish. By comparison, only about 2% of the U.S. population is Jewish. Among the large group of religiously unaffiliated scientists, about equal numbers describe themselves as “nothing in particular” (20% of all scientists) and as atheists (17%); 11% say they are agnostic.
Religious belief among scientists varies somewhat by sex, age and scientific specialty. Younger scientists are substantially more likely than their older counterparts to say they believe in God. In addition, more chemists than those in other specialties say they believe in God. More men (44%) than women (36%) say they believe neither in God nor a higher power; belief in God is comparable for men and women scientists, but more women than men profess belief in a different supreme being or higher power. |
Former Socceroos coach Holger Osieck has emerged as a contender for the Sydney FC coaching job.
FORMER Socceroos coach Holger Osieck is a contender for the Sydney FC job.
The Australian understands the German has some support among Sydney officials to replace Frank Farina.
Farina was sacked yesterday after the Sky Blues were eliminated from the A-League playoffs last Friday.
Read Next
Osieck has been out of a job since bring dumped as Socceroos coach following devastating losses to Brazil and France in friendlies last year.
The German, who helped the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup in Brazil in June, is understood to still be living in Manly.
Former Central Coast coach Graham Arnold and Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero are also in the frame for the Sydney job. |
Cocktail-lovers: Don't feel bad about unwinding with a drink after work—it might just keep you alive.
A study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research that looked at the correlation between alcohol consumption and mortality has yielded some surprisingly positive results: After observing 1,824 participants between the ages of 55 and 65 for a 20-year period, researchers found that moderate drinkers (those who enjoyed one to three drinks per day) had lower mortality rates than those who didn’t drink at all and others who binge drink.
While the classic adage says that having a glass of red wine a day has health benefits, another possible reason behind the outcome is that alcohol can act as a social lubricant, thereby leading to stronger mental and physical health. There were certainly individual variables, but non-drinkers showed greater signs of depression, which most likely factored into their higher rate of premature death.
Read more about the study at Business Insider. |
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A University of Pennsylvania professor says his flight was delayed because a fellow passenger thought the equations he was writing might be a sign that he was a terrorist.
American Airlines confirms that a woman expressed suspicions about economics professor Guido Menzio as she was leaving the Air Wisconsin-operated flight after saying she was too ill to travel.
Menzio said he was flying from Philadelphia to Syracuse on Thursday night and was solving a differential equation, but he was told that the middle-aged woman thought he might be a terrorist "because I was writing strange things on a pad of paper."
The flight was delayed for two hours, according to the Washington Post.
Menzio says on his Facebook page that he's from Italy and last month was mistaken for Sean Lennon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son.
American spokesman Casey Norton said the crew followed protocol to take care of an ill passenger and then to investigate her allegations and determined them to be non-credible. |
I love advertising. To me, there is something great about a well told story, good copy, and nice imagery that makes people want to buy something.
If you are looking for some good learnings on copy and marketing, check out Suzanne Pope’s blog “Ad Teaching”, and Terry O’Reilly’s podcast “Under the Influence”. Both, awesome.
I recently came across this YouTube commercial for Lysol called “Nobody Protects Like a Mother”. Personally, I really like the story and the way it is told. I like the imagery, and the tone. But, I’ve got two big issues.
The first issue is with the title and the entire theme, “No one protects like a mother”. Come on!!! What about dads????? Do we not matter anymore? What gives Lysol, get with the times – we aren’t living in the 1950s anymore. Okay, okay – Mother’s Day is around the corner, but I doubt they will be doing something like this on Father’s Day. Let’s see. PS: does a giant vulture really protect your kids better than you?!
The second issue is with Lysol, and the harm that it can do to your children. The ad is about projecting your children and your children’s safety, while many of Lysol’s products have terrible ratings according to GoodGuide.
You know those Disinfecting Wipes you use in the kitchen, or their Lysol Touch of Foam Antibacterial Hand Wash?? They have a rating of 4 out of 10.
While the Lysol No-Touch Kitchen System Hand Soap, All Purpose Cleaner, and Disinfecting Spray all have a rating of 1 out of 10. Not cool.
I’ll just go back to protecting my kids by cleaning with vinegar. See, dad’s can protect their children as well. |
WASHINGTON, D.C. - It takes a lot to amend the U.S. Constitution.
But groups that oppose gay marriage say that's their next step if the U.S. Supreme Court decides states throughout the nation must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after hearing cases this spring from states including Ohio.
On Feb. 12, Tea Party Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and several dozen Republicans including Ohio's Jim Jordan, Bob Gibbs, and Bob Latta introduced a proposed constitutional amendment that says:
"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any other than the union of a man and a woman."
In a floor speech that day to mark "National Marriage Week," Huelskamp said he introduced the measure because "judicial activism has thrown the social and legal status of marriage into chaos."
"The overwhelming majority of states that allow same-sex marriage do so because judges have overturned state laws and the will of the people," Champaign County's Jordan agreed in a statement issued to Northeast Ohio Media Group. "This amendment would restore what marriage is and always has been in the U.S."
Same sex couples are currently allowed to marry in 37 states and the District of Columbia.
Huelskamp and other members of Congress have unsuccessfully sought constitutional amendments to block gay marriage for more than a decade. The last time the measure came up for a vote in the U.S. Senate, it failed, despite backing from conservative groups and then-President George W. Bush.
This time around, potential GOP Presidential candidates Ted Cruz, a Texas Senator, and Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's governor, have endorsed such an effort, which would require two-thirds support in both the House and Senate, and approval by three quarters of states.
An uphill battle
U.S. Senate records indicate that 11,623 constitutional amendments were proposed between 1789 and 2014, and just 27 were adopted.
Evan Wolfson, founder and president of the pro-gay marriage Freedom to Marry organization, described the effort to "write discrimination into the Constitution" as "dead as a proposal could be."
He noted that a CNN/ORC poll released on Feb. 19 found that 63% of Americans believe gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry. The poll found that since August 2010, the ratio who view marriage as a constitutional right for same-sex couples has climbed 15 points among Republicans to 42% and 19 points among Democrats to 75%.
Several Republicans in the U.S. Senate - including Ohio's Rob Portman - have publicly said they support same-sex marriage.
Wolfson said GOP presidential candidates from states where gay marriage is currently allowed - such as Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Scott Walker - "have all worked very hard to stay away from anything like this and really would love to see the Supreme Court bring the country to a national resolution without their having to talk about it other than to say everyone should be treated with respect."
"In state after state, marriage discrimination has ended and there has been no disaster," Wolfson continued. "Nobody has been hurt and the gay people have not used up all the marriage licenses. The American people have accepted this and it's time for the Supreme Court to end this discrimination nationwide."
Brian Brown, who heads the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage, said passing such an amendment would be necessary if the Supreme Court rules that "marriage should be redefined all around the country."
He said it "may take some time" for the amendment to pass, and his group will urge members of Congress to back it and will strive to defeat those who don't.
"We're in this for the long haul," says Brown, whose organization will hold an April 25 "March for Marriage" at the U.S. Capitol. "Marriage is the union between a man and a woman. If the court is going to issue an illegitimate ruling saying that, somehow, same-sex marriage is part of the Constitution, it is clear we'll need a constitutional amendment to correct that."
Bowling Green's Latta said he believes that "at a time when the definition of marriage is being argued in the courts, it's the responsibility of Congress to take action and restore a clear marriage policy at the national level."
"I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and this union must be preserved," concurred Gibbs, of Holmes County. "This resolution allows for the democratic process to take place at the state level." |
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A majority of Palestinians do not support a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, a survey found.
The survey released Wednesday found that 44 percent of Palestinians back the two-state solution, a decline from 51 percent who supported this approach in a similar survey from June. The later survey had 59 percent of Israelis supporting two states, down from 55 percent in the earlier poll.
The survey, called Palestinian-Israeli Pulse: A Joint Poll, was released by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah with funding from the European Union.
The poll, which surveyed 1,270 Palestinians and 1,207 Israelis, Jewish and Arab, was conducted in December. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.
It also found that just over one-third of Palestinians and a majority of Arab Israelis supported one state as well as a confederation, while 24 percent of Israelis backed one state and 28 percent a confederation.
Nearly identical numbers of Jewish Israelis (58 percent) and Palestinians (57 percent) said they supported a broader regional peace involving the Arab world and Israel.
The survey also found that 86 percent of Palestinians feel Israeli Jews are untrustworthy, while 71 percent of Israeli Jews do not trust Palestinians. In addition, 51 percent of Israeli Jews, 48 percent of Israeli Arabs and 68 percent of Palestinians agreed with this statement: “Nothing can be done that’s good for both sides; whatever is good for one side is bad for the other side.”
In addition, 66 percent of Jewish Israelis fear the Palestinians; among West Bank settlers the number rises to 72 percent. Nearly half of Jewish Israelis also fear their fellow Arab citizens of Israel, and 60 percent of West Bank settlers feel this way.
Some 43 percent of Palestinians said they fear Jewish Israelis in general, and 52 percent fear soldiers and armed settlers. Most Arab Israelis, or 82 percent, do not fear Jewish Israeli. |
A new experimental spacecraft design anticipates the second problem with the techniques of the first. Draper Laboratories received funding this week from NIAC, NASA’s innovative concepts fund, for a two-phase space probe—technology that could both survey a planet and send instruments to its surface.
Where might such a probe go first? Its designers, led by Streetman, think it might be a good way to explore the only orb in the solar system believed to have liquid water: Jupiter’s moon, Europa.
Draper Labs
In its first stage, a small satellite about as large as a half-gallon of milk would orbit the moon. Using two highly accurate accelerometers, it could sense small changes in Europa’s gravitational field, eventually mapping the gravity of the entire surface. These detailed gravity maps could then suggest the location of watery oceans below the planet’s surface—or the openings to these oceans.
Once an ocean (or the entryway to one) was found, the probe would begin its second stage. The small satellite would release even smaller instruments over the interesting region. These “chipsats,” each no larger than a fingernail, could enter Europa’s thin atmosphere unharmed and float down to the surface.
Draper Labs
“When there is an atmosphere, they flutter down like little pieces of paper, not like a rock,” said John West, leader of the advanced concepts team at Draper. He added that while they expect to lose some of the smaller “chipsats,” enough would be released that useful science could be performed.
Once deployed, the tiny chipsats would then send their measurements back to their orbiting mothership, which would in turn beam them back to Earth.
Both of the mission’s vehicles were pioneered in near-Earth orbit. The gravity-mapping satellite draws on cubesat technology, a set of tools and common plans that let satellites be cheaply produced. Last November, a team of high schoolers put a cubesat in orbit. The even smaller “chipsats” were first deployed as part of the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission in 2011, in partnership with researchers at Cornell University. Cornell is also consulting on the project.
Europa was last studied at close proximity by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Over a decade ago, Galileo orbited Jupiter before the probe's human overlords sent it careening into the gas giant’s atmosphere, in part to keep from contaminating Europa’s surface.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected]. |
Chinese Stock Market Plunge
Chinese stock markets has been falling unabatedly since June 12th with the Shenzhen Composite Index leading the decline plummeting 38 percent. The crash has wiped off approximately $3.2 trillion off the markets – twice the size of India’s stock market. In order to stem the plunge of stock, 26% of firms listed on mainland exchanges suspended trading locking up $1.4 trillion worth of shares.
Incredible Accuracy in the Algorithmic Forecast
I Know First wrote an article on Seeking Alpha on January 2nd 2015 with an algorithmic forecast for the international indices in the then upcoming year. The algorithm, quite remarkably predicted the mass capitulation of the Chinese markets with incredible accuracy. The predicted movements of key international indices from January’s three months and one year forecast are listed below.
The map illustrated below is a useful tool in helping us make sense of the above data.
The algorithm projected that US equity markets will have very little volatility and growth next year – with the S&P 500 having minor signals of 0.53 an -0.31 and a predictability rating of 0.18.
The three most attractive markets the algorithm predicted was best to invest into were Singapore (NYSEARCA:EWS), India (NYSEARCA:EPI) and Taiwan (NYSEARCA:EWT). The signal of 20.65 and predictability of 0.53 suggests Singapore was the top pick out of the three.
The two markets the algorithm believed were best to avoid were Brazil (NYSEARCA:EWZ) and China (NYSEARCA:FXI), which had a very bearish outlook going into 2015.
It will be quite premature for one to evaluate the success of the algorithm with over five months left of the fiscal year, but, if the current trends the indices are going remain unchanged, then the algorithm would is on track to have had a ridiculously accurate one-year forecast.
100 % Accuracy Rate in 2014
If the indices continue at current trends, the 2015 algorithmic forecast is starting to mirror the top 10 world indices to buy forecast from 2014 – where the hit ratio was 100%. Not only that, the average return was 11%, an impressive achievement. On the left is our original 1 year projection from 2013 and on the right our performance review.
In five months’ time one can observe whether the 2015 forecast will match the incredible success rate of the 2014 forecast – as hard as it might seem the 2015 forecast could turn out to be just as accurate.
What Does This Mean for Apple?
It is a widely known that China is increasingly becoming Apple’s biggest market. In its most recent quarter, Apple (APPL) sold more iPhones in China then the United States for the first time and seventeen percent of the company’s total revenue came from China in the last fiscal year. Accompanied with a slowing demand for mobile devices, Apple Inc. could be quite vulnerable if China has an all-out economic crash.
So far, Apple has seemingly not been significantly affected by the Chinese plunge and have only lost 2.01% since June12th – not such an abnormal drop for a 25 day period.
(Source: Yahoo Finance)
I Know First’s latest algorithmic forecast predicts that AAPL stock would remain on an un-volatile in the upcoming year ahead.
The forecast is from the July 8th and predicts the next three months for Apple having a moderately bullish stock movement with a positive signal of just 12.45; whereas the one-year forecast has an even more neutral outlook with lowly signal of 6.36.
Based on the forecast, I would recommend Apple stock to be a “hold”, because as far as the algorithm is concerned, there is no scope for APPL making any significant gains or losses.
Investors should nevertheless bear in mind that Apple could be detrimentally effected if China’s economic health deteriorates even further. The company may even be forced to significantly roll back operations there and temporarily cut their mass expansion into the Chinese market.
It must be pointed out however, that it is pointless speculating whether China’s economic bubble could have finally burst or it could just be a small blip in their continuous economic growth at this early stage in the saga.
However, one thing is for certain though, Apple will be watching the developing situation in China very closely. |
At 100 Colleges Around the Country, Adjuncts Take Action to Demand an End to Precarity and Low Pay
Adjuncts and their supporters rally at Temple University in Philadelphia. (Joe Piette / Flickr)
Yesterday, adjunct faculty members at over 100 college campuses carried out coordinated demonstrations as part of National Adjunct Walkout Day. Adjuncts aimed to draw attention to low pay, exploitative working conditions, and a lack of job security. They organized walkouts, “teach-ins,” and rallies to push for part-time academic workers’ rights and greater visibility.
While specific goals varied among activists, most adjuncts organizing around the event are demanded better pay, more job security, and access to benefits.
"Our two main priorities are pay equity and the job security of multi-year contracts,” said Joel Smith, an adjunct and organizer in the University of Arizona English department. University of Arizona adjuncts participated in the walkout by taking their students to an on-campus plaza for a demonstration and discussions about adjuncts in higher education.
Adjuncts, also referred to as part-time or contingent faculty even though they often teach full-time course loads and regularly have their contracts renewed to teach the same classes year after year, have become the underclass of higher education. They typically lack basic benefits and employment security and are paid a small fraction of what their full-time colleagues make, both annually and per course.
While the word adjunct literally means “a supplementary rather than essential part,” adjunct faculty are an integral part of the new corporate model of higher education that has come to dominate academia in recent decades. As colleges have increasingly cut back on tenure-track appointments since the 1970s, adjuncts, as well as graduate student teachers who also typically work for low pay, have picked up the slack.
According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), 76 percent of college instructors in the United States are no longer in tenure-track positions. Forty-one percent of faculty, according to the AAUP, are adjuncts.
As the ranks of adjuncts have swelled and pay has failed at many colleges to even keep up with inflation, adjuncts have been organizing for years, pushing for better working conditions and representation. They are unionizing in increasing numbers, as well as engaging in grassroots organizing to raise awareness of the issues adjuncts face.
The media and public have taken note. When an 83-year-old longtime adjunct, who was not renewed for her adjunct position at Duquesne University, died on the streets after bouts of cancer and quasi-homelessness in late 2013, adjuncts and their supporters pointed to her as a symbol for systemic exploitation. Stories of adjunct exploitation became commonplace in the news, and social media became an incubator for online activism, with hashtags like #NotYourAdjunctSidekick used to keep the discussion public.
National Adjunct Walkout Day arose from that online activism. The event was initially proposed by an anonymous adjunct in the writing program at San Jose State University. In an interview, the initiator, credited only as “aka National Adjunct,” said that adjuncts at SJSU were not even earning minimum wage once they calculated all the hour spent working in and out of the classroom.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Adjunct Project, adjuncts report a median of $2,987 per three-credit course nationally, though the AAUP puts the average figure closer to $2,700. (In my own adjunct days, I was paid as low as $1,550 for a three-credit-hour course.) Because adjuncts can spend several hours working outside the classroom for every hour they spend teaching, this often breaks out to around, or even below, the national minimum wage.
Meanwhile, the average salary for full professors at public doctoral institutions was $126,981 in the 2013-2014 school year. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, average executive compensation at public research universities nationwide in 2012 was $544,554 and rising. The growth in administrative spending has far outstripped growth in money spent on instruction year after year. At the University of Arizona, some adjuncts say only 24 percent of revenue is spent on instruction.
“This is going on on every single campus in America,” the anonymous NAWD initiator said. “And why hasn’t something national been done about this?”
While there has been no coordinated national action, at least until now, union groups have worked to coordinate adjunct organization on a broader scale. Over the last decade, SEIU has helped unionize 22,000 adjuncts across the country through their Adjunct Action program that employs a “metro strategy,” targeting multiples campuses in an area simultaneously.
By some reports, as many as 25 percent of adjuncts nationwide may now enjoy some form of union representation. Adjuncts at unionized schools often report higher pay, such as Tufts, which pays adjuncts at least $6,000 per course, well above the national average. According to NYU Local, unionized adjuncts at NYU made at least $5,000 per course in 2013, whereas nonunionized adjuncts on the same campus were often paid as little as $2,500 a class.
However, not all states allow public workers to unionize and right-to-work laws can kill adjunct unions before they get off the ground. Smith noted that at the University of Arizona, the path to unionization was not clear because of state right-to-work laws.
Unionization is also no panacea. Adjuncts at San Jose State University, as the anonymous initiator of NAWD notes, are represented by a union that has helped adjunct faculty members gain access to health benefits and multiyear contracts, perks few adjuncts enjoy. And adjuncts at Chicago’s Columbia College recently voted to disaffiliate from their national union, the National Education Association Association, because they felt their representation was lackluster. Nonetheless, stagnating wages and rising inflation have resulted in a situation in which adjunct faculty members still struggle to make ends meet, according to the NAWD initiator.
While yesterday’s demonstrations were referred to as “walkouts,” adjuncts, or at least the vast majority of them, did not abandon their students in the classroom. Instead, many held “teach-ins” and invited students to attend the demonstrations in order to educate them about adjunct exploitation.
Mick Parsons, part-time lecturer at the University of Louisville and one of the organizers of the Louisville Teach-in, a joint movement between adjunct faculty at the University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College, said that just walking out of the classroom would be a missed opportunity to educate students about why the current system of higher education is such a problem.
“We would prefer that everyone was onboard with the issues. Just walking out would not educate people about the reason for [the demonstrations],” Parsons says.
University of Louisville administrators did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Parsons, the same university system that exploits adjuncts is detrimental to student success. The precarious conditions under which adjuncts toil can affect even the best instructors’ ability to perform their jobs, according to Kathryn Lafferty, another Louisville Teach-in organizer.
The Louisville Teach-in, like other demonstrating adjunct groups, aimed not just to make their case to students, but the larger public and lawmakers, as well. In Louisville, adjuncts publicized the event in their communities and to members of the press. They also extended invitations to college administrators and local policymakers to attend the outdoor rally.
Smith reported also inviting administrators to the University of Arizona demonstration in an effort to foster a collaborative spirit. At the rally, demonstrators presented an open letter to UA President Ann Weaver Hart aloud. Though invited to the walkout, she did not attend.
Smith did note collaboration with the administration, though, and positive communications between adjunct organizers and administrators in the days leading up to the event. “We’re hoping to work with administration and raise awareness about the plight of the adjunct,” Smith said.
Tom Miller, Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at the University of Arizona, reaffirmed the spirit of collaboration, saying that the adjunct situation “is not experienced here as a conflict between administration and faculty. I think it is experienced here as a challenge facing all faculty.”
Though tenure-track positions at the University of Arizona are in decline, the administration has been working to reduce reliance on part-time faculty by consolidating part-time positions into full-time, benefits-eligible positions off the tenure track. The administration is also working with the faculty senate to examine the use of multi-year contracts as a way to support non-tenure-track faculty.
“We have reduced the number of part time adjuncts, … recognizing that this is not an effective way to support our students, and moving people into fulltime positions,” Miller says. “This is in direct opposition to the national trend.”
But adjuncts at other universities reported some fear of retaliation and apprehension over participating in the walkouts, which may be the real reason National Adjunct Walkout Day quickly became National Adjunct Teach-in Day. Retaliation would be easy to execute and difficult to prove. Without tenure or multi-year contracts, most adjuncts have no job security. Dismissing an adjunct from employment is as simple as not assigning them courses for the next semester. In some states, public workers are explicitly barred from walking out and could face fines, though there has been no evidence of this actually happening to adjuncts.
John Martin, chair of the California Part-time Faculty Association and an organizer of a teach-in at Butte College says, “I have not heard of any actual quote-unquote walkout.” Nor did anyone else contacted for this article, including the NAWD initiator. Martin noted that, “You can’t ask teachers who are dependent on their low wages to walk out.”
While the precarious nature of adjunct work might have kept some from participating, with adjuncts from over a 100 colleges represented in North America, Europe, and Australia, clearly many were not deterred from engaging in some organizing.
“The fact of the matter is we only have one-year contracts,” Smith says. “Adjuncts are always feeling precarious and apprehensive at this time of the year because their contract is about to end anyway. The precarious nature of this work is why we are having this event.” |
Email Share +1 438 Shares
A number of statewide LGBT groups this week expressed concerns about the religious exemption in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Four groups — FreedomOhio, Equality New Mexico, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and Wyoming Equality — now say they won’t support the bill with the current exemption.
Amber Royster, executive director for Equality New Mexico, said her organization won’t support the version of ENDA pending before Congress with the current religious exemption.
“We do not support the proposed religious exemption,” Royster said. “Thus, we do not support the current version of ENDA. We hope our elected officials will see this religious exemption for what it is — a license to discriminate against LGBT people — and decide to remove it.”
Donna Red Wing, executive director of One Iowa, also expressed concerns about the religious exemption and called more conversations about it. The organization wouldn’t outright say it no longer supports the version of ENDA pending before Congress.
“When we move to a place where a religious body can freely discriminate against a staff person in a non-ministerial/non-religious position — a janitor or groundskeeper, for instance — that is problematic,” Red Wing said. “Other protected classes do not have this added burden. One Iowa feels there needs to be more conversation around the nuances and the potential harm of this exemption.”
The Washington Blade polled more than 50 state LGBT groups this week on their position regarding ENDA with its current religious exemption. The language would continue to allow religious institutions, like churches or religious hospitals and schools, to discriminate against LGBT workers in ministerial and non-ministerial positions even if the bill were to become law.
The religious exemption in ENDA is broader than similar exemptions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for categories of race, gender, religion and national origin.
The most common response from statewide LGBT groups — including Equality Illinois and Equality California — was that they continue to support ENDA, but oppose or have concerns about the bill’s religious exemption.
Including Equality Illinois and Equality California, 15 groups shared that view, including: Equality Alabama, Equality Florida, Equality Hawaii, Gender Rights Maryland, MassEquality, Outfront Minnesota, Equality Missouri, the New York-based Empire State Pride Agenda, Equality North Carolina, Basic Rights Oregon, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and the D.C.-based Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance.
Dana Beyer, who heads Gender Rights Maryland, noted current political realities in Congress when explaining her organization’s position in support of the legislation.
“We support the current ENDA,” Beyer said. “We also welcome the efforts being made to revise and narrow the exemptions, and hope that those efforts make it more likely that the House will pass the bill that has already passed the Senate. In an ideal world we’d have the same religious exemptions as Title VII, but it’s, unfortunately, no longer 1964.”
Four groups — FreedomOhio, Equality New Mexico, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and Wyoming Equality — said they won’t support ENDA with the current religious exemption in place, while three others — Equality Delaware, the Kentucky-based Fairness Campaign, One Iowa, and the Missouri-based PROMO — didn’t offer an official position on ENDA, but expressed concerns about the bill’s religious exemption.
A total of 11 groups had no comment or no immediate comment on ENDA: One Colorado, the Louisiana-based Forum for Equality, Equality Maryland, Equality Michigan, Equality Ohio, Equality Pennsylvania, South Carolina Equality, Equality Virginia, Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, Fair Wisconsin and Fairness West Virginia.
Groups that didn’t respond altogether were Alaskans Together for Equality, Equality Arizona, Georgia Equality, Indiana Equality, Equality Maine, Garden State Equality, the Oklahoma-based Equality Network, Equality South Dakota, Equality Texas, Equality Utah and Equal Rights Washington.
A number of national LGBT groups — including the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Work, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Lambda Legal — have said they continue to support ENDA because of the LGBT non-discrimination protections it affords despite any concerns about the religious exemption. But two legal groups — the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center — have dropped support for the bill altogether.
Many of these state equality groups are dependent on or have affiliations with national LGBT groups that are continuing to push for passage of the current version of ENDA. For example, the Human Rights Campaign is partnering with Equality Alabama as part of its $8.5 million, three-year investment in the Project One America initiative in the South.
Additionally, Beyer was named chair of the advisory board for Freedom to Work, a national group pursuing passage of ENDA in Congress that has touted the religious exemption as a way to gain Republican support for the bill.
The Washington Blade will keep this article open for additional or revised comments for state LGBT groups’ positions on ENDA and its religious exemption.
The statements from each of the equality groups that have responded to the survey from the Washington Blade follow:
Equality Alabama
“Equality Alabama strongly supports a comprehensive Employment Non-Discrimination Act — one free of loopholes and licenses to discriminate. Simultaneously, we also strongly support freedom of religion.”
“As we know all too well, little legislation comes from Washington that is perfect. Equality Alabama supports the passage of ENDA, but we are hopeful that the final legislation will protect all LGBT persons in the workplace.” — Ben Cooper, chair of Equality Alabama
Equality California
EQCA supports the passage of the federal Employee Non-Discrimination Act, but we strongly oppose the broad religious exemption that has been attached to it.
“Ensuring that all American employees are judged on the quality of their work, not their sexual orientation or gender identity, is fundamental to achieving full equality. But that protection shouldn’t come with an asterisk or loophole, and that’s what this religious exemption is — a way to promise full protection without delivering it. This exemption undermines the value of ENDA and it must be fixed.” — Rick Zbur, EQCA executive director-elect
One Colorado
“One Colorado doesn’t have any comment at this time.” Jon Monteith, spokesperson for One Colorado.
Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance
“GLAA has long supported ENDA. Our position was to support the best achievable bill, because we understood the value of strategic compromise — not as an end point but as a way station in the ongoing struggle for equality.”
“But here in DC, as in the marriage equality fight, we have successfully fought against overbroad religious exemptions. Of course religious groups enjoy protections in their core religious functions; outside that sphere is another matter.”
“It is time to push back against the religious bullies. Religious exemptions beyond those applying to discrimination under Title VII should not be accepted in ENDA.” — GLAA President Rick Rosendall
Equality Delaware
“Equality Delaware has not yet taken a position as a board on the religious exemption in the ENDA bill. However, our general position is that discrimination against LGBT people is wrong, and that includes discrimination against those who work for religious entities in non-ministerial roles.” — Equality Delaware chief Lisa Goodman
Equality Florida
“While we are pleased with the progress and momentum behind ENDA, we are very concerned with the sweeping, unprecedented scope of the legislation’s religious exemption.”
“In the current version, ENDA’s religious exemption could provide religiously affiliated organizations – far beyond houses of worship – with a blank check to engage in employment discrimination against LGBT people.” — a Jan. 22, 2014 coalition letter to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen signed by Equality Florida
Equality Hawaii
“It would depend upon how the exemption is worded, but, in principle, we would hopes that religious exemption language is removed before passage. Considering that religious beliefs were once used to deny women the right to vote, justify segregation and oppose interracial marriage, gutting anti-discrimination laws is a slippery slope that turn back time on anti-discrimination laws. We certainly hope for ENDA’s passage and, if it does pass with this language in tact, hope that judicial and legislative steps will be quickly taken to correct this free pass to discriminate.” — Don Bentz, executive director of Equality Hawaii
Equality Illinois
“We support the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which aims to prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT Americans, but we strongly oppose including any exemptions that would give LGBT people less protection than other protected groups already enjoy under federal civil rights law.” — Organizational statement from Equality Illnois
One Iowa
“Equality is equality. Unfortunately, we start to diminish that when we make the kinds of exemptions we are seeing in this iteration of ENDA. One Iowa fully respects, appreciates and understands a religious organization’s right to follow the tenets of its own belief system. However, when we move to a place where a religious body can freely discriminate against a staff person in a non-ministerial /non-religious position–a janitor or groundskeeper, for instance–that is problematic. Other protected classes do not have this added burden. One Iowa feels there needs to be more conversation around the nuances and the potential harm of this exemption.” — Executive Director Donna Red Wing
Fairness Campaign
“This exemption seems broader than the religious exemptions we’ve supported on local and statewide legislation in Kentucky. Still awaiting final analysis” — Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign
Forum for Equality
“We haven’t taken a position yet, we will be meeting next week to discuss. Sorry, at this point we have no position.” — Executive Director Sarah Jane Brady
MassEquality
“MassEquality supports the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which aims to prohibit job discrimination against LGBT workers, as a modest first step in leveling the playing field for LGBT people and their families. However, we strongly oppose ENDA’s current religious exemption, which would provide LGBT people less protection than that afforded other protected groups under existing federal civil rights law. ENDA is about ensuring fairness and equality, both of which are undermined by an exemption that would result in second-class protections for LGBT people.” — MassEquality Executive Director Kara Coredini
Equality Maryland
“Equality Maryland has not taken a position on the current version of ENDA. If and when we do, I will let you know.” — Equality Maryland Executive Director Carrie Evans
Gender Rights Maryland
“We support the current ENDA. We also welcome the efforts being made to revise and narrow the exemptions, and hope that those efforts make it more likely that the House will pass the bill that has already passed the Senate. In an ideal world we’d have the same religious exemptions as Title VII, but it’s, unfortunately, no longer 1964.” — Gender Rights Maryland Executive Director Dana Beyer
Equality Michigan
“We will issue a response and official statement. We are just doing our due diligence. We have every intention of standing by the response we send to you as we consider this extremely important. and are fighting like hell for similar and broader protections statewide here in Michigan. Much respect for the work you are doing as this develops.” — Executive Director Emily Dievendorf
OutFront Minnesota
“OutFront Minnesota supports the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but we oppose including any exemptions that would give LGBT people less protection than other protected groups already enjoy under federal civil rights law.”
“Minnesota passed an LGBT inclusive human rights act in 1993 and it has worked effectively to protect LGBT people. New and broader religious exemptions to LGBT nondiscrimination laws would be a step backward.” — Outfront Minnesota Director Jean Heyer
Equality Missouri
“Equality Missouri supports the passage of the federal Employee Non-Discrimination Act, but we are strongly opposed the broad religious exemption that has been attached to it, the religious exemption is nothing more than a license to discriminate against LGBT people” — Field Director Caleb-Michael Files
PROMO
“As it currently stands, we have not made a statement either in support or against the current version of ENDA. This isn’t so much to reflect the current controversy but rather the perception that it has a very limited chance of passing the House in any form at this time. If pressed on the religious exemptions, we would likely stand with EQIL, NCLR and the TLC in opposition to the religious exemptions, however our board has not taken up any position at this time. I wager the board would stand with those orgs mainly because the congressional representation from MO would not be persuaded to support ENDA, even with those broad exemptions, so why barter for support when it isn’t available.” — Executive Director A.J. Bockelman
Equality New Mexico
“We do not support the proposed religious exemption. Thus, we do not support the current version of ENDA. We hope our elected officials will see this religious exemption for what it is — a license to discriminate against LGBT people — and decide to remove it.” — Executive Director Amber Royster
Equality North Carolina
“While we oppose the religious exemption it is able to be removed down the line, we’re in a position in North Carolina where just don’t have the luxury of waiting for these protections. There are real-world problems that North Carolinians across the Tar Heel State face, including employment discrimination, so we do support employment non-discrimination as it stands and we will continue to push for it. We will also continue to advocate that religious exemptions will be removed in the future.” — Executive Director Christopher Sgro
Empire State Pride Agenda
“The Pride Agenda supports the swift passage of ENDA and belives that no one should be denied employment or fired from their job simply because of who they are. We also believe the religious exclusion should be consistent with the other protected classes and hope that the final bill is reflective of that and is signed into law soon.” — ESPA spokesperson Allison Steinberg
Equality Ohio
“Don’t have anything for you regarding national legislation at the moment – we’re working night and day working to make progress in Ohio.” — Communications Director Grant Stancliff.
FreedomOhio
“FreedomOhio believes ENDA can and must be strengthened by eliminating the overly broad religious exemption that permits employers to discriminate based on a person’s real or perceived sexual orientation. FreedomOhio cannot support a version of ENDA that legalizes discrimination in the workplace for non-ministerial workers.” — Executive Director Ian James
Basic Rights Oregon
“The effort to pass ENDA has been a decades-long struggle, and Basic Rights Oregon strongly support passage of ENDA and thanks Rep. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) for his leadership. We do have deep concerns about the special exemption that is currently in the bill, as it will result in discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. We are hopeful that the language will be modified to be consistent with legislation applied to other protected groups, rather than singling out LGBT people for disparate treatment.” — Executive Director Jeana Frazzini
Equality Pennsylvania
“Sorry but we are deep in a legislative session right now and we haven’t had time to review the language and talk to our board about this.” — Equality Pennsylvania spokesperson Levana Layendecker
South Carolina Equality
“The board decided last night to not provide official comment at this time. We reserve the right to weigh in on this issue at a future date once we explore the topic.”
“ENDA has not been our focus this year. We have been a 100 percent focused on SC House bill 4025 in the state legislature which would have banned discrimination in South Carolina laws. Our bill did not contain any religious exemptions because we attempted to update existing human affairs laws which did not include them either. The session just ended but we plan to reintroduce the same bill for next session.” — Executive Director Ryan Wilson
Tennessee Equality Project
“Our position is similar to Equality Illinois. We support the bill, but we are obviously opposed to carving out exemptions for non-clergy positions in religious schools and charities. We’re supporting ENDA because we have no hope of enacting state-level job protections that forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. I get calls every month from people in Tennessee who have been fired, not hired, or denied a promotion because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” — Chris Sanders, President of the Tennessee Equality Project,
Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition
They are currently in support of the existing ENDA. They’re not happy with the religious exemption, but they’re not going to oppose ENDA because of it. They have “no intention of withdrawing support from the current version.” — Secretary Marisa Richmond
Transgender Equality Network of Texas
“We are in agreement with Transgender Law Center and National Center for Lesbian Rights in that we do not support a bill with the current religious exemption included.”
“We are already seeing an increase of growth in RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Acts) around the country, and find Arizona’s SB1062 particularly notable if it becomes a trend.” — Executive Director Katy Stewart
Equality Virginia
“I don’t have an answer for you. I apologize that we will not be able to participate in the poll this time around.” Equality Virginia spokesperson Kirsten Bokenkamp
Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force
“We’re not commenting on ENDA at this time.” — Board Chair Sheryl Rapée-Adams
Fair Wisconsin
“You might have heard that we have recently won marriage due to a federal ruling on Friday, and things have been busy as we are assisting clerks in Wisconsin with implementation. I will have to get back to you later about ENDA.” — Fair Wisconsin spokesperson Megin McDonell
Fairness West Virginia
“We’re not going to be able to meet your deadline. Typically we can respond faster to reporters for stories but many of our key people are out of reach right now. Best of luck with the poll, we look forward to reading what the results are.” — Fairness West Virginia spokesperson Carling McManus
Wyoming Equality
“Wyoming Equality obviously supports ENDA and making this a reality is one of our top priorities. However, as the proposed bill reads we would not be able to support it due to the broad religious exemption. We believe in freedom of religion and would be supportive of similar wording used in Title VII, but this feels like a religious exemption that would allow discrimination to continue against the LGBT community. No other minority group is subject to such a broad exemption. For example, this exemption would allow a Catholic School to fire a janitor just because they are LGBT! We want to see opinions in the work place develop around hard work and dedicated employees not sexual orientation or gender identity; and equality should never come with a footnote, asterisk or a loophole.” — Board Chair Jeran Artery
Justin Peligri contributed to this report. |
FORT LUPTON, COLO. — A pregnant Colorado woman mistakenly given an abortion drug by a pharmacist faces an excruciating wait to find out the fate of her unborn child.
A pharmacist at a Safeway supermarket in Fort Lupton gave Mareena Silva the drug methotrexate last week. The drug, intended for another woman, is used in chemotherapy and to terminate early-stage pregnancies.
Silva, who is six weeks pregnant, told KMGH-TV in Denver that she took a pill and checked the bottle after becoming sick. She was rushed to the hospital.
Doctors say Silva could miscarry or have a baby with birth defects.
“For all this to happen now, it’s really overwhelming to know that I have to come home and sit and wait,” Silva said in an interview with the station. |
Male-to-female crossplay requires males to dress up as female characters. But this is unequal to easily put on a woman’s dress. To make up to cover male features like joint, shoulder breadth and facial form is necessary. Substantial items are needed to help males seem more beautiful. Also, attire and makeup are essential. Males who plan to crossplay don’t need to be pretty and slim. Here I list some tips, just grasp those tips.
pic from: deviantart
Tip 1: decrease differences between males and females’ physiques.
1. Body silhouettes between men and women are different. Females’ faces and body outlines seem curvilinear. But silhouettes on males are straight. To fit into women’s wear, fat males need to lose weight firstly. Besides, men can make their waists much slimmer and asses as protruding as women’s by exercise.
2. Women have less body hair than men. Exuberant body hair will damage the beautiful sense. It’s a must to deal with body hair on some exposed parts and especially beards.
3. Hair is a symbol for females. It’s often said to be life for females. Long hair is a symbol for femininity. Men can remain long hair or put on a cosplay wig to accent the feminine sense.
Tip 2: choose the costume.
1. Select the underwear. Even though underwear can’t be seen when clothes are put on, males are asked to wear a bra to show up the shape of chest. Thus, undergarment becomes a must-have item in women’s wear. Males can fill something into the cup to make their chest as plump as they want. But an extremely large breast will seem unnatural. Cup C is okay. Silk stockings can make legs seem more slender and wearers will also seem much sexier. In this case, you don’t need to unhair too.
pic from: cosplay.com
2. Select clothes to conceal males’ body outlines.
i. Make wide shoulders seem narrower. Avoid wearing skinny jeans or dresses. Choose dresses with ribbon or lace clothes that seem lightsome and dreamlike. A harmonious volume between the waistline and shoulders will help you seem better.
“Alice transsexuals group” from China
ii. Hide knees and ankles. Males’ features are easily discovered on knees and ankles. In any case, men’s knees and ankles will seem stouter. It’s of great necessity to hide them while wearing women’s wear. The simplest way is to wear trousers like jeans. Besides, wear shoes that make ankles less obvious, like tall boots. Knees will be seen anyhow while wearing dresses. Just put on stockings.
iii. Hide the shape of hands. Gloves are the best method. If the cosplay role doesn’t wear gloves, you can wear a large bracelet, which helps your hands seem smaller.
iv. Select the cosplay wig. Men with lanky face shapes will make their faces seem rather long if using long wig. Thus, they should choose middle or short wig that reaches to the shoulder. If the wig color is bright, the volume of hair will become much bigger. Thus, choose wig with less hair.
Tip 3: Make up.
Huge transformations can be made by cosmetics, which will totally change people’s images. To make the facial silhouette more obvious or to make men with dark skin tones seem more feminine, making-up is a must. Below is a frequently used cosmetic checklist. Make sure you have already gotten them ready first of all.
Mirror
Eyebrow tweezers
Eyebrow cut
Makeup cotton
Facial tissues
Cosmetics case
Facial cleanser
Makeup remover
Freshener
Color corrector
Foundation make-up
Concealer
Sponge
Lipstick
Lip brush
Lip liner
Lip gloss
Eyeliner
Eye shadow
Eye black
Eyebrow pencil
Blush
Blusher
Nail polish
How to use these cosmetics can be learned from make-up forums. Then, pay special attention to these points:
1. More obvious edges can be seen on males’ faces. To emphasize these edges while making up will make the appearance more chiseled.
2. Foundation make-up can help the complexion seem whiter. But don’t make it so white that a big difference forms among face, neck and shoulders. This won’t seem natural.
3. Spots and pockmark on face can be hidden by concealer.
4. Men’s eyebrows are thicker and darker than women’s. To tweeze or draw the eyebrows by eyebrow pencil to be thinner is better.
Tip 4: Notice the gesture while going out.
Gender can be distinguished not only by face, but also by figure, attire, hairstyle, movement and gesture. That is to say, even though you are rather masculine and tall, you can well dissimulate and become rather feminine.
1. Make your body shape feminine. Bra and filler can make a plump chest. Corrective underwear can help the hip seem perfectly round. Corset can make the waist more slender. Underskirt can be used to hide the hipline.
2. Make your gesture feminine. Stretch the waist and look at the front horizontally. Don’t split your legs to be too wide. Walk slowly and lightly. Keep legs together while standing and sitting.
3. Take photos. Hide defective parts while taking a photo, such as shoulder width, elbow, knees, hands and height. Keep arms on the back and lean on the wall; you can hide your arms. When the picture is taken with camera placed around your knees, you will seem rather slim and shoulders will seem much narrower. Like this picture below.
A book named “Wanna be a pretty girl!” and a program called “Josou Paradise” in Japan show us useful tips on male-to-female crossplay. Take a look if you are interested! |
Summer's Eve has decided to take down their new talking vagina ads after a huge backlash that included a thorough mocking on the Colbert Report. However, PR executive Stacie Barnett told Adweek that the company remains committed to what she describes as a mission to educate women about their anatomy and challenge taboos. Though, later she admits that they just want to sell women more crap they don't need:
"The product that women and the medical community have questioned whether it is necessary is douching," she said. "This campaign is marketing the external cleanser, cloth and wash, which is no different than a special hand cream, eye cream, body wash, etc. Now, are these things necessary? No. But cosmetically, as women, we have those choices."
She added: "The bigger issue is: Do I think the baggage that Summer's Eve has had related to its heritage of douche is part of this [current criticism]? Absolutely. There are people who may always associate Summer's Eve only with douche, and therefore look upon it either with mockery or a negative perception. And that's fine. But there are a lot of women who want these products, right or wrong, necessary or not. And that's who we want to educate." |
Isaiah Washington : LSU Football Media Day 2015
LSU defensive end Isaiah Washington (94) speaks to the media during LSU football media day held at the team's practice facility in Baton Rouge on Sunday, August 16, 2015. (Photo by Brianna Paciorka, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
(Brianna Paciorka)
LSU coach Les Miles indicated freshman defensive end Isaiah Washington will not play when the Tigers open their 2015 season Saturday against McNeese State.
Speaking at his weekly post-practice press briefing, Miles said Washington, who prepped at Karr High School, injured an arm in practice. Washington and fellow freshman defensive end Arden Key have been getting rave reviews in fall camp.
"I don't know that he'll be playing this weekend," Miles said. "But he'll be playing shortly thereafter. It's an arm."
Miles also said redshirt freshman Will Clapp and junior Josh Boutte will start at left and right guard, respectively. He said he expects freshman Maea Tehema also to play. Teuhema has come on strong in the latter part of fall camp.
LSU's starting offensive line is now set with Jerald Hawkins and Vadal Alexander at the tackles and Ethan Pocic at center.
"Will Clapp will start at one of them Josh Boutte at the other," he said. "Maea will play a lot of football this year. He'll play in there at left guard certainly (Saturday night)."
Miles complimented the play in practice of quarterback Brandon Harris, whom he announced as the starter on Monday over sophomore Anthony Jennings. Last year, jennings started 12 of 13 games.
"Brandon Harris continues to improve," Miles said. "I think the more reps he gets the better he gets. More comfortable it is, he becomes, it becomes more natural."
**************
Jim Kleinpeter can be reached at [email protected] or 504.826.3405. |
During prepared remarks in Green Bay Wisconsin Donald Trump announced a five point plan for beginning to institute ethics reform in government:
[ TRANSCRIPT ] Thank you.
In 22 days, we are going to win the state of Wisconsin and we are going to win the White House.
Early voting is underway, so make sure to send in your absentee ballots.
Together, we are going to deliver real change that puts America First.
We are going to renegotiate our terrible trade deals, end illegal immigration, stop the massive inflow of refugees, reduce surging crime, cut taxes and regulations, lift the restrictions on American energy, end common core, and repeal and replace the disaster known as Obamacare.
Your jobs will come back under a Trump Administration. Your incomes will go up under a Trump Administration. Your taxes will go way down under a Trump Administration. Your companies won’t be leaving Wisconsin under a Trump Administration.
We are also going to end government corruption.
Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to run for President.
Newly-released FBI documents made public today reveal just how deep the corruption goes. The under-Secretary of State, Patrick Kennedy, pressured the FBI to un-classify emails from Hillary’s illegal server. In other words, the State Department was trying to cover-up Hillary’s crime of sending classified information on a server our enemies could easily access by trying to reverse the classification.
This is a criminal act – a conspiracy that included Hillary’s deleting and bleaching of 33,000 emails, the disappearance of 13 phones, 2 boxes of email evidence gone missing, and the destruction of laptops in a secret deal with the FBI.
Remember, also, that Hillary lied under oath to Congress saying she had never sent or received classified information on her insecure sever, and pretended not to know that the letter “C” meant confidential information that was classified. Hillary then told the FBI she couldn’t remember 39 times, and then, in written testimony last week under oath, said she couldn’t remember another 21 times.
We are witnessing a criminal enterprise that has turned our government into a vehicle for the Clinton’s personal profit at your expense.
But it gets even worse.
The FBI documents show that Under-Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy made the request for altering classification as part of a “quid pro quo.” This is felony corruption. Under-Secretary Kennedy needs to resign.
Clinton cronies have sacrificed your security, your family’s safety, and your country’s safety as though it meant nothing at all.
This is magnitudes worse than Watergate. And we’re going to put an end to it on November 8th.
But there’s still more. Another series of emails shows top officials in the Clinton campaign scheming to take massive sums of money from foreign lobbyists. One of the emails from a top Hillary official said, quote, “take the money!!” with two exclamation points. This is money bundled by people registered as lobbyists on behalf of foreign governments.
Remember, we are competing in a rigged election – the media is trying to rig the election by giving credence to false stories that have no validity and making it front page news, only to poison the minds of the American voters. The media is an extension of the Clinton Campaign, as WikiLeaks proved – Hillary even got the questions and answers in advance of a major debate.
A new report from the Center for Public Integrity shows that 96% of so-called journalists and reporters who donated this cycle gave their money to Hillary Clinton. They even want to try and rig the election at the polling booths, where so many cities are corrupt and voter fraud is all too common.
The following comes straight from Pew Research.
QUOTE: “Approximately 24 million—one of every eight—voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate.”
QUOTE: “More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters.”
QUOTE: “Approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state.”
Then there is the issue of illegal immigrants voting. The following comes from a 2014 report from the Washington Post. The article was entitled: “could non-citizens decide the November election?” Here are some excerpts.
QUOTE: “More than 14 percent of non-citizens in both the 2008 and 2010 samples indicated that they were registered to vote.”
QUOTE: “Because non-citizens tended to favor Democrats (Obama won more than 80 percent of the votes of non-citizens in the 2008 sample), we find that this participation was large enough to plausibly account for Democratic victories in a few close elections. Non-citizen votes could have given Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health-care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress. It is also possible that non-citizen votes were responsible for Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina. Obama won the state by 14,177 votes, so a turnout by 5.1 percent of North Carolina’s adult non-citizens would have provided this victory margin.”
Our system is also rigged by the donors, giving hundreds of millions to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The reason Hillary Clinton pushes for NAFTA, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and for completely open borders, is because her international donors control her every move.
If we let the Clinton Cartel run this government, history will record that 2017 was the year America lost its independence.
We will not let that happen.
It is time to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.
That is why I am proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again.
When Bill Clinton came into office, he signed an executive order saying if you work for the White House or a federal agency, you can’t lobby the government for 5 years after you leave. But then, President Clinton did what the Clintons always do – he rigged the system on his way out. Clinton lifted the executive order so the Clintons and their cronies like John Podesta could start raking in cash.
So, here is what I am announcing tonight:
♦ First: I am going to re-institute a 5-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for 5 years after they leave government service. I am going to ask Congress to pass this ban into law so that it cannot be lifted by executive order.
♦ Second: I am going to ask Congress to institute its own 5-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress and their staffs.
♦ Third: I am going to expand the definition of lobbyist so we close all the loopholes that former government officials use by labeling themselves consultants and advisors when we all know they are lobbyists.
♦ Fourth: I am going to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
♦ And Fifth: I am going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections.
Not only will we end our government corruption, but we will end the economic stagnation.
My plan for the economy can be summed up in three simple words: jobs, jobs, jobs.
At the center of my plan will be fixing our terrible trade deals.
47 million Americans are in poverty and 45 million Americans are on Food Stamps.
We have nearly an $800 billion annual trade deficit in goods with the world, and the worst so-called recovery since the Great Depression.
It’s the Clintons who gave us NAFTA, and the Clintons who gave us China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
Briggs & Stratton has cut thousands of Wisconsin manufacturing jobs and moved them to China.
GE Healthcare recently closed its Milwaukee location and shipped the jobs to Mexico.
Johnson Controls shuttered its plants in Milwaukee and West Allis and moved the jobs to Mexico and China.
The list goes on and on.
We are living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of the world.
A Trump Administration is going to renegotiate NAFTA, stand up to China, and stop the jobs from leaving our country.
As part of our plan to bring back our jobs, we are going to lower our business tax from 35 percent to 15 percent.
We will be a rich nation once again.
But to be a rich country, we must also be a safe country.
National Security begins at the border.
Speaking in secret to a foreign bank Hillary Clinton said her dream is for totally “open trade and open borders.”
By “open trade,” she means foreign countries can cheat us out of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars.
By “open borders,” she means totally unlimited immigration.
In a secret speech to Goldman Sachs, she said citizens who want to control immigration are “Un-American.”
So Hillary thinks most of the country is either deplorable, irredeemable, un-American, racist, or basement dwellers supporting Bernie Sanders.
Hillary’s plan includes an open border with the Middle East – meaning generations of radicalism and terrorism spreading and growing within our shores.
So let me state this as clearly as I can. If I’m elected President I am going to keep Radical Islamic Terrorists out of our country.
We will also stop the crisis of illegal immigration.
A Trump Administration will secure and defend our borders. And yes, we will build a wall.
We have the first-ever endorsement from our ICE and Border Patrol officers.
As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton allowed thousands of criminal aliens to be released because their home countries wouldn’t take them back.
The ICE officers described Hillary’s proposal as, quote, the most radical immigration proposal in U.S. history.” Here is a summary of the Hillary plan:
–Support for Sanctuary Cities
–Social Security, Medicare and lifetime welfare for illegal immigrants by making them all citizens
–Obamacare for illegal immigrants
–No deportation of visa overstays
–Expanding catch-and-release on the border
–Expanding President Obama’s unconstitutional executive amnesty, including instant work permits for millions of illegal workers
–Freeing even more criminal aliens by expanding Obama’s non-enforcement directives
–A 550% increase in Syrian refugees
Either we win this election, or we lose the country.
Under a Trump Administration, it’s going to be America First.
Here are some of the amazing things we are going to do for our country starting in 2017:
We are going to have the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan; eliminate every unnecessary regulation; defend religious liberty; provide school choice to every low-income child in America; rebuild our depleted military and take care of our vets; support the men and women of law enforcement; repeal and replace Obamacare; save the 2nd amendment; and appoint Justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
You have 22 days to make every dream you ever dreamed of for your country come true.
On November 8th, the arrogance of Washington D.C. will come face to face with the righteous verdict of the American voter.
I am going to fight for every citizen, of every background, from every stretch of this nation.
I’m going to fight for every child living in poverty. I’m going to fight for every mom who lost her child to illegal immigration, and drugs and gang violence.
I’m going to fight for every community whose jobs and dreams have been ripped out and shipped to other countries.
I’m going to fight for every person in this country who believes government should serve the people – not the donors.
And I am going to fight to bring us all together as Americans.
Imagine what our country could accomplish if we started working together as One People, under One God, saluting One American Flag.
You’re going to look back at this rally for the rest of your life. You’re going to remember this day. This is a movement like you’ve never seen before. You’re going to look back at this election, and say this is by far the most important vote you’ve ever cast for anyone at any time.
Once again, we are going to have a government of, by and for the people.
We Will Make America Wealthy Again.
We Will Make America Strong Again.
We Will Make America Safe Again.
And We Will Make America Great Again.
~ Donald Trump
Advertisements |
"It could have moons that are rocky, which means you could have life on the moons in this system," Stephen Kane, one of the astronomy researchers at San Francisco State University who made the discovery, said in a statement on Monday.
A year on Kepler-453b lasts 240 Earth days, during which it orbits two stars, which measure 94 percent and 20 percent the size of our sun.
Researchers will share more details about their discovery Friday at the International Astronomical Union meeting in Honolulu.
This is the 10th "circumbinary" planet — meaning it circles two stars — ever discovered. For the team reviewing data from NASA's orbiting Kepler observatory, timing was everything.
Planets are usually detected as they transit between their sun and Earth, but because of the gravitational pull of its two stars, Kepler-453b is only visible 9 percent of the time. If they had not spotted now, it wouldn't have been visible again until 2066. |
(CNN) A British soldier who had his leg blown off by a bomb while serving in Iraq has taken the internet by storm after his Facebook post attacking Islamophobia went viral.
Chris Herbert, who served in the British Army in Basra, Iraq, lost his right leg when a bomb went off next to his Land Rover in 2007.
One of his comrades, Private Luke Simpson, died in the attack, while two other soldiers were also injured.
Toe ambassador Chris Herbert @HerbiePegLeg graduated from @portsmouthuni today Well done couldn't be more proud x pic.twitter.com/XBnrIpMIiH
Herbert, who was 19 when he suffered the life-changing injury, took to Facebook after complaining that he was "getting frustrated" with people expecting him to be racist after losing his leg.
He told those holding the entire Muslim faith responsible for terrorism to: "Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work."
The post has been shared nearly 125,000 times and has been hugely popular on social media.
"Yes. A Muslim man blew me up, and I lost my leg," he wrote. "A Muslim man also lost his arm that day wearing a British Uniform.
"A Muslim medic was in the helicopter that took me from the field. A Muslim surgeon performed the surgery that saved my life.
"A Muslim Nurse was part of the team that helped me when I returned to the UK.
"A Muslim Healthcare Assistant was part of the team that sorted out my day to day needs in rehabilitation when I was learning to walk.
"A Muslim taxi driver gave me a free ride the first time I went for a beer with my Dad after I came home.
"A Muslim doctor offered my Dad comfort and advice in a pub, when he didn't know how to deal with my medicines and side effects."
"Get a grip"
Herbert's post comes at the same time as a petition has been launched to prevent Donald Trump from entering the UK.
Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential election, claimed that parts of London were so radicalized that British police feared for their lives -- a statement which was dismissed by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Answering a question on Facebook, Herbert criticized Trump's policies, writing: "He's a fool, first line of the U.S. constitution declares (paraphrasing) that people cannot have rights taken away due to their religion. Even if he gets in, he has no legal right to do half the stuff he says."
Herbert, who lives in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, said he took the decision to speak out after an "Islamophobic group tried to recruit" him as a poster boy for their organization.
He says that upon his return to the UK he was abused and discriminated against on a number of occasions by "white brits".
JUST WATCHED Donald Trump: 'I have to do what's right' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Donald Trump: 'I have to do what's right' 03:42
Herbert added: "A White brit pushed my wheelchair away from a lift so he could use it first.
"(Although, alot of people helped in my recovery! I don't hate white brits either! hahaha)."
"Blaming all Muslims for the actions of groups like Daeshe and the Taliban, is like blaming all Christians for the actions of the KKK or Westboro Baptist Church," he added.
"Get a grip of your lives, hug your family and get back to work."
Great to have first Toe patient and now proud Toe Ambassador @HerbiePegLeg join to Toe crew for racing this wkd pic.twitter.com/iqEgKQbnxU — Toe in the Water (@toeinthewateruk) October 26, 2014
The post has drawn widespread praise on Facebook and Twitter. One friend, Alastair Campbell, wrote beneath the comment: "Amen brother - you've hit the nail on the head, and it couldn't have come from a better bloke."
Another friend, Alex Elbourne, added: "Your words ring true Chris. Don't ever let the haters get you down. Don't ever let anyone tell you what you should think. I am proud to call you a friend." |
the chevrolet ‘camaro’ is one of the most iconic muscle cars in america´s rich automobile history, and this tuned model by timeless kustoms has a particularly unique story–it was bought by major league baseball pitcher brad penny, of ‘the dodgers’, with the intention of having it fine-tuned. timeless kustoms completed the ‘camaro’ project for the player in 2013, transforming it from an ebay donor vehicle into a stealthy, high-performance (750 hp) muscle car.
all images © timeless kustoms
timeless kustoms’ sleek exterior on the cheverolet ‘camaro’ is captivating. the california-based autotuner tucked the car’s bumpers tight to the body, while the drip rails were shaved-off enhancing both aesthetics and aerodynamics. a bespoke rear wing and undercar diffuser were then crafted, helping keep the car planted to the pavement at speed. a set of extractors were then fitted integrated to the hood to help pull heat through the intercoolers. finishing the exterior is the stealthy paint finish based on BMW’s ‘sparkling graphite’.
the interior now features a marquez design dash clustered with analog auto meter gauges, tracking almost every function on the car, while a sparco steering wheel finishes off the ensemble. the interior upholstery has a single piece suede headliner, and accu-mat sound deadening, to help bring the sonorous engine roar to an acceptable level. the customized twin-turbo 380 chevrolet ‘LSX’ engine is fed by a k&n filter, producing in excess of 750 horsepower. the powerful twin-turbo is paired with a ‘tremec wide ratio’ six-speed transmission from american powertrain. |
Black Friday 2017 Free Stuff! It’s the annual Black Friday 2017 free stuff list!
Compiling the list for free stuff on Black Friday is also one of my favorite holiday traditions!
This is our tenth annual Black Friday free stuff list!
It’s our holiday twist on Free Money Friday.
Black Friday 2017 Free Stuff
I searched through all the Black Friday ad sites to compile the list of Black Friday freebies. It’s separated by free, free after rebate, and free with purchase. Be sure to check the ad scans for accuracy, and verify what time the price ends in your area. Don’t forget to use the right card at each store and maximize your 4th Quarter 2017 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards!
The deals listed are for Black Friday. I made notes if the free stuff is available on a different day. Black Friday 2017 is on November 24, 2017.
Bookmark this page, as we’ll continue to update the Black Friday list for 2017 right up until the big day!
Free Stuff
Belk
Gift card giveaway ($5 to $1,000) while quantities last (Thursday)
Mystery scratch off giveaway ($15 to $250) to First 150 Customers
Bon-Ton
Free Gift Card ($5-$500) to First 200 Customers (Thursday)
Boston Store
Free Gift Card ($5-$500) to First 200 Customers (Thursday)
Bass Pro Shops
Free Santa or Snowman Spinner & Prize to First 200 in Line (Saturday & Sunday)
Cabela’s
Free Prize to First 600 in Line
Goody’s
Free Giftspiration ($10 coupon) to First 75 Customers (2 people will get a $250 or $50 gift card)
Free 4-foot Teddy Bear or Pelican premium cooler for 1 customer (Thursday)
Half Price Books
Free Tote Bag & $5 Gift Card to First 100 Customers (One tote bag will have a $100 gift card)
JCPenney
Coupon Giveaway ($500 off $500, $100 off $100 or $10 of $10)
Costco
Costco eliminated the free cookbook giveaway in store. However, you can access all the previous cookbooks online.
Free After Rebate
GameStop
Free Pre-owned Xbox 360 after rebate
Staples
Staples offers aren’t free this year, but they are for 1 penny again:
1 cent Multipurpose Paper 500-Sheet Ream after rebate
1 cent McAfee Antivirus 2018 after rebate
CVS
Free CVS batteries AA or AAA 4 pack after rebate
Free Colgate Max toothpaste after rebate
Free Green Giant canned vegetables after rebate
Free Physicians Formula Eyeliner after rebate
Free Gum Toothbrush after rebate
CVS Cleansing or Baby Wipes after rebate
Free CVS Pantiliners after rebate
Free Wrigley’s Gum, Skittles, Starburst, Necoo, Altoids after rebate
Office Depot
Office Depot offers are for 1 penny:
1 cent Office Depot 3-Ream Paper after rebate
Free With Purchase
Belk
$15 in Belk bucks with every $75 purchase
Bon-Ton
Free $10 off $10 Purchase (Clip Coupon in Sales Flyer)
Boston Store
Free $10 off $10 Purchase (Clip Coupon in Sales Flyer)
Golf Galaxy
$10 Reward on any purchase
Kohl’s
$15 Kohl’s Cash for Every $50 Spent
New York & Company
$10 Rewards for Every $200 Spent
Office Depot
Free McAfee LiveSafe Subscription with any purchase
Petco
Free holiday antlers for pets with Purchase
Stein Mart
$20 eBonus Card with a $100 in egift card Purchase
Target
20% off one shopping trip between Nov. 28-Dec 10 when you spend $50
Walgreens
Free $10 Gift Card with Purchase of $30 iTunes Multipack or $50 iTunes Gift Cards
It’s so much fun watiching how the stores have changed their giveaways for free stuff on Black Friday 2017!
More Black Friday Shopping
If you find more free stuff for Black Friday, please post them in the comments. |
The number of people over 65 worldwide will nearly triple between 2010 and 2050.
Youngsters aren’t the only ones who get the latest high-tech gadgets. Sometime in the next decade or two, homebound retirees could be early adopters of an important new technology: the home-help robot.
A European project has equipped some elderly people’s homes with technology including telepresence robots.
As robots become safer, smarter, and more capable, robotics companies are eyeing elder care as a huge potential market. A rapidly expanding elderly population could also necessitate other new forms of home-assistance technology.
“God help us if we don’t figure it out,” Colin Angle, CEO of Roomba maker iRobot, said during RoboBusiness, a robotics conference held in Boston this month. “Because over the next 20 years the ratio of people over the age of 65 to the number of people under 65 is going to change rather dramatically.”
Estimates from the United Nations suggest the population over 65 worldwide will increase 181 percent between 2010 and 2050, compared to a 33 percent increase in people aged 15 to 65. That shift will create a large incentive to automate at least some assistive work.
Paro, a robotic seal, brings comfort to a senior in Japan.
Some robots are already lending a mechanical hand. As part of an E.U.-funded research project, senior citizens in Italy, Spain, and Sweden have had their homes equipped with sensors to track their activity and health. Mobile telepresence robots—a wheeled videoconferencing system that can be piloted remotely—let relatives and doctors check in with them. Some nursing homes in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. give lonely residents a robotic seal called Paro as a companion. It responds to petting by cooing and purring and will cry if dropped or ignored.
As such machines become more sophisticated, robot helpers could assist people with everyday household chores and with dressing and bathing. Eventually robots may interact far more intelligently as entertainment or company.
iRobot doesn’t make anything that sophisticated, but Angle says the company is well positioned to develop such technology because it has thought so long about how to make robots work in the home. The company makes several telepresence robots, various robots for the military, and a range of home-cleaning robots, including the Roomba.
“The Roomba is the most successful elder-care robot ever created,” Angle said. “It helps people who can’t push a vacuum maintain a sense of control over the environment they live in.”
Robots seem to be converging on elder care from several directions. Robotic assistance systems that fit over arms or legs are emerging as a way to help those who have a hard time walking or picking up objects stay independent. Researchers in Denmark have adapted a robotic factory arm made by Universal Robots to see if it can be used to help people shower.
Some emerging robotic products can help with simple jobs. For instance, Yujin Robot, a Korean company, has a low-cost system that navigates around a hospital or elder-care facility and delivers meals. Other companies at RoboBusiness demonstrated sophisticated and low-cost robotic manipulators. While these robot hands are being developed primarily as a way to automate industrial tasks, they could also be put to use folding laundry, collecting dishes, or straightening neckties.
Having machines perform such tasks—and not only for the elderly—is “closer than people realize,” says Rich Mahoney, director of robotics at the research company SRI. “There are tons of opportunities: robots that can do dishes and can clean, and all the things people want in terms of folding laundry and cleaning bathrooms,” he says.
Still, there’s a long way to go to make robots user-friendly, especially for a set of users not known for being tech-savvy. Angle pointed to the latest version of one of the military robots iRobot makes, essentially a large metal claw on wheels. “Would you feel comfortable having this robot dress your mom?” he asked. “Probably not.” |
You don't need to be a sailor anymore to fly like a Blue Angel. Anyone can now practice aileron rolls with the Navy's elite demonstration via a new app that lets you steer the virtual F/A-18 Hornets with a smart phone.
"Blue Angels: Aerobatic SIM," released on July 15 for iPhone and Android, puts the player in the cockpit above real air show locales, using the phone's tilt control to steer the jets through real Blue Angels moves.
Developers from RORTOS spent a year collaborating with Naval Air Training Command and the Office of Naval Research to get the game just right and earn an official licensing agreement with the Navy, according to CNATRA's associate counsel and resident trademark expert.
"When they contacted us, we had to kind of vet them, look into their background," Joel Bouvé told Navy Times in a Wednesday phone interview.
CNATRA had been looking into developing an app to promote Navy aviation, he said, and RORTOS seemed like a great fit, with about a dozen games and 55 million downloads in the four years since they got started.
The developers made a couple trips to Pensacola, Florida to meet with the team and review the game's experience for accuracy, while working with the Navy on their business and marketing plan.
"I think because of the fact that their CEO is a pilot himself, they did a very good job on being very accurate from the beginning," Bouvé said.
In the end, the Navy awarded the developers a three-year deal to use the Blue Angels name and imagery in the game.
"We are grateful for the pilots and the whole team of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels who provided an accuracy verification that allowed us to create an exciting simulator for a unique and engaging gaming experience," RORTOS CEO Roberto Simonetto said in a Sunday press release.
The fleet will also be making an appearance in some of RORTOS ' other games, including "Carrier Landings," which will have Navy tail numbers and squadron insignia in the future.
The main thing CNATRA looks for when authorizing a trademark, Bouvé said, is that the product — a game, in this case — fits into the Navy's mission to educate the public and promote the service.
"There’s two parts to this app," he said. "There’s a tab that you use in the game, and there’s also an info tab on the left side that gives out team information."
There, gamers can read about the Blue Angels staff, check the show schedule and learn more about the team's F/A-18 Hornets and C-130 Fat Alberts.
In the game, players can fly either as solo pilots or control the entire delta and diamond formations, as well as fly Fat Albert. It's integrated with Google Earth to give accurate representations of show sites — El Centro, California is included, but others can be purchased in-app — along with real-time weather conditions. Or a player can set their own weather.
You can also create your own maneuvers and organize your own air show in your chosen location.
"All of those things and the graphics associated with the apps we’re putting out coincide with that mission," Bouvé added, "to get kids interested in aviation, in flight."
"Blue Angels: Aerobatic Sim" is available now in the iTunes and Google Play stores, with versions for PC and Xbox coming soon, according to the RORTOS release. |
Last week I noticed Instagram user, Aaron Burt had posted up his find of a box of G1 Transformers Valentines. He found them on a recent trip to the store. So naturally when I went to the store yesterday I checked out the valentines display that had just gone up. Sure enough they had G1 Transformers Valentine’s! Being the sucker for anything G1, I had to pick some up for myself.
Arron Burt’s find was of Valentines that sported the original Optimus Prime on the front of the box is 1980s Transformers art. The Valentines that I found where G1, but featured Bumblebee on one box and Powermaster Optimus Prime.
The Bumblebee box features 27 lenticular valentines. So the picture changes as you hold the cards at different angles. The Powermaster Optimus Prime box features 34 valentines and 35 temporary tattoos. I still don’t know what the box of the original Optimus Prime contains, but I will continue to keep my eyes open for it the next time I am at the store. |
Ontarians of a certain age and inclination know Mr. Brown, the terribly obnoxious (and fictional) winner of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s “Cash For Life” prize. Each week the same mailman delivers a one thousand dollar cheque to Mr. Brown, and each week Mr. Brown crows with delight. “Faaantastic!” he says.
As a child I thought this was a lame commercial and a lame prize. As the spot progresses we see evidence that Mr. Brown is making modest material gains: golf clubs, a boat, incremental additions to his home. I had decided then that winning the lottery should mean being able to check out of life as we know it, buying a castle like Mike Tyson’s, tigers and all. This was not the case for Mr. Brown, who we see pathetically and predictably by his fence each week waiting for the mail man to bring him his cheque. I imagined Mr. Brown driving his slightly better car to his same crappy job; taking marginally better vacations; and maybe, finally, buying organic!
I am older now, and if not wiser, more experienced. I think: maybe Mr. Brown was home to meet the mail man because he quit his job. I think: maybe he quit his job to build the studio he needed, so that he could spend his days drawing charcoal portraits of golden retrievers, as was his childhood dream. I think: what would I do if I had a thousand dollars a week? And although that question invites all kinds of existential anxiety – because what should I be doing with this wild and precious life? – I assume I’d eventually figure things out.
Cash for life for all
What if we were all Mr. Brown? Not literally–I prefer bloodhounds to golden retrievers–but in the sense that we all had a guaranteed income that was sufficient to meet our basic needs. Sometimes called “universal basic income,” or a “basic income guarantee,” this idea is as simple as its name: we replace our existing social assistance programs with an annual cash payment to every adult resident. You get paid if you are alive and an adult. You do not have to prove you are unable to work, or looking for work, or getting job training, or that you have no access to other income. You do not have to sell all your assets to qualify. You do not have to expose the inner workings of your family, your psychology, your body, or explain them as failings.
Whose cash for life?
How could we pay for this? This is the typical first objection, and it is fair, because we do not have infinite money. However, I think we should turn this objection on its head and consider, instead, how much the status quo costs. We know that poverty is expensive: trips to the emergency room instead of the family doctor, unhealthy food and then diabetes, stress, and pay day loans to pay off pay day loans. Grandparents everywhere know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; and researchers continue to pile evidence for just how much poverty costs communities, and which preventative approaches can save us money and suffering in the future.
A 2013 report estimates that poverty costs the province of Ontario between $10.4 billion and $13.1 billion per year. In 2009, the last year for which we have figures, “governments spent $13 billion in welfare payments,” and another $4 billion in administration. We do not have to spend this much money treating symptoms. The status quo is unnecessarily costly, and interventions that look further upstream save us all money down the road. From this perspective, how could we not pay for this?
So we could afford a basic income program instead of our piecemeal social assistance, and would eventually save money through its implementation.
No work and all play make me a dull boy
But would people work if they had free money? One missing assumption here is that it would be a bad thing if many of us quit our jobs because we did not need them to survive. Perhaps this would be bad, though given the myriad ways our work destroys the environment and perpetuates inequality, it seems fair to ask for an argument explaining why, exactly. Another missing assumption is that many people would be comfortable with the standard of living a basic income would provide. This is partly a policy question: how much would a basic income be, exactly? But most proponents of basic income set the number fairly low, much lower anyway than most of us are used to. If I wanted a nice car or fancy winter boots for my Golden Retriever, I would have to work. I often hear that humans are competitive and driven to differentiate themselves from each other. I also often that it is precisely this keeping up with the Kardashians Joneses that ensures our economy will keep growing (and serves to legitimize our consumption patterns). If this is true—if in fact these desires are innate—then they would not disappear with a basic income, and we should expect many people to continue working.
Others are concerned that a basic income could not provide the psychological satisfaction we experience through work, because work is central to a flourishing life. During unemployed periods in my life I have certainly felt that way, desperate for work to restore some sanity and balance to my life. And yet, why must it be work? By some reasonably legitimate measures the good people of Denmark appear to be some of the happiest in the world, while working less than most. Indeed, this is also one of the arguments in favour of a basic income guarantee: wouldn’t our communities be better if people were not forced to ‘choose’ their work based on their survival needs? Indeed, “if we all had the equivalent of a trust fund, I think most of us would do as many trust fund kids do.” And indeed, we know that “when basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks.” Certainly some people want and need to work to feel good. But it is hard to see a connection between work and human flourishing for the so-called “working poor.” Do those people holding up work as key to the good life have in mind cleaning toilets?
Fairness and dirty toilets
Nonetheless, “there does seem something fair about requiring those who benefit from society to contribute their share.” In other words, why should surfer bums get a cheque? Again, there is substance to this criticism and again, it’s not that simple. First off, we already have a massive system of social assistance that does not require people to work. We have decided, together, that people should have opportunities to live decent lives even if they cannot ‘contribute’ in the narrow sense of paid wage labour. And once we have conceded this, then we are no longer dealing with black and white, but into a thicket of grey: what counts as “work?” Typically, and problematically, it’s what men have done, away from home. Who decides who can, and who cannot work? What reasons will they accept? How must we prove or display, our disabilities?
OK, but who will clean the toilets, and take out the trash? Would I rather a subsistence income, or perform some of our community’s least socially valued work and have a bit more? I expect few would choose to clean toilets, and we would all be in, as the saying goes, deep ****. But if this criticism is good, it is good because it shows that “paid-what-you’re-worth” is nuts. Once you do not have to clean toilets for $11 an hour to survive, you might not choose to clean toilets for $11 an hour; and you might have time to organize a movement demanding that nobody should have to clean toilets for $11 an hour, and that our least desirable work should be much better paid.
Advertisements
Share this: Reddit
Like this: Like Loading... Related
Tags: basic income |
Acrylic on primed wood, gravel, sculpted textile on canvas
It’s a three-dimensional heavily-textured painting-sculpture inspired by the Windermere lake (UK) and ambient music. The wood is from a Lithuanian forest, the small stones were collected near Windermere lake, UK. A very rough textile was used as a basis for sculpting the red texture. All natural details were carefully conserved, and all elements beautifully balanced to achieve visual music-like harmony
Nicely framed in a professional UK framing shop
On the art collector’s wall (Texas, USA, 12 May 2015):
Calan SR is a calcium channel blocker. This medicament works by relaxing the muscles of your heart. Many customers get online such medications like Viagra. What do you already know about kamagra? A lot of men know this drug as Sildenafil. Typically, both men and women suffer from sexual dysfunctions. Although sex is not vital for good soundness, it’s distinctively great for anyone. Diabetes can contribute to erectile dysfunction. If you need to take prescription medicaments, ask your physician to check your testosterone levels before. This problem is best solved with professional help, preferably through counseling with a qualified sex therapist. Good doctor can help find the option that is best for your circumstances. |
Ballots start landing in metropolitan Vancouver mailboxes next week for an unusual and important vote. In a special plebiscite, residents are being asked to approve an increase in the provincial sales tax of half a percentage point to pay for improvements to the regional transportation system. Recent polls suggest they will say no when the mail-in ballots are tallied at the end of May. But even if they do, Vancouver is way out ahead of Toronto, whose provincial and municipal leaders have failed even to pose such a challenging question.
The two cities find themselves in a similar fix. Both have been experiencing robust growth fed by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Both have failed to make the necessary investments in transportation networks to help people get around. As a result, both suffer from congestion that makes commuting a misery and threatens to choke their economies.
The cost of making up for years of delays and inaction is staggering in both places. Metrolinx, an Ontario-government agency, says it will take $2-billion a year for 25 years to beef up the transportation system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Vancouver's council of regional mayors estimates that governments need to spend $750-million a year for 10 years to upgrade roads and bridges and add more bus, rail and commuter-ferry service.
Story continues below advertisement
The question, as always, is how to pay for it all. For a time, it looked as if Toronto-area politicians were getting ready to bite the bullet and impose special taxes that would create a stream of revenue for transportation needs. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, in particular, raised hopes among transit advocates when she talked about new revenue tools for these purposes.
But when Metrolinx produced an exhaustive study recommending a 5-cents-a-litre gasoline tax and one-percentage-point increase in the sales tax, Ms. Wynne, facing a probable election, balked. She balked again when a second group, led by public-policy guru Anne Golden and appointed by her government to take another look at transit taxes, recommended gas taxes, among other options.
That threw a wet blanket over the revenue-tools debate. When Toronto's municipal election began last year, none of the leading candidates embraced the idea, not even John Tory, who had once urged politicians to level with voters about the need to raise new money for transit. His SmartTrack plan for "surface subways" would rely on rising property values, not taxes on the general public, for its financing.
Vancouver's leaders have been bolder. Regional mayors have been working as a team on this issue, something Toronto-area mayors have never managed.
Putting the idea of a transit tax to the voters was not their idea. Premier Christy Clark, perhaps recalling the public revolt over a harmonized sales tax a few years ago, insisted on putting any new revenue tool to a vote.
But now that the campaign is under way, many of those mayors have been throwing themselves into the task of persuading the public to vote Yes. As the start of balloting approached, they buttonholed commuters at transit stops and held telephone town halls to make their pitch. They argue that at a cost of about $125 per family per year, they can start buying the buses, building the bridges and laying out the rail track needed to handle the region's growth. Backing them up is a broad coalition of business groups, union leaders and public officials.
If voters are skeptical, it is not that they don't buy the argument for investing in better transportation infrastructure. It's that they worry the money will be squandered. TransLink, the local transit agency, has been having all kinds of problems. Computer failures caused a shutdown of the Skytrain service last summer, forcing commuters to walk along the tracks to reach safety. Glitches have plagued the introduction of the tap-and-pay fare card, Compass. It didn't help when TransLink removed its chief executive officer but said it would keep paying him till 2016, while paying an interim CEO $35,000 a month.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The mayors have been scrambling to make up for the damage. They said they would bring in billionaire Jim Pattison to oversee the spending of the new transit money if the Yes wins. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is calling for a shake-up in the way TransLink is governed, too.
It may be too late to rescue the Yes campaign. But the exercise has done some good all the same. By sticking their necks out and campaigning for a transit tax, the mayors have made the point that better transit does not come for free and that someone is going to have to pay for it one way or another. That is more than Toronto's leaders have been willing to do. |
You’ve heard of 3D printing. Now meet 3D painting, which is also called cold spray.
As shown above, the process can repair machine parts in a matter of minutes. Small bits of metal are shot through a gun-like device at speeds approaching 2,237 mph. The metal (nickel alloys) travels in a blend of nitrogen and helium gas, and gradually stack up on the damaged part to recreate the desired surface. A robot controls the movement of the gun to ensure that the repair is done accurately.
The U.S. Army uses the technology to repair a component in Black Hawk helicopters. General Electric is working with its business partners to begin use of the technology for repairs in the civilian world. It expects the technology to be useful for aircraft engines, gas turbines and parts used in the oil and gas industry.
Some mechanical parts can’t be reheated, making repairs difficult or impossible. Welding is often out of the equation. With cold spray, parts that had to be replaced in the past may now be repaired, meaning significant savings.
With huge parts with even bigger price tags, the effects could be substantial. For example, a rotor in a gas turbine may be 12 feet across and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“With any technology, the challenge is always to go out and prove it in the field. When we build the experience to leverage it in a variety of applications, the opportunity is for tens of millions of dollars,” said Anteneh Kebbede, manager of the coatings and surface technologies lab at GE’s global research center. |
The US Supreme Court released some decisions today about climate change and Wal-Mart. While the court ruled on whether certification was improper on the damages claim, there was still dissent among the justices as to whether the underlying issues were valid.
WalMart Employees
WalMart employees wanted the right to sue as a class for gender discrimination in the workplace. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that the class, as currently defined, was too broad to proceed as a class action lawsuit.
NPR reported back in March:
Standing on the steps of the Supreme Court, Betty Dukes, the lead plaintiff, said Wal-Mart's appeal is an attempt to "keep us out of court so the facts will not be presented to the public at large or before a sitting jury." Those facts, say the plaintiffs, show that when the case was filed 10 years ago, women held two-thirds of the lowest-level hourly jobs and only one-third of the management jobs; and that women were paid on average $1.16 less per hour than men in the same jobs, despite having more seniority and higher performance ratings. Wal-Mart, however, hotly disputes those statistics, contending that there is no pay difference between men and women at 90 percent of its stores. And the company points to what it repeatedly calls its "strong policy" against discrimination.
Jezebel:
But Antonin Scalia's majority opinion lost four justices — former civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg, plus Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer — when he argued that there could be no class that was discriminated against because there was no written policy covering them all: [...] This is a novel trap: Because clearly individuals don't discriminate against a class of people — say, women who they think are less likely to be competent or committed — and nothing is on the books, systemic discrimination must not exist. Case closed! Of course, Ginsburg and her Democratic-appointed colleagues saw it differently. In arguing that they would have sent the plaintiffs to a lower court and try the case under different rules, Ginsburg pointed out, "Women fill 70 percent of the hourly jobs in the retailer's stores but make up only 33 percent of management employees," and that "the plaintiffs' 'largely uncontested descriptive statistics' also show that women working in the company's stores 'are paid less than men in every region' and 'that the salary gap widens over time even for men and women hired into the same jobs at the same time." Those are a lot of individual decisions that have nothing to do with each other.
The Hill:
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the court's opinion, acknowledged that the case represented one of the "most expansive" class action suits in history. However, the suit was dismissed because the court said it failed to prove gender discrimination was a widespread common policy of Wal-Mart
Those words "widespread common policy" are key. WalMart had a written policy assigning store managers with responsibility for deciding who should be put on a track to promotion within the company. As a result, the class, which included female employees of WalMart reaching back to 1968, was deemed to be too broad and overreaching when the decision rested with individual managers at individual stores.
In other words, even if there was an overall culture of gender discrimination within the company, written policy assigning decisions on the store level protected the company from scrutiny.
This decision doesn't mean WalMart can't be sued for gender discrimination. They can, but it would have to be undertaken on a store-by-store basis, rather than nationwide. That might prove to be cost-prohibitive for anyone wanting to undertake such an action, since litigating issues like this is costly with no guarantee there will be a beneficial outcome.
The message to national corporate employers: Wherever possible, set policy on a local store/division level, do it in writing, and you'll be protected from whatever culture of discrimination may exist within your ranks.
There was dissent, however. Justice Ginsberg said the court properly ruled that the court should not allow the class under one part of the rule, but that the case should be remanded to the district court for consideration under another part. The five conservative justices disagreed with that.
Whether the class the plaintiffs describe meets the specific requirements of Rule 23(b)(3) is not before the Court, and I would reserve that matter for consideration and decision on remand.1 The Court, however, disqualifies the class at the starting gate, holding that the plaintiffs cannot cross the “commonality” line set by Rule 23(a)(2). In so ruling, the Court imports into the Rule 23(a) determination concerns properly addressed in a Rule 23(b)(3) assessment.
In English, what this means is that while there's the possibility that the lawsuit could have gone forward as a class action under a different set of rules, the court struck down the entire class as one that doesn't have enough common ties to bind it together, which undoes any standing under other rules.
You can read the entire ruling here.
Climate Change
The Court also rejected a climate change lawsuit against power companies:
But the Supreme Court, in an opinion delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, rejected an appeals court decision that would have allowed federal judges to effectively put limits on greenhouse gas emissions. That responsibility, the Supreme Court said, should be left in the hands of the EPA. “The critical point is that Congress delegated to EPA the decision whether and how to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants; the delegation displaces federal common law,” the decision states. The ruling builds on a 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA in which the Supreme Court said that greenhouse-gas emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act if EPA found they endanger public health and welfare. EPA later made such a finding and has begun phasing in a series of rules aimed at ratcheting down the emissions.
Can you imagine how loaded the courts would be with paid-for judges if these cases were litigated in court? Of course, now it remains to be seen how the EPA will proceed with enforcement when Congress has defunded them, but still, it's probably a better decision to leave it in their hands. |
PARIS — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) on March 9 booked its third export order for the H-2A rocket in a contract to launch the 350-kilogram Khalifasat Earth observation satellite for the United Arab Emirates’ government-owned EIAST organization.
The launch is to occur in late 2017 or early 2018. Khalifasat, which will be the first spacecraft built with UAE personnel in charge from start to finish, will ride into a polar low Earth orbit as a secondary payload on the H-2A. The main passenger will be Japan’s GOSAT-2 satellite studying greenhouse gas levels.
The H-2A rocket launched South Korea’s Kompsat-3 Earth observation satellite in 2012 as a secondary payload for a launch carrying the Japan space agency’s GCOM-W environment-monitoring satellite.
More recently, MHI won a breakthrough contract to launch the Telstar 12 Vantage telecommunications satellite for Canada’s Telesat. MHI officials have said they are working to reduce H-2A production and operating costs to make it more competitive on the global commercial-launch market.
Khalifasat will be the third spacecraft launched for the Emirates Institution for Advance Science and Technology, EIAST. Dubaisat-1 and Dubaisat-2 were launched in 2009 and 2013, both aboard Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rockets.
Khalifasat is billed as the satellite that marks the independence of EIAST from foreign technology providers, notably South Korea’s Satrec Initiative. Some of the early work on Khalifasat was performed at Satrec’s facilities while EIAST’s own production plan was under construction.
Khalifasat is expected to have an imaging sensor with a 1-meter ground sampling distance in black and white, and 4 meters in color, with a 12.2-kilometer swath width from its 600-kilometer orbit. EIAST said it would be able to swivel 2 degrees off nadir to reduce the time between revisits of a given locale.
EIAST Director-General H.E. Yousuf Al Shaibani said MHI’s bid was “very competitive in overall commercial terms.”
Naohiko Abe, MHI’s vice president of space systems, said the contract win was also in part due to “the good relationship between EIAST and Jaxa,” Japan’s space agency. |
This release fixes many security issues and users should upgrade as soon as possible.
Changes
New features
We installed OnionShare, a tool for anonymous file sharing.
We enabled the circuit view in Tor Browser.
Upgrades and changes
Upgrade Tor to 0.2.9.9.
Upgrade Tor Browser to 6.5.
Upgrade Linux to 4.8. This should improve the support for newer hardware (graphics, Wi-Fi, etc.)
Upgrade Icedove to 45.6.0.
Replace AdBlock Plus with uBlock Origin.
Configure the APT package manage to use Debian's Onion services.
Install the AMDGPU display driver. This should improve the support for newer AMD graphics adapters.
Renamed the Boot Loader Menu entries from "Live" to "Tails", and replaced the confusing "failsafe" wording with "Troubleshooting Mode".
Add support for exFAT.
Remove Nyx (previously called arm).
Rewrite Tor control port filter entirely. Now Tails can safely support OnionShare, the circuit view of Tor Browser, and similar. This also enabled Whonix to replace their own similar piece of software with this one.
Fixed problems
Made OnionCircuits compatible with the Orca screen reader.
For more details, read our changelog.
Known issues
None specific to this release.
See the list of long-standing issues.
Get Tails 2.10
To install, follow our installation instructions.
To upgrade, an automatic upgrade is available from 2.7 and 2.9.1 to 2.10. If you cannot do an automatic upgrade or if you fail to start after an automatic upgrade, please try to do a manual upgrade.
Download Tails 2.10.
What's coming up?
Tails 2.11 is scheduled for March 3rd.
Have a look at our roadmap to see where we are heading to.
We need your help and there are many ways to contribute to Tails (donating is only one of them). Come talk to us! |
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute provided support for this article. Ad Policy
From familiar stories about “illegal” electioneering by ACORN and the Black Panthers to Sharron Angle’s recent claim that Harry Reid is trying to steal the election by offering prospective voters free food—the myth of widespread voter fraud is now commonplace among Republicans. In just one example, an unconfirmed assertion that Nevada voting machines already had Reid’s name checked off became a national story, with Rush Limbaugh claiming that the “New Black Panther Party,” with the “imprimatur of the Justice Department,” was “running fraudulent elections” across the country.
In this swirling storm of misinformation and propaganda, a half-dozen Republican activists met in the community room of the Tri City National Bank in Sturtevant, Wisconsin on October 27, to receive training on how to be an election observer. Lou D’Abbraccio, an official with the Racine County Republican Party, laid out a parade of voter fraud horribles to the assembled men, from fraudulent voter registrations to vans organized by “leftists” ferrying people “incentivized” with money or coupons to cast multiple votes at different polling locations.
“There are polling locations where the election workers are largely Republican, and we have less concern,” said D’Abbraccio, a member of the Racine Tea Party, the local chapter of Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity. “Then there are polling places where, not so much. Historically we have observed things there that are issues.”
This year, the Wisconsin GOP, Americans for Prosperity and Wisconsin tea party groups are working together, through the GOP and the tea party-affiliated website We’re Watching Wisconsin Elections, to combat this alleged scourge on the democratic process.
D’Abbraccio went on to recount “war stories” from previous elections, particularly 2004, which he claimed was “the worst election I’ve experienced in Racine.”
Even though Wisconsin law prohibits photography by anyone but news media inside a polling place, D’Abbraccio counseled his trainees to bring their cell phone cameras just in case. “Theoretically you’re not supposed to take pictures,” he said, but told the group to do it “surreptitiously” if they needed to document anything—and to “be careful.”
The progressive group One Wisconsin Now has asked the US Attorney, the State Attorney General and the state Government Accountability Board to investigate a joint plan by the state Republican Party, Americans for Prosperity and local tea party groups “to engage in voter suppression” during the election, in violation of the Constitution and federal law. In particular, based on documents made available on the We’re Watching Wisconsin Elections and other tea party sites, as well as a recording obtained by One Wisconsin Now at a June meeting at which the coordination was discussed, AFP would pay for mailings to voters so that a list of supposedly ineligible voters could be used by tea party activists to challenge voters at the polls.
The GOP and tea party groups have denied the existence of any plan, in spite of the public documents outlining it. Tim Dake, one of the speakers on the tape One Wisconsin Now obtained and a leading state tea party figure associated with the Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty, called the charges “ridiculous, reprehensible and could be construed as libel.” But the We’re Watching Wisconsin Elections site continues to publicize meetings organized by the Wisconsin Republican Party to train election observers and to make the training materials available on their site.
At the Racine County training, there was no discussion of using any lists to challenge the eligibility of voters. While D’Abbraccio urged his trainees to be polite, he nonetheless continually elaborated on and reinforced the impression that rampant fraud by “leftist” groups threatened the integrity of the election and that election observers were necessary to report such fraud to party officials and to challenge the eligibility of voters they suspected of fraud.
Even with appropriate training, said Wendy Weiser, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, “that doesn’t diminish our concern about what might happen on Election Day” with election observers. The proliferation of unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, she said, “cements distrust and hostility and lack of confidence and anger, and it’s inaccurate. There’s no basis for this, and stoking anger and mistrust around election time is not a good thing.”
The unsubstantiated claim that ACORN had engaged in widespread fraud in the 2008 election is a well-worn trope in conservative media, along with the implication, and sometimes explicit claim, that the election of Barack Obama was illegitimate. After the conservative-instigated witch hunt led to ACORN closing its doors, additional bogeymen have been added to the mix.
As D’Abbraccio put it, “An organization running around comprised of all the alphabet soup of evil: AFSCME, SEIU, ACLU—every leftist group you can imagine put together some umbrella group called Election Protection. In the city of Racine, it actually took over polling locations [in 2004].” That year, Racine County was a hotbed of charges of voter fraud by conservatives, but an analysis by the Brennan Center found just seven instances of ineligible voters knowingly casting ballots that were counted—just 0.0002 percent of the total votes cast statewide.
In spite of this lack of evidence, D’Abbraccio claimed to be “concerned with wholesale fraud.” He painted a foreboding picture of “knocks and drags,” which he described as vans trolling the streets for random people to pick up. He claimed that “leftist” groups give people campaign literature that was really a “coupon” to redeem at a local establishment. He said these vans “drag people from polling place to polling place and have them vote multiple times.”
“That is a complete fantasy and fiction,” said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now. “There is nothing like that that happened.”
Reid Magney, a spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections, said that there are “fairly rare instances” of people double-voting, citing one case last year in which a couple was convicted of voting in the polling places of both their primary residence and their vacation home. This was detected not due to a citizen complaint, he said, but because the “we [the GAB] proactively run checks after every election to make sure there is no double voting.”
As far as other types of double-voting or ballot-stuffing, Magney said, “we haven’t seen any kind of evidence of any widespread problem of that.”
Ross added that the groups concerned about voter fraud have a “complete and total delusion that minorities are voting more than once. There’s absolutely not one shred of evidence, no conviction, no charges, no nothing of that nature in the state of Wisconsin. I am aware of absolutely no activity like that.”
About the alleged “knock and drag” efforts, D’Abbraccio said he followed vans around on previous election days and said he would be following vans this Tuesday as well. “We have on occasion followed them from polling place to polling place,” he said. “The fact that they’re looking for someone following them from polling place to polling place is a good indicator that something fishy is going on. I had one guy start pulling evasive maneuvers.”
He speculated—without any basis—that Advancing Wisconsin, a group formed in 2008, may be the culprit this year. “We suspect that if it happens this time,” said D’Abbraccio, “it’s going to be through a group called Advancing Wisconsin, which was funded by George Soros [as] this kind of umbrella group that’s intended to create a permanent election infrastructure for all these groups so they’ve got the know-how and resources on election day, and some of that know-how is how to cheat.”
Meagan Mahaffey, Advancing Wisconsin’s executive director, said her group did no voter registration drives in 2010. Of D’Abbraccio’s statement, Mahaffey said, “I’m pretty shocked by it. It’s a pretty serious allegation he’s making. Nothing to back it up and nothing to show we are doing this. It’s not true, not rooted in anything. Just a guy in a meeting saying whatever he wants to say.”
D’Abbraccio also claimed that there is abuse of the corroboration process for voters who register on election day. Under Wisconsin law, if someone seeking to register on election day lacks the proper verification of their address—either their drivers’ license number, the last four digits of their social security number or other acceptable proof for establishing residence, such as a lease or utility bill, they can have someone “corroborate” their residency. Referring to the process as “vouching,” D’Abbraccio maintained that people are grabbed as they finish voting and asked to “vouch” for a stranger, producing an “endless loop” of people vouching for each other.
Magney, the GAB spokesperson, said that he was not aware of phony corroborations. “I’m not aware of us prosecuting” anyone for that, he said, adding, “I don’t think that that’s an issue.”
“I have never heard such an allegation,” said the Brennan Center’s Weiser. “That is something that is certainly easily observable and easy to get caught” because “it is so elaborate and visible.”
D’Abbraccio also accused the GAB of being derelict in its responsibility to purge 18,000 “invalid” registrations from the voter rolls, based on mail returned as undeliverable to the GAB.
But the reality is quite different. Magney said that as part of a routine check under the Help America Vote Act, the Board sent letters to voters whose details on their voter registrations didn’t match other government records, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles database. Frequently, he said, such lack of a match is caused, for example, by one record bearing the person’s middle initial only, while the other bears the person’s full middle name. What’s more, he said, the lack of a match doesn’t render the person ineligible to vote; the purpose of the database match, he said, is only “to improve data quality.” (The Republican State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sued the board in 2008 in an attempt to force it to require a match for a voter to be eligible to vote; the case was dismissed.)
About the 18,000 voters whose letters were returned as undeliverable, and who conservatives are charging should be removed from voter rolls, Magney said, “we didn’t feel comfortable removing [from the voter rolls] them based on one letter coming back, especially because there is no requirement in the law that your information has to match in the first place.” He said the GAB sent a second letter, and 12,431 have come back as undeliverable a second time, in most cases probably because the voter had moved. “Those are the people who we have marked as inactive. If they show up to vote, their names won’t be on the list at their polling place,” although they could do a same-day registration as allowed by Wisconsin law.
Election observers can be perfectly innocuous, but the climate of “misinformation or fear, stoking fear of voter fraud” creates risks, said Weiser. While that has been has been occurring for several election cycles, she said, “what’s different in this cycle is more mobilization of citizens, party activists and political operatives to police the polling places and to take matters in their own hands… if people are overly outraged so they are more likely to cross lines, and that’s a problem.” |
Veteran centre Conrad Smith talks about the "special rivalry" the All Blacks have with the Springboks.
One of rugby's greatest rivalries takes on added significance this week with the biggest match between the All Blacks and Springboks in 20 years.
Over that period these two nations have combined for some of the most enthralling contests, many of which could have gone either way. Often one moment of brilliance swings the result.
READ MORE:
* Reason: NH rugby has lost its dignity
* SBW: No form dip for 'on edge' ABs
* Cheika: Treatment of Joubert 'unfair'
Phil Walter/ Getty Images All Blacks midfielder Conrad Smith in training for the Rugby World Cup semifinals.
Israel Dagg's last-gasp try broke John Smit's heart in his 100th test in Soweto five years ago - the one where Ma'a Nonu gave the last pass wearing one boot. And the two epic battles at Ellis Park, where the results were split in 2014 and earlier this year, are others which immediately spring to mind.
None, though, carry the same magnitude as Sunday's World Cup semifinal, the first between these staunch foes.
Twickenham will weave another chapter in the rich history that includes the 1995 World Cup final; 2003 quarterfinal and third and fourth playoff in 1999.
Of those World Cup knockout games, the Boks hold a two-one advantage over the All Blacks, who claimed the quarterfinal in Melbourne 29-9.
From a New Zealand perspective, the Boks represent the pinnacle challenge. That sentiment is only enhanced by what's at stake this week.
"They're a special opponent. They hold a special place in our rivalry," veteran All Blacks centre Conrad Smith, who has played the Boks 17 times in his 92-test career for 13 wins and four losses, said.
"I grew up during the apartheid era so Australia were always the traditional foe. With South Africa coming back in it was something I didn't know as a child but was soon aware of how big the rivalry was. For me in my time, it's got back to where it was previously in terms of they are our ultimate rivals.
"Most guys would agree there's something special about playing them. Meeting them in a semi will be extra special."
A mutual respect has emerged between the two countries, borne of the ferocity of the collisions, and an understanding of the unique pressures and expectations placed on the respective teams.
"We have a good relationship with most teams we play but they have a respect for the game and for each other," Smith said.
"The game is treated a lot differently in our two countries. We are able to play each other at our peak and then walk off the field, shake hands and somehow in five minutes after a game we'll be chatting to them. That's something you enjoy, especially the more you play you savour those experiences."
RUGBY WORLD CUP ZONE:
* RWC 2015 Match Centre
* Tournament history
* Best RWC moments
* RWC team profiles
* All Blacks squad
* RWC Fantasy league
* Printable wallchart
A sneaky - and somewhat controversial - lineout move saw Richie McCaw score a match-winning try in the dying stages of the All Blacks 27-20 win in Johannesburg this year, the last time these two sides met. But they were not entirely proud of their efforts that day and realise the size of the test before them.
Whatever happens, the rugby world are sure to be treated to another memorable occasion.
"There's something with South Africa with that consistent level of physicality and performance. We never seem to catch the other on off nights which sometimes happens with other teams and you get bigger margins.
"In the last five or six years it's been tight. It's comes down to two or three turnings points. They're always tight match-ups and I'm sure this one will be the same." |
The clean energy transition – necessitated by the Paris Agreement and implemented in the EU through the Energy Union strategy – is changing the industrial landscape in Europe. Viewed through the lens of competitiveness, this transition brings about threats as well as opportunities. This transition also leads to increased integration and linkages between climate and energy policies, on the one hand, and industrial policies, on the other. The short report is a first attempt to describe these linkages and thereby make a step towards identifying key issues and emerging policy questions while starting to hint at possible answers. It is meant as a background for discussion upon which to build further research.
Keywords: Energy Union; energy transition; EU ETS; climate and industrial policy; innovation finance
Milan Elkerbout is a Researcher at CEPS Energy Climate House. This Policy Insight offers some reflections on the workshop: “Game over for European power intensive industries in a low emission EU? Or rather new opportunities for innovation, growth, and job creation?” which was held at Norway House in Brussels in June 2017. |
John Laws told sexual abuse victim Brian to change his attitude. Photo: Janie Barrett
Dear John,
I get it. You're a talkback host.
It's your job to create conflict, feed on fear and value the visceral.
This seems to have served you well for some sixty years.
Advertisement
But now – in your golden age, at your golden microphone – you choose to bully an elderly man who was sexually assaulted as a child.
From the start of yesterday's interview on Radio 2SM, you can tell Brian's nervous.
There's something child-like about his confession, as if it's been bottled up.
He's fit to burst.
"I rang you up about being sexually assaulted when I was a kid," he says.
"How old are you now?" you ask.
"80 years of age," he replies.
"Took you a little while to get around to talk about it!" you laugh.
Yes, laugh. I find it challenging to comprehend these words, even as I type them.
Brian bites back, explaining his desperate attempts to tell police in the 1960s, then '70s, what had happened to him at 11 and 14-years-old: "No one would do anything about it".
He turns to you, a trusted voice on radio, for comfort, succour and support.
Instead, you kick him while he's down: "I don't quite understand why you didn't lash out. You would have been a fairly big boy by that time!"
And, "Why didn't you go to the police earlier?"
We know from the child sex abuse royal commission that this issue wasn't taken seriously in the past.
One former headmaster at Knox Grammar – your alma mater - implied one victim wasn't believed because "he was a drama boy".
These attitudes are of an era.
But that's no excuse for blaming the victim, for a full 14 minutes, live on air.
At precisely six minutes, Brian breaks down in tears, telling you he's never found love in his life.
After a modicum of compassion, you try to claim credit.
"Maybe you feel a bit better having talked about it?" you ask.
"Not really," Brian replies.
"Well, we've wasted each other's time," you respond, churlishly, before calling him a "wet blanket".
In other words, "harden the fuck up".
To top it off, you suggest he talks to someone at the Salvation Army. Because, really, the organisation has such a stellar history in this area.
Of course, this is not the first time you've belittled a victim of sexual assault.
In 2013, a vulnerable woman asked how she could "keep the dream alive", despite being abused by five family members for almost 10 years from the age of six.
You joked about the offenders having "a good time with you", before asking "Was it in any way your fault?"
"You weren't provocative?" you continued. "Are you unattractive?"
When you give up radio – which I hope happens soon – you could have a second career as a psychologist. Your emotional intelligence is, well, uncanny.
I can't wait to hear your opinion on the murder of Masa Vukotic, the 17-year-old school student stabbed to death in a Melbourne reserve, just before 7pm on Tuesday night.
Presumably, she was asking for it.
I'm sure you're delighted by all of this attention, as you view the world through your crystal tumbler.
But it will take some time to clean up this toxic spill. ("Valvoline. Know what I mean?")
Even your legendary golden tonsils can't fight off this latest infection.
Because, guess what? It's 2015. You can't just lumber around, gnashing your teeth, like a demented dinosaur.
Your opinions will soon be extinct.
Yours sincerely,
Australia |
The Antiplanner is flying to the East Coast today to help some local activists fight a proposed urban-growth boundary. Coincidentally, the Antiplanner’s faithful ally, Wendell Cox, released his annual international survey of housing affordability today.
As the Antiplanner has done for American states and urban areas, Cox shows that, among international urban areas, there is a high correlation between urban containment policies–whether through growth boundaries, greenbelts, or other tools–and unaffordable housing. Simple supply and demand says that when you restrict supply in the face of rising demand, prices will go up–and that’s exactly what we see all over the world.
Cox supplements data he has gathered himself from eight countries (plus Hong Kong) with additional data for urban areas in China and Malaysia. With a little work, it should be possible to add urban areas in non-English-speaking Europe. Perhaps we can have this done in time for the 2018 survey.
Urban containment does more than just make housing expensive. As the Antiplanner has shown in a recent paper, it also makes housing prices more volatile, increasing the risks of homeownership and driving down homeownership rates. It worsens, and may even be a primary cause of, income inequality, and increases unemployment by making it more difficult to move to find new jobs. Finally, it probably violates the Fair Housing Act because its effects tend to fall hardest on minorities whose incomes tend to be lower than average. For all of these reasons, cities and counties should not adopt growth restrictions and should repeal the ones they already have. |
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it would not hear the case of a 13-year-old Oregon boy whose parents disagree over whether he should be circumcised. The father claims the boy wants to have the operation, but the mother contends that he is merely bending to his father’s will. Now a trial judge will attempt to ascertain the boy’s wishes. How can the court determine what the boy really wants?
By asking him in private. Because 13-year-old children are generally considered capable of developing meaningful preferences, the judge will invite the boy into chambers (and away from his parents) for a private conversation. The separation removes the immediate influence of the parents and protects the child from having to publicly wound one of them. If the judge does not find his answers obviously genuine and meaningful, the court will turn to a forensic child psychologist.
The psychologist’s methods are highly individualized and depend on the child’s intellectual capacity. The first step would be a lengthy interview to determine the boy’s emotional condition and attitudes about his family. A direct question about circumcision would be asked late in the interview, if at all. The psychologist would then interview each parent alone and with the child, then the child with both parents. The goal is to observe changes in the child’s answers, mannerisms, body language, or syntax when the parents are present. If he answers the same questions differently depending on whether his parents are in the room, this suggests a lack of independence. In addition, the psychologist would be on the lookout for wooden movements or language that sounds scripted or inappropriately adult—possible signs that the child is “enmeshed” with one or both parents and unable to make his own decisions. In the Oregon case, a psychologist might probe the boy’s knowledge of Judaism—his father converted to the religion—to determine whether his interest in circumcision is a result of a genuine religious conviction or if he doesn’t want to disobey his father.
Based on these interviews, the psychologist would develop a hypothesis about the child’s competency, preferences, and independence. The hypothesis must then be tested through interviews with teachers, neighbors, or other people who have had regular interactions with the child. A psychologist might also check school records for signs of extreme reticence, which might confirm a hypothesis of enmeshment, or self-confidence, which would undermine it. Some psychologists also use projective tests, such as drawing pictures, playing with dolls, or Rorschach inkblots—though the validity of these methods is hotly debated among those in the field.
Following this battery of interviews and tests, the psychologist issues a report and recommendation to the judge. In the Oregon case, the psychologist could adopt any of three conclusions: first, that the boy genuinely wants the circumcision; second, that he genuinely does not; or third, that he is so profoundly influenced by one of the parents that his true wishes cannot be determined or should not be considered. In any event, the conclusion would normally be accompanied by a custody recommendation, and the parties would have the opportunity to examine the psychologist in open court and challenge his or her views. While the judge is not bound to accept the psychologist’s recommendation, most judges do.
Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.
Explainer thanks Reena Sommer; Jeffrey Wittman, author of Custody, Chaos, and Personal Peace; and William B. Zuckerman. |
It’s fitting that a Bitcoin documentary would hold a red carpet event on a street nicknamed “Bitcoin Boulevard US.”
The Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights will host a party to celebrate the opening of “The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin” on Oct. 3. The theater will show the movie through Oct. 9. Why Cleveland? Well, a long list of merchants near the theater on Lee Road accept payment in the form of Bitcoin — a form of digital money that isn’t controlled by a central government. They’ll be offering Bitcoin-related deals throughout the week. Plus, the distributor, Gravitas Ventures, opened a downtown Cleveland office about a year ago. The company — best known for distributing “Sound City,” a music documentary produced by rock star Dave Grohl — employs 15 people, including four here. Gravitas normally only shows its movies in a few big city theaters, since it mainly distributes movies digitally, through video-on-demand services. But president Michael Murphy figured a local premier was in order, given that he lives in a suburb where so many businesses embrace Bitcoin. Local Bitcoin consultant Nikhil Chand, who encourage the businesses to do so, is promoting the event. “We can’t imagine a more appropriate place on Earth for the launch of this compelling film to take place,” Chand said. Gravitas embraces Bitcoin, too: The company paid 500 BTC, an amount worth more than $200,000 as of Friday, Sept. 19, to buy the distribution rights for the movie. And you can pre-order it using Bitcoin — or regular money — at BitcoinDoc.com. |
By afternoon, the fog has burned off the hillsides at California’s Fort Ross State Park. The wood-burning oven is loaded with hearty loaves of bread, little boys are climbing on the cannons and dancers hold hands as they circle in the grass, singing a lilting Russian folk song.
The women and girls wear long, brightly patterned dresses, with strands of amber beads around their necks and their hair swept up under colorful scarves-- festive attire for a weekend gathering. The men and boys are dressed in simple white tunics, belted at the waist. Except for the intermittent murmur of traffic winding along the Pacific Coast Highway nearby, this remote stretch of coastline about 90 miles north of San Francisco looks and sounds much as it must have two centuries ago, when the Russian-American Company, a mercantile firm chartered by the Tsar, chose the site for the empire’s only colony in what would become the contiguous United States.
This year,which marks Fort Ross’ bicentennial, has been packed with lectures, performances and visits from Russian tall ships. But the main event comes on July 28 and 29, when the park will celebrate 200 years of Russians in America with a heritage festival expected to draw up to 3,000 people.
It’s a celebration that almost didn’t happen. In 2009, California, seeking to cut costs in the midst of a financial crisis, marked more than 200 state parks for closure. Among them was Fort Ross.
* * *
The American history of the site began in 1841, when the Russian colonists gave up their enterprise and sold the colony to pioneer John Sutter, who transported its equipment and supplies to his own fort in Sacramento. The area served as ranch land for more than 60 years, until California designated it as a state historic park in 1906. By that time, the colony’s remaining structures had fallen into disrepair, and most of the buildings visitors see today are 20th-century reconstructions.
Within a weathered stockade built from redwood timber are barracks, officers’ quarters, and a small, unadorned Russian Orthodox chapel with a simple belfry. The only original building from the Russian era is the home of the colony’s last manager, Alexander Rotchev, a one-story family dwelling stocked with reconstructions of period furniture and housewares. It has survived a patchwork of additions, a second life as a hotel and a 1971 arson fire. Today, it is suffering leaks, among other ailments.
Although Fort Ross had the appearance of a military installation, it was never involved in warfare. For three decades, Russian colonists lived and intermarried with Native Americans, traded with Spain and the United States, and made a living through agriculture, otter-hunting and shipbuilding.
“This is a place where a colonial power came in and squatted for 30 years and it was peaceful,” says Tom Wright, a retired schoolteacher who sits on the board of the Fort Ross Conservancy, the non-profit group that organizes programs at the state park and raises money to support it. “Everything sort of came together out here. This was the farthest outpost for the Russians and the farthest outpost for the Spanish.”
Although it is thousands of miles from the motherland, for many of California’s Russian-Americans it feels like a link to their native soil. It was these devotees who struck up a call to preserve Fort Ross—a call that was answered by an unlikely benefactor.
* * *
Konstantin Kudryavtsev remembers feeling immediately at home when he first visited Fort Ross a dozen years ago, soon after immigrating to the United States.
“I liked it from the first sight,” says Kudryavtsev, a Silicon Valley software engineer who dressed for the annual fall harvest festival in a rubakha, a loose-fitting tunic in the style of a 19th-century Russian nobleman.
Kudryavtsev, a conservancy board member, compares the restored settlement, with its rough-hewn wooden buildings, simple chapel and stark terrain, to villages in Eastern Russia.
“It was so similar to the place where I grew up in Siberia,” he says. “The nature is very similar. The buildings smell the same.”
“When you come to a place where you’re a stranger, it’s natural, trying to look for some traces, some history of people who came from the same country,” says his wife, Geliya Kudryavtseva. “When we found Fort Ross as a family and started volunteering, we found friends.”
The Kudryavtsevs had found a place where Russian-Americans and their children could meet to celebrate their heritage. But they and other Russian-Americans were dismayed when they learned that California was planning to close Fort Ross.
“I felt, my God, I have to ring the bell everywhere. It’s appalling!” says Natalie Sabelnik, president of the Congress of Russian Americans, a nationwide association based in San Francisco that promotes the interests of Americans of Russian descent. “This isn’t just a park, this is a monument and a testament to the Russians that came and their struggles. How can this be taken away?”
Sabelnik, who was born in Shanghai to Russian parents in the 1940s and grew up in a close-knit Russian community in San Francisco, remembers visiting Fort Ross as a child for annual church picnics.
“For many years, you couldn’t visit Russia, you couldn’t write to relatives in Russia,” she says, recalling the cold war years. “But here was a piece of Russia you could touch.”
Sabelnik’s group got the word out about Fort Ross. They circulated petitions and sent them to then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with several thousand signatures from Russian émigrés living as far away as South America.
Word of Fort Ross’ plight soon made it to the Kremlin, and in mid-2009 the Russian government dispatched its ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, to the park for a well-publicized visit. Kislyak wrote letters to Schwarzenegger, imploring him to keep Fort Ross open; the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the trip and on Kislyak’s appeals.
And that is how Olga Miller, CEO of the New York office of the Russian conglomerate Renova, first learned about the plight of Fort Ross. “I was told by Renova Moscow that this was something we should look into,” says Miller. “They knew more about it in Russia than we did here—it was an interesting paradox.”
Renova Group, a sprawling private company, has operations in mining, energy, technology and finance. Its primary shareholder is Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, worth more than $8 billion and best known in the United States for buying up a trove of Fabergé eggs from the Forbes publishing family in 2004.
With business interests around the world, Renova was interested in improving relations between Russia and the United States, and saving Fort Ross seemed to fit that mission.
In 2010, Renova signed an agreement with Governor Schwarzenegger, and since then it has put more than $1.2 million toward preserving and improving the park.
At first, Renova simply wanted to help keep the park open, which costs about $800,000 a year. But they soon learned that Fort Ross needed more than that. Despite its devoted membership, Miller says, the Fort Ross Conservancy was struggling to build support and name recognition for the isolated site. The park’s small museum and visitors’ center needs to be updated, and some of the historic buildings are badly in need of repair. And because it is too expensive to staff the park every day, Fort Ross is currently open only on weekends and holidays and on Fridays during the summer.
“We are trying to create a master plan, if you will, and working with state parks and [the conservancy] to create a sustainable future for the park,” Miller says. “We feel it is very important to bring Fort Ross to a higher level.”
That has not been easy, Miller admits. Coming from the corporate world, she and other Renova officials expected to see results quickly. But California’s government does not work that way, and in the U.S. any change to a historic site requires layers of approvals and impact studies.
“It’s a very bureaucratic system—even more bureaucratic than anything I’ve seen in Russia,” Miller says.
Linda Rath, the superintendent of the California State Parks sector that includes Fort Ross, acknowledges the clash of cultures.
“It’s frustrating for them,” she says, of Renova. “It’s a great opportunity, but it’s hard to explain why it takes so long to get projects even started.”
As its budget has been whittled away, the parks department has postponed more than $8 million in necessary renovations at Fort Ross over the past decade, Rath says. The arrangement with Renova will allow some of that work to happen soon.
Though some Californians may be uneasy about Renova’s involvement, worrying that it means Fort Ross will become a commercial enterprise, Rath says that the conglomerate is not taking over the park.
“State Parks are still managing the parks,” she says. “We’re very careful with the branding. We’re not plastering banners all over the place. We’re not putting a billboard up.”
Fort Ross will retain its character, asserts Sarah Sweedler, the conservancy’s director.
“It’s not an East Coast historical theme park,” she says. “It’s more community oriented and it’s a reflection of the community.”
With the future more secure than it was just a few years ago, Fort Ross enthusiasts are looking forward to July’s anniversary celebration.
On a recent weekend, Robin Joy, the park’s chief interpretive specialist, watches a group of folk dancers with pleasure. She has worked at Fort Ross for more than two decades, through lean times and revitalizations.
“They actually make and create a life for Fort Ross,” she says, of the Russian families. “It’s such a good atmosphere that they bring.” |
Just recently, we learned about a way to run non-Windows Store apps on a Windows RT device via a circumvention method that requires tinkering with the portion of the RAM that instructs Windows RT on whether it should run unsigned code or signed code.
A jailbreak tool was also recently released which is based upon the circumvention method discovered recently. The jailbreak tool is simply a batch file that does most of the work for you so you can run unsigned apps, but will need to be re-applied every time the system is rebooted.
Now, we are learning that popular desktop apps such as 7Zip, Putty, TightVNC, and Notepad++ have already been “ported” over to work on Windows RT, thanks to this circumvention method. As you can see from the screenshot at the top of this post, 7Zip was recompiled and now works perfectly on Windows RT and you can use the desktop application to its fullest. An attempt was made to bring other popular desktop applications over to Windows RT, but unfortunately its not that easy due to conflicts. Apps such as Putty, Bochs, and Gameboy emulators have all been recompiled to work on Windows RT. Even Windows 95 was seen running on Windows RT. In fact, a Java based torrent client is also confirmed to be working on Windows RT, via this circumvention method.
While these applications may work and still require you to run the app as an administrator and run the jailbreak tool every time the system boots up, Microsoft may issue a patch and remove this ability. This jailbreak attempt was brought to Microsoft’s attention and the company issued a statement not only applauding the jailbreak attempt, but also hinting that this circumvention method will most likely be gone in the near future. This doesn’t mean that the smart XDA developer community will stop figuring out ways to recompile apps and have them work on Windows RT unsigned.
A unofficial desktop ARM store is also in the works, as well as minimal interface “Store” app (see screenshot below) that will house all these recompiled apps that will only work if you run the jailbreak tool. This “Store” is still being developed and has yet to be completed. In fact, the “Store” doesn’t even update in real time due to server restrictions but this will most likely change in the future.
We will not be providing download links to the jailbreak tool nor to these unsigned apps at this time, but you can always visit the XDA Developers forum and check out their hard work.
Credits to Vihar and Netham_45 for the details and their hard work!
Share This
Further reading: Microsoft |
A survey by Comedy Central UK last year showed that parents embarrass their children, on average, a staggering 14 times a week. Pretty much everything about parental behaviour appears to be painfully humiliating these days, from “their age” to “their hobbies”, from “their dance moves” to the undeniable fact that they are, most of the time, “generally uncool”.
The worst offence, however, is the things parents say in public, whether it is shouting “I love you” at the school gate or telling their teenagers off in front of their friends.
In Norway, 15-year-old Martin Odegaard does not appear to have this problem. A few weeks ago his dad, Hans Erik, told the press that “more than 30 [of the best clubs in Europe] have made an inquiry” about his son. Whatever the opposite to embarrassing is for a 15-year-old, that comment probably sums it up. Which football loving boy or girl would not love to hear one of their parents say something like that?
That was on 30 July and the 15-year-old had, by then, started a mere four Norwegian league games for Stromsgodset, the club his father played for too. Since then, the interest in Odegaard has exploded. He has become a YouTube sensation and been interviewed by the international press. He has been called up by the Norway coach, Per-Mathias Hogmo, and is on Wednesday set to become the youngest ever player to represent his country, beating Tormod Kjellsen’s 104-year-old record.
It is, at this point, important to point out that Hogmo’s squad for the friendly against United Arab Emirates in Stavanger includes only one player playing abroad and, when the big guns return for the game against England next week, Odegaard will not keep his place (unless he is a late addition). The 15-year-old is not quite among the 23 best players in the country. Not just yet.
To the clubs (or vultures, whichever way you see it) circling around Odegaard, it does not matter. Last weekend, against Stabaek, more than 30 clubs had representatives at the Marienlyst Stadion to watch him play – among them, reportedly, Real Madrid and Liverpool. Stromsgodset lost 3-2 and there has, predictably and understandably, been a debate in Norway on whether such extreme exposure is good for such a young player. As someone pointed out, he does not need to buy a ticket on the local bus yet.
On the one hand there are those who say that if you are good enough, age should not provide a barrier – on either side of the spectrum – and on the other hand there are those who argue that Odegaard should be left alone to develop at his own rate. The Stromsgodset coach, David Nielsen, for one, is concerned that all the media attention is having an adverse effect on his players. “I am afraid that the team’s performances will drown in the attention on how Martin plays. First and foremost this is about the fact that we have other players who do a good job as well and that should be the focus rather than how one player does.”
The former Norway and Nottingham Forest midfielder Lars Bohinen, who made his international debut at 20, is among those who urge caution. “If you are good enough you are old enough but it is a bit different for a 15-year-old to fail,” he told the newspaper Aftenposten. “The attention that comes with playing for the national team is an added weight. He has to be guided carefully and slowly gain confidence.
“He is good enough as a player but there are other things to be factored in. I would, for example, protect myself from everything that’s on the outside. I wouldn’t read the papers and the websites. I would protect him as much as possible.”
Another former player, Tommy Svindal Larsen, who made his breakthrough when he was 16, warned that too many Norwegian players join a club abroad – and said that they should wait a bit longer and gain experience in the Elitserien.
“I don’t doubt that he is a very good player but I haven’t seen him myself,” he said. “We have to remember that there is a completely different level abroad and there are a lot of other aspects to consider when moving abroad. There are a lot of young players who have gone abroad and come home with skjegget i postkassen [their beards in the letter box].”
He has a point – who would want to get their facial hair stuck in a letter box? – but Hogmo, clearly, believes Odegaard can cope. “It’s fun to watch Martin play football. It is great that Norwegian football is producing players with such capacity,” he told VG. “I think the interest in him shows the enormous power of football these days and what a global market it has become. Every kick in all the leagues in Europe is being followed. It should be a tremendous motivation for young players who want to climb the ladder. The possibility to become a good player is there whether you are from Drammen, Lyn or Vadso. It is all about practising and practising a lot.”
A lot will depend on the support around Odegaard and his father has that reassuring Scandinavian calm about him, keen to see his son improve and do well but with the family’s feet firmly on the ground. Hans Erik, who said that the teenager has already visited Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, is making sure that all the attention does not get too much for Odegaard Jr. “We don’t have a timetable for him [to join a club abroad],” he told VG. “We just want Martin to develop. That has been the focus for several years and will be the focus for several years to come. If you start to think about other things then I think the development will stop. At the moment he is developing in Norway. He is 15 years old. And it is completely out of the question that he goes abroad on his own.”
Odegaard Sr added that he is a Liverpool supporter and said jokingly that he hopes “that we have brought him up well”.
For now, though, all the focus is on his possible debut for the national team. And perhaps the former Norway international Magne Hoseth used the most appropriate term when he was asked whether Hogmo should start Odegaard against United Arab Emirates: “It think it is just a question of throwing him to the wolves. I think he has so much football in him that he will cope.”
Odegaard, at 15, has certainly been thrown to the wolves. How he will cope we do not know and it is futile to guess. One can only hope that he continues to enjoy his football as much as he is at the moment and that he stays grounded, whether he ends up staying at Stromsgodset or joins Barcelona or Liverpool or Manchester United. In five years’ time we will know a lot more. |
Since its first iterations over a century ago, the Swiss Army Knife has evolved into the household name and industry standard for compact multipurpose design in the realm of tools … now another firm from Switzerland has taken aim at doing the same thing for portable living.
Made to fit everything from minivans and station wagons to compact cars, the Swiss Room Box folds and unfolds to create every essential room of a house … all from four core modules requiring no special tools or outside parts to assemble or deploy.
For once, too, this is not just a conceptual fantasy – it is an engineered reality, ready for use as a portable dwelling for traveling urban couples or base camp for families heading into the forest for a rural retreat.
Flat-pack pieces slide into place to form tables and chairs as well as more complex shapes needed for sinks, structural support for warp-around shower curtains and sturdy longer platforms to support single sleepers or double beds.
It really is rather amazing just how far the contents of four basic boxes can go, but as any veteran camper knows: it is all about making everything you bring serve more than one purpose, from layered clothing to dual-function support structures.
“‘Swiss made’ embodies a concept of quality that includes the technical quality such as reliability, precision and robustness as well as their aesthetic quality among them elegance and originality of design. It covers both traditional and new manufacturing techniques.” |
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. The award was originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, but in 1967, after the retirement of Frick, the award was given to one pitcher in each league.[1][2]
Each league's award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with one representative from each team. As of the 2010 season, each voter places a vote for first, second, third, fourth and fifth place among the pitchers of each league. The formula used to calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes.[A] The pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award.[1] If two pitchers receive the same number of votes, the award is shared.[3] The current formula started in the 2010 season. Before that, dating back to 1970, writers voted for three pitchers, with the formula of 5 points for a first place vote, 3 for a second place vote and 1 for a third place vote. Prior to 1970, writers only voted for the best pitcher and used a formula of one point per vote.[1]
History [ edit ]
The Cy Young Award was first introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball Ford C. Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955.[1] The award would be given to pitchers only. Originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, the award changed its format over time. From 1956 to 1966, the award was given to one pitcher in Major League Baseball. After Frick retired in 1967, William Eckert became the new Commissioner of Baseball. Due to fan requests, Eckert announced that the Cy Young Award would be given out both in the American League and the National League.[1] From 1956 to 1958, a pitcher was not allowed to win the award on more than one occasion; this rule was eliminated in 1959. After a tie in the 1969 voting for the Cy Young Award, the process was changed, in which each writer was to vote for three different pitchers: the first-place vote received five points, the second-place vote received three points, and the third-place vote received one point.[1]
The first recipient of the Cy Young Award was Don Newcombe of the Dodgers. In 1957, Warren Spahn became the first left-handed pitcher to win the award. In 1963, Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win the award in a unanimous vote; two years later he became the first multiple winner. In 1978, Gaylord Perry (age 40) became the oldest pitcher to receive the award, a record that stood until broken in 2004 by Roger Clemens (age 42).[1] The youngest recipient was Dwight Gooden (age 20 in 1985). In 2012, R.A. Dickey became the first knuckleball pitcher to win the award.[4]
In 1974, Mike Marshall won the award, becoming the first relief pitcher to win the award.[1] In 1992, Dennis Eckersley was the first modern closer (first player to be used almost exclusively in ninth-inning situations)[5][6][7] to win the award, and since then only one other relief pitcher has won the award, Éric Gagné in 2003 (also a closer). A total of nine relief pitchers have won the Cy Young Award across both leagues.[8]
Steve Carlton in 1982 became the first pitcher to win more than three Cy Young Awards, while Greg Maddux in 1994 became the first to win at least three in a row (and received a fourth straight the following year), a feat later repeated by Randy Johnson.[9]
Winners [ edit ]
Major Leagues combined (1956–1966) [ edit ]
National League (1967–present) [ edit ]
Tim Lincecum won consecutively in his first two full seasons, an MLB Record
American League (1967–present) [ edit ]
Multiple winners [ edit ]
Nineteen pitchers have won the award multiple times. Roger Clemens currently holds the record for the most awards won, with seven - his first and last wins separated by eighteen years. Greg Maddux (1992–1995) and Randy Johnson (1999–2002) share the record for the most consecutive awards won. Clemens, Johnson, Pedro Martínez, Gaylord Perry, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer are the only pitchers to have won the award in both the American League and National League; Sandy Koufax is the only pitcher who won multiple awards during the period when only one award was presented for all of Major League Baseball. Roger Clemens was the youngest pitcher to win a second Cy Young Award, while Tim Lincecum is the youngest pitcher to do so in the National League and Clayton Kershaw is the youngest left-hander to do so. Clayton Kershaw is the youngest pitcher to win a third Cy Young Award.
Wins by teams [ edit ]
Only four teams have never had a pitcher win the Cy Young Award. The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have won more than any other team with 12.
Unanimous winners [ edit ]
There have been 17 players who unanimously won the Cy Young Award, for a total of 23 wins.
Five of these unanimous wins were accompanied with a win of the Most Valuable Player award (marked with * below; ** denotes that the player's unanimous win was accompanied with a unanimous win of the MVP).
In the National League, 11 players have unanimously won the Cy Young Award, for a total of 14 wins.
In the American League, 6 players have unanimously won the Cy Young Award, for a total of 9 wins.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
A Score = 7F + 4S + 3T + 2FO + 1 FI , where F is the number of first place votes, S is second place votes, T is third place votes, FO is fourth place votes and FI is fifth place votes. [1]
, where is the number of first place votes, is second place votes, is third place votes, is fourth place votes and is fifth place votes. a b c Decision (baseball)
Decision (baseball) a b c save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. It became an official statistic in Major League Baseball in 1969.
References [ edit ]
General |
Also popular this week: Christ Flix : Why U No Stick To The Bible?
I came across this list of questions for atheists and thought I would answer them:
How would you define atheism? Atheism is a lack of belief in any gods. Do you act according to what you believe (there is no God) in or what you don’t believe in (lack belief in God)? How would one act according to a non-belief in god? Would I take time to not-pray? Maybe I’d spend Sunday morning standing outside a church? The answer to this idiotic question is no, I do not live my life based on the fact that there is no god. I simply live my life for me and my family, taking responsibility for my own actions. You cannot “act according to what you believe” when you don’t believe. It is a lack of belief. Lack. Do you think it is inconsistent for someone who “lacks belief” in God to work against God’s existence by attempting to show that God doesn’t exist? No, just like it was not inconsistent for someone who did not believe the earth was flat to work against the common belief the earth was flat by attempting to show the earth was, in fact, round. Living in truth is the key. How sure are you that your atheism properly represents reality? It’s not that I am sure there is no god, it is that I do not blindly believe in one with no evidence. Evidence is what gives us our reality. Without evidence, it’s fiction. Reality is aptly presented by facts. Not old stories. How sure are you that your atheism is correct? My lack in belief that there are any gods is a direct result of there being no evidence for them. I would change my mind about there being a god if there was evidence that one existed. It’s got nothing to do with being correct or incorrect. How would you define what truth is? Truth is represented by facts that are backed up with evidence. Why do you believe your atheism is a justifiable position to hold? Because there is no evidence for god. Are you a materialist or a physicalist or what? That has nothing to with atheism. Atheism is the lack of belief in a god. That’s it. Do you affirm or deny that atheism is a worldview? Why or why not? No, it’s not a worldview, because it is simply a lack of belief in a god. You can’t make an entire worldview out of that. An atheist can still believe in anything else, just not a god. They can believe psychics are real, they can believe the weather is caused by bejeweled dragons living in Mt. Everest. They can believe storks deliver babies. A worldview cannot be just a lack of belief in a god. Not all atheists are antagonistic to Christianity but for those of you who are, why the antagonism? Because religion is wrong. Teaching children to believe that this life is just a lead up to what comes after, is teaching them that this life is not the most valuable part of our existence. Believers blame their actions on forces outside of their control rather than taking responsibility for what they do. They feel god is in control and some people take that literally and, lacking faith in themselves, let their potential wither and die away while they pray for change. It also endorses hate, intolerance and denies scientific evidence. It has been the driving force behind brutal killings, genocides, executions, rapes, slavery, oppression and it has driven millions of people to suicide. It’s wrong, no matter which way you slice it. If you were at one time a believer in the Christian God, what caused you to deny his existence? I was never a believer. Do you believe the world would be better off without religion? Yes. Do you believe the world would be better off without Christianity? Yes. Do you believe that faith in a God or gods is a mental disorder? Absolutely not. Must God be known through the scientific method? No. If he appeared to me in my living room right now, I’d believe, even if I couldn’t prove it to anyone. If you answered yes to the previous question, then how do you avoid a category mistake by requiring material evidence for an immaterial God? N/A Do we have any purpose as human beings? Absolutely. There are many different possible purposes to each person’s life. It can be something completely subjective, like raising your kids to be great people or spending your life rescuing animals. It can also be something objective, like publishing research and works that will lead to massive change in our world that lasts well beyond a lifetime. If we do have purpose, can you as an atheist please explain how that purpose is determined? It is determined by the individual and in some cases it can also be determined by the world (such as in the case of Hippocrates or Herman Melville or Mark Twain or Galileo). Where does morality come from? My morality comes from my family and me. My mother and father taught me the difference between right and wrong. I have furthered those teachings through thought. I take full responsibility for my morality. I can, without the help of a book or a fictional character, understand right from wrong all on my own. Are there moral absolutes? Fuck yes. If there are moral absolutes, could you list a few of them? Rape is wrong. Murder is wrong. Violence is wrong. Teaching children that there is some old man in the sky judging our every move is wrong. Do you believe there is such a thing as evil? If so, what is it? No, I do not. I believe horrible shocking things come from messed up people who became messed up through previous trauma or through mental illness. If you believe that the God of the Old Testament is morally bad, by what standard do you judge that he is bad? I don’t believe in him, so I don’t believe he is one way or another. What would it take for you to believe in God? Evidence. What would constitute sufficient evidence for God’s existence? Seeing him, or having peer reviewed, independently reproduced findings that prove it. Must this evidence be rationally based, archaeological, testable in a lab, etc., or what? Yes to all. Do you think that a society that is run by Christians or atheists would be safer? Why? Atheists. Why? Because atheists take responsibility for their own actions, and they take action to make things better rather than pray. Do you believe in free will? (free will being the ability to make choices without coersion). Yes. If you believe in free will, do you see any problem with defending the idea that the physical brain, which is limited and subject to the neuro-chemical laws of the brain, can still produce free will choices? Again, nothing to do with atheism. Atheism is merely the lack of belief in a god. One atheist could believe the brain is run by My Little Ponies, another could think the brain is nothing but chemical reactions. Depends on the atheist. The only thing we have in common is a lack in belief of god. If you affirm evolution and that the universe will continue to expand forever, then do you think it is probable that given enough time, brains would evolve to the point of exceeding mere physical limitations and become free of the physical and temporal and thereby become “deity” and not be restricted by space and time? If not, why not? How does one lead to the other? No, I don’t think our brains will evolve to the point that they become a deity. Evolution does not mean things become more powerful. Evolution means adaptation to the environment. If surviving our environment required us to be less intelligent, evolution would lead to a weaker mind. If you answered the previous question in the affirmative, then aren’t you saying that it is probable that some sort of God exists? N/A
Also popular this week: Christ Flix : Why U No Stick To The Bible?
Every argument I have ever had with a creationist has gone the same way as this questionnaire: it just proves that they do not understand what atheism is. It’s absolutely impossible to have a coherent, civilized debate with a creationist until they understand what atheism is. I doubt that day will ever come.
What are your answers to these questions? Feel free to post in the comments, or write your own blog post and send me the link : [email protected] . |
Back in June, Garret Sparks suggested to his buddy Mike Condon that perhaps he’d journey out to St. John’s at some point the next season and visit Condon as he tended goal for the farm club of the Montreal Canadiens in Newfoundland.
“He said, ‘I won’t be in St. John’s,’” recalls Sparks. “‘I’m going to make the Montreal Canadiens.’”
“And I was like, ‘Well, prove it. And he did.’”
Condon, needless to say, has turned into one of the inspirational stories of this young NHL season, first beating out veteran Dustin Tokarski for the backup job behind league MVP Carey Price, and then holding the fort for the Habs when Price went down with an injury this fall.
Condon called himself a “fat, out-of-shape, Olympic-lifting goalie coming out of college with an NHL contract and no idea how to prepare for it,” but trained with an MMA fighter in Cape Cod last summer and, at the age of 25, cracked the NHL.
His arrival came a year after Scott Darling wrote a similar story for himself with the Chicago Blackhawks, at one point starting in the playoffs for the eventual champs just three years after overcoming a drinking problem and being at the bottom of the hockey food chain playing in the low minors with a team in Mississippi.
“He’s been able to come back from the depths of pro hockey,” says Sparks. “From knowing him, you don’t ever want to do what Scott had to do. It’s an amazing story. He told me those are the things you don’t want to do to yourself. I knew it was a make-it-or-break-it time of my life. He was one of the people I had in the back of my mind. If Scott can do it, you can do it.
“He’s definitely one of my biggest inspirations.”
Sparks, just 22, befriended Condon and Darling as part of a Facebook-based, online goalie community called GGSU, linking 18,000 goalies around the world. Sparks runs summer camps in Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto – he calls himself “Dictator, Legends Camp Owner” on the website – and has worked with both goaltenders.
He hasn’t had quite the battle that Condon and Darling had. But he did fall to the East Coast Hockey League last season after being the backup with the AHL Toronto Marlies the year before, and found himself fat, out-of-shape and battling persistent groin injuries.
After being No. 4 on the organizational depth chart, he fell behind James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier, Antoine Bibeau and Christopher Gibson, and almost out of the club’s plans altogether.
Now, that’s all changed. After giving up sweets and junk food in the off-season, Sparks dropped 25 pounds and last week was named AHL player-of-the-week.
If there’s another Darling or Condon in the offing, it might be this youngster.
“I have to give the Leafs all the credit in the world for not giving up on an ignorant kid,” he says.
The Leafs had drafted Sparks 190th overall in 2011, and watched him graduate from the Chicago Mission program to the OHL Guelph Storm. He was good, but he just didn’t work at it.
“I was always a kid who played hockey because I liked it, and I just kind of rode that up to this level,” he says. “As far as the whole working out, polished professional thing, that wasn’t on my radar for the first 16, 17 years of my life. Until I got to junior, it wasn’t anything I ever thought about.
“In Guelph I was playing 60 games a year in that shape. I didn’t think I had any reason to change. I was told from day one with the Leafs about that, but I’m stubborn in that I like to do things my own way, and eventually I learned.”
Sparks is 6-foot-2 with long sideburns and a laid back, almost surfer-like vibe. But clearly, something has clicked, and there’s a quiet level of excitement about him in an organization that has struggled to find consistency and stability in the net since Ed Belfour left town.
Reimer has taken over the No. 1 job, and the Leafs are suddenly respectable 3-1-2 in their last six games while Bernier recovers from injury. Bibeau, who rocketed into prominence playing for Val d’Or at the Memorial Cup two years ago, has been up with the Leafs as a backup, giving Sparks the room to take over the Marlies’ crease and run with the opportunity.
“Antoine’s up there right now, and we’re each other’s biggest assets in the sense that we’ll push each other until the end of time to get better, he says. “Two goalies the same age, with the same skill level, and we’re just going to keep battling each other. For eternity, it feels like.
“So for me, if there was ever a time to step on the gas and work on my game, this is the year to do it. I only get in trouble when I doubt myself. And I don’t doubt that one day I’ll be able to put it all together.” |
Social Anarchism and Organisation - PDF pamphlet
PDF pamphlet of the English translation of Anarquismo Social e Organização, by the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro FARJ)
English translation of Anarquismo Social e Organização, by the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro FARJ), Brazil, approved at the 1st FARJ Congress, held on 30th and 31st of August 2008.
The first Congress of the FARJ was held with the principal objective of deepening our reflections on the question of organisation and formalising them into a programme. This debate has been happening within our organisation since 2003. We have produced theoretical materials, established our thinking, learned from the successes and mistakes of our political practice it was becoming increasingly necessary to further the debate and to formalise it, spreading this knowledge both internally and externally. The document Social Anarchism and Organisation formalises our positions after all these reflections. More than a purely theoretical document, it reflects the conclusions realised after five years of practical application of anarchism in the social struggles of our people. The document is divided into 16 parts. It has already been published in Portuguese in a book co-published between Faísca and the FARJ.
The PDF can be downloaded here: Social Anarchism and Organisation PDF |
These are two new releases from VOX that you will absolutely drool over: the AC4C1-12 and the Night Train.
The new AC4C1-12 is a 4 Watt combo amplifier with a 12” speaker that carries on the VOX tradition. This new model features a 12-inch Celestion speaker that delivers even more robust sound levels. With diamond grille cloth and basket-weave vinyl exterior, it also carries on the classic looks of the VOX tradition. This is a Class A tube amp that you can enjoy whether you're practicing at home, performing live, or recording.
All aboard the Night Train!
The new VOX Night Train NT15C1-CL combo amplifier delivers modern tones with a classic look.
With its metallic exterior, the Night Train series emanates a unique and powerfully distinctive look which differs from the usual VOX aesthetic; in contrast, this new combo amp features the traditional VOX design. The NT15C1-CL covers all kinds of tube tones ranging from clean to crunch, as well as high-gain sounds and everything in-between, making it a great choice for any situation.
By Sophie Moss |
In 2011, I released the first version of the WordPress Plugin Boilerplate and have been maintaining it (along with contributions from other programmers) ever since.
Over the last couple of years, the Boilerplate became quite active – as far as very small projects are concerned – with issues, pull requests, and so on. It’s been a lot of fun to maintain, and it’s been really neat to receive so much feedback from other developers in terms of making the Boilerplate more resilient and from those who were just getting started with plugin development.
Earlier this year, I shared that I – along with a small group of other people – began working on the next iteration of the WordPress Plugin Boilerplate. That is, we were initiating a complete rewrite of the project.
As of today, I’m officially launching a beta of sorts of 3.0.0 of the Boilerplate. This is a major rewrite and refactoring of the Boilerplate in the state that its had for the past few years, and there’s a lot of change coming not only to the Boilerplate itself, but to new site, documentation, forks, and so on.
On Deck For The WordPress Plugin Boilerplate
Before going into the details about how the beta is going to be treated, I want to share a few things that are planned for the final release of this version of the plugin.
An Official Logo
Earlier this year, I shared that the project didn’t really have a brand and that was something I was looking to change with this release.
I received some really great feedback from a lot of people and ultimately have Kevin Grennan at Bunga Web to thank for the logo. I am excited to show off the official logo when the Boilerplate is officially launched early next month.
A Website
Another addition to the Boilerplate is the introduction of an official website. Right now, the current project has nothing but a GitHub repository with a relatively extensive README file and various code comments to help guide users, but there’s not really any official documentation.
With this release, that’s going to change. Aside from having the core project its be simplified, the website is going to serve not only as landing page for the project, but will also include documentation, frequently asked questions, “how to” articles (along with gists gists), and so on.
Ultimately, the goal is to set up the site such that some of the more advanced functionality that or some of the code that’s not really relevant to starting off a plugin is still contained in documentation that can be easily added the existing foundation of the Boilerplate.
A Change in Focus
As previously mentioned, one of the biggest changes that’s coming to the Boilerplate is the simplification and removal of a lot of the code.
The goal isn’t to completely get rid of some of the functionality – such as the Multisite-specific code – that existed in the Boilerplate, but to make it available via other avenues on the website.
Ultimately, I’d like the Boilerplate to be a skeleton off of which anyone and everyone who writes a plugin and needs a starting point can use it as a point of reference. Not everyone uses a Multisite installation, so that’s why code such as that is being moved elsewhere.
Additionally, the plugin has been restructured in an attempt to improve the cohesion of each aspect of the plugin. It now has dedicated areas for the dashboard, shared code, and for public-facing functionality. On top of that, there are also some new classes (like the activator classes and the loader) that help to de-couple code and make sure that each class is focused on performing a single job.
The Forks
One of the challenges of the current version of the Boilerplate is making sure that it has all of the necessary functionality and flexibility for any type of plugin, but also has various options for those who use tools use as Composer or Grunt.
As the project moves forward, I’m looking for others to create several official forks (or “Editions” for those who are less familiar with open source terminology) of the project each of which has a specific focus. That is, there may be an edition for Multisite projects, an edition for those who use Composer, an edition fork for those who want to use newer PHP features (that aren’t supported in older versions of PHP), and so on.
Improved Examples
Another one of the challenges that comes with maintaining the Boilerplate is that people have been curious for how to use the Boilerplate to create, say, custom fields, custom post types, meta boxes, and so on.
Though this will not be a part of the core project, I’m looking to have examples for how to do things like this. These will likely be maintained as gists or forks and will be covered on the website as it’s built out with content.
But I Need Help!
The Boilerplate is moving into a more opinionated direction and has a specific vision to make it more easier to maintain moving forward, so I certain pull requests may not be merged, may be moved to documentation, or may not be included at all. This is all in order to keep the Boilerplate as focused and as flexible as possible.
Remember: if the Boilerplate does something you dislike or doesn’t do something that you want it to do, then feel free to fork it and let me know about it. I’m happy to maintain a list of all of the variations that come out of this.
Over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ulrich Pogson, Brad Vincent, and Josh Eaton‘ on the plugin. It wouldn’t be where it is in this current version were it not for their contributions and their input for which I greatly appreciate.
In order to launch the next iteration of the plugin, I’d like to have help testing and reviewing the code in the Boilerplate as it stands today.
To that end, we need help testing and reviewing the current version of the plugin. So if you’re a WordPress plugin developer who is familiar with the WordPress Coding Standards, the Documentation Standards, and who prefers an object-oriented approach to plugin development, then please check out the develop branch on GitHub.
I’m looking to launch the official version and the website in the first week of September. Until then, it’s all heads down on the Boilerplate, its site, and so on. |
TAXI drivers are dodging the district's strict safety checks by exploiting a legal loophole.
And the problem is "out of control", according to the owner of one cab firm.
Some local cabbies are deliberately getting their licences from other local authorities rather than from Bradford Council.
This means Bradford's licensing enforcement officers, who often carry out spot safety checks on cabs, have no jurisdiction over these drivers.
It also means the cabbies can get lower motor insurance premiums, compared to Bradford's high prices, licensing bosses believe.
And other local authorities also have different standards for drivers' criminal records, vehicle safety and other licensing criteria such as whether cabbies have to sit knowledge tests.
Many drivers are getting their licenses from Rossendale Council in Lancashire, a rural area which has no upper limit on the number of hackney carriage licenses it will give out.
Stuart Hastings, the boss of private hire firm Metro Keighley, said he refused to take on drivers who had Rossendale licenses, but he estimated there were 30 to 40 Rossendale drivers in Keighley alone.
He said: "It is out of control."
Mr Hastings said there was a perception that the licensing regime was less strict in Rossendale than in Bradford.
Khurram Shehzad, the chairman of Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said he disapproved of the practice of using Rossendale licences.
But he said drivers were doing so out of frustration with Bradford's strict licensing rules.
He said: "I don't think it is a good idea, but the council is forcing drivers to go there, because they are so heavy-handed."
Licensing bosses first started spotting the Rossendale cabs around two years ago, and it is now believed that around 80 drivers in Bradford hold these licences.
But the practice is entirely legal - hackney carriages licensed for one area can lawfully operate as private hire cars anywhere else in the country.
Councillor Brian Morris (Ukip, Keighley West), a former taxi driver, said he was very worried that the safety of the public was being put at risk by a "stupid and ridiculous" law.
He said: "If a Rossendale taxi driver, or any other out-of-town taxi driver, comes and works in Keighley, how does the public know that the man sitting behind the wheel is the man who has actually got the licence? They don't.
CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 18 BRADFORD TAXI LICENCES BEING SUSPENDED
"Can Bradford's hackney carriage enforcement officers ask them that question? No they can't.
"Can they stop them? No they can't."
Bradford is not the only local authority affected by the problem.
A spokesman for Bradford Council said it was taking the issue very seriously, and that in the past year, Bradford had arranged and hosted meetings with other local authorities to discuss the matter.
The authority is now working with Rossendale Council so that Bradford's officers can be given delegated powers to at least enforce Rossendale's rules on any of its drivers they stop.
And the police are also able to carry out safety inspections.
Bradford Council principal officer Geoff Binnington said: "Council officers will continue to work in partnership with the police to make sure drivers licensed by Bradford remain compliant with their conditions and those who are licensed outside of Bradford are using vehicles which are safe for the travelling public."
A spokesman for Rossendale Borough Council said it set high standards for taxi drivers, who had to pass a stringent medical check, criminal record check and 'fit and proper person' test.
He said: "Rossendale Borough Council's taxi licensing procedure is extremely robust."
Rossendale has 1,200 licensed hackney carriages in total, for its population of 65,000.
In contrast, Bradford has just 222 hackney carriages, for a population of more than 500,000.
Councillor Simon Cooke, deputy leader of Bradford's Conservative group, said the key question for him was whether the safety of the public was being compromised.
And Councillor Dominic Fear (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley), said he was concerned that people who wanted to complain about a taxi driver wouldn't know where to turn if they weren't licensed by Bradford Council.
MORE BRADFORD HEADLINES |
What's next for the Longhorns? Make sure you're in the loop by signing up for our FREE Texas newsletter!
Question of the Week: What's your biggest takeaway from Texas' time at Big 12 media days?
Bobby Burton, Publisher
There's a new guy in charge at Texas. Whether he makes it or not is for the future to tell us. But one thing is for sure. He's going to try to win and win big. Nothing he said could reasonably lead anyone to believe that he merely wants to return Texas to respectability. He wants to win. And win big.
Jeff Howe, Senior Writer
While everyone who heard the story about P.J. Locke III and a missing water bottle was entertained by the story, it drove home one of something Tom Herman mentioned in one of his first press conferences. Not talk of alignment, which everyone has been focused on, but rather the fact that this staff doesn’t miss. After watching Texas lose games that were there for the taking under Charlie Strong due to some small detail like a punt snap, a timeout snafu, or a failure to give players proper instructions on how to handle a coin toss, I don’t think that’s going to happen under Herman. That’s not to say this staff is perfect, but what it does say is the Longhorns will no longer be a team that’s routinely at a disadvantage by way of not paying attention to the little things. I mentioned alignment as part of this, and for the first time in a long time on the Forty Acres I feel like the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. Connor Williams told me Yancy McKnight, whom Herman has called his culture coach, has kicked guys out of workouts for not having the right attitude. If someone isn’t bringing it or is holding the group back, Williams said McKnight has pulled a guy out of a workout in the middle of a lift and told him to go home and see if he can get right for tomorrow. The culture at Texas seems to be shifting to one of either go in the direction of everyone else or get the heck out of the way. This staff indeed doesn’t miss, and you’re not going to get away with cheating the process it takes to win football games under Herman and his staff. That mentality changing and the heightened sense of urgency while working with a purpose is something Texas has been sorely missing for a long time.
EJ Holland, Lead Recruiting Reporter
Tom Herman didn't speak much about Texas recruiting, but when he did, he was very humble in regards to UT's image with current recruits. As Herman put it, recruits in the 2018 class have only seen two winning season from the Longhorns since they were 10 years old. Herman has done a terrific job on the recruiting cycle despite the lack of success in recent years. It's easy to infer that UT could put together a special class with a strong season.
Garrett Callahan, Managing Editor
One thing that struck me was simply the confidence of everyone Texas brought to the event. The players were humble and said the right things, but they seemed loose, making jokes on social media and enjoying their time at The Star. Michael Dickson made jokes about being just the punter while P.J. Locke told stories about Herman and a water bottle. It's still yet to be seen if this means anything, but it confirms, at least in my eyes, the Longhorns are building off the field as well as on, from pool parties, trips to Lake Travis and everything else. That, of course, only goes so far, though, and Herman knows that. What matters is wins and Herman has a plan for rebranding Texas that's more than just a new social media team and more creative videos.
Mike Roach, Recruiting Analyst
My biggest takeaway has less to do with Texas, and more to do with the conference as a whole. I think there's been some rejuvenation with Tom Herman, Lincoln Riley, and Matt Rhule. I thought all three guys had impressive showings at media day. I'm not sure if anything can truly "save" this conference, but I think there's some new intrigue going into the season. |
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has launched a $1.8 million lobbying campaign to get Congress to repeal the Weaponized Anthrax Prohibition Act of 1972 (WAPA).
“The Second Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,’ so it is time that our government remove the shameful prohibition of weaponized anthrax,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
LaPierre added that weaponized anthrax clearly falls under the definition of “arms.”
“I mean, come on, it even has the word ‘weapon’ in its name,” he said in a brief interview. “I can guarantee you that our Founding Fathers would have wanted all Americans to have access to this highly dangerous and lethal bacteria.”
While most people know the NRA for its strong defense of the right of Americans to own firearms – from simple pistols to high-powered automatic assault rifles – the group has recently stepped up efforts to allow Americans to own every type of weapon.
Ted Nugent, the musician and outspoken NRA board member, said the call to lift the ban on weaponized anthrax is the logical consequence of the group’s policy to oppose any restrictions to the Second Amendment.
“Who has given the US government the right to tell honest Americans that they cannot own assault rifles, weaponized anthrax, rocket propelled grenades or nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles? Certainly not the Constitution or the Founding Fathers,” said Nugent when he was reached by phone. “Personally, I’d rather have my neighbor’s finger on the trigger than that of Barack Hussein Obama.”
In addition to the lobbying effort to repeal WAPA, the NRA also wants teachers to have easy access to weaponized anthrax.
“God forbid, but imagine a student showing up in school with anthrax. The only way to stop that child is with a dose of weaponized anthrax in the possession of the teacher,” LaPierre argued.
He proposed that all classrooms have a small stash of the deadly bacteria. If necessary, teachers could use blowguns to fire the powder at students. This would keep collateral deaths at a minimum, LaPierre argued.
Although they were initially skeptical of the plan to repeal WAPA, congressional Republicans said they are coming around to the idea.
“Technically, the possession of weaponized anthrax is covered under the Second Amendment,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan. He added that he believes that, just like with assault rifles, most Americans would use weaponized anthrax, RPGs or nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles for hunting.
“When you want to kill a lot of deer quickly, an assault rifle alone won’t do the trick. Sometimes it takes something a little bigger,” he said. “I’m from Wisconsin and I know these things.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Ryan’s sentiments and pointed to another argument for why weaponized anthrax should be legal.
“If we criminalize the possession of weaponized anthrax, only criminals will have weaponized anthrax,” the Kentucky Republican said in a Senate speech.
However, not all Republicans are on board with the plan.
“That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard,” said moderate Sen. Susan Collins from Maine. “Seriously, who even comes up with stuff like that? Why would we allow anybody to have weaponized anthrax or nuclear weapons? Why would we give people an instrument to kill lots of other people? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Asked to comment on her statement, LaPierre said the NRA would find and fund a primary candidate to run against Collins.
Related front page panorama photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from NRA Sign (Quinn Dombrowski / Flickr – CC BY-SA 2.0)
This is Satire
Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now.
Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. Related print |
This story can be republished for free ( details ). This story also ran on NPR
The roast turkey and pecan pie may be the same as always, but growing numbers of families plan to add a tradition to their Thanksgiving holiday this week: a frank talk about their wishes for end-of-life care.
Paul Malley, president of Aging with Dignity, the agency behind Five Wishes, a popular living will, says requests for the documents that guide decisions surrounding serious illness and death typically surge starting now.
“We see a bit of a Thanksgiving rush and a bit of a Christmas rush in December,” said Malley, who notes that 30 million copies of Five Wishes have been distributed since 1998.
Turkey dinner with a side dish of death isn’t everyone’s idea of a festive meal. But Malley and other experts in end-of-life talks say the holidays are an ideal time to have hard conversations about final preferences and plans.
“People come home for the holidays,” said Ellen Goodman, the longtime columnist and reporter who co-founded The Conversation Project, which provides kits to kick-start end-of-life discussions. “It’s one of those times when we’re together. It’s something that’s important to talk about.”
While many families will start such discussions for the first time this year, Dr. Patricia Bomba’s family has made the talks a tradition since 1992.
“After the dinner dishes are cleared, the adults in our family stay at the table and talk about what matters most in our lives,” said Bomba, vice president and medical director for geriatrics for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in New York.
Her family joke is: “There’s no pumpkin pie until you tell me how you want to live until you die,” she added. But the holiday sessions helped guide serious decisions when Bomba’s mother died, she said.
Email Sign-Up Subscribe to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.
The conversations typically occur between middle-aged children and their elderly parents or grandparents, but they should include all of the adults in a family, Malley said.
“Don’t just put your grandparents in the hot seat,” he said. “It makes for a better and easier family conversation if everyone is in it together.”
The goal is to ensure that people’s preferences are honored. But the talks also can reduce the guilt and depression many family members feel after a loved one dies.
“You can talk about what your values are, who you want to make decisions for you, the care you want, the care you don’t want,” Goodman said.
Often, though, no one wants to broach the subject, even when they think they should. A 2013 Conversation Project survey found that while 90 percent of people said it’s important to have end-of-life discussions with their loved ones, fewer than 30 percent had done so.
Nationwide, about a third of adults in the U.S. have completed written advance directives that spell out wishes for care or designate the person they’d like to carry them out, according to a study in the journal Health Affairs.
Research shows that advance care planning, including the use of written documents, can increase the chances that people’s end-of-life wishes will be followed.
But conversations held over time are key, said Jeannette Koijane, executive director of Kokua Mau, the Hawaii Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in Honolulu.
“Just checking the boxes is not what makes the difference. It’s the conversation that makes the difference,” she said.
Having those conversations in person is important, too, said Malley, who plans to help his parents, who are in their 70s, update their documents over the holiday.
“It’s a natural time to discuss which one of us boys do you want to be your health care agent?” said Malley, the youngest of three brothers. “My parents are teaching us about advance-care planning by doing this together as a family.”
Still, starting such a conversation can be difficult, Goodman said.
“People think if I bring this up with my elderly parents, they’re going to think I want them dead. Or there’s something wrong,” she said.
But if family members can explain that the goal is to understand what matters most to the person at the end of life, the conversation changes. The agency has put together a video that uses humor to show how to break the ice.
“When you say how important it is to you, it’s truly a gift,” Goodman said.
She sees a shift in the culture surrounding end-of-life wishes, even in the five years since The Conversation Project started.
Back then, the specter of “death panels” nearly derailed Obamacare. Today, end-of-life conversations are being paid for by Medicare and books like Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal” have topped the best-seller list.
“I’m convinced we’re at a tipping point,” Goodman said. “It’s so important to get it right. When you get it wrong, you get something big wrong.”
This story can be republished for free ( details ). This story also ran on NPR
KHN’s coverage of these topics is supported by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, John A. Hartford Foundation and The SCAN Foundation |
MV Doña Paz Doña Paz berthed at berthed at Tacloban in 1984 History Japan Name: Himeyuri Maru Owner: RKK Line Port of registry: Kagoshima Builder: Onomichi Dockyard Yard number: 118 Launched: April 25, 1963 Fate: Sold to Sulpicio Lines Philippines Name: Don Sulpicio Owner: Sulpicio Lines Port of registry: Manila Route: Tacloban-Catbalogan-Manila Acquired: 1975 Renamed: Doña Paz in 1981 Refit: After a fire onboard June 5, 1979 Fate: Caught fire and sank after a collision with the MT Vector on December 20, 1987. General characteristics Class and type: Passenger ferry Tonnage: 2,602
1,192 DWT Length: 93.1 m (305 ft) Beam: 13.6 m (45 ft) Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) Capacity: 1,518 passengers Crew: 66
MV Doña Paz was a Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector on December 20, 1987. Traveling from Leyte island to the Philippine capital of Manila, the vessel was seriously overcrowded, with at least 2,000 passengers not listed on the manifest. In addition, it was claimed that the ship carried no radio and that the life-jackets were locked away. However, official blame was directed at Vector, which was found to be unseaworthy, and operating without a license, lookout or qualified master. With an estimated death toll of 4,386 people and only 24 survivors, it remains the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.
History [ edit ]
Doña Paz was built in 1963 by Onomichi Zosen of Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan, and was originally named Himeyuri Maru.[1] During the time it travelled Japanese waters, it had a passenger capacity of 608.[2] In 1975, she was sold to Sulpicio Lines, a Filipino operator of a fleet of passenger ferries. It was renamed by Sulpicio Lines as Don Sulpicio, and later, Doña Paz.[2] On June 5, 1979, the vessel was gutted by fire while en route from Manila to Cebu. All 1,164 on board were rescued but the vessel was beached and declared a constructive total loss. The wreck was repurchased from the underwriters by Sulpicio Lines, and the vessel was refurbished and returned to service as Doña Paz.[3] At the time of its sinking, the ship was sailing the route of Manila → Tacloban → Catbalogan → Manila and vice versa, making trips twice a week.[4][5]
1987 disaster [ edit ]
Collision [ edit ]
On December 20, 1987, at 06:30, Philippine Standard Time, Doña Paz left from Tacloban, Leyte, for Manila,[4][6] with a stopover at Catbalogan, Samar.[7] The vessel was due in Manila at 04:00 the following day, and it was reported that it last made radio contact at around 20:00.[6] However, subsequent reports indicated that Doña Paz had no radio.[8][9] At around 22:30, the ferry was at Dumali Point, along the Tablas Strait, near Marinduque.[6] A survivor later said that the weather at sea that night was clear, but the sea was choppy.[7] While most of the passengers slept, Doña Paz collided with MT Vector, an oil tanker en route from Bataan to Masbate. Vector was carrying 1,050,000 litres (8,800 US bbl) or 1,041 metric tons (1,041 t) of gasoline and other petroleum products owned by Caltex Philippines.[4]
Upon collision, Vector's cargo ignited and caused a fire on the ship that spread onto Doña Paz. Survivors recalled sensing the crash and an explosion, causing panic on the vessel.[6] One of them, Paquito Osabel, recounted that the flames spread rapidly throughout the ship, and that the sea all around the ship itself was on fire.[6][7] Another survivor, Philippine Constabulary soldier Luthgardo Niedo, claimed that the lights onboard had gone out minutes after the collision, that there were no life vests to be found on Doña Paz, and that all of the crewmen were running around in panic with the other passengers and that none of the crew gave any orders nor made any attempt to organize the passengers.[7] It was later said that the life jacket lockers had been locked.[9] The survivors were forced to jump off the ship and swim among charred bodies in flaming waters around the ship, with some using suitcases as makeshift flotation devices.[10] Doña Paz sank within two hours of the collision, while Vector sank within four hours.[9] Both ships sank in about 545 meters (1,788 ft) of water in the shark-infested Tablas Strait.[11]
Rescue [ edit ]
Skippers, medics, and officers as well as the captain of a passing inter-island ship, MS Don Claudio, witnessed the explosion of the two ships and after an hour, found the survivors of Doña Paz. The officers of Don Claudio threw a net for the survivors to climb to. In all, only 26 survivors were retrieved from the water: 24 of them were passengers from Doña Paz while the other 2 were crewmen from Vector's 13-man crew.[7][12] None of the crew of Doña Paz survived. Most of the survivors sustained burns from jumping into the flaming waters.[6] Doctors and nurses aboard the vessel tended to their injuries. It reportedly took eight hours before Philippine maritime authorities learned of the accident, and another eight hours to help search-and-rescue operations.[9]
Casualties [ edit ]
According to the initial announcement made by Sulpicio Lines, the official passenger manifest of Doña Paz recorded 1,493 passengers and 59 crew members aboard.[2][10] According to Sulpicio Lines, the ferry was able to carry 1,424 passengers.[6] A revised manifest released on December 23, 1987, showed 1,583 passengers and 58 crew members on Doña Paz, with 675 persons boarding the ferry in Tacloban, and 908 coming on board in Catbalogan.[11] However, an anonymous official of Sulpicio Lines told UPI that, since it was the Christmas season, tickets were usually purchased illegally aboard the ship at a cheaper rate, and those passengers were not listed on the manifest.[2] The same official added that holders of complimentary tickets and non-paying children below the age of four were likewise not listed on the manifest.[2][13]
Survivors claimed that it was possible that Doña Paz may have carried as many as 3,000 to 4,000 passengers.[2][10] They took as signs that the ferry was overcrowded the fact that they saw passengers sleeping along corridors, on the boat decks, or on cots with three or four persons on them.[10] Of the 21 bodies that had been recovered and identified as passengers on the ship five days after the accident, only one of the fatalities was listed on the official manifest. Of the 24 passengers who survived, only five were listed on the manifest.[14]
On December 28, 1987, Representative Raul Daza of Northern Samar claimed that at least 2,000 passengers on board Doña Paz were not on the ship's manifest.[15] He based that figure on a list of names furnished by relatives and friends of missing people believed aboard the ferry, the names having been compiled by radio and television stations in Tacloban.[15] The names of these 2,000+ missing passengers were published in pages 29 to 31 of the December 29, 1987, edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
In February 1988 the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation stated, on the basis of interviews with relatives, that there were at least 3,099 passengers and 59 crew on board, giving 3,134 on-board fatalities.[16] In January 1999 a presidential task force report estimated, on the basis of court records and more than 4,100 settlement claims, that there were 4,341 passengers.[17] Subtracting the 24 surviving passengers, and adding 58 crew gives 4,375 on-board fatalities. Adding the 11 dead from the Vector crew, the total becomes 4,386.[3]
Reactions and aftermath [ edit ]
President Corazon Aquino described the accident as "a national tragedy of harrowing proportions...[the Filipino people's] sadness is all the more painful because the tragedy struck with the approach of Christmas".[18] Pope John Paul II, Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom conveyed their official messages of condolence.[19] Given the estimated death toll, Time magazine and others have called the sinking of Doña Paz "the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster of the 20th century".[3][20]
Sulpicio Lines announced three days after the accident that Doña Paz was insured for ₱25,000,000 (about US$550,000 in 2011 dollars), and it was willing to indemnify the survivors the amount of ₱20,000 (US$472 in 2011) for each victim.[21] Days later, hundreds of the victims' kin staged a mass rally at Rizal Park, demanding that the ship owners likewise indemnify the families of those not listed on the manifest, as well as to give a full accounting of the missing.[13]
According to the initial investigation conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard, only one apprentice member of the crew of Doña Paz was monitoring the bridge when the accident occurred.[22] Other officers were either drinking beer or watching television in the crew's recreation quarters,[23] while the ship's captain was watching a movie on his Betamax in his cabin.[24] Nonetheless, the Board of Marine Inquiry eventually cleared Sulpicio Lines of fault in the accident.[12] Subsequent inquiries revealed that Vector was operating without a license, lookout or properly qualified master.[9] In 1999, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled that it was the owners of Vector who were liable to indemnify the victims of the collision.[4][12] Some of the claims pursued against either Sulpicio Lines or the owners of Vector, such as those filed by the Cañezal family (who lost two members) and the Macasas family (who lost three members) were adjudicated by the Supreme Court, which found that even the families of victims who did not appear on the official manifest were entitled to indemnity.[4][12] Caltex Philippines, which had chartered Vector, was likewise cleared of financial liability.[4]
In popular culture [ edit ]
The National Geographic Channel premiered a documentary about Doña Paz entitled Asia's Titanic on August 25, 2009.[25][26]
See also [ edit ] |
In my last column, I criticized the anti-Trump “resistance” for its excessive zeal in exposing Russian espionage, observing that counterintelligence work driven by politics and emotion rather than facts and discipline is bound to go wrong. At worst, we run the risk of a new wave of McCarthyism, with meandering witch-hunts for Kremlin agents (most of them imaginary) instead of serious counterspy efforts.
What’s interesting is that the “resistance” is a movement of the Left and its adherents, with few exceptions, are recent fans of counterespionage. Their interest in Russian spying is driven by Donald Trump and is as intense as it is new. Their enthusiasm for unmasking traitors customarily outpaces their understanding of real-world intelligence operations.
It’s difficult to miss that these are the same people who mocked Mitt Romney only five years ago when the Republican nominee for president presciently opined that Russia constituted our main geopolitical foe—a suggestion that was mocked as old-think by President Barack Obama and his followers.
Moreover, the Left was hardly brimming with anti-Kremlin zeal back in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was mainly the Right, aided by a few stodgy old Democratic Cold Warriors, that signaled the alarm about Soviet espionage and propaganda as a threat to our country and the West. Indeed, for many on the Left, the notion that Moscow was aggressively spying on us was a notion deserving of derision.
How times change. Now the Left is on the enthusiastic hunt for Russian agents, while the Right has transformed itself seemingly overnight from a Romneyian skepticism about the Kremlin to indifference to the threat at best, and at worst a strange and unsettling affection for Vladimir Putin. President Donald Trump is the Republicans’ biggest Kremlin fan, and his reticence to hear anything bad about Russia extends to any classified White House discussions about Kremlin interference in our 2016 election. As a bombshell new report in the Washington Post explains, the president’s Intelligence Community briefers customarily avoid anything to do with Russia in their daily briefing to the commander-in-chief altogether, lest they upset him by saying something bad about Putin.
As if that weren’t bad enough, Team Trump has now taken to direct public attacks on our Intelligence Community in a desperate effort to stave off the results of the investigation of the president’s ties to Moscow that’s being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump’s lawyers misinformed him that the Russia investigation would wrap up by the end of 2017, without grave damage to the White House. That was patently false, as demonstrated by recent indictments and plea deals by major members of Team Trump, not to mention the prospect of more indictments soon—perhaps of people even closer to the president.
With his presidency and more on the line, Donald Trump is in the fight of his life, and it’s no coincidence that his media mouthpieces are hurling everything they can at the people who are investigating him—above all Mueller and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Attacks on Mueller are now routine, with torrents of unsubstantiated allegations of his alleged bias against President Trump. According to the Fox News version of reality, Mueller, a Republican, has surrounded himself with partisan Democrats who are out to sink Team Trump, evidence be damned.
A scandal has emerged over private text messages sent last year between Peter Strzok, a top FBI counterintelligence official, and his mistress. These texts showed Strzok to be notably anti-Trump, privately—as, let it be said, were virtually all IC personnel in 2016 who were acquainted with the modus operandi of Russian intelligence, since they understood that Trump’s Kremlin ties were problematic at best—and as a result Mueller removed him from the special counsel investigation.
This event has been turned into a cause célèbre by Trump fans, notwithstanding the administration’s alleged hatred for leaks, with the implication that the FBI is tainted. Indeed, the president’s media allies are portraying our nation’s top law enforcement agency as a rogue outfit and worse. Fox News has led this charge, naturally, and last week Fox stalwart Gregg Jarrett, in an appearance on the vehemently pro-Trump Sean Hannity show, which parrots Kremlin lies, went full tinfoil, in a monologue worthy of Alex Jones:
Mueller has been using the FBI as a political weapon. The FBI has become America’s secret police. Secret surveillance, wiretapping, intimidation, harassment and threats. It’s like the old KGB that comes for you in the dark of night, banging through your door.
Not to be outdone, this week on Fox News, Tom Fitton, the head of Judicial Watch, a right-wing lobbying group, called for the Bureau’s dissolution:
I think the FBI’s been compromised. Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller. Do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?
Let’s be clear here. Jarrett and Fitton—with no pushback from Fox hosts—publicly compared the FBI to the Soviet secret police, which murdered millions of innocents, ran the GULAG, and served as the enforcer of Red terror for 74 years. The KGB was one of the nastiest, most blood-drenched organizations in human history. It was judge, jury, and executioner for the Bolsheviks. The rational mind has difficulty seeing how the FBI, a law-based police force held to account by Congressional oversight, is “like the KGB” unless facts simply don’t matter anymore.
Apparently, they don’t matter to Team Trump, since their fact-free war on the FBI and more broadly the IC shows no signs of abating. Of course, there’s nothing new about attacking American counterintelligence, seeking to delegitimize it by any means possible. Throughout the last Cold War, Soviet mouthpieces and allies portrayed U.S. efforts to detect and deter Communist espionage as illegitimate, sneaky, and somehow just not right.
Hence, we have countless media depictions, beginning in the 1960s, of Western (especially American) counterintelligence as inherently suspicious, paranoid and malevolent, when not merely risible. Such characterizations served to delegitimize U.S. efforts to stymie Soviet espionage and propaganda, and none can deny they were effective. The chronic American weakness in counterintelligence has many causes, but popular distaste for their work thanks to such scurrilous media depictions is surely a factor.
The Kremlin went further, employing Active Measures on a regular basis to smear American counterintelligence, fabricating evidence such as faked “official” documents to present our counterspies in a dismal light. For decades, the FBI, America’s lead counterintelligence agency, was a special target of KGB disinformation, never more than when it was headed by J. Edgar Hoover, the eccentric yet gifted man who led the Bureau for a half-century until 1972.
As revealed by KGB archives after the Cold War, Soviet spies targeted Hoover for public harassment, and it worked. To this day, some Americans whisper sordid allegations about Hoover’s personal life: for instance, that he was secretly a flamboyant homosexual, even attending parties wearing a dress with a feather boa like an “old flapper.” Few know that these stories were ginned up by KGB disinformation specialists in Moscow and have no basis in fact. Combined with Kremlin lies that alleged the FBI was secretly behind everything from right-wing domestic terrorism to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—the latter was another spectacularly successful Chekist Active Measure—this dirty campaign did enduring damage to the public reputation of the Bureau and its leadership.
These lies were parroted by too many Americans, mainly on the Left, until they became cosmically true due to constant repetition. They live on today despite their thorough debunking. Something similar is happening now on the Right. To protect Donald Trump from the Russia investigation, which the president has repeatedly insisted is a “hoax” and “fake news,” his defenders are spinning their own hoaxes and fake news in a sordid fashion, taking aim at core institutions of our Republic.
Since the inauguration, the Trump White House has howled gigantic curses at the alleged “deep state,” another figment of the fervent imagination of the InfoWars and Fox News set, and they’ve now taken direct aim at the FBI. The Bureau will survive this unpleasant episode, but its reputation is being damaged by allies of their boss, our president, who are acting in concert with the FBI’s old enemies in Moscow. Why the Russians seek to dismantle American counterintelligence, their main enemy in the SpyWar, is no mystery. Why our president does, however, is a deeply troubling question that gets at the heart of the rot in Washington right now.
John Schindler is a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer. A specialist in espionage and terrorism, he’s also been a Navy officer and a War College professor. He’s published four books and is on Twitter at @20committee. |
A FINE Gael backbencher says he is opposed to the return of former strategist Frank Flannery to the party fold.
A FINE Gael backbencher says he is opposed to the return of former strategist Frank Flannery to the party fold.
Kildare TD Anthony Lawlor said Mr Flannery still has questions to answer on his involvement with the Rehab Group and that a return to Fine Gael would "divert attention" away from the work of the government.
Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor
"I'm saying at the moment, I wouldn't be exactly be overly happy with the fact that Frank Flannery is coming back in because it will divert attention away from what the government is doing at the moment on the economic front," Mr Lawlor said.
As revealed by Independent.ie, Taoiseach Enda Kenny held talks with Mr Flannery last week.
The pair met for an hour and a half in the Cellar Bar of the Merrion Hotel, across from Government Buildings last Friday.
Mr Flannery resigned as Fine Gael’s director of elections and trustee last March following controversy over his role as a board member with the Rehab Group.
Enda Kenny and Frank Flannery
Mr Flannery is now expected to return to a senior role on the party’s election preparations committee.
The meeting came after Mr Kenny described Mr Flannery as a “friend” and said he would be happy to meet him
But speaking at the Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS, Mr Lawlor said he has "concerns" about the prospect of Mr Flannery being handed a role.
"The last thing we need is a diversion from the simple message we have to send to the public," he said.
"Frank Flannery has been very good to Fine Gael in the past. There has been certain issues surrounding his liaison with the Rehab Group, I'd have still concerns about that. He needs to answer questions about that. From our perspective in Fine Gael, I believe we have good quality people within the party itself who will be able to direct us for the next general election."
Mr Lawlor's comments are in stark contrast to those made by another party backbencher, Galway West TD Brian Walsh, who welcomed the prospect of a return.
Mr Walsh said the John McNulty Seanad cronyism debacle wouldn't have happened if former party strategist Frank Flannery had been involved at the time.
"I would I think he is a proven strategist. I think he has delivered in the last," he said on the Keith Finnegan Show on Galway Bay FM.
"I think he would be a huge asset to the party going into an election," he added.
Mr Walsh said Mr Flannery's skills were missed during the Seanad nomination saga.
Fine Gael crony John McNulty was put on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art and was then nominated to the Seanad.
But he had to withdraw his nomination after a furore over his appointment to the State board, which was initiated by Fine Gael officials.
"This would not have happened had Frank Flannery been in place," Mr Walsh said.
Online Editors |
KornRow.com conducted an interview with KORN guitarist and LOVE & DEATH frontman Brian "Head" Welch on September 28, 2013 after LOVE & DEATH's performance in Worcester, Massachusetts. You can now watch the chat below.
KORN's eleventh studio album, "The Paradigm Shift" (Prospect Park), sold 46,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on October 8 via Prospect Park.
"The Paradigm Shift" is the first KORN disc to feature Brian "Head" Welch since 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" and follows up 2011's dubstep experiment, "The Path Of Totality".
Welch recently told Rolling Stone that the new album has "the old KORN vibe, but with a new twist . . . The end product is a really good mix of old KORN mixed with some new elements. It's got a fresh new KORN 2013 sound."
Welch left KORN in 2005 after he converted to Christianity and got off drugs. He rejoined them for a handful of live performances last year before officially becoming part of the lineup again in early 2013. |
Building Brand Identity Through Graphic Design
With modern technology, there are hundreds of ways for a business to reach a target market. The power of online media channels such as Twitter, Facebook or even email, continue to grow at a rapid rate. But before a business can begin thinking about mass marketing themselves through the web, a businesses identity needs to be created. A company identity is the foundation upon which all future marketing is established. Graphic design entails creating a visual representation of what a business is about–its core beliefs, mission, the way they do business–and it highlights the company’s top attributes. Graphic design is a form of visual communication that allows a business to illustrate a complicated process, persuade a buyer, sell a product, or clearly represent an idea through an image or design. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and a powerful graphic design can visually represent or convey emotion, stimulate a viewer, represent quality, and visually encompass a business’ principles within a split second.
People rarely give a second thought to graphic design. But if you take a minute to look around your house or the community that you live in, you can quickly see that graphic designs surround our daily lives. From designs as large as a billboard on the side of the highway to the postage stamp in the corner of an envelope, graphic designers are trying to visually convey messages to consumers. The importance of graphic design in commerce can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. Why does a child gravitate toward a specific cereal box over any other at the grocery store? Why are the logos of some businesses so recognizable, memorable, and seem to fit the business perfectly? The importance of quality graphic design is often overlooked but if you take a moment to think about it, it becomes clear that it’s an essential ingredient for establishing a presence in any marketplace.
To begin, let’s look at the various types of graphic design. For the most part, graphic designs can fall into three categories: designs based on image, designs based on type and those based on a combination of image and type. Designs within each of these categories can be very powerful and a good designer can determine which method best portrays the client’s message.
Designs Based On An Image
With an image-based design, the image carries the majority of the message with very little to no text. It can be built on a photograph, graphically rendered or even painted or sketched. A single image is responsible for generating thoughts, emotions and portraying an idea. This kind of design assumes that the audience already has visual knowledge that will trigger the appropriate response when viewed.
As an example, a lemon has a powerfully strong sour taste and pungent smell that can create salivation and pursed lips. Viewing an image of a lemon can trigger the memory of these sensations and an image of a lemon, in the right environment and in the right context, can make a powerful statement that is both visually and physically understood.
Designs Based On Type
Typography can be just as powerful as an image. Oftentimes, a business logo or an advertisement may consist of just type and be void of any image or symbol. The design and color of a font can convey a message that is just as powerful as the meaning of the words themselves. Each sports team, automobile, product, or movie has a unique and recognizable font face, color, and kerning. There is more for a designer to think about than typeface alone. The copy of an advertisement can be treated like a painter approaches a blank canvas. Text attributes (bold, italics, capital letters, size, kerning, indents, underline, spacing, color, drop-shadow, etc…) allow a designer to mold the text into a visual statement that can take a design far beyond the face value of the contextual connotation.
A great example of using only text to create a powerful logo is the rock band “U2”. Two simple characters, juxtaposed in just the right way, have become one of the most recognizable contextual logos in the music industry. In the corporate world it is very common to see companies create their brand identity and logo with text alone. A logo based solely on text is often referred to as a logotype. Two of the most recognizable logotypes today are Facebook® and FedEx®. Facebook may be one of the most identifiable logos on the earth even though it was designed using only a single font face and color.
Designs Based On Image and Type
Sometimes, a creative composition consisting of type and images can better communicate a message to a target audience. It is more common to have text and images present in graphic design as most forms of print advertisement require both contextual and visual branding. Sometimes, a product or service requires far more than an image to explain its unique selling proposition (USP). And, every now and then, a consumer just needs a clear and concise statement describing what a product or service is and how it can benefit them. A designer can create images and logos that can boost the value of the textual content in an ad or the text can help solidify the meaning and power of an image.
Careful thought and attention to detail are required by the designer in order to connect the client’s message to the consumer through a graphic design or advertisement. To the eye of the average consumer, minor details may go unnoticed but to the trained eye of a graphic designer, a single pixel can make a huge difference. Just look at the recent Google® logo change where the design team adjusted the “g” by moving it a single pixel to the left and the “l” a single pixel down and one more to the left. Before and after images show the slightest change in design but one that corrects alignment for easier online reading. This change was overlooked by the general public but was picked up on by several design companies across America. Attention to detail matters in design.
Design is often a continual process as consumer expectations and demographics change over time. Google® isn’t the only major brand that recently altered its logo. After seven years of maintaining the same logo, PayPal®, the online payment juggernaut, recently revealed their new logo and branding configuration designed to better instill a sense of trust in the consumer. Visa® rebuilt the “V” in their logo and deleted a word from their tagline in an attempt to create stronger brand identity and positioning. Reebok® just added a Delta symbol to its logo to help symbolize change and reach a broader fitness/cross-training market. Even ‘The Oscars’ gave their logo a facelift by moving the statue from the right of text to under the “A” as if it was poised under a spotlight. The design change was able to modernize the look of a very traditional institution.
The art of graphic design goes far beyond clipart and stock photography. Graphic design firms have the ability to turn images and text into compelling advertising or marketing collateral that can sell a very big idea. Great graphic design can help position and brand a business for securing a share of an industry’s marketplace.
Author: Craig Hayes
Publisher: Scribble Creative Group, LLC.
Section: Graphic Design
Date: 10/7/14
URL: http://nhmarketingcompany.com/brc/graphic-design/graphic-design-branding.php |
A pro-Trump super PAC arranged for a 12-year-old girl to interview Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) as he faces mounting allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls.
The America First Project brought Millie March, a girl whose interviews during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) went viral, to Alabama to interview Moore.
“We decided that we were going to bring Millie to Alabama, after everything that’s happened in this Alabama Senate race up until this point,” America First Project’s Jennifer Lawrence said in the video, adding that the group wanted "to show there is a wide range of people who support Roy Moore."
ADVERTISEMENT
The two sat down for an interview at the GOP headquarters in Alabama.
March asked Moore about his stance on President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE’s wall on the Mexican border, the issues impacting Alabama voters and what characteristics he thinks make a “really, really good senator.”
“Following the Constitution, just adhering to principle, and not going to get elected again and not trying to stay in office for 30 or 40 years and building an empire,” Moore said.
March said after the interview that she would vote for Moore in the election if she were eligible.
Moore is facing several allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, including an alleged sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32. He has repeatedly denied the claims and accused the media of attacking him. |
Dream Wedding Is Now South Africa's Diplomatic Nightmare
toggle caption Gupta Family via AFP/Getty Images
It's been dubbed Guptagate. The real-life story reads like a Hollywood — or Bollywood — script, and it's dominating the national conversation in South Africa.
It starts with a high-society wedding in South Africa, organized by three wealthy, well-connected and influential brothers named Gupta from India. Then the scandal begins: A private jet flies in 200 guests — including Bollywood stars — from India, landing at a restricted air force security base in Pretoria, allegedly without the appropriate clearance.
A flashing, blue-light escort ferries the convoy from the airbase to a luxury resort for the marriage of a 23-year-old niece. Next come allegations of racism. The wedding guests allegedly refused to be served or driven by black African staff, preferring white or Asian personnel.
The event is threatening to have potentially serious diplomatic consequences for South Africa and India. Indian diplomats are being questioned about their alleged role in what the South African government is calling a national "breach of security."
A Diplomatic Incident
"We have a diplomatic incident at hand," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's Minister for International Relations and Cooperation. An Indian official allegedly arranged landing permits with airbase commanders, an act Nkoana-Mashabane describes as a flagrant breach of protocol.
"It is not normal that an official at an embassy goes to a government entity and starts soliciting permits," she said.
toggle caption HO/Gupta Family via AFP/Getty Images
Once the story broke, the lavish four-day nuptials were interrupted by border officials belatedly asking guests to fill in customs' forms — although their passports were apparently stamped at the airbase on arrival.
The police have opened a criminal docket against a Pretoria car hire company for the illegal use of restricted, security blue lights in the cavalcade of BMWs.
COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, is threatening a strike and says it's investigating the racism allegations.
Senior heads have begun to roll — though not at Cabinet level, yet. Five top-ranking officials have been suspended so far. Two Air Force base commanders and South Africa's chief of state protocol are among the early casualties.
The three Gupta brothers — Atul, Ajay and Rajesh — deny any wrongdoing. The Guptas are major financial backers of the governing African National Congress Party and known to brag about their friendship with President Jacob Zuma. They're reported to have a business relationship with at least one of his children.
Zuma's Judgment Questioned
The embarrassing and much-publicized episode has yet to suck Zuma in. He was away and missed the Gupta wedding, which other government officials attended.
Still, the incident has elicited rare public rebukes from some of Zuma's political allies and raised questions from the president's critics — as well as from ordinary South Africans — about his judgment. A statement from Zuma's office said he welcomed the investigations into the incident by the relevant government bureaus. A report from those investigations is due back within the week.
But the affair has swung an awkward spotlight on Zuma's relationship with the Gupta brothers. Their business empire in South Africa straddles aviation, mining, technology and much more.
This week, Atul Gupta said that South Africans should be grateful for the investment the Gupta family is generating in the country.
"South Africa should be thankful for an investment that we are doing in this country," he said. "We're doing so much, so much as you can see. Hundreds of people getting jobs here. Temporary jobs, but it's a lot of boost to the tourism. I don't know what they're talking [about]."
South Africans complain this is merely another blatant example of cronyism and that the authorities are as much to blame as the Guptas.
The bride, groom and wedding party left South Africa on Friday, but the political fallout is likely to linger for longer. |
After marching around the country last weekend, junior doctors in the UK are to be balloted on strike action against changes to their contracts. We interview an anarchist junior doctor about what the changes are, and what workers are doing about it.
What are the proposed changes that junior doctors are unhappy about?
The government has been in discussions with the British Medical Association (BMA) Junior doctors committee for around 2 years around imposing a new contract on junior doctors. The government had 23 positions it wanted to change, and it has said it would only negotiate on one of them. The BMA had to agree to all the others to continue to negotiate. It therefore walked away from negotiations as it could not accept that stipulation.
There are many bones of contention, but these are the main ones:
Switching our ‘plain time’ contractual hours from 0700-1900 Mon-Fri to 0700-2200 Mon-Sat : How would you feel if your boss suddenly told you you now work 1400-2200 Tuesday to Saturday? How would you get childcare? How would you socialise with other people? This is pretty self-explanatory, but a further consequence is a paycut as we get paid more based on the proportion of our work that falls into antisocial hours. This will have a disproportionate effect on those specialities that do most out-of-hours work - like A+E, anaesthetics, intensive care, obstetrics etc. Half of all A+E posts are already unfilled as it is so onerous- what do you think will happen if those posts are made even less attractive?
: How would you feel if your boss suddenly told you you now work 1400-2200 Tuesday to Saturday? How would you get childcare? How would you socialise with other people? Removing annual pay increment : Thereby disadvantaging those who train less than full time for childcare or health reasons and those who take time out to do research. This is also a pay-cut, as we’d watch inflation eating away at static pay while waiting 3 years to get to the next level of training (or 5-6 years if you are part time). We’ve already had a 14% paycut since 2007 due to a pay freeze. This will disincentivise research, which we need to improve care, and is directly discriminatory against women (the largest component of the less-than-full-time workforce).
: Thereby disadvantaging those who train less than full time for childcare or health reasons and those who take time out to do research. This is also a pay-cut, as we’d watch inflation eating away at static pay while waiting 3 years to get to the next level of training (or 5-6 years if you are part time). We’ve already had a 14% paycut since 2007 due to a pay freeze. This will disincentivise research, which we need to improve care, and is directly discriminatory against women (the largest component of the less-than-full-time workforce). The new contract will remove the financial penalties that hospitals face if they impose unsafe rotas . We are bound currently by the New Deal and European Working Time Directive, that means that our hours are capped at 48 hours averaged over 13 weeks (although we can work much higher than that in any one month as long as they rota days off afterwards- it is normal to do 12 straight days with 4-6 of those being 13 hours). This is unsafe for us and patients, as there is a clear incentive for hospitals to impose more hours and harsher rotas.
But who are junior doctors, and what you do?
The label “junior” doctor applies to all doctors between first year out of medical school and consultant level (or GP if they leave hospital medicine). That can take anywhere from 5 years for GP training to up to a decade for a hospital-based speciality. That doesn’t include any time taken out for research, which delays the completion date (2 years for an MD or 3-4 for a PhD).
So the label is a bit of a misnomer really. There are around 50,000 of us in the UK. I’m 35, with 3 kids. I look in the mirror at my receding hairline and the bags under my eyes and don’t feel very junior!
What is the background to the changes?
The government want to bring in “7-day services” in the NHS - which we doctors also want. What happens now - if you are admitted to hospital - is that only emergency work is done at the weekend. The routine scans, blood tests and reviews don’t happen at the weekend, which slows down your progress through the hospital stay. Doctors staff hospitals at the weekend to cover these emergencies, but the routine work happens during normal hours. The government want to bring this routine work to the whole week, but don’t want to pay any extra money for it. This means they are going to have to get an extra 40% more work out of the staff to have similar staffing at weekends compared to the week.
They aren’t aiming to recruit 40% more staff, so this can only come about by either increasing antisocial hours and reducing weektime working (depleting already risky weekday staffing), or by plain increasing hours for the same pay (making even more tired doctors and thus mistakes). This new contract is bad for patients and staff.
The plan can only work if the doctors are supported by radiographers, technicians, pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers etc - which means that if they succeed with us they will be coming after everyone else next. This is crucial - there is simply no point having a hospital full of doctors doing routine work if there is no one to process the blood tests, rehab the patients, dispense the drugs etc.
Doctors in privatised health services earn much more money and work less. Already Australia and New Zealand are very popular destinations for doctors (roughly 1500 junior doctors head there a year). We worry that this is the subtext here - impose a contract that makes lots of juniors leave for better conditions elsewhere and make already stretched services fail. Then make the case for a publicly funded NHS being unworkable and then privatise it.
I've never heard about the British Medical Association talking about industrial action before. What is different this time?
The BMA last went on strike in 1975, suspending all non-emergency hospital work for 3 months in protest at at a contract that would force them to drop private practice. Later that year in November the juniors also walked out over a pay and conditions dispute.
Since then there have been several one day strikes by nurses and some other hospital workers, but nothing sustained or particularly disruptive.
What do your colleagues think about it? Do they support a strike, and would they really prepared to walk out?
An ICM poll of junior doctors had us at 95% pro-strike action. I started a national poll that had over 1100 responses, and only 2 were for no strike. We will be balloted over the next few weeks and I expect it to be a solid vote for action. The only worry is that the BMA may sell us out and organise some anaemic work-to-rule or one-day tokenistic strike action.
And what about non-junior doctors?
Consultants and staff-grade doctors also seem to be in overwhelming support. Less polling has been done of them.
Do you think the BMA is serious about actually organising industrial action? If not to you think there is some way you could put pressure on them to act?
There are meetings being called all over the country to put pressure on the BMA (including one tonight in Bristol where I write this). Committees have been formed in every hospital in the country that are independent of the BMA, but comprised of BMA members - all of which appear to be pro-strike. Perhaps I’m naive, but I can’t see how they can forestall action!
That sounds very interesting. Could you tell us more about the committees? Is there any coordination or communication across the country?
There are worker reps in the BMA, but within a week of the decision by the NHS Employers organization to impose the Government’s proposed contract next August ordinary doctors in every region set up committees to work on the issue. There are regional groups everywhere organized via Facebook, with a larger national group that most are also a part of. Both the regional and national groups have offline real-world committees with elected positions. Coordination is fluid between the regional and national groups given many members have dual membership online.
The discussion so far has been split between internal and external work: internal discussions have concerned around what to do about altering the media narrative, liberal political lobbying of politicians, and discussions around what forms of action we will support. The outward-facing work has been around coordinating regional and national demonstrations (Bristol, Manchester, London, Nottingham etc), media liason with TV, online and newspaper journalists and lobbying the BMA to ballot for effective strike action. Some committees have also set up in individual hospitals. These groups all involve the local hospital worker-reps for the BMA. By now I’d say BMA membership is near-universal.
What kind of impact would a strike of junior doctors have?
It is junior doctors who provide the mainstay of care in hospitals, with supervision by a responsible consultant. The consultants are therefore freed to do outpatient clinic work (if they are medics - e.g. the gastroenterologist investigating your father’s rectal bleeding, or an oncologist looking after your friend with breast cancer) or elective operations (if they are surgeons - the knee operation that your grandmother has waited for for 8 months). It is this elective work that makes most money for the hospitals. By going on strike all this elective work will cease as the consultants will have to man the wards and Emergency departments of the hospitals. Discharges of patients will grind to a halt. The entire system will creak.
To your knowledge, what was the reaction of doctors to other recent industrial action in the NHS, like the November 30 pension strike or 2014 strike over pay?
Doctors are largely from comfortable middle class backgrounds, with little social memory of struggle or solidarity. For the vast majority of the junior doctors, this is their first experience of industrial action, and their first direct contact with it. I doubt that most were aware of either of those. For example, I am the only hospital doctor I know of who came out on strike in support of the public sector pensions dispute in 2011. However, consciousness is formed in struggle, and this dispute has seen an explosion of discussion on other aspects of politics and privatisation plans for the NHS.
What do you think the prospects/possibilities are for bringing together doctors with other NHS workers in fighting together to defend conditions or protect services?
Nurses and other NHS workers have so far been prominent on the front lines of the demonstrations called by doctors on our contract, in a way that doctors have never been on theirs. I think that most people in the service either already see that this dispute is part of a privatisation agenda and will come round to involve them in the future, or are receptive to seeing it that way.
What would you say to other workers, like nurses, who might think that doctors are well-paid, and better off than most so they shouldn't complain?
What they do to the doctors today they do to the nurses and allied health professionals tomorrow. The banding supplements for out of hours work; the nature of what constitutes “antisocial hours”; cheap ways of staffing a 7-day NHS without recruiting 40% more workers.
More than that, hospitals already only work due to the good will of the staff. The NHS is essentially staffed just well enough to function with no unpaid work assuming no one is ill. Or on maternity leave. Or quits. By making loads of doctors work more at the weekend, there is likely to be a thinning out of cover during the week - which will make the jobs of nurses much harder. The sick patient they need a doctor to see during the week will have to wait longer - and until that happens they are unsupported.
We firmly see this contract as a way of making the NHS appear to be failing. Doctors will leave. When it does become privatised we will also probably make more money - so a double incentive to join us in fighting against it! Either way, patients, the service and the principle of collectively provided healthcare will suffer. This contract can and must be defeated.
Interview conducted between Steven Johns and pingtiao, both members of the libcom.org group |
.
Pretoria - A Pretoria man who claims that fellow detainees in police cells spent a night raping and assaulting him after he was unlawfully arrested, is suing the minister of police for more than R1 million, Beeld reported on Monday. According to documents handed in at the High Court in Pretoria, the victim was released unconditionally, but later in the same case re-arrested and assaulted in the police cells for a second time, before again being released unconditionally.
According to the victim's lawyer, Robert van Wyk, his client, who lived in Brooklyn and was expected to testify on Monday, was extremely traumatised and humiliated by the attacks.
He reportedly had to undergo three courses of anti-retroviral drugs to combat HIV.
“Fortunately he was HIV-negative,” Van Wyk said.
The victim had brought two claims against the minister of police, the first of which, for R940 000, was due to the arrest and detention involving the alleged rape, and the second, for R150 000, was for the second arrest and detention.
The plaintiff was arrested on September 16, 2011 at the Rustenburg Mall on charges of human trafficking and taken to the Rustenburg police cells, where he was detained in a cell along with about 20 other men.
He alleged that they stripped him, sexually assaulted him, raped, and severely beat him until 6am the next morning.
He asked police several times the next day to see to his needs and told them that he had been assaulted and raped, but they reportedly did nothing, and refused to allow him to call his family.
Police had denied all the allegations. - Sapa |
Gravity-Defying Grizzlies
Leaping off cliffs to attack a helicopter or picnicking for weeks in a family reunion, modern grizzlies are shaking up their image.
By Vicki Croke
Grizzly bears are complicated. And GPS tracking, DNA analysis, and good old-fashioned observation are revealing a more nuanced portrait of the animals, one that makes clear that these bears are full of surprises—both heart-stopping and heart-rending.
For starters, in the world of grizzly paternity, DNA studies are making the case that macho matters. Perfect examples can be found in “The Boss,” a grizzly in Banff National Park who literally eats other bears for breakfast, and in grizzly bear No. G53, a 550-pound bruiser nicknamed “Big Boy” who’s been known to fling himself off the side of cliffs and toward a pursuing helicopter.
Just this week, the Calgary Herald reported that bear experts had discovered something that interested them—The Boss, also known as grizzly bear No. 122, had sired five—a significant number—of the park’s recent young. The paternity was revealed in DNA testing of the park’s bears.
Gordon Stenhouse, who heads the grizzly bear program for the Foothills Research Institute in Alberta, Canada, is the biologist in the chopper that Big Boy was trying to chomp. Stenhouse wasn’t surprised by this finding at all. He says a lot more evidence, including long-term data, is showing just how productive in terms of breeding these big mature males are. It’s an important piece of information in managing populations of bears, says Stenhouse. After all, bears can live to be 30 years old, and some of the old dudes with worn-down teeth should not be viewed as expendable just when they are, perhaps, at their “most productive” and going about making their most important contribution to the larger population.
Big Boy, who was 16 when last encountered, and who may still be alive and well, has shown researchers his supreme maleness in several ways.
The first was that helicopter incident a few years ago. “Bears are smart animals,” Stenhouse says, “and if you’ve caught them once with a helicopter, they know the sound of a helicopter. So the first time with a helicopter, it’s not too difficult. The second time is much more difficult. And the third time is just darn hard.” It was number three for Big Boy. The bear was hunting wild big horn sheep in snowy, open country when Stenhouse spotted him. “[Big Boy] hears the helicopter and he runs towards the trees,” Stenhouse recalls. The helicopter followed. “We’re going up and up to see where the trees are moving and we’re watching him and we’re hovering,” he says.
“—in bear’s habitat, you realize that you don’t know as much as you think you do.”
The biologist and pilot lost sight of the big bear, but continued to hover, now level with a cliff. They were scanning the terrain, when suddenly, framed by the helicopter’s window, they saw the bear very close. Too close—all muscle, claws, and teeth, “jumping out at you to try to get the skids.” The grizzly came within just a few feet of bringing the chopper down. Big Boy had “had enough of being chased by a helicopter,” Stenhouse says.
It wouldn’t be the first or last time the researcher had the sensation that “in bear’s habitat, you realize that you don’t know as much as you think you do.”
As for Big Boy’s reproductive prowess, it makes sense that aggressive bears would get the girls. “I would assume,” Stenhouse says, “that that sort of aggression would come out during the mating season when [Big Boy] might encounter a younger male bear and would just chase that bear off and then mate with a female.”
And, indeed, that proved true in testing. First of all, Big Boy turned out to have the highest level of testosterone of any bear whose blood they had analyzed, but also, Stenhouse points out, Big Boy “produced a lot of cubs with females inside [Jasper] National Park as well as outside.”
Grizzlies have a well-deserved reputation for toughness. They are formidable predators who can weigh more than a thousand pounds (though more typically under 800 pounds), knock down a moose with a paw swipe, toss rivals through the air, and run nearly as fast as a horse. They can stand seven feet tall on their hind legs.
Given all that, probably more surprising than the macho-mating data, are the field observations showing how tolerant these bears can be toward humans.
Stenhouse was tracking a collared bear by helicopter one rainy day, and he had a god’s-eye-view of a big male bear heading down a path directly toward some hikers. Since they couldn’t see each other yet, Stenhouse thought he’d have to intervene before there was trouble. But before he took action, he saw the bear depart the trail, “sit down on his haunches,” and watch as the unaware hikers walked right by.
I have written about John and the late Frank Craighead—the famous and much-respected twin brothers who conducted a groundbreaking 12-year study of grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park starting in 1959. They had many hair-raising encounters with the bears, but found that mostly the animals wanted to be left alone. Out in the field one day, Frank saw that seven huge grizzlies were running side by side straight at him, “like an onrushing train.” That’s about as scary as it gets. Yet when the bears caught his scent (grizzlies have relatively poor eyesight) they swerved away from him. One incredible sequence in a National Geographic documentary on the Craigheads, shows a mad scene when the brothers race to their red Ford station wagon to escape a darted bear waking up in a rage.
Stenhouse says, “Bears are tolerant of people for the most part. That doesn’t mean they’re not a dangerous animal. They can be. But people move by them all the time when they’re out in bear habitat.”
Stenhouse has been studying bears for decades—polar bears first, then grizzlies—“Trying to understand how the health of the bears relates to the environment in which they live, for example, we’re looking at forestry and oil and gas and mining activities—so we want to understand the health of the bears, not just how many there are.” He finds that the picture of grizzlies painted when he was in school—mostly solitary animals except for during the mating period—is a little out of focus. He’s seen too many behaviors, especially social ones, that don’t fit.
Grizzlies can be almost gregarious, and even friendly or loving toward other grizzlies, especially relatives.
Grizzly bear researcher and PhD candidate Sarah Elmeligi, working out of Banff National Park, says she has witnessed all kinds of unexpected social behavior among grizzlies—including “play dates.” In one case, she observed two females, each with three cubs, together in a grassy open area by the mouth of creek. “It’s not like the moms are sitting back and drinking tea and watching their kids on the monkey bars,” she says, but they did hang out on “multiple occasions.” In part, it likely provided safety from males who can kill cubs during mating season, but, Elmeligi says, “It really demonstrates that grizzly bears are so much more social than we give them credit for and that there are occasions where they’re not just simply tolerating each other because there’s a lot of food around, but there are actually occasions where they are spending time together.”
Stenhouse agrees. He fondly remembers one July observing three adult females—two sisters, and the grown daughter of one of them, each with their own cubs born that year. “They all got together—all those three adult females on the side of a mountain and spent about two weeks moving around together,” Stenhouse recalls. They fed as a group and slept close to one another in the same area. “You know, in humans,” Stenhouse says, “we think of a family reunion in the summer where we might get together at a cottage or somewhere like that with different generations? We had no idea that grizzly bears actually do something that I think is quite similar to that. We had no idea that that occurs.”
These new observations reveal, he says, just how careful we humans need to be when managing grizzly populations. There’s still so much we don’t know about their social structure.
Ultimately, when Stenhouse sizes up these big, formidable predators, he says they are surprisingly tolerant. And that they are animals who could use some tolerance in return. “I guess the final message for people is that bears can do pretty well if we don’t kill them. Poaching events are still a big issue. Illegal killing. Bears basically share their landscape with us so if we were a little more educated and tolerant of what they have to offer us… I think we really can co-exist.”
Follow @TheWildLifeWBUR |
YOUTUBE REMOVED MY VIDEO: PRINCE ANDREW IS A PAEDOPHILE HERE’S WHY
B
ack in August of this year, I published a video to YouTube titled ‘Prince Andrew is a Paedophile Here’s Why’. That video can be seen in its entirety above. It’s a good job that I uploaded this video to multiple sources and kept because, as I would find out today when I logged onto YouTube, the video was flagged to the YouTube team who then proceeded to remove it from their platform claiming the video fell under the category of ‘bullying and harassment’.
Within the video, I pointed out Prince Andrew’s ties with convicted registered sex offender Jefferey Epstein. Epstein is well known for is sex-fueled parties, where he would pay underage girls to come and entertain him and his guests with massages and sexual favours. He’s a well-known sex predator and has ties to VIP’s, celebrities and politicians around the world.
The video specifically outlined the case of Virginia Roberts a young woman who claims she was groomed by Epstein and paid to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was just a teenager.
It’s an allegation Prince Andrew had great difficulty denying since the pair are pictured together looking rather “friendly” here:
Virginia Roberts decided to take legal action in America, you may be forgiven if you haven’t heard of this case (especially if you’re in the UK) as it’s been widely underreported by the mainstream media since it’s been, undoubtedly, a huge embarrassment to the royal family.
While the case caused a huge outcry in the press and caused a massive crisis at Buckingham Palace, it has since become a ‘none news story’ as a judge in America ordered that Virginia Roberts claims be taken off the record as they were deemed unreliable.
Some people have argued that Prince Andrew is not a paedophile as Virginia Roberts was seventeen at the time she claims she slept with Andrew. Granted, it may not fit your personal definition of what a paedophile is, however, given his role in the public eye and the fact that he is a close friend of Epstein who is a known paedophile, I have my own personal doubts when I hear people claim ‘he’s not a paedophile’.
Keep in mind this is the only case we ‘know’ about and it’s unlikely Andrew is a stranger to Epstein’s famous parties, we only have to look at the people the royals keep company with, such as: Savile, Rolf Harris, Epstein etc, to cause a few eyebrows to be raised.
It’s rather funny that this video was flagged to them, I have a mere 80 subscribers on my YouTube Channel and the vast majority of people who watch my content are apart of the alternative news/media community, as such it’s unlikely it was reported by a viewer. Even if it were, it’s more unlikely that one viewer alone could have the video removed or taken down.
While some may argue that I’m being over paranoid it’s no secret or conspiracy that the UK Royal Family have a PR team that are hired to constantly pump out positive propaganda about the royals and ensure they are portrayed in a positive light. On the flip side, they are also hired to ensure any negative media coverage, like the Virigina Roberts scandal, is kept to a minimum or even completely stampped out if possible.
A few months after starting Free & Fearless, especially when I started covering VIP paedophilia, calling out MPs, royals and celebrities, strange things started to happen in my life. We have noticed that our mail appears to be tampered with, I do have a PO BOX address where people can send things into me and those items are then forwarded to my home address. Ever since I received a freemason directory/phonebook in the post, that was leaked to me by a reader, I have noticed funny things happening with my mail.
We were sent some plain paper, which we hadn’t ordered and had an entirely different address on which was then crossed out with my address put on.
If that wasn’t strange enough I’ve had countless letters sent to me by the hospital, DWP and my credit card company, that simply haven’t turned up to my address.
I had to re-order my credit card four separate times because it just never arrived.
Prior to this, we haven’t had any issues with our post, other things would come but certain things were missing. It’s very strange and while I can’t entirely rule out the possibility that it’s a genuine mistake with the mailman or at the sorting office, it would appear very unlikely.
I guess what I’m saying is I want to go on the record that I am a little worried and possibly a little ‘paranoid’, I’m trying to keep a level head but this website and blog covers very sensitive topics and is calling out some very powerful people. The strange occurrences happening in my personal life have even got my partner worried about my safety, so while I’m likely just being over worried, I’d ask my readers that if anything were to happen to me, please look into it. |
BDS Victory: Durham drops $1 million contract with Israeli occupation profiteer
Durham becomes first municipality to boycott G4S for Israel security role
Drops $1 million private police contract
DURHAM, NC, November 24, 2014 — Durham has become the first U.S. municipality to boycott a company because of its role in perpetuating injustice in Israel/Palestine.
On a night when the Ferguson grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, Durham residents successfully brought an end to a $1 million annual contract between the County and with private security corporation G4S Secure Solutions.
G4S previously provided security at Durham County libraries and civic buildings. Durham reconsidered its security contract after residents protested the role of the privatized police force in the community and the company’s involvement in Israeli institutions that detain and discriminate against Palestinians.
“As a long-time Durham resident, the presence in my community of a company that participates in the oppression of my people makes me feel unsafe and unwelcome,” said Ahmad Jitan. “Given their track record in occupied Palestine, I do not expect G4S to have the best interests of people of color here in Durham in mind. If Ferguson can’t even keep the public police force accountable for their actions, how can we expect to keep a private police force like G4S accountable? For the sake of both my homes, I am proud that the county dropped the G4S contract. I do not want my tax money to fund a company that profits from the occupation of my people’s land.”
G4S signed a contract with the Israeli Prison Service in 2007 and its machinery and security officers have been deployed in checkpoints and illegal settlements in occupied Palestine.
Since I moved to Israel and saw the reality of life for Palestinians with my own eyes, I could no longer remain silent,
said Emily Schneider, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace – NC. “I waited for hours with Palestinian friends at checkpoints that look like cages—that run with G4S security equipment. Thank you, Durham County Commissioners, for boycotting G4S.”
G4S has also been implicated in human rights abuses across the globe, including torture in prisons; in August 2014 the company was awarded a $118 million contract in Guantanamo Bay. It is a target of the international boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) movement.
Earlier this year, an interfaith coalition of seven North Carolina organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, the Salaam-Shalom Committee of the Church of Reconciliation, and the Muslim American Public Affairs Council, wrote a letter to the Durham County Commissioners asking that they reconsider the contract with G4S. Over 200 residents also added their photographs to a visual petition.
“I grew up in South Africa under apartheid. When I look at the Palestinians, they look very much like me. The same thing is happening to them that happened to us,” said Kay-Robert Volkwijn, a retired Presbyterian minister. “Durham County dropping the contract with G4S Secure Solutions sends a powerful signal that the people in power in the Durham community will not be part of supporting occupation.”
Durham County joins the University of Kent, King’s College London, and the Irish Government, among other institutions, in cutting or denying contracts with G4S due to its activities in Israel/Palestine. Earlier this year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Methodist Church both divested from G4S.
G4S will be allowed to bid in the new County Request for Proposals, which is expected to come out within 30 days. However, the Durham Drop G4S coalition has vowed to continue pressure to ensure G4S does not receive the new contract. |
Apple's App Store today reached 25 billion downloads since its inception in 2008, and along with the milestone comes the end of the company's "25 Billion App Countdown" promotion launched just over two weeks ago . The winner of the promotion, who is yet to be announced, will be awarded a $10,000 gift card valid for App Store, Mac App Store, or any other iTunes Store content.The App Store took a little under two and half years to reach 10 billion downloads , and less than six additional months to reach 15 billion downloads With today's milestone, the App Store has seen its last 10 billion downloads come over a period of just eight months, putting Apple's pace at 15 billion downloads per year and undoubtedly continuing to accelerate. As tracked by our sister site AppShopper , Apple has approved a total of nearly three quarters of a million apps for the App Store, with over 550,000 of them currently available in the store. |
Commission set up by House of Commons Speaker also says there should be live social media coverage of debates
People should be offered the opportunity to cast their vote online in the 2020 general election, a commission set up by House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has said.
The Digital Democracy Commission also recommends that MPs could be questioned through an internet forum to enable the public to take part in Commons debates.
The report also recommends that MPs who are unwell or have childcare responsibilities should be able to vote in the Commons electronically, without having to go into the chamber.
The commission recommends ending restrictions on members of the public using mobile phones in the public galleries in the Commons and said the house should experiment with providing live social media coverage of debates.
Moves to make it possible to casting a ballot online in elections by 2020 would be complemented by changes in political education in schools in an effort to encourage young people to register to vote.
The report follows a general decline in voter participation in general elections since the second world war.
In 2012, just 14% of voters turned out for the first ever elections for police and crime commissioners – the worst in British political history for a nationwide poll.
It also makes recommendations to facilitate better scrutiny and improve the legislative process.
“In a year where we reflect on our long democratic heritage, it is imperative that we look also to the future and how we can modernise our democracy to meet the changing needs of modern society,” the report says.
In an interview for the BBC Radio 4’s Can Democracy Work? series, Bercow added that there was a “growing appetite for online voting”.
He said: “Now I don’t mean by that that it will necessarily at any stage be compulsory to vote in that way, but I think that the notion that, if it can be established as secure and reliable people should have the option to vote online, will gain ground more and more and more.”
The planned election in 2020 “could be the first election in which people have the opportunity – they’re not under any obligation – to vote online”.
Bercow said the idea of an online forum enabling members of the public to have their say in Commons debates was exciting.
“For members of parliament whilst conducting their debate, to be aware of and capable of responding to what people outside are saying, would at least start to fuse the two parts of the body politic,” he said.
“I don’t know whether I would call it a chamber but the idea of there being potentially a simultaneous dialogue between chambers of parliament and members of the public, seems to me not an idea to be afraid of at all. It’s actually quite an exciting idea.”
Countries using forms of e-voting include the US, Brazil, Belgium, Estonia, the Philippines and India. The term “e-voting” includes online voting where electors can cast their ballot from any computer using a secure ID.
Electronic voting began in the 1960s, with the use of punched card systems. Since then, more modern systems have been introduced and include electronic machines in polling stations operated by buttons or touchscreens which connect to a central database.
Graham Allen, the Labour chair of the political and constitutional reform committee, said: “Parliament more than any other institution has to show it wants to improve our democracy. That’s why I warmly welcome Mr Speaker’s initiative to make parliament and our democracy more relevant to the digital age. This is a radical package of reforms essential to revive the health of our democracy.” |
The Walking Dead will be back with its fifth season in a very short amount of time, which mean we’re starting to get blitzed with news about the show.
One thing that is starting to get discussed more and more are the backgrounds of characters who are still alive — and even some that aren’t. Michael Cudlitz plays Abraham on The Walking Dead and remains very much alive and on a mission in season five of the show.
Cudlitz talked with Entertainment Weekly recently and noted that we can expect to see more of Abraham’s past discussed in the fifth season of the show.
We’re going to be definitely examining his past and certain things are taken directly from the comics, as Scott has said, and certain things are paying homage to the comics. I think people who are fans of the comics and people who know nothing about it will be equally satisfied with the reveal of Abraham’s past and what is driving him. We’re definitely going into all of the characters, what drives them this year. It’s really, really ambitious.
Abraham’s story in the comics is a tragic and sad one that helps us understand just how he got to be the way he is. He’s a character everyone already loves, and digging deeper into his tragic past will only further make him a character people can’t stop talking about. |
Find An Event Create Your Event Help An Evening of Scientific Inquiry with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Omaha Downtown
Omaha, NE Share this event:
Apostacon is proud to present
An Evening of Scientific Inquiry
~ with ~
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
--------------------------------------------
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
5:00pm - 6:30pm VIP Dinner featuring Dr. Tyson (VIP TICKET REQUIRED)
6:00pm Doors open for general seating
7:00pm - 8:30pm Dr Tyson will give his presentation, topic TBA Included in ALL ticket prices (Student & Preferred seating SOLD OUT)
8:30pm - 9:30pm Post lecture reception with Dr. Tyson, cash bar (RECEPTION TICKET REQUIRED)---SOLD OUT
--------------------------------------------
Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.
Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way.
In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. He has published many books including: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet.
He has hosted several television and radio shows. For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA's spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW. StarTalk Radio combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. Currently, Tyson stars in the 21st century reboot of Carl Sagan's landmark television series COSMOS which can be seen on the FOX network on Sunday evenings.
On the lighter side, Tyson was voted "Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive" by People Magazine in 2000.
Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium, and he lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
--------------------------------------------
For further information on hotel rooms and information on parking, please visit:
http://www.apostacon.org/#!venue/c1d27
--------------------------------------------
For questions regarding the Evening of Scientific Inquiry, please email [email protected]
To take advantage of an entire weekend of amazing science and skeptic speakers, child care options, AND get a super discount to see Dr. Tyson, please visit us at
http://www.apostacon.org/
Prices subject to change without notice.
Image of Dr. Tyson is ©2013 AMNH, Photo by Roderick Mickens
"About Neil DeGrasse Tyson." Hayden Planetarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. Get Tickets There are no active dates for this event. Not Available Location Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Omaha Downtown (View)
1616 Dodge St.
Omaha, NE 68102
United States 1616 Dodge St.Omaha, NE 68102United States
Categories Other > Technology Education Other
Kid Friendly: Yes! Dog Friendly: No Non-Smoking: Yes! Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! Contact Owner: Apostacon On BPT Since: Mar 22, 2014 Apostacon [email protected] www.apostacon.org Q&A Question: Are college students eligible to purchase using the student price? Answer: Yes! College students are eligible to purchase student tickets with a valid student ID. Question: Will Dr. Tyson be able to give an autograph or picture during the reception? Answer: He will be at the reception, but we cannot guarantee that he will be signing autographs or taking pictures. Question: Can you just buy tickets to an evening of inquiry or must you purchase tickets to apostacon also? Answer: Yes! You can purchase Dr. Tyson tickets via Brown Paper Ticket or you can purcahse Dr. Tyson in conjunction with Apostacon at apostacon.org. Question: is the child/student tickets in the same seating area as the general admission? I want to sit together with my husband and 2 kids 12 and 14 and don't know if I would be allowed to sit together if buying 2 types of tickets? sorry for so many questions :) Answer: Yes! Child/Student and General Admission is open seating. There shouldn't be a problem with everyone sitting together--unless you arrive to the event late. Doors open at 6pm. Question: I purchased tickets for my kids who are college students. They printed in my name. Will the name matter to be admitted, or will there be a problem? (They will have their student ID's.) Answer: The name on the tickets won't matter, but please make sure that your college kids bring their valid student IDs with them! See you soon!
Ask a question... Ask! |
OSLO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - When top earners’ tax returns are published in Finland, they call it “national envy day”. In Sweden, one phone call will get you your lawmaker’s tax bill. Norwegians’ fascination with each others’ taxes has been labeled “financial porn”.
The Royal Palace is seen at the end of Karl Johans Gate in Oslo, Norway, in this December 11, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Files
While the Panama Papers have forced British politicians to reveal tax details that are traditionally kept private, and U.S. presidential candidates are under pressure to do likewise, most Nordic citizens’ tax returns are freely available.
Every November, Finnish media publish the names of about 10,000 of the country’s biggest earners, plus hundreds of celebrities and sports stars, making headlines with top 10 lists of the biggest tax payers.
Two years ago, Ilkka Paananen and Mikko Kodisoja, founders of “Clash of Clans” mobile game maker Supercell, were revealed each to have paid 54 million euros in income and capital gains taxes, breaking the Finnish record for annual tax payments.
Norway has published tax returns since 1863, when they were posted on town hall walls. For decades, anyone could request tax data anonymously, leading to worries its people were too obsessed with who was paying what.
Tax openness sometimes brings surprises. Media reported that Norway’s top earner in 2014 was the relatively unknown Einar Aas, an electric power trader and investor, with an income of 501 million Norwegian crowns ($61.10 million).
Worries that anonymous enquiries could be used to tip off burglars have prompted a tightening of the rules since Norway’s right-wing government took office in 2013, so that anyone whose name is targeted is now informed about who is searching.
That has led to a tumble in the number of searches of tax records, to 2.15 million since the last batch became available in October from 16.5 million in the 12 months to October 2014, the last year the system was anonymous.
Norway has a population of 5 million.
SNOOPING AT WORK
Many Scandinavians use openness on taxes to estimate salaries of co-employees, helping with wage negotiations.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Tonje, waiting for a train at Oslo’s main station. She declined to give her full name, saying she did not want people to know of her snooping.
“I could check on people who work in the firm in the type of job I’m seeking to see what they earn. Now it’s got a lot harder,” she said, referring to the ban on anonymous searches.
In Sweden, a single anonymous telephone call to the tax authority is enough to find out what someone has paid. Almost all income tax details are public and Swedish tabloids often publish lists of the highest earners in different neighborhoods, and who paid the most tax each year.
These policies are rooted in cultural traditions. The Swedish concept of the “law of jante”, which means no one is special or should stand out, underscores how individuals can threaten the Nordic region’s core collectivism.
In Sweden, whose system of cradle-to-grave welfare paid for by high taxes relies on voters’ faith in its fairness, the tax agency consistently polls as the most respected state institution.
“Trust is the foundation for Scandinavian openness about taxes,” said Gert Tinggard Svendsen, political science professor at Aarhus University in Denmark.
“The welfare systems we have in Norway, Sweden and Denmark are basically a collective insurance ... you trust that all the other people will work and pay taxes. That trust in other people gets an extreme expression in the publication of taxes.”
He said surveys show Scandinavians top international rankings for expressing trust in other people.
“It is obvious that openness is significant,” said Stein Reegard, chief economist of the Norwegian Confederation of Trades Unions. “At least for a better-informed public debate about the different levels of wages in society, whether it’s a question of leaders’ wages or equal pay.”
But the evidence is unclear and OECD economist Herwig Immervoll said there was no obvious correlation between income transparency and pay disparities. A 2015 Eurostat report showed a gender pay gap of around 15 percent in Sweden and nearly 19 percent in Finland, compared to an EU average of just over 16 percent.
Some Scandinavians think sheer nosiness underlies the candor about tax.
“This is the Finnish way, but I don’t know who benefits from it, expect for the media.” said Tero Honkavaara, chief tax policy adviser at business lobby EK. “I’d question, do I need to know about my colleagues’ and neighbors’ income, or whether this only stokes curiosity and envy?”
Ironically, Denmark — where tax records are not public — is the one Scandinavian country where politicians’ taxes have caused controversy. Then Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt was forced to admit in 2010 she had made “big and sloppy mistakes” when records were published by a tabloid showing she was not eligible to tax deductions on her Copenhagen residence.
Slideshow (7 Images)
For the rest of the Nordics, openness is here to stay, though few expect countries like Britain to follow.
“It think it is very difficult to translate the Swedish tax return openness to other countries,” said Janerik Larsson, a senior advisor at Prime PR company and a newspaper columnist.
“Sweden is a small country and our tradition of high trust is probably impossible to export.” |
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Clippers forward Lamar Odom says he thinks the current Clippers are the deepest team he has ever been on, and yes, that includes the Los Angeles Lakers teams he was on that went to three straight NBA Finals and won back-to-back titles.
"No," Odom said Friday when asked if he has ever been on a team as deep as this season's Clippers. "I've been on good teams. I've been on a team that went to the Finals three years in a row. You have to be pretty good to get to the Finals. But championships aren't won by just talking about a team and looking at a roster. We've all seen good rosters before and teams that we think should win, but this team is built to compete against the best teams in the NBA. If we were to play a seven-game series right now against the best teams in the NBA, I would expect us to compete."
Odom was hesitant to mention the Lakers by name and almost went out of his way to not to say what team his former Lakers teammates were on when he talked about them.
"I spoke to a guy named Derek Fisher, one of the captains of my old teams, last night," Odom said. "And we just talked about winning and the mindset of winning. We spoke for about 45 minutes. Some of that conversation, I'm going to pass on to these guys as soon as we head into the locker room because it is a mindset and there's a certain way that winners think on and off the court."
When Odom was asked why he was hesitant to mention the Lakers by name and if he hated his former team, he laughed and shook his head.
"No, you'd be a fool to hate what you love," Odom said. "But it's out of respect for this team to not mention where you once were. We expect to play and win here so you have to be aware of your surroundings and who you represent now."
Odom said he called Fisher as he routinely does with many of his former Lakers teammates.
"I call all the guys that I've won with, to still pick their brains," Odom said. "I've learned from the best, some of the top coaches and top players and top winners and I've learned from all of them."
Odom was traded to the Clippers on June 30 in a three-team trade that sent Mo Williams to the Utah Jazz and a Utah trade exception to the Dallas Mavericks. His 50 games in Dallas last season were nothing short of a disaster after the Lakers traded Odom to Dallas after their trade for Chris Paul fell through. Odom and Pau Gasol were a part of the Paul deal but, unlike Gasol, Odom wanted to be dealt after the trade was nixed.
Odom shot just 35 percent from the field and averaged a career-low 6.6 points for the Mavericks last season before the two parted ways before the end of the season.
"Sometimes when we go through certain things, other things we've been through in the past might come up and resurface," Odom said. "This summer I've learned a lot about myself. I've been through a lot and I've learned how to channel my energy and my thought and how I think the right way. I've become a lot stronger over the last 12 months. I've been through a lot. I've lost some of the close people to me, buried a child, won championships and got married in front of the world."
Now that he's back in Los Angeles and back with the team that drafted him over 13 years ago, Odom says he believes he will regain the Sixth Man of the Year form he had with the Lakers two seasons ago.
"Sometimes in order to do what we want and do what we expect of ourselves and make good decisions, we have to be in that happy place," Odom said. "You have to be in the right place mentally and I'm in that place. I'm just going get the ball off the glass, eat the glass, and bring it up the court." |
President Trump told newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that he supported him during the French election, according to Reuters.
“You were my guy,” Trump told his French counterpart during their first meeting at a NATO summit in Brussels.
A source told Reuters that Trump said he was following Macron’s campaign closely and that media reports saying he was supporting far-right candidate Marine Le Pen were false.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Trump never publicly endorsed Le Pen, he did tell The Associated Press in April that she was “the strongest on borders and she is the strongest on what’s going on in France" and that month's attack on a police bus in Paris would “probably help her” because of that.
Former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE publicly endorsed Macron in May.
Macron garnered more than 60 percent of the vote, handily defeating Le Pen in May.
Trump congratulated Macron on his “tremendous victory” on Thursday before taking part in a prolonged handshake with France’s newest leader. |
The three foreigners have since been deported.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police have arrested four people for suspected links to terrorism between Aug 2 and Sep 17, including three foreigners who have since been deported.
Those arrested include a Bangladeshi restaurant owner, suspected of being involved in smuggling weapons for use by international terror groups, police said in a press release. Interpol had issued a "Red Notice" for him.
Advertisement
The Bangladeshi restaurant owner, suspected of being involved in smuggling weapons. (Photo: Malaysian police)
A Nepali citizen who managed an entertainment outlet was also arrested under suspicion of falsifying travel documents for use by members of international terror groups.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Nepali citizen, under suspicion of falsifying travel documents for use by members of international terror groups. (Photo: Malaysia police)
The Moroccan man arrested is suspected to be member of Islamic State. He had previously been detained by Turkish authorities after attempting to smuggle into Syria, police said.
The Moroccan man suspected to be a member of Islamic State. (Photo: Malaysia police)
The fourth suspect is a Malaysian who had been working as the personal chauffeur for a businessman.
He is believed to be linked to Muhammad Wanndy Mohamad Jedy - who police say have been actively promoting the activities of Islamic State on his Facebook page. |
We here at AP know you internet denizens love lists. And we know that folks in bands have other interests beyond cranking out decibels. So here’s Friday Fives, a column that solicits a list of five subjects from a number of various rockers.
Ever since we came up with Friday Fives, we’ve wanted Dan “SOUPY” Campbell, frontman for THE WONDER YEARS, to write a column on his second love: pro wrestling. Seeing as the annual Survivor Series is this Sunday, we decided to have Campbell pick his Survivor Seriesfantasy team. For those of you unfamiliar with the world of professional wrestling—that includes the entire AP staff except managing editor, Scott Heisel—a little background: Survivor Series is an annual pay-per-view event from WWE, now in its 25th year. A traditional Survivor Series match includes 10 wrestlers split into two teams of five. When a wrestler is pinned or submits, he or she is eliminated from the match. The last team with at least one member standing is the winner.
Here is Campbell’s fantasy Survivor Series team.
CM Punk
I feel it would be blasphemy not to have Punk on a Survivor Series team made for the sake of Alternative Press. Punk represents this community, not only with his “gimmick” (which isn’t really a gimmick. He actually is straight edge. He actually does listen to H2O, and he actually is a great friend to a lot of people in this community), but with his career path. Punk is the ultimate DIY guy (and if you watch his new DVD, Best In The World, you’ll hear about 100 people tell you the same). He came up touring through the indies and made it to the big show on the merit that he became one of the best wrestlers in the world and the most intriguing guy on the mic in over a decade. Punk has it all in the ring with a style that mixes in pieces of just about everything but doesn’t come off as disjointed. He also knows the right things to say to get you invested in him and his team. Plus, with Punk comes the greatest wrestling mind of all time: Paul Heyman. Goddamn do I love Heyman.
Brock Lesnar
I’m a Lesnar mark. It’s hard not to be. Vince McMahon (CEO of WWE) brought in a ton of these huge guys because he knew that’s what a large percentage of wrestling fans wanted to see: larger-than-life people doing larger-than-life things. Lesnar was more than just a big guy though; he was the full package. The dude was incredibly fast, strong and agile, and a great mat wrestler to boot. A lot of big guys impress you with their size, but not a lot can F-5 Rikishi or hit (well, loosely hit) a shooting star press. Lesnar is an NCAA wrestling champion and a pure athlete. He was awesome to watch because he could do just about anything. Every Survivor Series team needs a great power guy, an undefeatable monster. Why wouldn’t you want the best power guy of all time?
Kurt Angle
Angle hit prominence around the time I stopped watching wrestling for a long time. Going back and watching his matches on Netflix, he makes me wish I hadn’t. Angle was the greatest pure wrestler to ever hit the business. He put on five-star matches with everybody. The guy is actually an Olympic gold medalist in men’s freestyle wrestling, and actually won with a broken neck. He’s as tough as they come, and he is the ultimate mat technician. Angle made wrestling look natural. Every throw and slam looked clean. Every hold looked like it was tearing the guy into pieces. He’s the technical piece of this team, and there isn’t a better technical piece in the world.
Shawn Michaels
Shawn is arguably the greatest wrestler there ever was. You’ll find him topping quite a few lists, and for good reason. I’ve never seen him put on a bad match. He used to captivate me as a kid. You could see the unbridled joy of years of hard work in his face when he won the strap from Bret Hart in overtime in the Iron Man Match. You saw the pain in his eyes when he was double-crossed by Sid or Kevin Nash or Triple H. Everything HBK (“The Heartbreak Kid”) did, you felt. He told the best in-ring story of anyone and was the fiercest competitor there was. Michaels can pull off incredible high spots, grapple with the best of them and perform dramatic comebacks. People will argue that Steve Austin’s Stone Cold Stunner was the ultimate finisher, but I can’t imagine how anything could top HBK’s Sweet Chin Music. He could hit it out of nowhere for a nail-biting finish or warm up the band and get the crowd excited. I can’t think of a more picture-perfect underdog scenario than HBK pulling his broken body up, holding the ropes for balance, using what’s left of his strength to stomp the mat and build momentum and then delivering the chin music for the win. No one has more heart than Michaels. He should be on everyone’s Survivor Series dream team.
Daniel Bryan
I wanted to mix a little old with a little new, and currently, there’s no one better than Daniel Bryan. It should come as no surprise that Shawn Michaels trained him because he’s the man currently living up to the bar that HBK set. He, like Punk, built his way up from the indies, a perpetual underdog because of his size. No one thought Bryan had the potential to be a star, but he won over crowds with his innovative in-ring persona, mixing MMA-style strikes and submissions with lucha-esque agility and just a hint of brawling. When Bryan connects with something, it looks like it seriously hurts. He’s funny, intense and captivating, and crowds fucking love him. Watch a live show. He gets a bigger pop than John Cena. Punk said if anyone currently is wrestling better than him, it’s Bryan, and I’m inclined to agree.
You can catch the Wonder Years on tour now with Yellowcard and We Are The In Crowd. |
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform met for a hearing regarding the Flint water crisis, and noticeably absent were some key officials involved in the scandal -- including Governor Rick Snyder and the city’s former emergency manager, despite the fact that the latter was subpoenaed.
Detroit Public Schools emergency manager Darnell Earley, who served as Flint's emergency manager from September 2013 until January 2015, not only refused to testify at the hearing, but he also resigned from his current post on Tuesday, effective February 29.
© AFP 2018 / MANDEL NGAN / FILES FBI Joins Criminal Investigation Into Flint’s Poisoned Water Crisis
Governor Snyder was reportedly not called to testify, despite a letter signed by the 18 Democrats on the committee to Chairman Jason Chaffetz demanding that he call upon the governor to be present.
“Although we have made multiple requests for you to invite the Governor, to date you have neither invited him to testify nor provided a timeframe by which you might do so,” the letter read.
Many Flint residents and officials alike are accusing Earley of resigning to avoid having to testify about his role in the water crisis.
State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat who represents Flint, told Click on Detroit that the resignation "in no way allows [Earley] to dodge his responsibility to fully comply with every investigation about his role in the Flint water crisis. The governor must demand that he testify before Congress tomorrow and be completely transparent in turning over every document related to what happened."
“At Wednesday's hearing, we won't hear from the governor, any of the emergency managers he appointed in Flint, or anyone else from the state who was involved in making decisions that led to this crisis,” Representative Elijah Cummings wrote in a statement.
“In our search for the truth, we must hear from everyone involved to understand what happened. Having such a one-sided hearing undermines the credibility of the committee and subjects the committee to accusations of partisanship. No matter who is responsible, the people of Flint deserve a comprehensive investigation that gets them answers—not a partisan effort to protect the governor and others who brought about this crisis.”
Residents are unlikely to be upset about Earley’s resignation, no matter the motivation, however. Last Thursday, a teacher’s union and several parents filed a lawsuit seeking his removal, citing black mold, bacteria, freezing cold or overly hot classroom temperatures, rodent and insect infestations, exposed wiring and falling debris within the Detroit public schools.
The union claims that Earley and other officials allowed the schools to deteriorate, forcing students “to spend their young lives in deplorable surroundings, risking their health and safety in the process, and imposing on students and their teachers an atmosphere that interferes with their securing a minimally sufficient education.” |
Credit: Lindsay Lazarski/WHYY
Fewer than 35 percent of property owners have granted access to their land to the company seeking approval to build a controversial natural-gas pipeline through parts of Hunterdon and Mercer counties.
That lack of cooperation is spurring the state Department of Environmental Protection to advise the company in charge of the project not to apply for some of the permits it needs until it gets more information on the pipeline’s actual route.
Whether that constitutes a serious roadblock for the $1 billion, 110-mile PennEast pipeline project from Pennsylvania to Hopewell remains to be seen, but it has buoyed the hopes of critics. Thirty-two miles of the pipeline would run through four communities in Hunterdon County, before terminating in Hopewell in Mercer County.
The project is perhaps one of the most contentious of more than a dozen new pipeline projects that have been proposed in New Jersey, most aimed at delivering cheap natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formations in Pennsylvania to consumers and businesses.
Much of the proposed route in New Jersey would traverse land preserved with taxpayer dollars to protect open space and farmland, not to mention cutting though wetlands, parks and crossing waterways.
In a letter dated July 2 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and PennEast, the DEP said it cannot complete a review of land-use or water-quality permits “if the potential impact surveys and mitigation and restoration plans’’ are incomplete.
Given the Christie administration’s and the DEP’s record on promoting various gas pipeline projects, PennEast opponents were a bit surprised, although elated, by the DEP’s letter. The administration views access to cheap natural gas as a way of lowering energy bills in a state that has some of the highest in the nation.
“They never met a pipeline they didn’t like,’’ said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. ‘’The reason they issued this letter is because people have not let PennEast on their land. This is a major roadblock.’’
Tom Gilbert, director of climate, energy, and natural resources for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said people are encouraged by the stance taken by the DEP. “It’s a reflection of the fact that there’s tremendous opposition at the local level,’’ he said.
Noting the proposed pipeline would go through 3,000 acres of preserved open space and farmland, Gilbert said, “there’s no question significant environmental resources are at stake here.’’
Patricia Kornick, a spokeswoman for PennEast, denied the state’s position represented a setback for the project, which is being sponsored by all four regulated gas utilities in New Jersey.
“It provides a very constructive roadmap and outlines the agencies expectations,’’ she said. “It is a normal part of the process.’’.
Tittel disagreed with that assessment. “The more property owners who deny access to the land and deny surveys, or revoke permissions you gave them, the better chances we will stop this project,’’ he said.
In its letter, the DEP also strongly urged PennEast to allow the agency to review a draft environmental impact statement prior to submitting any permit application. The company also must identify potentially environmentally sensitive areas that may be a habitat for threatened or endangered species.
Where feasible, Kornick said, the company already has adjusted the proposed route of the pipeline. The company plans to submit a formal application to FERC sometime in the third quarter of 2015, she said.
If PennEast gets the necessary approvals, construction will begin in late 2017, and the pipeline could be in service in late 2018, according to the company. |
It’s official, the next iteration in the Call of Duty franchise will be set in the late 1960s, during the Vietnam War. Rumors had been flying around all week about Call of Duty heading to Vietnam but it has been confirmed by CVG through a senior UK trade source that the title will be developed by Treyarch and a release date close to November this year could be a possibility.
The source also mentioned that the game’s development is on course and it takes particular influence from Platoon and Apocalypse Now. So those of you who skipped through the Russian airport level in Modern Warfare 2, can expect a similar dilemma i.e whether or not to play through the My Lai Massacre level, which, we can bet, will be featured in the game. |
Pro Team Sponsors: What Do They Do?
Do you know your Soudal from your Sky, your Sunweb from your Sky? Here’s an A-Z primer on the World Tour team sponsors for 2017 and what they do. It turns out that if you want to refresh your bathroom then the pro peloton has just the sponsors you need.
Ag2r La Mondiale: an insurance and savings company based in Paris. Note the team name is not two sponsors because Ag2r La Mondiale is the name of one company. The firm sells pension plans, healthcare and other forms of social insurance and is mutually-owned and the team places a matching publicity slant on the collective ahead of the individual. The distinctive kit features those brown shorts but there’s a poetic side as the blue and brown represent terre et ciel, or heaven and earth.
Title sponsor since 2000 and the team was founded in 1992 as Chazal
Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, a gas-rich former Soviet state that’s the size of Western Europe. The team is funded by the state sovereign wealth fund Samruk which sort of translates as “Self Seed” and the team rides to promote the country, a bid to counter the “Borat” image of Kazakhstan and pesky reports about dictatorship and poor press freedom. Has it worked? That depends, repeated doping scandals have given them a dire reputation among many who follow the sport closely but the wider, larger audience will be more familiar with their triumphs.
Title sponsor since 2007 when the team was born out of the ashes of the Liberty Seguros team which was engulfed by Operation Puerto
Bahrain-Merida is a new team and sponsored by the eponymous island monarchy from the Persian gulf with various state partners from the oil company, an aluminium smelter and other agencies. Merida is a Taiwanese bike manufacturer listed on the Taiwanese stock exchange and run by the Tseng family, it started out making Raleigh bikes and owns 49% of Specialized but like many Asian manufacturers it wants to manufacturer and sell its own goods to enjoy higher margins. The team has various other Italian sponsors assembled by Alex Carrera, a rider agent know the team’s general manager. As if to prove the team’s Italian DNA they have a website with an animated home page that plays sounds.
New for 2017
BMC Racing Team: a brand of Swiss bicycles. Once upon a time, or 1994 to be precise, these initials stood for the plain title of Bicycle Manufacturing Company. The team is registered in the US but funded by the Swiss francs of Andy Rihs, a billionaire cycling enthusiast who owns BMC and furthers the Swiss side with many a Swiss rider from Stefan Küng to Michael Schär and for 2016 they’ve picked up watch-maker Tag-Heuer as a co-sponsor to further the Swiss aspect too. Registering the team in the US helps the team to tap this large, lucrative market whilst trading on the image of Swiss quality. Some of Rihs’s other assets feature on the jersey like his La Coquillade luxury hotel near Mont Ventoux.
The team began as BMC Racing in 2007
Bora-Hansgrohe is a German team sponsored by two of the country’s manufacturers. Bora make kitchen extractor fans with their selling point being that the fans are located beside the cooking hob rather than above them. Hansgrohe make plumbing parts like taps and shower heads and if they have a Germany history since being founded by Herr Hans Grohe in 1901 are these days majority owned by US conglomerate Masco. The silent partner is Specialized, the bike brand was instrumental in helping the team secure Peter Sagan and their rise into the World Tour.
The team started in 2010 as Team NetApp
Cannondale-Drapac features a familiar name and a new one. In the 1990s Cannondale supplied its famous oversized alu tubed frames to the Saeco team in Italy. The company moved into motorcycles, offering innovative lightweight offroad bikes exploiting their alu tubing knowhow but this was a commercial disaster and to cut a long story short the brand was rescued by Dorel, a Canadian conglomerate that also owns Sugoi, Schwinn and GT as well as a non-cycling items like the Bébéconfort range of strollers. Now the team race on carbon frames which almost have a retro feel with no aero road frame in the range right now. The kit is green because it’s Cannondale’s corporate ident and the team retains the quirky Argyle motif. Drapac is Michael Drapac, an Australian real estate investor who is now trying to conquer the West Coast of the USA and he has been sponsoring the eponymous Drapac team which merged with Cannondale for this year. People say “dray-pack” but “dra-patch” sounds like the verb “to scratch” in various slavic languages and the team will certainly be itching for a win. The team has sponsorship from POC too which means all riders must wear the Swedish firms glasses and helmets.
The team began as a junior development team in 2003, became a pro team in 2007 whereupon it has changed title sponsor every single year since then
FDJ is short for La Française des Jeux, the French state lottery which sponsors this pro team and also various grass roots sports too. The team is a fixture on the French scene and an illustration of how globalisation may be a thing but the Tour de France means a French team can rely on huge domestic publicity every July as a means to exist. The team has explored co-sponsorship but for now the lottery has agreed to increase funding to the team in order to retain the likes of Thibaut Pinot on long term contracts.
The team began in 1997 and has kept the same sponsor all along; in 2012 it was FDJ-BigMat
Katusha-Alpecin are a Swiss team. A team can register under whatever flag it wants and this switch from a Russian identity sees the team trying to distance itself from its image as Team Kremlin but a flag can only do so much. They’re certainly not Team Heidi, after all Katusha is the diminutive version of Ekaterina, Catherine in English and a famous Soviet wartime folk song in Russia which still gets patriotic hearts stirring today. In English you’d call them Team Kathy. New for this year is Alpecin, the German brand of caffeinated shampoo has switched teams to become a co-sponsor here.
The Katusha name came in 2009 after the team was bought ought from Oleg Tinkov’s Tinkoff Credit systems team which began in 2006
Lotto NL-Jumbo: another lottery in the shape of the Dutch state lottery. The team uses the “Lotto NL” term to signify the Netherlands lottery but the sponsor is simply Lotto to locals, presumably to differentiate from their Belgian rivals. Lotto recently merged with the state lottery, the Staatsloterij which sponsors the Roompot team. Jumbo is a chain of supermarkets in the Netherlands which has, via deal-making, grown to become the country’s second largest retail chain. This is more than a cycling team, it’s a joint venture with a speed skating team coordinated by loyalty card company Brand Loyalty. Skating is very popular in the Netherlands thanks to icy winters and all those canals but Brand Loyalty has plans to make the Dutch team more international.
The team can trace its origins back to 1984 and it has participated in every Tour de France since
Lotto-Soudal sees is go from one state lottery to another with Lotto being the Belgian state lottery. This sponsorship is the longest single team backing in the pro ranks but increasingly subject to political scrutiny and points-scoring as politicians question the money spent. Soudal is a Belgian business making adhesives and sealants, a staple in DIY stores in Europe and beyond and the team has done some amusing sponsorship videos to highlight this, a means to bring alive otherwise dull products.
The team goes back to 1985
Movistar is a mobile telecoms operator with activities in Spain and Latin America as well as in the UK and Germany under the separate O2 brand. Their rider roster reflects this geographic distribution perfectly with a Spanish core of riders from across the country plus Nairo Quintana of Colombia and Andrey Amador in Costa Rica as well as British rider and a German too.
This is the longest standing team in the peloton with a lineage going back to 1980 and the Reynolds team with José Miguel Echavarri at the helm for most of the time before handing over to Eusebio Unzué
Orica-Scott have a new co-sponsor on board. Orica is an Australian company that makes explosives and other speciality chemicals for the mining industry that ought to have ACDC’s TNT as it’s corporate theme, especially as it bought Nobel, the Norwegian dynamite firm several years ago. Reassuringly it’s hard to buy Orica products so why are they backing a team? Well the company does not have a great reputation after explosive disasters as well as several fines for environmental damage so sponsoring a cycling team is seen as a way to put something back and to associate the name with something fun. Scott is a Swiss-American bike brand, registered in Switzerland but with a US heritage and with the departure of the IAM Cycling team Scott are all-in for the Australian team and have stepped-up as a naming rights sponsor.
The team began as Greendge Cycling in 2012
Quick Step Floors is the official name for what everyone is going to call Quick Step this year. It is a brand of laminated flooring that might seem indissociable from Belgian cycling but it belongs to company founded in Amsterdam… Amsterdam, New York called Mohawk Industries, a giant supplier of commercial and residential flooring and the team a cosmopolitan recruitment policy to spread the sponsor’s name far beyond Belgium. German discount supermarket Lidl appears on the kit again while Belgium’s Latexco make rubber mattresses and it and the Maes family have backed team manager Patrick Lefevere since the 1990s.
Quick Step’s sponsorship began in 2003 but the team is an assembly of mergers over the years and can be traced back to the 1990s
Team Dimension Data: is sponsored by a corporate cloud computing and IT outsourcing firm from South African with an international history. “Di Data” used to be traded on London’s stock exchange before it was aquired by Japanese telecoms giant NTT. The team is also backed by blue-chip accountancy firm Deloitte, plus Sapinda, a Dutch investment fund that backs African projects. There’s also Oakley sunglasses, the brand belonging to Italian sunglass giant Luxxotica; and Nederberg, a South African winery and the team retains the partnership with bicycle development charity Qhubeka.
Dimension Data came on board for 2016 and the team can trace itself back 2008 as MTN, named after the South African telecoms operator
Team Sky is backed by the British TV company Sky which is branching out into telecoms too. The firm has operations in Britain and recently took full control of its businesses in Germany and Italy too where the Sky name is a thing as well. As a company Sky is 40% owned by 21st Century Fox of the US and ultimately controlled by the cosmopolitan Murdoch family and currently 21st Century Fox/the Murdoch family are in takeover talks to buy the 60% of Sky they do not own, a means to combine Fox’s content with Sky’s distribution network. If the takeover deal goes through expect the Sky name to last as its a brand but how long will the team go on? There’s controversy and if there’s no smoking gun there’s aggro and sponsor may still feel they’ve got their money’s worth from the team. Perhaps Ford will step-up to replace them?
The team began in 2010
Team Sunweb was Giant-Alpecin last year. Sunweb is a European tour operator that is part of the Swiss-Dutch Sundio Group, essentially a Dutch company but with its HQ in Switzerland and if you follow them on social media you’ll see their hashtag “CreatingMemories”, a way to sell the sizzle rather than the steak of holidays. Giant remains the bike sponsor and is very visble on the team kit even if it has stepped down from naming rights. The team has BMW’s Mini brand as a vehicle supplier and Belgian steel shutter and blinds company Renson appears on the shorts.
A quiet story of growth that goes back to Shimano–Memory Corp in 2005. It’s been a Dutch team for most of its years but now rides under a German flag
Trek-Segafredo is the combination of US bike brand Trek and Italian coffee Segafredo. Trek should be familiar while Segafredo literally means “cold saw” in Italian but it’s an Italian coffee giant controlled by founder Massimo Zanetti that floated on the stock exchange last year and whose stock has duly fallen 40%.
Formally the team began in 2011 as Leopard-Trek
UAE Abu Dhabi is new and backed by the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates or kingdoms with Abu Dhabi as the capital and it also includes the city of Dubai, both cities with their own World Tour events. Reportedly they’re the lowest budget team in the World Tour thanks to their in extremis rescue after the aborted TJ Sport takeover from China and it’ll be interesting to see if the Emirs settle for this modest status when their wealth and spending habits suggest they like to go large or go home
The team can be traced back to 1990 when it was Colnago-Lampre. Merida has left the squad and things have gone full circle with Colnago back as the team’s bike supplier
Notes: notice the themes? |
LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek Chief Tahirul Qadri on Tuesday said his party would not be a part of Imran’s ‘thanksgiving’ rally as Imran Khan did not take him into confidence over matters.
Speaking to Geo News, PAT chief Qadri said he would have considered joining if a protest were taking place, but now it was "out of the question".
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has postponed its planned lockdown of the federal capital on November 2 and is instead holding a day of celebration tomorrow.
"I do not know what to say except for Ina Allah Wa Inallah Rajioon," he commented.
The PAT chief said that from the beginning to the end only Imran Khan made decisions.
Qadri is not the only PTI ally who has expressed their reservations regarding Imran Khan’s course of action during the past few days.
Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed said today that PTI chairman Imran Khan should have come to Lal Haveli on October 28.
In response to Sheikh Rasheed’s grievance, the PTI chief, while speaking to journalists in Bani Gala, said “the captain moves according to his strategy.”
Earlier today, Imran Khan told party workers to go home rest and reach Parade Ground tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 PM where Youm-e-Tashakur (day of thanks) would be celebrated. |
2012 Election: Who Will Win the Great Debate? What's this? SPONSORED CONTENT FROM X What's This? Associations Now Brand Connection provides opportunities for advertisers to connect with the Associations Now audience. All content is paid for by the advertiser. The Associations Now editorial staff is not involved in creating this content. By Rob Stott / Oct 2, 2012 (photos by Gage Skidmore/Flickr; marcn/Flickr) (photos by Gage Skidmore/Flickr; marcn/Flickr)
How do you win a presidential debate? Associations Now gained some insight from the director of the Center for Democratic Deliberation, as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney prepare for the first of three debates.
Now the real fun begins.
After weeks of attack ads, talk show appearances, and sit-downs with 60 Minutes, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will go head-to-head Wednesday night in the first of three presidential debates—if that’s what you’re willing to call them.
“These are more accurately called joint television appearances where they have journalists asking the questions,” said “J. Michael Hogan, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Democratic Deliberation and a professor at Pennsylvania State University. “A real debate would be more unpredictable. They couldn’t rely on the sound bites they use to answer reporters’ questions or that they pull right out of their campaign stump speeches.”
Either way, the presidential candidates will take the stage at the University of Denver and engage in a formal discourse on domestic policy.
While both candidates have extensive experience with the political debate format—Obama has been here before, and Romney is coming off 27 Republican primary debates in recent months—both have spent the past several days cramming and rehearsing.
Through some of my research, I’ve found documents prepared by their advisors that are very detailed in terms of strategic considerations.
“They actually do mock debates and take it very seriously,” said Hogan, who was a panelist this week on a National Communication Association program previewing the debates. “Through some of my research, I’ve found documents prepared by their advisors that are very detailed in terms of strategic considerations—things about their appearance, and whether or not they should wear glasses.”
But “there is such a thing as being overprepared,” he said. “You feel you have to follow a script, and it hurts your ability to respond to events as they unfold during the course of the debate.”
Hogan points to Ronald Reagan’s first debate in 1984, during which the incumbent president seemed uncomfortable. The speculation was that advisors had tried to script him too much, Hogan said. “During the second debate, they let Reagan be Reagan, and he was a bit more extemporaneous and did much better.”
Looking at Wednesday’s debate, Hogan expects the current state of the campaign to play a big role.
“You have a current incumbent president who appears to be ahead in most of the battleground states,” he said. “He’s going to be even more defensive, and try to be very cautious, and not fall for any kind of trap where he would misstate something.”
And for Romney?
“I would expect him to probably be a little bit more aggressive, because this is really his last opportunity he’s going to have to turn the tide. I’m sure [his staff are] contemplating ways that they can take the momentum.”
There’s no consensus about what constitutes a good debate performance, Hogan said, but campaign consultants will try to draw historical analogies: “They’ll ask, ‘What race is similar to the race we’re dealing with now?’ and ‘What candidates are comparable?’”
To Hogan, this race looks a lot like 1992.
“It reminds me of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton in the first town hall debate,” he said. “It was a format which Clinton was in favor of and Bush Sr. was horrified by, because he just didn’t feel comfortable in that setting. My sense is that Obama will be more comfortable.”
In strategy or substance, what will your association be watching for in Wednesday’s debate? Tell us in the comments.
Share this article |
Plenty of people try to pull fast ones on the general gaming populace. Very few of them sit down for a pleasant fireside chat afterward. And yet, that’s exactly what the disappointment wizard behind infamous Fallout 4 “teaser” site Survivor 2299 did in the wake of a freshly canceled hoax campaign. Going by the name DCHoaxer on Reddit, he hosted an AMA that revealed why he did it, how much it cost ($990!), and what it was originally going to culminate in (a full-blown CG trailer). Hoaxcrafters and pranksters the world over, meet your new god.
So, first up, why go to all this trouble in the first place? Well, DC had a surprisingly well-meaning plan:
“I wanted to force Bethesda to reveal something during VGX on 12/11, and bring the /r/Fallout community together (for at least 3 weeks) Unfortunately, this plan Failed.”
Good intentions? Maybe. Er, kinda? But also some very flawed reasoning. Leaks prompt early reveals. Hoaxes prompt, well, pretty much what Bethesda did.
As for that CG trailer, a chat with Bethesda apparently “killed his plans.” He added, however, that he’ll release it later, once the publisher has removed its quavering finger from the proverbial big red button. “I’ll do it after 12/11 on my website,” he wrote. “Let things cool off a little. I don’t wan’t to piss off Bethesda at this time even more.”
Also, in case you’re mad, DC acknowledged that he’s a “prick,” “asshole,” and a “douche,” so he covered pretty much the full spectrum of colloquial self-deprecation. He’s also received 14 death threats, because the Internet turns human beings into complete psychopaths.
So there you have it: the aftermath of a perhaps overly elaborate prank. Fallout 4 remains officially unannounced, Fallout fans’ jimmies have officially been rustled, and I have officially exposed “officially” as a largely meaningless word in most games articles. Have a good one, all! |
YOU know we’re living in an age of wonder when fast food companies are sending chicken burgers into space.
According to KFC, that’s exactly what it’s doing. In one of the more unusual promotional stunts in recent memory, the fast food outlet is sending its new Zinger burger “straight up into space”.
“Yes, space. For real. We’re actually doing this,” the company’s promotional website says.
But there’s just one problem with Colonel Sander’s mission to the final frontier — it won’t technically get anywhere near space.
KFC will launch a weather balloon to carry its deep fried cargo to about 80,000 feet (24.3 kilometres) above sea level. That is certainly a long way up for a burger but it’s only about one fourth of the way to what is generally considered the border where space begins.
RADIO SIGNALS FROM SPACE COMING FROM RED DWARF STAR ROSS 128 ARE 'STRANGE', ASTRONOMERS SAY
The definition of where Earth’s atmosphere ends and space begins is still not entirely decided by the international community. But it’s generally considered to be what’s known as the Karman line which marks the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere and the beginning of outer space.
The Karman line lies at an altitude of 100 kilometres above Earth’s sea level, far out of reach of the Zinger mission set to launch next week
This technicality was helpfully pointed out by the unofficial NASA Watch on Twitter.
That means that @KFC's chicken sandwich is not going anywhere near "space" - despite what their misleading advertising says #spacesandwich https://t.co/Z95nQKCx3D — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) June 13, 2017
Although KFC doesn't seem to mind about the distinction.
And it’ll be the most delicious 23km of them all. — KFC (@kfc) June 13, 2017
KFC is partnering with balloon maker World View on the project. The chain says the launch window opens June 21 for what it says is the longest controlled stratospheric balloon flight with a commercial payload in history. The sandwich will return to earth and bring back telemetry data, according to the Associated Press.
If KFC actually wants to send fried chicken all the way into outer space, it’ll probably need to get a rocket first.
Although presumably the goal of next week’s “Zinger 1 Space Mission” is to get a whole bunch of publicity for its new burger. In which case, mission accomplished. |
Former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE on Sunday thanked first responders and local officials helping in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, saying: "That's what we do as Americans."
“Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That's what we do as Americans. Here's one way you can help now,” Obama tweeted, linking to an American Red Cross tweet soliciting donations.
Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That's what we do as Americans. Here's one way you can help now. https://t.co/iGfE8rAoAu — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 27, 2017
Obama’s tweet comes as southeast Texas is rocked by Harvey, now downgraded to a tropical storm. Federal and local officials have declared a state of emergency over the storm, which hit Texas' Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
ADVERTISEMENT
President Trump signed a Presidential Disaster Declaration to help with recovery efforts.
Trump has tweeted several times about the storm, praising local officials for their coordination to the storm. He will visit Texas on Tuesday.
Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
THANK YOU to all of the great volunteers helping out with #HurricaneHarvey relief in Texas! https://t.co/Ds95oSgo8f — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
Wonderful coordination between Federal, State and Local Governments in the Great State of Texas - TEAMWORK! Record setting rainfall. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
Many people are now saying that this is the worst storm/hurricane they have ever seen. Good news is that we have great talent on the ground. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017 |
CheeriosEverywhere Tue 05-Dec-17 10:05:10
Well it's bad because it's a lot of sugar OP and processed meat is really not good for anyone but on here, a lot of people will say it's fine
That's just bollocks. Its not a lot of sugar in the scheme of things at all, and the stuff about processed meat is badly reported and misunderstood.
I and everyone I know was raised on beans on toast and the kind of food people sneer about on here. Never did any of us any harm. In fact its now that everything is reduced sugar this and reduced fat that that the kids are all getting obese and diabetes. Everyone talks about kale and quinoa but they are less healthy than those of us raised on beans and turkey drummers.
It's fine OP, its food. Nothing even slightly wrong with it. |
Michel Scheepens is familiar with risk. The 41-year-old oversees the energy market for the Dutch bank ING, and it's his job to determine whether his employer should finance such projects as a wind farm in Cyprus or a gas-fired power plant in Turkey. Until now, it was always other people's money that was involved.
For some time, however, Scheepens has been experiencing what a poor investment feels like on a personal level. Six years ago, the father of three bought half of a duplex for his family in the commuter town of Nieuw-Vennep, near the North Sea coast. The red brick building cost 430,000 ($552,000), but the bank generously offered him a loan of 500,000, so that there was enough money left over for renovations, along with notary and community fees. Scheepens had intended to resell the house after a few years, as is common in the Netherlands. But then prices tumbled following the Lehman bankruptcy. If the family were to sell the house today, it would have to pay the lender 60,000. His house is "onder water," as Scheepens says.
"Underwater" is a good description of the crisis in a country where large parts of the territory are below sea level. Ironically, the Netherlands, widely viewed as a model economy, is facing the kind of real estate crisis that has only affected the United States and Spain until now. Banks in the Netherlands have also pumped billions upon billions in loans into the private and commercial real estate market since the 1990s, without ensuring that borrowers had sufficient collateral.
Private homebuyers, for example, could easily find banks to finance more than 100 percent of a property's price. "You could readily obtain a loan for five times your annual salary," says Scheepens, "and all that without a cent of equity." This was only possible because property owners were able to fully deduct mortgage interest from their taxes.
Instead of paying off the loans, borrowers normally put some of the money into an investment fund, month after month, hoping for a profit. The money was to be used eventually to pay off the loan, at least in part. But it quickly became customary to expect the value of a given property to increase substantially. Many Dutch savers expected that the resale of their homes would generate enough money to pay off the loans, along with a healthy profit.
An Economy on the Brink
More than a decade ago, the Dutch central bank recognized the dangers of this euphoria, but its warnings went unheeded. Only last year did the new government, under conservative-liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte, amend the generous tax loopholes, which gradually began to expire in January. But now it's almost too late. No nation in the euro zone is as deeply in debt as the Netherlands, where banks have a total of about 650 billion in mortgage loans on their books.
Consumer debt amounts to about 250 percent of available income. By comparison, in 2011 even the Spaniards only reached a debt ratio of 125 percent.
The Netherlands is still one of the most competitive countries in the European Union, but now that the real estate bubble has burst, it threatens to take down the entire economy with it. Unemployment is on the rise, consumption is down and growth has come to a standstill. Despite tough austerity measures, this year the government in The Hague will violate the EU deficit criterion, which forbid new borrowing of more than 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
It's a heavy burden, especially for Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is also the new head of the Euro Group, and now finds himself in the unexpected role of being both a watchdog for the monetary union and a crisis candidate.
Even 46 billion in austerity measures are apparently not enough to remain within the EU debt limit. Although Dijsselbloem has announced another 4.3 billion in cuts in public service and healthcare, they will only take effect in 2014.
"Sticking the knife in even more deeply" would be "very, very unreasonable," Social Democrat Dijsselbloem told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an attempt to justify the delay. It's the kind of rhetoric normally heard from Europe's stricken southern countries. The adverse effects of living beyond one's means have become apparent since the financial crisis began. Many of the tightly calculated financing models are no longer working out, and citizens can hardly pay their debts anymore. The prices of commercial and private real estate, which were absurdly high for a time, are sinking dramatically. The once-booming economy is stalling.
Unemployment on the Rise
"A vicious cycle develops in such situations," says Jörg Rocholl, president of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin and a member of the council of academic advisors to the German Finance Ministry. "Customers have too much debt and cannot service their loans. This causes problems for the banks, which are no longer supplying enough money to the economy. This leads to an economic downturn and high unemployment, which makes loan repayment even more difficult."
The official unemployment rate has already climbed to 7.7 percent. In reality, it is probably much higher, but that has been masked until now by a demographic group called the ZZP. The "Zelfstandigen zonder personeel" ("Self-employed without employees") are remotely related to the German model of the "Ich-AG" ("Me, Inc."). About 800,000 ZZPers currently work in the Netherlands.
One of them is Rob Huisman. The 47-year-old lives with his wife and son in Santpoort, near Haarlem. In 2006 Huisman, an IT specialist, left his position with a large consulting firm to start his own business. It went well at first, with Huisman earning 100 an hour. But over time many customers, both governmental and private, slashed the fees they were willing to pay. Sometimes jobs were simply deleted altogether. "For companies it's worthwhile to let their permanent employees go and then take on temporary work contracts," says the IT expert. "It saves them the social security costs."
There is cutthroat competition among the self-employed, who are undercutting each other to secure occasional jobs. "If you don't accept a job, someone else will snap it up," says Huisman. In addition, he is unable to pay contributions to his retirement fund at the moment. "We are living largely on our savings," he says.
No End in Sight
The Dutch have long been among Europe's most diligent savers, and in the crisis many are holding onto their money even more tightly, which is also toxic to the economy. "One of the main problems is declining consumption," says Johannes Hers of the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) in The Hague, the council of experts at the Economics Ministry.
His office expects a 0.5-percent decline in growth for 2013. Some 755 companies declared bankruptcy in February, the highest number since records began in 1981. The banking sector is also laying off thousands of employees at the moment.
Because of the many mortgage loans on the books, the financial industry is extremely inflated, so much so that the total assets of all banks are four-and-a-half times the size of economic output.
In February, the government was forced to nationalize SNS Bank, the country's fourth-largest bank, because it had a large portfolio of bad loans for commercial real estate. The remaining banks only want to securitize a portion of their giant loan portfolios and resell the securities through a special mortgage bank -- primarily to the country's pension funds, where the Dutch have put away large sums for retirement.
Young families like the Scheepens, who have bought a home in recent years, are now hoping that they can at least keep their jobs. Although their duplex has lost value, they can still make the monthly payments.
But the cuts are getting closer. A neighbor recently lost his job, and well-educated people can no longer find jobs. "There is no end to the crisis in sight," says Scheepens. |
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Did Dr. Tiller have to die? Today, we begin with explosive new information in the case of the murder of the abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. He was fatally shot Sunday while he attended services at his Wichita Reformation Lutheran Church in Kansas.
New information indicates that Scott Roeder, the man arrested and charged with first-degree murder for Dr. Tiller’s death, was seen vandalizing a Kansas City women’s health clinic called Aid for Women on two separate occasions last week, a week before Dr. Tiller was killed and a day before his murder.
The clinic manager, calls himself “Jeff Pederson” to protect his identity, says he called the FBI and local law enforcement, but the vandal, Scott, was not arrested.
The first incident was discovered on Memorial Day; the second, this past Saturday. That’s May 30th. Pederson and other clinic staff recognized the vandal as “Scott” from anti-abortion protests and gave the FBI his first name, his license plate number, and video footage of the incidents from a security camera at the clinic.
Pederson told me that FBI agent Mark Colburn told him, quote, “The Johnson County Prosecutor won’t do anything until the Grand Jury convenes.” Well, the next day was Sunday, when Dr. George Tiller was killed, allegedly by Scott Roeder.
I called the Kansas City FBI and reached Colburn, who referred me to FBI spokesperson Bridget Patton. I asked her why Scott Roeder had not been arrested when he vandalized the Kansas City clinic the day before.
BRIDGET PATTON: [inaudible] was notified about vandalism that occurred at the clinic located within Kansas City, Kansas. Once we were notified, we responded to that clinic. We responded back to the notification, and that is currently an ongoing matter.
AMY GOODMAN: And you were notified — were you notified on Memorial Day, as well as the Saturday, May 30th, before — the day before Dr. Tiller was killed?
BRIDGET PATTON: Amy, I’m not sure of the timeline of when the notifications came in. But whenever an act of vandalism occurs at an abortion clinic, we are notified of that vandalism, and we respond and proceed appropriately.
AMY GOODMAN: And were you notified more than once in two different incidents?
BRIDGET PATTON: Honestly, Amy, I don’t have the answer to that.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Bridget Patton, FBI spokesperson in Kansas City about why the FBI did not respond to the two reports of vandalism at a women’s health clinic in Kansas City last week. The man who vandalized that clinic, Scott Roeder, has now been charged with the murder of Dr. Tiller.
Scott Roeder has a history of involvement in anti-abortion activism and has ties to the right-wing separatist group known as the Freemen. He was previously arrested and jailed on explosives charges.
Well, I’m now joined on the phone by the manager of the clinic that was vandalized. He’s calling himself “Jeff Pederson” to protect his identity.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Jeff. Can you describe the first incident where you caught Scott on videotape, Memorial Day weekend, super-gluing your locks?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah. I was at home. One of my staff members came in to mow our yard. She tried to get into the building to take care of some other things and noticed that she couldn’t get in the front or back door. So she called me at home, and I was — it was Monday, the 25th, Memorial Day. And I just told her, you know, “I’ll take care of it later.” That was about 8:00 or 8:30 Monday. And I think I got out there about 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon and proceeded to take care of opening up the clinic.
And I did call FBI at that time, and I also did a call-in report to the local PD about it. But it was just, you know, a misdemeanor at this point. I didn’t think too much more of it. I didn’t have any video to give law enforcement yet, because it takes a while to review video. And it was Thursday morning sometime that I — I was only fifteen minutes into a tape when I finally saw him getting us at 9:47 on Saturday the 23rd.
AMY GOODMAN: So you reviewed the videotape that you had from Memorial Day weekend —-
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: —- later in the week, and you then found the moment where this person you knew as Scott was super-gluing the locks?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes, ma’am.
AMY GOODMAN: And did you call the police?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Well, I had made the call-in report. This is just a misdemeanor. It’s typically just a call-in report, and I had made that call-in report on Monday.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you had the videotape then? You could see him?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, you knew who he was from being outside the clinic protesting?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes, ma’am. He’s kind of tall. He’s hard to miss.
AMY GOODMAN: And you called the FBI, as well?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: On that Monday, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And did you tell the FBI agent, Mark Colburn, that you knew who he was? And did he know who he was?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes, because he had done the same thing in 2000 two weekends in a row.
AMY GOODMAN: And what did the FBI do in 2000, when Scott super-glued the locks?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: He had said at that time the pictures were too fuzzy, that they probably would not be able to get a conviction on it, but he would talk to him. And after that little talk, we didn’t see Scott for like six years.
AMY GOODMAN: You mean, after Colburn went and spoke to Scott. So he knew where he lived?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: He stopped. You don’t know what the interaction was.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: No idea.
AMY GOODMAN: And then he came back?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: It seemed to have worked.
AMY GOODMAN: So he knew exactly who he was, the FBI agent?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: He had to have, if he had the address.
AMY GOODMAN: And what did you think Scott’s name was?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I just knew it was Scott. I had a different last name affixed to him, but I guess I was wrong. I don’t really want to go into that.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that was that weekend. That was Memorial Day weekend.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Mm-hmm.
AMY GOODMAN: And what happened on Saturday, May 30th?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Backing up a little bit, so Thursday I gave copies of the video to FBI. I didn’t give anything to the local PD yet. Saturday, I upgraded the video equipment so I’d have better pictures.
And then, eleven hours later, Scott watched one of my staff members come back from a convenience store. She went into the — she had seen the car, but didn’t think too much more of it, went into our building and locked back up. She was the only one there at the time. But through a window, she saw Scott get out of his vehicle, heading towards the building, and it looked like he was going towards the back door. So she made her way through the building to get to that back door, and she arrove there at the back door just as he was starting to super-glue it again.
And she chased him off and did manage to get his license plate number, and then she called me at home. And I called FBI — as soon as I got off the phone, I called FBI at about 6:10 a.m. on a Saturday, the 30th.
AMY GOODMAN: And you made the call?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I made the call, and I went into voicemail, and I left —-
AMY GOODMAN: Who did you call?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Same FBI agent.
AMY GOODMAN: You called Mark Colburn?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah, he’s my contact. And I left the license, and I said, you know, it’s the same guy from last weekend and the same guy from 2000. And my staff member gave the license plate, 225BAB. He called me back a couple hours later, and that’s when he told me that, you know, “Thank you,” but he’s pretty sure he’s not going to be able to do anything, because they’re going to require a grand jury and then, from that, then get a warrant to proceed.
AMY GOODMAN: Who’s going to require a grand jury?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I thought he had said Johnson County prosecutor, because where he lives is Johnson County. We’re in Wyandotte. He was talking about Johnson County prosecutor, I believe.
AMY GOODMAN: Because that’s where Scott Roeder lived?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, this time, you had bought new cameras, after he said the first weekend, Memorial Day weekend, they would be too fuzzy?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right. They’re older, black and white. Now I’ve got color, much higher resolution.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, now you had the videotape of this person named Scott again, and you told the FBI agent this.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: That you had higher-quality videotape.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah. I don’t know if I told him that I had higher-quality yet, but -— and I don’t know. Yeah, you’re right.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, the nurse, who had gone out to talk to him, at the car, what was that interaction like when she went out to speak to Scott Roeder?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: She had said, “Oh, I know you.” And that, I think, startled him a little bit. And then she proceeded to talk with him more. And I think he then didn’t think too much of the interaction, because we — she had called him by the last name that I presumed that it was, which was wrong. He says, “That’s not me, but I do know him.”
And then, she was, you know, “Why are you doing this? Women need this service.” And she proceeded to tell a whole lot of tear-jerking pro-choice stories of why women in need need to have this. And he kind of just was leaning up against his car, arms folded, legs crossed, and just kind of like, “Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, baby killer, baby killer.”
Eventually she worked her way up to the back of the vehicle, because in Kansas you only need a back license plate. And she did manage to get most of the license plate number, but then he moved around to hide the rest of the license plate. And so, she continued talking, and she jockeyed around until she got the last part of the number, and that’s when she ran into the clinic and just said, “Got your license plate. Got your license plate.” And he just kept saying, “Baby killer!” And he took off quickly after that.
AMY GOODMAN: So, the license plate was 225BAB, like “baby”?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right, right. And I have the piece of paper she wrote on, and she called me immediately.
AMY GOODMAN: And you gave this to the FBI and the local police?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I hadn’t given that to the local yet. This is a separate incident. I have forty-eight hours to file it, so I was going to file it, you know, later. But I did leave it in the voicemail with FBI approximately 6:10 a.m.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, isn’t it a federal crime to interfere with access to a clinic, the FACE bill, the Federal Access for Clinic [Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances] bill?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah, I don’t know exactly how it’s worded. I know that they’ve got first offense, second offense, and three or more, something like that. So —-
AMY GOODMAN: Which is why you call the FBI, because it’s a federal offense.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right, right.
AMY GOODMAN: Actually, Bridget Patton, the spokesperson for the FBI, said that.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: That you’re supposed to call the FBI in every case.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you alarmed that nothing was done?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I was ticked off, but I know that the wheels of justice roll slowly. And so, I didn’t -— I can’t do anything. I don’t know what to do.
AMY GOODMAN: The next day, Sunday, tell us how you learned about Dr. Tiller’s death and then the connection to — well, you already know about the blue Taurus that Scott drove —-
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: —- because your nurse had gone out to it.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: I had stepped out for a moment. A phone call from a close friend of mine from Wichita called. She had gotten access to this information, either from a police scanner or from something else — I’m not — from her friends. And she called me straightaway to tell me.
I then went through our phone tree calling all the staff, including my doctor, and then proceeded to call the other clinics, all the retired doctors who have done abortions in the past around here, and also called one other clinic out of state that I knew closely to tell them about the shooting.
AMY GOODMAN: And what was their response?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: They were all shocked. I mean, when I heard it, I was like, I’m hoping this is a non-fatal shot. And I was told that “shot dead?” I was like, “No, he’s shot. Yeah, I could see that. But shot dead?” And it was like I was hoping that it wasn’t the case.
AMY GOODMAN: In fact, you came to manage the Aid for Women clinic in Kansas City the same month that Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms, is that right, in 1993?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right, ’93. I think I started in August of ’93.
AMY GOODMAN: Which is when he was shot.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Oh, OK. It’s so far back now, I can’t hardly remember. I just know it was sometime back then.
OK, I forgot what question we were on now.
AMY GOODMAN: On Sunday. On Sunday, when Dr. Tiller was killed, and they said they were then looking for a blue Taurus.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right. Well, I didn’t know about the car color yet. That hadn’t come across. This is — after I got through talking to all the staff and retired doctors and whatnot in the area, I believe it was around 11:30 that I called the FBI. And my impression from when I passed this on to my contact, that I don’t think Kansas City knew about it yet.
AMY GOODMAN: When you called the Kansas City police?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: No, the FBI. Because I think I had heard maybe — I don’t know exactly when Tiller was shot. I still haven’t got that figured out. But I believe I had been contacted about forty minutes after that. And it took me a while to go through my phone tree and contact everyone. And it was 11:30, I believe, when I contacted my FBI contact.
So that was that for them. And I was just doing stuff around the house. And then, about 1:00 or something, I get another phone call from my friend in Wichita, and she said the license — they’ve got the getaway car. They don’t know if there was a second person, but the license plate is 225BAB. And I just about fell on the floor.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I told her, you know. “That’s the guy who’s been gluing our locks.” And I says, “I’ve got to get off the phone. I’ve got to call my guy.” And she says, “Well, maybe I need to contact Tiller’s people. Maybe” — and then she said something about the Wichita police. And I think, “OK, I’ll call the Wichita police. What’s their number?” So she looked up in the phone book, and I then called and left a message with somebody down there.
In about twenty minutes or something, I don’t know, not very long, I was contacted by a detective from Wichita. And I gave her all my information I had, that he had got us in 2000, he got us on the 23rd, and then he got us, you know, the day before on the 30th. I gave her all this information, and I said I had pictures, that I gave them to — I think I gave her the local PD report number from the file on the 25th, and I gave her the phone number to my FBI contact, as well, so she could try to coordinate all that stuff. And then I went ahead and, somewhere in there — I don’t know if it was before or after I contacted Wichita and contacted my FBI contact —- probably about 4:00 or something, we had set up an appointment for the next day, so they could do a dump from my DVR and to interview my staff member, as well.
I started getting phone calls in Monday morning, just for general impressions, from a local news radio station AM, got another call from an NPR affiliate, just general impressions of the shooting. And about -—
AMY GOODMAN: Jeff, how far are you, how far is Kansas City? Aid for Women, your clinic, also has another name.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Central Family Medicine.
AMY GOODMAN: Central Family Medicine. How far is it from Wichita?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Three hours.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think that if —-
JEFFREY PEDERSON: We used to drive it, because we -— our doctors used to work at one of the competing clinics in Wichita.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think — and you knew Dr. Tiller?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Oh, yeah. Very well.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think if the authorities, local or federal authorities, had arrested Scott Roeder after Memorial Day or then again the day before Dr. Tiller’s murder, Dr. Tiller would be dead today?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: No. Since I didn’t know Scott’s background, to me, it was just a misdemeanor. It’s kind of like the burning bag of doggie stuff on the front porch, and you press the doorbell. It’s annoying as hell, and you’d like to string him up, but it doesn’t rise to the level of me shooting him. It was like, I don’t really know what to do, and I don’t know — you know, I didn’t have the information to tie everything together.
AMY GOODMAN: I guess that’s not your job. But what he was doing was trying to prevent access to your clinic by gluing the locks.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Which is a federal offense.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Jeff Pederson, thanks so much for being with us. I know you have to go back and guard your clinic, as you’re on duty today.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yes, ma’am.
AMY GOODMAN: Jeff Pederson, not his real name, but protecting himself. Why do you not use your real name, Jeff?
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Dr. Slepian was an indication they like to shoot people. They’re kind of — bit of cowardice there. They like to scare the family members as much as possible.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Slepian, gunned down Upstate New York.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Yeah, through the kitchen window. I don’t care as much about myself, but I do care about my friends and family.
AMY GOODMAN: Jeff Pederson, thanks for being with us.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Sure.
AMY GOODMAN: Manager of the Kansas City women’s health clinic known as Aid for Women, where he is working today.
JEFFREY PEDERSON: Thank you for calling.
AMY GOODMAN: Thank you.
This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, the War and Peace Report.
Well, there were grave concerns about the federal and local authorities not responding in Wichita, as well, to continued violations. We’ll speak with a doctor who would fly in to the Wichita clinic that Dr. Tiller ran and her concerns of the lack of federal and local action. And then we’ll talk about anti-abortion violence. |
With the days counting down before Bond 24 starts filming I thought it might be interesting exercise to find out the thoughts of other Bond website owners and bloggers. So, last Saturday I started going through my 007 contact list and from that night onwards the replies trickled in.
The full Q&A is presented below in the order in which they were received and as expected the opinions sometimes vary greatly. Two things to note:
The only person to have seen any of the replies until now is me. Where similarities exist they have not been directly influenced by previous answers. The first four answers were received before a rumour concerning Christoph Waltz’s character surfaced in the media.
Potential Spoiler Alert: Concerning that rumour, if you really don’t want to know it (although I doubt you’ve missed it) you’d better not read on.
What are you most looking forward to on Bond 24?
Matt Sherman, Bond Fan Event Organizer: Some exotic locations and the recently announced appearance of outstanding actor, Christoph Waltz.
Matt Spaiser, an expert on the tailored clothing in the James Bond series (The Suits of James Bond): I’m looking forward to seeing a new wardrobe in the new Bond film, especially after the failures in Skyfall‘s tailoring. At the very least, a new wardrobe will give me more to write about.
Edward Biddulph, author of the blog, James Bond memes, and the James Bond cookbook, Licence to Cook: I’m looking forward to the Austrian scenes and the promise of some top skiing action, perhaps of the like we haven’t seen since For Your Eyes Only. Bond belongs on the slopes, and it was only a matter of time until Daniel Craig’s Bond got the opportunity.
I hope that the Austrian elements of Fleming’s Octopussy short story will be in the script. While the story itself isn’t snow-bound, there’s potential in the story, which I think is among Fleming’s finest writing, for snow-set action.
Jake Del Toro, my co-host on the Q-Branch Podcast: I try not too let myself get carried away with thoughts of what the finished product will be like so the thing I look forward to the most is the feeling of anticipation as the BBFC rating appears on screen on opening night and announces the film imminent start.
Ben Williams, journalist, screenwriter, and James Bond aficionado (MI6 HQ): Honestly, I’m hoping for a much more coherent narrative. I genuinely thought Skyfall was a lot of fun and a real crowd pleaser, but its story was riddled with more holes than Bond’s incongruous DB5.
I hope that we get a film that is closer to Casino Royale in terms of character development and narrative cohesion.
Bill Koenig, The HMSS Weblog: Curious to see the direction the Bond films take after Skyfall.
Marketto, who runs James Bond Brasil: The Gun barrel in the beginning of the movie; Mallory (M) in his new old style office; A fantastic car chase; More Bond Theme in action sequences
Mark O’Connell, writer and author of Catching Bullets – Memoirs of a Bond Fan (available from all good stockists): The development stepping stones… the title announcement, cast confirmation, the first few stills, the first teaser trailer and then hearing the song for the first time. Oh, and the poster.
I am not one to get too excited about the video blogs featuring a day in the life of a Range Rover as seen in the current Bond so don’t pay too much attention to guestimates about plot and incident. It will be great to see how Eon and the Bond team follow up Skyfall and I think they will be doing so with a big statement of a film that really stands head and shoulders with Bond’s 2015 box office cousins (The Force Awakens, Avengers II, Jurassic World, Inside Out).
Joan Casanovas, founder of Spanish website Archivo 007: An epic adventure with James Bond against SPECTRE/QUANTUM featuring Blofeld (or Quantum’s chief).
Tom, from James Bond Radio: I’m most looking forward to seeing Bond walk through those double leather padded doors and sitting opposite M to receive his mission details. Having Ralph as M was an inspired decision and I can’t wait to see their dynamic together.
Anders Frejdh, Swedish expert and collector. Bond scholar since 1985 after seeing TSWLM on VHS. Founded From Sweden with Love in 2004: Ever since the financial mega success of Skyfall I’ve wondered how any film maker can top that with a Bond (and I guess that is something the producers are fully aware of too). All I’m hoping for is a classic Bond defined by great stunts and a good story.
Me: The locations mean it’s largely going to be a European Bond film. Hopefully there won’t be too much hopping from one country, a lot of the pleasure of Fleming’s books and the early films is taking in the locales. Also note Edward’s answer, above, which was ahead of the Christoph Waltz story which does link Bond 24 to Octopussy.
Morten Steingrimsen, film journalist and editor of The Norwegian James Bond Magazine (“James Bond-magasinet“), one of Norway’s biggest James Bond fans/experts: The list is very long … For example: The cinematography (by Hoyte Van Hoytema), the production design (Dennis Gassner), the stunts (coordinated by Gary Powell), the action sequences (Alexander Witt), the acting (Craig, Fiennes, Whishaw etc) the locations (Austria, Maraokko, Italy and Mexico, in addition to England).
But I also hope that Bond 24 has a number of surprises. The fact that Sam Mendes returns as Bond director, is something I really look forward to. I think he did a brilliantly job on Skyfall. Hopefully he will make another great Bond movie. In many ways I think Sam Mendes is the new Terrence Young.
I believe Sam Mendes can build on the success of Skyfall.
And what are you not looking forward to so much?
Matt Sherman: I fear the recent emphasis in the Bonds on drama and “art” may remove some of the fun.
Matt Spaiser: I’m not looking forward to the new film likely repeating the mistakes of Skyfall‘s poor tailoring. The sloppy shrunken suit is more popular than ever!
Edward Biddulph: Can’t think of anything off hand.
Jake Del Toro: All the daft press stories that plague Bond productions.
Ben Williams: All I can hope is that there is more time and consideration given to the script. I hope we see a film that is well-paced and has some room to breathe between the action, and that there are reasons for things being in there other than to fulfil a perceived audience expectation.
Bill Koenig: Not especially looking forward the press conference. Last time, it was clear the principals didn’t want to be there, acted as if they resented being asked questions.
Marketto: Until now, everything is exciting for me.
Mark O’Connell: Clocking that end caption that reads “JAMES BOND WILL RETURN” as it is never soon enough!
Joan Casanovas: Moneypenny/M in the field, NO gadgets at all, only one Bond affair and Bond’s past.
Tom: Hmmmm…I really wasn’t a fan of the dialogue in Skyfall. To me it felt forced and was more ‘trying to sound cool’ rather than actually being quality dialogue. I also thought the one liners were too forced and wedged in there for the sake of it. I just don’t think it works with Daniel’s Bond. One or two here and there but no more.
Anders Frejdh: How is it possible not to look forward to a new Bond film?
Me: Mainly the kind of stories that appear in the media, such as “Bond ditches vodka martinis for Heineken” (although that one got me a radio interview to put things right) or the one from this week “Bond ditches Aston Martin for Fiat”.
What do you think of what you’ve learnt about Bond 24 so far, or is it too early to say?
Matt Sherman: Too early.
Matt Spaiser: I’m glad to see Sam Mendes back as the director, since I think he was able to get a more human performance from Daniel Craig than in Craig’s first two Bond films. And it’s exciting that Christoph Waltz will be in the film.
Edward Biddulph: So far so good. EON has put together a good team – the writers, camera crew, and of course the director – which together represents a lot of great experience, whether within the world of Bond or on other films. The settings are varied, and the casting rumours are exciting.
Jake Del Toro: I actively try to avoid anything that could be spoilery but so far I reckon I’ve learned that possible locations are Austria, Rome and Morocco. Also that Christoph Waltz has been cast and a lot of people are speculating that he could be Blofeld. I’d say that’s unlikely as Blofeld would surely be a recurring character and I can’t see him being tied to a multi picture deal with the Bond franchise.
Ben Williams: As always in the lead up to a new Bond film there are tidbits of information that are revealed, or that leak out, about what the film will contain, where it will be shot, who is being cast. Whilst it’s always entertaining to wonder what we’ll eventually see, and the mooted return of Blofeld is an interesting notion, I think that it’s pointless to speculate too wildly at this juncture.
Bill Koenig: Too early to say definitively. Curious to see if various reports – rebooted Blofeld, Moneypenny as more of a sidekick than secretary – pan out.
Marketto: I think is going to be as great as Skyfall was. Taking Craig’s Bond to places he never been before, like the snowy mountains.
Mark O’Connell: No comment (!). Seriously, a lot of things develop and evolve on a Bond movie so what was correct four months ago may not be the case now.
Joan Casanovas: Indeed it is too early but, by now, everything sounds fine. Especially Christoph Waltz rumour as Blofed, he would be the ultimate Bond nemesis.
Tom: Still too early to say, though if the Franz Oberhauser/Blofeld rumours are true, I think I will most likely dissolve into fits of uncontrollable joy.
Anders Frejdh: Everything I’ve heard and read so far looks very promising based on what we’ve found out about the cast and crew. Being Swedish, I can’t wait to see Stockholm based Hoyte van Hoytema’s work on filming the piece and hear Per Hallberg’s input on the sound.
The ‘news’ that Blofeld will return would be expected in the case they’ve decided to give us a classic-style Bond a la 1960’s. It also makes sense to tie in with the current time-line in Bond’s on-screen life.
Me: The delay because of the script problems caused me concern at the time, although it may be a positive that they took the extra time.
Morten Steingrimsen: Based on what I know, it seems that Bond 24 will be a classic Bond movie.
The traditional gun barrel at the start of the film has been absent from the entire Daniel Craig era. How do you feel about that and should it be returned to the start in Bond 24?
Matt Sherman: At the start would be thrilling, but it’s only a few seconds of screen time, really.
Matt Spaiser: I feel that the gun barrel should return to the beginning. Without the gun barrel at the beginning it’s not a proper Bond film. There was no reason for it not being at the beginning of Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. I didn’t buy the excuses people made for it being stuck on at the end. It shouldn’t be negotiable.
Edward Biddulph: I admit I’d rather see the gun barrel restored to the start of the film, but I can understand why it hasn’t been. We have to remember too that there are many cinema-goers who were introduced to Bond through the Craig films, and so don’t particularly expect to see the gunbarrel. For them, it’s not an essential part of the Bond experience. That said, if the film did open with it, I wouldn’t mind betting that audiences will erupt with cheering.
Jake Del Toro: During Daniel Craig’s first two films I didn’t really miss it but the start of Skyfall feels incomplete without it. I really want to see it back at the start of the film where it belongs.
Ben Williams: For many, the gunbarrel is an intrinsic part of a Bond film. Its look, its pacing, its position, they are all aspects that Bond fans will argue over at length.
Personally, it doesn’t really bother me, although I thought the Casino Royale gunbarrel was inspired.
Bill Koenig: I’ve seen some fans say something like, “What would rather have, a gunbarrel at the start or a great movie?” I think that’s a false choice. I’m skeptical it will be at the start of Bond 24, but I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
Marketto: IT MUST BE IN THE START OF THE FILM. 🙂
Mark O’Connell: I know some people hold biblical importance to the gunbarrel sequence and obviously it has its iconography, but it is only 30 seconds in a two hour film. And a director like Mendes has already proved that whilst he wants to make a Bond movie the audience expects, he also wants to put his stamp on it and if a slight moving of one 30 second coda gets proceedings away fro the fingerprints of countless 007 directors before him then more power to his elbow.
Joan Casanovas: It worked great with Casino Royale, as a complete reboot of the franchise. It was ok with Quantum of Solace, as it closed a plot and, from them, James Bond started to be the real 007. Perhaps would have worked with Skyfall but indeed looks repetitive with the first corridor scene. Definitely, the gunbarrel in Bond 24 must be at the beginning.
Tom: I definitely, definitely, definitely want it back at the start of the movie. I’ve missed it so much during the Daniel era. My gut feeling tells me we won’t see it back until the next guy picks up the Walther.
Anders Frejdh: Honestly, I don’t bother that much as long as it’s either at the beginning or the end. On a different note, I’m sure it’ll be back in the beginning sooner or later.
Me: It should definitely be at the start. I liked how it was done in Casino Royale and could live with it done in a similar way in future films, but tacking it on at the end makes no sense to me. I’d rather get rid of it completely than have it at the end.
Morten Steingrimsen: It should definitely be at the start of the film. The gun barrel at the start of the film immediately creates a good feeling!
In Skyfall the secondary characters played a much larger part than earlier films. Do you think that was a positive move and should we see more of M, Q and Moneypenny in Bond 24?
Matt Sherman: I think Daniel Craig is a smart actor and even allowed other actors to upstage him in certain Skyfall scenes. However, consider the film titles “The Adventures of M” and “Moneypenny, Secret Agent” and you’ll see how a Bond film is supposed to be about Bond’s journey and not that of minor characters.
Matt Spaiser: I’m glad the subsidiary characters played a big role. In the old movies it was always welcome to see M, Q and the Minister of Defence outside of the office. Ralph Fiennes is an excellent actor and was fantastic in Skyfall, so I look forward to seeing more of him. For me, his suits tailored by Timothy Everest were a highlight of Skyfall. I think they’re the nicest suits we have seen in a Bond film since Roger Moore wore Douglas Hayward suits in the 1980s. For the other characters, I just hope Q has matured this time around.
Edward Biddulph: Well, we watch a Bond film for Bond, not the other characters. When the story demands, however, the other characters do have place, and in a way the prominence of M and others reflect the fact that spy work these days is as much about as what’s going on back at headquarters (eg computer-based surveillance), as it is about operatives in the field. It’s just not as exciting.
Jake Del Toro: No, Bond should be about James Bond. As a one off I didn’t mind smaller characters getting a bigger role but it should not be the norm. If there is a great story to be told in which these characters need greater prominence then that is fine but the story should dictate their roles within it not the other way round.
Ben Williams: I think it is inevitable that they will have a somewhat expanded role. It’s difficult to expect actors of the calibre of Fiennes, Whishaw, and Harris to be satisfied with playing characters that will have little ongoing character development. However, I also believe that this shouldn’t be done arbitrarily at the expense of the narrative. So, I suppose it will ultimately come down to whether the story requires it.
Bill Koenig: I’m not sure. In one post I referred jokingly to how Bond 24 may see Team Bond, with a sidekick Moneypenny and possibly M getting out into the field. Judi Dench getting so much screen time definitely changed the dynamic of the movies. Spreading it around three such characters has the potential to do that even more.
Marketto: Sure. But I’m not sure about Moneypenny. I’d like to see her in the office again, flirting with Bond.
Mark O’Connell: Of course casting Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw in that key trinity of Bond roles was a slick, welcome move. Aside from Moneypenny, the trio didn’t play that much or a larger part. They were just used adeptly and skilfully, which is the great luxury Eon Productions and Sam Mendes have right now with that palette of actors ready in the wings.
I am sure we will see more of Q, M, Moneypenny and maybe even that tufted leather door.
Joan Casanovas: It was indeed a positive move to introduce those characters in this new James Bond era, now it is not necessary to give them a much larger part.
Tom: Definitely. It’s good to have Q and Moneypenny back. I thought they handled the gadget side of things really well. It could so easily have turned into a cheese fest, but I think it worked out great.
Anders Frejdh: Could be both ways but I see no problem in the fact that has happened since those parts have been played by some of the finest actors around. Everything boils down to the script and if that is good as long as the character and elements of James Bond are there, why not?
Me: I’m not a fan of having too many characters involved in the field, however it may reflect reality. Give Bond his mission, send him to do the job and goodbye to M, Q and Moneypenny until Bond 25.
Morten Steingrimsen: James Bond needs to be in the center. But with so good actors as Fiennes, Whishaw and Harris, I think the director should take advantage of their talent.
Say you were given the task of selecting an artist for the Bond 24 theme song. Who would you choose and why?
Matt Sherman: I’ll make an oddball choice here and say Rick Astley, who was rumored for a Bond title years ago but has a sensuous voice with power and with a tremendous range from low to high. He’s more than a voice and brings a lot to the production and authoring of his music. He would be interesting.
Matt Spaiser: I’m not familiar enough with current musicians to select an artist for the theme song, but I hope that David Arnold will return and write the theme song so it can be carried through the soundtrack for the film. It always makes for a satisfying score when the title theme can be carried through the film.
Edward Biddulph: Muse. It’s time for a rocky number again on the lines of Live and Let Die or You Know My Name. In the past, I would have suggested Queen, but Muse will do just as well.
Jake Del Toro: David Bowie. I think his voice and style would be a great fit for Bond.
Ben Williams: I thought Adele was an excellent choice for Skyfall, although I don’t think it really showed her at her best.
I’d welcome her return, but I would also love it if Muse got their shot at doing the theme. I thought Supremacy was fantastic and, although I think Adele’s theme was better suited to the film, it was a shame that they missed out for Skyfall.
Honestly, I think a British artist is the way to go, and there are a lot of talented individuals and groups to choose from.
Bill Koenig: I’m not sure.
Marketto: Michael Bublé, he’s the man for a theme tune.
Mark O’Connell: It’s a hard one to call. Adele proved that astute casting and big casting can work for a Bond tune, but so many factors circle that decisions nowadays.
I would not be surprised to hear Adele’s name again in connection with a Bond. Sam Smith is an appropriate, rumoured name too but we shall see.
If it was my gig to choose… I would go for some big sounds like Depeche Mode or the Rolling Stones. Or see what Kylie, Goldfrapp, London Grammar or Lady Gaga could do with it.
Joan Casanovas: It is difficult to say as it would depend on the film mood. Perhaps Adele again would be a good/safe choice.
Tom: I think Lana Del Rey could do a good job. I also think The Killers could serve up something great, provided they adapted their sound to be a little more traditional and less synthy.
Anders Frejdh: All I can say about this is… If the concept of classic Bond should be fulfilled I can’t think of anyone better Shirley Bassey. If not possible to get her, I’d stick with Adele.
Me: I struggle with this. I’m not a huge fan of Adele’s Skyfall, (although it is on my iPhone all the same) but most of my musical choices don’t fit well with Bond. Arctic Monkeys might do, as they have shown they can be quite versatile but Alex Turner’s voice can be a bit iffy. I read an interview once in which Turner claimed the first tune the Arctic Monkeys guitarist learnt to play was the James Bond Theme, so they’re obviously fans!
Morten Steingrimsen: I hope that Adele returns.
Daniel Craig is contracted to film one more after Bond 24. Do you think he’ll stick with it and how much longer do you think he’ll be in the role?
Matt Sherman: He certainly could do one more and it would be nice for the producers to get 25 done ASAP or else recast. Fans don’t care, frankly, that actors want to do other stage and film projects. They want their Bond to do Bond!
Matt Spaiser: I think Craig will stick with a fifth Bond film, but I don’t think he will do any more than that. Unlike Roger Moore, Craig prides himself on being a versatile actor and knows he can do far more than Bond. He will get bored of it.
Edward Biddulph: After the huge success of Bond 24, as I’m sure it will be, I’m sure he sign on to do another one. But he’ll hang up his Walther PPK after that.
Jake Del Toro: I hope he does one more providing the gap between Bonds 24 & 25 is no more than 2 years, then it’s time to get someone else in.
Ben Williams: I can’t possibly predict that. I imagine that he will play it out to the end of his contract and after that, who knows? I think as long as he still enjoys playing the character and feels capable of doing so, then he should keep at it. Criticisms of age and relevance have always dogged Bond actors as they go further into their tenure, but you simply can’t please everyone all the time. As long as he’s happy and the producers are happy, then I’m sure we’ll see Daniel continuing to play Bond well into the future.
Bill Koenig: I think he’ll do Bond 25. I’m not sure what happens next. Even if he’s ready to move on, I don’t think Barbara Broccoli will be.
Marketto: I believe he will do Bond 25 and Bond 26, nothing more.
Mark O’Connell: Craig’s Bond is doing okay. It seems wrong to be thinking of looking for a new husband when the current marriage is in such a solid state. He has signed on for two more (including Bond 24) so there is nothing to doubt that would not be the case.
Joan Casanovas: I am afraid that perhaps he will be too old for the role after Bond 25. From then he will probably quit (or will be retired).
Tom: I think we’ll get Bond 25 and then he’ll bow out. Unless the producers have difficulty finding the next actor, I guess there’s a chance they could lure him back for one more provided they give him a shitload of money.
Anders Frejdh: Well, if I were him I’d stick with it as long as I could. Apart from a money making machine, he’ll be more and more immortalized as an actor for every film. I’m sure he’ll do a couple more if the scripts meet his approval.
Me: I’m not so sure he will be around for Bond 25. It’s mainly gut feeling, but unless Eon can commit to releasing Bond 25 within 2 years of Bond 24 I have the feeling Craig will feel enough is enough. After Skyfall, Bond 24 has a mountain to climb and it is going to be hard to top it. There is only so much money he can need and may want to pursue other film and stage projects.
Morten Steingrimsen: Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond actor. Therefore, I hope he plays 007 in several Bond films after Bond 24.
If it were announced tomorrow that he were to quit as 007, who would you put forward as the new James Bond (excluding yourself)?
Matt Sherman: Clive Owen has the look and has played Bondlike roles before, and well. I think Benedict Cumberbatch is an extraordinary actor, and if he worked out a bit and they could make his hair and clothes just right he is young enough to take on the role for many years to come.
Matt Spaiser: Benedict Cumberbatch would make an excellent Bond. He has the refinement and the looks.
Edward Biddulph: Not sure. A few years ago, I would have said Jack Davenport, but I think his boat has sailed.
Jake Del Toro: I hope it’s someone fairly unknown that no-one has thought of but if I had to chose right now I’d go with Henry Cavill.
Ben Williams: As a moderator on MI6 Community, I have seen this question posed numerous times and have seen literally hundreds of suggestions put forward, from the sensible to the out right insane.
For me, an actor playing Bond should look the part, have a strong, masculine presence, and be able not only physically perform the action, but also be capable of giving us insight into his emotional state. I really can’t think of a current actor who is of the right age who could do this right now.
I have often suggested that British male model David Gandy would make a good Bond, but whilst he looks the part, whether he can act is an entirely different matter.
Bill Koenig: At one time, I’d have said Henry Cavill, but I don’t think that’s possible now. I think he’s too big physically now. And with all these Superman-related movies he’s contracted for, he’s going to have to maintain that bulk for the foreseeable future. Plus, he’s done UNCLE (though that won’t be out until August 2015) and he’s going to do a project called Stratton through his own production company. I honestly can’t really focus on this until Craig is actually gone. The answer is probably different in 2015 than it would be in 2018 or later.
Marketto: Have no idea.
Mark O’Connell: I would still not rule out Henry Cavill. Dan Stevens and Nicholas Hoult would not be wrong either but the usual genius of the new Bond casting is it is often someone left of field. Damian Lewis has also worked on another Eon film this year and his wife (Helen McCrory) has already served her time on a Bond.
Joan Casanovas: Excluding myself?? Damn,… not sure…Henry Cavill?…not sure…
Tom: Michael Fassbender…though he’s way to big to take on the role now. Watching X-Men: First Class, I think he’d be an amazing Bond, maybe even better than Daniel.
Anders Frejdh: Due to the fact that Daniel Craig is a great actor I’d rather not. (My personal choice before he was announced was Clive Owen, now I don’t even bother to think how he could have done is better than DC has done.)
Me: I honestly don’t know. It’s a real shame they can’t work to the same schedule as the Sean Connery era and knock out a film every year without compromising quality. Those days are over though.
Morten Steingrimsen: I trust that EON makes a wise choice. Most preferably, I would like an unknown British actor.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Matt Sherman: Hear the fans, Eon Productions, and get Bond 25 done soon as well as Bond 24!
Matt Spaiser: I’ll have a lot more to say when pictures of Daniel Craig in his new suits for Bond 24 surface.
Edward Biddulph: My title prediction: Property of a Lady.
Ben Williams: To me, it just seems incredible that, more than half a century after Dr No was released, we are still seeing Bond films being made. It is a testament to the enduring appeal of Fleming’s creation. I think that Bond fans are incredibly fortunate that the legacy of Bond continues and we are given that alluring promise at the end of each film: James Bond Will Return.
Bill Koenig: The Bond films sometimes go awry after a big success (Moonraker after Spy Who Loved Me, Quantum after Casino Royale). I’m also curious to see if the Christopher Nolan influence present in Skyfall continues in Bond 24.
Marketto: Bond forever.
Mark O’Connell: I wonder if Bond 24 will put a big Christmas smile on a lot of Bond fan’s faces.
Joan Casanovas: Bond is back!!!
Tom: Fingers crossed they get it right in Bond 24. Less CGI, better dialogue, lesson one liners (quality over quantity) and some classic Fleming elements would be my recipe for a great film.
Anders Frejdh: Personally, I have no desire to know every little detail about a new film before seeing it as it totally ruins the first-time experience.
Me: Thanks to everyone who participated in this Q&A! |
Advanced Lens System: One built-in Wide Angle lens with 0.4m closest focusing distance, plus additional Fisheye and Portrait lens attachments available.
One built-in Wide Angle lens with 0.4m closest focusing distance, plus additional Fisheye and Portrait lens attachments available. 3 Shooting Modes: Shoot photos with auto-flash on for immediate great results, or take direct control with manual shooting modes (with flash and without flash).
Shoot photos with auto-flash on for immediate great results, or take direct control with manual shooting modes (with flash and without flash). Unlimited Multiple Exposures: Combine multiple shots on one frame for amazing experimental instants.
Combine multiple shots on one frame for amazing experimental instants. Infinite Long Exposures: Perfect for low light, dawn/dusk and nighttime shooting. Get artistic with light painting and create beautiful light streaked instants!
Perfect for low light, dawn/dusk and nighttime shooting. Get artistic with light painting and create beautiful light streaked instants! Color Gels: Transform your photos with color (in a flash!) by shooting with fun color gels in blue, red, purple and yellow!
Transform your photos with color (in a flash!) by shooting with fun color gels in blue, red, purple and yellow! Easy 2 Step-Focusing: Quickly get the shot you want.
Quickly get the shot you want. Uses Fujifilm Instax Mini Film: The most widely available instant film on Earth.
The most widely available instant film on Earth. Tripod Mount and Cable Release Thread: Advanced extras for ultra-impressive instant photography!
We want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has pledged and made the Lomo’Instant Kickstarter project such a massive success. Really, thanks from the bottom of our hearts for your support and we can’t wait to start dispatching the cameras to our loyal Kickstarter backers!
If you missed out on pledging for the Lomo’Instant camera during the Kickstarter campaign, it is still possible for you to get one! Please head over to our Lomo’Instant Site to read more about the camera and pre-order your camera from the Lomography Online Shop!
An Additional Note to Kickstarter Backers: Before any Lomo’Instant are shipped out to anyone else, all Kickstarter orders will be fulfilled. Also, whilst we will offer pre-order customers certain added extras as a thanks for pre-ordering, the pre-order price of the Lomo’Instant is higher than the Kickstarter pricing.
Uncrate: "The people at Lomography do as much as anyone to keep analog photography alive — so we couldn't think of anyone better to make an all-new instant system."
Techcrunch: "The Lomo’Instant looks like no other instant camera. It comes in multiple colors and styles and features multiple modes including color filters, fisheye shots, and infinite long and multiple exposures."
Hypebeast: "What sets this apart from other instant cameras is its extensive feature set, which includes add-on lenses, a variety of filters, several shooting modes, and much more."
Gizmodo: “The retro camera fanatics at Lomography are diving into the world of instant photography with a colorful new shooter packed with all the charm and nostalgia of the 35mm Lomos you've known for years.”
PetaPixel: “Where Lomography’s instant camera stands out is in the customization options, both for the camera and the images it shoots.”
Endgadget: “You get a wide-angle lens in the box for the ultimate selfies”
Geeky Gadgets: “The Lomo Instant camera is also equipped with infinitely long exposures which are perfect for low light or night-time shooting to add to creativity to your photography.”
Gizmag: “Among the neater features of the Lomo'Instant is the ability to take unlimited multiple exposures, meaning you can capture countless shots and mesh them into the one print for unique composite photographs.”
Instant photography is an excellent hybrid of our human desire for immediacy and Lomography’s love for analogue photography. The process is fast, exciting and at the end, there is a beautiful moment captured in front of your eyes. And it doesn't stop there - This creative moment is right there in your hand. Unlike one of the hundreds of photos you take on your phone, this instant is a real object. You can put it on your wall, share it with a friend or slip it in your pocket to always keep the precious memory with you.
So, for this Kickstarter project, we set out to design the ultimate instant camera. A camera that combines our passion for instant analogue photography with our technical experience. A camera that is accessible for everyone, from long time instant photography lovers to first time Lomo'Instant owners. Most importantly, we wanted to create a fun camera packed with awesome features and endless opportunities to experiment!
Say hello to the Lomo'Instant Camera!
On top of its fountain of features, the Lomo'Instant is available in a range of awesome styles and is the perfect size to take wherever you go! It’s the most creative way to shoot fantastic photos which you can share anywhere and with everyone in an instant. Enjoy the beauty of analogue photography and get inspired with this fun-tastic camera!
We are really thrilled to be working on this Kickstarter project and can’t wait to start snapping with the Lomo'Instant. We would love for you to support us on this mission because we really need your help to make this instant dream come to life.
The retail launch price of the Lomo'Instant (without the additional attachable lenses) is currently planned as being between $120 and $150, so with the Early Bird Deal rewards, you save at least 40% on your camera! We plan to have the camera manufactured and ready for delivery in November 2014 (please note this is an estimate only; we unfortunately cannot guarantee this delivery date). Please back us today to help make our instant dream a reality and make huge, exclusive Kickstarter savings!
3 Shooting Modes To Cover Every Kind Of Instant
The Lomo'Instant has an auto flash shooting mode so you can easily shoot fantastic instant photos with flash in the touch of a button. You can also switch to the 2 manual shooting modes to open up all kinds of experimental shooting possibilities.
Flash On Auto Mode – With this mode you can easily get amazing instant photos on the go. A sensor on the flash detects the brightness, and the light meter automatically gives off the right amount of flash. The default aperture value is f/16 and the exposure compensation dial can be adjusted.
– With this mode you can easily get amazing instant photos on the go. A sensor on the flash detects the brightness, and the light meter automatically gives off the right amount of flash. The default aperture value is f/16 and the exposure compensation dial can be adjusted. Flash On Manual Mode - This mode is great for shooting indoors. The flash is on and you can switch between N for normal daytime shots and B shutter for long exposures.
- This mode is great for shooting indoors. The flash is on and you can switch between N for normal daytime shots and B shutter for long exposures. Flash Off Manual Mode – This mode is great for long exposures at night. The flash is switched off and you can switch between N for normal daytime shots and B shutter for long exposures at night.
Four Stunning Designs
We have created four editions of the Lomo'Instant Camera for you to choose from for this Kickstarter project.
An Ultra-Advanced Lens System
Shoot tons of unique instant photos and push the limits of your imagination with the Lomo'Instant Lens System! The camera has a built-in Wide Angle lens. Additionally, the Fisheye and Portrait lens attachments are included in the Lens Package on offer.
Wide Angle Lens (built-in): This 27mm equivalent wide angle lens captures more than your eyes can see and allows you to shoot uber-cool up-close-and-personal shots with the 0.4m closest focusing distance. It’s perfectly suited to spontaneous instant shooting and we love using it for selfies!
Fisheye Lens Attachment (Included in the Lens Package): Get hooked, lined and shamelessly sinkered for wonderful circular instants with the 170° Fisheye Lens Attachment.
Portrait Lens Attachment (Included in the Lens Package): This 35mm equivalent lens attachment is incredibly versatile and gives great results indoors and out. It's great for portraits as well as street photography and landscape shots.
Sh-o-o-o-o-t L-o-o-o-o-o-ng Exposures
The N setting on your camera is perfect for daytime shots and night shots with a flash. But the Lomo'Instant also has a B setting so you can create light-streaked photos by holding the shutter open for as long as you like. Give it a go for low-light or night-time shooting and creating breathtaking light paintings.
Shoot Crazy Unlimited Multiple Exposures
The Lomo'Instant is the only modern Instant camera which allows you to shoot unlimited multiple exposure instants. This means you can combine numerous shots on one frame for show-stopping effects!
Color Gels
Take full control of your instants in a flash (!) with the selection of color gels that come with the Lomo'Instant. Choose from blue, red, purple and yellow! By adding the filters over your flash, you can play around with cool and warm tones, and give an artistic flair to your instants!
The Perfect Instant Photo Format
The camera works with the high quality and widely available Fujifilm Instax Mini film, renowned for its bright colors and clear images. Your photos will be credit card sized snapshots which can fit in any wallet and look great on any wall! Of course, Fujifilm Instax Mini Film is stocked in the Lomography Online Shop and Lomography Gallery Stores.
The Largest Aperture Setting in the Instant Photography World
With its maximum aperture of f/8, the Lomo'Instant Camera has the largest aperture setting currently in the instant photography world. Shooting with f/8, you can get brighter shots. Or you can use a smaller aperture such as f/22 for getting every detail in focus – Smaller apertures are perfect for landscape shots with lots of detail.
Film Format: Fujifilm Instax Mini Film
Exposure Area: 42mm x 64mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125s / Bulb
Exposure compensations: +2/-2 Exposure Values
Ejection Mechanism: Motorized
Multiple Exposures: Yes
Built-in Flash Guide Number: 9(m)
Automatic Flash Output: Yes
Battery Supply: 6V (4x AAA batteries)
Tripod mount: Yes
Cable Release Mount: Yes
Aperture: f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32
Thanks to your support, we have hit our three stretch goals for the project (set at $350,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000). This means that all Lomo’Instant camera backers will already get 4 additional color filters, a camera strap and a free Lomo’Instant Close-Up Lens!
Following the success of two Kickstarter campaigns, the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner and Lomography Petzval Lens, we were so thrilled by the support we received that we have decided to also fund the Lomo'Instant via Kickstarter. As was the case with these two ambitious challenges, we are designing the instant camera system from scratch, which will require brand new equipment and advanced production techniques at a substantial financial cost. We need the initial Kickstarter support to ensure the demand for this investment so that we can set the ball rolling!
So where are we with the development of the Lomo'Instant so far? Well, we have just tested out our Alpha prototype and are further optimizing the camera based on this. The next immediate step is the Beta prototype! By backing this Kickstarter campaign, you’ll help us perfect the optical design of the Lomo'Instant and fund the camera's full-scale production. As a loyal backer, we promise to keep you updated on the development process every step of the way.
We plan to have the cameras manufactured and ready for delivery in November 2014 (please note this is an estimate only; we unfortunately cannot guarantee this delivery date). To keep you up to speed with our project so far and over the coming months, here is the Lomo'Instant Camera Timeline.
We are a globally active organization dedicated to experimental and creative photography. We have a great, buzzing community of analogue enthusiasts from all over the world who inspire us to keep creating wonderful products. Since 1992, our team has been pushing the boundaries of creative photography – we design and manufacture a whole host of analogue cameras, films and accessories.
Since we started experimenting with instant photography products, we haven’t been able to stop! We have developed special attachable instant backs for our Lomo LC-A, Belair X 6-12 and Diana F+ cameras so that you can shoot instant photos. With this vast experience in instant photography, we are now ready create a new, dedicated instant product with the Lomo'Instant! This incredibly creative instant camera is a pure product of crazily inventive ideas and our never-ending passion for analogue photography!
The Lomo'Instant will be our third Kickstarter project to date: In 2013, we reinvented the legendary Petzval Portrait Lens to work with digital and analogue cameras, enchanting our supporters with its unique bokeh effect and eye catching design. Within the first month, our project became one of the most successful ever. In the same year, we combined our love for film and mind blowing technology to launch the Lomography Smartphone Scanner, which enables you to scan photo negatives onto your smartphone - a revolution in film development. Following these two great successes, we are now thrilled to be launching the Lomo'Instant through Kickstarter!
The Lomo'Instant project was conceived by our dedicated in-house development and design team; the entire project has been spearheaded by the Lomography founders Matthias Fiegl, Wolfgang Stranzinger and Sally Bibawy. You can find out more about our history and the products we produce on our website http://www.lomography.com/about. And if you're game, we'd love to be your friends on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter; plus you can subscribe to our newsletter to hear all our latest news.
The Lomo'Instant will be available for most countries throughout the world. Unfortunately however, backers from South America or Russia must pay an extra 50 USD for shipping the camera. Lomography will not be held liable for any additional shipping and customs duties that may occur in these countries. This is because we don't have local logistics hubs in these countries, in which case these items will be shipped from our Hong Kong hub. We have logistics hubs in the following locations: Hong Kong, Japan, New York and Hungary. Unless you are in the EU, US, Canada or your country is listed here, there may be some extra importation duties to pay on delivery.
For our backers in the USA, most people don't need to pay any additional shipping costs. However, backers who live in the State of New York do need to pay Sales Tax. For backers from New York, please add an additional 8.875% onto your pledge amount to cover local sales tax. So for example, if you live in the State of New York and pledged for the $119 reward, please add an additional $10.56 onto your pledge amount ($10.56 is 8.875% of $119) to cover New York Sales Tax. If you haven’t added this additional sales tax yet, don’t worry it’s easy to do. You can edit the amount you pledge right up until the project ends on the project page.
For Lomo'Instant camera backers in Canada, please add only an additional $10 for shipping, handling and local charges. For Lomo'Instant camera backers in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, for rewards that state $25 for shipping, please add only $15 and for rewards that state $40, please only add $25 for shipping, handling and local charges.
To pay these lower shipping costs when shipping to Canada, Taiwan, Singapore or Hong Kong, please follow these steps when pledging:
1. When you select your chosen reward, you will see an option to change to "shipping within the US". See here
2. Click this to change it. See here
3. Scroll up to the top and enter your pledge amount + your shipping. For example, a $79 reward with shipping to Canada would be $89. See here
4. Click to finalise your order and you should see the final amount, with the screen detailing that you're shipping within the US. See here
Extra Bonus! Store Pick-Up In Hong Kong
If you live in Hong Kong, you can save an additional $15 on shipping, handling and local charges by picking up your Lomo’Instant from the Lomography Hong Kong Gallery Store. So if you are backing for a reward which states $25 for shipping outside the USA and you want to pick up the Hong Kong Gallery Store, you actually only need to pay $10 for shipping and local charges. If you are backing for a reward which states $40 (or more) for shipping outside the USA and you want to pick up the Hong Kong Gallery Store, you actually only need to pay $20 for shipping and local charges. If you would like to do this, please adjust your shipping payment accordingly and then send us a message to confirm that this is what you would like to do.
If you live in New York and would like to pick-up from the New York Gallery Store, please contact us by private message about this. It is possible but please note that there will still be local City Taxes to pay on your pledge.
Unfortunately, we cannot offer store pick-up in other countries currently. This is because the stores in Taiwan and Singapore are partner stores not directly run by Lomography. We are still discussing whether we can make it possible to pick up from other Lomography stores but are afraid this will not mean a change in the general costs that need to be paid to cover handling and local charges.
For other backers outside the USA, please note that we charge an additional amount that you will need to add depending on the pledge to cover shipping and tax costs - as detailed in the rewards. As you are purchasing with dollars and benefiting from the exchange rate, this is already considerably cheaper than what the regular retail price of the camera will be!
If you have a specific question about shipping, handling or local charges please just write us a message! |
5G for consumers is still years away, but Verizon is taking another step toward the eventual future of mobile internet. Today the company announced that it will be rolling out “pre-commercial” 5G service to pilot customers in 11 markets across the United States by mid-2017.
Verizon announced its initial tests on 5G networks over a year ago at MWC 2016, but today’s news marks the first time that the service will be available for actual (albeit extremely limited) use. Verizon’s 5G rollout will be based on the company’s 5GTF specifications from last year and take place for pilot customers in Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Bernardsville, Brockton, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, Sacramento, Seattle, and Washington, DC. While the goal of 5G service is to deliver dramatically improved mobile internet speeds over our current 4G standards, Verizon isn’t yet commenting on what kind of speeds the pilot cities will be experiencing.
It’s also worth noting that universal 5G specifications haven’t actually been agreed upon yet (although there is an official logo, for what it’s worth). The FCC began working to open up spectrum bands for 5G use last summer, and mobile companies both in the US and abroad are continuing to test 5G networks and chipsets. |
Have you ever wanted to leave it all? Just pack your bags, move to a completely new place and start a brand new life? If you've ever wanted to see what it's like to start fresh, now is your chance with the release of Marvelous' latest farming simulation title, Story of Seasons.
As was outlined in our recent review of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, long-time publisher Natsume owns the rights to the Harvest Moon name, so Marvelous was put in the position of having to rebrand its long-running series with this new release. Not only does Story of Seasons provide a strong showing for what may be a standalone oddity, but it also paves the way for a potential series of its own. Whatever this new game may end up being, it is at the very least an excellent place to start for players new to the genre.
Arriving to Oak Tree Town as a greenhorn, your character has decided to answer a flier requesting individuals interested in running a farm. The townsfolk are well aware that you have no prior background in crop or livestock maintenance, but they decide that you're the right man or woman – your choice – for the job. Shortly after moving to your new home, it's revealed to you that the real reason the town is seeking new residents is to stimulate the area's economy and develop trade routes with surrounding countries. Community is a big focus in Story of Seasons, and part of this is opening your region to those around you.
The plot's focus may be on community, but the gameplay here is still all about growing crops and earning your keep. Farming in this game has been condensed by having you work on 3x3 plots of land rather than tending to each crop individually. You are still responsible for selecting the correct tools from your bag and making sure that you don't accidentally destroy your precious greenery with a sickle rather than sprinkling them with your watering can, but the time consuming and repetitive nature of the gameplay has been reduced. To make up for this simplified farming, your character's stamina has been adjust to deplete more rapidly, meaning that while there may be less work to do this time around, there is also significantly less energy to do it with. This new system works well and greatly reduces the tedium that was a major complaint in Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley. On top of that, newcomers to the series or veterans who simply want a more relaxed experience can select to play on Seedling Mode, a version of the game that retains all of the major elements but allows players more stamina and reduced prices in the shops around town.
Coupled with the streamlined gameplay is the intuitive control scheme. Character movement is controlled with the Circle Pad while all actions are performed with the lettered buttons or icons on the touchscreen. Tools and items can be switched out by opening the main menu with the X button, or by pulling up a quick access menu with a tap of the R shoulder trigger. Swapping tools isn't as easy as it is in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where the left and right buttons on the D-Pad are put to good use, but the quick access menu does well to make up for the lost time.
A major element of the Harvest Moon series that makes an appearance here is the inclusion of a romance system, allowing the game to work as more than just a farming simulator. There are several eligible bachelors or bachelorettes – depending on your character's gender – all of which can be romanced through gift giving and eventually married. The focus in this is obviously to find a marriage partner, but you can also become close with other members of the community through similar means as well. Growing relationships around town means that more items will be available in shops and the community will generally be friendlier towards you. It's surprisingly satisfying to earn the respect of particularly prickly characters, and learning more about the residents is one of the more interesting aspects of the game. The characters all feel unique from one another and stand out as individuals who have their own stories to tell.
Going back to the idea of growing community, a major new aspect to Story of Seasons is the Trade Depot. Rather than having a shipping bin or a regular place to sell your crops and products, all trading is done with different countries at this plaza in town. The more you purchase, trade, and fulfil requests, other countries with different products will take notice and eventually come to trade in your town as well. There is a bit of frustration that comes along with not having a shipping bin always available when you need the money, but this new arrangement places an emphasis on the importance of paying attention to the trading system and developing your trading partnerships.
The art style present is similar to that which has been found in many recent Harvest Moon titles. The gameplay boasts a cute and cartoony element while the dialogue features detailed motionless illustrations of each character as they speak. The two styles work well together to create the impression that, despite being a lighthearted and charming game, it is still rooted in the reality of everyday life. Though the style chosen may work well, that's not to say that the visual presentation is without its flaws, some of which are more irksome than can be ignored. The console's 3D effect is put to use, but it doesn't provide any significant improvements to the game and can sometimes be disorienting. When turned on, the biggest use of the 3D is to provide depth between the background and character illustrations, but it mostly just accentuates some of the environment's more jagged lines. There are also certain areas of the map that incite a noticeable drop in frame rate.
Thankfully these areas mostly just act as corridors to get from one major part of town to another rather than being centres of activity, but the issue remains. It feels as though a lot of care was put into achieving the desired aesthetic in Story of Seasons, but a final polish was not performed over the completed package.
For as good a job as these games do in providing life simulations that promote the importance of community, the one thing that the Harvest Moon series has never perfected is multiplayer, and that rings true in Story of Seasons. After spending a certain amount of time on your own farm, the options to activate both StreetPass and multiplayer elements become available. Multiplayer allows you to visit other players' farms either locally or over WiFi and exchange gifts, while StreetPass "collects" players who you have passed by so you can check out their farms' stats. We'd love to say that there's more to it than that, but the reality is that these features are very limited and, quite frankly, underwhelming. |
Attention All Passengers: The Airlines’ Dangerous Descent—and How to Reclaim Our Skies, by William J. McGee, HarperCollins, 368 pages, $26.99
About twice a decade someone comes along with a book denouncing airline deregulation as a threat to safety. It always turns out that what the author is really lamenting is the loss of monopoly wages and benefits for the employees of a formerly cartelized industry. This year’s installment in that ongoing series is travel reporter William McGee’s Attention All Passengers.
Compared to some of the previous contributors to the genre (Ralph Nader, John Nance, Mary Schiavo), McGee has done a credible job of research, interviewing aviation experts, and presenting a selection of their views, even when they conflict with his thesis. But instead of confronting their points, he simply proceeds with his own argument, untroubled.
Here is the tall tale McGee wants us to buy: Back in the 1960s and ’70s, the airlines were wonderful places to work. (McGee was a dispatcher at “the world’s greatest airline,” Pan Am.) Flying was a pleasure for passengers: free meals, leg room, numerous empty seats, big planes going to small towns, etc. Then along came this thing called deregulation, with the ensuing dog-eat-dog competition kicking off a downward spiral that has continued to this day, worsening dramatically during the last decade.
Fares are so low now that airlines chronically lose money, forcing them to slash their work forces by outsourcing just about everything (even heavy maintenance, some of which is now done overseas!), automating the check-in process, and jamming their planes to more than 80 percent of capacity. They have abandoned small towns and cities to regional airlines with poor safety records and small, uncomfortable planes.
McGee’s remedy? “Partial” reregulation, tougher antitrust enforcement, a ban on offshore maintenance, an overhaul of bankruptcy laws, and much more.
McGee’s critique suffers from internal inconsistency. Generally he laments the airlines’ broken business model, which can’t seem to make profits. Yet he also complains that the airlines have “virtually unlimited resources” for lobbying and influencing public opinion. Even while bemoaning airlines’ profitability problems, he carps throughout the book about their significant productivity gains in recent decades, thanks to technology (online booking, check-in kiosks), outsourcing of various functions to lower-cost providers, and unbundling of pricing (the separation of cost components like meals, luggage, and early check-in).
McGee also makes the mistake of treating “the airlines” (or at least those flying nationally) as a homogenous group, ignoring major differences between the legacy carriers that have merged into a handful of megacarriers and their more nimble competitors—not just Southwest and JetBlue, but Alaska, Allegiant, Hawaiian, Spirit, and Virgin America. Each of the latter has pioneered a unique business model, carving out its own market niche (or niches). Allegiant, for example, is a travel company that includes an airline focused on leisure travelers who live in secondary markets (such as Bellingham, Washington) and want to go to resorts in Florida, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. Hawaiian has evolved from a mostly inter-island carrier to a long-haul trans-Pacific airline, and as Aviation Week recently put it, this kind of “expansion pays off for Hawaiian.” But in McGee’s world, it’s as if these airlines and their market-discovery business plans don’t even exist.
When economist Alfred Kahn, with the help of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), brought about airline deregulation in 1978, many (myself included) warned that after 40-odd years as a heavily regulated cartel, the legacy airlines would have great difficulty adjusting to free competition. And so they did. Most of the old names—Braniff, Eastern, National, Northwest, Pan American, and TWA—went under, but commercial aviation boomed, with competition producing lower fares that saved passengers tens of billions of dollars per year. The few legacy carriers that remain standing—American, Delta, United/Continental, and US Airways—have all gone through bankruptcy proceedings.
Yet air travel and the airline industry is far bigger today than in 1978, with 3.6 times as many annual passenger miles. That is due mainly to the long-term decline in airfares brought about by deregulation. Adjusted for inflation, the average domestic round-trip ticket cost $578 in 1979, compared with $322 in 2009 (and a bit higher last year). You won’t find those figures in Attention All Passengers.
McGee’s most troubling claim is that air safety is at risk. He blames two factors: the shift of more than 50 percent of all departures from major airlines to regional carriers (typically operating small regional jets or turboprops) and the large-scale outsourcing of aircraft and engine maintenance.
As is typical of consumer reporters, McGee presents mostly anecdotes, not data, to suggest that much of outsourced maintenance is performed by unqualified and poorly regulated repair businesses. He says “much” of this work is done “outside the United States in developing countries, in El Salvador, in Mexico, China, Singapore.” Yet according to the Department of Transportation inspector general’s report that McGee cites, 661 of 907 repair stations used by U.S. airlines are in the United States, and another 69 are in Canada; a large (unspecified) number are in Europe; and fewer than 200 are in Central America or Asia. The maintenance, repair, and overhaul industry is global and generally well respected, but you’d never know this from the book’s anecdotes.
McGee relays complaints from Federal Aviation Administration safety inspectors that they don’t have ready access to overseas repair stations. In some cases, that may be true. But he ignores the fact that several other levels of oversight exist.
First, by law, the airlines are responsible for the airworthiness of their fleets, and proper maintenance is a precondition for airworthiness. Airlines conduct regular maintenance audits of their contractors, including on-site visits. In many cases they have on-site employees overseeing their contractors’ work. Not a word about any of this appears in Attention All Passengers.
McGee also tries to frighten readers by suggesting that planes overhauled at Chinese repair stations get put back into passenger service without being tested, although the planes’ cockpit crews must fly them back to the United States. Later in the book, he concedes this point by citing critical entries that Northwest pilots made in their maintenance log book on such a return flight.
Ultimately, the proof of McGee’s safety allegations should show up in airline accident records. While he never provides such data, I dug into the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident database and retrieved airline safety data going back to 1947, tracking fatal accidents in absolute numbers, per million miles flown, and per million aircraft departures. (Since fatal accidents were rather rare events even in the early post−World War II years, trends are more easily seen by using 10-year averages.) Both before and after deregulation, fatalities per mile and per flight have steadily declined. (See chart.) Aviation safety was improving prior to deregulation and has continued to improve since then.
Some advocates of reregulation argue that the fatal accident rate per million passenger miles disguises what’s happening with regional airlines, since the major airlines fly the vast majority of all miles. That’s why I included the rate based on aircraft departures, since regional carriers make a bit more than 50 percent of all departures. And during the most recent decade, when the growth of regional airlines reached its highest rate ever, safety continued improving.
Since McGee’s lament about the decimation of airline employment due to outsourcing is equally data-free, I obtained numbers from the airline trade group Airlines for America on total U.S. airline employment from 1971 to the present. From 1971 to 1978, airline employment grew slowly, from 284,000 to 313,000. And then it took off, reaching 406,000 by 1988 and an all-time peak of 547,000 in 2000, 74 percent higher than in the year of deregulation. Since then, however, the twin shocks of 9/11 and much higher fuel prices have led to airline cost cutting and outsourcing, resulting in 386,000 employees as of 2011. So McGee is right about recent job shrinkage, but today’s number is still 23 percent higher than when airlines were deregulated in 1978.
McGee was a guest recently on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, along with “Ask the Pilot” columnist John Cox and Air Line Pilots Association President Lee Moak. Cox and Moak dismissed McGee’s safety scaremongering as groundless. As Cox put it, “Those of us that are involved in airline safety, we’re looking at this data for trends all the time, and the safety has gotten better.” Washington Post transportation reporter Ashley Halsey III added, “Lee’s pilots would be complaining, loudly and very publicly, if they felt that they were being given substandard equipment.”
Unleashing competition on an industry that had been in a regulatory straitjacket for four decades was bound to lead to “creative destruction.” Tools such as outsourcing, automation, and creative pricing are all part of the discovery process as airlines seek viable business models for a sector that was badly in need of fundamental change. More evolution is likely (and necessary) in coming years, but so far three decades of deregulation have served airline customers well. |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.